Gator

Posted on November 20, 2014 by melsmosaic

Found out last minute last week that I got to go to New Orleans on a business trip. What did that mean – I get to visit NOLA – FINALLY! There is a first time for everything, right? I knew this meant culture, scenery, music and some great food. Laissez les bon temps rouler!

When I arrived I had time to grab a quick bit to eat before heading into meetings. I was directed to good local place right near where I needed to go, Mulate’s the Original Cajun Restaurant.

So many choices on the menu of course. I wanted local fare and after what felt like a novel of reading I had to go with the alligator. It was available grilled or fried. I opted for the former and it was coined as ‘tender pieces of Louisiana farm raised alligator cooked to your liking.’ I think I’d had this stuff years ago in FL.

Though they claimed it was grilled, it was quite oily. And, as I expected, I was just like super chewy chicken. But, was fun to try it and it was checked off my list.

African Meat Tastings

Posted on June 4, 2014 by melsmosaic

When on my trip to South Africa, I was able to try several meats I had never had the opportunity to sample before. I wanted to take every opportunity I could to go local with what they had. I was about 50/50 on them.

First was a Kudu loin. It was served grilled with a cranberry & carrot sauce, spicy parsnip shavings, roasted garlic polenta, and these DELICIOUS, addictive sesame brinjal batons. I didn’t actually know what brinjal was until writing this post and looking it up. It’s eggplant, just the name they use for it in South Africa, South Asia and Southeast Asia (you learn something new everyday). The meat was very, very chewy. Glad I tried it, not my favorite.

Next one I tried was a Springbok Carpaccio. It was a bit ‘tasteless’ — but still nice to have a wild game carpaccio!

Third new meat I tried was Ostrich. Super healthy/lean. According to the American Ostrich Association (there is an association for everything…), “ostrich is similar in taste, texture and appearance to beef. It’s comparable to beef in iron and protein content, but ostrich has less than half the fat of chicken and two-thirds less fat than beef and pork. Ostrich beats the competition with fewer calories, too. That’s why ostrich is the choice of health-conscious consumers who refuse to sacrifice flavor.” It’s tough to determine if this falls under poultry, game or other, but it is classified as red meat. What I do know is that I loved it! So lean, tasty and I wish we could easily get it here! I did research when I got home and the couple places in the DC-area who used to carry it can’t get it anymore because at last count it was $60/lb. Ouch!

The last one I tried that was unique was Warthog. OMG! AMAZING! Get me a warthog farm here in the States. I can’t begin to describe how flavorful this stuff was. Unreal.

Another great part of the trip — some unique food to South Africa, some of which we can’t get here in the States. Just another reason to go back.

Non-Domestic Flights/Airline = Free (Amazing) Wine

Posted on April 16, 2014 by melsmosaic

I have been MIA from blogging for a bit because I spent the last two weeks in South Africa (with a couple days at the end in Zimbabwe at Victoria Falls). Amazing! From scenery to culture…to food and wine (and some beer). I was already expecting an amazing trip but it got even better on the first flight (of 8 over the course of the vacation) with the wine. As many of us are used to paying for anything other than maybe water on flights (apparently some airlines charge for soda now), it was nice to have the hope of freedom when preparing for a long flight. So as the flight attendant came around and asked what I’d like, there were various selections, all from South Africa (darn!) and I opted for one of the reds, a Merlot. I don’t normally lean towards that grape, but why not, it’s free! So, out came the bottle. Oh, and before she moved on, she threw another one out there. Most people were handed several bottles of wine on round 1. Go South African Airways. The Merlot was from Stormhoek. WOW, that did not taste like a Merlot. Unreal. I wish I had scribbled some notes down but it just had some unique characteristics. Their website doesn’t have a ton of info on where we could attempt to find this stuff here. Darn!

All alcoholic beverages had messages on the container, which of course are for safety reasons (took pics of most of them). But this one is the best, and for good reason. It was on this bottle of Merlot.

Yes! Because it tastes SO GOOD!

Another wine sampled just labeled what the trip and the country brought/bring — JOY. It was a Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve. Amazing, amazing. 14.5% alcohol — few SA wines go low on alcohol content. The winery works with a social upliftment project in a local town to improve the lives of residents (see label below). Can’t find any information on the web about the vintner. If you happen to come across something, please let me know!

As the flights progressed, you find out you also get free wine on domestic flights…ahh. So nice. So, while going from safari to Cape Town, it was mid-day and I opted for a white and received a Chenin Blanc, Flutterby. Nice and crisp, fruity.

Other mid-day flights brought the perfect time to sample some Chardonnay, Liberty Chardonnay to be precise. It was a traditional Chard, oaked, buttery. Tough to track down the exact site for this one, too.

These guys also make a fun sparkling wine. It has a screw top, which makes it easy to open on the plane!

On my last flight, back to the US, I had an amazing blend from Spier 1692. It was Classic Red with Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdot and Malbec. Amazing all around.

Great way to taste a wide variety of local wine while not on the ground. Love what South Africa has to offer!

Screw Top Art

Posted on February 13, 2014 by melsmosaic

I can get crafty on the side and the past few years have been having fun. For awhile I was making cork wreaths. I sent notes out to all those I know to save those precious things some throw away when they open their lovely adult beverage and also went around to restaurants to collect them. I made one wreath for myself and then was given 3 enormous bags of corks from a restaurant and gifted and gifted wreaths after hours of labor. Also make cork trivets after buying the frames.

But, there is more fun…screw top wreaths. First, though screw tops are becoming more common, when you try to collect/gather them, they don’t come nearly as quickly as corks. It took me a long to gather enough to make a wreath. Then, when wreath making began, *($%^. There is not nearly the surface area of a cork! This was not as much fun as I thought. After a couple hours, I decided putting cotton balls in the screwtops would give me more surface area. After many months of (more) off and on labor hours, the screw top wreath is complete! I did this tonight while enjoying some great South African wine after just booking a trip to South Africa…there will be many food and wine reports to come in a few months. The wine I enjoyed was one of my favorites, the Wolftrap Red Blend of Syrah, Mourvedre and Viognier.

And, the original wreath I worked on a couple years ago…good old fashioned corks.

Travel = Great Food!

Posted on October 23, 2013 by melsmosaic

When I was in Oregon it meant I had to eat out. Darn! My friends and I explored several places, I only remembered to get pictures at a few.

Day 1: Dinner at McMenamins – Zeus Cafe. Quite the variety. One person has chickpea fries, one went with mussels for appetizers. For dinner, I had a great thin crust pizza with grilled chicken, arugula, tomatoes and something else…I can’t remember what because it was so good!

Day 2: Lunch at Yara Lebanese Cuisine. Any place that makes Baba Ghanouj without dairy to put a ‘lactard’ on cloud nine is unreal (at least in my book). So, we had a mixed plate/yara platter appetizer then I had a house salad, and friends had kababs.

Dinner at Pok Pok. Yes, I had to use the bathroom and what did I find when I was in there? Oh, that they were elected for The James Beard Foundation Awards. This has happened for many, many years.

Anyway, other cool stuff on this place. You go put you name in line/on the list. They give you your buzzer and mention there is a bar across the street where you can wait. They are connected to these guys so you can tell the other bar what your buzzer number is and they’ll take care of it. They let you know when your table is ready. Nicely connected!

When we got our table, jumping ahead a bit, great food! I tried the Yam Tuna — thai style tuna salad with ginger, garlic, thai chilies, green onions, lemongrass, tomatoes and Oregon (oh, yes, local!) Albacore in spicy lime and fish sauce dressing. Some of it had some kick! I can see why this place is well known and recognized.

Day 3: Lunch in wine country!!!!!!!!!! Received several recommendations to try Red Hills Market. People told me it was sort of like a Dean & Deluca on a nice local level. You walk up to the counter, order and then they bring it to your table. I enjoyed a nice salami and arugula sandwich and a delicious bean soup. It was a sort of cloudy day so fit the weather perfectly.

Dinner was based on a recommendation from one of the wineries. You can never go wrong with Mexican! So, my friend and I checked out Verde Cocina. Fresh, delicious, perfect!

For me, the three staples at a mexican restaurant are a margarita, salsa and guacamole. Check!

Here, they serve you nice warm corn tortillas instead of chips with your goods. Deadly…

For dinner, they had ceviche…SOLD! I love the stuff.

Day 4: Dinner at Petisco. Little, local restaurant in the neighborhood where I was staying. I was so thrilled because I was able to have French Onion soup for the first time in ages because they use olive oil (vs butter) in the base and the cheese on top…manchego. What more could one ask? Great way to end my trip in Oregon!

Japan #4: Beer…a button away

Posted on July 12, 2013 by melsmosaic

It’s Friday, the weekend is only hours away. So what better to do than loop back to the Japan trip theme and talk about BEER??? T minus 4 hours until Happy Hour.

There are beers around the world and I was looking forward to having true Japanese beer while in the country of origin. But the best thing I found while there were beer machines. What is that you ask? You want a Coke, Sprite, Mountain Dew? You go find that machine and throw in a couple bills and voila. Over in Japan…OH, you can do the same thing for beer. HEAVEN! You can tell they aren’t as strict on the drinking (age) as we are.

Also want to highlight a couple of the beers I enjoyed, overall. There is the ‘normal’ Sapporo, which I only had once. I also only saw it on tap one time. Otherwise I looked for the ones we don’t get here or I haven’t tried. Pictures below (Asahi is the one also available in the machine).

Chocolat et moutarde

Posted on June 30, 2013 by melsmosaic

I’m in this French kick for some reason. I spoke the language all through elementary school and it has correlated to my posts, so it’s not totally out of left field.

Anyway, a couple friends were recently in Paris and brought me back some treats from the well-known city in France. They know me quite well and are fully aware of my lactose intolerance. They did some good, deep digging over there to find some non-dairy-containing chocolate (considering the dairy loving area), along with some mustard. The latter was not one I would expect.

The chocolate was super dark and had sesame seeds. Wow — what a finishing taste. For the mustard(s) — I received a pack of four Dijons, all with different flavors. Talk about potency (in a good way)! Absolutely amazing. It’s great when people you know go away and bring edible souvenirs.

Japan #3: Korean BBQ

Posted on June 13, 2013 by melsmosaic

As we progressed through Japan we had to expand our cuisine beyond just local fare. One night we opted to go for Korean BBQ. My uncle asked his colleagues for recommendations and they gave him ‘the best place to go.’ So, off we went. It was of course one of those hard-to-find, hole-in-wall restaurants – perfect!

So at the Korean BBQ, you have a grill in front of you, order raw food and grill to your liking. So much fun. We ordered basic food that we were used to — chicken, shrimp, pork, veggies, versus some options on the menu that we were either unfamiliar with or had heard of but didn’t want to take the risk of eating, especially on vacation.

The marinade and seasoning on the meat were delicious and the mushrooms were just – WOW! It was a meal that you take slowly and you can just kick back and relax.

Japan #2…Traditional Fare, from restaurants to 7-11

Posted on June 6, 2013 by melsmosaic

When most people think Japan (myself included), sushi is the first thing that comes to mind. The great tour guide we had on our trip to Mt. Fuji and Hakone educated us on the fact that that is not the case. It’s a special meal for the locals. Maybe only a few times a year. It’s intricate to prepare, not quick and easy. Traditional fare can include the components of it — rice, sashimi — the raw fish, and the seaweed. We also learned about a KEY staple in Japanese cuisine, miso soup.

During our tour we were given a sample of the local fare at lunch with a bite of several varieties of food, a bit ‘westernized.’ It was very nice.

That night we did the true Japanese style hotel and meal. I did not feel comfortable taking pictures in the restaurant but it was about a 9 (small) course meal with a taste of everything. It was amazing. A couple soups, several unidentifiable objects that were pretty good, some good seaweed pieces (that were purple-ish), amazing fish and other assorted tastes. Overall, definitely a meal to remember. The size was perfect, since you get a small sample of everything. And I was able to conquer the food with chopsticks! I discovered that soy sauce is not used all that much in Japan — more a Chinese staple. They provided us with a small bit and that was all — maybe a teaspoon or two.

The next morning, breakfast called. It was at that point when we realized the Japanese diet/regimen is quite similar throughout the day. Most of the dishes the waitress brought to the table were very similar to dinner. One of the oddest was the cold (super super) over easy egg on angel hair- ish pasta, which was also cold. That threw me off because I was expecting both components to be hot. For that meal I think I only tried a tiny bit of everything and much of it was less than I was hoping for, very unfortunately. But as I was taught, you have to try it all. Coffee is also hard to find. Very fortunately we came by a coffee machine in the lobby of the hotel…caffeine!

The next cool, interesting thing in Japan is 7-11. What do we think of it as here…convenience store. Coffee, soda, snacks, gas station. There, OH NO! High quality food, no lie. They have awesome sandwiches that are pre-packed and last for awhile (loved the PB one) and sashimi that I wish I could have everyday. And so affordable — about $3 for a huge pack!

Next food subject…still can’t decide!

Japan #1

Posted on June 5, 2013 by melsmosaic

Last month, personal travel took me to Japan. What an experience; from culture to scenery to food. I learned so much about any and everything. I didn’t get to take nearly enough pictures of the food I enjoyed/didn’t enjoy, but wanted to share some of what I experienced. There will be a few parts to this over a few days.

The hardest thing about being in Japan is the language barrier. Every other place I’ve traveled I’ve been able to communicate with the locals. This time, not even close (note – the one extreme is when I was trying to ask something and I spoke to the waiter in French – in Japan! One time when I couldn’t remember the Spanish word for butter, while I Spain, and whipped out the French there, that was not extreme – but while in Japan – whoa!).

When a restaurant in Japan offers an “English Menu” that normally means you get to look at pictures or plastic samples. Not so bad, I guess, and quite entertaining. The night we arrived we saw a rough idea of the tuna ‘sashimi’ with some type of sauce. Another great example was when we were near the Sumo stadium and saw bowl upon bowl, plate upon plate of display. It couldn’t look more real. I just wonder — how did they make these?

There are amazing vegetables in the area, especially at markets, though prices were high. But let me tell you — if you buy a tomato, they wrap that thing for you like it’s the most precious thing on the face of this planet. They also have some great samples of seafood, and I’m going to use the word ‘local’ stuff. I tried some things, steered clear of others. If I could identify it for the most part, I would give it a try.

Some of the best seafood bites were near the renowned seafood market. I didn’t get there to see the hands-on action because it can be hit-or-miss to actually get in. You need to arrive by 4:30am. Sometimes they let 20 people in, sometimes 100, sometimes nobody at all. Depends on the day, the mood. So, we went down to the market around 9:30am and saw the shops that were selling the food they purchased from the market.

That’s the first rundown of the trip. More to come.