Sunday, August 29, 2010

Sushiya and Smash Burger

What a wonderful weekend!  Saturday was a very satisfying day with a trip to the Kalamazoo Farmers Market.  The nectarine season is soon coming to an end so get out to the farmers market and get some, the ones I got are delicious.
Dinner at Sushiya with good friends was the beginning of the evening.  I always start my meal at Sushiya with a seaweed salad.  I just can't resist the crunch of the seaweed and the smokiness of the sesame oil and the twist of lemon really brings the acidic balance that the dish deserves.  I have been going to Sushiya for a couple of years and they have fantastic sushi. I think by now I have tried about every single sushi roll.  I went with the Kalamazoo Roll and an Eel Roll this time around, mostly because they both have eel and I absolutely love eel.  Every roll I have had is great but I think that over all the roll I like the most would have to be the very well rounded Spider Roll.  If you love sushi and live in the area I would suggest making the trip.  The only down side is how long it takes to make your choice from the extensive menu, but you can't really complain about having too many great choices.  Saturday ended with some drinks and wonderful conversation.  Great night overall.
Sunday was just as good as Saturday.  Some grocery shopping and we tried out the new burger joint in town,  Smash Burger.  It was good.  The place is kind of like a chic designer greasy spoon.  All the flavors of a mom and pop burger joint with nu-wave fashion.  The place was packed and for good reason, the food was good.  I got their 1/2 lb. Mushroom Swiss with garlic sautéed mushrooms, Swiss cheese and mayo on an egg bun.  The patty was larger than the bun and cooked perfectly.  The egg bun was a nice touch it had great flavor, flakiness and just the right amount of chewiness almost like a soft warm croissant.  The Smash Fries are definitely something to mention, just plain 'ol fries tossed with rosemary, olive oil and garlic, but done so well.  Those fries are for sure a winner, hard to stop eating.  Over all I liked Smash Burger but I don't think my arteries could take even a weekly dose of the "Glam Greasy Spoon".  Give it a try, you won't be disappointed.
http://sushiyausa.com/
http://www.smashburger.com/

Sunday, August 22, 2010

Kalamazoo Farmers Market
















On Saturday my family and I went to the Kalamazoo Farmers Market.  If you live in Kalamazoo and haven't made your way over to our farmers market I strongly suggest that you do.  It is located at 1200 Bank Street over by Upjohn park.  I have been going to this farmers market for the last couple years and it gets bigger and better every year.  You can get a variety of farm fresh fruits and veggies that are a must buy for your produce drawer.  I like to buy from a couple different vendors but when it comes to bell peppers, carrots, lettuce and celery I like to shop the Visser Farms booth. Across from Visser Farms huge and very busy booth is a little booth with one kindly gentleman who I am not sure if he is from a farm or not but he has the most delicious cantaloupe I have ever tasted.  Remember, when it comes to cantaloupe do not judge a book by it's cover if it is ugly it probably taste great.  To pick a good one you want to smell the "vine hole" as I like to call it, that's the end that the vine was connected to the melon.  The stronger it smells like a melon the riper it is. 
You can also get fresh baked Amish bread and sweets.  There are booths selling crafts, flowers, spices, soaps, granola, and even meats.  Papa's Italian Sausage has been setting up a cart selling the best hot Italian sausage in town for years.  Seriously, if you follow any advice I ever give, Papa's Italian sausage off of Kings highway is a must eat destination!!! I have had most of the items on their menu and everything is great! 
The Kalamazoo Farmers Market has grown so large the people are setting up booths along the side walk and in the parking lot including a BBQ guy who does smoked BBQ ribs, chicken and even turkey.  
If you get a chance on a Tuesday, Thursday or Saturday make a trip to the Kalamazoo Farmers Market and invest in farm fresh and local goods you won't be disappointed! 











Saturday, August 21, 2010

Home Cooking

I was going to blog about the Kalamazoo Farmers Market tonight, but after finally perfected my spaghetti sauce I feel compelled to share it with everyone!  I've made marinara sauce from scratch plenty of times tweaking things here and there and now have a winning combination.   I used all fresh ingredients that I picked up at the farmers market.  It is a spicy arrabbiata sauce I think the key to the whole thing is fresh herbs and spices.  This dish is really full of flavor every bite puts a smile on your face!
Arrabbiata Clifford
4lbs Roma tomatoes (halved)
1 c green pepper (chopped)
1 c red pepper (chopped)
1 c sweet yellow onion (chopped)
2 c mini Bella mushrooms (rough chopped)
1-2 lbs hot Italian sausage                                        
1 c extra virgin olive oil                                                        
2 tbs minced garlic                                                                        
2 tbs fresh basil (minced)                                                              
2 tbs fresh oregano (minced)                                      
1 tbs kosher sea salt                                                      
1 tbs cracked black pepper                                          
1 tsp re pepper flack
2 tbs balsamic vinegar
4 tbs white wine
2 tsp white sugar
2 c water
12 oz tomato paste
4 tbs butter
Spice bag:
1 tsp rosemary
2-3 bay leaves
1/2 tsp thyme
Sausage: I like to boil mine to retain the flavor and heat. Boil till cooked through then cut up and put in sauce.
Cooking: Preheat oven to 400oF
Cut tomatoes in half longways, drizzle with half he olive oil, spread half of the minced garlic sprinkle with half of the oregano and basil bake for 35 min.  Press through a sieve in to stock pot and discard skins and seeds.
While tomatoes are cooking sauté peppers, onions and mushrooms in butter till peppers are soft and onions are translucent.  dump all veggies in to stock pot add wine, vinegar, water, all remaining spices, spice bag, tomato paste cook 1.5 - 2 hours on low heat.
Poor over pasta I prefer an al dente spaghetti noodle.

I really hope you enjoy this I worked really hard on it.

Friday, August 20, 2010

Street Food

I am a huge fan of street vendor food.  Being from the east coast where a street vendor of sorts exist on every street corner and in the middle of every intersection (yes I am exaggerating) I will always have a soft spot for a good food cart.  I was pleased to find that Kalamazoo has a couple carts, I work during the day so I had no idea.
The first of two stands was Dads Dogs who are located in the court yard beside the Radisson Hotel right at the mouth of the Kalamazoo Mall.  DD's is serving up Koegel's hot dogs, Italian sausage, Chicago dogs and chili dogs using as much local produce and ingredients as possible.  I'm a sucker for a good Chicago dog so I gave DD's a try.  It was a grilled Koegel's on a steamed poppy seed bun with all the correct toppings, the relish is awesome made locally farm fresh, hydroponic tomatoes very juicy and flavorful.  Over all best Chicago dog in town.  Too bad they are only open for lunch.
The second vendor is Mangia Mangia/ Bogie's who also only serving for lunch.  MM/B's is doing all kinds of grilled meats for the lunch crowed Italian sausage, Hebrew National hot dogs, burgers, BBQ chicken and veggie burgers.  I have had their hot dogs before you can never go wrong with a Hebrew National juicy, great flavor and a good snap.  MM/B's is also serving up delicious home made chips almost like a kettle cooked chip, desserts like cookies and brownies and fresh squeezed lemonade.  MM/B's is not a food cart but just because you don't have wheels on your grill doesn't mean you don't make good street food.
However I would have to give my vote for better street food to Dads Dogs for sure.  DD's is pushing out great flavor's and keeping it simple and traditional which is MM/B's down fall.  MM/B's is great but to much going on for a side walk affair if I wanted to read a menu I would go to a sit down restaurant.

Thursday, August 19, 2010

Erbelli's


My wife and I decided to order in tonight.  Didn't really want to go out and for once I was to lazy to cook.  We ordered Erbelli's.  We have had Erbelli's countless times before their pizza is great (for gourmet pizza that is but pizza is a conversation for another day), but tonight I wanted to try something I haven't tried from them before.  I ordered an Italian-Style Meatball Sub I love meatball subs so I have high standards.  Erbelli's slices there meatballs which it was the first time I have ever seen this so I'm not sure if it should be called a "meatball" sub.  The Italian portion of the sandwiches name did not disappoint Erbelli's has a wonderful marinara sauce and used a generous amount mozzarella top the whole thing off with some chewy Italian bread and the sub even with it's slices of "meatballs" was quite good.  The "meatballs" tasted great I expected the slices to be dry but they were not at all.  The pizza sauce had a wonderful oregano flavor with a hint of black pepper and plenty of garlic.  Over all good sub.
My wife ordered The "All Mine" Wrap with the spicy Q-It Up chicken.  I only had a taste of the chicken which was nice with a smokey flavor and a low back heat maybe to smoky though.  Jessie, my wife said it was good but the chicken was to smokey for the wrap.  I have to agree the chicken was really smokey the smoke flavor hung around on my pallet for awhile.  Jessie said she would order the wrap again but with the crispy chicken instead.
Overall I will always be a fan of Erbelli's they have good pizza, wonderful pasta, awesome  artichoke dip, their wings are amazing and they deliver beer plus their affordable prices makes the place an absolute winner!

Wednesday, August 18, 2010

Central City Tap House

The first restaurant I would like to talk about is the Central City Tap House.  The Tap house is a new restaurant which is located in the Epic Bistro and owned by the Millennium Group.  The menu is great, the atmosphere is very nice, beer and wine list is awesome and the service was great.
I haven't had a lot of their food menu yet I say yet because I will be going back.  I started with deviled eggs only because I have never been to a restaurant with deviled eggs on the menu.  They were traditional deviled eggs very creamy with delicious bacon cut lardon style on top one of the best deviled eggs ever.  I ordered the Saga Bleu Burger which was fantastic!  The burger patty is a four meat mix of short rib, brisket, tri tip and sirloin ordered medium rare, it was cooked perfect,  topped with double cream bleu brie served on a brioche bun it comes with all the toppings  but I ate it with out so I could get the full flavor of the meat and bleu brie.  Absolutely incredible burger! The salt and pepper kettle cooked chips served on the side was actually a good idea for a side.  
A friend of mine ordered the Hawaiian Pulled BBQ Pork Sandwich I have to say it left a little to be desired on the BBQ side of things but the pork was cooked beautifully this sandwich has a lot of potential.
My wife ordered the Caesar Salad with lemon-garlic shrimp it was...... ok, the shrimp was great but salad needed more substance.
Over all I really enjoyed the place and I really want to try the Tap House Mac&Cheese, so I will be back but only around pay days.  My bill was $96.00 including tip!  http://www.millenniumrestaurants.com/epicbistro.php?ID=69

#1

This is my first blog ever so it might take me a couple to get the full swing of things.
So, Kalamazoo is pretty small for a city I would guess about 80,000 people.  However for a smaller city we sure do have a good assortment of dinning experiences.  I love food and have had the pleasure of dinning all over the world thanks to the military.  I have also dinned at a good portion of the restaurants in Kalamazoo.
I hope this blog will help people on what ever food journey they might be on.  Please feel free to offer suggestions on any places or dishes I should try.