Author: gatorgirl.outoftheswamp@gmail.com

Little Sister – Manhattan Beach, CA

I have written about so many restaurants in Manhattan Beach. It is one of my favorite areas to hang out. I found another little place called Little Sister. After checking out their menu and seeing it was full of Asian fusion dishes, I knew I wanted to stop by.

  

I had made it in time to enjoy happy house, which they called “Spice Hour”. I glanced at the drink specials. I went for the “Tom Hardy”. They called it citrus and fizzy – white wine, passion fruit, and cocchi blanco. To me this tasted like a sangria, just not as sweet. I could definitely taste the passion fruit.

The best about being there for happy hour is they had all the small plates I could try without having too much food.

I started with the char sui pork steamed bun. It came with homemade pickles that were a little spicy. They were a nice garnish. The pork was thinly sliced and stacked on a soft bun. It reminded me of a pork BBQ sandwich; extremely sweet and tender.

Next up were the salt and pepper prawns. They came on skewers with an herb and cashew curry sauce. They were crispy. The curry sauce is what made these prawns stand out. Without the sauce they would have been a standard fried shrimp.

Then came out the lemongrass chicken banh-mi. This mini sandwich had crispy chicken with crushed cashews, mint, basil, and scallions. The sandwich was a little messy to eat. The flavor was amazing. The tangy toppings added so much zest to the chicken.

An interesting dish came  up next, the Balinese fried meatballs. It came with a cilantro-mint chutney. The meatball was covered in breadcrumbs and fried. The meatball was extremely flavorful, full of spices. The dipping sauce added sweetness. It was a unique way to have meatball.

The last little plate ordered was the Imperial rolls. These were a cross between an egg roll and a spring roll. The filling was a combination of shrimp, crab, pork, taro root, and glass noodles. The pork added the most flavor to the filling. On the side came roasted peanuts and a chili lime sauce. I did not use any peanuts but did dip a few bites of the roll in the dipping sauce. It had a tangy taste.

Since the dishes I enjoyed were small bites I was able to save room for dessert. They do petite desserts which allows you to select three choices.

My first choice was the honey lavender crème brulee. There is definitely a food trend that incorporates lavender into food. This crème brulee was lighter than a traditional one. It was also extremely creamy. I could taste the subtleness of the lavender. It gave the whole dessert a sweet taste.

The second dessert was the lemongrass coconut pannacotta. It tasted like a coconut pudding. I could clearly taste the coconut but not the lemongrass. It had small crushed pineapples on top. Having that made this dessert very tropical.

Lastly was the homemade Ding Dong. When I cut into it I was not expecting it to be red velvet cake. That was a pleasant surprise because I love red velvet. The cake was very moist. The chocolate on the outside was rich and smooth. Chocolate and red velvet are a wonderful pairing.

  

I had a wonder visit to Little Sister. This was a great find and would recommend this place to everyone. Make sure you get there in time for “Spice Hour”. Visit their website at www.littlesistermb.com

Enjoy!

T

The Strand House – Manhattan Beach, CA

When I visit the Los Angeles area one of my favorite places to go is Manhattan Beach. There are so many restaurants to choose from. Many of them have a great view of the pier and the Pacific Ocean. The Strand House is one of those restaurants.

Unfortunately the day I visited the weather was not the greatest. It was really foggy over the water.

  

I started off with a Moscow mule as I looked over the menu. They served it in a copper cup so it stayed nice and cold.

There was one appetizer that they are known for called Hamachi Crudo.

It was thinly sliced yellow fin tuna with avocado and drizzled with a tomato seed vinaigrette and red alaea sea salt.  The tuna was extremely fresh and melted as I took a bite. The avocado added a creaminess.

The table shared the squid ink campanelle pasta. I never had squid ink pasta before. It is a little shocking when you see this jet black pasta but it only color. The taste of the pasta was like any other regular pasta.

This pasta dish came with chopped up Maine lobster and English peas ( just like regular peas just very large in size) and garnished with herbs and a lemon sauce. The lobster was tender and the lemon sauce made the dish light and refreshing.

A meal would not be complete without some sort of bread. We ordered the buttermilk Parker House rolls. These were mini size rolls that came in a cute wooden box. This was definitely a first for me. These rolls were a cross between a traditional bread roll and a biscuit. It was a little crispy on top and had a sweet taste.

For dinner I ordered the Hokkaido scallops, which are Japanese scallops. They came with sunchokes, salsify (similar to parsnip), beet beurne blanc, and pink pepper. The scallops were very large; they were extremely tender, sweet, and slightly creamy in texture. The sunchokes (which have a similar texture to artichokes) did not add much to the flavor of the dish but they did add some crunch.

The side dishes were meant to be shared among the table. The first one we ordered was the wood fired Brussels sprouts. They came with a black garlic aioli drizzled on top. I love Brussels sprouts, especially when they are charred on the outside. The aioli really did not add a lot of extra flavor to them. I tasted more of the smokiness from the fire oven they were cooked in.

The second side we ordered was the mac and cheese. You can never go wrong with this classic comfort food. It was served in a cast iron pot which kept it nice and warm. The mac and cheese was good but it was not creamy. They used more gourmet cheeses that do not melt the same way as creamier cheeses.

I enjoyed my dinner at The Strand House. It is a very popular place so if you are interested in going, make sure you have reservations. Check them out at http://www.thestrandhousemb.com/

Enjoy!

T

Big Ed’s Pizza – Huntsville, AL

I was recently visiting Huntsville, Alabama with my sister. We were starting to get hungry but we were not sure what genre of food we wanted. I had actually made a wrong turn while driving around and that is when we stumbled across Big Ed’s Pizza.

The parking lot was packed so I knew this had to be a great local place. We were able to walk in and take a seat wherever we wanted. The aroma in the restaurant was amazing. The smell of pizza filled the air.

  

Reading about their history, Big Ed’s Pizza has been family owned and operated for over 50 years.

They make homemade sauce and dough from scratch every day. They also still use the ovens from the 1960’s when they first opened.

We started off with their hand breaded mozzarella sticks. These were the biggest cheese sticks I have ever had. They were not symmetric in size which is good because that meant they were fresh and not the frozen.

They were so cheesy; the sticks looked like they sliced big chunks of mozzarella cheese to make them. They were extremely hot when they came out. Once they cooled off enough I bit in and the ooey-gooey cheese poured out. They also came with a side of their homemade sauce which was perfect for dipping.

My sister and I decided to share the club salad. Good thing we did because the salad was huge. It was loaded with chopped up ham and turkey, shredded cheese, tons of bacon, and sliced tomatoes. We got it with a side of fresh blue cheese dressing. It was a hearty salad and very fresh. It could have easily been enough for our meal, and that is with us sharing it.

We knew we had to save room for pizza. They have several varieties and sizes. We went for the 10” cheese and pepperoni. A good classic pizza! The size was perfect for us. A 10” came with 6 slices.

The crust was thick but the bottom was super crunchy from the oven. The dough was light and had a slight sweetness. They used a ton of cheese and were very generous with the amount of pepperoni they used.

While we were sitting there many more customers came into the restaurant. The place was packed. I would recommend stopping by on a visit to Huntsville. There is a reason they have been around for so long. Visit their website at: http://www.bigedspizza.com/

Enjoy!

T

 

 

Hot and Hot Fish Club – Birmingham, AL

I have written a lot about the food scene in Birmingham, Alabama. Many of the restaurants I have written about are fairly new to the area. There is one place that has called Birmingham home for over 20 years – Hot and Hot Fish Club. It is owned by world renowned chefs Chris and Idie Hastings.

They are one of the first chefs to bring the concept of farm to table to the area. Because of this concept, their menu will change based on what is available. I was very excited to get to have dinner here since I have heard nothing but good things.

You definitely need a reservation because the inside is surprisingly small. There is a bar area where you can enjoy a drink. In the main dining room there are regular tables and special “chefs” seats. These special seats allow the diner to watch the chefs prepare every meal. It’s like a live action Food Network show.

Each dish that is ordered is prepared from scratch. The chefs put a lot of care and respect into what they are serving, therefore it can take 40-45 minutes for a dish to come out. So just be prepared to enjoy wonderful dinner conversation while you wait.

To kick off the night, I ordered their version of an old fashioned. It is called Fudge Family Farms Bacon Old Fashioned. It is a mouthful to order. They use bacon bourbon, Applewood smoked maple, and bitters. The taste was sweet and extremely smooth. There was a hint of bacon flavor but it was not overpowering.

After ordering drinks, the waiter brought out a little palate cleanser. It was a little slice of toast topped with cream cheese and a pepper jam. It was sweet with a slight hint of spice from the pepper jam. It was good and I wish I could have had a few more. It was the perfect way to begin the meal.

The drink I ordered paired well with the Charcuterie and Cheese board that was ordered. This was great to share with the group.

The board came with several options. It starts with their house made pickles – which were both sweet and sour. The cheeses included blue cheese and several white cheeses. There was a list but I forgot to take notes on the options. For the meats, there was a pâté, homemade venison sausage, and homemade pepperoni. To balance out the salty meats and cheeses, they included candied pecans and almonds on the board. This was the perfect starter as you await for the chefs to prepare your main course.

For my meal, I ordered the pan seared Yellowfin Tuna. The tuna can be cooked to your preference level. I got it seared on the outside and pink inside. It came with a mix of vegetables that included sunchokes (a species of sunflower, also known as the Jerusalem artichoke), artichokes, and sunflower shoots. They were placed on a bed of Freekeh (a roasted whole grain), black garlic, and a Turmeric Why broth.

The tuna was cooked to perfection. The skin was crispy. It went wonderfully with the Turmeric broth, which was also superb. It was not too salty and it was full of flavor. The vegetables were slightly bitter but the broth help calm down that bitterness.

I saved a little room for dessert since they had several great options. What was calling to me was the banana pudding doughnuts. It was presented beautifully on the plate.

There were slices of sweet ripe bananas that were brûléed on top. I loved the sugary crunch when I took a bite. The doughnuts were little doughnut holes covered in sugar. Inside they were filled with a vanilla pudding that was sweet and creamy. Also on the plate was a banana ice cream. It too was sweet and creamy; it had the right amount of butter fat in it.

Technically there was enough of this dessert to share, which is normally what I do. However, tonight I was feeling a little greedy and ate the whole thing by myself.

This was a remarkable meal. I am so glad that I finally had an opportunity to check out Hot and Hot Fish Club. My waiter added to the experience. He was super attentive, always checking to make sure that the table had everything we needed.

Head to their website http://www.hotandhotfishclub.com/ and make a reservation. You will not be disappointed.

Enjoy!

T

 

 

 

 

 

Happy National Donut Day!

Today is National Donut Day. So glad to see this box of goodness to start my morning off right.

Enjoy!

T

National Macaroon Day

Today is National Macaroon Day. It’s a day to celebrate and enjoy these little treats. But there might be some confusion out there about Macaroons verses Macarons. While they may sound like the same thing, they are both very different. I thought I would take a little time to explain the difference.

Today’s celebration is for the macaroon, which is a coconut cookie. It is an easy cookie to make because it only has a few ingredients – shredded coconut, condensed milk, and egg whites. Rather than rolling the cookie out, it is dropped onto a cookie tray. For this reason, not all the cookies will be the same size. If you want to get fancy with these cookies they can be dipped into chocolate. I would make these for my uncle at Christmas because they were his favorite.

The other Macaron is a French cookie. It is meringue based. The two halves are filled with either a ganache, jam, or even a buttercream icing. Any time I have seen macarons in pastry shops they are always bright, fun colors. I have never made these versions myself because they are said to be very difficult to make.

So now you understand the difference between each of these cookies. Head out to your local bakery and pick some up today.

Enjoy!

T

Happy Memorial Day!

I want to take this time to thank all of our men and women in the armed forces both past and present for everything that they do for our country. Because of your sacrifice we are able to enjoy our freedom!

Enjoy!

T

Café Du Monde – New Orleans, LA

I was very excited to get back to New Orleans. I had a list of new places I wanted to try plus a few repeat visits to places I loved. Café Du Monde was one of those must visits repeats. I could not leave New Orleans without enjoying a fresh made beignet.

Since I had been to the café before I did not need to eat the beignets there. Good thing too because there were absolutely no seats anywhere, There were lines just to get a seat.

   

I headed over to their take-out window. There was also a really long line but it moved pretty fast.

  

I got up to the window and ordered my beignets. Before I could even hand over my money the bag of piping hot goodness was in my hand.

I could not wait to dive in. I felt like a little kid.

I ended up finding a chair so I could sit down and eat the beignets while they were still hot. There is about a pound of powdered sugar in the bag. It is definitely more than what you get on the plate.

They tasted just like I remembered. The dough was soft and tender. I could taste a slight hint of yeast in the dough but it was over powered by the powdered sugar. It is ok because a beignet would not be a beignet without all the powdered sugar.

I tired really hard not to make a mess but I still ended up getting sugar all over myself.

I got to watch them make the beignets outside one of their windows. They do this all day, every day, 24/7. It is so fun to stand there watch.

  

  

I took a few videos to share with everyone that can be seen on my twitter account.

It may always be crowded but if you are visiting New Orleans please stop by Café Du Monde. It is a city tradition and must be experienced. Check out their history at http://www.cafedumonde.com/

Enjoy!

T

 

Acme Oyster House – Metairie, LA

Acme Oyster House and New Orleans go hand in hand. I had visited and written about the Acme on Bourbon Street many years ago. This is where I discovered chargrilled oysters. I was going to visit that location again on my trip but every time I went by the line to get in was out the door and down the sidewalk. I decided to try one of their other location, thinking I would have more luck getting in. I went to their restaurant in Metairie, which was not far from the French Quarter. Sure enough I was able to get a seat as soon as I walked in.

As soon as the waitress came over, I put in my order. There was no need for me to look over the menu. I was there for their chargrilled oysters. I ordered a dozen plus a side of hush puppies.

The hush puppies came out first. They were crunchy on the outside and soft on the inside. These little bites were sweet. I thought they tasted like a dessert fritter.

I also ordered a cocktail to enjoy with my oysters. I went for the Acme Sunset. It was rum, crème de banana, grenadine, pineapple juice, orange juice, and cranberry juice. The sweet tropical drink reminded me of something I would have at a beach bar. I knew it would balance out the saltiness that the oysters would have.

Finally the star of the show came out. They were still sizzling on the tray. The smell of the garlic was so nice. I could not wait to get in there but they needed to cool down just a little. Those shells can be really hot to handle.

The oysters were just like I remembered. The tender meat were soaking in the garlic butter and topped with a ton of parmesan cheese that was extra crispy because of the grill. The bread was there to help soak up the left over garlic butter. There is no reason to waste any of it.

If you are in New Orleans you must have chargrilled oysters. It is a staple of the city. Visit their menu at http://www.acmeoyster.com/

Enjoy!

T

 

SoHo Social – Homewood, AL

The SoHo area of Homewood/Birmingham has been growing over the years. There is a rejuvenation of business and restaurants. I have already written about a few places in the area – Savage’s Bakery and Jacksons. A new restaurant recently opened that had starting getting great buzz called SoHo Social. I decided to check them out to see what they had to offer.

I started off with a unique cocktail called Rosé Dale. It was a blend of vodka, St. Germaine, rosé wine, lime, bubbles, and a sprig of rosemary. I was a pretty presentation. The drink was light and fizzy. It was also refreshing for a warm spring evening. The rosemary did not add a whole lot of extra flavor. It was more for decoration. After a few sips the rosemary sprig actually got in the way so I just took it out of the drink.

I ordered the charcuterie plate to munch on. It was the perfect size. It was a little different from other charcuterie plates I typically get. It came with white cheddar cheese and “Conecuh”, which is sausage from Alabama. It was sliced up and grilled. It also came with two hoe cakes. For a little background information, a hoe cake is basically a cornmeal pancake. They are usually cooked in a cast iron pan. If you are from the Northeast these are normally known as johnnycakes.

Their hoe cake was nice because it was firm and only slightly sweet. I ate it by itself rather than with the sausage and cheese. The sausage had a wonderful hickory smoked taste. It was grilled so that the edges were crispy. I wish it came with a little more on the plate.

I also ordered the avocado dos formas. There were two different fillings loaded into each half of an avocado.

The first one was called primero; it was tuna ceviche stuffed in the avocado. The ceviche had a great salty taste. If you like onions this will be perfect for you because there was a ton chopped up. The only thing that disappointed me was that there was barely any avocado in the dish. It’s like they scooped it all out and used it in some other dish. I was able to scrape a little left on the inside of the skin but it was very minimal.

The second half of the avocado was baked and stuffed with hot crab dip. They called it Segundo. The crab dip was amazing. It was so creamy. I ate it with some of the lettuce that came on the plate. I wish the dish came with crackers or even hoe cakes. But don’t get me wrong, it was perfect to eat on its own.

This new spot, SoHo Social, had some pretty good appetizers. I checked out their brunch menu and this is definitely a place I want to come back and try again. Check out what they have to offer at http://sohosocial.bar/

Enjoy!

T