Just some anachronisms
I haven't been motivated much to blog very much lately, so the next couple of posts may be out of chronological order, but then again, that's usually how my life seems to flow these days. Out of sync with my mind. Considering my last post was in June (and it's August now? good lord, where does the time go), a good deal of relatively trivial things have happened in the past month that aren't worth mentioning, so you'll have to take my word for it, especially in this post, that life is pretty much the same. I can blame the lack of internet presence on a couple things, e.g. on the sweltering heat of summer, which doesn't lend well to cooking in the kitchen, on the stress of coordinating the move following the end of a lease, or even on the boredom of the laboratory...but really, I've been unmotivated to post mostly because of the general ennui that surrounds me and most of my thought processes these days. Go figure.
So to get some semblance on order, in this post, I'm not going to post any recipes, but I'd like to briefly review a couple of things I've eaten since the end of June. New Orleans was perhaps one of the highlights. I'd like to sum up the experience in a couple of pictures, or in my pretty elementary attempt at making a collage. Clockwise from the top left. Red beans and rice, muffelata, and boudin from The Napoleon House. We also had some Pim's cups, which were refreshing and not too strong on a hot day. Crossaints from Crossaint du Jour. Besides the long wait, the croissants we had were nice and buttery (although cold, because they're so busy they can't even heat up your croissant for you!) and you can even get croissant pate sandwiches. I personally preferred the croissants from Cake Cafe and Bakery, because well, they were tastier and they were warm and inexpensive. Breakfast in a cup (grits, eggs, bacon and sausage in a cup) comes from Envie Coffeehouse, and just as it looks, was a heart-attack inducing meal. Envie's coffee was solid though and definitely the best coffee we had down there in the French Quarter. Beignets and hickory coffee from Cafe du Monde were also delicious, but I suppose eating beignets falls under the touristy genre of cliche things to do in NOLA.
Pinky and I also finally got around to eating at a couple of the more popular food-trucks in Baltimore, despite our lack of skills in navigating Twitter. After some extensive walking around in attempts to find Woody's Taco Truck (which we failed to find on a mildly rainy day), I finally got to hit up one of the trucks that I've been the most curious about: Grrche, or as I assume, a.k.a. "Grilled Cheese" truck. Although there are fancier grilled cheese sandwiches on the menu to be had, I opted for the $13 lobster cone, which was pretty much lobster chunks and mac-n-cheese all rolled up in a tomato flour fried tortilla...or something like that. Now, I do have to give credit to Grrche for two things. They put a good amount of lobster into the cone (so I didn't feel robbed) and also, the cheese was mild enough that it didn't drown out the lobster. However, despite all these good things, I don't think I'd eat at Grrche again. The cone just wasn't flavorful enough to want to go back, and once finished, I felt like I just consumed a massive amount of carbohydrates without the expected satisfied feeling. More salt and seasoning, please...and perhaps a less expensive grilled cheese sandwich, which I definitely feel like I could replicate at home.
I also came to this "don't think I'll eat at Grrche again" conclusion following a comparison test. At the very same time I was gnarfing down the lobster cone, Pinky was eating something from the Gypsy Queen food-truck. All right, so it isn't the best picture, but let me tell you guys, this thing was packed with flavor.
I've been wary of the Gypsy Queen food truck for awhile, because it seemed pretentious and a bit try-hard to me (incessantly advertising its "Best Food Truck in Baltimore" awards with its loud truck colors and excessively long lines), but after having a taste of this sandwich, I've forgotten all previous bias. The sandwich is a Banh Mi. A couple bites of this baby and Grrche's lobster cone tasted like bland white bread. While the banh mi was a bit too spicy, the use of slow-cooked pulled pork for the meat was a succulent and genius idea, and the sauce and vegetable amounts were perfectly balanced. It was a spot-on ratio of bread (or pita) to meat to condiments to vegetables. Ergo, points to Gypsy Queen food-truck, I'll definitely eat there again. Also, the sandwich was around $9 and far more filling than the cone, so being the cost-wary person I am, good deal.
That's all I can think of now (in terms of food). Pinky and I just made some mojo de ajo and we're going to cook it up with some squid and shrimp, so I guess I'll eventually let you know how that goes.
So to get some semblance on order, in this post, I'm not going to post any recipes, but I'd like to briefly review a couple of things I've eaten since the end of June. New Orleans was perhaps one of the highlights. I'd like to sum up the experience in a couple of pictures, or in my pretty elementary attempt at making a collage. Clockwise from the top left. Red beans and rice, muffelata, and boudin from The Napoleon House. We also had some Pim's cups, which were refreshing and not too strong on a hot day. Crossaints from Crossaint du Jour. Besides the long wait, the croissants we had were nice and buttery (although cold, because they're so busy they can't even heat up your croissant for you!) and you can even get croissant pate sandwiches. I personally preferred the croissants from Cake Cafe and Bakery, because well, they were tastier and they were warm and inexpensive. Breakfast in a cup (grits, eggs, bacon and sausage in a cup) comes from Envie Coffeehouse, and just as it looks, was a heart-attack inducing meal. Envie's coffee was solid though and definitely the best coffee we had down there in the French Quarter. Beignets and hickory coffee from Cafe du Monde were also delicious, but I suppose eating beignets falls under the touristy genre of cliche things to do in NOLA.
Now, this isn't the full extent of our menu. We ate at a variety of other restaurants and bars during our four-day stay (notably enjoying pretty much everything at Bacchanal, the 40 cent oysters at Luke's happy hour, late-night take out fare from Verti Mart, and the pricey but strong cocktails at the Three Muses), and also ingested a pretty decent amount of music and alcohol in a variety of expressions and forms. All things were pretty tasty, but of course, there were some misses (Green Goddess was inventive, but really needs to figure out how to focus their flavors...I have never been more confused eating food. Staff was great though), as there often are in American cities. I'd like to go back to NOLA at some other point in the near future, when it's not blazing hot, when I am more willing to get drunk and stay up late, and when I'm in a more overall accepting state of mind...but those are thoughts for another day.
Onwards!
Pinky and I also finally got around to eating at a couple of the more popular food-trucks in Baltimore, despite our lack of skills in navigating Twitter. After some extensive walking around in attempts to find Woody's Taco Truck (which we failed to find on a mildly rainy day), I finally got to hit up one of the trucks that I've been the most curious about: Grrche, or as I assume, a.k.a. "Grilled Cheese" truck. Although there are fancier grilled cheese sandwiches on the menu to be had, I opted for the $13 lobster cone, which was pretty much lobster chunks and mac-n-cheese all rolled up in a tomato flour fried tortilla...or something like that. Now, I do have to give credit to Grrche for two things. They put a good amount of lobster into the cone (so I didn't feel robbed) and also, the cheese was mild enough that it didn't drown out the lobster. However, despite all these good things, I don't think I'd eat at Grrche again. The cone just wasn't flavorful enough to want to go back, and once finished, I felt like I just consumed a massive amount of carbohydrates without the expected satisfied feeling. More salt and seasoning, please...and perhaps a less expensive grilled cheese sandwich, which I definitely feel like I could replicate at home.I also came to this "don't think I'll eat at Grrche again" conclusion following a comparison test. At the very same time I was gnarfing down the lobster cone, Pinky was eating something from the Gypsy Queen food-truck. All right, so it isn't the best picture, but let me tell you guys, this thing was packed with flavor.
I've been wary of the Gypsy Queen food truck for awhile, because it seemed pretentious and a bit try-hard to me (incessantly advertising its "Best Food Truck in Baltimore" awards with its loud truck colors and excessively long lines), but after having a taste of this sandwich, I've forgotten all previous bias. The sandwich is a Banh Mi. A couple bites of this baby and Grrche's lobster cone tasted like bland white bread. While the banh mi was a bit too spicy, the use of slow-cooked pulled pork for the meat was a succulent and genius idea, and the sauce and vegetable amounts were perfectly balanced. It was a spot-on ratio of bread (or pita) to meat to condiments to vegetables. Ergo, points to Gypsy Queen food-truck, I'll definitely eat there again. Also, the sandwich was around $9 and far more filling than the cone, so being the cost-wary person I am, good deal.
That's all I can think of now (in terms of food). Pinky and I just made some mojo de ajo and we're going to cook it up with some squid and shrimp, so I guess I'll eventually let you know how that goes.
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