Category Archives: American (New)

Skogen Kitchen

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Smoked panacotta
Chilled asparagus soup
Scallop Crudo
Deviled Eggs
Caesar Salad Lyonnaise
Menu 7/2019
Exterior
Interior
Patio

***** (5 stars)

Really fine dining in Custer! This is obviously a labor of love, and the wonderful food and service show it. Deviled eggs are a spicy highlight. We also enjoyed the Salad Lyonaisse and the scallop crudo. Short ribs were a home run, too.

There’s an excellent wine list.

The outside patio offers quieter seating than the busy interior space. The servers and owner were extremely friendly. A real gem.

Skogen Kitchen
29 N 5th St
Custer, SD
57730
(605) 673-2241
https://www.yelp.com/biz/skogen-kitchen-custer

Pearl District

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Bar
Patio
Duck confit pancake
Ahi crudo
Interior

***** (5 stars)

This cozy, stylish spot offers an interesting menu and an upscale experience at reasonable prices. Be aware that although the food is sophisticated, portions are very large, so don’t over order.

We liked everything we had. My favorite was the duck confirm pancake, which was more like a quesadilla.

Save room for Spanish coffee. How can you pass up anything where the second ingredient is “fire”!?

Pearl District
982 S Westlake BlvdSte 8
Westlake Village, CA
91361
(805) 230-9944
https://www.yelp.com/biz/pearl-district-westlake-village-2

Bar Louie – I-Drive

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Exterior
Interior

**** (4 stars)

This location is a bit of dejavu, since it is almost the same as the previous Bar Louie on Sand Lake Road. No doubt this is a better spot for the evening tourist trade. The large bar makes it good for groups, and the many roll-up doors are nice on cooler evenings. The menu is the same as other Bar Louies, with a mix of bar foods and burgers. A few of my favorite items from the past have disappeared or been simplified, but it’s still probably one of the better choices in the tourist corridor.

Bar Louie – I-Drive
8510 International Dr
Orlando, FL
32819
(407) 553-8502
https://www.yelp.com/biz/bar-louie-i-drive-orlando

Burntwood Tavern

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Exterior
Interior
Bar
Exterior
Impossible burger

**** (4 stars)

It’s nice to see a new place in the old Stonewood building. The decor has been brightened and opened up, and it is distinctly more casual now, more like sports bar food than fine dining. The new floor plan makes better use of the outside dining area, which is quite pleasant.

Service in the weeks after opening was fairly good, and will probably get better. The menu is basic burgers and salads. They have the Impossible Burger, and it was nicely cooked.

The manager seemed to be very engaged, which is a good sign.

Burntwood Tavern
5078 Dr Phillips Blvd
Orlando, FL
32819
(407) 776-9991
https://www.yelp.com/biz/burntwood-tavern-orlando-2

The Attic Door

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Pork slider

Muffuletta

Interior

***** (5 stars)

Now under the new ownership of Laurie and Kevin Tarter of the Chef’s Table and Tasting Room across the street, the Attic Door has reached its full potential as a chill place to hang out and enjoy good food, wines, beer and live music.

Long-time fans will find that all of the Attic Door’s best features have been retained, but the food is now an order of magnitude better, the wine list more interesting, the beers vastly more interesting, and the seating more comfortable, and better suited to enjoying the food while listening to the excellent live music.

The service has the friendly professionalism you would expect from these experienced owners. There’s a passion here to make everything just right for guests.

There will also be an afternoon tea some days. Hearing about the research that has already gone into selecting the teas and scone recipes makes me excited to experience another unique offering.

The attic Door is definitely most chill place to hang out in Winter Garden.

The Attic Door
28 W Plant St
Winter Garden, FL
34787
(407) 877-0266
https://www.yelp.com/biz/the-attic-door-winter-garden

The Stubborn Mule

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Tuscan flat bread special

Tuna bowl

pastrami sandwich

Exterior

**** (4 stars)

This was an odd meal, parts of it fine, others pretty much off the rails. It’s hard to judge how much of the experience was colored by a fairly dreadful server, but there were some issues in the kitchen, too.

First the good:

There is a nice outdoor seating area.

The menu is interesting.

The day’s special Tuscan flatbread was delicious, with a perfectly crisped naan crust and a lovely combination of toppings.

The rosemary fries were very good.

Now the not so good:

I would have been better disposed toward the experience if not for the server. We started with the wrong wine, and ended with the wrong entree.

I ordered the smashed salmon sandwich, but I got a pressed pastrami. I like pastrami okay, but this was fairly fatty, and there was an unappealing bitter spread.

Our server offered to correct the mistake, but at this point we were two hours into lunch, and it seemed futile. And that was also two hours without a water refill, so we were getting parched.

The tuna bowl had good tuna and avocado, but I suspect that consumption of the dressing (thankfully served on the side) would have made us sick, as it was pretty clearly spoiled.

I suppose if you’re looking for a burger that might be a good choice. Maybe you’ll have better luck than we did.

The Stubborn Mule
100 S Eola Dr
Orlando, FL
32801
+1-407-730-3400
https://www.yelp.co.uk/biz/the-stubborn-mule-orlando-2

Roque Pub

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Interior

The Silo

***** (5 stars)

Roque offers a very extensive selection of beers on tap, and a really staggering list of beers in bottles and cans. There are many local offerings, and the list is brilliantly categorized by style, alcohol, bitterness and color. This was the most informative beer list I’ve ever seen, and is ther reason for their fifth star.

Unlike many of the beer-centric places in town, they also have a nice menu of sandwiches and pub food. The Silo was piled high with tender roast beef, and the grilled cheese panini was even better.

Service was fast and friendly, and there are darts and electronic games, plus live entertainment and special events most nights of the week.

Roque Pub
3076 Curry Ford Rd
Orlando, FL 32806
(407) 985-3778
https://www.yelp.com/biz/roque-pub-orlando

Currito

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Interior

Cantina bowl

Quesadilla

Frijol torta

*** (3 stars)

If Currito were a Mexican restaurant in my neighborhood I probably wouldn’t be a regular visitor. But on the other hand, I’m not a regular visitor to places like Chipotle or Tijuana Flats, and frankly the food is better at Currito.

The atmosphere isn’t bad–considering the time-worn condition of this terminal at La Guardia, they’ve carved out a cozy niche.

We tried a quesadilla, some chips and salsa, a bowl and a wrap. All of them were just fine. The salsa was better than at half the Mexican restaurants I go to, and the chips were nice and crisp.

The house margarita is excellent, and a decent value and size serving for an airport drink.

Service was polite and reasonably attentive.

Currito
Newark International Airport
Terminal A
Newark, NJ 07114
(973) 547-7938
https://www.yelp.com/biz/currito-newark-3

Valor

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Cheeseburger

Salmon

Sorry, there’s only one rib left for you. We fell on the rest like hungry wolves.

Trio of ice creams and bombe

Brussels sprouts

Broccoli

Interior

**** (4 stars)

This popular cafe serves good food with a bit of a French influence to some dishes.

We started with four appetizers. The one we absolutely loved was the Sticky Asian Pork Ribs, which were coated in a wonderful soy-infused teriyaki sauce. Popcorn Cauliflower was also very good, especially dipped in the leftover rib sauce! Warm Brussels Sprout Caesar and Roasted Broccoli and Grilled (cold) Shrimp were both just okay.

Everyone also liked their entrees, which included the Steak Frites, Salmon, and a Cheeseburger.

For dessert we had a housemade ice cream trio and a Chocolate Bombe, both of which were also good.

The wine list is a bit obscure, but we found some interesting selections, and prices are reasonable.

Service was attentive and friendly.

Valor
667 Vernon Ave
Glencoe, IL 60022
(847) 786-4324
https://www.yelp.com/biz/valor-glencoe

Wine Bar George

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Upstairs

Downstairs

Exterior

Jicama and kholrabi

Wine flights – any wines and any size pours you want

***** (5 stars)

Finally there is a place in Orlando I can refer my wine loving visitors to! When I first came to Orlando in the early 1980s there were several prestigious wine lists in town, like Chris’ House of Beef. Today there are essentially zero. I end up sending visitors to Berns in Tampa.

But Wine Bar George is something completely different. It’s actually most like the early days of Seasons 52 (before they dumbed down the list), when you could get any of a hundred or so very interesting wines on the list poured by the glass. Wine Bar George goes that one better, and lets you get any wine in any amount, down to an ounce. So you can build your own flights anyway you like.

We had a French and a California Chardonnay, and then a flight of Cabernet, Cab Franc (from South Africa) and Syrah. Two ounces is a perfect pour for wine flights as far as I’m concerned. Then we finished with an ounce of two high-end Dujac wines that I’m sure are not served by the glass anywhere else.

The cheese plate was a great accompaniment, and also included some delicious house marinated olives. Jicama and Kholrabi salad was a great palate cleanser, and then we finished with some Asian influenced chicken skewers.

Service was polished and our server Zach was very knowledgeable. We also chatted with server Chris, who recognized us from past wine dinners. The staff is extremely professional and enthusiastic.

In case you’re wondering who George is, he’s Master Sommelier George Miliotes, and the quality of wine bar George is no accident. His dad owned Chris’ House of Beef where George was a somm as a kid, and George later created that wine program at Seasons 52. Now he’s doing his own thing, and Orlando is all the better for it.

Wine Bar George
1610 Buena Vista Dr
Orlando, FL 32830
(407) 490-1800
https://www.yelp.com/biz/wine-bar-george-orlando