Zeughauskeller - @@@

Finally getting a chance to catch up on some reviews from the Europe trip a little while ago. Went to this place that is reasonably famous in a touristy part of the city. This place is in an armory which is pretty cool. Eating lunch with swords, poles, crossbows, and assorted other memorabilia shows how old some of the sites are - supposedly the building was built in 1487!

I read in Zurich they have a local dish called Kalbsgeschnetzeltes nach Zürcher Art - which is basically pan fried sliced veal and mushrooms in a creamy white wine sauce. Zurich specialty supposedly. Served with a side of rösti. So the dish was pretty good, tasted and reminded me a little like stroganoff without noodles. That type of consistency, a bit creamier rather than tangy. Wanted to remove the mushrooms but figured it was authentic. It did come with additional portion as well which is the pan on the top left which was kept warm with a burner underneath, a good bonus. Veal was good, but in sauce so couldn't tell the actual quality. Slices were kind of skinny for me but in general was tasty. The rösti was basically a giant hash brown so if you like fried potatoes then you will enjoy. Note it is pretty big and filling. One thing I didn't love was that the two items didn't really mix well (such as if I had rice with it instead). Individually they were pretty good; there was no enhancement for eating together

Overall cool place that served decent food. Would recommend checking it out, it does for sure cater to tourists as the menu is in like 10 different languages. I was also interested in the pork shank and beef that came out on a sword. It is in one of the main areas so very easy to find.

Bahnhofstrasse 28A
8001 Zurich, Switzerland

Sternen Grill - @@@

So this is an interesting review. The sausage here was ok, but am actually giving it more credit due to the history than the outright food. Just the sausage was ok, honestly would probably give it a 2 however the numerous "best of" lists artificially has me give it a 3. I will explain

Still recovering from jet lag, I was a bit groggy as I headed out to this place. Was a quick tram ride from the hotel on the 4 line; it is right at the Bellevue station where many trams stop. I was prepared to do take away, but also noticed many self seating areas outside which was great cause it was nice out.

Their most popular is this St Galler bratwurst with spicy mustard which I promptly ordered. This is the left kind of sausage on the grill. Took that and a beer to the outdoor area where there was plenty of space. So what they do is just give you the sausage, I think you could get some bread for an extra €1 but noticed most people just ate the meat. The meat itself is interesting in that the consistency is smooth rather than sausage in the US that can tell is ground. It is like all mixed up in one consistency vs the noticeable fat/meat ratio in the US. I don't like this style as much but think it is normal here (breakfast sausage similar) so this not knocking it that much. It is definitely leaner/more lean tasting than US. Also I think flavor is more mellow than I am used to with a certain spice I can't detect (maybe sage??). But this is where the mustard comes in. As not as strong as the sausage is, the mustard definitely is. Heavy amounts of horseradish, it definitely hits you in the nose. Notice in the picture they only fill the cup maybe a fourth of the way, this is absolutely enough.

So there you go, dipping sausage in mustard as dinner/snack in the comfortable Zurich night. Again couple influences skewed higher - good rankings by guessing people more familiar with this type of meat, condiments unique flavor, and foreign conditions. I would not say do not try because I think this is a place that is accurate with local food. I would try the red sausage next time as it looks to be kielbasa style, but cannot be sure. There also appeared to be a few other kinds on the grill but at ~€7.50 per link they can add up quick!

Theaterstrasse 22
8001 Zürich, Switzerland

The Palms Cafe - @@@

As I am writing this its a 3 but definitely could be adjusted to a 4. Overall good, solid breakfast spot with all of the classics. Does breakfast warrant a 4??

Long story short I stayed overnight in Palm Desert last night. While exploring the city, the next morning I wanted to oddly enough get some breakfast. Fired up some apps and saw this place was close and had good reviews. Local place too which is cool. Guessing this area is a lot of retirees just by looking around

In addition to wanting chicken fried steak, the reviews also highlighted it. Did not disappoint. Deceptively large, the meat was very tender and gravy super hot. Much appreciated. Tasted homemade, crust was good, gravy purportedly made daily. Could eat a few slabs of these. Eggs were eggs and no complaints. Home fries were ok, not amazing. Think they had some fried onions in it which seemed sort of dry. Also oddly got a pancake instead of the usual toast but allegedly the pancake mix is a well-regarded secret recipe. Good but I literally haven't had a pancake in years so have no basis to compare it to. For what it's worth I did think it was very good - fluffy, light, and hot.

So again, think it is quite good. Tables are somewhat close and one set of neighbors ordered the chicken fried steak (sauce on side?!?) as well. "Best chicken fried steak" I heard her say. Other orders around me included turkey sandwiches, huevos rancheros, and pumpkin pancakes...everyone was happy. So would recommend if around and want solid breakfast portions. Think they are only open until 2pm

44150 Town Center Way, B5-B6
Palm Desert, CA. 92260

Las Delicias Colombianans 2 - @@@

I wanted to check out more Latin American food last night and remembered this place looked interesting when going to the Dominican restaurant. Evidently this is a new place and I thought was quite clean so that was a positive right off the bat.

Ordered the bandeja paisa per usual which to refresh is beans, rice, steak, chicharron, egg, maduros, arepa and I added an avocado. The avocado was really good, hadn't had one in a while and mixed well with the rice, egg, and beans. Arepa was again dry and the only item not eaten but that's not just this place. Chicharron was good and was quite tender compared to other places. Fried pork...how can it be bad?? Either I was extra hungry or the beans were better than usual but finished those too. Maduros were good, interesting that they were not sliced in advance. I could take it or leave it - they are always good. The most disappointing was the steak - it was thin and not tender at all. It was marinated I think but I was not thrilled with the cut. I did get another piece of chicharron cause I thought that was quite good and to my surprise it was even meatier and larger than the picture. So back in the good graces

I would definitely go back to this neighborhood restaurant. Can't get any colombian in Michigan let alone with it being freshly cooked/fried. Service was helpful too and spoke fluent English and Spanish. Decor was sparse but was new as well but just coming for the food was good. Would try the thicker cut steak or pot roast next time mixed with some fried pork.

1231 River St
Boston, MA 02136

Rincon Caribeño Restaurant - @@@

I was talking to a friend about mofongo this weekend and I heard "Despacito" when I left work so that pretty much solidified my decision to get some Latin food. Looked this place up on Yelp and noticed it was open to 1am. No problem there

This is a Dominican restaurant as confirmed by the bartender as the waitress literally spoke no English. I wasn't mad at that though and figured it adds authenticity. My remedial spanish was no match for a loud restaurant that seemed to double as a cocktail bar and rapidly speaking Spanish waitress. I did get the order in alright cause I know food and it was translated. Knew I wanted the mofongo and also ordered this "appetizer" plate that basically was a fried item sampler. In short, compared to my mainstay of Carolina in Providence, it wasn't as good. The mofongo was kind of dry and didn't taste the pernil (roast pork) very much. I did have to request a side of mojo (oil, garlic, citrus mixture which is just flavorful and tasty) which added good flavor but not quite as good as Carolina. The fried sampler included chicharron, fried chicken, sausage, fried yuca, fries, and tostones. By the way anyone that thinks tostones are better then maduros is crazy. The chicharron was good - freshly fried and meaty but not that meaty if you count the skin and fat. Fried chicken was alright - typical in that no batter Latin style rather than a Popeyes type skin. Sausage was ok - could go without it. Fries, yuca, tostones were what I would expect.

Overall not bad especially for an actual sit down restaurant with pulsing spanish music going. Definitely not the cafeteria style of other Caribbean places I have been to out east. To me this is in a somewhat wasteland between Dedham and Boston so if you are traveling around south of Boston it is worth a try if you want what seems to be authentic Dominican food. I will probably be back to get some more pork and rice next time.

18 Fairmont Ave
Hyde Park, MA 02136

Gyro & Kabob House - @@@

A big sign right by my hotel had me intrigued every day going home so I made it a point to stop in tonight. This is a family run, authentic place that is just a casual place to get some good (though I have nothing to compare it to) Turkish food.

Now while I can't compare this to other Turkish food, I can roughly equate it to the middle eastern food back in Michigan. Not knowing what to get, I went with the mixed grill which had lots of recognizable items. It had lamb adana, lamb gyro, chicken kabob, lamb kabob, and kafte (Turkish meatballs). The only really new thing to me was the adana which is ground lamb (but not as ground as kafte aka kafta) that is mixed with red peppers and some light glaze. That was my second favorite. The best to me was the gyro meat which was well seasoned. The chicken kabob was good (also glazed-ish) and better than the lamb kabob which I thought was overcooked. Per usual the ground meat kafte was my least favorite but was still very edible. What really surprised me was the bed of bulgur wheat that it was served on. It was slightly red so maybe a hint of tomato but it picked up a bunch of flavor from the meat. Great alternative to rice for me just to throw something different on there. I thought it was really good. The side "shepherds salad" was finely chopped cucumbers, lettuce, tomatoes, onions, and parsley dressed with oil which was ok. The bread was hot and good, more like a naan then pita obviously. Went well with the meat and what I liken a taziki sauce (yogurt, cucumber, garlic). There was also a hot sauce which reminded me of a thinner sambal with the red pepper flakes.

All in all I thought a good meal and introduction to Turkish cuisine. Funny enough I hear Spanish coming from the kitchen; the front end speaks what I believe to be Turkish so authentic nonetheless. Perhaps of my bias, I still prefer the middle eastern in Michigan with the more juicy chicken shwarma, rice with pine nuts, and pure garlic spread. However I would not hesitate to stop by and pick up a gyro dinner over the next few weeks.

1275 Boston Providence Hwy Rt 1
Norwood, MA 02062

Hutch Bar & Eatery - @@@@

Picked this place on a whim tonight because I was in the area. Actually I missed out on a Peruvian place since they were closed for cleaning. Disappointed I searched for another place to eat and am glad I found this.

I ordered the fried chicken dinner which came with either a spicy or sweet option. I opted for the spicy and it had a chili oil, mashed potatoes, and brussels. In short all of it was really good - potatoes creamy, brussels fried and not bitter, and the oil giving it a bit of spice. The chicken was really good - traditionalists may scoff at the boneless chicken breast but I liked it.

In fact I liked it so much I ordered the fried chicken sliders app after the main! What was good about the sliders were that they were a twist on the sweet version of the fried chicken dinner in that they had the maple butter spread atop the biscuit sliders. Again a non-traditional take on the food which I really liked. The little biscuits also had a spicy mayo on the bottom giving it a nice contrast. Chicken was super hot and tasty as well.

This seemed like a hidden gem to me as it was in a part of town that I am not too familiar with. I would not have found it without Yelp so props to them for that. Good service too with a full carafe of water which was great. If you can find it, I suggest you try it out (the sandwich selection looked strong too - I wish I was closer for lunch!)

1308 Gaskins Rd
Henrico, VA 23238