Something Different to Eat

Discontinuing this blog

2010-03-14T10:35:00.000-04:00

Please follow my personal blog at - http://michelleandchrisblog.blogspot.com/

Craftsteak - MGM at Foxwoods, CT

2010-03-14T10:29:00.000-04:00

Musts: Wagyu tartare
Pass: Desserts

I was traveling on Valentine's Day and since I felt so bad about it, I let Chris decide where we'd go eat. She picked Chef Tom Collichio's (from the show Top Chef) Craftsteak that opened in the MGM hotel / casino at Foxwoods' Resort in Connecticut. I thought that was a fine pick and so I made the reservation.

It didn't take us too long to get there and we were excited because it'd been several years since we'd been to Foxwoods and hadn't yet been to the newly opened MGM portion. We gave ourselves plenty of time to get there because the website stated that if you were late, they’d give your table away. We ended up having about 45 minutes before dinner so we decided to hit the slots. I didn’t have much luck and decided to leave the machine I was on after just $5. Chris took the other $15 that I’d reserved and sat at another machine. She ended up with $100 and just in time for our reservation.

We took the short walk over to the entrance to the restaurant. We gave our name and after a brief wait, were taken to our seat. It was a hug booth that could easily sit 6 people and was in the shape of a C. We both scootched all the way into the middle so that we’d be facing out into the middle of the restaurant. Very nice and cozy. We were separated from the booth next to us by a shear-type curtain. We were handed the gigantic menus.
We decided to start with the Wagyu tartare. It came in a small bowl set on a platter that had about 5 waffle cut potato chips. The tartare was excellent. It wasn’t the traditional thinly sliced beef with lettuces, capers, parmesan and olive oil. The meat was cubed and had been tossed in what seemed like a light mayonaise, capers and herbs and was topped with a small raw egg. We were both put off my the egg and wasn’t sure what to do with it. Chris said “I’m not eating that”. So, I decided to take the plunge, scooped it out and put it on my plate. The white was the hard part to deal with. I cut the yolk in half and took a bit of all of the white, half the yolk and some steak. It slid right down which wasn’t all that appetizing but the yolk was good. Now Chris wanted some. I gave some of the yolk and some steak. She made an aweful face but ate it nonetheless. She said it was ok. I scraped up the rest of the yolk on the plate and got more tartare. There was a lot of it but we polished it off. Chris said there were too many capers but she always says that when we get tartare.
We’d been brought a little earthenware of fresh made rolls. They were yeast rolls which aren’t my favorite but I wanted to try them because they were so cute. There were six in the little dish and they were slathered with butter on top. The dish was still piping hot. Chris had already had one before the appetizer and asked that I get her another one.
Our dinners came next. I got the Wagyu skirt steak. It came in its own platter as did Chris’ steak (similar to the bread). I like this type of presentation. Very homey, comfortable and clean. The waitress, who seemed to know everything there is to know about steaks (loved that), recommended that I get it cooked medium as this allows the ribbons of fat in the steak to really melt into the meat giving it its intense flavor. So I took her suggestion but found that my steak was really rare. It ended up being pretty tough and not very enjoyable to eat. I ate from the thinner parts and the ends and it was good but the purple parts just weren’t that good. It’s not that it was rare. I’ve had pretty rare filets before and didn’t really mind it. I think it was just this cut of meat is not really meant to be eaten so underdone. The waitress had told us that all of the steaks come sliced for presentation. I felt that I was eating fajitas rather than getting to tear into my own steak. I didn’t really like that too much. Chris didn’t like it either. She said that all of the juices were in the pan so she’d take a slice and flip-flop it in the juices before putting it on her plate rather than having them there to sop up herself.
When we’d ordered, I asked about accompaniments to the steaks. I didn’t see any on the menu. The waitress said “Ah, a sauce girl”. I smiled and said yes. She said that all of their steaks come with three sauces. A tamarind sauce (that she recommended we use the bread with to sop up), a horseradish creme fraiche and a chimichurri sauce that’s a little spicy. I decided to try each one. The tamarind sauce tasted just like A-1. The horseradish crème fraiche was good but it didn’t really “go” with my steak. The chimichurri sauce was a bit spicy but again the flavors didn’t really go with my steak. I thought that if any of them would, that one would because of the fajita feeling I was having. I felt disappointed. I was so excited.
Chris' steak looked awesome. It was a dry-aged NY Strip with the bone in. It was very good. I had a couple of bites. She really enjoyed it. You can just tell the difference between a top quality steak and one that’s not. And then the dry aging – simply the best. She said nothing beats her Grill 23 steak but that it was good. What was very different was that hers was served with a bone that was opening side up with a spoon in it. This was so that she could scoop out the marrow. She was quite freaked out about it. I told her she had to try it. We’d seen this on cooking shows but had never tried it ourselves. She took out a little bit and spooned it onto a bite of her steak. She said it tasted like butter on the steak. She did for probably ever other bite and seemed to enjoy it. As she got further down into the bone, she said the taste of steak got stronger and stronger and she wasn’t quite sure she liked it. It wasn’t that it was good or bad, just different and kind of strange.
We’d also ordered the truffle oil risotto. It was good. We both liked it. Cooked perfectly but I would’ve liked a bit more of the truffle oil in it. I’ve made truffle oil risotto before and it’s to die for because of the taste of the truffles and I couldn’t detect it here so it was a bit disappointing.
We each ate about half of our steaks and had a little left of the risotto so we took it home. I’d planned on steak and eggs with the leftovers but decided to make steak sandwiches after work one night instead. My steak was much better cooked a bit more.
For dessert, Chris got a chocolate cake covered in chocolate sauce. I tried it but it was pretty bitter. I assume that’s because of the dark chocolate used. She even said that it was a bit too bitter for her. She enjoyed her cappuccino though. I got a trio of sorbets. Blood orange, coconut and pineapple. The blood orange didn’t really taste like much. There was a slight taste of orange but was over-powered by the coconut and pineapple. The coconut was toasted coconut. I didn’t realize that at first because there were two toasted coconut threads on top of the scoop and I thought the toasted taste I had was just from that but subsequent tastes continued to be toasted. It was a bit too much. Too toasty to really enjoy. The pineapple was so sour that it was funny at first but then I found that I couldn’t really eat it without my face wanting to contort.
We decided to leave and try our hands at more slots since that seemed to be where our luck was for the night.
I probably wouldn’t go back to Craftsteak. There’s far too many other steaks and steak places out there to try to go back for a mediocre meal.

At Home - Brie stuffed chicken with red pesto and cream sauce over penne

2010-03-07T10:02:00.001-05:00

I'd been having a craving for pasta and decided to see what I could do to clean out the fridge a bit.
I started with some grape tomatoes. I cut up about 5 of them, 5 or so chunks of red bell pepper, a
slice of onion and 4 cloves of garlic. I put it all in the oven and roasted them. I then peeled the
tomatoes and peppers. I didn't have any fresh herbs on hand so I used some dry basil,
oregano and parsley. I put all of that in the food processor and drizzled in some olive oil to make a
pesto.

I then thawed a large chicken breast, cut a pocket in the side and stuffed it with some brie that was
in the drawer. I then slide it into a plastic baggie and put half of the pesto in with it and then
put it in the fridge for the rest of the day.

I took the rest of the tomatoes (a handful or so), another 4 chunks of red bell pepper and julienned
them. I crumbled up a chunk of blue cheese and the rest of the brie that wouldn't fit in the chicken.
I also pulled out a chunk of parmesano reggiano and put it in the grater.

I started my salted water boiling and heated up the oven to 350. I grabbed the chicken out of the fridge to
get it warming a bit. I put some olive oil in a pan and got it smoking hot. I set the chicken in the
hot pan and let it sear on both sides and then I put the whole pan in the oven.

I poured some light cream into a pot and got it heating. Once it was almost boiling, I started putting
in the cheeses and stirring constantly. As each batch of cheese would melt, I'd add more.

I started the pasta cooking. I found some penne in the pantry and so I used that. Once the cream sauce was
perfect (I tasted it and added a bit of salt as I didn't want to do this until the cheese ratio was good
or else could end up too salty from the salts in the cheese), I checked the chicken breast with a thermometer.
It needed a few more minutes. I put some Italian bread slices in the oven with the chicken.

Once the chicken was done, I took it out of the pan and placed it on my cutting board. I put the pan
on the stove, added a bit more olive oil and put the diced tomatoes and sliced red bell peppers into
it. I also put in the rest of the pesto that I'd reserved from marinating the chicken. I took the
pasta from the water and added it to the pan. The pasta was just a little over al dente. I wanted it
a bit on the under done side since I'd continue cooking it in the pan. I wanted to give the pasta
and sauce a bit of a kick and try to tie in the marinade on the chicken with the rest of the dish.
This way, the pasta soaked up the flavors while finishing cooking in the pan. As it sauteed, I sliced
the chicken breast.

We plated the pasta into bowls and then covered it in the cream sauce and topped it with the chicken.

Bread was done and we shredded some paresano reggiano as the finisher and sat to eat. I was super surprised. t was incredible. I mean, usually, there's something that could be done better or differently but I
was really impressed with this dish. It was very, very good. I was quite proud. And the leftovers for
lunch the next day were just as good. I'll be making this one again.

Grill 23 - Boston, MA

2010-03-06T08:44:00.000-05:00

Musts - Steaks

Pass - I've not found anything to pass on yet

Chris had a reason to celebrate and since Grill 23 is her favorite restaurant, I made a reservation.

I always feel so intimidated when I first walk in the door. I'm not sure what it is. I like all the wood, the professionally dressed staff, the marble columns and floors. Maybe it's just that's it's so bright and big. It's like walking into the center of the coliseum so I'm just waiting for the lions to attack. We were seated and strangely enough, at the same table that we'd eaten at the last time we went there. It's right next to a column. I'm not sure if that's a good thing or a bad thing. It's good because it does allow for some privacy from the next table but bad because you're squished up against a column.

I always think it's funny that you can tell how a restaurant rates itself by its menu. If it's this gigantic, leather-bound, Moses size tablet, they think they're the stuff. If it's a single sheet under the glass on the table, well, it's a diner. If the edges are frayed and there's handwritten notes on it, stains and food particles, leave and go call the health department. Anyway, I had to push my chair back in order to hold it the menu out in front of me without wiping everything off of the table. We made our drink orders and bread was brought over. They have a flat-type of bread that they always serve. It's harder and thinner than a cracker but it's brushed with oil (I think) and then sprinkled with red pepper flakes and then baked. I love it. I eat the whole piece every time we go. there's also rolls, a dark pumpernickel-type bread with raisins which I had as well and some focaccia (couldn't pass that up either). Now that I was stuffed with bread, it was time to order.

The more I learn about food, the more questions I seem to ask. I really like learning about all the things I don't know about and have probably started looking for such things on the menu as a prize. It really shows how interested the waiter/waitress is in food as well. For fancier places, they should know it all. I asked about the Kobe Cap steak. The waiter explained that it was the cap of the shoulder of the cow and with it being Kobe, that it would have quite a bit of marbling which is what Kobe is known for - the tenderest, most flavorful meat there is. I then asked about the flatiron steak au poivre. I just can't seem to resist an au poivre. He said that it was one of his favorites which I found odd because he didn't say that about the Kobe. He explained that a flatiron is similar to a roast cut with some marbling. And finally, the skirt steak because I can never remember the difference between a skirt and a flat iron. So, skirt steak is similar to flank steak which you usually find sliced in strips (think fajitas) and the waiter said that it would be sliced. The did, of course recommend their dry-aged steaks and I could see Chris' eyes get bigger and bigger the more he talked. That's why we come here, is so she can get her Dry-aged NY Strip. Her all time fav.

I started with the Jonah crab claws. I love those. They're horribly expensive for the couple of claws you get but they come in a boat of crushed ice and are accompanied by three sauces. Again, sauces. They just do it for me. The first is a cocktail sauce which I usually love but in this setting with these claws, seems overly boring. The second, is a horseradish mustard but thinner than typical mustard. The third is a wasabi type sauce but again, thinner than typical wasabi. I love them both. Can't get enough of that burn in my nose. It's a fancy place and so I don't act like I'm at a crab shack like I'd want to, tearing the claws apart but I do the best I can with the little seafood fork picking out the bits by the pinchers.

Chris started with the Tuna sushi She said it was good. It came expertly prepared on the plate. It was one of those beautiful plates. You just want to take a picture of it. She wanted something light to start off with. It actually looked similar to some of the dishes that we got in Finland with foams and purees but we wouldn't know that yet. I didn't try any because she hates cold seafood and so I didn't want to take some of hers if she wasn't going to have some of mine.

I decided to get the flatiron steak. If they're done properly, they're really a great steak. And this is the type of place that will do a steak right no matter what it is so I had no worries about it. It was fantastic. Perfectly done, something to chew on but not tough at all and incredible flawor. The au poivre sauce was ok. I'd asked for it on the side and I'm glad I did. It was very fragrant which I believe comes from the pink peppercorns. I've found that I don't really care for pink peppercorns as much as I do black. I love that crunch and bit of bite from the black ones. I ate all of the steak. It came with a side that was a potato cake that had ham and cheese on the inside of it (called a roesti). It was crisp on the outside. Very good but we'd gotten a side of blue cheese mashed potatoes so I took them home (along with the remaining mashed). We had the roesti with our breakfast the next morning and they (got 2 of them) were really good. We'd gotten the blue cheese mashed before and I wasn't that impressed with them because they weren't blue but this time they were quite blue and I loved them. You could see the dots of blue cheese all throughout. Much better than the first time we got them and went nicely with the steaks. We also got a side of onion rings. We thought they'd go great with the steaks as well and they did. They were thinly sliced and fried perfectly. Finished with course salt. It was a huge mound of them. We took the remaining of those home as well.

Chris got her dry-aged steak. I had a bite and it was great. I don't normally prefer NYs. I like the flavor but I think they're too tough. I'm much more of a filet person unless I can try a flatiron or similar steak. This steak was incredible. Tender, juicy and very flavorful. It came with the bone so that probably helped on the flavor side of things. I had a couple bites. Hers was perfectly done as well. She really enjoyed mine as well. She couldn't finish and so we brought that home as well.

I love when waiters are attentive as well. They should always be around but not really be around. After being asked if everything was to our liking, we weren't spoken to again but every so often, a new drink would appear, water would be refilled, things would be adjusted or cleared from the table very swiftly and almost without notice. Nice.

When were about to die, we decided to stop eating. We HAD to get dessert however but Chris got a cappucinno as we pondered over the menu. I went with a special and Chris ordered from the menu. She got a chocolate cake that was round, three layers and covered in chocolate sauce. I think she made it about half way through. In the bag it went with the rest of our treasures. It was super dense and rich but a little too dark for my taste. She loved it. I got a pineapple upside down cake which was personal size, round about the size of a coffee cup saucer and not much thicker than the pineapple slices. It was topped with coconut sorbet, toasted coconut, a dried slice of pineapple and then drizzled with a pineapple reduction. The entire thing was sweet-tart and I just loved. I was in heaven. Probably two of my favorites - pineapple and cocount. The slice of dried pineapple was incredible. I'm going to have to try to dry some fruit and play with that. It wasn't like the chunks you get at the store, it was almost jerky like. And quite tart but super flavorful. I couldn't finish it but did a very good job in taking it all apart so that there wasn't enough to take home.

Very enjoyable dinner. We've never been disappointed with Grill 23 and will continue to make it one of our celebration places. http://www.grill23.com/

Traveling

2010-01-21T10:59:00.001-05:00

I can't do both blogs at the same time so I'll be posting to our travel blog while we're away (http://michelleandchrisblog.blogspot.com/)

I'll pick this one back up once we're back home.

Dinner at home - Filet topped Pasta with Blue Cheese and Parmigiano Reggiano Cream Sauce and a Balsamic reduction with Shallots and Mushrooms

2010-01-17T12:08:00.000-05:00

I saw a recipe in Mother Earth News Magazine the other day for No Knead bread and thought I'd give it a try since baking is my down-fall. That just means that I have to do more of it to figure it out. If a bread making course in Italy can't cure me though, I'm not sure I'm savable. The recipe started out by saying it would take 5 minutes to do this. I didn't believe it. Many, many hours later, I was rushing to get it done! I don't want to steal the recipe and post it here so feel free to go check it out for yourself on the Mother Earth News website - http://www.motherearthnews.com/Real-Food/Healthy-Bread-No-Knead-Bread-Recipes.aspx

I decided that since we'd be making some yummy home-made bread, what better to go with it than pasta! What kind of pasta though? I checked the fridge and saw some Parmigiano Reggiano which of course I'd have to use. Ah, that was it! I ran it by Chris - how about a seafood scampi? She curled her lip. OK, back to the fridge. There was some blue cheese in the drawer. Hmm, was there any steak? I opened the freezer and dug around. I came out with a single filet. Perfect. I knew she wouldn't turn her nose up to steak and pasta and I was right.

I got Chris going on the bread (see how I got out of that one) and I got to work on the dinner. If I timed it right, it'd all be done at the same time - a feat that I find hard to pull off but am getting better at. She pulled at the dough, shaped it into a loaf, patted on her new little bundle of joy and then pushed it into the oven. I dumped a container of light cream into a pot and put it on high. I got the pasta water salted and put it on high as well. I pulled out the new grill pan that I got for Christmas. I couldn't wait to try it out. I had taken the steak out when I found it earlier and let it thaw in the fridge and now it was sitting on the counter covered in salt and pepper to get the chill off. I diced the shallots and sliced the mushrooms to have them ready and got the cheeses out of the fridge. It took some time for the cream to start to reduce but once it got going, it wasn't too long of a wait. Between waiting for it to boil and the pasta water to boil, it was a lot of just standing and stirring so that the cream didn't turn into some weird state that sometimes happens when heating too fast. Once everything was getting bubbly, I turned it down and got the grill pan ready with some olive oil. It's so great to breath in the olive smell when the pan heats the oil. It's the timer that lets you know it's ready. I put the steak down and let it sizzle and smoke. I turned the fan on because it was going to get smokey. I love searing steaks. I can smell it in the house for like two days after and there's nothing better than cutting into a juicy, perfectly done steak, especially when you're the one that made it. The pasta water was rolling now so I took about half the package of Barilla pasta (I was trying the new Plus line that's a multigrain pasta) and stuck it in the pot. I worked the long sticks down into the water and gave it a stir. I then gave the steak a half turn so that there'd be nice grill marks on it. Time to get the cheese into the cream that was now reduced by about half. Once the cheeses were incorporated, I flipped the steak. Stir the sauce, stir the pasta. Check the bread. Almost done. Heat the plates. Turn the steak half way for the grill marks and poke it to see how far along it is. Couple more minutes. Stir the cream, check the pasta. I took the steak off and put it on my cutting board to rest. I put the diced shallots and mushrooms into the pan that the steak was in. I then poured in about a 1/4 cup of balsamic vinegar. Splatter everywhere. Chris sighed and I laughed. I can't cook without making a mess. Stir the cream, move around the shallots and mushrooms while the balsamic reduced. I added a touch of sugar to it to sweeten it just a bit. It becomes sweet on its own but it was pretty cheap balsamic so it could only go but so far on its own. Oh, the pasta. I grabbed the colander and threw it in the sink. I've found that with the whole wheat or now the multi-grain pasta, that it's almost impossible to over cook it. It keeps a perfect al dente consistency and just seems to come out better than traditional pasta. That's all I've been buying and really like it. Chris grabbed the bread out of the oven while I dumped the pasta in the colander and grabbed a noodle to taste. A smidgeon over done but since I wasn't incorporating it into the sauce, it wouldn't continue to cook too much. Definitely doable. Like I said, it's hard to screw up that pasta. We had the bread coolling and I started cutting up the steak into bite sized pieces. I guess I didn't have to worry about the grill marks but they did come out nice. The steak was a little under-done. I like it more medium than rare for pasta. I set it back in the pan with the balsamic while we put the pasta in the bowls and topped it with the cream sauce. Just then I knocked the bowl off the counter that I had the extra cheeses in to top the dishes. Oh well. Chris cleaned that up and I put the steak bits on top of the sauce in the dishes. Chris held the pan while we drizzled on the now super thick balsamic, shallots and mushrooms. I cut the bread. It was really dense. I stuck two pieces on the sides of each bowl and we retreated from the kitchen to go sit and try it out.

It was really good. Really good. We were proud. Just enough sauce - not too much to drown it. The blue cheese turns so silky when it's melted in a sauce and then the salty bite of the Parmigiano Reggiano in the background really gave it a nice flavor. The balsamic reduction gave it a whole new level of depth. And the mushrooms with the pasta and steak made it not just another pasta dish.

The bread on the other hand was good but not what I expected. I was thinking something more airy and chewy rather than dense and crunchy. We both ate our two pieces so it couldn't have been all that bad. Just not what I expected.

I was pleased with the dish though and happy that we got the timing right. I asked Chris about half way through dinner if making the mess was worth it and she shook her head yes as she stuffed in a bite. I smiled and went for another bite myself. And cleaning up wasn't too bad after all.

Thai Island - Holden, MA

2010-01-13T20:17:00.004-05:00

Musts: Chicken Satay, Banana Dessert

Pass: Thai Mini Rolls

Awhile back, I was scouring eworcester.com for someplace new to eat and came across an article on Thai Island in Holden, MA. I was excited (of course) to try someplace new and talked Chris into going one night. Our first trip there was fantastic. The place was booming. Every table full and bustling. We had a 10 minute or so wait which wasn't bad at all considering how packed they were. The article in eworcester.com talked about the Pad Thai being their specialty and so of course we had to get it. We also got the Panang. Now, don't think I'm just going to pick my brain for places we've been to in the past. I'm only bringing this up for comparison. We've since been to Thai Island two more times. The second time, it wasn't very crowded at all - maybe half the restaurant was full. I remember saying to Chris that the first trip's food was better. This last time was just a bust. Three trips to a place and I can't believe how it's gone downhill so quickly.

When we entered, the guy behind the counter just looks at us. We peek around the corner into the dining room thinking that there's a wait and seeing that we want to sit he says "2?" Yep. He points into the dining room and says "Take the one against the wall." Wow. Great customer service. First visit, we're seated. Second visit, we interrupted the two behind the counter watching the new flat screen TV and then they begrudgingly seated us. Third trip, go get your own seat.

Before we'd even gotten there we decided that we wanted dessert so we got two appetizers and one main to split so that we'd have room for it. As with the second trip, the appetizers came out and then the waiter/waitress returned immediately with the main course(s). That really bugs me when that happens. I feel so rushed.

This time we got Chicken Satay which has been fantastic each time we've gotten it. There's 5 skewers of tender (and not dry), thinly sliced chicken with thick, creamy peanut sauce. We also got the Mini Thai Rolls which differ from the full-sized Thai Rolls. The minis are pork which is why we ended up choosing them over the full-sized ones which are chicken. Chris said that she remembered not liking them the last time we got them but I thought, how can that be? We love spring rolls and they're basically the same but smaller. Needless to say, I gave up splitting the last Chicken Satay with her since she still didn't like the mini rolls. They ended up being mostly chicken and what appeared to be the mushrooms. Not much flavor really because there wasn't enough stuffing in them because they're so small but crisp little bites for the chili sauce that came with them. Chris started in on the Pad Thai while I finished up the mini rolls. I grabbed the two shrimp off the top and then pulled at the noodles to place a mound on my plate. I like white rice with my Pad Thai so I spooned some of that onto my plate as well. I know it's odd, rice with rice noodles but it's just what I like. The rice was perfect, dense and sticky. I twirled some noodles onto my fork and took a deep bite. I furrowed my brow and looked up at Chris. She said "Al Dente, huh"? I said "Wow, these aren't really cooked all the way". It wasn't like you couldn't eat it but it wasn't very enjoyable having to gnaw away at the rubbery noodles. I couldn't help but thinking that maybe if they'd let us finish our appetizers, it would've cooked perfectly rather than hurrying to get the dish out to us. There was only three other tables besides us in the place so I don't know what the hurry was. A definite downfall from the "specialty" that they brag about and a far cry from the other times that we'd gotten it. We ended up eating about half of it. We both agreed that once we heated it in the microwave at home, it would be cooked enough and probably taste a lot better. Everything else about the dish was great. The Pad Thai taste was there, a good amount of chicken, scallions, crushed peanuts. It could've had another shrimp or two and maybe some fresh bean sprouts (they cook theirs with the dish rather than topping with raw bean sprouts but that's fine too - maybe just a couple more would've been good). But when the main part of the dish isn't right, well then, the dish isn't right.

I was saving room for the dessert anyway so it was good we were able to take some home. I'd gotten the dessert on our first trip and had not forgotten. The dessert consists of tempura bananas deep fried, drizzled with chocolate sauce, surrounding either coconut or ginger (I chose coconut of course) ice cream and then finished with drizzled honey (although mine was missing the honey this time - details, details). It sounds strange but I couldn't resist it the first time I saw it on the menu and now I'm hooked on it. I'm going to have to try making this one at home. The bananas are super hot and become very smooth - not mushy but almost creamy. The tempura crust is dense but comforting with just a bit of crunch. All that smooth warmth in your mouth and then a taste of the cold ice cream. It's just an awesome combination. I love it. I make myself miserable with it each time but I can't help it. Chris stuck with just a bowl of coconut ice cream (passing on the super chocolately dessert to my surprise). The waitress took our bill and as I saw with the other tables next to us, the owner returned the change without saying a word. Again, treating a customer like a customer goes a long way. I think next time I'm in the mood for Thai, I'll seek out a new place. That is, unless I can't figure out how to make the banana dessert.
http://www.thaiislandholdenrestaurant.net/

MamaDuke's Diner - Troy, NH - The beginning

2010-01-10T18:10:00.026-05:00

Musts: Burgers, homemade pies, and homemade Coconut w/Chocolate bread
Pass: not fresh mushrooms for the Omelette

Chris and I were driving up to New Hampshire over the weekend to a Subaru dealership. Our current Subaru is getting long in the tooth and so we've been trying over the past few months to figure out what to buy next. We love our Forester but I don't want another one (just because that's boring and the interior is pretty cheap this year) and so we did some research and found that the dealership in Keene had a great selection of the various other Suby's we wanted to try out. We decided to grab breakfast/lunch on the way. We really didn't know where we'd end up and came upon MamaDuke's Diner on Rt 12 in Troy, NH. I almost whizzed right by it. It was hard to tell if it was open. We saw a car load of people just getting out of their car and then Chris said that she thought she saw the "Open" sign lit so I hit the brakes (thankfully no one was behind us) and was able to make it at the second turn-in.

It was bitter cold out and we couldn't wait to get inside. I was glad that there was a second door to go through - that means that it wouldn't be so cold inside. When we got in, it was bigger than I thought it would be. There were stools at the counter, tables in the middle - maybe 5 and then 3 or so booths on either side of the door. Chris went over to the right of the door and found a booth in the sun. I said that maybe we should go to the other side of the restaurant where there were already 3 other tables seated. That would make it easier on the waitress. We headed over and got the last booth. The waitress asked if we wanted breakfast or lunch menus. Chris asked for one of each. She took the breakfast menu and I took the lunch. The waitress asked if one of the girls could bring us our drinks - a Diet Coke with a lemon and a coffee. The lunch menu was small. On the front page, there were appetizers and burgers and the flip side had sandwiches and desserts. I couldn't decide between a burger or a sandwich but they didn't have any cold-cuts and I felt like a ham sandwich. The burgers said that they were handmade and fresh so I went with that. Chris got breakfast of course and couldn't refuse the fresh mushrooms, so she got an omelette with the mushrooms and Vermont cheddar. The choice of toast was white, wheat, rye, homemade white, homemade wheat or homemade coconut. Chris chose the homemade white but we asked what the cocunut bread was. She explained that she made it herself and that it was coconut and chocolate chips. We asked for a slice before our meals. Couldn't resist. It came out warm and crunchy from the grill and had a side of butter. It was more like pound cake than toast but man was it good. We both loved it. I tried to figure out the recipe. I think I'll have to try to make that some day.

We both really liked the little place. We're into diners and this one had a comfy feeling to it. We noticed while eating the bread that there was a rack of loaves for sale. That's an excellent idea. The waitress talked alot about making her breads and pies from scratch and we overheard the table next to us saying that the soups (Chicken Noodle and Clam Chowder) were excellent as well, to which the waitress said that she made those from scratch also. I started thinking that maybe she should be selling a cookbook on that rack as well.

As we often do, we talked about creating a blog about the places we go to and doing reviews of them. I decided to finally take the plunge. I'm just tired of talking about the things I want to do and not taking any action. So, here's my attempt at writing a blog about this quandry: "I want something different to eat". Don't get me wrong, there will be many of the old stand-bys as well but I hope to try new additions to the menu to change things up a bit.

When our meals came out, they looked great. Mine was an open-faced burger with lettuce, tomato and onion on one side of the bun and the burger and cheese on the other. Two little pickle slices sat on their own on the plate. I loved that they didn't forget my side of mayonnaise. How often do places forget that even when you ask for it? I slathered on the mayo while Chris took inventory of her meal. Mine looked better. Her omelette looked a little overcooked - brown rather than nice and yellow. I added ketchup on top of the mayo, flipped the top over and cut it, letting the condiments ooze out the sides. I took a bite and it was great. There's not a lot that can be said about burgers that hasn't already been said but this was a good burger. It was a thin patty but it just tasted good. And it was hot. I plunked in a french fry and a pickle and looked over at Chris. I asked how hers was before my next bite and she said it was good. I noticed that the mushrooms in Chris' omelette were not fresh, but jar mushrooms. I asked and she said that she wouldn't have gotten the omelette if it hadn't said "fresh mushrooms" on the menu. She hates mushrooms from a jar. She had a bite of my burger and agreed that it was really good. I poked at her home fries. They just seemed to be boiled potatoes and many of them had black spots in them. We both like home fries but like them with a bit of crunch to them and seasoning salt of some kind. These didn't look all that great. I asked about her toast. She said it was good but said to me later that it was too yeasty. It had too strong of a flavor to it. I polished off my burger and picked at the fries while she pushed her food around on her plate. That particular meal wasn't that great but she loved the idea of the place and knew that it had goodness to it because mine was good.

We overheard the group behind us ordering dessert. We decided to get some to go. They were raving about the place as well and said that they should get Guy Fieri in there for "Diners, Drive-ins and Dives" from Food Network. Or have the paper do a review. They bragged that their kids were visiting from Boston and they felt the food there was better than anything they'd had in the big city. The waitress, who we've learned by now is the owner, was impressed and very grateful for the compliments. It was obvious that she took great pride in her place, as well she should.

As she brought over our desserts - coconut cream and banana cream - we expressed the same sentiments as the others. They should call Phantom Gourmet for a review. She explained that her family had owned the place for two years now and have been doing pretty good in spite of several businesses prior to this failing there. Her husband was in the back in the kitchen and it appeared as though several of their kids worked there as well. It seemed like the kids did nothing but sit around but maybe they just like having them around.

As we left, we wondered if we'd be able to make it back by dinner time. We didn't but only because we went a different way to the next Subaru dealership but the slices of pie were perfect once we got home and flopped in front of the TV. They were both silky smooth and packed with flavor. The crusts were still firm and crunchy after being in the truck all day. If I had to choose again, I'd take the banana over the coconut. The banana was perfect. If that were something I'd made, I would've made myself sick on it eat so much of it. The coconut was more of a coconut custard rather than a coconut cream. It was all coconut and no cream. I like my pies more silky than dense so that's the only reason. For anyone that prefers a custard over a cream, this is the place to go.

We'll definitely go back and suggest that you give it a try as well.