Deck on J.P. Licks - Boston Restaurant Review

Sadly, I didn't really have any meals today worthy of blogging about, but that's what tends to happen when you are at a business meeting.  So, when debating what to write about today, I remembered that I owed a quick review on J.P. Licks from yesterday.  Perfect!  I can keep my daily blogging, with something that should be interesting.

So, after my slightly disappointing dinner last night, I decided to skip dessert at Clio, and head back out on Newbury Street.  During my casual stroll, amongst all of the interesting looking shops, cafes and restaurants, I had seen a sign for J.P. Licks that said "$1.00 scoop day".  Seemed like the perfect price to me, so I headed in, and joined the line of at least 30 people inside. 

While standing in line, I started to check out the menu, as well as the surroundings.  I learned that J.P. Licks is a local Boston Homemade Ice Cream shop, currently has 10 stores in the area, and they like cows.  There were cows on the wall, cow spots on the counter and on the floor.  With all of this bovine influence, my ice cream choice was pretty simple; cow tracks.  I'm not usually a huge dessert person, so I ended up going with just a single scoop.  After feeling a little underwhelmed by my dinner portion side, I was absolutely overwhelmed with what was handed to me for exactly $1.00 (including tax) at J.P. Licks.  The picture doesn't quite do it justice.  This was one heaping scoop of ice cream.

I happily grabbed my ice cream, put on my sunglasses, and walked into the lovely Spring evening in Boston.  The first bite definitely hit the spot, and I started to feel some of my disappointment lift.  The ice cream was was very good, nice and creamy.  It featured small peanut butter cups, brownie bites, chocolate pieces, and a chocolate ribbon running through it.  In the short walk that I had back to the car, I was able to pretty much polish off my "one" scoop of ice cream. 

For me, the J.P. Licks Cow Tracks ice cream was on par with Ben & Jerry's.  This puts it higher than Baskin-Robbins and just a touch below Cold Stone.  It's not on the level of Fainting Goat Gelato (that was just incredible), but as far as ice cream goes, it was very good, and it did not make me regret my decision to go to J.P. Licks rather than ordering dessert at Clio.  If you find yoruself in Boston, you should definitely do yourself a favor and make a stop at one of the 10 J.P. Licks locations throughout Boston.

Final Verdict: 3.5 Stars

Deck on Clio Restaurant - Boston Restaurant Review

Ed. Note:  I've introduced a new rating scale from 1 to 5 stars.  Final Verdict is listed at the bottom.

Traveling east for work is always an all day affair.  Usually I'll leave around 10 or 11 in the morning and by the time I get to my East Coast destination, it's 10 or 11 o'clock at night.  This means I'm grabbing dinner at a fast food joint, or something that's open 24 hours.  Not usually the high quality, healthy meal that I'm looking for.  But this time, I decided to sacrifice some sleep and make sure I got to Boston in enough time to get dinner.  And since I was in Boston, it was time to check Clio off my list of restaurants that I wanted to visit.

I became aware of Clio when I saw chef Ken Oringer on Iron Chef America.  I don't remember exactly what he cooked or who he battled against (I suppose I could look it up), but I do remember being impressed enough that I wanted to check out one of his 3 restaurants.  Clio happened to be the closest to Logan Airport and I-93 North, so I decided to go there.  It is located in Back Bay, close to where Massachusetts Avenue and Newbury Street come together.  After a day of airport food, I was definitely looking forward to a good meal.

After walking through the neighborhood for a little bit, I decided to head to dinner a little early.  I walked in just after 5:30, and was the only person in the place.  I was a little surprised because looking at it from the outside I thought it would be dark, but it was actually open, bright and airy.  To the left was the Clio dining room, and to the right the Uni Sashimi Bar/Lounge.  I went to the Clio bar and ordered a Sankaty Light Lager.  After taking a sip, I started looking through the menu.  There was an option of a 3-course market menu, a bar menu and the regular dinner menu.  I considered the market menu, but in the end decided I'd rather have something of the dinner menu.  I narrowed it down to the Black Licorice Roasted Muscovy Duck and Confit, and the Sweet Butter Basted Maine Lobster.  I asked the bartender which she preferred, and she send the Lobster was considered a signature dish, and the duck was very good as well, but would take 35 minutes.  Knowing I still had a drive to Andover and a night of work ahead of me, I went with the lobster.  Additionally I decided to order some oysters as an appetizer.

The bartender laid out a nice dinner set-up for me at the bar which was a first, and nice.  I then got a dinner roll while waiting for my appetizers.  The roll was good, though nothing special.  When the oysters came, I dove in.  They had a yuzu based sauce that gave them a unique flavor.  The oyster was good, nice and tender.  I put the three of them away pretty quickly.  Then came the lobster dinner.  I was excited to dive in, my journalistic focus briefly forgotten (hence the picture of a partially eaten lobster dish).  When I took a bite, the lobster was good, though nothing spectacular.  I was expecting more of a butter flavor, and a little more tenderness in the lobster.  On the other hand, the sea urchin emulsion was very good.  Rich, flavorful, something unique that I had not tasted before.  I think had it been paired with something sweet like Dungeness crab, it was have been excellent.  There was also a small bit of shaved wild asparagus that went with it.

When I finished, I took a quick glance at the dessert menu, and decided against it.  During my walk I had seen a JP Licks that was having $1.00 scoop night, and I figured I would head over there (I will be doing a short post about this one...it deserves its own post).  I paid the bill and headed out.  I wasn't disappointed when I left, but I definitely felt underwhelmed.  There wasn't anything that really stood out to me.  The oysters were good, but I've had better in Seattle.  The lobster was ok, but I think I would have preferred crab in that preparation.  The quantity of food was pretty small, and the prices were pretty high.  All entrees were between $30-$40, the lobster being in the middle of the road.  Maybe my pallete is not completely up to par.  Maybe I didn't order the right thing, or hyped it too much in my mind.  Or maybe I haven't readjusted my expectations for these types of restaurants, but for $66, and I expected much more.

I am not going to say it was a bad experience, but the highlight was the beer and the sauce.  And the big question, will I go back?  Given the sheer number of restaurants just in that area, probably not.  And, I don't think I'm going to take in the other two Ken Oringer restaurants.  Now, don't get me wrong, Ken Oringer is a James Beard Award winning chef and they don't just give those out to anyone.  But, with so many other options in Boston, and across the country, I was hoping to be wowed Bobby Flay or Tom Colicchio style, and I just wasn't. 

Final Verdict:  2.5 Stars.

True Comfort...A meal that is perfect as is.

Today for Easter we decided to take advantage of the stormy weather in Seattle, and head to the slopes. With rumors of 16" of fresh snow in the last 48 hours, we had to get in one last ski day.  So, what does this mean from a food perspective?  Starbucks for breakfast, lodge food for lunch, quick easy comfort food for dinner.  It's kind of our ritual; there's something almost comforting about it.

Starbucks is one of those reliable breakfast stops.  It's not anything super special, but you always know what you are going to get.  I got the Komodo Dragon blend (still prefer the Pike Place Roast), the reduced fat berry coffee cake and a yogurt parfait.  All in all a good healthy and filling way to get started for a day on the slopes.

After a few hours skiing in what turned out to be probably the best conditions we've skied all year, we headed into one of the lodges up at Steven's Pass for lunch.  I'm not sure what the name of it is, but if you are coming down the front side, it is on the one on the far right.  Now, some ski resorts have fantastic restaurants in their lodges.  Steven's Pass unfortunately does not.  We ended up going to the pizza place in the lounge and ordering the combo.  This consisted of an ok piece of pizza (though not as good as even Digiorno), and a "caesar salad" that was pretty much a pile of lettuce with a sprinkle of parmesan cheese and a watered down dressing.  Quite disappointing actually, and next time we will probably go back to our usual fair of chicken alfredo or chili.

But enough of the other things for the day.  The point of this post is not the skiing or the disappointing lunch, but actually our dinner.  Tonight I did the ultimate comfort dinner in our house, beef stroganoff.  This is the meal that we have at the end of long days and long weeks.  This is the meal that is not experimented with or changed.  This is the meal that is quick, easy, and always delivers a smile.  I always have the appropriate ingredients for this so that I can make this whenever in a pinch.  I think that all home cooks either should have a meal like this, or already do.

It's a very simple recipe, one that I've tweaked for freshness, but really have not deviated from.  I start with sauteing some fresh onion and garlic.  Then I add extra lean ground beef and season with black pepper, seasoned salt, and basil.  A lot of beef stroganoff recipes call for something like Sirloin, or other cuts of meat.  I stick with ground beef because it's what we've always used, absorbs the spices well, and my love of steak makes it difficult for me to chop it up and add it recipes like this.  Once the beef is close to brown, I add some white wine.  Then, to finish it, I actually cheat a little.  I pull out the packet of McCormick's Beef Stroganoff seasoning.  I know, it's almost sacrilegious for someone with aspiring cooking skills to rely on the premixed seasoning packet, but it adds the perfect flavor, and like I said, I don't deviate very much.  Then I add in a little sour cream and serve it directly over some steamed calrose rice with green beans.

This simple recipe has become such the comfort meal that any deviation is usually met with some displeasure.  One time I tried ground turkey, another fat free sour cream.  I've tried adjusting the spice blend for the meat.  Nothing works.  The thing is, it's not necessarily that the taste of this is the most amazing taste ever.  In fact, it's probably not the most delicious thing that I've made, and I'm sure with enough experimenting I could enhance it in someway.  But, that's not the point.  The point is that this meal is pure comfort as it is.  And sometimes with food, that is ultimately what is most important.

Deck on Brad's Swingside Cafe - Seattle Restaurant Review

Today was a typical lazy Saturday.  I had a chance to sleep in this morning, have a great breakfast of a Dutch baby (more on this in another post I'm sure), watch some basketball, and just generally relax.  These are absolutely my favorite type of weekends.  And usually, these days end in one of two ways; either I spend most of the day cooking, taking my time on a new recipe or we go explore some new restaurant.  We decided that since we needed to get out and run a couple errands, we would find a new restaurant to go to today.  After a quick bit of searching through the Wallingford and Fremont restaurants listed as participants in the Seattle Restaurant Week, I decided on Brad's Swingside Cafe, a small Italian restaurant on Fremont Ave. (conspicuously located right across from Paseo).  When I called to make a reservation, they said that there was no need for parties under 6.  It was first come, first serve.

Driving to the restaurant, we nearly missed it, and may have if it wasn't for the few lights on the outside.  After a lap around the block to find a parking spot, we walked up.   The interior was exactly what we were looking for when it comes to a restaurant; simple and relaxed.    Overall, it probably holds about 20-30 people comfortably, and it was about 2/3 full.  When we sat down, we were told that the wine list on the table was full bottles and that the by the glass selections were on the chalkboard.  Like I said, our type of place.  

After we ordered a glass of wine and some caprese, we continued to look through the menu.  It was a simple menu in that it only had about 10-15 entrees on it, but it was difficult because so many things were appealing.  Prior to hearing about the specials, we were able to narrow it down to 4-5 items that we liked.  Then we heard the specials, all of which sounded even better than what was on the menu.  In the end, I elected to go with the Sicilian Seafood Farfalle.  Jennifer chose the Lobster Saffron Risotto topped with crab meat.  This was the replacement for the Rabbit Ragu that they were out of.

The caprese came fairly quickly and was good, but like any other caprese I've had.  Of course, they had to substitute the planned heirloom tomatoes with simple vine-ripened tomatoes, so I'm sure that had some impact.  We also had a nice simple bread with olive oil.  For a starter it was good.  And the ambiance definitely made things comfortable and relaxed.

Shortly after finishing the appetizers, our entrees arrived.  I had fully intended on taking a picture of it before I dug in, but that didn't happen.  It looked delicious and smelled even better, and I just grabbed my fork and dug in.  The seafood portion consisted of halibut cheeks, fresh crab, shrimp, and another white fish that I'm not sure what it was.  This dish was different than a lot of seafood pasta dishes I've had for two reasons.  The first was the fish.  Often the fish is overcooked and a little dry, and the restaurant tries to compensate with sauce.  The second is the seafood to pasta ratio where there is a lot of pasta, and not very much seafood.  In both cases, I was pleasantly surprised.  The fish was perfectly cooked, nice and moist.  And there was a lot of it.  When I got to the end of my dinner, I was actually out of pasta with fish still in bowl.  

As for the quality of the food, I was pleased.  The flavors were subtle, and not overpowering.  I took a bite of Jennifer's risotto, and it was nice and rich.  The risotto was very well cooked, and the crab was delicious (though I did get a small piece of shell).  This may not have been "Oh My Goodness" stop eating and savor good, but it was better than your typical neighborhood Italian.  And, best of all, it was very reasonable priced ($18-$30/entree).  I would definitely recommend this place for anyone in the Greenwood, Fremont, Wallingford area.  In fact, there is a good chance that this could become our neighborhood Italian place for repeat visits.

Final Verdict: 3.5 Stars

Bonus Review:  Earlier today, I saw a Tweet from @mariahines, executive chef of Tilth, and Top Chef Masters participant, mentioning Fainting Goat Gelato.  I've actually been in a gelato mood for the past few days after seeing a show on the Food Network.  So, after running a quick errand we stopped by on our way home.  It was absolutely worth it.  There were quite a few different flavors and I narrowed it down to a couple before deciding on the Cinnamon over the Spicy Chocolate.  The first bite was just fantastic.  The creaminess of the gelato was perfect, and the cinnamon flavor just exploded in my mouth. It was a perfect end to my food evening.  I will be going back here again.

Final Verdict 4.5 Stars

Taking it nice and slow

Days that I'm not at work are great for two things; relaxing and cooking.  I really like being able to sleep in, make a pot of coffee, and just take my time getting going in the morning.  And then, I get into the cookbooks and figure out what I want to do.  I usually look for things that require a lot of prep and or slow cooking or a lot of ingredients.  This way I can fill up my entire day in the kitchen which is actually quite a bit of fun.  So, for today's all day cooking adventure, I went with a forever roasted pork dish from the Michael Chiarello Tra Vigne Cookbook.  

I'll admit, going for a slow roasted pork dish is a little bit of a cop out.  I mean, I don't really cook it all day. I do a little bit of prep work, pop it in the oven, and then go have an amazing lunch at Paseo.  But, I was able to learn a couple of new things today.  First, I learned how to use the delay start option on my oven.  Great technology that I think people absolutely need to take advantage of.  And second, I learned a new way to cook a pork roast.  Up until now, my pork roast consisted of mixing up some onion soup mix, sticking a pork roast in it, and cooking it up for an hour or so.  Not any more.

It was actually an incredibly simple dish that turned out well.  I cooked down some onions and a little bit of Meyer lemon, and stuck it inside the roast (I chose a shoulder butt for this one).  Then I rubbed a fennel spice rub all over the outside of it (fennel, coriander, white peppercorn, salt).  I put it in the over, and set the delay timer to cook it at 275, and took off for lunch.  The roast ended up cooking for a total of 5 hours.  Once it hit about hour 4, I started to get a little nervous.  Is it going to dry out?  Is it going to taste ok?  Should I order Thai just in case?  So I opened the oven and stuck a fork in it to see what happened.  Juices came pouring out, a piece flaked off, and it was delicious.  When we finally sat down to dinner, I added some steamed white rice, broccoli, and a lovely Oregon Pinot Noir and made a fantastic dinner (I know I'm biased, but it was gooood).

The delay timer on the oven and slow cooking process is an incredible find for me.  One of the biggest challenges to my cooking is my day job.  I am usually at the office from 8 in the morning until at least 6 at night, so I don't get home until almost 7 with the commute.  That means it is difficult to whip up a meal that requires any type of prep, or various cooking steps (fortunately there are the classics that I can whip out quickly).  But now, I know that I can put something in in the morning, or even the night before that can cook slowly throughout the day, and have the great dinners that I aspire to every evening.  

Deck on Paseo - Restaurant Review

Today was one of those random day off holidays, so I figured it was a great opportunity to try a new recipe and a new restaurant; a perfect food day for me!  I was going to try and get up this morning and check out a nice cafe or bakery, but that didn't happen.  One of these days it will, especially since there is coffee and cafe culture around here that I really have not taken advantage of.  So instead, I decided on lunch.

There were three places I was debating.  The first is Specialty's Cafe, quite possibly my most favorite sandwich place, at this point.  I haven't gone since I was an intern downtown nearly four years ago, but it's downtown, and I've been there before, and this is about new experiences.  That left two places, Salumi and Paseo.  I found out about both of these places from watching the Travel Channel, with Salumi appearing on No Reservations and Paseo on Chowdown Countdown.  I decided on Paseo mostly because it was closer (and because I fully intend on going to the Metropolitan Market in 15 minutes to buy some Salumi Salami, thanks Marnie!).

When I looked up the address for Paseo, I noticed that there are two locations, and that I have driven by both of them many times since I've lived in Seattle.  One is down on Shilshole, near Ray's Boathouse and Anthony's, and I drive past every time I go to Golden Gardens, at least a half dozen times every summer.  The other is on Fremont Ave.  I can't count how many times I've driven and even walked past that location.  When I arrived at 1:30 in the afternoon, there was a line out the door, and I wondered how I could have missed it so many times.

Paseo is a very non-descript restaurant.  In fact, there isn't even a sign.  And don't think about pulling out the credit card as Paseo is cash only.  The line wasn't exactly fast moving; it took about 20 minutes to get to the front to place my order.  But, based on the reviews, I figured it would be worth the wait.  When I finally got to the front, I simply defaulted to the most popular item, the #2 Cuban Roast, as simple combination of roast pork, caramelized onions, cilantro, and the Paseo sauce.  As I was waiting for my sandwich, I was wondering why anyone would want to stay and eat in the small dining room.  The place was packed, and I'm not one that really enjoys eating with a line of people bumping into me the entire time...

Ten minutes after I ordered, I left Paseo with sandwich in hand.  I was hurrying to my car, so I could make it to my appointment on the Eastside.  I had decided that I would wait until I got to the freeway before breaking into my sandwich.  Before I got halfway there, I couldn't take it anymore.  The smell of the pork was just overwhelming, and so, I had to unwrap it and take a bite.  The first bite was pretty good.  The bread was nice and crunchy on the outside, soft on the inside.  The sauce was was excellent, and it had a nice hint of cilantro.  But I realized I didn't catch very much meat or onion.  So, I took another bite.  In the second bite the sandwich went from good to amazing.  The pork was so juicy and flavorful complimented perfectly by the caramelized onions, jalepenos and a sauce with it's hint of garlic (kind of like a garlic aioli).  I quickly took two more bites, and was absolutely in heaven.

I can't believe that I've lived in Seattle for 6 years, and this is my first trip to Paseo.  The sandwich was absolutely perfect, and I will definitely be going back.   I am already planning on doing the number 8, the Cuban pressed sandwich.  This is a spot that I definitely recommend to anyone that has not been there.  Just be sure to bring $10 in cash and your appetite.

And as to the question earlier as to why someone would dine in, I now get it...waiting to bite into that amazing sandwich (and I'm sure the other food) is pure torture.

I can't overlook the local talent

When I travel, going out to eat is becoming more and more fun.  At first, I was more into staying in the room and just getting room service.  I felt a little awkward going out to dinner by myself, or I wouldn't want to take away time from work.  Now, it's a compltely different story.  I go for the food and the experience.  In fact, next week I head to Boston for work, and am already picking out my dining locations.  I scheduled my flight to ensure I would get in early enough for dinner, sleeping be damned!  There will definitely be some posts relating from the trip.

But I'm not writing to preview my trip.  Rather it's something my pending trip made me think about.  I've started a spreadsheet with different restaurants in different cities that I want to try as a travel across this great country (yes, a spreadsheet...I'm still a marketing geek at heart).  I'm thinking about my annual trip to Chicago and where to eat.  I am trying to figure out an excuse to get to NYC or the Bay Area or even South Florida.  There are so many places with renowned chefs and great restaurants and tempting cuisine that I forget what is in my own backyard.  But one city was consipicuously absent...Seattle.  That's right, my home city (though it has now moved to the front of the list).  It's not that I forget that Seattle is a great place for top-notch dining; I've had many amazing meals around the city.  I think it is more a symptom of me enjoying cooking, and I wonder if other home cooks do the same thing.  When I'm out of the city, I'm more or less forced to go out to eat.  But when I'm home, it's time to experiment, try new things, and save a few bucks by cooking at home.  

Last night I was looking at the chefs that will be participating in the upcoming season of Top Chef Masters.  These chefs are the best of the best.  Last year's competition featured the likes of Hubert Keller, Rick Bayless and Michael Chiarello just to name a few.  I watched them put together meals in a dorm room on a bunson burner that I could never imagine making in the finest kitchen with the finest ingredients and all the time in the world.  Anyway, this season there are 21 different chefs competing.  The most represented cities are New York and Los Angeles with 5 each, followed by Chicago and Seattle with 3.  That's right, not Boston or Miami, or the Bay Area, but Seattle.  Chefs Maria Hines (Tilth, Earth & Ocean), Thierry Rautureau (Rover's), and Jerry Traunfeld (Poppy, formerly the Herbfarm) will be representing Seattle.  And sadly, I have to admit, I have not eaten at any of their restaurants.

Going beyond the chefs featured in this season of Top Chef Masters, you can find celebrity chefs (Tom Douglas, John Howie), Iron Chef participatns (Tamara Murphy, Brasa), and so much more.  The Seattle restaurant scene is actually quite impressive, and I think I'm doing myself, and readers of my blog, a disservice if I don't take advantage of these wonderful places right in my own backyard. 

So, be sure to check out the Seattle chefs in this Top Chef Masters (free endorsement for Bravo, maybe next year I can charge when my readership is up), and I'll do my best to get out more often in my local community to provide some feedback on the various Seattle restaurants.  And maybe in the process I'll learn a thing or two that I can take back to my own cooking.