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This week saw the debut of Anthony Bourdain's new show, The Layover. Promos advertise the program will show viewers the best ways to kill time between flights in major cities around the world. Being a huge fan of No Reservations, as well as his books on the culinary industry, I was curious about this new offering.
The series kicks off with a thirty hour layover in Singapore, beginning with a rundown of hotel options and a breakdown of transportation times from the airport, whether a traveler takes a cab, bus, or train. Once checked in to the Presidential Suite he was surprisingly upgraded to, Bourdain takes viewers on a whirl wind tour of the city. The tour includes a variety of sites, including the Mustafa Center, a massive indoor market with everything; the Singapore Flyer, a 165 meter high Ferris Wheel; and the Sands SkyPark, an adult playground, resting across the roofs of three skyscrapers, complete with a swimming pool and night club.
The hotel options, transportation tips, and list of tourist traps are interesting and useful bits of information. However, fans of Anthony Bourdain watch him for his descriptions of exotic cuisine, superbly prepared street food, and culinary staples from different regions and cultures. As the camera vividly captures what he eats, and he describes the flavors of these foods, we fans enjoy living vicariously through him. In this regard, The Layover doesn't disappoint.
He begins with a breakfast of steamed rice cakes with fried pickles at one of the city's Hawker Centers, which are quality controlled centers for street food vendors. As he enjoys that breakfast, cameras whisk viewers across the city to show us the Peanut Pancake option for breakfast. As the clock ticks down, he visits the Colonial District for a meal of Chicken Rice and Curry Fish Heads; Samy's Curry for Chicken Masala, Papa Dahl, Naan Bread, Prawns, and a host of other Indian delicacies; the Gaylang District for Claypot Rice (which comes with a variety of meats), Fried Crab, Lobster, and Green Beans with Dried Fish Powder; and Arab Street for Pulled Tea. Scenes featuring these, and other local eats, were more than adequate to satisfy any food loving viewer.
In a nutshell, The Layover is essentially No Reservations with a slight twist. While No Reservations can explore cultures anywhere, The Layover focuses on a tighter radius around a transportation hub. Food dominates both productions though, making the culinary segments virtually interchangeable between titles.
Airing Mondays at 9pm on The Travel Channel, The Layover is entertaining TV for any No Reservations fan.
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I am not a professional chef, nor have I been classically trained in the field of cuisine. I AM, however, a writer and a well read food & wine enthusiast, who lives to eat and knows what he likes. In this blog, you'll read my views on cheese, wine, restaurants, cooking, food trends, and more.
Friday, November 25, 2011
Wednesday, November 9, 2011
The Dining Restaurant at Multnomah Falls Lodge: Review
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First of all, it's nice to be back home and back online. Living in a motel, which reeked of tobacco smoke and Lord knows what else, as part of my house was being remodeled, was an exhausting experience. Returning home, after a week of; fast food take-out, nukable meals, mystery odors from Hell, limited TV, nausea, and no internet (I use a desktop PC); only to discover 1/3 of my computer's keys no longer functioned was positively disheartening. However a week and a half after the slay ride began, I'm pleased to say I have a new bathroom, complete with a heated floor; I'm adjusting to a new keyboard, I'm consistently holding food down, and I'm ready to write again.
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A week before work began on my house, Oregon experienced a few final days of clear skies and warmth. On the spur of the moment, my mother and I decided to enjoy the pleasant weather at Multnomah Falls Lodge. Spewing from natural underground springs that originate on Larch Mountain, white water rushes 620 feet down Multnomah Falls in two major steps, the upper fall plunging 542 feet to the lower 69 foot fall. Welcoming, tourists, photographers, and other onlookers is Multnomah Falls Lodge. Completed in 1925, the lodge provides visitors with an information center, gift shop, fast food snack bar, and a dining restaurant.
Located on the lodge's second floor, the restaurant consists of two high-ceilinged dining rooms. The first features a slanted ceiling and walls of glass which provide a clear view of the falls. The second room, done in dark stone walls and an espresso colored wood beam ceiling, offers diners the coziness of a wood burning fireplace. Given the grandeur of the rooms and the restaurant's promise of, "upscale Northwest style cuisine with an emphasis on fresh local ingredients," I figured we were in for a real treat.
Lunches are served with; Cole Slaw, Potato Salad, or French Fries; and a spear of dill pickle. I ordered the Smoked Salmon Salad Sandwich & Fries for $12.50 and a Widmer Hefeweizen for $4.50, and she had the Reuben & Fries also for $12.50.
Smoked Salmon Salad Sandwich - I live by a set of culinary rules. One such rule dictates that something called a "Smoked Salmon Salad Sandwich" should, at least vaguely, taste like salmon, smoked or otherwise. What I got was an orange heap of mayonnaise based glop, a piece of Swiss Cheese, and some lettuce between two mayonnaise slathered pieces of bread. I wouldn't have minded the thickly applied "salad" oozing from the sandwich after every bite, if it had actually tasted like SOMETHING. While "cold' isn't generally thought of as a flavor, if pushed to describe the taste of the sandwich, cold and mushy are the only words that accurately describe what I ate.
Reuben - This sandwich fit the generally accepted definition of a Reuben Sandwich; corned beef, sauerkraut and Swiss cheese, with a Russian dressing between slices of rye bread. Admittedly, the traditional ingredients were there. Yet, there was so much dressing and sauerkraut brine on the sandwich, that the bread became a soggy mess after the first few bites, forcing her to eat it with a knife and fork.
Sides - The fries were a typical shoestring cut, but somewhat under seasoned. The dill pickle was even on the bland side and was fairly soft to the bite.
Granted, The Dining Restaurant at Multnomah Falls Lodge is known for its dinners, and we were there for lunch. I have to say though, if they have trouble delivering a decent sandwich, I'm not about to risk twice the price on their Bacon Wrapped Ribeye or Herb Rubbed Prime Rib. I'll stick to the snack bar next time.
I give The Dining Restaurant at Multnomah Falls Lodge 3 out of 10 stars.
-
First of all, it's nice to be back home and back online. Living in a motel, which reeked of tobacco smoke and Lord knows what else, as part of my house was being remodeled, was an exhausting experience. Returning home, after a week of; fast food take-out, nukable meals, mystery odors from Hell, limited TV, nausea, and no internet (I use a desktop PC); only to discover 1/3 of my computer's keys no longer functioned was positively disheartening. However a week and a half after the slay ride began, I'm pleased to say I have a new bathroom, complete with a heated floor; I'm adjusting to a new keyboard, I'm consistently holding food down, and I'm ready to write again.
-
A week before work began on my house, Oregon experienced a few final days of clear skies and warmth. On the spur of the moment, my mother and I decided to enjoy the pleasant weather at Multnomah Falls Lodge. Spewing from natural underground springs that originate on Larch Mountain, white water rushes 620 feet down Multnomah Falls in two major steps, the upper fall plunging 542 feet to the lower 69 foot fall. Welcoming, tourists, photographers, and other onlookers is Multnomah Falls Lodge. Completed in 1925, the lodge provides visitors with an information center, gift shop, fast food snack bar, and a dining restaurant.
Located on the lodge's second floor, the restaurant consists of two high-ceilinged dining rooms. The first features a slanted ceiling and walls of glass which provide a clear view of the falls. The second room, done in dark stone walls and an espresso colored wood beam ceiling, offers diners the coziness of a wood burning fireplace. Given the grandeur of the rooms and the restaurant's promise of, "upscale Northwest style cuisine with an emphasis on fresh local ingredients," I figured we were in for a real treat.
Lunches are served with; Cole Slaw, Potato Salad, or French Fries; and a spear of dill pickle. I ordered the Smoked Salmon Salad Sandwich & Fries for $12.50 and a Widmer Hefeweizen for $4.50, and she had the Reuben & Fries also for $12.50.
Smoked Salmon Salad Sandwich - I live by a set of culinary rules. One such rule dictates that something called a "Smoked Salmon Salad Sandwich" should, at least vaguely, taste like salmon, smoked or otherwise. What I got was an orange heap of mayonnaise based glop, a piece of Swiss Cheese, and some lettuce between two mayonnaise slathered pieces of bread. I wouldn't have minded the thickly applied "salad" oozing from the sandwich after every bite, if it had actually tasted like SOMETHING. While "cold' isn't generally thought of as a flavor, if pushed to describe the taste of the sandwich, cold and mushy are the only words that accurately describe what I ate.
Reuben - This sandwich fit the generally accepted definition of a Reuben Sandwich; corned beef, sauerkraut and Swiss cheese, with a Russian dressing between slices of rye bread. Admittedly, the traditional ingredients were there. Yet, there was so much dressing and sauerkraut brine on the sandwich, that the bread became a soggy mess after the first few bites, forcing her to eat it with a knife and fork.
Sides - The fries were a typical shoestring cut, but somewhat under seasoned. The dill pickle was even on the bland side and was fairly soft to the bite.
Granted, The Dining Restaurant at Multnomah Falls Lodge is known for its dinners, and we were there for lunch. I have to say though, if they have trouble delivering a decent sandwich, I'm not about to risk twice the price on their Bacon Wrapped Ribeye or Herb Rubbed Prime Rib. I'll stick to the snack bar next time.
I give The Dining Restaurant at Multnomah Falls Lodge 3 out of 10 stars.
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