13 items found for your search. If no results were found please broaden your search.
(09/29/04 4:39am)
While dining at Tallent, an upscale restaurant on West Kirkwood Avenue, I'm sad to report the service was the lone bright spot. The well-trained staff helped the customers with their needs, but at the same time, the restaurant broadcasts the message that it doesn't care about the customers' needs or desires (It charges a hefty $6 to split a dish.) Now, I have never worked in a restaurant, but I can't think of anything that would justify charging extra money, let alone $6, for sharing a dish.\nThe diverse menu boasted a wide variety of local ingredients and free- range meat that was fancy for the sake of being fancy. \nTo begin our meal, my companion opted for the sweet corn soup with truffle oil ($7), and I had the two-color gazpacho ($7). \nThe corn soup was wonderful. It was cooked so the sweet corn maintained its integrity. The truffle oil tasted delightfully like truffles, a surprise given the cost of the ingredient. The bacon in the soup was salty and crisp, a nice finishing touch.\nIn comparison, my appetizer was a huge disappointment. Tallent failed to capture the essence of gazpacho. In case you are not familiar with the dish, gazpacho is a cold tomato soup from the Andalusia region of Spain. Everybody makes it differently, but there are two basic varieties -- a thick smooth puree or a hearty chunky soup filled with lots of cucumbers and other vegetables. Tallent served me a thin mixture of yellow and red tomatoes. While it did not taste poorly, it was more like tomato juice than gazpacho. \nFor our main courses, I selected horseradish-crusted tofu in a peppercorn sauce ($17) and my companion had grass-fed organic chicken ($22).\nThe tofu dish was one of the worst concoctions I have ever tasted. The sauce itself tasted nothing like peppercorns. \nThe tofu was firm and nice, but, alas, it was covered in too much horseradish. Horseradish tastes good in moderation, but even a tad too much will clear your sinuses and make your eyes water. My portion went well beyond a tad -- huge globs of the stuff totally overwhelmed my taste buds. By the end of the meal, I was literally in pain from eating so much of the horseradish, and that was after trying to scrape it off the concoction.\nMy companion's chicken was nicely presented. Each bite served up a moist mouthful, but, unfortunately, it completely lacked any taste outside of chicken. Now I don't mind the taste of chicken; I just find it somewhat bland on its own. The rest of the dish, however, was surprisingly good. Served with a tomato tart that was smothered in garlic, creating an interesting combination of sweetness with a little pungent bite, this may have been the best part of the meal. The chicken was also served with slices of squash that were cooked nicely so the squash maintained its integrity instead of becoming mushy.\nIf you go to Tallent, expect to pay at least $60 for appetizers and a meal and don't say I didn't warn you.
(09/22/04 4:27am)
When I think of Louisiana, a few things come to mind: the wailing sound of southern jazz and amazing Creole and Cajun food.\nCreoles were the original French settlers of New Orleans. These people were mostly rich aristocrats. Cajuns, on the other hand, were Acadians, or poor peasants from France. These people settled around New Orleans in the bayous and prairies of southern Louisiana. \nLucky for us, Yats, a local chain from Indianapolis, that recently opened shop in Bloomington, serves both Cajun and Creole cuisine. This little gem of a restaurant, tucked away behind Casablanca on Fourth and Grant streets, offers wonderful food at incredibly modest prices.\nGo to Yats if you are on a budget: all dishes are $5 (including tax), or $6 if you want half of one dish and half of another. Dessert is $2, and drinks are $1 with free refills. The menu itself is incredibly small -- about only seven dishes -- but it changes daily. For dinner I had a half order of jambalaya and a half order of red beans and rice. One of my companions had a half order of jambalaya with a half order of white chili, while the other opted for an order of gumbo. Our orders were ready within five minutes.\nThe jambalaya was incredible. Jambalaya is a rice-based dish in which smoky Andouille sausage and other meats are mixed together with a healthy amount of vegetables and spices to produce a savory masterpiece. Yats' version was of the Creole variety, meaning there was a little bit of tomato mixed in that gave the whole dish a pleasant red hue. \nThe dish itself was well-spiced with a mix of hot pepper and a variety of other spices giving it a unique taste. Green pepper and onion rounded out the meal. The vegetables absorbed the flavor of the spices and the smoked sausage and were sincerely good. I highly recommend this dish.\nThe red beans and rice tends to be a simpler and much milder dish than the jambalaya. Smoked sausage and red kidney beans are combined in a sauce and then ladled on top of a nice, fluffy bed of rice. Large chunks of sausage mixed well with the red beans. I recommend this dish to anyone who does not like overly spicy food.\nThe gumbo was rather good, which is quite an accomplishment considering it is hard to make a good gumbo. Gumbo is a thick, robust soup laden with chicken, shellfish, a healthy amount of okra, and other vegetables. \nYats' gumbo was excellent. The soup contains a good amount meat and veggies and was finished off with a small amount of shrimp and crawfish. It had a great taste, tasting of traditional Cajun spices. I wish there were more crawfish and other shellfish in this soup,but for the price, you would be hard-pressed to find a better gumbo this side of the Mason-Dixon line.\nThe white chili was really good. White navy beans combined happily with small chunks of chicken in a delectable spicy sauce. The beans and chicken were cooked to perfection: soft and tender, and each bite was better than the one before it. \nIn my opinion, Yats is one of the best values in Bloomington. For $6, you can get a huge plate of food and a drink. The quality of the food is surprisingly high given the price. I highly recommend Yats: Good food, great price, what more can you ask for?
(08/30/04 5:26am)
As a general rule, fish restaurants can be divided fairly easily into two groups: dive-like fish-fry joints and the overly pricey formal fish restaurants. Dive-worthy fish places are great: There is nothing better than sitting on old rickety benches with a motley assortment of locals while eating fish that you swear was caught only minutes ago. \nUpon walking into Rumblefish, the new restaurant at 254 N. Walnut Street, I had my doubts. Seeing how Indiana is rather far from the ocean, I was bracing myself for some rather rank seafood. This fear was quickly alleviated: Rumblefish did not smell like fish, a sure sign that a restaurant is serving up only the freshest fare. Candlelight and soft lighting paired with a rather nice mix of jazzy bluegrass music create a peaceful dining atmosphere. Rumblefish has the obligatory model of a sail boat and the giant swordfish on the wall; however, these decorative clichés are not too overdone. My only complaint about Rumblefish's ambiance was the noise. Every so often, my companion was drowned out by the general noise that filled the room. The staff was amazingly helpful, answering questions and sincerely going that proverbial extra mile to make the meal a better experience. \nRumblefish's menu was small but fairly diverse, running the gambit from Cajun to Italian cuisine. While it had a nice assortment of seafood on the menu, non-seafood eaters may be a bit disappointed by limited options. Luckily, between grilled chicken, steak, pizza and stuffed mushrooms, most people will be able to find something they like.\nTo begin our meal, my companion and I split an order of sea salt and vinegar crisps with a dill ranch sauce for $4. The sauce, which also doubled as the house salad dressing, was rather good. A lot of buttermilk gave this sauce a nice smooth taste, which paired well with the salty potato chips. For a meal, my companion had citrus glazed wild salmon for $17, and I had seared yellow fin tuna steak for $18. The salmon was extremely fresh and cooked to perfection. No need for a knife -- each piece flaked off perfectly at the touch of a fork. Also, the citrus glaze was not overpowering, letting the natural flavor of the fish shine through. The fish was assisted by a nice array of vegetables. Again, the freshness of the ingredients shined through.\nThe yellow fin tuna steak was out of this world. Served in an Asian-themed sauce that had a sweet soy sauce base and a mild hint of vinegar, tuna steaks do not get much better than this. The fish was incredibly fresh. Seared nicely so the inside of the steak was raw, each bite saw the tuna was melting in your mouth. The sauce was delicious, giving everything a nice balance between sweet and salty. Served with vegetables in the same sauce, I cannot say enough good things about this dish.\nBoth meals came with a nice salad of baby greens and shredded carrots. Perhaps the only bad thing was the extremely limited choice of dressings between the house ranch, bacon vinaigrette and thousand island.\nOverall, Rumblefish is a wonderful restaurant. However, it is expensive. Fish this fresh does not come cheap -- expect to pay $50 or more for two people. Despite the hefty but understandable price tag, I highly recommend Rumblefish and will most assuredly go back.
(09/29/03 5:10am)
Many people have the misconception that great food is expensive. This is honestly not the case. Some of Bloomington's best food is rather affordable. If you don't believe it, you should head over to Trojan Horse, a Greek restaurant on the corner of Kirkwood Avenue and Walnut Street. Trojan Horse offers up some of Bloomington's best food, sometimes priced under $5.\nRecently, I found that one of my friends had never tried Greek food. Seeing this as a tragedy, I dragged her to Trojan Horse for her first Greek eating experience.\nIf you are not familiar with Greek food, the predominate flavors usually come from lemon juice, garlic and olive oil.\nThe Trojan Horse's ambiance is exactly what you would want out of a restaurant of its type. In essence, eating there is fun. Even the entrance is fun, with an arched door opened by pulling on a heavy-looking chain. Once inside, you are greeted with a pleasantly lit room with dark wooden booths, which sets a pleasant atmosphere.\nWhile the room itself is nice, the thing that is truly fun is the flaming cheese. One of the more traditional Greek items on the menu, saganaki (fried cheese), is smothered in brandy and then lit on fire right in front of the patron's table. Any place with flaming cheese is alright with me.\nTo begin our meal, my companion and I split an order of hummus -- ground chickpeas mixed with tahini paste or ground sesame seeds ($3.55). Trojan Horse puts its own spin on hummus by mixing in what tastes like a little sweet red pepper. The hummus had a creamy consistency, with a pleasant earthy taste, and was served with warm pita bread. While the pita was warm and soft, it tasted somewhat like pancakes. But the hummus cut the sweetness, making the pita bread enjoyable.\nFor dinner, my companion had the Super G ($6.45), while I had two Pasko's skewers ($10.15).\nThe Super G is just a big gyro -- a beef and lamb sandwich served in a pita. The meat, a mix of beef and lamb, is combined with spices and roasted on a spit. The meat is then shaved off in long thin slices. This provides a unique texture to the meat; it is very soft and somewhat salty. If you like beef but not lamb, you will most likely still enjoy the gyro meat because the cooking style really changes its properties.\nAt the Trojan Horse, the sandwich is made with fresh onions and tomatoes. which helps to intensify the flavor. The freshness of the onions adds a nice sweetness and a little bit of a crunch to the sandwich. The tomatoes help mellow out some of the tastes, making the flavors interact.\nThe sandwich is also topped with yogurt-based tzatziki sauce. To make it, yogurt is combined with sour cream, cucumbers and garlic to create a tangy and somewhat sour sauce, which adds variety to the sandwich.\nPasko's Skewers are beef kabobs with peppers and mushrooms served on a bed of rice. The meat was of decent quality. Although it did not quite melt in your mouth, it was still enjoyable. If you are hungry, I advise you to order two -- one will just leave you wanting more.\nThe thing that made this dish worthwhile is the chimichuri sauce, a light sauce made from olive oil, lemon juice, garlic and a few other assorted spices. \nFor desert, we had ambrosia ($2.85). In Greek mythology ambrosia is the food of the gods. At the Trojan Horse, ambrosia is yogurt mixed with honey and walnuts. The yogurt provided a sour base that was cut by the sweet taste of honey. The nuts were somewhat lost in the other flavors and really did not affect the dish much. By calling this the food of the gods, I had high expectations for this dessert. Alas, I was left somewhat disappointed. While this was not to my taste, I can see the merits in this healthier dessert. Still, I think I will stick with the mouth-watering baklava from now on.\nOverall, Trojan Horse is one of the best values in Bloomington for a student's budget. Two people can easily eat here for well under $20. The only drawback to the Trojan Horse is that it can get pretty crowded, so the waiters may try to hurry you up. Other than that -- I highly recommend that you try it.
(09/11/03 5:09am)
Part of what makes Bloomington so great is its plethora of dining options. I cannot think of another place that boasts its very own Tibetan, Eritrean and Burmese restaurants. If you have a hankering for exotic food, chances are you can find it here.\nWith this in mind, I embarked on a visit to Falafel's, a little Middle Eastern restaurant tucked underneath Uncle Fester's off Kirkwood Avenue. If you are not familiar with Israeli food, as a whole, it shares many similarities with Greek and other Mediterranean foods.\nThe restaurant is nicely decorated. About six or seven tables fill a cozy dining room. Israeli artifacts, such as gold hands with Hebrew writing on them, adorn the walls, creating an authentic feel. The lighting and the noise level is pleasant, which makes for a nice dining atmosphere.\nThe menu itself was fairly confusing. Because it is just a list of choices, there is no feel for what should be intended as an appetizer and what would be more appropriate for an entire meal. Beyond this, Falafel's seems to offer up a good array of grilled meats along with such things as hummus and falafel, which are ground and fried chick-pea balls.\nTo start our meal, my companion and I opted for hummus with tahini ($4.50). Hummus is a dip made from grinding up chick peas mixed with a variety of spices. Tahini paste is made from sesame seeds. Usually, this dip is eaten with pita, or simple flat bread with a pocket in the middle. \nThe hummus was rather unappetizing. This was mainly due to the large amount of olive oil floating on the top. I don't know about you, but anything with about a cup of oil on top makes me nauseated. In addition to this, the tahini paste was glopped in the middle instead of being mixed right into the hummus. I have never seen hummus presented this way; I think I prefer it all mixed together at once.\nNonetheless, the hummus tasted OK. It was a bit thicker than I am used to, but it still tasted quite fresh with a unique taste. The bread served with the hummus was warm and soft.\nAt the beginning of the meal, we were also presented with baked pita with olive oil and spices along with salsa and olive oil to dip the bread in. The salsa was very mild and had a citrus taste to it. It was enjoyable.\nFor our meal, my companion had falafel ($5) and I opted for a combination plate referred to as mashui ($14).\nFalafel is one of my favorite snacks or it makes a great lunch for those people on the go. Falafel's falafel was actually pretty uneventful. Fried nicely so that it had a nice crunch, these little morsels were a little flat, but still good.\nMy combination plate was filled with an array of different meats. The dish included beef sausage, a beef patty, a lamb kebob and a chicken kebob. Also included with these were rice and salad.\nThe chicken proved to be the best meat included in the platter. Spiced nicely with an ample amount of salt and pepper and then grilled well, the only real drawback was that it was rather fatty.\nThe lamb kebob was extremely tough and dried out. While there might have been some sort of marinade or flavoring on this, it would have been overpowered by the taste of the meat. \nThe sausage wasn't much more unpleasant than the lamb. These small and dense links had a most unpleasant taste and consistency. With a spongy but dense consistency, these sausages had an unwelcome spicy element that did not merge well with the other tastes.\nThe meat patty, which can be best described as a hamburger with interesting spices thrown in, was pleasant. Different spices, mixed in a way that they were nearly unidentifiable, filled this meat, making the taste interesting and mildly pleasant.\nUnfortunately, the best part of the meal was the salad -- which was just a bowl of shredded lettuce. The dressing was top notch, blending together a light vinegar, oil and a nice citrus taste to tie the flavors together. It was rather enjoyable. \nFor dessert, my companion and I split baqlawa -- also called baklava -- which is a complex pastry where thin and flaky layers of phyllo dough are filled with sugar-coated ground almonds and then covered with a warm sugary syrup. The baqlawa was rather tasty, but it was dense. The phyllo should be very light, especially considering that it is extremely thin, yet it seemed quite heavy.\nOverall, based on this particular visit, I would be hard-pressed to go back to Falafel's.
(07/07/03 12:55am)
I am always up for trying new things. When I heard there was an Eritrean restaurant in town, I figured I would try it. \nRed Sea, located in a small converted house at 404 E. Fourth St., is quite possibly the only Eritrean restaurant I have ever heard of. For those who do not know, Eritrea is a relatively small country on the coast of the Red Sea that gained independence from Ethiopia in the early '90s. \nRed Sea -- the restaurant -- is small, but that can be a good thing. It is made up of two rooms, which creates a very intimate feel. In addition, Red Sea is filled with Eritrean art: colorful baskets and interesting wall hangings make the room feel warm and cheery. \nThe service at Red Sea was efficient and friendly. They handled all of our questions nicely and brought out our food piping hot. \nThe dinner menu was alarmingly small, even smaller than the lunch menu. There are three main types of dishes, Ziganey, Alecha and Tippissa. \nFor dinner my companion opted for the Tippissa ($11.95), while I opted for a combination plate ($12.95) which contained Lamb Alecha, Chicken Ziganey and Beef Ziganey. Most dishes are served with rice or Injera, a flat sourdough bread. \nOur meals started with a nice salad. Lettuce and tomatoes were smothered in a simple homemade Italian dressing. The lettuce and tomatoes were fresh, the dressing strong in vinegar and garlic.\nNext came the Tippissa. Tippissa is grilled beef in a brown sauce with carrots and potatoes. This was probably the best thing on the menu. Big and hearty chunks of carrots and potatoes complemented the meat well. The sauce itself had a distinct taste of garlic to it. The other spices were foreign to me, but quite good. This mild dish tasted almost like a stew, but the meat was grilled, not boiled. Though tasty, the meat was not high quality. That was okay in this case because the cooking method thoroughly tenderized it. \nThe beef and chicken Ziganey was OK, but not great. Ziganey is a red pepper sauce. As you can imagine, this made both the chicken and meat quite spicy, but not uncomfortably so. \nBecause the hot spice of the red pepper sauce dominated the flavor, the taste of the meat itself was lost. Unfortunately, the hard, dried-out consistency remained. This made the beef Ziganey rather chewy.\nThe chicken was a better base for the Ziganey. Because the chicken leg did not absorb the flavor quite like the beef, the natural flavor of chicken was able to come through. The chicken was also tender and juicy, making it enjoyable.\nIf you enjoy curry-based dishes, Lamb Alecha might be for you. Alecha, which appears to be a yellow curry-based sauce, complemented the natural gaminess of the lamb. The strong curry flavor balanced the taste of the lamb, making it palatable. This mellow dish created a nice contrast with the Ziganey; however, this dish alone would leave one somewhat disappointed. \nOverall, Red Sea is a good place to try if you are adventurous. The food, which was decent, was rather unique. Although I did not come away with a love of Eritrean cuisine, the experience alone was worth the trip to Red Sea.
(04/30/03 5:45am)
A few nights ago, I wanted to treat my girlfriend to a romantic evening. To start things off, I figured a good Italian restaurant would set the mood for the whole night. \nWhen I say a good Italian restaurant, I am not just referring to the food. Food is essential, but I was also looking for a restaurant with the perfect ambience. \nI heard Puccini's was the perfect place to go on a date. Once inside the door, I saw what people where talking about. Puccini's has the perfect atmosphere for a date.\nTo begin with, Puccini's location in a converted`house instantly creates a cozy feeling because you are seated in a small room instead of a giant dining hall. On top of this, tasteful Italian artwork adorns the walls. The tables are set with white linen tablecloths -- always a nice touch. Finally, candles give off a romantic mellow glow, which further adds to the romantic setting.\nIf the food matched the atmosphere, Puccini's would easily be one of the top restaurants in Bloomington. Alas, this was not the case. \nWe began our meals with bruschetta. Bruschetta is a great appetizer; good crusty bread is toasted with a little olive oil and then topped with a mixture of chopped tomatoes, onion, and fresh herbs.\nThe bruschetta was one of the highlights of the meal. Rich in flavor, the tomatoes were fresh and prepared nicely, the bread was high quality and toasted golden brown. Overall, I don't think I have ever tasted better.\nThis created high expectations for the main course. For this course, I had penne with a Bolognese sauce. Bolognese is a meat sauce in which Italian sausage and ground beef are added to tomatoes and simmered into a delicious sauce. \nBolognese sauce is one of my favorites. Unfortunately, Puccini's Bolognese tasted as if a strong wine vinegar or a red wine that went bad was used in the base. The sour taste conflicted with the natural tastes of the meat and tomatoes. \nOn top of this, there was nothing exciting about the pasta. The same garden variety can be prepared from a box from the supermarket. Although cooked well (the pasta was nice and firm), for the prices that Puccini's charges, I expected better.\nFor dessert, my girlfriend and I split an order of tiramisu. Tiramisu is a combination of ladyfingers soaked in rum or brandy, espresso, and a creamy mixture that creates a sweet filling layer. \nThe tiramisu was wonderful. The usual problem with this dish is that the liquor may overpower the tastes of the espresso and ladyfingers. This was not the case; all the different flavors were able to blend nicely. The cream layers were sweet and light. I would highly recommend this dessert.\nOverall, I would say Puccini's La Dolce Vita is a great place to get coffee and dessert. Because of the ambience and solid appetizers and desserts, Puccini's has some good qualities. But without good main courses, I would recommend looking elsewhere for dinner. $40 should buy you more than a poor excuse for pasta.
(02/18/03 4:33am)
Yesterday, I woke up with a craving for some good Mexican food. I divide Mexican food into two different categories. The first category is the low-grade Taco Bell-style Mexican. While this is good at times, especially late at night, this type of Mexican food did not interest me. Instead, I wanted a real meal, filled with high quality ingredients. At the same time, I wanted something relatively inexpensive and fast.\nWith this in mind, I sought out Casa Brava. Once inside the door, I was greeted with a rather confusing atmosphere. On one hand, Casa Brava is made to look like a restaurant right out of Mexico. There are adobe walls accompanied with heavy red clay pottery. This presented a rather sophisticated atmosphere. At the same time, there were bright neon blinking signs proclaiming the daily specials. This tacky display clashed starkly with its surrounding environment. Beyond that, the atmosphere of Casa Brava was pleasant, nothing to complain about, but nothing overly exciting either. I found this to be a good thing. \nI wasn't going for the expensive food, and Casa Brava had this covered. For about five dollars, one can order huge plates of food. While one dish is most likely big enough for two people, at these prices, you might as well get two and bring home some good leftovers. \nI also stated earlier that I wanted something fast. The service at Casa Brava is downright amazing. After ordering drinks and appetizers, it took the staff of Casa Brava under two minutes to get our food to our table. \nThe menu at Casa Brava is huge. Different kinds of enchiladas, tacos, burritos, fajitas, \nchalupas, tostaguac and other types of traditional Mexican cooking graced the pages. With everything sounding so good, the hardest part was deciding what to order.\nTo begin our meal, the table was set with some of the best homemade salsa and chips I ever had. The salsa was fresh and just hot enough to give a subtle hint of spiciness while allowing the natural flavors to come through. The chips, though somewhat greasy, where light and had a nice crunch to them. \nTo accompany the chips, my companion and I decided to split a chicken quesadilla. This quesadilla -- a tortilla stuffed with cheese and then fried -- was like nothing I have ever had before. Usually you get a few pieces of chicken with a little cheese. The quesadillas at Casa Brava could be a meal onto themselves. Large chunks of chicken were stuffed with enough cheese to satisfy even the hungriest of patrons. The cheese used in these quesadillas, though dripping with grease, was quite tasty. Somewhat more mild then the sharp cheeses I am used to, the cheese was smooth and complimented the chicken nicely.\nFor our meals, my companion ordered fajitas quesadilla rellena without beans while I ordered the chicken fajitas. These dishes were rather similar. The main difference was that my companion's fajita came already made while I was presented with a plate of chicken, a pile of tortillas, and a plate of condiments and rice. While I would not recommend ordering a bean-centered dish without beans, as in this case of my companion's order, both are viable options that I would recommend in a heartbeat and were both downright excellent. The fajitas quesadilla rellena came with a giant fajita and a huge plate of rice. Both tasted wonderful.\nMy fajitas were some of the best chicken fajitas that I ever had. To begin with, I was presented with a huge plate of chicken and a loaded plate of condiments, rice and refried beans. The chicken was excellent, extremely tender and flavored nicely. There was easily enough chicken for about seven fajitas, and I knew at the start of eating that there was no way I could finish it all in one sitting. \nThe condiments were all excellent. On the plate, there was a healthy amount of guacamole, pico de gallo, cheese and sour cream. The guacamole was excellent. The avocado tasted like it was just pulled off the tree, while the dip itself was creamy and smooth. The pico de gallo, which is a spicy condiment, was rather strong and flavorful. I used too much first, causing me to drown my tongue in my soda. When used in moderation, the pico de gallo was excellent, filled with the sweet and extremely spicy taste of fresh chilies. \nThe rice and beans complimented the fajitas nicely. The rice was well cooked in the traditional Spanish rice style, and it had a nice flavor with hints of fruit and other aromatic spices thrown in.\nOverall, I would recommend Casa Brava to anybody who likes Mexican food. Casa Brava was excellent, plus I am personally a big fan of any place that will give me enough food for two meals for under $5.
(01/21/03 4:14am)
I love Chinese food. Until recently, I was having trouble finding good Chinese food in Bloomington. Most Chinese restaurants here offer up a tasteless, greasy, mess in the guise of Chinese food. After a year and a half of eating my way through dismal excuses of Chinese food, I think I have finally found a spectacular Chinese restaurant in Bloomington. \nMark Pi's China Gate is the definitive place to get Chinese in Bloomington. The atmosphere seemed to be that of a generic Chinese restaurant theme. Like many other Chinese restaurants, right inside the door is the obligatory fish tank, next to the glass dragon panels, next to the paper walls. The key with decorations of this nature is to avoid going overboard and thus looking tacky. Mark Pi's does a good job of avoiding this. The lighting was pleasant, and the room quiet enough to have a conversation. \nThe menu was surprisingly diverse. While the standard Chinese fare was listed, quite a few dishes seemed unique to Mark Pi's. My companion tried one such dish, a beef with peppers, mushrooms and broccoli in a brown sauce. I opted for a more standard dish, kung pow chicken. \nBefore we got to the main course, I decided to get a spring roll. Served with really good duck sauce and mustard, the role was a little bit on the greasy side. I was disappointed by the spring roll, mainly because the shell was soggy. The inside was ordinary, somewhat bland and lifeless.\nThe main courses blew me away. My kung pow was some of the best Chinese I have ever had. If you are not familiar with the dish, kung pow chicken is bite sized pieces of chicken with peanuts, peppers, and carrots in a Szechwan sauce. Szechwan food is meant to be spicy, and Mark Pi's had that part down. One bite had me reaching for rice and water to cool my tongue. The kung pow was delicious, the vegetables cooked so they maintained their natural flavor but still picked up the taste from the sauce. The sauce was extremely good, spicy Chinese peppers gave it the extra kick needed to elevate it to the next level. Also important to note about the sauce was the fact that it was not overpowering. It allowed the natural tastes of the vegetables and chicken to speak for themselves. The chicken was perfect, very nice and tender. I don't think there is any way to improve upon Mark Pi's take on this dish.\nMy companion's dish was equally good. The beef's main appeal was that it was not chewy or greasy. The sauce, which seemed to contain a healthy amount of soy sauce and wine, complemented the meat nicely. The vegetables were again firm and tasty. Each bite was better then the next, my companion was extremely satisfied by this dish. \nThe dessert menu is small. Though the mud pie sounded really good, I was too full to attempt such an endeavor and I opted for something called phoenix balls. Phoenix balls are pastries wrapped around a hard fruit-like substance. Though the almond taste was refreshing, the centers were cold. My companion and I spent more time trying to figure out what we were eating rather than enjoying the pastries. Perhaps they are an acquired tasted, but I found the phoenix balls to be a culinary disgrace and would not recommend them.\nDespite bad appetizers and desserts, I would enthusiastically recommend Mark Pi's China Gate to anybody. The main courses are just that good.
(12/02/02 3:56am)
Every so often, I get bored with greasy pizza and easily unremarkable sandwiches. I needed something new, something exotic. In my search for a new culinary adventure, I stumbled into the Snow Lion restaurant.\nLocated a few short blocks from campus, Snow Lion is a Tibetan themed restaurant. Once inside the doors, you are greeted with a display case selling various traditional Tibetan knickknacks. My companion and I were quickly shown to our table in our own little corner of the restaurant.\nSnow Lion's interior creates a subdued and comfortable atmosphere. Delicate pottery and mirrors creates an inviting ambiance, while small lamps on the table ensure pleasant lighting during your dinning experience. Mellow Tibetan music adds to the atmosphere, loud enough to fill those awkward silences, but soft enough to allow a pleasant conversation. \nSnow Lion offers up a variety of Tibetan dishes that are modified for the western palate. The menu also contains a variety of Japanese, Chinese and Cajun themed dishes. The diverse menu is large enough to accommodate even the fussiest of eaters. In addition, the level of spiciness is customizable, ensuring that you will be happy with what you ordered.\nThe service seemed somewhat flaky, but the meal was brought out quickly and everything was run with efficiency. \nThe meal began with a salad. The salad itself was unremarkable, the dressing on the other hand was unique. Snow Lion uses its own tangy homemade dressing that seems akin to ranch dressing without the buttermilk. \nAfter the salads, my companion and I ordered agedashi. Agedashi is lightly fried tofu served with a honey-peanut sauce. The tofu itself was light and tasty, but the sauce brought the appetizer to a completely new level. The sauce was excellent, combining a sweet taste with an enjoyable spicy kick.\nFor the main course, I had exotic chicken, while my companion had mo mo dumplings. The spice level at Snow Lion is on a scale of one to five, one being normal, five being a challenge to the chef to see how spicy they can make the dish. I ordered my dish at a spice level of four while my companion ordered her dish at a level of one.\nThe exotic chicken was aptly named. I was presented with a large plate overflowing with food. Exotic chicken is small bites of chicken mixed with peppers, cabbage and other vegetables over a bed of rice. While it proved to be rather spicy, the spiciness did not detract from the mouth-watering flavor. The chicken itself was tender. The rice was cooked perfectly, and the vegetables were unobtrusive, allowing the spices to take center stage. \nMo mo beef dumplings are a traditional Tibetan dish. At Snow Lion, you are presented with ten dumplings and a heaping portion of fried rice.\nThe dumplings were heavenly. Fried beautifully, the ends were crispy adding a nice crunch, the rest of the dumpling was soft and delicate. The meat inside the dumplings was seasoned to perfection, leaving it tender and amazingly tasty. The dumplings were served with a salty soy sauce for dipping that further intensified the flavor. Ambrosia could not taste this good; it was almost sinful the way the saltines of the dipping sauce intertwined with the smooth taste of the dumplings.\nThe fried rice that was served with the mo mo dumplings was not your typical fried rice. The rice had a unique taste that complimented the dumplings nicely. While the dumplings alone were not enough for a dinner, the fried rice nicely balanced out the meal and left my companion feeling full.\nFor desert, my companion and I split a cup of green tea ice cream. The ice cream was creamy and refreshing, adding a good finishing touch to a wonderful meal.\nOverall, I would recommend Snow Lion to anybody who wants to try something new. The agedashi was a great appetizer that titillated the tastes buds. I urge you to try the mo mo dumplings, either as an appetizer or as your main course.
(11/21/02 5:15am)
Thanksgiving Day is a time to offer thanks, to reflect back on the past year and to enjoy holiday meals filled with turkeys, stuffing and pumpkin pie. Moreover, Thanksgiving is a time for family, to go home for a weekend and get away from hectic classes and the hustle and bustle of school.\nYet for some, going home is not a possibility. Adam White, a sophomore, is one of those people who will be spending his break at school.\n"It is too far to go home," White said. "I am from Massachusetts; the distance from here to there is just too great for me to run home for such a short break." \nHis story is similar to many other people on campus. While they are not going to be home over the break, the ability to partake in the Thanksgiving tradition is still possible. \nCooking a Turkey 101\nFor those students who have access to an oven, cooking your own Thanksgiving dinner is quite easy. The key to any Thanksgiving dinner is the turkey. \nEvelyn Gold-Marks, a retired high school principle, has been cooking Thanksgiving dinner for the last 55 years. She gives the following advice on how to properly prepare your turkey.\nThe first decision you need to make is if you want a frozen turkey or a fresh turkey. Frozen turkeys are cheaper and are also easier to obtain. The only catch is that it can take upwards of 5 days to defrost your bird.\nAfter you know if you want a fresh bird or a frozen bird, you need to figure out how big a bird you want. While it depends on how much leftovers you want, a good estimate is one to one and a half pounds per each guest. If you want a lot of leftovers, opt for one and half pounds per each guest.\nIf you get a frozen turkey, the easiest way to defrost it is by leaving it in your refrigerator for 1 day per every 5 pounds. If you do not have time for this, find a big sink and run cold water over the turkey for 30 minutes per each pound. \nOnce the turkey is defrosted, remove the giblets. The giblets are wrapped in paper and found inside the turkey. After the giblets are removed, rinse the turkey thoroughly, both inside and out. After rinsing, pat dry with paper towels. \nAfter the rinsing and drying is done, tuck the drumsticks under the folds of the skin and brush the bird with oil. Finally, insert a meat thermometer into the thickest part of the thigh. The thermometer should point towards the body and should not touch the bone.\nTo season the turkey, cut two whole oranges in half and stuff inside the turkey and then sprinkle black pepper and a little paprika on top. Do not salt the bird, doing so draws out the juices and makes the turkey dry. \nPlace the turkey on a rack in a roasting pan into a preheated 350-degree oven. A turkey weighing up to 18 pounds normally takes about three and half hours to cook. \nBake until the skin is a light golden color. At this point, cover the turkey with an aluminum foil tent. During the last 45 minutes of baking, remove the tent to brown the skin. Also, basting every 30 minutes helps to brown the skin evenly.\nThe turkey is done when the thigh meat reaches an internal temperature of 180 degrees Fahrenheit, and when the breast meat reaches an internal temperature of 170 F.\nBring Thanksgiving Home in a Bag\nFor those who do not have the means or the desire to cook, catering Thanksgiving is a good option. Kroger offers a variety of meals that you can purchase and simply heat up when you are ready to eat. For $54.99, a meal can be purchased that includes a 14-pound turkey, stuffing, cranberry sauce, mashed potatoes, gravy, pumpkin pie and a variety of other traditional side dishes. Such a meal feeds 10 to 12 people. A scaled down meal can be purchased for $39.95 that feeds 6 to 8 people.\nAnother possible option would be cooking all the smaller dishes and purchasing the turkey. Heavenly Ham offers an array of turkey products that still can be purchased. One of their specialties, boneless turkey, sells at $7.49 a pound. Because of the lack of bones, 3 to 4 pounds goes a long way.\nHeavenly Ham also sell whole smoked turkeys. These succulent turkeys sells at $3.69 a pound and are usually sized around 10 to 12 pounds each. \nVegetarian Options\nIf you don't eat meat but still want the to celebrate Thanksgiving in a traditional manor, "Tofurky" is a great alternative. Tofurky is a pre-cooked vegetarian feast designed to be the centerpiece of the meal. Although Tofurky is made with a tofu-wheat protein blend, Tofurky has a surprisingly good texture and turkey-like flavor.\nSo, if you can not make it home for Mom's homemade pumpkin pie, and have the desire to smell a fresh oven roasted turkey coming from your room, IU has plenty of options to make your Thanksgiving a "home away from home"
(11/18/02 4:11am)
Over 200 students crowded into the Marketplace in the Indiana Memorial Union last Tuesday to see the first ever showing of Union Board's Titanium Chef. The event, a cook-off between the chefs at Malibu Grill and the City Grille, was a large draw for students interested in the culinary arts. Though the event started an hour late, the crowd was eager to see some quality competitive cooking.\nThe wait was well worth it, as the event was a true crowd-pleaser. Full Frontal Comedy served as the emcee for the event. Many students were bored with the hour's worth of commentary, but excitement was provided by the cook-off or the free giveaways of gift certificates to Malibu Grill and City Grille. Union Board members Seth Zimmerman and Matthew Schildkret, both juniors, also added to the excitement by creatively heckling the announcers.\n"(The announcers) were floundering so we gave them something to work with," Zimmerman said about his commentary.\nThe cook-off started with the selections of two assistant cooks from the audience as well as three judges. With these formalities out of the way, the cook-off began.\nFor one hour, the two teams fried, braised and boiled ingredients ranging from fresh shrimp and asparagus, to fresh strawberries and mini marshmallows into mouth-watering dishes. \nLisa Hopwood, a senior and the student assistant for the City Grille team, said she was in awe.\n"I had so much fun; I have never done anything like this," she said. "This experience was truly amazing."\nIn the end, the judges chose Malibu Grill as the winner, but the true winner was the crowd, who had the opportunity to dine on the splendid dishes prepared by the local chefs. Students and non-students alike chowed down on crowd pleasers like yam soup, shrimp stir-fried in a Japanese style, a crust free strawberry tart, potatoes with green onion and breaded chicken in a apricot cranberry chutney.\nTom Suhrheinrick, one of the two chefs representing City Grille had nothing but praise for the event. \n"I thought it was a good show. People seemed to be enjoying themselves," he said. "If you are not having fun cooking, something is wrong"
(10/29/02 4:26am)
More than 30 students gathered in Foster Shea's ground floor lounge last Thursday night to celebrate the German tradition of Oktoberfest. This event, which was run by the German House, embraced the spirit of Oktoberfest.\nOktoberfest, which began in 1810 as a celebration of Crown Prince Ludwig I's wedding, has become one of Bavaria's proudest moments and one of the world's largest public spectacles.\nBecause German beer is made without preservatives, Oktoberfest has also become an excuse to drink millions of gallons of beer before it spoils. While no alcohol was served at the Foster version of Oktoberfest, the event was filled with tastes and sounds of Germany. \nTraditional German food, such as potato cakes, broetchen (a hard German bread), sausage, and chocolate pudding filled the tables, offering participants an authentic taste of German culture. Non-alcoholic beer and Fanta, a soda popular in Germany, were offered to quench reveler's thirsts. Also, German music was played, fully immersing the room with the oompah-oompah sounds of traditional German music.\nSophomore Aarik Williams, the co-coordinator of the event, saw Oktoberfest as a good way to bring German culture to people who are not exposed to it. \n"I feel that this is a good opportunity to enlighten people about German culture," he said. "I hope people take a liking to it."\nOktoberfest has become an IU tradition of sorts, taking place each year for the last ten years. Nikole Langjahr, the head coordinator and an associate instructor for the Germanic Studies department, has worked to make the event more authentic.\n"In the past, we just let students bring any food they wanted, we just partied," she said. "The last two years, we have been trying to make it more and more German. We cook German food and play German music."\nMany students who attended Oktoberfest are students in the Germanic Studies department looking to brush up on their language skills. \n"I was hoping to have a chance to practice my German," said freshman Jeremy Sorokes. "This is supposed to be Oktoberfest, you cannot have Oktoberfest without speaking in German."\nAll who attended IU's Oktoberfest agreed that it provided a flavor of the traditional Bavarian celebration of fall and friendship.