Wednesday, January 27, 2016

Solo Road Trip Day 3: Memphis BBQ

I started out day 3 with my car completely covered in ice. Thanks a pantload, Nashville. I de-iced myself like a true midwesterner and drove to the hip coffee joint so I could get myself revved up for a drive in the snow.

I arrived at Barista Parlor around 8:30am, walked in, and was told they not opening until 9am because of the ice. This made me laugh, of course, but I guess Tennessee isn't as used to waking up to snow and ice as Minnesotans are. I hung out and listened to Gilmore Guys, and at 9am myself and a group of other patrons walked in.




The space at Barista Parlor is beautiful. An open layout, I believe it used to be a transmission shop. I bet in the warmer months it is a really cool place to hang out. I checked out the menu, and decided on a couple of specials.



For coffee: The Irish Whisker. This drink is coffee, orange, anise and cream. Served in a highball glass, it was delicious and decadent. The only bummer was that the cream was kinda lukewarm, which I find to be the worst.




For food I went with the BP Sausage Biscuit. Sage sausage, a fresh biscuit, housemade cherry jam and an egg. This was divine. The jam was especially fantastic, and it took a while as the biscuits were fresh out of the oven. Fantastic.


In Summation: A lovely space to get some work done and some fancy coffee. Downfall: the baristas were pretty snooty. The back of house staff who delivered the breakfast were full of good service. Maybe they should talk.




I then made the trek to Memphis, which took a little longer than expected because of the weather. When I arrived, I was starving. I ran across a vintage shop: Red Velvet Vintage. One of the owners, Vera, gave me the recommendation to hit up Central BBQ for the Memphis style ribs. I will always go where the locals tell me, so off I went! 





Central BBQ has been around since 2003, with 3 locations in Memphis. I was told to get the ribs, and I am not one to go against a local recommendation. I went with the dry ribs, as I knew I could dip in sauces that they had available to customers. I ordered a rib plate with 2 sides: Mac and Cheese (obvs) and turnip greens. 



This is fantastic. The ribs were smokey, fall of the bone perfect. I tried both the hot and mild BBQ sauces, I am into the mild which seems odd, but it had a depth of flavor that was beautiful. The turnip greens, also smokey and lovely, went well with the spicy vinegar they had available. The Mac and Cheese, again, noodles over cooked but still tasty. The funniest part of it: they had lowery's season salt on top of the Mac and Cheese, which made me laugh and also made me feel 10 again. 

In Summation: Can't wait to go back to Memphis and try the pulled pork from Central BBQ. 

I wanted something sweet: so I drove around downtown Memphis and found myself an adorable little bakery. I came across the Cake Gallery Baketique, and had to find out more.    



                

OH MAN. This is my kind of joint. Big, beautiful cakes with fun flavors like key lime and the cake I got: Memphis Mayhem. 



  


Layers of dark chocolate, red velvet, and white cake with chocolate and vanilla frosting. I AM IN. A giant slab of cake for $3.95. It took me 3 hours to eat this piece of cake, and it was worth every delectable bite. I was talking to to the owner baker of the baketique, and let her know I was just passing through. She gave me a dozen cake balls on the house for the road. Love that! 

In Summation: MORE CAKE PLEASE. 



Next up: everything is bigger in Texas. 


Now Listening: 










Wednesday, January 20, 2016

Solo Road Trip Day 2: Nashville Hot

We all know that I love me some fried chicken. Minneapolis has been blessed with some excellent fried chicken as of late (thanks, Revival!) but there is nothing like the real deal. When I was mapping this trip out, I knew that Nashville Hot chicken was a must.

I did a little research, and came across Hattie B's Hot Chicken. This place seemed right up my alley. There are two locations, and I went to the one closer to downtown Nashville, by Vanderbilt University. A small joint, seating about 20 inside and about 20 or 30 more outside, Hattie B's is a well oiled machine. Counter service, you go up and order your two piece, three piece, half bird, etc. Plates come with 2 sides, and you can get you chicken one of 5 different heat levels. Starts at southern (no heat) to SHUT THE CLUCK UP! (tears inducing). I went with the classic Hot, which is about a 3 on the heat scale.


         


Hattie B's really does it right. I got the small white (I have so many problems with this statement) which is a breast and a wing. I wanted a piece of dark as well but thought that might be overkill. It really would have been, I actually ordered perfectly for once! For sides I decided on pimento mac & cheese and southern greens. And yes, I ordered the banana pudding to go.

I did something I very rarely do, which is order a beer. A beer? Who am I? Well, it's beer but kinda not beer. Stigel-Radler Grapefruit is more like delicious grapefruit soda with a hint of beer. I gotta remember this.

The chicken was perfection. Hot but not so hot you can't taste anything. That little bit of sweetness (sorghum I am guessing?) really gives it a beautiful balance. House made pickles on white bread. Lovely. I had some bleu cheese dressing for dipping, and it was needed. After a couple of bites that heat starts to creep up!

The mac & cheese was tasty, the noodles a little overdone for my taste. But old school flavor. Love it. The greens had a smokey goodness from the bacon and they were perfectly cooked. It was the exact right amount of food.




I took the banana pudding back to my hotel with me and devoured it while watching Crazy Ex-Girlfriend on my computer (thanks to Pop-Rocket for the recommendation!). Not the best, not the worst. Made my night.

In Summation: Yes Please. 

Next up: Nashville Breakfast to Memphis dinner. And everything inbetween. 


Now Listening:


Solo Road Trip: Day 1: Chicago and South Bend

I left the Twin Cities bright and early so I could make it to Chicago for lunch. I had a plan. Au Cheval. Burger. Bliss. I zoomed through Wisconsin and rolled up on the place at about 1:30pm.

Something I forgot: Monday January 18th is a holiday. Yay for holiday, boo to tons of Chicagoans having the day off. The wait at Au Cheval was 3 hours. At 1:30 on a Monday. ARGH. They close the kitchen for dinner change over at 3pm, so I was SOL. DOUBLE ARGH.

Luckily, Au Cheval is located on West Randolph, amongst many other fantastic restaurants. I decided to walk down the block and hit a place I have been recommending for years, but had never actually gone.

Little Goat is the sister restaurant to Girl and the Goat, both by Stephanie Izard. I had been to the Girl and the Goat a few years ago for my birthday and had a fantastic experience. I figured the same would apply to Little Goat. I rolled up to a packed house, but there were a couple of seats at the dining counter so I snagged one.

I was greeted warmly by my server, who gave me free coffee as I was sitting really close to the back door (it was 13 degrees in Chicago that day, and that door opened often). She let me know that everything is a la cart, and since I was there kinda late in the game they were out of cinnamon rolls.

I dove into the menu: man oh man. It is a beast. Little Goat is very much upscale diner fare (not unlike my current Minneapolis obsession: Nighthawks). There is all day breakfast, sammiches (yes sammiches), burgers, salads, soups, bakery, and full on entrees. I was so in the mood for a burger, but since I had that Au Cheval burger on my mind, I knew I couldn't do a burger here. It just wouldn't be what I had been thinking about. So I perused the menu, and decided on the tonkatsu sammich and a side of brussels sprouts.

WHOA. Maybe this is the thing with the elevated diner, but the portions are INSANE. The tonkatsu sammich is a giant pork chop, breaded and fried, then drenched in asian bbq, japanese mayo, and a cabbage slaw on thick white bread. It was delicious, but enormous. I could have easily shared this with someone else, I only ate half of it!



The brussels sprouts are done with sliced almonds, a spicy fish sauce (I am pressuming nuoc cham) and crispy onions. Perfectly done, and again SO MUCH FOOD. I will say the half sammich with the sprouts would be a lovely leftovers breakfast with an egg on it.


Now, when I walked into the restaurant the hostess was talking to one of the servers and letting her know what the cake special was for the day. Cheez-it Cake. I AM SORRY, WHAT? Cheez-it CAKE? Okay, there is no way on this earth I am not going to get that. I was super stuffed after that meal, so I got the cake to go so I could share it with Professor Ruiz when I got to his place in South Bend. 

Cheez-it cake. An interesting concept, kind of a strange execution. It was basically white cake with chocolate covered Cheez-Its in the middle and on top. The cake was decent, the frosting was fine, but it wasn't much to write home about. Especially for $8 (!!!). 

In Summation: Little Goat is a great diner. I would maybe skip dessert and go to Bang Bang for Pie. 


I got to South Bend, J and I went to a talk by Patrisse Cullors and Opal Tometi of the #BlackLivesMatter movement and then went to Blaze for pizza. I took no photos of Blaze, cuz, well, Blaze. It was totally fine. The only one I know of in the Twin Cities in on the U of MN campus REALLY close to Punch, which seems real silly to me. 






Next stop: Nashville! 

Now Listening: 


Friday, January 15, 2016

I'm a Hustler, Baby.

Where to even begin.

When we last left our traveler she was getting squeezed out of a job she loved and trying to figure out the next step. She decided she should stay in the shoe world in some capacity, so let's do big department store retail. That lasted 2.5 months. Then, let's try an office 9-5 type gig so she can have the weekends free and maybe continue to look for a shoe thing. That lasted 1 month.

And here we are. (I will now stop talking in the 3rd person. That was real weird, huh?) I have figured some things out about myself.

1. I need variety. Lots of it.
2. I love working with people.
3. I have no capacity to sit at a desk for 40 hours a week.
4. The shoe world is where I want to be.

Now that we know these things: what is our fearless food blogger/bus model/shoe enabler/service industry girl to do?

Here is the plan.

Step 1: Secure gigs for the next few months. CHECK.
Step 2: Make sure I have enough security to do something wacky. CHECK.
Step 3: Get on the road.

Step 3 is about to begin. It's going to be a shorter trip than I originally thought, as I am gonna start a new gig in about a week. However, a week on the road, visiting some pals, and eating some good food is going to be healing for my head and my soul.

Alright, 2016. Let's get this party started.




Wednesday, August 12, 2015

Feelin' Stronger Every Day

Again, I apologize for the few and far between posts here. It's been one crazy summer ('sup John Cusack). However, I got on the road last week and put some delicious stuff in my face, whilst running around the city and suburbs of the greater Chicagoland area.

I had been hearing about the Chicago branch of Mario Batali's Eataly  since it opened last year, but I so rarely get to downtown Chicago without a mission that I hadn't made the trek. Lucky me, one of the stores I had to visit is a block away so lunch at Eataly for me! Hurrah!

This place is ENORMOUS. It has retail, classes, restaurants, markets, cafes and a wine shop. I went to the La Birreria, which is basically the bar with lots of local beers and a good selection of wine and small plates. Since it was lunch I thought it the way to go.

First off: WOW. Worst service I have ever had in Chicago. I was floored, as I am used to amazing service in this city. I was the only person sitting at the bar and there was maybe 1 other table, and I was ignored for a good 5 minutes. Dubious, to say the least. I almost gave up but was finally greeted by a bartender. I ordered a glass of Prosecco, the Rucola salad and the Prosciutto Crudo pizzette. I wanted to get it all in fast in case no one talked to me again (which BTW they didn't).

The salad came first: lovely. A pile of fresh wild arugula, grana padano and a balsamic vinaigrette. After a full day of running around the southern suburbs of Chicago this was exactly what I needed (well that and the Prosecco. Yeah, I am a lady who lunches: what of it?). Crisp, rich depth of flavor with the cheese and perfectly peppery arugula.

The pizzette came out quickly afterwards: ADORABLE. Fried dough with raw prosciutto di parma, stracciatella and cherry tomatoes. I cannot think of a better size pizza for one, it was the perfect amount of food. The stracciatella is made in house daily, and man oh man was it divine. They do have a tasting plate of all the cheeses, I am going to have to do that at some point. All of the cheeses! For me!

In summation: The food at Eataly is fantastic. They really need to get someone in there to fix the Front of House, though. That is extremely off putting.


I did a bunch more running around for work and then ended up at Parson's Chicken and Fish in the Logan Square neighborhood (this is where I lived when I was in Chicago for 2 minutes back in 2011). I have been hearing about this place for a while, kind of the hipster fried chicken joint. So, I obviously had to try it.


I decided I wanted to get take out, it had been a long day and I was feeling like a night of Law & Order and take out was on the menu. I got to Parson's and sat at the bar. The bartender and I bonded immediately, as we both have pie tattoos (yay pie!) and I ordered up my take out. While I sat there though, I thought I should probably have a snack and a cocktail as I waited. I ordered up a half dozen oysters and a frozen negroni.


FROZEN NEGRONI. This is genius. At Parson's they have a couple of those frozen drink machines that you see in Vegas. I have never had one that has been this delicious. Bitter and full of boozy goodness, not overly sweet like most of those drinks tend to be. The oysters were blue points and perfect. My take out order got to me swiftly, so back to the suburbs I went!


I ordered the Parson's Hot Chicken: which is 2 pieces of fried chicken with the hot hot goodness, white bread and fresh pickles. I also got a side of hush puppies and a slice of pie that the restaurant gets from Bang Bang. I love me some spicy chicken, so I was really excited to get down with this. It was not too hot, not too sweet, and the chicken was still juicy and perfectly cooked. It had a great kick, don't get me wrong, it just wasn't burn your face off hot. The hush puppies were good: but I think would have been way better if not to-go. They lost some of their crispy goodness in the trek to the hotel. The pie, not surprisingly, was divine. Key lime happiness. I sure like me some Bang Bang.




In summation: I can't wait to go back to Parson's and eat there. The service was great, and everyone working and eating seemed really happy to be there.


The next day I had lots of work to do but had to make time to see my girl Bridgid. There is a newish ramen place we both had been dying to try: so off to Wicker Park we went!

Furious Spoon  just opened this year right on Milwaukee Ave in the heart of Wicker Park. It is a small place with some giant communal tables and a perfectly honed menu. It's ramen, plain and simple. There isn't 1 million items on the menu, just cold ramen, hot ramen, as few sides. Boom. Ramen. This makes me really happy. There is no hemming and hawing: just pick your ramen and slurp it up. Fantastic.


I ordered the Furious Ramen (how could I not) which consists of spicy miso, pork belly, white pepper chicken, a poached egg, marinated mushrooms, garlic relish and fury sauce. What is fury sauce you may ask? It is a house made apple chili sauce, and it has some kick! I didn't even need the Shichimi (which I love). This ramen had such complexity and depth, it was so healing. I have had a rough summer and this is exactly the thing I needed to sooth my soul. Bridgid had the Vegetable Ramen as she is a vegetarian. I tried it, and it was delicious. Big chunks of roasted garlic make this ramen special.


In summation: Yes and yes. Can't wait to go back. I see that they are opening a second location in Logan Square with a rooftop patio: so I will for sure have to check that out!


We then walked over to Stan's Donuts, as I cannot pass up an adorable sign or pastries. Stan's is actually a place originally from LA: starting in 1963. It has recently made its way to Chicago, right in the midst of the crazy intersection of Damen, North and Milwaukee. They have a crazy array of donuts and delicious Intellegentsia coffee. I got a cinnamon sugar pretzel twist and a meyer lemon bismark for the road.


Both were delicious! Not the best donuts I have ever had but certainly not the worst. The cinnamon pretzel had a really cool texture, almost like a paratha. The meyer lemon curd was divine. 



In summation: if I am in the area and hankering for a sweet I would totally stop in! I do want to try one of the peanut butter pockets. Next times, Stan's!




More to come from door county! 






Tuesday, June 30, 2015

Hanging with Professor J.Ru: A week in South Bend

I know I have mentioned this before, but here I go again: I have surrounded myself with academics. I don't exactly know how this happened, I have a fair amount of people in my life who are not within the academic elite. However, those closest to me seem to have higher degrees. Enter, Professor J.Ru.

(This is me and J with our friend Nichole: also an academic: from the MN state fair 2 years ago)


J and I went to undergrad together, and we have been friends ever since. We have both lived in various cities, countries, been through relationships and jobs and ups and downs. Through it all, we are still dear friends. He is a professor (just got tenure! go J!) at a large university in South Bend, Indiana, so when I found I was to be in Chicago for a long stretch I decided to spend the work week with my dear J. 

I started my journey at Vegan Vortex in Chicago: a seasonal vegan marketplace run by my ladyfriends Natalie and Ana. They put on a fantastic event with vegan vendors of food, bakery, clothes, houseweres, and much more! If you are in Chicago while one of the Vegan Vortex markets are going, definitely check it out. I got amazing pies from Pie, Pie My Darling and fantastic candles from Last Craft Designs. I bought 4 mini pies so J and I could sample. (side note: THESE PIES WERE FANTASTIC. Our faves were the lemon creme and the pb&j)



I made to to South Bend about 3pm, and J greeted me at the door with "GET ME OUT OF THE HOUSE." Welp, okay! Let's go! He had an excellent plan for a wee trip to Three Oaks, MI. About 40 minutes out of South Bend and an hour and a half out of Chicago, J tells me it's like the Hamptons for Chicago. It is a small, quaint town that is full of really amazing curiated antique shops and art galleries. And even better? A whisky distillery. 


J truly does know the way to my heart. Good food and killer cocktails are just what this girl needed. We had a plan of watching all of House of Cards season 3 in the 4 days we were to be together, however first we get fancy (before the caftans and curlers come out). 

Journeyman Distillery is a newer distillery, opened in 2011. They do small batch whiskey and other spirits and certified organic. Journeyman does distillery tours, sell their product on site and also have a tasting room with food. We got ourselves a table and checked out what they had to offer.

We decided to start with a sidecar (me) and a lavender gimlet (J). We both are really in to gin lately, especially in the summer. Both cocktails were perfectly balanced, boozy but smooth. For food we ordered up the soft pretzels with pub cheese. Why did we not order like 4 orders of this? I am always on the hunt for the perfect pretzel with cheese: and this was it. I am thinking about it months later.



In summation: Journeyman is fantastic. There are so many beer taprooms all over, it was great to go to a place where I can find drinks I like and food that is tasty. I also bought some of their whisky and gin for later drinking. 

So the rest of my time in South Bend was basically watching House of Cards in a housecoat, making food at home and drinking gin (yes we are all class).  So I am going to have to go back to South Bend to get some deets on restaurants there. More to come! 







Thursday, June 18, 2015

A little bit of Durham in my Life

I wanted to post just a little thing about the other places I hit when I wasn't weekend warrioring in Chicago.

As you may know from the biscuit blog: I spent 5 days in Durham with my sister. While there, I met up with a friend, Ana, to eat some Peruvian chicken. Yes, this confused me too. But apparently there is a bit Peruvian population in North Carolina, and Mami Nora's is the place to go.

                                   

Ana picked me up and we went to a little shack that was packed to the gills. This is my kind of place, no frills and full of people so you know it's good. I asked Ana what to get: she is a butcher and knows the good stuff. She said dark meat with 2 sides: so that's what I did. Perfectly cooked rotisserie chicken with black beans and sweet plantains.

                                                 

The chicken was perfectly seasoned, juicy and a two piece was just the right amount. The black beans and sweet plantains are an excellent complement to the chicken: along with the dipping sauces provided. A delicious lunch with an excellent new friend.

                                                  

In summation: I would love to go back and try more things! I am a yucca fry junkie and they gots 'em. Next time Mami Nora.





UPDATE: okay, so it's been like two months since I was on this trip and I slacked slacked slacked. So I am gonna do my best to recollect all of this goodness.

Every time I go to Durham, Jecca tells me we HAVE to go to this pizza place. And yet, we never seem to make it there. This time, we did. Along with Eli and their fabulous friend Ben, we hit up Pizzeria Toro. 



Pizzeria Toro is a woodfire pizza place with an upscale feel. Local ingredients, warm cozy setting, and handcrafted cocktails. Jecca had been warning me for ever that there would be a long wait and that we would get some cocktails in the bar. To our surprise, we were seated immediately and started perusing the menu.

Now, I don't know how this is my life, but I am surrounded by academics and vegetarians. I have no idea how this happened, but I am not mad at it! So there would be no sharing in my world at this restaurant, which is just fine by me. I was very excited about a cocktail with moonshine (I feel in love with moonshine 6 years ago in NOLA at Cochon). BAH! They were out of it. No matter, an Old Fashioned it is. Very nicely balanced and full of booze, just like I want it.

We decided to start with a couple of things: one of which was the suppli el telefono with chanterelles and mozzarella. Dumplings of risotto deep fried and served in a cone? Well OKAY!


I then ordered the white pizza with hog island clams, hot pepper and grana padano. Holy hell, that is some good pizza. Salty, spicy and full of the sea. Sounds crazy but it balanced out very well. Also, look how pretty! 

In summation: can't wait to go back next time I am in Durham, which will most likely be sooner rather than later. 

Okay: now there are a bunch of other places we went that I can't for the life of me do super in-depth stuff on. SO: here are links and photos and highlights!

Locopops: handcrafted popsicles. I had the strawberry balsamic: FOR YUM. 


Parts&Labor/Morotco : really excellent bar with patio and great food. Jecca called this the Triple Rock of Durham, which I can totally see. Lots of bands play at this place as well. Highlights: the artichoke beignets, fried oyster salad, noodle salad, cucumber collins and Jecca. 










Rose's Meats and Sweets: I HAVE TO GO BACK THERE NEXT TIME I AM IN DURHAM. I didn't get the full experience I think. I was super full and I over-ordered and was kind of a dummy about it. Everything was delicious but I was just not feeling 100%. But here are some photos of the awesomeness. Highlights: Shortbread cookies with meyer lemon curd, beautiful BBQ brisket sandwich with housemade pickles. 









I am full just talking about this! Can't wait to go there again.