We have been living here for a few years now, and have eaten at quite a few of the area's restaurants. And have enjoyed the food at most of them. It is my sadness at the closing of some of my favorites that made me write this piece. Well, not surprising since these days what I seem to be passionate about is eating and more eating.
Anyway, if you ask me which my most favorite Chinese restaurant is, I would say South China restaurant on Springfield, during 2015 - 2017 period. After that, I think they changed hands, or changed their chef, the taste started deteriorating. For instance, one of my favorite item the sauteed green pepper and beef became boiled beef and peppers. That seared flavor was gone. Towards the end, everything got sweeter and sweeter. And sadly, now they are closed - permanently. I know they were hit by a few violation notices too. Now, the other Chinese restaurant that got all the votes on news-gazette people choice, the Rainbow Garden, we tried them. They are okay. But again the sweetness is not to my liking. Szechwan China on First Street has a pretty good hotpot, but I preferred the old South China's flavors. Golden Harbor is ok, the one great thing about them being that they consider those with allergies.
My favorite Thai restaurant is Thara Thai on Bloomington Rd. Their spicy beef red curry and rice is done to my liking. Nice portions too. And I have been to Sticky Rice and My Thai.
Minecci's was my favorite Italian restaurant. I loved their desserts, especially the creme brulee , cream puffs and cannoli. Now creme brulee is something by which I assess the standard of a restaurant, same as French macarons in cafes. Because not all get it right, even though you may expect it to be easy for the experts. I remember having one at a McCormick restaurant in Boston. It was disappointingly runny, really watery with no sugar crust, of course. Minecci's got it right, texture wise, flavor wise. The pudding was set anyway, even if it wasn't made of all yolks and cream,and the sweetness was not overpowering. But then they are closed too - permanently.
I liked Za's too, for their soups, pizzas and tiramisu and limoncello cakes. Again, to me they had got it right. If they had a more beautiful surrounding, they could have really had a great sidewalk cafe thing going. It was a nice place to go have a coffee and a bite, (better than Pekara or Aroma). Sadly, they are closed too.
Dublin O'Neils pub downtown was a great idea, and I liked to eat there, for that idea -- the Irish British thing. They could have made it look more Irish, and taste more like it too. It was with great anticipation that I ordered their sausage and mash. In my mind, I had those heavenly sausages of ye old England resting on a mound of mashed potatoes, smothered in that brown onion gravy. like the ones I had the chance to gobble down in London one day. Sadly, there was no gravy at all, and the sausages were nowhere near the originals in taste or appearance. That restaurant is gone too. Now if you are wondering how I knew about these English food items, no, we did not eat these in India. At first, I learned of these from books, as a student. Movies came later. And while we are on the topic, the other English staples that I have seen here -- scones, strawberry shortcake, custard, -- let’s say, I prefer the English flavor and look. Just like I cannot forget the taste of the croissants in Paris. And that trip was not even good, it was a chance detour by Air India on our way from India to Chicago via Frankfurt. After a whole day of neglect and starvation, we were put up in hotels for the night. But a small group were brave enough to go out to see the Eiffel Tower and I tagged along. That is all. But the memory of those flaky, buttery, crisp on the outside, layered croissants they had served for breakfast at the hotel still stays fresh.
Speaking of sausages, one of my favorite kinds is the bratwurst. In fact, I think in a pinch, they can be used in our mash. I like them beer-poached and pan-seared to that golden brown. And with a topping of caramelized onions, they are irresistible. Again, we would think it would be easy for the experts to do it. Alas, no. I tried it at the local Octoberfest, and I wanted to cry. Didn’t know we could make them that dry and that bland! And then came October at Wienerschnitzel. And they had this wonderfully done brats with caramelized onions to boot! Happy, happy, happy. But the next October, they took the short cut -- they stopped searing it, and the onions were too meagre to taste. So that's that. Portillo's has a brat that again, to me has that bland and boiled aura. But a little better than that Octoberfest one.
Lesson: the importance of searing and browning in the realm of taste. And of caramelized onions. That is why I love a simple onion tart, as long the onions are you know what.
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