Opera

Ratings Guide:
Half handshake, half chest-bump hug – 5 stars
Chest bump – 4 stars
Fist bump – 3 stars
High five – 2 stars
Handshake – 1 star
Manly ass slap – ½ star
Fone and fone – 0 stars


Restaurant: Opera
Locations: 1301 S. Wabash


Have you seen V for Vendetta? If not, you should. It’s a good movie. Sure, you have to take roughly 48 leaps of faith, but it’s a movie. You kind of have to use your imagination and suspend belief with just about any movie. And this one is no different. And I really liked the movie. It kept me entertained and kept the story moving along. When it was over, I was really happy I saw it. I’ve even recommended it to friends. Told them that I really liked it and they should also see it.

Hold on, quick sidebar. I went to a midnight showing of the movie the day it opened (so Thursday night) at the IMAX. Now, because it was the opening and a special engagement and a little bit of an event, I figured I’d have to get to the theater a little early. The movie is based on a graphic novel (comic book) and I was sure that there would be hundreds of comic book geeks waiting in line dressed up in masks and thoroughly creeping me out. Well, I get there at 10 o’clock (two hours before the movie starts) and I’m the 6th person in line. Turns out the only geek was me. Good times. There were two other highlights I’ll share with you if you want hear ‘em. You do? Good, here they are. 1) they had a promotion for the movie going on that let you shave your head for the chance to win prizes or get preferred seating at the premiere. One girl shaved her head. Needless to say she was the winner. And weird. 2) Nobody dressed up for this movie. It wasn’t like the Matrix premieres or a Star Wars thing where everyone has a costume on. Just a bunch of people standing in line for an hour on a Thursday night. Except for one guy. He was wearing a wizard’s cape as if he had to take off from his D&D tourney a little early to make the movie in time. When he walked past the entire line wearing that thing, you could cut the awkwardness with a Spork. He looked like he wanted to die. Let’s just say the cloak didn’t stay on very long.

Back to the movie. Really good. Really liked it. Didn’t love it. Would recommend it to friends. Glad I saw it, but wouldn’t go out of my way to see it again unless someone else really wanted to go. And why do I bring it up? Because that’s the same way I felt about Opera. Really liked it. Food was really good. Glad I went. But I wouldn’t go out of my way to go back unless someone else really wanted to go. But, again, I would recommend you check it out (if you haven’t already).

Started off with the Lobster & Pork Siu Mai. Really, really, really good. Kind of spicy, but not too hot to the point it killed the flavor. I could have eaten seven orders of these. The other couple at the table got the crab cake, which was very average. I would have eaten only half of one of those. I also got the soup of the day. I can’t remember what it was. I’m pretty sure it was a corn chowder mixed with an egg drop soup. Or something like that. Either way, it was pretty tasty. Glad I tried it. And I think my wife liked it, since she tackled me so she could have the last couple of bites.

For dinner I was talked into the Seasame Diver Scallops. How as I talked into this? Well, I asked my server what he would get if he were me (I’m just assuming that most people want to be me). I didn’t tell him what I was choosing between or in the mood for, but I figured if he mentioned one of the three things I was thinking about, then it would be a sign to order that. Well, he went into this long tale about how the scallops where made with this and that and based on the wine we were drinking it would really bring out the citrus flavor in the food and then continued to say some more stuff. I don’t remember it all because I blacked out half way through. But, I went with the scallops because that was the deal I had made with myself. What a mistake. It wasn’t that the dish was bad, it just wasn’t the best thing available. The scallops were very average. Cooked perfectly, but nothing special about them. The rice they were served on was great, but how much rice can you eat before you start looking at your plate and wishing they were cheese fries? The answer is three small bowls.

So that was my big complaint about Opera. They almost try too hard. Server just talked and talked about what types of wines we should get, and how the food was made to bring out this flavor and that flavor. It’s just too much. I appreciate the effort and the knowledge that goes into everything, but it was just too much. I just want my server to be down to earth and say things like, “If you want red meat, I’d go with the blank, and if you want something lighter I’d go with blank and blank.” Do I really want to know about every last detail of the food? No. I just want to know what’s good. What can I say? I’m a simple man with a big appetite.

The wife did it right. She ordered a giant bowl of goodness. It’s also known as Spicy Singapore Noodles. It was a bowl filled with noodles (in case you couldn’t figure that out on your own), lump crap, Chinese sausage, prawns, and madras curry. Just a ton of food. Too much for one person (unless that person is me). And it really wasn’t spicy, but sweet. Had this great, over-powering ginger flavor. Easily the best dish at the table. Angie ordered the Chicken and Mushrooms, which I had a bite of. Stay away. It’s not good. Just bland. Tim had the world’s biggest plate of Orange Beef. This was a great choice. Juicy pieces of steak with a nice, sweet flavor to it. Great dish. Made me hate the scallops even more.

But the real ass-kicker came after dinner. The dessert. They have something on the menu called the Tao of Chocolate. Get this. Even if you don’t get dinner. It’s the Tao of Awesomeness.


Opera gets a fist bump with a manly ass slap.


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