rice_eric's Xanga

Yankee Pier

Mon, 26 Jul 2010 16:48:35 GMT

Yankee Pier

San Francisco International
Airport (SFO)
Terminal 3
1 McDonnell Rd.
San Francisco, CA 94128
650-821-8938
http://www.yankeepier.com/
sfoairport/index.html

Price: $
Ambiance: Casual
Food: 3/5
Service: 2/5
Tummy Points: 2.5/5
Notes: New England Clam
Chowder Cup $7.50

As part of the Lark Creek Restaurant Group which includes award winning restaurants such as One Market Restaurant in San Francisco, Yankee Pier also won an award from The San Francisco Chronicle as the Bay Area's Top 10 New Restaurants when it first opened in 2000. Its casual dining cafe style serves New England seafood such as chowder, daily oysters, and dungeness crab to just name a few.

I had a chance to drop by Yankee Pier's airport location in San Francisco (SFO) for a late night bite. Seating was very basic with wooden chairs, wooden tables, benches with hard wood backing, and a tiled floor. It all felt like food court. Being an airport location, the menu was targeted for the airport clientele with quickly prepared dishes such as salads and fried seafood that kept fingers clean. Choice of oysters was limited and you won't find dishes like the flat iron steak.

I ordered a chicken breast sandwich which took quite a bit of time to come out but arrived hot. The chicken was well cooked, juicy, and tender. It had a hint of sweet BBQ sauce they added as the chicken grilled. Interestingly, the chicken breast was skin in so that really helped preserve flavor and moisture in the chicken. I wish more restaurants kept the skin on. I was really hoping for sourdough bread since I was in San Francisco but it wasn't to be. Bread was dry but easily masked by the yummy chicken. Lettuce was already soft and was likely pre-chopped.

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Congee Queen

Sat, 17 Jul 2010 03:27:50 GMT

Congee Queen

2900 Steeles Ave. E.
Markham, ON L3T‎
905-731-3880

http://www.congeequeen.com

Price: $
Ambiance: Casual
Food: 3/5
Service: 2.5/5
Tummy Points: 3/5
Notes: Cantonese chow mein
$9.75, Sliced fish and pork
liver congee $4.99, Curry
fried rice noodle with
shrimp and BBQ pork $7.50

Back in the mid-ninties, Congee Wong was taking Toronto Chinese cuisine by storm. They offered lots of good tasting food for cheap. It was the formula that wins the heart of all traditional Chinese people at heart. It's all about value and being Chinese myself with fairly traditional parents I know it first hand. So during the ninities, a number of congee restaurants opened all around Toronto. Almost every Chinese plaza or mall had a congee restaurant. But the best was usually Congee Wong which stuck to its original formula. They kept prices steady and they didn't stray far in quality from when they first opened.

Surprisingly Congee Queen is owned by the same people that own Congee Wong so the quality is the same. I think Congee Queen has a more modern looking exterior and a little more elaborate interior design. Congee Queen also has higher quality wooden chairs.

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The Cannery

Sun, 20 Jun 2010 18:15:00 GMT

The Cannery
2205 Commissioner St.
Vancouver, BC V5L
604-254-9606

http://www.canneryseafood.com
Price: $$$
Ambiance: Business Casual
Food: 3.5/5
Service: 4/5
Tummy Points: 3.5/5
Notes: Roasted Mussels $16,
Sauteed Scallops & Prawns
$28.95, Salmon Wellington $32,
Jacques' Favorites $11,
Strawberry and Rhubarb Crumb
$8

Outside the busy Vancouver city center, along the pier, lies a jem of a seafood restaurant called the Cannery.

To get to the Cannery, you'll need to drive through a security check point, past a number of parked trains, and ship loaders. It really feels odd to be driving here at night with little to no lights and no one around.

But when you get there, you're greeted with a little tug boat at the front and a little house named the Cannery.

The inside is all wooden decorated with various photos of boats, dining awards, and model fishing boats. The main dining area is small but they have upstairs seating for parties. The Cannery has wonderful windows that overlook the Vancouver Harbor. A great view during sunset.

Sadly, the Cannery was closed earlier this year when its non-renewable lease expired. The Cannery is located in the secure area of the pier so it could be seen as a potential security risk to the Port Authorities.

In case you've heard raves about this restaurant and wonder what it was like, you can read my review.

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Cinnabon

Wed, 09 Jun 2010 17:37:16 GMT

Cinnabon
Markville Mall
5000 Highway 7 E.
Markham, ON L3R 4M9
905-415-9817

http://www.cinnabon.com
Price: $
Ambiance: Casual
Food: 4/5
Service: 2/5
Tummy Points: 3/5
Notes: Cinnabon $5.99,
Minibon $3.50.

While in a shopping mall, you'll know there's a Cinnabon nearby if you smell cinnamon in the air. It's such a big tease. It's even more tempting when you turn your head and see them cutting a soft oven-hot cinnamon bun from the tray of buns. It's just so hard to resist. Until you think of the calories. But, how could you not spoil yourself from time to time. So broke down and picked one up after seeing a number of people buy one and many more fresh ones coming out of their ovens.

Started in 1985, Cinnabon currently has over 700 franchised locations, usually malls, around the world. Cinnabon mentions that their warm dough is filled with Makara Cinnamon from Indonesia and topped with freshly made cream cheese frosting. I couldn't find much details on Makara Cinnamon but they claim it comes from the park of cassia trees high in the mountains.

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Manny's Steak House

Mon, 24 May 2010 23:29:54 GMT

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.

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.

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Mesa Grill

Thu, 20 May 2010 22:30:09 GMT

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. 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?

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Kamei Royale

Sat, 27 Feb 2010 01:57:47 GMT

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.

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.

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Coppi Ristorante

Sun, 07 Feb 2010 19:41:22 GMT

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.

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.

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Urbanspoon

Mon, 01 Feb 2010 19:21:45 GMT

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.

El Japanese Fusion

Sun, 31 Jan 2010 02:46:02 GMT

El Japanese Fusion
17-2008 33 Avenue SW
Calgary, AB T2T 1Z4
403-217-6796

Price: $$
Ambiance: Casual
Food: 3.5/5
Service: 3.5/5
Tummy Points: 3.5/5
Notes: Rainbow Maki Roll
$14.95, Appetizer Tempura
$6.95.

Although Calgary is a land locked city, there's no shortage of sushi restaurants with great ones like Globefish (which I will review very soon). Another good restaurant I tried out in Calgary is El Japanese Fusion. Although it has fusion in its name, there's nothing really fusion about it unless you count Philadephia and Mexican maki rolls as a fusion of Japanese with Western culture.

El's is a very small restaurant with a few two and four person tables and bar seating. It's a hard place to get seated during lunch hours. Service is usually understaffed with 1 or 2 persons servicing the dining area. I've heard mixed stories about their service but on my visit I received friendly service although fairly slow.

All the dishes were freshly prepared. The spicy salmon maki rolls used lots of sweet chilli sauce with cold soft chopped up salmon on top of salmon roll. It was not what I had in mind as I prefer spicy mayo. The fresh was very fresh. The rice roll was packed just tight enough.

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