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This week the baby has decided to start crawling and climbing at the same time. Nothing less than two feet above the floor in the house is safe now.
A week or two ago I read on JK Grence's site that Shinji Kurita was making sushi at Autumn Court. Shinji was the chef at Shinbay, one of my favorite restaurants and the only celebratory restaurant I've had in town. He's personally responsible for some of the best dishes I've eaten in my life so if he made the unlikely choice of working at a Chinese restaurant that wouldn't stop me from visiting him. I was so excited about the prospect that I almost went there for lunch without Lynn, which would've resulted in my site going quiet because of my untimely death. Luckily I waited until Lynn, DJ, and I could go to Autumn Court for dinner.
When we entered the restaurant they wanted to seat us at a booth, but I was ready for the sushi bar (where I rarely sit). We were told the sushi bar wasn't finished yet so the booth it was. The plan was to stuff ourselves silly on great sushi, but the sushi menu was tiny with only three or four options for nigiri sushi. We made our sushi selections and shored up our dinner with a couple of Chinese entrees.
Lynn looked through the drink menu and spotted a sparkling sake! I'd never heard of such a thing so I had to try it. I thought it might be an American creation, but the sake, Ume no Yado "Tsuki Usagi", was brewed in Nara. The sake was effervescent like Champagne with a great slightly sweet scent. It actually had some body to it and a touch of sweetness that suited the fizziness well. We both enjoyed it, but didn't feel a thing from it (which is unusual because Lynn and I hardly drink right now).
I noticed that our sushi took a long time to come out. It was a busy night so I tried to be patient, but it seemed to take even longer than busyness accounted for. I had a tuna tataki salad and unagi [freshwater eel] nigiri sushi. The unagi looked plump and a little dry, but it melted in my mouth reminding me why I love unagi. It could've used a little more eel sauce, but it was still the best unagi I've had in a while. The tuna tataki was coated with a healthy amount of black pepper that emphasized the meatiness of the fish and was especially good with the gingery salad dressing. The salad was only shredded lettuce, Japanese cucumbers, and something else so it wasn't impressive, but it was also tasty with the spicy dressing.
Lynn got the hamachi sashimi while DJ got a tuna roll and a toro roll. Lynn was impressed with the hamachi and I thought it was pretty good even though I hate hamachi; the meat was buttery and only had a hint of the fishy aftertaste I hate hamachi for. I thought both tuna rolls were ok, but DJ was very happy with them.
Once again there was a long wait between our sushi items and our entrees. When our entrees arrived we could smell an unseasoned chickeny scent pouring off the dan dan noodles from the ground chicken in its sauce. The scent was almost as unappetizing as the chickeny flavor of the chicken itself. The noodles were also loaded with red chile making them searingly hot. The combination of the two made Lynn abandon the dish pretty quickly while DJ and I ate through the pain (chicken and chile induced). We also got the Szechuan eggplant, another dish that had ground chicken in its sauce. DJ and I didn't detect any chickeny flavor, but Lynn could to a lesser extent than the dan dan noodles. The eggplant had a crisp exterior and mushy interior with a touch of sweetness that paired perfectly with the sauce. I liked it so much it would be difficult for me to visit Autumn Court without ordering it every time.
We went to Autumn Court for the sushi and were impressed. I hope the sushi offerings are expanded soon though. We didn't go to Autumn Court for the Chinese food, but I'll be trying it again. It won't be too long before we return.
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So we should've went hiking today, but I had the bright idea to see if there were any wild flowers on the drive between Phoenix and Payson. There wasn't, but it was a scenic drive nonetheless. Years ago I had a great sandwich at Cucina Paradiso in Payson so it was only natural that I stopped there this time, the next successive visit. Nothing at dinner was as brilliant as the sandwich, but dinner definitely had some high points. We didn't have time to do anything else in Payson so we headed back home. About ten miles outside of Fountain Hills we saw the fountain spraying from what appeared to be the middle of nowhere. I've seen the fountain go off before, but there's something different about seeing it from a distance that doesn't seem possible that's impressive. We didn't do much today, but it was fun.
It seems the unintentional theme behind my recent eating is restaurants I haven't been to in a long time. I've already written about a couple of these visits, but since it'll probably be awhile before I get them all written here's the quick version to maybe give you something to look forward to.
| Restaurant | Prior Visit | Reason for Absence | Recent Visit |
|---|---|---|---|
| Christopher's Fermier Brasserie | 1+ year | Had other places I'd rather spend my money. | Good |
| Lo-Lo's Chicken & Waffles | 1.5 years | Forgot they existed. | Great! |
| Thai Rama | 2 years? | Forgot they existed. | Great! |
| Naples | 2+ years | Thought their special was overpriced. | Good |
| Aunt Chilada's | 3 years? | They never were very good. | So-So |
| Barrio Cafe | 3+ years | Terrible service, overpriced entrees, and terrible food all on the same visit. | So-So |
| Tacos el Caporal | 3.5 years | Forgot they existed. | So-So |
Recently I received an email telling me about the ASU Art Museum Carnaval do Rio on March 31st. It's a charity event that benefits the museum featuring art auctions, music, food, cigars, and drinks. It sounds like the perfect event for me, but the tickets are $150 and I didn't find out about it nearly soon enough to scrounge up that kind of cash. Too bad.
I will, however, be going to the Slow Food Farm Tour the next day April 1st. It's a tour of three west valley farms with chefs at each farm doing cooking demos and giving out food. It should be a lot of fun and at only $15 seems like a great value.
The one bad thing about the farm tour is it'll probably prevent us from hiking. We didn't hike last weekend because Lynn didn't feel well. At least we got the house close to clean and I know we're going hiking this weekend.
It had been forever since I had been to Tacos el Caporal, but the memory of their chorizo compelled me to see if they were still around. Lynn and I went there for lunch recently and not a thing had changed since the last time we were there.
I ordered at the register since I already knew what we wanted: two horchatas, a chorizo taco, a carne asada torta, and four carne asada tacos for Lynn. The horchata came from a fountain so I had a feeling it wasn't going to be any good (the horchata from both Bang and Ole is pretty terrible). I don't know who makes el Caporal's horchata, but it was watery. I knew I should've ordered the jamaica instead.
The food only took five minutes to come out. I meant to get a green chorizo taco, but I didn't specify which when I ordered so what arrived was a red chorizo taco. The chorizo was a little salty, but it was still tasty enough that I didn't miss the green chorizo. My torta had carne asada with lettuce, cheese, and a creamy sauce on a toasted bun. The carne asada was mild and completely overpowered by the half melted cheese. I tried to take the cheese off, but I would've lost a lot of meat because the carne asada was stuck to it. The one good thing about the sandwich was the spiciness, but it was odd because half the sandwich had chipotle in it while the other half had pickled jalapeno. The chipotle was almost hotter than I could stand, but it was the better of the two peppers.
A had a few bites of Lynn's tacos to taste the carne asada, but there wasn't much to it. The meat was tender, but it didn't have much flavor. Lynn liked the carne asada significantly better than I did.
I was disappointed by our lunch, but Tacos el Caporal still seems to be my best option for chorizo.
After our lunch at Tacos el Caporal Lynn and I walked next door to La Flor de Michoacan for some paletas. We got a melon paleta [cantaloupe fruit bar] and a strawberry paleta de crema [creamy strawberry fruit bar]. I thought the packaging looked familiar and on closer inspection the paletas were from the exact same place as La Flor's (the place by Mesa Community College)! That was disappointing because I feel like someone at a paleteria should actually make the paletas. If they just buy them from some supplier then they're no better than an ice cream franchise. Besides, I didn't really like the paletas at La Flor.
Despite my misgivings about the origin of the paletas I wouldn't have had as much of a problem with them if they were good. The creamy strawberry paleta was good when we got a chunk of strawberry, but without the strawberries it just tasted like an overly creamy strawberry ice cream. The cantaloupe paleta needed more cantaloupe and less sugar. The paletas would do if I was desperate, but I doubt I'll be desperate enough to return to this La Flor de Michoacan.
[Previous visit to La Flor de Michoacan.]
One day Murray and I tried to get lunch at Irie Jamaica Restaurant, but they were once again closed. I'm just assuming they aren't open for lunch from now on. Our back up restaurant, decided on before we even knew Irie wasn't open, was Lo-Lo's. Murray had never been so he was looking forward to it and it had been far too long since my first visit.
We walked in and the restaurant was pretty full. We had to wait a couple of minutes for a table to free up, but after that things moved at a record pace. In less than ten minutes our order was taken and our food arrived. That was faster than we were able to order last time! I got the "Tre-tre's" (two drum sticks and a waffle) with a side of cheese grits. I know it takes more than five minutes to fry a drumstick, but my drum sticks were fresh out of the fryer so I didn't have any complaints.
The chicken was perfect; crispy, juicy, and just the right amount of seasoning. I thought the chicken was excellent my first visit, but the better seasoning made it great. I've eaten plenty of great chicken, but this was second to none. The waffle was once again crispy with an assertive cinnamon flavor. What was new was the unpleasant mild undertone that I couldn't place, but it was easily covered up by the syrup so I didn't care. Last time I didn't get the chicken and waffle combination, but this time it was crystal clear; the sweetness of the waffle contrasted perfectly with the saltiness of the chicken. Switching from one to the other helped me appreciate both even more.
My cheese grits arrived topped with a large scoop of highly whipped margarine or butter (I can't tell when there's that much air in it because it doesn't taste like much) and shredded cheese on top of and underneath the grits. I could've lived without the scoop of whatever because it didn't add anything to the flavor, which was bland. The cheese helped, but salt and pepper helped even more. The grits weren't bad, but a little too bland for me.
From where we were sitting we could see the red velvet cake, but weren't up for a dessert after the waffles so we got a slice of cake to go. It was a good thing we ate it later because we both thought lunch was great, but the cake definitely wasn't. It had the density of a muffin and didn't taste like anything other than the tasty cream cheese frosting. It made me wish it was carrot cake.
Given how great the chicken was I'd be remiss if I let half as much time pass before my next visit.
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Sunday Lynn and I almost didn't go hiking. We didn't get onto the trail until 5 in the afternoon and it was already in the shadow of another mountain. Given the limited light we only went to the top of the first pass. I brought my Polaroid 440 Land Camera and I'd like to think that's what made me as tired as I was (it does weigh a pound or two), but it had me thinking that last week's strong hike was a fluke. I guess we'll find out this Sunday.
If Seth Chadwick never wrote about his lunch at Eat at Joe's I would've never known the place existed. They sounded worth a stop if we were driving to Las Vegas and as luck would have it Lynn, my mom, and I went to Vegas last December.
When we walked into Eat at Joe's the lady behind the counter said we could sit anywhere. I checked out the menu and the ribs, wings, and sausage all sounded good. Unable to choose just one I asked if they had a combination plate. The lady told me I could make my own. I wanted to get all three, but a single sausage weighs a pound so I only got the ribs and wings with coleslaw and mashed potatoes. My mom and Lynn both got the brisket with baked beans and masted potatoes.
The wings and ribs were both served sauce free, but there were two different barbecue sauces on the table if you wanted sauce (one homemade and one that's a combination of two store bought barbecue sauces). The skin on the wings was crispy while the fully cooked meat was still moist. It's so rare to get both. The wings were technically perfect, but the flavor of the seasoning was wrong to me. I couldn't figure out what I was tasting that I didn't like, but it reminded me a bit of dishwater. I needed something to cover up the flavor so I tried both barbecue sauces on the wings. The house sauce was thin and a little sweet, but it didn't have enough body or flavor for me. The other barbecue sauce was very sweet with a hint of honey and an overwhelming molasses that made me think one of the sauces used to make it was KC Masterpiece. Normally I hate KC Masterpiece, but it was perfect for covering up the flavor I didn't like on the wings making them enjoyable.
The ribs were somewhat crispy on the outside, well seasoned, and moist. There was plenty of fat running through the meat, which wasn't a bad thing because it was tasty. The ribs were garlicky so they didn't taste good with either barbecue sauce, but they didn't need anything. I couldn't help but wonder if a vinegar based barbecue sauce would've worked with the ribs though.
There was red onion, bacon, and potato skin in the mashed potatoes that gave them a good unique flavor. The mashed potatoes were delicious, but the grit from the potatoes skins eventually put me off of them. The coleslaw was the saucy variety, which I've never really liked, but I liked Eat at Joe's because it wasn't overly saucy, the cabbage was firm, and it had a pleasant hint of horseradish.
My mom's and Lynn's brisket was dry and served sliced thin (which probably contributed to the dryness). The flavor was good, but I like my brisket thick and moist. Both my mom and Lynn liked it a lot better than I did. We could all agree that the baked beans tasted like they were straight from a can.
Everyone enjoyed their lunch at Eat at Joe's so future driving trips to Vegas will be adjusted for a meal on the way. There were some disappointments for me, but they did manage to pull off something no other barbecue place has done (at least that I can remember), make side dishes that I like. Hopefully there won't be any grit in the mashed potatoes next time though.
All the previous times I'd been to Cafe Istanbul I was by myself so I'd only had their tasty schwarma (I find it difficult to experiment when I can only order one thing). This last time I took my mom there so even though I was going there for a schwarma we were at least going to get an appetizer.
I tried to get a strawberry juice, but they were out. I guess that means they probably aren't using frozen strawberries. Luckily they still had mango juice, which was my second choice. The juice was thick and sweet like ripe, fresh fruit making it very refreshing. My mom also got a mango juice and said it was like drinking dessert.
Cafe Istanbul has an extensive list of appetizers so there were at least a half dozen that sounded good to me. My mom narrowed it down to the spanokapita, which looked pretty sorry when it arrived because the soggy pastry made me think it was refrigerated and then reheated in the microwave. Thankfully it tasted much better than it looked; the spinach and feta filling was well balanced which helped me forget the pastry. The garlic dip that came the spanokapita was an unnaturally bright and pure white, but the pasty stuff was garlicky and amazingly tasty.
Entrees come with the choice of soup or salad, and Cafe Istanbul's salad is only ok, so it was the lentil soup for me. It was more like chicken noodle soup with small bits of lentils than anything I'd think of described as lentil soup. It was quite delicious regardless. The schwarma was the usual plate of savory meat with rice. For some reason the flavor of the meat always reminds me of Worcestershire sauce, which is a good thing.
My mom and I were both pleased and satisfied with lunch and I'm glad I finally got to try something else at Cafe Istanbul. I really should try an entree other than the schwarma though.
[Previous visit to Cafe Istanbul.]
Last Sunday Lynn and I once again hiked the Circumference Trail at Squaw Peak (Piestewa Peak). We followed our plan of avoiding the Summit Trail by just turning around when it seemed appropriate (about two miles into the trail) and we enjoyed the hike a lot more for it. The amazing thing was that it wasn't difficult. We only took one brake before the switchbacks and didn't stop until we got to the top of the pass. We even jogged parts of the trail (more down than up though). I'm amazed we started seeing results so quickly, but I'm not going to complain about it.
Saturday night a group of us tried to go to Lo-Lo's Chicken and Waffle for dinner, but they were closed. We then tried Da Vang, my current favorite restaurant in central Phoenix, but they closed at 8!? Dumbfounded I tried to think of someplace good. I almost went to Pho Bang, but the tom yum gai at Thai Rama was calling as it's my favorite version. I didn't even know if Thai Rama was still open because of the light rail construction, but it seemed worth a try. It was 8:45 and not only was Thai Rama open, but they were full. Interesting; the lunches I'd had at Thai Rama were good, but not "fill the restaurant at late dinner times for Phoenix" good.
We stood in the restaurant entry at least 10 minutes before someone talked to us. I hate waiting without being acknowledged, but it wasn't too long after that before we were seated. Everyone ordered whatever they wanted so we got a nice variety of dishes: beef sate, Thai egg rolls, larb [beef salad with mint and red onion] (medium), tom yum gai (medium), pad Thai (medium), and eggplant with pork (medium). The dishes came out as they were ready so the egg rolls and larb showed up first. The egg rolls were very crispy, which was pretty much their entire appeal. I've never been a big fan of Thai egg rolls so it's no surprise that I liked them well enough to eat, but not to order. The larb was beefy and spicy, but it seemed to be missing that something that would've made the good salad great.
The sate and tom yum gai came out next. It's been a long time since I've had sate because so many tend to mediocre, but Thai Rama has nothing to worry about there; the beef was tender, juicy, and had the right amount of sweetness to be interesting without ruining the beef. It ranked up there with the best Korean and Vietnamese grilled beef and I'll definitely have to get an order of it next time. Equally impressive was the tom yum gai with its spicy, complex broth that reminded me why I consider tom yum gai one of the all time great soups. It's still the most likely reason for me to return to Thai Rama.
The last things out were the pad Thai and eggplant with pork. The eggplant is a favorite lunch entree of mine and Ken's, but it'd been a while since I've had it. It was even better than I remembered because the dish was spicy and very meaty. The mushy eggplant might throw some people off, but it worked with the meaty flavor and other textures. The pork worked perfectly in the dish, but the mushrooms were the best item having absorbed the flavor of the sauce. The pad Thai impressed me despite the fact that I usually don't care for the dish. The flavors seemed simple and straightforward with peanut and a little sweetness, but there was something about it that worked for me. Maybe it was just the right shot of heat to balance out the sweetness?
When I'm very happy with dinner I tend to want to finish with a dessert so we got the coconut ice cream with sticky rice. The ice cream had more than the typical amount of coconut milk in it resulting in a very creamy texture that felt a little too fatty. It wasn't my favorite coconut ice cream, but I didn't hate it like Lynn did. The sticky was significantly more starchy than sweet and could've used some flavor. It was a decent dessert, but not something I'd order again.
The service at Thai Rama was lacking because we had to ask for refills of water and napkins (which weren't even on the table), but the food was good enough for me to overlook the occasional service issue. It looks like I'll have to return to Thai Rama more often.
[The last time I wrote about Thai Rama.]
I don't remember where I heard about Simply Burgers, but I was surprised they I'd passed their location a few dozen times heading into Gilbert and never saw them. Terrible signage. Once I knew where to look they were easy to find, but I would've never noticed the place otherwise.
Ordering was at the counter and it was a good thing no one was behind us because Lynn and I took a few minutes looking over the menu. None of the signature burgers appealed to us so we both just put our burgers together with their optional toppings. I got the 1/4 pound Angus burger with cheddar, caramelized onions, and applewood smoked bacon. Lynn got the 1/4 pound "Kobe" (American Wagyu) burger with cheddar, guacamole, and applewood smoked bacon. We also got an order of fries and onion rings to see if either of the usual sides were any good.
After paying we found ourselves a table and waited for our little pager to go off alerting us to pick up our food. It was slow so the cashier brought our food out when it was ready, but I'll try not getting used to that. The burgers looked good, but the hamburger patty was so thin that it reminded me of McDonald's patties (even if they were wider). The patties were supposed to be cooked medium well, but they were definitely well done. Not that I think it's possible to brown patties that thin without making them well done. I couldn't taste the beef that well, but it was obviously seasoned and overall a pretty good burger. The bacon was thick cut, which sounds like a good idea, but in execution it easily overpowered the thin patty (probably because it was almost half its thickness). I got a bite of Lynn's burger with just cheddar, guacamole, and thin sliced red onion and it convinced me that a damn good burger was possible with some minor adjustments to our customized burgers. Lynn liked her burger, but she had the same issues with patty thickness and overpowering bacon. Next time we'll have to try the 1/2 pound patties without bacon.
The onion rings looked a little light, but they were were crispy. They might've even been pretty good if they didn't taste fishy. The fishiness was pervasive enough that it grossed me out. The fries were thin and crispy, but I got a little fishiness from them too. A good ketchup could've covered it up, but the ketchup they had was too sweet and too vinegary. Lynn occasionally tasted a hint of the fishiness in the onion rings, but not at all in the fries so it's possible there's something in the seasoning they used that might only affect certain people (like people who taste soap when they eat cilantro). I'm not inclined to try the fries or onion rings again, but Lynn will probably get the fries again.
Simply Burgers has some definite burger potential, they serve beer, and they're open until 11 on Friday and Saturday nights so while they're not Delux they do seem like a viable alternative. Future visits will tell. If I visit them often enough I'll probably even try their ahi tuna burger (which hopefully comes rare).
[Addendum: I should know not to count on a place actually being open late until I've gone there late and they've been open. Went to Simply Burgers late one Friday night and sure enough... closed. Seriously, stick to your hours or put up a big sign that says "Now NOT Open Late" and update your web site.]
The last time I was at the supermarket I noticed that Hersey's has started making gourmet chocolate. I think Hersey's is terrible, but I was too curious to see if their Cacao Reserve was any good. Their Single Origin Java (37% cacao) was very creamy with fruity and caramel flavors that would've been great if the chocolate wasn't too sweet for me. The Single Origin Arriba (50% cacao) had an earthy flavor (in a dirt sort of way) that dominated the mild chocolate flavor and provided the only flavor in the long finish. It was a lot closer to what I expected from Hersey's. I hated it, but Lynn actually liked the dark chocolate. She also likes Hersey's regular dark chocolate so it wasn't unexpected.
Incidentally, the chocolate is made in Germany. I'm not sure what to make of it.
Yesterday Lynn and I attempted the Circumference Trail at Squaw Peak (Piestewa Peak). I thought it'd be more gradual than the Summit Trail, but there were two separate climbs up mountains instead of just one. It was a lot more difficult than I expected, and we even went at least half a mile out of our way when we turned onto the wrong trail, but we eventually finished it. The bottom half of the Summit Trail is also part of the Circumference Trail so we had to walk down it to finish. The Summit Trail's combination of steep steps and large pointy rocks almost resulted in a sprained ankle. More than a few times. Both times we hiked the Summit Trail I had the same problem so I decided I'm never going down the Summit Trail if I can help it. Next time we'll only hike half the Circumference Trail and then turn around. Same distance, less likelihood for injury. Perfect. Now if I could only find something healthy to do three other days a week.
Normally the type of digital camera features that make an impression on me have to do with taking better or more interesting pictures, which the integrated GPS in the Ricoh 500SE does neither, but the ability to automatically geocode [record the coordinates of] your pictures appeals to my geeky side. It'd be especially great for travel photography when you want to find where someone else took a picture.
Somehow I forgot that The Barbecue Company existed, but once I remembered I had to eat there. It's a good thing I remembered them early because we didn't have to wait for a table when we arrived. Normally I get one of Barbecue Company's brisket items, but it had been too long since I last had the wings (the other barbecue item worth ordering). A half dozen wings were $6.95 and the wing-rib tip combination was only a buck more so even though I'm not crazy about their rib tips I thought the 1/2 pound of rib tips was worth the extra dollar. Super size me!
The rib tips were chewy and shellacked with barbecue sauce, but they weren't bad. They were at least worth a $1. Once. The wings were great because they were meaty with a spicy, smokey flavor and crispy skin. The combination was brilliant and I'd hope that all the better barbecue places would steal the idea so I have more than one source for the wings. I got a side salad to balance out all the meat, which is one the things I love about The Barbecue Company. The salad was decent, but there was more wilted and yellow pieces of lettuce than I like to see.
Lunch at The Barbecue Company was good reminding me that I shouldn't forget them.
[Previous time I wrote about The Barbecue Company.]
My major issue with the Horizon Kompakt is that daylight and indoor shots almost never turn out because the aperture/shutter speed combination they chose lets in too much light if it's sunny or too little indoors. Out of the entire last roll I took these are only about two pictures I think are usable. The next time I take a panoramic shot it'll probably be with a different camera.
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The first time Lynn and I went hiking I used my Kiev 88 for the first time. It didn't go well because the frame advancement didn't work properly. Out of my roll of 12 there are probably only 5 usable pictures. I'll probably get the film developed this weekend to find out. I can't wait for everything to work properly.
The last couple of weeks the baby has been sleeping through the night and responding to his name. Exciting times.
I'm completely out of shape and need to do something about it so Lynn and I decided to start hiking on Sundays. A couple of weeks ago we tackled the Summit Trail at Squaw Peak (officially known as Piestewa Peak these days). The trail is only 1.2 miles long, but the first time we only made it to about the half mile mark. The trail is actually pretty strenuous so I didn't feel too bad. This last weekend we hiked over a mile, but still didn't make it to the top. At least we made progress. This weekend I want to try the much longer and less steep Circumference Trail. It should be a nice change of pace and we should at least be able to complete it.
On an odd note we saw a Mennonite couple on the trail when we were coming down. There're Mennonites in Phoenix!?
Vincent's On Camelback is a restaurant that inspires similar feelings in Lynn and I as Janos; there's great food to be had there if you can find it. Normally I'm not that patient, but it's the creative style of food that makes me give it more chances than most. Lynn and I were both in the mood for Vincent's for a few weeks, but we didn't get to make it there until one Saturday night.
Lynn thought we should make reservations, but I figured it was a big restaurant so it wasn't necessary. I was wrong because even though it was a late dinner by Phoenix standards there was still a 30 minute wait. It was a good thing we had a late lunch. We sat at the bar sipping glasses of Taittinger and Bollinger (we both liked the Taittinger better) absorbing the chatter of the waiters while they waited for their drinks to be made. It was much more entertaining than the lounge so the time flew.
We went to Vincent's with a plan, avoid the entrees, and there wasn't a menu entree or entree special that changed our minds. We ordered appetizers and had them sent out in courses. We started with the corn ravioli with white truffle oil, my favorite appetizer at Vincent's. I love it so much that I wouldn't split it so we had to get two orders. The mellow cheese filled ravioli were excellent on their own or with the white truffle oil. It was my first time eating a full order and seven ravioli still weren't quite enough for me.
For the second course we tried the lobster and tomato salad for the first time. The salad indeed had slices of tomatoes and lobster that also came with mixed greens and plenty of black pepper in a zesty dressing. The lobster was medium rare, which was under done for our tastes. Most of the tomatoes (grape, yellow, and red, but not green for me or yellow for Lynn) were ripe and excellent, especially with the dressing. The lobster, on the other hand, was extraneous. I wouldn't order this salad again, but it would make me seriously consider any salad they make with tomatoes.
The macadamia crusted scallops was a favorite of everyone at our last dinner at Vincent's, including me, so I had to get an order. They had the appetizer special lobster chimichanga that night and Lynn had to get it because it's her favorite appetizer at Vincent's. I thought they'd split the appetizers, but they were served separately. Apparently that's the way it was supposed to work out because neither of us was really in the mood for the other's appetizer. For some reason the cream cheese in the lobster chimichanga and the guacamole didn't do anything for me, although I didn't really liked my scallops either; the macadamia crust was too thick overpowering the flavor of the scallops and the scallops were gritty. I'd say this course was a bust, but Lynn was happy with her lobster chimichanga.
We split our last appetizer, the sauteed foie gras with lentils and bacon. I'd never had a savory sauteed foie gras dish before so I was looking forward to it. I started by tasting the lentils sans foie gras and they were rich with a straight forward flavor. I liked them in a comfort food sort of way. My first bite of the lentils with the foie gras made me want to cry because it was so great; there was something about the fat that completely transformed the dish from a good side dish to absolutely brilliant. The lentils were decadent (a word that I never thought I'd be used to describe lentils) and there were times I got the impression I was eating a dessert. I was impressed by both the dish and how it completely flipped my expectations.
I wasn't sure I'd be up for dessert, but I figured Vincent's would make the classic style of creme brulee that would have the firm but creamy texture that most places can't seem to master these days so curiosity got the better of me. The creme brulee was served in a pastry cup with a small patch of caramelized sugar on top. I'm all about the custard so less than normal caramelized sugar didn't bother me. The texture of the custard was exactly what I was hoping for with a very good mild flavor. The strawberries in the creme brulee were a pleasant surprise that went well with the strawberry sauce that the dessert was garnished with. Overall it was a very good creme brulee, but not brilliant like the hazelnut creme brulee at Citrus Cafe. Lynn didn't feel like creme brulee so she tried the tiramisu. I liked it because it was creamy without strong coffee or alcohol flavors, but Lynn didn't care for it.
Dinner ended with the freebie mini chocolate souffles which were appropriately hot and chocolatey. They're good enough that they'd make a perfectly good dessert for me.
We didn't have the great dinner that I thought we were going to have, but finding the foie gras with lentils ensures future visits from us.
Having a kid has made traveling a little more difficult for us, but not impossible. May we're planning on visiting Lynn's best friend in Houston. I've never been to Houston before, other than to change planes, so I hope I find some good eating. After far too many years of absence we should return to New Orleans in December. I can't wait to finally eat at Restaurant August instead of just fantasying about it.
The big trip will come in 2008 when Lynn and I go to Japan for my birthday. Technically we're going to Japan for the Danjiri Matsuri in Kishiwada (Osaka), which just happens to be in September. It sounds like a great festival because it has large wooden floats that are either crashed into each other or sped through the city as quickly as possible (which is a good trick because of the lack of steering) depending on which day you show up. It should be quite an experience. The only problem is September is the second wettest month and third hottest month in Osaka so the weather will probably be brutal. I guess that's one way to deal with terrible weather.
Hopefully things go as planned.
Kona Grill has never been my favorite place to eat, but they are convenient when Lynn and I are at Chandler Fashion Center and the calamari is pretty good. One day we wanted to eat just enough to hold us over so we went to Kona Grill to expressly order only appetizers. It was a sound plan, but more than a few appetizers sounded good so we ordered too much: yellowtail jalapeno sashimi, a California roll, calamari, diablo shrimp, and roasted asparagus salad.
The yellowtail jalapeno sashimi had slices of hamachi in ponzu sauce topped with a single slice of jalapeno and a cilantro leaf. I don't like hamachi because it tastes fishy to me, but the green flavor of the jalapeno suppressed the fishiness until the finish. I was impressed with the combination of cilantro and jalapeno with the hamachi, but I found the fishy aftertaste disgusting. Lynn doesn't taste the fishiness in hamachi so she was happy with the dish from start to finish. The California roll was made with crab salad and was pretty decent.
The calamari was light, kind of crispy, and tender. It's one of the better calamaris and the spicy aioli added just the right amount of zing to make it even better. The diablo shrimp sounded interesting with large deep fried shrimp served with buffalo wing sauce, but there was something indistinctive about the dish, like it could've been made with anything and tasted the same. It wasn't bad, just not good.
We were also in a vegetable mood so a salad with grilled asparagus and onions sounded good. The mixed greens with the balsamic vinaigrette was very good, but the grilled asparagus didn't add anything to the salad and didn't go with the grilled onions. The salad also came with herbed goat cheese crostini that was a surprising touch for a place like Kona Grill. They weren't bad either.
Kona Grill still isn't one of my favorites, but they're definitely passable.
[Most likely the last time we ate at Kona Grill.]
I'm not dead, I've just been sick. Lynn too. We thought the baby was teething, but it seems more likely that he was sick instead of being cranky for a week straight.
The baby has been able to roll over for a while, but recently he's been trying to crawl and unable to so he's decided to roll faster to get around. It makes him prone to fall off things. We're getting significantly more use out of our portable playpen now. The baby had also been babbling for a while, but earlier this week he said his first word, "dada". There aren't too many words with a single syllable sound so I wasn't surprised. Lynn swears that he followed that up a couple of days later with "mama".
The kid is a real handful these days so I'm not getting much writing done (as I'm sure you noticed). If I can't write at least I can take some pictures every once in a while. The following are some infrared shots from a day I was bored and looking for something to shoot. I think they turned out well.
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When Sabuddy left Tempe they left a location that I hoped would be filled by something equally unique. When I noticed the huge "Now Open" banners at Essence Bakery Cafe (in the old Sabuddy location) I thought I should give them a try, but it wasn't until I heard from a couple of people that the open faced steak sandwich was really good that I got motivated.
Last week Long and I went there for the steak sandwich. The counter to place your order is right by the door with the menu hanging above it so you'd expect a line, but there's only six sandwiches (three hot, three cold) on the menu so people don't have too much to think about. We both got the steak sandwiches (New York strip loin, sauteed mushrooms, Cabernet butter, and Maytag blue cheese) we came for with a side salad. I also looked at their case of baked goods and got a cinnamon apple and dried cherry tart. Somehow they rearranged the layout of the restaurant so it was more cramped than it was as Sabuddy.
The sandwiches arrived after about ten minutes and the first thing that struck me was how small they looked. There was plenty of mushrooms and blue cheese, but the steak (and even the toast!) seemed skimpy. The steak was tasty in a way that wouldn't surprise anyone because of its fairly typical combination. Normally "open faced sandwich" is code for useless bread, but their toast was crisp and buttery making it almost addictive so I had to wonder why they couldn't be more generous with it. The greens were typical, but the Zinfandel vinaigrette that came with it had a unique flavor that I thoroughly enjoyed.
The tart had a thin, highly crispy pastry shell holding the fruit and cake like filling in. It was fruity and sweet without being over the top. At $4 and change it was a little pricey, but it was worth it.
Long and I both enjoyed our sandwiches, but not for their $8.50 price tag. If I'm paying $8 for a lunch item it better fill me up so even though the steak sandwich was good I wouldn't get it again because I didn't think it was a good value.
This week I had lunch at Essence with Gordon. Gordon got the steak sandwich while I tried the jalapeno croque monsieur with Dijon potato salad (the other side option). The bread was once again nicely toasted with excellent thinly sliced ham, gruyere, and enough jalapenos to keep a constant tingle in my mouth. A well made croque monsieur can be brilliant and I was impressed that not only did Essence make the croque monsieur well, but found a way to improve it. The sandwich was also more filling than the steak sandwich so I was happy. The potato salad sadly just tasted like almost every other mustard potato salad so it looks like I'll be sticking with the side salad.
Gordon loved his steak sandwich and didn't have a problem with the price/portion size. Lucky him. I like Essence and shouldn't have a problem remembering to return. I'm surprised given their limited menu that there's still two more sandwiches I'd like to try (and even the quiche lorraine if I'm in the mood).
By the way, am I the only person who thinks Essence is a terrible name?
My mom got a Canon Powershot SD550 recently so I've had the chance to play with it. I've been so impressed with its fairly intuitive user interface that if I was in the market for a small point and shoot I'd consider it. I'm starting to see strange pixels (pure white pixels surrounded by pure black pixels) on my old Canon Powershot G2, and I'm getting tired of cloning them out of every picture I want to use from that camera, so I'll be in the market for a new digital camera soon.
The Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX2 has the very interesting ability to switch between 4:3, 3:2, and panoramic aspect ratios (with a respectable 28mm wide angle in panoramic mode) because the image sensor is actually panoramic size. Reading dpreview's review of the DMC-LX2 I was impressed by the quality of the zoom lens, but I find the photo quality at any ISO other than 100 unacceptable. I pretty much only use my digital cameras in ISO 50 or 100 anyway so it's not that much of a problem, but there's another camera I find even more intriguing.
The Fuji FinePix IS-1 (available in February) is designed for wide spectral sensitivity (basically they didn't put an infrared filter over the sensor) and has a big 10x zoom lens that goes down to 28mm at the wide end. I would love to be able to take hand held infrared pictures so if the picture quality is good it'll probably be my next digital camera.
An interesting aside, at least to me, flickr has their camera finder page that shows what cameras people are using. I'm amazed that Canon dominates the point and shoot category.
It's not all digital here at Casa Brain though. I love shooting panoramics, but the lack of control with the Horizon Kompakt drives me nuts. Lynn is going to get me a panoramic with aperture/shutter speed controls (probably the Horizon 203 Pro) as a late Christmas present. I finally got my Polaroid 440 Land camera working and have been screwing around with it. The lack of a reusable flash limits the type of pictures I like to use a Polaroid for (indoor snapshots), but it's still a reasonably fun camera. Expanding my collection of discontinued camera equipment I've got a Kiev 88 coming to me in the mail. I got it because I love the square aspect of medium format film and the Kiev 88 is the cheapest medium format camera I know of that I can get a wide angle lens for. I hope it works out well.
C-Fu Gourmet had been closed for a while for renovations, which severly impacted my dim sum satisfaction. When they finally reopened Lynn, Ken, and I visited them to make up for lost time and to make sure the dim sum wasn't renovated too. I didn't take any notes about the food, but it was just as tasty as usual.
I forgot that the restaurant was renovated until someone mentioned it. The renovation was subtle, but classy. I'm glad they reopened.
The next time we had dim sum at C-Fu Gourmet it was with the usual horde from Bill's Poker Tournament. There was a total of 16 people so it was a larger group than normal so we had to take two tables even though we shared the same bill.
Our usual favorites the spicy calamari, Chinese broccoli with plum sauce, and shrimp stuffed eggplant were all tasty. Sometimes the steamed short ribs are pretty good, but the one we got had been steamed too long so it had formed a single bony, meaty lump. Ken said the one at his table was very good. No other dim sum restaurants seem to make spring rolls so it makes me appreciate C-Fu's tasty spring rolls even more, but this time they were all meat. I was extremely disappointed, but a few other people still liked the all meat version.
The roast pork doesn't usually go over well with anyone other than Ken and I, but at least a couple of other people liked it too. The meat itself is tender and decent enough, but the crispy skin is the real draw. Someone got the grilled short ribs (bool kogi) and even though they were room temperature they had a good flavor. They weren't as good as Takamatsu's or Hodori's, but we'll order them again. We always finish with custard buns, but I spotted my favorite dessert, a round custard bun with a crumbly, crusty top that makes it better than your average custard bun. A couple of the people who don't even like the custard buns agreed with me. I found out they're called pineapple buns because the tops of the buns look like pineapple skin.
I was impressed with our ordering because we had almost no leftovers. Sharing the bill worked out for us because the combination of efficient ordering and free dishes (like every 13th in the category) brought lunch down to $12.50 per person. Nice. Did I mention that I'm glad they reopened?
[The previous time I wrote about C-Fu Gourmet.]
It had to happen eventually, baby pictures. The pictures are all pretty typical, but he is our baby and cute as hell.
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Lynn was very unhappy with our last lunch at Lychee Inn so it wasn't easy getting her to return, but I can be convincing when I try (or we tried to go to C-Fu Gourmet and they were closed).
It was a Monday, but Lynn wanted to try the calamari anyway. The calamari tasted fishy and the day of the week might've been why. On the plus side it was tender and the batter was crispy even though it looked undercooked. I thought it would've been decent if it wasn't fishy, but Lynn thought it needed seasoning.
I like the spicy entrees at Lychee Inn, and I like duck, so I was torn between the yui shan pork and the yui shan crispy duck. I loved the yui shan pork when I had it my first time at Lychee Inn, but curiosity won so I got the duck. I hoped the duck would be great, but I feared it was going to be terrible. The duck was fried with a batter so while it was crispy the duck fat wasn't rendered. It kind of reminded me of KFC extra crispy chicken in a tasty way so long as I avoided the fat. It was very good with the slightly sweet, spicy garlic yui shan sauce, but I like the pork version better because it takes less effort to eat (no fat to avoid).
Lynn still wasn't eating spicy food so I had no idea what she might like there. The black pepper sizzling beef caught her eye and was impressively sizzling when it arrived. The sauce was milder than most black pepper sauces at Chinese restaurants, but it was an excellent combination of black pepper and wok flavor. The beef still had the over tenderized texture I noticed last time, but it didn't bother Lynn like it bothered me so she was very happy with her dish.
After we were seated I thought I smelled ripe bananas while Lynn thought it smelled like deep fried sweet stuff. We were both right because with the check came a couple of pieces of deep fried banana sprinkled with sugar. We both thought the batter should've been crispier, but we both appreciated the freebie.
I was happy with our lunch at Lychee Inn, so long as I forgot about the calamari, and Lynn liked it enough that I won't have to talk her into our next visit.
I needed to finish off a roll of 400 film so I was trying to think of indoor places to take pictures. Eventually I remembered that I'd wanted to visit Phoenix Ranch Market, a favorite on Chowhound, for a long time. I looked up the location and was surprised that it was in the same neighborhood as Welcome Diner and Rito's. That's pretty good company.
I walked around the supermarket to take it all in seeing a bakery, a agua frescas stand, huge produce bins, tortilla machines cranking out fresh flour and corn tortillas, and a huge deli selling every taqueria item I've ever heard of. I got a large horchata from the agua fresca stand even though they had a great selection (limon, pina [pineapple], jamaica [hibiscus], tamarindo [tamarind], melon [cantaloupe], fresa [strawberry], sandia [watermelon], and probably others I missed) because horchata is probably the most challenging and tasty of the agua frescas despite its ubiquity. Ranch Market's horchata was extra creamy with lots of vanilla and a hint of something unusual (nutmeg?) that made the already tasty horchata unique.
Drink taken care of I looked at the many menus posted on the wall and went with four tacos (three carne asada, one pastor). The pastor was tender, but salty enough that I couldn't finish it. Thankfully the carne asada was much better because the tender beef was well seasoned, but not oversalted. There was one huge piece of gristle, but the rest of the meat more than made up for it. There was a green salsa that came with the tacos that didn't taste good with the carne asada.
I picked up a few things while I was there for later including red beef tamales and pastries. I really disliked the tamales; the masa was hard and the beef only tasted like red chiles. It made me miss the green pork tamales from La Purisima (my favorite Mexican bakery).
The pastries were good, but they made me want to hit La Purisima too. The cream roll sounded like a good idea wrapping thin layers of pastry around a cream cheese filling, but there wasn't enough cheese filling to taste. The pastry stick filled with pineapple and cream cheese was better because the flaky pastry had a buttery flavor and was covered with rock sugar, but it didn't have enough filling either. The apple empanada [turnover] had a crumbly pastry I didn't like even though the apple filling wasn't bad. The cherry turnover was the best baked item I had and the only one I'd get again; the pastry was once again flaky and crispy and the rock sugar coating sweetened the barely sweet cherry filling.
Phoenix Ranch Market is a great place and an experience much like Lee Lee (an Asian supermarket). I didn't finish my roll of film though because I became self conscious when people started looking at me while taking pictures. Maybe I got some good shots anyway.
Possibly the only Polish restaurant in Phoenix, Na Zdrowie, has closed. I hope the next restaurant in that location has better luck. Tommy's Burger Place went from a burger place that served inconsistently above average burgers and some Mexican food to a Mexican restaurant. I hope the food at the new place is more consistent. One of my favorite Chinese restaurants, Lin Chinese Dining, is now Sun Chinese Dining. I'll miss their grandma's spicy salad and walnut shrimp. The best roast beef sandwich I've had in the valley at Zero's Subs is still available even though they've changed their name to Brenda's Subs because the name is the only thing that changed. That's the only bit of good news.
It's been a slow start getting back into the writing habit, but I had to start again eventually. This being my first post of the new year it seems appropriate to look back on the past year and look forward to the current one. Here's the old stuff worth mentioning.
