Misunderstood

I'm not picky, and I don't think I'm better than you. It gets old defending myself. That's right, I'm misunderstood. I know there's other foodies out there who have been accused of being horrible people. I'm hoping this post will help both sides. Listed below are several myths and explanations about those who enjoy good food.

• If it's cheap, it's not good enough. Money doesn't matter when it comes to food. Ever heard of the term, hole in the wall? These are places that may look a little sketchy on the inside, but serve great food at a reasonable price. The key is not letting money be your only reason for seeking a restaurant. Don't worry about what a great deal you're getting, worry about how it tastes.
  
  
• Portions have to be tiny. Ummmmm, not really. I recently posted about America's lust for the doggy bag. The reason good restaurants don't bombard you with a large portion is because their goal is to make you feel content when you leave the restaurant, not uncomfortable. All-you-can-eat buffets aren't known for their quality just their quantity. Remember, don't obsess about the deal.
  
  
• You're picky. No. This may be my least favorite of the myths. Picky is excluding all sorts of foods and being afraid to taste new things. Placing high regard on quality is not being picky, it's just having high expectations. I like fresh things, so sue me.
  
  
• Chain restaurants are evil. Honestly, there are some horrible chains out there that have ruined food for Americans, Olive Garden being one of my least favorite. However, there are some great ideas that have popped up and become so popular that they launch into chains. If chains are managed right, they can be a good thing. Many of them just concern themselves with being like Wal-Mart and go after being the cheapest. Being cheap all around doesn't always buy one fresh ingredients. You have to be careful.
  
  
• I don't know enough to be a "foodie." Being into food is not like being into wine. It's really not all that complicated. As I've mentioned before, we've all had an amazing meal and know what greatness tastes like. Remember that meal and compare it against future dishes.
  
  
• Food is too big of a deal. Okay, this is not really a myth. Food IS a big deal. How often do you eat? Can you even quantify it? All of the time, right? I think we don't take food seriously enough. With how much food we consume, why don't we care more about how it tastes or how good the quality is?
  

We are a misunderstood people. Non-foodies, use these myths to better understand us. Foodies, be sensitive to non-foodies and encourage them to become one of us. Non-foodies, maybe your stomach is growling, not because you're hungry, but because of what you're putting in it.

Portions

What's impressive? Size? Big house? Big car? Big TV? Super-size it. That's our culture. The more we get, the better it is, right? Sure, I would rather watch sports on a bigger TV and have the luxury of a larger house, but what do I gain from a bigger meal?

Super-size it, Biggie-size, King-size are all synonymous with an overindulgence in food, fast food more specifically. While it's easy to pick on fast food, since they're an obvious target, it's almost not fair. While many crave fast food and sit in long drive-thru lines, there is an understanding that it's not great for you. Let me pick on a place that I have previously targeted, Maggiano's. For those of you unfamiliar with the place, it's a rather popular Italian restaurant that is a part of the same parent company as Macaroni Grill and Chili's. One would say that it is probably more high-end than the others, however it's by no means upscale. I have never seen any one leave this restaurant without a doggie bag. I have a sneaking suspicion that this is Maggiano's goal. Their hope is that you are so full, you take leftovers home. The food is okay, but that's all it is. Instead of producing great food, they wow with huge portions. Similar to a magician using misdirection, they have you excited about how much food you're getting that you don't notice the lack of quality. Remember, we like everything big. We want to think that we're getting a good deal. "Look at all this food for a great price!" "Wow, and I get to take home leftovers for tomorrow!" Is that why you go out to dinner? You hope for another meal for the next day? How is that different from grocery shopping? What's impressive about a restaurant giving you more food than you can possibly consume in one sitting?

To me, it's all about quality--not quantity. I know I'm always mentioning Europe, but they've set a pretty great standard when it comes to eating. Your meal comes out, and you might think, "this isn't enough food;" however, when you're plate is clear, you're full. Note, this isn't an uncomfortable full, a full that requires a desire for an elastic waistband. It is a contented full. You no longer want more food, but you're not in pain. Unfortunately, I've been within earshot of American tourists in Europe who complain about the size of their meal. They think they're getting ripped off because it's not enough food to take home. Sadly, we're pre-programmed to think that we need a lot of food. There are some great domestic restaurants that refuse to cater to our American ways. They insist that they're going to serve an amazing meal in a small (read normal) sized portion. To the uncultured eye, you might think this is not worth the cost until you move your fork to your mouth. There is nothing greater than realizing that a chef sacrificed quantity for quality. Eating a small plate of homemade pasta is far better than several pounds of dried pre-packaged pasta. When I leave a restaurant, I don't hope to be a holding a bag full of what I couldn't finish, I hope to be holding on to the memory of a fantastic meal and hopes to return again.

(My goal isn't to put down anyone that likes this type of food or accuse you of being uncultured. My goal is to get you to question how you think about eating. Do you want quality? If so, seek it. I promise you'll be greatly rewarded.)

My Favorite Cooking Gadgets (Part 1)

How should this be written? A poem or an ode of some sort? That's probably a bit on the odd side, but you don't see enough chefs talk about what gadget they can't live without. Not that I'm a chef, but I do enjoy cooking often. I thought, why not feature a gadget that makes life easier? First up, is the great food processor. Some people don't know what they're missing with the absence of this wonderful piece of machinery. I still am coming up with new ways to use it. My personal favorite is in the making of guacamole. Throw in some peeled avocados, barely chopped tomatoes, cloves of garlic, cilantro leaves, lime juice, salt, and pepper and press 'ON,' briefly. Just like that, you have delicious guacamole. Now, I'm not trying to sound like an infomercial, but it makes some stuff a lot easier. Mincing garlic, done. Chopping larger vegetables, done. Making a pie crust, done. Pureeing soup, done. Throw on a different attachment and you can easily grate cheese and julienne vegetables, such as squash or zucchini. This was featured first because it's probably my favorite gadget. Some of the things it has done for me are, mix ice cream ingredients, make guacamole, puree soup, grate cheese, julienne vegetables, chop herbs, and puree fruit.

If you don't have one, I highly encourage that you make the investment. It will make your kitchen work much easier.

Cravings

I enjoy eating. I think I've made that rather obvious by now. One of my favorite things about eating is having a craving, particularly a craving that you know will be satisfied. The easiest example is Thanksgiving. You almost always know what food is coming, and you usually look forward to at least one of the dishes.

When I visit my homeland of Texas, I always begin craving Mexican food. I get excited a few weeks before, waiting for some delicious Tacos Norteños. The anticipation is almost as great as the experience itself. Sometimes, during the week, I crave bacon. I really really like bacon. Sure enough, I have to satisfy that craving on the weekend with some toast and eggs. Mmmmmm.

The most difficult cravings are those that occur during the day. As I mentioned before, we're Americans, so we have no patience, especially with food. During the day, I can rarely satisfy those cravings, so I have to wait. Other times, there's no chance of satisfying those cravings. Do you know how many places in Denver serve escargot? (The answer is not many). There is nothing worse than craving something that seems far away. A meal you had long ago in a small town in France. Or the meal you used to always eat at your favorite restaurant, but they've since shut down. Or my craving for Mexican food that cannot be quenched within Colorado.

I guess the question is, is it better to crave and not satisfy than to never crave at all?

What are your cravings?

Denver Restaurant Week (Finale)

My favorite time of year has finally come to an end. I was able to knock out four restaurants, which is definitely an improvement over last year's two. Was it worth the cost? You bet. Should I have done one more? I'll probably be asking myself that last question until 2010's Restaurant Week. Some people may question going out four separate times at approximately $52.80 per meal, but doesn't everyone has something they spend money on? What better way to sample some of Denver's finest restaurants? Other people are sitting at home microwaving dinner while I'm enjoying a three-course dinner, so I don't feel guilty about the price.
We ended our two weeks of epicurean bliss at Kevin Taylor at the Opera House. It was a wonderful setting for a restaurant. They set the mood of lounging in an open wheat field under the stars. The tables are set rather spaced apart under a ceiling not unlike a planetarium with maple wood floors. Walking down the stairs towards the host stand reminds one of parading gallantly into a palatial ball. At least that's what I imagine a palatial ball would be like. The service is reminiscent of other Kevin Taylor restaurants, in which one is treated with delicate professionalism. I cannot give them ratings as high as Restaurant Kevin Taylor, however they did very well. I began the evening with the Roasted Red Kuri Squash Purée. It was excellently displayed in the bowl with a thinly sliced piece of Granny Smith apple and the cardamom cream. The soup was then poured into the bowl at the table. There was an excellent contrast of savory and sour with the creaminess of the soup and the tartness of the apple. The main course was a Dry-Aged Colorado Strip Loin served with Yukon Gold Potato Mousseline, Broccoli Rabe and topped with a dab of Prosciutto Butter. It was an excellent portion and of course everything complemented each other. I was able cut my steak with a butter knife, which certainly signifies a good cut. Last and not least was dessert. I went with the Milk Chocolate Bombe, Housemade Toffee, Malted Anglaise, Cajeta Caramel. To be fair, I'm not a big chocolate fan. Chocolate on the dessert menu is probably one of the last things I'll choose next to a bread pudding. That being said, they nailed this one for me. Despite it being completely chocolate on the outside and on the inside, it was not overwhelmingly chocolatey. Am I making sense? I feel like this dessert would unite chocolate and non-chocolate lovers.
It was a wonderful meal and a great ending to two delicious weeks even if it wasn't the best meal out of the four. As I've mentioned before on this blog, get out there and have a good meal. Enjoy the experience and savor it.

Denver Restaurant Week (Part 3)

Part 3 means we, my wife, Julie, and I, went to our third restaurant. Tonight's winner was Elway's in Cherry Creek. This place has consistently been fairly top-rated on many of the review sites, so I figured this would be a good opportunity to see if I'm missing anything. I kind of expected this place to be too snotty for my taste, but I was surprised to see a friendly hostess and to be promptly seated at 8:00. We only received one 5280 menu, and as we looked around, we realized that was the norm. I don't understand why each person would not have their own menu. I perused their wine list and was impressed to see approximately 50 selections for wines by the glass, which was split about 50/50 between reds and whites. I like it when restaurants don't immediately assume you will be drinking a bottle. Perhaps the table has different tastes in wine. They started off good here. We received bread not too long after we had been seated, which was nice; however, the bread was really boring. Julie made a good point of saying if you're paying a lot for the dinner the bread should be better than plain rustic slices. Since she's pregnant, she obviously can't drink alcohol but wanted a drink that was fun. We told the waiter the situation, and he was very nice about it. She asked for a strawberry daiquiri, but they don't have blenders. Really? That's rather odd to me. Anyway, he said he would have the bartender make her something fruity, which was nice.
She started with the Caesar salad, and I had the charred red pepper soup. Mine was presented nicely in a very small iron pot. It came with a random piece of toasted bread with something drizzled on it. I wasn't sure if I was supposed to eat it or put in my soup. I opted to do both. My problem with the menu was that they lacked descriptions of what anything was. For example, I ordered the soup, but I didn't know what was drizzled on top of it or what other flavors were in the soup. That's information I like to have. For dinner, Julie had the salmon and I went with 10-ounce sirloin (medium rare). She said her salmon was the driest she had ever had. My sirloin was more on the rare side, but it was a thick cut, so that made sense. The cut of meat was a lot better than what I expected. It was seasoned very well, not overpowering. For sides, she got the mashed potatoes, and I had the creamed corn. I didn't try the potatoes, but she said they were good. The creamed corn was great. It wasn't too soggy or overwhelmingly creamy. The corn had just enough pop to it and just the right amount of sweetness. For dessert, we had no choice. They came out with their cheesecake/brownie lollipops. Now I was under the impression that they were a combined cheesecake/brownie experience not two different lollipops, but no, that's not the case. Anyways, they were blah. Considering this appears to be the signature dessert, it stunk. The only positive thing was how I thought the outside chocolate was a wrapper because it had Elways written on it, but other than that. . . The brownie piece was way too cakey and "out-of-the-box" tasting. The cheesecake piece was too sour and creamy.
The service was very good. They were fairly absent for most of the meal, but my water glass never went empty. In the end, Elway's was decent, however I think the restaurant thinks it is better than it actually is. Examining their non-5280 menu, I felt they had too many items on the menu. I think they'd do a lot better by focusing on fewer items and making those stronger.

Denver Restaurant Week (Part 2)

So it was back to our favorite restaurant. We hit up Restaurant Kevin Taylor tonight. As usual, it did not disappoint. It was definitely the most crowded we had ever seen it, and it was a little loud. Our one complaint is that we were a bit rushed. Keep in mind I don't mean rushed like Olive Garden rushed. This is normally a very relaxed place with a European-style of service. Tonight, we felt as though they might need our table. However, no food came out before the other course was through.
I started with the pork belly, which was very tender. For dinner, I had the sirloin and braised short-ribs, also very tender. I finished the night off with the crème brûlée, which is always done well. Accompanying my dinner, was a nice Bordeaux. The interesting part of the night was watching this couple having a very nasty fight, but trying to keep it civil. They spent about an hour there and never ordered. The man stormed off several times. Finally, they both stormed off. We passed them on the street arguing, and the man was crying. Interesting situation. I'm not sure why I felt the need to share that.