Steph "lives to eat" P.'s Profile

Ethiopian is hard to come by back in the 'burbs where my family lives. My mom once asked in jest, "Ethiopian food? what's that - dinosaur?" illustrating just the kind of thing that the hermano has to deal with there. So I knew I had to take him to get some tasty Ethiopian during his visit.

My only experience with Ethiopian in the Twin Cities was at Red Sea on the West Bank, near the U....please do not let that be your only reference for this cuisine. With such a large African immigrant community here, I knew there was something I was missing. And that something was Fasika.

The. Best. Ethiopian. EVER.

Deep, complex spices permeate every morsel, leaving you with the impression that the ingredients have been simmering on the stove for hours and hours. If you've never had Ethiopian before, fear not. If you like Flavor (capital F for emphasis), then I implore you to give it a try. Your utensil is the tangy, perfectly spongy injera, with the structural integrity to sop up the saucy bits without the entire thing falling apart in your hands.

Which brings up an important point. Ethiopian is best shared with someone whose personal hygiene you trust and with whom you can eat like a sloppy fool. I am convinced that the man I am going to marry must pass the Ethiopian meal test (among other things). That means 1) you must love what we're eating, and 2) we will have fun in the process (which doesn't necessarily mean that you must eat gracefully, just that you have the open-mindedness to totally GO FOR IT). Preferably, you are also not my brother.

lunch on day 2 of hermano's visit - French Meadow Bakery & Cafe

the day's plans involved a visit the Summit Brewery and an early dinner of Ethiopean food, so a substantial (i.e., let's not pass out after one beer tasting), but light lunch was called for (i.e., we still wanted to be able to gorge on dinner).

enter a regular favorite, French Meadow. i really like that this place serves quality food in a very casual setting, though the mid-range prices generally keep me from indulging too often. (aside: i love to have brunch on a sunny morning out on their sidewalk.) the hermano was impressed with all the vegetarian options, debating betwen a tempeh bbq wrap and the organic tempeh reuben. i think the reuben was an excellent choice -  warm from the grill, hearty from the chunks of tempeh and melted cheese, and ever-so-slightly dripping from the tangy sauekraut. the sesame tinged slaw was good as well, though i wouldn't personally put those two flavor profiles side by side.

maybe because thousands of years of evolution have influenced me to crave variety in my diet; maybe i'm just a glutton. either way, i am always a sucker for the combo lunch of soup and a sandwich. cool, peppery, and refreshing, the gazpacho embodied the deliciousness of a summer bounty. i've been less than impressed with their cold salad sandwiches (e.g., a dry curry chicken), and the egg salad was what you'd expect and a little bit less b/c i would hope for a tastier, more substantial bread to buttress the egg salad (perhaps some kind of whole grain wheat? rye? and dude, bread was DRY). perhaps you are also acquainted with the old game of "how can i gracefully eat this egg salad sandwich without getting it all over my lap."

my sandwich/soup was just enough for a light lunch, but i did what any good sister would do and helped the hermano finish off the reuben. and then we were off to a busy day of sculptures, beer, injera, and song.

i love Summit's beer. i love Summit even more for FREE! oh yes, and there's the fun of visiting the brewery itself, my first tour. because i'm a nerd, i love learning the history of places and about how food and drink are made. it was news to me that so much work goes into making beer! the tour guide was this sweet, friendly guy, who i learned was just a homebrewer who happened to love Summit and later became a volunteer.

being a fairly small company in the beer world and relatively young (f. 1986), Summit has a fairly small facility in St. Paul. the entire tour takes about an hour in total. then you finish off by cashing in your wooden tokens (you get three per person) for a 12-oz taste of one of the brews in season. those are some generous pours...so much good beer for FREE! next time i'll have to bring along friends who can use up my extra tokens. anyway, it was a fun (and did i mention FREE!) experience...definitely a good place to bring visitors or just throw back a few w/ some friends.

and remember: don't drink and drive.

I have never been to the Szechuan province. Or China for that matter. So you might say that I have no place in judging authenticity in this area...But I have eaten a lot of Chinese food, and there's always a je ne sais quoi quality when you encounter food that is authentic....You sweat from the spicy heat. The piquant flavor of the dish boldly states, "I'm here, and this is what you've been missing!"

(And if you don't believe me, a number of reviews rave of the restaurant's authenticity http://www.littleszech...)

With a setup reminiscent of banquet style Chinese restaurants and dim sum houses (e.g., large tables w/ lazy susan in the middle in an expansive single room), this restaurant begs to be enjoyed with a large group of friends and family. The servings follow suit in size, but you wouldn't know it from the surprisingly affordable prices. The menu features a number of Szechuan staples, with chilis and spices all over the place, as well as more Westernized options and other Chinese regional dishes. If you ask me, you must take advantage of this restaurant's authenticity and go for the spicy stuff and anything on the Specials menu.

Of the seven or so dishes we had, my favorite was the Fish Flavored Eggplant, so delightfully braised and coated in a flavorful brown sauce, melting in my mouth but still maintaining structural integrity (i.e., not mushy). Another highlight was the Spicy Crispy Fish - battered and fried to perfection, achieving that difficult feat of crisp without grease and maintaing the white fish's delicate texture.

One tip on ordering....if you have a large order, ask for the least spicy dishes to come out first or risk your taste buds being numb to the rest of the meal.

As an aside, I just read this morning on Metromag/HeavyTable that the cooking staff (including head chef) are all on strike...this makes me really sad because they are clearly working hard and making great food. LS is some of the best Asian food in the TC. Praise and accolades from the public and critical community speak to that...so I hope that whatever the problem is gets sorted out for the benefit of the staff and this hungry customer, eager to return.

Everyone I talked to about my trip to Ann Arbor said, "You have to go to Zingerman's!"  Well shoot, this was a terrible idea given my recent attempts at living a simpler life of "moderation."  I even tried to exercise some good judgment by downsizing my Reuben from the usual 6.5 ounces of corned beef to a "small" of 4.0 oz.

Um, yeah, I still felt like going into food coma, and I was out $14.

Sure, the corned beef was probably some of the most tender and juiciest I've ever had....and the other accoutrements of saukraut, Russian dressing, and cheese were in perfect proportion and creamy/acidic/delicious balance....but seriously? $14?!?! I am no cheap skate when it comes to food, but this was not worth $14 to me (maybe $10).  

If I hadn't had the genius idea to phone in my order and been one of the suckers waiting in line, things would not have been pretty.

believe it or not, i've been in a bit of a funk in the food department. it had been way too long since i walked away from a meal at a restaurant and felt really wowed. little did i expect to get my mojo back in downstate illinois (champaign, to be exact). my brother had made reservations for us to celebrate his graduation at Istanbul Mediterranean, a restaurant highly recommended by his friends. in particular, one of his friends, works there and happened to be our server for that night.  what a warm, wonderful treat!

i learned from kostas that istanbul is owned by some family friends, and he had a hand in planning much of the menu - the moussaka is his own mother's recipe! that the chicken kabobs were impossibly tender because of a technique of using water-soaked bread in the chicken while grilling. let me tell you, everything was a-ma-zing. i attacked my dad's grilled meat platter, punctuated by repeated exclamations of "oh my god, this is sooooo good!" one the standouts was the gyro meat, fresh and perfectly lamby.....barely akin to the scary spit of questionable meat product that we're used to from the street vendor or neighborhood diner. my brother's imam bayladi (stuffed eggplant w/ tomato sauce, greek cheese, and lots of other goodness) and my mom's chicken w/ spinach sauce were equally as wonderful and all got their fair attention from my wandering fork. everyone else loved the food too, which is REALLY hard to accomplish with my difficult family (mom basically only eats chicken, dad is a snob about his meat and seafood, brother is a vegetarian, and i have little patience for mediocre food).

istanbul reminded me of the joys of a fantastic meal - the kind that you continue to talk about long after it is over. this is a great little family-owned restaurant that places a premium on authenticity and service. i want to make sure they get all the help they can, because their location deep within a strip mall and far away from the U of I campus doesn't bode well...if you are ever in the area, please give this gem a visit!

WARNING: this is NOT the coffee shop to have that first meeting with TwinCitiesGuy from Match/OKCupid/eHarmony/FindLoveOnline. The inherent awkwardness of the situation will surely be magnified, just as every breath and word of your conversation reverberates throughout the expansive back room. Not that I would know anything about these things. *Cough*

Total lack of audio-privacy aside, Urban Bean is a grad student's best friend, occupying the narrow space between the library and the see-and-be-seen cafe.

Lots of sunlight from the front windows, plenty of outlets, free wi-fi, lots of decently sized tables to spread out your stuff, bench seating. Oh and the large area for seating in the back is totally away from the view of the barista...which means you can have little shame in nursing an iced tea for 5 hours. Bakery goods from Franklin Street Bakery! Not really a coffee connoisseur, so can't comment on that. Decent loose tea selection.

They could use some more food-food (not bakery-food) though. And seriously, would it be such a problem to put up more stuff - if not for decorative purposes, then at least to absorb some of the sound??? The soft indie music helps, but not quite enough.

Eh, really these things are minor...I'll probably be here a lot this summer to do work cause I'm sure that Spyhouse near my place will be packed.

Whoa, there are 280 reviews?! Maybe because this is the epitome of the family-owned neighborhood gem.

Last January, I went to Costa Rica, and being the food enthusiast that I am, was a bit disappointed that CR is not exactly a culinary mecca. Everywhere we went, we ate the traditional Costa Rican meal: casado (some meat, beans, rice, egg, plantains, and a wimpy salad). So naturally, when my friend found out about the sole Costa Rican restaurant, we HAD to eat there during my visit, and I HAD to have the casado. My friend had the tilapia casado, which was perfect - light, lemony, and fresh tasting. I opted for the beef asado - AWESOME. You could tell the beef had been marinated in citrus and spice for a long time because the flavor was in your face and the meat super tender. Not to mention this was a HUGE portion, easily feeding two with everything on the plate. Our plantains were perfectly crisped, the traditional rice fluffy and well-seasoned. Another friend had the potato tacos, which came out totally unlike what we expected - more like rolled up taquitos than what tacos bring to mind. But she thought they were also good and very filling.

For old times' sake, my fellow travel companion and I got the guanabana shake with mango and papaya (respectively)...refreshing with plenty to share (or not!). On the whole, the meal was much better than some of the casados we had in CR!

My friend has been there several times and says that there is some inconsistency (like the tilapia was not so fresh, the plantains more soggy the last time she went), but on the whole that Irazu is pretty darn good. A great casual spot for two or a very small group...Bring a big appetite (or a friend to share with to save even more on the moderate prices)!

This is a good friend's favorite place in the neighborhood to get a drink, and it was the perfect spot for an intimate reunion with two of us coming from out of town. This is the kind of wine bar that I instantly fall in love with. Lowly candlelit, exposed brick, a wood-stainless steel theme in decor...Cute but not cloying. Modern but not cold. The perfect cozy place to catch up with the old or get to know the new.

Our meat and cheese plate was delicious and well-chosen, though could have used a little bit more of the meat. As expected, they have a nice, but not overwhelming wine selection with helpful descriptions. Contrary to what others have said, I thought the service was great (maybe b/c my friend is a regular). Our server asked what my plans were for dinner and remarked, "Ahh, they are BYOB. I have something for you!" Okay, so I was disappointed that it wasn't a free bottle of wine (hey, it could happen), but he gave me a recommendation for a wine shop across the street (which I guess works for him b/c he also works there). Little helpful things like that make me happy.

I'm sure that I'll be back to Bluebird on my next trip to the homeland.

A completely unexpected visit to CCL on NYE when Irazu just a block and a half away was closed. A look at the menu's prices ($12 per entree) yet super casual set-up almost deterred our bunch, but we were hungry and the clock was ticking.

Thank goodness looks can be deceiving b/c the food was delicious and plentiful. We started out w/ some delicious fresh guac (at $7, yikes). My lechon asado (slow roasted pork) was bursting with flavor and perfectly shredded but tender in texture...not to mention that the portion was easily three times the recommended daily serving of porkalciousness. A couple other friends got the huge, tasty carne asada (marinated skirt steak), which was served with guac, beans, rice, and choice of corn or flour tortillas. Our sole veggie got the veggie burrito and found it to be good (but $9...yikes).

Lunch prices seem much more reasonable, so I'd be interested to check that out...As a dinner place, the food stands up but for those prices, you'd expect a physical space that was a little nicer. But hey, it's BYOB (for a small fee per person), so maybe if you bring along enough cervezas you can forget about all that and focus on the food and company.