LRP Redux* installment 8: Shifu Express

This place opened at least a year ago, but we just now got around to trying it. I am not 100 percent sure about this because I used Google translator, but I think “Shifu” means “master” in Chinese, as in having mastered the art of cooking Chinese food.

Shifu Express is in the mall at the southeast corner of South Boulder Road and South Public Road where Fortune Cookie used to be. We ordered takeout on a Wednesday night, and G drove over to pick it up. I asked him if they still have a steam table, which is one of the offerings on their website and probably the reason for “Express” in the name, but he said no, at least not that night. There were several other parties stopping in for takeout orders. There is an online ordering system that worked very well, though it would be nice to have more details about the menu options in the ordering system. For instance, I assume the dumplings we ordered were filled with pork, but the menu didn’t specify.

We got an order of fried pork dumplings, General Tau’s chicken for G, and combination fried rice for me. I especially liked the dumplings because they had a nice chewy texture and lots of filling. G said his chicken was good, and I liked my fried rice (this is a kind of basic comfort food for me; I contemplated being more adventurous but then stuck with a familiar selection).

Believe it or not, it’s actually difficult for me to find much more to say about it! When I did the first restaurant project, someone asked me what my favorite Chinese restaurant in Lafayette was now that I had tried them all, and I was unable to pick one because they all seemed good. It’s possible that they have slightly different menu options, but for the things we like and tend to order, they are pretty much the same. It would be hard to compare unless I had an order of, say, fried rice from each of them to line up and do an actual taste test. At any rate, we would be happy to eat here again.

* Lafayette Restaurant Project Redux: visiting all the new places that have opened since the end of the previous round of the LRP.

Top left: General Tau's chicken with dumplings; top right: combination fried rice with dumplings

LRP Redux* installment 7: Button Rock Bakery & Kenny Lou’s Deli

I had been to Button Rock a few times back when it was in its old location at 95th and Arapahoe, but it had been a while. It is now located in the District Mall at 400 W South Boulder Rd., Suite 2200, and has added the deli in the same location as the bakery. It has a wide variety of deli-type foods in addition to the baked goods—and sushi!

My friend Sarah and I had a lunch date last Wednesday, so I asked her to meet me at the District, and we ate indoors. The bakery has a little patio, but it was a chilly, snowy day. The indoor part of the mall has quite a few tables and easy chairs with small tables, and they are fairly spread out in the large open area.

While I was waiting for Sarah, the kind server at the counter answered about a hundred questions that I had about the menu and the pastries. I can’t remember them all now, but I appreciated the help.

I wasn’t planning to get sushi because I had my eye on some other menu items, but Sarah got an order of the crispy rice bites. They are actually served cold, and they had them premade in the refrigerator. I tried one, and it was delicious! For our main dish, we each ordered a breakfast sandwich. I got the fried bologna and cheese because I was intrigued by the combination with the potato latke (fried bologna, over-medium egg, provolone, arugula, giardiniera, and potato latke in a warm brioche bun). Sarah got the avocado and egg (scrambled eggs with feta & spinach, avocado, gochujang ketchup, and arugula in a warm brioche bun). These were both amazing sandwiches and extremely filling—so keep that in mind because you will need to save room for dessert! Fortunately, we had planned ahead, so we knew to pace ourselves. Although I liked the combo of flavors and textures very much, I could only eat about 2/3 of the sandwich because it was a lot. My egg was more like over easy than over medium, so next time I might ask them to cook it a bit more. 

For dessert, Sarah got a raspberry napoleon, and I got a chocolate cake bombe (a layer of cake topped with chocolate mousse and coated in chocolate). I am a fan of chocolate mousse in almost any form, so I thought the bombe was the bomb! G wasn’t with us for this meal, but I suggested that he pick up some bombes for him and a friend a few days later, and he also loved them. Sarah was happy with her napoleon, which I sampled and agreed was excellent. She said that she is always trying to match a napoleon that she ate 20 years ago, and this one came close. There are many more things to try from the deli and sushi menus and the bakery case, so we’ll be back!

* Lafayette Restaurant Project Redux: visiting all the new places that have opened since the end of the previous round of the LRP.

I forgot to photograph the outside, so I borrowed this from the Button Rock FB page. 

Me with my fried bologna & cheese breakfast sandwich 

Sarah with her avocado & egg breakfast sandwich (we were dressed like twins, but it was totally accidental)

Top: Crispy rice bites. Bottom: avocado & egg breakfast sandwich and fried bologna & cheese breakfast sandwich 

Chocolate bombe and raspberry napoleon

LRP Redux* installment 6: Best Pho (CLOSED)

Update January 2023: This placed closed in 2022.

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I fell a little behind in the restaurant project reports last week, even though I actually tried two new restaurants! But then I went out of town, so I’m just now getting caught up. Fortunately, I have my notes and photos.

A week ago Tuesday, we tried Best Pho, which is at 95th and Arapahoe in the spot next to Morning Glory where the bakery used to be (1377 Forest Park Cir., Suite 102). We got takeout and took it over to our friends’ house because they wanted to try this restaurant too. The restaurant has an online ordering system, which I initially was going to try, but then I saw that it was going to add a small convenience charge. It was just a couple of dollars, but I switched to a phone order because I wanted to ask a few questions anyway (important things such as “Are the potstickers better fried or steamed?”). 

I was told the order would take half an hour, but it actually took closer to 45 minutes, probably because they are still trying to hire more staff and had several people waiting for takeout orders and at least one couple dining in. We didn’t mind waiting a bit because we knew we’d be getting the food fresh from the kitchen.

Here’s what we ate. G and I split an order of pork potstickers (fried), which were delicious. G ordered combination pho (rare steak, brisket, and meatball) but did not find a meatball in his dish. The rest of us got vermicelli: stir-fried tofu for S, grilled shrimp for M, and combination (beef, pork, and chicken) for me. S also had an order of the vegetable egg rolls, and M tried the fried shrimp and pork eggrolls. I did not sample the eggrolls, but they looked crisp and tasty, and the others said they were good. My vermicelli was good too, although I think a combination should include shrimp (take note, Best Pho!). The others also enjoyed their main dishes, and S said the tofu was particularly satisfying. G liked the pho, even though we did not solve the mystery of the missing meatball.

For dessert, we got an order of beignets because they were listed as a signature item. We ended up eating them cold, but they were still quite tasty with a drizzle of honey. I want to try them again when I can eat them fresh and hot!

* Lafayette Restaurant Project Redux: visiting all the new places that have opened since the ending of the previous round of the LRP.

Clockwise from top left: stir-fried tofu vermicelli with a vegetable egg roll, grilled shrimp vermicelli, combination vermicelli, and combination pho

I waited outside because I forgot my mask.

The front of the restaurant.

The menu

Sign out front, shrimp and pork eggrolls, and the one beignet we managed to photograph before they were all eaten

LRP Redux* installment 5: Basil Bowl

 

Basil Bowl features Thai, pho, and grill, including other Vietnamese dishes. It is located at 1302 Centaur Village Dr., at the SE corner of Centaur Village and S. Boulder Road. We made a dinner date with some friends who were also interested in this restaurant, and we brought a takeout order to their house.

Online ordering shows up as an option on the website, but it was turned off, and I couldn’t reach the restaurant by phone. After trying for about 20 minutes and alternately receiving a busy signal and “Your call cannot be completed as dialed,” I checked the website and Facebook page to make sure it was open and finally drove over to place the takeout order in person. I never found out why the phone wasn’t working, so I don’t know whether that is a common problem. I have encountered similar issues with other restaurants in the past few months owing to staffing shortages, so maybe they were just busy. The restaurant is quite small and had five occupied tables (out of six) when I arrived. The man whom I spoke to, who was the only employee in sight, was very nice, put the order in immediately, and brought the food out to my car when it was ready. The wait was about 25 minutes.

It turned out to be worth the extra effort, as we all thought the food was very good! Here’s what we had. G asked me to surprise him, so I got him green curry with beef, which he said was delicious. He always wants the highest spice level, so I requested level 4, “fire” (there are actually five levels, but “no spice” is 0), and it definitely pushed his boundaries a bit. But he ate two helpings and finished off the leftovers the next day. M had Vietnamese egg rolls and ginger chicken (mild). She said the fresh ginger flavor was very strong, which she liked because she loves ginger, and the egg rolls were good too. S had the tofu veggie and peanut sauce (medium), and she said there was a nice assortment of fresh-tasting vegetables, and the texture of the tofu was excellent. I had the pad thai with chicken at a medium spice level, which was just about the right spice level for me—maybe at the high end of my tolerance. The noodles were cooked just right, not too chewy or mushy, and the flavors were great. It reheated well the next day too. G and I split an order of chicken dumplings, which were also tasty.

I wanted to try the mango sticky rice, but they had run out. Fortunately, S had made some scrumptious peanut-butter cookies (not pictured).

As it happened, none of us tried anything from the Vietnamese side of the menu, but we would definitely sample those dishes another time. G likes pho, but when you order it as takeout, it requires some assembly, so I opted for something simpler this time.

* Lafayette Restaurant Project Redux: visiting all the new places that have opened since the ending of the previous round of the LRP.

Basil Bowl on Centaur Village Drive

Green curry with beef

Tofu veggie and peanut sauce

Vietnamese egg rolls and ginger chicken 

Pad thai with chicken and a side of chicken dumplings 

With my pad Thai and dumplings

LRP Redux* installment 4: Mumtaz Mediterranean Food

According to its website, Mumtaz is owned by Hiam Jamell, who grew up in Lebanon not far from the Mediterranean coast, and operated by her and her family. It is located at 588 US 287 #100, just north of the intersection of Baseline and 287. It is an outlier in this portion of the project because it is not a new restaurant—it will turn 15 in April. However, when we were wrapping up the original LRP back in early 2020, it closed temporarily owing to pandemic shutdowns just a week or so before we would have gotten to it. It reopened a while ago, but with somewhat shorter hours—10 a.m. to 4 p.m. every day except Sunday (closed). I have been there before, but it had probably been a couple of years.

My friend Deb and I had a lunch date, so we decided to incorporate it into the LRP, but we stuck to takeout. Deb picked it up on her way over and kindly took some restaurant photos for me. I remembered that the gyros pita wrap is very good, but that is usually my go-to at Mediterranean places, so I decided to get the grilled chicken pita wrap instead. Deb had the kefta pita wrap (something none of us had tried before), and G had the gyro pita wrap. We all added the feta cheese option to our wraps. We also got a basket of fries to share as well as an order of cheese sambusek, a side of two falafels so we could sample them, and two kinds of baklava for dessert.

I thought G’s gyro was delicious, as always, but my grilled chicken wrap was probably just as good, although I might favor the tzatziki sauce over the zesty garlic sauce that came on the chicken and kefta wraps. The kefta didn’t look as we expected it to—the menu describes it as seasoned ground beef minced with parsley, onions and spices, so we thought it would be loose, but it is apparently re-formed into a sort of log shape before being wrapped (probably so it won’t fall out). I had a small taste of it and thought it was good, but I liked the other two better.

We all liked the sambuseks (“A mix of feta and other Middle Eastern cheeses, parsley and spices wrapped in a noodle then fried”) very much; they are sort of like Mediterranean wontons. I am not a falafel conoisseur, but I noticed that these falafels were a bit different than what I have had in the past, chewier and with a thick, crisp shell. The fries were basic but good. The baklava seemed fairly typical—again, it is not something I have eaten a lot of, but we liked that the filo pastry was crisp even while it was oozing the rich honey filling.

There are many more options on the menu to try—I would like to order the mezza sampler another time to try a taste of several things that we didn’t get to today!

* Lafayette Restaurant Project Redux: visiting all the new places that have opened since the ending of the previous round of the LRP.

Deb said there was a fair amount of lunch traffic, even though she was there on the early side.

The seating area of Mumtaz. We didn't dine in today.

Our takeout haul. The wraps all look the same because the meat is on the bottom! However, from top to bottom, they are gyro, grilled marinated chicken, and kefta. The other items are two falafels, a basket of fries, cheese sambuseks (looking like wontons), and two kinds of baklava.

Two kinds of baklava

Me with my chicken wrap, some fries, and a cheese sambusek.

LRP Redux* installment 3: Ruby Ru’s Street Eatery

Ruby Ru’s is Chris Rubeck’s place, and for a long time it was a food truck that was very well known in the area. Last year, it settled in a storefront location at 1280 Centaur Village Drive, Unit 1. The truck still keeps a roving schedule, but at the moment, it just has a couple of dates posted in February. I’m sure there will be more!

Coincidentally, I was just chatting with Chris on FB about Ruby Ru’s last week, and then it was the next one to come out of the hat! So we ordered takeout on this snowy Tuesday evening. I wanted to try the bourbon chicken (chicken over rice with bourbon sauce) because it is the main house specialty. I expected it to be saucier, but in fact the sauce seems to be mostly absorbed and to caramelize on the lovely crispy edges of the chicken. Some of it does soak into the rice. I am not a big fan of bourbon on its own, but I do like it in things, and it is brilliant in this sauce. This was an amazing dish, possibly my favorite thing I’ve eaten recently. The bourbon chicken comes with a choice of two sides. I tried the mac and cheese and the coleslaw and thought they were both very good. The mac and cheese noodles (actually cavatappi) were a bit more al dente than I would make them, but the scratch-made cheese sauce was delicious. The coleslaw is mayo-based and more on the dry side, which I like. You can see in the photo that the main dish and sides all come in one container, and I am sometimes a bit picky about my food touching, but I was relieved to see that the container actually had separators between the sections. G tried the Philly sandwich (thin-sliced ribeye on a soft hoagie roll with cheese, peppers, and onions), and he said it was a good steaky, cheesy, peppery choice. We got an extra side of grilled zucchini, which was very good too. We were in the mood for dessert, and there were two choices: cookies or brownies. The cookies are baked in house, although the dough is not made there, but we can’t report on those because we didn’t try them. The brownies are not made in house, but they were excellent. There are plenty more options on the menu to try (tacos, banh mi bowl, jerk chicken bowl, sandwiches, etc.), so we’ll be back! I might have to stick with the bourbon chicken, but I can always try it in taco form.

* Lafayette Restaurant Project Redux: visiting all the new places that have opened since the ending of the previous round of the LRP.

Ruby Ru's on a snowy February night

Our takeout haul, clockwise from top left: Philly sandwich, bourbon chicken with sides of mac and cheese and coleslaw, brownies, and grilled zucchini

G's Philly sandwich (ribeye, cheese, peppers, onions)

Me with my bowl of bourbon chicken and sides (I do have leftovers for later)

G liked this rainbow decoration inside the restaurant

The counter at Ruby Ru's