Monthly Archives: August 2014

foodie, Reviews

Review- Tijuana Flats New Hemptation Sensations

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Recently I got to get a chance to go to a tasting of all of Tijuana Flats new menu items that they are rolling out. Majority of these menu items are their new Hemptation Burrito line where the tortilla is made from Hemp seeds, easy 420 lovers :). No you wont have to take a drug test after, actually the hemp plant is a viral weed to the marijuana plant and needs to be kept away from the government issued legal stock so it doesn’t effect production. It does however have a lot of protein, it isn’t really a healthier option but can help with your daily fiber and protein intake.

For those who don’t know me that well I would just like to say that I love Tijuana Flats just the way they are. A friend of mine used to be a manager at one of their many locations and he told me about the process they go through on a daily basis and I was highly impressed. I already love Spanish-american food, but when he told me that all of their items were made in house and fresh daily, I knew there was a reason I have always loved them. So am I a little bias? No. As always my reviews will be my blunt, honest, and professional opinion.

Now the Burritos themselves are actually recipes created by their staff and were chosen from a recipe contest. The top three are now on the menu and then there is also a new appetizer and dessert option.

20140728_191845_5_bestshotThe first option on the menu tasting was called the Atom Bomb. it is a tortilla stuffed with cream cheese, jalapeno, and a sweet sauce, that is lightly fried and served with sour cream. All I can say was I absolutely loved it, you get hit with a pop of heat at different times while eating it, but it isn’t to greasy and the flavor contexts is really nice. If you like a little heat and love a fried tortilla as much as I do then you will love it to. definitely try it next time you walk into one of their many locations.

The next item they introduced to us was my least fa20140728_193338_8_bestshotvorite item of the evening, and honestly there is no way I would ever pay for it. It is called the Pie Roller and it was the first of the Hemptation burritos, and luckily not the last.it was a tortilla stuffed with there skinny cheese, red sauce, pepperoni, then rolled up and topped with more of the same ingredients. I personally believe it was awful and none of the flavors came together, while I appreciate the fact the company offered a recipe contest to its employees I don’t understand how this was a winner and makes me scarred to see the losers. I think if they used a regular, fatty pizza cheese and a thicker, more flavored red sauce it would have had more potential. It is possible that this is more intended for the stoner populace, but sober I don’t see it.

20140728_194545_5_bestshotItem number three was another Hemp Burrito, the Tree Hugger.   Now I really liked this Burrito. It was a bunch of veggies, a cilantro cream cheese sauce and a white cheese. All together I would definitely order this one next time I go in and can afford the calories. If you get a chance to go and try these burritos then this is the one to pick. Ver nice and clean flavor, with a refreshing flavor from the cream cheese and just enough white cheese to fill you up and not leaving you with that question of what did I just do to my self.

20140728_195856_4_bestshotThe last burrito on the docket is called the sweet Hemptation, and sweet is a understatement. This was a really good burrito, all the flavors came together really well, but unless I was splitting this with someone who loves chicken and waffles just as much as I do then I couldn’t bear to order it. It is a lot of food and it gives savory and sweet a new definition in Escoffier’s cook book. It is a burrito, stuffed with nacho cheese, fried Tyson all white meat tenders, churros in cinnamon sugar, and syrup. Like I said it is good, and I definitely say take a friend and split it and a tree hugger, but don’t order desert.

20140728_201456Now the last course on the meal was the new dessert and it was a banana empanada. nothing really special about this but it was really good and I would recommend it if you are looking for that dessert that is a little different from the everyday norm of chocolate cake and ice cream.

Overall my experience was extremely pleasant, I had a great time, and I greatly appreciate the opportunity to see all these new items. A personal thank you to Tijuana flats for including the blogging community on this new menu change and as always I am a huge fan of the company and what you guys do on the daily.

foodie, My Stuff, Uncategorized

Just a Good Old Fashion Fish Fry

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So my roommate headed up to Alaska recently to spend some time with a uncle he had up there and a cousin that was meeting him up there. I knew it was going to be a outdoorsy type of trip, but I didn’t know his return was going to come with a fantastic surprise. He text-ed me a few days before he was getting back and all it said

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was he was coming back with 90 lbs of fish, some halibut and some salmon.

Now if you are like me and watch the meat prices like investors watch the DOW, then you know how expensive halibut is and based on my current pay-scale I don’t get to play with it to often at the home. Halibut is my favorite fish and there is a whole lot in my freezer. But anyway, long and behold when he gets home I find out it is 45 lbs of red and silver salmon and 45 lbs of halibut. Well Tom’s dad is a old Vermont man and asked to have a fish fry that Saturday after, and of course I took the reigns when it came to the cooking.

When I was figuring out the menu though I knew that I didn’t just want to fry some fish and throw it on a plate. I decided to stick southern and build a dinner around it. In doing so I came up wish a fish fry two ways. There was braised collard and kale, habenaro red bliss mash potatoes, jalapeno and honey cornbread, a roasted garlic and honey whipped butter, homemade tartar sauce, and the star of the dish Halibut. Now what I did to the halibut was where the real magic happened because I did some of it in a traditional corn meal dusting and then I did some in a amber beer batter. Then to top it off I did a peanut and canola oil mix.

Everything came out perfect, everything was seasoned to perfection and even the presentation plate came out really nice. Oh I almost forgot, we finished the evening with a Whiskey Apple Berry cobbler that I must say for my first time making cobbler from scratch with all fresh fruit, I was extremely happy with the results. I am just sorry I don’t have any leftovers to try 🙂

 

experience, foodie, Uncategorized

Magical Dining Month in Orlando

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As the month of August comes ever to an end and we all realize it is time to pay the bills again :), there is one little glimmer of hope to hit the Orlando area for the foodie in all of us. Magical Dining month has returned and it is time to get our appetites ready to eat at some of the finest establishments that Orlando has to offer.

For those that do not know what this special local event is, in summary a bunch of restaurants come up with a three course menu that is priced at a reasonable thirty-three dollars a person/meal (plus tax, gratuity, and parking fee at some places). For a complete list of the restaurants and menus you can go to http://www.visitorlando.com/magicaldining/, this website will help you navigate and go through the step by step procedure.

I personally am looking forward to this event and previews for these menus will start Aug. 25, where I will be beginning my foodie tour by going to check out Emeril’s Tchoup Chop. I have always been interested in the location and concept since it first opened and am looking forward to finally satisfying my curiosity. The restaurant has had mixed reviews both from critics and people in the industry that I have talked to, but it is my time to do my own review. To me a restaurant is like a movie, everyone has different interests, different pallets, and different expectations, and the only way to truly know if you will like a film/place is to fork up the dough and go.

I will also be putting four more locations on my agenda, one for each week of the month of places that I would like to see and enjoy. May it be the concept or just what their menu has to offer for this magical experience. The four places I have chosen to wet my pallet in are Deep Blu at the Wyndham, The Venetian Room at the Caribe Hotel, Bistro CloClo, Bohemian Bar and Grill in Celebration, and if time and money permits I would also like to get to Le Coq Au Vin.

I will be doing reviews for all of these locations and if you have a interest and want to know when and where feel free to hit me up in the comments section and I will get you the information.

career, chef, foodie, Uncategorized

Movie- Chef, by Jon Favreau

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Last night I got to see Jon Favreau’s new movie, “Chef”. It is a movie about a well-known chef who moved to California from Miami and gets fired from his job. He then turns around and opens a food truck, allowing him to run his place his way and it puts him back on top.

I don’t want to go to far in detail into the plot but I must say it is a really good representation of what as chefs we go through with our line of work. The best part of the movie for me was how well Jon Favreau played the character and was really able to sell me on all the emotions and mind-set of how you have to be so you can be a successful head chef. You can see the passion, the dedication, the work ethnic, and the attitude, but at the same time the struggle with having a normal life.

I recommend this movie to anyone who has aspirations, curiosity, or are just looking for a good movie to watch while having a night in.

career, chef, experience, foodie, Reviews

Review- 4Rivers in Winter Garden

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20140621_183407_4_bestshot20140621_183311_5_bestshotWhen you show up at the 4Rivers in Winter Garden, you see what looks like to be decent sized BBQ restaurant with a line of 25 people out the door. It was a Saturday night that me and my sister went around 6pm and the location and concept is still recent, but it was extremely impressive none the less when it is your first time at any 4Rivers location.

Orlando is not one of those locations on the map of the United States that people go, ” I got to have BBQ when I am there”, but we do have a few hole in the wall places here and there that do a really good job of putting out a good product. 4Rivers is definitely at the top of my list right now when it comes to places that I will go to when I am in the mood for BBQ and don’t want to make it myself. They have a few locations now around Orlando, there is the Winter Garden location, Winter Park which is the original, one in Longwood, and one on University Drive by UCF. There is also a location in Jacksonville and Gainsville.

4Rivers was found by John River’s, originally a manager of a billion-dollar pharmaceutical distribution company and got a lot of experience in business modeling at many different companies. He started working out of his garage and grew his popularity with his own ministry participants until he opened the Winter Park location and blew it out of the water.

if you read my previous post, So you want to be a chef, then you can see that this is a perfect example of what I was saying about going into a different career path and then finishing with what you truly love after you make your “nut” (money). Not sure if Mr River’s always had a hankering for doing a big BBQ restaurant from the beginning , but no matter what it has definitely paid off.

Now when you finally get through the line and inside you find that majority of the building is the kitchen, the serving line (which includes the nicest and most delicious display of deserts I have ever seen at any BBQ joint), and a handful of tables, and based on business that meant we were taking ours outside. Luckily they have a really big, enclosed porch area, with a lot of fans, which meant that even though it was hot outside you could still eat and enjoy comfortably.

The two pictures above are of there dinner plates of the half rack of ribs and the beef brisket. Both were reasonable priced, the ribs were about 14 and the brisket was 12. I also got the smoked jalapenos as one of my sides, getting myself to try and enjoy more spicy food items. I really liked everything about my experience.

I like to consider myself a BBQ expert when it comes to food quality, flavor, and dryness of the protein being served and both proteins had plenty of flavor, juiciness, and the final test that gets my stamp of approval was that I wanted more. I am not saying it is the best BBQ out there, and I am not saying it is the best in the state, but I would definitely choose 4Rivers first when anyone asks me where to go for BBQ in Orlando.

The building was clean, the atmosphere was really authentic and cool, the staff was extremely friendly, the eating areas were constantly maintained, and everything about the experience was legit. If you haven’t had a chance to go out and enjoy, then take a friend and try it out and let me know what you think.