Lulu’s Bakery
Address: 918 N Main Ave, San Antonio, TX 78212
Phone: (210) 222-9422
Website: www.luluscafeinsa.com
Known For: Chicken Fried Steak & Huge Cinnamon Roll
What I had: Chicken Fried Steak, Corn, French Fries, Onion Rings & Dinner Roll
Price: $10.72
Rating: 8 out of 10

This trip started off poorly. The address I had was wrong, apparently it was their old location. After asking several people I finally tracked it down. I was not going to let a minor setback keep me from the “best chicken fried steak” and those huge cinnamon rolls. I was amazingly excited when I eventually got there. Within seconds my excitement abated however, there was a note on the front door informing the patrons that their famous cinnamon rolls had sold out and would not be ready until 9 PM, it was currently 5 PM. Oh well, at least I could still get their chicken fried steak and mashed potatoes. Turns out they were 86ed on mashed potatoes too….and t-bones. Wow, looks like they really are popular.

Rightfully so, front and center on their menu was a quote from Adam Richman (of Man v Food fame) about how friendly their staff is because it’s absolutely true. They made my visit worthwhile even with all the setbacks. We fashioned our own cinnamon roll (with a dinner roll and leftover icing), substituted onion rings for the mashed potatoes and they even, in the end, actually got the mashed potatoes back into production so I got to try those too.

The chicken fried steak was outstanding and there is good reason they are known for it. The batter (coating?) was fantastic. The seasoning was nice and peppery, and the steak was cooked perfectly. The gravy was great, only thing is I should have asked for a side of brown gravy too because I tried that later with the mashed potatoes and it was almost better than the white gravy. I would get both. The mashed potatoes were phenomenal. They weren’t your traditional taters though, they were not quite as mashed as you’d normally get at a diner and I loved it. The french fries were pretty good but the onion rings were too much. I rarely don’t finish off my onion rings but I ended up with most of these still on the plate. They were too greasy and too much batter, not nearly enough onions.

Overall the food was good, sort of a hit or miss on certain things. The portions were huge (and I mean huge). I finished about half of everything, it was hard however to leave the tasty food on the plate. The staff was over the top awesome. So friendly, so nice, so helpful, they really were the best staff I’ve come across as a whole. I may just have to come back just to get a taste of that cinnamon roll.

Update: Okay….I went back for the cinnamon roll. Oh my goodness was that ever worth it or what. It was outstanding! You’d would think that something that big (3 lbs!!!) would suffer quality but I’m here to tell you that isn’t the case. It was literally bigger than my head, I’m not sure the pictures do it justice. The thing was exceptional. It melts in your mouth. Fresh from the oven this thing was amazing, filled with cinnamon, butter and icing…chewy and warm. Yes you’ve had a cinnamon roll before but never had you had one this big and this tasty. I highly recommend you get yourself out here and experience the love that is a Lulu’s cinnamon roll.

Chicken Fried Steak, Corn and French Fries

Onion Rings

Cinnamon Roll Close-Up

The Cinnamon Roll

Another Shot of the Cinnamon Roll

Featured on the local news

Further reading:
www.yelp.com/biz/lulus-bakery-and-cafe-san-antonio

Sep 7, 2009 @ 17:15

As many of you know the fast food chain In N’  Out has made it to Utah.  There are four locations opening in the next few months including one in Draper.  In fact, it is about 2 minutes from my house, which is mostly a blessing but also quite the temptation.  So far I have avoided the deliciousness mostly because of the long lines- the drive through still has long wait.  Opening week the drive through wait was over an hour!

For the past two weeks I  have been sick and miserable (and still have a strain of it hanging on for dear life!).  Finally today I decided to treat myself.  I dropped my dad off at the airport and did a little  shopping- finally bought some snow shoes, a slipcover for my ugly sofa, some shampoo/conditioner/makeup, an entry-way mat, and Christmas cards.   I went shopping thinking of getting gifts for Christmas presents but to be honest I have already gotten most of my presents.   I have a few more to make but that’s about it.  This leads me a little room to buy some presents for myself!  Let’s face it sometimes a girl just needs to spoil herself!

These are the shoes I bought.  They are called Bogs, and I know they are ugly but they are ultra comfortable, and  will be super in the snow. I am excited about the purchase because most boots/winter shoes are hard for me  with my wide calves and high arches! I’m very excited about them.

After all this bustling about I decided to brave the line at In N’ Out.  In reality it wasn’t too bad a wait.  I went inside and it took maybe 5 minutes to get my order.Then I thoroughly enjoyed a regular hamburger with grilled onions, french fries and a chocolate shake.  It was terrible for me but yummy- and worth it! The shake tasted good on my sore throat and the comfort food was great.  It made me happy.  The whole afternoon cheered me up.   I needed a nice productive happy day with good food.

By the way, I also got a lot of work done today  but I think you’all are tired of hearing about my work…

TWSS

The other day, Allison had a falafel fail, which got me craving falafel.  I could honestly eat falafel every single day, and I don’t think I would ever get sick of it.  In college, whenever the Mediterranean/salad bar didn’t have falafel, I would tell my friend it made me fal-awful.  I cracked myself up.  Looking back, they weren’t even such good falafel, but I didn’t care because they were falafel.

Enter May 2006.  I went to Israel for 10 days with Birthright, and my love of falafel was renewed.  I ate it everyday, and could have eaten it forever, no joke.  I didn’t get a picture, but let me tell you, it’s heaven on earth.  They fill a fresh pita with hummus and falafel and tons of veggies, spices, tahini, pickles, you name it.  Then, they roll it all up, and put “chips” on top, which are french fries.  Awesome, I know.

I don’t have any pictures of my own, but I did find this one here, just to give you an idea of the amazingness.  I miss Israel, I want to go back.  Robin, I do have an open invite, right?

One of the first blogs I ever read was A Year of Crockpotting, because I had just gotten my crockpot and was (still am) OBSESSED with it.  Once I made Stephanie’s recipe, I decided it was pretty much perfect, and have been making it ever since.  Here it is:

From A Year of Crockpotting

• 1 15oz can garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed
• 1/2 onion, chopped
• 1 tbsp. dried parsley
• 2 cloves minced garlic
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp. kosher salt
• 1/4 tsp. black pepper
• 2 tsp. ground cumin
• 1 tsp. ground coriander
• 1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper
• juice from 1 lemon
• 1/2 to 3/4 cup (whole wheat) bread crumbs
• 2 tbsp. olive oil (for the bottom of your crock)

First, throw the garbanzo beans into a food processor, or mash them with a fork.

Once the garbanzo beans are mashed up, add all of your other ingredients except for the bread crumbs and olive oil, and blend well.  You could also do all of this by hand!

Slowly add breadcrumbs to the mix, until it is all wet and sticky (TWSS) and can be formed into balls.  I use a funnel right in the food processor, to avoid mess!

Before you form the balls, drizzle some of the EVOO in the bottom of your crock.  Roll balls about the size of golf balls and put them at the bottom of the crock, rolling them a bit in the oil.

Let it cook on high for 2-5 hours (Mine go for about 3.5)

If you are anything like me, use this time to watch your dog get himself into a ridiculous situation.

I don’t know how he continually manages to do that, but it cracks me up every time!

I like my falafel served on top of salad, mostly because I just wasn’t feeling pita!  I love how warm and flavorful they are!

Don’t forget about my knife giveaway, spread the word!

Have you ever had falafel before?  How do you like them?  Salad? Pita?

After being unemployed for two months I started my new job today.  That in its self is a big deal.  My feet are killing me, and I am so out of shape. I am not used to standing for 5 hours. My last job was a sit down job.  But all in all it was fine. I am going to have a paycheck before Christmas.  Soon I won’t have to worry about food.

I even spent the last 45 minutes making french fries.  At McDonald’s  that is an important thing. I sure hope no one was disappointed in my fry cooking.  I had to work hard to keep up.  But I did okay.

Another great thing that happened today. My son wants to go to Job Corp.  I hope we can get him in.  He needs to do something with his life.

Tomorrow I go back to work for four hours.  I’m only working part-time, but as tired as I am today. Maybe that is a good thing. All in all it was a great day. I can’t wait for more.

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 – 1 ¼ cup (approx.) seltzer water

1 tbs. Adobo or other all-purpose dry seasoning blend

¾ – 1 lb. whole okra

oil for deep frying

1. Heat oil to 350 degrees Fahrenheit in a large, wide pot.
2. Combine flour, seltzer water and Adobo, adding water about ½ cup at a time until the batter is of a crepe or thin pancake consistency.
3. Dip each okra whole into the batter and fry in oil until golden brown; don’t crowd the pot.
4. Drain on paper towels and serve.

I spent a lot of time on Sunday trying to find out the name of a track, asking people what’s that electro track with the female voice going “French Fries”… I even checked with Shazam, and as usual it tagged about 5 different latin house tracks, that aren’t even close to sounding like it. As soon as i asked my good friend google I came across the artist called French Fries – Only 17, he’s part of a new crew of junior burgers called Young Gunz, and has already been producing for a fair few years…he has an EP out on Young Gunz soon, hopefully featuring more of the Afrobeat/rave stuff that he has on his myspace:   myspace.com/mrfrenchfries

Turns out the track I was digging is called “Oils”.  Check it:   French Fries – Oils

And this one with Bambounou has already been blogged a bit: French Fries feat Bambounou – Coconut

Looking forward to the EP… it’s not on Beatport yet but I’ll be checking back soon.

Sounds like this make me want to go clubbing in Paris so bad!

Our tropical-burdel goodbye party for Zooey, initiated by a bizarre dance ritual c/o Goran Bregovic’s Yeremia. Aim true, England! The cymbals of your tambourine are still scattered throughout the apartment.

On one of the worst weather days, I fought the Christmas revelers on 5th Avenue to finish some last minute Christmas shopping before honoring my appointment with the Schnipper’s Quality Kitchen. Owners Jonathan and Andrew Schnipper, had come to culinary fame by starting the popular Hale and Hearty Soup chain before trying their expertise at the burgers, their result was Schnipper’s Quality Kitchen. Now someone told me once there are three things to keep in mind when opening a restaurant, location location location, and they found it. Located at the foot of one of the busiest newspapers headquarters, this stark and spacious surgically clean burger joint has been on my list for some time, finally I was here!

After speaking with Jonathan, I was advised to try the Hickory Bacon Blue Burger, quite a mouth full huh? I wandered around the restaurant and could see the excitement in people eyes as they gorged themselves on many other Schnipper’s favorites such as, fish tacos, Mac and cheese, sweet potato fries and Sloppy Joes. For me however it was going to be Jonathan’s recommendation of crispy onions, smoky hickory BBQ sauce, blue cheese and bacon.
My burger arrived at the friendly and capable hands of the manager Joe, I attacked the body of the burger with a barrage of violent chomps, behaving like it was last meal and getting worrisome and horrifying glances from the table next to me. The flavor burst from the charcoal of the meat and the smokiness of the BBQ sauce almost brought me to tears it was so good, I stopped and thought to myself ” this is how a burger should be”. The French fries were equally tantalizing with a crispy sharp flavor that always is the perfect burger best friend.
Just when I thought it couldn’t get any better, my friends at Schnipper’s urged upon me another specialty of theirs, the Green Chile Cheeseburger. When I tasted this spicy morsel I was pleasantly aroused by the roasted pepper flavor of the poblano Chile and the creamy blend of cheese that covered the meat patty, a different flavor but one I will gladly repeat.

So for many mere burger mortals that would have been enough, but for me I felt I would be cheating myself terribly if I didn’t try just one more of the Schnipper’s meaty treats. I sheepishly took myself back to the cashier and asked for a regular cheeseburger with crispy onions, lettuce, tomato, cheddar cheese and the mysteriously good Schnipper’s sauce. When asked what was in the contents of this fine condiment I was given a rightfully vague answer, after all you don’t want that secret getting out!
The cheeseburger went down with no problem at all, leaving behind in my taste buds a feeling of freshness and flavor that I feel won’t be rivaled for some time. In case you hadn’t guessed by reading this Schnipper’s was, well in a word AWESOME!! Just to re-cap the Hickory Blue Bacon Burger A+++, the Green Chile Cheeseburger A++, and the Cheeseburger with crispy onions and Schnipper’s Sauce…. PRICELESS!

I want to thank Jonathan and Andrew Schnipper, Manager Joe Richardson and all the friendly staff for making this a memorable burger moment.
I’ll definately will be back !

http://www.schnippers.com/

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Apakah yang menarik dari The Taste yang mungkin tidak dimiliki tempat makan lain di IP? Tempat makannya yg punya window gede yg mengarah ke arah arena ice skating. Dan porsinya yan luar biasa banyak. Tapi itu dulu. Sekarang udah gak bisa liat arena ice skating lagi karena udah dibongkar, dan herannya, porsinya pun jadi sangat sedikit. Yah.. tapi kalo rasa sih, masih tetep enak kok. Buat pebisnis yang mau rapat dan melepas penat ketika bekerja, tempat ini cocok untuk dijadikan pilihan makan bersama.

Holy S! Thanks to The Purple Foodie, I’ve finally figured out how to make my oven baked fries super extra crispy! I made these last night and they were so good I wanted to slap somebody!

GARLICKY BAKED FRIES
image and recipe via The Purple Foodie

8 garlic cloves, minced
6 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
3 russet potatoes (about 8oz each), each cut into 12 wedges
3 tbsp cornstarch/cornflour
1 1/2 tsp coarse sea salt
1 1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
½ tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

1. Preheat oven to 475° F.
2. Combine the garlic and oil in a large bowl, warming it until the garlic is fragrant, about 1 minute.
3. Transfer 5 tablespoons of the oil (leaving the garlic in the bowl) to the baking dish, coating it well.
4. Add the potatoes to the bowl with the garlic mixture and toss to coat. Wrap tightly in plastic wrap and microwave on high power until the potatoes are translucent around the edges, 3 to 6 minutes, shaking the bowl to redistribute the potatoes halfway through cooking.
5. Combine the cornstarch, salt, pepper, garlic powder, and cayenne in a small bowl. Sprinkle over the hot potatoes and toss well to coat.
6. Arrange the potatoes in a single layer on the prepared baking sheet and bake, turning once, until deep golden brown and crisp, 30 to 40 minutes.

French Fries are my weakness.

I just love potatoes.

I will eat potatoes roasted, mashed, gratin, pommes alligot and my favorite – fried.

With lots of salt and pepper.

French fries are a food item that take me back to my childhood.  Actually many food times take me back to my childhood.  Anytime my mother made us fries when we were kids she soaked them in water and salt after slicing them.

Soaking them in warm water will remove some of the starch in the potato and the salt will actually draw out some of the water in the potato.  I don’t think this is something you have to do to make fries, but for me, it is just one of those things I do because my mother did it, her sister’s did it, my grandmother did it, and I am pretty sure my sister does it.  So her daughter one day might do it as well.

There was always the TEST fry.  It was the fry that took one for the team by slowly frying away in the almost ready oil.  Everytime my mother made fries, she placed one potato in the pan, waited for it to cook and then she knew the pan was ready.

The first batch can be dropped.  Now the fries are sitting in water so you have to make sure you drip dry when you grab them in your hand before you splash them onto the oil.

I am sure you have made fries before and you are thinking – why would you want to splash oil all over your stove and possibly hurt yourself?

I like tradition.  And even though I know better and there are many different ways I can go about this, I like to know I am keeping a part of my grandmother and mother with me when I am making fries.

During the summer in Jordan, we would visit the club often.  The club had a large pool and since it was quite hot in the summer, it was a great cool spot to hang out.

One of my favorite taste memories is the fries we would order poolside.  Maybe it is the summer desert air, mixed with suntan lotion and the spirit of childhood.

Whatever the concoction, I fondly remember the smell and taste of the fries hanging out by the pool and then having to wait 30 minutes before jumping back into the cool water.

Sometimes it’s okay to do things in a way that brings you back – keep the tradition alive and enjoy a plate of fries.

I’m a sucker for a good burger. It’s been our mission since we’ve moved to Raleigh to find the best burger in town and we’ve made some pretty good discoveries (Char-Grill, Mojoe’s) and still have a lot to try (the burger at Porter’s is supposed to be legendary). So, imagine my happiness when we heard that a new burger joint, Uncle Fatty’s Drive-in (Woodburn Road, Cameron Village). Cameron Village has always been a little boring when it comes to food for me, how many “upscale” bar and grills can one place have? I think they’re trying to revitalize its culinary side, a few new restaurants have popped up. But it was Uncle Fatty’s that really picqued my interest. I mean, with a name like that, who could resist…right?

Walking in, I didn’t quite get what was going on. They’re obviously trying to go for a retro soda shoppe vibe, but its comes off very antiseptic-feeling. Everything was pristine, white and grey, and glossy, a little too glossy. I was scared to smudge the counter Tony and I sat at.  I’m not a big authenticity proponent, but it felt like sitting at someone’s modern, calculated idea of a diner, not a real place you’d want to hang out.

At least there’s burgers, although the menu was pretty unimaginative. Just your basic classics; hamburger, cheeseburger, bacon burger. It was a little disappointing, especially at the prices, which are very Cameron Village-ish considering that you’re just getting a burger and fries. What did catch my eye was “The Billy Goat;” a half-pound patty, bacon, onions, cheese, slaw, and chili. How could I say no? The special was The Billy Goat, fries, and an Orangeade, which is also something I can’t walk away from. It’s not an exaggeration to say that my hopes were high.

Sadly, I was going to be walking away disappointed. The food came out quickly, which was nice, but I noticed it came out a little too quick, like maybe it wasn’t as fresh as I’d hope. Oh well, as long as it’s tasty, right? Nope. Not at all. I was shocked, I was hoping there’d be some smokiness from the bacon, spiciness from the chili, and maybe a little crisp bite from the slaw. Instead, there wasn’t any distinct flavor, the different ingredients just mushed together into a sloppy and bland mouthful. Not a single topping stood out; the chili overpowered everything, the burger was cooked to death, and it was hard to make out the taste of slaw.

I switched to fries, but faced another disappointment; shoestring fries that tasted like they came out of the freezer. I tried to find some comfort in my orangeade, but since they don’t mix the orangeade fresh for you, I got a big swig of sugar water with an afterthought of orange. Tony’s orangeade had a better mix of fresh orange taste when the waitress poured it for him, but we agreed that making orangeade fresh then letting it sit made it a crapshoot when it came to ordering. Who knows who will get the good glass?

I know I’m coming off a little harsh, but I think what was most off-putting was that Uncle Fatty’s doesn’t know what it wants to be; it wants to be a classic diner, but its veneer is a little too slick. You can charge higher prices for burgers, but make sure they’re actually tasty. Judging from the empty seating, I don’t think people in Cameron Village know what to think about Uncle Fatty’s either.

~Julia

Lately I’ve been tuning into Dubbel Dutch + Prince William + Kingdom over at their ustream channels here and here. From said channels I’ve gotten many a new track, some of which you can find on the Grindin’ November Chart others are ID’d on the spot via the chat. One of the “on the spot” ID’d tracks, which has been on repeat for a good chunk of my day, is “Coconut” by French Fries, an “afrobeat” producer out of France. The track carries the same kind of vibe as the infectious “Pon De Floor” by Major Lazer and kind of goes along with that whole Dancehall thing that caught some traction this Summer.

French Fries – Coconut (ft. Bambounou)

Beats™

Hoover’s Cooking & Catering
Address: 2002 Manor Road, Austin, TX 78722
Phone: (512) 479-0889
Website: www.hooverscooking.com
Known For: Meat & Three
What I had: Fried Catfish, French Fries and Macaroni & Cheese
Price: $10.71
Rating: 9.5 out of 10

I was really looking forward to their Meats & Three but on Sundays they don’t offer them. I was a little disappointed at first but I was going to get the fried catfish and it is on the standard menu anyways. The only difference was I’d only get two sides. Turns out this was not a problem, the portions were huge, Texas sized if you will (I find this a recurring theme ’round these parts). I couldn’t decide on the sides because they had so many that looked amazing, after trying the Cajun Coleslaw and the Garlic Grits (both good) I ended up going with the French Fries and Mac & Cheese (my staples).

Every single thing that I put in my mouth here was tremendous. The only thing I wish was that I had a bigger stomach, because they give you so much food. I saw everyone leaving the restaurant with doggy bags as I entered and I thought it was strange…now I understand.

First my waiter brought me a great jalapeno cornbread and the most amazing sweet potato roll, straight from the oven. Either of these with butter and honey was sensational. The mac & cheese was one of the best I’ve ever had, the pasta was perfect and the cheese was fantastic, one thing that was great was that it was not overly salty which is very typical of mac & cheese. The french fries were also amazing, cooked perfectly. The catfish was awesome. I haven’t tried fried catfish much, maybe not ever, but this was really good. I asked for some of their BBQ sauce and the waiter brought me their Jerk BBQ Sauce, make sure you do the same, it’s amazing and went well with the catfish. The food here is of the utmost quality and freshness. You can tell Hoover (his actual name) loves cooking for people and instills this in his kitchen.

My waiter was one of the best waiters I’ve ever had. He loved the food and continued to talk to me about it. He told me all his recommendations and favorites. He was extremely polite and accommodating. The place itself was full of families and people just having a great time. It was very clean as well. I highly highly recommend anyone that is within 1000 miles of Hoover’s give it a shot. It was mind blowingly good across the charts.

Mac & Cheese

French Fries

Catfish, Fries and Mac & Cheese

Hoover Alexander on his cooking and restaurant:

Further reading:
www.roadfood.com/Restaurant/Reviews/506/hoovers-cooking
www.yelp.com/biz/hoovers-cooking-austin

Sep 6, 2009 @ 17:20

Heh.  McDonald’s wrote back about my brief stop and UrbanSpoon.com review (posted with pictures) the other night.

Here’s the message below, that rides the “impersonally personal response” line quite well.

Someone got rid of the pictures at UrbanSpoon.com… perhaps they were flagged as inappropriate?  I can see that.  Oh well, no reason I can’t show them here.

Here’s my review…

“Sadly, had the best service there tonight in years…” by ERiC AiXeLsyD (98 reviews)
November 29, 2009 - Doesn’t like it – Small crew tonight, decent night-time crowd, stopped for a late dinner, was served relatively quickly… fries were a perfect golden color and hot… burgers were OK, super-greasy but it IS McDonald’s. We were out at an event earlier, on the way home… had to use the facilities… but they were trashed. Stall #1 had no TP dispenser, the roll was on the back of the commode, and the bowl was chock full of the stuff. Stall #2 had a broken doorknob/lock mechanism. One hand dryer was stuck on, the other didn’t work, and both urinals were full of urine. I know they can’t control flushing… but periodic checks/cleanings and some repairs might be in order.  Just when I thought this place had their stuff together for once… My advice? When stopping here, use the facilities somewhere else.

1 person likes this review Recommend

And here’s their response with my message submitted through the McWebform following below…

From: McDonalds.CustomerCare@us.mcd.com
To: eric_aixelsyd@yahoo.com
Sent: Tue, December 1, 2009 5:14:49 AM
Subject: Message from McDonald’s USA

Hello Eric:

Thank you for taking the time to contact McDonald’s Customer Service Center to bring your recent experience to our attention.First, I hope you will accept my sincere apology for your disappointment in McDonald’s. I can assure you that we want you to be completely satisfied every time you visit one of our restaurants.Because most McDonald’s restaurants are independently owned and operated, I have forwarded your comments to the franchise owner or local representative for follow up at the restaurant you visited. Please be assured that your comments will be investigated and, if appropriate, corrective action will be taken.

 

Secondly, although we did not completely meet your expectations, please know that our restaurant employees strive to maintain the highest standards of quality, service, cleanliness and value and it’s certainly nice to know that their efforts are appreciated. We want to recognize your complimentary comments and thank you for your kind words.

Again, thank you for taking the time to contact McDonald’s and giving us the opportunity to address your concerns. Customer feedback is very important to us as it helps us improve. McDonald’s is number one because of customers like you.

Ashley
McDonald’s Customer Response Center

ref#:6502666

————————————————————————————————————–

Please do not “reply” to this email response. No “replies” can be received through this mailbox. If you wish to contact McDonald’s Customer Response Center again, please visit our website at www.mcdonalds.com

You wrote:

The crew in the place tonight seemed to be operating well, were friendly, and quickly as far as the food was concerned, but the parking lot was full of cars for the bar next door, and the men’s bathroom was disgusting.  Please see this link for a review & photos: http://www.urbanspoon.com/r/23/1346713/restaurant/Far-South-South-Hills/McDonalds-Pittsburgh

Rarely is this kind of stuff ever followed up by the local chain. I don’t know if that’s indicative of stores nation-wide, or just in our area.  Then again… it gets me wondering…  I put my address in that webform… and my photo is up at UrbanSpoon.com.

Bad idea?

Halloween. October 31. The last day I had French Fries, Chick-Fil-A, hamburgers, what have you. By monitoring my calories daily thanks to the lovely About.com Calorie Counter (see link below) I have been able to lead a life filled with less calories!

I know that those things were horrible for me and I think I’m so much better without them. I had french fries, everyday for a week it was horrible, but now I feel empowered that I can go on without them, join Calorie Count to monitor your daily caloric intake, and like me, you can take control of your life and reach your goal!
Here’s the link-About.com Calorie Counter

I’m making Salt-and-Pepper oven fries. They sound great . Here’ s the recipe and I’ll let you know how they turn out. Wish me luck!

Prep: 5 min., Bake: 27 min. Serve these with any of our dipping sauces or just plain ketchup, but be sure to try them the French way at least once—with Lemon-Garlic Mayo.

I am not sure if there are real casinos in Austin, but who cares, they have the one you do need to visit, Casino El Camino.  I have a good friend who went to UT and enjoys food as much as I do, so when I was heading out here for a few business calls he made a number of suggestions.  This particular recommendation fell under, “When you are out and have had a few drinks, stop into the El Camino.”  I am not one to go against such a recommendation, as food when you have had a few drinks is a very valuable asset.  We walked up on the location and the sign gave a glimpse of what was to come, “World Famous Hamburger.”  As soon as we walked in, I thought we had the wrong place.  It appeared to be a goth hangout, which doesn’t necessarily mean one thing or another in terms of food, but it just seemed odd, especially with all of the gargoyles staring at us.  I gave a quick call to my buddy just to make sure, and he said to disregard any notions I have and ordered the burger and fries with green chili cheese.  I obliged.  During our wait, we were happy to know they also had some great drink prices and I got into an interesting discussion with one of the cook’s who happened to be wearing a Green Lantern shirt.  We discussed comics for a short bit, not sure if I was humoring her or she was humoring me.  We also wasted the last 5 minutes at the Big Buck Game Hunter shoot ‘em game until our burgers were ready (this is probably the best video game I have played in years).  It was ready and we decided to take it on the go.  However, we couldn’t wait, once we were in the car, we broke out the fries.  The green chili cheese sauce was awesome and the fries were loaded with it.  The box felt like it weighed 10 lbs and in reality it probably did.  When we got back to the hotel room, we broke open the burger and tore into it.  It was a monster and could have fed a family of five…or two guys with a couple of drinks in them.  We polished off the burger, but were unable to finish the 10 lb order of fries.  Great recommendation, this is great food.

I love the fries at Enoteca Vespaio! Enoteca is one of my favorite restaurants in Austin and I used to go every week but since two summers ago, they raised their prices and decreased portions. I would always get the fries if I ordered their pizzas or panini.

For some reason, I was salivating for them this morning so I decided to make them. Unfortunately at Whole Foods, the mean guy at the cheese counter said that they didn’t have Grana Padano so I bought Parmigiano Reggiano instead.

[100% organic]

Ingredients:

• French fries (self-made or store bought)
• Chopped flat leaf parsley
• Salt
• Parmigiano Reggiano, freshly grated
  

Instructions:

1. Deep fry the french fries
2. Pat dry the fries with paper towels
3. Season with salt
4. Top with chopped parsley and freshly grated Parmigiano Reggiano

*Adapted from Enoteca Vespaio.

After feeling some mild post Thanksgiving depression, among other things I decided to participate in the quintessential New York pastime enjoyed between urban players, brunch. For this outing I chose to visit a rowdy, yet stylish New York landmark, 5 Napkin burger. Located in the theater district this restaurant has been slinging bistro style burgers to a pre-theater crowd for about a year and a half.

Decorated in contemporary modern decor, I awaited the usual restaurant server routine in a lavish booth, overlooking a view of busy Ninth Avenue. I was pleasantly surprised with a friendly greeting from the restaurant manager Caesar; he welcomed me and urged me to enjoy my burger!!

I ordered the Original 5 Napkin Burger one of numerous burgers on the menu, when the plate came I was enamored with a mountainous soft white bun before me in which the patty itself was beautifully hidden with a cascading flow of velvety comte cheese, caramelized grilled onions, and a robust rosemary garlic aioli. My first bite was heavenly, powered by the caramel flavor of the onions, then the freshness of the aioli, then lastly the woodsy charcoal taste of the patty it-self. There is a reason this place is called 5 Napkin burger, my hands were covered in juices as I devoured this creation into oblivion.

As an extra accompaniment I recommend the garlic Parmesan dusted French fries that go perfectly with this display of culinary expertise. The only negative aspect of this whole experience is that at some point it had to end. As I gazed into my barren plate, I felt satisfied, happy and content.

The Original 5 Napkin burger rates an A++ a great restaurant with friendly, prompt service a definitely must see on your brunch list.

http://www.fivenapkinburger.com/

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When I started studying about healthy fats about six years ago, I realized that I was using very unhealthy fats.  I was buying butter (went through a very short phase on margarine because it’s so cheap, glad that didn’t last long), but I was using canola for cooking.  I read Dr. Mary Enig’s very in-depth book, Know Your Fats and my eyes were opened!  At the same time, my suspicions about butter were confirmed.  Yeah!  Butter really was better for you.  I learned how bad canola is and why.  I learned that of all the vegetable oils, peanut oil is the most stable.  It contains omega-6 fatty acids, whereas the other vegetable oils contain a combination of omega-6 and omega-3.  I know, I know, we hear a lot about omega-3 and how good they are for us.  BUT, omega-3 oils are damaged when heated.  All the vegetable oils in the general grocery store are very refined and have been heated to high temperatures.  Omega-6 oils are not damaged as bad with heat.

So, I switched to peanut oil for most of my cooking.  It has a high smoke point and thus makes nice crispy french fries and is great for stir fry, which is done at a high temperature.

But that was six years ago and I have since learned that while peanut oil is better than canola and soybean oil, it isn’t the best.  In fact, consuming too many omega-6 fatty acids is detrimental to our health, one example is inflammation.  We hear a lot about this lately, how inflammation is at the heart of a lot of diseases, click here for a great article on that topic.  Then I read this article in Prevention magazine that said omega-6 oils are responsible for a slower metabolism and fat storage.  I don’t know about you, but I don’t need a slower metabolism!  So I started looking for alternatives.

I have used tallow for our french fries quite a few times now and I’m happy with it.  Best of all, my picky family is happy with it.  :)  I decided to try making my homemade croutons with coconut oil instead of peanut oil and they turn out great.  Next up was hash browns.  These are the shredded potato variety, not those pre-formed patties–those are loaded with trans fat.  Last Sunday I tried using half coconut oil and half butter (because I needed them to brown, coconut oil alone doesn’t brown very well) and they, too, turned out great.

On Monday night I tried making fried rice with coconut oil.  I have always used peanut oil.  There were pros and cons.  On the positive side, I was happy that the oil didn’t smoke at all.  I drizzled the oil in the pan immediately before adding the eggs to scramble and the rice to fry.  If I had left it very long, it would have smoked (coconut oil has a lower smoke point than peanut oil).  Another positive was that this seemed to be a good fat for keeping the rice from sticking to the pan.  But we lose points in the taste category.  The coconut flavor was too predominate.  My family wasn’t thrilled.  My son hates coconut oil (but I do require he take a dose everyday for eczema, he just holds his nose).  My husband is a picky eater and didn’t care for the taste, although we did eat the entire batch of rice.  I am going to buy a refined coconut oil for this recipe, it won’t have a coconut flavor.  This will still be healthier than peanut oil, so I am happy.  :)

Remember, we all need to be taking our babysteps, don’t get stuck in a rut.  None of us has “arrived.”  Keep changing, keep learning, keep growing.

Precis så har dagen varit.

Imorse var det svart svart svart.
Det gick så dåligt för Sparven att det såg ut att inte vara många dagar kvar. Han vägrade äta, dricka eller göra något alls då allt han kämpat med igår slutat lika dåligt som tidigare och natten varit jobbig.
Och nu orkade han inte hålla modet uppe längre.

Så vi stod med Gennet inne på toan (för att han inte skulle se oss) och grinade alla tre. Tänkte att “nu går det inte längre”.

Han ville att vi skulle be för honom, så vi gjorde det. Och sen så piggnade han plötsligt till och sa “jag skulle vilja åka på kliniken idag. Om jag får medicin för magkatarren så kommer jag att vara hur stark som helst imorgon”.

Så vi åkte på kliniken. Och där blev han ännu piggare. “Jag vill ha french fries” sa han och vi tyckte att det var väl dumt att äta om man har ont i magen. Det tyckte inte han.
Och vi jagade på sköterskorna att skynda sig med att sätta nål och starta dropp med motiveringen att det är “akut”. När de sedan kom för att ge honom droppet, ja då låg han i sängen och smaskade french fries och drack mjölk. De höjde lite på ögonbrynen men vi låtsades som att det hörde till det akuta.

Så nu ser det plötsligt väldigt lovande ut.
Han sover på kliniken i natt för att doktorn ville vara på den säkra sidan men om det fortsätter som idag så är det snart full fart på honom.