Tantris Food Temple

O and I were with J, W and C at Tantris, the temple of food in Munich. BTW, the place is under historic preservation due to it's extremely unique style of the 70's. This modern space is completely colored in orange, with orange carpeted walls and ceilings. The shag carpets are out but imagine it was there on opening day. Photos of glamorous models stepping out of cars adorn the walls.


The 'Variations of Goose Liver' was the best everyone has ever had. And our friends were fine food connoisseurs. But the other dishes were just okay. Of course we are complaining at a high level. However, considering that it is a temple of food with 2 Michelin stars and they charge like it too, then it's kind of disappointing.


Luckily, we had some extremely fine, fine, fine, fine...did I say fine?...wine to compensate. Here's a magnum bottle of Castelo Di Ama 1998. It was so amazing I took the empty bottle home.


We'll off to more wine tasting 'sans' spitting.


Tantris Restaurant
Johann-Fichte-Straße 7
80805 München
Tel: +49 89 361959-0

Madeleine Bistro - Vegan Restaurant

Since O was in earnest to lose weight, our friends wanted to take us out to a vegetarian restaurant. It was an experiment, considering O has a reputation of being a 'meat and potatoes' man.

Madeleine Bistro restaurant is located in Encino on Ventura Blvd. If you blink, you could miss it on account of the dark brown glass storefront. The entrance is nothing to write home about. The interior is plain Jane.

Once we walked in, we were greeted by two very nice waiters. We were excited to try some new and different food and perused the menu for quite a long time. Our friends had a list of the best dishes recommended by their friends who kindly set up the reservation for us. The list was practically the menu. We wanted to try everything so it was hard to decide.

Chef Dave Anderson treats every dish like a gourmet dish. He's also an award winning chef. Yet the prices are extremely reasonable. An average dish costs around $10-13. The service was wonderful.

Appetizers started with Kaisespaezle (German mac'n cheese) (photo); The Bigger Macque (two no beef patties, special sauces, lettuce, cheese...) (photo shows 1/4 missing as our friend dug in before I could take the picture) and Red Beet Tartare.

Main course consisted of Philet no Phish (Filet of Fish in a bun); Chicken-fried Seitan with Mashed Potatoes (photo), Lemon-rosemary Seitan with a delicious grilled Asparagus Crepe (photo), Chopped Raw Summer Vegetables Primavera with Cucumber Capellini (photo).

Dessert closed the meal with Strawberry Shortcake with Peach-lemongrass Sorbet and a Chocolate Souffle and Vanilla Sorbet, compliments of our friends' friends.

Everything was delicious with one exception, the red beet tartar being bland. The food was surprisingly filling and some sauces creamy.

However, all of us did come to the same conclusion: We felt that a menu made up signature of dishes trying to emulate meat dishes seemed rather unoriginal. We were hoping to sample tasty dishes that were unique to the flavors of vegetable oriented ingredients. The closest one was the Raw Summer Vegetables Primavera. Although we did not try the Green Papaya Salad, it looked very original from across the table.

All in all, I would recommend the restaurant for first timers, experimenters and vegetarians. As for us, it was a fun and delicious try and I would go back with other vegetarians. But it didn't sway my taste buds to return frequently to this restaurant. And definitely not O's or our friends.

Madeleine Bistro

18621 Ventura Boulevard

Tarzana, CA 91356

Tel: (818) 758 6971

Pho So #1 - Vietnamese Restaurant

I had to drop off my car for a quick service in North Hills (San Fernando Valley). So while O and I waited, we decided to have lunch at Pho So #1 in Van Nuys. It's located in, guess what? Another strip shopping mall at the north east corner of Victory and Sepulveda. Next door is the Chinese supermarket 99 Ranch Market, making the location convenient.

O and I had the same Egg Noodle Soup with Seafood and Pork. O did add meat balls to his soup. The waiter first brought the standard vegetables which you could add to the soup yourself. The vegetables included soy bean sprouts, mustard greens, chili and Thai basil. We didn't have to wait long for the noodles.

The soup was light, clear and tasty. In general, it was good eats for a good price (approx. $7.00 each). O did wish that he had the rice noodles instead of the egg. I on the other hand, was happy with the egg. I highly recommend it but don't count on it being the best you've ever had. It's just great local and authentic fare.

The place is much like a typical Asian restaurant in Asia. Basic decor makes it feel down 'Asian' home-like. During the whole time we were there, the tables were filled and there were always a few people waiting to be seated. The service was no nonsense. This is a place I'd go back to when I want a quick comfort meal.

Pho So #1

6450 Sepulveda Blvd

Van Nuys, CA 91411

Tel: (818) 989 6377

BBQ Unlimited- Chinese Restaurant in North Hollywood

Here is one of my favorite 'stammtisch' restaurants. For those of you who don't know what 'stammtisch' means, please click on the word and it will take you to Wikipedia.

It's hard to find a 'real' Chinese restaurant in non-asian communities. We all know that there are many 'chop suey' type restaurants that cater to the non-authentic demanding palettes. But we did find one within decent driving distance. Actually, friends of ours, introduced us to it.

Nestled in the corner of a strip shopping mall on Sherman Way, a street lined with strip and corner shopping malls, BBQ Unlimited is an unassuming dining paradise. Its neighbor is the Bangluck Supermarket and a very popopular Thai restaurant which we'll have to try out next time we crave Thai food.

This family-style Cantonese restaurant specializes in Chinese BBQ chicken, duck and pork. You can order a whole suckling pig for large parties and catering.

The food is excellent and best of all, authentic. Their shrimp with scrambled eggs (see picture) is delicious. So are the white fish with scrambled egg white topped with an egg yolk dish, their glaze shrimp with walnuts, tofu with stuffed shrimp, sauteed Chinese greens or broccoli, hot and sour soup (picture), salty chicken with special ginger sauce (picture), all their noodle dishes and the list keeps going.

We love the basic decor. It reminds us of typical Hong Kong neighborhod eateries. Except this one is in North Hollywood.

BBQ Unlimited #1

12980 Sherman Way

North Hollywood, CA 91605

Tel: (818) 765 7725

BTW, we love Ms. Chang, one of the waitresses, who always gives us a hug. All of the restaurant employees are very attentive and offer all manner of advice when you want it.