I Love it When Dinner Comes to Me

So I've moved to Florida. What do I do down here when I am not at work (haha! me, not at work)? Besides the obvious (watch reality tv while eating ice cream, duh) I do partake in some pretty amazing things.

I don't know if your apartment complex hosts food trucks every now and again, but mine does. And it just so happened that Justin had off work, and I got off before six, so dinner was had-- food truck style.

This was such a fun community event! A lot of people showed up for the trucks, and I don't think the trucks were expecting it! Three trucks showed up to feed our community: "Get Toasted" "The Big Ragu" and "Joji Yogurt". My favorite truck was Joji Yogurt, (Fro-yo, toppings, and cute little spoons, what's not to love?) but all of them were delicious.


From "Get Toasted" I had a "T'n'M"-- tomato, mozzarella, basil and balsamic sandwich, while Justin had a "Chicken Satay Sandwich". Both were delicious. We followed that up with an order of "Rice Balls" from the "Big Ragu". They were very interesting--baseball sized balls of seasoned rice, filled with cheese, breaded and then fried, topped with tomato sauce. To top it all off, frozen yogurt was in order.

I got Green Tea Yogurt and Pineapple Sorbet, and Justin had Green Tea Yogurt with Chocolate Yogurt. I am a fro-yo purist, but he was a little more daring and opted for some Crushed Wasabi Peas and Pretzel Balls as toppings for his yogurt. I think it is safe to say Joji was the highlight of our night.

Have you ever eaten at a Food Truck? If so which one?

Do You Eat Responsibly?

So maybe it's just me, but does anyone else love thee idea of eating food that has no additives? Food that is made from real ingredients that actually grow in the ground rather than in a petri dish? How about foods that have ingredients that you can actually pronounce? If this sounds in anyway, the slightest bit appealing, then  please read on.

Right now, 90% of the money Americans spend on food is for processed items. Mind boggling, right? So why not try something delicious and, well, real?

My mom, sister and I recently went a small place by Mom's work for lunch and it was delicious, and good for you (well maybe not the macaroon), and fresh and local and seasonal...I could go on and on. I know you're dying to know the name of it, so without further ado: Atwater's on Falls Road.

Fair Trade Iced Coffee with a Coconut Chocolate Macaroon

Champagne and White Linens

I have moved on from my first restaurant on campus to my second, and last, restaurant here at The Culinary Institute of America. I am currently a server at Escoffier, a white table cloth, French restaurant, offering a bistro style lunch menu. This is the first time in about a year that The CIA has opened this restaurant for lunch, which is causing quite the commotion around campus. Out of all the restaurants in America, only .08% are white tablecloth, fine dining locations. This number dropped drastically after the decline of the economy a few years back, so I feel privileged to be able to learn this style of service.
The first day of service, which was a Saturday, was quite...interesting. The servers have a lot more responsibility than we are used to, such as opening wine table side and placing out 456361.1654 different types of silverware. Actually there are only 17 pieces of silverware. I say silverware because this restaurant is the only place on campus where actual silver plated flatware is used. There are certain pieces of silverware that most people have no idea what to do with like a fish knife or a sauce spoon. It is kind of mind boggling to think that someone woke up one morning, cut a notch out of his (or her) spoon and then proceeded to use it to scrape all of the sauce off of their plate. Who thought of that? Really? Who thinks to do that? Anyway, here is all 17 pieces of silverware and all 13 styles of glassware.

Demo of Flatware and Glassware

My Study Guide for the Silverware

The menu items look really good--I have tried the French Onion Soup, and it was delightful and choc-ful of onions (but not nearly as good as my grandmother's). Chef Rapp, my garde-manger teacher before I left for externship in March of last year, has taken over the kitchen bringing lighter fair to the once heavy menu.

Entree Line Up Before Service

If you're in town, check it out. It's worth the drive.

What is the fanciest restaurant you've ever been to?

Oh The Weekend

This past weekend has been quite eventful here at The Culinary Institute of America.

My school was hosting the 3rd Bocuse d'Or Competition. What is this? Well, it is an event at which the top chefs from all over the country train for in order to win one coveted spot as the American representative for the worldwide competition in Lyon, France.

The Rec Center was transformed from mere basketball courts to an impressive Culinary Areana with stoves, mixers, ovens and cameras. The judges sat right up front, so everyone could see them as they dissected the dishes placed in front of them.

The judging panel was full of high caliber chefs such as Grant Achatz, Thomas Keller, Daniel Boulud and Daniel Humm. When they weren't judging the contest they were out signing books and taking pictures.

Justin and I with Daniel Boulud

After all the tasting and tallying, the winner who will be heading train extensively before heading off to Lyon is CMC Richard Rosendale from The Greenbrier. Congratulations! And also a huge congratulations to Rose Weiss, a culinary extern at Gramercy Tavern, who won the commis competition and a $10,000 scholarship to any Three Michelin Star Restaurant in Europe!

Vin. Fin.

Wine is meant to be prepared with food, so, courtesy of the CIA, my wines class got to enjoy a meal at The Caterina de Medici. On the house. Wine and all.

We had a lovely four course meal with a total of seven wines. There isn't much else to say, so I'll let the pictures speak for themselves.

Brut, "Prior," Bortolomiol, Prosecco di Conegliano-Valdobbiadene, Venet, Italy
&
Mozzerella, Proscuitto, Pickeled Vegetables, and Arugula

Falanghina, Feudi di San Gregorio, Campania, Italy 2009
&
Bardolino Chiaretto, Cavalchina, Veneto, Italy 2009

Seafood Risotto

Aprelis, Pondere San Luigi, Tuscany, Italy 2001
&
Cannonau, Argiolas, "Costera," Isola del Nuraghi, Sardina, Italy 2007
&
Braised Beef with Polenta, Cipollini and Baby Carrots

Tis the Season for Tapas

In case you haven't already noticed, Justin and I love to eat. Love. Love. Love. So for Christmas, what better gift than a gift card to The Rumor Mill, in Ellicott City, Maryland.

Bundled in our peat coats, Justin and I walked the streets of the historic town to the restaurant, hidden from plain view by the cobblestone path, known as Tiber Alley.

The biggest angst of being a young culinarian is that we cannot sample any sort of alcoholic anything. The Rumor Mill specializes in their fusion vodkas that are made in house. What is a fusion vodka? It is plain vodka that a flavor is infused into. That night's the special was a Pumpkin Spice Martini. Tell me you don't want one of those.

All whining aside, We ordered 10 plates, and they were delicious. Simply wonderful.

Our Menu

1. Crab and Goat Cheese Dumplings
2. Salmon and Mushroom Stack
3. Duck and Cherries
4. Seared Tuna and Edamame
5. Honey Miso Scallops with Cucumbers
6. Fish and Chips
7. Mushroom and Goat Cheese Tart 
8. Mini Kobe Sliders
9. Banana Wontons with Kahlua Ice Cream
10. Chocolate Raspberry Cake

I would defiantly recommend the Crab and Goat Cheese Wontons, The Honey Miso Scallops and the Seared Tuna. Together this trio of plates stole the entire night.

Bread Should Never be Alone

Its Sunday, and what a better way to spend the day than with my wonderful boyfriend. This Sunday we went and had a lovely brunch, went to the farmers market and went shopping.

When I woke up this morning, he had a grand plan to surprise me with a trip to small place in Rhinebeck for brunch. I love brunch, so anything involving a lazy Sunday and hash browns, sign me up! We ended up at Bread Alone. On the outside, it looks like a run of the mill coffee shop, but on the inside it opens up into a coffee shop and a restaurant. We waited behind the locals for our table, sampling in house baked sourdough bread. We were seated a cute little table right by the kitchen's pass, so we could watch all of the excitement.

A Trip to Germany and a Quick Stop in Spain

This weekend I went to Pennsylvania to visit Justin and help him move all of his stuff back up here to The Culinary Institute.
Being a foodie couple, of course we had to take advantage of the cuisine in Bethlehem, PA. Lucky for us there was a food festival going on at The Steel Stacks in celebration of Oktoberfest.

Justin, his parents and I spent the entire day amongst old steel factory ruins, throngs of people and small heard of miniature doxens.

Justin and I started off on the right foot by devouring sauerkraut prorogues and curry wurst. "What is curry wurst?" you may be thinking. It is a combination of sausages, cut into bite sized pieces, topped with a tomato curry sauce. I think it is an acquired taste, but Justin loves it, even though he says the version he had on the streets of Germany was way better.

Periogies

Currywurst Sauce

Justin and Currywurst

Mrs. Christen and I waited in line for a while for the next round of German fare. We emerged from the stand with wiener schnitzel, potato pancakes, a meat pie and German beef stew. It was all delicious. Being mostly Irish, it was quite interesting to try a variety of traditional food from another country. At a glimpse, it appears as though the Irish and the Germans have nothing in common, but after surveying what we have retrieved, I started comparing what I knew to what I had. The German meat pie remained me of a Shepard's Pie while the potato pancakes were definitely reminincisent of my favorite potato dish, Champs.

As if that wasn't enough food for one day, Justin and I found a danish stand, and of course decided we needed one. It was warm and gooey and covered in powdered sugar...how could you go wrong?
After a lovely day eating, listening to music and exploring the renovated steel stacks we all headed home.

If you know anything about me, you know that I can put away some food, so after a few hours of digestion, Justin and I went out for a lovely dinner date.

A small burnt orange restaurant named Tapas was the perfect place to spend our Saturday night. We were seated at the table for two in the window and started off by ordering the specials of the night and then an additional four courses plus two desserts and a latte.
For those out there who don't know what a tapas style meal is, it may seem crazy to eat that much food, but in reality it isn't. Tapas is a Spanish style of dining where a couple small portions of a variety of items are served to share.

We had (in order):
Scallops with Mango Salsa
Lamb Kabobs with Roasted Fingerling Potatoes
Mushroom and Quinoa Flat Bread
Mussels with Fries
Crab Croquettes
Yellowfin Tuna
Churros with Chocolate and Vanilla Sauce
Lemon Sorbet

Fully satisfied, we left to go watch another marathon of Ghost Adventures to finish off a weekend in Bethlehem.

Mile High Club or Turkey Club?

Sitting in Pensacola Airport, I realized something: I just ate a restaurant that I don't even know the name of. I look around there isn't anything with hint as to what this place is called...I guess its just Restaurant a la Airport, but hey, your guess is as good as mine. Faced with a chalkboard of sandwiches and fried foods galore, I wondered how many people are actually hungry when they come here, or are they bored and lured in by the smell of golden brown, well, anything.
This is the only airport I had ever been in where there is a single restaurant paired with a single magazine, souvenir, candy store. Before I experienced the uni restaurant hub, I thought the volume of restaurants per airport were required to keep up with the demands of hungry fliers, I guess not. At 5:30 on a Friday, the nameless restaurant's ticket count was barely scraping seven hundred. Impressive? Not at all. For all of the departing flights one would think that the count would be higher than that of a swimming pool bar on a summer day.
So I ask again: is this restaurant business a necessity in the airport. You could argue that a vast liquor selection is a must, but that's another topic in its entirety. Is it necessary to have four full service and a dozen quick service restaurants at your disposal when flying? I would opt to say no. Is the price for airport food reasonable, absolutely not. After paying fourteen dollars for a sandwich and a canned drink, I realized I could have had a starter and a soup at a fine dining restaurant.
At a career fair, I interviewed with a man who owned the franchise responsible for eighty five percent of the full service, off chain, restaurants in airports. After an hour of chatting I learned that the majority of the restaurants had large freezers. Translation: Lots of frozen food.
Could McDonald's handle the burden of seven hundred hungry passengers? Is that a joke? With "one million served everyday" it would be a pleasure to them and your pocket.