Chicken & Beer

We are back!  Despite having some medical issues crop up, the food blog is still up and running.  Nothing deters a true foodie!

This past weekend, I had the awesome opportunity to try BBQ Chicken / Chicken and Beer.  Two of my friends wanted to take me to satisfy my craving for fried (but healthy) chicken.  Is this even possible you ask?  It sure is because our fried chicken was made in olive oil.  For those of you who peruse in the kitchen, you know that olive oil tends to heat and burn very quickly.  In addition, it has  a very distinct taste and odor to it, especially when it is heated.  I would definitely not make this the number one choice for deep-frys.

However, at BBQ Chicken, this was by far the number one favorite for me!  They do have a lunch menu which is a little cheaper than the dinner menu, but their selection is much more diverse for the latter.  They also do serve beer which probably would go well with fried chicken if I drank.  I did notice how it wasn’t a standard sized glass though – it was almost a half pitcher per person!

Let us get on with the tastings!

Olive Oil Chicken

Olive Original Chicken: a whole chicken that is slightly marinated and then deep-fried in olive oil.  We got the family deal which comes with four (4) biscuits and two (2) sides.  Perhaps it was the fact that I had been denied “outside food” for almost 1.5 months, or perhaps it was just the fact that I had not had fried chicken in months, but I was immediately satiated by the first fried olive oil wing that went into my mouth.  There were absolutely no burnt pieces, and the seasoning was pretty much on-point.  It wasn’t too salty, it wasn’t too sweet.  However, I have to state that it is different from the traditional southern-style fried chicken.  For one, there isn’t that normal type of “breading” that normally coats the bird.  They may use a different type of flour at BBQ Chicken if any flour at all.  That being said, the chicken tends to remain a little more crispy throughout the meal.  There isn’t a heavy flavor of olive oil either which was quite surprising to me.  We use olive oil to cook at home so it wouldn’t have been an issue for my taste buds, but I do know that it takes a bit of getting used to for some others.

Waffle Fries

Sides chosen that night were the waffle fries and mashed potatoes with gravy as we were recommended to stay away from their cold sides such as the potato salad.  The waffle fries pretty much equalled that of their olive oil fried chicken: lightly seasoned and perfectly fried.  It was almost as if Chick-fil-A and Checkers came together and gave birth to a new baby.  For those who don’t like any seasoning period with their fries, this may not be the potato dish for you.  The mashed potatoes were probably the biggest disappointment for the night, if I had to choose the weakest link.  For one, they came out midway during the meal, and it was placed in a fairly small plastic container.  That being said, it lost heat pretty quickly throughout the meal.  You almost had to eat it as soon as it got out.  I wouldn’t be expecting anything gourmet like garlic sour-cream, but rather your standard KFC style type of mashed potatoes.  The gravy is a little bit better and a little less saltier though than your standard southern-style fried chicken chains.

As for the biscuits, well it’s definitely not Chik-fil-A but we all knew that.  I would even go so far as to say that Popeye’s and/or Church’s have better biscuits.  Let me remind you though that this is a korean fried chicken place.  The taste and texture are definitely still present and it was still warm and fluffy when it reached the table.  However, they tend to run on the small side, perhaps a third-less in size than a standard “American-sized” biscuit.  It did give a nice break to the saltiness of the waffle fries and fried chicken as it came with butter and two types of jelly (grape and strawberry).

In summary:

• olive oil chicken: ****.25 (4.25 stars)
• waffle fries: **** (4 stars)
• mashed potatoes with gravy: *** (3 stars)
• biscuits: *** (3 stars)

If you would like to check out BBQ Chicken:

BBQ Chicken

3473 Old Norcross Road

Duluth, GA 30096

(678) 417-6464

website: www.bbqchickenatl.com

 

Until next time, bon apetit!

R/g

Parisian Pastries and Sandwiches

On my latest detour trip from Brussels, Belgium, MA and I took a short trip to the Paris, France over the Thanksgiving holiday.

Paris is probably my favorite city for food.  There is a reason why the French have a reputation for setting the record for amazing chefs and fine dining, and you can see it in your every day gastronomical tidbits.  While this is a complete guess, I am assuming that the French attempt to use fresh ingredients as much as possible.  I never saw a squashed raspberry on a tarte de framboises (raspberry tart) in Paris but I have seen plenty in Brussels.  The raspberry tarte happens to be my favorite indulgence when it comes to Parisian pastries.  In addition, each and every patisserie and brasserie that I went into over the weekend always had the scent of freshly-baked bread, my second favorite indulgence on a Parisian morning.

Tarte du Framboises

Bread seems to be a main staple for the Parisians.  A breadbasket will normally accompany a major meal such as lunch or dinner.  However, if you order a simple sandwich (une sandwich de jambon y fromage) or a croque monsieur, you will not get a breadbasket as the main constituent of those dishes is bread.  Croque Monsieur can be considered something of a “hot Parisian breakfast sandwich” – it is an open-faced sandwich with jam and cheese melted on top of a slice of thick toast.  Usually it is served with a side salad.  It’s partner, Croque Madame, is similar with the only exception being a sunny-side up egg placed on top.  To my recollection, the egg-yolk is almost fully cooked and does not run as much as you think it would.  Personally, I would like the egg to be done over-easy so the other side of the egg-white is cooked through, but the yolk is still runny enough to flow all over the ham and cheese.

Croque Monsieur

Walking into a Parisian patisserie is like walking into gastronomical heaven.  Although I have to admit, when it comes to presentation and delivery, Asians still take the cake.  There is just something about the fine details that Asians put into the wrapping and the decoration of the store that makes the purchase of a mere fruit tart an amazing and precious experience.  However, the Parisian pastry store (patisserie) is literally lined with pastries galore.  They will normally have the baked breads in one section, mostly in the back.  There, you can see dozens of freshly-baked baguettes sticking out of random wicker baskets.  In front of you, protected by a piece of what is actually pretty flimsy plastic is your beautiful heaven of pastries.  They’ve segregated their baked croissants and suisse rolls (similar to that of a cinnamon roll) from the sweets such as the chocolate mousse cakes, raspberry tartes, fruit tarts, and so on.

Parisian Pastries

French portions are probably part of the reason why the Parisians remain so skinny.  For example, a double-sized (doble) cup of coffee should be the amount of the ginormous soup mugs that you can find in the United States at Panera Bread.  However, in France, they are slightly smaller than the smallest size of a Starbucks coffee cup.  Perhaps for the average or well, over-average, American tourist, the food portions may be insufficient.  However, I felt like it was quite well-balanced and well proportioned.  Truth be told, MA had to finish almost half of my plate at each meal.  It’s quite disappointing as I do love my food but the past two months have really taken a toll on my stomach, and it is just difficult to handle a large or moderate amount of food.  I have increased my snacking though which makes Paris the perfect city for me.  A patisserie or brasserie around every corner, a sandwich or crepe available at every turn, there is no possible way can a tourist go hungry.

There were no exact restaurants or cafes so no reviews will be posted, but keep an eye out for the next food post or so!

Until next time, this is your host signing off…

Bon apetit!

R/g

Ze(e)licious Cafe

Admittedly I have been intensely distracted and have been delayed in my bloggery.  But let us continue! Mid-May took me to the Big Apple for a close friend’s wedding.  Of course not only did I line up a timeline of things to do such as capture the city on camera at Top of the Rock (Rockefeller Center), I also lined up a few things for my mouth to hit up as well!

Ze Cafe.  Ooh la la!  Melt-in-your-mouth heaven for perhaps what is one of the best brunches I have had in a very long time.  It is tucked away at the very end of Manhattan on the middle East Side.  We almost missed it especially given that our hotel clock was set BACK an hour, causing us to wake up an hour earlier than the restaurant actually opened!  Good thing R/g was too tired and we ended up only being fifteen minutes early to the restaurant.  However, the reviews on Yelp were amazing and actually forewarned of long lines an hour or so past opening so to wake up early was actually a bonus!  The cafe is associated with a flowershop that supplies fresh flowers for both outside and inside the cafe.  You can smell the wonderful sweet scent of fresh peonies both waiting outside and at your table!

The tasting menu for Ze Cafe included:

Fried Stuffed French Toast

Fried Stuffed French Toast:  this was the best stuffed french toast that I have ever had.  Two fluffy pieces of toast are dipped in batter but stuffed in between them are slices of fresh banana in what I am guessing to be creme fraiche.  Then the concoction is rolled in panko breadcrumbs and deep-fried (or flash-fried).  It is served with two plump sausages and something that I like to call a “berry hash”.  The best way to eat this is straight off the plate as soon as it comes in with a light drizzle of syrup but be careful, the inside of the french toast can burn your mouth!

Smoked salmon breakfast sandwich: served with a side salad of greens which was lightly tossed in a vinaigrette, it was quite the filling meal for two people.  Served with a hefty dollop of cream cheese, it was actually quite heavy when combined with the stuffed french toast.

Pineapple Tart

Pineapple Gallette: on the house!  I can’t remember why but I think it was because they didn’t have our initial order for one of the dishes.  (this is why you should blog as soon as possible, otherwise memory fails you miserably!).  It was fairly large, but was quite the treat and goes very well with their house coffee.  The outer part of the tart is rubbed w/ a fine pistachio crumble and the pineapple is baked just right with a golden brown tint to it.  Not too sweet and yet not too tangy, it is truly the perfect start (and possibly the perfect end) to a very enjoyable meal!

All in all:

• Stuffed French Toast: **** (4 stars)
• Smoked Salmon Sandwich: ***.5 stars (too much cream cheese for my taste)
• Pineapple tart: **** (4 stars)

If you wanted to check out Ze Cafe for yourself:

398 E. 52 St., New York

(212) 758-1944

www.zecafe.com

 

Bon apetit!

R/g