Recently in Food Category

Before this starts to sound like I'm an alcoholic, keep in mind that this list is compiled over a period of many months, a beer or two at a time.  It's not as though I went to the store and bought a few cases, downed them all in a weekend, and wrote this...

Coors Light
Blue Moon (Draft only, the bottled version tastes different to me)
Samuel Smith's Tadcaster Oatmeal Stout
Stone Brewing Company's Arrogant Bastard Ale
Stone Brewing Company's Oaked Arrogant Bastard Ale
Stone Brewing Company's Double Bastard Ale
Leinenkugel's Sunset Wheat
Wittkerke Belgian Wheat Beer
Asahi

I'll add more as I find more beers I like.
 

About 25 years ago, my family and I lived in Brazil, where my father worked on that country's first nuclear power plant. One of my fondest memories of that time is a visit to a Brazilian restaurant called a "churrascaria". These are a uniquely Brazilian invention which, in my opinion, would do well in the USA. They are an "all you care to eat" style restaurant that features barbecued meats of every variety. In a typical churrascaria, you are seated at a table, partake of a salad and vegetable bar, and when you're ready for meat, you have a device (typically a card) on your table that indicates you're interested in meat. Roving servers will drop by to tempt you with various cuts of steak, chicken, pork, lamb, sausage, etc. If you like what they have, they'll slice some off the skewer they're carrying and you grab it with tongs and put it on your plate. When you are full, you use the device to tell the servers you're finished and they stop bringing the meat.

I've just returned from "Sal & Carvao" (Portuguese for "salt and charcoal"), a restaurant located at the intersection of Finley and Butterfield in Downers Grove, Illinois. This churrascaria is one of three I've visited in the United States. The others were located in Washington, DC, and Fort Lauderdale, Florida. It's definitely a good one.

My vegetable plate included asparagus, roasted spring vegetables in a balsamic vinaigrette, and jambalaya (technically not a vegetable dish). I also had some proscuitto and salami. All of it was first-rate, fresh-tasting, and delicious. This was followed by the meat courses, which included "bottom sirloin", marinated chicken breast, linguica (sausage), lamb, chili-lime chicken, filet mignon wrapped in bacon, and probably one or two other meats I'm forgetting. In addition, there were three side dishes offered. These included garlic mashed potatoes, a vegetable medley, and truffled french fries.

The service at Sal & Carvao is great, easily an 8 or 9 out of 10. I rarely wanted for anything.

The side dishes weren't bad, but not my favorites of the meal. I don't care much for garlic mashed potatoes, though theirs were better than average. The vegetable medley was good, but I'd gotten my fill at the harvest bar (salad bar) earlier. And the fries, well, I didn't care for them but they were OK. (The side dish concept, by the way, is something I've only noticed in the U.S. churrascarias. I assume they're provided to reduce the guests' intake of meat items, which are probably cheaper in Brazil than in the U.S.) I generally ignored them during my dining.

The meats were all good. The filet was probably my least favorite since it was a little dry, but even that was good. The marinated chicken breast was excellent. The bottom sirloin was great. The linguica was perfect. The lamb was the second-best I've ever had (the best, interestingly, was at a churrascaria in Washington, DC).

On balance, I'd have to give Sal & Carvao at least an 8 out of 10. The service is excellent. The food is really good. The seating was comfortable. The "harvest bar" was very good.

I have only two real complaints about the place. The music got a bit loud during the latter part of my visit, and took away some from my enjoyment of the food. My other complaint is that they don't have a location in Columbus, Ohio. If they did, I suspect it would become one of my regular haunts at home!

This evening I dined at Bombay Palace, an Indian restaurant located at 2020 K Street NW in Washington, DC.  It's right next to Legal Sea Foods, where I ate lunch, interestingly enough.

The interior of Bombay Palace is very upscale looking.  Everything is in excellent condition, clean, and in good repair.  The atmosphere is quiet except for the air pumps driving the huge aquarium at the back of the restaurant, a sound which fades into the background after a time.

I ordered Mulligatawny Soup as my first course.  It was, without question, the best Mulligatawny Soup I've ever had.  The flavor, spice level, texture, etc., were all excellent.  If I lived in the DC area I would come back here often just to have this soup.

My main course was Chicken Vindaloo with Keema Nan.  The vindaloo was good, but not the best I've ever had.  The keema nan was different from some I've had, better than some, and worse than others.  On balance I'd have to say it was above average.

One thing I found very odd about Bombay Palace was the fact that they charge extra for rice.  Every other Indian restaurant I've ever visited has provided the rice for free.  Bombay Palace charges $3.95 for it... and no, there's nothing special about it. It's the same rice you'd get anywhere else.

On the whole, though, this was one of the better Indian meals I've ever had.  I can certainly understand how it got in Zagat's guide, and why its cooking inspired a professionally published cookbook of its recipes.

On a 1-20 scale, I'd rate it a solid 8.

Today for lunch I had the opportunity to eat at one of those restaurants I've heard good things about but never seen... Legal Sea Foods in downtown Washington, DC.  (2020 K Street NW) 

I ordered the crab cake combo, which included a crab cake made with lump crab meat, a couple of grilled shrimp, and a couple of grilled scallops.  In the middle of the plate was a large quantity of mesclun greens with dressing on them.  My side dish was mashed potatoes.

The crab cake was certainly one of the better ones I've ever had.  It was probably 90% or more crab meat with a light amount of seasoning and other components.  It had a good flavor and went down very, very easily.  I can definitely recommend it, though I've had one better (from the Roosevelt Tavern in York, PA).

The grilled shrimp were clearly fresh and tasted good, though there were bits of shell grilled onto the meat that negatively affected the flavor (giving it a burnt "fishy" taste).

The scallops were plump, cooked to perfection, and certainly the next best part of the meal.

The greens were, to my taste, rather bitter and the dressing didn't help much with that.  I ate a few bites but simply couldn't handle more.

The mashed potatoes were decent but nothing to write home about.

The bartender/server was excellent and attentive.  I don't know how much he makes but he certainly earns every penny.  Given all the customers around the bar at lunch hour and the fact that he seemed to give us each personal attention speaks well of his skill and of Legal Sea Foods' management for hiring him.

I would definitely recommend the place and based on this one experience I'm giving them a 7.5 out of 10.

I've been in Washington, DC, this week attending a technology class.  The location of the class is very near a small shop called "Julia's Empanadas" at 1000 Vermont Avenue NW.  I've had empanadas in the past and enjoyed them, so this sounded like a good opportunity to try them again.  Yesterday for lunch I went in and ordered a couple "Chorizo" (sausage, black beans, and rice) ones.

From the first bite, I have to say that I was disappointed.  The breading along the outer edges was extremely dry, like a saltine cracker.  The filling inside did not have any chorizo flavor that I could detect, though there was a reasonable quantity of rice and black beans inside.  I ordered two, but ended up eating most of one and throwing away the rest.  There wasn't much flavor and they were just disappointing all the way around.

Given the number of people going in and out of the place, some of whom seemed to be regulars, my assumption is that I may have simply made a bad choice.  I was there near the start of lunch hour and perhaps mine had spent the most time under the heat lamps.  I don't know. 

Regardless, I'm in no hurry to go back.  It wasn't a very enjoyable experience and I've no interest in repeating it.

There is a certain class of Brazilian restaurant known as a "Churrascaria".  This translates roughly to "barbecue".  These restaurants vary somewhat, but there is a certain theme that runs through all of them.  First, you enter the restaurant and are treated to a salad bar.  This salad bar contains a variety of items, usually including asparagus, hearts of palm, artichoke hearts, mushrooms, and a variety of other salad items like you'd expect to find on an American salad bar.

After you've had all the salad you want, you've got a little card in front of you that you flip over.  When the red side of the card is showing, you pretty much eat in peace.  When the green side is showing, you're telling the "gauchos" who do the serving there to bring you whatever meat they are carrying.  This can include anything from liver to chicken to filet mignon depending on the restaurant.

If you aren't a vegetarian, these are great places to eat.  Every kind of meat you can imagine will come your way and you can sample all of it if you like.  It's all barbecued and seasoned, usually with sea salt and garlic.  It comes around on skewers from which a portion is sliced off for you.

Tonight I ate in one of the more famous churrascarias in the United States, Fogo De Chao, on Pennsylvania Avenue.   It was everything I had come to expect after living in Brazil and having "the real thing" several times. 

The roast leg of lamb was possibly the single best piece of lamb I have ever eaten.  It was, in a word, fantastic.

The filet mignon was delicious, though slightly overcooked.

The bacon-wrapped chicken had a wonderful flavor (must remember to try this at home!) though it was a touch dry.

The sirloin cuts were excellent and masterfully seasoned.  Very tender as well.

When Fogo De Chao brings out the meat, they also bring you mashed potatoes (average), fried polenta (nice), and fried bananas/plantains (excellent!).  

They also bring out "pao de queijo" (cheese bread) which has the consistency of a French pastry with a wonderful warm cheese filling.

It didn't take too long for me to become completely stuffed.

It was, without question, one of the best meals I've had in a very long time.  It was also one of the more expensive, with my bill coming in at approximately $53.

Still, I have to tell you it was worth every penny.  The food was great.  The service was absolutely THE best I've ever had anywhere.  And the atmosphere was comfortable, classy, and relaxing.

I'm really hoping I can go back there tomorrow night.  If I'm good for breakfast and lunch, the daily meal allowance might just permit it.  And Wednesday night, too...

The McDonald's on Olentangy River Road (near the intersection with Ackerman) near my workplace recently built a new location just a few yards away from their original spot.  Shortly after the old building was demolished, a new one began to be built.  That building became home to a restaurant named "Raising Cane's".  Today for lunch I decided to try it out, since I was excited to see a new eating choice so near work.

Raising Cane's specializes in chicken fingers.  In fact, it's the only thing they serve.  No fish sticks, no burgers, no sausage, no ham.  Nothing but chicken fingers.  Their advertising claims that theirs are the best chicken fingers available - period.  The rest of the pitch talks about how they are hand-breaded and fried up only after you order them.  The meat is supposedly marinated for 12 hours before cooking, the batter and flour are specially seasoned, etc. From what I've read elsewhere, it's apparently a popular chain in the southern US.

I ordered their "Box Lunch #1" which consisted of 4 chicken fingers, fries, texas toast, cole slaw, and a drink for $5.99.  The chicken fingers I received were approximately 6 inches long and about the diameter of a "C" battery including the batter.  The strips were fully cooked.  The breading is relatively thin and has a very delicate texture to it, with a deep brown color.  They definitely look hand-made, since the breading isn't uniformly applied to the chicken.

From the first bite, I was simply not impressed.  The breading had no discernable flavor.  The meat  (arguably as it should) tasted like ordinary chicken.  I tasted no evidence of the specially seasoned flour or the marinated chicken.  In fact, these strips had far less flavor than those produced by Wendy's, BW3, or KFC.

The dipping sauce that the restaurant is very proud of is also nothing special.  It tastes approximately like Thousand Island salad dressing with a liberal sprinkling of cajun spices in it.  You'll find that you do end up dipping the chicken in it quite a bit, though, because that at least gives it some flavor.

Raising Cane's is also proud of their fries, which they claim are cut from the finest potatoes.  That's as may be, but they still look and taste like typical "crinkle cut" Ore-Ida fries you can buy in a huge bag at Kroger for a couple of bucks.  Mine didn't have enough salt on them to suit me, and tasted no better than what you'd get if you followed the directions on a bag of Ore-Ida's and tossed them in the oven.  The fries at McDonald's next door are much better, and I don't really like McDonald's.

Next, we come to the cole slaw.  This, at least, was good.  But then again, it's hard to get cole slaw wrong.  Chop up some cabbage and stir in cole slaw dressing and you've pretty much got it.  The portion of cole slaw was disappointing.  Most places provide ketchup for your french fries in containers that size.  I think I got about 4-5 fork fulls out of it.  I suppose that considering the government's concern that restaurant portion sizes are causing expanding waistlines in our country, small portions might be a socially responsible thing to provide.  Still, it left me wanting more.

Last is the texas toast.  My piece looked like a hot dog bun that had been sprayed lightly with garlic butter and slapped onto a grill to brown.  There was a subtle but distinct garlic butter flavor to it.  My brother (who was with me and had eaten here once before), on the other hand, says it may be the best texas toast he's ever had.  After tearing off a couple of bites to try, I ended up giving him the rest of it.  It did nothing for me.  He gobbled it up.  So the texas toast was a hit with one of us.

The store at this location is very clean and decently lit.  It's reasonably easy to get in and out of the place even at lunch hour.  It's in a shopping center with lots of parking.  The staff was friendly and nice to us during the visit.  The atmosphere, therefore, was quite pleasant overall.

Management at the restaurant, since it's new and different, are understandably proud of it.  The manager went around introducing himself and talking up the restaurant to as many patrons as he could.  He didn't seem to mind interrupting the one fellow who was intently reading a book, or the couple who were engaged in conversation.  It was quite a pitch, too, lasting the better part of thirty minutes to both audiences.  Fortunately, my brother and I left the place before he accosted us.  (That was quite a trick considering that only 3 tables - including ours - were busy at the height of lunch hour.)

On the whole, Raising Cane's is a dissapointment.  For a place that prides itself on its chicken fingers, theirs have no real flavor unless dipped in the sauce, which has a flavor you tire of pretty quickly.  The side dishes were nothing spectacular, and the only really good thing in the meal (the cole slaw) came in too small a portion.  For $6+, I felt like I didn't get that much food and that it wasn't quite that good.  I believe for the same money KFC provides better chicken strips, better (and larger portions of) side dishes, and overall a better value.

I don't think I'm alone in this assessment.  Usually any new restaurant has people lined out the door to get at the food during its opening week.  If it's any good, that pace will continue for weeks or months.  This place has been open less than a week and you can already walk in at the height of lunch hour and not be further back than third in line.  That says something for customers' opinions of the food and pricing.  By contrast, the McDonald's next door, the Applebee's next door, the Subway, Damon's, Bob Evans, Rooster's, Fortune Chinese, etc., all within a 20-second ride of Cane's usually have most or all of their tables full at that time of day.  This says to me that folks in our area tend to prefer almost every other nearby restaurant to this one.

On a 1-10 scale, it rates about a 5. That, in my scale, says it's edible but it's nothing I'm in a hurry to eat again.  To be fair to the place, I will eat there at least once more in the future, preferably with a number of co-workers whose opinions and observations I can add to the review.

Update 06/03/2006: It's been suggested by a reader of this blog that I was having a bad day when I reviewed this site and that I'm way off base in this review.  The response I received didn't suggest that the writer felt that the restaurant's food tasted great, it merely claimed that it is a successful chain and therefore it must be good.  It also suggested that I am unfair in judging the place based on one visit.  THAT is a fair criticism, but I must point out that all the above comments were echoed by my brother that day. It was his SECOND or third visit to the place.  A co-worker, who visited a week or so later, also agreed with the above observations and added this point to the mix... "I've never seen anyone who could cook chicken and make it stop tasting like chicken, or anything else!"  I stand by this review of Raising Cane's because it represents the opinions of 3 separate individuals with varying tastes who visited the restaurant on multiple occasions.

This recipe is the closest I've ever tasted to "Chinese Restaurant Quality" stir-fried shrimp with vegetables. The sauce is a light semi-transparent one.