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!