Great Taste

Best egg foo yung in Roch? Best steak just about anywhere?

Great Taste has enjoyed egg foo yung since before many readers of this blog were born. Of EFY consumed in Rochester, Great Taste likes China Star's best.

Note: EFY was ordered from CS's 1st Avenue location.

Other restaurant notes:

Michaels still keeps us satisfied with perfect steaks, prime rib, wedge salad, etc. In fact, for taste and precise preparation of steaks Michael's can go up against any steak house in the country. (Indeed Great Taste prefers Michaels steaks to those at Morton's, Manny's, and several other "big name" steak houses.) Also--unlike most fine dining options in Rochester--you can hear what your dining partner is saying, even on a Friday night.   

Jasper's Alsatian Bistro seems to be overlooked on many "best lists" and that's a mistake. Great Taste always starts a meal with house-made chicken liver pate....Jewish deli-restaurants aside, where else in the Midwest can one order this on a regular basis?   

Sontes continues to impress under Chef Bryce. This chic tapas restaurant also deserves more local acclaim than it seems to get. 

 

Ready for your Thursday paella?

It's not officially summer yet but the festive vibe is totally here. 

Sontes Restaurant, Rochester, offers paella and sangria, among other Spanish delights, at its booth in the Thursdays on First Summer Market & Music Festival. Look for your paella at the corner of First Avenue and Third Street SW, from 11:30 am to 8:30 pm, every Thursday through August.

Zzest cafe fare: As good as it gets

If you're looking to prime your culinary tastebuds for the most interesting American food around, you need not catch a plane to Chicago, New York or San Fran.  Just stop for dinner at Zzest Market & Cafe, Rochester.  Check out tonight's menu:

http://www.zzestmarket.com/menus.htm

Back Room Deli now has salad bar

Great Taste enjoys the freshly made, innovative soups and rustic nosh at Good Food Store Co-op's Back Room Deli, Rochester. Options just got better with a new salad bar. More here.  

Looking for Father's Day ideas?

Consider the following, featuring chef/instructor Antonio Cecconi, from Sopra Sotto, Rochester:

OH, MY PAPA! FATHER'S DAY BRUNCH 

SUNDAY, JUNE 19TH

NOON TO 3 PM

Antonio will inspire you and your Papa with a menu that is wonderful for summer grilling. Tasty Herb Pasta will be prepared and served as the first course. The main course will be Grilled Spiedini Misti of meat and vegetables on Rosemary Spears.  A hearty Insalata Piccante features green beans, fresh fennel, radicchio and marinated artichoke hearts with Three Herb Dressing.  Dessert is the classic Italian Strawberry Zabaglione.  Italian wines accompany the courses.

For more information on this and other upcoming Sopra Sotto culinary events, click here. 

"Downtown sushi" may return to Roch

Here's the scoop, in case you didn't see it previously on Kiger's blog:

http://postbulletin.typepad.com/kiger/2011/03/sushi-is-shimmying-back-into-downtown.html

 

Progressive beer dinner? (Yes, transportation provided.)

Ready for a barrel of foodie fun? Reserve for the  "Progressive Beer Dinner" featuring three of the area's top restaurants--Sontes, Rochester; Nosh, Lake City; and The Rainbow Cafe, Pine Island--on April 16th.

The event kicks off at 5:30 pm with starters at Sontes, followed by a coach bus trip to Nosh for entrees. Then it's on to The Rainbow Cafe for three more courses, with departure at 9:30 pm for Sontes. Aboard the coach a beer class and tasting will be presented featuring Brooklyn Brewery.

A few of the dining highlights: locally raised braised oxtail tamale with grilled pear and Spanish onion salsa; locally raised adobo braised pork shoulder with local fresh goat cheese and polenta; and warm carrot cake with Delice de Bourgogne and mesquite honey "buttercream" and ancho chile toffee.

Event tickets, $125 each, include food, beer class, gratuity and transportation.  Tax not included. Advance purchase required; call Sontes at 507-292-1628.  In addition, rooms will be available at the Hilton Garden Inn, Rochester, for a special Progressive Dinner rate.

 

Justin Schoville's back!

The former head chef at Sontes and James Beard Award semifinalist Justin Schoville is now available as a private chef through ZZest Market & Cafe, Rochester. 

According to ZZest's website, Schoville will "design a custom menu" and create dinner "for you and a small group of your friends, cooked right in your own kitchen."

 

Sontes springs ahead with chef's Italian dinner

Bryce Lamb, the chef who took the helm at Sontes Restaurant, Rochester, last December, will hold his first Chef's Dinner March 26. The lavish nine-course Italian meal will include locally raised roasted leg of lamb, housemade spinach pasta, and handmade canolli.

Also at Sontes this month--and for those less than thrilled with typical St. Patrick's Day offerings--is a California Zinfandel wine class March 17. Among topics to be explored: "What really is Zinfandel?"

More on both events: http://www.sontes.com/information/events.html

 

Authentic NOLA dinner at ZZest

From Zzest Market & Cafe, Rochester:

The "Big E," Chef Eric Austin, will be our guest chef for a Creole evening at ZZest.  His Chef training in New York, France, Italy, and Amsterdam,  as well as his New Orleans background,  at Commanders Palace and Brennan's, will be featured in this authentic (that is, not the Minnesota version) 5-course Creole Chef's dinner.

The March 3rd event features a choice of two seatings, 6 or 8 pm, and is $65 per person.

If you plan to go, call ASAP.  According to an email message that arrived last night from owner LeeAnn Zubay: "....by the time you get this email it will probably be sold out!....But there could very likely be some cancellations."   

To reserve call 507-424-0080. Zubay also has a raclette tasting in the works for mid March.  Wait a minute....Creole cooking followed by a raclette cheese event? Is this foodie paradise or what?