Iberian Peninsula day - @@@@@

Dedicated yesterday to Iberian Peninsula dining. Quick summary - some of my favorite food they have in Rhode Island.

Lunch at O Dinis for the bife a casa. Great flavor and still in my mind best Portuguese in the area (including Fall River). Easy 4 rating and could be pushing for a 5

Dinner was at Spain of Cranston. For what it's worth I think this is the best restaurant in the area. Was thinking of a restaurant I like more in the RI/southern MA area and could not come up with one. Just amazing flavors with the food, some I usually don't get elsewhere.

Both restaurants had impressive taste, outstanding value, and attentive service.

O Dinis
579 Warren Ave
East Providence, RI 02914

Spain of Cranston
1073 Reservoir Ave
Cranston, RI 02910

Legal Seafood - @@@

Hard to judge a restaurant if you only order an appetizer. Even harder still is to judge a seafood-based restaurant if you don't really like seafood. Well I guess I will try to do both as accurately as possible. For those that are unfamiliar, this is a pretty popular New England based chain that specializes in the freshest seafood and is generally regarded as a good place to go for tourists like me.

I did come for the chowder which curiously enough I do rather enjoy. The creaminess and potato for me is a great combination and what else could I think of in New England that best represents it? Here I think is some of the best that I have had. It is full of "stuff" like clams, potatoes and other things masked by a rich creamy soup base. Put a little fresh pepper on it and I was good to go. Ordered 2 as a matter of fact and they were both served burn-your-tongue hot which I like.

As far as the other items go, can't be sure so I guess this is only a partial review and thus can only go 3. But for good NE clam chowder, this place has it pretty locked down.

2099 Post Rd
Warwick, RI 02886

Carolina Market Restaurant - @@@@

I was lucky enough to be driving to Cranston the other day around lunch and was able to stop by this restaurant for some carry out. In summary, it was quite good/flavorful and a great value.

This place is in South Providence which depending on who you ask is either not the greatest/safest location or outright dangerous. Because I went smack in the middle of the day I felt fine and there is a parking lot right behind the restaurant. The place itself has around 10 tables where you can sit so it is not strictly a carry out joint. There are two entrances and my lack of Spanish speaking did not allow me to appropriately figure out which one to best use. When you walk in there is a large glass warmer area (similar to a cafeteria where they serve you) and you pick out your options. Pretty simple sounding but I 100% messed up their flow based on communication, questions, and explanations. Luckily they weren't too busy yet and they speak English well enough to tell you how much and what it is.

I got the $6 plate which includes starch (multiple rices, spaghetti), side (plantains, salad, etc) and main (multiple pork and beef items, fish too I think) from the best of my interpretation. They also have $4 and $8 plates which would make sense to be smaller and larger portions. I got the yellow rice and beans which were very flavorful (and also added some bonus gravy from some other beef dish), caramelized plantains which I thought were cooked right on point, and finally the chicharron. The sides as quickly mentioned were good but the star was obviously the chicharron (fried pork). What I loved here is they chopped it up for you and this were all solid chunks of meat. Great idea for a lunch that way you aren't gnawing on bones or struggling to cut it up with your plastic knife while at work. Juicy and tender, the meat was also well seasoned and the homemade hot sauce added an even better kick to it. Great dish!

To the best of my research, this is labeled as a Dominican restaurant which I never have specifically had. I do think that most Latin American restaurants have similar dishes just with a touch of different spices, seasonings, or method of cooking. I have had the same dish at Colombian, Peruvian, and Costa Rican restaurants but they always taste great. Two things to note is that the pernil (roast pork) is only available after 1 they said and the mofongo takes 15 minutes to prepare which was a slight bummer. Good things to know if I can get back to this place the next time though. All in all a really great meal and a great value as this $6 plate could easily feed 2 meals if one desired. Would recommend to try out!

Carolina Market Restaurant
864 Broad St
Providence, RI 02907

Chick-fil-A - @@@

First Chick-fil-A in Michigan at DTW. Had a few chicken sandwiches on Thursday as I got back from Rhode Island. They taste the same as in other locations which is a good thing. Best quick serve chicken sandwich in my opinion. If possible try a direct comparison between this and another quick serve - I did at ATL and noticed the difference immediately.

Detroit Metropolitan Airport
Terminal A by gates 70+

O Dinis - @@@@

Honestly this beef "stew" wasn't even that good. It's chunks of top round or something cheap, potatoes, and linguisa/chorizo thrown in a pot with this non-thickened liquid (can't even call it a gravy) and presented as stew. Really?? Carrots...Nope. Onions...None found. But then a 4 of 5?? How and why?

The reason is this liquid of the stew was so flavorful I can't describe it. When you dip the Portuguese bread rolls into it, there is some weird flavor transformation at work. I tried the liquid by itself...its not that special!! But it is. When asking the waitress what's in it, she replied "it's Portuguese and takes a long time to make". Well that helps none at all. I can't place the flavors. I can see oil from the sausage and probably some olive oil in there. It's heavily red tinted so guessing some paprika or slight tomato derivative. I think tomatoes are too acidic usually so I would doubt there is much of that there. What little herbs appeared to be somewhat fresh parsley that I don't think would contribute much. A very slight and subtle spicyness but would surely pass as "mild". To me it does taste like a liquid Portuguese sausage I would imagine. I just don't know. I do know though that the bread and liquid is an amazing meal all by itself. I guess that's why I didn't think the meat and potatoes were that good, and this is coming from someone that is all meat and potatoes all the time. They were just overshadowed by the star.

Otherwise this neighborhood Portuguese restaurant is the place to be. Packed on a Wednesday, the food is served rather slowly but amazingly hot. It took upwards of an hour to get my food but I think it is worth it. They say this beef stew special is every Wednesday but I want to come back for their bife a casa as well (I had it a while ago and remembered that I thought it was better than Madiera). I am picturing a small kitchen with food cooked to order. This is my current pick for best Portuguese in RI and will surely be back. Careful though as they are closed on Tuesdays.

579 Warren Ave
East Providence, RI 02914

Schoop's - @@@

Just wrote up the review of the hamburger at Schoop's which I thought was really good. I also had another sandwich and some various sides that I figured I would write up separately.

I actually first ordered the breaded pork tenderloin sandwich as I was instantly intrigued by it. This curiosity started earlier in the year when I read a serious eats article about the origins in the Midwest. When I saw it on the menu, I couldn't help but order it to try. It is this massive breaded tenderized piece of pork which to me tasted more like the loin rather than tenderloin. I say this because I thought it was a bit dry and tough, and also due to the size it would be hard to get the tenderloin that large. Obviously could be wrong but that was my impression. It was topped with lettuce, tomato and mayonnaise; reading some comments in the original article it sounded like mustard is the more traditional condiment. Also due to the somewhat perfect round shape, I am wondering if it was a premade patty. Because I thought it was a bit dry, I would give it a @@ with the complete disclaimer of no other baseline.

Also pictured are the fries which were decent but nothing to write home about. Thus I will not write about them; they are standard restaurant fries that were served fresh out of the fryer (a good thing).

Not pictured was the meal-capper...a salted caramel ice cream sundae. This was quite good, creamy and no doubt unhealthy. Handmade in front of you, the small was pretty large (20 ozs maybe??) and they had a large 32 oz monster that would be completely crazy. I had a 3 hour drive in front of me and didn't even finish the small. That's a lot of sugar!! The only bummer about the shake was that I was hoping it would keep me awake on the drive home but still had to stop at two rest stops on 94 for a quick nap. I would give it a @@@ with an extra point maybe for the size.

Overall would recommend the hamburger with fries and a shake. Solid combo and served hot and quickly if you are in the need for a quick bite. Also good to hang out at as they have little jukeboxes at each booth and seemed like a good local joint.

Original serious eats article:
http://www.seriouseats.com/2015/01/best-breaded-pork-tenderloin-sandwiches-midwest.html

Schoop's Hamburgers - @@@@

Out in Chicago for the weekend and stopped on the way back to go out to eat with a friend who lives on the IL/IN border. I wanted a burger and she recommended a local spot called Schoop's that serves a thin, griddled burger and is an Indiana landmark.

Sounded good to me so we checked it out. It is a definite throwback style restaurant in that it has a few booths and a short bar area to sit at. Reminded me of a diner but cleaner. For the hamburger, it was really good. I only got the single with cheese but it was really beefy and served piping hot. Lettuce, tomato, and mayonnaise were already added on and was between a soft toasted bun. As you can see, the patty itself was bigger than the bun which is always a good thing. It had a nice crust to it; and though a server didn't know for sure how it was made I am assuming it is on some griddle-like apparatus. The patty is also thicker than I would assume and balanced out the burger well.

I would recommend trying this burger place out if you are in the northwest Indiana area. Good, affordable burger with friendly and quick service.  Thanks Elizabeth for the recommendation!!

215 Ridge Rd
Munster, IN 46321