Since this summer, my husband has been addicted to probiotic frozen yogurt (froyo) especially the most convenient froyo shop, Iceberry. He orders it plain without any toppings and can eat some everyday. Is there a reason why this stuff is so addictive? I myself can do without it. I don’t particularly like the tart aftertaste of the yogurt. At any rate, we’ve tried to buy the stuff in bulk from a variety of grocery stores, Trader Joes, Whole Foods, Giant, etc. Nothing even comes close except Yo Baby plain yogurt (tart but not sweet) and greek plain yogurt (tart but not as sweet), and they are still miles away from the flavor of the probiotic frozen yogurt that seems to be all the rage. The search for grocery store brand frozen yogurt continues! Please help…
Target Headquarters is located in Minneapolis, MN up the street from the downtown Hilton Hotel. The flagship store is 2 blocks from the hotel so I had to take a look inside. This store has everything; I’m sorry to say that my local Target has about a quarter of what this Target has. I like the vast variety especially in the food section. I looked briefly in the baby section but I have yet to explore the entirety of the store. There’s still the 2nd and 3rd floor as well as the furniture store across the street!
Baby #2 is already on the way. My husband and I are excitedly waiting for this new addition to our family. Like the previous baby, food and travel updates will probably continue until we are holed up and bonding with the new baby.
With no association to the Hell’s Kitchen show on television, this red and black hell-themed restaurant welcomes guests with a mix of ghoul and goth; knives and assorted cutlery lead you down the stairs (appropriately) into hell, or the restaurant’s interpretation of it. Chandeliers with hanging spoons and forks, vased branches lined with black crows, black sheer curtains, black leather wingback chairs, thought provoking dark images along the walls were just some of the things that went into building up the hellish theme. The food is far from hellish however. For a pre-dinner teaser, the group I went to dinner with sampled Hell’s Kitchen’s homemade peanut butter and marmalades. When it came time to order dinner, a friend and I split the baked penne dish and the huevos rancheros. The baked penne dish comes with your choice of vegetable or meats. We chose the shrimp. Tasty and cheesy. Good for a cool rainy evening’s meal. Also good all the time is breakfast foods which is served all day at Hell’s Kitchen! Wonderful for breakfast lovers such as myself. This dish of eggs, beans, cheese, tomato sauce, and potato hash is beautifully layered and served on top of a flaky and crunchy tortilla shell. This is their signature breakfast dish and it is worth ordering! Unfortunately, I’m sad to report that there was no more room in me for dessert so can’t speak to their desserts.
So today I arrived in downtown Minneapolis, MN for a work-related meeting. Hungry, I explore the neighborhood around the Hilton Minneapolis Hotel. It’s about lunch time and I spy a Melting Pot Restaurant, a Hell’s Kitchen, and Jimmy John’s a deli. I’m craving a sandwich, I think.
So after sitting down and wolfing down half my sandwich, I think: OMG, the seven grain bread that this deli uses for their sandwiches is like nothing I’ve had before at a deli. About 1 inch thick and full of healthy goodness, it definitely makes my turkey sandwich (turkey, sprouts, tomato, cheese, mayo, and peppers) POP! Already quite satisfied with just the half sandwich, I’m saving the other half to snack on later. The bread looks like it will not get as soggy from the mayo after hours of sitting. We shall see.
I can’t wait to see what else is around. I’ve heard Brit’s Pub is a little piece of London. There are also a number of steakhouses down the street so I’ll need to check out the menu for anything that stands out as a gotta-have meal.
Categories: Food, Recipes, Restaurant Review, Travel
Tags: deli, jimmy johns, lunch, minneapolis, minnesota, restaurant, review, Travel
As summer comes to an abrupt end, the weather has shifted for the worse. With the cold and dreary weather, I’ve been inspired to make lots of quick and hearty soups. Most recently, smoked turkey drumstick and kale soup, an easy go-to recipe for a quick weekday meal. The majority of the 30-minute cook time is reserved for stewing the drumstick to get the juices into the broth. The kale cooks rather quickly once the broth is flavorful enough. Salt and pepper is added to taste. Chili flakes are optional.
Another easy soup recipe is chicken and rice soup. Boil some chicken (I like the dark meat of chicken thigh and drumstick but when I’m feeling particularly healthy, I use chicken breast) and lightly salt to flavor the broth. For more flavor, you may want to boil the chicken in chicken broth or add chicken bouillon/flavoring to the water. After the chicken is cooked, remove and tear the meat into chunks. Add a small amount of uncooked jasmine or other white rice (about half a cup to 3/4 cups). Add chicken chunks and simmer the rice soup for 15-20 minutes. The rice should be tender and soft. Add salt and fish sauce to taste. You may add finely chopped green onion and cilantro to top off the dish. The total cook time is usually 20-25 minutes for me.
My final go-to recipe is beef noodle soup or pho. For a large pot (about 8 servings), I buy the beef bones at the grocery store for under $5. The bones go into a big pot of water and sit on medium high heat for about an hour. Season with salt. Also, if you want to get a more complex tasting pho, you may add a couple cinnamon sticks, some star anise, a peeled stub of ginger root, some garlic cloves and a whole onion. For more flavor, you may add beef bouillon or pho flavor (which you can get in jars at most Asian stores). When done, pour some broth over cooked rice noodles. Add the optional beef meatballs, thinly sliced beef (that can cook in the hot broth), shrimp, cilantro and thinly sliced white/yellow onions.
Enjoy the fall weather!
Carrie’s about 9 months now and frothing at the mouth to walk but she’s still cruising (holding onto furniture, people, anything to get from one spot to another). The other day, she followed me into the bathroom and I thought, this is a small bathroom. The toilet seat and cover are down. There’s nothing she can get into. I can wash my hands in peace. However she proved me wrong because after a minute of washing my hands in the sink, I look down to discover she had unrolled the whole toilet paper roll which now lay on the floor of the bathroom. What am I going to do with my little girl?!
Happy 2nd Anniversary to Us!
For our 2 year anniversary, we celebrated at the Four Seasons Hotel Bourbon Steak Restaurant one of the fancier digs in Georgetown (DC) so it is with my nose tipped in the air as I write this restaurant review. Champagne courtesy of the restaurant kicked off our anniversary dinner; a complimentary sampling of snazzy fries and specialty dips soon followed. The must have appetizer of tuna tartare served tableside recommended by the waiter was a let-down. The presentation was excellent but the dish was not outstanding or memorable; I really liked the added touch of the quail egg cracked by the server on top of the neat stack of tuna, for purposes of tenderizing the meat, I assume. YUM! Despite the disappointing first course, our main courses made up for the fries and the tuna and then some. My husband dined on tender duck breast accompanied with foie gras and I enjoyed a perfectly prepared 10 oz medium rare filet mignon, served with truffle mac and cheese and golden mashed potatoes, truly masterful and gourmet versions of the classic soul/comfort foods. (I must admit that this restaurant has the best filet I’ve ever had, better than Ruth Chris, Charlie Palmer, among other steakhouses in the area.) We were quite pleased with our selections and are already coming up with new celebrations as excuses to go back for some more deliciousness. We topped off our palates with a shared dessert of tiramisu (again unique presentation, nothing special).
And on my last note, I have to include that we celebrated here last year before the Four Seasons renovated and installed a new restaurant on the main level. It used to be that for dinner, the restaurant on the lower level had more of that private, intimate, somewhat romantic ambiance. Now the lower level is only open for breakfast and lunch, or so I’ve been told. The ambiance of the new restaurant is more contemporary, lounge-like and less intimate. Just a note….
