Sarah heard on the radio this week that Papa George (formerly Pickles) had expanded its selection of Greek food items, so we stopped in tonight for dinner and to see if any improvements had been made. They do indeed have more Greek items on the menu, including mousaka (one of Sarah’s favorites) and Greek wines by the glass or bottle.

Tonight’s special was Pastitsio, which Sarah ordered the first time we were here. The were out of it that day, so she got it tonight. We also got the appetizer special, Tirosalata, which is feta cheese, red peppers, and jalepenos whipped up into a dip. We opted for the pita bread for dipping and were pleased to see they now give you a fair amount of pita. Last time with our tzatziki we got only three little triangles. The dip was pretty good and had a late spice kick. We also ordered a side Greek salad to split. It was fresh and tasty enough, but not very big for nearly $7. For my entree I ordered the Souvlaki again. There wasn’t anything else on the menu that appealed to me. The entrees were ok, but I’d like to see something for sides besides rice “pilaf” (which Sarah thought was closer to Uncle Ben’s than Papa George’s) and green beans in tomato sauce. Her pastitsio was a tad dry but otherwise not bad. My souvlaki was also ok, although it was nothing to crow about. I still think there’s something missing, like they’ve toned down the food so as not to scare off the loyal Pickles crowd. Try any of the restaurants in the Greektown neighborhood of Chicago and you’ll see what I mean. 

Update: Big improvements.

Today we had lunch at Seven Saints on Chester St, in Champaign, IL. Seven Saints is famous for their “sliders,” which are half-size burgers (also available with other meats). Seven Saints is also known for their beet chips, which are like potato chips made from beets. We started out with the Beet Chips today. Sarah had a traditional Cheeseburger Slider and a Black-and-Blue Salad, while I opted for a BBQ Slider and a cup of the soup du jour, which was tomato bisque. The beet chips, which come with a goat cheese cream dip, were good, but they weren’t as tasty as I remembered them being the first time I ate at Seven Saints. Sarah really liked her salad and my tomato bisque was excellent. The sliders were very tasty as usual. I also had a really good nut brown ale with my lunch. I can see Seven Saints becoming one of our regular lunch places.

Tonight Sarah’s parents, Judy and Steve, took us out to the Shish Kebab House in West Hartford, CT. We’re avid ethnic restaurant fans, so we jumped at the chance to go. West Hartford has a nice assortment of ethic places all within walking distance of the central parking. Needless to say, we were envious.

Shish Kebab House is just barely in the High End range, with most meals around $18-$20. The meals are huge, though. We all took home leftovers. We started with each couple splitting a Yogurt Salad. The salads were large and fresh and were classic garden salads with a rather mild yogurt based dressing. We also had some of their tasty bread and I ordered a bowl of the Homemade Yogurt with chopped cucumbers, which was close to raita. It went well with my meal. Judy had the chicken Kebab and Steve had the Beef Shammi Kebab. Sarah is not a big fan of shish kebab, so she had the Mantoo, which are steamed, meat-filled dumplings. I had the Kabeli Palow, which is rice topped with raisins, carrots, and almonds and spiced with cardamom. You could get it with either chicken or lamb, so I opted for the chicken. Sarah’s dumplings were quite good. If we ever go back, I may order them. My rice and chicken were very good, especially with the cucumber yogurt. There were several other meals on the menu which looked appetizing, too. Maybe next time we’re in Hartford, we’ll take Sarah’s parents out on our dime. 

My favorite seafood restaurant in Massachusetts (or anywhere, for that matter) is closing soon. Isaac’s and many of the surrounding buildings will be replaced with some upscale shopping, condos, and such. It’s a shame because Isaac’s and the ground floor t-shirt and trinket shops are classic New England waterfront places. But like so many such places, they don’t bring in the money needed to justify occupying such precious real estate. But before it closed for good, I wanted to get back there and have one last meal. This past Tuesday was my parents’ 52nd wedding anniversary, so we took them out tonight to celebrate. We got the corner table with great views all around.

My folks got their usual baked schrod, which is always a safe bet at Isaac’s. Sarah got the Baked Stuffed Schrod, which is baked schrod with excellent crab and bread crumb stuffing. I had been dreaming about Isaac’s outstanding Fishcakes, but found out they’re only on the lunch menu. The waitress was kind enough to ask if I could get them anyway and the chef agreed. I didn’t forget that when it came time for the tip. Sarah’s dinner was very large and quite delicious. I had some of her leftovers the next day and was impressed. My fishcakes were as awesome as I had remembered. I was the stuffed one when we left.

 What a shame it will be gone soon.

I don’t normally write up fast food places, but lately I’ve been really impressed with the subs at Silver Mine Subs on Daniel St. in Champaign. It’s located right next door to Subway and yet never seems to have the line that Subway does. Not sure I understand that either, as I feel Silver Mine’s subs and service are much better. For one thing, they offer medium size subs, not just the small or large you get at Subway. Subway’s 6″ sub is not always enough, yet their 12″ sub is almost always too much. Silver Mine offers a medium that is just about in the middle. I hate to sound like Goldilocks, but their medium is just right. I also like their variety. My favorite lately has been the Dodge City, which is Italian meats and all the fixins. The staff at Silver Mine are always friendly and work very quickly. They look like they enjoy what they’re doing. That’s a rare thing these days.

I’ll give Silver Mine Subs Three Spoons in keeping with my rating scheme explanation, “the food was quite good, but the atmosphere was more like a bar or fast food joint.” Quite good, indeed.

If you’re reading this site and notice a few reviews that weren’t here last time you looked, it’s because I’ve been buried in school work and haven’t had time to write reviews. Reviews of restaurants from our trip to Ann Arbor in particular got shuffled to the back burner. I spent several hours in Espresso Royale in Ann Arbor writing papers for school, but had no time for the reviews. Still, I kept notes and now I’m caught up.