Minerva's - Yankton, South Dakota

Well, let me first introduce Brad King, who was instrumental in bringing me out to SD for the Combined Chief of Police/Sheriff's conference in Yankton. We stayed at the Best Western there where Minerva's was attached to the Conference Center.

I must say that I was not expecting to find such a place in Yankton, SD but I'm so glad I did. Brad was telling me how good their food was in the other locations so I thought this would be great and that assumption was correct.

A quick side-note regarding beer: I ordered a 312 Wheat on tap. I love wheat beers and this one was great. I'd never tried it and now I will be looking for this one again.

Brad recommended the crab cheese bake as an appetizer. This stuff was awesome! Obviously made with lots of FRESH crab.

I ordered the grilled porkchops with asparagus and a loaded baked potato. Brad ordered the manicotti with chicken. My pork chop was huge and cooked and seasoned perfectly. This meal was most awesome! This restaurant is first rate and I would recommend it to anyone.

Sekisui Sushi - Memphis, TN

Another adventure with Ron Coffman at a Sushi Bar. I'm lucky to have the likes of Ron Coffman to travel with on occasion since we both love sushi. This is a place he has spoken of before and this is my first visit. This place is attached to the Holiday Inn Select in Memphis, TN.





This is actually the place where Ron lost his "sushi virginity" some years ago so I was pretty eager to eat here and have some drinks.

The atmosphere in the place was great and the chef was friendly and recognized Ron from his past visits here.

The menu offers a huge selection of sushi for all palates. Ron seems to think that it's foolish to order the roe type sushi, but I really like some of those selections. The little eggs just explode in your mouth. We ordered a huge variation of sushi at this place and all of it was real good. First rate.

All and all, this was a great experience. Ron never leads me astray. I'd recommend this place if you find yourself in downtown Memphis.

http://www.sekisuiusa.com/newsekisui/index.php?option=com_content&task=category&sectionid=3&id=21&Itemid=32

KimChi II - Savannah, GA - Great Korean Food!

Korean food is a passion for me and my family.

I first scoped out KimChi II before going to Sushi Time Towa and was not awestruck by the exterior.

Walking in definitely did impress me. When you first see a number of Koreans eating, chatting and socializing it's a good sign. The smell of the place was impressive too, I detected the aroma of a cacophony of quality foods and ingredients as soon as the door was open. The menu was laid out well with images of a number of the items and broken down by category.

I ordered that dish that is the "meat and potatoes" of Korean good home cooking... Bulgoki (marinated, stir fried beef with some veggies like white and green onion). I drank Budweiser since they did not have any Korean beer. Not having Korean beer like Hite, Cass or O.B. is not a black mark on them though, since Dallas is the only place in the states I've found so far that does serve Korean beers in the restaurants. After I ordered they brought the beer and sides. The sides were great and not too heavily infused with sesame oil (which many Korean dishes have a bit too much of).

I questioned the waiter about the kimchi; "Do you guys m

ake your own?" He said "Of course". And wow! It was indeed good. The name of the place did not disappoint. The Kimchi was not sour, was firm and very spicy. Some of the best I've ever had. I asked for 2nds during the meal as well.

The bulgoki was exceptional too. Served with the rice right on the plate (a departure from most Korean presentations - usually on the side in a stainless steel topped bowl). The bulgoki was perfect and the whole experience was great. The waiter I had was not overly friendly, but the girl working the floor with him was. So, luck of the draw I guess.

Overall this was great Korean food and nice laid back atmosphere! Definitely give it a try if you like or want to try Korean food in Savannah.

Links:

http://friendseat.com/restaurants/837680/Kim-Chi-II-Korean-Restaurant

149 E Montgomery Cross Rd / Savannah, GA

Map: http://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&um=1&ie=UTF-8&q=149+E+Montgomery+Xrd+Savannah,+GA+31406&fb=1&geocode=9180005665761115678,31.997009,-81.119089&oi=manybox&ct=14&cd=1&resnum=5

Sushi Time Towa - Savannah, GA

Most of my colleagues fall painfully short of being adventurous enough to sample Sushi from our hinterland. Ron Coffman and Jay Grewe are exceptions to that though. Unfortunately, neither of them were around this week in Savannah. I was going it alone at the GA Chief's of Police Show and left to my own devices for meals.



The sign for this place shone like a beacon as I drove back to my hotel after setting up our booth at the Conference Center. It was very hot and humid outside and a Sapporo sounded like just the cure. I went inside and immediately believed I had made a sound decision.

I intended to only have a beer but sitting at the bar watching the sushi technicians do their work quickly changed my mind. This place has a nice and quaint little Sushi bar but also offers other Japanese Hibachi and other type fair. The staff were all very cordial and responsive and went out of their way to be welcoming.

The inside of the place was quite pleasant and clean. The atmosphere was laid back and no evidence of snootiness at all. I was the only customer sitting at the sushi bar at the time but there were several people sitting at tables at the off hour of around 4:00 PM.

I ended up ordering the "Olivia" roll which was mostly eel and avocado. I gotta tell you, it was great! I'm very partial to avocado and the way it was sliced and positioned on the individual pieces made optimal use of all the qualities that make avocado good. Mostly texture.

The owner's name is Saito Saito and was a very pleasant gentleman. We chatted for a while and during that time I learned that he has been in the restaurant business spanning Paris, New York, L.A. and places in between. Although a bit nervous, he agreed to speak with me about his restaurant on video.

54 W Montgomery Xrd

Savannah, GA 31406-3434

Phone: 912-920-2788

The Waldron - Corinth Mississippi - Awesome!!

After sitting through another spectacular software demonstration by Jeff Driver and Benny Musso, we sought dining advice for lunch. I had to demonstrate the Public Safety software in the afternoon, so I was intent on avoiding afternoon fatigue by eating something on the lighter side. The Court clerk recommended this place, probably because it was owned and operated by her sister-in-law. Whatever her motivations...... this place turned out to be the best dining of the week, maybe even the quarter!

The food and atmosphere was nothing short of exceptional. Very pleasant surrounding along with the sweetest waitresses and delicious food made this a lunch to remember. If only I had not been fearful of being sleepy for the afternoon demos, I would have ordered something more substantial than salad, but it was great.

The spinach artichoke dip was some of the best I've ever had. I don't like blue cheese (Benny really does) but there was definitely a lot of it in this dip. Benny happily pointed that fact out. What made it even more special was the home made potato chips that came with it. They were the best too!

I ordered a salad that had prime rib strips and citrus vinaigrette. It was amazing! Benny ordered the Waldron Salad (with that hideous blue cheese of course) and he loved it. Jeff ordered.... umm, I'm not sure. Chicken strips I think and he liked his too.

The most amazing thing I ate this day though was the broccoli cornbread. Unbelievable! I can't even describe it. It was moist, not too sweet and the best manifestation of southern staple I've ever put in my mouth!

If you ever find yourself near Corinth, MS you gotta check this place out. Happy dining!

511 Waldron Street, Corinth, MS 38834, 662-284-0710

http://www.discoverourtown.com/MS/local-186331.html

Map:

http://www.mapquest.com/maps/map.adp?country=US&address=511%20E%20Waldron%20St&city=Corinth&state=MS&zipcode=&homesubmit.x=48&homesubmit.y=6

Loretta Lynn Kitchen and Gift - Hurricane Mills, TN

Well, for several reasons this is the restaurant that originally inspired my motivations to blog restaurants. I work for a software company that provides softwareto local government and find myself traveling all over the country demonstrating that software. A colleague of mine named Ron Coffman brings to to Tennessee for these purposes (not nearly often enough either) and inevitably, we find ourselves stopping at this restaurant almost every time.

Those that don't give a hoot about country music in general or Loretta Lynn in particular may not find themselves compelled to stop at this bend of the road, but I would suggest you do so anyway. First of all, the food is great. It's simple southern cooking. Fried chicken, mashed potatoes, greens, bbq, salad, etc.. Don't let Ron's lack of enthusiasm fool you. I'm sure he has fond feelings for this place too. He was just very tired at the time.

The place is wall to wall spattered with Loretta Lynn memorabilia and gift type items. I would say that this is a bonzo Loretta Lynn version of Cracker Barrel, or maybe Cracker Barrel is a watered down version of Loretta Lynn's restaurant. You can decide for yourself, but give this place a shot. The waitresses are sweet and you usually see a good mix of people in here.

Loretta Lynn Kitchen and Gift
15366 Highway 13 South, Hurricane Mills, Tennessee zip code: 37078-2347

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&q=15366+Highway+13+South, +Hurricane+Mills, +Tennessee, +37078-2347&ie=UTF8&z=15&om=1&iwloc=A