Good places to eat (yes we have those in Rochester)

Okay, so this week I kinda slacked off on cooking and relied on some other people to cook for me (and to do the dishes). I know how hard it is to think of good places to eat, so I figured I could blog about the places I visited this week and weekend to inspire you.

First off, one of my favorite Mexican places just reopened. Formerly located next to Mr. Shoes in the Southwedge, Paola's Burrito Place is now open at 1011 Culver Road in a bigger, newer and much more promising location. My friend Tracy and I stopped in on their opening day. Despite the rain, the place was pretty filled up, especially considering we went at 2 p.m. The owner was so excited to see us and gave us a grand tour. He's got a HUGE kitchen now, space for a bakery, at least three times more seating that he used to have, and he hopes to start up a breakfast service soon.

The food is the same which is a good thing...huge burritoes, with cheese sauce if you want it, enchiladas, tacos, and other typical Mexican fare. The menu seemed a bit smaller, but the prices were still very affordable. Instead of helping yourself to the salsa and chips, they give you a portioned out size, but the salsa is still as delicious as ever. I got a chalupa, which was a fried tortilla shell topped with lettuce, tomatoes, guacamole, sour cream, steak and cheese sauce. It was sinfully filling and delicious. If you haven't already had Paola's before, you must go try it out.

On Friday Sean and I went out to our favorite Asian restaurant in the city, Flavor's of Asia. You can't beat this place when it comes to variety, freshness, quality, quantity, price and service. It's a five-star place at a one-star price. The fare includes Chinese, Thai and Vietnamese. I've never actually eaten Vietnamese until Flavors. Now I'm hooked. Sometimes I am daring and try new things, but lately I'm hooked on their Vermicelli noodle bowls. They include lemongrass, pasta, sprouts, pickled carrots, cucumbers and onions (I think), lettuce, crushed peanuts and fish sauce. You have the choice of chicken, beef, seafood, or my favorite, fried tofu. It comes with fish sauce, which now that I looked up how it is made, I'm not sure I'm so crazy about it, but it's good anyways. I always put a bit of Hoisin sauce on my noodle bowl just to add another dimension of flavor. It's so filling and delicious. Sean got his good old stand-by...beef and veggies topped with curry sauce.

For apps we got Crab Ragoon, which is so creamy and undoubtedly the best I've ever had, and steamed shrimp and pork dumplings, which we don't normally get but certainly will in the future because they were amazing.

As if the food wasn't enough to keep us coming back again and again, the service is spot-on. There's usually one asian fellow that serves the entire place. I adore him. Just watching him is enough to make you dizzy the way he can handle so many tables at once, and parties of all sizes. As soon as you sit down he brings you a complimentary pot of hot tea and fresh spring rolls. I'm not sure if they typically give you free spring rolls or if that's just on the weekends. Sean and I always order spring rolls when we go and the waiter knows this, so he may just be anticipating our needs and bringing them for us, knowing that's what we want. He's just that good. I could go on and on about the service here. They are fast, but not so fast you don't get a chance to enjoy your dining experience. And they remember us every time we go in there. If you haven't tried this place yet, it's a must. We paid $26 for two entrees, two orders of Dim Sum, and the spring rolls. Unbelievable.

Lastly, my friend Kelli and I went out to eat at a new restaurant last night, The Owl's House. It's located on Marshall Street in the former Atomic Eggplant location. I read some review about the new chef/owner in the City Newspaper and also heard from a friend that they make some amazing drinks. The Atomic Eggplant was best known for it's creative vegetarian/vegan fare and the fact that you could BYOB or Wine. I remember countless dinners there in the past that turned into three hour affairs, so The Owl's House had a lot to live up to. It not only surpassed my expectations, it had me saying "Atomic what?"

My friend got the roasted vegetable and hummus sandwich on multi-grain bread, which she raved about. I got the barbecue tempeh, which was coated with a delicious buffalo spicy sauce combined with creamy blue cheese, topped with pickled onions and arugula lettuce on a baguette. It was incredible. It isn't easy to cook tempeh, but the chefs' here knew what they were doing. The tempeh was tender and not dry at all, and there was just enough sauce to make the bun a little juicy and not too crusty and hard to chew.

The juice from my sandwich kept dripping on the side of hand-cut french-fries seasoned with rosemary and fresh cracked pepper. There was something really yummy about the katsup I couldn't quite put my finger on.

And as if this wasn't enough, the drinks were, as rumored, so delicious and unique. Kelli got an IPA..the Great Divide or something that reminded her of a Phish song. I settled on a Mint Ginger Jullip. I can't remember what liquor was in that..maybe whiskey. Then there was a bunch of other yummy stuff and mint. OMG! I could have died at the bar. Our neighbor got something I was thinking of getting...a Velvet Bicycle, which was about three parts scotch beer and one part champagne. I guess I'll have to get that next time I'm there, which better be soon.

All-in-all Kelli and I probably spent $45 between the two of us. The best news, The Owl's nest has a bunch of meat-inclusive dishes, so you can bring both vegetarian and non-vegetarian friends with no qualms. I would reccomend making reservations. We got there at 6:30 and were told we'd have to wait about 45 min. for a table. Thankfully there were two seats at the bar, and we made a ton of friends there!

I hate paying to go out to eat, but this week was worth writing about.