Surdyk’s Flights (in the MSP airport) – Bloomington, MM

D.Rough sent me a txt a few months ago from the airport. She said she wanted to get a meat platter at Surdyk’s when she was at the airport. I had forgotten she mentioned that until I was actually AT the airport looking for a snack before my flight to Denver. Ding! Meat Platter! I wasn’t even sure what I was looking for. …I’m totally lying. I was looking for one of those giant meat platters they sell at the grocery store that has enough meat and cheese on it to stuff 50 rolls. I didn’t see such a thing in any of the refrigerated cases in the front of the storefront, so I assumed it was a menu item of some sort.

Someone had just gotten up to leave and I took the last seat in the small restaurant. The nice server brought me a menu of delicious sounding food. I kind of knew what I was supposed to order. I did, however, consider about 15 other things. But, alas, I went with what I came in there for. The Sulami platter. And I got the one with the three accompanying cheeses. I had no idea how large it was going to be or how long it would take. I was already pushing it with my boarding time, but meat comes first, I always say.

I got to watch the chefs make a whole host of entrees and sandwiches for people from my seat. I had the best view in the house. There was a guy whose job it was to only use the meat slicer. That guy is a men amongst men. You’d think it doesn’t take much, but he sliced and placed meat slices on everything imaginable with the finesse of an artist. Very fun to watch him work. I wasn’t even sure which plates he was making, until I saw the growing mound of meat that was going to be my platter. Y. E. S.

It actually took a bit longer than I Was expecting, so when the server brought it out, I asked her to bring around a to-go container when she had a chance. I was excited about this platter. It looked amazing. Not too much meat that I was going to go into a coma, but enough that I was going to be verrry verrrry happy. Which I was. I know the woman told me which cheeses she had brought me, but I don’t remember them. One was a blue, and the other two were something else. I should have written them down, but I didn’t. In fact, I didn’t write down the meats either, though I know one was a spicy capicola. The fruit they brought was fantastic – apricots and grapes – and the nuts were also delicious. It was a very well balanced meal in my opinion.

And since it took the server a while to get back with the to-go box and my check, I had almost eaten all of the food on the platter. I took what was left in the box and headed to the gate. Last one on the plane! Hooray. It’s becoming a habit for me, but I haven’t missed a flight yet (well, within the past 5 years, anyway). I took the Bit-O-Honey with me that comes with the restaurant check, and had a little snack before my in-flight snooze.

I was really impressed with the new location Surdyk’s has in the airport. It’s worth a stop if you’ve got the time. They are also a wine bar, so please feel free to fill up on (or bring with you) a bottle of some really quality wine. I wish I had, but I knew I was going to have to eat quickly. I know the meat platter started out as something I was going to eat as a joke in the airport before a flight, but I’ll probably going to get it each time I go to MSP in the future. Now, aside from Popeyes Chicken, I have a new restaurant I’ll look forward to eating at in a US airport. Thanks for the suggestion, D.Rough!

No top 5

www.surdyksflights.com

Sultan Mediterranean Restaurant – Rock Island, IL

While I was back visiting the family in Illinois over Thanksgiving, my brother in law wanted to eat some food that wasn’t Applebee’s. My sister isn’t very adventurous when it comes to food, so I told him D.Rough and I would show him the good stuff. But we had to make sure the place we chose had something other people in my family could also eat. My niece had mentioned there was a new Mediterranean restaurant open in the area, so we thought we’d take them there. Worst case scenario, they get a plate of rice and complain about it for the next ten years. Hahahaha

The restaurant is located in a small strip mall in the Kmart parking lot, so it was easy to find for everyone. We rolled inside and found a set of tables we could combine to fit our family. There were other people eating inside, so that was a good sign. Sadly, my niece Frog, who recommended the place, couldn’t join us. But, DeliveryBoy and AmandaHugginkiss and their new twins were able to – bonus!!!! We looked at the menus given to us and eventually realized we had to go up and order at the counter – whoops. I was surprised a lot of the Mediterranean things D.Rough and I like to eat weren’t on the menu. We’re in training for our honeymoon, where we’ll be staying in Santorini, Greece, so we’re trying to eat as much Greek food as possible. No dolmades and no mousakka for us at this place. It’s ok, there were other things that sounded good. D.Rough got a gyro salad and I got the special for the day, Shevid Baghali Polo – basmati rice with dill, lima beans, and seasonings, topped with marinated chicken.
The food arrived in a reasonable amount of time, but since other family members’ food came out first, I helped myself to their plates (I always blame it on the blog writing, even though I’m just rude).
The red pepper hummus and the garlic hummus were pretty good. Much smoother than a lot of places I’ve had, so no complaints on that part. The falafel ball I ate was pretty good, although just a tiny bit dry for my taste. The tahini that came with it helped a lot, though.
The homemade fries were good, but I wasn’t in the mood for fries. They were a lot like my mother makes, so we knew we had to tell my dad so he could sneak away and eat thousands of fries without my mother’s knowledge. He’s sneaky like that. In fact, he’s from a long line of sneaky people (his diabetic brother tried to get me to sneak him cookies without letting my aunt find out).

D.Rough’s salad arrived and it looked pretty good, even if all of the lettuce was iceberg. There was plenty of meat and feta on it, so it passed as a Greek salad just fine. The flavor was good, according to her, and she ate almost all of it, so I know it wasn’t terrible. The balsamic tasted like it should have and there weren’t any surprises in the salad like some of the Quad City restaurants like to throw in to keep it “Midwestern”. She did knock it a point for using canned black olives, but aside from that, she enjoyed it.

My dish wasn’t at all what I expected, but I still enjoyed it. The rice was really quite flavorful and I loved the seasonings they used, even though they were pretty mild. I also love lima beans, so I’ve got that going for me. The chicken was cooked well and I was pretty happy with the amount of meat on the plate. The grilled veggie kabobs were a nice addition to the plate, both for color and flavor. I even sprinkled some of the magic dust the place has on the tables. I’m not sure what was in it, but it isn’t spicy – just unique. I’d use it again the next time I went, and I’d use a LOT of it – like I said, it’s pretty mild.

Overall, I thought it was a decent Mediterranean meal, especially for a Midwestern town. It isn’t fancy, but it’s good food and filling. I think everyone was happy with their meals, since I didn’t get any complaints. I’d eat here again if the family wanted to when I come home next time. I did, however, tell my brother in law that he can eat a guinea pig at two different restaurants when he comes up to visit us in Minneapolis. THAT’s incentive…

Top 5 things about Sultan
1. Shevid Baghali Polo
2. Gyro Salad
3. Hummus
4. Friendly staff
5. It wasn’t terrible expensive

Bottom 5 things
1. The fries get RAVED about in online reviews, but I thought they were just meh
2. One of the workers offended my niece by commenting on her children - yikes
3. Limited menu, and missing some standards
4. We didn’t get the baklava we ordered and then forgot about it and paid for it
5. The falafel was a bit dry

www.sultanmediterraneanqc.com

Yak and Yeti – Westminster, CO

I was out in Denver for the 2011 Roller Derby World Championships, and some of the large group I was with went to Yak and Yeti the first night they arrived. I kept hearing the words “yak” and “yeti” and eventually figured out it was a restaurant. Not only was it a restaurant, but the people I was with kept talking about how delicious it was. Since I’m hairy beast, I tend to love things related to hairy beasts. I think both Yaks and Yetis fall into that category.

We headed over to the restaurant with multiple large groups of people. Probably not the best plan of attack for being seated quickly, but we were patient and eventually got a table in the last group of 6-person groups – yikes! It’s a buffet (and a large buffet), so we got up and started picking and choosing what we wanted. All of the vegetarian dishes were on one side of the bar and the rest of the food was scattered throughout. It all looked amazing to me.

On the first trip to the buffet, I got vegetable pakora, samosas, some chicken item, lamb curry, some curried vegetables, and basmati rice. No complaints on anything on this plate. It was absolutely delicious and filling.

I went back for more. Broccoli, some yam curry, more chicken, more pakora, and rice. They kept bringing baskets of naan to the table, so I got absolutely stuffed.

…But not stuffed enough that I couldn’t fit a bowl of Kheer down my gullet. I love this stuff. It’s basically condensed milk with long grain rice and sometimes cashews or raisins. Delicious stuff, although the texture tends to weird people out, for some reason. I can’t get enough of it.

In summary, a great Indian buffet and lots of helpful staff. We all were leaned waaaay back in our chairs after this meal and moving slowly. That’s how you know it’s a great Indian buffet!

www.theyakandyeti.com

Jack and Grill – Westminster (Denver), CO

I have reviewed Jack and Grill before, but I noticed they had a new location built when I was out in Denver for the 2011 Roller Derby World Championships. I talked the people I was with into going there to get stuffed so we’d all sleep better – totally an excuse that does NOT work on this crowd. But I talked them into it anyway.

The inside is festive, brightly colored, and eclectic in its decoration. Lots of very friendly and helpful staff make sure you are taken care of quickly. I had great luck when I was at their original location a few years back, so I knew this would be good, as well.

The menu is enormous, so be ready for that. The last time I was at Jack and Grill, I attempted the 7 pound breakfast burrito. It was a fail, but I did make it about half way through it all. And it was delicious. That gave me hope that everything on the menu would be good. I wanted to try a few things, so I ended up getting the combination #2. One beef enchilada, one chicken enchilada, a bean tostada, beans and rice. That should do the trick!

They bring out chips and salsa that cost a dollar – just do it, people. The salsa is good, although it might be a bit on the spicy side for Minnesotan palettes. I thought it was just fine. I also had ordered a margarita – you know, to help me sleep (I’m still working that angle). It had Chambord in it, so it was like a black raspberry margarita. And it was verrrrry good.

The food came out quickly and we were all glad – we were starving from a long day of roller derby. Word of warning, the food here is enormous. Mrs. Novia tried to order ala carte since she’s not a big eater, and ended up getting way more than she expected. They’re very generous here.

The enchiladas were quite good. The red sauce is smoky and spicy without being heavy (the cheese takes care of that part). The bean tostada wasn’t anything special, but it’s made with fresh ingredients, so it just tastes better automatically. The beans and rice were also good and were helping stockpile sleep-time credits for later. I was slowing down exponentially. I knew pretty quickly that tonight wasn’t going to be a go-out-and-party-night. Sigh.

I already did a more thorough review the last time I was here, so I won’t overstate how good this place is. It’s like a better version of Chevy’s (atmosphere-wise), but with more authentic Mexican food.

Bender’s Bar & Grill – Westminster (Denver), CO

Mr. Novia and I were in Denver for the 2011 Roller Derby World Championships and there was a bar near our hotel. We walked around the giant pond to find something to eat. Bender’s is built right into the Ice Arena (actually called “Ice”), and we were highly amused to see signs prohibiting skating gear in the restaurant. Hilarious.

We were excited to see we could sit along the windows of the restaurant and watch a hockey game being played on the ice below us. Now THAT’s entertainment. Mr. Novia and I now realized we were sitting in the hockey wife section and got to witness all the ladies smack talking on behalf of their significant others and doing shots. Hilarious.

I ordered a Strongbow and perused the menu. Lots of tasty sounding things were listed, but I decided on the burger with ham, salsa, and the most peppers – jalapenos and pepperjack cheese. Hard to go wrong with this one. I can’t remember if it was the volcano burger or Diablo burger or the hangover burger, but it’s one of those, I’m thinking. (I eat a lot of burgers like this and they’re all named something different – sometimes I mix them up in my crazy head) Our waitress asked if I wanted regular fries of curly fries. I said I didn’t even know they had curly fries and I ordered those.

The burger came out pretty quickly. It looked delicious. I was actually a little scared by the slice jalapeno sitting in front of me, but I rolled with it. I put as many of the slices as I could fit onto the burger and cut the thing in half so I could actually eat it. Good meaty flavor from the burger, a delicious salty sweetness from the ham, a hint of salsa flavor, good but mild pepperjack cheese flavor, and just a tiny bit of heat from the peppers. I really thought this thing was going to be painful to eat, but it was just alright. Not a stellar burger, but one I would probably order again if I found myself at Bender’s watching a hockey game again. The fries, on the other hand, were delicious. I didn’t want them to end, and there was a serious pile of them to be eaten.

Overall, just a good meal. Nothing groundbreaking, but nothing bad, either.

Top 5 things about Bender’s
1. Curly fries
2. Strongbow is always a plus
3. Got to watch a hockey game while we waited
4. Super nice staff
5. Hangover burger

Bottom 5 things
1. They were out of the Colorado beer Mr. Novia ordered
2. No hockey gear in the restaurant is an OUTRAGE! – Kidding, I don’t own any hockey gear
3. You can’t beat on the glass of the restaurant like you can the glass of the hockey rink
4. Mr. Novia’s meal wasn’t fantastic
5. The team where most of the ladies around us were cheering for lost. Mood dampener!

www.benderswestminster.com

Tandoor - Bloomington, MN

It had been a while since I had had lunch with Trash, so when she decided we needed to go out for Indian food, I agreed. She suggested Tandoor, even though she didn’t know the name of it and had to describe where it was located – a hilarious exercise that I’m both used to and an expert player.



The inside is larger than I expected, and the buffet is spread across two buffet units. I could see there were lots of things that I was going to be eating today. I may not be able to remember the names of what I’m eating, but I can tell it was delicious by the smells. We grabbed our plates and started the feast.

They have excellent vegetarian pakora (deep fried chick pea battered vegetables), and something made with chick peas in a sauce. I should someday write down the names of these things, since I eat at Indian buffets often enough. Maybe I just like the adventure of thinking I’m eating something new and adventurous each time. Tandoor also has one of the most delicious dishes I’ve ever eaten. It was called the Chef’s Vegetarian Special or something like that. It is cabbage and tons of peas with black pepper – absolutely stellar! They also had small pita chip/naan chip things that were delicious. I’ve never seen these before, so I was glad I checked them out.

I had to go back for more. They had a vegetarian dish that looked like it had meatballs in it. Trash is a vegetarian so she was scared by it. I went for it. It turns out, it is a sort of dough or corn meal ball, almost like a dumpling. Also, it was delicious. I grabbed some naan, since I had forgotten the first trip and also some chicken something or other. And, of course, some more Chef’s Special. Everything was amazing.

Still hungry for more of this place. I got another helping of the Chef’s Special and more chick peas, along with a fun rice dish and more chicken. Alright, I give, I’m full.

...But since they had it, I had to get a couple of bowls of Kheer for myself. It’s perfectly acceptable to get two bowls of dessert, but only when there are two people sitting at your table. Then people think it’s for the other person – which it isn’t. hahahaha. Decent Kheer – no complaints from me (on either bowl hahahaha).

This is a great place for lunch and I really liked the dishes there, especially the ones I hadn’t seen before at any other restaurant. I’m looking forward to going back here. The people are very nice and the price is comparable to most other Indian buffets.

I won’t give a top 5 for this place, since I’ll just embarrass myself by not having any idea what the names of the dishes are. My apologies. I just like to eat it, not memorize the names. Sue me.

Los Jarritos – Moline, IL

When I go back to my hometown to visit my family, I try to get people together in one place so I don’t have to run all over and see people all over town. I can see them all in one spot. I got a recommendation from my friend Rafael to go to this new Mexican restaurant in Moline called Los Jarritos. I called them ahead of time and warned them that approximately 25 people had RSVP’d and to make sure they could fit that many. Thankfully, they could.
It’s a very non-descript exterior, but it’s easy to find, since it appears to be one of the only things open on the block. There’s a small sign out front indicating the name of the place and also that it’s now open, so I knew we had found it. Inside, the walls are painted bright colors, the tablecloths are brightly colored and everything looks new and shiny. I found my group of people and grabbed a spot for D.Rough and I to sit.
I went through the menu to find something eat. They had much more than most Mexican places I’ve been to. Delicious sounding dishes – some traditional and some a little out of the box. They have tacos, burritos, and tostadas, but also Tortas (sandwiches) soups, and regional entrees. Even though I had a couple of dishes in mind when I got here, I changed my mind approximately 30 times while looking at the menu. I finally decided on Albondigas, which are meatballs in a sauce with a helping of rice, and served with your choice of corn or flour tortillas. I also ordered a cheese crisp, since this is something our area is known for.

We tried to order margaritas, but the restaurant’s liquor license hadn’t gone through yet, so we were apologetically told they didn’t have anything. They mentioned you could bring in your own if you wanted to. So a couple of guys immediately got up and walked a block or two to Bent River Brewery to get growlers of microbrew for themselves. Excellent idea until this place is allowed to serve drinks.

There are chips and salsa out on the table, and Los Jarritos gave a good showing of flavor and spice level for the meal starter. Not too spicy, but lots of flavor. I was a fan so far.
The cheese crisp arrived and D.Rough stole my first bite. I was distracted by a conversation and she wanted to check it out. She liked it a lot more than some others we’ve had in the Quad Cities. Once I got my first few bites, I agreed. It wasn’t as greasy and the homemade shells really made the difference. Great tasting and very simple dish. It’s melted cheese on a fried flour tortilla.
The Albondigas came out shortly after and I was surprised to see only two meatballs on the plate. In fact, D.Rough made a comment about it looking like they forgot the spaghetti on my plate. The sausage balls were sitting in a shallow pool of some red sauce that smelled delicious. I cut up the meatballs into smaller chunks and began building my tortilla with the rice, sauce, and meat. It was fantastic. The meat had tons of flavor and the sauce had already begun to sink into the balls. With the extra sauce on the tortilla, it was perfectly tasty and made me want more. I had ordered corn tortillas, and you could definitely taste the corn flavor, even among all the other strong flavors of the meat and sauce. I’ve had Albondigas soup before at another restaurant, so I’m definitely familiar with the Mexican meatballs, but this dish blew the soup out of the water – it was a fantastic dish and I’d highly recommend it. I didn’t think two meatballs would be enough, but they are large enough to be plenty of food to make three or four normal sized tortilla wraps without skimping.

The servers were absolutely fantastic with our group. I know groups this large can be quite unwieldy, especially for a brand new restaurant, but they handled us like a champ and were very personable and friendly with us. I thanked them afterwards for being so gracious and courteous. I also told them I would recommend them to as many people as possible – so that’s what I’m doing. Please go here – it’s very worth it.

Top 5 things about Los Jarritos
1. Albondigas
2. Cheese crisp
3. Wonderful staff
4. They have Dew!
5. Very comprehensive menu of delicious-sounding food

Bottom 5 things
1. No alcohol license as of Thanksgiving – but that will change (BYOB isn’t a bad idea, however)
2. Lots of spelling errors on the menu – they’re new so they’ll work the bugs out, I’m sure.
3. It isn’t well lit on the outside, so it almost doesn’t look open, but it IS
4. Nothing else bad to report
5.

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Los-Jarritos-Comida-Mexicana