5 posts tagged “food”
Although i'm not necessarily a fan of fusion cuisine, i do like interesting and unconventional fare. Therefore it is with much regret that i mourn the passing of Naya Bistro and Wine Bar.
Of course their food was not necessarily the "best ever," but IMHO they were a breath of fresh air compared to the usual high-end restaurants in the city, which mostly consist of Steakhouses and Italian Restaurants. I especially liked the Thai Ahi Tuna. The "Suckling Pig a la Murphy" - which, while not completely satisfying to my palate, was at least adventuruous enough to earn my respect. And - aside from this place - i cannot recall the last time i was offered anchovies with my Caesar salad (if anyone's wondering - i said yes and asked for extra).
I guess i should have suspected that they were in dire straits when they started advertising at the gym. Or when they sent me this birthday card:
("IJB?" Maybe their proofreader got laid off before the rest of the restaurant staff did, but i digress.)
I have to wonder: were me and Gianina the only ones who really liked their food, or was the market-at-large just not ready for that kind of menu? I honestly suspect the latter (they did win a bunch of awards locally), but i guess delectabilty is in the tongue of the taster. It's tragic, because Graydon's Crossing recently changed their "interesting" menu for more standard fare - allegedly because people didn't like trying the "fusion" stuff.
Here's the original menu from Graydon's Crossing (it doesn't look like they've updated the website yet):
Another great restaurant with a "not-so-conventional" menu: The Green Well Gastro Pub. More of "casual" than "fine" dining, but delicious nontheless:
For now we're going to have to look for another "nice" place to go on special date nights. Republic is actually promising, but it's a tad far from where we live. (And expensive... good thing we keep those Steak n Shake coupons handy.)
Yesterday Gianina and i decided to use some Steak n Shake coupons we had lying around. The grand total for the meal wasn't bad (roughly $10), but just for fun i decided to look up the nutritional value of what i ate. "Shocked" would be an understatement.
The main meal was a "Frisco Melt" with lettuce and tomato: 988 calories (i sh!t you not!) and 72g of fat.
Of course i had to have fries with that (i'm assuming it was "small"): 246 calories and 12.5g of fat.
And to top it all off i had a chocolate milkshake (assuming "regular" size): 744 calories and 22g of fat.
The grand total for "just" lunch: 1978 calories and 106.5g of fat!
!!!
To be fair, i've been trying to jack up my caloric intake recently with all the running i've been doing (i burned up roughly 1000 calories with yesterday's 8-miler), but something about 1978 calories in one sitting sounds just ridiculous. That 2/3 lb. Monster Thickburger at Hardee's doesn't sound so farfetched now.
(
In retrospect, i'm fairly certain i consume at least that much during an average Filipino get-together, but to actually review the numbers like that is a bit of a trip.)
Last night i caught the tail-end of the Philippines episode of Anthony Bourdain's No Reservations. Of course the beauty of the country and scrumptiousness of the food is not news, but it's nice to see them featured on such a mainstream stage. At the very least, i thought it was fair and accurate in representing the culture and cuisine. Although i absolutely love Andrew Zimmern's Bizarre Foods, i think focusing on balut and similar fare may portray the local cuisine in a rather unfavorable light.
I never imagined that lechon would even be comparable to other countries versions of roast pig, but it looks like i'll have to try it in Bali and Puerto Rico now.
On another note, it's interesting to me that Bourdain points out (although doesn't quite give a name to) the Filipino phenomenon of "blending in" to other cultures, which is something i've always considered tragic. While i do consider it a virtue to a certain extent (i.e. magaling tayo makisama and we do not foist ourselves onto other people), it's sad to see how quickly Filipinos are willing to give up their own culture and even language just to "fit in" with others. If foreigners fall in love so easily with the Philippines when they come over once or twice... why do some Filipinos try so hard to leave it all behind?
(Disclaimer: There is absolutely nothing in my resume that qualifies me to be a food critic. If anything, i am GOURMAND, not a GOURMET, so take my food-vice with a grain of salt.)
One of my great frustrations since moving to Grand Rapids is the lack of good, cheap sushi. Living on an archipelago for 28-odd years, i was spoiled by having fresh and (relatively) cheap fish readily available. I have fond memories of a trip to GenSan several years ago when i was in college - a place where tuna sashimi seemed to be available at every street corner. Those were the days!
It might just be our sucky abilities at choosing restaurants, but almost every piece of sushi i've had in this city had only a tiny sliver of fish on rice, half the time "fishy" smelling (i.e. not as fresh as it could be), and exorbitantly expensive. I though it was a phenomenon of living in North America until a trip to Vancouver last year when we had "eat all you can sushi" for about C$15 per head. Each slice of fish was a half-inch thick and fresh as it could be!
I had almost given up hope until Gianina and i had lunch today at Mikado Sushi Restuarant (unfortunately no official website). We've been there before and i've always thought the food was the same as the other places, but today i ordered the "tekka don." In short, it's a bunch of tuna sashimi pieces on a bed of sushi rice. I wish i had taken more pictures of the food because this doesn't really do it justice:
Maybe they reserve the best pieces of fish for people who actually order sashimi (because the other ingredients in sushi can obscure the not-so-fresh taste - but i'm only speculating), but it was the freshest raw tuna i've had in the Midwest since i got here 4 years ago. A little expensive at around $18 (especially in a recession), but i do have to say it's worth it for the occasional fish fix. God knows i've paid much more for steak that's tasted like cardboard.
I wonder if anyone out there has any good sushi recommendations?
(Warning: i am aware of the health risks associated with the consumption of raw seafood and meat, and am in no way suggesting that you emulate my behavior. I will deny any responsibilty for raw-food-related disease stemming from reading this blogpost.)
Recently there seems to have been a series of "smash-and-grab" GPS thefts in our area (i.e. a friend in Ada and in our apartment complex on the southeast side), so we decided to take steps to minimize our chances of being victimized. Obviously, the best way to do this would be to simply NOT LEAVE THE GPS UNIT IN THE CAR, but Gianina has always worried that the imprint left by the suction cup on the windshield would be an invitation to thieves to break into the car anyway.
After much research, i decided to purchase the Bracketron UFM-100BL Nav-Mat GPS Friction Dash Pad (try to say that three times fast) for use with our Garmin c340. It's a fairly inexpensive thing that you can put on your dashboard and attach the suction mount to. The underside is rough enough to stick to the dashboard of our 2007 Honda CR-V and it's got a decent enough heft that it doesn't fall off when i accelerate (at least it hasn't yet).
Of course, like i said - the best way would be to just take the unit with you when you leave the car.
Adrian seems to be developing into a picky eater, preferring his own limited menu to what his parents eat. We're trying our best to sway him from the dark side but sometimes it feels like a losing battle. So in an attempt to "consolidate" the food on our table, we combined his Organic Elmo Tomato Soup with some Wolfgang Puck Tomato Soup:
I find it odd that i can't find any place to park in the gym nowadays, whereas three weeks ago the parking lot was almost always half-empty. I guess it's all the "resolution" folks. Although i think it's admirable that so many people are trying to better their health, i have the sneaking suspicion that three months from now it'll be easier to park again.
On a related note, i got 19 miles in this week (albeit on the treadmill). I know it's paltry compared to some, but it's a good start to the year.
