Monday, 24 May 2010

  • Manny's Steak House



    Manny's Steak House
    821 Marquette Ave S.
    Minneapolis, MN 55402
    612-215-3700

    http://www.mannyssteakhouse.com
    Price: $$$$
    Ambiance: Fine Dining
    Food: 4/5
    Service: 4/5
    Tummy Points: 4/5
    Notes: New York Strip
    Steak $48.95, Hash Browns
    $11.95, Macaroni and
    Cheese $8.95, Maker's Mark
    Whiskey Bread Pudding $10.95.

    Manny's Steakhouse on Urbanspoon 


    Being named one of the best steak restaurants in any major US city is quite a big feat if you know how much people in the US love steaks.  Manny's Steak House, opened in 1988, has been one of these places and its name is familiar to anyone in Minneapolis.

    Situated in quiet downtown Minneapolis, Manny's is close to a number of hotels and just a walk away from the popular Nicollet Mall street - which is full of life on weekends during spring and summer.

    Manny's is designed like The Keg with a dark high class interior.  The waiting area's wall is lined with photos and signatures from various famous people.

    The dining room was filled with people on a weekday so I recommend making reservations well in advanced.  For those of you of the old school steak house group, Manny's brings over a cart of raw beef under wrap so you can see what kind of meat you're going to get when you order.

    Complimentary bread was room temperature and reasonably soft.  Too bad the butter wasn't the whipped kind.  It's just a little plastic container of cold hard butter.

    Continue reading this entry >>

Thursday, 20 May 2010

  • Mesa Grill



    Mesa Grill Las Vegas
    Caesars Palace
    3570 Las Vegas Blvd
    Las Vegas, NV 89109
    1-877-346-4642

    http://www.mesagrill.com/
    lasvegas/

    Price: $$
    Ambiance: Casual
    Food: 2/5
    Service: 3/5
    Tummy Points: 2/5
    Notes: New Mexican Spiced
    Pork Tenderloin Sandwich $16.

    Bobby Flay's Mesa Grill on Urbanspoon 


    Bobby Flay.  If you've ever watched the Food Network, Bobby Flay is a name that should be very familiar to you.  He is an American celebrity chef specializing southwestern and Cajun style barbeque.  Mesa Grill is one of the restaurants that Flay is both owner and executive chef.

    Opened in 2004, Mesa Grill is located inside Caesar's Palace right beside rows and rows of slot machines and casino tables.  Its signature dishes are steak.  Mesa Grill has a simple exterior with a nice open bar-like interior with a large projection TV at the back.  The bar area is small and that was the only available seats when I arrived.

    Dinner hours are frequently booked up a few days in advanced but lunch hours are much more walk in friendly.  My expectations were definitely high for this restaurant as my friends have mentioned about trying to eat here before and the booked up dinner hours should mean something.  How could so many people be wrong?

    Continue reading this entry >>

Friday, 26 February 2010

  • Kamei Royale



    Kamei Royale
    1030 W. Georgia St.
    Vancouver, BC V6E 2Y3
    604-687-8588

    http://www.royalebisu.com/
    kamei

    Price: $$
    Ambiance: Casual
    Food: 3.5/5
    Service: 3/5
    Tummy Points: 3.5/5
    Notes: Soft shell crab roll
    $7.95, Noodle Combo B
    $11.50, Street parking.

    Kamei Royale Japanese on Urbanspoon 


    Situated just a few blocks away from Waterfront station and the 2010 Olympic flame, Kamei Royale is right in the heart of all the action and frequently busy during lunch hours.  Opened in 1976 and renovated in 1990, Kamei Royale includes Robata grill, bar lounge, and Tatami rooms to accomodate many tour groups that frequent the Vancouver downtown area.

    Kamei Royale is on the second floor of a lowrise and fairly easy to walk passed without noticing.  Similar to restaurants in Japan, their outside glass windows display numerous dishes of fake food representing some of their most interesting dishes like live lobster sashimi and Spanish mackeral.

    Above, I ordered soft shell crab rolls.  The crab was almost caramelized.  Very crunchy legs.  The middle rolls had the crab shell with an oddly consistent yellow cream.  It looks more like eggs than the often messy softshell crab shell.  It didn't come out hot so it was not likely freshly cooked but it tasted good.

    Continue reading this entry >>

Sunday, 07 February 2010

  • Coppi Ristorante



    Coppi Ristorante
    3363 Yonge Street
    Toronto, ON M4N 2M6
    416-484-0436
    http://www.coppiristorante.com

    Price: $$
    Ambiance: Casual
    Food: 3/5
    Service: 3/5
    Tummy Points: 3/5
    Notes: Burrata Caprese $15,
    Trenette alla Genovese
    $18, Salmone alla Livornese
    $25. Street and valet parking.

    Coppi Ristorante on Urbanspoon

    Named after Fausto Coppi, a renowned cyclist between 1939 and 1958, Coppi Ristorante was opened in 1991 by Fausto Di Berardino, unrelated to Coppi.  The restaurant presents simple Italian cuisine with one or two spices per dish - which is a pleasant departure from the complex spices and chemicals used in present day fast food.

    I went during this year's annual Winterlicious, where a few of Toronto's fine restaurants present fixed price menus.  Although not all items I ordered were off the fixed price menu, almost all of their fixed price menu items were available in the regular dinner menu.  My visit was on a weekend so the restaurant was very busy with most tables filled and staff busy sliding around chairs.  The interior is simple and dimly lit.  Numerous wine bottles lined the walls.

    The salmone alla Livornese, a norwegian salmon filet prepared in a light tomato sauce with black olives, capers and served with a rustic mash & steamed asparagus, was not very visually pleasing.  My initial thoughts were the fish was going to be soggy and the flavoring would be heavily diluted to an almost watery taste.  I'm not a fan of olives so I quickly brushed them off to the side.

    Continue reading this entry >>

Monday, 01 February 2010

  • Urbanspoon

    Tummy Points Hawaii restaurants

    As you may have noticed, I've been slowly integrating my blog posts with a link to Urbanspoon.  I've found Urbanspoon reviewers to be better than those found on Yelp.  They also include timely information like a link to their menu and hours of operation.  Hopefully this additional source will be helpful for you.  Definitely let me know what you think and how I can make Tummy Points better for you.

About Me

  • I travel around Canada and the United States tasting dishes from all kinds of restaurants. With 300+ restaurant reviews, come take a look inside and find a new place to taste.

Pulse

  • imageshack is going to be deleting my old photos so I'll be updating older blogs. Can't promise I'll add new entries but I'll keep old 1s
  • Had to turn on Friend's lock after being comment spammed by a person in Costa Rica. Sadly Xanga doesn't have IP address block.
  • Anyone else having problems with their personal URL?
  • I went to few places rated by Urbanspoon as "best restaurants" + was very disappointed. How could a AYCE be a top 3 in mississauga ON?
  • I just posted after a long hiatus.  All thanks to osmundaregalis. Been super busy with a contest, a long vacation, and now work

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