Month: February 2017

Red Pearl Restaurant – Homewood, AL

I love all kinds of food, but Chinese food is one of my favorites. I was excited to learn that there was an authentic Chinese restaurant called Red Pearl in Homewood, Alabama. What surprised me even more is that there is a full size Asian market attached to the restaurant. They had everything from candy and sauces to frozen dumplings that can be made at home.

The restaurant was beautiful inside. It had recently been remodeled. There are wonderful ornate wooden walls that separate different sections and an ornately painted focal wall.

   

I started off with the pork noodle soup. It was a huge bowl that was perfect for sharing with the table. It was a good thing that I brought my sister with me. The broth was flavorful and had a very faint spice in it. The noodles were like what are found in lo mein and it was a generous portion in this soup. They used a minced pork that was very tender and added additional flavor to the soup. The pieces of chopped up cabbage added texture. I could have easily made this my meal if I was alone.

I was told that I had to try their egg rolls, so I made sure to order a few. They were crispy on the outside. The filling on the inside was full of meat and vegetables. The nice part about these egg rolls was they had a lot of meat on the inside rather than just filling of excess cabbage. I was very pleased with how they tasted and would recommend them too.

My favorite aspect about a Chinese meal is the sharing. Several dishes can be ordered for the table and then shared family style. So my sister and I went for two dishes: chicken lo mein and pork fried rice.

The chicken in the lo mein were nice big pieces of breast meat. They were sautéed so the edges were slightly crispy. The sauce was salty but it was not overwhelming. The noodles had a smoky taste – which came from the hot flame that was used to cook it in the wok.

The plate of fried rice was huge. The pork in the fried rice added a ton of flavor. The Jasmine rice they used stuck together really well with the sauce that was used to season everything. This made it easy for me to eat the rice with chopsticks.

Now naturally we could not finish everything because it was a lot of food. However, Chinese leftovers make for a perfect lunch the next day. I enjoyed everything that we ordered but I only scratched the surface of what they have to offer. I can’t wait to go back and try some of the beef or tofu or perhaps one of my favorite dishes – Chow Fun.

If you are hungry for Chinese and don’t want typical take out, then you need to swing by Red Pearl. You will truly enjoy sitting down and sharing a meal. Visit their website at http://www.superorientalmkt.com/

Enjoy!

T

 

 

Homewood Diner – Homewood, AL

Bright and early on a cold morning is the perfect time to get a big, hearty breakfast. Diners are naturally the perfect place for these types of breakfasts. The Homewood Diner can be a little hard to find the first time but it is a wonderful place and well worth looking for.

The diner was crowded when I got there. I was able to get one of the last booths. They have many options and combinations to choose from. I wanted something with pancakes because I had not had them for a while.

   

I went for one of their special breakfast plates. The Patriot Breakfast offered up everything I wanted. Eggs, grits, bacon, and a pancake. Just in case there is interest in this plate, you can have hash browns instead of grits and sausage instead of bacon.

I got my eggs scrambled; these are my favorite way to have eggs. The grits were firm but still creamy. I added some butter to add a little salt. The bacon was amazing. The slices were thick and extra crispy. I love extra crispy bacon, plus they gave a very generous portion. You can never have too much bacon.

The pancake, which was why I ordered this breakfast plate, was huge. It was the actual size of the plate it came on. There is something about restaurant pancakes that I just cannot replicate at home. I love the taste of the batter which is a little sweet and the way it gets salty when cooked on the griddle. A great pancake to me is when it tastes just as good with a little melted butter as it does with a topping of maple syrup.

In addition to breakfast Homewood Diner also offers a great meat and 3 lunch option. Check out their breakfast menu at their Facebook page: Facebook.com/HomewoodDiner

Enjoy!

T

 

 

O Sushi – Hoover, AL

Once again I found myself craving sushi. I started thinking about it at work and decided that was going to be my dinner. It was just going to be me so I was excited that I could make the choice of where to go. I decided to try a little family owned local place called O Sushi.

It is a cute place at the corner of a shopping center. I was greeted by the wonderfully friendly staff as soon as I walked in. They have a beautiful bamboo wall that separates the entrance from the main dining area.

Rather than sit at the sushi bar, I went for a small table so I could spread out a little more and just relax. It felt so private with the ornate screens in the window.

They were running a happy hour special on sake while I was there. I decided to get a small hot sake to start my relaxing evening.

 

Their menu had great options to choose from. There was hot and cold appetizers, classic rolls, specialty rolls, homemade ramen noodle soup, and bento boxes. I was really hungry and everything sounded delicious. However, since I was there by myself I knew I could not order too much.

I started with a bowl of miso soup. It was a classic broth with a few slices of seaweed wrapper and tofu. It acted as a great palate cleanser before my sushi came out.

I ordered the tuna tartare off the cold appetizer menu. This had spicy tuna, avocado, a seaweed salad, and fried wonton chips. The presentation was beautiful. The avocado slices lined the bottom of the plate and the finely chopped tuna was placed on top. Decorating the top of the tuna was the seaweed salad.

The tuna was tender and soft. The avocado added a creamy texture and the seaweed salad added crunch. It was the perfect combination. I really liked the seaweed salad. I was expecting it to be salty but it was not. It had a neutral taste that had great crunch but did not take away from the flavor of the tuna. The fried wontons were a great way to eat this dish. I wish I had gotten more of these because they were a great snack.

For my choice of roll, I went for a specialty one called the Caterpillar Roll. It was an eel roll wrapped on top with avocado and drizzled with eel sauce. This roll also had a beautiful presentation on the plate. I was very excited to take a picture of it. If you love avocado, then this is a roll that will make you happy.

The eel itself was fresh and tender. It was paired with a chunk of avocado and wrapped with seaweed and rice. Tightly rolled around the outside of the rice was more slices of avocado. This was the creamiest roll I have ever had. The eel sauce (which is one of my favorites) added sweet flavor to each bite. There was no reason to use any soy sauce with this roll because it was perfect just how the chef prepared it.

I really enjoyed my meal and I can’t wait to bring some friends and family here. There are so many other rolls I want to try. Plus, I want to try some homemade ramen on a cold day. Check out their menu at http://www.osushihoover.com/

Enjoy!

T

 

Mr. P’s Deli – Birmingham, AL

One of my great friends told me about a deli that was a must try. Heading up the mountain to Bluff Park between Birmingham and Hoover, Alabama is where I came across the little place called Mr. P’s Deli. It is a deli, butcher shop, and market all in one.

You can get an array of sandwiches to either eat there or take home.

Want to cook some fresh steaks or pork chops at home? Mr. P’s has you covered.

Need a bottle of wine to go with that steak? They have a nice selection of wine to choose from.

I stopped in at lunchtime and was exited to try one of their sandwiches. It was a tough choice but I finally picked the Big Italian Sub. It is a 1/3 pound sandwich packed with ham, salami, and provolone cheese on a white hoagie roll. It was the perfect size for lunch.

The sub came out toasty warm. The cheese was perfectly melted between the meats. The hoagie roll was fresh and soft, it made taking a bite so easy. They drizzled a balsamic vinegar dressing on one side of the hoagie roll. It added a sweet and tangy taste to the salty meats. Plus, the sub came with a crunchy dill pickle.

This was a great find and I am so glad my friend told me about it. I look forward to going back for another sandwich. Check out all their options at http://www.mrpdeli.com/

Enjoy!

T