Had some inspiration on Friday and decided to chase it. Duck egg soft boiled at 8min and sliced in half. Garnish is salt, pepper, radish, yellow bell pepper, purple cabbage, fennel frond, sliced basil, and crispy bacon. It’s tempting to call it breakfast in a bite but it was so much more than that.
8.7/10
Took a little detour on our Saturday errands for a visit to Pryes Brewing to sample their offerings and enjoy a snack. Pryes is cool in that it isn't letting itself be limited by what food trucks can handle in the usual "parked outside" format. They have a full kitchen and are giving people a chance to come in and "take over". Better service, quicker food, warmer seating, and a more casual environment are the natural result.
Current offering as of this post come from the 7th Street Taco Truck. We had one each of the flour shell taco one with Beef Barbacoa and one with the Tinga de Pollo. Both were excellent.
We did their great flight by the glass offering. You just order what you want instead of having to fill a board or rack. We tried the:
Barleywine - 9.0% ABV
Miraculum with Grapefruit - 6.4% ABV
British Pub Ale - 4.1% ABV
All were tasty, but the Barleywine and the and the Pub Ales were the standouts for us.
9/10
A little inspiration from the beautiful one. She took the tomato sauce from the pizza the other day and added sautéed onions and fennel. In that she simmered a Red Wattle sausage from Seward Coop that had been browned in the same pan. A short boil of the spaghetti noodles allowed them to be finished in the sauce. Toasted sourdough from her perfect bread mission, a basil leaf, and some fresh grated Parmesan rounded out the plate.
8/10
Took a stab at making some pizzas last night. The sourdough obsession led to the idea of making a sourdough pizza crust. We added some fresh veggies, homemade tomato sauce, marinated mozzarella cheese, and Italian sausage.
We used and bread stone and about 500F. We didn’t quite nail the crust but the ingredients were top notch.
6.5/10
Took a little road trip to the other side of the river to try a new soup place. Pho #1 is conveniently located just off the freeway and close to the capital. It has a cute decor and a friendly staff and the food was quick and fresh. We had egg rolls to start and, I thought, they were so so. The wrappers were nicely crispy but the filling was a little thick and mushy. I struggled to pick out the flavors and ingredients. She had the Pad Thai with chicken and tofu, 3 hots out of 5 and enjoyed it. The flavor was good but it should be noted that the spice levels are Vietnamese hot not “Minnesota” hot and she started to suffer halfway through. I had the P1 special Pho with rare beef, meatballs, and well done beef. The broth, the only really important part of Pho, was perfectly rich without being too sweet. It was deep in flavor and color. They didn’t skimp on the meet and the veggie plate was heaping (important to me).
7/10
Repurposed farro tossed with basil pesto
Sauted mushrooms and potatoes
Roasted yellow squash
Sauted beet greens
Slivered Parmesan cheese
Deleightful ribbons of prosciutto
Some assembly required
8/10 for sustainable goodness
Got a little inspiration from this Bon Appétit video about short ribs with a garlic pepper sauce. He did it in a pan rather than the grill and I would have as well but we don't have the ventilation to do it indoors. Out on the grill I had to contend with a Minnesota Spring/Winter (if you live here you understand) so I had to keep the lid on while cooking. Turning every minute (Blumenthal method) or so goes against my normal rules but in the end it was super tasty.
We threw the broccolini on after the meat was done and gave it a quick grill over high heat. Final touch was the oiled sourdough (homemade) toasted over the coals.
8/10
Not sure what number these loaves are. Don’t have anything else to say about this.
11/10