China Rose

China Rose
42 Bath Rd
Brunswick, ME

I'm not sure what these people put in their food but they have the best Chinese buffet that I've ever had. And the fancy dishes are not in the seafood or anything like that. Rather, their chicken spring rolls are just fantastic. I have never had a fried spring roll like the ones that they make here and they must lace it with something illegal because they are so good. They are nice and crunchy on the outside while being filled with goody vegetables and minced chicken on the inside. The buffet also boasts very tasty, non-Chinese meatballs. They are tender and cooked a slightly sweet sauce, which is just heavenly. The buffet offers some stir fried shrimp in a white sauce with vegetables, which is quite refreshing. A soda fountain and plenty of dessert items round this bargain out but I'm happy with just the spring rolls and the meatballs. Not very healthy? Sure, but one deserves a treat every now and then, right?

Himalayan Fusion

Himalayan Fusion
520 E. Main Street
Charlottesville, VA 22902

This recent addition to Charlottesville’s Downtown Mall is gaining quite a following. The menu posted outside this restaurant plus the rave reviews it got from people who had been there lured me inside even though I generally don’t’ like Indian cuisine. Of course, this isn’t exactly Indian cuisine. Whatever the difference, it makes Himalayan Fusion much tastier.

Their buffets are pretty awesome. Go on weekends and get free soft drinks and some special dishes too (for a bit extra). The general buffet isn’t bad though. Still, I’m sold on the weekend meals. Their vegetable dishes can vary in taste. I can’t remember what I had the first time but it was pretty delicious. The broccoli with mushrooms (pictured here) aren’t special but they’ll do. The salad is a bit bland with lots of onions. But their strength is in what do they do with their meats and noodles. I don’t know what they put in these stir-fried noodles with vegetables but the taste has you wanting more even though you are completely stuffed.

The fish curry is pretty good although I think there was one with more coconut milk, which was a lot tastier. Still, the meat is nice and tender. The rich flavor can be a bit overwhelming but that’s where the nan comes in. The problem is that they often run out of nan and they don’t put it in the buffet as much. Sometimes they’ll tell you that they’ve run out or that the chef is working on making more. With a staple like nan, you should have tons on hand. Does it go bad if it is left out too long? Their nan, however, is worth the wait and it is tasty.

How much nan can a person eat though? The waiters will sometimes bring you a basket of nan when it’s not available in the buffet. But the deal with the buffet is that you can police how much nan you consume. Here, I had to waste a few wonderful pieces just because I was already stuffed. They should certainly reevaluate their nan policy.

(Since originally writing this review, I have gone back to there and they seem to have taken note of the waste of nan and so it seems to now be in the buffet line.)

In the past, service has been poor but recently they have made additions to their wait staff and I have no complaints about them. One last point, they should vary the dishes in the buffets. I love chicken but I’m sure there are other meats that these folks can make scrumptious.

(Images by AG)

Fire and Ice

Fire & Ice
205 Berkeley St.
Boston, MA 02116
(Try this or other locations!)

This stylish chain spot may seem like an exclusive club for teens and people below thirty-five but it really is a fine establishment where patrons of any age and come and enjoy. To be honest, it is almost overrun with college students and some very young professionals but you get the occasional family in there as well. The restaurant boasts a bar on the ground floor and a Mongolian style restaurant on floor two. I can't say much about the bar as I've only had one drink there. My Boston-dining companion, however, seems to enjoy it despite once being in the line of fire for an exploding mixer. The strawberry daiquiri that I had didn't seem all that refreshing. It was a bit too pulpy and the alcoholic aftertaste ruined the taste of the berries.

The food, on the other hand, is just great. Here's the set up. You get up to a bar with a bowl and you start scooping raw materials into it. Their seafood selections include big scallops, shrimp, mussels, squid, and fish. (Too bad that their salmon was frozen.) For meats, you get a few varieties of sausage, marinated chicken, different cuts of beef, and full-sized beef patties for burgers. The salad is a bit small with only a few choices for the vegetable lover. The dressings are good though as are the vegetables that one can place in one's bowl to have cooked. There are peppers, mushrooms, peas, etc. Nothing special in the vegetable realm, I'm afraid but they do have a heavenly bowl of chopping garlic from which you can take as much as you can. Noodles are also available for those who are interested though you should note that they bring out a whole bowl of rice for you at the table.

Diners then get to choose from a variety of tasty sauces. The teriyaki sauce is particularly good though I am tempted to try the various chili sauces as well. The problem is always that I am afraid I might not like a new sauce in place of the tried and true teriyaki. You will understand why the selection of the sauce is so important in the next paragraph. I should note that more conservative diners will have their choice of the regular barbecue sauces as well.

So, you have your raw food and your sauce. Now what? You then take all this up to the central cooking area, which is basically a gigantic cooking circle. Here, three cooks greet you, take your raw ingredients, dump them onto the cooker and, when it's time, dump your sauce on top of that. They add buns and cheese for burgers and also provide some interesting dialogue as you wait for your food to cook. Now, this part can take a while because it is basically a bottleneck in the dining process. The lines are sometimes long (unless you get in at the right time) and you end up just standing there, waiting for the cooks to get to you or to come back to grab your sauces. Though watching the pretty food is entertaining, one becomes rather bored with the process after a while.

Two elements prevent you from eating more than two or three dishes at this buffet. First is the line at the cooking area. You're a bit full. Do you really have the energy or the need to go stand up there and wait in line for another fifteen minutes? Second, the portions are pretty bit and, combined with the rice they leave at your table (and the guilt you feel for not eating it), you're not really in the mood to gorge yourself some more. Now, this can actually be a positive as I have left Fire & Ice feeling absolutely stuffed every time though I've always wanted to have more. It's all in the garlic . . .

But why do they leave you the rice at the table? That's really unnecessary and I can't imagine that people consume a whole lot of it. Sorry, but that seems like a waste. The noise level can get out of hand and the cooks sometime force you into song. That's not always what I'm in the mood for while I'm dining out. All in the all though, this is a fine dining establishment that's almost always a treat.

(Image by AG)