Food Explosion - 30th Birthday Style

So my sister's 30th birthday just passed, and considering what a special day that is -- she disagrees -- we celebrated in style.  Meaning, we ate a lot.  A LOT.  To be fair, the eating started pretty early, since our mom was going to paradise (California) and wanted to have a family dinner before she left.  

I'm not really going to talk about that meal, though, because we went to Shoya Izakaya and...I mean, a little short snippet will not really do justice the love and reverence I have for their food.  Serious.  So good.  Sashimi...yakisoba...crispy chicken skin...grilled sake onigiri (!!!!!!)....Mmmm.

But, back to the birthday festivities.  My sister chose to eat at Miller Union for her actual birthday, since both of us had never been before.  We decided to get the farm egg - highly recommended - and rabbit rillette for appetizers, the duck breast and quail for entrees, and the vanilla custard and blackberry pie for dessert.

It was all really good, and I particularly loved that they had blueberries in the duck breast dish and figs in the quail dish.  Typically, I'm not super down with fruits in my salty foods - that pineapple fried rice? Not for me. Hawaiian pizza? I'd rather just have the ham - but these entrees really worked.  The sweetness of the fruit wasn't overbearing, it was a nice complement to the meat.  My one complaint would be on the blackberry pie.  It was delicious, but they served it with some sort of citrus sorbet, and this really bothered me, because all I wanted was some vanilla ice cream to pile on top of the pie! 

Side note: whatever that chocolate cookie thing they had on the side of the custard...it's like crack.  And it's probably best I have no idea what it is.  

Then the weekend came, and the real food explosion happened.  As follows...

1. Parish

Oh, man.  Delicious brunch.  HEAVY brunch.  Between the three of us, we got the fried oysters and grits, the fried green tomato benedict, and the fried chicken benedict.  Also, my sister ordered a single bloody mary that was not even halfway finished (I haven't found a taste for them.  And it was pretty strong).  I don't usually steer towards ordering grits, but I liked theirs.  Lots of texture, and a nice balance for the fried oysters.  

2. Inman Perk

We stopped by here after brunch for some caffeine to help us wake up before heading to the World of Coke.  Great coffee, and they have Jake's ice cream!  I am still searching for that Panda-monium green tea flavor, though, haven't seen it since the actual Jake's stores were still open.

3. Einstein's 

No pictures of the food since the lighting is pretty dim.  But a simultaneous thumbs down/thumbs up for this place.  My sister had made a reservation for dinner here for a big group of her friends, which, as we learned upon arrival, was forgotten.  No reservation.  For a group of 20-some people in Midtown on a Saturday night. Horror! Luckily, they had room to seat us at a couple of different tables, and our waiter was really accommodating.  I remember that my beef was good, but not much else.  We did bring a Sweet Hut taro cake with us, and that was probably the highlight of my meal.  

4. Late night snacks

Yes, late night snacks.  Which included Steak and Shake (unavailable in Cali), swiss chard, rice, turkey and tomato pasta, and Sublime donuts.  Maybe some Sweet Hut pastries.  Three girls.  Yikes.

5. Jang Su Jang

This is one of the go-to places we take out-of-towners.  It's nice and there's something for everyone.  This meal ended up being our 4PM "lunch".  No need to reiterate how much I love this place.  I tried their bossam for the first time, and it was awesome - so meaty, but almost light and refreshing as well with the accompanying pickled radish and cabbage.  

6. VMA's Medley!

Anyone who knows my sister knows we were NOT missing out on that 'Nsync reunion on the VMAs!  Which meant watching TV for a couple of hours late at night.  Which means snacks.  Which means picking up food from Dan Moo Ji and beverages from Bambu.  WHICH equates the best ending to a weekend ever.  

Don't miss out on the tuna kimbap or the chicken wings from Dan Moo Ji.  I knoooow the tuna thing sounds weird. I know it does.  But it tastes awesome.  And they have the best pickled radish cubes and fish cake! As for Bambu....honestly any number you choose for the che will be good.  It will all have a medley of chewy, jello-ey, sweet, possibly fruit-y STUFF that you'll have no idea what it is, but it tastes good anyway.

So....yeah.  I'm still full.

OH MY TORO - Taka Sushi and Passion

Happy Belated Birthday to my adorable, forever-young Mom!

And birthdays in my family mean one thing: awesome birthday dinners.  My siblings and I usually have no trouble whatsoever picking out where and what we want to eat -- this has ranged from Canton Cooks, to the Optimist, to home-cooked kong ba bng (Taiwanese for braised fatty pork belly over rice), all which have been enjoyed fully.  But when it comes to my mama?  I think she's so used to just going along with the food we want to eat - we are a family that does not hesitate in indulging in our cravings - that she rarely ever has something in particular that she wants to eat.

And in those few and far between times?  It's always something kind of weird and short-lived, like the Wendy's fish sandwich, or some sort of vegetable thing they used to have at Chili's.  We joke that if she likes something a lot, it's going to be taken off the menu soon.

For this birthday dinner, we originally had reservations for Tomo, but after looking at a couple of Yelp reviews, we changed our location to Taka.  I was particularly stoked for this, since I've been following Chef Taka's blog for quite a while now.  It's actually a really interesting read.  He talks about a lot of the fish they get in and posts up pictures, while also posting articles regarding health, diet, and exercise. Confession: sometimes I do skip the articles because a.) they make me feel bad about my very sedentary lifestyle and b.) I'm more interested in what treasures he found in Costco or what different Japanese dishes he is preparing.  Or the quality of the tuna for that week!

And I was not disappointed.  Me and my sister opted for the chirashi - "DUH," says anyone in my social media network - and we convinced my mom to go for the Omakase, chef's choice.  Awesome decision.  The chirashi had a lovely, diverse selection of fish, and my mom loved her dishes.  I was worried because the waitress let us know they were going to use a lot of pickled wasabi as the sauce for the fish, and my mom typically can't handle too much of that sinus-clearing sensation, but it was super nice and more flavorful than tingly.  AND THERE WAS TOROOO!  I feel like I have to use all caps/more volume when writing or speaking about fatty tuna to appropriately convey my excitement.  I think at some point my mom was disappointed because the waitress hinted there may be uni (not today) but this definitely took care of that.  It was the last dish of the omakase, and the perfect ending.

I was a little disappointed because the waitresses talked really fast when bringing the dishes (it was pretty busy that night), so I didn't quite catch what everything was.  But it was all delicious, which is what really matters.  Anyway, I'm of the opinion that when it comes to sushi/sashimi, pictures capture much more than words really can.  Enjoy!

 Chirashi $29.  So much fish, and all of it so tasty.  They had the raw sweet shrimp, which I don't even think I've had in Atlanta.  Also, that tamago was. SO. good. So sweet. So smooth.

The following: $50 Omakase, in order

You should definitely check this place out for some quality sushi! They have a lot of sushi rolls, too, if that's more your thing, and I'm sure they're awesome, too.  OH and I almost forget to mention their plum wine sangria! Mm Mm Mm.

I do still want to try Tomo at some point.  Any opinions on that place?

Foodtrippin' - DC Edition

Weekend trips! They are the best.

I just came back from visiting a friend in Washington DC -- and it was really, really difficult to drag myself back here.  Apparently, Atlanta didn't want me back either; my first flight was cancelled, and the one they put me on got delayed for nearly 3 hours.  I absolutely wouldn't have minded spending more time (aka my life) in DC, though it's probably for the best that I don't....says my wallet. 

But my stomach definitely misses the place.  I feel like I should be on some sort of cleanse right now after all the food this weekend.  

(Ha ha ha. One of my post-trip meals was at Ming's BBQ.  But in my defense, who out there can say no to Ming's BBQ??!  The beef chow fun there is my weakness.  Also, I just made some soy sauce braised eggs and chicken...pass the rice, please.) 

Anyway, here is my trip in food pictures, in the order items were consumed/enjoyed.  Sorry about some of the bad quality...there was just a lot of excitement to start eating!

1. Georgetown Cupcakes 

Yum! I went to do some shopping around Georgetown and noticed the line for this place was pretty short.  Last time I visited DC, the only cupcakes I tried were at Sweet Lobby at the Eastern Market, so I was pretty stoked to try these.  They were nice and light and not too sweet, just the way I like them.  I got the strawberry and chocolate ganache.  Not sure I would wait 45+ minutes for these, which I imagine some of these people did...

2. Kintaro 

Super yum! Anyone who has seen any of my Facebook mobile pictures will know that I am a big chirashi fan.  Mainly because I'm very indecisive and like a lot of variety.  Or/and I think it's a good deal.  This one has my stamp of approval.  I've had a couple of chirashi-dons lately that has underwhelmed me with the fish quality, so Kintaro was a nice breath of fresh air in that department.  My friend said they have really good ramen as well, but it literally felt like summer in Taiwan outside, so...that didn't happen.  Also, I really like that this place is run by the cutest old Japanese couple ever. 

3. Baked and Wired

So, naturally, we had to compare Georgetown cupcakes.  We got the dirty chai cupcake here, which was ginormous!  Very moist.  I would say they're pretty different from Georgetown Cupcakes though, so no clear winner for me here.  I did try my friends' chai latte and coffee here though, really really good.  I'm not a coffee person by all means, but if I were, this is probably the kind of place I'd want to go. 

4. Nando's Peri Peri Chicken

This is a place I've heard about since last year but wasn't able to try during my previous trip.  So glad to have made it this time!  My friends and I shared a whole chicken platter (with corn and garlic bread) as well as a serving of medium spicy chicken livers.  You order at the counter, pick your sauces/spiciness level, sides, etc. and sit and wait for your feast to come.  Y'all...I am NOT a garlic bread person.  Which makes absolutely no sense as I love bread and absolutely adore garlic.  But this bread? I loved.  Especially paired with the spicy chicken livers.  Mmm.  We also got a pitcher of sangria to share, which was a nice sweet accompaniment to the meal.  Yeah, so the lighting was not great for these pictures, but...well, I was hungry.    

5. Shake Shack

Another recommendation I had heard about; perfect that it's literally next door to Nando's.  My sister had told me about the black and white shake, which she swears by, but we decided to share a "concrete" which is even thicker.  We got the Washington Monu-mint (hee hee), which has marshmallow swirl, mint, and cookie dough.  It's like all things that I love in ice cream but never had together...but it works! Really, really works. I'll have to go back to try their food, which I hear is good, too. 

6. Ardeo

I found this place on some sort of list of places you need to eat in DC.  Ardeo does a $27 bottomless mimosa/champagne brunch...and they are not playing around with that "bottomless" business.  I never finished my drink.  I would look down and surprise! Completely full glass. I got the brunch, which comes with an appetizer, entree, and choice of mimosa or champagne; my friend got the french toast.  It was probably a smart choice, the plates were pretty generous.  I really loved my brussel sprouts - they were cooked with mango and peanut and had a sort of Asian taste to them.  Nice and roasted and crispy on the outside.  The french toast was awesome...not too sweet, and the creme anglais on top was so nice.  For my entree, I ordered the braised leg of suckling pig over grits.  It was good, but just too heavy to finish.  I think it would have been nice for the brussel sprouts to have come out with the meat dish to balance it out.  The fried pig skin on top was a nice touch though!

7.  Dolcezza Artisanal Gelato 

Perfect for the weather.  My friend got the Thai Coconut Milk gelato and I got 1/2 Lime 1/2 Pineapple Mint Sorbet. Nothing else to say except, perfect end to my trip! 

Anybody have other favorites must eats in DC? Have to start building up my "To Eat" list for next time.

KUO KITCHEN -- Easy Apple Pie

Cooking is like my happy time.  I love planning meals, going grocery shopping, chopping things up, and particularly, that nice sizzle and aroma from, say perhaps, when you throw some sliced garlic into a perfectly heated, oiled pan.  YUM. (side note - I have an obsession with cooked garlic.  And I'm pretty terrible at keeping the horror from my face when someone tells me they don't like it. What, you don't like FLAVOR?!) I'm not a huge fan of recipes -- unless you can find me one for that sauce they put on the "wet" chow fun noodles -- and I enjoy simple dishes, where you can just use whatever ingredients you have in the fridge and somehow end up with something very tasty.

And for all the reasons listed above, I pretty much avoid baking like the plague.

I should specify, baking from scratch.  I'll make those break and bake cookies all day, every day, be-caaause I know exactly how they'll turn out! So long as I have the oven turned to a specific temp and remember to take the cookies out when the oven beeps at me (always 1 min under the recommended bake time. Always.), I'll end up with the ooey-gooey deliciousness I love.  "Semi-homemade" is okay, too.  I have no problem looking up ways to make a batch of cupcakes from a box taste better -- for example, replacing the egg and oil portion with a small carton of plain greek yogurt to make a healthier, more moist cake.  Changed my life.  But from scratch?! Let me waste hours and hours of time stirring and measuring and and whipping, just to remove these muffin tops from my oven?! I wanted ooey-gooey cookies! Should have just gotten a back up of the break and bake. Argh.

But every once in a while -- and I do mean, a very long while -- some sort of combination of urgent cravings as well as an overly-confident belief in my abilities will come over me, and I'll decide that I'm going to bake something from scratch.  Which always starts with a semi-expensive visit to the store (because I don't have a single one of the ingredients needed.  Except eggs. And maybe butter -- oh. Expired.), followed by a ridiculous amount of time and mess, and inevitably ending in failure.  

EXCEPT.  This one time.  When I made apple pie.  And I don't even like apple pie that much.  But this one? Delicious.  Which is why I feel like I need to share this recipe.  Did it take a long time? Yes.  Have I made it since? Absolutely not. Was it worth it?  Very much so, particularly when eating the first slice, still hot, covered in a huge spoonful of vanilla ice cream.  Mmmm. 

So here is the recipe I used for the pie, and here is the recipe I used for the crust. There are a couple different crust options on that page, but I went with the basic one and did the lattice just as the apple pie recipe said.  I did take some pictures to document the fact that lazy Debbie was indeed baking this pie...

Slicing apples...so many apples.  I ended up not using a couple of them.

Making the dough

Pie crust

Final Product

So you can see all that sugar on top on the final product...this is where I thought my whole pie was going to end up being trashed.  This is the sugar mixture that was supposed to be a little more liquid-y so you can pour it over the lattice top into the pie.  Mine ended up globbing up, so I just mixed some cinnamon with the apples and tried as hard as I could spooning the mixture on top.  It ended up making a really nice sugary crunch on top.  See?  Magic recipe.  Perfect for the July 4th holiday!

Big appetite

Okay, I'll confess. You know those obnoxious friends on Facebook/Instagram that you decide to hide from your newsfeed because ALL THEY DO is post pictures of their meals. Like, do they do anything else in their lives besides eat?! How many meals are these people fitting into one day?! And no, dummy, that ginormous plate of food does NOT qualify as a snack.

Well, that obnoxious friend would be me. I am a terrible offender of the unspoken rule of not posting food pictures late at night as to avoid the dreaded case of midnight munchies for fellow Facebook-ers. Truth? I recently attended an alumni event for my sorority and the first five girls I talked to all greeted me with a "So I see SOMEONE'S been eating well...."

I really can't help it. I just have this unquenchable desire to share with the world the good food I come across -- and, on occasion, make! I apologize in advance. I am, really, shameless. 

I'm not meaning to start this blog as a review of different restaurants or anything like that. I'm writing this for people like me, people who love to read about other people's experiences stemming from a love of food (look, I can get LOST in an Anthony Bourdain book. His life? Like, get out. Can I be his best friend?) plus, I need an outlet so my Facebook friends don't just all abandon me. 

So let me start by talking about one of my favorite Korean restaurants in Atlanta. Now, it's my opinion that Atlanta has some of the best Korean food. I visited Korea back in 2009, and while I loved the food, I was mostly impressed because I realized that, Yeah...Atlanta has got it going on. Pigs feet? It's here. Fermented fish that tastes kinda like what I would expect nail polish to taste like? Yep. Live tentacles cut up so they squirm all the way down your throat? Haven't had em...but I know you can get them. Like, what?! Chinese food is still dealing with this General Tsao's chicken and eggroll epidemic (side note- not hating on American Chinese food. That stuff has gotten me through many a long night studying for finals. Ohhh MSG) 

But I digress. So Duluth is basically the Capitol of Korean food. It's difficult, always, to just pick one place to eat when I'm in the area. I usually end up at Iron Age - what's more appealing to a group of hungry, value-seeking Asians than the beautiful aroma of AYCE Korean BBQ?! But, what if I want tofu soup? Or maybe naengmyun? The thing I've noticed about most Korean restaurants is that they usually specialize in one thing. So if someone wants bibimbap, everybody's getting bibimbap. (Unless you are a silly girl who does not want bibimbap at the famous bibimbap place and decides she can handle fermented skate fish even though Andrew Zimmern can't, but honestly what does he know anyway? Trick can't appreciate durian.) 

But this is not the case at Jang Su Jang. This awesome place is located off Satellite Blvd, near Cho Won. EVERYTHING I've had at this place is good. And so filling. And tell me somewhere that does better banchan! Not. Possible. It's a little pricier than the typical tofu house, but it's nice inside, really nice! And the service is pretty terrific. Yes, it's super crowded on the weekends. It's a testament to the quality of the place. And their homemade noodles? Yum. The galbi here is meaty and tender and beautiful. I could go on and on, but maybe I should just get on to  adding the pictures....