The last restaurant we went to (about a couple of weeks ago) was 5i Indochine Cuisine in Culver City, and we went there right after buying paint for our dining room reno at Sherwin Williams. The SW paint store in CC is very convenient and easy for us to get to, which had something to do with why we went there.

5I Indochine Cuisine is very close to the paint store, and it was about 1:30 PM, and Kevin wanted to have lunch. We've been to this restaurant several times, and so I knew it was close and how to get there.

I had some sort of noodle dish with beef, either Saigon Noodles or Singapore Noodles, and I liked it a lot. It was served with the special hot sauce on the side, and I used all of that on it. The prices are now almost double what you can see in these online menus - I don't know how old those are. I understand that they have new owners - hence the price increase.

The menu appears to be mostly Vietnamese, which is fairly rare in Culver City, although there are many Thai restaurants. There used to be a great Vietnamese restaurant on Washington Blvd, a couple of blocks from Sony Studios, but it closed for some reason. It had really good Bánh xèo, and so I miss it. I should make bánh xèo myself, but I would have to buy the sprouts, unless I wanted to grow those myself, which I have not done.

I don't have many restaurant meals anymore, and those are delivered. For a small celebration, which I've posted before, we got buckwheat galettes (like a large double-thick brown crepe, not the pie crust things the word evokes in the USA) from French pub kind of place. They eat like someting between an omelette and a pizza, with more delicate kinds of toppings/fillings. :) Everyone really enjoyed them. No particular cooking idea to:pass along, other than the knowledge of how the galette should be. But memorable. It's hard to come up with new dining experiences for old people who've eaten well. ;)

A recent discovery is the grill at a local public golf club. Not an easy place to find and with zero advertising except word of mouth. The food is not fancy but well prepared - burgers and sandwiches, fish and chips, salads, homemade soup of the day - and with a couple of daily specials. Friday night is prime rib night and worth every penny of the $25 price tag!! Saturday is French dip day, if any leftovers. Full bar service as well.

This is a very foodie oriented community and some local restaurants are exceptional but this is a great medium budget choice and with the best onion rings I've ever had!

Oh, isn't that amzing, when you find the best ever of something? Decades ago, there was a casual dining kind of place near a friend. Great location that no restaurant ever succeeded at (cursed?). We tried this instanciation of it, and the food in general was fine, but forgettable, however, they had the best friench fries I've ever had! I'm not a huge potato fan, and like the hot temperature of fresh fries more than anything else, and, like many, I consider middlin' fries more of a vehicle for eating tasty condiments, than anything else. Excpect for the perfect fries at the forgettable restaurant.

They appeared to be house cut with a lever and grid cutter, very square in crossection, a but bigger around than most, and long. They were fried a deep amber color and were very crisp on the outside, and fluffy potato-y on the inside. Dressed with salt, of course, but so perfect that ketchup (which I like if it's goid ketchup) would have detracted.

I don't know how to achieve this, other than start with big potatoes and a large grid cutter. It's not worth it to me to experiment on, because they're still potatoes, even if very, very good. But ever so memorable!

We've eaten out so infrequently in recent years - a big change from our pre Covid norm. But somehow in the last few weeks, some events that really required our attendance and there was food. One was a birthday dinner at a casino. Those restaurants are not usually particularly nice but this one has (had) a dining room I had liked and liked the food. Nicely done with real table cloths, cloth napkins, good service. There had been a petite prime rib dinner on the menu I'd been looking forward to - menu had been abbreviated and it was missing. Several of the tables had been removed leaving big open spaces all around - cozy feeling was gone. I ordered cioppino and instead of a tomato wine garlic broth, I found many many green peppers that were becoming the dominant taste. Disappointing to find all that lovely seafood heavily infused with green pepper flavor.

I share a birthday with an SILs husband and we invited a friend, the 5 of us had Mexican at our fav restaurant. It did not disappoint but then it never does.

At a couple of these events there has been buffet served and we haven't been eating buffet other than in someone's home - someone known to us. The main dish at one was pulled pork and there were huge pans of smoked mac and cheese, + salads. We didn't eat.

We were served buffet at a 50th wedding anniversary that we did eat and it was excellent. We've eaten food prepared by this particular caterer before and what was served was quite different than what I would have expected her to present for a crowd of more than 200. It was perfectly seasoned roast beef with an amazing dark gravy (I was wishing I'd taken a roll with which to sop up some more ;)). Garlic mashed potatoes and sauteed green beans cooked flawlessly.

Everyone was raving, and it left us with a mystery we're still trying to solve. We don't even know for sure what the cut of beef was and the caterer was blowing off any queries even when the woman who had paid for the meal asked. Sliced to precisely the same sized servings, not falling apart in the pans but moist and completely fork tender on plates. The caterer had closed her small restaurant a couple of years ago, semi-retired, and we're not even sure where she would have cooked the meal, it surely had to have been a licensed kitchen and she only heated things in the church kitchen where the party was held. We were in and out of there too many times over the weekend with flowers, photo table, guest book table we would have known if something had been roasting there - it wasn't.

We've called Cash&Carry/Chef's Store and the closest full service butcher and both say not their products. We're still on the hunt ;) If this was something she bought prepped, seasoned, possibly even cooked to reheat, we have enough large family gatherings we'd do the same if we could just figure out where it came from. I'm surprised the woman-once-the-bride wasn't privy to any of the food details since she'd paid for the food, but again - the caterer isn't talking.

As I have mentioned, I live in a pretty small town. There is a Bar and Grill type place that has been in business in this town for about 40 years. It's my husband's favourite place for fish and chips and they serve a grilled caesar salad that is out of this world. You can have it plain or with grilled shrimp, blackened tuna, grilled chicken or grilled steak strips. I always get it with the tuna and it's under 20.00 Cdn. It is smothered with melted on the grill parm and served with a balsamic glaze along with the house-made

caesar dressing. I dream about that salad and we go there at least once a month. They also do a great braised lamb shank and a prime rib beef dip with crispy onions. Just goes to show that sometimes the one-of-a-kind, hole-in-the-wall places are hard to beat.

As a former restaurant owner and caterer it is suprising / odd that she chose not to reveal the cut of beef. If it wasn’t steamship or tenderloin I wouldn’t know what to guess next next. I am glad that it was enjoyed.

We met part of my family at a country inn in Flint Hill Va for a birthday celebration. We frequently are looking for restaurants in this area as it is a mid-way spot for us to get together. I wasn’t familiar with The Blue Door Kitchen and the on-line reviews were mixed but we had a nice evening. The building is old but the interior has been redone in a very attractive contemporary style. The panels in this image must have been a covid thing because they were not present. We sat in another room and the wall decor and centerpiece was very pretty.

I had faggotini (a different stuffed pasta shape than tortellini) filled with polenta (a bit weird) but served with lobster, the tiniest amount of Swiss chard, and in a nice creamy lobster-wine sauce. That’s an easy sauce to make when they likely have plastic containers of lobster base in their freezer. Maybe they actually made a lobster stock using the shells. Two people had halibut and one had two starters : burrata with really good cherry and pear tomatoes— surely from a local garden, as well as beef tartare— he said the beef was excellent.

Desserts were lovely and shockingly none of the available options were chocolate. We had an elderberry torte with a pretty mirror finish, it was accompnied by ethereal elderberry mouuse and a little lime sorbet. My mom had a very good apple strudel, and the third dessert was amaretto gelato with other stuff on the plate.

We were 5 people, did not order starters, shared 3 desserts, and our $75 bottle of pinot noir was fine. The total before tip was $360 which seems like quite a bargain nowadays.

Like others have mentioned, we also don’t eat out as much as we used to.

That said a wonderful restaurant meal that still stands out in my memories is one I had years ago at the 21 Club in Chesterfield Gardens London.

My DH worked in the City at that time and took me, a young Australian woman to this club for lunch. Their specialty was rare roast beef sliced very thinly and served with horseradish. It was the most delicious thing I had ever eaten. The waiter, hovering, asked “would madam like another slice” to which I replied “yes I would”. He seemed very pleased that I would accept another slice of this beef which he seemed proud to be serving. Happy long gone days.

A bad restaurant meal I recall was in France, driving through and stopping in a small town for lunch. I was with my DMIL and one little son early 80’s. It was my first and only experience with Andouilette, which is a smelly sausage made from pork intestines. I read enough French to understand it was a sort of sausage which I had thought my little son might like. The meal was placed in front of him, he looked, took one sniff and promptly vomited into the plate. When the waiter returned to collect the plates he looked horrified and as explanation I shrugged and said “he didn’t like it”.

DD and I took SWMBO to a new and rather ”buzzy” Asian-Italian fusion place for her birthday. While a couple of the dishes were tasty, the place embodied some of my pet peeves in dining out.

First, prices have to make sense. “Tomato toast” is just not worth $15, even if inventive and flavorful.

Second, you can’t just serve a bowl of what are essentially cheap Asian street noodles, and expect anyone in a foodie town to be wowed, and certainly not for $25. Maybe the first place to introduce local diners to chewy Chinese noodles, sesame, and black vinegar could get away with it, but that hasn’t been a novel flavor for decades, plus I - or anyone - could make it at home in 5 minutes.

Third, think about how people are supposed to eat the dish. “Pear and sweet sesame tartare” sounds nice, but if the pear is 1” chunks and the tartare is in fat rice-sized blobs, how does that get on a fork in the right proportions? Plus the tartare looks like maggots.

Finally, maybe shrimp mousse in a fried dough shell was fun to make, but consider that it is not all that different from shrimp balls that one can buy frozen at the Asian grocer.

I don’t think that place is going to thrive, unless the chefs up their game massively. I was also rather grumpy about the bill considering the food. Perhaps the “whole grilled red snapper with chipotle and chile negro butter” would have been better, but I was watching the cook grill those and decided It just didn’t look worth forty-eight freaking dollars. I can buy a snappper. I can grill a fish. I can make a compound butter. I’d rather spend fifty bucks on a really nice bottle of wine, or not at all.

@morz8 - Washington Coast Any chance it could have been this, thus her reluctance to reveal? From Costco (I haven't tried it, but just thought I'd check to see if they had any pre-cooked beef products).

Reddit review

I haven't eaten in many restaurants since the pandemic, just a few visits to local decent places and some to-go meals. But a few weeks ago a friend and I took a trip to Portland to visit my favorite plant nursery there (Xera) and we had a meal at one of my favorite restaurants nearby...Nicholas Lebanese Restaurant. It's difficult to describe how delicious EVERYTHING I've ever ordered there is. So hard to limit it to a few dishes. I was especially enamored with the tabouli this visit - they made it with very little grain, mostly parsley and other greens (mint? I can't remember), but they used quinoa (which I am not a fan of usually) instead of bulgur. Their huge pita bread, fresh off the griddle is really hard to beat. Yum. Baba Ganoush to go with it. I had a sample plate and I really don't remember what all I had, but it was all excellent. https://www.nicholasrestaurant.com/

We have some favourite places we like to eat as we have a city unit in a restaurant district (deliberately chosen for that :-D). Most of them are (relatively) cheap and cheerful places though we're not averse to spending serious money on a seriously good meal.

We rarely have bad meals any more, but one fairly recently was when were were visiting Melbourne in July. The weather was freezing and wet and we felt like pho for lunch, but the pho place we usually visit when we're in Melbourne was closed. Looking further down the street was an (allegedly) Thai place that had soups on the menu so we went in.

We decided to share a plate of chicken satays while we waited for our soups. The local Thai place were visit near our Perth unit does awesome chicken satays- I often say I could eat the local newspaper if it was drenched in their satay sauce. These ones were not even close to the ballpark. They were obviously precooked and refrigerated, and barely warm, with tasteless sauce. How disappointing. The soups were somewhat better, mine was OK, DH's was boring. We won't be back.

I did have a disappointing burger a few weeks back. Usually DH and I have burritos at a chain Mexican place (Zambrero) when we're shopping together- it's not earth shattering but very tasty, fairly cheap and they contribute a meal to a person in need for each burrito sold. A new burger place has opened right next door and I decided to try it one day when I was in the area on my own. The fries were excellent, but the burger patty had been pressed too hard in the making so it was very solid in texture, which I found really off putting.

One of Mr. Picky's favorites, ostensibly Chinese, has really good appetizers and middlin' meh food elsewise. Mr. Picky likes their appetizer fried shrimp (which are really good), but which look like standard American frozen fried shrimp, with absolutely nothing that even hints of something someone with a distant Chinese ancestor would think of as ”Chinese”. It is my opinion, in lieu of facts, that the delightfully airy and delicious bao, shiu mai and other fine appetizers come frozen from an excellent purveyor as well...

And I think Olychick is right on the money, thinking that the caterer was channelling Costco. My own thought was that it was prepacked sous vide from the catering supply, but Olychick's picture matches Morz's description so perfectly, and the catering supply denied selling it. Sous vide, first popularized by caterers, one would think would have no roasting odor, but the perfectly sliced seems to indicate fully cooked, and sliced cold, probably by machine, before being heated for service...and the precision of serving sizes matches the picture, too. And Costco is a reason to be so tight lipped. I'm convinced! Certainly worth testing the product, I'd think,,,

The Ace Crab is a little hole-in-the-wall type of place that recently opened in our neck of the woods. Sweetheart & I shared their rendition of jambalaya & it was delicious! Not high falutin‘ but good basic yumminess! He had never heard of hush puppies before (!) so we started off with those (not pictured).

Smiles,

Sooz

It's an unusual but interesting time to do reviews of restaurants.

The three years of pandemic have impacted food businesses significantly.

Old age, covid, other sicknesses, many professional chefs have passed away, many have retired. There have been very few new trainees for three years in the kitchen to replace them.

dcarch

We eat out regularly and as often as possible, mostly because after 60+ yrs of cooking I'm long ago over the unjoyful prospect of making two meals a day, seven days a week, fifty-two weeks a year....etc.etc.etc.etc.

We are fortunate to be able to afford it, altho since spouse loathes what he calls "frou frou" restaurants it's rare I can get to the really expensive places. OTOH, we've eaten amazing food at expensive places that no longer exist, so it all evens out, I guess.

Despite the HCOL and variable economy restaurants continue to open at a rapid pace in the San Francisco Bay Area. We made 5 multi-day trips to Sonoma County between late 2022 and mid-2023, and barely made a dent in the "new places to try" list I keep updating. The East Bay, where I live, is also experiencing a boom. Our favs over the last few months:

Khyber Pass/Dublin. Long-time fav that only reopened for indoor dining 2 mos ago. Makes a fabulous chapli kabob – thin and crisped, like a Smashburger. I love their version, and haven't found any other Afghani eatery making it this way.

Lita/Walnut Creek. Beer Battered Wild Rock Cod Taco: Caribbean slaw, pickled red onions, housemade blue tortilla. The slaw had shreds of yellow banana peppers for a touch of heat. It comes with a large scoop of guacamole, garnished with microgreens. The blue corn tortilla soaked up moisture from the slaw, making it somewhat on the fragile side when we went to pick it up. It held together, as long as we were careful. The cod was fresh and the deep-frying greaseless. The flavors were distinct and clean, yet complementary to each other. This dish was a hit with both of us.

Namastey Patio/Oakland. Sautéed scallops with spicing, sweet and sour fried onions, white sauce, blueberries. One of only two Indian fusion dishes on this menu. We weren't sure what to expect, but the big scallops were excellent. Dusted with Indian spices and then quickly sautéed – delicious! Spouse loved the sweet and sour fried white onions. The white sauce was a Bechamel, which oddly is a standard in Indian gourmet cuisine, but it is made with milk, never cream, and wasn't salted, so the mild sweet flavor of the milk comes through. The fresh blueberries went surprisingly well with the scallops and onions.

Fleur Sauvage Chocolates–"Wine Country Tea Time". A light 2-course tea with savories from Sonoma County-based vendors, and sweets provided by Owner/chef Robert Nieto. If he ever gets bored making chocolates, he can make a fortune on his baked goods. He makes the second-best biscuit in the SFBA (first place goes to chef Banks White of The Rambler/SF), buttery and delicately layered. His cream mini-scone was so good we didn't miss not having butter, just Nieto's own blackberry jelly. That said, Nieto makes some of the most intensely flavored fillings we've ever had (our standard for chocolates are Royce and Michael Recchiuti). He uses dark sweet rather than our preferred bittersweet, but his raspberry truffle is a winner.

Khom Loi/Sebastopol. Two Caucasian guys toured Thailand, then came home and opened up a Thai street food restaurant. Like their first restaurant, Ramen Gaijin, both won Michelin Bib Gourmand awards in their first year, deservedly so. We don't always agree with the tire folks, but Khom Loi is a "must do" on all our Sonoma trips. Their Silken Tofu Salad wows us: simple combination of ingredients that complement perfectly for us tofu lovers.

Willi's Wine Bar/Santa Rosa. Why all of us forget that the lowly button mushroom, when sliced raw and tossed with a good EVOO, a mild vinegar, and some flaked Parmesan, makes a fabulous summer salad, I can't figure. In addition, the classic old-style sauce gribiche makes a wonderful accompaniment to roasted asparagus!

Kenzo/Napa. Exquisite nine-course kaiseki dinner in a serene dining room – a shame I don't drink, as Kenzo wines are featured at the restaurant but hard to buy; most production is shipped to Japan.

Oly, the Costco beef could be a lead and I'll try a package when I'm there shopping again. It appears to come presliced though and the slices look less thick...would have to see it to know.

I'm told some local restaurants order products from Sysco Foods. I'd have to sign up to see their products list but I did find on that website where they have a division called

Restaurant Row Kitchens ( provides fresh ready-to-eat proteins, entrees and sides)

that could be a possibility too.

I have an acquaintance with a restaurant although her daughter is doing the day to day operations now. DH and I were anticipating seeing her at a memorial lunch last weekend and I'd planned to ask her. I had not planned on the uncooperative caterer also being there and my impression was that they are friends or at least friendly. It was very crowded and didn't feel like the right setting to corner and question my friend (although I'd say DH knows her much better than I do, classmate . - she might be more forgiving of him interrogating her than me doing it😊)

This community isn't that large - we'll get to the bottom of this....

We don't eat out very often due to being disappointed.....; or like ohn, object to paying fr something mediocre. But, a friend invited me out this week. We went to a rstaurant in the middle of no-where, right on the bay of Morlaix that is a lovely, rocky bay that was basking in the sunshine. As a starter, we had mackerel fillet, grilled and served with an aubergine purée, parmesan crumble and little bits of pickled onion. The main course was sea bream cooked very simply with lots of veggies. Dessert for me was a raspberry macaron and sorbet, with pistachio cream. I took a pic as it was so pretty. The meal was simple but really delicious and for 2 was 60 Euros.

Lovely restauant in France, delicious meal, cheese on the fish. More proof that in reality, rather than some TV byword, real people eat some dairy on aquatic proteins!

IC, it sounds like a lovely outing!

I was treated to dinner with friends last week. We were a very elegant restaurant whose chef is a James Beard winner. The host and I ordered the same thing: Lamb chops with roasted potatoes and kale, all dusted with house-made za’atar. Everything was delicious and perfect until I got a big bite of kale that must have had all of the za’atar on it. OMG! It was so pungent/sour I could not help but make a weird face until I was finally able to swallow it. Fortunately, the friends I was with are nearly family. It was so embarrassing but yet funny not to be able to control my face!

I had two amazing fish dishes while on a recent Seabourn cruise. Sake marinated salmon perfectly cooked subtle sake flavor so the fresh taste of the fish came shining through. Ditto the miso marinated halibut. I cannot remember what accompanied these dishes but I still dream about these two fish entrees. I live on the seacoast so I have access to fresh fish but these were outstanding preparations.

Miso and fish go together swimmingly.

My dad wanted to go to a Chinese buffet, so DD found one that was well reviewed. Alas, the Portlanders who write Yelp reviews must not know good Chinese food, because the buffet was about as uninspiring as it could be.

It made me think, though, of the whole “All-You-Can-Eat“ thing. I believe I first encountered it back when it was called ”Smorgasberd” and we thought it was Swedish. The mid 1970s, maybe? Then there were all-you-can-eat salad bars, just in time for hungry college me to greviously abuse the concept. Occasionally I still come across a really good such place - last one was the buffet breakfast in a rather fancy hotel in Taipei, during my trip there last summer. The congee was great! Nowadays I am trying to eat less, not more, so AYCE does not appeal, but I still think there’s a place for a good one, which we definitely did not find this week.

I get what you mean about the appeal of ”AYCE” buffets. I can’t remember the last buffet we went to.

I also get what you’re saying about Yelp reviewers. We had a similar experience on a trip to Adelaide earlier tis year. A number of places we went to which were highly reviewed on Google were either ”nice but not outstanding” at best to ”really wish we hadn’t gone there”.

We’re in Melbourne visiting our DD, DIL and grandson at the moment. A couple of nights ago we had an outstanding meal at a local Indian restaurant. You know how often when you go somewhere where the cuisine is lots of share plates, most of them may be really excellent but there’s always one that you think, “well, it was OK but I probably wouldn’t order it again”? Everything we ordered was absolutely delicious. I don’t think I could eat my weight in their tandoor lamb chops but I’d sure like to give it a red hot go :-)

John, you brought up a term I haven’t heard in ages, Smorgasbord. As a very young child, I remember my parents getting ready to go to Daddy’s great-aunt’s birthday party. She was having smorgasbord. It sounded so exotic. Mother expected a lot of Scandanavian foods. It was simply a buffet. I expect they were relieved rather than disappointed.

We have a top ten of memorable dining experiences that often come up...half of those are in Canada. Not all are top dollar.

We have a bottom ten...."what were the thinking serving such crap".

And probably 6 dozen in the middle that we would return and have done so over and over. All located over the 5 bouroughs of nyc. From 1 dollar tacos in the back of a bodega to lobster rolls from a food truck.

Recent house guests from the west coast wanted to take us out to dinner. (they lived in NYC for 15 years, 15 years ago). I suggested a walking tour starting on Mott Street for soup dumplings....shared on the street, then the new Essex Market for coffee and another shared snack. Prince Street Pizza for a slice, LosTaco, and a stop at a favorite spice shop, Kalustyan, then up Lexington to Grand Central Oyster Bar, for (duh) oysters at the bar. So much better than sitting down to a meal depending on a server for a glass of water and possible cold food smothered in sauce not loved. (the few restaurants i would recommend did not have reservation openings last minute)

Portland is such a restaurant town i can't imagine success with an over-priced weak menu.

Fall 2020 a hot new restaurant opened with a 'small bite' starter for 2-4-or 6 persons. Also encouraged the 'mains' to share. It was before vacinations and no outside dining. Still 'hot' but impossible to get in now. If a restaurant has an innovative menu with passion it should succeed.

Sometimes a street vendor or a food truck has that passion for what they do and is superior to many restaurant offerings.

Like many have mentioned, and no surprise, a good meal out, prepared excellently, we don't blink at the check.

I tend to think it is un-fair to compare a restaurant meal cost vs home prepared. But bad sevice and a recent meal out meeting a friend for lunch...the server pulled out a humus plate from the fridge. Covered in plastic wrap with the cut pita wedges. Cold pita, damp from the fridge. Sure, they have overhead costs, rent, but do try to deliver a good decent meal. Hello. Soggy pita, not even an attept to toast...unacceptable. I just had a cup of tea. Basic comfort menu like 1/2 roast chicken/rice, baked salmon/rice. Cup of soup/1/2 sandwich. Basic burger. Sides extra cost. All on our home rotation.

I've not experienced the dcarch observation. I follow Eater, the NYTimes and the NewYorker seasonal reviews. More new openings than ever. Those that closed during lock-down had already been thinking of it before covid. After 20 years, friends closed but her partner started farming upstate 10 years ago supplying their restaurant. Then many more restaurants. Another good friend with an organic dairy farm making cheese and butter selling to Murray's, and other cheese mongers. Their demand for butter trippled due to supply issues. Chef's talk. Restaurants use lots of butter.

So interesting. I remember from childhood my father not being thrilled by going to a Smorgasborg because it really was Swedish food. He could and would eat anything, but I think if Scandinavian food isn't your upbringing and culture, it's not alluring, and when he went out, he wanted to be served.

Interesting about the reviews, too. Reading your posts, I realized that I mostly look for negatives on Yelp or whatever. Reading comments on something as basic as pizza, the enthusiastic yeas seem to be more about value for price than actual quality of food. I get it that young people with tight budgets want to share and receive this, but I don't find it useful for knowing if the food is good. Wrong orders on several reviews, and I'll pass. ;)

A quick restaurant tip, especially when traveling. Although not advertised, many private golf course dining facilities with outstanding chefs are open to the public. In our travels we have had wonderful meals after inquiring at front golf club entrances...."Is your dining room open to the public?"

Yes, this also includes the very private Pebble Beach golf course where you can have a reasonably priced delicious meal overlooking the 18th finishing hole.

Went to a very good Chinese restaurant last Friday. Very good Chinese restaurants are uncommon in Portland, land of bad ethnic food. This one is a bit of an under-known gem. There is a Chinese family who own one of the larger seafood stores in town, full of tanks of live fish and crustaceans. They decided to use one wing of the building for a restaurant, mostly for owners, staff, and family.

So on Friday evening, only about four tables of twenty were occupied, one by a boisterous group of ten or so who I think were said staff. The food was very good, no one seemed concerned about the empty tables, and The Ratio was excellent.

The Ratio is number of Asian (or, if you are being very demanding, Chinese) customers divided by total customers. Typical ratio in Portland Chinese restaurants is 50% which is very meh to a Ratio conoisseur and requires lots of General Tso’s Chicken and the like on the menu. Good ratio is 80%. Friday was 95%, with SMWBO being only non-Asian (we count DD in the numerator).

Parenthetically, my snarky mention of General Tso's Chicken is not meant to denigrate "American Chinese" cuisine, which I consider a valuable culinary heritage in its own right. Since my dad is living with us now, we try to go to more "genuine" Chinese restaurants, and this place will be a regular stop.

I look back on last Friday as our family's last arguably healthy day. Sure, I'd been tired and slightly headachy the previous few days, but that's not usual - work, not drinking enough water, unseasonably warm/muggy says, etc. That evening, SWMBO looked at me, felt my forehead, and exclaimed that I was "clammy". Later that night, after she put DD on her plane to Paris via New York, SWMBO started feeling unwell. By the weekend, she was quite unhappy, in bed, calling for endless bowls of jello, and burning though our supply of Covid tests. By Monday, she tested positive. DD, in Paris by then, also tested positive and reports being mildly tired and headachy. Yesterday, my dad tested positive; he informed us that he had cold-like symptoms a week or two ago, but now feels okay.

I was negative and have so remained, but SWMBO claims that I must have had Covid last week, because this has to be my fault. She feels mostly better by now, but has nonetheless started a course of Paxlovid. My dad may start a course as well - still trying to figure out drug interactions. Edit: has started.

SWMBO and I have studiously avoided Covid for three years, but she finally got it and maybe - she claims, with NO PROOF - I did too. My dad too. So far, our cases appear very mild, with SWMBO getting the most jello-in-bed mileage out of hers. DD and DS had it last year, DD was fairly sick while DS wasn't, but DD’s current case seems very mild. She is sending me texts about the great new seafood store that opened near her apartment and “i had moules gratinees and duck in a honey lemon sauce which was SOOOO GOID” at a new restaurant, so I think she’s feeling okay.

(I am thinking about going back to Marseille to work/hang out for a few weeks in January, and looking forward to seeing these new places.)

A close friend who takes my dad grocery shopping has Covid now and is quite sick indeed, albeit medically her case is still “mild” by definition because she is not hospitalized. Another friend got it a couple months ago and was even sicker, had trouble breathing. So basically it feels like Covid is “back” and thank goodness we are all vaccinated multiple times.

Sorry your family got stung by this round of covid, John but tell more please about that ‘verygoodchinese’ restaurant please and what you enjoyed.

As a mostly vegetarian with a fear / ick factor of lots of meaty things I sometimes mourn how much authentic Chinese food is not for me

We had a very good fish maw soup

https://www.wokandkin.com/fish-maw-soup/

and a whole fried flatfish, fried calamari, and a beef dish that I didn’t try - being focused on the seafood, which is the place’s specialty.