Pork Belly
We’ve done this concept before, but I don’t think I put it here. I went to the grocery store to look for inspiration and found a nice piece of pork belly. I pounded it flat and hit it with a liberal dose of salt and pepper. I covered the slab with the leaves from several sprigs of thyme, sage, and rosemary before rolling it up and tying it tight. The bundle was then roasted on the grill over indirect heat for about 1.5 hours.
The better half came home as it was going on the grill and asked with excitement what she could do? Did I have a side? Should we do a salad? I described the main and told her to run with it. She came up with an herb and roast vegetable tossed fettuccine with crushed walnuts.
I almost didn’t take a picture, but she was all “this is awesome!” so I did.
She was right - 9.1/10
Montreal
Duck Leg
There's the old cliché that when a man's better half is out of town that he can't care for himself. "How do you survive?" he'll be asked. Well, on this evening, while she lounged at a resort in Mexico, the answer was duck leg.
One duck leg and thigh was coated liberally in olive oil, salt, pepper, and a "Parisian spice rub. After a browning in the skillet I added a half a red onion coarsely chopped and a green tomato also coarsely chopped. The pan was put in the oven at 400°F for 20 minutes covered and 20 minutes uncovered. After removing the duck, tomatoes, and onions, radish greens were sautéed in the rendered fat.
The net result were tomatoes and onions that had perfectly caramelized into a sweet bed for the duck and the greens stayed bright and crisp. A friend noted on the social media that man cannot live on duck leg alone. I made sure to note the Gin & Tonic in the picture.
Solo dinner for the win - 8.4/10
Tori 44
We met some friends at Tori 44 the new ramen offering from the creators of Tori Ramen. Buoyed by the knowledge that the St. Paul location has always been excellent we were excited. Having friends with also meant that we had an opportunity to see and try more things.
Between us we had:
- Show You (Shoyu): Chicken, Soft Eggs, Beansprouts, Yu Choy, Scallion, and Sesame
- Chicken Noodle Soup (Torikotsu): Chicken, Yu Choy, Soft Egg, Beansprouts, Burdock, Scallion, Sessame
- Kor Dee Yuh (Korean Ramen): Chicken, Kim-chi, Yu Choy, Gochu, Beansprouts, Slow Poached Egg, Black Garlic Oil, Sesame, Scallion
- Cardi BFG: Black Cardamom Ground Goat, Shiitake, Radish, Sweet Soy, Soy Egg, Cilantro
- Yucayaki: Fried Yuca, Plum Sauce. House Mayo, Bonito Flakes
- Boneless Wings: Korean Chili Sauce, Sweet Soy, Kimchi
- Sunday Morning: Smoked Tomato, Lime, Sake, Beer, Gochujang
In the end, a total bust. The broths lacked depth or flavor. The chicken in the Show You was tough and dry. The Cardi BFG didn't have any of the varied textures and flavor notes you would expect of a rice bowl. The yucca was mushy with no real flavor of its own, the plum and mayo were totally absent in the flavor profile, and the whole thing was totally overwhelmed by the bonito flakes. The chicken wings were firm but neither dry or juicy; they just lacked any character other than presentation. And, finally, the Sunday Morning was almost undrinkable. I like bitter things but this was bitter in all the wrong ways. The plates and bowls were pretty, the noodles were good, that is all.
With the food out of the way I would like to say that, like the original location, that the ambiance was great, unfortunately I can't do that either. Where St. Paul is efficiently spaced and run Minneapolis is chaotic and erratic. Were it not for one employee who seemed to care it would have gone off the rails, most of the staff seemed aloof and indifferent. The two room layout makes the "counter service" that works so well in St. Paul clunky and awkward. The "counter" in the main room feels like a server stand, not someplace to order. None of it seemed like it worked.
I'm not a hater, I want to love this place; it just has a long way to go. 2/10
Teamwork Dinner (Lamb Ribs, Veggies, Salad)
Our go to favorite food is lamb ribs. We often take a swing through the meat section when we're at the store in the hopes that there will be some in the cooler. This has even led to the realization that our local coop regularly marks less attractive sections of ribs as "soup bones" and offers them at a steep discount. Today's trip was ostensibly to pick up ingredients to start getting ready for the annual crawfish boil and I just grabbed the ribs on the way by.
When we got home she started preparing to bake cookies and marinate some meat for tomorrow and I started the grill. I went in the refrigerator and found a half of a red onion, two carrots, and two large cauliflower florets. I divided the lamb ribs and drowned the whole mess in olive oil, salt, and pepper.
While I was managing the grill she sliced some red cabbage and breakfast radishes, shucked some fava beans, and tossed the pile in a quick vinaigrette. She then garnished the whole thing with sliced pear.
Teamwork makes the dream work - 9/10
The Humble BLT
I got a message from the better half requesting that I hit the grocery store and pick up some bacon and mayonnaise for BLTs tonight. We took a nice center cut slab of her sourdough and toasted it in a pan using the rendered bacon fat, slathered it liberally with the mayo, added the lettuce and some generous cuts of tomato, and of course the bacon.
I take my BLTs seriously. The quickest way for a restaurant to loose me is with their “BLT our way”. The ingredients are in the name and, if you add avocado or something else, you’re not making a BLT anymore. This was an excellent BLT.
9.3/10
Marinated Pork and Chopped Salad
She got inspired by the cut of Pork shoulder steak that she found at the grocery store and had me grill it up with a couple carrots and some radish greens. While I was out sweating over the grill she chopped up lettuce, radishes, and corn and heaped it high on a pan. While she dressed the salad I hit some tortillas over the stove to give them some crunch.
Dinner and a beer - 9.4/10