Bacon and Butter

Sharing another foodie escapade story, this time I went on the adventure with my husband. "Bacon and Butter" the name doesn't sound appetizing and was not on my list of restaurant to visit even though I see it often on my drive around town. My husband had heard good things about it and we were looking to try something different so we decided to stop by.

The décor was clean and industrial but not overtly so and even though it has the diner vibe to it, there is a very different energy in this place. There is a parking lot next to it and the wait wasn't too long.

 

The menu was single paged and from the dishes offered you could tell it was very seasonal.
DH ordered Billy Club, chicken breast, jalapeno aioli, bacon, avocado, lettuce and mozzarella cheese along with fries, which was finger link potatoes sliced in half and cooked in fresh butter. I try to avoid white bread but after a bite of that sandwich and potato fries, I was ready to order a second lunch. There is something absolutely heavenly about butter and all things cooked in butter.

I ordered a very healthy seasonal greens salad with fresh sliced and grilled asparagus. It was served with poached egg and grilled cheese (possibly burrata cheese coated with parmesan). It was so fresh and delicious that I was convinced that it can not be as healthy as the other salads I have been eating all these while.

Needless to say, we were impressed by the freshness of ingredients and the unique preparations. We started talking to our server and was blown away. He was passionate about the food he served us, he knew the farms where our food grew, their locations and their owners. The way he conveyed all that information, you could tell its not a marketing tactic, he totally has bought into the farm to fork movement and takes great pride in it.

The last wind that blew us over the top was that the check was brought in an old book. What a wonderful reuse of these old books and best thing, you could totally browse the book while you wait for your server to process your check.

When I went in the restaurant, the name 'bacon and butter' conjured up an image in my mind and as I was leaving it, that image was completely changed. Such a great experience, wonderful fresh food and people who believe in sourcing and cooking from the best local ingredients.

My first time trying El Salvadorian cuisine...

Birds of a feather...
I'm so fortunate to be able to connect with my foodie co-workers, so here's sharing another food adventure story. I call myself an adventurous eater and have tried quite a variety of cuisine but every so often, I come across that I never knew existed and I'm humbled. I guess, I don't know what I don't know until I know about it...

One of my south American friend asked me if I'd be interested in trying El Salvadorian food. We had been working out on the field all morning so a sandwich and iced coffee in the shade of a tree would have been good but actual real food in an air-conditioned restaurant seemed like heaven and could not be refused.

Platano's grill was off interstate I-5 along the frontage road in Lathrop in San Joaquin Valley. I'm pretty sure, I'd not have picked this place on my own but now that I know about it, I'll take my family there.  

These in the picture above are Pastelitos our appetizer. It has a pastry dough shell, filled with chicken and veggies and is deep fried. Really yummy and even though I've had the combination of these ingredients, the flavor was very distinct. I'd recommend sharing as the amount of oil that was soaked in the shell was very evident.



This is what our main course looked like as we started to dig into our food. The small round stuffed bread are called Pupusa. It is flour dough bread cooked on a skillet and comes filled with a variety of flavors. We ordered Chicken and cheese, cheese and vegetable, cheese and beans and cheese and loroco (edible flower from Mexico). They were all extremely fresh and wonderful. I have tried pupusa before (not knowing that its el Salvadorian food) with corn flour dough and I liked those better for the nutty corn flavor but these were so fresh off the skillet that I didn't even remember the other kind till much later.
The black rice dish is Casamiento which is black bean and rice dish and is close to flavor as the rice and (red) beans but the black beans were much firmer and held their distinct taste.
One the on right is Platano (Plantain) served with sour table cream. The plantains were caramelized without any additional flavor and I really liked that. Usual flavoring of cinnamon and sugar makes it too artificial in taste, this was subtle flavor and went very well with the table sour cream.

The cabbage dish is called curtido, to me if felt like a cross between coleslaw and kimchi. Cabbage, carrots and onions are marinated in some vinegar based dressing and has a strong flavor of oregano but the veggies are still crisp and fresh. They served us a jar of it and we promptly gulped it down... one must eat their veggies, right?

We loved their salsa as well. It has robust roasted pepper flavor and was very spicy.
All in all, a wonderful food experience and even though it is a little out of the way from Sacramento, it would be a good family stop as you are heading into or out of town for vacation.

Mother... - restaurant review

Food, nurturing and sustenance seems so synonymous with mother (or parent) that even if an adult is talked to in a patronizing motherly (parentally) tone he or she is going to give in, specially when it comes to delicious food.

My friend chose this restaurant 'Mother' located on K street between 10th and 11th street and even before I entered to meet my friend, I saw this board and I knew its a perfect place to eat food and besides, someone please tell me, how do I refuse to go in after reading that sign...

First time trying Poke at Fish Face

I was in the middle of an important conversation when my tummy rumbled (it was almost lunch time) and my kind boss suggested we carry the discussion over lunch. She asked what am I in the mood for and I commented anything is good, salads, Japanese food or whatever she might want.

She snapped her fingers and said I have a perfect place for you, lets go for Japanese salad, Poke. I had not tried Poke before but I'm up for trying new food so it was decided that we'll go to Fish Face Poke Bar located at the Warehouse Artist Lofts in Sacramento historic district. Fish Face is a poke restaurant that offers a variety of fresh seafood salads and hand rolls with vegetarian, vegan and gluten free options on the menu.

Love the mural on Wall at WAL

The best part about Fist Face is that they use locally sourced and sustainable ingredients, and use products that are recyclable and compostable.

Wouldn't world be a better place if we only took what we need now and not for the perceived need of the future...

I picked, make your own salad option and it included Ahi Tuna, Octopus, Spicy Kimchi Ponzu, Daikon sprouts, Mango, white and green onions with Hiyashi Wakame Seaweed. They had local beer and Sake on the menu as well but it being a work day I didn't want to drink so I'll have to try that another time. Speaking of Sake, we recently went sake tasting and absolutely loved it, should share that experience soon.

I loved my poke salad, it was simple, fresh and full of flavor. I would definitely go back. My boss had a similar salad to mine and loved her salad, this is her favorite poke place anyways.

With the Sacramento mural festival going on (my previous post) and the pleasant weather this weekend accompanied by Poke salad would be a perfect outing to downtown Sacramento.

 

Pronto –Fresh Italian cuisine…

One of the joys of life for me is sharing food and drinks with friends and family, and being a foodie I love good food, home cooked or not. Most places that I have worked at, have always been good about making Fridays a little slow with more emphasis on team building and of course, team lunches.

So I thought, why not start a virtual Friday lunch with all my friends and co-worker that I left behind in Minnesota and some that are now spread all over the world.

To start with let’s visit Pronto, on the corner of 16^th and O Street in downtown Sacramento. Summer is still young and vibrant in the Golden State and that means fresh produces and delectable salads are what’s appealing to me.

I loved the fresh ingredients and unexpected combinations of flavors on the menu.

 

I had Caribbean Salmon Salad with spiced salmon, mango, red peppers, chopped pecans, goat cheese served with poppy seed dressing. The fried but not battered salmon provided perfect punch of flavor to the mixed greens. Mango added an unexpected burst of sweetness and tanginess complimented by crunch of pecans that are definitely healthier than croutons and of course nothing speaks summer flavor more loudly that the chevre (goat cheese).

All in all, a wonderful combination of ingredients and well proportioned. Easy to re-create at home and light enough for a lunch at work.

My friend tried the Farmer’s Market salad and she loved it. Her favorite thing on the salad was corn croutons which was served on a bed of mixed lettuce, roasted chicken, corn, avocado, tomatoes, dates, goat cheese and almond served with tarragon dressing. Again the flavors were well balanced but most importantly the ingredients were all farm fresh.

We both agreed that we’ll be back at this restaurant again…

Chinese restaurant - Hop Sing Palace, Folsom

Our recent move brought about a lot of changes and I've been talking about them in the past many weeks but one need that left a gaping whole in my life but took me a little while to figure out was not knowing my favorite restaurants on my fingertips.  

On a harsh and emotional day when the triple degree temperature prevent extensive cooking at home, one might wish to wallow themselves in black bean sauce or a schezwan curry but for the lack of information about a good chinese place. After suffering through many a mediocre chinese restaurant, I finally found a place I love. Hop Sing Palace is located in historic Folsom district and while walking from the train station towards 'Snooks' our favorite ice-cream place we were drawn in with the wafting curry smells. 

Lunch at Manny's Steak House

Omnivore's real dilemma - eat a big steak or a bigger one ...?         (Post courtesy DH)

Steakhouse - the name conjures up the image of dimly lit high ceiling-ed rooms lined with deep leather chairs suffering stern faced black-suited men swirling old scotch while discussing the fate of the industry or economy as they attack giant steaks while being attended upon by dour faced waiters in coattails. No women in sight anywhere and not a word or gesture out of place.
Such was the image that conjured up in my head causing some trepidation, when the better half of this marital equation casually suggested:
"Manny's Steakhouse for our anniversary?"
It was rather uncharacteristic of her given as she usually tries to balance out my excesses and indulgences (all in service of gastronomy assuredly ) with healthier endeavors. The draw of a good steak helped us get over our reservations and it was a good thing it did.

Located in the historic Foshay Tower in the heart of downtown Minneapolis Manny's steakhouse (Located: 825 Marquette Ave, Minneapolis MN, 55403) is nothing like my imaginings. The Maître d' was (gasp) a woman and there were women serving as well as enjoying the hospitality. Not quite the male bastion a steakhouse is made out to be.

Peninsula - Restaurant review

I have invited DH to share his thoughts about restaurant Peninsula, on our recent visit; welcome Devesh...

Peninsula - the word conjures up different images for different people. Geography majors think of the definition, my 8 year old said - "Florida". But for two foodies making this culinary journey from dish to scrumptious dish, the word now has come to mean deliciousness.

(Located: 2608 Nicollet Ave  Minneapolis)

Photo credit: Peninsula restaurant

And for this, we have none other to thank, than our intransigent government, which has unceremoniously shut down on us. So, on a Friday, we decided to take care of some pending business with a certain office of the U.S. Government. So we made a 20 mile drive to said office and were told by a security guard - with what I imagined was a mixture of frustration and relief - that the particular service we sought had been deemed inessential during the shut down. I imagined him beaming with pride that at least HIS function was still essential.

But we're never ones to end a story on a note of frustrated anti-climax are we?

So, we found the shortest route to Peninsula - our local purveyor of Malaysian cuisine, and quickly stuck our noses in the menu.