Taste of India Restaurant

 Two members of CVFTA recently went to Taste of India in Rockford, Illinois. This is one of the few Indian restaurants in the area and is also one of the lower cost options for that style of food. Indian food can get pretty pricy in America.

The restaurant is located in the spot next to Hachi Hachi at:
139 Sundae Drive
Rockford, IL 61107

Our mutual order:
Mango Milk Shake
Lamb Curry
Plain Nann
Vegetable Soup
Lamb Vindaloo
Chicken Nann

Prices here are higher than your everyday restaurant. For example, the lamb curry is around $14, but it seems customary to order bread for an extra $3. With a drink and a tip, you can easily spend over $25. Portions were pretty average compared to other restaurants in this range. The staff was very polite and helpful, checking up on us a few times to make sure everything was good.

I enjoyed everything that I ordered, though I especially liked the Nann .  When ordering curry, they ask for your preferred spice level from low to high. I ended up going with medium. Scott S. ordered extremely hot, but after trying it, I didn't feel it was much spicier than what I had. Maybe the potatoes in his curry toned things down a bit... I think they might also try to keep things to a western level of spice as to not alienate potential customers.

Overall, it is a nice restaurant and worth checking out. Just expect to spend at least $20 per person for a full meal.

Read more »

Food Excursion: Cherry Valley Cafe

The CVFTA crew visited a new restaurant today. Though we had plans to check out Murasaki, the place appeared to be closed. After intense debate, we ended up going to a place called the Cherry Valley Cafe.

Cherry Valley Cafe
216 E State St
Cherry Valley, Illinois 61016-7708

Cherry Valley is a small town bordering Rockford and it has stayed that way for a long time. There is a main street made with actual red brick you would imagine to see in days long past. The cafe itself also fits the old-time feel both inside and out. Even the staff have that "Flo-esque" personality of 60's waitresses. If you like that old diner feel, this would be a great place for you to check out.

They serve a large variety from steak and burgers to all-day breakfast. Burgers, for example, can come with a small soup and also chips or fries for an extra fee. I'd suggest spending extra to get the fries because they are unique and worth trying out.

Our order consisted of:
Country Fried Steak (Cream of Chicken soup and hash browns)
New York Strip Steak (Onion Rings and green beans)
Mushroom Swiss Burger (vegetable soup and fries)
Swedish Pancakes
BLT Sandwich (Fries, no soup)

I had the Mushroom Swiss Burger. It came with fresh lettuce and tomato as well as a pickle slice. The fries were really interesting. They had extra breading or something that increased their flavor and texture over normal fries. The burger itself was good; about what you would expect from a diner styled restaurant.

I was told the strip steak was lackluster, but the country fried steak was flavorful and not over cooked.

I was also told that the Swedish Pancakes were good and on par with a local restaurant that specializes in breakfast foods.

Overall, a nice little restaurant and worth checking out. Prices are pretty average. Expect to spend around $10 per meal give or take a few dollars with a tip. This place is good if you enjoy that small town atmosphere.

Read more »

San Jose Taqueria Food Excursion

We recently visited a restaurant off of East State Street in Rockford Illinois specializing in Mexican food.

The interior is top notch with elaborate furnishings and features like a fountain and clouds on the ceiling.  It is probably designed to mimic the style of high end homes and buildings in Mexico.

Walls were textured and adorned.

All three members of CVFTA were present for the excursion.

We ordered :
Quesadilla Dinner
Taco Dinner (steak)
Super Nacho
Guacamole Appetizer

I ordered the iced tea.

Quesadilla Dinner

The Taco Dinner

Super Nacho

I had the taco dinner and the iced tea.  The prices were reasonable and the food was pretty good.  I especially liked the iced tea.  It had a light sweetness to it as well a taste of lime that went really well together.  The tacos came with flavored rice, beans, and some guacamole.  The flavor of the tacos was decent on its own, but they seem to be flavored mildly enough that you should use the bottles of hot sauce that are available on the table to get your ideal level of spice.

Overall, the food was pleasant and the restaurant was fun to look at inside.  It's worth revisiting in the future to try out more of the menu.

Read more »

Sushi Roll Takeout from Hachi Hachi Express

A few days ago I decided to visit a local restaurant called Hachi Hachi Express. They specialize in sushi and hibachi styled meals at a decent price. They are somewhat between a chain fast food restaurant and a full restaurant. The seating area is without a waitress, but their food and prices are a bit above what you would pay at somewhere like McDonalds or Burger King. It's really easy to spend $20 on a full meal of sushi rolls.

My order consisted of:
Bagel Roll: $4.50
Shrimp Tempura Roll: $5.75
California Roll: $3.75

The Tempura and California rolls.

The bagel rolls.

As mentioned before, I had takeout, so they put them together in as few packages as possible. Portions for the price are a bit small, but that comes with the territory of this specialty offering.

My favorite of the three rolls were the tempura shrimp. They have a great overall flavor and texture.  The sauce covering the seaweed wrap adds to the overall enjoyment as well.

Tempura rolls were the best tasting of the group.

The California rolls and bagel rolls didn't appeal to me much. The bagel rolls had an odd after taste, probably from the smoked fish or just the combination of the ingredients. They were alright, but just not too appealing to me.

The bagel roll up close.

The California rolls were better than the bagel rolls, but still not something I'd order again. I probably should have put some of the included sauces or condiments on them to add kick to the somewhat bland ingredients.

California rolls

I have been to Hachi Hachi quite a few times. It's a quick and easy way to stomp out that craving for Japanese style food without having to go through the whole sit-down restaurant experience with a waitress. They probably have around 40 different sushi rolls and over 10 hibachi meals, so there is a lot to choose from.  I really like the shrimp tempura rolls, but I need to try more of the sushi offerings to find other favorites, which I'm sure exist. 

Read more »

Food on my Arizona 2013 trip.

I stayed in Arizona from January 4th through 11th. The first three days I attended Taiyou Con in Mesa, but for the remainder, I just enjoyed the time with my aunt and uncle I was staying with.

In tradition with recent CVFTA articles on local restaurants, I photographed some of the more interesting meals we had.

The first restaurant we visited was their favorite pizza placed called Oregano's due to its classic Italian Chicago styled fare. We had a Italian salad as well as a thin crust pizza with pepperoni and sausage. I let them totally decide on the order so that I could experience what they like most about the food there.

A large pepperoni and sausage pizza.

The pizza turned out more unique that I expected it to be. The toppings were of a high quality and placed under the cheese, giving it a unique texture and flavor over your run of the mill pizza.

A salad large enough for 4 people.

The salad was also surprisingly unique. The dressing wasn't the standard high vinegar quotient Italian, but more of a mild hint of flavor to the salad. The main kick came from the feta cheese, figs, and walnuts graciously disbursed throughout. Salad really goes well with pizza and helps to remove a little bit of the high-calorie guilt that comes from eating pizza like that.

Later in the week we went on a trip east to the Superstition Mountains and Tortilla Flats. Superstition Saloon was located in a little town and the second restaurant worth mentioning.

Most of the restaurant is covered in $1 bills.

The restaurant is a popular attraction with the unique decor of customer's dollar bills covering the walls, bar seats made out of saddles, and an overall western theme.  Food ranged from burgers to Mexican styled cuisine.

Taco meal came with two large soft shell tacos and vegetables.

My uncle's meal at the Superstition Saloon.

The food here was pleasant and pretty basic.  I enjoyed the tacos and the atmosphere of the place.  It's worth checking out if you are doing a similar trip to that area.

After Tortilla Flats, we visited a ghost town for some ice cream at the Miner's Grill and Ice Cream Parlor. We had planned to have prickly pear ice cream, but they no longer had it. I went with the cotton candy flavor.

Cotton candy flavored ice cream.

I enjoyed the slight cotton candy flavor, but wasn't too fond of the small chocolate pieces disbursed throughout the ice cream. The chocolate added some bite to the ice cream that is probably appealing to some people, but not me personally. It was thicker than normal ice cream with more of a Italian Gelato consistency to it.

The last restaurant we visited was P.F. Chang's China Bistro. I had mentioned these food reviews and said that so far CVFTA had mostly visited Chinese or Japanese styled restaurants, so they seemed to go with that theme for this last outing.

The atmosphere of the place is on the somewhat upscale side with a lot of dark woods and shinny metals disbursed throughout. Food also fits the theme with smaller quantities at a higher than normal prices. My favorite food of our order was the crab wantons. They had a really nice filling and were not over or under cooked.  They were probably one of the best Crab Rangoon type preparations I've had so far.

My meal consisted of a honey glazed chicken and rice meal. It was decent, but nothing really struck me besides the strongly flavored vegetables on the side that didn't personally appeal to me. The chicken was good, but I just had wished there was more of it for the price.

Honey glazed chicken.

I had a nice time visiting my family in Arizona and experiencing a few new restaurants along the way.  

Read more »

Restaurant Excursion: Salamone's Italian Pizzeria

The entire CVFTA team visited Salamone's Italian Pizzeria on Saturday the 12th 2013.  You can learn more about their restaurant on their Facebook page and website.

Salamone's is a traditional Italian styled place in a small town that is east of the largest city in the area called Rockford (currently at 103 S. Cherry St., Cherry Valley, IL).

We had originally planned to visit a pizza restaurant for none other than pizza, but ended up making separate orders. One of our members frequents the place and made the suggestion.  We all agreed that it sounded interesting enough to check out considering it was local and not a chain restaurant.

Our mutual order consisted of:
Stuffed crust pepperoni pizza and onion rings.
Fettucini alfredo and bruschetta appetizer.
Calzone with mushrooms, green olives, and artichoke inside.

Stuffed crust pepperoni pizza.

Prices are pretty average for a restaurant of this level.  Pizzas were from $10 to $20 and the Calzone I ordered was around $9.

Upon arrival, we walked in directly to the bar area.  It seemed comfortable enough with quite a few normal dining tables and wasn't crowded at the time. 

He was instantly ready to enjoy his fettucini alfredo.

We ended up staying in the bar, so I didn't get a chance to see what the normal restaurant seating arrangements were like.  The bar had multiple flat screen TVs with sports games on that give customers an additional level of atmosphere to enjoy if they prefer the supplemental sound and visuals.

Bruschetta

The calzone includes up to 3 additional ingredients at no charge.

I had ordered the Calzone with mushrooms, green olives, and artichoke inside.  It was flavorful and enjoyable, though the knife I had wasn't the best tool to cut into the crust, making a bit difficult to eat unless I had wanted to just use my hands.  Portion size was reasonable for the price.

Onion rings

I had also sampled the onion rings someone else ordered.  They had thick pieces of onion inside and seemed fresh with a hand-made feel.

One of the owners had noticed us taking photos and took a moment to stop by for a quick chat.  It's nice to see that the place is family owned and operated.  I'm sure we will return there again in the future to sample other items on the menu.

Read more »

Food Excursion: Oriental Dragon

This time we visited a restaurant known for their mixture of Japanese and Chinese styled foods.  They have a reasonably priced sushi buffet to go along with that theme.  Neither of us opted for the buffet, but I did get one order of sushi rolls to try them out.

Oriental Dragon Rockford Website

Our order consisted of:
- Chicken with Mushroom
- Crab Rangoon (8 pc.)
- Spring Roll (2 pc.)
- Hot and sour soup
- Beef with Mushroom
- Spicy Salmon Roll

Prices per entree were around $10 and smaller items such as appetizers were close to $5.  With a tip, this place is in line with similar ones.  It can get a little pricy if you order multiple dishes and are big tipper.  The restaurant is a bit small, but with a nice fit and finish.  The tables had a wood grain finish and everything in the restaurant seemed to be in good condition.

Spicy Salmon Roll

The spicy salmon rolls were very good.  The taste was mild yet still flavorful.  I'm not a fan of wasabi and ginger, so I ate the rolls as is without garnish.  I get to experience the true flavors of the sushi this way.

Beef with Mushroom

The main entree I ordered was the beef with mushroom.  Very similar to what I had at a previous restaurant called Imperial Palace.  Overall, I'd say this was slightly more to my liking, but both were very similar in taste and presentation. 

Rice that comes with the meals.

The bowl of rice, while still not like what is served in Japan, was pretty decent and not too dry.  The Crab Rangoon were probably one of the better preparations of that common appetizer I've experienced in a long time.  The Rangoon's wrappers were soft and fresh, making them much easier to enjoy.  At other places, usually the wrappers are tough and hard.  This might be a matter of how long they are cooked. These seemed like they were cooked enough, but not too much.

Hot and Sour Soup

Chicken with Mushroom

The CVFTA member who ordered the Chicken with Mushroom dish said that it wasn't what he expected.  The chicken was fried, which gave it an unusual texture or taste he wasn't too fond of.

Oriental Dragon is yet another American Chinese styled restaurant in the area worth visiting.  The added benefit is that they have additional menu items like sushi that works well for a group of people with different tastes.

Read more »

Vito's Ristorante Excursion

For this excursion we went to a place called Vito's Ristorante.  As you can probably surmise from the name, it is an Italian styled restaurant.  This time our crew was three CVFTA members strong!  After an hour or more of deliberation, we decided on a restaurant near Vito's, but ended up going here instead.  While both, I'm sure, would have been good options and we will probably visit the other one someday, I'm glad we checked out this restaurant first.

Their website:
http://www.vitosristorante.net

The restaurant had an intimate and formal atmosphere, but didn't come with the high-end cost you would expect.

We had visited at what appeared to be a low traffic time, which is great for us because we take photos of our food.  I'm glad to say that, so far, not one place has hassled us about that.

Their menu is simple and focused on a few Italian staples like pastas and sandwiches that used Italian breads.

I had the Portabella Sandwich with fries and berry flavored iced tea.

Marinated portabella mushroom, served on ciabatta bread

It looks refreshing, doesn't it?

You might expect the bread that looks like that to be a bit dry, but it wasn't.  It had just the right level of bite and flavor to it to not be a detriment to the sandwich.  The mushrooms were plentiful and flavorful enough to be enjoyed.  The berry flavored tea was simple and unsweetened.  It had a subtle  mild flavor, but was very refreshing. Scott S. aka. Sai had Chicken Bruschetta Sandwich with fries and Linguine Alfredo with salad.

Grilled chicken breast topped with homemade bruschetta, and provolone cheese

Linguine pasta with a homemade garlic cream sauce

Sai's salad that came with the pasta.

Erik had the Bruschetta appetizer , and linguine alfredo with shrimp.  We joked about the massive portion of pasta and how there might be a black hole warp inside that keeps refilling the bowl. 

Linguine pasta with a homemade garlic cream sauce

Bruschetta

Erik shared his Bruschetta, so I had a chance to see what it was like.  It is something simple yet really great once you start eating it.  The bread pieces are hard, but only on the first few crunches.  Along with the salsa, it make a great tasty combination that is surprisingly good from something so simple.

The waitress was extremely helpful and quick to give us refills or see how we were doing.  A nice place for lunch or dinner depending on what style of dining you prefer.

Read more »

Imperial Palace Food Excursion

I'm a bit slow with articles lately, but now is a good a time as any to get caught up!  Around two weeks ago, a fellow member of CVFTA and I went to a local restaurant called Imperial Palace.  While researching restaurants, I accidentally named this restaurant as one that had a certain buffet we had heard about.  I was wrong, but it seemed like a good a place as any to check out, so we did.

 Here is their website:
http://www.imperialpalacerockford.com/

Their menu is what you would expect from what I like to call "American Chinese" restaurants.  They have all of the expected dishes and are generally around the same price and usually pretty similar in taste.

I had ordered the Imperial Beef.  It came with the classic supplement of beef, which is mushrooms.

Sai had ordered what I think it might have been Hunan Beef. He also ordered an appetizer of Crab Rangoon.

Each lunch came with fried or white rice, soup, and a single Crab Rangoon.

Some extras with the meal like these fried chips that go well with the soup.

The one benefit of this place is that you have a more traditional restaurant atmosphere compared to most others that are more styled toward the fast food motif.  On the reverse side, that means you will be tipping a waitress.  The staff was friendly and helpful.  It's a nice place to visit for a relaxing lunch. 

Read more »