If you like Uno's you will love this Uno's

Uno Chicago Grill

1230 Commonwealth Ave.

Allston, Ma 02134

I say this often but since I have been writing this blog, I have realized a lot of things about my eating habits. For example, I eat at a lot more chain restaurants than I would have guessed.

I don't always like writing about the food at these places because #1 I think most people have visited them and #2 a lot of them have similar menus, or approaches to their menus. Places like Fridays, Applebees, Unos or Ruby Tuesday's consistently add and remove items from their menus, and they seem to always go with some old time favorite's ie. nachos, boneless wings, and artichoke dip, and then they add what's "in" ie. sliders in all flavors and small desserts.

In a way, they are operating like the fashion industry. There are the classics, and then there are the trends.

Since all the menus in these places are the same, I started to think, why do I choose one over another? Last night for example, Lou and I drove to our favorite Pizzeria Uno on the corner of Commonwealth Ave, and Harvard Ave in Allston. We like this one because the service always seems a little bit better, and they have a really cool staircase in the middle which descends into a lower area with great booths and a bar.

This has always been our pick for the Unos to go to, but last night it seemed even a little bit better. When we walked in, there was a manager at the host stand who helped to greet us. Everyone seemed a bit more friendly than usual. The place seemed a bit more cleaner, the booths seemed to have been redone, and were there more televisions?

We got sat in our favorite place downstairs, and the hostess let us pick any booth. After we were sat she introduced herself and the manager, Jackie. When our server arrived he too introduced himself, Matt and then the bartender as well, saying they would both be taking care of our table. All these introductions and formality made me have to ask, was this place under new management?

Yes, the server said, and her name was Jackie ( manager at the host stand) Apparently Jackie had been managing their location in Harvard Square but had been transferred to this location, and this server loved working for her, so moved over as well. He may have just said that, but it seemed pretty genuine. I figured he was her spy. All good restaurant managers usually have one or too making it seem they have eyes in the back of their head.

Our meal was great that night, there is a 4-7 and after 10 pm menu where you can get apps for $2.99 a pop, saving a lot of money. They are paired down versions of the full plates, but still fairly generous. There are also some great new menu items, like the pork sliders, and the mushroom flatbread pizza. We even got drinks at the server's suggestion, which we never do, but in honor of the horrendous weather we've been having, we each got a dark and stormy. Ginger beer, with dark and light rums.

Lou and I go to this Uno's about 3 or 4 times a year. As I said at the beginning we have always liked it, the service it good, the food is consistent, but somehow this new manager Jackie has made it even better.

It's a Restaurant People, It's All About the Food!

The late 90's was a time of abundance for everyone. People were making millions in the stock market, all businesses were booming, and it was a hey day for the "theme" restaurant.

Anyone who knows me, knows I started my career in the restaurant business and did a 5 year stint at Jekyll and Hyde, in NYC, so I know a little bit about what I am talking about.

One of the first theme restaurants was The Hard Rock Cafe. Centered around Rock and Roll and with units throughout the world in tourist heavy areas. The Hard Rock is still going strong. One of the strongest players of the theme restaurant heyday was The Rainforest Cafe. The buzz around this place was insane. Sitting in a fake jungle with fake animals you could enjoy average food surrounded by other parents with screaming kids. Fun! Other theme restaurants of the time were The Motown Cafe, The Harley Davidson Cafe, Mars 2112, Jillian, Dave and Busters, WWF, ESPN Zone and Planet Hollywood. These places were 25000+ square foot properties with some type of additional entertainment. Whether it be games, or music, or bowling, hollywood memorabilia, or a trip to Mars, each restaurant had some form of additional

entertainment, but like the Rainforest Cafe, the food was usually average and never the primary focus. Today you can still see some of these restaurants but many of their properties have closed, and it begs the question.. Will people keep coming year after year when you are serving average food because you've got some added entertainment?

Enter the Cheesecake Factory. In the late 90's I would say the Cheesecake Factory was just like all the other mega-themed restaurants. It was huge, it was centered around Cheesecake, sure they didn't have entertainment, but it looked the same to me. We even used to go into Cheesecake Factory to see what they did differently, and who we could recruit from their staff. It seems obvious, but the big difference between Cheesecake Factory and all those others, is, they focus on the food, and not how they can wow their guests with a plastic elephant in the corner.

I was in a meeting at work once and after a 3 day long seminar on Customer Service on "What the Customer wants" I heard the leader of the seminar say, "When people call support, they want to be helped!" How mind shattering! Was he kidding me? but then I thought about my own career when I was younger and I realized sometimes my focus wasn't always on the basics either. When people go to a restaurant, they want to eat good food.

Lou and I went to the Cheesecake Factory last weekend at the Atrium in Chestnut Hill. This place is always hopping, and always has a wait, so when we saw two seats at the bar open, we snagged them.

Our bartender/server was Brian, and he was on top of the service. He greeted us right away and set out place settings. I love that they place a napkin down as a place mat when they know you are going to eat. They also have very comfortable chairs at the bar. Bars aren't always conducive to eating, but this one is.

I decided on the Luau Salad as my meal and Lou went for the Catfish special. The Luau Salad has an Asian inspired feel with julienne vegetables, and crispy wontons, macadamia nuts and sesame seeds topped with sliced chicken breast.The portions are always huge at the Cheesecake Factory, so if for some strange reason you haven't been there, keep that in mind when ordering.

The Catfish special came with a crispy pecan crust and mixed vegetables that similar to a hot corn salsa.

Both our meals were excellent. I get the Luau Salad often when I visit the Cheesecake Factory, and it hit me while I was there. Out of all the mega restaurants, this place is always extremely consistent with the food. It's not easy to do when you've got 150 locations nationwide, and 8 in the Boston area alone. What is interesting about the Cheesecake Factory, is they had humble beginnings. Originally it was a Cheesecake business run by the Evelyn and Oscar Overton. Their son David is who turned the family business into a restaurant. Intuitively he knew what was most important, good, fresh food.

Lou and I finished our meal that night with a slice of Red Velvet Cheesecake. It is one of the Cheesecake Factory's newest flavors and it is a keeper.

I don't really like writing reviews on chain restaurants. I feel like most people have been to the majority of them. Especially when it is a place like Cheesecake Factory, but it is nice to know this place had humble beginnings and for the most part stay true to those in their service and food preparation.

Also I mentioned our bartender earlier in my review, Brian. I need to give this guy a shout out on the service. He was on top of it, pleasant, and was working the service bar the entire time. He also totally up-sold us on the delicious red velvet cheesecake.

One of my favorites

Uni

Located in the bottom of Clio Restaurant in the Eliot Hotel Boston

Menu: The best sashimi bar you will ever visit, with a French influence

Atmosphere: Sophisticated but slightly more casual than Clio

Kid Friendly: If your kids are into sashimi and fine dining.

Prices: Uni is not inexpensive, you may want to save a visit for special occasion, but it is worth every penny.

Reservations: Yes they take them, and it yes you should make one to be safe.

If someone were to ask me my favorite restaurant, I don't think I could pick one. There are a lot of places I have been with outstanding food. Now if you ask where can I get a good steak, or sushi, or local fare, I might be able to narrow it down. I could probably even give you a list of several favorite's.

One thing I do know, is any restaurant that Ken Oringer has opened would fall into my favorite's list. Ken doesn't need my praise to help him out. He is an internationally known chef, and he's won many awards and recognition over the years for his outstanding cuisine. If you haven't heard of Ken please don't think celebrity chef. True, he has battled in kitchen stadium and won against Cat Cora, but he is no celebrity chef like Todd English. I have been to Olive's and it is a T.G.I.Friday's compared to any of Ken's restaurants.

Lou and I decided to beat the crowds this Valentine's Day by going out on Friday and heading to one of our favorite Ken Oringer restaurants, Uni. Uni is in the Elliot hotel. It is a Sashimi bar connected to Clio. Clio is the first restaurant Ken opened in Boston. It was named best Newcomer by Gourmet magazine the first year it opened and name one of America's best new restaurants for the first 4 years it was open by Esquire magazine. This would be a very long blog entry if I list all of Ken's accolades, so if you want to read more about him, you can go to www.cliorestaurant.com.

After that introduction you might not expect my next comment, but 0ur night at Uni started off a bit slow. We sat for almost 20 minutes after we were first greeted and eventually had to ask someone to take our order. I know, I know. I just went on and on about this place. Honestly the service was out of character. It was a busy night, and I could see the girl who greeted us running up and down the stairs from Clio to Uni, so it seemed she was waiting on tables in both areas and taking our order slipped her mind.

Once our order was taken, the service was great, and although I don't usually use such fancy words, the food can only be defined as exquisite. For all the years I spent working in the restaurant industry, I should probably be ashamed at how little technically I know about great food. Eating at Uni reminds me of this. Ken takes unique ingredients and turns them into extraordinary cuisine.

After that long wait, I ordered a Lichee Martini. It was made up of a lichee puree, stawberry vodka, a few floating strawberries and a sugared rim.

For our dinner we started off with Anago Tempura (Salt Water Eel) with green tea salt and a shirred egg. This is where my lack of food knowledge kicks in. I have no idea what a shirred egg is or how you shir an egg. The definition I found online says it is an egg cooked in an individual ramekin with cream and cheddar. This definition doesn't do justice to what came to our table(neither does my picture unfortunately). Our shirred egg was in an egg shell which was perfectly sliced off at the top. The egg and cheese were a creamy concoction which hardly induced thoughts of an egg. It was euphoria and the perfect topping for our Anago Tempura.

Our next course was the Spicy Tuna Tataki with foie gras, cumin cilantro, aji amarillo and pear. First of all this dish is beautiful. I hardly wanted to eat it. This is the type of dish that I go to a Ken Oringer restaurant to eat. I know I like spicy tuna, and foie gras and cilantro, but I don't know when put together with an aji amarillo and pear, they will be an incredible combination of flavor.

Our next dish we ordered was Bronzini which should have been sea bass, but the restaurant had substituted Fluke. It was served with jalapeno vinaigrette, blood orange and thai basil, and was another beautiful, delicious course.

We finished our dinner with the Steak Teriyaki of Kobe Beef, with Kabayaki glaze, Vidalia onion juice, seasoned salts and lime. This course sounds pretty mundane, but in taste it was one of the most amazing of the night. Kobe beef is an outstanding cut on it's own, but paired with the different salts and the Teriyaki glaze to dip it in, it was from another dimension. One of the salts was smoked. Dipping just a little bit onto the beef gave the flavor an unexpected hearty, smokey boost which can only be described as other worldly.

After this amazing dinner, we couldn't leave without dessert! We got the warm ginger bread biscuit with creme freche, and the white chocolate pudding with coffee cake crumbles. My descriptions on the desserts are lacking. As you can see they both had icecream/sorbet but I took the pictures below so enjoy with your eyes. The ginger bread biscuit takes 20 minutes to cook, but it has a molten center which oozes out into the creme freche and sorbet and it is worth every second it takes to cook.

Ken's other restaurants include Verdad, a unique taco experience by Fenway with handmade tortillas! Toro, a tapas restaurant in the South End, KO Prime a steakhouse off of Tremont, Copa, the newest of his places, (I haven't been there yet), and my absolute favorite Clio. When I ate at Clio I sat across from my mother and every bite we took we said, "This is the best food I have ever had in my life."

This is for those not on the West Coast

OK, I admit it, we ate at In-N-Out Burger three times while we were in LA! Three times in four days, two of those times in the same day. It was glutenous, it was over indulgent, it was oh so good!

The best thing about In-N-Out Burger is the menu. It is so simple. They only do burgers, fries, and shakes but they do them really, really well.

Cheeseburgers, Hamburgers, Fries, Shakes, and my favorite, the Double Double, double cheese, double patties.

If you are from the West Coast, I don't have to tell you. If you aren't and haven't been, make sure you order your first In-N-Out Burger animal style. Those who know, know.

Roscoe's in the House!

Roscoe's House of Chicken and Waffles

We went to the one in Long Beach but there are several throughout the LA area.

Atmosphere: Casual, Family

Menu: Soul Food

Kid Friendly: Absolutely

Lou and I just got back from L.A. visiting his brother's family. While we were there, we had the pleasure of returning to Roscoe's. Roscoe's specialty? The name says it all... Chicken and Waffles! Roscoe's has been serving up soul food since 1976 when it were founded by Herb Hudson, a Harlem native who relocated to the west coast. All it took was a few Motown celebrities visiting his restaurant to get the word of mouth going and the rest is history.

In recent years other establishments have tried to benefit off of Roscoe's good reputation, so be warned. If the sign says Rosscoe's with two ss', you aren't getting the original!

Since I first heard of Chicken and Waffles years ago in NYC, I wondered who thought to put them together in the first place? It is definitely not for the light eater. This is as hearty as it gets, so I tried to do a little research. What I found is there are a few theories out there, but no one really knows where this combo originated. What is known though are there are cookbooks in the 1880's where the recipe seems to first appear, and there are also references to a similar recipe in old Pennsylvania Dutch cooking.

Whatever the origin, in the last 100 years chicken and waffles has been embraced by the African American community as one of their staples in soul food. As one article I read put it, if you eat the chicken and then the waffle, you are eating a chicken and then a waffle. You've got to combine the two to have it be true chicken and waffles.

Roscoe's has a variety of meals on their menu which involve A LOT of food and fun names like The Stubby, The Oscar, and Lord Oscar. Most meals include chicken, two waffles, eggs, grits and a biscuit. Like I said A LOT of food. On our recent trip to Roscoe's, I wanted to taste as much as possible, but not necessarily eat as much as possible, so I immediately began negotiating with Lou on what we should order. Remember, my blog's name IS Burke's BUFFET. I like to try it all! He called me out though, knowing what I was up to. In the end, Chris, my brother-in-law pointed out I could order most items ala carte, so this is what I ended up with: 2 eggs scrambled, one waffle, and a fried breast of chicken. Lou got two fried chicken legs, a waffle, chicken sausage patties, and cheesy eggs!

The waffles are about 8 inch round and come with a giant pat of whipped butter and warm syrup on the side. One waffle is more than enough for the average person. I got regular scrambled eggs, not much to write home about there, but Lou's cheesy eggs, as he would say were "the truth" ( we think this is his new favorite slang) The cheesy eggs usually come with onions, but we ordered them without and they were creamy cheesy goodness.

Our fried chicken was just as good. It was moist, and the crunchy skin flavorful. My five year old nephew Karis, who was dead asleep when we got there, woke right up when his drumsticks arrived. I am sure Lou was thinking of stealing one, but thought better of it and ordered his own.

The service at Roscoe's is always welcoming. Wait staff remembered Chris even though with 3 boys, he rarely gets to visit these days.

My only regret with this place is I don't have a bigger stomach.

They are so popular, the may have to change the name...

TEN TABLES

597 Centre Street JP or 5 Craigie Circle, Cambridge, Ma

617-524-8810 or 617-576-5444

Atmosphere: Intimate, quiet, casual elegance

Menu: Items change seasonally and local farms are used for ingredients, something for everyone on this menu. Fish, poultry, meat, and vegetarian options

Kid Friendly: Save this for Date Night

Dress: Somewhere between semi formal and casual, would that be your Sunday best?

In 1991 I was living in JP thinking how much potential it had as a neighborhood. The homes throughout this area of Boston were beautiful but in need of a facelift. I thought back then, if only someone would breath some new life into this place it could be amazing. If only I had the resources! 19 years later, I have been able to see my wishes for JP come to life. Today, many of the homes I used to look at have gotten their face lift, and Centre Street, the main thoroughfare in JP is bustling with new upscale restaurants.

Lou and I were able to check out one of the restaurants, Ten Tables, recently with our friends Terry and Marla. On a side note, I would be remiss, if I didn't mention what Terry and Marla do. They own a real estate firm with a creative and beneficial approach to helping buyers by charging a flat fee instead of taking the whole commission on sales. Check out their site: www.territoryre.com

Now back to our reveiw....Ten Tables won Best of Boston in 2009 and they were just recognized in the Boston Globe as one of the Best of the New restaurants to try.

If the name Ten Tables instantly makes you think small, you aren't mistaken. Originally the restaurant only had ten tables. It was much like many of the small North End restaurants you see in Boston with an open kitchen on the back wall . Recently Ten Tables expanded into the space next door. Now they probably have about 15 tables and a bar. It is a small place but small intimate, not small cramped. The exposed brick and elegant, simple decor add to the intimacy.

When we first arrived at the restaurant we were a few minutes early to meet our friends, so we sat in a few seats up front. The bartender/host greeted us instantly and offered us drinks while we waited. We didn't take him up on the offer, but it was quick insight into how great the service is in this place. We also got to glance at the drink menu which had an extensive wine list, specialty drinks and great beer choices including a favorite Chimay Blue.

Before I talk about the food it is important to know there are two special nights at Ten Tables. Tuesdays are their wine pairing night with a Prix Fixe menu at $42 a person. For this you get 3 courses and wine pairings. On Wednesdays there is also a Prix fixe menu at $33 a person without the pairings. All other nights are ala carte. Keep this in mind when making a reservation.

When we sat down, our service at the table was as good as I thought it would be based on our greeting. Our server was well versed in wine and suggested a delicious Chardonnay with buttery notes. Of course I don't remember the name, but if all servers are as good as ours was with their wine knowledge, you won't need to. Just ask them to suggest a bottle.

For dinner I got a butternut squash soup, and a fish stew with a much fancier name than fish stew. This is what happens when I don't take notes and don't write my review for a week, but I did take a picture! The stew had a cream sauce with a large piece of wolf fish, (a white fish similar to monk), little neck clams and scallops. The sauce had parsley throughout it, and although it was cream based is was light and flavorful.

Lou got the housemade Toulouse sausage with lentils for his appetizer, and a lamb pappardelle pasta. Both our meals were excellent and with a Prix Fixe menu you can always count on the portions being perfect.

For dessert Lou got the creme brulee and I got the Chocolate Terrine with Thai Basil icecream and sea salt. I was a bit disappointed in the creme brulee. Usually I find these custards very creamy, but this had more of a flan consistency. The Terrine was excellent. The combination of flavors was very interesting. They state basil on the menu, but the icecream had more of a minty flavor. Terrine refers to the type of pan the dessert was cooked in. Usually something in a terrine has a layered look. Often terrine's are made of meat, but these days they can refer to anything made in that type of pan. In our case, this was a fancy name for a chocolate brownie ala mode, but hey, it was delicious, and I fell for pretense.

Ten Tables is definitely a date or double date type of place. It is not kid friendly. There isn't a lot of room for large parties but I am guessing you could call ahead. Keep in mind, even getting 4 of us into dinner wasn't easy. It is a popular place. The dining side of the restaurant is well lit with candlelight accents. The bar is a bit darker, but has two tops for dining as well.

I would love to return to Ten Tables on a night where there isn't a prix fixe menu to try it again, but my first impression was this place was top notch. Make sure you call at least a week or two in advance for a reservation!