jmsaul

I'm late to the party, but I'm a regular traveler to the Twin Cities. Some of my favorites are: Peninsula (Malaysian) http://www.peninsulamalaysiancuisine.com/ Qoraxlow (Somali) Doesn't have a website, but I'm talking about the one on Lake St.: http://maps.google.com/maps/place?oe=utf-8&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a&um=1&ie=UTF-8&q=qoraxlow+minneapolis&fb=1&gl=us&hq=qoraxlow&hnear=Minneapolis,+MN&cid=17439904221102145333 Pho Tau Bay (Vietnamese) http://www.photaubay.us/

Seconded. Matsuchan is great!

Joe here; it was great seeing all of you at the Szechuan banquet Thursday night! Lisa put her photos from it up here: I haven't had a chance to scan the handwritten menu yet (the one with Chinese as well as English), but here are the dishes I think we got: Cold dishes: * Sichuan-style spicy beef stew (not actually a stew) * Pork stomach in spicy sauce * Spicy firm tofu * Steamed chicken in spicy Sichuan sauce * Spicy cucumber salad Hot dishes: * Spicy crabs * Stir-fried jumbo shrimp in spicy sauce * Scallops in spicy Sichuan sauce * Sliced fish in boiled Sichuan-style sauce * Xin Jiang-style chicken * Cumin lamb * Beef with pepper in black sauce * Pork in ginger and garlic sauce * Ma po tofu * Stir-fried string beans * Pork with pickled chilis We'll never know what the noodle dish was going to be, because we told them we really couldn't eat it... ;-)

I'm going to be in London over the next couple weeks, and had planned to visit Bar Shu -- until I found out it was closed for renovations. I've learned that web searches on this topic don't pan out, so I'd like to ask: what are the best places for Sichuan food in London right now? Thanks!

I live right here in Sacramento and I am an ethnic Chinese. Sorry to say I have not found any genuine Sichuan food. If you find it, please let me know. I only know of some in San Francisco and Richmond. ← Any other good Chinese restaurants in Sacramento? Or alternatively, how far is Richmond and what's there? Thanks!

Great tips, thanks to both of you!

I'm going to be in Santa Barbara and Sacramento next week on business, and I'm looking for interesting places to eat. What I like the most are authentic and unusual ethnic options: genuine Sichuan food, great Central American, rare (for the US) cuisines like Indonesian, etc. Any advice or recommendations would be greatly appreciated!

Wouldn't have had time to range out into the country, but we did wind up going for lunch to Puckett's Grocery and Restaurant in downtown Franklin -- their cherrywood-smoked ribs are the best ribs I've ever had in my life: http://www.puckettsgrocery.com/about.htm Next time I fly down there, I'm going to rent a car (if work won't pay for it, I will) and allow myself more time to check the area out.

Sadly, Northwest hosed me. I just got in, so it's the hotel restaurant (aargh!) for me tonight. Maybe I'll get to try something decent tomorrow.

Thanks very much! I don't know what I'll be able to do during the day tomorrow, since I have to be at the airport in the late afternoon, but I'll see what I can accomplish...

I've got a last minute business trip to Nashville (Franklin actually). I'm flying out in a few hours, and will arrive by 8pm tonight (Sunday). I'll read this as soon as I get to the airport. Is there any place I can go tonight that's got decent Southern cooking? I don't mind cab fare, and I'm not locked into fine dining (if there's some hole in the wall in a questionable neighborhood with awesome food I'm happy to go there). Thanks for any help you can give!

We also went there when we were in Madrid. The wine was, well, different -- but the shrimp were great. Our photos are here: http://www.kitchenchick.com/2007/08/la-casa-del-abu.html

Hey! I've been there! It was about 2 minutes from our hotel! (Sorry, just amazed that out of all the restaurants in HK, you happened to go to one I've actually been to!)

Here's a good recipe -- of sorts -- for Pad Thai, with a lot of advice about how to make it turn out well: http://chezpim.typepad.com/blogs/2007/01/p...hai_for_be.html

Wow. Next trip to China... Did you take any notes in your Sichuan cooking class? If so, any chance of your posting them?