Le Chalet

For dinner tonight, I metup with a friend at Le Chalet (their website is a disaster btw...). Le Chalet opened earlier this year and I've been wanting to try it. I bought a $20 Groupon deal for $10 a few weeks ago, so this was the perfect opportunity to use it!

Here are some pictures:

Complimentary cheesebread - delicious!

Each of us ordered a savory crepe. I had the "Mediterranee" - sea scallops sauteed with julienned leeks in a creamy saffron sauce ($13.95).

This was excellent. The combination of flavors was fantastic.

My friend, D., ordered the "Fermiere" - creamed mushrooms and sauteed onions topped with sliced chicken breast and Swiss cheese ($10.95).

This one was a bit boring. If eaten on its own, it would probably be pretty good, but compared to the Mediterranee, I thought it was kind of plain.


I really enjoyed the "Mediterranee". Next time, I'll take Patty and we'll have to split a savory crepe so we room to try one of the dessert crepes.

Places mentioned:

Le Chalet
5626 West Bell Road
Glendale, AZ 85308

Summer BBQ

Barbecue ribs are one of my favorite foods. Over the July 4th weekend, we took a mini road trip to Gilbert, AZ (nearly a one hour drive from our house), to visit Joe's Real BBQ. Here are a few shots of the restaurant:

We ordered a full slab of ribs to share. For our sides, we had corn, mac 'n cheese, and an order of corn bread. Here's a shot of the food:

and a close-up of the ribs...

Everything was fantastic. The ribs at Joe's are definitely among the best in town. Even though it was a TON of food, we finished it all.

Last weekend, we had another craving for bbq and decided to try making some at home. We don't have a grill, so we experimented by using our slow cooker. It was incredibly simply - ~2lbs of country style ribs with a bottle of this barbecue sauce (my sister gave this to us on our last visit to Seattle):

We let it simmer for about 4 hrs and here was the result:

Super tender and flavorful ribs...yum!

Places mentioned:
Joe's Real BBQ
301 North Gilbert Road
Gilbert, AZ 85234

Dinner tonight - Taiwanese style "xian su ji"

Haven't posted anything for over 4 months now, but I just had to post a picture of our dinner tonight!


Patty made Taiwanese style "xian su ji" (salty fried chicken). If you are ever in Taiwan, xian su ji is one of the "must eat" street foods...tasty, tender morsels of fried chicken goodness. Patty even fried up some basil from our backyard. This was delicious!

SoCal trip highlights

Here are some random food highlights from my recent trip to SoCal (Feb. 17-26):

Kogi - LA (truck was @ Sawtelle/Olympic): short rib taco

I had just finished my dinner and as I was walking out of the restaurant, I noticed a crowd of people near a truck. hm...11:30pm and a crowd of people standing outside? As I got closer, I saw that it was a Kogi truck! I've read so much about Kogi and since it was right in front of me, I had to try it. The taco looks like a mess in the picture, but it was delicious.

Furaibo - LA: grilled mackerel

gr/eats - LA: tilapia w/ pesto

This was the special of the day - it was fantastic deal at $8.50!

gr/eats - LA: chocolate cake w/ ice cream

LAMILL - LA: passion fruit gelee

This was my second visit to LAMILL. I also had the same dessert on my previous visit. It is one of the best desserts EVER!

LAMILL - LA: flank steak salad

Hurry Curry of Tokyo - LA: chicken cutlet curry

Bella Pita - LA: fried cauliflower

Absolutely delicious. Definitely the best preparation of cauliflower I've had...fried food rocks.

MILK - LA: coffee toffee sandwich

The coffee toffee ice cream was fantastic on its own, but I loved the macaron top and bottom. Chewy goodness...

Cube - LA: truffle burger

Serious Eats named the burger @ Cube as one of their favorite burgers in 2009. I agree. It was amazing.

Another article on Cube @ Serious Eats:
Going to the Source at Cube in West Hollywood

Yakitoriya - grilled chicken wings

Orris - fried smelt

Simbala - LA: white radish cake

On nearly every visit to LA, I eat at Simbala, which specializes in Taiwanese food.

Simbala - LA: braised pork, tofu, and bamboo shoots

Glorious pork belly...

85C - Irvine: rose cheese bun

My friend told me I had to go there...so I went. The place was incredibly busy. There was a line out the door and it was around 2:30pm on a Friday afternoon. Inside, there were stanchions setup to control the flow of people.

85C - Irvine: sea salt coffee

This drink was sooooo satisfying. The sea salt is in the foam and the flavor and texture of the drink is incredible.

BCD Tofu - Irvine: original premium tofu stew

Champagne - San Diego: three layer chocolate mousse

Little Sheep Hot Pot - San Diego: mongolian beef meat pie

Ready for the cold (and maybe snow)!

I'm halfway done with my Spring travels. I just got back from a week and a half long trip to Southern California on Friday afternoon and am headed to St. Louis today. It will be the first city in a whirlwind "tour" of the Midwest - with subsequent stops in Chicago, Milwaukee, Madison, and Minneapolis.

I did a similar trip around the same time last year and the weather was absolutely beautiful throughout my entire trip - temps in the mid 60s and sunny. I don't think I'm going to be quite as lucky this time around - the forecast for most of the cities is mid-30s and chances of snow.

BTW, I'll post some highlights from my SoCal trip soon...

Spring travel

My work related spring travel begins tomorrow! I'll be leaving for San Diego tomorrow morning.

Here's my travel schedule for the next few weeks:

2/17-2/26:
San Diego
Irvine
LA

2/28-3/9:
St. Louis
Chicago
Milwaukee
Madison
Minneapolis

I'm hoping for decent weather during my travels through the Midwest (that means no snow). I grew up driving in snow though (in Madison, WI), so regardless of the weather, I'm prepared!

Zinc Bistro

While many parts of the US are blanketed with snow and soaked from rain, the weather in Phoenix this time of year is generally beautiful. We took advantage of the weather yesterday with lunch outdoors at one of our favorite restaurants, Zinc Bistro. We've been to Zinc many many times before, but it has been nearly a year since our last visit...and this is the first time I've ever posted about it!

Here are a few random shots:

Entry w/ patio area in foreground

Bar area

Dining room

Our view from the patio seating area

How many birds can you spot? (answer below)

Here's what we ate:

Onion Soup Gratinee - "Traditional Onion Soup With Bubbling Gruyere" ($10).

The soup was good, but not up to the same level as the one we had recently at Vogue Bistro. Patty thought it was a bit too salty.

Prime Flat Iron Steat w/ shallots, brandy au poivre. Served Medium rare, choice of Matchstick Or Pomme Frites ($26).

Zinc Bistro has the best steak frites in the Valley. It's a great deal at $26, and I've ordered this dish many times before. The steak itself was cooked perfectly, although a bit overseasoned w/ pepper and salt.

Here's a shot of just the steak:

and a close-up of the excellent pomme frites:

dipping sauces for the frites:

Crispy Duck Confit Sandwich w/ Roasted Garlic Aioli, Gastrique Onions ($12).

Patty thought the duck was a bit dry, but overall the sandwich was excellent. The toasted brioche roll was fantastic.

There were a few minor seasoning and cooking issues, but it was still a very good meal. We didn't have room for dessert this time, but if you go, you must try the souffles! They are incredible.

By the way, there were three birds in the picture above.