Thanksgiving

Here are a couple of pictures from Thanksgiving. The first is a picture of the southern thankgiving meal my mom made for us (my family is from the deep south).  It includes of course turkey, sweet potato casserole  green bean casserole  cornbread dressing (NOT STUFFING!), southern sweet tea and cornbread and dinner rolls.

The second picture is of Mel's mom's turkey (sorry no table shots). She used an Ina Garten recipe. She also made green bean casserole, sweet potato pie, and stuffing. At both houses we ate too much. Two massive helpings of both meals, and thanksgiving football, with family lead to a great day. I hope everyone else who celebrates the holiday had a great one too.

San Chez

Tonight Mel and I dined at San Chez Tapas bistro. It was the first time we have been out at a higher priced restaurant in a while. In case you don't know, tapas are from Spain. They are small dishes meant to be either snacked on or shared with others. In Spain they cover the gamut from simple and cheap dishes like local cured ham and cheese, or bread rubbed with garlic and tomato, to very expensive seafood from a can that can run in to the hundreds of dollars per can. Needless to say, San Chez was between these two extremes.

The tappas run from $3.99 to $14.99 a plate. And remember, these are small plates, not huge entree's.

We decided on getting the red wine Sangria to drink, topped with Cava for a drier finish. You have your choices of red, white, or mixed wine, and either Cava or sprite. The Sprite adds a sweet finish to it.

(I would like to apologize ahead of time about some of the picture qualities. I used my phone and it took a few pictures to get the settings right.)

The first thing we ordered was a cup of soup called Feijoada. It was made with pork belly, chorizo, braised pork, black beans, and habanero salsa. The pork was outstanding. There was definitely more braised pork than any other pork cuts, but each came through the soup. The black beans added a nice textural contrast and added a roundness to the flavors. The habanero salsa added a little bit of heat. There was also a lime on the side. I suggest squeezing the lime in with soup. The acidity really brings out the flavors and brightens the soup up. With out it I felt that while very good, the flavors were kind of one note. The lime added a lot more character.

Next up was a plate of potato and cheese croquettes. Basically mashed potato, cheese and green onion, rolled in bread crumbs and deep fried until the outside is crispy and golden. These were served with a garlic aioli and jalapeno honey. They were fried perfectly. The centers were creamy and tasted like a good mashed potato. The only niggle I have was I felt the cheese could have come out more to the front. It was hidden to me. The aioli and jalapeno honey were a fantastic addition. The honey in particular was stand out... and I don't even like honey most of the time. It was a good start to the night.

Next was Pollo y chorizo a al plancha. Or, grilled chicken and chorizo. It was served with a cumin aioli. The chicken was cooked very nicely. It was still moist in the center. I mention this because I have come to realize that many restaurants actually serve dry chicken and try to cover the fact up with some sort of sauce. Not here. While the chicken was good, it really needed the cumin aioli to amp up the flavor. On its own the chicken was plain without really any seasoning. But with the aioli it really came to life. The chorizo was good.  It wasn't as spicy as I normally expect with chorizo. And it wasn't as dry/cured as a lot of chorizos I have had from Spain. That is not to say it is bad, because it isn't. It is just different. The chorizo was good and didn't need the aioli like the chicken did. It could stand on its own. It still had a nice spice, just not as much heat as I normally associate with chorizo. It was a nice simple dish.

Next we had patatas bravas (sorry, must have forgotten to take a picture). Literally translated to brave potatoes. Why? I don't know. Did some potatoes go on some epic journey and have dish named after them?  For me there were the low point of the dishes. For full disclosure, I make my own patatas bravas at home. And they put the San Chez ones to shame. Even Mel thinks so. The ones we ordered were more like seasoned breakfast home fried potatoes. You know, the cubed potatoes you fry up for breakfast to go with sausage. Except they were seasoned with a little cayenne pepper, paprika, and sugar. The dipping sauces of aioli and smoked tomato sauce were very good, and deserved better potatoes. Just as a comparison, and seriously, not to hype myself up, my potatoes are creamier, crunchier, and better seasoned.

 For the fourth round I had Gambas Al Ajillo: shrimp in olive oil with garlic, red pepper flakes and green onion. The thing I liked most about this was the simplicity of the dish. Just four ingredients. The oil had taken on the flavors of the garlic and red pepper. It was nice. The only downfall was the shrimp. I wish they were fresh from the Gulf or the Atlantic. Unfortunately the waitress informed us they were "tiger prawns." Also known as tiger shrimp and come from south-east Asia, usually Thailand. They were cooked as well as they could be, being frozen. Instead of being sweet and succulent, they were kind of rubbery and bland. To the cook's credit, I think they did as well as they could. Overall they were good, but could have been better.

  Bistec con Pimienta: peppered steak with cheese tortellini in a manchego mustard cream sauce. This dish was very heavy. The steak was very tender. It had a nice crust with a pleasant pepper taste that wasn't harsh, but mellow. I could tell it was a very fine cut of steak. The tortellini was good, with tri-colored pasta and a cheese filling. I have to say the tortellini was fairly run-of-the-mill, and I felt the pasta itself was a little over done. The cream sauce was really, really good. I enjoyed the cheese, mustard, cream combination. The mustard added a little tang. The sauce really tied the steak and the tortellini together. It was a very good dish, one of the standouts of the night. But definitely pair it with a lighter dish.

The final plate was was hummus de heirbus, hummus with herbs. The hummus was mixed with a herb pesto, topped with sherried vegetables, and covered with a tomato vinaigrette. I didn't feel this dish was very successful. Neither did Mel. The tomato vinaigrette was good on its own, but didn't really go with the rest of the plate. The herbed hummus was also disappointing. It had a nice, fresh herbal taste, but at the same time fell flat. It was actually dull. It didn't have any of the depth of flavor that I associate with hummus. The sherried veggies added a little bit of a pickled tasted to the dish. It wasn't offensive. It was actually ok. But throw all three together and it just didn't work out as well as it sounded like it should.

The finale was a lemon goat-cheese cheesecake with dates, hazelnuts, and shaved white chocolate. It was, perhaps, the best cheesecake I have ever had. Everything worked in perfect harmony. The lemon brightened up the heaviness of the cheesecake. The dates added a nice textural and flavor contrast. The same goes for the hazelnuts. Everything just went together. A perfect ending to the evening.

Now, to go over the other experiences. Admittedly it started off shaky. Some guy stepped in front of us when we were up to get seated. When we finally got seated it took about 10 min. before our server came to get our drink order. During that time we saw many staff just standing around. Probably because we got there before the rush. To her credit she apologized and it turns out it wasn't he fault. She was very good. She was timely in checking in with us to see how we were doing, but not overbearing. She also had good knowledge of the food on offer and recommended a few of the dishes we had. Overall she turned what started out as a bad experience into a great one.

One caveat, the bill can start adding up quickly. Since they are small plates, you will probably end up ordering at least 3 plates per person. Between Mel and I we shared 7 dishes plus dessert.

Overall it was a good experience. I feel somewhat conflicted though. I have been to a great restaurant, and because of this it is the measuring stick all other "fine dining" restaurants are judged, for better or worse. While I wouldn't exactly call San Chez fine dining, but it is upscale casual dining. While there are some parts of execution which I felt fell short, I would overall call it very good food. I definitely recommend this restaurant. It challenges Bistro Bella Vita for my "best of GR" for upscale casual dining. I will be going back.

My best of GR

So I'm taking a minute to give my favorite places to eat in GR.

HopCat: I love HopCat. If you like good beer this is the place to go. Beer Advocate magazine ranks it as the #3 beer bar on planet Earth and gives it a perfect score of 100. The beer is always rotating with a great selection of craft brews from around the world. Want a Belgian ale from Belgium? They got it. How about a German Marzen for Oktoberfest in the fall? They got it. They also carry beer from most, if not all, of the good local breweries such as Founders, New Holland, and Bells. But they are not just about the beer. They have great food too. The burgers are outstanding, the tacos are amazing, and they make a great basket of fish and chips. Sandwiches are very good as well. And crack fries, as the name implies, are addicting. They don't skimp on the portions either.

Stella's: Stella's is a whiskey bar, and it is owned by the same guy who owns HopCat. They have over 100 different whiskeys. They have the big names, as well as less known brands. They have low rung whiskeys as cheap as $3.50 and super high end whiskey at nearly $60 a glass. It's a whiskey lovers paradise. They also serve cheap well's and have a few beers on tap for non-whiskey drinkers. As far as the food goes let me say this... no other place as burgers as good. Their stuffed burgers were recently named Best Burger in America by GQ Magazine. They are big, stuffed with cheese, and cooked to perfection on house buns with seasoned fries similar to HopCat's crack fries. Also, there are arcade and pinball games everywhere. Its generally pretty dark in there, and it does attract some interesting (and mostly good natured) people, but it is well worth a trip.

Founders: Best brewery in the state of Michigan in my opinion, and one of the best in America. They make some of the best and most sought after beer in America. If you want their Kentucky Breakfast Stout in bottles to bring home with you, you better spend the night in line waiting for opening the next day. Last year there were close to 1000 people lined up around the building just in the hopes of getting a few bottles. And people drove from as far away as New Jersey and Colorado to try and get some. Currently they make 3 of the top 30 beers in the world according to Beer Advocate. They also have their regular stuff on tap all year as well as seasonal releases and one off, experimental or limited edition beers. The food is very good bar food. Sandwiches are huge ( I suggest the Godfather), fries plentiful. They also have other dishes other than sandwiches such as hummus and tapinade, beer cheese dip, and bruschetta.

Sazarac Lounge: No longer called that because of a stupid lawsuit... I like this place because of the food. Its one of the only places in GR that I know of to get Cajun/Creole food. Not all of it I would consider Cajun, as the seafood etouffee is not like you would get in NOLA. But the rest, such as the gator po'boys, red beans and rice, and jambalya are all good. And it serves a decent cup of gumbo. They also have good pizza and pasta dishes if the Cajun/Creole is not your thing. They have a good selection of beer and drinks.

Bistro Bella Vita: As far as an actual restaurant goes, this is probably one of the top three in Grand Rapids. I have yet to visit some of the other top places on my list (such as Chop House, Cygnus, and SixOneSix), but I know that BBV can hold with them. The restaurant is beautifully decorated with the painted duct work exposed. I have yet to be disappointed with the food on any of my visits. The last time I went I got the duck. It was cooked perfectly, which you don't always get in a restaurant. The dishes are well seasoned and flavors balance nicely. The drinks are good but some are a bit pricey. When asked about wine, the waiter was pretty knowledgeable which was nice.

Ruth's Chris Steakhouse: If you have ever been to one you can skip over this now because you already know what I am going to say. If not then read on. First of all, this place is about steak. And not just good or ok steak, but the top of the top steak. Last time I went I got the Filet. It was cooked perfectly medium rare as I had asked, was unbelievably tender and flavorful. Mel's ribeye was also perfection of steak on the the plate. The waiter was on top of his game, and offered to let us sample some wine before we made a decision. Not too many places I have been would actually offer that opportunity. It is pretty expensive though. Sides are ordered from the menu, not already included on the plate. But they are large in size so sharing is the best option. The last time I was there with Mel, we had an appetizer, two steaks, two sides (mashed potato and onion rings), and dessert (creme brulee). The total was well over $100.

Some other places that need mention: Best pizza (so far) goes to Brick Road Pizza; Best Breakfast to Wolfgang's, Best homemade pasta to Pietro's; Best sports bar to Uccello's.

I am looking forward to trying some new places in the future and will let you know what I think about them. Next up is San Chez tappas restaraunt. Stay tuned or it.