D Bar
My first time at D Bar was with two lovely ladies from my old job – KF and LT, when LT who had left SD several years back, was coming back to visit. I had to catch up with two wonderful and extremely driven ladies. We had a great afternoon catching up and just seeing what everyone was up to since we were all tied up in life itself. That day, we had sampled several dishes to just get an idea of what D Bar could do – just desserts or food as well?
On the left hand side, from top to bottom:
Crue Fries – their signature starter of garlic parmesan fries (perfectly fried), mac sauce, melted cheddar jack, bacon, ranch, and chives. This appetizer is salty but so addictive!
Naan-Burguesa – kobe burger, grilled naan, black bean hummus, chipotle mayo, havarti, avocado, and a side of chips. Since I don’t eat beef, KF and LT both were a little underwhelm by this burger. In part, the use of a grilled naan didn’t hold everything together so when you bit down, everything tends to slide out.
Tahini Grilled Salmon – on a bed of mixed greens, grilled baby bok choy, tossed in a ginger soy vinaigrette, and topped with toasted almond and edamame. This salad was again only ok and slightly underwhelming.
Now the real reason why we were here: desserts!
Molten Cake Thingy That Everyone Has – just the name itself made us want to order it. Plus the three of us have had really good molten cake thingies before, so we had to try it and see where D Bar’s stacked up. Their version is comes with raspberry compote and Sicilian pistachio ice cream, but we wanted to try their salted caramel ice cream and so we requested the swap. Well we can say that their cake thingy was quite good. Was it the best? We were all hard press to jump up and exclaim this was the best version we’ve had to-date, but it is a darn good contender!
Ch Ch Ch Churros! – Made. To. Order. Those are the three words that almost always ensures that you are going to have a great churro. And boy, D Bar knows their churros alright! It was the best freaking plate of churros ever!!! And it comes with a little dish of melted dark chocolate for dipping which was more for scooping out and eating straight.
On my second visit with two other wonder ladies – LA and JW, I knew there were two items I couldn’t go without: crue fries and churros. Except this time, it was for dinner so ordered more items to try in hopes that it would turn out better, but first…some drinks!
Normally, I don’t drink so I wouldn’t be posting about drinks, but my gals do and one drink intrigued us all – the Fresca Picante (martini glass one). This was a strawberry jalapeno infused tequila with agave and lime. I had taken a sip and the jalapeno is this after kick that happens a few seconds after drinking. It was such an interesting taste and experience that it had all three of us just inspecting it as we waited for food.
Oh these wonderful babies again…come to mama! NOM NOM NOM!!!
Bacon Mac & Cheese – because we were all feeling like mac n’ cheese. Don’t question us! We wanted this ooey, gooey bowl of melted goodness. It’s a four cheese mac, with bacon and cheese nips and panko crumb top. It was as decadent as it sounded, but good for sharing!
Lobster Risotto – grilled lobster tail with rosemary butter, served with roasted poblano risotto and broccolini and pea tendrils. The lobster was sweet and tender and I could have eaten several more of that tail! So good…
And since we were ordering so many rich dishes, I felt we needed at least one salad to help balance it out a little. The Grilled Caesar salad, drizzled with balsamic glaze and topped with shaved parm, it help give us that fresh crunch we needed.
Oh the desserts…delicious, delicious desserts…I pretty much dictated this order:
Chocolate Souffle – 65% chocolate souffle, nutella filled beignets with chocolate sauce, and praline ice cream. The souffle was not as airy as I’ve had in some places, but still delicious and fluffy. The beignets were too thick and not fluffy enough. Beignets are suppose to be little pockets of fried heaven (as I have experienced before in NOLA), so I was a little sadden to eat these little guys here. As for the chocolate, we learned from our waiter that they “pay more for the chocolate per pound than we do for the steak”. Now that’s something to be proud of! If I do say so myself!
And those churros, I ordered it knowing what I would get, but my friends were both skeptical. I told them that I swear by them and upon their first bites, I just ruined their ideas of churros forever. LA was just peeved at me for making her taste a damn good churro and now other churros will never be the same. Job. Well. Done.
D Bar as a whole, I love – from the food, atmosphere, venue and the people working there. It’s a great place to gather, enjoy a few dishes and drinks. Although I did not have pictures of my take out desserts from D Bar, I did try their macarons and chocolates. The macarons were much too dry! I was quite disappointed, but at least their chocolates were superb! I really hope the restaurant will continue to do well, so that I may keep coming back and try everything on the menu (but always with the churros).
D Bar
3930 Fifth Ave
San Diego, CA 92103
Stacked
There days (or nights) when I want something simple to eat, but if the restaurant can make it entertaining for me too…I can love it even more. It makes me wonder why don’t more restaurants get this??? A distinguishing factor can help a restaurant stick out from the sea of options for patrons.
Stacked in Fashion Valley Mall occupies where the UNO Pizzeria used to be many ages ago. This restaurant is a burger, salad, pizza, sandwich joint. What makes this place different than say, a Burger King or Chili’s?…….It’s self-service, to an extent. There are still servers and cooks, however the servers do not take your orders. You put in your own order on your table’s personal tablet:
I know it seems so trivial and some may even find this annoying that they have to put in their own orders. However, for today’s generation and the current technological culture, this is a welcomed addition for restaurant goers. You can check out their website and see what their menu looks like. And since you place your own orders, you can customize it as much or as little as you want. The control is ALL yours!
With that control, I created this sandwich for myself:
What you see before you is CP’s burger: Brioche bun + Angus Burger + Romain Lettuce + Bacon + Onion Straws + BBQ Sauce + Side of Jalapenos (for me).
My sandwich: Whole Wheat Bun + Blackened Grilled Chicken + Romaine Lettuce + Caramelized Onions + Roasted Red Peppers + Sides of Garlic Aioli and Chipotle Mayo.
And to accompany our sandwiches – a combo of half fresh cut fries and housemade chips. Ketchup for CP and ranch for me!
All of this did not come cheap, so don’t expect this restaurant to be your run of the mill place. With each customization, it’ll cost you – yes, even the sauces which does include the ketchup. However, I will say the idea of having a perfectly created sandwich, cooked to our liking to our exact order is empowering. Also, the housemade chips are just ridiculously addicting, but I would recommend that you request for “less salt”.
To wrap up the evening, I ordered a dessert (another “stacked” item): Scoop of vanilla ice cream sandwiched between chocolate chip and snicker doodle cookies. The chocolate chip cookie was a little over baked, but the whole dessert was still delicious because you can’t go wrong with ice cream and cookies!
The second time CP and I went, he ordered a customized pizza and it was good too. Not outstanding, nor best pizza ever. At the end of the day, Stacked is fun and good for a simple (or not so simple if you’re technologically illiterate) meal. I think the novelty factor makes it worthwhile to warrant a visit. Go ahead, stack your own meal!
Stacked (Multiple Locations)
Fashion Valley
7007 Friars Road
San Diego, CA 92108
Suite #356
Market Restaurant + Bar
Last month, I finally crossed off a restaurant that I had wanted to go to for ages. This place got on my list of restaurants to try back in 2006, not long after it had opened. The rave reviews from fellow local bloggers, to Yelpers, to magazine reviews, the restaurant had a laundry list of positive feedback. Yet, the reason it took me almost six years to get there are due to various reasons:
- It’s slightly off the beaten path in Del Mar, and not in the main strip of Del Mar restaurants off the coast.
- The end bill is not exactly cheap, so that would limit this place to special occasions.
- Once, when I got close to going, there were no reservations open for that evening that was before a 9pm seating.
Then comes along my old colleague and friend from my previous job, who was coming to San Diego (technically, it was Valley View Center) for a job. We scheduled for a dinner meet up and she told me to pick. Considering she was all the way up in the mountains, though an area I’m familiar with, it is not my first choice for dinner spots. Hence, I knew I would be choosing something in the northern area of San Diego. That is when it came to me: we could go to Market Restaurant + Bar! I knew this would work out since my friend was traveling on the company and would have a food allowance. Since I didn’t mind picking up my own tab, I quickly jumped on it.
Upon arriving at the restaurant, it was as if time had stood still for the place ever since I saw it all those years ago. I thought to myself, “I’ve passed by this place enough times during the summer (for the Del Mar County Fair), now I will finally get to see if it was worth the wait!” (Side note to future patrons – there is no parking at the restaurant and is valet only, but it is free! Just remember to tip the man.)
The interior is intimate with dark lighting, but it is very simplistic modern feel. The bar at the entrance is definitely darker with darker colors of deep red, but the main dining room is lighter with persimmon colored walls, accented by lines of “sage” and “avocado green” (according to their website, those are the color names). The minute I walked into the restaurant, I loved it. And this is not always the feeling I get when I go to restaurants. (I can only think of maybe a handful of instances where a restaurant’s décor was an instant love for me.)
On to the food!!!
To start off the evening, our server put in front of us the modified Amuse Bouche of a Ricotta, Pesto, and Tomato Crostini. My friend AS is allergic to shellfish and apparently the amuse bouche of the night featured shrimp, so hence, we received this one instead. It was good regardless – simple, fresh ricotta, and not too overpowering.
For our shared appetizers (there were three of us):
The Blue Cheese Soufflé & Shaved Persimmon-Fuji Apple Salad was in our server’s opinion, “Not that rich! The salad helps cut the cheese down.” Um….I’ll tell you right now that the soufflé itself, even with the salad, was downright rich. I could see someone trying to finish this, then take two bites from their entrée and call it a night. With that said, this was delicious and packed with blue cheese. For those who do not enjoy blue cheese, do NOT get it! It’s not just a hint of blue cheese, it’s in your FACE cheese. The persimmon and Fuji apple salad was light and sweet to accompany the soufflé in perfect harmony. *cue the harp music*
Our other appetizer was a recommendation from the server (I was hesitant in taking her suggestion considering her advice about the soufflé) when we asked which of the salads was better. The one we ordered was the Grapefruit and Avocado Salad. Grapefruit is not a fruit I eat at all because I find the bitterness too overpowering. I decided to go in with an open mind and took a bite of the salad with a bit of every component. That is the whole point of a composed dish right?
The bite consisted of the only slightly bittersweet grapefruit, with the creamy avocado, the tangy goat cheese, and mixed greens dressed in Arbequina Olive Oil (which was smooth and fruity like), I was surprised how much I liked it. I never thought I would, but I did! The salad is beautiful to look at, as well as to eat. The flavors all worked with each other and I could not think of anything wrong with the combination.
Entrée time! 🙂
This was the special duo of the evening and AS’ choice! The duo included Cabernet Braised Shortribs (Buttermilk Fried Onions, Vegetable Roast, Horseradish, Sweet Onion-Potato Purée) and Wagyu Skirt Steak (Aged White Cheddar Braised Potatoes, Broccolini, Roasted Tomato, Crispy Bacon). Since I don’t eat beef, this was AS and JD’s reactions to the dish: “ZOMG the beef falls apart! It is so good! I can’t believe how tender it is!!!”
That was the general thought of the dish as a whole. And according to the two ladies, they both liked the shortribs more than the skirt steak. I did try the accompaniments and enjoyed the flavors of them too.
JD’s (a new coworkers of AS and a fellow foodie!) entrée was the Crab & Shrimp Stuffed Salmon with house made gnocchi, mushrooms and broccolini. I had a bite of the fish with some of the stuffing and was surprised that I enjoyed it. I am not a fan of cooked salmon; I like mine raw…in a sashimi form! However, Market seasoned it well and the fish did not have that yucky, “fishy” smell or taste to it.
My selection should not come as a surprise since I never pass up this option. The Spice roasted Maine dayboat scallops were superb. The dish was accompanied by black rice, roasted Brussels sprout, fennel, and (if I recall correctly) a red pepper sauce. My giant scallops were tender, flavorful, and oh so *gurgles in own saliva*.
………………Sorry, I had a moment there but I’m back. Anyway, I don’t believe the dish is always on the menu since the restaurant does change every so often to reflect the season.
Honestly, the restaurant has yet to show me that they cannot execute a well-composed and cooked dish. Kudos Market! Ok, onto our last course!
Dessert!!! (Best part of any meal right?)
For AS, the S’mores – a warm chocolate and graham tart, with toasted brown sugar marshmallow swirl top, and topped with some sea salt. The dessert comes with a scoop of the malted chocolate ice cream. It is definitely s’mores for adults and packed with chocolate. I liked it, but was not in love with it.
For JD, her Crème Fraische Panna Cotta was the disappointment of the evening. The Panna Cotta with the tangerine sorbet was just too…plain and underwhelming. I think those were the words we came up with to describe the dessert. All of us love fruit-based desserts and a clean dish. This one just did not cut it for any of us.
For moi, give me the Butterscotch custard and chocolate soufflé with espresso-bailey’s ice cream baby! The dessert comes out as three mini desserts on a plate. From left to right: The ball of espresso-bailey’s ice cream is covered with what reminds of coco pebbles at first glance, but I think they are just pieces of chocolate wafer cookies, and it sits on a dollop of caramel – loved.
Then comes the little cup of butterscotch custard, with fresh vanilla whipped cream (and you can see the vanilla beans still!) topped with toffee pieces. This was butterscotch all right! Not my usual preference for custards or puddings, but this was small enough so it was still good with its other dessert members.
Lastly, the chocolate soufflé was a miniature “lava cake”. The cake was good, but when it comes to “lava”-like cakes, my favorite still goes to Roy’s and Café Japengo’s. Those are the bomb diggity! Still, Market’s version was a fair in comparison to some I have had at other restaurants.
The desserts seem to be underwhelming overall for the three of us. After having a stellar start and continued amazement for our entrées, the end was only “ok”. Despite that, all three of us had an amazing dinner that evening. I knew there was a reason this place has remained on my list of restaurants to try for years. And the reason why I could still visit it after all this time, is that they make and serve outstanding food. That is the why they are still thriving notwithstanding their isolated location. Market Restaurant and Bar will have to be on my list of best places to go for special occasions.
Market Restaurant + Bar
3702 Via de la Valle
Del Mar, CA 92014
Restaurant Week 2012 – La Bastide Bistro
My SD Restaurant Week restaurant number 2 was with a coworker of mine, JT (and no, it’s not that JT). Since she was working during the MLK holiday (in lieu of another holiday), we choose a place closer to the office. Our selection was because of the number of choices the restaurant had for the pre-fixe menu, and here were our choices for La Bastide Bistro in Scripps Ranch:
Appetizers:
Crab Cake Served on Spinach with Orange Reduction Sauce
Warm Goat Cheese Crouton, Drizzled with Lavender Honey, Candied Walnuts, Mixed Greens with Apple, Bacon, Mushrooms &Truffle Vinaigrette
I have to say, this was our favorite course of the meal. According to JT, the crab cake was loaded with lumps of crab meat. She loved it and it did look pretty darn good from where I was sitting! My salad was absolutely delicious! The best part is the highlighted item – warm goat cheese, drizzled in the lavender honey. My goodness, I could have eaten TEN of these croutons! Paired with a fresh salad, it made me feel like I was eating something healthy and good. Althought I would have to say that those mushrooms were a bit out of placed. Had they been marinated mushrooms, that would have made the dish twice as good.
Entrees:
Fisherman’s Stew with Mussels, Fish, and Potatoes, In a Saffron Lobster Broth with a Rouille Crouton
Duck Confit with Fries & Salad
Our entrees was not our first choices, because they ran out of the Cassoulet (White Bean Stew with Duck Confit, Bacon & Sausage). 😦 JT enjoyed her stew, and it smelled nice, but it was not what I would want either. My Duck Confit was sadly under seasoned and a little dry. Also, my fries should have been crispier too. There’s nothing worse than a limp fry!
Dessert:
Apple Tarte Tatin with Vanilla Ice Cream
JT and I both ordered the Tartin, but again…much to our disappointment, the apple filling was too sweet for us. It felt like canned apple pie filling to me, but I cannot confirm that this was the case. The best part of this dessert was the ice cream.
Overall, La Bastide Bistro completely failed my expectations and they were not even set high to begin with! That was probably the worst part for me. Would I come back? For the prices they are charging both in their lunch and dinner menu, I think I’d rather opt for a different option.
La Bastide Bistro
10006 Scripps Ranch Blvd.
San Diego, CA 92131
What a slacker I am…(and NOLA – Pt. Deux!)
Now that I have time again in my life, I find that I am slacking off on things! I have to exert extra effort to do things and that kind of enthusiasm quickly declines after one day. Allie of Hyperbole and a Half did a wonderful illustration that pretty much depicts this…in comic form actually!
Over the weekend, I attempted to organize my memory card’s ridiculous crap-load of pictures and realized, “Sh*t! How did I let it get this bad?? I haven’t even uploaded minuscule percentage of it for my friends!” Because some of the pictures actually have people in them! And it’s not just food! They know that it takes me forever to upload pictures for them, but because they love me (I hope), they allow for me to continue on with my ways. However, this weekend was to make up for it! For almost a year’s worth of photos, I planned on organizing, backing up, and uploading them for all to see!
…………….yea that didn’t happen. *sigh*
AND to add salt to the wound – I am falling behind on my weekly posts! *double sigh*
Well I did promise myself and you, that I would tell the rest of my New Orleans Adventure! Here goes!
NOLA – Part Deux!
Cafe Beignet
So as you can see…my first official NOLA beignets were NOT from the famous Cafe Du Monde. I was tired, and still reeling from the whole event of the previous night (see Part 1), so I was in NO mood to stand in line for a beignet. Hence, this little cafe on Bourbon Street was our savior – Cafe Beignet.
Now, I had enough sense in me to know NOT to eat only sweets (and nothing else) as a meal. That is why you see an order of jambalaya and a shrimp po-boy. They were mostly to coat CP’s and my stomachs before the main attraction…
The FRESH beignets! Oh man…even though our actual food was sitting there, I dug into one of these puppies immediately. And honestly, it was good…yet at the end of the day – they are powdered doughnuts. Don’t get me wrong! I have nothing against it! Or hate it!!! I loved every bite of it, that I came back with CP the following day for another round. However, for me…it wasn’t something that made me go: this is genius! It’s simple, done well, tastes good…there’s nothing wrong with that at all.
Commander’s Palace
That evening was done in high style and tradition. CP had made dinner plans for our last evening in NOLA. He wanted to keep it as a surprise from me (which is a hard thing to do!) and I must say, he did extraordinarily!
Warm Garlic Bread to start
Gumbo du Jour (Tasso and shrimp)
Pecan Crusted Gulf Fish
Seared Sea Scallops (my fave)
Simple scoop of vanilla ice cream for CP
Creole Bread Pudding Soufflé (and that whiskey sauce was NOT kidding around!)
Just all around amazing restaurant. Sitting in the main dining room on the first floor, you can feel the history. That place has seen it’s fair share of faces, lived through disasters, survived through wars, and still manages to show up every night with its bells and whistles on. I loved Commander’s Palace and I would come back again. Although it isn’t cheap, it’s worth every penny for the experience and great food.
So going from the blazer type restaurant, to the down to the basics simple but still delicious, the following day…
Gumbo Shop
This was our last official meal of New Orleans and we wanted something simple, but still good. The Gumbo Shop delivered us just that:
(left to right) Crawfish Étouffée, Jambalaya, & Shrimp Creole
(left to right) Red Beans & Rice, Jambalaya, & Shrimp Creole
Simple, delicious, and warmed our stomachs to a state of blissful contentment. What more do you need?
So that wraps it up for CP’s and my first trip to the Big Easy. There were extreme highs and extreme lows in this trip, and not for the reasons most people associate this town with. Our time there was short lived, but the memories of the sounds, smells, and sights are forever with us. New Orleans…you are one H*LL of a city! As they say, “Laissez les bons temps rouler!
Cafe Beignet
311 Bourbon Street
334-B Royal Street
Commander’s Palace
1403 Washington Avenue
New Orleans, LA 70130
Gumbo Shop
630 Saint Peter St, New Orleans, LA 70116″
The Red Door
Seemingly appropriate given the holidays are in full swing right now! It has been the first time in the last three years, that I have truly felt the holidays. The past three years had been so ridiculously hectic due to my old job, that I rarely got into that holiday spirit. I have to be honest, I think my spirit was plainly exhausted and maybe even a little jaded. The work before was not only mentally draining, but physically and most of all – emotionally draining, that when it was time to take some “time off”, all I wanted was to sleep.
This year however, it is totally a different story! I can FEEL the holidays growing in my bones and I am LOVING IT!! 🙂
Anyways, the reason why I missed last Sunday’s post was because I was celebrating with friends and family all weekend long. “For what?” You may ask. Well, it was for my birthday! Another year older, maybe another year wiser? Who knows, but I looked back and thought to myself, “Man…what a f***ing year!”
To celebrate with my family, we had a very nice dinner at The Red Door in Mission Hills.
The restaurant is small and cozy. The decor very much a wine country setup and the main dining room has a full wine rack wall. Dim lighting really sets the mood for an intimate evening. I can imagine that during the mornings and afternoons, it is bright and cheery and perfect for a nice, cozy get together.
Now that is enough about the restaurant, let’s get to the real matter of things: the food!
Appetizers:
Signature Cornbread Muffins
Shrimp Creole
I do believe appetizers are suppose to wet your appetite for the main course, but the first course was my absolute favorite part of the meal. The cornbread muffins are made to order, so the waiter will warn you it takes about 15 minutes for the prep. Trust me – it’s worth it. The cornbread is light, fluffy even, with a touch of creaminess from the white cheddar. The muffins also come with a honey-rosemary butter which just helps the muffin to melt more in your mouth.
Then comes the Shrimp Creole in a white wine and cream sauce, spiced with the flavors of the “Big Easy”. Though the portion size is small, the flavors are HUGE!!! A thick tomato sauce filled with smokey, spicy, tang goodness. I used the fried polenta to mop up more of the sauce, then when there was no more polenta, the cornbread went so well with it. Man…this place knows how to start off a good meal.
Wild Mushroom Scallop Risotto
Pork "Schnitzel"
Red Door Burger
Garden Vegetable Plate
Red Door Chicken Roulade
The entrees on the other hand…was not memorable. The scallops were nothing extraordinary. The Schnitzel was not quite what I knew Schnitzel to be (more like fried pork chops to me). CP’s burger though looked juicy enough. My sister’s vegetable plate was as advertised and she liked it. And the roulade was dry…=\.
I feel like the appetizers set my expectations higher than it should have been because the delivery was there in the beginning! Yet, Red Door’s entrees barely raised above an “inside voice” level. The appetizers would be like an opera singer – belting out beautiful notes. Perhaps the encore would help save a poorly performing middle?
Brownie Sundae
Apple Walnut Cobbler
Well…how should I start off? The brownie was probably the winner of the two. It was a DENSE chocolate brownie with a scoop of vanilla ice cream, drenched in fudge. Definitely quite delicious. I had a bite and loved it. The cobbler on the other hand…it was nothing specially about it. I’ve had much better cobblers and given that my ice cream was FROZEN solid turned me completely off. One of two, 50/50, those aren’t bad odds at all. I’ll take that any day!
Red Door is definitely worth a revisit, with different orders. I would stick with my appetizer choices, but I would try something else on the menu for my entree. Would I recommend this restaurant? Yes – I would just stay away from the chicken and scallops…you can get much better elsewhere.
The Red Door Restaurant & Wine Bar
741 West Washington St
San Diego, CA 92103
Atlanta, GA – Week 1
First job at the new work place turns out to be in Atlanta. Now, you all should know by now, I never travel without doing my research on where to eat. Thank goodness my colleagues are equally open to my gluttonous ways (and frankly encourages it). Behold our week long feasting:
Firkin and Gryphon
This was dinner on our first night because by the time we landed and got to the hotel, nothing was opened. My manager and I managed to make it to a pub, which we thought would still have something to eat. Upon entering, we were told it was the “late night” menu only – aka fried appetizers. Within minutes of sitting, we were told the kitchen was closed for the night to the waitress regret. However, we were set on getting something so I begged for them to at least let us have dessert.
Hence, you see before you the Krispy Kreme Bread Pudding and the Seasonal Cobbler (Strawberry-peach). Both came with a scoop of vanilla bean ice cream. Both were ridiculously delicious and probably not the best way to start our week…or best way to frame the rest of our week.
JCT Kitchen and Bar
Appetizers –
Angry Mussels - Peppered bacon, Serrano chile & onion
Truffle Parmesan Fries
Carolina Gold Rice Aracini - Butternut squash, crispy brussel sprouts
Entrees –
Lamb Shank - spinach-creamed, Carolina gold rice, garlic chips, preserved lemon
Shrimp & Grits - red mule grits, deep fried soft poached egg, smoky tomato “jam”
Fried Chicken - benton's bacon macaroni & cheese, local farmstand vegetable of the moment
Desserts –
Chocolate Pudding - salted caramel, chewy peanut butter cookies
Butterscotch Bread Pudding with bourbon cream
Apple Fried Pie - butter pecan ice cream, bacon-caramel drizzle
Fat Matt’s Rib Shack
Ribs - great stuff
BBQ Chicken (1/2)
Chopped Pork Sandwich
Sides: Mac n' Cheese, Coleslaw, Baked Beans, and Brunswick Stew
Slope’s BBQ
Pork and Chicken Combo with Fried Okra and Jalapeno-Cheese Grits
Pork, Ribs, and Brisket - with Jalapeno-Cheese Grits and Brunswick Stew
Chopped Chicken and Pork with sweet potato fries and baked beans
Seasons 52
Maui Tuna Crunch Salad sushi-grade seared tuna, tropical organic greens, toasted almonds and miso vinaigrette
1. Organic Baby Spinach Salad with sliced seasonal pears, toasted pine nuts and crumbled gorgonzola cheese. 2. Chipotle-Glazed Shrimp with guacamole and tomatillo salsa verde
Gyro Pizza and Chipotle-glazed Shrimp
Pumpkin Pie Shot
Wildflour
Jalapeno Lime Sandwich - grilled chicken smothered with poblano pepper and onion mix, melted provolone, jalapeno lime sauce and pico de avocado.
Fogo de Chao
The Strip
1. Volcano– tuna tartar, cucumber topped with tuna, mango, avocado, Jimmy’s sauce, teriyaki. 2. Dynamite– spicy tuna, spicy yellowtail, masago, seasoned asparagus
Bread Pudding with Ice cream
Googie Burger
Flying South Sandwich - Seven spice crispy chicken breast, topped with lettuce, tomato, onion, pickles, signature hot sauce, & blue cheese slaw, with fresh cut fries & sweet tea
Ship & Anchor
Shepard's Pie
Shepard's Pie - Innards
Mitchell’s Ice Cream
Salted Caramel and Rosemary Olive Oil Flavors
And that is just week one. We still have another week ahead…I hope my stomach can hold on.
Firkin and Gryphon
4764 Ashford Dunwoody Road
Dunwoody, GA 30338
http://www.firkinandgryphon.com/
JCT Kitchen and Bar
1198 Howell Mill Rd
Atlanta, GA 30318
http://jctkitchen.com/
Fat Matt’s Rib Shack
1811 Piedmont Avenue NE
Atlanta, GA 30324
http://www.fatmattsribshack.com/
Slope’s BBQ
Multiple locations in Atlanta area
Seasons 53
Two locations in Atlanta
http://www.seasons52.com/
Wildflour
5815 Windward Parkway, Suite 210
Alpharetta, GA 30005
http://www.wildflouratlanta.com/page/page/5668614.htm
Strip
245 18th Street Northwest Ste 5100
Atlanta, GA 30363
http://www.h2sr.com/strip/
Googie Burger
190 Marietta St, (Centennial Olympic Park)
Atlanta, GA 30342
http://googieburger.com/
Ship & Anchor Pub
5975 Roswell Rd NE
Atlanta, GA 30328
http://www.yelp.com/biz/ship-and-anchor-pub-atlanta
San Diego Restaurant Week 2011
Last month was San Diego’s 2011 semi-annual Restaurant Week. For those who aren’t familiar with Restaurant Week, here is the quick break down: for a week, restaurants all over San Diego county have 3-course (sometimes optional 4th course) prix fixe menu showcasing at times the restaurant’s best-sellers and/or customer favorites for dinner. However, this year’s fall round of RW included lunch prix fixe menus of 2-course options at certain restaurants! Some restaurants will also extend to a second week, but they don’t usually announce that on the website til the day before. For those wanting to dine at the 5-star restaurants, but don’t have the pocket change to spar, this is a great way to get the full experience of the restaurant at a discount!
This time, I made it a mission to hit up at least one restaurant…and ended up going to TWO restaurants with CP. Granted, it does get expensive if you’re going to more than one restaurant, but reading ahead of the menu choices and you could be walking away with a steal.
1. Whisknladle
Our first restaurant of the week was a restaurant CP and I had already visited before, but I love – Whisknladle. The best part of their menu during RW was: their ENTIRE menu was part of the event. You could select any appetizers for your 1st course, any entree for your 2nd, and any dessert as your closer, all for $40. Now if this is not a deal…then I don’t know what is!
First Courses:
Caesar Salad – whole romaine lettuce dressed in “made-to-order” dressing (according to their menu), topped with shaved Parmigiano Reggiano and croutons. Nothing special, just a refreshing salad for CP and always a favorite for him.
Potato Gnocchi in a brown butter-ale creme, finished with a gratinee of Brie de Meaux and chives. Luscious! Wait…is that even an adjective to describe food?? Not sure, but that’s how this felt. The little potato pillows were just firm enough. with a little chew. to give you a bite, but somehow still remain light feeling. Then the rich, brown butter-ale creme that coated each and every single pillow was ridiculously rich and guilt ridden, but you couldn’t care. No, you couldn’t get over how smooth, a touch of sweetness, and creamy it felt in your mouth. Then that brie! Oh that brie…sweet, tangy, more oozing of creaminess. Man…this appetizer made me ‘oooh’ and ‘aaah’ as I devoured it. Needless to say that I enjoyed my appetizer very much!
Second courses:
Taglietelle with house made spicy pork sausage sugo, pepperonata, and a light sprinkle of Parmigiano-Reggiano. Beautiful, wide, ribbons of pasta cooked just perfectly to uphold the even more amazing sausage sugo. That sauce held itself could have held its own against a battle of sauces. The weak, basic “bolognese” of tomato sauce and crumbled pork would cower in fear of Whisknladle’s sugo! I cannot keep myself from shouting, “SUGOI!!!” (sorry…I know…very cheesy >.<)
Seared Maine Scallops in a chilled green curry, roasted squash, tinkerbell peppers, spinach & capelin roe. What can I say? Can I ever escape ordering scallops when given the choice on the menu? Very, very rarely (if ever) would I pass up scallops. Whisknladle did not disappoint in preparing my favorite shellfish. Perfect sear to give the nice, crispy, caramelized crust, without overcooking (too many times that has happened to me). Sweet, salty, cripsy, soft, buttery, bitter (from the peppers), and light.
Third course:
Dark Chocolate Pots de Creme topped with a layer of salted caramel and served with roasted banana cake. Ok this pots de creme was magical, but cloyingly sweet after your second or third spoonful. I suppose that’s why they had the banana cake, but I almost wanted something something salty on the side. However, I would have taken some ice cream to go with it, or whipped cream to just help break that sweetness. Still delicious, although it was the first time I had to leave a dessert unfinished (*GASP!*).
Oh look! There’s the vanilla ice cream that I needed! Except this was CP’s dessert and even though I had a little bit (to go with my dessert), I didn’t want to take more.
Our server was great – helpful, friendly, and attentive where needed. Again, Whisknladle remains on my top list!
Whisknladle
1044 Wall St.
La Jolla, CA 92037
2. Crab Catcher
Now this is one restaurant I have never been to and had been in my “maybe” list of the Restaurant Week choices for several years. This time however, CP did not partake in the RW prix fixe menu since he did not find pairings that suited his taste.
First course:
Crab Bisque – roasted red bell pepper broth, Meyer lemon crème fraiche. This was not mind blowing, but I did enjoy the bisque. I could have used some more crab, but the bisque was thick and rich, and citrus from that lemon crème fraiche did help enhance the flavors. Although, I will say this bisque went great with the complementary foccaia they provide as part of the bread service.
CP’s Caesar Salad….told you – it’s a standby fave of his :). Different presentation (pre-cut for the lazy), same concept – romaine lettuce, croutons, parma, and dressing. “All hail Caesar!”
Second course:
Dungeness Crab Pappardelle with sweet heirloom peppers and lobster mushrooms, in a creamy Thai basil garlic sauce. Man, oh man, where do I begin? Let me count the ways this was a fail for me: 1. Not nearly enough crab, 2. Pasta was cooked a little more than I like, and 3. This was the weakest sauce on pasta I have had in a REALLY long time. When I see “Thai basil garlic sauce”, I expected to get basil (I barely), garlic (not sure if there was any), and flavor – this was definitely NOT there. This pasta made me so sad. So very, very sad. The crab mound on top was the best part of this plate and I ate it all up. Everything else…I wanted to return.
Sea Bass with Maryland lump crab stuffing, fingerling potato, Haricots Verts, with a lemon thyme mustard sauce. For once, I was seriously jealous of CP’s entree – I WANTED IT FOR MYSELF!!!!!!! The sea bass was tender, falls to the slightest pressure of the fork, and the perfect sear. The crab added that extra natural sweetness, and I wanted it! *Sigh*…but next time, I’ll just order this one for myself!
Third course:
Warm Chocolate Torte with candied macadamia nuts and topped with Tahitian vanilla gelato. This dessert should come with a warning: “You are about to enter chocolate nirvana!” I think this torte has to be, hands down, one of the richest, chocolatey-est, dessert I’ve had in town. They got it right by giving you a giant mound of vanilla gelato because you DO need it. Also, in the center of the torte is a mountain of oozing, warm, lava pool of salted chocolate. The only thing that could have made this better?…ANOTHER scoop of ice cream!
I would come back for the sea bass and the torte. Those are a must! Everything else…I can live without it again.
Crabcatcher
1298 Prospect St
La Jolla, CA 92037
Dungeness Crab Pappardelle locally grown sweet Heirloom peppers, lobster mushrooms,creamy Thai basil garlic sauce
Del Mar’s Gourmet Food Truck Festival
The Del Mar Fairgrounds was the host of the first ever Gourmet Food Truck Festival. It was a gorgeous day out and perfect for gorging ourselves with amazing food. Now as I seat here after some “down” time, I am going through all my pictures and reminiscing about the eat-a-thon with my friend, LA.
We arrived at the fairgrounds with a tentative game plan: hit as many trucks as we could, and share everything we get. Oh look! This sign told us where our adventure would begin…
To kick off the eating, we started at Dogzilla:
To wet our appetites, we started with the Yakisoba Dog ($6) – a spicy hot link topped with stir-fried Yakisoba noodles with cabbage, bean sprouts, and green onions, Okonomi sauce, red ginger, finished off with Ao-Nori. I was excited to try this because it was everything I love, in a bun! And not just any bun, but a sweet Hawaiian bun.
The sausage gave the meal the spicy kick I prefer my meals to have. With the lack of Sriracha and only ketchup, the sausage provided that spiciness that made my tongue happy! The yakisoba was good, slightly sweet and salty, and the sweet bun helped wrapped everything for mobility. I think this was one of the best starter for this food adventure!
Next…Great Balls on Tires:
Specializing in well…great balls! Of meat :). While waiting in line, we talked with two fellow foodies and had a great conversation with them! As LA said, I make friends where ever I go and you know what? Food always tastes better with great company! 🙂 Also, during our conversation, LA came up with a perfect phrase that even our new friends found to be quite amusing, and reflected myself perfectly – “food stalker”. There needs some definition to go with this new phrase….here’s a shot: a food stalker is one who stares at others, known and unknown, solely to drool/obsess/investigate food that is not at one’s own plate. Who will ask many questions to inquire about the food item being consumed and occasionally proceed to request for some.
Maybe that’s what a food stalker is? If anyone has a better definition, send it to me! For now, under this definition, I am a bona fide food stalker extraordinaire!
This bona fide food stalker and her accomplice went for an order of the Ballywood and Buffalo Balls (respectively and $6 per item). The Ballywood was garam masala chicken balls, topped with coconut madras curry, crispy fired onions, and served with saffron basmati rice with tomato and cilantro chutneys. The Buffalo Balls were buffalo style chicken ball, mac & cheese, blue cheese dressing, and served with celery and carrot.
The meatballs were amazingly juicy and tender – both of them! The curry was not spicy (how I like mine), but rather on the sweet side. However, it was flavor packed and I couldn’t help but lap it all up (my half) along with the somehow decently cooked basmati rice! The buffalo sauce on the other hand was not spicy, and was sweet with a bit of vinegar tang. Again, not my usual go-to flavor combo, but the meatball itself was so good, plus when I took a bite with the mac & cheese (with panko bread crumbs at top!!!), it made for a great bite! Overall – this red, black, and white truck satisfied me and LA.
Next stop – the Tornado Potato:
We went for the “Tornado” with cajun seasoning. As you can see, it’s a towering spiral of a whole potato on a stick! LA and I had this at the County Fair this year, but we both wanted a fried potato item so we went with this place! We both agreed that the potato should be sliced thinner to get that crispiness of a chip on the exterior, while remaining fluffy inside like a fry. It was still tasty and we both love our potato treat!
Having had so many savory items, plus with the sun baring down on us for sometime now, we both needed a cool off and something sweet. The answer to our prayers?
Longboard’s Ice Cream:
The recipe of this truck is simple: pick your ice cream flavor on a stick, then your chocolate coating choice (milk or dark) and finally your topping to coat the whole thing.
My choice: coconut ice cream, dipped in dark chocolate and topped with half graham cracker crumbs, and half rainbow sprinkles. I loved the idea of how this worked and I loved the freshly dipped items, but my only issue was that ice cream bar on the stick was too icy. It must be from keeping the ice cream frozen in order to dip them, so I can understand yet it did bother me a little. However, it was still quite enjoyable! Oh! And since I forgot to take an individual pic of LA’s pop, she chose: pistachio ice cream, dipped in dark chocolate, and covered with rainbow sprinkles. According to LA, the pistachio ice cream was only ok and didn’t have enough pistachio flavor to it.
After our pops, we decided to sit and rest for a bit, to let all the food mix in our stomachs and begin to really process it. That was when the food coma started creeping in! Oh man…I knew from there, it was only going to go downhill. However, after sitting, then walking, and watching a race, we dove back into the crowds (which only grew even larger at that point). I met up with a couple of friends and a colleague, watched what they ate and decided I had to make one more last haul!
Hence, LA and I made our way to Tapa Boy:
I ordered the Pork Longanisa Bowl with garlic fried rice (sinangag), an egg, and a side of papaya relish (atsara) with tomato and cucumber. Man…when they say garlic rice…boy, oh, boy…did they really mean it! The rice was packed with garlic and I loved it! Their longanisa was sweet, which surprised me a little because I was expecting something spicy (are you noticing a trend here?…because I am). The meat was super tender and yield to a plastic fork with ease, so it was still quite good. Though it didn’t blow my mind away.
To end a long day, though I didn’t have any…a friend bought herself a decked out waffle from Waffles de Liege:
This here is a liege waffle with chocolate drizzle, almonds, and topped with a giant scope of Fosselman’s English toffee nut ice cream. I only had the ice cream and it was amazing! My friend “Channy” dove into this with a huge smile on her face. Judging from her expression, I think she liked it ;).
Well my friends, that was my first ever Gourmet Food Truck Festival! I can’t wait for the next one, but until then…I am going to start having to find these food trucks around town for lunch! Bon appetit my fellow food stalkers!
For more information on the food trucks visited: DogzillaGreat Balls on Tires
Tornado Potato
Long Boards Ice Cream
Tapa Boy
Waffles de Liege
The Team vs. BJ’s Pizookie Platter
Today was a team lunch to bring together the two sides of an engagement. There is nothing that can bring people together like food…especially ridiculous food. When I saw ridiculous, it could be ridiculously good tasting, ridiculously amazing looking, and the ridiculous embodiment of being a pure glutton.
Ladies and gents, please turn to Exhibit A:
This is BJ’s Restaurant & Brewhouse’s iconic dessert – the Pizookie. However, what you’re looking at is the ULTIMATE Pizookie one could order from the menu. The Pizookie Platter is the choice of 4 flavors of cookies, then piled high with 8 scoops of ice cream. Our poison of choice (counter clockwise): Red Velvet, Triple Chocolate, Chocolate Chunk, and Cookies N’ Cream. The ice cream that piled on top included: Vanilla Bean, Chocolate, and Cookies N’ Cream!
Literally, this platter was the size of a manhole cover! There were 7 of us (3 males, 4 females) and we dug into this sugary monster. We ate, and ate, and ATE…somewhere along the way, we started to get a bit delusional. I think we were all wondering if we would survive this endeavor. At one point, my hand was shaking as I reached over for more and that’s when I knew – I was way over my limit in sucrose intake. I sadly put down my spoon and watched 2 of my colleagues eat through their sugar haze. In the end, the dream was lived, but the victory was not ours. We had finished a substantial amount of the platter, but in the end…there was still some cookie left with some ice cream (melted and melting).
Probably not the best idea in attempting this during a work lunch because all of us had some issues getting back to work and staying focus. Or maybe…it was the best thing ever…oh yea, oh yea.
BJ’s Restaurant & Brewhouse Mulitple LocationsDay 3 and 4 in Oahu
Day 3
After a day of doing little to nothing, it was time to do something again on our vacation! But before any of that, we needed a proper breakfast to start. Given that CP’s ideal breakfast are blueberry pancakes, no matter where we are, I found him a place that actually served it (you’d be surprised how hard it was…every place wanted to put either bananas or pineapples, which is not all that surprising since we were in Hawaii).
Longhi’s
Now…those 2 pancake stacks look the same with the exception of the topping right? It is actually the topping that gives it away: one is a buttermilk blueberry pancake (top) and the other is a ricotta blueberry pancake (bottom). The difference? One is a good, standard, pancake…the other, is a creamy, decadent disks that will fill you up 5x faster. Just take a look at the creamy goodness inside:
I had made it through half of the stack before I decided that it was a better idea to walk away than to push through. CP on the other hand had wiped clean his stack (of 3…instead of 2 because his was slightly lighter than mine). After our yummy breakfast, we had to make a stop in the Lego store we walked by on our way to breakfast because both CP and myself are big fans of Legos…but CP was just so excited to see a store with nothing BUT Legos.
He ended up buying 3 Starwars character keychains (since it was buy 2, get 1 free) and walked out of the store triumphant and happier. 🙂 With this good start to the day, we decided to go see some of the “sights” of the island…you know, the tourist stops. It is in us both to do as much one can during a vacation (it’s more myself than anyone), so since we spent one whole day practically doing nothing…it was time to do something! That’s why we spent the next 2 hours or so at the Waikiki Aquarium.
We learned that this monk seal is best known for “energy conservation.” CP and I both thought, “How appropriate for this vacation…perhaps we should take a page from its book and we could learn a few things or two on how to enjoy life.” I loved this seal because: 1. it’s just a blubbery cuteness and 2. lives the life I wish I could.
After spending the time inside a wonderful aquarium and learning about the animal that embodies Bruno Mars’ newest single, “The Lazy Song,” CP and I decided to do something just completely the opposite. Here’s a shot of what I’m referring to:
Can you guess where we were headed off to next?…No? Here’s another clue then:
CP and I were about to take a “hike into history” up Diamond Head Crater! Let me tell you…it is one, fracking harsh hike into history. Irony lost upon us? Nope. Deterred? Ha! We’re city people in a profession where people think sleeping is inefficient use of hours in the day. So suck it up, get lathered up (with sunscreen…we’re not stupid, skin cancer is not our agenda for this hike), and “LEGGO!”
There’s CP as we left the paved lower part of the crater’s park, into the rough and uneven terrain. I took random shots throughout the hike, but we hit a point where I was using all my energy to keep myself from slipping and/or twisting my ankle on the uneven trail.
Just when we thought we would never get anywhere, we reached a break from the hike to this gorgeous view:
After a brief break to catch our breath, cool off, snap some shots of ourselves…we continued our trek northward! Let’s just say it was more uphill climbs before we hit some very steep stairs, followed by a long dark tunnel, then more stairs that were even steeper, then another tunnel before ending at…A SPIRAL STAIRCASE! (insert gasps and shock…feel free…I’ll wait for you 🙂 ). Once we made it to the top, we were reward with amazing views of the island. A perfect view down the shoreline of Waikiki beach, and the lush mountains of Oahu.
Needless to say, CP and I were happy we had made it up to the top in one piece for wonderful views. Even though we were both a sweaty mess, we were champions of the crater for that moment!
Let’s just say the trek down was a hop and skip for us by this point. Filled with joy and the taste of victory, we sauntered to the car and headed for a victory cool off snack at Waiola again:
A lime and pink lemonade shaved ice over 3 scoops of vanilla ice cream for CP.
And a modest lychee and lilikoi shaved ice for me. Plus…
A musubi! You seriously didn’t think I would not get this while here right? (Side note: I am a BIG fan of spam. Every since I was little, Spam was a treat for me since Mom didn’t like for us to eat too much of it because at the end of the day, it was processed meat. However, pan-fried Spam made it to our noodles and ramens, as well as scrambled eggs for dinner. Needless to say, I ❤ Spam!) CP on the otherhand had a lot of reserves about eating it. He, like many mainlanders and the uninitiated, looked at this product only to think of all the rumors about how Spam is not real meat. Or that it was what kids at camp would call “mystery meat”. As I explained to CP what Spam was and wasn’t, he made a comparison that I thought was completely brilliant and people can understand: “So basically, it’s like a hot dog?” Yes! It is!! Spam is ground and processed pig, with spices and repackaged for consumers. 🙂
Anyways…the conclusion to this story: CP was not only convinced, but HOOKED on it.! Mission: Complete.
We basically wound down the day by the poolside again at the hotel in the waning sun light. For dinner that night, CP was craving a hefty hamburger so we ended up going to Cheeseburger Waikiki. This is a burger chain and…I really did not have anything to say about this place because I was not entirely pleased with my turkey burger. Not exactly what I would go for in Hawaii, but CP wanted his burger and according to him, it was quite delicious.
Day 4
The following day, we decided to enjoy our day at Dole Plantation!
There were several attractions you could go to and learn about the plantation and about pineapples. CP and I went to all 3 attractions. First stop: The Pineapple Express (…yes, we both smiled and had an unspoken moment there).
On this narrated train ride, you learn about the Dole Company’s history as you ride through the pineapple fields. During our visit, the fields were bare as the season had passed already. Given like any proper tourist attractions, proper planning included planting other crops that Dole grows, as well as showing the other fruits that are grown on the island. The varieties included: banana, mango, lychee, cacao, ti leaf, and others. Learn something new everyday!
The Dole Garden was next, where you can walk through their garden area to look and learn about the native plants and the many uses of them. It was a gorgeous garden and a nice learning experience.
We took a brief break to get out of the sun and re-nourish ourselves at the café in the shopping area. My choice of refreshment? A Dole Whip!
CP’s choice? A hot dog chili plate with rice:
Strange as it may sound and look, it worked out quite well !
After resting ourselves a little to let the food settle, we headed to the world’s largest maze! The challenge: find all 8 “check-in” points in the maze as fast as you can. With our combined powers of navigation, a few mistakes here and there, CP and I successfully made it through the maze in approximately 2 hours. Victory yet again!
With our satisfaction of conquering the plantation, we headed north for our next mid-day snack stop and the signature food/destination of the North Shore: a shrimp truck. Our destination: Giovanni’s Shrimp Truck.
Tucked into a little forest clearing right off the road, you would easily miss the truck even with a GPS (we had this issue several times during our trip) and we did. So we made a turn and made our way back. Their menu is simple and minimalistic, all surrounding the key protein: shrimp. Given that it was already well into the day, by the time we were there, all they had available was the shrimp scampi. That was fine by us, all we wanted was to taste the delicious, plump (not-so) little shrimp.
The order comes with a pile of fresh, cook-to-order shrimp (sans the head…thank goodness) and 2 scoops of white rice. The shrimp was cooked and bathed in a wonderful garlic, lemon, buttery goodness. To put it simply, here was what CP said to me, “I normally don’t have the urge to lick my fingers, but…” *proceeds to lick his fingers*. This is a sign because what CP said is true, we’ve eat BBQ and I have NEVER seen him lick his fingers. Whereas I have no problem with doing so…whether BBQ, Indian, anything! Thus, this just goes to show you how amazing this was. I can still smell the strong, sweet garlic smell as I write about it and it lingered with us as we continued on.
We took the drive up to one of the beaches in North Shore to dip our feet in. However, as you can see for yourself, a storm was brewing and yet, we thought it would just pass like it always did. Well…let’s just say that did not go quite as so. As we drove down the west side of the island back to Waikiki, the rain steadily started coming. By the time we were back at our hotel in Waikiki, it was POURING! It was flash thunderstorm and it was as if the sky turned into the ocean and gravity brought down all the water to us. It was a mad house watching everyone trying to run for cover and the streets flooding within matter of seconds. At one point, one of the sidewalks slightly below the hotel’s main road was a miniature moat or more aptly, a cesspool.
CP and I took refuge back in our hotel room to clean up, in hopes that the storm would pass. And fortunately for us, it did! We headed back out to grab dinner at Yotteko-Ya.
This ramen house was small and tucked at the far end of a strip mall. Unassuming and you would never even think twice about it. The only way you would go: recommendations or you just so happen to be stuck at that strip mall. Otherwise, you would never find it.
The restaurant specialized in ramen, but also served fried rice and appetizers. They also offered a set meal where you could choose an appetizer, ramen, and have either white rice or fried rice. The ramen soup base choices included: Shoyu, Shio, or Paitan. Paitan is a rich chicken/pork based broth and has a milky look from the cooked down chicken/pork bones. Also, you can choose how firm you wish for your ramen to be cooked: firm or soft.
Both CP and I ordered the Paitan ramen with fried rice (no eggs for CP though) and the Kaarage/Gyoza (CP/me).
The ramen you see above you was something else! I cannot even begin to tell you how wonder, flavorful, rich, smooth, and silky! I had never had a broth this rich in flavor in all my ramen adventures. This bowl and my memory of it is what I will use to judge all other tonketsu and paitan broths from here on out. (I am a fan of Tajima, but putting their broth on a good day up against Yotteko-Ya…it is like a Hefty bag commercial – “HEFTY HEFTY HEFTY……wimpy wimpy wimpy”.)
The fried rice and appetizers kind of just fell to the sideline and to the back after we had our taste of the broth. Man…I really need a good bowl of ramen right now.
There we go folks! Just two and half more days to go in Paradise!
Longhi’s
3 locations (Oahu and Maui)
Waikiki Aquarium
2777 Kalakaua Avenue
Honolulu, HI
Diamond Head Crater
Waiola Shave Ice
2135 Waiola St
Honolulu, HI 96805
Dole Plantation
64-1550 Kamehameha Highway
Wahiawa, HI 96786
Giovanni’s Shrimp Truck
2 locations in Oahu
Yotteko-Ya
1960 Kapiolani Blvd, #214
Honolulu, HI 96826
Remembering Paradise
CP and I were in Hawaii for almost a week and we both are missing it desperately. It was the hardest thing for both of us to do: come back to our day jobs. However, as I browse through the pictures that I had taken (all 600+), I fondly reminiscence the places we visited and the food we ate. Since there’s so much to talk about and show, I’ll just start on Day 1:
We had a morning flight and by the time we landed in Honolulu, it was the afternoon and a storm had just rolled through. By the time we checked into the hotel and walked to the beach right outside (it was beach front resort). Well, since both CP and I were starving from the mini lunch we had for our in-flight meal, we decided to just get a snack at the resort:
A nice bowl of yakisoba on the beach. The yakisoba was not bad nor stellar, but it was at the beach. Can’t complain! 🙂 After we had our snack of noodles, we took a dip into the sea. I had imagined the water being a LOT warmer than it really was. However, given that the San Diego coastline’s water temperature is approximately 60 degrees on average, the water there in comparison was warm. It was a lot of fun and CP had the best time getting me into the water with him.
When we saw this in the distance:
We decided it was time to go in and get ready for dinner. However, by the time we had cleaned up, we saw our first sunset of the vacation from our room’s balcony:
Great start!
For dinner, what else would we have other than…SUSHI!!! Naturally, I did my research online while CP was cleaning up and found this place a little further in-land from the coast (not by much). However, given it was a new city with new roads…we had some troubles navigating to it. Like seriously Hawaii…can your road signs be possibly any harder to see at nights? Long story short…in our attempt to get there, we almost had gone onto the freeway and also went the wrong direction on a one-way street. Yea…it was a really exciting trip to dinner.
We made it to Imanas Sushi/Izakaya. The restaurant’s small and warm, with a large communal table snaking down the middle of the curved dining room. Once seated, it did not take us long to figure out what we wanted for dinner:
Rice ball in broth with nori
Chicken Katsu Skewers
Hamachi (Yellowtail) Nigiri
Salmon and Tuna Nigiri
Spider roll (soft-shell crab)
The rice ball in broth was only ok, mostly due to the fact that the rice ball was not crispy enough. It should be pan-fried til a nice crispy shell forms, to keep the rice from getting too soggy. Alas…this was not the case sadly.
The sushi was fresh and amazing. I could’ve eaten just this all night, but I was so full from everything already, that we could barely finish the last bites (which was the roll). The spider roll was only ok. However, given that I am me, I needed something sweet to satisfy my sweet tooth. Thus, we headed to Bubbies Ice Cream & Desserts just down the road for a cold, sweet dessert:
Coconut-Macadamia Nut Fudge
My ice cream scoop was soooooo creamy and fresh! I couldn’t believe that it was that creamy and it was not gelato. They also had other desserts in their dessert case that looks like are made from their awesome ice cream flavors.
So that was our first day in Hawaii!
Imanas Tei Restaurant
2626 S King St
Honolulu, HI 96826
Bubbies Homemade Ice Cream & Desserts
1010 University Ave
Honolulu, HI 96826
Northern Nevada Trip
So where was my next stop after my time in New York?…
RENO!!!!!!
Thank goodness we also had a stop in Tahoe as well during our visit to the Northern Nevada casino properties. Being my first time in Northern Nevada, I was shocked at the decay of the city of Reno. As we drove through the main road of the city, I could see how this was once the hustle and bustle of Northern Nevada. Now, it is a sadder scene with areas of abandonment and memory of the old days.
However, granted I was traveling with others this time aka – there was no excuse to NOT eat with tons of people and way too much food.
I will just go down chronologically of the meals that we had shared and consumed:
235 N Lake St
Reno, NV 89501
This was a Basque restaurant, serving traditional Basque cuisine. I had never heard of Basque food before and the only time I had even heard of “Basque” was during my travel to Europe and was given a brief history during our drive into Spain from France. So I was excited to see what this food was all about.
First, the dining room reminded me of an old bar or saloon. There were rows of long tables that you would share with other parties when it was a full house. However, that night, the place was already winding down due to the fact it was a late Sunday night. The meals were served family style with a choice of entrée for yourself. The entrees differ each night and so…let the food precession begin!
Soup
Chorizo
Beans
Fries
Lamb Chops
As you can see, they pretty much covered the bases with a soup starter, meats, and starch. The food was good overall, but it did not exactly blow my me out of the water. Still…it was a good start to the trip.
247 California Avenue
Reno, Nevada 89509
The following day, after our morning of walking the floors, we met up with another team working on another property for lunch at The Cheese Board. This place would be considered a casual French/American Bistro. They had sandwiches, salads, specials and of course – wine (which we did not have because we were all on ‘work hours’ and we were being good to stick to it).
Brie
This was so good! I don’t know how you cannot like warm, melting, good quality cheese.
Cheese Board
Because this was the namesake of the Bistro…and the selections were all quite yummy.
Steak Fajitas
Quiche
(It was one of the better quiches that I had ever tried)
Pasta Chicken Salad
Sante Fe Chicken Sandwich
Overall?…A wonderful lunch spot and reminds me that Reno is still alive!
17 S. Virginia St. #180
Reno, NV 89501
Since we had such a nice lunch that day, we hoped that this recommendation we received from a fellow colleague would not fail us. Plus, it sat right by the river so it was the closest “seaside dining” we could muster for Northern Nevada.
Pear & Goat Cheese Crostini
Taste was there, but there was no texture. It was just a pile of mush on mush…sad 😦
Artichoke & Brie Dip
(Just…no)
House Salad
Possibly the best thing I ate there that night. Fresh greens dressed in a delicious vinaigrette (plus there was texture here at least!)
Now our entrees:
Meatloaf
Grilled Salmon
Lamb
Good lamb…even better polenta that was served under it.
Pork Chops
Rib Eye
Desserts (I laugh and make a face as I write/think about this):
River Mud
The way they described it on the menu sounds interesting, yet it came out exactly as I had imagined: a brownie with a Klondike bar sitting on top. =\
Bread Pudding
Disgusting. Let me describe to you why: imagine cubes of stall bread that was pressed together and re-baked with no liquids to make it remotely moist and then try to cover it with chocolate sauce. This was the bread pudding. UCK!!
Crème Brulee
Now for this one – it was scrambled eggs in a dish with caramelized sugar. Yea…
Crumble
(Chuckling) Ok…on the menu it does not tell you what kinds of berries are used, just that this was a berry crumble. So we asked the waitress and she tells us, “It’s a deep berry the chef uses.”
….Did you all catch that? “Deep berries.” If you were like us, you’d be asking (like we actually did): “What (the hell) are ‘deep berries’?” Are they berries deep within a forest? Are they philosophical fruits? What?! Let’s just say the waitress could not talk herself out of this one. (By the way, it ended up being strawberries…because they were out of deep berries apparently.)
My recommendations to you?…Skip the appetizers and desserts, go for the house salad and entrees only.
205 West 5th Street
Reno, NV 89503
The place is pretty self explanatory of what we had for lunch. However, in addition to our bowls of pho, we had orders of the Fresh Spring rolls and Fried Eggrolls
Vietnamese Eggrolls
Fresh Spring Rolls
Now…on to Tahoe!
111 Country Club Drive
Incline Village, NV 89451
For our first night in Tahoe, we joined with the group at their hotel for dinner. Let’s just say we ordered more than what we all really needed. Let the bingeing begin:
Calamari
Pork belly
Quail
French onion soup
Wedge salad
Lamb
NY Strip
Ribeye
Buffalo
Short ribs
Grilled Chicken
Dessert platter
I think the end of the meal was the favorite part of the meal for me that night. Look at that spread of delicious, fatty, sugary goodness. We had (going from left to right): Apple Trio; Mud Pie; Cheesecake; Crème Brulee; Chocolate Pear Nougat; Walnut Tart w/ Dolce Dulce Ice Cream.
My gawd…it was an overboard of sugar and we were all already at our breaking point but we were all very dedicated foodies (and a newly initiated one who was brought on to help us and was floored by the amount of food that we ate). My favorite from the platter? It would have to be the Walnut Tart with the ice cream. By the way…this was the platter at the end:
We CRUSHED this platter!
168 Hwy 50
Stateline, NV 89449
For our last lunch, we headed for some Mexican/Spanish food. However…it was not that good sadly.
Mushroom & Cheese Empanadas
Tacos – Lamb & Carne
Tacos – Lamb & Al Pastor
The meat tasted fine for the tacos, but not astounding. Worst part was that the tortillas were too thick. You needed thinner tortillas to just hold the meats and let the (good) meat do all the talking. This place’s tacos were just a mumble in the air.
1001 Heavenly Village Way #26
South Lake Tahoe, CA 96150
Our last night in Tahoe, for dinner, we opted for something amazing to make up for lunch, but yet, staying away from the steakhouses (we both needed seafood to balance out all the red meat). Thus, it was Kalani’s that really saved the day.
Lobster Bisque
They were kind enough to split an order into two little cups for us. Thick, flavorful, sweet, a tinge of spice…wonderful.
Pulehu Baby Back Pork Ribs
Sweet, salty, sticky, and fall-off-the-bone tender. Though we both had enough meat the past few days, this was a great addition to our meal.
Pan Caramelized Miso-Yaki Sea Bass
O.M.G. I cannot tell you how much I LOVE sea bass and its buttery texture. This fish really does fall to the slightest force from your fork and melts in your mouth as if it was butter. Amazing piece of fish and cooked with a crispy side to add a little texture. Suberb!
Ahi tuna
The special of the night was an ahi tuna steak topped with sweet, fresh crab meat, served on top of kimchi and “veggie sticks” (aka julienne carrots, zucchini and squash). This was good, but it was not a sea bass.
Coconut Creme Brulee
To round off the night, we finished with this delicious and wonderfully made creme brulee. The coconut flavor was in your face, but pleasantly so. By far…it was our best meal to date during this trip!
953 W 5th St.
Reno, NV 89503
Last day in Northern Nevada…back at Reno to grab a quick bite before we headed to the airport. We wanted something simple and quick. This little café had a great spirit and a hard working woman who I can only assume was the owner. She worked the counter, cash register, and waiting/bussing the tables. Naturally, you see her just running around the little café at great speeds.
While sitting there, you could watch your food be made fresh and also watch them bake their own breads for the menu items.
Morning Cuban
This was toasted bread slice (freshly made in-house), roasted pork, swiss cheese, ham, eggs overeasy, green salsa. With a little hot sauce, it is the cure for hangovers.
Mediterranean Salad
A mixed organic greens salad with tomato, kalamata olives, red onions, red bell peppers, feta cheese, avocado, procsiutto, house croutons.
We kept it simple and clean….well I did with my salad, can’t say the same for my colleague.
Well friends…that was my first time adventure in Reno and Tahoe. Will I be back? If it’s for work, I won’t have much of a choice, but if for pleasure, then I will definitely be back to Tahoe.
Paradise
CP and I have been on vacation in Honolulu aka paradise. Tonight we had dinner right on the beach and the best part?…DESSERT!!!
The dessert was the Hula pie: vanilla ice cream with macadamia nuts, on an Oreo shell, topped with fudge and more crushed macadamia nuts. This was simple and insanely delicious!
There will be more soon (I still have several other posts in the back burner to post)!
Duke’s Waikiki
2335 Kalakaua Ave, Ste 116
Honolulu, HI 96815
Chicago – Again and again
The past two weeks I have been on travel for training and have been getting as much as I could in every aspect: knowledge, networking, and most of all – FOOD.
Last week, I was back in the great city of Chicago and this time, I was actually in the city versus my first trip to the Second City where I was mostly there to sleep. Granted, it helped that my fellow colleagues all wanted to go out each night to get the most we could together.
However, when I first arrived in the city on Sunday night I was on my own since I had yet to know who was in town. I quickly checked in and headed straight out to take the metro to my first food destination: Blue 13.
I found this restaurant from researching online and had great ratings, along with fabulous raves from foodies like myself. When I arrived, it was quaint little restaurant with a warm overall feel to it in its minimalist interior design. As far as I could tell, there was only one server and one host who bus tables when it became busier through the night.
To begin the meal, I ordered a simple Mixed Green salad:
The salad of mixed greens, shaved carrots, and radish tossed with Dijon vinaigrette and topped with a generous amount of pecorino. A great, refreshing start to the meal. There is little for me to say about the salad other than it was a great salad. Plus, the fresh, hot bread that came out along with olive oil to dip in made a delish start to the meal.
For my entrée, as I was dining for one, I ordered the highly recommended “3 Birds” Lobster Pizza:
I know what you’re thinking already. Yes, I did know I was ordering a thin crust pizza in the city known for deep dish. However, if you come here, I am going to echo what I had found during my online research – this is a must have dish.
The crust was charred perfectly and thin so that you would have to do the fold right down the middle to make sure everything stayed on. This is a white pie with a roasted garlic puree base, caramelized onions, chunks of lobster, and manchego cheese to hold it all together with a sprinkling of herbs. This pizza has the sweetness that reminds you of a cheesy, yummy, lobster bisque. It all balances so well together that I couldn’t stop eating it. I pushed myself beyond the point of bursting because it was that delicious. However, I sadly left behind two slices that were stripped of their lobster pieces because my stomach said, “Please…no more!!”
Despite my comatose state at that moment, I still ordered a dessert because how can I call this meal completed until I did?! So of the 3 dessert choices, this was the one that perked my interest: Chocolate Chip Peanut Butter Waffle.
Understand that I had no more intention of stuffing myself, but when I saw “candied bacon” I knew I had to try it. What came out was a waffle, drizzled with chocolate sauce, topped with candied bacon and hazelnut, and paired with butter pecan ice cream.
First off – the candied bacon was the best part of the dessert. You’re wondering what did it taste like right? Just imagine breakfast, where you have a side of bacon with your pancake/waffle, and the maple syrup drips over to the bacon. It was sticky, sweet, crispy, and salty. The waffle did not have chocolate chips and needed more peanut butter. Overall, I would suggest you skip this dessert, try a different one, or just order yourself another lobster pizza.
This is the type of restaurant you go to with friends to just catch up, share some good food, and enjoy the evening. The two servers were great and attentive, but when it got a little busier by the time I had finished my meal, the lack of staff was apparent. Still, friendly service and great food is the equation for a satisfied customer who will return.
Blue 13
416 W Ontario St
Chicago, IL 60654-5714
The following night, after our first day of training, a group of us went out to grab dinner at The Publican where if it oinks, it will end up cooked at this restaurant. I loved the open space design which was to resemble a barn. To add to that, their booth seating had little doors to encapsulate diners as if they were in a pig stall. The rest of the restaurant was set up with communal tables where you could be sitting next to a complete stranger on one side and your friend on the other.
We went family style and ordered various dishes off the menu to share. I’ll let the pictures do most of the talking, with a few inserts by me, so enough grazing through the pictures!
Beets with Clementine segments and yogurt – this was my favorite side that we had ordered that night. Sweet and tart, great palate cleanser.
Charcuterie plate: pork pie, trotter-foie gras terrine, head cheese, milano, morteau sausage, pickles & mustards
Turnips with rosemary
Cajun Shrimp with Grits – the grits had soaked up all the Cajun spices and shrimp juices.
Fried Smelt with mustard greens and raw onions
Country Ribs with mustard greens & grilled red onions
Sweetbread with sweet potatoes, black trumpets & green garlic-watercress pesto
Pork Belly with fresh chickpeas and stuffing – decadent and you feel so guilty for eating this fatty yet delicious piece of the pig. (*gurgling sound*)
Lamb Sausage with lentils, mint, meyer lemon & yogurt – I love lamb…I love sausage…I loved, LOVED this dish. The mint and yogurt balanced out the gamey flavor of the sausage and the casing had a great snap to the bite.
Yams
Frites
Apple & Rhubarb Crumble with crème – heaven in one’s mouth.
Waffle with pear butter & plum marmalade – highly suggest that you do not waste your time with this one. It was nothing special at all.
Dark chocolate tart with vanilla ice cream – a darker heaven in one’s mouth. Then again I am the biggest fan of dark chocolate, so if you don’t like dark chocolate (WHAT’S WRONG WITH YOU?!) then this is definitely not for you.
The Publican also has a wide beer and wine selection, as well as servers who are willing to mix you up a great cocktail if you desire it. The restaurant has a fun atmosphere especially for big groups. Just make sure you don’t have any vegetarians in the group otherwise they will most likely go hungry.
The Publican
837 W Fulton Market
Chicago, IL 60607
On our last night in the city, our dining group only grew to an even larger number than the previous night. This time around, upon my insistence on move to more ethnic flavors, we decided upon a restaurant that has several locations throughout the country, but still supposedly made great food. That night…we our taste buds did the samba at SUSHISAMBA!
Once again, we ate family style and tried a little bit of everything.
Edamame organic soybean, sea salt, lime
Tiger shrimp tempura
Salmon sashimi seviche marinated in mizuna, aji amarillo, and orange
This dish was the sunshine of my night (wait…um…yea, I’ll still stand by my description)! It was fresh, bright, sweet, spicy, turns your life around because it was just that amazing. It would even put a smile to the worst Debby Downer that you know! (Unless he/she doesn’t like fish…but even then! This dish may convert him/her!)
Yellowtail sashimi seviche marinated in ginger, garlic, and soy
Tuna sashimi seviche marinated in coconut, lime, and serrano chilies
Of the 3 seviches we ordered that night, this was the most disappointing for me. It didn’t have the vibrant flavors of the salmon nor yellowtail seviches. 😦 However, our fish adventures had just started because out came our platter of various sushi rolls:
(Going from left to right): Spicy Tuna; Bobo - brazil seared kobe beef, avocado, kaiware, shiso, red onion, chimichurri ponzu; Unagi tamago - freshwater eel, zuke tuna, cucumber, tempura flake, wasabi crema;Rainbow dragon - freshwater eel, red bell pepper, cucumber, mango, avocado
Charcoal roasted mussels garlic, white wine, Peruvian chili
Unfortunately, the mussels did not taste fresh (consistently) and so we asked for them to return it and traded for:
Spicy Popcorn Shrimp – sweet and spicy, fried tempura shrimp.
We also ordered the churrasco “supreme” (aka meatfest) with: rio grande grilled hanger steak, ribeye, pork tenderloin, chorizo and linguica. This was served with sides of white rice, black beans, collard greens, and farofa. Additionally, various dipping sauces including malagueta pepper oil and chimichurri:
Meat-palooza!
The Miso-marinated Chilean sea bass roasted organic vegetables is one of those dishes that I still think about. This is the perfect example of a perfectly cooked fish that is so smooth, so fresh, so buttery, so fracking delish that I gurgle as I giggle with giddy.
Whole crispy red snapper spicy red curry sauce, scallion, ginger, coconut rice – the rice was good! The fish staring at me…not so much.
Side of Peruvian corn – it’s like hominy; I wasn’t much of a fan.
And of course, we had to have desserts. Note the plural form of that: desserts. We really went all out for dessert and there were no regrets what-so-ever afterwards because they were all delicioso!
Coco duo: Brazilian dark and white chocolate custard, chocolate pearls, praline
Peruvian hot chocolate served with traditional churros
Rosca: housemade doughnuts, vanilla glaze, chocolate hazelnut sauce
Warm chocolate banana cake maple butter, banana chip, vanilla rum ice cream
Cassava carrot cake brown butter ice cream, cinnamon cream, rainbow carrot chip, orange reduction
Carmen Miranda: seasonal fresh fruit, pop rocks, lemon sorvete…sorry, no pictures for this one :(. I can describe to you what it was: a bowl of fresh berries that included strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, and blackberries, with a sprinkle of pink pop rocks (not enough apparently since the tasters didn’t feel the effects of it) and a scoop of lemon sorbet.
I don’t know which one I liked more, but I did know I had a taste of everything and there wasn’t one that I didn’t like! Even though it is not a local restaurant, this place has a fun atmosphere and serves stellar food with great service. SUSHISAMBA…I think you will have to be part of my favorite small, national chain! One note though: of all the food we ate, it unanimous that the “sushi” part of the restaurant was something that fell short on with the exception of the “seviche.”
SUSHISAMBA
Several locations in the US
Thank you Chicago for showing me yet another good time! 🙂
Bertrand at Mister A’s Valentines Dinner
On Valentines Day, CP and I had originally planned on spending the whole day together but we both had too much work to get done. So we both begrudgingly went into the office that day. However, CP had planned a wonderful dinner which was a surprise until a couple weeks before when he told me. I don’t know who broke down first: me in asking and curiosity taking over, or him because he really wanted me to know. Either way, he was able to get an early dinner reservation at one of the restaurants with the arguably best view in San Diego: Bertrand at Mister A’s. The reservation was much earlier than I would normally eat dinner, 4:45pm, but it was just perfect to watch the sun set!
It was our first time at the restaurant and apparently, according to CP, he had been trying to get a reservation here for other Valentines Day which fills up quite quickly. Once we step foot into the dining room, we both knew why. The whole west and south side of the dining room had a panoramic view of downtown San Diego and the harbor. It was absolutely gorgeous. The restaurant must definitely factor in the view into their prices because you are getting superb food and the best view of the city.
For Valentines Day, Mister A’s had a separate pre-fixed menu:
Once we decided on the items for the night, we moved to the bread:
The selections for the evening were sliced sourdough and baguette. This came with room temperature butter. It was perfect for spreading onto the soft and tasty bread. I normally refrain from eating too much from the bread basket, but the fact that the nice, warm bread with soft butter melting just right…it was hard.
The amuse bouche helped me break away from the bread. It was a small, savory pancake topped with a slice of smoked salmon, creme fresh, and capers. A nice play on lox and bagel. I really enjoyed it and wished we had more, but then…I suppose that the amuse bouche did its job! 🙂
First course, my appetizer was the House Made Maryland Blue Crab Ravioli with Crawfish Tarragon Sauce And Leek Fondue. The appetizer was actually quite generous in portion. There were 5 decent size raviolis stuffed with blue crab meat and no fillers! It was straight up blue crab and the sweetness of the crab played wonderfully with the crawfish tarragon sauce. In the middle was a pile of chopped, sauteed leeks. A perfect bite had a little of everything together and it was absolutely delicious. The raviolis were cooked just enough and the shellfish as well.
CP’s appetizer of Crispy Baby Calamari And Fresh Black Tiger Shrimp drizzled with Roasted Pepper Oil. This came with a side of Basil Aioli Sauce. Ok…first off, this dish looked great! However, it goes against 1 of the 2 rules I have with eating which is that I cannot eat something that is still staring back at me. I’ve said it many times that if it wasn’t for the fact that I love animal proteins so much, that I would be a vegetarian. I don’t like to see how the animal that is on my plate was once alive. I know they were once alive, but when I want to eat them…that’s the last thing I want to think about!
Anyways…back to the dish! CP loved his appetizer. I tried the calamari and loved it too. However, I wonder why they pair it up with this aioli sauce? I think it would have been just as good without the sauce, but that doesn’t mean I did not think the sauce was not good either! I was just wonder…
For my entree, I had the Pan Seared Maine Diver Sea Scallops with Saffron Emulsion and Bell Pepper Polenta. I apologize for the bad photo…I realized it doesn’t really do much for this dish as I was cataloging my pictures. Let’s just go from the main to the supporting players: The scallops were seared and cooked perfectly so it was not tough or chewy (nothing worse than that, it gets me real angry when I get an overcooked scallop). However, the downfall to this wonderfully cooked shellfish was that it was over salted!! I was so sad that I kept hoping it was just one scallop that got over salted, but alas it was not! Also, I think the foam topping it was made from basil or parsley and it was not necessary in my opinion.
The supporting polenta on the other hand actually the unexpected surprise. It was smooth with just a little texture from the grains of cornmeal, mixed with the saffron emulsion, it was absolute, pure delight! I wanted to pick up the plate at the end to lick it right off the plate. The subtle sweetness danced like merry little lambs across my tongue! Loved, loved it!
CP went all out and order the surf and turf: Grilled Prime Angus Beef Tenderloin “Rossini” with Cabernet Sauvignon Sauce and Maine Lobster. Ok, even I had no idea what “Rossini” was and had to research this one. Turns out that it’s a style of cooking that includes foie gras, truffles, and a demi-glace sauce. This now makes perfect since as you can see, front and center: a beautifully grilled tenderloin, topped with foie gras and shaved black truffle. Talk about decadence! I’ve never tried foie gras and CP just couldn’t get himself to eat it, so I wasn’t going to let it go to waste! I knew it was rich, so I grabbed a slice of baguette and ate it with that. I was expecting myself to be torn by the taste, but found myself really liking it! So instead, I was torn on the fact that I liked it! Well…it is not like I will be getting this everyday so I just let myself enjoy the fatty, smooth, goodness.
I really did not try most of CP’s dish, so I took his word that he told me the lobster (all 1/2 pound of it) was sweet and delicious. The beef was cooked to medium just as he likes it. Oh! I did try the mashed potato stack that was with the dish. It was mashed potatoes mixed with (oh look..) more black truffles, and sitting on top of little hash brown crisps! At first I thought it was Parmesan, but to my surprise, it was potato! It was seasoned just right and I really liked the idea of how it was presented. Maybe I’ll use this one in my next dinner party ;).
Finally, as all good things must come to an end, our dessert courses were shared between CP and myself:
Red Velvet "Napoleon"
Macaron Ice Cream Sandwiches
By far, the biggest disappointment of the whole meal. So we had the Red Velvet “Napoleon” with Cream Cheese Mousse and Sweet Cream Gelato, and the Macaron Ice Cream Sandwiches. Where should I start with my sadness?…The “Napoleon” was just 2 slices of dry red velvet cakes with a not so stellar cream cheese mousse, topped with meringue. The cake was much too dry and the mousse could not save it at all. The best part of this dish? The sweet cream gelato and even then I’ve had better.
The Macaron ice cream sandwiches came in 3 flavors (left to right): chocolate, pistachio, and raspberry (with vanilla ice cream). Ok…first off, the macaron shells were way too thick and cakey to be a proper macaron. A macaron should be light, airy, and moist. Yea…these were none of the above. It was the right vehicle for the ice cream which was too icy! UGH! The dish kept failing at every turn! Even the flavors of each ice cream tasted artificial and I was just over it by then.
Thank goodness for these views to save the evening!
I had a wonderful night with CP and with views like that, I can overlook little things that brought me down during the meal. Since I had my love with me, I was literally on top of the world that evening! Thank you love XOXO
Bertrand at Mister A’s is a great restaurant, romantic feel, impeccable service, and…hm, what was it? Oh yea! BEST VIEWS EVER! I would highly recommend the restaurant for very special occasions because they will treat you right. I think this will also be a great place for lunch or brunch during the weekends! Maybe I’ll come back later this summer to try it out again (skipping desserts this time).
Bertrand at Mister A’s
(on the 12th Floor)
2550 Fifth Avenue
San Diego, CA 92103
San Diego Restaurant Week Recap
As many of you may have known, San Diego hosted it’s 7th Restaurant Week and this year, more than half of the participating restaurants extended their RW into the following week. This gave restaurants more opportunities to introduce themselves to new audiences and thus, creating a bigger fan base. Some may like RW, while others do not and I think (which I have felt myself as well) it is due to the fact that for regulars, their restaurants are suddenly overtaken by new customers who ware clamoring for the pre-fix menu. What you have to realize is this kind of exposure for restaurants is a great way to build up their client base. We must not be selfish because we all want our favorite restaurants to survive one of the toughest and cut throat industries.
I participated in 2 RW menus for restaurants I had been wanting to visit for the longest time: Nobu San Diego and Cucina Urbana.
Both restaurants are very different in nature, but both were exquisite in food and service. There is a reason why Nobu is so highly regarded and why locals cannot get enough of Cucina Urbana. Nobu is sleek, chic, and hip. Cucina Urbana is rustic, homey, and modern. Either one can do no wrong and lived up to what I had expected when I stepped foot in each.
Nobu – San Diego (Hard Rock Hotel)
The appetizer to start the night off was the Salmon Tataki Salad. Lightly seared salmon sashimi was accompanied by shaved root vegetables, with cilantro dressing. Usually I am not a big fan of seared sashimi because I think it takes away from the beauty of the fish, but in this case, I found the sear to be perfect. The center was still beautifully fresh and melted on my tongue.
For our entrees, CP and I each ordered something different and split it:
The Artic Char with with Jalapeno Cauliflower was pan-seared so the outer skin was crisped up and then roasted. The skin did get charred a little too much but it did not effect the fish itself thankfully. The char was tender and delicious. The jalapeno cauliflower was so good that I could eat a bowl of it on its own!
Nobu’s take on Fish n’ Chips made me want to eat more fish…mostly because they used Chilean sea bass. I want to talk to whoever came up with this idea of battering and deep frying sea bass! Granted, it was delicious with a slightly thicker tempura batter, but why would you deep fry a beautiful fish like sea bass?! I love sea bass…like it is my TOP fish choice and I would never, EVER think of deep frying it. It feels just wrong…but yet…it did taste oh so heavenly…I was torn! The chips were a little limpy and sad, but that honey anti-cucho sauce was so good that I just wanted to dip everything in it!
Each entree came with a Spicy Tuna roll. My only grip about this was that the menu promised me spicy yellowtail (which is my favorite fish for sushi), but instead tuna came. I love tuna and everything, but my hopes were up and then shot back down.
However, nothing shot me down as quickly as the dessert…
Nobu’s best-seller and customer favorite dessert: the Bento Box. This is a Araguani 72% chocolate fondant cake, with a sesame crisp and green tea matcha gelato. First off…I know that the Valrhona Araguani dark chocolate is one of the best to use for a deep, dark, bittersweet chocolate and my chocolate preference leans on the dark side. However, this cake was just….terrible. First off, I think the chef forgot the sugar all together. It was bland and bitter, which I could not even tell if it was from the dark chocolate or it was burnt because it actually tasted burnt to me. This made me really sad because I always look forward to desserts! Sigh…thank goodness the green tea gelato saved the night! It was smooth, light, and packed with matcha awesomeness! (By the way…do YOU see any sesame crisp?…no? neither did I..until I finished my gelato and found this semi-clear sugar-like crisp. I’m guessing that’s the sesame crisp?)
Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed my meal at Nobu. The restaurant is definitely one of those “hip”, “mod”, “the cool place to be”. The music was loud, the customers were more or less inebriated, but the service was friendly and attentive. Will I be back for more? Heck Yes! (Will I be having the Bento Box again?…not in this lifetime or next!)
Cucina Urbana
Another night, another meal! CP’s chopped house salad really was chopped and tossed! It was medley of soppresata (salami), pepperoni, olive, red onion, tomato, asiago, pepperoncini, and some lettuce. Not sure if I’d really would call this a “salad” in my terms, but it was delicious bowl of chopped meats and vegetables (mostly the former). It was all tossed in a vinaigrette that was sweet but had a little bit to it too.
My first course choice was the roasted baby beet and orange salad was divine! Light, summery salad with lots of color and it was simply fun and smart. The baby beets were tender and delicious with the cashews. I think my favorite part were the scoops of ‘yo-goat’…or basically, goat’s milk yogurt. Goat cheese is my absolute favorite cheese in the whole, wide world! However, I’ve never had goat’s milk yogurt! Just imagine goat cheese…but SOFTER! HEAVEN!!!
We went with the pizza pre-fix menu so CP went to where his Italian heart will always be: a red pie with pepperoni and fennel sausage. The nice charred underskirt of the baked dough held the sweet red sauce, with house-made mozzarella and the meat. CP gave 2 thumbs up to the wood fire oven pizza and proceeded to consume the whole thing.
I HAD to try their signature pizza with guanciale (pork belly!!! Get in MY belly!!), fingerling potato, brie, bésciamela, and 2 fresh cracked eggs! O.M.G…Ok…how should I start? This was like…a ridiculously indulgent breakfast-like pizza. The pork belly melted and flavored the pizza. The saltiness of the pork melded well with the salty brie and then when you broke the yolk of the egg and let it spread through the pizza. It’s just an indescribable experience! Then to top off this amazing pie was a spicy chili sauce the waiter brought over and let me in on the fact that it is the perfect pairing. My gosh…was he right! The chili sauce elevated the pizza to 10 times higher and for once, I truly could taste the spice. Oh lordy….*drooling at the thought*
The pear crisp with mascarpone gelato was not all that impressive but still good none-the-less. In comparison though…
The chocolate budino with chocolate chantilly and salted chocolate biscuit….CHOCOLATE ORGASMIC PSYCHEDELIC EXTRAVAGANZA! “Wow” would be an understatement. Let me help put this in context….I had already had 2 full courses which did include a sizable pizza…and the fact that I could still taste and have my mind be blown away by this budino….yes, it was just that good! Budino is Italian for pudding and that’s just what it was: a dark chocolate pudding. Thick and unadulterated chocolate pudding that was intense in flavor. Perfectly balanced, just sweet enough, but still a dark chocolate pudding. The chantilly helped lightened up a bite if you were (like me) already feeling like you’re at your breaking point in your stomach. The salted chocolate cookie was good, but I found myself not wanting it because it got in my way of the budino.
I love Cucina Urbana for it’s rustic, no frills, yet still very much stylish atmosphere. They present food as it is and let’s the food’s own brilliance shine through. All the chef does is perhaps polish it up and gives its a nice pep talk before it makes its debut on your table. Wonderful experience.
I must say that this year’s RW did not fail to impress me. The number of restaurants now participating in this event has seem to grow with each passing year. This shows that restaurants now understand the power of this well sponsored and advertised event is to their advantage. I have also noticed that a lot of restaurants continue to promote the pre-fixed menus (yay!) for both the cost-conscious consumers and encourages regulars to try something new at their old haunt. A good addition to a restaurant’s recipe for a long life in a world where only the best of best can shine through the decades.
Nobu (in Hard Rock Hotel)
207 5th Avenue
San Diego, CA 92101
(619) 814-4124
Cucina Urbana
505 Laurel Street
San Diego, CA 92101
(619) 239-2222
Where else besides San Diego?…
…can you walk outside during the middle of January, wearing short sleeve shirt and flip flops, in temperatures in the high 70s?
If you live in San Diego, you were met with one of the most wonderful January afternoons ever once you stepped foot outside this weekend. Considering that I have been craving for ice cream the past 2 weeks, I could not have asked for a better day to go finally satisfy this craving.
I grabbed my friend LA to come with me down to Normal Heights in search of Mariposa Ice Cream. This ice cream shop has always been within my radar, but just that location wise, it made it a little harder for me to just pick up my car keys and grab ice cream from there. However, I was determined to satisfy my ice cream craving and I wanted a place to which I had high hopes for.
I had almost passed right by the store, but there wasn’t any parking in front of the store anyway so I was able to find some side street parking up the block (which is a miracle on some days in this area). The ice cream shop shares a building with a pizza parlor and Mariposa got the smaller cut of it. Once you step inside, the tall walls are lined with plenty of photos…some were just random shots while others were about the store. It make the shop even more homey and I loved it. The nice lady behind the counter was patient as LA and I tried different flavors and also pointed out that they had more flavors in the back that were not displayed. See…if they had a bigger shop, then it would be possible for them to actually display all 20+ flavors at any given time, but the ~16 flavors displayed turns out to be some of their best sellers and featured flavors. Not that I was complaining because everything I tried was amazing smooth and delicious.
There are 2 sizes: Single ($2.50) or Double ($4) in a cup or cone. For any extra dollar, you can get a waffle cone. They also have pints packed to-go and you can also have your ice cream in a milkshake/smoothie/float form as well. However, LA and I were here to have ice cream in its purest form: unadulterated!
After much deliberation, I settled for a Double in a cup with half Peanut Butter Fudge (their featured flavor of the day) and Mexican Chocolate (their signature flavor).
You can’t see the PB Fudge, but what you can see is the Mexican Chocolate. When it comes to chocolate, I tend to lean towards the bold, intense, and in your FACE dark chocolate flavor. The Mexican Chocolate would not fit into that category at all. Instead, the flavors were subtle and smooth, yet texturally grainy as Mexican Chocolate tends to be due to the cinnamon and sugar mixed in. The bittersweet chocolate was only a small note, playing with the cinnamon (nicely) which was not quite in your face either. It is hard to describe but I would compare this to a chocolate horchata that was not overly sweetened.
The PB Fudge on the other hand was much more in your face flavors. Here is my attempt to get a picture of the second flavor on the bottom of the cup. This flavor was a nice, strong peanut butter ice cream base with light swirls of fudge. Peanut butter has always been my weakness and this ice cream was exactly what I imagine if my jar of peanut butter in the fridge suddenly turned into an ice cold, creamy jar of pure delight. Now, take some fudge and evenly (I emphasize the evenly because most commercial distributors can’t seem to do this right without going overboard with the fudge) distribute it throughout. Amazing.
LA went with the single of Mariposa Peanut Butter Finger ice cream. I got a taste of it and it was nothing like what you would get at the grocery store. It was subtle, but still a creamy and delicious reminder of Butter Fingers. LA was really happy with her choice and said that it was one of the best ice creams she had ever had.
We were both happy in the abnormal San Diego heat, eating our ice cream, in the middle of January.
I realized that there is a reason why when people ask me why not move to this city or that city…and that again and again, I smile and reject the idea completely. If they asked me why?…I would ask them, “Where else can I thoroughly enjoy ice cream during January to COOL me off???”
Mariposa Ice Cream
3450 Adams Avenue
San Diego, CA 92116
3450 Adams Avenue
San Diego, CA 92116
Happy Holidays!
Even though we had a big family gathering, we did not hold our usual pot-luck style dinner (mostly because no one wanted to front their house this year). We had gone to a restaurant and they were so several understaffed…it was one of the worst dinners ever. Sigh…
Oh well! Still in the spirit of the holidays, we still had fun with the ones we love.
Hoping that everybody had a great holiday with friends and family!
………………..
Here is my random tidbit of food p0rn and related rant:
On one of my visits to Las Vegas, I made it my mission to make it out to Luv-it Frozen Custard.
I had timed it so I could come for the special flavor of the day, but when I stepped up to the window, the nice gentleman informed me that it would be another 2-3 hours before he would have Pumpkin Spice Custard. I was desperate for it and I was not going to leave without it! So I just went to Fashion Show mall and shopped until it was time!
I came back and the gentleman recognized me and handed me the frozen, deliciousness!
The custard was rich and creamy, and spiced to bring one of my favorite flavors to my tongue. It was my first time having custard and I don’t know how go back! So that just mean’s I’ll be back!
Luv-it Frozen Custard
505 East Oakey Boulevard
Las Vegas, NV 89104
Kansas City – there’s no place like home
Once again, I find myself up in the air wanting nothing more than to come home and nurse my misery of allergies (or maybe I really was just sick). The past week, I was in North Kansas City for work and I guess there’s really “no place like home”.
Kansas City is a mid-west city all around and what can one say? It’s nice, friendly, with lots of open areas and random buildings. All I knew about Kansas City was the one thing I had set my mind towards: Barbeque! So when the guys picked me up from the airport and asked what’s for dinner, naturally I jumped and said, “Barbeque!!”
We headed back into town and straight to one of the only establishments I had heard of before:
Arthur Bryant’s BBQ
I could smell the delicious meats when I stepped out of the car. My mouth salivating and I told myself that I control was in order because I hadn’t even met 3/4th of my team! Control was so hard…
Once inside, my eyes were a bulged as I looked up at the menu board at the possibilities. You have to understand…I really, REALLY like barbeque, so I went a little overboard…
That right there is a total of 3/4 lbs of delicious, smoked, tender, practically illegal how meats. I had 1/4 lb each of (left to right): pulled pork, turkey, and sausage, with a side of baked beans. My gawd I was in heaven!
Granted, I love Phil’s BBQ in San Diego for the reason that they make a good pull pork sandwich…in San Diego! Pull pork can taste very differently depending on its maker. And the maker here knows his oinker. The sausage was not my favorite of the 3 since my memories of the smoked sausage I had in Oklahoma City was still fresh in my mind. The turkey was good too, could have been a little more moist but this time…the sauce really did the trick. As you will find (while reading on), the Arthur Bryant spicy BBQ sauce was absolutely DELICIOUS. Omg…never had I wanted more and more of BBQ sauce. I wanted to have the sauce straight up and drink straight out of the bottle. However, since I was with other people and in public…my better judgment took over (thank goodness). Instead I washed it all down with some refreshing sweet tea.
After our first day at work, we were all in need of a good meal (lunches are usually a pretty excuse of a meal most of the time). During the entire day, whenever I had a client meeting, I would also end by asking for suggestions for dinner. I had my handful of suggestions and in order to avoid BBQ fatigue, I took a highly recommended local Italian restaurant suggestion.
Garazzo’s
The location of the Garazzo’s that we went to was nestled into a neighborhood and we were wondering if we were going to someone’s grandmother’s house to eat. That would actually be quite interesting and fun, but nope, we finally found the restaurant.
There must have been several parties that night because it was a Monday night, at 8:30pm and the place was still packed. However, I had made reservations and so we were seated in no time. However, we were all starving even before we were seated so thank goodness one of us took the initiative to order us an appetizer to start off.
The garlic bread with cheese was made sliced crusty bread, with melted parmesan, sprinkled with basil. The bread that they used was a little too soft and would have done better with a French loaf, sliced open and then divided into smaller portions. It was still good, but it was nothing exciting.
When I ordered my entrée, our waitress had given me fair warning, “Now you know that our pastas run on the larger side and this one is our largest order on the entire menu.” I merely smiled and silent laughed as if to say, “Don’t underestimate me!” Little did I know the plight I would find myself in later once the plate arrived…
Now this was a true spectacle. This monstrosity was not meant for 1 person to go up against on her own without any backup. Ladies and Gents, this is Garazzo’s “Three Way Pasta”. On a plate that was the size of a steering wheel, we have: tomato sauce, spaghetti, rigatoni, meat ravioli, topped with parmesan cheese and Italian sausage. The plate could have easily weighed about 3 lbs.
The true depth of what awaited me was not fully realized until dug my fork into the gigantic pile of carbs. I think the me on the inside was something like this:
I barely even scratched the surface of this mountain of carbs before I threw in the towel. When I stopped eating, it didn’t even look like I had any of it! How did it taste? It was fine. The pasta was cooked well, the sauce was a little bland and weak, and the Italian sausage left me wanting more. This was one matter of quantity versus quality.
This is why I had to have a dessert to end the meal:
This was not the worst, nor the best Tiramisu I’ve ever had. Oh Garazzo’s, I have a feeling that I would love you more if I had something else from you. Now I will never know…
Our eating and gorging didn’t stop even after our way too filling Italian food from the night before. (This is mostly due to fair, to sub-par lunches.) The clients told us that when you’re in Kansas City, the all time question when it comes down to barbeque: Arthur Bryant’s or Gates. How could I not take up this challenge and find my answer?!
Gates BBQ
This may not seem like a lot of food nor very nutritious, but boy oh boy. This was good! I had the ham sandwich with onion rights and iced tea. In the back is my sampling of Gates’ bbq sauces. Let’s take a closer look at the star of the tray:
The sandwich was simply 2 slices of Wonder bread with thinly sliced ham and the original sauce. Normally I don’t like flimsy sandwiches. I prefer toasted bread or crusty bread, but c’mon! I’m eating bbq and there’s no place for such things! The ham was so delicious that it made angry. Angry that was subjected to mass produced, packaged deli meats that tasted like the meat (if it really was meat) cured in chemicals. This was a simple ham sandwich and it had me giddy!
As for the answer to the question: who does a better Q? Arthur Bryant’s or Gates? It was a hard call since I had different types of meats. However, I can definitely say that I preferred Arthur’s BBQ sauce more than I liked Gates. So that’s one point more for Arthur than Gates, but I would jump to eat at either one of these establishments anytime.
Unlike Gates, I wouldn’t step foot into this next place. We had a really, REALLY long day and more to come later that evening. We stayed on property and tried:
The Range Steakhouse (Harrah’s)
Ugh…now just thinking about this place makes me angry. Never had a seen a sadder meal than this one.
Scallops are one of my FAVORITE shellfish to eat. This place practically killed it for me. Just seeing this picture, thinking back on it, made my head pound in pain and misery. These babies may not have been the freshest scallops, but the poor attempt to hide it made it even WORSE. See that orange pool? It was some sort of a butter bath for a poorly seared scallops. :(…*to the scallops* it’s ok…it wasn’t YOUR fault. Best thing on the plO_Oate?…the mushrooms and the water (you can’t see it in the picture).
After that horrendous meal, I was a bitter person. I was in a bad mood not only from the course of the day, through many factors plus a terrible meal, I needed something to change it all around. Thank GAWD there was a savior!
Piropos Restauarnt
One of the guys had gotten a recommendation to this place from the person next to him on the plane. We all needed a break from the “regular” and this was perfect! The restaurant was elegant and beautiful. It was started with nice fresh bread and crisps with 3 dipping sides.
Clockwise from the bottom left: multi-colored peppers and onions in oil, vinegar; chimichuri; and garlic dip. My favorite of the 3 had to be the peppers and then the chimicurri. This was a very good start!
I was at an Argentinian restaurant so how could I leave without trying an empanada?! I had the Empanada del Mar, which was filled with shrimp, scallops and tilapia, with red peppers and onions. The filling was fresh and it all worked with one another. It was a small tasting of the ocean on my plate. My only criticism was the wrapper they used. It didn’t give me the flaky pastry that I have come to expect for empanadas. This was more of a wonton/eggroll wrapper that was deep fried. Trust me, flaky (in a pastry) = goooood eating.
As I had no desire for anymore seafood or pasta at the moment, and I didn’t have the stomach for lamb that evening, I went with the chicken. Thank goodness their chicken entrees were just as appealing and this one sounded just scrumptious!
Ruedas de Pollo: this was stuffed chicken breast with gouda, ham, spinach, mushrooms, and red peppers. Served with these rolled chicken of yum, were julienned veggies and rice, all in “argentine” garlic sauce.
My goodness, that sauce was ridiculous. The flavors were so intense that all I wanted was more of the sauce (even though there was a heavy hand in butter) and rice! Mmm…so good. The stuffing for the chicken was great, but the chicken was a little dried out. However, given how good all the other components were, I could over look the dried chicken.
By this time, I was thoroughly content with everything I had so far. However, during the entire meal, I had watch waiters walk by carrying a cake and I knew there was no way I would walk away without it.
This my friendly blog reader, is the Pastel de Banana. A luscious banana cake with a whipped cream cheese frosting, in a pool of crème anglaise, and just because I had to go all out: a special request of a scoop of the vanilla bean ice cream. The cake was truly a banana lover’s delight because it was packed full of banana flavors. You could see the specks of the banana that was mashed in order to make this cake possible. The cake was light and moist, which was not the case with the frosting. Granted, it was a good whipped cream cheese frosting, but it made the dessert overall too dense.
This could be the dessert for someone, but I had my likes and dislikes. The ice cream though was great and it really did help lighten the plate. I really wanted ice cream so I asked our waitress nicely if I could get a scoop even though the dessert did not normally have it. So I ended the night on a wonderful note! Thank you anonymous flight passenger who gave the suggestion!
This was my time out in Kansas City. Although my time here was short, I made ever effort to eat beyond my limits. As we have joked many times in our work: “If you can’t make the ‘cut’, you don’t belong on this team.” Aka…if you can’t eat like a champ, then you will not last long with this group because we will put you right into a coma. 😉
Arthur Bryant’s BBQ
3 locations in Kansas City, MO
Garazzo’s Ristorante
Multiple locations: 2 each in MO and KS
Gates BBQ
Multiple locations in MO and KS
The Range (Harrah’s)
1 Riverboat Drive
North Kansas City, MO 64116
Piropos Restaurant
4141 N. Mulberry Dr.
Kansas City, MO 64116
Joliet, IL
Oh Joliet…what can I say about you? You remind me of a bi-polar classmate of mine. On one side, you have such beauty and quaintness about you. On the other side, you are a scary, somewhat sketchy kind of personality. The fact that I spent less than a week yet I was pleasantly surprised every now and then.
Al’s Steakhouse
This place was definitely a local steakhouse joint and very old school. We had heard we needed to come here for the French Onion soup and that was exactly what I got. It was the best thing I had that night here, but the guys said the steak was good. I’ll take their word on that one ;).
Truth Restaurant
My gawd…one word about this veggie burger: cardboard. I’ve eaten plenty of veggie burgers and I know the wrong kind of veggie burger, that’s overcooked, it is the saddest meal ever like this one was.
The Department
The restaurant is unassuming and a diamond in the rough. It has a lot of potential and we were all equally surprised at how good the meal was. I loved the soup, a little over salted yet still good.
Chicago Street Pub
This was the best surprise we got while in Joliet. One of our waitress suggested this place to us and we had to try it (considering there was also nothing nearby either). Look at our appetizer! Chili-cheese tater tots!! My gawd..so simple and it is not like you cannot get chili-cheese fries, but I have not seen any place that did it with tater tots!
Gji’s Sweet Shoppe
Had to get some ice cream but it was just too sweet for me :(. It was the Hershey Cappuccino Crunch made with Hershey’s dark chocolate and it was overkill. Ugh..
Giordano’s
Yum yum! The appetizer was a mixed fried sampler of mushroom, zucchini, and mozzarella! The mushrooms were my favorite with its molten, juicy, hot innards held in by a crunchy coating. Our pizza order was sadly taken erroneously :(. We wanted deep dish but the waitress thought (for some reason beyond our knowledge) we wanted the thin crust! Geez…who comes to Chicago to eat thin crust?! Well at least it was still delicious! To wrap it up: store bought tiramisu that was frozen. BLEH!
The Reserve
Our dinner at The Reserve was actually more funny than anything else. We were informing one of our party members about amuse bouches and palate cleansers for multi-course meals. Best thing out of those pictures above?…My main entree – a seafood cappellini! It was light, flavored rather than just tomatoes and it was great! However, by this time, I was done with seafood and wanted nothing more than vegetables and tofu.
Even then, of course we need to have dessert! Except my dessert, the molten lava cake, was TERRIBLE. Um first off when you hear the name of the dessert…is it too much to expect that your cake to be well…molten on the inside?!?! Well what I got was like an over baked brownie topped with ice cream and whipped cream. I get a little angry thinking about this. However, my colleague got the caramel pecan bread pudding. Oh lordy…it was amazingly delicious.
Potbelly
To make up for terrible dessert, we have the amazing Oatmeal chocolate chip cookie from Potbelly. Our Senior Manager brought us a bunch and I was HOOKED. They make it just the way I like them: underbaked! Mmmm…
Oh Joliet…the disappointments and surprises you had for us. Not exactly a destination, but at least I will know where to go (and not go) if I ever find myself out there again!
Q-ing in Oklahoma City
I have been back in San Diego for now over a week since my trip out to Oklahoma City and I am now feeling the remorse of the lack of barbecue in my life. I needed to make this post because I have to give nods to the best meals I had while I was out there.
Earl’s Rib Place
Earl’s Rib Place is a local Oklahoma chain with 5 restaurants spread around Oklahoma City, Edmond, and Moore. After the first day of work out at OKC, KN and I headed over to Earl’s and I knew the moment when I stepped out of the car, I was going to meat heaven. The smell of barbecue is just intoxicating and it just automatically triggers the primal instincts in us and causes us to start salivating.
KN and I each ordered the 2 meat combo plate that comes with a choice of 2 sides. I ordered the spare ribs, smoked bologna, and an extra order of the hot link (because I just couldn’t decide), with the green beans and corn on the cob. KN ordered the smoked BBQ chicken turkey (thanks KN for correcting me! I couldn’t remember which one we had) and smoked ham, with fried okra and green beans as well. The 2 of us basically just swamped half of our orders with each other and had a sampling of 5 meats. Boy, oh boy! Was it delicious! The flavors are so deeply ingrained in the meats that it needed no sauce! Earl’s of course have their BBQ sauces available for you on the table if you wanted it. These babies needed no additional anything at all!
I talked so much about the meats (which were the stars of course), but the sides need their due as well. Corn on the cob is as you would expect, sweet and perfect for BBQ. The fried okra was crispy and the coating was seasoned well thus, needing no sauce either. The green bean unfortunately did not taste that good. It had a vinegar based soak so both KN and I did not enjoy the taste. Otherwise, amazing meal!
Braum’s Ice Cream & Dairy Store
After our meal at Earl’s, we needed dessert and considering it was 100+ degrees, what else besides ice cream would do?! I had done my research on local ice creameries and Braum’s kept coming up in my search. There are multiple stores throughout Oklahoma, Kansas, Texas, Missouri and Arkansas. The most interesting thing about this chain is that the company owns their dairy herd, farms and ranches, processing plant, bakery, retail stores and delivery trucks. From the beginning to the end result on your cone, the Braum company controls every step. Talk about quality control and assurance!
The store we were at was no more than 5 minutes away from the Earl’s we ate at. Once we got there, we were struck by how cheap everything was. I mean, look at my double dip waffle cone in the picture up there! That cost me $1.99!!!! (or was it $2.99?…either way) That is FREAKING CHEAP! And this stuff is all locally made! So not only are you supporting a local business with their farm, fresh ingredients, but that huge cold, creamy monster will cost you less than $5. Unheard of here in San Diego!!! And it was not as if the price was reflective of the quality because it was superb. My mint chocolate chip was the favorite of the 2. It had a subtle mint flavor, coating the delicious creamy dairy base, with tons of chocolate flakes. The strawberry cheesecake was good, but not to the same level as the mint chocolate chip.
County Line BBQ
How many times does it take for you to hear from strangers how good a place is before you really believe it? We had asked all around the office in OKC, where their favorite place to get barbecue was and time and time again we got the response: “County Line BBQ”. I had heard this response at least from about 5 people. Now, when you get the same response from multiple people, you know there has to be something about this place to get people to give you an identical response.
So on our second to last night in OKC, KN and I ventured out to County Line BBQ, which let me tell you…it was kind of in the middle of no where. Heck! Let’s fast forward a bit: when our waitress found out that we were from out of town, she immediately asked, “How did you two even find out about us?” We told her that practically the whole office pointed us to their establishment and we just had to get out here.
We started out with a whole freak loaf of bread: half wheat and half white. Now, it turns out this place also bakes their own bread and my oh my…it brought me back to my bakery days! There is absolutely NOTHING that surpasses fresh baked bread. This loaf came out piping hot, soft and fluffy in the center, and melts in your mouth. KN and I had to remind ourselves from eating the whole loaf in order to save room for our main meal!
Once again, KN and I ordered the 5 meat combo to get a sample of everything the restaurant had to offer. Our platter included: smoked peppered turkey, brisket, beef and pork ribs, and smoked sausage. We chose the green beans and fried okra for our sides. Let’s just start with the sides (it’s easier): the green beans were O.M.G amazing! We don’t know what they used, but the beans had a little after kick of spice and they were so packed with flavor, it was insane! Compared to that, the fried okra unfortunately fell totally off the chart. They were kind of cold and you knew they weren’t made to order. However, we did come around 8:15pm and the place closes at 9pm. In fact, when we came in, the restaurant was pretty much empty except for 2 tables that were finishing their meal. So I guess I can understand yet, I wished the okra was made to order because I think it would have been delicious.
The meats were so good! The smell of smoked meat hangs outside all over the restaurant and it was reflective on our plates. Since I don’t eat beef, KN had to tell me how the brisket and beef ribs were, which she gave 2 enthusiastic thumbs up. The turkey here was so moist and tender, with a nice flavor that wasn’t too overpowering. The sausage was good with a nice snap from the casing. Wonderfully spiced and juicy, it was a darn good sausage. The pork ribs were good too, but I think I have found that I actually prefer the other smoked meats over ribs. When I was thinking back on how I felt while eating this meal, I kept thinking about the green beans and smoked turkey. Considering how I am not much of a roasted turkey kind of person, this place knows how to cook a gobbler for me.
Easy to say, KN and I demolished the meal without struggle. However, I would not go without dessert and by the time we finished dinner, it was getting pretty late for OKC standards. Under the suggestion of our waitress, we ordered the Kahlua Brownie a la mode.
A moist brownie with walnuts, sits on a pool of chocolate sauce and Kahlua, topped with 3 scoops of house made vanilla bean ice cream, drizzled with chocolate sauce and doused in more Kahlua. This was a sinfully indulgent dessert and let’s just say KN and I needed that kick of liquor and boy did we get our liquor there. The waitress wasn’t kidding when she said she was going to douse the dessert with Kahlua! I am pretty much a light weight when it comes to liquor and ever bite was liquor filled. KN and I polished off the dessert and we were both now high on sugar and giddy with alcohol. That was a great way to end the night.
Oklahoma City…you may not have a lot but what you do have, you do well and are proud of it. I would love to go back and continue trying more and more of your barbecue. Thank you all in OKC for your hospitality and abundance of amazing BBQ. Keep doing what you’re doing and I’ll dreaming of more Q until the day I return!
Earl’s Rib Place
Multiple locations
Braum’s Ice Cream & Dairy Store
Multiple locations
County Line BBQ
Multiple locations
Pops
“Toto, I’ve a feeling we’re not in Kansas any more.”
More accurately, I was not in San Diego the past week. I was in a place, in a world that was as far away as I could have possibly imagined home to be. Yet at the same time, I was not all that far away from San Diego.
Work took me out to Oklahoma City last week and let me tell you, it was quite amusing. I knew going out that Oklahoma would be quite different from what I have grown used to here in southern California. To prepare myself, I just thought to myself, “Hey, it’ll be as if we went back home in North Carolina. We can do this!”
Sure, it was like going back to North Carolina, but oh boy…I don’t think I was really prepared. First off, 100+ degree weather. No matter what anybody says, that is FREAKING HOT. Next, add some pretty high winds and you’ve got yourself a sweltering dry box. Admittedly, I learned quickly one does not take a leisurely stroll down the road in such conditions.
My schedule out there was pretty tight, but I was able to get in a few things while out there including seeing this:
Imagine yourself driving down Route 66, heading east to long stretches of nothing except more lush, green land. Then sprouting out from the distance, you see this structure. Welcome to POPS off of Route 66!
Sure it looks like a gas station with a cool bottle and straw structure that stands 66 feet tall, but go a little closer.
Inside that colorful, glass structure is actually a small diner with a store area that sells one of the biggest selection sodas I had ever seen! I am not a soda fan but even I was in awe at the number of brands, flavor varieties, and colors! The store and diner was visually stunning and food for the eyes!
It was so much fun just to walk along the walls of the station. However, we still needed to grab some grub at the diner and we got ourselves a table by the wall. This naturally meant more pictures of the soda pop walls!
My friend KN and I wanted something light for lunch so we ended up both ordering the club salad.
Lettuce, diced fried chicken, bacon, hard boiled eggs, tomato, cheddar cheese, and whole fried okra (because we are in OKC where fried okra is a must with everything!). The salad was your typical salad and refreshing on a hot, summer’s day. I particularly like the fried whole okra, which I have only had in the chopped up manner. Although, it was a pre-fried because it was somewhat limp and soggy when I bite into it. Still, the flavor was there and tasted delicious. I bet a fresh one would be even better!
To go with our salads, we each ordered a milkshake:
A regular sized peanut butter cup shake for me! Vanilla ice cream blended with pb cups. My only criticism was that there was not enough pb cubs blended into the shake! Other than that, it was creamy, cold, chocolaty and peanut buttery delicious!
KN got the junior sized strawberry shake. Looking at the ridiculously pink concoction, we both knew there was a significant amount of artificial coloring involved and it was just not as good. Our conclusion: it is best to stick with plain ol’ vanilla and mix-ins.
All in all, we both had a fun time coming out to this road side attraction out in Oklahoma! So if you ever find yourself out in Oklahoma, why not drop by and maybe grab yourself a couple bottles of creative pops?
Pops
660 W. Highway 66
Arcadia, OK 73007
May-chan
Delighted Palate 