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Where Did I Dine? A Photograph-Based Guessing Game


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This game is extra challenging because for at least a couple of these pictures, the menu on the restaurant's website doesn't list the exact dish in the picture. Maybe the menu has changed since the picture was taken or the menu is outdated. I've been trying to think of a few restaurants it might be, looking at their menus to see if there's a dish that matches, and then guess or not. (I looked at the Majestic menu but didn't see that ravioli listed. I also looked at alot of other menus. :) )

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This game is extra challenging because for at least a couple of these pictures, the menu on the restaurant's website doesn't list the exact dish in the picture. Maybe the menu has changed since the picture was taken or the menu is outdated. I've been trying to think of a few restaurants it might be, looking at their menus to see if there's a dish that matches, and then guess or not. (I looked at the Majestic menu but didn't see that ravioli listed. I also looked at alot of other menus. :) )

fwiw, that picture was taken last Saturday at lunchtime. Possibly the ravioli isn't on the dinner menu.

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Great Wall.

Okay, if I'm wrong, you have a moral obligation to tell me why to help others hone in on the problem.

I chose Great Wall because I know you like Asian markets, the plating is slapdash and bare bones, the peppers aren't finely chopped, the floor looks industrial, and the (wide) noodle dish looks simple but tasty, like something you'd get at a decent food counter but not something you'd go out of your way for.

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It looks like drunk noodles with tofu.

Fshinnards, that's a given (and there also appeas to be minced garlic, tiny red pepper flakes (which actually appear to be non-dried bits of something very small and thin), probably holy basil, and perhaps scallion tips (what would you call these flat-ended hollow dark green onions?)). I can't tell if it's entirely red peppers or if there's diced tomato in there also. There are some rectangular things around 8 PM that may be onions, or not. The sauce is probably made with soy and sugar, maybe fish sauce, maybe mirin (a white rice wine), and tastes slightly sweet, slightly salty, and not very zesty. The reason I said stir-fried (i.e., wok-fried) is because I can't get my head around the difference between "stir-fried noodles," "drunken noodles," Pad Kee Mao (a Chinese-influenced dish which is why I originally went to Great Wall)," and various other words for what may (or may not) be the same thing. No bean sprouts is also a clue. I said "stir-fried" because there are so many variants of drunken noodles (Pad Kee Mao, Pad See Ew, etc.), and I've never gotten them all straight - I'm hoping a Thai expert will chime in and explain the differences of the various dishes which are fairly close in nature. I'm sure "tofu" has a name in one of these. Knowing the slight variations in these dishes would be a nice takeaway from this challenge - for once, I'm going to memorize them. If this game keeps up, I'm going to learn a lot - it's almost like radiology. And I'm hoping that some of my observations may trigger an "A-ha! moment" in one of our members; it won't be coming from me.

Thai Cafe in Springfield? I can't remember if they have the white tile tables or not

JimRice, I'm not sure if this is a dark placemat on a white tile table, or (what I originally thought) a dark wood table sitting well above a white tile floor. If it's a spoon, it's being used as a serving bowl; if it's a fork, it's an individual portion. There's a small chip in the plate at 2 o'clock so I suspect these are inexpensive plates at an inexpensive restaurant.

You can learn a lot from an individual picture - this is darned near forensic evidence, and a fine test of our observational powers. The sauce on the rim at 10 o'clock would appear to indicate that the dish was served out that way.

We're at a suburban Thai restaurant that serves Drunken Noodles with a rough, spongy tofu which narrows it down to 200 restaurants. lperry, any other clues, pictures, geographical hints, mom-n-pop vs. chain, large vs. small, etc., hints?

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Fshinnards, that's a given (and there also appeas to be minced garlic, tiny red pepper flakes (which actually appear to be non-dried bits of something very small and thin), probably holy basil, and perhaps scallion tips (what would you call these flat-ended hollow dark green onions?)). I can't tell if it's entirely red peppers or if there's diced tomato in there also. There are some rectangular things around 8 PM that may be onions, or not. The sauce is probably made with soy and sugar, maybe fish sauce, maybe mirin (a white rice wine), and tastes slightly sweet, slightly salty, and not very zesty. The reason I said stir-fried (i.e., wok-fried) is because I can't get my head around the difference between "stir-fried noodles," "drunken noodles," Pad Kee Mao (a Chinese-influenced dish which is why I originally went to Great Wall)," and various other words for what may (or may not) be the same thing. No bean sprouts is also a clue. I said "stir-fried" because there are so many variants of drunken noodles (Pad Kee Mao, Pad See Ew, etc.), and I've never gotten them all straight - I'm hoping a Thai expert will chime in and explain the differences of the various dishes which are fairly close in nature. I'm sure "tofu" has a name in one of these. Knowing the slight variations in these dishes would be a nice takeaway from this challenge - for once, I'm going to memorize them. If this game keeps up, I'm going to learn a lot - it's almost like radiology. And I'm hoping that some of my observations may trigger an "A-ha! moment" in one of our members; it won't be coming from me.

JimRice, I'm not sure if this is a dark placemat on a white tile table, or (what I originally thought) a dark wood table sitting well above a white tile floor. If it's a spoon, it's being used as a serving bowl; if it's a fork, it's an individual portion. There's a small chip in the plate at 2 o'clock so I suspect these are inexpensive plates at an inexpensive restaurant.

You can learn a lot from an individual picture - this is darned near forensic evidence, and a fine test of our observational powers. The sauce on the rim at 10 o'clock would appear to indicate that the dish was served out that way.

We're at a suburban Thai restaurant that serves Drunken Noodles with a rough, spongy tofu which narrows it down to 200 restaurants. lperry, any other clues, pictures, geographical hints, mom-n-pop vs. chain, large vs. small, etc., hints?

Don, drunkard's noodles are named such because they are typically fiery hot with pepper, and you have to drink so much while eating to keep the burn at bay. This is one of the few Thai dishes with tomato, and the sauce is made differently from place to place, but just about always has Golden Mountain Sauce in it. (That's not the best descriptor, but Wikipedia has no page.) The noodles are also rice noodles, not wheat, typical of southern Asian countries. This dish was both fish sauce and shrimp paste free. I'm fairly sure that pad kee mao is hot and pad kee ew is not.

Hints: That's a brown table and the floor (I thought the floor would be a hint), that's a spoon, and the rest of the table has a plate of tempura vegetables and a green papaya salad on it. We are in Virginia, but not at Thai Café.

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Another hint is that it's an italicized place in the dining guide....

Pad Kee Mao at Thai Noy?

If so, that would be ironic because the first person to ever recommend it to me (a good ten years ago) did so for the drunken noodles; yet, I only had them there on my very first visit (also a good ten years ago). This, despite having been there probably 10-20 times in the past two years - it's been my neighborhood Thai restaurant for a long time, but the only vegan dishes I get there are the wonderful Eggplant Basil or Tofu Basil. Noodle Dishes like this (or Chao Foon at Chinese restaurants) just come across to me as too oily, and with too many carbs (and I *really* don't like them when they start to get cold) - I only order them if I'm out with someone who wants them.

If this is Thai Noy, good job and you got me! :)

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Ha! lperry and I did go there after. :-)

I agree with WWZ that it looks like Birch & Barley for porcupine's pic.

Another hint is that it's an italicized place in the dining guide....

Nope. Another hint: We had to wait for a table at lunch.

Okay, goodeats' comment about the italicized place is ambiguous. Mary, are you talking about porcupine's picture or lperry's?

At this point, I don't want to just sit here and rattle off the italicized Thai places - I thought you two might have been playing "Gotcha!"

I haven't been to Thai Square in several years now, so the floor won't be of much help to me, but that is a small enough restaurant where I could envision a wait for lunch.

The pretzel roll and the beer in a wine glass does point to Birch and Barley, but I remember there's one other restaurant very popular for its pretzel rolls as well...

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May I suggest a new rule?

Only one game going at a time - winner of the last game posts the new one.

It's a thought, but it's kind of going pretty good right now, and I hate to fix something that isn't broken. The reason I like multiples is that it lets everyone from different areas have a stab at things - someone may be hot on the trail of one thing, but not another.

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No gotcha intended. Another hint. We were both sweating, our noses were running, and Goodeats was crying. In the best possible way. :)

Simply from the description, I would say the Laotian restaurant in Seven Corners, near Hong Kong Palace -- the name is escaping me at the moment

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Simply from the description, I would say the Laotian restaurant in Seven Corners, near Hong Kong Palace -- the name is escaping me at the moment

I thought about Bangkok Golden fairly early on, and again after lperry said they were crying, but it doesn't mesh with their online menu description.

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Simply from the description, I would say the Laotian restaurant in Seven Corners, near Hong Kong Palace -- the name is escaping me at the moment

We have a winnah! Don, don't doubt your instincts. :) Sometimes places take a while to update websites.

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We have a winnah! Don, don't doubt your instincts. :) Sometimes places take a while to update websites.

90% of the time, I regret not going with my first instinct in wine tastings (Great Wall was my first instinct; Bangkok Golden was shortly after you said it wasn't Chinese). However, I remember reading in a book about paleontology (a very good, entertaining book in case anyone wants to borrow it), a saying that I've always remembered: "Bones don't lie." I think it may have been referring to the KT-boundary (which, according to Wikipedia, is now called the K-Pg boundary. Huh! I never knew! Maybe I should get out of my cave!), but it also applies to menu reconciliation. :lol:

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Crikey. I give up.

All I'll say is that the large chunk near the top-right looks like it could be a potato (but the others don't).

You're onto something. I have to say this one is tricky because it's basically a spin on/reinterpretation of a traditional dish.

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No. The photo probably doesn't really show it enough, except the bit of plate and place mat you can see, but the place is definitely more $$$ than $.

Your clues are leading me to The Source, but I don't see it so I'm not going to say it.

I'm going to step back and let others take over.

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Your clues are leading me to The Source, but I don't see it so I'm not going to say it.

:)

But you did say it - and good thing, you're right! This was their Turnip Cakes from the dim sum brunch menu. Extra tricky because it's normally only available on Saturdays, but this weekend they have it today and tomorrow as well. Very good guess!

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I'm really interested in the last one. I almost said Suna because of the flowers, but it's not quite "compartmentalized" & neat enough for Suna, plus I immediately realized they wouldn't use such a simple plate. Rogue 24 seems like a reasonable option, seems too big for Minibar unless they've changed their MO.

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I'm really interested in the last one. I almost said Suna because of the flowers, but it's not quite "compartmentalized" & neat enough for Suna, plus I immediately realized they wouldn't use such a simple plate. Rogue 24 seems like a reasonable option, seems too big for Minibar unless they've changed their MO.

I think the reason more people didn't chime in is because they were waiting on guidance about the Rogue 24 guess first.

Ashby Inn?

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