Yes, that's her name, and yes, that's where she works.
Colorado & So Cal posts will be up soon...
Tuesday, February 27, 2007
Back online!
Thanks to Pear, who works at Apple, I have a brand-new MacBook!
Yes, that's her name, and yes, that's where she works.
Colorado & So Cal posts will be up soon...
Yes, that's her name, and yes, that's where she works.
Colorado & So Cal posts will be up soon...
Friday, February 16, 2007
Tales from Korea Kitchen...
... or Our Eyes Are Bigger Than Our Even Our Stomachs
So here we are in Lancaster, CA, population 134,000. Located at the edge of the desert, near Edwards AFB.
There's not much here.
So we're happy to find Korea Kitchen in a nearby mall.
As usual, we are starving, so we order apps. This is a fried tofu assortment. Each bundle of tofu is covered in something different: panko, croutons, or cornflakes.
Not sure what part of that is Korean, but it's yummy.
As most of you probably know, it's kind of redundant to order appetizers at a Korean place, since you already get a million little extra dishes of snacks, anyway. But being hungry makes us forgetful.
Ten minutes later, our table looks like this:
Oh, my.
That might be too much food, even for us.
And there's no way I'm not going to finish my Bi Bim Bop.
I could eat this every day.
Now, I would never make this at home. There's way too much prep time involved. A certain magazine is working on this recipe for one of their cookbooks... glad I'm not developing the recipe.
PJ asks Franco to finish her entree.
Franco is a good sport. With two hollow legs. But he's sorry he had that appetizer.
Will we ever learn?
Probably not.
So here we are in Lancaster, CA, population 134,000. Located at the edge of the desert, near Edwards AFB.
There's not much here.
So we're happy to find Korea Kitchen in a nearby mall.
As usual, we are starving, so we order apps. This is a fried tofu assortment. Each bundle of tofu is covered in something different: panko, croutons, or cornflakes.
Not sure what part of that is Korean, but it's yummy.
As most of you probably know, it's kind of redundant to order appetizers at a Korean place, since you already get a million little extra dishes of snacks, anyway. But being hungry makes us forgetful.
Ten minutes later, our table looks like this:
Oh, my.
That might be too much food, even for us.
And there's no way I'm not going to finish my Bi Bim Bop.I could eat this every day.
Now, I would never make this at home. There's way too much prep time involved. A certain magazine is working on this recipe for one of their cookbooks... glad I'm not developing the recipe.
PJ asks Franco to finish her entree.
Franco is a good sport. With two hollow legs. But he's sorry he had that appetizer.
Will we ever learn?
Probably not.
Saturday, February 03, 2007
Colorado Wrap-up
A summary of our Colorado snacks -
Not a whole lot of Asians here in Fort Collins, so we weren't really looking to have the Food of Our People, especially when we saw the "Japanese" restaurant with its dollar sushi specials.
But we spotted a small, mom-and-pop Thai place near the Colorado State U campus that looked promising. Since Thai food is usually pretty safe, even in the flyover states, we decided to give this place a try.
The daily lunch special comes with pad thai, a spring roll, rice, and of course, the special. Thursday's was chicken & ginger. It's a lot of food for not much $, and it was all really tasty. Nothing inventive or innovative here - just good, solid eats.
Charco Broiler steak house.
Everyone at the theater said this is a local favorite. So of course we check it out.
This is an old-school steakhouse, where the decor is dark and minimal, the lettuce in the salad is iceberg, and most of the patrons are wearing cowboy hats, not because it's cute but because they actually work with cows.
We start with drinks...
Fat Tire! Brewed here in Fort Collins. Drink locally!
I try the 2-Below Ale; it seems appropriate. And it's yummy. Hoppy with the teeniest amount of sweetness. It's a girly beer - but I like that.
Franco starts with the spinach & bacon salad.
Pam has the beef stew and sweet potato fries.
Since we're in cow country, most of us try some form of moo. PJ & Franco have the Charo Broiler version of prime rib, which is a big fat ribeye finished on the grill.
Yurika opts for the gigantic salmon salad. Once again, Veggie Girl gets the biggest dish.
I think I had sirloin tips with mushrooms (this is what happens when I don't take a photo of my own food). I think it was okay. Overall, the Charco Broiler had pretty good, middle-of-the-road steakhouse eats.
Lucille's Creole Cafe.
Lucille's is right across the street from the theater, housed in a - well, an actual house.
As soon as we sit down, I order their chicory coffee. It's dark but mellow, perfectly roasted, and empty cups are immediately refilled. On each table is a pot of Lucille's strawberry rhubarb jam, which is awesome - lots of strawberry flavor with the lemony rhubarb keeping the strawberries tasting bright & fresh.
This is my kind of place.
PJ gets the Cajun Breakfast - red beans & ham, poached eggs, hollandaise, grits, and a buttermilk biscuit the size of your head.
Rich, spicy, and salty. All good things.
I get the Giant Lobster Etouffee!
Actually, it's just crawfish etouffee. Made with dark roux, lots of crawdads, and just enough heat to make you sweat a little. Perfect for a cold day.
It was good, good, good.
Franco loves his biscuits & gravy, so he gets the Lucille's version - spicy sausage gravy, buttermilk biscuit, red beans, and grits.
Cajun/creole food is one of my favorite things, and Lucille's didn't let us down. This was one of the best lunches I've had in a long time. Hearty, rib-sticky, and just spicy enough to warm the tummy.
Which is a good thing, in this unreasonably cold weather.
Not a whole lot of Asians here in Fort Collins, so we weren't really looking to have the Food of Our People, especially when we saw the "Japanese" restaurant with its dollar sushi specials.But we spotted a small, mom-and-pop Thai place near the Colorado State U campus that looked promising. Since Thai food is usually pretty safe, even in the flyover states, we decided to give this place a try.
The daily lunch special comes with pad thai, a spring roll, rice, and of course, the special. Thursday's was chicken & ginger. It's a lot of food for not much $, and it was all really tasty. Nothing inventive or innovative here - just good, solid eats.
Charco Broiler steak house.
Everyone at the theater said this is a local favorite. So of course we check it out.
This is an old-school steakhouse, where the decor is dark and minimal, the lettuce in the salad is iceberg, and most of the patrons are wearing cowboy hats, not because it's cute but because they actually work with cows.
We start with drinks...
Fat Tire! Brewed here in Fort Collins. Drink locally!
I try the 2-Below Ale; it seems appropriate. And it's yummy. Hoppy with the teeniest amount of sweetness. It's a girly beer - but I like that.
Franco starts with the spinach & bacon salad.
Pam has the beef stew and sweet potato fries.
Since we're in cow country, most of us try some form of moo. PJ & Franco have the Charo Broiler version of prime rib, which is a big fat ribeye finished on the grill.
Yurika opts for the gigantic salmon salad. Once again, Veggie Girl gets the biggest dish.
I think I had sirloin tips with mushrooms (this is what happens when I don't take a photo of my own food). I think it was okay. Overall, the Charco Broiler had pretty good, middle-of-the-road steakhouse eats.
Lucille's Creole Cafe.
Lucille's is right across the street from the theater, housed in a - well, an actual house.As soon as we sit down, I order their chicory coffee. It's dark but mellow, perfectly roasted, and empty cups are immediately refilled. On each table is a pot of Lucille's strawberry rhubarb jam, which is awesome - lots of strawberry flavor with the lemony rhubarb keeping the strawberries tasting bright & fresh.
This is my kind of place.
PJ gets the Cajun Breakfast - red beans & ham, poached eggs, hollandaise, grits, and a buttermilk biscuit the size of your head.
Rich, spicy, and salty. All good things.
I get the Giant Lobster Etouffee!
Actually, it's just crawfish etouffee. Made with dark roux, lots of crawdads, and just enough heat to make you sweat a little. Perfect for a cold day.It was good, good, good.
Franco loves his biscuits & gravy, so he gets the Lucille's version - spicy sausage gravy, buttermilk biscuit, red beans, and grits.
Cajun/creole food is one of my favorite things, and Lucille's didn't let us down. This was one of the best lunches I've had in a long time. Hearty, rib-sticky, and just spicy enough to warm the tummy.
Which is a good thing, in this unreasonably cold weather.
Friday, February 02, 2007
Holy-frickin'-BRRRRR, part 2
Thursday, February 01, 2007
Holy-frickin'-BRRRRR
We are in Fort Collins, Colorado. It seriously smells like cows. But we're at the foot of the Rockies, and it's nice to see the mountains.
The weather? Tomorrow's high: 7 degrees! Tomorrow's low: minus 7! And snow, snow, snow!
Roadsnack highlights:
Coopersmith's Pub. Microbrews and typical pub fare.
I had the brisket with garlic mash. The brisket was okay, but the potatoes had been beaten to death - overstarchy and gluey. With no discernible garlic, to boot.
That is a really basic mistake. Don't overmash your taters, folks. It turns into wallpaper paste.
Verdict: It wasn't awful, but I'm not going back any time soon.
Avogadro's Number (yes, that is the name of this restaurant). Hippie sammies. Everything from uber-vegan tempeh to roast beef to ice cream. A little somethin' for everyone.
And no, I didn't pay attention in AP Chem class, so I have no idea what Avogadro's number actually is.
I had the falafel and green chili with pork.
The falafel was great (though not as good as Falfel Drive-In back home) - freshly fried, light, not greasy at all, and well-seasoned with lots of fresh parsley, all on a toasty roll.
The chili was okay. I think I have to stop getting green chili, because every time I order it, I'm disappointed. I try it every time I'm in this part of the country, and I have yet to taste one that's memorable. If anyone out there knows of a restaurant that has kick-ass green chili, let me know.
The others got banana milkshakes, roast beef sammies, turkey-and-bacon subs, fried zucchini, etc. Pam got the pastrami and said it was awesome.
Verdict: Good!
Culvers! A Midwestern chain, famous for its butterburgers, frozen custard, and their fabulous crazy-sour lemon freeze.
We discovered Culver's last summer in Iowa, and PJ & I have been craving their lemon freeze ever since.
But lemon freeze is no longer on the menu! Apparently, it's seasonal and is not offered in the winter.
Seasonal, my ass. Culver's obviously doesn't know that the lemon is a winter fruit.
And Yurika was looking forward to a non-dairy dessert.
Britt's happy with her peanut butter cup/M&M/Butterfinger custard.
Whatever. I wish I had a lemon freeze.
Verdict: Thhhpt.
PS - Avogadro's number = 6.0221415 × 1023
What does that mean? Heck if I know.
The weather? Tomorrow's high: 7 degrees! Tomorrow's low: minus 7! And snow, snow, snow!
Roadsnack highlights:
Coopersmith's Pub. Microbrews and typical pub fare.
I had the brisket with garlic mash. The brisket was okay, but the potatoes had been beaten to death - overstarchy and gluey. With no discernible garlic, to boot.
That is a really basic mistake. Don't overmash your taters, folks. It turns into wallpaper paste.
Verdict: It wasn't awful, but I'm not going back any time soon.
Avogadro's Number (yes, that is the name of this restaurant). Hippie sammies. Everything from uber-vegan tempeh to roast beef to ice cream. A little somethin' for everyone.And no, I didn't pay attention in AP Chem class, so I have no idea what Avogadro's number actually is.
I had the falafel and green chili with pork.
The falafel was great (though not as good as Falfel Drive-In back home) - freshly fried, light, not greasy at all, and well-seasoned with lots of fresh parsley, all on a toasty roll.
The chili was okay. I think I have to stop getting green chili, because every time I order it, I'm disappointed. I try it every time I'm in this part of the country, and I have yet to taste one that's memorable. If anyone out there knows of a restaurant that has kick-ass green chili, let me know.
The others got banana milkshakes, roast beef sammies, turkey-and-bacon subs, fried zucchini, etc. Pam got the pastrami and said it was awesome.Verdict: Good!
Culvers! A Midwestern chain, famous for its butterburgers, frozen custard, and their fabulous crazy-sour lemon freeze.We discovered Culver's last summer in Iowa, and PJ & I have been craving their lemon freeze ever since.
But lemon freeze is no longer on the menu! Apparently, it's seasonal and is not offered in the winter.Seasonal, my ass. Culver's obviously doesn't know that the lemon is a winter fruit.
And Yurika was looking forward to a non-dairy dessert.
Britt's happy with her peanut butter cup/M&M/Butterfinger custard.
Whatever. I wish I had a lemon freeze.
Verdict: Thhhpt.
PS - Avogadro's number = 6.0221415 × 1023
What does that mean? Heck if I know.
Weather update
Tomorrow's high will not be 7 degrees. It will be 3 degrees.
That's a HIGH of THREE degrees.
That's a HIGH of THREE degrees.
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