Travels: The Best Thing I Ate in Philly and Some Other Highlights

Philly is best known for its cheesesteaks, but this city has so much more to offer—authentic Chinese and Italian eats, exciting New American (my favorite cuisine) restaurants, many BYOB establishments, and talented chefs.

When I visited the City of Brotherly Love this past weekend, I got to try hand-drawn or hand-pulled noodles, enjoy refreshing bubble tea, and indulge in a delightful vegan rendition of a Louisiana favorite.

My favorite dish of  all the ones I tried is Memphis Taproom’s jackfruit cake po’boy. Just discovered that Memphis Taproom was actually featured on Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives, and after spending some time in the restaurant and trying aforementioned po’boy, I can totally see why.

This po' boy was way tastier than it looked. It didn't look bad, but it didn't look too exciting either. Looks are deceiving sometimes when it comes to food, and this special menu item is a perfect example.

These "cakes" had the texture of fried macaroni cheese balls. You know what I'm talking about--those gooey, creamy, and cheesy concoctions popularized by places like TGI Fridays. But these po'boys are way more sophisticated than the typical chain starter.

I first tried jackfruit standing in for meat when I had the Randy Radish's (a Northern Virginia-based food truck) BBQ "pulled pork" sandwich. I thought, "Wow, this is genius." Why don't people do this more often? So when I saw jackfruit used in a vegan dish on Memphis Taproom's menu, I haaaaad to try it.

The jackfruit cakes' fried exterior provided a lovely contrast to the soft inside, which contained jackfruit arils (?). The jackfruit mix had a surprising bite, a bit of heat, which was a nice balance to the sumptuous and rich remoulade sauce lining the New Orleans-style French bread. And, by the way, that remoulade was just amazing. It really took this already phenomenal creation up a notch.

Guy Fieri featured another vegan menu item on his show, the coconut club, but I say that the jackfruit po'boy should be the first thing you try if it's your first time at Memphis Taproom.

Overall, Memphis Taproom is a great place for an extensive selection of brewed beer and really artfully prepared dishes. They offer carnivore-friendly and vegan dishes, but I'm sure all the vegan dishes will please even that most staunch meatarian.

A few other lovely tastes from my weekend getaway:

Stir fried hand-pulled noodles with seafood from Nanzhou Hand Drawn Noodle House

Unique tea flavors from Tea Do

Vegan peanut butter cheesecake from Memphis Taproom

Food Diary:"Healthy" Dinner Options

Low on time and energy but wanting to eat healthier, I immediately thought stuffed peppers. Bell peppers are readily available and easy to prepare. I wanted to stuff the peppers with a mixture of rice and mushrooms, one item I already had in my pantry and another one that was affordable and quick-cooking.

I cooked a cup of basmati rice and then stirred the cooked rice into a saute of mushrooms, garlic, and onion. These ingredients had been marrying in a bath of grass-fed butter. :D I think I have lactose intolerance and the zits and bloating to prove it, but sometimes I just have to give in and pay for my sins later. To top it all off, I drizzled in some truffle oil, soooooooo sexy.

I am super pleased with how my rice turned out! Very decadent and delicious.

With my pepper stuffing already prepared, all I had to do after work was cut four bell peppers lengthwise and spoon equal amounts of the rice into their cavities. I baked these peppers in the oven for 30 minutes at 400 degrees.

Hubby said after trying that red and green bell peppers probably work best for this dish. The yellow and orange peppers, while pretty to look at, are too sweet and don't offer the right flavor profile. Next time, I'll probably gussy this dish up with some sprigs of parsley or something else green.

As much as I wanted to keep this dish healthy, it evolved into something more luxurious and guilty, thanks to the copious butter that I used. Not the best dish for my skin or waistline but oh so good for the soul. By the way, this is a great make-ahead meal. I prepared the rice on Sunday and stored it in the fridge until I was ready to bake my peppers. Fantastic weeknight meal.

Cooking Experiments: Canned Sardines, Tomato Paste, and Instant Grains

So yesterday I attempted to melt sardines into a pan to make a sauce.

I used the Season sardines that I just got from Costco. This is a great product—BPA-free, boneless, and skinless. Love!

I sautéed minced garlic in a deep pan before adding the filets. Here’s where things went awry: olive oil does not handle “high” heat well, and immediately the oil started to sputter and spit at me angrily when I emptied the sardines into the pan. It got so bad that I had to remove the pan from the stove and turn off the heat for a bit.

Once things calmed down, I added the pan back to the stove and stirred the filets around until they became a brownish paste. I then added Kirkland’s organic tomato paste, another product I got from Costco.

The tomato paste and fish mixture got rather lumpy, so I poured in some water to thin it out. Sprinkled some salt into the sauce, if I could call it that, and then turned off the heat.

I’ve seen sardine sauces used with all sorts of pasta shapes, but spaghetti seems most popular. I wasn’t far-sighted enough to cook pasta while making my sauce, so I used a packet of grains containing wheat berries, quinoa, farro, and barley instead. It cooks in the microwave in two minutes, just pierce the packet a few times so the heat can escape.

I emptied the packet contents into the bowl after letting it cool for a minute, or half a minute, and topped it with my sardine and tomato concoction.

I definitely can see why this sardine sauce pairs so well with pasta. The pasta water is absolutely integral to thinning out the sauce and giving it that body you want.

The instant grain was fragrant and delicious but way too filling, better paired with sautéed mushrooms or greens.

The tomato paste was sweet enough on its own, so I didn’t feel the need to add sugar, like I normally do when making a tomato-based sauce.

I really liked all these products, but I probably wouldn’t combine the instant grain with the sauce. The tomato-sardine sauce reminded me of Vietnamese canned sardines in tomato sauce with French baguettes. You’d enjoy my creation if this sounds appealing to you.

My experiment didn’t go quite as well as I had hoped, but I now know how I can improve this dish the next time I make it.

Hauls: Fun Finds from Costco

Shopping at Costco can be an absolutely nightmare, especially on weekends. It just gets too freaking crowded. Everyone loves Costco's meat, electronics, and gift sets. Bulk heaven and shoppers' hell. It's both. Thankfully, the branch closest to me is somewhat less frequented by area shoppers due to its less accessible location. Yay!

There are some individuals who will buy just about everything from Costco. My hubby and I get certain things from here, such as great quantities of paper towels and bottled water (nothing fancy, just Deer Park or something in that range), but we buy things like cleaning supplies and produce from other places.What we do love from Costco: oils, sauces, grains, and canned ingredients.

While you can always stock up on more well-known household brands, it's much more fun to buy Costco's imported products, more gourmet offerings, and luxury items, like their wine.

I'm pretty excited about trying the Explore Asian Organic Black Bean Spaghetti Shape. Having tried shirataki noodles and veggie noodles made from a veggie slicer, I'm always down for alternatives to traditional pasta. These black bean noodles resemble soba. As you may already know, soba noodles are made from buckwheat. These "spaghetti shapes" are made from black beans. They're vegan, glutenfree, and kosher. These babies also contain 25 grams of protein, which is definitely more than your standard pasta. I'm going to try using them with a red sauce (maybe homemade, maybe not) and show you how that turns out. I imagine these noodles would also be great for stirfries. Black bean pad thai, maybe?

Another cool item is Kirkland Signature Himalayan pink salt. I've seen Himalayan pink salt all over the blogsphere. It seems to be the in thing now. Can't wait to incorporate it into some of my dishes. :)

I'm also looking forward to using these canned sardines.

I keep seeing on gourmet cooking sites and shows how chefs melt sardines into a pan to make an umami sauce. I want to do that! And just so you know--something you should remember about me--I don't mind fishy or funky, at all. Pungent is fine by me.