SUSHISAMBA rio

Hello Everyone,

This past weekend was a celebration for many people.  A fifth of the world’s population celebrated Chinese New Year, all the lovers celebrated Valentine’s Day, and a happy couple in Chicago celebrated their 17-month anniversary.  Such an occasion deserved a nice dinner in the city!

I had made reservations to SUSHISAMBA rio (Japanese-Brazilian-Peruvian fusion) around a month ago because I read on Opentable that they would have a special menu for Valentine’s Day.  When we walked in, we were welcomed and offered complementary coat check, which is always a plus.  We were seated right away in the back corner which was nice for a romantic dinner.

 

I looked over the special menu for the day and nothing really stood out.  I looked through the regular menu and it was the same feeling.  We decided to order from the special menu since it was only offered for that day.  We started off with chilled seasonal oysters, filet mignon anticucho, shaved hearts of palm, and a bobo brazil roll.

The roll came out first.  It roll was made with seared kobe beef, avocado, kaiware, shiso, red onion, and chimichurri ponzu.  I was really leaning towards getting something with toro or salmon, but the kobe beef and avocado caught my eye (also didn’t hurt that the waitress recommended it as well).  In the end, the roll was okay at best.  Japonais has better sushi for around the same price.

 

Then the oysters came next.  There were four oysters with a kumquat mignonette.  This was much better than the roll.  The oysters with the mignonette were very refreshing and a great way to start a meal.

 

I have never had hearts of palm before and don’t really know what it is, but it was my least favorite of the four starters.  It was served with mango vinaigrette and pink peppercorns and I am not a fan of the texture of the pink peppercorn.  It was a very pretty dish, but I just couldn’t get over the crunchy texture.

 

And they saved the best for last.  The filet mignon anticucho with butterscotch miso and almonds was the most amazing thing ever.  I could eat it over and over again!  The filet was cooked perfectly and the sauce was sweet but not overpowering.

 

For the main course, they had the choice between lobster and kobe beef…so we ordered one of each!  The butter poached lobster was very good.  The presentation amused me, so they get extra points for that.  You could definitely taste that it was poached in butter, but I think that’s what makes it better.

 

                                                                                                                     

The kobe beef a la plancha was slightly disappointing.  Since I commented about the presentation of the lobster, I feel obliged to say something about the kobe.  It was just a piece of meat on a plate.  I know it’s a steak, but I expected something a little more.  The presentation wasn’t the only thing lacking though.  I have never had kobe beef like this before so I wasn’t too sure what to expect.  The first bite was very rich and I was really enjoying the taste.   But the next few were kind of chewy; my girlfriend was even complaining about how her jaw was getting sore.

 

For dessert we got the chocolate peanut butter caramel bar with toasted marshmallow (in the shape of a heart) and caramel popcorn ice cream.  At first, I was a little afraid that the dessert would be too sweet and rich, but I was surprised how subtle it was.   The bar, ice cream and marshmallow complimented each other very well and the side of caramel popcorn was a nice touch.

 

Overall, it was a nice Valentine’s Day dinner.  The meal came out to be around $180 and another $12 for the valet which isn’t too bad, but I felt like the dinner should have been better for the price I was paying.  I do not think I would go back for dinner, but wouldn’t mind going for their happy hour to grab some sushi and drinks (and the filet mignon anticucho if possible).  Also, I had a look at their Restaurant Week menu and it looked much better than the Valentine’s Day menu…something for all of you to consider.

Tank Noodles

Hello Everyone,   

Sometimes I just get this craving for noodle soup and there are two different types of noodle soups that I love to eat: Vietnamese Pho and Hong Kong noodles.   The craving hit me hard earlier this week and I decided to get Vietnamese Pho.   My favorite place to get pho in Chicago is Tank Noodles at Argyle and Broadway in Uptown.    

    

One of my pet peeves when I go out to eat is when people always order the same thing at a restaurant.  I always feel like you should diversify and try different things.  I am my own worst enemy when I go to Tank Noodles because I order the exact same thing every time I go.  The first thing I always get is 7B, Fresh Spring Rolls with Shrimp.     

     

This stuff is awesome!  Don’t mess with number 7 (plain spring roll) unless you are allergic to shrimp…then you don’t have much of a choice.  But it is raw shrimp, mint, vermicelli rice noodles, and some other stuff.  It is very fresh and light and is very good as an appetizer.  It comes with a dipping sauce that is garnished with ground peanuts.  The spring roll itself is good, but the spring roll with the sauce is what takes it to the next level.       

       

For pho, I always get number 39 or 40.  They are the same thing except 39 is the large version of 40 and only cost a dollar more!  I usually get 40 (the smaller one) unless I am starving.  The pho consists of a clear beef broth, noodles, sliced beef, well done brisket, well done flank, soft tendon, bible tripe, and meatballs.  Some of these ingredients might not sound as appealing (mainly tendon and tripe).  If you don’t like certain things, you can always order something different or just pick them out of your pho.        

       

All pho dishes are served with raw bean sprouts, basils leaves, jalapeño peppers, and lime wedge.  

 

Personally, I am not a fan of the bean sprouts, but I put in the basil leaves, squirt the lime into the soup, and also add some hoisin sauce.  Also, I like to have a little dipping bowl with hoisin and sriracha sauce.  I dip all my meat into the sauce to add some extra flavors.  If you want a little extra kick, they also have this hot chili sauce.      

From left to right - hoisin, sriracha, hot chili

  

My girlfriend usually orders number 40 as well (and gives me the tendon and tripe); however, this time she decided to try something different.  She ended up ordering number 75 which is a beef noodle soup.  It was well spiced with star anise and other spices and she enjoyed it.  The soup was a little too red for me, so I didn’t even try it.       

      

Overall, I love this place.  There are many other places to eat in that area as well.  There’s this bakery just down the street that has the most amazing stuff.  There is plenty of parking in the area with the pay boxes.  I always get sited right away (unless it is jam packed) and the food comes out right away.  Prices are very reasonable, especially with the amount of food you get.  My pho (number 40) only cost 6.95! Our bill came out to be a total of 20 bucks and we were both left Tank Noodles full and satisfied.

Asian Bistro

Hello Everyone,

I am well aware that I haven’t updated my blog in a very long time and I am very sorry for that.  I am going to use the excuse that we are currently in a recession and I have been eating at home more often. 

I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving.  I just stayed home and invited some friends over and I cooked my first turkey!  The turkey came out better than expected.  Everyone said it was delicious and I am pretty proud of myself 🙂

Also during Thanksgiving break, we discovered a wonderful Szechuan restaurant in Arlington Heights called Asian Bistro.  Our friends recommended the place and when I heard the name of the restaurant, I wasn’t impressed.  The name just didn’t ooze “awesome Chinese food.”  They all gave the place rave reviews, so we decided to give the place a chance.

The first thing I noticed when I walked in was that it was quite crowded and all the customers were Asian, which is a good sign.  We ordered two cold dishes to start off: FuQiFeiPian (spicy sliced intestines) and KouShuiJi (spicy chicken).   Don’t let the redness of the chicken dish scare you…it isn’t THAT spicy.

 

Next we ordered some main courses: ShuiZhuYu (spicy fish in oil), GanBianSiJiDou (green beans), and XiangGanChaoRouSi (tofu stir fry with pork).  The two latter ones were not spicy at all.

Everyone that knows me knows that I cannot eat spicy foods.  Even though some of these dishes sound and look spicy, I was able to handle it; I just needed to have a constant supply of water and rice.  I really enjoyed the spicy fish, but I had to be careful to make sure I didn’t pick up any pieces of fish that were covered with the spice mix.  As a matter of fact, I enjoyed the spicy dishes more than the non-spicy dishes.

I also want to note that the spiciness of Szechuan food is different than curry and jalapeno.   Szechuan spicy is very aromatic and slightly numbing so when I eat Szechuan food, I have the burning sensation in my mouth, but it also tickles my taste buds.  It’s as if my taste buds were set on fire and they were enjoying it.

Overall, Asian Bistro is a very good authentic Szechuan restaurant.  It’s too bad it’s located all the way in Arlington Heights.  The service is very typical of a Chinese restaurant and the prices are very fair.  It is about 10 minutes east from Woodfield mall, so if you are ever out there shopping, consider dropping by and giving it a chance.