I promised you guys a follow-up post to the adventure at The Publican, my trip to The Publican's fraternal twin, Cochon.
For those of you who don't speak French (like me), Cochon means "pig." Despite the name, Cochon isn't quite as "pig-centric" as Publican seemed to be. They're focused on Cajun cooking, which is this hybrid of southern, country cooking with French tradition (note, this is somewhat distinct from Creole, which is apparently Cajun food's city-bred cousin). But they can still throw down with the pig. But the places have some similarities. First, they've got big-time chefs at the inspiration. Publican is one of Paul Kahan's ventures, and is definitely good. Cochon is run by Donald Link, who is the chef at a highly regarded Herbsaint here in NOLA (which I haven't had a chance to check out, yet). Both are James Beard award winners, and both restaurants have gotten national recognition. But more importantly, they both serve darned good food.
And since I had focused on the pork aspects of Publican, I was going to do the same at Cochon.
One thing that I loved was that the first thing that showed up wasn't even on my order. I was sitting at the kitchen bar, which overlooked the wood oven, which was worth the price of admission. And when my starter showed up, it arrived with an order of the terrine (quail and fois gras, if I recall correctly), which was served with some berries and a little salad. Very nice, and good enough to pay for. My actual starter was the boucherie plate, basically a plate filled with cured meats pickles, and some mustard. This wasn't quite the massive plate that we got over at Publican, but it was nice. Some house cured tasso, mortadella, and chorizo, plus some rillettes. The cured meats were all tasty, and the rillettes were awesome. Completely different style than Publican - much creamier, whereas the rillettes at Publican had chunks of meat. This was more like a spread than a meat dish. Both versions were great, though.
I also couldn't resist getting an order of fried pig ears. I have to say, this was a bit of a miss. In Chinese cooking, you'll see braised pig ears served cold (sliced into long strips). You get some of the soft, fatty richness, as well as some crunch from the cartilage. When I saw that they were going to be fried, I figured that you'd get some crispiness on the outside, the richness from the skin/fat, and still some crunch from the cartilage. Somehow, it was only one texture - just the soft. The taste was still nice, but I was hoping for some crunch in there, as well. Oh well. On to the entree.
My entree was the ham hock, which was served with some mashed sweet potatoes, some pickled greens, and a black-eyed pea and ham broth. This is a great, simple dish. Balanced flavors - a little sweet, a little sour, some smoke, some salt, and some earthiness. The ham hock was tender, and the skin and fat added some richness. This was definitely good eating. It's the sort of thing that you can make at home, and probably should from time to time.
I actually decided that I wanted some dessert, and I ordered the pineapple-upside down cake. It was solid, but not game-changing. Cornmeal cake. Nice caramel and pineapple action. It was served with some coconut-lime sorbet, which was also nice. All in all, it was something that I was happy to eat, but I'm not sure if I'd order it again.
In any case, Cochon is a great place to get some legit down-home food. It's not exactly cheap, but it's one of these pay-for-quality deals. And when I'm looking for a high-end choice, this place will definitely be on my radar.
-foodgeek
Friday, September 11, 2009
Saturday, August 29, 2009
NOLA Sampler Platter
This is an amazing town for food. There's still a follow-up post that I need to write about Cochon, a restaurant that's similar in spirit to The Publican. But I've run into all sorts of great food down here, including Boucherie, which has some great modern American bistro food (definite write-up), Crabby Jack's, an uber-casual place with great 'po boys and cajun/creole food (definite write-up), and a number of small po' boy places (probably a combo write-up). There are two good sushi places I've been to, Ninja and Sake Cafe, and apparently a couple more worth checking out. And I wandered into Squeal, where I not only got comped a great plate of barbecue, I also got to chat up one of the owners, Patrick, who works for John Besh out here, and got some inside info on places to eat here.
This is 2 weeks in. I think that I can go out to 5 new places a week, and I wouldn't make a dent on the food scene. But that doesn't mean that I'll try. And hopefully, I'll be able to put up some posts that do the food justice. And one more thing. I'm going to try to remember to take photos... I've been remarkably Web 1.0 in my blog ventures. If I can include some pictures, maybe we can become a little more Web 1.5... right in time for everyone else to go Web 3.0, whatever that means.
-foodgeek
This is 2 weeks in. I think that I can go out to 5 new places a week, and I wouldn't make a dent on the food scene. But that doesn't mean that I'll try. And hopefully, I'll be able to put up some posts that do the food justice. And one more thing. I'm going to try to remember to take photos... I've been remarkably Web 1.0 in my blog ventures. If I can include some pictures, maybe we can become a little more Web 1.5... right in time for everyone else to go Web 3.0, whatever that means.
-foodgeek
Tuesday, July 07, 2009
New Beginnings
We've made a change in honor of our impending move to New Orleans. Thus, we are reinventing this blog as the Adventures of the NOLA Foodgeek. We'll still have a few more posts from the cornfields, but hopefully we'll start making this thing a little nicer, and add a few more photos, as well!
-foodgeek
-foodgeek
Wednesday, July 01, 2009
Restaurant Review: Bahn Mi So Tasty - Xinh Xinh Cafe
Our little village in the middle of nowhere has recently picked up two relatively new Vietnamese restaurants. The first is Saigon, a converted Chinese place, that apparently has the same ownership. If you look at the reviews on Yelp, you'll see that the reviews aren't all that great. I've been there, and thought that the pho (Vietnamese soup noodles, with a killer broth) was alright, though I'm no expert on pho. The spring rolls are OK, not great. The rest of the food that I've tried is pedestrian. I don't go out of my way to head out there, so there's not much point in talking more about this place.
However, the second place, Xinh Xinh Cafe, has become a regular spot for me. To be honest, I haven't tried the pho out there. Part of it is because it's summer, and it's been hot. But the real reason is that I love the Bahn Mi. Bahn Mi is a Vietnamese hoagie. At Xinh Xinh, they come with lightly pickled carrots and daikon, onion, slices of cucumber, cilantro, and jalapeno. There's a little mayo on there (I think that it's cut with fish sacue, not positive). And then there's the meat. My favorite is the combo. It's got pate, headcheese, ham, and some cold cuts that I'm not super familiar with (pork, based, I'm sure). And it's awesome. It's meaty and just plain tasty. There are a number of other meat choices, including one with sardines (sort of like a Vietnamese sloppy joe, which is great). I swear, I can't go a week without dropping in for a bahn mi. But the rest of the food is really good, as well. The one thing that I'd say wasn't top notch was the bread, which was OK, but not great. If they could get par baked bread in there, it would be phenomenal. But what is phenomenal is the price - sandwiches for $3.95.
One thing you gotta try is the spring roll (I've seen them called summer rolls in other restaurants). These things are great. Rice paper wrapper (not fried), and filled with lettuce, Thai basil, cilantro, cucumber, and carrots, and either shrimp or pork. And a secret ingredient. A "cigar" or fried egg roll wrapper (the thin kind). It adds an incredible crunch to the spring roll. They serve it with a peanut/hoisin sauce (basically chunky peanut butter and hosin). And it's definitely worth it.
The fried spring rolls and egg rolls are all solid, and come with nice dipping sauces. The wings were pretty tasty, but were tiny, and not worth the price. But in addition to the spring rolls, there's one killer app that you have to try: the Nataing. Basically, it's ground pork, cooked with chilis and coconut milk. And it's incredible. They give you sliced baguette and shrimp crackers to eat with the meat.
They're also doing cold noodles (no broth), that come a bowl, above a bunch of veggies (sprouts, cilantro, Thai basil), and under your choice of grilled meats. It comes with a nice sauce (fish sauce, rice wine vinegar, and carrots, I think) that you can pour over everything, before you go to town. Again, great crunch, great fresh taste, and a lot of flavors that are just fun to eat.
Now, this may be sacrilege, but I think that I like bahn mi better than the 'po boys that I was getting down in New Orleans last week. I didn't hit up all of the great 'po boy shacks in the city, but I've had a few of them from a couple of the good places, and it just didn't compare to the flavors and freshness of the bahn mi over at Xinh Xinh. I'm sure that I'll find a place in NOLA that will do bahn mi, but in Champaign, Xinh Xinh is the place.
Update 07/08/09: Wednesday is Pho Happy Hour. $5 for a bowl of pho. Plus, the weather was cool and rainy. Perfect for a bowl of hot soup and noodles. Broth was nice - more spice notes than beef. Nice clove and star anise flavor. The meat was all cooked nicely. And the veggies were fresh. No argument from me. The other thing I tried was the beef skewer bahn mi. Awesome. Instead of the normal veggies, it had a nice papaya salad (with strong ginger notes) and a chili sauce that wasn't too spicy. Really good stuff.
-foodgeek
However, the second place, Xinh Xinh Cafe, has become a regular spot for me. To be honest, I haven't tried the pho out there. Part of it is because it's summer, and it's been hot. But the real reason is that I love the Bahn Mi. Bahn Mi is a Vietnamese hoagie. At Xinh Xinh, they come with lightly pickled carrots and daikon, onion, slices of cucumber, cilantro, and jalapeno. There's a little mayo on there (I think that it's cut with fish sacue, not positive). And then there's the meat. My favorite is the combo. It's got pate, headcheese, ham, and some cold cuts that I'm not super familiar with (pork, based, I'm sure). And it's awesome. It's meaty and just plain tasty. There are a number of other meat choices, including one with sardines (sort of like a Vietnamese sloppy joe, which is great). I swear, I can't go a week without dropping in for a bahn mi. But the rest of the food is really good, as well. The one thing that I'd say wasn't top notch was the bread, which was OK, but not great. If they could get par baked bread in there, it would be phenomenal. But what is phenomenal is the price - sandwiches for $3.95.
One thing you gotta try is the spring roll (I've seen them called summer rolls in other restaurants). These things are great. Rice paper wrapper (not fried), and filled with lettuce, Thai basil, cilantro, cucumber, and carrots, and either shrimp or pork. And a secret ingredient. A "cigar" or fried egg roll wrapper (the thin kind). It adds an incredible crunch to the spring roll. They serve it with a peanut/hoisin sauce (basically chunky peanut butter and hosin). And it's definitely worth it.
The fried spring rolls and egg rolls are all solid, and come with nice dipping sauces. The wings were pretty tasty, but were tiny, and not worth the price. But in addition to the spring rolls, there's one killer app that you have to try: the Nataing. Basically, it's ground pork, cooked with chilis and coconut milk. And it's incredible. They give you sliced baguette and shrimp crackers to eat with the meat.
They're also doing cold noodles (no broth), that come a bowl, above a bunch of veggies (sprouts, cilantro, Thai basil), and under your choice of grilled meats. It comes with a nice sauce (fish sauce, rice wine vinegar, and carrots, I think) that you can pour over everything, before you go to town. Again, great crunch, great fresh taste, and a lot of flavors that are just fun to eat.
Now, this may be sacrilege, but I think that I like bahn mi better than the 'po boys that I was getting down in New Orleans last week. I didn't hit up all of the great 'po boy shacks in the city, but I've had a few of them from a couple of the good places, and it just didn't compare to the flavors and freshness of the bahn mi over at Xinh Xinh. I'm sure that I'll find a place in NOLA that will do bahn mi, but in Champaign, Xinh Xinh is the place.
Update 07/08/09: Wednesday is Pho Happy Hour. $5 for a bowl of pho. Plus, the weather was cool and rainy. Perfect for a bowl of hot soup and noodles. Broth was nice - more spice notes than beef. Nice clove and star anise flavor. The meat was all cooked nicely. And the veggies were fresh. No argument from me. The other thing I tried was the beef skewer bahn mi. Awesome. Instead of the normal veggies, it had a nice papaya salad (with strong ginger notes) and a chili sauce that wasn't too spicy. Really good stuff.
-foodgeek
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
Kitchen Happenings: Summertime and the Livin's Easy
Summer's here in full force. Down in NOLA, it was 95 and humid all week. And I get back to Illinois, and the weather's, well 91 and humid. But, I'm bringing back something from my trip to NOLA that is a heck of a cooler.
One thing that I've been learning about cocktails is that when you do it right, you end up with a great, balanced drink that isn't too sweet, too sour, or too bitter, but just right. At one of my great meals down there (at Boucherie, which will be getting a write-up), I had a perfect summer cocktail, a Pimm's Cup, which is based on a British liqueur, Pimm's No. 1.
Pimm's No. 1 is a gin-based liqueur, that's infused with some spice and fruit. I've never really had it before, but my exposure was phenomenal. The version of the Pimm's cup at Boucherie was a little bit of a deviation of the classic cocktail. The classic version builds off of 3 parts lemon soda to 1 part Pimm's No. 1, with a little lemon and cucumber garnish. Over at Boucherie, they take a couple liberties with the original recipe, but make a great cocktail. They muddle cucumber, add lemon and a mint-infused syrup, pour in the Pimm's, and then top with ginger ale. Add a cucumber garnish, and you're good to go. Great cocktail - light, not too sweet, a little tart, and a great flavor with the cucumber. You can drink these things all day.
So, what to do when I get home. I don't plan on buying a bottle of Pimm's, so there's the issue of the liquor or liqueur to use. But you can start with the combo of citrus and cucumber. My current take on a summer cooler:
The liquor is the place to start. Since this little experiment was NOLA-inspired, I had to keep it local. Sazerac Rye. There's a definite strong flavor from the rye, but it's nice and gives some body to the drink. But too much rye can overpower the rest of the drink. So, a little bit of rum adds a little extra kick to the drink without overpowering things. And that's the base. Of course, you have to keep the cucumber, and I've always liked how limes taste, so that keeps the flavors on point. But, the Pimm's has some extra depth of flavor. The rye helps. But I decided to go with some more fruit, in this case orange and pineapple juice. I also liked the mint kick that the Boucherie version had, so I went with some mint syrup that I had on hand. I didn't have good ginger ale on hand, but had some lemon-lime soda, so that was good enough.
Here's the rundown:
Get a pint glass.
Dice 2 slices of cucumber (about 1/2" thick).
1/2 lime, cut into 4 pieces.
Muddle the cucumber and lime in the pint glass, and add ice.
Add mint syrup (maybe 1 oz.), one shot rye, and one shot rum.
Add about 2 oz. orange and 2 oz. pineapple
Top with lemon-lime soda.
You can definitely scale this up, and make a pitcher at a time, though I'd add chilled soda to each individual serving, to keep the fizziness. This cocktail is pretty good as is, but I think that muddling fresh mint may be a better choice, so as to keep it from getting too sweet.
In any case, I'l be playing around with some other possibilities, and I'll try to report the hits.
-foodgeek
One thing that I've been learning about cocktails is that when you do it right, you end up with a great, balanced drink that isn't too sweet, too sour, or too bitter, but just right. At one of my great meals down there (at Boucherie, which will be getting a write-up), I had a perfect summer cocktail, a Pimm's Cup, which is based on a British liqueur, Pimm's No. 1.
Pimm's No. 1 is a gin-based liqueur, that's infused with some spice and fruit. I've never really had it before, but my exposure was phenomenal. The version of the Pimm's cup at Boucherie was a little bit of a deviation of the classic cocktail. The classic version builds off of 3 parts lemon soda to 1 part Pimm's No. 1, with a little lemon and cucumber garnish. Over at Boucherie, they take a couple liberties with the original recipe, but make a great cocktail. They muddle cucumber, add lemon and a mint-infused syrup, pour in the Pimm's, and then top with ginger ale. Add a cucumber garnish, and you're good to go. Great cocktail - light, not too sweet, a little tart, and a great flavor with the cucumber. You can drink these things all day.
So, what to do when I get home. I don't plan on buying a bottle of Pimm's, so there's the issue of the liquor or liqueur to use. But you can start with the combo of citrus and cucumber. My current take on a summer cooler:
The liquor is the place to start. Since this little experiment was NOLA-inspired, I had to keep it local. Sazerac Rye. There's a definite strong flavor from the rye, but it's nice and gives some body to the drink. But too much rye can overpower the rest of the drink. So, a little bit of rum adds a little extra kick to the drink without overpowering things. And that's the base. Of course, you have to keep the cucumber, and I've always liked how limes taste, so that keeps the flavors on point. But, the Pimm's has some extra depth of flavor. The rye helps. But I decided to go with some more fruit, in this case orange and pineapple juice. I also liked the mint kick that the Boucherie version had, so I went with some mint syrup that I had on hand. I didn't have good ginger ale on hand, but had some lemon-lime soda, so that was good enough.
Here's the rundown:
Get a pint glass.
Dice 2 slices of cucumber (about 1/2" thick).
1/2 lime, cut into 4 pieces.
Muddle the cucumber and lime in the pint glass, and add ice.
Add mint syrup (maybe 1 oz.), one shot rye, and one shot rum.
Add about 2 oz. orange and 2 oz. pineapple
Top with lemon-lime soda.
You can definitely scale this up, and make a pitcher at a time, though I'd add chilled soda to each individual serving, to keep the fizziness. This cocktail is pretty good as is, but I think that muddling fresh mint may be a better choice, so as to keep it from getting too sweet.
In any case, I'l be playing around with some other possibilities, and I'll try to report the hits.
-foodgeek
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
Restaurant Review: This Lil' Piggy... (Part I): The Publican
A little while back, I made my pilgrimage to The Publican, a restaurant on Fulton Market in Chicago that is well-renowned at a national level, and has won awards for it's design. And sure enough, the place was cool has hell. Globe lights coming down from the ceiling. Cool wood chairs with high backs, and matching tables. And the most noticeable things are the gigantic piantings of different heritage breeds of pigs. Definitely a talking point. The seating was sort of communal - just a long bench, and you got seated next to other parties. And in the middle were some round, 2-tiered tables w/ no chairs, where people waiting for their tables could get a brew. This place was a little casual - but it was still a place where people were spending $40/person. We were slightly underdressed in jeans and a polo or jeans and an untucked dress shirt. But not completely out of place. The place had a nice energy to it, a little buzz from the conversation, but the crowd was older. Most of the folks looked to be in their 40's or 50's. But it may have been the 5:30pm Saturday time... a little on the early side for the younger crowd.
But to be honest, I'm not as worried about the crowd, the ambience, renown, or design. I'm there because I've read great things about Paul Kahan, the chef/owner, and The Publican's devotion to all things pig. So, me and CJ wandered over, and we sat down to devour as much as we could physically handle. It was real, and it was spectacular.
First of all, The Publican is a place molded in the gastropub theme. You have a great selection of alcohol, done with a vision. In this case, it's good beer. And then you put great food around it. In this case, it's pig, done with a blend of European tradition, with some American twists thrown in. Pretty much everything that we had was good, and some of it was spectacular. We pretty much ignored the seafood, and went basically all pig.
The first thing that came out was just plain indulgent. Some really nice french fries. And two sunny-side eggs on top. Cut the eggs and let the yolk run all over the fries. Awesome. Love runny egg yolks on just about anything...
Next up, a trio of cured hams. The folks at Publican have a number of choices, including some really nice American ham, including hams from Kentucky and Iowa. The chef's choices we got were the Spanish Serrano ham, the Italian Prosciutto, and a American country ham. Both of the European hams were nice - creamy texture, nice clean flavor, and just what you'd expect. These were the high-dollar hams, and worth the price. Now, the country ham was noticeably cheaper, but I actually liked it the best. My comment was that if you blind-folded me and didn't tell me what I was eating, that I'd like the country ham the best. It was a little sweet, and had some nice, deep spice notes going on (clove, was what I was thinking). Just great stuff.
Similarly, the charcuterie plate was just darned good. It came with some pickled asparagus, some cornichon, and some thing else that I have no idea what it was (green, looked a little like grapes crossed with olives). All were nice. And it came with three types of mustard. The pork confit (I think), and pork pie (basically, a little 1.5" radius, 1.5" tall quarter-wedge with a nice pie crust, with some cured pork and pork fat in there) were solid. The house cured Chorizo (nicely done, good spice) was really enjoyable. But what stole the show was the head cheese and the squab and fois gras terrine. The head cheese was meaty, and had a nice solid gelatin going on. It stayed together until the gelatin melted in your mouth, and the meat was noticably meat. Nice flavor. Great product. The squab and fois gras terrine was just decadent. Creamy, rich, a little salty. Like I said - not everything was spectacular, but everything was good, and there were some definitely high notes.
The next thing that came out were the rillettes. I had no idea what a rillette was, until the server explained it. Basically, it's a slow-cooked cut of meat, and traditionally cooked in it's own fat (like a confit, only it's shredded or cut before cooking), and then cooled. It all solidifies, and then you spread it on toast. It's ridiculously good at Publican. They put on a finely chopped pickled rhubarb on top for a little tang and crunch. I love the old school preparation. Back in the day, if you pack something in fat, you did it so that it wouldn't spoil. Today we have refrigeration, so now you do it because it's awesome.
The one thing that I had overlooked in the starters was the pork rinds, and in retrospect, may have eschewed the fries (though they were darned good) and went with the pork rinds. But what we got was all good, and the rillettes were awesome.
Then came the entrees. Now, I guess that I lied about going all pig. I couldn't resist the Basque stew. It was essentially a slightly spicy fish stew (a lot like bouillabaisse), with a lot of fennel, some orange, and an assortment of shrimp, clams, mussels, crab, octopus, and salt cod. All of the fish was cooked well (not overcooked, which is easy to do in these dishes), and the cod was spectacularly tender. It's served with a few slabs of toasted bread and rouille (a spicy mayo). You slather some rouille on the bread, and then ladle the soup and seafood over the bread. You work on the seafood, while the bread soaks up the broth. Then, you eat the bread, and get a nice meal. If you told me it was just bouillabaisse, I'd have believed you. I think that what made it "Basque" was some saffron and orange (and maybe Spanish paprika) and the salt cod. But it was good.
But to finish off, we definitely went back to swine, with the potee, which is essentially a dish all cooked in one vessel. I'm not sure if the version at Publican was a true version, but it was great. Ours came with three choice versions of pork. The first was a very nice smoked sausage - meaty, smoky, and a salty. No complaints. The next was a cut of braised pork shoulder, which was incredibly tender and tasty. The last cut was pork tenderloin. Tender, reasonably tasty, and incredibly uninteresting. All of it came on top of roast veggies - brussel sprouts, baby turnips, baby carrots, zucchini, and a little aioli. The veggies were nicely cooked, and the aioli was a great touch. I guess that I was hoping for a little cut of pork belly or maybe something like a trotter. But all in all it was a nice entree.
I had to add one side, that looked incredible. Italian-style greens. I think that it was collard greens, cooked with some ham, and then finished with some balsamic. The greens were really good. And what took it over the top was the breaded, fried hominy that was on top. Never would have figured it. Crispy, then dense and flavorful. Great addition to the greens, and a top-notch side item.
Looking back at the menu, a couple nice, bold red wines may have been the way to go. But the focus of Publican was beer. So I rolled with beer. I went with a Great Lakes Brewing Co. brew - the porter on draft. Nice, dark, complex coffee/chocolate notes. A little sweet and bitter at the end. And it went great with the food. CJ stuck w/ the iced tea - he had almost died from drinking the night before, and wasn't about to go with the hair of the dog.
But we gorged ourselves. I walked out of there wondering why I ate so much. But the answer was obvious. The food was awesome. This is high end cooking, and there's a reason why people rave about this place. If you get a chance to go, you should definitely go. Have a nice beer, have some rillettes, have some pork rinds, and have a great time.
So, why is this post only Part I? Because I had to follow this up with a trip to Cochon, in New Orleans. And what is Cochon? Well, "cochon" is "pig" in French. I said that Publican leaned toward European-style preparations, with some American twists. On the other Cochon is southern cooking, with a little bit of an European twist. And naturally, I had to see the difference for myself.
-foodgeek
But to be honest, I'm not as worried about the crowd, the ambience, renown, or design. I'm there because I've read great things about Paul Kahan, the chef/owner, and The Publican's devotion to all things pig. So, me and CJ wandered over, and we sat down to devour as much as we could physically handle. It was real, and it was spectacular.
First of all, The Publican is a place molded in the gastropub theme. You have a great selection of alcohol, done with a vision. In this case, it's good beer. And then you put great food around it. In this case, it's pig, done with a blend of European tradition, with some American twists thrown in. Pretty much everything that we had was good, and some of it was spectacular. We pretty much ignored the seafood, and went basically all pig.
The first thing that came out was just plain indulgent. Some really nice french fries. And two sunny-side eggs on top. Cut the eggs and let the yolk run all over the fries. Awesome. Love runny egg yolks on just about anything...
Next up, a trio of cured hams. The folks at Publican have a number of choices, including some really nice American ham, including hams from Kentucky and Iowa. The chef's choices we got were the Spanish Serrano ham, the Italian Prosciutto, and a American country ham. Both of the European hams were nice - creamy texture, nice clean flavor, and just what you'd expect. These were the high-dollar hams, and worth the price. Now, the country ham was noticeably cheaper, but I actually liked it the best. My comment was that if you blind-folded me and didn't tell me what I was eating, that I'd like the country ham the best. It was a little sweet, and had some nice, deep spice notes going on (clove, was what I was thinking). Just great stuff.
Similarly, the charcuterie plate was just darned good. It came with some pickled asparagus, some cornichon, and some thing else that I have no idea what it was (green, looked a little like grapes crossed with olives). All were nice. And it came with three types of mustard. The pork confit (I think), and pork pie (basically, a little 1.5" radius, 1.5" tall quarter-wedge with a nice pie crust, with some cured pork and pork fat in there) were solid. The house cured Chorizo (nicely done, good spice) was really enjoyable. But what stole the show was the head cheese and the squab and fois gras terrine. The head cheese was meaty, and had a nice solid gelatin going on. It stayed together until the gelatin melted in your mouth, and the meat was noticably meat. Nice flavor. Great product. The squab and fois gras terrine was just decadent. Creamy, rich, a little salty. Like I said - not everything was spectacular, but everything was good, and there were some definitely high notes.
The next thing that came out were the rillettes. I had no idea what a rillette was, until the server explained it. Basically, it's a slow-cooked cut of meat, and traditionally cooked in it's own fat (like a confit, only it's shredded or cut before cooking), and then cooled. It all solidifies, and then you spread it on toast. It's ridiculously good at Publican. They put on a finely chopped pickled rhubarb on top for a little tang and crunch. I love the old school preparation. Back in the day, if you pack something in fat, you did it so that it wouldn't spoil. Today we have refrigeration, so now you do it because it's awesome.
The one thing that I had overlooked in the starters was the pork rinds, and in retrospect, may have eschewed the fries (though they were darned good) and went with the pork rinds. But what we got was all good, and the rillettes were awesome.
Then came the entrees. Now, I guess that I lied about going all pig. I couldn't resist the Basque stew. It was essentially a slightly spicy fish stew (a lot like bouillabaisse), with a lot of fennel, some orange, and an assortment of shrimp, clams, mussels, crab, octopus, and salt cod. All of the fish was cooked well (not overcooked, which is easy to do in these dishes), and the cod was spectacularly tender. It's served with a few slabs of toasted bread and rouille (a spicy mayo). You slather some rouille on the bread, and then ladle the soup and seafood over the bread. You work on the seafood, while the bread soaks up the broth. Then, you eat the bread, and get a nice meal. If you told me it was just bouillabaisse, I'd have believed you. I think that what made it "Basque" was some saffron and orange (and maybe Spanish paprika) and the salt cod. But it was good.
But to finish off, we definitely went back to swine, with the potee, which is essentially a dish all cooked in one vessel. I'm not sure if the version at Publican was a true version, but it was great. Ours came with three choice versions of pork. The first was a very nice smoked sausage - meaty, smoky, and a salty. No complaints. The next was a cut of braised pork shoulder, which was incredibly tender and tasty. The last cut was pork tenderloin. Tender, reasonably tasty, and incredibly uninteresting. All of it came on top of roast veggies - brussel sprouts, baby turnips, baby carrots, zucchini, and a little aioli. The veggies were nicely cooked, and the aioli was a great touch. I guess that I was hoping for a little cut of pork belly or maybe something like a trotter. But all in all it was a nice entree.
I had to add one side, that looked incredible. Italian-style greens. I think that it was collard greens, cooked with some ham, and then finished with some balsamic. The greens were really good. And what took it over the top was the breaded, fried hominy that was on top. Never would have figured it. Crispy, then dense and flavorful. Great addition to the greens, and a top-notch side item.
Looking back at the menu, a couple nice, bold red wines may have been the way to go. But the focus of Publican was beer. So I rolled with beer. I went with a Great Lakes Brewing Co. brew - the porter on draft. Nice, dark, complex coffee/chocolate notes. A little sweet and bitter at the end. And it went great with the food. CJ stuck w/ the iced tea - he had almost died from drinking the night before, and wasn't about to go with the hair of the dog.
But we gorged ourselves. I walked out of there wondering why I ate so much. But the answer was obvious. The food was awesome. This is high end cooking, and there's a reason why people rave about this place. If you get a chance to go, you should definitely go. Have a nice beer, have some rillettes, have some pork rinds, and have a great time.
So, why is this post only Part I? Because I had to follow this up with a trip to Cochon, in New Orleans. And what is Cochon? Well, "cochon" is "pig" in French. I said that Publican leaned toward European-style preparations, with some American twists. On the other Cochon is southern cooking, with a little bit of an European twist. And naturally, I had to see the difference for myself.
-foodgeek
Sunday, June 07, 2009
Restaurant Review: You Either Smoque...
... or you get Smoqued... Ah yes. Wesley Snipes reminding Woody Harrelson (and us) that White Men Can't Jump, long before his IRS-snubbing days.
So up in Chicago, there's a relatively new barbecue place, called Smoque, which opened up back in early 2007 over in the north side of town (on Pulaski, just south of Irving Park). They've gotten some good press from the New York Times, more for it's business acumen, than it's superior barbecue. And they were also featured on the Food Network, on Guy Fieri's Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives. But what I liked most about them was their willingness to explain what it is that they do.
Their manifesto is a nice explanation of what they try to do. They put it out there, and then let the customer judge. What I get annoyed at is the folks who produce mediocre food, treating their recipes like classified government secrets. These folks are just interested in making this sale. Probably because they know that this may be the only sale they make. On the other hand, the ones who have the best food are always excited to talk shop. They're proud of what they do, and they want to educate people on what the good stuff is. They know that if you educate your customers, and have a superior product, you'll get this sale, the next one, and probably the one after that, as well.
So what do they do? The menu is simple. Brisket, pulled pork, chicken, baby back ribs, spare ribs, and sausage. I think that they offer a salad, but if they did, I blocked it from my memory. Sides? Mac and cheese, beans, cole slaw, fries, and corn bread. Dessert? Peach cobbler. So many places try to do too much, and end up doing everything poorly. The folks over at Smoque don't have that problem.
Mac and cheese? Good stuff. Cheesy, creamy, and rich. Beans? Little sweet, little tangy, little smoky, and good. Slaw? Crunchy, light, tangy, and great counter balance to the barbecue. Fries? If you read the manifesto, you wouldn't bother. Peach cobbler? Really good, with an awesome almond and oat topping. They also had brisket chili when we were there. Not quite a Texas red, but an OK version w/ beans, veggies, and chopped brisket.
What about the meat? Everything was solid - there were no losers in the bunch. However, not everything was perfect. The pulled pork and the sausage were both tasty, but just pushed the edge of being dry. The brisket was also good, but wasn't perfect - it just pushed the edge of being overcooked. I've been told that the sign of properly cooked brisket is that when you pull on it, the meat will pull back a bit, like an accordion. I've had a couple examples of just about perfect brisket down in Texas. The brisket over at Smoque pulled back just a little bit - just pushing the edge of being too mushy, but was still good. The ribs were cooked well - tender, but didn't fall off the bone. The flavor was solid, but wasn't the best that I've had. I'm a little biased toward the maple-based glaze that the folks at Super Smokers use, plus I had just cooked a great rack of ribs at home a couple days before that I thought may have been the best ribs that I've ever had. What was cooked perfectly was the chicken. The skin had that great flavor from the rub and the nice fatty texture. The dark and the white meat were all juicy and tender.
The price is actually very reasonable. For under $40, me and a buddy absolutely gorged ourselves, probably eating enough for 3, maybe 4. It's cafeteria style, so you don't worry about tipping. You get your own drinks, you use plastic forks and knives, you get the food from the counter, and bring it to the table, etc. My recommendation is to bring a friend, and order the 1/2 chicken, the brisket (the platters come with cole slaw and 2 sides), and to get mac and cheese, beans, cobbler, some cornbread, and share everything. You'll spend about $25, and you'll walk out of there pretty happy.
And I don't care what color you are, after you're done eating, you won't want to jump at all, but instead just lounge in front of a TV and watch a ball game.
-foodgeek
So up in Chicago, there's a relatively new barbecue place, called Smoque, which opened up back in early 2007 over in the north side of town (on Pulaski, just south of Irving Park). They've gotten some good press from the New York Times, more for it's business acumen, than it's superior barbecue. And they were also featured on the Food Network, on Guy Fieri's Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives. But what I liked most about them was their willingness to explain what it is that they do.
Their manifesto is a nice explanation of what they try to do. They put it out there, and then let the customer judge. What I get annoyed at is the folks who produce mediocre food, treating their recipes like classified government secrets. These folks are just interested in making this sale. Probably because they know that this may be the only sale they make. On the other hand, the ones who have the best food are always excited to talk shop. They're proud of what they do, and they want to educate people on what the good stuff is. They know that if you educate your customers, and have a superior product, you'll get this sale, the next one, and probably the one after that, as well.
So what do they do? The menu is simple. Brisket, pulled pork, chicken, baby back ribs, spare ribs, and sausage. I think that they offer a salad, but if they did, I blocked it from my memory. Sides? Mac and cheese, beans, cole slaw, fries, and corn bread. Dessert? Peach cobbler. So many places try to do too much, and end up doing everything poorly. The folks over at Smoque don't have that problem.
Mac and cheese? Good stuff. Cheesy, creamy, and rich. Beans? Little sweet, little tangy, little smoky, and good. Slaw? Crunchy, light, tangy, and great counter balance to the barbecue. Fries? If you read the manifesto, you wouldn't bother. Peach cobbler? Really good, with an awesome almond and oat topping. They also had brisket chili when we were there. Not quite a Texas red, but an OK version w/ beans, veggies, and chopped brisket.
What about the meat? Everything was solid - there were no losers in the bunch. However, not everything was perfect. The pulled pork and the sausage were both tasty, but just pushed the edge of being dry. The brisket was also good, but wasn't perfect - it just pushed the edge of being overcooked. I've been told that the sign of properly cooked brisket is that when you pull on it, the meat will pull back a bit, like an accordion. I've had a couple examples of just about perfect brisket down in Texas. The brisket over at Smoque pulled back just a little bit - just pushing the edge of being too mushy, but was still good. The ribs were cooked well - tender, but didn't fall off the bone. The flavor was solid, but wasn't the best that I've had. I'm a little biased toward the maple-based glaze that the folks at Super Smokers use, plus I had just cooked a great rack of ribs at home a couple days before that I thought may have been the best ribs that I've ever had. What was cooked perfectly was the chicken. The skin had that great flavor from the rub and the nice fatty texture. The dark and the white meat were all juicy and tender.
The price is actually very reasonable. For under $40, me and a buddy absolutely gorged ourselves, probably eating enough for 3, maybe 4. It's cafeteria style, so you don't worry about tipping. You get your own drinks, you use plastic forks and knives, you get the food from the counter, and bring it to the table, etc. My recommendation is to bring a friend, and order the 1/2 chicken, the brisket (the platters come with cole slaw and 2 sides), and to get mac and cheese, beans, cobbler, some cornbread, and share everything. You'll spend about $25, and you'll walk out of there pretty happy.
And I don't care what color you are, after you're done eating, you won't want to jump at all, but instead just lounge in front of a TV and watch a ball game.
-foodgeek
Monday, June 01, 2009
Restaurant Briefs: Asian Influence
Three relatively new places have opened up in C-U, all on campus. And all three have an Asian influence, and all three are solid. Since Sushi County closed up (and became Big Mouth), there hadn't been sushi on campus. And now there are two new sushi places. And neither seems to be as good as Sushi County. Sushi County was pretty simple about what it was - budget sushi. They charged pretty reasonable prices, because they knew that they weren't getting the highest quality fish. It was decent. But it was a far cry from the quality of the fish at Kamakura or KO Fusion. The problem with these two new places is that they aren't getting the high quality fish, but are still trying to charge the premium prices for their sushi, which is problematic.
Sushi Rock
Sushi Rock is on the south side of Green St., between 6th and Wright. It's a nice, clean place with a modern feel, though you don't have much of a clue that it's a sushi place, other than the bottles of soy sauce and the sake at the bar. And you wouldn't be wrong to assume that it isn't sushi. There's not a real assortment of sushi to be had. but if you're into Maki rolls, then you have a reasonable assortment of rolls to try out. But no sashimi, nigiri, or hand rolls, from what I saw on the menu.
They have some decent udon, if you're into the idea of slurping up a bowl of broth and noodles, which I totally am. When I went there last week, I ordered a Sunset Roll (spicy crab roll, topped with raw salmon and a spicy, creamy sauce). It tasted OK, but the salmon was only so-so, there was a heavy hand with the sauce, and the precision of the roll was mediocre, at best (poor knife work on the salmon, sloppy cuts on the roll, and the roll was a bit on the loose side). At $8.95 for an 8-piece roll, it wasn't exactly great value. From what I saw, I'd avoid paying the premium for the maki rolls. I'm guessing that they don't go through enough raw fish for it to be of particularly great quality.
However, the Udon and Rolls combo is a superior value at $7.95. You get a medium sized bowl of udon, which has a nice, clean tasting broth, a small serving of the thick, chewy noodles (which were cooked well), and a float of some tempura fried veggies, which add a nice little texture to the soup. Plus, you get a 6-piece order of the california roll (so-so, but I'm not a real fan of california rolls), though they did top with the crunchy topping (basically fried potato flakes, I think) and eel sauce, which helped. AND, you get a 6-piece order of a spicy tuna roll (again, so-so, not great tuna, and the roll needed a little extra hot sauce on it - I ended up using the excess sauce from my Sunset Roll). It's nothing adventurous, but you get a nice, filling lunch out of it at a great value (the rolls would be like $5 or $6, each).
I didn't try the bento box lunches, or the other entrees. But, if I were to go back, I'd probably go with the Udon and Rolls, or maybe just get a larger bowl of udon and pass on the sushi altogether. Which is sort of sad, given the name of the palce.
Sushi Ave.
Sushi Ave. is also on the south side of Green St., but between 4th and 5th, where Dorca's used to be. But the focus is now on sushi. And frankly, it's bad. There are some differences between Sushi Rock and Sushi Avenue. First of all, the name isn't nearly as cool (and honestly, the name sort of sucks). And the interior isn't nearly as nice as Sushi Rock, though it isn't terrible. And sadly, the sushi rolls weren't as good, which is sort of a damning statement, if you read what I wrote above.
The prices aren't outrageous, but the quality is just off. They do a couple lunch combos - basically you save a couple bucks by getting two rolls, a tiny side salad, and a bowl of miso. I went with the $10.95 combo, which you got a regular roll, and one of the lower priced specialty rolls. Sadly, the side salad and miso (which were pedestrian) were the best part of the meal. Side salad: iceberg lettuce, a few shreds of red cabbage, and that ginger-carrot dressing that you see at every japanese place. But the veggies were fresh, so good enough. And the miso soup was the standard free side that you see everywhere, as well. I went with a salmon skin roll as my regular roll and got a "Lake Med" (spicy tuna, with seaweed salad and spicy mayo on top) for my special roll. First the good news. The rolls were rolled pretty well, the rice was OK, and the knife work looked solid. This was actually a little surprising, because the sushi chef wasn't exactly a sushi chef so much as he was just some guy who was also there to cook everything else, do a little cleaning, and take care of things, while the owners and managers sat around and did other things like check on their stock prices or watch TV. My best guess is that some Asian dude with money bought the place on a lark, and then hired an idiot nephew to run the place. The owner's more interested in the upcoming bull rall in the market, and the idiot newphew is, well, and idiot. They managed to hire a Mexican to actually do the work, and the guy can probably cook his ass off, since it looks like he's learned to make rolls really quickly. Of course, this isn't promising for the rest of this review.
The salmon skin roll was terrible. You couldn't tell it was salmon skin. Salmon skin is a beautiful thing when done right. It's got a distinct salmon flavor, it's crispy, just slightly chewy from the meat or fat still on there, it's a little salty. One of my favorite things is a salmon skin hand roll. I was hoping that this would come close. It didn't. There was no texture to the skin at all, and you couldn't tell what it was. It's something that I'd expect from a bad grocery store or someone trying to make sushi at home for the first time. The Lake Med was a little better. The spicy tuna was actually spicy, though it was a little one note. The seaweed salad is the same stuff that you get everywhere, so it couldn't have been screwed up, and actually made for a nice contrast with the spicy tuna by adding a little texture, a little sweetness, and a little nuttiness from the sesame. I certainly wouldn't pay the $8.95 for it that they normally charge, but is was edible.
So why did I not go with the sashimi or nigiri? The fish looked bad. The salmon looked to be mediocre farmed salmon, just had an off color, and didn't look great. The tuna looked a little better, but was in those pre-cut blocks that you see sold at Asian grocery stores. I asked to see the hamachi, but was told that they were out. And there wasn't much else in the case that looked appetizing. Let's just say that for someone that is OK with grocery store sushi, gets street food in foreign countries, and has had a Mexican slushy, I was nervous about ordering sashimi or nigiri.
Does this place have promise? Probably not. The menu's a mess. First, they insisted on this ridiculous background so that you can't really read the menu. And the menu itself is way too big. They have like 8 regular rolls, and no less than 45 specialty rolls. The sushi chef had no idea what I ordered, and had to be explained that it was just a spicy tuna roll with seaweed salad on top. If they were to just keep the menu simple, and make it more like food court sushi, they may be better off, and may be able to make a few bucks with this crowd. Sadly, I think that if I were to actually get sushi on campus, it would be at Sushi San, located in the food court in the basement of the Union. It comes in prepackaged containers, like in a grocery store, but everythign stays on ice, and they do enough business to keep the fish turning. Where you run into trouble is when businesses try to cut corners, and don't do enough in sales to keep new stock coming in. Some things you can stretch an extra day. Raw fish isn't one of them.
Now, for the 3rd place, we're going with a different theme. No more fish. It's time for dessert. And not that trout ice cream you see on Iron Chef. Real dessert.
CocoMero
Just around the corner from Sushi Rock is is Cocomero. I've tried to search online about the place, but there's not much info available, so it appears that this is an independent venture. Basically, we're talking frozen yogurt. And they have the tart frozen yogurt that's been popular for a few years on the coasts (e.g., Pinkberry, Mango Mango, Island Yogurt). But, it's very new to more remote parts of the world, like Champaign-Urbana. But we have a frozen yogurt place, finally. It's all self-serve. Go through, get what you want, add topings, and weigh it at the end - 39 cents per ounce. You can get an ample serving for $5.
Only a handful of tart flavors (currently the original, green tea, raspberry, mango, and California tart, which is like the original, only a little sweeter and less tangy). I like the tart style, so I don't really go for the non-tart stuff. And what takes places like this over the top are the quality of the toppings. They have fresh mango, strawberry, kiwi, melon, and blackberries. And generally, that's what I roll with (mango and berries, generally). There are also a variety of candy, shredded coconut, chopped nuts, and some syrups available. And what's probably the coolest topping is the cereal. You can put Fruity Pebbles and Cap'n Crunch on your frozen yogurt, if you're so inclined.
So, of the three sort of new places on campus, I think that Sushi Rock has reasonable food, a limited selection, and is overpriced (save their great Udon and Rolls combo), I think that Sushi Ave. may kill someone with their product, and I think that CocoMero is awesome. So at the very least, I've found a place for a quick lunch (though I'll order the same thing every time), and a place that I'll wander back to regularly for frozen yogurt. So it wasn't a total loss. Oh well. Pretty soon, this foodgeek will be on to bigger and better things in one of the great food cities of the world.
-foodgeek
Sushi Rock
Sushi Rock is on the south side of Green St., between 6th and Wright. It's a nice, clean place with a modern feel, though you don't have much of a clue that it's a sushi place, other than the bottles of soy sauce and the sake at the bar. And you wouldn't be wrong to assume that it isn't sushi. There's not a real assortment of sushi to be had. but if you're into Maki rolls, then you have a reasonable assortment of rolls to try out. But no sashimi, nigiri, or hand rolls, from what I saw on the menu.
They have some decent udon, if you're into the idea of slurping up a bowl of broth and noodles, which I totally am. When I went there last week, I ordered a Sunset Roll (spicy crab roll, topped with raw salmon and a spicy, creamy sauce). It tasted OK, but the salmon was only so-so, there was a heavy hand with the sauce, and the precision of the roll was mediocre, at best (poor knife work on the salmon, sloppy cuts on the roll, and the roll was a bit on the loose side). At $8.95 for an 8-piece roll, it wasn't exactly great value. From what I saw, I'd avoid paying the premium for the maki rolls. I'm guessing that they don't go through enough raw fish for it to be of particularly great quality.
However, the Udon and Rolls combo is a superior value at $7.95. You get a medium sized bowl of udon, which has a nice, clean tasting broth, a small serving of the thick, chewy noodles (which were cooked well), and a float of some tempura fried veggies, which add a nice little texture to the soup. Plus, you get a 6-piece order of the california roll (so-so, but I'm not a real fan of california rolls), though they did top with the crunchy topping (basically fried potato flakes, I think) and eel sauce, which helped. AND, you get a 6-piece order of a spicy tuna roll (again, so-so, not great tuna, and the roll needed a little extra hot sauce on it - I ended up using the excess sauce from my Sunset Roll). It's nothing adventurous, but you get a nice, filling lunch out of it at a great value (the rolls would be like $5 or $6, each).
I didn't try the bento box lunches, or the other entrees. But, if I were to go back, I'd probably go with the Udon and Rolls, or maybe just get a larger bowl of udon and pass on the sushi altogether. Which is sort of sad, given the name of the palce.
Sushi Ave.
Sushi Ave. is also on the south side of Green St., but between 4th and 5th, where Dorca's used to be. But the focus is now on sushi. And frankly, it's bad. There are some differences between Sushi Rock and Sushi Avenue. First of all, the name isn't nearly as cool (and honestly, the name sort of sucks). And the interior isn't nearly as nice as Sushi Rock, though it isn't terrible. And sadly, the sushi rolls weren't as good, which is sort of a damning statement, if you read what I wrote above.
The prices aren't outrageous, but the quality is just off. They do a couple lunch combos - basically you save a couple bucks by getting two rolls, a tiny side salad, and a bowl of miso. I went with the $10.95 combo, which you got a regular roll, and one of the lower priced specialty rolls. Sadly, the side salad and miso (which were pedestrian) were the best part of the meal. Side salad: iceberg lettuce, a few shreds of red cabbage, and that ginger-carrot dressing that you see at every japanese place. But the veggies were fresh, so good enough. And the miso soup was the standard free side that you see everywhere, as well. I went with a salmon skin roll as my regular roll and got a "Lake Med" (spicy tuna, with seaweed salad and spicy mayo on top) for my special roll. First the good news. The rolls were rolled pretty well, the rice was OK, and the knife work looked solid. This was actually a little surprising, because the sushi chef wasn't exactly a sushi chef so much as he was just some guy who was also there to cook everything else, do a little cleaning, and take care of things, while the owners and managers sat around and did other things like check on their stock prices or watch TV. My best guess is that some Asian dude with money bought the place on a lark, and then hired an idiot nephew to run the place. The owner's more interested in the upcoming bull rall in the market, and the idiot newphew is, well, and idiot. They managed to hire a Mexican to actually do the work, and the guy can probably cook his ass off, since it looks like he's learned to make rolls really quickly. Of course, this isn't promising for the rest of this review.
The salmon skin roll was terrible. You couldn't tell it was salmon skin. Salmon skin is a beautiful thing when done right. It's got a distinct salmon flavor, it's crispy, just slightly chewy from the meat or fat still on there, it's a little salty. One of my favorite things is a salmon skin hand roll. I was hoping that this would come close. It didn't. There was no texture to the skin at all, and you couldn't tell what it was. It's something that I'd expect from a bad grocery store or someone trying to make sushi at home for the first time. The Lake Med was a little better. The spicy tuna was actually spicy, though it was a little one note. The seaweed salad is the same stuff that you get everywhere, so it couldn't have been screwed up, and actually made for a nice contrast with the spicy tuna by adding a little texture, a little sweetness, and a little nuttiness from the sesame. I certainly wouldn't pay the $8.95 for it that they normally charge, but is was edible.
So why did I not go with the sashimi or nigiri? The fish looked bad. The salmon looked to be mediocre farmed salmon, just had an off color, and didn't look great. The tuna looked a little better, but was in those pre-cut blocks that you see sold at Asian grocery stores. I asked to see the hamachi, but was told that they were out. And there wasn't much else in the case that looked appetizing. Let's just say that for someone that is OK with grocery store sushi, gets street food in foreign countries, and has had a Mexican slushy, I was nervous about ordering sashimi or nigiri.
Does this place have promise? Probably not. The menu's a mess. First, they insisted on this ridiculous background so that you can't really read the menu. And the menu itself is way too big. They have like 8 regular rolls, and no less than 45 specialty rolls. The sushi chef had no idea what I ordered, and had to be explained that it was just a spicy tuna roll with seaweed salad on top. If they were to just keep the menu simple, and make it more like food court sushi, they may be better off, and may be able to make a few bucks with this crowd. Sadly, I think that if I were to actually get sushi on campus, it would be at Sushi San, located in the food court in the basement of the Union. It comes in prepackaged containers, like in a grocery store, but everythign stays on ice, and they do enough business to keep the fish turning. Where you run into trouble is when businesses try to cut corners, and don't do enough in sales to keep new stock coming in. Some things you can stretch an extra day. Raw fish isn't one of them.
Now, for the 3rd place, we're going with a different theme. No more fish. It's time for dessert. And not that trout ice cream you see on Iron Chef. Real dessert.
CocoMero
Just around the corner from Sushi Rock is is Cocomero. I've tried to search online about the place, but there's not much info available, so it appears that this is an independent venture. Basically, we're talking frozen yogurt. And they have the tart frozen yogurt that's been popular for a few years on the coasts (e.g., Pinkberry, Mango Mango, Island Yogurt). But, it's very new to more remote parts of the world, like Champaign-Urbana. But we have a frozen yogurt place, finally. It's all self-serve. Go through, get what you want, add topings, and weigh it at the end - 39 cents per ounce. You can get an ample serving for $5.
Only a handful of tart flavors (currently the original, green tea, raspberry, mango, and California tart, which is like the original, only a little sweeter and less tangy). I like the tart style, so I don't really go for the non-tart stuff. And what takes places like this over the top are the quality of the toppings. They have fresh mango, strawberry, kiwi, melon, and blackberries. And generally, that's what I roll with (mango and berries, generally). There are also a variety of candy, shredded coconut, chopped nuts, and some syrups available. And what's probably the coolest topping is the cereal. You can put Fruity Pebbles and Cap'n Crunch on your frozen yogurt, if you're so inclined.
So, of the three sort of new places on campus, I think that Sushi Rock has reasonable food, a limited selection, and is overpriced (save their great Udon and Rolls combo), I think that Sushi Ave. may kill someone with their product, and I think that CocoMero is awesome. So at the very least, I've found a place for a quick lunch (though I'll order the same thing every time), and a place that I'll wander back to regularly for frozen yogurt. So it wasn't a total loss. Oh well. Pretty soon, this foodgeek will be on to bigger and better things in one of the great food cities of the world.
-foodgeek
Thursday, March 05, 2009
Restaurant Review: Black Dog - Truth in Advertising
Finally, I went to a restaurant where the food matched up with the name of the restaurant. Unfortunately, the name of the place was Black Dog. Technically, it's Black Dog Smoke and Ale House, but whatever. There were a couple reviews from local food writers about the place - the sort who just can't help but rave about everything. After I ate there, I was on the phone with CJ, and I explained that while I was in there, I was trying to keep from channeling my inner Gordon Ramsey.
As you walk toward the place, it seems promising. There's a nice smoke smell coming from the place. But as you walk in, you start to see some cracks in the veneer, particularly in terms of service. Basically, the service sucks, as one of the comments on Yelp suggest. Basically, it goes like this. You have a dive bar, where crusty old servers have worked forever. They didn't have to have a clue because you basically had locals who were low maintenance ordering PBR in cans or Bud Heavy on draft and maybe some fries on occasion. Now, ownership transforms dive bar into restaurant that wants to do modern barbecue and microbrew. But ownership doesn't have the will or the insight to get new staff. You end up with crappy servers who take their time, and basically suck.
But I can live with lousy service, to some extent, if the food makes up for it. The Black Dog didn't. I ordered a large amount of food, and I found that two things were good, and the rest was subpar. Here's the rundown:
Appetizer - a stuffed cornbread sort of thing (forget the label they used). A very generous wedge of cornbread that has chopped jalapenos, cheese, chopped barbecue, and beans mixed in. It was dense, almost like a casserole. Reasonably tasty and a good value ($2.95).
Soup - chili. Not good. Beans, leftover chopped barbecue, and some tomatoes, with some water, and (not enough) seasoning. No depth of flavor. No heat. Needed salt. If this was a dog, it needed to be put down. On the bright side, it was pretty filling. And if you add a little salt, some black pepper, and the chipotle Tabasco they have on the table, it becomes a little more edible. But really, if you have to season the dish yourself, the back of the house is underperforming ($2.50/cup; $4/bowl).
Meal - combo platter w/ brisket and pulled pork ($10.99). The brisket was mushy. It was hard to tell if it was slice brisket or chopped brisket. That's a bad sign. Plus, the trim was terrible. My first slide was like 90% fat. I like a little extra fat left on the brisket, but this was ridiculous. When I have brisket, I look for 2 things. The first is the red smoke ring around the meat (more or less absent). The second is when you pick up and slice of brisket and pull it with minimal force, does it come apart, or does it accordion back? If the brisket just comes apart, then you've killed it. Good brisket should have a little elasticity. I could tell just by looking at the presentation - definitely not clean slices, almost a pile of chopped brisket. This was going to be a loser. Unfortunately, the pork was just as bad. This stuff was dry and stringy. There was a nice smoke flavor there, so at some point (probably about 2 hours before I arrived), this was probably very tasty. Unfortunately, by the time it showed up on my table, it was like jerky. Not good. They also served a little cole slaw with the meat, which was actually reasonable, though I'd argue that it wasn't a cole slaw so much as it was pickled cabbage. The look was a bit off - it's strange having this magenta pile of shredded cabbage on your plate. The taste was a little strong for eating on its own (only one note to the slaw - just vinegar, no sugar, no heat, nothing else). But when you paired it with the pork, it was actually decent. My best guess was that the cabbage makes you salivate, which helps the dry pork go down, while the smoky flavor in the pork keeps you from noticing the lack of complexity in the slaw. Perhaps two wrongs can make for a relative right.
The sides that I got with my meal were the pit beans and the potato salad. The pit beans were actually good. Nice flavor. Some chunks of chopped barbecue. Maybe a little too sweet, but I enjoyed eating them. The potato salad was perhaps the biggest disaster, which is saying something. The flavor of the dressing was bland, but even worse was that the potatoes were really undercooked. Al dente is not how you want your potatoes. And these weren't even al dente. They were crunchy. Terrible effort, overall.
In this town, I've been lamenting the lack of good brisket for years now. Longhorn Smokehouse (which is now Hickory River) had some very good brisket, but that changed a few years ago. Black Dog totally whiffed on this effort. Smoky Bones (now closed) had awful brisket. Right now, the best brisket in town is actually at Famous Dave's. Go figure. Of course, the basic litmus test for me is whether or not the brisket is better than what I could get at a HEB supermarket down in Texas. If a restaurant can't beat what you can get for $5.99/lb at a supermarket deli counter (though Whole Foods may be reshaping that idea), then it's not worth going to.
I may give the Black Dog another visit down the road, to see if they've smoothed things out. But given the lousy service and the lousy food, I may not even bother.
-foodgeek
As you walk toward the place, it seems promising. There's a nice smoke smell coming from the place. But as you walk in, you start to see some cracks in the veneer, particularly in terms of service. Basically, the service sucks, as one of the comments on Yelp suggest. Basically, it goes like this. You have a dive bar, where crusty old servers have worked forever. They didn't have to have a clue because you basically had locals who were low maintenance ordering PBR in cans or Bud Heavy on draft and maybe some fries on occasion. Now, ownership transforms dive bar into restaurant that wants to do modern barbecue and microbrew. But ownership doesn't have the will or the insight to get new staff. You end up with crappy servers who take their time, and basically suck.
But I can live with lousy service, to some extent, if the food makes up for it. The Black Dog didn't. I ordered a large amount of food, and I found that two things were good, and the rest was subpar. Here's the rundown:
Appetizer - a stuffed cornbread sort of thing (forget the label they used). A very generous wedge of cornbread that has chopped jalapenos, cheese, chopped barbecue, and beans mixed in. It was dense, almost like a casserole. Reasonably tasty and a good value ($2.95).
Soup - chili. Not good. Beans, leftover chopped barbecue, and some tomatoes, with some water, and (not enough) seasoning. No depth of flavor. No heat. Needed salt. If this was a dog, it needed to be put down. On the bright side, it was pretty filling. And if you add a little salt, some black pepper, and the chipotle Tabasco they have on the table, it becomes a little more edible. But really, if you have to season the dish yourself, the back of the house is underperforming ($2.50/cup; $4/bowl).
Meal - combo platter w/ brisket and pulled pork ($10.99). The brisket was mushy. It was hard to tell if it was slice brisket or chopped brisket. That's a bad sign. Plus, the trim was terrible. My first slide was like 90% fat. I like a little extra fat left on the brisket, but this was ridiculous. When I have brisket, I look for 2 things. The first is the red smoke ring around the meat (more or less absent). The second is when you pick up and slice of brisket and pull it with minimal force, does it come apart, or does it accordion back? If the brisket just comes apart, then you've killed it. Good brisket should have a little elasticity. I could tell just by looking at the presentation - definitely not clean slices, almost a pile of chopped brisket. This was going to be a loser. Unfortunately, the pork was just as bad. This stuff was dry and stringy. There was a nice smoke flavor there, so at some point (probably about 2 hours before I arrived), this was probably very tasty. Unfortunately, by the time it showed up on my table, it was like jerky. Not good. They also served a little cole slaw with the meat, which was actually reasonable, though I'd argue that it wasn't a cole slaw so much as it was pickled cabbage. The look was a bit off - it's strange having this magenta pile of shredded cabbage on your plate. The taste was a little strong for eating on its own (only one note to the slaw - just vinegar, no sugar, no heat, nothing else). But when you paired it with the pork, it was actually decent. My best guess was that the cabbage makes you salivate, which helps the dry pork go down, while the smoky flavor in the pork keeps you from noticing the lack of complexity in the slaw. Perhaps two wrongs can make for a relative right.
The sides that I got with my meal were the pit beans and the potato salad. The pit beans were actually good. Nice flavor. Some chunks of chopped barbecue. Maybe a little too sweet, but I enjoyed eating them. The potato salad was perhaps the biggest disaster, which is saying something. The flavor of the dressing was bland, but even worse was that the potatoes were really undercooked. Al dente is not how you want your potatoes. And these weren't even al dente. They were crunchy. Terrible effort, overall.
In this town, I've been lamenting the lack of good brisket for years now. Longhorn Smokehouse (which is now Hickory River) had some very good brisket, but that changed a few years ago. Black Dog totally whiffed on this effort. Smoky Bones (now closed) had awful brisket. Right now, the best brisket in town is actually at Famous Dave's. Go figure. Of course, the basic litmus test for me is whether or not the brisket is better than what I could get at a HEB supermarket down in Texas. If a restaurant can't beat what you can get for $5.99/lb at a supermarket deli counter (though Whole Foods may be reshaping that idea), then it's not worth going to.
I may give the Black Dog another visit down the road, to see if they've smoothed things out. But given the lousy service and the lousy food, I may not even bother.
-foodgeek
Thursday, January 01, 2009
Kitchen Happenings: Shakin' and Bacon
In the past, I've always thought that bacon was overrated. The stuff you get in national breakfast chains is generally just thin, salty, greasy, limp, and not particularly appetizing. We never really did bacon in my house growing up. We used to braise pork belly (soy sauce, sugar, star anise, etc.) and eat it with steamed buns, but we basically never did the bacon thing. I've played around a little bit with bacon the last few months, and have decided that I like bacon.
Basically, I saw bacon on sale, so I picked up a package, figuring that I'd do something cool with it, but I wasn't exactly sure what. With regards to the bacon itself, the one thing that figured out was that if you fry it up in the pan, and then right at the end, add on some sort of syrup, you create an extra crunchy, sweet coating on the bacon. Candied bacon, if you will. Incredible. I've had some sage syrup and some ginger syrup. Both work very will for this by adding something more than just sweet. This is sort of that sweet-salty thing that's been in vogue (think salted caramel).
I also figured out that you can make anything better by wrapping it up in bacon and frying it up. People have been wrapping scallops and shrimp forever. I discovered that hot dogs become much tastier once you wrap them up and fry them. Some grilled onions, cheddar cheese, and barbecue sauce finish off something that's really tasty and extra bad for you.
But the most interesting thing that I discovered was that it wasn't just the bacon that was of use. Bacon drippings were also there in abundance. And using the drippings effectively became one of my projects. If you remember from Top Chef a couple seasons ago, they marinated tofu in beef fat, to rave reviews.
I started with the idea of making an improved BLT. The bacon is still there, just like it should be. And you can drop the lettuce, which is just filler, anyway. But the tomato? A nice slice of raw tomato has it's merits. But what I think is even better is a quick sear on both sides, in the bacon drippings, with a quick grind of salt and pepper. You're still definitely eating tomato. But you get a little more flavor out of the tomato by cooking, and you also add on a little of that smoky bacon flavor. I also liked that idea of frying up eggs over easy in the bacon dripping, as well. The runny yolk thing is something that I've always like, and fits in nicely with the sandwich, giving the sandwich a sauce-like effect (in place of mayo). Finally, I added grilled onions, also done in the bacon drippings, with salt and pepper. Put it all between some nice bread (something soft and a little sweet like a brioche or a good bun). Result? Money sandwich.
The other sandwich that I was playing with was a grilled cheese with bacon and grilled onions. Same story as before, with the grilled onions. But the big thing? Using bacon dripping for grilling the sandwich. Finish with a little salt and pepper, and you get an added flavor to the bread that's definitely helped change my position on bacon.
The final verdict? Bacon is definitely not overrated, and figuring out what to do with the drippings makes bacon anything but ordinary.
-foodgeek
Basically, I saw bacon on sale, so I picked up a package, figuring that I'd do something cool with it, but I wasn't exactly sure what. With regards to the bacon itself, the one thing that figured out was that if you fry it up in the pan, and then right at the end, add on some sort of syrup, you create an extra crunchy, sweet coating on the bacon. Candied bacon, if you will. Incredible. I've had some sage syrup and some ginger syrup. Both work very will for this by adding something more than just sweet. This is sort of that sweet-salty thing that's been in vogue (think salted caramel).
I also figured out that you can make anything better by wrapping it up in bacon and frying it up. People have been wrapping scallops and shrimp forever. I discovered that hot dogs become much tastier once you wrap them up and fry them. Some grilled onions, cheddar cheese, and barbecue sauce finish off something that's really tasty and extra bad for you.
But the most interesting thing that I discovered was that it wasn't just the bacon that was of use. Bacon drippings were also there in abundance. And using the drippings effectively became one of my projects. If you remember from Top Chef a couple seasons ago, they marinated tofu in beef fat, to rave reviews.
I started with the idea of making an improved BLT. The bacon is still there, just like it should be. And you can drop the lettuce, which is just filler, anyway. But the tomato? A nice slice of raw tomato has it's merits. But what I think is even better is a quick sear on both sides, in the bacon drippings, with a quick grind of salt and pepper. You're still definitely eating tomato. But you get a little more flavor out of the tomato by cooking, and you also add on a little of that smoky bacon flavor. I also liked that idea of frying up eggs over easy in the bacon dripping, as well. The runny yolk thing is something that I've always like, and fits in nicely with the sandwich, giving the sandwich a sauce-like effect (in place of mayo). Finally, I added grilled onions, also done in the bacon drippings, with salt and pepper. Put it all between some nice bread (something soft and a little sweet like a brioche or a good bun). Result? Money sandwich.
The other sandwich that I was playing with was a grilled cheese with bacon and grilled onions. Same story as before, with the grilled onions. But the big thing? Using bacon dripping for grilling the sandwich. Finish with a little salt and pepper, and you get an added flavor to the bread that's definitely helped change my position on bacon.
The final verdict? Bacon is definitely not overrated, and figuring out what to do with the drippings makes bacon anything but ordinary.
-foodgeek
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
