Food Tips

For those who follow along behind us ...

Keep in mind we have several places that were recommended to us that we have not been able to try because we have a 10-year-old who doesn't like anything "odd" to eat. We have heard the Turkish restaurant is good, and so we will try it when we return to pick up Ellie.

My favorite restaurant so far has been the Italian Restaurant (no other name seen on the building) located on Chui down from the Beta store. It came as a recommendation from Allison and BOY was she right. We had the BEST bruschetta I've ever eaten. Josh and Kevin even ate it and they claim they don't like tomatoes. It was fresh roma tomatoes, olive oil, parsley and maybe some garlic all mixed together and served on the toast points. YUM. We are definitely going back there once before we leave. You'll know it by the sign out front and the sitting area on the sidewalk. It has a red awning. It is NOT the Adriatica, which is on the other side of the street (opposite Beta). Josh had cheese pizza (the sauce is a little sweeter than American). Kevin and I both had some type of Italian pasta with cream sauce, chicken and mushrooms. Great!!

The Metro has good food and it is American. It is ok to drink the ice there so we like it a lot. DO NOT go late on a Saturday afternoon as you won't be able to breath for all the smoke. Our first trip was early afternoon on a weekday. There is a free pool table there as well -- or at least we think it's free as they never charged us to play. We've had cheeseburgers, fries, chicken tenders and potato skins there. All of it was good.

We LOVE the pizza from Dolce Vita. The first night was greasy, but it's been fine since then and we've had it three times now. They deliver and the cost is reasonable. If you are tired and don't want to have to walk there, it's very convenient. $15-$20 will get you 2 medium pizzas and delivery. We like the Capricciosa which has artichoke, ham, capers, Parmesan cheese and tomato sauce. Josh likes pepperoni -- surprise.

The Silk Road Lodge, where we are staying has ok food, but it's pricey, I think. They have the best fries in town at 1.50 Euro (their prices are all in Euro and since I'm used to computing soms, I have trouble there). Last night, Josh and I had their chicken breast. It was probably pan fried in what looked to be butter. It was ok, but pretty tough meat. I had some french onion soup which was a bit different than American. It was a butter based broth with onions, small rye bread like croutons and some cheese that never melted and was chewy. Now, while that sounds like a bad description, it was really good (except the cheese) and would have been enough for dinner. Josh and I split a water. Kevin wasn't hungry and didn't go. Based on the money I got back, I think it was about $24. Too much for what we had, I think.

We've eaten at the Beta cafe and didn't like it, but locals tell us the pizza there is good. Don't try the burgers or fries. Although our travel mates both liked theirs so it could just be us. :-)

I'm not starving, because you CAN live off pizza, pringles, M&Ms and chewy granola bars. BUT... I'm certain I've gained weight and I DID NOT need to do that. Next time, I'm going to pack better (and more) snacks -- peanut butter crackers, trail mix, crackers and a jar of PB, dried fruits, granola bars, maybe bring some canned chicken. I miss REAL cheese. Can't really pack that (unless I want Cheese Whiz, eh?), maybe some 100 calorie packs of cookies.

When we get home -- Cracker Barrell and Matzatlan, here we come.