Lunch! (2003-2012)

[SobaAddict70]

nothing too exciting...

a "burrito bowl" -- chopped beef, red kidney beans, Spanish rice, cheddar, salsa, lettuce and pico de gallo, sort of like a deconstructed burrito. $5 at a sandwich shop in my office building.

a can of Pellegrino orange-flavored carbonated water

a container of red bliss potato salad. this version of potato salad had no redeeming characteristics whatsoever. how can you mess up potato salad? that's like, just basic. fortunately, a couple of dabs of red chile oil from a container I keep in my office fridge helped save the day.

[brucesw]

A couple of recent lunches.

Chengdu Style Pot Roasted Prawns at Mala Sichuan Bistro in Chinatown. This came with a soup that was identified by the owner as Sauerkraut soup (on a lunch special).

Gulf shrimp and Texas blue crab on ciabatta with house-made green goddess dressing at Local Foods, a new sandwich shop in the Village serving a small menu of sandwiches, sides and soups emphasizing local ingredients.

My sides were Tuscan kale with golden raisins and toasted pine nuts and white bean, bacon, grape tomato and dill.

[Darienne]

You all have such fancy dishes for your lunch that I hesitate ever to post. Lunch today was stuff which has to be eaten before we head back home.

Egg roll wrappers, filled with roasted leftover poblanos and Tex-Mex shredded cheese, deep fried in leftover canola. Worked very well. Would have been better is the poblanos had been more carefully drained but I was in such a hurry to get the beast, aka DH, fed that I plain forgot.

[ScottyBoy]

A spead at B-Side BBQ in Oakland while I watch the playoffs.

[gfweb]

Smoked and sous vided turkey salad with Bacon, candied pecan crumbles and quartered grapes with a touch of chipotle.

Really nice bunch of flavors and textures in each bite.

[ScottyBoy]

Chicken and waffles at Brown Sugar Kitchen. Bay Area residents...if you haven't had these you are missing out!

Fermented yeast Waffle, maple butter, apple cider syrup and the best fried chicken I've ever had.

Edited January 17, 2012 by ScottyBoy (log)

[ChrisTaylor]

A glass of a very good New Zealand 'wild' Sauv Blanc, some marinated kalamatas, a piece of imported brie and my first ever can of Ortiz anchovies. My God. These things, the umami kick is just incredible. Even the white anchovies I buy from the lcoal Italian deli pale in comparison in terms of flavour.

[brucesw]

Mutton Stew from Kerala Kitchen. I wound up here when my first choice for lunch was unexpectedly closed. It's a caterer that sells OTC by the pound whatever they're cooking. I got the last of this dish, less than half a pound, with maybe 1 oz of meat, but it was good and I'd have it again.

[ChrisTaylor]

Hit Jacques Reymond for lunch. The lunch special is, I think, pretty good value. The glass of burgundy, priced at what I'd normally pay for a nice bottle of red? Well. It was very good. I did like, tho', that the by-the-glass selection offered wines at a range of price points (it's common to find, say, everything at $20-25 per glass ... when what's a lot nicer is to get a spectrum of offerings starting at something reasonable and working up to costlier options).

Apologies for the low quality of the images--I took them with my phone.

watercress soup w/ marrow tempura, tartare vinaigrette

seared yellowfin tuna w/ miso dressing, chlorophyll veil, red cabbage relish, freshly grated wasabi, duck neck tempura

lacquered sweetbread w/ quinoa, pickled radish salad, crispy potato

kangaroo w/ 'light Asian dressing' of soy and ginger, tofu and sweet chilli jam

pork fillet w/ lentils, lemon dressing, beetroot bigarade, brussel sprouts w/ yoghurt

millefeuilles of vanilla & lemon custard w/ caramelised banana, orange sauce

macarons

Any good? Sure. Maybe not Marque or Four in Hand or Bentley (Sydney) good, or even Embrasse or MoVida (both Melbourne) good ... but probably above some of the other well-established big names, such as Grossi Florentino (Melbourne) and Quay (Sydney), I've dined at. The food plays it safe to a point, but I get the impression game--whether it's roo or hare or whatever--is always on the menu in some form. And that's nice. Indeed, the highlight of the menu was probably the 'roo, altho' there weren't any dud dishes (the dessert and soup weren't mine, by the way). The coffee was nice enough. Service was good--fine dining efficient without any stuffiness or wank.

[threestars]

That was such a lovely lunch meal ChrisTaylor!

[SobaAddict70]

Arugula and Bordeaux spinach salad, with fried farm egg and homemade sea salt and sherry vinegar potato chips.

Bordeaux spinach is an heirloom spinach that's more tender and sweeter than regular spinach.

[SobaAddict70]

Italian potato salad -- with four kinds of heirloom potatoes, heirloom spinach, arugula, shallots, cremini mushrooms, olives and celery

[Blether]

Bacon & brown lentil soup a la Delia Smith (but without cabbage); sandwich of Nisshin World Deli salami and shungiku leaves:

[EatNopales]

This doesn't look like much... but it may be the most delicious thing I've eaten in months.

The ziplock of mystery green food in my freezer turned out to be a Mexico City style Chile Verde Montado (Bone in Country Ribs, Roasted Nopales, Sauce thickened & emulsified with a little bit of Masa are the defining characteristics of Chile Verde in the Anahuac Valley region)... the fried egg mounted on top gives it that Mexico City cantina touch (a garnish of some egg battered, fried Charales a smelt like fish native to the region would have rounded it out)

You can't see it in the picture but underneath the mound of Porky sauce deliciousness is a Quauhtlaqualli (hand patted 1 cm thick white corn tortilla) sliced in half & simmered with the sauce *

* Lately I have been obsessed with recreating Pre-Hispanic Peasant / Commoner Enchiladas.. which are simply a Quauhtlaqualli (or if you are not trying to impress strangers with your knowledge of Aztec culinary terms - a Gordita) that is simmered in a chile sauce (so freaking delicious it is insane that they have dropped off the lexicon of mainstream Mexican cooking particularly given that they were common up until the 20th century)

Edited February 7, 2012 by EatNopales (log)

[Kim Shook]

Had a former co-worker over for lunch yesterday. We had a marvelous time – good food, good talk and lots of laughing! We started off with Salsa Canapes:

Little filo cups filled with fresh salsa, mayo, cojito and chorizo.

Lunch was Michael Ruhlman’s Cheddar cheese soufflés:

Perfect, delicious and impressive, as always!

Doddie’s Crab and Ham salad:

Made with lobster and shrimp this time.

Apple-Walnut Tossed Salad with a fresh cranberry vinaigrette:

Dessert was leftover from Valentine’s day - Chocolate Mousse Cheesecake:

And Sesame-Ginger Rice Krispie Treats:

[ScottyBoy]

Dang that's quite a spread!

[Kim Shook]

Dang that's quite a spread!

Thanks, Scotty! Everything was put together ahead of time and those souffles are cooked from frozen. I love them so much!

[robirdstx]

Grilled Corned Beef and Swiss on Rye

[judiu]

Doddie’s Crab and Ham salad:

Made with lobster and shrimp this time.

Kim, where could I find the recipe for that salad? I looked in your Cookbook, but didn't see it. TIA!

[Kim Shook]

judiu – sorry, I didn’t notice your question until just now. Here is the recipe for Doddie’s salad.

I had a wonderful lunch on Wednesday and I’d love to duplicate it. Mr. Kim and I met downtown and went to church on Wednesday and had lunch from one of the street carts. Mr. Kim’s was no great shakes, but mine was great! I had I had a shrimp wrap with lettuce, tomatoes, feta and spinach. The shrimp were plump and sweet and spiced perfectly:

My side was Israeli couscous with orange segments, corn, black beans, cilantro and cumin vinaigrette:

Really good.

Mr. Kim had a lime and cilantro marinated beef sandwich with feta and tzatziki and red pepper hummus:

The beef was kind of bland – couldn’t taste the lime and cilantro and the tzatziki was not as good as mine !

[Anna N]

WOW - no postings since February! Have we all sworn off lunch?

I don't often post lunches eaten at home but this was so good and reasonably photogenic - an Asian-inpired cold noodle and shrimp salad.

[robirdstx]

Anna, that looks really good. How did you prepare the shrimp?

[Darienne]

No photos...but we had a wonderful lunch. Our daughter's BF (Grenadian) cooked it. He always cooks when he comes. A spicy orange dahl soup with Callaloo and Jasmine rice. This man can cook!!!

[Anna N]

Anna, that looks really good. How did you prepare the shrimp?

Brief marination in soy sauce, ginger, garlic, roasted sesame oil, lime juice and then roasted for about 3-4 mins in 450 F oven.

[robirdstx]

Anna, that looks really good. How did you prepare the shrimp?

Brief marination in soy sauce, ginger, garlic, roasted sesame oil, lime juice and then roasted for about 3-4 mins in 450 F oven.

Thanks, I'm going to have to try that real soon.