Nibbles

Julie’s Place

Nibbles

A Tallahassee institution for almost as long as I’ve been alive, Julie’s Place is well known as a spot for a nice meal in a relaxed setting. I’ve been there several times over the years, going back to a pre-prom dinner in the early 90s followed by banquets, meetings, and several dates. It’s been almost 20 years since that first visit and, unfortunately, the years haven’t been kind to this aging grand dame of the Tallahassee culinary landscape.

An early-evening mid-week dinner about a month ago showed a few flaws in the decor–fading carpets, stained ceiling tiles, a musty smell in the lobby and the like–but the curved banquettes are still a delightful throw-back to an earlier age. The menu is what you would expect from a steakhouse with a fair amount of variety to be had. Being in a comfort food mood we ordered the potato skins appetizer which was actually more potato than skin with just broiled cheese and chopped bacon on top–it really needed some salt at the very least (even the bacon was lackluster in the taste department).

The salads came and I was really impressed with the Citrus Lemon Cream dressing–so much so that I tried to find a reasonable facsimile for a recent party. Todd’s steak and my shrimp came out well-prepared though I must confess my continued peeve of restaurants that serve shrimp, especially those pre-sauced, tail on. It’s one thing as a passed appetizer in place of a toothpick but any place that provides a knife and fork really should forgo the tails. And, once again, almost everything on the plate needed salt. While spice is definitely a matter of personal preference, habitual under-salting is a sign of a careless chef (or that you’re dining in a hospital cafeteria).

My hope for this long-time establishment is that the management will be able to give Julie’s Place a bit of a face lift and, perhaps, a bit more flavor.

3 Reviews: Bay Point Marriott Restaurants

Nibbles

For the past 2 years, Todd and I have attended a convention held at the Bay Point Marriott Golf Resort & Spa in Panama City Beach, Florida, and have had mixed results eating at a few of their house restaurants. What follows is a brief report for the 3 we’ve tried over that time period.

Lime’s Bayside Bar & Grill (pdf menu)

The best thing about Lime’s is the gorgeous bay view afforded from the entire restaurant. It’s a bit of a trek down a boardwalk over the water to this casual dining restaurant with outdoor seating at high tables and pretty basic food. In fact, I think I ordered the fish tacos but they didn’t make that much of an impression on me. Still, the prices are decent, the drinks tasty (I believe we both had the Bay Point Breeze–rums, cranberry and pineapple juices) and were there just at sunset. Like I said, go for the view. Also appropriate as a casual place to unwind with some friends after a day of beach fun.

Kingfish Restaurant & Sushi Bar (pdf dinner menu)

This is the primary in-house restaurant for the Bay Point Marriott and you’d expect–with a name like Kingfish–that the seafood would be impeccable, right? Unfortunately, the best thing I’ve found at the Kingfish is their burgers.

The first year at this resort, just after their renovation if the convention’s website was to be believed, we ate at the Kingfish for one lunch and one breakfast. The burgers we had that day were fantastic–juicy, flavorful, basically what you expect of a nice burger. Of course it’s a little pricier than I’d have preferred, but it’s a hotel restaurant, they have an all-but captive audience thanks to the hotel’s somewhat remote location on St Andrew’s Bay, so a higher price tag comes with the territory. The following morning’s breakfast was passable (my companions got the buffet but I’m of the mind that if I wanted to serve myself, I’ll stay at home and cook, so I ordered the French Toast) but nothing really spectacular. What did stand out was the scattered service of the morning which left–pardon the pun–a bad taste in my mouth.

Our most recent visit, however, we ate at Kingfish for dinner the first night. This turned out to be a horrendous mistake. The menu was mostly what we remembered, we weren’t overly hungry or in the mood for cocktails so went straight to the entrees. I ordered the Shrimp & Scallops (which, at the time, was being served with a savory rice cake; I notice the current menu online lists a different accompaniment and a slightly lower price) which, after quite some wait, strange for a mostly deserted restaurant–we’ve never witnessed it full, either year, came out beautifully presented. Alas, looks are only skin deep as the 6 shrimp and 3 scallops (at a price tag of $32, if I recall correctly) were overcooked to the point of rubber–they were chewy, dry, and could be shredded like the faux crab meat into little, plastic, chunks.

Now, honestly, I’ve worked in a high-end restaurant and I know what can happen to dishes that are sent back, but I could not, in the name of good taste, possibly eat this. So, after waiting for the waiter to finally come check on us, I apologetically (only out of habit, that chef should have been apologizing to me and his fishmonger) returned the dish as inedible. Todd opted to keep his Shrimp Pizza even though it, too, was slightly overcooked. Not willing to wait for another potentially ruined bit of seafood, I punted and went with the burger, at least I could count on it, right? I ordered it Medium Rare. It came out Medium. While it was acceptable (and I certainly wasn’t going to send something ELSE back), I doubt I’ll eat there again.

30° Blue Pub & Eatery (pdf menu)

Not part of the main hotel complex, 30° Blue is in the condo section of the resort, surrounded by shops and stores. It was a stone’s throw from our room in the Golf Villas but, since you can’t walk across the course, it’s a little bit of a trek to get to it. Let me tell you, though, it was well worth the walk!

I’d actually heard of 30° Blue–or what I thought was it–back in Culinary School and understood it to be somewhat upscale restaurant with really good sushi. I think I confused it with a place down in Destin, the more I think about it, but whatever–we tried this 30° Blue and were more than pleased. It’s not much to look at, really. There’s a big oblong bar dominating most of the room, televisions playing the latest golf coverage, and booths and tables ringing the outside walls which have plenty of windows but not much in the way of view.

The food, though, that’s another story. At the enthusiastic urging of our waitress we tried the Spinach & Artichoke Dip appetizer which, she claimed, was the best she’s ever had. It was a large dish, bubbling with cheese and featuring quartered artichoke hearts studded through it. That’s probably the only thing I’d have changed about it because it made it harder to scoop up with the fresh chips it was served with–chop the artichokes, it’s okay, we’ll still know they’re there. Todd ordered another recommendation: the Mahi Mahi sandwich, grilled, while I ordered the Fish & Chips. Unlike at the Kingfish, this seafood came out perfectly prepared: tender, flaky, flavorful. It was a revelation after the previous experiences over the past 2 years. In fact, my portion of fish was so large I couldn’t finish it all and took half of it back to the room. Later that night I heard it calling my name, though, and even after spending several hours in the mini-fridge the breading on both the fish and the onion rings was not that heavy, cold-oil taste you’d expect but just as clean and fresh as when it was originally served to me. Now that’s a proper frying that can stand cold storage and still be tasty!

The future of the convention that brought us here is uncertain as of this writing, but if we ever find ourselves back at the Bay Point Marriott we’ll happily wander over to 30° Blue again and probably give Lime’s another try. Otherwise, we’ll be eating off-site.

Magazine Mash-Up

Nibbles

Okay, everyone, show of hands: how many subscribe to cooking magazines? Bonus round: how many times have you actually used a recipe from said magazines?

Uh huh, exactly what I thought. (Don’t worry, I’m just as guilty as the rest of you.)

It doesn’t seem to matter what I’m interested in, a “collector” streak always seems to run right through it. In my heyday of culinary collection, I probably subscribed to half a dozen food-related magazines (at least!) and, while I did read them, and store them, and flip through them occasionally, I probably only used half a dozen recipes total (mostly from my favorite: Cooking Light).

Since that time I’ve moved house more than once and in one of the pre-move purges I forced myself to toss the years of back issues that took up so much space. Then I went several years without buying or subscribing to a single cooking magazine–I know, however did I manage?–until last Fall, when Food Network announced they were coming out with their own magazine. Then I found Imbibe… here we go again!

So now I’m back to subscribing, but still trying to keep things under control. Also, I’d like to actually _use_ the magazines’ content more than I have in the past. It doesn’t help that I also use a menu service (Saving Dinner’s Menu Mailer) which includes dinner recipes, suggested side dishes and an itemized, categorized shopping list for all of it each week–I seldom actually plan a meal these days. Which is why I was so proud of myself a week or so ago when corn on the cob was the suggested side dish one night. I remembered seeing a mention of “Charm City Corn” in the last Food Network Magazine, dug out the issue that was hiding on the bedside table, and was able to dress up the side dish a little bit.

Instead of relying just on my own memory, I’m trying to come up with ways to making using the information in those pages easier. Here are what I’ve come up with so far:

  • A tear-file of possible favorites, kept in an accordion file or binder, organized by primary ingredient.
  • Recipe cards kept in a file, maybe hand-copying the recipes will make their existence stick in my memory better.
  • Scanning interesting recipes into my computer with a spreadsheet to cross reference ingredients (that might be a lot of work, though).
  • Sticky flags (color-coordinated?) in the magazine itself.
  • Planning a magazine-based dinner once a week in addition to the planned menus I get from Saving Dinner.

Okay, those last two seem the easiest to implement. The others… might be better for long-term storage and make me wish for one of those counter-top recipe gadgets.

Croutons

Nibbles

Good croutons are like little nuggets of gold, carbohydrate contraband hidden amongst leafy greens and good-for-you veggies. How often, though, have you had fresh croutons or, better yet, made them yourself?

Fresh croutons is actually a bit of a misnomer as the best bread for croutons is bread that’s been around a little bit. Just like French Toast, using day-old or slightly stale bread works because it slurps up moisture that much better. Any sturdy bread will do and you can decide to keep the crusts intact or trim them off.

Cube your bread into 1-inch or so pieces and heat a dry skillet on medium to medium-high. Toss the bread around the skillet for a while, letting it brown on the edges if you want, before drizzling with a good olive oil. Continue to stir or toss the bread around, being careful not to let it burn, adding more oil if there are several cubes left untouched. Sprinkle in some kosher salt, pepper and whatever other seasonings you like just before turning the croutons out of the pan (I’m partial to garlic powder and parsley, myself).

Homemade croutons don’t last very long in my house–whatever doesn’t get used on top of a salad or soup usually gets nibbled away in short order–but you can certainly place any leftovers into a plastic bag or storage container. They will keep for quite a while on the counter but I wouldn’t make them in too big a batch because the oil can turn on you and make the croutons taste ‘off’.

Anyone familiar with Classic French cuisine (a la Escoffier) or just French Onion Soup will be familiar with the larger crouton that is popular as a base or topping for many foods. A slice of baguette, done on the bias, is best for this application, and is treated much the same as the cubed croutons with maybe a bit less tossing involved. Whether floated on top of a rich soup and topped with soon-to-be-melted cheese or as a foundation for shredded beef in sauce or even tuna a la king, a fresh crouton of this nature adds a nice texture to an otherwise smooth dish and a hint of richness from the olive oil.

Now, I know most crouton applications are savory but I like to try and come up with alternatives. You can certainly use butter (clarified is best to avoid burning) for your croutons so why not season them with a bit of cinnamon and sugar and top them with berries and a bit of freshly whipped cream as a dessert? Instead of the cinnamon, what about a bit of nutmeg or even a pinch of cardamom to top a rich rice pudding?

What other interesting ways can you think of to use a good, homemade crouton?

The Chef’s Knife

Nibbles

It’s tough to cook much without a good knife, that’s just the way things are. And, in a lot of ways, it’s true: you get what you pay for. But sometimes, just sometimes, you get more than you expected.

When I was in School, along with uniforms and books, part of our fees went towards a rather spiffy knife kit. Included in this kit, obviously, was a very serious chef’s knife. And in this case, very serious translates to pretty big and heavy. Now, it’s true that women are making serious inroads into the professional kitchen arena but many things continue to default to male. Take chef’s jackets, for one: they look great on a man, second only to a double-breasted suit, probably, but on most women they need serious tailoring to be anything close to flattering. Chef’s knives, by and large, are made for men’s hands and I have tiny, girly hands, so using that knife for 2 years, straight, meant plenty of blisters.

Now, sure, I could have gone out and bought a smaller knife, we even had a specialty cookware store in town that carried some real beauties. But, as much as I wanted to stand out to my instructors (and I did, make no mistake) that wasn’t the way I wanted to do it. Call it stubborn, but I stuck it out with that massive knife and I still use it on big jobs at home because it is such a workhorse, even if it still hurts my hand.

Of course, part of that is because of how we were taught to hold the knife. While most people, myself included, would just hold it by the handle, that’s actually NOT the best way to work a blade. Think about it: a knife like this is 2/3 blade and 1/3 handle. Even though the manufacturer does an excellent job of balancing the two parts, it’s still uneven and if you hold the knife by the handle alone you don’t have as much control as when you place your thumb and first joint of your index finger on either sides of the blade and grasp the handle with the remaining 3 fingers. Try it for yourself, with this grip the knife becomes an extension of your arm and weilds greater force.

The idea that bigger, and more expensive, isn’t always better came to a head last year while I was browsing the kitchen-ware section of IKEA. On their wall of tools I saw a cute little utility knife that had the shape of a classic chef’s in a much smaller package. It was all of $7 so I thought I’d give it a try. To my unending surprise, this little mini-chef (as I like to call it) is lightweight, sturdy, comfortable for my little hands and keeps an excellent cutting surface. It’s been my workhorse for a year now and I only wish the nearest IKEA weren’t 4.5 hours away or I’d surely have given more of their knives a test.

About the only downside is the length of the blade when dealing with large veggies, like squash or leeks and the like. The longer blade allows for a good reach and a rocking motion to really power through some produce at top speed. But since this only matters, for me, when I’m prepping a ton of mise en place for a party or holiday dinner, it’s not too big a deal (and it’s not like I got rid of my big knives).

A few more tips from Knife Skills 101

  • A falling knife has no handle.
  • More accidents happen with dull blades than sharp ones.
  • Knife Skills Practical Exam: if you cut yourself, you fail.