JeffB wrote:Ghazi, you dined at the place that invented the California roll, with KISS and Shannon Tweed??? I hope you were wearing you Members' Only jacket and throwback Pumas.

I didn't dine WITH them, but they were there, in their soon to be octogenarian glory.

Lobster pan roast, Max's Oyster Bar, West Hartford, CT.

Only had my Iphone to take pictures so they are too grainy to show... actually, the dish, while not ugly, was not really photogenic but OMG the flavor that they got out of the shells. I have found my cravings for lobster declining over the years... Remember, I grew up in NE and it wasn't quite the rarity it is in the Midwest. These days, I actually prefer King crab... but this was something else... Perfect blend of crustacean, cream, and spice reminiscent of perfect Maine clam chowder (al'a Maine Diner) mixed with eggnog spices in a way that is hard to describe. I guess the best way is a perfect New England fall day in a taste.

a couple of steak tacos @ La Pasadita(east side) on the way home from the city last night around 10:30 p.m.. Really hit the spot, and I am craving the one I have sitting in the fridge, gonna eat it cold.

plus I got to check another GNR off my list.

Home made lunch of this & that. Leftover House Chili Soy Gluten from Yummy Yummy (think chicken crack for vegetarians!); roasted cauliflower w/ oil cured olives & cerignolas from GNR J. P. Grazianos, & courtesy of White House personal chef, Sam Kass, greens (both kale & collards) & sweet potatoes.

simple but darn good. smoked turkey and chili nachos as a cooks snack while the smoker was doing its thing today:

Cook's Illustrated's Spanish Tortilla w/ garlicky mayo & a salad of avocado, mixed greens, baby spinach, micro greens, tomatoes, cerignolas and oil cured olives dressed w/ olive oil & fresh squeezed lemon.




Delish. Bonus, real mayo does taste considerably better.

Just about everything I ate at yet another spectacular meal at Sushi Yasuda in NYC. Once again, I am ruined on Chicago sushi for months.

Dinner last night - burger on an F&O french roll with a giant scoop of my famous caramelized onions and jalapenos with balsamic and chipotles en adobo. I used ground sirloin because I'm eating healthy nowadays, but made sure to cook it medium so it retained a good deal of moisture despite the low fat content. I even managed to put a nice char on it from the frying pan.

No cheese, no mustard, no ketchup. Just beef, onions, jalapenos and good bread.

I had some fresh corn and butter beans from the summer saved up in my freezer which prompted a little fresh succotash. Butter beans, corn, garlic, salt and pepper sauteed in butter. So simple. But, so good.

Lentil soup at Taste of Lebanon with a perfect light and chewy pita for dipping. Incredibly comforting food.

Red velvet "cake balls" from Bleeding Heart Bakery.

"Sleep" burger at Kuma's

Had quite the weekend- first crack at Big Star with favorable results, Mom's cooking, maiden voyage to Burt's. But the best, the perfect meal was at Double Li. Dinner for two- Chengdu dumpling, Garlic peapod leaves, Black pepper beef, and my favorite dish there- Homestyle baby octopus. An ideally balanced meal of dishes cooked to loving perfection!

How is the homestyle octopus prepared? Sounds intriguing if it's anything other than fried.

Habibi wrote:How is the homestyle octopus prepared? Sounds intriguing if it's anything other than fried.

It's served in a chili oil- based sauce heavily studded with Szechuan peppercorns and also a generous hand with the chiles, as well as ginger, garlic, and perhaps a Szechuan black bean sauce. From the little I know about cooking Szechuan, my guess would be that the octopus is cooked separate from the sauce, either boiled or quickly fried. There are a boatload of halved button mushrooms and some bamboo shoots in the dish as well. Like the "octopus" whiskers at Sun Wah, these baby octopi are either really small babies or actually some kind of squid- can anyone else speak to that?
If you scroll down on yellow truffle's linked post his "Baby Octopus, Szechuan Style" is the same dish, though the menu I had that particular night listed the dish as "Baby Octopus, Hoestyle". As you can see it is served like a hotpot, but less brothy.

They are baby octopi. They come in a big bag, frozen.

JeffB wrote:They are baby octopi. They come in a big bag, frozen.

The frozen baby octopi I buy in a bag, frozen at Joong Boo are larger than these. I believe you, though.

Yeah, "baby" varies. Some baby octopi are fairly large, like 3 to a plate. I've seen bags in Chinese groceries where the critters were very small. They start out pretty tiny. I guess you could always count tentacles. If 8 identical appendages, it's an octopus.

Foie Gras duck brat at Hot Doug's

Fries from Jimmy's Red Hots... perfection.

Japanese Tofu with Salt & Spice at Chinese Kitchen in Westmont.

Aliigator Sausage with cajun sauce and goat cheese at Hot Doug's - fantastic offeirng that blew the ribeye sausage outta the water.

stevez wrote:Japanese Tofu with Salt & Spice at Chinese Kitchen in Westmont.

Tell me more. I used to push that place quite a bit when I spent more time out west. Good to hear...

The Reuben Strudel from Kaufman's Deli in Skokie.

stevez wrote:Japanese Tofu with Salt & Spice at Chinese Kitchen in Westmont.

Yeah, that's the stuff. Also: S&P smelts, fish filet with bitter melon or bok choy.... Cantonese goodness.

Also #2: If you want dessert, not too far, on La Grange, is Balkan Bakery. Don't go for the crescent rolls -- not enough filling, mostly bread. But some of the "cookies" (actually, little slices of cake) are quite nice and the Bosnian-style baklava is righteous.

Satsuma mandarin oranges from Family Fruit Market on Cicero. We used to eat these by the 10# bagful when we lived in Northern California, and I've been searching for them here for the last few weeks. Finally found 'em and have been delighted with every bite.

Burt's pizza - sausage-jalapeno; spinach-garlic-onions; pepperoni-mushrooms-olives. My maiden voyage and it was as good as I expected. The crust is a thing of beauty. I loved the sauce and the light hand with the cheese. And Sharon was a sweetheart.

Gribenes -- aka KOSHER CRACKLINS

For our family Thanksgiving Gorp-Out, we contributed a pair of outstandingly delicious roasted geese. They were cooked by Patrick, the Deli Manager at Treasure Island in Wilmette (847-256-5033).

He did a great job, coaxing me through the process. I only had to let him know the approximate amount and that we preferred a savory, rather than plain, result. He ordered the geese from the TI butchers and he did all the prep work and roasting. The birds were ready at the time he said they would be, all packaged for re-warming in oven-ready trays. And, he brought the job in under budget, because he charged less for the roasting than originally quoted.

As much as everyone enjoyed the uniqueness of having goose, along with the traditional Thanksgiving turkey, there were two very real bonuses to having the geese: 1) the quart of liquid gold – the Goose Schmaltz that Patrick saved from the roasting – which we will use for frying latkes at Chanukah; and 2) the gribenes that we made from frying the scraps of meat and skin, along with onions, garlic, salt and pepper.

A dense piece of dark pumpernickel, spread with schmaltz and covered with a mixture of gribenes, chopped radishes and onions, salt and pepper. That’s the best thing I’ve eaten lately – and sixty years ago, in my Bubbe’s kitchen!

jimwdavis wrote:Gribenes -- aka KOSHER CRACKLINS

I just made this for the first time, though not with goose, but rather a chicken that I slaughtered (approximately in the Kosher fashion, though sans Rabbi). It was incredibly simple- slowly fry chicken skin till golden while also rendering the fat. I served the schmaltz and gribenes slathered and sprinkled on my home- baked rye bread with chicken soup and chopped liver at a fresh chicken tasting event that I hosted.

While I am on this thread, Best Thing I've Eaten This Week would be a double griddled burger, American cheese, everything (KMOP), with added jalapenos at Edzo's today. Crisp, lacy edged patties that I would best compare to Schoop's. Its been finals week and I've been eating out a lot in Evanston with my classmates and I think we have a new fave!

A cava based vinegar at City Olive in Edgewater blew me away. It was bright, clean, effervescent - all kinds of wonderful. Might have to go back and buy a bottle.

Also going to add the nutella shake at Edzo's. Man did that hit the spot.