I'm tired of cooking... Let's eat out!

It was my first night at home since the beginning of the summer.  My small hometown does not have a lot to offer in the way of exotic or elegant food.  We have a strip of fast food chains and local greasy spoons.  However, we have a few hidden gems.  There is a small butcher shop outside of town that will cut steaks for you right when you order them.  Now that is fresh.  My favorite is an extra thick cut filet mignon vacuum sealed in marinade.  It is the most tender and flavorful filet I have purchased.  Just a quick sear on a hot grill later along with some sautéed mushrooms and you are in heaven.  As well, we have quite a large proportion of hispanic residents so in the past few years a lot of great, authentic mexican restaurants have popped up.  This is true and real food, no Tex-Mex here.  There is a grocery store that sells homemade tamales (made by the mother of the shop owner) every Friday and Saturday.  There is another restaurant that is called Dos Arcos that my parents frequent at least once a week.  It is simple, cheap, tasty mexican food.  It has a pretty vast menu.  Our meal usually begins with housemade salsa and queso fundido, which is crumbled chorizo sauteed in a super hot cast-iron skillet until some of the great, telltale red grease seeps out then queso is added until it melts.  "Hot plate, hot plate!" the waiter warns as he lowers the still sizzling pan onto the table.  It spicy, cheesy and salty with chips: my favorite dish.  My grandma ate almost an entire dish of it before my family could get a few bites. For my main course I usually get the chile verde, a dish made by stewing pork shoulder in a green, tangy chile sauce.  The food is all fresh made and so tasty. The staff is friendly and I can get a huge meal for under ten dollars too.

Once a year my town hosts a huge event that brings people from across the country.  The population of my town triples for the weekend of Marian Days.  The celebration is basically like Christmas but for Mary; the date seems to have been arbitrarily chosen to be a weekend in August.  It attracts thousands of Vietnamese to my town each year.  It is quite a site to see all the camps set up surrounding the church.  Traffic basically shuts down for a week and extra police force has to be brought in from surrounding towns.  It provides a lot of irritation as well as excitement to the local community.  Some people hate that time of year and leave town.  On the other hand myself, I like to wander around the camp sites to see the variety of shops and people.  One perk for the town is that the visitors set up restaurants tents that serve Vietnamese delicacies.  Each year I try to find a dish more unusual and exotic than the last.  Vermicelli, whole fried crabs, shrimp rolls, bulls balls in broth, but this year trumped them all.  I could only read three words describing the dish as "fried whole fish."  I thought "hmmm this could be interesting." I've had fried fish many times on my fishing trips to Canada but this was entirely different.  When they say whole fried fish, they mean the whole thing.  They gutted and descaled some of it but fins, eyes, tail, TEETH were all left intact.  It was a beastly fish that was a foot long with big, ugly teeth.  They slashed the sides to promote even cooking, put on a light batter, and flash fried it... about a day before I ate it.  The whole fish was served to me on a plate with chop sticks, carrots, parsley, and fish sauce.  It was pretty good but a little plain.  The appearance set a stage that the flavor of the fish did not live up to.

Yesterday, I was in KC.  I started off the morning with my usual greek yogurt and berries.  Then we went to see the cheap show of Dinner for Schmucks.  The movie looked hilarious from the commercials, but it was full of painfully awkward situations that were simply not enjoyable.  Jemaine from Flight of the Conchords was the funniest part of the movie but he just had a supporting role.   After almost walking out of the movie, we ate at a vegetarian/vegan restaurant called Eden Alley.  It's a very unusual place because it serves no meat but is located on an expensive shopping district in a area that loves red meat.  But to my surprise, we walked in and it was very busy.  The restaurant is in a big room that is filled with vintage, antique shop tables and chairs designed by local artists.  Everything they make has the option of being vegan, but it does not taste vegan.  I once had mushroom loaf (like meat loaf) and would never have guessed that it did not have meat.  For our meal, I had a tomato based black bean soup with sirachi sauce and a salad with beets, green apples, couscous, dried cranberries, mandarin oranges, feta, and a poppy seed dressing.  The soup was the best black bean that I have ever tried.  The beans were not overcooked and just gave way with the right amount of pressure.  The tomato base provided a much deeper texture and flavor than the traditional broth base.  The sirachi gave it a nice bite as it went down my throat.  Their dessert tray looked amazing, and I was shocked to find out that most of the cakes were vegan.  Now I am not usually a cake person, but I just had to try a piece.  I got a huge slice of avocado-lemon poppy seed cake and my girlfriend had coconut cloud cake (not vegan).  The cake was a funky yellow color and incredibly dense (it's hard to get a fluffy cake without butter or eggs).  It was covered in florescent green icing.  I was a little skeptical but on my first bite I was blown away.  I never thought vegan cake could taste like it.  It was moist and flavorful with tones of lemon and the subtle creaminess of avocado.  I think they might have used the avocado to replace the butter, which is genius.  It was delicious, but definitely not cake in the traditional sense.  The texture was very heavy and had varying density which provided a lot of different textures.  A new word is needed to describe this "cake." The coconut cloud cake was just like the name describes.  The white cake was like and airy with a pillowy coconut frosting floating on top.  When we first got the massive slices we were intimidated and prepared to have leftover cake to take home.  But after those first bites everything changed. Ten minutes later and even forensic specialists wouldn't have been able to find a trace of cake.  It was so amazing we cleaned the plates.  And afterwards, I didn't feel weighed down like I usually do after eating cake.  I will definitely have it again.  They sell a cookbook that I am excited to try out, hoping they have the recipe.  Eden Alley is a must try if you ever visit Kansas City. 

Last Supper in Chicago

My last week in Chicago was a whirlwind.  Up to the last day I was working on finishing and cleaning up my 12 page research paper on electric rickshaws in India.  At the same time, I was designing a presentation about my work and preparing for questions to defend my work.  Then the little things like packing all my things into not enough bags, cleaning the apartment, doing laundry, grocery shopping, running errands, etc. I gave my final presentation, said goodbyes, and rushed to the apartment to finish packing and get ready for the airport.  I was so busy that I had to make my last supper the week before I left, but oh was it a good one.

I've mentioned before how amazing the Green City Farmers' Market, in Chicago, is and that it has an amazing selection of high-quality food.  I usually only allowed myself to buy vegetables, but for my last week I splurged on meat.  But this was not just any run of the mill meat.  After talking to all the stand owners, I decided to buy from a local supplier of Berkshire Pork.  They had ribs, butt, bacon, and two types of pork chops.  I decided to go with the t-bone steak of pork, the bone in pork rib chop.  It was a little pricey, but I have been lucky enough to taste Berkshire Pork once before in my life.  I have forever been converted and ruined from eating grocery store pork.  The Berkshire makes conventional pork taste like a McRib.  This special, rare pig breed has a much more concentrated "pork" flavor and is incredibly juicy due to the high marbling.  Each bite packs a huge punch of flavor that will knock your socks off.  For meals with produce like this, I like to let it be the star of the show without too many fancy accompaniments or flavor enhancements.  The meat is so succulent and flavorful on its own that I don't want to tamper with it.  I also like to cook from inspiration without a lot of recipe structure.  As I mentioned earlier, I had some wonderful 18 year vintage sweet balsamic vinegar.  On the counter were some bruised and past edible peaches.  Hmmm... salty pork, acid vinegar, sweet peaches.  To cook the pork chop, I took a note from steak preparation.  I super heated a cast-iron skillet then slapped on the chop to let it sizzle for a few minutes per side until is was crusty and caramelized, but still raw in the middle.  It finished cooking in a 350 oven for a few minutes until is was just above pink.  To deglaze the pan, I added a generous splash of balsamic and chicken stock.  I let that boil, then added sliced peaches, and let it reduce to a thick, dark sauce.  The dish was very simple and elegant.  The seared pork chop was juicy with an intense natural pork flavor and the peach-balsamic sauce lended complex notes of sweet and sour that didn't over power the meat.  I was told that it was the best pork chop ever made and the bone had to be gnawed on to get all the goodness.  For the side dishes I had some inedible, week-old stale bread, heirloom tomatoes, peppers, green beans and great vinegar.  The first thing that came to mind was the classic tucsan bread salad, panzanella. It was designed as a way to use up old bread that cannot otherwise be eaten, much like bread pudding.  My sister, and fellow food lover and cook, first made this for me a few years ago and I fell in love with this simple salad.  It has a wide range of flavors and textures: crunchy, soft, chewy, cheesey, acidic, sweet, salty.  It's one of my favorite summer dishes because it really highlights all the best produce of the summer farmers' market.

It's summer. That means ice cream!

8 weeks in Chicago and I had yet to find a decent ice creamery.  To be entirely honest, I have very high expectations from my ice cream.  I have been spoiled by years of my mom's fresh, homemade ice creams at home as well as fabulous ice cream parlors like Murray's Homemade Ice Creams in Kansas City or Three Sisters in Providence. Especially now that I have begun to experiment with my own frozen dairy concoctions (like maple walnut, banana with nutella and peanut butter, fresh peach, blackberry, cream cheese) I am very critical of ice cream shops.  Mass produced, sugary, low fat ice cream won't cut it.  When I go to a creamery, I want unique flavors, smooth and creamy consistency, and a fun shop location.  I want something that will excite my mouth with new flavors that I can't make myself.  Ice cream made with as much care and attention as Da Vinci put into La Joconde. I found one such place in Kansas City that fulfills all these desires and more.  It's called Murray's Homemade Ice Creams.  It is closed during the winter and has an old school feel.  The ice cream is all made fresh in small batches.  Each cone is weighed so that no one is slighted from all the ice cream they deserve.  The staff is very generous with the samples, which is the sign of a good shop.  The have the most amazing flavor: Chocolate Flake Fromage that is tangy, creamy, sweet, and chocolately all at the same time.  In a freshly made waffle cone, it is without doubt one of the best I've had.  I'm still in the process of attempting to recreate its magnificence to even 5% of accuracy.

(Stawberry and Maple Bacon outside Murray's)

I came to Chicago the first day of June.  Chicago has a weird food culture and inconsistent tastes.  It has some amazing places that are world renowned but slightly ridiculous (cough cough Alinea), some places with fresh local ingredients, and many many awful places that are wildly popular.  Yelp reviews of most restaurants have no consistency and range sporadically from 1-5 stars, love or hate.  For example, the most popular breakfast place is called Bongo Room which specializes in overly sweet, chewy pancakes smothered in sweet icing full of cream.  I guess the pancakes have to be rubbery to hold up to the slop on top.  Or the icing was added to mask the flavor of what lies beneath. I don't understand the hour long waits each weekend.  I ate there once with my girlfriend and we were both sick all day.  I highly recommend eating here if you want to be terrified of eating pancakes again. 

S'mores pancakes at Bongo Room

Then on the other hand, Chicago has marvelous little gems like Hot Doug's.  Chicago is famous for its hot dogs, but nothing stands up to a Hot Doug.  To picture it, imagine a small corner dive diner on the outside.  As you drive up on a typical weekend you see a few people out the door.  Seems odd for this little place.  Then you drive closer and see the line starting to bend around the building. Hmm... Once you park you realize that the line is 100 people deep and over an hour long wait. "Is it really worth waiting in line," you ask yourself.  You decide to see what all the fuss is about and wait. Finally, after sitting in the sun for over an hour you step into the air conditioned building.  The amount of hot dog paraphernalia and pop culture icons depicted as hot dogs is mind blowing. The menu has the classic chicago dog with all the fillings.  Then there are the Hot Doug's.  These are special: duck sausage with fois gras and truffle aioli, wild elk with gouda and beer mustard, rattlesnake sausage with mango mayo, and duck fat fried fries to name a few delicacies.  Of every place I have taken Chicago visitors, Hot Doug's is everyone's favorite.   The atmosphere is fun and quirky in theme with the balding, bespectacled man named Doug who mans the cashier everyday from 10-4 (or until everyone in line is served).  A must have if you ever go to Chicago.

Waiting in Line

Sign of Special Doug's

Mmmmm Lunch for 2

Again, 8 weeks here and I had yet to find a decent ice cream place.  I tried Yelp but given the experience mentioned above, I was severely disappointed with every place I went.  Given that it is summer and it was extremely difficult to eat solid food, I resorted to getting yuppy ice cream at Whole Foods.  Luckily, but with bad timing, Chicago had an event dubbed "The Chicago Luxury Ice Cream Festival" last Friday.  To anyone who likes ice cream, this event was ecstasy.  The event offered all the samples one could eat from a dozen local ice creameries.  Some were more chain like with predictable flavors like oreo while some were luxurious with pear sorbet in a champagne float.  The best flavors were the blueberry swirl from Sassy Cow Creamery (they have their own organic dairy farm they use to make ice cream) and the sour cream chocolate from Mac's.  For two hours we got to sample over 20 flavors of ice cream!! At the half way point we sat out on the patio to digest, consider the flavors we had tried, and strategize our next plan of attack.  It was a gorgeous night in Chicago.  Afterwards we wandered through the building the event was held in, which turned out to the the Nature Museum.  It held a beautiful butterfly sanctuary with butterflies the size of my hand. All in all a fun night, but more importantly a night that revealed the underground dairy secrets of Chicago.

A couple nights later we tried a gelato place we sampled at the Ice Cream Festival called Black Dog Gelato. It's right on the edge of Wicker Park in a simple residential neighborhood, which make parking impossible.  I never would have noticed the spot if I had not been looking for it.  Thanks GoogleMaps.  Black Dog is a very, local small shop opened up by a former pastry chef a couple years ago.  They make the gelato regularly in the shop and close doors once they sell out of flavors.  The first night we went they were almost entirely sold out with only a few flavors left out of about 20.  All the flavors were intriguing.  They had a good combination of classic flavors and unique twists, as well a friendly staff that was generous with the sample spoons.  The chocolate was not intense, chocolate lovers like a lot I've tried.  It was more accessible to the general chocolate taster with a milk/semisweet chocolate base.  It was incredibly smooth and velvety like gelato should be.  However, I saw that they also make their own pies! The owner is a pastry chef by training so I had to get a slice.  At the end of the tastings, I walked out with a slice of apple pie with a crumb topping with balsamic gelato al la mode.  The pie was amazing.  The crust was light and crunchy and the filling was perfectly tart and sweet.  The balsamic ice cream was a fascinating combination of deep, slightly acidic balsamic and sweet, creamy gelato.  Very yummy.  It was so good that we went back another night for seconds and hopefully to sample some different flavors.  This time I got a cup with mint oreo, malted vanilla, and salted peanut.  Chocolate would have been a much better flavor contribution than mint oreo but oh well.  The salted peanut was overly salty for some people but I thought it had the perfect balance of fluer de sel, peanuts, and sweet cream.  It was a orgy of flavors for my tongue.  I will definitely return to Black Dog the next time I'm in Chicago.