Author Archive
Fried Chicken @ Little Red Hen
Friday, September 10th, 2010
Fried Chicken Dinner – $8.50 (4 piece with fries, slaw, and roll)
This tiny shop from a small town offers a variety of foods, but there is one outstanding item. Fried Chicken. All the people that I have introduced this fried chicken to, family and friends, are surprised by the simplicity of this common comfort food. The place uses quality chicken and fries them with a simple breading. The outcome is a mildly salty and extra-crispy fried chicken. A simple mildly salty breading may seem inferior to the immense variety of wild flavors out there, but it satisfies the one of the basic human cravings of salt, sugar, and fat. Not to mention the tongue searing juices squeezing out of each bite into the chicken. Carnivore unleash.
653 Vernon Avenue, Glencoe, IL 60022
Phone: (847) 835-4900
Tags: $ expensive, American, chicken, fried
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Baked BBQ Pork Buns @ Pelican Seafood Restaurant
Friday, September 10th, 2010
Baked BBQ Pork Bun – C$3.95 (order of 3)
One of the typical offerings during the dim sum hours of a Chinese restaurant is the Baked BBQ Pork Bun. The reality is that few restaurants can masterfully produce this dish and majority fail only to get by with the unsuspecting customer. The beauty of this particular dish from Pelican Seafood Restaurant is the fluffy and chewiness of the bun without the teeth clinging stickiness. I hate it when I have to violently tongue the lodged dough from my teeth. Of course this review can’t be complete without mentioning the fragrant BBQ pork slowing baking inside the bun. The BBQ pork inside is juicy unlike many other restaurants that procure dried saucy BBQ pork. To finish it off, on top is a thin glaze of honey.
1895 East Hastings Street, Vancouver, BC V5L1T3, Canada
Phone: (604) 251-3395
Tags: $ expensive, Chinese, dim sum, pork
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#6 (Marinated Portobello, Blue Brie, Griddled Scallions, Dijonnaise) @ DMK Burger Bar
Tuesday, June 22nd, 2010
Marinated Portobello, Blue Brie, Griddled Scallions, Dijonnaise – $8.00 (additional fried egg, $2.00)
This American delicatessen is one juicy contender using grass-fed beef cooked till slightly pink core, sandwiched between two freshly toasted crunchy buns. Grass-fed beef is suppose to taste different due to the cow’s different diet compared with the typical American feedlot cows feeding on corn mill. But all that goodness from the included ingredients makes it hard to really pick out the beefier taste; however, we can take comfort in the cow’s healthy well-being before the slaughter. As for the innards of this burger, we have diced and sauteed marinated portobello mushrooms, melted blue brie cheese, griddled scallions for the herby taste and texture, and dijonnaise for the slight tang. If that mouthful of flavors isn’t enough for you, a fried egg can be added. Perfectly orchestrated fried egg with still runny yolk will end this burger on a high note.
2954 North Sheffield Avenue, Chicago 60657
Phone: (773) 360-8686
Tags: $ cheap, American, beef, burger, cheeseburger, grass-fed
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Sliced Pork with Garlic Dipping @ May’s Cafe
Saturday, May 8th, 2010
Sliced Pork with Garlic Dipping – $6.95
A Taiwanese appetizer with thinly sliced pork with diced lettuce and parsley served with their house-made garlic dipping sauce. The freshly boiled sliced pork is warm when it arrives so you get the warmth of the meat and coldness from the diced lettuce and parsley; adding the garlic dipping and you get a mild sweetness to the bunch.
97 Glenville Avenue, Allston, MA 02134
Phone: (617) 782-1688
Tags: $ average, Chinese, parsley, pork, Taiwanese
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Tonkatsu @ Shiki
Saturday, May 8th, 2010
Tonkatsu – $11.00 (lunch)
This pork loin, tender part of the pig, is from the Berkshire pig or kurobuta as the Japanese call it. The decision to use kurobuta instead of the conventional American pig, gives its meat a juicier and more flavorful taste because the meat is genetically predisposed to be fattier even though loins tend to have little fat. The pork loin is breaded with panko (Japanese bread crumbs) and deep fried. This dish from Shiki shall be well praised for not being over-fried and for its juicy and tenderness. Most places use cheap meats and tend to be dry and chewy. Tonkatsu sauce made from vegetable and fruit puree is provided along with mustard wasabi for you to dip. There are the cabbage and mayonnaise mini cucumbers on the side, but I never eat them.
9 Babcock Street Brookline, MA 02446
Phone: (617) 738-0200
Tags: $ average, berkshire pork, fried, Japanese, pork
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Dhaba Chicken @ Kabab and Tandoor
Saturday, May 8th, 2010
Dhaba Chicken – $13.99
Dhaba Chicken at Kabab and Tandoor is a tandoori chicken equivalent at other Indian restaurants. Several chicken drumsticks are marinated in yogurt and several spices including cayenne pepper and turmeric to give its distinct red color. This dish is a little bit spicy, but definitely toned down for its more western audiences. Don’t be fooled by the ‘hotness’ associated with the deep red color, its bearable and good judging from the fact that the meat is favorable and NOT dry. Eaten with the parsley and onion, definitely cool down the spicy overtone. Did I mention it is baked in a traditional tandoor oven (clay oven).
699 Main Street, Waltham, MA 02451
Phone: (781) 899-0022
Tags: $ average, chicken, drumstick, halal, Indian, spicy, tandoor
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Crispy Pad Thai @ S&I Thai
Monday, April 19th, 2010
Crispy Pad Thai – $7.25
Pan-fried noodles with minced chicken and shrimp with bean sprouts, egg, scallion, and grounded peanuts thrown in. This dish is very light with crunchy noodles slightly glazed with a sweet sauce. The sweetness isn’t overdone to the point it becomes a sweet dessert.
168 Brighton Avenue, Allston, MA 02134
Phone: (617) 254-8488
Tags: $ average, noodles, pad thai, pan-fried, sweet, Thai
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Thai Fried Rice with Crispy Duck & Fried Egg @ Dok Bua Thai Kitchen
Monday, April 19th, 2010
Thai Fried Rice with Crispy Duck & Fried Egg – $15.95
Thai fried rice with slices of still juicy duck on top. Each piece of duck has its skin fried till crispy, so with each bite into the duck you get tender meat and crispy skin. Think crispy fried chicken skin. Sweet and sour sauce is provided in case you want more strong flavors with your duck and rice. Most importantly to the dish is to break the fried egg with the still runny yolk on top and mix it in with everything. The typical tomatoes and cucumber are there to offer ‘coolness’ in your mouth if you choose to do so.
411 Harvard Street, Brookline, MA, 02446
Phone: (617) 232-2955
Tags: $ average, duck, fried rice, rice, Thai
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Chocolate Hazelnut Torte @ Pastiche
Sunday, April 11th, 2010
Chocolate Hazelnut Torte – $5.95 (1 slice)
Creamy, but not thick hazelnut chocolate ganache is sandwiched by a light hazelnut sponge cake. The sponge cake is airy providing a nice bounce with each bite into the cake. Finished with a hazelnut buttercream on the outside. The lightness of the ganache doesn’t make you thirst desperately after eating it, but a nice cup of tea or warm milk goes well with it.
92 Spruce Street, Providence, RI 02903
Phone: (401) 861-5190
Tags: $ expensive, buttercream, chocolate, dessert, hazelnut, Italian
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Steamed Minced Pork Buns @ Ding Tai Fung
Saturday, April 10th, 2010
Steamed Minced Pork Buns (6 pieces) – C$5.99
Steamed minced pork buns in English and 小籠包 (xiao long bao) in Chinese, a world renown Shanghainese dish from the also world renown Chinese joint Ding Tai Fung which started in Taiwan. Although not the original store, the restaurant still does their buns right. The buns’ skin is thin enough so that the focus is on the core. The generous amount of minced pork in the middle coupled with a decent amount of strong pork flavored soup provides the perfect explosive kicker when eaten whole. Vinegar on the side for the buns is a nice acidic complement to the appetizer.
3235 Highway 7 East, Unit #18B, Markham, Ontario, Canada
Phone: (905) 943-9880
Tags: $ average, appetizer, Chinese, pork, Shanghainese
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