Momentarily @ Momotaro

Hey let's play this nice little game called "no reservations." I would have to admit that at times, I pretend to be Anthony Bourdain, and it has worked 30% of the time, at odd random times like Tuesday @ 5:30pm.    Ready, set, NO! Apparently random times do not exist at Momotaro. I got denied reservations by Opentable. Well, I ain't too proud to wait.  Karla Fantastic and I walked in to a nearly empty Momotaro, and ha! Add this to my 30% success rate, but the hostess forewarned us to eat fast  that they would  need our table by 7pm. Challenge accepted.

Minutes after we were seated, the empty chairs and tables were occupied. Looks like we really got lucky. Ok, we have 1.5 hours to eat, let's get this party started. Being that this was after my jury duty adventure, shaking from the amount of caffeine I ingested is starting to put me in a coma. I spotted a cocktail called Strength and Longevity . I needed just that! The concuction consists of bombay original dry gin, imbue petal and thorn, goji & omija, soda, & lemon. This drink is dangerously refreshing. It was like drinking a pucker worthy lemonade. It would be easy to forget that this is for the 21 and over crowd.

Now let's move on to something from the Robata (basically the grill.)

KF got the Washugyu , it's skirt steak, shishito, and foie gras...on a stick! I expected a spicey bite, but to my surprise, it was very mild; but then again, I'm starting to think that the part of my taste buds that recognizes  spiciness is near death. I put red peppers and cayenne on nearly everything! The overall bite of everything was a nice sweet, salty, buttery, and a pinch of zing. I did not utilize the lime that was provided. Oops. Guess you'll just have to find out for yourselves...then let me know.

Tsukune it's jidori chicken ginger meatball, quail eggs, & bathed in tare (a sauce reminiscent of terriyaki.) Ordering this, I imagined a hard boiled quail egg, grilled, and slathered with tare. As the plate landed in front of me, I had a hint of disappointment, and then I put it in my mouth...I'm ok. I'm very ok with this. The yolk of the egg served as an overlapping sauce to the chicken meatball. Sooooo good! Hey Momotaro, there's still so much room on this plate for a few more sticks you know!

Sushi time!

Wasabi Salmon: marinated salmon, pickled onion, wasabi and Una-Kyu: barbequed eel, cucumber, avocado yuzu kosho. Confession time. I often get my sushi in mass production type places that have happy hour. It's been a success so far as I'm still able to write about it, but the rare occasions that I go to places that their sushi pride is just above the rest, I'm surprised to actually be able to tell the difference (my standards can get a little low. No food poisoning or parasite infestation? I'm good to go!) This sushi falls in to the higher cusp of the sushi pride. I did not get the almost metallic taste that I have come to tolerate with my lower cusp sushi that's usually hiding in spicey mayo and eel sauce. Momotaro's sushi components blended so well that I did not want to kill it with any wasabi. Once again, my only gripe is, why are these rolls so tiny?! I guess more room for dessert.

Speaking of dessert, ice cream of course! Don't hate me, but I forgot to document the name of this dessert. It's something of the burnt sugar nature, and crunchy goodness. Just trust me it's good! So good that they need to make this scoop bigger! Are you seeing a pattern? 

At Momotaro, the serving sizes may be small, but it makes up for it in big flavors. The staff knew the menu, and gave good recommendations that hit the spot. We actually left pleasantly full and satisfied, despite my incessant "super size me" complaints...and it's 6:50pm. No one likes to wait, and the 7 o'clock planner that probably made reservations months in advance shouldn't wait. We're courteous like that. Time to make reservations for summer. Who's coming with me?

                                   

Ohio! Put-in-Bay:Proving That There's Squid in Lake Erie @ The Keys Put in Bay

To help transport you in to vacay mode: Beach Boys

Kokomo

What is summer without a week long vacation to get some sun damage? This sun damage was brought to you by the wonderful state of Ohio. Yes! You read that right. O.H.I.O! I decided to tag along with The Great Dane for a trip to Put-in-Bay, OH. It's an island on it's own, needing a quick hop on a ferry to get to it. Think of it as the  smaller version of Lake Geneva, or for you East Coast folks, the smaller version of the Hamptons with a splash of Jersey Shore. It's about a 2 mile stretch from end to end, and according to the census, population 138! Ok, enough with the faqs, and on to the fun! 

Arriving late in the afternoon, it was clear that we had to catch up on some fun and hydration. Fast forward to the dehydration of the morning after. I think the first words out of my mouth was "water," followed by "ice cream." Armed with my sunglasses, we started our foot journey in the direction of ice cream. A long the way I spotted this... The Keys

It's kinda hard to pass up a waterside restaurant bursting with colorful umbrellas. Brunch before ice cream it is!

Unsure of my capacity to ingest real food, and knowing that the next meal time is just around the corner, we decided to split the nosh.

Island Calamari: I wasn't expecting much from this, since I was well aware that I'm floating on Lake Erie, and not the ocean. To my surprise, the calamari was fresh, not chewy, perfectly seasoned coating, and not greasy at all! It was flavorful enough that the pineapple chili sauce was just an added bonus. My mouth is craving the crunch as I write this! How come this calamari tasted 200x fresher than the calamari I had in Seattle, when the ocean is right there?! I guess there's squid in Lake Erie. Ha!

                       

Grouper Reuben: Laying in between grilled marbled rye was the sweet symphony of the grilled grouper, coleslaw, swiss cheese, swiss chili tartar, and GUACAMOLE! My ailment was screaming for the health benefits of guac. The combination was nice and hearty, that I almost forgot I was eating fish. Another fresh catch! Oh and the fries... TGD vetoed sweet potato fries,  so we kept it normy. I'm not one to finish off fries, but they were seasoned so well, I could not help myself. The seasoning had great balance of salty and a hint of pepper spice? Now I'm wondering how epic the sweet potato fries would have been.

The tropical themed meal was complimented by this view. I said I wanted water, and water was what I got.  How come I'm still so thirsty? Well done Ohio! I actually felt like I was in Florida.

Ok, on to my next request...ICE CREAM!!!

Viva Las Swedish Day Parade! @ Hugos Frog Bar

A soundtrack to complete your reading experience : Keep on Drinking by Johnny Young

As previously mentioned, it was the Swedish Twins' birthday last weekend. I'm not quite a fan of the word "birthday," because if we really were celebrating our birthday,we'd spend it with our mother, who  birthed us,  and shower her with gifts. Instead, many of us revel in drinking debauchery enough to make  death put his robe on,  and get ready to... Get! to! Work! Let's be honest, you're celebrating you, and what better to do that than a "parade!"

Let the Swedish Parade commence! Instead of getting rumbunk (rambunctious) in a random Chicago bar, they picked Hugo's Frog Bar...inside River's Casino! Ready, set, pretend we're in vegas! 

Our waiter introduced us to these fine pieces of nomery (food, noms, nosh).  No frog legs here! the frog in Hugo's is the nickname of Hugo's grandfather. So we can skip that frog leg adventure.

There was this big piece of meat that looked like Fred Flintstone's dinner, called The Tomahawk. I was too enamored by the meats, I forgot to snap a pic. Here it is...stolen from Google.

We ordered a few appetizers. The parade Grand Marshals ( the twins) are obsessed with oysters.I on the other hand, eat it because it's there. I like my shellfish smothered in cheese.Notice how there are small oysters and big oysters on that tray? It's because Karla Fantastic thinks that the big oysters "look vulgar!"Hmmm...ok I'll leave that to your imagination. 

The second appetizer was the Spicy Tuna Tartare with Sriracha Mayo and Fried Wontons. Every time I got ready to scoop one in my mouth, I kept thinking that I will be eating chips and salsa, then as my taste buds wake up, I realized that it tastes like spicy tuna sushi, minus the rice. How fun is that?! It's like taking a trip to Mexico and Asia all in one bite. I wish it was a little bit more spicy.

 For the main course I had the Cajun Chicken and Crab with Andouille Sausage, Rice, and Lemon Butter.


When I heard we're going to Hugo's, my mouth watered with anticipation for this dish. It's got all your proteins covered; poultry, pork, shellfish. One for every craving. To add to the allure, this dish always leaves me with left overs. Next day gourmet! This time, I really tried to stuff all of it down, but the button on my shirt looked like it was holding on for dear life!  A quick caution for this meal: walking around with your leftovers might clear out the penny slot machine you're dying to play on...or people just think you stink of garlic, etc. Put that doggy bag in the trunk!


What's a birthday parade without cake and candles...and in this case, a dagger ? I've been hearing about the monstrosity of Hugo's desserts from the twins. No kidding!  We got the Ice cream pie with macadamia and fudge, complete with a pep from the staff  that's reminiscent of a Greek chant. This pie looks small in the picture, but don't be fooled, it fed 6 grown adults! Well, ok. This might be small compared to the tower of sliced cake that was paraded by our table. It was approximately a foot and a half tall!  I'll have to go back for that after I come in first place in a marathon...wait, that will be never, so... I'll be back as a reward for driving there. Ha!