Commander’s Palace

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*** (3 stars)

This century old establishment is still doing things the same way they always have. The sprawling dining rooms cover much of the block, with the nicest rooms upstairs, and the least nice through the kitchen and across the enclosed patio.

We began with the soup sampler, a nice way to get a reasonable size sampling of their famous turtle soup, the best of the three. (No turtle is used in the soup.)

Entrees were less impressive. My giant lamb rack was nicely crusted and cooked, but may have been the toughest lamb I’ve ever had.

Desserts also seemed pretty run of the mill.

The wine list is designed to impress, and it certainly impressed the Wine Spectator, who awarded it the stamp of Excellence. Unfortunately the prices seem designed to avoid depleting inventory. While there are 60 wines at under $60 featured at the front of the menu, and there are plenty of prestige bottles at $400 and up, there are surprisingly few gems in the range in between, making it a difficult list.

Service was definitely a well-oiled machine, although like a machine it seemed a bit mechanical. Perhaps that’s the only way to cope with so many tables.

Commander’s Palace
1403 Washington Ave
New Orleans, LA 70130
(504) 899-8221
http://www.yelp.com/biz/commanders-palace-new-orleans-2

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

Babalu Tacos & Tapas

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**** (4 stars)

This very popular spot offers a combination of Mexican inspired dishes and small tapas plates. As noted elsewhere, the table-side guacamole is extremely good, and I really liked the homemade tortilla strips served with it.

Ceviche is actually diced tuna with citrus and avocado. Shrimp and grits we classically prepared.

Service was very friendly and our server was obviously very proud of the quality of her restaurant.

Babalu Tacos & Tapas
622 Duling Ave
Jackson, MS 39216
(601) 366-5757
http://www.yelp.com/biz/babalu-tacos-and-tapas-jackson

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

Cielo

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**** (4 stars)

Great service is the highlight of this elegant restaurant that overlooks the Four Seasons pool and the Gateway Arch.

The menu offers some Italian classic dishes, well prepared. I enjoyed the branzino entree, but the highlight was the flexibility to select a starter plate of high quality meats and cheeses, and especially the large selection of house-made gelatos. This was a good choice for hotel dining.

Cielo
Four Seasons Hotel
999 N 2nd St
Saint Louis, MO 63102
(314) 881-5759
http://www.yelp.com/biz/cielo-saint-louis-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

Joe’s Seafood, Prime Steak & Stone Crab

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***** (5 stars)

A great restaurant that seems like it has been around for over a hundred years (which its Miami counterpart has) not just 15. Extremely professional service, and, of course, amazing crab. But the real standout here is the terrific prime beef, some of the best in Chicago.

Joe’s is a great way to step back in time and enjoy dining the way it was meant to be, when waiters wore tuxedos, and tablecloths were changed in seconds between seatings in bustling dining rooms.

Joe’s Seafood, Prime Steak & Stone Crab
60 E Grand Ave
Chicago, IL 60611
(312) 379-5637
http://www.yelp.com/biz/joes-seafood-prime-steak-and-stone-crab-chicago

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

Xoco

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*** (3 stars)

I don’t really understand the hype about this place. I realize that the desire is to try to take Mexican food and do something new and original with it.

The problem here is that everything “original” is not an improvement on the original version. When you eschew  the traditional bread from a Mexican torta and replace it with a baguette-even a tasty one-it turns into something other than a torta. And when you make churros really skinny they get tough. And when you cover them with sauce they get tough and soggy.

That said, most of the flavors I had were very good ones. And the habanero salsa that came with the sandwich had a wonderful flavor, although it was really too hot to eat, as I was warned.

So if you want something different, you might try it, but if you want a tasty Mexican lunch, look for the little food counter at the back of most Mexican grocery stores. You’ll get better stuff there.

Xoco
449 N Clark St
Chicago, IL 60654
(312) 661-1434
http://www.yelp.com/biz/xoco-chicago