Middle Grounds Grill (Treasure Island, FL)

For every Easter holiday weekend for the last 20 or so years, Kristen's family has gone to Florida for vacation. This year, I was able to make it down with them. The vacation just happened to coincide with our wedding anniversary, which was held in St. Petersburg. For our anniversary dinner, we went to the Middle Grounds Grill.

The Middle Grounds Grill is located in Treasure Island, FL. While they specialize in seafood, they also serve well regarded steaks as well. We decided, being in Florida, to have a seafood-heavy meal. Four different types of warm breads were served with a house olive oil and spice mixture. There were parmesan , multigrain, white, and wheat rolls.

For starters, we ordered the Ginger Calamari and the Coconut Almond Shrimp. Our waitress suggested getting the Calamari with the ginger sauce on the side for maximum crispiness, but unfortunately the calamari managed to be slightly soggy even without being sauced. The flavor was pleasantly briny, while still having a slightly snappy chew to it. I enjoyed the ginger sauce quite a bit, with its heavy vinegar notes cutting the heft of two fried appetizers. Kristen thought it was less successful, but still enjoyed the calamari. The coconut almond shrimp was a hit. Perfectly fried shrimp had been coated in coconut and slivered almonds, and were served with with a mango habanero sauce. The shrimp were fresh and juicy. The sauce was not spicy, and I would have enjoyed a more prominent habanero flavor, but the shrimp were terrific.

Next up were salads. I got the seasonal salad, featuring mixed greens, pears, pumpkin seeds, and a balsamic vinaigrette. The waitress brought the salad, and said they accidentally put on apple instead of pear. It turned out to be a welcome substitution, as the salad benefitted from the crisp texture of the apple. Kristen got a house salad, which was nothing special.

I ordered the Mango Nut Grouper, topped with a mango buerre blanc. As with the shrimp, the fish was perfectly cooked. The trio of macadamia, pistachios, walnuts created a deliciously crisp crust. The coconut basmati rice was nice, with just a hint of coconut, but the vegetables were over cooked and a bit limp. I can see why this is Middle Grounds's signature dish.

Kristen ordered the scallops, which came with an Asian sauce. The scallops were nicely cooked, with a nice sear on both sides while still being rare on the inside. A tropical salsa came on the side, but it wasn't used much with scallops.

Middle Grounds Grill does a great job preparing fresh seafood and letting it shine. With the exception of the calamari, the seafood couldn't have been cooked more perfectly. I've heard their steaks are terrific, but I'm more than happy with the seafood.

Middle Grounds Grill

10925 Gulf Blvd

Treasure Island, FL 33706

Easter Brunch at Westin Kierland (Scottsdale, AZ)

For the past several years, Carli and I have enjoyed going out to celebrate Easter with a nice brunch in the Phoenix area.  This year, we decided to try the brunch offered at the Westin Kierland in Scottsdale.  Brunch was served in the new Trailblazer Ballroom overlooking the Kierland Golf Course.  The Westin offered a buffet-style champagne brunch, so once we sat down, got our champagne, we were off.

There were a number of dishes (mainly breakfast and the salad/cold stations) that we did not try, but there were clearly plenty of options available for us.  Two more items we tried were the Lobster Claw over Apple Jicama Slaw with Lemon Creme Fraiche and Caviar and the Rosemary & Cracked Black Pepper Marinated Alaskan King Crab.

My favorite dish was the beef wellington with the mushroom ragout.  The beef was nice and tender, if not slightly overcooked (which could be expected as it was a buffet style meal), and the mushroom ragout was a nice, earthy complement to the beef.  Carli's favorite was the Rosemary & Cracked Black Pepper Marinated Alaskan King Crab.  It was a refreshing light dish as compared to a lot of the other heavier dishes served.

In addition to the brunch items, a dessert station was set up with a variety of cakes, pies, cookies, chocolate fountains, fresh fruit, ice cream, and more.  We sampled the following:

The favorite dessert (and easily the most impressive in my mind) was the belgian waffle with vanilla ice cream, fruit, walnuts, and warm chocolate sauce.

The meal was quite delicious and we left full and satisfied, with the unlimited flowing of champagne definitely helping.  The ballroom was nicely setup but a little large and open for our liking for an easter brunch.   We will definitely try a different venue for easter brunch next year (as we have tried a different restaurant each year) and will probably go to a more intimate venue.

Soft Egg Raviolo

Several months back while visiting Daniel and family in Chicago, we went to a restaurant called Green Zebra, which had a fantastic duck egg raviolo dish.  In an effort to recreate the experience, I tried to make a regular soft egg raviolo at home.

I started out by making homemade noodle dough, using a mixture of all-purpose flour, semolina flour, and eggs.  I used a more even ratio of AP and semolina flour than my last attempt (while making pappardelle noodles), but it was less successful than before.  I will probably go back to using a larger ratio of AP flour to semolina flour.  However, the dough still turned out well and the sheets for the raviolo were rolled out.

Next, the filling for the raviolo was made.  I used a mixture of ricotta cheese, parmigiano-reggiano cheese, sage, truffle oil, salt, and pepper.  I was a bit heavy handed with the truffle oil though and it completely overpowered the rest of the flavors of the filling.  Once the filling was complete, a spoonful was placed on the raviolo dough, a small well in the filling was made, and an organic egg yolk was gently placed in the middle.  Then, the outside of the dough was brushed with egg whites and was covered with another layer of dough.

Since fresh noodles cook so quickly (and I didn't want to the yolk to harden), the raviolo was cooked for only a few minutes in boiling water.  Each raviolo was plated and topped with more of the grated parmigiano-reggiano and basil.  

If it wasn't for the overpowering truffle oil, this would have been quite a good dish.  However, the truffle oil was too much to overcome...probably just needed only a slight drizzle.

Joe's Real BBQ (Gilbert, AZ)

I've eaten Joe's Real BBQ a few times now, but have never actually eaten on location for one reason only: its too busy.  Fortunately, that tends to say something about the quality of food served at Joe's.  With Carli's dad in town, it was time to try Joe's again and see if it once again lived up to expectation.

The meats served at Joe's Real BBQ are smoked using pecan wood in Oyler pits.  Since we didn't know exactly what to get, we tried a little bit of everything.  For our bbq meats, we ordered the pork ribs, pulled pork, and sliced beef brisket. 

The pork ribs had the right amount of char on the outside, leading to an extremely meaty, tender inside.  One of the best part of the pork ribs was how delicious they were (even cold) the next day for lunch.  The pulled pork and the beef brisket were not as great as they normally are, being a little bit dry.  However, that could be a result of having to drive 30 minutes home after picking up the food prior to eating.  All three provided a great smokey flavor from the pecan wood smoking process.

For sides, we ordered the sweet cut corn, bbq pit beans, mac and cheese, and cole slaw, along with a slice of cornbread for each of us.  These homemade side dishes are just as big of a star in the meal as the smoked meats (though the corn and mac and cheese were my favorites).  The cornbread was served with honey butter, which Carli really enjoyed.  And everything came with a couple of containers of their homemade bbq sauce.  For me, the bbq sauce is good, but not great.  I usually prefer to use either Stubb's smokey mesquite or honey pecan bbq sauce.

If anything, as you can see, it was quite a hearty meal.

Because we enjoy the food at Joe's Real BBQ, we will be making it a point to try out their sister restaurant, Joe's Farm Grill. 

Birreria Zaragoza (Chicago, IL)

Since moving to Chicago, I've eaten at a lot of great restaurants that I otherwise wouldn't have found if it weren't for the recommendations on LTHForum.com. Birreria Zaragoza is one that I can confidently say that I wouldn't have found on my own. Just south of I-55 on Pulaski, Birreria Zaragoza is a small ~20 seat Mexican restaurant that specializes in birria, a roasted goat dish served with broth.

Sitting down, the condiments are first brought to the table. Here, the birria is served with chile de arbol peppers, cilantro, onion, lime, and some hot sauce.

Next, the plate of birria comes with consomme. Handmade tortillas that are are made to order accompany the plate of goat. The goat that I received was some of the rib cuts, along with some of the belly. The way that the goat was cut reminded me Chinese roasted meat butchery. The goat tasted similar to lamb, with only a hint of gaminess. Some of the bites, specifically the belly with the skin-on, were verging on overly fatty, but were delicious when made into tacos. The tomato-based consomme was a great accompaniment, keeping everything moist. Birreria Zaragoza is a definately try if in the area.

Birreria Zaragoza

4852 S Pulaski Rd

Chicago, IL

Santouka Ramen Shop (Arlington Heights, IL)

After seeing Carli's delicious-looking ramen, I got a craving and headed to Santouka Ramen Shop. Santouka is located in the Mitsuwa Marketplace, which is the largest Japanese grocery store in the Chicagoland area.

Santouka serves three main types of ramen: Shio (salt), Shoyu (soy), and Miso ramen. Also, there are two main meat choices: pork (belly) and special pork (cheek). My favorites are the Shoyu and Miso ramen, always with the braised pork cheek. My order today was the Miso ramen with special pork, with a side of rice topped with leeks and a soy boiled egg. Accompanying the ramen were bamboo shoots, a fish cake, kombu, and green onion. The broth is a very rich, milky, pork-based broth that is absolutely delicious. The pork was braised until extremely tender, and the noodles had soaked up some of the flavor of the broth. Right now, this is my favorite soup in the Chicagoland area and any trip down I-90 requires a stop if Santouka is open.

CUT (Las Vegas, NV)

For a Las Vegas trip with the guys, a visit to a prime steakhouse is a must.  Having already been to a number of the top Las Vegas steakhouses, instead of trying one that we hadn't been to, why not just go back to one that had already served us one of the best steaks we've ever had?

CUT is a Wolfgang Puck steakhouse that is located in the Shoppes at the Palazzo hotel.  They serve a variety of dry aged beef, as well as other meat and seafood dishes.  But we came for the steaks.  The meal began with a duo of amuses; Gruyere cheese Gougeres and Parmesan cheese breadsticks.  Both were delicious, and I wished for more than one of each.   Bread service was next, with a selection of white, wheat, pretzel, pumpernickel, and onion focaccia.  In order to complete our introduction to the meal, we ordered a couple of salads: a butter lettuce salad with avocado and blue cheese, topped with a champagne-herb vinaigrette and a caesar salad. 

[DANIEL] Finally, the steaks came.  Two years ago, I enjoyed 35 day dry-aged, USDA Prime, Nebraska corn-fed New York Sirloin at CUT.  I wanted to try something else, so I went for the American Wagyu/Angus "Kobe-style" beef from Snake River Farms in Idaho.  The steak was extraordinary, rich and perfectly cooked at medium rare.  The steak was so well marbled it almost melted in my mouth, oozing almost a meaty "butteryness".  This was one of the best, if not the best, steak that I've ever had.

[CHRIS] While Daniel typically goes for a sirloin or strip cut of steak, I prefer the flavor of a ribeye steak.  Therefore, I decided to order the 35 day dry-aged, USDA Prime, Nebraska corn-fed 16 oz Ribeye.  Again, I wish that I had taken my camera with me to illustrate the quality of these steaks.  The pictures below do not do it justice.  I never know whether its CUT's dry-aging process, the steaks they choose, or some other Wolfgang secret, but the ribeye here, this one included, is less fatty than your typical prime ribeye but still provides that rich, mature, full-bodied "beefy" flavor. 

To go along with the steaks, we ordered a number of side dishes: asparagus with poached organic egg on a  topped with a warm bacon vinaigrette; creamed spinach mixed table side with a fried organic egg; the CUT version of Mac & Cheese (Cavatappi Pasta with aged Quebec cheddar); Potato Tarte Tatin; and their roasted artichoke special.  

To accompany our fantastic meal, we ordered a bottle of the 2007 Antica Cabernet Sauvignon from the Napa Valley region.  The picture was so poor (and the wine was so good) that I decided to retake the picture from a couple of bottles I purchased when I got back home. 

 

To finish the meal, we were provided a variety of small desserts.  Nothing special here, but its nice touch to finish the meal. 

We've been to CUT twice, as well as other steakhouses like Carnevino, Craftsteak, Flemings, Ruth's Chris, Mastros, Capital Grille, etc., and not only does CUT impress everytime, it is our absolute favorite.  Even though we are ones who enjoy trying new restaurants, we just cannot say no to CUT.  It is the pinnacle of steak and one of the best reasons why we want to share our meat.

Noodle Asia (Las Vegas, NV) - II

Daniel and I are such fans of Noodle Asia that we decide to eat here year after year during our annual trip. After ordering the Si Jiu Beef in January, I settled on the Seafood Stir Fry Soft Noodles, which included shrimp, squid, and chinese bbq pork. There's not much to say about this dish, it was a large portion of food and fantastic as always. Fans of noodles houses would enjoy this restaurant very much.

[DANIEL]

While Chris has ordered a number of different dishes each time in the last few years at Noodle Asia, I have my one dish I order each time: the Szechwan Beef Noodle Soup. Tender pieces of beef shank were braised in a rich beef broth, loaded with anise and other spices. While it didn’t appear to have freshly pulled noodles, they did have a bit of chew, and had soaked up the broth. For us, Noodle Asia always provides us with a tasty and satisfying meal.

i ♥ burgers (Las Vegas, NV)

Every year during March Madness, Daniel and I meet a few friends out in Las Vegas for some well-mannered frivolity. To kick off this year's trip, we tried i ♥ burgers, a new restaurant located in The Shoppes at The Palazzo. I'll apologize in advance for the picture quality, forgot the camera for this trip.

To start, we had a difficult decision between the Tahitian Vanilla Bean or Coffee Bean Haagen-Dazs Milkshake. But the decision was made easier when our waiter informed us of their beverage special: $2 PBR drafts. The choice was clear and the beers were served.

I ordered the Dante burger, which is made of ground sirloin and is topped with provolone cheese, caramelized onion, roasted garlic aioli, and is served on a brioche-style bun. I also added the applewood-smoked bacon and an organic farm fresh egg. In addition, I ordered the Parmesan garlic fries with the herb remoulade. 

The burger was absolutely phenomenal. Dante was cooked perfectly, was nice and juicy, the bacon was a perfect complement, and the egg was a great addition. The fries were nothing special though. It was more like fries with some Parmesan sprinkled on top and no garlic flavor was noticed. The herb remoulade was OK; regular ketchup would have been just as good.

[DANIEL]
I enjoyed the burger as well. I ordered the standard angus burger with swiss, applewood-smoked bacon, and a fried egg, also served on a brioche-style bun. For the fried fare, unfortunately they were out of the Triple Truffle fries, so I chose the breaded mac and cheese. The burger was perfectly cooked, and the yoke kept everything moist. The breaded mac and cheese bites were good, but nothing out of the ordinary. But I guess one isn’t looking for much when he orders deep fried macaroni and cheese. They were served with the secret fry sauce aioli, which seemed pretty similar to Chris’s remoulade with the addition of parmesan.

All in all, i ♥ burgers lives up to its name, serving up delicious burgers. While the fried foods left a bit to be desired, make it here on a $2 PBR day and you’ll have a good meal and a good time.