Lunch! (2003-2012)

[SobaAddict70]

Fava bean and Jersey tomato ragoût

[Kim Shook]

Blether – I just realized I had never thanked you for the Konbu ponzu explanation ! We had already left for our trip when you posted your response and I don’t think I’ve been back to this thread since! Anyway, thank you – sounds like a wonderful ingredient!

robirdstx – I love reading about eG’ers meeting in real life and sharing what we are all about! We have some decent food trucks in Richmond, but nothing on that scale!

Soba – gorgeous! Please tell me that just out of the shot was some crusty bread to sop up all that loveliness with! Or is that too ‘carbi’ for you ?

Since today is mostly devoted to blogging, lunch was just a snack spread out on the island:

Fruit and cheese – good peaches from the farm stand, goats milk Gouda and Seaside Cheddar from WF.

[SobaAddict70]

I think I went overboard on the salt (a rarity for me). But yes, Kim, I had a couple slices of good French bread with it.

Too late for it now but I think next week I will attempt to make pâte brisée for a vegetable tart. It's too late, because it's now 2:36 pm and in a few hours, I'll begin prep for dinner.

[rarerollingobject]

After salivating over Blether's pork pie pictorial, I had a serious hankering for one (a pork pie, not a Blether! Presumably.. ).

Not really having the time to invest in making pies myself this weekend, I bought a pretty good one from a deli near me, and ate it with hot English mustard and salad. Would have liked a coarser grind to the meat, but it was actually pretty good. Tasty jelly, well-spiced meat, tender crust.

[ScottyBoy]

Best rueben in Oakland, Chop Bar. House made beef, bread, sauerkraut and mustard. So damn good.

[judiu]

After salivating over Blether's pork pie pictorial, I had a serious hankering for one (a pork pie, not a Blether! Presumably.. ).

Not really having the time to invest in making pies myself this weekend, I bought a pretty good one from a deli near me, and ate it with hot English mustard and salad. Would have liked a coarser grind to the meat, but it was actually pretty good. Tasty jelly, well-spiced meat, tender crust.

Snark! Was the crust at all gummy where it hit the filling? That is some wild looking hot mustard; I can ALMOST smell it from here, and my eyes are watering!

[Darienne]

Gosh, I never think of taking photos at meals. Lunch is our dinner and we eat our most photographic meal then.

Today was Puerco Pibil with Creamed Poblano Rajas. Dessert was Paletas de Coco Rapidas. Yummy.

Puerco Pibil recipe is from Roberto Rodriguez and Paletas from Fany Gerson, Paletas.

[rarerollingobject]

After salivating over Blether's pork pie pictorial, I had a serious hankering for one (a pork pie, not a Blether! Presumably.. ).

Not really having the time to invest in making pies myself this weekend, I bought a pretty good one from a deli near me, and ate it with hot English mustard and salad. Would have liked a coarser grind to the meat, but it was actually pretty good. Tasty jelly, well-spiced meat, tender crust.

Snark! Was the crust at all gummy where it hit the filling? That is some wild looking hot mustard; I can ALMOST smell it from here, and my eyes are watering!

It was pretty damn good, for a shop-bought pie! I didn't detect any gumminess in the crust, but possibly because I was being hyper-vigilante for any dryness, which is a much worse crime IMO. The mustard was indeed HOT (and I doctored it up further towards the end with a bit of horseradish stirred in), but was a perfect accompaniment to the fattiness of the pie. Next: attempt making pork pies myself!

[robirdstx]

I grilled a couple of slipper lobster tails last night. Had one for dinner and used the other one to make a lobster salad for lunch today. The salad was stuffed onto half an avocado.

Two of my favorite foods - avocado and lobster!

[ScottyBoy]

Oh yeah!

[brucesw]

Here's a couple of recent lunches I've had. I haven't been getting out much because of the heat and a persistent problem with my car but I made it over to my favorite Salvadoran tamaleria and (over) ordered a la carte:

Rigua (corn pancake), empanada de platano, tamal frita (deep-fried tamal de elote) and tamal de pollo (chunks of tender stewed chicken and potatoes). There was Crema Salvadorena on the side for the rigua and tamal frita. I like tamales very 'wet' and these are the best Salvadoran tamales in town and among the best tamales of any cuisine.

Yesterday I made it over to a Korean restaurant that I have passed by repeatedly without realizing the building was even occupied. Talk about off the radar. The sign is faded beyond readability and the door is hidden toward the back on the side, the windows all plastered over to keep out the afternoon sun.

Among those in the know, however, there are raves about the seafood pancake - Hae-Mul-Pa-Jun on their menu; there are also warnings that there's no air conditioning but I found the place comfortable at 11:30. Still, I got the food to go. On the appetizer menu it was pricier than most entrees, the reason being, it was humongous, 3 or 4 pounds worth at least, enough for a family of four to have 2 if not 3 meals.

Shrimp, oysters, mussels, scallops, squid and surimi are listed although I have yet to encounter either of the last two - but I've eaten less than a quarter of it! Moist with a nice crust this was simply great. I had some reheated for breakfast this morning and again for dinner tonight and it was good that way too. I sure hope it will survive freezing because there's no way I can finish this all off anytime soon.

And more of the pancake.

[Darienne]

I want to go to lunch with brucesw. :wub:

[threestars]

Cooked Ampalaya Con Carne (Bitter Gourd) Not very good looking but this is one of my favorite.

[heidih]

Cooked Ampalaya Con Carne (Bitter Gourd) Not very good looking but this is one of my favorite.

What is in the sauce and did you have it with rice or something else? I really enjoy bitter melon.

[brucesw]

I want to go to lunch with brucesw. :wub:

Well if you happen to be in my neighborhood anytime soon, stop by and share some pancake!

[Darienne]

I want to go to lunch with brucesw. :wub:

Well if you happen to be in my neighborhood anytime soon, stop by and share some pancake!

My sorrowful point might be that where I live, you can't get food like that. No way, no how. Never. Lucky you.

However, with my new-born obsession with cooking, and more to the point, cooking Mexican and other Hispanic/Latino/etc dishes, at some point I will no doubt make some of those dishes. Still working on just the simple ones.

[brucesw]

I stopped off at Marini's Original Empanada House for lunch, the grand-daddy of our Argentine empanada houses. It's been several years since I've been in and they've added quite a lot to the menu but I went with some of my long-time favorites.

The Gaucho is a pretty traditional one I think - ground beef, onions, hard-boiled egg and olives. The Demichelli may just be their own creation - avocado, tomato, onions, bell peppers, garlic, cheese and mushrooms. The lunch special included a cup of beef noodle soup - macaroni, potatoes, ground beef - and a mini-dessert empanada which I was told would be 'chocolate cake' but I didn't find anything very cakey inside, just melted chocolate.

There's a lot of competition now for Argentine empanadas but this place still has the biggest variety and the most interesting fillings.

Edited August 24, 2011 by brucesw (log)

[threestars]

What is in the sauce and did you have it with rice or something else? I really enjoy bitter melon.

I usually cook it with beef but this time, I cooked it with pork. It shouldn't have a sauce but I just made a bit more sauce because I like the taste of the sauce with a little bitter taste from the bitter gourd. It is basically some water, a bit of soysauce, sesame oil, salt, and other ingredients sauteed until beef is cooked. I had it with rice.

Edited August 24, 2011 by threestars (log)

[brucesw]

I checked out Radical Eats Comida Vegetariana this week. These folks have been dispensing their vegan tamales at the various farmer's markets sponsored by Urban Harvest but I've never tried them. Now they've taken over a run down taqueria on the near north side and set up shop.

The spinach enchilada was good but the real winner was this mushroom enchilada smothered in a cashew gravy.

It's a 70 minute round trip but I think I want to try everything on the menu.

I caught up with the Good Dog Food Truck at The Menil today. Houston is not hot dog country and it's hard to find any dogs that aren't just offered as kid-acceptable fare or some over-wrought 'gourmet' dogs at trendy watering holes but these guys do some real good dogs. They used a Texas made, natural beef (with a little pork) wiener with a natural casing, all home-made toppings so they claim, and a locally baked New England style split-top bun (Slow Dough Bread Company) that is practically worth the price of the dog itself.

My favorite has become the Ol' Zapata - chopped tomatoes and crisp bacon, caramelized onions, cheese, jalapeno relish and a touch of home-made ketchup to add a note of sweetness offsetting the heat of the relish. I usually don't want ketchup on a dog but this works.

I tried the Sloppy Slaw dog this time - apple slaw, home-made mayo, swiss cheese, and celery salt. Apparently I got a little sunlight filtering through the trees that washed out the apples but this is thinly sliced apples and rather too large pieces. The individual components were all okay (I've had slaw dogs before with creamy cole slaw) but this didn't work for me. I needed something in there to offset the sweetness of the apples and creaminess of the mayo.

Edited September 2, 2011 by brucesw (log)

[EatNopales]

Today's Lunch at Tortilleria Jalisco in Sonoma

"Mexican" Coke... btw there is no such thing as Mexican coke.. there are more than a dozen regional bottlers who manufacture Coca Cola in Mexico (each with their own version of the recipe / regional ingredients etc.,)... today's was from the bottler in Mexicali

Warm Nopalitos with a little Tomatillo Salsa & Pico de Gallo

Tostada de Pata (Warm Pig Feet <not pickled though>, Lettuce, Tomato, Onions, Pickled Jalapenos, Salsa & nice & funky Cotija cheese)

[Panaderia Canadiense]

Here are the last two days:

"Pizza" - foccaccia crust spread way thinner than usual, with olive oil, chopped sundried tomatoes, honey-cured turkey breast strips, and emmenthaler/javierino (sort of cheddary) cheeses on top. It was way yummy, even if it wasn't technically a pizza.

Honey-cured turkey breast and javierino cheese on a ham-n-cheese whole wheat bagel of my own design.

[Kim Shook]

Y’all are eating much more interesting stuff than me. And PC…I adore your stars (and can't wait for a free weekend to devote to bagel-making)!

Lunch today:

sort of Frito Pie – Fritos, baked beans, hot dog coins, hot dog chili and cheese. I wanted to use up some leftovers.

[brucesw]

Kim Shook - looks good to me.

Panaderia Canadiense - as usual, your stuff looks incredible.

EatNopales - I've had many parts of the pig - oreja, buche, cueritos, skin - but never pata. Looks interesting.

I fixed a multi-national breakfast for lunch yesterday.

A month or so ago I went to a Salvadoran restaurant and had breakfast for lunch - Huevos en tusa - eggs steamed on corn husks. The place was understaffed that day and took forever to get out the food and badly overcooked the eggs - cooked on a grill, the husks were charred black on the bottom - but I was motivated to try it at home. I've since learned it's tricky to get the top of the egg cooked without overcooking the bottom but this is the latest effort. I just use a cast iron skillet with a lid.

In place of the platano maduros and crema Salvadorena at the restaurant I had a Colombian manzano banana. The maduros would have been better but I didn't have a ripe plantain.

Frijoles rojos de seda volteados - refried red silk beans (from a can). This seems to be the default beans at Salvadoran places.

The restaurant served a firm, salty, Cotija type cheese but I had Mexican Queso Fresco I needed to use up.

The tortilla is from a Mexican tortilleria near me; Salvadoran tortillas are typically smaller, thicker, hand made on the spot and of a coarser texture.

[Panaderia Canadiense]

Bruce, do you have a Tamalera (tamale pot) or a Baine Marie with a perforated steamer top? If you do, it greatly simplifies the process of Huevos en Tusa and prevents any form of charring on the husks. With a little practice, they'll come out perfect every single time - it's what the Tamalero is meant to do (apart from steaming Tamales, Humitas, and Quimbolitos, of course!)

[brucesw]

I hadn't thought of that - Thanks. The husks at the restaurant had blackened grill marks on the bottom so I assumed that's where it was cooked and went from there but couldn't see how to produce enough steam just from the moisture in the dampened husks, hence the covered skillet (and a little extra water added to the pan - trial and error).