Anyone tried RIPS Pizza in the Dale? They have a lot of 5 star reviews.
Went and tried the place this evening. Pizza was pretty good. Needed a little more sauce for my taste, but overall, it is worth the money.
Has anyone tried the new African restaurant?
Has anyone tried the new African restaurant?
I keep meaning to try it out but haven't made it there yet. I'm a member of two southern Illinois restaurant FB groups, but I've seen very little buzz about the place, which is odd.
Definitely intriguing!
(Inflammatory political snark)
I stopped by Zeenah's Palace after the game. Seems to be mainly carry out. It took quite a while to prepare my order, but that's okay, since it was freshly prepared and not just warmed up out of the fridge.Has anyone tried the new African restaurant?
I keep meaning to try it out but haven't made it there yet. I'm a member of two southern Illinois restaurant FB groups, but I've seen very little buzz about the place, which is odd.
Definitely intriguing!
We didn't eat it til I got back to Cape, so it would have been better if we had eaten it fresh. But it was still very good. I thought the tastes were pretty unique, but my wife said they were just familiar things in different combinations. But we both really enjoyed it and will eat there again.
The heat level choices were 1, 2, or 3, and I got it at level 2 and it was too hot for my wife and borderline for me, and I like things on the hot side. It was also a little bit pricey.
https://order.toasttab.com/online/zeenah-s-palace-600-east-grand-avenue-suite-5
Thanks for the report--I will definitely be checking it out soon!
(Inflammatory political snark)
There's a new Indian restaurant in the Dale.
We ate there tonight after having some take-out from them a few weeks ago. It's pretty good, but my wife and I both prefer Bombay Olive.
I like that they have six Indo-Chinese dishes. I had the veg Manchurian, which was fried veggie balls in a sweet barbecue-like sauce. It was great. Similar to Bombay Olive's gobi Manchurian.
The chai had too much clove, so much so that my wife couldn't drink it and she loves clove. The thing is, clove is a natural numbing agent and she felt like she couldn't taste her food because of it.
My Sprite was very watered down, like the ice had been in it a while and melted. They have a full bar, but I can't drink anymore.
The raita was very creamy and delicious. The samosas were pretty standard and okay.
I had pistachio ice cream for dessert and it was good, but they put chocolate syrup on it which hid the pistachio flavor.
It was certainly very sanitary as the waitress wore a hairnet and gloves. And you could QR code the menu so you didn't have to touch the actual menu.
We would recommend it, but still prefer Bombay Olive.
I've loved the place both times I've been. Very pleasant atmosphere and attentive service, and everything I've ordered had been top notch.
I also like Bombay Olive, but I've had really slow service there s couple of times, and I find the atmosphere to be a bit--dunno--grim? I can't really put a finger on it. The food is always great though.
(Inflammatory political snark)
We will probably go to T&T next time we're over, to give them another chance and because it was so good the first time we had their food. And the left-overs were really good the last time.I've loved the place both times I've been. Very pleasant atmosphere and attentive service, and everything I've ordered had been top notch.
I also like Bombay Olive, but I've had really slow service there s couple of times, and I find the atmosphere to be a bit--dunno--grim? I can't really put a finger on it. The food is always great though.
Bombay Olive was so good when they first opened, but has been a little up and down since, though the fluctuations have been between very good and great. My wife thinks they may have bought a large amount of spices when they first opened and over time they lost their potency.
Y'all are so fortunate to have two very good Indian restaurants in the Dale. Here in Cape, we've had several come and go, and at least one was very good. Right now, there is one place with like four Indian dishes. We also no longer have any Middle Eastern/Mediterranean nor African like Carbondale does. We had a fabulous Haitian restaurant that hardly anyone ate at, so she moved to St. Louis. https://mymariestl.com My wife and I ate there all the time, but weren't able to keep her in town, though we really tried.
Cape is pretty xenophobic, though we do have a pho place and a couple Thai. And there is a new Honduran cafe that is very good and affordable. https://www.semissourian.com/features/reyes-restaurant-wows-with-unique-honduran-cuisine-3042900/
Cape has it all over Carbondale in many ways, but yeah: I've always puzzled me that it's not better for "adventurous eaters," Maybe your explanation ("xenophobic") explains that.
The Honduran place looks somewhat interesting, though (like most of the "Mexican" places here) it looks heavily "gringo-ized." As you might recall, El Paisano here in Carbondale used to be a wonderful taqueria, but then they opened their restaurant and closed the taqueria; the restaurant is now like every other damned place in the area, no different from Tres, really . . .
I like Pho8 (sp?) but only for the pho: the rest of their Vietnamese menu is merely OK and not worth the trip for us since my wife is not a big pho fan. I wish we had a Vietnamese place here!
(Inflammatory political snark)
The first page of the Reyes's menu is all Honduran dishes. We have systematically gone down the list and tried about all of them. None taste at all familiar and I assume they are authentic. The rest of the menu is mainly Mexican, I guess, as we haven't even looked at, since we just go there to sample all the Honduran dishes.
Sorry to hear that about El Paisano, as we really liked their food, but haven't eaten there in a long time. Have you tried Muy Bueno here in Cape? They seem to have some authentic Mexican items.
The first page of the Reyes's menu is all Honduran dishes. We have systematically gone down the list and tried about all of them. None taste at all familiar and I assume they are authentic. The rest of the menu is mainly Mexican, I guess, as we haven't even looked at, since we just go there to sample all the Honduran dishes.
Sorry to hear that about El Paisano, as we really liked their food, but haven't eaten there in a long time. Have you tried Muy Bueno here in Cape? They seem to have some authentic Mexican items.
I have not tried Muy Bueno, but thanks for the recommendation. I will put that on the "maybe" list for our next trip to Cape, but Midwestern Mexican fare is not very high on my list. I want real stuff: the kind of food you can easily find at any corner gas station in Texas, let's say.
(Inflammatory political snark)
