Another HIGH PRIORITY for taking care of your FSUW in the states!

[ECOCKS]

OK, as we prepare to return to the states for a long holiday (5 weeks) I am working on a major high priority list, the one with places she HAS to eat while we are there. Does anyone have any suggestions on places I should consider?  I will be in Memphis-Nashville, TN; Boise, ID; New Orleans, LA and (maybe) Orlando, FL.  We will be road-tripping from Memphis to NO and probably then on to Orlando but flying to Boise. So, any suggestions would be greatly appreciated since I may have forgotten or overlooked some spots or some companies may be out of business by now.

And HEY!, if you have some particularly JUICY anecdote about your wife's US eating experience, warnings, service, culture, disaster or just plain comedy how about sharing it?

So far, I am planning on a Cracker Barrel breakfast being her first sit-down US meal just to set the pace.  MMMMM, GRITS!, apples, country-fried steak, pancakes, biscuits (double-order), eggs (OL), preserves, oooooooooooooooo.......   

[HiTech]

Find a good Mexican place with very hot spice. My wife said she like spicy food, I found out that spicy food really consisted of 2 flakes of black pepper mixed in.

Does any one have a FSU wife who does love very very spicy food?

2nd would be a great steak house with a good medium rare fillet.

Royal Buffet for shear volume vs price.


HiTech

[Simoni]

So far, I am planning on a Cracker Barrel breakfast being her first sit-down US meal just to set the pace.  MMMMM, GRITS!, apples, country-fried steak, pancakes, biscuits (double-order), eggs (OL), preserves, oooooooooooooooo.......   

Marina LOVES grits.  They are very similar to kasha.   Now that was a major discovery for us!

[Simoni]

Find a good Mexican place with very hot spice. My wife said she like spicy food, I found out that spicy food really consisted of 2 flakes of black pepper mixed in.

Does any one have a FSU wife who does love very very spicy food?


HiTech

Mexican food is my favorite, but Marina HATES it cuz it is so spicy.  Even things that are not spicy!  We eat it about once a month; she gets cheese Quesadoes.

[ScottinCrimea]

My wife also isn't one for spicy food.  Knowing how blandly the food is typically spiced in Ukraine I can understand why.  She refused to eat Mexican food at first for this very reason but over time she is learning to enjoy it, though not the real spicy dishes yet.  I suspect she will never understand the attraction of tabasco sauce.

[thompsongunner06]

OutBack Steak House,,,My wife LOVES the Salmon. Next she will melt over a hot Pizza Hut Meat Lovers (stuffed crust) pizza. We do one per month. Olive Garden  puts her in a great mood! We stay away from buffet's as much as possible. Cheap food. Also IHOP if we go on a road trip. My wife loves fish,vegies and non bloody steak(once in a while). She/we try to eat fresh with no preservatives.

[Simoni]

OutBack Steak House,,,My wife LOVES the Salmon. Next she will melt over a hot Pizza Hut Meat Lovers (stuffed crust) pizza. We do one per month. Olive Garden  puts her in a great mood! We stay away from buffet's as much as possible. Cheap food. Also IHOP if we go on a road trip. My wife loves fish,vegies and non bloody steak(once in a while). She/we try to eat fresh with no preservatives.

Ditto to Outback.  I get the steak and she orders the salmon.   Russian women also love salad buffets, like Sweet Tomato and the like.

[Simoni]

Also IHOP if we go on a road trip.

She likes IHOP too, as well as Cracker Barrel breakfasts.  Oh, and something funny.  She orders eggs "with eyes!"

Now she knows to ask for "sunny side up." 

[Tamara]

ECOCKS,
How cool it is you are coming for 5 weeks.  I just came back from Florida, where I did spend couple days in Orlando for the New Year's.  Both my husband and I love the place called Carrabba's Italian Grill (http://www.carrabbas.com/index.aspx).  I have been to it a number of times both in Florida and in South Carolina and each time is superb experience. Excellent Italian food, great drinks, bread with spicy oil! Delicious. They also have a happy hour, when you get two for one drinks. I believe it is 4 p.m. to 7 p.m., but you'll need to check on this if interested.

[SANDRO43]

bread with spicy oil! Delicious.

Was that a bruschetta? Very easy to prepare at home, too, if you can't go to a restaurant for it .
http://www.elise.com/recipes/archives/001321bruschetta_with_tomato_and_basil.php

[AnastassiaAsh]

Thi and Italian are good for me. I didn't like Mexican at first either, but we found a really good restaurant where there are non spicy dishes, excellent quality and low prices, now i love it.  Big warning for your RW - portions are huge, so it's ok to share or take the rest home for lunch next day. 

[groovlstk]

My wife hates spicy food and every time I ate Indian or Mexican during her first year here I got a lecture about how unhealthy it is for my tummy 

New Orleans is one of my favorite cities, my wife and I spent a week there two summers ago and she had mixed feelings. We stayed at the Royal Sonesta on Bourbon St. and at night the party people were rowdy to the point where it frightened her. But you can't go wrong with the food in NO, it seems to me people take so much pride in the cuisine that it's hard to find a bad meal.

[Sculpto]

I cooked a Mexican dish for my lady while I was in Moscow.. brought Don~a Maria "Mole" starter and i made it as bland as I could.  She liked the flavor but commented that it was very "sharp" and she did not eat much of it.  

We have so many awesome eateries in SF with all kinds of food it will be a shame if she is not adventurous about it.

The Ukrainian girl I hung out with last summer always wanted to eat "meat" and especially pork.  She was quite happy with a piece of practically unseasoned meat.  Yawn.  She also ALWAYS complained about portion size, though, did get used to the "doggie bag".  The fav meal I took her out to was Bennie Hana... bland grilled meat and fish served with all that "drama".  I practically forced her to try Pakistani/Punjabi with me and she ended up liking it even though it was VERY spicy.

[ScottinCrimea]

My wife will not eat any meat with any type of sweet sauce on it, which eliminates barbecue (totally unAmerican IMO), orange chicken, etc.  I did do a honey baked ham for Christmas and she was fine with that, though.  Haven't even dared to suggest Indian food.

One distinct abberation from most FSUW I know is that she won't touch sushi.  She says the idea of someone touching everything and then not cooking it doesn't sit well with her.

[HiTech]

Is it just my wife, or do many RW/UW love catchup?

Alyona's favorite is Sushi.


Dale

[Simoni]

Is it just my wife, or do many RW/UW love catchup?

Alyona's favorite is Sushi.


Dale

Same story here.   It is like a veggie to her!

Once in Prague, she had pasta with catchup!

[Simoni]

OutBack Steak House,,,My wife LOVES the Salmon. Next she will melt over a hot Pizza Hut Meat Lovers (stuffed crust) pizza. We do one per month. Olive Garden  puts her in a great mood! We stay away from buffet's as much as possible. Cheap food. Also IHOP if we go on a road trip. My wife loves fish,vegies and non bloody steak(once in a while). She/we try to eat fresh with no preservatives.

All of this food talk made me hungry!  My favorite food is Italian, and the US is blessed with good Italian food everywhere.  We went over to our local Italian market; they have two delis, a coffee bar, a cafe, and wine, wine, wine!

I had chicken marsala and grilled veggies at the cafe.

Marina bought some pasta to cook tonight; here are the prices. How do they compare to your area?

~Si

[BC]

One distinct abberation from most FSUW I know is that she won't touch sushi.  She says the idea of someone touching everything and then not cooking it doesn't sit well with her.

Wow.. that is unusual.

We do our own sushi nowdays.  Once you get the knack of it and have the right tools and ingredients it's really fun.

The rice vinegar, ginger and wasabi take care of any residual bacteria quite well.

Fresh fish is absolute key, best if they are still wiggling.

[BC]

Marina bought some pasta to cook tonight; here are the prices. How do they compare to your area?

~Si

Well....

When outside of Italy, I like to stick with Barilla pasta if available. Especially when travelling to RU at least one suitcase is dedicated to pasta and good olive oil.

Forget their sauces though..

[ECOCKS]

OMG!

Thanks so much to all for the wealth of opinions and advice. My wife is already curiously concerned about Mexican, looking forward to salmon at Outback and anticipating the Olive Garden and Carrabas.  I should have mentioned that she only eats fish plus vegetarian but no cheese, milk or cheese.  Olive oil, XXV is the only oil she allows in the kitchen and NO butter allowed.

I should have remembered the salad buffet places, good example of things I forgot to mention over the years.

Also, she feels the same about the sushi as one of the posters mentioned with regard to touching but not cooking.....

She's excited!

Spaseba Bolshoi to all - malodets!

[Misha]

We do our own sushi nowdays.  Once you get the knack of it and have the right tools and ingredients it's really fun.

Fresh fish is absolute key, best if they are still wiggling.

That is a great idea. Main drawback: getting the fresh fish and getting a variety of fresh fish.

Fortunately, we have a nice little sushi restaurant just down the block. For $15 we can get a huge plate loaded with sushi/California rolls. Very delicious and my wife loves it.

[Faux Pas]

OK, as we prepare to return to the states for a long holiday (5 weeks) I am working on a major high priority list, the one with places she HAS to eat while we are there. Does anyone have any suggestions on places I should consider?  I will be in Memphis-Nashville, TN; Boise, ID; New Orleans, LA and (maybe) Orlando, FL.  We will be road-tripping from Memphis to NO and probably then on to Orlando but flying to Boise. So, any suggestions would be greatly appreciated since I may have forgotten or overlooked some spots or some companies may be out of business by now.

And HEY!, if you have some particularly JUICY anecdote about your wife's US eating experience, warnings, service, culture, disaster or just plain comedy how about sharing it?

So far, I am planning on a Cracker Barrel breakfast being her first sit-down US meal just to set the pace.  MMMMM, GRITS!, apples, country-fried steak, pancakes, biscuits (double-order), eggs (OL), preserves, oooooooooooooooo.......   

How do you get Boise ID in there? Anyway, IIRC you are a product of Memphis? Then surely you know about Rendezvous. It would sacrilege to let her leave Mem'fis without fitting BBQ. Corky's doesn't count.

Naw'lins - for fine dining, Arnauds just off Bourbon. They have this soufflé' fried potato that is beyond description and delicious along with creole and french dishes down to just a plain ole delicious slice of dead cow.

For the real eating I strongly suggest Acme oyster Bar. I drop a couple dozen every time I visit Naw'lins. Of course they have all your other fare there as well. But the raw oysters are primo.

I have a lot of foot time in both these cities, let me know if you need more suggestions

[Shadow]

My wife will not eat anything that looks at her. 

Favorites (apart from the Russian food) are Greek 'schnitzel', chicken (including KFC) and sausage.
The Dutch traditional food of herring (seliodka) also is a favorite, although the small size needed getting used to.

She will be happy to be able to eat hot food soon, I guess that is one of the first things she will want to 

[BC]

Olive oil, XXV is the only oil she allows in the kitchen and NO butter allowed.

With green salads, the normal Sasso (green can) does very well and is available in many countries.

Their extra virgine is also quite good, but nothing like picking your own olives right before they fall off the tree and taking them down to your local frantoio to grind and extract the oil.  Lots of hard work involved, but dipping a piece of good Matera bread in the first pressing with a few grains of sea salt sprinkled over it will make you forget butter forever.  Add good wine, some cheese and you have a full and very healthy meal.

[Simoni]

Well....

When outside of Italy, I like to stick with Barilla pasta if available. Especially when travelling to RU at least one suitcase is dedicated to pasta and good olive oil.

Forget their sauces though..

There is no place like Italy for Italian food, BC.  You are so lucky!

Last year I did a lot of consulting in Italian schools.  The LUNCHROOM food there was delicious!  Fresh delicious pasta and sauces every day.  I would never eat in a US school lunchroom; I never passed on the ones in Italy.