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I Heart Balls
2008-04-17 20:43:00
I must say, those Swedes make some damn fine meatballs. Until very recently, my only experiences enjoying their country’s home-cooked meal staple saw me sitting under big yellow letters that spelled out “Ikea.� But a couple weeks ago, I was called to Stockholm on a work trip, and I was able to partake in a genuine plate of the gravy-drenched morsels of goodness. Each were about a third of the size of traditional American or Italian spheres but dare I say ten times more delicious. The meatballs were accompanied by mashed potatoes and, of course, a side of tart-sweet lingonberries as well as a delicate cucumber salad. My lunching partners also ordered a side of other traditional Swedish fare, which included a kind of moose or elk pate, sweet pickled fish and a quiche-like cheese pie, all of which were delicious. The restaurant was located in the Old Town section of Stockholm, but sadly, I didn’t take down its name. But I did learn the Swedish word for ground beef—Köttfä...
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Pink Taco- Century City, CALIFORNIA
2008-04-17 19:46:00
There have been a lot of nuevo-gourmet contemporary Mexican restuarants opening recently. We did a review a few months ago about Amaranta in Woodland Hills. Now lets turn our sights toward Century City and take a look at Pink Taco.No this won't be a discussion on the historical notoriety on the name of the restaurant. You're free to peruse the web for that.Upon entering Pink Taco, you notice that the decor is a blend of both traditional religious iconography with various crucifixes displayed on a column in the dining area along with contemporary Mexican street art in the way of artistically painted car hoods adorning the walls. It was a neat ecclectic mix of styles inside this restaurant, less garage-sale and more artsy in my opinion. This restaurant really looks fun.I didn't know what to expect on whether this would be a family friendly place when we saw the greeter was similarly dressed to a Hooters waitress (sans the short-shorts). But it was indeed family friendly at lea...
More About: California

Trader Joe's Spinach & Feta Cheese Stuffed Salmon- NATIONWIDE
2008-04-17 19:35:00
A couple of nights ago, Mrs. Chicken Fried prepared some Spinach and Feta Cheese Stuffed Salmon Filets which we purchased at Trader Joe s.We love prepared meals which include all the ingredients but still allow you to cook them, but have had mixed results from the prepared dishes we get at warehouse stores.However this was not the case with our latest meal from Trader Joes. We grilled the salmon and within minutes we had a wonderful restaurant quality meal. While this prepared meal had all the necessary ingredients, you would be best advised to flavor to your liking, and the only improvement I would add would be a dash of sea salt. Other than that though, The salmon was tender and flavorful. The Feta and Spinach really added to the personality of the dish, with the it combination of the smooth rich tasting Feta and the earthy nuttiness of the spinach. It was a perfect topping for the salmon.We combined this dish with Rice Pilaf courtesy of Rice-A-Roni, and some non-fermented red...

SPECIAL THANKS
2008-04-17 18:34:00
Here's a special thanks to writer, Eddiebomber for keeping us afloat while our editor has been swamped with a lot of projects recently.Thank you Eddiebomber!
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Dallas Next Week
2008-04-04 23:25:00
I'll have some reports from the Lone Star State yet again. We'll see what type of good eats we can get in Texas
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The Grove - Houston (Downtown)
2008-03-23 17:37:00
A little gem of a restaurant is the Grove . It has a good variety off comfort foods with a twist to it. I ordered the skirt steak that cme with a side of chilli fries.The steak was a little to rare for my liking, but the seasoning was not to overwhelming. Sometimes (sorry Daily Grill), skirt steak is marinaded in sauces that detract from the flavor of the meat. In this case, it was ok. Another minute or two on the grill wouldn't have killed the steak. The chilli fries were GREAT. The chilli wasn't as good as Pink's or Tommie's, but it had chunks of braised beef that really kicked up the side a notch. I must say that I wasn't exactly pleased that the fries were made of sweet potatoes, but I got over it.All in all, my meal would be an 8 out of 10. Our table was a little too small for five people, but the food was pretty good and they had gummy after dinner mints.
More About: Downtown , Houston , The Grove

A Gripe
2008-03-21 20:46:00
There are several contributors listed on this site, but it seems that only two contribute content. As one of the two, I say that we should remove the others from the site.
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The Grotto - Houston (The Woodlands)
2008-03-17 01:58:00
Back to Houston ...we had a great dinner at the Grotto in the Woodlands. The Grotto is one of the Landry's properties. It's a somewhat casual dinning experience, but the bathroom has a touch that our blog founder, Chicken Fried, would consider quite fancy. The paper towels have that consistency of cloth that one would find at a fine dining restaurant. I remember a time we ate at The Delmonico Steak House at the Venetian and Chicken Fried made a point to make sure that we all checked out the paper hand towels.Enough of that woolgathering and back to The Grotto. The company had an after work dinner with three options for the dinner. I went with the Rigatoni della Sansoni. It was your basic pasta shells in a red sauce, but they added some great tasting meatballs. The sauce had a slight wine-like flavor to it. I've recently discovered that I like wine sauces. I hadn't thought that a red pasta sauce would be good with wine, but this was quite tasty. The meatballs were more ...
More About: The Woodlands

Cafe du Village - Larchmont Village - Los Angeles
2008-03-15 22:54:00
The Mrs. and I were having breakfast at Cafe du Village on Larchmont today. We both had the pancakes and were quite pleased. It's a nice place to have a quick and simple breakfast and it's not going to break your bank.So, we're enjoying our breakfast and who walks through the door? Huell Howser!!! He's as genial in person as he is on tv. He had a conversation with a woman about the political situation in the US. He gave quite the passionate speech about the shameful media and what they are doing to one of the candidates. His candidate isn't my candidate, but that's ok. We live in America.All you people who think he's a complete dolt who can be impressed by drying paint be rest assured that he's quite intelligent and cares for his country.
More About: Los Angeles , Angeles

Timpano Chop House - Houston
2008-03-15 22:33:00
So, the multinational for which i work had me fly into Houston two weeks in a row. I stayed at the Magnolia Hotel and found this great restaurant, Timpano Chop House just two blocks away.Timpano Chop House used to be known as Bossa the last time I ate there. It was a fusion of Brazilian and American cuisine. It was good, but it wasn't great. Timpano Chop House has all the standard fare you'd find at a chop house/martini bar, but there were a couple of things that made it stand out. The entrees were to die for. The deserts were innovative and delicious. The bar had a nice little jazz club feel to it with live music, but they still served a full menu. What's not to love about listening to good music and eating a good steak.Our first visit, we arrived at about 7:30 without a reservation. They said it would be about 20-minutes for a table, so we went to the bar. They had a fine selection of wine and spirits. The bar tender was quite well versed in the wines and helped my co-worker se...

Back to Houston This Week
2008-03-03 00:46:00
I'm holding off posting reviews of last week's restaurants until I get back this week. There were three nice meals. Two were great and the other left a little to be desired.
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Kyushu Ramen- VAN NUYS, CALIFORNIA
2008-02-26 18:54:00
(See, it's in Kanji, not English)Los Angelenos know that if they want to find the best places for Ramen (Japanese Noodles) that they can go to either Little Tokyo, West LA, or Gardena/Torrance. But what is the average Valley-ite to do when they crave these delicious noodles soaked in warm sumptuous broth. Look no further than Kyushu Ramen in Van Nuys. This is a restaurant located in a small mini-mall surrounded by a Japanese Video Shop, a Donut Shop, a Starbucks (of course), and an Italian Restaurant. It might be hard to locate as the main store signage is in Japanese. The Mini-mall sign though has it all in the good old-fashioned English alphabet.Kyushu Ramen previously had a very unremarkable interior, which consisted of fold out tables and chairs in a stark all white room, with little if any decor. When it was like this you would be hard pressed not to believe that it was closing down or the owners didn't much care. It didn't even have a restaurant feel, but more of a ...
More About: California

Kylling at The Little Mermaid- SOLVANG, CALIFORNIA
2008-02-26 18:22:00
SolvangThis past weekend, the Chicken Fried Family decided to drive up north for a mini-vacation. We stayed in Santa Barbara and on the final day of our trip we visited Solvang. Solvang is a small Danish community in Santa Barbara County. Within the community are a number of Danish shops, restaurants as well as many wine shops that provide wine tastings. It's also become quite the wine destination for wine lovers after being featured in the movie "Sideways"After a good few hours of exploring Solvang and buying tchotchkes, we developed quite an appetite. We walked about a quarter of a mile from the town center to a small diner called, The Little Mermaid . Named after the Hans Christian Andersen story and not the Disney movie. I was really hankering for some of the Æbleskivers or aebleskiver which are spherical pancakes fried in a special pan and served with powdered sugar and jam. Well we arrived at The Little Mermaid at around 2:00pm, and they weren't serving it at that tim...
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Hot Chicks with Burgers
2008-02-26 18:20:00
I don't think they are that hot, but the burgers look good..http://www.hotchickswithburgers.com /
More About: Burgers , Chicks

There May Be Some Houston Reviews in the Future
2008-02-26 16:42:00
My multinational calls and I'm headed off to Houston . If there are any interesting restaurants along the way, I'll be sure to review them.
More About: Reviews , Future , The Future

Crunchy Cheezy Crust Pizza
2008-02-23 16:31:00
It is not all that and a bag of chips. It's actually just the hand-tossed crust with some cheese on the crust. Plus, it had this weird sweet taste to the crust that made it even weirder.It didn't stand up to the overnight test. I left the box sitting out and then tried it the next morning. A good pizza will be edible. In this case it was not.Stay away!! Pizza Hut has such a difficult time with new product offerings. I don't think there's much left to offer in the realm of pizza. They try with new crusts and toppings, but rarely, if ever, do they succeed. Sorry, but I'm sticking to thin crust or stuffed crust from here on out. I will not try their new offers. I've been disappointed by the last two offerings, Cheezy Crust and Double Stuff Toppings.

Rodney's Steakhouse- SANTA BARBARA, CA
2008-02-22 18:43:00
Rodney's Steakhouse is located in the Fess Parker Doubletree in Santa Barbara . It's claim to fame according to their website is that they are Santa Barbara 's first honest to goodness steakhouse. While I can't verify their claim, we did have the opportunity to eat here recently.One of the things that really impressed me about Rodney's is their service. We put in a reservation about 2 hours prior, which they gladly accepted. Upon arriving at the restaurant we found that our table was already set up for us along with a high chair for Baby Chicken Fried. They made us feel like they were expecting us and they were very friendly.The servers were always smiling and always made us feel at home. So impressed was I by the service that I feel bad about what I am going to say about the rest of our dining experience.The decor of Rodney's is 60ish, Art Deco with spiky star sculptures coming down from the ceiling. It was also well lit and didn't have the subdued lighting I usually en...

Texas de Brazil - Memphis, TN
2008-02-20 20:03:00
On our first night in Memphis , my co-workers and I decided to go to Texas de Brazil for dinner. The minute I drove by it, I knew that we had to eat there. I love a good Brazilian steakhouse. I'd use the proper term, but I'm not sure how to spell it and I'm too lazy to go back to the web site.Anyway, we walked in and they seated us immediately. Within a couple of minutes, our waitress, the lovely Fabiola, had taken our order. One of the guys in our group, let's just call him Kuffs, decided to give her a bit of a hard time. I'm glad she didn't spit in our food. Well, she really couldn't if she wanted to since the meat all comes out in skewers; however, she could have spat in our drinks if we'd ordered some.As always, I only ate the meat. I was a fan of everything (the filet, the brisket, the chicken, the pork, and the lamb chops) except for the leg of lamb. When I started to eat it, I think the flavor just made my stomach turn. Perhaps it was undercooked. I cannot say, but eve...

The Rendezvous - Memphis, TN
2008-02-20 02:33:00
A couple of weeks ago, I had to go to Memphis on business. It involved the Merry Maids Franchisee National Convention and AutoZone. Whilst in town, I had the distinct pleasure to have dinner at the Rendezvous . This restaurant is well known for its ribs. They'll even ship them via FedEx to you. All I know is that I'm not a fan of ribs in general, but I think I could eat ribs from the Rendezvous every freaking meal.The location of the restaurant is just across the street from the Peabody Hotel. Actually, it's in an alley across the street. As you go down the alley, you start to smell the wonderful scent of meat being cooked. It's that fresh scent of flesh charring on a grill. I wish I could be more descriptive, but it was the best smelling alley I'd ever walked through. As I descended down the stairs, I started to get a look at the surroundings. The decor was definitely old style. I doubt there had been a renovation to the restaurant since sometime in the 70s because it still had...

Valentine's Day Celebrity Sightings-MASTRO'S BEVERLY HILLS, CALIFORNIA
2008-02-15 19:14:00
This review is part restaurant review and part celebrity sighting report. Mrs. Chicken Fried surprised me on Valentine's Day by taking to me a very nice Steakhouse in Beverly Hills called Mastro's Steakhouse.Upon entering Mastro's I kind of felt out of place, this was a real ritzy place. I wondered if I may have been underdressed, though I did wear a shirt and tie, I felt that the suit on the greeters at the door was probably priced tenfold what I could ever afford. Despite this we were warmly greeted by both the doorman and then the maitre'd. We had a reservation fortunately and we were actually promptly seated. I was impressed. Usually despite having a reservation we usually wait at least 10 minutes. We were escorted to the dining area on the lower floor. Boy was it crowded! That was to be expected though on Valentine's Day.It should be noted that there is an upper floor dining area which has live entertainment, which I feel was probably reserved for ritzier clientÃ...
More About: Celebrity , California , Sightings

Saint Albray Cheese- A Commentary
2008-02-06 00:11:00
I'm not a sophisticate when it comes to dining, I usually eat where the food is tasty whether it's AM/PM Mini Market one one end of the spectrum, to the dearly departed L'Orangerie on the other end. I tend to lean toward the fast food.A few weeks ago, me and Mrs. Chicken Fried went to one of the higher-end grocery stores to sample some cheeses. The Cheese Person in the store recommended some cheese all of which we enjoyed. I noticed an imported cheese in the refrigerator and asked about it. That cheese was Saint Albray Cheese.According to Wikipedia:"Saint Albray is a cheese which comes from the Aquitaine region of France.Invented in 1976, the cheese is similar to Camembert cheese, it has the same attributes, but is not quite as strong. Made with pasteurized cow's milk, this popular cheese is ripened for 2 weeks and formed into a shape not unlike the head of a flower with each "petal" forming a half pound of cheese. The "petals" are formed around a disk, when removed, it crea...
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Trip To Memphis
2008-02-03 02:19:00
I'm headed to Memphis . There should be many nice restaurants to visit. One that has been highly recommended is The Rendezvous. I'm told the bbq is unbelievable.
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Who's Reuben Reigns Supreme? -CALIFORNIA
2008-02-01 19:03:00
In California , two of our favorite Deli's are Larchmont Deli a favored dining establishment with fellow writer Eddiebomber and Brent's Deli, The #1 shop according to long lost writer Tony.One of our favorite sandwiches there is the Reuben. So today we will have a Battle Reuben Supreme !Brent's Deli has a Black Pastrami Reuben which is served on grillled rye, hot sauerkraut, and topped off with Russian Dressing. The grilled rye makes all the difference in the world, and to me having it fried on a grill adds to the flavor and juiciness of the sandwich. The Pastrami is so tender it literally falls apart in your mouth before your teeth makes contact with it. The cheese is melted and the condiments are lightly applied so as not to overwhelm the taste of the meat. I'm not a fan of sauerkraut which might be blasphemous, so I usually order this on the side.Brent's Deli in Northridge has been there for decades and looks like a family restaurant straight from the 60's or 70's. The...

Cheeseburger in a Can: REVIEWED
2008-02-01 10:15:00
Well, someone actually did it. A guy in Germany went to a store, bought it and posted his review of it, complete with pictures. Check it out here.
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Cheeseburger in a Can
2008-01-29 20:47:00
Somebody please order this, eat it and do a review on it. I dare you.http://www.trekking-mahlzeiten.de/tre kking-mahlzeiten-online-shop/produkte/Zwi schenmahlzeiten_507/Cheeseburger _in_der_D ose_4641.html

Moz Buddha Lounge- Agoura, CALIFORNIA
2008-01-25 21:20:00
It seems like its been a while since our last blog post, this has mostly been due to our day jobs interfering with our blogging, so we are proud to present to you our third posting for the New Year.A few weeks ago, The Chicken Fried Family drove through the torrents of rain to eat at the Moz Buddha Lounge in Agoura. The first thing that struck me was how out of place this restaurant felt. It is located in a non-descript suburban strip mall in Agoura. On the outside, you would never know what a beautiful restaurant it is on the inside.Inside, you will find a large golden Buddha which sits in the center of the restaurant. On the sides you will see individual shrines along the walls. The restaurant had subdued lighting which added to the ambiance. The walls are a pleasingly adorned with red woods. The tables are all elegantly laid out.The cuisine at Moz is a fusion of Indian, Asian and American flavors.For starters we began with the Spicy Tempura Rock Shrimp which the Chicken Fr...
More About: California

All Things Bacon...
2008-01-15 20:56:00
One of my favorite things in the entire world is bacon. Bacon is that miracle ingredient which makes everything taste better. It turns a lowly hamburger into a sumptuous feast. It makes salads palatable. There are only a few other materials in this world that do the same thing the others being butter or teflon.Check out this website for interesting bacon novelties such as the:Bacon BandagesBacon MintsBacon WalletYou can find all these and other strange products such as Gummy Haggis at:www.mcphee.comOur regularly scheduled blogpost will resume shortly...
More About: Things

Traxx in Union Station- CALIFORNIA
2008-01-04 20:31:00
This past holiday season, I had the opportunity to eat at a restaurant I've kind of always wanted to try out, but never had the time to. That restaurant is called Traxx and it is located in the downtown Union Station .Traxx evokes a nostalgic feel from an era where travel via train was commonplace and where train stations would serve as hubs for travel, entertainment and dining in the past. Well nowadays at least in California this type of travel is non-existent with the advent of the automobile.Located in the main waiting section of Union Station amid the intricately carved wood and leather chairs where patrons wait for their various transport connections, is Traxx.Traxx has both outdoor (out of the restaurant) and indoor seating. My party sat indoors thinking it would shelter us from the cold of the main lobby. This was not to be the case however as it was still cold inside. The decor was extremely minimalist.with some wood panels on an otherwise bare wall. Since the outside...

On The Border - Northridge, CA
2007-12-24 23:34:00
The Mrs. and I were shopping at the Northridge Mall and decided to grab a quick bite to eat. For some strange reason, she chose On the Border. She never wants to eat there, but apparently, she was in the mood for Mexican food.I decided to go with the build your own burrito and have it fried like a chimichanga. I must say that they made it really easy to build my meal. They brought out a checklist and I just checked off everything I wanted (shredded beef, black beans, and cheese). When it came out, I was so pleased. It was exactly as I wanted. It was tasty. Unfortunately, the Mrs's tacos were a little too rare and had to be sent back; however, when they did come back, the flavor was excellent!
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The Secret Garden - Moorpark, CA
2007-12-22 02:15:00
If any of you were lucky enough to watch Gordon Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares a couple of weeks ago, you were able to see what he did with The Secret Garden . It went from a place that looked like it served tea to 90-year old women to a nice and cozy restaurant. Being intrigued (since I work in Moorpark, I decided to go to lunch there.My first impression was "Oh, Oh!!" The new modern sign that they'd placed during the show was gone. In its place, the original, antique-looking sign. I was very worried. When I entered, I was pleasantly surprised. The cozies, doilies, and antiques were gone. The menu was very interesting because Chef Ramsay mentioned that it seemed like everything on Chef Michel's menu was encrusted. I had to try one of the encrusted dishes...the grilled chicken breast in a light au jus with brocoli and garlic fries.Much to my surprise, the chicken was not encrusted. At least, it wasn't encrusted in a way that I would called encrusted. It was as if the chic...
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