Bistro de Pagaling- Portland

Penne with Vodka Sauce topped with Crabcakes

I had the privilege to check out Bistro de Pagaling, for its 1 night only opening.  The entree of the night was Penne with Vodka sauce topped with crabcakes.  The meal included fresh garlic bread, salad, and muscles in wine sauce.  The highlight of the meal for me was definitely the crabcakes.  They were freshly made from scratch, as I saw the chef make them herself.  This was my first time every eating a crabcake, and I determined that I can just sit all day eating them.  Although Bistro de Pagaling was only open for 1 night, hopefully the success will push them to open more days in future.



Until next time,
C

Christmas Cake Pops!

Alright... this wasn't made at any restaurant, but my cousins and I thought we'd take a stab at making cake pops! We weren't able to find the sticks to make them into actual cake pops, so we made cake balls instead. :) I tried to document the process step by step, so here we go!

Smush, smush, smush!

After baking some red velvet cake, we broke the whole cake into a "sandy" texture. 

Red Hands! 

 Then we rolled it into a huge cake ball! After that we stuck it in the fridge overnight. 

Roll, roll, roll!

We rolled about 70 cake balls... they were all uneven since we didn't have a melon baller. We had the cake balls in the fridge while we melted the chocolate. 

Dip!

We stuck toothpicks in the cake balls to make it easier to dip. It worked majority of the time, but we had to be careful and couldn't go all dipping crazy...

Decorating time!!!

 After dipping, we got to the fun part. We decorated the cake balls with sprinkles and all that jazz!

Christmas tree!

These were the cutest!

After decorating, we pull out the toothpick. The toothpick left a little hole on the top, but we used the left over chocolate to cover it. 

Finished product!

The whole process was fun, but super messy, especially when we had to roll them into balls. It was our first time, so it was also a learning experience. The chocolate wasn't as thick as we wanted it to be, but it somewhat worked. What I loved the best was hanging out with my cousins and blasting my NSYNC Christmas cd. We haven't seen each other for a while since life gets in the way. Anyways, I hope you guys get to enjoy some family loving time like I did. In the words of NSYNC, "Merry Christmas, Merry Christmas, and Happy Holidays!!!!!!"

- R

Butcher- New Orleans, LA

 My friends and I decided to check this place after we saw the line out the door when we went to Cochon.  It turns out, it's the same owner as Cochon.  When we went, we had to wait about 15-20 minutes in line.  Was it worth the wait?

Pork belly on white w/ mint, cucumber, & chili lime aioli

 My first impression when I got this sandwich was that "this sandwich is kind of small."  The sandwich came out with hot pork belly between toasted white bread.  The chili lime aioli made the bread a little bit soggy, so it would be best if eaten right away.  The sandwich had a strange balance.  Pork belly generally has a strong, powerful, and salty taste to it.  However, the mint, cucumber, and chili lime aioli balance it out.  It actually came to the point where you bite into the sandwich and you get a nice light and refreshing taste.  I would have to say that the mint, cucumber, and chile lime aioli overpowers the taste of the pork belly.  The sandwich was good, but I don't think that I would wait in line for 15-20 minutes for it.  If you are walking by or at the convention center and there is no line, stop by and try Butcher's sandwiches.



Location:
Butcher
930 Tchoupitoulas Street
New Orleans, LA 70130

Until next time,
C   

Cochon- New Orleans, LA

fried alligator with chili garlic aioli

How can you come to New Orleans, where gators are everywhere, and not try an alligator?  When you first look at it, it looks like fried chicken fingers.  And to be honest alligator does taste like chicken.  It came out deep fried, covered in a the chili garlic aioli that had the consistency of thousand islands salad dressing.  Although there was nothing too unique at the taste of alligator meat by itself, the chili garlic aioli was delicious.  It added a mixture of sweetness with a kick of spiciness in your mouth.  I took my time eating this appetizer mainly because I could not get over the fact that I was eating alligator.     

catfish courtbouillon

 To be honest, I am generally not a fan of catfish partly because sometimes the meat is tough.  This catfish courtbouillon made Cochon one of my favorite NOLA restaurants.  The fish was moist and absorbed all of the flavors of the courtbouillon.  The fish did not taste fishy at all.  There was so much flavor in this dish that balanced so well with the fish.  Cochon is a little bit more on the pricier end, but it is definitely worth it to try something different.  If you have a chance to stop by Cochon, make sure to try this catfish dish. 

Location:
Cochon
930 Tchoupitoulas Street
New Orleans, LA 70130

Until next time,
C

Coop's Place- New Orleans, LA

 Coop's Place!!!  This is by far one of my favorite restaurants in New Orleans.  Let me tell you why...

Red Bean and Rice w/ Sausage

 Red Beans & Rice is one of New Orleans staples.  It can be found in practically every Cajun/Creole restaurants.  I have tried this dish in many restaurants throughout New Orleans, but Coop's Place red beans & rice is by far my favorite.  You would think this would be a bland and empty dish with only beans and rice.  On the contrary, this full of beans and pork on top of rice.  The beans were infused with the cajun flavor.  Mix in the smokey sausage, and then you get perfection.  It is a very hearty dish and by far has the most flavor compared to other red beans & rice places. 

Cajun Fried Chicken w/ Rabbit and Sausage Jambalaya

Cajun fried chicken!!!  This is the #1 reason to try Coops.  I have tried fried chicken from Roscos in Los Angeles, to chicken from Glady's Knight Fried chicken in Atlanta, but this trumps them all by far.  This is largely due to the batter.  The batter is full of different spices that just make your mouth water.  The skin is so crispy, yet the meat is still moist.  I have never had fried chicken like this, and would visit Coops for their fried chicken multiple times.  Sadly, I was only able to eat there once.  The fried chicken also came with rabbit and sausage jambalaya on the side.  This was a very unique dish since they added rabbit to their jambalaya.  You cannot taste the gamey taste that is associated with rabbit.  The jambalaya was good, but I prefer the Red Beans & Rice.  Next time I visit, I will definitely stop by Coops for their fried chicken.

Location:
Coop's Place
1109 Decatur St.
New Orleans, LA 70116

Until next time,
C

Drago's Seafood Restaurant (New Orleans, LA)

 I had the luxury to attend a conference in New Orleans.  And I saw this as an opportunity to try all the different restaurants in this food mecca!  As soon as I landed, my friend, a NOLA native, suggested that we go to Drago's for lunch to try their famous charbroiled oysters.

Drago’s Original Charbroiled Oysters

My friend and I decided to split 1 dozen of oysters.  That was a mistake!!!  I wished I ordered 1 dozen for myself.  The oysters came out hot, charboiled with butter, lemon, and pepper on the oysters.  They usually add cheese on them, which I chose not to have due to an allergy.  But I bet the cheese makes it even better.  The oysters had a smoky taste which balanced well with the butter and lemon.  Use the remaining juice in the shell and plate to dip the bread in.  I can probably sit there and eat 2 dozens of oysters.  They were just that delicious!       

Mama Ruth’s Seafood Gumbo

We also decided to order a bowl of the Seafood Gumbo to balance out our meal.  The gumbo was good, but not spectacular.  There was nothing special or unique about the taste of the gumbo.  I would definitely stick to the oysters.

If you are ever in the New Orleans area, you must stop by Drago's for their charbroiled oysters.

Location:
Drago’s Seafood Restaurant (at Hilton New Orleans Riverside)
2 Poydras Street
New Orleans, LA 70130

Until next time,
C

Mr. Pizza - Los Angeles (Ktown)

So my friend and I were in the ktown (Korea Town) area in LA and decided to try out Mr. Pizza. It's basically a pizza joint, but instead of the usual "American" style pizza one would get at Pizza Hut or Dominos, Mr. Pizza serves Korean fusion style pizza. Toppings include carne asada, shrimp, bulgogi, crab, bacon, and more. We ended up getting deep fried garlic potato skins and Beselo, which was basically a pizza sampler of their more popular pizzas.

Deep Fried Garlic Potato Skins

The potato skins were addicting, but I just wished there was more bacon on them...

Beselo Pizza

We ordered the 10" pizza, but there's also a 13". The Beselo pizza includes two slices of each type. The types of pizza included are (starting from the top): Secret Garden, Crab Gold, Potato Gold, and Shrimp Gold. Notice "Gold" in each of the name, which basically is the name for the stuffing of sweet potato in the crust. Think Pizza Hut's stuff crust pizza, but with sweet potato instead of cheese.

Overall, I enjoyed the food. It wasn't my first experience with Korean fusion style pizza, so I knew what to expect going in. My friend said the food was okay, but it wasn't the pizza taste that she expected. It's also very cheesy, so if you love cheese and sweet potato, this place would be great for you!

-R

Location:
Mr. Pizza
3881 Wilshire Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90010