Bar Americain

Bar Americain
152 West 52nd Street
New York, NY
(Visit the restaurant's website.)

The highlight of my recent Bobby Flay eating tour was visiting the Iron Chef's own Bar Americain. Chef Flay has a couple of restaurants in New York City but this one was the closest to where I was already headed and it is the restaurant featured on Throwdown with Bobby Flay. I had to try it. To be brief, it was spectacular.

I visited Bar Americain with a dining companion for brunch and we just ordered as much as we could. First, I have to say th

at the setting is very inviting and nice. The tall ceilings and decor were light and refreshing. Everything was very clean and professional. The whole place seemed to scream "business casual."

We started out with some cocktails, which were a bit pricey but very tasty. I tried the "Kentucky 95," which is a blend of Maker's Mark, champagne, lemon and orange juices. It was delicious but was it worth $12? My dining companion had the Pimm's Cup, which is made of Pimm's No. 1, lemonade, and cucumber. Yes, cucumber. Cool, refreshing, and different what with the taste of the cucumber and all. The drink was so good that she had to order another one.

Our meal began with a delicious basket of bread and coffee cakes. And these were the best coffee cakes that either of us had ever had. They were so warm, fluffy, and chocolaty. But don't think that it was too heavy. Nothing at Bobby Flay's restaurant was too heavy. He's found the perfect way to make food tasty and light so that you can keep stuffing yourself. The rest of the bread was served with very delicious Jalapeno butter.

But onto the actual appetizers. We couldn't decide on one in particular so we chose the sample platter, which included jumbo shrimp and tomatillo dip, crab in a light coconut milk, and lobster with avocado. I have to say that I am no fan of crab meat but I was willing to give it a chance here at Flay's. Well, I'm sold. This was just tender crab and the light sweetness of the coconut milk (and mango?) was perfect. I couldn't get enough of it. The lobster was perfectly cooked and tender. The meat tasted wonderfully with the avocado too. The shrimp was also tasty but not as good as the other two. We would have ordered more but there were other items to look forward to.

The main courses did not disappoint either. I was torn between the burger and the steak. This being Bobby Flay's place, I had to try one or the other. I went with the strip steak since Flay has often bragged about how he likes grilling steaks. This perfectly portioned slice came with an array of sauces including a home made steak sauce with a kick to it. The fries weren't anything special unfortunately but the meat itself was cooked very well and quite tasty.

My dining companion had the red snapper tacos since there had been a recent episode of Throwdown with the dish. These were perfectly cooked red snapper pieces served with cabbage slaw, a few salsas, and soft flour tortillas. The combination of flavors and the texture of all the ingredients was unbelievable. Now, that's a fish taco. It was perfect.

We were full by the end of the meal but we just had to have dessert. We finished off with a blueberry lemon crepe and a Granny Smith apple tart. The former was wonderfully smooth with brown sugar and brown butter while the latter came with delicious maple walnut ice cream.

Did we overdo it? Yes. But it was worth every bite.

Rangoon

Rangoon
112 North 9th Street
Philadelphia
(Between Arch & Cherry Streets)

We continued with the "Asian tea leaf salad," which was made from real tea leaves, cabbage, tomatoes, sesame, peanuts, lime, garlic, friend onions, and fried shrimp. I thought the first few bites were good. This dish really has quite a strong flavor too. A little later, i realized that it was a bit strong for me. I can handle the lime and everything else but I think I would prefer my tea leaves to be in tea. That said, it would make a good dish for a big crowd (where everyone just takes a few bites).

One of the best dishes at Rangoon is the "thousand layer bread." This is a bit like "nan" from Indian restaurants but it is a bit oilier and stickier and gooier. It is fantastic. The texture is just right. Now, you could eat this on its own but why would you do that when there's so much that can go with it? For an appetizer, there are a few sauces that go with the bread but I ordered the chicken curry, which was a solid dish with chunks of dark meat chicken in it as well. For dessert, the bread comes with a coconut syrup which is drenched over it. Now, I think maybe some sweetened condensed milk might have worked better because the coconut syrup was a bit wet but this was still a very good dessert.

The Burmese spare ribs were also interesting. The ribs were done very well and came with a glaze of basil, coriander, garlic, and some other seasonings. The result is that eating the ribs produces a layered taste. You're hit by the heat and the salty tastes and then the sweeter part of the glaze appears just as you taste the sour too.

Desserts were a bit of challenge and my companion ended up ordered the "farluda," which is apparently rose syrup, milk, ice cream, pudding, raisins, tapioca, and assorted jellies all in one big glass. I suppose you're supposed to mix it all together like a milkshake with multiple other items thrown in but you can't really stir anything around in there without something falling out. A bit hard to eat but it was tasty. Probably good on a hot summer day (and there are a lot of those in Philadelphia). I don't think we got the raisins though.

Sweet Leaves for Dessert

Sweet Leaves
22 Pleasant St.
Brunswick, ME
(Check out their website for menus and upcoming events)

Sweet leaves has a good dessert menu, which I believe changes daily as well. Pictured here is their beet ice cream which was absolutely wonderful. Now, I'm no fan of beets but this is really good. It's creamy and very refreshing. I can't explain the taste except that the beet is well represented. Also, their ice creams are home made. Keep room for dessert and remember that since it is a tea house, get some tea along with your sweets.

Spats

Spats
182 Angell St.
Providence, RI

If you're looking for a fun sports bar or just a place to have a meal near Brown, you might want to try Spats at 182 Angell Street. Now, I'm not from Providence so I'm a little confused with the names of the streets. Is it Angel or Angell? I've seen it spelled both ways. In any case, I think they are same place.

Spats has that sports bar feel with monitors everywhere and a dark decor. The service was very good and people seemed friendly. I'm not sure how crowded and smokey (do they allow smoking in pubs in Rhode Island?) it would get if the place were packed with hungry and sports-crazed college students but when I was there, it was a bit early for the dinner crowd and everything was nice except for the overeager patrons at the bar. The Mariners were playing on the monitors and that passed the time well as I was waiting for my food.

I was in the mood for seafood and ended up ordering the "Clams Zuppa," which was angel hair pasta covered with a wonderful tomato sauce (they claimed it was spicy but it really wasn't), littleneck clams, chorizo, and garlic. The meal was very tasty. The clams were fresh and I really liked how the chorizo complimented the rest of the flavors. A great dish overall.

For dessert, I tried the apple crisp, which was just perfect. The crust as nice and gooey and went well with the wonderfully tender apples. The vanilla ice cream may have been too much but it was very good along with the whipped cream. I think the crisp would have been fine on its own but if you're going to go all out in Providence, why not just have the complete meal?

Overall, this was a fine place to dine.

As it turns out, there is this blog about Providence area restaurants ("Eating Providence"), which is interesting. Check it out.

Return to Cote's

Cote's
212 Maine Street
Brunswick, ME

It's summer in Brunswick, Maine. That means you should head over to Cote's to get some ice cream. Any flavor will do. Pictured here is their delicious chocolate chip. Watch for large crowds.
They're open in the afternoons and evenings. You will not be disappointed by this homemade ice cream.

(Read the previous post here.)

Roba!Dolce

Roba!Dolce
178 Angel Street (corner of Thayer St. and Angel St.)
Providence, RI
(Visit their website for other locations)

This is a fun little place near Brown University. I didn't realize that this was a chain store because it was so much like just a little cafe that catered to the college and tourist crowd. At least in the case of the Providence store, the service was very good. Enter the cafe and you are greeted by "Welcome to Roba!Dolce!"

The store offers a wide variety of drinks, meals, and desserts although it is primarily a cafe so you're going to get the most choice in the drink realm. For lunch though, they had a special Penini with turkey (or ham), American cheese, tomatoes, red onion, and Balsamic vinaigrette. My dining companion and I topped that off with some coffee, espresso, and two desserts: a raspberry pie and a chocolate covered (and lathered) cream puff. Pretty good overall. I would say the atmosphere in this store makes it worth the visit.

Carpe Donut

(Check out their website for where they'll be!)

The donuts that these guys make are always a treat. Think about it: organic apple cider donuts that are warm and soft and just leave you feeling all good inside. What more could you ask for except an actual store where you could walk in daily and get a dose of these goodies? Until then, however, you'll just have to keep checking the website to see where they'll be. Looks like you can probably catch them on the Downtown Mall on Fridays on a fairly regular basis.

Aqua Malaysian & Thai Restaurant

Aqua Malaysian & Thai Restaurant
705 Chestnut St
Philadelphia, PA

This was a disappointing meal. My dining companion and I ordered two drinks, two salads, and two desserts. Maybe half of those would get a passing grade.

The coconut drink was basically coconut juice in a can win some coconut meat along with it. Not bad but it really did not taste as fresh as the real deal. Now, I have seen coconuts in Philadelphia so how hard could it be to offer fresh coconut juice in a Southeast Asian restaurant?

The mango juice was OK but my companion did not really like it. I thought it was pretty refreshing and a better deal than the coconut drink.

We ordered the Thai beef salad and the green papaya salad. The first one was edible and I loved the copious amounts of romaine, tomato, and onion. The sauce was a bit on the sweet side and for an almost $9 dish, they might have offered more meat. The green papaya salad was not very good at all. My companion complained that it left an after taste that reminded her of fish food and I tend to agree. Having never had papaya salad before, I don't know what to compare it to but I doubt that it is supposed to taste like this.

We ordered the fried banana and roti banana for dessert and enjoyed one of them. The fried banana was in a strange batter that made the fruit turn out red. It also seemed to absorb all the tasty goodness of the banana (maybe it was unripe) and really did not make a good impression. The roti banana, however, was pretty good. This is a cripy/sticky pancake dough stuffed with coconut paste and banana. It was also offered with just the coconut paste and this would have been fine. Good texture and not too sweet, this was my favorite dish there.

Overall, I was quite disappointed and was even less inclined to return when I got the bill. For the value and quantity of food that we got, I don't see how that could have equaled $40.

Copacabana

Copacabana Brazilian International
400 Shoppers World Ct
Charlottesville, VA 22901

This little restaurant, tucked away in Shoppers World on Route 29 is a terrific place for good food that is light and tasty. Located next to the local Whole Foods , Copacabana boasts a solid menu of seafood, pasta, and meats. The variety may not be so large but almost everything on the menu looks appetizing and you spend a lot of time trying to figure out what you want to try. The setting is a bit dark and the little candles don't give off much light so consider it a place for a romantic gathering. From what I could observe, however, there weren't many young couples there and a lot of business types, older folks, or couples in their 30s seemed to frequent this place.

I started off with the escargot with artichokes in a light cream sauce which also came with small pieces of tender cheese. The escargot was perfect and the artichokes really complimented the taste of the dish. The appetizer came with warm bread, which is just terrific and probably the best bread I've had in Charlottesville. The bread works great with just butter but dip it into the cream sauce and it just takes appetizers to a whole new level.

Entrees are served with a small salad with some shaved carrots to top it off. The house dressing, which is an avocado vinaigrette is wonderful and I have asked for just the dressing in a small container to take with me. They might overdo it a bit though when they drench their salads in this sauce.

For the main course I had the special, which was the fillet mignon with scallops in a red wine sauce. The meat was cooked perfectly and the scallops added a nice flavor to the dish. The sauce was creamy and a bit sweet, which made this a favorite dish of mine. I think they ran out of fillet mignons since, later in the evening, they started introducing New York strips as their special of the day. The fillet must have been a favorite.

Always top off a meal at Copacabana with the banana flan, which is served with a tasty strawberry sauce and whipped cream. This wonderful custard melts in your mouth and gives your tongue a nice treat after a full meal.

At the end, they give you a nice little mint and a hefty check. Maybe that's why this is not more popular with the student population. Still, it is well worth it and you leave the restaurant satisfied but not completely stuffed. They know how to do creamy dishes and entrees so that they taste great but don't make you so stuffed that you can't walk later.

Highly recommended!

Cote's

Cote’s
212 Maine Street
Brunswick, ME

This little ice cream stand is a Brunswick establishment. Open only during the summer months, Bowdoin College students often lament the fact that they are denied these tasty sweets while the academic year is in session. But with spring in Maine comes the opening of those two small windows and the wonderful ice cream. The smalls are pretty big so I always get the kiddie sugar cone. I can’t let go of the chocolate chip though I’m told that I’m missing out on some other fabulous flavors such as orange pineapple.

(Image by OZ)

Typhoon - Dessert

Typhoon
725 Boylston Street Lobby
Boston, MA

I ended the meal with a nice fried vanilla ice cream. The ice cream itself is not overpowering but they could use a bit less batter. The chocolate sauce mixes well and goes a long way towards making this a good solid dinner.

My dining companion had the same beef salad, tried one of their sushi rolls (very tasty) and ended with some friend bananas, which looked a bit small. He assured me though that they were just as good as the rest of the meal.

(Image by AG)