The Irascible Chef

—truth in advertising… I DON’T THINK SO! (isn’t there an obligation???)

Where do I start??? Okay, you decide:
It was late 9:30pm, but they don’t close until 10:30pm and they were still collecting money from the food and drink they served.

The bartender was occasionally attentive and sometimes not… When asked, and in not so many words, he told me that the fried calamari usually looks like a greasy, undercooked, small portion of partially coated, and unclean (still had the cartilage inside it—looks like plastic,) mess of scattered squid rings.

No wasabi aioli, not hot, small portion, undercooked, not cleaned—$11.00, "that's the way it usually is," that's nerve!

Oh, and it was served with a plastic cup of cold tomato sauce on a cheap plastic plate with plastic utensils—quality could be much better for something they charge restaurant prices for. No wasabi aioli as mentioned on the menu. The calamari was warm at best. However, even with a MAJOR lack of appeal, it still managed to have good flavor.
Calamari: FAIL!

The Double Bock seasonal brew was very good! The bartender said it was hoppy, but not close to the hoppiness of Hop Goes the Weasel Ale!
Beer: PASS!

The manager sat at the bar eating and drinking, but not engaging the guests or even asking how everything was.
Manager: FAIL!

I kept hoping to end on a positive note and ordered a grilled turkey sandwich with garlic fries. You gotta have garlic fries at Gordon Biersch! Looked like there were two spots of butter or oil that wasn’t grilled or even toasted. Very lacking in the cheese that the description on the menu mentioned “overflowing.” The inside of the sandwich was grilled in a shoemaker grilling technique. the fries were soaked in oil, cold, and didn’t have any parsley that the picture showed and I’ve had in the past. So, as it turns out you don’t always “gotta” have the GB Garlic fries!

Soggy signature fries, hardly any cheese let alone overflowing, grilled more on the inside than on the outside, 2 sips of beer left to finish all that food with? $11.80—and no offer for more beer???

Garlic fries: FAIL!
Grilled Turkey Sandwich: FAIL!
Menu Truth in advertising: FAIL!

Then the bartender never came back to see how it was or get me another drink, and even after I asked for the check he had to be reminded a second time that he had to get me the check because he was talking to his friend at the bar.
Bartender: FAIL!

I’ve been eating at GB since 1994 and this is the worst ever! I would start with a new manager and crew. I’ve even had better fries at Giants stadium at a baseball game. For the prices they charge and the brand name they are selling everything should be soooooo much better! I would highly recommend that you do not give this GB outlet your business!

Awful! Simply awful!

Gordon Biersch… San Jose Airport JetBlue Terminal
FAIL!

Fly by it!

Technorati Tags: Awful, Garlic fries: FAIL!, Gordon Biersch... San Jose Airport JetBlue Terminal. FAIL!, iChef Review, truth in advertising

Day One food travel journal…

San Jose Airport:

Brought with me 1 pound of prawn cocktail with homemade cocktail sauce, but could not find a Guinness anywhere—so sad!

Did however find a Burger King and something new and special—especially delicious that is—The Angry Burger!

The Angry Whopper!

Burger King released the Angry Whopper in the US, a version of the Whopper topped with spicy crispy onions, jalapeños, pepper jack cheese, bacon, tomatoes, lettuce, mayonnaise, and spicy Angry Sauce. Visit the burger’s official site Angry-Gram to send the subject of your anger a personalized message screamed forth from an animated Angry Whopper.

Okay, not just good—GREAT!

Now, I knew I had the prawn, and that would be more than enough, but the fact I didn’t have the Guinness was unfulfilling, so nothing like fast food to fill that empty feeling…

But, I didn’t need to eat a whole Whopper, so I asked if they could make it on a Whopper Junior, the woman said sorry, but at this point I needed to know how this burger with spicy onion rings and jalepenoes would taste. When she called my order in over the microphone to my delight ordered it on a Whopper Junior! I guess it being very late and my devilish charm (I didn’t even have my crown on yet…) oh and it was also fathers day…

The burger was perfect, the right amount of heat from the jalepeno balanced with the right amount of sweetness from the onion rings and sauce—on a grilled burger with a nice tomato and lettuce—very good!

I did ask for a crown which she gladly gave me and I have yet to give it to my father whom I’m visiting and he is king… I knew I got him a present!

***

On the plane…

Yeah, I ate the shrimp too. Had them first (don’t get crazy on me I only ate 4 with a chardonay) had two beers—both Heinekin, but one light and one regular with the Angry Whopper that left me anything but… All on the house of the very sexy male attendents whom where very attentive on Jet Blue. Yeah, had a bag of blue chips, cashews, and two bags of cookies with the last beer. Nooo, didn’t, but should have thown up!

Did have a hard time eating brunch when I landed though…

Technorati Tags: Angry Whopper, food, journal, travel

Le BlehBleBleh—it’s french!

Le Boulanger—The Baker is know for it’s breads. They make some pastry, breads of many varieties, sandwiches, soups, salads, pizzas, and blah blah blah. It’s higher on the scales than fast food, but it’s really just a different kind of fast food. I think about going for lunch, but they also serve breakfast and coffee. The Monu.

Not cheap for what it is though, today I ordered a half sandwich and cup of soup and water and it was over $10. Should have went with the gut choice—McDonald’s… Never go wrong there!

The clam chowder they serve everyday was of the thick variety I don’t care for personally. (tells me they rely on too much flour to thicken what I believe shouldn’t be) Also flavored with too much thyme for my liking.

The sandwich was basic turkey (poor quality sodium filled) on dutch crunch (very good bread) with avocado (lumped in one place,) lettuce (ragged outside leaf,) two small tomato slices so close to the end—no seeds and remnants of the hard white stem area.) I rearranged all the pieces removing the awful lettuce, shoddy tomatoes, spreading the avocado and turkey over the entire bread length. It was tasty, but dissappointing to say the least.

Bummer!

Technorati Tags: bread, food, french, Le Boulanger, sandwich shop

***

How dare you call people racist because they speak out in protest!
This is what the “News” and the voice of opposition to people protesting higher taxes has to say. This is what they have to say and what they are calling you. Racist.

Hat tip Allahpundit!
Garofalo outdoes herself: Tea-parties all about white power, says D-lister: by Allahpundit

****

The Janeane Garofalo of academia By Michelle Malkin

It’s one thing for Hollywood twit Janeane Garofalo to smear the Tea Party movement as RAAAAACIST. We expect ignorant celebrities to be ignorant. But when newspapers phone up “experts” in academia to provide commentary and analysis on social and political trends, it would be nice if they based their assessments on reality, wouldn’t it?

Technorati Tags: Anderson Cooper, Entertainment, Garofalo, Keith Olbermann, News, Protest, Racist, Rules for Radicals, Saul Alinsky, Tea party, Teabagging

Thank you Ken Lowe!

Thank you Akiyo! Thank you Marisa! Thank you to all the Chefs! Thank you to the Hostess and all the Bus Boys and Dish Washers!

One of my original partners in hospitality (my brother) was in town for a little get away from LaLa-land. When he was in town we’d have to go for sushi and for years the place we’d enjoyed going was Ace Wasabi Rock and Roll Sushi.

Back in the day we’d get there and hope for a wait. The more time before we sat down meant the more time we had for drinks, laughs, and talking to the ladies. We would get big Asahi beers and some hot Saki, mingle in the crowd, grove to the awesome sounds, and make time for the ladies. Ace Wasabi from beginning-to-end was an event!

Well, I’ve written here lately about the good and fantastic and the bad and ugly. I will say this first—the food has ALWAYS been phenomenal! However, I have been recently troubled about a few misfires at my favorite Sushi place in SF, the kinds of things you experience when a your memory of what was, is better than, what is now, when your expectations are high and what happens is low and you find yourself making excuses for the way it used to be.

You can read about what I’m talking about in these three posts: Ace Wasabi: How Important is the Waiter: the disappointment, Response from: Ace Wasabi Owner Ken Lowe, and the follow up visit: Ace Wasabi Redux!

But I’m here today to tell you my faith has been restored—Ace has been restored! I can honestly say without any reservation that Ace is back on top of it’s game—Saturday night (3/28/09) exceeded expectations and recollections… (And yes, I do believe we here at IrascibleChef had something to do with it…)

Of course Ken Lowe’s response to his loyal customers comments ultimately and deservedly gets the credit—thanks! The last time I was back, a short while ago, I proclaimed that Ace was back, but this past visit pushes it over the top!

The latest addition to Ace’s dining room—Akiyo our lovely host and manager visibly present and actively participating in our fantabulous dining experience.

We did have to wait to be seated (but it was welcomed.) Great, there’s a favorite place around the corner to get a drink. We were back within the time limit, but we did have an additional 35 minute wait. No big deal—Asahi and Saki does the soul good.

When we were seated we followed the hostess to the back area and this nicely dressed woman apologized for our wait. (I thought that was interesting—very interesting!) I asked the hostess if that was a manager (A visible floor manager was something I highly recommended and had previously been painfully absent.) I was delighted to hear that it was in fact a manager. (I was asked if I would like to speak with her. I said no, knowing I would before the end of the evening.)

We had many of the past favorites including the Albacore Tataki (which is still the best ANYWHERE,) Tuna and Salmon Tartare Old Style on deep fried Shinto leaves (not on the menu any more—just ask for it Old Style. This time the ingredient I don’t care for was isolated—dill and I think a little lemon that starts to chemically cook the tartare.)

On the rolls side of things we had the Kamikaze—spicy tuna & asparagus wrapped w/ albacore tuna topped w/ ponzu & scallions, which is always a treat, Spider Could be claimed to be the best Spider roll any where, and the newest addition to the USUAL the Ozzy—oh my, it’s soooo goood! The Ozzy is crab draped on top spicy tuna, topped with sliced fresh Jalapenos that give the flavor without too much heat—simply scrumptious!

On the Nigiri side of things—Salmon sushi is my favorite and always a must order—it was fresh and delicious and Hamachi Toro, which I’ve been getting into lately, was as my brother said, “that was the best bite!”

—All was washed down with Asahi and Saki as if there were any doubts…

We were served quickly with a smile by a helpful, knowledgeable server Marisa who did graciously join us for sip of Saki.

As we were leaving I stopped to thank Akiyo, whom didn’t have business cards yet, gave me some chopsticks with her name and my favorite restaurant in SF it’s restoration to excellence. Ken Lowe—great decision, great hire! Thank you!

Special Before and After Props:

Donahue’s Marina Lounge for a pint of Guinness (first bar I was ever in in SF—1994) before hand and All Star donuts after for, you guessed it donuts—one dozen of the prettiest, shiniest, sugariest, delectable… Well, how can you go wrong with sugar covered fried dough?—after a meal of kings! Of course, it’s impossible to actually eat, all the donuts, but the idea isn’t so much to eat all the donuts as it is to taste each and every donut. One bite and move on! There were 3 of us and we did manage to do some donut damage.

Technorati Tags: Ace Wasabi Rock and Roll Sushi, Akiyo, Albacore Tataki, Hot sake was hot, iChef, IrascibleChef, Ken Lowe, Marisa, restaurant review, Salmon Tartar, san francisco, Secret Shopper, Spider Roll, Sushi, sushi—salmon, The Ozzy Roll, The Steiner Roll

Surf and Turf anyone?

Every once in a while I get back to the stove…

Broiled (with special secret recipe seasoning) filet mignon on crispy bacon with sliced avocado and sauteed mushrooms AND a sidecar of perfectly broiled sea scallops topped with a dollop of caramelized (finely diced) onions, bacon crumbles, chives, and the tipping point—lemon zest…

I liked it—a lot!

I’m getting hungry, what time is it…

Technorati Tags: caramelized onions, filet mignon, iChef, lemon zest, menus, Recipes, sea scallops, Surf and Turf

iChef serving up a TWO-FER, back-to-back GRAND SLAMMA JAMMA birthday!

I recently found myself turning a little older on a surprise-end-of-the-weekend-adventure as a guest of my fiancee. I didn’t know where we were going, but I did know that it was necessary to take 2 cars and that we would be staying overnight and having dinner. For me a surprise is just as exciting as the actual event. So you can basically stop after telling me there are plans and a surprise (—that alone is pretty special in my book!) let alone going on a secret getaway—OVERnight, and eating at a special place!

But now we’re in separate cars, going I-don’t-know-where, in the rain, I’m wondering how far away that we’ll be traveling and how early I will have to get up to get to work on time… But I don’t care because this is special, an adventure, and I’m excited!

So, we’re traveling through Los Gatos and I figure we’re going to Capitola where my fiancee’s parents have a beach house just a couple of blocks from the water. Great! I love Capitola! What if the traffic is bad in the morning? I’ll have to get up at 4am… What if we have a really good time and don’t go to bed until very late/early… Been there, done it, will survive—again!

As we’re about to get on 17 south, we suddenly make a left—into Hotel Los Gatos! Very Fancy! We’re not staying in Capitola. The morning commute will be the same as usual—Yay!

The room at the Hotel Los Gatos was super delicious!—cozy comfortable, roomy—could have been a bedroom in a very nice home… Nice, clean, warmly furnished bathroom. A bed so snugly you would die in it if you had the choice. TV, DVD player, stocked bar, free T1 Internet service. All this with the gentle spatter of much needed rain. Very romantic…

They have a great comfy living rooms—relaxing reading areas all around the hotel.

My favorite one was off of the lobby area with a fireplace roaring. I found myself there just before dinner relaxing, sitting with my feet up on an ottoman, in front of the fire, with a newspaper and birthday Guinness—perfect!

We had dinner reservations for 6:30 at Dio Deka, the hotel restaurant—we’ve eaten there before. Dio Deka is a Greek Mediterranean restaurant. The menu items are all written in Greek so you have to read the entire description to know what it is. (It all seems Greek to me…)

We did ask to change the original table we were sat at (with little fuss they accommodated us)—we were seated by the kitchen, around a bend so that one diner felt like you were sitting in the middle of an isle, and one of the chairs was like a sink hole—”you would like to move—no problem.”

I love that attitude!

Our waiter, Conan, was right on target all night long. His food and wine recommendations were spot on! He was knowledgeable about the menu items and wine selections, he was friendly with good welcomed conversation. When he was at our table he was like another one of our dinner guests. He knew when to be there when not to be nosing in.

Our custom menu, built for two, went something like this:

O R E K T I K A

Dolmathakia … Metaxa-braised beef short ribs and creamy rice, wrapped in grape leaves and finished with a truffle scented wild mushroom citrus foam. (I think it’s time to let the foam go—why this became a big hit in the culinary world is beyond me…)
I do love grape leaves and these were spectacular!
Octapodi Scharas … Mesquite grilled Greek octopus, warm citrus olive oil, oregano and micro-green.
Tender like filet Mignon—A treat beyond belief!

Trilogia… Crispy Monterey bay calamari, clam-oregano fritters and fried organic asparagus.

Wonderful combination’s of seafood and vegetables!

S O U P E S   K E   S A L A T E S

Ntomatosoupa … Fire-roasted tomato and country bread soup, fresh basil, extra virgin olive oil.

Pantzaria Salata … Chilled slow roasted beet salad, candied walnuts, goat cheese, citrus-olive oil and chive vinaigrette.

W I N E
Nemea, Agiorgitiko, Gaia Estate, ‘Gaia Estate’, Peloponnesus, Greece, 2005

(We had the label… the very nice waiter mounted it on restaurant stationary… it’s a long story—we lost it!)

K I R I A   P I A T A

Paithakia … Mesquite-grilled, premium rib-cut, grass-fed
lamb chops, with traditional seasonings lemon-oregano crusted potatoes and spinach

tender, cooked to perfection, and delicious!

E P I D O R P I O
Greek desserts are typically enjoyed alongside a cold glass of water and a strong coffee.

Yiaourti … Greek yogurt with rare wild thyme-scented Greek honey and honeycomb, toasted Macadamia nuts, seasonal fresh fruits

Milopita … Warm honey crisp apple tart tatin, vanilla bean gelato and sauce caramel

D E S S E R T  W I N E (complements of our waiter)
Kourtaki, Samos, Muscat

Funny, I observed our waiter at times, when he was at other tables and I almost felt like he was cheating on us—giving equally good service, information and conversation to all his diners… I thought we were his favorites—NICELY DONE!)

We said we wanted to take our time and take our time we did… We were not rushed or neglected or anything other than treated like guests of rich family or friends! (RICH: in spirit, in hospitality, and in understanding the point…)

Conan brought us two beautiful and delicious desserts one with Happy birthday written in very good quality chocolate on the rim of the plate—Conan also brought us two complimentary glasses of Muscat! Very nice! Everything was fan-dabey-dosey-tastic—Very delicious!

A very perfect birthday!

Thank you Honey!

We even took some time on the way back to the room to sit by the fire and critique some art—we did it all…

Technorati Tags: birthday, Dio Deka, excellent food, fan-dabey-dosey-tastic, great hotel, Great service, Greek food, Los Gatos Hotel, special, Surprise

It was the worst of times, it was the best of times…

It was some night, a dining experience that won’t soon be forgotten. Family was in town from NY and we were staying in one of my favorite places in the country—San Francisco! I will try to stick to the subject—Food, wine, hospitality!

There are many tours one could take to experience a cities, sites, smells, and tastes. One tour that has never failed to please has been affectionately dubbed the Phil Tour after your humble narrator…

Even people who have been on the tour before, people who try to find fault have been unsuccessful. But these times, they are CHANGIN’!

The Phil Tour might need a face lift, after all, some of the places on the list have been perfect for over 14 years—This is just impossible to keep up! So like the Dow Jones Industrial average updates and upgrades from time to time, the Phil Tour needs a little remodel…

Who should stay and who should go now? (Which reminds me it’s been a while since I’ve practiced Rockband)

Yabbies Coastal Kitchen, a stalwart legend for neighborhood seafood fantastic and Roy’s Hawaiian Fusion Cuisine chain in every city will get a little looksie…

My first experience at Roy’s was about 15 years ago at The Inn at Spanish Bay on Pebble Beach overlooking the ocean—beautiful! It was amazing, it hadn’t been franchised all over the place yet and was too far away to revisit. Since, I’ve been to the one in San Francisco, Las Vegas, and Palm Desert—all fantastic!

And Yabbies, I fell in love with when it first opened 14 years ago and quickly became a regular. I did some advertising work for them in the early days and had an opening of one of my photography shows at the grand opening of their wine store located next door. I became close friends with the owners and staff and was eating or drinking there at least 4 nights a week. The food was always outstanding, regardless of how often they turned over chefs and they did quite a bit! The food and extensive wine list was always reasonable and I would go out with the friendly knowledgeable staff and owners after they closed for the night. Yabbies has always been on the recommend list—always!

Continue Reading »

Technorati Tags: Clift Hotel, EOS, Friday night out, it was the best of times, phil tour, Red Room, Roys, san francisco, The worst of time, Yabbies

Haiku Asian Bistro and Sushi Bar

Good freakin’ food!

When I come to New York, Westchester to be more specific, I don’t think about going for sushi. I’ve been to places in recent history that weren’t worth writing or reading about, which equals not worth spending another dime in let alone going back to.

It is, what it is, or is what it used to be. We didn’t go to Asia de Cuba, or the Volcano afterward in NYC, this year. Lot of changes this year—Change could be carved in granite as the word of the year for 2008. Only time will tell if the word change translates to actual change in the future. But we have made some changes this year including going to a sushi restaurant in Crossriver NY—again Westchester to be specific.

I was looking forward to trying this little number and I’ve been jonesing for sushi when I come to Westchester for a long time—so seemed perfect.

Well, the ambiance kicked ass and the fact that it did annoyed me because I didn’t have my camera. In fact it made me feel like that’s why it was so cool…

The waiter seemed to be rushing us when being in a rush was the last thing we were interested in. It was Saturday night, around 8pm, and we were sat right away, with several tables available.

We started with Asahi and hot saki—the way I prefer to start when dining on sushi. One guest started with that AND a fancy umbrella drink with out the umbrella—a White Cosmo: Svedka Raspberry Vodka, Cointreau, White Cranberry Juice & Sour Mix.
Saki hot, beer and Cosmo cold and delicious.

Interesting menu because although it was a Japanese sushi restaurant which also offered Chinese. This is something I noticed in the burbs of NY—Chinese restaurants offering sushi and Japanese places offering Chinese versus stand alone’

We stuck with the Japanese selections and actually ordered additional food a couple of times throughout our night out. One odd thing was that the sushi was priced by each piece versus the standard 2 per. What compounded this oddity is that the same version of the sashimi offerings was priced per 2 pieces. If your concerned about food cost just make the sushi slightly smaller, but really what are we talking about here—the tablespoon of rice can’t cost a penny. And it comes off cheap when they don’t need too. We ordered Salmon, Yellowtail, Albacore sushi and sashimi and both were lovely, fresh, and excellent quality. We ordered a couple of their special rolls which were interesting and creative, and I would recommend all of them.

Geisha roll: Inside- Shrimp Tempura & Avocado / Outside- Spicy Tuna & Tempura Crunch
Dinosaur Roll: Inside-Shrimp Tempura,Spicy Tuna & Avocado/Outside-Topped With Soft Shell Crab,Caviar & Eel Sauce
Yellowtail and Jalapeno roll

The food, drinks, and decor were fantastic!

The waitstaff didn’t seem like they were all together and I felt that they took turns rushing us out the door in the guise of being helpful—no, not going to fool the IrascibleChef, but they were “pass-able,” as my grandmother would say (thank you for that perfect descriptor Grandma.) You can see what I think about the importance of the waitstaff to your restaurant here.

Haiku: Definitely an overall winner.

Technorati Tags: food review, Haiku Asian Bistro and Sushi Bar, Restaurants, Review, Sushi, Westchester

8year old: Mommy, I want the Human Beef!
Everyone: *laughter* We all want the human beef on a stick!

Ah, kids you gotta love’em!

We changed our usual Chinese restaurant this year because the word on the street was that the sanitation in our favorite place had left something to be desired. The health department is constantly being called on by service companies who do work in their kitchen. I personally didn’t see dirt, or roaches, or rats, so I will be keeping their name out of this—however, I do believe the people who did say it to be so—we all have to roll the dice…

We went to Panda Garden.

We didn’t have the lazy susan, a crowd pleaser with my family. They did however have the crowd favorite Scorpion bowls for two—FLAMING with 3 foot straws! I shared the marvelous cocktail—however, there was a question whether the flaming liquid perched a float our cozy cocktail, was in fact, gasoline! Whether it was or wasn’t, wasn’t an issue cause it was GOOD! We liked it!
We had scallion pancakes, cold sesame noodles, fried won-tons, and won-ton soup to start.
followed by chicken lo mien, “Human beef,” (Hunan Beef) on a stick as my young nephew called it, Mu shu pork, honey prawn, shrimp chow fun with black bean sauce—not on the menu, but requested for.

They did an excellent job with the black bean sauce—those little beans have so much flavor!

The food was fresh, tasty and nicely presented . The food didn’t make you feel so full you want to crawl into a cave for the night, you didn’t feel like a grease slick and fat bloated either. The day after proved that the quality of ingredients and preparation were all on target and sanitation was adhered too. The kids as well as the grown ups all enjoyed it.

The waitstaff was attentive, friendly, not intrusive. Oh, don’t let me forget—accommodating, they made the dish, not on the menu, I asked for by ingredients. Seemed a little further away, but worth it in any case.

IrascibleChef Recommends! Panda Garden

Technorati Tags: Chinese restaurants, Connecticut, Danbury, human beef, hunan beef, Panda Garden, Scorpion bowls