Hooked on S’mores Sundaes

Since I haven’t written about ice cream in quite some time, I thought I’d use a post to share my latest indulgence with you.  Doesn’t it look good!?  And let me tell you, it’s DELICIOUS!  Here’s the simple recipe:  Just buy your favorite flavor of vanilla ice cream.  Top with hand-crumbled graham crackers, mini marshmallows and Hershey’s chocoalte sauce.  For those of you looking to lighten it, get a light ice cream and light syrup!  Make sure and let me know what you think!  I’ve had one everyday for the last week… I may have hit the saturation point.  I’m going to take a 2 day break and see if I feel like them anymore!

Adventures at the Grocery Store

I thought you’d all enjoy seeing me pick out my dinner for tonight.  This is definitely NOT the US of A!  I’m adjusting slow but sure.  Sorry for the poor video quality – I’m still getting the hang of it (plus I was trying to be convert since I was shooting a video in the grocery store)!

Day 2 in San Fran: Our Foodie Experience

Honestly, I did nothing all day except eat on day 2.  And it was FABULOUS!  I love food and I’m not ashamed to admit it.  I don’t like to do it all the time, but a well-researched gem in a new city is a delicious splurge.  Here are my reviews of our picks.  First up for lunch was The Slanted Door, a Vietnamese restaurant in the Ferry building on Embarcadero.  Here are my ratings of it:

• Price/Value: $25-30 a person for lunch w/o alcohol.  More for dinner obviously.  I’m going to give it a 3.5 on value, as you had to pay $2 a person for rice.  That seemed a bit tacky to me.  Why not just include it with the dish??

• Food Quality/Taste: 4.5 stars.  Exceptional quality and taste.  Unique flavor textures and profiles.  We had caramelized prawns and vegetables, lettuce wraps, jasmine rice and clay pot chicken.  All were fantastic and very memorable.  The only downside for me was that everything came family-style and had to be ordered separately.  That made it more difficult to order because multiple people needed to all want the same thing.

• Ambiance: 4 stars.  Very sleek and modern, which isn’t my favorite – but GREAT views of the bay!

• Service: 5 stars.  Very attentive.  Our server automatically had a dish adapted so the vegetarian could enjoy it too.

• Location/Parking: 5 stars.  Located right on the bay in the delightful Ferry Building.  Lots of transportation options to get there.

• Overall Score: 4 stars.  Loved the food and service and location.  Wish it wouldn’t have been family style though!

We wanted our last meal in the US to be highly memorable, so we booked a reservation with Restaurant Gary Danko, one of the most challenging tables to get in San Francisco.  It’s only a 65 seat dining room and rated as one of the top 3 restaurants, so we were happy to land a 5:30 reservation.  This is definitely a special date restaurant, as your minimum meal option is a $66 three course tasting menu.  Add a glass of wine and you’re minimally looking at $100 per person with tax and tip.  Here’s my review of the restaurant:

• Price/Value: 3.5 stars.  They’re obviously selling out the dining room each night, so people are willing to pay what they’re asking.  For me though, in comparison to other restaurants with similar menus and food quality levels, I’ve been able to get more for my money.

• Food Quality/Taste: 3 stars.  Nick and I have been debating this one since we got home last night.  While the food was beautifully presented and perfectly done, there wasn’t any “wow” factor to it.  The flavor profiles were fairly standard and the food choices were what I would have expected to see.  There just weren’t any surprises… yet on the other hand, it’d be hard to find something to complain about.  To give you an idea of what we had, our courses were: An amuse bouche courtesy of the chef, bread, appetizers, salmon medallions for me, scallops for Nick, a cheese course and a chocolate souffle for dessert.

• Ambiance: 2 stars.  I was not a fan of the space or decor.  Ambiance is the most important thing for me, as I believe it sets the tone for how the meal will go.  It’s a conduit for conversation and good feelings toward the dining experience.  So why wasn’t I impressed?  We were crammed into a small dining space, I found it impossible to stay focused on my own conversation because of other tables on top of us, and the decor felt a bit outdated.  Nothing memorable about it.

• Service: 5 stars.  Not a question in my mind.  Best service I’ve ever had at a restaurant.  Amazingly attentive staff that paid attention to small things.  They even brought us an additional plate of mini desserts with Bon Voyage written in chocolate to celebrate our last night here.  Another thing that impressed me was that a taxi had already been called for us right when we were paying our bill.  Impressive.

• Location/Parking: 3.5 stars.  Not near the water, on a bit of a random street.  Seemed to be squished in to the location.  No parking except valet.  No idea if there was public transportation nearby, as we took a taxi.

• Overall: 3.5 stars.  High marks for service and execution, but lacked soul.  Food was perfectly done, but not memorable.  Ambiance left something to be desired.  I don’t like being a sardine when I’m paying that much!

Ice Cream Season starts TODAY!

Perhaps you didn’t know this, but I am an ICE CREAM JUNKIE.  I love it, love it, love it.  In fact, in 2007 I committed to eating ice cream a minimum of once a day from Memorial Day to Labor Day (successfully completed)!  I also allow myself to eat ice cream for all 3 meals on my birthday (July 9th – perfect timing).  And so I’ve tried quite a bit of ice cream in my day.  In order to get the rest of you as excited about ice cream as I am, we’re going to go over a few of my recommendations in various categories.

And the winners are….

For the Store-Bought Category: Edy’s Slow Churned Ice Cream. Top Flavor Picks: Peanut Butter Cup, Mint Cookie Crunch and Raspberry Chip Royale.  What makes Edy’s so fantastic is that it’s softer and creamier than any ice cream I’ve ever purchased from the grocery store.  It’s easy to scoop and easy to eat, making it a sinful delight at only 120 calories per bowl (it has 1/2 the fat and 1/3 less calories than typical ice cream).  How often is it that you find a light variety that’s better than the full-fat version??  Get out and buy some NOW!

Largest Cone for your Money: Nelson’s Ice Cream in Stillwater. Nelson’s is a MN institution, especially in the summer.  Their cones are gigantic!  Honestly, I usually get a child’s size!  The single often makes me a teeny bit sick as it’s just so much to consume in one sitting.  But how can you fault them for providing good value, especially with the ridiculous prices they charge?  A bit of history: Each year I’d put together a group to go canoeing down the St. Croix River from Taylors Falls to William O’Brien State Park and on the way home we’d drag our exhausted bodies into Nelson’s for a pick-me-up.  Knowing that cone was coming got me through the 20 miles of paddling…

Best Fast Food Ice Cream: McDonald’s Cone. Some of you may be shocked at this one, but I must say that it fits the value criteria ($1) and it’s reasonably healthy (150 calories per cone).  I do have some complaints to file with McDonald’s though, specifically: Why did you reduce the size of the cone?  AND   What happened to chocolate?  I miss twist cones!  I’m still recommending it though, because I haven’t found anything more worthy.

Best Locally-made Ice Cream: Izzy’s Ice Cream. Mmmmm, Izzy’s.  Good stuff.  Not overly cheap and most likely not healthy (I’d rather not know) but such a treat.  They make over 200 flavors throughout the summer and have that cute little Izzy “sample-size” scoop that you get on top of every cone.  (I always use mine to try a flavor I haven’t sampled yet!)  I like to think of Izzy’s as the “Special Outing Destination”.  It’s not somewhere I’d go to every week, but it’s the one thing I’d choose to have on a special day (such as my wedding).

A Moroccan Feast!

I arrived in DC late Friday night and Nick treated me to a fun new cuisine I had never sampled before – Moroccan!  Wow.  What a feast!  We ate at Taste of Morocco in DC, one of the best know venues in town for that type of cuisine.  We each sampled a tasting menu for $25 a person consisting of 6courses:

• Harrira or Lentil Soup
• Royal Salad (a mix of 3 different cold salads – eggplant, carrot and cucumber)
• Chicken Bastilla
• Chicken and Lamb Tagine
• Moroccan Mint Tea
• Moroccan Pastries

I was simply blown away by the deliciousness of this cuisine.  I can’t remember liking something this much in a VERY long time.  The tastes were an interesting mixture of savory and sweet.  Particularly perplexing but OH SO FABULOUS was the Chicken Bastilla.  Pictured atop, this phyllo-pastry is stuffed with a marinated chicken, almonds, parsley and onions and topped with a mixture of sugar and cinnamon.  I know it sounds disgusting, but the combination is HEAVENLY.  One of the most unique, memorable dishes I’ve tried in the last year.  The soup was my other favorite of the meal, followed by the Tagine.  Everything had this interesting mix of savory and sweet.  Bread had a unique sweet finish.  The Tagine had raisins with the lamb, etc. As if the food wasn’t delightful enough, we also were treated to a 30 minute Belly Dancing Show while we dined.  2 hours later we left with a full belly and a big smile on our faces.

Please try out some local Moroccan cuisine in your city.  For Minnesotans, your best options are Mairin’s Table and the Marrakesh Cafe in Minneapolis.  Expand your horizons and treat your tummy – all in one!  And don’t forget to order the Bastilla!

Restaurant Review: Cafe Lurcat

I just got back from a lovely dinner out with SJ at Minneapolis’ Cafe Lurcat for Restaurant Week.  I had been to Lurcat before for happy hour, but had never dined here.  Restaurant week is such a steal and it’s only day one so you have plenty of time to get out for a lunch or dinner!  We had a $30 pre-fixe menu, with 8-10 choices for each course.  I chose crab cakes, miso-glazed sea bass and mini dough-nuts for dessert.  Each was superb in its execution (yes, even the mini dough-nuts!).  We didn’t feel rushed at all and service was everything you’d expect from a high end restaurant.

My ratings this time:
Price/Value: 3 stars (moderate- entrees $18-25, excellent quality though)
Food quality/taste: 5 stars.  It’s a D’Amico Brothers restaurant – the food is always first class.
Ambiance: 2 stars (Too white and stark for me.  I like more intimate nooks and bursts of color).
Service: 5 stars – first rate.
Location/Parking: 2 stars (no free parking here.  Meters are cheap but often full.  Otherwise it’s valet.)
Overall score: 3.5 – The fantastic food and service gets cheapened by the lack of parking and so-so ambiance.  Worth at least one visit in your life though.  If I had to do it over, I’d have dinner in Bar Lurcat, which has a much cooler vibe (but the same food)!

Restaurant Week: March 1st-6th

Okay folks.  It’s time to go out on the town for one of the best deals of the year!  Restaurant week is an annual event where local restaurateurs showcase their finest offerings at remarkably low prices.  Here’s how it works: Lunch fare will showcase 2 courses for either $10 or $20.  Dinner fare will showcase 3 courses for either $15 or $30.  Each restaurant has different menus and reservations MUST be made in advance at Open Table.  Click HERE to see participating restaurants and their featured menus.  These are definitely some of the hottest dining tickets in town, so please seriously consider having a fun night out!

Rediscovering Noodles and Company

I’m not sure about any of you, but with economic times being a little tighter, I’ve noticed myself trading down from sit-down restaurants to glam fast food joints like Chipotle, Panera or Noodles and Co.  They feel like a nice step up from McDonald’s, but still allow you to get out with under $10 of damage.  Sometime over the last year I tired of Chipotle and Panera and recently reacquainted myself with Noodles and Co.  I had written it off a long time ago, thinking it was too unhealthy.  I mean, a restaurant all about noodles!  HORRIBLE!  Boy was I wrong. 

Granted, not all of their meals are healthy, but I’ve found that the Asian dishes in particular are especially low cal and delicious.  I always get the trio which includes a cup of soup or salad, a protein and a noodle/veggie base for around $7.  The 4 Asian options I rotate between are: The Japanese Pan Noodles (pictured above), Pad Thai (not quite as healthy), Bangkok Curry and Indonesian Peanut Saute.  Protein choices include beef, chicken, shrimp or tofu so there is lots of room to select a healthy option.  My all time favorite is the Indonesian Peanut, followed by the Japanese Pan (which I delighted in last night with JB).  YUM.  If you too ruled it off your list, perhaps it’s time to give it another look….

Restaurant Review: Flame

Photo courtesy of Star Tribune.com

This is NOT your typical mall restaurant.  Located in Rosedale Mall on the upper level between AMC and Herberger’s, Flame changes it up a bit and surprises you with its trendy decor and reasonable prices.  I should know, I dined here on both Monday and Friday!  First thing to note: Happy Hour is Monday through Friday from 4-6 PM with $3 wines, $4 apps and beer specials too.  Thursday night is also ladies night, with drink specials for women. 

Now on to the important stuff.  The decor rocks- make sure and check out the bathrooms!  The fire all over gives it a warm, intimate feel.  If the Winter Carnival Vulcans were going to start a restaurant, this would be it!  The food spans a variety of categories: burgers, wraps, pasta, etc.  Their specialty is anything flame-grilled (duh!).  The skewers are top-notch, in addition to the chicken and 8 hour potroast.  Entrees were generally within the $9-16 range, making this a pocketbook-friendly night out as well!

Restaurant Review: Khyber Pass Cafe

Nick and I ventured down to Grand and Snelling to try out the Afghani restaurant Khyber Pass.  I’d seen lots of reviews about it and we were in the mood for something different.  The service was wonderful- I believe we even had the owner come to our table to talk about the menu with us.  There specialties were curry, meatballs, and vegetable/bean dishes.  The thing that struck me was the unique use of vegetables- lentils, leeks, beans, eggplant- lots of veggies that are rare to see on menus.  I wasn’t overly hungry, so I went with a delicious bean soup with cilantro and yogurt on top with a side of eggplant in tomato sauce (served with pita).  Nick did one of the meatball platters, which came with a generous portion of rice, curried potatoes and a small salad.  I think what I liked most about it was the feeling of eating comfort food- it would have been ideal for a cold, winter night.  Perhaps we’ll have to venture back and test that theory!

My ratings this time:
Price/Value: 3 stars (moderate- entrees $12-17, not much below $10)
Food quality/taste: 4 stars (felt very home-cooked.  Great use of spices and vegetables).
Ambiance: 3 stars (So-so space.  Liked the entryway, but wasn’t impressed with the main table area)
Service: 4 stars
Location/Parking: 5 stars (free parking adjacent- surprising given that it’s on Grand)
Overall score: 3.5 – Enjoyed the quality of the food, but thought it was a bit pricey for the amount you got

Restaurant Review: Peninsula Malaysian Cuisine

I like to think of myself as a food snob after my time in the Target Deli.  I mean, I do know my cheese!  I also learned quite a bit about the restaurant scene.  Therefore, I see it as my duty to share my latest and greatest restaurant finds.  On Saturday night Nick and I shared dinner with two friends.  I suggested the restaurant Peninsula, which serves Malaysian cuisine.  The restaurant is located on Eat Street (Nicollet Avenue) in Minneapolis.  We shared a mix of dishes including: Red Curry Chicken, Shrimp Pad Thai, Spicy golden squid and pineapple seafood fried rice.   I loved the curry and seafood rice the most. 

For each restaurant I review, I’ll rate on these 6 things:
Price/Value: 4 stars (super cheap- entrees $8-17)
Food quality/taste: 4 stars (authentic and fresh, but not the best I’ve ever had.  Liked the rice presentation in the pineapple).
Ambiance: 2 stars (pretty boring decor- nothing stands out)
Service: 3 stars
Location/Parking: 3 stars (they had a parking lot across the street)
Overall score: 3 – Good to try at least once