In the last month…

Since I’ve been awful about writing in the past month, I figured I’d do a quick overview of its food highlights:

AMORE CUCINA & BAR – Stamford, CT

Really delicious meal and can’t wait to go back. Great atmosphere, tons of great looking options on the menu and a list of very intriguing cocktails. We ordered the Ferentini pizza. Toppings included: spicy salami, green olives, tomato, mozzarella, and san marzano purée. This pizza won “Best Traditional,” at the Las Vegas Pizza Expo.

BACON WRAPPED SALMON with MASHED POTATOES and BRUSSELS SPROUTS

This was a home cooked meal that I made for my wife and family. I had a package of bacon to use (twist my arm) so I made three dishes, all using bacon somehow. Kind of Iron Chef style, except without the iron chefs, or a chef in general, and Alton Brown didn’t respond to my invite… Still, the end result was pretty dang good. “Allez Cuisine!”

WHITE CASTLE – Harlem, New York City.

You know when you build up something in your head as amazing and you can’t wait to go back, especially when it’s not in the part of the country you live, so when you finally have the chance to do it, you’re like, “Yeah, let’s do it!,” but then you realize that you’ve built it up A LOT, and though it may not be horrible, it’s really not worth the feeling you get afterwards? Yeahhhhh…

CHOCOPOLOGIE – Norwalk, CT

We searched a while to find this place, not realizing it had moved last November, but we finally made it. I had heard amazing things about the chocolate and that the owner, Fritz Knipschildt was one of the best chocolatiers in the world.

I ordered the Swiss Chocolate Cake, which was terrific. My problem came with ordering a drink. Being that this place is known for chocolate I ordered a mocha, which used a cocoa of which they were out. So I ordered the Mexican Coffee, which of course used the same cocoa and if I wanted the whiskey version instead…they were out of that too.

The barista was very nice and apologized, but how do you run out of chocolate at a place called Chocopologie…oh wait, I get it now…

NATHAN’S FAMOUS ORIGINAL – Coney Island, NY

I’ve always wanted to have a Nathan’s hot dog at the original location in Coney Island. Though they’re not 5 cents anymore, they are still delicious. And getting to eat one on the Coney Island boardwalk while drinking a Coney Island beer, made it even better. On a non-food-related note, check out the band I saw playing on the boardwalk called A Flying Dodo Society for a terrifically fun musical experience.

Of course, there were a few other restaurants and meals here and there, but those are enough highlights for now!

We’ve done kale, so what’s next?…

The other day something clicked. I not only realized that kale is quickly leaving restaurant menus, but that I’m kind of over it. Don’t get me wrong, I’ll still eat it now and then, and I really do like the taste of it, but let’s move on to something new. No more kale chips, kale salad, kale wraps, kale bacon, or kale sun tan lotion. I want to focus on the next vegetable that makes my eyes sparkle and my mouth uncontrollably shout it to the server.

I was a lucky child in that my mother never made me eat vegetables. This was most likely due to her parents for forcing vegetables down her throat as a child. And when I say “lucky,” I mean in a non “I-weigh-twice-what-I-should-and-have-cardiovascular-problems” way… She still prepared vegetables, and they were still on the table, but it was my choice to eat them. Interestingly, because I wasn’t forced, I loved eating them. In fact, I remember times I’d come home from having dinner at friends’ houses raving about this “new” vegetable I’d had and asking her to make it in her next meal. Ever since, I’ve been a veritable vegetable votary.

Kalettes photo courtesy of modernfarmer.com

So every year, I’m curious which vegetable will be on every menu at every restaurant. Which leaf or stalk will make me feel really cool ordering it. Which perennial will my wife now tell me is healthy to smear all over my face (I believe her, but sometimes wonder if she’s just seeing what she can make me do).

Many are saying the new hippest green will be the hybrid Kalettes. And though, this cute little combination of Kale and Brussels sprouts is sure to spring up in salads here and there, I can’t help but wonder if it has the potential to become “huge.” Hybrid vegetables that catch on are somewhat rare. Think about the most recent popular vegetable hybrid that you’ve seen regularly in restaurants. It’s probably something like broccolini which has been around for over 20 years. Veggies can do it, but hybrids tend to be more popular with fruits. Think, pluot, tangelo, blood lime, etc… (okay the last one isn’t exactly popular, but is really cool sounding…like it could be the name of the next novel-to-movie blockbuster).

There have been plenty of fruit/vegetable fads to trend on. We’ve conquered avocado (though let’s face it, that beautiful alligator pear will never get old). Sun-dried tomatoes are good, but that year-old half-jar in the back of my fridge says “not that exciting anymore.” No one over 12-years-old cares that asparagus makes your pee smell anymore. And though I love heirloom [insert any edible here] because of the flavors, colors, etc…, I haven’t seem much since heirloom carrots hit the menus.

What do you think? Have you seen anything regularly yet? Let me know what you think the newest vegetable craze will be (or already is)? I’ve seen a bunch of cauliflower purées and soups lately…

There’s this place called Eagle…

For loving to travel as much as I do, I find that I don’t search out new places very often in Boise Metro a.k.a. the Treasure Valley. At my last job, my boss would joke about “these cities and towns that exist outside of Boise” and that I should go there sometime. My current boss calls me “02” due to the how rarely I leave the downtown Boise zip code of 83702. (I’m now realizing how much I must talk about food at work…)

Anyway, a city that my wife and I rarely go is Eagle, Idaho, which is about 15-20 minutes from downtown Boise. However, last night we were in a rare, car-bound-not-that-hungry-yet situation and decided to head out there. After searching reviews for a few minutes we found Rendezvous, a quaint European restaurant tucked away just east of “old town” Eagle.

Here we found friendly staff, live jazz and good food. The owner’s Russian roots allow for dishes on the menu like Borscht, but the blend of foods is more than Eastern European. With appetizers like Cheese and Plums wrapped in bacon and fried, and Gambas Al Ajillo and entrées including Lamb Kabob, Prime Rib-eye Steak and Braised Duckling, there is plenty to choose from.

My wife and I decided on two dishes to share. I had the Beef Schnitzel covered with mushrooms and spinach and served with mashed potatoes and mouth-watering fried Brussels sprouts. I would have ordered a side dish of just the Sprouts they were so good. My wife ordered the two Cabbage Rolls, wrapped around mixed grounded meats and rice, baked with a tomato sauce. I also loved that it reminded me of the Romanian holiday dish, Sarmale.

We finished the meal with the “Rendezvous” dessert, fresh strawberries covered in a house made whipped cream with mascarpone and chocolate. Add to it a nice casual romantic setting and the three-piece jazz combo, and you get a pleasantly unexpected date night.