So I should have known that when I started to type this and it just saved Barcello as I hit "enter" instead of an apostrophe that it was an omen of what was to come.
So I went to Barcello's on Christmas Eve with my dad. Figured I should eat lunch before trying to cook a feast and eating it while I was in the process. Dad's dish took forever, but meatloaf was on the menu so I could wait.
In the past, they've had the most incredible meatloaf. Tender, not dense, and filled with a little bit of everything - like what ever is on hand from other daily specials. Chunks of mushrooms, different kinds of peppers, chourico, & bacon could often be seen throughout the narrow, but tall pieces of meatloaf, sliced thick and swimming peacefully in a garlicy (you can see the chunks of garlic floating) and thin (though wonderful) gravy.
This time the meatloaf was very dense, as if it was packed tightly into a pan to cook, and probably contained a bit too much breading for this foodie. There wasn't a speck of other food chunks to be found in the meatloaf. It looked as though this loaf was short and very wide, and the slices were significantly thinner than what I remember. (The weight of the portions could still be the same.) The gravy, however, was a thick, salty gravy that sat too long under the heat lamps and had formed a skin.
Now please keep in mind that I LOVE gravy. I don't mind if regular gravy is a little thick - especially if it's been poured over something and reheated and the gravy on the corner of the piece of meat or the edge of the potatoes gets a little thicker and forms a skin... that's almost the best part! But this was not the garlicy thin gravy I had come to love.
So this trip to Barcello's was a bit of a let-down, but maybe they'll go back to their awesome old fashioned meatloaf recipe.
Thursday, December 20, 2007
Wednesday, December 19, 2007
A taste of RI
So there's this little hidden restaurant called Mike's Kitchen hiding in a VFW post in Cranston, RI. This is where I just had a "Holiday Luncheon" with my co-workers.
First of all - if you don't know it's there, it just looks like a VFW hall with lots of people there. There are no signs to let you know you've found Mike's Kitchen. Being a Wednesday at noon, I wasn't expecting to see a line of people from the hostess stand all the way back to the door when I walked in, but that's exactly what I found. Luckily we had reserved a table and were able to bypass the line and waiting.
A few things to note: This is a cash only restaurant. The bar is run by the VFW and the kitchen run by (I guess) Mike. So you pay the bar waitress for your drinks and your food waitress for the food. (Similar to the Liberal Club in Fall River, MA) Being a VFW, they reserve time to use the hall AS a VFW Club and are only open select hours.
As a heads up - I am a sucker for the specials board. If anything ever catches my eye on a specials board, I am 99% likely to order that over ANYTHING else on the regular menu. (I'll have to post something on Barcello's in Tiverton, RI whose meatloaf special is out of this world).
So there are a decent number of tables, but at least three large parties with tables squished together took up most of the moderately small dining room. There was all kinds of wonderful food on the menu from veal to chicken to seafood dishes, and I think the most expensive item I saw was the Seafood Diablo at 16.99 (due to the high price of lobster at this time of year, no doubt!). The specials included roasted peppers with goat cheese and roasted pork with rice, but I didn't get much farther down the menu once I saw the roasted pork.
They came out with some sliced bread (super crusty outside, wonderfully soft & fluffy inside) with your choice of butter or margarine and pitchers of water on the table. Others at the table ordered Mike's Chicken (not on the menu, but available, a side of Polenta, the roasted peppers and goat cheese, chicken francaise, the swordfish, an eggplant and wild mushroom pasta, chicken parmesan, broiled pork chops, salmon, and some dish with two stuffed shrimp and some stuffed sole, I think. Everything looked wonderful and I don't think anyone left hungry. (Be warned - with a party of 13, they ran out of room in the broiler and the two chicken francaise dishes came out about 10 minutes after all the other food.)
Overall, the pork was very well seasoned and well cooked but I think I would have been happier to swap out the rice for the polenta I read so many reviews about.
I would probably go back, given the opportunity, and I would like to try the Calamari and the polenta, but that leaves me vegetable-less unless you count the tomato sauce that comes covering the polenta. I'd have to go with someone (or a few people) and share a few plates of food between/among us. While we're at it, we should also order either chicken or veal parmesan!
First of all - if you don't know it's there, it just looks like a VFW hall with lots of people there. There are no signs to let you know you've found Mike's Kitchen. Being a Wednesday at noon, I wasn't expecting to see a line of people from the hostess stand all the way back to the door when I walked in, but that's exactly what I found. Luckily we had reserved a table and were able to bypass the line and waiting.
A few things to note: This is a cash only restaurant. The bar is run by the VFW and the kitchen run by (I guess) Mike. So you pay the bar waitress for your drinks and your food waitress for the food. (Similar to the Liberal Club in Fall River, MA) Being a VFW, they reserve time to use the hall AS a VFW Club and are only open select hours.
As a heads up - I am a sucker for the specials board. If anything ever catches my eye on a specials board, I am 99% likely to order that over ANYTHING else on the regular menu. (I'll have to post something on Barcello's in Tiverton, RI whose meatloaf special is out of this world).
So there are a decent number of tables, but at least three large parties with tables squished together took up most of the moderately small dining room. There was all kinds of wonderful food on the menu from veal to chicken to seafood dishes, and I think the most expensive item I saw was the Seafood Diablo at 16.99 (due to the high price of lobster at this time of year, no doubt!). The specials included roasted peppers with goat cheese and roasted pork with rice, but I didn't get much farther down the menu once I saw the roasted pork.
They came out with some sliced bread (super crusty outside, wonderfully soft & fluffy inside) with your choice of butter or margarine and pitchers of water on the table. Others at the table ordered Mike's Chicken (not on the menu, but available, a side of Polenta, the roasted peppers and goat cheese, chicken francaise, the swordfish, an eggplant and wild mushroom pasta, chicken parmesan, broiled pork chops, salmon, and some dish with two stuffed shrimp and some stuffed sole, I think. Everything looked wonderful and I don't think anyone left hungry. (Be warned - with a party of 13, they ran out of room in the broiler and the two chicken francaise dishes came out about 10 minutes after all the other food.)
Overall, the pork was very well seasoned and well cooked but I think I would have been happier to swap out the rice for the polenta I read so many reviews about.
I would probably go back, given the opportunity, and I would like to try the Calamari and the polenta, but that leaves me vegetable-less unless you count the tomato sauce that comes covering the polenta. I'd have to go with someone (or a few people) and share a few plates of food between/among us. While we're at it, we should also order either chicken or veal parmesan!
Monday, December 17, 2007
Christmas Baking
So I started my Christmas baking this weekend - much to my cooking joy! I made both cherry and lime flavored marshmallows - I had the proceedure down-pat when it came to the lime so I think they came out lighter & fluffier, but the cherry ones are pretty darn tasty as well!
I also made some mocha-hazelnut macaroons, biscotti, and tree-shaped spritz cookies. I am now sort of on a mission to make something egg-free besides the marshmallows for my sister's godson who can't have eggs. I already accomplished the gluten free and almond free for co-workers. :)
Tonight for dinner might need to be creative. I either have some leftover chicken to work with or ground turkey. I'll have to think about it for a little longer, but I'm thinking either stuffed peppers, turkey meatloaf, or turkey shepherds pie. OR TURKEY TACOS!!! I think that's what I want. Turkey taco dip for supper. Haven't made it in a while - maybe make them with a chipotle taco sauce. Oh - I'm getting hungry thinking about it! And some baked tortilla chips to dip :)
Okay - before I start eating my desk, I should go. :) Happy eating!
I also made some mocha-hazelnut macaroons, biscotti, and tree-shaped spritz cookies. I am now sort of on a mission to make something egg-free besides the marshmallows for my sister's godson who can't have eggs. I already accomplished the gluten free and almond free for co-workers. :)
Tonight for dinner might need to be creative. I either have some leftover chicken to work with or ground turkey. I'll have to think about it for a little longer, but I'm thinking either stuffed peppers, turkey meatloaf, or turkey shepherds pie. OR TURKEY TACOS!!! I think that's what I want. Turkey taco dip for supper. Haven't made it in a while - maybe make them with a chipotle taco sauce. Oh - I'm getting hungry thinking about it! And some baked tortilla chips to dip :)
Okay - before I start eating my desk, I should go. :) Happy eating!
Friday, December 7, 2007
my "foodie" blog
I'm thinking I should have started this sooner, but sometimes it takes a while for the light to come on.
The best food I've had at a restaurant has to be the food at Wolfgang Puck's restaurants in the Downtown Disney area in Orlando, FL. The first time was probably in 2002 when we stopped in the Downtown Disney area to replace a broken Mickey-head ornament, ºoº, and we ate lunch on the first floor of the restaurant - not at the Express area. I had a WONDERFUL pasta dish, my mom had one of the best hamburgers she's ever had, my sister had a fettuccine & chicken alfredo dish and my dad, I think, had another pasta dish. CORRECTION - Mom had a sausage and veal with ziti dish... and maybe there was a third meat in there.
Our vacation continued with a cruise on a Royal Caribbean ship, and I will admit - the food there was NOT all it was cracked up to be. I found myself thinking "I make this better" at many meals, and with many of the pastries I snacked on along the way.
The meal at Wolfgang Puck's restaurant was far and away the best meal of the entire trip.
The second time I ate at Wolfgang Puck's was this summer - 2007. My husband and I flew down to Florida and met my family down there for 5 days - 5 CRAZY days. We did Disney and Universal Studios in that time! So - where shouldn't you eat? Anywhere IN the Universal theme parks should be avoided. If you're at Universal Studios, FL - go to Margaritaville. We both ordered a cheeseburger in paradise - but with a turkey burger patty rather than beef - and ADD MUSHROOMS! It was the best burger I've ever had!
But in the Disney themeparks, food is edible & quite tasty. Even the fast counter-service or cafeteria style food was decent. But the best places - Tony's Town Square Restaurant in Magic Kingdom, Wolfgang Puck Express - Downtown Disney's West Side, the Earl of Sandwich in the Downtown Disney shopping area, and Rainforest Cafe (we ate at the one in Animal Kingdom, but there's also one in Downtown Disney's shopping area).
Tony's Town Square Restaurant was the only restaurant to do something special for our anniversary. (We got complimentary buttons at the guest relations window our first day in the parks). We tried making priority seating arrangements, but with no luck as our fast-paced vacation had our plans ever-changing as to what park we would be in for any given meal. We walked up to Tony's as our hunger was starting to get the best of us. But the wait for a table for two was about 5-10 minutes and we could sit inside and watch Lady & the Tramp (were you expecting something else at Tony's???). When we were shown to our table, it was decorated in Mickey-head shaped confetti ºoº and little curled paper streamers. We both ordered the special of the night, which was Chicken Parmesan, and being so full after the meal, we weren't planning on dessert, but they brought out a complimentary *and HUGE* sundae for us and announced to the entire restaurant that we were celebrating our 1-year anniversary.
Wolfgang Puck Express - we were running EVERYWHERE that night to try to fit everything in. I think we started the day off in Epcot - but only because that's where my parents were going. We jumped right on the Monorail to the Ticket and Transportation Center (TTC) and grabbed the bus to MGM. Ran all over MGM all day, answering trivia, hunting down Darth Vader and a Storm Trooper for pictures, waiting to see Remy and Emile, the Incredibles and Sully & Mike from Monsters, Inc. Then after a full day in MGM, we went back to EPCOT, picked up some pictures, then we went to the TTC to find out that you can't get a bus from there to Downtown Disney anymore - you have to walk to the Polynesian and catch a bus from there. So we hike. We get to the Polynesian, and we get to Downtown Disney.... and try to figure out what we NEED to shop for, and where to eat before we meet my parents coming out from Cirque du Soleil. We shop a bit and end up with not enough time for a sit-down, but I'm STARVING. We go into the Wolfgang Puck Express, order one meatloaf dinner and the MACADAMIA CRUSTED CHICKEN BREAST dinner. The meatloaf was good (and I love a good meatloaf) but my husband's Macadamia Crusted Chicken Breast was OUT OF THIS WORLD!!
Earl of Sandwich - again, located in Downtown Disney, we ate here one night after spending the day in Universal Studios with no desire to eat anywhere near that place. With my best friend living in Sandwich, MA, I had to try this Earl of Sandwich... plus I think I read some decent reviews of the place in doing my Disney research. To say that we ordered sandwiches and I grabbed a fruit cup for 'dessert', the food was wonderful! From the breads to the freshness of the veggies to the way they matched condiments to the contents of the sandwich, it was great! I definitely recommend this place for some quick food that is healthy, delicious and inexpensive. Not to mention that it would be very easy to grab a sandwich and chow down while you explore the area during day-light hours.
Rainforest Cafe... I can only speak to the wonderful-ness of one dish - the Pastalaya. Our first trip to Disney after Animal Kingdom and Rainforest Cafe opened, we ate here and I ordered the Pastalaya. We found there was one in the Burlington Mall (MA) and ate there several times, and then again in subsequent trips to FL. And I always order the Pastalaya. So this time I ask the waiter what he recommends (because they know what sells, what seems to be a hit, what seems to be a miss, and generally have a meal there for each shift they work). I also explained that I always order the same thing EVERY time & he asks what it is. So I told him the Pastalaya & he couldn't recommend anything better than that - it's one of his favorites too. And it was just as good as I remembered it. I think I tried a nibble of my husband's coconut shrimp which was tasty... AND surprising that he ordered a dish that included shrimp - and HE LIKED THE SHRIMP! Then for dessert we all shared this HUGE brownie and ice cream dessert thing... wow.
So that's my Wolfgang Puck and Disney food post... Who knows what I'll write about next time, but it will be tasty!
The best food I've had at a restaurant has to be the food at Wolfgang Puck's restaurants in the Downtown Disney area in Orlando, FL. The first time was probably in 2002 when we stopped in the Downtown Disney area to replace a broken Mickey-head ornament, ºoº, and we ate lunch on the first floor of the restaurant - not at the Express area. I had a WONDERFUL pasta dish, my mom had one of the best hamburgers she's ever had, my sister had a fettuccine & chicken alfredo dish and my dad, I think, had another pasta dish. CORRECTION - Mom had a sausage and veal with ziti dish... and maybe there was a third meat in there.
Our vacation continued with a cruise on a Royal Caribbean ship, and I will admit - the food there was NOT all it was cracked up to be. I found myself thinking "I make this better" at many meals, and with many of the pastries I snacked on along the way.
The meal at Wolfgang Puck's restaurant was far and away the best meal of the entire trip.
The second time I ate at Wolfgang Puck's was this summer - 2007. My husband and I flew down to Florida and met my family down there for 5 days - 5 CRAZY days. We did Disney and Universal Studios in that time! So - where shouldn't you eat? Anywhere IN the Universal theme parks should be avoided. If you're at Universal Studios, FL - go to Margaritaville. We both ordered a cheeseburger in paradise - but with a turkey burger patty rather than beef - and ADD MUSHROOMS! It was the best burger I've ever had!
But in the Disney themeparks, food is edible & quite tasty. Even the fast counter-service or cafeteria style food was decent. But the best places - Tony's Town Square Restaurant in Magic Kingdom, Wolfgang Puck Express - Downtown Disney's West Side, the Earl of Sandwich in the Downtown Disney shopping area, and Rainforest Cafe (we ate at the one in Animal Kingdom, but there's also one in Downtown Disney's shopping area).
Tony's Town Square Restaurant was the only restaurant to do something special for our anniversary. (We got complimentary buttons at the guest relations window our first day in the parks). We tried making priority seating arrangements, but with no luck as our fast-paced vacation had our plans ever-changing as to what park we would be in for any given meal. We walked up to Tony's as our hunger was starting to get the best of us. But the wait for a table for two was about 5-10 minutes and we could sit inside and watch Lady & the Tramp (were you expecting something else at Tony's???). When we were shown to our table, it was decorated in Mickey-head shaped confetti ºoº and little curled paper streamers. We both ordered the special of the night, which was Chicken Parmesan, and being so full after the meal, we weren't planning on dessert, but they brought out a complimentary *and HUGE* sundae for us and announced to the entire restaurant that we were celebrating our 1-year anniversary.
Wolfgang Puck Express - we were running EVERYWHERE that night to try to fit everything in. I think we started the day off in Epcot - but only because that's where my parents were going. We jumped right on the Monorail to the Ticket and Transportation Center (TTC) and grabbed the bus to MGM. Ran all over MGM all day, answering trivia, hunting down Darth Vader and a Storm Trooper for pictures, waiting to see Remy and Emile, the Incredibles and Sully & Mike from Monsters, Inc. Then after a full day in MGM, we went back to EPCOT, picked up some pictures, then we went to the TTC to find out that you can't get a bus from there to Downtown Disney anymore - you have to walk to the Polynesian and catch a bus from there. So we hike. We get to the Polynesian, and we get to Downtown Disney.... and try to figure out what we NEED to shop for, and where to eat before we meet my parents coming out from Cirque du Soleil. We shop a bit and end up with not enough time for a sit-down, but I'm STARVING. We go into the Wolfgang Puck Express, order one meatloaf dinner and the MACADAMIA CRUSTED CHICKEN BREAST dinner. The meatloaf was good (and I love a good meatloaf) but my husband's Macadamia Crusted Chicken Breast was OUT OF THIS WORLD!!
Earl of Sandwich - again, located in Downtown Disney, we ate here one night after spending the day in Universal Studios with no desire to eat anywhere near that place. With my best friend living in Sandwich, MA, I had to try this Earl of Sandwich... plus I think I read some decent reviews of the place in doing my Disney research. To say that we ordered sandwiches and I grabbed a fruit cup for 'dessert', the food was wonderful! From the breads to the freshness of the veggies to the way they matched condiments to the contents of the sandwich, it was great! I definitely recommend this place for some quick food that is healthy, delicious and inexpensive. Not to mention that it would be very easy to grab a sandwich and chow down while you explore the area during day-light hours.
Rainforest Cafe... I can only speak to the wonderful-ness of one dish - the Pastalaya. Our first trip to Disney after Animal Kingdom and Rainforest Cafe opened, we ate here and I ordered the Pastalaya. We found there was one in the Burlington Mall (MA) and ate there several times, and then again in subsequent trips to FL. And I always order the Pastalaya. So this time I ask the waiter what he recommends (because they know what sells, what seems to be a hit, what seems to be a miss, and generally have a meal there for each shift they work). I also explained that I always order the same thing EVERY time & he asks what it is. So I told him the Pastalaya & he couldn't recommend anything better than that - it's one of his favorites too. And it was just as good as I remembered it. I think I tried a nibble of my husband's coconut shrimp which was tasty... AND surprising that he ordered a dish that included shrimp - and HE LIKED THE SHRIMP! Then for dessert we all shared this HUGE brownie and ice cream dessert thing... wow.
So that's my Wolfgang Puck and Disney food post... Who knows what I'll write about next time, but it will be tasty!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)