freezedriedicecream's Profile
Thoughts/Reviews from a recent Manhattan Foodie Trip
I looooove the hot chocolate at Angelina's in Paris (I have some of it in my fridge from my last trip!).
Uhockey, et al: I'm so very excited that I will be teaching this fall on 16th St, between 5th and 6th, so I will be o-so-close to City Bakery and the hot chocolate. Not a bad way to start the morning. I've never been offered any sort of whipped cream at City Bakery?!? I've had one of the homemade marshmallows, but I'd love some whipped cream to "thin" the hot chocolate!
Food Shopping in Breckenridge, CO
So, as it turns out, we did more dining that cooking.
We had the birthday dinner at The Ranch at Keystone, which was pretty good. The server was fantastic, and five courses for $100 (without wine and cocktails) is a great deal.
We had dinner at the Briar Rose one evening. I'd had dinner there a couple of years ago and it wasn't great. But this time around it was fantastic. The root vegetable gratin was excellent. I even had some great Blue Point oysters (against my better judgment) which were fresh and salty. The potatoes Lyonnaise were a bit odd, unlike what I would traditionally understand as Lyonnaise style (these seemed to be cubed and roasted, as opposed to sliced and skillet fried?). It was much lovelier than I remembered!
Food Shopping in Breckenridge, CO
I ordered the Pie in the Sky cookbook (I figure I can leave it with my sister-in-law?) and got some help from a Summit Daily writer on making Yorkshire Pudding in high altitude. I'm looking forward to the trip at the end of the week! Thanks for the recommendations, all!
Food Shopping in Breckenridge, CO
Thanks for the help. I've got to take the shuttle up from the airport so I don' t have the luxury of stopping on the way. (My super thoughtful dad and step-mom don't want to wait for my flight to get in so they're driving up without me!! But they've said, "We're stopping at Sam's Club, so tell us what you need." God bless.)
I refuse to go to Walmart, but I had forgotten about the Safeway in Frisco. (Used to shop at Safeway while living in Sacramento.) I'll spend Friday hoarding as much produce as I can.
As long as everyone is so helpful, is there a bakery in town? Or does City Market have a bakery. I'm skeptical that I'll be able to make any good bread in the altitude. By the time I figure it out, I'm be on my way home. Did I read somewhere about a French bakery?
Jfood's final meal this week at 112 Eatery (MSP) - Very good
jfood- The nori "encrusted" steak at 112 is one of my all-time favorite things. Some friends like to brush aside the wasabi, but I love it!! I haven't been to 112 in nearly two months, but the last time I was there they had cream corn on the menu. Ahhhh, cream corn, rich and buttery ... a unique complement to the tang of the steak.
Food Shopping in Breckenridge, CO
We've rented a house in Breckenridge, CO for a week over Christmas (and to celebrate my dad's 60th Birthday). I've been doing a lot of reading on high altitude baking, though I'm always looking for advice. My brother and sister-in-law are Breck locals, so of course I've run the question by them, but they're not foodies.
So my question is, will I actually be able to do some grocery shopping in Breckenridge? I know there is a City Market, but are there gourmet shops? Places I can buy cheese? I'm having these horrible images of the town running out of produce while we're there.
I think we're having an extended dinner for my dad's birthday at The Ranch in Keystone. But I'm open for other suggestions while we're there. I love Breckenridge, and can't wait to get back out there, despite my food paranoia!!
[MSP] Al Vento
I went to Al Vento with some friends on Saturday night. Ish. Service was terrible and the food was just OK. (And can I just add that it was SO DARK in the main dining room that I had to build a bread plate tower to hold the dying votive high enough to see what I was eating.)
But I digress. Our server repeatedly left the table after taking three out of four orders (drinks, starters, mains, etc.) He brought one starter to someone at our table and then never returned. When we asked about the shared calamari we ordered, he said, that yes, we'd ordered it. And then didn't come back for 10 minutes. Our friend went ahead and started eating. When we asked a second time, he affirmed we'd ordered it. Then about another 10 minutes later, when he arrived with salads, he confessed he just ordered it on the fly because he'd forgotten??? Don't ask about the drink orders. Hilarious.
The calamari that eventually came was quite chewy. I hate that. I had a mista salad with grilled peaches and goat cheese. It was dressed well and the peaches were a good balance with the goat cheese. But then I had the scallops. Someone mentioned somewhere about the salsa/chutney mix on top of each scallop. Couldn't figure out what it was, so I brushed it aside. The scallops were cooked well. The corn risotto TASTED good, but there was a bit of a crust on the bottom. I have no idea how it got there. Like the plate had been sitting on something very hot? Or maybe it was cooked in a shallow pan- they forgot it was on the fire- and then slid it out like a pancake?
A friend ordered the melon with prosciutto and balsamic. I guess kudos to American portion size because she received the whole darn melon. Even a woman at the table next to us commented. But it was so soaked in balsamic that she only ate about a third. She did say what wasn't soaked was good.
I do have to say that the pork my friend tried was fantastic! Melt in your mouth tender.
We didn't order pasta because folks had said they were better known for their protein. I don't think we'll be going back. Pasta is always a Broders call for me. No question.
I wanted to like Al Vento. But I didn't.
Best Burger (MSP)
Like Blowphishery, I sheepishly (yet confidently!) loved the burger at Salut. Maybe it's my love of salty things, but there was a good saltiness to the burger that made it quite enjoyable!
My experience at the Nook was subpar. I wanted to love it! And I did love the fries. But our service was terrible (we were sitting no more than five feet from the bar where our server avoided eye contact for nearly 15 minutes while she chatted with friends at the bar). When I walked over and asked her if she could take our order she appeared put out. Seriously annoying. Back to the burger: I had some sort of bacon and bbq "nookie". The sauce was so sweet it was inedible. And I'll eat darn near anything! I couldn't tell you what the actual meat tasted like, as I couldn't even scrape enough of the sauce off to enjoy the burger.
2008 MN State Fair
OK, I need to know where to find the honey sunflower see ice cream!
I'm flabbergasted by the love for Mouth Trap cheese curds!! I respectfully disagree. I need the outdoor version. And I've tried to find cheese curds that taste as good outside the fair, but those Town Talk curds are not anything like fair curds. Fair curds are sloppier. Why can no one do proper curds outside the fair??
Our quickie route at the fair:
Curds
Quick jaunt across the street for 1919 Rootbeer
Down the road for Grilled Corn
Sweet Martha's cookies
Dash to the milk booth before the cookies get cold.
Post-milk it's a toss-up, I'm usually ready to hurl.
Last year I tried the sloppy joe on a stick, and like many stick sandwiches, it was yucky!!! It was a dried piece of sausage, wrapped in a bun and deep fried. The bun was sopped in grease. And they gave what I imagine they believed to be a sloppy joe sauce on the side. But it just tasted like syrupy catsup. Grody.
But where is this ice cream???
