Stephanie on IReallyLikeFood

Saturday, 24 July 2010

What a $75 Steak Looks Like!

Greetings, readers! My name is Dave Conte, and I've been invited to share the details of a recent dinner by my good friend Steph, resident foodie and marathon runner extraordinaire. I hope you enjoy this entry as much as I enjoyed the dinner I'm writing about.

Monday was my birthday, and it was a big one. The big two-five. A quarter-century. Finally, after all these years I can rent a car at a moderately respectable price. Finally, I can... Well, that's it, I guess. Only thing left to look forward to is death after a hopefully long and fulfilling life.

It was a pretty lousy day, honestly. I had a raging sore throat all day, which bummed me out because my girlfriend and I had some big plans to celebrate. Dinner, movie, and ice cream. The usual date night for us, but a little more upscale this time.

Well, we skipped the movie, but we did the dinner, because this is a dinner I've been looking forward to for years now. If there was ever anything I could check off of a bucket list, it would be this, and I wasn't going to let a sore throat stand between me and this life-long goal of mine:

Eating a Kobe Steak.

My friends, let me tell you: It was perfect. Not just the steak, but the whole meal was otherworldly. Easily the best meal I've ever had, and it was fairly well-priced given the cost of the steak.

Uncle Jack's Steakhouse on 35th and 9th was the place. When we arrived we were instantly enamored with the decor and beautiful atmosphere. The sophistication of this place was through the roof. The waitstaff was incredibly friendly and informative. It was truly a pleasure to be served by these people.

We started out with a lovely basket of assorted breads. The thin crackers were exceptionally good, along with the bread that was seasoned with a little bit of dill. A divine way to begin the meal.

After about 20 minutes, the steaks finally came along with our wine. They have an ENORMOUS selection of wine, by the way, and I wish I wrote down what we ordered, but alas I forgot. Anyway, the steaks! I got the 16oz Kobe Steak, my girlfriend got a 12oz NY Strip, both cooked medium, and we split a side of garlic mashed and asparagus. Heaven. Pure heaven.

My girlfriend's steak and the sides:

And here's the Kobe Steak:

Words can't describe this thing. All I can say is that it's perfect. The texture, the flavor, the consistency, everything. Everything you could ever want in a steak is right here. It was utterly spellbinding and nothing, not one thing could have made it better. If you're like me and you're a big steak person, having a Kobe steak at some point in your life should be a requirement, not a desire. You will never have anything quite like it. I wish I could be more descriptive but when it comes to perfection, how can you be?

And the sides? Also perfect. The mashed potatoes carried with them a subtle hint of garlic underneath the rich, fluffy texture of the potatoes. Resting atop the mashed potatoes was a single baked potato chip which tied the whole thing together. The asparagus was sauteed to perfection and cooked to the exact right texture.

The meal ended with a complimentary birthday souffle that I unfortunately tore into before snapping a picture of it:

Chocolate souffle with whipped cream, blueberries, a strawberry, and caramel sauce on the side. The waiter shook my hand and congratulated me for making it to 25. It was the perfect end to a perfect night.

*Note-This is a little late, as in 2 1/2 months late, sorry Dave!

Friday, 23 July 2010

What Kind of Milk Do You Drink?

I've drank cow's milk my whole life, I never had much of a reason not to and I guess I still don't, but recently I've been drinking a lot more almond milk than anything else. My mom is lactose intolerant and I think she is much happier now that soy milk and many other types of milk are now more readily available. I wonder what it would've been like growing up on soy milk or almond milk. I obviously don't think my life would've been different, but having all of these different lactose free milks available make a huge difference. My mom never drank any milk substitute until only recently, well within the last few years. It's nice to have so many options, especially for someone with different dietary needs.

I never had a problem with dairy or drinking straight up cow's milk, but I'm all of a sudden hooked on almond milk! I used to drink it frequently last year, but I never thought about making the full change from cow's milk to almond milk. Mostly because of the price and availability. Sure, almond milk is still a little more pricey, but I think it's come a long way in only a year.

My favorite brand; Almond Breeze, is now available in half gallon containers and I couldn't be happier! I used to have to buy the quart sized containers, which can cost anywhere from $2 - $3. Last year, the cheapest price I could find was about $2.50, now I can find them at Whole Foods for only 2 bucks. But, since they now have half gallon containers, I will most certainly be buying those instead. I found the half gallon container at Whole Foods for $3.69, yes it's still a little expensive, but like I said the price has definitely come down.

I am switching over to almond milk for a few simple reasons. I really enjoy the taste, the texture is the same as cow's milk and it's got half the calories. What really made my decision is when my fiance told me he also really enjoys it! I was shocked because he used to tell me he didn't really care for it. I don't have to feel guilty anymore for only buying almond milk, yay! I do the grocery shopping, so it will be nice to not have to buy 2 kinds of milk.

Switching over to almond milk will not be a strict decision for me, it's not like I am never going to drink cow's milk again. I tend to drink a lot of milk at home, in things like cereal, smoothies, and of course chocolate milk after a run! So, drinking almond milk will definitely save me a lot of calories and the feeling of being bloated. I am still going to enjoy the real taste of cow's milk and always will and I'm positive I will still purchase it on occasion.

So many options: rice, hemp, soy, almond, cows...What kind of milk do you drink and why?

Image Source

Saturday, 03 July 2010

What's Your Favorite Southern Staple?

I'm not from the south, but sometimes I wish I was because of all the good food that comes from down there. Ribs, brisket, fried chicken, collard greens, jambalaya, mmm all of it is so good! I wish I could go down south for a month and live, breathe, and eat like a typical southerner. It's a lot different in the south and it seems like an atmosphere that I would and could happily take in.

If I'm out to eat at a barbecue joint or a place that just serves good ol' southern food, I expect there to be cornbread. Cornbread is one of my favorite foods of all time. It can be dangerous when it's around because I can't stop staring and thinking about the sweet and savory crumbles that enlighten my taste buds.

Cornbread, how I love thee. I could seriously live off of this stuff, of course only the good kind. A good cornbread to me has to have a little bit of sweetness and the right amount of moisture. I've been disappointed several times by overly dry cornbread with no flavor at all. Surprisingly enough I have never attempted making my own. Anyone have any good recipes to suggest?

I've only recently realized how good collard greens are and I would love to make up some of my own. I also love, love, love mac & cheese and corn fritters. I've only had corn fritters from one place, but they amaze me every time! And, they are served with maple syrup, how much better can it get? I'm just going to have to plan an end of summer barbecue party so I can share all of these amazing dishes with my friends.

If I were to get my wish of living in the south for a month, you bet your ass I would inhale as much cornbread as possible. Okay maybe I would come back 10lbs heavier, but in my book it would be worth it!

What's your favorite southern style food?

Thursday, 01 July 2010

Where Was Your Worst Restaurant Experience?

I felt just like this man.

Everybody's had a bad experience at a restaurant, but should that one time be the final judgment of the restaurant as a whole? Sometimes an experience can be so bad that you will never go back and I'm pretty sure that is how I feel about this one place. Eating out at a restaurant is way more than just the food, it's the atmosphere, the service and every detail counts when dining out.

Like I said, I've had more than one bad dining experience, but there is one that sticks out in my head, Don Giovanni's. My friends talked this place up like it was the best place in NYC. I was excited to go because from what I heard, what more could you ask for than a cute, romantic place with cheap delectable italian food? Wrong! We had reservations here for a larger group, maybe 6 or 7 and we called ahead to see if we could come in earlier than our scheduled time. They had no problem with it...until we got there. We all got shoved into a tiny table that was clearly not meant for this many people. When asked if we could pull another table over they scoffed at us and basically said no because we came early and our 'original' table wasn't ready yet. Okay.

We were curious about the check situation so we asked if we would be able to put the check on more than one card and the waiter basically said yeah if each person had at least $50 to put on it. We were about to get up and leave at this point because obviously we were not looking to spend 50 bucks a person. The waiter stopped us and pretty much said nevermind, don't worry about it. The waiter and the bartender were completely rude and we were not welcome by any means.

We ordered our food and 20 minutes later somebody came out to tell one of my friends that his pizza wasn't available and he had to order something else. My friend was understandably upset. He didn't end up ordering anything else because at that time all of our food came out and he didn't want to sit around any longer waiting for it. First of all, if something isn't available, you tell the person that first, not 20 minutes later after everyone's food has already been served. Second of all, you don't have to be rude about it.

The whole experience was a disaster and I will never go back to a restaurant where I do not feel welcome at all. They made us feel like we were a burden to them and they did not care about us as customers whatsoever.

This is the one time where I am not interested in giving the restaurant another chance. Their first impression was bad enough to keep me away forever. Sorry Don Giovanni's, you FAIL.

Wednesday, 30 June 2010

The Perfect Pancake Recipe
I have made these pancakes several times now and I know I will continue to go back to them. I have been looking for a simple, yet good recipe for pancakes and this is definitely what I've been looking for.

Enjoy!
The Perfect Pancake Recipe

Recipe from AllRecipes

Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 3 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon white sugar
- 1 1/4 cups milk
- 1 egg
- 3 tablespoons butter, melted
Directions
1. In a large bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, salt and sugar. Make a well in the center and pour in the milk, egg and melted butter; mix until smooth.
2. Heat a lightly oiled griddle or frying pan over medium high heat. Pour or scoop the batter onto the griddle, using approximately 1/4 cup for each pancake. Brown on both sides and serve hot.
Nutritional Information

Amount Per Pancake: Calories: 158 | Total Fat: 5.9g | Cholesterol: 41mg

Makes 8 Pancakes