Restaurant Reviews: Coco’s Italian Market and Asian Market

I was under the weather for most of the week and never got around to going to the grocery store. I was able to live off the odds and ends lying around the house, but on Thursday I finally ran out of food and had to venture out into the world. I ended up heading down to the Italian Market, which has been bought by the folks who own Café Coco, and has been rebranded as Coco’s Italian Market. I was a little disappointed in this because I do not like Coco Café. To me their service is bad and their food is extremely salty. Coco’s Italian Market isn’t that different. I ordered the Bauletti, ravioli with spinach and alfredo sauce. Like most of Coco’s food it was extremely salty. I also ordered a muffuletta. It was ok-not as good as the original Italian markets though. It came with a side of pasta salad which was, guess what: salty. I wasn’t blown away by the food, so I don’t think I’ll be going back to this place.

I heard about an Asian market on the corner of Murfreesboro and Bell road that serves Filipino food. Like most Asian food stores, it’s a pretty shady place. What makes it even shadier is that it isn’t a true restaurant. It’s a card table with a bunch of crock pots full of Filipino foods. A decent sized serving costs $5. I ended up going with the Pancit Bihon, a very popular Filipino food consisting of stir fried rice noodles with some vegetables. Very basic, very safe.

I also got the kare-kare. This is a Filipino stew made of ox-tail, peanut sauce, and vegtbles. The version at this store did not include tripe, which I was thankful for.

I’m trying to get more in touch with my Filipino roots, so I’m definitely going back to this place. I’ve got to be careful though. I don’t want to end up eating anything too weird like Dinuguan (Pork Blood Stew) or Balut (Fertilized Duck Egg).