Coffee Pot Restaurant - Sedona, AZ

The Coffee Pot Restaurant, located in west Sedona, Arizona at 2050 W. Highway 89A, is a great restaurant for breakfast and lunch. They are open daily from 6 am to 2:15 pm.

We ate at the Coffee Pot Restaurant two days in a row. On first day, a Sunday, we arrived around 10:15 in the morning. We circled the parking lot twice trying to find an open spot. We finally waited in the lot for a spot to open. Once inside, we waited about 10 minutes for a table for two. We occupied our time in the gift shop area of the restaurant, musing over the selection of regional trinkets available for sale.

Once we were seated, we were promptly provided with glasses and a pitcher of water and were asked for our beverage order. At a place called the “Coffee Pot” you just have to try the coffee and we did. It arrived in a thermal carafe with enough coffee for each of us to have at least two cups. The coffee tasted great and it was nice and hot. Just what we needed after a night of light snow mixed with rain. The coffee wasn’t the popular watered down stuff served in a lot of place in the mid-west. It also wasn’t the robust stuff served at Starbucks. It was just good coffee - pure and simple. The pitcher of coffee set us back another $1.75 per person.

On Sunday, I ordered huevos rancheros and Judy ordered a buckwheat waffle with an over-easy egg on the side. The huevos rancheros consisted of two eggs (over medium, as requested) served over a flour tortilla and topped with a mild green chili salsa and jack cheese. Accompaniments included refried beans, shredded lettuce, diced tomatoes, sour cream, Mexican rice and a fresh salsa. The refried beans had a good taste but they didn’t include any partially mashed beans. I prefer my refried beans slightly mashed or pureed. Nevertheless, these were good. The Mexican rice appeared to be dry but when I tasted it, I was surprised. It was moist, well seasoned and just the right texture. (Judy: the Mexican rice is very tasty; I think it is because the rice has tomato paste in it.) The tomato-based salsa had a little bite to it. It had a fresh tomato taste, with noticeable bits of fresh scallion and herbs. It was well worth the $6.50.

The buckwheat waffle with pecans was $5.95 and well worth the price. The waffles (2 in all) were very light in texture. The waffle was crisp on the exterior yet moist and fluffy in the interior. (In this case, moist does not mean undercooked.) The egg on the side, costing an additional $0.95, was cooked to a perfect “over medium”. (Judy: I had some syrup with my waffle. Even though I used a small amount and had an egg with my fluffy waffle, I was sleepy for the rest of the morning. I don’t do well with sugar.)

.The next day we arrive at 7:15 in the morning. It was a Monday and there were plenty of open parking spaces so we didn’t have to circle the lot. We were seated promptly.

Since the Coffee Cup Restaurant offers 101 omelettes, I just had to try one. I tried the ham, bell pepper, tomato and onion omelette (number 12 on the menu) for $6.50. I paid and additional $0.95 for Egg Beaters instead of whole eggs. The omelette was huge and had plenty of diced ham, peppers, tomatoes and onions. The omelettes are served with a choice of potatoes, grits or cottage cheese and a choice of toast or biscuit. I had the grits and whole-wheat toast. My only complaint (my own fault) is that I should have asked them not to butter the toast.

Judy had the “Take Two”, consisting of two pancakes, two eggs (over medium) and two sausage links. The pancakes were light and fluffy. The pancakes didn’t need syrup because they were already slightly sweet. The eggs were cooked as ordered and the sausages were tasty. (Judy: The pancakes were full-sized and I could not finish them. The pancakes were perfect; browned just right with little exterior crunchiness while fluffy at the same time. It was a good thing, I did not need syrup with the pancake.)

The service at the Coffee Pot Restaurant is prompt, efficient and very courteous.

We can’t wait to go back for lunch to try their “authentic Mexican food”. We have high expectations, based on the flavors and presentation of the huevos rancheros.

Judy: This is a Southwestern style diner and not really a cafe. I love having breakfast at a diner and the Coffee Pot Restaurant is a good diner.

2050 W Highway 89A - map Sedona, AZ 86336 Tel: (928) 282-6626

Mixed Experience - Javelina Cantina, Sedona

You know, a restaurant is more than just the food or the chef or the server. A restaurant is everything within the facility. It includes every employee, the food, the atmosphere, the cleanliness, and the attitudes of every person working. The cooks must show a passion for their craft. The servers must be attentive and knowledgeable.

Tonight we ate at a mid-size restaurant in Sedona, Arizona. The restaurant is named Javelina Cantina. It is located at 671 Highway 179, Sedona, Arizona 86336. Their telephone number is (928) 203-9514.

When we entered the restaurant at 6:55 this evening the host was busy with a carryout customer. He told us to wait a few minutes while he went to the kitchen to get the carryout order. At the same time he asked us to wait, there were two busboys behind him joking around. Why weren’t they be sent to the kitchen to get the carryout order? Anyway, we were shown to our seats after a wait of 4 to 5 minutes even though the place was only about 40% occupied.

We were seated in an indoor patio type area. The bus boy brought water, chips and salsa right away. A table next to us was placing their dinner order with their waiter. After ten minutes our waiter (let's call him "S") arrived to take our drink order. We each ordered a 23 ounce draft red ale. "S" went off to place the order and to wait on other tables on the other side of the restaurant. Ten minutes later he came back with our beverages and took our food order. At the same time, the table next to us was receiving their entrees.

The chips were excellent and the salsa was very good with a strong taste of oregano. (She said: We were supposed to watch our weight but we ate almost half of the basket of the chips.)

I ordered the fish taco platter and my wife ordered the tamale platter with one beef tamale and one green corn tamale. We each ordered the black beans instead of refried beans since we were given the option.

Within seven minutes our platters arrived. The plates were hot while the presentation was typical.

The fish tacos platter had good and not so good points. The fish, in the two tacos, was grilled perfectly. The texture was great. The flour tortillas were fresh and tasty. Unfortunately, it includes a tartar sauce that was fairly tame. The overall flavor of the taco reminded me of a Fillet-O-Fish from McDonald's. (Yes, I admit that I've eaten at McDonald's in my younger days.) (She said: I have to laugh when Chef told me it tasted like Fillet-O-Fish. He was right. But the New York Times recommended the dish.) The black beans were very good. They were well seasoned, cooked correctly and the portion was adequate. The Mexican rice apparently sat under a heat lamp or in a warmer for a while because some of it was dried out and tough. The remainder of it was moist and well seasoned. (She said: I did not care for the rice at all. The Coffee Pot Cafe in Sedona has better rice than this place.) In the center of the platter was a portion of shredded cabbage with diced tomatoes and chilies.

The green corn tamale was excellent. It had whole kernels of corn in the tamale dough and was filled with a very tasty cheese. It was served with a green chili salsa. (She said: This was outstanding. It had a little bite to it from the green chili sauce.) The shredded (Machaca) beef tamale was only ordinary. (She said: Taste like a chain restaurant’s tamale. Well, outside of Houston, TX. Houston has good tamales, even from the chain restaurants.) It was served with a red salsa. The remainder of the plate consisted of the same accompaniments as the fish taco platter.

After finishing the entree we waited another ten minutes before the host walked by to seat additional customers. Apparently he could tell that I was unhappy and asked if I needed anything. (Said: Boy! Chef had that “death ray eyes” on. He was mad!!!) I explained that we were finished and had been waiting ten minutes for our waiter. The host brought over a carryout box for Judy's leftovers. Then waiter showed up about 3 minutes later to see if we needed anything else. (She said: Heck no! I do not have another 30 minute just to get dessert.) We asked for the check. He disappeared for another 5 minutes and returned with the check. I gave him a credit card and only had to wait for another 3 minutes before he returned.

I usually tip twenty percent for good service. Tonight, "S" only received an 11% tip, which was about 10% more than I really thought he should receive.

I have to say that customers at other tables around us had different waiters and that they seemed to receive very good service. They were even told what the specials of the day were.

The rest of the restaurant was very nice. The place was very clean, with a nice decor. The place was well lit so there were no problems reading the menu at night.

Cleveland Chop House and Brewery - Cleveland - November 2007

We ate dinner at the bar of the Cleveland Chop House and Brewery on a Saturday night based on the recommendation of the concierge at our hotel. The restaurant is located in the Warehouse District at 824 W. St. Clair, in Cleveland. There are 3 other restaurants in this small chain of Chop House restaurants. They are located in Washington, DC, Boulder, CO, and Denver, CO.

The place was packed when we got there and got even busier within 20 minutes after our arrival. We were fortunate enough to find a free table in the bar area. There was a big crowd in town for Sunday's Browns game and a Bruce Springsteen concert.

I started with a pint of their American Pale Ale. It was fairly dry and not overly hoppy. It was a very good beer but I wanted something with just a touch more sweetness. Judy ordered an Irish Red which was very good so I had one as my second beer. The Irish Red was a medium bodied beer with a nice balance and just the slightest touch of sweetness that I was after. A couple sitting at the table with us had the American Wheat. They said that the wheat beer had citrus accents and seemed to be lightly hopped. The beer was unfiltered so it had a slight cloudiness to it. The beers cost $4.25 each.

I ordered the Chop House Salad with dressing on the side. (I always prefer to get the dressing on the side since most places over dress the greens resulting in a pool of dressing at the bottom of the plate or salad bowl.) The salad consisted of mixed greens, strips of smoked turkey, Gouda cheese, pumpkin seeds, sun dried blueberries and avocado. The dressing was an herb vinaigrette. The smoked turkey and Gouda really worked well together. The greens were crisp, clean and fresh. The pumpkin seeds were toasted and tender. The blueberries added a touch of sweetness and the avocado added creaminess. The salad was very filling and the portion was adequate as a single course. Cost of the salad was $12.50. (Judy: I like salad that isn't just all lettuce. This one has different taste elements to it)

Judy had the Mussels for $10.50 and a side of seasoned fries. The mussels were clean with no broken shells. They were served in a light tomato based sauce. The fries were seasoned with salt, pepper, and Parmesan cheese. The server said that the seasoning also included herbs but we really couldn't detect any. The cheese flavor was barely noticeable, which was exactly what we wanted and an accompaniment to the mussels. (Judy: I almost always order the appetizer mussels because they usually retain the juice from steaming the mussels, which makes the sauce sweeter. Chop House' mussels were not the best that I've had but they were good.)

Overall, we were very pleased with the restaurant. The service was attentive in spite of the ever growing crowd in the bar area.

The following day we walked around town and found that a lot of restaurants in downtown Cleveland are closed on Sunday afternoons. We were both in the mood for a quick burger so we stopped at the Chop House for lunch. The burgers, $10.50 each, were cooked to a perfect medium and were served with lettuce, tomato and onion with fries on the side. The burgers were excellent... juicey, not greasy and well seasoned. We each had a large Irish Red beer with the burgers. The large beers, about 20 ounces, are $6.00 each.
(Judy: Sometimes, you just have to have a burger and a pint of good beer. Chop House did the job nicely. We had to put in an extra 3o minutes of excercise, but it was worth it.)

After the Chop House, we did a 3 hour visit to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Lola - Cleveland - 2nd Night

Chef Symon, Chef Burning Chix and Mrs. Burning Chix (Judy)


Yes, this time I remembered the camera. Chef Symon was very gracious and was willing to show us around the restaurant and explained a little about his cooking techniques. (Judy: Chef gave us a signed menu. We had a nice conversation about the Next Iron Chef [without giving us any clues about the outcome], Rocco DiSpirito and their friendship (they had a TV show together). He walked us over to his open kitchen...very nice and expensive kitchen with an army of young kitchen staff.)

As we stated in the previous post, we went to Lola for a 2nd night in a row so we could try out more of the items on the menu. We really wanted to try more of the appetizers and the cheese course. Since we were just having a light meal, we decided to sit a the bar. The bar top was very interesting. It appeared to be alabaster, with lighting from underneath so that the whole bar top glowed.

First, we ordered a bottle of Catalina Sounds Sauvignon Blanc for $34. We really enjoyed the wine's passion fruit, herb and grass notes. (Judy: Very nice on the nose.)

We started with crab gnocchi for $13. Personally, I'm not a big gnocchi fan. There is something about the texture and mouth feel of gnocchi that I don't like. Judy, on the other hand, loves good gnocchi. The gnocchi were served with butternut squash, brussels sprouts and parsley. The butternut squash helped to contrast the slight bitterness of the brussels sprouts. The taste of crab was evident, but not strong. The gnocchi were a little drier than most gnocchi that I've had and I actually enjoyed these. The flavor combinations worked well together. The wine, although very nice, didn't really go well with this dish, most likely because of the brussels sprouts. (Judy: This dish does not have the WOW factor, however, depends on what elements that you have on the fork. Every bite tasted different.)

We also ordered the crispy sweetbreads for $13. Sweetbreads are the thymus glands of veal or lamb. I've had them once before at the Culinary Institute of America, when I was a student there. At that time I thought that they were alright, but nothing spectacular. Chef Symon's version of sweetbreads are served with creamy leeks with a delicate blue cheese and wild mushrooms. I have to say that these were fantastic. The delicate texture of the sweetbreads, leeks and mushrooms worked very well together. The wine really worked well with this dish. I think that the balance of the acid in the wine and the creaminess of the cheese were a hit. (Judy: This is a WOW dish. A nice reward for the brave and adventurous eater. Chef said he does sell about 15 -20 dishes a night for this dish.)

Next we had the apple and pear salad, served with greens, slivered almonds and blue cheese for $8. The apples and pears were thinly sliced cross sections of the fruit. While I thought that the salad was a slightly overdressed, the flavors were very nice. Another hit with the wine.

We also had the beet salad for $9.00 The salad was composed of thick slices of red and golden beets, arugula, goat cheese and pecans. I've been a fan of fresh beets (as opposed to canned beets) for a long time. These were excellent. A very nice salad. By this time, we were running out of wine. (Judy: Ahhh! Beets!!!)

Finally, we had the cheese course. This course can be ordered with 3, 4 or 5 cheeses. We had the 5 cheese course plate for $15. We were actually presented with a plate of 6 cheeses and quenelle of a fruit compote. The standard 5 cheese plate consist of 3 cows' milk cheese, 1 goats' milk cheese and one sheeps' milk cheese. The extra cheese was a nice cheddar cheese. The goat cheese was a nice humboldt fog which was a little less "goaty" than most goats' milk cheeses that I've had. It was my favorite cheese of the plate. We enjoyed the cheese course with glasses of Old Codget Tawny port for $7 per glass. (Judy: I love cheese course (not very Chinese), the only thing I do not like high end restaurants' cheese courses is that they give you thin slices of cheeses. Ken said it's because some of the cheeses can be very expensive.)

Cleveland - November 2007 - Lola

Starting today, the food blog comments are being written by my wife, Judy, and myself!!! She adds an extra dimension to my technical style of writing.




Judy and I ate at Lola on Wednesday, November 7, 2007 and then again on Thursday, November 8th. We went back a second night just for the appetizers and cheese plate because there were so many interesting appetizers on the menu that we really wanted to try.
Lola is located downtown Cleveland at 2058 East 4th Street.
When we arrived Wednesday, Chef Michael Symon was being photographed for another news article. He is in high demand since he is one of the finalist on "The Next Iron Chef". It is easy to tell when the Chef is in... you can hear his unique laugh across the restaurant.
The decor of the place is modern with low lighting. There is an alabaster bar at the front of the restaurant, which can be seen from the street. At the back right, you can see the open kitchen.
Now about the food:
We were presented with a small amuse bouche of house cured pancetta on a small brioche roll. It had a very nice, slightly smokey and salty flavor. Perfect for the start of a great meal.
We then had the beef cheek pierogies with wild mushrooms, a touch of horseradish and creme fraiche. The price was a bit high, $12, for only two pierogie, but the flavor and textures were fabulous. The pierogies were served al dente with a touch of sauce and fresh herbs. The filling had a deep, rich flavor. (Judy's comment: They taste like very good pot stickers, but $12 for 2?????)
We also had the charcuterie of the day, which consisted of 4 different house prepared sausages or cured meats, pickled vegetables, small slices of brioche and a coarse grain mustard for $12. While all meats were excellent, the most memorable was the 5 thin slices of lamb sausage with juniper and citrus. (Judy: Fascinating, first you test the slight gamey taste of lamb, then at the end, it finishes with orange. Wow!!) There was a cured ham was very similar to serrano ham from Spain. It was served as 4 or 5 paper thin slices. It reminded me of the serrano that we had in Malaga last year.
For entrees we had the smoked Berkshire pork chops and the sturgeon.
The pork chops were thick sliced, boneless and served medium. They were cut into pieces about 2 inches wide and 1 1/2 inches thick. There were served over a creamy, cheesey polenta (Judy: The polenta by itself is so creamy and dreamy. Eat it with the pork and the sauce, it just make the pork chop taste heavenly.) and topped with barbecued pickled onions and a few thin slices of hot peppers. They were the best pork chops that I've ever eaten. Very tender and moist with a bit of heat and sweetness from the peppers and onions. The creamy polenta made an excellent sauce for the dish.
The sturgeon consisted of 2 pieces of sturgeon, probably 3 to 4 ounces each, about 1 1/4 inches thick. It was served with clams, chorizo, and braised swiss chard. The flavors worked very well together. Overall, the dish was very good. The fish was just the slightest bit overcooked, almost as if it was left on the burner for 10 seconds too long (Judy: It's hard to pass my taste buds, when you are 10 second beyond perfection). Sturgeons are bottom feeders so they have a hint of a muddy taste, similar to catfish. Even so, this flavor element worked well with the braised greens. (Judy: I usually eat each element by itself than all together. For this dish you need to eat all elements together.)
Our waiter recommended two desserts, the "6 a.m. special" and the mocha parfait. Both desserts cost $9 each.
The "6 a.m. special" was very interesting and very good. It consisted of french toast made from brioche, an maple flavored ice cream with bits of smokey bacon incorporated into it. (Judy: When I tasted the bits of bacon, my reaction is "Oh my goodness!") , and caramalized apples. The tiny bits of bacon added an extra twist to the dessert that made it really special (in a good way).
The mocha parfait consisted of a rich chocolate creme topped with a coffee granite and bits of walnuts. Again, it was excellent. (Judy: Yum!!Yummy dark chocolate cream)
We ordered a bottle of Joseph Drouhin Vero Pinot Noir for the meal since a lighter red wine would work well with the various dishes we ordered. It was a nice wine for the meal. Cost of the bottle was $40. This wine normally retails for about $25 so the restaurant's markup wasn't bad. (Judy: I was nicely surprised at the different tastes and the complicity of the wine as I tasted the different dishes)
The service in the restaurant was excellent.
I'm glad that we don't live in Cleveland. I would probably go broke from eating a Lola on a regular basis.
Judy mentioned to the waiter that I had graduated from the same culinary school as Chef Symon. At the end of the meal Chef Symon sat at our table for a brief chat. He seems very likable in person. Unfortunately for us, we left our camera at the hotel so we didn't get a picture of the 3 of us. (Judy: Nice guy. His wife is the sommelier for their two restaurants)
We'll write about our followup visit in our next entry. We remembered the camera on the followup visit.

Fuengirola Spain - Meson La Pecha

This little tapas place quickly became one of our favorite spots in Fuengirola. It is located about a block off of the eastern end of the main street running along the beach front. On the first day we just stopped in to have a drink. We ordered white wine, without any preference specified. The wines were nice but not noteworthy. While we drank we noticed that other patrons (the other 3 or 4 patrons) were served a dish of olives and pickled vegies. The owners must have noticed our curiousity so they provided us with a dish of those as well. Very tasty. There was also a small refrigerated display case of different meats/seafoods on skewers on the bar counter so we inquired about one of the items. It was a Manchego cheese marinating in olive oil and black pepper. We ordered a plate (and more wine) and found the olive oil, pepper and hard cheese to be extremely refreshing. The flavors complimented each other perfectly.
The next day we returned and ordered a few more tapas, including a smoked meat plated which included jamon serrano, salchichon (sausage), smoked pork loin with a few slices of Manchego cheese. All were fabulous. The serrano ham was my favorite. The smokey flavor of cured, aged pork, freshly cut off of the whole ham was beautiful.
I managed to talk a little with the owners (husband and wife), explaining that I am a cook in the United States and that I am opening an Irish Pub style restaurant in Virginia. Then I asked if they prepared paella at the restaurant. Unfortunately, the answer was "no". After a few minutes the wife came over and explained that they would make paella for us. We made arrangements to return to the restaurant for paella in three days at 8 in the evening. We arrived about 7:45 and they had a special table set up for us. We each had a glass of sangria (compliments of a nice English couple that we met at the restaurant on our second trip). The paella was cooking away on the restaurant's grill. At about 8:10 the paella was ready and we had the best paella that we've ever had. It had mussels, fish, shrimp, clams and other seafood. I've prepared paella many times (including at school where I learned to make the dish from a Spanish chef) but this was the absolute best. The rice was cooked perfectly. The flavoring superb. The seafood was tender and not overcooked. Just amazing. Although the tab was 30 Euros (including drinks) we gave the owners 50 Euros for their troubles and for treating us like royalty.
On our fourth and final trip we had a few of the skewers that were in the display case. The lamb was good, but not special. The cuttlefish was very fishy tasting... a little too strong for us but we finished it anyway. It didn't taste old or bad, just too strong. We also had more Manchego cheese and wine. The restaurant carries dozens of Spanish wines.

Spain - La Costa Del Sol - Part 1

We recently returned from a trip to Spain. More specifically, the province of Malaga located on the southern coast. Based on our limited exposure, we must say that Spain is beautiful. It is a place where the mountains meet the sea, the people are friendly and the food is great.



In Spain we had our first "White Coffees". Basically a shot of espresso with steamed milk added. It is served in a small glass with a side of sugar so you can sweeten it to your own taste. We first had this drink for breakfast in a small cafe attached to a gas station. (By the way, regular gas at that time was .99 Euros per liter or $5.00 a gallon). We also ordered breakfast. The breakfast menu was limited to sandwiches served on small baguettes, toasted on a grill. We ordered ham and cheese. Drizzeled with a little EVO... excellent. All of the baguettes that we had during our trip were crusty with extremely fresh interiors.

We also found another favorite... Espetos de sardinas. These were skewered sardines which were grilled by an open fire. Almost every beachside restaurante had a small fire just outside with sardines grilling. The sardines were liberally salted with sea salt. The taste was fantastic... There were a few sardines that weren't cleaned as much as they should have been so there was a bit of a bitter taste when we encountered those, but overall, still fantastic.

more later...

Hunan Delight - Olney, MD

Great Chinese food. Even better than most places in NY. Items to try are:
Stir fried hot peppers (la jiao xiao sao)
Spicey wonton (hong you cao so)
Orange beef
Steamed fish of the day
Fried dumplings
Open 7 days a week. No beers on tap.

18220 Village Center Dr, Olney, MD Tel: (301) 774-7944

Wheeltapper Pub - Manhattan

Today we had lunch at the Wheeltapper Pub in the Fitzpatrick Hotel on 44th Street in Manhattan between Lexington and 3rd Avenue.
The pub has a friendly staff of mostly Irish wait staff. The decor is nice and the selection of beer on tap is good for an Irish pub. The restaurant is based on a railroad theme with gauges, dials and faux tracks on the floor. My favorite beers on tap include Bass, Guinness, Smithwicks.
The lunch menu is relatively light, as far as choices go.
Today I had the Irish stew which was good but not for $16.00. The portion size was about 16 fluid ounces. The broth was tasty but the gaminess of the lamb was well evident in the broth. The large pieces of potato and carrot were barely cooked through. The stew was supposed to contain barley and it did... about 10 pieces in the whole bowl. The first bite of lamb was tough. It could have cooked through another half an hour or so. Other pieces of lamb ranged from tough to perfectly cooked. It seemed like they combined two batches of soup, one with undercooked lamb and the other with perfectly cooked lamb.
The wife had corned beef and cabbage for $13. The corned beef was practically tasteless. If you concentrated enough on the meat you could detect the corned beef taste. The cabbage seemed to be cooked in plain water with no salt or flavoring. Overall a pretty tasteless dish.
On previous occasions we've had the Irish breakfast which was very good and the fish & chips which were good.
The pub also deemed fit to charge a 15% gratuity on the check. I usually tip more than that, but if they only want 15%, that is fine with me. (I know that I could add an additional tip, but when a place with poor food adds a tip for a party of two to the bill, I get a bit put off.)
I suggest that if you are in the Grand Central area of Manhattan and you want an Irish pub, you will find a lot of choices so look beyond the Wheeltapper.

NY Chinatown Must

Joe's Shanghai is located in the tourist part of Chinatown at Pell St, New York, NY 10013. You have to go there just to try the xiao long bao listed on the menu as steamed dumplings. For $6.95 you get 8 steamed dumplings filled with pork, crab roe and a fabulous broth. You need to eat these with a spoon, because at the first bite the broth will ooze from the dumplings. They are served with a sauce comprised dark soy with slivers of ginger and a touch of vinegar. Joe's has another branch in mid-town but the dumplings just aren't the same. Compared to the original on Pell Street, the dumplings at the mid-town location are just a pale reminder of what could be. Other restaurants have begun to offer the "soup buns" but again, they just aren't as good.

The seating at Joe's is somewhat typical of the restaurants in Chinatown. They will put you at tables where other guests are already eating (if there is enough available seating for your party at that table). The advantage to this is that you can see what other people are eating and find out if they like what they've ordered.

Now for the rest of the items at Joe's Shanghai. Everything else that we've tried is mediocre. Today we had snow pea shoots (dou miao). Nice and fresh, but way oversalted. Another couple (non-Asian) sat at the table with us and had the won-ton soup. The husband said that he loved the soup so it is probably worth trying. It certainly looked good. We let them try our pea shoots and they loved them in spite of the saltiness.

In the past we've tried other vegetable dishes, duck and various appetizers including spicey pickeled napa cabbage (la bai cai). Nothing was spectacular. We've learned to go to Joe's for the xiao long bao and skip the rest.

The restaurant gets very busy on weekends, so get there early or be prepared to wait in line.

The service is fair, but not special.

Cash only... No checks... No credit cards... No bartering.

TenPenh (www.tenpenh.com) is located at 1001 Pennsylvania Ave. NW in Washington D.C. It is one of my favorite "fusion" restaurants, combining Asian and western flavors. I last went to TenPenh on a Tuesday night in mid-October and had dinner at the bar. I didn't make reservations and the place was packed, but there were seats at the bar.

I started with a Kirin draft beer while I read the menu. They had several beers on tap besides the Kirin, including Sierra Nevada, Sapporo, and a couple of the domestic tasteless beers. They also offer a good selection of sake.

There were a lot of interesting options on the menu and I would have liked to try several of the dishes. One of the advantages of eating with a group of friends is that you can share and try a lot more dishes. Anyway, I ordered the Applewood Smoked Bacon and Kaffir Lime Topped Scallops with Nishiki rice, Spicy Asparagus, Green Curry Sauce for $24. I wanted to order dessert so I skipped the appetizer.

Once I placed my order I was presented with an amuse bousche which was a shot glass filled with a butternut squash/kaffir lime soup. I was surprised that the soup didn't have the sweetness that I've come to expect from a butternut squash soup. I also found that the kaffir lime taste was a little too heavy for the soup and overwhelmed the butternut squash flavor. It wasn't bad, but I would not order it again.

I ordered a glass of nice Alsacian pinot gris to accompany the main course, as recommended by the bar tender.

The four large scallops were cooked to perfection, resting on a light green curry sauce. They were seared on the bottom and just barely cooked through, as I like them. They were supposed to be topped a kaffir lime/bacon topping. To me, the topping looked like panko (Japanese bread crumbs) with tiny flecks of green (kaffir lime). I didn't see or taste the bacon. The kaffir lime taste was very subtle, at least when eaten with the curry sauce. The curry sauce had a coconut milk base, as most south east Asian curries have. The accompanying asparagus was perfectly cooked and seasoned, but I didn't notice that the dish was spicy. Nevertheless, they were very good. The Nishiki rice was properly cooked and seasoned. Overall, the dish was very good.

The dessert menu was very interesting. All desserts were priced at $8. The bartender recommended Warm Coconut Dusted DonutsCoconut-Caramel Pudding & Toasted Coconut Ice Cream but I love to bake crème brulees so I had to try TenPenh's version. It is shown on the menu as Trio of Crème Brulee (Kaffir Lime, Star Anise, Passion Fruit Tea). The brulees were served in separate sake cups for each flavor. I tried the kaffir lime first. I was surprised by the texture when I broke through the crisp burnt sugar topping. The texture was more like a creamy pudding than the more dense custard that I'm familiar with. The flavor of the kaffir lime was very nice, but by this time I was getting a little tired of kaffir lime. I love passion fruit so I expected the passion fruit version to be my favorite. If passion fruit/tea flavor was very delicate and almost undetectable, at least after eating the kaffir lime brulee. Perhaps I should have started with the passion fruit brulee. Finally, I tried the star anise brulee. Wow! I was completely surprised. I like to use star anise when I cook some Chinese foods but I never thought of using it in a dessert. It was fantastic. I'll have to try to make my own version of this dish.

The bartender was very knowledgeable of the menu and which beverages would complement the meal. The food runners and bus staff were quick, efficient and did their jobs well.

Overall, a very satisfying experience, in spite of the abundance of kaffir lime.


Hours of Operation:
Monday -
Lunch: 11:30 am - 2:30 pm
Thursday
Dinner: 5:30 pm - 10:30 pm
Friday
Lunch: 11:30 am - 2:30 pm

Dinner: 5:30 pm - 11:00 pm
Saturday
Dinner: 5:30 pm - 11:00 pm