Miss Lily's

Seven years ago today, we were off on a WorldEats exploration at Jamaican restaurant Miss Lily's. At the time, we were trying to visit places one country at a time, and this was our last planned stop for Jamaica. We were excited to try some things on the Miss Lily's menu that we hadn't found anywhere else we'd gone that summer, most notably ackee.

It was a gorgeous summer evening on West Houston Street seven years ago, when you could gather on the street or inside a dining room without thinking about social distancing...

We decided to order three appetizers and one entree to split. (Remember, when reading this, that we went seven years ago. The menu is almost entirely different now. Also, if the description of the first dish sounds much more detailed than the rest, that's because we wrote that part in 2013 and everything else is relying on our fading memories and the notes we took at the time which consisted of one line per dish.)

One of the appetizers we had picked out in advance was the jaquitos (Jamaican-style mini tacos), because the fillings listed on the online menu included the national dish of Jamaica - ackee and saltfish - which we really wanted to try. Unfortunately when we got there, the menu didn't match the online menu and there was no ackee and saltfish anywhere on the menu. Since this was supposed to be our last Jamaican spot for WorldEats and we were planning to move on to Haiti after our visit to Miss Lily's, we were sad that we would be concluding our Jamaican exploration without trying their special national dish. But since we've revamped how we approach WorldEats to any time, any place, with no order, we can still try to get ackee and saltfish sometime!

The menu had three types of jaquitos listed - spicy beef, jerk chicken and avocado, and the one we ended up getting, the callaloo and plantain jaquitos, which came with a very hot pepper relish on the side. Eating it in the tacos was fine, but on its own, it really packed a punch. The tacos were fine, although probably the least exciting of the three appetizers. If you're not familiar with callaloo, it's a green leafy vegetable, somewhat similar to spinach, so it made sense that the filling tasted like creamed spinach once the tender callaloo greens mixed with the soft plantains. The biggest issue was that the tacos were super tiny, only one or two bites each.

We also got the fish tacos, which were escovitch fish over jicama with a watercress salad. Unfortunately, seven years down the line, our memory of this dish has evaporated, and the only notes we have say that the fish was served on sturdy pieces of jicama with a salad of arugula and peppers. (But the menu says watercress, so perhaps we just misidentified it in the dark.) Looking at it now, the pieces of jicama don't look big enough to hold an entire piece of fish with salad to be eaten as a taco, but it sounds like we liked the flavoring of the dish since we thought it was better than the jaquitos. To add some sort of value to this paragraph, if you're unfamiliar with escovitch fish, it's a Jamaican-style fried fish with spicy sauce and pickled vegetables, packed with lots of different flavors and so tasty.

The last appetizer we got, kind of hidden by this massive pile of plantain chips, was ackee dip. If we couldn't order ackee and saltfish, at least we could try ackee! Ackee is one of those things that you sometimes find on "world's most dangerous foods" lists, because if you eat it unripe, it can be poisonous and even fatal. Raw ackee is banned from being imported into the US, so you can only get it canned or frozen, which should be safer and more regulated (one would hope). We had never had ackee before, and all we knew about it was that it was a fruit and that you shouldn't eat it unripe, so we were really interested in this dip.

The dip, in addition to ackee, seemed to have scallions and tomatoes, and texturally, it was really creamy, a perfect pairing for the crispy, crunchy plantain chips. It was our favorite appetizer of the three. As for the ackee itself, we couldn't place the flavor, but it was so familiar. We were pretty sure we had never had ackee before, but it tasted like something we had. The familiar taste notes were so hard to describe though, that we could never figure it out by searching. Guess we'll just have to try ackee again sometime!

The entree we shared was the jerk chicken, slow-cooked and grilled, which came with a marinated cucumber salad and rice and peas. (This is the only thing from our entire meal that is on their current menu.) The chicken was delicious, perfectly grilled and incredibly juicy, even the white meat. The sauce tasted similar to the jerk BBQ sauce that was in bottles on the tables, sweet and smoky with a little peppery zing in the aftertaste. It wasn't as spicy or stewed as the one we got from Freda's (which, by the way, we still haven't written about, even after a return visit so that we could write about it when "fresher"), but it was still delicious. 

The cucumber salad was two big pieces of pickled cucumbers with some other pickled relish, and the other side was the rice and peas. Both were tasty, but the star of the entree was definitely the chicken itself. Overall, we had a great meal at Miss Lily's to "end" our Jamaican WorldEats exploration, and now that we've expanded our journey, we would definitely return to try some more, including ackee and saltfish if it stays on the menu this time!

M's Favorite Food Memories of 2017

Somehow it's already May, and we still haven't posted our favorite food memories from last year. We originally planned to do it by Chinese New Year, and then wanted to finish them before we moved, but things got so busy and so hectic (multiple all-nighters level of busy), much more than we anticipated despite knowing we had 12 years of stuff to move, and we never got to it. A lot of our stuff is still in boxes, and we still don't have a complete living room, but we don't want to neglect this blog forever. So this post is long overdue, but before summer officially kicks off, here are my favorite food memories from 2017. We ate a lot of good food in 2017, both at home in NYC and on our trips to LA, Seattle, and Vancouver. In (sort of) alphabetical order, here are my 10 favorite food memories of 2017.

1. Eatsa (NYC)

I went to Eatsa for the first time early in 2017 (we posted about it) and returned several more times over the course of the year. (It probably would have been many more if I had still worked in a Midtown office.) Eatsa revolutionized the eating scene in two different ways: the ordering process (automat-style from a kiosk/phone app without any human interaction) and making healthy quinoa bowls affordable (pretty much everything was under $10). In the end, the price may be part of what did them in, since quinoa isn't cheap, and they closed all their non-SF stores in October. (The cynical part of me still wonders if all the stores were just a test run for their tech.) I'll always be sad that I can never have another no worry curry (what ended up being my favorite) bowl again, with its tasty quinoa, spaghetti squash, apple-cabbage slaw, pickled onions, red Thai curry sauce, and more, but all the tasty bowls are a happy memory of 2017.

2. Bollo de pescado from Ecuadorian Delights at the Queens International Night Market (NYC)

I love going to the Queens International Night Market (which has already started up for 2018 before I finished this post). In 2017, we made two visits and sampled Burmese, Guyanese, Antiguan, Salvadoran, Ecuadorian, Guatemalan, Persian, Nigerian, and Filipino cuisine. There really isn't anywhere else in the city where you can do all that in a short period of time and at affordable prices. My favorite thing at the night market last year was the bollo de pescado from Ecuadorian Delights, a green plantain tamale with tuna and peanut sauce wrapped up in banana leaves and topped with pickled onions. It was so delicious, and tasted like something that was just made in someone's home kitchen. We got it on both visits because we liked it so much, meaning we were too full to try their hallaca or corviche, and now I have no idea where to go to get any of those.

3. Corn ice cream taco from Empellon (NYC)

We went to the Midtown Empellon to celebrate my birthday, and one of the desserts that we heard a lot about before our visit was the corn ice cream taco. I figured it would be good, but I wasn't prepared for the explosion of corn flavor in every bite. Corn and ice cream are a great combination, one of my favorites, with some sweetness, saltiness, and savory flavor all in one bite. It wasn't a big dessert, so we were also able to get the avocado dessert and a seasonal apple dessert sampler, but it was probably my favorite dessert of the year.

4. Acai and pitaya bowls from Fruit Wonders (Palm Springs, CA)

Our big trip last year was to California, and we spent a few relaxing days in Palm Springs. It was really hot during the day, and the perfect way to cool down was a visit to Fruit Wonders. We got an açaí bowl the first time and a pitaya bowl the second, and both were really good. Sweet smoothies with granola, hemp seeds, oatmeal, blueberries, bananas, strawberries, kiwi, coconut, and agave. We'd been wanting to try açaí bowls for a while, but this was our first time, and we were hooked thanks to Fruit Wonders.

5. Los Tacos No. 1 (NYC)

Los Tacos No. 1 has been open in Chelsea Market for years, but they finally opened a second location, right near Times Square, last summer. Their tacos are some of the best in the city, and this new location was so much closer to us. We went there a lot since their opening, getting tacos, quesadillas, mulas, and nopal plates topped with (most commonly) pollo asado or adobada. Even with all the new spots in Hell's Kitchen/Midtown West over the past year, its arrival was the most exciting thing that happened for us. One of my few regrets before we moved was that I didn't manage to go there even more.

6. Salmon oshi sushi from Miku (Vancouver, BC)

We had a lot of things on our Vancouver to-try list for our few days there, and one of the must-dos was aburi oshi sushi, a special type of sushi that is not very common around here, pressed and flame-seared. We went to Miku, an expensive restaurant on the downtown waterfront, and sat at the bar for a light meal just so we could try the sushi. The salmon was BC wild sockeye salmon, and it was topped with jalapeño and Miku sauce. This was unlike any other sushi we'd had before. It basically melted in your mouth, and was so full of flavor. Pretty much a perfect bite of sushi, and I still dream about it.

7. The famous chicken for two from The NoMad (NYC)

We went to The Nomad for A's birthday, and we were finally able to try their famous whole-roasted chicken for two. We weren't sure if it would live up to the incredible hype, but it definitely did. They bring the chicken out to you once it's done, but then bring it to the back and plate it. You get a large piece of white meat chicken, so juicy and tender, with foie gras, black truffle, and brioche bread crumbs under the skin, on a plate with potato puree and leeks, and then you get the dark meat in a small bowl like a stew. It was amazing, and its stellar reputation is well-earned.

8. Cheddar garlic roll from Piroshky Piroshky (Seattle, WA)

I'm not big on waiting in line for food, but we waited for Piroshky Piroshky. We had tried their salmon pate piroshky years ago when a relative gave one to us to try, so we got that again along with some other stuff that looked good. While the salmon one was as good as we remembered, what we really loved was the cheddar garlic roll. Layers of perfectly chewy pastry with cheddar cheese, garlic, and scallions, it was a combination of some of my favorite things. We went back again on the day we left to get some more, because it was just that good.

9. Sisig tacos from various spots around NYC

We don't have any Filipino restaurants in our neighborhood (last year or now), so before last year, we only ended up getting Filipino food once in a (very long) while. Last summer, we got some sisig tacos at a street fair, and that ended up kicking off an unplanned summer of Filipino food exploration. We got so much Filipino food last summer, everything from halo halo to sisig bangus to chicken adobo to buko pandan, but of course, more sisig tacos all over the place. They may not be traditional Filipino cuisine, but they're fun to eat and delicious.

10. Sockeye salmon sashimi from Sushi Itoga (Vancouver, BC)

Last but certainly not least, the sockeye salmon sashimi from Sushi Itoga in Vancouver. Sushi Itoga was another one of those must-try things I put on our Vancouver list. It was a small spot where you ordered sushi at the counter, and then they brought it to your table. Even better, it was incredibly affordable. We got six rolls, a plate of sashimi, seaweed salad, and the included miso soup and tea for like US $35. Even better than the price was the quality. That sashimi was so fresh, and it was so soft that it really just melted in our mouths. (I realize I said the same thing about Miku, but it's true.) We went there on our last day in Vancouver, and we were talking about the sashimi the entire way back to Seattle on the train.

There you have it, my favorite food memories of 2017. Somehow it took over four months to put it into words, but it's finally done!

Eel Burgers

When news broke earlier this month that Shake Shack would be collaborating with Chef Fergus Henderson of St. John in London on a special limited edition burger, we were really excited. We love chef collaborations, and the description of the eel burger they had planned sounded interesting. While we were really looking forward to it, I did have a couple of lingering doubts in the back of my mind. First, my experience with eels on our trip to London wasn't the greatest. Although this sounded completely different, those jellied eels are still one of my food nightmares. Second, we hadn't lined up for a chef collaboration or special limited edition item at this Shake Shack for a while, not since the epic 3.5-hour wait for the shrimp stack back in 2014. While I was prepared to wait on line for this event, I wasn't willing to go through a repeat of that stressful time.

My plan on Friday morning was simple. While I was getting ready to head down to Madison Square Park (the only Shake Shack with the eel burger), both A and I would keep an eye on the Shack cam. If the line circled all the way around the park to the point where the end was out of camera range, I would seriously reconsider going. Not just because the wait would be long, but because we had no idea if we'd get a special burger at that point. There was a real lack of detail in the announcements about the event. What time exactly would they start selling eel burgers? How many were going to be available on each day? How many were we allowed to get? (My main worry there was whether any office interns would buy out the entire supply.) We figured that if we watched the line get to a third or half of where it was on shrimp stack day before lunch even started, it probably wasn't worth taking a chance and ending up with no burger and lots of frustration. Lucky for us, some combination of it not being summer, it being a two-day promotion, it not being Momofuku, and maybe some people being grossed out by eels or not liking the flavor of eel led to a much more reasonable, I'd even say short, line.

Although our main focus was on the eel burger, they were also selling St. John vanilla custard doughnuts that they were calling "pillows of joy," so we had figured that even if they ran out of burgers by the time I hit the registers, there would at least be doughnuts left to buy. (There was wine too, but we didn't really look into that.) By the time I got to order, it was around 11:25, but they still had everything. I ordered two eel burgers and a doughnut for us to share. Success!

First up, the doughnut, mostly because we took one bite of the eel burger and then decided we should eat the entire doughnut first, so that the eel burger would be the last thing we tasted. (There were also fries which we snacked on in the beginning and then as a palate cleanser between the doughnut and burger.) The doughnut had "sourdough notes and lemon zest, filled with creamy custard filling." I'm not a fan of custard doughnuts in general -- they're more A's thing -- but I appreciated being able to see flecks of vanilla bean in the custard. I ate a little of the custard and thought it was nice, but concentrated more on the sugary, chewy exterior of the doughnut, which was pretty great. I'd love to eat a doughnut like that without any filling. A, on the other hand, thought that overall it was a good doughnut, but that the custard tasted better than the doughnut part.

After we finished off the doughnut, we moved back to the eel burger, savoring every single bite and remarking over and over again about how good it was. Piled on a soft bun was the smoked eel burger, along with smoked Niman Ranch bacon, pickled red onion, creme fraiche, fresh horseradish, and watercress. The eel burger was kind of like a fish cake patty, and the smoked flavoring was amazing. (Then again, we are fans of smoked fish in general, like the year that two dishes with smoked fish ended up on my favorites list.) All the other ingredients complemented the eel patty well. The smokiness of the eel, combined with the smoky saltiness of the bacon, the freshness of the watercress, the creamy bite from the horseradish and the creme fraiche, and the sourness of the pickled onions, made for "a perfect melody of flavors" (A's words which I think are quite fitting here).

We were so happy with our lunch, and it was definitely worth the walk and wait on a very muggy and hot morning. It was much better than the shrimp stack that we waited so much longer for, and that was even after walking with these finished burgers for almost a mile to where we were meeting to eat them. We had thought we would probably like the eel burger, since we both like eel, but I'm not sure we expected it to be this good. It was so good that we might even like it more than the regular ShackBurger. We were sad when we remembered that it was probably going to be the only one we would ever get. Really wish this were becoming a permanent part of Shake Shack's menu.

2nd Ave Deli

We haven't made as much progress on our pastrami taste-off for this year as I thought we would, but I at least was able to get out to 2nd Ave Deli with my coworkers to welcome some new members. I still wish I had been able to try it when it was at its original location on 2nd Avenue, but walking over to 3rd Avenue was well worth it.

Pastrami is always a little on the salty side, but this pastrami was so rich and delicate. It melted in my mouth, and was incredibly delicious. I ended up adding a small spot of mustard to enhance the flavor, and the tartness really accented the flavors of the pastrami. This was easily the best pastrami sandwich I had ever had, and I'm extremely excited to next try to hit up Katz's as the coworker who set this lunch up made it very clear that, as good as I thought this was, Katz's is just transcendent. Hopefully M and I can make that judgment for ourselves!

Whole Foods Bryant Park

We were looking for a light dinner on Memorial Day (yes, this post is a bit overdue), and as we walked through the Herald Square area, started thinking about Chick-fil-A. It wasn't Sunday, unlike most days that we find ourselves thinking about Chick-fil-A, so we figured they would be open. Unfortunately for us, we got there about two minutes after they closed for the holiday, so no Chick-fil-A for us. Since we were close to the Whole Foods in Bryant Park, we decided to go there and finally try out the prepared foods in their "food hall." It wasn't really much of a food hall as there weren't any stalls, but instead you order from a menu with different themed options on some central kiosks.

We split two things. The first was a Korean hot dog which was topped with kimchi, a sweet and spicy sauce that looked gochujang-based, and scallions. We were pleased to see that the kimchi toppings on this hot dog were plentiful, and the toppings and sauce tasted good. The hot dog itself seemed fine but nothing extraordinary, but went well with the kimchi and sauce. However, the bread was not great at all. It was dry, crumbly, and cold, and really detracted from the rest of the hot dog. A griddled bun would have been much better.

The other thing we split was from the hot chicken menu - the Nashville-style hot chicken sandwich, a fried chicken thigh which came with slaw and some pickles on the side. We ordered it with medium spiciness, since we figured hot chicken would be hot and we probably shouldn't order it spicy because we might end up with something extra spicy (like saying spicy at a Thai restaurant). For hot chicken, it wasn't really very spicy at all. I think I got one bite with any kick to it at all, and A got none. Considering this was what medium was, we figured that if we had ordered it at the spiciest level (one above), it probably wouldn't have been that spicy either. The pickles and slaw were fine but nothing special.

We weren't that impressed with our first visit to WF Bryant Park's "food hall." The two things we ordered were just okay, and we probably wouldn't get them again. Also, considering how few other people were ordering at the same time we did, it took a very long time for the food to be ready. We might try some of the other options at some point -- they had Italian sandwiches, reubens, and Indian-inspired bowls as well, the last of which was probably the most interesting of those three -- but there are lots of other places we'd like to go in the area first. I also think we like the WF buffet bar better than what we got here.

Raspberry Earl Grey

We continued our Cronuts adventure on Memorial Day since we were very excited about the May flavor - raspberry earl grey with earl grey sugar. We got it as an afternoon treat, and it attracted a lot of attention as we sat at one of the front tables since so many people were wondering how we managed to get one in the afternoon. A lot more people know about pre-ordering because of that, so guess we'll have more competition in the future!

M's review: Having just recently done the tea cooking challenge at the time we got this, I was curious to see how the tea would combine with the raspberry here. The two flavors seemed like they would go well together, but unfortunately, I didn't get any tea flavor at all. The raspberry though was very sweet and so good, but I love raspberries so I could just be biased. I thought it was a really good raspberry jam filling. I was happy with the raspberry flavor, but had just been hoping from more from the tea.

M's Cronut rankings: 1) blueberry elderflower, 2) raspberry earl grey, 3) lychee rose jam, 4) golden honey vanilla

A's review: In my opinion, this really should have just been called raspberry. I got no tea flavor at all, and it reminded me of my failed Earl Grey cupcake idea. I don't know, maybe Earl Grey just isn't strong enough of a flavor to come out when used in cooking. Regardless, the raspberry jam was delicious, and I would definitely eat any donut concoction filled with that again. I don't know that I would need to get another Earl Grey infused donut, though.

A's Cronut rankings: 1) blueberry elderflower, 2) lychee rose jam, 3) raspberry earl grey, 4) golden honey vanilla

9th Ave Food Festival 2017 Part II

The second day of the 9th Avenue International Food Festival was warm and sunny, and the good weather meant even bigger crowds. While we spent our first day mostly visiting places familiar to us, the second day was all about trying small snacks from places in the neighborhood that we've known about but never made it to. It was an easy (and cheaper) way to sample their food and see whether we might want to go for a return visit sometime.

Our first stop was back at the Spam house as we're all about free snacks, especially when they're tasty. This time there was no musubi offered, just sliders and fries, so we both went with the slider. It tasted a little better than the day before, but that could just be because we each got a full slider to ourselves. We were much happier with a full slider as opposed to half and half of a musubi.

As we made our way up the avenue, we stopped first at K Rico, a South American steakhouse that seems to be sticking in a spot that has seen a lot of turnover since we've lived in the area. They had chicken legs, arepas, and empanadas, and after a staff recommendation, we went with one of the beef empanadas.

Unlike some empanadas we've had, these were more deep fried, sort of like a pastelillo. The inside had beef, egg, raisins, and some herbs. The raisins and the sauce made it a little sweeter than most similar beef empanadas we've had, and we think we prefer the more flavorful, more savory ones. A didn't get much meat in his bites, but that could also be because he somehow dropped a piece while eating. He also didn't really like the raisin addition in this case. In the end he thought it just tasted fried. M got more flavor from it, but not as much as she was expecting.

Our next stop was Tacuba which had caught our eye the day before because they had a rotating al pastor spit outside with pineapple on top. Unfortunately, the spit was gone when we got there, but they still had al pastor left. In addition to the pork, each taco had onions, cilantro, pineapple, and a green sauce. They were really good. The pork was flavorful and had just the right amount of "crisp" to the edges that only come from rotating spits. The pineapples were also grilled so they were nice and soft with a bit of smoky sweetness. The only negative here was that the taco filling amounts were pretty uneven from taco to taco.

The other thing that had caught our eye the day before was the clam chowder from Blue Seafood Bar, mostly because it wasn't that expensive and we love chowder. While this was a creamy chowder, it wasn't as heavy on the cream as some others we've had which we liked. Not sure if this is how it usually is or if it's because of how it was cooking on the grill outside, but it was good. In addition to the clams and broth, there was celery, corn, potatoes, and lots of herbs. The flavors here were good, but having just been to the Pacific Northwest, we've been spoiled on amazing chowders. As good as this was, there was almost no way for it to compare.

Our final stop was Ding which was selling an assortment of Chinese dishes for $5. A lot of them looked good, and in the end we went with dan dan noodles, one of our favorites. We watched as they scooped out the noodles and topped it with sauces, seasonings, and garnishes from at least eight different bowls. The noodles had a good amount of late hitting heat from the Chinese peppercorns, but wasn't unbearably spicy at all. Also the meat sauce and additional sauces and flavorings all melded to form a very tasty dish. We got a menu from the vendors there, and from this first taste we both think we'd like to give the restaurant a try.

We had a pretty successful visit to the food festival this year unlike the one year that we only got pierogi, curry puffs, and doughnuts on both days. We do still miss the pierogi though.

9th Ave Food Festival 2017 Part I

Last weekend was the annual 9th Avenue International Food Festival in Hell's Kitchen. We've missed it the past couple of years because of scheduling issues, but made it on both days this year. The first day of the festival was on the cooler side (low 60s following days of summery weather) and a little bit cloudy so even though it was plenty crowded, it wasn't as packed as it could have been which was more pleasant for walking. We walked the entire length of the fair both ways, but most of the food we got on the first day came from the southern part of the festival. After we got to the end and took a short detour to pick some stuff up at Whole Foods, we realized that we weren't really that hungry anymore and that it would be best to leave the other stuff that caught our eye for the next day.

Part of the reason we were probably so full was because our first stop was Daisy May's for BBQ. We've had Daisy May's BBQ several times before (and even went for the World Cup challenge in 2014), so the pulled chicken and mac and cheese weren't anything new but they were quite tasty. We had debated between the pulled chicken and the pulled pork, and in the end chose the chicken. It was drier than the pulled pork usually is, but it wasn't that bad. The sauce, as always with Daisy May's, was very good. It had an excellent balance of sweetness and tanginess to pair with the chicken. The mac and cheese was rich and creamy, and the parts with the crusty, cheese-infused breadcrumb topping were the best. Unfortunately they didn't give us much of it, but we enjoyed what they did give us.

Our next stop as we made our way up the avenue was the Spam house (aka the "Spam Tiny House of Sizzle") which was offering free samples. There was no way we were skipping free stuff, so we got on line not knowing or caring what the samples were. By the time we got to the front, there were three options - Spam fries (which we thought might have been fries topped with Spam but were just griddled Spam cut up into fries), Spam sliders, and Spam musubi. We got one of each of the latter two and split them.

The Spam slider had a thin slice of Spam on a King's Hawaiian roll with some wasabi mayo. The Spam itself was most likely griddled, and it produced a nice caramalization on the meat. Paired with the sweetness of the King's Hawaiian roll and the spicy creaminess of the wasabi mayo, it was our favorite of the two options. The Spam musubi was exactly what we expected it to be. A took the first bite, and he had a little trouble biting through the seaweed wrapper. He thought there wasn't a ton of Spam flavor to this despite the rather large slice of Spam. Also, a lot of the rice seemed undercooked to A, but M didn't seem to have that same issue as it seemed fine to her. She also tasted more Spam flavor but that could be because she ate some of the rice on its own first before eating the entire Spam-rice-seaweed combination together.

Next up we stopped at A-Pou's Taste, a street cart we've visited before on the Upper West Side but hadn't seen in a while. They specialize in Taiwanese-style potstickers, and we had always found them tasty in the past. This time we got an order of five pork potstickers which were covered in hot sauce and soy sauce. We really liked these potstickers, and they were just as good as we remembered them being before. This wasn't too surprising as they basically brought their regular cart out to the event.

By far, the busiest block of the entire festival was the one taken up by the Big Bite Tour. A bunch of promotional tents giving out samples, and obviously there was going to be a crowd. Free stuff! There were samples of Mentos gum, Nestea iced tea, Blue Diamond almonds, Wholey Cheese crackers (which we were so excited to see as we had recently tried them for the first time, but that's for another post), Allegra (also extremely exciting and money-saving for us), and Turkey Hill ice cream, which ended up being the last thing we ate from the festival.

Without planning it, we got two different flavors of ice cream - vanilla bean and salted caramel. The vanilla ice cream was good. You could see the vanilla beans mixed into the ice cream itself, and that always makes a huge difference when comparing vanilla ice creams. A thought the salted caramel was just okay. It seemed more caramel and less salted, but in the end the overwhelming flavor in his mind was just sweet. M's not a huge fan of salted caramel, so she didn't feel like trying it, especially if A wasn't raving about how good it was.

We enjoyed our time at the festival other than having to dodge oblivious and/or inconsiderate people in the crowds. The one thing we did notice on the walk though was the absence of one of the vendors we had always looked forward to - Millie's Pierogi. No idea when they stopped coming since we've missed the festival for a couple of years, but we always stopped by their stand. Guess we'll have to look for them in Massachusetts to get our fix.

Destination California

The current "destination" for Chopt's limited time salads is California, and all three of the options sound so good. We skipped the last destination - Pacific Northwest - because we had just gotten home from the Pacific Northwest and didn't really feel like trying them after having the "real thing." We decided some salads would be the perfect dinner for a recent, very hot night, and chose to try two of the California specials.

The first was the spicy Koreatown noodle bowl made with beet and carrot "noodles," Korean chicken, scallions, celery, a blend of napa cabbage, sunflower shoots, and sorrel, fried shallots, and the recommended spicy sunbutter dressing. This bowl was very good. This salad felt so light, perfect for summer, probably because the greens were dominated by crunchy napa cabbage. The flavors of the chicken were good, and the chicken combined well with the scallions, celery, and greens. We aren't really sure what went into the spicy sunbutter dressing, but it seemed like a good match.

If we were to point to any negatives, it would be that the shallots barely had a presence (sadly), and that the beets and carrots weren't really "noodles" like you would think of spiralized vegetable noodles. They were more like shaved vegetables, and once chopped, it was just like adding bits of carrots and beets to a cabbage-based salad as opposed to being the primary base. It was a good salad though and we were glad we got it. Very light, which is exactly what you need some days.

The other salad we tried was the spicy Sonoma Caesar which they advertised as being "back" so we guess they offered this at one time but we had never tried it. The Sonoma Caesar had a base of kale, romaine, and purple cabbage, and added chipotle chicken, avocado, parmesan quinoa crisps, and pickled cherry peppers, along with the recommended creamy Caesar dressing. This was a much heartier salad than the Koreatown bowl, almost entirely because of the kale. The texture of the kale was good, not that tough or chewy, just very hearty. The parmesan quinoa crisps were tasty, and I even remember remarking that if they sold those in bags as a snack, I'd consider buying them.

The chicken and avocado were good too, but the dominant flavor here came from the pickled cherry peppers. They were pretty hot, so if anyone can't tolerate spice, they might want to stay away from this one. (Yes, the salad is called spicy, but often things salad places label spicy aren't that spicy to me.) It was definitely nice having the avocado and the creamy Caesar dressing (and the Koreatown bowl) to counteract some of that heat. A liked this one better, but I couldn't decide between the two. There's one more from the California set - the grain bowl - and we definitely want to try that before the specials are over.

Loaded Taco Burrito

I don't watch very many commercials, but somehow my ears always perk up when there's one for Taco Bell, most recently their loaded taco burrito. Supposedly this was supposed to be a "coupling" of a crispy taco and a burrito, which to me just sounded like a burrito, but I tried to keep an open mind as we gave it a try.

The loaded taco burrito consisted of a "double helping" of ground beef (double compared to the taco which makes sense as you can't fit as much into a taco as you can a burrito), cheese, lettuce, tomato (although we did not really notice much, if any, lettuce or tomato), tortilla strips, sour cream, and avocado ranch sauce. I guess by "loaded taco burrito," they just meant that they were taking the fillings of the usual crispy taco plus the shell and putting it into a burrito, but really that's just a burrito with tortilla strips in it. Nothing about it, even after tasting it, made me think, "Whoa, it's just like eating a taco but in burrito form!" It was just a burrito. A also wasn't all that impressed with the "inventiveness."

That said, it wasn't bad. The flavor was actually pretty good, between the meat, sour cream, and avocado ranch sauce, and it was relatively satisfying. Nothing revolutionary though. And it was definitely not worth kicking the naked chicken chalupa off the menu for this. (Bring back the naked chicken chalupa!)

Tertulia

We've wanted to go to Tertulia, Chef Seamus Mullen's Spanish restaurant, ever since it opened in 2011. Back then, they didn't take reservations and we didn't want to deal with long waits, so we put it on our list of places to try someday. Recently A saw a deal on Blackboard Eats, and it seemed like the perfect time to finally go. We had some fantastic tapas when we were in Barcelona a few years back (some of which we've written about here) and still dream about the dishes we got there, hoping we can someday find someplace at home that would meet that standard. We tried as much as possible at Tertulia hoping to find some new favorites. Here's what we got (in the order they arrived at the table) and our thoughts.

Pan con tomate (toasted bread rubbed with tomato), $8: 

M: If I go to a tapas place and pan con tomate is on the menu, I like to order it, both because I like it and because it offers a standard by which to compare places. The bread here seemed like country bread that was lightly rubbed with garlic and then tomatoes, and toasted on a grill. The crust was very crunchy, but the insides were nice and soft. The parts with garlic tasted really good, but the garlic unfortunately wasn't uniform throughout. I liked it and it was probably my second favorite dish of the night, but not the best pan con tomate we've had.

A: I liked that the bread was grilled as it gave it a nice smokiness and crunch while still allowing the inside to be soft and pillowy. The tomato was fresh and sweet, but there seemed to be a distinct lack of garlic flavor. I didn't really get any in the pieces of bread that I got. This wasn't bad, but we've definitely had better pan con tomate in our lives.

Rillette de credo (with beet mostarda and housemade pickles), $15:

M: This was one of the specials of the day, and it sounded really good. It reminded me most of the chicken pot we got on our appetizer board at our Sunday roast in London, as it literally was a little pot of pork and pork fat. The flavor was good, mostly just the flavor of the meat even if a bit salty, and it went well with the beet mostarda. The grilled bread on the side was good, but not enough so we had to get seconds, and also my first piece was a bit over-toasted and blackened. I wasn't that into the pickles though.

A: This was my favorite dish of the night. It was rich and creamy, and the grilled bread added a smoky flavor and some crunch. The pork was soft and flavorful, and the pickles were really interesting. They weren't traditional cornichons; they pickled all sorts of vegetables and fruit. The most interesting thing in my mind was the pickled strawberry. The beet mostarda added an element of spiciness, and the dill made it nice and fresh.

Nuestras patatas (crispy potatoes, pimentón de la vera, garlic all i oli), $9:

M: Potatoes are another thing I try to order at tapas restaurants. These potatoes were on the crispy side, kind of crunchy on the outside but nice and soft in the middle (at least for the bigger pieces). That was good most of the time until we got to some of the smaller crumbs which just tasted burnt. The best part of this though was the garlic aioli, and the bites that didn't get some of the aioli definitely were not as good. I love smoked paprika and it was very dominant in the flavor here, which I liked. This was my favorite dish of the night.

A: I usually really like patatas bravas (the closest comparison for this dish). They were crisped up really well, but some of the smaller pieces were overly crispy. I didn't mind that, but the seasoning that they put on the potatoes made those small, crispy pieces really salty. The aioli tempered the saltiness, but I didn't find it very garlicky. Also, the smoked paprika they dusted it with was very overpowering along with the salt.

Croquetas de jamón (Ibérico ham croquettes, membrillo), $12:

M: I love croquettes but hadn't even noticed these on the menu until one of the tables next to us got an order of them. I was expecting solid fried balls filled with ham and potato mush, but these were more like a hard shell with some sort of creamy ham sauce inside. I think I was expecting something denser. The ham was there, but not that strong in flavor, and I wasn't that into the quince paste (membrillo) but that could be more personal preference about mixing fruit into the dish.

A: I was not expecting what we ended up getting with these croquettes. I was expecting a solid croquette with jamon, but it was basically a fried ball surrounding a stew. It was really odd, and the quince paste made it even odder. It added a sweetness that didn't really seem to pair that well with the salty croquette.

Coles de Bruselas (grilled Hudson Valley brussels sprouts, wild boar bacon, mojo verde), $14:

M: I had high hopes for this dish but didn't really like it at all. The Brussels sprouts were fine, a little crunchy, but the entire flavor of the dish was a little on the bitter side. Not sure if that was from the meat or the sauce (even though there was not much of either), but the taste was a little off-putting for me, and I didn't really want much of it sadly.

A: I usually really like Brussels sprouts cooked with bacon, but there didn't seem to be much of any bacon in here. I had one piece, and that was about all of the bacon we got in the dish. I felt bad since M didn't get a piece, but I didn't think we'd only get the one piece. Other than that, the sprouts tasted pretty good. I didn't taste the mojo verde at all, but the sprouts themselves tasted okay. This was fairly plain, and it ended up being my least favorite dish of the night.

Txipirones a la plancha (baby squid, grilled bitter greens, warm tomato vinaigrette), $16:

M: This dish was pretty good. The "baby squid" weren't quite as small as what I was expecting based on what we had eaten in Barcelona that was called txipirones, but they were fine. All together, there wasn't really anything wrong with the dish other than it was a little bit salty, and the combination of everything together tasted nice and fresh with all the vegetables. Unfortunately it reminded me that we still haven't found a txipirones dish in the States that remotely matches what we had in Spain.

A: This was the dish that M and I were most excited for. On our vacation to Barcelona we fell in love with txipirones whether they were grilled or fried. The tomato vinaigrette was sweet and fresh tasting, and the grilled bitter greens weren't bitter, but they offered a bit more freshness to the dish. My big complaint, though, was that the dish was pretty salty overall. It made things hard to eat and made the dish rather disappointing.

Arroz a la plancha (Calasparra rice, snails, wild mushrooms, celery, fennel, Ibérico ham), $23:

M: I liked this one more than A did. The rice was a little bit like a risotto, very creamy, and the flavor was familiar, even if I couldn't quite place it. It tasted a little charred, but not in a bad way. The toppings were really fresh and it was nice getting some light vegetables alongside the heavier rice. After we ate it, I was listening to some guy at the table next to us who kept raving about this dish to his meal partner, and while I did think it was pretty good, I'm not sure if I'm even close to as into it as he was. It came out with the txipirones, and between the two, I liked the squid better, but this was fine.

A: I didn't know what to expect from this dish, but it sounded really interesting. I love snails as a general matter so adding them to what amounted to Spanish fried rice seemed like a great thing. Overall this was just okay. The main flavor came from the ham, and there wasn't that much of it. The snails also had a bit of a sour taste to them. It wasn't completely off-putting, but it wasn't great.

Tarta de Santiago (traditional almond tart, stewed berries, creme fraiche gelato), $8:

M: The dessert we associate most with our time in Spain is almond cake, having had an excellent one at the end of lunch one day and being completely surprised by how wonderful it was. This one was not as soft as that almond cake, and also just kind of stiff. I wasn't a big fan of the gelato and gave most of it to A, but I did like the berry sauce. Overall, it was just okay. Still better than the Brussels sprouts.

A: Harkening back to our Barcelona trip again, we had a great Tarta de Santiago at lunch one day. I even tried to recreate it here at home with mixed success. This rendition was... different. Instead of being a smoother, finer ground almond meal cake, this was very coarse and a little stiffer. The creme fraiche gelato was odd as well. It tasted just like creme fraiche, but I don't know that those two flavors go together. The berries were really nice.

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We did like our meal at Tertulia overall, even if it was a bit salty and not as good as we were expecting it to be. We've had so many amazing tapas over the years, both in the States and in Barcelona, so it's a decently high bar but one that we thought this one would soar over based on the reviews we remembered. In the end, it wasn't bad for tapas and we were glad we went, but not something we need to race back for sometime soon.