Colorado Springs: The Broadmoor Hotel

This was my first time staying at the Broadmoor and for years I have been hearing about how wonderful it was and I figured it was so much hype. But, from the moment I checked in I was blown away. Everything was perfect, from the grounds to public areas and finally to the spectacular room. Beautifully decorated in a classic style that is at once understated and opulent. The whole resort was amazing . . . everything was well thought out, with a nod to the history of this fabled place. The variety of restaurants was also very cool, from casual to four star, and everything in between. All in all I wanted to just have my clothes shipped in and stay forever.

And one more thing, the staff was the best I have ever encountered . . . friendly, professional, and engaging. Complimenting the hotel ambience of the hotel and extending the experience. Start to finish a perfect experience.

San Pedro, CA: Think! Bistro

This is a promising looking establishment in a strip mall, warmly decorated and inviting from the outside. An older couple, seemingly the owners, greated us at the door and we were immediately seated. The menu was eclectic and interesting, with some classics that were right up my alley. Then the food came. It was a disaster for everyone at my table.

I started with a beet salad served with hearts of palm and goat cheese. The beets were large, flat slices with the texture of wet paper towels, either canned or boilded to death. The hearts of palm were OK, but nothing done to them except opening the can. For my entree I had beef stroganoff . . . it was served over spaghetti noodles and seemed to have been made using a hamburger helper mix. It was truly awful. Another member of my party had the boullibase, a favorite of her's, and she left most if it describing it as overcooked shellfish with jared marinara sauce dumped over it. Nothing even close to the real dish. And finally a potato crusted halibut, a very thin filet of some kind of white fish. Overcooked with a soggy potato crust.

This dining experience was a complete waste of calories and time, nasty food and inattentive service. I would have rather had fast food. Stay away, stay away this is not worth the investment of either your time or money.

EatHereOrNot: NOT

Bedford, MA: Flatbread Company

So here I am in Bedford on a Monday night, craving pizza after checking in to the hotel in an area where there is nothing visible around in terms of food [or anything, for that matter]. The front desk person vaguely pointed in a direction that there were restaurants and off I drove into the night. Random, really, that I found Flatbread, its in an office park kind of place with two other restaurants and barely visible from the road, but find it I did and went inside. They had actually closed for the evening, the ovens weren't hot enough to bake a pie, but the manager set me up with a great salad and I went back to the hotel happy. The next evening I went back for pizza [you can see that I was focused] and it was a great decision.

The restaurant is large, sleek in a funky kind of way, with an open kitchen and wood fired ovens. The ingredients are organic and locally sourced when possible, and the beers on tap from the area as well. Casual, but not without thought to both food and service, this was a very cool local place and popular with the community. The pizza was great, thin and crispy crusts on the pizzas [my favorite] and well balanced, housemade topping. I had a sausage pie with caramelized onions and it was close to perfect. The sausage was excellent and the portion not stingy. There is a nice selection of salads as well, organic greens with with goat cheese and vegetables, and a very nice berry vinaigrette to top things off. And some not-to-bad brownies as well, a great casual dinner on a midweek evening.

The focus here is on not only the food, but the community, and its very cool. The night I was there they were doing a benefit for a local high school, and the place was packed with happy pizza munchers. Good energy for a Tuesday night. Of course, regardless of how good the food may be, it is the staff who can make or break an establishment and on this count it is definitely a 'make'. The manager, Sean, was personable and welcoming, even in the heat of a very busy evening, making sure that everyone was taken care of an included. He has an infectious energy that kept the staff smiling and the pizzas flying out of the kitchen. The only negative thing that I can say is that the place isn't well marked, if you don't know what you're looking for you could easily drive right by .. . a sign please? Great place for a casual evening, go in and tell Sean that I sent you.

EatHereOrNot: EAT HERE

Painter [Eastern Shore]: VA: Big's Place

What a great find! Way out on the Eastern Shore ... you'd drive right by if you weren't paying attention ... and by all means, PAY ATTENTION. Open for lunch and dinner, the very casual menu features wonderfully fresh seafood, just pulled from the bay, and a great selection of sides to round out the meal. The room is not large, so you may have to wait, and some of the larger tables are used for communal dining, a good way to meet the locals people and make new friends. Just enjoy!

I had the best fried scallops that I have ever eaten, crisp and brown on the outside and wonderfully sweet and tender on the inside. I could have eaten a pound of them, but the side dishes called my name and I couldn't decide ... so I had several. Deviled eggs, Cole slaw [not flavored enough for my taste], macaroni salad, and excellent fried potatoes and onions. With sweet tea, of course. It was a perfect lunch and had me smiling all the way back to the Norfolk airport for my flight. This is a classic country/shore place that deserves a trip out of the way for a visit. And don't forget the orange blossom cake!

EatHereOrNot: EAT HERE

Portland: Hotel50: H50 bistro and bar

What a great spot! Sometimes a place is a real find, the kind of surprise that puts a long lasting smile on your face, and that is what H50 did on three visits. The sleek restaurant and bar are in the Hotel50 on the Portland waterfront, the new incarnation of a dismal Sheraton 5 Points and its even worse predecessor the Riverfront Hotel. Someone with real imagination and flair took the place from dismal to spectacular in a recent renovation, all glass and wood and sparkle that vanquishes the image of everything that went before in this building. Not just a remodel, but a reinvention of the highest order. The bar is beautiful and the staff is welcoming, and the food hits all the right notes without being overwrought. So, here are the highlights:

Braised pork belly served with French toast, seared figs and a savory maple glaze was amazing. Way too rich, just as it should have been, and I could have eaten more but thought better of it. A great combination of flavors and textures that looked wonderful on the plate. An intriguing wild mushroom rice pudding was a very interesting take on the classic sweet version, and though I'm not a rice pudding fan, this was good stuff. Tuna tartar cones, crisp cones filled with tuna, lemon zest, chives, capers and mustard were perfect, reminiscent of those at the French Laundry without the year-long wait for a reservation. And finally, smoked salmon fritters. You know how much I like smoked salmon, and here it was in a fritter deep fried . . . and fried anything is my friend. The parsley cream on the plate was a good counterpoint to the richness of the fritters, and made the plate look great as well. Last but not least, a venison burger on a house made bud with an apple and endive slaw . . . a friend ordered this and I stole most of it. Venison burger? Yes! I ventured beyond my usual wine here and had drink called Pamelo, pepper infused vodka with grapefruit juice. Bring me another, please!

You know its hard for me, but I really don't have anything bad to say about this place except that its location makes parking tough. But its worth the effort and a long walk if necessary to visit this new gem in downtown Portland. Go, more than once, and enjoy this inventive food in a beautiful location. And send your kudos back to the shy but charming Chef Nicholas Yanes, he's doing a great job and needs to hear it. Maybe he'll even make an appearance in the front of the house.

EatHereOrNot: EAT HERE

Greenville, SC: High Cotton

This is a beautiful new restaurant in the downtown area of Greenville that offers some twists on Southern cooking with excellent results. The space is huge, three levels, and well appointed. It reminded me in a vague way of the original Palomino in Seattle; polished, interesting light fixtures, glass. The service on both visits was excellent, with particular kudos the the bartender for an excellent martini and good conversation. I tried several menu items and enjoyed them all, with the exception of what I thought was going to be wonderful: smoked bacon hollandaise, which turned out to be heavy and rather bland. Maybe it was a bad day for the sauce chef. Some of the good things inclued a black-eyed pea hummus [a nice changes from the usual], pork belly tacos with a green tomato pico de gallo [what a concept], and a tuna tartar stuffed avacado with a tasty ginger and shallot dressing. An iceberg wedge was tricked out with fried green tomatoes and an excellent buttermilk blue cheese dressing and was pretty perfect. Good things all around.

The entree standouts included wild American shrimp and grits that included smoked chicken andouille, leeks, and charred tomatoes. I put in Tabasco, but that's just me as I think grits should have some heat. Also an excellent grilled pork chop that was served with a black-eyed pea ‘cassoulet’ that was a flavorful intrepertation of the original dish. Both plates were well balanced in terms of flavors and textures and fit in nicely with the concept.

Desserts were less successful, pretty pedestrian actually and a disappointing end to the meals. Seems like most of the inventive thought went into the other food on the menu. Oh well.

EatHereOrNot: EAT HERE

Greenville, SC: Sticky Fingers BBQ

Greenville is a nice town with a very cool restored downtown area that is charming and has a number of nice restaurants [and a surprising number of people asking for handouts . . . what's up with that?]. So today was a Sunday and I was disappointed in the number of what looked like great spots that were closed, but you know I like me some BBQ so I settled on Sticky Fingers. What a disappointment!!! The only thing that was good was the beer, everything else was average at best. The ribs looked promising, but the sauce was bland and boring. The mac'n'cheese tasted as if it came from a box and used that nacho cheese stuff rather than real cheese, and the baked beans were tepid. How can this happen in the heartland of BBQ? Then there was the service [or lack there of] . . . I sat at the bar, which is usually a good thing. Not here. The bartender was distracted by everything, including the TV. I had to ask for water, and after the food arrived had to ask for silverware. When I asked for the check and put out my card I actually had to ask him to process the card as he was leaving the area on some other distraction. This place has a prime location in the main street in downtown Greenville and is a prime disappointment. Don't waste your time or the calories, you'd be better off with room service at the hotel.

EatHereOrNot: NOT

Ilios: Hilton Fort Lauderdale Beach Resort: Fortlauderdale, Florida

So here I am in Fort Lauderdale on a Thursday night . . . what else is new. Been in Florida for a week, and didn't want to go out of the hotel for dinner, so I got on the elevator and rode down to Ilios. The menu looked interesting in a fusion-ish kind of way, so it seemed worth a try. Its an "interesting" environment . . . these weird faux bamboo things as a kind of room divider . . . some beautiful glass . . . bad fabric on the cushions . . . strange bar seating . . . BUT some friendly people behind the bar. But on to the food, which sounded like a good thing, but . . .

First up was the BBQ shrimp with avacado salad . . . this was just weird. There were three large shrimp, but two of them were shelled and the third had shell and head intact, was that a choice or mistake. Either was it was strange. The avacado salad was really just chunky guacamole, not particularly well seasoned. Some chips would have been a nice addition. Next up a 'tomato bisque' . . . now when I think of bisque I think that there will be some dairy products involved. This was like eating marinara sauce, perhaps just out of a jar from the supermarket. It was billed to be served with a 'proscuito profiterole' . . . which was a tiny cold-cheese-filled cream puff thing, with no trace of ham . . . and tepid at best. Not interesting, and again it was was like pasta sauce in a bowl. Finally, the best of the evening, was a blood orange and pistachio salad. Interesting flavors, fresh and clean, and a nice composition. A fairly strange meal at the bar, but nice guys behind the bar to chat with, so it wasn't a total loss.

All in all, this place was a South Beach wanna be . . . Fort Lauderdale as the step sister to glamerous Miami. A strange duo spining boring tunes, looking like small fish in an even smaller pond, bad lighting and all. This place should just admit that its not South Beach and go with it . . . trying way to hard to be hip and not making it. All in all an OK evening, weird but OK. Would I go again? Perhaps for the entertainment value?


EatHereOrNot: MAYBE