Bonus Tahoe edition 2: Ciera Steak + Chophouse (Mont Bleu)

The snow at South Lake Tahoe wasn't that great the weekend we drove up, so we had a back-up plan: gambling! Good gamblers follow some rules: 1) only gamble what you can afford to lose and 2) gamble the games that you know. That meant blackjack and rolling dice.

But wait, isn't this a blog about food? Oh yeah... long story short, My guest won big at craps (yay!) and I said dinner was on her. Turns out Mont Bleu, the hotel where we were staying, had a four diamond restaurant...

Ciera Steak + Chophouse was up a ramp from the casino floor. For the holiday weekend, they had a prix fixe menu - 3 courses for $30. Not bad! This place looked top notch and we made reservations for 7:45pm. We had no idea for the amazing dining experience that awaited us.

I got the French Onion soup to start and it had a big crouton with melted cheese in the middle. Ok, it was really a slice of sourdough toast, but man, let me tell you... it was great! The soup had abundant bits of onion that melted in your mouth.

She got the Caesar salad (without anchovies, thank you) and was happy with the nice mix of lettuce, dressing and cheese. For her main course, she got the Filet Mignon with a red wine reduction sauce. After her first bite, "Wow!" is all she said. I wasn't sure if I would get a taste, but she was nice to share. It was perfectly cooked, tender with pink inside. Just the way steak should be.

My entree was Mediterranean Chicken with artichoke hearts, olives, red peppers, feta cheese, sun-dried tomatoes in a pesto sauce. Also, a wild rice/potato cake for good measure. Each of my taste buds did the cha-cha as I ate this culinary masterpiece. We decided to try and make this on our own -- it was that good. Somehow, it was not as salty as I thought with those ingredients, but a smooth ripple of flavor awesomeness. I don't know how else to say this, but... stop what you are doing and make reservations now for Ciera and order this dish. You can thank me later.

Okay, so how do you top that? Well, dessert was next and they also hit a home run with that. She got the Chocolate Lava Cake, which she said was the best one she'd ever had. Even the whipped cream was luscious and rich. And yes, it oozed warm chocolate lava when she cut into it. Heaven!

Mine was also magnificent - the Pina Colada Cheesecake. Pineapple on top with toasted coconut on the side. Simply amazing. I could not finish it (I know!), so they brought a container to take it home. The snow outside would keep it cold in the car.

We were beaming at our choice for a nice meal and Ciera did not disappoint. Above and beyond our expectations. It's rare to be surprised by a restaurant when you've been to a few in your time. Oh wait, one more thing...

Chocolate covered strawberries on a billowing cloud? This was not on the menu. They just brought to all their customers during the Valentine's Day weekend. This place rocks!

Ciera website

Scores out of 10:
Food: 10
Service: 9
Atmosphere: 10
Price: 9
Overall: 9.5 (highest score yet!)

Bonus Tahoe edition: The Forest Buffet

If you ever find yourself in South Lake Tahoe and starving, have we got a place for you!
At the top of the Harrah's hotel and casino is the Forest Restaurant. It has the best buffet in town.

We first tried to go on a Saturday night around 7pm, but the wait was longer than 45 mins. Trying again the next day, we went for the Sunday brunch at 10:30am without any line at all.

Brunch is a wonderful thing. With all the goodness of a hearty breakfast, you also get to explore the world of lunch foods as well. If you like variety, then brunch is where you want to be. It's too bad there's not an equivalent on the afternoon side of the day too. Linner? Dunch?

I started with some eggs, sausage, potatoes and biscuits with gravy. One secret to a successful buffet is to go easy on the carbs. But how can you pass up biscuits and gravy?

They also had lasagna! Another buffet tip is to try a sample of all the food you want and then go back for your favorites. The problem with the Forest buffet is that it's all good stuff.

Did I mention that they were serving Chinese food too? Check out the sticky rice and mushrooms wrapped in the green leaves. The spare rib was meaty and flavorful.

Yeah, they had sushi too. Clockwise from the top left: veggie roll, Philly roll, Cali roll and Shrimp Tempura roll. OMG. I'm in heaven.

I had to skip the prime rib, but a guy at a table next to us said it was very good.

Who said "save room for dessert"? Good call. Clockwise from the top: German Chocolate cake (a bit dry), Tiramisu in a chocolate cup (so rich), chocolate haystack, Washington Square (made with walnuts) and Red Velvet cake. It's a good thing they are all bite-sized!

The Sunday brunch was pricey at $35, but other times it's $19.99. I know casino buffets are supposed to be cheaper, but this is higher quality than most. After a long day of skiing or gambling, you can treat yourself here with endless, delicious food!

http://www.harrahslaketahoe.com/restaurants/forest-buffet.html

Scores out of 10:

Food: 9

Service: 7 (for drinks refills)

Atmosphere: 9 (what a view!)

Price: 7

Overall: 8

Michael's on Main

Ah, Valentine's Day. Candy, flowers and romantic dinners.
Let's see how Michael's on Main does on the last one.

Located in Soquel, we had been wanting to try Michael's for awhile now. We've heard good things and they had a special Valentine's menu, so we had no reservations about making reservations. It was a prix fixe menu. The place was packed, which was a good sign. A band was playing in the bar area. We were seated in the wine cellar, which I felt was a bit cramped. But we had a late seating, so there wasn't much choice.

Our table had the menu and two glasses of bubbly were brought over first thing. Cheers! After going through the list, My guest chose the asparagus and I got the artichokes for starters. The asparagus were tender and wrapped in slightly salty prosciutto. What a treat! My artichokes were also tender, but the creamy crab dip was not that creamy. I didn't get much crab flavor from the chunky dip. It may have been better served warm. On to the salads...

So they didn't look like much - no big pieces of vegetables peeking through the greens, but the taste was wonderful. The salty bites of cheese, the tang of the dressing, the sweet cranberries. Manifique!

For our main courses, she got the Petite Filet and I tried the Eggplant Napoleon. She said her steak was cooked just right and was very good. She's not a fan of mashed potatoes, so she asked to have rice instead, which they were good to exchange. She also said the pomegranate sauce complimented the steak very well.

My eggplant was breaded, fried and stacked with melted cheese and rich tomato sauce. All of which was delicious. This is the dish to get if you aren't feeling like meat and still want to be full. I felt like I was eating a fancy lasagna, but didn't miss the pasta part at all.

Next up was a small cheese plate before dessert. It had three different cheeses and apricots soaked in port. Stop the presses - these apricots were fabulous! We both decided to stop at BevMo soon and pick up some port to soak our own. A bite of the fruit plus some of the cheese was a very nice flavor indeed.

Now to what you've all been waiting for... at least, the two of us were... the chocolate mousse! Does anyone else get the satisfying feeling from cracking the container of your treat? This one delivered. A crunch from the crack, the smooth and creamy mousse inside and the tart raspberry inside. I carefully cracked my cup into scoops to use on the mousse. Who doesn't love playing with their food?

So this was a special holiday menu, but we figured the food would still be a good indication of what it's like. Great food, service and a good value for the prix fixe price. Michael's on Main will be a place we come back to and try their normal service. They do Valentine's right!

Scores out of 10:
Food: 8
Service: 7
Atmosphere: 7
Price: 8
Overall: 7.5

Thai Orchid

It was a cold, rainy day in Santa Cruz... finally! The drought is the major drag, so we welcome the rain. And some hot Thai coconut soup goes with it perfectly...

Ah, deliciousness!
Jim, my buddy from work, joined me since he's a big fan of the Orchid. It's close by and is always good. Let's see how they do today.

So you walk in through a bead curtain and see these crazy fish tanks. The full name of this place is Thai Orchid Seafood restaurant. Not from these tanks though. Cool wood carvings in the decor. It's like walking into a different country... that speaks English and accepts US currency.

The lunch menu includes one ($7) or two ($9) items from the list and soup or salad, steamed rice and a Spring Roll. The list includes curries, stir fry, rice and noodle dishes and some specials. Jim and I hemmed and hawed over what to get. He said for me to order first and I went "Pad Thai with Chicken".

"Oh man, I was going to order that!" Instead, he got Pad Cashew Nuts with Chicken. Something new to try.

The service was very good, with them coming over to refill our waters often. There wasn't many people there yet, so we got all the attention. The soup was very tasty - a sweet and sour concoction with generous bits of chopped veggies. No mushrooms, which I missed, but carrots, scallions, zucchini and lemongrass. I was sad when I saw the bottom of the cup!

My dish, Pad Thai, was a good size for a lunch dish and it looked good. The Spring Roll was wrapped up tight with tofu, mint and veggies inside. The peanut sauce, in which to dip it, had a good peanut flavor and wasn't greasy. But I ran out after like 3 dips! I asked the wait staff for some more and was rewarded with a larger bowl. Success! The noodles were cooked well and had pieces of chicken and veggies throughout.

Jim's was a good size too. He said the the chicken, veggies and cashews were in a light garlic sauce, which he liked. The onions were chopped big enough for him to take them out easily. The rice for both was warm and fresh. A good compliment to the flavorful main dish.

There's a reason we like to come to the Orchid for lunch: you don't leave hungry! Okay, there's another reason: it tastes good! We won't wait for another rainstorm to come back.

Scores out of 10:
Food: 8
Service: 9
Atmosphere: 8
Price: 9 ($7 for a filling meal)
Overall: 8.5

Thai Orchid webpage

It was more rainy than this when we got there!

Kabul Palace

or TRFKAKP... (the restaurant formerly known as Khyber Pass)

Khyber Pass reopened as Kabul Palace last month. They renovated and went upscale. Cloth napkins. Nice decor. And when my brother and I came by before, they didn't have their lunch menu ready.

But today they did. Chicken Tikki Masala, with rice and naan for $9. Deal!
Kabul website
Khyber website (for reference)

My co-worker and lunch companion, Seth is eating more veggies these days, so he ordered the Daal meal with naan for $10. Daal is a lentil stew with spices and garlic.

He said it was very good and filling. He would have liked more naan on the side. Previously at Khyber, they brought a basket of bigger pieces of naan.

Here's my Chicken Tikki...

Such a delicious sauce with nice chunks of tender chicken throughout. I did bite into the cardamon pod like I always do... need to watch for that. It's woody texture is the opposite of the tender meat. But overall, this was fantastic.

We also asked for some sauces, which I was surprised they didn't bring automatically. Be sure to ask for them since they are great. One green mint, one spicy red and one cool yogurt.

After we both finished our naan, we realized we could order some more. For $3, you get 4 nice pieces that were actually bigger than we we got served with our meal. Do it. You need it to scoop up all the sauce.

So it's hard to review a place that was something else so recently. The Pass was more causal, had a full lunch menu and bigger portions. The Palace is nicer, only one thing for a lunch price but the food is just as tasty. Not sure if they changed owners or just changed attitude. By adding tablecloths, maybe they think they can charge more. But the food is what speaks to me. And you can't get this Afghani cuisine anywhere else downtown. I will come back in a while to see how they're doing.

Scores of out 10:
Food: 8
Service: 7
Atmosphere: 7
Price: 6 (until they get a full lunch menu)
Overall: 7

Hula's Island Grill

Tickets for the Santa Cruz Warriors game? Check.
Excited it's Friday? Check.
A hunger and a thirst bigger than the state of Texas? Double check.

Well, how about happy hour at Hula's?

We parked in the pay lot across the street and sauntered over. All the staff were wearing their Warriors garb and the party atmosphere was rolling. We got a table in the Tiki room, which wasn't too full. Liza our waitress asked if we wanted drinks. Actually, just one between us would be fine... the Scorpion Bowl!

A 30 oz. bowl of rum, brandy, Orgeat and juices. With a flaming 151 volcano. Two long straws made it a lot safer to drink, but Liza said we should blow out the flame since it was burning off the 151. Thanks for the tip! We still managed to melt part of a straw and we hadn't even started drinking yet.

We looked at the happy hour menu and picked a few treats: sweet potato fries, chicken skewers and potstickers. The fries were wonderfully tender on the inside and crunchy on the out. It had a sweet and tangy dip that reminded us of an Asian 1000 Islands sauce. The potstickers were good, not great, but we both liked the soy/lemon sauce with it. And the skewers were tasty, but not as hot as we would have liked. It also came with a large chunk of pineapple, that was also grilled. The peanut dipping sauce with it was very good.

The place was lively and everyone was in a good mood. After the eats, we asked Liza if there was any room at the bar. She had ordered the Pink Bikini Martini that last time we were here and wanted to see it being made. She tried to replicate it at home, but it wasn't very close. Liza said even though it was packed, she'd try and find us room. A few minutes later, she came over and told me to "Get up there, Tiger!"

Is that another Scorpion Bowl??
We brought the fries with us to the bar. The bartenders were friendly and we squeezed in on the end. It turns out the martini was done with a pre-made infusion with pineapple and watermelon. That's hard to recreate at home! It was fun watching a busy place in full swing. We saw a tray of Mai-Tais go by and then some tequila shots. We chatted with the staff about the game. At one point, my guest asked the bartender what was with the cherries and the tray of salt. She dipped one in and said "try it, it's good". The look on her face would beg to differ...

Hula's happy hour (shouldn't it be "hours"?) is Sun - Mon 4-6pm and Wed -Sat 2-6pm and all night Tuesday 2pm to close. Here's the happy hour menu. Next time, we said we would try the sit down menu since it all looked good. Another reason to go back... and we will.

All scores out of 10:
Food: 7
Drinks: 10
Service: 9
Atmosphere: 8
Price: 8
Overall: 8