Eatin' in Lincoln

Hey Lincoln!

2009-11-19T23:46:00.003-06:00

I have lots of restaurant reviews stored up from the last 18 months or so. Most of them are timely and concern Lincoln and Omaha restaurants.

There'll be posts covering what I eat, which is currently kashi and/or quinoa with vegetables, or sardines with just about anything.

Let's see how this goes again.

The Boiler Room

2009-01-10T11:04:00.002-06:00

No, not that room under the Westerburg High School gym and not that place where Ben Affleck berates Giovanni Ribisi with Glengarry Glen Ross quotes, but a new restaurant in Omaha. Sadly, it does not appear to be a Brazilian steakhouse.

From the press release:

Master Sommelier and Nebraska native Jesse Becker has joined Chef Paul Kulik in his newest venture, The Boiler Room Restaurant in Omaha, Nebraska. Becker returns to Omaha after working as a sommelier in some of America’s best restaurants, including Michael Chiarello’s Tra Vigne, Charlie Trotter’s, and NoMI at the Park Hyatt-Chicago. He spent the last two years at the James Beard Award winning restaurant Frasca Food and Wine in Boulder, Colorado, during which time he passed the rigorous Master Sommelier exam, making him one of 168 people in the world to achieve this distinction.

The Boiler Room is a collaboration between Chef Paul Kulik and the Mercers, the visionaries behind the Old Market arts and dining district in Omaha. Chef Kulik, also an Omaha native, returned recently from working in Berlin and Paris and has previously partnered with the Mercers as former chef of La Buvette.

“I am thrilled to be back in Omaha and to have found colleagues like Chef Kulik and the Mercers,” says Becker. “They have done an amazing job with the space [a former boiler room in the old Bemis Bag factory] and we share an aesthetic for pristine ingredients, prepared without flourish, and wine service that is simple, excellent, and unassuming.”

The Boiler Room will be an ingredient-driven restaurant inspired by “chalk-board menus” where plates will vary constantly, and with a preference for organic produce and meats. The wine list will focus on French country wines and will open with 80 to 150 selections.

The Boiler Room, in the Old Market, 1110 Jones Street, Omaha, Nebraska www.theboilerroomrestaurant.com

L'Ortolan

2008-11-30T20:26:00.004-06:00

Jesse sends this photo in response to my last post. L'Ortolan doesn't actually serve ortolan. That would be illegal.

I bet if Jesse knew the secret handshake he could get a face full of ortolan under his napkin.

By request - Tastee Inn

2008-11-26T14:29:00.003-06:00

Jesse and Elizabeth are still in Europe, probably somewhere near Avignon by now, but they've apparently grown tired of horse meat, forcemeat and Ortolan. Jesse emailed this morning requesting a Tastee Inn review and since I was going to be in the north 48th area anyway, I was happy to oblige.

The only rule of Tastee eating, and this must be observed, is you have to get your loosemeat sandwiches to go. Either use the backwards drive-thru or go in and get them. Do not eat them in the restaurant. This cannot be stressed enough. Tastees need a good ten minutes in the bag before they're ready to eat. Go ahead and eat your onion chips while you're waiting. That's what they're there for.

While waiting for 10 minutes is good, the best way to judge when your Tastees are ready is to hold the bag about a foot above a table top or counter. If your sandwiches fall through the bottom of the bag, they're perfect. Don't remove all your sandwiches from their wrappers at once. Spending more time in the wrapper only enhances the taste so your last one will be, at minimum, at least 40% tastier than the first assuming you eat at least three.

I haven't had a Tastee in about three years and I really didn't realize how much I missed them. They're so simple - ground beef cooked until it breaks into little granules, a thin layer of mustard on the bun, and a dill pickle chip - and so delicious. They're not as greasy as you'd expect since most of the grease is either cooked out or at the bottom of the bag, but the buns get nice and soft from what they've soaked up.

Most of the recipes on-line call for extra seasonings and mustard and ketchup mixed in with the beef but I prefer the Tastee way, beef, salt and pepper. Anything else crosses the line into sloppy joe-hood, which is a different, but still delicious sandwich in its own right.

My only complaint about Tastee Inn is the price. At $1.45 each, those little sandwiches are a tad pricey. Of course, much more labor goes into preparing Tastee meat than in making a regular old hamburger. As a firm believer in rewarding good labor, I'm willing to accept the increased cost.

Hungarian Beef Stew

2008-11-02T18:46:00.003-06:00

I borrowed this recipe from the December 2008 issue of Cook's Illustrated. According to their experts this dish, aka Goulash, was originally made with just three ingredients, beef, onions and paprika so I went with that. I did follow the recommendation of the magazine and blend the paprika with some roasted red peppers to cut the grittiness of using so much paprika (this doesn't really interfere with the integrity of the dish since paprika is merely finely ground dried red bell peppers).

1 3 lb. chuck roast cut into 1 inch cubes
6 cups of chopped onions (about 5 medium onions)
1/3 cup of sweet (Hungarian) paprika - the regular store-brand paprika will not work. Open Harvest has good, fresh Hungarian paprika available in bulk.
12 oz. roasted red peppers
2 tsp. white vinegar

Preheat your oven to 300°. After chopping the beef, salt it evenly and set aside and blend the paprika, red peppers and vinegar in a food processor until smooth. Cook all the onions (chopping this much onion will definitely have you reaching for your hankie and taking many breaks) over medium heat with just a little oil in a Dutch oven (I used my extra big antique cast-iron skillet) until soft but don't let them brown (about 10 minutes). Add the paprika mixture and stir for a couple of minutes then add the beef cubes and stir until the meat is coated. Put the lid on your Dutch oven/big pot and put it in the oven for about 3 hours. Enjoy with potatoes or egg noodles. Add other veggies or sour cream if you must.

What's amazing about this dish is how so much liquid is produced from the beef and the onions. The Cook's reciped called for adding beef broth late in the cooking process but it wasn't necessary.

I remember the "goulash" served in my school cafeteria on a semi-weekly basis. It was just hamburger and tomato sauce with overcooked elbow macaroni. That had kind of colored my perception of goulash for years. It's still made dozens of different ways with many additions to the basic recipe which will always include cubes of beef, onions and paprika. Mine is below. I added some delicious little canned white potatoes (the most underrated canned veggie available in every grocery store) after snapping the pic.

You might notice that this goulash looks eerily similar to the chili I made a little over a week ago. There's not that much difference. Tomatoes and spices. One could argue chili is just a busier version of traditional goulash. If I had a lot more time to research the issue I might even find a connection.

Really, meat stewed with various vegetables and spices is probably one of the most universal dishes on earth. Once Neolithic man figured out how to make a fire and keep it going it was only a matter of time until he discovered applying the heat from that fire to the tough raw meat he had been eating made it more tender and added flavor. It must have occurred, once boiling water was mastered, that adding meat to liquid over heat cooked it, made it even more tender and could keep cooking for a long time as long as the fire was kept alive. Every culture has its own version, from the beef stew of our western European ancestors to east Asian beef and potato stews flavored with ginger and anise to Goulash to west African peanut and chicken stews to lamb vindaloo.

The one thing about stew of any kind, it's easy and it's always good.

Tennessee

2008-11-01T22:56:00.003-05:00

Spent a week in Tennessee, not anywhere near Memphis or Nashville but in a small group of towns (when you're in the hills all the towns sort of run together due to the limited space) about an hour northwest of Knoxville right in the heart of the Great Smoky Mountains.

Here are a couple of pics from my hotel room balcony:

As far as food goes...everyone in eastern Tennessee can do a good dry rub BBQ. I knew that from previous visits to the region so ribs weren't an issue. A couple of nights I just got salad and sandwich stuff from the grocery store because no matter how much I like Krystal I can still only eat there once on each trip to the South.

One thing that was kind of odd: In this almost 100% white sort of backwoods county in the Smoky Mountains there were 3 Japanese restaurants. I scoffed at first but then realized Knoxville is no more remote via airplane than Lincoln is. Knoxville has a way nicer airport, too.The word from the locals is that Japanese food is a recent fad and that most of the restaurants serve sweet and sour gummy gloppy Chinese food to pay the bills.

Speaking of the Knoxville airport...It's the first airport with a Ruby Tuesday in it complete with salad bar. The manager told me there are others going in around the country. I had some time to kill so I had lunch there on Friday and they actually use the same menus they do in their regular restaurants. The prices are even the same. I had a 22 oz. glass of Stella and the bartender told me it was $4.99. I told him that glass of beer would cost me at least $8 in Dallas or Chicago or Minneapolis. He said it was Ruby Tuesday corporate policy to charge the same prices in airports as their regular locations.

That's all well and good considering that was the only Ruby Tuesday in an airport in the world. I wonder if they'll stick to that policy when they try to compete with the awful Chilis and Applebees franchises that infest every other airport?

Chili and cinnamon rolls

2008-10-26T18:52:00.003-05:00

As the weather made its irreversible turn toward winter this past week everyone I work with started talking about making chili and cinnamon rolls for dinner on Tuesday or Wednesday night. Pretty much everyone I know who grew up in Nebraska instantly thinks of the chili/cinnamon roll combination but I've found that people not from Nebraska have never heard of the concept, considering it weird, or foreign, or even gross.

In my 13 years in a Nebraska public school you could count on chili and cinnamon rolls being on the lunch menu at least every other week during the fall, winter and early spring. Just about everyone I know who went to school in Nebraska says the same thing. The meal of chili and cinnamon rolls isn't just something we all have because we like it. It's also a reminder of childhood and simpler times.

Why is Nebraska peculiar in this manner? Did the state dept of Education have some sort of deep connection to the chili mix and cinnamon roll dough industries?

Anway, Yesterday I finished the chili I made on Wednesday evening. Here's the last bowl.

Since coming under the influence of a mean band of Texas chili fascists a few years ago I only make my chili the correct way, with no beans. Beans can be added later, as with the Cincinnati 3,4 or 5-way. Vegetarian chili, which I used to make often when I was a vegetarian, is simply spicy bean soup.

My recipe:

Spice measurements are approximates since I don't measure.

1 eye of round roast (any cut will do, longer cooking negates the need for a tender piece of meat from the start) - cut into small cubes
1 large onion - chopped
2 yellow chili peppers - diced
2 fresno peppers - diced
1 large bell pepper - diced
2 tbsp cumin
4 cloves garlic - minced
2 tbsp paprika
1 tbsp salt
1 can chipotle peppers in adobo sauce - chopped
1/2 tsp. unsweetened cocoa powder
2 large cans of diced tomatoes
1/2 bottle of good beer, preferably brown ale or a decent lager like Sam Adams

soften all peppers and onions over medium heat in a little oil while browning the beef in a separate pan. Add beef, chipotle peppers and sauce, beer and tomatoes to pepper and onions and add seasonings. Bring to boil and then simmer for awhile. Put it all in a crockpot and cook it as long as you'd like. The beef gets more tender the longer you cook it.

Sometimes I lose track of where I've been

2008-10-23T23:36:00.002-05:00

Thanks to Gary for reminding me of my recent trip to Northern California, Yuba City/Marysville in particular. Driving from Sacramento north to Yuba City was sort of like driving from Grand Island to Kearney on Highway 30 except if you squinted really hard to the east you could sort of make out the Sierra Nevadas through the smog.

The main thing I wanted to do was return to In-n-Out Burger for the first time in about 7 years. I've heard so much hype since my last visit that I figured I must have missed something the last time.

Luckily for me, there was one across the parking lot from my hotel which meant I didn't need to waste time driving around to find one. Which was too bad since I'd been upgraded to a V-8 Mustang by Avis and I really enjoyed driving it although too much extra driving around could have resulted in a speeding ticket so in the end the closeness of this burger joint was a good thing.

I forgot how small the menu was - burgers, fries, sodas, shakes. I ordered a Double Double (a double cheeseburger) with mustard, pickles and onions and fries. The burger was pretty good, definitely better than the usual fast food. I'd put it on par with the double cheeseburger at Don and Millie's although Don and Millie's has better fries. The In-N-Out fries were soggy and flavorless, possibly undercooked or cooked in oil that was too cool.

The next day I was reminded of the secret menu including the popular "animal style." I'm not sure this would have improved my opinion of the burger since this style includes extra secret sauce and I'm not a fan of secret sauces on burgers at all. The mustard-cooked beef patties sound good though.

Yuba City also has one of the largest Sikh communities in the United States so there are plenty of choices for Indian food. Several people recommended Taste of India which turned out to be a few blocks from my hotel. This was seriously some of the best Indian food I've ever had. Two words: Paneer Pakoras. Fried cheese, Indian-style. The Lamb saag (lamb with spinach) was also amazing. The lamb was falling apart in the creamy, buttery spinach sauce.

Finally, when you order calamari in California they don't serve you those rubbery little rings but give you big chunks of tender, breaded squid. I'm developing an obsession with tentacled sea creatures and this only made it stronger.

I'm hoping to post on a couple more things (The peculiarly Nebraskan love of cinnamon rolls with chili and dinner tonight at Sakura Bana (formerly Sushi Ichiban) in Omaha) before Monday when I leave for Knoxville which will include a 3-hour layover in Cincinnati so a real Cincinnati chili 5-way is probably on the agenda.

This Week

2008-10-05T20:01:00.002-05:00

I'm off to Northern California in about 7 hours. I'm on the waiting list at The French Laundry for next Friday. I'm also scheduled to fly back to Omaha at 6 am on Friday so if the Laundry calls I'll have to do some fast flight changing and hotel reserving but it'll be worth it.

Shadowbrook Salad Company

2008-10-05T19:13:00.002-05:00

Shadowbrook Salad Company, out at 56th and Pine Lake Road, has been around for a couple of years now. I'd been there once before but recently met my mom there for lunch this past week. If you haven't been there yet Shadowbrook Salad Company offers a big salad bar, 6 soups, some hot offerings and about 30 flavors of gelato which cost extra as of this past June.

Besides the salad bar with the great Shadowbrook Farms greens and enough toppings to way outdo the Ruby Tuesday salad bar there are at least a dozen prepared salads each day. These are hit and miss, as prepared salads are. Your tolerance for mayonnaise will determine how much you like these although there are usually three or four that I like.

What's best though is the soup. My favorite is the roasted red pepper and gouda and this last trip there was a great beer cheese soup with ham. The broccoli cheese was a little too greasy for my taste but the vegetable beef was delicious. Another soup I love that wasn't available on my last visit was the chicken pick a noodle which is basically chicken soup and then there are several kinds of cooked noodles on the side.

There is also some great sourdough bread available. I think it might be Le Quartier but there was no way for me to tell.

The hot offerings are hit and miss. The pizza I had last week was not good but the baked potato bar I had on a previous visit was a nice addition. That's not really why you'd go to Shadowbrook though so consider it a bonus if the hot food is good.

The food is a little pricey. Lunch for two was about $16. I forgot about my company 10% discount, too. The ingredients they use are worth the cost I think and it's really one of the only places that gives you the ability to eat a completely healthy lunch with lots of choices.

Dinner on Wednesday: Farmers' Market Tasting

2008-10-05T19:09:00.000-05:00

For a couple of weeks I'd had a dinner scheduled with a couple of friends for last Wednesday night. I had all this great stuff from the farmers' market and a new (to me), functional kitchen with an island facing the dining table so I thought I'd do a dinner of small plates made up of all that great stuff.

Here's what we had:

Branched Oak Farm quark and basil Le Quartier ciabatta pizza - Quark and chopped basil mixed together and spread on halved ciabatta loaves and toasted under the broiler. I mixed a little good balsamic vinegar in with the cheese and basil mixture, too. Pretty tasty and a nice appetizer.

Roasted tri-color beet and carrot salad - I bought a bunch of beets on Saturday that came in red, golden and candy cane colors. I also had red, white and orange carrots. I roasted those for 30 minutes then tossed them in a simple vinaigrette and let the whole thing macerate overnight. You really can't go wrong with beet salad and even better if the beets have been roasted instead of boiled.

Warm spinach salad with cippoline onions, black radishes and toasted sesame seeds - I was kind of surprised at how well this turned out. I sauteed the onions for a few minutes then added the radishes then a few minutes later I added the pile of baby spinach leaves from Open Harvest. I cooked that all down then tossed in the sesame seeds. The radishes took on a really nutty flavor with a little heat and the combination of flavors gave the impression there was a vinaigrette on the salad when there was not.

Roasted turnip and parsnip puree with star anise - I've made this before but I added some star anise to the roasting mix and a little cayenne pepper to the puree to give it a more Chinese flavor. Again, this would be better if I used way more butter and cream but I tried to keep this somewhat healthy.

Baby fingerling potatoes and garlic scapes with reduced balsamic drizzle - I had some tiny potatoes and garlic scapes which are the shoots from the tops of garlic bulbs that have usually been harvested to encourage bulb growth. The flavor is lighter than regular garlic and a little sweeter. The flowers are really tasty. I parboiled the potatoes then fried them while I steamed then sauteed the scapes in another pan while I was reducing some good balsamic vinegar in another pan over medium heat. This was a great little dish although the balsamic was too reduced. It had taken on a little of the chocolate sweetness that happens when you reduce balsamic vinegar to the level where it's good with fruit. Oops.

Italian sausage with whole-grain pasta and fresh basil - I had some Italian sausage from the farmers' market so I decided to inject a little meat into the meal. I sliced the sausage then sauteed it while the pasta boiled then tossed it with a little olive oil and a bunch of basil one of my guests chiffonaded for me with my new knife.

Branched Oak Farm Krista's Little Camembert with sauteed pear slices from my parents' backyard - This was a perfect finish to a great meal. It's not just common wisdom that soft ripened cheeses go well with warm pears it's almost written as law. The Branched Oak Camembert is really, really awesome. If you love soft cheeses like brie or St. Andre, pick some up.

A great meal and a lot of fun. It took about 2 1/2 hours and 3 bottles of wine.

Breakfast at Russ's

2008-09-22T22:42:00.003-05:00

I moved back to the old 'hood over a month and a half ago. When Jack Jackson suggested breakfast at Russ's Market (the original at 17th & Washington that I still usually refer to as B & R which means either Bums and Rummies or Bugs and Roaches depending upon who you ask) before he drove me to the airport so I could go pick up my new car I was a little skeptical.

I've had breakfast at Russ's at least once a weekend since I've been in the neighborhood and it is always perfect. Nothing costs over $5 although I did note this past Sunday morning that a few items had gone from $3.99 to $4.59.

My favorite is the chicken-fried steak breakfast with two eggs, hash browns and two slices of buttery rye toast. A couple of weekends ago I tried to branch out and had the chicken tender skillet. All the skillet meals are served with two eggs and toast along with enough fried potatoes and gravy for two people. The hearty breakfast features two slices of bacon and two sausage patties along with the hash browns, two eggs and toast.

You really can't go wrong with breakfast at Russ's Market and it's kind of fun to sit there with all my fellow cranky old men reading the newspaper and cursing Wall Street.

The best thing though, is that no matter how you order your eggs, they're always perfect. I'm an over-easy guy myself and I just can't do 'em like that at home. I've also tried them poached and scrambled and they always do it just right.

One of my pet peeves about breakfast places is that many of the cooks think scrambled eggs means cooking the eggs as fast as you can and then chopping them up so they look scrambled. Scrambled eggs take time, more time than any other breakfast egg prep if they're done right and the cooks at Russ's do them right.

I'll probably continue to make Russ's breakfast a weekly ritual. Since I eat yogurt and fruit for breakfast every other day of the week I think it's a good trade-off.

Trout

2008-09-22T18:57:00.004-05:00

I picked up some nice trout at the Farmers' Market on Saturday. I don't recall the name of the vendor but they also sell goat although they were fresh out. Maybe next time.

Disapproving little buggers, aren't they? They were in great shape after a day in the fridge. I could actually put my nose about two inches away from them and not detect any fishiness at all.

The nice thing about trout this small is that any pin bones I may have missed in the cleaning process kind of melt away with a little heat. I gave them a light fry on both sides in a non-reactive pan after whipping up a little bacon vinaigrette out of some bacon, shallots, lemon juice and tarragon. I also sauteed some yellow squash and baby spinach and served it alongside a toasted quinoa and almond pilaf. This is one of those plates that tastes best when you mix everything together.

Pork Carnitas Tacos a la my favorite taquerias

2008-09-21T15:37:00.003-05:00

Yesterday morning after hitting the farmers' market I grabbed a bag of pork rib ends at Super Saver and threw the whole thing in the crock pot with a chopped onion, some fresh garlic, salt, pepper and lime juice for about 14 hours. There are only so many pulled pork sandwiches one can eat (although that is a very high number for me) so for lunch today I made some tacos carnitas.

Sunday Dinner: Rustica

2008-09-14T21:12:00.003-05:00

Spelt Spaghetti (pronounce it "Spa-gheeee-ti" like Giada and it tastes better) with a cannellini bean ragout.

Does anyone know where I can find bulk, dry cannellini beans? They're so much better than navy or great northern beans. It seems like Progresso is the only game in town when it comes to cannellini beans.

I'm off to Madison, WI, until Thursday night. I may post from the road if I remember to take pictures of Ella's.

Saturday Dinner: Lunch at Piezano's

2008-09-14T08:56:00.002-05:00

I rarely eat dinner on Saturdays, especially when I eat a big lunch like I did yesterday. Piezano's recently started doing a daily lunch buffet so I met Jack Jackson and a couple other folks there to check it out.

When we arrived around 12:45 there were a few other people in the restaurant but only a couple of slices of pizza on the buffet table. We hit the small salad bar while we waited for more pizza to appear. It was comforting to find out the reason for the delay was a shortage of pizza sauce that was only being remedied as we arrived. They didn't lose their can opener or anything like that. They were actually making the sauce in the kitchen.

I've never been as enthusiastic about the pizza at Piezano's as most people. I think it's too thick. When the fresh pies hit the buffet table I was pleased to find the crust was crispier than I remembered. Of course, this could be because I usually eat Piezano's pizza delivered. The only times I've ever eaten at the restaurant were for Sunday night spaghetti.

Overall, the buffet was worth the $6 price but there were a few things I'd change. First, the whole thing appeared a little slapdash. The buffet tables were just plain tables. The salad bar was not a traditional salad bar but just a bowl of lettuce with the toppings and sides set out next to it in round serving containers. I'd also like to see some marinara sauce for the cheese sticks and maybe a pasta option.

Friday Dinner: Unplanned

2008-09-12T23:01:00.004-05:00

I had to work until 8 tonight and as I was about to leave there were a bunch of people in another department working on some kind of afterhours software emergency. They had a bunch of of Sam & Louie's pizza. Since I'm a big fan of their pizza I couldn't resist a couple of slices.

I had intended to make some spelt spaghetti and toss it with garlic, olive oil, parmesan, a chopped boiled egg and some white beans. Maybe on Sunday.

Thursday Dinner: Odds and Ends

2008-09-11T21:25:00.003-05:00

I had a couple of Raisin' Canes chicken tenders tonight at the Light the Night walk for the Leukemia Lymphoma Society so afterward I just put together a small salad plate from stuff I needed to use.

The edible portions of a couple of heirloom tomatoes I'd been saving for too long, sprinkled with fleur de sel and a little cracked black pepper; the last of my baby spinach; more watermelon radish and some wheat germ bread from Open Harvest, brushed with olive oil, sprinkled with fleur de sel and black pepper and broiled until toasty.

Wednesday Dinner: Amsterdam Falafel and Kebab

2008-09-11T02:35:00.004-05:00

I headed up to Omaha after work tonight to see two of Will Johnson's bands, South San Gabriel and Centro-Matic at The Slowdown.

Since I had plenty of time before the show I called Jack Jackson to see if he wanted to grab some dinner. We decided on Amsterdam Falafel and Kabob on 50th between California and Underwood in the heart of Dundee.

Amsterdam Falafel follows the idea that if you're only going to do a few things, do those things well. There are two sandwiches from which to choose, falafel or kabob. You can also get fries and hummus. The sandwiches come with a choice of sauces - garlic, herb or spicy - and are served on toasted leavened bread in the European manner. The fries are dusted with curry powder.

I can safely say this was the best falafel I've ever had. It was nice and crispy but not dry on the inside and greasy on the outside. The kabob meat was unique too in that it contained a higher percentage of lamb than beef. Most places serve kabob meat that is much heavier on beef. Both sandwiches come topped with a tabouleh-like mixture and marinated red cabbage and chickpeas.

Kabob

Falafel

Centro-matic

Tuesday Dinner: Salad Week

2008-09-09T21:01:00.004-05:00

It's officially salad week at Chez Swoof.

Baby spinach and more watermelon radish from Open Harvest; Brussels sprouts leaves shed from chopped sprouts on Sunday; tomato from parents' garden; a chopped boiled egg from Phil's Fresh Eggs; diced chicken breast from Sunday night's bird; marinated cauliflower; a chopped dill pickle; dressed the same as last night.

I wonder how long I can keep this nightly meal posting up. My bet is through the weekend.

Monday Dinner: Leftovers and Almost Unused

2008-09-08T20:34:00.003-05:00

What better way to enjoy 7 straight hours of pro football than by devouring a big salad.

Chicken leg meat from yesterday, diced and sauteed; little fritters made of last night's parsnip-turnip puree; tomato from my family's garden; green beans I bought a week ago found in the back of the crisper drawer flirting with the Dark Side, blanched; salad mix and watermelon radish from Open Harvest; dressed with a simple vinaigrette of olive oil, seasoned rice wine vinegar and dijon mustard.

Eatin' in Tulsa

2008-09-08T19:26:00.002-05:00

I was down in Tulsa for a week in early August when it was over 100° every single day but I found some decent food which made up for it. At first glance, Tulsa appeared to me as Omaha with a slight twang and a nicer airport, where the money flows from oil instead of insurance.

Tulsa has a few things you can't get in Nebraska although there's no reason for it. First, Tulsa has a Brazilian steakhouse. I'm starting to sound like a broken record on this but if Tulsa can have an all-you-can-eat grilled meat emporium, why can't Lincoln or Omaha? The one in Tulsa was called the Gaucho and seemed to be an independent operation which was interesting since if you find a Brazilian steakhouse it'll usually be one of the two chains, Texas de Brazil or Fogo de Chao.

The grilled meats were just as good at The Gaucho as they are at either of the chains and the parmesan chicken, a staple, was better than I've had at the other places. What sets the chains apart from The Gaucho is the salad bar. At Texas de Brazil or Fogo even a devoted carnivore can get a full and satisfying meal without even eating the meats brought around on swords. The salad bar at The Gaucho was just a salad bar.

I had a couple off lunches at a place called Sushi Train which is a sushi place with a big train with about 30 flatbed cars that goes round and round the sushi bar in the middle of the restaurant. The cars are loaded with color-coded by price plates of nigiri, rolls, salads, desserts. It's a familiar concept as there are many places like this around the country although usually the transportation is boats in a moat. I think I ate three squid salads for lunch one day topped off with some flying fish roe and toro.

I also visited the new Whole Foods in Tulsa during its grand opening week. What was interesting about it was that it was not a gigantic fortress of fine food like the Omaha Whole Foods but a smaller store in an old strip mall. It would be like if Whole Foods moved into the space occupied by Sun Mart at 48th & Van Dorn or the old Russ's space in Bishop Heights. There was plenty of everything there but it wasn't overwhelming. I wonder if this is a new Whole Foods strategy to cut costs and combat their most famous nickname by leasing smaller, older spaces and reaching more markets.

Tulsa: like Omaha but richer and meatier.

Carmela's Bistro and Wine Bar

2008-09-08T18:23:00.002-05:00

I'd been meaning to get out to Carmela's for over a month but hadn't really had the opportunity until last Friday night when two friends to whom I owed dinner for helping me move at the end of July finally took me up on the offer.

We didn't make reservations figuring if we showed up late enough we'd get a table since Lincolnites are typically early diners. We arrived around 7:45 and and were told we had about a 40 minute wait. We took seats at the bar, which you have to walk through the main dining room to reach, ordered drinks and wound up being seated in about 20 minutes at a tiny table in the smaller dining area separated by a wall of wine racks from the main room.

If I had a choice I would have requested to be seated in the main room. First, the smaller dining room had a big TV on the wall which is fine for sports bars but really takes away from the "fine" dining experience people are looking for in a bistro. Plus, the table we were seated at was barely big enough for two people, especially considering the entrees are served on huge platters over a foot wide a la 90's nouvelle cuisine. The three of us could not help but pity the table of four next to us we watched them make use of every single square inch of their table.

As we finished our cocktails we ordered wine and entrees. I was impressed with their wine list which I think rivaled what can be found at The Lodge or Venue. There were some nice New Zealand whites by the glass and a couple of terrific wines from Chilean producer Montes. One of my favorite wines, Pio Cesare Barolo from the Italian Piedmont was also available by the bottle but I didn't feel up to Barolo at restaurant prices. If you feel like bringing your own bottle, the $15 corking fee is very reasonable.

For entrees, I had the Napoleon Chicken, which was chicken breast stuffed with (allegedly) smoked gouda, ham, and sun dried tomato pesto, and drizzled with Bechamel sauce. I didn't taste or feel any texture that would suggest the presence of smoked gouda. The pesto was made up of big chunks of marinated sun dried and very little else. The dish seemed like it had sat for awhile and a quick glance at the congealed Bechamel confirmed it.

My friend Dave ordered the sea bass which I completely forgot was batter-dipped from reading the LJS feature. The fish was good but batter dipping and frying a good piece of sea bass seems a waste. The pairing with cheesy risotto and a Thai-inspired sauce was also puzzling. I'm all for experimentation with fusing different cuisines but the risotto with the Thai flavors seemed a little off. What was even more mysterious was the cup of curry-flavored sauce that came with the dish as what I was guessing was intended to be a tartar sauce. It reminded me of when I would mix mango habanero salsa and sour cream together.

My other friend Neal had a thick sirloin which was perfectly cooked to medium rare, which is to say, red and warm in the middle.

The service was also an issue but it seemed to be limited to our server who must have been new. He read us the special, instead of having it memorized, and a very ordinary special it was - chicken, basil fettucini Alfredo, reeking of Olive Garden. We also had to ask for bread, while it was brought to the table next to us right away, and water, which should also appear at the table immediately.

Overall it was a very ordinary dining experience. I'm glad the place is doing well. Keeping the room small is a good idea for a restaurant like this in Lincoln. I was hoping to see more Italian-style dishes on the menu instead of enchiladas and more Bechamel sauce than I've seen on any menu in a long time. From what I've heard and experienced the steaks are probably the way to go there, which puts it on par with about a dozen other restaurants in Lincoln.

Catching Up

2008-09-07T20:26:00.002-05:00

Late last week a friend emailed me asking about Tokyo Steak and Sushi and lamented that I didn't blog anymore. I replied that it had been a month since my last post but I was still blogging. Of course, he didn't know I had resumed blogging last winter. Still no Tokyo post either way, but his email did provide the impetus for me to write something.

I have a few more new posts in the works including stuff Carmela's, breakfast at Russ's Market and eating in Tulsa but for now check out the new link in my blogroll to JesseandElizabeth.com. Jesse and Elizabeth are friends of mine who are about to embark on a three month European wine tour. It's not a recreational visit though. They are both what you could call beverage professionals and Jesse is one of about 160 odd Master Sommeliers in the world so they're going to be working and studying and visiting what seems like about every wine producer in Europe. Take a look at their itinerary.

Sunday Dinner

2008-09-07T19:48:00.003-05:00

It's been a little over a month since I moved from our old house and into an apartment and today I finally finished unpacking and organizing the kitchen. The counter tops are cleared of the detritus of moving and the boxes are all broken down and put away until I move again. Oddly, my new kitchen is bigger and more functional than the kitchen in my house. What better way to celebrate the new, fully operational kitchen than by making a complete mess of it?

Tonight I made a pan-seared chicken breast with spinach and garlic sauce, puree of roasted root vegetables and caramelized Brussels sprouts, garnished with slices of watermelon radish.

Brussels sprouts take on such an amazing deep smoky flavor when they're sauteed until brown. I used a tablespoon of butter with a little olive oil to bring the smoke point up a bit. They're even better when you do them in a pan in which you just fried up some bacon.

The root vegetable puree is way too labor-intensive to do very often but I felt like going all out since I had a new, clean kitchen. I started out by cutting a couple of parsnips and a couple of medium-sized turnips into small chunks, tossing them in olive oil and roasting them in a 350° oven for about 30 minutes. I put the roasted chunks in my food processor, added a tablespoon of butter, a tablespoon of light sour cream and a couple tablespoons of milk and processed until smooth. As the chicken breast and sprouts were cooking I formed the puree into a mound, slid it onto a baking sheet sprayed with cooking spray and put it under the broiler until the top was browned. Of course, this would have been way better with more butter and heavy cream instead of light sour cream and milk but I was trying to keep things somewhat healthy.

The spinach garlic sauce is part of my experimentation into almost calorie free sauces in the manner of Bernard Loiseau. It's basically a puree of spinach, celery, garlic and a little bit of water. Since there's no cream or oil being used it's important to really concentrate the flavors being used. That also means using more salt than normal and refrigerating it for a few hours before use to let the flavors mingle.

Today felt like a chicken-in-a-crockpot sort of Sunday but I only used one breast tonight. I'll use the rest of the chicken in pasta and as chicken salad as the week goes by.