Restaurant Blog - Chowbaby.com

by Gina DeBrincat Padilla 

MARIA’S FRONT ROOM
215 W. 9 Mile Road
Ferndale, MI
(248) 542-7379
Small tables twinkling with candlelight envelop diners in old world charm at Maria’s. A single rose and candle grace each table while Dean Martin croons softly in the background. Guests sip wine made in Maria’s own winery and nibble on freshly baked garlic bread while browsing the menu for their selections. Maria’s features traditional Italian fare with homemade pastas and meatballs lovingly prepared by Maria Orlando. Appetizers range from Italian sausage with peppers to calamari sautéed with garlic, hot pepper, parsley and tomato. Entrees include a variety of veal, chicken, pasta, seafood and pizza. Dinners include garlic bread and salad. Veal and chicken dinners also include a side of pasta. The pastas are excellent and the veal succulent. Old world Italian desserts - spumoni, cannoli and an excellent tiramisu are served. Reservations are recommended.

by Tracy Rose

MUSASHI JAPANESE CUISINE & SUSHI BAR
2000 Town Center Suite 98 Southfield, MI 48075
(248)358-1911

Musashi is known for its traditional Japanese food served in a modern, relaxed atmosphere. Musashi has built its reputation for top notch sushi since it opened in 1985. It is family owned and they pride themselves on authentic cuisine. The imported Japanese décor adds to the authenticity. Wall partitions create an added level of intimacy. Private dining rooms are available, as well as private rooms for catered parties. Musashi has a beautiful atrium that can be rented for parties. They serve a multi-course Japanese meal. A popular choice of appetizers is the Sushi Boat for two. It offers a sampler of sushi and includes soup and a house salad. The Japanese lunch box service is a great carryout item for lunch. They also offer sushi classes for groups of six or more.

GEMINI RESTAURANT - Healthy Cuisine Includes Vegetarian and Vegan
4300 Wadsworth Boulevard
Wheat Ridge, CO 80033
(303) 421-4990
The signs of the zodiac sparkle with delicious entrees almost too numerous to count. The Sagittarius Casserole combines walnuts, an abundance of broccoli, melted cheeses and fresh mushrooms in a sour cream sauce. Libra Lasagne stacks three kinds of cheese on sesame pasta laced with spinach and garden vegetables in tomato sauce. Space Age Eggplant presents the lightly breaded veg topped with water chestnuts, mushrooms, artichokes, garden vegetables baked in a tomato sauce and topped with melted cheese. Quiche of the day is baked in a whole wheat, stone ground pastry shell and served with soup or salad and a medley of fresh fruit accented by frozen or low fat yogurt. Fruit smoothies like the Mango Tango-mango, pineapple and bananas with a hint of cherry-are made with frozen yogurt, never ice. No Gemini meal is complete without something from the Fabulous Fancies dessert menu. Berry cobblers, cakes and daily specials like rich Apple Dumplings made of whole grain pastry filled with tart Granny Smith apples, cinnamon, walnuts and smothered in vanilla sauce are baked on the premises. There’s even an espresso bar with wine and beer, too.

by Erin Blakemore

CAFÉ BRAZIL
4408 Lowell Boulevard, Denver, CO 80211
(303) 480-1877
Marla and Tony Zarlenga honor the cuisine of northern Brazil-typical coastal dishes with an African influence. They have a passion for South American cooking. Simple, wholesome ingredients are prepared according to old family recipes, but each is infused with a new energy. La Calena, large, luscious prawns and sea scallops in a sweet hot sauce of diced tomatoes, mango and passion fruit, is finished in a cascade of Brazilian chilies and served with fragrant herbed rice and fresh vegetables. Feijoada is the national dish of Brazil. Smoked meats, sausages and black beans are blended into a rich stew and served with a traditional plate of rice, fried bananas, farofa, greens and aji of compana. The stew and accompaniments are mixed, followed by a bite of sweet, fresh orange slice to soften the spicy flavors with a touch of citrus. Distinctive wines from Argentina, Chile, Spain and Portugal are offered, and desserts such as Torte de Limao Verde (green lime torte) and Columbian-styled flan are prepared in house. The two rooms painted in vivid pinks and greens are every bit as lively as the tempo of the music that accents the food. This is novo Latino cuisine at its very best. Credit cards are not accepted.

by Adam Erace

SABRINA’S CAFÉ
910 Christian St, Philadelphia, PA 19147
(215) 574-1599

It might be easier to get into Wharton than into this insanely popular Bella Vista brunch spot on a Sunday. Manage to snag a prime al fresco perch among the Bella Vista yuppies and shih-tzu puppies on the rickety patio furniture, and the friendly tattooed waitresses will bring Fluffy a bowl of water and you a steaming mug of La Colombe. The cups don’t match, the tables wobble, and the multiple rooms feel like a cruel fun house when nursing a Saturday night hangover, but it’s all part of Sabrina’s quirky charm. Stick to the inspired blackboard specials; the ever-changing stuffed French toast—dressed with amaretto-laced peaches one day and vanilla-honeysuckle syrup another—is highly addictive.

 by Genevieve Wheeler

LA FAMIGLIA RISTORANTE
8 South Front Street
Philadelphia, PA 19106
(215) 922-2803
La Famiglia Ristorante’s elegant, refined atmosphere and pricey menu make it one of the more upscale Italian venues in town. The Sena family first opened the restaurant, set in a colonial tea warehouse, in 1976 and have been serving their gourmet Italian cuisine ever since. Recommended dishes include Malfati alla Sena, homemade spinach ricotta dumplings in a creamy eggplant smoked salmon sauce, and Gamberi in Salsa d’ Aragosta, fresh shrimp sautéed with brandy in creamy lobster sauce. After dinner, sample one of LaFamiglia’s wide variety of grappas, try the heavenly tiramisu, or tour their
impressive wine cellar.

by Jason Berzow
PARADOX PALACE CAFÉ - Vegan & Vegetarian
3439 SE Belmont St
Portland, OR 97214
(503)-232-7508
With a wide selection of traditional meat dishes prepared without the meat, this small café certainly makes a name for itself as a veritable kingdom of alternative dining. The oceanic décor lends a maritime atmosphere to the Paradox Palace Café, but you definitely won’t find any seafood there. Instead feast your lips on a wide range of vegetarian delicacies like Vegetarian Lasagna, Vegan Sloppy Joes, Vegan Chili, and the always-special Tofurkey Sandwich. The Paradox Palace Café also offers a delicious breakfast menu for those patrons looking for an alternative to the typical egg breakfast. Whether serving breakfast, lunch, or dinner, the menu options are plentiful, the seating sometimes scarce, and the service at times unbearably slow. Nevertheless, The Paradox Palace Café is a great place to get “back to the garden”.

by Marie Richie

SUSHIVILLE SUSHI-GO-ROUND
1514 NW 23rd Ave. (at Quimby)
Portland, OR 97210
(503)-226-4710
One of several sushi restaurants in town with a conveyor belt, Sushiville serves the best quality fish, by far. Walk in and sit right down. Servers are ready to take your order for anything you can’t find going around, drinks and special requests. The bar is enormous, though the seats are not. The cafeteria atmosphere is punctuated by endless pop-hits of the 1980s. However, you won’t care when you get the bill. Each color-coded plate ranges from $1.25 for edamame or tomago to $3.75 for the spicy dragon or caterpillar rolls. Help yourself to all the ginger and wasabi you want, and don’t forget to have your frequent diner card stamped. Available for take out.

by Emma Lewis

MUTHU’S CURRY RESTAURANT
78 Race Course Road
Tel: (65) 293-2389
This legendary curry house is located in Little India. Décor is very basic but the prices are consequently extremely cheap and it serves up some of the best curry in town. Chicken curry, mutton curry and its famous fish head curry among others are on offer. Served thali style that is accompanied by rice and vegetables, the food is dished up on a banana leaf. For an authentic experience try eating Indian style with your right hand.

by Emma Lewis
ALKAFF MANSION
10 Telok Blangah Green, Singapore 109178
Tel: (65) 278-6979
A highlight of Singapore dining is served up in an old colonial mansion perched on top of a hill. Rijsttafel or rice table, a traditional colonial Dutch-Indonesian meal is the highlight here. Starters are followed by a line of ten waitresses, clad in traditional dress all bearing sumptuous plates of food - rendang curry, rice cakes, potato fritters, grilled snapper wrapped in banana leaf all giving a taste to the pampering of the past.