Bahaatalis Blog

Sarah Gold asked:




We all like to eat out sometimes. When you come home from work, you’re tired and hungry. You want some food and you want it now…and you want it to be good. So, you go to your favorite restaurant. Also, there are occasions when we want to celebrate. So, again, we go to our favorite restaurant and order a meal. You may enjoy the food at Outback Steakhouse, Applebee’s, Olive Garden, Red Lobster, etc. Are you wondering what the secret restaurants recipes are?

Sometimes though, you’re in the mood to eat at home. You don’t want to listen to other people’s conversations. You want to eat a delicious meal at your own table, with your own dishes. You may not want to spend the money and time to eat out. Or you have a special occasion that calls for a special meal at home. You may recall the special taste of a certain dish at your favorite restaurant. Maybe it’s Applebee’s Fiesta Lime Chicken, or Hard Rock Café’s BBQ Beans, or perhaps it’s Olive Garden’s Salad Dressing. You want to make these restaurants recipes at home. How do you do it?

Well, now you absolutely can. You see the actual dishes made from these restaurants recipes are closely guarded secrets. But there are lots of cooking enthusiasts who love to experiment. They try out many different ways of cooking the dishes so that it resembles the one they are trying to copy or clone. These are called copycat restaurants recipes. Sometimes, the results are so similar that it’s hard to see or taste the difference.

Also, since these recipes are made by ordinary cooks, not professional chefs, they are made with everyday ingredients and with ingredients you usually have at home. In addition, these ingredients are usually healthier, with less preservatives (or none at all), than the ones the restaurants recipes use. You will also save money by cooking restaurants recipes at home. So, why not enjoy the preparation, enjoy the meal, and get the compliments too?

Lauren Ashe asked:




While I was working in Kailua (Oahu Hawaii) I had the benefit of eating out at a restaurant on my lunch break every day that I was stationed out there. I was scheduled to work 7 days in Kailua so I know I would have the chance to eat at a lot of places.

I was not familiar with restaurants in Kailua. My only other visit to Kailua was when my mom used to bring me Kailua for dentist appointments in the 3rd grade.

Day three of my work week on the east side of Oahu, Hawaii brought me to a town within the Kailua area called Enchanted lake. By the looks of the map it seemed as though the town was situated in a tight 1 mile circumference with a two way road looping you around the town. We were installing light fixtures in a restaurant called “Round Table Pizza” located in the Enchanted lake Shopping center. Soon after that we jumped across the street to install the same lighting in “The Shack” restaurant which is kind of a sport bar with breakfast, lunch and dinner menus.

I was on a search to find some food for my lunch break here in Enchanted lake, Kailua. After working in the Round table pizza Hawaii restaurant I took my lunch break and headed down the shopping center to a restaurant called “The Food Company”.

It was interesting because I had heard of “The Food Company” restaurant by a few locals and also from the website. But one thing that I noticed while working earlier in the day was that at 9:30 in the morning even before the store opened there was four people outside waiting to get in. As the day went on the customers never stopped coming to ‘The Food Company’ for a bite to eat and at lunch the place was packed. I decided that 100+ people couldn’t be wrong so Ill go ahead and try out their menu.

The Food Company did not disappoint, they had all the local favorites from fish and seafood/sushi items to authentic Asian dishes. They also had a light Polynesian menu as well. I tried the Bar-B-Que bento mix plate and it was delicious. The prices were ok but the food was well worth it.

Tobie Nidetz asked:




The Forepaugh’s mansion is a beautifully preserved Victorian “Painted Lady” built in the hey days of lumber barons, railroad barons and retail barons. Joseph Lybrandt Forepaugh was the latter and built his first St. Paul home on Exchange Street. And like many other old homes from that era, it fell into a long period of ill repair until purchased by the current owners in 1983 and lovingly restored to the turn of the century opulence of the original inhabitants. This was at a time when Victorian was in as a design theme for restaurants. Neighbor W.A. frost just opened their giant oak doors and across the river Winfield Potter’s had already been wowing guests with ornate wood and stained glass. Restaurant names like Blue Horse and Chouette were on everyone’s top ten lists and the memory of Charlie’s Cafe Exceptionale was still fresh in the collective culinary consciousness. Fine dining meant Beef Wellington, Coquille St. Jacques and Roast Duck Al Orange. Mobile phones were the size of small children, T.V.’s were low def and Ronald Reagan was munching jelly beans in the Oval office. I first visited Forepaugh’s Restaurant when the restaurant first opened over twenty years ago. I had not been back since and when I walked in the other night I felt like nothing had changed. And that was a good thing.

Forepaugh’s is caught in some sort of double time warp. The environs have been purposely maintained to help us relive another time and place. And the menu, though partially updated to 21st century tastes, still has elements of a time when food was rich, indulgent and had to be Continental in order to be good. Also a good thing. The food is well prepared and the service is impeccable. And that’s all I’m going to say about it. This is an experience where the sum is definitely greater than it’s parts. Do I recommend it? Absolutely. This is a must for anyone who needs to remember what dining was like twenty years ago or anyone who needs to feel like there is still a connection to our past that you can experience in food as well as environment. This is not a virtual experience, this is real. I felt though as if I were under dressed by 1980’s standards. I was in slacks and a shirt. One guy in our group did wear the requisite for the time, tie and jacket, but not one woman was in a dress. An interesting comment on who we are today I thought. The women looked great though!! (yes I meant it)

The group I was with by the way was not my usual dining brigade. I was meeting an old friend from Chicago who was in town to give lecture on magic. His name is Eugene Berger. He is a master at close-up and has taught hundreds of magicians around the world. I have hired Eugene and several of his protege to work in several of the restaurants I’ve been involved. Close up magic is a great form of entertainment for restaurants. It’s quiet, it keep adults and children entertained and its cheap. Magicians work mostly for tips. The trick, so to speak, is to find great story tellers that also have good slight of hand skills. The cheesy, showy magicians who twist up balloon animals turn me off and most restaurant patrons as well. Eugene is a great story teller. He had my usual companions captivated with stories accompanying his magic as well as tales about Penn and Teller, Sigfreid and Roy, Doug Henning and David Copperfield, all magicians he has either worked with or consulted with in his career.

Finally, it was very appropriate to have dinner in the mansion with a magician…the place is haunted. Here’s a story I found about the Forepaugh’s mansion. Enjoy it and when you go there for dinner, say hello to Molly.

“Many of the staff believe that it is Molly, a chamber maid who hung herself on the third floor, who has returned to the house. Restaurant owner James Crnkovich recalled an event in which the staff had worn 19th century clothes. A waitress was getting one of the dinning rooms ready for dinner and saw a unknown woman wearing the same type of clothing walking down the hallway, where she promptly disappeared.

Staff have also reported hearing someone walking around in the upstairs room. One day the staff was just opening up the restaurant and heard Molly tramping around the 3rd floor. The staff called the police, who responded with a K-9 unit. The dog refused to go any higher than the 2nd floor, but was eventually coaxed higher. No one was found in the restaurant and the police accused the staff of calling in a false report.”

Susan Ashby asked:




The diversity of ethnicities and cultures in Leicester makes it one of the most varied and vibrant cities in the country. The substantial Asian community has brought with it many interesting events which the city enjoys supporting. Complementing the traditional Christian festivities Leicester now also celebrates festivities such as Holi, Diwali, Eid-ul-Fitr and of course the Chinese New Year.

Bars and Pubs:
Partly due to it having two large universities close by the city centre, Leicester city’s bars and clubs are numerous and give a thriving and pulsating feeling to it. Bar and club names can change quite frequently, but this helps to keep the sense of vibrancy in the city in that there is always something new on offer. The Firebug is probably as complete a pub experience as you can get anywhere. The NME student guide for 2005 described it as “A real find for blinding food, beer, tough pub quizzes and lots of live music.” Here there is food to complement the 157 drinks lines they sell, regular live music, access to ‘WiFi’ throughout the premises and Pub Quizzes. Firebug is on Millstone Lane between the Council Offices and the old Town Hall. The Bambu, on the Welford Road below the Council Offices, describes itself as a relaxing café lounge bar blending mystery and sophistication without pretence. The Aqualounge on Wellington Street, more or less opposite the Council Offices is a bar, club and restaurant on 3 floors in one building, with Wednesday, Friday and Saturday nights being the club nights. Moving away from the area around the Council offices, in Braunstone Gate, there’s the Loaf which styles itself as a pub to ‘loaf around in’, slow-down, have a drink and let the world go by. If you want a traditional city centre pub, then head for the Globe on Silver Street. Built in 1720 it serves fine draught ales, decent food and has a warm and charming atmosphere.

Restaurants:

There is in Leicester what is known as the ‘Golden Mile’ of Asian food, to which people are drawn from miles around for a truly authentic Asian eating experience. The Golden Mile is centred along the Belgrave Road, leading north out of the city from the Haymarket bus station. Some people would say the nearer to the bus station a place is, the better the restaurant will be. Friends is an award winning Tandoori restaurant with main courses ranging from only £5 to £12. Nearby is Sanjay’s Curry Pot which specialises in the Indian/Portuguese cuisine of the Goa region in India. It is one of the oldest established Asian restaurants in Leicester; prices for a main course are typically between £5 and £13. Moving away from the Belgrave Road and into the city centre, there is the Opera House, which is by the Cathedral in Guildhall Lane. This is well known for its imaginative menus and the sumptuous building in which it is housed. Alongside the market in Hotel Street is The Case, another stylish and contemporary restaurant, which also has a champagne bar in which you can order snacks and light meals. Although technically a bar and restaurant, Mobius, on Braunstone Gate, serves an excellent mix of Mediterranean and Thai cuisine. It’s a relaxing place to eat and produces authentic flavours for the regional food it produces by using only the best produce.

Entertainment:

The De Montfort Hall is probably the best known venue Leicester has, almost a ‘trade-mark’ venue for the city. Built in 1913 and recently refurbished, it can accommodate an audience of 1500 seated or up to 2200 standing. As well as the indoor hall there is an outdoor amphitheater that can house up to 5000. It has played host to classical, jazz, blues, folk, rock and pop music as well as being a venue for touring musical shows. In recent years it has also been increasingly used for conferences and exhibitions.

The Haymarket theater in Leicester was one of the well known repertory theaters in the country. Closed at present, a new theater is currently being built on Halford Street which is due to open in spring 2007. However, complications in the building programme look as if that opening date will now be postponed.

The Phoenix Arts Centre on Newarke Street is a small community venue providing a wide variety of entertainments. It is mainly used for showing films and hosting touring comedy and musical acts. However, it can also be used for theatrical plays and musical productions. There is, of course, a café/bar, which also hosts musical performances.

For live music, apart from at the De Montfort Hall, The Charlotte on Oxford Street is probably the biggest and best known. A fledgling Oasis played here many years ago! This is the venue in Leicester where you’ll first see the up and coming ‘Indie’ bands.

There are currently some 13 nightclubs to choose from in Leicester. Worth mentioning here is the Po Na Na, which apart from its interesting name, is well known for being the place to go for Funk and House music. Two floors with two separate sound systems make this a savvy and party spirited place to be. Po Na Na is in Carey Close near the Jewry Wall.

Leicester has three comedy clubs; Jongleurs (Granby Street), Ship of Fools (using a variety of stages including the Phoenix Arts Centre, and Bottle Rocket (at the Firebug bar).