Making Croissants at Bouchon in Las Vegas

2011 Follow Me Foodie Favourites & Yearblog

Happy New Year! Welcome to my Follow Me Foodie Favourites & Best of 2011! This is a recap and yearbook/yearblog of the BEST Follow Me Foodie (FMF) Food and FMF Foodie Moments in 2011.

I wrote a Follow Me Foodie Favourites & Best of 2010, so I decided to do another one this year. I don’t even know where to start. It’s been a crazy year, and I’m so grateful for everything that has happened with this blog. I’ve loved every minute of it (even the parts where it hurt to laugh because I was so full) and I’m so happy to have shared these delicious moments with you. Thank you for following me foodie and cheers to another year of gastronomic indulgence!

NOTE: IT’S NOT NECESSARILY “THE BEST“, BECAUSE FOOD IS PERSONAL AND I CAN ONLY DISCOVER SO MUCH IN A YEAR. THESE ARE JUST SOME WORTH MENTIONING IN MY BOOKS… OR BLOG? BLOG. IT’S MORE OF A 2011 RECAP/SUMMARY. ALL EXPERIENCES ARE FROM 2011 ONLY.

Top 25 Most Memorable/BEST Dishes Internationally:

At the 5th day of the opening for the first ever Ladurée in the United States in New York

Jamaican Blue Mountain Coffee on Blue Mountain, Jamaica

Food is undeniably a focus when I’m traveling. This year I was grateful to take Follow Me Foodie to Bowen Island, Seattle, Las Vegas, New York, Portland, Los Angeles, Montreal, Quebec City and Jamaica.  Here are some of my best international indulgences this year. So Follow Me Foodie to some of my favourite foods and restaurants abroad with just one click!

Listed in no particular order. Based on the menu item, not the restaurant.

1. Pine State Biscuits – The Reggie Deluxe Biscuit Sandwich – Portland, Oregon

2. Pambiche – Masitas – Portland, Oregon

3. Local 360 – Fried Chicken – Seattle, Washington

4. Beecher’s Handmade Cheese Cafe – World’s Best” Mac & Cheese – Seattle, Washington

5. Nove Italiano - Shrimp Francaise – Las Vegas, Nevada

6. Bouchon – Truite Grenobloise – Las Vegas, Nevada

7. Traif – Crispy Pork Belly – Brooklyn, New York

8. The Spotted Pig – Gnudi – Manhattan, New York

9. Katz Deli – Pastrami Sandwich on Rye – Manhattan, New York

10. Jean-Georges – Manhattan, New York

11. BonChon Chicken – BonChon Chicken Wings – Manhattan, New York

12. Peasant – Cannolichi, Suckling Pig (Porchetta) – Manhattan, New York

13. Boqueria – Croquetas Cremosas – Manhattan, New York

14. Blue Hill – Chilled Corn Soup, Berkshire Pig - Manhattan, New York

15. Scotchies – Jerk Chicken – Ocho Rios, Jamaica

16. Blue Mountain Coffee – Blue Mountain, Jamaica

17. Schwartz’s – Smoked Meat Sandwich – Montreal, Quebec

18. Le St-Urbain – Coffee Glazed Sweetbread – Montreal, Quebec

19. Van Horne – Melon Canari (Canary Melon) – Montreal, Quebec

20. Le Bremner – Kimchi Snow Crab, Lobster Toast Au Gratin – Montreal, Quebec

21. Café Clocher Penché – Duck Confit – Quebec City, Quebec

22. Laurie Raphaël – Apple Crumble, Carrot Cake – Quebec City, Quebec

23. La Traite – Wendake, Quebec

24. Au Goût d’Autrefois (Dining at the Duck Farm), Quebec

25. North End Caffe – Kahlua Pig Egg Rolls – Los Angeles, California

Restaurant: Local 360
Cuisine: American/Eclectic/Pacific Northwest/Southwestern
Last visited: August 20, 2011
Location: Seattle, WA (Belltown/Downtown)
Address: 2234 1st Ave
Price Range: $20-30

1: Poor 2: OK 3: Good 4: Very good 5: Excellent 6: Tres Excellent!!

Food: 4.5-5 (based on items I tried)
Service: 4.5
Ambiance: 4
Overall: 4.5
Additional comments:

• Local favourite
• Local & Sustainable
• All ingredients sourced within 360 miles
• Certified Organic
• Seasonal menus
• Reasonably priced
• Great for sharing
• Casual, but modern atmosphere
• Wine/Cocktail bar
• Daily breakfast 9am – 12pm
• Daily lunch 12pm-5pm
• Sun-Thurs dinner 5pm-10pm
• Fri-Sat dinner 5pm-11pm

**Recommendations: Peach Salad, Specials, Fried Chicken, PB&J Bon Bons

Vancouver, I’m sorry, but I cheated on you… and it tasted really good. It was August! And I was traveling! So I had to! The word around town was that it was good, and I can’t even say I wasn’t thinking, because it was intentional. I just couldn’t resist the temptation, but I think you too will approve. However I think you’ll be happy to know that it did make my knees weak, but not in the way you can make my knees weak… a lot of it was deep fried, so don’t be too jealous, or does that just make you more jealous?

Yes, it’s that time of the season when everything is ripe for picking, but this time I picked another neighbourhood. You always encouraged me to dine local and to support our local farmers and producers, but on this occasion I supported them South of the border, in downtown Seattle.

We’re not the only ones producing sweet orchard fruit, golden corn kernels that pop in your mouth, and sustainable meats, so it’s only natural for me to explore my other options. And speaking of natural, I couldn’t have gone more natural then with Local 360. The late summer months is especially the time to be choosing these types of restaurants.

Local 360 Cafe & Bar even reminded me of so many restaurants in Vancouver, BC except more Southwestern in its offerings. It’s farm to table through and through and I guess you could call it a local favourite too. The relaxed and casual atmosphere was similar to something I would find in Gastown as well, except much more spacious with 2 level seating, a bar and a patio. It also reminded me of my recent visit to Tasty n Sons in Portland, Oregon.

The concept is simple and commendable. Eat local and sustainable. 90% of the ingredients are sourced within 360 miles of Seattle and the remaining 10% of ingredients, that can’t be found locally, are still from the closest Certified Organic resources. This “farm to table” concept isn’t really anything new, but it was nice to explore and experience the idea of “local” outside of my hometown.

Due to climate and various producers in general, even the same raw ingredients will taste differently depending on where they’re from and how they’re treated. Of course when in the hands of a chef it’s a whole new ball game, but every dish should always start with good quality ingredients, and Local 360 is full of them.

It’s open for breakfast, brunch, lunch and dinner, but the dinner menu was more creative than the others. I came for dinner and the menu featured small and large plates with a significant amount of vegetarian friendly items. However the non-vegetarian items just embraced meat to the full degree featuring butcher quality meats and a few exotic game options. The only thing missing was really just seafood, except for one dish featuring mussels, however since the menus are seasonal it may have been a one time thing.

I guess some may consider it another round of “gourmet comfort food” or Southwestern classics with a modern twist, but I would give it more credit than that. The food didn’t seem trendy, but creative, well thought out and executed with style. The dinner menu was based on familiar dishes, but the inspiration came from the ingredients which easily led the way. I would certainly come back to try more things and even check out their brunch and lunch menu, which sounded a bit more traditional and simple, but still eclectic.

I have to add a random note (it’s a pet peeve)… but just because food is local, it doesn’t mean it’s always healthy. Sure it may be organic, hormone free and grown with TLC, but what the chef does with it can be more unhealthy than a genetically modified product.

On the table:
**Peach Salad - 5.5/6

• Bacon, goat cheese, bourbon mustard vinaigrette $10
• This was the healthiest my meal got.
• I don’t order salads often, but this one sounded amazing and different.
• It was a sweet and savoury salad and the peach and bacon combination reminded me of the classic apple and pork pairing.
• I’m a fan of bacon and fruits and if you like this you should try my recipe for Maple Bourbon Apple Pie with a Bacon Pecan Crust.

• It was house made, salty, crispy, yet jerky like bacon bits with juicy chunks of sweet peaches, and creamy fluffy goat’s cheese that wasn’t too pungent or gamey.
• I couldn’t taste any apparent Bourbon or even much mustard in the vinaigrette, but it tasted like a citrus lemon olive oil and parsley dressing, but with more complexity.
• The sweetness was natural from the peaches and the cheese was the creamy aspect that balanced the acidity from the dressing.
• It was light, yet substantial and full of bright summery flavours and incredibly fresh ingredients.
• It was the perfect salad and the only thing I wanted was some crunchy spiced pecans.

**Pork Cheek Hash (Special of the day) - 5.5/6

• Pork cheek, sweet corn, chanterelles on toasted brioche $12
• I loved all these ingredients and to see them come together for dinner was something I was all over.
• The portion wasn’t big or very tiny, but the flavours were satisfying.
• The whole fried egg thing for dinner is just becoming more and more popular, hence my “Tribute to the Egg Yolk Series”.

• It was full of textures and the runny yolk from the fried egg just melted over the hash acting as a natural sauce that absorbed right into the crispy buttery brioche.
• The brioche was crustless and it wasn’t obvious that it was a brioche, so I would have liked it cut a bit thicker.
• It was tender melt in your mouth pieces of pork cheek that almost seemed like brisket meets Spam.
• It actually reminded me of roast beef or corned beef and I’m used to pork cheek with more resistance, but this was still good!
• The pork cheek was almost sweet and syrupy and coated with a salty soy sauce-like glaze with pan au jus and natural juices from the mushrooms.
• The flavours reminded me of French onion soup with a bit of red wine reduction and it was a very buttery dish, but perhaps a bit salty at times.
• The juicy mushrooms and crunchy fresh corn kernels were a fantastic touch to the “eggs and toast” and the absence of potato wasn’t missed one bit.

**Fried Chicken - 6/6

• A chicken roulade with bacon mousse over cheesy grits & braised collard greens, topped with a sunny-up egg $18
• This is the must order item and the house favourite! This puts at A+ on gourmet comfort food with a twist!
• As if Pine State Biscuits in Portland didn’t give me enough fried chicken already, I had to order it in Seattle too!
• It’s not big, but it’s rich. It’s enough for a normal appetite.
• This was a gourmet Southern style fried chicken plate, and again the fried egg was a great touch and ode to breakfast for dinner. (It actually reminded me of my Pork Cutlet from Tasty n Sons in Portland, OR too.)
• The cheesy grits were rich, creamy and indulgent and it tasted like jalapeno cheddar cheese poppers melted into grits.
• When I ate the grits together with the Panko crusted chicken, it really reminded me of jalapeno cheddar cheese poppers.
• It was almost a bit Tex-Mex in style and the grits were made with I think mayo, pimento cheese, cheddar cheese and maybe even some goat’s cheese. There was a slight spice and heat, but it wasn’t spicy.
• The egg yolk melted right into the grits and made it even more buttery.
• The braised collard greens were the perfect side because they were very tangy and sharp with apple cider vinegar and I desperately needed them to cut the richness of the cheesy grits and fried chicken.
• The only thing missing was a bit of sweetness. A touch of honey, diced apples, or raisins in the collard greens would have been fantastic! Or even just sweet corn or red bell peppers in the grits.

• Now for the fried chicken!
• The fried chicken was not a typical fried chicken.
• It was executed as a roulade wrapped around bacon mousse and lightly breaded and fried in a crispy Panko batter.
• The chicken was perfectly cooked and incredibly moist, juicy and almost soft.
• For fried chicken it was actually quite light and not greasy or even as heavy as it sounds. Everything else made it heavy though.
• The creamy centre of bacon mousse lightened the fried chicken even more and it gave it a nice textural contrast, but it wasn’t as fluffy or moussey as I had expected.
• The bacon mousse was more sponge like and soft and similar to a lighter and more airy ham.
• The mousse was infused with thyme or rosemary and it carried an herby scent that complemented the chicken well and made it more unique and dynamic.
• The dish had a great savoury and tangy balance, and again the only thing missing was a sweetness.
• I would no doubt order this again and highly recommend it as a must try.

**PB&J Bon Bons – 4/6

• $4
• This is one of their signature items, so it’s worth a try, but I didn’t particularly enjoy it as much as I thought I would.
• They’re offered as a starter for $7 and they’re a bit bigger.
• I recommend ordering them from the dessert menu, like I did, because you wouldn’t want these bigger, or really to start with.
• This dessert has “Made for peanut butter lovers” all over it.
• Calling them “bon bons” made it sound a bit more exciting than it actually was, but basically it was deep fried peanut butter balls.
• They’re served warm and they’re incredibly rich and indulgent and one was more than enough.
• As soon as I bit into the rather thick and crunchy Panko batter crust out oozed a thick, creamy, warm, smooth and salty semi-melted peanut butter.

• It was filled with a lot of peanut butter and it all just coated the roof of your mouth, throat and teeth and it was super hard to swallow and even chew. (I know this all sounds kind of bad, but don’t think like that).
• I just wish the peanut butter was more fluid and thinned out a bit.
• The only sweet factor was the jam aspect which was a layer of freshly pureed local apricots under the peanut butter balls.
• The apricot puree was stringy and bursting with fresh apricot flavour and it seemed naturally sweet and it helped contrast the salty peanut butter.
• After biting into half of one I understood why it was served with a mini glass of milk. I was in desperate need of it!
• I think it could have been homogenized milk, and it wasn’t ice cold. Ice cold skim milk would be better because it was so rich already.
• You needed something to wash down the peanut butter which was coating everything in my mouth like glue, and the milk was the perfect solution!
• These were very good, but I feel like they could have done so much more with them.
• Follow Me Foodie Tasty Twist: These are actually super easy to make. Freeze balls of peanut butter, then coat them with a flour or panko batter and refreeze them. Deep fry them until golden brown before serving. My twist would be to dip them in a crushed peanut crumb batter and mix the peanut butter with fresh berry ice cream before freezing.

Apple Fritters – 3.5/6

• With bacon-caramel, Parfait vanilla bean ice cream $9
• As if I didn’t have enough deep fried goodness already. But I couldn’t resist the bacon in a dessert, especially when I just blogged about it here.
• This would have been a 3/6, but because home made ice cream makes everything better, it was a 3.5/6. I love ice cream and any dessert with a hot and cold contrast.
• The creamy ice cream is home made and it was bursting with vanilla bean seeds too, so I did like that.

• These apple fritters seem to be missing apples and it was too sweet for me.
• The fritters were almost like cakey mini donuts soaked in syrup and aggressively battered and fried until crunchy.
• The inside did melt in my mouth and it was super creamy and soft since it was soaked with caramel, but also way too sweet.
• I actually couldn’t taste the bacon or any smokiness or saltiness from the caramel or anywhere for that matter.
• I didn’t know where the bacon was because the dark brown bits, that I had assumed was bacon, just tasted like extra fried batter.
• It was topped with pieces of rock sugar which gave an added crunch and I really wish that was the crispy bacon instead. The dessert really didn’t need anymore sugar.
• Overall I was hoping for more of an apple and bacon aspect.
• Follow Me Foodie Tasty Twist: I’m biased, but if you like this idea, you should see my recipe for my Maple Bourbon Apple Pie with a Bacon and Pecan Crust.

Restaurant: Beecher’s Handmade Cheese Cafe
Cuisine: American/Sandwiches
Last visited: May 30, 2011
Location: Seattle, WA (Pike Place Market/Downtown)
Address: 1600 Pike Place
Price Range: $10 or less

1: Poor 2: OK 3: Good 4: Very good 5: Excellent 6: Tres Excellent!!

Food: 5.5 (based on items I tried)
Service: 3
Ambiance: 3.5
Overall: 5
Additional comments:

• In Seattle & New York
• Award winning cheese
• Since 2003
• Famous cheese shop
• Popular to locals/tourists
• Fresh handmade cheese
• All natural cheese
• Hormone free milk
• Limited menu
• Pay at cashier service
• Busy/line-ups
• Quick/casual
• Cheap eats/budget friendly
• Artisan cheeses to go

**Recommendations: Flagship Sandwich, “World’s Best” Mac & Cheese

It was a foodie trip in Seattle so historic Pike Place Market was on the itinerary. It’s pretty much the Granville Island (in Vancouver) of Seattle. After munching and sampling among the many vendors I was deciding where to have my lunch #2 after lunch #1 at world famous Din Tai Fung.

Russian? No, keep walking. Donuts featuring a long line up? No, keep walking. How about the original first-ever Starbucks? No, keep walking. Seafood chowder? No, keep walking. Beecher’s Handmade Cheese? Wait! Stop! STOP! Stop in the name of…

Cheese! CHEESE!! CHEEEEEEEESE!!!! I love saying it just as much as I like eating it! Okay, no I take that back. I like eating it way more. It doesn’t even smell bad to me, although I wouldn’t buy it in a perfume scent either. The decision was made! Lunch #2 was going to be at Beecher’s Handmade Cheese!

I think this was convincing enough. It looked like giant piano keys and my eyes were glued to the window. Let me explain. To a foodie, like myself, this is like seeing a puppy dog in the window. It was logs of fresh cheese just sitting there… waiting for me to sink my teeth into it. I couldn’t keep it waiting for me any longer!

Yes, there is some machinery involved in combination with the “handmade” cheesemaking labour, but it’s reasonable for what they’re doing and the cheese is still premium quality.

I don’t know if this is a tourist trap or a local favourite, but either way it was excellent, so I’m calling it a local favourite. Or I’ll just call it a “Follow Me Foodie Favourite”. I loved the rustic Euro-American ambiance from the Oliver Twist uniforms to the metal milk jug stools. It has a simple chalkboard menu of a handful of grilled cheese sandwiches, a couple mac n’ cheeses and two soups, and that’s it. They stick to the name of their own game and that’s cheese!

The other half of the cafe operates as a mini cheese market featuring take home artisan cheeses and a selection of cookbooks.

Kurt Beecher Dammeier is the owner of Beecher’s Handmade Cheese and Brad Sinko is the cheesemaker. Both of them are dedicated to the craft of cheesemaking and of course cheeselovers themselves.

It all starts with the milk and the milk used is specific. It comes from a local herd of hormone free cows and it’s a combination of cattle so that the cheese produced is precisely 4% butter fat. They take cheese seriously here and that’s why it has also won numerous awards by the American Cheese Society year after year since 2005.

I thoroughly enjoyed my meal at Beecher’s Handmade Cheese Cafe. From the first bite to the last it was no doubt a winning find at Pike Place Market. The only thing that threw me off is that the mac and cheese was available in frozen TV dinner form as well. The stuff they produce here is fresh and high quality so seeing that just put a dinger in their philosophy. In a world of options and consumption, it wasn’t a big deal and it’s not like they serve the frozen stuff, but it just took away from the charm a bit. Regardless I wouldn’t hesitate to come back or recommend this as a must try at Pike Place Market.

On the table:

“World’s Best Mac & Cheese!” It’s served in their “cafeteria line up” and it looks mass produced and like nothing special… but all you need is one bite to convince you otherwise!

**”World’s Best” Mac & Cheese – 5.5/6

• Savour the creamy blend Flagship, Just Jack, penne pasta & spices 8oz $5 16oz $8.64
• Bold words. Everyone thinks they make the “best mac & cheese”. If it’s on the menu, it’s almost always on my table.
• It looks super simple and boring, but it’s delicious and made with four types of cheese.
• One bite and you’ll know that the 8oz is enough.
• This is my kind of mac and cheese! It doesn’t have to be stringy, but it has to be creamy with lots of aged cheddar cheese melted right into the sauce.
• The noodles are slightly overcooked but generously coated with sauce which actually stuck to the noodle like glue! I loved it!
• It was a thick, creamy, rich, and indulgent savoury cheese sauce with a smoky flavour, some background Chipotle chili powder heat (but it’s not spicy) and then a hint of garlic powder.
• It was an ultra cheesy and stick to your throat rich sauce.
• I could taste the melted grainy texture of the Cheddar cheese rue and it was extra creamy and rich from some added Gruyere.
• The only thing that could make it better is a crispy Parmesan gratin crust. Considering it was served in a cafe, it wasn’t expected and this was more than excellent!
• See the bottom of this post for their “World’s Best” Mac & Cheese recipe … you’re going to scroll straight to the bottom now aren’t you? Don’t miss the rest!

Mariachi Mac & Cheese – n/a

• Roasted Anaheim Chilies, a blend of fresh veggies and flagship come together with a spicy kick 8oz $5 16oz $8.64
• I couldn’t decide which one to order and they let me sample both. It was an easy choice for me to chose the “World’s Best” Mac & Cheese.
• The Mariachi Mac & Cheese was good, but it was nearing the end of the batch and it wasn’t as creamy and the noodles were overcooked so I didn’t try it at its freshest state.
• It had a little Southwestern Tex-Mex flair which a spicy heat to follow and it was good, but definitely not as good as the “World’s Best” in my opinion.

**Flagship Sandwich – 5.5/6

• Flagship, Just Jack, basil, tomato & Beecher’s spread $6.36
• A grilled cheese doesn’t have to be just a plain old grilled cheese… although I love those too! This was a memorable grilled cheese!
• It was perfectly grilled and charred with crisscross grill marks.

Oh god. The action shot. The grilled cheese sandwich pull! It’s a better pull than an Oreo cookie pull.

• The bread was ultra crispy and thin as a crostini from being pressed in the hot panini grill.
• There was a nice crunch from the buttered bread and the texture and ratio of cheese to bread was perfect.
• It was oozing with ooey gooey stretchy stringy cheese and the flavour was incredible.

• I loved the flavour of the quality of cheeses and it wasn’t too oily.
• The Flagship cheese was mild, but the Jack cheese gave it added flavour and together it was creamy and smooth.
• The Jack cheese didn’t seem very aged so it was still somewhat mild, but overall the sandwich was definitely cheesy enough.
• The juicy tang of fresh tomato and hint of whole grain mustard in the Beecher’s spread convinced me that this was a must try grilled cheese sandwich.
• The basil was a bit lost and the 1-2 leaves weren’t substantial enough to make a difference, but it didn’t matter too much because it was still heavenly with or without it.

Beecher’s Fresh Cheese Curds – 3/6

• Bite-sized nuggets with a mild, delicious dairy fresh taste. Available in plain or flavoured. $5.95 (1/2 pint) $9 (pint)
• Being Canadian, I come from a very high standard when it comes to fresh cheese curds. We (or Montreal) invented the poutine (fries with cheese curds and gravy) and we’re super picky when it comes to cheese curds.
• I had extremely high expectations for this and I was disappointed.
• Sure it was good and fresh, with a nice mild mozzarella flavour, but it wasn’t nearly fresh enough and more like mozzarella than a fresh cheese curd.
• It had no squeak in the chew and it was crumbly and almost like Feta, but without the saltiness.
• I’m comparing these to the best and most authentic cheese curds I’ve had in Vancouver to date, which are from La Belle Patate.

The recipe for their “World’s Best” Mac & Cheese is literally posted everywhere, so I really don’t think it’s a big deal if I post it on here. They have it published in cookbooks and it’s easily googled. So why not share the love until I get my hand slapped… quick! Grab a pen and paper or get your printers ready! Or just save a tree and e-mail this to yourself

Beecher’s Handmade Cheese Cafe’s The “World’s Best” Mac & Cheese Recipe

SERVES 4 AS A SIDE DISH

• 6 ounces penne pasta
• 2 cups Beecher’s Flagship Sauce (recipe follows)
• 1 ounce cheddar, grated ( 1/4 cup)
• 1 ounce Gruyere cheese, grated ( 1/4 cup)
• 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon chipotle chile powder

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Oil or butter an 8-inch baking dish.

Cook the penne 2 minutes less than package directions. (It will finish cooking in the oven.) Rinse pasta in cold water and set aside.

Combine cooked pasta and Flagship Sauce in a medium bowl and mix carefully but thoroughly. Scrape the pasta into the prepared baking dish. Sprinkle the top with the cheeses and then the chile powder. Bake, uncovered, for 20 minutes. Let sit for 5 minutes before serving.

NOTE: If you double the recipe to make a main dish, bake in a 9-by-13-inch pan for 30 minutes.

Beecher’s Flagship Cheese Sauce Recipe
MAKES ABOUT 4 CUPS

• 1/4 cup ( 1/2 stick) unsalted butter
• 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
• 3 cups milk
• 14 ounces semihard cheese, such as Beecher’s Flagship, grated (about 3 1/2 cups)
• 2 ounces grated semisoft cheese, such as Beecher’s Just Jack
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon chipotle chile powder
• 1/8 teaspoon garlic powder

Melt the butter in a heavy-bottom saucepan over medium heat and whisk in the flour. Continue whisking and cooking for 2 minutes. Slowly add the milk, whisking constantly. Cook until the sauce thickens, about 10 minutes, stirring frequently. Remove from the heat. Add the cheese, salt, chile powder and garlic powder. Stir until the cheese is melted and all ingredients are incorporated, about 3 minutes. Use immediately, or refrigerate for up to three days.

NOTE: A single batch of sauce makes enough for a double recipe of macaroni and cheese.

Restaurant: Din Tai Fung
Cuisine: Chinese/Shanghainese/Dim Sum
Last visited: April 30, 2011
Location: Global locations – Seattle, WA (Bellevue)
Address: 700 Bellevue Way NE Ste 280
Price Range: $10-20

1: Poor 2: OK 3: Good 4: Very good 5: Excellent 6: Tres Excellent!!

Food: 3.5
Service: 3.5
Ambiance: 4
Overall: 3
Additional comments:

• World famous restaurant
• 1 Michelin Star restaurant
• Locations in Asia, US, Australia
• Famous for “juicy pork dumplings”
• Started in Taiwan
• Very long lines/busy
• Tourist attraction
• Shanghainese cuisine
• Made upon order
• Fresh/home made
• Modern atmosphere
• Clean/comfortable
• Extensive menu, but with limited choices
• Vegetarian options
• Bubble tea available
• Brunch/lunch/dinner

**Recommendations: Go to Vancouver, BC… if not, the Seaweed and Bean Curd in Vinegar Dressing and Shrimp and Pork Wonton with Spicy Sauce are great. I guess you have to try the Juicy Pork Dumplings, but I found them okay compared to others I’ve had.

A 1 Michelin Star restaurant (but not for this location), named “Top 10 wonders of Taiwan” by Reader’s Digest, “One of the top 10 gourmet restaurants in the world” by The New York Times (1993), and ranked by New York Leisure Magazine as “the must-visited tourist destination” – This is the world famous Din Tai Fung. Finally it has arrived and it’s in Bellevue!

At first glance everything may look authentic. Chinese name, Chinese characters, deeply rooted Chinese history, and perhaps the most famous restaurant to introduce and establish Shanghainese cuisine to the popular mass market.

The line up for Din Tai Fung is out the door and it’s not shocking if the wait is over 2 hours as it was when it first opened. I was lucky to only wait about 30 minutes. People travel near and far just to visit Din Tai Fung.

The restaurant welcomes you by featuring a large display window of 20+ staff making these delectable Shanghainese “juicy pork dumplings” we have all grown to know and love by its proper name of xiao long bao.

So far so good as you can witness the xiao long bao, siu mai, and wontons all being hand rolled, stuffed and wrapped. All set, ready to go and made upon order. It sure seems authentic enough, but take a closer look and you’ll realize that there’s nothing quite “authentic” or “Shanghainese” about Din Tai Fung…

From the staff…

Hola Amigos! (Mind you, don’t let this fool you! They were all trained and wrapped a pretty good XLB, but I was assuming it was going to be Shanghainese chefs and cooks)

To the clientele… (and the pretty hostesses and waitresses)

To the fancy take out gift bags…

To the recyclable cardboard boxes… I can’t help but to think there is something very modern/Western/commoditized/commercialized about Din Tai Fung.

If this is America’s idea of authentic and traditional Shanghainese cuisine, then they need to come to Canada! Okay well maybe just to Vancouver, BC! It’s a closer and cheaper trip than to Shanghai and it’s beautiful up here! I have to admit, Vancouverites are extremely spoiled by high quality and traditional Shanghainese cuisine, let alone just Asian cuisine in general.

There’s no other way to say this, but if Cactus Club invented a Shanghainese restaurant it would be Din Tai Fung. Just like Cactus Club I found the food good, atmosphere trendy, and dishes overpriced. Actually the menu is quite limited to a whole bunch of “mix and match items” and it only touches upon the popular Shanghainese dishes. The menu looks extensive, but it really boils down to five things with slight variations of switching the protein or the noodle.

It’s quite overrated if you compare it to lots of other places you can find in Vancouver, BC. I don’t want to say Vancouver is the “best” and “most authentic” for Shanghainese, but it sure gives you a better idea of excellent Shanghainese food. Any of the following: Suhang Restaurant, Beijing Cuisine, Chen’s Shanghai Kitchen, Shanghai River, Shanghai House, Spicy Szechuan Seafood Restaurant, Northern Delicacy, Dinasty Chinese Restaurant would all be better than Din Tai Fung for almost all items. However in the case that there are no other restaurants of this quality and style in Seattle, then yes, Din Tai Fung might be considered a “local favourite” and “must try”.

I don’t have a problem with who is making or serving the food, and I’m all for recyclable material, pretty boxes and I guess I do enjoy posh atmospheres, but I can’t help to poke at Din Tai Fung a bit. I really don’t want to be too harsh because the food is decent, made in house, and still somewhat traditional with a powerful name and history to back it up. But with all its credentials, I wasn’t that impressed considering I’ve had easily better in Vancouver. Just know that Din Tai Fung is really just a taste of what Shanghainese cuisine is and only an introduction to what it has to offer. I hear Vancouver calling your name (if not already from there/here).

On the table:

Jasmine Tea

• $2.50
• Oh yes! I forgot about the tea. The tea can be added to the list of contributing factors that suggests “modern” Shanghainese food.
• The tea is from Mighty Leaf. Great teas, but at an authentic 1 Michelin Star Shanghainese/Chinese restaurant… someone please… insert your comments below.
• I was hoping for some imported quality Jasmine tea… and the restaurant also serves bubble tea.
  

**Seaweed and Bean Curd in Vinegar Dressing – 5/6

• $4.50
• I’m not sure if this was an authentic Shanghainese dish I haven’t tried before, or if they were going for the authentic Shanghainese appetizer – Marinated Bean Curd with Special Vegetables also known as “Malantou” by its traditional name.
• Whatever it was, it seemed quite modern but I did really like it! So for me it didn’t really matter if it was authentic, but it just wasn’t “Malantou” if that’s what it was supposed to be.
• It was a cold appetizer salad with strands of firm bean curd, clear mung bean noodles, fresh seaweed, and bean sprouts.
• It had great texture and flavour as it was all marinated and tossed in sesame oil, a malted vinegar and soy dressing with a hint of chili oil.
• It was crunchy, slippery, refreshing, tangy, savoury and had a nice mild spicy heat to follow. Delicious!

Xiao Long Bao 101: Each person is served a saucer of julienne ginger and self-serve malted vinegar to be eaten with the Juicy Pork Dumplings.

Juicy Pork Dumplings - 2.5/6

• 10 pieces $9.50
• I’d recommend these because it’s what they are famous for. But were they good? Yes, if you’ve never tried Juicy Pork Dumplings before, but otherwise there is easily better.
• They were a bit smaller than I’m used to and slightly more expensive without the flavour to back it up. I just found them overrated.

• There really wasn’t much soup, which is the point. The soup  or “juice” wasn’t as creamy or rich as I’m used to either.
• The pork flavour was good, but it wasn’t as melt in your mouth tender and not as fatty so therefore there wasn’t going to be much soup.
• The skins were great though and paper thin with still a nice chew.
• For comparisons sake see Juicy Pork Dumplings here at Suhang, here at Beijing Cuisine, or here at one of Vancouver’s most beloved places for them Shanghai River.

Noodle with Sesame Sauce – 3/6

• $6.50
• Tan Tan noodles! Or Dan Dan noodles! Whatever you want to call them, it’s the Shanghainese/Szechuan/Beijing noodle and soup bowl staple.
• The noodles were long and soft, but I actually question if they’re handmade. Part of me doubts they are because they don’t advertise or show it.
• There’s not as much soup and I’m used to this being served with julienne cucumbers and minced pork, but this was a vegetarian version.
• It was a creamy, rich, nutty, medium spicy sesame soup with chili oil and it was quite thick with a bit of a granular texture from the ground sesame seeds.
• It was topped with toasted ground peanuts and sesame seeds for added flavour and texture.
• The whole sesame sauce thing is actually an American touch to traditional “tan tan noodles”, but I’ve grown accustomed to it and I like it.
• This was good, and not bland, but compared to the Tan Tan Noodles at Shanghai River – see here, or Shanghai House – see here, or even Japanese restaurant Ramen Santouka – see here, it would be considered on the mild side.

**Shrimp and Pork Wonton with Spicy Sauce – 5.5/6

• $8
• Okay, I have to give it up to them for this dish! Bravo! If I was to come back, it would be for this rather than their famous juicy pork dumplings.
• It’s more of a Cantonese Chinese dish with Shanghainese flavours, but they sure mastered it well and it was excellent!
• I can get solid wontons in Vancouver, but these ones rival the ones I’ve had.
• There were 8 handmade wontons and I found it a heck of a good deal since it did have the flavours and quality.

• It was very aromatic in the initial notes and there was a little bit of spicy sauce that was almost like a soup to nicely coat them all.
• The slippery wonton skins were al dente and had a nice chew to them almost like pasta skins. The skins were a bit thicker and seemed more Shanghainese than Cantonese in style so that didn’t bother me and I actually liked it since the sauce was more bold.
• Each wonton was filled with fresh crunchy pieces of juicy prawn and there was more prawn than pork.
• The sauce had a delicious roasted nutty chili aroma and spice, yet it was sweet in the beginning with a heat lingering afterward.
• The dish had a little bit of sweet pickled Chinese cabbage to give the sauce some depth and tang and overall the flavours were strong and well rounded.

1/2 Red Bean Dumplings & 1/2 Sweet Taro Dumplings - 4/6

• 10 pieces $6.50 (You can order half of each flavour)
• Considering I don’t like many Chinese desserts and especially red bean, I actually could tolerate these and somewhat saw there appeal!
• For my personal tastes it would be 2/6, but I would give it a solid 4/6 if I liked these desserts. It was very well executed.
• Both flavours were actually very good, but it just depends on what you like. It’s like chocolate versus vanilla.
• They were steamed and piping hot dumplings and the skins were paper thin, but a bit dry.

• You pop these mini pockets in your mouth and it’s a rich, creamy, puree of a 2:1 ratio of red bean or taro root filling to dumpling skin.
• It just oozes out of the wrapper like a thick paste.
• It’s quite chewy from the skin and paste combination, but the puree fillings were very nicely done and moist.
• The taro root is a bit starchier and drier and the red bean had more flavour, yet both were nicely sweetened.

Restaurant: Dahlia Bakery
Cuisine: Desserts/Pastries/Bread/Bakery
Last visited: April 30, 2011
Location: Seattle, WA (Belltown)
Address: 2001 4th Ave
Price Range: $10 0r less

1: Poor 2: OK 3: Good 4: Very good 5: Excellent 6: Tres Excellent!!

Food: n/a, didn’t try enough
Service: 3
Ambiance: 3
Overall: n/a
Additional comments:

• Famous for coconut cream pie
• Specializes in baked goods/desserts
• Local favourite
• Popular to tourists
• Fresh baked daily
• Artisan breads
• Classic & gourmet pastries & cakes
• Hand made ice creams
• Offers breakfast/lunch sandwiches
• No seating
• Take out only
• Mon – Fri: 7:30am – 6pm
• Sat: 9am – 6pm
• Sun: 9am – 4pm

**Recommendations: Tom’s Famous Triple Coconut Cream Pie

Dahlia Bakery is a famous bakery in Seattle that’s popular for locals and tourists. Opened by world renowned chef, Thomas Douglas, Dahlia Bakery is only one of the four restaurants he owns within that block.

It’s a tiny little bakery offering breakfast and lunch, but it’s most known for their artisan breads, pastries, desserts, and cakes which are all made in small batches. Oh! And I can’t forget the reason for coming, it’s definitely for Tom’s Famous Triple Coconut Cream Pie.

Actually the pie wasn’t really the main reason for coming. The visit to Dahlia Bakery was not originally on the itinerary, but it was a convenient detour on the way back to the car. I am so happy to have made the detour!

Although I only tried two things, it’s one of those places where you just know that the potential for everything is probably near perfect. Everything looked amazing and it was like the rustic American country version of Thomas Keller’s Bouchon Bakery – see my visit here. Thomas Douglas, Thomas Keller, Thomas Haas… there’s something with the name that’s synonymous with extraordinary desserts… and it shall be the name of my first born child!

Dahlia Bakery serves all American, old fashioned, yet highly presentable baked goods and desserts. It all looked very promising. It’s quaint atmosphere gives the feeling of time and care being put into each baked good. It’s one of those places where I know I’ll have to revisit just to try their gourmet sandwiches made with their freshly house baked bread.

Of course I also wouldn’t leave without trying their Candied Apple Scone, Banana Split Cake or Granny Smith Apple Dumpling too! Dahlia Bakery seems like the definition of good things come in small packages… and to those who wait! And honestly I can barely wait!

On the table:

**Tom’s Famous Triple Coconut Cream Pie – 5/6

• coco pie bite (serves 1) $2.50
• slice of pie $5.95, baby pie (serves 2-4) $19, 9 inch big pie (serves 6-8) 5 dollar plate deposit $35
• I had the coco pie bite, and it was one bite of freaking delicious! I also really love coconut anything in general.
• It was topped with a mound of whipped cream which I found was too much even considering it’s a coconut cream pie.
• I just found the cream a bit overwhelming and I wanted to taste more of the coconut cream pastry.
• It wasn’t too sweet, but it was still quite rich and indulgent.
• It was a thin flaky coconut pie crust, rich creamy coconut custard, lightly sweetened yet thick whipped cream, with crunchy toasted fresh coconut flakes on top.
• It had great texture and crunch, but I still wanted more coconut pastry cream and less whipped cream for more balance in flavour and texture. I could have had more toasted coconut on top too.
• I could definitely taste coconut throughout and there was about a 2:1 ratio of cream to everything else.
• The crust was very tender, yet crunchy, incredibly nutty and made with lots of toasted coconut for a full flavour.
• The whipped cream was very fresh, and although light and airy, it was still quite dense for a whipped cream. I do wish it had some vanilla, almond or coconut flavour, but it was just plain and lacked flavour.
• I would definitely recommend this to any coconut lover.

Fig Bar – 4/6

• $2.50
• For what it was it was probably a 5/6, but my level of enjoyment for it was a 4/6 even though I really love figs. There’s really nothing wrong with this one though.
• It’s a gourmet home made fig bar and the puree is soft and creamy and incredibly moist.
• It’s made from dried figs, but it’s very fresh.
• It’s not a chewy fig bar, but the crust is almost like a dry crumbly buttery shortbread cookie. It’s not overwhelmingly buttery, tender or very sweet though.
• It’s generously filled with creamy melt in your mouth smooth fig puree that’s nicely sweetened and almost like a jam.
• The crust was much denser than the filling and I would have preferred it a bit chewy, but it was still very good.

Restaurant: Auntie Anne’s
Cuisine: Bakery/Desserts/Hot Dogs/American
Last visited: January 26, 2011
Location: Multiple – see here
Address: 2882 Las Vegas Blvd S, Las Vegas, NV
Price Range: $10 or less

1: Poor 2: OK 3: Good 4: Very good 5: Excellent 6: Tres Excellent!!

Food: 5 (for the original), 4 overall
Service: 3
Ambiance: 3
Overall: 4
Additional comments:

• Franchise
• 22+ years
• Specializes in pretzels
• American favourite
• Baked daily
• Hand rolled
• Fast food
• Vegan friendly options

**Recommendations: Original Pretzel

Happy National Pretzel Day! Yup! I didn’t even really know National Pretzel Day existed until I saw the Auntie Anne’s tweets on Twitter. I must say that I’m pretty excited, except for the fact that we don’t even have an Auntie Anne’s in Metro Vancouver. I probably won’t even get a pretzel today, but this is the least I can do to celebrate!

I actually really like Auntie Anne’s and if I’m shopping in the States it’s a great reliable snack I can always count on. I mean it’s kind of hard to resist when you walk by them in the food court and smell the buttery baked goodness of pretzels coming out of the oven. The pretzels are soft, made from hand cut dough, hand rolled and baked fresh upon order.

I mean how can you really go wrong? It’s baked bread fresh from the oven and brushed with butter and sprinkled with coarse salt! Delicious! They may not be authentic German pretzels, which is understood, but when they’re good, they’re good. On the other hand these pretzels are pretty pricey for their size, but it doesn’t stop them from being addicting.

2 pretzels + drink + 2 dips =$10.55

Besides the pretzels, I must give a big shout out to Auntie Anne’s customer service and whoever handles their social media. I’m not referring to the service at each franchise, which I find quite normal, but I’m referring to the customer service outside of that. These guys are on it! Like really on it!

When I first started Twitter (barely any followers) I tweeted something about eating a pretzel from Auntie Anne’s and it looking a little smaller than I remembered. It was just a random comment and it really wasn’t a big deal, and I didn’t expect anything at all. But almost immediately after, a representative from Auntie Anne’s messaged me regarding the comment and followed up with 3 other e-mails from upper management. Mind you, this is when I first started so I really think this is their standard routine. Anyways long story short they insisted on giving me a free pretzel on my next visit, which was totally unnecessary, but very much appreciated. I still haven’t used it to this date since we don’t have one in Metro Vancouver, but I’ll never forget their professionalism and kind gesture. This type of personal and attentive customer service from such a big company, for something so minor, is nothing but commendable.

On the table:
**Original Pretzel – 5/6

• The pretzel that built an empire $3.19
• Served without butter the pretzel only has about 1g of fat… but who eats it without butter? It really is better with butter! (Although that’s +5g fat)
• I personally like the original the best with the crispy salt crystals.
• It’s not the best looking, authentic or gourmet, but it’s simply delicious.
• The dough is hand cut, hand rolled and the pretzels are baked upon order.
• It’s incredibly soft, buttery and tender with a fluffy and light inside and a slightly crispier bottom. It’s stretchy, chewy and moist with great savoury flavour.

Light Cream Cheese Dip + $.79

Almond Pretzel – 3/6

• Raise a toast to this pretzel coated with toasted almond toffee crunch $3.19
• This only has 2g of fat without butter, but again, who doesn’t love butter? (+5g of fat)
• The store menu says “almond” without a description so I was expecting savoury, until I realized it was a candied almond so it was more like dessert.
• I really wish I knew, but even with the “almond toffee crunch” I still wanted to see some actual slivers of almonds and not just toffee crumbs.
• It’s good, but it just doesn’t taste like almonds and it’s more toffee for sure.
• Considering it’s the same price as the original and only 1 extra gram of fat than the original pretzel, I think it’s fair to say that there isn’t much almond.
• The crunchiness of the “almond toffee crunch” comes off as being nutty because of the texture, but there’s not really any almond flavour.
• It’s very well coated and it creates a crunchy crust so I did like the contrast with the soft and tender pretzel.
• It’s often recommended to eat with caramel dip, so of course I had to try it!

Caramel Dip + $0.79 - It tastes like caramelized condensed milk or melted Weather’s Originals. It went well with the pretzel, although the pretzel was sweet enough alone too.

Restaurant: Bakery Nouveau – Special Valentine’s Day Dessert Post (Review 3)
Cuisine: Bakery/Desserts/Sandwiches
Last visited: February 8, 2011
Area: Seattle, WA (West Seattle)
Address: 4737 California Ave SW
Price range: $10-20

1: Poor 2: OK 3: Good 4: Very good 5: Excellent 6: Tres Excellent!!

Food: 6
Service: n/a – I wasn’t actually there
Ambiance: n/a
Overall: n/a
Additional comments:

• Pastry chef William Leaman
• Pastries baked several times daily
• Famous bakery in Seattle
• Gourmet bakery
• Traditional desserts with a gourmet/West Coast twist
• Breads/Desserts/Pastries/Chocolates/Jam/Lunch
• Award winning desserts
• Natural ingredients
• Seasonal ingredients
• Gift baskets available
• Daily/Weekly/Holiday specials
• Dine in/Take-out
• Mon-Thurs 6am-7pm
• Fri 6am-9pm
• Sat 7am-9pm
• Sun 7am-7pm
• Bakery Nouveau – Review 1
• Bakery Nouveau – Review 2

Recommendation: Blueberry Pistachio Cake, Double Baked Almond Croissant, Pear & Cherry Almond Tart, Peanut Butter and Jelly Macaron, Macarons and their Phoenix Cake (award winning cake)

So my Valentine’s Day posts have started! From Gelato filled Macaronwiches, to chocolates from Chocolaterie de la Nouvelle France, and cakes from Giovane Cafe, I think it’s fair to say… screw the flowers and get the cookies, chocolates, cakes and pastries!

A Valentine’s Day wouldn’t be complete without a visit to one of my favourite bakeries, Bakery Nouveau in Seattle. I know! How unfair that I’m posting on a bakery that isn’t even in Vancouver. What a tease I am! But hey, there’s 2 days left before Valentine’s Day so you still have time to make the drive down. However, if you want something in Vancouver, I would highly recommend my favourite bakery Thomas Haas – see my post for his chocolates here and desserts here. Although his pastry collection isn’t as extensive, I actually think they are some of the best I’ve had and can compete with some of the ones from Bakery Nouveau.

Technically I didn’t physically go down to Bakery Nouveau in Seattle myself, but I was lucky enough to have my wonderful friend @iamcece bring me back a massive order of delicious cakes and macarons. Everyone knows how much I love this place. After hearing her describe all their Valentine’s Day cakes I easily decided to try most of them, just so I could make a full Valentine’s Day post from it. So that’s exactly what she helped me do. This is my third post for Bakery Nouveau and I still haven’t been to its actual location. I’m just so lucky to have awesome friends that always bring me back goodies every time they’re down there.

I didn’t notice that almost my entire order was mousse cakes, so by the end of my indulgence I was pretty moussed out. Yes, I had half of all these cakes and macarons all in one night after coming back from dinner, which already included two desserts. Overall everything was good, as it almost always is, but I’ve enjoyed their other desserts more than I did their special Valentine’s Day desserts. So I guess that just saved you the trip if you were intending to go down just for their Valentine’s Day dessert specials. On the other hand, if you’re reading this in Seattle, than here’s a taste of what’s currently going on at Bakery Nouveau.

On the table:

Macaroon for 2 – 3/6

• Macaron heart shell, dark chocolate mousse, fresh fruit and sugar decor $5
• I prefer the recently invented Gelato filled Macaronwich from Bella Gelateria in Vancouver, BC.
• This was another version of a macaron sandwich. It was 2 heart shaped macaron cookies sandwiched with bitter sweet dark chocolate mousse.
• I would rather have a regular macaron with chocolate ganache filling.
• I just found this too rich and nothing too special. I know why they say “for 2″, it’s not that big, but it would be way too much of one thing for one person.
• It did have a raspberry coulis centre, but it wasn’t enough to really make a difference.
• The macaron was crispy and naturally almond flavoured, but for some reason it was a bit floury tasting as well.
• The chocolate mousse was more like a truffle and it was very thick and creamy, rather than light and fluffy.
• I found that the chocolate mousse overpowered the macaron and overall it was pretty to look at, but not too enjoyable to eat.

The Aphrodite – 4/6

• A delightful alternative to chocolate, featuring a rich and creamy mousse of lemon and fromage blanc enclosing a layer of raspberry gelée and a kirsch infused lemon chiffon. It’s finished with an apricot glaze, delicious miniature Madeline cookies, and a rose petal garnish. Available in both 3″ and 6″ sizes $5
• This one was actually very good! It was a very mild cheesecake, and I’m not a huge fan of cheesecakes, so I really enjoyed this one because it was very light. This was like the lemon and raspberry version of a tiramisu.
• The Madeleine cookies were a nice addition and they tasted like lemon flavoured pound cakes that were tangy, spongy, and moist.

• It was a lighter cake and very “girly” in flavours and style. It was quite tangy more so than sweet with the types of fruits used.
• It was a great balance of cake, mousse and raspberry gelée and it had a creamy texture that melted in your mouth quite easily.
• I could taste the subtle cheesiness and the the incorporation of lemon mousse just enhanced it, but it still wasn’t too dense or overpowering.
• The raspberry gelée added a tangy punch to the creamy lemon mousse and if anything I could have used more cake to give a bit more texture to the dessert. I guess that’s why the Madeleine cookies were there?
• I didn’t get the flavour of the apricot glaze either, if it’s in the description I usually like to taste it too.

Chocolate Raspberry Dome – 4/6

• 64% chocolate mousse with raspberry crémeux (a curd) center on a chocolate biscuit (sponge cake) finished with a raspberry glaze $5
• This isn’t a Valentine’s Day special, but it is red and it is chocolate… so it made it appropriate for this post.
• The presentation and quality of ingredients were great, but it was just your ordinary raspberry and chocolate mousse dome and I wasn’t very inspired by it. Not really any surprises and it was pretty expected.

• The milk chocolate mousse was smooth, creamy and sweet with a punch of fresh raspberry puree mixed in (without seeds).
• It was a nice balance of tang and sweet and the raspberry glaze helped enhance the raspberry in the mousse.
• It sat on a very thin layer of chocolate cake, but overall it didn’t play much of a role and I don’t think it was supposed to besides giving the dome structure.
• If I’m going to have a raspberry and chocolate mousse cake, I would much rather have the Mini Ganache, Chocolate, Raspberry Bavarian Cream Cake from Giovane Cafe in Vancouver, BC.

**Phoenix - 5/6

• This cake scored the highest points in the National Pastry Championship, 2005. It is a triple layer mousse cake with a delicate balance of pear mousse, 70% chocolate mousse, caramel mousse, pecan dacquoise and chocolate sponge cake. All covered with a caramel glaze $5.50
• I recommend you to try this because it’s one of their famous award winning cakes.
• I did enjoy it, but I would much rather have their delicious Blueberry & Pistachio Cake. Well it’s a bit comparing apples to oranges because the prior is chocolate and caramel and the later is fruity and nutty.
• For me the description sounded more exciting than the flavours I could taste.
• This is a mousse cake and it’s quite sweet. If you love caramel, pecans and chocolate, then you’ll like this. I couldn’t taste the pear mousse at all and it gets very overpowered by the caramel. It was the lightest in flavour, but used almost the least.

• I would have loved to get some pear texture, but it was just a pear mousse and if I didn’t know I would have never guessed. It’s so delicate in flavour that it just got completely lost with all the stronger flavours.
• It reminded me of a caramelized chocolate pecan tart wrapped around a thick layer of rich and decadent sweet caramel mousse.
• I guess the major highlight would be the caramel mousse. It was perfect and I could also taste a hint of liquor in it too.
• It was a good balance of chocolate and caramel and I did love the nutty crunch of pecans with the creamier mousse, but I think I was just expecting a lot more from it considering the “award winning” hype.

**Pear & Cherry Almond Tart – 5.5/6

• Cherry and pear fruit layered over frangipan over a thin layer of raspberry jam in a pate sucre crust. It is finished with an apricot glaze and toasted almond slivers $3.85
• This dessert is more my style.
• I love all the ingredients in this tart, so naturally I knew I would love it.
• The only thing is that the cherry and pears are arranged in a patten, so not every bite had some of each. I would have liked more of an incorporation of the flavours and perhaps a bit more of the sour cherry texture since it was more like puree or gelée.

• I couldn’t taste the apricot glaze and didn’t really see or taste the raspberry jam layer either.
• It was an incredibly nutty and creamy tart with a nice and thin crispy almond and sugar crust. I love pate de sucree crusts!
• It was a great balance of fruit and frangipan and together it was all very chewy with a nice crunchy bite from the fruits and almond slivers.
• I could definitely taste the almonds and the nice crunch of sugar crystals, and the middle layer of frangipan tasted like a walnut and almond butter pate or tart puree. Delicious!

**Parisian Macaroons - 4.5/6

• These traditional Parisian cookies are light and airy. They are rumored to be the best outside of Paris! Flavor choices vary by day and feature: Café, Passion fruit, Chocolate, Raspberry, Pistachio, Coconut, Caramel, Salt Caramel, Blood Orange and Cassis $1.50 each
• I’ve tried the macarons here before and I just don’t think I realized just how good they were the first time around. After trying endless macarons over the last 2 years, I have to reevaluate these ones and say they were better than I thought!
• The only thing is, is that the fillings could get more creative and it would be nice to have a bit of decor on them whether it be lavender leaves for the lavender macaron, or lime zest for the Margarita macaron etc. I’m being a bit picky here, but just a thought.

• **Margarita – 5/6
  • Tequila infused white chocolate ganache
  • Yes! I had to try this inventive flavour!
  • This was great! it was tangy and sweet with lime flavour and then a bit of crispy salt as well. It really tasted like a Magarita in macaron form!
  • The tequila taste wasn’t strong, but you knew there was some alcohol in it although it’s very faint.

• **Peanut Butter & Jelly – 6/6
  • Peanut butter and raspberry jelly filling
  • How fun is this?! Loved it!
  • This was my favourite macaron! It was heavier on the peanut butter but it’s the classic savoury and sweet combination everyone loves!
  • It was nutty and sweet and the middle had a layer or peanut butter and jelly… better than expected. Although having some real crunchy peanuts on top or inside would be nice as well.
• Blueberry – 2.5/6
  • Blueberry white chocolate ganache
  • It was good, but it didn’t taste like blueberry. I would have thought it was plain almond in flavour.
• **Blood Orange – 4.5/6
  • Orange caramel ganache
  • I love this one. It wasn’t too citrusy but it had the aroma and sweetness of blood oranges. It’s faint, but it’s there and almost like orange blossom water.
  • It was fresh, fruity and the orange caramel ganache was the perfect balance. I could taste both the orange and caramel, but the caramel a bit more.

• **Lavender - 5/6
  • White chocolate ganache filling
  • This was also great! It was florally and well infused with lavender flowers. The white chocolate ganache added the perfect sweetness.
  • I love the airiness of his macarons and the perfectly crispy macaron shell. The macarons are chewy and moist and just perfect.
  • I’ve also tried the Coconut Macaron and Passion Fruit Macaron.

Restaurant: Taqueria El Rinconsito
Cuisine: Mexican
Last visited: July 26, 2010
Location: Kent, WA
Address: 25914 Pacific Hwy S
Price Range: $10 or less

1: Poor 2: OK 3: Good 4: Very good 5: Excellent 6: Tres Excellent!!

Food: 4.5
Service: 4
Ambiance: 2
Overall: 4
Additional comments:

• Since 1997
• Mexican fast food
• Popular to locals and Mexicans
• Popular and traditional Mexican dishes
• Very good for fast food joint
• Good quality and quite authentic for fast food
• Homemade corn tortillas
• Homemade sopitas
• Bang for buck
• Large menu
• Self serve condiments bar
• Self serve drinks
• No trans fat oil
• Meat/Seafood
• Cheap eats / Budget-friendly
• Quick, casual
• Open late
• Online specials and coupons
  

**Recommendations:

Taqueria El Rinconsito is a family owned fast food Mexican restaurant with a few locations throughout Washington. It’s rapidly growing expansion is due to their philosophy in good quality Mexican fast food, for a cheap price, in a family atmosphere with friendly service. They offer a large menu from popular Mexican favourites like tacos and burritos to some Mexican specialties like Camarones a La Crema, shrimp cooked with asparagus cream sauce and veggies, and even Mojarra, an entire deep fried fish . They even have traditional Mexican drinks,  homemade Mexican desserts and free self-serve condiments and sauces. The food is not authentic as say the food you would have in Mexico, but it’s a definite bang for your buck and exceeds any level of expectations one would have for cheap Mexican fast food. They even have bottles of Tapatio Mexican hot sauce on the table, which is a sign of a good Mexican restaurant that would attract Mexican locals as well as locals in general.

Being from Vancouver, BC where there is a severe lack of authentic and good Mexican food, I thought Taqueria El Rinconsito was freaking awesome and delicious! I’ve had Tex-Mex and some better Mexican food before and I have been to Mexico, but I can’t say I’m very familiar with the cuisine or that I have it often enough to compare. I did have this meal with a friend from San Diego who really knows his Mexican cuisine, and he too enjoyed the food here. It’s not the best Mexican food out there, but the quality and price is unbeatable and I would definitely come again. It was a late night snack and we ordered the generic stuff just to sample the basics, and now I can’t wait to try their not as popularized Mexican food.

You can eat like a king and order everything on the menu and have it make a small dent in the wallet.

On the table:

**5 Tacos – 5/6

• Your choice of meat $7.09USD
• Meat choices: Asada (steak), Adobada (spicy pork), carnitas (fried pork), pollo (chicken), birria (shredded beef), cabeza (roasted cow head), and lengua (roasted cow tongue).
• I tried all the tacos except the roasted cow head and tongue. I didn’t know what they were and they didn’t have the English translation on the menu. I’ve tried BBQ cow heart before at El Inka Deli and that was good, so I’d be curious to try these other organs although I’m not eager. Cow tongue I’ve tried and that’s not foreign, but the cow head is new to me.
• The best tacos were the Carnitas (shredded fried pork) and the Adobada (spicy pork). They were the most tender meats and had the most flavour. All the meats were  general well flavoured though and each taco was generously filled.
• You can get corn or white flour tortillas, but the authentic way is to eat them with corn tortillas. They’re homemade here too and each taco is about the size of a CD so they’re served the authentic way. It’s also two corn tortillas per taco and that’s the traditional way to eat Mexican tacos.

**Mulitas – 4.5/6

• Choice of meat, Jack cheese, onions, cilantro, salsa and guacamole (2) $4.38USD
• It was my first time trying these so I have nothing to compare to, but I enjoyed them! It kind of reminded me a Mexican version of a Shao Bing I tried at Bao Bei Chinese Brasserie.
• We ordered them with spicy pork (Adobada).

• It was almost like a quesadilla meets a hard taco.  The stuffing is sandwiched between two crispy white flour tortilla shells. This were the juiciest and sauciest item we ordered and messiest to eat. They’re generously filled and it’s a bit greasy, but still delicious. It’s savoury, slightly spicy from the pork, creamy and sweet from the guacamole and nice and crispy from the tortilla shell.
• The guacamole isn’t the best guacamole ever, but for the price, it does the job fine and it still tastes fine and I can still taste avocado.

**Sopitos - 4/6

• Choice of meat, beans, onions, cilantro, salsa, cabbage, tomato, Mexican cream & Mexican cheese $5.99USD
• I was really surprised to see these on here because it’s not expected for a cheap little Mexican fast food joint. Again it was my first time trying them and I enjoyed them, but half of one is more than enough because they’re really substantial and filling. It’s a sloppy mess of deliciousness, but also the key to food coma.

• Sopitos are thick tortillas with raised edges and they’re homemade here. They kind of make them a batch at a time, so although they’re made fresh it’s not upon order.
• It tastes like a very thick and doughy tortilla and it’s very bread like and dense. They’re not really soft, but almost like a Mexican style pita.

• The sopitos are piled high and I ordered 3, one with Carnitas (shredded fried pork), another with steak and the last with spicy pork. My favouite was the pork ones again, it just as the most flavour.
• The Mexican cheese is almost like a crumbled Feta and it’s nice and salty. The Mexican cream tastes like sour cream or Crème fraîche. It’s slightly runnier and has the same tanginess.
• The sopitos taste like a burrito piled on top of a Mexican style pita that’s almost like dense cornbread.

**Torta Regular – 4.5/6

• Choice of meat, onions, cilantro, salsa, lettuce, tomatoes, jalapenos, and mayo $4.79USD (Extra for avocado)
• Meat choices: Asada (steak), Adobada (spicy pork), carnitas (fried pork), pollo (chicken), birria (shredded beef), cabeza (roasted cow head), and lengua (roasted cow tongue).
• The only torta I’ve tried was from Las Tortas, and I loved it there; although they make gourmet tortas.
• These ones were super stuffed with meat and fresh vegetables and it was delicious! The Mexican bun was also very soft and not to thick and I could taste everything. It was tangy with the salsa, and the jalapenos were pickles so it was slightly spicy but not overpowering.

Pollo Ranchero – 2.5/6

• Chicken cooked in a spicy sauce, onions, bell peppers, tomatoes. Served with rice, beans, salsa, and tortillas $8.49USD
• This was a pretty big portion, but I wasn’t that impressed with it. The chicken was mildly spicy but the veggies were nice and caramelized and sweet. It was almost like chicken fajitas.
• The rice was alright, but a little sitting there and the beans were just normal re-fried beans that didn’t look too appetizing, but tasted fine.

Mexican Drinks

• The also offer a self-serve drink counter with a variety of juices and iced teas like mango juice, Horchata, Agua Fresca, and Hibiscus tea.
• Horchata is amazing – it the white drink on the very right. It’s made from rice, cinnamon and lemons and it tastes almost like rice pudding made into a drink. it’s very aromatic and sweet and almost nutty in flavour.

Dessert

They off cheesecake, churros, flan and deep-fried ice cream all for $3. 29USD. The choice for me was obvious…

Deep Fried Ice Cream – 1.5/6

• $3.29USD
• The deep fried ice cream was huge, but it wasn’t that good. It was a big ball of vanilla ice cream rolled in cornflakes and them deep fried. This is kind of the lazy way of making it because it’s not supposed to have a cornflake batter.

• The cornflake batter tasted soggy and stale and we didn’t even eat it. The best deep fried Mexican ice cream I’ve had was from Luna Loca Mexican Cantina where the batter was almost made from graham crackers, cinnamon and sugar. It’s really good when they use ground nuts in the batter too.

Restaurant: Top Pot Doughnuts (Capitol Hill)
Cuisine: Desserts/Donuts/Coffee
Last visited: March 13, 2010
Area: Few locations – Seattle, WA (Capitol Hill)
609 Summit Ave E
Price Range: $10 or less

1: Poor 2: OK 3: Good 4: Very good 5: Excellent 6: Tres Excellent!!

Food: 5
Service: n/a
Ambiance: n/a
Overall: n/a
Additional comments:

• Capitol Hill – original location
• Started Feb 2002
• Seattle based chain – not franchise
• Local Seattle favourite
• Famous for doughnuts
• Hand forged doughnuts
• Huge doughnuts
• 40+ types of doughnuts
• 0 grams trans fat in all doughnuts
• Fried in no trans fat palm oil
• Popular for coffee – hand roasted/imported beans
• Not fair-trade or organic coffee
• Unhealthiest doughnut(s): Chocolate Bar, Bavarian Crème
• “Healthiest” doughnut(s): Plain Chocolate Cake, Plain Applesauce or Blueberry Cake
• Pop them in the microwave for 10 sec…even better!!

**Recommendation: Old fashioned doughnuts, Cake doughnuts, Chocolate Bar, Glazed rings (I want to try a feather boa, valley girl lemon, and apple fritter) – microwave them before eating…yum!

Thanks to Sherman – he was the means to these lovely boxes of doughnuts. Being in Seattle it is not a place that is easily accessible – however Sherman managed to bring some back for me to try. As much as I am grateful to try these ever so popular and famous doughnuts (only available in Seattle) I hold him responsible for my uncontrollable doughnut binge of  eating 10 doughnuts over 5 days. I feel sick writing it…but surprisingly didn’t feel that sick eating it…well now that I’m finished I don’t want a doughnut for a long time. I don’t even love doughnuts – I like them, but I’m not a “doughnut fan” – I’d rather have a cookie or cake.

These doughnuts are what doughnuts were meant to be. I feel like it’s the same doughnuts they eat on The Simpsons. Maybe it’s because they’re so big? I don’t know why…but I feel like if you looked up “good doughnut” you would find a Top Pot doughnut. It’s like the perfect recipe for a doughnut. For example Krispy Kremes are a bit different – not a traditional doughnut…but these are. They were very good, but was it THE BEST doughnut ever? No…I think it could get better. But they were excellent, just not tres excellent!

I’ll highlight just a few. Thanks to Kim for the photos.

On the table:

Dozen ‘you pick’ doughnuts 5/6

• Standard:$.99 Premium: $1.49 Supreme: $1.69 Fritters: $1.79
• Box of 12 – mix or match $14.99 USD
• I find this a good deal. For the size of the doughnuts and the taste I think it’s worth it. They’re pretty freakin massive doughnuts – well some of them are at least.

**Old-fashioned Doughnuts 5/6

• These are some of their most popular doughnuts. They’re very moist and they use sour cream in the recipe so it makes for a tender doughnut.

**Cake Doughnuts 5.5/6

• It’s not a fluffy sponge cake, but a denser one. It’s not too sweet either except for the decoration/icing parts.
• They have a slight spice, but not obvious – maybe some nutmeg and cloves.

Chocolate Cake Doughnuts 4/6

• The chocolate cake doughnuts are surprisingly not sweet. Same texture as regular cake doughnuts but with I think unsweetened cocoa powder.

Filled Doughnuts 4.5/6

• Very fluffy, lots of filling (thick and sweet filling, kind of artificial though)…and they’re huge!

**Chocolate Bar 5.5/6

• The chocolate bar was one of my favourites!
• Sure it’s the most unhealthiest on the menu – but it’s also because it’s like twice the size of all the others.
• It was so fluffy, soft and delicious.  It was actually very fluffy and just what all “Long John’s” should taste like.
• The Chocolate Ring behind it was huge and very good too.

Blueberry Specialty Cake 2/3

• This was almost like a bagel (On left).  It wasn’t very sweet and it was very dense and a tad dry.
• Chocolate cake doughnut sprinkled with cinnamon-sugar. (On right)
• This is surprisingly not sweet. Besides the fact that it was a doughnut, the chocolate i think is just unsweetened cocoa powder. I liked it, it wasn’t very rich but it was dense and also a bit on the drier side.

Chocolate Cake – Sandcastle 3.5/6

• Dusted with cinnamon – sugar.
• Again their chocolate batter doughnuts aren’t that sweet.

**Glazed Ring  6/6

• The biggest doughnut of all! The Rings! My favourite…it’s funny how I liked all the over-sized ones.
• It’s the biggest doughnut you see..I put it in the microwave a bit and it’s so delicious! Warm and fluffy and not as sweet as Krispy Kremes.

Cruller 3/6

• (12:00 position in photo)
• For the Canadians – I think Tim Horton’s does a better job.
• The cake doughnut and glazed rings have a better batter than the cruller.
• The cruller is just fluffier, but the batter is not as flavourful.

Restaurant: Bakery Nouveau – Review 2
Cuisine: Bakery/Desserts
Last visited: January 31, 2010
Area: Seattle, WA (West Seattle)
Address: 4737 California Ave SW
Price range: $10-20

1: Poor 2: OK 3: Good 4: Very good 5: Excellent 6: Tres Excellent!!

Food: 6
Service: n/a
Ambiance: n/a
Overall: n/a
Additional comments:

• Pastry chef William Leaman
• Pastries baked several times daily
• Famous bakery in Seattle
• Gourmet bakery
• Traditional desserts with a gourmet/West Coast twist
• Breads/Desserts/Pastries/Chocolates/Jam/Lunch
• Award winning desserts
• Natural ingredients
• Seasonal ingredients
• Gift baskets available
• Daily/Weekly/Holiday specials
• Dine in/Take-out
• Mon-Thurs 6am-7pm
• Fri 6am-9pm
• Sat 7am-9pm
• Sun 7am-7pm
• My 1st review for Bakery Nouveau.
• My 3rd review for Bakery Nouveau.

Recommendation: Blueberry Pistachio Cake, Double Baked Almond Croissant

I am so lucky to have friends that love me! To get desserts from Bakery Nouveau twice in one month is seriously something to brag about! My friends went down to Seattle and recalled my post about Bakery Nouveau, and with my “must go there” push they decided to stop there for lunch. They were happy, I was happy and I still am happy.

On the table:

Pumpkin Bread – 4.5/6

• Super moist like a moist banana bread would be. It’s more like a cake than it is bread.
• Very buttery and a bit oily so you can see it on your hands. But it’s good!
• Very strong cinnamon taste, lots of canned pumpkin. I think there is lots of clove in there and maybe a little nutmeg too.
• It almost seems like all canned pumpkin in taste and texture because it’s so moist.
• It’s marbled with a brown sugar walnut crumb streusel. It’s almost paste like.
• It’s quite sweet, and even a bit salty. They definitely added that pinch of salt to bring out the flavours, but I could actually taste it a bit more than I wanted to.

Snowball Cake – 5/6

• I don’t have the exact description but it had a custard bottom, cake layer, milk chocolate caramel Rum like layer, another custard layer, another cake layer and it was all covered with freshly dried coconut shavings. Probably around $5.50USD.

• I love the coconut shavings! This cake was very custardy with a Rum flavour. I think they use a very potent Vanilla Rum extract so it almost taste like there’s actually Rum in it.
• It’s creamy and very sweet, but good!
• It’s like a coconut vanilla custard trifle in taste and in texture meets a tiramisu (without the cheese taste). It had egg nog like flavour, especially in the custard and there are real vanilla bean seeds in it.

• You can hear the moistness when you cut through it with your fork… sounds gross, but it’s really good. The cake layer is quite wet and soaked.
• The whole cake is spread with vanilla custard or a cream that’s a bit thinner than pastry cream before it’s covered with coconut.
• The chocolate layer is a bit too sweet and it tastes like melted milk chocolate spread.
• It’s a bit too sweet overall and I wouldn’t want a whole mini cake to myself. I needed to eat it with a glass of milk. It was still excellent though.

**Twice Baked Almond Croissant – 6/6

•  I tried this last time too – see here. No changes, still delicious. Except I didn’t like how oddly shaped it was, the one I had last time was better looking.