House of Tokyo - Greenwood, IN

Lemme preface this post by saying that I was a bit conflicted about making this post and I can't necessarily say why.  Part of me says, 'hey man the blog is about good food so if it's good food then let's tell folks about it,' and part of me says, 'yeah but this isn't unique food because they have these places everywhere.'  Well I am writing about it anyway.  So take that.  I mean there are lot's of chop, chop, build the onion flaming volcano places, but this one isn't a chain and it's damn good eats.  Family owned and people in Greenwood love it so much that the local grocery stores carry their salad dressing.

House of Tokyo

Husband and wife, Hei and Den Duong are the proprietors of House of Tokyo and at any given time at least one of them is there.  They watch over every part of the experience to ensure that customers are happy  and things run smoothly.  They are certainly not absentee owners and on my recent lunchtime visit they were visible and watched over each station closely.

At face value it may seem easy to write House of Tokyo off as just another Hibachi grill place, but I think that would be selling the place short.  And more importantly discounting the hard work put in by the Duong's to make the restaurant excellent and to be excellent members of the community.  The decor is nice.  Upscale and modern would be a good way to describe it and the place is very clean.

The food is tasty.  They offer a wide range of sushi items, a full menu of hibachi dishes, and they have a full bar.  As with all restaurants in this style, you sit around the grill and watch the chef prepare your dish for you.  When I am looking for entertainment, I head to a play or sporting event so I am not the biggest fan of having to see someone bang their spatulas on the grill and flip shrimp tails into the pocket of their chef's coat.  Just cook the food already.  I often equate the bigger the performance, the less quality the finished product will be.  But if you're into all the loud clanging of metal so you can't talk to the people you came to dine with, then maybe House of Tokyo isn't for you.  Our chef was masterful in his preparation of our dishes, but used minimal flair.  That's my kind of guy.  He is definitely talented, but used his talent to focus on the preparation and not on the show.

My Chef du Jour

I ordered a bit of a surf and turf style when I decided on the Yakiniku, or the new york strip steak and shrimp.  All of the dishes came with fried rice, which was prepared on the grill and grilled vegetables.  The shrimp were a good size and not overcooked so they hit the plate hot and juicy.  The steak was cooked to perfection.  Just a little bit of pink left in the middle and a nice sear on the outside.  I skipped the vegetables so I could focus on the carnivorous concoction in front of me.  

Yakiniku (Steak and Shrimp)

All of the meals start with a garden salad and a cup of soup.  The soup is a traditional broth soup with tofu, mushrooms and green onions.  Very tasty.  The salad seemed plain to me at first.  It was essentially a bowl full of green lettuce that was coarsely chopped and covered in a thousand island looking dressing.  What seemed simple became incredibly complex once I took a bite.  I understand why they sell this dressing in stores.  I could drink it, pour it over everything, and even bath in it if that would be deemed socially acceptable.  It's light and tangy with a flavor that is oh so umami.  

The prices at House of Tokyo are fair, too.  My whole meal set me back $12.95 and I was delightfully full.  Our chef was polite and competent in his craft.  I was entertained with our server, though as he seemed to have more important things to do.  A group of nine co-workers all went together and he told us that we needed to order our drinks and meals faster because he was very busy.  We all laughed it off, but that was the only hiccup in a very fine meal.

It's not everyday that I crave Hibachi dining, but when I do I will go to House of Tokyo.  My food philosophy is to find restaurants that are locally owned and good members of the community serving good food.  The Duong's are the poster children for that in Greenwood and they are definitely worth checking out.

The Scottish Arms - St. Louis, MO

When you think of the culinary scene in St. Louis, Missouri, most people often think of the great Italian food on The Hill.  Perhaps even the great barbecue in town may come to mind as well.  Certainly most would not think of traditional English and Scottish cuisine.  Tucked away just west of the Saint Louis University campus on the west side of downtown, is a traditional pub serving great dishes and great beer.  And unlike so many of the "pubs" in America that are owned and operated by "Yanks" who like the idea of a pub and go do their research, this pub is owned by an expert.  Straight from Aberdeen, Scotland, the owner grew up knowing what traditional pub food was firsthand and now shares it with the St. Louis community.

Admittedly, I had been searching for some traditional pub grub for a long time and it's not easy to find.  The weather was near perfection on the day of my visit so I sat outside on the back patio.  We were greeted by our server and the authenticity continued as our server was born and raised in London, England.  She knew the menu, could vouch for its authenticity, and her accent made it seem like we were in jolly ole England. 

I began my journey with a pint of Filler's London Porter.  Served warm in traditional fashion, it had a smoky, sweet flavor that made it very enjoyable on a cool summer evening.  We ordered the Highland Gathering appetizer sampler and settled in to enjoy.

Highland Gathering Sampler

The sampler offered a full selection of traditional fare.  the Scotch eggs were hands down my favorite.  Hard-boiled eggs wrapped in haggis and tolled in breadcrumbs before being deep fried.  The velvety texture of egg yolks was so well balanced against the crispy outer coating and savory meat.  What a great balance of textures and the honey, dijon mustard sauce was a great dipper.

The platter also featured haggis fritters.  Similar to the Scottish eggs, the haggis fritter is a ball of haggis meat coated in breadcrumbs, deep fried, and made to dip in a sweet, whiskey sauce.  I will admit that this was my least favorite part of the dish, simply because haggis is not a favorite of mine yet I was adventurous enough to try it.  the meat was well seasoned and perfectly fragile inside.

Baby Birdies came next.  Minced, seasoned beef was tucked away  inside of puff pastry.  These were great little treats.  A crispy, flaky crust with juicy meat inside.  How could you go wrong?

Last but not least, the plate featured smoked salmon with capers on crustini.  the crispy, crunch of the bread, the saltiness of the capers and the smoky flavors of the velvety salmon all melted together into one delicious bite.  I love salmon and especially smoked salmon.  So this was a pleasant pre-entree treat.

For my entree, I refilled my pint of London Porter and ordered up the fish and chips.  You can't get much more traditional than that.  My co-worker ordered Bangers and Mash and Squeek.  My fish and chips arrived piping hot with a huge haddock filet tucked inside of an ale batter.  The batter was crispy and the fish inside was soft and juicy.  The best part was that the dish wasn't greasy at all.  The sign of a great, traditional dish of fish and chips.  The lemon caper dipping sauce was tart and refreshing, while I also had the malt vinegar I wanted add that extra bit of tartness.

Fish and Chips

My co-workers entree arrived and it looked equally scrumptious.  He had a large portion of potatoes surrounded by two handmade sausages and a few fresh carrots.  We traded samples and the sausage was well spiced and juicy, while the potatoes were firm yet fully cooked.

Bangers N Squeek

The food at The Scottish Arms is authentic and the servers know their stuff.  The males on staff wear kilts and the beer is served traditionally and compliments the meals.  Food is affordable given the portions.  The entrees we had were $13 each and we were there for happy hour so the beers were $1 off each pint.  The Scottish Arms exceeded my expectations in nearly every way and aside from all of their traditional fare, they have a great farm fresh menu comprised of dishes that rotate based on the locally sourced, farm fresh ingredients that are available.

The Eagle's Nest - Indianapolis, IN

Disclaimer:  If you have been reading all of my posts thus far, you have undoubtedly suspected that I have tastebuds like Guy Fieri or Rachel Ray.  Fear not.  While all of my posts thus far have been of excellent places that I enjoyed, I do actually have bad meals and I am willing to document them.  So don't feel the need to punch me in the face (as I often feel about Rachel Ray) because I do speak the culinary truth as I see it.  So read on.

Recently I had the need to find an upscale restaurant in downtown Indianapolis to celebrate a special occasion.  Normally, my go-to restaurant in Indy is St. Elmo's.  You can't get a better steak in the city and the shrimp cocktail there is unbelievable.  But, this isn't about St. Elmo's.  Always seeking a new food experience, I chose The Eagle's Nest restaurant high atop the Hyatt Regency hotel.

The Eagle's Nest sit at the very top of the 23-story hotel and boasts a unique way to view the downtown Indianapolis skyline.  It is a revolving restaurant and according to the staff, it is the only revolving restaurant that moves counterclockwise.  While I can't verify that bit of trivia, I can confirm that the dining room does indeed revolve.  The decor is simple and tasteful and the views are outstanding.  You complete one lap around the city in about 45 minutes.  The view is impressive, allowing you to overlook the state capitol, Lucas Oil Stadium, Victory Field, and other tall buildings like OneAmerica Tower and the Chase Tower.

We went to The Eagle's Nest during Devour Downtown.  Devour Downtown is a bi-annual food festival in Indianapolis where many of the top restaurants in the city offer a fixed price menu to encourage new patrons to try them out.  After we were seated, we reviewed the Devour Downtown menu and the full menu.  To my surprise, the full menu left quite a bit to ask for.  I found the menu to be fairly limited.  Just a couple of appetizers, a few salads, and a handful of entrees.  After reviewing the menu, I decided that we may as well order from the Devour Downtown menu.

We ordered an appetizer of shrimp cocktail to start the meal off.  We received four large shrimp served cold with fresh lemon juice and a wasabi cocktail sauce.  To be honest, this was the best part of the meal.  Given the price tag, it was a little disappointing that the meal went downhill from there.  The shrimp were cold and meaty.  The fresh lemon juice was refreshing and the wasabi cocktail sauce was excellent.

For my first course, I selected a bowl of lobster bisque.  I love lobster bisque and in my lifetime there have been two places that have served me an exceptional bowl of the creamy, savory soup.  My absolute favorite bowl came at the Flagstaff House restaurant on Flagstaff Mountain overlooking Boulder, Colorado.  That bowl was orgasmic and will likely never be topped.  I also got a great bowl at the Capital Grille in Indianapolis.  And so when I am presented with the chance to sample another bowl and to chase the remembrance of that ultimate bowl of bisque from the Flagstaff House, I always give it a shot.

Upon arrival, I noticed that the bowl had a good presentation, but one thing was missing.  The aroma.  I was missing the aroma of seafood that generally comes with a bowl of bisque.  Undaunted, I dug in and took my first spoonful.  The soup wasn't too hot, but it wasn't too warm either and I quickly learned that my soup would be made up of shredded, miniscule pieces of lobster meat.  No big claws.  No chunks of meat.  Just little stringy pieces that almost felt gritty in your mouth.  This bisque tasted more like a tomato soup with some lobster flavor dumped in.  In my pursuit of lobster bisque nirvana, this dish ranks well below any of the others to date.

Next came the entree.  The Devour Downtown fixed menu offered the choice of Prime Rib, Chicken Cordon Bleu or Halibut.  I chose the Cordon Bleu.  The presentation looked tasteful with a large portion of chicken, some lightly cooked asparagus spears and a helping of mashed potatoes.  It was obvious that the chicken was handmade from a large chicken breast, pounded thin and hand breaded.  The cheese and ham inside looked plentiful. 

The presentation was once again, the best part of the dish.  The mashed potatoes were molten with an internal temperature of somewhere in the neighborhood of molten lava.  I imagine the flavor was closer to molten lava as well.  Even the addition of some salt to the dish would have helped the potatoes.  I like asparagus and these spears were good, yet very large.  The chicken was a little dry and lacked a complexity of flavors.  At this point, I was happy to be eating here during Devour Downtown because the full price of this meal would have put me on the verge of being angry instead of simply disappointed.  The Chicken Cordon Bleu, for example, is $32 on the regular menu and my entire meal for Devour Downtown was fixed at $30.

And finally I reached dessert.  I will say that the service at The Eagle's Nest was good.  We never waited long between entrees and our drinks were refilled quickly.  Dessert was a ricotta cheesecake served with Amaretto nectarines.  The cheesecake was creamy and the nectarines were soft, but the Amaretto flavor wasn't present.  The cup of coffee that accompanied the dessert was, however delicious.  And needed to keep me awake, since the sensations of this meal didn't do much to keep me motivated.

Overall, I see The Eagle's Nest as one of the many restaurants surviving on a great view and their old reputation.  We all know the places with a tired menu and uninspired decor that still make money because people always remember when it was such a great place.  The places where our parents went for their anniversaries.  The Eagle's Nest is that place.  We had to arrive at 5:15 p.m. for our Saturday night meal because we weren't allowed to have a later reservation.  Yet most of the restaurant remained empty when we left at 6:45 p.n.  Between that and the overpriced menu with uninspired food, I don't think I'll be able to head back.  If I need a birdseye view of downtown Indianapolis, I'll rent a hot air balloon or just look out the window while I fly into the Indianapolis airport.