I missed this regular post entry last week, so here’s a recap of about 2 weeks of my food experiences…

Checked out District Fare, the old HAM space and latest venture of Tomas Bohm. You can tell Bohm has sunk a ton of dollars into a re-model, and it all looks fantastic. The number of seats have doubled and everything is clean and sleek. I split one each of a pastrami and roasted cauliflower sandwich with a friend, and while neither blew me away, the food and service were quite commendable for a soft opening. The pastrami, although tender, seemed a bit overcooked. But the star of the lunch was the house-made mustard, which I think you can actually purchase. All and all, it was a successful first experience at District Fare and I have no doubt this place will quickly be a hit.

The Thai Chopped Salad with steak at Big Orange Midtown is a must-order. You’ve probably seen me write about it many times on the blog, so my glowing endorsement comes as no surprise.

Dinner at Table 28 was pretty damn fantastic. My perfectly cooked, medium rare duck with the signature Brussels sprouts and bacon was a hit, as was the fried chicken and shrimp scampi, but the best dish of the evening was the goat tostadas with mole and black beans. My daughter ordered it, and, at first, I thought she was crazy to do so. With all the other great options on the menu, why would someone order goat tostadas? She obviously knew more than I did, as that mixture of tender, shredded goat and mole was amazing. Hope this dish stays on the menu. One more thing … our server, Jeffrey, provided stellar service. He was attentive, knowledgeable of the menu, and just a flat-out class act.

Get the Roasted Chicken with Fried Potatoes at YaYa’s. Seriously, that dish is crazy good. Yeah, yeah, I know … it’s roasted chicken, but it’s swimming in garlic, has a little heat from the peppers, and is just a massive plate of tasty food for $19. Kudos to YaYa’s on great service on a Saturday night. It’s a massive restaurant, and the place was packed, but they still managed to get the food out in a timely manner.

Have you ever tried the fried catfish at Burge’s? If you’re anything like me, you’ve concentrated on the smoked turkey salad and forgotten about everything else on the menu. Well, my fried catfish sandwich was really good, with the only downfall being a heavy amount of tartar sauce that did its best to overwhelm the fish. No worries, I just scraped it off. The fish itself was small, thin, and crispy with a nice cornmeal batter.

I love Mt. Fuji but the Fried Tofu Udon Bowl is a pass. It’s kind of boring and the tofu is just too sweet.

Speaking of sweet, my Soy Sauce Fried Chicken at the new Kimchi (old Van Lang space) was wildly addictive, but way too sweet. That said, I ate most of the $15 plate of food with relative ease, and while the bulgogi and ribs were average at best, the chicken and good service is what will inspire a return visit. There’s certainly enough to like about this spot to go back and try out some other dishes. That said, $15 for a plate of fried chicken thighs swimming in sauce is just too expensive.

I know Terri-Lynn’s has been around forever, but it’s a spot that rarely gets much attention. They make solid, reasonably-priced food that’s served up within minutes. Simply put, it’s a quality lunch spot. Get the deviled eggs, a pair of egg halves that are as traditional as it gets. My “Sharon” sandwich with smoked turkey and a pile of creamy cole slaw, however, was a miss. The slaw just overwhelmed everything else on the sandwich. No biggie, I’ll just try another sandwich next time.