Best American Restaurants in America

Usually my sense of patriotism falls far below my regionalism, but right now being from South Carolina means "Mark Sanford" and being from America means "We almost beat Brazil in soccer" "We sentenced Bernie Madoff to 150 years" and "We're still mourning the loss of three of the most American Americans: a Charlie's Angel, the King of Pop, and Billy Mays."

So I'm feeling more pro-America these days. Enough to post this list of the top 50 American restaurants in America, as selected by OpenTable diners. They're in alphabetical order, so there are no clear rankings. They're mainly in the big cities you would expect, and I'm definitely suspect of the Capital Grille, which seems to have been selected 9 times, for different locations in the chain. That annoys me. Either it's rigged by their marketing department or chosen by uncreative OpenTable users obsessed with a culture of status and trendiness. Eh, I'm not feeling so American after all.

Maybe the patriotism will kick in again for the Coney Island Hot Dog Eating Contest (though I tend to favor Kobayashi...so nevermind).

Wanna Be Startin' Something

Sorry for the lack of updates, but as a South Carolinian I've been pretty focused on non-food-related news this week. And after yesterday's double-whammy effort to get Gov. Sanford off the front page of the papers (at least the national ones)... Well, I leave you with this:

"You're A Vegetable, You're A Vegetable
Still They Hate You, You're A Vegetable
You're Just A Buffet, You're A Vegetable
They Eat Off Of You, You're A Vegetable"

The man was a genius.

Bellini's Italian Eatery

Despite all the pride I have from making our meals from scratch, despite all the joy I get from going out to really great dining experiences like at Good Luck, despite all the love I feel for local restaurants and the Farmer's Market... Sometimes you just need some cheap and fast Italian food for lunch. And a chain restaurant in a strip mall across from Eastview Mall will do surprisingly well.

I think it was in the first week that I moved here that I started craving just plain traditional Italian-American comfort food. Could not be found. Finally hit upon Mr. Dominic's, which does fit the bill, but it's all the way in Charlotte and tends to be unspeakably crowded during the summer beach-traffic months. Wanted something closer to town, a quiet, dark place to pop into on a Saturday for lunch. Benucci's in Pittsford Plaza appeared to meet my qualifications, but the food was never really up to par (and I'm not yet desperate enough to try Mario's down the street).

So this weekend the chicken parm craving struck the Boy. Without any idea of a new place to try we headed to Suburbia for some low-grade shopping and the notion in the back of my head that I could break him down to go to PF Chang's instead. But I spotted a sign for Bellini's Italian Eatery across from the mall. This seemed like the kind of place we were looking for, and indeed it was. Dark and quiet inside, with a somewhat fancy, wood-paneled interior that wasn't too stuffy. Kind of a cozy hotel bar type feel. Just a tinge of cheesiness with giant wine bottles and artificial grape leaves.

The food was simple, inexpensive, and pretty excellent. I had a Balsamic Panini (panino, but I'm done trying to explain to people that panini means two sandwiches in Italian). It had chicken, carmelized onions, and lots of mozzarella of course. Cooked perfectly. And with a side of sweet potato fries and garlic aioli. I didn't even know those little guys were coming, but any sauce is always effusively welcomed to my plate. As are sweet potato fries. The Boy had the chicken parmesan he so desired. The sauce seemed a bit thin to me, and penne is a strange choice for thin sauce and for chicken parm. But there were no leftovers. Definitely worth it to try this place again. I'm not gonna lie, sometimes we really love to "slum it" and spend a Saturday in the suburbs, going to big box stores and eating at chain restaurants. And this particular chain restaurant definitely wins out over the Olive Gardens of the world (yes, we even tried there once. Blech.)

Pulled Pork

It is a truth universally acknowledged that I am a barbeque snob. My dad cooked barbeque competitively for years (and cooked it for every other reason for years before that), so I don't bother with most other people's offerings or opinions. I know the regional differences between sauces and cuts of meat, I know the various festivals and state competitions, the main competitors, the who's who of BBQ.

And to be honest, besides ribs, I'm not wild on most things pork, so it's no great sacrifice to swear off all other barbeque besides the kind I grew up eating. (The major exception to this moratorioum on barbeque outside the home is Dino, which also got the seal of approval from Dad). My snobbery even continues into my own home -- I am pretty wary of all barbeque attempts by the Boy too. It started when he first made ribs last summer. Thanks to a strange (yet classic Boy) rub, they came out looking green. And he broke my central tenent by baking the ribs in a sauce instead of smoking them. Granted this was before we got the grill, but baking meat in a pan tends to make it super greasy and I have a general problem with the whole idea. Let's just say he's pretty lucky we were far enough into our relationship that this wasn't a deal-breaker.

We have since perfected ribs (thanks to the grill, my father's advice, and my taking over the entire process). So imagine my anxiety when I came home to find a 10 pound pork shoulder rubbed and marinating in our refrigerator. We were going to try pulled pork?? Weren't we (wasn't he) getting ahead of ourselves? Isn't pulled pork something I waited for until my next trip down South? But the Boy was not to be deterred. Nor was he to be guided either. I gave him specific Dad-based instructions at least 5 times. Still he persisted in Fleetwood Mac-ing it. Well, you can go your own way, but you do it at grave risk to others, namely me.

I have to say I was convinced this wouldn't work. The rub was outside the skin, he thought, though he could never find any skin. He didn't rub the rub in with mustard, as I was taught. He didn't cook it at 250 degrees, but rather 300. He didn't let it cook first 3 hours on the rack without foil, then switch to foil for 2-3 more, then back off again. He only cooked the thing for 4 hours total, in a roasting pan, covered with foil. Every major commandment had been broken, nay, gleefully shattered. And yet, the simple proof remained: meat so tender the bone could be pulled out, neither too greasy or too dry. The only thing I could manage to complain about was the lack of smoky flavor (and coloration -- I do loves my smoke rings). Without a rather pricey smoker purchase, there was no real way to get around that one. And once my homemade barbeque sauce and the coleslaw got piled on top in a sandwich, who could notice the lack of smoke?

So let this be a lesson unto you. Barbeque is not an exact science. There is no "right way." There is only your intuition, your personal preference, quality meat, seasoning, and time. No matter what your snobby barbeque-righteous girlfriend might rant about ad infinitum.

It's Pronounced "K-sah-dill-ahs"

Living alone and in Southern California, I learned very quickly that whole wheat tortilla shells are a necessary fixture in dinner-for-one "assemblage meals." I call them that because I rarely went to much trouble to cook anything, beyond the occasional George Foreman foray. So mostly I combined raw (or pre-cooked...shamefully) ingredients into something that closely resembled edible food. Quesadillas and their tortilla-based bretheren were a mainstay. Now that I live with the Boy and far away from the Mexican border, my assemblages have kind of faded to memory (much like laying out at the beach and wearing eyeliner).

But last night, like a soap opera character that died in a mysterious car crash but whose body was never recovered, quesadillas made a bold and startling reappearance. Startling because (a) I was expecting crab cakes and (b) because they were accompanied by Senor Pony Keg, who was certainly an unexpected visitor to our home on a Thursday evening (unlike the Brady-man who is a welcome and somewhat regular mid-week meal-time visitor). And bold because they were stuffed with chicken, mushrooms, bell pepper, cheese and tons of Adobo seasoning, then topped with a salsa fresca prepared by yo (because me is still me in Spanish).

The salsa fresca was really more of a pico de gallo, if you want to be technical about it. I get a perverse joy out of chopping things (maybe it's rhythmic noise, maybe it's the rote movement, maybe it's the danger of severing a finger), so I was happy to be on salsa duty. I chopped three tomatoes on the vine (which weren't quite ripe enough...see what happens when you leave boys in charge?) a small yellow onion, two jalapenos (remembering this time to remove almost all the seeds, no need for brave stoicism), and a handful of fresh cilantro. A little lime juice, salt, pepper, garlic powder, and cayenne and we're cooking with Crisco (as they say in the parlance of our parents' times).

Quesadillas don't take a graduate degree to make, but it helps. Basically you should make them with 2 quesadillas atop one another, rather than attempting the fold over. Fold overs don't work when you have as much stuff to stuff in as we did. And we learned butter works better to coat the pan than olive oil. Use a smaller omelette pan and make sure the tortilla on the bottom lies flat. Layer ingredients, then cheese, then top with the other tortilla, all on low heat. Use whatever spatula (or fancy pancake-flipping) technique you have to turn the puppy over and cook the other side. When done, slide gently out of the pan and cut into quarters. El Perfecto!

Aladdin's Natural Eatery

I can't imagine why I haven't posted a review of Aladdin's Natural Eatery yet. It's one of our favorite restaurants, but for whatever reason, we haven't been lately. I'm a huge fan of all Greek food, but the Boy isn't, so Aladdin's is our perfect compromise -- it has pitas, falafel, spanakopita, moussaka, hummus, gyros, etc. for me, and plenty of pasta alternatives for the Boy.

He's partial to the tortellini alla vodka pictured here. He gets it with chicken (which I don't love there since they use dark meat) and even sweetly asks for broccoli to be added, which they always agree to. They have many other variations (choose your own type of pasta, your preferred meat (or not) and your preferred sauce. I've found that some of the funkier pastas are not prepared as well, but I've never been disappointed with the usual flour ones.

I tend to stick with the vegetarian sampler, which is in the appetizer section and allows you to choose 4 of the appetizers to create your own meal. You'd be surprised at how filling it can be, plus it's only $8 ($6 if you get 3 choices and $5.75 if you only want 2). I go for the falafel (which is perfect), the spanakopita, the hummus, and the tabouli. I sometimes get the baba ganouj, but honestly, I don't like it as much as most.

They also have a variety of soups (though I warn you not to get the tzatziki -- which is a lot of the very creamy, cucumber sauce) and salads. The salads are huge! Their lentil soup is great. Their vegetarian chili is also great. And they have a combo of both -- Lenchili -- which is (following the transitive property) also great. You can even have it topped with chicken or cheese. It's a wonderful way to survive the winter months.

They have a dessert case on the first and a half floor (at the one on Monroe) which holds some pretty to-die-for treats. I have wiled away the time there just waiting for the opportunity to order one. And it was well worth it.

Aladdin's has two locations: one on Monroe Ave. and the other down by the canal in Pittsford. They're open everyday from 11am until 10pm. They have outdoor seating both locations (at Monroe it's overlooking the Avenue). I'm not really sure how "natural" they are compared to other restaurants, but there aren't a lot of obviously packaged types of items. Since there are no real rules for evaluating "natural-ness" I think it's just nice that they embrace the concept.

See kids, if you wish hard enough, anything can happen

There is a moment we all dream about, and this is it.

Sometimes it's a truck carrying potato chips, or ice cream, or even Diet Dr. Pepper. But this time, this truck, for the people of Des Moines, Washington, it was, like a delicate and unexpected flurry of snowflakes, doughnut glaze.

For other evidence on my new conspiracy theory that doughnuts are hell bent on destroying our country's infrastructure, check this post.

Baseball Season

Nothing says summer to me quite like going to a baseball game.

The Red Wings are the longest running minor league baseball team (since 1877)! The tickets are relatively cheap, and they have a pretty nice stadium to boot. They also have all the standard stadium food, which I dearly love (it's like fair food, only more readily available). And they sell local favorites Genny and Rohrbach.

They play basically every day for the next week starting Friday, so there's no excuse not to head downtown to see some of tomorrow's big leaguers (The Red Wings are the triple-A farm team for the Minnesota Twins). Former Red Wingers include Joe Mauer, Mike Mussina, Cal Ripken (Jr. and Sr.), Stan Musial, Don Baylor, Tim McCarver, Frank Robinson, and Curt Schilling.

If you're in need of a reality check before going wild on the peanuts and Cracker Jack's, here's a useful/depressing table of nutritional facts for the ball park fare. So much for my favorite: nachos with everything.

Crazy or Crazy-Awesome

This blog has the most amazing assortment of savory cupcakes I've ever seen. Whether with barbeque, pickles, salsa, or guacamole, they all look delicious (and they're vegan). This lady seriously has her game on.

I would give my left pinkie toe for one of these Thai spice potato chip cupcakes. Yum! If any of the Spicy Thai chips we're bringing to Bonnaroo make it back next week, I will definitely give these a shot.

Carrot Oatmeal Muffins

Finally figured out how to do breakfast at Bonnaroo over the weekend... healthy and not-too-sweet carrot oatmeal muffins.

Carrot Oatmeal Muffins:
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup oats
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon ginger (I used ginger paste)
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 egg
1 cup milk
1/3 cup maple syrup
1/4 cup canola oil
1 teaspoon vanilla (plus nutmeg and cinnamon)
1 cup carrots, grated (densely packed)

Super easy -- stir all the dry stuff together in a big bowl (ingredients 1 through 5). In a separate, smaller bowl, mix the remaining wet ingredients (6 through 10). Add the wet ones into the dry ones with a spoon or spatula. Fold in the carrots and the spices. Spoon into a coated muffin tin (or the silicone ones, or into muffin cups), 2/3rds fll. Bake at 375 for 20 minutes.

I'm frankly amazed that these turned out pretty perfectly (unlike all my recent baking attempts). I like that they are a little dense and not sweet at all. You could throw in some ground flaxseed or walnuts or raisins too if you wanted. I only have a mini-muffin tin for some reason, so these guys look like little balls, but they taste fine. They'll be perfect as a filling and healthy start to what will otherwise be a totally unhealthy four days at the 'Roo.

What are We Buying at the Farmers Market?

I love The Onion, mostly because it's so true in a way only a fictional newspaper can be. Also, last night at the opening night of the South Wedge Farmer's Market I definitely coveted the tote bags. And I probably would've fallen prey to the fair-trade cheese popcorn if I liked popcorn.

Free Ice Cream Day

I've never been a fan of Friendly's, but everyone likes free stuff. Especially when the stuff is ice cream.

BBQ Chicken

The Boy combined my two favorite loves the other night: barbeque and chocolate. Here's how: grilled chicken legs basted with orange marmalade barbeque sauce, and baked red beans with bacon (and cocoa powder).

Here are the recipes:
Orange Marmalade Barbeque Sauce
2 tablespoons orange marmalade
1 1/2 tablespoons lime juice
2 tablespoons orange juice
2 tablespoons ketchup
1 tablespoon dijon mustard
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
1 tablespoon Sriracha
1 tablespoon nutmeg
1 tablespoon cumin
1 tablespoon Adobo seasoning
1 1/2 tablespoon Tamari soy sauce
salt and pepper to taste


Normally I cook barbeque sauce, but I think he just mixed these ingredients together and basted the chicken legs, grilling on indirect heat. Grill slow on low because chicken on the bone dries out quickly. Takes nearly an hour, but it's so juicy!

Red Beans
Sautee 1 chopped onion and 3 chopped cloves of garlic.
Add two strips of bacon, chopped
2 tablespoons of Sofrito (Mexican tomato paste)
2 tablespoons tomato sauce
1 can Goya Red Beans (which are light red kidney beans I think)
2 heaping teaspoons of cocoa powder

Let cook on medium high heat for 15-20 minutes to allow ingredients to really incorporate together. I would probably also cook the bacon first, then drain, then do the onions and

garlic. That would make the bacon crispier and the beans a little less fattening.

Dijongate II

Obama branded spicy mustard, for sale somewhere in the course of his visit to the Middle East.

And you thought being a Franco-phile was bad. Now he's grilling with Hamas. Dijongate should be back, with a vengeance.

The 100th Post

In honor of this being my 100th post, I am celebrating two of my all-time favorites and staples for survival: PB&J.

Actually, these recipes are for maple almond butter and rhubarb chutney/jam. But the idea is the same.

Almond Butter: Any kind of nut just needs to be thrown in the food processor alone and it will eventually make a nut butter. No added oils or stabilizers or flavorings or even sugar needed. I did add in some maple syrup to mine because I'm always trying to find a way to use the stuff. Once you add the stickiness though, you gotta work the butter a bit to make sure it doesn't just form a big ball (ha, "work the butter" sounds like a Ms. Jay quote). Use a rubber or silicone spatula, because less butter will stick to it.

Mine stayed a bit mealy because the screeching noise of nuts in a food processor got to The Boy. But it's all good in the hood because I like crunchy over creamy anyway.
Also, I'm realizing this was kind of a silly exercise since we have two kinds of organic PB and sunbutter at the house already (thanks for the "emptying the fridge" moveout donation, Jay and Kate!)

Rhubarb Jam: We realized earlier this week that we have a rhubarb plant growing in the yard (and yet my herbs and tomatoes are depressingly absent). Since they look just like the ones for sale in the produce section, I decided it must be okay to try to cook with them. Luckily I did remember something about rhubarb being toxic, so thank goodness for the internet on that one. The green leaves are toxic, but the red stalks are a-ok. (Well, at least I've survived thus far).

Best I can figure, this turned into a jam (but it could be a chutney or some kind of preserves, there seems to be quite a debate/mass confusion going on). It pretty much mirrors my cranberry sauce recipe for Thanksgiving.

Chop the rhubarb into 1 inch pieces, put into boiling water with sugar (I would use as little water as it takes to get the rhubarb covered because rhubarb has a lot of water in it and takes forever to boil down). I used 1/2 c. of sugar, because rhubarb is actually a vegetable and not all that sweet. You could put strawberries or orange juice in instead and lower the sugar, which is cool and okay. As it boils down (over the course of an hour or so), add in spices at your leisure. I was thinking more chutney at the time, so I put in red and yellow curry (just a teensy bit), garam masala, nutmeg, and mad amounts of cinnamon. Later I added a chai tea bag because it just seemed like a good call. I didn't leave it in for very long because the paper tab caught on fire resting on the side of the pot. Every good dish loves some drama. I added a little capful of vanilla extract as well.

Most important: you gotta stir rather diligently the whole time because the sugar can settle and burn on the bottom (I witnessed this last weekend trying to candy orange slices-- and that sugar burn is still not scraping off the bottom). When you've got the consistency of a jam, scoop it into a glass jar and let it cool before covering with the canning jar top.

Now I'll just have to figure out how to master some homemade bread to have the greatest, most DNA-filled sandwich ever.

At the Beach

Since summer is basically here, a lot of us will probably be making trips to the beach, right? Except in Rochester, trips to the beach involve driving north. To Lake Ontario. So if you find yourself out at the Lake, without a grill, here are a few of my favorite spots to visit for a bite:

Mr. Dominic's - look for it to get super-busy on the weekend nights. Get there early and enjoy some truly great classic, no-frills Italian American cooking. They have lots of specials and do tremendous things with seafood. Plus it has that vinyl tablecloth, Frank Sinatra, cigar smoke, old timers at the bar vibe that I love.

There are lots of other restaurants in Charlotte (Coney Island of the West) on Lake Ave, including a Cheeseburger, Cheeseburger (and a sushi place and a Johnny Rocket's I think in the forlorn, abandoned Port of Rochester), Nola BBQ, and an Abbott's of course. The LDR Char Pit is also renown for their steak sandwiches. I've never really been to these places, so I can't vouch for them.

Heading across the Genessee east to Durand Eastman Park, you won't find much. But you can always DIY by bringing a grill out there (or using the ones provided at the park).

And once you hit Culver, there's a fair amount of treats around Seabreeze. Don's Original and Vic and Irv's provide the perfect nostalgic treat - simple, smushy, greasy burgers and homemade onion rings. Marge's is across the street if you'd prefer treats of the alcoholic variety. Plus, with your feet in the sand, you may actually feel as if you have wound up somewhere slightly more tropical.

Now, if wasn't the summer, you could take the bridge across Irondequoit Bay to Webster, home of my personal favorite, Bayside Pub. However, this now requires a tedious amount of driving either over or around the bay since the bridge is closed to allow for boat traffic into Lake Ontario. Bayside is still worth the drive for a nice view, great wings and chili cheese fries, and $7 pitchers. Just remember-- it's cash only!

Sweet Grilled Cheese

Bonnaroo is only a week and half away now (expect a countdown) and I've been trying to come up with as many foods to prepare beforehand and bring with us as possible. But of course there will be a visit to the Shakedown for a grilled cheese.

I just hope someone sees this post on YumSugar for a sweet grilled cheese: cheddar, sprouts, and strawberry-lemon marmalade.

More Good Luck

My love affair with Good Luck continued again last Friday, when we went out with Jay and Kate for their last night in town-- of course we had to go to the best restaurant in town to celebrate (with a little stop to shower for those hard-working movers).


The picture to the left is meant to embody the entire catalog of dishes we ordered -- roast chicken, burger and fries, calamari. It is the epitome of what I love about GL. It was a special: Atlantic char with beet yogurt on a bed of lentil, butternut squash curry. Super-crazy looking, fresh, and delicious. Char has a pretty strong fish taste, so it stood up to the beets and the heat from the curry. In fact, I was almost disappointed that this dish wasn't any crazier tasting than it was. The flavors worked really well. But at least the picture shows how out-there it looked.


All our other choices were more classic and equally impressive. I have much love for the roast chicken especially. It was cooked perfectly, which is why I refuse to make it at home. Too difficult to leave to anyone's hands but the professionals. The same rule also applies to my foray into cheesecake baking, but decorum prevents me from relaying that particular exploit from this weekend...