The Adventures of Tin-Tin

Salsa La Gloria

 

I'm not a big fan of spicy or hot food. I order everything mild and I pick out all the peppers from my vietnamese sandwichess. My brother and sister are the same way. So for us to shovel in chips and hot salsa nonstop for half an hour is rare. Oooooh but this is no ordinary salsa! I was fanning my mouth (yeah like that helps) and each scoop felt like hot lava burning my taste buds. But I couldn't stop.

Salsa La Gloria is made by Bay Area-based Fernandez Specialty Foods. We got our Salsa La Gloria experience from the Santana Row Farmers Market in San Jose. It's nice because you get to try the salsas before you buy them. I love farmers markets. :)

My favorite one is the one with tomatillo, avocado, lime and garlic. I'm sure there was something else in there because my mouth was on fire, but it was soooo tasty. With every bite, you'd get a kick of salt, lime, creamy avocado and molten hot lava. So many layers! Then I would alternate with the salsa made with cucumbers. It was a very refreshing experience. For luxurious breakfasts, I like to put the cucumber salsa on creamy scrambled eggs and eat it with hot buttered tortillas and super sweet little grape tomatoes. If you've never had homemade salsa before, and even if you have, you should get your hands on Salsa La Gloria.

Herve Mons Camembert

Photo courtesy of the SFGate.com

J would not touch this stuff because he said it smelled rotten. I thought it smelled mushroomy and there was no ammonia smell at all. Someone on some cooking show said the best cheeses smell like the feet of angels. The special camembert cheese made by award-winning cheesemaker Herve Mons especially for Whole Foods is one of those delicate stinkers. On election night/J's birthday, I was at the Cupertino Whole Foods (or as I like to call it, the center of all things liberal, expensive and good) searching for this cheese. I was informed that it sold out on the day the San Francisco Chronicle ran the article and would not be in for a few weeks. The night before Thanksgiving--there it was! I tried it and it was good. Very good.

Heirloom Beans--Eye of the Goat

Today I made a pot of beans using one of the methods suggested by Steve Sando in his book "Heirloom Beans." 

Last weekend, we bought heirloom beans at Whole Foods. They are called "eye of the goat" and are known for their meaty taste and rich texture. I was very excited to try them since I looooove beans. I've been seeing special gourmet beans at the Ferry Building Farmers' Market on Saturdays, but I have always just kinda put my hands in the touching beans and left without buying anything. Beans can be intimidating. Most of the time I just open up a can of beans and they are ready to go. But I wanted to try something new and J just bought me this wonderful book. Anyway, I just soaked them in some water overnight and boiled them in their beany liquid along with some garlic and celery for 2 hours. The results looked like kidney beans but they tasted more like boiled peanuts. Maybe they need to be cooked more? The broth was meaty even though there was no meat. Although it is a good pot of beans, I don't know what to do with them now. They are good enough to eat by themselves with a little of the broth, but I'm not sure if mashing them up would hide their beany wonder-goodness. The cookbook says I could make chilaquiles with them but I'm not in the mood to cook. Oh well. Sometimes things are just better left alone. Or eaten like boiled peanuts.

Honolulu, HI--Side Street Inn

We had dinner here on our last night in Honolulu. Even though my digestive system was dying from all the fatty greasy food I was eating all week, I had to save some room for the famous fried pork chops and fried rice at Side Street Inn. Roy Yamaguchi (Roy's) celebrated his birthday here and it's famous for being a local spors bar where celebrity chefs hang out. That being said, how bad could it be?

The fried pork chops were simple but so juicy and crispy. And the fried rice had some dashi, green onions, char siu and bits of linguica. It was very tasty and unlike any fried rice I have ever had. This was some serious Asian-style comfort food. All that was missing was a fried egg but I didn't mind. I had enough cholesterol issues that night.

I heard the mother of the owner (Colin Nishida) still makes the wontons by hand. These were actually my favorite that night. Served with a little hot mustard which I mixed with some soy sauce, I couldn't get enough.

Then when we got home, the Hawaii episode of Anthony Bourdain's No Reservations featured Side Street Inn. I had no idea they had so many different types of food there! I missed out and went straight for the fried food. Apparently they have all sorts of Chinese food, fried chicken and other tasty treats. I think I just looked at the menu and zeroed in on the pork chops and fried rice (and fried wontons). I will definitely be back for more.

SIDE STREET INN

1225 Hopaka St
Honolulu, HI 96814

(808) 591-0253   

Honolulu, HI--3660 on the Rise

I had heard so many good things about Chef Russell Siu and his innovative use of local ingredients at 3660 on the Rise.  One of my favorite dishes was the ahi katsu. Wrapped in nori, deep-fried and served with a wasabi gingery buttery sauce--the dish incorporated very familiar Asian flavors but in combinations and textures I had never experienced before.

One of the other treats of the night was an entree which had a trio of chicken, filet mignon, and maybe more ahi? I can't remember. What I do remember is that I LOVED IT!

This was one of the more memorable meals of my life. I get so dramatic sometimes... :)

3660 on the Rise

3660 Waialae Ave Frnt
Honolulu, HI 96816

(808) 737-1177   

Honolulu, HI--Beard Papa

I used to feel compelled to go to a McDonald's whenever I was travelling far from home. It was cool to see what was the same and what was different. I don't go to McDonald's that much anymore, but I couldn't really pass up trying the breakfast sandwiches at Beard Papa. Sure, we have a couple Beard Papas in the Bay Area, but I don't think any of them have sandwiches.

We tried the portuguese sausage sandwich and the bacon sandwich as well. I think they forgot to heat up the sausage sandwich because the cheese was cold. :( The bacon sandwich was excellent though. It was like a crossaint sandwich.

They also had egg salad, chicken and some other sandwiches and snacks. The classic vanilla cream puff remains my favorite.

Beard Papa

227 Lewers St., Suite 126

Honolulu, HI, 96815

(808) 926-8247

 

Honolulu, HI--Leonard's Malasadas

So. These are the infamous malasadas from Leonard's. What can I say? It's deep fried dough.

Sprinkled with crunchy sugar and filled with creamy custards...

My limit is two malasadas in one minute. After that, I will need half a day to recover.

Leonard's Bakery

933 Kapahulu Ave

Honolulu, HI, 96816

(808) 737-5591

Honolulu, HI--Eggs N' Things

J and I recently made a trip to Honolulu to scope out the ceremony and reception venues. While we were there, we made sure to stop by some foodie haunts. One of our first stops was Eggs N' Things. This place is super popular...especially with Japanese tourists. I had pancakes on my mind...

And I got em! The banana pancakes were sooo tasty and fluffy. I was humming Jack Johnson's Banana Pancakes song the entire time.

They had an assortment of tropical syrups. My favorite was the coconut.

We also tried their omelettes--which you can get with a side of rice. I didn't order vienna sausages, spam or corned beef hash but I saw that others did. Hawaii is so filipino friendly! :)

Eggs n Things

1911 Kalakaua Ave

Honolulu, HI, 96815

(808) 949-0820

   

The Gourmet Ghetto

Today we had a mini-adventure through Berkeley's Gourmet Ghetto--a little piece of Shattuck Avenue that has some really fantastic places to eat.

Our first stop was The Cheeseboard Collective. I was a bit intimidated by all the people waiting for cheese. Everyone seemed to know what they wanted and how they were going to get it. I knew neither.

After frequenting their sister bakery, Arizmendi, I figured the pizza was somewhere behind the counter. I was so wrong! It was in a different storefront a few feet down the street. The pizzas were already hot and ready since they only make one kind of pizza per day. Today's pizza was pistachio, roasted cauliflower, roasted onions, mozzarella onions, montalban cheese, garlic olive oil and Italian parsley. I figured a vegetarian pizza would be tasty, but this one blew my mind. Maybe it was the montalban cheese...maybe it was the pistachios.

We also went to Poulet, a French deli. I needed some ice cream because my throat hurt so I bought a tiny serving of Hagen Daz. Then the bread pudding caught my eye. The bread pudding was eggy and sweet. Some parts tasted caramelly almost like a cannele! I loved it.

We did not order chicken at Poulet even though this place is chicken-themed (and probably famous for chicken)--the main reason being that we were still stuffed from the bacon cheeseburger we shared at Barney's down the street. They use Niman Ranch beef, if that means anything to you. I don't always notice the difference, but here I could tell the beef tasted beefy. And the bacon...Oh bacon--glorious bacon!

On the way back to our car, I decided to get some cheese at the Cheeseboard. Afterall, that is what they are famous for, right? I picked up a card from the counter (you don't take a number to be waited on, you take a playing card) and I got a joker. SWEET! I was next because jokers just show their card to the clerk and cut in front of everyone. I waited patiently for someone to finish waiting on their customers (I estimated about 20 people packed in that tiny space vying for some attention from the cheesemongers). Then I said "HELLO! I GOT A JOKER!!!!" The lady behind the counter who heard me seemed more excited that I did when she yelled "YAY! We got a joker!!!" It was the yellowy nasty looking playing card if you're wondering.

After watching Ratatouille I had to try the mimolette which I saw scribbled on the big chalkboard. The lady scurried around checking every shelf and all the fridges. She asked me how I heard about it and I said "The rat in that Disney movie 'Ratatouille' mentioned it and I saw it on the board." She smirked.

Mimollete tastes like a very strong nutty parmesan but looks like a canteloupe.

I also asked for a camembert. I did not know what I was in for. They had several kinds and she let me try them all! I love that woman. The first one was mild but had a strange after taste. The second one I liked much more because it was pungent but the after taste was much more pleasant. The third one smacked me in the mouth and said "take that! WHIIEEEEFFF" and i could taste it the rest of the day. I opted for the second one which was nice and gooey.

The nice lady at the Cheeseboard gave me the box for the camembert, too. Me loves cheese acoutrements.

 

Pittsburgh, PA--the Food!!!

I've neglected my blog. Yes, it's true. But I had good reason. Besides the usual excuses about work being hectic, I went to Pittsburgh, PA for six days to meet my future in-laws and see what/who made my J who he is today.

 

We got to try the famous Primanti Bros sandwich. It is made with super light and fluffy Italian bread--a staple it seems in these parts. And yes, that is a fat stack of french fries and coleslaw in that cheesesteak sandwich. It is the #2 most popular thing on the menu!

The #1 thing on the menu is beer...

Another famous sandwich I had was Wholey's fish sandwich. J said he got to eat these sandwiches as a youngster...

Simple yet so good. Crispy fried fish filets, soft bread and lots of tartar sauce.

The Pennsylvania Macaroni Company was a foodie find if I ever saw one. Look at all that cheese!

The highlight of the trip for me was having some authentic pierogies. Pierogies Plus was featured on Food Nation with Bobby Flay and is famous in the area. It was so hard to find but so worth the trouble!

It may not look like much in this picture, but these were the best potato cheese pierogies I have ever had in my life! They were smothered in butter and soft sweet onions.

 

I had a lot of fun but I haven't even begun to scratch the surface of Pittsburgh's foodie scene.