Here is a write up on Big T's BBQ.
I love barbecue.
There are very few bbq restaurants around here, but Big T's has opened a shop on MacLeod Trail. A couple of weeks ago, some work guys and myself went over for lunch. The place is very nice, lots of wood and decorated with some blues memorabilia. When we pulled up you could smell the wood from the smoker. Heaven!
I was trying to decide between the brisket sandwich and the pulled pork sandwich. Someone spotted the Big T's platter. For $40 you get a platter with brisket, pulled pork, ribs, half a chicken, rib ends and andouille sausage with slaw, beans, fries and cornbread. We got that. And some deep fried pickles to start.
It was good, certainly enough for the 4 of us, it might have even fed 5 or 6. 4 things I wasn't crazy about:
1. Service. I know I complain about this a lot, but I used to be a waitress. I know how to do it. It was not busy enough to justify that slow of service.
2. The beans were god-awful. Terrible. I can't believe they even served them.
3. The sauces. Except for the mustard sauce, they need work.
4. The rib ends. They did not taste good.
But, definitely worth it, and definitely somewhere to go back to.
And so I did. The next weekend Scott and I went for lunch. Everyday day they have a lunch special. You can have the brisket or pork sandwich with one side for $6. Good deal. I got the brisket with hushpuppies, Scott had the pork with mashed potatos. The brisket was nice and tender, with a very faint smoky flavor. The hushpuppies were out of this world! So nice and soft in the middle and crunchy on the outside, and served with a side of honey for dipping. The pork sannie was so good - nicely cooked and served with slaw in the bun. I had told Scott not to get the beans as they were so terrible last time, but his came with a small bowl. They were marginally better than the first time I'd been there. A really nice lunch, although I wouldn't have minded if both meats had more of a stronger smokey taste.
I asked if they had a website; they don't but they gave me a menu to take home. I can't wait to go back again. Scott has his eye on the catfish po boy, and I want more hushpuppies!
Friday, February 25, 2005
Sunday, February 20, 2005
Vietnamese Lunch
Today Scott and I went and did some errands. When we were almost done, Scott said he wished he could have a Vietnamese sub for lunch. (See earlier post called Our Food Day to read about the best Vietnamese sub shop in the world.) There were 2 Vietnamese restaurants in the area we were in, and one was open. So we had lunch at Shawnessy Vietnamese Restuarant.
We split a chicken satay sub and a number 11 - bbq pork, spring rolls and rice vermacelli. Service was awful. There seemed to be lots of people working in the place, but not much getting done. Our food came at different times, so we had eaten half of the #11 before the sub came to the table. What's up with that? We weren't the only table that happened to though. Anyways, food was pretty good, sub wasn't quite as good as the one from Trung Nguyen, but nice. #11 was good, lots of mint mixed in with the lettuce and sprouts, but the pork could have been better. Scott and I have made a pact that the next time we go for Vietnamese, we will both have something we've never tried before. Scarey!
We split a chicken satay sub and a number 11 - bbq pork, spring rolls and rice vermacelli. Service was awful. There seemed to be lots of people working in the place, but not much getting done. Our food came at different times, so we had eaten half of the #11 before the sub came to the table. What's up with that? We weren't the only table that happened to though. Anyways, food was pretty good, sub wasn't quite as good as the one from Trung Nguyen, but nice. #11 was good, lots of mint mixed in with the lettuce and sprouts, but the pork could have been better. Scott and I have made a pact that the next time we go for Vietnamese, we will both have something we've never tried before. Scarey!
Friday, February 18, 2005
3 links
I Love Bitter Waitress. When I was a waitress, I never waited on anyone famous, but when I was in high school, I had a friend that served Charlie Sheen at Burger King.
I couldn't eat whale meat. Could you?
Bourdain vs Pepain. Tony takes it, naturally.
I couldn't eat whale meat. Could you?
Bourdain vs Pepain. Tony takes it, naturally.
Monday, February 14, 2005
Monday, February 07, 2005
Chantico Hot Chocolate
A couple of weeks ago, I was at my desk, working away, when my boss came in my office waving around the Real Life section of that days Calgary Herald. There was an article called "Hot Chocolate, a hot trend for 2005" and it talked about the new Chantico hot chocolate from Starbucks. He immediately sent a co-worker to go and get us all one.
Hoo boy. You haven't had anything like that before!
Starbucks calls it drinking chocolate. It tastes just like a melted chocolate bar of the best quality. Rich rich rich. You absolutely must be a chocoholic to drink this. The cup is small - 6 ounces. The price is not small - I think it's about 3 bucks or so. The downside? 390 calories and 21 grams of fat!
Hoo boy. You haven't had anything like that before!
Starbucks calls it drinking chocolate. It tastes just like a melted chocolate bar of the best quality. Rich rich rich. You absolutely must be a chocoholic to drink this. The cup is small - 6 ounces. The price is not small - I think it's about 3 bucks or so. The downside? 390 calories and 21 grams of fat!
Saturday, January 29, 2005
Our food day
Today was a good day for food.
Our first stop today was at Lina's Italian Market (2202 Centre St NE). We love Lina's but don't go there much since we moved to suburbia. We loaded up on supplies like cheeses, Italian bread crumbs, saffron, and risotto. We also got some goat cheese flavored with star anise and pepper, some serano ham, and some pastries we did not care for at all. But if you don't try, you never know.
Then we went downtown to Chinatown. We went to the Golden Dragon Bakery for some ham and green onion buns, to Can Fung Market (215 1 St SE) for dried noodles, curry sauce, wonton wrappers and fried onions. And a stop at Chuen May Food (227 1 St SE) for some frozen dim sum - pork spring rolls, chicken dumplings, and crab claws stuffed with crab, prawns and pork.
We were in a bit of a hurry, since all these stores are a long way from home. But when we were at Chuen May, Scott noticed a Vietnamese Sub shop next door that had a line up out the door. And the line just kept getting longer! Neither of us had ever had a Vietnamese sub before, and it looked like we wouldn't today either, as we had no time to wait. But on our way to our last stop, we came across Trung Nguyen Vietnamese Submarine (#10-132 3 Ave SE), a very cute and teeny shop. We decided to split a sub before heading home. Scott grabbed one of the 3 tables, and I ordered a Satay Chicken sub and a root beer from the very charming man running the register. After confirming with me twice that I did not have a peanut allergy, he asked me if I wanted my sub "loaded" with carrot, cilantro, cucumber, hot peppers and onions. Sounded good to me! The tab for the sub and pop? $5.50! After a less than 5 minute wait, our sub was brought to our table. After our host re-arranged our purchases, and made sure that we had no peanut allergy (why would someone with a peanut allergy order satay in the first place?), we were left alone to eat what was probably the BEST sub I have ever had in my life. The bread was crusty and warm, the chicken was tender and coated in a spicy satay sauce. The addition of the carrot, onion, cuke, and hot peppers was SO good. We wolfed that sub down in no time flat, and it was not a small sub. As you should always do when you have an amazing meal, we made sure to thank the (husband/wife? co-workers?) before leaving and tell them how great the food was.
Sometimes it's nice to get a reminder that great food does not need to be fancy or expensive to be wonderful.
Our first stop today was at Lina's Italian Market (2202 Centre St NE). We love Lina's but don't go there much since we moved to suburbia. We loaded up on supplies like cheeses, Italian bread crumbs, saffron, and risotto. We also got some goat cheese flavored with star anise and pepper, some serano ham, and some pastries we did not care for at all. But if you don't try, you never know.
Then we went downtown to Chinatown. We went to the Golden Dragon Bakery for some ham and green onion buns, to Can Fung Market (215 1 St SE) for dried noodles, curry sauce, wonton wrappers and fried onions. And a stop at Chuen May Food (227 1 St SE) for some frozen dim sum - pork spring rolls, chicken dumplings, and crab claws stuffed with crab, prawns and pork.
We were in a bit of a hurry, since all these stores are a long way from home. But when we were at Chuen May, Scott noticed a Vietnamese Sub shop next door that had a line up out the door. And the line just kept getting longer! Neither of us had ever had a Vietnamese sub before, and it looked like we wouldn't today either, as we had no time to wait. But on our way to our last stop, we came across Trung Nguyen Vietnamese Submarine (#10-132 3 Ave SE), a very cute and teeny shop. We decided to split a sub before heading home. Scott grabbed one of the 3 tables, and I ordered a Satay Chicken sub and a root beer from the very charming man running the register. After confirming with me twice that I did not have a peanut allergy, he asked me if I wanted my sub "loaded" with carrot, cilantro, cucumber, hot peppers and onions. Sounded good to me! The tab for the sub and pop? $5.50! After a less than 5 minute wait, our sub was brought to our table. After our host re-arranged our purchases, and made sure that we had no peanut allergy (why would someone with a peanut allergy order satay in the first place?), we were left alone to eat what was probably the BEST sub I have ever had in my life. The bread was crusty and warm, the chicken was tender and coated in a spicy satay sauce. The addition of the carrot, onion, cuke, and hot peppers was SO good. We wolfed that sub down in no time flat, and it was not a small sub. As you should always do when you have an amazing meal, we made sure to thank the (husband/wife? co-workers?) before leaving and tell them how great the food was.
Sometimes it's nice to get a reminder that great food does not need to be fancy or expensive to be wonderful.
Thursday, January 27, 2005
Lobster dinner
This was Scott's lobster dinner at Joe's Crab Shack in San Francisco. Doesn't it look good?
Wednesday, January 26, 2005
Recent meals
I made a potato, onion and mushroom gratin from one of Martha's cookbook, except that we had no mushrooms. So it was just a potato and onion gratin. It could have been great; it is a lower calorie/fat version of a gratin as it has no milk or cream or butter. But I made a mistake. The recipe calls for thyme. Scott and I have recently decided that we don't care that much for thyme. But instead of just easing up on the thyme, I eased up on all the seasonings, leaving it quite bland. But I'll make it again for sure.
We had Black Bean Chili from Delia's webiste the other night. I have never cooked chili in the oven before, or made chile with steak. I've always used ground beef. This was pretty good, but Scott didn't think it tasted very chili like. More like a tomato based stew. But it's true, it doesn't have the usual chili spices in it, like, CHILI POWDER!
Another meal we had was from Nigella's book Forever Summer, a butterflied lemon and rosemary chicken. We cut the backbone out of the chicken and marinated it overnight with onion, olive oil, lemons and rosemary. Then we roasted it and ate it with roasted blue potatos and brussel sprouts. It was pretty good, although the chicken was not as lemon-y as I expected from an overnight marinade.
When the weather warms up some more, I am going to cook a butterflied chicken on the bbq. Did anyone see the episode of Cook Like a Chef on Food Network when the chef deboned the chicken but left it whole and intact?
Tonight I made Sunday Night Chicken Noodle from Nigella Lawsons website as well as one of her cookbooks. Eh. It NEEDED something. Maybe some ginger, or hot sauce, or something. I think I'll make it again, but there will be changes made. Also, I used big fat noodles; next time I'll use a skinnier type.
We had Black Bean Chili from Delia's webiste the other night. I have never cooked chili in the oven before, or made chile with steak. I've always used ground beef. This was pretty good, but Scott didn't think it tasted very chili like. More like a tomato based stew. But it's true, it doesn't have the usual chili spices in it, like, CHILI POWDER!
Another meal we had was from Nigella's book Forever Summer, a butterflied lemon and rosemary chicken. We cut the backbone out of the chicken and marinated it overnight with onion, olive oil, lemons and rosemary. Then we roasted it and ate it with roasted blue potatos and brussel sprouts. It was pretty good, although the chicken was not as lemon-y as I expected from an overnight marinade.
When the weather warms up some more, I am going to cook a butterflied chicken on the bbq. Did anyone see the episode of Cook Like a Chef on Food Network when the chef deboned the chicken but left it whole and intact?
Tonight I made Sunday Night Chicken Noodle from Nigella Lawsons website as well as one of her cookbooks. Eh. It NEEDED something. Maybe some ginger, or hot sauce, or something. I think I'll make it again, but there will be changes made. Also, I used big fat noodles; next time I'll use a skinnier type.
Tuesday, January 25, 2005
Thursday, January 20, 2005
Bouchon cookbook
I have the best husband ever. I got this amazing cookbook for Christmas. I am spoiled!
Wednesday, January 19, 2005
Buendnerfleisch
Is the very red meat at the bottom of the plate. For those of you (like me) who have never had it before, it is air-dried beef. And it is good.
Tuesday, January 04, 2005
Hoisin Pork
From Bobby Flay.
1/4 cup hoisin sauce
2 Tb rice wine vinegar
2 Tb soy sauce
3 cloves garlic, crushed
1/2 tsp sesame oil
1 1/2 to 2 lb pork tenderloin.
Mix all ingrediants together except pork. Slice pork into medallions and pound thin with mallet. Marinate pork 4 hours to overnight. Cook on a griddle pan or on a bbq.
1/4 cup hoisin sauce
2 Tb rice wine vinegar
2 Tb soy sauce
3 cloves garlic, crushed
1/2 tsp sesame oil
1 1/2 to 2 lb pork tenderloin.
Mix all ingrediants together except pork. Slice pork into medallions and pound thin with mallet. Marinate pork 4 hours to overnight. Cook on a griddle pan or on a bbq.
Monday, January 03, 2005
The story of Christmas
Well, apart from the cold that my mom gave me and Scott, we had a great time. We were all thoroughly spoiled.
Did the crab cakes for dinner on Christmas Eve, along with some fresh Malpeque oysters for Scott and my dad. My parents brought some pate and a really good mango chipolte sauce. We put the sauce on pita crisps with some cream cheese.
Christmas morning, we had the breakfast rolls with fruit and yogurt.
Lunch we had snacks - more pita crisps, pate, antipasto, pepper jelly and cream cheese on crackers, and some really great sausage from Granville Island Market in Vancouver.
Dinner, we had turkey with all the trimmings. One problem - NO FRESH BRUSSEL SPROUTS! I went to all the stores in our area on Christmas Eve, and they were all out. We had frozen ones, but they were awful. Tortuga cake for dessert.
Boxing day breakfast- bagels and cream cheese, and used our new toaster.
Lunch - see lunch from yesterday, with the addition of some wild boar sausage that Spud got in his stocking from Granville.
Dinner - Tenderloin steaks (cooked on the new BBQ, which is mighty fine) with potatos, chop salad, and carrots. The last of the rum cake for dessert.
The next day - toast and fruit for breakfast.
Lunch - homemade french onion soup with brandy and toasted baguette.
Dinner - Hoisin Pork tenderloin (I'll post the recipe later) with asparagus and more chop salad. No dessert as we went out looking at Christmas lights and didn't get home until 8.
Nothing super after that until the New Year. We stayed home on new years eve. I was too sick to eat (ha!), but Scott had a feast of mussels steamed in beer, garlic and hot chiles. We had the chateaubriand (that we were supposed to have on the 31st) with bernaise sauce and potatos on the 2nd when I felt better.
Now that all the fun is over, it's time to give the bank account a rest, and clean out the pantry of all the chips, chocolate and the like. It's a new start.
Did the crab cakes for dinner on Christmas Eve, along with some fresh Malpeque oysters for Scott and my dad. My parents brought some pate and a really good mango chipolte sauce. We put the sauce on pita crisps with some cream cheese.
Christmas morning, we had the breakfast rolls with fruit and yogurt.
Lunch we had snacks - more pita crisps, pate, antipasto, pepper jelly and cream cheese on crackers, and some really great sausage from Granville Island Market in Vancouver.
Dinner, we had turkey with all the trimmings. One problem - NO FRESH BRUSSEL SPROUTS! I went to all the stores in our area on Christmas Eve, and they were all out. We had frozen ones, but they were awful. Tortuga cake for dessert.
Boxing day breakfast- bagels and cream cheese, and used our new toaster.
Lunch - see lunch from yesterday, with the addition of some wild boar sausage that Spud got in his stocking from Granville.
Dinner - Tenderloin steaks (cooked on the new BBQ, which is mighty fine) with potatos, chop salad, and carrots. The last of the rum cake for dessert.
The next day - toast and fruit for breakfast.
Lunch - homemade french onion soup with brandy and toasted baguette.
Dinner - Hoisin Pork tenderloin (I'll post the recipe later) with asparagus and more chop salad. No dessert as we went out looking at Christmas lights and didn't get home until 8.
Nothing super after that until the New Year. We stayed home on new years eve. I was too sick to eat (ha!), but Scott had a feast of mussels steamed in beer, garlic and hot chiles. We had the chateaubriand (that we were supposed to have on the 31st) with bernaise sauce and potatos on the 2nd when I felt better.
Now that all the fun is over, it's time to give the bank account a rest, and clean out the pantry of all the chips, chocolate and the like. It's a new start.
Tuesday, December 28, 2004
Tsunami relief
If you can give in any way, here are some organizations that are accepting donations:
Care Canada
Developement and Peace
Doctors without Borders
Salvation Army
Care Canada
Developement and Peace
Doctors without Borders
Salvation Army
Wednesday, December 22, 2004
Some Recipes and things
Christmas is fast approaching......
We haven't done much cooking lately, what with getting ready for the holidays, and what we have cooked have been simple things like beef dips, homemade pizzas etc. I did cook a ham on the weekend, one we had bought from Millarville, but I wasn't that impressed with it. I did the same glaze and cooking that I did on the Thanksgiving ham, but it was dry, and I am fairly sure I didn't overcooked it. Let's blame the ham, shall we?
My office has pretty much shut down for the holidays; most of the staff is still here, but there is not much to do. So, here are some links and stuff.
This crab cake recipe is what I'll be making on Christmas Eve. We've made it once before, and they were excellent. I love the spiciness of the peppers in the cakes and the Mayo.
Nigella's prawn cakes are GREAT.
Christmas morning, we will be having prosciutto and Brie rolls. This is from one of my notebooks. I think it may have come from Gourmet or Bon Appetit. The original recipe called for just prosciutto, but we likey the Brie.
Makes 4 large or 8 small rolls.
1 pkg Pillsbury crescent dough
Brie
prosciutto
honey
Dijon mustard
unroll the dough, and separate into 4 squares. Press the perforations within the squares together with your fingers to seal. Lay a couple of pieces of the ham and cheese on the dough, and roll up. If you want 8 small rolls, cut each roll in half with a serrated knife. Press ends closed so no cheese escapes. Mix mustard and honey together and brush on top. Bake as directed on the Pillsbury package.
I printed off this recipe for Roasted Red Onions from Jamie Oliver ages ago, but have not made it yet. I should though.
Another Jamie Oliver recipe I'd like to make is this brunch bread, a grown up version of the above rolls, sort of.
I agree with the Exploding Chef that Delia Smith leaves much to be desired in the personality department. But doesn't this Onion and Goat Cheese Tart sound amazing?
I made this mini Beef en Croute Delia Smith recipe in the summer. It was good and very impressive-looking.
A couple of years ago, I searched the internet for recipes for Coal candy to make for Christmas. Here's one I might have to try next year.....
We haven't done much cooking lately, what with getting ready for the holidays, and what we have cooked have been simple things like beef dips, homemade pizzas etc. I did cook a ham on the weekend, one we had bought from Millarville, but I wasn't that impressed with it. I did the same glaze and cooking that I did on the Thanksgiving ham, but it was dry, and I am fairly sure I didn't overcooked it. Let's blame the ham, shall we?
My office has pretty much shut down for the holidays; most of the staff is still here, but there is not much to do. So, here are some links and stuff.
This crab cake recipe is what I'll be making on Christmas Eve. We've made it once before, and they were excellent. I love the spiciness of the peppers in the cakes and the Mayo.
Nigella's prawn cakes are GREAT.
Christmas morning, we will be having prosciutto and Brie rolls. This is from one of my notebooks. I think it may have come from Gourmet or Bon Appetit. The original recipe called for just prosciutto, but we likey the Brie.
Makes 4 large or 8 small rolls.
1 pkg Pillsbury crescent dough
Brie
prosciutto
honey
Dijon mustard
unroll the dough, and separate into 4 squares. Press the perforations within the squares together with your fingers to seal. Lay a couple of pieces of the ham and cheese on the dough, and roll up. If you want 8 small rolls, cut each roll in half with a serrated knife. Press ends closed so no cheese escapes. Mix mustard and honey together and brush on top. Bake as directed on the Pillsbury package.
I printed off this recipe for Roasted Red Onions from Jamie Oliver ages ago, but have not made it yet. I should though.
Another Jamie Oliver recipe I'd like to make is this brunch bread, a grown up version of the above rolls, sort of.
I agree with the Exploding Chef that Delia Smith leaves much to be desired in the personality department. But doesn't this Onion and Goat Cheese Tart sound amazing?
I made this mini Beef en Croute Delia Smith recipe in the summer. It was good and very impressive-looking.
A couple of years ago, I searched the internet for recipes for Coal candy to make for Christmas. Here's one I might have to try next year.....
Wednesday, December 15, 2004
Christmas Baking and other stuff.
I whipped out the new Kitchen Aid mixer on the weekend and did some baking to give away for Christmas. I made whipped shortbread, raisin cookies, java bark (chocolate bark with espresso powder mixed in), and my version of cowboy crunch (peanuts and graham crackers covered with milk and white chocolate).
Scott took ALL the raisin cookies to work, so I have to make more tomorrow. We also made Antipasto a few weekends ago - it turned out excellent. I will be giving some of that away as well to my favorite co-workers. Scott is guarding the anitpasto supply jealously, making sure I don't give too much away. Yeah, he better be careful, there's only 15 jars left! He may be out by the new year. Actually, the way he's been eating it, he could be.
I am working on my food menu for the Christmas holidays as well, as we are having company. I am definitely making crab cakes on Christmas Eve, of course there will be turkey on the 25th. I tried to convince everyone that we should have ham, but they are traditionalists, and want the bird. We also got a new BBQ this weekend, as our old one couldn't make it thru a bad wind storm we had a few weeks ago, and took a header off the balcony, where it landed, not only bent, but in pieces. This is my new bbq. Although mine does not look like this, it looks like a giant cardboard box that nearly killed me when we pulled it out of our car. I appreciate the heaviness and sturdiness of a good bbq, but not when I have to carry it around.
Anyhoo, we are also going to have tenderloin steaks and my version of the Ruth's Chris chop salad. I have made it 3 times since we got back from our trip, and it just gets better and better. That's what I have for the menu so far, but there are lots of meals that I still need to fill in. One thing I don't need to worry about is dessert - 2 presents I have received at work this Christmas - a huge box of Bernard Callebaut chocolates, and also a great big Tortuga Rum Cake.
A very merry Christmas indeed!
Scott took ALL the raisin cookies to work, so I have to make more tomorrow. We also made Antipasto a few weekends ago - it turned out excellent. I will be giving some of that away as well to my favorite co-workers. Scott is guarding the anitpasto supply jealously, making sure I don't give too much away. Yeah, he better be careful, there's only 15 jars left! He may be out by the new year. Actually, the way he's been eating it, he could be.
I am working on my food menu for the Christmas holidays as well, as we are having company. I am definitely making crab cakes on Christmas Eve, of course there will be turkey on the 25th. I tried to convince everyone that we should have ham, but they are traditionalists, and want the bird. We also got a new BBQ this weekend, as our old one couldn't make it thru a bad wind storm we had a few weeks ago, and took a header off the balcony, where it landed, not only bent, but in pieces. This is my new bbq. Although mine does not look like this, it looks like a giant cardboard box that nearly killed me when we pulled it out of our car. I appreciate the heaviness and sturdiness of a good bbq, but not when I have to carry it around.
Anyhoo, we are also going to have tenderloin steaks and my version of the Ruth's Chris chop salad. I have made it 3 times since we got back from our trip, and it just gets better and better. That's what I have for the menu so far, but there are lots of meals that I still need to fill in. One thing I don't need to worry about is dessert - 2 presents I have received at work this Christmas - a huge box of Bernard Callebaut chocolates, and also a great big Tortuga Rum Cake.
A very merry Christmas indeed!
Sunday, December 12, 2004
Horrible Recipe of the Day #1
How disgusting does this sound?
Krispy Kreme Bread Pudding with Butter Rum sauce?
Ew. I can't imagine why anyone would think of such a recipe!
Krispy Kreme Bread Pudding with Butter Rum sauce?
Ew. I can't imagine why anyone would think of such a recipe!
Wednesday, December 08, 2004
The new addition to my family
Looky what I got last night......
THIS!
Dammit, I wish I knew how to add pictures.
Anyway, isn't is georgeous? Oh yeah, all metallic chrome and slinky. That is one SEXY beast.
Can't wait to give it a spin.
THIS!
Dammit, I wish I knew how to add pictures.
Anyway, isn't is georgeous? Oh yeah, all metallic chrome and slinky. That is one SEXY beast.
Can't wait to give it a spin.
Sunday, December 05, 2004
San Francisco Report
Well, what can I say. What a city. The night after we came home, I was watching A Cooks Tour on the food channel. It was the French Laundry show. That is one of my favorite episodes. The way his personality is so giddy and goofy, and he is almost shy about meeting Thomas Keller is so sweet. It is totally in contrast to his normal appearance.
Incidentally, Thomas Keller went and did a demonstration and book signing and the Williams Sonoma store in San Francisco that was 3 blocks from our hotel the day after we left, dammit! And Anthony Bourdain was there on the 10th. F**K.
Anyways, so the show starts with Tony in San Francisco. He is walking down the street, and he says how much he likes San Francisco. He says it's a little dirty, and everyone is drunk.
That is the perfect description of the city.
It sure is a crazy place. The traffic! THE DRIVERS! Some of the worst I've ever seen. The hilly streets, some of them are truly terrifying to drive down. But it was beautiful.
We went to Alcatraz, which was much cooler than I thought it would be, Union Square, Colt tower, walked across the Golden Gate Bridge, took at boat tour, and just went every where we could and soaked it all up.
Great weather, nice people, good food.
And that's what this is about isn't it. This isn't a complete list of meals, just some that stuck out in one way or another.
Our first day there, we had a late lunch/early dinner at a restaurant at Fisherman's Wharf that will have to remain nameless, as I can't find the bill. Anyhoo, it was very nice, with an outdoor patio covered in ivy and flowers. Service sucked, but the food was good. I had a crab cake sandwich, something I had never heard of, or thought of, but it was good, served with a remoulade sauce on the side. Scott had a great meal; a baby shrimp and crab sandwich on bannok bread. It was so good and fresh tasting.
That night we found what I think is my favorite bar in the world now, Lush Lounge.
One note I should have written first, we had a terrible time finding places to eat for breakfast and lunch around where we were staying. And to find a place to have a drink after dinner was nearly impossible. Do these people not have pubs? Apparently not.
Lush Lounge was so cute and small and dark. The staff was really nice. We had frozen mandarin cosmos (one thousand thumbs up) and frozen watermelon martini's (two thousand thumbs up). A yummy night.
We had a questionable breakfast at a questionable Jack In the Box. Not a good choice, but we were hungry, and as I said, pickins were slim.
Fisherman's Wharf at lunch. Scott has developed an obsession with said wharf. Went to Gold Rush restaurant. It's like a fast food place. He wanted Fish and Chips. The menu didn't really appeal to me, but they did have calimari, which I have recently learned to love. We got our food, and were immediately unhappy. The fish and chips were out of a bag. The calamari wasn't rings, it was these bizarre pyramid shaped chunks. I barely touched it, so Scott, who felt bad because he had insisted on going there, took me to Crepe Cafe and bought me a beautiful crepe filled with fresh strawberries and whip cream. He redeemed himself.
We had dinner at Joe's Crab Shack which was a silly place, full of goofy decorations and music. Scott had crab, and I had a steak. I also had a Gold Claw Shaker Rita (a margarita) that was so freakin good. It was also $9.00 US. Boo. The food was good though. Down by the wharf they have these stands in front of restaurants that sell crabs and shrimp cocktails and stuff. It's just street food - no tables or anything. I tried so hard to get Scott to have his crab there, because I knew he wanted to. But for whatever reason, he said he didn't want to. His loss, and I got to have a Shaker Rita.
The best breakfast we had was a little place in a Galleria (open air mall) called
360' Gourmet Burritos. We had excellent egg and cheese and black bean burritos called 360 AM burritos. Their salsas were so good too - a really nice mild one and a sweet/spicy one that tasted a lot like pepper jelly.
Two other dinners of note -
Ar Roi Thai restaurant. This one has a short story with it. There were 3 thai restaurants within 2 blocks of our hotel. The first one, which was right across the street from our hotel, sounded good to me. Scott wanted to see the menus of the other 2. Ar Roi was the second. Ar Roi and the third restaurant both had soft shell crab, which we both wanted to try. We decided on Ar Roi. We decided to order 2 appetizers and share an entree, and then if we were still hungry we would get something else. So we decided on the crab and another appetizer of crepes filled with spicy chicken. When the server came (like a lot of thai/chinese/vietmanese restaurants, service is very abrupt.) we asked for the crab. They were out. We asked if they were out of anything else. They said no. We then decided on the crepes and chicken satay. They were out of the crepes. We asked if they were out of anything else. They said no. We then tried to order satay and a salad. No salad. Good God. Finally, we hit on something they did have - satay, spring rolls and pad thai. All were pretty good, the spring rolls were the least best of the bunch. And with a glass of beer for Scott and water for me (they only serve wine and beer) the total was a reasonable $27.00 US.
Ah, dinner at Ruth's Chris. Amazing dinner. We started with a small chop salad, which is probably the best salad I have ever had. I was a little worried about the dressing, blue cheese and lemon basil, because I am not a blue cheese fan, but it was great. I had the petit filet and Scott had the rib eye. We shared a creamed spinach. The steaks were just great, mine was so tender. We had a apple crumb for dessert. With one drink each, our bill before tip came to $110.00 US. Was is worth it? Absolutely. I will go back any time for the chop salad alone.
That being said, I am planning on spending much time in my kitchen trying to recreate the salad. Scott says he will be my taster. What a trooper.
Incidentally, Thomas Keller went and did a demonstration and book signing and the Williams Sonoma store in San Francisco that was 3 blocks from our hotel the day after we left, dammit! And Anthony Bourdain was there on the 10th. F**K.
Anyways, so the show starts with Tony in San Francisco. He is walking down the street, and he says how much he likes San Francisco. He says it's a little dirty, and everyone is drunk.
That is the perfect description of the city.
It sure is a crazy place. The traffic! THE DRIVERS! Some of the worst I've ever seen. The hilly streets, some of them are truly terrifying to drive down. But it was beautiful.
We went to Alcatraz, which was much cooler than I thought it would be, Union Square, Colt tower, walked across the Golden Gate Bridge, took at boat tour, and just went every where we could and soaked it all up.
Great weather, nice people, good food.
And that's what this is about isn't it. This isn't a complete list of meals, just some that stuck out in one way or another.
Our first day there, we had a late lunch/early dinner at a restaurant at Fisherman's Wharf that will have to remain nameless, as I can't find the bill. Anyhoo, it was very nice, with an outdoor patio covered in ivy and flowers. Service sucked, but the food was good. I had a crab cake sandwich, something I had never heard of, or thought of, but it was good, served with a remoulade sauce on the side. Scott had a great meal; a baby shrimp and crab sandwich on bannok bread. It was so good and fresh tasting.
That night we found what I think is my favorite bar in the world now, Lush Lounge.
One note I should have written first, we had a terrible time finding places to eat for breakfast and lunch around where we were staying. And to find a place to have a drink after dinner was nearly impossible. Do these people not have pubs? Apparently not.
Lush Lounge was so cute and small and dark. The staff was really nice. We had frozen mandarin cosmos (one thousand thumbs up) and frozen watermelon martini's (two thousand thumbs up). A yummy night.
We had a questionable breakfast at a questionable Jack In the Box. Not a good choice, but we were hungry, and as I said, pickins were slim.
Fisherman's Wharf at lunch. Scott has developed an obsession with said wharf. Went to Gold Rush restaurant. It's like a fast food place. He wanted Fish and Chips. The menu didn't really appeal to me, but they did have calimari, which I have recently learned to love. We got our food, and were immediately unhappy. The fish and chips were out of a bag. The calamari wasn't rings, it was these bizarre pyramid shaped chunks. I barely touched it, so Scott, who felt bad because he had insisted on going there, took me to Crepe Cafe and bought me a beautiful crepe filled with fresh strawberries and whip cream. He redeemed himself.
We had dinner at Joe's Crab Shack which was a silly place, full of goofy decorations and music. Scott had crab, and I had a steak. I also had a Gold Claw Shaker Rita (a margarita) that was so freakin good. It was also $9.00 US. Boo. The food was good though. Down by the wharf they have these stands in front of restaurants that sell crabs and shrimp cocktails and stuff. It's just street food - no tables or anything. I tried so hard to get Scott to have his crab there, because I knew he wanted to. But for whatever reason, he said he didn't want to. His loss, and I got to have a Shaker Rita.
The best breakfast we had was a little place in a Galleria (open air mall) called
360' Gourmet Burritos. We had excellent egg and cheese and black bean burritos called 360 AM burritos. Their salsas were so good too - a really nice mild one and a sweet/spicy one that tasted a lot like pepper jelly.
Two other dinners of note -
Ar Roi Thai restaurant. This one has a short story with it. There were 3 thai restaurants within 2 blocks of our hotel. The first one, which was right across the street from our hotel, sounded good to me. Scott wanted to see the menus of the other 2. Ar Roi was the second. Ar Roi and the third restaurant both had soft shell crab, which we both wanted to try. We decided on Ar Roi. We decided to order 2 appetizers and share an entree, and then if we were still hungry we would get something else. So we decided on the crab and another appetizer of crepes filled with spicy chicken. When the server came (like a lot of thai/chinese/vietmanese restaurants, service is very abrupt.) we asked for the crab. They were out. We asked if they were out of anything else. They said no. We then decided on the crepes and chicken satay. They were out of the crepes. We asked if they were out of anything else. They said no. We then tried to order satay and a salad. No salad. Good God. Finally, we hit on something they did have - satay, spring rolls and pad thai. All were pretty good, the spring rolls were the least best of the bunch. And with a glass of beer for Scott and water for me (they only serve wine and beer) the total was a reasonable $27.00 US.
Ah, dinner at Ruth's Chris. Amazing dinner. We started with a small chop salad, which is probably the best salad I have ever had. I was a little worried about the dressing, blue cheese and lemon basil, because I am not a blue cheese fan, but it was great. I had the petit filet and Scott had the rib eye. We shared a creamed spinach. The steaks were just great, mine was so tender. We had a apple crumb for dessert. With one drink each, our bill before tip came to $110.00 US. Was is worth it? Absolutely. I will go back any time for the chop salad alone.
That being said, I am planning on spending much time in my kitchen trying to recreate the salad. Scott says he will be my taster. What a trooper.
Friday, December 03, 2004
Beef and Broccoli
My mom used to make this for special occasions when I was young. It's been a long time since I had it, but I found myself pulled to both beef and broccoli at Sobeys last night. It was darn tasty.
1 lb steak, cut into strips
1 Tb paprika
2 cloves garlic, chopped
2 cups beef broth
Handful chopped green onions
1 bunch of broccoli, chopped in bite size pieces
1/4 cup soy sauce
2 Tb cornstarch
2 tomatos, cut in wedges
Hot cooked rice
Toss the steak with the paprika. Melt 1 or 2 Tb butter in a large pan, and lightly brown meat. Add garlic and cook for 2 minutes. Add broth, cover and simmer for 30 minutes. Add the onions and broccoli, and cook covered for 5 minutes. Mix the cornstarch into the soy, add and cook until thickened. Add the tomatos and cook until the tomatos are just heated through.
Serve over rice.
1 lb steak, cut into strips
1 Tb paprika
2 cloves garlic, chopped
2 cups beef broth
Handful chopped green onions
1 bunch of broccoli, chopped in bite size pieces
1/4 cup soy sauce
2 Tb cornstarch
2 tomatos, cut in wedges
Hot cooked rice
Toss the steak with the paprika. Melt 1 or 2 Tb butter in a large pan, and lightly brown meat. Add garlic and cook for 2 minutes. Add broth, cover and simmer for 30 minutes. Add the onions and broccoli, and cook covered for 5 minutes. Mix the cornstarch into the soy, add and cook until thickened. Add the tomatos and cook until the tomatos are just heated through.
Serve over rice.
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)