Cedar planked salmon

Tonight was a special occasion, a neighborly celebration in a sorts.

Humboldt fog and point Reyes blue cheese started the evening:


Creamy humboldt, fantastically paired with a dirty martini. The potato blue was tamed by the fig jam.

Caprese salad on ruby red and vibrant yellow tomatoes delicately delivered lycopene bites:



Our chef's specialty was a cedar planked salmon, rubbed with a secret combination of spices and lemon wedges:


Upon grilling on the plank, the smoky flavors balanced perfectly with salmon... Deliciously paired with a cakebread cellars merlot.. A favorite :


A delicious production!


- Posted using mobile cam.. Eating and blogging on the go, excuse spelling mistakes :)

Pull me some pork

Ever been blown away from the sweet succulent power of slowly cooked tender pork marinaded so profusely that the shreds of meet melt in your mouth?

With a welcoming from the south, pulled pork BBQ offs takes hours of marinading and cooking to get that right balance of sweetness, boldness and heartiness.

If you don't have 24 hrs to spare to prepare your meaty beast, some quick alternatives can be dressed up to impressed your friends.

Head on over to the local BBQ shack and pile on the pulled pork!

With grilled and blackened sweet corn, garlic roasted broccoli, even the natives have to shout:


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Smyth- iron horse. Milwaukee

If restoration hardware had a boutique hotel, Iron Horse hotel in Milwaukee would be it. Adjacent to the hardley davidson factory, the once warehouse converted to hotel brings out the classic ruggedness of wood craftsmanship, wrought iron fixtures and American pride.






With bikes on display, brass and nickel lighting, the sultry dimly lit environment has open and welcoming spots to lounge:


A visit without a bite is not a visit. The Kobe beef sliders thick Kobe stacks served in twit full glory on all things but enriched white bread!



Juicy and flavorful, the meat was fantastic, sliced cornelian pickles and cherry tomatoes...grilled sourdough or a ciabatta slice would have been phenomenal. A pulled pork variety was requested by a hungry beast, tender and succulent...

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Cracker barrel- Midwest

If you are looking for a country style, all you eat rich breakfast meals, cracker barrel has some bargain breakfasts.



Set up as a country store with all kinds of knickknacks, rocking chairs and decor from the woodlands of the south, heart breakfasts, power pancake stacks and individual maple syrup mini bottles will definitely get the cholesterol flowing through the body.

The morning special: 2 eggs, bacon, biscuits, yoghurt parfait with applesauce, nuts and fruit for toppings, and a bran muffin... Originally designed for 1 person at $6!





Poached for a little lightness...

Had to skip the biscuits and gravy this time!

It's definitely a country store experience.


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Mercat a la planxa-- chicago

Who knew that Barcelona could be tucked into the corner of the Blackstone hotel in Chicago.

The Renaissance collection blackstone hotel intertwines French beaux arts style, classic 20's decor elements with contemporary modern accents to give a sensational feeling that screams... Take me to the dining room!





The modern Catalan inspired dining room of the Mercator boasts 3 floor high ceilings, warm troves of orange, yellow and purple all with a vibrant energetic buzz:


Tapas style, there are plenty of delicious choices.

The lomo embuchado is thinly sliced beef loin, brought out with a spicy mustard, cornelian pickles and chopped peppers:


The bacon wrapped dates stuffed with almonds and drizzled with a light blue cheese were divine:



Bring on the gambas! Fire roasted garlic infused and red pepper splashed shrimp come sizzling and steaming deliciously:


The espinacas a la Catalan, spinach sauteed with raisins, pine nuts and topped with shredded apples in a light broth were fantastic:


The grilled pacific halibut with lemon and spinach purée:


Bacon wrapped loin was phoneme, drenched with a light mushroom sauce and served on a crispy polenta stick:



The raw cow milk cheese with a sherry bacon Carmel dipping sauce and slice apples was an interesting play on flavors:


The Cana de cabra, a goat cheese with balsamic strawberries was also equally satisfying:


With pomegranate infused sangrias and lively atmosphere, Mercat brings a little bit of the Catalan experience and flavors for enjoyment.



- Posted using mobile cam.. Eating and blogging on the go, excuse spelling mistakes :)

Mahi mahi primavera

Bring on the mahi! A hearty meaty fish that can be grilled, baked or tossed into a pan.

Sauteed mahi in garlic and turmeric, onions and tomatoes even had the non fish lover smiling:


With a side of roasted thyme coated eggplant, Rosemary and olive oil fragrantly melted the chaos that surrounds daily life:


Burnt baby tomatoes, exploding with flavor. Aubergine delights!

Baba ganoush--

There is a saying that if you eat enough baba ganoush and make your inner baba happy, you'll radiate nothing but positivity!

Well then the world needs a lot more baba ganoush... A delightful roasted eggplant dish with olive oil, lemon and tahini, perfectly dipped with warm pita.. And always available at alladin's Mediterranean cafe in Hillcrest.




With a lamb shwerma, cumin, cinnamon and garlic all infuse the inner body, onions and ruby red tomatoes sprinkled with sumec.. Fantastic:


And the falafel to go, sweet balls of grain with a tahini dipping sauce, always served pipin hot:



Come ride the magic carpet at alladin's, where you can have all the baba ganoush you can handle!
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Beaumont - birdrock

Tucked into the la hills communities, various alcoves create distinct environments. Beaumont is one of those restaurants.

Having nothing to do with a French influenced theme, the place hosts a number of live music events... Be prepared it's load!

The starters included ahi tartare, tuna topped on an avocado jicama salad served with crunchy chips and a blood orange vinaigrette that blended away in the background:


Great combination of tuna, citrus and avocado, though for a generous portion advertised appetizer, was waiting for the generous to come out!

Guy fries served in a paper cone, were lightly fried, sprinkled with a mild blue creamy cheese and served with a garlic aoili... Is this the metrosexual appetizers making their entry into the mainstream? Nonetheless, they were happily devoured... Would have loved them if coated in a sprinkled herbs du Provence or truffle salt, but that might be to guy- ish to recommend:)

The grille white pizza entertained the crowds: baby spinach with Parmesan and truffle oil! Can't get enough truffle:



Next to me, the linguine and baby artichoke dish, with pulled chicken, fennel and hints of sausage begged for a taste test..:


The nutty sea bass: nut crusted sea bass with cannellini beans, sprinkled bacon and an herb broth with avocado and tomatoes... Fantastic:


Within arms reach, a short braised short rib with candied pancetta and sage orzo risotto deliciously pleased the taste buds.

With music blaring, wine pouring and dishes being passed around, the main entrees made up for the comfort food entrees..

Definitely a place to go to if you don't want to talk to your dinner date!

- Posted using mobile cam.. Eating and blogging on the go, excuse spelling mistakes :)

Put some Mexican in you!

Mama testa's catchy little saying, thats all over NPR, on T-shirts they sell and their working premise.

A non Tex Mex authentic mexican spot, low profile, relaxed and chill environment, centered in university next to Bite (which closed down!).

Hearty good dishes and a great salsa bar, mama testa's has something to offer.


Start out with the chips and salsa bar. Grilled onions and peppers, combos of pico de gallo, tomatillo, roasted chipotle and tomatoes, carrots soaked in jalepeño juice.. Easily, you can creat your own little nachos..


Simple but delicious, grilled green onions.. Marinaded with lime...


La Ensenada loca: a romaine based salad with a light guacamole influenced cream dressing and roasted chicken:


Chicken a la suya: green chile roasted chicken, stewed to tenderness and wrapped in handmade corn tortillas...


The only dissatisfaction of the dish was the rice! Really.... It needed a bit of improvement.

The interesting creation, was a red pepper based soup broth with chopped tacquito pieces inside of it... Peppery and spicy with surprising crunchy chunks:


For a low key Mexican place, mama testa's has some bites.


- Posted using mobile cam.. Eating and blogging on the go, excuse spelling mistakes :)

Shank it up-- amarin Thai

Amarin Thai, with it's local Thai offerings, fantastic hospitality and tasty Dishes was serving it up again.

Cha cha cha... The lamb shank cooked in peppercorns and flavors from the east, bone sucking good:


A favorite staple: eggplant and chicken level 7... Time to clear the sinuses!



And with select bottles of wine under 20.. An inexpensive tasty treat awaits you.
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Bankers hill

Banker's hill restuarant is a newer addition to banker's hill area. Opening in May and bringing a sophisticated lofty industrial chic environment where both small and large plates pack flavorful dishes.

Low lit ambience with classic low wattage filament bulbs, exposed wood arches and support, polished concrete, and dark interior with a bar displaying 1 row of bottled beauties, the atmosphere is loud. From the music to the acoustics, it's not a first date place unless you will be yelling at each other across the table, but definately a group dinner environment.






The devil eggs draped with bacon and cooked with mustard hints adorned with shoestring fries with lemon and truffle dipping aoili are fantastic!


A hen never had them this good! The creamy, hearty, salty fritte and smoky bacon flavors just come together in bites of utter joy. Delicious.

The strawberry basil martini was interesting. At first subtle and good with a whiff of basil as you drank, but when mixed, the sweetness of the vodka infused strawberry shined through in a semi sweet way...


The battered shrimp with aoili sauce were great: meaty shrimp complemented by the breading and not overwhelmed by it, served with a celery carpaccio salad drizzled with lemon... Deliciouso:



The mussels with andallouse sausage provided a tomatoe based heartiness to the Carlsbad mussels... Slight smoky and great for bread dipping:





The beet and arugula salad, with 2 different types of beets and feta cheese is practically a staple.

The duck confit, on greens and a potatoe disc was fantastic:


The loin: a healthy portion loin cooked with citrus glaze, peaches and baby potatoes with spinach require the jaws of 2 beasts to devour:



Orgasmically good with the Zinfandel Pettite syrah blend of a bottle that we had. This is why we work out!

For dessert, a sweet and salty chocolate layered cake that took several tries in understanding that the adorning chocolate covered pretzels with the gelato was the salt aspect of the dish. Nonetheless, well presented and multilayered in both structure and complexity of taste:


Rachel's other dessert this night was a cheesecake with figs and a concord grape sorbet:



And because all the paws in the pictures belonged to beautifully people that were getting jealous of not being displayed with their dishes... A first on only happy satisfied people (well most of them :))










- Posted using mobile cam.. Eating and blogging on the go, excuse spelling mistakes :)