We’ve been in NYC since Monday and have had some outstanding meals. I’ll list them all here.

Monday – Bello (863 Ninth Ave, corner of 56th Street) – Usually when we stay at the Mid-town Holiday Inn on 57th St, we walk to a local place for dinner the first night. We’d passed Bello several times and have always talked about stopping in someday. Well we finally did. We had no problems getting a table and the service was excellent. The menu is typical high-end Italian. Three items on the specials list that night caught our attention. We split an Avocado Salad, which was very tasty. Sarah ordered the Chilean Sea Bass, which was prepared with a leek and tomato sauce. I had the Rigatoni with bacon and peas in a tomato cream sauce. Both were superb. Sarah’s fish was a sizable portion and was light and sweet. My pasta was perfectly prepared and not overwhelmed with sauce. Not to sound like Hannibal Lecter, but I enjoyed mine with a fine Chianti. We finished up with a piece of Tiramisu and a cappuccino. It was a great way to start our stay in NYC. Five Spoons – High End

Tuesday -Mitali East - 334 E. 6th St – Mitali East has long been one of our favorite places to eat in NYC. I’ve rated it very highly in the past. We invited one of Sarah’s friends with us this time, so I guess we set ourselves up to be disappointed. Always happens that way when you rave about a place and then bring friends, no? There was nothing particularly wrong with our meal this time. It was just missing that special something that makes for a memorable meal. Sarah had the Shaag Paneer, I ordered a favorite, Chicken Balti, and Sarah’s friend had the Chicken Tikka Masala. Sarah’s saag was a bit overwhelmed with a sourish cream sauce. My balti was ok, but virtually devoid of spices. The chicken tikka masala was the same, decent, but lacking zip. The service was, as always, excellent. Maybe it was just an off-night for the chef. Three Spoons – Family

Wednesday – Thai Basil – (860 Ninth Ave) – Thai Basil is another of our favorites. It is also an easy walk from our usual hotel. Thai Basil is a typical NYC hole-in-the-wall eatery. Not much atmosphere, but really good food. Luckily, that hasn’t changed for Thai Basil. We started with Vegetable Dumplings, which were, as you would guess, minced veggies wrapped in lettuce. Very tasty. Sarah ordered Eggplant Basil Sautee (which included tofu) and I went with Siam Beef (which came on fried rice). Sarah really liked her eggplant and my beef was perfectly done. I loved the fried rice that came with it. It was truly rice and veggies fried up in a wok, not some mixture of rice and sauce or the yellow rice we get in the midwest. As always, an excellent meal. Four Spoons – Family

Thursday – Bistango Ristorante - (415 Third Ave at 29th St) – We chose Bistango because we were joining a friend of Sarah’s who happens to have a gluten allergy. Bistango has many gluten-free offerings. They even have gluten-free beer. The atmosphere is dinner casual and very comfy. The service was excellent and the waitstaff was very knowledgeable about every detail of the food preparation, which can be a godsend to those with allergies. Sarah’s friend was very pleased and surprised at the wide choice of gluten-free food as well as the staff’s knowledge. She ordered the gluten-free ravioli, which she said was the first time she’d ever seen it in a restaurant. It looked pretty tasty, which she confirmed. She had started out with the calamari appetizer, which she said was also very good. I’ll take her word for it as I don’t like calamari. Sarah and I split a Caesar salad, which was served wedge style. Not my favorite way to enjoy a salad. The Caesar was ok, but a bit pricey considering it was basically a wedge of romaine with some grated cheese and dressing on it. For entrees Sarah had rigatoni and meat sauce. I had the boneless pork chop. Sarah’s rigatoni was good, although the meat sauce had shredded meat instead of the typical crumbled hamburger. My porkchop was pounded flat and breaded, like a schnitzel. It came with a small portion of mashed potatoes, a large helping of spinach, and was served over sauteed onions and hot cherry peppers. The porkchop was quite good, as were the potatoes. I’m not a big fan of spinach and the onions and peppers were very spicy, so I only had a couple bites of those. We all had the excellent Gelato and Sorbet for dessert. Sarah and I split coffee gelato and mango sorbet. The gelato was creamy and rich. The mango sorbet was eye-opening strong. If you really like mango, you’ll love the mango sorbet. Sarah’s friend had vanilla gelato and blackberry sorbet. She raved about both. Despite my little nitpicks, the meal was quite good, the service was, as I said, excellent, and the atmosphere was enjoyable. Four Spoons – Family

Friday – Molyvos – (871 Seventh Ave) – We originally tried to get into a smaller Greek place close to our hotel, but it turned out to be basically a tiny cheese and wine bar and was, of course, packed on a Friday evening. So we walked on over to Molyvos on 7th Ave, which the bus to the Javits Center passed every day. We were able to walk in and get a table right away. It’s a surprisingly large place. The atmosphere is very upscale, yet comfortable. We were expecting the usual Greek fare with gyros and moussaka and such. No gyros to be found here, although they do have moussaka. The waiter quickly supplied us with warm pita triangles and bread with a spicy feta spread. We also ordered the Tzatziki. We went through the first basket of bread and were promptly supplied with another. Both the feta spread and the tzatziki were excellent. For entrees Sarah ordered the stuffed pepper and I had the beef short rib (Vodino Stifado). Sarah’s pepper was stuffed with eggplant and rice and such. It was very, very good. My beef short rib was melt in your mouth tender and delicious. We split an order of potato kefte, which was quite good, although we really could have done without it as the entrees were more than ample. I had a couple glasses of a really good mavroudi wine, which went perfectly with the beef. We will definitely return to Molyvos. It seemed only right that we should bookend our trip with two fantastic meals. Five Spoons – High End

Saigon to Bangkok is the former Saigon Restaurant in Savoy Plaza in Savoy, IL. Saigon Restaurant suffered from poor service and hit-or-miss quality. No surprise it didn’t last long. The new Saigon to Bangkok is unchanged in appearance, but judging from the service and food, it’s off to a much better start.

We gave it a shot for dinner tonight, lured in by their new Thai offerings. We had no problem getting a table, but it began to fill up while we were there. We were going to start with Crab Rangoon, but the hostess suggested the Vietnamese Pancake (Banh Xeo). It looked like an omelet over bean sprouts, but the taste was more doughy than egg. It also had the odd combination of shrimp and pork. It came wth a tasty dipping sauce and was quite good.

For entrees Sarah ordered Papaya with Chicken and I had the Orange Stir Fry, also with chicken. Sarah thought hers was quite good but not as spicy as she thought it would be. My orange stir fry was more like ORANGE!!! stir fry. It must have had at least a half orange worth of juice in it and there were six or eight large chunks of orange. There were not as many onions and peppers as I would have liked. It was ok, but the overriding impression was one of eating chicken in a bowl of orange juice. Maybe that was the intention, and if so, the dish succeeded. But it’s not something I’d order again.

As of now they do not have a license for beer or wine, but they have supposedly applied for one and hope to offer beer in the future. It was even on the menu.

We’ll return to Saigon to Bangkok soon to try some of their other dishes. It will be nice to have a good Thai/Vietnamese place on the south side of town.

As graduation at the U of I is this weekend, we decided to avoid the crowds in Champaign and head over to Terre Haute, IN to try Gerhardt’s Bierstube Restaurant on Lafayette Ave. We had tried to eat there once several years ago, but we were there on a Monday and Gerhardt’s is closed on Mondays. Today we finally made it back. We got there about 5:30PM and had our choice of tables. We chose a booth in one of the side rooms. Gerhardt’s atmosphere is obviously modeled after a typical German gastehaus, but you won’t forget for a second that you’re still in Terre Haute.

Gerhardt’s has a wide selection of both German and American cuisine. As we went there specifically for the German food, we stuck to classic German dishes. We started off with Kartoffelpuffer (potato pancake) appetizers, which were decent and not too filling. I had a Warsteiner dunkel (dark beer) and Sarah went with Diet Coke. She ordered Sauerbraten with Rot Kraut (red cabbage) and Spätzle while I opted for the Schweineschnitzel with Kartoffel Salat (potato salad) and Rot Kraut. Sarah’s sauerbraten was pretty tasty, although the beef itself was on the dry side. Her spätzle was a little bland (although they do offer it with gravy) and the rot kraut we both had was ok, but not nearly as good as the rotkohl at La Gourmandise. My schweineschnitzel was huge. It covered the entire dinner plate. It was very good, though. The potato salad was ok, but a bit heavy on the vinegar.

If you’re in Terre Haute, then Gerhardt’s would be a good choice for German cuisine. But if you’re in central Illinois, there are better choices; one being the aforementioned La Gourmandise in Urbana.

This afternoon we finally made it to Milo’s at their new location on Philo Rd. in Urbana, just south of Windsor. The last (and only) time we had eaten at Milo’s in the past was well before I started this blog. We’ve been meaning to try them again, but just haven’t made it until today. We got there at our usual early dinner time (around 5PM) and had no problem getting a table. It was busier when we left, but there were still tables available. The new place is very nice with pleasant views of the landscaping and ponds around the restaurant.

Sarah wasn’t particularly hungry tonight, so we thought we’d split a salad and then each order one of their signature pizzas. But then our waitress told us of the special of the day, which was halibut on a sweet corn sauce with mashed potatoes, a duck-based hash, and a dab of pesto. That sounded great, so no pizza for me. Sarah decided to skip the salad and just got an Upside-down Pizza with artichokes, olives, spinach, five cheeses, and chunky tomato sauce. It was that last ingredient that missed on the pizza. There were tomatoes, but really no sauce. It was what is known as a “white pizza” with no discernable tomato sauce. It was well prepared, but Sarah was disappointed with it. My halibut was just a tad on the dry side, but the sweet corn sauce and duck hash and mashed potatoes made that not too noticeable. My meal was otherwise delicious. I had a nice glass of Riesling with it.

There were a couple of ambiance/service misses tonight, though. First, the evening’s soundtrack was Motown oldies. I’ve always been of the opinion that restaurant music should be instrumental and entirely ignorable. If you choose a style of music like Motown or country or rock or easy listening or oldies, you are bound to have patrons who really don’t like the music, which detracts from the experience. There were at least two songs this evening which I cannot stand listening to. That may seem petty, but some music really grates on my nerves. Better to have something that fills the silence, yet remains forgettable.

And secondly, when I’ve finished a meal and the table has been cleared, I like to be able to pay and be gone in less than 10 minutes. Tonight we sat for nearly 20 minutes before we lost patience, retrieved the credit card, and cobbled together enough cash to cover the bill (minus a few dollars in the tip). As we left, we saw our waitress chatting pleasantly with new arrivals at another table. It wasn’t all that busy, but she seemed to have forgotten about us once the bill was delivered.

Last September we had our first meal at JJ’s Stadium Grill. We were disappointed with the way our steaks were cooked. We finally made it back for another visit tonight. We didn’t order steaks this time, though. Sarah went with the Black and Bleu burger (topped with bleu cheese) and fries and I had Hawaiian Pork Medallions on rice with broccoli. I also had a glass of merlot. The house wines were on special for $2.50. They’re normally $5.00, which is a price hike from our last visit when they were $3.75.

There were a few improvements this time around. For one thing, the horrifying music was gone. Our meals were better prepared, too. Sarah’s burger was good, as were the fries. Last time the fries were tasteless. My pork medallions (really boneless pork chops) were good, but a bit uninspiring. The pineapple (and mango?) relish on top was interesting, but not something I’d order again. My broccoli and baby carrots were a tad undercooked, but better that way than overcooked.

 All in all, some improvement. We’ll have to try it again soon to test out more of the menu.

As promised, we stopped by to check out Joe’s in the former Gunner Buc’s building on Lakeland Blvd. in Mattoon, IL.  Lots of changes. No more ordering at the counter. It is now traditional waitress service. The liquor store is also gone. That probably wasn’t the best idea in the first place. And the music volume is much more conducive to conversation now.

On the food side, there are still 50 cent tacos on Thursdays and they’re still very tasty. We were starving, so we had a couple as appetizers.  I went with a traditional cheeseburger and Sarah had a black-and-bleu burger with bleu cheese on it. Both came with fries.

The burgers arrived very quickly, although there was not a very big crowd. Still, great service. The burgers themselves weren’t bad at all, but not nearly as good as Gunner Buc’s burgers. Note to Joe: Find out where GB’s got their hamburger and buy the same stuff. Maybe it’s the fat content (which gives burgers their flavor), or maybe something they did in preparing them, but GB’s had super tasting burgers. Same deal with the fries. Joe’s fries just didn’t have that same “so good it’s bad for you” deliciousness. 

The menu at Joe’s had some other interesting looking things, so we’ll be back to try other stuff. Stay tuned.

Tonight we were in the campus area looking for dinner and ended up at Crane Alley on W. Main St. in downtown Urbana, IL. We’d eaten there several years ago, but we hadn’t been back since. We got there right around 5, so the place was practically empty, except, unfortunately, for one other booth in the restaurant area which had four noisy and obnoxious students who ate nothing, yet were there the entire time. So it goes sometimes.

Sarah started with a salad and had a Turkey Reuben for dinner. I went with a New York Strip steak with garlic mashed potatoes. I also got a glass of merlot and was quite disappointed with the stingy pour. The price was right, 1/4 of a full bottle price, but the pour was far less than a 1/4 bottle. The steak itself was ok, although nothing special. Same with the potatoes. The highlight of my meal was the green beans, which were sauteed with bacon. Very tasty. Sarah’s turkey Reuben was fine and she liked the sweet potato fries. The meal was pretty decent, but the steak was overpriced, as was the wine.

I had to bring my car to the dealer in Springfield for service today, so we stopped for dinner at the Chesapeake Seafood House on Clear Lake Ave. We’d been by it many times and have often talked about stopping in to try it, but being from New England, where good seafood is a given, we were skeptical. Plus, we were in the habit of stopping at Gateway to India when we were in Springfield, but as our last trip to Gateway was a disappointment, we decided to try something different.

We were early for dinner, but there were still quite a few cars in the lot. Not sure if there was a function or something going on. It wasn’t crowded at all inside, although it’s a pretty big place. The maitre d’ sat us in a small room (looked like a former porch) off the main dining room. The main room looked more inviting. I guess he was trying to spread the customers out among the waitstaff. The service was excellent, though. Our waiter was attentive, but not a pest.

We both decided on entrees off the early dinner menu. The prices were considerably lower than the full menu, although I suspect the portion sizes were accordingly smaller. I ordered their Fried Fish dinner, which was essentially fish & chips. Sarah went with Baked Cod. Hers came with rice pilaf and broccoli. Sarah had a rather tasteless salad made mostly from the white parts of iceberg lettuce and some bottled blue cheese dressing. I tried their clam chowder, which was ok, but there were more vegetables than clams in it and it was a tad bland. Our entrees were both similarly unremarkable. The food was passable, but nothing to write home about. Anyone who has had really fresh seafood will understand. Still, considering we’re in the middle of the prairies, I guess I shouldn’t be too picky.

Tonight we saw an ad for the spaghetti special at Angelo’s on Lake Land Blvd in Mattoon. Salad, garlic bread, and a small spaghetti for $3.69. For that price, we figured it’d be worth the trip. Not surprisingly, the place was full, although we waited only a couple of minutes for a table. We both got the special and I was pleasantly surprised to see they had Poretti beer. It turned out to be the most expensive thing on our bill. The spaghetti special was well worth the money. In fact, I don’t know how they give you so much for so little. You get a small but fresh salad, 8 pieces of garlic bread, and a decent size plate of spaghetti. We were both full when we left, and it ran us only $13.25. It would have been under $10 if I hadn’t ordered the beer. Now that’s a cheap meal.

We stopped in to Los Potrillos tonight for a quick dinner. Located in the former Russ & Lynda’s building, Los Potrillos has been packed almost nightly. Tonight was our second visit and we didn’t have to wait, thanks to it being Thanksgiving week. Last time we waited maybe 10 minutes for a table. Los Potrillos is owned by the same folks who own Dos Reales in Champaign, and the menu reflects that. Same ubiquitous cheese sauce.

Tonight we went through two baskets of their tasty chips. They give you two types of salsa, although the milder of the two is more like pico de gallo. We also asked for some of their excellent guacamole. They do guacamole very well. Sarah ordered the Fajita Taco Salad and I went with the Cheesesteak Burrito. Sarah’s salad was large and loaded with steak and grilled veggies over salad stuff, all in a taco shell bowl. My burrito was similar to the burrito grande at El Vaquero, except it was covered in cheese sauce. and came with rice and refried beans. It was a large burrito stuffed with grilled steak and onions. Did I mention the cheese sauce? I also had a Dos Equis. The first time we ate at Los Potrillos, I had a margarita. It was ok, but not nearly as good as the ‘Ritas at Don Sol.

After eating all the chips, salsa, and guac, we were pretty well stuffed ourselves, so we both ended up taking the better part of our meals home. All in all, I’d rate Los Potrillos about as similar to other Mexican cuisine choices in this area, only with more cheese sauce.