Shake Shack

We tried a new place in Downtown OP this weekend, the Shake Shack. I guess it's only been open for a week or so. It's in the building where Wheat State Pizza used to be. Crowded for lunch on a Saturday. The operation is just getting up and running, and you can tell.

Cash only. Yummy burgers on a flatiron grill. Fresh fries and onion rings (a little bit soggy). We had a chocolate shake too. Not bad. But for a place called the Shake Shack, I expect a shake that'll make me need to have a seat afterwards. Should be called the Burger Shack at this point. I want to try it again after they've been open for a little while, to get the kinks worked out.

Cafe Augusta

Café Augusta
Yuki and I went to hear a good friend sing at Café Augusta on Friday night. I'd been hearing good things about their lunch selections at work, and Yuki had been wanting to go, too. It was busy-to-crowded when we showed up, but we didn't have any trouble getting a table. At first, the service was good. The menu looked great. Anyplace that has Lagavulin on the menu is off to a good start in my book.

As I looked over the menu, I didn't really see anything that would match a smoky, peaty scotch. So I went with a vodka martini instead. Amazing dinner. I had the chicken piccata and rice pilaf.

The service was bad. Slow. Our girl seemed to be more interested in running credit cards through the machine and collecting her tips than paying attention to her future tips. It got so bad that I had to pop into the kitchen to get a plate, while our server was nowhere to be found (which was actually a cool experience). The dessert seemed pre-made and frozen.

We'll be back for the food, but probably for lunch.

Panera and 'the end of overeating'

We went to Panera last night, with O and my parents. The food was pretty good, but I was really reminded of The End of Overeating, by David Kessler. The food was delicious, but while I was eating it, it seemed too good. After generally abstaining from fast food for so long, the flavors, specifically in the salad dressing, were explosive. So flavorful and indulging that I found myself wanting to keep eating the salad to get at the dressing. Some sort of sticky teriyaki flavor.

The portions were huge! I got the 1/2 and 1/2, the you-pick-two, with a salad and half-sandwich, and the salad was twice as big as a bowl I'd use at home.

Your turn to comment. Have you been, have you heard, what do you think about Cafe Augusta?

I'm so sad that S wasn't with us when we dined at Andre's today. This was my first time ever visiting. I couldn't have been more pleased. O and I split a smoked salmon napoleon--divine! It came with pickled beets, cucumber salad and carrot salad. Raspberry chocolate cake and a cappuccino to go... We will return. Soon!

Dennis posted a comment on my review of Korma Sutra. He raves about Ruchi's. We ate there about six months ago. Since our visit, I've thought many times about the mango cake of which I ate three pieces--yum! The food was the spiciest of the Indian restaurants of which I've dined. That's not a problem for me, but when O likes his food blander so we haven't returned. It's another great option for Indian food, but the service at Korma Sutra still stands.

Greek / Mediterranean food

Yuki and I have been to Mr. Gyros a few times, and it's always amazingly good. I usually get the gyro platter. It's basically a plate of lamb, feta, pitas, tomatoes, and taziki sauce. Mmm. The service is always fast, and the place looks crowded but you can usually find a place to seat and the line doesn't take too long to get through.

One more thing about Mr. Gyros. They've got big tvs, but the tvs are always showing a Greek travel video, or something, so it's nowhere near as obnoxious as those sports-bar places that have distracting tv on.

We've also been to Caspian Bistro, over on Metcalf. They've got more variety, but I stuck to the gyros there too. Caspian Bistro has good service and good food, and it should be more supported than it is. Both times we've been there, there have been only a few people eating.