Crispy Milk in Chinatown

Don’t know about you, but it seems the more we visit a restaurant, any restaurant, the more often we end up ordering the same dishes. This happens a lot when we go for dim sum in Chinatown. Our perennial favorite: Taro Puff, or deep fried taro dumpling (wu kok or o kok). It’s this amazing, little, frazzled-looking potato-esque croquette is on my daughter’s top ten. Maybe top five, she’s sometimes picky and still a kid after all. She likes to take her chopsticks and gives the puff “a hair cut” (her words). “Mom, I like shaving off the crispy.” Then she proceeds to inhale the dumpling and looks for more, sometimes taking her brother’s share.

Fukien fried rice is also very delicious especially on a chilly day. Gravy and rice is such comfort food; there’s a hint of seafood, and a smoky flavor, too. My husband and I just can’t seem to figure out where the char is coming from. We’ll order the popular dishes: siu mai (pork and mushroom dumplings), har gao (shrimp dumplings), steamed buns with barbeque pork and sticky rice wrapped in lotus leaf. I’m so happy my kids eat so well when we go.

It’s not a bad thing ordering what you know, but I think we end up missing out on very good or new dishes. On one of our recent trips, we decided to try a dessert that has been tempting us for a while. Written on an 8-1/2″ x 11″ poster hanging on the wall are Chinese characters and the words “Crispy Milk”. How does milk get crispy? Can you really deep fry any thing? Apparently, you can.

I couldn’t imagine what it might have tasted like, but it was warm, lightly sweet, and delicious. It reminded me of a dessert my late Aunt Tess used to make deep frying dough balls made with rice flour and brown sugar, but crispy milk was far more delicate and tender. Just enough texture with a bit of chewiness, and I mean that in a good way. I’d order it again.

Tags: chinatown, dim sum, eating out, food

Dining at Café Touché

I was so excited that Café Touché, a French bistro, opened nearby. Not that I’m a French food expert by any means, but I do enjoy the cuisine. What was interesting was their inclusion of an Étoufée (Creole or Cajun cuisine) on the specials menu on the evening we went. So, they scored points with me. The restaurant itself made me feel more like I was in the French Quarter with the decor: dark wood, artwork.

We ordered the Steak Tartare which came with chips and toast. Steak Tartare is beef, raw and finely chopped. I was a little hesitant at first, but hey, I eat sashimi and sushi. How far off could this be? It was delicious. Smooth, cold, lightly seasoned. And, no, no one got a tummyache, thank you.

I went for the Salad Frisee Lyonnaise and Etouffee Touche (chicken, andouille sausage and shrimp) for my meal. Eastman went with the Pouillon Paillard which was perfect because I was eyeing that too. Sometimes, my eyes are just too big for my stomach. Really, I could be so overweight?! But that’s another story for another time. The poached egg on my salad was perfect – something I haven’t quite mastered at home. And, my etouffee came deconstructed. If you haven’t had etouffee, it’s like stew. Comfort foodish. It was mouthwatering-yummy, andouille had just enough heat.

As we were finishing up our dinner, a couple came by in their vintage car. I’m terrible at identification, so someone else will have to tell me about this cool looking car. Hope that couple enjoyed their dinner as much as we did.

Tags: cajun, creole, eating out, french, restaurants

Visiting Long Grove

Every year, we like to visit Long Grove at least once. The biggest reason is for the brown bag apple pie from Apple Haus. It’s everything we want in an apple pie: flaky, buttery crust with a slight crunch, fresh apple chunks, not too sweet.

But before Apple Haus, we stopped by the Glunz Family Winery tasting room and I had this shot of raspberry wine in a chocolate cup. What a great idea for a party opener…

So many things to look at in Apple Haus. Just around the corner are the display cases with…

…pies! This cutey says it serves 1 or 2, but the lady behind the counter said it was good for one.

This is not a great picture of me at all. I was trying to make a “Mr. Egg” face. Talk about cute dish scraper. I ended up buying it and the kids played with it for a few days afterwards.

We do like going to the different stores around Long Grove, especially The Tuscan Table. Eastman is definitely scaring me with the muddler here.

They were so tired after walking around and having an apple donut and apple cider snack. It’s really amazing how much they look like each other. They’re so sweet.

At last, at home with our brown bag apple pie. There’s actually a good chance we’ll be attending the apple festival later this week. I’m keeping my fingers crossed.

Tags: apple pie, eating out, family, grocery, Long Grove, restaurants, summer, vacation

Finding THE Donut Shop – Dynamo Donut

We were really thrilled to find Dynamo Donut and Coffee in San Francisco. And it’s all because of the Apple Maple Bacon Donut. I don’t know who was more excited, me or my husband? The kids had fallen asleep while we were driving around half-aimlessly (we had a GPS in the car) in completely unknown territory. I felt like we were in the Pacific Northwest, not sure if it was because of the artsy storefronts, the small kitschy-ness of the vendors in the area. I don’t know. All I know is that I really liked it.

So, we’re driving, and the GPS is beeping at us telling us we were at our destination, and I look around totally confused. Then my husband says something like, “There it is!”

“Where?!”

“There!! The green awning!”

“Cool!” We pull in and then we figure out how many donuts we should buy. How goofball am I for standing out there taking pictures of the facade like a starstruck fan?

As I’m waiting my turn at the counter, I realize they don’t have the bacon donut. All out! Hmm. So I strike up a conversation with the man behind the counter, who is really funny in a subdued sort of way, and he tells me not to hold it against them that they’ve run out. “There are plenty of tasty donuts here still!” and I believed him, of course. What’s not to love about donuts that are made by hand, cut by hand, fried in a small fryer by a person… it’s all good.

I mentioned that we saw them on Food Network (again) and he said, “Oh, man, ever since that airing, it’s been nuts around here, ” and with a grin he says, “Man, I wish people would leave us alone.”

Even though we didn’t get to sample the bacon donut, we did walk away with a green tea and a half dozen donuts: cherry buttermilk, monte cristo (complete with ham bits!), and chocolate rose. I could only imagine what they might have tasted like fresh out of the kitchen, but they were still delicious. Crisp, nice flavors, fluffy on the inside, not too sugary sweet… I’ll definitely be looking for more handmade/homemade donuts around the Chicago area.

Tags: California, cooking, Dynamo Donuts, eating out, food, vacation

At a foodie destination in San Francisco

Oh my goodness, one and a half days without internet access from home is brutal. We rely on it so much! Looking up recipes, sending e-mail, reading the news, reading my favorite blogs… Even our little one was suffering withdrawal from not being able to log onto The Disney Channel’s webpage. Anyhow, after an hour the cable technician was able to diagnose some loose cables outside our house and he found a nick in the cable that comes from the main line. Apparently he put in an order for the line to get replaced. Who knows when that will actually happen.

But what I really wanted to write about is The Ferry Building. I really don’t know if we have something similar to this in Chicago, so you can only imagine how excited I was to walk into this place with all these specialty food shops! My husband spent $50.00 within 30 minutes… it was so easy to do. I did visit some plant/garden/gift shops, too, but our main focus was on the eats.

For the mushroom fans, Far West Fungi. It was strange that no one seemed to be working there at the time… kind of eerie. Unfortunately, we didn’t really visit too long, but it was neat storefront.

Imperial Tea Court had a great selection of loose teas, but what we were really looking for was…

…this place! Boccalone! Their tag line reads, “Tasty salted pig parts”. How awesome is that? This place was featured on Food Network recently, and we just had to try the salumi cone. Deliciously salty and fatty. It can’t possibly be good for you. We did bring home some nduja, spreadable salami, along with some cheese from Cowgirl Creamery. A $20 grab bag of cheese and a little cheese knife.

Scharffen Berger chocolate… oh my dark chocolate goodness. The kids were so good in the store. You’d think they might go nuts in a place that has samples at every turn, but no, they were very well behaved and Abby really impressed the staff with her taste for 60%-70% dark chocolate. “Your daughter has a surprisingly mature palate.” Why, yes, thank you very much.

We ended our little foodie excursion with dinner at Taylor’s Automatic Refresher, a casual diner but with some upscale diner meals. We caught up with my college roommate (daughter’s godmother) and her new husband of one year (happy anniversary!!). I tried the Ahi Burger and we also ordered the Grilled Mahi Tacos. Fresh, delicious, light… mmmm. I’m sure the beef burgers were great, but we definitely wanted to try the seafood.

I think this pretty much sums up the day. My kids are such troopers when it comes to their dad and me dragging them to all these specialty groceries and food markets.

Tags: eating out, food, grocery, tea, vacation

Eating Again, but where?

The pictures of food never stop, do they? Even Abby is getting into it. She loves taking close-up shots and she’s getting better every time. We were running errands and stopped for a snack… can you guess what this is and where it was taken?

Not that this is any help, but here’s another view. We love visiting this neighborhood place, which isn’t in our immediate suburb.

More California journals coming. They’re in the works along with more projects, too.

Tags: eating out, family, food, restaurants, summer, vacation