Review: Indian Garden (Chicago)

Note: this also appears with my reviews over on Yelp.

Overall Impression:
Dinner at the Indian Garden can be a cool experience in a somewhat unique city setting. It isn't inexpensive, but the food is good and the service is a tad friendlier than what I have commonly experienced in some of Chicago's other Indian restaurants.



Highlights / Lowlights:

What was great -

- The Entrees. We enjoyed our entire meal, but the entrees were the best part. My wife had the Chef's Special Murg Tikka Masala and I had the Chef's Special Jai Puri Aloo, both over the Kesari Pulav. Ridiculously tasty. The kind of delicious that triggers one's "just keep shoveling that good stuff into your food hole" reflex. Being in public, we worked to restrain ourselves and maintain the appropriate sense of decorum.



What wasn't so great -

- The "we're out of that" response. Our reservation was for 7pm on a Saturday night (i.e., prime time). Yet they were out of one key appetizer (cashewnut rolls, which we've found to be excellent at their Devon location) and one key dessert (the pistachio kulfi). Kind of odd to be out of those things early on a weekend night. Hoping that next time we try this place they have those in stock.

Scorecard

Two Critical Questions

- Would I eat here again?
Absolutely. Devon is closer, but this is worth the occasional trip, especially in the winter. Valet adds $12 - $15 to your night, but that's not a bad price to pay to avoid the parking hassle and subsequent walk in the December/January elements involved in visiting Devon.

- Did it seem like a good value?
It's fair. Two appetizers, two entrees (leaving enough to wrap up so tomorrow's lunch is also covered), two rice dishes, naan, two desserts and three glasses of wine for ~$110. Good food in a nice room - seemed worth it to me.

Essentials



Food - Very good entrees, pretty good appetizers, solid dessert. The samosas seemed a little less than fresh, as the shell was just a touch too crispy, but the Aloo Tikka was nice. We really liked the gulab jamun, which was served hot -- our preference -- and wasn't overly sweet and syrupy - well done. The mango kulfi came out ice-cube frozen, but with patience the softened state kulfi was very tasty.

Service - Solid and friendly. We were initially greeted by a man who seemed to be either the manager or possibly part of the ownership team. He looked snappy in a nice dark suit and provided a very graceful welcome once we mounted the mountain-goat-steep staircase leading up to the dining room. Later, a woman who appeared also to be part of the ownership team was doing rounds of the dining room, chatting up guests. The table behind us in particular got a lot of love, but she spread it around pretty well, checking in on everyone. And our service team was just a little friendlier than what we've experienced on Devon, where the servers can often come off as all-business and prioritize efficiency over the warm fuzzies.

Amenities



Atmosphere - Sophisticated, but comfortable. Soft, dim lighting. Dark walls, ornate chairs. Nice elevated perspective with the second floor view of Ontario St. Only thing a bit out of place are the plastic table coverings. I understand the practicality of it, but every time I went to pick up my wine the bottom of the glass stuck to the table for just a second. Kind of disconcerting amidst the smoothness the rest of the experience delivers.

Valet parking - $12 is a little steep where $10 seems the norm, but it's not outrageous. Know that you will need to find the valets over by their home base at Ron of Japan, then double back over to Indian Garden.

Review: Hotel Lucia, Portland OR

Note: this also appears with my reviews over on Yelp.

Overall Impression:
The Lucia is stylish without being over the top. It has the cosmopolitan, boutique feel of a San Francisco or Manhattan hotel right in the middle of Portland.

Highlights / Lowlights:

What was great -

- The small touches
Someone running the Lucia realizes that the cumulative impact of little things can deliver a strong brand experience. For example, room service coffee is served French press style - nice (once you figure out how to use it, if you're an ignoramus like me and don't get it right away). Even better was discovering an umbrella in my closet before heading out to get some xmas shopping done in the rain. Looking out the window and seeing it pour outside I was hoping I could borrow one from the front desk or the doorman, but no need - right there, in my closet. Nice.

- The location
If you are going to get a surprise 3 day trip to Portland the week before xmas, at least stay in a place that is close to some shopping so you can still cover off last minute gifts. There are a number of shops within walking distance and it's only a short cab ride to some of the hipper neighborhoods (e.g. Pearl district)

What wasn't so great -


(Be advised: you will likely hear your neighbors' in-room activities sometime during your stay)

- Thin walls (and all that implies). I personally heard some animated conversation from my neighbors between 10:30 and 11:30 pm one night. But I had it good. A colleague of mine reported hearing his neighbor enjoying the adult entertainment. To each his own, of course, but damn, that's kind of nasty if I have to hear it.

Scorecard:

The two critical questions

Would I stay here again?
Certainly. It is conveniently located and pleasantly appointed. But I have only been to Portland once, so I can't speak to what superior options might exist.

Did it seem like good value?
Yes, but I got a good deal (less than $200/night) via a corporate rate.

Essentials

Room - Small, but stylish and functional. Nice flat screen directly facing the bed.



Bed - Comfortable



Bathroom - Small, but modern and well done.



The Internets - Very good. Wireless connection that is strong, consistent and available throughout the hotel (i.e., in the lobbies as well as the rooms, and the lobbies are definitely worth hanging out in)

Amenities

Room Service - Pretty good. Prompt and decent value as far as boutique hotels go ($18 including tip for large pot of coffee, bagel w/ cream cheese and cereal). Also, the Typhoon fried rice from the in-house restaurant was pretty tasty.



Lobbies - Unlike some other boutique hotels, these are actually worth spending some time in. There is a nice range of art on display, the furniture is cool and comfortable. Plus, with the persistent wireless connection available, you can be productive whilst you lounge.





Meeting rooms - I can't speak to what the cost is, but there are some conveniently accessible meeting rooms just downstairs from the main lobby that feel more like a very cool conference room in a very cool office than the meeting room of a hotel. If you must be cooped up working on the road, this isn't a bad way to go.

Review: Apart Pizza (Broadway location)

Note: this also appears with my reviews over on Yelp.

Finally a neighborhood pizza place that my wife doesn't dismiss as "too creepy". Realized on Wednesday it was open and tried it last night. Apart will definitely crack into our take out rotation, giving That Little Mexican Cafe an occasional rest.

Their pizzas are thin crust and creative. We went with the Francese (yes, there is egg on the pizza; yes, it is good) and the Capriciosa (a lot of artichokes here - unless you are some kind of freak you won't likely need to ask for extra artichokes). Both were great. We also randomly tried the sweet filoncino (chocolate), and liked that, too. To this layman's eye it seemed like pizza dough filled with a not too sweet chocolate cream and topped with powdered sugar. What was ordered as a throw in became a highlight.



For $18 we got 2 personal pies, the dessert and two cans of pepsi. Good deal.

Review: Vong's Thai Kitchen

Image Source: A.S.V.

Note: this also appears with my reviews over on Yelp.

Overall our experience at "VTK" was okay, but when weighing the cost and the experience, I think this place is in a bit of a no man's land for me. If I will be spending $100+ for dinner with my wife, I want to enjoy the experience more than I did here. And if I just want some good Asian food, I can easily do that for less than $100.

There was some creativity in the dishes we tried, and service was mostly pleasant. I think a big reason I didn't love this as much as perhaps I could have was the table we were given. We were seated at the banquette, immediately on the other side of the host stand. Definitely felt apart from the rest of the space's vibe. If you are intent on going to VTK, I'd suggest declining that table if it is offered to you.

Highlights / Lowlights:

What was great

Tenderloin satay. Mouthwatering, tender, delicious.

What wasn't so great

Host / hostess service.
We were there at 7:30 on Christmas Eve and they were closing at 9. The place wasn't packed and there were better tables available in the dining room, but the hostess just dropped us at the nearest table she saw, on the banquette. This kind of thing indicates she's either clueless and not thinking that 'hey, it's kind of a special evening and there are better tables out there, why don't I hook them up?', or she just flat out didn't care about anything other than putting out minimal effort. Of course, this could totally be an isolated incident, but you hope that a restaurant's management sets the tone for service basics to the point where it's second nature for everyone on staff.

Scorecard:

Two critical questions

Would I eat here again?
Sure. But I wouldn't go out of my way to do so.

Was it good value?
It was fair.

Essentials

Food - Mostly good.

Appetizers were mixed: tenderloin satay was fantastic, the tofu jenga wasn't great (clever name and presentation, nice tomato ginger sauce, but the tofu itself was over seasoned - each bite was a mouthful of salt and garlic).

Entrees were pretty good. The pad thai in the salmon pad thai was great, with moist and flavorful noodles. But the cut of salmon perched atop the noodles didn't add much to the dish. (Not sure how else one could prepare this dish, but it was just odd seeing the fish in one big piece sitting on the noodles. No other pad thai that I have seen comes like this. Chicken, beef, tofu - they are all shredded or cubed or spread out in the dish one way or another.) My wife had the shrimp and scallops in the citrus curry and she claims it was good.

Their wine options provided a nice breadth of options if not a lot of depth. The list includes one bottle (maybe two, max) of interesting choices like beaujolais, tempranillo, malbec, but they also cover off the more common US wines (cabernet sauvignon, pinot noir). My adventurous wife opted to try the 'mistletoe' - a concoction of gin, strawberry liqueur and maybe mint. $11 worth of 'not great'.

For dessert we tried the 'creme brulee trio' and the warm chocolate cake. Cake was fine - not too sweet, which is nice - but it wasn't particularly memorable. The creme brulee trio -- ginger, tamarind, coconut - was mixed. My wife loved the coconut, I liked the tamarind and, to my palate anyway, the ginger flavor was so subtle I would have believed it if you told me it was a placebo serving.

Service - Our server was pleasant and helpful, but maybe a little less frequent with the check-ins than we would have liked. Good enough, not great.

Amenities

Atmosphere - Probably would be nicer from every other table in the room than from the one we had, so I am not the best judge. Dark, contemporary, nice enough.