Hiroshi's in Honolulu

I guess my excuse for all the fancy restaurants is that this is a continuation of my birthday celebration--combined with me and Kea wanting to get to all these restaurants before we have to fly back to Michigan. So, Hiroshi's is one of my other favorite restaurants. We dream about the Kampachi Carpaccio--or as we like to call it, Kampaccio--all year. Honestly, I don't even know what kampachi tastes like because it's the sauce and garnishes that really make the dish. We found green onion, ginger, tiny cubes of tofu, tomato, and yellow bell pepper. And Kea doesn't even like tomato and bell pepper.

My new favorite dish is the chawan mushi. Usually it's basically a savory custard with things like little bits of seafood and shiitake in it. It is typical Japanese food but I never had it growing up so any kind of chawan mushi kind of excites me. This one was amazing though. The custard was on the bottom and there was broth on top. I think the truffle oil really made it because it was just rich, yummy goodness. But not too rich. Kea said he was sure there were ingredients in it that he didn't like but all together it tasted great. It was so good that I didn't mind at all that the portion was small enough that it was served in an espresso cup. That's how good the food is here. It's so expensive ($88 for two, no drinks) but so worth it.

Our other favorite thing was the complimentary rice crackers and wasabi aioli that are served before the meal. The crackers are made out toasty puffed rice stuck together and broken into irregular chip-sized shapes. It somehow manages to taste better and better throughout the meal.

We also made sure to save room for dessert. I had the Haupia Lemongrass Creme Brulee and Kea had the Bananas Foster Ice Cream Puff. Both were awesome. The desserts here are beautiful and not too big. They're served on rectangular plates with different elements set out in a row. So I had the creme brulee on the left, orange sorbet on the right, and some fruit and sauces artfully set up in the middle. Dessert here is so satisfying!

We also had the sushi duo, panko-crusted ahi, spinach salad, and almond-crusted mahi. These were all okay. The miso salmon in the sushi duo was a little salty; I liked the ginger-scallion ahi better. The almond-crusted mahi was my least favorite. It was a little too rich and I think mahi just reminds me of junk fish.

Sansei Waikiki

This is one of my favorite restaurants, although there were some disappointments since the last time I visited--back when it was still in Restaurant Row. (Also, note that there are *that* many good restaurants in Honolulu that I can not visit a favorite restaurant for years!)

Food
Anyway, we ordered the Panko Crusted Ahi Sashimi Sushi Roll, which was awesome (photo above right). Although I don't know why the name is so long. The arugula and wasabi gave it a bitterness that I loved. And Kea did too even though he is not much of a fan of wasabi.

We also had the Mango Crab Salad Roll. I think the photo in the middle above is supposed to be it, but ours looked different. There wasn't enough mango and there was way too much crab salad. We all really liked the Thai chili sauce that came on the plate though.

Others at our table ordered the ahi poke, which tasted pretty good and came in a pretty large portion size, but was a little salty and honestly pretty basic. I go to Sansei for the special stuff, not the standards!

The Sansei Special Roll was a little sweet for my taste and wasn't rolled well--the pieces were falling apart! I probably wouldn't order this again.

I think everything else we ordered was from the list of specials. We had the collar of some fish which was pretty moist despite being over-cooked. It had a smoky flavor, which I also liked, and came with some greens.

My parents ordered the set meal for two and felt it was a waste. I could've told them that; it really sounded like something for tourists that had no clue what to order.

For dessert, some of the group loved the tempura ice cream, although it wasn't to my taste. My sister said it tasted like malasada. I loved the creme brulee even though it was pretty basic. I don't think the brownie sundae went over to well--or maybe it was just too big. My auntie had the apple tart and loved it--so much that she "forgot" to share some with her daughter.

Etc.
Other than the food, there were some other factors that influenced the experience. First, as the restaurant is now in Waikiki, parking is a mess. The lot was full and though we managed to find street parking, everyone else in our party ended up paying $12 per car for the valet. My mom's theory is that they leave the "Lot Full" sign on permanently to encourage people to get valet.

Also, our party of thirteen was split onto two tables. I think they said they could accommodate one party of our size on a single table, but there was already a birthday party there. To be fair, they had told my mom on the phone that our party would be split up. On the plus side, when she did complain, the manager was kind enough to offer every member of the party a complimentary dessert.

My sister also felt that the decor was below par for the price of the food. The chairs were pretty generic basic restaurant chairs. Also, the tablecloths were covered with plexiglass like they do at Chinese restaurants. It makes sense at Chinese restaurants so that the staff can prep the table for the next party quickly, but the turnover at Sansei doesn't seem fast enough that a new tablecloth would be a big deal. It also seemed the plexiglass was there so that flyers about happy hour and other events could be slipped underneath. Kind of ghetto, although personally, as long as the food is good, I don't know that I mind a casual atmosphere. And there were other elements of the decor that were more attractive, like wood and other organic elements.

New Orleans, Part III

saturday
started off sad but ended up good. we tried to go to mother's for breakfast, but ran out of time. we tried again for lunch and ran out of time again. we finally made it in the late afternoon when we didn't have anything else to rush off to.

so we waited in line--less than twenty minutes i think, although we were on a post-presentation high so i can't say for sure. with the kind of crowd they get, you get told where to go, "send the line that way" and all that. it's cafeteria style--you walk along the counter and feel like you are interrupting and slowing things down if you ask questions. but it is just cuz they're busy and trying to get people their food in an orderly fashion i think. anyway, so you order and then go to the register to pay. then you wait for them to call your name and you pick up your food. i think there's also some kind of process where you give someone your ticket and they bring your food to your table but i don't know how that all works.

anyway, i had the jambalaya, which was great. apparently jambalaya is very rice heavy compared to things like gumbo and etouffee. (see my cluelessness with new orleans cuisine?) one friend had the crawfish etouffee, which was also great. another friend had the seafood gumbo, which was a little too fishy for my taste. i believe it had oysters along with other kinds of seafood. definitely not my style. if i went back, i think i might also get a side of greens.

also headed to southern candymakers to pick up some pralines to take home. first off, the store just smells good. the employees are really cheerful. one of them taught us the correct pronuncation--praw-lines because pray-lines what you do in church. and then they gave us samples. they taste like they would be too sweet--like you wait for that sweet pain in your teeth, but it never comes. it's like magic. pralines and cream was one of my favorite ice cream flavors when i was a kid and i never even knew what a praline was. i bought some chocolate pralines and rum pralines for kea. and for me--until i realized all that cream and butter does not agree with me. they also had peanut butter pralines and coconut pralines but those didn't seem that appetizing to me.

Papa John's Pan Pizza

This is a public service announcement. This pizza sucks. We love Papa John's and we went with this because of the current promotion (read: discount). It's weird. The crust around the edges is really good--crispy and flavorful, but the rest is just weird. I thought maybe it was undercooked because the middle just seemed soggier than usual. I think it was thicker. Kea said it reminded him of school pizza, but I think school pizza was better.

The flavor was also weird. I thought maybe the cheese went bad, but Kea thinks it was the sauce recipe that made it taste weird. It apparently does use a different sauce so maybe that's it. Not good.

Little Rock, AR

What!? Yup. Seems like I only travel for conferences, thus you get food reports from the random places I end up.

So, Little Rock. True to (some) stereotypes of the south, people were really nice, for example, the shuttle drivers and everyone at the hotel (La Quinta). Seriously, this woman walked by me, I shifted a little, and she apologized for being in my way. It was ridiculous.

But anyway, the shuttle driver recommended we eat at Rumba. It is sort of Latin-ish, with tapas and stuff. Anyway, the best tapas dish we had was this chimichurri beef thing. Yum!! The plantains were also good, but the pork was a little bland. I also ordered enchiladas, which were fine. I don't know... I wasn't too excited about the other things on the menu. There were a lot of sandwiches that sounded good, but I'm not big on sandwichees for dinner. And then there was a lot of adventurous stuff--like fruit in savory dishes, which... I don't know... I guess I wasn't in the mood for... or I didn't necessarily trust the place with that kind of thing. It seemed like a very hip restaurant and... I guess I didn't feel like being the audience for their hip experimentation.

We also had drinks. Three of us had a drink with sugar cane liquor, which was very strong! Another girl had a mojito, which probably was not as strong and probably tasted better. We also sat on the porch, which was awesome, except when the mosquitoes came out.

We also had two meals at The Flying Fish. Mostly fried stuff, mostly seafood, really excellent. Other folks were really excited about the catfish and seafood sandwiches like the lobster roll. I tried my friend's catfish and learned that I don't like catfish, but even the chicken strips were good. The batter was just excellent. I think one kind of food Hawai'i may be missing is southern-style fried chicken. Of course Hawaii's got Korean fried chicken and all that, but as far as the southern-style, I think the best we have is Popeye's, which I am a fan of, but I can see that there is room for growth.

Our meals also came with hush puppies, which were so awesome! The only other place I've had these were at that New Orleans-themed food court restaurant. Needless to say, these were completely different. The texture was like andagi, with the crispy layer on the outside, but of course with a more savory flavor.

We also got side orders of fried okra and pickled green tomatoes (not fried), which were both awesome. The shop also offers fresh lemonade and lots of hot sauce!

We had drinks at The Flying Saucer, where my friends realized how much I like beer. I had a UK/Ireland flight that ended with the lovely Young's Double Chocolate Stout. I think there was a Harp's in there. I forget, but they were all excellent. The beer menu was super long. There were at least a few other flights to choose from, plus Snakebites and other combos. And even a wheat-free beer.

The one down-side to this place (or up-side, depending on how you look at it) is that there were way too many guys. In fact, this whole town seems to have way too many guys. Just walking down the street, guys unabashedly check out any woman who walks by. In the bar it seems even worse though. Maybe cuz it's a bar? Maybe cuz all the hostesses are dressed like school girls, which seems like it would sort of encourage the gawking?

We also spent some time in a coffee shop. Of course I can't remember what it's called. It had "bread" in the name. Anyway, the coffee was awesome as were the sandwiches and soups. It was sort of a fancy soup and sandwich place. I had a tomato-based soup which was really yummy and a huge vegan sandwich with hummus and all kinds of yummy veggies on really good bread. Of course. I got a half sandwich, which was still pretty big, and it also came with potato chips. Huzzah!

Woody's Oasis in East Lansing

Woody's is one of my favorite places to eat in East Lansing. It helps that they have about three locations around campus. It also helps that they are cheap. Last year, the vegetarian pita wraps, including the very filling falafel and spicy falafel, were only $2.95 and the meat ones, including chicken and steak with different sauces, were $3.95. This year they have gone up about 50 cents I think, so still a good deal.

The mujadara or lentil pita is also good and my favorite meat ones are the spicy steak and mediterranean chicken, which comes with a garlic sauce. Eggplant is sometimes good, but sometimes too greasy. It's also sort of a toss up as to how big your pita will be; they range from about two to three inches in diameter. If I am really hungry or need the meal to tide me over for awhile, I go with either a meat or a falafel pita. Also, be sure to request turnips in your pita. They are these hot pink pickled things and really make the sandwich special.

Another great deal at Woody's is hummus and pita. Hummus is very filling and, as one of my friends likes to remind me, has a lot of fiber. Besides the original flavor, there is also garlic hummus, which is great, and spicy hummus, which sometimes has too strong a bell pepper flavor for my taste.

Dinner--or any other excuse to get a plate--at Woody's is also great. My favorites are the vegetarian grape leaves and vegetarian kibbee. Each entree is about $10 at the Grand River location and comes with a salad (my favorite is the yogurt salad which has cucumbers) and hummus. The grape leaves can serve two and I think the vegetarian kibbee could serve three. If you have never had kibbee before (I hadn't until a few weeks ago), it is like mashed potatoes but with a middle Eastern flavor. It tastes a bit vinegar-y to me.

(The plates at the international center are $6 and include a smaller sized entree, and two sides [salads, fries, hummus].)

As you can see from the picture, the Grand River location also has a bar, which is very important. And they have drink specials.

Breakfast in Ann Arbor

We are out of syrup and Kea wanted pancakes so we first headed to Northside Grill, a place originally recommended by our vegetarian neighbors. We've been unimpressed in the past--with omelettes and huevos rancheros, which were good, but nothing special. Since then, however, we've been told that the skillets and breakfast sandwiches are the thing to try. Northside was crazy crowded though. For real. There were like ten people standing just inside the door waiting for tables. Why does everyone in this town wake up so late? I don't care if they're all students and professors!

We considered Pilar's Cafe, a really great El Salvadorian restaurant--for breakfast and other meals. Unfortunately they don't have pancakes, and spicy hot chocolate and chorizo omelette were not enough to lure us there today.

We ended up at The Broken Egg, a diner on Main. It looked well patronized, but with no line. They had a huge menu, complete with a savory pancake (with spinach and ham just like ours!), Eggs Benedict (which I am afraid to try. I don't think I would like Hollandaise), all kinds of omelettes, some vegetarian options, a typical variety of pancakes, and some things I'd never heard of before like chicken hash, breakfast stew, and a cornmeal waffle. I went with the breakfast stew, which sounded--and was--what I think is usually called a skillet. You know, scrambled eggs with stuff inside. Mine was vegetarian and had a good mix--onions, red bell peppers, zucchini, spinach. The serving was huge and I got the veggies I wanted, but it was a pretty basic dish.

Kea's cornmeal waffle was more exciting. It sounded scary because it was described as being made of butter, milk, and cornmeal, but it was really good! Maybe it had more ingredients than what was listed...

New York Food Report

This is all I have energy for...

-new york has lots of cosi-like delis that are great for getting decently priced, decently healthy food at a conference.

-had scones from alice's tea cup. jenny and laurie picked up cuz they are great.

-had bagels from a dude who tried to kick laurie's guide dog out of the store. of course she was pretty mellow about it. and i was like, "that's illegal!"

-pastries and sandwiches from the french place. i don't know this is what j and l call it.

-Thai food including a super hot papaya salad. a little too hot but still made me happy.

-three course dessert at ChikaLicious. Fucking insane.

-there are a lot of Japanese restaurants by NYU

-hot dog and Frappuccino for lunch. This is not good. Do not do this.

-oh yeah got ripped off on the hot dog. i could tell the guy was thinking when i asked how much it was but i still thought two dollars was a pretty good deal. apparently it is supposed to be one.

Amadeus and Cafe Zola

The food at Amadeus was good, some of it spectacular. We ordered two combo plates, one veggie combo, two extra salads, and two desserts for five of us. I'm not really sure what the logic was behind that becuase the husbands ended up still hungry, but I guess it is their own fault for staying at the sports bar across the street to finish watching the basketball game. I guess it was because the combo plates sounded really big. Anyway, I had too much to eat so they should've spoken up and I would've shared with them!

The kielbasa was very popular as was the apple torte. The cabbage roll was pretty good too. It tasted like the kind my mom used to make. Of course she is Chinese American so I have no idea if it's "authentic," but I liked it! The pierogis were underwhelming. I think that I expected fatter dumplings. I also like it when there's a mixed filling while these were only pork, mushroom, or cheese.

I think I'm also developing a taste for wine.

For breakfast at Cafe Zola, I had a ratatouille crepe and loved it. I'm not sure if I've ever had ratatouille before but somehow it was exactly what I expected--except for the purple crepe. Not sure why it was purple, but it was cool. The crepe also had sour cream on top and was the biggest crepe I have ever seen, like a half sheet of folder paper. Oh I did start craving cheese part way through so I might try a crepe with cheese next time.

Kea had the Black Forest waffle with a side of chorizo. I took some and both were yummy. Our friends had the strawberry banana waffle and the Turkish eggs. The fruits on the waffle and the veggies with the eggs looked really fresh. The eggs looked like they were done in an oven. I don't know, but I have decided that I like crepes even better than omelettes. Kea and I shared the Irish breakfast tea, which was good, but boring; I should have insisted on genmaicha. Our friends had coffee and said it was very strong.

Weekend Plans

A few friends from school are coming over this weekend. It's sad when Ann Arbor is the escape for food and shopping, but *shrug*

Anyway, we'll be headed to Amadeus European Restaurant on Friday night. I have always wanted to try pierogi; I think I am a dumpling kind of person. And I figure I should stop eating mediocre Chinese, Japanese, Korean, and Vietnamese food and just eat white people food cuz that is the kind of place where I am living. Like you don't go to a steak house and order sushi (although I did once--holy moly), you don't come to the midwest and eat... sushi. Unless you are really craving it that bad. Anyway, I like white people food. Mac and cheese, tuna casserole... mmm... So here is another kind of white people food. Check out this menu. Everything sounds so good. I think I may have to be a piggy and get the combo cuz I want to try everything!

Saturday morning we'll have brunch at Cafe Zola. They say that they're named after the writer. Ew. I don't know... somehow Francophilia seems the worst of all the philias. Oh, except Asiaphilia. Okay, and I have eaten at total Asiaphile restaurants. Cursed New York--it tricks me. Oh and of course Francophilia is not as bad as like pedophilia and necrophilia... but definitely, of the regional philias, one of the most obnoxious. Anyway, despite it's potentially snobby name, I am eyeing the crepes. And also the tea selection. Yum...

Will report later...

Sidetrack Bar & Grill, Ypsilanti, MI

Last week I heard about this place from one of my classmates. She said we had to try the fried pickles and sweet potato fries, and that the burgers were award-winning. We dropped by for beer and dinner on Monday night when a couple friends were in town.

First, the burgers. I don't really get what makes a burger award-winning. The burger was good, but... I don't know. Well, one cool thing was that they bring this bucket of condiments to your table, including a jar of pepperoncinis. Those are too hot for me but a few folks at the table loved 'em. And I can still appreciate free garnishes.

The pickles were fabulous. The first time I had fried pickles was at a diner in like... Iowa or Illinois or Wisconsin or something. I don't know, we were on a roadtrip from Chicago to Waterloo, IA. Why, you ask? That's another story--unrelated to food. The pickles, however, were fabulous. The only other placed I've had them is at Dave & Buster's, where they're served in slices, also good. Anyway, the ones at Sidetracks were spears and of course they were great. How can fried pickles be bad?

The sweet potato fries were also great. They were served with this horseradish/mayo/and maybe something else sauce. Yum...

There were animal heads mounted on the wall but they were pretty goofy, like bears and moose. Not being outdoorsy types, we couldn't figure out if they were real, but if so, moose are frickin humongous.

Anyway, I'm sure we'll head back to Sidetracks sometime in the future. It's a fun place, with a good selection of beer. And some of them are served in 25 oz. (aka huge ass) mugs.