Monthly Archives: March 2018

Eggplant Parmesan Meat-Less-Balls Recipe

Eggplant Parmesan Meat-Less-Balls

These Eggplant Meat-Less-Balls are Stuffed!

Eggplant Parmesan Meat-Less-Balls

I got the idea to make these Eggplant Parmesan Meat-Less-Balls after I tried something similar from a restaurant. I knew I could make them better so I did. These Meat-Less Balls have a great flavor and satisfying almost meaty texture. They even have a gooey cheese filling. My husband didn’t think he’d like them because he doesn’t really like eggplant much. He also hated the Eggplant Parmesan Meatballs we tried at a certain restaurant…But after he tried THESE EGGPLANT MEAT-LESS-BALLS he kept saying these are really good! Over and over again. Then he asked me how I made them…He couldn’t tell if I fried them or not….They do seem like they were fried but I try not to fry eggplant (unless I have too) because eggplant absorbs oil like a sponge. Next he asked what was in them. Eggplant cooks up to something really soft like mashed bananas……It’s TRICKY to get eggplant into a solid……..My husband said I should bring my Eggplant Parmesan Balls to a certain restaurant for them to try…..(I am not sure sure they would take this well)…….Any who- If you like Eggplant Parmesan you should like these Eggplant Parmesan Meat-Less-Balls. This recipe make approx. 35 one ounce balls about 8 servings. I thought the eggplant would work out better if I made the eggplant a day in advance so I could get the eggplant to drain more. You don’t want wet drippy eggplant or you will have mushy bitter balls.

Ingredients for about 8 servings

2 eggplants (after draining(s) you should only have 1 1/2 cups of cooked eggplant)

4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1/2 cup bulgar

1 cup water

pinch course sea salt

1/4 cup raisins – chopped

1/4 cup pine nuts – toasted (350 degrees 5 minutes)

2 large eggs – slightly beaten

1/2 cup rice (already cooked)

1 cup whole wheat panko

2 teaspoons course sea salt

2 teaspoons black pepper

2 garlic cloves – grated

1 Tablespoon dried basil

1 Tablespoon dried oregano

2 Tablespoons parsley – chopped fine

1 Calabrian Chili – chopped fine

1 cup parmesan – shredded

6 oz mozzarella cheese – a small cube for each meat-less-ball (you might only need 5 oz. cheese..I gave out some samples while preparing)

Non stick spray

Directions

Set oven to 500 degrees F.

Wash and cut each eggplant in half. Score each eggplant and place on baking sheet(s). Drizzle with olive oil and place in oven for an hour.

Eggplants should look like this when they come out.

When eggplant is cool enough to handle scoop the flesh from the skin and put in bowl. Cover and leave in the refrigerator till tomorrow.

Next Day

Drain the liquid from your eggplant. Chop in small pieces if it isn’t already in small pieces. Line a colander with paper towels that is over a bowl and put the eggplant on the paper towel lined colander in the refrigerator to drain more…..you can also give it a squeeze to drain more liquid out. This can be done twice. You NEED to drain the liquid for TWO reasons.One if there is too much liquid your meatballs will be mushy. Reason number two is that eggplant liquid is bitter. For the best taste you need to remove liquid too. If this was done correctly you should only have ONE AND ONE HALF CUPS OF EGGPLANT.

While your eggplants are draining cook the bulgar. Bring a cup of water with a pinch of salt to a boil. Add the bulgar and reduce to simmer and loosely cover with foil. The bulgar should be done in about 13 minutes. Take off heat and add raisins, pine nuts, eggplant and all the remaining ingredients EXCEPTfor the CUBES of Mozzarella and the non stick spray.

Turn the oven on to 350 degrees F.

Spray your baking sheet(s) with non stick spay and set to the side.

Get out your one ounce scoop and make a ball. Insert a cheese cube.

Roll the ball making sure to cover the cheese well and place on baking sheet(s)

Continue till done and apply either a light coating of non stick spray to the tops of the meat-less-balls or a light spray of real oil.

Put in 350 degree F oven for about 15 minutes. Then after 15 minutes they brown up some…(these were cool and I put in one pan).

Serve with your favorite marinara kind of sauce and a little grated parmesan.

Eggplant Parmesan Meat-Less-Balls

Forking Yummilicious!

The Forking Truth

NEW WeiRd Different Special & Limited Edition Foods Out There March 2018

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There is ALWAYS something NEW, WEIRD, Different, Special or Limited Edition out there in the wonderful world of food. I never know what I’ll come across when I go to a store. Here are just a few of the things I came across lately. In the above photo are Buddha Hand Lemons. They are slightly WEIRD looking. I saw these Buddha Hand Lemons at AJ’s Fine Foods Before. I remember that this kind of lemon has very little flesh and is mostly zest….But HEY! they call it a Buddha’s Hand…I think it looks more like a Forking Octopus.

Blue Foot Mushrooms….You sure don’t see Blue Foot Mushrooms all the time! That’s different!

Limited Edition – leftover from December – Peppermint Cool Whip Topping………(artificial whipped cream-like product)

Probiotic Spicy Kimchi Sriracha. Haven’t come across that one before! It’s new to me.

Speaking of probiotics…Here’s Horseradish Leek Kraut and Smoked Jalapeño Kraut. I found the same brand also makes snack Kraut Chips sold at Sprouts….. I found at Whole Foods the Flavored Kraut….Flavored Kraut!!!!! Speaking of Whole Foods….Lookie Here !

Did you ever see salsa priced at $15.00 a tub? I hope it’s really REALLY Good!

Mr Stanley’s Milk Chocolate Chilli Thins….Ummm these sounded too good to pass on so I picked them up. Can’t wait to crack them open.

Onion Flavored Candy…….?……..Why..?????? Remember those old Whacky Packages from long ago?……This package of onion candy reminds me of them.

WOW-WEE! Nothing is Forking Weirder than Fart Candy! Why would anyone buy that?……WHY? WTFork would you want yourself to fart…..WTFork would you want someone else to fart? I hate when I walk in a store and I smell someone’s fart….Doesn’t everyone?

Fork in the Road Honest Dogs..? WTFork are they saying here? Fork in the Road? Fork in the road…like a dog? ……..Honest Dogs? …………..All dogs are Forking Honest…that’s why they all go to heaven…Well here’s Fork in the Road Honest Dogs. Maybe Honest Dogs would be good with CATshup?

Game of Thrones Wine…….? ………..Notice only one glass……I think you kill off all the other people in the room before you open up this puppy so you get all the wine.

I didn’t know there was Date Sugar…Ummmm I bet you could create the most delicious desserts with it……I would have purchased it but it was something like $13.00 for a 24oz bag…

Sriracha Sunshine Chicpea Puffs?????????????

Plantain Strips with Cayenne Pepper?…Ummmm might be tasty!

Vegan Rob’s Asparagus Chips…Umm I wonder if they have much asparagus in them? They had as many calories as potato chips so I passed on them…but they sound interesting!

You can “ham things up”and “pig out!” with these Iberian Ham Potato Chips imported from Spain!

Whole Wheat and Seaweed Pasta Shells in Cheese Sauce……I don’t Forking know about this one….I like seaweed but I don’t think it goes with cheese….? ……..I don’t know?……

55% less Carb Potatoes….?….How the Fork did they do that?

Organic Bacon Avocados….? Bacon Avocados?????? WTFork R these??????? Bacon Avocados??? Are They Smoked? Do they have PIG in them? WTFork are Bacon Avocados?

I think the Forking Weirdest thing I came across in a magazine was Worm Salt. EEEK! I’d never want that on my drink but I can see some people would.

I latter read that the Bacon Avocado is a hybrid avocado developed by James Bacon to resists a colder temperatures. I also read conflicting information about the bacon avocado’s oil content. The bacon avocado has either more oil or less oil than a regular avocado. After trying one of these Bacon Avocados I think they are of a much higher oil content…..Almost like oil was added.

There’s alway a new Forking Oreo! Here’s Forking Artificially Flavored Hot Cocoa Oreos. We ain’t done yet!

Here’s ARTIFICIALLY Flavored Limited Edition Marshmallow Cream Flavored Peeps Oreos.

That was the NEW WeIRD Different and Special Edition Foods for March 2018. I don’t know WTFork I find next month.

The Forking Truth

Dining Out With DOGS in Metro Phoenix AZ March 2018

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“We are on our way to Humble Pie in Glendale AZ”

Dining Out With DOGS is just a “Fluff” story of my adventure out taking my dogs out to eat. This kind of started when I found out when my dog Louie (who has passed) was diagnosed with aggressive cancer. I thought I’d take him out to eat as much as possible because he enjoyed it. Instead of the three month – six months diagnosed doctors gave him he made it 19 months longer due to his strong urge to live and good medical advise. We usually go to very casual local restaurants with patios. Most restaurants in Arizona do have patios but not all patios are dog friendly. It’s always best to call a restaurant before dropping in with your furry friend because you never know if the restaurant patio is booked or suddenly went to not allowing dogs. It’s always best to visit at off times to avoid other people and dogs. Many other people don’t share your love for dogs and might complain. Also other people’s dogs might not get along with your furry buddy and maybe all the dogs will start barking and everyone with dogs might get asked to leave……Avoid problems call first and dine at off times. There are a few rules for dining with dogs. You must keep your dog by your side at all times. Dogs are not to sit on restaurant furniture and are not allowed to eat off restaurant plates. Much of the food and drink you consume is not safe for your dog and some of it is TOXIC to your dog. You MUST consult your Veterinarian for a Dog Friendly Food List and or a List of Foods to avoid. For the most part usually you are the safest if you feed your dog lean sauceless plain lean meats. Now that we got all that out of the way it looks like you are ready to Dine Out with Dogs!

Our first stop this month is at Humble Pie in Glendale AZ (I don’t believe this is techniquely Glendale anymore but it’s close (the territories and zip codes here have changed three times so far…..so…) Anyways- Humble Pie is a small local group of restaurants in mostly in Metro Phoenix (one is located in Tucson). They serve Neapolitan Style Pizzas with house made cheese, a few appetizers, soups salads and sandwiches. They offer a very comfortable patio that is well stocked with heaters for the few days it’s cold here and many fans for the many days of high heat we have here. I have to say the $10.99 two course express lunch special is hard to beat.

I usually get a Strawberry Gorgonzola salad and a pizza. The salad is really pretty good as far as salads go.

Today was a very rare cold for Phoenix day so I got Butternut Squash Soup and a Margherita Pizza.

My husband got the Minestrone Soup and a Humble Pie Signature Sausage Pizza with roasted fennel. The sausage is a special Humble Pie Recipe.

Both dogs enjoyed trying a little taste of Butternut Squash Soup but they were more excited about the pizzas……especially the sausage pizza. I note not all dogs can digest cheese so you probably already know if your dog can digest cheese. I only give them small amounts of cheese but they enjoy it.

www.HumblePieUSA.com

“We are on our way to Culver’s in Phoenix”

Culver’s is a Nation Fast Food Chain from Wisconsin. They are well known for Butter Burgers, Frozen Custard and maybe Hand Batter made to order Fried Fish. Culver’s claim is that they differ from other fast food restaurants because they say that their food is restaurant quality. I tried the Battered Walleye Special and I have to say it was better than what some restaurants serve and much cheaper too. We wanted to try the Walleye again before it’s gone.

Look at my cup…It says Fresh never frozen……..That is pretty hard to believe…..maybe just the hamburgers I think……….

“The food smells pretty good to us…..Give us some please”

This is an enormous amount of food that we shared. The fish is really great. Seems fresh tasting. it’s mild a meaty in a shattering crisp crust that seems oil free. I don’t know why but I don’t like the green beans. Onion rings are ok. Not too into the Wisconsin Cheese Curds but the Dogs think they’re yummy.

The Dogs said, “We love everything we tried”

I saved some room to try my first Culver’s Custard. I tried vanilla with peanut butter and Reese’s Cups and my husband tried Chocolate with Brownies.

Wow this is too much of a good thing…….this is enough for three people….It’s really good….I should have stopped sooner……. (I ate a little more than half…)

“We have more room for the leftover cheese curds”

“I enjoyed my meal at Culver’s”

www.Culvers.com

“We’re on our way to Bahn Mi Bistro Vietnamese Eatery in Phoenix AZ”

Bahn Mi Bistro Vietnamese Eatery in Phoenix AZ is a Pho Free Vietnamese Eatery that offers many of your usual Vietnamese favorites except for Pho. This eatery specializes in the Banh Mi Sandwich. They use Vietnamese Style Rice and Wheat Baguettes that seem lighter than a regular baguette with a crunchy exterior and a soft center. You have your choice of around a dozen fillings. the sandwich also contains pickled radish, carrot salad, jalapeños, fresh cilantro and house made aioli. They also offer rice plates, noodle bowls and much more!

Today I got one of my favorites……..The Vietnamese Style Chicken Curry…..

With Rice instead of the baguette option.

The Curry is delicious with tender white meat chicken, some carrots, onions and red potatoes in an aromatic sauce. It seems lighter than other curries I tried….

My husband got the Pork Rice Plate.

They offer many varieties of pork here for the sandwiches…but my husband thinks he likes this pork best. This Rice Plate comes with a dressed salad, broken rice, a crispy pork egg roll, fish sauce and chili sauce.

Both dogs are found of the pork.

Both dogs are found of the Chicken Curry.

Everyone is happy!

www.BanhMiBistroAZ.com

“We’re on our way to Salad and Go in Phoenix”

Salad and Go is a Gourmet Fast Food Drive Threw with a Patio. They offer around a dozen different kinds of salads that only cost $5.74 (**subject to change at this time March 2018) and to add a protein like organic chicken it’s only $1.44 extra. Salads can be made into wraps and they offer a few other things like breakfast, soups, smoothies and children’s meals. This is only a Drive Threw Restaurant with a Patio……You either drive threw and leave or eat on the patio. No restrooms so you are not going to travel far to come here. Salad and Go is a FAST GROWING local chain. But I have to admit it’s pretty darn great and quite a value if you eat salads. Beats any national fast food place for salads for sure.

Today I got the Asian Salad with added Chicken. My husband got the Greek Salad with added Chicken and Shrimp but I forgot to Photo his.

Mixed Greens, sugar snap peas, peanuts, carrots, oranges, cabbage..and Chicken….It’s a very large salad too.

Small male dog says, “I’m a big fan of the chicken but that snow pea I had to spit out.” Don’t worry,,,Big Woman next to me ate it so we wouldn’t leave the place dirty.”

The Aussie says, “Picky ones don’t last Forking long in the jungle little boy.”

Dogs say, “We enjoyed our meal at Salad and Go!”

www.SaladandGo.com

That was Dining Out With Dogs in Metro Phoenix for March 2018.

We hope to see you next month!

The Forking Truth

In Memory of Louie 5-5-2001 – 3-3-2017

Fried Fish in Metro Phoenix

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www.ckclipart.com

Maybe you didn’t get your fix of fried fish yet? You might not be aware that there is a lot of fish frying in Metro Phoenix. Here’s a collection of some of the fried fish I tried in Metro Phoenix in no particular order.

I never went to a Long John Silver’s before….I thought maybe it might be similar to the old time Arthur Treacher’s from before they got sold and went down hill several decades back. WOW this was awful. It had an old oil taste to it. The fish actually tasted frozen….I offered a piece to my dog Louie and poor old Louie spit it out…..he really was a foodie. I felt I committed doggie abuse by offering him this fish. My other dog isn’t as picky and ate the spit out fish.

Tim Finnegan’s Irish Restaurant and Pub makes one of the best Fish and Chips I’ve tried here. The batter was shattering crisp and the mild tasting fish was meaty.

Here’s a Fried Cod and Salmon Combo from Oscar’s Pier 83 in Glendale AZ. Fried Salmon is maybe too rich for me to be fried….Somehow Fried Salmon is so buttery it’s almost like eating fried avocado. The Cod was better…..I usually get the broiled fish here but their speciality is the fried fish and they do Fried Fish better.

Here’s Fried Walleye from Jim Michael’s in Sun City.

You can also get Fried Walleye from Q Bar and Grill in Peoria AZ.

I got this Fried Walleye from Scottsdale Beer Company in Scottsdale AZ. I liked the flavor of the batter but coating was soft and bread-ee……I have a preference for shattering crisp batter. But I have to add that they gave me a big meaty Walleye.

This Fried Walleye came from TapHouse Kitchen. I hit them when a new cook must have been on because all the batter on the fish went soggy. I think maybe the fries steamed the batter on the fish here and made it soggy.

The Mexican Fish Sandwich from Rocket Burger is very tasty…..They don’t use high quality fish but all the the zesty slaw and Rocket sauce are so delicious. It just turns into a yummy sandwich.

It’s really sad that they can teach a dumb teenager at a fast food restaurant such as Culver’s to make shattering crisp battered fish better than at from some restaurants.

I had a whole Fried Perch at La Barquita in Phoenix AZ. The fish looks very big but I think I only got maybe two ounces of fish to eat……

The most surprising really great Fried Fish came from Original Cuisine in Mesa AZ.

I always thought I didn’t like the texture and taste of Catfish. It more slimy than other fish and usually muddy tasting. But in the right hands of someone from Original Cuisine they turned a Catfish into a feast for two!. It was almost like eating incredibly spicy mouth numbing fried chicken. The fish was very meaty and had a very crisp crunchy skin.

Another one of the best Fried Fish I tried came from Ocotillo in Phoenix.

This one is a little different. Here is Meaty Sweet Cod that’s Panko Coated. The fries were also delicious and were seasoned with seaweed and sea salt.

That was some of the Fried Fish I tried in Metro Phoenix.

Everything is subject to change…..and your experience may or may not differ.

The Forking Truth

La Piazza Al Forno – Glendale AZ – Great Certified Pizza – Worth a Fork!

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La Piazza al Forno is located in Historic Old Town Glendale. This is a small Italian Restaurant that specializes in Neapolitan Certified Pizza. Although the unique pizza is the main attraction La Piazza al Forno might be most famous for Celebrity Chef and Host Guy Fieri’s appearance and their fame of being featured on Food Network’s Diners Drive-in and Dives.

Many awards and the Vera Pizza Certificate are hung by the entrance

On this visit we started out by sharing a generously sized house salad.

We also shared the Bianca Pizza. It’s made with flavorful milky house made mozzarella, a high quality (taste house made) ricotta cheese, fresh garlic, extra virgin olive oil, fresh basil, Sicilian oregano and we added Calabrian Chilies. It all got baked in a certified Italian wood fired brick oven. at a certified temperature for a certified amount of seconds.

The light as air crust with a moist middle is lightly blackened and chewy with the absolute perfect amount of salt….not too much but enough to flavor…..The made in house mozzarella cheese is very milky tender and flavorful…..Everything else is a bonus…High quality ricotta (it taste fresh made it’s moist and delicious), drizzled with the perfect amount of quality extra virgin olive oil…delicious seasonings and that added Calabrian Chili peppers that we are fond of. It certainly is among the best pizzas you can get in metro Phoenix. The Forking Truth is that PIZZA in general is very controversial…..wars can get started over pizza….it’s similar to religion and politics…..so I’m never going to you that any is the very best but this one is up there and might be the best. Hands down I don’t think there is a pizza out there that’s topped with such delicious flavorful cheese. The crust is so tender and light. These pizzas will never weigh you down. This was a Forking AMAZING Pizza!

But I do have to tell The Forking Truth……Pizzas from most places ARE NOT CONSISTENT…….(even the numeral uno….you know who!….I got a burnt one on my last visit there!)

Here is an example of two Margherita D.O.C. pizzas from La Piazza al Forno.

They look different and they taste different too!

Pizza on the left was made with tomatoes that weren’t drained well. The cheese was much looser and the middle was too wet.

Pizza on the right was absolutely delicious with a rich just right sweet tomatoes.

More often than not the pizza is very good from here. I’ve been here many times. But once I got a really bad crust on a pizza during a very busy dinner service and my crust was baked over some sort of spillage in the oven and had burnt tasting spots on the crust. That was only once. But when they get it right the Pizza from La Piazza al Forno is my favorite!

Here are a few photos from some previous visits.

Calzone

Dolce Diavolo Pizza from La Piazza Al Forno in Glendale AZ Tomatoes, Mozzarella, Soppressata, Calabrian Chilies, Basil, Honey

Salvatore Pizza- San Marzano tomatoes D.o.p., house made mozzarella, extra virgin olive oil, prosciutto di parma, arugula

I don’t eat dessert here too often but this cheese cake is the very best cheesecake maybe in Arizona. It’s the only one I liked since moving here. I note I am spoiled……I grew up eating one of the best Cheese Cakes in the country. That cheese cake was from the Country Club Dinner in Philadelphia….(it’s much better than Jr’s of New York…to me) It’s light (for cheese cake) it’s delicious and not sour, heavy and thick. This La Piazza al Forno is the closest in style and taste to the FAMOUS Country Club Dinner’s Cheese Cake.

La Piazza al Forno is Worth a Fork!

www.LaPiazzaPhx.com

Worth a Fork! If you are a Pizza Foodie you might drive across town to dine here. I do note they have a newer location down town but I never visited that location so I can’t say if it’s the same.

The Forking Truth is that EVERYTHING is subject to change and your experience may or may NOT differ.

The Forking Truth

Spicy Habanero Yellow Mango Orange Ice with Strawberry Recipe

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Spicy Habanero Yellow Mango Orange Ice with Strawberry

I had a bunch of yellow mangos…..I made some into mango salsa and the rest into this Habanero Spicy Yellow Mango Orange Ice. It came out good……but then I added some strawberries and the flavors GO BANG! ……I made this originally just like the picture…..It was mostly mango with orange and one habanero……I did the photo you see here and didn’t eat it because I wasn’t hungry but ate it a few days latter and OMG…it’s good without the strawberry but the strawberry has this AMAZING just right acid, sour and sweet to make these flavors FORKING AWSOME so I added strawberry to the recipe. Each serving MUST include a strawberry. Either chop up at least 8 good size strawberries and add them at the end and freeze or serve with one strawberry. It makes a world of difference.

Ingredients for about 8 servings

1 1/2 lbs yellow mango flesh – cut in cubes

2 oranges – just the juice and zest

1 habanero pepper – fine chopped – (use disposable gloves on your hands or you’ll be sorry)

2 cups sugar

2 cups water

pinch of course sea salt

8 strawberries to either chop and add to recipe or to serve fresh with the Mango ice.

Directions

Boil the sugar and water for about ten minutes. Reduce to simmer. Add the rest of ingredients and blend.. Let the mixture sit out to cool off a little for about an hour.

Freeze and scrape in about 8 hours…..let sit over night and scrape again. I don’t know why but so far every time I made a fruit ice of some sort the texture always improves after about two -three days…..

Ready to serve but best two – three days to serve. A Strawberry is a MUST!

Yummy, natural and different.

Spicy Habanero Yellow Mango Orange Ice with Strawberry

The Forking Truth

Every FORKING THING is subject to change

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WhyyyyyyyWhyyyyyWhy…..

It’s not my intention to bring negative attention towards this particular restaurant in Metro Phoenix. But on the other hand I do tell The FORKING Truth so here it is. If you read my reviews you will be able to figure out what restaurant this happened at. I can only hope that I hit them on a bad day………..because last time the food and service was wonderful.

Tonight we were seated on the patio. I noticed the meatballs I had last time were discontinued and I went with another variety that I also wanted to try – The Eggplant Parmesan Balls. Doesn’t that sound yummy? It sounds delicious to me….I wondered how’d they would make them. I wondered if they’d have a cheesy molten center…..Or maybe they’d be wrapped in a blanket of melted cheese………I ordered the Eggplant Balls in the spicy arrabiatta sauce I enjoyed last time and tried the stuffed gnocchi that also sounded really interesting to me……

Our meals arrived by a food jockey or runner. (Not Our Server) We wait and wait and nobody offers us cheese for our meals….My husband gets up and walks to the other end of the patio to someone who is carrying around cheese to come to our table and we get some.

I notice my gnocchi are sitting in a lot of oil…… At home I make gnocchi too and I also coat them in oil because it adds a nice flavor (if your using quality oil) and also keeps the gnocchi from sticking together…but this is too much oil. I don’t want to eat all this oil….It’s too much oil for a person to eat…so I try to blot off each gnocchi.

They are indeed stuffed with spinach and cheese but they have a strange texture. It’s hard to explain but better gnocchi are suppose to be soft and light and when made correctly melt in your mouth. These are soft in a different way…….I’m not sure what happened here…I’m thinking the potatoes used were too wet or maybe the gnocchi are just over cooked.

The sauce doesn’t taste like the DELICIOUS Spicy Arrabiatta sauce I had last time. The sauce is still good but I’m thinking it might be regular marinara sauce….It isn’t spicy at all.

Now I go for an Eggplant Parmesan Ball….to me it sounds like it should be breaded eggplant with melted cheese.

It’s very mushy…… 🙁 with tough eggplant skin…..:( and it FORKING COLD in the center! Maybe it isn’t even cooked all the way??? …I know when I cook eggplant at home the skin (if I use it) is always soft……

WTFORK this sucks…….

www.pinterest

I got mushy pasta and mushy balls in a very oily sauce and tough chewy eggplant skin.

I’m very hungry because I only had a salad at lunch……so I manage to eat one of the three mushy not good balls……My husband asks me to try a second ball because last time one of the meatballs differed from the other two….No such luck this time number two is also mushy with tough eggplant skin and COLD in the center. ………..

Our waitress didn’t bother to check on us…….after we were done someone acting as a manager does ask us how things were and if I’d like my leftovers wrapped up

www.pinterest

……I told her that I didn’t want my leftovers wrapped up and then we tell her why ………

Sauce is not the same as last time and isn’t spicy.

Nobody offered us cheese.

Eggplant balls were mushy and were served with cold centers. They didn’t even taste good.

I didn’t say anything about the pasta…..I think maybe it was just over cooked.

We were offered a complimentary dessert that we turned down so we paid and left.

That’s how it went this time.

Every FORKING THING EVERYWHERE is subject to change and your experience or MY EXPERIENCE may or may not differ.

The Forking Truth

I tried EGGSLUT at the Cosmopolitan Las Vegas NV

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Eggslut (logo is eggslut) is a casual restaurant that is based in Los Angelas CA. The menu is limited and focuses on the cage free egg. There is an Eggslut location in the Cosmopolitan Casino Hotel on the Las Vegas Strip in Nevada. The line is always very long here but it seems to move reasonably well.

I tried the Fairax. It’s a locally made Brioche Bun that’s very eggy on the top but white inside. The sandwich is stuffed with LOTS of extra soft loose Scrambled Eggs, Chives, Caramelized Onions, very mild Cheddar Cheese and Sriracha Mayo. It’s a pillow of soft squishiness. Soft squishy roll with soft squishy insides that are laced with Sriracha Mayo….Did I mention that this sandwich was really squishy?

My husband got the Bacon eggslut.

They put lots of crispy bacon on his sandwich, cheddar cheese, one over medium egg, chipotle ketchup on a brioche bun. I don’t think his sandwich was as squishy as my sandwich.

If you prefer your eggs loose and your sandwiches squishy…….You will be Egg-Cited to eat here!

www.CosmopolitanLasVegas.com

Everything is subject to change and your experience may or may not differ.

The Forking Truth

My Trip to Mercato della Pescheria at Venetian in Las Vegas NV

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Mercato della Pescheria is an Italian Seafood Restaurant located in the Cannal Section in the Venetian Casino Hotel on the Las Vegas Strip. Most of the seating is out in a square in front of a faux building under a faux sky. Just a short distance from the patio are singers that are singing Italian songs, some dancers, a living statue person and a stilt walker. It’s quit a bit of entertainment.

They start us off with really delicious bread presented in a tomato can.

WOW, the bread was really great. So crusty, hot and delicious. I haven’t had bread this good in over ten years. The bread is very good here.

We start off by sharing the Swiss Chard Ravioli in Pesto that’s topped with Pine Nuts and Grand Padana.

The Pasta is thin and seems like a 50/50 semolina to flour ratio. It’s stuffed with cooked Swiss Chard and each Ravioli has two of the corners stuck together so they look like little packages and hold more pesto sauce. We thought the raviolis were very good.

I had the Mediterranean Sea Bass (also known as Bronzino) They served me a very large portion. It might not be enough for two people but I can say it’s bigger that any Bronzino I’ve been served before. The center bones have been removed and the fish was prepared with some coal smoke for a unique taste. The fish was prepared reasonably well but was just slightly over done….

My platter was served with creamy Saffron Laced Cauliflower Puree, some Cauliflower and a Salad of Arugula with shaved Fennel that contained small amounts of charred fish skin from my fish.

My husband had the Coal Smoked Braised Veal Osso Bucco.

The Shank was topped with some gremolata and roasted vegetables and rested over creamy saffron laced risotto. Technically the shank and the risotto were not perfect but were passable with nice flavors.

Our service was efficient but very fast paced.

That was my Trip to Mercato della Pescheria in Las Vegas.

www.MercatoDellaPescheria.com

Everything is subject to change and your experience may or may not differ.

The Forking Truth

L’ATELIER de Joel Robuchon Las Vegas NV – Dah of course Worth a Fork!

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L’ATELIER de Joel Robuchon made it to be a Top Ten Essential Las Vegas Restaurant, a Four Diamond AAA also a Forbes and Michelin Travel Guild Restaurant. You know it’s going to be Worth a Fork! This restaurant is business casual. It’s also very small but very dramatic….the decor is all shiny black accented with red. Besides your server all you hear are the orders being called out by the expediter with a French Accent. Here you sit at the counter and watch the exhibition kitchen. There are some tables to the side but over the years I’ve seen only a very few people that have sat at those tables. I don’t know but I’m guessing that only VIPS or maybe very High Rollers ever get to sit at the tables. There also a few seats at the tiny bar but it might be just for show because I’ve never seen anyone sit there either.

The menu is full of tiny extraordinary plates so it’s sort of tapas. You can order a la carte or pick from the fixed priced menus that suits your appetite (or wallet). We always go with the smallest menu (three course) that includes dessert. It turns to to be enough food.

Ok here we go….

Expect the unexpected. Everything is a masterfully crafted surprise. Most of the plates you can’t duplicate at home. The food is mostly all Mind Blowing! Words aren’t necessary here or can truly describe the flavors and textures.

They start us off with an Amuse Bouche.

I had the Vegetarian option on the left. Mushroom Mousse in the thinest crisp pastry resting in pink peppercorns. It was extremely flavorful and had a surprising pink peppercorn infused pastry. My husband had something warm with Foie gras.

Then they serve us a basket of their AMAZING breads and delicious French Butter. My favorite is the little round buttery croissant…so yummy!

My first course was the Le Saumon – Smoked Salmon with Potato Galette and Dill Whipped Cream.

The salmon is cut masterfully thin and the plate includes a “line” of Piment d Espelette (perhaps the world’s most delicious red pepper). Of course it delicious…how could it not be? It’s so good that I could eat this everyday….in my dreams….

My husband starts with one of his favorite plates …..The Le Jambon – Iberico de Bellota with toasted Tomato Bread.

The ham is something really special. It’s made from Black Footed Pigs that kissed by Jesus (only kidding) and eat nothing but acorns. The meat is slightly laced with acorn and just melts in your mouth.

My second course was really truly AMAZING! Who knew such a dish could ever be so memorable!

It was called Le Potager – Market Vegetable Napoleon in Root Vegetable Broth.

They poured a milky buttery laced with dill vegetable broth over mushrooms and really fancy vegetables. Did you ever see such a baby carrot before. Maybe i can’t make it sound as great as it was but let me tell you….It was really great! Maybe more like Mind-Blowing!

My husband had the Le Thon – Tuna Belly Confit.

What a stunning presentation. I tried to taste it but it clashed with my dish…..so I went back to enjoy mine.

My main course was Le Bar – Seared Atlantic Sea Bass crusted in celery leaves over citrus beet reduction and the famous Robuchon Potatoes with one gram of Truffles.

The celery crust with beet reduction is interesting. It’s sophisticated…….They go so well together but in a why that’s different. Potatoes are amazing…well they always are………I was told once that the potatoes are 50% fingerlings and 50% butter……..

My husband had the Le Ris De Veau – Veal Sweet Bread with Bay leaves and a Lardon stuffed Romaine Lettuce.