Like Steak reviews

I've been to Chili's a few times in The USA and didn't care for their food enough to keep coming back. After my visit to Chili's in Taipei, I can say that it is just like the USA restaurant chain; in this case that is a bad thing. The food is not horrible, they have a few pretty good dishes, but overall most of the dishes are just mediocre, and in Taipei the price of their food is not worth it. I would like everyone who is not American, especially Taiwanese, to know that this restaurant chain is not a good representation of good American food, so please don't judge our culinary skills after your visit to Chili's; America does offer a lot of delicious food. Yes, you'll find some Americans who like Chili's, otherwise they would not still be in business, but that just goes to show that there are quite a few people out there with bad taste. I'm not trying to be snobby, but just tell it like it is. Hey, we can't all be talented food critics or every John and Bob out there would have their own credible food blog.

Food I tried:
BBQ Ranch Burger: The beef pattie was devout of any real taste, leaving the burger completely bland.
Original Half Rack of Ribs: It was OK, but lacked the mouth watering taste of quality ribs.
Classic Nachos: Delicious nachos with a lot of cheese and your choice of sauce dip. However, it was completely overpriced for the serving amount.
Brownie Sundae: Completely delicious; rich brownie with quality vanilla ice cream. At least I can recommend the desserts at Chili's.

Wendel's Bakery & Bistro has four locations with Tienmu being probably the best location because of the outside beer garden. The location in Da'an and Neihu offer just as much selection as the Tienmu, but the menu selection differs a little and they have way more pizza options than the Tienmu location. The Takashimaya branch is definitely the smallest, and while I'm sure it's good, you haven't fully experienced Wendel's until you've gone to one of the big three branches.

They offer authentic German bread in their bakery & deli, and also have some other take home items such as cheese, homemade jam, cake, and dessert. The bistro section of Wendel's serves the best Taipei German food that I have found so far. Everyone else I know, Germans included, also agree that it's the best that is available in Taipei. Wendel's is a third generational German Bakery and the current generational line, Michael Wendel, has added the delicious bistro section to the bakery.

I ate at the Tienmu branch, the flagship store, for this review. The bistro section has two sections, one inside and one outside in the biergarden (beer garden). As I said before, the beer garden is why the Tienmu location is considered the best in most people's opinions. It is nice to sit outside to enjoy the fresh air and leisurely eat your German food and beer. Every single dish that I tried from the beginning cold cuts to the finishing dessert was delicious. This is the place to be in Taipei for Oktoberfest!

Items I tried:
Cafe Mocha: A good mocha that wasn't too sweet and had a pretty good espresso coffee taste.
Cheese Board: Very good European cheese with a complimenting deli assortment.
German Cold Cuts & Cheese: Fresh and exquisite cold cut beef and ham slices with some other meats, cheese, salad, deli assortment, and mustard.
The Lentil Stew: Great tasting soup with good seasoning.
Traditional Goulash Soup: Good goulash with great seasoning.
Mediterranean Mixed Salad: Pretty good salad with a light dressing.
The Sausage Platter: Completely delicious big proportioned selection of authentic German sausages. Must try for sausage lovers. German sausage is the best in the world!
Wendel's Gourmet: Delicious dish of mushrooms in a yummy sauce and potatoes under melted cheese. Really great!
Spaghetti Neapolitan dessert: A unique dessert that kind of looks like spaghetti but tastes like vanilla ice cream with strawberry sauce. Very big and delicious dessert!
Chocolate Cream Marble cake: A perfectly rich combination of chocolate, cream, and cake for the sweet tooth lover.
Black Forest Cheesecake: A very delicious tri-layered cheesecake with a cake bottom, fruit cream middle, and cheesecake top that is absolutely scrumptious.
Beer: I tried the Pilsner and another sweet beer from the deli section. Both were great, but I really liked the cold non-hoppy, refreshing Pilsner. Definitely one of the best Pilsner's I've ever had.

Wendel's also has a dessert only location called Lolli Gelato in Q Square. Since the dessert selection at their bakery & deli was absolutely delicious, Lolli Gelato, which has way more than just gelato, should be equally as good with a different selection of dessert. 

I heard about this place from a friend who said her two Italian friends said it was the closest thing you can get to authentic spaghetti in Taipei. After eating there, I completely agree. Not only was their pasta excellent, but the lasagna was too. The pizza was very satisfying as well. They have an excellent wine selection. The chef, Matteo, is Italian and studied cooking for five years in Verona, Italy. No wonder it tastes authentic. This is the place to go for Italian pasta in Taipei.

I tried the Insalata di Cesare (Caesar Salad), Posciutto Crudo con Melone Dolce Scaglie di Permigiano ed Insalatina Mista (Ham with Sweet Melon, Parmesan Cheese, and Green Salad), Spaghetti alla Bolognese, Linguine alla Pescatora (Seafood Linguine), Spaghetti alle Vongole (Clam Spaghetti in White Wine Sauce), Linguine al Nero di Seppia (Black Ink Seafood Linguine), Lasagna alla Bolognese, Risotto ai Porcini (Mushroom Risotto), Diavola Pizza (Spicy Salami), Petto D'anatra in Salsa D'arancia (Duck Breast in Orange Sauce), Tiramisu, Original Cheese Cake, a bottle of Sicily's Negro Red Wine, and a bottle of Veneto's Tommasi Villa Fontana Bardolino.

In short, all the spaghetti was excellent because the spaghetti wasn't cooked too long and the sauces contained the right, different herbs. Pasta in Taipei is usually not that great because they cook the spaghetti too long, making it a little mushy, and they have no idea what herbs to add, making the sauce too bland or just not correct. The lasagna was also authentically delicious with very flavorful tomato sauce and cheese. The pizza was great with quality cheese and powerful salami with a slight spiciness. The roasted duck in the orange sauce was tender and really went well with that orange sauce. The Caesar Salad was fresh and had an excellent Caesar dressing. The Ham with Sweet Melon, which can be found under cold appetizers on the menu, was a perfect combination of meat with sweet fruit and was completely delicious. I didn't try the Risotto ai Porcini but could see that the portion for it was really small and was expensive. My friend who ordered it was very shocked as was I. This is the only thing that I wouldn't order at PaPa Gio'.

Both desserts, but especially the Tiramisu were excellent; one of the best Tiramisu' that I've had in Taipei. Both wines were quality and exquisite Italian wines. The Negro (NT$1,400) is more bold and the Bardolino (NT$1,300) is quite smooth for a red wine. If you don't want to spend this much on a bottle of wine, you can order a bottle of the Italian house wine for NT$700. Even Italian house wine is great.

When I want authentic Italian, delicious pasta in Taipei, I will go to PaPa Gio' from now on!

N.Y. Bagels has been open since 1998 and was the first bagel shop in Taipei. Yes, they have much, much more than just bagels. I visited their only 24 hour location out of their seven locations. I tried their Cinnamon Raisin Bagel with Onion and Chive Cream Cheese, Spinach Eggs Benedict Breakfast Set, Bacon Breakfast Set, Sausage Breakfast Set with French Toast instead of a Bagel and Scrambled Eggs instead of sunny-side up, N.Y. Cheese Burger, Strawberry Heaven Pudding Toast, Mixed Fruits Caramelized Pudding Toast, Hot Mocha Latte and a Hot Cafe Latte.

The N.Y. Cheese Burger was a good burger with a nice beef pattie flavor. Not the best I've had, but certainly better than a lot of burgers in Taipei. The Cinnamon Raisin Bagel was a good, authentic bagel just like you get at a quality place in America and the Onion and Chive Cream Cheese was delightful, maybe could've been more powerful, but that is debatable. The Spinach Eggs Benedict Breakfast Set would've been really delicious, but the spinach was cold unlike the rest of the Benedict which was off-putting and kind of ruined the whole dish. Try to get them to warm up the spinach if you order this. If they won't, don't bother with it. Such a shame because you don't normally see a vegetarian Eggs Benedict and I know it would taste exquisite if they make this one altercation. The Bacon Breakfast Set and the Sausage Breakfast Set were pretty good, but a little too basic and leaves me wishing their was something more on my plate for a big hearty American breakfast. If you aren't a pig like me, it might be enough to please you, though.

Both the Pudding Toasts were a complete disaster. Sure the picture looks good, but the bread tastes not only completely doll, but has a big yeast flavored aftertaste -- disgusting! I normally always finish my meals, but this dish was not worth the stomach room, at all. The Hot Cafe Latte and the Hot Mocha Latte were both not even close to being hot, but a little warmer than room temperature, which would piss-off any coffee aficionado. The two cups of coffee themselves were OK, too much milk taste and not enough espresso taste. It is hard to find a good cup of coffee in Taipei. Too bad because I was looking forward to drinking coffee at this location during one of my late night meanderings since it's open 24 hours.

Foremost, Gordon Biersch is a brewery that brews their own award winning quality beers, using only traditional ingredients imported from Germany. You can try any of their beers in a 500ml glass for NT$230 -- great price for such quality beer. You can also get a sampling of all their beer for NT$230. If you want, you can take some of their beer home with you in a growler. As a fine establishment, they also serve an array of quality meals which are listed above.

I tried their Pepperoni Mushroom Pizza, Gordon Biersch Cheese Burger, and Gordon Biersch's Golden Export and Seasonal Beer. I'm not a beer drinker so I can't properly rate it, but I was accompanied by a German and he was very satisfied. Besides, Gordon Biersch's beers have won gold, silver, and bronze medals, which is enough to convey the quality of their beer.

The Gordon Biersch Cheese Burger was downright delicious. They asked me how I wanted it cooked which is a rarity in Taipei. I felt like blood that night and ordered it medium-rare, and that is exactly what I got. The burger was so satisfying that I swallowed it up in less than 5 minutes, it seemed. The beef pattie was thick and full of flavor and the burger was accompanied by their famous garlic French fries. The only thing about the burger that wasn't top notch was the bread bun because it was a white flavorless bread and the bottom part was soft, mushy, and almost turned into a liquid on my fingers; although, that last part is probably due to the fact that I had the beef pattie cooked to medium-rare, making it full of more juices than normal. The pizza was pretty good. They make their own dough which is nice because it's fresh, but the dough wasn't cooked enough, leaving it too doughy and didn't really have any flavor to it. The toppings were quality, but I didn't like the fact that half the cheese wasn't melted. It was a pretty good pizza and accompanied the beer quite nicely, but for NT$440, I would rather get pizza elsewhere that is better and cheaper.

By the Red House Theater (紅樓劇場), close by the Ximen MRT Station is Mcafe, which has nothing to do with McDonald's, a slightly overpriced restaurant with a nice old time English country house decor. When I visited Le Cafe Ariel, which has the best waffles in Taipei, I was told about Mcafe by the staff because they have the same owner. Mcafe also offers these same waffles, but only serves them from 2pm-5pm & 9pm-10:30pm. I would think they're the same quality waffles at Mcafe, but didn't get to find out due to the time they're offered.

I tried the Seasonal Mushroom Linguine Truffle Flavor Pasta, Grilled Rib Eye USDA Choice Steak (8.5 oz), Bread Topped Corn Soup, Hot Milk Tea, and Iced Mocha Latte. The pasta dish had fresh quality ingredients, but was too bland and miserably failed at tantalizing my taste-buds. I've had better pasta for less than a third of the price. The Rib Eye Steak was first cooked wrong as I asked for medium-rare and they brought me medium-well, so I had to have them cook a new one and asked for rare the second time. It came as medium-rare, as no blood leaked onto the plate at all. I was afraid of this and that is why I ordered rare the second time around. Keep this in mind if you're going to order a steak at Mcafe and don't go there if you like your steak rare. It was very tasty and was accompanied with some delicious seasoned, roasted vegetables and mashed potatoes.

The Bread Topped Corn Soup was delicious. The Hot Milk Tea had a watered down boring taste. The Iced Mocha Latte fared better, but still lacked being great or worth ordering.

Bellini Pasta Pasta is a Japanese/Italian style pasta place, so the pasta is sweeter like you'll find in pasta restaurants in Tokyo, Japan. Their pizza is American/Italian and has no Japanese accents. All their restaurants have a more classy upscale decor than most restaurants.

I tried the Spaghetti with Meat Sauce and Soft-boiled Egg, Tomato Sauce Fresh Mozzarella Cheese & Fresh Basil Leaves (Margherita) Pizza,  Basil Sauce (Pesto) Fresh Shrimp Mixed Mushrooms & Blended Cheese Pizza, Steak (don't remember which one because they don't list steak on their website menu for some reason), and cafe latte.

Being fifty percent Italian and growing up on my mom's spaghetti, I'm not a fan for sweet Japanese style pasta, but I still think that it was pretty good. Therefore, I can recognize that their pasta is really good for people who do like it Japanese style. The Margherita Pizza and Shrimp, Mushroom Pesto Pizza was very good. However, it's still not Italian pizza. Every place in Taipei that claims to have Napoli or Italian pizza has a thin crust, but a real Italian pizza's crust is not just thin, but more like a pastry dough rather than your typical American pizza dough. I'm almost certain you can't get this anywhere in Taipei. Even though the pizza is very good, it is so paper-thin that I would have to eat maybe two of them to satisfy myself; given this, it is also way overpriced. The steak was cooked medium as we specified and was quiet delicious. The cafe latte was pretty good; definitely American style and not Italian, though.

Brass Monkey is a sports bar with a pool table. Being a sports bar, they focus on alcohol and bar snacks, of course. They also offer other food, but most of it is not up to par. They have special events including salsa dancing every Tuesday night from 9pm to late with margaritas, Corona beer, and tequila shots for NT$100 and night club dancing with a DJ every Thursday night from 9pm to 4am with free cocktails and entry for ladies from 9-midnight (entry is free all night), minimum charge NT$150 for guys.

I attended salsa dancing night and tried their BBQ Bacon Cheese Burger, Pepperoni Pizza, Nachos, and Margaritas. The burger was bland and the pizza would only taste good if you were drunk and needed food badly. The Nachos, however, were pretty good with three side dipping sauces of guacamole, salsa, and sour cream. The Margaritas were on the rocks and were perfect bar quality, having the correct amount of alcohol to sour taste -- good price for a bar NT$100 (only salsa nights).

The food is not the focus here, sports, alcohol, and events are. At 9pm every Tuesday, they move tables and chairs to create a dancing floor for everyone to salsa dance. Attendees range from pros to never haves, from couples to singles. They play great salsa music and the night heats up as you drink down those themed drinks and start to get some salsa moves down. It is a nice change from night clubbing and there is no smoking inside so you will not leave reeking of cigarettes.

The Diner is where you go in Taipei when you want an American breakfast just like you'd get back home. All your American breakfast needs can be met here: Omelets, French Toast, Pancakes, Scrambled Eggs, Eggs Benedict, Bagel, etc. They also cover the lunch American cafe staples such as: Burgers, Sandwiches, Salads, Steak, and Soup.

I have tried the Veggie Omelet, Greek Omelet, Eggs Benedict, Italian Scramble (eggs), BLT Sandwich, California Burger, Blue Cheese Burger, Brownie a la Mode, Peanut Butter & Chocolate Milkshake, Mint Milkshake, and the Strawberry Milkshake. Except for the BLT Sandwich and the Blue Cheese Burger, everything was delicious. I can't say enough about their omelets; they are all fantastic. With three eggs and selected ingredients it is a big, proper-sized American omelet. Not like these other Taipei breakfast places that serve little dismal sized omelets that don't satisfy the American belly. For the sides that go along with most meals, I recommend the potatoes O'Brien, French fries, or mashed potatoes with gravy on top (not on the menu, but you can order it). I would skip the hashed browns which are not fresh at all.

The California Burger was good, but not excellent because the beef pattie wasn't juicy and flavorful enough. The Milkshakes are decadently delicious and a most try. Pick the flavor you like, you can't go wrong. The Italian Scrambled Eggs' ingredients were fresh and the mozzarella cheese made it quite tasty, but I don't really see the point in getting any of the scrambled eggs which only gets you two eggs when you can get three eggs in a much bigger omelet for the same price. Yes, you get a little ham, bacon, or sausage side, but it still isn't worth it. The Eggs Benedict is made perfectly here with a great hollandaise sauce.

The BLT Sandwich was a real disappointment because it barely had any ingredients in it; tasted like I was just eating bread. The Blue Cheese Burger was also a pass because they added salt to the blue cheese which made it pretty gross. Both of these items are a definite skip. The Brownie a la Mode was huge and very yummy. I have heard good things about all their other dessert items as well.

Next time I will try either the Pancake Breakfast or the French Toast Breakfast which are both under the Sweet Tooth Breakfast section on the menu. I have heard good things about both of these items.

Looks like I found another good burger place in Taipei. Evan though they specialize in burgers, they have an extensive list of American breakfasts for a burger place: 4 types of Pancakes, 3 types of French Toast, 3 types of Eggs Benedict, 3 types of Omelets, and more. On my second visit, I went to the other Evans Burger Shida location, No. 27, Lane 13, Pucheng St., Da'an Dist., and it was better because the beef patties were bigger and cooked medium, making for a better, juicier beef taste. I highly recommend this location over the other three. You may have noticed that Taipei chain stores are notorious for being very different; one of the locations could even be very good when another is bad. I wish all Taipei chains focused on keeping their brand the same at every location.

I tried the Super Tornado Beef Burger, Ham Eggs Benedict (vegetarian), Evans Roast Burger, American Cheese Burger, Brownie Ice Cream, and the Spinach Cheese Omelette. The beef pattie for the burger was cooked well-done, but was still very juicy and tasty. The three super large onion rings on top of the burger were mushy and the only thing about the burger that I didn't care for; however, that is the main reason for ordering the Super Tornado Beef Burger, so if I were you, I would get one of the other burgers. It is just another example of how Taipei restaurants focus more on presentation than taste or actually being able to fit the burger in your mouth. It's really silly and I wish Taipei burger places would just made a good burger that fit in your mouth. If you have to cut it up because it's too big, it isn't a proper burger anymore and just isn't the same.

The American Cheese Burger was a very delicious cheese burger without all the extra fanciness. Evans Roast Burger which is just like a roast beef Au Jus sauce sandwich as a burger: strips of roast beef with melted Swiss cheese on top with a side Au Jus sauce. There couple be a little more roast beef in it, but other than this, I was very happy with this selection; tender and tasteful beef with quality Swiss cheese. The Spinach Cheese Omelette was a great brunch choice because you get an omelette, strips of bacon, hashed browns, a little salad, two pieces of French toast with butter and maple syrup, orange juice, and choice of coffee or tea. All of this brunch's items were very appetizing; this is a great place to eat breakfast or brunch anytime of the day.

The Brownie Ice Cream is the only thing that I've had at Evans Burger that I wasn't happy about. You're paying NT$240 for mostly a big scoop of not so good vanilla ice-cream on top a much smaller amount of warm brownie and whipped-cream underneath. The Ham Eggs Benedict (vegetarian) had fake ham meat. It is unusual to be able to get a vegetarian eggs benedict, so I had to try it. It was very good for a vegetarian version and I'm happy I ordered it. The fake ham meat came pretty close to the real thing.

Like Steak reviews