A friend made a crock pot full of mulled cider. It was so good, I got a to-go cup and attempted to make my own.
Roda Japan House
November 10th, 2011Warning: Do not buy sushi from this restaurant.
I like to think of sushi as a special treat. I was having a bad day so I stopped by a sushi restaurant for lunch. I’ve never been here before so I figured it would be great fodder for another review.
The outside windows are completely blocked off with wide blinds and sheets of paper. I thought the place was closed at first. Opening the door brings you to a large foyer, which opens up into the restaurant. There are two sides: hibachi grill side and sushi/kitchen side. It is average inside with the exception of a huge floor-to-ceiling glass window separating the two sides. There are neat Japanese style lamps lining the glass wall as well.
The woman behind the cash register handed me a menu. I had to ask if there were any lunch specials. From what I could, tell she could not understand a fucking word of English. I felt comfortable just circling the sushi I wanted.
Eventually she rung me up and that’s when I asked, “Is it OK if I have a seat or do I have to leave?” At this point she seats me and brings water.
I ordered salmon, tuna, sweet shrimp, and egg. All seafood items were slimy and chewy. When I say “chewy” I mean, “I had to saw through them with my teeth.” The rice was falling apart on a few of them as well. Rice was plenty sticky and seem well cooked but wasn’t packed tight enough.
When I was about to leave I asked the waitress if I could possibly get an egg sushi to go because the seafood was so bad. She walked over to the manager/owner and without even looking up from his paper he said, “nope.”
I give Roda Japan House a 1 out of 5.
Grilled Lamb with Brown Sugar Glaze
November 10th, 2011I’ve made this recipe before using lamb chops. The lamb chops turned out great, but there’s hardly any meat on them. I picked up a lamb shoulder chop at the store and was looking for a proper way to cook it. That’s when I decided to just go with a recipe that worked in the past.
Chocolate Pecan Cookies
November 6th, 2011So I went to the store on a Saturday night, and I make the startling revelation that I’ve never made chocolate chip cookies from scratch. This post describes my first batch.
Tarrant’s Cafe
November 5th, 2011Seats about 100 and has a very cozy atmosphere. There are a few tables for big parties but most seating is in booths. We went on a Friday night around 9pm and the place was packed – good sign. We had to wait about 10 minutes but it was expected. The main decor is dark stained wood with polyurethane service areas. Lighting comes from chandeliers and warm accent lights. There’s books and assorted wine bottles on shelves throughout the restaurant.
Plenty of good beers via tap/bottle and wine selection looks decent.
As we were waiting for our food a magician came over and did a few card tricks. It was kind of tacky in a delightful way because it made me smile like I was a kid again.
I ordered an oyster Po Boy with she crab soup. The crab soup was very rich with a hint of spiciness. The Po Boy came with homemade tartar sauce and coleslaw. The coleslaw was not my thing but it tasted fresh. The lettuce and tomato on the sandwich were so fresh I could taste the Mexican on them. The oysters were cooked properly (nothing worse than a runny fried oyster sandwich).
I ordered homemade potato chips as my side. They are a bit thicker than the average store bought chips, have a very subtle BBQ flavor, and were light and crispy – not soggy at all.
The menu items are a little pricey. I ended up paying $30 for soup, sandwich, and a beer (not including tip).
A friend said this was a good pizza place – but they have so much more to offer. Next time I’ll give the pizza a try. I give Tarrant’s Cafe a 4 out of 5. Calling ahead to make reservations would be smart.
Bagels
October 31st, 2011This post contains all my bagel-related cookery. My favorite bagel is the onion bagel, and over the last few years I’ve had a hard time finding them in grocery stores. I’m sure there are onion bagels in specialty shops (i.e., World Market, Whole Foods, etc.) but the lack of my favorite bagel inspired me to try and make my own.
Other
October 31st, 2011This post is intended for beer reviews for beers that have obscure styles.
Asian
October 31st, 2011This post contains notes, pictures, and comments from Asian recipes I have prepared.
Smoking (Part 2)
October 30th, 2011I read Allen Carr’s “The Easy Way to Stop Smoking.” This describes the leadup and my first week as a non-smoker.
Ciders and Lambics
October 30th, 2011Ciders are fermented beers that are usually made from cider apples or pears. They are usually sweet, are light in appearance, and have a simple mild fruity flavor.
From what I have read, ciders were very popular in the United States during colonial times because water was unsafe for drinking. I have also read that when the industrial revolution occurred in the states, working men needed stronger beers to handle the extra hours/stress which helps explain the diminished popularity of ciders. I think this may have helped the demise of the cider in the U.S., but I also think other reasons (mainly the globalization of the beer economy over time) allowed different styles to merge with America’s existing brews.