I was in Champaign, Illinois recently and visited The Ribeye Steakhouse with my parents. What a great Sunday evening deal they have! For $32 you can get a steak dinner for two with a 1/2 carafe of house wine. The deal includes a 16 ounce Ribeye that you can split however you want it. My dad had 10 ounces and I had 6 ounces. With our steaks we had a baked potato and of course the salad bar. My mom went with the salad bar only. The waitress was thoughtful and brought 3 glasses for the wine and so we all had red wine with dinner.
The salad bar was good and seemed fresh even though we were towards the end of the night. They also had a number of cold salads along with the regular lettuce salad fixings. You definitely can make a meal of the salad bar, but when you come to a steakhouse...why wouldn't you get steak? (No offense to my mom!)
My steak was good - although there was quite a bit of fat that I had to eat around. Normally it wouldn't be a big deal, but I went with a smaller cut and so would have liked just a bit more meat and less fat. The flavor was great though and it was served on a sizzling platter along with my potato. The potato was good, although I had to keep adding salt to it. I don't think that is a preparation issue at all, just my own taste buds craving salt I guess.
The house wine was fine. I was driving though, so I only had one glass early in the meal.
We decided to skip dessert at the restaurant. We were pretty full and knew there were ice cream/frozen custard options on the way home if we decided to go for dessert.
Definitely worth a visit if you are in Champaign - especially on a Sunday evening!
Happy Eating!
Sunday, May 30, 2010
Saturday, May 8, 2010
Tosca
The hubby and I found ourselves recently in the area of Tosca. We had not visited the restaurant since our chef Adam Vickerman left. We thought since we were near there, we would give it a try.
We had the same table as we always get - must be their "first seating" table. The dining room is rather narrow, so one person is on a bench and the other in a chair. The dining room has hard wood floors and are kind of noisy - especially when wait staff walk quickly through the dining room. It's not really that annoying, just noticeable.
We both ordered a local beer - Liftbridge's Farm Girl. Such a nice, refreshing beer! And we were given a bread basket. The bread was good, but the crust was too crusty for me!
I then ordered the starter of scallops on a bed of polenta and ramps. The dish was presented and while it was very plate appealing, there was a definite fishy smell that was pretty powerful. I was leary about trying the scallops because of the smell, but I'm glad I did! They were nice and crisp on the outside and moist and tender on the inside. Very good! The polenta was fine to me, but the hubby who is a polenta expert - or so he thinks - didn't care for the polenta dish. The ramps were fine - although their kitchen knives need a bit of a sharpening. I was complaining throughout the meal of not being able to cut my ramps.
Our entrees arrived - the hubby had the green orchetti with spicy tomato confit, basil and black pepper mascarpone. He also had a side of the swiss chard with shallot, garlic, and balsamic. Orchetti is an ear shaped pasta - just in case you were wondering.
I had the ravioli with spinach and cheese. It seemed to have the spinach pieces incorporated into the pasta - although it could have been a sauce. Whatever it was, it was very good!
We skipped dessert at the restaurant and instead went for the best ice cream in the cities! Sebastian Joe's. We both had raspberry chocolate chip ice cream in a waffle cone. Yum!!
The dinner was good, but I missed Adam Vickerman in the kitchen.
Happy Eating!
We had the same table as we always get - must be their "first seating" table. The dining room is rather narrow, so one person is on a bench and the other in a chair. The dining room has hard wood floors and are kind of noisy - especially when wait staff walk quickly through the dining room. It's not really that annoying, just noticeable.
We both ordered a local beer - Liftbridge's Farm Girl. Such a nice, refreshing beer! And we were given a bread basket. The bread was good, but the crust was too crusty for me!
I then ordered the starter of scallops on a bed of polenta and ramps. The dish was presented and while it was very plate appealing, there was a definite fishy smell that was pretty powerful. I was leary about trying the scallops because of the smell, but I'm glad I did! They were nice and crisp on the outside and moist and tender on the inside. Very good! The polenta was fine to me, but the hubby who is a polenta expert - or so he thinks - didn't care for the polenta dish. The ramps were fine - although their kitchen knives need a bit of a sharpening. I was complaining throughout the meal of not being able to cut my ramps.
Our entrees arrived - the hubby had the green orchetti with spicy tomato confit, basil and black pepper mascarpone. He also had a side of the swiss chard with shallot, garlic, and balsamic. Orchetti is an ear shaped pasta - just in case you were wondering.
I had the ravioli with spinach and cheese. It seemed to have the spinach pieces incorporated into the pasta - although it could have been a sauce. Whatever it was, it was very good!
We skipped dessert at the restaurant and instead went for the best ice cream in the cities! Sebastian Joe's. We both had raspberry chocolate chip ice cream in a waffle cone. Yum!!
The dinner was good, but I missed Adam Vickerman in the kitchen.
Happy Eating!
Craftsman
Reservations for One and I recently visited Craftsman. I had been there a few times before, but it was RFO's first visit. We were the second reservation to arrive and so we had an opportunity to look around the restaurant without "staring" at people. The restaurant is nicely appointed with light wood flooring, arts and crafts style chairs and tables, and soft lighting. A great atmosphere for any occasion. They have an outdoor patio, but that evening was slightly chilly so we stayed inside. We may go back this summer as the patio looks very cozy - trellis overhangs, stone pavers, lots of greenery.
We started out by ordering a glass of red wine (pretty typical of a dining occasion for RFO and myself). We then ordered an appetizer of beet and chevre terrine with micro arugula and corn meal crackers. This was a nice way to start the meal - we used it as a spread with the crisp crackers.
For a main entree I went with the potato gnocchi with ramps and creme fraiche. Anything with ramps tends to draw my attention to them. The gnocchi was very good and the creme fraiche added a lightness to the entree to balance out the potatoey gnocchi. I of course am not saying the dish was "light" - anything with the word creme cannot be by definition "light." I was happy with my choice.
RFO asked our server questions regarding a few of the items on the menu. After almost selling her on the trout, another server mentioned it was 86'd. In the restaurant business this means they no longer have it that night. We were amused at that since we were the second table to order. Did the first table order the trout and they really only had one? Maybe they just didn't have it at all that day and our server didn't know until the other server overheard him. Anyway, kind of funny! RFO ended up going with the grilled lamb leg with chickpea stew. She seemed to enjoy the dish for the most part.
The best part of the meal in my opinion were the desserts. RFO had some sort of fruit crisp with a scoop of Izzy's Ice Cream. I had 3 scoops of Izzy's Ice Cream as my dessert. Unfortunately I can't find descriptions of the ice cream on their website and can't remember exactly what I had. I know one of them was the salted caramel - this came with RFO's dessert as well. It was very good! I also had one that had oreos and mocha flavoring.
I think Craftsman is always worth a try. I think after this experience I might save the money and go with their sandwiches instead of entrees. I've had their burgers before and they are extremely good. I almost got one that evening, but decided to do the entree instead.
Happy Eating!
We started out by ordering a glass of red wine (pretty typical of a dining occasion for RFO and myself). We then ordered an appetizer of beet and chevre terrine with micro arugula and corn meal crackers. This was a nice way to start the meal - we used it as a spread with the crisp crackers.
For a main entree I went with the potato gnocchi with ramps and creme fraiche. Anything with ramps tends to draw my attention to them. The gnocchi was very good and the creme fraiche added a lightness to the entree to balance out the potatoey gnocchi. I of course am not saying the dish was "light" - anything with the word creme cannot be by definition "light." I was happy with my choice.
RFO asked our server questions regarding a few of the items on the menu. After almost selling her on the trout, another server mentioned it was 86'd. In the restaurant business this means they no longer have it that night. We were amused at that since we were the second table to order. Did the first table order the trout and they really only had one? Maybe they just didn't have it at all that day and our server didn't know until the other server overheard him. Anyway, kind of funny! RFO ended up going with the grilled lamb leg with chickpea stew. She seemed to enjoy the dish for the most part.
The best part of the meal in my opinion were the desserts. RFO had some sort of fruit crisp with a scoop of Izzy's Ice Cream. I had 3 scoops of Izzy's Ice Cream as my dessert. Unfortunately I can't find descriptions of the ice cream on their website and can't remember exactly what I had. I know one of them was the salted caramel - this came with RFO's dessert as well. It was very good! I also had one that had oreos and mocha flavoring.
I think Craftsman is always worth a try. I think after this experience I might save the money and go with their sandwiches instead of entrees. I've had their burgers before and they are extremely good. I almost got one that evening, but decided to do the entree instead.
Happy Eating!
Thursday, May 6, 2010
Homemade Pizza Company
A year or so ago we stopped by a "take and bake" pizza shop called Homemade Pizza Company. We were not impressed and had not been back since. Today my boss mentioned she was picking up a pizza from here for her family. She's also a foodie and said they really like the pizza for the gourmet toppings.
Well...why not. I suggested it to the hubby and he agreed to give it a try. His pick was The Georgia which the menu describes as "cumin-scented Santa Fe chicken sausage tempered by the mellow crunch of poblano peppers and finished with smooth Ricotta cheese. Where fierce passion and cool objectivity coincide—like a ride through the New Mexico landscape." I picked up the pizza and headed home.
I was surprised by how much I really liked this pizza. The chicken sausage was very tasty, the pepper gave a nice crunch to the pizza, and the ricotta cheese was a pleasant surprise. The crust was crispy and the toppings tasty.
I will have no qualms about going back and trying it again. The only downside was it was a little expensive. $15 for a medium pizza. I suppose they have more than your ordinary pizza toppings, so maybe you pay for a little bit more.
If you are looking for a good take and bake pizza, give Homemade Pizza Company a try!
Happy Eating!
Well...why not. I suggested it to the hubby and he agreed to give it a try. His pick was The Georgia which the menu describes as "cumin-scented Santa Fe chicken sausage tempered by the mellow crunch of poblano peppers and finished with smooth Ricotta cheese. Where fierce passion and cool objectivity coincide—like a ride through the New Mexico landscape." I picked up the pizza and headed home.
I was surprised by how much I really liked this pizza. The chicken sausage was very tasty, the pepper gave a nice crunch to the pizza, and the ricotta cheese was a pleasant surprise. The crust was crispy and the toppings tasty.
I will have no qualms about going back and trying it again. The only downside was it was a little expensive. $15 for a medium pizza. I suppose they have more than your ordinary pizza toppings, so maybe you pay for a little bit more.
If you are looking for a good take and bake pizza, give Homemade Pizza Company a try!
Happy Eating!
Sunday, April 25, 2010
Jon Randle - Chef at Grand Cafe
I was saddened to hear of the passing of chef Jonathan Randle of the Grand Cafe Restaurant. I visited the restaurant and learned of Jon Randle a little over 2 months ago - see my previous post - Grand Cafe Simple Good and Tasty Event.
I was looking forward to seeing what Jon would do with his career. He was a fabulous chef at the young age of 30. Still plenty of time for sauteing, braising, brining, and creating dishes for all of us to enjoy. He will be missed.
Here is a post from Shefzilla that has a nice write-up of Jon.
I was looking forward to seeing what Jon would do with his career. He was a fabulous chef at the young age of 30. Still plenty of time for sauteing, braising, brining, and creating dishes for all of us to enjoy. He will be missed.
Here is a post from Shefzilla that has a nice write-up of Jon.
Red's Savoy Pizza
Always on the lookout for good pizza, we stumbled across Red's Savoy Pizza on the east side of St. Paul this weekend. I've seen other outlets for this pizza, but this looked like the original location. They had plenty of parking behind the restaurant, so we parked and stepped inside.
It took several minutes for my eyes to adjust to the dimly lit restaurant. It has dark walls, dark tables, dark seats, and minimal lighting. You enter in on the bar side, but there is a restaurant side of the establishment. If you are eating with kids you have to sit on the restaurant side unless it is full, then you can sit in the bar. That wasn't an issue for us, but it was an interesting sign nonetheless.
We ordered 2 diet cokes to which the waitress suggested we might want a pitcher. Done and done...ordered the pitcher which was a smart move. The pizza comes in two sizes - regular and large. We asked the size of the regular and was given the hand gesture of about an 8 inch pizza. We went ahead and decided to split it - we didn't know if it would be good or not.
We waited quite awhile and then our pepperoni pizza was delivered to the table on an old school plastic tray with a piece of wax paper holding the awesome looking, cut in squares za! The hand gesture was incorrect....this pizza was going to be plenty for the two of us.
The pepperoni was hidden under the cheese instead of on top of the cheese like many pizza chains make them. They had plenty of toppings on the pizza. One piece I ate had probably 4 slices of pepperoni stacked high on one slice. The pepperoni had a little spiciness to it. I think next time I would get sausage for something different. Pepperoni tends to add a lot of extra grease to pizzas in general and this pizza was no different.
We drank our entire pitcher of Diet Coke and ate the whole pizza. We were pleasantly surprised by this find and happy to know there are other Red's Savoy locations around the cities! I'm assuming they will have as good of pizza as the original.
The only downside of the visit was the service. It seemed they were understaffed and hustle didn't seem to be in their vocabulary. They stayed busy and were continuously moving around. Just felt like we had to wait a bit longer for beverages than we should have.
All in all, a great find and I'm looking forward to trying the pizza again!
Happy Eating!
(Note: I could not find a website for this particular location, but here is one for the Uptown location.)
It took several minutes for my eyes to adjust to the dimly lit restaurant. It has dark walls, dark tables, dark seats, and minimal lighting. You enter in on the bar side, but there is a restaurant side of the establishment. If you are eating with kids you have to sit on the restaurant side unless it is full, then you can sit in the bar. That wasn't an issue for us, but it was an interesting sign nonetheless.
We ordered 2 diet cokes to which the waitress suggested we might want a pitcher. Done and done...ordered the pitcher which was a smart move. The pizza comes in two sizes - regular and large. We asked the size of the regular and was given the hand gesture of about an 8 inch pizza. We went ahead and decided to split it - we didn't know if it would be good or not.
We waited quite awhile and then our pepperoni pizza was delivered to the table on an old school plastic tray with a piece of wax paper holding the awesome looking, cut in squares za! The hand gesture was incorrect....this pizza was going to be plenty for the two of us.
The pepperoni was hidden under the cheese instead of on top of the cheese like many pizza chains make them. They had plenty of toppings on the pizza. One piece I ate had probably 4 slices of pepperoni stacked high on one slice. The pepperoni had a little spiciness to it. I think next time I would get sausage for something different. Pepperoni tends to add a lot of extra grease to pizzas in general and this pizza was no different.
We drank our entire pitcher of Diet Coke and ate the whole pizza. We were pleasantly surprised by this find and happy to know there are other Red's Savoy locations around the cities! I'm assuming they will have as good of pizza as the original.
The only downside of the visit was the service. It seemed they were understaffed and hustle didn't seem to be in their vocabulary. They stayed busy and were continuously moving around. Just felt like we had to wait a bit longer for beverages than we should have.
All in all, a great find and I'm looking forward to trying the pizza again!
Happy Eating!
(Note: I could not find a website for this particular location, but here is one for the Uptown location.)
Saturday, April 24, 2010
Common Roots
This week the hubby and I went to the Simple, Good, and Tasty dinner at Common Roots Cafe. This is our third SGT dinner and it did not disappoint!
At these events you end up sitting with strangers and get to know each other over a great meal. We arrived fairly early and had our pick of where to sit for the evening. We chose a table that was a bit in back and out of the way. (This would guarantee that we would not end up on the SGT blog as we have in the past!) We were joined by two women who made the evening much more interesting than if it were just the hubby and me.
So, onto the dinner. The event was held toward the back of the restaurant which left the front section for walk-in customers. While we gathered, the waitstaff took drink orders and passed around appetizers. I decided to go with a beer instead of wine with this meal and had a glass of Fulton Beer's Worthy Adversary. I know one of the four guys behind Fulton Beer so was interested in trying it because of him. Worthy Adversary was a very dark, "thick" beer and one that I normally wouldn't have tried. However, it was very good and went well with my meal. Good choice on a warm April evening!
After welcoming the attendees and a few introductions, we were on to our first course. We were served egg drop soup with foraged ramps. What surprised me most about this soup were the tomatoes. It reminded me more of a vegetable soup than what I think of as egg drop soup. I was disappointed with only one ramp in my bowl, but I believe the hubby had more. It was very good and was a great way to start the meal.
We then were brought out a basket of bread which had two different types. One was foccacia and the other was a sourdough type bread. I only tried the foccacia and it was very tasty and didn't have the oily texture that I typically associate with foccacia.
There was quite a bit of time in between courses and so we continued to have fun discussions with our table mates while we waited. The main entree came and was a roasted duck breast with door county cherry chutney, nettle and ricotta agnolotti, and picked green garlic. I will admit that if I would have seen the menu ahead of time I would have likely pre-ordered the vegetarian option. I have tried duck before and it just is not something that I typically order. I suppose it was good to get me out of my comfort zone. It was good from what I could tell - not having much experience with duck! The hubby avoided eating the skin because he said it was rather fatty. He is much more likely to order duck than I am, so he seems to know what it should and shouldn't taste like. The agnolotti was ok. We were served a rather small portion of it and to me it was gritty. The hubby loved it and would gladly have eaten mine. So, the main entree was ok. It probably was more appealing to duck eaters. Me....I think I'll go back to my comfort zone and forego duck for awhile.
After the entree and before dessert there were more speakers talking about eating local and getting kids to eat local and healthier. Then the best part of the meal arrived...3 small desserts that we didn't have to share with anyone! One was a pavlova (similar to a meringue) with mascrated berries - it was good. Then a chocolate friand with chocolate ganache (mini cake) and lemon curd - very good - what's not to like about chocolate! Finally, a lavender and almond ice cream - which was great!! The ice cream was fresh and cool and had the crunchy surprise of almonds sprinkled throughout. My only complaint was that I could have used a lot more of that ice cream! However, I enjoyed the three mini desserts and felt it was a good ending to a nice evening.
I have a Common Roots gift card and will definitely go back! It's a great restaurant and if you are all about the "local foods" movement, this restaurant delivers.
Happy Eating!
At these events you end up sitting with strangers and get to know each other over a great meal. We arrived fairly early and had our pick of where to sit for the evening. We chose a table that was a bit in back and out of the way. (This would guarantee that we would not end up on the SGT blog as we have in the past!) We were joined by two women who made the evening much more interesting than if it were just the hubby and me.
So, onto the dinner. The event was held toward the back of the restaurant which left the front section for walk-in customers. While we gathered, the waitstaff took drink orders and passed around appetizers. I decided to go with a beer instead of wine with this meal and had a glass of Fulton Beer's Worthy Adversary. I know one of the four guys behind Fulton Beer so was interested in trying it because of him. Worthy Adversary was a very dark, "thick" beer and one that I normally wouldn't have tried. However, it was very good and went well with my meal. Good choice on a warm April evening!
After welcoming the attendees and a few introductions, we were on to our first course. We were served egg drop soup with foraged ramps. What surprised me most about this soup were the tomatoes. It reminded me more of a vegetable soup than what I think of as egg drop soup. I was disappointed with only one ramp in my bowl, but I believe the hubby had more. It was very good and was a great way to start the meal.
We then were brought out a basket of bread which had two different types. One was foccacia and the other was a sourdough type bread. I only tried the foccacia and it was very tasty and didn't have the oily texture that I typically associate with foccacia.
There was quite a bit of time in between courses and so we continued to have fun discussions with our table mates while we waited. The main entree came and was a roasted duck breast with door county cherry chutney, nettle and ricotta agnolotti, and picked green garlic. I will admit that if I would have seen the menu ahead of time I would have likely pre-ordered the vegetarian option. I have tried duck before and it just is not something that I typically order. I suppose it was good to get me out of my comfort zone. It was good from what I could tell - not having much experience with duck! The hubby avoided eating the skin because he said it was rather fatty. He is much more likely to order duck than I am, so he seems to know what it should and shouldn't taste like. The agnolotti was ok. We were served a rather small portion of it and to me it was gritty. The hubby loved it and would gladly have eaten mine. So, the main entree was ok. It probably was more appealing to duck eaters. Me....I think I'll go back to my comfort zone and forego duck for awhile.
After the entree and before dessert there were more speakers talking about eating local and getting kids to eat local and healthier. Then the best part of the meal arrived...3 small desserts that we didn't have to share with anyone! One was a pavlova (similar to a meringue) with mascrated berries - it was good. Then a chocolate friand with chocolate ganache (mini cake) and lemon curd - very good - what's not to like about chocolate! Finally, a lavender and almond ice cream - which was great!! The ice cream was fresh and cool and had the crunchy surprise of almonds sprinkled throughout. My only complaint was that I could have used a lot more of that ice cream! However, I enjoyed the three mini desserts and felt it was a good ending to a nice evening.
I have a Common Roots gift card and will definitely go back! It's a great restaurant and if you are all about the "local foods" movement, this restaurant delivers.
Happy Eating!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)