Another American Comfort Food Joint - Peels Restaurant

An American comfort food restaurant really isn't anything new lately. It seems to me that I've been reading about more causal restaurants each day. There are just so many. I've read lots of food writing that has stated that more Americans are looking for simpler well made meals in more casual restaurants rather than the high end fussy places that dominated the American restaurant scene at one point.

Regardless of the prevalence of this trend, I was very happy to get an invitation from my college friend, Roo Mi (remember her birthday?), to join her and a group of fellow food nerd friends at the newly opened Peels Restaurant. Peels is actually an offshoot of another restaurant, Freeman's, which I have to admit that I don't know much about. Peels opened in a part of the northern portion of the Lower East Side of Manhattan that's gotten its share of big restaurant openings already this year (check DBGB from Daniel Boulud). Needless to say there were lots of "I'm very cool, and you should know this" types there. Yeah, whateva...

We were there for the food. Bring it! By the way, there are going to be lots of food shots. There were nine of us! Let me also mention our very cool waiter (I'm so sorry to forget his name), who after hearing our audible reactions during his descriptions of the specials, must have had a good chuckle. He fielded every question about the preparation of the dishes and his suggestions were really spot on. I think we must have made his evening fun. I'm glad when I can do that for the waitstaff, but he definitely was a knowledgeable and affable waiter.

Oh yes..food...

Some crispy wafer-like things came out first as nibbles. I wish I could tell you what this is. There were some marinated veggies in the white bowl with a tart vinegar taste.

Since I was going out to meet another group of friends afterwards, I laid off the alcohol, but looking at some of the cocktails made me want to come back just for a few drinks.

Peel's Punch, I'm coming back for you!

The roll call of appetizers:

Shrimp & Grits

I just had a smidgen of this and many of the appetizers (I was saving room for dessert), but savory and creamy with the right amount of salt is how I'd describe the grits. Although you might not want to trust what I say as someone who doesn't usually like grits, but this totally made me rethink my usually anti-grits stance.

Potato Dumplings

Think along the lines of Italian gnocchi. The dumplings were placed in a soothing broth with vegetables that really could have been made into an excellent soup by itself.

Corn Dog

No typo there. You did in fact read corn dog. I usually am freaked out by the idea of a corn dog (a sausage of some dubious origin surrounded by thick batter and fried on a stick. Say what?!), but this did taste very fresh. The golden spicy mustard gave it the perfect kick. Again, maybe I will change my tune about corn dogs, but only if I can eat these every time.

I was saving room for the mains and desserts, and I'm glad I did. For such a large group, many of us had the same dishes. Maybe food nerds are unoriginal, or perhaps we'd been taken in by what we'd read about Peels beforehand?

Fried Chicken

Make sure that if you do get Peels' fried chicken to dip its super crispy skin into the accompanying side of honey and spices. Maaahhhhvlous, dahling! I'm struggling to find ways to talk about the chicken other than it was spot on crunchy meat skin. The chicken's flesh itself was well-seasoned and not dry.

Lamb Shank

Fall off the bone good with a hint of Mexican mole. I even ate the crispy onions. Peels must have been good because it had me eating things that I do not normally (and I eat a whole lotta stuff). On the same plate were lovely beans and bits of spinach. It made me feel less self-conscious about eating a hunk of meat.

Others tried:

Ribeye Steak

Uhhh..that's a steak! More than one person ate this.

Fall Vegetable Gratinee

Hen of the woods mushrooms, cauliflower, squash, goat cheese & herbs

Finally, the most important course: Dessert!!!

I think this was bread pudding? (Oops! What a bad blogger I am for not catching this!)

Butterscotch Pot de Creme

I liked that Peels's desserts weren't too sweet. Anything that had cream was smooth and buttery. Unlike most things with butterscotch that try to hit you over the head with the butterscotch taste, this pot de creme was subtle and beckoned you to keep taking a spoonful here and there. Yet I couldn't 'cause I was too busy eating MY dessert....

My dessert: the Tres Leches Cake

Have I told you that I love baked goods? People can keep their candy and perhaps also their ice cream (okay, I like ice cream too), but give me baked goods like this cake. I love that it was drowning is a non-cloying dulce de leche-esque flavored milk bath with freshly whipped cream. Mmm...

Not pictured: The very good sundae.

I need to go back to Peels for the biscuits and gravy that I didn't get a chance to taste (only served at lunch and brunch).

In all a fun meal with some warm, friendly company. I've been enjoying my outings with Roo Mi's friends so much that I think I need to get my own merry band of food nerds for myself. :)

Happy Weekend, everyone!

Peels Restaurant

325 Bowery (@ 2nd Street)

New York, NY

Antigua Me Come From - Some Intro & A Beachside Lobster Lunch

I think I am inspired to talk about Antigua today because it's about 20-something degrees Farenheit outside as I write. I figure if I think nice, warm thoughts it will gird me for walking from apartment to the subway. Fun!

For those of you who may not know this, I was born on the small Caribbean island of Antigua, and I moved to New York City when I was three years old. Antigua currently has a population of about 87,000 people. It's only about 108 square miles meaning that if it's taking you more than 40 minutes to get anyway, you're either lost or something must be very, very wrong. Antigua is also a former British colony, which means I am sad that I did not grow up bilingual; but I have a major appreciation of most English things except for certain types of tea and cricket (the American part of me clings to baseball). There's a local saying that Antigua has 365 beaches, one for every day of the year.

(source)

A basic map to show you where Antigua is relative to other Caribbean islands. Antigua hosted the Cricket World Cup a few years ago hence to the reference to the stadium.

Starting in college I started to go back to Antigua less. I started to travel to more far-flung places and wanted a bit of seeing the world that was vastly different from what I had seen going there as a child to visit family. I also know that if there are any little children that come into my life, Husband J and I will be going there quite often so that our kids can understand this part of their heritage. Most of my family on my mother's side still lives there, and they are really the family I am closest to. Besides it's a 3 1/2 hour direct flight from New York City. At that point in my life, Antigua will serve as a home base for some hopefully fun family vacations (I can only imagine what it's like traveling with children...oy!).

Anyway, that's just an intro to Antigua so at least you have some background. There are many hard things about being an immigrant in terms of feeling connected to culture both in the one you live in and the one you moved away from. I think I will eventually address those as well as some of the ways I've had to think critically about tourism, travel and the Caribbean.

Rambling. Done.

While at our hotel, Cocos Resort (more on there another time), I had my first extended stay ever in a hotel in Antigua, a whopping four days. Husband J (who wasn't even close to Fiance J at the time) and I made friends with the beach bartender, Acari. He was a really accommodating, fun guy and even made me some local drinks that most tourists would not ask for.

One morning, Acari whispered that some of his friends were going to be bringing him some fresh lobster. Sign me up! I'd never had lobster in Antigua, just fresh caught fish primarily. I was totally up for a lunch of freshly made lobster right on the beach.

Our table steps from the sand.

We had a few glasses of rose wine, and Acari added some flowers to the table. A nice touch! Yes, the water was that close by.

Husband J and I each got a lobster about this size. I'm not going to claim being a lobster expert by any stretch of the imagination, but according to Husband J, these lobsters were humungous. Caribbean lobster seems to have much more meat in their legs and bodies than their cousins in New England.

Meat from one of the lobster legs

Acari did a great job of cooking the lobster so that they were juicy, tender and had a layer of butter sauce in them. Absolutely delicious! There was some rice and veggies on the side too, but they're not as fun to admire.

After cleaning out the lobsters, we sat back and enjoyed the view.

I'm glad that I wrote this. I think I feel warmer already. :)

Back Trackin', Cali Edition - A Castle or Winery? Castello di Amorosa in Napa Valley

Aaahhh...Napa Valley, I miss you. I am going to find a way to get back, but in the meantime, I will reminisce with all of you about our trip there. I remember tasting (okay fine, drinking) lots of exceptional wine and overcoming my distaste for red wine. What I learned is that I do like red wine; I just had not been able to drink GOOD red wine. Our trip consisted of three or four full days (I forget which) of driving through pretty country roads, visiting wineries and eating perfectly cooked meals. I can safely say that I did NOT have a bad meal anywhere in the valley. Of course at that point, I never thought I would blog about food so no stories of my food outings, but perhaps I'll share with you where I went some other time. For this post though, we'll focus on the wine.

One of the more memorable wineries we visited was Castello di Amorosa. Would you forget a structure that looks like a medieval castle right in Napa Valley? I don't think so.

You seriously feel like you are in medieval Italy, and you haven't even gotten inside yet! I think I was ready to storm the castle (Princess Bride reference...I couldn't resist).

I think Husband J and were still trying to get over the whole grandiose/over-the-top feel of our surroundings for the first fifteen minutes. Most wineries in Napa are rather small and understated or very modern conference center-like structures that can handle crowds. The castello was something altogether different.

We took some time to explore the nooks and crannies of the castle including this little lookout point.

The castle was not just a facade with modern buildings either but rather a real life castle complete with all of the rooms that you could imagine a castle having.

A great room with wall to wall murals and complete with Christmas tree (we were there right after Thanksgiving but before Christmas)

The Inner courtyard

A chapel on premise. Many medieval castles actually had one. For modern folks like us, this is usually used for wedding ceremonies.

At that point, I'd almost forgotten that they sell wine there. Well, not really. :) I think this is one of the Chardonnay barrels. I have to admit that I tend not to like oaky tasting Chardonnay.

The Castello's wine tasting area

As for the wines, they were not my favorite that I tried. I tend to like fruity red wines or those with a bold, spicy flavor. Most of the Castello's wines had more of a bitter, tannic taste. Not my thing, really. That being said, I had fun just being there, and I applaud the Castello's owner for being bold enough to build a structure like this in the middle of the bastion of American wine making that is Napa Valley.

Who says wineries are boring? :)

New Orleans' French Quarter During the Holidays

If you can believe it, it is in fact the holiday season...ALREADY! I started this blog in June, so needless to say, I am shocked that it is time for hibernation (I mean winter) already. I find that many people stay close to home during the holiday season and chill with the family; or others try to escape their families and go somewhere warm if they live in areas that are gearing up for harsh winters. Last year, Husband J and I took a long weekend trip to New Orleans in the holiday dead week between Christmas and New Year's.

I'm not going to gush here a ton about New Orleans, especially about the fact that I think it is by far one of the most interesting cities that I've had the chance to travel to within the U.S. (lusciously decadent food, intriguing and complex history, wrapped up in its own brand of Southern charm..okay I had to throw this description in). Since I won't talk too in depth about our trip for this post, I will tell you that I love the way any city looks decked out in its holiday best.

I feel in the holiday spirit today, so here are some pics of New Orleans, specifically the French Quarter, during the 2009 holiday season.

Gotta love the "Peace Y'all" sign here. It looked great lit up at night.

Jackson Square (do you see the bows?)

In the lobby of the Royal Sonesta Hotel, French Quarter

Being in the French Quarter during the holiday season definitely added a certain flair to our visit. That being said, I think we got the short end of the stick with the weather. We were hoping for 60s Farenheit and got the same weather than NYC was having. 40s...Brr.... I hope to get back to NOLA soon when it's much warmer. I think it would be even more fun in warm weather.

Do you ever travel during the holiday season? What are your favorite local destinations for viewing beautiful holiday decorations?

Conquering My Fear of My Kitchen Aid Mixer #1 - Chocolate Peanut Butter Banana Upside-Down Cake

Everyone, I have a small kitchen; and there is just not room to get jiggy with it in the kitchen appliance department. I was lucky enough to get a generous gift of a Kitchen Aid mixer as a wedding present. I think I've used it maybe a handful of times. The reason is because it intimidates me. You can kill someone with it 'cause it's so heavy, and there are so many functions for it that it boggles my mind. Give me five buttons and basic instructions, and I'm set.

Now add my fear of my Kitchen Aid mixer to the bewildering activity that is baking. I acknowledge that I am not a baker. I've barely ever baked from scratch. I can figure out how to cook something or follow a new recipe and make changes as necessary while cooking almost anything (case in point: Fred the Turkey). You can't really do that in baking. You THINK you're doing the right thing, and you're really not.

I've decided to try to bake more except I have no idea who's going to be eating any of this since I don't regularly work in an office at the moment (and I can't spare the calories). I can still drop some things off for my office mates when I do go into the office, right? I think someone has already agreed to be a guinea pig for me. Sucker! :)

Here is my nemesis..oops...I mean my mixer:

I'm boring and just went with the basic black. It goes with everything!

Can you see the dust that accumulated on the mixing paddle? Probably not, but there is dust. I use this mixer so much! Not.

I'm not going to show you the steps I took to make this chocolate peanut butter banana upside-dow cake primarily because I didn't take pictures at each step. I mean this post is really to get some sympathy and maybe some encouragement to bake more (also to make fun of myself, which I enjoy). If you are interested in the recipe, here it is.

All of the ingredients laid out. The Pepto-Bismol on the right side of this pic was not supposed to be there. Husband J was emerging from a very bad stomach flu. Luckily, his sickness was not due to my baking.

Mixing sugar and butter. Baking fascinates me. You take these ingredients, and they take on a whole new shape and consistency. Well, duh!

Can you tell by what I decided to take pictures of that I am fascinated by making my own cake mix? I am odd.

Okay, hello! I melted chocolate chips myself ('cause I misread the recipe and got chips instead of regular chocolate)!! Can I get some props for some technique, please? Thanks in advance. :)

After lots of other steps that I didn't document, it was time for this bad boy to go into the oven.

Finally out of the oven and ready to cool, but there is one thing left to do:

This is an upside-down cake, so I've got to flip it. Of course, I choose a totally hard core baking project, but why not aim high?

The banana caramelized pretty nicely, huh? It looks like the picture online!

Well, the cake kinda looked pretty, but it didn't really taste all that great. IT WAS DRY...like the Sahara. Sigh...Once you got past the part with the banana towards the top, it was just not moist. The parts with the banana tasted great with the pieces of chunky peanut butter. I am going to give myself A for effort, but that's it. :)

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed reading this, and you laughed (it's okay to laugh at me). For those of you who bake, how did you learn? Trial and error? Where do you get your baking recipes and inspiration?

Back Trackin', Ireland Edition - Sky Road, Clifden, Ireland

It's Wednesday and no post until now..oops!

Did I tell you all that Husband J and I went to Ireland several years ago? I don't think I did. One of my favorite days during our very short five-day trip was in Clifden. Why? Well it is a beautiful place, and it was the first time our entire trip that we had a full day of sun. Never underestimate the power of bright daylight or the fact that Ireland truly is rainy! Clifden is located in the western coast of Ireland in County Galway, about 77km from the city of Galway itself. It's one of the major towns in the Connemara region.

In addition to being a cute little town, one of Clifden's main attractions is the the Sky Road, an 11km portion of Clifden's roadway with lovely scenic views of the Atlantic Ocean, smaller islands off the coast and local spots of interest. I felt bad for Husband J having to drive so much at this point as the road itself is pretty narrow and slightly harrowing. Yet it was really worth the trouble. You can definitely stop off and see vistas like this:

This was definitely the picturesque Ireland we were hoping to see complete with animals! (Do you see the horse below?)

Visitors also hike in the fields and paths below Sky Road. We just stuck to the car. I've already mentioned I'm not too outdoorsy. :)

We somehow found someone to take our picture.

Besides Sky Road, Clifden itself has its own little charm.

Yes, that is a classic car, one of many we saw in Ireland.

The view just outside of the center of Clifden

I have to say one of the many reasons I enjoyed Clifden so much was that we had some luxe accommodation while we were there. We skimped on the accommodation portion of the budget for this trip. Not such a great idea! Plus, back in 2007, the Euro was giving the US Dollar a major beat down, and everything (especially hotels and B&Bs) was ridiculously expensive. Thank goodness for the Abbeyglen Hotel for saving our trip in this respect, even if it was just one night.

We go to stay in a castle!! It looked like it from the inside too!

(source)

The rooms were huge. Don't get me started on the bathrooms. Heavenly tubs!

Thanks to Clifden for giving us (or at least me) my favorite day in Ireland. If you are in this part of Ireland (it's not far from Galway or the Cliffs of Moher, more on those places in other posts), then definitely spend an afternoon or day here taking in the flavor of small town Ireland.