Restaurant review extravaganza 21 page 2

Miro District Food & Drink

You know how when you cross from one time zone into another, it doesn’t all of a sudden turn from day to night? Or how when you cross the Mason-Dixon line headed south, everyone around you doesn’t abruptly start drawling? Instead, you perceive the differences–in light or enunciation–over a distance. More >>

New York

La Kabbr

When friend and fellow Organ Meat Society member Bobby Ghosh returned to New York after a stint as Baghdad Bureau Chief for Time magazine, he didn’t miss the improvised explosive devices one bit, but he did miss Iraqi food. “Isn’t it just like regular Middle Eastern food?” I asked. “No, it’s a bit different,” he replied, “and you can get it here at La Kabbr.” More >>

Orange County

The Past Memories

Have you ever heard of yogurt soju? It is as it sounds–a cocktail as only Koreans could dream it. It starts with that yogurty soft drink popular with Asian children, either Calpico or some Korean imitation. To this, some soju, the indigenous rice wine of Korea, is added. It arrives at your table in a flask, looking like moonshine for the manga set, and not particularly chilled. More >>

Phoenix

Vincent’s Market Bistro / Latitude Eight Thai Grill / Postino Central / Andreoli Italian Grocer / The Dhaba / Mariscos Playa Hermosa / Cherry Blossom Noodle Café / Da Vang / Matt’s Big Breakfast

Summer in Phoenix is a good excuse to take a ’round-the-world tour. Sure, the cost of airfare might be prohibitive, but, hey, at least I can send my taste buds on a journey.

In fact, some of my favorite dishes around town happen to be those cool, refreshing, “summery” foods that are as essential to survival (and sanity) as air-conditioning and shade. So in the name of adventure, I’ve come up with a globetrotting sampling of different flavors and cultures. More >>

Chill time: A giant seafood cocktail from Mariscos Playa Hermosa makes a refreshing summer meal.

San Francisco

5A5

San Francisco is not a great steakhouse town. It has neither the legendary steakhouses of New York (Keen’s, Sparks, Old Homestead, Peter Luger) nor the sexy new steakhouses of Los Angeles (Cut, Mastro’s, Nick & Stef’s, Jar). Try typing “steakhouses” in an Internet browser and nine U.S. cities pop up, none of them San Francisco. More >>

Seattle

The Hunt Club / Matt’s in the Market

Seattle’s food scene is so active that I rarely get a chance to re-­ review places. Two high-profile restaurants, though, pulled off chef changes that were risky–or sensationalistic–enough to merit attention. More >>

St. Louis

Café Lazeez

“Fusion” is a dirty word, evoking the nightmare of some recent culinary-school graduate with a copy of Larousse Gastronomique in one hand and a tube of wasabi paste in the other. Not that you can’t combine the flavors of disparate cultures, but you shouldn’t have to point out that the combination is a fusion. The dish should work on its own terms. Most fusion fare reminds me of what the novelist and critic John Gardner once said about “experimental” writing: “Only if the experiment fails do we call the work experimental.” More >>