La Goulue - 9700 Collins Avenue Bal Harbour, FL 33154 - (305) 865-2181

General thoughts - Unfortunately my friends and I didn't purposely choose to go there. We were going to eat at a different restaurant but we ended up spending more time shopping at Bal Harbour than we intended so we looked for a place at Bal Harbour that struck our interests instead and it turned out to be a fortunate mistake because overall my meal was delicious. Being a French restaurant in the North Beach area of Miami, it wasn't cheap, but it was delicious and the food was memorable. Here's their menu.

Foods tasted - Endive salad, Escargot, Braised short ribs, Foie Gras (served with crostinis)

Thoughts -

1. Endive salad - It's similar to a Caesar salad with the anchovies but with grilled endives, shaved Parmesan cheese instead of grated, and cherry tomatoes. Grilled endives really adds to the taste and quality of the salad. There is a fine line between just the right amount of anchovies and too much anchovies which can end up overpowering the whole salad, but La Goulue did a great job with its salad. Unfortunately, since I'm not usually a fan of cherry tomatoes I did not taste them personally but I was told they were great.

2. Escargot - It has been a long time since I've had escargot and this dish reminds me why I enjoy them so much. These were cooked outside of their shells in lots of garlic butter with a piece of puff pastry on top of each snail. I'm guessing it's suppose to resemble beef wellington. Although I liked that they weren't overcooked, I think I prefer them served in the shells so that I'm not fishing the piece of escargot out from the bottom of the tray from a pool of butter like this time. Although the puff pastry idea is great and I can see why it would go well with the garlic butter since it's buttery to begin with, I honestly think I could've done without it or have it come on the side because while it was baking on top of the wells of butter, the bottom layers of the puff pastry began to get soggy.

3. Braised short ribs - The ribs were served boneless and the meat was tender but I honestly think the dish would've been better if the bones were left on. From experience, the longer the meat stays on the bones, the better it tastes, and these were just above average. There's something about being able to use a salad fork to pick pieces of meat off the bone because it's an indication that the dish was very well made. The sauce was great. The carrots, celery, and mashed potatoes were all pretty good. As good as it was, I think the restaurant could've done much better in the selection of sides to go along with the braised short ribs and be more creative instead of having their dish turning out like a standard American pot roast that I can make at home myself. So on that note I'm somewhat disappointed.

4. Foie gras (fattened goose liver) with crostinis - I must say that I was a bit apprehensive in trying it because of all the bad experiences I've had with liver growing up, but I suppose it was time for me to suck it up and try something "exotic." The crostinis were nice, warm, and crunchy. The foie gras was surprisingly tasty with no irony after taste like a normal liver. Perhaps something was done to it to get rid of that taste? Since I don't know how to prepare it, I have no idea. As long as I think of it as something similar to salmon pate I'm fine. I don't see myself purposely ordering foie gras, but I think I can deal with taking a taste or two if someone else orders it.

Final thoughts - Very yummy in My Tummy? Yeah I guess it did the trick. Would I go back? I honestly don't know. Other than the fact I don't foresee myself visiting North Beach any time soon, I just don't think the food we got was worth the money. It was a nice atmosphere and all and we got to sit outside, but I think it was

Cantonese House - 3159 S. Winton Road # 8, Rochester, NY 14623 - (585) 272-9126

General thoughts - This is obviously a local gem. It's in a strip mall that people drive past 50 times a day but yet it was packed when we got there. It takes up 2 large strip mall store spaces and somehow every table is full. If that's not good food, I don't know what is. Prices are pretty average for dim sum. This place makes me miss Hong Kong and the dim sum (and eveything else) there. Hopefully I'll go next year.

If you've never had dim sum, think tapas. Servers are weaving through the restaurant with carts piled high with stacklable steamers that has little plates of food in them that they serve to you inside the bamboo steamer cause the small plates are so hot. These are all one or two biters, so you end up ordering a lot. But unlike tapas, each dim sum dish will run you around $3 as opposed to $10 or more. Dim Sum literally means "pieces of the heart". the bites are smaller, and usually takes more care (from the heart) to make than your standard stirfry. Going here makes me miss Hong Kong, I really need to visit again soon.

Foods tasted - Steamed shrimp dumplings (har gau), Steamed Shu Mai, short ribs, chicken feet, Tripe and brisket, Pan fried chive dumplings, deep fried pork dumplings (ham sui gok), Turnip cake, Congee with "thousand year old" eggs and shredded pork, beef stirfry with broad rice noodles/scallions/bean sprouts.


Thoughts -

Steamed shrimp dumplings - Very good. The shrimp was not rubbery or overcooked.

Steamed Shu Mai - I don't have an English translation for it. But it's another form of dumplings that uses a different type of skin that are openfaced stuffed with pork. Pork is always the main ingredient in shu mai. I've seen other places adding other stuff to it, but the pork is a must. This one was also not overcooked.

Short ribs - Seasoned well. Not too tough.

Chicken feet - I thought they were quite good. Not too salty and not too bland. It's usually cooked in some sort of a red/orange colored concoction because I'm pretty sure no chicken out there have orange feet.

Tripe/Brisket - Tripe is cow stomach. It sounds grosser than it is. If prepared wrong it could be gross, but these were great. It was no Texas brisket but still excellent.

Pan fried chive dumplings - I don't know why I didn't like them when I was little, it's veggies and dough. Maybe it looked gross to me when I was little, but I think it's one of my favorites now along with Shu Mai (my all time favorite).

Deep fried pork dumplings - The skin on these are usually thicker because they get dropped in a deep fryer. They're like the shape of footballs. What you're looking for is the initial crunch when you first bite into one and compare to the more gooey middle. They mke good Ham Sui Gok at the Cantonese House.

Turnip cake - These are just ok. A little on the cold side. Most dim sum spots will have separate carts dedicated to Turnip cakes so they can cook them up in front of you fresh. It's a pan fry dish, so you're really looking for your turnip cake to be a bit caramelized on each size.

Congee with thousand year old eggs and shredded pork - The eggs are NOT a thousand years old. They are, however, treated with some sort of chemical so the whites turn into a black color and slightly jello-y, and the yolk into a blue/green color. I assure you these are perfectly safe to eat. I do not know why these were invented to begin with, but it does add a little something extra to what would be other a plain bowl of overcooked rice drowing in water. This dish (with the eggs and pork and all) is often served when someone's sick, similar to the chicken noodle soup idea. It puts some nutrients in you but doesn't shock the stomach.

Beef stirfry with scallions, sprouts, and broad rice noodles - My dad's favorite. We always get that when we go to dim sum. This dish is purposely made with less sauce so it's drier and slightly easier to eat. The alternate version of the exact same dish has more sauce in it and that's the one my mom likes better. I don't care, I just want good food.

Final thoughts - Yummy In My Tummy? Yes. Will I be back? If I'm ever back to Rochester, maybe. It was good but I'll want to see if there are better ones out there. But it seems like they're doing very well for themselves, that is great to see.

Bistro 555 at Greektown Casino Hotel - 555 E Lafayette Blvd, Detroit, MI 48226 - (888) 771-4386

Bistro 555's menu

General thoughts - My friends and I went there for our annual Greektown in Ballgowns event. We went to dinner about 12 strong. Considering how big our group was, I was impressed with their service, not to mention no one's meal was messed up. It is in the new parking structure of the Casino/Hotel so you don't have to be 21 to eat there. The view is pretty good and the ambiance tells me it's a great date/night out on the town type place to go.

Foods tasted - Cream of Broccoli soup, Crispy fried Calamari, Braised short Ribs, Beef (tenderloin) and Mushroom (Portabella) tower.

Thoughts -

1. Cream of broccoli soup - The soup was very thick and chunky. It wasn't over seasoned. I think they did a good job with it. I love chunky soup as much as the next person, but I don't know if I like it THAT chunky. It was very filling. I wouldn't say it was the best cream of broccoli I've ever had, but this was the alternative to a Ministrone soup that even the server said it's way too salty and just overall not good.

2. Crispy fried calamari - The breading wasn't too thick and the calamari was not rubbery at all. It came with a spicy marinara sauce. The sauce wasn't too tart and not too spicy. Kudos to Bistro 555 for a job well done.

3. Braised short ribs - That was sooo good! I only had a few tastes of it, but it was enough for me to remember it for future reference. I'll be comparing every braised short ribs dish to this one. I'm sure I would at some point crave this and just simply have to satisfy this craving and come back. It came with mashed potatoes for a side. As a potato lover, I thought it was very creamy and buttery. This was a top notch dish. Highly recommended.

4. Beef and Mushroom Tower - Basically it's 1 portabella sandwiched between 2 very tender beef tenderloins on a bed of finely cut hash browns with a nice reduction sauce. It came with fresh sauteed spinach. The beef was flavored very well but I thought the chefs could've eased up on the amount of sauce they put on the plate. The meat, mushroom, and spinach was swimming. The sauce should be an accent, not a pool for everything else to swim in.

Final thoughts - Very Yummy In My Tummy? Yes. Would I go back? Absolutely. The menu has a great variety and the prices aren't half bad. Not to mention I'll probably be craving that braised short ribs again very soon. As a side note, it was a lot of fun going to Greektown dressed as if I was going to prom all over again. Can't wait for next year's Greektown in Ballgowns.