What would YOU order?

I had a thought for an interesting thread (maybe not, but we'll see). What if I post (or others) various menus and each of us pick an item to order and explain briefly why? And money (hypothetically) is no option. Since this is the miscellaneous forum, I think it can be any menu, not specifically roadfood. The reason I thought of this is that I saw a link to a local restaurant's menu today. But while not roadfood, had me drooling and wondered what others might choose. www.matmiranova.com
For me Veal Mignon, because I love veal and asiago crepe? Interesting. For a side I would have the truffle mac and cheese. Never had anything with truffles or truffle oil and always hear how grand they are.
Anyone else?

This is a great idea, and always problematic for me.  I can't stand the feeling that I'm missing out on something great, so if I don't know anything beforehand and I can't get the waitperson or somebody else to tip me off to something, here are my heuristics (that's a fancy marketing word for purchase decision rules): I don't get anything they make better at home, I don't get anything that isn't likely to be good in this specific place (like I ain't ordering Gulf shrimp or halibut in Columbus, OH), I don't typically get something that I myself don't really like no matter how well it's prepared--I don't love salmon for instance, and I'm not afraid to go nontraditional and get an appetizer maybe with a salad for my meal.  And feel free to crane your neck around and look at what other people are having--and especially at what other people are not finishing. 

I'm a big salad-and-fries girl.  In fact at this place that's probably what I'd get.  Maybe the wedge or the beet (I do love beets and it's hard but not impossible to screw them up), and maybe try the truffle mac and cheese or one of the potatoes if I'm wary.  This is the one type of restaurant where I agree with Dale about his hangup; if they're reliant on so many proteins that aren't from around there and there's about five or six pieces of fuss with each one and they're all about thirty bucks, I'm keeping it simple.

Nancy,

Such sage advice and believe me, I read everything you post if possible because I trust your input. I am blessed to be a part of this community.

I dunno, I probably miss a lot of good stuff all the time from playing it safe.  I just feel better missing something good at $35 rather than $10.  At $10 it's a shame.

The places that bedevil me are places where I can't even get a good short list, like I know from the first reading of the menu that there are about six things I seriously want.  Lemme give you one of those--it was on the roster of the Presidents' Day weekend this year and many Roadfooders have been here for breakfast at least:

http://www.charlestonscafe.com/cafe/home.html

Wintemo1, I couldn't order anything at that place because all I got was a blank page.

Nancypalooza, theres a lot to piss me off with that menu;
pancakes $4or 6 ?
french toast $5 0r 7?
what the heck is that about?
$8.75 for an omelette? it better be the size of a manhole cover.
it might be good but not a place I'd eat at.
not even the lunch menu looks good to me, although I do have pedestrian tastes in food, I would ask to look at a menu before I sat down and I would bow out.

sk bob, you would have been with my dad on that one.  He was not shy about leaving after he saw the menu if he was unhappy.  Now in the case of Charleston's Cafe, the portions are very big.  And they do some of that fussy pancake/french toast stuff.  Plus this is Charleston so you can count on food being about 20 percent more than most places.  I have to say, this place was excellent.  I can't remember what Julie and I got individually but I remember the deep fried peanut butter and jelly sandwich we split with Chris and Amy.  Because how do you not order that?  ;)

I've tried Cameron restaurants over the years and have found them to be pretty good. At Matmiranova: I'd be tempted to go with the Prix Fixe, and if I did, I'd get the spicy tuna sushi roll, the braised veal cheek, and probably the sorbet. If I'm with someone, we would order strategically so we could share a bit.

On the regular menu, I'd still probably go with the braised veal cheek.

The menu for Charleston's Cafe didn't load properly for me, so I'd probably have water....

I've enjoyed the steak and eggs there. The veal mignon would be wonderful, probably, but not for me. Mushrooms and I are deadly enemies.

  O.K., for my money I would order this.  The Summer Punch  Cocktail,  Wedge Salad, (they had me at bacon.) The Steak Burger, Truffle Fries, and no dessert. 

  The prices are a little high for the steaks so I personally would stay away from them. The prevalence of  fish entrees on the menue bothers me as they might be using use frozen. I won't pay that much money for halibut that I can get here in Alaska for 1/4 that price. Same with salmon. Unless halibut and salmon are in season it WILL arrive at  the restaurant frozen!

JMHO

David O.

I used to play this game with my mother.

When my father was alive, they took 2 - 3 cruises a year.

Mom would always bring the ship's menus back with her and I'd always have fun trying to pick out what she ordered.

Thanks for the good memories.

The Miranova is too formulaic corporate for my taste. I've seen that approach too many times in a restaurant trying to please every taste in the world. It turns me off. But on that menu the veal mignon probably grabs the eye over everything else since it is one of the few items that don't appear on other similar restaurant menus.

The Charleston Cafe, on the other hand, is a treasure trove of decision. I'm still salivating and mulling over it.

For a bit over $100 with tip and tax, this would do me fine.  pb 

D U C K D U C K
SEARED HUDSON VALLEY
FOIE GRAS, CASHEW BUTTER,
DUCK RILLETTE, TOAST 19
PRIME 16 oz. D R Y - A G E D  K A N S A S  C I T Y  S T R I P  38
“ RO S S I N I ”SEARED FOIE GRAS, BLACK TRUFFLE REDUCTION  14

 

L O B S T E R M A S H E D  P O T A T O E S
MAINE LOBSTER,
YUKON GOLD POTATOES 14
V A N I L L A  B R U L E E
VANILLA BEAN CUSTARD,
FRESH BERRIES 9

At the Miranova I would go with the prix fixe, with soup, veal and sorbet.  Several menu items are quite interesting, but it does seem sort of all over the place for our tastes.

Gosh, ski bob, I don't think the prices at the Charleston Cafe seem outrageous at all. It's really in line with several places here in KC.

At the Charleston Cafe I would order the Low Country Shrimp and Grits, for lunch I would definitely get the
fried green tomato and pimento cheese panini. Their special of eggs on fried green tomatoes with ham gravy would follow.

Everything on the menu at "CUT", Wolfgang Puck's Restaurant in the Beverly Wilshire in Beverly Hills!
His Waygu Filet is $22.00 an ounce

Ok, let's try something different. www.demosrestaurants.com/menu.cfm

Personally, I would start with Jim's famous spinach, followed with the greek salad and the fettuccini imperial. Granted, I would be wheeled out in a wheelbarrow, but hey, it's all hypothethical, right?

I want that thing in the pineapple!  I don't even know what it is!

That would be their chicken salad.

#1, I would go to Maine in August to a dockside lobster restaurant.  I would order 2- 1lb lobsters for myself(I do not want to share!), extra melted butter, fresh corn on the cob, fresh blueberry pie for dessert. 
 
Alas, my 2nd dream order would be another dockside restaurant on the Gulf coast & eat my fill of raw oysters, then fresh fried shrimp ,french fries, hushpuppies, cole slaw & sweet tea. 
I wonder how long it will be until I can do my 2nd dream order.

claracamille


#1, I would go to Maine in August to a dockside lobster restaurant.  I would order 2- 1lb lobsters for myself(I do not want to share!), extra melted butter, fresh corn on the cob, fresh blueberry pie for dessert.

Ah yes, a lobster pound. Nothing fancy, just fresh lobster. Dig in.

Ok, I'll try this again. While anyone can post anything they want, the purpose behind this was to see what people would order off the menu from the restaurant linked. Let's try:
www.blackbeardinerbeaverton.com/index...

Personally, I would go with the country fried steak and red skinned smashed potatos. Although it seems a shame, being from Ohio, not to get seafood from a place in Oregon.

Oh, okay.  I got carried away with what others posted.

I'll have the tri tip with breaded shrimp.

I need to know what kind of soup is being served.  I'm a soup person, but there are some I'd never order.

Oh My ~ What FUN, W01! I just now stumbled across this thread. I do this very same thing with a friend of 40+ years. What a delicious way to spend time that would be otherwise wasted on TV. If I had a working TV. For the Miranova menu: I have found on the rare occasions when I have eaten at such lofty establishments that the appetizers deliver more on their promises than do the entrees. So I would eschew the entrees & order thusly: Cocktail: While the "Black Orchid" sounds very intriguing, it has been sooo long since I had a nice Bombay Sapphire Martini straight up in a chilled and icy glass with a whisper of vermouth & garnished with a drunken onion & 2 Tomolives that I would ~~ What am I saying? This is FantasyLand! I will have one of each! NOW I am ready for dinner. First round: Baby Wedge Salad w/Kobe sliders. Why? Because I LIKE iceberg lettuce with it's totally unredeeming lack of nutritional content BUT crispy & crunchy bite. AND I've never had Kobe beef. Alas. Second Round: Scallops w/Truffled Potatoes & Roast Garlic Jus accompanied by the Creamed Spinach. Why? Because scallops just... may... may... be my favorite shellfish & I can never resist them & I love garlic & have never had truffled anything. O AND they have a dessert menu; definitely the Vanilla Bean Brulee. Because custard is pudding is comfort. & With fresh summer berries!  
CiaoMeOwwwWOW!  

And now for the Charleston Cafe: For (Late, VERY LATE) breakfast:  Gotta go with one of the House Novelties! That would be "Amber’s Choice": Crab cakes topped w/poached eggs, hollandaise, shrimp & andouille sausage with the grits. Of course, the grits. Accompanied by lots of butter. O And, a side of Fried Green Tomatoes. With a Bloody Mary pumped up with a giant dollop of horseradish w/Tabasco cuz surely I'll be hungover after my martinis at Miranova's...

Wintem, you've got me thinking about a drive to Columbus to eat veal cheeks at M!
That's my choice, either the prix fixe with soup, veal, and cake & ice cream, or from the dinner menu, the kobe starter, veal mignon, and truffle mac & cheese.
At Charleston's Cafe, I want to try a sweet potato biscuit with my Mike's Breakfast.
At Demos, I'm with Nancypalooza - I want the chicken salad in a pineapple half!
The Black Bear Diner has me torn - do I go for lunch to get a sourdough cheeseburger, or for country-fried steak for dinner? I love a good country-fried steak.

Chicken-fried steak, simply because I've not had one in 25 years.  The last time was at Po' Folks in Davie, FL.

Ah, new interest. How about a little Baton Rouge action?
www.bearsgrillandspirits.com
I am going with the Seafood Platter:
Platter consist of 1 Soft Shell Crab, 8 Oysters, 3 Catfish, 12 Butterfly Shrimp,
4 Hush puppies, Cocktail & Tartar Sauce, & French fries

Even in my dreams, I doubt I could eat more than that. It's like a MVF challenge.

In my fantasy I'm having the roast beef debris & gravy fries (hoooooly cow) but in reality I'm probably having the Maui Salad--that's the kind of thing I eat all the time.  And it sounds pretty good.  My first choice would be fried shrimp, as usual, but now I'm all sad about how long they'll be able to serve them.  I definitely am going to have to concentrate on the non-seafood goodies when I visit NO in September.

And when you guys are done with Bears, you can take a stab at the place I had lunch today (fried shrimp and flounder, beyond compare as usual).  Note that there are some items on the dinner menu not available at lunch.  http://www.whaleyseb.com/ 

Nancypalooza



And when you guys are done with Bears, you can take a stab at the place I had lunch today (fried shrimp and flounder, beyond compare as usual).  Note that there are some items on the dinner menu not available at lunch.  http://www.whaleyseb.com/ 

Sushi Nachos  and Firefly Flounder!

You had lunch there on Saturday? I am extremely jealous. Stuffed shrimp app (as long as they are still available) and mussels mediterranean. What exactly is a bloody mary bar? Just a bar where they specialize in different bloody marys or (and if it's not this, maybe someone should start one) a salad bar like thing where they give you the drink basics at the actual bar and you put what you want in it, e.g horseradish, different hot sauces, worcestershire, celery, etc.?

You know, I didn't see what they were counting as a bloody Mary bar.  I get really amused because this little joint was refurbished a bit in January, but has always been, and mostly still is, a hole in the wall.  They've nicened things up quite a bit.  I'm really curious about the cioppini and will have to go back for dinner.