Wandering the streets (err ummm street) of Rarotonga in the Cook Islands, waiting for our hotel to let us check in, we made our way to a part of the island called Avarua. Avarua is often referred to as “town” since it is the closest thing Rarotonga has to a town. As in any town, we got hungry and walked into the first place that looked delicious, called Cafe Salsa. Typically, a restaurant named as such would serve Mexican or some other Latin food, but this was not the case and the only thing remotely Mexican about the place was the name. Continue Reading»
‘Breakfast’
Going Meatless at BLD
July 25th, 2011 Tweet Facebook Digg Stumble RedditOk, I have a confession to make. Longtime readers know it already, but newcomers may be a little surprised. That confession is that…well I don’t eat meat for every meal. Yes, it’s true. Sometimes, a breakfast of pancakes or a dinner of mac and cheese satiates my appetite just as much as a steak. But most importantly, these meals are devoid of vegetables. After all, unvegan principles are more anti-veggie than pro-meat. One such meatless meal occurred at BLD. Continue Reading»
Hashing it Out at Breakwater
July 11th, 2011 Tweet Facebook Digg Stumble RedditOn our way out of an amazing Wisconsin weekend, we made a pit stop at Breakwater Restaurant in Superior. It looked like a local version of Denny’s, which was just what we wanted on our way out of the Northwoods. We were quickly seated and since everyone moves a little slow on the morning of July 4th, we weren’t waited on quite as fast as we had been seated. But outside of the hustle bustle of LA, we were happy to not be rushed out of breakfast. Continue Reading»
Going Wild (With Rice) at Twin Gables
July 8th, 2011 Tweet Facebook Digg Stumble RedditIn the meaty heaven of Northern Wisconsin, even I was amazed to find the following on a menu: “Light Portion 1/3 lb Hamburger Steak Dinner with grilled onions, mashed potatoes and gravy.” And where did such a light meal find itself? None other than Twin Gables in Brule, Wisconsin. This light meal quickly explained why they wouldn’t serve an egg white omelet to my girlfriend while simultaneously letting me know that anything I ordered was going to be goddamn amazing. Continue Reading»
Getting Some Dim Sum at Star Ferry
November 16th, 2010 Tweet Facebook Digg Stumble RedditIt seems like going to China without eating dim sum is on par with going to Italy and not eating pasta. But in truth, dim sum is really a specialty of Hong Kong and Guangdong (formerly known as Canton). Fortunately, in this day and age, you can find Cantonese restaurants all over China. In Xi’an, we found a place called Star Ferry near the Bell Tower. The interior of the restaurant was decorated like a boat, and I later found out that it was named for a ferry company operating in Hong Kong. Continue Reading»
Being Salty and Sweet at Uncle Bill’s
August 16th, 2010 Tweet Facebook Digg Stumble RedditFor some breakfast in Manhattan Beach, I found myself at Uncle Bill’s Pancake House. Just like all breakfast joints in LA, the place as a huge line on weekends, but luckily my step-dad went a little early to put the name in, so by the time I got there, there was only a few minutes left to wait. We sat down at their outdoor area, which had a great view of the ocean.
The menu was huge, and to be truthful, I had a hard time figuring out what I wanted. Then, buried in the Waffles section, I found what had to be mine; the cheddar cheese and bacon waffle. I was filled with questions. Would the bacon and cheese be cooked into it or just on top? Could this be the new chicken and waffles? Or could this simply be the next step towards certain death? Either way, I was ready to find out. Continue Reading»
Going South at Zoe’s House of Pancakes
July 12th, 2010 Tweet Facebook Digg Stumble RedditFor some brunch before my annual photo shoot with my grandparents, we headed to Zoe’s House of Pancakes in West Bloomfield, Michigan. Zoe’s didn’t exist before I moved out west, so going here wasn’t exactly a trip down memory lane, but I was glad to see a new business doing pretty well. Even on a Monday for brunch, they had a pretty good number of people, so I assumed they would have some pretty great food. I took a look at the menu and found some of the most inspiring breakfast food I’ve seen in a long time, with everything hovering around the $5 price range. They had tons of different pancake varieties, including one enticing option called the Fruit Explosion. Despite pancakes being the namesake of the place, my eyes drifted to the waffles section. Continue Reading»
It’s Not Always Time for Bacon
July 6th, 2010 Tweet Facebook Digg Stumble RedditEvery once in a blue moon, a restaurant comes along that you just can’t pass up. Sometimes it’s Taco Bell, and sometimes it’s a place called Bacon in Scottsdale. Although clearly capitalizing on the current bacon trend, the name sounded great to me when the girlfriend’s family suggested it. Since it was Father’s Day, we expected a long line, so we called in advance and a table was ready for us by the time we got there. Continue Reading»
To the Salt Stick, With Love
July 1st, 2010 Tweet Facebook Digg Stumble RedditTo many people, the bagel is the king of breakfast. It’s like an evolution of toast, similar, yet greatly superior. And the best of those who love the bagel bow down to the salt bagel, the king of all bagels. It adds a perfect amount of flavor that goes great with cream cheese, especially strawberry cream cheese. But why strawberry cream cheese? Well, combining the sweet of the cream cheese with the salt of the bagel creates a perfect balance unparalleled by any other food in the world. Ever.
But is the salt bagel perfect? No, far from it. While bagels are delicious, they have one major flaw. That flaw is obvious to anyone who has ever attempted to shmear cream cheese across the surface of the bagel. The hole. This hole sucks up perfectly good cream cheese, rendering the bagel an imperfect medium for shmearing. Enter the Salt Stick. Continue Reading»
Rants and Raves
Eat Fish, You’ll Thank Me Later
July 30th, 2009Here’s a study that’s sure to please those supposed vegetarians who eat fish. It seems that eating fish reduces the risk of getting dementia. This shouldn’t come as too much of a surprise, considering all the other great benefits that are associated with eating fish. Fish Oils and Omega 3 already help the heart and the brain, so it just follows suit that eating fish reduces the chances of getting dementia.
For unvegans, it’s just one more bit of good news to propel us into eating yummy animals. For vegans, though, this is some pretty bad news. The upside for the vegans is that at least once they get dementia, they probably won’t be able to remember how good meat tastes.
(via Examiner)
Beer Me Some Breckenridge Agave Wheat
Colorado is definitely a beer state, and not just because Coors comes from the Rocky Mountain State. No, it is also home to New Belgium (of Fat Tire fame) and seemingly countless other micro and craft breweries. While in Breckenridge for a ski weekend, I decided I had to at least try one of these, and because it turned out to be the only one available at dinner, my choice happened to come from the creatively named Breckenridge Brewery. The brewery, by the way, is actually no longer in Breckenridge, having expanded and moved to Denver in 1992.
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