Gio Gutierrez

Lulu Review

// June 29th, 2010 // No Comments » // Food

From the owners of Green Street Cafe, comes Lulu – another outdoor sidewalk restaurant right across the street. The service was impeccable – timing on the food, refills on water, etc. The quality of the food was great as well as the decor (check out some of the pics). Onto the food:

Small Plates:
* Fried Green Tomatoes w/ Jalapeño Ranch – Delicious….

Sandwiches:
* Veggie Burger made from Tofu, Quinoa, Farro, Melted Munster, Creamy Chili and Hummus Vinaigrette – Doesn’t beat Houston’s but it sure is wonderfully hearty.
* Mahi Mahi blackened with Sliced Mangoes and Red Pepper Mango – The bread on this sandwich was a whole wheat which is a bit too tough for a seafood sandwich IMHO. Besides that, it was a nice piece of fish with mango slices giving it a unique twist.

Sides:
* Fries – These were damn good. You know the kind, double flash fried for that ultimate crisp.
* Roasted Asparagus -

Overall tasty, affordable good food at a great price, what’s not to like?

Fin Review

// June 29th, 2010 // No Comments » // Food

I couldn’t be happier to attend Fin’s first night and be the first here on Yelp to review.

Fin is located in the west side of the Design District next door to Q, Eismann’s BBQ eatery. Both spots take over the old Sheba Ethiopian restaurant. The decor is straight out of a Martha’s Vineyard with white wooden chairs, baby blue pin stripe wallpaper, etc… Service was spectacular and needless to say food was fantastic, reasonably price and decent portions (aka the exact amount we need, nothing more!). Here’s what we had:

Amuse Bouche:
• Popcorn Shrimp w/ Ginger Target accompanied with a Tomato/Lobster Broth

First Course:
• Soft Shell Crab Summer Salad w/ Apples and Shaved Fennel – Very delicious and light.
• Spicy Shrimp Curry Jasmine Rice, Celery, Bananas, Coconut Water, Harissa – Amazing! Very original and unique dish. The favorite hands down for everyone in our party.

Entree:
• Pacific Halibut Fillets Browned in Organic Olive Oil And Organic Butter Preserved Lemon Risotto/Lemon Grass – My personal favorite dish of the night. Got better and better with every taste.
• Line Caught Black Cod/Oregon Coast Pan Roasted, Miso, Sweet Sake Yukon Gold Puree w/ Edamame, Mustard Oil – The cod melted in our mouths. ‘Nuff said.

Sides:
• Wood Roasted Parsnips and Beet
• Curried French Lentils – Disappointed that this was the same EXACT dish from Pacific Time
• Corn Succotash – Best side dish.

Dessert:
• Summer Peaches Sautéed With Local Lavender Phyloo Crisps – Great, light dessert that doesn’t make you unbutton your pants.
• Warm Apple Crumble – It was missing a vanilla bean ice cream so it wasn’t as good as it could have been.

Overall a 5 stars – another great dining addition to the Design District.