Hiatus

I just wanted to let all of our loyal readers know that the 3 Elles will be taking a holiday hiatus. We'll return in January with our "regular" scheduled outings.

From the 3 of us, to all of you . . . Happy Holidays!!!!

Naked Tchopstix

8607 US Highway 24 W
Ft Wayne 46804
260.436.2211
nakedtchopstix.com

Atmosphere & Culture:
Prepare yourself for a culture shift of sorts once you open the door and walk into Naked Tchopstix. The decor, both outside and inside, definitely helps create an authentic Asian experience. That said, I highly recommend taking a deep breath and preparing your mind before entering. Prepare yourself for both what you know (American servers and pipped in American music) quickly colliding with Asian manners. Within the first 5 steps inside the restaurant, I was hit by a passing man. It was a hard hit and I decided that I was going to stop and look at the guy and non-verbally demand at least acknowledgment of his rudeness if not a full outright apology. It's the kind of bump-and-ignore that one would expect at a place like Applebees, but at this type of restaurant - no, this was suppose to be the elite of society. As I turned around and said "hey" - I was immediately SHOCKED. It was an Asian man (who is either an owner or someone important with the restaurant) who put his hands together, performed a small bow, and said "so sorry." Ummmmm - well, that might have been a bit more apology than I was looking for. Two steps later I got in a "you go, no you, no you, no you go, you first" back-and-forth with another Asian man who appeared to be the chef (judging from his attire). It was at that exact moment when I realized that I stepped out of Urban Fort Wayne and into a culturally Asian restaurant. Odd - though, since the servers, bartenders, and manager were Caucasian.

I strongly recommend making reservations as it was extremely busy - even though it was a non-holiday Monday night when we were there. We were seated in the bar which was quiet, dark, and calm. It is not an extremely large restaurant, but it does have several unique dining sections.

Martinis:
For our first round, Adams L chose a "Rising Sun". It was delicious. I would say it tasted a lot like wedding reception punch. The presentation of this martini was beautiful in that it had a definite red bottom layer topped with a white foamy layer.



Allen L chose a "Vanilla Zen" for her first drink. It was a beautiful blue color and finished with a pretty lime garnish. Each sip started off with a sour note followed quickly by a hint of vanilla. I thought it tasted exactly like that green cool whip dessert that has pineapple, marshmellows, cool whip, and pistachios in it (it can be served chilled or frozen - know what I'm talking about?).



To start off with, I choose a cherry "Taste of Rainbow" which features Skittels infused vodka. It tasted exactly like a pink sweet tart candy - very unique flavor.



I wanted to try the Asian Pear Mojito as my second drink. It was beautiful, but unfortunately, it was simply undrinkable. The description led me to believe there was a strong pear flavor - the menu stated it contained pear juice and pear puree; however, it was just bad. Our server, Amy, was a gem and returned it to the bar and had it removed from my bill.



Appetizers:
Allen L ordered "Crab Ragoon" for us to share. All you need to know about them is that they were THE BEST that I have ever eaten! You MUST order them during your visit. They are fried, but not greasy. Simply fantastic! I'm not sure they contained much crab, but it didn't seem as if it were missing anything - perfection in 5 medium triangles! Sorry the picture doesn't do them justice.



I'm a HUGE pot sticker fan, so I selected an order for us all to share. They could be fried or steamed (I actually thought the official way was to fry them first and then steam them, but . . . ) - I chose steamed (seemed healthier). They arrived cool - not quite cold, but definitely not hot or even warm. They were pretty disappointing actually. Save your money - skip the pot stickers and get two orders of the Crab Ragoon. Again, I apologize for the poor quality of the photo.



Entrees:
Adams L and I selected the "Pan Fried Noodles" for $9.99. I got it with both shrimp (add $4) and chicken (add $3) -I was thankful to have the variety. Adams L limited herself to only chicken. We both described it the same way, "good." Hmmm, good? Did it WOW us? No, but it was good. Would it be good enough for us to return to have it? No, but it was good. It was colorful and contained many fresh veggies. It tasted very fresh and the flavors blended well. It was yummy. We both recommend it.



Allen L chose a complicated entree called "Dolset Bibimbag" for $14.99. This is how their website describes the dish, "BiBimBap served in a hot stone pot. When mixed together, ingredients cook themselves inside the bowl with the heat from the stone– a kind of “make your own fried rice.”" It arrives with a side of very spicy sauce that our awesome server Amy mixed into the dish. Allen L warns the sauce is VERY spicy so a little was plenty. Allen L said the dish tasted very fresh and the flavors harmoniously danced together. The large portion size could easily be shared . . . or taken home for lunch the next day. Here are some photos of Amy in action and the delicious result.







Dessert:
This will be a quick section. They have only one dessert - a rice ice cream thing, but . . . on this night, they were out. They had no desserts to offer a restaurant full of customers. Hmmm, interesting business strategy.

Service:
A single word describes the service we experienced - exceptional! Amy was a very kind and knowledgeable server. Our food and drinks arrived very quickly which was very impressive. Amy was very responsive to our excessive water drinking. She was polite in allowing us to linger as the effects of the alcohol wore off a bit.

Other observations:
The restroom was clean and beautiful. The interesting sink hardware, full length wooden stall doors, and tile work were polished touches expected of a high end restaurant.
The restaurant's flooring was stunning. The stone work, pillars, fire place, and sushi bar were impressive.
I didn't find the seats to be overly comfortable, the portions overly large, or the menu exceedingly comprehensive resulting in what felt as if the eatery was designed to eat and go - not sit and linger. This "vibe" led to the shortest 3 Elles outing of all time. Bummer!

Until the next bite -

Eddie Merlot's Shout Out

A VERY spontaneous outing of the 3 Elles occurred tonight as we gathered at Eddie Merlot's in celebration of the week's end - hooray Friday (show of hands who loves Friday?)! With zero time to prepare for the rendezvous, there will be no discussion of the appetizers, salad, entrees, drinks, and desserts that we thoroughly enjoyed tonight. There will be no photos, no adjectives, and no blogging. Tonight, we simply want to give a shout out to the folks at EM's who made our night exceptional!

Our main server - Josh - You rock! Fist bump to you! - Thanks for the 411 on the "brass". Fantastic fire player - don't worry, it'll grow back! SMILE!

Note to Fritz (Fritzi as I like to call you after a martini or two) - just so you know you were missed, AND Josh had some smack to talk about you - just sayin'

Our back up server - Felicia - way to bring the customer service to the level of AWESOME! Your first day . . . or not, either way, you were great!

Our head water dude - Randy (a.k.a. Flounder) - thanks for making us your most important table :) SMILE

Our substitute water dudette - Vanessa - thanks for coming off the bench to help out

Hope I'm not leaving anyone out - you were all great! Thanks for making our outing a fantastically fun time! That's why we chose EM's tonight - we knew it would not disappoint!!!

Happy Friday everyone!

Next week, the 3 Elles take on Naked Tchopstix - check back for our thoughts on the new eatery.

Until the next bite -

Carino's (in Muncie)

In Muncie on serious business . . . BSU Homecoming, the 3 Elles had to stop at Carino's for some pre-game fuel. This rather spontaneous outing is exempt from our normal outing blogging format - it was just about the food and fun today.

For starters, Carino's is likely to be Adam's L's FAV restaurant. She was like a kid in the candy store - seriously, a woman on a mission. In one second, she had us hooked up with drinks and an appetizer.

Here's what arrived (some photos in this post are from Carinos.com):

First to arrive, a pitcher of Bellini's. What's a Bellini you ask? Here's what Carinos.com describes them as "Frozen peach nectar, white wine, champagne and rum, swirled with our Italian Sangria"



We've heard Adams L talk about awesomeness of these Bellinis and sure enough . . . they were worthy of the hype . . . and gone in a flash (Thanks Allen L for being the DD!)



The appetizer arrived next and Allen L and I weren't adequately prepared for what arrived - 3 uniquely presented red tubes standing on end in an interesting metalic spiral funnel flanked by 2 attached dipping sauces. They are called "Fire Sticks" and are described by Carinos.com as Tomato-basil tortillas rolled with Italian sausage, chicken, bacon, tomatoes, jalapeños and Italian cheeses with spicy marinara and ranch. They tasted a lot like a combo of a piece of sausage pizza and Don Pablo's Prarie Fire Bean Dip.



For the meal, Adams L ordered Italian Nanchos. Described as Crispy pasta chips, Italian sausage and/or chicken, black olives, pepperoncinis, tomatoes, jalapeños, alfredo, mozzarella and parmesan by Carinos.com. Here is a picture from their website:



Allen L and I shared a 2 for $23.99 meal. We each got a choice of soup or salad, an entree, and a mini dessert.

For starters, I got the chicken & wild rice soup (YUM!) and Allen L got the house salad (very delicious). Sorry for the poor pix of the soup and no pix of the salad.




Allen L chose a new menu item that was a stuffed ravioli and artichoke with mushrooms. She enjoyed the ravioli, but not much of the "accessories" that came with it (mushrooms, artichokes, etc).



I selected the shrimp scampi. It was super delicious. I would definitely return to get it again. Below is a picture from Carinos.com:



Our 2 for $23.99 meal came with a mini dessert - Allen L and I both selected Turtle Cheesecake. It was absolutely fabulous. It was a GREAT lesson in portion control. First off, we were already stuffed! Second, it was served in a little parfait glass with a TINY spoon. The actual size of the dessert was probably 1.5 inches X 1.5 inches and maybe 2 inches tall; however, with such a small spoon, it was probably a good 15 bites. Had they served it with a regular spoon, it would have been 2 bites and over in a flash. This way - it was savored.



After lunch we went to see the Ball State Cardinals get smacked by Western Michigan University. Although the score was something like 16-45, we had a very nice time. The beautiful weather was sunny and a HOT 83 degrees. Here are some random photos from the game - enjoy!