restaurant review
San Antonio Weekend
This past weekend I took a little trip to San Antonio, Texas. I’ve never been there before and heard great things about the city so thought I’d check it out. Even with everything I read, I was still surprised by the city. It’s compact, lovely, easy to navigate, and with tons to see and do. I arrived at my hotel, Crockett Hotel, a bit after midnight and the check-in process couldn’t have been more painless. The hotel has a continental breakfast and it was enough for me to hold me over till lunch (I just had some toast and jam). After some sightseeing, lunch was at Azuca, a great restaurant with a lively decor and fantastic food. I had Roasted...
Read MoreMKEFoodies tweetup #2
Actually, this is a third one, but I didn’t go to the first one because I didn’t know about it. Lori and Paul (aka Lo and Peef) of Burp! Where Food Happens did a great job organizing another event. There were more people at this tweetup than at the last one, and people were hanging out well past the official “end” of the evening. These events provide an opportunity to meet to meet other local foodies and to explore local independent restaurants I otherwise wouldn’t even know about. This particular place was a bar called Distill. I’m not really a bar-going person, but this one was really nice. I liked the decor (sorry, my pictures...
Read MoreChaihana Continued…
Ok, as promised, now to the food…. My dad ordered Lagman. I love lagman (pronounced: lah-g-mahn, with emphasis on the last syllable). I subconsciously tried making it when I was adding my own twist on a chili recipe I read on the back of a can of beans. And I’ve made it myself quite a few times and you can check out my version. It has carrots and celery (though I don’t know how authentic the celery is and I never use it) and noodles and red bell peppers and lamb. Dad liked it. And it had scallions as a garnish. This time around, I ordered Mastava (I think that’s how that soup is called and spelled and if...
Read MoreChaihana
With my all-encompassing love of Uzbek food, I try to find every opportunity to sample it. But sometimes, I have to make these opportunities. So, a while back, the folks and I drove to the Botanical Gardens in Chicago and for lunch/dinner went to the Uzbek restaurant not too far from there. The restaurant is called Chaihana (19 West Dundee Road Buffalo Grove, IL; 847-215-5044) and is in a strip-mall next to Rogan Shoes. Don’t let the location fool you, it’s an oasis where your hunger for scrumptious food and delicious drink will be fulfilled. There were several articles written about it, and this one is probably one of the better ones. This was my...
Read MoreTea (Rishi) and Anaba Tea Room
I really wasn’t planning on writing a review about this tea tasting. When I got there, I was greeted at the door by two lovely women who offered me ice tea. I’m not a huge fan of cold drinks, especially tea, and seeing just the one table with two varieties, I was rather disappointed that I wouldn’t get to try more teas. But was also confident in my decision not to blog about it. But then I tried the tea. Amazing. Even for a cold tea. Good thing I try to carry my camera with me at all times. Never know when it might be useful. They also told me that there are tea demonstrations on the rooftop as well as in the tea room. (When you first walk...
Read MoreRestaurant Review: Shiraz
I know it looks like I haven’t cooked for months, but that’s not entirely true. I have cooked things I already blogged about, eaten home-cooked food at other family members’ houses, and have also visited a few restaurants. I have also managed to snag a few recipes I’m waiting to try out, so stay tuned for those. But for now, here is a review of Shiraz. I’m sure you have noticed my penchant for Central Asian cuisine. Middle-eastern food is a close approximation, though it’s not exactly the same thing, but I like it nonetheless. So this time, a friend and I tried out Shiraz Persian Grill. The atmosphere was perfectly...
Read MoreRestaurant Review: La Dolce Vita
On our last “Girls Day Out” we were short one girl. It was her husband’s birthday and a good enough reason not to hang out with the girls. But she was definitely missed. We went to the Museum After Dark event, but before that, we checked out a restaurant. The restaurant we tried out is La Dolce Vita. This is a small, cute, charming restaurant that served us delicious food. The service was prompt, the server was courteous, and the bathroom was clean. When added to yummy food, you have a winning combination. I am definitely looking forward to returning and trying other things on the menu. We shared an appetizer of Zaalo which is an eggplant...
Read MoreRestaurant Review: Trocadero
Today, a few of my girl friends and I had a “girls’ day”. We went to the art museum in the morning and decided to get lunch somewhere in the downtown-ish area. Having struck out on our choice #1 (don’t know the name, but the building was empty as the restaurant has shut down) we decided to try Trocadero. It’s a lovely place with nice decor and atmosphere. We had about a half-hour wait, but we didn’t call ahead and it was lunch time on a Sunday. One friend ordered “A La Florentine” which is a toasted English muffin with wilted spinach, grilled tomatoes, and poached eggs with hollandaise sauce. Here she twittered about...
