Let there be food!

So I've been eating out some. Like at:

Beer Belly:
http://beerbellyla.com/
A new mini gastropub in Koreatown. Disappointing beers, funky selection of beer and food.

Chego:
The spot to be!

http://eatchego.com/

This restaurant is nothing short of amazing! Cheap, festive, allows 1 dollar modelos to be brought in from the quick stop next door. The combination of Mexican, Korean, and American really wows me - it is by far the most creative restaurant I have ever eaten at. Dessert here, is a must see. The ooey gooey fries are amazing. Their combination of cilantro, a mild red sauce and real neutral cheese makes the dish transcend reality. It's very different, but good. And gooey! I think they must sprinkle siricha on all of their dishes, so spice-haters beware. Next time I think I'm going to get the "steak in the heart."

Little Ethiopia Restaurant

http://littleethiopiarestaurants.com/

Last Sunday after a grueling hour and a half on the soccer pitch, I traveled with friends to little ethiopia on fairfax ave. The adventure there was fantastic. The area we found quaint and thrifty. I felt transplanted into the Midwest for an afternoon.

We arrived there at about two pm and found the restaurant to be full. It was a tad smaller than I had imagined, taking up two shotgun style storefronts. The place had a lively feel and a good mix of visitors, a signal to me that it bypassed a high quality threshold.

There was a native-style sitting area up in the front window area that the owners' family was seated in that gave warmth and cultural flavor.

We were seated immediately and welcomed by the menu. On it, doro wat and Ethiopian coffee, which I both love, greeted us. We ordered both and a side of lentils.

What a deal! Our dish was huge, flavorful-to-spicy, and accompanied by not one but two portions of our lovely side dish.

At first bite, I was more enamored with the side dish, but with time it turned out that the deep dark flavor of the doro wat was more enticing. It came with two chicken legs and an egg, an odd accompaniment. Apparently though that dish is the one that's most popular at the restaurant.

I would definitely go back to Little Ethiopia Restaurant in a heartbeat. It was soulful and more quaint than I had imagined, given its namesake and accolades. It wasn't the cleanest of places, but the food was flavorful and distinct and frankly, sam, that's what I look for when I go out to eat.

Latas,
 Claire

Richo's Brewpub

http://www.newalbanian.com/

 

A heavenly delight was had not too long ago. The date was August and the temperatures had climbed into the the stratosphere of the 90's and beyond for the past week. When they redescended from the gods, we celebrated bacenalian-style and went to Rich-O's brewpub for some mid-70's socialization.

Happy patrons

I found myself waiting alongside friends, Michael and Beth of the Holladay Platter http://holladayplatter.blogspot.com/. And it should go without saying that, Wow!, we had a great time out. The conversation was quite lively; we mainly focused on the couples who were in our surrounds and whether they had intimate plans afterwords.

All yunking aside, when our food came we were very impressed. We all ordered some appetizers to start: a spinach queso alongside some stuffed mushrooms. Stuffed mushrooms happen to be an old friend of mine. I like them stuffed with creamy, bubbly cheese and spicy sausage so that they are juicy, oily, and oozing by the time they hit my mouth. These were no exception.. they were great! Also, the queso did not disappoint. There was a lot of it to go around, as we had seven in our party. 

A still happier patron

Then came the delight: pizza. Why go and drink beer at any old spot if you can drink beer at 1) a brewery 2) that's known for it's good pizza. That's the ultimate American combination, and tonight it was winning. 

We all went out on a limb and ordered what's called an upside-down pizza. These are chicago-style, deep dish pizzas that are served in an inverted, Western-New York kind of way. They had the charm of Frank Sinatra with the looks of Cosmo Kramer.

Mine was a meat pizza with italian sausage, jalapenos, and tomatoes. Michael and Beth ordered a spinach and banana pepper pizza. Usually I steer away from ordering a spinach pizza because I worry that my mouth will get confused into thinking that it's ordered a salad and will detest the experience; however, their Za came highly recommended. 

Oh yeah: have I forgotten about the beer? Yeah, I have. And actually I have in the literal sense. I had some good beers there, different beers. All lighter - one foreign hefeweizen, I now recall and one fruity, belgian-type brew. Everyone was impressed with their beers and I was unduly glad to imbibe!

Cheers to many more years, of celebrations and occasions at places like RichO's brewpup. They will be remembered for their reasonable-priced drinks, their pizza that was good, but whose crust could use some spice and fresh flavor, and for a limitless option of drinks as well.

Marimauto Market

Or something like that. 

I was thinking of going to the Japanese sushi and tempura place by my house, but decided against it. I can eat there any old night. Instead I drifted here. Lured in my the nearby Indian grocery store I knew I had to be in a foriegn land.

I actually didn't know what kind of Asian Grocery I was walking into. Apparently it was Japanese. I came to a halt outside the store because there was this Mexican guy with a food truck selling... wait for it... Octopus balls! "Octopus balls!!" you say. "Claire, why isn't this the title of your posting?" Ah-ha. Well therein lies the problem. They were all out of octopus balls for the day. "That's a good thing." I told the kind man. Yes, it is.

So instead I had sushi. I asked for canned Jack fruit but they didn't know what that was. So I went for my spicy tuna roll (4.50) and sticky rice.

The rice I saw a friend have a few weeks ago and since then I've been drooling. So I gave it a try. Not that adventuresome next to Octopus balls now is it.

And it was good. Sweet with some sesame seeds in it. But delicately sweet. At four dollars I'd keep them rolling into my mouth if my credit card didn't have a limit!

The Pastry Pub

http://www.cedarcitypastrypub.com/

So I have been deliquent in my posting! I am embarking on some high-class establishments here very soon so I decided to go ahead and try to ameliorate the backlog that was created in part due to a lack of internet. Here I began.

While traveling across the United States I encountered some very scrumptious and very poorly prepared cuisine. Salmon that was not cooked all the way through.. time and time again after sending it back to the kitchen. American fast food, in the absence of all else.

I am here to report that the dining adventure I enjoyed the most during my trip to the west coast was: the Pastry Pub, of Cedar City, Utah. Weird, you say, because it's a mostly mormon town and the likeness of the place's name itself mocks drinking. The Pastry Pub serves goodness in large, bizarre portions, in a very old school setting. The prices are right - everythings around 7 dollars, but what you get is off-the-charts.

I decided to order the weirdest thing on the menu, duh! that's what I always do. The dish featured a bottom layer of a yellow saffron rice. Rice that was to die for and featured in all of their dishes. What followed sounds weird, but was one of the best things I've ever eaten. Pastry puff, steak, cheese, artichokes, avacados. I can't even tell you what went on in my mouth. But that meal was heavenly. It was as if every piece of the meal was cooked with attention and excellent seasoning and then mixed in a way that elicited perfection.

In fact I was so impressed with my split meal and salad that only cost 7 dollars and so enamored with the dish that I almost ordered another one. I should have to say I did! Damn that was good! I would stop in cedar city just to eat there again in the quaint home to some of the oddest creations I've ever seen. Their menu isn't even online and my memory isn't that sound. They have quesadillas though. Salads. Shakes. Mmm. Tasting that food tasted like home.

Go on to their website and look at the photos they have of their food. Very unique, ehh?

Next on my food adventure list: Din Tai Fung's Sunday morning Dim Sum! Yum!

Eklecticafe

That's right. An eclectic cafe. But one word.

Wow. This place wasn't even first on trip advaoros recommendation list of must-visits, but it was darn good! We got a chicken quesadilla with unique homemade salsa, chunky and not too spicy, and a gyro. The gyro came with either a salad or chips and was loaded with meat, tomatoes, red peppers, sprouts, and cucumbers and leafy greens.

I didn't notice where our food went, but it disappeared quite quickly. I left completely enamored with the place and its vibe. There was jewelry for sale lining the shop walls and in every table under the glass. The bathroom looked like a house if worship with it's odd colors and mother Mary. Except there was a ketchup bottle holding the hand soap.

The menu ranged from egg and bagel breakfast concoctions to a curry wrap or southwest burger. They had many pastries and fun coffee drinks too. I was at ease with the free wheeling' place. I should also mention they have ample outdoor seating under the shade of vines and trees. Quite pleasing to the senses.

Drifter's

http://www.drifterscookhouse.com/

In the middle of nowhere Colorado (that seems to be a theme running through my reviews recently) we stumbled across Drifter's Cookhouse. It looked like just another roadside general store, but after checking online reviews I found that it merited a trip, especially after comparing its reviews to others in nearby Walden, Colorado.

Entering the place we were greeted by the lush leather bar. Pretzels and tvs were lined around the room that was filled with wood and black leather comfy seats. The bar was quite impressive! A young boy who was barely old enough to speak was sitting at the bar, welcoming people as they entered and instructing them to sit wherever they liked. 

Potato Quiche with goat cheese, artichokes, and peppers

We sat in the main restaurant part of the building both times we dined there by a window hosting a hummingbird feeder and a jewelry box showcasing items for sale. What blew us away about the place was that the menu featured creative, adventuresome menu items that were prepared expertly. It's as if this gourmet gem was misplaced in the tundra!

Our first sampling there was of a three-item mexican fiesta dish. For 11 dollars we got a meal for one and split it three ways. It included: a carne asada taco, a pulled pork taco, and a chile relleno. To this day I will not forget the taste of the chile relleno - it was an authentic poblano chile full of flavor and not overcooked one hair. It was downright incredible how good that pepper (whole pepper with tail) tasted in contrast to every other relleno I've gotten while out eating Mexican fare. 

The two tacos were quite amazing as well. The pork was extremely well seasoned and not at all fatty. The carne asada came with an avocado slaw that was unlike anything I had ever had before. The meat was amazing but the combination all wrapped up in this little corn shell was just unforgettable. The meal was complimented by rice and beans, both well seasoned and more-than-edible, unlike most Mexican restaurants.

We didn't hesitate going back to drifters to experience their deluxe cuisine a second time. We went back for meatloaf and quiche - both adventurous orders I'd say. The meatloaf was out-of-this world delectable and the quiche was quite good too, although I'd say that the blend of flavors in this egg form was a little too creative.

Hiking opportunists stumbled upon quite a find in Drifter's!

two-color-eyed dog in front of Drifter's

Hammerheads

 http://louisvillehammerheads.com/

Recently on a Monday night based on a recommendation from a friend I dined at Hammerheads in Germantown. It was, well, interesting. The rec said that it was better than holy grale in terms of atmosphere especially. I couldn’t concur less!

We entered the yellow-colored walls that is the basement joint and joined a full house of 80+ degree heated bodies. Yikes, it was hot! We decided to dine outside, where we couldn’t drink beer and had no menu access or service. The waitstaff did accommodate us with service only after waiting about 5 minutes.

The waitstaff were very friendly and the prices were reasonable (7-11) but the beer prices were nothing to write home about. We ordered one brisket sandwich and one crab sandwich. The crab sandwich featured a jalapeno aioli which I wouldn’t have known were present if I didn’t read about it on the menu beforehand. The sandwich had a whole crab in it (!) with very delectable legs and arms and big claws (I don’t know what those things are called). But the meat of the crabs body could have been more flavorfully stuffed.

The brisket was downright bleh. The owner of said brisket said it was better than doc crows, but I was not amused by its natural state. It was rather fatty and unseasoned.. but then again I’m not a big brisket person to begin with (I prefer pulled pork).

All in all I don’t know if I’d go back there – at least not in the summer head. For what you pay for, I’d rather go for the full ambience at half the price and dine at holy grale.

Giac Loc of My Tho

In a busy intersection near the catholic churches and buddhist temples of My Tho, Vietnam you can find  a lovely corner restaurant that surpasses all expectations. Workers in the restaurant wear uniforms. The selection is incredible and includes two multi-tiered carts of meat options. The only thing is - there's no actual meat in this place. I don't think I'd ever know the difference. I had - honestly quite close to - the finest beef and sausage I've ever had in my entire here. This is my taste bud mecca. Come one, come all, to the circus!

Tofu and Rice noodle rolls with peanuts and mixed greens

At the intersection of delight and harmony - I should say - is where you'll find this place. We got the opportunity to dine there with fellow buddhists (vegetarians) from the university on one occasion and just had to come back.  We had already eaten about an hour or two prior to coming and asked not to have anything. Instead, we imbibed some sting (big red-ish/energy drink tasting) and green tea and enjoyed several dishes.


I was amazed at the quality of the food. They can think of 1,000 different things to do with tofu to make it not taste, look, or think like tofu at all. Tofus were alive at one point, right? Anyway, my soy senses were satisfied but not overdosed at this amazing restaurant. We ate some pho and then had the real treat, pictured above. I could have eaten the whole, friggin thing! Take some lettace, some cilantro, peanuts, lemongrass and mint, and devour rice noodle rolls and sausage/baconesque tofu that tastes like really good beef/sausage and looks kind of like savory bacon in a kabob form (if that's possible). Wow! It was really exquisite! I cleaned the house on that one!

Selection of fus (tofus, that is)

When we came back just two days later we  ordered freely and the highly of our order were the fresh spring rolls served with a due serving of sauces. Wow! Fresh and excellent. They substitute every meaty item appropriately there. I thought I was eating good-tasting fruit de mer instead of fu fu fu my tofu. It wasn't quite as pinnacle as our premier experience, but still gave us shelter from the rain and an incredible view of kids playing in the puddles on the street.


This restaurant does have a bathroom, in case you're in the vicinity, as does the post office.

Tangier Moroccan Restaurant

 Hey there! Welcome back to my food blog. It's been quite the summer hiatus, but it has not gone without good eats! I've got leftover Ethiopian in the fridge and deserted my way into a sopaipillo last night. Expect a flood of new entries to come in from around the globe - I'm excited!

I thought I’d start off with a sensation – Moroccan food in Boulder, Colorado. Per a recommendation from a friend to try their food and mint tea, I set out to Tangier Moroccan cuisine this Monday for lunch. The restaurant located on Boulder’s main drag has received rave reviews from TripAdvisor users, which have actually earned it the top spot on trip advisor… dang! I decided to give it a try.

The drab outside next to a Mexican grab-n-go didn’t make it look very appealing from the outside. It was closed when we tried to eat there Sunday evening and I honestly don’t know what brought us back.. good faith I guess. When you enter the doors of the place you are transformed. It feels other worldly. The smells and the floor to ceiling coverings in deep maroon through your senses way off. It was almost too much to enter into!

We were greeted and seated prompty in western-style seats and I quickly ordered a mint tea, which is green tea flavored with mint. You can get it either iced or hot, but there is an overriding grapey flavor to it that makes it unlike any other mint tea I’ve had. Coming from Vietnam where mint green tea is a staple, I admit that I was worried about how this tea would fare. But it was unique and out of this world! Glad it was a bottom-less supply of mint tea too, at that!

Our dishes came out quick. We ordered one lentil soup bowl (bigger than the sun) and one lamb tangine dish with artichokes seasoned in lemon and carrots, peas, and olives. Wow! Simply the best lamb ever! Not too gamey, a huge bone-in piece, and not too fatty or greasy. I was stunned by the flavors in the dishes. Eating the lentil soup, which I happen to love, was very different because of the spices (sumac I believe is used in theirs, as well as heavy fresh cumin). The use of cilantro on the saffron rice really jazzed it up. Also, we devoured a hummus plate!

Anyway, I cannot say enough about how good the flavors were – you’ll just have to try it out for yourself! The meals there are all homemade the cook told us, and can take a while because of that. Our meal came in no time at all, which we were very pleased about as it was around 3pm and we had been hiking all morning. There was something about the mix of spices, fresh foods, and proper use of oil that made each dish simply outstanding in comparison to all other foods we’ve sampled. It just goes to show you that good old home cooking can sometimes take you a long way!

Papalino's New York Pizzeria

http://papalinosnypizzeria.com/Home.html


This past weekend my family decided to try out Papalinos NY Pizzeria, located on Baxter Avenue in the Highlands. The location for this restaurant is interesting as it's only a few doors down from Wick's Pizza, a well-established restaurant that I frequent every Tuesday for its trivia nights. The choice of setting up another pizza restaurant on the same block as Wick's was clearly intentional and, I suspect, will provide a great deal of competition for Wick's.

Papalinos offers dine-in and carry out, and my family opted for the latter; this was probably a good idea, since the restaurant is very small and only has a handful of tables, both inside and out. When I picked up the pizza, the outside tables were completely full (not surprising, given the wonderfully warm and sunny weather we had that day), but no one was seated at the indoor tables. To be honest, I was less than impressed with the indoor seating; the eating area seemed dark and reminded me of grimy McDonald's I have been to over the years.

Picking up the pizza was also an adventure, though not unexpected. I was there a little after 7 on a Friday evening, so naturally all of Baxter was packed with people and cars. I ended up having to park at the Walgreens two blocks down (where I usually park for trivia at Wick's anyway), but I felt a little foolish carrying a large box of pizza down the street.

For five people, we got an 18" pizza to split between four people, while my mom opted for a single slice of pizza - which turned out to be about the size of a personal pan pizza. Even the slices on our pizza were massive, but I was so hungry that I downed two of them without thinking. I can't even remember what our toppings were besides sausage and cheese, though I'm sure we had something along the lines of onions, olives, and green peppers. Yes, I was that hungry.

Papalinos' claim to fame is that it's New York-style pizza, which prompted a discussion amongst us as to what, exactly, a New York pizza is. So off to Wikipedia I went in search of an answer. According to wiki, New York pizza "is large, wide, thin and foldable... It is traditionally hand-tossed and light on sauce. The slices are often eaten as a 'street snack' while folded in half, as it's [sic] size and flexibility sometimes makes it unwieldy to eat flat." And that's exactly what we had. In fact, my mom unknowingly ate her pizza in the traditional New York manner - folded over in the style of a calzone.

If you find yourself in the area craving a pizza and want something that doesn't have much sauce, you'll want to try out Papalinos. I prefer my pizza this way, and would therefore choose Papalinos over Wick's any day (Wick's tends to be sauce-heavy). But we debated for a while over whether or not Papalinos is better than Boom Bozz, my family's go-to pizza place. We concluded that although Papalinos was excellent, Boom Bozz is far easier to get to, and just as tasty. Still, Papalinos is not to be ignored, and I'm sure I'll find myself back there on some warm weekend after a night of drinks at O'Shea's (which is right across the street from Papalinos).

- Guest blogger, Hannah S.
http://primachocolate.blogspot.com/

Safier Deli

http://www.safierdeli.com/

This morning I thought I should write about one of the restaurants that I frequent most often, but that fails to make it to my blog. Sometimes I think I take good eats for granted. Eating at the same locale over-and-over again treats the taste buds well, but doesn’t seem novel to me, so I just assume it wouldn’t be novel to write about. But as I find myself wanting to return to old favorite places more often these days, I thought it’d be worth it to give my notable eateries some shout-outs. So here I go.


This is known as a Persian/Lebanese deli, although I think it draws mostly from typical Mediterranean and Indian fare. The Indian daily specials are some of the most flavorful I have had, as is the beef and garlic sauce to their chicken dish called shish tawook, which is just divine! Nothing is a greater turn-on than good, tasty meat, which they have plenty of.

Their dishes are affordable, being about 4.50 for an a la carte wrap to 6.99 for a plated meal. The meals come with rice, a small salad, and some pita and hummus. We have a running joke in our office about both the pickle and pickled onions that come with the sandwiches and plates. They appear in the salad portions of both and are usually unwanted because they taste so bright and sour in comparison to everything else. They really overpower the dish! It’s always a bad day in work-land when you forget to ask Safier to hold the pickle from your sandwich!

The restaurant is at a funny locale simply because of Yafa, its greater competitor across the street. The office crew’s decision has been that in a taste test, yafa’s pita and hummus, rice, and salad may win, but that Safier’s meats are tops (although I think the pita and hummus are debatable). Yafa surely has better hummus that is flavored with olive oil, a small relish of some sort, and some paprika and is generous in its portion; however, Safier’s pita may win due to the fact that it tastes more bready than sweet-doughy, although it is occasionally dry.

The sauces at Safier are excellent! Their tahini and zesty garlic “tawook” sauce are superb accompaniments to any dish.

Drew and JJ from my office would often delight in the veggie paradise, which is a hummus and vegetable wrap that includes typical Mediterranean vegetables such as onions, tomatoes, lettace, and some feta cheese as well. There is some tabouleh in there as well, although I don’t think they insert a lot with the hummus already present. They would often get fries, which were very yummy and freshly made, although I found the health combo and the lack of foreign-zest inherent in ordering fries a little bit surprising.

My debacle confronting me today is this: do I branch out into the unknown and try their baba ganoush, known as mutabal, or their fried kibbi (which sounds roughly similar to lamb naan), or do I go for an old favorite such as the beef shawarma or chicken tawook? Debates debates. I don’t want to have something I don’t like, do want to branch out some. Maybe I’ll get the kibbi. Maybe not. Ugg! Who knows what today holds…

Shah's Mongolian Grill

http://www.facebook.com/pages/SHAHS-MONGOLIAN-GRILL-next-to-U-of-L-Belknap-Campus/38458169770

In a dark nook by UofL's campus is a mongolian-style grill that has long caught my attention. But not due to its trendy facebook page advertising the widest hookah selection under the sun, due to the friends and students of all things asian who love the place. Beer is cheap! Food is cheap! And good.. what more could I want?

Having been back to BD's Mongolian BBQ in college and truly loved it, I thought falling for a cheaper, local version of it would be easy. But what I took away from my BD's experience was that good beef is hard to come by and when you find it, savor it. Mongolian BBQ was disappointing in that respect.

This Tuesday I went there for lunch and found the place dormant around 12 noon. Soon after a few interesting fellows showed up - one wearing dreds and a kilt. But the friendly server took my order - one of the bulgolgi bowls with a korean sauce and then one of the beef szechuan-style bowls. It was only 5-6 dollars a pop! I opted for beef in my asian bowl because, hey, that's what I loved about the experience so much before.




Before having my meal cooked on their circular grill by a grillmaster, I recognized something that looked like frozen beef sitting out on the bbq toppings bar - I prayed it wasn't for my dish. Couldn't be that stuff. It was.

The beef in my dish was definitely some of the worst, most flavorless beef I've ever tasted in my years. The sauce, other toppings - such as onions, bean sprouts and mushrooms - were all exquisite though. The sauce had fresh dried chilis in it, which gave it a spicy zing that wasn't overbearring, but was still tear-worthy! I thoroughly enjoyed the flavor sensations going on in my mouth over the bulgolgi and the szechuan meat dishes!

However, upon leaving the place and telling my raving friend of my dismantling review, he told me that he always orders vegetarian there. "Yeah, just get the tofu." I, a consummate fan of tofu, would definitely be on board with that. It could absorb all those wonderful flavors that come from their homemade sauces that they make on the spot for you!

The decor of the place was nothing to write home about. My relaxing lunch was transformed by this dark, dance-club establishment full of contract workers milling around. The staff taking our order were very nice in their smiles and offer of free water, but they screwed up our order and didn't really seem to have an effective system of marking down "who's who." Later on they called out our number, which was 19, although we had no idea how we were supposed to know it was 19. It took all three of the wait staff to look at us from behind the counter and grab our attention before we finally came and got our dish.

I would definitely go back to Shah's, but for a crab rangoon, vegetarian entree, maybe some guitar playing of that old guitar sitting in the corner, and some 1-dollar domestic beers (magic hat and sam adams are included). Until then, I might double down and go to BD's for some real beef... it's been too long!

The Grilled Cheese Grill

http://www.grilledcheesegrill.com/

When out and about at some wee little hour of the morning, I was swooned into the grilled cheese grill on Alberta. We, four kings, were walking our honorarily short walk home in the mist and decided that a midnight snack was in order, approximately 10 hours or less before our late-morning brunch nearby. We settled in for a yummy treat!

The grilled cheese barista (cheesista?) was uber friendly and fast as another dude whipped up the grilled cheese in the back. The tables – which are covered – were actually a school bus! What the heck? We’re eating on a school bus. Two cohorts, a couple, joined the party a little later as we waited for our grilled cheese. I bought a yummy packaged cookie as an appetizer, which we enjoyed greatly.

What we ordered was the jalapeño popper grilled cheese. I admit it wasn’t all I had hoped. When I order jalapeno popper anything it takes me back to the days of former tumbleweed jalapeno poppers filled with oozing cream cheese and stuffed with moderately spicy and way-too-hot peppers. What I was served was, well, food. That went to my belly. And wasn’t that memorable. Still the warmth and the cool concept itself was enough to make the event well worthwhile (except I didn’t remember eating that cookie until the day after, when apparently my exuberance over it and sharing abilities were commemorated).

The menu, though, looks simply out of this world. At the time, we though: hmmm, wouldn’t it behoove Louisville to have something like this. Just like a holy grail, poof! Our idea came to fruition. Enter Lil Cheezers (http://www.louisvillestreetfood.com/menu/). Alas, there is a moving food cart in Louisville that specializes in fancy grilled cheeses that is certified “health-compliant” by the city. It roves along Bardstown Road, downtown or anywhere there is a fun event, such as the humane society outing coming up. The menu’s creations don’t sound as exotic or creative as Grilled Cheese Grill – and their name certainly isn’t – but I am dying to sample both the Elvis and the fancy grilled cheese (brie on a sandwich is heaven to me. I actively search it every day.. no I don’t really, but in my taste buds mind’s eye I do).

Jake's Restaurant

www.eatatjakes.com

Jake’s a Place for Steaks has never witnessed me order a steak. Actually, I don’t think that I’ve ordered a steak out at a restaurant in all my time dining in and around Wooster. I remember a friend got sick from Pepper Steak once at a Thai restaurant in Canal Fulton, but other than that I was a steakless-wanderer.

Jake’s is known in my mind for other things: an endless menu, cheap ice cream sundae shots, and wonderful times with friends. I went there on retreats, after driving long distances, for my birthday, and just randomly. The crab legs, the burgers, and the soups my friends have enjoyed. However, I remember jake’s for its really good Caesar salad, its pasta, and its really big queso burrito! One awesome feature of ordering a salad at Jake's is that it comes with a hulking, well seasoned bread stick. Giddy-up!

I also remember dining on their fudge brownie one night, which was sensational. Anything that resembles a lava cake to me and has molten chocolate oozing out of it is a must-eat menu item. Their fudge brownie compared, quite well actually, to the best lava cake I have ever eaten, which was at wild ginger just down the road.

One of my friends ordered a teriyaki chicken skillet at Jake's once and came away really enjoying it, but with a little too much food. If I had one complaint to make of Jake's it would be that the amount of food you get is a little hefty.

Also Jake’s menu has changed within recent years (duh.. that makes sense!) so that it now offers a more precise seafood menu and less pasta items. The seafood friends have ordered there has all been wonderful; however, I just wish that they’d bring the pasta items back to the menu. It would be nice to reconvene there with pasta dishes.

Their drink selection and pricing is a little better than some places and the atmosphere is that of tumbleweed. You have your bar area, which looks fancy and well-equipped. Several booth chambers up high that line the windows and then an open seating floor with booths surrounding it. While Jake’s is a local chain with two other locations, one in Mount Vernon and the other in Ashland, I wouldn’t classify their food as spectacularly local. It seems that the chain, unlike broken rocks or city square steakhouse, is more of a TGI-Fridays atmosphere and standing. It’s a middle-class working crowd with kids, not an older, bag-o-money sort of place.

I’d be remiss to add that I have sampled one of their soups that is excellent. I simply love their beer cheese soup! Second-best I’ve had in my entire life. You can put wonderful croutons in it and walk away feeling like a cup slurped was a double-meal indulgence!

Radio Room

www.radioroompdx.com

The Radio Room, located in the arts district of Portland, was packed two Fridays ago! Our party of four had literally nowhere to sit in the large indoor/outdoor, upstairs/downstairs, this-room/that-room plus bar smorgasbord of seating arrangements. Whew!



Where we sat.
From Radio Room photos.

 Apparently the spot serves breakfast, lunch, and dinner and from what I can tell by the looks of it, is that it is crowded during all of those meals. We enjoyed a nice, post-happy hour dining time of 7pm and sampling their seasonal beer on tap while waiting for our meal to arrive. We managed to squeeze in to a nice table situated on the backside of the main room next to a lively party of 8 who were welcoming to our wetness and close proximity. With us that evening was a bottle candleholder we were bringing on our way to an auction, which got many warm comments from the wait staff and the table next door. Friendly place!

For my meal I ate the salmon club, which was recommended to me and two other people at the table dined on as well. It was out of this world! It tasted totally fresh and not fishy, so much so that I would even recommend that a non-fish eater dabble into fish with it. The description of my dish says that it includes “sizzlin’ salmon” and some fresh thick-cut bacon, which I happily gave out as I’m not a bacon lover (I know that’s sacrilege) and some scrumptious red pepper aioli, as well as sandwich toppings. That red pepper aioli really made the meal – it tasted similar to a creamy spinach spread or a good baba ganoush in the sense that what I tasted was a fresh salad concoction and not the individual ingredients.

The stuffed butternut ravioli tempted me, I admit. “Brown butter, sage, hazelnut” all served in a gorgonzola sauce with a baguette. Yes! Additionally, the mix of brie and apples on a chicken sandwich sounds like a winner, as does the turkey cranberry sandwich.

This girl was not a friend of ours!
From Radio Room photos.

If I had to go back tonight, I think I’d eat the whole menu instead. No, in all seriousness I think I’d try out more of the “corners” of the menu. For instance, I think I’d sample the desserts and appetizers. Maybe investigate the macaroni and cheese with its wonderful toppings.

The ambience was slightly noisy, or waitress was slighty airheaded, but with the friendly mood and dark lighting, none of that seemed to matter. The night was destined to be a dark and storm night warmed by friends and good food!

Voodoo Doughnut

http://www.voodoodoughnut.com/


The Voodoo Donut

 Crazy Portland serves up some crazy food items... like bacon on doughnuts and little donut men yelling something about having their sugarfilled liberty being taken from them. Damn they're tasty!

Last Friday, the day before its grand remodeling, I ate a zesty butterfingering donut at Voodoo Doughnut's downtown location. A camera crew was there, assessing the situation come Saturday morning, as was a cool dude walking around with a Voodoo anchor. He was soliciting people to get their photos taken through the nut.

All I wanted from the exposition was a little info on the place, the ambience, and well, its donuts. I was pleasantly surprised to find that they weren't overpriced at all - most sat in the two-dollar range. Their website claims that the nuts start at ninety-five cents and go up from there.



Butterfingering Donut

We were really pleased with our purchases. We bought a raspberry romeo, a chocolate doughnut ring, a dirt donut, and a butterfingering. We walked over to the nearby Powell's coffeehouse to eat our donuts and annoy the quiet patrons, as we sweetened the pondering of existence. I ate my butterfingering first, which was very nice. It's made from their yeasty side of donut life with some crumbled up b-finger bits and gooey glaze on top.

We also indulged in the dirt donut which had pieces of crushed oreos sprinkled all over the top and came with a vanilla frosting. Wow was it good! The raspberry romeo I ate at the house later on (how many are safe to eat in one setting.. who knows?) was excellent. I have an affinity for jelly-filled donuts ever since my bible school days and this donut hit perfection. The jelly wasn't too creamy or tart and tasted fresh - even on the second day. We should have gone back for more, but alas, there's only so much of your life that you can spend waiting in the donut line.

Speaking of which, hey! Guess who we met while waiting in line? We ran into one of the owners and creators of Voodoo, extraordinaire Kenneth Pogson. You may find him on the streets outside Voodoo engaging patient customers warmly or perhaps up on google image searches doing handstands.

Contrary to Portlandia's popular belief, there are three, count them three, Voodoo Doughnut locations, one in Eugene, to fix your sugar needs. Until I travel west, here's to you Voodoo!




Ziba's Pita's

http://www.zibaspitas.com/index.html

When given several blocks filled with good smelling, cheap ethnic food and signs that readily display the accolades these eateries have achieved, you might find yourself in a pickle. I was hard pressed to make a decision on where to eat last Friday. But one of the first food carts I passed in downtown Portland was Ziba's Pita's and the unique-looking menu caught my eye. At first I thought it was Mediterranean food with a Polish spin, but after walking the rest of the carts in the rain I returned to Ziba's and chatted with Ziba. I randomly assumed she was Polish, turns out she's Bosnian. We chatted about the weather and she exclaimed that her sister lives in Lexington, Kentucky. How nice!

Their menu contains ingredients that look like your typical Mediterranean restaurant - like beef, rice and cucumbers with tzatziki-like sauces; however, the dishes themselves look completely different from your standard pita.



While the door to her food cart displayed a Bon Appetit! article about what I presumed to be her restaurant, she proceeded to take my order and then stick something in the microwave. Huh? I ordered the "burek" and thought that she'd have to procure the meat from a turning spit in the back of the food cart. Anyway the food came out of the microwave and we continued to chat - boy can she talk! - and then I was whisked away to eat in the rain under a neighboring awning. Man was it good! A phyllo-like yeastier, sweeter dough filled with spiced beef. The beef was sweet too and not too sharp or gamey. I was really impressed!

The thought crossed my mind to get the zucchini dish "tikvenica" or the spinach roll-up, but then I decided that I shouldn't be so adventuresome. Looking back, I should have gone there or even ravenously sampled two even though I wasn't hungry at the time. The menu also describes "meatballs" which I thought were meatless at first but now realize that they would be nothing like falafel. The meatballs for seven dollars come with a little roll that is described as like bread only better. I can only imagine! This visit reaffirmed my love for the Bosnian spin that I have experienced on many delicacies (baklava in particular!).

Bunk Sandwiches

http://bunkbar.com/

Right now I'm listening to a Portland podcast and trying to find out more about the city full of good eats! My friend Julie posted on my blog asking me about restaurants in Portland and thus, here I post! I have acquired quite the list of good eats - from the microwaved Bosnian cuisine at a food cart that happened to appear in Bon Appetit (that never happens in the real world), to the food network featured donut shop whose location closed the day after we visited (camera crews were present assessing the to-be-incured damage).

So alas I arrive at a review of Bunk Bar, better known according to their website as the bar form of Bunk Sandwiches (http://www.bunksandwiches.com/). It's like a sandwich club, except it takes its sandwiches seriously. I never realized that Portland takes its meats seriously. I was surprised by the lack of vegetarian dishes on the menu, but alas the meats in town are sensational. All taste really fresh and home-cured; however, that could be pure bologna on my part. Food and Wine magazine raves that they "reinvented" the tuna melt and features their oxtail-confit and meatball sub sandwiches. And, after watching the diners, drive-ins, and dive's food network episode on the place, I realize that yes, it's true (my bologna) - they do cure their own pork belly. And it looks really good.



When I dined there recently everyone ingested the cuban sandwich except for me. I should have just taken the hint. I got a roast beef sandwich with real horseradish on it, which I love! The bread on the sandwich was really good ciabatta and my sandwich came with a smattering of chips alongside. The cuban sandwich, which features their pork, was astoundingly good and filled with wonderful peppers tasting of rich olive oil. If I had to return I would definitely hunt down a cuban sandwich, which I normally dislike due to the swiss cheese.

The locale was very cool and calming, although the music was a bit odd. The lights were dim and the main lighting was just provided by candlelight. The interior is a warehouse type of interior and there are pinball machines in the corner. The way you order is by approaching an etched out corner in the wall and placing your order there. You get a number and then they bring the food to you.  The prices are at about 8 dollars a pop (pretty standard actually for portland, a few cheaper for food carts, a few more for full service of the places we went to).

I think all of the food I ate in Portland was stellar. I couldn't put it down it was so good. But I think due to the walkability of the city I didn't gain a point. My wallet lost weight and I gained enjoyment.

Chimayzing: A Look at One of Belgium’s Finest Breweries

http://www.chimay.com/

I have met few people who know more about the subject of beer than Serg Ribbenboim, owner of Sergio's World Beers. So, it was an honor to receive an invitation to accompany him and a small group of people to Belgium for 10 days full of amazing brewery tours, crazy beer festivals, and cozy local bars. Out of the 17 breweries we visited, the tour of Chimay was for me the most educational, memorable, and delicious experience.

If you've dabbled in the world of Belgian beer, chances are you've heard of Chimay, the most highly exported Trappist beer in the world. The Trappists make up a Cistercian branch of monks who practice strict, traditional Catholicism. There are many Trappist monasteries in the world, but only seven of them brew beer (Achel, Orval, Westvleteren, Westmalle, Rochefort, Chimay in Belgium and La Trappe in the Netherlands). The Trappists all take the quality of their beer very seriously but have different methods of public distribution, ranging from the extremely exclusive Westvleteren (who does not export at all and limits each guest to one box set of beer to take home) to Chimay (who exports to 40 countries).

As part of our epic adventure, we spent a full day touring the Chimay abbey, brewery, and bottling plant located in the southern French-speaking province of Hainaut in the small town of Chimay. True to form, we were over an hour behind schedule when we left our hotel in northern Belgium and piled into our 2 minivans. After two and a half hours of driving, hungover and under slept, we arrived at the very commercial looking business offices connected to the Chimay bottling plant to meet our tour guide, a small well-kept man named Fabrisse who handles much of the distribution of Chimay beer. He and Sergio happily chatted in French about the fact that we had no accommodations for the evening (also par for the course on this trip), and we started in on the tours. My beer-clouded brain doesn't remember half of the details we heard as we walked through the modern bottling facility and the brewery inside the monastery, but here's the important stuff.



The Evolution of Chimay bottles (from left to right)

  The Chimay abbey makes three types of beer: Red (the original at 7.0 abv), Blue (the strongest at 9.0 abv), and the White Tripel (the newest addition to the Chimay family at 8.0 abv). All beers are bottled in the standard 33 cl and 75 cl bottles completely unique to Chimay. The Blue is the only beer bottled in larger bottles, and incidentally, the only one of the three that should be aged. The automated bottling machines can fill 40,000 little bottles per hour and 16,000 of the next size up. The large 150 cl Magnum bottles are bottled by hand much more slowly. After bottling, the beer undergoes a second fermentation before being exported. In awe we walked through the warehouse where thousands of beer crates and kegs are organized on palates according to the countries they will be sent. Fabrisse furnished us with Chimay caps, pens and plenty of brochures before leading us on the eight km drive to the monastery.

True to the Trappist tradition, the monastery grounds are perfectly kept and simply furnished. Once inside, we walked through the church and the brewery both surprisingly monk-less. As demand for Chimay abroad increases, the brewery continues to expand production, adding new fermentation tanks in every possible space. In this spirit of modernization, Computer equipment that regulates temperatures through the brewing process (a wall of brightly colored dials and buttons reminiscent of a spaceship control panel from The Jetsons) will be updated soon. From the brewery it was on to the tasting room, where each batch of beer is tasted to ensure it is of Chimay quality. Fabrisse said it is best to taste beer around 11 am right before lunch, when the belly is empty and the taste buds sensitive. We compared two versions of Chimay Blue Grande Reserve, a new bottle and one from 1995. Aging really brings out the rich malty flavor of this spicy strong ale. The younger version is brighter, lighter, and more carbonated. We also got to try some of the monk's beer, which has a lower alcohol content than the other three beers and manages to be both light and flavorful. You used to be able to buy this beer in the bottle at Chimay, but after someone put one of the bottles on eBay, they decided to discontinue sales.

After the tasting, we drove back to a little restaurant in town where Fabrisse treated us to a bountiful lunch complete with all three Chimay beers as well as the tapped version of the Tripel (the only one of the three beers sold in kegs), Chimay cheese (the monks make four types), and delicious steak frites. When taken together, the beers must be consumed in the order in which they were created (Red, Blue, White). The Red is a brown beer that is a little lighter in body than the Blue, but still rich in flavor. The White punches one in the face with hops, but it remains my favorite of the three, and becomes even more vibrant in flavor when it comes from the tap. The restaurant's menu is satisfyingly diverse including a traditional pickled fish dish called escaveche, salads, omelets, rabbit, and steak frites with a variety of three sauces (mushroom, roquefort, and peppercorn). We ate there three times over two days and always left satisfied. Three minutes walking from this cozy culinary gem will bring you to the hotel franc bois, a quaint little bed and breakfast with very comfortable accommodations. There is of course a Chimay auberge where you can stay the night and purchase Chimay merchandise Tuesdays through Sundays.

All in all, the town of Chimay provides the perfect place for a 24 hour getaway. The brewery tour is fabulous, the beer and cheese taste delicious, and the people do all they can to make you feel like home.

- Guest Blogger, Dominique Baser
http://dominiquebaser.wordpress.com/

Zaytun Mediterranean Grill

http://consuminglouisville.com/2009/03/where-to-eat-in-louisville-zaytun-mediterranean-grill.php

While trying Zaytun based on two friends recommendations, we found the restaurant empty on a Thursday night. The emptiness of the place had scared us away once before when we were walking by at the lunch hour, but saw no one inside. Not to compare the place to La Bamba on Bardstown Road, but we were wondering about the quality of the food if no one was around.

Before our food came a couple of Kroger shoppers came in and got to-go orders and two couples came in and sat down. Our food came out beyond quickly – our salad came immediately and our entrees followed soon after. I was impressed by the ambiance in the place: the color tones are chic and inviting, you get to look out large store-front windows onto Bardstown Road, you can kinda see back into the kitchen, they have televisions and pop music playing to delight your eyes and ears. The restaurant could use a tinge more warmth added to it, though. For instance the walls are a little shiny and abrasive. They could be warmed by some velvety furniture or more carpet coverings on the floor.

One part of the meal that was sub-par was our wait staff. They were attentive, but awkward as could be. My waitress spilled water all over my jeans and then wanted to blot it up with napkins. I kindly refused this weird offer and she disappeared and we found ourselves with a new waiter.



Inside of the Restaurant (from Aaron M.'s Yelp.com posting)














On to the important part: we ordered a hero gyro with standard toppings (tomatoes, onions, lettuce), a house salad, and a sampler plate of the vegetarian items (Egyptian-style hummus, baba ganoush, and falafel). The food was unique above all and very tasty. The bread and pita that came with the gyro and sampler plate was warm and sweet and one of the highlights of the meal. The meat was zesty and very flavorful and I would put it second to none; however, to me it tasted as if it was made good by the fattiness of the items (or rather adding butter or grease to them in key spots). The difference between this meal and a meal at Yafa’s, for example, is that Yafa’s never leaves a sour feeling in my stomach – Yafa’s can’t, it’s just fresh food always. Here I was glad and very surprised I didn’t burp my brains out when I went to the gym for my 8-miler afterwards.

Regarding our vegetarian sampler, nothing was lacking in terms of flavor or complexity. However, nothing was outstanding. The baba ganoush, which I had already had some of Yafa’s tops ganoush earlier in the day, was fresh but not quite as tasty. The Egyptian hummus I liked, but had that odd oxidized taste to it that kind of drives me bonkers (is it just a lot of lemon, or what?). The salad we had was phenomenal. It’s dressing was simply unbeatable – it was a simple salad, though, not too much outside standard Greek salad toppings.

There is a constant debate among middle-eastern and Mediterranean foodies about where to find the best falafel in town. My high school French teacher and agree that you can find them at Yafa’s at Theatre Square on Fourth Street; however, Zaytun did offer up some fresh and tasty falafel. I admit I am not partial to their style which tends to be more cooked than not, but their seasoning was scrumptious and their presentation amongst the other items on the plate was perfection! The appearance of the falafel itself is a little questionable: it looks more like a hushpuppy than anything... it’s like a big fried dough ball. But the innards are yummy and warm and the taste is there.

Mojito Tapas

http://mojitotapas.com/

Mojito Tapas restaurant strikes a chord of elegance in dining and presentation that I think is unmatched in similar, middle-end locales. I affentionately refer to the restaurant as "mojito's" and have their number listed as such on my speed dial. The cuban cousin of Havana Rumba restaurant is always booked and allows for thirty minute call-ahead seating arrangements, which is great.

Their menu has, well, everything on it. Soups, salads, tacos, cheeses, tapas, desserts, flatbreads, sandwiches, traditional cuban, barbecue, and even pasta. All are served inexpensively and in a traditional tapas style meaning that they are meant to share. Thus, if that is not your persuasion it is important to keep that in mind when entering the restaurant as goers will want to share (even between tables).



Recently when dining there I had the opportunity to sample the guacamole, queso fundido, tabla de chimichurri, ropa vieja, shrimp pot,  pina colada, mojito, and churros. My recommendations, based on the food here and the same recipes that appear at Havana Rumba are as follows: the caesar salad is always excellent, ditto the guacamole. The restaurant is supposed to be based off "mama's cooking"-type recipes and homemade cuisine with no artificial ingredients or additives. I'd say it works pretty darn well! Drinks are excellent and include fresh mint, sugar cane, and pineapples!

I just love getting a plate of tacos or the beef empanadas here and was pleasantly surprised this past visit by the ropa vieja. I've had it before at Havana Rumba and have been disappointed; however, at Mojito Tapas it was cooked perfectly and full of flavor. Skirted meats sometimes dry out, but this meat was moist, not fatty, and full of flavor. The rice, beans, and plaintain chips it was served with topped it off.

Admittedly, I don't think I would order the shrimp if I went here again. I was hesitant in ordering it and rightfully so. The smell of the shrimp, its sauce, or something always wafts around the restaurant and it never smells fresh. I wish I could definiteively say that it's not the meat that is smelly and sour, but the taste of that dish was just off. My friend enjoyed it as she always does, but I will not order it again.

Additionally the churros were a little plain for my taste as well as the queso. I've had the queso before and been disappointed, though their cheese plates and cheese selection are both exquisite. For example their goat cheese is downright divine and very well-plated (served with bread or honey, depending on the cheese). I think if I went back to mojitos I would spring for a fish taco of some sort and an empanada - go Cuban!

The decor in the place is chique and offers a wide selection of places to sit: inside, outside, bar, glass interior. The lights inside are dim, which allows for a very cool mood! The patrons of the restaurant are mostly older locals, so it wouldn't exactly house a bar in which a young person would want to look for a date. Our service was prompt and reliable; however, I think our waitress was waiting for us to leave at 9pm, as she jetted out the door herself after we got up.

For a fun reading on how "tapas" originated, check out the LEOs new review of Mojitos, which ran the same week we dined there: http://leoweekly.com/dining/small-plates-add-big-meal-mojito

Winston’s Restaurant

www.sullivan.edu/winstons

Last Saturday evening I dined in the calm ambience of Winston’s restaurant, part of the Sullivan culinary school. Chefs serve up plates at Winston’s before graduated from the school and matriculating into real world fare. Our meal on Saturday was nothing less than excellent.

The menu features two types of items: small plates and large plates. As shared appetizers several of us ordered some small plates and sides to share. These included the pave beet salad, truffle fries, sweet potato fries, scallops, scotch egg, and the half not brown. All were decadent and good. I highly recommend the scallops, truffle fries and scotch egg especially.

The scotch egg was a hardboiled egg seasoned and served in a flavorful, but not spicy cream sauce. The egg was encrusted in a panko bread crumb mix before frying and had some country ham around it (what’s known as country ham sausage). It was one of the more unique and tasty items on the menu.

The truffle fries consisted of little potato fries cut into tiny pieces and salted, then served with a truffle mayonnaise. These fries were different from other truffle fries I’ve sampled in that they were not sprinkled with truffle oil, but came with what’s known as a truffle emulsion that was mixed with a mayo-like aioli (it was aioli, but more like mayo in texture and taste). All the sauces they served with items scallops, fries, and sweet potato fries were divine! Accept their offer to bring you some sauce with your fries, should you dine there.

Finally the scallops I had were excellent. They didn’t compare with scallops at limestone and weren’t quite as large or flavorful as those at bonefish, but were served in a lobster butter sauce that wasn’t overpowering and was just right. They also came with a spicy sauce and a ginger sauce, both of which were fresh and exquisite, but neither quite hit the spot like the butter sauce they were drizzled in. I would definitely make a return trip for the scallops!

For our entrées we dined on the mojo risin’ meat mixture served in a plastic bag, vegetarian stack, not brown, and pan seared salmon. I enjoyed my pan seared salmon – the cream sauce, again, was stellar. But the salmon itself lacked in flavor. I want to think that I don’t have to garner anything from a rich sauce to enjoy my meat or fish, but in this case I did. So in that aspect my meal was subpar. However in the sauce were yellow bell peppers and new potatoes that were cooked perfectly, as well as country ham that was a little too salty for my taste. I don’t think I’d order this entrée again even though the sauce was very fresh and yummy, just because its “meat” was lacking in flavor – and it was probably fatty!



The not brown and vegetarian stack disappeared from our table quickly, as did the mojo risin’. However, I thought the whole concept behind the mojo risin was weird. Sure it makes sense that you should bake these meats together (shrimp, lobster, crab) in a sauce and seal in the flavor. But it looks very unrefined to serve someone a plastic bag. Maybe if we were trick-or-treating and begging for food…

For dessert we tried the crème brule, cheesecake, and orange-chocolate cake. All were excellent yet my favorite was the cheesecake (no surprise here!). Good cheesecake gets me every time. It was served with a strawberry sauce that was sweet as well as with fresh strawberries on top. The crème brulee was a little too grainy and not creamy enough for my tastes. The chocolate cake was whoaaaa decadent, but gets high marks! I loved the mixed custardy orange center. That cake can show up in my fridge anytime!

Our wine favorites for the evening consisted of all reds: I picked the mysterious Chilean’ “Chono” wine, which was a hit, while others tried its white sibling and a cabernet sauvignon called “canyon road.” I think the cab was my favorite wine of the evening. It was well balanced and flavorful without being too fruity or front-of-the-mouth.

To all current and former Sullivan students: Wow! You really got a lot going for ya. Eat on!

Sergio's World Beers

http://sergiosworldbeers.com/

For some, the butchertown area off Story Ave. and Washington Streets is nothing more than a mix of industry and beautiful brick sidewalks showcasing historic shotgun houses. In this day, you can find fun times at Vernon Lanes or good eats at the Blind Pig between Story and Washington. For the past two years, there has been one more local find lurking in the back alleys of butchertown: Sergio's World Beers.

Sergio, a fun-loving Shelbyvillian who originates from Brazil, knows too many languages for me to remember. He along with his son Eric, Cory, Alex, and Rafael often run Sergio's World Beers. Unmarked and sitting just before the intersection of Story and Frankfort with flags in the windows, Sergio's bar is one-of-a-kind. The interior could very well be the innards of a 1970's hot dog shop, rollerdome dining area, or retro cafeteria. Instead it's a bar... of sorts. His house is shotgun-style and there are just fridges lining the walls with beers from all around the world. While Sergio will readily admit (and you can tell from his tap list) that he favors Belgium and American brews, he has Russian, Asian, Central American, and beers from all other parts of the world. It's truly a unique experience to enter Sergio's World Beers!

He claims to have over 1,000 beers, but I'm sure that number surpasses 1,100. He keeps a rotating list of the 80-or-so beers he keeps on tap, which always includes chimay.



My top beer picks include: recommended winter ales, chimay, valdieu (his birthday beer), and hopslam (also on tap). Beers in the bottle run at around 4.50 and on top at around 7.50. Pricey? Yes. You can put away beer and food for 20 dollars quite easily and more on a bigger night.

Sergio's also offers something special: a large food menu. This is more than just your average bar food, as Sergio used to run a Mexican restaurant down in Shelbyville. He has seviche, soups, mexican food, cheesesteaks, gyros, and several other fun and obscure offerings on the menu. I highly recommend the guacamole and the mexican pizza, which is a fried tortilla with beans, beef and cheese. It's done perfectly everytime. Skip the cheese dip!

When I enter the bar, I always sit one of two places: at the bar with a handfull of people or in the back in the corner table with a larger group. One word to the wise is that on slow evenings you'll have to literally screw in the lightbulb above your table to provide litting for your friends. I guess it keeps the costs down ;)

When you enter for the first time, don't hesitate to ask Sergio for a brief tour or explanation of the location of the fridges with beverages from different regions in them. He can be very informative on locale and taste via his website, but in person I think it's rare that he would fail to recommend a specific beer (save bud light).

All-in-all, Sergios is a worthwhile visit because - frankly - where else can you find the quaint ambience, bizarre mix of food and beverage and gentile bargoers that Sergio's has to offer?

Café Cubana

This is a new Cuban bistro located at the corner of Clifton Ave. and Frankfort Ave. right by the railroad tracks intersection on Frankfort Ave. The location was the former locale of Lynn Winter’s “Lynn’s Paradise Café,” the restaurant that achieved so much success that it had to move to its bigger and more accommodating Barrett Avenue location. Lynn’s Paradise was noted for its unconventionality in restaurant theme and recipe creations – they were home to the first espresso machine in Louisville and still today their time-tested unique creations top those of food network “Cook-off” challenger Bobby Flay.

Café Cubana takes a different route. Instead of being known for ingénue, I would declare their restaurant to be the most copy-cat of a restaurant I have ever been to… bar none! Their menu is an exact replicate of Havana Rumba, plus a few unique items. They’ve got miles to go before they score originality points the way Rumba did with its homemade cuisine; nonetheless, with a kiss of luck from the prior building owner Café Cubana has a few pennies in its pot of goodness towards becoming an established local eatery.

Their menu is seemingly the same as Havana Rumba; however, it’s more colorful and visually appealing. The dinner prices of many of the items are either the same or a dollar less, which makes dining on fish that much more yummy. Their grilled grouper with cilantro is what we always order at Havana Rumba. I tried it there last night to be eagerly disappointed – it had no flavor and was under cooked L Two weeks ago I tried the same dish at Café Cubana and was pleasantly surprised, at lunchtime no less, to find it flavorful and delicious! They had fresh salt sprinkled on top and the cut of fish itself was thick and tasted excellent. The sides were very flavorful as well – rice, beans, and some gooey plantains.  At the time I think my mind was surprised: “is this more flavorful than Havana rumba?” I caught myself wondering.

Besides the items being a little dryer than those at Havana Rumba, I would give it a 5/5 instead of 3.5/5 on the fish delicious-o-meter 1-on-1 test. (Maybe I should give both a second try, but for the moment that’s where I stand.)

The interior décor at Cubana could not have been more pleasant. When you enter you are greeted with windows on all sides of the restaurant, an elegant view of the glimmering bar, and a mysterious, winding staircase that goes up to the second floor. I would say that few restaurants could rival the intriguing visual that the Cubana provides.

While the walls at Café Cubana were bright, colorful, and fun, their waitstaff knew no English whatsoever. They were literally impossible to understand… Also, I know that they could afford to have some more clientele. However, their operating location makes that a little bit tough. They need to find a niche environment further from other grand ethnic eateries such as Grape Leaf, Shiraz, El Mundo, and Irish Rover.

Ciao Bella

Having only eaten there once and enjoyed music and libations there on several occasions, I can only offer a rare note about Ciao Bella and a good bit of hearsay. The food is nothing to write home about, but done-up well.

What I really support is the mission of the restaurant. They offer a late-night, homey bar scene that isn’t too sketchy and live music most nights of the week. The owners are the previous owners of Seattle’s coffee. They pack in a younger crowd, which is nice; however old folk do fill up the front couches with their bottles of wine, appetizers, and giggles.

As I'm going to post this review I am reading that Ciao Bella is now closed in downtown Wooster. Nuts! I'll have to contact more sources... this is the second time that that has happened for my blog!

Bluegrass Brewing Company

http://www.bbcbrew.com/


I have always had a stigma associated with the BBC. Growing up, their rootbeer wasn't quite as good as IBC's and their pizza was never sensational to me in my middle-school mind. They always seemed to get my father's order wrong and had to comp our meal... every single time we went there. These days, however, times have changed.


Saying that one is going to the BBC conjures up thoughts of freedom and relaxation because at the BBC you're skipping an American stone of yore. You can order any type of food. Be at any one of four locations (3 eateries and one tap room). Choose to imbibe, or not to imbibe. Spelling B-B-C is spelling a good time, whomever you're with.


Their food menu includes a wonderful ricotta and goat cheese dip, which is a staple with my coworkers. It is served with an endless supply of pita bread, to help counter the gurgantuan bowl of dip with onions, pesto and some marinara sauce on top. They also sport a pretzel and beer cheese appetizer, which turns out to be an excellent, fresh-made doughy pretzel with a premade tub of cold beer cheese. The flavor isn't lacking but the show is on the beer cheese (it's kind of flourescent and groudy-looking).


Their salads are a scrumptious delight. They aren't overpriced and their selection of salads is plentiful. For about 4 dollars you can get a good wedge salad that is huge, a bluegrass salad that is kind of like a caesar with parmesaen and tomatoes and different dressing and lettace, or several others including a caesar or ahi tuna salad. They have a full burger and sandwich menu, which include delectable meat and vegetarian options including a veggie and spinach burger. One item I would say is worth skipping over are their quesadillas. Having gotten a sour stomach from them before - and knowing that they don't taste all that great - I wouldn't recommend anyone get the quesadilla of the day.


They also offer - ta da! - pizza. Last time I was at the BBC, I got the lunch buffet for $8.99. The buffet runs through 2pm and gives you unlimited pizza, soup, and salad. It's quite nice because you can actually have them make any pizza you'd like whether it's on the menu or off. When I was there I got a sausage and tomato pizza that was delectable. Their crust and their sauce, I admit, are a little bit bland and generic. However, the overall experience of beer + their pizza = a good time.


Oh yeah. Their beer. The BBC has award winning brews that they concoct right here in good 'old Louisville. Their cherry lambic (usually available bottled only) just won eighth place in a cherry beer competition. They usually have about 8 or more of their brews on tap and offer still more in bottled form. They willingly give samples of the brews so you can try before you buy. Showcasing a full bar in addition, why wouldn't you want to come here to chase your bourbon with some excellent bourbon barrel ale. Hmm?


I have yet to try the desserts. I have yet to travel the desert. There are many things I have yet to do in life. But the BBC helps me start to explore some of the nooks and crannies Louisville has cultivated through the years - a culture of fine, lively enjoyment of moderate alcohol consuption and legitimate tasting experiences.

Addendum: for an article that showcases JJ on the BBC (the other BBC) check out number 26 here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-12384236 Why is this in my blog? I get most of my new local eat ideas from the LEO.. as they often sample food before the courier journal has the chance. Enjoy!