ulterior epicure

1. Welcome torakris - and almost-happy b-day! 2. Is Stir Crazy a chain? I'm assuming it's an Asian-themed stir-fry restaurant? u.e.

If I'm not mistaken - it's also a part of the Best Italiana USA restaurant group - which includes Bravo! There's a Brio on the Country Club Plaza (KC, MO) as well. There's a Bravo! at the Zona Rosa shopping center (KC, MO). (I know there's another Bravo! in Lenexa, KS, but I'm not sure where - is it near/at Oak Park?... it's been ages). u.e. ← There's a Bravo at Town Center. ← That would make sense... (Lenexa, KS for non-KC'ers). u.e.

According to Chicago Magazine's "Dish" Section, it looks like K.C.'s 1924 Main will play big brother to a new Midwest relative (of the non-blood-related type)... Joe Farina (of Chicago's Rosebud's fame) is opening up a place at 1924 South State Street. ... maybe I should start buying up all of the 1924 property in major U.S. cities!! u.e.

If I'm not mistaken - it's also a part of the Best Italiana USA restaurant group - which includes Bravo! There's a Brio on the Country Club Plaza (KC, MO) as well. There's a Bravo! at the Zona Rosa shopping center (KC, MO). (I know there's another Bravo! in Lenexa, KS, but I'm not sure where - is it near/at Oak Park?... it's been ages). u.e.

I just bought the NY Michelin and noticed that JB got a star and Yasuda is without... ?? I'm just leafing through, so I haven't gotten a good feel for what the Michelin is in terms of NY (or America) yet... u.e.

I rarely shop at the malls, but the next time I'm in Towne East, I'll look this guy up. In fact, next time I'm in the neighborhood I may make a special trip. Sounds pretty good to me! ← Wow! That sounds great. I'll have to remember this one!! Do report back if you ever get try one of his Italio-Cuban creations!! u.e.

Ohh (rhyming with purrrr).... Ikea dining... *eyes glaze over momentarily* - that's in a category of its own!! Despite offering a panoply of life-needs (and how!), I woudn't quite qualify it as a mall, though... u.e.

I also think there's a Maggiano's (or there was) at Old Orchard - along with a Cheesecake Factory. Yeah, still not what I would call "destination dining..." u.e.

Sorry, please clarify the locale? Summerset is in the Twin Cities area? u.e.

Sorry if this comes across as exclusionist, but I was asking specifically about Midwest options... Maybe I should start a forum on a broader, national, forum as well. But, thanks for the suggestion - the next time I'm near the fear-inspiring Paramus (I've only driven by, mouth agape), I might just stop in the Napa Valley Grille (?), or I might just sate my hunger with a bag of chips and wait for the signs to NY pop up! u.e.

I'm starting this topic out of sheer amusement. It has been prompted by a number of things: 1. moosnsqrl's heads-up on an article in the K.C. Star about Cafe Nordstrom. 2. If you have been to Hawaii, Asia or NYC and SF, you may be aware that in many parts of the world, eating in shopping malls and department stores isn't necessarily depressing, bad or done out of sheer desperation and convenience. Nay, this Mid-westerner was quite surprised to discover that "mall eating" can be quite sophisticated and even glamourous... not just eating - but dining. Take for instance the uber luxe shopping center, Ala Moana Center in Honolulu where one could do very well by sitting and being seen at The Pineapple Room at Macy's or Mariposa in the Neiman Marcus. 3. The decline of shopping malls across America... I know, dare I utter it for fear that another will go on the mere though of it... So: where are the "acceptable dining" spots when shopping in the Midwest? Would anyone drive to a Midwest mall just to eat? By "mall," I would include, enclosed, or quasi-enclosed (quasi-enclosed malls are ones that feature enclosed pedestrian shopping areas - like Old Orchard (Skokie, Ill.)) shopping centers characterized by at least two, if not three or more anchoring department stores. Thus, the Country Club Plaza (KC, MO) and Michigan Avenue North (Chicago, IL) would not count. I haven't been to the Mall of America in years... anything of note there? u.e.

I don't know doc, the way you have all raved about Shola, I'm sure this thread will actually be an "eGullet essential primer" for future users who will be enjoying his talents in new ways. I just hope I'll be one of thos lucky ones! u.e.

jg488. I have never been to JB, but I have been to SY and I can speak to a couple of your issues: 1. Yes, price at Sushi Yasuda is sort of a mystery - but based on my own experience and from what I've read from other recent posts and from acquaintances, I think you can expect a personal Yasuda experience to range anywhere from $100 - $160 p/p... I guess that's a pretty big range, but I bet you'll probably fall somewhere right between the two... approx. $120 (w/o drinks before tax and tip). 2. SY does have Yasuda... I don't know about Mr. Lamb, but Yasuda's impressed me enough for me to by-pass a dozen other places that I've been dying to try... "Don't fix it if it ain't broken" type of philosophy... u.e. [edited for notoriously bad spelling... sorry to have offended the editors out there! ]

Daniel. Excellent! Thanks for that!! A few questions/comments: 1. What are the little white cubes/bits in the quail and fried fish salad? Looks like either small crumbles of goat cheese/tofu? 2. The miso-grilled eggplant looks *divine,* too bad I'm allergic. 3. The three soft-bone grilled look potentially dry and grainy... were they pretty soft? How did they taste? I usually love them dipped with some kind of condiment - do they provide soy sauce or some dashi or something? 4. I know that skewered-grill orders range from $1.50 - $4.00, I was wondering if that was per skewer or for two (as pictured)? Thanks again for the excellent "food-o-journalism!" Much appreciated! u.e.

...not the same yeast as that which I use in my pizza/pastry dough... is it? I know there's a type of yeast that people eat (or rather mix in with health drinks, etc...), but I never clarified whether it was the same as the yeast used to leaven breads. u.e.

little ms. foodie. i'll be interested to hear what you think of the two. i'm assuming you've not been to frontera yet? i actually preferred the food at frontera. i didn't think that the dishes at frontera were any less spectacular than in topolo. my only complaint with frontera was that i could hardly hear myself eat... u.e.

... and I'm assuming that's Sakagura? Lost in translation is now playing: at the UWS... translation sought... Thanks much. u.e.

Doh... I'll bet you're right! Agreed... very good note. Maybe he couldn't manage his wedge himself between the "handsome man" and the "two attractive women" in the way... maybe they didn't pivot to accommodate him... I'll second that, philadining. In fact, I'd have to say I was really surprised by how positive the remarks were. When I opened it up and accidentally saw the 1 star rating, I was expecting something just short of a massacre... especially given the title (which I love )... I wonder how (if) Buddakan will follow. u.e.

LOL!! Neither did I, thank goodness! u.e.

augieland. sorry for being a little clueless, but who is the he that you are referring to? u.e.

Any with the ethereally light taro-whipped cream filling? *noises of lipsmacking and slathering of taro-whipped cream across face* u.e.

Cake Man Raven. I think he was featured in a blurb in a recent issue of Saveur, or was it Gourmet? ... er, might have been Bon Appetit... I'm swimmin' in subscriptions, sorry. I also think that Cake Love's Warren Brown did a little piece on Cake Man Raven on his new Food Network show. u.e.

akwa. can you explain how this is possible? was she ordering from the regular menu? or, did you/the staff know her well enough to just send out dishes she hadn't had? but, how did the staff know? did they have a database of her previous meals? or were they semi-guided by the diner? i'm sure after a while, everyone knew her... i just find this quite astounding... both in dedication and logistics. u.e.

Sneakeater (a.k.a. resident poet ). Wow, that was a very generous alternative reading to my slightly (unwarranted) cynical response... u.e.

LOL!! I know the feeling - and that is definitely the best way anyone can put it. However, I find this phenomenon particular to U.S. dim sum restaurnats... When I lived in Hong Kong, "seek and destroy" didn't seem necessary... there was usually such a surfeit of desirables that you had to almost bat the carts away. Thankfully, I had learned to (quickly) adopt and affect the H.K. diners' haughty "ignore-your-servers-insufferably" attitude... it really does garner you more respect. (Did anyone read Ruth Reichl's description of her Flushings dim sum experience with the young Columbia University student in Garlic and Sapphires? She describes this "affect"/"attitude" very well. LOL!! ) Often, I find myself "ordering off the menu" at American dim sum restaurants inadvertantly. It usually happens when I ask one of the cart ladies whether they have one of two of my favorite dishes that are often (sadly) missing from the carts. More often than should be, they tell me that I haven't missed them (on the carts), rather they're only available by order... grumble... so sometimes it is a good thing to check with the cart ladies if you don't see something you want. I've digressed from my initial mission... So, from the foregoing posts (I've noticed that this thread has been largely dormant for a surprisingly long while), I've surmised that Jing Fong, Ping's and Golden Unicorn are my best bets for a Sunday "quintessential" Chinatown dim sum fare? u.e.