San Antonio and Coming Home

This weekend was my first trip to San Antonio. I heard it was something like the seventh largest metropolitan area in the country. My brother was playing in a soccer tournament, so on top of that, I wanted to find some good food. Upon arriving, I found that the hotel I was staying in was a mile away from a Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives destination. I had never been to one of the Guy Fieri visited establishments before, so I figured we could try The Cove. I went with my mom and step-dad. We walked in and it certainly looked like a dive. There were old signs on the walls, picnic tables both outside and in, and a bike parked right in front of the drum set at the far end. The dining area was separate from where you ordered food, in the same room as the bar. They had an extensive selection of beers in bottles. Many from the southern and western parts of the country, as well as a few Mexican beers and other imports. There was nothing on tap which was too bad. My step-dad ended up getting a relatively light, malty wheat beer brewed about 30 miles away.

For lunch, we ordered a chicken-poblano soup, sweet potato fries, and seafood tacos. One thing that I noticed in San Antonio was the extraordinarily large amount of soups like this, some kind of chicken and mild chile soup with or without crisp tortilla chips. The soup was okay, and I thought the seasoning was fine, but everyone at the table tried it and thought it was missing something. There was a certain brightness missing, maybe it could have used some fresh herbs or to have been sitting around a little less. With the fish tacos, there was also something missing. The fish was mild and did not contribute in terms of flavor. The tortilla was fine, and it was served with a cilantro cabbage slaw. The whole thing was missing something, and this was where it could have been helped in my opinion. The slaw was relatively bland, and the cilantro in it had lost all freshness. An addition of some of the house made salsa that they had brought out with the tortilla chips actually helped some. I did not try the sweet potato fries. My mom and step-dad had ordered them and I did not feel compelled to try them as they were pretty soggy.

So our first meal in San Antonio could have been better, and I had less hope for that evening’s dinner. It was a banquet for the soccer teams and their families. I ended up eating food from Whole Foods that I had picked up on the way and not eating the meal that was served. The next day consisted of breakfast at the hotel with team parents, oatmeal and a standard omelette. Lunch was again from Whole Foods after a long run, and we had dinner at a restaurant after the soccer game hosted by Williams College Alumni. It was standard Tex Mex, and we had salad, chicken fajitas, and chocolate chip cookies for dessert.

The next day we again had breakfast with the parents. For lunch, we went to a local grocery store. It was a chain of five or six in Texas, and it was fun to go. It definitely made me wish I had a kitchen, because they had a lot of quality products. The produce section was good, they had fresh fish, including a fair amount whole, and I was very impressed by the meat selection. All of the meat (chicken, beef, veal, buffalo, and maybe some other) looked high quality and fresh. They also had an impressive wine section, a decent sized cheese section, and some good prepared foods, including fresh made tortillas (white flour, whole wheat, and butter flavored). For lunch, I had a beet salad with an orange and rasberry vinaigrette, a salad, and pastrami and turkey with chipotle mustard in a warm whole wheat tortilla. Unfortunately, this would be the best meal I would have on the trip. I had planned on going out for dinner later that evening, but had to run a workout on a track. I had a lot of trouble finding a track, it got very late, and I ate leftover groceries and frozen yogurt from a local, Pinkberry-like place.

We left the next morning, picking up breakfast from Jamba Juice on the way to the airport, and this was the best breakfast I would have on the trip. Jamba Juice consistently produces quality, fresh tasting smoothies with a great consistency, and I am a loyal fan.

Tonight was the first night back that I was able to cook, and it was a relief. I made a trip to the Great Harvest Bread Company for a free loaf of bread as I had filled my frequent customer card. I made an asparagus leak soup with garlic, shallots, thyme, and stock. It was simple but very flavorful, was a bright, vibrant green, and did not take much time to cook at all. The loaf of bread I got earlier had spinach, parmesan, and roasted red pepper in it and was perfect toasted and dipped in the soup. I also made buffalo burgers with number of different pantry ingredients mixed in. I added chopped garlic and shallots, capers, olives, miso, and horseradish. After struggling through a weekend of food searching, trying to make my way past all of the Tex Mex that was being thrown at me, it was nice to be home.

Dirt Cowboy Café in Hanover, NH

So I am not a consistent coffee drinker, and I guess I am still not decided on whether it is something that is “healthy” to drink everyday. Either way, I have had periods, usually lasting a few months, where I drink coffee almost everyday. Often, the amount of time I spend in Hanover, NH is directly correlated to how much coffee I drink. I lived here for ten years, and if you are looking for a cup of coffee when you are in Hanover, this is the place to go. It’s a nice little coffee shop that fresh brews every cup. They have a wide variety of different coffees to choose from, and also have different teas, smoothies, some ice cream, and sandwiches. The sandwiches are simple, and are really only there if you want to have a sandwich with your cup of coffee, unlike somewhere you might get a cup of coffee with your sandwich. I had a cup of their Mexican roast this morning, then had a sip of a coffee from the Hanover Coop and couldn’t take another one. It tasted a bit like dirty water, slightly bitter but not in a good way. The coffee is consistently great at the dirt cowboy and will always be fresh.

08/04/2009

Barney Greengrass in New York, NY

I will have to go back here some more before I feel like I could give my complete opinion, but I had an excellent breakfast sandwich here this morning. It was a little greasy, but I ordered an egg sandwich with tongue and corned beef and a bialy, so I can’t say I didn’t expect that. The meat was chopped up in the scrambled eggs, which I like. I also liked how they scrambled the eggs. This is just my opinion, and I can’t tell you why, but I enjoy a scrambled egg where the whites and the yolks have a little marble effect to them… The flavor was great. The strong beefy flavor of the tongue was perfect, and the hint of saltiness and spices from the corned beef added to the overall flavor. I am definitely going to go back for more of their deli selections.

07/15/2009

Shopsin’s. Essex St. Market in New York, NY

A great breakfast place with an atmosphere that I definitely enjoyed. I went at 10:30am on a Friday fresh off of the plain ride from Vermont, so my friend and I were seated right away. Kenny Shopsin was sitting at a chair for the majority of our meal talking to customers, and while his language may have not always been entirely clean, he was being friendly and added to the experience. It was a tiny place, and everyone working there was actually very friendly. The person waiting on our table was nice, and when I got up to the counter for some hot sauce, reaching for a small bottle, a cook yelled from the kitchen, “No, grab the squeezie bottle. That stuff’s the best.” So I did grab it. The hot sauce was for the mac and cheese pancakes we ordered.

I would have to say that this place serves very solid breakfast food, but the primary reason I see in coming here is to get something different, something you won’t see at most places. The mac and cheese pancakes were very good. Personally, I would have cooked the macaroni a little less before putting it into the pancake batter. The way he cooks these pancakes is something that I appreciate. To come up with it shows some real creativity. The macaroni is spread throughout the batter, and the botton side of the pancake is similar to the texture you would get with a regular pancake. The other side is very different. On the top side of each pancake, the cheese is put on before this side is cooked. The result of this technique is an almost crispy layer of cheddar cheese. In my opinion, I would have with both hot sauce and maple syrup. At the beginning of the stack, I had probably an equal amount of hot sauce and maple syrup, maybe even a little more hot sauce. I figured because of the savory aspects of this breakfast food, hot sauce should be the main condiment. By the time I finished, I was probably having at least a 3:1 ratio of maple syrup to hot sauce. The sweetness really added to the flavor, and those last few bites were truly excellent.

We also had the MOE II. This was a large serving of bacon between two slices of french toast with two eggs over medium on top. This was excellent, and if you are not feeling to adventurous, this is an item that would satisfy nearly anyone I imagine. We also finished the meal with an order of banana ebelskivers. These were fantastic. The little pancake dough balls are slightly crispy on the outside, and light and fluffy on the inside, with a gooey banana center. The sprinkling of maple sugar topps it all off. It almost seems logical to take two bites of each, but I found if they weren’t too hot, I enjoyed them the most disregarding how I looked and finishing them in one bite. This was an excellent meal, and I give it 4 stars and not 5 because it is pretty standard breakfast food outside of the interesting combinations. The french toast/bacon weren’t heads above the rest when considered alone. But then again, I would not come to eat here to eat these things as they are.

07/14/2009

Lou’s in Hanover, NH

I have been here a couple of times recently. I have had some of the everyday breakfast items like omelettes and oatmeal bowls. They make quality food, and they have a cruller french toast that I have heard very good things about.

The atmosphere is just okay. It can get very busy, and the lines, plus the small area with a lot of seats, add to the crowded feeling. Baked goods are probably the best thing here, and the rest is quality made breakfast food, but the bill gets up a little high for what it is—a diner.

That being said, if you want a quality breakfast in the area, and want more than a breakfast sandwich that you can get cheap across the street at the Bagel Basement, then this is probably the place to go. It is certainly heads above heading to Denny’s in West Lebanon, and more consistent quality than heading to the Fort in Lebanon.

07/05/2009