eqjosh's Profile
Traverse City, MI - good eats?
I definitely concur on Stella - absolutely a great meal. 2 of us shared the STROZZAPRETI which was to die for -- it's a thick, short pasta nicely al dente, with a big portion of braised pork shoulder that was salty and rich. Then the WAGYU TOP SIRLOIN which was as close to a perfect steak as I've had -- seared outside w a nice level of salt, super tender and flavorful. I'd asked for medium-rare in it was quite red in the middle, so if you want it cooked through better go medium. The steak is served w a veal stock -- I was about ready to lick the plate.
The dessert was disappointing, as was the bruschetta. Both had too much starch, not enough substance so ended up tasting kinda... white. :)
However, on the whole I'd definitely go again.
(re Amical, as I posted in a note above, I wouldn't)
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Amical
229 E Front St, Traverse City, MI 49684
Traverse City, MI - good eats?
I tried Amical based on a couple comments on this thread -- but was disappointed. Started of fab with a completely yummy mussels in a wine broth w chunks of pork. Oh and great olives! But the duck w pasta was tragically underseasoned. Huge portion which would have been nice if...
:(
I was really tempted by Hanna Bistro's menu, but didn't go b/c of bad reviews on Yelp, sigh.
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Amical
229 E Front St, Traverse City, MI 49684
Traverse City help!
Had an absolutely great meal @ Stella last night - fresh and fab. Don't remember the name, but a thick pasta w pork shoulder, meat falling apart tender, nicely seasoned... yummmm
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Stella Trattoria
1200 W 11th St, Traverse City, MI 49684
santa cruz
PS. Ambrosia is still around.
Avanti, mentioned above, is on the north side of town and is definitely one of the best in the area. La Posta is good, but I prefer Soif Wine Bar, same owners, Soif has a more eclectic menu and a bit more vibrant energy.
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Soif Wine Bar & Retail
105 Walnut Avenue, Santa Cruz, CA 95060
La Posta
538 Seabright Avenue, Santa Cruz, CA 95062
Ristorante Avanti
1711 Mission St, Santa Cruz, CA 95060
santa cruz
Highly recommend Sunrise Cafe for breakfast - in Soquel - one of our favorites. Nice range of traditional brekkie items, plus some w lots of veggies and special flair. Great eggs benedict!
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Sunrise Cafe
4718 Soquel Dr, Soquel, CA 95073
Ambrosia India Bistro Open in Aptos
Went last week - sometimes good, sometimes great... still overall one of our favorites.
:)
Best dim sum in Singapore
Tried Jade Palace @ Forum - thank you for the tip. Best egg custard tarts ever!! Super flaky shell, smooth, vanilla filling. Xiao long bao nice broth, but texture not as fab as Din Tai Fung. Baked pork bao amazing - very tender, excellent flavor.
Went @ 2pm, not to much wait (we booked a table tho); pretty steep price -- 2 kids, 2 parents stuffed for SG$80 :)
Ambrosia India Bistro Open in Aptos
They were closed from a fire for a couple months - but we just were back last week and better than ever. The "bindi" okra dish is absolutely amazing - NOT someone who would describe himself as an "okra fan" this one has changed my whole concept of this veggie! A little crisp, lemony, bright... oh yah.
I put some pix on family's B&B blog: http://www.sandrockfarm.com/2010/01/ambrosia-aptos-is-back/
Fab Persian at Pooya, Campbell
I am so bummed! 3rd visit to Pooya was a big disappointment. Same great Kashke Badamjan appetizer, but the chicken & beef kebabs were overcooked and dry, even the ground beef wasn't nearly as juicy as before. Even worse, when I summoned the will to tell the waitress (I hate to complain!), and said the beef was very overcooked, dry, and tough, the answer was, "that's how our customers like it, just tell us next time you want it rare." Hmm.
I told the owner, who was very apologetic, but did not jump into the kitchen to get a new plate fired, nor did he adjust the bill... If this had been my first visit I'd cross it off my list. However, given the strength of the 1st two visits, I will most likely try again, though the poor customer service makes my teeth ache.
On the upside - my daughter ordered the chicken with rice & barberries, it was scrumptious, moist, and tender... so not all lost!
Re Melanie's question: Mon-Sat (I think) they have a stew-of-the-day, none on Sunday, so still haven't tried!
Menlo Park good eats?
Haven't tried New Kapadokia so can't compare, but had dinner @ Sultana this week and yumm. The combo appetizer was totally fab, great range of flavors -- loved the chick-pea salad and a red creamy yummy dip that's a bit spicy and garlic-y. Fresh warm bread... I am salivating!
- My friend had chicken kabobs where were a bit bland.
- I had these flat kabobs of ground lamb+beef wrapped around a mix of spinach and fresh pomegranate w a sauce combining pomegranate juice and something a bit creamy... it was completely, outrageously good!
Went to Evvia tonight, was good but not "all that"... wish I'd gone back to Sultana!
I also LOVE Tamarine - incredible mix of flavors, fresh, zingy, great space - it's now my "#1 by far" in the area.
:)
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Tamarine Restaurant
546 University Ave., Palo Alto, CA 94301
Fab Persian at Pooya, Campbell
Hi Melanie - I didn't focus on the details, but yes there was a "stew" section of the menu, I think they have one special stew each day? I'd better go back and research!
:)
Fab Persian at Pooya, Campbell
Just found this place (apparently opened in March 09) and LOVED it, definitely the best Persian weıııve had in the Bay Area (and rivaling the places in Westwood where we first "found" Persian food).
Started w Kashke Badamjan, a grilled eggplant ap w crispy fried onions, came with warm, fresh baked flatbread. Totally outrageous dish, this could be a small meal in itself.
Then split the Pooya special, comes w four kebabs (filet mignon, chicken breast, ground chicken, ground beef) and a big plate of rice.
We subbed the chicken breast kabab (Chicken Soltani) and instead had Joojeh Kebab (game henıııfind it more flavorful & juicy). Totally delectable. The skin has a nice glazing, dripping w flavor, lemon zing.
Usually in Persian places I ask for the filet rare because there's a tendency to cook it hard ıııI forgot, but was safe! This Chelo Kebab Barg was a thicker cut of meat than Iıııve had at other Persian places, was nice and pink in the middle, needed a knife to cut but was very tender.
The Koobideh was also great, smooth w good flavor -- since I learned to cook this at home I'm often disappointed buying it, but here was better than I can makeııı nice subtlety, right texture, and much juicier than when I make it!
Finally the ground chicken kebab (Chicken Koobideh) had a nice tenderness and flavor though not quite as smashing as others.
As traditional (I think!) was served w grilled tomato. I also requested onion and lemon which they happily brought.
Dinner for 2 w tax (no drinks) was $40 -- and this would have been plenty for 4 w addition of another appetizer (my wife and I were almost fighting over the Kashke Badamjan, I practically licked the plate, so need 2 orders for more people!!) ııılooking forward to leftovers for lunch tomorrow!
Service was also notable -- we were the only people in the place (7:00 on a Monday eve) so not sure how it will be full -- but the waiter was present and engaging, he seemed to really care that we loved the food. :)
BTW for those who know the area: I happened to go to Yas today for lunch (long story, wife was jealous when I got home) and wife & I went to Reyhan 2 weeks ago -- Pooya completely eclipsed Yas and, while Reyhan's food is good, Pooya is better, and the ambiance is WAY better.
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Pooya Persian Cuisine
1740 Winchester Blvd, Campbell, CA 95008
Yas Restaurant
1138 Saratoga Ave, San Jose, CA 95129
Reyhan Restaurant
1625 Almaden Rd, San Jose, CA
Curacao good restuarants?
Tried Gouverneur de Rouville - wouldn't go back for a meal, though it's a lovely spot.
Before dinner had drinks w a friend - great mojito and fab view! Recommend for this.
Dinner - large portions lacking flavor and elegance. Had a "tapas plate" combo appetizer, would have been sufficient for meal, the mushrooms w goat cheese were good, rest kinda blah. Special tuna w "creole sauce" (seemed like katsup?) was edible but not memorable. Best of the meal was blended icy lemonade - yum. US$50
Sigh, wish I'd taken all the Chowhounders' advice and gone to Le Clochard, didn't because it seemed too "romantic" for just 1 person. :(
santa cruz
I agree - Palomar is faded at best, while Moreno is a bit of "hole in the wall" (ie, ain't fancy!) the food is truly fab.
They have these "quesadillas" which are a taco w some melted cheese and a bit of crisp-ness, some cabbage, salsa... OMG I want to go eat some now!!
Ambrosia India Bistro Open in Aptos
We've had the aloo pakoras - they've been made differently on different days... sometimes slices of potato, which is favorite of my 7-year old. Last time were a kind of cake of spuds and veggies which were WAY YUM for grownups but not-so-popular in the under 4' crowd.
Also had something whose name I don't know, kind of a fried pattie of veggie, they had it as an ap in the buffet, but also in the buffet had it with a kind of lemony, creamy curry.
In lunch buffet 2 days ago also had a chicken curry, no other name, that had a dark sauce w onions and ginger and wow. We're going back today!!!
:)
Ambrosia India Bistro Open in Aptos
Another "yes" vote! Tried Ambrosia for the first time tonight - wonderful to have a yummy place back in the old blue spoon location (ie, State Park W of H1 in Aptos).
We had:
> Baigan Bharta - nice 'n smokey, slivers of fresh ginger were fab.
> Butter Chicken - curry was much "darker" than same-named-dish @ other places, but I loved it, flavorful sheds of dark-meat chicken, rich, nutty, creamy curry.
> Butter nan - a bit dry but fresh and flavorful.
+ 2 appetizers and 1 sweet lassi, plenty of food for 2 adults and 2 kids, $48.
We'll be back often!!
Dinner in Brisbane [Moved from International board]
On Eagle Street Pier tried Cha Cha Char ( http://www.chachachar.com.au/ ) and found it quite tasty, very pleasant service, and not too unreasonable prices (mains around AU$40). It's a steak house, so mostly they have steak (surprise) but also a few other dishes. The caesar salad was way over-dressed, but the spinach & potatoes served w the steak were quite fab.
On the other hand, tonight tried Pier 9 "for a treat" and was totally disappointed.
:( Server seemed sadly ignorant about menu & wine ("what's the difference between the 3 Chardonnays?" "well this one is more popular" (pointing to the most expensive...)), and incapable of describing the dishes. The food was "ho-hum" to "blah" - put it this way: fish & chips was bit soggy, but rated as best dish we ordered. Sigh. That said, a year ago I ate here and had a nice meal. Maybe the trick is to order the special??
So far in Brisbane best meal has been Vietnamese Noodle House - small "hole in the wall" on Charlotte near Albert. Nothing fancy, but tasted great!
:)
Restaurant Recommendations Please
Ah! Even more yummy.
:)
It had a kind of fatty (in a good way) wrapping which is why I thought pate...
Restaurant Recommendations Please
After reading this thread I decided to try Europea - and that was fab enough that after long time lurking on chowhound I finally registered so I could post! I was in montreal on sad family matters and was feeling sorry for myself, decided to go seek redemption in food... got it!
I had the 7 course tasting menu - it was one of the best meals ever. My favorites were the lobster bisque "teaser," the trio of small scallops w a mushroom cream (maybe w coconut milk? WOW yummy), and the fois gras. Not normally a big foie fan, but this was wild - piece of seared foie done perfectly, and on the same plate a traditional french foie gras "pate" - served with fab toasted walnut bread. By the way, the bread & butter bread is awesome but if you get the tasting menu better stay away from it! i was BURSTING by the end!!!
There was a "whimsy" course described as CO2 Cesar Salad, foam strikes again... seemed a bit soylent green, but then I tasted it and was pretty tickled. The cheese course was a firm robust quebec cheese served in an onion soup, which was a bit weird for me as the 8th or 9th plate served, kinda heavy and intense and hard to eat - I think the only mis-step on the menu.
Dessert was also awesome, "pre-dessert" was an array of yummy bits including a tiny canelle, then the final dessert was even better, including a whole bowl of madelines, which was a little cruel as they were so scrumptious I felt like a traitor leaving most behind.
I made a strategic error - I normally don't drink much wine, so I didn't choose the paired wines for $55 and ended up spending a LOT more on wine... the somalier (sp?) offered pairing with the foie which was so perfect that I asked for his recommendation to go w the scallops & lobster, also a great pairing, but I didn't ask about prices (too swept up in the yummness)...
And if the food wasn't enough, my sour mood was completely washed away by the lovely service - lots and lots of servers kept appearing with treats, they seemed to genuinely want me to love everything and were solicitous without being overbearing. I can't wait 'till I'm next in Montreal, hopefully on gladder tidings and with my love so we can enjoy this together!
Thank you chowhounders for this recommendation.
