A Steak Salad That’s Heavy on the Steak?!

A recent work trip landed me in Seattle, which a great city for exploring new restaurants!  My first culinary stop of the trip was at Peso’s Kitchen & Lounge*, a Mexican spot along a strip of restaurants and small shops in downtown.  (It has a huge menu, by the way!)

When I travel, I’m generally not in the mood for heavy meals, so salads are usually acceptable solutions.  At Peso’s, I ordered the Carne Asada “Steak Salad,” which included tomatoes and sweet grilled onions poblanos, fried shallots, corn, and basil, topped with a smoked paprika vinaigrette.  It sounded and looked completely delicious!

Happy Hour at The Mighty Gastropub

If you’re in the mood for a good beer, check out The Mighty* in Miami.  They have a pretty extensive menu and also $2 off select beers (and select food items too) from 5:00-7:00p everyday, including weekends!  #weekendhappyhour  I tried the Duchesse De Bourgogne, which is a Flemish red ale beer.  It’s a sour, fruity beer.  Normally, I’m pretty indifferent to (or even dislike) beer, but I actually liked this one!

While I was at The Mighty, I also tried some of the happy hour appetizers… the Bar Chips, Mighty Fries, and Fried Bombas… all fried and all potato-based!  The Bar Chips were really just potato chips, Mighty Fries were really just french fries, and Fried Bombas were creamy potato croquettes (shown clockwise from left to right in the photo below).  All pretty average, okay really, though the Mighty Fries came with a side of aioli, which is always garlicky and delicious.  Not sure if I would order any of them again…

The Mighty also has a small selection of cheeses and meats (varieties written on a chalkboard at the back of the restaurant), which were pretty tasty.  I tried the Tetilla, which I’d describe as a light brie (slightly lighter taste, slightly heavier texture), and Serrano ham — both were good.  They came with some toasted garlic bread and olives on the side.  Garlic bread, yum!  Olives on the other hand, ick!

The Mighty also has a pool table — $1 per game — at the back, which is a nice addition.

*Location:
2224 SW 22nd St
Miami, FL 33145

Khong River House Brings Together Southeast Asian Flavors Along the Mekong River

Lincoln Road is one of the most popular (tourist) destinations in Miami Beach, and home to many great restaurants.  Just steps away from the outdoor Lincoln Road Mall is the Southeast Asian restaurant Khong River House*, which combines flavors from all countries along the Mekong River — you can probably now figure out how the restaurant got its name.  Though it might not look like it, the restaurant actually has quite a bit of seating available inside.  There’s also a special upstairs private room/lounge — with private bar!

I started the evening off with an appetizer, Charred Eggplant Larb.  Dried shrimp, shallots, herbs, lime juice, fish sauce and palm sugar.  Wanted to try something new.  Had never heard of larb.  Of course I had to try it.  What came out was this…

Cute & Wacky Kitchen Utensils for Foodies

Hello fellow foodies!  I’ve been so busy lately that I haven’t had time to check out any new restaurants, so in lieu of a post about food, I wanted to share a web site that I recently stumbled upon about some of the coolest kitchen utensils ever!

I’ve only ever seen #5 (Mr. Tea Infuser), #15 (Panda Stamp), and #18 (Hot Man Trivet) before, so I guess that just means I have a lot more exploring to do when it comes to cooking in the kitchen… I don’t tend to cook a whole lot myself, as you may have noticed…

Anyhoo, some of my favorites on the list include:

#10 (Wand Salt & Pepper Shakers)

#12 (Hedgehog Cheese Grater)

#13 (Runny Yolk Separator)

Click here to check out the rest and let me know which are your favorites!

Food Truck Friday: Bite Gastrotruck Edition

Bite Gastrotruck.  BAMF Burger.  ‘Nuff said.

Okay, here’s the deal… two slices of beef, bacon-onion jam, American cheese, and Chipotle mayo.  I actually ordered lettuce and potato sticks as toppings as well.  I originally picked the BAMF because of the bacon-onion jam.  I have had bacon jam at Southern Swank Kitchen before, and was hoping this would be something similar, with the addition of onion of course.  The jam turned out to be distinct pieces of caramelized onion and fried bacon, instead of a more holistic (read: less chunky) spread.  Eh…

Notice there’s no lettuce in the picture to the left.  That’s because they forgot it!  Oh, and they also substituted french fries for potato sticks — unintentionally, I think.  (I’m pretty sure potato sticks and french fries are distinct items, as they also offered gourmet french fries on their menu.)  I decided I was pretty happy about the fry-substitution, but not so much about the lack of lettuce.  How else was I going to get my serving of veggies?!  Anyhoo, I’d rate the burger a fine.  The bread was toasted and didn’t get all soggy when I was making my way through the burger, so that was a plus.  Overall, pretty tasty, though a couple hours after eating it, I felt like an unhealthy blob.

It’s pretty rare that I find a delicious burger that doesn’t make me feel guilty for not hitting the gym afterwards… if anyone has any suggestions, please do share!