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@rarefoodie
I was reading through your posts, and I just wanted to say that Primanti is definitely better in the restaurant and Quaker Steak is a little better. The wings are a bit crispier. And I would suggest the Arizona Ranch sauce.
I appreciate the feedback. I hope I get the opportunity to try them at their restaurant locations one day.
Random Food Pron of the Week - The ubiquitous Pan Fried Dumpling. To me the key to a great one versus a good one is getting a golden brown, crispy crust. If it doesn’t crack when you bite into it… well, I hear that an angel loses its wings.
Random Food Pron of the Week - This picture is like catching a glimpse of that girl or guy across the room that catches your fancy, but knowing you can't do anything about it for whatever reason. This is what that is like when I spotted this Goose Liver Sausage while walking through the Granville Island Public Market with my family. Damn you, Canada, for all your foodie temptations and universal healthcare. Maybe some day... some day.
Random Food Pron of the Week - This week's photos head back to Northern Chinese. Sometimes nothing hits the spot better than a Noodle Soup with Fried Pork Chop. This is rice noodle goodness with some spinich thrown in to make you feel better about devouring a huge piece of fried meat. It makes you feel all warm inside.
Random Food Pron of the Week - This week's pron may actually turn more stomachs than entice. I eat lots of unconventional foods, but even this is one I mentally can't overcome. It's Balut - a fertilized duck embryo. I think I'd need a LOT of convincing... and a day or two of starvation to consider it.
Random Food Pron of the Week - This week brings some sugary goodness in the form of a cupcake. Wait, is that glitter?
Random Food Pron of the Week - This week's dish, Lomo Saltado, was from a small Peruvian restaurant somewhere in Florida. According to Wikipedia, "it's dish that has Asian influences consisting of strips of sirloin marinated in vinegar, soy sauce and spices, then stir fried with red onions, parsley and tomatoes. It is traditionally served over white rice with homemade french fries that look more like potato wedges." This version had it over regular fries. Mmmmmm.... fries.
Random Food Pron of the Week - I know there will be many photos that are unlikely to see the light of day via a review from me since I tend to limit my reviews to higher end or unique situations, but that doesn't mean more "everyday" places can't have mouth watering foods... especially if they fill a craving. I hope to have a photo every week. This week's photo - Stir Fried Rice Cake which usually can be ordered at places which specialize in Northern Chinese Style Dim Sum.
Antico, April 2011 - Atlanta, GA - Touted as the best in Atlanta? There were certainly enough people at this pizza shop to help make its case.
The place was packed and it was a Tuesday night. That was a good sign, but the setup at this place is interesting. I didn't check out the back room, but the place looked to be a free-for-all with respect to seating. There was some counters near the windows and the main dining area basically had a big communal table where you take your pizza. One can view this as a positive because this must mean the emphasis is on the food. And besides, it's the South, everyone is friendly, right?
Regardless, I went to the counter and ordered my pizza to go. Be warned - you gotta have friends, be able to eat a whole pizza (and it's not small), or be willing to have leftovers because you can only order whole pies here. I ordered the Capricciosa which had mushroom, artichoke, prosciutto cotto, and bufala.
Overall the pizza was fine. The ingredients were solid, but there was a bit too much liquid, probably from the artichokes. That may have contributed to why the crust didn't have the crispness/crunch which I tend to like.
So it could be the best in Atlanta... but definitely not the best pizza I've ever had. A crispy crust would have put it in the upper tier for me, but I know that pizza styles are a very personal choice. Overall 7 out of 10.
The Inn at Little Washington, March 2011 - Washington, VA - A grand experience from start to finish where the whole theme is to enjoy and remember. This was easily the best overall dining experience I've had in a long while.
Having made reservations beforehand, we were greeted with customized menu's. Granted, in this day and age printing a guest's last name on a menu isn't a grand feat, but for fine dining the smallest details matter. They continued making us feel welcome by asking how long we traveled in order to visit them and proactively offered to take our picture when they saw our camera on the table. At no point are you ever made to feel that you don't belong, which is no easy task at fine dining institutions... especially for a diner like me who wants to take pictures of each dish.
Even during the ordering process, the captain made sure we could be accommodated. While I usually let the chef have his/her way with me and go with whatever is on slate for the tasting menu, my wife tends to believe that tasting menus have too much food and invariable there are usually at least two dishes she'd rather not have which makes it such that she likes to order a la carte. Wanting to make sure we both had the same pace to our meal and that we both had a great experience, the captain substituted a few dishes on the Gastronaut's menu with any other choice my wife wanted from the a la carte list. That definitely made all parties happy. So without further ado, let the feast begin!
My only major criticism of the evening, each person didn't have their own set of amuse and we had to share this set...
The following set of photos is from the originally designed tasting menu for the evening with no substitutions.
The Gastronaut's Menu
Black Truffle Dusted Popcorn
Potato Leek Soup
Caviar "Caterpillar" of Avocado and Peekytoe Crab
Chilled Maine Lobster with Braised Celery Hearts, Root Vegetables and Citrus Vinaigrette
Seared Sea Scallop with Leek Puree and Caramelized Endive
Miniature Filet of Line Caught Halibut with Lemon Vodka Sauce and Lilliputian Shrimp Dumplings
Potato Wrapped Tuna Wellington with Caponata-Filled Ravioli and Sauce Bearnaise
Duet of Duck: Seared Breast and Braised Leg with Turnip Puree and Plum Sauce
Buttermilk Panna Cotta with Lavender Shortbread and Rhubarb Sorbet
Chocolate Menage a Trois: Miniature Black Forest Mousse Bomve, Chocolate Creme Brulee and Bitter Sweet Chocolate Souffle
Of course they provided the personalized copy of that evening's menu and let you take home the Inn itself...
A wonderful end to an enchanting evening.
I try to let the pictures speak for themselves, but the details of each dish were wonderful and don't remember a dish I didn't enjoy. My favorite two items were the Tuna Wellington and the Duck Breast. It was a journey that surprisingly didn't leave me stuffed and in writing this review makes me want to go back again. Overall 9.5 out of 10.
R&R Deli, February 2011 - Elkridge, MD - I don't know the first thing about Mexican food, but I do know what tastes good to me. I also tend to find Yelp as a hit or miss method of finding a great place to eat. However, after a business meeting I was getting some gas and wanted to grab something quick before heading home. I decided to check Yelp to see if it had any suggestions before I decided to settle for random drive thru fast food. The Yelpers seemed to be recommending a place at the gas station across the street from where I was filling up. “Best tacos in Maryland” was the recurring theme in the reviews. Well, what did I have to lose?
I wouldn't expect a place named R&R Deli to be Mexican, but they probably want to draw in some unsuspecting folks who wouldn't normally choose a Latino place to grab some grub. The place is literally attached to the gas station, but does have a separate entrance and is partitioned off. It's basically a hole in the wall, although clean, with a long hallway with a counter where patrons can eat and then the small stand where you order your food.
As I perused the menu the gentleman at the counter asked if I had been before. I said no and asked if he had any suggestions. Not knowing how adventurous I was he had some relatively safe suggestions, but I inquired about some things that peaked my interest and he was extremely helpful throughout the process. I settled on four tacos. They were -
Cochinita pibil - slow roasted pork
Pastor - pork, supposedly cooked similar to shwarama or gyro meat (although I can't verify if that was the case here)
Carnita and Pork Rinds - braised pork (are we sensing a theme here?) The mixture with pork rinds was suggested by the gentleman and what a great suggestion it was.
Cabeza - meat from the roasted head of a cow (Don't knock it until you try it!)
So did this place live up to the Yelper hype? To quote a politician who would probably rather eat New York style pizza from an Albanian pizza chain than tacos from a gas station, “You betcha!” The tortillas were nice and warm and held the wonderfully flavorful and juicy meats. It makes me want to go to Baltimore more often just so I have a reason to stop off at this place. I was so impressed I ordered a second round of tacos to take home to the wife. Although she didn't finish them as she was skeeved by the concept of cabeza... Oh well, more for me! Overall 8.5 out of 10.
Primanti Brothers & Quaker Steak and Lube (@TheOfficialQSL) @ Heinz Field - January 2011 - Pittsburgh, PA - Being a foodie isn't about eating at all the nice places, it's about appreciating and finding great and unique food experiences. That can happen in the finest restaurant, the dirtiest greasy spoon, or off a truck. The beginning of the new year found me in Pittsburgh, PA following my team at the Winter Classic. While my travelling companion and I didn't have time to see much of anything beyond Heinz Field, we did have the opportunity to try out the stadium outposts for two local places.
The first was Primanti Brothers which was founded in Pittsburgh. Famous for adding coleslaw and fries to their sandwiches, my friend and I split a Capicola & Cheese sandwich (as pictured). The sandwich itself was fine. It's not as if there was a particular ingredient which stood out and made it a wonderful tasting sandwich. To me this is a sandwich which could only shine best served hot and fresh right after it's made so that the textures and temperatures of the fries and coleslaw could play off each other. This was not possible for a sandwich which had to endure a half stadium trek to the seats before it could be consumed. I would look forward to trying this sandwich freshly made. Stadium version - 5 out of 10.
The other food selection was from Quaker State and Lube, and while not founded in Pittsburgh, it was first started in Sharon, PA (Western PA) and now is more of a regional chain. The choice here was a half bucket of wings. I will have to say I'm not sure who buys the full buckets here because you've gotta be a hungry family of 4 to even try to attempt that. My friend and I couldn't finish the half bucket. The sauce we chose was their Louisiana Lickers sauce which they appropriately describe as a "kitchen sink" sauce. It was quite good as the wings were definitely not one note like a typical buffalo wing sauce can be. You could taste the different spices in the sauce. That and the meaty size of the wings helped to compensate for the lack of crispy texture I tend to crave in a chicken wing. Once again, it is unknown if a fresh batch at the restaurant would yield different results, but if it did have that crispy skin as well, it'd be a big winner. Stadium version - 8 out of 10.
Surdyk's Flights (@surdyksflights), December 2010 - Minneapolis, MN - I was turned on to this place by a tweet from Andrew Zimmern (@andrewzimmern). While I don't consider myself a frequent flier, I look for unique places to eat in airports since I do fly a bit more than the typical person. In a landscape littered by chain restaurants and bars that serve sub par food, a nice, let alone decent, place to eat is hard to find. Usually you have to hope your "favorite" chain has an outpost in the airport in which you find yourself. I understand the reasons why. Being behind the security checkpoints automatically limits the clientele that can reach you and people rarely have the time to sit down for a nice meal as they have connections to catch or have places to be. So it is truly special when that unique place does exist near your departure gate.
Part wine shop, part restaurant, Surdyk's has a main central kitchen in the middle of the store flanked by sit down counters on each side. Some tables also exist along the walls, but I chose more open seating at some tables that the restaurant has in the middle of the terminal amid the bustle of people moving to catch their flights.
Flights in the name obviously refers to the tastings of wine one can order here. So given that I had a good 6 hours before I'd arrive to my destination anyway, I partook of a flight of Reislings. It was definitely a nice range of tastes across the three glasses and an excellent way to help pace the meal. I will say the menu didn't "wow" me, nor is it probably meant to. If one really thinks about it, the place is offering high end bar food because in reality this is a wine bar. The menu offers light starters consisting of cheeses and high end deli meats, salads, and sandwiches and paninis. So if you're looking for a hearty entree, this isn't your place.
The charcuterie platter had a wonderful range of salty goodness. I followed up with a chicken liver pate which isn't the most attractive but was quite excellent if you enjoy having those flavors. The meal ended with a panna cotta which was passable but I've had lots better. This is a solid place and would likely find myself returning the when I have some time before my next flight out of MSP. Overall 7 out of 10.
Axel's River Grille, December 2010 - Mendota, MN - Wonderful, hearty Minnesota fare which makes you want to return again and again. Sorry there are no pictures for this review as I was with a work colleague, so I'll have to let the words describe the experience.
I've been to this flagship restaurant of this local Twin Cities chain a couple of times before and was looking forward to this return trip. It did not disappoint. I was greeted graciously by the host who indicated a 30 minute wait on this night when the place was packed with the typical crowd as well as a holiday party in the back room. No worries, I'll happily wait.
Decor - A bit worn down with a "good old boys" back room. A bit like a wood cabin you'd expect in the mountains.
Service - Lovely people in Minnesota who make you feel welcome instantly. And even though it's a higher end place, they keep the charm with waitresses who write their name in crayon on your paper "tablecloth" a la Macaroni Grill.
For the appetizer, we had the Bull Bites which are blackened tenderloin tips. It could be considered a bit salty for some, but to me their have great flavor with slight spicy kick.
Instead of standard dinner rolls, Axel's provides popovers with the meals. They definitely require butter to bring out the flavor, but the novelty of popovers is very welcome for this East coast suburbanite.
For the entrée, I had Axel's Famous Walleye. This white fish is pan fried in butter and enhanced with a light breaded and toasted almond crust. Sides included a baked potato and fresh thin spears of asparagus. This is how a white fish should be with a flaky consistency and enhanced but not overpowered by how it's cook. And the portion is large enough for any growing Minnesotan boy.
If you ever find yourself in the Twin Cities this is a great place to stop... or hit Axel's Bonfire for a taste if you can only find yourself at the airport. Overall 7.5 out of 10.
"Food Truck Muster", November 2010 - Washington, DC - Assorted food trucks in one place courtesy of the Smithsonian in front of the National Museum of American History. The event was part of the Smithsonian’s Lemelson Center for the Study of Invention and Innovation “Food for Thought” symposium. However, that didn't really mean anything to me. I was just happy a number of DC food trucks would be in the same place for me to try. I've always enjoyed food on the street and in college had a good portion of my meals from food trucks. However, today food trucks are trendy. Back in college, it was just a cheaper way to get a meal.
There were six trucks at the event. I tried 4 of the 6. Of the ones I didn't try, one was a unknown green vehicle and the other was Sweetflow Mobile (@sweetflowmobile). I wasn't in the mood for a salad and it was a little cold on this partly cloudy day to have froyo, or so my wife said. Onto the reviews...
Red Hook Lobster Pound (@LobstertruckDC) - Consistently great. Had a Maine Lobster Roll and a Shrimp Roll. Check out my previous review. Overall 9 out of 10.
Takorean (@takorean) - DC's "first and only" Korean Taco truck. Well, that's unfortunate because this didn't give Korean tacos a good showing. The wife and I each got a set of 3 tacos with the Napa-Romaine slaw. The set included fillings of Carmelized Tofu, Bulgogi Steak and Tangy Chicken. The upside was that the ingredients seemed fresh and they're pretty quick. However, the proteins were dry and didn't really have a flavor which stood out. For example, I couldn't tell that the beef had any type of Bulgogi seasoning. At least I could tell it was beef. My wife didn't even finish her tacos, opting to save her stomach for other fare. Given other choices, I probably won't be trying Takorean again. Overall 5 out of 10.
Fry Captain (@FryCaptain) - I have a soft spot for fries. It is called my belly. This truck specializes in fries and shakes. For their fries they have an option of frying in Duck Fat (mmmmmmmmmm), which was actually the only option this day and is an additional cost. I probably couldn't tell the difference though without doing a side by side comparison. With the fries, there is a choice of seasoning for the fries - Sea Salt, Old Bay, and Garlic Salt on this day; as well as a choice of Dipping Sauces. We tried the Truffle Ketchup, Chimichurri Mayo, and Curry Mayo. The fries were nice and crispy, but the dipping sauces put these over the top. My favorite was the Curry Mayo followed by the Chimichurri Mayo. We didn't try a shake, but if you get a soda it comes in an old school glass bottle, which is good in case you find yourself in a bar fight on the street. Overall 7 out of 10.
Curbside Cupcake (@curbsidecupcake) - I personally did not visit this food truck so I probably missed out on a ton of goodness here. My wife likes to help me not go overboard as I tend to do. As a result we only got one type of cupcake. It was a lovely Red Velvet cupcake. It was quite delicious. Nice and moist with an interior that almost fell apart as you ate it. That was only bad in the fact you lose all those small crumbs of goodness and can make a bit of a mess on your lap. I can't wait to get a chance to corner this food truck while I'm alone so that I can go overboard. Overall 9 out of 10.
Follow the DC food truck scene at Food Truck Fiesta (@foodtruckfiesta).
<![CDATA[// <![CDATA[ // <![CDATA[ // <![CDATA[Overall a good time, especially since this probably wasn't that well advertised and thus the lines weren't too long. Nicer weather would have been better, but that's not on the food trucks. For a quick way to follow the DC area food trucks go to <A title="Food Truck Fiesta" href="http://foodtruckfiesta.com/" target=_blank _mce_href="http://foodtruckfiesta.com/">Food Truck Fiesta and/or follow them on twitter - <A href="http://twitter.com/foodtruckfiesta" target=_blank _mce_href="http://twitter.com/foodtruckfiesta">@foodtruckfiesta.]]<![CDATA[> // ]]<![CDATA[> // ]]]]><![CDATA[>]]>
Red Hook Lobster Truck, (@LobsterTruckDC), October 2010 - Washington, DC - "Lobstah Love!" That's what they try and spread and they do it darn effectively. Not being a DC resident or worker in the city, I had a recent day off and decided to head down to try and catch some love. The line was down the block and it took a while to get through, but it was all worth it. This isn't a meal for someone looking to save some money, but with the amount of lobster they put in that roll I wouldn't say it's overly expensive. I decided to get all three rolls - a Shrimp Roll, a Maine style Lobster Roll with mayo, scallions, etc., and the Connecticut Style Lobster Roll drizzled with butter - all on a toasted buttered roll. It was all excellent. All the seasonings enhanced the main product and allowed the main ingredient shine. I also tried the whoopie pie. It was fine, but not being a big dessert person, the sweetness was overwhelming after the first couple of bites. Regardless, I can't wait to get another chance to visit them and grab some more rolls. Find their latest location by following them on twitter - @LobsterTruckDC. Overall 9 out of 10.
SoBo's Wine Beerstro, October 2010 - Salisbury, MD - Question - Can a small town spot compete with a big city place? Answer - not quite, but the effort's not bad. Of course I shouldn't use this one spot as the standard for all small town places, but this place billed itself as having "great food and wine with an upscale flair" and since I was in town I decided to give it a shot. The Tuna Canape on their website lured me, but was a bit dissapointing. This dish was overly salty and its construction makes it a bit difficult to eat. However, one of the special appeitizers for the night, the Beef Poutine using Truffle Fries (pictured) was excellent. I opted for the night's entree special - Surf and Turf with a NY Strip & Crabcake with mashed sweet potatoes and grilled asparagus as sides. The proteins were okay, although the steak cooked more medium than the requested medium rare. The sides were quite good and I don't usually like sweet potatoes, so that speaks to the skill of the chef. The place has potential and the service great. Overall 6 out of 10.