We are currently on a quest to find the best of these new frozen yogurt places that are popping up all over. This one was new and offering a 2 for 1 special. We got both for $5 total.

Labels: chain restaurant, cookbook reviews, Decor: 1, Food: 1, Service: 1

Labels: chain restaurant, cookbook reviews, deli, Food: 0, restaurant

For Alexis' birthday, we went to The Restaurant at Meadowood, which recently acquired 2 Michelin stars. The decor was sort of white-washed farmhouse chic and the food was for the most part, delicious. The one thing that we reallyappreciated about the menu was that for the prix-fixe menus you could choose any dishes you wanted. Usually in a prix fixe you are cornered into choosing an appetizer, a main, a dessert, etc. In this menu we each ordered 5 courses and ordered all of the mains and most of the appetizers and no desserts. We felt that the chef excelled at adding that one ingredient that really pulled the whole dish together. The 5 course tasting menu was $190 pp and the wine pairing was $150 pp.

Labels: cookbook reviews, Decor: 2, Food: 2, Michelin Stars, nouveau American, restaurant, Service: 2

Alexis has, at long last, published (via Lulu.com) a cookbook she wrote after college. It's called Dinner Parties on a Shoestring and is packed full of recipes and tips for fabulous dinner parties on the cheap. Interestingly, the book does not include many of the recipes Alexis has written in this blog primarily because she ate a lot more carbs at the time she wrote it than she has since the inception of SeeUsEat. If you are interested in the book, please check it out here.

Labels: cookbook reviews

Since we were on our way out to the Richmond, we decided to grab dinner at Rohan, a Korean bar/restaurant that we've been to before, but not in a long while.

Labels: cookbook reviews, Decor: 1, Food: 1, Korean, restaurant, Service: 1

We knew when we were planning our crazy one-day Chicago trip that we had to sample the famous Chicago Deep Dish Pizza. Though we usually try to nose out the local hidden gems, rather than usual tourist traps, we decided that we had to make a homage to the where it all began, Pizzeria Uno.

As expected, there was about a half an hour wait for a table (this was around 2pm). However, you put in your pizza order when you add your name to the list. Since they are made to order in about 45 minutes, the wait for the table ends up being a wash. Not knowing the process, when we were put on the spot, we confusedly blurted out, 'Pizza, uhhh, pepperoni, umm, individual.' If we had to do it all over again, we probably would have tried the Numero Uno with it's heaping helpings of toppings.

We were seated inside in a corner by the waiter's station and ordered our much needed libations. (86 F and humid in October?) As we waited for the pizza to arrive, we surveyed the walls on which hung articles and awards detailing the history of this Chicago staple.

Can't Find Health Code Violations

Labels: cookbook reviews, Decor: 0, Food: 1, pizza, restaurant, Service: 1

As our second stop in our Chicago food tour, we headed over to Hot Doug's. Hot Doug's specializes in sausages, and despite toting themselves as an 'Encased Meat Emporium', it doesn't seem like you can buy sausages in bulk, just for eating. On weekends they also offer french fries fried in rendered duck fat.

Service is of the queue up and order at the counter, and then wait at the table to wave down the cute waitress shouting your name out variety. Though they offer a wide variety of sausages, including enticing daily and weekly specials (like the Bacon and Chedder Elk Sausage), we were on a mission to taste the classic Chicago Style Dog.

Labels: cookbook reviews, Decor: 0, Food: 1, regional American, restaurant, Service: 1

We got a recommendation for Lula Cafe as a great spot for a Saturday Brunch. Located in the Logan Square area of Chicago, this spot was a bit hipstery but had al fresco seating (of which we could not partake because it was full when we got there). We were seated indoors right away and were presented with a brunch menu that did include a few items that looked interesting. The people seated around us seemed to be enjoying their surroundings and the food. We enjoyed the environment and the food was ok, but it was nothing to write home about, on the whole.

Labels: cookbook reviews, Decor: 2, Food: 1, regional American, restaurant, Service: 1

As part of focusing our efforts on more in depth ideas at SeeUsEat, we've decided to add a new periodic feature: cookbook reviews. And what better way to start off this feature than with the wonderful Vij's: Elegant and Inspired Indian Cuisine. Vij's is an incredible (so I hear) Indian restaurant in Vancouver, BC, where Alexis' sister lives. Last Christmas Alexis was gifted this book and has since read it cover to cover, tried many of the recipes and become inspired by many others. One thing I really love about the book is the story. It was written by Vikram Vij and his wife, Meeru Dhalwala, who together have turned Vij's into the reknowned place it is today. It's a classic rags to riches story that's incredibly inspiring because it was their commitment to producing excellent food that took them from a tiny storefront with no real restaurant kitchen (when they were cooking at home and bringing the food to the restaurant) to the elegant restaurant that it is today.

Vikram and Meeru's cooking philosophy is personal and flexible. They stress that measuring is really not important and that you can change recipes to suit your own taste. I like this because I cook this way too. Even when I attempt to follow a recipe, which is rare, I find that I am unable to follow it exactly, knowing that it will taste better with twice the garlic, or some other ingredient. I like a cookbook that encourages me to go down the path I'm going to take anyway.

Vij's cookbook also comes with an extensive ingredient glossary which is very helpful for someone who isn't familiar with Indian ingredients and spices or who wants to know what substitutions can be made. The glossary is also very interesting to read even if you are already familiar with asafoetida and fenugreek, as it offers information on medicinal uses of common Indian cooking herbs and spices. The glossary also offer tips on how the folks at Vij's like to use specific ingredients.

The focus of Vij's is on Indian style with fresh and local ingredients. For this reason, this cookbook is not going to give you what Americans have come to think of as Indian standards, saag paneer, chicken tikka masala and the like. What this cookbook will offer are great way to prepare the seasonal ingredients you have on hand in an Indian style. It provides recipes for simple curries, Indian basics like ghee and paneer, as well as some of Vij's signature dishes, the like lamb popsicles in fenugreek cream sauce. Sometimes I'll make something exactly as it appears in Vij's cookbook, but most often I'll look through Vij's for ideas, then make a curry based on what I've got in my fridge. Click here to view the wonderful dishes that we've tried from Vij's cookbook (or inspired by it).

Labels: cookbook reviews, Indian

Labels: chicken, cookbook reviews, Mediterranean, restaurant