Local affairs - restaurant-wise - Part 2

So we were on the subject of searing and browning. How a lack of that can make or break a dish. And tasting for salt and pepper. Giving it a little more time and effort will make so much of  difference, especially when there are not many or even no spices in the dish. Love my garlic. Crushed red pepper. And ginger. And cinnamon, and cardamom, star anise, coriander and .... . Well, pardon my Malayali/ Indian palate. We are on browning though.  For instance, that is what I loved about Niro's Gyros on Springfield. The lamb slices in their gyro used to be browned. And their fries are still great. But these days, that dreaded boiled and bland effect .Sadly, had to give that up.Tried Supergyro once, and that was enough. Not going back. Now, Penn Station on Town Center Blvd, serves a great Philly and fries. The meat is browned and is flavorful. Unfortunately they use peanut oil, so sadly cannot eat their food.

Now my favorite Mexican place to eat is Dos Reales on Prospect Ave. I like that place more for the ambience too. The buzz. The life. The laughter and the sound of people talking and enjoying their respective company. And the food. Large portions. With their homemade hot sauce. Especially the fajitas, and the shrimp diablo. Now sometimes they forget to sear the meat and the shrimp and the taste does suffer. But on the whole, a thoroughly enjoyable experience. I haven't  tried El Toro yet, which gets the popular vote on that People Choice list. Will see. Also have to try the Maize.

Baxter's on Neil has quite a variety of items on their menu. I like their burger, their jambalaya is good, a nice place to have a cocktail and a bite to eat. Another nice place to go to is Houlihan's.
I like to walk to Guido's in downtown Champaign for a cocktail and burger too. Sometimes we get lucky with a great nicely mixed cocktail. At other times, not that much. But still the location is great to sit and drink and just relax. Big Grove was the first place we went to when we came to Champaign. It was around 3 on a week day and the place was kind of quiet. We had tea and snacks at the counter. It was nice and we decided to go back there for a drink later. And we did. It was nice. But then a couple of times, on our walks, we stopped by and were told we needed reservation. Guess it was our very informal attire that put the elegant reception people off. Or some other more legitimate reason. Anyway that was how we switched our allegiance to Guido's. We were all right there. Kofusion has good sushi and drinks too. When we don't want to feel full we go there. And I am not a big sushi fan.

It was by chance we stepped into Watson's Shack and Rail in downtown Champaign. I was surprised at the hot chicken I got there! Not bad! Happy me. Loved their decor too. Very country. Southern style, I am told. On the other end, Hamilton Walker's is  an impressive place in a different way. I got that old movie New York vibe there. One of those places with live jazz. Cool and dark and with those plush leather booths and chairs and mural on the wall, it is good to be in there. Food was okay too, should go there again and remind myself.

More later.