Smile Politely. Speak Directly. A Champaign-Urbana Culture Blog

It was a great day at the Urbana Farmers' Market last week, and customers enjoyed the gorgeous weather, catching up with the local farmers and running in to friends, while exploring all the market had to offer. Although the variety of available produce was less than market goers are accustomed to this time of year, the bounty was plenty. Asparagus was the vegetable-of-the-day, and although I went slightly overboard on my purchases, I have no regrets, and will likely indulge again.

I was lured to Crazy Buffet in the North Prospect Big Box Retail District the other night on the recommendation of a friend who told me that this place was “better than the others.” By the others, I’m assuming he meant Chinatown Buffet, the now defunct Four Seasons House and Eastern Taste down in Savoy (conveniently located next to Friar Tuck). Of course, my excitement at eating at Crazy Buffet was fueled by the fact that I hadn’t eaten much all day and, aside from its abundance and variety, it dished up food that looked and smelled good. Yet, on finishing my third plate, I looked down at the substantial leftovers (bits of this or that I didn’t feel like eating) and thought to myself: Nothing here was really very good.

With the recent acquisition of a rice cooker to our kitchen, we thought we should experiment and see what our new toy can do. Sure it cooks rice fine, as it should. But can it do more?

The answer is "absolutely."

Howard Lyman at the Holy Land Diner, Springfield, Ill.
Friday, April 25

At Springfield’s Holy Land Diner, the Springfield Vegetarian Association hosted a talk by the “Mad Cowboy”— reformed cattle rancher, outspoken vegan, activist and author Howard Lyman. The restaurant provided an excellent vegetarian, all-you-can-eat buffet.

Cristy: At $8.50 a person — which included the food, drinks, dessert and tips — the buffet couldn’t be beat. A capital city institution, the Holy Land Diner serves traditional Middle Eastern fare, including mouth-watering falafel, fava-bean salad, garlicky hummus and chickpea-battered cauliflower. Many of the guests also took advantage of the soft-serve ice cream, which was hilarious given the vegan message of Howard Lyman’s lecture.

Cupcakes, among life's extravagances, are now available to regularly indulge in at Cakes on Walnut, a cupcake shop at 114 N. Walnut open for business today (April 22) at 7 a.m.

Vanilla, chocolate, classic yellow, red velvet, salted caramel, green tea and strawberry balsamic are the cupcake flavors featured on the shop's opening menu, which will rotate from time to time, according to
owners (and sisters) Trisha Bates and Amanda Bates.

During winter, while the music scene pondered the decision by Nieto Enterprises to stop scale back live music at Cowboy Monkey in favor of a more "restaurant-oriented" focus, a lot of people all asked the same question: What is going to be on this new menu?

Well, look no further than Smile Politely, as per usual.

How does it stack up? You be the judge...

Click on the image to see it in full. And then, tell us your thoughts.

If you're in the mood for Mexican food, there are numerous choices around town. But do you ever wonder why the customers at these restaurants are all American and the only Mexicans you see are the ones serving you? So where do Mexicans like to eat when they go out? Apparently they like to gather at at El Charro, a little taco joint and grocery store on Green Street that makes no attempt to cater to American tastes.

There is something uniquely charming about taking a long drive to go out to eat. After all, most dining out experiences in these towns involve simply settling for second best: grab hold of what strikes you immediately, look at your array of choices in town and get a table. Sigh.

I’ll be the first to state it clearly: these towns really fail me in terms of offering up a good selection of places to eat out. I mean, not just kind of, but pretty much across the board. In fact, there are only four restaurants that honestly excite me in Champaign-Urbana. That's not saying much for towns like these and I am not even really a food snob.

So, that said, the drive to Gibson City to take in a meal at Bayern Stube, an authentic German restaurant that translates literally to "Bavarian living room," was filled with a certain anxiety. I have become accustomed to disappointing experiences when dining out ‘round these parts, so my expectations were light, to put it mildly.

Snuggled into a storefront under a newly constructed apartment complex on Race and Water streets, a new — albeit small — sign recently emerged on the doors to a previously unoccupied location proclaiming a new business moniker, The Morning Cup & More. Cup-of-what? Our guess is joe — a guess arrived at not with any help from the scientific method, but rather a clue on the sign detailing a cute little coffee cup bouncing atop a vine. "Coming soon" is the promise. The location sits just a half block from Courier Café, a locally owned full service breakfast, lunch and dinner institution. Look for more information about the new-cafe-on-the-block soon at Smile Politely.

Photo by Justine Bursoni

On a recent trip to Boston, I made the mistake of trying the clam chowder at a so-called "seafood" restaurant. The flavor was bland and the consistency milky. Maybe that's what they like, but I prefer my chowder hearty. So upon my return, I decided to do my own version.

Traditional chowder recipes call for roux, the French version of a thickener made with butter and flour. I prefer to let the potatoes do the thickening for me. By cooking some of the potatoes a little longer than others, they begin to melt and act as the thickener.

Sure, I could use fresh clams, but why?

My love for Esquire took about three years to develop, but it is a strong and enduring love.

Looking back, it seems incredible that I didn’t give Esquire a chance sooner. Centrally located in downtown Champaign, the recently expanded bar sits between some of my favorite places including Mike n' Molly’s the Brass Rail. The Blind Pig is also just down the street.

But, we all have our prejudices. Mine include crowded pool tables, people in matching bar-crawl shirts, the same REM and Tom Petty songs on the jukebox, and peanut shells on the floors, tables, and as far as the eye can see. I also tend to not eat at bars serving primarily as drinking establishments, unless I have no other options.

You've probably devoured a book before.

But, never like this.

The Champaign-Urbana Edible Book Festival commences today, inviting bibliophiles and culinarians alike to taste literary delights. Last year, the competition featured entries such as the second place winner "The Rosetta Scone" by Eleanore Stasheff and an honorable mention baked good dubbed "Twelve Angry Gingerbread Men" from Eric Harbeson. Other entries included Rebecca Griftner's turn on the popular Nick Hornby novel; her creation called "Pie Fidelity" depicts a telephone (with cord running out of a pie).

I admit it: I am an addict for Chinese take-out.

For a while, I thought that there were three Chinese restaurants in town that were owned by the same person. After all, they had the same menu — with the red typeface — and the exact same listings. The prices varied, but not by much more than a few cents on certain items.

Then, I learned these menus were something that Chinese restaurants can choose to purchase, and the restaurateur can opt to align his culinary choices around what has already been listed. It makes sense; a printing company someplace offers these hole-in-the-wall Chinese joints ready-made menus and four walls later, a place like No. 1 Wok is born.

Sometimes my friends and I try to expand our horizons beyond the usual haunts, downtown bars and fine dining options. Sometimes we’re delighted by our experimenting, and other times, regretful.

Twice in the last few weeks I’ve visited Farren’s, an ever-so-slightly upscale restaurant and pub behind Nitaya Thai at Church and Hill streets. People love Farren’s for the burgers, including The Russell, which comes loaded with mushrooms, bacon, blue cheese sauce and jalapeno cheese. The Green Chili Cheeseburger, which is topped with jalapeno cheese and green chili sauce is just as highly regarded. Even those who avoid red meat can do just fine subbing a black bean burger, which comes with a side of Cajun remoulade. The fries, which cost extra, aren’t anything to write home about, but they do the job.

After tasting all the wonderful flavors of Indonesian food, we couldn't possibly leave Bali without taking a cooking class. Several restaurants in Bali offer cooking classes, but we didn't want to learn about Indonesian cuisine from a German or Aussie chef, so we chose Warung Enak ("delicious restaurant") whose kitchen was run by Chef Rai Adnyani.

Warung Enak also had a great logo and a fun web site, so we thought that they would be a class act — and we were right. As it turned out, Chef Rai was not only Indonesian, she was an amazingly creative chef — and her sparkling stainless steel kitchen was an all-woman operation.

We decided to stay in Ubud for a while since the eating was good and cheap. But as we looked around the dining rooms of Monkey Forest Road restaurants, we noticed that there were no Indonesians eating with us (just a lot of happy Europeans, Japanese and even a few Aussies). So we wondered, where do Indonesians go when they're hungry?

Our home away from home in Jimbaran is the Villa Balquisse, a boutique hotel near the beach.

The pictures on the Internet didn't do justice to this hotel. From the curtains to the furniture, the attention to detail was astounding. Everything was perfect including the food and the service provided by the staff. Most hotels in Bali provide a free breakfast for guests and Villa Balquisse is no exception.

We're in Jimbaran, a seafood town. So we have no choice but to eat seafood.

The Jimbaran beach is lined with probably 50 or more seafood warungs (the local name for a small family-owned outdoor restaurant). Divided into three sections, each part of the beach has a row of warungs that serves pretty much exactly the same thing, freshly caught fish from the local fish market, lobsters, prawns and squid. Even the preparation is exactly the same: the seafood is grilled over dried coconut shells instead of charcoal and then served as is or sauced to your liking. The prices are listed as "per 100 grams" and you even get to pick your own fish right out of the ice bins.

So how does one choose which restaurant to try?

Growing up in Oregon, my first grown-up food was a bean burrito. My peers and I studied Spanish in elementary school and, as teenagers, enjoyed fine tequilas with mariachi musicians as often as we chugged cheap beer to blaring hard rock.

Like many west coast transplants, I was a bit disoriented my first few times at local Mexican chains Dos Reales and El Toro. Never before had I experienced so much cheese and sauce and such bland flavors with my Mexican food. Certainly not anywhere I had traveled throughout the various regions of Mexico.

Yesterday, we arrived in Denpasar (Bali's major city) just after lunch. Our hotel picked us up at the airport and within half an hour, we were checked in and in the pool. We chose to stay in Jimbaran because it was close to the beach. Although Jimbaran was once a small fishing village, today it is a beach resort town with grand hotels and boutique villas.

Surprisingly, some of that old fishing village charm still exists.

Editor's Note: Our roving food writer, Paul Young, reports from his spring break excursion to Bali. Watch for a new column every day this week.

After a fairly uneventful 13-hour flight, we landed in Taipei for a two-hour layover.

As soon as we got off the plane, we headed directly to the airport's food court to see what we could scrounge up. The first food stall we came to looked promising, so we dove right in. This being an airport food court, they had planned for language barriers – so the food was on display. All we had to do was point and say "one" (with one finger pointing up, course).

Editor's Note: Our roving food writer, Paul Young, reports from his spring break excursion to Bali. Watch for a new column every morning this week.

One of the privileges of teaching is being able to take off during spring break.

This year, we decided to go to Bali for some fun and good eats. Since Bali is halfway around the world (literally), we decided to break up the trip with a stopover in San Francisco. Armed with a rental car and the Bay Area Guardian's Best of Guide, we zeroed in on a little neighborhood Japanese joint near the renowned Castro district called Eiji (317 Sanchez, San Francisco). We chose Eiji because we've never had oboro (handmade tofu) before.

Spring is here?

You wouldn't know it by looking outside, but not only does the time change this Sunday at 2 a.m., the cities of Champaign and Urbana both let out a collective "Yeah!" by the news that beloved frozen treat makers Jarling's Custard Cup re-opened for business today.

Originally started in Danville 1949, the company expanded to open its Champaign location in 1983 and the crowds have been flocking ever since.

Some may remember the days when Am-Ko was the only Asian grocery store in town. Today, one can choose from perhaps more than half-a-dozen Asian grocers, all of them locally-owned and run as family businesses. Each grocery store has an ethnic focus – Chang's is Chinese, Lee's is Korean, Annapoorna is Indian, Am-Ko is Korean and Japanese, and so on. Of these choices, my favorite place to shop is Far East, hidden on Fifth Street just south of University Avenue. Until recently, you probably wouldn't notice it was there because the only identifying mark was a few hand-painted words on their building. The colorful new sign that just went up may make the shop slightly easier to find.

If you aren’t here for college, then there are few reasons to roam among the suburban youth who tan, binge drink and mate along East Green Street for eight months each year. There are a few hidden treasures, however: some seriously decent eateries catering to academics searching for digestible food. One even offers full wait service (gasp!) and a full bar (no!). Soon to be swept into downtown Champaign's old train station, Café Luna offers delicious lunches, dinners and Sunday brunches. Make the trip if you are feeling adventurous or are otherwise campus-bound. Certainly after their move next month there will be no reason not to try it out.

When I first saw the recipe for Creamy Celery-root and Haricot Vert Salad in this month's issue of Gourmet magazine I was reminded of how much I love celery root, particularly in this type of salad. Dressed in a tangy sauce known in French cookery as a remoulade, vegetables transform into something special. Sauce remoulade is a combination of mayonnaise, mustard, capers, chervil, tarragon, parsley, chives, gherkins and a touch of anchovy (optional). A thick creamy sauce, remoulade is traditionally served cold and appears not too different from a tartar sauce — but it’s much better due to all the fresh herbs. Louisianans have their own version of remoulade — "kicked up a notch," of course, with cayenne pepper, and often served alongside shrimp. Celery root, or celeriac, in my opinion, is the perfect foil for remoulade. Crunchy and earthy, it balances the tangy creaminess of the sauce, combining to form a beloved culinary classic known as celeriac remoulade.

Americans eat an average of 253 eggs per year, according to statistics provided by the United Egg Producers. That's a lot of eggs, but it’s not entirely surprising, given that eggs are an essential part of our common diet. Incorporated into a plethora of prepared products, baked goods and on their own, many of us eat eggs, in one form or another, on a daily basis (vegans excluded). It takes 280 million laying hens to satisfy our current egg habit — a multi-billion dollar industry. Yet, why do so many of us restrict our eggs to the breakfast table? Is it our fear of cholesterol, lack of imagination or just habit?

While it isn’t difficult to find a bar in downtown Champaign that suits your mood or credit card balance available (or a club, if that’s your bag), finding a decent place to eat can be tricky. If you don’t feel like stepping on peanut shells or shouting over played-out pop rock, then be prepared to spend 30 to 50 bones for a traditional fine dining experience. Indeed, it would seem that neither downtown nor Campustown has a single spot that is casual, but not tacky; civilized, but not pretentious; that can accommodate the burger fiends as well as the more high-maintenance diners among us.

If you go east down Springfield Avenue, however, you can find a place that is, for both the seasoned foodie and the seasoned townie somewhere in between middle-of-the-road and just right. The place to go, which also serves the more sophisticated of dedicated drinkers with a recently expanded martini menu, is Urbana’s Crane Alley.

About every month or so, the Red Herring restaurant transforms itself into a very special Indian restaurant. Simply called "Sambar," Indian people of all ages – students, professors, families, children – gather in the basement of the Channing-Murray foundation to enjoy some of the best homemade south Indian food available in the area. Sure, there's always a few in-the-know Western diners at Sambar, but personally, I think Indian food tastes better if enjoyed in the company of Indians.

There’s very little about Papa George, the restaurant that was until recently Pickles on Neil Street, that says “Greek.” In fact, the exterior screams bland American cuisine (a la Pickles), but the fact that the seldom-busy parking lot was overflowing last Friday night attests to how popular this restaurant has become and how, after a rocky start, the food has greatly improved.

The problem of authenticity arises again when entering and seeing essentially Pickles, with a few minor changes — a strip of wall near the ceiling has been painted Mediterranean blue and the tables now have textured blue candleholders. So it’s almost unavoidable to ask: Must a Greek restaurant have white-washed walls and be adorned with Corinthian columns and tchochkes from the old country for the food to be tasty and authentic? In the case of Papa George, the answer is no.

For me, Valentine's Day is just another Hallmark holiday. It's not that I don't believe in love or romance, I could just care less either way. That's not to say I would turn down a bouquet of roses, an invitation to dinner or chocolate — especially chocolate.

The world of chocolate is expanding, and chocolate manufacturers are including more details on their packaging, including cacao percentages, regional names and type of bean. These descriptions are hard to decipher — or use to your advantage when baking, buying or eating — without a brief understanding of chocolate: where it comes from and how it is made.

She bought a chili kit at the supermarket, we made it, and I was converted. Then we broke up, and I didn’t make chili for awhile. I was always eating someone else’s, or it was canned chili over a hot dog, or, the absolute worst, cafeteria chili.

Fast forward a few years, and I decided to make chili for my (once, current, and future) sweetie. No seasoning packets, no kits, no training wheels. Since then I have tinkered around with this recipe, and have always changed one thing or another. This isn’t really the kind of recipe that calls for specific measures. What you’ve got are ballpark figures. So feel free to adjust things for taste, and like in any good relationship, experiment. You never know what you might like.

—Brandon T. Washington

Banana, blueberry, ricotta, buckwheat, buttermilk, bao, bing (Chinese flatbread), German, potato, Schmarren, latkes, crepes, Johnnycakes, dosa — the list goes on and on. These, of course, are plays on the incredibly versatile pancake.

Pancakes can turn up in the form of appetizers, breakfast dishes, lunch courses, supper treats and desserts. They lend themselves to a variety of preparations and are often stuffed or served with fruits, jams, sausages, and even leftover meats or fish. It’ no wonder that around the globe pancakes find center stage for a wide variety of religious holidays and national dishes.

There was a time when sushi was perceived as exotic and foreign. Raw fish? Isn't that down-right un-American? Today, sushi is available everywhere in Champaign-Urbana – even at your local grocery store (i.e. Schnucks and County Market). So who serves up the best sushi in town? The answer, according to our niece Allison and her best friend Anna, is Yellowfin.

The foodie world is divided between sushi virgins and sushi connoisseurs (with very few people in between). In the quest to convert more people to sushi lovers, we decided to start early with our niece Allison. When she was 8 years old, we started taking her out to eat at sushi restaurants. Over the years, she has tried sushi at just about every restaurant in town. So when a new restaurant named Yellowfin opened a few months ago, she insisted that we go there as well.