Cazon Tropical

Note: Apologies for the long hiatus. Who knew that the semester would take away all my time to travel and explore new restaurants?

Cazon Tropical

Wood Brook Shopping Center
1871 Seminole Trail - (In the Wood Brook Shopping Center behind the Kohr Brothers Frozen Custard place with the merry-go-round)Charlottesville, Virginia
(Check out their website and browse their entire menu here!)

A bit tucked away behind some stores, this spot on Route 29 North is a tasty one. Specializing in Dominican, Hondurian, and Salvadorian food,

they make a good meal for the hungry traveler. The prices are really reasonable as well.

Start off your meal with the chicken-filled corn tamals, which are wrapped in plantain leaves and are really, really hot inside. After your tongue stops burning from the first bite, try another and savor the tender meat and mushy corn. Or, start off with some Salvadorian meat pies, which are also really hot but delicious. They are actually sort of like fried pouches of ground beef.

Hungry for a big meal? Try the Pica Pollo, which is a "Dominican style" fried chicken, served with plantains and coleslaw. Be prepared because this is about half a chicken fried for your enjoyment. And enjoy it you will. I generally dislike white meat because it can come out really dry if not done correctly. Well, these guys know how to do breast meat because it was very crispy on the outside and tender on the inside. But the meat was also really rich and tasty. Perhaps some special seasoning makes this "Dominican style"?

If you feel like something smaller but just as good, try the Fajitas Tropicales. You get your choice of meat. This is mixed with onions, tomatoes, bell peppers and melty mozzarella and served on a tortilla. It's so soft and tasty that you'll wish you had ordered more than one.

But wait, there's more. Try the Tipico Salvadoreno, which is a grilled sirloin served with rice, beans, cheese, chorizo, and avocado. This is one tasty dish. Mix the meat with the other items provided and you get a good blend of the flavors all together.

For dessert try the deliciously soaked Tres Leches or the caramel flan. But you may be too full by then.

Cafe Du Monde

Cafe Du Monde
1039 Decatur Street
New Orleans, LA
(Visit their website!)

This place is just awesome. They're a New Orleans tradition, which is open 24 hours a day. Perfect for the city that never sleeps and the French Quarter that never stops partying. I'm told that you're supposed to get drunk all night, come over to Cafe Du Monde in the wee hours of the morning, have some coffee and their famous beignets and go to sleep. Such a diet is supposed to overcome any hangover effects the next morning. Now, I don't drink that much and I certainly don't party into the wee hours of the morning so I did not try it. However, I did have a fine breakfast at Cafe Du Monde.

Now, the menu is pretty sparse because they just sell beignets. Well, there are drinks too so I had what I assumed was a traditional breakfast of coffee and beignets. Each order comes with three of these wonderful balls of joy. Yes, it's all just fried dough topped with lots and lots of powdered sugar. But that's all it takes to make a greasy and filling breakfast. The dough was nice and crispy on the outside, protecting the softness on the inside. Just a terrific and simple recipe, which you can bring home with you. They sold the dough but I don't have a deep fryer at home so I didn't partake. Plus, it wouldn't have tasted the same anyway. Beware of the falling powdered sugar, which gets everywhere. Enjoy!

Bavarian Chef

Bavarian Chef
5102 South Seminole Trail
Madison, VA 22727

What is this German restaurant doing out in the middle of nowhere? On Route 29 between Washington and Charlottesville, you'll come across this wooden structure with a Bavarian look. Hungry for German food and beer? You've come to the right place.

Now, the food at the Bavarian Chef is extremely heavy as is most German cuisine but it is quite tasty. I have had the Zigeuner Lendchen (pork medallions in a zesty mushroom, onion, diced pepper, tomato, and bacon sauce) and the Karlsbadener Sahnegoulasch (veal, mushrooms, onions, tomatoes, and fresh cream). Both were very good. The Zigeuner Lendchen was well cooked and held together while the veal was very tender and almost melted in your mouth. Orders come with a bunch of sides. I think it's something like 2 sides per entree. The potato dumplings (pictured here) are really, really good. They're a bit gooey and have a similar feel as mochi on the outside. The potatoes are wonderfully done and I just could not get enough of this dish. The zucchini was cooked with onions and came in a nice tomato sauce. String beans were fine. I generally don't like red cabbage and these guys did not give me a reason to. Nothing against how they do it though.

I do have to say that these people could be friendlier to their guests. I wasn't impressed by the service. To be fair, they were packed and they did wear some German outfits, which did not look comfortable but even the receptionist needed to work on the "willkommen" attitude. The place is also kindof expensive. If I'm paying a lot of money for good food, remember that I have to consider the energy costs because this place is far away from almost anywhere. Perhaps a friendlier staff would make me happier to pay their operation costs.

The place itself is really cool. A lot of the seating is upstairs in the attic and there are all these little nooks with tables and mini lamps. It's all very cute and it all has a nice Bavarian feel. A bit dark so not a good spot for photographs but pretty nice atmosphere.

I didn't get the beer although they had a wide variety of German ones. Don't order the HUGE steins because they are indeed gigantic and you could not possibly drink it on your own.

Scarlet Begonias

Pasta special at Scarlet Begonias

Scarlet Begonias
212 Maine St # B
Brunswick, ME

This is probably one of my favorite spots in Brunswick. Now, I sometimes have problems getting to their actual menu because their specials are always so tempting and fantastic. How can you turn down the delicious scallop pizza or the special club sandwich with sprouts and turkey? If you're there when they have their fish chowder or seafood chowder, try it! Everything is made when you order so sometimes this will take a while and they do have limited seating so if you show up during the lunch rush, you might just have to wait a bit. I love the fact that you can just pick up a pitcher of water from the counter and take it over to your seat.

Now, there are some regular items that I really love. If I can resist their specials that day, I go for Sallie's Choice, which is a pizza loaded with sausage, broccoli, roasted red peppers, cheeses, and herbs. There's something about that combination that just hits the spot. Wash it down with an ice-cold Pepsi with ice. That is a fantastic meal right there although you will need a nap. There is no getting around that.

Other people are really drawn to the pasta selection at SB's. The Rose Begonia seems to be the absolute favorite and it's a blend of bacon, chicken, mushrooms, and herbs over penne pasta. The sauce is a tomato cream one and it is wonderfully rich. I think the dish is great but a bit creamy. The portions, by the way, are pretty big and you may end up taking some items home with you.

Pricey? Just a bit but the food is well worth it and hey, this is a local restaurant with a nice decor and great food. Just enjoy the great food and atmosphere.

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.

Rangoon

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

What are you doing for dinner tonight in Philadelphia? Drop your plans and head on down to Chinatown and check out Rangoon.

I wasn't sure what Burmese food was when I went into the restaurant. Burma is between Thailand and China. Was it a mix of the two cuisines? I wasn't sure about Burmese food the same way that I wasn't sure about Philippine food. What on earth is that? I don't think I've ever seen another Burmese restaurant and I don't think I've seen a Philippine restaurant.

But enough about cuisine limitations. On with the review. Rangoon is a bit out of the way in that it's not where the row of restaurants are in Chinatown but come over one more street and it's right there. The setting is very nice with some artifacts from Burma. The service is fast and they leave a whole pitcher of water for you at the table. I think that's because some of the food can be quite spicy.

I started out with the "festival fish noodle soup." I wasn't sure what the festival was but this was a fantastic dish and I think it was my favorite. The fish is all minced and is mixed in with the broth and rice noodles. You get a scent of lemon grass, ginger, and wonderful amounts of minced and fried or toasted garlic. Seasonings include lime, cilantro, and some amazing little peppers that are really red hot. Try just a little bit because those chillies have a heck of a kick.

My companion started out with a pumpkin soup. Now, that may sound traditionally American but it wasn't. This pumpkin soup probably had ten different spices in it. The ingredients made it rich, different, and a great way to start the meal. Toasted garlic (and onion?) topped off this tasty dish.

Café 88

Café 88
923 Preston Avenue
Charlottesville, VA

I have long complained about the dearth of good Chinese food in Charlottesville, but the opening of Café 88 requires me to revise my assessment of the town's offerings. True, Charlottesville doesn't have large Chinese restaurants like the ones I grew up with in California, but Café 88 - a small, spunky, innovative little restaurant - substantially raises the bar.

Café 88 offers - as its menu attests - Dim Sum, Snacks, and Chinese Bento Box.

I've tried a range of their dim sum offerings.

Crispy Chicken is a delicately fried chicken, spiced with basil. As with all of their other offerings, the food is handled with extreme care and attention.

I loved their Scallion Pancake, which had a perfect finish to it.

Spring Rolls are another strong suit - a wonderful contrast to the factory-made rolls I've encountered elsewhere in town.

Under Bento Specials, there are a variety of chicken and pork dishes. I've tried Wonderful Chicken and Amazing Chicken. In both cases, the chicken was prepared just right - with a crisp, thin crust on the surface and tender meat inside. Also - Bento specials are served with rotating side dishes, most memorably fried eggplant.

I'm consistently impressed with the degree of attention each dish receives. The chef holds herself to high standards.

Café 88 is, in short, must-eat Chinese - and an ideal lunch stop. It is located at 923 Preston Avenue, next door to Integral Yoga.