Panda Garden
3735 Summer Avenue
901-323-4819
On Sunday we found ourselves driving down Summer Avenue looking for a place to get our Year of the Ox celebrations on. Per usual, we spent Sunday morning in bed listening to the Splendid Table on NPR. Lynn had a woman on who studied fortune cookies (they were invented by Japanese Americans), and it got us hankering for some Chinese food.
We decided on Panda Garden since we hadn't been there in awhile. (Technically we haven't ever been there since I'm pretty sure it was still Formosa on our last visit.) Once we walked in, I remembered why we probably stopped coming. It's a little fancier and more formal than your average Chinese restaurant. (i.e. There's no buffet.) Despite the quiet elegance of the place, there were several families in attendance this Sunday afternoon.
We sat at a table near the window and commenced quizzing the monkeys (Satchel, 6, and Jiro, 4) about what they wanted to eat. "I want nothing," said Jiro. He was still not 100%, and he'd been pigging out at my mom's all morning, so I didn't press him. "Do you want some egg soup?" I asked Satchel. He vigorously shook his head no. Usually egg soup is a big hit with them both so I was a bit stumped. "How about some chicken wings and white rice?" I tried. This received a small display of enthusiasm from Satchel so I went with it.
Meanwhile Warren decided he wanted to try a lunch special. For $5.25 (or $5.95) you could have a choice of entree, spring roll, Chinese man-tow, fried rice, and choice of soup. Not a bad deal. However, there was some debate about whether the lunch special would be in effect on a Sunday. The waitress confirmed that it was, so we both opted to get one. Warren chose Hunan chicken and I chose fragrant shrimp.
Our soup and spring rolls came out right away and were accompanied by a chicken wing. I'm not sure if this was standard or a New Year's bonus, but I happily ate it. The hot & sour soup was very good--definitely on par with my favorite, Saigon Le. The spring roll wasn't very exciting, but good enough. (It was almost exclusively filled with cabbage.)
Next the monkeys' chicken and rice came out. Jiro, still refusing to eat, got out of his chair and perched himself on the window sill at the end of the table next to me. He was sitting quietly so I let him stay. Satchel attacked his chicken wings with such a gusto that Jiro was eventually convinced to eat a couple himself. Warren and I got our entrees soon after and while I loved the fried rice and the Chinese man-tow (a.k.a. a beignet), my fragrant shrimp was swimming in a very thick sauce. Too thick. I picked out the six or so nice sized shrimp, but couldn't eat any of the drowning veggies. Had I not already been so full, I might have tried harder. Warren's entree had the same thick sauce, which he agreed wasn't the best, but he made a happy plate anyway. I spied a table next to us with about eight people and tried to discern a better dish to order next time.
As Warren soldiered through his meal, my left overs, and his pot of hot tea, the boys began getting a bit antsy. Using inside voices and sitting still became harder and harder for them to do. We had a small reprieve when our server brought the fortune cookies (and $20.54 check). Warren gave the monkeys a big speech on Chinese New Year and told them that their fortunes would be very telling for the new year.
Our fortunes:
Jiro: Tomorrow will be a productive day. Don't oversleep. (He did .)
Satchel: A chance meeting with a stranger will possibly change your life. (Hmmm...)
Warren: Your hard work is about to pay off. (Yay!)
Stacey: Life is a series of choices. Today yours are good ones. (Just today?)
We ended our meal with a discussion on the origins and manufacturing process of chopsticks, thanks to the fine print on the wrapper. (They are made from bamboo and became a substitute for knives during the Shang Dynasty. According to Confucious, knives were equated with acts of aggression and should not be used to dine.) Then we had the customary doling out of quarters for the gumball machine, and hit the road. Should we ever pass Panda Garden again whilst hungry, I'm sure we'll stop in again.
Jiro and I did make one bathroom run. It was clean, but small. It would definitely pose a challenge to anyone needing to change a diaper.
Monday, January 26, 2009
Sunday, January 18, 2009
The Hi-Tone Cafe
The Hi-Tone Cafe
1913 Poplar Ave.
278-8663
Through the magic of Facebook, I learned that the Hi-Tone is now serving brunch on Sundays from 11am-4pm. Sean Youngblood, who I'm pretty sure was back in the kitchen during my Wild Oats/Squash Blossom days, is the chef, so I figured it had to be good. One look at the menu (which I can no longer find online), and I immediately added "Hi-Tone" to my DWM short list. Today, after sleeping for a glorious eleven hours (that never happens!), I pitched the idea to Warren.
"The Hi-Tone? For brunch?" he asked a bit confused.
"Yeah, I saw the menu and I kind of know the chef..." I said enthusiastically.
"Can we bring the kids?" he asked.
"I don't see why not."
"Okay, let's go," he said.
I decided to call just to make sure they were still doing brunch, and they were. About an hour later, we were all in the car on our way over. When we pulled into the parking lot, Satchel (age 6) jumped out of the car as fast as he could (he's learned how to disable to the child-proof mechanism) and ran over to the side wall that is covered with vibrant cartoony like characters. "Look at this!" he shouted. "It looks funny!" Then he began scaling the wall.
Jiro (age 4), who was feeling less than 100% due (we hope) to a candy binge yesterday (and hopefully not a looming stomach virus) opted to admire the wall from afar. "Come on Satch," I said. "Remember our restaurant rules?"
He climbed down and we set about trying to determine which of the three doors would get us in the building. Of course it was the third door we tried. (Signs pointing to "use this door" are clearly targeted toward the evening crowd!) Once inside we discovered that we were the only people there. It was about noon. "It probably picks up later in the afternoon," I guessed out loud. "They serve until four."
We grabbed a table near the stage, with just a tiny bit of sunlight hitting it, and proceeded to look over the menu. A cuddly tattooed waiter came over and took our drink order. Warren went for coffee, me a Diet Coke, and pineapple juice for Jiro. Satchel surprisingly opted for water.
The menu looked amazing! Breakfast pizza, frittatas, huevos rancheros, French Toast...everything sounded yummy. The specials board featured a vegan scramble with home fries, grilled aparagus, and strawberry pancake. (Another specials board listed $4 margaritas, mimosas, and Bloody Marys--too bad we already ordered our beverages!) Fairly quickly I decided on the breakfast pizza and Warren decided on the huevos rancheros. "I hope I'm not jealous of your food," I said.
"I'll share," he said with a smile.
Jiro, who was looking puny-er than ever, said in a sad voice, "I'm not hungee."
"Let's get them a breakfast plate to share," Warren suggested.
"I"m NOT sharing," said Satchel. Then he demanded that I read him everything on the menu. There was a moment when he thought he wanted a frittata, but I steered him back towards the breakfast plate. He agreed to eat one as long as there were no cheese grits and if he could have bacon and home fries.
Just then our cuddly, tattooed waiter came over with our drinks. Jiro's juice was in a giant red tumbler--a welcome change from an actual juice (read TINY) glass that is used at most places. We put in our orders and optimistically added a side of bacon for Jiro in the event that seeing food would make him feel hungry.
As we waited we took in the ambiance. A few more people had filtered in by now, blues was playing on the speakers, and bowling was on TV. Warren took the boys on a tour of the video games and let them admire the art work on the wall in the back room. When they returned, Satchel discovered the silverware that had been delivered in his absence and started playing with it. After about 15 tries, he finally obeyed my order to stop. I got out one of my notebooks and let him have a pen, hoping to keep him out of trouble.
After working on Satchel's spelling list for a short time, our food came out. The food came out "hobo-style" in pie tin-esque plates. Everything looked delicious. "This is total hangover food," Warren commented. I imagined myself hungover and realized that yes, my breakfast pizza, a mimosa, and very little sunlight would totally hit the spot. But thankfully none of us was hungover and we all agreed that the food was yummy. (Excluding Jiro who donated his bacon to Satchel.)
I ate half of my pizza and a few bites of Warren's huevos and was stuffed. He ate all of his, the rest of my pizza, and a few bites of Satchel's toast. After eating six strips of bacon, Satchel was only able to pick at his home fries and eggs. At one point he said, "Why did they put onions in my home fries?" but that was his only complaint.
I had no complaints--the service was good, the food was yummy and reasonably priced, and no one seemed to bat an eye at the monkeys. But, I'll admit, I was glad that none of us had to go to the restroom!
In the past I have lamented the lack of break fast options--especially on Sundays--in Midtown. Never again! (If the Hi-Tone doesn't sound like your thing, don't forget Sunday brunch at Umai, Republic Coffee, and Cafe Eclectic is now open on Sundays too.)
1913 Poplar Ave.
278-8663
Through the magic of Facebook, I learned that the Hi-Tone is now serving brunch on Sundays from 11am-4pm. Sean Youngblood, who I'm pretty sure was back in the kitchen during my Wild Oats/Squash Blossom days, is the chef, so I figured it had to be good. One look at the menu (which I can no longer find online), and I immediately added "Hi-Tone" to my DWM short list. Today, after sleeping for a glorious eleven hours (that never happens!), I pitched the idea to Warren.
"The Hi-Tone? For brunch?" he asked a bit confused.
"Yeah, I saw the menu and I kind of know the chef..." I said enthusiastically.
"Can we bring the kids?" he asked.
"I don't see why not."
"Okay, let's go," he said.
I decided to call just to make sure they were still doing brunch, and they were. About an hour later, we were all in the car on our way over. When we pulled into the parking lot, Satchel (age 6) jumped out of the car as fast as he could (he's learned how to disable to the child-proof mechanism) and ran over to the side wall that is covered with vibrant cartoony like characters. "Look at this!" he shouted. "It looks funny!" Then he began scaling the wall.
Jiro (age 4), who was feeling less than 100% due (we hope) to a candy binge yesterday (and hopefully not a looming stomach virus) opted to admire the wall from afar. "Come on Satch," I said. "Remember our restaurant rules?"
He climbed down and we set about trying to determine which of the three doors would get us in the building. Of course it was the third door we tried. (Signs pointing to "use this door" are clearly targeted toward the evening crowd!) Once inside we discovered that we were the only people there. It was about noon. "It probably picks up later in the afternoon," I guessed out loud. "They serve until four."
We grabbed a table near the stage, with just a tiny bit of sunlight hitting it, and proceeded to look over the menu. A cuddly tattooed waiter came over and took our drink order. Warren went for coffee, me a Diet Coke, and pineapple juice for Jiro. Satchel surprisingly opted for water.
The menu looked amazing! Breakfast pizza, frittatas, huevos rancheros, French Toast...everything sounded yummy. The specials board featured a vegan scramble with home fries, grilled aparagus, and strawberry pancake. (Another specials board listed $4 margaritas, mimosas, and Bloody Marys--too bad we already ordered our beverages!) Fairly quickly I decided on the breakfast pizza and Warren decided on the huevos rancheros. "I hope I'm not jealous of your food," I said.
"I'll share," he said with a smile.
Jiro, who was looking puny-er than ever, said in a sad voice, "I'm not hungee."
"Let's get them a breakfast plate to share," Warren suggested.
"I"m NOT sharing," said Satchel. Then he demanded that I read him everything on the menu. There was a moment when he thought he wanted a frittata, but I steered him back towards the breakfast plate. He agreed to eat one as long as there were no cheese grits and if he could have bacon and home fries.
Just then our cuddly, tattooed waiter came over with our drinks. Jiro's juice was in a giant red tumbler--a welcome change from an actual juice (read TINY) glass that is used at most places. We put in our orders and optimistically added a side of bacon for Jiro in the event that seeing food would make him feel hungry.
As we waited we took in the ambiance. A few more people had filtered in by now, blues was playing on the speakers, and bowling was on TV. Warren took the boys on a tour of the video games and let them admire the art work on the wall in the back room. When they returned, Satchel discovered the silverware that had been delivered in his absence and started playing with it. After about 15 tries, he finally obeyed my order to stop. I got out one of my notebooks and let him have a pen, hoping to keep him out of trouble.
After working on Satchel's spelling list for a short time, our food came out. The food came out "hobo-style" in pie tin-esque plates. Everything looked delicious. "This is total hangover food," Warren commented. I imagined myself hungover and realized that yes, my breakfast pizza, a mimosa, and very little sunlight would totally hit the spot. But thankfully none of us was hungover and we all agreed that the food was yummy. (Excluding Jiro who donated his bacon to Satchel.)
I ate half of my pizza and a few bites of Warren's huevos and was stuffed. He ate all of his, the rest of my pizza, and a few bites of Satchel's toast. After eating six strips of bacon, Satchel was only able to pick at his home fries and eggs. At one point he said, "Why did they put onions in my home fries?" but that was his only complaint.
I had no complaints--the service was good, the food was yummy and reasonably priced, and no one seemed to bat an eye at the monkeys. But, I'll admit, I was glad that none of us had to go to the restroom!
In the past I have lamented the lack of break fast options--especially on Sundays--in Midtown. Never again! (If the Hi-Tone doesn't sound like your thing, don't forget Sunday brunch at Umai, Republic Coffee, and Cafe Eclectic is now open on Sundays too.)
Saturday, January 10, 2009
Yia Yia's (Closed)
EDITOR'S NOTE: Sadly this restaurant closed its doors in March 2009.
Another great review from Steph! And it's not even a chain...well not a big chain anyway!
Yia Yia's Euro Bistro
7615 Farmington Blvd
Germantown (Saddle Creek)
On one of the last nights of our recent two-week Christmas break, I decided I could not bear to cook another thing. We started our usual debate over where to go. Chip kept suggesting yummy, ethnic restaurants. I convinced him that I was looking for an easy meal, not a place where the menu would freak Connor out. Then I blew his mind by suggesting Yia Yia's.
Yia Yia's is a place that Chip and I go fairly often. It has great food, a good wine list, and is close to our house. The quality of the food is always consistent, and it's a place we go when we want a "nice" meal but don't want to spend the kind of money you might spend at River Oaks/Circa/Interim/etc. For some reason, we've never even considered taking the kids there. "Do they even have a kids' menu?" Chip wondered. I had no idea, but I was sure I had seen kids in there before, so off we went.
At 6:00 on a Friday, we got a table right away. The restaurant was not full- stupid economy!- but it was still noisy enough that I didn't have to worry about whether the kids' voices would stand out above the din. The kids were each given a large, two-sided coloring menu with a package of crayons. The kids' menu absolutely blew me away. The choices were:
Connor excitedly started reading words he recognized off of the menu and begging for help with the word search on the back. As Chloe colored the picture of a giant hamburger, she informed me that she would like a hamburger. I went through the choices with Connor and he requested the pepperoni pizza, his meal of choice for the past month or so. With that settled, Chip and I could turn our focus to the real menu.
We had been informed by the server that the menu had recently been updated, something they do quarterly. It still had plenty of dishes that we recognized, including Chip's favorite fried calamari. We knew we'd have to get that, and soon I found myself stuck in the appetizer section. "Can we just get three or four appetizers and share?" I suggested. Chip was happy to go that route.
We started with the hummus, which is house-made with chili oil and pita chips and is something Chip and I have had often. Chloe was happy to share this with us, although Connor wouldn't even eat the pita (but he did at least try it!). Then we all enjoyed their free, fresh-baked bread while waiting on the rest of the meal. No one got antsy, as we had food to snack on and plenty of restaurant-supplied activities. When the rest of the meal came, we were all very pleased. Connor's pizza was on a homemade crust and was at least 12 inches across. It was definitely big enough to feed Connor three times (or Connor for dinner, and both kids the next day for lunch, which is how it actually went down). For $4.95! Chloe's burger was gorgeous, served on homemade ciabatta bread and topped with the requested cheese. Unfortunately, that was a little too much bread for an almost-three-year-old. I think the fancy bread was a better idea in theory than in practice, but it was easy enough to serve it to Chloe open-faced. It also came with loads of crispy fries, which all four of us shared.
Chip and I had the calamari, perfectly fried and served with agrodolce sauce, which is an Italian sweet and sour sauce. It was excellent, as always. We also had the Marsala Chicken Pizzetta, which was as good as it sounds. A delicate pizza crust topped with marsala, carmelized onions, mushrooms, chicken, thyme and cheeses. My favorite, however, was the gnocchi. It's topped with roasted chicken, spinach, spiced walnuts and gorgonzola cream sauce. It's so rich and wonderful! I could eat it until I made myself sick. I can see why they only serve it in an appetizer portion- a person could go into cardiac arrest if they ate a full-sized portion by themselves! Although that wouldn't be a bad way to go.
During the meal, Chloe needed to visit the facilities. Although it is a nice, big bathroom, I was disappointed to find it rather messy. The garbage can was overflowing onto the floor, and there was a big pile of toilet paper in one of the stalls, etc. When Chloe and I were sitting down back at the table, I made a comment to Chip about what a disaster the bathroom was. A server who was standing nearby came over and said he couldn't help but overhear, and wanted to know the problem. He apologized and insisted it would be taken care of immediately, then came back over to the table a few minutes later to apologize again and let us know the situation had been handled. We were more than a little impressed that someone who wasn't even waiting on us was willing to go out of his way to make sure our restaurant experience was the best it could be.
After the meal, we shared the two free orders of "Dirt." It was plenty for all of us. When the bill came, we were happy to see that all that food plus one glass of wine added up to only $52. That's more than we usually spend on a meal out with the kids, but was less than we expected to spend on four people at Yia Yia's. Although it's not something we'd do on a regular basis, it's a great alternative for a "nice" night out with the kids. I highly recommend Yia Yia’s, either for a family meal or for date night.
Another great review from Steph! And it's not even a chain...well not a big chain anyway!
Yia Yia's Euro Bistro
7615 Farmington Blvd
Germantown (Saddle Creek)
On one of the last nights of our recent two-week Christmas break, I decided I could not bear to cook another thing. We started our usual debate over where to go. Chip kept suggesting yummy, ethnic restaurants. I convinced him that I was looking for an easy meal, not a place where the menu would freak Connor out. Then I blew his mind by suggesting Yia Yia's.
Yia Yia's is a place that Chip and I go fairly often. It has great food, a good wine list, and is close to our house. The quality of the food is always consistent, and it's a place we go when we want a "nice" meal but don't want to spend the kind of money you might spend at River Oaks/Circa/Interim/etc. For some reason, we've never even considered taking the kids there. "Do they even have a kids' menu?" Chip wondered. I had no idea, but I was sure I had seen kids in there before, so off we went.
At 6:00 on a Friday, we got a table right away. The restaurant was not full- stupid economy!- but it was still noisy enough that I didn't have to worry about whether the kids' voices would stand out above the din. The kids were each given a large, two-sided coloring menu with a package of crayons. The kids' menu absolutely blew me away. The choices were:
Cheese PizzaAll included a drink and a dessert of "Dirt," or ice cream topped with crushed Oreos and two gummy worms. And all were $4.95! (Except for the filet, which was $6.95.) There was no mention of side items, so I assumed that most of them came with fries. That is my only complaint about the kids' menu- I would have liked to see a choice of vegetables or fruit on there. I didn't ask, but I'm sure I could have gotten something else if I had asked. I just think people are more likely to substitute fries for something else if the choice is staring them in the face, so it would have been helpful to see it on there.
Pepperoni Pizza
Chicken Strips
Hamburger
Spaghetti
PB&J
Grilled Cheese
Petite Filet
Connor excitedly started reading words he recognized off of the menu and begging for help with the word search on the back. As Chloe colored the picture of a giant hamburger, she informed me that she would like a hamburger. I went through the choices with Connor and he requested the pepperoni pizza, his meal of choice for the past month or so. With that settled, Chip and I could turn our focus to the real menu.
We had been informed by the server that the menu had recently been updated, something they do quarterly. It still had plenty of dishes that we recognized, including Chip's favorite fried calamari. We knew we'd have to get that, and soon I found myself stuck in the appetizer section. "Can we just get three or four appetizers and share?" I suggested. Chip was happy to go that route.
We started with the hummus, which is house-made with chili oil and pita chips and is something Chip and I have had often. Chloe was happy to share this with us, although Connor wouldn't even eat the pita (but he did at least try it!). Then we all enjoyed their free, fresh-baked bread while waiting on the rest of the meal. No one got antsy, as we had food to snack on and plenty of restaurant-supplied activities. When the rest of the meal came, we were all very pleased. Connor's pizza was on a homemade crust and was at least 12 inches across. It was definitely big enough to feed Connor three times (or Connor for dinner, and both kids the next day for lunch, which is how it actually went down). For $4.95! Chloe's burger was gorgeous, served on homemade ciabatta bread and topped with the requested cheese. Unfortunately, that was a little too much bread for an almost-three-year-old. I think the fancy bread was a better idea in theory than in practice, but it was easy enough to serve it to Chloe open-faced. It also came with loads of crispy fries, which all four of us shared.
Chip and I had the calamari, perfectly fried and served with agrodolce sauce, which is an Italian sweet and sour sauce. It was excellent, as always. We also had the Marsala Chicken Pizzetta, which was as good as it sounds. A delicate pizza crust topped with marsala, carmelized onions, mushrooms, chicken, thyme and cheeses. My favorite, however, was the gnocchi. It's topped with roasted chicken, spinach, spiced walnuts and gorgonzola cream sauce. It's so rich and wonderful! I could eat it until I made myself sick. I can see why they only serve it in an appetizer portion- a person could go into cardiac arrest if they ate a full-sized portion by themselves! Although that wouldn't be a bad way to go.
During the meal, Chloe needed to visit the facilities. Although it is a nice, big bathroom, I was disappointed to find it rather messy. The garbage can was overflowing onto the floor, and there was a big pile of toilet paper in one of the stalls, etc. When Chloe and I were sitting down back at the table, I made a comment to Chip about what a disaster the bathroom was. A server who was standing nearby came over and said he couldn't help but overhear, and wanted to know the problem. He apologized and insisted it would be taken care of immediately, then came back over to the table a few minutes later to apologize again and let us know the situation had been handled. We were more than a little impressed that someone who wasn't even waiting on us was willing to go out of his way to make sure our restaurant experience was the best it could be.
After the meal, we shared the two free orders of "Dirt." It was plenty for all of us. When the bill came, we were happy to see that all that food plus one glass of wine added up to only $52. That's more than we usually spend on a meal out with the kids, but was less than we expected to spend on four people at Yia Yia's. Although it's not something we'd do on a regular basis, it's a great alternative for a "nice" night out with the kids. I highly recommend Yia Yia’s, either for a family meal or for date night.
Thursday, January 08, 2009
Southern (Monkey) Routes
Last month, Warren & I took the monkeys to eat at Tsunami...with a camera man! (Luckily he seemed to be looking the other way when the monkeys got a little, uh, antsy.) The resulting video is being aired as a part of this month's Southern Routes on WKNO. I haven't seen it yet, but apparently it aired earlier this evening. If you missed it too set your DVR for one of the following dates:
Saturday, January 10 at 3:00pm
Sunday, January 11 at 9:00am
Thanks to our neighbor, Kevin, for alerting us to the fact that it aired! He assured us it was cool...I hope he's right!
Saturday, January 10 at 3:00pm
Sunday, January 11 at 9:00am
Thanks to our neighbor, Kevin, for alerting us to the fact that it aired! He assured us it was cool...I hope he's right!
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