Saturday's Sampling

Saturday's Sampling 07.29

2006-07-29T08:01:00.000-04:00

This week's sampling took Spider and myself to an Indian restuarant in the Dr. Phillips area called "Memories of India." Our schedules of late have put our Saturday's Sampling on hold. Even after a hectic week for me this week, I was determined to get out of the house and away from work.

Looking at the place from the outside, it didn't appear to be anything more than a mom and pop place conveniently placed in Bayhill Plaza. We both realized it was a little more when we noticed the door handle. (See below)

Upon entering, it was obvious this place was known to many of the locals. There were about 20 tables and about half were full. And more surprisingly, there were more Indian people than American people. It told Spider and myself it must be pretty good if it kept the native people coming back.

Upon Ramandi seating us, he handed us our menus and took our drink order. A cute Indian boy of 23ish. Very personable, very polite. I commented to Spider that I never thought Indian men were attractive, but, my opinion was changing very quickly. The menu, a little overwhelming. Pages and pages of authentic Indian food. We were lost!!

We started our experience with "Tandoori Shrimp." This appetizer consisted of marinated shrimp flavored with spices and cooked in a clay oven. The obvious spice was curry. It was light, not a heavy curry flavor. The shrimp were large and plump and melted in your mouth.

After a half hour of going through the menu, Spider decided to go for the gusto and order the "Bombay House Mixed Grill." This was an assortment of Tandoori chicken, lamb, shrimp, and chicken tikka. His mixed grill came out still sizzling. The arrangement of meat smelled like a potpourri of many different spices. The meal was accompanied by freshly baked garlic nan. Nan is a type of bread. And boy, did it reek of garlic (yumm). The selections of meat were incredible. The chicken tikka was moist and flavorful, the lamb melted in your mouth and the shrimp were what we sampled for our appetizer so there was no doubt that would be wonderful. We were both disappointed in the Tandoori chicken as it was dry. Kind of surprising since the chicken tikka was so moist and tender.

I went with the Palak Ghoskt. It consisted of cubes of lamb cooked in a rich, creamy spinach gravy. Since I LOVE creamed spinach, I kept eyeing that choice. And I am glad I did. The spinach was creamy, like no other creamed spinach I have ever had before. The flavor was rich, but not so heavy that it would upset your stomach. Both of our meals were served with rice and a peanut/curry sauce. Again, rich and delightful. During the meal, we spoke to Ramandi about the food, the restaurant, and the fact it was the first time we both visited. He was kind enough to offer us a free desert, homemade mango ice cream. The mango flavor was subtle, yet creamy. It was obvious the ice cream was homemade.
This was an authentic Indian restaurant with a lot of character and charm. The place was busier than I would have thought, filled with many locals and returning visitors. Spider and I both agreed it is not a place we would visit on a regular basis, but it's a great first date restaurant or a restaurant to bring out of town guests who would like to experience something other than a chain. Memories of India is located at 7602 Turkey Lake Rd in the Bayhill Plaza just north of Sand Lake Rd. (for you locals, the K-Mart Plaza where Publix use to be). For those outta-towners, a great off the beaten path restaurant if you want to experience something more than the plethora of chains along the I-Drive corridor.

Saturday's Sampling 07.08

2006-07-08T00:09:00.000-04:00

Thursday evening found Spider and I at a small (and when I say small, 15 people inside would have the Fire Marshall shutting this place down) Irish Pub call Cluddagh's Cottage on Curry Ford Rd. I promptly arrived at 6:30 and Spider already had his diet coke in hand. I could tell by the look on his face there was something wrong. Instead of him telling me, he let me look at the menu. Houston, we have a problem. The menu had 10 items on it. 2 appetizers, 4 sandwiches, and 4 entrees. Since we were there, we figured we would make it work.

We started with one of the appetizers called "Scottish Eggs." Interesting concept of an appetizer. The way you eat it is you first butter the bread, add the condiments (tomato, lettuce and onion), place the egg on top, pour PK sauce (like an A-1), fold the bread and eat. The egg is wrapped in a sausage. Wasn't sure what the combination was going to taste like, but, I was willing to give it a try. Surprisingly, it was a wonderful appetizer. Much better than we thought. The PK sauce added a nice flavor to the egg and sausage. We were impressed.

Since I didn't want a sandwich, so I chose the "Cottage Pie." for my entree. Very similar to a Shepherd's Pie, it a wonderful combination of 100% minced beef, chopped carrots, and pea cooked in a flavorful brown gravy and topped with fluffy homemade mash potatoes. All entrees are served with a steaming fluffy roll. I could tell by the temperature of the bowl and the look of the mashed potatoes, the dish is put under a broiler to give the fluffy mashed potatoes a little crunchy texture.

Spider's entree was called Steak and Mushrooms. It consisted of tender pieces of steak, with fresh mushrooms in a rich brown sauce, topped with a flaky crust. Spider was expecting the meat to be more like stew meat, but rather pleased the pieces were tender as stated on the menu. The sauce was very simple and gave the steak and mushrooms a complimentary flavor. The crust, as one would see on a pot-pie was light and flaky.

The experience at the Cuddagh Cottage was not what we expected when we first looked at the menu. Yes, the feel inside had that "Irish Pub" feel, thanks to the owner also being a carpenter. Service was adequate at best. My beer glass sat empty for more than 5 minutes and settling up the bill took longer than necessary. Then we realized our server was: the server, the bartender, the cook, the busboy, the barback, and the hostess. So, we both thought she was taking the garbage out, changing the beer kegs, bringing food out to other patrons, and putting away the order from the vendor before she can total out the bill. Would we go back, YES. The appetizer was $3.25 and the entrees were $6.99. Appetizer, dinner, diet coke, and 2 ales totaled: $27.15. A good deal and good Irish food made the experience 'fabulous."

Saturday's Sampling 06.30

2006-07-01T09:08:00.000-04:00

Last evening, Spider and I headed down to Kissimmee to eat at Asia Bagus. The restaurant was written up last week in the Sentinel, and though I don't go by food critics, the restaurant cuisine interested me. They are known as an Indonesian Fusion and Sushi bar.

The restaurant is tucked away in a Publix Plaza in the touristy part of town. So small, we almost passed it. It's nestled between a British Pub (which had a lively crowd) and $1 store. Walking in, we noticed a small restuarant with 15 tables and a sushi bar. The decor was simple. We were seated promptly and looked over the menu. Indie, our server, was very professional and polite.

We started with appetizers. I ordered the lamb sate and Spider the Tuna Tukati. The lamb came out first. Three skewers char-grilled drizzled in a peanut sauce. The meat was so good and tender, I couldn't tell I was eating lamb. Upon finishing the sate, the tuna arrived. About 20 pieces cut thinly and into small squares and served with rice noodles and a ponzu sauce. The presentation was incredible. The tuna, though good, was seared a little to long.

For our entrees, I ordered the Laksa Lemak Istemewa. It's noodles served in coconut soup with shrimp, squid, tofu, boiled egg, and mussels. The soup was creamy, but not rich. The seafood was fresh and delicous. As for the noodles, they were soo skinny, I didn't know they were there l for the first mouthfuls. Spider had the Waku Balanga. It was tilapia with woku pesto in crisp rice paper. The presentation, again, was incredible. It was served like and looked like a southwestern eggroll. It was excellent. A bit spicy for my taste, but a good choice. We decided to skip desert as we were both full.

Overall, EXCELLENT!! We plan on making the hike back again and try something different. I know Spider will be trying the Spicy Boiled Egg.