Malinamnams

Things I’ve put in my mouth recently (sorry for the laundry list, it’s been a long couple of weeks ’round here):

(ice cream from the UW Babcock Dairy, eaten on the lovely waterfront Memorial Union Terrace)

(My labor of love: home-made kaldereta for a class ‘piyesta’/fiesta. Best thing at the spread, don’t meant to boast but my meat brought all the boys to the yard.)

(Amuse-bouche at Harvest. Bougiest dinner I will have had in Madison by the time I go. Worth it.)

(Table of shame: $1 mixed drinks at the Nitty Gritty. I don’t care if it’s “the birthday place,” you’re never catching me dead in there again.)

(The Wisconsin Benedict at the Old Fashioned. That would be a brat patty under the egg.)

(Lingering suspicions and pre-existing bias confirmed: not pizza @ Gino’s East, Chicago)

(neon green relish. a tubular meat’s under there, i think. @ Underdogg, Chicago)

(Most amazing mojitos at Blue Line Lounge in Wicker Park, Chicago. The coconut mojito and the Social- topped with champagne- are incroyable.)

Chicago’s Chinatown eats deserves its own post. Consider it added to the list of shit I haven’t blogged about yet…

Eating Well in Wisconsin

Hey y’all! Once again, I dropped off the face of the planet and still am behind on updates. But hey! I’m in a new state for the summer and will be sharing with you all my crazy adventures in food and drink in Madison, Wisconsin! Try not to get too excited 😉

Why Wisconsin, you must be asking. After all, yours truly is a bicoastal baby– I shuttle between the northeast and SoCal with reckless abandon– and have never been to the Midwest (not even Chicago!) before now. But I’ll be here, and for two whole months too, as I’m taking language classes at UW Madison this summer before jetting off to the Philippines with the hubs at the end of August. So until then, it’ll probably be Wisconsin all the time… and maybe with some Chicago thrown in too.

So, just to start: some greatest hits from this week’s noshing in downtown Madison:

Sirwota with injera from the Buraka cart, located on State St right at the mouth of UW.
One of the cutest things I’ve ever seen in street food: every day, all day, several mobile carts decorated like little houses sit at the main entrance to the UW campus, serving up foods and drinks from around the world. There’s a Puerto Rican/ Caribbean cart, the Buraka (the local Eritrean/Ethiopian restaurant) cart, a smoothie and juice cart run by an adorable Hmong woman, and a Chinese cart, among others. $7 got me this portion of sirwota, a beef stewed in a spicy sauce with potatoes, over injera. I wasn’t expecting greatness but I gotta say, it was pretty damn tasty. Good job, cart!

Brats with mashed potatoes, sauerkraut, and applesauce at the Great Dane.
The Great Dane is something of a local institution here in Madison. It’s a sprawling brewery pub, complete with a sweet game room with gorgeous wood pool tables and a damn classy shuffleboard deck (is it called a deck? A table? Whatever.) Given the omnipresence of brats in Madison, I figured I might as well order some here. They didn’t disappoint. Very clean and smooth filling, clean casing, and all around solid. The sauerkraut and mash were perfect, too. I wasn’t in love with the applesauce, because I just realized that I like the cheap Motts variety better than the real deal. So sue me. Some things you just get used to even if they are mass-produced and shelved!

I also had a very nice “Scotch-style ale” brewed by Great Dane in-house. Loved this. Nice and dark without feeling too heavy. It had a clean finish, with a hit of nut flavor without tasting like a nut brown ale or like a porter. I’ll definitely be ordering this if it’s on tap again the next time.

While I enjoyed my dinner, I noticed the food and beer selection at the Great Dane is a bit hit-or-miss. Some friends made the mistake of ordering their “Chai spice lager” which tasted nothing like Chai nor lager and totally like a jalapeno-flavored batch of pisswater. I’ve honestly never tasted a beer quite this intentionally terrible. The only thing I could say is: this is definitely a case of a brewmaster gone a little too far. Maybe he was stoned when he thought this up? In any case, stay far far away from any “spiced” beer here and stick to their regular line-up!

I also had two meals at Dotty Dumpling’s Dowry this week– the other, more oddly named, institution here in Madison. They’re known for their burgers, and they didn’t disappoint. A little on the greasy side, with regular old white buns, these little burgers do the job. They’re made of high quality meat, no muss no fuss, with a lot of different cheeses and toppings as options. The fried cheese curds– my first experience with cheese curds ever– were disappointing, but only because I expected them to “squeak.” Otherwise, they were also a yummy batch of friend deliciousness. To complete the trifecta of fried-ness, you must try the fried mac and cheese wedges. Seriously- these were YUM. Sadly, I have no photos of my meals here (two already, I need to slow down!) but they are forthcoming once some people decide to email me their copies. Ahem.

Something tells me that I’m going to have to try really, really hard this summer to be a healthy eater. There are definitely lots of fresh options available (and I’ll be posting about that next!), but the preponderance of cheesy and fried foods here is staggering, not to mention the wealth of local brews on tap. Good thing I’ll be walking everywhere (car-free summer!), but I think it’s time to invest in a good pair of running shoes, too…

Great Dane Pub
downtown Madison location:
123 East Doty Street
Madison, WI 53703
608.284.0000

Most Improved: The Linkery

Hello, lovelies. Hope you’re all enjoying the holiday… I wish I could say I was, but alas, am down to the wire on a major project so have been working through the weekend. That being said, I did make time for a date night with the Mister on Friday, and decided to pop on over to the Linkery in North Park.

Linkery just celebrated their one-year anniversary at their 30th street location this weekend, but they’ve been around a bit longer than that. Since they opened in the old space, the Mister and I have been popping by every six months or so, to see what they’ve been up to. After our last visit in the fall, the Mister and I came to a sad consensus: that, despite its aspirations, the Linkery was just failing to excite us any more.

Lo and behold, they must’ve read our minds, because after this last trip, we’re more thrilled with the Linkery than we’ve ever been before. A big part of this is their expanded menu– where it was fresh sausage all the time before, they’ve now thankfully diversified, and with great success.

Win No. 1: Seafood!

Where the Linkery once had a huge black hole, they’ve now filled with some beautiful seafood. These Baja oysters were incredibly sweet and very clean- no briny flavor, no sediment. It was served with lime and three minuets- green garlic, and two others I’m forgetting just now. The ‘pink one’ was very nice– fruit based, I think. Six for $13

Score No. 2: More weird cuts o’ meat!

Pickled Pigs Ear. Yep, you heard me right. Hey, it was $2 and who doesn’t like an adventure? It was served with just a touch of hot sauce, a nice complement to offset the acidity of the pickling juice. I enjoyed these, but the Mister wasn’t a fan. I guess you have to be used to the texture of soft cartilage– a bit like tripe, actually.

The excellent Linkery blog had alerted me beforehand to the restaurant’s featuring of stone fruit throughout the weekend, so of course I knew we had to order this:

Hampshire pork lonzino, wrapped around raw Snow Queen peaches, with a bit of Brooks cherries on the side and a very light splash of olive oil. $7 for three pieces (the Mister ate one before I could snap the picture) and worth it– the pork was fantastic. I actually liked the pork better without the peaches, but eaten with the cherries. That stone fruit *was* beautiful, guys. Great find.

Finally, it was time for the mains. And this is where the Linkery has really improved the most. See, in past incarnations (or at least the previous times we’ve been there), the menu has primarily revolved around whatever three or four fresh links they had for the day– you’d choose your link(s), and a preparation- in a ‘picnic plate,’ as part of a choucroute, etc. There was a smattering of other options- I think a burger or two, maybe a few interesting sides– but that really felt like it. I could be wrong, but if there were other main dish options, they certainly weren’t interesting enough for us to remember.

But now it feels like a whole new game. Several vegetarian options, an entire section for burgers and sandwiches, five or six different main entree options (and not all featuring sausage!), a section for flatbreads… I could go on. Very exciting growth, and I was so excited to keep it light on the sausage for a change. I know, it’s probably sacrilege, but since the Mister’s been making his own sausage at home, I think I’ve been getting spoiled.

Oh, right. So back to our dinner. The Mister, consummate New Englander he is, couldn’t resist the boiled seafood:

This “lowcountry boil” was the priciest item on the menu, topping out at $29, but it was a whole lotta plate for that price. Lots of fresh manila clams and slamming shrimp, along with corn, two kinds of potatoes, and a heaping helping of corn bread. They did us right and served it on a large flat tin plate, with wax paper.

As good as that was, I think my entree was the stand out of the night:

Tulare cherry-braised grass fed beef ($20).

Forgive the graininess of the photo (it was dark in there!) and just try to imagine succulent cuts of organic beef, with a bit of a crust but falling -apart soft, in a sauce so delicate it could be an aus jus if not for the extra bit of sweetness from the Tulare cherries. The fresh baby carrots and red potatoes were roasted to perfection as well, and just…. damn. So friggin’ good.

I made it through about half of my dish before giving up, and would’ve left it at that except for the dessert menu. I just had to try the LICS:

And that would be a Lardo Ice Cream Sandwich. With a slice of carmelized bacon on top. Um. Seriously. I think that alone was a week’s worth of cholesterol and fat intake. It tasted a bit like olive oil gelato only, you know, made with animal fat instead. So much for healthy eating! But oh, so so worth it… or at least half of it.

The Linkery’s also built up their wine and beer list quite a bit since our last visit. They have a large selection of local brews and wine– very nice selection, and I enjoyed my Cucapá Obscura beer (from Mexicali) a lot. Nice brown ale in the German style, like Bohemia and other good Mexican browns.

At the end of the night, our grand total came out to about $130- not cheap, but not bad for the quality of food we had eaten. At the Linkery, all tables pay an upfront 18% charge, so they don’t accept extra tips. If tips are left, they donate it to a local charity. Sweet deal, I think.

I’ve always really appreciated what the Linkery’s been doing for the San Diego food and bar scene. They’ve always put local meats and produce first, and cook seasonally based on what’s available at market. Now that they’ve diversified the menu, we’ll definitely be back more often. And hey, you gotta love a restaurant that’s as keen on blogging as we fatties foodies are! Pay them a visit and let me know what’s on your menu!

The Linkery
3794 30th St
San Diego, CA
619. 255. 8778

Things to Say Goodbye to, pt. 1: Sweet Balls of Dough

I’ve vowed that this summer will be the summer of good eating. I’ve made a commitment not just to putting as much fresh, non-processed foods into my body, but to also be cutting down on red meats, fats, and all those yummy things that are no good for my waistline. It’s going to be a challenge, since this summer I’ll be living someplace well known for particular indulgences (more on that later!), but one that is long overdue! (I’ve been cooking tofu more and more often, people. This is huge.)

So, a fond farewell to you, yummy donuts at Donut Haven, that faded-pink Vietnamese-owned donut shop in the strip mall in Hillcrest. You were a lovely treat on occasional Sunday mornings, but you will have to go.

No more peeking into the glass counters, seeing what was new and fresh for the day…

Goodbye to walking in with the Mister, ordering two pieces each of the doughy deliciousness, and while carrying the red tray with sweets over to the table, being told by a very drunk and disheveled old white man that “of course you could eat all of that, since all women are greedy whores.” Ah, the memories, so sweet…

I will always remember trying to eat more than one donut or eclair or other treat at a time, and miserably failing… unless the donuts were plain glazed, in which case, I would emerge the champion. A battle for the ages, no longer.

Oh, Donut Haven. How much will I miss thee. Your donuts were so good that I would brave your perpetually burned, scalding-hot coffee served in tiny cups with no insulation, and the barrage of drunk bums that like to frequent you as well, any hour of the day and night. Goodbye, goodbye. I do hope that you’ll find new friends to replace me soon. Something tells me you already have…

Donut Haven
420 Robinson Avenue, Suite F
San Diego, CA 92103

Easter Brunch @ Alchemy

I just love food-related holidays. Yes, I know it’s an oxymoron of sorts– don’t all holidays involve food of some kind?– but you know that some are better for fatties foodies than others. Thanksgiving, obviously. Christmas dinner, for those of you of the Jesus persuasion.

For my family, Easter brunch was the motherlode. First, it was the only holiday during which it was perfectly acceptable, or even preferred, to not have to cook the food ourselves. This gave us free license to hit up the biggest Easter buffet possible, and load up without having to prep, cook, or (most importantly, from a child’s perspective) clean at the end of it all. I’m sure this may be different in the motherland (aka the Philippines) but for my Americanized family in Florida, hitting up the buffet at the Hilton was where it was at.

No surprise that out of all the weekend brunches in the year, Easter brunch is my favorite.

Unfortunately, it’s also notoriously overpriced, and even the most humble of local establishments is packed to the gills with other holiday eaters looking for some brunch, too. The Mister was tasked with finding a suitable brunch location this year, and when he told me he’d booked reservations at a new place he found on Google, I have to admit I was a little skeptical.

Alchemy is the newest resto in South Park, the gentrifying neighborhood that everyone’s been saying is going to “blow up any minute now” (in the positive sense, not the combustive), for the past several years. Especially in this economy, though, any new place in the neighborhood is going to have to work very hard to keep people coming, and it looks like the Alchemy folks are pulling out the big guns to make this place happen. (Forgive me for all the violent metaphors, I’ve been reading about war all morning for the class I’m teaching on Monday).

The space itself is beautifully designed– it’s a very open yet still intimate space, and with a lot of custom features from the undulating mahogany bar to the giant silver sculpture in the middle of the room. [I particularly liked the bathroom sinks, myself]. We were seated in a back corner table, and though the restaurant was nearly full, I wasn’t distracted by other guests’ conversations at all (a pet peeve of mine and the Mister’s like no other).

For Easter, they put together a very generous 3-course prix fixe menu: $25 for three tapas/appetizers (you get all three), a choice of entree, and dessert. For an additional $10, they were offering a beverage pairing (with generous pourings, too).

Here were the three mini-appetizers (I hate saying tapas, if it’s not the real deal). For this course, I had a passion fruit bellini, and could actually taste the champagne– yay!

The deconstructed granola was delicious, but very difficult to eat. I felt like this was a Top Chef challenge, and could imagine Colicchio berating them for unnecessary pretension. I also would have preferred a plain yogurt, as the strawberry flavored variety actually masked the flavor of the real strawberries and fruits on the plate.

A Spanish omelet, prepared in a traditional manner. I don’t know if this was intentional or just a matter of poor execution, but the omelet itself was nearly flavorless unless eaten with a good handful of greens, which were drizzed in a nice olive oil and vinegar with seasonings. If nothing else, it made sure that the Mister ate all his veggies, which is a near-impossible feat.

A white asparagus ‘espresso,’ with bacon cracklings on top. I just had to laugh during the presentation of this– our poor waitress kept trying to convince us to eat it “despite its unique presentation,” as if soup served in small drink containers had never been tried before! A reminder just how behind San Diego is in terms of food trends– I actually find this trend to be both passe and, again, totally pretentious. The soup was delicious, however– perfectly seasoned, just the right temperature for sipping, with the bacon adding just the right among of texture and saltiness. By far the best starter of the meal.

Then it was time for the mains. There were about five different options, if I remember correctly, ranging from more breakfast-y choices to the more savory. As our reservation was on the later side (1pm), we went for the heavy stuff. The Mister’s choice:

Shrimp and grits. Very large, grilled shrimp over a bed of very smoothly pureed grits. Shrimp were very fresh and flavorful, and the grits well seasoned though a bit too smooth for my taste. Alas, nothing will ever compare to the texture of the grits at Cochon— how I still dream of them!

And my choice, paired with a standard Rioja (nothing special, but solid):

A leg of lamb, with mint-infused couscous as the side. This dish was… how do I put it? Oh, yes. Amazing. Falling off the bone, with a beautiful glaze. I’m not quite sure, but it tasted very much like it was cooked Moroccan-style in a tagine, especially with the way it was presented with the couscous. The couscous was a bit too minty for my taste, though it too had great texture. I really liked this twist on the American classic ‘lamb with mint’ which I’ve never found particularly interesting.

After I finished demolishing my lamb, it was time for dessert. The Mister went with classic beignets, served with powdered sugar and a dash of chocolate. A bit on the small side, but maybe we are just too used to Cafe du Monde’s!

I decided on a cheese plate, despite my love of sweets, mainly because I wanted the Madeira that would be paired with it. Imagine my disappointment to receive this plate:

Totally monochromatic, with no bread, olives, oil, or anything resembling a pairing. Really? Honestly, even saltine crackers would be better than nothing. Remedial cheese plate rules were broken in so many ways here. There was one soft and three hard cheese with very similar taste profiles, and while the cheese itself was fresh, I was bored by the second bite and had it boxed to go. I would rather eat these at home with my accouterments than have the empty calories and no satisfaction at the restaurant. I truly hope this was a fluke and they had an off day with the cheese– otherwise, they need a lesson from a cheesemonger, stat!

Tragic cheese plate aside, I was very pleased with our brunch at Alchemy, not the least because of the price. We’re planning on returning soon for dinner, especially to try more of the beer and spirits from their impressive bar. Another selling point: their kitchen is open late, until 11pm most nights, and serving until midnight on Fridays and Saturdays! How I miss late night dinners out, another thing San Diego is still behind on doing.

Alchemy’s a new restaurant, and I’d love to see them thrive. You can tell from the care put into the space alone just how much of a labor of love this restaurant is.

Have any of you been to Alchemy? Share your comments here!

Alchemy
1503 30th Street
San Diego, CA 92102
619.255.0616

thank you, inventor of the cheese.

So, here’s a funny/scary warning to you: after roasting cornish hen, baking mac and cheese and pumpkin pie in your oven, be sure to clean out the bottom of the oven! You may have a conflagration of near-disastrous proportions when you attempt to use said oven to reheat frozen hot wings for the Pacquaio-de la Hoya fight party you’re hosting the next week.

Ahem.

Where was I? Oh yes, recapping our Thanksgiving dinner. It was delightful, and small, and just right for me, Mr. E, and our friend Y who came to toss the salad join the festivities. Visual documentation of the Yum:

Our menu was: carmelized carrots, mashed potatoes,  three-cheese mac and cheese, macque choux corn, cornish hen, and wild rice-almond-something else-I-forgot stuffing.

Also:

Spinach-walnut-cranberry-goat cheese salad from Trader Joe’s, lovingly tossed by Y

Cranberry jelly from a can (truly tragic, but necessary)

And a fantastic cream cheese pumpkin pie (recipe from Cooks.com)

All delicious, of course, but the piece de la resistance for me was the mac and cheese, a staple for all holidays and any other time I want to pack on the calories. (Did I mention I”m lactose-intolerant, too? Fun times!) I got this recipe from my Man of Honor, N., but I think I’ve modified it for the better- though I’m sure he’d disagree. Meat eaters know cheese better than former vegans, is all I’m gonna say about that.

Here’s the recipe, more or less (I’m terrible at calculating quantities for recipes I do on the fly).

WordsandSteel’s Killer Mac and Cheese

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2- 2 Tbs. Butter
• 1 1/2-2 Tbs. Olive Oil
• 1 Tbs. Flour
• 1 package medium shells or macaroni
• 1/3 cup chicken stock (or vegetable stock if you’re vegetarian)
• 2/3-1 cup milk (I use 2% at least, if not whole milk)
• Herbs de provence, or thyme, rosemary, sage
• sea salt and fresh ground pepper
• bay leaf
• Panko or regular bread crumbs
• 3 blocks of cheese: I always use smoked gouda and gruyere, then throw in a third based on what’s available at the market; preferably something a bit sharp and salty, usually a raw cow’s milk cheese or cheddar-like cheese. Have used Asiago, Deux de Montagnes, Appleby’s Cheshire, and Irish Cheddar before to good effect. Pick something that interests you! As for quantities… each block is around .25lbs or less. So, if the cheese is valued at $18/lb, let’s say, I’ll pick up a block that’s about $4-6. You’ll have leftovers, but you can serve them as a cheese plate too.

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 275 degrees F
2. Boil water and cook pasta until al dente. Drain well and portion into two 8×8 pans/casseroles
3. Grate three cheeses into bowl and set aside. This is the most time consuming part! Use the largest setting on your grater. I use about 2/3 of the gouda and gruyere blocks, and about 1/2 of the third cheese block, depending on how strong its flavor is. You want to end up with about 2- 2 1/2 cups of grated cheese.
4. heat large saucepan on medium heat; melt butter into oil. When melted, add flour and stir to make a roux
5. Pour milk in slowly and warm, do not boil! Add bay leaf. Pour in stock and stir to incorporate. Stir occasionally until the liquids thicken from roux, approximately 5 minutes; do not boil.
6. Stir in grated cheese blend, until all cheese is melted. At this point, you should have a thick, nearly-smooth mixture. Salt and pepper to taste. Add herbs to taste just before you remove from heat.
7. Remove bay leaf. Pour cheese mixture over macaroni in pans. Combine well. Sprinkle with panko or other bread crumbs if desired.
8. Cover with foil and bake 30 minutes. Remove foil, and bake another 5-10 minutes until panko browns.
9. Enjoy!

The Mother of All Pancakes

I love a good pancake, but I usually save my pancake-eating for weekend brunches out; I’ve just never felt compelled enough by the pancake to bother cooking them at home (we’re more of an eggs-and-meat kind of household on weekend mornings). So imagine my surprise when I woke up yesterday with a fierce urge for pancakes, and not just any pancakes: I wanted the perfectly fluffy, light yet rich ricotta pancake. I had to have it, and dammit, I wasn’t going to dress up to wait in line at an overpriced brunch spot to get it.

Evidence of our non-professionally foodie kitchen: we had no ricotta in the house. Not to mention, no baking soda either. Horrors! A quick trip to Henry’s and about twenty minutes after returning, I made these beauties. I know they’re not as aesthetically perfect, but it was my first time, so don’t kill me. I haven’t reached those heights of food blogging just yet, m’kay?

A trusty recipe from Mark Bittman in hand, I made about nine standard-size pancakes, and one of these, which I called all morning (much to E’s chagrin) “The Mother of All Pancakes”:

Is any other name more fitting? You can see how Mother has simply draped herself over the rest of the spread-out pancake stack and taken over the plate. Clearly, I had to eat her alone, she was that formidable.

So, if your stack was Mother-less, let’s just say you’d get a dozen pancakes. A very nice breakfast- I liked these pancakes with a bit of orange marmalade and some maple syrup. Our sausage of choice this meal was Brooks Farm’s “Portuguese Brand” sausage (I’m assuming their version of chorice- very nicely spiced but a bit greasy, a good complement to the slight acidity and sweetness of the pancakes). Sausage and the Mother of All Pancakes: what more do you want out of a weekend brunch at home?