nr706 wrote:

In the context of inexpensive Amer-Chinese cuisine, I thought it wasn’t bad. Maybe even half a step above not bad.

May I qualify that slightly. This is an Amer-Chinese restaurant where it's best to avoid the traditional Cantonese dishes. As nr706 reported the kung bao dishes and the orange chicken had flavor. Sadly, that doesn't apply to the others.

My pork chow mein, while it had fresh ingredients, was bland. Even a hefty dose of soy sauce left it wanting. Helen reported her egg foo young was bland despite having lots of sauce on it. Cathy2 also said her chicken almond ding lacked flavor.

If the food looks white, it's no delight.
--Johhny Cochrane

"If it tastes good, it is good."

--P.D.Q. Bach

Mhays wrote:If everyone's amenable, I'd like to take germuska's excellent suggestion of having a lunch at Cafe Salamera before it closes. What do you all think?

Fine with me (although I may not be able to make the next one if it's in the next four weeks). Can't argue with Cafe Salamera as a pick, given the source of the recommendation on LTH.

OK, things aren't looking good for my suggestion, I'm going today to see if it's even a remote possibility...

Did you check with Cafe Salerma? How did that go?

I'm having real trouble getting ahold of Norka; there's rarely an answer on the phone, and she wasn't there last week when I got dinner.

I'm still working on it, still hopeful; thanks for reminding me to keep you all updated ....

MHays,

I suggest whatever arrangement is made, if possible, to have Plan B of walking over to Big Buns and Pita. They are just steps away and saves you lots of heartache if confronted by a locked Salamera.

Regards,

You know, good call - I'm going to run over there today; if I don't find anybody I'll start a post about that option.

Fire at the Phoenix

From: ChgoMike
Post subject: Re: Openings, Closings, Comings & Goings, April - June 2010
Posted: Tue May 18, 2010 9:47 pm  

nsxtasy wrote:
There's a banner on the front of Phoenix Inn in Evanston that they are re-opening tomorrow, May 11. (I think they were temporarily closed due to a fire.)

I was chatting with a friend this past weekend who hails from near Sichuan Province. He tells me that Phoenix Inn has a new Sichuan chef and the specialties are "80% authentic" and much better than pre-fire fare. I haven't been, though I intend to stop by sometime this week.
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I haven't been to the Phoenix Inn since it reopened in May, so I can't comment on the new chef or the quality of the food since the restaurant rose again from the ashes. But a new carry-out menu was dropped in my mailbox yesterday, and some changes are obvious. While the "lunch specials" list contained all the usual suspects, the roster of individual entrees was more extensive, especially in the seafood and pork categories. Under seafood, for example, we have sea cucumber offered two ways: with grilled onions and in brown sauce (as well as iron flog legs--hmmmm....). The pork list now offers spicy pork intestine with tofu, pork stomach and scallion, pork intestine with garlic bolt, and spicy and aromatic pig blood--plus bullies pork intestine (???), among others. I'm sure none of these was on the old, pre-fire menu. There are also some lamb dishes I don't remember from the old menu: lamb with pickled pepper, lamb stir-fried with cumin spice.... Might be worth a return visit....

PS. Down memory lane: Phoenix Inn was where, as a Northwestern freshman many years ago, I ate my first "real" Chinese food. Before that, my "Chinese" dining was limited to the pork or beef chop suey my mother made from leftover roast and that Chung King canned combo of 1/mixed vegetables and 2/crispy chow mein noodles--plus LaChoy soy sauce.