Restaurant Week: Tesori

08 Feb 2013 Leave a Comment

by smkelly8 in restaurant review, Review Tags: , ,

In Chicago it’s Restaurant Week from Feb. 1 – 10. Participating restaurants, some of which are very pricey like Ruth Chris and the Peninsula Hotel, offer a three course lunch for $22 and a three course dinner for $44.

Yesterday I met some friends for lunch at Tesori at 65 E. Adams. We had a great lunch. I loved my butternut squash soup and dessert, a chocolate pannacotta. My artesian ham sandwich was fine. My friends enjoyed their lunches as well. The veal and lobster ravioli pleased. The orange cake looked good too. Our service was fine and the atmosphere has a casual elegance.

I was surprised that two of my friends didn’t know about Restaurant Week. Many cities do this in the winter and it’s a great way to kick the winter doldrums.

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Thanksgiving in Jinan

22 Nov 2012 Leave a Comment

by smkelly8 in China, culture, restaurant review Tags: , ,


Yes. I’ve just returned, completely sated, from Thanksgiving at the new Hyatt in downtown Jinan. The food was plentiful and so scrumptious. Probably a hundred dishes easily. I don’t want to tell you about everything I tasted as my gluttony would be fully exposed, but there was salad, several soups including curry pumpkin, which I didn’t try, and young pigeon, which I did. Turkey, ham, roast beef and duck, sauces for all, pastas, including lasagna, roasted vegetables, steamed vegetables, hot pot, sushi, cheeses galore, breads, rolls, sausages, Chinese foods. Any gourmand would be pleased.

Then for dessert there was pumpkin pie, pumpkin cheese cake, pumpkin mini loaves, chocolate souffle, chocolate mouse, chocolate tarts, chocolate cakes. Fruits baked in a wide array of pastries or wrapped in crepes. Gelato – six flavors. Fruits – melons, plums, pears, grapes, apples, citrus of every sort.

I’m so glad the Crowne Plaza’s staff didn’t know what Thanksgiving was. The Hyatt was the place to come.

Also, Thursday was Ladies’ Night in the bar so the women got free cocktails and we all enjoyed the singer and piano player in their chic bar. Tres bien.

Water Banquet

16 Oct 2012 Leave a Comment

by smkelly8 in culture, expat life, food, restaurant review, travel, welcome to my life

Water Banquet restaurant

In Luoyang in Henan, one night my friend Kristyn and I went to a restaurant known for its water banquet, a local culinary tradition. The water banquet is a 24 course banquet with the courses coming one after another flowing like a river and mainly consisting of soups. Now there was no way we were ordering the full banquet, but we wanted to see what this was all about.

First we had some trouble finding Zhen Bu Tong Fandian, the water banquet restaurant, since the Lonely Planet’s map was off by several blocks. It shows the restaurant by the river. It’s closer to food street, if that helps.

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The waitresses wear Tang dynasty gowns and hair styles, but they seemed either shy or jaded about them. All turned away anytime a customer try to take their picture.

We were given the English menu, which is 70% shorter than the Chinese one. Our first two choices, both described as Luoyang favorites, were gone. It was only 6pm and we were among the earliest diners. Oh, well.

We ordered pork, a special rice and balsam pear salad. We realized we were taking a risk on all of them. First we got the balsam pear salad and I thought it tasted like cactus salad would. Quite bitter. Next the pork came it had a great broth, but was so fatty. We amused our neighbors as we tried to use chop sticks to remove the fat. Finally came the glutinous rice. Very pretty, but excessively sweet.

Though I left unsatisfied food-wise, that’s part of life in China. I enjoyed the atmosphere and the entertainment. They have a man sing periodically in traditional dress. I’m not sure what he said, but the

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Panera Cares

17 Jul 2012 2 Comments

by smkelly8 in food, restaurant review Tags: ,

After getting my hair done at the Aveda Institute, I went to the Panera on Diversity and had a pleasant surprise. It’s now a Panera Cares. Huh?

Panera now has four Panera Cares outlets. They offer the same menu, but a different pricing policy. The prices listed are suggested donations. If you can’t afford that, pay what you can. If you can’t pay anything, you can do an hour of work and get a meal.

If you can afford more, you can donate as you see fit. The restaurant looks like any Panera and the offerings are identical. This store is near Broadway and Diversey and area where rich and poor live side by side.

Panera offers healthy food and I like that they see the need to serve all people in a clean, attractive setting. Their flyers note that 1 in 6 Americans lives in a family that’s “food insecure.” The TED talk below explains the reasons below.

Bon Appetit, Jinan

26 Apr 2012 1 Comment

by smkelly8 in China, expat life, food, restaurant review Tags: , ,

Last Friday was Sports Day. Usually, I love to take the day off and travel since it’s the only long weekend that isn’t a national holiday and thus there’s a chance that you won’t be with throngs of people. But we got so many polite invitations to participate in the shot put and various races that it seemed wrong to leave town.

I couldn’t bring myself to go to the event though. I’m just not into sports that much and I figure the kids don’t need us there, they are having their own fun.

So I went to Starbucks where I met the owner of Bon Appetit, a new Italian restaurant in the Lushang Shopping Center across from the older stadium. The chef/owner recognized me as did his son. We got a complementary size pizza as an appetizer. I split a thin crust vegetable pizza and my two other friends enjoyed pasta and salad. The portions were satisfying and the service attentive without being annoying. I was impressed by the good English most of the staff spoke. The prices were high for Jinan, but that’s to be expected for imported food and Bon Appetit imports the cheese, flour, etc from Naples. So if you split a pizza expect to pay 70 rmb and pasta and salad will be about 80-95 rmb. By U.S. standards that’s a bargain. The problem is we soon get used to Jinan prices and a Chinese meal in our neighborhood rarely costs more that 20 rmb.

Orange: Breakfast with A Peel

04 Feb 2012 1 Comment

by smkelly8 in opinion, restaurant review Tags: , , , ,

A flight of coffee-chocolate pancakes

If you’re a fan of breakfast or brunch, like I am, you must check out Orange. In Chicago they have several locations.

They’re famous for frushi, i.e. fruit sushi. So my friend Maryann and I ordered some. Just the right little taste of coconut milk infuses the rice which is topped with fruit. Cute, yummy and creative.

Frushi

Feeling adventurous, I tried their pear cucumber juice. I liked it, but I doubt I’d order it again, well, not before I sampled some other combinations. The possibilities are almost endless. Mix and match orange, strawberry, pear, pineapple, watermelon, bananas and more.

Pear Cucumber Juice

Maryann was pleased with her rosemary infused French toast, which I was tempted to try. However, I went with the week’s pancake flight special: Coffee – Chocolate pancakes in four forms. One set had Kahlua, another chocolate chips. All were scrumptious and fun. Each week they announce a different flight of pancakes, which could be based on a theme like the Super Bowl this week.

Next time I go, I think I’ll try their Chai French Toast. Street parking’s easy to find. They’re open from 8 – 3, kind of late for a breakfast place, fine for me, but some early birds won’t wait.

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Brunch at Butch McGuire’s

24 Jan 2012 Leave a Comment

by smkelly8 in Chicago, restaurant review Tags: , , , , , , ,

Penguins

I went to Brunch at Butch McGuire’s Tavern on Rush St. Sunday. The restaurant cum bar is an Irish pub with lots of character. Old time regulars might complain that Butch’s son doesn’t have the same panache or avuncular host/manager, but I’d only gone there a few times and was happy with the atmosphere and service. The bar tenders add a flair with their white shirts and ties, dressing up the place. Yesterday was the last day for the Christmas decorations: colorful, twinkling lights, Disney characters, penguins and a PG-13 Santa.

Car Bomb French Toast

I had Car Bomb French Toast, thick cut bread dipped in a batter with Bailey’s and Guinness. The syrup was infused with Jameson’s. I couldn’t resist the tongue in cheek name. The French toast didn’t have a strong alcohol taste, though the addition of the whiskey was a good twist.

Santa, what are you reading?

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Restaurant Review: Zapatista

07 Jun 2011 Leave a Comment

by smkelly8 in restaurant review

A new Mexican restaurant in the neighborhood. The decor is chic and the margarita’s wonderful. I had a good salad and all the usual fare, fajitas, tostadas, tacos, burritos are said to be good. They’ve been honored by a Mexican cuisine agency for using authentic ingredients. I’d go back.

Three Tarts

03 Jun 2011 Leave a Comment

by smkelly8 in food, restaurant review Tags:

I finally got to Northfield’s Three Tart’s Bakery for lunch. The menu was extensive, though it’s sort of hard to take in on a first visit. It’s positioned poorly on a back wall partially out of sight when you first get in line.

I had quiche and tomato basil soup followed by a key lime cupcake. Everything was good and the atmosphere was cheery. There is outdoor seating, but outside there was a strong garbage odor so that wasn’t even a consideration.

The food was rather pricey, but not outlandish.

We’re Famous

16 May 2011 Leave a Comment

by smkelly8 in food, restaurant review

A local gem, Hackney’s, got highlighted on Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives. The onion rings are the best and I’m a fan of the dark rye.

This is their Harms Road location, which has outdoor seating in good weather. The Lake St. location also has its charm.

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