Bloomington/Normal Day 1: Flat Top

For work, I was sent to Bloomington with my family.  This meant that while my wife had meetings, I was allowed to take our two kids someplace and keep them busy.  The last time I had gone to Bloomington, was about last year or so for the same reasons.  Anyhow, on the first day, we were looking for dinner and decided to try out the restaurant right next door to our hotel, on Tonawanda Avenue.  The restaurant was called Destihl and we walked in, asked for a seat for 5 and then the hostess asked if we had a reservation.  I had said "no" and then she told me that they only take reservations and without a reservation it would be about an hour till we could have a table. 

A personal peeve of mine, is when a restaurant hostess or seater tells me that there is a wait and then you look around yourself and see 3 or 4 booths open that could sit 2-4 each, and a large table/booth against the wall that could seat 6.  We will call that table/booth combo "Spot A", because it will become important later on.  So, we left and walked just across the street to a place that looks like a steak house, called FlatTop.

FlatTop is an interesting place.  It is so interesting that it could work in other cities, like Saint Louis.  You walk in, get a table and then order.  Their special item is a food bowl, prepared on a giant flat top and then delivered to your table. 

So, what happens is that you grab a long wooden sign on a post and write your name on the sign.  Then you go up to the very large bar where they have all kinds of rices, noodles, vegetables and meats and pick your stuff that goes into your bowl.

Not only did they have everything labeled nicely, but behind this bar, on the wall, they had a whole sign describing the calories of each prepared item or sauce along with the spicy level.  So, you fill your bowl up and then take it to the bar surrounding the cooks.  There you can make any last minute changes, like turn your bowl into a soup or a salad.  Whichever change you make, you place a colored plastic stick into your food, so that the cooks know how you want it prepared.  So, they cook it, and get it to you just as you had ordered it.

I would give the place, atmosphere, food and everything else a 3 out of 5 stars.  The only issue we had with it was that since the flat top cooking area was a certain size and they have a lot of vegetables and things that appear to be raw, it takes a lot of time to get everything cooked.  Since it is the only cooking method of the food there, it is possible that you may have your bowl at the cook's bar, ready to be cooked, fr as much as 5-15 minutes before there is a space on the cook-top to cook it.  I went back for seconds after the first bowl was finished within 2-3 minutes.  The second bowl sat there, waiting and waiting and after it was delivered to me, the rest of my table had eaten and was ready to go. I would give the service as far as the cooking is concerned, maybe a 2 and 1/2 stars out of 5.  Someone has to know that this is a problem and they need to be thinking of solutions.


http://www.flattopgrill.com/locations.html

Awesome fresh Asian food

Nestled away from the main drag, hidden between a salon and some retail space, down Tesson Ferry, is the Liu Shun Wok.  First off, let me say this: I have purchased food there, 4 weeks in a row, and have tried as many as 10 dishes: nothing has been bad.  The food is amazing and while I don't want to insult them by trying to guess their ethnicity or country of origin, I will say that it seems very much like Americanized Asian food. However, there are a few differences between other food like this that you can find in St. Louis: this is really good and fresh.

On Thursday, I spoke with the owners, who appear to be a husband and wife team: she takes the orders and he cooks everything fast in a wok.  She was telling me that they make everything fresh, the vegetables and all ingredients are purchased that morning, from the Dierburgs, just a 1/4 of a mile away.  You can taste it in the quality of the meats, seafood and vegetables. No artificial flavors, no fake colors and I don't think, there is an MSG.

They have a huge menu, with very reasonable prices (almost too cheap for the amount of food you get).  My advice for you, is that if you like this kind of food, you should go there and at least give it a try.  I give their food a great 3 and 1/2 stars out of 5, as the food is good, nothing fancy or unusual and it is worth coming back for.  They have a facebook page here and please check them out:

https://www.facebook.com/LiuShunWok 

A request had been made...sorta

Here is the thing, around the end of November, my wife wanted to go out and celebrate her birthday.  So, I started to look for places to go.  I was looking for some night clubs but since there appears to not be a single decent nightclub in St. Louis, one without fights, shootings, thugs, or with at least somewhat dance-able music, we skipped the dancing.  I was thinking of places to go when I noticed that a restaurant had "Liked" my facebook page about Tasty-Magazine. I wondered if that was because the restaurant liked to read the blog in general or if it wanted to be reviewed.  Either way, I thought it should work.  My wife could order the Sushi and Sashimi choices and I could order everything else.

So, we arrived at Miso, on Meremac, on a cold and rainy Saturday evening.  We came in the upstairs area and upon seeing it packed, it was suggested that we move downstairs and then go and enjoy the full service in the Lounge area.  We walked down the stairs to a dimly lit area with some nice music and we were led to a smooth couch with some glass tables, lit with candles.  The are was pretty romantic, except for the big screen showing some college football.


I wanted to try many things and have a good time.  So, like other famous reviewers, I made a wide selection of foods as my wife stayed along things she enjoyed.  I ordered many items on the "Share Plates" selection as these were meant to go with many people but I ordered many, thinking that the serving sizes would be small, since the way the restaurant seemed.  I was wrong.  The overall severing size was quite large as you would need what I would guess to be 4 people to eat one Share Plate.

I first received the "Sesame Dragon Wings" with a creamy cilantro dressing.  I like the hot wings, which were good hot wings, a 3 out of 5, but there was nothing special about them.  Someone had sprinkled black and white sesame seeds on the hot wings and they were not overly spicy either.  The sauce wasn't that good, as it was described as being a creamy cilantro dressing but was really blue cheese dressing with a sprinkling of dried cilantro.  They were good and I think people should order them, but I have a thing for hot wings.

I then ordered a plate of "Kobe Sliders", which were described as coming with "carmelized onion, Yuzu truffled aioli and “Tokyo” style fries".  What I received was a plate of sliders, which is the term now for small hamburgers.  I forgot if there were four or three of them on the plate.  They had butter grilled buns, a large heaping of grilled onions and Kobe beef in the middle with just a dollop of sauce.  The burgers were cooked right for being Kobe beef, which meant that they were seared on the outside and pink on the inside.  The meat, by itself was very flavorful and moist.  The "Tokyo fries" was not what I had expected.  The fries were also an item on the "Share Menu" and a small discussion with my wife had resulted with a thought that the fries, which were said to be "nori-furikake style fries", should have been fries with the rice seasoning of seaweed and spices.  All that could be tasted was regular French style fries with salt on them.  I know what the nori-furikake seasoning tastes like as my wife has several cans at home for her use and they all have a stronger flavor than what was on the fries here.  Don't get me wrong, the burgers made up for the fries, so it wasn't a failure. Just don't expect some outrageous fries with your outrageous burger.  The burger was a 4 out of 5 and the fries were a 2 out of 5.

We then had the "Steamed Pork Pot stickers with pork, shrimp, soy vinegar sauce".  I'm not a huge fan of seafood and while I thought that the pot stickers wee very tasty, a 3 out of 5, the sauce was very fishy and I avoided it.  The pot stickers were light, crunchy and flavorful as the sauce was heavy and fishy.

I also ordered some sushi rolls for my wife, who loves sushi.  She said that overall the quality of the fish was very good, extremely good.  She loved the meal but had some misses in her hits.  The idea was that the classic sushi rolls were excellent.  Although, when there was a signature roll made by Miso, the flavors seemed to not work together and either fall flat or be to complicated to get a good harmony of flavors out of it.  One of the rolls which my wife ordered said it had Kimchi in it and was supposed to be Korean inspired.  However, my wife loves Kimchi, proper Kimchi, the kind which had been fermenting for up to a year, like REAL Kimchi.  The Kimchi that was placed within this roll, however was not real Kimchi.  The Kimchi tasted like lightly picked cabbage, not even pickled enough to taste like sauerkraut, but just like someone took some cabbage and poured some white vinegar on top.  My wife couldn't finish that roll and was quite displeased.  I think she would have given her overall sushi experience a 3 out of 5 though.

So, overall, it would appear that Miso is a good place to go.  It ranks right up there with some of the nicer places in St. Louis.  I would say that if you are looking for a nicer place for a Sushi date, then you need to go to Sushi.

The elephant in the corner...

This Saturday night, my wife and I went to the Elephant Bar, which is a restaurant near the West County mall.  This restaurant has food that is inspired by the co-owner's trips around the world and his time in a kitchen in Hong Kong.  Basically, everything is pan-Asian inspired.  They want everyone there to have an enjoyable dining experience, with a jungle/safari atmosphere and just a relaxing and casual experience. 

Well, I have had my doubts on this dining location, especially since it is located behind a large parking garage and the 40 spots that are in front of it are always taken.  My wife called ahead a reservation for myself, her and our two kids for 7:00pm and we walked a bit in the mall.  We had come out at just 5 minutes till, found a nice and close spot to the restaurant's doors and walked inside.  My wife told the hostess that she had made reservations for the 4 of us for 7:00 and she told us 'just one moment' and handed us one of those coasters that lights up when it is your turn for seating.  Well, we waited and waited and figured out that when you call for reservations, it doesn't actually save a table for you, but just puts your name on the list.  I also saw a few booths that were clearly available, but no one was seating anyone in those spots.

I will admit that they finally got to us about 8 minutes after our supposed reservation time, sat us at a booth that I had seen empty since we walked through the doors, and completely ignored us every time we went up to the hostesses, but they did get a server with us, almost immediately.  The thing about the menu is that it is supposed to reflect the travels that this main executive chef had taken throughout the world.  These travels meant eating things like bland food and overly salty sides.  If this was the case, I would hate to travel where this chef went to. 

Is that a harsh thing to say about a chef and his restaurant?  Yes, but it is also the truth.  There is no way around it.  I thought the food was about as good as the food at MacDonald's.  For the same price, we could have gone to the Cheesecake Factory and had incredible service, food and a great dining experience, even with the kids!

My wife and I were hungry, but also thought that ordering a larger dish and each of us having a side would be good.  So, we ordered the Kona BBQ Pork Ribs.  We had a choice of white or brown rice and we picked brown.  We ordered a half rack and this is what came:

Um, if you look on their website at the great picture: http://www.elephantbar.com/Menu/Menu.aspx, and click on the Global Grill, their picture of the same dish had different items, like french fries, for instance.  Now, let's get right in. The BBQ ribs were okay, it tasted like your usual store-bought sauce, as they were tender enough to fall off the bone also.  We had a scoop of coleslaw, which tasted like your general coleslaw.  There was a skewer of grilled shrimp that tasted fishy, even to her, which meant they were not fresh at all.  The BBQ chicken breast was tough.  It was good and cooked fine on the thinner side, as it was a half a breast, but the other side was hard on the bottom, so it was not cooked evenly.  The brown rice that we asked for was in fact arborio rice and it was vastly under cooked.  It was not hard and crunchy but hard and chewy, like gum or a gummy bear that was stored in the refrigerator. The biggest thing that didn't fit on the plate was the small cup of brown beans, just like your basic pork n' beans.  However, these had no pork in them and instead tasted like they were cooked in the Taco Bell hot sauce packets, then someone sprinkled some cheese on top.  Besides this, the plate was $16.95!  I give the plate a sad 2 out of 5 stars.

How could this have been fixed?  Well, it was supposed to be inspired by something. Most of the time, anything with the word 'Kona' in the title is supposed to have something to do with Hawaii.  I find it hard to believe that the food in Hawaii is served like this.  The boring Southern style cole slaw, Mexican inspired beans, and undercooked Italian rice.  Nothing went together on this plate at all.  I think before they fix the plate, they should have decided what culture or cuisine were they trying to copy or play with.

My wife and I each ordered a small side to go with our main dish.  My wife ordered a pear salad.

I ordered the Fresh Sauteed Spinach and it was good.  It had just the right amount of cheese and spices on top and I actually ate the whole thing and was happy.  A 3 out of 5 for me, chef.  It was just your basic cooked spinach, still crunchy but still tender.

The kids got a great deal as we ordered a chicken quesadilla for one and the other got the hamburger.  I can honestly say, that my son's burger was tastier that my grill platter.  The bun was brushed with butter and grilled with a bit of garlic on top: perhaps even with Whirl. The burger was as thin as a MacDonald's burger and it came with some simple french fries.  I ended up eating most of my son's burger, as he was not that hungry anyway.  His burger was a good 3 out of 5, it really was.

What did I learn from this?  Well, the higher the food prices, does not relate to how good the food is.  So, it was possible that the $39 that we spent on the four of us, did not deliver to us $39 worth of flavor and tastiness.  Now, one of my biggest issues was this:  Our server handed me the bill, at $39.06.  I didn't have enough small cash to give her the standard tip we do, which is about 18%.  So, I gave her $50 and asked for change back.  So, math people, work with me here: If I give you $50 and the bill is $39.06, how much should be delivered back to me?  Say about $10.94 right?  Guess how much she gave back to me?  $10 in ones.  That's right, she did not give me back the 94 cents.  Why?  I don't know, but I found it unsettling that instead of giving me back the full amount that was not on the bill, she kept the 94 cents.  Now, was it an accident?  Maybe, but she should have noticed it when were leaving the table and she took the money.  She could have remembered, 'oh, there are no coins, what happened, oh, I didn't give him the change!' Instead, I gave her just her a tip and even so, I counted that 94 cents which she already took, as part of her tip. Moral of the story, don't steal from the customer.  I had a feeling that she was actually going to expect that I tip her another 15%, from $40 or even from $39 which would have meant that she received $5.85 as she already pocketed the 94 cents.  The total would have been $6.79, which was likely closer to a 17% tip. I don't play that way and in this case, her % tip did count the 94 cents she stole.  So, did she get less than she may have expected?  Yes, because I didn't see that money. 

Ahhhh, Wasabi.

After being an assistant to a sexy photographer for a photoshoot this past Saturday with Gravity Plays Favorites, we went for a nice meal at Wasabi, where we had the company of having both Michelle and Katrina dine with us. I may not be the best person to judge about sushi, since I am not really into fish, but do try whatever comes on my plate. I ordered some spicy chicken and my wife ordered the sushi meal for one.
We enjoyed our meals as we sat outside on Washington Avenue, in the 70 degree weather on the clear sky day. As the conversation started to get interesting, our food arrived. Mine was a spicy chicken dish, with some fried vegetables and fried rice. The rice was okay and not the best fried rice, maybe a 2 out of 5 stars. The veggies had a thick sauce on them that ruled out any taste of their true form, which I gave a 1 out of stars. The chicken was the best part. I had a Buffalo hot sauce/ Asian spicy hybrid on the chicken and it tasted so good.
I fixed the rice be adding some soy sauce as you can see that it looked like it had none, originally. Overall though, the chicken pulled the dish from okay to good, getting a 3 stars out of 5 from me. Now my wife, who has eaten sushi all over the world, commented on how her dish, was so good that she was recommending it to anyone who would listen. At other sushi places, they would have just served her food on a plate, but here, they gave her a small boat.
She gave it a 3 &1/2 out of 5 and we were very happy with the service as well, as the waitress was always right next to us when we needed us, even no matter how strange the table's requests were. Whether you like sushi or not and are in the downtown area, I recommend going to Wasabi and enjoying yourself.