The Food Guy over at the Daily Mail recently responded to a reader's question about the best Chinese restaurants around here. He said his favorites are Main Kwong on the East End and Main Tin by the mound in So. Charleston. I haven't been to Main Tin, but with regard to Main Kwong, I have to respectfully disagree. I'm curious what The Food Guy orders there, because I was surprised when he named it as one of his two favorites. Personally, I think the place is teetering on mediocre, and just about to tip over into bad.

I hate to insult Main Kwong, because whenever I've gotten take-out from them, the woman there gives me a container of tiny cakes for free, and that gives me a warm fuzzy. In the past, ordering a meal there has been decent in a pinch, since it's very close to where I live. But the last meal I ate from there was just plain bad, so I don't think I'll be going back, since there are much better options.

Wok 'n Roll on Patrick Street is better, and they'll even deliver to the East End from their West Side location if you don't want to go pick it up. My preference for Wok 'n Roll over Main Kwong is based on eating their respective sesame chicken, steamed dumplings, and crab rangoon - I preferred all three at Wok 'n Roll. However, it's not my favorite Chinese place in Charleston.

In my opinion, the very best place to get Chinese is Taste of Asia, which is right next to Main Tin by the mound in South Charleston. As I said, I've never been to Main Tin, so I can't argue with The Food Guy on that one, but since I like Taste of Asia so much, I'm disinclined to ever wander over next door to try out a different place. Why mess with a good thing, right?

I don't have any photos to share from Taste of Asia (hopefully I'll remember to snap a few next time I'm there), so you'll just have to take my word for it that the food there looks far better than this, my last meal at Main Kwong:

Though I usually order sesame chicken, I decided to branch out and order shrimp and snow peas. I was very disappointed. I have no idea what that thick, red sauce is, but it was kind of a gloopy mess and it didn't taste very good. It didn't have any real, discernable flavors, which I guess was the problem. The shrimp, snow peas, and water chestnuts were all fine, but the sauce drenching the whole thing kind of ruined it for me. That's crab rangoon sitting to the side, which is mediocre, like pretty much everything I've eaten at Main Kwong.

So back to Taste of Asia. First, and this is less important than how the food tastes, their dishes have great presentation value. They serve them on large, white, square platters and have a nice little garnish on the side. Presentation may seem unimportant, but I think it definitely makes a difference if the food I'm about to eat looks attractive when it's served to me. But they win on taste too.

The food at Taste of Asia is not too greasy, which I think is a problem at Main Kwong. Sure, Chinese food is heavy and greasy by nature, but it can be too greasy. Everything I've eaten at Taste of Asia is superior to Main Kwong in every way. I've had the sesame chicken, which is sweet and crispy and not overly fried. It's served with a large helping of broccoli, which makes me feel a little bit better about eating deep fried chicken coated in a sugary syrup. I also love the shrimp with broccoli, which has a lighter garlicky sauce. Their spring rolls are fresh and delicious. Everything there just has fresher, cleaner, more distinctive flavors than any other Chinese place that I've tried in the area.

What I also really like about Taste of Asia is its atmosphere. It has a cleaner, cozier, and more updated decor than places like Main Kwong or Wok 'n Roll, which for me are takeout or delivery joints only. Taste of Asia is a nice place to kick back and enjoy a leisurely meal - with a beer, which is another advantage to this place. On my last visit, I was pleasantly surprised to see that they had replaced the tables along the walls of the restaurant with booths and that they had expanded into the space next door. That extra room is pretty big and has a full bar, so I'm guessing they are trying to make that side into a night spot.

Of course, Taste of Asia is not just a Chinese restaurant - they have a full Japanese menu as well, with a large sushi selection. I don't go there for the sushi, though, since I much prefer Fuji or Sushi Atlantic for that. The sushi at Taste of Asia isn't bad, but I go there for the Chinese. It is nice to have the option of ordering Japanese appetizers, though, like edamame, squid or seaweed salad, and miso soup.

So go ahead, call me a snob if you will, but I think the sum total of the quality of the food, its presentation, and the restaurant's atmosphere make Taste of Asia far superior to any other Chinese restaurant around here.

IF YOU GO: Taste of Asia, 236 7th Avenue, South Charleston (by the mound), 304-744-8933
HOURS: Mon. to Thurs: 10:30am to 10:00pm, Fri. & Sat.: 10:30am to 11pm, Sunday: noon to 9:30pm
EXTRAS: full Chinese and Japanese menus, wine & beer, delivery if you live close by

While we try to avoid writing about the same places over and over, our most recent trip to Lola's deserves a mention.

New eateries are notoriously prone to problems, but after 7 months and several visits I have found Lola's to be wildly consistent. Simply put, every single meal I've eaten there has been absolutely exceptional. The pizza is great, of course (with the sausage and onion being my recent favorite), and their wonderfully imaginative salads are unlike anything in Charleston. I can easily imagine a restaurant getting by on the quality of these salads alone. Lookee:

All of this stands in contrast to the problems some of Charleston's other new restaurants have displayed--like the bone-dry burgers and grey salmon at the Power Alley Grill, and the cold food and slow service at the Bluegrass Kitchen. What was once Lola's only "problem"--the occasionally long wait to get a table--seems to have subsided a bit, especially on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. (Now you know about the good nights to go.) If you're a pizza or salad lover and still haven't been to Lola's, you're missing out on one of Charleston's very best restaurants.

Behold, the margarita from Rio Grande on Court Street:

I've consumed an embarrassing amount of this green tequila-spiked Kool-aid. While it could hardly be labeled a "top shelf" drink, it's actually much closer to a "real" margarita than the trendy, watered-down and candy-flavored beverages you'll find in most bars and restaurants these days.

So what is a "real" margarita? I confess, I had never tasted the original version until just the other day. If I'm gonna write about it, I should taste it first, right? It's a tough job, but someone's got to do it. The original recipe consists of:

1 1/2 ounces tequila
1 ounce of Cointreau (that's an expensive kind of Triple Sec)
3/4 ounce of fresh lime juice.

That is it. No orange juice, no "mix," no sugar. Why, it's not even green!

This high-octane hellbroth is the basis for what would eventually become the world's most popular cocktail. While I confess it is a perfectly balanced drink (especially when made with quality ingredients), I do have a margarita recipe of my own (the result of years of trial and error), and I will not be changing it.

But what does this have to do with the 'rita from Rio? Well, it's also just three ingredients: tequila, green lime flavoring and triple sec. No frou-frou additives. It's fun (read: strong) and full of tasty, faux lime goodness. And it's not over-sweetened by too much hangover-inducing triple sec. And even though it's probably made of the cheapest tequila available, the only really bad thing I can say about the Rio Grande margarita is that they use iodized salt on the glass. That's just bad.

In the coming weeks, we'll be reviewing and comparing the margaritas from as many Mexican restaurants as we can find in and around Charleston. As the Rio Grande drink is the one we are most familiar with, we will use it as our standard--but we hope to find better. We welcome your recommendations!

As noted in my last post, I recently had an uptick in unhealthy lunches due to being on the road so much. As a result, lately I've been seeking out healthier lunch options within walking distance of my downtown office. As incongruous as it might sound, my new favorite healthy lunch spot is Ellen's Homemade Ice Cream. No, I haven't been indulging in raspberry chocolate chip ice cream cones for lunch. Ellen's features a different salad every day and they are really quite tasty. Most of them are vegetarian and they're all healthy. I get a pint-sized container to go for $4.50.

I have tried the curry chicken salad, tabbouleh, Indian curry chickpeas & rice, and couscous with black beans & peas. They are all delicious, but the curry chicken salad is by far my favorite. Apparently it's everyone else's favorite too, because they've been sold out two different times when I've stopped by to get some. Come to think of it, I'm not sure why I'm now telling the world about it. Okay, whatever you do, don't get the curry chicken salad -- it's just awful. It's shredded chicken, diced celery & green apple, and raisins, all coated in a sweet curry dressing. The dressing is either mayo or yogurt with curry and honey, and it's so yummy that I think I'd eat my shoe if it were covered in it. No, wait! It tastes terrible! (Okay, note to Ellen: Please make more curry chicken salad so you don't sell out.)

For anyone not familiar with tabbouleh (or is it tabouleh, or maybe tabouli?), it's a bulgur salad with parsley, mint, tomatoes, cucumbers and green onions. It's dressed with olive oil and lemon juice. Ellen's version is very flavorful. Both the couscous with black beans & peas and the Indian curry chickpeas & rice (pictured above) are also good, though I ate the latter today and some of the chickpeas were a little too crunchy (i.e. undercooked).

In addition to all of these salads, Ellen's has mixed greens salads and a different soup every day. Also, you can get a big hunk of homemade bread for 35 cents, which I tried for the first time today. So, if you're looking for a quick, cheap, healthy lunch downtown, you'll find it in an unlikely place -- the ice cream shop. Of course, feel free to order a banana split or a hot fudge sundae for lunch if you want. I won't tell anyone.

I first blogged about the Power Alley Grill shortly after they opened back in April. As you may recall, I was quite fond of their juicy hamburgers, and eager to try a few other things from the menu.

Well, I've been back a few times since then, and I haven't been as impressed. Simply put, the Power Alley Grill consistently overcooks their beef. A hamburger, even if ordered medium-well, should be juicy and have at least a faint trace of pink in the center (see the annotated picture of juicy goodness taken upon my first visit).

Now there are some establishments which flat out refuse to cook a burger anything less than well done. Fine. Be that way. Just tell me when I order so I don't get my hopes up.

So on my second visit to the Power Alley Grill, my burger (ordered medium) was bone dry and cooked well done. Grey throughout. A hockey puck. Now you can feel free to call me a whiner, but I'm just not the kind of guy who's going to haggle with the kitchen about a 7 dollar burger. I quietly ate my meal with a side of disappointment. (Things were made worse by the pale, unappetizing and positively flavorless piece of salmon on Jenn's salmon salad. But the greens were fresh and crisp--something even the most expensive places in Charleston have trouble with.)

But I hadn't yet lost hope--maybe it was just all a fluke. When I ordered a hamburger last Monday, I was emphatic--"Please" I begged my server. "Ask the kitchen to cook my burger medium. I want it pink in the center. Pleeeassse?"

"Certainly!" she said, while scribbling intently on her pad, nodding affirmatively.

Well I'll be damned if all of our burgers (there were 3 of us) weren't severely overcooked. Grey. Grey like the hair on Taylor Hicks' head. The buns were dry. Oh, and the steak (ordered medium) on my friend's steak salad? Positively overcooked as well. We're talking full-on Emmylou grey. Sigh.

The Power Alley Grill is a place with a lot of potential. It's a nice room with a great atmosphere. The service is good. I like the bar. There's really no place like it in Charleston. And with Robert Wong's name attached to the menu, I think my expectations are reasonable. So please--quit serving meat that might as well been cooked beneath the engine of an F-16 on full afterburner.

A martini might be the perfect summer drink. Or a Tom Collins. Or a gin fizz. Alright, I really like gin. And while a gin and tonic might be more thirst quenching on a sticky summer day, there's really no better way to enjoy gin than in a martini. It's the grown man's milkshake.

So the other day I ordered a martini at the Vandalia Lounge, and it had these three golf ball sized olives in it. Now I like olives. And a little olive brine is a subtle, yet essential part of the three-note chord that is the martini. (Add a little extra brine and you have what's known as a dirty martini. Yum.) But all that extra brine from the freakishly huge olives pushed this martini past the dirty territory, closer to something I'd want to marinade a chicken breast in. (And I didn't even order it dirty!)

By no means am I saying don't order a martini at the V-lounge. They have great service, so I can only blame myself. This might sound ridiculously obvious, but with a drink so simple it pays to tell the bartender exactly how you want it (Bombay Sapphire gin, two normal-sized or one giant olive, and hit the vermouth in the face with a sock full of quarters.)

A note on gin: You may, like James Bond, be tempted to pass on the botanical infused flavor of gin for vodka. I say don't--because gin is vodka. They're both neutral spirits--one is flavored, the other isn't. Think of gin as the original flavored vodka. And there's no school like the old school.

A note for olive lovers: while I wasn't so pleased with the olives at Vandalia, I am quite fond of the olives at the Power Alley Grill. Ask for extra (on the side).

During the past few weeks, I've been doing a lot of job-related traveling around the state. As a consequence, I've been eating fast food more often than I'd like. I have now sampled three different versions of a spicy chicken sandwich -- at Wendy's on the way to Sophia, at McDonald's on the way to Grafton, and at Burger King on the way to Welch. Wendy's has the best, with a good, soft bun and a moist chicken breast that has a nice spicy flavor. The "premium" spicy chicken sandwich at McDonald's was decent. They use green leaf lettuce instead of iceberg, which is nice, but the chicken breast was pretty thin and the bun was a little dry. Burger King's Spicy Tendercrisp Chicken Sandwich came in third. Maybe it was just because the experience of eating it while navigating the very curvy road toward Welch, West Virginia, made me fear for my life, but I didn't enjoy that sandwich very much. (Forgive me for not giving the sandwich a detailed examination, but I was trying to keep my eyes on the road.)

What about the fries? I've read Fast Food Nation* and watched Super Size Me multiple times, so I'm well-versed in the evils of the fast food industry and McDonald's in particular. But there's just no getting around the fact that McDonald's has really tasty french fries. (Also, Josh swears that they have some special variety of Coke with just a twinge of cinnamon favor. I think we need Eric Schlosser or Morgan Spurlock to crack this mystery wide open.) I like the thicker fries at Wendy's, but they're a little too smooshy (yes, that's a technical term). Burger King comes in third in the french fry department as well. They are basically a less tasty and greasier version of the fries at McDonald's.

Think a serious food writer would never write about drive-thru experiences? Tell that to Frank Bruni, food critic at the New York Times, who just wrote about a cross-country fast food tour of the United States. During his trip, he ate at a Wendy's in Morgantown and both a Rax and a Hardee's in Parkersburg. (By the way, I'm from Parkersburg, and I thought Rax had gone the way of the dodo.) The chili at Wendy's in Morgantown even made Bruni's list of top ten fast food favorites.

Thankfully, my spate of road trips has come to an end (for now), so I can get back to eating real food, i.e., food that has not gone through extensive flavor engineering and lab testing to appeal to my taste buds. I'm sure my arteries will thank me.

*Incidentally, Richard Linklater just made a movie based on "Fast Food Nation" that will be released this fall. It seems strange, since the non-fiction book doesn't seem like it would lend itself well to a narrative film, but from the preview, it looks like it could be good.

--- Jennifer Hughes