We recently took a river rafting trip down the Truckee River in Northern California near Lake Tahoe. Calling this particular section a Class 1 Rapid would be a bit of an exaggeration, and "hair-raising" is not a description that comes up often. Typical gear includes sun screen, a well stocked cooler, a hat, squirt guns, sunglasses, and a dog.
Packing a cooler, by the way, is a finely tuned art...
Nicoise Salad, photo by WordRidden
About a year ago, I attempted to order a Salad Niçoise at the upscale Brompton Quarter Café & Restaurant in London’s affluent Knightsbridge neighborhood. What was expected to be a calm, relaxing lunchtime experience soon transformed into a battle of food knowledge rivaled only by the Cheese Steak Shop American/Provolone Argument of 2003. Here’s how it all went down…
I arrived at the scene of the culinary crime accompanied by three dining companions. We were promptly seated. After ordering our beverages, I perused the menu and decided upon a Salad Niçoise for lunch. For those not familiar, the Niçoise is a pleasant salad originating from the South of France, traditionally containing lettuce, tomatoes, boiled potatoes, green beans, boiled eggs, fish (usually poached or seared tuna), anchovies, and…wait for it… Niçoise olives.
The waitress came over to take our order. When it came to my turn, I politely stated, “I’ll have the salad Niçoise, please.” The waitress, soon to become my arch nemesis, took the order, took the menus, and returned to the kitchen or the dark hole from whence she came.
And then, as Kurt Vonnegut writes, the excrement hit the air conditioning...
What were they thinking when they names these places?
I received this joke email from my dad, the original author is unknown and so are the brilliant photographers. I take no credit for this but I found it hilarious and worthy of posting.
I have actually been to Crabby Dick's in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware and I can attest that the food there was pretty horrible. It was the middle of the winter, the servers were a bunch of grumpy Slovenians, and needless to say no one wanted to be there, including myself.
I know of a strip mall in Honolulu that has a Korean joint and a Chinese joint right next to each other, I don't have any pictures to prove it but their names are So Gong Dong and Fook Yuen respectively.
Without further adieu, here we go. Feel free to add your own snarky remarks in the comments section.
Thirsty? How about juice? Or some Gatorade? Water? No thanks, don't be silly, only Vitamin Water for me. Or wait! I know what I'm craving! Mmm, how about some Age Defying Skin Balance Water? That's right, Borba!
According to the website:
"BORBA Age Defying Skin Balance Water contains a revolutionary cultivated bio-vitamin complex...
It may be obvious to my regular readers (my mom, my girlfriend) that I’m a bit of a salad guy. I love salad. And one of my favorite ways to start my day is with a breakfast salad. Here’s how it goes:
· Wash a few handfuls of fresh mixed greens. I like having some bitter greens in there, such as radicchio or frisee.
· Make a sharp, acidic vinaigrette: Mix two parts olive oil to one part vinegar. Equal parts of champagne and red wine vinegar add pleasant aromatics to the vinegar component of the dressing. Drop in a few dashes of Old Bay or Tabasco if you like – not too much, just enough to taste the spice. Whisk or shake...
My wife was craving some KFC the other day (it's not Kentucky Fried Chicken anymore) and I didn't feel like cooking... well that, I was exhausted from work and I could walk there too were all factors that helped her cause. We got some combos with the requisite Mashed Potatoes 'N Gravy (which I call wallpaper paste), Cole Slaw (which I shamefully enjoy), and their biscuits (which have gone dreadfully downhill since my youth.)
What caught my eye was the packet titled "Colonel's Buttery Spread" which beyond its title bore only the following two tidbits of information: "Keep Refrigerated" and "Artificially Flavored." What is this magical spread? Was it outsourced to the Keebler Elves and made churning Yeti milk with a unicorn's horn?
I went online to take a peek at the KFC Nutrition Guide...
photo by Loren Tama
I’ve eaten Cobb salads for dinner, breakfast, and lunch, sometimes successively and usually in that order. I love the crunch, the tanginess, and the complements achieved by the right balance of acidic tomatoes, sweet and smoky bacon, and fragrant blue cheese. A properly-seasoned chicken breast can make the difference between a lame Cobb and a gourmet delight.
I’ve been known to praise restaurants that use a traditional Cobb dressing, complete with blue cheese, garlic, Worcestershire, and vinegar. At the same time, I’ve often lambasted a Cobb served with something as pedestrian as thousand island dressing: pounding my fist on the table, I lecture my fellow diners, reciting my familiar phrase “it’s not a Cobb without Cobb dressing!” As much as I’d like to say that the dressing makes the Cobb, however, the reality is that...
Two months ago, my girlfriend and I moved across an ocean. Our first big purchase, before the boxes of clothing and kitchen supplies even arrived at our new abode, was a Big Green Egg. The Egg has been faithful ever since*.
For those not familiar with the Big Green Egg (“BGE”), it is a barbecue and smoker with...
Although the end result will make you look like a culinary rockstar, this Fig and Gorgonzola Flatbread recipe is [albeit time consuming] relatively easy. The caramelize onions and the fresh figs add a sweet counterpoint to the funkiness of the Gorgonzola cheese. The colors are amazing too, violet, emerald, sky blue, all atop the toasted background of flatbread.
Give yourself two hours...
Ah, the Loco Moco. Take white rice, plop a fried hamburger patty on top (usually well-done), pour brown gravy over everything, and then top it all with a fried egg. What hungry beast designed this dish?
According to the Wiki, "James Kelly, a University of Hawaii-Hilo professor writes that the loco moco dish was created in 1949 by the Inouye family, who owned the Lincoln Grill in Hilo, Hawaii in 1949. A group of boys from the Lincoln Wreckers...
Caffeine has become so commonplace in our society that I'm starting to think it has become unavoidable. I'm a big-time coffee aficionado (RYO Coffee, Latte Art, (STARBUCKS)RED Whole Bean Coffee) but methinks sometimes marketing "gurus" take it a little too far.
Recently, I counted 14 different flavors of Monster Energy Drink at a Fry's electronic store in a cooler by the registers. Do any of them taste good? Unlikely. Maybe that's why they have to keep cranking out new ones, to keep the public guessing.
Here are some of the latest snacks that have been, shall I say tainted with caffeine:
Butterfinger Buzz...
... I've been away on business and haven't had any time to write.
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This is a take on a traditional Caprese salad but with 4 different types of tomatoes and the addition of Lemon Cucumbers. Everything was given to us from our friend's garden (thank you Heather and Steve!), except the Mozzarella, thus the name Summer Garden Salad. If Lemon Cucumbers are not available...
OK OK, so Top Chef Masters ended last night and there's a lot of talk about "what should have" and "what could have." The finale was exciting and more importantly, it was mouth-watering. Hubert Keller and his Michelin star were delightful, Michael Chiarello and his panache were amazing - but personally, I think Rick Bayless was the most deserving, and will appreciate his title of Top Chef Master the most.
Rick was the most humble contestant, and I think he elevated the Mexican cuisine to a level that it isn't well known for, haute. If I were to go without Mexican food for too long, I may have to draw and quarter myself. Most recently...