Ericandblueboy

Took the kids to Tanpopo and I don't foresee this place staying in business. The gyoza looks store bought. The shrimp tempura was definitely frozen (it tasted fishy and the texture was tough). The fried chicken was dry and flavorless. The chasu pork bun was good according to my kids. The ramen noodles themselves were frozen - I had clumps that were mushed together and became inedible globs. The totally hard boiled half egg wasn't even brought to room temperature and had no flavor.

Char Kway Teow is good as usual. Their sports bar (Thirsty Crow) serves chow fun - I wonder if it isn't exactly the same as Char Kway Teow. Nothing else we ordered last night was all that great. The Chinse pork jerky was interesting - it's pounded super thin and then served with sambal. It really doesn't resemble the semi-sweet pork jerky that I ate as a kid, and we definitely didn't dip pork jerky in hot sauce. The spicy hakka noodles were made with instant noodles (not ramen, but ridged white flat noodles). The noodles had no chew (I've seen them used in Chinese restaurants as well - result just as lame). The ayam goreng (friend chicken) was nothing special. The sambal udang petai had nicely cooked shrimps but the sauce was just kinda bland, neither sweet nor salty.

We went there after the food tour. We weren't hungry so we just had apps and sides - spicy ground shrimp + noodles, crab + noodles, oysters raw and roasted, and some grilled zucchini w/ capers.

We walked and walked and walked including 4 miles one way from CBD to Domilese's to try some of the best shrimp po boys in New Orleans. These are the results. Johnny's in FQ - bland, needed salt. We had shrimp and soft shell, both were under seasoned and under dressed. When we finally arrived at Domilese's, we were greeted with a sign that says closed due to staffing shortage. So we went to the closest po boy shop nearby, Guy's. Guy's shrimps were better seasoned but overcooked. So after ubering back to FQ, we went to Lil Dizzy's. Lil Dizzy's is legit. They were recommended by our food tour (more about that later) and there were loads of Asian diners. If Asian diners are willing to eat in Treme, it's probably because the food is good. We had one catfish and one shrimp. The shrimp was crispy but tender, and well seasoned. The catfish was tender but had that distinctive catfish flavor (I've had Des Allemands catfish that didn't have that catfish flavor, which I thought was wonderful). We also tried multiple muffalettas. First stop, Central Grocery. They too were closed because of roof damage from Ida last year. But they sell their premade muffalettas next door at Sidney's liquor store. The sandwiches are vacuum sealed, and since the only dressing is the oil from their olive salad, the bread never gets soggy. It was good, but I believe the amount of cold cuts on there were much less than I remembered from years past. We also hit up Napoleon House. That sandwich was freshly made, and warmed, so better than Central Grocery's. We also had the muffaletta at Cochon Butcher. This is a good sandwich but not a real muffaletta. Instead of using Italian cold cuts, they use ham and bacon and possibly other meats. We also tried 2 Cuban sandwiches, 1 at Manolito and 1 at Cochon Butcher. Both were just so so. The best sandwich at Cochon Butcher that we tried is their Porchetta Cheese Steak, made with cheese, caramelized onions, and almost BBQ like porchetta. We did do one food tour with Culinary Backstreet. I've done multiple tours with CB before and there was always more food than you can possibly eat. In this case, they just didn't have enough food stops. We had (1) praline and beignet with praline inside, (2) muffaletta from CG, (3) roast pork banh mi, (4) hot sausage po boy, and (5) some terrible jambalaya. It was informative but the food offerings were not up to par. The dinners were at Cochon, R'evolution, and Peche. We generally ordered interesting small plates and lots of oysters. All had some amazing dishes. P.S. we actually finished the shrimp po boy at Lil Dizzy's. No other sandwich was fully consumed. We walked probably 10 miles a day. I actually lost 1 lb on this trip despite eating and drinking all day for 5 days and 4 nights.

Steve and I have been going to Firepan for AYCE KBBQ. They actually have some beef dishes such as spicy bulgogi and soy bulgogi. The Firepan steak was actually just kinda bland. They also have many different pork belly dishes. We like this place more than Kogiya but Kogiya has better ban chans.

Or Zuppardi's. I like Zauppardi's clam pizza just a tad more than Modern.

Brunch menu is very limited though. Most poor reviews reference an incident, not actual restaurant review but the restaurant may have suffered permanently?

If you don't want to swill beer while standing, try Duck Duck Goose, Cindy Lou's, Ouzo Bay, and Loch Bar.

Go to Lexington Market and have crab cakes at Faidleys.

https://www.bigzonesafaris.com/kenya-safaris/7daysbigfivesafarinairobi Can you ask your wife if she remembers staying at any of the properties listed?

Thinking about going on a safari in October in Kenya. Anyone had any experience?

So the stuff at Union Market is being reheated, how different is it?

Someone tell me why I should go to the Riverdale location instead of Union Market? I ate at the Union Market location once and wasn't impresssed.

Champions League draw GROUP A: Ajax (Netherlands), Liverpool (England), Napoli (Italy), Rangers (Scotland). GROUP B: FC Porto (Portugal), Atletico Madrid (Spain), Bayer Leverkusen (Germany), Club Brugge (Belgium). GROUP 😄 Bayern Munich (Germany), Barcelona (Spain), Inter Milan (Italy), Viktoria Plzen (Czech Republic). GROUP 😧 Eintracht Frankfurt (Germany), Tottenham Hotspur (England), Sporting CP (Portugal), Marseille (France). GROUP E: AC Milan (Italy), Chelsea (England), FC Salzburg (Austria), Dinamo Zagreb (Croatia). GROUP F: Real Madrid (Spain), RB Leipzig (Germany), Shakhtar Donetsk (Ukraine), Celtic (Scotland). GROUP G: Manchester City (England), Sevilla (Spain), Borussia Dortmund (Germany), FC Copenhagen (Denmark). GROUP H: Paris Saint-Germain (France), Juventus (Italy), Benfica (Portugal), Maccabi Haifa (Israel). Groups C and G are the deadliest.

A few weeks ago we had dinner at Rooster and Owl, where the format is 4 dishes for $85. A Michelin one star joint at $85 these days feels like a bargain. Much of menu has changed but the one stand out dish we had is still on the menu, that is the king trumpet noodles with zha jiang sauce, topped with daikon and cucumber. They allow you to order any dish for $10, so we had a second order of the noodles as well. The tempura fried fish was also amazing. One of our entrees is the lamb ribs (covered by greens) - very tender and heavily cumin seasoned (lovely). The branzino was perfectly cooked but not seasoned in any specific way to make it stand out. At this price, we ought to go to R&O more often.

Had a wonderful dinner at Moon Rabbit last Friday. We started with some snacks and a salad. The snacks were (i) foie mousse tart ($12) with 5 spice foie mousse (absolutely delicious, could've ate half a dozen easily), and (ii) banh cam ($18), deep-fried glutinous rice ball with sate mushroom duxelle and summer truffle (pretty good but I'm not crazy about fried glutinous rice balls - mostly associated with sweets in Chinese cuisine). The salad, goi du du ($17), consisted of papaya, herbs, lychee, stone fruit, and crushed peanuts. I thought it was lacking in flavor compared to some of the salads I've had at Eden Center. The only miss for the night. The 3 mid-sized dishes were all banging. They all arrived at the same time. The tom nuong ($28) was one perfectly grilled head on prawn with Thai basil & garlic butter, served with muoi ot xanh (that green dipping sauce). Is $28 for one prawn a bit much these days? The Middendorf's laing ($22) is huge plate of cornmeal fried catfish with snow pea tips, fermented mustard greens, and pork floss. Everything is plated in a circulate fashion, resembling a wreath. Importantly, the greens did not soften the crunchy catfish below, which were some of the best fried fish I've had. I only remember catfish that tasty in New Orleans. The crawfish noodles ($32) with confit garlic miso, crab fat and aromatic panko was the second fantastic noddle dish we've had lately (the other is the KING TRUMPET NOODLES zha jiang sauce, daikon, cucumber at Rooster & Owl, we ordered 2nds because it was that good). Afterwards we checked out the 2nd phase of the Wharf, which will include a Gordon Ramsay joint.

Stopping in Columbus on the way home from Chicago with my kids. Staying near OSU/Hofbrauhaus. Do I just eat lots of sausages or is there anything unique or uniquely delicious in Columbus? I scanned Eater's essential and didn't come away with any inspirations.

Closed!

Had a great dinner just this past weekend at Rooster and Owl. We had 2 from each course but the best of each course is: SALMON CRUDO coconut dashi | citrus | charred scallion oil (gf) KING TRUMPET NOODLES zha jiang sauce | daikon | cucumber (gf) LAMB RIBS pomegranate | peanuts | Green Goddess (gf) The dishes were seasoned and executed perfectly. Not gimmicky but very interesting flavor combinations. Or go to Shoto and let me know if it's all that.

Some time ago I went to Osteria and wasn't impressed with their pizza. But the current menu appeared interesting so I took the kids there for dinner. We started with (i) grilled broccolini caesar $15 and (ii) smoke pork ribs with peaches, sorrel and red onions $19. The kids loved the sweet and savory pork ribs, and the fresh peaches. I enjoyed the broccolini but could not even eat half of it because it's really quite a lot of food and of course we ordered 3 pastas as well: (i) corzetti (round disc pasta) with lobster and thin discs of artichoke (looks like pasta too) $22, (ii) rigatoni with small broken chunks of chicken liver, onions and sage $19, and (iii) cresto di gallo (chicken comb shape) pasta with white pork bolognese, fennel and rosemary $17. So the lobster corzetti had a decent amount of lobster but the dish was a little fishy. The chicken liver rigatoni is their house special and as noted, a very good dish. We also enjoyed the white bolognese pasta. What's really amazing is how they're able to keep prices so low during this era of high inflation.

Went up to Philly for the Harry Potter exhibition at the Franklin Institute with the kids. Wanted good food and not overly expensive. General Tsao's House fit the bill. When we arrived at noon on Sunday, it was completely dead. A couple of tables did arrive shortly after us. We had (i) scallion pancakes $4, (ii) chicken potstickers $6, (iii) soup dumplings $8, (iv) pork dumplings with chili oil $7, (v) stir fried bok choy $11. The prices are on par or cheaper than Hong Kong Palace which is located in 7 Corners. I don't know how they do it. To be fair, the scallion pancakes and potstickers may have been from a grocery store but the soup dumplings and the pork dumplings were delicious.

Took the kids to walk around Eastern Market and we ended up having lunch here. We had (i) Tortilla de patata con chorizo a la plancha, (ii) salt cod fritters, (iii) chicken liver terrine, (iv) roasted pork belly, and (v) duck breast with creamy mushroom rice. Just about every dish is served on a bed of greens with dressing so you don't really need to order a salad. Every dish was very good but the kitchen was super slow today. The tapas portions are generally $15 and under - feels like a good deal these days. The kids loved it so we'll be back,

Dauphine's.

Taking the kids back to Chicago to see their cousin, who now lives in Chicago after graduating from U. of Washington in St. Louis. Any thoughts on restaurants that don't require us to dress up?

On Tuesday, we took the Culinary Backstreet tour that was originally scheduled for Saturday. We chose the Two Markets Two Continents tour because a round trip ferry to Asia is included. This tour really is 6.5 hrs long, starting at 10 am (or 9:30 am, depending on the day of the tour). The walk may be around 3-4 miles. We walked much more the prior 2 days (most of the attractions are walkable - we only took a cab to Four Seasons). We had some simit to start, it's a tasty bread that is sold everywhere by street vendors. Next we had a full breakfast including more bread, cheeses, olives, Turkish shakshouka, olives, tomato/spice paste (pictured). Knowing there're lots more food, I barely ate any of the breakfast items. We then go to a restaurant for borek, which counts as the third breakfast. We had dry borek and wet borek (tastes like noodles, pictured). Next we had a street snack called tantuni - spiced ground beef in a wrap. We had some salty yogurt drink as well, which is popular among Turks. At this point we ferry from Karakoy to Kadikoy. The first stop on the Asian side is for some kind of soup which didn't leave me with much of an impression. Then we tried a sandwich made with intestines and fat (the whole thing is grilled on a spit and the chopped up, pictured) - I actually found it kind of bland. After all that, we went to 3 restaurants. Restaurant #1 (Balikci Lokantasi) dished up some seafood. The first dish is fried horse mackerel (pictured), which is what people fish for on Galata Bridge. The next dish is somewhat unique - the preparation is generally made with skorpion fish (pictured). It looks and tastes like a Sichuan dish - I loved it. Next we went to a place that specialized in rice, beans and stewed beef (pictured). It's all they do and they do it well although it's not really something that I crave. The last place we had some mezzes and raki, or beer in my case. I also took a Culinary Backstreet tour when I was in Athens. They're really good - maybe a little on the expensive side. For dinner, we went to Karakoy Lokantasi. We weren't really hungry so we ordered 4 mezes. First two were fried lamb liver and an avocado salad. Next two were fried dumplings and sauteed shrimp. Everything was pretty good but we didn't love the food, perhaps because we just weren't hungry after the food tour. On Wednesday, Steve went home and I explored the city on my own. I ended up sleeping in because I finally got over jet lag (the day before I was due to fly home). So the first thing was to find lunch and I wanted to see the Roman walls so I head in that direction. Rick Steves recommended Siirt Şeref Buryan, a place famous for buryan, or whole lamb cooked in the ground. I remember having such succulent whole lamb in Marrakesh that I really had to try the buryan. Unfortunately, this restaurant's staff isn't very English friendly and I was confused by the menu. So I pointed to my guidebook and the server then asked if I wanted 100 grams or 200 grams. Thinking this is going to be one of many meals for me for the day, I just asked for 100 grams. He then asked if I wanted to order a salad, which I declined. So the buryan came on some bread and nothing else. Perhaps I should've ordered some salad (most kebab houses have a few salads and then the meats). I imagine it would be really delicious if I just know how to eat it properly. Many of the sights around the Theodosian Wall were closed for rehab. The Chora Church was closed, the dungeon was closed and the tower next to it was closed. The walk there and back probably broke my personal record for distanced walked in a day. It definitely set a new record for calories burned according to my Apple watch. I saw a conservative and non-touristy part of Istanbul including streets and streets packed full of vendors and shoppers for everything other than food. That evening, after one last meal at Zubeyir, I went to the Galata Tower. It sounds cheesy but the view is fantastic (I was told the bar at Mikla has a similar view). You don't even have to climb stairs, an elevator zips you up to the 6th floor and you only have to climb a few steps after that. I saw few Asians other than tourists and there weren't that many Asian tourists. I didn't see a single Chinese restaurant but I saw a couple of Thai restaurants. Many people go to Istanbul for cosmetic surgeries such as nose jobs and hair transplants. People are struggling there to survive with official inflation rate at 75% but more like 160% in reality according to locals. Compared to the U.S., Istanbul is cheap to visit - just don't go to Four Seasons for French wine. The city is densely populated but we never felt unsafe.