tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32832757332835945912024-02-02T06:01:00.815-08:00The Globe on my PlateMaxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12029247599062992897noreply@blogger.comBlogger169125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3283275733283594591.post-36672681459185822612019-11-27T21:17:00.002-08:002019-11-27T21:17:14.821-08:00I had a new baby and the future has caught up with the Impossible Burger.As some of you may know we just had a baby! Cute little Magnus! He's about 3 weeks old and doing very well.<br />
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We also bought a new house a few months ago with basically my dream kitchen (the island is bigger then my king sized bed!)<br />
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So obviously with these massive and momentous changes in life, I think it's about time I weighed in on the Impossible Whopper.<br />
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In case any of you have been living under a rock the Impossible Burger is a plant based burger which many people believe is the future of meat-like-eating. It's the most beef like substitute that has been created yet. The end goal being to reduce carbon emissions by reducing cattle production. Thus slowing climate change and saving the world yadda yadda yadda.<br /><br />I've always had a fairly firm stance against plants pretending to be meat. Mostly because it sucked.... it sucked hard. Plus I LIKE vegetables and grains and beans and I really don't know why they need to pretend to be meat... Stop lying to yourself beans. You are beans, and that is good enough, you don't need to be a burger. Just go out there and be the best damn beans you can be!<br />
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When the Impossible Burger first came out it was pricey and really was only featured in high end restaurants, on the same menu with $25 grass fed beef burgers with truffle aioli. So how does impossible meat stack up against high fat content medium rare grass fed grain finish beef? It's an impossible conundrum in that setting, yes, you are indeed saving the environment, and it tastes like it. Eating an impossible burger instead of a high end restaurant burger is... is.... it's like eating a whopper at La Maison de la Haute Cuisine<br />
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Enter the fast food burger. In the age of mechanically separated texture beef protein, Designer flavors (why does Burger King's and McDonald's beef each taste unique?). The fast food burger is commodity beef with a race to the cheapest, engineered to be fool-proof, fast, and consistent. This is the recipe that fast food chains are following, and lets be honest, it works well. But grass fed beef this is not.<br /><br />
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Enter the Impossible Whopper. It's texture is very close to beef. It's flavor is blasted with the same "Flame Broiled" taste as the regular whopper. It's not an artisan piece of meat, but it's not pretending to be. The Impossible burger has found it's home. Among Fast Food stalwarts like Burger king and McDonalds the impossible burger can finally fulfill it's potential.<br />
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It's a great alternative to fast food beef, I would say it resembles a high end burger just as much as a fast food burger resembles a high end burger. I tried The Impossible Whopper and a regular Whopper side by side and if I'm honest I liked the Impossible Whopper more then the regular Whopper. It tasted more flame-grill-y then the regular whopper and other then the patty being slightly more artificially shaped it tasted better and had basically the exact same texture.<br />
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Impossible meat substitute reaches the masses with fast food and can actually start to make a dent in meat consumption and as a result climate change, which was the whole point of the impossible burger. The only point not in it's favor yet is that it still costs more then a regular whopper. Hopefully with time the economy of scale will take care of that.<br />
<br />Which begs the question... why is meat so cheap in the US? But that's a topic for another blog.<br /><br />Maxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12029247599062992897noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3283275733283594591.post-37476058570668468972016-11-29T19:54:00.001-08:002016-11-29T19:54:34.289-08:00Making the best hummus<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Making great hummus is so simple and quick! I don't know why anyone would buy hummus if they have a food processor/Cuisinart!<br />
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The trick to good hummus is blend blend blend! Every ingredient should be blended for 20-30 seconds before adding the next.<br />
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tahini - 1/4 C<br />
Juice of 1 large lemon or lime (always find the smoothest shiniest one available it's the freshest and filled with the most juice!)<br />
1 clove of garlic<br />
2 T good olive oil<br />
1 15oz can of chickpeas drained and rinsed<br />
1/2 t cumin<br />
3 T water<br />
salt to taste<br />
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Make sure you blend each component for 20-30 seconds before adding the next, you may have to add tahini and lemon juice before it starts mixing well. At the end make sure you taste your hummus and adjust the seasoning, you can add more garlic, salt, lemon juice, cumin according to your taste. Especially lemon juice, not all lemons are equal!!<br />
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Enjoy your hummus with a generous glug of high quality olive oil on top.<br />
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-Nom!<br />
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<br />Maxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12029247599062992897noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3283275733283594591.post-24941920682216642362016-01-22T09:24:00.005-08:002016-01-22T09:24:29.308-08:00Flint Michigan receives Third World Status!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Flint, Michigan, lies about 70 miles northwest of the Detroit failed-state. In a desperate cost cutting measure two years ago, the state of Michigan decided to switch water supplies for Flint, Michigan from The Great Lake Huron to the polluted Flint River. It was thought that the river, nicknamed "brownie", would do a heck of a job.<br />
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Crippling bureaucracy in the failed state of Michigan is leading to political infighting about whether the city or the state should pay to provide it's citizens with non-poisonous water. The 100,000 residents of Flint are desperately seeking donations of clean drinking water. Flint has now officially been adopted into the Coalition of the Third World. Michigan's application is still under review.<br />
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884 million people in the world lack access to safe water supplies. 100,000 of those people live in Flint Michigan. Undersecretary of State for Democracy and Global Affairs Maria Otero told CNN "On average, women in developing countries walk 6 kilometers a day to collect water" because there is not enough of it nearby. Luckily in Flint there are enough abandoned GMs to help ferry water from international water donation stations. Many families are being forced to travel to multiple donation stations a day to get enough drinking water due to rationing. <br />
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NGO organizations throughout Northern Africa volunteered cleaning and storage options aid for Flint until it was discovered that Michigan could have remedied the lead issues two years ago with an anti-corrosive agent at a cost of $100 a day (real fact). Sudan's leader Omar Al-Bashir was quoted as saying "I wish I had thought of that".<br />
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Kim Jong-Un was unavailable for comment.<br />
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In October 2015 residents were instructed to stop drinking the municipal tap water to avoid developmental disabilities and kidney damage. They were told to minimize skin contact with the water to avoid rashes. Since then residents of Flint have been making multiple mile trips every day to pick up gallons of water for everyday drinking, cooking, and bathing. The highly acidic flint river water started corroding the lead water mains still installed throughout Flint. This was initially hoped to produce a new generation of Van Gogh or Beethoven - level unbalanced artists. This acidic water travelling through lead pipes has resulted in toddlers doubling and tripling lead levels in the two years this cost savings measure has been in effect. No evidence of hallucinatory paintings or haunting symphonies have been yet reported.<br />
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Donald Trump, when reached for comment, said "let them drink juice"<br />
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<br />Maxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12029247599062992897noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3283275733283594591.post-52433075096051330562015-12-01T14:15:00.002-08:002015-12-14T11:48:06.631-08:00Homemade: Zuppa Tuscana Better then the Olive Garden!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
This is my version of Zuppa Tuscana from The Olive Garden. </div>
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It has almost become a ritual, When I return from Asia, I'm craving fresh salad, soups without an inch of chili oil on top and hot bread. So I end up at The Olive Garden for a lunchtime all you can eat soup salad and bread sticks.<br />
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In Asia, fresh uncooked greens are almost non-existent and, where available, should only be eaten when you are absolutely positively sure you will have access to a good bathroom for the next week or so. Basically I only eat cooked vegetables in China. I love Chinese food, and eat a lot of it when I am there, but there is something just so comforting about "Italian" food as it's served in the US. Zuppa Tuscana is hands down my favorite thing at the Olive Garden. Why don't I make this at home and I can have it any time I want!<br />
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This soup can be made in about 40 minutes so it's perfect for a quick soup after work and it gets better the second day. I had a little mishap during my cooking process which made it take a little over an hour start to finish.<br />
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As with all great food the secret to a great result is using the best fresh ingredients, using the right techniques, and just getting out of the way.<br />
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First things first, buy really good Italian sausage! This is going to be the main seasoning for the entire soup, don't go skiving off and buy some Oscar Mayer bologna Italian flavored sausage product. Go to a butcher, go to someone who cares about making a quality product, it will be worth it in the end believe me!<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDU7tFBiTDJmCoa0qJQgaQrFx0aIQ2VF8ffBRRtvjkwLOH2B8ihyVwMkI45g5jBxCz477g6is0AxMkeN-u-Y0Ot8fGEsOujSzWk4w4atjZi1gK6TZrLDNIF2R_FQv-38N9T4Zjick37TA/s1600/File_001.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDU7tFBiTDJmCoa0qJQgaQrFx0aIQ2VF8ffBRRtvjkwLOH2B8ihyVwMkI45g5jBxCz477g6is0AxMkeN-u-Y0Ot8fGEsOujSzWk4w4atjZi1gK6TZrLDNIF2R_FQv-38N9T4Zjick37TA/s400/File_001.jpeg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">High Quality Italian sausage, onions and sliced garlic</td></tr>
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Garlic is much tastier when it's sliced then when it's mashed, minced or smashed through a garlic masher. You actually get little bites of simmered garlic in the final product which are delightful, mellow, and full of garlic-y goodness, once they are cooked they lose the sharp sting of fresh garlic and are a real pleasure to eat.<br />
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If the Italian Sausage came in links then slice the membrane and remove the sausage from the casing. We want this sausage to really break up into tiny pieces and flavor the whole soup. First things first, add a tablespoon of oil into a large soup pot and sear small pieces of sausage on high heat until they are golden brown.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhw8g39T9DxA6SjFdWRSSWHoDCciya7IljRJAXT66rwkr6dWAEAOdbQnXPs0hIGlL_OAM4Gfblo_-UM4xpjCakG3ag5bb48klNyrL1C3eaaREtQMGi_kLBGGfgCpeBplzNK7bpInIlcBLA/s1600/File_002%25282%2529.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhw8g39T9DxA6SjFdWRSSWHoDCciya7IljRJAXT66rwkr6dWAEAOdbQnXPs0hIGlL_OAM4Gfblo_-UM4xpjCakG3ag5bb48klNyrL1C3eaaREtQMGi_kLBGGfgCpeBplzNK7bpInIlcBLA/s400/File_002%25282%2529.jpeg" width="400" /></a></div>
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Try not to crowd the pan too much, we're looking to brown the meat, and if you add too much sausage it will lose water faster then the pan can boil it away and you'll end up steaming the meat instead of searing it. If you don't sear it, you don't get a good golden fond at the bottom of the pan and you're losing a lot of flavor! Never give up on flavor!</div>
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Also, for supreme browning try this La creuset Dutch oven on Amazon<br />
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<a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0076NOGPY/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B0076NOGPY&linkCode=as2&tag=theglobeonmyp-20&linkId=TJIPFS4AUY6P5PWP" rel="nofollow">Le Creuset Signature Enameled Cast-Iron 5-1/2-Quart Round French (Dutch) Oven, Cherry</a><img alt="" border="0" src="http://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=theglobeonmyp-20&l=as2&o=1&a=B0076NOGPY" height="1" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" />
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I did the sausage in a couple of batches, but as usual rushed more then I should have and didn't get as much caramelization as I would have liked. If the bottom of the pan starts to burn, add a handful of water or chicken stock to release it from the bottom of the pan. </div>
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When you are done searing the sausage remove it from the heat and set aside. Reduce your temperature to medium and add your onions, garlic, and a bay leaf. cook this in the oil from the sausage.</div>
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Cook this mixture until the onions have become translucent (don't forget to salt). I found the absolute best bay leaves I have ever tasted, check this out. </div>
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They were rather insanely $7 for this jar, but DAAAANG they are so aromatic and fresh they make my eyes water! So much flavor. Good ingredients make all of the difference!</div>
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Add your chicken stock. Or like in my case when you frantically realize you don't have any more chicken stock, make some more! I always have a big case boxed chicken stock in my cabinet... except for last night. I must have used it all up without buying more. Genius Max, genius. </div>
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What I did have was half a rotisserie chicken. I removed all of the bones and tossed them on top of my onion and garlic mixture, added a few mushrooms my friend picked wild in Latvia and covered it all with water and increased to a hard rolling boil for 20 minutes. </div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Wild Latvian Boletes Mushrooms, they smell almost spiced!</td></tr>
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Normally I wouldn't suggest making any stock at a rolling boil. It makes your broth cloudy and opaque. However it's faster, and since I already know I'm adding cream to this soup, the cloudiness doesn't really matter. If you want a clear chicken stock, simmer your bones at just barely under a simmer for 2-3 hours. I pulled out all of the little bones after 20 minutes.</div>
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I'll admit, this stock was probably better then the fancy boxed stuff I usually buy. </div>
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After your stock is up to a boil add 3 large russet potatoes quartered the long way then sliced into 1/4 inch slices. I had to add a Yukon gold potato when I ran out of Russets. I prefer the Russets because they break down a little bit more in the soup and act as a thickener. </div>
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Boil for about 15-20 minutes until the potatoes are soft and tender.<br />
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De-stem your kale and roughly chop it. It's going to look like a LOT of kale, but remember it will cook down in the soup. Plus once it's soaked up the sausage-y broth and cream this health food will be crazy addictive.</div>
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Add it to the pot along with your sausage and let it simmer lightly for 5 minutes. Once the meat is back in the pot DO NOT let it come to a full boil, this will remove all of the tenderness of the meat. Never let meat proteins boil. </div>
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After 5 minutes add a splash of half and half and pepper. Honestly the half and half can be at any level you like. Anywhere from a few tablespoons to a whole cup would be fine, just remember you can't take it out once it's in!<br />
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Serve in a hipsterish bowl you bought at St Vincent de Paul, and enjoy. Post on Instagram to make people jealous of how awesome you are. </div>
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Remember guys support the blog and check out this incredible Cast Iron Dutch Oven.
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0076NOGPY/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B0076NOGPY&linkCode=as2&tag=theglobeonmyp-20&linkId=TJIPFS4AUY6P5PWP" rel="nofollow">Le Creuset Signature Enameled Cast-Iron 5-1/2-Quart Round French (Dutch) Oven, Cherry</a><img alt="" border="0" src="http://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=theglobeonmyp-20&l=as2&o=1&a=B0076NOGPY" height="1" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" />
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Recipe:</div>
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1 lb of GOOD Italian Sausage</div>
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1 medium onion diced</div>
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4 cloves of garlic sliced</div>
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1 bay leaf</div>
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32 oz of chicken stock. (homemade if you screw up!)</div>
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3 large Russet potatoes quartered lengthwise and sliced 1/4" thick</div>
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1 large Bunch of Kale de-stemmed and roughly chopped</div>
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A big splash of half and half</div>
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TL;DR recipe:</div>
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Sear sausage in 1 Tb of oil, remove from pan.</div>
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Cook onions, garlic and bay leaf in the leftover oil until translucent</div>
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Add chicken stock and bring to a boil</div>
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Add potatoes and boil until soft ~15 min</div>
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Add sale and seared sausage, simmer for 5 minutes</div>
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Add a big slash of Half and half (it doesn't take that much) </div>
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Taste to season with salt and pepper. </div>
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Share on social media because you're a social media slut like me. </div>
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Maxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12029247599062992897noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3283275733283594591.post-74279411800764256542015-11-28T08:31:00.002-08:002015-11-28T08:31:51.149-08:00Restaurant Review: Mexique ChicagoMexique is re-writing history. What if after the Spanish took over Mexico, it became a French colony for a couple of centuries.<br />
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Chef Carlos was classically trained in French Kitchens, but went back to his roots in Mexican cuisine. But he brought along all of the techniques and sauces from his days in French Kitchens.<br />
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Now with Mexique having earned a <a href="http://theglobeonmyplate.blogspot.com/2015/01/what-is-michelin-guide.html">Michelin Star</a>, he's a chef coming into his own.<br />
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I opted for the 6 course Prix Fixe meal for $80.<br />
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We started with a Celeriac and passion fruit soup (not pictured). I don't like Celeriac soup. It's got all of the off flavors of celery without any of the pleasing crunch or crisp freshness.<br />
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I love being proved wrong. The celeriac and passion fruit played well with one another, the citrus sour tang of passion fruit rounded out the herbal notes of the celeriac. It also packed a pleasing punch of spiciness which would be repeated through the meal. You know a meal is going to be amazing when you start off with ingredients you dislike and see them transformed into a phenomenal dish.<br />
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<br />The Ahi Tuna Ceviche was mind blowing. They started with a citrus juice that was flavored with herbs and something that tasted a bit like melon or cucumber. It was fabulously fresh and vibrant. The tuna, radishes, and peppers were added at the last minute, so that they didn't actually cook in the acidic sauce. Tuna is best eaten raw. Again a subtle but satisfying heat was present throughout the dish.<br />
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The next course was Opah fish. It was sauced with a corn sauce and a green sauce. Both were fabulously rich and delicious, the complimented the white fish amazingly well. Eaten together it was delicate, balanced and insanely addictive.<br />
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Both me and my dining companion noticed that the fish itself wasn't salted before it was cooked. Although the sauces do a fabulous job of flavoring and adding the required salinity it would have been nice if the fish itself was salted. If you took a large bite of fish it wasn't altogether the most flavorful experience.<br />
<br />Other then that, the fish was incredibly fresh, the sauces were flavors I've not experienced before and the dish overall worked well in small bites.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5l-hcAS8kz7xf8Ly3rF0Os4sM1xhEjASh8W-397wosgm0PnaPIJMCJVSpQ5X9zetKO8RkLepNwi6vENz7C_8asUj1d5rqPoe1YHxaIsTejwVeR32za8hLMezMg8ew-C_kOxA13Sttuyc/s1600/IMG_3280.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5l-hcAS8kz7xf8Ly3rF0Os4sM1xhEjASh8W-397wosgm0PnaPIJMCJVSpQ5X9zetKO8RkLepNwi6vENz7C_8asUj1d5rqPoe1YHxaIsTejwVeR32za8hLMezMg8ew-C_kOxA13Sttuyc/s400/IMG_3280.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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Pork belly with bacon crumble. This dish was incredible. The pork itself was incredibly flavorful and delicious, the bacon crumble had an incredible texture from breadcrumbs or nuts that were mixed in. The brussels sprouts were two halves of perfection. There was one of the most potent and flavorful mole sauces painted onto the pork belly itself, sweet, bitter, umami all mixed together. The sauce underneath was a squash based sauce which rounded out the whole plate.<br /><br />The pork belly itself was amazingly lean, sourced from Europe.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdxVTvtmOVOvxN4pEpHeR6eZaOw03MdCkELZ7FdaX3tHKjrPMA-tNE0i1G93znvdzlPsX2gXx4jeg1FwH_kjQbiPLNvKPLQB9fjF-MKWhgSwXx66IOPoy4TrnLyTAsVmrFCLR9i352gMw/s1600/IMG_3282.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdxVTvtmOVOvxN4pEpHeR6eZaOw03MdCkELZ7FdaX3tHKjrPMA-tNE0i1G93znvdzlPsX2gXx4jeg1FwH_kjQbiPLNvKPLQB9fjF-MKWhgSwXx66IOPoy4TrnLyTAsVmrFCLR9i352gMw/s400/IMG_3282.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />This was the duck breast with tomale and sauteed greens. It's dressed with a tamarind sauce and a habenero sauce. This dish was absolutely incredible. The duck was perfectly seasoned, cooked, and plated. The tomale mash was rich and creamy with a deep corn flavor. The two sauces married perfectly, the habenero was surprisingly not spicy at all, or else my mouth had gotten so used to a light sweet burn that I didn't notice any spice.<br /><br />
There was a lot of tamarind sauce though. Tamarind is a perfect accompaniment to duck, it sweet, sour, and salty. It actually mixed perfectly with the Habenero sauce, however the balance between the two lay too deeply towards the tamarind, when I was finished I left a lot of tamarind behind and wished for some more habenero sauce.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEideX1Z2ePAtyguCAEWr1u5okUgBKAFmdX6Oc90jUvszF4KPI0aMvNeI007X9OhJxnm7LlFiruk76z9RddUzea6p0WNLD-E9mWUOnlNYeOws8YSmLYAfclNSe_lyendaeHvYidjynKyKPg/s1600/IMG_3284.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEideX1Z2ePAtyguCAEWr1u5okUgBKAFmdX6Oc90jUvszF4KPI0aMvNeI007X9OhJxnm7LlFiruk76z9RddUzea6p0WNLD-E9mWUOnlNYeOws8YSmLYAfclNSe_lyendaeHvYidjynKyKPg/s400/IMG_3284.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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Goat cheese and cotillo mixed into a custard, brulee'd with caramel corn and homemade Stroopwafel on top? WHAT?? This was hands down the best Creme Brulee I have ever had. Decadent doesn't begin to describe it! Stroopwafel are a delicacy from the Netherlands. They are paper thin wafers glued together with a caramelized syrup. Basically this is a crazy rich custard topped with all things caramelized. Welcome to Chicago.<br />
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Chef Carlos asked me if I thought the dessert was too sweet. I don't think so, it was a study in caramel, how could you make that without it being sweet? The sweetness offset the tang of the goat cheese, but the richness of the cheese just made the caramel more decadent. I hope this one stays on the menu.<br />
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Overall the experience at Mexique was one I desperately want to repeat. I know I am picky and had a few comments about the food, but I'm the same way about myself when I cook. There is always something that could have been done better, something that could yet be perfected. If you don't stop improving, why keep cooking? And as long as Chef Carlos is cooking, I'm eating.<br />
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-NOM<br />
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Mexique **** Four Asterisks $$$ three dollar signs<br />
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<span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">1529 W Chicago Ave<br />Chicago, Illinois<br /><span style="background-color: white; color: #4e5665; line-height: 16px; white-space: nowrap;">(312) 850-0288</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #4e5665; line-height: 16px; white-space: nowrap;">Reservations suggested</span></span></span></h2>
<a href="http://share.here.com/r/mylocation/e-eyJuYW1lIjoiTWV4aXF1ZSBSZXN0YXVyYW50IiwiYWRkcmVzcyI6IjE1MjkgVyBDaGljYWdvIEF2ZSwgQ2hpY2FnbywgSWxsaW5vaXMiLCJsYXRpdHVkZSI6NDEuODk1ODAxNSwibG9uZ2l0dWRlIjotODcuNjY1OTY5OCwicHJvdmlkZXJOYW1lIjoiZmFjZWJvb2siLCJwcm92aWRlcklkIjoxNjMyMTkyMDA0MDUyOTR9?link=addresses&fb_locale=en_US&ref=facebook" id="u_0_1c" rel="nofollow" style="background-color: white; color: #3b5998; cursor: pointer; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span itemprop="address" itemscope="itemscope" itemtype="http://schema.org/PostalAddress"><span itemprop="streetAddress"></span><span itemprop="addressLocality"></span></span></a>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09021188708517168586noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3283275733283594591.post-5190215074696518852015-10-13T15:30:00.001-07:002015-10-13T15:40:32.503-07:00San Francisco: Tartine BakeryOh lord, how I miss you sweet sweet Tartine. Every day Tartine starts selling bread at 4:30... They are often sold out by 5:30. Why? Because it's the best bread in the world.<br />
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Simple peasant loafs. A few ingredients magically turned into a symphony of textures, flavors and carbs. Yes terrifying CARBOHYDRATES!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikRvlSP6UVFxX7ppuh3WiUeEW-UJmu9v4Rb8pMWZt1Gi4bkMcJTnoT5kNM0NInO0Y-GjiM21P4miN-ccMK778o0WMNP6l4sHPuJgphjEe6JizbBovmF8bHof5TSbLC8qKZKEwepncdBgo/s1600/IMG_2615.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikRvlSP6UVFxX7ppuh3WiUeEW-UJmu9v4Rb8pMWZt1Gi4bkMcJTnoT5kNM0NInO0Y-GjiM21P4miN-ccMK778o0WMNP6l4sHPuJgphjEe6JizbBovmF8bHof5TSbLC8qKZKEwepncdBgo/s400/IMG_2615.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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Carbohydrate loafs so big they make your head look like a Mr Potato head (you really should get that looked at)<br />
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The crumb is wide open and full of big gooey holes of perfectly gelatinized gluten </div>
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<a href="http://www.tartinebakery.com/stickybun/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/151.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.tartinebakery.com/stickybun/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/151.jpg" height="640" width="512" /></a></div>
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I got the <a href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/0811870413/?tag=theglobeonmyp-20">Tartine Bread</a> cookbook a few years ago and experimented with their cast iron dutch oven technique. It works well if you have a super wet dough, 75% hydration at least, otherwise you might be better off with a hot pan and a drizzle of boiling water. I would highly suggest that cook book, it's an amazing primer on bread and pastries.<br />
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Tartine's croissants are little rolled packages of heaven<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsdjoDPZT0XYvmRW1WBfMb8oVzNRkGd6qbJq-KKFLOvW-lPBK55qb7d5iiJgvvHpLObqgTIlktY-iNqtC7BNh52ti4diwMu5ZKkOW2xTp4f_vbRwNJn4ydXUXb7wOf4EU18UbT062LbBk/s1600/IMG_2614.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsdjoDPZT0XYvmRW1WBfMb8oVzNRkGd6qbJq-KKFLOvW-lPBK55qb7d5iiJgvvHpLObqgTIlktY-iNqtC7BNh52ti4diwMu5ZKkOW2xTp4f_vbRwNJn4ydXUXb7wOf4EU18UbT062LbBk/s400/IMG_2614.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghE65wLqUHaRHmCgcfD5J67er4J09JmWpknsB50hyphenhyphenw0zUqZ28s_GJ8zNIhh4QsXY3nPy7900bJl_48mamj3suDAVEOxaIS3SuBQaBwL_nYdn-3Oj34ch75kM3tVpQ5tpbFR6qz0PkNKpI/s1600/IMG_2543.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghE65wLqUHaRHmCgcfD5J67er4J09JmWpknsB50hyphenhyphenw0zUqZ28s_GJ8zNIhh4QsXY3nPy7900bJl_48mamj3suDAVEOxaIS3SuBQaBwL_nYdn-3Oj34ch75kM3tVpQ5tpbFR6qz0PkNKpI/s640/IMG_2543.JPG" width="480" /></a></div>
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Baked to perfection, bursting with buttery goodness and worth their (very light) weight in gold! I'm making myself drool just writing about them. Why do American style croissants even exist? Pallid, soft and limp... Better then the Italian sweet packaged version I guess... </div>
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There are a multitude of other cakes, bars, and tasty goodness at Tartine, all of which are made with the same strict attention to detail and, dare I call it, love? </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUNKV7tvSG5wGyNEojlO09QYMgQPctjhEX_q5Xt4B4d9OBkYQcWmhi0m95tv7vK8ae-9DgmpplAzVvq7EzbEW0l3ZXUnMkSOfK1_TmWnuX-jX5k0H2Cj4A2nN-39HmEyOCPm2-pK40aE8/s1600/IMG_2546.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUNKV7tvSG5wGyNEojlO09QYMgQPctjhEX_q5Xt4B4d9OBkYQcWmhi0m95tv7vK8ae-9DgmpplAzVvq7EzbEW0l3ZXUnMkSOfK1_TmWnuX-jX5k0H2Cj4A2nN-39HmEyOCPm2-pK40aE8/s640/IMG_2546.JPG" width="480" /></a></div>
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Maybe it's for the best that I live exactly 2081 miles away from Tartine...<br />
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Homemade Tartine French Toast! Make it extra sweet for a little caramelization, this don't even need syrup!</div>
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Recipe:</div>
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Day old Tartine bread...Fine buy ANOTHER loaf so you have extra.<br />
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Day old Tartine bread, cut into 3/4 inch slabs.<br />
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2T heavy cream</div>
2 eggs<br />
2T raw sugar<br />
splash vanilla extract<br />
1T triple sec (or/and orange zest if you have it)<br />
Cinnamon to taste<br />
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Whip the ever loving crap out of this mixture then let your bread soak it up for about 15 minutes. Fry lightly in good butter, and serve. Top minimally, the bread is the star here. The gelatin in the crumb will make this the finest textured french toast you've ever had!<br />
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OK, that's it, who wants to go to San Francisco! It's only a 30 hour car ride. Worth it for Tartine!<br />
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If you want to learn how to make <a href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/0811870413/?tag=theglobeonmyp-20">Tartine Bread</a> at home, they have an exhaustive cookbook which actually has a phenomenal technique to make incredible tartine-like bread at home! (disclaimer if you buy through that link I get a tiny piece of the action) but I own this book and I LOVE this book. No JOKE!<br />
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-NOMMaxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12029247599062992897noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3283275733283594591.post-14341795855484555242015-10-07T12:59:00.002-07:002015-10-07T13:00:17.162-07:00Breaking Fast in North CarolinaIt's been a long night of abstaining from food. You've been fasting for 8 to 12 hours easily... It's time to treat yourself right and break your fast with some fine southern cooking.<br />
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It's time for breakfast.<br />
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Southern food is amazing, and there is something so down-home when it comes to the first meal of the day. It's the power source that will get you through long days on the farm breaking bulls and harvesting okra... (those are things farmers do right?)<br />
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Let's be honest, the biscuit is pretty much the world's most perfect carbohydrate. Pair it with some country ham, a farm fresh egg and some pimento cheese and you've got yourself a breakfast which could either give you the fuel to bale hay for 16 hours, or in my case, lie on the couch for the rest of the morning moaning and rubbing your belly.<br />
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<b>Rise biscuit and doughnuts</b> in Durham is taking the breakfast world by storm. Fierce attention to detail, hand made baked goods and fine southern ingredients are making my mouth water from Wisconsin.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAfN67udL1ERJJuQubkJvMZLaD1wPjgpolrw1IW8b1yJA2DipWSDD7nCFYeNOCjSK0KYGYDMzvPvdWm1rOUJo0BdIDGI54in7Ih2Ik9hvJcrc-3Nb0jlOAPIIkD6fc32lFynuRnYE1F7Q/s1600/IMG_2451.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAfN67udL1ERJJuQubkJvMZLaD1wPjgpolrw1IW8b1yJA2DipWSDD7nCFYeNOCjSK0KYGYDMzvPvdWm1rOUJo0BdIDGI54in7Ih2Ik9hvJcrc-3Nb0jlOAPIIkD6fc32lFynuRnYE1F7Q/s400/IMG_2451.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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<a name='more'></a>The biscuits are crunchy on the outside, moist and tender as hell on the inside and filled with the finest ingredients around. They have two locations open now and are opening 4 more in the Raleigh Durham area in the coming months. I'm particularly interested in the Carboro location since that's the city my sister lives in... get your ass in gear Rise, I'll be visiting again soon.<br />
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Their donuts are... pretty good, They are trying to get in on the fancy donut trend. I tried a few and they were decent donuts.... but those biscuits.... oh lord those biscuits.<br />
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<b>Venable Rotisserie Bistro</b> in Carboro does a damn fine brunch as well.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyNPm1_LO_Am8MfEPElrOSQJ00odcvNtsiNHzNZdSKvOZiARN39-he1K_IadqfRTZWnuZwQKl21-TaNF07hGFzRDp9wgnNgT82q0nQ3lUv4uKOP14PxKOBD9f2QSAt8CsBKIozYJeZ9wk/s1600/IMG_2434.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyNPm1_LO_Am8MfEPElrOSQJ00odcvNtsiNHzNZdSKvOZiARN39-he1K_IadqfRTZWnuZwQKl21-TaNF07hGFzRDp9wgnNgT82q0nQ3lUv4uKOP14PxKOBD9f2QSAt8CsBKIozYJeZ9wk/s400/IMG_2434.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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A whole chicken thigh, butterflied bone-in, is breaded with panko breadcrumbs, deep fried and smothered in pan gravy. Top it with a couple of eggs and a biscuit. You got yourself a real southern breakfast.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWPwEquQYLuiaXMeELP3B4kFuxyzQzatX7l7yiXKBcxK0UW1EqMsBHeeIV5eJ2R3RM58QhR_5Cty_IY_3XkJlrd0NLbsehbzIwBWrCyu_SwEL-gUq_ThOq895plSpcm37S_PPkuVSetsE/s1600/IMG_2438.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWPwEquQYLuiaXMeELP3B4kFuxyzQzatX7l7yiXKBcxK0UW1EqMsBHeeIV5eJ2R3RM58QhR_5Cty_IY_3XkJlrd0NLbsehbzIwBWrCyu_SwEL-gUq_ThOq895plSpcm37S_PPkuVSetsE/s400/IMG_2438.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="text-align: center;">I love roasted eggs, basically it's eggs braised in cream. This seems to be a relatively new offering to the hipster brunch scene. I hadn't really heard of them before 3-4 years ago. You can eat it like a dip. It's rich, salty, flavorful, and well worth a try. Lots of brunch places make eggs like this nowadays, give it a try.</span><br />
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Just talking about all of this Southern breakfast food is making me want to take a nap.<br />
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Wake me in an hour or so.<br />
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<b>Raleigh/Durham North Carolina</b><br />
<a href="http://risebiscuitsdonuts.com/">Rise Biscuits and Donuts</a><br />
<a href="http://venablebistro.com/">Venable Bistro </a><br />
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- NOM!Maxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12029247599062992897noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3283275733283594591.post-31019987246966473732015-10-05T15:34:00.000-07:002015-10-05T15:34:10.605-07:00San Francisco: Dim SumDim sum is my favorite restaurant meal. If you have never had a good dim sum meal, that's not surprising. Hong Kong is famous for their Dim Sum, so is San Francisco. Outside of those centers of culinary enlightenment lie the frozen tundras of mass produced dumplings.<br />
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Dim sum is a Southern Chinese (Canton province) meal. Originally it started out as friends gathering to share a pot of tea and have a few little bites. Eventually the little bites took over. Everything is made to compliment tea, and dim sum should always be eaten with tea (in my opinion... I'm not your mother, you do what you want.) It's really a collection of small plate dishes, steamed dumplings, fried dumplings, baked goods, noodles, meat, seafood. Often times it's served by little old ladies pushing carts around the dining room offering you tasty things. Everything is made to be shared with several friends or family.<br />
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The art of making dim sum has be perfected for hundreds of years. The flagship dumplings being works of art. My favorite is Har Gow (shrimp dumpling)<br />
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These are shrimp surrounded by a translucent wrapper. A proper wrapper should be as thin as possible without tearing when you pick it up. The more transparent the wrapper the better. It's simplicity is it's greatest asset, the wrapper is made of tapioca flour and wheat starch. A few simple ingredients, shrimp, a little bit of pork fat, scallion and steam.<br />
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There are literally hundreds of different common dishes available during a dim sum meal.<br />
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Rice noodle roll. This is a thick wide rice noodle wrapped around Beef, pork or whole shrimp swimming in a pool or seasoned soy sauce, sometimes with BBQ pork drippings.</div>
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Bean curd rolls. This is the skin on top of soy milk that forms as it's turning into tofu. This is a surprisingly tough little bit of protein which absorbs flavor like no one's business and can hold a big payload of Pork, minced mushrooms, and shrimp.</div>
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An amazing, though not healthy, dumpling is fried taro dumplings. This is mashed taro (a purple root vegetable) wrapped around an incredibly flavorful pork mixture, rolled in a light breading and deep fried until crispy, moist and so flavorful it's making my mouth water even now. They are so delicate that they would be impossible to pick up if they weren't so light.</div>
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Radish cake, this one is so good I occasionally beg my mom into making it. It's grated daikon radish mixed with BBQ pork and rice flour, then it's pan seared until delicious.</div>
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This last one is a dessert, many Dimsum places won't even have this on the menu. This one is a lard pastry dough stuffed full to bursting with durian, the king of fruits.</div>
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If you've never tasted durian... well I'm not that surprised. Even where they grow you will constantly see signs banning them. They are stink bombs waiting to go off as soon as you crack open their skin. However they are amazingly tasty, banana, pineapple, custard apple, passion fruit all mashed into a single fruit. 10 minutes later it smells like a rotting high school locker room. </div>
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Why do I love dim sum so much? You're required to bring a crowd, everything is passed, everything is shared. It's exotic enough to challenge the most experienced eater to new ingredients and it's kid friendly enough to please everyone. When it's done well the food can be transcendent, just a few ingredients can become so much more then the sum of its parts. It's the culmination of centuries of tweaking, testing and tasting. It's exotic and familiar at the same time. </div>
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Try it. You will not be disappointed. If you need a professional orderer I can always be convinced to go to dim sum. Order your favorites, and try a few things you've never tried before.</div>
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-NOM!</div>
Maxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12029247599062992897noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3283275733283594591.post-87111652269676793172015-08-03T20:09:00.005-07:002015-08-10T17:08:58.756-07:00San Francisco like a local I lived in San Francisco for 5 years back in the day. It's on of my favorite cities, it's vibrant, warm, full of character and characters. It's got some of the best food in the US. But how exactly does one blend into this melting pot of a city?<br />
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Its touristy bits are all exposed and dangling. Fisherman's wharf, Alcatraz, Chinatown (unless you know what you're doing) generally I'll avoid these bits with every fiber of my being. And rightfully so, there is no point to going to fisherman's wharf, it's the Disneyland version of San Francisco. Stay... Away...<br />
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Side note: it's not " San Fran". There is no such place and the locals will immediately roll their eyes at you.<br />
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<a name='more'></a>San Francisco is like an archaeological dig of culture. Wave upon wave of immigrants from China, Italy, gold-diggers, navy gays, hippies, yuppies, tech-bubble billionaires, a different wave of gold diggers, Latinos, hipsters, and the newest wave of techies make this one of the coolest/most self deprecating cities in the world. The amount of eye-rolling from group to group in this city could provide a renewable energy for the entire city if only we had some way to harness it.<br />
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That being said San Francisco is one of the most open, hospitable and friendly places in the U.S. In the south they might wave more often but San Francisco's community spirit will put anywhere in the South to shame.<br />
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Have I even mentioned food yet in this post? I defy you to find more and better dim sum anywhere outside of Hong Kong. The U.S. slow food movement was started in the Bay Area back in the 60's and is still very much alive today. But they have never sat on their laurels here. The food scene progresses and in many ways leads the rest of the nation. Have you been enjoying artisan tacos at every bar around you on Tuesday nights? SF has been at the heart of the burrito and taqueria wave for the last few decades, the rest of America is only just now catching on.<br />
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What should you do if you have any afternoon in San francisco? Do what the locals do? Go sit in a cafe on weekday afternoon and write your silly blog. You will be absolutely astounded at how every cafe is full of laptop toting too fashionable for school people who sit around all day seemingly never with a job or a care in the world... It's fun :)<br />
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Go have a stroll through Dolores park, eat a burrito in the mission, and get ready for the reservations you had to make 3 months in advance at Gary Danko or the French Laundry. Have a cocktail at ABV. Grab the best loaf of bread you've ever tasted at Tartine. Find the good life and live it up!<br />
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Life is good. San Franciscans are ahead of the curve on this one too.<br />
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<br />Maxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12029247599062992897noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3283275733283594591.post-67134332410596884832015-05-31T13:30:00.001-07:002015-05-31T13:33:20.769-07:00Tourist vs. Traveler: Italy<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Italy is without a doubt one of the great cuisines of the world. Italian food is simple, sometimes only three ingredients in a dish. But in that simplicity you can make great ingredients sing. That is one of the greatest skills in cooking. Make anything too tortuous, too complex, and you can easily lose the flavor and the beauty of great ingredients.</div>
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That's one of the biggest reasons processed food has 75 ingredients. They are making up for using the cheapest, crappiest quality ingredients by using stabilizers, flavorants, texturants, colorants, and maybe some ant ants. (probably not)</div>
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The only problem is, everyone knows how good Italian food is. The great cooks, the people who take pride in their labors, the people who are making food for the love of it... are counterbalanced by the people who know that tourists will generally eat any crap you shovel in front of them. If you serve them the best food you ever made, they aren't coming back next week because they will be home. Who cares if you ruin their meal? The next batch of rubes are coming in tomorrow. </div>
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Unfortunately this is all too common in tourist areas around the world. Since I was only in Italy for a short amount of time and with friends doing the tourist thing we ended up eating a lot more tourist food than usual... Just goes to show, always be a traveler, never a tourist.</div>
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Bread with black olive tapenade... flavorless slightly stale bread, flavorless olive paste.<br />
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Leafy green salads... (we found mites crawling all around the plate half way through this salad...)<br />
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Oily Lasagna Verde<br />
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Pasta with some creamy tomato sauce on it...<br />
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Pesto Pizza... Actually this was pretty good for taking on long hikes through the Cinque Terre. Hiking for 8 hours makes anything taste good, but flaky oily bread tastes good no matter what!<br />
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I honestly think the best course of action, if you were in a touristy spot and didn't have a good recommendation for a place to eat, was to eat as simply as possible. Order some cheese.<br />
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Order some Sardines! Yum!<br />
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Always be adventurous, and ask locals where they eat. Avoid the tourist areas, take some time to walk further out or take public transportation somewhere random. Find a line and wait in it. Finding great food is an adventure in itself. </div>
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Take a little time to research local delicacies. But more than anything... never eat in a tourist district... It's almost always bad... If you can see a shop selling tchochkes, English language t-shirts, and key chains... run for the hills</div>
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-NOM!</div>
Maxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12029247599062992897noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3283275733283594591.post-21699138595949044172015-05-25T19:35:00.004-07:002015-05-25T19:35:54.102-07:00Meatless Monday: Morel RisottoMeat isn't required at every meal... I know those of you who know me best are doing a double take and wondering if I hit my head. Yes I am a devout carnivore and probably would have had a happy life as a butcher if I had chosen to go that way.<br />
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However there are situations where meat just isn't necessary; situations where meat's texture and flavor aren't needed. Indian food springs to mind. Deeply flavorful masalas, kormas, and fritters don't need meat. Especially with the combination of lentils and rice which contain all of the essential amino acids which animal proteins usually provide.<br />
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Sometimes there are delicate flavors which could be overwhelmed by the addition of meat. And sometimes the variety of textures, flavors and colors provided by vegetables is a welcome respite for tired food. I actually often prefer veggie pizza because of the diversity of toppings that the veggie pizza has.<br />
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Today I'm going to show you how to make risotto. Specifically one of the most flavorful, interesting, unique and vegetarian versions that has ever been made.<br />
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I am a huge fan of morel mushrooms. For many people who dislike mushrooms this one is a game changer. It has a more firm, meaty texture then most mushrooms and a very strong flavor which is very deeply Umami and not very fungal. Best of all in the spring time they grow wild all over Wisconsin.<br />
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They are also very unique looking and have no similar looking mushrooms which are poisonous. It's one of the safest mushrooms to hunt. But remember guys always check anything you source from the wild. As a friend and wild mushroom aficionado in Croatia once told me "Everything is eatable, but some things are only eatable once..."<br />
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The first step to making any risotto is get the right kind of rice. Risotto has to be made with a very short grain rice like Arborio rice:<br />
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Generally the shorter the grain of rice the more starch it contains. We need as much starch as possible to make good risotto, because the starch from the rice is what makes the risotto creamy.<br />
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There is a balance with toasting which needs to be mentioned. When you toast dry rice, it performs the maillard reaction, which is the same as browning meat or making caramel. It adds toasty amazing flavor. This toasty caramelized flavor is one of the most important qualities to great cooking.<br />
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But there is a darker side to this which is more specific to starches. When you toast rice you develop flavor but you also breakdown the complex starches. If you over-toast you can destroy too much of the starch which will make your risotto not very creamy... but if you don't toast enough you won't get any of that tasty Maillard fond.<br />
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There are two options here, you can pre-rinse your rice, retain the starchy water and add it back during the cooking. Or you can toast only half of the rice. Either method works. I added the powdered ancho chili during the toasting step to extract the oil soluble flavors from the chilies. <br />
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I soak morels in salty water to remove as much of the dirt as possible. I usually never even rinse mushrooms in water because it dilutes the flavor of the mushrooms. However morels are more hardy then other mushrooms and stand up well to being soaked. These were also particularly dirty and I wanted to get rid of every bit of it.<br />
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After toasting the risotto, I add half of the vegetable stock and bring it lightly to a simmer. A few bay leaves go in now.<br />
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I leave the pot covered, stirring once in a while to make sure that all of the liquid hasn't evaporated. Once all most all of the liquid is gone I add half of the reserved vegetable stock. I also would add the Clam juice at this point if you are using it.<br />
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Some people insist on heating the stock on the side to speed up the cooking process. It doesn't hurt, but it doesn't help all that much either. I'd rather do one less dish then cook risotto 5 minutes more.<br />
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I fry the sliced garlic and mushrooms in butter.<br />
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mmmmm butter....<br />
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When the risotto is about 5 minutes away from being done (taste, taste, taste), I add the mushroom and garlic mixture and the almost all of the parmesan cheese, reserve a little to garnish. <br />
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Once the liquid has thickened and the risotto is at your desired texture, you can serve it! How do I know it's done? How do I know it's thick enough? This is the hard part of being a chef... you have to taste it! It'll thicken a little as it cools enough to be eaten. The stock may have enough salt, or it may not... taste it and add salt and pepper if necessary. Some people like it wetter or drier then others, you just gotta do you!<br />
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Recipe:<br />
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1 Cup of Arborio Rice<br />
1.5 Quarts vegetable stock<br />
1/2 C grated Sarveccio Parmesan Cheese<br />
8 oz Clam Juice<br />
Morels - as many as you got!<br />
1/2 Tablespoon toasted Ancho chili powder<br />
2 large cloves of Garlic sliced thin<br />
2T butter<br />
2 bay leaves<br />
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TL;DR version<br />
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Melt 1T butter in a pan, toast half of the rice in the butter with ancho powder until nutty and aromatic. Add half of the vegetable stock, simmer covered until most of the liquid has evaporated. Add the clam juice and half of the reserved stock along with bay leaves. Let it simmer until most of the liquid has evaporated.<br />
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Fry morels and garlic in the other tablespoon of butter. Add morel mixture and cheese to risotto with additional stock if needed. Salt and pepper to taste. Serves 2-3 very lucky friends. <br />
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-NOM!Maxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12029247599062992897noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3283275733283594591.post-89813008226515987022015-05-20T11:51:00.002-07:002015-05-20T12:19:23.196-07:00Trippa e lampredotto: Tripe SandwichI know I have a... greater diversity of palate then most people. I love textures and flavors which most Americans can't even stand to think about. When I was 3 years old my favorite foods were Macaroni and Cheese and tripe. Apparently I was a very adventurous eater before I had any concept of adventure.<br />
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When I was 3 years old and eating a lot of tripe my mom refused to tell me what tripe was... Until one day I finally badgered her into telling me. "Tripe is the stomach of a cow..." That's when I turned to a diet consisting entirely of Honey Nut Cheerios and Kraft Macaroni and Cheese until I was in middle school. I wish I was joking.<br />
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There is so much more to the world then meat, potatoes, bread and salad. Like for instance in Italy:<br />
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Milan is one of the most beautiful cities in the world.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Duomo of Milan</td></tr>
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It's one of the world's centers of fashion, with gorgeous women dressed in the height of fashion. Not that I would ever notice such things.</div>
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I'm here in Italy for one thing, and one thing only. A dish with roots that go further back then most nations, which is based on humanity's deepest need for animal protein. A peasant dish that even today most people are only re-learning to love. </div>
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I honestly think if you handed this to most any meat eater, it would be one of the top ranked sandwiches in the world. Between the intense beefy flavor of the meat, the bread dipped into the simmering liquid, and the fresh zing of the sauces, people would be pounding down doors to get this sandwich... at least until you told them it was a made from the fourth stomach of the cow.<br />
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Trippa e Lompredotto. The stomach is simmered with tomatoes, onions, parsley and celery for hours until it's falling apart tender. Then the bread is dipped into the cooking liquid, the offal is piled high, and it's served with a parsley sauce and a chili sauce. The flavor is absolutely incredible and the texture is much closer to meat then most tripe. I would consider this for someone's first foray into the world of whole animal eating... You have to work your way up to things like menudo. This sandwich could be your slippery slope into some of the finer things in life.<br />
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-NOM!<br />
<br />Maxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12029247599062992897noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3283275733283594591.post-35253382266435237272015-05-17T18:45:00.003-07:002015-05-17T18:45:50.802-07:00Cinema Bistro: Palace Theater Sun Prairie <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Marcus just opened a new theater in Sun Prarie. I went to see Avengers: Age of Ultron in the bistro theater which has servers and tray tables attached to the leather recliners for you to eat in. Overall it feels like you're in first class on a killer airline.<br />
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We arrived early and put in our order before most people arrived. We ordered an appetizer and a sandwich each. It took awhile to get our food and it didn't come out until right as the movie started. Eating at a movie that you are really excited for is like taking a nap at Packers game. Ordering drinks, receiving food, being asked 3-4 times whether you want your check now, is all very distracting any annoying.<br />
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The food itself was better then I would have expected from a movie theater. I didn't take any pictures, for obvious reasons. I had the BLT which boasted a full pound of bacon. I certainly wasn't disappointed in the amount of bacon in the sandwich. It was decent bacon. Nicely crisped and tasty. The balance between lettuce tomato and bacon suffered a little... but can you really ever have too much bacon? My doctor would tell you yes, but what does he know?<br />
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We also ordered tater tot nachos which were tasty but arrived cold along with the sandwiches. It would have been nice to have it delivered first, hot and then later dropped off the sandwiches. However this was their first night so I'm sure they have worked out some of their kinks.<br />
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The seats were huge, comfortable and had enough leg room for you to just barely have to adjust when a server walks down your aisle to drop off someone's drinks, food or check. Overall I think they have done just about as well as is possible for a dine-in theater situation.<br />
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Overall this theater is pretty incredible, all leather recliners in every screening room, drinks, and even an awkward CEO boasting about their "World famous Thincredible pizza". This oddly hilarious and slightly uncomfortable monstrous work of self-promotion is still playing before every movie. Remember guys, you can get beer, before... during... and after your movie.<br />
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Just the act of eating a real meal during a movie is distracting, that's the genius of popcorn and candy, no mess no fuss (except for the grease stains.) I would suggest the bistro theaters to anyone who is going to a movie and doesn't mind missing a few scenes here and there. But with how much movies cost nowadays... who is going to a movie and happy to skip some bits of it?<br />
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-NOM!<br />
<br />Maxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12029247599062992897noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3283275733283594591.post-44175520546635335912015-04-16T15:21:00.002-07:002015-04-16T15:21:17.913-07:00Restaurant Review: Salvatore's Tomato Pies in MadisonA few months ago Salvatore's Tomato Pies opened a second location on East Johnson. Their flagship store in Sun Prairie is one of the best pizza places around. Often times it's hard to keep the quality of craftsmanship high when you start a second location.<br /><br />Making the same food on different equipment with different staff can be problematic. Especially with something as finicky as good dough. While almost any schmuck can make pizza dough, really great dough takes a lot of passion, precision, and skill.<br />
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Plus everyone likes to pick on the best don't they!<br />
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Unfortunately for all the trolls out there, Salvatore's on Johnson lives up to the original. Perhaps here Chef/owner Patrick DePaula can be even more adventurous! The only real drawback to this location is that everyone knows about it, and the dining room is too small to fit everyone in Madison. However the Johnson Public House next door lets you bring in pizza! Actually The Salvatore's staff will even deliver it to you over there. Of course everyone should buy some drinks at the public house, and everyone wins!<br />
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This is the Jalapeno Assessino. It has a Jalapeno Pesto, Chorizo, and farmer John's colby. It's got a little heat and a lot of flavor from the jalapenos and the Colby's saltiness cuts into it perfectly. All over a great pizza!<br />
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This was a special... it had Chinese BBQ pork (Char Sui), Hoisin sauce, and raw cucumbers. I'm the spoiled brat who gets to fly to China 3 or 4 times a year for work so I don't eat Chinese food too often in the US. This was.... good... but not great. I know exactly what they were trying to do. The flavor components here are almost the same as a pork bun, with Hoisin, cucumbers, and green onions, which is usually made with pork belly which has been slowly steamed and fried until it's luscious tender and still had a lot of fat. The other thing this closely resembles is the classical peking duck preparation where you take the ungodly crispy fatty pieces of duck skin and wrap them in a crepe with Hoisin and cucumbers and green onions.<br />
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BBQ pork is not used in either of these two dishes... mostly because it doesn't make a very balanced dish. The BBQ pork that Salvatore's makes is delicious and amazing, but it isn't as fatty as either the steamed belly or the duck skin. So that unbalances the sickly sweet/sour Hoisin. The BBQ pork is also sweet which further unbalances the Hoisin. I would have loved to have some fresh stalks of green onion cut like the cucumber as a call back to the source dishes and to better balance the flavors as well.<br />
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It wasn't bad, but it wasn't great either... and that is the only pizza I've ever eaten at Salvatore's that I've said that about!!!<br />
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I've already talked about the <a href="http://theglobeonmyplate.blogspot.com/search?q=Salvatore%27s">Carbonara in a previous post</a>, but it's SOOO good! I would like to report, it's just as good on East Johnson as it was in Sun Prarie!</div>
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I need to talk about this though. The fig and bacon: salty, sweet, and absolutely incredible. There is a bit of Gorgonzola which could turn some people off, but I think even people who don't favor blue cheeses will still absolutely devour this pizza! The basil which was crisped on top of the pizza gave it an incredible aroma. I would love to eat this pizza every single day.<br />
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-NOM!<br />
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Rating: **** <a href="http://theglobeonmyplate.blogspot.com/p/grading-rubric-madison-restaurant-review.html">See Metric here</a><br />
Cost: $$ <a href="http://theglobeonmyplate.blogspot.com/p/grading-rubric-madison-restaurant-review.html">See Metric here</a><br />
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<a href="http://salvatorestomatopies.com/johnson/">Salvatore's Tomato Pies</a><br />
912 E. Johnson Street, Madison (608) 238-6040<br />
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<span style="background-color: #f6f6f6; color: #36312d; font-family: Enriqueta, georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.2000007629395px;">East Johnson St - Madison </span><br style="background-color: #f6f6f6; color: #36312d; font-family: Enriqueta, georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.2000007629395px;" /><span style="background-color: #f6f6f6; color: #36312d; font-family: Enriqueta, georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.2000007629395px;">Tues through Thursday 4-10 </span><br style="background-color: #f6f6f6; color: #36312d; font-family: Enriqueta, georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.2000007629395px;" /><span style="background-color: #f6f6f6; color: #36312d; font-family: Enriqueta, georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.2000007629395px;">Fri, Sat, 4-11 </span><br style="background-color: #f6f6f6; color: #36312d; font-family: Enriqueta, georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.2000007629395px;" /><span style="background-color: #f6f6f6; color: #36312d; font-family: Enriqueta, georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.2000007629395px;">Sunday 4pm - 9pm </span><br style="background-color: #f6f6f6; color: #36312d; font-family: Enriqueta, georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.2000007629395px;" /><span style="background-color: #f6f6f6; color: #36312d; font-family: Enriqueta, georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.2000007629395px;">Monday - Closed</span>Maxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12029247599062992897noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3283275733283594591.post-9262705088666699992015-04-13T14:41:00.000-07:002015-04-13T14:44:51.848-07:00Malaysian Airlines: Food without a crash!When you travel a lot, you also tend to eating in airports and on airplanes a lot. My company pays for an economy comfort seat from Madison to Shanghai on a US carrier. But if I add on trips to say... Myanmar I pay for my own seat.<br />
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For that trip I flew the friendly skies with Malaysian Airlines... yes... that Malaysian Airlines. The one who lost 2 planes in 2014... Although in their defense in the 68 years before that they only had two fatal accidents one of which was a hijacking which can hardly be blamed on the airline. They actually had one of the best safety records in the industry... before they lost those two planes last year.<br />
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Due to a lack of customers I was able to score an absolutely unheard of low price for my ticket; Shanghai - Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia -Yangon, Myanmar round trip business class cost $520. That's about 18 hours of business class flying time for $520<br />
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My only words of warning to friends beforehand were that they should not give up the search, I am a very strong swimmer. You know... just in case. To be honest, it was an amazing trip with phenomenal service, great food and very comfy seats.<br />
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Why yes, I would love some chicken and lamb satay! It was actually some of the tastiest tenderest satay I have ever had, served with a pile of tasty peanut sauce of course.<br />
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In first class they give you real silverware, like for adults! Everything was fresh, the fruit was sweet, the salad great and the garlic bread was for silly Americans like myself.</div>
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Stir fried beef with coconut rice. This was good, more of a Chinese preparation then a Malaysian one but still, delicious.<br />
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The meal on the way back was a real stunner! Tender and perfectly cooked prawns served with a dark smoky Sambal. It was sweet, spicy, and loaded with spices and flavors unique to this part of the world. This was actually the best thing I ate in Malaysia, even if it was at 30,000 ft.<br />
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Overall, traveling business class was an amazing experience I am going to try to repeat as often as I can in the future!<br />
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I will probably go to China 3 more times in 2015. Where should I add on trips? I have a hankering to visit Hong Kong, and maybe Japan. But there is a whole wide world out there! Where have you loved visiting the most? Where is somewhere you have always wanted to go? Let me know in the comments!<br />
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-NOM!<br />
<br />Maxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12029247599062992897noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3283275733283594591.post-4242888710825130902015-04-03T07:46:00.001-07:002015-04-03T11:18:29.554-07:00Restaurant Review: Kusaka Ramen in Mineral PointI have heard tell of a ramen joint in a tiny town about 40 minutes from Madison. It's got to be better then <a href="http://theglobeonmyplate.blogspot.com/2014/07/restaurant-reveiw-umami-ramen-dumpling.html">Umami</a> right? That is unfortunately not a high bar.<br />
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The town of Mineral Point is one of those idyllic little Wisconsin towns with old buildings lining a quiet "downtown". It has less then 2500 residents, and all of them must be in love with Ramen.<br />
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Kusaka was an entertaining place to eat. We had a waitress on her first day, she was friendly but mostly confused. She came back 4 times to ask us about different parts of our large complicated order. I'm glad she did because she almost always had something wrong. First days are always hard, and she also didn't seem to have anyone training her. She may have made mistakes, but she was very friendly, apologetic and fun to talk to. She will be a perfect waitress... maybe in a week or two.<br />
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Much like the waitress, everything at Kusaka had elements which were incredible. Unfortunately everything also had elements which were either clumsy or poorly executed.<br />
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We started with Gyoza. The wrappers were handmade, flavorful and were crispier on the bottom then any gyoza I have ever tasted. The crisp crunchy bottoms perfectly complemented the soft steamed tops. Unfortunately the pork gyoza filling was severely under-salted and nearly flavorless. With the addition of soy sauce they became more flavorful and interesting. However, the size of the gyoza was disappointing; they were barely half the size of most Gyoza. 8 x 1/2 bite size Gyoza cost $7. There wasn't enough flavor in the filling to justify this price. For those prices you either need to make a truly incredible dumpling (the wrappers are nearly worth it alone!) Or be in downtown Chicago. In typical Max fashion I forgot to take a picture of these crispy nuggets. <br />
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We also tried a few buns. This is a pork bun and a curried pork bun.<br />
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The buns themselves were delicious! The curried pork bun actually had curry in the dough giving the whole package a wonderful scent. The curried pork filling was tasty, well spiced and very satisfying. I would certainly love to get two of these next time.<br />
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The regular pork bun was... just plain pork. The pork itself was nearly flavorless and there was nothing else mixed with the pork to give it flavor. This wasn't a BBQ pork bun like I was expecting, but it also had lean pork without any herbs, vegetables, or sauce to give it flavor or tenderness. Maybe this is a Ying/yang thing? The regular pork bun makes you appreciate the beauty and flavor of the curried pork bun?<br />
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I got the Miso ramen after the waitress told us that they make their own miso in house. This was one of the most expensive bowls of ramen I have ever purchased, (even in San Francisco) at $13 a bowl plus $2 for BBQ pork belly, and $2 for veggies. The broth was... ok... nothing special and it didn't have much of a miso flavor. I don't know if they really make their miso in house, judging from the later experiences with the waitress and the disappointing miso flavor in the broth. My dining companion told me that the $9 bowl using a chicken based broth was far far superior on a previous visit.<br />
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The noodles they made in house, we actually watched them make the noodles in the kitchen. They were a darker, more whole-wheat noodle then most ramen. They had a fantastic taste, full of flavor and clearly handmade with love. However, the texture of the noodles wasn't quite right. They were cut thinner then most ramen noodles giving them a flat shape rather then a square one. This could easily be dismissed as a stylistic thing, however, either they didn't use enough alkaline, which is what makes ramen noodles hold their shape and firmness when boiled, or else they were boiled too long before they were brought out to the table. They were soft, squishy and didn't have an ideal texture for ramen noodles.<br />
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You can see the almost linguine like shape of the noodles in this picture.<br />
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Am I just a spoiled brat? Sometimes I wonder, there were glimmers of an incredible meal. I've heard rave reviews about every element of this meal... but I didn't experience it. This is one time I really feel like I came in on an off day. There was a brand new and untrained waitress, and Hiroko, the usual chef/owner wasn't to be seen in the kitchen.<br />
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Everyone is allowed an occasional bad day, there were enough good elements for me to be willing to go back... sometime... probably. This is 40 minutes from Madison! I do love ramen... but if I got the same food for that cost (two eating a large meal was almost $75 plus more then 80 miles of driving.) I would be severely peeved...<br />
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If I knew the quality was going to be good... every time... I wouldn't think twice about it. Food may be the lifeblood of a restaurant, but consistency is the only thing that will keep it alive.<br />
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-NOM<br />
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Rating: ** See what this means <a href="http://theglobeonmyplate.blogspot.com/p/grading-rubric-madison-restaurant-review.html">here</a>.<br />
Note: This could be a four star one if they were more consistent and meticulous in their preparations and seasoning.<br />
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Cost: $$ See what this means <a href="http://theglobeonmyplate.blogspot.com/p/grading-rubric-madison-restaurant-review.html">here</a>.<br />
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Kusaka Restaurant<br />
148 High St<br />
Mineral Point WI, 53565<br />
(608) 341-6764<br />
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<b>Open Everyday</b> Lunch 11:00 am - 2:00 pm and Dinner 5:00 pm - 9:00 pm<br />
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<br />Maxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12029247599062992897noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3283275733283594591.post-81966893934508379952015-03-31T08:55:00.001-07:002015-04-03T11:18:35.881-07:00Free Ian's Pizza!Yeah... totally free Ian's Pizza. All you have to do is perform for the Musical Open Mic on Tuesday nights from 9-11! You get a free slice of pizza for performing!<br />
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Extra special bonus, you get to see me make a fool of myself hosting! I'll attempt to be funny, maybe talk about some food or maybe just do some slam poetry...<br />
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<a name='more'></a>Please come and perform so I don't have to do any slam poetry...<br />
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You can perform up to 15 minutes as other guests allow.<br />
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Every Tuesday from 9-11 @iansmadison on the top of state street Madison WI, 53711<br />
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-NOM!Maxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12029247599062992897noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3283275733283594591.post-34446466970344782932015-03-25T08:58:00.001-07:002015-04-03T11:18:42.143-07:00This is why you need foodie friendsI love to cook, and I love to eat. People who know me will be shocked by the latter. I have a rotating dinner among friends who food, and these people food well... It's not that they just like to cook, or are interested in food. It's that they are enthralled by recipes, work on a dish time and time again to perfect it, or just to discover new twists.<br />
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I have some Latvian friends who are pretty amazing. To be invited over to their house is a guarantee of an incredible meal that will span several hours and be accompanied by many glasses of wine, maybe a snifter or two of something harder, and some of the best food you'll ever eat. </div>
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These guys live in Madison, but drive to an Amish Market in Baraboo every few weeks for meat, they drive to Chicago to get fresh seafood. They are the foodies this city deserves. </div>
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Every meal is a long affair starting with appetizers like these.</div>
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Smoked salmon on crispy pitas with cream cheese and peppery arugula.</div>
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<a name='more'></a>See how there are two different colors of Salmon, that's because they have both wild caught and farm raised salmon. They make it themselves. And it's some of the best smoked salmon I've ever tasted. It takes 3 days to prepare, dry rubbed, brined, soaked and dried with brown sugar and rum all before it's cold smoked.</div>
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Salmon caviar in little pastry cups with creamy cheese. just... just... yeah. Yum. </div>
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Can't forget some charcuterie, they smoked some of this themselves and some of it was bought somewhere fancy. There is Coppa, procuitto, mortadella, Lomo, and probably more buried in there. They are Eastern European and have a great appreciation for the smoked arts. As do I.</div>
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Why not add a little home made pate! Of course we need some home made pate! Why doesn't everyone just have a bowl of this stuff around 24/7? I am a huge fan of pate, and this was a really good one. The trick is not too eat too much of it. (Good luck with that)</div>
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Grind and pack your own sausage? Yeah that sounds like a great idea! </div>
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Smoke it and serve it for dinner! I'm in!</div>
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Well of course you make your own headcheese; I'll just have a few little bites! These were not actually made with the head; apparently they had trouble sourcing a whole head, so it's actually just bits of pork butt, belly, and trotter boiled until it was thick and tasty. And so so tasty it was.</div>
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Oh I couldn't possibly have any more!</div>
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Well a little pickled fish on black bread that your brother flew in from Latvia with? Well that just needs to get eaten. The pickled herring was just on the edge of a being pickled it was about 1000x better then any pickled herring I have ever tried, it tasted more like fish and less like brine! Oh so tasty. The fish was just as delicious it's actually picked rainbow trout! </div>
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These were a items from two different parties but it really just spans a typical meal at their house. A million little bites, some tasty smoked things, and pickled things. It's always amazing, always the best XYZ I've ever tasted and almost always there are things I've never tried before. </div>
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They make most of it at home, from scratch... This... this is why you need foodie friends. And if you looked at any of that food any said to yourself "Eww, I wouldn't eat that!" It's mostly because you haven't tried enough of the best stuff on earth. But hey... more for me! </div>
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-NOM!</div>
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Maxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12029247599062992897noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3283275733283594591.post-22668347387469912015-03-23T09:39:00.001-07:002015-04-03T11:19:00.447-07:00I REALLY love lamb<span id="goog_827884641"></span>Chinese BBQ is a wonderful and amazing thing. Especially when lamb is involved! Would we like a whole leg of lamb? Yes please! This is an incredible restaurant in Shanghai.<br />
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They brought out this giant contraption with coals in the bottom, grilled lamb on skewers, and comically long forks and knives to slice chunks off with. You eat the lamb dipped into a spicy powder that is flavored with Szechuan flower peppers and cumin.<br />
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Of course it doesn't stop there. There are so many more things to eat grilled! </div>
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Giant shell things filled with noodles and garlic.</div>
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Apparently Aussies aren't the only ones who enjoy a good shrimp on the barbie! </div>
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I love little oily fishes like these, they have so much flavor. This one was split down the middle, salted and grilled.</div>
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The lamb was tasty right to the last bone! </div>
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This was a great meal, if you get to China, having a proper Chinese BBQ meal is an absolute must! Washed down with copious amounts of local beer, there are few better ways to bond with another culture. Fire, meat and beer are the most elemental and deeply shared parts of human culture. </div>
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Sorry I'm not sorry vegans.</div>
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Maxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12029247599062992897noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3283275733283594591.post-61695160733656667652015-03-17T15:43:00.004-07:002015-04-03T11:19:33.394-07:00Madison Area Chef's Network PotluckHave you ever wondered what it would be like to be invited to a party thrown by the best chefs in Madison?<br />
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Sunday night Madison was invited to just such an event. A benefit potluck for the Second Harvest Food Bank at Sardine. 20 of Madison's best chefs made dishes for the event which were served buffet style at stations throughout Sardine.<br />
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Dan Fox served Mangalitsa Pork meatballs, from his homegrown sounder. They were one of my favorite bites of the night. For the most part he took a phenomenal ingredient and just got out of it's way. A little piece of Pork crackling on the side added a crunch and a focus on using the whole animal.<br />
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Tori Miller brought another popular dish, braised lamb Frito Pies. The lamb was cooked down until it fell apart and became more of a liquid then a solid. </div>
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This is a high end version of a very simple dish, often served as a "Walking taco" by adding taco ingredients to small bags of Fritos. I have my own version of this dish which uses Berkshire Pork Carnitas. The Hook's 10 year cheddar gave a great sharp bite to the whole dish. </div>
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Patrick DePaula from Salvatore's Tomato Pies brought (of course) Kimchi jigae, AKA, Kimchi soup. This was a favorite of mine. This artisan of the Jersey Tomato Pie also makes his own kimchi. The soup was loaded with bits of pork and warm, but not very spicy kimchi. As they said at the booth, this is Madison after all. </div>
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This was one of the more interesting aspects to the potluck, chefs could step out of their boxes and make food that didn't necessarily fit into their restaurants, explore new flavors, new ingredients and new techniques. Tori Miller, the Korean chef owner of French and Asian inspired locavore restaurants made frito pie, and Patrick DePaula of pizza fame made a Korean specialty which is seldom seen in Madison.</div>
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There were over 20 chefs and restaurants involved with this potluck, each of whom brought a dish to share. Each were amazing and there were a lot of highlights, Pig in a fur coat's bread pudding was complex, warm and incredible. Some people took the Potluck staples like tater tot casserole and made it with wild mushroom and grass fed beef, others like Nostrano went way out on a limb and made a panna cotta with an aspic suspending caviar and a rye chip.</div>
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Chef's were pushing themselves, their foods, talking and learning from one another. This was the original idea proposed by Gilbert Altshul, Local chefs have a lot to share with one another, open discussion can make for some phenomenal collaboration and creation. </div>
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Chef Altshul sampled 3 caviars as a teaser for a clandestine caviar service which will be located at Gib's Bar on Willy Street when it opens at the end of March.</div>
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I am already looking forward to next year's MACNweek. Maybe we'll get lucky and they will make it a full MACNmonth.</div>
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-NOM!</div>
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Maxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12029247599062992897noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3283275733283594591.post-53381798146931222882015-03-13T12:10:00.000-07:002015-04-03T11:19:57.092-07:00Myanmar Snacks!Food is very important in Myanmar, there are many traditions around food. If you have a guest at your house you usually offer them Lah pet thoke. This is fermented tea leaf salad, the most traditional snack.<br />
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Fermented, but not dried, tea is salted and soaked in cold water several times and wrung out hard to extract as much of the bitter and astringent flavors as possible. Then it's dressed in lemon juice, oil, sesame seeds, salt and sugar. It's served with crispy fried garlic with sesame seeds and crispy fried beans. The flavor is sour, the lingering astringent aspect of the tea leaves dry and pucker your mouth. Overall it's not my favorite food, I think it's one of those things that you have to grow to like. But hey, when traveling in countries like this you never turn away a gift.<br />
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Normally I like cashews, they are tasty, great texture, good flavor. They don't grow anywhere near Wisconsin so they are always imported. I was pretty sure I knew what a cashew was all about. Good, but nothing to write a blog post about.<br />
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Holy crackerjacks batman! I was wrong. Freshly roasted cashews still hot from the roaster are a whole other thing. It's like you've been eating discount sushi from the Midwest my whole life... then you eat sushi in Japan. The texture, the flavor, and everything about the experience is more intensely and utterly "cashew". They came with a little pile of salt to dip each nut into, the heat of the cashew made them slightly moist on the outside with essential oils.<br />
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Maybe I'll have to do a whole post just on cashews, they are a very interesting nut. If only I knew a cashew expert...<br />
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Hey look, it's a bowl of corn. I'm from the Midwest, why am I eating corn in Myanmar? That's because it's poop your pants good (Never trust a fart when subsisting on street food in a third world country).<br />
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Freshly grilled corn with lightly fried shallots. It's sweet, it has an onion bite, and I think they toss it with some unfiltered palm oil for a creamy, silky mouth feel. We kept ordering plate after plate... I regret nothing.<br />
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Snacks snacks snacks!<br />
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-NOM!Maxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12029247599062992897noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3283275733283594591.post-5480010030093174142015-03-11T09:26:00.003-07:002015-03-11T12:05:46.606-07:00A Night at Heritage TavernMonday night Hertiage Tavern was taken over by a rampaging gang of MATC culinary students. Lead by Joe Gaglio the owner of Gotham Bagels and a member of the Culinary faculty at MATC the hostile takeover was part of the Madison Area Chefs Network Week events. <br />
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OK so maybe it wasn't all that hostile. Joe brought 12 culinary students into Dan's kitchen to make an absolutely amazing meal. Both chefs talked about collaboration throughout the evening. Overall the dishes were a collaboration between Dan, Joe and the culinary hoard but there were a few tidbits directly from Heritage's menu like these disks of crispy fried headcheese.<br />
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They are sitting on a pile of truffled biroldo sausages that were textured like Boudin Blanc but had a delightful spice combination, nutmeg, cloves and maybe a little cinnamon? Either way the spice was light enough to let the pork shine through.<br />
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The theme of the evening was a 50's red sauce Italian joint, but with the best local ingredients available.<br />
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Check out the red checkered tablecloths and candle holders made out of wicker wine bottles! Can you hear Frank singing in the background?<br />
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I heard that people requested meatballs to eat with the Spaghetti Cacio e Pepe. The amazing simplicity of that dish is what makes it so great. The sauce has three ingredients, really good Parmesan cheese, freshly cracked black pepper, and pasta water. This combination somehow makes the most divine sauce which clings to the pasta and becomes so much more then the sum of it's parts. This is a perfect dish, and it doesn't need meatballs. Meatballs would ruin this dish... so no... you can't have any meatballs with your Spaghetti Cacio e pepe.<br />
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Overall there were 8 courses which each contained as many as 5 different dishes. A meatball appetizer (Wagyu beef and Mangalista pork of course), 4 Anti-pasti, 2 salads, 2 pastas including Spaghetti Cacio e Pepe, the seminal dish in Italian simplicity. 5 different meats, 2 side vegetables, and 2 desserts. 18 foods!<br />
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I would write about it all BUT I ALREADY DID! You'll just have to check out the article in <a href="http://www.isthmus.com/daily/article.php?article=44645&sid=eebadde15bc446835a2b4085bf7f4f65">the Isthmus!</a><br />
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Here is a bunch of pictures of food. They had a good photographer there so the pictures on the article should be much better.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIFeX-knMtjbTUYiWaerL39Yk1omWQAOBlbFbRcigjq6uCIpc-ooekWNgF7lGO2MsJXJPScO892Q-JTv0QMjgywwTy0BN7E7dX0kJqIcxWmW9IYI3xoVgK9gV8tPZaH63QE75zuf49dEg/s1600/IMG_1741.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIFeX-knMtjbTUYiWaerL39Yk1omWQAOBlbFbRcigjq6uCIpc-ooekWNgF7lGO2MsJXJPScO892Q-JTv0QMjgywwTy0BN7E7dX0kJqIcxWmW9IYI3xoVgK9gV8tPZaH63QE75zuf49dEg/s1600/IMG_1741.JPG" height="400" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Left to right Dan Fox(heritage) Joe Gaglio (gotham bagels, MATC) They are actually texting each other in this picture. #thatsalie</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAIrWbEL63LOVwimDrebOPrXcGJ9GncH2eu3LOMmbPPSNQ_fdX5zCSEWemKB23rq8C1PbjsWUpC9LSQ7zgTUSuQ0E0DW42dhiN7wzQ_ZvWDrrsaonPiBElucExrIpDH5sEBrHudSWW_6A/s1600/IMG_1762.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAIrWbEL63LOVwimDrebOPrXcGJ9GncH2eu3LOMmbPPSNQ_fdX5zCSEWemKB23rq8C1PbjsWUpC9LSQ7zgTUSuQ0E0DW42dhiN7wzQ_ZvWDrrsaonPiBElucExrIpDH5sEBrHudSWW_6A/s1600/IMG_1762.JPG" height="400" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Have you ever wanted to just bury your face in a drawer sized container of calimari, octopus, and shrimp?</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSf_QcvJrU6Z8wP1oAr9AEPHdizTItmFntfhI66uKhDYvdHYAAdYmU56ZfMU4jUAbSLUHChI53fm0d-IhAOF4_R3aXJCjVcc8v6uPFtindHNe1jGrCgVnQBgZLgzvce0ubO0CThGlcsrA/s1600/IMG_1764.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSf_QcvJrU6Z8wP1oAr9AEPHdizTItmFntfhI66uKhDYvdHYAAdYmU56ZfMU4jUAbSLUHChI53fm0d-IhAOF4_R3aXJCjVcc8v6uPFtindHNe1jGrCgVnQBgZLgzvce0ubO0CThGlcsrA/s1600/IMG_1764.JPG" height="400" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Wagyu beef, Mangalista pork, sour tomato sauce to cut through the fat.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxvPIR9-qCqIfcp7xccU3FwjGZfBhvyQpm7ZoaT9WjnnB9tmA8cLSOO_ICp8DN0shpQLTlv-W36Tu1Jz4p26SOhRTrYKhjo-r2fhceK56Qn4gubu79JuFovyDa6py7CBg0WPhUs03eEQ8/s1600/IMG_1765.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxvPIR9-qCqIfcp7xccU3FwjGZfBhvyQpm7ZoaT9WjnnB9tmA8cLSOO_ICp8DN0shpQLTlv-W36Tu1Jz4p26SOhRTrYKhjo-r2fhceK56Qn4gubu79JuFovyDa6py7CBg0WPhUs03eEQ8/s1600/IMG_1765.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">MMM Octopi</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZx1Qel69u_uaF1TcFEJNCUiNNOml2g4uhiyA6DRq_2ltpxG46upkCGona-arZllFaSQw_Fk0Phj3O2d4KP03MWsDbhx_esZzSI4_rdFNhCurxhkanwuwVQ_VRF_TXXPr0h5pmUb8gyZc/s1600/IMG_1767.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZx1Qel69u_uaF1TcFEJNCUiNNOml2g4uhiyA6DRq_2ltpxG46upkCGona-arZllFaSQw_Fk0Phj3O2d4KP03MWsDbhx_esZzSI4_rdFNhCurxhkanwuwVQ_VRF_TXXPr0h5pmUb8gyZc/s1600/IMG_1767.JPG" height="400" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Roasted peppers with sharp cheese and pine nuts.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCYsVb68NrZiOLSXByZeVBNybo64AyWs57eRjkh0_N3pyog_Qy8FadHfxRC9Wvxw0gsH_47gjExaVmQLSErJwxtLtHqKKE_iZgaRrV_0CqkYtJL7v03aB9t7bPSgzpyfBMaZFVb-Y4PHw/s1600/IMG_1768.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCYsVb68NrZiOLSXByZeVBNybo64AyWs57eRjkh0_N3pyog_Qy8FadHfxRC9Wvxw0gsH_47gjExaVmQLSErJwxtLtHqKKE_iZgaRrV_0CqkYtJL7v03aB9t7bPSgzpyfBMaZFVb-Y4PHw/s1600/IMG_1768.JPG" height="400" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Charred Romaine hearts with Anchovy dressing</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPI1CTZOQ8pAIa-RoK7gi2poTGp6FMhK0c9TF5Q4wySDLAOli6lfevBzKnFf2oJ3cXTpR154_0lBWQXar9g1fejyHElR_vHGm22JNiwhHXKWio8TWhLGE25PvQBknvA1qzTV7Q5kgkJ_s/s1600/IMG_1770.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPI1CTZOQ8pAIa-RoK7gi2poTGp6FMhK0c9TF5Q4wySDLAOli6lfevBzKnFf2oJ3cXTpR154_0lBWQXar9g1fejyHElR_vHGm22JNiwhHXKWio8TWhLGE25PvQBknvA1qzTV7Q5kgkJ_s/s1600/IMG_1770.JPG" height="400" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Baked clams, which somehow has nothing to do with a clam bake...</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1VhFzQSL-y6GnifuTM6QLYGwDNpmxv6pdmR5PtYGAnLikOM6TyVUy5uasfJQd0VN8z6zTaEHkEtTSBqvccB0UsLBHoePovY7SfQwpW_yqylEgaaapHxrUM6ol8nd06lUzGtcCQ5IgT_w/s1600/IMG_1772.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1VhFzQSL-y6GnifuTM6QLYGwDNpmxv6pdmR5PtYGAnLikOM6TyVUy5uasfJQd0VN8z6zTaEHkEtTSBqvccB0UsLBHoePovY7SfQwpW_yqylEgaaapHxrUM6ol8nd06lUzGtcCQ5IgT_w/s1600/IMG_1772.JPG" height="400" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Gnocchi in Pesto</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7s3YWuZoQ6B1pC1hplx-KejE4PudHbhyphenhyphen_HT53xOngBCFNiTtNu0A5PDwvvr3_LFtblpcV2KqFpN3WtpNuQpG9iKLjzgVsZi4WHR9uysjzkxUDobShyphenhyphen-woupejTkhozKULcWF3zDaYh_E/s1600/IMG_1778.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7s3YWuZoQ6B1pC1hplx-KejE4PudHbhyphenhyphen_HT53xOngBCFNiTtNu0A5PDwvvr3_LFtblpcV2KqFpN3WtpNuQpG9iKLjzgVsZi4WHR9uysjzkxUDobShyphenhyphen-woupejTkhozKULcWF3zDaYh_E/s1600/IMG_1778.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The meat course part 1, I affectionately call it the mountain of meat.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZ3zXXW4WwOaWQSN8SPrtxUzXcyHM4yQvTZcwwcrAuBlN4mLZnVxEqf8_zJ87E-ZJ0yaNvrAvW4KwugthuF2dZICqPiV-T0OSeKsGDRElrt-3E89Pfc9809RcxtrLl1x6GLpJTYTX6w_w/s1600/IMG_1783.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZ3zXXW4WwOaWQSN8SPrtxUzXcyHM4yQvTZcwwcrAuBlN4mLZnVxEqf8_zJ87E-ZJ0yaNvrAvW4KwugthuF2dZICqPiV-T0OSeKsGDRElrt-3E89Pfc9809RcxtrLl1x6GLpJTYTX6w_w/s1600/IMG_1783.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The best Chicken Parm I've ever had. Bone in Nami moon chicken prepared for 4 days!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5EjOc81L9PIpX3p0D1hAb1tzsl5oy-rtK3b1v5j7E2TAxq_vMFqBYeyP3Zib59Xpq5VZPCREgq3isk18C_nN9xeE4l9HNArpsTlOtItxVsdE-RDA8iCFBdXxp26Lrzeek6K0I4K67dxI/s1600/IMG_1792.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5EjOc81L9PIpX3p0D1hAb1tzsl5oy-rtK3b1v5j7E2TAxq_vMFqBYeyP3Zib59Xpq5VZPCREgq3isk18C_nN9xeE4l9HNArpsTlOtItxVsdE-RDA8iCFBdXxp26Lrzeek6K0I4K67dxI/s1600/IMG_1792.JPG" height="400" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This is a plate of rum with a little bit of tiramisu wrapped around it.</td></tr>
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-NOM!<br />
<br />Maxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12029247599062992897noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3283275733283594591.post-28269586704150792172015-03-09T14:42:00.003-07:002015-03-09T14:42:32.157-07:00Myanmar Curry restaurantThis is one of the nicer traditional curry restaurants in Myanmar. It was indoors, air conditioned and tasty. If you read my <a href="http://theglobeonmyplate.blogspot.com/2015/02/myanmar-curry.html">Myanmar Curry recipe</a> post you'll know that even though Myanmar is sandwiched between India and Thailand, their curries are significantly less spiced then either of their neighbors; primarily being flavored with onions, ginger, garlic, turmeric and fish sauce. Compare that with Indian curries with dozens of ingredients and you know we are dealing with a different beast here. But there are other schools of thought on haute cuisine. <div>
<br />Italian food should be made with only 3-5 ingredients in a dish, the idea being, simplicity can be elegance. This is the direction which Myanmar curry should be headed in.<div>
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At these restaurants, generally you order a curry or two and it comes with a couple of side vegetables/salads and a bowl of vegetable broth. </div>
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This is pork curry, you can see how it sits in a pool of oil. The meat itself is well flavored but it was served cold in this bustling lunchtime spot. I was surprised by this. This curry was made with pork belly, which gave the meat a great softness and the incredible richness that only pork belly can.</div>
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This is chicken curry, flavored with the same spice mix as the pork, it didn't stand out particularly. It was also heavily oiled, but the pieces of chicken were wing sections, which are one of my favorite pieces of the chicken, a lot of bone for flavor, but a nice clean white meat. The curry paste was thickly coating the surface which gave it a strong flavor.</div>
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This is the fish curry which was probably my favorite. I think there might have been just a little tomato used in the base of the curry, there was a lot less standing oil and the flavors of the curry complimented the fish perfectly. The sweet/sour twang from the tomatoes really brought some umph to this dish. </div>
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<br />This was accompanied by various salads, condiments and the accouterments of the meal, hot chilies, fresh garlic, fried onions and several different dressed leafy greens. The salads were reminiscent of Thai salads, but not blisteringly spicy or sour. They were tasty, simple, and accented the heavy and oily meats well<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Finally, you can't forget dessert! This is a bowl of palm sugar mixed with water to make an interesting simple syrup. They float little jelly like noodles in it and keep the whole thing cold with a piece of ice. </div>
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Overall this was an interesting meal and I had a really great time talking about all of the food. The translations were not always perfect, but the kitchen seemed fine to send out random uncooked ingredients to help explain what things are!</div>
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Here is a bowl of Palm sugar. It make's a tasty little bite if you have no idea what you're doing :)</div>
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-NOM!</div>
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Maxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12029247599062992897noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3283275733283594591.post-32698836171999641222015-03-04T08:39:00.000-08:002015-03-04T08:39:19.721-08:00Local markets in MyanmarThere is a spider web of local markets throughout the city of Yangon, turn down a few small side streets and you are bound to find all the native ingredients grown nearby. The prices are almost frighteningly low, and I'm pretty sure I was charged the "Western giant is shopping at my hut!" price.<br />
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These markets are where the locals shop. Open air markets on sparsely driven streets. Almost everyone just has a few baskets that they set down on the street. There are a few tents and tin shacks, but mostly those are the houses for the people who work in this market.<br />
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There is an occasional tea shop or restaurant or small handcart selling Mohinga, that most ubiquitous of meals.<br />
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Sometimes it's just a lady ready to sell you some chickens on the ground.<br />
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<br />Maybe it's 15 different kinds of dried and fermented fish!<br />
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It's also a dizzying array of fresh organic and local (as in I carried this in on my head local) fruits and vegetables.<br />
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But more then anything else, it's the people.<br />
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I've always been a bit too shy to take pictures of people, maybe that's why I love taking pictures of food so much. I wish I had captured more images of the people in the markets. They are as important as the food. There was a lady selling oil out of 3 foot tall clay urns, a host of young boys following behind trying to be brave enough to either say something in English or take a surreptitious picture of the western giant. There were spice vendors selling 30 different spices, and rice vendors with dozens of types of rice.<br />
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I had the benefit of a kitchen when I stayed with my friends in Myanmar. I took advantage of it, often scouring these markets to find ingredients for different meals. If I lived here, I doubt I would shop anywhere else.<br />
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Markets like these are the lifeblood of a culture. The ingredients are what grows in the region, the flavors are what the locals grew up with and the people are those who have devoted their lives, or more likely many generations of their family, to local food. I really wish I had taken more pictures of the people...<br />
<br />-NOM!Maxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12029247599062992897noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3283275733283594591.post-22272499066738336492015-03-02T08:24:00.001-08:002015-03-02T08:24:43.191-08:003kg Grouper hotpotAfter finding myself a tailor in China, I had a suit and 10 new button down shirts made. I thought it would be nice to take my driver and my friend who came along to help me figure out the fabric markets out to dinner!<br />
<br />We went to a very popular new place in Shanghai... to be honest I have no idea what the name of it was, but they had one of the best hot pots I've ever had the pleasure to taste!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhxyjAwdckWLO_411rEuNjrli0a3bQ4MCd8fLzef6nxMxhyphenhyphenJwc3wBK1e5_HN6RTzQybfc_yX26i7BrVXn7CSdBxxhWb88Hp3G6AN7TpvgX-FB5T3dOUOR5HLoFScmi_CSbOFaDk53Nd44/s1600/IMG_0786.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhxyjAwdckWLO_411rEuNjrli0a3bQ4MCd8fLzef6nxMxhyphenhyphenJwc3wBK1e5_HN6RTzQybfc_yX26i7BrVXn7CSdBxxhWb88Hp3G6AN7TpvgX-FB5T3dOUOR5HLoFScmi_CSbOFaDk53Nd44/s1600/IMG_0786.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></div>
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There is a thick layer of chili oil which is sitting on top of the broth. There are vegetables and noodles underneath the broth. What kind of broth is it?<br />
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First you take your pick of these:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsCK_LMyzTa_q5JNu-NuWGaXBCw28n-vbTnyBMk138fUU36nu4SnD13vOMtVMFrV9dNyAew4WaDjou1SAMCWdJo8ZuA1Nnc87V-t2PlHKg6xLIKycHxK1_eZycXd6dRLb9l4UstUi-ivo/s1600/IMG_0777.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsCK_LMyzTa_q5JNu-NuWGaXBCw28n-vbTnyBMk138fUU36nu4SnD13vOMtVMFrV9dNyAew4WaDjou1SAMCWdJo8ZuA1Nnc87V-t2PlHKg6xLIKycHxK1_eZycXd6dRLb9l4UstUi-ivo/s1600/IMG_0777.JPG" height="320" width="240" /></a></div>
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You look tasty!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBrEOzTkin0l-NUGoQ4x3mkg3Zh1jvagd_WcyhI6lSqU67uInV2x3bBAUhk34FgwZUQFuKQZvzHBFcDMFp_ENZuGzq0dT4JZJBdD_jj8vCoWLk5g0Ww1dD-AsQHDn_lWWlf8ngSh8Ve4Y/s1600/IMG_0778.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBrEOzTkin0l-NUGoQ4x3mkg3Zh1jvagd_WcyhI6lSqU67uInV2x3bBAUhk34FgwZUQFuKQZvzHBFcDMFp_ENZuGzq0dT4JZJBdD_jj8vCoWLk5g0Ww1dD-AsQHDn_lWWlf8ngSh8Ve4Y/s1600/IMG_0778.JPG" height="400" width="300" /></a></div>
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That is a 3kg grouper... 6.6 lbs of delicious LIVE fish! They kill it, filet out the meat, then they put all the bones and the head into a pot to make a fish stock. Each stock is made specifically for the table, which takes a bit of time.<br />
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So have some spicy vegetable snacks while you wait!<br />
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Once the stock is completed they add the chili oil, then meticulously shave the raw fish and drop them into the stock right before it comes out to your table.<br />
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They top it with a bunch of chilies and voila you have your first hotpot course. The fish has just barely been given the chance to cook through in the intense fish stock and chili oil. Each bite melts into your mouth, is intensely flavored, and has a cloud like texture. It is immediately apparent that this fish was alive and fresh just 20 minutes before you eat it. It isn't easy to tell from the pictures but this bowl is more then 2 feet wide.<br />
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Once we have polished off the sliced fish, we scoop off the extra oil and add in the second course of the hot pot.<br />
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Vegetables, noodles, meatballs, sliced beef, mushrooms and on and on and on. This meal easily was eaten for 3 hours.<br />
<br />After the meal Mr. Chen was so pumped up from the chilies he decided that we needed to arm wrestle. It was a valiant effort, but I have him beat on pure mass and a long history of weightlifting.<br />
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This isn't a meal for every day, or even every month. Nor should it be a meal for 3 people. But sometimes you just have to take one for the team ;) I did it all for you, Globetrotters!<br />
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-NOM!<br />
<br />Maxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12029247599062992897noreply@blogger.com0