Restaurants Blog

Louie's before and after the show

We knew the second the sign went up at Louie’s Grill & Pub that we would add this newest Greenwood restaurant to our dinner circuit. It didn’t matter if we liked the food, really — when you open an eatery that isn’t McDonald’s down the street from the high school, adults will drop in on their way to sporting events and musical performances.

Well, at least that’s what first pulled us in. We had one hour before the curtain went up on the Christmas show, and I simply wasn’t in the mood to hit the Golden Arches and then burp along to Here Comes Santa Claus. So I sat down and ordered a club sandwich and fries in one of Louie’s booths instead. It was definitely a quality improvement move on my end.

But now, thanks to the chips and black bean salsa, we make Louie’s a destination even when we have no obligation at Center Grove High School.

see more »

Pho Clement 2 in San Francisco

Every neighborhood in San Francisco has great local cafes and restaurants for quick meals.  Truly, living in San Francisco means you can eat as much cheap and “fast food” as you like, only it doesn’t have to be McDonalds.  With a huge Asian population, a great fast food is a hot bowl of pho noodles, however this time we not only tried a dry noodle salad instead of our standard bowl of rice noodles - but we also forgot to tell the server and got a big dose of MSG. see more »

Posted by Nancy D. Brown of What a Trip

Crater Lake Oregon photo by Nancy D. Brown

Have you ever eaten inside a volcano? Well, neither have I. But I’ve dined on the lip of a caldera. It’s true. My family and I were recently at Crater Lake Lodge in southern Oregon. We didn’t stay over night at the Lodge because we didn’t plan our reservation in advance and they were full. We did manage to make a dinner reservation before our roadtrip, and that’s a good thing.

Lodge Manager Martin McCartan was kind enough to show me some rooms and invited us to dine as guests of the lodge. As is often the case when I’m reviewing a restaurant, I asked my fellow dining companions to order something different off the menu so that I could sample a variety of items.

The kids started with the pesto focaccia pizza for $9.95. I ordered the French onion soup, featuring a signature blend of onions at $6.25 Our daughter selected the wild Alaskan salmon with long grain rice. Our son, the hunter, ordered grilled venison in a sherry berry demiglace, accompanied with local Klamath gold potatoes and vegetables for $31.

A growing teenager, he polished off the venison in no time and was soon eying my plate of lamb. I was willing to share, as my husband was offering me bites of his baked Oregon Blue Cheese Halibut sauteed with shallots and paired with long grain rice, priced at $30. Of all the entrees I tried that evening, the grilled marinated, double bone lamb chops with an olive oil garlic marinade and balsamic onion chutney in a rosemary demi-glace was the stand out for $30.

Double Lambchops

Our waiter, Travis, couldn’t believe the amount of food we were comsuming. “Wow! You guys must have done a lot of hiking today,” he remarked as he refreshed our bread basket. Frankly, I don’t think he was planning to show us the dessert menu, but we asked about the house specials. “You must be really hungry,” he added as he offered up the menus.

Dismissing his comments, I ordered the Crater Molten Lava Cake, warm and fudge-filled at $9.25. Frankly, I was not impressed. The always hungry teenager wolfed down the Triple Berry Cobbler Crisp, with layers of blackberry, raspberry and marionberry, while our daughter ordered the Divine Vanilla Cheesecake for $6.95. My husband, keenly aware of Travis’ comments on our food consumption, declined to order dessert.

Molten Lava Cake photo by Nancy D. Brown

The historic lodge dining room was welcoming, as was the staff. While it was billed as a fine dining establishment, guests with young children should feel comfortable here. The young wait staff was accomodating to families with children in high chairs. We gave the Crater Lake Lodge a thumbs up for quality.

Crater Lake Lodge 1 (541) 594-1184

Don't forget to buy your own relish to take home!

My husband is originally from York, Maine.  And since the day we met, there has not been a single time he’s bitten into a hot dog when he hasn’t looked up, sighed deeply, and said something to the effect of, “This is good but it’s just nowhere near as good as a Flo’s dog.”

For him, all hot dogs will forever pale in comparison to the steamed mini-dogs they serve in an delapidated old house along Route 1 in Cape Neddick, Maine.  Nothing will ever come close.  Not even the Flo-like dogs he tries to create at home.

Flo’s Hot Dogs is a bit of an area legend.  Open since 1959, the owners say the secret to a good hot dog is steaming both the dog and the bun - and making sure to add a generous amount of Flo’s secret relish.  Add some mayonnaise and raw chopped onion and - voila! - you have what my husband believes is the perfect hot dog.  (I prefer to avoid the raw onion and mayo, myself).

see more »

Sometimes it’s those little places you stumble upon that make all the difference on a journey.  And for me, one of those places was definitely the Ancora Wine Bar in Cavtat, Croatia.

It’s funny - I’ve noticed that the smaller and more remote a place is, the more likely businesses have some type of duality.  Hotels offer gyms or spas on a separate basis.  Restaurants have some type of attached bar or show.  I’ve even seen a small pension/laundrymat combination.  And in Cavtat, at least, the wine bar is the place to find reliable Internet.  And thank goodness it did or I might have just walked on by.

It may surprise some to learn that Croatia has a thriving wine industry. It certainly surprised me. But perhaps that is because my first introduction to an Eastern European vintage came served with a Coca-Cola chaser.  And good thing, too.  I drank the offered glass but I probably did so with quite a grimace. There are some quaffs that simply do not deserve to be called wine.

see more »

Mama's Fish House, Pa'ia, Maui, Hawaii

by Gudrun Enger, of Kitchen Gadget Girl

After surviving a trip on the Road to Hana, we decided a fancy lunch was in order, and fortunately, we were able to sneak into Mama’s Fish House in Pa’ia for that lunch experience. And sneak we did, since we had spent the better part of the morning scrambling up muddy hills in search of water falls! see more »

Ah, Malibu! It’s one of the most upscale, yet completely mellow and casual beach towns in Southern California. One restaurant that perfectly encapsulates the dual nature of Malibu is Geoffrey’s, right off Pacific Coast Highway. A meal here is accompanied by some of the best views a restaurant can have.

Pull into the driveway and parking lot of Geoffrey’s Malibu, and you know you’re getting a special meal. A valet will quickly take care of you, parking your car carefully amid a sea of shining BMWs, Mercedes, Audis and even a Bentley or two. These mega-deluxe autos belie what awaits inside: Jeans, t-shirts, and California casual attire along with a relaxed, happy atmosphere. Geoffrey’s reflects Malibu in other ways, as well. Subtle mirrors panel the rear wall, bringing the ocean views from the front to everyone (reflects Malibu, get it? Well, I like it anyway). There isn’t a “bad table” in the restaurant. see more »

I am not an adventurous eater. I was raised on Pepsi, Kraft macaroni and cheese, and McDonald’s, so sugar, salt, and starch were the foods of life for me. I didn’t willingly eat broccoli until well after college. My favorite restaurants growing up (besides McDonald’s, which, now I will admit, is not a restaurant) were pizza places or burger joints. I didn’t branch out much. I never ventured far outside the exotic fare of Irish or Italian cuisine.

Even as an adult married to a Cajun who loves tentacles and hot sauce, I have not been very brave about trying new things. I’ve hated seafood, which is odd for a woman who grew up in a coastal New England town. I turned away from ethnic foods besides the ubiquitous Mexican and Chinese dishes that one cannot avoid living in Southern California, as I have done for almost 14 years. I disdain meatless dishes, and have turned my nose up at vegan food. How is that even food? I wondered.

This year, however, I got a new day job, and I didn’t know anyone at this new company. It was like the first day of school, and like a 10-year-old, I worried that nobody would talk to me or sit with me at lunch. Luckily, my coworkers didn’t smell my fear. They invited me to lunch on the very first day, and the day after that, and the day after that, and so on. They had a ritual: a trip to the market on Mondays to load up on items to eat at the office during the week, and then a special outing on Fridays. The destination was always, with very few exceptions, Vinh Loi Tofu in Reseda, CA.

Let me point out that not only did this establishment have an ethnic name, but it was also entirely vegan. Vietnamese vegan.

My desperation to fit in pushed me over the edge into culinary exploration. My coworkers urged me to join them, swearing that the restaurant had noodles! Which are starchy and plain! And I would like them! And meat! Everything they make is tofu but it all tastes like meat! I remained skeptical, but I went along for the ride. After all, someone else was driving.

Vinh Loi Tofu is a little storefront restaurant in one of those ubiquitous corner shopping centers with 18 businesses and only four parking spaces. It blends right in with the many other ethnic establishments in the area, and it doesn’t face the street, so it’s easy to drive right by. Inside, it’s small, with less than a dozen tables, so patrons waiting for their food just stand around looking at you while you eat.

The menu is a tri-folded flyer, and the list of dishes is also up on the wall in a sensory-overload barrage of too many words. I looked for something recognizable and I ordered the chow mein. My coworkers, already savvy in the way of Vinh Loi, snatched a shrink-wrapped pre-made set of ham rolls from the counter and set about splitting them up among the five of us.

The ham rolls (listed on the menu as “Spring Rools”) consist of tofu ham, greens, and dried rice noodles, wrapped in a skin-like substance they call “rice sheet.” I wasn’t convinced, but I dipped the assembly in peanut sauce, took a bite, and…

…I was forever changed. The not-ham tasted just like ham! The greens were fresh and crunchy! And there are too many exclamation points in this post but hold onto your hat because more are coming!

Because! Because then I got my chow mein, which not only was not scary or gooey or too spicy or any of the things I had feared about ethnic food, but was actually delicious. Made with wheat noodles stir-fried with cabbage, “vegetable,” and vegan chicken and beef (both formed from tofu, I just can’t imagine how), the chow mein is served with a light sauce on the side. The portion is perfect - I could eat the whole dish in one sitting and be satisfied but not full, or if I had too many ham rolls I could bring the leftovers home for my omnivore husband.

I returned to Vinh Loi for lunch several times. On one occasion I branched out to try “the number 5,” a dry noodle salad favored by my companions, but mostly I ordered the same dish over and over, prompting Kevin, the owner, to nickname me “Chief Chow Mein.” The restaurant serves everything a traditional Vietnamese eatery does, but everything is made with this alarmingly delicious and realistic faux-meat.

A coworker and his #5

Sigh. I’m sitting here sighing just thinking about it. It’s true love. As a devotee of the #2 meal at McDonald’s drive-thru for so many years, I just never thought it could happen. I would like to thank my coworkers and Kevin of Vinh Loi for making me a believer.

Vinh Loi owner Kevin Tran

I still haven’t been brave enough to try the soy pudding or the fermented mushroom tea available in the refrigerator case or the Black Fungus in the little grocery section, but hey, this is quite a start.

Now who wants to join me?

This post is my winning entry in the contest: UpTake Most Memorable Restaurant Experience. and originally appeared at House of Prince.

Perfect attire for White Castle

Sometimes, the consequences simply can’t deter you from doing something you know you shouldn’t.

Which is the sole reason White Castle continues to exist, serving up those little square hamburgers covered in onions. They taste heavenly while you’re in the restaurant, heading home from the ballgame, watching television, or when you and your buddies are drunk. They’re small (and inexpensive), so you’ll down 10 of them without blinking — or thinking. Approximately 90 minutes later, you reconfirm why we Midwesterners have nicknamed them “slyders,” “belly busters” and  “gut bombs.”

Think you can escape without a telltale cloud following you? I guarantee, better men than you have tried and failed, and I have proof.

see more »

Goat Hill Pizza in San Francisco has all-you-can-eat pizza every Monday night.

I am too full to write.

I have just returned from all-you-can-eat “Neighborhood Night” at Goat Hill Pizza in San Francisco’s Potrero Hill neighborhood.

After an evening at the dog park (where my dog Homer sat at my feet the entire time looking awkward), good buddy Kate, my boyfriend David and I decided to check out Goat Hill’s “Neighborhood Night” after our friend Tiffany suggested it. “It’s like dim sum pizza every Monday night. You’ll love it,” she said.

We walked up the hill to get there and, not surprisingly, there was about a 30-minute wait. Enough time to walk to one of the nearby bars, grab a drink and come back. Perfection.

see more »