Tasty Travels & other Stories

On our way home from moving Justin to MI last weekend, we stopped in Michigan City, IN to shop at the Lighthouse outlet mall. Unfortunately it closed sooner than we thought it would on a Saturday night.

On the way down I-94 we saw a sign for Shoreline Brewery in Michigan City. We asked 4 clerks in the mall and none had heard of it till a customer in the back of the line said “it’s across the street’. And it was, you could see the mall from the Brewery.

Located in an old warehouse, the entrance was different as you came in through a maze of walkways, by the kitchen, passed an enclosed room (which we think was for families with children, not a bad idea).

Seated in the open room, a complete list of beer was on the wall as well as the beers ‘on deck’. Since all the beers were ale’s, I had Suzanne order a margarita while I ordered a sampler.

Their sampler was 6 – 5oz beers, 3 darker, 3 lighter. One was a lager and was the worst of the 6. The IPA wasn’t too bad and the English Pale ale was OK as well. The rest were OK and I probably liked the ‘Smokestack Porter’ the best of the darks.

The food was over priced. There were plenty of ribs that were tender but lacked flavor. The fries were soft and limp, not what I like at all. I did have a soup for which was OK. Suzanne had the Fish & Chips which was uneventful. Although very crisp, the batter lacked flavor. She too had soggy fries and her French Onion soup had a beefy flavor but lacked in preparation.

Overall, it will be awhile before we are ready to try the Shoreline Brewery again, although it’s hard to find a place to eat in Michigan City, IN.

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This is the firt time I drank a Pilsner and knew that was what I was drinking.  In this case, it was a “Bohemian Pilsener” which I found to be defined as follows:

  Hallmarked by the generous use of the Saaz hop, Bohemian (or Czech) pilsners are also noted for their rich gold colour, fat maltiness and moderate to full body. Regardless of origin, to be a pilsner a beer must have at least 28 units of bitterness, and preferably much more.

Pilsner Urquel which is made in Plzen, Czech Republic poured a pale golden color with a small head that disapeared quickly. It had a very light aroma with a medium body.  As the description indicates, it also had a little bit of a bitter taste toward the finish.  I got this beer from a beers of the world pack.
  John’s Beer Scale

Hear what others say about this beer here.  

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Came in a “beers of the world” pack I got for Christmas thanks to my favorite nephew Matt!!  Although I have had it before.  I guess I always assumed it would be better with all the hype.   Pours attractive with bright color and small white head the disappears quickly.  Aroma not strong, kind of thin with a little bitter after taste.
Heineken is brewed in Holland and you can read more about it here at my favorite beer site.

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While Christmas shopping yesterday i Orland Park, I noticed that an Italian restaurant that we had frequented a few time was now a Mexican restaurant, the Casa Margarita. I asked the clerk at the Dollar Store we were getting stocking stuffers if she had eaten there? After getting a No from her and 2 other staff, a gentleman from south of the border behind us said ‘Casa Margarita, good food!’ One recommendation is all it takes for me to try a new place so off we went.

As it turns out, this is the a second restaurant, they are also located in La Grange. The sign out from advertised that a buffet lunch was available so we commented on how we were here at the wrong time. It is had to find a Mexican buffet when there is a Chinese one on every corner, go figure.

Walking in was a wonderful transformation from the Italian bistro to a Mexican cantina. A festive place just what you would hope for. We were quickly served chips, salsa and a veggie mix of carrots & cauliflower that had the flavor of giradillie; both were on the heat scale of about 3 to 4. Or waitress was a little slow getting to our table although I think she may have just taken the order from a larger party near by. When she did arrive, she was friendly and attentive. We were ready to order, not going to wait for drinks first as we weren’t sure how long that might be.

Sangria was our choice this evening since they had it by the glass, 1/2 carafe, and carafe. Since we had a long drive yet ahead of us, 1/2 carafe was the choice since you can usually get a glass & 1/2 out of that. WRONG. They had filled the carafe 1/2 full of ice before the sangria. We each got one wine glass full of liquid (which by the way was very good) and that was with ice in the wine glass as well. Both of us sipped our drink before the meal arrived like we were dying of thirst in the desert knot knowing when our next meal would arrive.

For me, the pork tamale dinner was my choice. Few Mexican restaurants offer tamales as a dinner option. They had a great flavor but lacked in the meat department which eventually caused them to seem dry. I told Suzanne they needed some Pappasito’s tamale sauce on them.

Suzanne had a combo with pork Tamale, chicken enchilada, and beef taco. She commented on how each had their on unique flavors. Too often Mexican places use the same sauce & filling for everything and you can’t tell one thing from another. She was very pleased.

I forgot to mention that for an appetizer, chicken soup was served. Neither of us saw this on the menu so it was a pleasant surprise.

Overall, we would try it again. But probably not till we tried the other 15 places we haven’t tried on our list in the Orland Park area. (Unless we’re there at lunch for the buffet) Oh yea, Harrison’s, that’s top on our list in the area. We just don’t get there often enough.

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My regular restaurant research revield many reviews of Boudreaux’s Cajun Kitchen so I decided to give it a try.  After landing at hobby and Suzanne getting her ‘Sketchers‘ fix at the Sketchers outlet, we headed to Boudreaux’s at Gulfgate Center.  As it turns out, we had eaten in this same area when we at at Pappas Bar-B-Q last year. 

Walking in we didn’t know what to expect and found it to be an efficient, semi fast food restaurant.  You place your order at the counter and they call your number when it is ready.   Only bottle beer was available from the food counter but they did have a bar so I assume you could go and get other drinks and have with your meal.   I ordered Cajun, Suzanne ordered a dinner salad,  Suzanne won.

I had 1/2 shrimp, 1/2 crawfish etouffee.  The shrimp was over regular rice and the crawfish over dirty rice, piles of rice.   This was plenty of food, the etouffee had good flavor as did the dirty rice.  I also had a bowl of jambalaya which was disappointing;  good flavor but all rice with 1 piece of shrimp and micro pieces of andouille sausage.  Boy am I glad I didn’t order that for my meal.

Suzanne had a wonderful Pecan Crusted Chicken Salad.  A whole half breast of pecan crusted chicken, sliced over a salad that contained dried cranberries & mandarin oranges with a sweet/sour dressing and large spiced pecans.  A real hit!  She also had a bowl of red beans & rice, a great side.

It appeared that most of the other eaters were getting the deep fried shimp, fish or other combo.  Guess they new something I didn’t. 

I would eat again at Boudreaux’s Cajun Kitchen if I was in the area, but not one I will drive far to find again.

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My first “Flying Dog” beer as I purchased a sample box at the Whole Foods, a favorite stop in Oak Park, on my way home from Troy with Suzanne.   Not sure what drew me to the box other than the outragous look.

The Scottish Stout was dark brown with a tan head that doesn’t last long. Has a sweet almost fruity flavor with a burt overtone, not at all what I expected.

My favorite ranking site, RateBeer.com has this to say about Flying Dog Road Dog Scottish Porter.

On John’s Scale
Color:    9   1=Light   /  10=Dark
Balance: 5   1=Sweet   /  10=Bitter
Flavor:   7   1=Light   /  10=Strong
Rank:    6    1=Dislike /  10=Like

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Our cactus that we have had for 6 years finally bloomed this year, but just for one day, actually just a few hours.  The cactus stands 8’-8” and the bloom bud appeared around the time of the county fair in mid July.  When it opened on sometime during the night of August 7^th/8th, the bloom stem was about 6” long and the bloom 8” across.  I had to stand on a ladder to get pictures.  The bloom closed by 9:00am that morning never to open again.  

We never dreamed that the bloom for as large as it is would only be open for a few hours.  Because of its height, the cactus is moved to the doorway at Prairieland Quilts in the winter as it is the only place tall enough we have with southern window exposure.  

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Another bottle in the Michelob sampler I got was their Pale Ale.  The color is fine, not much aroma but the after taste is not one for my palette, just a little too bitter.  Not to say I won’t drink the rest in the case, just not one I’ll run out and buy more on purpose.

My favorite ranking site, RateBeer.com has this to say about Michelob Pale Ale.

On John’s Scale
Color:   4   1=Light   /  10=Dark
Balance: 7   1=Sweet   /  10=Bitter
Flavor:  7   1=Light   /  10=Strong
Rank:   3    1=Dislike /  10=Like

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First, the Honey Weiss;  As U.S. Wheat beers go, this one is OK.  I Got the Lienie Honey Wheat in a variety pack which I have enjoyed and as I always like a little lienie.  This one is one you can drink any time inbetween the ones you really like.  The flavor is not a strong one nor is the aftertase, just average.  Their web site says this:

Leinenkugel’s Honey Weiss
Select malted wheat, Cluster hops and a hint of Wisconsin honey give this unique refresher a clean, crisp, slightly sweet taste.

John’s scale:

Color:     3    1=Light   /  10=Dark
Balance:  5   1=Sweet   /  10=Bitter
Flavor:    5   1=Light   /  10=Strong
Rank:     5    1=Dislike /  10=Like

Now the Sunset Wheat – This one supprised me as it has a citris flavor in it, maybe it is the coriander that is brewed in it.  Here is wha Leini says:

Brewed with select Wheat and Pale malt, Cluster hops and natural coriander

They also recomend a “slice of orange to complement the coriander and enhance the citrus flavor”  I’m old fashioned and would use a lemon but by my taste, in a pinch, choose this one when you don’t have a lemon wedge for the rim.  I got a case of this from Sams Club and have enjoyed it although will probably not buy it again as there are just too many beers out there for me to try.

John’s Scale

Color:    4   1=Light   /  10=Dark
Balance: 4   1=Sweet   /  10=Bitter
Flavor:   6   1=Light   /  10=Strong
Rank:    6    1=Dislike /  10=Like

Both are fun to give a try if you like wheat beer and especially if you like Leinenkugel’s.

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The first in the variety case from Michelob, the porter was as expected, a very dark ale with the traditional dark flavors.  Chocolate is the flavor that comes to mind most as I drank this one.  It didn’t have much after tase and since I generally don’t like dark, it’s only a 4 on my scale.

On John’s Beer scale:
Color:     9    1=Light   /  10=Dark
Balance:  4    1=Sweet   /  10=Bitter
Flavor:    7    1=Light   /  10=Strong
Rank:     4    1=Dislike /  10=Like

Here is what AB says:  Michelob AmberBock is brewed with all-imported hops and dark-roasted barley malt, giving this lager its unique, rich amber color and smooth, full-bodied taste. AmberBock works well with grilled meats and barbecued foods, as well as a variety of cheeses, from cheddar to gouda as well as smoked mozzarella. The hearty and malty flavors found in bocks can stand up to the bolder flavors of more opulent meals. This beer is best enjoyed served in a tulip-style glass. Contains 5.2% ABV.

Wonder what others think, Look here for other reviews.

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