Good bye 2013, Here is some Oxtail for you

Hey all! I hope everyone had a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. I've been at this now for about a year and half. It doesn't seem like it. So without any further ado, the last posting of 2013.

Yesterday I made an oxtail dish for Mel. We were at Byron Meats, a butcher shop in Byron Center, MI, where she spotted some oxtails and wanted to get some. So I prepared them last night. I got a large pot out and heated it over high heat. I added some olive oil to the pot, seasoned all sides of the oxtail with salt and pepper, and browned all sides of the oxtail. Some beef broth was added so it covered about 1/2 way up the oxtails, the lid put on, and the oxtails braised for about 3 hours. With 15 min. to go I chopped up some onion, garlic, and grated a carrot. I saute'd them over medium high heat in olive oil until the onions started getting some color. I added about 2/3 cup of cream and a couple ladles of the braising liquid to the skillet to make a sauce and let it reduce for about 10 min. In the mean time I took the oxtails out to cool and shred the meat off the bone, and added fettuccine to salted boiling water and cooked it for one minute less than what was on the box because it will finish cooking in the sauce. To put it all together I put the meat in the sauce followed by the pasta and tossed everything together well. If the sauce is a little too thick at this point you can add a little more braising liquid or pasta water to the pan. Serve as is. It is time consuming in the fact it takes so long for the oxtail to cook, but you can basically set it over low heat and forget about it for a few hours. It is also an incredibly easy dish with tons of flavor and it makes a wonderful winter meal.

Finally, I would like to thank all my readers for taking time to read my blog. I really appreciate that you take time out of your day to read what I write.  

XO

First of all, sorry about the lack of updates recently. It has been a busy time around the house with Thanksgiving, working more, holiday shopping, etc. As such there hasn't been much time to try new places and review them. Or to return to past ones for a second bite review. However we were able to go out to eat last week. We decided to try XO Asian Cuisine located downtown on Monroe. Mel is very cautious about trying new Asian restaurants, but had tried some food from XO because it was catered in for a lunch. She wanted to try the actual restaurant and so we headed downtown. (Pictures will be coming later.)

The restaurant is attractive, albeit a little comical in the use of Asian decor. It is also located right in the heart of downtown. The prices are good, especially for the amount of food brought out.

We started with some dumplings that were steamed and fried. They were filled with pork, green onion, and ginger. The dipping sauce was a soy sauce with a little green onion, ginger, and maybe sesame oil. The dumpling was good. It was cooked nicely and the had a nice consistency to it. There were actual pieces of pork and veggies in it as apposed to a over minced mush. The flavors were good and melded nicely. The only thing I didn't care for was the little salad under it. It was not needed.

For the mains Mel got sesame chicken and I got sambal chicken. Both, in my opinion, were fairly mundane and could be found at any number of Asian buffets. The sesame chicken was slathered in that unnatural orange colored sauce that you see at 99% of Chinese restaurants. The sambal chicken was also underwhelming. I may be wrong, but from what I know, sambal is Thai chili paste. There didn't seem to be much in there. The shrimp paste was the prominent flavor. The chicken was a little mealy. The veggies were cooked well though. The rice was also pretty good. It was nice and sticky and worked well with the dishes.

Despite these quibbles, I have to admit that the dishes are attractively priced. Our meal, of starter and two mains, came in under $30. Also the service was good. The waitress was attentive without being hovering, and the food came out fast. I have to say I was disappointed by the food. I was hoping for a more authentic Asian meal, not the mainstream, made for American tastes stuff found everywhere. I like to think I cook a little bit more authentic food at home. And that was the real shame. My expectations for Asian food were let down and my search for a tastier, more authentic Asian restaurant continues. However, I can say that if you are downtown and want a decent, well priced Asian inspired meal XO is a good place to start.

The brother's Grube kitchen

Last night my youngest brother Tay came over and we cooked a meal together. It was something that we had been talking about for a while, especially since he got a job working in the kitchen of a local restaurant called Rockwell's. So Tay, Mel, and I had a nice meal on a Saturday night watching football. Below is a sampling of what we made.

We started with my patatas bravas with garlic aioli. I won't go into too much detail about them because I have already covered them in an earlier post or two. Basically they are fried potatoes tossed in a spice mixture and served with the garlic aioli which really compliments the potatoes. This was our starter.

This was probably the star of the night. I call it a deconstructed paella. I started by making the broth. I put chicken stock in a sauce pan with a lot of garlic, onion, tomato, a half of an anaheim chili pepper, and saffron and let it reduce a long time. Basically what came out may be one of the single best components to a dish I have ever created. And the only word that Tay or myself could come up with to describe it was "sexy." I cooked some arborio rice so that it was al dente and somewhat stiff, as opposed to a risotto which is creamier. This was cooked in chicken stock. I then browned chorizo in a pan so that it became crispy and then added chicken to the same pan to help give the chicken some more flavor. I also fried up some chicken skin until it was crispy and delicious for a textural contrast to the rest of the dish. It was finished with some finely sliced green onion. All the flavors of a chicken and chorizo paella present, without cooking it in the traditional way. I am definitely doing this again so I can refine it and make it better. But for just pulling it out of my head and putting it on a plate for the first time it came out great.

To finish it all off, Tay made this apple chutney and brie on a baguette. He diced up some granny smith apples, red onion, and some anaheim chili peppers and cooked them down with some butter and added red wine vinegar to it. He also spiced it with some cinnamon and added some brown sugar to it as well. He buttered and toasted the baguette, added a slice of brie and threw it under the broiler for a minute to melt the brie. He then topped it with the chutney and garnished with a thin slice of apple. We had the first bite and it was good. The chutney was a little on the sweet side, but all in all it was a good finish to the meal. However, I tried my second with the slice and apple, and it completely changed the dish for the better. The freshness of the apple, which was tart and slightly bitter, mellowed the sweetness of the chutney, highlighted the taste of the brie, and punctuated the baguette. It was like listening to a song with one of the instruments missing. It might sound ok. But then the missing piece is added and it is a new, better experience. We all agreed the apple slice made the dish that much better. It went from a good ending to a great ending for the meal.

Quick update, chili madness

Sorry it has been over a month since my last post. It has been extremely busy as I have been in the middle of soccer season on top of working. Needless to say I haven't had much time to write. Or even go out to eat. Anyway, I thought I would share a little story about what happened last week.

Last week Mel and I went to the farmers market. Of course being the prime season for chili peppers, I was on a mission to find some new and/or exotic super hot peppers. We came across a stand calling itself "the furnace." They had at least 6 different peppers as hot or hotter than habenero peppers. I asked about a little tiny pepper called a Peruvian White Lightning pepper. The guy asked if I wanted to try it. He said "I am warning you, it's hotter than a standard habenero." So of course I said OK. I took a bite. It was hot but had a good flavor. The guy just stood there looking at me. He finally said, "You didn't really eat that and chew it up, did you?" I showed him the pepper and and took another bite. He looked amazed and called some other guys over. He was saying stuff like you aren't crying or anything. I just looked at him and said that it was hot but that I was actually there for some of the ghost chili's they had toward the back. He had a quizzical look on his face, which was about the point Mel says "He eats them raw." I think about that point all the guys' jaws dropped. He hands me one and wanted to see it. At this point there are about 6 people watching me eat another ghost chili. I got barraged with a bunch of questions after: How can you eat that? Is that even hot for you? Etc, etc, etc. So then I was offered a chocolate habenero, which had a deeper flavor to it in contrast to the bright, almost floral character of regular habeneros. Then a lemon habenero which does have a lemony taste to it. They were trying to find a red savina habenero which is the hottest habenero but couldn't find it. So I bought the little white lightning peppers and some ghost chilis. I only wanted 3 but they threw in a handful for the same price because I had eaten the one raw without falling over in pain. It was a fun little experience which even Mel admitted she enjoyed.

Wentzell's Oyster House

I remember when there was only one Wentzell's in Mobile, AL. It was downtown and I heard great things about it. Then, they decided to put one in the west side of town, on Airport Blvd, across from Providence Hospital. I have fond memories eating there every now and then when visiting Mobile and as a student at the University of Mobile. I had the chance to eat at the Airport Wentzell's once again a couple of weeks ago, 8/24/13. I drove down there with my brother, to help him move in, as he just got hired to a teaching position in Mobile. My one day there we ate at that Wentzell's for old time's sake. So, Wentzell's is a seafood restaurant. It serves all sorts of local Gulf seafood in a variety of ways. Here is what we had.

We started with a dozen raw, fresh shucked oysters. The oyster's were good and of good quality. The thing about oysters is that their flavor can change from day to day, and even hour to hour, depending on the water they are located in. Sometimes they can be salty. Sometimes they are sweeter. These were a little bit on the sweet side and were perfect as is or with a little hot sauce or horseradish. I was so happy to have some fresh oysters, as I can't get them of this quality in Michigan.

On of my favorite dishes of all time is the Gulf Coast specialty seafood gumbo. Once again it was nice to have a real, good, seafood gumbo. The shrimp were perfectly cooked as was the crab. The base was super flavorful and the rice was perfectly cooked. The veggies were also well done. I couldn't have been much happier diving into that cup.

Here is my basket of fried shrimp. The shrimp were perfectly fried and avoided being over cooked. I squirted a little cocktail sauce of ketchup and horseradish on to the basket to dip the shrimp in. Once again I was incredibly happy to have fresh fried shrimp along the Gulf Coast. There is simply nothing like it in the world. The batter coated the shrimp nicely and was very flavorful. Close to a perfect basket of fried shrimp. The hush puppies were good as well, but seemed like there were left in the fryer just a touch too long. The fries were cooked well, but were plain, salted, fries. The coleslaw was good, standard slaw in the tater sauce was pretty good too.

My brother, Brent, chose the shrimp po' boy. It was a bun loaded with fried shrimp, some pickle, tomato, onion, and cheese. Once again the shrimp was fried well with a good batter. The bun was buttered and grilled so it held everything without breaking down as well as adding flavor. It was a really good po' boy.

It was a fairly simple meal of good, quality seafood. And that is the key, the seafood. It was also a great meal because I got to spend it with my brother, who I won't be seeing for a while. I do have to note that there are now many Wentzell's as they have been franchising out, but from what I have heard the first two, downtown and Airport, are still the best ones. If you are ever in Mobile, AL I highly recommend eating at Wentzell's Oyster House.

On top of the Amway... Cygnus 27

This past Saturday, 8/31, Mel and I went out in celebration of my completion of my Master's Degree. It was my choice where to eat, so I thought we should try Cygnus 27 after having been to SixOneSix, Bistro Bella Vita, Leo's, and Ruth's Chris. Its at the top of the Amway Grand Hotel glass tower and offers great views of Grand Rapids. The service was good and it is an attractively decorated, fine dining restaurant. It offered some little touches not seen at other restaurants such as the bread basket and sorbet between courses. I'll go through the dinner then offer my views after.

They started by bringing out a basket of four types of bread; a crispy flat bread, a multigrain roll, a roll with olives in it, and a thing of three little rolls attached to each other. They also brought out butter and a roasted pepper spread. All the bread was of high quality and the red pepper spread was outstanding. It was a nice little hold over until the appetizers came out.

For her starter, Mel got the Duck Rangoons. They were wonton wrappers stuffed with a ground duck breast with some soy sauce, ginger, and tomatoes. It had a nice duck flavor and it was smart to grind the duck instead of using shredded duck. There was a little bit of heat in the duck as well, but it was just enough to make the tongue tingle a little. It was served with a togarashi aioli. Togarashi is a Japanese spice blend that usually contains some ground chili pepper, different peppercorns, and some ground sesame seeds. Other ingredients may also be present. It added a great flavor when combined with the rangoon and worked well to slightly cool the heat from the duck. At the same time there was a nice spiced quality in flavor that just worked. A very nice small plate that we would order again.

I ordered the Hot 'n' Spicy Octopus. For once a dish with "hot" or "spicy" lives up to the billing. In this dish was jalapeno pepper with the seeds in to bring the heat. I, being a chili head who loves heat, would have liked even more heat. But this was good as it was. Also in the dish was carrots, shallots, garlic onion and possibly lemongrass. I wanted to try this plate because I have wanted to try octopus for a while. In this dish they stir fried it with the veggies and then finished with a soy sauce based sauce. I also detected ginger, some sweetness in it and possibly some sesame. The octopus was slightly on the chewy side, but managed to stay out of the overcooked-it-tastes-like-rubber zone. The veggies were cooked really well and remained crunchy.

 Between the starters and the entrees we were served a palate cleansing lemon sorbet. It was just a small spoonful but it did the job. There was a refreshing lemon taste without being too acidic. It also had a great texture. It was a nice little touch to the dinner.

 For my entree I ordered the herb crusted lamb chops with potato cake, poached yellow beets and broccolini, and tawny port sauce. Here is where the dinner started falling flat. First off, I ordered my lamb medium ( I was thinking medium rare but Mel didn't want to see it too red), so I was expecting the lamb to be a little pink. It was grey, meaning it was overcooked. It was still juicy, but not being able to properly cook the lamb to order was disappointing, especially for how much I paid for it. Also, that was the smallest rack of lamb I have ever come across. It was like four little inch wide pieces of lamb that came off the bone I was actually able to put in my mouth.  The taste was good, and the herb crust really went with the lamb. But the fact the lamb was overcooked and as small as it was was disappointing. The potato pancake was tasty and well seasoned. The veggies were cooked well and avoided the dreaded mushy vegetables. The tawny port sauce was ok. It tasted under reduced to me. It had that slightly metallic taste that occurs during the cooking process between fresh wine and perfectly cooked and reduced wine reduction. It went well with the lamb, but I thought it clashed when combined with lamb and potato cake. I was extremely disappointed with this plate. Maybe it is the fact that I have now eaten at some great restaurants, including a Michelin three star restaurant, that I feel so unhappy with this plate of food. But if I pay nearly $40 for a plate of food it needs to be near perfect in taste, presentation, and technique. This was not. I don't feel the value for what I paid was there.

Mel ordered the Amish BBQ Chicken. On the menu it says it is a grilled chicken breast brushed with bbq sauce, on a Belgian waffle, finished with a orange bourbon glaze, with pickled vegetables. First the veggies. The veggies were pickled, which in and of itself is not bad. The problem came when all of the pickling liquid on the veggies pooled at the bottom of the bowl. Mel didn't care for the veggies, which is fair enough. It was like a sweet pickling liquid. But since it was a bowl it sat in the bottom. The chicken was overcooked and slightly dry... with the bone in. Which should not happen. It wasn't just Mel who thought it was dry either. I tried some too and it was on the dry side. Unacceptable.The bbq sauce was lacking as well. So Mel basically had an overcooked, grilled chicken breast. No bbq sauce, no real glaze. The only good part was the waffle. The waffle was perfectly cooked and the right consistency. The glaze soaked into the waffle and created a syrup like effect with the waffle which was nice. Again though, the entree was a huge let down. When paying this kind of money near perfection in the dish is needed. This wasn't the case. If the plating was different and not in a bowl, that would have helped. Also, more bbq sauce and glaze was needed on the chicken. Finally, the chicken should not be overcooked at this level.  

 For dessert Mel ordered the chocolate sphere. Unfortunately I couldn't get a before and after pic. This is the after. It comes out as a chocolate sphere which was filled with a flourless chocolate cake and raspberry marshmallow. The server poured over a warm chocolate ganache and the sphere implodes on itself. It was chocolate decadence to the extreme. Mel likes chocolate. But this was chocolate overload. It needed some fresh berries or something acidic to cut through the chocolate on chocolate on chocolate. Or maybe some salt or chili pepper or something. It also needed some texture. The marshmallow had some raspberry flavor but the flavor wasn't very intense and the texture didn't stand out. But it was a good dessert. With a little tweaking it could be great. Especially for the chocolate lovers. I do have to say, the presentation is impressive.

I ordered the vanilla bean creme brulee. This was perhaps the best creme brulee I have ever had. The sugar was brulee'd nicely. The berries added a nice lightness and freshness that went with the vanilla and the slightly bitterness of the sugar. On top were some shortbread cookies that were also very good. They were buttery and crumbly and soft. It was a nice touch. The custard was perfectly cooked and the vanilla was prominent. It had little vanilla specks visible in the custard. This was the best dish of the night for me. Everything went together and was balanced and was cooked well.

Despite the good starters and dessert, I have a hard time recommending Cygnus 27. In fact, at this point, I cannot. The errors committed on the entree's were too great; especially when paying the amount of money each dish costs. The value is not there. Like I said before, for the price, the food needs to be of a higher than standard quality. This is more so at a fine dining restaurant. It just was not the case. The small plates were good and priced reasonably. I think the best value would be to order a couple small plates and dessert. I just can't recommend Cygnus though for a night out. I would gladly recommend SixOneSix, Ruth's Chris, or Bistro Bella Vita over Cygnus 27 in a heart beat.

Uncle Cheetah's

So here is a quick little update about trying Uncle Cheetah's a couple of weekends back with Mel. My youngest brother Taylor suggested we try it after we told him we had gone to Electric Cheetah.

This is our lunch. Mel got the Havarti Dill soup and I got the brisket chili.  Our sandwich was the Lunchbox sandwich. Mel's soup was really good. The cheese and dill pairing was good and the soup was the perfect temperature to start eating right away. It was cheesy without being too thick and the dill was front and center without being overbearing. She got the pretzel roll to go with her soup. It was great choice. It had a great pretzel flavor and was soft and "moist", as opposed to hard and dry. It soaked up the soup nicely, yet held its integrity.
The chili was scorching hot. As in a temperature high enough to turn solid rock to liquid, not chili pepper hot. The flavor was good though, with little pieces of brisket through out. It wasn't the best chili ever but it was good. It was just a shame it was so hot. I mean, we were eating for like 45 minutes and the little bit left in the bottom was still steaming hot when I finished. I got the challah bread. It was also just ok. It was kind of dry and didn't really have a ton of flavor to it.
The sandwich was loaded with pulled pork. It was bookended by cheese bread and then pressed in a panini.  inside, along with the pork, was cheddar, onions, and pickles. Everything was classic pairings that work. The bread was a little greasy from the press, but the fact it was overflowing with meat is what sets this apart from many other similar sandwiches. Was it the best sandwich ever? No. But it has great value for what you pay.
Was this the best eatery I have ever been to? No not really. It probably isn't close either. But what it does it does well. And that would be soup and sandwiches. For a quick-stop, soup and sandwich spot in East Town it is really good. I recommend it for quick stops or lunch, but I don't know if I would make plans for dinner there.

Birthday Dinner at the Rezervior Lounge

For my birthday last week, Mel and I went to the Rezervior Lounge, aka the old Sazerac Lounge (the sign out front still says Sazerac). So without any further adieu, here is the review of our night.

I started with the crawfish spring rolls and a cup of gumbo. Mel decided to forego the spring rolls and just have a cup of gumbo. I believe I have talked about the gumbo before so I will focus on the spring rolls. The filling was a cream cheese base with little pieces of crawfish and cajun spices like cayenne pepper. The dipping sauce was a sesame soy like sauce. The wrapper was nice and crispy without being over done. The filling was sweet with a little spice. I preferred to eat without the dipping sauce. I thought the flavor of the crawfish was very nice, it was sweet with a little brininess to it. Sometimes crawfish can be somewhat artificial tasting up here. Not in this. It was definitely the star of the show.

For the entree I got the blackened catfish. It was served with a remoulade sauce on a bed of rice and steamed broccoli. The rice and veggies were a little under seasoned. They were cooked well however. The broccoli was still firm and definitely not mushy. The rice was just kind of there. It added a little texture but that is about all. The catfish was beautifully seasoned. Blackened does not mean burnt. Blackening is a cajun method of cooking where a meat (typically catfish or chicken) is covered with spices. Typically the spice blend has some heat to it, but it is not mouth numbing hot. This catfish was moist and flavorful. It was not muddy as a bottom fish can be. The spice was perfect. The sauce complimented the fish without covering the flavor of the fish. It was a good dish that I really liked. It reminded me of New Orleans more than any dish in recent times. 

Mel chose the cajun porchetta sandwich with pork belly as the star. But unlike classical prochetta, its cooked with some cajun style spices that adds a little unexpected kick to such an unabashedly rich and porky dish. The flatbread is an interesting choice that is perfect. It is dense enough to not fall apart but soaked up some of the juice. If you like thick slices of pork on bread, this is a sandwich to try.

For dessert we had a brownie with raspberry lambic ice cream with a homemade whipped cream. The raspberry and chocolate marry well with each other. The ice cream added a nice cooling effect to the hot brownie. The whipped cream balanced all the flavors out oddly enough. The flavors were really well balanced. It was not sweet on sweet on sweet. The sweet was balanced with bitter from the chocolate and the beer in the ice cream. The mint on top brought a little bit of freshness as well.

Overall it was a good birthday dinner. From the start to finish it hit the spot. Happy Birthday to me!

Electric Cheetah

So today, 7/27, Mel and I went to the local Farmer's Market to get some fresh fruits and veggies. After we were looking for a place to eat some breakfast or lunch. It was about 11 when we had finished shopping. Originally we were going to go to a place called Wolfgang's for some breakfast. We have been there before, I just have never done a review of it for some reason. So we were going to go eat and do a review. However when we drove past toward the parking lot, there were about 40-50 people waiting outside. We didn't feel like waiting that long so drove back down Wealthy toward Downtown. We were thinking about going toward Rosa Parks Circle since they have a lot of little places to get a bite there. However we saw Brick Road Pizza and thought pizza sounded good. And then we saw that right next door was Electric Cheetah, a place we had see but never been to. Feeling adventurous we chose to eat at the new place. We were not disappointed.

First off, they have over 40 different kinds of root beer there. I got the Sprecher Root Beer while Mel chose the Virgil's Root Beer.

I thought the Sprecher's had much more of a smooth vanilla taste to it while the Virgil's had more of a herbaceous taste. Both were very good. 

We both got sandwiches. Both were really good. 

Mel chose the Whippy Dippy, a sandwich with house smoked beef brisket sliced thin on a crusty roll with provolone cheese and served with a special jus made from the brisket drippings. In a first for the blog, here is Mel's take on her sandwich:

It was a lot more like a sub than a sandwich.  This thing was huge!  The brisket was perfectly done and had a great flavor of with hints of corriander and cumin.  The bun it was on was from Nantucket Bakery, which is always good.  It had an awesome crunchy crust on the outside but was super soft and porous on the inside, making it ideal for soaking up the jus.  The provolone cheese was an awesome addition, adding a little bit of gooey goodness to the ultra beefy sandwich.  The chips were good as well, though I wouldn't say they were anything "special".  

Yes, the portions were huge. They were about the size of a sub. Definitely worth the $10 for the sandwiches. 

Here is what I ordered:

That is the Buena Vista Social Club sandwich of porky goodness. It has house braised pork shoulder, hand sliced local ham, a garlic aioli, spicy stone ground mustard, provolone cheese, and pieces of pickle spears. To me the shoulder was the star of the sandwich. It was tender and every now and then there would be a little crispy bit. The ham was good, but not as good as the shoulder. The provolone acted almost like a glue holding the meet together. The garlic aioli added a hint of garlic but was not overpowering. The pickle and mustard were a great choice, as those flavors really compliment pork well. Pork and mustard is pretty classic. The pretzel bun was on which it was served was also from Nantucket Bakery and was a good base for the sandwich. My only gripe is that my bun was really greasy on top and bottom. Also, it has to be noted that the root beer went fantastic with this sandwich. 

The service was good and the ambiance is typical East Town hipsterish. The prices are good for what you get. Like I said, $10 for a sandwich seems a little high, until you see how big they actually are. We are both glad that we stumbled in there. We had seen it before, and heard it had decent food. But never been in. Will we go back, yes we will. I mean, c'mon 40 different kinds of root beer!

Disappointing Night Out

It's been a little while since Mel and I went out to a restaurant that is not a chain restaurant. Mainly because of the gift cards that my girl's soccer team got us as coaches gifts (Thanks Girls). So we have been to Carabba's, On the Boarder, and Logan's mostly. So two nights ago, 7/23, we went back out to one of our favorite places, Hop Cat.

It didn't start out well. When we got there it was seat yourself. That was fine. We spotted a table in the back corner that would have been perfect for two people. The only other tables were for larger groups. It was dirty however with the checks from the previous diners and empty glasses and crumbs. So we stood by the table waiting for someone to clear it off. It never happened, so after 5 minutes of standing and waiting we took a larger table. Then we waited another 5 minutes for someone to come around and give us menus and water. The dirty table was still dirty. We ordered our appetizer first along with our drinks.

We ordered the Buffalo Rolls. It was roasted chicken with a buffalo sauce inside a wonton wrapper and fried. Basically it was a buffalo sauced chicken egg roll. Also in the filling looked to be cream cheese. It was a nice start. The buffalo sauce had a nice heat but wasn't so hot that Mel couldn't eat it. The dipping sauce was like a blue cheese ranch that they serve on other sandwiches. It was a nice offset to the buffalo sauce without the overpowering taste blue cheese can have. The biggest complaint was the texture of the filling. It was as if the chicken was put through a food processor. It was mushy and kind of mealy and really needed a textural contrast. The crunch from the crispy wonton wasn't enough. But it was a good start. 

Unfortunately the service was again poor. The waitress only brought up one plate, so Mel went and got another one. And our main plates came out five minutes after the appetizer did. Not good timing at all. So we had our appetizer plate on the table, eating it, as our entrees were sitting on the table as well. 

For our mains Mel ordered the Porter Braised Beef Sandwich, which is reviewed in a previous post, and I ordered the fish and chips. Since there wasn't a picture of the sandwich I took one.

And here are the fish and chips

The fish is cod and it has been beer battered and fried. It is served with a house tarter sauce and crack fries. The batter is generally crispy and flavorful. This time it was a little on the greasy side. Cod is a pretty mild tasting fish so it is all about the batter and seasoning to add flavor to it. The tarter sauce is fairly standard, although it does have some other spices in it. The fries were also a little on the soggy side. Usually they are crispy. I have had this dish before, and the fries were crispy and the fish perfectly fried.

Again, back to the service. We ordered another drink. Our server screwed up twice on them. Once I can understand, twice is inexcusable. Also, that dirty table remained dirty for nearly 45 minutes after we arrived. However that is not the worst part. The worst part is that I got food poisoning after eating there. So I narrowed it down to the fish or tarter sauce. At 3 AM I got to know my toilet really well.

So over all this was an extremely disappointing outing to Hop Cat. The service was unusually bad and the food made me sick. I still like Hop Cat, but it will be a while before we go back.

Camp food

Wow, I didn't realize I only posted once last month. I guess it was really the only place of note to write about. Everywhere else we ate at were chain restaurants like Carraba's or Logan's. Anyway, I thought I would take a little different approach to this post. Mel and I went back country backpacking and camping this past weekend so I thought I would write a short piece about the food we ate.

For snacks we had trail-mix, Jack Link's beef jerky and beef sticks, and Clif bars. The trail-mix was made by Mel and was simply honey roasted peanuts, raisins, and peanut butter m&m's. It was a nice little snack to have on breaks. Then there was the jerky and beef sticks. I won't go into too much detail because I am pretty sure that everyone has had them before. They are nice for the trail. They back tight and are a good little meaty food source that won't spoil quickly. Clif bars are similar to powerbars. They are an energy bar. They usually have a rougher texture to them because they use whole grains in the bar. So you feel like you are eating real food, not a processed bar. They are good and are a great idea for backpacking in the back country. They provide some calories in a small, easy to eat bar. I had mine for breakfast.

For food we had a few choices of freeze dried food packs. These are pre-made meals that are dehydrated so they last a really long time. They also come in two serving bags that are light and easy to pack. To rehydrate you add boiling water, mix well, seal back up, and let stand anywhere between 10-20 minutes depending on meal. We had a little MSR pocket-rocket burner that screws on a fuel canister. We also had a couple of small, light weight mess kits. The first one we ate was a fettuccine alfredo by Backpacker's Pantry. It pretty much goes without question that none of these meals are restaurant quality. But after being on the trail for hours on end, it is nice to have a hot meal. The name is a little misleading; yes there was alfredo sauce, yes there was chicken. But no, it was rotini not fettuccine. No big deal though. Mel loved it. It was ok to me but a little too salty for my taste buds after that hike. See, your sense of taste changes depending on what you have been doing. Physical exertion does this. That is why the same flavor of Gatorade can taste different before and after a hard bout of exercise. But overall it was a good choice.

We also had beef stew from Mountain House. I enjoyed this one much better than the alfredo. There is something comforting about a bowl of beef stew after a long hike. I though the balance was much better, and there is just something about meat and potatoes that satisfies the soul. It also had some carrots, and I think celery, in a light gravy. This one got a thumbs up from both of us.

The last meal we had was a southwest style bean chili by Coleman. It was probably the best of the three we had. The chili was basically black and red beans and sweet corn. It was a nice consistency and the little bit of cumin and other spices added a nice warmth to the chili. It was perfect for eating around a campfire as the sun set and the air grew cooler.

I also recommend bringing some individual Gatorade powder sticks to mix with water if you are ever going to go for a long hike on a tough trail. It adds some sugar and electrolytes as well as flavor to your water. I also liked Maxwell House instant latte mix sticks. It was a great way to start the day with a cup of hot latte in the cool morning.

The Man on the Bicycle, the Winchester

Last Saturday, June 8, Mel and I were out and bout having a nice day to our selves. We went to the zoo to see the new bear exhibit, and we just like going to the zoo every now and then. While out we were thinking of a few places to go eat that were affordable. We decided to go to The Winchester on Wealthy street. It's one of those older looking buildings along the brick corridor on Wealthy between Madison and Eastern. It has two dining areas, one inside the main restaurant with a lot of wood on the walls and floor, and an outside area on a little patio. We ate on the patio since it was a nice day out. The service was good and the prices were great.

We started with their spicy Thai wraps. The filling of the wraps was ground chicken with carrots, water chestnuts, green onion in a spicy chili sauce. The dipping sauce was a sesame-hoisin sauce. The lettuce wrap was a romaine leaf. The ground chicken filling was very good. There was the perfect amount of heat in it. It was hot enough for me to feel a little tingle, but not too hot that Mel couldn't enjoy it. The carrot and water chestnuts added a nice textural crunch to contrast the chicken. The sauce had a nice sweetness to it. When combined with the filling there was a nice balance of sweet, salty, and heat. The only problem was the romaine leaf. It is too stiff for a wrap like this. It would crack and the filling sauce would spill out. In fact this happened to me and I got some sauce on my shirt.

Mel got the Cubano sandwich with pork belly, braised pork, mustard, Swiss Cheese, and home made pickles. The pork belly was very good. It was cooked well so it had a nice crispiness to it. The braised pork was tender and juicy. The mustard added a nice tangyness to cut the richness of the pork and cheese. The pickles also added a little bit of acidity to cut the richness. The pickles were interesting. They were like a mix between sweet and dill pickles. The bread was dense enough to hold up to the sandwich filling, yet soft enough that it was easy to bite through. On a the side was a pesto potato salad. It was basically a potato salad, but instead of mayo and mustard etc., it was pesto that bound the potatoes together. The pesto was a nice twist that brought a nice herbaciousness to a potato salad. Overall it was a great sandwich.

I got the duck poutine. It consisted of confit duck, french fries, gravy, cheese curds, and a fried egg. The egg was perfectly fried with a runny yolk that ran throughout the bowl. The fries were seasoned well and the fried perfectly. The duck was shredded and integrated with the gravy. The duck really made this special. Duck just has that unique flavor that is so different than chicken or turkey. The cheese curds added some gooey goodness but were mild in flavor. It was a super rich but oh, so good. The only problem I had was I thought it was a little on the salty side. But regardless, I would order this again if I was in the mood for a rich meal.

Over all it was a nice meal. It wasn't the fanciest restaurant I have been to. It doesn't pretend to be. It is just a good local place, with with good food at great prices that supports local growers, brewers and farms. I think it will be a place we will visit again when we want a good meal at a good price.

A night out while staying in, Mel's Birthday Dinner

Yesterday was Mel's birthday. So seeing as we weren't going to be able to go out to eat, I cooked an 8 course meal for her. Here is what I made:

The first course was blistered cherry tomatoes, basil, brie sauce and crispy prosciutto. The tomatoes were blistered over charcoal on the grill. The brie was melted with cream and milk with thyme and rosemary. The prosciutto was simply cooked until crispy. The saltiness of the prosciutto complimented the tomato while cheese and basil are classic pairings with tomato. The rosemary sprig adds just a touch of earthiness to the tomatoes.

The second course was a take on the Catalan calcots, giant green onions charred over a hot grill (traditionally over old grape vines in Catalonia), then wrapped in newspaper to steam. It is served with romesco sauce. Technically these are cebolitas, as they were to closest thing I could find to giant green onion (sometimes they can be found at farmer's markets). The sauce was tomato, lots of garlic, almonds, bread, red wine vinegar, olive oil, and paprika. It adds a zestiness that contrasts the sweetness that comes through the onion when cooked. The bread is used to sop up the sauce or as a vehicle to eat the calcots.

  Third up was spicy Italian sausage dumpling in a miso-dashi broth. Go figure, Italian sausage marrying with a Japanese broth/soup. But it works. In the sausage was mild/sweet Italian sausage that was mixed with shallots and sriracha hot sauce. It was wrapped in wonton wrappers and then added to the broth to poach. It had this spicy, savory, sweet flavor that was (somewhat surprising) really well balanced.

This was a marinated chicken on "mashed patatas bravas." The chicken was marinated with olive oil, lemon juice, salt, pepper, and dried Italian herbs in a zip lock bag with the air removed. It was then cooked in the bag in boiling water. The mashed potatoes were my patatas bravas mashed. I boiled then fried potato wedges and tossed them in my spice mixture. I added some cream and mashed them. The brightness of the lemon added a brightness that contrasted the heaviness and spiciness of the potatoes.

Fifth course was a lightly seared steak with a chocolate-red wine sauce and a parsnip puree. The steak was seasoned with salt and pepper, then lightly seared in my cast iron pan and finished on the grill over a low coal. The sauce was dark chocolate melted in red wine with some salt added. The puree was parsnips, a little potato, olive oil, salt, pepper. The brightness of the parsnips contrasted the deep tones of the chocolate sauce. The steak was cooked to medium rare (medium well for Mel). The flavors balance each other nicely.

This was a baked couscous with capers, lemon, mint, and tomato-chili sauce. The sauce was tomatoes, poblano chili, pine nuts, olive oil. The couscous was cooked in boiling water then tossed with the caper, mint, lemon juice and zest. The sauce was added to the bottom of the cocotte and the couscous added on top. It was topped with grated Parmesan and baked at 400. The sauce bubbled up from underneath as it baked and coated the couscous. It was missing a little salt when it was tasted, but once added turned the dish into a winner. The sauce is light, and the lemon and capers brighten everything up. The mint adds an interesting flavor that works well with everything else.

This is a white gazpacho. It is a cold soup. It is made with cucumber, white grapes, almonds, Greek yogurt, soaked day old bread, olive oil, red wine vinegar. It was blended in the blender and then strained through a mesh strainer and chilled in the fridge. It was a nice, light soup that was nice after the heavier, bolder plates in front of it. It really cleaned the palate to get ready for dessert.

For dessert was a blood orange sorbet with a raspberry sauce, frozen raspberries coated in sugar, chocolate grated over top with a little sugar sprinkled over top and a mint leaf. It was great finish to the meal. It was sweet and bright and the flavors blended well together.

So there you are, the 8 course, smaller plates, meal for Mel. It was a fun night and we had fun eating in. She really enjoyed all the courses. But best of all was we could do it together.

Anniversary Weekend

Last weekend Mel and I went up to Montague/Whitehall for a night for our first anniversary. We thought it would be fun to post about the couple places we ate at

The first place we ate at was Dog-n-Suds drive in. I had heard about Dog-n-Suds from my dad for a long time and have had their bottled root beer as well. So it was personally a big treat for me to finally eat at one.

 

It was fun to eat in the car at a drive in like that. Also, the food was pretty good. I got the BBQ pulled pork sandwich. It was pretty good, especially for a fast food place. The bbq sauce was tangy and sweet. It wasnt the best I have had but it was good. The fries and coleslaw were also good. Mel got the double bacon cheeseburger. It was outstanding. It was a little on the greasy side, but hey, it's supposed to be. It puts anything put out by McD's or Burger King to shame. Highly recommend it if you ever get to one. To top it off we both got floats to drink, which was perfect since it was in the upper 80's outside and we had been walking around.

The next day we ate at a little sandwich place called Pekadills. It has sandwiches and ice cream... yum. I got the Peka Deli sandwich. It had ham, turkey, roast beef, jack cheese, lettuce, tomato, and mayo. The star was the cheese which really added something overall to the sandwich. The bread was good as well. Mel ordered the chicken salad croissant. It was good as well, with the croissant buttery and flaky and the chicken salad dead on. We sat back in a little garden area behind the store which was absolutely beautiful. We then finished with some ice cream, Mackinac Island Fudge for Mel, and Twisted Tennessee Toffee for me. I also recommend this place if you are ever up in that area.

The weekend was fun, being able to get away for a night and hang out and eat some surprisingly good food. It's been a great first year and I know there are many more to come.

Beer City USA

I would like to congratulate the City of Grand Rapids and its Breweries for being voted Beer City USA for 2013. (Just a few of the many logos from around town)

                               


      

In the 616

Last Friday, May 3rd, Mel and I went out to eat at SixOneSix, located in the JW Marriott downtown. It was our first time going and it was for a special occasion. I just passed my CSCS exam. I liked the way the restaurant looked. It was open with a glass wall facing the river, and a unique combination of retro cool and modern sleekness. Service was pretty good. Our server was knowledgeable on the menu and wines. Service was prompt for the most part. They even accommodated Mel when she changed her mind about what she wanted to drink with out any problems. Without further ado, here is what we ate.

 After we had ordered our appetizers, we were brought out a basket of bread and butter. A minute later these two small dishes of shrimp were brought to the table. They were butter poached shrimp with cucumber and basil oil (I believe). I was pretty surprised. The shrimp tasted fresh, without the toughness and rubberiness that frozen shrimp usually have. So I don't know if they were frozen or not. But the shrimp were perfectly cooked. They were tender and sweet, served chilled . The cucumber added a nice lightness and freshness that complimented the sweetness of the shrimp. The oil added just a hint of herbal flavor. It was a pretty nice start to the night.

For our appetizer Mel and I split the Crispy Veal Sweetbreads. In case you are not aware of what sweetbreads are, they are not bread. They are either the thymus gland or pancreas. Usually they are soaked in milk and the membrane removed before being fried. This was the first time I had sweetbreads. I couldn't wait to try them. Mel was a little more apprehensive, but she jumped right in with me. The sweetbreads were fried perfectly. They were crispy on the outside while the inside was not overcooked. They were somewhat sweet, but also reminded me somewhat of pork. In short, they were absolutely delicious. They were served on a celeriac (celery root) puree with maple bacon and micro arugula. The saltiness of the bacon worked well with the sweetness of the sweetbreads and the peppery arugula. The celeriac puree, with pieces of celeriac in it, added a nice lightness that really lifted the dish and contrasted the more intense flavors of the other ingredients. I really liked this and would order it in a heartbeat.

Mel ordered the Otto's Chicken. It was served with cranberry beans, arugula, and andouille sausage. The beans were ok. I didn't think they were special. The arugula added a little bit of green to the plate. The andouille was pretty good. It was better than most I have tried up here, but not as good as the best I have had in New Orleans. The chicken was good. It was pretty juicy and had a nice grilled flavor. For me it was ok. It was chicken with beans and sausage. Don't get me wrong, it was a good dish. Maybe I was just expecting a little more. 

I ordered the Maple Leaf Farms Duck. On top was a crispy duck breast. Below the duck breast was a confit of duck leg. This was on a leek fondue with potatoes. The duck was perfectly cooked. The skin on the breast was crispy and delicious. The leg was buttery and could be just pulled apart. For as rich as duck is (it has much more depth of flavor than chicken or turkey), I thought the fondue would be a little overkill on the heaviness factor. That was not the case. The leek and the fondue actually lifted and lightened up the dish, completely to my surprise. The greens added a little freshness. The potatoes added a much needed starchiness to help cut the heaviness of duck. It was a very successful dish in my opinion. It was surprising how all the components really went together well. My only real complaint was the shape of the bowl. It made it hard to cut through the duck breast. That was about my only complaint. It was very good

For dessert Mel got the Chevre (goat cheese) cheesecake. It was one of the best cheesecakes I have ever tasted. The slight saltiness of the goat cheese really revealed a lot of flavors in it. It also had a hazelnut brittle that added texture and nutty flavor to the cheesecake. It only let down was the seasonal compote. It was heavy on the rhubarb, and Mel was not a fan of that. The cheesecake though was awesone. 

I chose the champagne blood orange sorbet. It was so refreshing with the slightly acidic nature of the blood orange. It was also sweet and the champagne added a nice lightness to the actual sorbet. It came with a little shortbread cookie. I loved this dessert. A perfect end to the meal.

Sorry for the crappy pic. At the end our server brought out these little chocolates. I don't remember what he called them, but it was white chocolate, almonds, and something else. It was a nice little send off to the meal. 

Overall I was pretty happy with SixOneSix. The only real let down, in my opinion, was the chicken. Everything else was at or above what I expected. I definitely recommend dining here. Service was good and the foot was delicious.