Yuet Lee – Chinatown San Francisco CA

Dec2

This is one of the many Chinese restaurants inChinatown. We chose this restaurant because (1) it was midnight- theyclose at 3 am on Friday and Saturday nights (2) we were hungry and (3)it was walking distance from our hotel.

First of all, no egg rolls served at this establishment. So don’t ask! It surprised me because I thought that eggrolls were a Chinese food staple. I thought the waiter did not understand what I was talking about. He did understand and, shaking his head emphatically, was telling me "No egg roll here".

I ordered spareribs with tender greens rice plate. I wanted BBQ ribs but did not realize that was not what I ordered. In any case it was a great value for $6.25 and there was enough food for two people. Dave and I shared this.

The ribs were cooked well and have a brown gravy covering it all. The greens were bok choy (I think). I cannot explain the flavors because
there is nothing to compare to it. It was delicious though. It was not spicy so I added Siracha chili sauce.

The wait staff were nice enough. The guy that took our order seemed to be no nonsense, taking his job more seriously than I thought necessary. He made sure our drink glasses were filled at all times and he was very attentive, so that was fine by me.

As we walked by the counter when we left, I saw all the comments about the fame of Yuet Lee as it was rated one of the city’s best seafood restaurants. Had I known that, I would have probably order seafood instead of ribs. Go figure. At least I know for next time.

Yuet Lee
1300 Stockton Str San Francisco, CA 94133

Genos Philly Steaks

Nov28

There is a great debate among people who profess to be Philly cheesesteak aficionados- Geno’s or Pat’s. Located at opposing corners in Philly, it would be easy to buy from both and do a true taste comparison. Well I only had the opportunity to try one and it seemed to me that Geno’s restaurant looked better.

I had high expectations because the best Philly chicken cheesesteak (I know that for the purist, chicken does not count but beef turns my stomach) I ever had was in NY at 99 miles from Philly. It was so delicious, it was "This is the BEST" **drop mic** good. Period.

I say this to set up how I expected Philly to be able to do it better than NYC. After all, Philly cheesesteak started in Philly, right? First
of all, neither Geno’s or Pat’s had chicken. >>Picture my sad face<< They did have pork. Okay, I like pork so I began to perk up. When I
ordered, they asked me if I wanted cheese whiz. Maybe my taste buds are too refined, but I cringe at the thought of eating fake, plastic looking cheese. I pass on that unless I am ordering nachos at the bowling alley (tastes buds give me a pass on that one- that is just the way it is, I don’t make the rules).

When I got my sandwich, the first thing that I noticed was how soft the bread was on the inside. The bread was perfect for me. The meat, on the other hand, was very dry. I thought to myself, "Maybe that is why the people drown the sandwich in wiz, so as not to have all the moisture in their mouths absorbed by the dry meat." I added the sweet peppers (see picture) and that helped a little bit. In the end, I slathered a lot of ketchup on my sandwich to make it palatable. My friend had the Philly cheesesteak (made with beef) and she was not impressed either. She said the meat was dry to her.

Overall, I was disappointed. The bread was really good but could not make up for the overcooked, dried out pork. It is my opinion that the
meat should be the star of the sandwich and everything else should complement it. But I think that the great Philly cheesesteak debate
continues to rage on. And if I can get to Philly again, I want to try Pat’s. And in the meantime, I need to get to NYC for the best Philly
chicken cheesesteak EVER.

Milanos Greek and Italian – Pelzer SC

Nov28

I went to Milano’s because there was no other restaurant around and I was hungry. There were no cars in the parking lot and I had low expectations of the place. I expected it to be a dive with mediocre food. Since they serve Italian and Greek food, I figured that there was not too much that they could mess up with that. Spaghetti is usually easy to cook. With enough hot sauce, I could make the marinara sauce palatable if I needed to do so.

The menu looked good, but keep in mind I was hungry too.

I ordered the Slovaki (know I spelled that incorrectly) chicken, steamed vegetables, pita bread with a Greek side salad topped with blue cheese dressing. Might as well live on the edge and try something different. It was so good. The chicken tasted as if it had been marinating for days in the liquid seasoning. The seasoning was heavy, but not overpowering, on Mediterranean spices. The Greek salad was mainly iceberg lettuce with 2 black olives and a pepperonicini. I would have preferred more olives but that is because I like their briny flavor. I had the option to get the steamed veggies or the greek potatoes. I am glad went with the veggies because I think that the potatoes and the pita bread would have been too much starch for one meal. The veggies tastes as if they might have been cooked in the same marinade as the chicken so they were full of flavor too.

The plate serving was more than enough food for me. I had to fight the urge to overstuff myself because the food was so appetizing.

Overall, I highly recommend this restaurant. Do not let the empty parking lot fool you. Their food is awesome.

Milanos Greek and Italian

508 Highway 8 East Pelzer, SC 29669

The Mill House

Nov24

To sum up the Greenwood SC restaurant The Mill House in 3 words: Brick Oven Pizzas

This place has the best pizzas because they cook them in a brick oven. The crust is a little chewy but also has a little crunch.

Pizza prices start at about $8 and toppings are $.85 each. The do have specialty pizzas that usually cost between $9 – 10 and have several toppings. Most of the time, I rather choose my own toppings.

You can choose the type of sauce for the pizza- the most common are the red sauce and the white sauce. I always get the red sauce. I tell them to put heavy sauce because they are light with the sauce usually. In addition to pepperoni, I also like bacon, prosciutto ham and black olives. When the mood is right, I might even order the barbecue chicken pizza.

They have some gourmet topping options too (like smoked salmon) if you are the adventurous type. For me, I don’t like to get too crazy with my topping choices.

For people who like beer, they have an extensive beer selection too. My friends have said that they really good beer choices especially some high gravity beers which seems to be all the rage these days.

Overall, it may seem that there is a lot of hype about this place, but that is only because they are so committed to doing a good job cooking pizzas.

Kickers – Greenwood SC

Nov23

This is a small restaurant that is known in Greenwood SC for big flavors. There are a lot quirky flavor combinations that look questionable on paper but are delicious in execution. I call them gourmet burgers with international flavor.
My favorite flavor combination is the Caribbean turkey burger which pairs jerk seasoning and pineapple in the ground turkey meat. The burger is moist, savory from the spices, but with a hint of sweetness from the pineapple.
They also serve a pimiento cheeseburger that is DELICIOUS and full of cheese goodness!!!
Various sides include but are not limited to pasta salad or fries. If you do order the onion rings, prepare to share since it is too much for most people.
Each day, they serve different types of soup. The sweet potato soup is very good. The gumbo is a little spicy but delicious. You can always ask for a sample before deciding which one is best. Whether it is a sample, cup or bowl of soup, be careful because the soup temperature will be HOT and could burn your tongue if you eat it too fast.
Kickers is mainly open for lunch. Come early (11.30am) or late (after 1pm) if you do not want to wait for a seat. Since the location is small, it does not take many people to fill up the place.
The service is good. The wait staff was attentive and kept my drink glass full while I was waiting for my food.
Prepare to spend about $10 on lunch. Before you balk at the price, know that it is worth it.