The Omnivore's Hundred

This is a challenge/game from the Very Good Taste blog. Look below for my results and perhaps try it yourself. I've put my things to try in black to make them stand out.

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Here’s a chance for a little interactivity for all the bloggers out there. Below is a list of 100 things that I think every good omnivore should have tried at least once in their life. The list includes fine food, strange food, everyday food and even some pretty bad food - but a good omnivore should really try it all. Don’t worry if you haven’t, mind you; neither have I, though I’ll be sure to work on it. Don’t worry if you don’t recognise everything in the hundred, either; Wikipedia has the answers.

Here’s what I want you to do:

1) Copy this list into your blog or journal, including these instructions.
2) Bold all the items you’ve eaten.
3) Cross out any items that you would never consider eating.
4) Optional extra: Post a comment here at www.verygoodtaste.co.uk linking to your results.

The VGT Omnivore’s Hundred:

1. Venison
2. Nettle tea
3. Huevos rancheros
4. Steak tartare
5. Crocodile
6. Black pudding
7. Cheese fondue
8. Carp
9. Borscht
10. Baba ghanoush
11. Calamari
12. Pho
13. PB&J sandwich
14. Aloo gobi
15. Hot dog from a street cart
16. Epoisses
17. Black truffle
18. Fruit wine made from something other than grapes
19. Steamed pork buns
20. Pistachio ice cream
21. Heirloom tomatoes
22. Fresh wild berries
23. Foie gras
24. Rice and beans
25. Brawn, or head cheese (Not a fan of random bits and pieces.)
26. Raw Scotch Bonnet pepper (Having eaten these contained within a food, I have no desire to eat them raw by themselves.)
27. Dulce de leche
28. Oysters
29. Baklava
30. Bagna cauda
31. Wasabi peas
32. Clam chowder in a sourdough bowl
33. Salted lassi
34. Sauerkraut
35. Root beer float
36. Cognac with a fat cigar (Not a smoker so probably won't do this one.)
37. Clotted cream tea
38. Vodka jelly/Jell-O
39. Gumbo
40. Oxtail
41. Curried goat
42. Whole insects (Uhm, no)
43. Phaal
44. Goat’s milk
45. Malt whisky from a bottle worth £60/$120 or more
46. Fugu (Not sure about this.... not really into food that could kill me suddenly.)
47. Chicken tikka masala (I hate chicken breast, but I've had this with other meats so I'm counting it.)
48. Eel
49. Krispy Kreme original glazed doughnut
50. Sea urchin
51. Prickly pear
52. Umeboshi
53. Abalone
54. Paneer
55. McDonald’s Big Mac Meal
56. Spaetzle
57. Dirty gin martini (Not really a fan of gin... too much like drinking a Christmas tree.)
58. Beer above 8% ABV
59. Poutine
60. Carob chips
61. S’mores
62. Sweetbreads
63. Kaolin (Does it count when my brother made me eat dirt as a kid?)
64. Currywurst
65. Durian
66. Frogs’ legs
67. Beignets, churros, elephant ears or funnel cake
68. Haggis
69. Fried plantain
70. Chitterlings, or andouillette
71. Gazpacho
72. Caviar and blini
73. Louche absinthe
74. Gjetost, or brunost
75. Roadkill (Not likely)
76. Baijiu
77. Hostess Fruit Pie
78. Snail
79. Lapsang souchong
80. Bellini
81. Tom yum
82. Eggs Benedict
83. Pocky
84. Tasting menu at a three-Michelin-star restaurant. (One day)
85. Kobe beef
86. Hare
87. Goulash
88. Flowers
89. Horse (No to Mr. Ed)
90. Criollo chocolate
91. Spam
92. Soft shell crab
93. Rose harissa
94. Catfish
95. Mole poblano
96. Bagel and lox
97. Lobster Thermidor
98. Polenta
99. Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee (Allergic to coffee so no.)
100. Snake

A Savory Lunch

So I decided today to see what all the fuss was about over at Savor. I have to say that I was impressed. My co-worker and I headed over there and had a very tasty lunch and were there and back in an hour. She had the Caprese panini with proscuitto added and declared it tasty. I had the crab cake sandwich and really enjoyed it as well. The sides today were potato salad and a coleslaw with vinagrette dressing. They were temporarily out of the potato salad (they were furiously boiling potatoes as we ordered) but since coleslaw pairs so well with crab cakes, I selected that. My co-worker, who dislikes mayonnaise-based coleslaw (I think she's crazy!!) was pleased as well. The salad was zesty with a good crunch level. I recommend it if they have it available.

I want to comment on their beverages as well. I initially had the raspberry Italian soda which was refreshing without being too sweet. My co-worker had the chocolate peanut butter speciality drink. It was to die for! Think a chocolate peanut butter milkshake without being thick like a milkshake. On the way out, I got the raspberry chocolate truffle drink (yes, I was on a raspberry kick) and it was equally good.

I only have two small complaints. They do pick-up dinners but only until 5:30 pm. Since I get off work at 5:30 pm, this means that I will never be able to partake of their goodness for dinner. I understand that working later isn't fun for everyone but I did notice the request for being open until 6 pm in their mailing list book, so it appears that I'm not the only one challenged by their hours.

Also, the menu in the restaurant labeled my sandwich as being a lump crab cake. Alas, there was not a lump in sight (or taste to be more accurate). Now, I don't necessarily think that using lump crabmeat for a sandwich is necessary, so I didn't mind the lack of lumps; however, it shouldn't be advertised that way.

I want to go back and try the Elvis panini. It's similar to something that I make at home sans the brioche. I can only imagine that brioche makes it even better.

If you don't trust only my opinion for eating at Savor, I'm backed up by two other reviews: inRich.com and Richmond.com.

Avec Eric

I must first begin by saying how much I adore Google Reader. The fact that my news comes to me rather than me finding it is in addition to the fact that it suggests blogs for me to subscribe to based upon my current subscriptions. Yesterday, I discovered Avec Eric which is reknown chef Eric Ripert's blog.

He is doing a series of videos posted on his blog all about cooking in his toaster oven! He calls his series "Get Toasted." Today's entry was Raspberry Clafouti which took only 8 minutes. People who know me well, know that I adore toaster oven cooking, especially in the summer months when it's too hot to heat up the whole oven.

Some of his other videos have been about Mustard Crusted Salmon Fillet, Tomatoes Provençal, Caramelized Mango with Rum, and Parmesan Zucchini with Balsamic.

They are all pretty short segments and the recipes are easy to make. Check it out!

Yum! Crab Salad

Hello, my name is Lauren and I'm a seafood addict. I am especially afflicted with this addiction in the summer months. So, to feed my addiction, I decided to make some crab salad this evening for dinner. It was so delicious and satisfying that I thought that I would just share my recipe with you all. I do have to admit that it is an adaptation of a recipe that I got from the June 2008 issue of Cooking Light but I changed it quite a bit tonight and made it much better in my opinion.

Crab, Corn, and Tomato Salad
1 Tbsp grated lemon rind
5 Tbsp lemon juice
1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 1/2 tsp honey
1 tsp Dijon mustard
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp fresh ground black pepper
2 cups fresh corn kernels (about 2 ears)
1/4 cup basil, chiffonaded
1/2 cup Vidalia onion, finely chopped
2 cups cherry or grape tomatoes, cut in half
1 medium avocado, cubed
1 lb crab (you may use lump or special.... special is more affordable)

Combine the first seven ingredients through the black pepper and whisk the dressing together.

Add the remaining ingredients and fold them all together. Serve immediately. It serves 4 as a regular salad and 2 as a main entree salad.

Enjoy!

Baba Ghanoush, Oh How I Love Thee!

I love when things just come together to make something that exceeds your expectations of taste.

I have a co-worker who has recently undergone surgery and some of us in our office have signed up to take her meals. Since she is a vegetarian, I decided to whip up a recipe that I got from Cooking Light (August 1997 issue to be exact), Ratatouille Bake. It is a very filling veggie recipe that is low in fat and calories without sacrificing taste.

In preparation for this recipe, I had purchased an eggplant at Ukrop's. The only eggplant on offer that met my standards of freshness was rather large. I only needed half of it for the Ratatouille Bake. So, I decided to roast the remainder (while cooking my casserole) and make some Baba Ghanoush for myself. Having lived in Kuwait, I gained an appreciation of Middle Eastern foods at an early age and Baba Ghanoush has always been an especial fav.

I smeared my eggplant with olive oil and sprinkled it with a little sea salt. It came out beautifully roasted. I then smashed it up and added about a tablespoon of tahini (sesame paste). I also added a splash of lemon juice (2 tsp at most) and then about 1 tblsp of fresh mint that I am growing in my Aerogarden. Then I just mixed it all together. Looking in my cupboard, all I could find that was even close to appropriate for dipping was Garden Vegetable Wheat Thins (they are quite good actually).

Let me tell you, I was in heaven! The flavors were just right and it was smooth and silky without being pasty. The mint was a wonderful addition to the flavor and provided a brightness. The eggplant had that just caramelized flavor. Readers, it was all I could do not to eat the whole bowl. I'm hoping that I can hold out long enough to take some to work tomorrow to share with RVAFoodie and get his opinion.

A note about the Ratatouille Bake: If you decide to make it, I have a few suggestions. I actually use two cans of tomatoes since I've found that only one makes it too dry (diced works just as well as whole). I also use the little 8 oz vegetable broth boxes so I really use 16 oz of broth which also helps with the dryness. I bought a block of feta that was 8 oz and used that and it turns out just fine. I also have found that substituting green pepper for the red pepper is a better option since you really lose what makes a red pepper different in the mix of everything (and green ones are significantly cheaper!). One last thing, after you add the broth and tomato and it comes to a boil, let it boil for at least 5 minutes. This ensures that your rice is fully cooked after baking. If you make it, let me know how you like it!

Zed's Cafe Never Again

I was browsing restaurant reviews that had come out recently and saw this one by Brandon Fox about Zed’s Cafe and thought it was worth checking out. So, I then went to Zed’s website and saw that they were soon to have a prix fixe dinner. They advertised on their website that it was three courses with a half bottle of wine for $23.99. This was such a good deal and based on the review that I had read, I decided to take my group there.

I called and made the reservation for 10 people (it’s been hard to get big groups together in the summer time). At the time, I explained who we were and about the group. I had such an overwhelming response from my group that I called back to see if they could accommodate 20 of us. They assured me that it wouldn’t be a problem.

A few days later, Zed’s called me to ask about the menu. I told them that we would be doing the prix fixe and they seemed relieved. So, I have spoken to the restaurant three times now before our dinner.

I arrive at Zed’s at 6:30 and a few of my members are already there. They had sat at the bar and ordered some wine. Apparently one of them mentioned that they were really happy about what deal we were getting with the meal and the wine. The manager approached me when she determined that I was the organizer of the group and told me that some of my members seemed to be mistaken about the deal for the evening. She said that they were under the impression that they would get a half-bottle of wine included in the $23.99 price. I told her that they were correct in thinking that because that was exactly what their website said. She told me that I was wrong and I insisted that their website said exactly that. Some of my members chimed in at this point and backed me up that I wasn’t seeing things. She said that she would investigate what the website said.

I asked for us to be seated at this point and looked around the dining room for a space large enough for 18 (we had 2 drop out at this point). All I saw was a table for 8 and two tables for 4 surrounded by a few tables for 2. She informed me that they did not want to move tables around and that we would have the tables for 8 and 4 and if there were any extra that they could have the tables for 2 as well. I told her that I really didn’t expect that my members would have to sit separately from each other and that I should have been informed earlier that the seating was a problem. I asked for the tables for 8 and 4 to be put together and they refused. The manager then made an excuse that she really didn’t know anything about my reservation but later contradicted herself by revealing that she knew that we had originally had a reservation for 10 and then changed it to 20.

The manager goes back in the office to investigate her website and returns to speak to me. She told me that the deal was really a half off of a bottle of wine even though the website was incorrect. I told her that while that may be what they intended, it was not what they had advertised. She refused to honor what their website stated. And here folks, I do have to admit that I used my blogging powers for ill. I politely told her that that was fine but that I’d be writing about it in my blog. She quickly scurried to the back office again and returns less than 2 minutes later with an offer of 2 free bottles of wine for the table (there are actually 13 of us at this point).

Now back to the matter of the tables. Verena, my friend and assistant organizer, arrives and ended up seated at one of the tables for 4 by herself. She was NOT happy about this set of circumstances. So, she approaches the manager and insists that the tables be put together. I think that the manger realizes at this point that she’s really stepped in it and they finally agree to put the 4-tops with the 8-top and we are all seated together.

I will interject here that the waiter who was making sure that our water was replenished and such was doing an excellent job. The service was not all bad.

My group members start perusing the menu and many are disappointed that the online menu and the actual menu differ quite a bit. I know that I had had my heart set on the pork cheeks.

The manger comes back to our table to take the orders herself. I am seated at the head of the table. She begins with the person seated on my left and ends with the person seated on my right. Yes, dear readers, you guessed it. She didn’t take my order. I quickly flag down another server and tell him that I was left out of the ordering. Can we all spell passive aggressive? He apologizes and takes my order.

From there, we all enjoy ourselves with lively conversation and drinking our free wine. One of the bottles that we got was a recent favorite of mine, Layer Cake Primitivo. It is a lucious zinfandel (the real stuff, not that pink crap) that everyone enjoyed. I highly recommend picking up a bottle or two or three. I recently cleared out Once Upon a Vine Southside’s stock but maybe they’ve gotten more in. The other bottle was a white and I apologize that I didn’t see what it was.

Our appetizers arrive. I had ordered the beet salad with walnuts and goat cheese. The salad was good although I only detected flakes of walnuts instead of actual pieces. It was like the bottom of the bag was sprinkled over my salad. Some of my dinner companions said the same thing about their salads. The other appetizer available was the sweet potato soup. No one, and I mean not a single person liked this. Frankly, I have never tasted a sweet potato that bland. It almost tasted like canned pumpkin was used to make the soup rather than fresh sweet potatoes. Some tried to add salt to brighten the flavor of the soup but it didn’t help. No one ate more than a few spoonfuls and then gave up. When the manager and our other waiter came to clear the appetizer plates, nothing was said to anyone about the almost full soup bowls even though it was painfully obvious that it was a definite miss.

After an acceptable interval, our entrees arrive. I had ordered the tilapia over a “spicy” slaw with a ginger-lime sauce. The tilapia was well cooked, however, there was nothing spicy about the slaw and no ginger-lime sauce was in evidence. Also, the fish and the slaw were approximately the same color so my plate was a mound of beige and cream. Yum!

The other entrees available were a Mahi filet over cheese grits and basil pesto and hanger steak over Wehani rice. My dining companions let me taste a little of some of their entrees and I found the cheese grits to be heavenly while the hanger steak was somewhat greasy. The Wehani rice was good but not spectacular in my opinion.

On to dessert. There were two options: vanilla pound cake and chocolate mousse cake. I ordered the chocolate mousse cake. When it arrived, it was definitely not a chocolate mousse cake. It was basically a brownie. A rather hard brownie at that. Now, I wouldn’t have minded if they had run out of the chocolate mousse cake and had substituted the brownie and told us about the substitution. Nothing was said about it at all. The vanilla pound cake was even worse. It was so dry that there were people pouring wine over the cake to make it even palatable.

In their favor, they did agree to do separate checks for us all.... see, I’m trying to show both good and bad.

Overall, the food was hit and miss (mostly miss) and the service (other than our one waiter) was pretty bad. Some of my members did say that they might give them another chance on their own but I, for one, won’t be going back to Zed’s Cafe.

If you’d like to read what some of my members had to say about their experience, go to: http://diningout.meetup.com/605/calendar/8100339/

The Perfect Steak

So last night I marinated and cooked a steak at home. I had a rather large strip steak which I marinated in garlic, Worcestershire sauce, and a Moroccan spice rub. Because it was kind of late, I didn't fire up the grill but rather cooked it on my stove top with olive oil It was very tasty but it got me thinking about what other people think is the perfect steak.

Marinate or not?
Grill or pan?
Strip or tenderloin?

Also posted at RichmondChic.com

Tipping the Scales

Originally posted on June 10 at: http://www.richmondchic.com/index.php/food-drink/article/tipping-the-scales/186

Let it first be said that I am a generous tipper. I almost always tip 20% and when it makes my math easier, I will often round up. For exceptional service, I have even tipped as much as 30%. So, when an establishment (either knowingly or through ignorance) attempts to get me to pay more than what I’m legally obligated to pay, I get a little pissy.

According to § 58.1-3833 County food and beverage tax, Item E (http://leg1.state.va.us/cgi-bin/legp504.exe?000+cod+58.1-3833), dining establishments are not allowed to charge tax on top of gratuity. Those figures should be arrived at separately. For example, if you go out to eat in Richmond and your subtotal is $10. Your tax (11%) and tip (let’s be nice and do 20%) should be $1.10 for tax and $2.00 for tip for a total of $13.10.

Usually, the restaurant isn’t the one at fault, though; it’s the consumer who looks at the bottom line and calculates their tip based upon the total when really it should have been done on the subtotal. So, the consumer looks at the bill for $11.10 and calculates $2.22 as tip for a total of $13.32. As you see, it’s not a huge difference, just 22 cents. But imagine that you have gone out for a fancy dinner with your significant other and your tab is closer to $100. Again, it’s not going to break the bank but it’s still dishonest.

When I get really steamed about this is when I’m with a large group or during Richmond Restaurant Week (remember, I’m a big tipper anyway) and a standard tip of 18-20% is automatically included. More often than not, they have calculated that automatic tip based on the total with tax. This, my fellow consumers, is illegal! You have the right to send that bill back and have your total recalculated based upon the tax laws of Virginia. It is normally not a huge difference in cost but I have done this on more than one occasion just for the principle of the matter. Many times, the server was unaware of this law but their manager and definitely the owner of the establishment should be aware of it.

I am also dismayed by the computerized systems that do this type of calculation automatically. Just such an event occurred to me recently. I went with a large party to a popular Richmond restaurant. I paid the whole tab on my credit card with the intention of individually settling up with people later. The bill exceeded $400. While the tip wasn’t automatically included, there was a handy-dandy little tip suggestion column at the bottom. Upon further inspection, the suggested tips were calculated on the subtotal plus tax. So, while this restaurant didn’t actually break the law by asking me to tip on tax, they did imply that I should. Who would normally check that amount in that type of situation?

So, next time you eat out, don’t be afraid to whip out your calculators!

Left Wanting at Bistro 27

Originally posted on May 15 at: http://www.richmondchic.com/index.php/food-drink/article/left-wanting-at-bistro-27

Have you ever really looked forward to dining somewhere only to be left wanting, not outright hating it, but definitely not having it live up to your expectations? I’m sure that you have. I had that experience recently at Bistro 27. I dined there with two of my girlfriends to celebrate a birthday. I was excited about the experience because I had heard good things about the restaurant and have been intrigued by its appearance every time I’ve passed.

Two of us arrived at our reservation time and were seated promptly. So far so good. We were brought water and were asked if we’d like to order something more. We chose an organic Pinot Noir from Austria (mainly because I’ve been accused of drinking too much California wine). The wine was odd but not unpleasant. It definitely did not have the full-bodied flavor that I typically associate with a Pinot Noir; however, it wasn’t a bad wine, just not what I expected. The waiter brought us our wine and poured. Again, so far so good.

I then started looking around. We were seated next to one of the restaurant’s many windows and looking at the sills, they were filthy! Not really a good sign. Then I moved my bread plate only to discover that the table cloth was dirty underneath it. Did they really just try to hide a smudge with a bread plate?! Again, not a good sign.

The other member of our party arrived and again, our waiter was right there to pour her a glass of our wine. He gave us a few minutes and then returned for our orders.

Our food arrived after a wait that was a little too long (especially considering that a table of two who arrived after us and ordered after us received their food and were half done by the time ours arrived). The food was good although my duck and pork barbecue mixture had little duck to recommend it. My companions ordered the Chicken Cordon Bleu and the Ravioli di Manzo e Fontina and were happy with their meals although one said that the beef wasn’t really in evidence in the ravioli. Since this was a birthday celebration, we decided to order dessert. I was very excited to see gelato on the menu, and not just any gelato but a chocolate hazelnut gelato. I hastily ordered that and eagerly anticipated its creamy smoothness. Imagine my disappointment when my gelato arrived and it was grainy. The flavor of the chocolate and hazelnuts was wonderful but the texture told me that this gelato had been made some time ago and had been left to semi-melt and re-freeze at least once. The birthday girl ordered the chocolate cake. She declared it to be tasty and dense.

I will say that our waiter was exceptional and was the one thing that far exceeded my expectations of the evening. His name was Wesley and he completely earned his tip that night. He was an attentive while not overbearing waiter who added small touches to our service (like folding my napkin over the back of my chair when I went to the restroom) that made our service experience a memorable one. I wish that I could say the same for the food and ambience.

Chef Stalking

Originally posted on April 30 at: http://www.richmondchic.com/index.php/food-drink/article/chef-stalking/105

Do you have a favorite local chef? I know many of us are ardent supporters of nationally and internationally known chefs (I love me some Gordon Ramsay as long as he doesn't yell at me), but what about local ones? Is there a chef who you would follow no matter where he or she went?

I am a superfan of one local chef, Andy Howell. I can actually lay at his door my status as a foodie today. It all started in the early 90's when he was the chef at a little (and I mean that literally) restaurant in Petersburg. It was named Portabello's and was hands-down my favorite restaurant, I was 16. You may think it odd that a 16 year old was into gourmet, but let me tell you, Andy made food that didn't seem like it was pretentious gourmet food. He made food that was just darned good! He also was willing to talk to you about it. He regularly mingled with the guests and had conversations with you. He knew his regulars and he made you feel welcome. You knew that he was happy to be cooking for you.

Then, to my horror, Portabello's closed! Andy moved on to a brief stint at the Swift Creek Mill Playhouse in their dining room. And then he was gone from the area. I didn't come to Richmond much back then, being buried down in Colonial Heights, and totally missed out on his Zeus Gallery days. You can imagine my elation when my mother announced to me one day, "I've found Andy!" Hallelujah! As soon as we could, we hightailed it up to Avenue 805 where I could once again experience bliss with Andy's crab, scallop, and shrimp griddle cakes (known at Café Rustica as the Mediterranean Short Stack). Upon walking in the door, Andy recognized us and welcomed us as if he had seen us just yesterday instead of having a gap of over seven years. I became a frequent visitor at Avenue 805 after that and recommended it to all of my friends and family. I spent many a happy hour leisurely dining and checking out the bra art on the walls.

Over time, I saw Andy less and less at Avenue 805 and then I heard the terrible news, he was leaving! Thankfully, this time I didn't have to wait 7+ years to find him again but instead just had to wait patiently for Café Rustica to open. I have been there three times now and am eagerly looking forward to my next visit as a treat for my mother on Mother's Day weekend. I can say enough about Café Rustica and the deliciousness that Andy produces. All I can say is go! Just don't stalk my chef, I've already claimed him.

Café Rustica
414 E. Main St. (between 4th and 5th)
804-225-8811
Breakfast and lunch: Monday-Friday from 7:30 a.m.
Dinner: Tuesday-Saturday, 5-10 p.m.
Brunch: Sunday
Non-smoking (thank you very much!)