Susanna Foo Gourmet Kitchen

Last Friday my mother and I met to go out to eat dinner together. We eventually decided on an Asian restaurant named Susanna Foo.

One of my family and I's hobbies is to find new and interesting restaurants to check out, so we decided to eat there. I decided that I really wanted sushi because I hadn't had it in a long time.

*note: this is not the actual presentation of my entree but pictures will be coming soon*

Sushi is also one of the Asian foods that I could eat until it came out of my ears. As I sat down to look at the menu, a thought occurred to me: “How long has sushi been around in Asian culture?” I mean if you were to ask anyone to say what came to mind when they heard 'Asian food', it's highly probable that they would say sushi. After doing some research I found my answer.

As it turns out, Sushi was invented in the 4^th Century B.C. in Southeast Asia! Originally, the rice in the sushi was used as a way to preserve the fish. During consumption, the consumers would only eat the fish and then they would discard the rice afterwards.

Fast-forwarding to the 19^th Century, [Tokyo was still being called Edo] nigiri-zushi was introduced which is now the most common type of sushi in today's sushi restaurants. After the Great Kanto Earthquake in 1923, nigiri-zushi chefs lost their jobs and, as a result, they spread out all over Japan and the rest of the world.

As always here is my restaurant review: This restaurant was fantastic, although it is more on the expensive side. According to the Zagat Survery it is rated as M for Moderately Expensive and the entree prices ranged from fifteen dollars to thirty dollars.

The atmosphere, which was shown above, was so relaxing, laid-back, and had wonderful romantic decor. One of the things that I found awesome about the decor was in the booths [where I was seated] they had pillows that you could use. Another perk that I noticed about the restaurant was, no matter how many times you get up someone will always refold your napkin. It could be the person waiting on you or an employee that just happened to walk by at the moment.

This restaurant is very easily accessible. It is literally just down East Lancaster Road. It is located in the shopping center area, right next to the Financial Center.

I am afraid I do not currently have any pictures of my meal but once I get the pictures I will post them for your enjoyment. I highly recommend this restaurant for anyone who loves Asain cuisine you will not be disappointed. 

Pho and Beyond

Yes, this is really what the restaurant is called and no, I did not make it up. This is a relatively new restaurant that just opened in my neighborhood. It has been in business for over a year now. It is located in Roslyn, PA and it is fairly easy to get there.

For EU students who drive it is a twenty-five minute drive. If you follow this link it will take you to the directions on how to get there: http://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&tab=wl

For those students who do not drive, if you catch the train in Radnor,PA in to 30^th Street Station and then catch another train there, [the Warminster Line] it will take you to Roslyn, PA. The total cost for the train, to and from the destination, would be roughly $20. Because EU students have to catch two trains in order to get to Pho and Beyond, the amount of time to get there would be about an hour-but it is definitely worth it!

This restaurant serves authentic Vietnamese food and one of the great things about this restaurant is that it is inexpensive. Their atmosphere is ideal for anyone who wants to go for a date or to relax with friends.

When I went I ordered their chicken soup which I love because the broth is so flavorful:

The traditional way to make this dish is to allow the soup to simmer for several hours and it develops a very tasteful broth. 

This place is also great to come to during the Fall and Winter Seasons because sometimes a big bowl soup is just what you need to feel better or to warm up! Not to mention, they give you a huge amount of food for an inexpensive price. This soup costs ,roughly, about $9!

When you order the Vietnamese noodle dishes, they bring out a bunch of little things to add to your soup in order to 'dress it up'. The dish includes: fresh Cilantro, Basil, Jalapenos, Limes, and Bean Sprouts. They also provide Sriracha Sauce [which is like Hot Sauce], Hoisin Sauce ( a.k.a Plum Sauce), and Fish Oil.

Here's an interesting fact: France colonized Vietnam, and some of their dishes show french attributes. For example, the dessert I ordered.

Flan is originally French, not Vietnamese, but the colonization affected their culture and it is sometimes portrayed in their foods.

According to the Zagat Survey, this restaurant would be listed as “I”-Inexpensive because the price ranges are below $15. There are a few dishes on the menu that are a little bit more expensive, but most of the entrees are below $15.

Otto's Brauhaus

My family and I went out to eat Friday night and we decided to go to Otto’s Brauhaus. We were introduced to the restaurant a few years ago by my grandfather, who used to live in that area. It is located in Horsham, PA and serves authentic German food…mmmm. When you go to eat there you have the option of eating outside in the beer garden or inside in the 'dining room'. Personally, I think people should try and eat outside because the atmosphere is so relaxing.

The inside is just as admirable and is decorated like an old German cottage. The waitresses are dresses up in traditional Oktoberfest clothing. Sometimes they have live music playing but mostly it is during the weekend-usually it’s an accordion that is being played. 

The menu offers a variety of German selections but it also provides other choices for those who do not have a taste for German food, for example, children. They offer fifteen different salad choices, so if you are one of those people who decides they don’t especially like German food there are plenty of other non-German dishes to chose from.

I ordered the Jaeger Schnitzel, which is: sautéed veal in a hearty mushroom, bacon, and onion gravy with a splash of white wine and cream. {Bear with me here, I had to take pictures from my phone so the quality might not be that great.}

*German food isn’t really made to look good, it’s made to taste good. So it may look kind of gross to some, but it actually tasted wonderful. *

My entrée also came with soup and two sides. I ordered the Cream of Turkey and Rice soup:

And for my two sides I ordered mashed potatoes and sauerkraut.

If you still have enough room for dessert they will bring out their entire dessert tray to show you- which could make you very indecisive when it comes to choosing which one you want:

I finally chose the Vanilla Cheesecake which I thought was very creamy and light:

The price range [I used the Zagat Survey Key: I-$15 and below, M-$16 to $30, E-$31 to $50, and VE-$51 or more] was M for moderately expensive and ranged from $16 to $30.