Vietnamese Exploration Trip in San Francisco

I love Vietnamese food. I love the smell, I love the taste, I love all the fresh herbs and clean taste that you get, especially in a hot summer afternoon. Needless to say, after moving to the Bay Area, finding a good Vietnamese food is on the top of my list. So far, I've only found a couple that I would be willing to go back again, and I will put those in this post and also compare the taste of each restaurant.

Le Regal (2.75 on my Yummy Scale)
After many trials of different Vietnamese food in Oakland from reading Yelp (again, thanks for nothing, Yelpers!) I've had heart-breaking experiences and had given up the hope of finding a good Vietnamese restaurant in the East Bay. However, I did find one, close by in Berkeley. Le Regal in Berkeley looks OK from the outside, but I already know that a real Asian restaurant usually looks pretty bad, so in that sense, this place looks excellent. I tried the noodle salad (Bun) with barbequed pork and imperial roll, and the thin slice beef noodle soup. The barbequed pork was a bit greasy, and the imperial roll was tiny and, with the taro as one of the ingredients in it, was slightly removed of the typical crunchiness from the roll. The noodle soup was pretty good, but tasted a bit one dimensional. I think they prepared the soup only with one type of bone (I think it's beef bone) and some vegetables, so it's ok but not really good. Since this place doesn't really relieve my Vietnamese food craving, I had to move on and find another one.

Golden Star (4.0 on my Yummy Scale)
Then I went into the city and tried a Vietnamese restaurant close to ChinaTown called Golden Star. This was a pleasant surprise because the noodle salad was very fresh, and the barbequed pork was good. The imperial roll was also pretty good, as it has a good balance of meat and vegetables in there (without Taro, very important), and with a nice crunchiness to it as well. The noodle soup was excellent because it's made with several types of bones and vegetables, and together with the thin slice beef and rice noodle, it was a match made in Vietnamese food heaven! The beef ball in the noodle soup was springy/chewy, just the way I like it. Overall the place was an excellent find, and I was happy with this discovery.

Tu Lan (2.75 on my Yummy Scale)
This weekend I went and tried a place called Tu Lan on 6th St. in San Francisco after receiving excellent reviews from one of my friends, who told me that I just 'had' to try the place. I went there based on his suggestion, and it turned out to be just OK. First, the imperial roll is the jumbo-size type, but the filling has too much meat in there, so the whole thing tasted a little bit mushed together. The crunchiness of the roll is still there, but it just tasted a little bit one-dimensional. The noodle salad was good and had lots of fresh mint and vegetables, and the pork on there was excellent. The noodle soup, however, was a big bummer because it tasted like a regular vegetable broth, maybe with some beef bone added in there for a bit flavor, but that's about it. And the beef ball, soft and mushy, not so good. Overall, it's only OK, and I was expecting a lot better than just OK. The place is also a bit shady in a shady area, so I would probably go back there only if I'm already close to the area. It's not good enough for me to make a trip just for the food.


Overall, the Vietnamese restaurant that I've tried so far is OK, nothing mind blowing. With that, it is leaving me a little disappointed, and so I am still needing to search for the best one that will cure my craving of good Vietnamese food without driving or flying back to LA. I am hopeful of finding something good, so right now I'm still searching for that one true love.

Le Regal: 2126 Center Street, Berkeley, CA 94704

Golden Star: 11 Walter U Lum Place, San Francisco, CA 94108

Tu Lan: 8 6th Street, San Francisco, CA 94103

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Curry House's Japanese Curry is Oh-My-Freaking-God Good

Ok, so by the title you probably can figure out that this blog posting is a happy one. Denoting this blog as a happy blog is an understatement, because I wholeheartedly loved, LOVED this place. So here's the scoop.

I first discovered Curry House in LA (Little Tokyo in downtown LA), and I could not believe how good it was. However, when I moved to SF, I couldn't find any other restaurant that serves a Japanese curry even close to the quality that you get in Curry House. Finally, late 2007 they finally opened up a branch that's in Norcal, and my long wait was over.

For those of you who are not familiar with Japanese curry, it is a lot milder and smoother in taste than it's cousin Indian curry. Japanese curry also is roux-based, with caramelized onion and sometimes fruit puree or honey to round out the spiciness from the different spices, which makes the texture different from Indian curry. Although you can also order your curry with different level of spiciness, but even the "extra spicy" is not really that spicy. (It is Japanese food, after all.) Every time I visit the Curry House, it delivers a tasty punch that does not disappoint. (And the punch is definitely from a heavy weight champion!) The pork katsu curry that I ordered this trip was absolutely delicious. The pork cutlet is a thicker cut, so it helps a little bit when it comes to retaining moisture during frying. On top of that, a big ladle full of curry just brings the whole thing together. The big portion definitely makes sure that your belly does not go home hungry and the only bad thing is that my belly always hurts from eating all the food because I just can not stop!

Other than curry, I also ordered their corn potage, which has an eerie similarity to cream corn. (Of course, I got this comparison from my Caucasian husband because I did not grow up with cream corn. So to me it tasted like corn potage.) It's kind of like a lobster bisque but substitute the lobster with corn. The sweetness of the corn and the creaminess of the soup is definitely a good compliment to the curry.


Overall, the Curry House gets a 5 on my yummy scale. To this day, the search for another restaurant that serves the same quality of Japanese curry comes up empty. There is definitely no substitute for something this good. I imagine this is what heaven would taste like, if it's made with curry.

If you would like to try the Curry House and get a little taste of heaven, you can find it at 10350 S. De Anza Blvd., Cuppertino, CA 95014 (a couple of doors down from Apple and Symantec, you lucky bastards!!!)

Angry Asian Food Critic Score - Now With Easy To Identify Graphic Scoring System (GSS)!!

Well, for all of you reading from home/work/in traffic/on the toilet (totally not judging), the Angry Asian Food Critic strives to make your lives easier with a new, exciting, easy to read scoring system:

5 - This food has reached the highest plane of culinary excellence (read: it's so good you will shit your pants in excitement!!!)

4 - Pretty excellent, but there is still room for growth (read: Tom Cruise as compared to L.Ron Hubbard, for all you Scientologists out there)

3 - Not hatred, not love. Kinda in food limbo...


2 - Now you're just wasting my money and stomach space. (read: you're really starting to piss me off with your so-called 'food')

1 - The restaurant may have passed the Health Inspector, but gets a big "F" from taste inspection. This place need to be shut down immediately.Seriously. SERIOUSLY.

So, there it is. Straightforward, no b.s. The Angry Asian Food Critic has your back, word up.

If you're still confused, I really can't help you any more (and you might need to seek medical assistance). For everyone else, happy eating!!

Uzen - The Sushi Heaven on the East Bay!

There are many things I enjoy, and having a good meal is definitely one of them; and having good sushi is very high up on the list. Ever since I've moved to the Bay Area, I've been trying to find some place that has good quality sushi, and at the very least close to my favorite sushi place in LA (please refer my "Some Food for Thought If You Are Going To Los Angeles" in June 2006). It has been a somewhat difficult journey because I had no reference for good restaurants here, let along good Asian restaurants. So I had to consult the Yelp. BIG MISTAKE! Why, you ask? Because people rating restaurant on Yelp have no taste buds (and I had to find that out the hard way!), Anyways, back to my point, I was finally able to find a really good sushi place in Rockridge!

The first time I tried the place, it was after i was battered and bruised from following Yelp's recommendation (thanks for NOTHING, Yelpers!) and I was in no mood of eating another plate of shitty sushi. However, I was pleasantly surprised once the food arrived. The fish quality is definitely great (and fresh), and the small dishes that they have on the menu definitely hits the spot. I got my usual order of yellowtail, scallop, and toro (their special). And they are all excellent! The yellowtail texture was perfect. If you never had yellowtail, definitely try it. It's a little bit like tuna but with a bit more fat in there, so the texture is smoother. The scallop is very fresh, and has that natural sweetness to it. The toro special that they have is the medium grade toro, which is the one I like because it's doesn't have too much fat and the meat just melts in your mouth. We also ordered a couple of other dishes other than the regular sushi items. One dish is the oyster on the 1/2 shell. I rarely find oyster on 1/2 shell that is fresh enough that doesn't have the "oysterness" or that stinkyness that comes naturally with oyster. However, the oyster in Uzen is top notch because I cannot taste any oysterness at all! The fried soft shell crab is pretty good too. The breading was a little bit too much, but the quality of the crab was great and very meaty. They also have a grilled ground chicken wrapped in shiso leaf. That was excellent and also will put you in the mood for a glass of beer (even tho I do not drink)! The ground chicken is seasoned and the mintyness of the shiso leaf gave it a very fresh twist to the otherwise widely popular grilling item.

Overall the place was great, and definitely cured my overwhelming sushi craving. I definitely recommend this place if you ever need a place for great sushi. Uzen gets a 4 out 5 on my yummy scale, only second to my favorite Japanese sushi restaurant Kiyosuzu in LA.

Uzen is located on 5415 College Ave., Oakland, CA 94618, and recommend getting there by BART as parking is painful to find.

The Return of Angry Asian Food Critic - Now in San Francisco!

Dear fellow food fans, after many months of hiatus, I've finally came out again and decide to put my two cents on different restaurants I'm trying. I was getting a bit depressed in Columbus because I was running out of restaurants that I want to pay a second visit to, and also missed authentic Asian food. At this time, a great chance came up to move to San Francisco, which is much warmer than Columbus and only has about three weeks of winter (they're horrible, tho!!!), I've decided to packed my bags and move with (my now) husband to the Bay.

A while after settling in SF, I've noticed that my taste buds has awaken and have a new meaning to life, of course, that also means I've become even more of a picky eater. I've been hesitant to write another food blog again; however, there are freaking restaurants that I tried recently that just begs me to slam their food because it was so shitty. Therefore, I've decided to lift up my finger and start typing again.

Now onto the food that brought me out of hiatus:

The restaurant that I tried which whipped me back to my blogging phase is located in Stinson Beach called "Stinson Beach Grill." (Yes, it's a very original restaurant name) First off, our party had a reservation, but we still had to wait about 20 minutes to get to our seat because there is no host/hostess to seat us - our one friend had to play the 'handicapped card' to even get us seated in that time! Once we were seated, our waiter (whom I suspected is also the owner) was not doing a good job because he barely came over three times over the course of our dinner. Since it's a nice warm day and I saw that they have paella on their menu, I quickly decided to get a mixed green salad with paella. BIG MISTAKE!

The Menu is more of a Guide...

On the menu it said that the salad comes with candied walnut, tomatoes, and sherry vinaigrette. the salad arrives, the walnut was not candied, and the sherry vinaigrette was so salty it could wilt the lettuce! There is no balance what-so-ever on this so called "salad," and more disappointment is still on the way!

When my paella came, it's supposed to have mussel, clams, and prawns. First, the plate was completely splattered with sauce (thank goodness for my manservant, er husband, who cleaned it), and I did not get my prawns. And when I asked why I didn't get my prawns, our waiter informed me that I will not get my prawns for a while because "the kitchen is backed up right now." The paella was soupy and has no saffron flavor, and the whole dish probably have about 50 grains of rice and the rest was soup. It was the most horrible paella I've ever tasted, AND IT COST ABOUT $20!!!!

Needless to say, my dinner experience was not good at all (though we were with good friends and fun conversation!), and food in Stinson Beach Grill deserves at most 1 on my yummy scale. What a disappointment after a relaxing and fun afternoon at the beach. If you ever go to Stinson Beach and need to places to avoid, Stinson Beach Grill is a good choice.

Stinson Beach Grill is located on (correction) 3465 Highway One, Stinson Beach, CA 94970.

A New Blog for A New Year's Treat!

Yes, I know, I've been lazy and hadn't posted new blog in a while, (believe me, my fiance has been bugging me about this for a long time!) which is why I'm posting this new blog on some new restaurants that I've tried these couple of months.

First stop - Oscar's Restaurant and Wine Bar.
84 North High Street, Dublin, OH 43017-2162
(http://www.hdrestaurants.com/oscars_dublin/index.htm)
When people think of restaurants in Dublin Ohio, one word might comes to mind - expensive (or snobby depending on what your opinion of Dublin is). However, Oscar's of Dublin provided a great dining experience without the threat of burning a hole through your wallet. The restaurant decor has an old pub feel to it, except it's cleaner and has no smoking! (Yeh for Issue 5!) The waiting staff were friendly (but not in the fake smile and "I want your money" sort of way), and the atmosphere was great too. You wouldn't have to worry about laughing too loud and get a dirty look from your neighbor at the next table. The food was prepared and proportioned very well. We tried their butternut squash bisque, which had a delicate and smooth flavor and seasoned perfectly. I also had the Veal and Shiitake Mushroom finished in a lemony cream sauce. The Veal was tender and sweet, along with the tartness from the caper and lemon sauce, it was really a pleasant surprise! My fiance had the Beef Tenderloin Tips and Torchio. The sauce was rusty and earthy, and the pasta was paired with perfectly done tenderloin tips. For dessert, we had their freshly made Apple Turnover. The hot apple turnover had a thin dough and was not overly cinnamoned. With ice cream topped on the turnover, it was a perfect way to finish the meal!
This was definitely a surprise for me, and a very pleasant one at that. Oscar's Restaurant and Wine Bar earned a 3.75 on my yummy scale.

Next Stop - Bexley's Monk
2232 E. Main Street, Bexley, OH 43209
(http://www.bexleysmonk.com/)
Before I went to Bexley's Monk, I've always had this image of upper scale dining attached to the name. When my friends and I were there, it turned out that Bexley's Monk was more casual and family oriented than I've imagined. We each tried their salads to start, and each salad was fresh with variety of lettuces and balanced dressing. It was definitely a great way to start the meal. We each ordered different things on the menu so we could share and compare. And I started out with the grilled prawns with wild rice pilaf and green beans. The prawns were perfectly done and were very fresh. The natural sweetness of the prawn was emphasized with the slightly lemony green beans while the wild rice pilaf provided a different texture to the dish, and I absolutely loved it! I also tried the stuffed chicken breast as well. The chicken breast was juicy and the sauce was not overly creamy, which complemented the dish well. Another dish that we've had was their bone-in NY strip steak. The steak was nicely done and tender, and the gorgonzola butter on the steak gave a layer of complexity. The last dish we had was duck breast. Even though the duck breast was done well, the portion was not controlled nicely.
To finish our meal, we had a marscaponi cheese filled pastry with berry sauce and a double chocolate cake. The marscaponi cheese pastry was piping hot when it came out, and the filling was not overly sweet. Paired with the berry sauce, it was actually a nice dessert. The double chocolate cake was good, but it was a pretty regular chocolate cake though.
The overall experience was nice, and the food earned a 3.25 on my yummy scale.

Happy Holidays!

Alinea Creates New Wave of Cuisine

This past weekend we went on a trip to Chicago. This was my virgin trip and quite a memorable one too! The most exciting thing that happened in this trip was our journey to try the new restaurant Alinea. The whole restaurant was well thought and carried out down to the very little detail, even with the stairs. The whole restaurant was chic and full of exquisite detailing and surprises, from the time I walked in feeling like Alice in Wonderland, until I was surprised by the stainless steel doors springing open and revealing a whole new adventure. I could go on and on about the restaurant, but the main focus was on the food, which was what I shall elaborate on below.

There are only two choices for the menu - Chef's tasting menu, which had 13 courses, or the full menu, which had 24 courses. Each menu items created new sensations in my mouth, and all were amazing. We accidently picked the tasting menu because of some confusion created when my fiance did the reservation. The first course was an ice cube of corn and coconut broth, with cayenne, lime zest, and a drop of mint sauce presented on a flat aluminum spoon on top of a glass block. The presentation was great, but the flavor of the cube was explosive. The small 1" cube packed complex flavor and tasted like a condensed cold soup. Even long after I swallowed the ice cube, the flavor of corn and coconut still lingered for a long while. The second course was a tomato course, which was butterflied and topped with various toppings, including african cous cous, dried salami, dark crouton, saffron and mollasses jelly, curry sauce, and along with a mozzarella balloon filled with a tomato foam. Each flavor gave a slight twist to the tomato, and the tomato foam and mozzarella was exceptional. The third course was poached mackerel topped with turmeric, bee balm, and poppyseed broth. The mackerel was soft and tender, with the turmeric giving a little tartness. Along with the broth, it was a small bite of heaven! The fourth course was lobster with vacherin, ginger, and litchi, tempura battered and fried and served on a vanilla stick. This provided a familiar flavor since Japanese food was my love, but the dish also provided new flavor such as the combination of vanilla and litchi. The litchi and ginger were hard to tell in the dish, but the vanilla aroma added an interesting layer to the simple dish. The fifth course was black truffle on top of a broth-filled ravioli with some parmesan. The ravioli melted in the mouth and the black truffle did not overwhelm the dish at all. The sixth dish was porcini paste with sauteed porcini mushroom, with ham, cherry, and some garlic cream. The porcini paste was a little strong in this dish, but the combination of the porcini, ham, and cherry was good.

The seventh dish was Peach and carrot puree with some smoked paprika. This was defintely my favorite dish because the dish was taken as a shot, and the first layer of flavor I got was the carrot, then the sweetness of the peach took over with a smoky overtone from the paprika as it exploded in my mouth (seriously!!). It was just heavenly. The eighth dish was Kobe beef with cocoa-dusted watermelon and chilled marinated watermelon. I've never tried a beef and watermelon combination, but this was a very pleasant surprise. The cocoa provided a slight smokiness and the sweetness of the watermelon and Kobe beef were actually extremely compatible. The ninth dish was three cubes of lamb, one with a mastic jam (tasted kind of like mint, but it wasn't mint), one with some sort of garlic cream, and the last one was with various pepper in southwestern flavor. Each lamb gave a different flavor, and the gradual increase of flavors made this dish a very interesting one. The tenth dish was a hot potato cube with parmesan cube topped with white truffle with cold potato soup. The difference in temperature was the interesting point in the dish, and the different earthy flavor combination also worked extremely well together. The eleventh dish was a pan-seared squab with peppercorn pudding, duck hash, and strawberry. This was not my favorite dish even though the squab was very tender. The dish was very "ducky" in flavor and also the combination was fairly common. But, moving on.

The next dish was applewood bacon with butterscotch string and thyme, swinging on a wire trapeze. The flavor combination was absolutely amazing, and, while the dish was not overly sweet, the applewood smoke was enhanced by the sweetness of the butterscotch and thyme. The next dish was a raspberry with goat milk cream, red pepper taffy, and pistachio crisp. I've never been a pistachio fan, but this dish has turned me into a fan! The red pepper taffy was not too sweet and was great with raspberry. The cream gave a well-rounded finish to the dessert. The next dish was poached fig with semisweet chocolate and served with infused tea. The infused tea and fig was absolutely incredible. Along with the semisweet chocolate, the flavor was simple and the combination perfect. And, FINALLY, the last dish was a salty dry caramel. The caramel was simple and excellently done, as it was liquified within your mouth. The salt excentuated the caramel's sweetness, but the caramel was not as sweet as some of the dry caramel in the market. This finishing dessert was just amazing.

After the 13 course amazing food adventure, we went on our way back to the hotel(and, with the help of Al Unser, JR. as our cab driver, we were back very quickly!). I really applaud the chef for trying new boundaries with food combination and presentations, and I think he truelly understand that we eat with our eyes first. The restaurant was absolutely amazing, with true 5 star service by the fantastic wait staff, and I hope the new wave of cuisine created by Alinea would move toward Columbus soon. If you want to experience absolute pleasure for your taste and visual senses, and if you just to happened to be in Chicago, please go to Alinea on 1723 N. Halsted, Chicago IL 60614. www.alinearestaurant.com

Oodles Has Oodles of Crap!

Though I usually read The Other Paper for new restaurant suggestions, however, I've never trusted their reviews simply because the food critiques on there seem to be unbiased jokes! Case in point, after reading the latest The Other Paper, I learned that there is a new noodles and dumpling restaurant in town, which was extremely exciting for me because I LOVE dumplings. So the day has come for me to go try this new place called Oodles, and, sadly, it was one of the most horrible food experience I've ever had (even worse than Zen Sushi!).

To start out with, the menu is 90% noodle dishes, and you do NOT have a restaurant named "Ooodles noodle & dumpling bar" that has a lack of dumpling choices. Then I've decided to try the pot stickers along with the dumpling soup with meat and chicken broth, and my fiance tried their Shanghai-style pan fried noodle. The pot stickers tasted exactly like the ones that came out of the factory-sealed Japanese brand pot stickers, complete with a hint process taste. And nothing gets me more excited than factory processed food! (that's meant to be taken sarcastically) The taste of the pot sticker was bland at best. Despite my disappointment, I decided to suck it up and went on with the dumplings with meat, swimming in chicken broth. Unfortunately, it was even more horrible than the pot stickers, because the dumplings were the same factory-sealed Japanese style dumpling, and on top of that, the meat was sauteed with veggies WITHOUT seasoning and then dumped into the canned chicken soup! The soup was greasy because of the sauteed meat and veggies, and the meat and veggies has no taste because it wasn't seasoned!

My fiance's Shanghai style noodle was also terrible. First, when the noodle was served on the plate, you could see about 1/4" of oil on the bottom. Second, the noodle was spicy (and not in a good way), and Shanghai style cooking is NEVER spicy! Third, the noodle was just tasteless and there was nothing special about it! Apparently the owner of Oodles wants to push the store into Chipotle-like chain(per the word of the Other Paper), and for that I applaud the owner's ambition because no one in their right mind would try to create a restaurant chain serving bland and crappy tasting food that you might as well eat McDonald's! (And McDonald's has a Dollar Menu!)

With all that said, Oodles could only get a 1 out of 5 on my yummy scale. And after the horrible food experience, the food also gave my fiance tummy aches as well. So if you need to clean out your system via alternative methods (instead of taking Metamusal), please don't be hesitate to try Oodles on 765 Neil Ave. Columbus, OH 43215. www.gooodles.com

Great Tea Starts with Great Water At Teh Ku

I've been on a writing hiatus for a while, and the place that I tried this afternoon took me out of it. Yes, it was that good. It's a small tea house called Teh Ku. And after staying in the writing hiatus, all I needed was some good tea!

The decor in Teh Ku had a contemporary vibe, and it also had live music on weekend nights. And the thing I love there was that they had a private room that seats about 6-8 people. The room also completed with a comfy sofa and flat screen TV and you could have your private party there. The service was also better because they actually took your order at the table, so if you had any questions, they would be able to answer right away.

I tried the Fruit Paradise tea first, which had apple, berry, rose pedal, and citrus scent all nicely blended with the hibiscus blossoms. The fragrance was so great, I could smell it while it was being delivered from the kitchen. The hibiscus tea tasted tart, and the fruit bits not only gave the the tea extra layer of flavor in smell, but also provided some sweetness to the otherwise tart tasting tea. The tea that Teh Ku sold usually came with very little sugar, so you could truly appreciate the flavor of the tea, and adjusted the sweetness to your own taste. I've also tried a tea called Precious Peach, which has Rooibos with peach pieces. The Rooibos had a distinguish and slight sweet scent to it. And the peach pieces changed the tea taste and was deliciously peachy!

My fiance tried the Silver Needle, and the aroma was just amazing. It's not strong like the fruit blend, but the aroma slowly and steadily streamed into your nose. And the tea tasted delicious and sweet. (not sweet like sugar sweet, but more like natural sweetness after you drank a really good blend of tea.) He also tried the Masala Chai. The chai had a very strong ginger and cinnamon smell, but the taste was not as strong. It would be great just with the tea alone, but the milk in the chai was a little bit overwhelming. If the chai was brewed a little longer and had a stronger taste, then the milk added would be perfect.

Another thing I liked about Teh Ku was the water that they used for their tea. The water was not tap water, so the tea that was brewed from there can really show off the true flavor without the chemical in the tap water, which was extemely important because even though the tea was the main focus in a tea house, the water is the one aspect that will make or break the taste of your tea. And which was the precise reason why Zen Cha's tea does not taste as good as it could have been.

Teh Ku also has tea tasting on Thursday nights, which I was very excited to hear about and looking forward to doing. It also has a variety of desserts and sandwiches. And, each Sunday it also has a featured dinner menu that you can check out and make reservations, which would be a great Sunday activity to wind down and enjoyed some great food and tea with live music playing in the background. Not to mention, the price of the tea was much better than some of its competitors. You can get a cup full of tea for $2 (nice size cup, not wimpy cup), or a huge pot of tea that would get 4 or 5 nicely sized cups of tea for $4.

Teh Ku opened up not too long ago, but it certainly has potential and will no doubt become a great tea house in the Columbus area! I would rank Teh Ku a 4 out of 5 on my yummy scale. If you would like to try some great tea in the Dublin area or just want to chill and relax with a great pot of tea, please go to Teh Ku Tea Company at 55 South High Street, Dublin, OH 43017. www.TehKu.com

P.S. According to MD Girl, the traditional South African way to add sugar and milk to your Rooibos tea is to first put in the milk, then the hot tea(so the tea will temper the milk), and finally the sugar. This will allow the proper blending of the tea, and ensure a delightful experience! (and she was very excited to see that a place in Columbus carries yummy Rooibos tea!!)

G Michael's Is A Friendly Neighborhood Place

Last weekend we went to G Michael's to celebrate my friend's birthday, whom I love very much. We were talking about going there for a while but never made it official in our social calendar. So it was very exciting because not only I got to experience a new place, but I also got to know new friends! G Michael's looked like a small cafe from the outside, but when I walked in I found that the place was spacious and nicely designed. It also had patio seating! Unfortunately the patio seatings were first-come-first-serve, so we got to stay inside for the food. Nonetheless, the experience was a good one.

We started with their special gazpacho and steak tartar. The gazpacho was delicious and nicely prepared and wasn't overwhelmingly salsa-ish. The cayenne pepper in the soup gave a kick to the chilled soup and just enough heat. The steak tartar was marinated with vinaigrette and served with pickled cucumber and onion, topped with raw egg yolk. (I know what you are thinking, "raw egg yolk?! eww..." but trust me, the egg yolk gave the dish a smooth texture and subtle finish, no gross taste at all!) The steak tartar was the most unusual preparation I've ever had because it's a little bit sweet/sour and along with the crunchy pickled veggies made an interesting combination, but a pleasant one.

For our main course, I had the veal special and my fiance tried the grilled lamb rack. The veal was breaded with Parmesan and pan fried to golden brown. The sauce was a lemon cream sauce but was not at all overwhelming! The subtle sourness of the sauce really showcased the veal's sweetness. The penne pasta was portioned perfectly so I wouldn't feel overstuffed. And the sauteed diced veggies in the dish gave enough crunch and different texture than the veal. The dish was absolutely delicious. The lamb rack was grilled and the end of the rack was a little bit charred, but otherwise perfectly seasoned. The candied pear chutney was a nice alternative to the usual mint sauce, and the glazed baby carrot and green lentil was nicely done as well.

We also shared their white chocolate chip cookie with ice cream because when the chef was preparing the cookie it smelled so good that I had to have some. And it was very good indeed. The cookie was baked in little deep dish so it was chewy and warm. Along with the vanilla ice cream, butterscotch and chocolate sauce, it's just heavenly!

The overall experience was very good, and my dinner companion was excellent! The food would rank 4 out of 5 on my yummy scale and it was definitely worth the trouble to find this place. It would be even better if we could have the patio seating!

You can find G. Michael's on 595 S 3rd St. Columbus, OH 43215. http://www.columbuscene.com/gmichaels.htm

Basi Italia is A Hidden Treasure

I've heard great things about this little hidden neighborhood restaurant for a long time and my fiance couldn't figure out where exactly it is until last week. So as soon as we figured out how to get there, we were there!

The place was very small and is pretty hidden, but the restaurant was full of charm. The inside was very cozy with mood lighting, and the outdoor seating was like one of those HGTV back yard patios. I've fallen in love with the place already! Before we ordered, the waitress brought us some bread and olive oil infused with roasted garlic, basil, and balsamic vinegar. Right then and there I knew that I would love this restaurant because it actually served roasted garlic!

The menu was full of neo-Italian dishes with a mixture of flavors. I've ordered their soup special, which was strawberry with balsamic vinegar for appetizer. The soup sounded new and the balsamic vinegar and strawberry combination seemed interesting. And the soup was a pleasant surprise! The coldness of the soup and the sweetness of the strawberry were very refreshing, which was great for summer dish. The balsamic vinegar kicked up the soup a little bit, and the watercress inside the soup gave a little spiciness to the sweet soup and rounded out the dish very well. My fiance ordered s prosciutto and melon salad for an appetizer and the dish was also amazing. The saltiness of prosciutto combined with the sweetness of melon and fresh mint, combined with a little bit of black pepper, makes it not hard to understand why this dish was a summer favorite.

For the main course, I had their risotto frutti de mare, which was a mix between risotto and paella. The rice in this dish was a longer grain, so the risotto was not as starchy and creamy as a short grain, but with the combination of the seafood and saffron (that's real saffron, extremely fragrant and delicious saffron...), the dish was extremely delicious. The mussel and shrimp were done perfectly, which were hard to do because seafood is very easy to overcook. The dish was also topped with a variety of greens, which made the dish even more refreshing. My fiance had their pork chop with braised apple, sage, and maple-cherry jus and the dish was also amazing. The pork chop was done perfectly juicy and moist. The tartness of the black cherry gave the usual apple sauce a different twist, which made the otherwise plain dish more interesting. The dish was so good that even the pork chop was at least 14 oz., my fiance devoured it and left nothing on his plate.

The food was absolutely amazing and the place was charming as well. I would rank the food 4.5 out of 5 on my yummy scale. I was so happy that we found the hidden treasure, that I was even contemplating moving to the apartment next door! But then my fiance reminded me that we would be moving to our new place soon and blah, blah, blah. Anyways, if you want to try a friendly neighborhood place that had better quality of food than your regular friendly neighborhood Applebee, please go to 811 Highland St. Cols OH 43215. www.basi-italia.com

Rigsby's Has Great Deviled Eggs!

Yesterday I finally had the pleasure of trying Rigsby's, and yes, they had great deviled eggs! But more on that later.

The first time I've tried Rigsby's was after that traumatic Zen sushi night. After the horrible sushi experience, we decided to get some dessert so the food wouldn't be all bad that night. And after learning that their dessert was catered by Pistachio, I was glad that we went there because the dessert made up for the bad sushi. So ever since we had the great dessert, I've always wanted to go back and try their real food for once. And yesterday was my day.

First, I ordered their deviled eggs with shallots and white truffle oil. It was just simply divine. The white truffle oil really glammed up the dish and the aroma of white truffle oil went well with the egg too. Then I had the smoked salmon carpaccio with citrus vinaigrette. Their salmon was house smoked, and it was seasoned perfectly and was not greasy at all! I rolled the watercress with citrus vinaigrette and smoked salmon together. the vinaigrette had just enough sourness to combat the salmon and the watercress gave a little crunch and bite to it. It was just delicious! My fiance tried their roasted red pepper soup with chipotle drizzles. It was also very good. But they put in more chipotle than expected so the soup had a kick.

For the main course I had their seared sea scallop with onion, fennel, and blood orange salad. The scallop was amazing because it was seared perfectly and very tender. I wasn't too crazy about the onion fennel and blood orange salad though because it was served warm and a bit too oily. but otherwise the dish was very nice. My fiance had the gnocchi with rabbit ragu, and it was great too. The dish was very southern Italian and the ragu was excellent. But the rabbit was a little gamey and tough for me. Overall both dishes are very good.

For dessert, we ordered a mocha tart with capuccino ice cream from Jeni, and it was just amazing. And I knew it would be amazing because the dessert was from Pistachio! the tart was made of premium chocolate and coffee, the tart shell was crispy and wafer like, which was delicious. along with Jeni's ice cream, it was definitely a masterpiece.

The overall experience was very good, and I would rank the food 3.75 out of 5. It's definitely a must try place if you are in that area. So if you like great food paired with excellent dessert, please go to Rigsby's on 698 North High Street, Columbus, Ohio 43215-1582.

Bodega Presents New Urban Dining

This weekend I finally went to try Bodega. It's been open for a while, but I wasn't really in the mood to try it for a long time simply because it looked like it attracted more college crowd. Upon entering the restaurant, the decor was modern and a little on the funky side. And the crowd was younger and the waitress also looked like a college student. (There's nothing against college student, I was a student once, but I was also aware that college-student-food also emphasized on quantity, not quality.) So I was curious about how the menu would look like. As it turned out, the menu had a more fusion/urban/organic feeling than a regular sandwich shop. Later I found that Bodega was also a wine and coffee shop, so my first impression of the place was that it's an interesting combination restaurant.

The price was not bad, for $6-8 you could get a pretty good size panini with different fixings as funky as your liking plus a side of chips, and for $4-6 you could get some nice appetizers and salads that would start the meal right. I tried the Fresh mozzarella Bruchetta, which had fresh mozzarella, tomato, and pesto sauce on a crusty Italian bread. It was delicious! The fresh mozzarella was creamy and mild, and the pesto was seasoned just right and great with the tomato and mozzarella combination. I also tried the Italian panini, which had ham, salami, provolone cheese, tomato, lettuce, and banana peppers. It turned out to be pretty good. The ham and salami was piled pretty thick and combined with the melting provolone cheese, it fixed us right up after our long walk in the Pride Festival.

The experience was a pleasant surprise and I think I would definitely come back and try their other Panini and salad. The food ranked 3 out of 5 on my yummy scale, and it's worth the trip to come try something new for a change. If you would have some time to chill and would like to spend your afternoon with some hot yummy Panini, please go to Bodega on 1044 N. High Street Columbus, Ohio.

Blog from My Biggest Fan!

For the first time, the AAFC will post a review contributed by my biggest fan about a unique place called Cafe Bella. The food was very home-made and the chef/owner was a hoot. I would rank their food about 2.75 out of 5 on my yummy scale, but the experience was definitely worth for a revisit! So, without further adieu, here's the food critique from Tim J.

Some night when the two of you feel like an experience at the opposite end of the formality scale from Handke's, I recommend Cafe Bella. They're open, Carlo told us, every day except Sunday, and were open until 10 the night we were there, but other patrons (more about that below

My full account follows. I thought about posting it to the AAFC blog, but thought it was a bit unwieldy for the comments.

It's the kind of place I often dream about finding, and we found it through utter providence. After a stroll in the Park of Roses, capped by the sight of a party of people taking extremely short rides in a hot-air balloon, Michelle and I went in search of dinner.

Our intended target was closed, just minutes before we arrived. Racking our brains, we decided on a second place, but it, too, was closed--or anyway, not serving food. Then inspiration hit: someone had recommended a place to Michelle, years ago, a restaurant I'd almost never noticed and totally forgotten about. Glory of glories, it was open.

Or was it? When we walked in, we encountered a man dressing a little girl in a chef's jacket. It kind of looked like closing-time play to me. "Are you open for a while?" I asked.

In perhaps the most gravelly voice I've ever heard--Nick Nolte has nothing on this guy--he said, "What do you mean by 'a while'?" As I was fumbling around for something like, "Long enough for dinner," he helped me out: "We're open until ten."

He guided us to the patio out back, a tiny space walled off from a parking lot with a dark wood privacy fence and topped by a green canopy. Two people were already seated there, each at a separate table, but carrying on a lively conversation.

The girl, eight or nine years old, was pressed into service, and quickly and quietly set us a table and brought water. Then the gravelly voice came and sat down with us. There was, he said, no menu, but he laid out a number of ingredients, and he and Michelle and I quickly came to an agreement. A salad and garlic bread to start, some pasta with chicken, shrimp, and marinara, and I would run to the carryout across the street for wine, which he would happily uncork.

We couldn't believe our luck. What divine family-style hole-in-the-wall character! It got better, as our fellow diners turned out to be fascinating folks, one a reporter at OSU on a fellowship, who once interviewed Evo Morales; the other, a participator in cashless community exchanges and sometime catering staffer.

Our young waitress was well-trained, and carried out an impressive three-step dance with the back door as she brought us a gorgeous salad with greens, black olives, banana peppers, and a hearty vinaigrette. The garlic bread was super-crispy, cut in thin wedges, and well-treated with butter and herbs. (My wine selection was decent, given that it was seven bucks and change.)

The main course arrived, and we sighed at the mere sight of it. Penne pasta, sautéed shrimp, generous pieces of basil-coated chicken, a mild, slightly sweet marinara, and more strips of crispy garlic bread. We ate, and we talked about coca leaves and leaving slack for others to enjoy their wild moments. Our waitress and chef ("He's not my dad," she said matter-of-factly when asked whether she'd helped her father cook, "just my mom's boyfriend. But no, I don't help cook.") solicited our opinions, and got approval in spades.

Eventually, our fellow diners drifted away, she home, he to hang out with the staff inside. Night fell, Michelle and I cleaned the platter down to the last drops of sauce, sighed once more, and strolled out with swollen bellies and promises to return. And I mean to. I most certainly mean to.


Cafe Bella is at 2593 N High St,43202-2555, next to the Sunflower health-food store.

Some Food for Thought If You Are Going To Los Angeles

I've been contemplating on whether or not to blog my LA trip, since I didn't want to make anyone cry because of the lack of really great Asian food in Columbus. But I figured it would be a good comparison if people actually tried the stuff that I blog, so, here's my LA food trip for this passed weekend.

First, I went to a great Japanese restaurant called Restaurant Kiyosuzu that served great quality fish with a touch of home-made taste. The restaurant had delicious yellowtail and scallop sashimi. The best sushi restaurant in Columbus that I've tried was in Kooma and Kihachi. Even the yellowtail scallop sashimi in Kooma had a little watery taste to it due to defrost process. But this was something that couldn't be avoided because there's no ocean close to Columbus. There were also tons of "specialty items" that was posted on the cupboard. If you have not tried the Toro Steak, you have not tried great Japanese food! (The Toro Steak was marinated with miso and other seasoning and grilled to perfection. Served with white rice, oh my god, it's just heavenly!) Toro, for those unfamiliar, is the best part of the tuna, the very fatty section, and thereby the most flavorful. Their Grilled Yellowtail Collar was also fabulous. The meat was perfectly grilled, and unlike Yoshi's yellowtail collar, which can be fatty and greasy, Restaurant Kiyosuzu's yellowtail was tender and sweet. And it also serves original desserts (none of that green tea ice cream crap!) The pineapple sorbet contained pureed pineapple and tasted a little creamy, not from cream or milk, but from the texture of the ice freezed itself. It's served in a hollowed pineapple half shell and it was just devine. Sometimes the chef also made Strawberry Icy with Sake, and talk about a dessert that packs a punch! It's sweet and delicious with an aroma of floral sake. I really had no words for it, you just had to had to try it.

This trip we also tried a Korean BBQ restaurant called Han Yang. This time we ordered pure meat with no marinade. The meat was grilled perfectly and the quality of the meat was awesome. There's no seasoning needed because the natural marbling from the beef melted and turned the BBQ into a delicious, tender, and truly great feast! The BBQ also came with rice paper or cured daikon wrap that you can wrap the meat in, and the combination was just amazing! At the end of the meal, we also ordered a Korean cold buckweed noodle, which is a Korean summertime dish. The dish was served cold, with floating ice and pear in the soup. The cold noodle was so refreshing at the end of the meal, it worked even better than dessert!

Whenever I go back to LA, a trip to a Dim Sum restaurant was not to be skipped. This time my parents took us to a new place called Mission 261 Fine Dining & Banquet for their dim sum. The dim sum served there used great ingredients and the chef really understands the seasoning and essence of the Cantonese food. The vegetarian fried bean curd spring roll was perfectly fried, it's not even greasy! Their pan fried turnip cake was creamy and delicious as well. The chinese sausage inside the turnip cake provide a little extra smokiness to the dish. Their sticky rice wrapped in lotus leaf was a definite must-try, because the sticky rice and fillings were infused with the fragrance of the lotus leaf, which has a little floral scent. Their steam spare rib with X.O. sauce were also great. You would not have tried any spare rib more sucullent than this. If you still had stomach for dessert, their sweeten tofu pudding was a must-try. The sweet syrup was infused with ginger, and the pudding just melted in your mouth. It's truly a great dish to round out the entire meal.

Lastly, we tried a Shabu restaurant called Wahoo. A shabu restaurant was sort of like Japanese fondue. What makes and breaks a shabu dish is the quality of meat and the soup seasoning. Wahoo had great quality meat, and also a great price. We had beef and lamb for the shabu, and both types of meat were tender and delicious. I've always been a big shabu fan, and I've always wanted to find a shabu restaurant in Columbus but have not succeeded yet. Since shabu was cooking next to a hot pot, it would make such a perfect winter meal too!

I realized that I have been cruel on sharing this restaurant information, but I just had to get these great restaurants out in the open and make all of you realize that you just need a food trip to LA! I have these restaurants' information below. There's nothing feels better than the true happiness of your tummy, and these restaurants would definitely fulfilled your happiness!

1. Restaurant Kiyosuzu, 921 S. Baldwin Ave. Suite B. Arcadia, CA 91007.
2. Han Yang Korean BBQ, 3423-3429 W. 8th St., Los Angeles, CA 90005.
3. Mission 261, 261 S. Mission Dr., San Gabriel, CA 91776. www.mission261.com (they even have english version of their menu!)
4. Wahoo Shabu Shabu, 111 N. Atlantic Blvd. #248, Monterey Park, CA 91754.

Tea Zone Provide Alternative Zen

A couple weeks ago, my boyfriend found a new tea place opened next to the Micro Center on Bethel Rd., but due to electricity problems, they didn't officially open until the end of May. So when I found out that they were opened on Sunday, I just had to go in and gave it a try.

The owners were Koreans and there were Korean bakery items in the store. The tea menu were simple, mostly were all loose tea with some coffee, different types of smoothies, and Korean dessert items. The seating area were nice, one side of the store even had the cool cut-out floor seatings! We ordered the chrysanthemum tea and a green tea Bingsoo (Korean shaved ice) and began our experiment.

The chrysanthemum tea was great. The tea flavor was from top quality tea, and the quality of tea was much better than Zen Cha's. (That's right, you've read it correctly, the tea quality at Tea Zone was better than Zen Cha!) The hot water came with tea and was in perfect temperature so the water was not too hot to destroy the tea and turned the tea bitter, but hot enough to release all the great flavor from the chrysanthemum. The coaster and tea tool that they used in Tea Zone was also very delicate. The green tea Bingsoo was great because I have never been able to find a place that had good shaved ice. I've tried one when I went to Silla, (please refer to previously posting) but the shaved ice there was not good. So I was very excited to find a place in Columbus to have good shaved ice. The shaved ice had sweet red beans, green tea, mochi (Asian sticky rice snack), and with green tea ice cream on top. It was very good but not overly sweet. This was a great food experiment!

The overall experience was great. And even though Zen Cha had more tea selection, but Tea Zone's tea quality was much better. I would rank the place 4.25 out of 5 on my yummy scale, and it's definitely a great alternative to Zen Cha if you didn't want to drive all the way to downtown. If you would like to enjoy good quality Asian tea without distraction, please go to Tea Zone on 5025 Olentangy River Rd., Columbus OH 43214 (b/t K-Mart & Micro Center on Bethel Rd.)

Tapas in Burgundy Room

In celebration of the 250th Gallery Hop and the Art Festival, a bunch of my friends and I decided to devote half of Saturday to join the busy streets of downtown Columbus. After few hours of art booth hopping, we decided to go over to Short North and find some dinner before starting the second half of our evening. The restaurant of choice was the Burgundy Room, which served wine and tapas. And on a busy day such as last Saturday, we were lucky enough to walk right into the restaurant and found seating for 7!

Burgundy Room didn't serve traditional Spanish tapas, instead it served different origin and some fusion dishes but in small portions. We ordered a beef carpaccio and a melon Prosciutto salad. The beef carpaccio was served with classic aioli, capers, shaved Parmagiano cheese, and some flatbread. The dish was pretty well presented. The brimy caper with subtle herb flavor from the aioli complemented the raw beef but didn't overpower the beef. The crunchy texture from the flatbread was an interesting combination against the soft tender beef. The shaved Parmagiano, however, was a little too strong for the dish. If eaten together, the Parmagiano flavor will overpower the beef flavor. The melon salad had Prosciutto and mint to flavor the salad, and it was a pleasant and refreshing dish for the hot summer day. The melon was sweet and paired with a little bits of Prosciutto ham and mint, and the summer heat simply just melted away! I've also tried OOK's* fried veal ravioli with portabello mushroom and fennel cream sauce. The soft and fragrant fennel lightened up the cream sauce, which made the dish not so heavy for summer time. The veal ravioli was seasoned nicely and the cream sauce emphasized the sweetness of the veal. It was very tasty indeed.

I've been to Burgundy Room several times and each time it had presented great dishes and great wine. And plus the seating that we had was next to a window, which was great for people watching! (That's if I could take a break from enjoying all the great food and actually raise my head.) The food ranked 4 out of 5 on my yummy scale. So if you would like to try great small dishes and wine paring, definitely go to Burgundy Room on 641 N. High St., Columbus, Ohio 43215 or 6725 Avery-Muirfield Drive, Dublin, Ohio 43017. http://www.burgundyroom.net/aboutUS.php

*Note: The name appeared in this blog had been changed due to privacy reasons.

Handke's Cuisine is The Best In Town!

Of all the restaurants that I've tried in Columbus, Handke's Cuisine was the best one hands down. So when my parents were visiting me this weekend, it was only fitting to take them over there and experience the best taste explosion in town.

The chef, Hartmut Handke, had won numerous awards, including a Bocuse d'Or title! The restaurant is located in an underground wine cellar on S. Front Street, and the waiting staff are extremely professional and great at their jobs. We went in there and saw all the awards and food pictures displayed inside the restaurant, and I seriously couldn't wait till I could sit down and order and eat.

After reading the menu, we decided to start with the sauteed foie gras and the country pate. The sauteed foie gras was seasoned perfectly and was not fishy at all. The beets and granny smith apple provided a little sweetness that balanced out the fattiness of the foie gras very well. The country pate came with dried fruits and nuts and some citrus-berry jam. The pate was absolutely delicious, and combined with the sweetness of the fruits, warm flavor of nuts, and the citrus aroma from the jam on top of buttery brioche, it was just heavenly. Then the porcini mushroom soup came after the appetizer. The mushroom soup was creamy and earthy, and the mushroom flavor was well preserved in the soup; it was just excellent!

We each ordered different main courses. I had the veal scallopine, which came with a chanterelle mushroom sauce. The veal was tender and delicious, and the chanterelle mushroom sauce was just creamy enough that it did not intercept the flavor of the veal. My dad had the veal chop, and the meat was prepared so well that I only had one bite and it was completely gone. My mom had the lobster neuberg. It's rare to find a chef that really knows how to cook lobster because it easily becomes tough and chewy. But the lobster was tender and sweet, and the sauce had the fragrance of white wine and fresh herbs. My sister had the buffalo tenderloin, and the tenderloin steak was prepared perfectly medium and, it too was gone in a flash. My boyfriend had the "duck three way", which was one of the dish that got the Bocuse d'Or award. It consisted of sauteed duck breast, duck confit of leg, and duck sausage. I was never a fan of duck meat, but the duck confit was so well prepared that the meat was practically falling off the bone without a hint gaminess.

After our main course, we had the grand marnier souffle and the creme brulee. The grand marnier souffle was baked perfectly. The citrus flavor from the grand marnier really popped against the vanilla sauce. The creme brulee was soft and creamy, and I think it definitely deserved the title of "best creme brulee in Columbus". The only creme brulee that can compete with Handke's was at The Palms restaurant in Las Vegas, and trust me I've had my share of creme brulee. At the end, the waiter gave us a 'special' piece of dark chocolate terrine. The dark chocolate terrine was so smooth and creamy, it practically melted right after putting it in the mouth. The entire meal was absolutely superb, and the extra chocolate terrine was a great touch as well.

Handke's Cuisine was definitely my favorite restaurant in Columbus, and the food ranked 4.99 out of 5. The reason why I can't give 5 was because by definition, a 5 means the food's so good that my inside would explode after eating because the food was so good that I could just die. Handke's Cuisine came very very close to that. If you would like to experience taste explosion in Columbus, please go to 520 South Front Street, Columbus, Ohio 43215, or online at http://www.chefhandke.com . Trust me, you would not be disappointed!

Zen Sushi Won't Provide Zen

I've been eyeing the new sushi place that just opened on High Street for awhile, which was called "Zen Sushi + More". Then I saw that there's a rotating belt inside the store and I've never ever eaten in a sushi place that had rotating belt, so I was happy when it finally opened so I could give it a try. First of all, a little lesson for those of you who were less familiar with Japanese food. When a Japanese restaurant has a rotating belt, this means the restaurant serves "fast food" grade Japanese food. So my expectations weren't that high when I first went in, I was just excited to see the rotating belt because I have the attention span of a 5-year-old, and the rotating belt was just constant excitement. The restaurant had a nice atmosphere and nice selection of seats, which is unusual for a fast food Japanese restaurant. Anyways, on with the food.

I ordered Chasoba (tea infused cold noodle) and an order of hamachi (yellowtail) sashimi. My boyfriend got some grilled steak and chicken skewers and some sushi. When my hamachi sashimi arrived, the color was dark red with slight hint of pink. For people who don't know yellowtail, it is supposed to be a pale pink color. So that was a bad indication of the fish quality. Not only did the sashimi look bad, it tasted fishy too! I knew that it's supposed to be "fast food" grade Japanese food there, but the fish there was just terrible! My cold noodle was tough and gummy, when it was supposed to be soft and slippery with a little hint of Japanese green tea flavor. Needless to say, I wasn't very happy about it. The grilled steak and chicken skewers were ok, but then again, it's pretty difficult to mess up grilled skewer food. The marinade flavor for the steak was peppery and the chicken was teriyaki-ish. But the steak was grilled to well done and was a bit tough. Their sushi flavor was weird and wasn't what I was expected at all. The food there was pretty crappy, and at the end when the restaurant owner came over and asked how our dinner went, I told him honestly that the sashimi fish that they got was in lower grade. And his answer was "but I got those from the Japanese fish market", like that's gonna help! So I just dropped it and decided to spread the word about Zen Sushi + More.

The restaurant atmosphere was nice, but the food was crappy. I would rank it a 2 out of 5 on my yummy scale. If you were looking for sushi that's represented by false advertising, please try Zen Sushi + More right next to the Hampton Inn on 501 North High Street, Columbus OH 43215.

El Arepazo is All Latin All the Time!

The first time I've had experience the Venezuelan pocket was in last year's Latino Festivals. And I've always wanted to find the restaurant that carried the food because I couldn't find it anywhere else. One afternoon after my condo walk-through, I stumbled on to this small Latino cafe on Pearl Street and finally found my long waited Venezuelan pocket, and it's that moment that I knew my life was complete.

Tucked in the small alley on Pearl Street, El Arepazo had simple dishes with Latin flavors. I tried their arepah (pronounced 'a-RAY-pah'), which was the Venezuelan pocket I found in Latino Festival, and my boyfriend tried the sopas. The arepah was basically a cooked corn cake stuffed with chicken, pork, or beef, lettuce, tomato, banana pepper, and their mild garlic-yogurt-cilantro sauce. I had it stuff with chicken and the chicken was so flavorful and juicy, it was like having Cinco de Mayo right in your mouth! The corn cake was pan seared so the outside was crunch while the inside was still soft. The cilantro sauce was amazing! I could drizzle that on anything and I would be happy, as it was like the answer to life in a sauce form. The sopa was made from fried flour dough layered with beans, meat, cheese, lettuce, and some sliced avocado on top. My boyfriend had pork on the sopas and, it was so good, that it beats every other pork I've tasted in a Mexican restaurant. The sopa was equally as good as the arepah. Washed down with the orange apple flavored soda, it just made my day that much brighter!

The El Arepazo had simple menus and very friendly services. The prices for their menu items were great too, and their food ranked 4.25 out of 5 on my yummy scale. I absolutely loved the place. If you would like to enjoy Latin flavor and would like to try "the answer to life" sauce and be happy, please go to 47 N. Pearl St. Columbus, OH 43215.