A look back: Kabuki

Kabuki is one of the more fancy places on our tour. As such, it's a place we often visit for birthdays or other special occasions, and not just because we want some good food. If you're just looking for this style food and not necessarily a nice dinner out, I highly recommend Kobe, a 'fast food' version of Kabuki that is a good deal cheaper. Yet, for the tour we intended to only visit the best of the best, so Kabuki it is.

Dinner at Kabuki is a full experience. You pay a price depending on the type of meat you desire and then with that comes a great deal of courses and entertainment. We begin with a bowl of miso soup and then continue on to a salad of your choice. At this point, you might also grab yourselves an order of sushi, which I highly recommend if you are a sushi fan. After you finish your soup, salad and sushi, then the real entertainment begins.

This is when the trained chef pull up his cart full of meat and spices and turns on the grill. As you can view in the pictures below, all of the cooking happens right there in front of you. A word of warning, at this point you recieve the two small bowls of the sauce that you use for dipping your food. A ginger sauce and one other darker sauce I can't recall. Pay attention when the chef tells you what sauce goes for what types of meat. Between the sauce selection, chopstick use and the upcoming shrimp catching, it's easy to get embarassed at a Kabuki dinner, so it's best to stay on the top of your game the whole time.

The chef then begins cooking the various foods that you will be eating this evening. We've got onions and some sort of green vegetable cooked up with sesame and soy sauce. There's also a shrimp appetizer for all at this point. Then, at last, the chef begins cooking the meats you selected. Filet, shrimp, scallops or chicken, it's all quite delicious. Cooked to your preference and tossed on your plate.

Finally, we end with some leeks - which I dislike quite a great deal but ask for anyway - and the chef attempts to toss shrimp into your mouths. Catching the shrimp is quite an honor, and most of us have perfected our shrimp catching technique. Open your mouth wide, lean back a little and dive inward to catch the shrimp. It's really a game of reflexes and mouth-eye coordination. I suggest practicing at home with some food to make sure your succeed.

Throughout all of this cooking, the chef will continously toss bad jokes at you with reckless abandon. Regardless of whether you've heard the jokes a thousand times, it is your obligation to laugh at them. It's like a tip, you have to give them laughs no matter how bad it was.

In the end, Kabuki is an excellent place to visit with a group of your friends if you're looking for good food and entertainment. We've visited there with family and friends on numerous occasions, and for those in Blacksburg who haven't been there yet, be sure to use the next birthday or holiday as an excuse to get some Kabuki.

The tour's meal recommendations

Justin
Mikado Meal (Filet Mignon and Shrimp)
Hokie Rolls Sushi (It's not really sushi since they use chicken, but it's still good)
Ginger Dressing Salad (Completes the experience)

A look back: Souvlaki's

Souvlaki's is probably for me personally one of the places that holds the most memories. The people there know my name and are able to get my order for me without asking. It's kinda like Cheers, only with gyros instead of beer.

My history at Souvlaki's stems back to the summer I spent down here in Blacksburg. I worked at the bookstore selling computers to freshmen, and thus had very little time to take for lunch. As a result, I had to go somewhere nearby that was cheap, good, and not horribly unhealthy. I eventually settled on Souvlaki's as my regular meal location. While some of the other restaraunts in Blacksburg may know my name, the staff at Souvlaki's without a doubt know me best. I'm going to have to say goodbye to them this summer. I'll fight back the tears. In addition, Souvlaki's is also the place where I personally had my first legal drink, a single bottle of beer before my Public Speaking class.

Well, enough of my personal Souvlaki's history, lets move on to the food there. As you can see in the pictures below, Souvlaki's contains a cone of spiced lamb and beef meat that is somehow the most delicious meat that I have ever tasted. If you are going there, you owe it yourself to get that meat, whether on a Philly Cheese Steak or on a Gyros plate or Gyros pita. I recommend the Gyros pita, as their pitas also are quite good. They then add on a strange cucumber sauce and lettuce and wrap it all up. A word of warning, as their shirts say, peel it back, don't unwrap. Otherwise, you will be laughed at.

Beyond the spiced meats, Souvlaki's is also a good place to get a normal sub, as they toast the sub up just right. If you have a fear of the spiced meat, a turkey sub is a good stand-in. A pita with cheese is also required for any meal.

The final thing that few people know about Souvlaki's is that they have very good prices on pitchers of beer. A pitcher of Amber-Boch for 5.50? Can't beat that deal.

The tour's meal recommendations

Justin
Gyros (Wrapped up in a pita and incredible)
Philly Cheese Steak (The spiced lamb meat melted together with cheese)
Turkey Sub (Toasted to perfection)
Pita with cheese
Beer (As mentioned above, pitchers are well-priced)

A look back: PK's

PK's is a place that serves a dual purpose to us. It first functions as a place to get good cheap pizza. It second functions as a bar to drink pitcher upon pitcher of beer at. It excels in both of these functions.

As stated in the post below, the proper time to go to PK's for pizza is on a Thursday from 5-Midnight. Grab a bunch of pizzas, then pray the coin makes them free. Be sure to debate amongst the group beforehand whether you will share in whatever profits you happen to get from free pizzas or laugh at those who do not get a free pizza. I recommend sharing the profits, but the thrill of getting your entire meal free is enticing.

In terms of its bar capabilities, PK's has a few good deals going on at all times. They've got dollar Miller high lifes which Joe and I enjoy having with our pizza, and then they have cheap pitchers of beer, as do most places downtown. It's always unknown when PK's transforms from 'restaurant' to 'bar', but it takes place at some point during the night. PK's is normally not the place we start drinking, but it's often the place we end up drinking. Our normal drinking course when we go downtown runs Hokie House -> Underground -> PK's. Not sure why PK's is our final destination, but it seems to happen that way.

So whether you want possibly free pizza or cheap beer and pool, PK's is there for you downtown. Oh, and get feta on pizza. It sounds disgusting, but it's incredibly good.

The tour's meal recommendations

Justin
Pizza (Feta and Pepperoni is my favorite combo)
Beer (Pitchers and dollar High Lifes)

A look back: Five Guys

Ah, Five Guys. This was a place originally founded back near DC, but it has since migrated throughout this state and others due to how delicious their burgers are. It's name comes from the fact that five brothers were offered the chance to either go to college or found a restaurant with their parents money. Luckily for us, they decided to found a restaurant.

This place only makes three things - burgers, hot dogs, and fries. But it needs make no more. The burgers are enormous, one reason our carb-phobic friend Mario appreciates going there, and you can choose any amount of toppings to toss down on that thing. You can't truly appreciate these burgers unless you load them up with toppings - they basically smash the toppings in there with your patties, somehow strap a bun on there, and then wrap it up in tin foil so none of the flavor escapes. I, for example, get grilled onions, mushrooms, bacon, cheese, lettuce, ketchup and mayo on my burger. It just makes the meal.

The second element of Five Guys are the giant pile of fries they give you with each meal. You recieve your burger in a big paper bag, and they fill up that bag the rest of the way with fries. Just about every time I've gone there we've brought fries home for a snack, because they give us just too damn much. Add in the fact that these fries are themselves another delicious Five Guys creation and it just completes the meal.

How do they make their fries and burgers so delicious? I have no clue. Fresh ingredients? Addictive drugs? Special cooking techniques? Honestly, I don't really care. I'm just going to enjoy the food while until a doctor tells me I shouldn't. Which leads me to my only warning. This food never even approaches healthy. Mario eats it on his 'diet', but anyone else who enjoys eating healthy should avoid this place at all costs. Luckily, most of us don't really care about 'healthy' foods.

The tour's meal recommendations

Justin
Bacon Cheeseburger (fully loaded)
Fries

A look back: El Rodeo

Have you ever been to a cheap Mexican restaurant? Then you've been to El Rodeo. I swear, they must have a Mexican restaurant factory somewhere in America that just ships them out with some prepackaged Mexican sounding name. Of the three Mexican places around Tech, they all have the same menu and essentially the same food. For Mexican places, there are two things that set them apart from one another. The quality of their free tortilla chips and the quality of their margaritas.

Luckily for El Rodeo, they win on both these counts. Their chips and salsa are good, to the point where we end up finishing a few baskets off before the food gets there, forcing us to gorge oursleves to finish the food we've ordered. The endless debate between salted and unsalted always continues, but we are united behind the chips themselves.

The El Rodeo margaritas are also quite good, as you can see from the pictures. One word of warning, get your margarita jumbo, salted and unfrozen. Apparently they assume you want a frozen margarita, and attempting to drink a jumbo frozen margarita is like trying to drink a big gulp full of very cold slurpee in ten minutes. The pictures below show how painful the exercise becomes. I think my core temperature dropped about 10 degrees over the course of the drink.

I think the reason that El Rodeo's margaritas are so good is that at one point they had the reputation of being the place where they didn't check IDs. It has changed its ways as of recently, I'm guessing due to prosecution, but the good margaritas haven't changed.

On the plus side, I think the reputation of the Tour is preceeding us. Much like at The Cellar where we recieved free beer, El Rodeo provided my jumbo margarita free of charge. We should do this more often. I'm trying to encourage Russ to pretend he's from the Collegiate Times with his giant camera so we can get entire meals free. We'll see how that goes.

The tour's meal recommendations

Justin
A Number One (Two enchiladas, rice and a taco)
A Number Five (Two enchiladas, rice and beans)
Jumbo Margarita (Limey and delicious - NOT FROZEN)
Chips and Salsa (Too much)

Gavin
Uno Numero Uno - Ditto
Fried Ice Cream - I know it's just vanilla ice cream with rice crispies on top. But let me live the lie, damnit!

Russ
3 Soft Tacos - Simple, safe (kinda, dont ask whats in the meat).
Chips and Salsa - I could eat that all night.

A look back: Double Dragon

I've never been to Double Dragon. I never plan to go. Take out Chinese just isn't my thing. Someone else should really 'look back' on this one.

The tour's recommended meals

Justin
Eat somewhere else (Seriously)

Russ
General Tso's Chicken - Justin has no idea what he is talking about. It is the only spicy General Tso's in town.

Gavin
Chicken Lo Mein - I agree Justin is full of it. Chicken lo mein for $5? Sign me up!

A look back: Sycamore Deli

Sycamore Deli is really your average deli. They've got a wide variety of sandwiches, most of which are delicious. As you can see from the pictures, our group is quite partial to the Philly Cheese Steaks. If you're looking for a good entirely unhealthy sandwich, nothing beats a good old Philly Steak, and this place doesn't disappoint.

For some strange reason I have yet to understand, we tend to go to Sycamore Deli after a night in which Joe and I have been partying at 2-3 in the afternoon. I'm not sure why it works out like that, but it always ends up that way. So as a result, I traditionally get a large sandwich, eat half, then wonder why I ate that much and bring the rest back.

Ironically, the other reason that Sycamore Deli will stick in my mind is that they are the place to get kegs from. We've only hosted one keg party here at Tech, but despite that, we know Sycamore to be the keg location here at Tech. Whether you're looking for a good expensive keg of beer or a good cheap keg of beer, they've got what you're looking for. Just make sure to not leave the keg out on the balcony for a week and then try to finish it off the next weekend. It won't end well.

The tour's recommened foods

Justin
Philly Cheese Steak (I love me a good a Philly, and this place makes them well)
Meatball Sub (Another classic fully realized here)
Keg (Beast Kegs, delicious and inexpensive)

Gavin
Philly Cheese Steak - Mmm mmm good.

Russ
Philly Cheese Steak - Add me in to this camp. They are so good.

A look back: Mongolian Grill

Mongolian Grill is a rather scary place. Imagine if you shoved a chinese buffet together with a place that serves excellent grilled spiced meats and made it all available for one low price. If you guess that you'd eat way too much and contemplate throwing up on the ride back, then you'd be right.

Essentially, that is the way a meal at Mongolian Grill works. We don't eat hardly anything for a while. We drive the 20 something minute drive over. We eat a giant bowl of meat, noodles and vegetables that get cooked in front of you. Then we eat a wide variety of delicious Chinese buffet items such as bacon-wrapped crab, cheese sticks and pudding. Then we quickly head home and think about throwing up the entire way.

Despite this vicious cycle that you get put in by joining a trip to Mongolian Grill, we all do it willingly each time we head out there. Gathering a bowl of meat, noodles and veggies together and handing it to some man to cook it in front of you is a quite satisfying experience. It's the modern man's equivilent of being a hunter/gatherer. Then you stare at this meat being whirled around this strange circular grill while your desire to jump the bar and kill the man so you can get the meats he is wrongly keeping from you grow. Finally, you go back and feast on your kill, devouring every little spiced and soft piece of the bowl.

It's an experience not to be missed, if only because once you finish the bowl you'll find yourself inexplicably getting up and getting more food from the bar because you just can't resist it. Bacon-wrapped crab is not a treat to be missed. Then you finish off the meal with a fortune cookie, which provides ample chance to insult one another. Mine was - "You are a straightforward and honest person." Everyone concluded my career in politics was over before it started.

EDIT: Gavin fights like a little girl and it was necessary to whip him upside the head to teach him a lesson. Just to clear the record.

DOUBLE EDIT: Justin fights like a little girl and it was necessary to fight fire with fire, so to speak.

The tour's recommended foods

Justin
Pork, Chicken, Beef, Zucchini, Onions, 3 kinds of spices (all in one bowl)
Bacon-wrapped crab
Sushi
Pudding (the perfect end to a heart killing meal)

Gavin
Mongolian Grill - Add raw meat, vegetables, and sauces. Don't forget to cook before ingesting.
Honey Bread - Ancient Chinese recipe.

Russ
Mongolian Grill - Beef, Dark Meat Chicken, Pork, Zuchinni, Snow Peas, Broccoli, Bamboo Chutes, Water Chestnuts, and those little baby corn things. Scheszuan Sauce and Garlic. Then cook it (or have the circle walking guy do it).
Those Chinese Donut Things - A staple at all chinese buffets, but good everywhere you go.

A look back: Boudreaux's

To start off, Boudreaux's is not for the faint of heart. It's a cajun-themed place and as such, to truly enjoy the food you must enjoy what is spicey. The soups, the sandwiches, the meals - most of them are quite spicey, yet also quite delicious. Assuming you're looking for such an experience, Boudreaux's is the place for you. We came a little bit late to the game for Boudreaux's, not discovering it until this year. But Gavin and I insisted it be added to the tour based on our experience there.

Going to Boudreaux's, you have to know what they're famous for. The first thing is Po Boy sandwiches, basically these wonderful baguette creations that are loaded up with your choice of meat and some cajun mayeaux, of which I am quite partial to. Some other notable dishes are their blackened burger and chicken meals, which are seared with a brilliant array of cajun spices, and also their gator bites. The gator bites are mainly there to provide a talking point, as if you didn't know better you could be eating chicken fingers. Once again, dip them in the cajun mayeaux, you won't be disappointed.

The second aspect of Boudreaux's that is great to try is their collection of beers from Belgium, which are often discounted depending on the night you go. Grab yourself a large amount of these things for you and your friends and drink up. I'm quite partial to the Corsendonk Brown myself.

Boudreaux's is a little different than most places around Blacksburg, but I've found it can fill that little niche for something spicy that we often get a craving for.

The tour's meal recommendations

Justin
Blackened Bleu Burger (Seared with spices and topped with bleu cheese and mayeaux)
Gumbo Ya-Ya (Andouille sausage and chicken make this spicy soup excellent)
Corsendonk Brown Beer (As stated above, this is one of the few times I'll go for more expensive beer, but it's worth it)

Gavin
Alligator Bites - Spicy and vaguely chicken-like. For all I know they could be chicken nuggets with cajun spices, but still damn good.
Gumbo Ya-Ya - Excellent pre-dinner for those who enjoy a little meat in their soup... no innuendo intended.
Crawdad Po-Boy - I think the picture above says it all... delicious

Russ
Alligator Bites - Tastes just like chicken, a novelty, but good none-the-less.
Crawfish Po' Boy - Only thing i've had there, but quite good.