All This for $10.95

At lunch, Sushi on McKinney offers a great bento box.  You get cold soba noodles (I’m crazy about the noodles), a piece of tuna sushi, salmon and a couple of pieces of California roll, a bowl of rice, two pieces of shrimp tempura on a pile of tempura fried onions with sauce, a little broccoli and a pile of teriyaki.  I had chicken.  Oh, and a salad or a bowl of miso soup to start.  I think this is a real deal for $10.95.

Hattie’s Tomato Bisque

I’ll tell you what, Hattie’s makes some seriously good tomato bisque.  In fact, it turned out to be the highlight of my brunch.  The Bloody Mary wasn’t too bad either. 

Sorry about the sloppy bowl.  I think I ended up with a bowl instead of a cup.  This was a lot of soup.  So delicious and creamy.  The little grilled cheese sandwich on the side of the bowl was a little cold.  Still, a tasty garnish. 

My Hangtown Scramble looked good.  Topped with what was described as bacon-wrapped fried oysters and hollandaise, how could it go wrong?  Well, the oysters seemed to be fried oyster croquettes wrapped in bacon.  There was definitely some kind of breading involved and I never could really identify an oyster.  It was fine.  But, frankly, it wasn’t what I thought I was ordering.

Looks good, though, doesn’t it?  Did I mention that they make really terrific Bloody Marys?

Top Sandwich

I work in a small department.  There are only nine of us at the office.  Once a month or more, we decide on a theme and bring in food.  We’ve done Mexican, Soup and Salad, Chili and Fixin’s, BBQ, etc.  This week it was sandwiches.  I supplied four different kinds of bread from Central Market, including japaleno cheese bread and buttermilk sourdough.  We had three different kinds of ham, two types of pastrami, two turkey, two salami and roast beef.  Swiss cheese, provolone, pepper jack and cheddar.  Leaf lettuce, shredded lettuce, sliced tomato, cucumber, avocado and red onion.  All this, arranged on trays.  Potato salad and five different kinds of chips rounded out the meal with brownies for dessert.  Not too bad for a work pot luck.  Josh, the best looking guy in our department…  (well, he’s the only guy in our department.  so, i guess that makes him the smartest, nicest, etc.) …Josh’s plate looked so good I just had to take a picture.

Back to work!

Nonna Surprise

When I got home from work the other day, Hubbard asked me if I’d like to go out to eat.  Silly question.  Of course.  Then he told me he had reservations at Nonna at 8:00.  Yippee!!!  Nonna is one of my favorite restaurants.  It’s not so much the place.  It’s the food.  Their food takes me straight back to Italy.  I’ve yet to find a place that comes as close to providing that real Italian taste.  Now, if you want a big plate of spaghetti and red sauce or a slab of lasagna when you think of Italian food, then Nonna might not be what you’re looking for.  Italian food in Rome is much different from what we generally eat here.  I had lasagna in Rome.  But it was artichoke lasagna with a cream sauce.

Dinner at Nonna starts with a little dish of olives and this amazing flat bread. 

OK, it’s not so flat in this picture.  This is how it arrives at the table, fresh from the woodburning pizza oven.  When you stick a knife into it steam hisses out of the bread and it lays down flat.  It’s incredibly good.  We like to start with a glass of Prosecco because it’s always a special time when we go to Nonna. 

We chose to start with the La Quercia salumi tasting.  This consists of prosciutto Americano, coppa, lardo and speck.  I haven’t had lardo since I was in Rome.  The lardo we had in Rome was cured goose lard.  I didn’t ask whether this was goose or not.  While the lardo in Rome as a little better, this was very good and it was excellent to taste it again.  I am also a huge fan of speck.

At this point, I’m telling our waiter, Matt, that we’re going to want to split a pizza, some pasta and then a secondi.  Wisely, he suggests that we order as we go, so as to avoid ordering too much.  I agree.  But, that ravioli of Maine lobster and the whole charcoal grilled branzino with salsa verde sounds so good…  First, the white pizza with littleneck clams, sweet onion and fresh herbs.

I don’t know if you can see how thin this crust really is.  It’s almost like it’s paper thin. Pick up a piece and it stays as firm as a cracker.  It’s amazing that a crust that thin is not limp and supports the ingredients perfectly.  I’m sure it has something to do with the oven.  The pizza is cooked at a very high temperature.  There is no cheese on this pizza.  Just a thick, creamy sauce that contains little chunks of clam and fabulous flavor.  When it’s done, I realize there will be no lobster ravioli.  I’m pretty much stuffed. 

Hubbard ordered the praline nougatine semifreddo with pistachios and acacia honey.  Matt recommended it.  When we asked what it was, he said it was kind of like a frozen meringue.  Kind of.  It was so terrific we gobbled it up before I remembered to take a picture.  I’m still not quite sure how to describe it.  It was heavenly.

The grilled branzino will have to wait until next time.  I sure hope that’s sooner than later!

The Full Story – Pappa’s Bros. – GO TEXAN

GO TEXAN is an event that you should consider between now and the 2nd.  If Fearings or Blue Mesa do half as good a job with it as Pappas Bros. Steakhouse, you will be happy. 

We had an early reservation because we wanted to get home in time to see the end of the Cowboy’s game.  We were lead to a cozy dining area with a roaring fireplace.  Comfortable looking leather chairs formed a little seating area in front of the fire.  Our waiter’s name was Jason and he was just fantastic.  Very personable without being intrusive.  His timing was impeccable.  He told us everything we wanted to know about our food and more.  After being served a glass of wine before the meal, Jason said something that made me know that I was going to enjoy myself…  he suggested that we relax over our wine, meaning that we had all the time in the world to experience this meal.  And so we did.

As I mentioned before, the special GO TEXAN Restaurant Round-Up is a celebration of Texas produced products.  Pappas offers a four course meal that you can order in full or a la carte.  We went for the whole thing with wine.  The appetizer was a Grilled Barbeque Quail with crispy onion and blue cheese slaw.  Crispy onion translates into a big, thick, crispy onion ring.  The slaw is served inside the ring.  The accompanying quail was fabulous.  Perfectly grilled and tender, from Brushy Branch Farms in Lockhart.  That slaw was a hit for me, as I love blue cheese.  The cheese was not at all overpowering.  Excellent first course, served with McPherson Grenache/Mouvedre 2007 from Lubbock.  All the flavors blended well and I was ready to move on.

The entree was a Texas Venison Loin from Broken Arrow Ranch in the Hill Country.  This is not your daddy’s deer meat.  These medallions of tenderloin were served at exactly the right moment.  The center was pink and the texture was not the least bit tough.  I grew up eating venison and I’ve had a lot that I could do without.  This was excellent.  No gamey flavor.  Someone is treating these deer right.  The meat was served with a huckleberry sauce.  The sweetness of the sauce…  do I keep saying perfect?  It was.  A generous helping of sauteed wild mushrooms and hericot verts rounded out the plate.  I was especially impressed with the mushrooms.  Very meaty and firm with distinctive flavor.  Our wine, 4 You Syrah 2006, KF Cellars, Kiepersol Winery in Tyler.  Another hit.  At this point, I’m getting pretty full.

The cheese plates arrive.  I would suggest, if you are ordering a la carte to get one plate for every two people.  We took home a good bit of cheese. (not that I’m complaining)  The selection was great, served with dried fruits, nuts, a piece dripping soft honeycomb and assorted crackers.  Our cheese included; Texas Havarti from Velduizen Family Farms in Dublin, Texas Gold Cheddar from Dublin, Baby Blue pastureurized cheese made from goat’s milk from CKC Farms in Blanco and Claire de Lune soft-ripened pastuerized goat cheese from Pure Luck Dairy in Dripping Springs.  Honestly, I didn’t even know there was this kind of variety in Texas cheese production.  The flavors were each distinctive and terrific with the Inwood Estates Palomino Chardonnay 2005 produced in Dallas.   I’ll be tasting all these cheeses again tonight because they carefully packed all leftovers into air-tight containers for us to take home.

Next, what I knew Hubbard was waiting for, the Texas Gooey Pecan Pie.  Not only was it a huge piece of gooey goodness, it was served with Hagen Daas ice cream and delicate pecan cookies.  What could be more Texan than pecan pie?  I mean, Pecan is the state tree, afterall.  I was especially excited about the Haak Vineyards and Winery Madeira Jacques 2006.  I’ve cooked with Madeira, but never actually drank it.  The nutty flavor of the wine was a very good pairing for the pie. 

Did we want coffee?  No.  I was in a good place and ready to sink into bed.  Can I mention again how fabulous the service was?  The wine service, the food service, it was all spectacular.  I have heard time and time again about how I would have a wonderful time at Pappas Bros.  But, honestly, I never really believed it.  Why?  Because it’s a chain.  It’s not a a huge chain.  But, I really didn’t know that you could get that kind of attention to detail.  Jason told us that the chef enjoyed preparing this dinner because it’s a departure from the steakhouse menu, something different for him.  Everything thing told me that the chef was having a marvelous time.  And so was I.

In the interest of full disclosure, Pappas knew that I would be there and would write about their restaurant.  I will say that our dining experience was typical of what I had always heard about Pappas Bros.  Would I have received bad service or food if they didn’t know about me?  I would say, not.  Pappas has got it down.

GO TEXAN at Pappas Bros. Steakhouse

I don’t have time to really blog about it until tonight, but I had one of the best dining experiences of my life at Pappas last night.  The concept of trying so many Texas products at one meal…  the excellent service (hi, Jason!) and atmosphere at Pappas…  not to even begin to mention the excellent preparation of the food and wonderful wine pairings…  It was just great!  I’ll fill in the details tonight.  But, just take my word for it.  If you can make it in by the 2nd, you won’t be sad you did.  That venison tenderloin was as good as any steak I’ve tasted.  Besides, it was just fun to have something different in that fabulous steakhouse style.  I wish I could go back tonight and maybe Wednesday.  OK, Thursday and Friday would be good, too.

Gotta get back to work.  More on Pappas tonight!

M

Fair Food

We did quite a bit of fine dining yesterday at The Great State Fair of Texas.  We got there about 11:30 and started with our traditional BW’s 6 coupon beer.  We’ve been going there so long that the owner recognizes us and the price has doubled.  It’s still the best deal on beer at the fair.  From there, we dash over to Fletcher’s for a corny dog.  I have to say that my dog was a bit under-done.  This is one of the hazards of the first day of the fair.  The grease is clean, but the technique might not be down yet.

The car show was quickly followed by a sausage on a stick from Hans Mueller’s.  I forgot that the sausage is about a foot long.  So, I could only eat half of it.  I would have taken a picture, but the monster meats mounted on the wall were more insteresting. 

Hubbard skipped the sausage since he was in search of dessert.  On our way to find the fried pecan pie, we spied the fried butter stand.  After a quick glance at what appeared to be a harmless dish, I decided I had to try it.  This is not the best picture, but I wanted you to see the inside of it…

Notice the butter?  Neither did I.  This dish ought to be called fried biscuit balls.  The flavoring choices were poured over the basic fried item.  I didn’t get a topping though grape jelly probably wouldn’t be bad with a fried biscuit.  I really couldn’t even taste the butter.  It was completely absorbed into the dough.  The scariest food offered at the fair turned out to be pretty harmless, not even overly sweet.

The fried pecan pie was described very accurately by our friend Karen as a pecan pie fried inside a sopapilla.  Hub really liked it.  In fact, everyone agreed that it wasn’t too bad at all…

This guy obviously escaped becoming fried food.  1,100 pounds of fresh pork named Boris III.

Next up, a less established tradition for us, a treat I couldn’t pass up the last four years, Jack’s fries.  I rip open the cone and hit them with salt, pepper and white vinegar and squirt more ketchup than I need at the bottom.  I love these fries.  They taste real.

My pick of the day…  fried pork chips.  I found them at a booth just down from Jack’s in the food court outside the Cotton Bowl entrance.  Very thin pork loin is fast fried when you order it.  There was supposed to be ranch dressing for a dipping sauce, but that was mysteriously missing.  I did find some honey mustard that worked just fine.  These were amazingly tasty, though they don’t look that great.  I’d do those again for sure!

I couldn’t resist grabbing a Belgian waffle “loaded”.  Covered with whipped cream, fresh strawberries and powdered sugar, it made a perfect dessert to end the evening.  We stumbled to the car, wishing we had paid $10 to park instead of parking in a remote spot that was free.  I sure love the first day of the fair.

Can you believe that I still woke up hungry!?

The Great State Fair of Texas

All together now…  what opens tomorrow?  The Great State Fair of Texas!  Who’s going to be there?  Margie and Hubbard and tons of their friends!  What do you do at the Fair?  Eat fried foods!  Foods on a stick!  Better yet, fried food on a stick!

The Fair is famous for it’s food and now we have the yearly fried food contest.  This year in the Best Taste catagory our winner was Fried Peaches and Cream.  Most Creative (hold on to your hats) – Fried Butter.  Now I’ve heard tell that the butter is more like a donut hole with a bit of flavored butter in the middle.  I couldn’t help but picture a disgusting blob of soft butter.  I don’t think I could eat that or even want to eat it.  I’m really curious about it, though.  So, I plan to find the booth and stand around watching people eat the stuff.

I think the peach thing sounds OK except they might have gone a little overboard.  The peach batter has cinnamon, coconut and graham cracker crumbs in it.  The peaches are topped with whipped cream.  If they would have stopped right there I would have been happy.  They could have left out the coconut even.  But, then I find that all this is sprinkled with powdered sugar, drizzled with raspberry sauce and has a side of vanilla buttercream icing for dipping.  Whoa.  I think they included everything they could think of in this dish.  I might have to try it though.

What about Twisted Yam on a stick?  Spiral cut yam on a skewer, fried and then sprinkled with sugar and cinnamon.  At work we were thinking that it might go well with the Country Fried Pork Chops with a side of cream gravy.  They can keep the ketchup.  Yuk.

There are several other items…  Texas Fried Pecan Pie, Sweet Jalepeno Corn Dog Shrimp, Fried Peanut Butter Cup Macaroon and Green Goblins.  That last item got a “5 antacid” rating in the paper today.  Think spicy shredded chicken and guacamole stuffed into cherry peppers, batter and deep fried, topped with queso.  I find the choice of cherry peppers puzzling.  Pickled cherry peppers?  Really?  All this is new for this year’s Fair.  And believe me, plenty of fried food has accumulated over the years. 

Of course, first stop…  Fletcher’s Corny Dog slathered with mustard and a beer.  I seriously don’t know why I keep eating these things.  There is so much good stuff at the Fair, much more interesting than a corny dog.  The only reason I can imagine is that I’ve been eating them at the Fair for as long as I can remember.  On opening day, the grease is new and the corny dogs are handed to you almost too hot to eat.  It’s a tradition.  I love having a Hans Mueller sausage in the big tent.  That’s also a good place to score a glass of cheap wine.  They don’t seem to realize that wine glasses are not necessarily supposed to be filled to the very top and I’m certainly not the one to point it out to them.  Jack’s Fries are fantastic.  I never have white vinegar on my fries except at the Fair.  Oh, and the Belgian Waffles…  so light and fluffy, topped with powdered sugar, whipped cream and fresh strawberries.  Looks like it would be too sweet, but it’s just perfect.  I could go on about Fair food for quite a long time.

If I don’t have too many beers while I’m sitting around talking with our friends, I’ll try and take some pictures!  Don’t work too hard tomorrow.  And next year, take the day off and go to the first day of  The Great State Fair of Texas.  The grease is clean and all the employees are happy about their jobs.  All of that changes as the Fair continues over the next three weeks.  But, the Fair is never a bad place to be.  I wonder if Hubbard is getting a season’s pass this year…

Roger Loves Butter

Roger, the 27 pound dachshund, has eaten much worse than this.  Glad he got the cheap stuff this time.  He once ate six chewy pralines and hid one in the chair for later.  Drank 2 cups of heavy cream.  Never even a burp out of him.  He’s got a stomach of iron.  (thank goodness!)  We must have come home before he had a chance to finish off the stick. 

GO TEXAN Restaurant Round-Up

On Friday, the Great State Fair of Texas opens.  What I’m looking forward to after that is the GO TEXAN Restaurant Round-Up.  September 28 through October 2nd, restaurants all over the state will be participating.  Some are offering fixed price meals, special menus paired with Texas wines and Texas wine tastings.  Hubbard and I are going to go to Pappas Brothers.  They are serving a venison loin with huckleberry sauce, an assortment of Texas cheeses and Texas pecan turtle pie, paired with KE Cellars 4 You Syrah.  I can’t wait.  Also, participating in our area are all locations of Blue Mesa Grill, Canary Cafe, Eddie V’s in Ft Worth and Fearing’s Restaurant.  There’s a complete list on their website.  Check it out.   A portion of the proceeds go to benefit local food banks all over the state.  This is the first year that I’ve known about this event.  I’ll report back on Pappas.  Sure sounds good to me!