Il Sorpasio... The Cam'Ron

     It's been a while since I have written a message, which is what makes it ironic that I'm choosing to write today... on Labor Day!  While most of the country is kicking their feet up, watching summer re-runs, I am in the office slaving away trying to come up with something fun for everyone to read.
     In the spirit of the day, I didn't want to do something that caused too much work.  So instead of making a dinner, I decided to make a drink.  I found a drink that I have never had before, the Il Sorpasio.  1 oz. Aperol, 1 oz. Makers Mark, 3/4 tsp. honey, 1 tsp. lemon juice, 1/4 tsp. sugar and top it off with 2 oz. club soda.  Now I knew before I finished making the drink that this wasn't going to be my favorite concoction... I love bourbon, but don't really like mixing it with too many things.  I made the drink, I drank the drink, and then I came up with a recipe that I liked... The Cam'Ron: 2 oz. Makers Mark, 1 oz. Aperol, 1 tsp. honey, pinch of sugar, dash of lemon juice and top it with club soda.  Was it better... yes!  Did it make me feel better... yes!  I'M BACK... see you next time.  NEXT ROUND'S ON ME!

Red Velvet... Round Duex

...'NUFF SAID

What goes good with Lemon Grass Pork... Red Velvet Cake

I missed you too! After a week off, due to a detox fast, I am back at Next Round's On Me. Ready to recreate a new dish for customary group, now what was it that I was supposed to make? That's right, a pork over rice, from Asian Box. I am already losing ambition for this project. There have been a few recipes that have been fun, but now this is two in a row that I am less than enthusiastic to make... by the end of the meal it will be three. Don't read ahead, I'll get there, (plus I ensure you, it is not that interesting).

I like Asian food. Let me rephrase that, I love Asian food. The mix of flavors and textures is something that is not found in other types of cooking. Plus, I love rice. If I was being put to death and was given a last meal I would get rice, with eggs and rice, with a side of fried rice. Get the point, I like rice. There are however two things I don't like in Asian food. First, if the restaurant is trying to be healthy. Please, most Asians I know are half my weight, I don't think it is the Asian food we are eating that is making us fat, it might be the McDonald's on every other corner. Second, all white people in the restaurant. Having all white people in the restaurant doesn't necessarily mean the food isn't good, it just probably isn't authentic. The fried rice is probably great, but I live in the Bay Area, where you could probably just walk another couple blocks and find a restaurant where you could find good fried rice that comes with a good second dish... just sayin'. In fact the only thing I remember about Asian Box being Asian is the name.

Back to my dish, the Lemongrass Pork. The funnest thing about this dish was making the marinade for the pork. I have never used Lemongrass in a dish before and was surprised how easy it was to use, (although no-one who ate the dish knew that it was marinated in Lemongrass... I would use a lot of it next time). I just took the Lemongrass and shredded it like I would a carrot, on a grater. Mixed it with shallots, garlic, sugar, oil and soy sauce and let the pork sit room temperature for six hours. I had sliced the pork thinly and threaded onto skewers to cook over high heat for one to two minutes on each side. Take off the fire and slice thinly and serve over rice, actually a pretty simple meal. We mixed a sauce of Teriyaki and Sriracha to pour over the meat and everyone at the table was happy. (To be fair to my comment above, everyone at the table was white, so I shouldn't count this as a success towards my Asian cooking).

What did I do for an encore, for dessert? Well next week's post I have to replicate Suzie Cake, so I went there and brought home a cake for everyone to try... Red Velvet. I'll answer your questions. Yes, I already made a Red Velvet Cake and no, I don't like dessert. But it looks like I am going to try again. A quick review of Suzie Cake, it was too rich for me. I didn't finish my slice, (and I didn't cut a very big slice). Unlike the last bundt cake there was a lot of frosting on this one, and it was overwhelming. Come to think of it, we don't need "healthy Asian food," we just need to get rid of these dessert chains that are popping up in every downtown area. Oh well, I guess I'll just eat it, like it and buy a larger pair of jeans. Come back next week when I make my own Red Velvet... again. NEXT ROUND'S ON ME

Swordfish Round Duex...

I heard that a famous comedian once said that "You can't tell all funny jokes, or your audience won't know when to laugh." If that same theory is true in cooking then I would say that tonight's meal was a success. Because my Swordfish wasn't good. I didn't think much of it, good or bad, (which means its bad), but my "audience" didn't like it. "It tastes like there is a thick pesto paste on the fish," says Uncle Doug. "I think I am going to give the rest of mine to the dog," says my wife.

See what I'm saying, the fish wasn't good. It didn't turn out like I think it was supposed to. It was supposed to be an almond "crusted" fish. Instead it was fish with an almond paste on top, the crispy crust never developed in the cooking process. I had serious hesitation making Swordfish. Mostly because I don't like it. I am trying to open my mind and expand my horizons, but there are some fish dishes that I just don't like. I don't know if that makes me a culinary novice, uneducated on all of the nuances of seafood cooking, or a sophisticated chef, who understands his palate. But I know this, I don't like Swordfish, and I would be happy to never eat it again.

There was one good thing about this meal, (and it wasn't the price of the protein. Why on earth is Swordfish so expensive... is there anyone out there who actually likes it?) My wife made a Risotto as a side dish and it was fantastic. I would leave tonight's meal with the same frame of mind that I left Vault 164 last week, if the Risotto was the only thing I ate I would have been happy with the dinner. Unfortunately it wasn't, and unfortunately the only blame for the meal can be placed on me. Come back next week when I try to redeem myself... NEXT ROUND'S ON ME

Asian Boxx... (get your mind out of the gutter)

I want to say something about tonight's dinner that is worth reading. Something funny or off the wall that would make you chuckle and think that this next few minutes isn't a complete waste of your time... but I got nothing. NOTHING! Not because tonight's dinner was bad. No, it wasn't bad at all. If there was any problem with Asian Box it would be the name, not the food. (There, I got my one cheap laugh out of this one). But seriously there was nothing good or bad about this dinner.

Asian Box is exactly what I would think a $7 dinner of "healthy Asian food" would taste like. A lot of syrupy sauces, some nice dark meat, and rice. I guess the one question I had when leaving was "what makes this healthy?" The food was fine, I don't want to talk to much about it because I feel it will cheapen my blog. Here's my advice, if you have $10 and 20 minutes for lunch in Palo Alto give it a shot. If you have more money or more time there are 50 places better within a 5 minute drive. Palo Alto is the epicenter of cultural cuisine, and this place was a stereotype. I do think I will have a hard time replicating the dish but who knows... come back, NEXT ROUND'S ON ME.

Every once in a while you find yourself playing cards with a losing hand, as a figure of speech. Like standing in a batters box with a pitcher on the bump throwing 95. At that point you are not trying to drive the ball as much as you would consider any contact with your swing a win.

The last time I remember being in this situation I was playing golf at Bandon Dunes in Oregon. If I remember right we were on the forth hole that plays along the ocean. There was an on-shore wind of 40 mph plus and I found myself a long 3 iron from the green. To make the shot even more intimidating when looking at my target there was ocean to the left, the green, and then some of the thickest, nastiest brush I have ever seen to my right. I would rather roll around in Poison Oak and then let a cat scratch my face before I would want to walk through that crap again. The point of the story is I hit my shot, about 30 yards right of the hole, (a lot to do with the wind), but I found my ball on top of a sand hill to the right of the bush. I didn't care that I was no where near the flag, the simple fact that I found my ball was an accomplishment. That is a lot like this dinner.

When we went to Madera I had the New York Steak with a sweet potato Au Gratin... and it was awesome. I new that I would not be able to capture the taste of their wood burning grill because, well... I don't have a wood burning grill. The only way I could think to get the smokey flavor into the meat was to use my parents wood burning pizza oven for the occasion, and I have never cooked meat in a pizza oven so it was a gamble. To add a little pressure, I was going to cook for my grandparents as well. It was my grandma's 78th birthday, so my mom thought it would be a good idea for me to experiment a new cooking technique on old people. (This had disaster written all over it). So not only was I certain that my dish wouldn't be as good as Madera's, but I was starting to think there was a chance I was going to get people sick, or...

To start I bought the best New York Steaks I could find. I got the pizza oven hot and tenderized the steaks, (mostly by pretending I was doing a deep tissue massage on someone I don't like). Seasoned the steaks with nothing but salt, and right before putting the steaks in the oven I knocked off a couple pieces of burning wood from the pile of coals in the oven hoping that it would create smoke in the oven. Honestly, not comparing the dish to Madera's, it was great. The steak cooked in six minutes and I thought it had a great smokey flavor. The meat was tender, juicy and full of flavor. The only real complaint at the table was that after I had cooked the steaks, and let them sit before they were served, the steaks had started to cool down too much. I wasn't sure how to fix this flaw but next time I try steaks in the pizza oven I will put some plates in as well to get them hot and help keep the steaks warm while they are waiting to be served.

How do I feel trying to make the same dish as a Micheline Star Chef?... better than I expected. I knew I wouldn't be able to do as well as Madera, and I didn't. But to use the golf analogy... I wasn't trying to hit a great shot, I am just glad I found the ball. I have some serious culinary lessons to learn. The most obvious being presentation and sauces, but I feel like I am improving over the weeks. So far none of the food that I have cooked has been inedible, and that speaks for more than the meal I payed for last night. Come back next week... NEXT ROUND'S ON ME

Vault 164

Disappointment is allowed?... right? "Pain makes you stronger." "Pain makes you beautiful." My version, "Bad dining experiences make you appreciate good ones."

To be fair, I never thought that Vault 164 had a chance tonight. We drove almost an hour to get there, (for what should have been a half hour drive), couldn't find parking when we did get there, and then the outside of the building was being painted when we walked in the front door.

Now I have never spent time in downtown San Mateo, and I really had no idea what to expect. I was picturing a slightly larger version of San Carlos, which is very similar to Los Gatos, (without the Santa Cruz Mountains and a much larger street running next to it... The El Camino Real). ((I appreciate the fact that I just used the same word twice next to itself in two different languages... The means El in Spanish, stay with me)). It wasn't. San Mateo reminded me more of San Fransisco. But not the good part of San Francisco, not the part where you are singing on trolley cars after midnight. No, San Mateo reminded me of the San Francisco that exist around 2 PM, when you desperately need to park and find a place to use the restroom. The obnoxious and gross part of San Fransisco. Like I said, Vault 164 never stood a chance.

What made the experience even worse is when we started to eat at Vault 164 the food was average... at best. We started with bacon wrapped dates, and to be honest, it was the culinary highlight of the evening. It was a date stuffed with cheese wrapped in bacon. What made it slightly unimpressive was I had a very similar dish at my friends house a couple weeks ago which was as good... if not better. The main dish was more disappointing. It was suggested that I try an almond crusted Swordfish, served with carrots and a crispy Risotto. The carrots and Risotto were great, in fact after finishing the meal I wished I had just ordered the Risotto. The Swordfish was just okay. I lied, the swordfish wasn't very good. I am an eater, (not a "taster"). Food, like wine, I enjoy when consuming, not putting a little on my tongue and spitting it out. I didn't finish my meal tonight. I can't remember the last time I didn't finish my meal. About half way through the fish I didn't want to eat anymore. Not because it was bad or gross, just because it wasn't good. The whole time I was thinking, "I really don't want to make this dish next week," not a good indication of my enjoyment. I always say, "If I come to a restaurant and the server cannot suggest one good thing on the menu, it is not a place worth going back to."

Anyways, I have to get up early to play a round of golf tomorrow morning, and hopefully it is better than tonight's dinner. Whoops, did it again. I didn't know I disliked tonight's dinner this much.. but I need my sleep, goodnight. Come back next week when I try to replicate a truly forgettable dish... I am soooo excited, (sense the sarcasm). NEXT ROUND'S ON ME.

Madera

Come close, I have to talk quiet. I heard about a great place to get a deal. If you need to get some things for around the house at a reasonable price, go to Walmart. And if you want a huge selection of products to fix up your house, you should try the Home Depot. Last, and don't tell anyone, I don't want to get a call from the senate about insider trading, if you like baseball, there is a team in one of the New York boroughs that always seems to do well, they call themselves the Yankees.

Ridiculous, I know. That is what I feel it is like for me, someone who's had a handful of good meals in his life, to critique a restaurant that was awarded by the Micheline Guide. I can play one of two roles... the badass, "The food at Madera was overpriced and plain. I could have had a better steak Bob's Big Boy." Or the person completely infatuated with a product that is outside of his area of comfort, "The food was so challenging that it took the idea of a culinary experience to a whole new level... I never think I will taste again." (The second is probably closer to the truth).

I will try to be real, the food was great. I am trying to think how to say something better than great without going too far... really great. There are three or four meals I have had in my life that changed the way I view food, this was not one of them, but it belongs in the category right next to them. The food was terrific. I had a thick New York Steak with a Sweet Potato Gratin and bone marrow, yes bone marrow. (As a wannabe foodie I am ashamed to say this is the first time I have ever had the dish. But I had it, I liked it, and am looking forward to the next time I get to try it).

The steak was perfectly cooked, the potatoes were spot on and the marrow was really... neat? Most impressive was the service and the atmosphere. I really enjoyed my time at Madera. The view was great, the energy in the place was enough to keep you feeling good, but not enough to cause discomfort. And the bill at the end of the night was less than I expected. Sitting on one of the most expensive pieces of real estate in the world, (the corner of Sand Hill Road and 280), I was expecting a bigger bill, (and they probably could get one without trying real hard). It did make me feel good to know that there were so many exceptionally successful people that have enjoyed the same food I ate tonight, and for the right reason. What makes Madera good isn't it's price tag or exclusivity, it is the quality of the food that is served. I hope I am lucky enough to eat here again. Until next week when I try to cook my own steak... NEXT ROUND'S ON ME

Chicago Style Pizza

This may be the hardest post I have written so far... and not for the obvious reasons. The food was good, and pretty straight forward so I wasn't totally confused during the cooking process. (It did take a lot more work than I anticipated but I will get back to that later). No, this post is tough because I have music stuck in my head and am having a hard time getting my own thoughts straight. I went to a Christina Perri concert last night and I continually want to write "you put your arms around me and I'm..." and then realize that no one reading this can possible be romanced by me writing a love song. (Although while writing this there is music in my head that go along with the lyrics).

Here goes, back to the pizza. In the past weeks I have been asked to spend more time talking about the process of cooking as well as the recipes. The recipes may be tough, mostly because I don't follow one specifically, and am not sure exactly what I put into the dish, but I will do my best to let you know how the dish was made.

The dough was simple, if anything too simple. Bring water up to 110 degrees, add yeast, let rest, add flour, vegetable oil, sugar and more of another type of flour I had never heard of. Knead together while adding more flour and bang! you got some dough. (Let sit for approximately 1.5 hours before putting into your pizza dish). I wasn't prepared for this much prep time so if you try this, give yourself an afternoon.

The pizza toppings themselves were also simple, and much better and more flavorful than the pizza from Blue Line. I took some advice from my cousin who suggested making large Italian Sausage patties and putting them on the pizza in place of ground sausage. By doing this you are able to get large bites of sausage and that great Italian flavor, I thought it was great. "It's easier for you to let me go..." Sorry, singing Christina again. I made what I thought is the best and most authentic Italian pizza; sausage, onion, mushroom and olive. I put a homemade pizza sauce over it, fresh oregano and basil mixed with garlic and tomato topped with a sprinkle of parm. Once cooled from the oven some fresh basil and I had an authentic Chicago Pizza. (Minus being from or in Chicago).

Not gonna lie, the past few paragraphs were boring for me to write, and now I want to sing you a song... Jar of Hearts? No... really. My voice is great over the Internet... whatever. The dinner was good and fun. Tyler, my cousin from a town close to Chicago said that the pizza held its own. Everyone at the table agreed that the crust was a little dry and that I should do something to add flavor to the crust next time, but it wasn't offensive. Like all SilCratian meals the company was better than the food, but the food is pretty damn good. As a proud SilCratian I am happy with the dish.. what's SilCratian you ask, stick around, it is bound to come back and explain itself. I can definitely make some improvements on my Chicago Pizza, but I didn't embarrass myself. Come back next time... NEXT ROUND'S ON ME

Blue Line Pizza

I didn't do any research before going to Blue Line Pizza before we got there, which is good. Because if I had I probably would have created some serious stereotypes, and that would have ruined the whole experience. For instance, Blue Line Pizza is a trendy San Francisco pizza joint that is working its way around the Bay Area... spare me. The last thing the rest of the Bay Area needs is "trendy San Francisco treats." Here's another, the Blue Line is a popular train in Chicago where there are numerous pizza joints that serve "the best pizza in the world"... who cares. I don't live in the mid-west, really I don't think that I should base my food judgment off of anything in the mid-west. The only good thing about the mid-west is the snow, and it doesn't snow here. (This year it doesn't even rain). I went into Blue Line Pizza expecting good pizza, and it was pretty good, although not much better than your typical pretty good pizza.

It is hard to think critically about deep dish pizza for two reasons. The first, and most obvious, I don't know much about it. I have only had deep dish Chicago style pizza in Chicago twice. And truthfully, I don't really remember it that well. (It was years ago). The second reason deep dish pizza is hard to critique is bread and cheese are good. It doesn't matter how bad the bread is, or how old the cheese is, when you put them together it is good.

To answer the obvious question, yes... this deep dish pizza was good to eat. As far as the flavors, (take away the bread and cheese), I thought is was lacking. Take away one bite I took that was overwhelmingly spinach, I don't remember tasting much. I kept searching for the Italian Sausage to no avail. I couldn't really identify any flavors. I would have liked the pizza much more if they used a spicier Italian Sausage and fresh basil. Also, a little onion would have helped to give it a bite.

I would go back to Blue Line Pizza, but probably against my will. Not that I have anything against San Francisco or Chicago, but this style of food just isn't my thing. It is too easy to make something very ordinary taste great. (I may have spoken a week too soon). Come back next week when I try to make a deep dish pizza... NEXT ROUND'S ON ME.

Fried Chicken With Green Curry Sauce

Asian fusion is not distinctive, in fact it is so ordinary in the Bay Area that the fact that it is not distinctive makes it distinctive to everywhere else. You don't have to drive more than a city block anywhere around here to find a restaurant that considers its heritage some version of The Orient that caters to white people, and that is what makes "fusion" food so popular. There is an emotion that is connected to a food you remember, in this case fried chicken, and there is a certain excitement in tasting a flavor that is unique to the pallet, usually a combination of sweet and spicy.

This food is so easy to come by, and cheaply I may add, that it is hardly worth learning how to cook yourself. For six to ten dollars you can walk a block in any direction and get some protein served over rice that will make you feel good enough to come back. You usually do not know exactly what you have eaten, or even what flavors you tasted, but it is comfortable, and comfort is good.

I engaged in this weeks project with great anticipation strictly for that reason, I love Asian food. Let me be more honest, I love what I think of as Asian food. I like thick, syrupy sauces on dark chicken meat. I like pepper mixed with sweet sauces... and I LOVE rice. That's right, rice with whatever sauce is left over, and that includes everything edible, becomes my favorite part of every dish. So I figured all I had to do is make a good enough sauce, cook the chicken all the way through, and I would be satisfied with the dish, as long as there was enough left over sauce to put on my rice. I was right in so many ways.

The chicken was good. I do not have anything to deep fry the chicken in so I did a quick pan fry. Uncle Doug was over so he helped me prep the meat. He pounded the chicken, (we used chicken thighs), to about a quarter of an inch and then dipped them in eggs and Panko bread crumbs. We put the chicken in Vegetable Oil for about three minutes on each side and let them sit for a few minutes on napkins to cool down. I do think that the dish would have been a little better if I had the ability to deep fry the chicken, but I didn't so I am happy with what we got.

The Green Curry sauce had more ingredients but was just as easy. Lemongrass, ginger, scallions, garlic, jalapenos, fresh cilantro and basil, cumin, fish sauce, brown sugar, coconut milk and I am sure a couple ingredients I can't remember right now and I was done. Stick them all in a blender and push a button. It was so easy my two year old niece could do it. (Literally, she wanted to help so I let her push the button). The sauce turned out great. Everyone at the table liked it. I put an extra jalapeno in to "kick up" the heat and could hardly taste it. If I do this again, and I will, I would add more spice. Unfortunately I did not have anymore jalapenos in the kitchen, and after my second glass of wine, I can only cook with what is in the kitchen. Anyways, back to the curry, I liked it, and couldn't believe how easy it was.

This is a dish that I think I will make again. It was easy, good and quite frankly... affordable. Although it is easier to walk down the street for a quick dinner, it is impossible to recreate the atmosphere and conversation that comes with a kitchen being used. I'll chalk this one up as a success, come back next week... NEXT ROUND'S ON ME.

Pan Roasted Duck Breast 2

If you scroll down a couple inches you will find the same picture, with no words. A painfully obvious example of the fact that I am playing with a technology that I don't understand... I am sorry for the premature post, (I pushed a button that I was not intending to push).

To the duck. Today was a good day, a damn good day. It was a day that was significant in my life as a cook. (Alright, I'm not a cook. It was significant in my life as a person who prepares food). I prepared duck, for the first time. I am not going to make this sound more romantic than it was, I was intimidated. When I think of duck on a menu I think of a chef that is so confident in his cooking that even if the duck didn't taste good, no one would have the balls to tell him. What I mean is... you only find it at restaurants that don't care how they get reviewed. You know the saying when there is no price on the menu, "If you have to ask... it's too much." My version, "If you're going to critique my duck dish... go **** yourself." Because duck isn't for the average diner, it isn't for the average food connoisseur... duck is for the food eater.

With that said I went "all for broke." I got some advice from my chef cousin about how to prepare the duck breast and did it as close as I could to what I remembered. Scored the skin and fat, rendered off the fat, roasted in the oven and then finished by braising the breast in its own fat. The sauce I could have done better. The taste was amazing... I LOVED it. It was a Blueberry Green Peppercorn Chutney that I thought was fantastic. The only problem was the texture. I cooked the sauce down for about an hour but the peppercorns were still too tough. If I had it to do again I would definitely put the Chutney into a blender and purify it before pouring it onto the duck. A rookie mistake, but I am still a rookie.

The dish as a whole was terrific. I was proud of myself. I thought the duck was cooked great and would serve it to anyone with pride. I will work on my sauces and presentation, (they both need a lot of work), but that is what this whole project is for... to get better. I had a great time with duck and am looking forward to next week! Come back... NEXT ROUND'S ON ME!

Pan Roasted Duck Breast

Oryza Bistro

Asian fusion... as I watch cooking shows on t.v. it seems to be getting more and more trendy. The nerdy looking Chinese guy (who is actually Korean), mixing a chicken dish into rice and pretending there is some true ethnicity left in the dish. The food is always pleasant enough, but never great enough to really care, it's worth about six bucks for a quick lunch.

So why would I be particularly excited about a new restaurant with the same 'ole credentials. Truthfully, I'm not. Growing up in the Bay Area and then spending a brief time in Hawaii, I can honestly say I have had some great, and authentic, Asian food. The most telling sign of a great Asian restaurant... the smell. The first few times you walk into a restaurant like this it is offensive, but soon enough you will grow to appreciate what it represents... fresh fish. And if you ever walk into an Asian restaurant and they don't recommend a fish, the food is meant for white people, so accept it for what it is, but don't get your hopes up.

Oryza did not smell like fish, in fact, it was barely Asian. It is advertised as an Asian fusion but it is very "Chili's." All of the food is good, in fact, the food was very good. If someone wanted to go there for a quick lunch I would look forward to it, but it was not a culinary experience. There was not a lot of what I would call "true ethnicity" in the dishes. They all tasted like what you would expect when you went to any box restaurant, but maybe a little more flavor. Of all the Asian flavors it was probably closest to Thai, because of the use of curry, but their fried chicken reminded me more of Roscoe's in Pasadena than 99 Chicken in Santa Clara. (Roscoe's is a chicken and waffle stand that focuses on "soul food." If you are ever in the neighborhood I would HIGHLY recommend it. Nonetheless, it is not Asian). At the end of the day, I would go back, but I wouldn't be in a hurry. See where I go next week, remember... NEXT ROUND'S ON ME!

Chicken Shawarama

"What's my favorite part of eating?"... you might ask. Simple, finding something good to drink with it. Whether it is Tequila with Mexican, Sake with Japanese, or wine with... well anything, I like to pair food and drink. Truthfully, I like food to give me an excuse to drink. So what to pair with Chicken Shawarama? After a quick read up on Robee's I find that the dish I ate last week was Iraqi. Don't have a problem with the fact that we have fought two wars in the past twenty years, but I do have one major dilemma. From what I understand Iraq is a "dry" country. Dry in the sense that they don't buy, serve or drink alcohol. That does put a damper on my night because I don't plan on serving this Shawarama with tea. If there was only a modern technology that would allow me to find what other diners would drink with Shawarama, wait... after a quick Google search I find that some people suggest Shawarama with Syrah, I told you, wine goes with everything!

Tonight I decided to invite a few people over to try the dish; uncle Doug (he is becoming a favorite), my mom, my dad and of course, my wife. (I know it is lame that my close family are the only people that are willing to eat my food, but I am seriously not a very good cook).

I found a receipt online that looked, and followed it pretty well. It was very similar to the Shawarama that we had at Robee's but it traded the yogurt spread for a "hummus" spread. (It was not a bean hummus but made from tahini). The hummus did dry the dish out a little too much, after the fourth bite I wished that I had some tart yogurt and dill to clean the pallet.

I thought the chicken was great. I marinaded it in a yogurt sauce for eight hours and used spices I have never used before, for that matter, spices I have never heard of before: cardamom and sumac. (I know that most people know these spices but they are a first for me!). I really enjoyed the hot chicken wrapped in Lavash with a cold cucumber, tomato and onion salad. If I had to do over I would definitely include the yogurt and dill sauce, but that's how you learn. Everyone at the meal was polite enough to say they liked it, but it was lacking something, next time I'll do better. I'll try again, come back... NEXT ROUND'S ON ME!

Pasty... Pastis

This wasn't a place I was looking forward to trying, for a whole different reason than the few times before. A French Bistro... that sounds fun. It will definitely provide an opportunity for humiliation in a week or two when I get around to trying to duplicate the receipt. No, this place is a little too close to a place I don't want to go to... in the physical sense. Let's just say it is around the block from an old home and a short walk from a place I would rather forget.

Pastis is a great little restaurant. Once inside I forgot where it was located. Every server had a thick French accent, they seemed to care about their food, but more importantly, they seemed to care about their customers. Twice I saw, who I assume is the owner of the restaurant, go out of his way to make small conversations with diners. Twice, he came by our table to insist that we try a dish, once bringing us a free course because we told him we couldn't eat everything he recommended. This was the most Italian form of a French guy I have ever met. He was full of passion, loved life and food... so how was his food?

Our appetizer was great. It was a mussel and fries dish with the mussels in a Gorgonzola slash broth sauce... awesome. The main course was chicken and duck. Neither overly imaginative, and quite frankly, I was surprised that these were the two dishes that were recommended on the menu. Neither wooed, but both were good. (The chicken was better). It felt like food you would expect to eat at a place you go to because you like the way it tastes, not because it is cool for foodies. A little old world, it definitely felt like a home cooked meal. Good hearty food with solid flavors.

I would go back for the food alone, for the service... I wish I lived closer. On second though, for the service, I wish they would move to Los Gatos. It was a great dinner, come back next time... NEXT ROUND'S ON ME.

Robee's Falafel

Have you ever felt like you were in the right place, but at the wrong time? That would be an appropriate description of tonight. A nice Thursday evening in downtown San Jose. A newly renovated urban hot spot; music, TVs and a bar. The kind of place you would think to go to when you have an evening free, and you'd be right... just not yet. From what I can tell there is a solid year before The San Pedro Square Market lives up it's expectations. Right now, when you walk through it, it is half finished and does not make you want to stop for a quick drink. Stopping in after work is not as much like going to a local bar as it is going to a construction zone. Unfortunately this feel has an effect on the dining experience.

Overall the food at Robee's Falafel was good, not great, but about what you would expect from a dining scene that feels as much like a food court at the mall as a true neighborhood gem. Actually, when I phrase it like that it was pretty good, better than the mall. The menu was limited. The chicken Shwarma was recommended as the favorite so we got that along with a gyro and dolma. If I am going to be a true food critic I would call the chicken a little dry and the whole Shwarma dish lacking in flavor. Something was missing, more than likely salt. The gyro was really good, lamb, dill, yogurt and fresh onion... mmmm. I don't doubt that if Robee's can stay open for the next few years it will do great. I can see a place like this getting a cult local following, becoming a staple in a community, but it will take time. San Pedro Square Market is not ready for a big dining scene. It is getting close, but still a game changing restaurant or two away. Until next time... NEXT ROUND'S ON ME

Naan, naan, naan, nah...

Humbling, sort of. A sign of how far I have to go, for sure. My first attempt at making Indian food was a mixed bag. My wife's first comment summed it up, "If I didn't know I was supposed to be eating Indian food I would really like it."

The dish itself was fine, not great but fine. I chopped up pieces of chicken thighs, coated it with salt, pepper and ground mustard, cooked it in wine and cream with chili paste and mushrooms served over a large scoop of Basmati Rice. Now I'm not gonna lie, I like almost all food, but there is nothing I like more than rice. I know it is a weird go to dish, but I love it. The rice alone made me confident that I wouldn't hate the dish.

The problem is the sauce came out hella thin. (Yes, I said hella. That is an acceptance of my Bay Area roots, translated to very for the not so hip). The best thing about Indian food is taking the naan at the end of the meal and dipping it in the sauce. This dish would be better served with saltine crackers and a spoon.

I was actually very disappointed with the dish. It was edible, but not at all what I was intending. What hurts the most is it didn't even taste Indian. I do have a deep respect for the Indian cooking culture, and hope that one day I do it better justice than tonight. I guess it will take a little practice and time, but I have a lot of that. Come back next time... NEXT ROUND'S ON ME!

Indiana

Now this is what I was expecting when I started this little project. Arka is a new restaurant in Sunnyvale that has ties to another local restaurant that I really like, Sakoon. My first few times going to Sakoon I felt like I should have been in New York. It is sexy, chic, tight, low lights with a touch of neon, and music that you have never heard before, but would feel embarrassed if someone called you out on it. What was even more impressive, they served Indian food without making the whole restaurant smell like curry. (I really do like curry, but there is something about the smell). I have been back a few times and never disappointed, I was hoping there would be a similar Indian restaurant opening in the area and I was happy when I read about Arka.

Arka has a very similar feel to Sakoon. It is modern, cool music and a nice bar that is welcoming enough to watch a ballgame when you walk into the restaurant. While Sakoon does enjoy the feel of a "downtown" eatery, Arka makes up for it with it's space and comfort. The real test for Arka was going to be the food, and it didn't disappoint, sort of.

When I got to the restaurant I asked my waiter to bring me the house special, or whatever he would recommend. He put in an order for Lal Mirch Chicken, I didn't know what it sounded like so I figured it sounded good. In the mean time he brought a bowl of peppered peanuts to the table, they were delicious... until I rubbed my eye. For the rest of the night I was trying to look and talk to my wife without feeling like I just got pepper sprayed, and I couldn't. It burned... bad. It felt like the rest of the night was more of a test of pain tolerance than food enjoyment. When the chicken came I was totally satisfied, but not in the same way I was when I left Sakoon for the first time. My favorite part of eating Indian food is soaking up all of the leftover sauce with naan at the end of the meal, and this dish did not have an abundance of sauce. I could have saved my disappointment by reading the menu and seeing that the dish was described as "semi dry Asian chicken," but that takes some effort and incentive, and when I am out to eat I don't want to deal with that. When I go to Indian food just bring me tender chicken and a lot of sauce. Okay, maybe I need to spend a little more time eating and understanding Indian food, and it wouldn't hurt to look at the menu. In this case I was a victim of my own ignorance. The food was good, not completely what I was expecting, but good.

Overall, this wasn't my favorite dining experience, but most of my uncomfort is of my own fault. I learned a valuable lesson, don't put peppery figures in your own eye. Other than that I will have to come back again to give it a good second chance, and I truly look forward to it. I think Arka has was it takes to cement itself as a neighborhood gem, minus the ignorant diners.

Here's to some Indian chicken, remember... NEXT ROUND'S ON ME

Grilled Cheese...

Grilled cheese, an appropriate dish for... not sure. Possibly a six year old, or an eighty-six year old, when they don't have teeth anymore and desperately need something easy to eat. But then again, the tough crust wouldn't feel too good on the gums.

I have never been a big grilled cheese fan. I am lactose intolerant, a sophisticated way of saying that dairy products make my stomach hurt, so the thought of eating cheese has never been super appealing. To me, grilled cheese is comparable to Kraft Mac and Cheese. When I see someone cooking it, I want it. Other than that, I only get a craving for it somewhere between beer number four and twelve... and sometimes the next morning.

Honestly speaking, I didn't think I would have to do much to out perform The Melt. The farther I get away from eating their sandwich, the less and less I ever want to go back. I was going to make my sandwich simple, understand the flavors I wanted and with good ingredients, and I did.

I started with Watsonville sour dough bread. Now from what I understand sour dough bread is different everywhere in the world. Apparently the yeast that makes the sour dough unique is only found in the specific regions where the bread is made. Around here, San Francisco sour dough bread reigns supreme. But I am Croatian, and Watsonville has a dense Croatian population, so I went with the Watsonville yeast. Next I got some good, thickly sliced pepper jack cheese, followed by a ripe heirloom tomato and apple wood smoked bacon. (I bought everything at Whole Foods, a desperate attempt to appear caught up in quality, truthfully showing my weakness to brainwashing and marketing. I am sure that Safeway cheese and bacon would be just fine... but mine was better!). After putting the sandwich together I layered both outside pieces of bread with unsalted butter, put it on my panini press and let it cook. After one bite my wife said, "You kicked The Melt's ass!" 'Nuff said. I may not like them, they may not be that hard to make, but I make one kick ass grilled cheese.

Till next time... NEXT ROUNDS ON ME

The Melt

I like the ambiance. When we walked into The Melt it felt like a place I would imagine in Palo Alto. It was chic, cool, and it reminded me of what 1950 should have felt like. The menu was simple, five different grilled cheese sandwiches and five different soups. "Do what you do well," one of my favorite ways of doing business, I was excited.

Truthfully, the best part of the evening was the movie I took my wife to before we ate. We were in Palo Alto so we figured we would go to The Stanford Theater beforehand. As a bonus we got to see Casablanca, one of my favorite movies. An old movie, in a classic movie theater, on our way to eat an old school classic, the stars couldn't have aligned any better.

After the third bite of my grilled cheese with tomatoes and jalapenos, I looked up and said to my wife, "this taste like I am eating a grilled cheese sandwich from Panera," and that's how I felt the rest of the meal. There was nothing unique or original about the food. Quite frankly, it wasn't that good. Neither my wife or I finished the meal. On our way home we looked up The Melt on-line and found out it was a chain... no wonder. Anyways, I feel comfortable with making a better grilled cheese than what I just ate, so come back... NEXT ROUND'S ON ME.

Nothing Bundt Cake

Not gonna lie, this isn't how I expected my little project to start. Beside the face that Nothing Bundt Cake isn't a restaurant, it isn't even really cooking, it's baking. And before 4:30 tonight I had never baked anything in my life. I guess that is not completely true. When I was young, with my sister, we used to make blueberry muffins from a box. About half way through the baking you would pour the sugary crumbs on top of the muffins to make them hide the taste of the actual muffins. I would always put a little extra on the muffin I intended to eat, make sure to be the one that put them on a cooling rack and then take the best one. I guess that was one of the few advantages I had in being an older brother. Back to 4:30 this afternoon. The Steeler vs. Bronco game was tied just getting ready to start overtime, and I knew Tebow was about to make magic so I was a little flustered. But I also knew that my uncle Doug was coming over for cake, and my wife was in the kitchen waiting for me, so... I turned the volume up as loud as I could and started baking. Some shortening, flour, sugar, some other small ingredients and an ish load of red food coloring and I had what looked like cake batter. For the record, desserts are disgusting. I think if most people knew what they were eating they would not order dessert at a restaurant, I was completely grossed out by the time the cake was in the oven. As I was mixing the cocoa powder and food coloring into the batter I could hear from the other room that the Broncos just scored an eighty yard touchdown to win the game, no biggie... I will watch it later, I Tebowed it. (Get it. It is a play on the popular recording device, tevo). Next the frosting. If I wasn't completely disgusted by the cake batter, I would be by the time I finished the frosting. Cream cheese, butter and sugar. Really? I may never eat dessert again. Oh well, it tastes good.

After eating a nice rotisserie chicken and enjoying a glass of Cabernet Franc we cut into the cake. And... it was actually good. Really light, way lighter than the cake we got from Nothing Bundt Cake. The cream cheese frosting wasn't as thick either. Mixing both the batter and the frosting I left the mixer on for an extra minute just to get a lot of air into the mixtures and it may have whipped them a little too much. I am probably being a little over critical, everyone who had it said they really liked it, some said they liked it more than Nothing Bundt Cake's. I don't think it was that good, but it was definitely impressive for my first shot at it. I still don't like baking much, but it was a fun way to spend a Sunday evening with my wife.

This week was good, here's to an even better next week. NEXT ROUNDS ON ME.

Sweet Start

I was expecting something different. I was going to open the paper, see that a Micheline Star chef had just opened a new restaurant in town. I would go to a neighborhood gem, have one of the best meals of my life and come home to try to duplicate it... (and rather well I hope). Instead, I open the paper to find a write up on Nothing Bundt Cake. Really, Nothing Bundt Cake? A chain! Worse, a dessert chain! I don't like cake, in fact, I don't like dessert. More than dessert, I don't like baking. Everything taste like sugar, plus it seems really hard and kind of makes me feel like a girl. To rub salt into the wound the new store they were writing about was opening in Fremont. Okay, so I am supposed to drive to Fremont to buy a dessert that I don't like, to try to replicate in a style that I don't like all for the sake of a blog that no one will read, and I will probably stop writing soon. Instead, I went to the store in Los Gatos, (this is the one good thing about chains). It was an easy sell for my wife. I said, "Do you want to take a quick ride to LG and I will buy you a cake?" Done.

Enough of my belly aching... what did I think about the cake? Well, it tasted like cake. It was really sweet, moist, but dense. After two bites I was done. For the sake of the project I took a third and felt like I was going to get sick. Something about the thought of sugar and butter is a turn off for me, which is weird because I love fatty meats. But it's true, I don't love sweets. My wife did not share the same sentiment, she loved it. We picked out Red Velvet because we were told that it is Nothing Bundt Cakes's most popular item. I am excited about that because I have never made a Red Velvet myself, we'll see how I do on Sunday.

Come back and see how I did. Remember... NEXT ROUND'S ON ME.