More Southwestern Eats

My cousin's wife's specialty are enchiladas. "Prove it!" I say. Oh yes, she sure did. With the usual suspects on the side of Mexican rice, refried beans, & chili peppers, of course. The one in the rice was tame, but the fatty on the table was closer to nuclear. And ya gotta love a fried egg on top. Mmmmm, creamy. She finished it off with cherry-topped pecan crunch dessert. ¡Gracias, Raquel!

Homemade Mexican Eats

I was in the Southwest recently, and I was force-fed good (authentic) Mexican food almost the entire time.

Okay, so it was more voluntary and not so much forced.

Anyway, right from the kitchen: chile relleno, refried beans, and tortillas. ¡Delicioso! ¡¡Gracias, Emma!!

Umami Burger (LA)

The Umami Burger is one amazing burger. It's jazzed up with a ton of yummy condiments, along with a great soft buttery bun and killer burger patty that has what tasted like dashi inside.
And did you notice the Parmesan crisp? So smart!

Perfectly fried up thin fries with garlic aioli sauce. And Mexican Coke.

Sorry In 'n Out, but the new girl in town is way hotter and she puts out an even meaner spread.
I'm in love with this joint.

Men's Eating Club - Part Deux

The Men's Eating Club had our second meeting and it was a humdinger if I may say. At first, we were going to visit the Cuban standout Coppelia, but our All American QB Porthos saw something at the line of scrimmage and made a last minute audible to Ma Peche. Although we just went there for some beef carnage, it was decided based on their new spring menu this would be perfect for the group and oh boy...it definitely was.

Our Menu

fluke – blood orange, avocado, black rice **
Classic momofuku - awesome combo of flavors and textures and a great palate opener.

warm asparagus – king crab, egg, chili butter ***
The first of the killer WTF asparagus duo. Soft egg was so damn sexy with the sweet crab and asparagus.

mushroom + asparagus – watercress, goat cheese, pistachio ***
The combo of the almost silky mushroom with the asparagus and creamy goat cheese sauce was outstanding.

soft shell crab – pickled lotus root, jicama, sugar snaps **
I love me some soft shell crab and this was hella fun. I'm used to eating the soft shell crab simply with no accompaniments, but the combo of the bright pickles/jicama really amps up the sweetness of the crab.

lentils and duck sausage *
Earthy and tasty dish which is almost an amuse to the onslaught of meats.

meat pie (creekstone farm, ks) – tongue, potato, caramelized onions ***

Maybe the most fun dish I've eaten in years. Pastry provides the perfect back note to the smooth forcemeat of tongue, potato, and caramelized onions. Huge WTF flavors on this bad boy. It was so good I could have eaten this whole thing by myself.

pork chop (bev eggleston, va) – potato, ramps, green peppercorn **
I love-a tha pork and this was something magical. This basically was the best quality pork chop that honestly looked like pork belly - had tons of melt in your mouth fat...in a good way.

chicken (bell & evans, pa) – maitake, leeks, vin jaune **
Delicious chicken flavor with some amped up umami notes with the maitake.

reserved cheese **
Soft stinky cheese with a ton of condiments - pretty friggin great. I dug the espelette powder and the truffle honey.

homemade chocolate chip cookies ***
I absolutely looooove chocolate cookies and these are out of control delicious. Crisp on the outside, perfect chewy texture, with a ton of melting chocolate chips. Really a WTF cookie and quite delicious with whole milk...or for D'Artagnan - armagnac :)

Rating System
--- What the F - in a bad way | (no stars - poor to average) | * Good | ** Great | *** What the F – in a good way

Uni is Back!

Mitsuwa - Chicken and Egg Dish

Most Asians in the NJ/NY area know about the awesomeness that is Mitsuwa - basically a large Japanese supermarket with a fun food court. This is one of the tasty dishes you can get there...crispy, sweet goodness!

A yummy $6

This Halal cart right in front of my office in the city makes THE best chicken/lamb on rice platter. Hands down.
And for 6 bucks (with a snapple), you just can't beat anything else out there.

IMA Restaurant - Review

Intro
IMA Restaurant
445 Cedar Lane
Teaneck, NJ 07666
Phone: (201) 357-5789

I'm a lucky food nerd as I've been finding some delicious eats out in suburbia. IMA Restaurant is an Israeli joint that dishes out some tasty comfort food and is definitely part of our rotation when the wife and I go out to eat. According to the website, IMA Restaurant is actually based in Jerusalem but the daughter opened a branch out in North Jersey. Not sure what this means towards the authenticity of the cuisine, but no matter - they're serving up some delicious comfort food.

Our Menu

Salad Platter **
Hummus, Babaganush, Tabouli, Beet Salad, Israeli Salad
The first thing that I noticed is the pita is by far the best pita I've ever had. It's as fluffy as a cloud with a great chew and awesome flavor. The next thing I spotted are the dips are so bright (lots of lemon juice) with tons of flavor. I've had all these dishes a million times and yet these are still great here.

KTSIOT (meatballs) **
Majadara (fried rice with lentils, served with onion flakes), Green Beans
Again, I've had meatballs thousands of times and this was somehow still different and delicious. Meatballs were tender with great flavor, but this did not remind me of the Italian classic at all - even though it was still covered in tomato sauce. Even the rice and lentils were uber satisfying - great eartly flavor and awesome texture to the lentils and rice.

Rating System
--- What the F - in a bad way | (no stars - poor to average) | * Good | ** Great | *** What the F – in a good way

Overall Restaurant Experience

• Food – Great home cooking - familiar, yet still different.
  
• Service – They're always pretty busy here, so you sometimes wait a bit for things like water. Not terribly long though.
  
• Atmosphere – Place is white walls and even white floors - pretty bright in there. The place seats 30 and on a Tuesday it was 70% full. We were seated right away. Crowd was all families there.
  
• Price - Entrees are about $8-12 so totally reasonable.
  

Closing Comments
I'm not an Israeli food expert by any means, but this place just friggin rawks. Chicken shnitzel is 100% calling my name next.

Delta Pilar Kitchen Faucet

As part of my full integration into the society of the suburbanites, I have learned to enjoy my "weekend projects." Lame to some - to me it's a source of relaxation away from the non-sense at work.

This particular weekend project was to install a new kitchen faucet. We first started with the Kohler Forte and although the thing looked great, it friggin leaked right away. Everyone also complained about the leaks online, so it was an obvious pass.

After doing more online research, we chose the Delta Pilar 980T-SSSD-DST and this is one of the better purchases I've made in a while. It not only looks great, but what makes this special is the "Touch20" technology where you tap anywhere on the faucet to turn the water on/off - no more raw meat hands on the faucet handle! Going to be incredibly handy during the summer season when I'm handling burgers, chickens, lamb, etc and running out to the grill. Also, love the fact that there's no wasted motion for you - after washing your hands you just tap the faucet which is closer than moving to the handle. The little things always matter :)

Any who, install was under one hour, so not so bad. Only odd thing is this requires 4 batteries for the sensor. Price is double the Kohler model, but 100% worth it in my opinion. Highly Recommended.

Poached Halibut with Spring Onions, Chorizo served with Romesco and Aliloli

With the warm weather coming on, I wanted to do a lighter fish dish for Mother's day and I was thinking Spanish flavors made sense. The first thing I was thinking was a play on two contrasting sauces - smoky/earthy/creamy romesco sauce and a bright/creamy alioli sauce. Then, I was thinking what makes sense for a Spanish garnish. In Spain, a classic combo is calcots (spring onions) and romesco sauce so had to do some spring onions. Finally, I was thinking a salty, crispy chorizo made plenty of sense as a textural contrast. Add it all together and you have a fun combo of textures and flavors.

Ingredients
2 pounds halibut (4 portions)
1 cup orange juice
1 cup white wine
3 cups water
Salt and white pepper
4 pieces thinly sliced chorizo or other salumi
2 bunches green onions

Romesco Sauce
6 plum tomatoes
1 vidalia onion quartered
4 cloves garlic
3 pieces white bread toasted
6 roasted almonds
1 tbsp smoked spanish paprika
1 dry roasted chili soaked in warm water - seeds removed (not spicy e.g. anaheim chile)
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
4 tbsp sherry vinegar

Alioli
4 cloves garlic
1 egg
1/4 cup olive oil
Salt/Pepper
2 tbsp sherry vinegar

1) Make the romesco sauce by placing the tomato, onion and garlic under a broiler. When the tomato/onion starts to get blackened, remove and place in a zip lock bag so it steams. Remove the rough skins from the tomato/onion/garlic and place all the romesco ingredients in a blender and puree it. Taste and re-season as necessary. The sauce should be creamy from the bread, earthy and rich from the onion, smoky from the paprika, and bright from the vinegar.

2) Make the alioli sauce by placing all the ingredients into a blender and use the aerate function. It will eventually turn into a nice thin mayonnaise sauce. Taste and reason as necessary.

3) Cook the garnish by crisping up the chorizo in a pan and setting aside. Cook the spring onions (cut in half) in the same pan with the chorizo oil with salt and pepper. Cook until just soft - about 5 minutes and set aside.

4) Poach the fish by bringing the orange juice, white wine, water, and salt/pepper to a soft boil. As soon as it comes to a soft boil, remove from the flame, add the fish, and cover. The fish should be finished in 8-10 minutes. I would check every now and again to make sure you don't over cook the fish.

5) To finish, add a circle of the romesco sauce to the plate. Add 2 whole spring onions , then the chorizo. Add the fish and finally top off with the alioli. It's a pretty complex play of flavors and textures, plus it's uber fun to eat. Leftover romesco sauce is killer to eat with chips or even just by itself!

Toblerone

When was the last time you broke off a Toblerone Triangle?

Swiss Milk Chocolate w Honey and Almond Nougat.
Mmm mmm good.

RIBS

Full rack of ribs for lunch. Oh yes, it's go time.

Marketing at it's BEST

What says "Sangria" better that Padma's plump boobie?
The answer: Nothing

Padma's boob shot here caught my eye instantly and although I can only speak for myself, I did start to thirst for some yummy sweet fruity wine.

Well done Ad Agency. You really know how to sell that $11 bottle of wine.

Pecan Pie with a ton of Brown Sugar

Georgia Pecan Pie.
(Flaky, buttery crust)
It's pretty darn good. They are not shy with the butter, brown sugar, and ice cream down here.

Chicken and Dumplings

I'm in the South still and just had to get my Southern Food on.

I was introduced to Chicken and Dumplings on my last visit and when I saw it again on the menu, I picked it over the fried chicken.

Think chicken pot pie but in a bowl with really soft formless gnocchi.

Vegan Black Metal Chef

T BONES (Augusta)

T-Bonz
gets my "Steakhouse" Chain Restaurant Award for Outstanding Steak.

http://www.tbonzgillandgrill.com/locations/


This particular T-Bonz is one mighty fine steakhouse.
Located in the heart of Augusta, GA.

They actually have a bidding war for meat purveyors to "Earn" the annual exclusive rights to the restaurant.
Yah. Sounds totally fishy to me too.

But the CAB 3 week aged Ribeye was so darn good.  No fancy sauces here.  Just a basic rub and good 'ol broiling. 

Hide-chan Ramen

Perhaps I'm getting too old for this, but I honestly could not stomach this greasy bowl of ramen.

The noodles are fresh, made daily by a noodle expert. That's probably the only merit to this place. The toppings are just OK and the broth wasn't much to write home about.
The broth is actually more oily than rich so I really didn't dig it much.

When it comes to Tonkotsu Ramen, I still think Ippudo has the edge in Manhattan.

Pork Buns

Ever since Dave Chang of Momofuku dished out Pork Buns, a whole onslaught of restaurants have copied suit. Especially the Japanese Ramen joints in Manhattan.

Well the verdict is Mr. Chang's pork buns are still the ones to beat.
I don't know why but these Japanese places insist on squeezing mayonnaise and also tossing in a slice or two of lettuce.
One thing that separates Hide Chan Ramen is they torch the pork belly with a burner so you get that fresh char aroma and flavor.

B+ all in all. I would definitely order these pork buns again.

Guilty Pleasure

Sushi Rolls

Making your own sushi is oh so satisfying.

Hazelnut Wafers

I like em in any form. But hazelnut creme spread on crispy wafers has to be tops on the list.

Whole Foods - Terrestrial Panini

I'm generally not a huge fan of the prepared foods from Whole Foods. Yes, it's decent, but not really that flavorful and it's a bit overpriced. However, families love the place since it's a really easy place to get your grub on after grocery shopping.

Being that I was lazy and didn't want to cook up lunch, I tried the Terrestrial panini for the first time and it was friggin' really delicious. Veggie patties topped with caramelized onions in a whole wheat pita. Huge flavors on this thing and it had a really satisfying nutty, grain thing going on with with the veggie patties. My only complaint was it was a little rich/thick, so it needed a little moisture else to cut it down - maybe a thin mayo/yogurt combo? Any who, highly recommended if you want to get your healthy grub on at whole foods.

Cape Sante

Mother's Day Lunch at Basil T's in Red Bank, NJ.

Pretty darn good Diver Scallops.
I love my home state, but sometimes I just don't give her the respect she deserves.
This dish was actually very very good.

Hi5 Chef!

Kalbi @Miss Korea

After a long day, sitting down with peeps and chowing down on Korean BBQ is the Best!

Miss Korea, located in Ktown in Manhattan comes through. A 24 hour joint is what we need more of.

Do You Know What This Is?

Oops I Did It Again

Bombay Sapphire Girls

Hired "Leggy" Sapphire Girls working an event next to me last night.

I thought I'd snap a pic for us all.

Birthday Cake

Macha Tea Cake.
Great surprise to kick start a new month.

Happy Thoughts

Honey - Review

Intro
Honey Mediterranean Gourmet and Market
1150 Teaneck Road
Teaneck, NJ 07666
Phone: (201) 530-5082

Part of the continuation of "The Burbs Don't Suck That Bad," I've found some delicious Persian food nearby that's going to be part of our restaurant rotation. For those who do not know, Persian food is Iranian food and really unlike anything I've ever had. I've had foods from other areas in the region - Turkish, Afghani, Pakistani etc - and it seems quite different still. Either way, this place is pretty delicious.

Our Menu

Kashk-o Badmejan *
Sauteed Eggplant Blended into a Paste and Topped with Sour Cream
A pretty fun eggplant dip served with some thin flat bread. The immediate thought is to compare it to baba ghanoush, but it is definitely not the same. Baba is generally creamy and rich. This was not creamy at all and felt like ground up eggplant that was more chunky than smooth. The interesting thing was the black stuff on top which was fried up mint. It was decent as a stand alone, but combined with the parsley and raw onion it was very tasty.

Koobideh Kabob *
Two Skewers of Charbroiled Lean Ground Beef and Lamb with Persian Seasonings
A very fun dish (better than the eggplant) with some pretty big flavors. Again, trying to compare this to a shwarma or a donner sandwich and you really get something different. Spices were completely taking me in a new direction. It seems like they use a lot of sumac (ground tart berries), so not only is the dish savory/salty, but it's also sour. Potentially the use of cumin, but it was hard to get my head around the seasonings since I've never had anything like it before.


Zereshk Polo **
Basmati Rice Topped with Barberries with Slivered Almonds, Pistachio, and Saffron Served with Chicken
This was a knockout dish with huge flavors. The chicken was moist and insanely flavorful (no idea on the seasonings), but the shocker was that it was finished with butter. Not sure if this is truly Persian, but regardless, it was still delicious. The rice dish was sour and slightly sweet due to the barberries (think dried cranberries) and it had an interesting contrast of textures with the almonds and pistachio.

Rating System
--- What the F - in a bad way | (no stars - poor to average) | * Good | ** Great | *** What the F – in a good way

Overall Restaurant Experience

• Food – Really comforting food that took me into new directions with the Persian.
  
• Service – One server who is very friendly and helped us understand the menu. Food came out pretty quick, but we were the only ones there.
  
• Atmosphere – Small place - maybe seating about 30 or so. The interesting thing is there is a Persian market in the back where you can buy some hard to find ingredients. We got there on a weekday night and it was completely empty.
  
• Price - Entrees are about $8-12 so totally reasonable.
  

Closing Comments
Definitely going to pay a return visit and definitely inspiring me to research what these Persian flavors are all about.

UFC 129 - Fight Food

Our buddy Pat grilled up some awesome eats ahead of the GSP vs Shields matchup and man was it really fun. Though, GSP definitely needs to work in some uppercuts into his combos - wild overhand rights weren't working at all.

Any who - nothing like some summer time grilling in good weather to get you in the fight watching mood. He ended up getting some awesome hot dogs (best I've ever had), bratwurst, and bacon from the phenomenal Kocher’s Continental Specialty Meats. Everything is made in house there and you can tell by the quality. Definitely gotta make a visit soon...

Satis (Jersey City)

I was expecting a whole lot more, but in the end there is no substitute for talent. And kitchens in Jersey City still lack the leadership needed to run a seasoned brigade.

I don't doubt the Chef has a little bit of talent and may have worked at one ot two decent restaurants.
Because the menu is great. And "great" might not be doing it justice. I was really looking forward to the meal.

But orders from the kitchen were slow and poorly seasoned, the waiters were obnoxiously snappy, and everything was overall more expensive than other competing bistros in the neighborhood.

It will be a hard sell to drag me back here in the next 6 months. But I will revisit once the place is opened a year and re-evaluate.
I want to believe there's hope for Jersey City restaurants.

Restaurant owners should really stop opening taverns and pubs, and redirect that energy onto real restaurants with a unique identity. Inviting more talented chefs into JC and giving them more landscape to work with.

Dishes:
Branzino - Flat. Good quality fish but not enough seasoning and no olive oil drizzled on top. WTF

Seafood in Red Sauce - Somewhat OK.
But still amateur hour at best.
You can't just throw the seafood into boiling red sauce and cook it that way.

Short Rib - Dry and bland. Not really sure how old this was. Cause it certainly did not taste like it was just made that afternoon.

Merguez - Best dish of the night. Flat bread could have been flatter. Cucumber sauce could have been smoother and less stringy. Merguez was on the money.

Charcuterie Board - Good. I have a feeling the Speck and Finnocchiono Salume were generic brands. No substantial gamyness or umami to them. The Parmeggiano Reggiano was decent. But instead of a fig jam, I would have preferred a balsamic glaze instead.

Chorizo and Marcona Almond Pate - Good. But again, the accompanying bread which was covered in tomato paste killed the pate's flavor and left me baffled.

Bottom line, stop running interference with too many flavors.
Let's keep to the golden rule of 3 guys. Any more flavors and you are just doing everyone a disservice.