Category Archives: American (New)

Ahwahnee Dining Room

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**** (4 stars)

We’ve been coming here since 1978, and it’s amazing how it never changes. In fact, I think it hasn’t really changed much since 1927, when the hotel was constructed. The food is no doubt different than it was then, but it’s remarkably similar to the way it was in 1978.

The soups are still rich and creamy, and the portions large. At dinner I enjoyed the short ribs, and the salmon was even better.

There’s a buffet breakfast, but even better choices are available on the menu, including a kitchen sink vegetarian omelet made with three eggs that barely fits on the plate.

Many of the servers have been working here almost as long as I’ve been coming, which is a testament to what a special venue this is. During the day, the tall glass windows offer unsurpassed views of Yosemite valley. And at dinner the enormous windows turn into mirrors, reflecting back the hundreds of candles in the chandeliers.

It’s really a pretty magical place.

Ahwahnee Dining Room
Ahwahnee Hotel
9005 Ahwahnee Dr
Yosemite National Park, CA 95389
(209) 372-1489
http://www.yelp.com/biz/ahwahnee-dining-room-yosemite-national-park

Gators Dockside

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*** (3 stars)

All of the Gators I’ve been to are similar, but this one seems to have a few service issues, or perhaps it was just our server, but almost nothing we ordered came out correctly, from drinks to salads to wings.

That said, Gator’s grilled wings are about the best there are, especially with the hot garlic sauce.

If you’re passing through on I75, this place is about a mile and a half off the highway, but worth driving past all the fast food places to get to.

Gators Dockside
313 NW Commons Loop
Lake City, FL 32055
(386) 438-5446
http://www.yelp.com/biz/gators-dockside-lake-city

Sylvain

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**** (4 stars)

This intimate gastropub is a great place to dine by candlelight.

The wine list is a bit limited and the selections rather quirky, but there are plenty of cocktails.

The short menu is heavy on gastropub staples like pork and beef cheeks, but they also have a good hamburger, and a fairly sophisticated scallop entree.

My favorite was the chicken sandwich, which has been voted among the top 25 in the country, and with good reason. A think, succulent slab of white meat is  sealed in a wonderful crust without being greasy at all. Served with house made pickles on a bun, with fresh from the fryer crispy fries. Four condiments elevated it even further.

The root beer float was a great dessert.

Service was friendly and attentive. Recommended.

Sylvain
625 Chartres St
New Orleans, LA 70130
(504) 265-8123
http://www.yelp.com/biz/sylvain-new-orleans

Emeril’s New Orleans

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***** (5 stars)

Coming from Orlando, I’ve eaten at Emeril’s at Citywalk many times, so we wanted to check out the original while in New Orleans. We stopped in for lunch, and I have to say that in all respects I found it superior to the Orlando version. The space is smaller, more nicely decorated, the acoustics are better, the food was perfectly prepared, and the service was extremely gracious.

The barbecue shrimp is a favorite appetizer, but the mini lettuce wrap taco concoctions are my new favorite. Duck wings were mighty sticky! The glazed salmon entree was great.

I would definitely go out of my way to return to this original location on future visits.

Emeril’s New Orleans
800 Tchoupitoulas St
New Orleans, LA 70130
(504) 528-9393
http://www.yelp.com/biz/emerils-new-orleans-new-orleans

Café Amelie

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***** (5 stars)

There are few better places for lunch on a nice day in the French Quarter than Cafe Amelie. It’s secluded garden patio is an oasis from the touristy surroundings.

The lunch menu features New Orleans standards such as blackened catfish, along with creative starters like glazed shrimp. The breads are delicious, and there are some nice wines and cocktails, all at reasonable prices.

Service is very friendly and gracious.

Café Amelie
912 Royal St
New Orleans, LA 70116
(504) 412-8965
http://www.yelp.com/biz/caf%C3%A9-amelie-new-orleans-2

GreenRiver

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**** (4 stars)

Green River offers one of the better cocktail lists in Chicago, and the dining area is upscale, trendy and yet intimate. The approach, through long hospital-like corridors is a bit weird, but once there you can settle in and enjoy some interesting small plates and a lot of cocktails.

One word of caution is that wine offerings are pretty limited, so it’s definitely a cocktail place. I liked that there were a lot of choices that weren’t overly sweet.

Food was good, even if there were no real home runs. Service was very knowledgeable and helpful.

GreenRiver
259 E Erie St
18th Fl
Chicago, IL 60611
(312) 337-0101
http://www.yelp.com/biz/greenriver-chicago

Flight Restaurant & Wine Bar

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***** (5 stars)

What a creative concept this place offers. Not only are there flights of wine, there are also flights of food. Each features three different selections.

Although they are listed as small plates, the serving sizes are quite generous. We started with the ocean flight, which featured lobster ravioli, seafood salad, and scallop Rockefeller. The ravioli was the best.

Next was the salad sampler, and all three salads were really excellent.

At this point we were getting pretty full, even thought we’d theoretically only shared two “small” plates! But we pressed on and had the sashimi. Wow! This was top quality tuna and salmon, six pieces of each, served over ice. It was odd the they had no wasabi, but otherwise exceptional.

I really liked the fact that they were totally flexible about which wines to have in each flight, so rather than sticking with their preset offerings we selected eclectic assortments to match the food and our palates.

Ambiance is bustling and trendy yet intimate, especially in the booths upstairs. Service was very attentive and professional.

I loved this concept and wish there was once closer to home.

Flight Restaurant & Wine Bar
39 S Main St
Memphis, TN 38103
(901) 521-8005
http://www.yelp.com/biz/flight-restaurant-and-wine-bar-memphis

Mary Jane Burgers & Brew

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***** (5 stars)

Wow, this place was far beyond expectation. I guess we should have known when it was mostly full even before noon.

I’m a bit of a chicken wing snob, because I like a great sauce, but wings that aren’t greasy or bready. I’ve had grilled wings, before, but these were not just grilled but actually smoked. The tender, smokey flavor suffused all of the moist meat, and the crispy charred crust coated with tangy buffalo sauce made them honestly the best wings I’ve ever had.

The quesadilla was also good. The “mj blat” was a terrific bacon, lettuce, bacon, avocado, bacon, tomato, and bacon sandwich on grilled sourdough. I don’t want to think how many calories there were in this baby.

We were just passing through, which is probably a good thing, or I’d have lunch here every day!

Mary Jane Burgers & Brew
102 N Jackson St
Perryville, MO 63775
(573) 547-6279
http://www.yelp.com/biz/mary-jane-burgers-and-brew-perryville

Sable

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*** (3 stars)

I wanted to like Sable a bit more than I did. The ambiance is nice, and the service is very friendly. There is an interesting menu of eclectic cocktails, and a limited selection of small plates and entrées.

But not too much of the food stood out. My favorite was the grilled peach salad, which was more about beets than peach. The pretzels were also good, but only after we asked for some spicy mustard to Doctor the cheese sauce that accompanied them.

Falafel sliders would have been better with a crustier patty, and the tempura needed more variety of vegetables. The worst item was the fried chicken, which was positively dripping with Greece. Yuck.

The chocolate cake with salted caramel ice cream was a nice way to finish, and I was impressed that they had a 1968 Madeira by the glass.

In short, I might go back, but it would probably be for a snack.

Sable
505 N State St
Chicago, IL 60654
(312) 755-9704
http://www.yelp.com/biz/sable-chicago