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  WINDY CITY TIMES

Palate
by LEE GERSTEIN
2004-06-16

This article shared 1838 times since Wed Jun 16, 2004
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Is the no-carb craze over yet? Can the backlash please begin. Unlike the no-fat craze, there are hardly agreed upon guidelines as to what constitutes low carb, plus a real argument over net carbs, which allows one to eat a higher carb meal, but subtract carbs based on the grams of fiber included.

Whatever. The key is less calories, less fat, less carbs, less eating. Sorry extra-large pizza, we don't want you. Well, we do want you, but that's exactly the problem. In fact, I could eat an extra large right now.

Always in Fashion

'I can't stand it,' complains a friend, who works in an office that requires a lot of socializing. 'That's all they talk about. Everybody here is on the South Beach Diet, and I am so sick of hearing about it.'

That diet, currently in vogue, and chronicled in a book resting comfortably at the top of the non-fiction bestsellers list for some time now, is a more sensible variation of the Atkins Diet. 'I'm glad they're losing weight, but can we leave it at that? Why do I need to know all about it?'

Like a little yappy dog or a new pair of Uggs, diets have become the newest must haves. Unfortunately, you can't simply wear your diet on your shoulders for others to notice, which leads to the incessant conversation.

Where I work, I consider myself fortunate. We're not a real style-conscious group. Billy Crystal is still considered the arbiter of hip and no one is cooler than that funnyman Robin Williams. Therefore, only two folks are dieting (health and appearance rank fairly low on required traits as well). Still, they proudly detail every godforsaken meal to anyone who will listen. Both are on Atkins and proudly eat cheeseburgers minus the buns for lunch.

Of course, that really isn't too different from the rest of the group. They get cheeseburgers every day too, but I guess their buns constitute a diet violation. One man's diet is another man's dinner.

Loud and Clear

OK, I've officially become my dad. A couple of nights ago, we went to dinner at one of our reliables. A nice place, with comfortable but romantic surroundings, the restaurant decided to torture us.

What had we done to deserve the CD of mostly improvised jazz that was playing awfully loudly? It was beeps and toots all night long. That, combined with the darker than usual lighting, led to an evening of droopy eyes snapped open by a sudden saxophone bleating.

Home is Where the Heart is

More and more, nutritional studies are showing that eating at home is pretty much the only way to control what you're eating. Unfortunately, with more eaters choosing to eat out, or order food in, all those diet fads aren't accomplishing anything.

As Anthony Bourdain points out in his bestseller, Kitchen Confidential, when you go to a restaurant, the first ingredient in a dish is most likely butter. And the last? Butter. Let's face it; butter makes things taste good.

Aside from less healthy ingredients, it's impossible to control portion size in a restaurant. A friend has lost a good deal of weight simply by requesting a doggy bag as soon as her entree arrives. She promptly packages half of it, removing the temptation of eating it all, and has dinner already set for the next night.

In my own way, I'm trying to do the same. Instead of three big bowls of lite ice cream every night, I've switched to three smaller bowls of ice cream every night. Of course, the ice cream is packed in there, but it's a start, right?

Orange You Glad?

Atkins dieters are the enemy to Florida. To Florida orange growers, that is. Seeing a dramatic decline in sales of their orange juice products, orange growers are fighting back against Atkins followers with new lines.

Featuring less sugar and calories, these new juices are just hitting shelves in groceries, and have names with words in them, like healthy and smart.

For once, the advertising doesn't lie. Regular orange juice is chock full of sugar and calories. Most are from concentrate, which simply ups the sugar water content. Drinking a glass of old-fashioned orange juice provides a whole lot more sugar and calories than simply eating an orange.

Orange juice isn't the only juice to get a makeover. Cranberry Juice and cranberry juice mixers have offered low-sugar versions for some time now. In addition to the lower calorie content, these are also just plain better. Less sweet, and tart like they should be, you can find them in supermarkets now.

_____

Shanghai Terrace

When I made the reservation for two, the person on the other end of the phone asked, 'Is this a special occasion?'

Yes and no. It wasn't my birthday or an anniversary, but we were going to be dining at Shanghai Terrace in the new Peninsula Hotel, and that's a special occasion in itself. The hotel, one of the few North American outposts of this well-respected brand, is a solid and rich affair. It's like a Vegas hotel—wide staircases, high-ceilinged roomy lobby areas—without all the glitz. In place of the gold-plated nudes, The Peninsula offers up large-framed photos of 1950s airliners and a bit of style, but not too much.

Shanghai Terrace, their upscale Chinese restaurant, is located just down a flight, from their fourth-floor lobby, in a secluded narrow room, that overlooks a courtyard. Reservations are imperative, the prices are high, and the service top-notch, but the comfortable, warm room carries with it a casual air, and the servers are friendly and smiling, gently advising diners when an item is a finger food.

Meals begin with a hot towel, and a complimentary steam bun, the traditional doughy white flour bread, which diners dip in hoisin sauce and hot chili pepper sauce. From there, guests can choose from various dim sum and appetizers. In fact, the selection in this area of the menu is so varied, it offers more variety than the entrees, and certainly could be ordered in greater number to combine for a satisfying meal.

The vegetable dumplings are steamed, and served, resting on a cabbage leaf, in a small bamboo steamer. The three dumplings are filled with glass noodles and minced vegetables, still slightly crunchy. A guilty pleasure is the fried crab wonton, which is the Chinese restaurant version of fired cheese sticks. The three large wontons are fired to a deep brown, and generously filled with cheese and crab.

Entrees include several seafood choices, like sesame crusted halibut, along with familiar favorites, like Kung Pao Chicken. The beef dish is one of the pricier entrees at $30, and features top quality sirloin sliced in a brown sauce with baby bok choy. The cheapest entrée at $17, the wide, flat noodles with prawns, chicken, and vegetables is somewhat lacking in spice, but servers quickly refill hoisin containers.

Desserts average around $9, and include a selection of sorbets, and a chocolate wonton in strawberry soup. The wonton is chilled, and a milk chocolate brown. They come floating in a conical glass dish, filled with the strawberry soup, which acts like a sauce. As a counterpoint, the serving tray also houses a scoop of flavorful vanilla sorbet and a tiny lemon cake cut into quarters.

For those who didn't get enough of the deep-fried in their wonton starter, choose the deep-fried white chocolate cheesecake. Wrapped in wonton skins, the cheesecake is served like two eggrolls perched on each other in a pool of bittersweet chocolate sauce. The egg rolls taste remarkably like a cheese blintz, only more decadent—if possible. A large scoop of rich mint chocolate chip ice cream is served with the cheesecake, resting atop a vertical, curved cookie.

While typical drinks are available, I recommend choosing one of the many teas. Both the ginger and vanilla teas were quite pleasing, and average a reasonable $6 per pot, although new pots come out in an endless succession of refills, but we were only charged per actual tea chosen.

Dress is remarkably casual. Diners wear jeans or dress up as if they are meeting the queen. All should feel comfortable. Even the two children at the next table, while at first eliciting raised eyebrows, were quiet and well behaved, amused by the crayons given to them by the servers.

Some diners at Shanghai Terrace choose to skip dessert and go back up one flight to the main lobby, where the restaurant offers an all-you-can-eat chocolate bar on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday nights. Seatings are at 8 and 11:30, and service will run $20 per person.

Dessert fans also filter over from Avenues, the hotel's expense-account restaurant. Entrees are $30 and up, hitting $55 for the lobster, and $70 plus (really, what's the difference at this point) for Kobe Beef.


This article shared 1838 times since Wed Jun 16, 2004
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