benchmark dishes

[renodoc]

what about the soups?

for chinese, hot and sour
for thai, Tom Ka

I think these would be on the second date....

[ReDeYES88]

I suppose that my Mexican order would depend on the type of restaurant. If it's more of "street food" Mexican (small, simple restaurant, counter service, etc.) then I think tacos are a very good yardstick. One chicken, one asada, and one either carnita or pastor. You get to taste how they cook the bird, the cow, and the pig without a whole lot of other things getting in the way.

They should come with two corn tortillas, soft of course, and not a whole lot else. Maybe a sprinkling of onion or salsa. Yummy torts are also a really good sign.

Maybe a side of rice and beans as well for a sample, but they aren't required.

[ReDeYES88]

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have you been to Pasta Freska on Westlake? Went there one time with a friend of the chef, and it is right up there with any Italian that I've had anywhere, including Italy. The chef picks the food and wine for you. Prices more than reasonable. Give it a try if you haven't.
Pasta Freska

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This is about 3/4 mile from me. I really got to go there; heard only great things.

KJS

[/ QUOTE ]I have driven by this place dozens of times and never thought anything of it. Interesting....

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I would be very interested in a trip report from either one of you if you do decide to go. It was three or so years ago since I went, but I'm still reminded of it from time to time (I don't live in Seattle...out of state).

I would be curious to learn if it was my memory giving it more credit than what's due as the years go by, or if it really is as good as I remember.

[Entity]

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The true test of an Italian restaurant is the risotto. I love it when I order the risotto and the waiter says, 'I'm sorry, that will take 30 minutes.'

Don't be sorry. That's what I was looking for. Now I can settle back and relax, knowing that my risotto is being prepared from scratch. Cooked to order. If your risotto comes out quicker than that, then they're cutting corners. And not just on the risotto.

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I agree with this 100%. I rarely go out to Italian these days - in large part because there's a serious lack of selection for non-horrible Italian restaurants in Seattle - but when I do go to a new one I almost always order risotto for this very reason.

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Check out Mama Melina's in the U-dist if you want some damned good Italian. I agree that it's rare to find good Italian food around here, but MM's is pretty amazing. [img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img] their Portabello Mushroom Appetizer.

Rob

[Chimp]

I like the idea of benchmarks, but I aim higher earlier. Why waste time circling the barn and giving a crappy restaurant three or four meals' worth of my money before I can figure out if they can handle the good stuff? So, anyhow....

Sushi: mackerel. No sushi is worse if it is not super-fresh

Italian: I usually order a wide-noodle pasta with a ragu. That'll let you know if the pasta is homemade, and whether the ragus are slowly cooked goodness like they should be.

French: i guess steak frites would be a good benchmark




But I guess I still have beusing my spin of the question would be what dishes

[M2d]

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Sushi: mackerel. No sushi is worse if it is not super-fresh

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good call on the mackerel. it's also good to mention golden rule of sushi-don't order sushi on a monday (commercial boats and fish markets usually don't operate on sundays, so the the fish you eat will have had an extra day of aging)

[Kneel B4 Zod]

Sub shops:

Meatball subs. At once, this requires only 'simple' ingredients, but it's pretty easy to tell if they are using high quality ingredients or not that will be found in other stuff.

Meatballs - should be easy to tell how good these are. nice homemade meatballs, or grammar school cafeteria style?
Sauce - ditto. pretty easy to tell the difference between bad and good sauce.
Cheese - kind of tricky here, b/c when it's melted and mixed in with the above 2 it can be hard to pick up. but I've had off tasting provolone before = very bad
Bread - fresh and baked just right?

so 4 basic ingredients (although good meatballs and sauce require many fresh sub ingredients) that should give you a good indication of how good a sub shop is. a surprising number of places can't make a good meatball sub.

[Aloysius]

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a surprising number of places can't make a good meatball sub.

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QFMFT - what gives? I can make a pretty good meatball at home!

At an Italian deli, my benchmark is whatever "Spicy Italian Combo" type sub sandwich they have. Often goes by the name of "Godmother" or something - serrano ham, mortadella, salami, provolone, hot or sweet pepper relish, and oil-and-vinegar dressing. (I usually add Italian red peppers and / or jalapenos.)

If they don't get this right I don't go back.

One of the best Godmothers I've ever had is in Santa Monica - Bay Cities Deli - it's a great sandwich, the bread is baked on premises, and they use mainly Boar's Head. (I grew up on the East Coast - seriously this is a good Italian deli, imo.)

-Al

[fish2plus2]

KJS,

Since you lived in Thailand its going to be pretty easy for you to order any dish on the menu and know whether or not they suck.

There isnt enough talk about Vietnamese food on 2+2's forums.

[Kneel B4 Zod]

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At an Italian deli, my benchmark is whatever "Spicy Italian Combo" type sub sandwich they have. Often goes by the name of "Godmother" or something - serrano ham, mortadella, salami, provolone, hot or sweet pepper relish, and oil-and-vinegar dressing. (I usually add Italian red peppers and / or jalapenos.)

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that's another good choice. around here, we normally just call it an 'Italian'...which is a good indication it's important to them! you get to taste a good selection of meats and cheeses, which is of course critical.