Soufflé from Panera - $3.35

1191 East Ogden Avenue, Naperville, IL - (630)548-5070

I've never actually had a soufflé before, so I was pleasantly surprised to discover that it combines two of my favorite foods - eggs and croissants. Well, that's not completely accurate, because I don't believe the breaded part is technically a croissant, but it has the same flakiness to it. The best comparison to a soufflé I can come up with off the top of my head is that it's like eating a fluffy omlette set atop croissant bed. MmMmmmM...

The middle picture is of the turkey, sausage and potato soufflé and the bottom picture is for the spinach and artichoke soufflé. Each is about the size of a CD.

Chopped Beef Brisket Sandwich from Smoque - $8.95

3800 N Pulaski Rd, Chicago, IL - (773)545-7427

This restaurant has had a lot of hype after being on the Food Network channel, so I went to check it out for myself. The sandwich was tasty, but nowhere near as phenomenal as what I had heard/read about. The sauce has a striking similarity to a watered down A1 sauce, so I think they'd be better off just using A1 sauce itself. The peach cobbler was yummy also, although it tasted like they used canned peaches.

Like I said, the food was good, but there's nothing exceptional to make me want to go back. There are nearby BBQ joints with better sauces, better hours, and cheaper prices, so unfortunately for Smoque, I don't see the need to settle for this one.


This is the last picture I was able to take with my camera before it died, so please excuse the bad quality.

Ewedu Soup from Bolat African Cuisine - $8.99

3346 North Clark Street, Chicago, IL - (773)665-1100

I decided to try a completely new dish and came across this African restaurant while out for a stroll so I stepped in for a bite. I had dinner plans in an hour's time, so I only ordered a soup (yes, I went out to eat right before I went out to eat).

I haven't the faintest idea about African food, so I asked the waiter to pick out a soup and he recommended the Ewedu soup which is "whipped Jute leaves cooked with spices" and chose the goat meat and pounded yam to go with it. After ordering, a woman came out of the kitchen and asked if I was sure I wanted that because it's a slimey soup, and I told her I would be fine because I wanted to try something new.

I guess she wasn't convinced I could stomach "something new," because she came back with the soup separated in parts. In addition, she generously threw in another plate of something spicy for me to try. Unsure of how to go about eating it, she told me they eat with their hands.


First, she took a spoonful of the lumpy orange concoction, which appears to be a tomato based soup with chunks of goat meat mixed into it.


Then she dumped it over the slimey green stuff, which from what I can gather, is the whipped Jute leaves and also the "slimey" part she warned me about.


Then she told me to take my right hand and tear a bit of the white pounded yam, which has a texture similar to mashed potatoes, but firmer. And then I was to take that bit and scoop up the mixture with it and that's how it's eaten.


This last picture is the bonus plate she let me taste, and honestly, I have no idea what it was, except that it reminded me of spinach, and it was very spicy.

Unfortunately, a few pictures turned out blurry and I'm going to blame it on a) being in a hurry to go to dinner and b) my camera being on the verge of breaking (it broke on the very next picture).

All in all, the meal had a very Indian feel to it, except instead of dipping nan into everything, it was dipping pounded yam instead. It was nothing that really knocked my socks off, but I'm definitely interested in trying some more dishes now.

Beef Pad See Ew from Ping Pong - $9.00

3322 North Broadway Street, Chicago, IL - (773)281-7575

Rice noodles are the friggin' bomb diggity, especially the fat ones. Drool.

If you've never had rice noodles, they're a more tender, doughy noodle than the standard spaghetti noodle. Anyway, these Thai noodles were mixed with broccoli, carrots, onions, and crush peanuts. Although the dish is pretty awesome, I couldn't detect anything unique about this particular recipe. Translation: if you find pad see ew somewhere else for cheaper, then go with that one.

Ping Pong gives you the option to substitute shrimp instead for $3 more, but those would have to be some monstrous shrimp to be worth $3 more.

Singapore Street Noodles from Ping Pong - $12.00

3322 North Broadway Street, Chicago, IL - (773)281-7575

Here's another dish from the posh restaurant Ping Pong. Unlike the fish tacos I posted earlier, this dish is less bells 'n whistles and more substance.

The rice noodles are spiced with curry and mixed with shrimp, chicken and roast pork. I don't normally like thin pasta such as angel hair, but there's something about these noodles that makes it really enjoyable to fork a tangled bunch and gobble up huge mouthfuls at a time. Anyway, the price is a bit overwhelming for what you get, but as my sister likes to say, "You're paying for the ambience."

Pork Jibarito from Cafeteria de Pancho - $6.95

2200 N California Ave, Chicago, IL - (773)772-7811

I made an earlier post here on a jibarito from Borinquen's which is supposedly the restaurant that invented this unique sandwich.

My little sister said Pancho's made a better one, so I wanted to check it out since I enjoyed the first one so much, and once again, I was impressed. It's the essentially the same sandwich as Borinquen's: flattened plantains for a bun, your choice of meat, and the standard toppings of lettuce and tomatoes. They tasted about the same, but the tie-breaker would have to go to Pancho's for having the larger serving size. But both restaurants are in the same neighborhood and worth checking out so whichever you stumble upon first should be good.

Chipotle Grilled Steak Sandwich from TGI Friday's - $11.49

650 South College Avenue, Newark, DE - (302)737-3700

I like to rip my descriptions off the TGI Friday's site when I can because they do a very decent job of describing the dish. This one's description is as follows:

"Tender Cajun–rubbed skirt steak served on toasted ciabatta with a blend of Colby and Monterey Jack cheeses, roasted plantain slices, lettuce, tomato, onion & Chipotle mayo. Served with beer–battered onion rings."

Now this is a sandwich I can appreciate even if it didn't turn out to be all that great, because they are at least TRYING something innovative (plantains). Anyway, my opinion is that the steak was too chewy making it hard to tear and the plantains were a bit too thick. But if they just go back to the drawing boards and tweak their design a bit, they would have themselves a solid sandwich.

Fish Tacos from Ping Pong - $8

3322 North Broadway Street, Chicago, IL - (773)281-7575

These fish tacos are made with tuna tempura, lime-avocado, and guacamole. This is one of those chic restaurants that puts more weight into the appearance of the dish than its quality. That isn't to say the food is bad, but for one thing, these places tend to serve smaller portions. Boo.

That said, these tacos were probably the messiest tacos I've ever eaten. The sauce could've used more kick, because that was the main reason for the mess and I don't
recall any taste to it to make that fiasco worthwhile.

The overall taste was bland especially considering its fancy appearance, and although there was nothing terribly wrong about the dish, I would probably never opt to order it again.

Deep Dish Pizza from Giordano's - $26.75

1040 West Belmont Avenue, Chicago, IL - (773)327-1200

Here's Chicago's trademark - the deep dish pizza. It's ooey, gooey, soft and chewy inside and crispy, crunchy, buttery crust outside. Gotta love it. Three slices of heaven is about all I can handle before food coma knocks me out cold... but you can bet I have a smile on my face.

There is one downer to this pizza however - it takes 40 minutes to an hour to create this beast of a pie. But as the saying goes, good things come to those that wait...

Polish Sausage from Jim's Original - $3.25

1250 S Union Ave, Chicago, IL - (312)733-7820

I had a recurring dream about this Polish sausage for over five months. In my dream, I would crave one of these and set out to get one, but then never reach the restaurant. That had to be one of the most frustrating dreams I've ever had, so you can imagine how delighted I was to finally get to eat one.

Of course, it's hard to meet expectations like that, but man, that was one satisfying Polish sausage. Objectively speaking, it's a very basic Polish sausage with only grilled onions, mustard, and hot peppers, but there's something very alluring about it all. My friend and I actually both concur that it tastes better without the peppers too. Also, did I mention that it's open 24x7? That probably has something to do with it.

Mega Fries from Amore - $5.99

430 Old Baltimore Pike, Jenmar Plaza, Newark, DE - (302)369-1600

This may sound pricey for some fries, but these things could be a meal in itself. It's fries covered in a blend of cheddar and mozzarella cheese and mixed with bacon bits.

My one complaint is that the fries stick together so much that even eating them with a fork doesn't help much. Also, as with all fries, be sure to eat them before they get soggy.

Steak & Pepperoni Stromboli from Amore - $15.99

430 Old Baltimore Pike, Jenmar Plaza, Newark, DE - (302)369-1600

When you're in the mood for something greasy and filling, this sucker hits the spot.

When I first came out to this area, I used to think strombolis were my favorite food, but I quickly grew tired of them, because eventually, you realize that it's basically a steak and pepperoni pizza just folded over before it's cooked. Still good though.

Pepper-Crusted Pork Chop from TGI Friday's - $9.99

650 South College Avenue, Newark, DE - (302)737-3700

When a chunk of meat is tough as nails, then no matter how well it's marinated or spiced, it's still going to suck. That was the case with this dish. I can't even think of anything else to say about the dish because I can't get passed the rock hard texture.

Generally speaking, I think TGI Friday's does a good job with cooking the meat so I'll give them the benefit of the doubt and say this is probably a fluke. Anyway, on the brighter side of things, both the mashed potatoes and the onion rings were pretty good.

New Jersey Style Dog from Johnnie's Dog House - $3.50

3401 Concord Pike, Wilmington, DE - (302)477-1440

I'm not familiar with the New Jersey style hot dog, so here's what wiki said about it:

"In the case of New Jersey's potato dog, diced and stewed potatoes are combined with brown mustard and served on spicy brand hot dog. A variant on this (particularly in the Trenton area) is also known as the "Italian hot dog", which features all of the above ingredients, with grilled onions and peppers, and served on a long, crusty roll. The most common brands of spicy hot dogs used are Sabrett's or Best's, both of which are NJ companies."

It appears that the one that Johnnie's is trying to imitate is the New Jersey Italian hot dog since this one is composed of grilled potatoes, peppers, and onions. Everything on this hot dog SEEMS like a good idea, but the end result is fairly bland. Perhaps Johnnie's isn't making it correctly or perhaps the actual Jersey dog is bland. Either way, I won't be ordering this particular dog again.



NOTE: I've been on vacation the past few days so I'll be backdating a few posts to make up for lost time.

Half-Rack Baby Rack Ribs from TGI Friday's

650 South College Avenue, Newark, DE - (302)737-3700

I'm feeling lazy today, so I'm ganking the description from the fridays.com site:

"A half–rack of tender baby back pork ribs fire–grilled, glazed with your choice of original or new Tennessee BBQ sauce from the Grand Champion of the Jack Daniel's World Championship Invitational Barbeque. Topped with onion rings, served with fries and a side of barbecue sauce."

Now that I'm reading the description, I don't recall getting a choice of BBQ sauce so I'm not sure which one I tried. I didn't try any of the sauce provided to me on the side either since I was sharing these with my dog and I didn't want him to get the carpet messy. The small amount of sauce that was already drizzled over the ribs leaned on the sweeter side with hardly any tang. The ribs could've stood to be a bit more tender, but they were still yummy to my tummy.

Just like the fried Oreos I recently posted, the fries and onion rings became a bit soggy by the time I arrived home. Both of these taste much better while they still have their crispiness so I recommend you eat those first.

Fried Oreos from Johnnie's Dog House - $2.00

3401 Concord Pike, Wilmington, DE - (302)477-1440

I've heard people rave about fried Oreos for a long time, and now I finally understand what all the fuss is about. There's something magical about the crispy fried batter outside with the soft, oil-soaked cookie on the inside. Perhaps "magical" isn't the word I'm looking for... more like... diabetic. Yes, that's it. Diabetic.

You get eight of these in a single order, but each cookie is saturated with so much sweetness that I have troubles eating more than two at a time. Try to eat them while they're fresh so the outside is still crispy. I made the mistake of waiting until I got home forty minutes away by which time the cookies had already gotten soggy from the condensation in the closed container.

Texas Tommy from Johnnie's Dog House - $3.50

3401 Concord Pike, Wilmington, DE - (302)477-1440

The Texas Tommy is a hot dog wrapped in bacon, then deep-fried and finally topped with cheese.

This hot dog is good, but I feel like it has potential to be SPECTACULAR if it has a little something extra. Maybe chili? Maybe onion rings? I don't know. Mostly, it tastes like a solid foundation for something even better.

One thing's for certain though - this experience has taught me that EVERYTHING should be wrapped in bacon.... starting with my toothbrush.

Strawberry Banana Crêpe from Bob Evan's - $4.99

402 Eagle Run Road, Newark, DE - (302)369-3122

I hear crêpes themselves are virutally tasteless, and that the flavor comes from everything else mixed with it. Sounds believable considering that crêpes are basically just thin, wheat pancakes.

Anyway, these crêpes are filled with vanilla cream cheese and topped with strawberries, bananas, whipped cream, and powdered sugar. Mmm Mmm good!

Chicken Alfredo Pizza from Olive Garden - $10.75

1279 New Churchman's Road, Christiana, DE - (302)731-5430

As you can see, this isn't your traditional pizza. It's topped with grilled chicken, Italian cheeses, alfredo sauce (instead of marinara), and scallions.

I'm disappointed that they skimped out on the chicken purely for looks, but the pizza itself was still okay. Personally, I enjoy a lot of red sauce, so a pizza without marinara already at a disadvantage.

The pizza also comes with your choice of soup or salad. I went with the mediocre pasta e fagioli. The best thing I can say about this soup is that it's hearty.