Nibbles

Siam Sushi, Tallahassee, Florida

Nibbles

In the Lake Ella plaza, next to Publix (where Hopkins Eatery was most recently–it’s moved over to one of the side-strips, by the way), is an unassuming exterior with simple, sans serif letters proclaiming the new restaurant inside: Siam Sushi.

There is a patio area for overflow seating (or those few weeks a year when outdoor eating in Florida is a possibility) and a simple glass door. The inside, however, is filled with gleaming dark wood, contemporary design, low lighting and a large bar–something you wouldn’t expect just from the outside.

And neither is the food.

I’d been awaiting their opening since I saw the sign go up–another sushi place close to home AND serves Thai food? Heaven! After all, Rice Bowl is no longer and our side of town was really feeling the lack. So August comes and we decide to go the very night the local paper reviewed them with 4 hats–not planned and they were a little overwhelmed.

Nonetheless our waitress was attentive and very helpful in explaining the extensive menu and making recommendations.

We started with drinks: a Raspberry Lemon Drop for Todd and a Siam Passion Fruit Cosmo for me ($9 each). Both were a little heavy, not as balanced as we prefer. Considering I mix a new cocktail every week, this is something that’s probably only going to bug me, but if you prefer a decent dose of mixer in your drink, order carefully.

The hostess stand had posted several sushi rolls as specials of the night and we decided to split on–the Peter Roll ($14)–as an appetizer. Not appearing on the regular menu, this sushi alone was worth the price of admission: tasty, fresh, packed with fish and flavor and the sauce was such a wonderful complement. I wish I could remember what all went in it but I know salmon and yellowfin tuna were the main fish. Seriously, if you see this on special you might want to consider ordering it.

Peter Roll, Siam Sushi

Peter Roll, Siam Sushi

With such a large menu it’s easy to overlook entire sections just from the general overwhelm. This is where our server, Carly, came in handy–she pointed out that there were several duck entrees (found under House Specialties) with the Spicy Duck ($18) being a particular favorite. Not usually a big duck fan, Todd decided it sounded good enough to try and was not let down. Not only was the portion huge it was amazingly flavorful and the skin was crisped ever so slightly. He was kind enough to share (of course) and I was almost sorry I didn’t order it for myself.

Spicy Duck, Siam Sushi

Spicy Duck, Siam Sushi

Instead, I was in a noodle mood so got the Rad Na with Beef, Medium Spicy ($14). Lots of veggies and some of the most tender beef I’ve had in a while atop wide noodles in a rich brown sauce. If you’re looking for some solid comfort food, go ahead and give this a try. The various entrees are priced according to your protein choice from tofu/vegetables at $12 to seafood at $18, so you can customize your dinner among the different styles available. (The Beef Spare Ribs in Masaman Curry is another crowd favorite, we were informed.)

Rad Na with Beef, Siam Sushi

Rad Na with Beef, Siam Sushi

At this point we were pretty stuffed and intending to ask for the check as soon as our server appeared but, oh, she mentioned desserts and one in particular: Thai Beignets ($5). Now, being more than passingly familiar with Cafe Du Monde the word beignet carries a certain level of expectation–almost as strong as the will to resist is weak. Of course we ordered them, especially when we heard the were served with dark and white chocolate sauces and a mango reduction. Duh.

Thai Beignets, Siam Sushi

Thai Beignets, Siam Sushi

Now, for the record, these are not the crisp and air-puffed beignets of New Orleans fame. Of course, in French beignet simply means doughnut so we’re not going to quibble too much on that score. The doughnuts, themselves, remind me of the canned biscuits Mom would quarter and fry as doughnut holes when I was a kid. She’d give them to me in a paper bag to shake with powdered sugar–such a great treat on cold nights. I don’t care if that’s what they’re doing in the kitchen at Siam Sushi, they were tasty on their own and even better when dragged through the swirled chocolate sauces on the plate. The mango reduction, on the other hand, was more like cane syrup, really, it had been reduced so far that the mango was easily lost. Still, a little more sweet on a plate like this isn’t a problem for us.

Overall, I agree with the 4-hat rating of the newspaper. As good as the entrees were, they didn’t hold a candle to the amazing sushi. The cocktail menu needs work and the second seating area still needs some spiffing up (stacks of chairs were just to the side of our table and some tables were bare, others had white tablecloths, others had white vinyl covers on them–minor details but they make a difference).

We’re so glad we tried a sushi roll–truly this is where they excel–and are curious to try some of their actual appetizers. On our next trip we’ll concentrate on the sushi offerings–they also feature combos and a la carte pricing–and maybe try their take-out or lunch menu some weekend.

Siam Sushi is located at 1701 N Monroe Street, in the Lake Ella shopping center, and open until 10pm Sunday through Thursday, until 11pm Friday and Saturday. They do take reservations (850-391-9021).

All Grown Up

Nibbles

Peering into the Past

When I was a kid, around age 4 or so, my grandmother had a clean-your-plate rule. I was a pretty good eater back then (oh, for that metabolism these days, right?) so compliance wasn’t usually a problem.

Except for 2 foods: Brussels sprouts and turnips.

In the case of the Brussels sprouts, I had a traumatic experience with them. I didn’t particularly care for the taste but, in the interest of pleasing my elders, I wolfed one down. Whole. And it got a little stuck.

I don’t think life-saving measures had to be employed (if so, I blocked that part out) but it was scary.

Sure, as an adult I realize this could have been avoiding by cutting the little green monsters into smaller pieces or, you know, chewing them. But I was a kid. I suppose I lacked certain logic centers. Regardless: mini-cabbage was not my friend and I don’t remember it being served again.

Turnips, though, were another story. I knew I didn’t like them and I knew I didn’t want to eat them, but grandma was adamant: I was not leaving that table without getting them down.

Or so we all thought.

I tried, honestly, I put that first forkful in my mouth and chewed and–as Mom tells the story–they grew and they grew and they grew some more until my poor little chipmunk cheeks could hold them no more.

I know that was the last time they served me turnips.

Things Change

These days I love both of my foodie foes with abandon.

Brussels sprouts came back into my life via those frozen pouches with veggies and sauce. I figured I was old enough not to choke on them and I should give them another go. Yay me for being brave because oh. em. gee. they were delicious. Sure, the buttery sauce that was dripping off them had something to do with that, but it was the tender leaves of the sprouts that caught said sauce just as much. Now I like them steamed with a little bit of olive oil and Parmesan cheese, but tossed with curry powder and roasted is amazing, too.

Turnips were a harder sell.

Having caused a rather… violent reaction in the past, I was wary of giving them another go, convinced there was something in them that my body didn’t want in it.

Until school. Until American Regional Cuisine where I was creating a menu (for actual guests, even) that reflected the mish-mash culture of New York City and my main dish focused on the Irish immigrants.

Enter Dingle Pie.

Oddly named to our American ears, it’s named for Dingle Bay and is a lamb’s meat pie including, among other savory things, turnips. Now, I didn’t have to cook this dish (I was running the kitchen so got to assign roles–that was fun!) but I did have to serve it and, well, a good chef does not serve something she hasn’t tasted. And I had to present each course to the diners (including the dean of our department, the head of the school, a couple of admins, my Mom and my boyfriend) so I had to know the dish on more than just a theoretical level.

So I tasted it.

I did not get sick.

And, oh, it was good.

Since then my favorite way of eating turnips is turnip “fries”–peel and slice turnips into steak fry-like planks, toss with olive oil and a seasoning mix of salt, pepper, garlic powder, parsley and whatever else you have around that sounds good and bake at 375 degrees until fully cooked (about 30 minutes, depending on the thickness of your fries).

Changing Tastes

Do our taste buds mature as we do?

I remember reading, once (and wish I could remember where or find it again) that a child’s tastes run towards the sweet, first, because those taste buds develop first. Or, it could be that a young child is constantly identifying their environment through taste (learning to stick out their tongue is an early trick) and the concentration of sweet-detecting taste buds are focused at the tip of the tongue.

Or, maybe, it’s an evolutionary thing. Something hidden in the primitive part of the brain, something that animals know instinctively: bitter equals poison, sweet is safe.

I was surprised to learn we have up to 10,000 taste buds in our mouths and that they are replenished every couple of weeks. Those of us who’ve scalded our tongues tasting something that was a few shades past warm are grateful for this, I’m sure. As we age not all of those taste-receptors are replaced, which jives with what we were taught in Nutrition: elder palates are harder to please because things just don’t taste the same.

(We also learned that white pepper is easier to digest than black–the outer coating having been removed–but is exponentially stronger so use WAY less than the recipe asks for. But that’s another story.)

Your Turn!

What foods did you dislike/disliked you when you were young that you enjoy now? Are there any you’re still to scared to try? Share in the comments!

Seeking Delicious Heights at Lofty Pursuits

Nibbles

Our friends to the North and Midwest might be taunting us with cooler temperatures, but it’s still hot as ever down here in Florida.

As the bank sign read 105 degrees, Todd and I headed out one recent Saturday on errands that took us over to Market Square. While the Square has always been a treasure trove of delightful shops, Lofty Pursuits (known for a variety of games, yo-yo and juggling supplies and other fun things) has relocated there from it’s longtime home at Lake Ella and, as part of their new digs, opened an old fashioned ice cream fountain!

The Ice Cream Bar of Lofty Pursuits

32 Flavors of Yum!

The official grand opening of this bit of nostalgia is just around the corner–September 4th and 5th–but for the last month they’ve been serving ice cream and testing out a variety of menu items as more pieces of this cream and fizz-laden puzzle arrive.

Because it’s not enough for owner, Greg Cohen, just to serve cold drinks and treats–what goes in them is important! The ice creams are from Tampa, the cream for the in-house whipped creams (regular, chocolate and strawberry–get all 3 on a banana split!) come from a nearby Blountstown dairy. The syrup for the egg creams comes from the original Brooklyn, NY, company that serviced the original fountains in Cohen’s old stomping grounds. And that’s just what I remember from talking with him over ice cream samples.

Oh, the samples. Of the 32 flavors we tasted at least half of them–maybe more–along with some of the toppings (the crystallized ginger is so moist, it’s amazing). The champagne sorbet was light and crisp, the mango sorbet as good as any I’d had from local pastry chefs, the birthday cake ice cream tastes like light, fluffy whipped icing with morsels (not bricks!) of yellow cake stirred in. The strawberry tastes like it came straight from the strawberry patch with a brief stop at a churn, the cinnamon like a creamy frosting that would be fantastic over some carrot cake or gingerbread (hint!), and the butter pecan was heavenly. Todd even liked the Guinness ice cream, and he’s not a beer fan at all!

Greg Cohen, Owner, Lofty Pursuits

Prepare to be Served!

(Apparently I should have found a bib before writing this post–my mouth as watering at the very thought of those ice creams!)

Our gregarious host was kind enough to tell us of some of his plans–bringing back drinks like Egg Creams, Rickies and Phosphates. A particularly yummy signature dish that is illusion food at it’s best (hint: it involves that amazing crystallized ginger) is on the to-do list that we’re definitely looking forward to, perhaps more than the ubiquitous Kitchen Sink-style concoction that inspires brain freeze at the mere thought of all that ice cream.

More and continual updates can be found at the Lofty Pursuits website or you can just stop by 1415 Timberlane Road #410 (next to Old Town Cafe) between 11 am and 10 pm, Monday through Saturday, (noon to 8pm on Sundays).

As tasty as those banana splits look (served in a banana boat with a waffle-sail set to steer you away from spills), I think my next trip will have to include a root beer float. Not only was Greg nice enough to confirm that the Sprecher root beer is caffeine free, he carries 2 soy ice creams–I think I might just be in heaven!

E-Mealz: a Menu Service Alternative

Nibbles

I’ve often recommended the Menu Mailer by Saving Dinner to folks who have trouble answering the ‘What’s for dinner’ question from week to week. It’s convenient, inexpensive, offers of variety of menu options and takes the weight off your shoulders.

But it’s not the only option.

(And, yes, I still sometimes kick myself for not being more entrepreneurial-minded back in ’98 when I started doing this myself every week for my husband and I.)

From a blog ad I saw several weeks ago I pointed my browser to e-mealz.com (don’t forget the hyphen or the z), just out of curiosity. What I found was a site that touted money-saving, healthy menus for a mere $5 a month. They even match their menus to specific stores! Taking advantage of the weekly advertised specials without actually having the comb the flyers yourself? Nice!

Sadly, I found that you can’t just try the service for a single month–at least not without paying for 2 more. That was a little disappointing (I like to give things a trial before I commit, don’t you?) but I went ahead and signed up for a 3-month subscription. And all those store/menu-style options? Yeah, you have to pick one to subscribe to. No hopping between menus if you feel like shopping the best option each week.

As much as it pains us some days, Wal-Mart is the most cost-effective store local to us (though we frequently stop by Publix for specialty items) so we opted for the Low-Carb Wal-Mart meal plan for 4-6. The recipes (7 per week) cover 2 pages and are written sparingly. Side dishes are also included. The shopping list is also presented as a grid, with staples broken out so that it’s easy to mark out those you probably already have on hand but also can remember to pick up if you’re running low. It’s broken out by sections and has a column for checking items off.

What wasn’t so hot? Meal 3 of our first week was a Toasted Pecan and Strawberry Salad. Sounds great! Guess what wasn’t on the shopping list: strawberries. Oops. Kind of a big oversight (which we, thankfully, caught before leaving for the store). Also it’s great that they recommend so many side salads–5 out of the 7 days on our first week–but when you look closer you see they’ve specified the store-brand bagged iceberg lettuce. Why bother? Iceberg has very low nutritional value–it’s barely even green! We substituted some romaine hearts and a package of spring mix and spent a little more for a more satisfying end result. (Future weeks proved this to be somewhat of an aberration–though a recommended side dish of Pork Rinds seems quite out of place.)

But the recipes were tasty! We were especially pleased with the Hot Taco Salad which ground turkey in a chili-like layer with lots of toppings. And the salad recommendations (once you ditch the iceberg) were inventive–Greek-style one day, Mexican another, with a couple of dinner salads thrown in. We certainly didn’t lack for taste or variety.

How does it compare to the Menu Mailer? MM offers 6 recipes a week, e-mealz 7. Both include side dish recommendations and itemized shopping lists. Both also provide for a variety of primary proteins and seem to use 1 slow-cooker recipe a week. Menu Mailer allows you access to all 3 of their menu types each week, available as downloadable pdf files that you can save for later, a bit of an advantage over the locked-in e-mealz but MM wasn’t always all-access, either.

Menu Mailer administers it’s subscriptions through Big Tent–numerous hoops and clicks required to get to your weekly menu download. I understand that it probably makes things easier on the admins to do it this way but it was a change I was not happy to see happen. E-mealz–either due to a smaller size or just preference–still takes a single click from their homepage to the Members Area when there’s a link to this week’s and last week’s menus. The simplicity is nice.

Sure, the simplicity of their recipes may get to us after a while and we may not renew past our first 3 months, but it’s a nice change of pace for now.

Have you ever tried a menu service? Which one(s) and what did you think?

The Question of Leftovers

Nibbles

I love leftovers. Leftovers, for me, mean

  • I don’t have to cook the next day.
  • I don’t have to do dishes the next day.
  • I don’t have to go out for lunch or pick-up take-out that comes in super-sized portions (and calories) and less-than-stellar taste.

Leftovers are also inevitable when you’re only cooking for 1 or 2. Veggies are easy to find in single-serving sizes but most grocery stores frequently package meat in quantities fit for 4 or more–same for many other goods. Cooking for 4 takes the same amount of effort that cooking for 1 does and results in more prepared meals instead partial bits of boxes and cans.

Some folks, though–and I fail to comprehend the why–have a real issue with leftovers. As in, they can’t stand them, won’t touch them much less eat them and regard this as trash. My friend’s dad was this way. Serve it once and if it wasn’t finished at that meal he didn’t ever want to see it again, even used in a new dish.

This baffles me because I know several dishes–everything from a seafood dip to a good marinara–can be improved by a night in the fridge. This happens because the flavors have time to really hang out and mingle, they spread through the dish and permeate every corner.

Sure, there’s a limit to the lifespan of a pork chop under refrigeration–after 4 days or so I wouldn’t suggest anyone eat it. But a meatloaf sandwich the next day or a pot of soup that gets you through the week, that’s a deliciously beautiful thing! [Caveat: all leftovers should be reheated properly to a temperature above 140 degrees Fahrenheit–165 is a safer best–before being consumed. Safety first!]

True, some things don’t reheat well. Rice and pasta–dry things–tend to need a little help. Sprinkling either with water before popping into the microwave or toaster oven help hydrate the drier parts during reheating. Breads should never be put into the microwave for more then, say, 20 seconds or you’re going to end up with a brick about 10 seconds after it cools.

But why the lack of love towards the leftover? Seriously, if you don’t like leftovers please leave me a comment and try to help me understand. It might not be solvable, but I really would like to understand.

~~~oOo~~~

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