Great food is like great sex. The more you have the more you want.
—Gael Greene
(Source: quotegarden.com)
El Panchito
Owned by a British couple, El Panchito is a quite, authentic restaurant on the harbour of La Vila Joiosa, Spain. Alarming as it sounds don’t let the British side put down the authenicity, from variations of fish to the traditional paella. Everything tastes sublime and the locals rate it more than any other on the strip. Weekends come with an additional Indian cuisine, cooked freshly in the tandoor, by Punjabi chef Gurmail. All of this food comes for a bargain , prime example of great food.
Great Food..
What really is great food, is the question often asked by many.
Great food can be defined by the cuisine, presentation, flavours or simply the culture. Looking for a restaurant to tinkle the taste buds and worth the money? Go on an adventure, beyond the boundaries of the ordinary restaurants, hyped by Michelin stars, where the drinks cost more than the meal. Travelling onto the outskirts into the suburbs, may just lead you to fine a small authentic restaurant oozing with flavours and craving for customers. These places define the meaning of great food and fill you up too!
A cheap Indian
This tweet led me to research into this “cheap” Indian, claiming to do $12 a dish with two naan breads.
Red pepper is on the edge of Melbourne nestled away on Bourke Street. It’s twin Green Pepper is of same cuisine, down the road. They must do pretty well to have to twins close by. Menu clearly states for $12 a dish comes with two naan breads making this one of the cheapest Indians encountered. Their speciality Saag & Makki Di Roti is a renowned dish and must be tried.
Try it out?
7/10
Chicketarian?
Are you one? Thoughts?
The Chicketarian diet, substantially known as pollo-vegetarian diet. Originally adapted by vegetarians who choose to use poultry as a protein source in their regular diet. It includes;chicken,eggs and excluding any type of read meat or fish. This can be interpreted as a less restrictive way of being a vegetarian and may promote a future of mass followers, who feel that they need some animal protein in their diet to stay healthy.
Coming across this for the first time today I was interested to know who else is and is a mass diet?
Signature Dish: XO Cafe’s Salmon Lasagna
Ingredients:
2- 6 oz pieces organic, farm-raised Scottish salmon
2 slices of smoked bacon, chopped
1 leek, green top removed
12 oz heavy cream
1 dash of Worcestershire sauce
Pasta:
16 oz semolina flour
8 oz tepid water
2 tsp extra virgin olive oil
Salt & pepper to taste
Dressing:
2 beets
1 medium red onion
4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil + 12 oz
8 oz Madeira
2 tbsp honey
Method:
Pasta
Mix the flour, water, olive oil, salt, and pepper in a mixer with a dough hook until completely combined. If making by hand pour the flour onto a work surface and make a well in the middle. Pour the liquid into the well, and using a fork, gradually incorporate the flour until a dough is formed. Knead by hand for 5 minutes.
Leave the pasta to rest for 20 minutes then put through a pasta roller until you reach number 4 on the pasta machine or roll out on a well floured surface with a rolling pin until the same thickness as a dime. Cut into 3” squares, cover, and save. (This pasta will freeze very well.)
Dressing
Finely dice the red onion and place in a pan with 4 tbsp of olive oil. Cook gently over medium heat until the onion becomes translucent. Peel and dice the beet to 1/2” cubes then add to the red onion. Add the Madeira and reduce the liquid by 2/3. Add the honey, remaining oil, and salt and pepper. Chill.
Cut the root end off the leek and slice down the middle lengthwise. Lay flat and slice finely across the leek, blanch in boiling salted water for 1 minute then strain and cool.
Salmon
Season salmon with olive oil, salt, and pepper. Cook on a pre-heated grill or grill pan for 2 ½ minutes on each side. While the salmon is cooking, heat a small pan and add the bacon, cooking for 2 minutes. Add the cream, leeks, Worcestershire sauce and salt & pepper, and cook until the cream is twice as thick. At the same time, bring a pot of salted water to a boil and cook the pasta sheets for 1 minute.
To assemble the dish, place a layer of sauce on the bottom of a shallow bowl, then layer a piece salmon, a sheet of pasta, and a layer of sauce, and repeat.
XO Café, led by Executive Chef Simon Keating, features a “farm-to-table” culinary philosophy, providing guests with fresh and inventive new dishes, while also serving original favorites, such as Rhode Island Calamari, lobster wontons, and the XO Filet.
XO is perfectly located on the East Side of Providence, in walking distance to Downtown! What a perfect place to dine on a night when Waterfire is blazing along the Providence rivers!
7/10
Antony disgusted in buffet.
Contrast to Chinese food
Tweeting around I was approached by this statement on Chinese food which made me want to criticize the way Chinese food is put down in value by cheap, easy and flavourless all-you can-eat buffet’s. Buffet’s are ideal for the stomach filling days yet they put down the original quality Chinese food contains.
Going to a buffet with my friend Antony, he enjoyed the one plate but couldn’t handle more as it was just revolting! The £9.95 buffet contained more oil than anything and for dessert was fruit. Vile.Vile.Vile. Never go to Oriental Chinese Buffet,Middlesex.
-10/10
Branzino Marinato alla Griglia con Gamberi
Marinade:
5 T Olive Oil
1 Sprig thyme
1 Bay Leaf
For the Fish:
4 Branzino (400-600 grams each, butterflied and cleaned. Rainbow Trout is a good substitute if Branzino is unavailable)
1/2 lb. Laughing Bird Shrimp or any high-quality white shrimp, peeled and deveined
1 bunch broccoli rabe, blanched and cut in 1-inch pieces
2 cloves garlic, whole
2 oz. black olives, pitted and chopped
1 tomato, diced
chili flakes to taste
2-3 T olive oil
Salt and Pepper
Marinate the fish in a non-reactive glass bowl with olive oil, thyme, and bay leaf for up to 1 hour. Pre-heat grill to high heat. Rub grill grates with an oiled towel to prevent sticking. Shake excess oil off of fish and place fish on grill, flesh side down, in 10 o’clock to 4 o’clock positions.
Cook approximately 2 minutes and then rotate fish to face 2 o’clock and 8 o’clock. Cook approximately 2 minutes more. Flip the fish over, so skin side is down. Cook 2 minutes longer. Remove fish from grill and keep warm.
In sauté pan over high heat, add oil and garlic. Cook until lightly browned. Remove and discard garlic. Add broccoli rabe, chili flakes, tomato, olives, and shrimp. Cook until shrimp are bright pink, about 3 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Place fish on plate and top with broccoli rabe and shrimp mixture. Drizzle with olive oil.
Serve.
The Capability
Capability is the main restaurant of the Waldorf Astoria Hotel in Syon Park. The Britsh food is classic with style and the inviting décor favours too.
Head chef Lee Streeton, graces his food with melting meats and penetrating spices. The wine list is impeccable and has been prestiged by a Frenchmen.
I found my meal here on average, as the ingredients were either well done or not done! Definatly not a recommendatory and save your money!
3/10
