Minar Indian Restaurant

After venturing out to the Post Office around lunchtime, I was lured into a cafeteria-style Indian restaurant offering 10 different dosas - basically I can't turn down any food if it's encased in a delicious, starchy wrapper. And I'm glad I went to Minar - the dosa was top-notch, tasty if a little on the soggy side in places after my trek back to the office. The potato-and-pea filling was solid, but the real standouts were the coconut chutney on the side (could eat a cup of that) and the sambar. Man, the sambar - super-flavorful, savory, and with a slow-building burn that set my scalp pleasantly sweating. And at $5.95 for the masala dosa ($7.25 for the paneer, which I plan on trying in the future), an excellently economical and filling lunch.

Great Burrito Mexican Fast Food Restaurant & Pizza

At first blush, a hole-in-the-wall lunch place with not just tacos and pizza but also pitas and "Italian Heroes" on the menu is not going to be a winner. But going on a recommendation from a friend, I decided to give Great Burrito a go and am glad I did. In addition to tacos, the Mexican side of the menu (where I'd advise you stay) also features burritos, tortas, quesadillas, tostadas, sopes, enchiladas and huaraches. Meat choices go from chicken, steak, chorizo, to pork carnitas and al pastor, lengua and "a la casa" (chicken, beef and pork together). For the first test-run I went with one chicken taco and one each carnitas and al pastor.

The tacos (at $2.50/per) were big enough that two would've sufficed, but I'm glad I tried all three. Each was complimented with raw onions, cilantro and a salsa particular to the taco, and each featured very nicely differentiated marinade. The al pastor was savory and a little sweet, pork meltingly delicious and tender. The carnitas were spicier and had a nice pepper edge to the flavor, while the chicken was oddly but nicely definitely marinated in soy sauce (in part, at any rate), and nicely charred. Served with a wedge of lemon (not lime) each, washed down with a Jarritos Mandarina, a truly excellent lunch. Definitely worth a return trip, or worth stopping by if you work in this part of town or find yourself here around food-time.

Tasty Hand-Pulled Noodles

Wandering around Chinatown on a chilly Sunday afternoon, I stumbled into the (vaguely recalled as recommended) Tasty Hand-Pulled Noodles, and am glad I did. Unadorned entirely, with a short menu (about a dozen choices of noodles either in broth or fried, with a few supplementary appetizers and dumplings), the food was simple and perfectly delicious.

Roast duck with hand-pulled noodles in soup was intensely flavorful, with tender bits of duck hacked alongside the fresh noodles and tender greens in a rich broth. The cucumber salad to start was spicy, savory and delicious, the tea was served in styrofoam cups, and the bill for two ran to <$20, with tip.

The place is tiny and fills up quickly, so going for an early or late lunch (I did the latter) is recommended.

Rasika

Yes, Rasika is the real deal. It was a special occasion, my bro's birthday, and so the hefty prices were not beyond the beyond, though I would hesitate making a habit out of it. The onion uttapam was unreal, the tandoori lamb chops fantastically tender and tasty, and the crispy spinach (flash-fried) in the palak chaat was simply astonishing, one of those "I've never had anything like this" deals. That being said: the chicken green masala was good-not-great, and ditto for the paneer. The dal makhani was oversold to me a bit - it was really good but I'm not sure the best I've ever had. The breads were very good, the chutneys and raita fine - Haandi does them all better. Rasika is an excellent restaurant, but guys, your Flash website is just crap.

DCNoodles

I agree entirely with Spencer Ackerman - DCNoodles is one of, if not the, best bowls of soup in DC. The wide rice noodles with crab and fish dumplings in spicy soup is fantastic, but our entire party was happy with their orders - the drunken noodles and pumpkin empanada are especially good. And don't listen to the comments section over there - $12/14 is beyond worth it for this food, and unless you're willing to drive out to Falls Church you are not going to get a better Asian soup/noodle opportunity for a similar price in DC.

Bonne Soireé

V. won her NCAA pool, so it was time for a really nice dinner out. Our first thought was of course Lantern - always a good bet for "pricier meal than normal." Calling ahead we were assured that arriving after 8 o'clock would result in a minimal wait. The word at the door, of course, was 1.5-1.75 hrs.' wait. So. Around the corner we went to Bonne Soireé, which I'd only heard good things about, and... well, simply no offense meant to Lantern, but this experience placed it on the "good for Chapel Hill" list, and Bonne Soireé solidly on the "best meals I've ever had" list.

To begin with, and most impressively - after placing our orders and asking for a recommendation on wine, we settled on our server's first choice, the Sono Montenidoli Vernaccia di Carato 2003. I hesitate not for a second in saying that this was the best white wine I've ever had: not too sweet, or tart, or dry, or sulfuric - notes of fruit and anis and an unparalleled (in my experience) depth of body for a white. Simply astounding, and paired perfectly with our meals. Which were:

JKD -
asparagus with cream sauce - the first crop of the year, tender, tasty, and very much of the "asparagus I could eat forever" school.
Rockfish with roasted root vegetables, yam, and red wine reduction - a perfectly done piece of fish, tender, flavorful, and complemented beautifully by the sweet, savory, rich-but-not-overpowering vegetables.
creme bruleé - perfect. Creme bruleé is a test of any great restaurant, and this passed with flying colors.

V -
mixed green salad - with candied walnuts, pears, bleu cheese, onions and a vinegarette - the walnuts balanced out the cheese well, onions not overpowering, dressing just enough.
scallops - and now I'm forgetting what else was with them, but they were excellent. Tender, not rubbery at all.
creme bruleé - see above.

Just exemplary, and the service was unpretentious and among the best I've ever had. Not cheap to be sure, but unbeatable enough on so many levels that I can guarantee multiple return trips when the wallet allows.

6 August 2007 - Jasper Brewing Co. Brew Pub and Eatery, Jasper, AB

At least in Alberta (or at least in its mountain resort towns), the trick to Canadian cuisine seems to be staying away from anything too fancy and sticking with solid, hearty food. Not burgers, though - law requires they be cooked with the consistency of hockey pucks. So I was confident that a brew pub’s fish and chips would be a good choice - and I was right, but even more right than I expected. The fish was delicious, the outside not over-battered or over-fried, and the cranberry tartar sauce good. The fries were only okay and the slaw too little, but the fish more than made up for it. And then, since it was a brewpub, there was the beer. Rather than an imperial pint that could be a mistake, my mom and me split the sampler, a generous six-case of 6-oz. glasses. The breakdown was as follows:

Rocket Ridge Raspberry Ale: “Yep, tastes like raspberry. Very nice,” said JD. Hoppy presentation but not taste; raspberry-y but not too sweet, and not gimmicky. One of my favorite non-Lambic fruit ales.

Liftline Cream Ale: best cream ale I’ve had in a while - very much like a Sierra Nevada, actually, but less hoppy and less carbonated.

Honey Bear Ale: actually pretty good. A little weird - local honey, cardamom and orange peel (but the honey was mostly what showed up), served with a slice of lime. JD didn’t like it; very aromatic, I found it clear and refreshing. Dunno if I’d want a lot of it, but an interesting beer.

Rock Hopper IPA: hoppy and a little bitter (in a good way), not too carbonated and just flowery and sweet enough (i.e., not very). A good IPA - JD’s 2nd favorite.

6060 Stout: a solid, chocolatey stout - the roast came through strong, dry and satisfying. Not Guinness but definitely multiple-pint-worthy.

B Hill Pil: a local favorite, JD rated this “Not overly bitter but with a tanginess. Full of flavor and with an effervessence.” Clearly the best beer of all of them, a big flavorful pils that’d be a regular drink of mine were it available.

Denjiro Japanese Restaurant - Jasper, Alberta

Continuing in the "a bit [but not when you think about it] surprised this is in Alberta" category of restaurants was Jasper's Denjiro. And... while not as superlative within its element as Uyen Uyen, Denjiro was pretty darn solid. Not exceedingly expensive, either, and some unexpected innovations - both myself and MKD had and were satisfied by the Yam Yam roll: sweet potato tempura, avocado and spicy miso. Also excellent: for $0.60, a small side of Japanese pickles (mild cucumbers and cabbage) was a perfect added bonus. The service was pretty so-so... or bad, I suppose (I received [and was offered] exactly zero water refills), and both the beer and cold sake were not quite that cold to begin with. But, well - it was a Japanese restaurant in the Canadian Rockies. And it was pretty full of Japanese tourists, so I wasn't just making this up.

Uyen Uyen Vietnamese Restaurant - Calgary, Alberta

After a 3:30 wake-up in DC, the level of comfort one can always expect from a DC-Denver flight on a legacy carrier (i.e., not much), and finally meeting up with the MKD for the Denver-Calgary leg, we found ourselves cruising through the sketchy neighborhoods near the airport in our Lincoln Mark Z, looking for food. Despite the promises of a reliably bad meal offered by all your North American chain favorites (they have Denny's! and Hooters!), the MKD spied a Vietnamese place in a particularly beaten-down strip mall. As far as Vietnamese goes, that's usually a good sign, and Uyen Uyen was no different.

I went with a Tofu Sate Sub, which was enormous on a perfectly toasted bun, and at $5.95CN was definitely a bargain. The tofu was fried crispy outside, tasty and tender inside, and the sub was piled high with sliced carrots, bean sprouts, cilantro, peanuts and cucumber slices. Topped with the sweet and savory tamarind sauce and the a-bit-sweet-but-not-way-too-spicy chili sauce, it was pretty much exactly what I was looking for.

MKD went with #52 - pork chop and fried egg (two of each) on rice - and was quite satisfied, the eggs barely sunny side and fairly seeping into the rice from the first; JD with the shrimp wonton soup, a nice mild broth and wonderfully delicate wrappers on the wontons; and BK with the Bun Nem Nuong - grilled pork balls and spring rolls on vermicelli. More sausage or salami-y than "balls," he nonetheless walked away happy.

The only slight disappointments were fried spring rolls that didn't off too much beyond being hot from the frier, and Vietnamese iced coffee that came pre-prepared and wasn't either that strong or that sweet. MKD's jackfruit bubbletea, however, was "just like" he remembered jackfruit from Hawaii.

This will, I'm guessing, be the only Vietnamese food on this trip, but I head out into the prairie with at least a modest fortification of veggies.

Allen & Son Pit Cooked Bar-B-Q

After several trips to Allen & Son that ended without a verdict - due to their being unaccountably closed - a call ahead today confirmed that not only was it open but that the special was BBQ pork chops. And so off we went, and were not disappointed.

After only a few minutes' deliberation, I settled on the special, pretty sure that I'd never had BBQ pork chops before. They didn't disappoint. Incredibly tender and with the flesh pink not from undercooking but from something in the cooking itself, they were coated with a slightly thicker and fuller version of Allen & Son's vinegar-heavy (natch) BBQ sauce and, while they didn't quite fall off the bone, there wasn't any problem separating the flesh. The sides delivered, too - sweet and savory yams with copious brown sugar and cloves; butter-soaked peas and pearl onions; and deep-brown hushpuppies, just a bit sweet. The tea was sweet-but-not-too-much, and perfectly refreshing. And the whole package - including an innocuous palate-cleanser of iceberg lettuce, Bac-O, flavorless carrots and tomato salad - was, as the special, $6.80.

Hard to beat, and I've finally had my fix of excellent NC BBQ.