I Cooked! - Beef & Beer Stew

I love beef stew. It's one of my favorite meals. My mother always made it from a recipe on a crusty old index card that got lost in the many moves over the years, so I went in search of a good recipe.

I stumbled upon this recipe and it looked easy. Easy is one of my criteria when I pick a recipe since most of my friends are moms with small children or single ladies, and neither group have the time or desire to spend hours in the kitchen. Since this one didn't require browning the meat first, making a roux, or any effort beyond buying the ingredients and throwing them in the crockpot, I was all for it!

I was leery at first. Could it really be this easy and taste ok?

Yes! As it cooked our place filled with the smells of beer and beef, and had my mouth watering for hours before it was ready to eat.

This is how it all looked 2 hours into cooking. 

It cooked on high in the crockpot for about 6 hours and I was careful not to give into temptation and open it! When it was finished, I wasn't all that excited about the flavor. It lacked a little oomph (for lack of a better description), but next day it was delicious!

The finished product!

Traditionally I make rice to go along with the stew, but it's fabulous on it's own. I like to have something on the side so tortilla chips worked well for me.

Variations:
I love burgundy beef, so next time I think I'll use a good burgundy wine instead of beer. When I do that, I'll let you know how it turns out. If you are adverse to using alcohol, you probably could use beef broth instead.

Review - Battle of the Spicy Chicken: Wendy's vs. White Castle (Nationwide)

Wendy's released a Spicy Chicken Nugget earlier this year, and now White Castle has released a Buffalo Chicken Ring in response (ok, I don't know it's really in response, but it sounded good). Just for you, my dear reader, I will jump on this grenade and try them both.

Wendy's is known in part for their Spicy Chicken Sandwich, which is very good, so it was only a matter of time before they released a spicy chicken nugget. When you order these new nuggets, they look like the original nuggets, except you can see the black pepper. The outside has a crispy, almost bread crumb-y texture. The inside is pressed meat (duh, what *IS* a chicken nugget? what part of the chicken is a "nugget?" Scary thought!), with the spice from the added black pepper. Not very exciting, kind of a let down. These nuggets don't measure up to the greatness that is their Spicy Chicken Sandwich.

White Castle, known for their tiny cheep burgers, is a favorite of the after bar crowd*. Probably because when you're drunk you don't care what you're eating, nor can you really see it, so the notion of eating a "chicken ring" isn't frightening (but sober minds know there are only a few places on a chicken that form a ring, and none of them are places you want to eat). The new Buffalo Chicken Rings are pressed meat (duh again), breaded in some sort of flour (or maybe even a batter), and fried. They aren't covered in a red buffalo sauce like I expected, but when you open the sack you can smell the buffalo sauce. The rings are dry to the touch, but when you put one in your mouth you can taste the buffalo seasoning. I guess it's mixed into the batter they dip the chicken in prior to frying. These are actually pretty good! At least they are if you can stop wondering where exactly the "chicken ring" is on the chicken. I think I'll order these again!

White Castle wins this battle!

*Note: I was completely sober when I did this taste test.

Review - Logan's Roadhouse (Nationwide)

Well, what follows Thanksgiving is known as Black Friday. My mother drags me out of my warm, cozy, comfy bed into the hell that is a shopping mall. This year was no different, except that we went at noon instead of 4am (Thank GOD!). As part of the deal, she feeds me after the insanity is over, and this year we went to Logan's Roadhouse. I've been to Logan's before, the service is always good, and I've never had a bad meal there. This time I thought I'd try something different and ordered their new Roadhouse Steak Melt.

NOM! NOM! NOM!

It was FANTASTIC! I was so pleasantly surprised! I thought it was going to be like a Steak-Umm (do those even exist anymore) but no! It's an actual piece of steak smothered in sauteed onions and provolone cheese (you can also get mushrooms on it, but I opted out of those). The meat was flavorful and tender, but firm enough that you knew you were eating something more substantial than White Castle. I felt like a carnivore eating this thing, using my incisors to rip into it and tear it to shreds. I liked that feeling! Almost T-Rex like! I put just a touch of A1 on the sandwich, but it really didn't need it. The sandwich also came with your choice of sides, but I went with the classic fries. Pairing this sandwich with their Top Shelf Roadhouse Tea made this meal perfect.

I will definitely eat this again! Rawr! That's the animal in me coming out for dinner!

Thanksgiving 2010

I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday, and ate to their hearts content. Personally, Thanksgiving sucks in terms of the food. I can't eat turkey (unless I'm feeling fat and want to lose a few pounds by way of the porcelain throne), I hate ham, and most of the sides give me indigestion.

This year DivaMom put me in charge of picking wine and dessert (we went to my aunt's house for dinner). There's a little specialty shop near where we live called Oliver T's and they have an immense wine section and a bakery. I love one stop shopping!

I got up early Wednesday morning and ventured out to Oliver T's. I managed to beat the rush to the bakery and looked at the selection in awe. They have every kind of cake you can imagine, and a few you couldn't. We have a few people in the family (and extended family) with dietary restrictions, so I always have to make sure to get one cake with no nuts. This (thankfully) narrows my choices to about half. I selected an orange cream torte. It was a dense yellow cake with layers of orange and whipped cream filling. I also selected a key lime pie. As for the wine, DivaMom and I like sweet white wines, but I'm pretty burned out on Pinot Grigio and Moscoto so I selected a Vouvray.We live in Michigan and since it's November, I used my car as a supplemental refrigerator to store the cake and pie. I brought the wine inside for fear of freezing, I didn't want to have to try to clean up frozen wine from the carpet in my car.

Thursday afternoon we arrive at my aunt's house and fortunately dinner is ready! I uncork the wine and begin the merriment. I won't go into the dinner, since that's just not that important, but what is important is the wine. I love Vouvray. I don't often think about it because I don't see it that often, but I have to make more of an effort to keep some on hand! It's light, not overly sweet, and goes well with whatever you're eating, or just by itself.

As for the desserts, The Orange cake was ok, but just ok. Given a choice, I don't think I'd get it again (although my friend with the nut allergy liked it). The cake was dry, due in part that the sides of the cake were exposed (no frosting on the sides) and the orange parts weren't very orangy, but tasted artificial. The key lime pie on the other hand...OMG! It was amazing! The filling was the perfect blend of tart and sweet, the whipped cream was soft, light and not overwhelming, and the crust wasn't so sweet that when you bit into it that it crunched like sugar granules. I don't know what kind of crust it was, but it was tasty! My uncle (a.k.a the funniest man I know) doesn't usually eat much dessert, but he had at least 3 slices of pie! LOL!

If you go to Oliver T's I hope they have the Key Lime Pie. It's the best thing I've ever had from the bakery! Also check out the wine and beer selections, you are bound to find something you'll like!

Review - Holly Hotel (Holly, MI)

The Holly Hotel is a misnomer. It hasn't been a hotel in decades. It is a restaurant with a comedy club in the basement.  DivaMom received a certificate for Holly Hotel in honor of their 31st anniversary. It was $31 off of a meal for two, and considering 1 meal can cost that much it was brilliant marketing especially if you send it to someone that can't allow a coupon to go to waste.

I made reservations for 7:45, I arrived on time and another couple walked in right behind me. The server that was on the phone when I walked in (I assume she was taking a reservation) looked around the room, and addressed the couple that walked in behind me and asked them if they had a reservation. They answered "No" and she said that there were tables being cleared off and she would be able to seat them shortly. Then she walked away. No acknowledgement of my existence, nothing. She returned soon after, and seated them without even so much as looking at my direction. Now I know my parents weren't glass makers and she couldn't see through me, but I have no idea why I was ignored. I stood there for about 10 minutes before another waitress came out (I had seen her and she had seen me as she was racing around taking care of her tables) and even asked if I had been helped. I told her what happened, she apologized profusely, and proceeded to seat me in what can only be described as "the train room."

The train room is a small 4 table room set up much like a dining car of a train. There are paintings and drawings of trains everywhere and there are overhead luggage shelves much like I'd imagine an old style train would have. I love this room. To add to the ambiance the entire hotel is decorated for Christmas, with classic old-fashioned ornaments that remind me of my childhood, lots of evergreen vines, and colored lights. There are even wrapped "presents" on the luggage shelves.

For dinner I ordered the Tournedos of Beef Tenderloin and it came with a salad or soup (I chose the green salad). DivaMom ordered the Chicken Strudel Holly Hotel (shredded breast, broccoli, herbed gournay, filo) and it came with cranberry quinoa. She also ordered the French Onion soup.The Holly Hotel also serves fresh bread and butter with their meals, and last night it was avocado/pepper butter with a cheese focaccia. I hate avocado, but this butter was amazing! It was slightly salty and it complemented the light cheese taste of the bread.

The soup arrived first, and DivaMom was in heaven. She loves their french onion soup because the cheese is on the bottom, the soup in the middle and the soup crock is topped with pastry dough and baked. This arrangement helps her avoid the cheese, while still enjoying the soup and bread. (she's a little crazy if you ask me, the best part of french onion soup is the cheese!). My salad arrived next. It was salad greens filling and surrounding a small shell made of filo dough, with dried cranberries and a blackberry vinaigrette. The salad was delicious, but could have used blue cheese crumbles to offset the sweetness of the vinaigrette. The filo dough shell was a little cumbersome to eat, I finally just picked it up with my fingers and bit into it. It was light and crispy, just the way filo should be!

The entrees arrived and I was not disappointed! I had 2 medallions of beef tenderloin with "glace de veau" (aka, gravy), some roasted mixed root veggies (carrots, parsnips, potato, and mushrooms), and mashed potatoes. The chef send out a third piece of meat with the explanation that when he plated the food it didn't look like enough meat. I ordered my meal well done, and I was happy to see my request was met. The meat was tender, but not pink, not an easy task but he/she (IDK the gender of the chef) achieved it! The gravy was tasty, which is amazing to me since I HATE gravy, and the mashed potatoes were perfection! I didn't care for the roasted veggies, but they were well seasoned and what I ate of them tasted ok. I'm not a fan of parsnips or mushrooms.

DivaMom and I passed on dessert. For once there wasn't anything on the dessert tray that struck our fancy, but we have had their personal apple tart, and it is amazing with a little vanilla ice cream.

Despite the little hiccup in the beginning the experience was enjoyable, the server that we had was great, and the environment is beautiful. Holly Hotel is a nice place to go for a nice slow meal. Don't go there if you are in a hurry or looking to kill time before another event (unless the event is the comedy show in the basement).

Review - Red Robin (Nationwide)

I've been thinking about a bacon bleu cheese burger for days, so I finally broke down and went to Red Robin and got one, and some other stuff.

I don't usually go to Red Robin. I prefer the hole in the wall kind of burger joints, but today I was out running errands and there was a Red Robin along the way. I like Red Robin just fine, I don't avoid the place, but it's usually not my first thought when it comes to eating out. There are usually a ton of kids, and it's really loud, and the decor is busy, and I get a little agitated there. But I got take out so it wasn't so bad.

I ordered the Gourmet Cheeseburger which comes with a laundry list of items. On mine I selected bleu cheese, bacon, lettuce, pickles, red onions, and yellow mustard. Of course the burger came with a heap of fries (when you eat in the restaurant the fries are bottomless). And I also ordered a Freckled Lemonade (Strawberry Lemonade) and a chocolate cupcake! I drank the Freckled Lemonade while I was there and they were kind enough to top off my to go cup before I left.

I got the food home (about 1/2 hour drive), and it was packaged in cardboard boxes. I prefer this method to styrofoam not only because the cardboard is biodegradable, but because the bun and fries don't get soggy due to condensation, double win! The food was still hot, and the burger was amazing! I recently discovered that I like bleu cheese and really can't get enough of it! The sharpness of the cheese the saltiness of the bacon, the savory sweetness of the onion and the sour of the pickle all came together and sang in perfect harmony! Each bite had a little bit of every flavor, and by the end of the burger I was almost sad to see it end! Red Robin is one of the few establishments that has steak fries that are perfectly crispy! Most places under cook the steak fries, but not Red Robin! The outsides are nice and crisp, while the insides are almost buttery smooth. These fries need only a dash of salt to draw out the flavor of the potato, no ketchup needed! In the take out container there were a mountain of fries. I have enough to snack on through the evening.

The Freckled Lemonade is a favorite of mine, my only desire with it is that instead of using Minute Maid Lemonade, that they use fresh squeezed, but I guess with the quantity of lemonade they sell, that would be unreasonable.

New to the menu (at least new since the last time I'd been to RR) are cupcakes! They aren't even listed on the website yet. I ordered a chocolate cupcake and it was fantastic! Lots of places make chocolate cakes and cupcakes that are dry, but not Red Robin. The cake was so moist I thought it was going to drip! The cake was soft, and it practically melted in my mouth. I don't like frosting, but the chocolate frosting didn't taste like a mouthful of brown colored sugar, it actually tasted like real chocolate fudge!

The food at Red Robin is excellent, and if you have kids it's kid friendly. If you can tolerate the chaos of the restaurant, it's worth the trip. Otherwise get a takeout, it's just as good as eating there, but without the insanity!

Review - Senior Lucky's (Davison, MI)

I'm always in search of good Mexican food, so when DivaMom told me about Senior Lucky's I was skeptical. But when she said that the parking lot was packed, I saw a glimmer of hope. I was not disappointed.

The building looks like it use to be a Big Boy. But when I got out of the car I could already smell the food, and it smelled good! Walking in, it's not spectacular. There is a full bar, and some TVs, a couple video games, and of course tables and booths. We took our seat and looked a the menu. Everything sounded good! They have some American favorites like Buffalo wings in addition to their Mexican fare.

When Melissa, our server, came to take our drink orders she brought chips and salsa. Both were fresh and tasted wonderful! Melissa was handling a large table (about 10 people) as well as our table (2 people) but never made it seem like she was too busy to answer our questions or attend to our needs.

I ordered a specialty margarita (rocks, no salt), Fried Corn Shell Tacos (ground beef), and 2 chicken flautas. The Tacos came with a side of rice and beans as well as a choice of soup or salad. I chose Chili for my soup. DivaMom ordered 1 Golden Taco (fried flour shell, ground beef), and 2 shredded beef flautas.

The margarita was perfect. It had 2 types of tequila, as well as cointreau. It was mixed well so that I didn't get a mouthful of mixer or a mouthful of tequila right off the bat. Bonus points to Melissa for remembering no salt amidst the chaos of the table next to us. DivaMom and I had the chili and it was quite good. It was a little thicker than what we like, but it had very good flavor, the meat was well seasoned and tender, there were just the right number of beans, and the tomato base was flavorful. The tacos I ordered were fantastic! The shell could have been fried a little longer (maybe another 30 seconds), but the tortilla was fresh, the ground beef was seasoned perfectly, the lettuce and tomatoes were fresh and firm, and the cheese actually tasted like cheese (unlike some places where the cheese has no flavor, or worse tastes like mold). The chicken flautas were nice and crispy on the outside, the chicken was also well seasoned (not at all gamey), and they were covered in a slightly spicy cheese sauce. YUM! The rice and beans were fantastic as well. DivaMom enjoyed her Golden Taco and flautas as much as I enjoyed my meal.

We couldn't leave without trying their apple empanada, and we were not disappointed! Imagine a burrito filled with fresh apples, and a light Cinnamon caramel sauce, slightly deep fried to crisp up the tortilla, then topped with more light Cinnamon caramel sauce and french vanilla ice cream! I could have died a happy girl right then!

I will be returning to Senior Lucky's, but really I feel like I'm the lucky one! If you are in Davison, MI, or the surrounding areas, go to Senior Lucky's and ask for Melissa! You won't be disappointed!

I Cooked - Potato Cheddar Cheese Soup

I love potato cheddar soup. I recently discovered this at a restaurant (surprise, surprise), so when I stumbled across this recipe I was excited to try it. It was a DISASTER!

Everything was going fine, until I boiled the potatoes. The recipe says to boil them for 15 minutes, and to use baking potatoes because "we want some of the potato to break down into smaller pieces and thicken the soup, baking potatoes are the perfect choice." Yeah, the potato broke down alright! It broke all the way down into mashed potatoes and absorbed every ounce of water in the recipe! Heck, there weren't even any potato lumps like homemade mashed potatoes are suppose to have! And why 4.5 cups of water? no milk, no cream, nothing to give it a smooth creamy texture like potato soup is suppose to have.  The only word to describe this mess is GLOP! To make matters worse, this glop has no flavor! I tried throwing all of the bacon bits in the glop to try and give it some pizazz, and nada! It still tastes like flavorless glop with bacon bits. I think the glop actually made the bacon flavorless!


So right now I have a big bowl of potato glop in my fridge. I am going to try to doctor it up, but I don't know how well that's going to go. I'll keep you posted.

Review - Chili's (Nationwide)

Friday I went to a late yoga class with a girl friend, and after I was STARVING (since I hadn't eaten since the disastrous McRib lunch that afternoon and it was now almost 10pm). Since it was late and so many places close their kitchens at 10, we decided to go to Chili's.

I like Chili's for the most part. My only real complaint is the service. I usually end up with the worst servers at Chili's, but this time it wasn't so bad. She did ask to take our order, then wandered off to take care of another table, but that was really the worst thing she did.

As usual I ordered the Chicken Crispers! YUM! I love these things! Maybe it's a blessing that Chili's usually has terrible servers. They act as a deterrent to keep me from eating these things all the time and weighing 500 lbs! I have no idea what they put in the batter that makes them light and fluffy while maintaining crisp chewiness (maybe it's faerie dust, because it's something supernaturally good) but if I ever figure it out, I'm in trouble! I have tried on many occasions to duplicate this batter, but it always ends in disaster. The crispers came with corn and fries, and I always substitute barbecue sauce for the honey mustard. The corn and the fries were good too, but the chicken is the star! My friend ordered her favorite Chicken Tortilla soup, and some chips and queso. She loves the Chicken Tortilla Soup, so there was little talking from her side of the table when that arrived. We shared the queso, and it was ok. Just ok.

I also ordered a coffee with Kahlua and Bailey's. Most places either put too much alcohol (is there such a thing? lol) or too little. Chili's got it right, and they don't even serve coffee drinks on a regular basis. We had to ask for water specifically, which annoyed me. We are having hot food and hot coffee, if I burn my mouth on the extremely hot chicken, what am I suppose to do? Stick my tongue on the window? Grrr!

Overall the food was great, the service was mediocre, and the prices were reasonable. Chili's has such a diverse menu, there's something for everyone, even the pickiest eaters!

Review - McDonald's McRib (worldwide)

I'm probably the only person that had never had a McRib before today. I wish I hadn't wasted my time or money. 

Holy Yuckness Batman! The McRib is not worth purchasing, let alone eating! It's a hunk of "meat" that has no flavor so they soak it in BBQ sauce and throw some onions and pickles at it and slap it on a bun so it sort of resembles food. What is scary about the McRib is that the "meat" is no more identifiable (or flavorful) than a piece of processed cork! 

Thank goodness for the fries and Iced Tea! They are the only part of this meal that was edible! If you've never had the McRib, don't bother! Don't let the hype fool you!

Review - Penn Station Subs (several states)

Today for lunch I had lunch with a friend and we met at Penn Station Subs. All I can say is YUM! We both ordered the Philly Cheesesteak (mine had 100% U.S.D.A. Choice steak, provolone, sauteed onions, banana peppers, and pizza sauce), fries (salt and vinegar), and their fresh squeezed lemonade.

Everything was so tasty! The fries were fresh cut and quickly fried to perfection so they retained the flavor of the potato without absorbing too much of the grease. The sandwich bread had a nice crisp crust and a soft inside. The meat, veggies and sauces all kept their individual flavors, but all blended amazingly well to create a symphony in my mouth. The best part was that each bite of the sandwich had all of the various flavors! Soooooo good! My only complaint is that the lemonade was a little sweet for my liking, it needed more lemon, but that's a minor problem IMO. Oh yeah, I had a cookie too, but that wasn't anything exciting (i.e. don't waste the calories on the cookies).

If you have a Penn Station Subs near you, you should go! You won't be disappointed in the subs or fries! I'd go more often, but the closest one is about 20 miles away!

Review - Qdoba (nationwide)

Yesterday for lunch I ventured into Qdoba. I eat there often, and they never fail me. The food is fresh, quick, filling, and not too expensive.


My usual Qdoba meal is their Naked Burrito. I always get it with either steak or chicken, rice, (no beans), corn salsa, roja salsa, cheese, and a side of tortilla chips. Once in a while I'll ask them to throw on a handful of lettuce so I feel a little less guilty.  The portion size is large, and I suspect that 1 portion really equals two meals, but I always eat the whole thing for one meal.  The best part of Qdoba is the freshness of the ingredients. I never worry about getting stale chips, wilted lettuce, or spoiled anything. They take care to rotate the food regularly so ensure they are only serving the freshest items.


I don't know if all Qdoba's are this good, but I suspect they are. Take advantage of their loyalty cards too. Every 1000 points you get a free meal (and it seems like you get 100 points every visit).

If you like Mexican "fast" food, skip the Bell, and head for the Cactus!

Review - Le Grand Bistro (Grand Blanc, MI)

Last night DivaMom and I went to Le Grand Bistro. It's a cute little restaurant with a cafe atmosphere located in the Grand Mall (really it's a strip mall). The atmosphere is...cute. It reminds me of Panera before Panera got HUGE, crowded and lowered the quality of the food.

I wanted to order the Pollo Marinara sandwich, however they were out of that sandwich as well as the Beefeater (I didn't want that, but the server told me, so I thought I'd pass it along). I grudgingly ordered the "Pasta" which was penne pasta with marinara sauce and grilled chicken. DivaMom ordered the Chicken Barcelona which consisted of grilled chicken breast topped with bacon, peppers, onion, provolone cheese, scallions and fresh tomato. Both meals came with soup and we both ordered minestrone.

 The soup was surprisingly good! big chunks of veggies, nice size pieces of penne pasta in a light broth. Many places add too much salt to their soup, but this soup was very clean tasting and not at all salty! My entree was ok, the pasta was cooked to perfection, the marinara was good, but the chicken was gamey. This was one of the rare times I picked out all of the chicken and just ate the pasta. They should really think about marinading the chicken in lemon, or wine, or something. ANYTHING! DivaMom enjoyed her entree, so much so she didn't talk much while eating LOL. There wasn't time for dessert, so I will have to revisit Le Grand Bistro to test those out. It's a sacrifice I'll make for my readers!

I'm not sure I'll choose to go there for dinner again. The gamey chicken was a big turn off for me, but if someone else suggests meeting there for lunch, I won't object. I may avoid the chicken though.

I Cooked! - Bacon Cheeseburger Pizza

Since I can't eat out ALL the time, I actually cooked today. I was feeling a bit adventurous so I attempted Bacon Cheeseburger Pizza.
Ingredients:
1 lb of ground beef
Bacon (however much you like. I used 4 slices with the fat removed)Pizza dough (I used Pillsbury from the refrigerator section)
garlic powder
salt
pepper
marinara (about 1/2 a cup. whatever brand you like)
Cheese (whatever kind you like)
Oil spray for the cookie sheet
 I cooked the bacon and ground beef with minced onions, salt and pepper, and drained the grease. Then I unrolled the dough (Pillsbury) on a cookie sheet lined with foil and sprayed with olive oil. I sprinkled a tiny bit of garlic powder on the crust then ladled on some spicy marinara (use what ever brand you like, I used Barilla). Next layer was sharp white cheddar slices, then the ground beef/bacon/onion mixture, then topped with shredded mozzarella and provolone.
I baked this for about 15 minutes until the crust was brown on the edges, then I rolled the sides of the foil up to cover the browned crust and continued baking for another 10-15 mins. 


Here's what it looked like (yeah I sampled it before taking the pic lol):

I was pleasantly surprised, it tasted quite good, and was easy to make!

You can finish this by adding some shreaded lettuce. I cut up some romaine hearts and served the pizza on top.

Review - YaYa's Chicken (MI/FL)

Today I tried Yaya's Flame Broiled Chicken. This is a chain restaurant that has locations in MI and FL. It's what I'd call semi-fast food. It seems like the food is prepared ahead of time, but if you come during the lunch rush, you may have to wait a bit for the latest round of chicken to finish cooking.

I love chicken, but not so much when it's on the bone. YaYa's only has bony chicken, so if you have picky kids, this may not be the place for you. The menu is long, and seems to have some healthy selections.


I ordered a chicken breast (with bone) and mashed potatoes (no gravy). The chicken tasted great! It was flavorful, not gamey, and it wasn't dry. I was worried that the chicken would be salty, but was surprised that the seasoning that was used wasn't salty at all! The potatoes needed some help though. I guess if you like gravy you wouldn't notice that they tasted like they came from a box, rather than homemade like "YaYa" (grandma) would make.


I'd eat there again, but I think I'll try the baked beans next time.

Review - Ichiban (Grand Blanc, MI)

Oy! Where should I begin?

I've been eyeballing this place for a few months. I'm not a huge fan of Japanese food, but I was in the mood for something different so I gave Ichiban http://www.ichibangrandblanc.com/ a chance.
My first indication that there was something wrong was the very limited drink list. It was all daiquiris. Yuck. When I asked if they had any wine, I was told they don't have any alcohol. (WTH? but I let it go) The Waitress did say that they had Sake, so I asked if I could have some sake, and she said that the chef would bring it out (to the hibachi) with him.

 The sake consisted of a squirt bottle that the chef squirts in your mouth. kind of fun...if you can get him to squirt you! He offered it to everyone else at the table but me. I know I look young but c'mon! I asked for the booze in the first place! I never got any :(

I ordered the chicken/steak combo. it came with rice (white), noodles, 2 shrimp, and grilled veggies. The food was good, a little salty but pretty good. It is your standard hibachi fare. I was surprised that one of the grilled veggies was cucumber, and I liked it! I like cucumber anyway, but I've always had it cold, the grilled cucumber was still crispy and they didn't load it up with lots of sauces.

 I'm not sure I'll be going back there anytime soon. Maybe if they get the alcohol issue settled maybe I'll give them another try.

Review - Fandangles' (Flushing, MI)

DivaMom texted me and asked me to make reservations for us to go to Fandangles'. I had never heard of the place so of course I googled and found it http://www.fandanglesmi.com/ My only gripe about the website is that it doesn't allow for online reservations, but most places don't so I guess that's not a big deal. When I called I was greeted by a nice sounding man, he was able to reserve a table for us at 7 on a saturday with out a problem (it was about 1pm when I called). 


Driving there wasn't so bad, but the location was difficult to find, I actually passed it and had to circle back because the sign wasn't visible from the road (it was on a pretty major street too). It wasn't until I pulled into the parking lot that I finally saw the restaurant.  The parking lot was large, and I had no problems finding a space.


Once inside the decor reminded me of a set of a play. I'm not sure why, but it seemed phony, I kinda expected a camera crew to pop out and tell me I was on Punked or some old school Folgers commercial. It's a small space, maybe 10-15 tables, and if I had to guess it is family owned and run. The atmosphere was kind of strange in that it looked pretty casual inside, but the attude was that of a restaurant that would require a suit/dress to dine there. The wait staff was nice though.


I ordered the flank steak special with ginger/soy (I think she said soy) sauce, asparagus, and some sort of sweet potato quiche. DivaMom ordered the Caper Chicken (regular menu), asparagus and rice pilaf. Both meals came with salad, bread, and we ordered a bottle of wine.


The salad was fabulous! It was mixed greens with walnuts, dried cranberries, apples and pears and a very light pear vinegarette.  I don't like most salad dressings, but this vinegarette was so light it didn't over power the wonderful fruits and freshness of the salad greens. The bread was fair at best. It was hard, not hot and the butter was cold and hard to spread.  The flank steak was cooked medium (I prefer medium well or well) so I did have to send it back, but once it was cooked a little longer, it was wonderful. My biggest consern was the sauce being too sweet or too salty, it was bordering on too sweet, but didn't quite get there. The asparagus balanced the sweetness nicely. I hate sweet potatoes so I gave the slice of quiche to DivaMom and she liked it. DivaMom enjoyed her chicken and Rice Pilaf, but since she hates asparagus she gave that to me. The asparagus was cooked well, but not to the point of being mush, it still had a nice snap to it. Yum!


 After all that we HAD to have dessert! DivaMom and I shared the chocolate volcano. It was a chocolate cake with warm chocolate fudgey stuff in the middle, served in a mug with vanilla ice cream. It was amazing and the coffee was great too! We brought home a slice of the lemon cake and a slice of the flourless chocolate torte. The lemon cake tasted more like coconut cake to me, but I like coconut so that was fine. The Flourless torte is rich! so much so that I've only been able to eat a bite a day! It's very tasty though!



Overall, I liked Fandangles. It's a bit pricy, so not a weekly kind of place, but it's nice for a treat once in a while (or if you can get someone else to pay)!

The Dining Diva - Beginnings

I love food. I have always loved food, I will probably always love food. It's really a love - love relationship. I love it, it loves my thighs, butt and belly. I've made my peace with that.


I like to cook, but cooking for one is depressing so I tend to go out a lot, so you're going to find a lot of food reviews from various restaurants. I eat everywhere from McDonalds to Mortons and everything in between. When I do cook at home and it's something more than oatmeal or soup from a can, I'll post the recipe here too.


I have no idea where this is going, but I hope you enjoy the ride with me!