Erica and I went to Oakleys Bistro on 86th street. This restaurant now ranks as number 1 within Indianapolis (though Bonges beats it on pure food). Oakleys has ambiance, service, and fantastic artistic foods. . .
Went to Oakleys Bistro.
This restaurant did not disappoint. We had the perfect lunch thanks to Salumi and Chateau Ste. Michelle
While my parents waited in the hotel room Erica and I went to Pioneer Square. We excitedly waited in the line that stretched out the door and down the sidewalk. In line with us where other lovers of good food. . . the people in front of us had also been to Babbo
Erica and I let the person preparing the meal to suggest a few items. We ended up getting two sandwiches. One sandwich was a margarita with home made mozzarella, home made Prosciutto, basil, and a marina sauce.
We also picked up the sandwich of the day. . . which was piled high with meat and cheese and a pesto . . .but I can't remember the name. We also picked a mixed meat sampler which included a variety of meats and cheeses prepared at the deli.
We then left Babbo and with my parents in tow we drove out to Chateu St. Michelle. At St. Michelle Winery we bought a couple bottles of wine and enjoyed the 75 degree weather and the beautiful landscape.
overall it was the perfect lunch, and the "eating" highlight of our trip.
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Erica and I went to Oakleys Bistro on 86th street. This restaurant now ranks as number 1 within Indianapolis (though Bonges beats it on pure food). Oakleys has ambiance, service, and fantastic artistic foods. . .
Went to Oakleys Bistro.
A to Z is not a hard restaurant to find. It is on the new restaurant row on 96th street. A to Z is located next to GT south and a Chinese buffet restaurant.
The interior of A to Z is well done. The decorator definitely had an eye for design. You get solid wall colors, yellow, blue, and . . .red I believe. A wall is a solid color, and an intersecting wall can be another solid color. The effect is very “current” and fits the small restaurant perfectly. Abstract art decorates the walls. . .all pieces are for sale (via the artists card below the paintings).
Service was good, though the restaurant wasn’t busy. It could be because we went early on new years day.
Food:
I got an Omelet stuffed with baby spinach, a hickory smoked bacon, and a host of other ingredients. The Omelet was topped with a nice pesto, and served with a bowl of fruit. I found the omelet fantastic, but the fruit lacking. Cost was 7.99.
Erica got a hazelnut crepe stuffed with fried cinnamon apples. The hazelnut crepes were topped with a nice sweet zabaglione. The crepes were almost as good, if not better, then the omelets. The Crepes cost around 7.50.
We both had coffees bringing the total bill with tip to 23.00. Though this isn’t the cheapest breakfast (roughly on par with Le Peeps) it is definitely worth going to. It is open for both breakfast and lunch. The lunch entrees looked good as well. . .all dishes have a Mediterranean (Sun dried tomatoes, pasta, etc)
]]>From
from the website. . .
Chilaquiles, also called "poor man's dish" were invented to use up leftovers. This is a breakfast version.
My comments
I loosley used the below recipie. . . but I followed fairly closely.
The dish ended up being spicy. . but not to spicy that Erica couldn't eat it.
]]> 1 dozen Corn tortillas - dry, cut into wedges
2 teaspoons vegetable oil
1/2 cup onion - diced
1 tablespoon jalapeno - finely chopped
1/4 cup cilantro - chopped
Salt
Ground black pepper
3/4 cup cheddar cheese - shredded
3/4 cup Monterey jack cheese - shredded
8 Eggs - poached or fried
Scallions - minced to garnish
Fresh cilantro sprigs to garnish
For the Tomato Sauce
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 1/4 cups onions - diced
4 cloves garlic - minced
1/4 cup jalapeno - finely chopped
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon chili powder
4 cups diced tomatoes - with juice
1 cup chicken stock
salt
ground black pepper
Place tortilla wedges on a tray to dry.
For the Tomato Sauce
Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add onions cook for 5 - 7 minutes. Stir in garlic, jalapeno pepper, cumin and chile powder, continue to sauté for 10 minutes. Add diced tomato and chicken stock. Bring to a simmer and reduce heat. Simmer for 25 minutes over low heat. Season with salt and pepper. Cool (20 minutes) and puree sauce. Reserve.
Assembly
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In a skillet heat vegetable oil. Add onions, sauté until translucent. Stir in jalapeno pepper and cilantro, saute for 3 minutes. Add Tomato Sauce and bring to a simmer. Add tortilla wedges to sauce and turn off heat (make sure tortillas are well coated with sauce and are evenly distributed). Top with shredded cheeses. Cover with aluminum foil and bake at 350 degrees F for 30 minutes. To serve, portion Chilaquiles on warm serving plates. Top with a poached or fried. Garnish with scallions and cilantro sprigs.
]]>Spirit of Washington Dinner Train- This can be a bit pricey, rates are an average of $60, but it is well worth the money. The remodeled vintage train leaves Renton and takes you over the Wilburton Trestle and along Lake Washington's shoreline to the Columbia Winery in Woodinville where passengers leave the train for a 45 minute stopover. The winery offers tours, wine tasting (free!), and shopping; passengers receive a 10% discount on all wines. Brian and I have ridden the dinner train twice, once by ourselves and once with out of town guests, and have had a wonderful time on each trip. I found it to be a great way to entertain out of town guests as you can not only do lots of socializing, but get to sightsee at the same time. Check out their website, www.spiritofwashingto
ndinnertrain.com, for more detailed information.
]]>Itallian
Salumi
309 Third Ave South
Seattle, WA 98104
206 621 8772
Coffee
Lighthouse Roasters Fine Coffees
400 N 43RD St
Seattle, WA 98103-7106
Phone: (206) 634-3140
Some restaurants that get national attention raise their prices, and take advantage of that recognition. Cafe Potachou, Tour D'Argent, for example, are more rip off then excellent cuisine.
Trojan Horse is different, it is good and cheap Greek American food.
To start we had the sampler appetizer, for 4.50. The sampler is a collection of pita and 3 kinds of spreads. Humus, spinach and feta, and something else. . .
My wife and I were in a sandwich mood so for entrees we got the Gyro sandwich and the Falafel. We also ordered a super size Fries. . . (Sandwiches were 4.50 each, fries about 3.50).
The gyros and the falafel were great. Plenty of meat/falafel and served with fresh veggies on a toasty pita bread. The fries were the icing on the cake. The fries were large and home made, and fantastic.
As Trojan Horse is known for their dessert, we had to get the house specialty. We split a nice warm baklava and a serving of baklava ice cream.
We left Trojan horse and happy at the low price of the meal. . .much better feeling then when we left Tour D'Argent (Paris).
The family and I went for a walk to the CrossRoads Diner (going to be called cuisine . . .when they get a new sign I guess). The restaurant has gone "Persian" or you could call this middle easter. The menu is full of different Kababs (lamb, beef, chicken, etc). The restaurant also served a good variety of Gyros, and rice. The restaurant reminds me of the excellent Kabul, at 86th and Ditch. . .but not quite as excellent.
You can not fault the wait staff. . .perhaps it was the desperation in the air, but they were eager to make our every wish come true. They brought out random samplings of soup, and salad and a great sampling of bakalvas.
The food was good but served kind of cool. It was about 12 kabas for 6 people but perhaps it was to much for the chef. We ate everything, but man. . . it would of gone up a star if it was a hot kabob.
The rice was good, but bland, I keep going back to Kabul with its falvorful rice with currants and almonds. . ..you can't beat that and Crossroads did not beat it.
The Pita served was store bought and nothing special. They should spin less time on home made soup and yogurt and more time making a nice hot home made pita. . .
]]>Giessen top restaurants
This castle over looks the lilly affiliate from a hill across the country. The food is good, quality, German food. I am hoping that i'm here when it is a little warm because sitting at a biergarten overlooking the countryside, at the base of a castle would be cool indeed. Though I'm just glad we didn't loose any coworkers when they went up the castle tower with only a Phone for light.
I found out that the rent went to high for Malibu on 86th. They were planning to reopen but, as of yet, they have not. They still have the original (all good things start in Bloomington these days) and the expensive Malibu on Maryland.
The drive to Bloomington took 1hr 15 minutes from the North East Side of Indy. It was a beautiful drive as you approach southern indy. The flat Indiana landscape gives way to hills, trees, and a relatively unspoiled natural beauty.
The Restaurant itself is downtown Bloomington. A very cool downtown lined with a variety of restaurants and shops.
I ordered the long remembered Thai Style pizza. This pizza starts with a peanut glaze that is topped with spicy chicken, carrot shreds, and more. It is cooked in an actual wood fired oven.
Erica had the cheese and crab quesadilla. I can testify that it was good . . . though it was mostly cheese (kind of light on the crab).
My parents split a nice, thick, steak. It looked good, but they tore into so quickly I did have a chance to try it.
I found the pizza and the quesadilla to be as good as I remembered from the 86th street grill. The pizza itself was a little to sweet, and not as “spicy” as I would of liked. The crispy wood fired crust was deviances.
Price? My pizza was 10, as was the quesadilla (appetizer). Between Erica and I we had one slice of pizza and half a quesa to take home.
Service: Service was good . . . but standard guy making it through college service.
Chris Review
Food . . ***
price . . ***
service . . . **
over all . . * * *
]]>According to my Friend, this is authentic Mexican. This is the same friend who will not step into a Taco Bell . . . nor will he discuss the good American Mexican food items such as Burritos.
This restaurant proves that he may be onto something. It is a small restaurant. The restaurant is a series of booths with tables in the middle. Don't come to El Pastorcito expecting ambience, there isn't much . .
The menu was given over with a shot of Spanish. My wife and I were accompanied by our Spanish speaking friends. We are trying to learn the language ourselves, and loved the challenge. . .
Erica ordered a Torta. It was a battered beef sandwich. I ordered the "El Pastorcito" which was a mix of Bacon, Chorizo, green peppers, onions, spices . .everything good. My dish was served with a nice helping of good corn tortillas.
Overall we loved the experience. It was great food and cheap. Tacos are 1.50 (there about 10 different kinds), tortas are 4.50, and the hambres are only 5.00
The only authentic Mexican restaurant in town gets a thumbs up from me. . .
]]>O' Henrys - A small old town establishment next to "the tourist" old town.
Cafe Pacifica - Seafood, great fantastic seafood. For the price Erica was disappointed by her Scallops. I was not disappointed by my Hawaiian Mahi Mahi served with a corn relish salsa, rice. Mine was a party in my mouth!
Old Town Mexican Cafe Across the street from Cafe Pacifica this restaurant was "overratted" on www.citysearch.com but we liked it. I got the chiliquilos con huevos. El Chiliquilos con Huevos esta Bueno. Mi esposa comio quesadilla. Quesadilla esta regularr. . .
Italian Restaurant (Philipnos? something like that) - We went to little Italy and found a long line. We got in it . . .the pizza was fantastic and hanging wine bottles dotted the entire restaurant. To enter the restaurant you go through the Italian deli. . .pretty cool.
We found little Italy in San Diego to be disappointing . . . no Italians left it looked like. Probably best to stick to New York, or San Francisco north coast.
Gas Lamp and the Havana Cigar Factory We don't like smoking, but we loved the atmosphere of this place. Great seats, music, open and airy, and great coffee. The Gas Lamp district was AWESOME and livley . . . probally all night (it was busy from 9-10:30 and the bars were just getting started).
]]>service
Service was exceptional. We had around 18 persons and the waiter took no notes. He "remembered" everyone’s orders. When we got our dishes. . .we got the right one. We were very impressed.
With 18 people I’m a little more forgiving on water refills . . . I got refills, but not often enough and I had to ask for them
Food The appetizers were fantastic. The saganaki with the flaming cheese was the crowd favorite. The spanakopita was also popular (filo dough in triangles wrapped around spinach/feta).
The recommended entree from the waiter was the family style dinner. This sounded pretty good. ..but the group wanted to go on their own.
Most persons ended up with the chef sampler (including myself). The Chef Sampler is a mixture of Greek favorites Moussaka (layered Eggplant, meat, and a béchamel sauce on top), Pastachio (similar to moussaka, no eggplant), Dolmades (stuffed grape leaves), potatoes, fried tomatoes, the list goes on.
We got a huge amount of food. . .and most of it was pretty good. It was not the best Santorini experience. The mousaka / pasticho was a little cooler then we like. . .overall it was a great place for a group
the new place
The new place was about 4x the size of the old plays. Hopefully the bigger location pays off for this Greek restaurant. Tuesday night it wasn't that busy, and we had our own section to ourselves.
The Belgium affiliate enjoyed it as much as the French affilitae. There was a large amount of jumbalaya to be had. . .while i sticked to the fantastic Ropa Vieja. Yats Ropa Vieja is some nice pulled pork, with capers, and stewed tomatoes. . .the ropa vieja is not to be missed.
I still recommend the 54th and college orginal, but if you can't make it try the downtown one. If you go in the evening bring a bottle of wine (no corkage fee).
As always Yats is 5.00 for a single dish. ..6.00 for 1/2 and 1/2 . . .and cokes are always a buck.
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