green chile in new mexico pt. 1 - enchiladas and eggs

Green chile is EVERYWHERE in New Mexico. Our first taste came in Albuquerque, at the Frontier Restaurant, a dive-y institution that sits right across the street from the University of New Mexico. We originally wanted to head to Monte Carlo Liquors and Steakhouse, but they were unfortunately closed on Sundays.

I got an order of the green chile stew, which had a really fierce heat level. It was a lot hotter than I expected. The stew had chunks of vegetables like potatoes and little nobs of ground pork. I also got a little side salad, which was pretty basic, but had a sprinkling of sunflower seeds which lent a saltiness and nutty crunch to each bite.

Accompanying my food were warm and fluffy homemade flour tortillas.

Dan got a half order of chicken enchiladas with green chile. It was pretty substantial and again, really, really firey. To wash things down, we ordered the intriguing sounding "raspberry rush" which turned out to be really bad, overly sweet raspberry flavored lemonade.

Exterior shot of the Frontier, established 1971. Afterwards, we drove over to Isotopes Park to watch the home team take on the Triple-A affiliate of the Mets, the New Orleans Zephyrs. Instead of spending the night in Albuquerque, we drove back north to Santa Fe.

Our first meal in Santa Fe was breakfast at Tia Sophia, just a few blocks from our hotel. I went with a breakfast burrito smothered in what else, but green chile. Tia Sophia's green chile was milder than the Frontier's, probably a good thing for our stomachs.

The insides reveal a carb love fest of has browns and bacon.

Dan ordered the huevos rancheros with blue corn tortillas. My dish was better so I shared. He asked for his eggs over medium, but they came out more like over easy and the entire dish turned into a runny mess. Also, it wasn't apparent from my food since everything was mushed together into a salty, cruncy, chile covered, delicious mess, but his potatoes tasted like they were fried in some sort of fake butter or butter flavored oil. I was not into the taste and much to my chagrin, it would be a recurring theme in Santa Fe.

Breakfast at Lulu Petite

Sausage and egg sandwich from Lulu Petite for breakfast at the Ferry Market Building. Yum. Yum. Yum. The pre-made baked egg was my least favorite part of the sandwich but it was good enough. The sausage was super tasty and had that somewhat loose texture that I'm really into. The grilled vegetable jam that was spread on the bread was also really intensely flavorful and I found myself wanting to lick the wax paper clean of it.

P.S. I forgot to mention that the cheese was delicious, melty fontina.

Ce que j'ai mangé pour le petit déjeuner le premier matin à Cannes

This simple meal of a pair of sunny-side up eggs, bread with butter and jam and coffee was one of my favorites of the trip. The bread had a wonderfully crusty shell and soft and spongey inside and the egg yolks such a vibrant shade of orange.

The small cafe was called Cannes 'Eveil (7 Rue Jean Jaures)and was located by a small square that held a daily market. On the way to the cafe, I passed a butcher shop that had an 8 foot tall rotisserie filled with roasted chickens that gave off the most delicious odor.

The Original Pancake House of Fort Lee

The Original Pancake House of Fort Lee takes up a corner of a typical suburban mini mall, with a Blockbuster and hair salon as its neighbors. It's a franchise with over 90 restaurants operated by individual families that shouldn't be confused with an IHOP or Denny's even though the exterior has the same type of blandness. I had breakfast with my folks here last weekend and learned the food is pretty good. The prices are a bit on the high side, though I will say the portions are large for the most part

We started off with a large glass of freshly squeezed orange juice for my dad and I to share and three cups of Royal Kona coffee. My mom went with the blueberry pancakes with a side of bacon, though she came very close to ordered the bacon pancakes. Neither my dad or I could decide on sweet or savory, so we decided to split a Meat Lover's Omelette and some banana pancakes.

The blueberry pancakes came 6 to an order with the blueberries folded into the batter while you got 8 of the banana version and the fruit was sliced atop standard buttermilk pancakes, which I've just learned while rereading the menu is the way it's described. The menu reads: "Buttermilk pancake filled with diced bananas and lightly dusted with powdered sugar." As you can see below, the bananas were just served on top.

Each pancake was approximately the size of a large cookie. They were larger than silver dollars but slightly smaller than what I'd call a typical pancake. Each order came with warm maple syrup as well as its own special sauce - blueberry compote and hot tropical syrup respectively. Both my dad are I were not into the tropical syrup. I liked the flecks of coconut, but not so much the overly sweet guava-y taste, or whatever fruit it was. The three strips of bacon on the side cost $4. Though they look a little overdone in the photo, they weren't. They still remained chewy due to the thick-cut nature.




The size of the omelet was pretty ridiculous, though you can't tell from the photo. It came stuffed with bacon, sausage, ham and cheddar cheese. As a side you can get toast or three buttermilk pancakes. We opted for whole wheat toast and also a side of home fries. Our server told us that because it's cooked in an oven, it would take a little longer. Fine we said, but what does an omelet's cooking time have to do with bringing three cups of coffee over? Towards the end of the meal he completely disappeared and no other waiter approached our area or acknowledged us. It took a good 15 minutes to get a coffee refill.



We barely made a dent in the omelet. The home fries were bland and mushy, not even as good as what any greasy diner would slop on your plate. Back in Brooklyn, DMR was able to nurse a hangover with a feast of leftover pancakes, toast, eggs and bacon. Even with that serving, a third of the omelet still wound up in the trash.

Dear Dairy

After dropping off some stuff for work at the Hotel on Rivington earlier in the week, I headed to the Essex Street Market in search of breakfast. I entered the market on the northern side and made my way past vendors selling fish and fruit and myriad cuts of meat and poultry until I got to Saxelby Cheesemongers. I had only previously tasted Saxelby's cheese curds - in an enormous order of poutine at their neighbor stand, Shopsin's General Store (formerly of Carmine Street in the West Village). Anyway, the morning's cheesemonger turned out to be someone I knew and he proceeded to impress me with his knowledge of cheese. I first picked my bread - mini ciabatta - and he gave me a couple suggestions. His second offering, Pleasant Ridge Reserve, turned out to be the winner. Pleasant Ridge Reserve is a nutty, cow's milk cheese from Wisconsin. I liked its pliable texture - not soft and not overall crumbly. A little pour of Frankie's olive oil on the bread completed this fantastic sandwich.

I also picked up a container of Siggi's Skyr yogurt in pear & mint flavor. I had been seeing these in a couple shops - the Murray's outpost in Grand Central and also at Stinky Cheese in Carroll Gardens - over the past few months. The packaging is very clean and the writing on the label is made to look hand-written. Siggi is apparently an Iceland native now living in New York. His yogurt is super thick, like the good Greek stuff and not very sweet. I found the mint a little overwhelming and the yogurt maybe a little too thick overall until I added some honey. Not only did it thin it out slightly, but it added the touch of sweetness it was lacking.

Today's Breakfast: Frittata at home

My stomach felt really empty after coming home from yesterday's debacle at Shea. I left during the 5th or 6th inning, but really I should have left in the 1st because I knew there would be no way this listless team was going to mount even a notion of a comeback. I was hungry, but nothing sounded good. So I made a frittata. I whipped up a couple eggs with milk and shredded cheddar and dumped in a handful of cooked spaghetti left over from Saturday's dinner. The mixture went into a greased pan and after letting it brown on one side, I executed a perfect flip (which is a rarity for me) to cook the other side. I love crunchy noodles and the frittata reminded me of the great toasted pasta dish they served at Mugsy's Chow Chow on 2nd Avenue (which was possibly my favorite restaurant circa 1997-2000). This morning I woke up hungry and so I reheated the frittata for breakfast. It beat anything any of the stupid generi-delis near my work could put together and overcharge me for.

I Hate You Bistro Marketplace

That would be the one on Park Avenue b/w 41st and 42nd.

Seriously, what's the logic in charging me more for a one egg + salami on a roll than 2 eggs + ham, bacon or sausage on a roll? Lame, especially you grillmaster rolly eyes. You're a deli in New York, no one has ever asked you for salami and eggs?

Never going back there again.

Weekend Eating in the Neighborhood

Saturday August 25

Headed to Bittersweet on Dekalb for an iced coffee. No iced coffee here, so I ordered an iced Americano. The Americano was poured over a plastic cup of ice and the barista began pouring water over it, telling me to say when. As the coffee changed hues from deep brown to more of an iced tea shade, I got nervous and spit out, "When...uh...can I get another shot?" Also bought an almond croissant, which is supplied to Bittersweet by Balthazar. Spent 5 and change. Need to remind myself to get there earlier for more of a pastry selection. It was slim pickins when I got there.

Walked about two blocks east before realizing that I wanted to hit the farmers market. Bought a couple of tomatoes ($.90) from a produce stand, and a half and half and some garlic cheese spread from the Ronnybrook Farms Dairy stand ($4.50, I think?). Before heading back home, I abandoned the idea of eating my almond croissant and went to L'Epicerie for a baguette ($2.75) and some black forest ham ($2). At home I cut off a hunk of baguette and spread both sides with the a little garlic cheese. Then I layered ham, fresh mozzarella and slices of tomato and popped it on the panini press. Yum. Later that day I snacked on baguette and cheese spread and gave the croissant to Dan.

That evening we headed over to Balgavy's to play some board games. Papa John's was eaten, but for fear of being mocked, I won't delve into.

Saturday August 26

On Sunday early afternoon, we decided to eat at Bonita, which we eat at often. I like their brunchy options, though I didn't love the chicken enchiladas smothered in guajillo sauce with eggs any style I had last time. We started with a bowl of deliciously tangy lime soup served with chicken falling the bone and lots of cilantro, onions and tomatoes and a few tortilla strips sprinkled on top. Dan got steak tacos and I ordered one of the day's specials, sopas with chorizo (which is handmade every day according to our server). The duo of sopas were topped with crumbly sausage, lettuce, white cheese and crema and a liberal dose of tomatillo sauce at my doing. I have learned to stay away from their habanero sauce, which has caused me great pain in the past.

For dinner, we got cheesesteaks from the BB Sandwich Bar cart at Shea Stadium as the Mets stunk it up. I've gottencheeseteaks from their flagship on W. 3rd Street a couple times and have liked them, but the thin slices of meat on the Shea variety reminded me a little of Steak-Ums. It's a nice alternative to all the fried options and the cart is right by our section.

Breakfast 06/09/06

I may have already stated this (in fact maybe in the previous post), but I love room service breakfast. After the bacon-a-thon of the previous morning, I opted to go a bit healthier and ordered up steel-cut oatmeal with caramelized bananas. Unfortunately, the bananas were the furthest thing from ripe and pretty inedible. The butter and brown sugar coating did provide a nice touch of sweetness that you need with oatmeal, so I swirled in the bananas to spread the caramel sauce around and then fished them out. For lunch later that day, I got a vegetable plate and of course my dinner time I was hankering for some meat!



Oatmealy bananas up-close.

Another Misc. Memorial Day Weekend Eating Pt. 3A

Saturday morning, the Brooklyn convoy joined groom-to-be and some friends and relatives for a Bar Harbor breakfast at a cutesy, totally Stars Hollowy place called Cafe This Way. Everyone seemed to know each other and everyone had a baby - either in their belly or b/w the ages of 10 and 14 months.

I had the most awful time trying to figure out what to eat from the menu, which was one amazing sounding dish after another. The one thing I knew I didn't not want was one of the special scrambles of the day because it contained fiddleheads. Gross. I do not like fiddleheads at all. They have that same slimey ooze that okra do. Fiddleheads taste like boogers. I like a lot of strange root and mountain vegetables, like bracken root and burdock but do not make me eat fiddleheads please. Just the list of specials (minus the fiddleheads) was making my head spin. I wanted the special pomegranate mimosa. I wanted the strawberries with fresh cream. I wanted bacon! I wanted ham! In the end I opted for The Harney, which was corned beef hash, two poached eggs and hollandaise. Oh and some toast. It got the thumbs up from the locals and from me too! I loved the way the eggs were poached. Sometimes when you get poached eggs they can be gooey. I like mine soft and a little runny, but also a little firm. When I dip my toast into the yolk to break it open, I want it to run but not like an out of control volcano. I also got my holy breakfast drink trifecta of water, coffee and bloody mary which came in a pint glass (a steal at $5!) garnished with a pepperoncini and an olive. DMR did not like his very much, but I did and drank some of his. I bit open the pepper to release some of its heat. I also added liberal dashes of black pepper as I like my bloody M's super spicy. DMR took a slightly healthier route with his entree and went with the granola, which came with a unique and delicious cinammon yogurt, as well as ample blueberries and banana slices. But he also got a side of bacon (which turned out to be 2 strips, one of which I ate) and some toast.

If I lived in Bar Harbor, this would be my Luke's. Well, maybe. I should probably try some of the other breakfast joines before I go shoot my mouth off.



p.s. I just looked at their dinner menu online and they serve bibimbop!!!!

What I'm Eating Right Now and A Breakfast Bust

Finishing off some crinkle cut fries from the Shake Shack. The cheeseburger is already gone and it was juicy and delicious. I meant to get a Shack Burger, but I forgot what it was called so I was a little surprised when I got my burger. My mistake.
Co-worker Johnny Lips picked up some shake shackens for me, most likely because he still feels guilty about the mean email prank he pulled. He sent around one of those "Every time you masterbate" images to the office wherein he forged my signature and also the entire email contents! He also signed off as "SJR" which should tip any and all to what a fake it was. Still people came up to me thinking I had sent it! Anyway, I still have some fries left and they are still crispy which is pretty remarkable considering our office is about 6 blocks from the Shack and also I'm a slow eater sometimes.

Also I want to tell everyone about NY City Bagels on 6th Avenue and 17th street. I got a plain bagel with veggie cream cheese this morning and it cost $2.75! WTF? At most it should cost $1.75. I was really appalled. I guess all the water leaking from the ceiling into buckets should have tipped me off to the fact that this place is bogus! That was some downpour this morning. I don't know if it's still raining since I am very far from a window.

Today's Blech-fast

Our Sunday Times a few weeks ago was wrapped in a branded bag for Starbucks. It announced the arrival of two new drinks - some awful sounding Blackberry Green Tea Frappucino and a Green Tea Latte. Included with the paper was a coupon for a Green Tea Latte and I used it today en route to work from a doctor's appointment I was totally late for because I got off at the wrong stop.

Don't ever order this! It tastes like crap. Actually it tastes like honeydew melons, which is even weirder. The drink is an unnaturally mint green color and put me in an even worse mood than getting off at the wrong subway stop did.

Also, don't go to the Starbucks on Broadway and 17th Street. I waited like 10 minutes for my drink. Unbelieveable. What are all those barristas doing behind the counter? Oh wait, they were arguing with each other about whether the drink was supposed to have soy instead of skim milk.