Where should a foodie live in Paris?

I lived in the 8th for almost 2 years. Loved it. Yes, there are tourists but where I lived on rue Washington, my butcher was across the street, the best bakery in Paris (in my opinion) was across the street and up one block. There were 7 restaurants on my block without even turning a corner. Around the corner was Tallivenat and I walked to Maison du Chocolate. With multiple metro stops within blocks, i could pretty much get anywhere in the city quickly. Loved it! and miss it dearly.

schoenick in France

Orlando's most under-rated restaurant

Maraya at Sabrina's
This restaurant is definately a hidden gem in Orlando. Great food, great people, nice restaurant. When ever I visit Orlando, I make it a point to stop in for lunch or dinner and have never been disappointed. Wish I lived closer!

schoenick in Florida

ORLANDO VISITOR'S DINING GUIDE - A Hound Perspective - I-Drive/Convention Center

Maraya at Sabrina’s
I and my traveling companion were tired and hungry after a long day at a convention in Orlando. We stumbled outside of the hotel zone and found this wonderful restaurant. My travel companion loves Greek food so we anything in the general area we were willing to give a try.
The sign is a bit hard to read and we initially thought it said Maraya at Sabina’s (which we couldn’t figure out the med and german aspect) but it’s actually Maraya at Sabrina’s Mediterranean Cuisine. It has an awkward entrance from the road in that you have to go up the driveway for the strip mall and then do a u turn (there is no direct access to restaurant from the road) and we weren't sure about the place from the outside but boy are we glad we went!!!
It was fairly empty which was hard for us to comprehend as it was Saturday night around 7:00ish. The owners were fabulous. Took the time to explain the dishes, made us a little plate of samples. Everything is home cooked, made on premises.
I ordered the kibbeh, kefta dinner and for desert – kenafa. I enjoyed all of it but especially couldn’t get enough of the kenafa . I have had kefta before but this was a first for me with kibbeh and kenafa. Everything tasted like heaven. I didn’t want to leave and wish I lived closer so I could every week.
The whole restaurant experience was great - the food to die for. I don't understand why more chowhounds in the Orlando area have not found this place and raved about it.
Will definitely go back the next time I'm in Orlando.
They also have a hookah terrace but it was a bit cold when we were there so did not explore.
They are located at 8100 Crystal Clear Lane in Orlando, FL
Website is www.marayarestaurant.com
Check it out – you won’t be disappointed.
Bethany

schoenick in Florida

Mediterranean in Orlando - Must give this place a try if you haven't already

I was in Orlando the other week for fun and brought my partner to the restaurant. We were the only ones there on a Wednesday at 6:30pm. As per my last visit, the food was amazing - I wanted to keep eating as everything tasted so wonderful.

In speaking to the server who I believe is also a co owner in the restaurant, unless things signifigantly change, they will be unable to keep the restaurant open. I find this a travesty. To have such amazing food and a really nice space go out of business seems so sad. It blows my mind that chain restaurants that serve mediocre food are extremely busy and a place like this with a great staff and awesome food will most likely have to close.

So, spread the word - wouldn't it be a nice success story to say that Chowhound helped keep a great restaurant open?

schoenick in Florida

Can you freeze mashed potatoes?

So this thread was originally started in 2006 - I'm wondering what folks thoughts are now. I recently tried the Alexia brand yukon gold with sea salt and loved it. They are frozen, in a bag. The ingredient list is all natural so I'm wondering what the secret is???

Here is the link for the ingredient list
http://www.alexiafoods.com/alexia-products/alexia-mashed-yukon-gold-potatoes.jsp

Any suggestions - greatly appreciated. I loved mashed potatoes and the convenience of the frozen type but not the expense....

thanks,

schoenick in Home Cooking

Best of Orlando

If you have a car, definately check out Maraya at Sabrina's - it's about a 15 minute drive from Disney.

You can see the string of posts regarding the restaurant at
http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/694979?tag=boards;topic-694979

schoenick in Florida

Tampa Breakfast - parents meeting

Not sure if it is too late or not but restaurant.com has a coupon for OysterCatchers - $10 for a $25 gift certificate...

Good luck with the parental units,
bethany

schoenick in Florida

Mediterranean in Orlando - Must give this place a try if you haven't already

Maraya at Sabrina’s

I and my traveling companion were tired and hungry after a long day at a convention in Orlando. We stumbled outside of the hotel zone and found this wonderful restaurant. My travel companion loves Greek food so we anything in the general area we were willing to give a try.

The sign is a bit hard to read and we initially thought it said Maraya at Sabina’s (which we couldn’t figure out the med and german aspect) but it’s actually Maraya at Sabrina’s Mediterranean Cuisine. It has an awkward entrance from the road in that you have to go up the driveway for the strip mall and then do a u turn (there is no direct access to restaurant from the road) and we weren't sure about the place from the outside but boy are we glad we went!!!

It was fairly empty which was hard for us to comprehend as it was Saturday night around 7:00ish. The owners were fabulous. Took the time to explain the dishes, made us a little plate of samples. Everything is home cooked, made on premises.

I ordered the kibbeh, kefta dinner and for desert – kenafa. I enjoyed all of it but especially couldn’t get enough of the kenafa . I have had kefta before but this was a first for me with kibbeh and kenafa. Everything tasted like heaven. I didn’t want to leave and wish I lived closer so I could every week.

The whole restaurant experience was great - the food to die for. I don't understand why more chowhounds in the Orlando area have not found this place and raved about it.

Will definitely go back the next time I'm in Orlando.

They also have a hookah terrace but it was a bit cold when we were there so did not explore.

They are located at 8100 Crystal Clear Lane in Orlando, FL

Website is www.marayarestaurant.com

Check it out – you won’t be disappointed.
Bethany

-----
Maraya Restaurant Corp
8100 Crystal Clear Ln, Orlando, FL 32809

schoenick in Florida

Looking for Curry House in Tampa

Hey all,

As the title suggests, I'm looking for recommendations for a Curry House in Tampa - If you know of a great one in South Tampa, that would be awesome but anywhere in the Tampa area (St. Pete, Clearwater, etc) is fine.

Thanks in advance

schoenick in Florida

Kutu Japanese Steakhouse - South Tampa

Just went there this evening. The restaurant is seperated into two parts basically - the front of the place has a bar, a sushi bar and about 10 booths. The back of the place has a grill area.

We sat in the front in a booth. The booths are a little far from the table (although I am only 5 foot 2) and you have to sit on the edge in order to not have a huge gap between your lap and food (although I guess these booths would be great for very large people). The interior otherwise was nice and new. Club music played in the background which is exactly what I remember from restaurants in Japan. So you can hear the club music and we also heard the chefs working the grill in the back part. Everyone sounded like they were having a great time around the grill - not sure if there was a party back there or not.

Food - my dining partner ordered the Angry Dragon. It was beautifully plated, very artistic and an interesting combination of sweet and crunchy and savory. I ordered the Combo B (spicy tuna, spicy salmon, spicy yellowtail) and was pleasantly surprised with how much came on the plate. Usually when I go out for sushi, I order several plates but I was stuffed with just this one. $15 for sushi, salad and miso soup was pretty amazing. Coming from the DC area, I would have expected to pay a lot more. We finished with fried ice cream (green tea). Total bill for 2 people was $44 plus tip.

All in all, I was pleasantly surprised. The menu seemed a little large though. Besides the sushi, sashimi and steak house, they also offered some thai dishes (Pad Thai and Thai Curry) which I thought unusual.

Overall - I will definately go back and try sashimi vs the spicy rolls I had tonight to see how good the fish really is.

schoenick in Florida

Tampa - The Lime

Awesome - thanks for all the feed back.

To JillyLeigh - your call to eat at The Lime vs Daily Eats was a good one. My understanding is that they are both owned by the same people and share some menu items. That said, will definately try their Tampanian bowl.

thanks again.

schoenick in Florida

Tampa - The Lime

Has anyone been to The Lime on South Howard Ave in Tampa lately? What is your review? Good, bad, indifferent.

Thanks in advance!

schoenick in Florida

Looking for lunch recs near Getty, Venice Beach, Brentwood or Santa Monica

I think we will give Axe in Venice Beach a try unless there are any last minute recommendations in Brentwood? Found out the newphew lives in Sherman Oaks and I thought Brentwood would be a nice meeting point (1/2 way between Getty and Sherman Oaks).

thanks everyone!
bethany

schoenick in Los Angeles Area

Looking for lunch recs near Getty, Venice Beach, Brentwood or Santa Monica

I know - could I make up my mind?

I have a friend flying into LAX Saturday around 10:30 from the midwest and we are going to check out The Getty at some point on Saturday (it's open til 9 at night). She also wants to meet for drinks late afternoon or lunch early afternoon with her 21 year old nephew. So, I'm looking for recommendations in all areas listed above so I can be ready for whatever the plan is based on how she feels when she gets off the plane and when her nephew is available.

Looking for reasonably priced restaurant with healthy food (raw food restaurant might be cool) that tastes amazing and prefer something that is LA centric.

thanks in advance for your recommendations,
bethany
San Diego chowhound

schoenick in Los Angeles Area

Summer Savory

Hello chowhounds,

I have a recipe for a turkey that calls for using summer savory. I'm having a tough time finding it fresh and am wondering if I could use the dry form? If so, how much when the recipe calls for two fresh sprigs? I'm to put it in the cavity of the bird.

thanks in advance

schoenick in Home Cooking

Side dish for Beef Curry

Anyone have any recipe recommendations for a side dish to make with Beef Curry?

thanks in advance,
bethany

schoenick in Home Cooking

Kurdish Recipes

Thanks BamiaWruz!!!

I'm going to try the Parda Pilaw.

Where might I find the flat bread you wrote about? Would a general grocery store have something like this or should I look at a specialty store?

Thanks!

schoenick in Home Cooking

Kurdish Recipes

Hello,

I'm wondering if anyone out there has some recipes that they would share with me.I have a house guest that is Kurdish and I'd love to be able to make some things to remind him of home.

Thanks in advance

schoenick in Home Cooking

Luau in Oahu?

I forgot to mention that I went for traditional BBQ in Waikiki at a little hole in the wall place where it was all locals (i figure i can't go wrong with that formula) - it was really good but lots of rice...

Absolute number 1 best place we found though - Buzz's in Kailua!!! It was AWESOME!!!! Loved it and didn't even realize that it's claim to fame was steak... we actually had fish.

Can't wait to come back to Hawaii!

schoenick in Hawaii

Romantic in North County Coastal for under $100

Hi - sorry - yes, I did mean San Diego County...

Thanks for the recommendation on Trattoria i Trulli - I had sort of forgot about that place. My husband and I have been there several times last time we lived here. It's good to know it's still there and is earning good reviews. I think I will go there for the gift certificate.

Then, I'm going to take my husband and check out the rest of the recommendations on this thread!!!!

thanks!

schoenick in California

Romantic in North County Coastal for under $100

Our neighbor did us a favor the other day and we'd like to give her and her husband a gift certificate to say thanks.

Anyways, we've never met her husband but he is due to come home for two weeks shortly before leaving again for seven months. We'd like to give them a gift certificate to a romantic place for dinner while we watch their kids.

Any recommendations for a romantic place for two that they could have a nice meal and bottle of wine for $100? Is that even possible?

thanks in advance for recommendations

schoenick in California

Luau in Oahu?

Well, my blackberry died in Hawaii so I had none of the awesome recommendations here from Chowhound... I even tried stopping at Kinko's to pull it up but after waiting seven minutes for a page to load, I gave up... Not sure if that is normal or just an island thing?

Anyways, we ended up stopping at a local "plate" place in a little town between Koko Head and Kailua... don't remember the name but it's right off the road after you pass the Polo Place... Lua Lua was good - I don't know how it would compare to the original recommendation though but I thought it was good.

oh and I tried the local plate special at a McDonald's - that was the first time I'd seen something like that at McDonalds - that and taro pie!!! Does anyone know where the portuguese sausage orginated from?

We also tried shaved ice up somewhere in the North Shore area... I didn't see what all the fuss is about...

We definately want to go back - there is so much to see and taste in Hawaii!!!

schoenick in Hawaii

Luau in Oahu?

thanks for the posts so far! Very helpful. Like I mentioned - I thought of Luau only because that's all I really know about Hawaii... I'm glad you have mentioned that it's not really authentic though (pineapple slaw) - we will definately try the recommendation of going to Ono Hawaiian Food in Kapahulu.

Out of curiousity - what is lau lau? When I travel I tend to find that I eat food that I don't know what it is - I just point at something at a menu and sometimes it's really good and sometimes not - the only bummer is when something is really good, I don't know what I ordered so I know what to order again ;)

thanks again for the replies and I will check out the original luau post from several months back.

thanks,
bethany

schoenick in Hawaii

Luau in Oahu?

Hello,

My husband and I will be visiting Oahu this week and we have never been to Hawaii before. We are staying at a house in Kaneohe Bay and will have a car as well. We are wondering what are definite "must eat" while in Hawaii.

Of course the first thing that popped in my mind was going to Luau but not sure what makes a good luau. Any recommendations appreciated. Also, if there are other restaurants\food stands\ etc that are considered a must, please let us know.

thanks!
bethany

schoenick in Hawaii

ISO San Diego awesome cake bakery

I'm in search of a bakery in the San Diego area (preferably North County but will go anywhere in county) that does cakes where you can give them a photo that scans into the fondant.

thanks,
bethany

schoenick in California

Where to find Grant's Whiskey in San Diego North area...

thanks! I didn't even think to try Trader Joe's.

schoenick in Spirits

Where to find Grant's Whiskey in San Diego North area...

Which Bevmo?

The one I tried only carries the family reserve and said they couldn't order the others. That and it was in a plastic bottle! Is that normal? I still haven't been able to find the 12 year aged, sherry cask aged or ale cask aged.

thanks!

schoenick in Spirits

Where to find Grant's Whiskey in San Diego North area...

My husband recently met someone overseas that only drinks Grant's whiskey (not sure which of the four though). It seems like I've looked everywhere locally but haven't found it yet. If there are any posters out there that know where I might be able to purchase, I'd be grateful. I'd like to have it within the next week or so before he gets home.

thanks,

schoenick in Spirits

Ocean Thai in Oceanside

Hey all,

I did a search on the boards here looking for a Thai restaurant in Oceanside coastal region...

There seemed to be several recommendations for Ocean Thai but the most current posting I could find was 2007 - anyone have any more current recommendations or affirmations?

My sister love Thai food and I'd like to take her out to dinner for her birthday.

Much thanks in advance,
Bethany

schoenick in California