A Taste Of The Bahamas

For my eighth wedding anniversary, my husband and I spent a week in the Bahamas on the island of Nassau. We asked a few locals where they would recommend us to eat to get some local cuisine, not tourist food, they all said the same place: The Fish Fry.

The only thing to me is that if that's what they all said, then they probably all told tourists that Fish Fry was the place to go... so wouldn't that make it tourist food? I don't know, but we went there anyway to check it out.

Pulling up, we were a little early for lunch, just before 11 a.m. so they weren't serving lunch quite yet, but the hostess still seated us and we ordered mango lemonade and I just got regular lemonade and water. The waitress seemed to really push the bottled water even though we insisted on tap, but she ended up bringing us tiny plastic cups of ice water that were gone in seconds because it's so hot and humid there. I know Kansas is pretty humid, but this was ridiculous. It felt like 75-80 percent humidity while it was around 91 degrees. The waitress wasn't quick to refill our waters, either.


The restaurant seemed outdated, but most things on the island were that way so it just felt local. There was a lot of construction going on all over the island. Everywhere we went there were buildings halfway built and crews building. Even next to our hotel there were at least two other resorts being built. I spent some time watching them work at the tops of high buildings on cranes. Scary. Anyway, it was like the entire island was in the process of updating. The restaurant included.

The lemonade was extremely sweet and I couldn't even drink the entire glass. The mango lemonade was even sweeter. All the drinks I got while on the island were sweeter than back home. My husband and I decided it was because they used real sugar instead of high fructose corn syrup. When I bought a bottle of Sprite, I looked and sure enough, it was made with real sugar and even had "Sprite Bahamas" on it. Crazy how much difference the real thing makes.

Conch fritters. Yum.

Service was pretty slow for being one of two tables that we could see were eating lunch.

For an appetizer we ordered the conch fritters, which are pretty popular in the Bahamas. Conch is a shell fish that seems to be used in everything there, and it's pretty good. (See video below). Although it seemed a little chewy sometimes, I think that's just the nature of the fish. These conch fritters reminded me of hush puppies with chunks of conch throughout. They were served with a sauce that was creamy and spicy and reminded me of Sriracha hot sauce. The fritters were crispy on the outside and fluffy on the inside and the fish wasn't overpowering either, they really blended in. The chunks would kind of pull them apart and eating them could get messy, but they were worth it.

I ordered a fish sandwich. There didn't seem to be much on the menu other than a Conch burger, fried fish and burgers. The fish sandwich was tasty: fried white fish, lettuce, tomato, (I took the onion off), with a side of fries. I put tartar sauce on it, too. The fish was crispy and the bun was soft, although it was a little greasy. I mean, it was fried, but it wasn't a fish steak, it was pieces of fish so it seemed to be a little greasier than if it were just one piece. I couldn't eat the entire sandwich, the portions were pretty good size, there was a lot of fish.

I would say it was a good fish sandwich, but I was a little disappointed, honestly. I was expecting some fresh fish tasting of the sea. This fish tasted just like any fish I could order back home. The only exciting thing, to me, was the conch fritters because I couldn't order them anywhere else. I was also hoping to try other types of fish than just fried, but that just didn't happen, they didn't really have much of a selection.

Because it cost $20 each way to get anywhere in Nassau it was hard for us to want to try any other restaurant while we were there -- especially while staying at an all-inclusive resort where we didn't have to pay more for food. So, I was a little disappointed.

I would probably try to find a different restaurant next time I visit Nassau. Fish Fry was good, but I am curious to see if I could find some fish that isn't fried.

If you're not sure what conch is, or how they prepare it, watch this video of two fisherman in the Bahamas.

A Taste of Colorado

I took a trip to Longmont, Colorado for my friend's wedding. Of course I had to try a local restaurant, but I decided I was going to drive over to Boulder and check what they had to offer there. Boulder is only about 30 minutes away.

When I got to Longmont, which is about 45 minutes north of Denver on the east side of the mountains, I didn't feel like eating my turkey sandwiches on white bread any more, I wanted real food. (I always bring food in a cooler to save money on the trip). I decided to check out the Mexican restaurant called 3 Margaritas, next door to the hotel I was staying in. The lady at the front desk said it was good, and I didn't have to drive anywhere. After driving eight hours I didn't want to drive any more.

Three Margaritas was your typical Mexican restaurant that can be found here in Topeka, or really any other city for that matter. The only thing special that I found on the menu, was the Burrito Colorado, and the server recommended it, too. So that's what I got and it wasn't bad, I ate the whole thing. It was shredded beef cooked in a spicy red sauce inside a flour tortilla with guacamole, beans, cheese, sour cream and green chili. I did not like their chips and salsa, though. The first bowl was so spicy I could hardly eat it, and the second bowl, when I asked for something mild, tasted like tomato sauce, so I didn't eat much of that, either. If you like spicy, you'll like the salsa, I'm just a wimp, I guess.

The Burrito Colorado was smothered in a green chili sauce, sour cream and cheese. Inside, the shredded beef was just spicy enough to be toned down by the creaminess of the toppings. Since I didn't like the salsa, I used the chips to eat most of the toppings mixed together. Other than it being a tasty combination, I didn't really get the "Colorado" part of it. Then again, I'm not from there, so who knows. My server wasn't too chatty so I didn't ask him.

After eating Mexican, I wanted to get a taste of the region. I went back to my hotel room and looked up restaurants in Boulder. I found a list of the top 10 spots, and tried to go with one that wasn't going to cost me over $35 an entree. I found a little diner called Lucile's, a creole/cajun breakfast nook found in an old Victorian style house in a residential area.

Fresh squeezed lemonade

The tables are packed inside, reminding me of restaurants in New York City, but it has a down-home country feel. The napkins are swatches of random fabric, and the walls feature local newspapers and playbills.  The wait was almost 30 minutes at noon on a Saturday, but the review I read said that would be the case, so I wasn't surprised and ready to wait. The host said there was a community table with no wait so I said "What the heck?" I was immediately sat and even got to meet some locals while I ate my meal.

I ordered freshly squeezed lemonade because my table mates recommended it and had just waited on it to be made. For lunch I ordered breakfast: eggs, potatoes and a biscuit. Everything about the meal was memorable. The biscuits come out first, square and cut from a cake pan, fluffy and buttery and hot. They are so big, too, I had to slow down so I would still be hungry for the rest of my food. There is strawberry jam on the table and I tried that, too. It was sweet and I enjoyed it, but the biscuits were so good on their own, I only just tried the jam.

My potatoes and eggs came out soon after. The potatoes were so good that I bought the creole seasoning they used and tried to make them myself at home. They were soft and smothered in Lucile's own creole seasoning. I wouldn't say they were fried, but they weren't boiled either. I think they may have been steamed or sauteed like I did them at home, only adding water every so often to soften them up. The seasoning was just a little spicy, but it was sweet,
too. I was pretty full from the biscuit but the potatoes were so good, I practically finished them off. The eggs were a perfect over medium, which is usually hard to come by -- I usually get over easy when I order over medium. Yeah, I'm picky.

I stood in line to pay and the service was brisk. Nine people were in front of me to pay, but I only stood there for about 10 minutes. I only paid $11 for the meal and I tipped a few bucks, too. I figured that since the other restaurants on the top 10 list averaged $35 for entrees that I had fared pretty well.

I saw that Lucile's has locations in Denver, Longmont, Littleton and Fort Collins, also. The one in Boulder was the original restaurant that was opened in 1980. When I return to the state I will definitely be returning to Lucile's Creole Cafe.

Another Chinese Buffet In Topeka

The University Chinese Buffet at 21st and Washburn

I can't say I got my hopes up because I didn't. I figured The University Chinese Buffet at 21st and Washburn would be just another Chinese buffet in Topeka, and I was right. But, that being said, it wasn't a bad Chinese buffet, it just wasn't surprising. The most surprising thing? The variety of ice creams they offer for dessert. Yeah, seriously.

Upon arriving I noticed the restaurant was opened up more than it was when it was a Mexican place. But the decor was the same and the owners didn't change much. I did like that it was more open, especially for a buffet.

My (first) plate.

The food was your typical Chinese buffet food selections: kung pao chicken, lo mein, chicken and broccoli, crab Rangoons, egg rolls, sushi and rice. There's fresh fruit and salad, and I was impressed they had in-shell shrimp cocktail. It's not every day buffets offer that. I have noticed that newer Chinese buffets incorporate sushi as this one did. I didn't try any sushi but it looked like they used cooked fish and vegetables so you don't have to worry about raw fish sitting out on a buffet, if that bothers you. It doesn't bother me, I just wasn't feeling sushi that night.

I got my favorites: vegetable lo mein, white rice, chicken broccoli, sweet and sour chicken, egg roll, crab Rangoon, sesame chicken and some fried rice (pictured at the right). Everything tasted good, but the lo mein didn't seem hot enough to me, temperature-wise. I thought maybe it was because I had left my plate sitting for a minute, but when I went back for the fresh batch they put out, it still wasn't piping hot. Not sure if the steam table was messed up or what, but I thought I'd mention that. Everything else seemed up to temp, so it struck me as odd that it was the one dish that was luke-warm. Fluke, maybe?

I scream, you scream.

As I mentioned before, I was excited about the ice cream selections. Usually, at Chinese restaurants they offer vanilla soft serve, and who knows if it's any good. Here, at University Chinese Buffet, they have a variety of ice cream to choose from. strawberry, chocolate chip, mint chocolate chip and for those of you who like traditional, they also have vanilla. I am not supposed to be eating dairy but I went ahead and tried some strawberry and mint chocolate chip. As a person who's worked in food service most of her life, I have to say I appreciated that the ice cream wasn't rock hard. It was soft and easily scooped so you didn't have chip away at rock hard ice cream. I've had to, and it's awful.

The buffet line the woman was complaining about.

Overall, I enjoyed the buffet. I will go back in the future since it's only a few blocks from my house. If you're looking for a large variety, go to King's Chinese Buffet, but if you're happy with the classics, this place is for you. I don't mind not having a million items to choose from because I usually get all the same stuff anyway.

I also wanted to mention that I went at 8 p.m. on a Monday night, when they close at 9:30 p.m. All the food was fresh, the cook was putting out new, fresh food on a regular basis and the waitress, even though she was cleaning up for closing, was attentive and helpful.

There was a lady at the buffet who was complaining about the selection, but I couldn't understand what she was complaining about. The lo mein needed replaced, (which they did like 3 minutes later) and everything else was full and looked fresh. I guess I just don't know what she was meaning. Her family sat there for another 20 minutes, then left. As if they were waiting for something and never got it. So... I guess for some the buffet wasn't worth it, but to me, I thought it was.

Taco Bell Breakfast -- No Surprises

This morning I decided to try Taco Bell's new breakfast items. I wasn't too impressed.

Sausage, egg and cheese A.M. Grilled Taco

There are only a few items on the menu, so far but I am sure they will continue to add more in the future.  There are four entree items that you can order with a choice of bacon or sausage with sides consisting of potato hash browns and/or a 12-pack of Cinnabon Delights, which were already on their menu. There is also Tropicana orange juice and coffee, which they don't have packets so they pour it in themselves. I don't know if I like that because I want to control what's in my coffee. I don't like leaving it up to some person I've never met to decide how much creamer I need, especially in a drive through, like I was at the time. Regardless, I ordered the coffee.

The coffee reminded me of the bold roasts from other fast good joints like McDonald's and Hardee's -- strong and in need of a lot of cream and sugar. It was okay, but I am not a fan of Starbucks if that tells you anything. This coffee was strong, and it made my stomach upset, which sometimes happens with certain coffees, including Starbucks, which is why I brought it up in the first place. Next time, I'll probably just get the orange juice.

I ordered two of their breakfast items -- the Breakfast Burrito and the A.M Grilled Taco -- both with sausage. I didn't see the hash browns on the menu when I was ordering or I would have ordered one of those but it didn't stand out so I missed it. I've had the Cinnabon Delights before and they were too sweet then so I knew they would be too sweet in the morning.

Sausage, egg and cheese Breakfast Burrito

The Breakfast Burrito was nothing surprising. The tortilla was soft, stuffed with eggs, cheese and sausage. There was a lot of cheese so if you love cheese, this will be the item for you. The A.M. Grilled Taco was again, nothing surprising. It consisted of scrambled eggs, cheese and sausage stuffed into a soft taco shell that was grilled on a flat top. The grilled tortilla gave it a little extra flavor but nothing too exciting.

I want to go back and try some of their pricier items like the Waffle Taco and the A.M. Crunchwrap sometime soon. Those items seem to be a little more dynamic and probably why they cost more than $1.50 each.  I wanted to try more than one thing so I went for the cheaper choices.

Honestly, I was disappointed. Taco Bell is supposed to be like Americanized-Mexican fast food. These items had no zest, flavor or appeal. There needs to be something taco-y about each item and all I see is eggs, sausage and breakfast meat offered in a few different ways -- in a tortilla, in a grilled tortilla and a waffle. Jazz it up a notch, Taco Bell.

So I guess the point of Taco Bell doing breakfast is to compete with McDonald's breakfast. One of the taco joint's ploys is they are staying open a half hour later for breakfast than the burger place. I don't know if they will be successful, personally I love me an egg and sausage biscuit from any place, Micky D's, Hardee's and even Burger King. I see TB sticking with burritos and crunch wraps, though, so who really knows what's going to happen.

Either way, now Taco Bell has breakfast, or "Firstmeal". Are you going to go try it? Or do you prefer to stick with lunch and dinner and get your breakfast elsewhere? Comment below and let me know.

Noodles and Company is Vegan friendly

Here it is, the newest restaurant in Topeka.

Tonight I got the chance to check out Noodles & Company for their soft opening.

Before even going I checked out their menu online to plan what I was going to order. Just some background -- my doctor has told me to stop eating all dairy because my gall bladder is giving me some problems. It may be that I'm lactose intolerant but we aren't sure. I've also decided to cut down on how much meat I eat since many dishes I eat have both meat and dairy in them.

What I liked about Noodles is they have plenty of vegan and vegetarian options. Click this link for a list of options.

Anyway, I ordered the Pasta Fresca with no cheese -- it comes with a choice of feta or parmesan. I also added some tofu, just to try it out and I was glad I did. I would recommend it even if you've tried tofu before and hated it because that happened to me, but I decided to go for it.

Pasta Fresca from Noodles & Co.

At first I thought they may have put meat in my noodles but it was just their firm tofu, which had a rich, meat-like texture and flavor that I enjoyed. It caught me off guard! It was grilled and firm but not chewy, it reminded me of lean pork. The sauce was made with balsamic vinegar, white wine and olive oil. It comes with spinach, tomatoes and onions and a hint of roasted garlic, all tossed together with penne pasta noodles. I enjoyed my dish but I do wish there were more vegetables because I was left with a bunch of noodles and no vegetables when I was finished. I may have eaten more if there were more toppings, but I am not a fan of just eating noodles and sauce.

I liked that the tomatoes weren't cooked to a pulp. Sometimes when I eat pasta dishes with tomatoes they like to cook them until they are mushy and not good anymore. Here, they were pretty uncooked so I liked that. The spinach, on the other hand, I wish would have been cooked a little more so it would have wilted a bit into the pasta. Instead, they were fresh spinach leaves in a cooked dish, which seemed a little awkward to me. I still enjoyed the flavor, I love spinach, it just seemed weird to me.

Overall, I enjoyed my experience. The place was packed and the line was long, but the staff did a good job accommodating their guests. The manager was guiding the long lines, including the drink like, which got a little long while they were filling the ice. He walked around and began filling up everyone's glasses with ice so the line would run a little faster, which worked. I thought he handled the situation well.

Noodles & Company opens tomorrow, March 17th, which is also St. Patrick's day. Hopefully Topeka will show up and continue to support this new addition to Top City. I enjoyed my visit, did you? Let me know what you think in the comments below.

Thanks for reading Tasting Topeka. If you have any restaurants that you would like me to review, please comment below. Thanks and happy tasting.

Papa Keno's Really Has Slices Bigger Than Your Face!

Today was the grand opening for Papa Keno's, a pizza place from Lawrence.  I don't usually review restaurants on the day of the grand opening, but this place impressed me so I thought I would share.

Two slices of pepperoni pizza.

For some reason I didn't listen to their motto, "Slices as big as your face." I ordered way too much. One slice could easily fill me up, but I ordered six. Two pepperoni, two Italian sausage and two hamburger, one each for me and my hubby. Needless to say, it was too much food and we will have leftovers tomorrow. Lesson learned. The guy that handed me my pizza said, "Whoa, you got a lot." Yeah, thanks.

What I enjoyed was the thin slices that were baked alone, not as a whole pie. Cooking it this way gives the edges a slightly crisp texture and some of the cheese seemed to bake like a crust, which I enjoyed. It wasn't burnt, but cooked just right. (You can kind of see what I am talking about on the left side of the left slice of pepperoni).

They cut the slices into squares, and I thought that some of the sections were as big as normal slices of pizza at other places.

 The thin crust was welcome. It was chewy but crisp at the same time -- I didn't feel like I was eating a cracker with pizza toppings.

I found out via Twitter that Papa Keno's uses whole milk mozzarella on all their pizzas and make their dough from scratch every day. Yum.

Two hamburger, two It. sausage

There wasn't anything I didn't enjoy. At first, before I saw the sizes of the slices, I thought it seemed overpriced. But when it came I totally understood, and feel I paid for what I got.

The wait was worth the pizza and I plan to go back soon. I look forward to trying their various pizzas, salads and sides. Tonight they were only doing single slices because their ovens aren't big enough to hold all the slices and whole pizzas. The line was long the entire time I was there, from about 7 p.m. until 7:45 and the staff was working hard the whole time. For a grand opening, everyone seemed to be on top of everything, as I waited 40 minutes and they told me the wait would be that long, and the pizza tasted amazing.

I Went Back For Round Two

House salad with ranch dressing

The second night I went to Papa Kenos I knew to only order one slice of pizza. This time I got a meal -- one slice of pizza with two toppings, choice of breadsticks or salad and a drink. I got the salad and it was a basic iceberg salad mix with tomatoes and cucumber with your choice of dressing and there was plenty of it. It was actually quite large, I was surprised. My friend ordered the same meal only breadsticks instead of a salad and there were quite a few of those, too. I would say if two people went the best thing would be to order a salad with one meal and breadsticks with another meal and split the two and have a feast.

One slice with tomatoes and pepperoni

The breadsticks were good, but nothing too special. I liked them dipped in marinara but I would say alone, they are a little plain. But still good.

The meal is a good deal. You get a huge slice of pizza, a good amount of whichever side you choose and a refillable soda all for $7.50 plus tax.

Both times I went to Papa Keno's I enjoyed my visit. The pizza is good, the service is friendly and the price is right.

To check out their menu, click here.

Monsoon Grill - YUM!

I finally checked out the new Monsoon Indian Grill.

I went there on a Sunday night for dinner and there were quite a few people eating. The atmosphere is dim, quaint and relaxing. The service was good and our waitress was helpful with the menu. If you've never been to an Indian restaurant, you will need help with the menu, trust me.

For lunch they offer a buffet but I went for dinner so it's only a la carte, but that was OK with me because I already knew what I wanted to order.

I ordered the Chicken Tikki Masala with some naan bread. You can choose if you want regular, mild or spicy for any dish -- I chose regular because I just wasn't sure what their spice was like because I had never ordered anything before. My friend ordered the Tikki Masala skewers in spicy and he was sweating profusely and I think he looked uncomfortable. I, on the other hand, had no problem eating most of my dish.

Here's my rice and Chicken Tikki Masala.

My entree came with white rice, which I like to mix with the Tikki Masala sauce and pile it on my naan bread and eat it that way, kind of like a burrito. The chicken wasn't dry, which sometimes it can be since most cooks think: "Well, it's going in a sauce anyway..." NOT true. Even though a meat is smothered in sauce it is still easy to tell if that meat is over cooked and dry. This chicken was not.

I have to say, I enjoyed the dishes - like the plates and silverware. The bowls were interesting, with a tall handle-like piece that seems to me would cause the dishwasher a headache. The plates were rectangles with decorative lips in the plate that make it look crooked. The silverware was sturdy and heavy, unlike some places where I have been able to bend my fork or knife in the process of using it.

These are simosas: baked pastry filled with peas, potatoes and lentils. 

The naan bread was amazing. The cooks make it by throwing the dough on the side of an Indian-style oven -- tandoori -- and letting it bake until it falls off. What makes naan bread special is that it's usually made with yogurt instead of milk or water. At Monsoon the bread was fluffy on the inside and a little crunchy from the grill on the outside. I ordered a second helping because it was so good.

I look forward to returning for the lunch buffet. From what I hear they have different items on the buffet daily. If you have never eaten Indian food I would recommend checking out the buffet -- that way you can try a bunch of different dishes and figure out what you like, and what you don't like. From my experience, you will like more than you don't like!

Normally I post a map to show where the restaurant is located. Unfortunately, Monsoon Grill is so new they don't have a place on Google maps, yet. But just FYI, it's located right behind Chipotle Mexican Grill on Wanamaker Road in Topeka.