After spending a couple of hours walking around the magnificent ruins of Uxmal, and before hanging out to the kick ass Cenote San Ignacio, we stopped in a small town for some lunch. Honestly, I have absolutely no idea what the town is called. It’s just a cute little town in the Yucatan. While driving through it [...]
Archive for February, 2010
Mayra
Posted in Restaurant, tagged cenote, chicken fajita, cocina economica, green peppers, lime, mayra, mcdonalds, onions, pollo, refried beans, salad, san ignacio, tomatoes, tortillas, uxmal, yucatan on February 26, 2010 | Leave a Comment »
Ippo
Posted in Restaurant, tagged america, ankimo, beer, black sesame seeds, briny, burgers, candied sweet potatoes, caviar, chicken fingers, cod, daigaku imo, daikon, ebisu, floral, foie gras, fugu, ginger, green bean, green onions, hamachi, herbal, ippo, izakaya, japan, kaki, land of the rising sun, las angeles, lemon, liver, macaroni, mackerel, mayonnaise, miso, monkfish, namero, oysters, ponzu, pork, pufferfish, sake, sashimi, scallions, seafood, shirako, soft roe, soy sauce, sperm sack, sushi, tartare, tempura, tokyo, tsukiji, tuna, wings on February 25, 2010 | Leave a Comment »
Alright, back to the Land of the Rising Sun. Better known as Japan. Yuki was at a gathering with a bunch of her friends one of the Saturday nights we were there last November. Instead of hanging out with her parents, whom I love to spend time with, I met up with an ex-coworker of hers [...]
San Benito Market
Posted in Restaurant, tagged achiote, avocado, carnitas, chili, chipotle, cilantro, empanadas, gyro, japanese, jugo de mango, la pasadita, lebanese, lime, merida, mexico, montezuma, nectar, onion, pico de gallo, pineapple, pork, radishes, red chili sauce, salsa, salsa verde, san benito, schwarma, sopas, tacos, tacos al pastor, tamales, thanksgiving, tortilla, turkey, umami on February 24, 2010 | Leave a Comment »
I’ve long been a believer that the only way to truly understand a different culture is to head straight over to the local markets. So, our first morning in Merida, Mexico, a few weeks ago with my mom and step-dad (they live in Merida) we stopped at the San Benito Market. What I love about the San Benito [...]
Blackbird
Posted in Restaurant, tagged asian pear, avocado, bait-n-switch, beautyheart radish, bisque, black bean, black chickpeas, black grape, black radish, blackbird, brittle, broccoli, brook trout, campari, cauliflower, cheese, chef kahan, chiboust, chicago, chicken, citrus, cocoa nibs, coffee, confit, cream, duck, earth, eucalyptus, fig, flageolets, foie gras, giardiniera, golden turnips, grapefruit, hazelnuts, ice cream, iced tea, jam, japan, junipers, lavender, manjari chocolate, molasses, mortadella, octopus, parnip, parsley root, pastries, pate, paul kahan, pave, pineapple, pumpkin seed, restaurant week, satsuma, satuma, sausage, semolina, sepia, shallot, short ribs, spaetzle, squab, sturgeon, sunflower seeds, sweet potatoes, tonka bean, torchon, vegetables, violet mustart, zinerman on February 23, 2010 | 1 Comment »
Our third Restaurant Week jaunt was for lunch yesterday at Blackbird. We had actually eaten there about 5 or 6 years ago for Yuki’s birthday dinner. I can’t remember what we ate, but I do remember being extremely impressed. We haven’t been back since but decided that a $22 pre fix lunch there was too [...]
Cafe Spiaggia
Posted in Restaurant, tagged alto adige, amaretti, baby arugula, balsamic vinaigrette, basil, battuta, brown butter, butternut squash, cappellacci, chef mantuano, chianti vinaigrette, chicago, chicken breast, chocolate, cinnamon, cipollini, escarole, fingerling, frisee, gelati, goat cheese, grapefruit, ham, italian food, italiana, lake michigan, onions, parmigiano reggiano, passion fruit, pasta, pear, pecorino siciliano, pera, pineapple, potatoes, red raspberry, restaurant week, sage, salad, sorbeti, speck, spiaggia, stracciatella, swiss chard, treviso, vanilla on February 22, 2010 | Leave a Comment »
Alright, Restaurant Week restaurant number 2…Cafe Spiaggia. I’ve long thought that Italian food in Chicago was sub par with only a couple of good restaurants around. Most Italian joints here serve big heavy sauces and overcooked pasta. Even some of the higher end ones I’ve been to were extremely disappointing. I’ve always wanted to hit up [...]
Japonais
Posted in Restaurant, tagged absolute vodka, arugula, blood orange, brocolini, brussel sprout, canon, chestnut, chicago, chicken, chocolate, cilantro, citrus vinaigrette, cocktail, cocoa powder, cream, daikon, ginger, lemon, lobster, mango, marcapone, martini, mousse, orchid, pea shoots, pear, pre-fix, restaurant week, rice, sashimi, shiitake, short rib, soy, spring roll, sweet potato, tuna, vanilla ice cream, wafer, yelp on February 21, 2010 | Leave a Comment »
Restaurant Week just started here in Chicago. Probably the best week in Chicago for foodies, especially broke foodies like me. Restaurants that participate offer 3 course pre fix meals at $22 for lunch and $32 for dinner. Of course drinks, tips, and tax are not included. However, it’s a great deal at some of the joints that [...]
Nikujaga
Posted in beef, Home Cooking, tagged beef, broth, carrots, chicken soup, comfort food, edamame, green beans, japan, konnyaku, meat and potato, mirin, onions, peas, pork, potatoes, rice, russet, shirataki, soy sauce, sugar, yukon gold on February 20, 2010 | 2 Comments »
The other night I tried my hand at making a classic home-cooking dish from Japan, Nikujaga. It is a stewed meat and potato dish that is the definition of Japanese comfort food. There are about as many different ways to make it as there are Japanese mothers (and Jewish husbands who cook for their Japanese [...]
Las Flamitas
Posted in Restaurant, tagged aqua safari, avocado, beef, broccoli, chicken, chicken consomme, enchilada, flan, garlic, grilled meats, grouper, habaneros, iowa, lime, mojo de ajo, mole, papas fritas, parrillada, pescado, plantain, pork, rice, salad, salsa, sex, soup, squash, tortillas, vegetables on February 17, 2010 | Leave a Comment »
Alright, my final Donna from Aqua Safari recommendation, Las Flamitas. Again, it’s off the tourist path so the prices are much lower and food is much much better. A couple from Iowa joined us for this lunch. He went diving with us and they were also looking for some local food options. So, we started off with [...]
Meatless Monday a la Yukiko
Posted in Home Cooking, Meatless Monday, tagged aburage, azuki, baby bok choy, corn starch, daikon radish, dango, dashi, dumplings, egg, enoki, flour, garlic, green onion, harusame, japanese, kinako, konbu, mayonnaise, meatless monday, mirin, mitarashi, mochi, mung bean, niboshi, olive oil, one pot, onions, ponzu, potato, presidents day, sardines, sato imo, seaweed, shiitake, shiratama, soup, soy flour, soy sauce, sugar, tofu, vinegar, wakame, water, yuzu-miso on February 16, 2010 | Leave a Comment »
So, Yuki made dinner for Meatless Monday this week. As you can see from the pic, she cooks a totally different style than me. She prefers numerous different plates with different items while I usually cook more of a one-pot gig. But, with it being Presidents Day and a day off work it was her [...]
Jjigae Don
Posted in Home Cooking, swine, tagged baby bok choy, carrot, dashi, fermented chili paste, green onion, japanese, japanese steel, kimchi, korean, kurobuta, miso, mitsuwa, pork, rice, shabu-shabu, shimeji, shungiku, silken tofu, tobanjan on February 15, 2010 | Leave a Comment »
After making a run to Mitsuwa for some Japanese ingredients (some staples in our kitchen) I let Yuki do the cooking last night. She made a dish called Jjigae Don. Well, that’s what she calls it anyway. Jjigae is an old Korean recipe (you see Ira, Yuki doesn’t have anything against Korea), a stew typically made with kimchi. She [...]
