I recently saw a Christmas card with a cute watercolor painting by local artist Kelly King. I talked with Kelly today and learned that she prefers watercolor but also works in other media, and does custom paintings as well as custom wall murals. Check out her Website, KellyKingArt.com for some examples. Nice work!

If you're craving Chicago-style hot dogs, I've good good news: Taste of the Windy City, a new restaurant in the north part of town, has just the thing. This new restaurant, replaces the defunct Great American Soup Company (I'll miss their soups!) at 1800 Freedom Road in Little Chute, which looks like it's sitting on Richmond Road (Hwy 47) just south of Highway 41. Phone (920) 735-2700.

I'm not a hot dog fan, but their Chicago-style hot dog (Vienna beef, tangy toppings, no ketchup) was outstanding. I'll try it again. Others in my family tried regular and chicken gyros, as well as a mushroom Swiss burger. All were good, though the burger could have used more sauce. Against my normal compunctions against deep-fried food, I allowed my boys to try deep-fried mushrooms and jalapeno poppers, and they were quite good (after separating the deep-fried coating from the delectable mushroom inside, of course).

I fed five people for $30. The hot dog was $2.89. Not the cheapest hot dog in town, but maybe the best. Frankly, my kids were amazed that I even tried one because I almost never eat hot dogs and typically prefer more vegetarian fare - but I dare to make exceptions for the Vienna 100% beef brand.

Indian Darbar Restaurant, a relatively new place in Appleton, is my choice for the best Indian food in the region. While there isn't a lot of competition for that honor, Indian Darbar is really outstanding. This is an extension of the Indian Darbar restaurant in Madison, with the same menu. I took my wife and a son there and we were impressed with everything we tried. When they brought us the crisp Indian bread, papadum, I knew right away that we were dealing with exceptional quality in the food. It had a perfect texture with just the right touch of garlic and spice.

Although there were three of us, were ordered the non-vegetarian dinner for two and shared. Priced at $31 for two people, it was plenty of food for three (well, our goal was not to overload our bodies with food, as is the custom in some local restaurants, so if you're really really hungry, order some additional dishes). It came with fish pakora (fried fish - light and flavorful, nicely spiced), chicken tikka marsala (a creamy red curry dish my wife loves to make - the restaurant's version was almost as good as hers), lamb jalfrazie (hearty, delicious, tender lamb), dal makhni, rice and nan. We tried three soups also, all very good. The rasam soup I had was rich in flavor and had a pleasant texture - a sour and spicy soup. My son had coconut soup and it was OK but not especially exotic. My wife tried mulligawarny, a delicious lentil and vegetable soup.

We also noticed that the mango lassee drinks were richer and fresher in flavor than many we've had.

The service was outstanding. Out waiter was as professional, helpful, and knowledgeable as you could want and contributed to a very pleasant evening.

With the soups and mango lassees, the cost was about $16 per person plus tax and tip, right in the mid-range of Appleton area restaurants and surprisingly low for the fine quality.

India Darbar Restaurant is definitely a winner.