Georgina's of Traverse City

Last weekend Mel and I went up to Traverse City to celebrate her birthday. It was a special occasion because in addition to her birthday, it was the first time since our son was born in April that we were able to go out just the two of us. We started the trip by taking a tour at Founders to see the production facility. After that we drove up to Traverse City to take a tour of Grand Traverse Distillery. We also were going to take a winery tour, but the weather was kind of lousy to walk around a vineyard. After our tour, we headed downtown. A friend of mine from TC suggested we eat at Georgina's (as well as a few others), so we took her advice.

I have to say that the experience did not start off well. We arrived at 3:40, which is a little early for dinner but not unheard of. We were asked if we had a reservation. We didn't because we decided on the restaurant on the drive up to Traverse City. The hostess seemed to have a bit of an attitude which was a put off. She said that since we didn't have a reservation we could not be seated until 4. This seemed odd as there was only one table with anyone eating at it as well as a few people at the bar. It wasn't like it was busy, and judging by the reservation book, it wasn't going to be busy until around 6. After I said that it looked like we would be eating elsewhere, she said we could sit at the bar if we wanted. As we walked over to grab something to drink, she says "You still can't order any food!" At this point the only thing really keeping me there was the fact that my friend said the food was very good. Otherwise I would have walked out and gone to another establishment. She was the worst front of house I have experienced in memory. A little before 4 I went up to the front to request a table, at which point a new hostess at arrived and we were promptly seated.

Once seated, our server came over with menus. She made up for some of the negatives from earlier by being a very good server.

We started with the "Mini sombrero." These were tostones topped with pork, beans, and cheese. On top of that was some Pico, green onion, and sour cream. It was served with a hot salsa, that looked like it had habeneros, in a separate cup. The pork was well seasoned. As were the beans. The pico added some needed acid from the tomato to cut through the heaviness of the pork, cheese, beans, and fried tortilla. The cheese brought some saltiness to it as well. It came as four little bites and was a great starter in size and taste.

Mel ordered the Crema con queso tacos. These tacos are loaded with juicy, tender, flavorful pork. It was topped with a mound of salty Latin American style cheese and some crema and green onion. On the side was a mound of white rice, a crock of beans with crema, the hot habanero salsa, and a sweet thing (not sure what it was). It was a treat for the taste buds. The real star was the pork, which they advertise as Nicaraguan pork. It isn't a special breed of pork, but rather the way that it is cooked. Everything else serves as a vehicle to compliment the flavors of the pork. While not what I would call a "traditional" taco, it was very good none the less.

I was told I needed to get the Pad Thai. It was my friend's favorite. So that is what I did. It starts with rice vermicelli noodles. They were cooked perfectly. Then there were the vegetables. They added carrot, celery, and onion. It was topped with peanuts. The sauce contained some ginger, but it was hard to discern what else was in it. It was tasty though. There was the option of chicken or shrimp for the protein. I went with the shrimp. They were ok. The shrimp was cook fairly well. A little over for my taste but not rubbery. They were kind of bland, Definitely not like getting wild shrimp flown fresh in every day. Now, don't get me wrong, this dish was very good. But I don't know if I would call this Pad Thai. Pad Thai traditionally has a flatter, broad rice noodle that looks like linguine or fettuccine. It also has a more pronounced fish sauce and tamarind flavor, not to mention chili paste. In my opinion, this dish is more akin to a Filipino stir fried rice vermicelli that traditionally uses carrots and celery and onion. However, nomenclature aside, this is a good dish that I would order again from here.

So, was the hassle at the beginning worth it. Yes, but just by a little. Maybe she was having a bad day, or new. But it shows why the front of house is so important. We were ready to leave, but decided to stay. We were treated with good food which made up for the service the hostess provided. And our server did a good job to show that not everyone there was like that. So would I go back. Yeah, I think I would but it wouldn't be a must return on my next visit. Like I said, the food was really good. I could see something like this on Wealthy in East Town. But I think I would try a few places before returning, just to see what the rest of Traverse City has to offer. In the end, I do give this a recommendation to try.

Rak Thai Downtown

A couple of months ago Mel and I were visiting the Downtown Market and were getting pretty hungry. There were a number of places to eat in there but we settled on going to Rak Thai, mainly because the line was the shortest at the time. I am glad we ordered when we did because apparently the 30 people who showed up behind us all had the same idea.

I ordered the curry noodles. It comes with thick rice noodles, egg, peas, carrots, cilantro, green onion and bean sprouts, all in a red curry sauce. I chose chicken as my protein. Generally I am underwhelmed by curry noodles in restaurants. They seem to lack the depth in flavor I can get at home. I don't know if this is to make it more for the "American pallet" or because they just don't take the time to make a good curry. This was not the case here. The curry had a nice depth of flavor with a little bit of heat. I definitely could have used it hotter, but then again I don't experience heat like most people. The veggies all seemed fresh and the bean sprouts added a nice crunch. The noodles were perfectly cooked as well. Over all it was very good and I would order it again without hesitation.

Mel ordered the fried rice because she really likes fried rice. The rice came with egg, peas and carrots, onion, and served with cucumbers on the side. Mel left the cucumbers on the side. She also opted for chicken in her rice. It is stir fried with a garlic soy sauce. It was pretty good. Really the only difference between fried rice, in my experience, is the sauce and the cook of the rice. Everything else seems to be exactly the same. With that said, the rice was cooked very nicely. It was cooked through yet had a bit to texture that occurs when it is stir fried. The sauce was also good. You can taste when a quality soy sauce is used in fried rice, as inferior products have an almost artificial taste to them. This was a good soy sauce as it had depth and that umami characteristic. This fried rice was good, better than most. The sauce, veggies, and egg all combined really well. There were not any giant chunks of egg. It was incorporated very nicely.

I would heartily recommend Rak Thai in the Downtown Market if you are there and need a quick bite. After experiencing this location, I look forward to going to one of their other restaurants with larger menus.

Electric Cheetah Again

Some how this didn't get published and has been sitting in draft. I don't know how I didn't realize this before. So from the end of March:
Mel and I decided to head to Electric Cheetah again for dinner not too long ago. I really like this place for its sandwiches and the root beer line up. This will be short as I have already talked about this place a little more in depth earlier on the site.

(Pics to come soon)

 I wish I could remember the name of my sandwich. It was part of the revolving and ever changing sandwiches on the menu. It would be fair to say that it was about as German a sandwich as you could get. Inside was a bratwurst that was cut in half and each side seared on the grill. It was a very good brat that would have been happy in a different style but, but I am happy it came on mine. It was dressed up with some cheese, spicy brown German style mustard, crispy fried onion, and served on a pretzel bun. I wish they still had it on the menu because it was one of the best sandwiches I have had in while. Very creative, very delicious, and very German.

Mel ordered the Electric Cheetah Mac and Cheese. It has a seven cheese blend, with a touch of Dijon mustard and paprika. It is topped with crispy bacon, bread crumbs, and green onion. It was very creamy, but the bacon, in addition to a little saltiness, provided a nice textural contrast, as did the bread crumbs. The little bit of mustard and paprika made the sauce pop and the actual noodles were cooked well. They weren't cooked to much, bur retained some firmness. It was a good bowl of mac and cheese.

I still highly recommend them for their sandwiches and root beer. Their mac and cheese is pretty good too.

The Green Well

Well I'm back. As you could probably tell it has been extremely busy around my place lately, hence the lack of going out to new places and writing about them. In fact this one should have been written over a month ago, but like I said, super busy. I guess that happens when you are expecting your first child. There is so much to do, and all of your time and extra money seems to be funneled into getting ready for the baby. That doesn't leave much to go out and try new places for this blog. For instance, the last few places we have gone have consisted of Jimmy John's, Buffalo Wild Wings, and Uccello's. And I have already written about Uccello's before. And nothing has changed for me to re-write on it. Wow, I am rambling on. OK, without further adieu, here is The Green Well.

We had a night out with our friends, Nick and Julia, at the beginning of December and we all felt like The Green Well would be a good choice. It is a place that Mel and I had been wanting to go to for a while. It is located on Cherry St. right across from Brewery Vivant and The Grove. I would say that it fits in between those two places, with the Grove higher end and Vivant a brewery. Like the Grove it has a great atmosphere.

I chose the Korean Braised Beef and Noodles. It is under their "Tweener" menu, which is said to be between a starter and entree. In all honesty, it is a big plate of food that I couldn't finish. The beef was tender and had a nice spice to it. Not as in hot, but as in actual spice. It definitely had a Chinese five spice flavor going on, which went well with the ginger beef broth the egg noodles were in. Add to that the chopped, roasted peanuts for texture and cilantro for a little fresh pop. The best part was the egg that was left runny, so the yolk mingled in the sauce and added some creaminess to it. I really liked this plate and the interplay of all the flavors and textures.

Nick ordered the sage spaetzle. The spaetzle was infused with sage and came topped with cabbage, sweet potatoes, caramelized apple, red onion, pecans and goat cheese with some brown butter on the bottom. The spaetzle was cooked nicely and had some toothiness to it. The sage flavor was very subtle. There was a lot going on, and it didn't seem like it would all work, but it does because of the goat cheese. It added a tangy note that balanced out the heavy sweet (sweet potatoes, apples, and onions) and nutty (pecans, brown butter) flavors and really brought everything together. Without it, the plate would have fallen down and would not have been very good at all.

Mel and Julia both ordered the Green Well Burger. It was a good burger, but fairly standard fare. But standard fare can be really good if done right, and this was done right. It is a simple, thick beef patty topped with bacon, your choice of cheese, caramelized onion, lettuce and tomato on a locally made bun. When you combine bacon and cheese you have a recipe for a good burger. And it is hard to mess that up unless you over cook the bacon, onion, or beef. Thankfully, these were cooked to order perfectly. Would I order this from the menu? I don't know. There are other offerings I would rather try, but that isn't to discourage anyone from ordering this on a night out. It is a good burger.

We also ordered dessert. Mel and I got the caramel cheese cake while Nick and Julia ordered an apple cobbler like dish served in a cast iron skillet with a scoop of ice cream. Both were very good. Both were on the heavier side of desserts. And both were very sweet. But both were great ending so the meal. The cheesecake was cooked perfectly and the salted caramel was a nice foil to the cheese cake. The crust was perfectly done as well. And in the skillet everything went together very nicely, with the hot/cold interplay and the savory/sweet components were balanced nicely.

I would definitely like to go back at some point to try some of the other offering and I gladly recommend it. Good food, good atmosphere, with good friends. It's a recipe for success.

The Grove

A couple weeks ago we got the rare privilege of dining at The Grove. Mel was turned on to it by a coworker who said that we had to try it and that it was one of the best restaurants in town. So we found time to head out there. They have it where you can either choose to a 3 course meal, or you can eat al a carte. We both chose the 3 courses, with a starter and dessert.

We started with a plate of three of the starters. We chose the goat cheese with fried biscuits and saffron honey and orange marmalade; chicken wings with kimchi, peanuts, and curry; and cheese hush puppies with a sriracha sauce. The goat cheese paired really well with the honey and marmalade, and the fried biscuits were really good. It was the pick of the three. The wings were good as well, but not as much to Mel's liking. They had a little bit of heat and the kimchi paired well with it. The hush puppies were really good too. The cheese was in with the actual hushpuppy and it went really well with the sauce. The only thing I didn't like as much were the pickled veggies that came with them.

Mel's first plate was a gnocchi with pumpkin and duck confit. The gnocchi were perfectly made and paired well with the sweetness of the pumpkin and saltiness of the confit. It also had nice balance with the greens that added a little bitterness to round out the flavors of the dish.

I started with the quail with beans, a mustard sauce, and a fried egg. This was the first time I had eaten quail, and it was very good. I would liken it to more like a duck or the dark meat of a turkey than to chicken. The egg had a nice runny yolk that mixed in well with the beans. The mustard sauce paired really well with the quail. Overall a very good dish.

Mel had the potato soup next. It had a little salad and potato chips with it. The soup was incredibly creamy and the chips added some texture. The little salad also brought a little bit of freshness to the soup. It was a good second dish in the meal.

I had the seared and rare steak salad. In addition to the steak were peppers, caramelized onions, fried shoestring potatoes and greens. There was also a parsnip puree. The steak was delicious. While rare, it had a lot of flavor to it. The fried potatoes added some texture and onions and peppers some sweetness. The puree went great with the steak. The only issue I had was not enough steak and too many peppers. If there were a few more pieces of steak I would have been a lot happier. But over all it was good.

Mel's final plate was pork two ways, with roasted loin and crispy pork belly. It came with roasted potatoes and squash, and fried grits. The veggies were good, and so was the loin. Nothing really special. The pork belly and fried grits though were outstanding. The fattiness and saltiness of the belly was the perfect foil to the grits. A plate of just that would have been worth the price.

My final plate was walleye with patatas bravas, harissa sauce, radishes and veggies. The walleye was cooked perfectly and went really well with the sauce. The patatas bravas were well seasoned and had good flavor. The radishes provided a nice crispness to the plate. Once again a good plate.

We finished with a buttermilk lemon poppyseed ice cream. It was the perfect end to the meal. The lemon was refreshing while the buttermilk added some tanginess and creaminess to the ice cream. The poppy seeds brought some texture to the ice cream. A good end to the meal.

Overall I was extremely impressed with The Grove. It easily gets my recommendation. In fact it is better than some of the more established restaurants in the city. I would happily put this up there with Bistro Bella Vita and will definitely go there again.

Fajita Republic

A few weeks ago we visited Fajita Republic by Celebration Cinema North. Mel was craving some Mexican food, so we decided to try someplace new. Overall it was a pretty good experience.

(pictures coming soon)

We started with the chicken flautas. The best way to describe the flauta is that it is like a large taquito. It was filled with chicken, tomatoes, and a bunch of different spices. It is then fried. Accompanying them was a chipotle ranch dipping sauce. These were by far the best part of the meal for me. The tortilla was nice and crispy on the outside, but still soft and pliable enough that it didn't fall apart when bit into. the filling was well balanced and the dipping sauce highlighted the flauta. They were very yummy.

For the main we got three tacos. The tacos come in pairs so we just split each plate. We got the carne asada tacos, grilled tequila lime chicken taco, and Mexican Coke carnitas taco.

Overall the tacos were good. They aren't the best I have had. That honor goes to San Jose Taqueria. But they were, for the most part very good. Mel and I were split on our favorite. I liked the steak carne asada best. It had skirt steak with a cilantro salsa and chili oil, topped with queso fresco. The chicken is marinated in tequila-lime, with a roasted corn salsa, chipotle ranch, and queso fresco. This was Mel's favorite. We were both in agreement that the coke carnitas was our least favorite.

We had a great server who made some excellent recommendations, especially with the flautas. On a side note, I was very happy to see that they have a ghost chili salsa that packs a bunch of heat. You know how I like my hot stuff.

I can definitely give Fajita Republic a recommendation. Is it the best Mexican restaurant in town? No it isn't. But it is a good alternative to a place like On the Boarder. If you are wanting Mexican food and are in the area or seeing a movie, I think this is your best bet.

The Good Life Bistro

Mel and I decided to go to a restaurant we hadn't been to in a while for her birthday. So we went to Bistro Bella Vita, located downtown GR.

The service was outstanding. In fact, it went above and beyond expectations. He was attentive without hovering and would check back to make sure our orders were made correctly. This was appreciated as one of Mel's dishes was wrong. The sauce was too soupy and watery. We brought it to the attention of our server, who promptly took it back after noting that it did look wrong. A replacement of her dish was promptly brought back out and was correctly made. When we got the bill her entree was not on the bill. They had taken it off since it was not correctly made the first time. Needless to say we tipped him very generously for his outstanding service.

We started with one of the specials for the day. It was a crostini with herbed goat cheese, fresh peas, and chorizo with a red wine reduction and olive oil. Everything really worked well. The red wine reduction added both sweetness and acidity which helped cut through the heaviness of the cheese and chorizo. The cheese brought some saltiness to the dish as well as creaminess that off set the texture of the bread. The chorizo had some nice smoke and spice. The peas and the olive oil added some nice "green" flavors that helped elevate all the other flavors. Overall this was an amazing beginning to the meal. It was well balanced and had great flavor.

For my entree I chose another special, duck orecchiette with baby kale, red bell peppers, butternut squash and a garlic cream sauce. There was also pecorino cheese. The pasta was perfectly al dente and the perfect vehicle for this plate. The duck was confit and was succulent and added some richness and saltiness. The bell peppers and butternut squash added sweetness to the entree while the baby kale brought some bitterness that complimented everything else. This was the first time I had ever had butternut squash. The only squash I have had was the regular yellow squash that people usually cook with a little butter. I don't really like that squash. But I really liked this butternut squash. I have since used it in meals at home. Back to this though, it was a very good pasta dish that was very well balanced with a ton of flavor. That duck was the star of the show and everything else either served as its vehicle or supported it. Very good dish.

The first one

The replacement

Mel ordered the four cheese ravioli. It comes with tomatoes, spinach, onion, and garlic in a white wine butter sauce. As you can see, the top plate was the one that was brought out the first time. Notice how watery and how much sauce was in there. The second one below was how it is supposed to look. Much better. The pasta was of the right thickness and texture for a ravioli. The cheese filling was outstanding. It was creamy and flavorful. I find it easy for cheese ravioli to be bland. The wrong proportion of cheeses can lead to a flavorless mess. Not so here. The tomatoes added some nice acidity. And, surprise, worked well with the ravioli and spinach. Go figure, an Italian dish with tomatoes. The sauce compliments the cheese, pasta and veggies. The onion and garlic added some sweetness to balance out the acid and savory of the other ingredients. It is a nice ravioli dish. It is fairly traditional type Italian food, but done very well.

For dessert we chose another of the specials, a pound cake with rum soaked pineapples, coconut flakes and coconut whipped cream, with salted, rum caramel. The cake was very dense, but it was delicious with a distinct vanilla flavor. The pineapples were sweet and tart and had a bit of a rum flavor to them. The salted caramel offset the sweetness of the whipped cream and pineapples. The coconut rounded out everything. It was a very successful dish that was sweet without being cloying.

Bistro Bella Vita has a reputation as one of the best restaurants in the city. It certainly lived up to the hype. Great food and great service is a winning combination. Definitely a great place that we will go back to again. Highly recommended.

Ruth's Chris Anniversary

Last month we went out to Ruth's Chris steak out for our anniversary. Two years! In fact now that I think about it, I have been doing this blog for two years. I guess it seems appropriate that this restaurant is the one that gets the honor of being the anniversary post.

We wanted to go back to Ruth's Chris as it is the place we got engaged. Well, ok, not actually in the restaurant. It happened in the Amway prior to going to dinner there. Nonetheless we felt it would be nice to go back for a special dinner. First off, the staff were awesome and continually congratulated us on our anniversary. The wait staff were attentive without hovering and did a great job moving the dining experience along.

(Pics to follow soon)

We started with a plate of tempura fried onion rings. The onion was sweet, which meant it was cooked through. The batter was light and crispy, as a tempura should be. It was also free of excess grease which means that it was fried at the correct temperature. The dipping sauce was Asian inspired with tastes of soy, green onion, a hint of chili pepper and ginger. It was a really good pairing of the sweet onion rings with the savory sauce.

For our entree we both ordered the filet. I ordered mine Med-Rare, Mel, Med. Their steaks are always so tender and flavorful. I barely had to use my knife to cut through my steak. I don't know if they finish with butter or not, but their steaks just taste better than any other steaks I have eaten. And it is surprising because technically, this is a chain restaurant. You just don't get the same quality control of the food with other chains. The beef melts in your mouth. A few chews, let the flavor linger, then swallow. No need to chew for 30 seconds to break down the steak. It is that tender. I could almost use just my fork, and we are talking about a thick piece of meat.

For the sides (they are ale carte) we chose the au gratin potatoes and fresh asparagus, because it's spring and asparagus is in season. The potatoes were perfectly cooked. They kept their shape and integrity, meaning they weren't over cooked into a mash. They were covered in butter and delicious cheese that was gooey and melty and delicious. The asparagus was cooked beautifully with a hint of salt and was served with a perfect holandaise sauce accompaniment. Both paired well with the steak we were eating.

For dessert there were multiple options, but we chose the special of Key Lime pie. When it came out, around the rim of the plate was written "Happy 2nd Anniversary" with a little heart. It was a nice touch. The pie had a wonderfully sweet and intense lime flavor with a little bit of sourness on the finish that created a nicely rounded dessert. There were also little dots of cherry flavored syrup that added a nice punch with the key lime and chocolate. It was one of the best Key Lime pies I have ever had, and that is saying something as I love Key Lime pie.

Overall it was a wonderful night out on the town where we could splurge a little, as we had been saving up for a night out for our special day. The food, the service, the little touches, all contributed to making this a great experience. I happily recommend Ruth's Chris Steakhouse to anyone. Is it pricey? Yes it is. But I think it is worth it.

Harmony Brewery

A few weeks ago Mel and I went over to Harmony Brewing in East Town. We had heard that they made a mean pizza, so of course we had to try it out.

We started off with some of their bread sticks. To be blunt, they were really good. They start out like many other bread sticks you would find at any number of restaurants, flat bread topped with cheese. But then they add a balsamic glaze, drizzled on top. It is just the right amount, where there is a nice acidic bite that cuts through the heaviness of the butter and cheese on top of the bread. So you get this great butter and cheese flavor accented by a bright burst of acid. On top of that is a little bit of oregano that adds a little herbaciousness to the bread sticks. It is really an interesting idea that I am surprised more places haven't done.

We ordered the crispy pig pizza. It comes with prosciutto, pepperoni, ham, fresh mozzarella, and fresh basil. There were generous portions of each meat on the pizza. They definitely do not skimp on it. The cheese has a great creaminess and elasticity. It is very mild and allows the other toppings to shine. The basil balances everything else out. Because of course basil, tomato, and mozzarella go together like peanut butter and jelly. The crust was good as well. I would have liked it to be done just a little bit more. One side started to get this great, browned, almost charred edge. After being in Italy, I am convinced that every great pizza should be almost burnt on the edges and underneath. It adds a lot more flavor to the crust, especially if it is wood fired. As it was, only half of the pizza started getting this. The other half was fairly dough colored. That is not to say the dough wasn't any good. It was. I personally would have liked it a little bit darker. Overall though it is a really good pizza. Up there with the best GR has to offer.

I recommend giving this place a try, especially for the pizzas.

Dewey and Wintzell

Last on my round up (finally) are the seafood joints of Wintzell's and Dewey Destin's, two of my favorite places to eat anywhere. Wintzell's started out in downtown Mobile in the 1930's, but has now franchised out into other areas like Saraland, Spanish Fort, Huntsville, and even Pittsburgh. Dewey Destin's is in Destin, FL and is basically a little shack on the water. It too has branched out into two locations, though both are very close to each other in Destin.

First up is Wintzell's. The one we went to is the first "new" location in west Mobile, off Airport. I don't remember when this one opened, but it has been there for a while. I would guess at least 15 years. I make it a point to go there every time I visit Mobile. We started by ordering a basket of fried pickles. I am of the opinion that no place can fry pickles (let alone many other things) like the South can. I don't know why, but all the fried pickles that I have had anywhere else just don't taste as good. Once again, these are good fried pickles. The coating was crispy and well seasoned, the pickles still juicy and flavorful. It came with ranch dressing to dip them in. I don't know if it was house made, but it passed my ranch aficionado wife's approval.

Brent and I ordered a dozen oysters on the half shell to split. I love fresh, raw oysters. I know they weird some people out, but I find them tasty. They also always taste a little different depending on the time of year, the salinity of the water when caught, and other environmental factors. They can range from sweet to briny to minerally in taste. The ones we had were on the salty/briny side, my favorite. Winzell's is known as an oyster house, and as such they get their oysters in fresh everyday and you can tasted that it is so. They send the oysters out with crackers, horseradish, and lemon wedges and there is ketchup and hot sauce at the table. I like they give the options because some people like to eat their oysters with the different toppings and/or on crackers. I personally like to add some toppings, but my favorite is just nude out of the shell.

Brent and I split the J.O. Platter. We chose the fried one because why not. Fried seafood is delicious. But there is a broiled option as well. The platter comes with fish, scallops, stuffed crab, oysters, and shrimp and we chose cheesy grits for the side. A quick aside about the grits; they were cooked well and very cheesy. The seafood was fried perfectly. It wasn't greasy. It was crispy on the outside yet the seafood was perfectly done on the inside. It is quite a feat to achieve, as most seafood when overcooked turns tough and rubbery or simply falls apart. The shrimp and scallops were sweet and perfectly cooked right in the sweet spot between "not quite done yet" and "turned into rubber." The oysters kept their silky texture. The fish was flaky and moist. The stuffed crab was sweet and savory. The hush puppies were also perfectly fried. I can't express enough how hard it is to fry seafood perfectly. And to have a huge platter like this come out with everything the way it should be is impressive. I have been to higher end, "upscale" restaurants that have had trouble with having all the seafood come out perfectly done.

The service was good overall, although there was a point where our waitress didn't come back for a while. But she was very polite, apologized, and explained the situation (If I remember correctly someone didn't show up for their shift or something like that). Really and truly, there is no place like the south for service and hospitality.

As mentioned Dewey Destin's is in Destin, FL. The one we went to is the little shack on the water known as the Crab Island location. This place knows its seafood.

I started off with a cup of gumbo. A little warning, this gumbo is on the spicy side. But I love it that way. The flavors are so deep and together. It really has a great seafood flavor to the base. The Gumbo is loaded with shrimp and crab. It also has okra, rice, onion, bell pepper, and celery. They make one of the best gumbos in my opinion.

I got the crab claw basket. It was loaded with crab claws, perfectly fried. The crab was incredibly sweet. The batter is a little bit on the lighter side, but doesn't lack for flavor. It also comes with fries and hush puppies, and I chose some cole slaw as a side. 

Mel got their cheeseburger and added bacon to it. The burger was cooked nicely and was loaded with tomato, pickles, onion, and lettuce. It was a tasty little burger. You would generally think being a seafood shack the burger would be and afterthought. But it wasn't. It was good enough to be on any restaurant menu. It came with fries. (I apologize for the the tilted picture. For some reason every time I upload it, even if it is the right way, it posts sideways.)

Brent ordered the stuffed shrimp. The basket contains huge shrimp, cased in fresh crab meat, which is then wrapped in bacon, and then deep fried until crispy. I will let that sink in for a minute.... If that does not sound epic for seafood, I don't know what is. The fact that it all cooks well, and nothing is over or under done is amazing. It is so over the top. But so good at the same time. The crispy, salty bacon is the perfect foil to the sweeter crab and shrimp.

 We finished with a slice of home made key lime pie. It was a good slice of pie that was perfectly balanced between sweet and tart. It had a great lime flavor that was natural and not artificial. The crust was graham cracker and was the perfect base for this. The texture was spot on, being silky smooth. It was a great end to a great meal and great time.

The people there were incredibly friendly and treated us like we were regulars they have known for years. And it is hard to beat the view too

View from the table

A pod of dolphin not too far off the dock

Jason's Deli and Zaxby's

(Pictures to come soon)
This time I will be doing a short write up on two chains, Jason's Deli and Zaxby's as I try to get these done. My backlog is growing as I continue to work three jobs... not enough time in a day!

Jason's Deli is a soup and sandwich chain with a ton of restaurants across the country. We stopped by because Brent said they had a good muffeletta sandwich. And he was right. It was pretty good. Now is it going to be as good as the ones you can order in the Big Easy? Well, of course the answer is no. Those are magical concoctions. But it is good, and is huge. A half sandwich is the size of a normal sandwich at most other places. It is loaded with olives and ham. It was good and better than I expected. The price for what we got was good too. The gumbo was decent too. It had a little kick to it, but overall had good flavor. Definitely better than any I have had up here. I definitely recommend it for a place to grab a quick bite. Also, free ice cream!

Zaxby's can be though of as a little more upscaled Chick-Fil-A. Chicken is their thing, and they do their thing well. Mel and I both got grilled chicken on our sandwich, so I don't know how Zaxby's fried chicken sandwiches compare with Chick-Fil-A's classic fried chicken sandwich. But I have to say ours were tasty and the size of the chicken breast was large. I ordered a cajun spiced sandwich and it had a little bit of a kick, but was balanced over all. I liked going there as a change from Chick-Fil-A. I don't know if I would say one is better than the other, but they both have their places next to each other.

Whew, two more down, only two to go from Mobile. Then I can get back to the local backlog.

Saucy-Q

Entry two for Mobile eateries is Saucy-Q BBQ. I'll just say that we didn't have a great experience. Brent had a game that night. So Mel and I went to the game, and after all three of us drove down Government Street to go to Saucy-Q. So we looked on the website to see when they close. The website said they closed at 9. We arrived a little after 8. We originally were going to dine in. But we were informed we would only have 20 min. to eat before we got kicked out and the restaurant closed for the night. We looked at each other all with the same, "you can't be serious" look. I have never heard of a restaurant telling people ordering food before they closed that they only had so much time before they got kicked out. If someone was in well past close just sitting there, I can understand telling them to leave. But not when you arrive almost an hour before close. So we all ordered the ribs, because the chicken was out. So we got our food to go and ate it at Brent's place. It was, fairly pedestrian. The ribs were ok. Nothing great though. I would compare them to what you can get at Famous Dave's.  Maybe even a little worse. I don't know. They were that unremarkable. There was some smoke flavor. They were somewhat tender. The sauce was pretty standard fare. So to recap, horrible customer service, coupled with mediocre bbq equals no endorsement from me. If you want BBQ, especially if it's pulled pork, go to the Brick Pit. Skip Saucy-Q

The BrickPit

For the belated first entry in the Mobile eatery series, I am writing on Brick Pit BBQ. This place is located in a little house off of Old Shell Road near the University of South Alabama. If it wasn't for the sign and for Google Maps, it would have been easy to miss. It is set off the road a little bit with some beautiful old oak trees out front. Add to the fact it was dark and raining, you can see how it might be hard to miss on first pass. The one clue was the delicious smell of smoke in the air. Inside are a bunch of tables with walls covered in the names of past visitors as well as decorations of Alabama and (unfortunately) Auburn football.

First things before I get to the food, the staff was so friendly, welcoming, and inviting. We found a table as it was a sit on your own. We were immediately greeted and asked if it was our first time there. We said it was, and he immediately walked around from behind the counter and stand next to us and show us the menu. He treated us like we were regulars, asked if we wanted anything to drink, and had it on the table before we finished deciding what we wanted to order. We felt at home.

We all ordered the pulled pork. This pork is smoked for 30 hours and it tastes like it, in a good way. The meat had this beautiful smokey, crispy exterior that you get little bites of in the dish. When you order, they ask if you want the normal sauce or the hotter sauce. Mel got the normal, I got the spicy. Both perfectly complimented the meat. The regular was a little sweet with a good vinegar taste that is traditional to the south. The spicy still had that as well, but with more heat. However it didn't take away from the pork. The meat was incredibly juicy and had a beautiful smoke ring. The sides were awesome as well. The beans must be smoked in the smoker with the pork as they have this wonderful smokey flavor that compliments the beans without being overpowering. The coleslaw and the potato salad we of similar high quality. I have been to a few great BBQ joints, this is by far the best pulled pork I have ever eaten anywhere.

With the incredibly warming and welcoming staff, and the amazing pulled pork, I highly recommend Brick Pit BBQ. If you are ever in Mobile you need to go there.

The Mobile roundup

At the beginning of March, Mel and I went down south to visit my brother in Mobile, AL. Since we were on vacation, we decided to splurge a little and eat out a number of days. Over the next week I will be doing in depth reviews of some of the restaurants (with pictures), but for now I wanted to give a short overall summery of our experiences. Also I will be doing another review of a local GR eatery. It is exciting for me to be able to do this again, as it has been a few months since Mel and I have been able to eat out.

Seafood
Wintzells: This is one of my favorite places to go get seafood when visiting Mobile and Destin. Great gumbo, fresh oysters, perfectly fried fish, and a good selection of non-seafood items. Also have great fired dill pickles.

Dewy Destin's: The place to visit for seafood when in Destin, Fl. Fresh seafood brought in on the boats. The restaurant is literally right on the water, boats can dock up to it. Prices are decent, but they have gone up quite a bit compared to what it used to be. But the product is worth it.

BBQ
Brick Pit BBQ: Seriously good BBQ. Easily in my top two BBQ places I have ever been to.

Saucy Q BBQ: We went based on reviews we read online. They were wrong. I'll leave it at that for now.

Other:
Jason's Deli: We got the Muffaletta sandwich. It lived up to the reputation of the New Orleans classic. Also they make a pretty good pot of Gumbo

Zaxby's: Similar to a Chik-Fil-A but offer a little bit larger selection of sandwiches.

As I said, I will be doing more in depth reviews of these over the next week. Also I will be doing on on Bagger Dave's (apparently I never posted it), and a revisit to Electric Cheetah. Welcome back everyone.

Good bye 2013, Here is some Oxtail for you

Hey all! I hope everyone had a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. I've been at this now for about a year and half. It doesn't seem like it. So without any further ado, the last posting of 2013.

Yesterday I made an oxtail dish for Mel. We were at Byron Meats, a butcher shop in Byron Center, MI, where she spotted some oxtails and wanted to get some. So I prepared them last night. I got a large pot out and heated it over high heat. I added some olive oil to the pot, seasoned all sides of the oxtail with salt and pepper, and browned all sides of the oxtail. Some beef broth was added so it covered about 1/2 way up the oxtails, the lid put on, and the oxtails braised for about 3 hours. With 15 min. to go I chopped up some onion, garlic, and grated a carrot. I saute'd them over medium high heat in olive oil until the onions started getting some color. I added about 2/3 cup of cream and a couple ladles of the braising liquid to the skillet to make a sauce and let it reduce for about 10 min. In the mean time I took the oxtails out to cool and shred the meat off the bone, and added fettuccine to salted boiling water and cooked it for one minute less than what was on the box because it will finish cooking in the sauce. To put it all together I put the meat in the sauce followed by the pasta and tossed everything together well. If the sauce is a little too thick at this point you can add a little more braising liquid or pasta water to the pan. Serve as is. It is time consuming in the fact it takes so long for the oxtail to cook, but you can basically set it over low heat and forget about it for a few hours. It is also an incredibly easy dish with tons of flavor and it makes a wonderful winter meal.

Finally, I would like to thank all my readers for taking time to read my blog. I really appreciate that you take time out of your day to read what I write.  

XO

First of all, sorry about the lack of updates recently. It has been a busy time around the house with Thanksgiving, working more, holiday shopping, etc. As such there hasn't been much time to try new places and review them. Or to return to past ones for a second bite review. However we were able to go out to eat last week. We decided to try XO Asian Cuisine located downtown on Monroe. Mel is very cautious about trying new Asian restaurants, but had tried some food from XO because it was catered in for a lunch. She wanted to try the actual restaurant and so we headed downtown. (Pictures will be coming later.)

The restaurant is attractive, albeit a little comical in the use of Asian decor. It is also located right in the heart of downtown. The prices are good, especially for the amount of food brought out.

We started with some dumplings that were steamed and fried. They were filled with pork, green onion, and ginger. The dipping sauce was a soy sauce with a little green onion, ginger, and maybe sesame oil. The dumpling was good. It was cooked nicely and the had a nice consistency to it. There were actual pieces of pork and veggies in it as apposed to a over minced mush. The flavors were good and melded nicely. The only thing I didn't care for was the little salad under it. It was not needed.

For the mains Mel got sesame chicken and I got sambal chicken. Both, in my opinion, were fairly mundane and could be found at any number of Asian buffets. The sesame chicken was slathered in that unnatural orange colored sauce that you see at 99% of Chinese restaurants. The sambal chicken was also underwhelming. I may be wrong, but from what I know, sambal is Thai chili paste. There didn't seem to be much in there. The shrimp paste was the prominent flavor. The chicken was a little mealy. The veggies were cooked well though. The rice was also pretty good. It was nice and sticky and worked well with the dishes.

Despite these quibbles, I have to admit that the dishes are attractively priced. Our meal, of starter and two mains, came in under $30. Also the service was good. The waitress was attentive without being hovering, and the food came out fast. I have to say I was disappointed by the food. I was hoping for a more authentic Asian meal, not the mainstream, made for American tastes stuff found everywhere. I like to think I cook a little bit more authentic food at home. And that was the real shame. My expectations for Asian food were let down and my search for a tastier, more authentic Asian restaurant continues. However, I can say that if you are downtown and want a decent, well priced Asian inspired meal XO is a good place to start.

The brother's Grube kitchen

Last night my youngest brother Tay came over and we cooked a meal together. It was something that we had been talking about for a while, especially since he got a job working in the kitchen of a local restaurant called Rockwell's. So Tay, Mel, and I had a nice meal on a Saturday night watching football. Below is a sampling of what we made.

We started with my patatas bravas with garlic aioli. I won't go into too much detail about them because I have already covered them in an earlier post or two. Basically they are fried potatoes tossed in a spice mixture and served with the garlic aioli which really compliments the potatoes. This was our starter.

This was probably the star of the night. I call it a deconstructed paella. I started by making the broth. I put chicken stock in a sauce pan with a lot of garlic, onion, tomato, a half of an anaheim chili pepper, and saffron and let it reduce a long time. Basically what came out may be one of the single best components to a dish I have ever created. And the only word that Tay or myself could come up with to describe it was "sexy." I cooked some arborio rice so that it was al dente and somewhat stiff, as opposed to a risotto which is creamier. This was cooked in chicken stock. I then browned chorizo in a pan so that it became crispy and then added chicken to the same pan to help give the chicken some more flavor. I also fried up some chicken skin until it was crispy and delicious for a textural contrast to the rest of the dish. It was finished with some finely sliced green onion. All the flavors of a chicken and chorizo paella present, without cooking it in the traditional way. I am definitely doing this again so I can refine it and make it better. But for just pulling it out of my head and putting it on a plate for the first time it came out great.

To finish it all off, Tay made this apple chutney and brie on a baguette. He diced up some granny smith apples, red onion, and some anaheim chili peppers and cooked them down with some butter and added red wine vinegar to it. He also spiced it with some cinnamon and added some brown sugar to it as well. He buttered and toasted the baguette, added a slice of brie and threw it under the broiler for a minute to melt the brie. He then topped it with the chutney and garnished with a thin slice of apple. We had the first bite and it was good. The chutney was a little on the sweet side, but all in all it was a good finish to the meal. However, I tried my second with the slice and apple, and it completely changed the dish for the better. The freshness of the apple, which was tart and slightly bitter, mellowed the sweetness of the chutney, highlighted the taste of the brie, and punctuated the baguette. It was like listening to a song with one of the instruments missing. It might sound ok. But then the missing piece is added and it is a new, better experience. We all agreed the apple slice made the dish that much better. It went from a good ending to a great ending for the meal.

Quick update, chili madness

Sorry it has been over a month since my last post. It has been extremely busy as I have been in the middle of soccer season on top of working. Needless to say I haven't had much time to write. Or even go out to eat. Anyway, I thought I would share a little story about what happened last week.

Last week Mel and I went to the farmers market. Of course being the prime season for chili peppers, I was on a mission to find some new and/or exotic super hot peppers. We came across a stand calling itself "the furnace." They had at least 6 different peppers as hot or hotter than habenero peppers. I asked about a little tiny pepper called a Peruvian White Lightning pepper. The guy asked if I wanted to try it. He said "I am warning you, it's hotter than a standard habenero." So of course I said OK. I took a bite. It was hot but had a good flavor. The guy just stood there looking at me. He finally said, "You didn't really eat that and chew it up, did you?" I showed him the pepper and and took another bite. He looked amazed and called some other guys over. He was saying stuff like you aren't crying or anything. I just looked at him and said that it was hot but that I was actually there for some of the ghost chili's they had toward the back. He had a quizzical look on his face, which was about the point Mel says "He eats them raw." I think about that point all the guys' jaws dropped. He hands me one and wanted to see it. At this point there are about 6 people watching me eat another ghost chili. I got barraged with a bunch of questions after: How can you eat that? Is that even hot for you? Etc, etc, etc. So then I was offered a chocolate habenero, which had a deeper flavor to it in contrast to the bright, almost floral character of regular habeneros. Then a lemon habenero which does have a lemony taste to it. They were trying to find a red savina habenero which is the hottest habenero but couldn't find it. So I bought the little white lightning peppers and some ghost chilis. I only wanted 3 but they threw in a handful for the same price because I had eaten the one raw without falling over in pain. It was a fun little experience which even Mel admitted she enjoyed.

Wentzell's Oyster House

I remember when there was only one Wentzell's in Mobile, AL. It was downtown and I heard great things about it. Then, they decided to put one in the west side of town, on Airport Blvd, across from Providence Hospital. I have fond memories eating there every now and then when visiting Mobile and as a student at the University of Mobile. I had the chance to eat at the Airport Wentzell's once again a couple of weeks ago, 8/24/13. I drove down there with my brother, to help him move in, as he just got hired to a teaching position in Mobile. My one day there we ate at that Wentzell's for old time's sake. So, Wentzell's is a seafood restaurant. It serves all sorts of local Gulf seafood in a variety of ways. Here is what we had.

We started with a dozen raw, fresh shucked oysters. The oyster's were good and of good quality. The thing about oysters is that their flavor can change from day to day, and even hour to hour, depending on the water they are located in. Sometimes they can be salty. Sometimes they are sweeter. These were a little bit on the sweet side and were perfect as is or with a little hot sauce or horseradish. I was so happy to have some fresh oysters, as I can't get them of this quality in Michigan.

On of my favorite dishes of all time is the Gulf Coast specialty seafood gumbo. Once again it was nice to have a real, good, seafood gumbo. The shrimp were perfectly cooked as was the crab. The base was super flavorful and the rice was perfectly cooked. The veggies were also well done. I couldn't have been much happier diving into that cup.

Here is my basket of fried shrimp. The shrimp were perfectly fried and avoided being over cooked. I squirted a little cocktail sauce of ketchup and horseradish on to the basket to dip the shrimp in. Once again I was incredibly happy to have fresh fried shrimp along the Gulf Coast. There is simply nothing like it in the world. The batter coated the shrimp nicely and was very flavorful. Close to a perfect basket of fried shrimp. The hush puppies were good as well, but seemed like there were left in the fryer just a touch too long. The fries were cooked well, but were plain, salted, fries. The coleslaw was good, standard slaw in the tater sauce was pretty good too.

My brother, Brent, chose the shrimp po' boy. It was a bun loaded with fried shrimp, some pickle, tomato, onion, and cheese. Once again the shrimp was fried well with a good batter. The bun was buttered and grilled so it held everything without breaking down as well as adding flavor. It was a really good po' boy.

It was a fairly simple meal of good, quality seafood. And that is the key, the seafood. It was also a great meal because I got to spend it with my brother, who I won't be seeing for a while. I do have to note that there are now many Wentzell's as they have been franchising out, but from what I have heard the first two, downtown and Airport, are still the best ones. If you are ever in Mobile, AL I highly recommend eating at Wentzell's Oyster House.

On top of the Amway... Cygnus 27

This past Saturday, 8/31, Mel and I went out in celebration of my completion of my Master's Degree. It was my choice where to eat, so I thought we should try Cygnus 27 after having been to SixOneSix, Bistro Bella Vita, Leo's, and Ruth's Chris. Its at the top of the Amway Grand Hotel glass tower and offers great views of Grand Rapids. The service was good and it is an attractively decorated, fine dining restaurant. It offered some little touches not seen at other restaurants such as the bread basket and sorbet between courses. I'll go through the dinner then offer my views after.

They started by bringing out a basket of four types of bread; a crispy flat bread, a multigrain roll, a roll with olives in it, and a thing of three little rolls attached to each other. They also brought out butter and a roasted pepper spread. All the bread was of high quality and the red pepper spread was outstanding. It was a nice little hold over until the appetizers came out.

For her starter, Mel got the Duck Rangoons. They were wonton wrappers stuffed with a ground duck breast with some soy sauce, ginger, and tomatoes. It had a nice duck flavor and it was smart to grind the duck instead of using shredded duck. There was a little bit of heat in the duck as well, but it was just enough to make the tongue tingle a little. It was served with a togarashi aioli. Togarashi is a Japanese spice blend that usually contains some ground chili pepper, different peppercorns, and some ground sesame seeds. Other ingredients may also be present. It added a great flavor when combined with the rangoon and worked well to slightly cool the heat from the duck. At the same time there was a nice spiced quality in flavor that just worked. A very nice small plate that we would order again.

I ordered the Hot 'n' Spicy Octopus. For once a dish with "hot" or "spicy" lives up to the billing. In this dish was jalapeno pepper with the seeds in to bring the heat. I, being a chili head who loves heat, would have liked even more heat. But this was good as it was. Also in the dish was carrots, shallots, garlic onion and possibly lemongrass. I wanted to try this plate because I have wanted to try octopus for a while. In this dish they stir fried it with the veggies and then finished with a soy sauce based sauce. I also detected ginger, some sweetness in it and possibly some sesame. The octopus was slightly on the chewy side, but managed to stay out of the overcooked-it-tastes-like-rubber zone. The veggies were cooked really well and remained crunchy.

 Between the starters and the entrees we were served a palate cleansing lemon sorbet. It was just a small spoonful but it did the job. There was a refreshing lemon taste without being too acidic. It also had a great texture. It was a nice little touch to the dinner.

 For my entree I ordered the herb crusted lamb chops with potato cake, poached yellow beets and broccolini, and tawny port sauce. Here is where the dinner started falling flat. First off, I ordered my lamb medium ( I was thinking medium rare but Mel didn't want to see it too red), so I was expecting the lamb to be a little pink. It was grey, meaning it was overcooked. It was still juicy, but not being able to properly cook the lamb to order was disappointing, especially for how much I paid for it. Also, that was the smallest rack of lamb I have ever come across. It was like four little inch wide pieces of lamb that came off the bone I was actually able to put in my mouth.  The taste was good, and the herb crust really went with the lamb. But the fact the lamb was overcooked and as small as it was was disappointing. The potato pancake was tasty and well seasoned. The veggies were cooked well and avoided the dreaded mushy vegetables. The tawny port sauce was ok. It tasted under reduced to me. It had that slightly metallic taste that occurs during the cooking process between fresh wine and perfectly cooked and reduced wine reduction. It went well with the lamb, but I thought it clashed when combined with lamb and potato cake. I was extremely disappointed with this plate. Maybe it is the fact that I have now eaten at some great restaurants, including a Michelin three star restaurant, that I feel so unhappy with this plate of food. But if I pay nearly $40 for a plate of food it needs to be near perfect in taste, presentation, and technique. This was not. I don't feel the value for what I paid was there.

Mel ordered the Amish BBQ Chicken. On the menu it says it is a grilled chicken breast brushed with bbq sauce, on a Belgian waffle, finished with a orange bourbon glaze, with pickled vegetables. First the veggies. The veggies were pickled, which in and of itself is not bad. The problem came when all of the pickling liquid on the veggies pooled at the bottom of the bowl. Mel didn't care for the veggies, which is fair enough. It was like a sweet pickling liquid. But since it was a bowl it sat in the bottom. The chicken was overcooked and slightly dry... with the bone in. Which should not happen. It wasn't just Mel who thought it was dry either. I tried some too and it was on the dry side. Unacceptable.The bbq sauce was lacking as well. So Mel basically had an overcooked, grilled chicken breast. No bbq sauce, no real glaze. The only good part was the waffle. The waffle was perfectly cooked and the right consistency. The glaze soaked into the waffle and created a syrup like effect with the waffle which was nice. Again though, the entree was a huge let down. When paying this kind of money near perfection in the dish is needed. This wasn't the case. If the plating was different and not in a bowl, that would have helped. Also, more bbq sauce and glaze was needed on the chicken. Finally, the chicken should not be overcooked at this level.  

 For dessert Mel ordered the chocolate sphere. Unfortunately I couldn't get a before and after pic. This is the after. It comes out as a chocolate sphere which was filled with a flourless chocolate cake and raspberry marshmallow. The server poured over a warm chocolate ganache and the sphere implodes on itself. It was chocolate decadence to the extreme. Mel likes chocolate. But this was chocolate overload. It needed some fresh berries or something acidic to cut through the chocolate on chocolate on chocolate. Or maybe some salt or chili pepper or something. It also needed some texture. The marshmallow had some raspberry flavor but the flavor wasn't very intense and the texture didn't stand out. But it was a good dessert. With a little tweaking it could be great. Especially for the chocolate lovers. I do have to say, the presentation is impressive.

I ordered the vanilla bean creme brulee. This was perhaps the best creme brulee I have ever had. The sugar was brulee'd nicely. The berries added a nice lightness and freshness that went with the vanilla and the slightly bitterness of the sugar. On top were some shortbread cookies that were also very good. They were buttery and crumbly and soft. It was a nice touch. The custard was perfectly cooked and the vanilla was prominent. It had little vanilla specks visible in the custard. This was the best dish of the night for me. Everything went together and was balanced and was cooked well.

Despite the good starters and dessert, I have a hard time recommending Cygnus 27. In fact, at this point, I cannot. The errors committed on the entree's were too great; especially when paying the amount of money each dish costs. The value is not there. Like I said before, for the price, the food needs to be of a higher than standard quality. This is more so at a fine dining restaurant. It just was not the case. The small plates were good and priced reasonably. I think the best value would be to order a couple small plates and dessert. I just can't recommend Cygnus though for a night out. I would gladly recommend SixOneSix, Ruth's Chris, or Bistro Bella Vita over Cygnus 27 in a heart beat.