Orlando, FL - Spencer's for Steak & Chops; Oh, Chocolate souffle, you haunt me in my dreams. My subconscious must have really enjoyed the memory of eating this dessert. I could probably eat this for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

It was served with a delicious cream sauce to pour all over it. It was perfectly prepared and cooked. It rose out of it's dish so you could admire and enjoy both the top and sides. Truly, the best part was slowly cutting into it and watching the steaming hot chocolate lava pour out. Chocolate lovers, you'll love this. If you don't like chocolate, stay away. It has an excellent balance of sweetness and bitterness from the high cocoa percentage.

Spencer's, can you ship this to MI for me? LOL

Orlando, FL - Three Broomsticks, Wizarding World of Harry Potter; The four stars may be inflated due to the excitement of it being Harry Potter'ish and being able to sit in the Three Broomsticks to eat and drink butterbeer.  The full breakdown is:

Decor: 5 stars
Amusement Park Food: 3 stars
English Pub Food: 2 stars
Butterbeer: 5 stars

The decor fits perfectly the setting for a large English pub and certainly for Harry Potter's Three Broomsticks.  Walking up, you can tell the building looks slightly angled and crooked, almost magical. Inside resembles a traditional English pub, but much larger. They have to accommodate thousands of people each day, so you can imagine inside it's like an extremely large dining hall.  However, with the wooden look and pub colors inside, you still feel like you're in a pub. Making it more exciting is the magical, Harry Potter, experiences you'll find inside. Occasionally, you'll see something on a bookshelf move or see an owl's shadow fly by. When you're inside, make sure you keep looking around and your imagination ready.

If it were an English pub not involved with Harry Potter, I would probably give it 2 stars, but it being compared to amusement park food, it improves to 3. They have menu items typically not at amusement parks include shepherds pie and turkey drumsticks. My turkey drumstick was extremely salty. I really couldn't eat the whole thing. The fish and chips were ok, but nothing really good compared to a good English pub. Now take it in comparison to other amusement park food, the stars go up. You'll rarely find shepherds pie at the amusement park and since you can't compare it to others, it would be decent.  However, I heard the actual English couple sitting next to me make a comment, "Is this suppose to be Shepherds Pie?"  Not knowing who they are, but from their English accents, I found it comical they made the comment, giving me a little insight.

Oh my goodness, the butterbeer! It really is worth getting multiple glasses of it. When you walk out, you'll want to turn around and walk back in for another glass. They offer two types, frozen and regular. I tried both and found the regular to be more flavorful.  The frozen is good, but it doesn't have the complete rich flavor and some of it is lost in the ice crystals. Either which way you go, you can't go wrong. They serve it both inside Three Broomsticks and outside on the street. It's a cream soda style drink with butterscotch flavoring in the soda and topped with butterscotch cream. DON'T DRINK IT IMMEDIATELY, LET IT STAND FOR A MINUTE OR TWO. It becomes a magical drink. If you let it sit the carbonation forces the butterscotch cream to begin boiling up and becomes alive. It's really neat to watch. Now that you've watched it, tear into it, drink up. It's so delicious. After having two, frozen and regular, went walking around, then came back for more, that good.  FYI...It's non alcoholic for those that are wondering.

Orlando, FL - At Siam Thai Cuisine; This may be the only Thai restaurant along the International drive. Try and make an effort to stop in and give yourself a break from the chain restaurants.

I only tried it once, their Pad Thai. It was prepared like most places, same ingredients, with similar flavors. If you're looking for a Thai staple, it's worth it. Their sauce was slightly different, their own take on Pad Thai. Even though it was slightly different, it wasn't far from most Pad Thai flavors, so it will still be familiar.

Most Thai restaurants spice range are different at each place. Their medium spice was on the hotter side, but not hot enough to go into the next category.

It's a small restaurant, but nice and cozy. Get away from the chains and try the mom and pops.

Orlando, FL - Pao Gostoso Bakery; I accidentally found this bakery, THANK YOU YELP! I was getting worried that the "Orlando Convention City" had only chain restaurants and nothing to offer in the culinary arena. Pao Gostoso, you redeemed the city.


The aroma hits you when you walk in and if that sense wasn't good enough, your sense of sight will get you interested. Most people working there speak English, if you happen to get someone who doesn't, just ask and another person will help. I would recommend asking them to help you pick out what you want. I did and I'm so happy! She immediately said I had to try the coxinha, chicken and cheese ball. The lady mentioned that its extremely authentic Brazilian and the cheese is imported from there. When you start to eat it, its worth saying OMG. Cutting it open, the cheese starts to slowly ooze out and eating it has a crunch from the fried shell, but inside was the delicate warm cheese with the flavor of chicken. I could of stopped there and been happy, but there was more to salivate over.

I try the x-tudo burger (everything burger). When they say an everything Brazilian burger, they really mean it. Meaning, it contains your big-a%$s patty, fried egg, slice of ham, bacon, fried little chips that look like fried onion chips, and lettuce. You can't eat this whole thing. Really! It's not far off from going to a Brazilian steak house with all the meat, just smashed between the buns. Outstanding and outrageous. :)

I saved the caramel wet pastry (pao ensopado) for later, but that may have been a mistake. The lady told me that while it's being made, it's dipped into a cream to keep it moist. It probably would have been better eaten immediately, but since I saved it until later that evening, it was really soggy on the bottom. In addition, the caramel could have been more throughout the pastry, not just on top like a little button, but still not bad to try overall.
I finished off with their little chocolate pastry cookie. It was very similar to a no-bake cookie, having the same flavor and texture. It was a nice treat at the end of the lunch that I probably over ate at.

Orlando, FL - David's Club Bar & Grill; David's is one of those hotel restaurants where you arrive to the hotel, everything in the area is closed and you say, well, David's is the only place open, should we just try there? Well don't, order room service, go down the street, go to bed hungry, just don't waste your money here.


I tried two items, the fried green tomatoes and the shrimp and chorizo flatbread. The tomatoes were nicely fried, good sweetness to it. Where it falls short is the dressing. I was hoping for their version of ranch or a zest to it, not some Hidden Valley Ranch out of the bottle. Nothing against Hidden Valley, it's just dressing that I have at home, not one David's should be serving. I expect more.

Don't bother ordering the shrimp and chorizo flatbread. This dish took me back to the old commercial, "Where's the beef?" Seriously, there was a paper-thin slice of "what they call chorizo" underneath each piece of shrimp, like five or six shrimp. After eating several slices, I thought they forgot to include the chorizo until I picked up the piece of shrimp and saw the tiniest thinly cut slice of chorizo. I can't imagine this being made on the premises since it was perfectly round (store bought). They could have at least chopped it up and sauteed it.

Some of the seating areas are not conducive to eating either. They do have adequate seating, but if you want to sit by some of the TV's, you're on couches reaching for the table of food.

Orlando, FL - Sushiology; Many sushi restaurants can offer the same fare, making the options and flavors ubiquitous. Sushiology gets an extra star for creativity and a unique option.  This is a very small establishment with only about 3-4 tables and a feeling of a look and feel of  a "fast-food joint".

I started with the Takoyaki (dumplings with octopus). They are lightly fried with a golden brown shell, but maintaining a very soft inside. The octopus inside, however, was only one little piece, barely enough to taste it.  It needed a little more meat. however, the interesting part of this dish is the salmon skin on top. I've never had it before and the texture is in its own category. It immediately melts and shrivels up in your mouth, similar to the texture of cotton candy, but not the same flavor.

Onto the bonito half roll and escolar nigiri (white tuna). Different from other places, you can order half rolls give you an option of going cheaper and just for a snack. The brown rice has that nice earthy graininess to the roll.  The white tuna was fresh, nicely cut, and a smooth flavor.

I thought the dispensers for soy sauce was creative, old coffee containers.  It's a creative usage of materials.

Orlando, FL - Ming Court; When Ming Court is the only dim sum restaurant on the downtown trip, it's a little harder to compare with other places there, but when you compare it to other more traditional dim sum establishments, it's ok.  Like most places in the convention strip row of Orlando, it's touristy in it's presentation outside, inside, and the delivery of food.

In so many dim sum places I've tried, it's always served on a meandering cart and when it arrives, you get to see everything in action. The server opens each little container and with a bit of anticipation, you get to see and hope it's the one you want and waiting to try.  If the one you want isn't on the cart, you can simply place the order with the server, but most things are on the cart.  The cart was completely absent at Ming Court. No chance to see all the options, other than on the menu, which they do a good job of showing pictures of all of them.  But I want it in front of me.  This is why I always over eat at dim sum places because I can't stop myself from choosing dishes from the cart.

I tried three dishes, eggplant shrimp, Chinese broccoli, and soft shell crab. 

The eggplant shrimp was slices of eggplant with shrimp grounded up on top with a soy style reduction sauce.  The eggplant was tender and the shrimp had some flavor, but not enough.  It didn't have that full flavor of dim sum.

The Chinese broccoli was typical fare with predictable flavors. They didn't have their spin on it or create their own rendition.  It seemed typical of standard Chinese broccoli with soy sauce.

Lastly, the soft shell crab was better than the other dishes. It's prepared in a lightly sea salt batter and deep fried.  Don't expect to get a lot of crab flavor though. The pieces of meat are smaller and harder to taste. However, even with that, it's still has a good flavor with the saltiness and just enough heat from the jalapenos slices to compliment the flavor.

Guay Teow Pad Prik Prow

 Gaeng Kheaw Waan

Spicy Rib

Bloomfield Hills, MI - Bai Mai Thai; I couldn't decide between 3 or 4 stars, but it could have been a 3.5. This a carryout only place, no sitting and eating unless its on the curb outside.

The only dish my wife likes usually is Pad Thai and she tried theirs, said Nope I don't like it and wont try this place again. I believe they flavor theirs slightly different from the most common places. I think it makes it just a bit more unique but my wife is a tried and true kind of person. I could try their Pad Thai again and really see if its unique or it was an off day. If didn't have strong peanut flavor like others, slightly more on the citrus with a flavoring I wasn't use to.

I've tried three other dishes here, Gaeng Kheaw Waan, Spicy Rib, and Guay Teow Pad Prik Prow.  The first was the Gaeng Kheaw Waan, a green curry base dish. I'm a huge sucker when it comes to coconut milk curry entrees.  I'll keep trying and comparing them, but I don't even want to know many calories are in the milk.  This curry dish was a lot more watery that other places. I was first surprised by the viscosity, but then I was caught off guard by it's flavor.  It still had all it's curry and coconut flavor and heat that other dishes typically have. Some how, they prepared it different with almost the same flavor outcome.  Well done Bai Mai Thai.

Spicy rib is on so many menus and I've wondered how good it was, why not try it and I'll finally have a base to compare other places.  I think they boil it before grilling it because the meat was very tender and came off the bone easily.  The flavoring was nice with a hint of smokiness.  The sauce was an additional winner.  It had that sweetness necessary for the ribs along with the heat.  The ribs by themselves were good, but the sauce made it much better.

Now the Guay Teow Pad Prik Prow, was the winner.  It goes onto my list, for now, of favorite Thai foods.  It makes the list because the sauce was very unique.  It didn't have the traditional brown sauce, or peanut, or curry, etc... it had it's own flavor.  So many Thai dishes reuse the sauce in so many dishes making them blend together.  However, this time it was in it's own category.  It's really hard to describe and I'll just have to get it again to see if I can nail down the flavors.

Bloomfield Hills, MI - Pizza Papalis; For deep dish, how do you determine a good deep dish pizza?  Is it the crust, maybe the sauce, how about the toppings, or does the answer lie with the cheese?  It's all of them, but each one individually.

Pizza Papalis' deep dishes started in greektown in the original location.  They would make a deep dish that you would never forget and driver across the state to have.  I was hoping this place would deliver the same flavor, texture, and pizza as before.  Well, it's close but not 100% there.  The greektown deep dish pizza would have received at least four stars, this one three.

Starting with the crust, it's wonderfully think, greasy on the bottom, and think on the side and bottom.  The sauce hits its mark by having a delicious tomato base and strong with oregano.  The cheese is good, elastic when it's hot.  The website states they offer low fat cheese by saying "Lite Cheese".  However, when ordering, don't say with Lite Cheese, because they'll put less cheese on it.  Make sure you say, low fat cheese.  The toppings, having only ordered a few, were very weak.  The one that really didn't meet expectations was the garlic.  I imagined full roasted garlic cloves and it turned out to be garlic powder. You can imagine my shock and disappointment.

Don't over order, with just three pieces of a deep dish, you'll be very full.

Ferndale, MI - Om Cafe; Om is a pioneer among restaurants for vegan/vegetarian fare. It stands out among the very few restaurants in the metro area to not only carry, but specialize in vegan/vegetarian cuisine.  If it wasn't the first, it was among the select few to have paved the way.  Not only do they make special efforts to cater to the vegetarian, but also offer omnivores meat options to be inclusive and not force either one to have to settle.

We started with the nori roll, their vegetarian and vegan version of a sushi roll.  It was a nice vegetable roll, with fresh veggies, but their dipping sauce was interesting. I thought the sauce was good, but the tahini in it, gave it more of a puzzling flavor than a traditional soy with wasabi intensity.

My entree was the BBQ Seitan, with sweet potatoes, brown rice, and collard greens. This was my first time having seitan, meat alternative made primarily of wheat, I thought they did a pretty good job with making it into a familiar flavor and texture. If I were to eat it by itself, it's probably not the most flavorful meatless entree, but with the bbq sauce, it improved it's standing.  The sweet potatoes were cooked nicely, sweet and tender, but the collard greens were very bland.  It appears they were steamed without any seasoning added afterwards.  Vinegar was available at the table and after adding that to the greens, it was better, but not all that enticing to try again.  I would try to substitute it out for something else next time.

The atmosphere is very nice inside, small, quiet, quaint, and intimate.  it's good for couples and small groups.

Royal Oak, MI - Chow Catering; The best way to experience any food truck is at a Food Truck Rally recently held at the Farmers Market in Royal Oak, MI. Chow Catering was one of the seven to attend and we had to wait in line for about 30-45 minutes to just ORDER! Yeah, it's worth it! Almost every truck had the same line, but isn't the rule of thumb, if there's a long line, you know it must be good. Stay away from the short line right?


I went with a few friends so we could try multiple dishes and I'm so glad we did. We ordered: Cubano, Pork Belly Sliders, Beef Brisket Sandwich, and Wild Mushroom Pasties.

Starting with my absolute favorite was the brisket sandwich. This was perfectly marinated and pulled brisket, grilled pineapple, lettuce on Hawaiian bread. The brisket was tender, flavorful, but perfectly balanced with the sweetness of the pineapple and Hawaiin bread. I almost made my group stop eating it, just so I could take their portions. I could go for another around of this sandwich.

My next favorite, but it was almost a tie, the cubano. It was a traditional Medianoche (cuban sandwich), roasted pork, ham, swiss cheese, spicy mustard, dill pickel slices, on a pressed grilled bun. For a sec, I thought I was in Miami. The pork and ham was juicy (so many places over cook it and dry it out), just the right amount of pickels for flavor and texture crunch, and finishing with that lasting flavor of the spicy mustard. The brisket is a grandslam, but this is a three-run homer, so it's pretty close.

Surprisingly, the wild mushroom pastie past my expecations. I really didn't expect much on this dish and you wow'ed me. It was a mushroom pate, blended cheeses in a puff pastie with a mushroom bechamel. I was expecting a flatten pastie, dry, and one portabella mushroom in the center. I was wrong, I'll admit it. It turned out to be a delicious fluffy and flaky pastie and a wonderful blend of wild mushrooms and cheeses on the inside. It had a delightful earthiness flavor and featured the mushroom, but not over powering. Excellent balance.

The pork belly sliders I saved for last and wished I didn't. I had really high expectations for this one, but it really didn't meet expecations. I thought it was fine, but all the fat was removed from the pork belly, drying it out and taking away all the flavor. It was served with asian slaw with wasabi aioli, giving it some nice texture and the needed flavor that the pork lacked. Thank goodness for the slaw.

My order from favorite to least loved:

1. Beef Brisket
2. Cubano
3. Wild Mushroom Pastie
4. Pork Belly Sliders

I will find this truck on facebook and meet up where ever they are to try more from them. Hats off to the owners, chefs, and staff.

Madison Heights, MI - China Bar-B-Que; How does China Bar-B-Que compare to other asian BBQ's, they fell short. The glass case, hanging duck, pig intestines, and bbq pork, are all present to give you the full effect, but it still has to deliver on flavor. 

I tried the bbq pork and it really didn't compare to other asian bbq places.  The pork was dry and lacked the strong bbq flavor usually present.  Maybe I caught it on an off day and I'll have to try it again to see if they deliver the same uneventful, dry, and disappointing bbq pork.

Ann Arbor, MI - Cafe Zola; Which do you choose? The restaurant that has a 45 min wait, a crowd loitering amongst the tables on their outside patio or stop in a place that has no wait and you're the only souls?

You go with the wait! Your taste buds will thank you happily for waiting.  Cafe Zola is a must on the Ann Arbor culinary tour. There is a reason it's packed and you'll wait, because it's good, very good.

Lets start with the pretty latte they brought out. Flavors were good, but it's worth noting that the design they drew gave a very nice presentation.

The good stuff now! The salmon hash with horseradish creme sauce.  How often do you get to eat salmon hash.  The hash was prepared very well, rich with the salmon flavor, but not too fishy or overpowering.  Cutting into those fried eggs and allowing the yolk to soak up in the hash, creates a perfect mortar, tying the salmon, hash, and eggs all together. It now has a full body flavor.  Just when you think the dish is complete, comes the horseradish creme sauce with a little bite to the flavor complimenting the salmon. You want that spicy, horseradish kick to the hash to really make it sing.

We couldn't resist and had to try the chocolate and banana crepe as well.  Since this was an eating adventure post Big House Big Run 5/10k event, we were craving some more food and carbs.  Onto dessert! Many chocolate and banana crepes, served traditionally without ice cream, Zola's comes with it.  I would say the bananas were a little mushy and not caramelized enough, but still went well with the chocolate nutella, ice cream, and a thin sweet crepe.

Ann Arbor, MI - Seva; Finding an almost vegetarian restaurant isn't an easy task.  One must travel to the streets of Ann Arbor to test your pallet for vegetarian fare. I recently saw that Seva has opened another location in Detroit now, so for us people in the D, we now have a new place for vegans and vegetarians.  From the write-up in the Metro Times, they have a pretty identical menu at that location as well.

As for the Ann Arbor spot, they have a wonderful outdoor seating area, taking advantage of a wonderful summer or fall evening. I tried an entree on their specials menu, corn ravioli in a pablano sauce.  The pasta was fresh and cooked very well, stuffed with a nice blend of mashed corn and spices, in a creamy but rather bland pablano sauce, and topped with pumpkin seeds giving it the necessary crunchy texture. Without the pumpkin seeds, it would have been a very one dimensional soft and creamy dish, therefore, it was a necessary addition. The pablano sauce lacked the flavor of a pablano pepper and not that it needed any "heat", it would have been nice, but not necessary, the sauce wasn't very complex in flavor and mostly tasted of heavy cream. I think it didn't balance the corn puree in the ravioli enough and if the puree would have had more power to its flavor, maybe the dish would have been elevated to the next level.

I was excited to see the variety of options for vegetarians and vegans.  The other dishes at the table were also pretty good, but not spectacular.  However, it deserves several tries in my opinion to find the dish that really sings there.

Bloomfield Hills, MI - Gallery Restaurant II; Moving to the neighborhood, I was in search for a new unique breakfast place. I was hoping for a place that had delicious, unique, and creative breakfast, but it fell short. It's a standard deli with all the usual typical items. 

They do have some items that I was surprised. My grandmother use to make salami and eggs all the time, so it was a staple in our household. I was excited to see it here, but it really wasn't the same. The cuts of the salami were small and a stronger flavor salami should have been used. Its flavor was masked too much by the eggs, therefore, only giving it texture.

It's not one of the typical chain restaurants, so its nice to support local businesses, but their food needs to be elevated just a bit. The decor, oh, it needs some help. The place definitely would not win any awards other than the "Haven't Redecorated in 20 Years" Award. It's that 20 year-old diner feel.

Warren, MI - Pho Viet; This area of Warren and Madison Heights is scattered with Vietnamese restaurants and you really have to stand out with amazing food or something unique. I tried their fresh spring roll and their Pho with crispy beef. While it was good, it didn't stand out as something unique or you can only get it at Pho Viet.

The fresh spring roll had all the necessary elements, rice wrap, noodles, cucumbers, shrimp, and some mint, but it really needed more mint leaves. It did lack that "pow" of mint flavor needed throughout the whole roll.

I ordered the Pho with the crispy beef.  I've never had crispy beef, whatever that is right.  I asked if it was deep fried, but the server said no, it's some gelatinous parts of the meat, so not crunchy at all. It's very soft and gelatinous and if texture throws you off, avoid this, but if not, try it out. It really doesn't have any flavor, but at least you know that all parts of the animal are being used.

The place is pretty large for a "mom and pops" Vietnamese place.  I went during a late lunch and was expecting it to be a little busier, but it was only me and one other table. They also have a dance floor with a stage for a band, so they must have some live entertainment at times.

Orlando, FL - The Bistro: Oh the restaurant inside of the hotel. Well, if the restaurant is as nice as the hotel, it'll do just fine. The Bistro is a pretty nice place to catch breakfast or brunch. It has a nice view into the courtyard and it's beautiful on a sunny day.

Even though The Bistro is pricey, it's worth the short trip downstairs for your fare. We tried other breakfast chains in the area, but they get packed very quickly and you'll easily wait 30-45 minutes. Here, you'll get right in and start eating, but you'll be paying for the convenience. 

They have a good menu to select from, but also have a buffet with a variety of choices. Fresh fruit, waffles, bacon, sausage, customized omelets to order, grits, yogurts with wonderful fruits and jellies on the bottom, challah french toast, juice bar, etc...

The biggest advantage of the buffet, you can also order anything off the menu that is not available on the buffet. I couldn't believe that I could get anything off the menu in addition to the buffet for the same price. I tried their eggs benedict, the server mentioned that the hollandaise sauce is made in house.  The sauce was probably about a million calories, but it was very good, rich but not too heavy and filled with flavor.  The eggs however, one was cooked correctly and the other was well done, not runny at all.

I also tried their smoked salmon on a baguette.  Although the quantity of the salmon seemed to changed daily, it was fantastic to have lox each morning. Good quality nova lox served with capers.  I definitely got my intake of sodium during this trip.

Tostada

Sides

asacado

ceviche

guacamole

mushroom tacos

mole tacos

Birmingham, MI - Barrio; It was promising to see that their tacos were served with corn tortilla and not flour, but the impressiveness stopped there.  Their plating is nice and presented well and clean, but if only I can just look at it instead of eating it.  Not sure if they fail on execution of the dish or in the conception of it.  We tried lots of food, so get ready.

Starting the meal with their guacamole and chips. It's served in a nice stone bowl, its nice and creamy and flavored well.  We thought we were in for a good dinner.

Since our first dish was successful, so why not the next.  Well, this one fell flat on it's face.  The tuna ceviche, well, it's not a ceviche at all.  It appeared and tasted just as though they took tuna sushi-grade, and mixed it with a watermelon lime juice.  I'm not sure how long it was marinated in the sauce, but the fish didn't take on any of the flavor.  Not a ceviche.

On to dinner.  We ordered a variety of tacos to try out as many as we can.  Starting with my least favorite were the tacos I picked, asacado, fish tacos.  To sum it up, too little fish, and too much cabbage.  I could barely taste any fish in it.  I think the cabbage was added for texture and feeling of freshness, but really it was a corn tortilla with a cabbage salad.  Not a winner.  Next were the mushroom tacos, a step up, a little.  The mushroom tacos were better with the choice of tomatoes giving it a freshness and the acidity needed with the mushrooms.  The mushrooms had a nice earthiness to it, but still not enough mushrooms and its flavor was also masked by the condiments.  Lastly, the mole tacos, the better of all the tacos.  I could have easily just ordered these and sent the rest back.  I made sure that I ended with one to have at least one good taco in the meal.  It was pulled pork, marinated well, still juicy, and served with a nice cheese on top to compliment it well.

On the side, we tried the green rice and beans, and grilled corn.  The green rice was a "lime" rice, but really lacked in flavor.  It was really only rice with a tint of green and didn't help to compliment the beans well.  The beans were only black beans.  It lacked in flavor and heartiness.  It was a sad representation of beans in a Mexican restaurant.  The corn was grilled well, a little over done, but the grated cheese on it gave it a little extra to make it better.

Our last dish was the tostada.  I probably would have given a rating of one star, but the tostada is worth one extra star by itself.  After mentioning how good it is to the server, she then mentioned that it's their most popular dish.  We should have heard that in the beginning.  It has a nice crispy shell on the bottom, served with pulled pork that was on the mole tacos, black beans, avacados, lettuce and cheese.  This was the saving grace of the whole dinner.  It was really really good, an exceptional dish.  I would have been sadly disappointed with the experience if we didn't end with the tostada.  Get it, you won't be disappointed.

Petosky, MI - Staffords Bay View Inn; My rating was either going to be four or five stars based on the decor, bedrooms, view, staff, use of gift certificates, and food.  Most categories I would give it four and a few five starts, therefore, I'll give them 4.5 rating.

Lets start with the gift certificate. I had a certificate (not gift card) dating back seven years ago, given to me by a friend.  I didn't think they would honor it, but after speaking to the manager, he gladly accepted it.  I thought it was great customer service.

I initially thought it was going to be a small bed and breakfast, but to find it to be much bigger as a hotel. It's an old hotel dating back to probably 1800-1900s.  The view from the porch or a small walk to their garden or beach is spectacular of the bay.  It's perfect for a sunset.

That morning, we had breakfast in their restaurant and we started with their sticky bun cinnamon roll. I thought it was a good start.  It would have been nice if it were heated up, but it was okay.  I moved onto the Michigan Cherry French Toast. It was much better than the sticky bun.  It did have enough cinnamon and cherries to give it a nice balance of flavor and texture.  The service was very good.

Royal Oak, MI - Penn's Thai Kitchen; When you ask for heat, they bring the heat on! They don't joke about spicy here, if you ask for it, you're going to get it. That's what I like about it.

Penn's is a cute little Thai place that has switched hands a few times, but hopefully it will stick with her now.

I tried two dishes, the red curry with tofu and the papaya salad. The red curry was rich with flavor, coconut-iness, and full with curry flavor, nothing watered down. I ordered it medium, what I remember from this dish, is the wonderful flavor of the curry, but the heat, man, the heat.  I may have had a few beads of sweat on my forehead.

The papaya salad was also good, but I had slightly higher expectations. It didn't have as much flavor as I was expecting, but it's also wonderful to have a salad once in a while with a kick.  You get to order this salad also with the spicy level you wish. I chose medium of course and here is this nice slightly acidic refreshing salad, that has a kick, some heat, and you're sweating again!  It's a neat contrast if you're not use to it.

They are super nice inside and I would gladly go back to try more and more.