XLB - Portland, OR

xiao long bao (soup dumplings <3)

hoisin duck baozi

Luis' Taqueria - Woodburn, OR

a belated post, but one full of delicious Mexican food memories.

we went to the tulip festival near Woodburn, OR, which i was luckily tipped off to the amazing Mexican food in the area. we stopped into one of the first places we saw, Luis' Taqueria, which worked out quite well because it turned out they were sorta the #1 pick. it was also a good sign we were in the minority speaking English in there, with a packed restaurant and the line wrapping out the door. i ordered a beef torta and a flauta on the side - both were delish. super fresh. it was so long ago that's about as much as i remember - delicious Mexican goodness, would definitely go back if i was in the area again.

 

Parilla Grill - Bend, OR

last weekend was a ski weekend in Bend, OR, also land of the highest # of craft breweries per capita in OR. while i initially envisioned a hearty all-American pub meal on our trip, it quickly faded into a fish tacos mission as i received a fish-taco tip from a friend. proclaimed to be better than San Diego - iggity. 

we headed to Parilla Grill - a cute, small, unassuming joint. while i'm not really a corn salsa girl, i ordered these as they are normally served, and i'm so glad i did. the fish sauce on them (no idea what's in it) was spicy and amazing, and cut the sweet corn salsa perfectly. the fish was fried perfectly and ridiculously fresh. all tipped off with a snappy crunch of slaw. they were perfect. the margarita i had with it was perfect. i just wish i had more of them up in my face right now... gaaaaah! 

Smokehouse 21 - Portland, OR

i've walked passed Smokehouse 21 a few times, and every time i do

i become instantly hungry from the AMAZINGLY delicious smokey bbq smell that is pouring out of it. it's cruel. what was supposed to be a double workout night this passed Tuesday night turned into a quadruple meat night as we had an impromptu dinner with friends. 

the hubby & i split two entrees - one being the brisket sandwich, the other being a platter of 3 meats + 2 sides (pork cheeks, lamb ribs, roast chicken, roasted brussel sprouts, bacon mac & cheese). holy high hell it was all so good. brisket is my usual go-to BBQ order, and this could have easily been the best i've ever had. so tender, smokey, seasoned, and juicy (the juicy part being where most places usually fall off). we've never had pork cheeks (or any cheek for that matter) - they just fell apart on my fork, and tasted like little patties of delish fall apart rib. aaaaah i can't say enough great things about this place, can't wait to go back. and now i'm super hungry from even thinking about it aaaaaaaaaaagh. 

PDX burgers: Tilt

yesterday afternoon we met up with friends for drinks and a lil nosh. i didn't know where we were going, but was pleasantly surprised to realize when we got there it was a place that was known for it's burgers, Tilt. major bonus. everything on the menu is "handcrafted", and everything on it sounds ridiculously good. crazy comfort food.

K & i split 2 burgers, one being the the Woody Royale: a fresh ground patty, beer batter onion rings, housemade bbq jalepeno slaw, hand-carved prime rib, honey smoked bacon, and cheddar on a house baked bun. YOWZA. this burger was the biggest mofo mouth party ever. the meat was cooked a really nice medium rare, had amazing flavor, but somehow you could completely and distinctly taste the well seasoned prime rib. all that salty meat just blended so well w/ the sweet bacon / slaw / bbq... holy cow. nothing was overpowering but everything had a ton of flavor. i love a good "fun topping" burger but usually it's either purist burger flavor OR fun toppings... when both are executed well together it's a delicious unicorn of events. 

PDX burgers: Grüner

this is officially the last burger post of my Portland backlog (so little time, so much burgering left to do). last night we were doing a little celebrating, and what better way to do it than to try my #1 PDX burger pick. i'd read about Grüner as a top Serious Eats Portland burger, as well as countless top 10 lists from the area. i can't believe i've been in town over a month and have held off trying it this long. 

this bad boy is made of grilled Cascade beef on a fresh baked poppy seed potato bun with house-cured bacon, fontina, aoili, and arugula. it also comes with b&b pickles and pickled red onions, but i left those off since i'm not a huge fan of "pickled things". this burger was EVERYTHING i wanted it to be. the beef had so much flavor to it, and was seared with perfect seasonings on the outside- just enough salt. it was so juicy it made a puddle of deliciousness on my plate... and since the fat was so good i was true glutton and just re-dipped my burger in the fatty meat juice on my plate. yes, that happened. the cheese & bacon melded well with all of it, and the squishy lil bun was a true warrior when it came to holding itself up against the meat juice typhoon oozing out of my burger. Grüner is considered a finer dining establishment, but if you burger there make sure you go with a crowd that you'll be comfortable getting elbow-deep in burger grease, with many teeny tiny poppy seeds stuck along the way. if they're not into burger sexy chic, leave them at home. 

PDX burgers: Lumberyard Rotisserie & Grill

so while this spot is technically not in Portland, it's within driving range so i'm throwing it under the PDX burger category. we decided to drive out to the Pacific coast one day to check out the area, and needed to try the best burger around (for strength, of course). we were in Cannon Beach (which is gorgeous and site of some film scenes from The Goonies if you're ever in the area), and The Lumberyard Rotisserie & Grill came up as the #1 contender.  

we ordered the EPIC Lumberyard Burger, which consists of a "decadent 7 oz. hand-pattied, double ground, seasoned beef patty", on a toasted fresh baked bun pepper bacon, fried egg, and grilled onion in addition to the standard lettuce & tomato fixins. this burger was TALL - i.e. the type where you need to take a bite of the bottom half, then a bite of the top half unless you can somehow unhinge your jaw. the flavors were all really good - good beef, great toppings, but it was slightly off in the execution unfortunately. while we requested medium rare, it was overcooked a tad to a solid medium (boo hoo, i know... but that makes a big difference), and the egg was cooked all the way through vs. being a nice runny drippy fried egg. the burger still was juicy even though it wasn't the idealized temp. you could tell it was all great ingredients, and if they were cooked just right this burger would jump from good to great. we could have used a bit more substantial bottom bun as it was almost nonexistent mid way through the burger.

PDX burgers: Little Big Burger

so. since touching down in Portland for the first time, i've been to Little Big Burger not once, not twice, but three times. i saw LBB flagged by Serious Eats as one of their favorite burgers for $5 and under across the U.S., and seeing as this chain is dotted all over my new hometown i could not be anymore excited to try them. 

Little Big Burger's premise is simple. they offer a menu with about 6 items - burger, cheese burger, fries, soda... you get the drift. simple stuff, but the important stuff. each of those items is then made from the best ingredients they can get their little big hands on, and priced at an amazingly reasonable price considering what they deliver (spoiler alert: they deliver delicious). it truly is like getting a gourmet fancy pants burger in a fast food setting. 

skewed brewing

lunch today at Skewed Brewing in Watertown NY - The Daddy Oh pizza, with shredded duck, caramelized onions, bacon, apples & brie. um... yum. the dough was nice and charred but still super soft. i'm a huge fan of the apple/onion/bacon combo in pretty much anything, and this bad boy did not disappoint. total mouth party. 

they had a lot of yummy apps on the menu, and i wish i was able to try all of them (duck wings, perogies with bacon-bourbon jam (YUMMM), fried tofu with wasabi coconut reduction)... definitely a fun little pit stop.

The Dutch Pot

i've been wanting to go to the Dutch Pot Jamaican restaurant in Albany ever since driving past it a few months ago. the stars finally aligned this Saturday when we were in the area for Lark Fest and all needed a lil nosh. 
i ordered one of their small plates which comes with a meat and 2 sides -- i had the Curried Goat with sides of Rasta Pasta and Sweet Potato Fries. i don't know what curried goat is -supposed- to taste like since i shockingly don't eat it everyday (i think i've only had goat once before when eating Indian food), but i thought it was great... the goat was gamey, but in a really good way, not a funky way. the curry was spicy enough to give me a mild case of the sniffles, as was the rasta pasta which was a like a alfredo-based cajun pasta. across the board we all loved this place and gave it a "would go back". they have a small menu with a number of dishes i'd come back to try -- good stuff. 

national cheeseburger day!

yesterday, 9/18 was national cheeseburger day. a holiday that comith once a year, and to a burger aficionado is the equivalent of Christmas. it also fell on "healthy week" start since i've been eating like a HOSS and vowed eat light this week and lose a few L-Bs. i was not going to celebrate. i had chicken breasts marinating in the fridge. i was going to run for an errand. come home. go for a run. grill said chicken. 

as you would have it... errand was in the viscidity of New World Bistro Bar. NWBB has been rated one of the top burgers not only in the CapDis, but in all of NY. and i love it. K was in my passenger seat. K is a bad influence. net/net... no run, no grilled chicken, but yes a delicious cheeseburger. we split it to make it not "as bad" along with the Purple Haze Shrimp and some Blackened Stringbeans for him. 

it was... even better than i remember. perfectly cooked, well respected medium rare meat, peppered bacon, cheddar, grilled onion, chipotle aioli, pillowy soft fresh baked bun. total mouth party. the red onion was thicker cut and just grilled enough... which i really liked and will do moving forward. it gave it a nice lil crunch but was cooked down enough to have no onion "bite" to it, but still more flavorful than thin-cut carmelized onions. aaaah heaven. now today i will be healthy.... :o) 

hong kong bakery & bistro

i was tres-happy to learn about the opening of hong kong bakery & bistro in Colonie NY... it's menu is - i believe- the 3rd dim sum menu in the area. or at least the 3rd that i've been able to find so far (with the first 2 being CCK Chinese & Taiwan Noodle). apparently the operation had been working out of the Asian Supermarket and expanded to this standalone spot. 

Friday night i hit up the Asian Supermarket... it was MINDBLOWING -- i had already visited my fav Asian market in Danbury, CT not long ago (TBS Asian Food) and stocked up on rice noodles, curry, & impulse purchases, but somehow i ended up leaving with 2 giant bags of goodies anyway (i think there are 3 or 4 different types of dumplings & pot stickers in my freezer at the moment...oops). the mind blowing amount of products and total adventure of foreign foods is just something you need to visit (if you're into visiting Asian and/or new grocery stores... which um... kinda is one of my favorite adventures. heh.)

the market stpre still has a food stall in it for takeout, but it was closed by the time i left the store (i was there late late)... i popped up the street to Hong Kong B&B after. i ordered the shrimp and pork wonton noodle soup and an order of mini-steamed pork buns. the pork buns were pillow-soft, had a nice slight honey glaze to them, and were stuffed perfectly with lil bbq delish pork. i was eating solo and planned to save 1 of the 3 buns as leftovers... but there were none. the noodle bowl was equally as delish. the bok choy flavor did overtake the broth a little bit (which is fine, just not my personal preference), but i think if i had a beef bowl instead of wonton, the meat would help balance out the flavor. the bowl was HUGE, and i left with a hefty portion of leftovers from that. was even better 2nd day. i didn't try any of the pastries they had (and there were a loooot available), but they looked adorable. definitely plan on returning and trying a few of their signature dishes... very happy to have such a growing number of fantastic Asian restaurants in Cap City. 

new world bistro bar

lazy sunday morning... after oversleeping a bit it seemed like a brunch stop was in order. we had gone to New World Bistro Bar a long while back for brunch and thoroughly enjoyed it, and it seemed like time for another go at it. for being semi in the middle of no where in Albany, this place was still just as packed as ever.  

i had the crab, leek, and egg stuffed crepes with guava hollandaise... deliciouuuuuuus. the last time we were there i had the ropa bennie (shredded cuban pot roast topped with poached eggs and guava hollandaise), but didn't remember how supremely yummy that hollandaise sauce was. massive, but delicious breakfast. required a double workout later in the day to burn it off, but so worth it. 

6th annual troy pig out

...

this little piggy went to the bbq...

we hit up the 6th Annual Troy Pig Out today in Troy, NY. beyond the bbq, this year the fest joined forces with BaconFest this year to deliver a fantastic array of cow and pig products. mmmmm. sweet, tasty farm animals. me and a bud shared a bunch of bites to avoid getting too full too fast. while everything we had was delish, the one thing i was hoping for was more sample-sized tastings... unless that only occurs at a certain point of the day (bbq competition submissions perhaps?). i'd love to buy $1 tickets and just run around sampling every single trucks meat slabs, but one can hope for next year at least. all in all though, it was an absolutely delicious day, and one that i was quite happy i did a large gym session this AM in preparation for it - bacon guilt successfully avoided. 

smoked pork, jalapeno cornbread
& collard green eggroll 

pork belly, fried egg, arugula &
 garlic mayo slider 

rrribs

bacon wrapped dates

Sukhothai - Albany, NY

Sukhothai on Lark St in Albany has been on my to-visit hit list for some time after hearing of it and good things about it. we went on a friday late afternoon and it was pretty busy - surprisingly so. we split the Hoy Joh (crab wrapped in tofu with sweet & sour sauce) and i had the massaman curry as my meal. the app was fairly light & delish, and the massaman actually tasted just like the delish massaman we had on the scuba boats in Thailand. i asked for it a little extra spicy and it ended up with a just right mix of spicy & sweet. i didn't order a drink, but the well-stocked fridge of Sapporo and $5 saketinis that looked fab. definitely a go-back spot. 

Nighthawk's Kitchen

we hit up Nighthawk's Kitchen at the Troy Farmer's Market this past weekend. after all these years in Albany this was our first time hitting the market... which we did only because we heard a good burger lead was nestling in its stands. Serious Eats did a piece on the smashed burger from Nighthawks - not only is it rare for Albany burgers to get a blurb on SE, getting a full article is unheard of. 

Kyle & i did halfsies with a green chili cheeseburger with a side of buffalo mac & cheese and a BBQ burger (which had the BIGGEST slab of bacon on it, mother of god) with a gouda and something-something mac & cheese on the side. 

the burgers were served on potato buns, nice & juicy & a bit messy, with the toppings played nicely with both. the meat had an awesome taste to it, and the giant slabs of local cheese were the perfect gooey blanket to the meat party. i assumed the smashed burgers were going to be thin, but they were pretty hearty. enough so that i had to struggle through the mac & cheese, which was well worth the struggle. definitely a place that i will pop back to, especially after seeing the amount of delicious available at the market (it's more local cheese & bread than it is veggies, and a lot of gourmet snacks. good stuff).

screamin' mimis

last month i took a trip to Savannah, GA for a wedding. i was only there for 2 days, so i did not have a lot of time to poke around sampling eats. doing my pre-visit burger research, i was a little bummed that they didn't seem to have much of a fierce burger game. their "best burger in Savannah" was reviewed as pretty "meh" from Serious Eats. kinda shocking when even Albany has a few solid (more than solid) contenders. 

what was SHOCKING is that Savannah apparently is known for having really good pizza. like... top 10 best city in USA for pizza. typically i wouldn't plan to touch a pizza or Italian food in the south with a 10 foot pole (no offense south), but i was intrigued. Screamin Mimi's and Vinnie Van Go Go's seemed like the top 2 picks, though Screaming Mimi's is where we ended up based on "it's very convenient location down town" (i was travelling with my parents :) ) 

the pizza is thin-crust NJ-style... and... it was really good. if i was in NYC and had a slice of this, i would not be disappointed. it would be exactly what i expected. i think what puts it on the map for Savannah and Savannah on the map at all is that it's NOT expected. in NYC, it wouldn't stand out (which is no insult - having a standout pizza in NYC the land of amazing pizza is a feat). here tho, delicious wonderfest. one complaint was that my slice of sausage pizza was too fennely. very weird sausage. plain slice was the winner of the 2 i had, straight up cheese and saucy mouth party. 

taiwan noodle

last week we finally made it over to Taiwan Noodle, dim sum & noodle shop we heard about via the Times Union. anyone in Albany knows there is a major shortage of dim sum joints (with exception to CCK Chinese, which i'd place as the top contender in Cap City), so any new find is like Christmas. i don't know when Taiwan Noodle opened, but i'm very happy we now found it. it's super casual, and seeing that their customer base was 75% Asian was definitely a nod to their good cookin. 

we ordered the Pork & Leek Dumpling and Shrimp Shu Mai off the dim sum menu and I had the Garlic Chicken Wing Lo Mein as my meal. Not only was everything super-cheap (each DS was between $3-$4, the Lo Mein $7), it was excellent. crispy juicy chicken wings & oodles of noodles. our only regret is that we didn't order any of the noodle soup which is kiiinda their specialty, so we will have to head back soon for more.

update 6/8: went back and hit up the beef noodle bowl. it delivered. SO gigantic i had to take half of it home. will be back. 

capital city gastropub

finally made it to Capital City Gastropub this past Wednesday... every Weds they have 1/2 price grass fed burger night. def our kind of happy hour. the place was teeny, busy (surprisingly so on a Weds night), and cozy inside. casual but have a very fun but not-so-casual ingredient menu. the burger has "Tilldale Farms" beef and comes with garlic aioli, grilled onion, and hand cut fries. i ordered mine with a slab of Harpersfield Farm Ale Cheese  on it.

the burger was well seasoned with a salt & pepper crust, and super-juicy. cooked perfectly medium rare. bun was pillowy (just the way i like em), and the cheese was redonkulously cheddary delish. tho the cheese was strong, the meat was still able to stand up to it - they merged together and became cheese+burger super friends. fries were cooked perfectly as well. they came with house made ketchup, which i tip my hat to, but it tasted more like a marinara sauce then it did a ketchup. so. that was weird.

kyle wasn't AS happy with his burger (i voted about an 8, he was more around a 7.5)... his wasn't cooked as medium rare, and said it was a bit too firmly packed for his taste... could just be since it was a little more cooked it seemed a bit more dense. all in all, we both thoroughly enjoyed them and would absolutely go back. one of the better burgers in albany. (esp for $6.50 before extra fixins... you can't beat that. that's McD prices!)

thailand in food pics

january was honeymoon to Thailand. the mothership. i fully expected the food to be amazing (if i like Thai in albany, liking Thai in its land is a no brainer), and it proved to be just that. the one great thing about it was that when something in the menu is listed as SPICY, it is... wait for it... actually SPICY. they don't pander to sissies like we do here (i've been ordering chinese food "extra spicy" for spicy items... they still can't deliver. don't fear the spice!)the other shocking thing is the price... we could eat an entire meal (split app, 2 entrees, 2 drinks - Singha specifically : ) for about $15 USD. just one entree here (for casual takeout) is about $12 USD. i felt like a kid in Charlie's Chocolate Factory, if the chocolate river was curry sauce and the pad thai. 

tee hee! 

my only complaint: their burger. BLECH!!! apparently beef is not their strong suit. we went to what was rated the #2 Bangkok burger joint and well-reviewed on a (very critical) Bangkok burger blog, and it was BLEEEEH. not horrific, but not in anyway shape or form something to write home about. overseasoned (why???), a little tough even if it was juicy & not cooked to temp (they don't even offer medium rare... even at a nice steakhouse they start with "medium" as the suggestion... WHAT?) tried else for the same result. the BEST burger of them all... laughably... McDonald's Samuri Pork Burger. not beef... but highly enjoyable after a few Singha's. (this coming from a girl that can't eat McDonald's burgers in the US - the beef variety - without barfing)

when in rome, eat breakfast
like the romans do.

chicken something something.

red curry chicken that made my
nose run & my ears burn. but not burn enough
to overshadow the tasty tasty. gaaah!

massaman curry - my first meal when
i got to the island, then it seemed to be 
served on every boat we went on... 
all equally amazing. best staple ever.

drinks @ The Library, Chaweng Beach, Koh Samui. great. crafty cocktails, nice change of pace from some of the beer-centric downtown Chaweng spots. 

something something.

something something lamb @ Noori Indian. MMM.

mini cupcake offering 
to my mini buddah.

McDonald's Samuri Pork Burger

#2 ranked burger. what i wouldn't give
to start up a Thai burger joint.
1 good meat purveyor, would make a KILLING!

room service: chicken & stuff

Indian butter chicken, Noordi Indian in Koh Samui. Awesome.

Lobster Hot Plate chips... 
SO bad.

lot of brick oven pizza... this one was OK, 
the one at Pinocchio on Chaweng Beach 
was really good - like REALLY good even in NY. 
were very pleasantly stunned.

pork on a stick & shish ka bobs for farewell din. i think i paid $.90  total for it... god!