I recently took a quiz on the Internet about what hobby I should consider taking up and guess what the result was? Writing...surprise! I took that as a clue that perhaps I should write on my blog. That coupled with a comment on an earlier post made me decide that perhaps I should get blogging....
Each year 3 of us who have been friends FOREVER get together at one of our locations and make a weekend of eating, shopping, gabbing, etc. Rockies Gal, Arizona Gal, and myself got together this year in sunny Phoenix. Part of the fun of these get togethers is trying new restaurants. This year's highlights are reviewed below:
Cowboy Ciao
We visited Cowboy Ciao in Scottsdale for dinner. According to the website, Cowboy Ciao "presents a Modern American menu with Southwestern and global influences." We ordered several plates to share for the table.
First we started with the Stetson Chopped Salad. It was presented as a deconstructed salad and then the waiter poured the dressing over it and tossed it for us. It was very good and I had hoped the menu would tell me what all was in it. Unfortunately I can't remember but I do recall their being raw fish in there - that seemed a bit odd for a chopped salad but perhaps that was the "global influences" at work!
We split the Mushroom Pan Fry (ok, but not nearly as subtle as the mushrooms in my recent post of the Morel Fest). Too many mushrooms for me to enjoy too much. The other girls love their fungi though and enjoyed the dish. The Dungeness Crab Enchiladas were awesome! Just the right amount of ooey, gooey in a tortilla shell. My suggestion was the Seared Scallops and Beet Risotto - I found it to be good. The beet risotto was very red - guess that shouldn't have been a surprise, but it still took a little getting used to. Not sure the mushroom lovers were too thrilled with my selection. The nice thing with this meal was that we all tried new things and perhaps expanded our tastes ever so slightly.
Being a girls weekend definitely requires dessert. We couldn't decide, so we each got our own and shared. I got the birthday cake which was a chocolate/cherry layered cake. Rockies Gal went with the White Chocolate Blondie served with brown butter ice cream, cashew streusel, and a white chocolate sauce. Arizona Gal went with Housemade Ice Cream and Cookies. We all agreed that the dessert winner was Rockies Gal.
"Foodies Love Ritz Crackers"
One night we hung out at Arizona Gal's house for dinner and had steaks on the grill. We also had grilled asparagus and a wonderful potato casserole dish. I can't remember what it's real name was, but the phrase "funeral casserole" sticks in my mind. It has everything yummy that a potato casserole could have - cheese whiz or something like that, potatoes and of course crushed up ritz crackers! While my blog is predominately about eating out at "foodie" restaurants, I'm not above ritz crackers at all. Quite the opposite, it was great to have a nice meal at home - that was relatively easy to prepare as we chilled in the pool on a hot summer day.
Our last eating occasion together was a sandwich before heading to the airport. Both Rockies and Arizona gals have eaten at Which Wich Superior Sandwiches. This was a fun restaurant in which you pick up a brown bag depending on which sandwich you want and then you check off the ingredients you want on your sandwich. They then toast the sandwich so it's nice and warm and has melted cheese on it. I went with the Roast Beef and thought it was awesome. Not long after I got home from the trip did I find out that they are opening one not too terribly far from me. Well, actually it is too far for me to ever get there, but my hope is that if they have one in the state they may eventually decide to have a couple of more! If that is the case, surely there will be one near either where I live or work.
A very successful girl's weekend came to a close. The pressure is on me for next year - they're coming here! I better get my game on and figure out where to take them for meals!
Happy Eating!
Sunday, July 17, 2011
Sunday, July 10, 2011
Morel Fest at In Season
We ventured back to In Season a couple of months ago. You may recall, our first time at the restaurant was in January/February - see my review here. As I mentioned back then, In Season is a restaurant that uses foods that are "in season" to design their menu. The idea is that you are eating what is seasonally fresh.
Those of you who know me very well know that mushrooms and Debbie do not go together. I have always been the one that says "we can order the pizza with mushrooms...I'll just pick them off." So, what was I doing going to a mushroom themed dinner at In Season?
First, the guest chef was Jim Kyndberg. He was formerly at Bayport Cookery which has gone out of business, but when it was open the hubby and I had several spectacular meals there. It was exciting to see Jim pop up at In Season with his themed menu - Morel Fest. Second, it was around the hubby's birthday and this was the pick he had for his dinner.
We arrived for the last seating of the evening. They immediately brought us out a glass of champagne to start the meal. (Nice touch!) The first course consisted of Morels with Ramp Soubise, Lorette Potatoes and Caraway. Ramps are a great find over the last few years. If you see them on a menu, don't shy away from them. They are a green scallion/ wild onion/ leek type of vegetable and have been highly used among chefs over the last couple of years.
The second course was a Crispy Pig's Head with Morels, Arugula and Sweet Soy Mustard. As odd as pig's head might sound, this was actually quite tasty. During the last year I've literally tasted pig head to feet.
We then moved on to the Wild King Salmon with Speck, Creamy Polenta, and Morels Ragout. Speck is an Italian type ham - similar to prosciutto. This dish was amazing.
The fourth course was Duo of Wild Acres Pekin Duck with Morels, Nettles and Pinot Noir. I am a bit disheartened to say that not only was I enjoying the morels all evening, but I really liked the duck! Another food that I didn't think I liked.
Finally we finished with the Chocolate-Hazelnut Cake with Rhubarb, Strawberries, and yes - Morel Ice Cream. Awesome finish to a great meal!
This dinner just goes to show that what you don't like as a child can change over time...just let yourself be open to the experience!
We are hopeful that In Season might have Jim back for a garlic fest dinner.
Happy Eating!
Those of you who know me very well know that mushrooms and Debbie do not go together. I have always been the one that says "we can order the pizza with mushrooms...I'll just pick them off." So, what was I doing going to a mushroom themed dinner at In Season?
First, the guest chef was Jim Kyndberg. He was formerly at Bayport Cookery which has gone out of business, but when it was open the hubby and I had several spectacular meals there. It was exciting to see Jim pop up at In Season with his themed menu - Morel Fest. Second, it was around the hubby's birthday and this was the pick he had for his dinner.
We arrived for the last seating of the evening. They immediately brought us out a glass of champagne to start the meal. (Nice touch!) The first course consisted of Morels with Ramp Soubise, Lorette Potatoes and Caraway. Ramps are a great find over the last few years. If you see them on a menu, don't shy away from them. They are a green scallion/ wild onion/ leek type of vegetable and have been highly used among chefs over the last couple of years.
The second course was a Crispy Pig's Head with Morels, Arugula and Sweet Soy Mustard. As odd as pig's head might sound, this was actually quite tasty. During the last year I've literally tasted pig head to feet.
We then moved on to the Wild King Salmon with Speck, Creamy Polenta, and Morels Ragout. Speck is an Italian type ham - similar to prosciutto. This dish was amazing.
The fourth course was Duo of Wild Acres Pekin Duck with Morels, Nettles and Pinot Noir. I am a bit disheartened to say that not only was I enjoying the morels all evening, but I really liked the duck! Another food that I didn't think I liked.
Finally we finished with the Chocolate-Hazelnut Cake with Rhubarb, Strawberries, and yes - Morel Ice Cream. Awesome finish to a great meal!
This dinner just goes to show that what you don't like as a child can change over time...just let yourself be open to the experience!
We are hopeful that In Season might have Jim back for a garlic fest dinner.
Happy Eating!
Tuesday, July 5, 2011
Mill Valley Kitchen
Thanks to the generosity of my employer, I was lucky to have today off of work to extend my 4th of July weekend to 4 days. We decided that we would make use of the day off to try a new restaurant for lunch.
We decided on Mill Valley Kitchen. This is a relatively new restaurant in the area that promotes itself as a choice for fresh, local, and sustainably sourced ingredients. Based on the menu that does appear to be the case.
We arrived for a late lunch and found the place to be relatively busy with lots of "ladies lunching." The hubby and I both thought the interior of the restaurant was very attractive. You can tell some thought...and expense went into the furniture and table linens.
There was a variety of options on the menu - main entrees, starters, sandwiches and flatbreads. I ordered the mixed greens salad which consisted of organic greens, pumpkin seeds, craisins, goat cheese and a red wine vinaigrette. For my main course I had the Grass Fed Beef Burger. The hubby got the Roasted Duroc Pork Bahn Mi. He didn't get a starter because his sandwich came with a small green salad.
We waited for a bit and then our food came out - unfortunately the salad came at the same time as the sandwich. I had said I wanted to "start with" the salad. Guess that didn't translate to "bring the salad BEFORE the sandwich" like I thought it would. To top it off, my sandwich also came with a small green salad. The menu stated that for the hubby's sandwich, but not mine. Now I looked somewhat foolish as I sat there with the large mixed green salad on one plate and a burger and more salad on another plate. I do believe I would have had my recommended 5 servings of vegetables had I actually eaten all of that lettuce. I managed to eat from both plates and did enjoy both the salad and the burger. The hubby thought his sandwich was OK, not great. I tried to get him to eat some of my salad but alas, it was all mine.
The thing about the restaurant that threw me off a bit is that it is decorated simply but elegant and then they were rocking Led Zeppelin overhead. The clientele skewed to the older crowd and I have trouble believing they were enjoying the music. Just very odd.
So final review was the atmosphere was pretty good, odd musical choices, food was decent, execution of service was lacking. Might go back some time, but given the number of restaurant choices available to us, it will not be for awhile.
Happy Eating!
We decided on Mill Valley Kitchen. This is a relatively new restaurant in the area that promotes itself as a choice for fresh, local, and sustainably sourced ingredients. Based on the menu that does appear to be the case.
We arrived for a late lunch and found the place to be relatively busy with lots of "ladies lunching." The hubby and I both thought the interior of the restaurant was very attractive. You can tell some thought...and expense went into the furniture and table linens.
There was a variety of options on the menu - main entrees, starters, sandwiches and flatbreads. I ordered the mixed greens salad which consisted of organic greens, pumpkin seeds, craisins, goat cheese and a red wine vinaigrette. For my main course I had the Grass Fed Beef Burger. The hubby got the Roasted Duroc Pork Bahn Mi. He didn't get a starter because his sandwich came with a small green salad.
We waited for a bit and then our food came out - unfortunately the salad came at the same time as the sandwich. I had said I wanted to "start with" the salad. Guess that didn't translate to "bring the salad BEFORE the sandwich" like I thought it would. To top it off, my sandwich also came with a small green salad. The menu stated that for the hubby's sandwich, but not mine. Now I looked somewhat foolish as I sat there with the large mixed green salad on one plate and a burger and more salad on another plate. I do believe I would have had my recommended 5 servings of vegetables had I actually eaten all of that lettuce. I managed to eat from both plates and did enjoy both the salad and the burger. The hubby thought his sandwich was OK, not great. I tried to get him to eat some of my salad but alas, it was all mine.
The thing about the restaurant that threw me off a bit is that it is decorated simply but elegant and then they were rocking Led Zeppelin overhead. The clientele skewed to the older crowd and I have trouble believing they were enjoying the music. Just very odd.
So final review was the atmosphere was pretty good, odd musical choices, food was decent, execution of service was lacking. Might go back some time, but given the number of restaurant choices available to us, it will not be for awhile.
Happy Eating!
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