Solo convention dining in Orlando, blah blah blah (but with lunch, I hope)

Thanks everyone for the advice. This trip to Orlando was much better, food-wise, than any I've had in the past.

The first night I stuffed myself at Lac Viet. Fantastic! A mango and sea-creature salad was delicious and enough for a meal, but did I stop there? Need you ask? The Lac Viet Pho was sublime; the tendon bits are the best and the broth is incredibly rich. Fantastic. After the salad, I was utterly defeated by half a bowl. The other half was one of the best breakfasts I've had in a long time.

The second night I was the Ravenous Pig and I have to say that I was pretty disappointed. Very attentive service at the bar, but the drink I had, something with gin and honey, was timid and wan. Also, the candy corn bar snack is overly sweet and tends to kill the taste of everything else. Unfortunately, it's also impossible to stop eating. I had a classic pear and blue cheese salad which was all out of balance: the pears were bland and the big chunks of blue cheese really overpowered everything else. The mussels were, however, the worst part of the experience. The broth had odd notes of chemical-ey orange flavor, and the mussels themselves were hopelessly overcooked. I didn't finish them. Excellent fries, though, very crispy down to the bottom of the cup with just the right amount of salt.

Lee & Ricks was just as advertised, although the place was hopping on a Wednesday night. Oysters were good, not the best, but good and the shrimp pretty lacking in flavor. A good time despite the wait.

Finally, I went back to Lac Viet for one more bowl of Pho "on the way" to the airport. I would have gotten takeout, but you can't take the soup on the plane (no soup for you!). Delicious.

Thanks again everyone and please come and ask when you come up North.

DavisSquare in Florida

Natural By Nature milk in Boston area?

We've done a taste test (in our house, blind, after having drunk mostly Shaw's for a while) and think that Hi-Lawn Farms (Western Mass) milk kicks Shaw Farm's butt. It's not organic, but it sure is tasty.

DavisSquare in Greater Boston Area

Solo convention dining in Orlando, blah blah blah (but with lunch, I hope)

Thanks so much for the input, at least there are no objections to my dinner plans. Sushi is indeed a great idea for taking on the plane as it's pretty self-contained and not smelly. I'll check out one of those places. Any suggestions for other takout that's not too far from the airport?

Thanks again all, and think, you're keeping me out of Medieval Times...

DavisSquare in Florida

Solo convention dining in Orlando, blah blah blah (but with lunch, I hope)

Ok, so it comes up all the time, but we answer too where I'm from (Boston). I'm conventioneering (is that a word) at the Hilton near Seaworld and have had enough bad food experiences in Orlando to want to repeat that (can anyone say Medieval Times). I'll have a car, so for my three dinners I'm looking at:

Ravenous Pig
Lac Viet
Lee & Rick's

Editorial comments? Are all three ok for a solo diner? Other, better options?

I'm kinda bummed to miss out on Cuban and sushi, so I'm hoping to sneak out for lunch at least once or twice. Any suggestions for real lunch nearby (for sufficiently loose values of nearby)? Bonus points for good Cuban or sushi.

Finally, I have an evening flight out. Anywhere even remotely on the way to the airport where I could get takeout for the plane?

Thanks everyone and I appreciate all the advice that's gone before...

DavisSquare in Florida

Berkeley/Oakland birthday dinners -- overwhelmed by choice!

Hey, thanks everyone. The weekend went off spectacularly, and the food was great. We went to Champa Garden on Friday night and had wonderful food. The Tom Yum in particular was one of the best I've ever had. Subtile blend of coconut milk, lemon grass, kaffir lime, ginger, and I'm sure a bunch of other stuff. It would make a fantastic lunch all by itself. Beerlao isn't bad either. A bunch of the locals live near there and had never heard of the place; you certainly wouldn't go looking for a meal in that location.

The second night, we were too full from the birthday party to go out, but we did have delicious dim sum at East Ocean. Everything was wonderful, but I'd strongly advise you to get there early. By the time we left at 10:45, there was a line down the block out front.

Thanks again for the recommendations. My local contacts now give me credit for superior chowdar, and I owe it all to you. If you're ever in Boston, please come to our board, there are lots of good eats out our way too.

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Champa Garden
2102 8th Ave, Oakland, CA 94606

DavisSquare in San Francisco Bay Area

Where have you always had a bad meal?

Almost 350 posts and no one has mentioned Grafton Street in Harvard Square:

http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/483221

and I haven't been back since, thank goodness.

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Grafton Street Pub and Grill
1230 Massachusetts Ave, Cambridge, MA 02138

DavisSquare in Greater Boston Area

Berkeley/Oakland birthday dinners -- overwhelmed by choice!

Help, please! I have to arrange a dinner for two successive nights for significant birthdays (n0 and n5 for suitably large values of n) from afar. The breadth and depth of dining choices in Oakland and Berkeley is a vast improvement since I moved East lo those many years ago, but the range of choices has me a little overwhelmed (far better than the alternative problem, however).

We're starting out near Lakeshore, so anywhere between Downtown Berkeley and Downtown Oakland would be fine. Further excursions are possible for extraordinary food, but I don't think we want or need to go into the City.

The first night will be more casual with a couple of adventurous eaters and a couple less so. I was thinking perhaps of Chinese or SE Asian (Battambang? a really good Thai?) or sit-down Mexican (where?), but would love other suggestions (and perhaps tips on getting some authentic dishes when half the party will order sweet and sour chicken :-).

The second night is a bit trickier with about 10 of us, including the four from the night before. We absolutely need somewhere that will take reservations, and diners range from adventurous to fussy. I think sticking to "New American" is safest, with B in Oakland looking pretty good. What say you?

Finally, we may try Dim Sum on Saturday morning. Any consensus on the best place in Oakland Chinatown?

I appreciate, in advance, the help, and promise to let you all know where we end up and how well we fare.

DavisSquare in San Francisco Bay Area

A few nights in Chicago (Unos, Architectes, Frontera)

I just finished my lunch of leftovers from Double Li. Nothing earth shattering but very tasty, especially on an airplane. I went into Little Three Happiness and said I wanted to order takeout and was promptly given the White-guy takeout menu (you know: sweet and sour, egg fu young, chop suey, etc.). i went across the street and, as the only white guy in the place, got the full menu and even a glass of tea while I was waiting. Nice.

Thanks again for all the help!

DavisSquare in Chicago Area

A few nights in Chicago (Unos, Architectes, Frontera)

First, thanks to everyone who provided advice, both in my previous thread (http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/602579) and on the board in general. I've had three dinners in Chicago and will have one more (take out) before I head home. I just wanted to give my impressions and encourage you all to come and eat in Boston!

o Pizzeria Uno (29 East Ohio). I'm not sure if it's me and I just don't like the deep-dish thing, or whether Uno is bad or was just having a bad night or whatever, but it was bad. First came a large salad almost entirely composed of iceberg lettuce and cabbage strings. This was not unexpected but the harsh harsh Sysco-quality vinegar dressing was a disappointment. It did kill time and quench my hunger while I waited for the main event. The pizza itself, spinach and mushroom, was dry dry dry. The crust was more like crumbly soda bread than normal pizza crust, and there wasn't enough sauce to moisten it. Is that how deep-dish is supposed to be? I was raised on stuffed crust pizza from Zachary's in Berkeley (http://www.zacharys.com/) and was expecting something more along those lines. I was looking forward to the Chicago pizza and am disappointed. Please tell me to where to go next time for a better pizza.

o Café des Architectes (20 E. Chestnut). This was a recommendation from nsxtasy (http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/600132) and was right on. What a value! On Sunday and Monday they have a $29 3-course prix fixe with a limited menu. Seriously, what other $29 prix fixe comes with an amuse? It was a good one too with a bit of cured fish (tuna I think?) on top of some micro vegetables with a tangy sauce. Yummy and totally unexpected.

The appetizer of cured salmon was fantastic, the highlight of the meal. A very generous portion of fish on a bed of potatoes and onions with creme fraiche under it all. The fish was tasty but not strongly flavored, and the potatoes were perfect, crispy on the cut side and moist, if a potato can be moist. The creme underneath was the bonus with just a hint of citrus. Delicious.

The chicken was advertised on the menu as breast, but I was delighted when two legs, two thighs, and a piece of breast showed up on the plate; they were small pieces, but it was a lot of chicken. It was very flavorful, but just a little dry; it definitely needed help from the delicious jus which was also just right for mopping up with the bread.

Bread pudding for dessert was tasty but nothing special. Not too sweet, though, which is often a problem. I'd be remiss as well if I didn't mention the fantastic French butter and the olive tapenade which come with the bread basket. I'm not usually a huge bread and butter fan, but the butter was extraordinary. Between that and the jus, I think I made my way through most of the bread basket. The bread itself, baguette slices and ciabatta-like rolls, wasn't too shabby either.

Finally, it was super quiet in there. The bartender said they were full for restaurant week last week, but I was the only one at the bar and there were maybe three occupied tables in the dining area.

o Frontera Grill (445 North Clark) This place, on the other hand, was hopping. I managed to find a spot at the bar in pretty quick order and ignore the people hovering over my shoulder during the rest of the meal. I had a very mediocre margurita (not my favorite drink, but when in Rome) and ordered the goat special. After a long wait it came, and my first though was "that's all?". Now it was a very tasty goat stew, if a bit one dimensional (salty). There wasn't much goatiness either to distinguish it from, say, a beef stew, but still very tasty. However, when I order a $23 main course special, there ought to be more than five bites in it. Also, if you're going to serve stew, you need something to soak up the left-over broth. I was yearning for some bread.

I left still hungry and unsatisfied, and made my way to Fox & Obel for some dessert. I bought a delicious key lime tart and devoured it with my fingers in the privacy of my hotel room. It could have had a stronger lime flavor, but otherwise was perfect, without the cloying sweetness that sometimes accompanies key lime.

o I haven't yet decided on my take-out plan for tonight, but I'm leaning more and more toward walking from here (McCormick Place) to Chinatown, grabbing some takeout, and taking the subway (L, CTA, what do you call it around here?) to O'Hare. Little Three Happiness perhaps?

DavisSquare in Chicago Area

Take me out to the airport

Thanks! I'll give Fox & Obel a test run for lunch tomorrow (they want $15 for a food court sandwich at McCormick!!), but it sounds like just the ticket (no pun intended). The extra cost of eating at the airport isn't the issue, it's the chow factor. If I can get tastier take out downtown, it's worth the detour for me.

Funny you should mention liquid. I once went through airport security at SFO with my entire ziplock bag filled with little containers (< 300 ml each!) of salsa to go with my burrito from El Farolito. Made the screeners laugh and I think they've seen most everything.

DavisSquare in Chicago Area

Take me out to the airport

First of all, thanks to you all, and in particular to nsxtasy whose recommendations (http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/600132) have so far landed me with at least one tasty meal (Café des Architectes). Now I have a dilemma. I have to leave for the airport about 5:30 pm tomorrow. The food offerings at O'Hare seem dismal or overpriced or both. Where can I get food to take to the airport at that hour or, even better, earlier in the day? It needs to be tasty (of course) and survive the trip to the airport in good shape. I'm staying in River North and working at the convention center (McCormick) but am willing to look anywhere downtown since there are shuttle busses to pretty much all the hotels from the convention center. If I can order ahead and pick up in a jiffy, I'd also be willing to have a cab pull over on the way to the airport while I hop out and grab something.

Thanks again, and a full report on my Chicago dining experience (nothing new for you all, I'm sure) will be forthcoming. Please don't hesitate to ask over on our board if you're coming to Boston.

DavisSquare in Chicago Area

Looking for up-to-the-minute Pick Your Own Reports...

Sounds lovely. We may have to go this weekend! Can you remember what they are charging for apples, raspberries, and peaches?

DavisSquare in Greater Boston Area

Solo dining in Monterey?

Hi 'hounds. I'm coming to Monterey for business next week and, unfortunately, will only have one night free for dinner, and it'll probably be alone. From your very helpful past comments, Passion Fish sounds fantastic, and its website looks just right. Would a solo diner be comfortable there? Do they have a bar? If not (or even if so), any other recommendations for solo in Monterey?

Thanks in advance, and if you're ever in Boston, come on over and ask us, we love to share.

DavisSquare in California

Solo dining without breaking the bank

Thanks everyone. I ended up at PS7, eating in the lounge. The food and bartending were quite good, but very overpriced for a meal, and I left unsatisfied. I had the tuna sliders and, as suggested by the bartender, got 6 ($18). I was expecting sliders like White Castle sized, but instead, each one was about the size of a quarter, I kid you not. Good bread, about a tablespoon of nicely flavored tuna, but not much there there. Six of them would have been a good appetizer portion, but as a main, left me wanting. I also had a cheese plate which was well chosen, but pretty spartan. Just the cheese, a bit of jelly, some yummy candied nuts and a (very) little dried fruit. There was no fresh fruit and, worst of all, no bread, just crackers. Sliders + cheese plate + 1 beer = $50 tab (incl. tip and tax) and an unsatisfied diner. I felt like I should go get pizza afterward.

DavisSquare in Washington DC & Baltimore Area

Solo dining without breaking the bank

Sorry to say, I think it's a rubber chicken lunch for me. If they let me out long enough to eat (doubtful), I'll definitely keep this place in mind.

DavisSquare in Washington DC & Baltimore Area

Solo dining without breaking the bank

It looks great and was at the top of my list until I read a couple of recent reviews that report it packed to the gills even on a weeknight, to the point where it's hard to find even a single place to sit at the bar. Is this (still) true? The food and beer look perfect, but I'm not interested in wading through a 3-deep-at-the-bar crowd and waiting 45 minutes for a barstool.

DavisSquare in Washington DC & Baltimore Area

Solo dining without breaking the bank

Thanks for the ideas, these look great. I'm definitely not looking for a "scene" or to meet people, just great food. I'm expecting to eat, pay, and go to my hotel. I'm not adverse to meeting interesting people while eating at a bar, but the chow is more important.

DavisSquare in Washington DC & Baltimore Area

Solo dining without breaking the bank

Hi everyone, and thanks for all the fantastic information you've put up here. I'm coming to DC for the day, and will have one dinner to myself. There are a lot of recent threads on solo dining, but most of them focus on expensive fine dining (>$30 mains). While I'm drooling reading the threads, I'm looking for something a bit more modest, say around $20 mains (or less, of course) and perhaps with more of a neighborhood feel. A seat a the bar with good bartending and/or a good beer list would be a bonus. Also, Metro accessibility is nice (i.e. Adams Morgan is tough); I'll be coming from National.

Thanks so much in advance, and when you come to Boston please ask over on our board, there's lots of great eats.

DavisSquare in Washington DC & Baltimore Area

New Sushi in Davis Square

And honestly, unless you're getting delivery, the trip to Blue Fin (by T from Davis) is about 1 minute longer than the walk to Yoshi's, plus you can get ice cream on the way home (not sure why sushi and ice cream go together, but they do).

DavisSquare in Greater Boston Area

Wang's - excellent Northern Chinese food, as always

Tofu Skin with Mushrooms is my favorite side dish at Qingdao. Any comparisons?

DavisSquare in Greater Boston Area

Super Tuesday Dining at Bar

With the caveats that I've only been to Highland Kitchen once, and it was a crazy busy Saturday (or maybe Friday) night, and that our WSL stop this weekend was not as good as it has been in the (recent) past, yes.

I think I've said this a couple of times before, but my history with WSL is long. Many years ago (like 5, wow I'm getting old) we had a good friend who was an RA at the dorms on Walker St. and who was often restricted to a few block radius. As you can imagine, we went to WSL a lot and loved it. The friend moved away, and the WSL food declined in quality and we stopped going. Maybe 4 months ago, we went back and had a fantastic meal which I wrote about here: http://www.chowhound.com/topics/448561
We've since been back three or four times, and this weekend was the first disappointment we've had (too much vinegar in the salad and too much wasabi in the potatoes, each dominated all other flavors; aviator really excellent, mojito slightly sub-par with not enough mint or lime or sugar for that matter). So, if you haven't been in the past year or so, you might want to give it another try, it has improved significantly since two years ago. They also seem to have fixed the loudness problem they had when we first went there (http://www.chowhound.com/topics/148045 whew, that's old). On the down side, they don't have the ice cream sandwiches any more...

I do need to get back to Highland Kitchen. Trying to remember from a few weeks ago: salad (no idea which one) was fine, no better, and bluefish cakes quite good though a bit one-dimensional (smoked flavor). I think I had a third app, but I can't remember what. I do need to get back and try again, maybe when it's a bit calmer on a weeknight.

DavisSquare in Greater Boston Area

Super Tuesday Dining at Bar

West side lounge has two small TVs at the bar, and I bet you could talk them into turning them to CNN or whatever. Great cocktails, excellent food (although a little off this weekend from their usual high standard. Not bad, but not as good as usual), friendly as you want bartending. Maybe not the focus on small plates that you'd like, but plenty of apps and mains to share.

Highland Kitchen (Somerville) has larger TVs and not quite as good food (IMHO after only one visit), but still very good.

Many other options too. See http://www.chowhound.com/topics/485112 for example.

DavisSquare in Greater Boston Area

Grafton Street: Blech (with a capital ech)

I thought about that, but I don't think so. The horrendous salad perhaps could be put down to the kitchen shutting down, but the fish was presumably premade (frozen?) and simply popped into the fryer. Likewise, the night crew wasn't making coleslaw or fries from scratch. Anyway, as you say, no excuse. At least the beer could have been cold, and we're not talking English style ale here either. Never again if I can help it, but I suspect that I will indeed have to go again some day.

DavisSquare in Greater Boston Area

Sunday lunch with kids?

Although it's better than any other meal there, I've been totally underwhelmed by Johnny D's brunch. I mean it's fine, but no better than that. In addition, there have been long lines on many recent weekends (no accounting for taste), and if I'm going to wait in line for brunch, kids or no, I'm waiting at Soundbites which is MUCH better and incredibly kid friendly. Last time, they brought us tons of extra stuff since my daughter had the same name as our waitress. No drinks, though.

DavisSquare in Greater Boston Area

Grafton Street: Blech (with a capital ech)

First a confession. Due to circumstances totally beyond my control, we had to cancel successive reservations at Ten Tables and The Blue Room last night and ended up with a group of people at Grafton Street. My expectations were very low.

It was very late and I was very hungry, and every single thing I ordered was terrible; a complete zero. Beet salad featured gritty (!) wet lettuce sitting in a pool of water(!!), tasteless though good looking beets, and some cheese which was also completely without flavor. I can't think of much worse than gritty wet salad. Only the late hour (their kitchen was closing) kept me from sending it back. A glass of lukewarm beer arrived. Fish and chips was perhaps the worst rendition I've ever had. Thick doughy crust surrounded crumbly fish which was not only lacking flavor itself, but seemed to suck all flavor out of everything it touched. Shockingly pink cole slaw was likewise without flavor, and the thick steak fries weren't any better. The waitress looked at me like I was a nutcase when I asked for mustard (I thought vinegar would be a stretch). The only edible thing were the fries which came with the hamburger on the plate next to mine. They were fine.

In sum, it was awful. I mostly mention it because Grafton Street comes up sometimes as a suggestion for somewhere to eat in Harvard Square. I can assure you that, absent duress, I'll never be back.

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Grafton Street Pub and Grill
1230 Massachusetts Ave, Cambridge, MA 02138

DavisSquare in Greater Boston Area

Delivery to Union Square

I bet that the Kebab Factory would deliver to Union. They definitely deliver to Davis (yum) and Union is much closer to them. Currently our favorite Indian delivery. I also bet that East Asia near Powderhouse would deliver good fresh American Chinese and Thai.

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East Asia Restaurant
868 Broadway, Somerville, MA 02144

The Kebab Factory
414 Washington St, Somerville, MA 02143

DavisSquare in Greater Boston Area

Local beer

I was looking at this, and I don't think so. The beer advocate lists it as a product of the Shipyard Brewing company in Mane (http://beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/139) and it also says that it's contract brewed in Utica, NY (http://beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/139/51/?ba=bros), but that's not very recent info. Their website (http://www.tremontale.com/) is very very vague, listing a PO box in Boston as their only address. I think it no longer qualifies as local beer, although it's still an ok pour.

DavisSquare in Greater Boston Area

A Nice Lunch in Cambridge for Out-of-Towners

We were there about a month or six weeks ago for brunch and had boring dry omelets.

DavisSquare in Greater Boston Area

Bizarre Night at Fasika

Remind you a little of the Forrest Cafe (sit-down Mexican on one side of the room, dive bar on the other)?

DavisSquare in Greater Boston Area