South of Philly Cheesesteaks

Rion

I recently had a quick lunch at South of Philly Cheesesteaks on Sherwood Forest Blvd. near Coursey. I had the 7in Pepper Steak with onions for around $8. It was well seasoned sliced Ribeye with peppers and onions and your choice of cheese (I had mozzarella), on a soft corn meal dusted roll. I highly recommend a quick lunch here.

Dingo's

Dingo's

11580 Coursey Blvd.

225-291-0049

http://www.eatatdingos.com/



Rion


I often skip the Fish and Chips style entree when dining out for a number of reasons, it can tend to be greasy and flavorless throw away fish, and fries get boring quickly. What intrigued me about the fish and chips offered at Dingo's was a)the tilipia, which I find to be a tasty mild fish that takes to flavors well, b)it was paneed, not as greasy and heavy as fried, but still crispy, c) the chips were potato wedges and it came with slaw and d) (and maybe most importatly) it came with a salad. This was all around $12. The salad was unremarkable, mixed greens with a couple of onions and tomatoes, but they have a wasabi ranch dressing that may be one of my favorite ever salad dressings. The dressing is self-explanatory, but if you are a wasabi fan it's a must, I also plan on making some soon. The fish was just as I expected above and came with a delightful sauce they call an OOO-EEE sauce, it tastes like a creamy, spicy remoulade. The potato wedges are very good, much like a seasoned fry, but in wedge form. The cole slaw was also good, not quite Parrain's good, but tasty. Overall, I really enjoyed this meal and didn't have to unbuckle my belt on the way to the car.

Claire

I strongly recommend a visit to Dingo's; I've been there about 4 times now and have always left happy. The dish I've ordered most frequently is the Veggie Burger, which is a hearty vegetable-based burger that is "well packed" together, ie, it doesn't taste like a bunch of random veggies aimlessly shaped into something that barely resembles a patty but rather actually resembles a patty that is a good meat substitute. It's served on a whole wheat bun with fresh avocado slices and a light mango salsa, which also earns Dingo's some points from me in that they have actually endeavored to make their veggie burger interesting. I've also enjoyed their side salad as described above, but with a sweet honey mustard dressing that I like so much I have to get it every time. Dingo's tomato basil soup is also excellent, and offers the unmistakeable taste of fresh (and sweet) basil. On my most recent visit, I was in the mood for pasta, and cautiously ordered the Pasta Primavera, expecting to get my pasta fix but possibly lament not ordering the thoughtfully constructed veggie burger. I was instead pleasantly surprised by angel hair pasta in a butter sauce sprinkled with a few herbs and a light parmesan cheese with many lightly sauteed vegetables including bell peppers, carrots, zuchini, broccoli, and sqaush; this turned out to be one of those addictive dishes you pick at long after you're completely full. Also, Dingo's has a laid back atmosphere that is casual without being too plain and family friendly without being cheesy or somehow patronizing to the clientele. This is a hip and comfortable-feeling restaurant that is well worth the drive down the 12 for those of us more used to hanging around the LSU/downtown/mid-city areas. I doubt you'll be disappointed.

La Fonda

7838 Airline Hwy

Baton Rouge, LA 70815-8195

(225) 927-2535

http://www.lafondabr.com/

Rion

I haven't been to La Fonda since the mid-1990s. When Claire and I talk of places we need to go, I often mentioned La Fonda. Claire asked me to describe it and I said, "delicious, greasy Mexican." Some things never change. We were served the traditional chips and a very good salsa (often I find restaurant salsas to overuse cilantro), and a tasty bean dip for a change. I ordered the Deluxe Supreme Dinner which came in two parts. The first was a beef taco which was quite tasty and a chulupa which was like the taco, but on a flat shell. Then came the good part, a very cheesy homemade enchilada, a corn pork tamale with a hickory flavor and spanish rice with refried beans all smothered in chile con carne. I didn't finish the Shaquille sized plate, but did treat my diabetes to a delicious sopapilla with cinnamon sugar and honey that we dipped in whipped cream with a chocolate drizzle. I highly reccommend La Fonda, but I must suggest that you be within 20 minutes of a comfortable bed or couch after indulging.

Claire

In preparation for my visit to La Fonda, I did twice as much brisk walking on the treadmill earlier in the day as I normally do. If you knew my regular exercise routine you'd know this still doesn't translate to anything particularly impressive, but it gave me a sense of slightly-elevated well-being as I headed into what I had several times been told would be a Very Greasy And Delicious Meal. And indeed my main course- the House Chalupas, two hard corn tortillas smothered in refried beans and stringy melty cheddar cheese- fit this description perfectly, nestling snugly in the place between indulgent, tasty junk food and simple comfort food. But what really stuck with me, and somewhat took me by surprise, was the deliciousness of La Fonda's sauces.

Mexican is one of my favorite cuisines, but the reason for this has more to do with my addiction to chips and salsa than with anything else. I don't know quite why I love them so much- I'm not a huge fan of chips, even Tostitos, etc.- but I could probably literally eat most restaurant chips and salsa for a week and not get sick of them. La Fonda's chips are crunchy but entirely non-greasy, which may have been a disappointment were it not for the delectable salsa they were served with. Light and spicy, the salsa tasted strongly of fresh tomatos and onions, as if they had just that afternoon been plucked from someone's garden. The gaucamole tasted, simply, of fresh avocados with a hint of lemon juice among a few standard seasonings. And my only complaint about my chalupas was that the green salsa they featured as a topic wasn't plentiful enough it. It was slightly sweet and slightly sour and enhanced the dish even in the small portion. I'll try to ask for extra sauce next time though.

As Rion already alluded to, if you visit La Fonda, SAVE ROOM FOR DESSERT. The sopapillas were, again, surprisingly non-greasy, almost light tasting, though perfectly moist and the cinnamon, sugar, honey, whipped cream and chocolate were fantastic.

Chinese Inn

Claire

Our blog was inspired by our visit to Chinese Inn, the white-facaded neon-illuminated Chinese place you've probably seen surrounded by car dealerships on Airline Highway near Women's Hospital. Our delightful meal at the sparsely populated restaurant made us want to tell all our friends how delicious it was, and then we thought it might be fun to spread the word a little further and venture into the blogging universe in the process. Since neither of us know anything about setting up a blog and at least one of us (me) is stubbornly averse to reading instructions, this has so far proven more of a challenge than anticipated; however, in the interests of justly spreading the word about our awesome dinner at Chinese Inn, soldier on we will.

I usually don't eat a lot of Chinese food. When I was a kid it was one of my favorite treats- the sweet and sour pork, the sweet and sour chicken balls, the gluey red sweet and sour sauce- but since I started having trouble eating meat in my early 20's my enthusiasm has waned. One of the things that has made me more excited about Chinese restaurants since then is the presence of friend bean curd on the menu, which can (at least 8 years into my vegetarianism) satisfy my craving for fried food vaguely resembling meat. The trouble is, many places don't sell it or sell it in a plain vegetable-based gravy, and that's not something I find terribly interesting. But Chinese Inn won points from me immediately by featuring not one but two kinds of bean curd- a plainer option (I can't remember what it was actually called) and then Szechuan bean curd, which the waitress described as "spicy". Well, I like my food to have a little kick to it, but I'm also a wimp, so I asked for "mild spicy".

I probably could have gone with "medium spicy", but still, this bean curd ranked very high on my delicious-bean-curd-I-have-known-ladder. Slighly crisp on the outside and firm (never weak or, worse, mushy, the kiss of death to me regarding any tofu dishes) on the inside, the thinly-sliced, wide-based squares of bean curd were covered with a light-tasting, slightly sweet, very, very mildly spicy Szechzuan sauce and surrounded by mixed vegetables (shown in the picture below). I got a meal deal for $11:50 (approx) which included a hearty and flavorful fried rice (this is not actually vegetarian- they offer a simple white rice, too), a simple yet soothing savory vegetable soup with cabbage, carrot, broccoli, and mushrooms, and a homemade eggroll. The eggroll was neither excessively greasy nor dry and was filled with fresh-tasting cabbage, carrot and other vegetables. It was served with plum sauce and spicy mustard and was everything I wanted an eggroll to be. In fact, I'm craving another already.

Rion

When I suggested we try the Chinese Inn I thought it would be a decent sit down Chinese meal. I was pleasantly surprised to get a homemade, well prepared and seasoned dinner. I was craving hot and sour soup which I found just right, not too much mushroom, a good base and the little bamboo shoots that add good crunch. I found the homemade egg roll delicious as well even though I usually prefer flakier egg rolls. For my entree I had mongolian beef which I often find to be a huge portion of mid-grade beef with a bland gravy and tons of onions and rice. This was a responsible, but filling portion of well seasoned (I asked for it very spicy), beef with onions and bell peppers in a dark gravy with a firm and oily (the good kind of oily) fried rice with chicken and maybe pork too. I often find Chinese food boring and cannot say that for the Chinese Inn.

Below: the bean curd (left) and the beef (right) with rice, being outstanding.