Healthier Choices Report - Jason's Deli

I recently have started living a healthier lifestyle and in doing so I thought I would share with you some of the tastier things that are still good for you. 

Just this past week for lunch I tried something new at Jason's Deli; it was their Mediterranean Wrap.  It contains turkey breast, roasted red pepper hummus, kalamata olives, organic field greens, cucumbers, red onions, and red roma tomatoes on an organic wheat wrap for only 320 calories. 

The flavors on this wrap are a welcome change to what can be a sometimes boring food routine if you aren't fluent in healthy cooking.  I love the taste of hummus.  It is such a different taste than anything I am used to.  And the texture isn't anything scary.  I have had it now as a dip for crackers at a get together, and on a wrap and enjoyed both applications immensely. 

What I like most about this wrap is that it gets its moisture from the hummus instead of something more fattening like guacamole or a dressing.  It comes with you choice of a fruit cup, chips, or steamed veggies.  I would recommend the steamed veggies.  They are piping hot with the perfect texture, and they taste delightfully steamy.  It is a hard thing to describe... The taste of steam.  Just try them and you will see what I mean :o)

Jason's Deli's Website

New Place Report - The Egg and I

Ever since I've moved into my new home my Mom has been eyeing this restaurant called The Egg and I.  I think what caught her eye is the fact that there is always a line of people outside waiting to be able to eat.  One day when we were going to get our hair done she really wanted to stop there, but with a thirty minute wait and a hair appointment looming we just didn't have the time.  So we made a special date to go wait in line to see what all the fuss was about.  With just my mom and me it wasn't a horrible wait.  We simply caught up on the various things going on in our lives.  Finally after about twenty-five minutes we were called in. 

I had seen a brief shot of some egg's benedict on Diners, Drive-ins, & Dives a few days before, so I pretty much already knew what I was going to order when I got there.  The coffee was wonderful, and their fresh squeezed orange juice hit the spot.  Probably about ten to fifteen minutes after ordering our food was brought to us.  My mom ended up ordering the same thing. 

I went into my food coma where I just take bite after bite getting sad as I go on, because it tastes so good, but it's steadily disappearing.  It had been a very long time since I've had egg's benedict, and to my knowledge I can only remember having it one time.  It is one of those foods that take me back to a happy place. 

My middle older brother had made the whole family egg's benedict for breakfast.  Like I said it was a long time ago probably just under ten years.  I wasn't expecting the taste that I got (I think I had forgotten what it tasted like), but it was very delectable.  My head told me that my brother's were better, but I think food association has a lot to do with who you are with, and the time you are having while eating the food.  So in other words I cannot be sure whose was better.  :o) 

I slowly made little perfect bites of english muffin, ham, eggs, and sauce.  I would have to say, if I had to name one, the star of the show would have to have been the ham.  The dish was also served with ranch potatoes.  Now regretfully I have to admit I had a blonde moment when ordering.  In my head I saw some potatoes maybe spiced up with a little hidden valley ranch seasoning on top, but I soon figured out it was more of potatoes you would eat while on a ranch.  My bad.  I do however give you permission to use my ranch sprinkled on top of potatoes idea, because it just sounds good.  Just please don't forget to tell me how they came out if you do. 

Back to the restaurant.  It definitely was a busy place, a lot of hustle and bustle, but not deafening by any means.  I would say it was just your normal breakfast diner.  I would definitely go back, and it is totally worth the wait.  I would rate it way better than IHOP.

The Egg & I's Website

Palate Adventurers - Inaugural Run - First Quarter, 2011 - Peli Peli

First of all I would like to say that that Peli Peli is a beautiful restaurant. The decor is truly aesthetically pleasing. Sadly, looks are not everything. I really expected much better service. There were eighteen of us present and we were spread over two tables. Each table had a different waiter. The main thing that was displeasing about it was that we did not get our orders taken or our food brought to us at the same time which caused half of the group to have to wait for the other half at the end of the meal.

As far as what I ordered; it was the Chilean Sea Bass with Scampi. I felt like adding the scampi was not worth the extra money charged ($10 for four shrimp). The sea bass however was very scrumptious and paired well with the lemon garlic butter sauce they provided. The seasoning on the sea bass I thought was good and the fish was hot and tender. Regretfully my Couscous was cold and that was very disappointing since it was one of the things I was looking forward to trying for the first time. The Carrot Bredie though I found to be quite good. It is like mashed potatoes with carrot, onion, and other seasonings within. The scampi to me were just sort of plain. I did taste the scampi taste I was expecting, but not to the extent of what I'm used to. When I’ve had it in the past it is served in a small dish swimming in the sauce. Luckily, I already had the sauce from my fish to help it out. One of the other people in our group got just the scampi and he had to order something on the side to flavor up the plain tasting shrimp. I believe he ended up getting some mango salsa which he said was good. The baby spinach was edible and I say that only because I don't usually eat much cooked spinach. I thought the texture was totally doable and the flavor was decent.

One of the attendees ordered the Surf and Turf which was supposed to come with prawns. Shortly after ordering her entrée the waitress came back to say they were out of prawns. Boo! I was disappointed because the waitress had asked her if she had ever eaten prawns before and said there was a special way they were to be consumed. I was looking forward to watching this process, and enjoying the look on my friend’s face.

I had ordered a margarita which wasn't the best I had ever had. As an appetizer we went with the flat bread and I fondly nick named it super pizza. It was a different taste but very good. I also was given a stuffed peppadew which I have to say was pretty awesome. While eating it I felt it took me on a journey or told me a story. There were four different distinct tastes enjoyed while gobbling it down! I as well snuck some of my husband's sweet potato fries off of his plate and they were really good. They were perfectly salty to counter the sweetness.

As far as the other people in the group it seemed like everyone who had ordered a steak, except for one person, said that they were undercooked. The table on the outside complained about the temperature. Two of the people had to go outside and thaw out at one point, and my friends that brought their son had to go out and redress him, because he was complaining of being cold. My friend’s husband who is a chef in the country on vacation from England said that it almost seemed as if it might have been the chef’s night off, and that if the way we were served would have happened at the last restaurant he worked at someone would have lost their job.  One of the other things I found sort of ironic is that they say their food is "flame pepper fusion", and not one thing was spicy or felt like it had any spice to it at all.  Very disappointing. 

If you do find yourself stuck with eating at Peli Peli here are my top couple things to order. According to my boss, who didn’t tell me this before I had been to the restaurant, the lamb chops are where it is at. Of course he probably did not term it like that, but one of our group had gotten them and raved about them. The second choice is the Chilean Sea Bass just by itself. I let a few others try the fish and everyone seemed to have the same opinion about it. So like I said if you absolutely have to go… lol!

After eating at a place like Fogo De Chao it shows you that when you pay that much for your food there should be not just good service, but excellence. Like I said before it is about good food and good service. As far as Peli Peli goes I would say that the food was just okay for the price, the service was horrible, and congratulations guys the decor is beautiful.  I'm pretty sure I will not be returning to Peli Peli anytime soon. :o/

 I did however have a great time with everyone, and can't wait to do it again!!!
 
Peli Peli's Website

New Place Report - The Melting Pot

On our second year wedding anniversary (we have been together 5 1/2 years) my husband and I decided to try out The Melting Pot. We cook fondue at home, and we wanted to check out the concept out and about.

Upon entering the restaurant you immediately notice that it is quite darker than most. With the romantic atmosphere set we headed to our table. (Side Note: I just want to get on my soap box for a minute. I do not like these two person tables restaurants have. I believe that a two person party should be seated at a four person table just due to the fact that by the time you get your food this little table you have been sat at does not accommodate all the food. I may be being a baby here, but seriously!) Obviously I did not feel that our "couple booth" was adequately spaced.

We chose to do the "Big Night Out" because it was our anniversary. It is a four course dinner starting with a cheese fondue, moving to a salad, then the entree portion of the meal, and ending with a dessert fondue. The big night out theme at this time was France. So for our first course we enjoyed the "Fondue a la France" which consisted of a mixture of four cheeses including Brie, Fontina, Raclette, and Gruyere. It was very scrumptious. We were given broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, apples, and three different types of breads to gobble up the cheese with. The breads kind of messed me up for a minute though, and I thought I didn't really enjoy the cheese. What the problem was one of the types of bread had herbs in it, and I just didn't really feel like it went well with the cheese. It pretty much left a very sour aftertaste in your mouth. Of course being the me that I am I had to mention it to the waiter what my issue was. Partly because he had walked by twice and seen a bitter beer face look on my face. He told me that it was rosemary bread, and it made sense to me because I have been known to not enjoy dishes containing rosemary in the past. After I avoided that bread I discerned that the cheese was very tasty.

Next came the salad. I ordered the salade nicoise, and my husband enjoyed their house salad with peppercorn ranch dressing. I had never had this type of salad before, but crazy as it must sound it was almost the highlight of my meal, besides the dessert of course! I really do recommend if you are ever at a restaurant and you have this as your option for your salad course ORDER IT!!! My husband as well said that it was the best ranch dressing he's ever had. So surprise surprise you could almost go here just for the salads!

The main course arrived with a plethora of meats, sauces, batters, and condiments. Regretfully there is no way I can tell you about all the various sauces there were just too many, and half way through the entree I even forgot what most of them were. They might want to think about a little sauce helper card or something. It may be a little confusing when they set so much stuff down in front of you at one time. Thanks to the website I can at least tell you about three of them which are teriyaki, ginger plum(personal favorite), and a mild, yogurt based curry sauce. One of the things I do remember is there were Mushroom caps and the waiter advised me to fill one of them with the Green Goddess sauce and then batter it in one of the two types of batter(guessing here people, but I think one was a tempura batter which is lighter and a sesame batter which is heavier). I believe he told me the thicker batter. This was good when I ate the concoction, but I kind of felt a pang of disappointment when I went on the website and there it was the suggestion I thought was between my waiter and I. The meats that we had on the big night out were the following: lobster tail, filet mignon, pepper-corn encrusted NY strip, chicken provencal, garlic shrimp, duck a l'orange, ratatouille and goat cheese filled ravioli. The cooking style we chose was called Bourguignonne which is a European-style fondue done in fat free canola oil. I wish we would have done one of the other kinds because that is how we do it at home all the time. Oh well though. Everything was very good. It seemed they had trouble keeping the temperature correct on the oil. Sometimes it was too hot, and other times it was too cold. It was almost like a we had tickets to a fight between the manager and the waiter, but I'll go into more about that in a minute right now we are talking about food! They gave us the lengths of time that everything took to cook, but it was hard to judge really how long it had been. It would be cool if they had a cute timing system you could use like maybe those flip over sand times with the different levels being marked for the different foods. I was kind of thinking to myself that it might be the difference between the oil and the bouillon type of cooking methods, but like I said above it could also have been the temperature problems. If I would have left my meat in as long as they said, say the either the filet mignon or the NY strip, it would have been burnt to a crisp. As well both the lobster and shrimp took no time at all. After finishing our entree portion of the meal we made our decision about desert.

The good thing about the big night out even if you don't like a certain portion of the menu you are allowed to substitute it out for one of their other regular menu items.

The dessert however we kept with French theme, because it was a crème brulee. One of our personal favorites. It encompassed white chocolate complete with a caramel salt on top then sprayed with some sort of edible fuel and was flambéed right there at our table. Also a lot of their other desserts are lit on fire, so if this one isn't your cup of tea there are others with just as much excitement. With dessert came another grouping of things to stab, cover in the chocolate, and enjoy. There was bite size brownie pieces, pound cake pieces, a slice of cheesecake, rice crispy treat bites, both crushed graham cracker covered and crushed Oreo covered marshmallows, strawberries, and bananas. My personal favorites believe it or not were the marshmallows. I can imagine the s’mores dessert they have is to die for as well.

We were also given a free glass of rose colored champagne for our anniversary. I wish it would have come sooner in the meal though with all that food and a few alcoholic beverages already down we couldn't quite fit the bubbly stuff. It was yummy the few sips I had. Even though there were some issues I was trying really hard not to let it ruin a momentous event.

I do have that thing I started talking about that I can't leave you hanging... Our waiter was a pretty good guy. It seemed like he might have been stretched over too many tables, and if that wasn't the case... Then I just don't know... The manager ended up mixing our first course for us, and his enthusiasm was not the greatest. It made me think the waiter probably would have done a better job. With the temperature of the oil it was almost like the waiter and the manager were going to get into a fight. The manager rudely came over and took our oil away before we were able to start our entree course and said it was too hot and he was going to take it in the back, change the pot to a cool pot, and add more oil. In my opinion burnt oil is burnt oil he should have just told us he was getting fresh oil. As well his pompous attitude while doing so I assume he was trying to either make the waiter look/feel bad, but he really only succeeded in making himself look like an ass. Like I said earlier it was hard to keep all the sauces straight, and I think it is because not only is the waiter explaining what the meats are which there were a lot of them, but even I had to bring to his attention that he hadn't even told us what any of the many little containers were that he set in front of us. So that was one thing that didn't bode well for the waiter.

All I can say is I hope they were busy that night, but on a Tuesday night it's hard to believe that they would have been that busy to cause such a constant inconsistency in service. The total time we were there, and I'm not sure if this is the typical amount of time for the big night out, but we arrived at seven and did not leave until three hours later at ten. We weren't really expecting that much time to have gone by, and that late of a night on a week night. I apologize if some of the things I have said seem harsh, but my first job was in the food service industry and I've always been a real stickler on customer service. There are two essential things that will keep an establishment in business great food and great service.

Overall I would return more because I have a twenty-five dollar gift certificate, and I always like to go to a place at least twice before completely writing them off.

Let me know if you've had a good experience there, and tell me your waiter's name. ;o)

The Melting Pot's Website

Usual Spots Report - Pappadeaux Seafood Kitchen

On this day I was able to meet up with some friends of mine from England.  Well just to clarify my friend is from here, but her husband and her son are from there.  She was really wanting some gumbo, and who can blame her?!?  I'd miss the food here too if I moved to a different country. 

While perusing the menu they had decided to get frog's legs as an appetizer.  I have never had the pleasure to try these before.  I was very excited to do so.  So after a little bit of a wait here they come sitting (hehe) all pretty on the plate five frog's legs.  They were served with a buttery sauce, some slices of garlic bread, and I'm not sure if they came from the sauce, but there were some stewed tomatos as well in the mix. 

I have to say I've heard people say that frog's legs taste like chicken, but you often hear that everything different tastes like chicken!  In my opinion if I had to relate them to something I would have to say they tasted more like fish; almost with a firmer fish texture like say a Mahi Mahi (my favorite fish by the way). 

The butter sauce they cooked/served it in is really what made the dish(per my friend's husband).  We dipped the bread slices in the sauce with some of those stewed tomatos to polish it off.  It was very yummy, and now I can proudly say I have tried frog's legs and they are not scary they are actually tasty!

Pappadeaux's Website

Culinary Lunch Adventure - Lenny's Sub Shop

Tried Lenny's Sub Shop off of Louetta today... Again I couldn't stear away from that French Dip I love so much! The reason why I didn't care for it was because it didn't seem to have much flavor in the meat and the au jus, and honestly it seemed to have a slimy quality to the meat.  I really liked the cheese and the bread on it tho! *shrugs... one of my friends says she has had their Chicken Salad there and it is good, so take it for what it's worth my friends :o)

Lenny's Website

New Place Report - Rancho Real

So my husband and I were feeling a little adventuresome last night and tried a new mexican restaurant we've never been to before. It was called Rancho Real and it is on the feeder of 249 in between Cypresswood and Grant when heading South.

Well.... the first thing I can say is that the sauces were tasty. Their green sauce and red sauces were both very flavorful, but I will warn you they are sneak-um-up-on-ya hot. We of course had to get margaritas. The margaritas were very fresh tasting they use a good mix, but they were definitely lacking in the tequila department... :o/

Well we then ordered the Tototlan Fajitas. We were very dissappointed in the amount of meat that was served for a (2) people helping. The veggies were good. The beans were as well good. They gave what I guess I'll call an avacado salad which was odd. It seemed as if they put so much lime juice on there to protect the avacado from going bad you couldn't even taste the flavor of the avacado. I would say that the wait staff was very attentive.

So overall for what we paid versus what we received I do not think we will be returning there anytime soon....

Rancho Real on B4-U-EAT's Website

Experiment!

Here's an experiment everyone can do, and how I try to find restaurants. And maybe you do this already.. that's cool too, but in case you don't. Go to Google... Type in either Houston, TX or a more specific area, and then take what you had typed out of the bar and replace it with the word restaurants. It will pop up a million red dots, and you merely have to scroll over them and they will tell you what they are. Let me know if you guys come across anything interesting.

Google

Started Palate Adventurers!!

I started a group today on FaceBook.  Here's the description to the group:

"Here’s the deal. I want to try new restaurants!!! So I wanted to start a club for people who love to eat at new restaurants and try new foods. To make it all feasible I thought that it would be good to try a new restaurant every three months or once a quarter. As well I was thinking so we could accommodate a lot of people in this club the dates for our excursions would have to be finite. If you couldn’t make that particular gathering you could try and make the next one, due to the fact it is too hard to try to fit a gathering into every member’s life. We definitely would have to have an RSVP end date/time due to the fact if our groups do get big we can call and reserve a/some table/tables there.  I just want to go out and enjoy some new and different foods. It seems that the first quarter of 2011 is super busy so I’m thinking that we will start in the second quarter. Let’s start throwing out some ideas. Where have you never been, but have always wanted to try?!?"

Palate Adventurers FaceBook Group

Culinary Lunch Adventure (What started it all...)

Anyone that truly knows me knows that I have a passion for trying to connect the world through my theories.  I have a theory about people in relation to food.  I believe there are two types of people; The “Same Old, Same Old” people and the “Variety is Fun!” people.  I happen to fall in the second category.  To give an example: My husband, our roomate at the time, & I would go eat at Los Arcos (West & Beltway 8) every Sunday morning while we roomated together, and we would arrive and get seated, and they would only hand ME a menu. 

Why you ask?, because the boys always ordered the same thing every week; Lunch Menu Beef Fajitas w/ nothing but a side of sour cream, shredded cheese, and beans.  I however ordered something different every time; sometimes it was the Flautas, sometimes the Queso Flameado (They have the best of this I swear!!!), or sometimes I would have fajitas with the boys. 

So back to the point, I usually eat my lunch with my co-worker who happens to be a “Same Old, Same Old” person, so when all these restaurants starting opening around the Willowbrook area I really wanted to see what they were all about.  Well because my co-worker is out having her baby I am left with a lunch break to go wherever my little heart desires.  So in this first week I decided to have a Culinary Adventure.  And this is my chronology.

Monday – January 10th, 2011 – I enjoy a good sandwich which I am sure everyone does.  My second job ever was working at Subway.  Subway is good and all don’t get me wrong, but it doesn’t seem to have that flair that I’m missing.  My dad used to make subs at the house with Boar’s Head meats, yummy expensive cheeses, and some sort of sub dressing.  They were always very good.  That is the sandwich I am looking for, and how I rate every sandwich shop I go to. 

So I tried that new guy in town called Which Wich.  Upon studying the menu before I ever left the office I spied that they had a French Dip.  I have a love affair with those silly sandwiches, and cannot resist getting them.  I tried to talk myself into a multi-meat and lots of veggies regular sub, but my affair with the French Dip won out.  I will say for starters that I truly enjoyed their bread.  As far as the French Dip itself I would rather enjoy one from say Jason’s Deli or even Arby’s.  As I was finishing eating I said to myself “I should have gotten a regular sandwich!!”  I did like their selection of chips and funky décor.  As well I ended up eating everything I bought. 

I would have to give Which Wich a “Better Than Subway” rating.  I would eat there again.

Which Wich's Website

Tuesday – January 11th, 2011 – I don’t know if you have been to CheeBurger CheeBurger yet or not, but I just LOVE it!!! (The only one in Texas is in the Vintage Park off of Louetta) They have so many different ways to make your burger, awesome fries and onion rings, and shakes beyond belief. 

So when my huband’s little brother said that Five Guys Burgers & Fries’ burgers were better I was skeptical.  So my Tuesday adventure became to see if he was speaking the truth.  Five Guys has a very basic menu.  And I was kind of surprised when I asked the girl the difference between the Burger and a Little Burger what her response was.  What I was expecting was a measurement i.e. ¼ lb., 1/3 lb., or ½ lb., but what she said instead was “The Burger has two patties and the Little Burger has one.”  Well me being a person that can be fully satisfied off of a McDonald’s kids meal (And not the mighty kids meal either, just the regular one)  I ordered the Little Burger with a Regular Cajun Fry.  (I think Curly and Cajun fries are things you just have to get… Who wants a plain old French fry when you can get super potatoes?!?!) 

While waiting for my food I looked around the shop and what they’ve done in there is interesting.  Basically they’ve taken anything anyone (Journalists) have said about them and blown it up and put it on their walls.  I can see where this would draw people in.  If you thought some place had won a bunch of awards and was mentioned many times in various newspapers you would want to eat there too. 

Back to the food…  The gentleman working the fry station calls my number while looking at me; I nod and approach the counter.  He calls the number before he dishes out the fries which I find a little odd, but then he gives me a small wink and smile and dumps an extra portion of fries in my bag.  Which for a guy would have probably been fine and dandy, but I’m thinking, “Shucks I’m totally going to waste all those fries!” 

I return to my office and sit down in the break room and think to myself as I’m unwrapping my burger “How did they get the burger into this shape in the wrapper?”  I couldn’t figure it out before I had opened it and restructured the veggies.  (Which I recommend everyone do!!!  No one making food cares about the perfect bite as much as you do; you have to take on that responsibility as your own!!)  The burger was very good, and I would say that it ranks right up there with CheeBurger CheeBurger.  It’s hard to say which one is better than the other. 

Lets do a comparison real quick.  Five guys didn’t get everything I asked for on the burger because the girl wasn’t listening to me as I placed my order, which at CheeBurger you sit down at the table and have your waitress taking your order with pen and paper, instead of going through the line and ordering your food, waiting for it and sitting down.  The meats are so different it is hard to say which one it better.  I think CheeBurger has a better quality meat and their patties are thicker.  While you can tell the Five Guys meat is hand shaped, and is thinner.  I would say Five Guys would be more a diner style burger even though CheeBurger has a diner style atmosphere.  The bun at Five Guys I would say is better, because it is a true bun.  CheeBurger’s I would almost call a roll.  The fries are better at CheeBurger, they are more of a greasy diner fry which I really like.  The Cajun fries to me had too much seasoning, and left a strange orange color on anything they touched.  Almost like chorizo grease, a little weird.  I finished my burger, but there was no way I could dream of eating that many fries.  I would go back again, and I really want to take my husband there to get a guys opinion. 

I think I would rate Five Guys as “Not Better Than CheeBurger But Right Up There”.

Five Guy's Website
Cheeburger's Website

Wednesday – January 12th, 2011 – A certain someone I know happens to find themselves in kitchens of places around the Houston Area, and that person says that they will never eat at a James Coney Island again.  But if you are like me and have seen that special on PBS on hot dogs; you get the craving every once in a while. 

When I saw the new restaurant open called Franks & Toppings I was interested, and this is why I made it my Wednesday adventure.  What I didn’t realize until I pulled up the website is that they only serve organic food.  Which I really don’t have any cares about, but I know other people do so I thought I would mention it. 

I went there and ordered a good old chili dog, and asked the guy if he liked the fries or onion rings better, and he started in on the sweet potato fries.  I told him I was not interested in those at the moment, but the minute I start a new diet I might be back for them.  He suggested the onion rings.  I received my food and brought it back to work and sat down in the break room.  The onion rings were very crunchy and yummy with big think onions inside.  The hot dog put me off at first because the coloration was a little funny.  Not red or even pink like a typical hot dog, but besides the color this hot dog was very yummy, and texturally fine. 

The chili, cheese, onions, mustard were all great on top, but believe it or not the star of the show was the hot dog bun.  Best hot dog bun I’ve ever seen or had the pleasure eating.  They even said people who have allergies to bread can eat their buns, because of how they are made.  Sorry you’ll have to do your own research here if you are allergic to make sure they will work for you.  I ended up eating all the onion rings, and only half of the hot dog, because I was full.  They only give you like five or six onion rings, but they are so huge!!  I think this would be a great place to check out if you are conscious of your health.  They also have veggie burgers, salmon burgers, turkey burgers, etc.  I would eat here again. 

I would rate this place "Way Better Than James Coney".

Franks & Toppings Website

Thursday – January 13th, 2011 (My Honey’s Birthday!! ) – Well after posting my journey thus far and being one day short of a week on ideas where to go eat each day I took the advice of a friend.  I visited My Fit Foods.  I had seen them there for a while now, as I had been visiting Schlotzsky’s (My Favorite Sandwich Shop!!). 

I have to say this place is very interesting and informative.  Not currently being on a diet and amongst a culinary adventure that has no thoughts about healthiness I felt a little silly upon entering.  But the person I met who helped me was amazing.  His name was Brian and he took me through the whole shpeel about what their goals are and about their food. 

I was expecting a restaurant and that isn’t quite what I got.  I was a little shocked when I walked in and saw no tables to sit at and no counter to order food from.  It is basically laid out like the cold section of a gas station; a long row of refrigerators holding various pre-packaged meals.  Brian informed me that all their meals are made at their 290 and Hollister location and are distributed out to the other stores daily.  Brian told me a bunch about the food there about how they have low glycemic carbohydrates, but really I felt he was speaking Greek to me.  I really don’t know much about the actual parts to food that makes them healthy.  I just want to know… Does it taste good? 

Brian suggested the Lean Lemon Turkey for me, and I decided that’s what I would have.  He explained it as a “Healthy Dirty Rice”.  After getting back to work and taking my food out I assessed the situation.  What I was looking at was a layer of ground turkey meat on a bed of rice (Now I realize that ground turkey meat substituted for ground beef can freak people out, but all I can say is open your mind, Turkey is yummy in all sorts of forms).  It also came with two asparagus spears and a lemon.  I squeezed the lemon across my meal and commenced the consumption. 

Believe it or not my friends this meal was very tasty.  It was lemony and had a little spice to it.  I again received the small portion of food, but you can order a medium to a large portion.  The asparagus was very tasty as well.  I would highly recommend this place to people who are concerned with their health.  It’s like having a fridge full of healthy leftovers at your fingertips.  It was such a nice change to having to worry about making the food yourself, and resisting adding that butter you so desperately want.  I definitely would eat at this place again, but I have a feeling my husband, and perhaps even my co-worker would want NOTHING to do with it. 

I would give this place a “Awesome Healthy Lunch Place” rating.

My Fit Food's Website

Friday – January 14th, 2011 – I was super super busy this day, so a co-worker was nice enough to get my lunch for me, which means something sad… I’ve still never been in this place, but I at least I can tell you about my experience with their food. 

Friday’s culinary adventure was Jimmy John’s Gourmet Sandwiches.  I have to say I really didn’t enjoy the sandwich I got there… Maybe I shouldn’t have gotten one of their Giant Subs and just stuck with the smaller ones.  But I really really wanted some avocado on my sandwich especially after eating the French Dip at Which Wich the other day.  I got the Beach Club.  The things I was not happy with on this sub was the amount of sprouts, how little avocado they put, and the side cut bread. 

I miss the old days when subway used to cut their bread LIKE A BOAT!!!  This may just be a personal preference, but here is my reasoning behind it.  While eating my Jimmy John’s sandwich every bite I took everything else tried to run out of the other end….  How can eating a sandwich be enjoyable when you are chasing all the innards the whole time?  This is my philosophy either make a boat, like the old subway way, or cut the thing entirely in half.  No more of this half cutting the bread stuff people!!!  It never ends well!  As well I felt like I had to dislocate my jaw to be able to eat it, and that is why I banned Quizno’s so many years ago.  When will these people understand we are not snakes!!  (*Steps off soapbox.*) 

So from this experience I would have to say I would eat Jimmy John’s again, and try a smaller sandwich, but I can’t see myself saying when someone asks me “Where’s a good place to get a good sandwich?”, yelling “Jimmy John’s, Jimmy John’s”. 

I guess I would have to give Jimmy John’s a “Better than Quizno’s” rating.

Jimmy John's Website

After Thoughts:  The “Same Old, Same Old” term I used for the people who aren’t that thrilled with eating different things all the time seems harsh to me now, and I just wanted to clarify that is nothing that would make one of these types of people better or worse than the other they are just different.

I feel another disclaimer should be made here about… Who am I to be able to dole out these judgments of food?  I’m nobody really, just a woman that LOVES food!!, and loves to write I guess.  Please remember that I am one individual and even though they say that journalism does not have bias I believe that anything that runs through a human's mind or is touched by a human hand is somehow biased in the end.  So take my reviews for what they are worth, my opinion. 

I just wanted to make a TMI note here as well.  Let’s just say if you are used to eating all the bad foods, and you switch to eating really healthy foods your tummy will not like you very much.  And this is what happened to me on both Wednesday and Thursday.  So be careful my dear friends.  Either eat healthy or not; don’t mess with your digestive system like that it’s just not nice. 

New Place Report - Fogo De Chao

I have to say before I start telling you about this place I can feel the love if you can call it love spilling out from my fingertips... Maybe it's adoration or excitement of just being able to share with you how wonderful this place truly is. 

(A funny backstory is the fact that I had actually been inside of Fogo De Chao before, and did not make it to a table.  It was a Friday evening and the person responsible for making reservations failed to do so, and there was an hour wait.  Our party did not feel like waiting so we left and enjoyed a different place that evening.  I was so sad that I had been so close.  But little did I know in the future about a year later I would get my opportunity.) 

My wonderful mother decided that she wanted to take our little immediate family to Fogo De Chao, and boy am I glad she made up her mind to do so.  In attendance were my husband, my brother, my brother's girlfriend, my mom, and I. 

Upon arriving and entering we were seated almost immediately.  The atmosphere of the place is bustling and exciting.  You can tell by the decor that it is an upscale version of the traditional Brazilian Churrascaria.  Before we get to the experience let me tell you more about what a Churrascaria is.  The word Churrascaria means Steakhouse or at least is loosely translated as such.  The type of cooking is actually called Churrasco which is in Brazil the term for Barbecue.  The difference between our Barbecue and theirs pretty much consists of the fact that they cook everything on skewers over coals, versus us who use a grill grate between our food and our fires. 

Now that you are caught up to speed on exactly what all those funny sounding terms mean let's go back to the restaurant.  As you get settled in at your table the Maitre d' explains the process to you.  You have a round card to use at your discretion; one side is red and the other green.  A pretty simple concept if you ask me.  If you want the gaucho chefs to bring you meat then turn your card to the green side and a plethora of meats will be whisked your way.  They will let you know what they are carrying on their spit, and you simply discern whether you would like that type of meat at that very moment or not.  One other heads up I have to give you is most of the meats just get a little cut and are slid straight onto your plate, but there are those few where they start to slice and you are supposed to clutch onto them with tongs that are provided to you.  It takes a little getting used to, but once you get the rythum down you become a seasoned pro at doing your part of the dance.  The Maitre d' also informs you that the salad bar is in the center of the restaurant containing various salads, cheeses, cold meats, and salmon.  They also ask you whether you would like sparkling water or spring water.  Beware I believe both of these options are extra hits to the pocket book.  Thankfully on this visit my sister-in-law said we would like to have regular water. 

While going to the salad bar the direction you are supposed to start at is clearly marked though some like everywhere you go are rebels and try to start at the wrong spot or go in the opposite direction.  The only critique I have about the salad bar is that there should be labels.  You can fancy up some labels I promise.  It is hard to try new things when you are guessing what they might be from the beginning.  I had to ask one of the salad bar attendants what a few things were.  To give my opinion on some of the salad bar items I would first have to speak with you about the salmon.  I can't tell you how much I love smoked salmon.  It is one of the most delicious flavors I have tasted in my life.  The salmon on the salad bar is smoked and very yummy.  I also love the fact that they had tabbouleh which is a salad of sorts that has Lebanese origins which I thought came from Greece that consists of cracked wheat, tomato, parsley, mint, onion, lemon juice, and olive oil.  I have had this in the past pared with salmon and loved it.  Typically pita bread is how you would eat this lovely mixture, but there was not one in sight so I became inventive.  They had large fresh lettuce pieces so I made a Greek lettuce wrap with the tabbouleh and smoked salmon.  To die for!!  Besides my favorite little snack I created there is also fresh mozzarella, various vegetables, salads, aged parmesan, and cold meats.  One of the prepared salads I also enjoyed was their chicken salad.  Very good and worth a little spot in your stomach along the way. 

Meanwhile back at the table the servers have brought our drinks and as well placed the three side dishes that are unlimited for us to enjoy.  The three sides are crispy hot polenta (which tastes like a milder form of corn bread with in my opinion a better texture, crispy on the outside and soft on the inside, but keep in mind I'm not a huge corn bread person so take that for what you will), garlic mashed potatoes, caramelized bananas (which I'm not a fan of hot bananas so you will have to go there and try them yourselves),  and a warm cheese bread authentic to Brazil called pão de queijo(the bread is a little different than I am used to, but I really thought at first they just like the middle of their bread doughy in Brazil, but after perusing the internet after my visit I realized it must have been the cheese and not uncooked dough I was experiencing.)

My sister-in-law gave the phrase of the night she said "I don't want for anything."  I couldn't have put it better myself.  Let me go in to detail on how this occurs.  As I mentioned before you have the gaucho chefs that bring you your meat and the Maître d' that is watching how everything is going at every table, but besides these people you have various other waiters and servers that are taking care of your every whim.  If you take a drink of your refreshment and it becomes below a certain level they are there to refill it, if you drop your napkin before you can pick it up and put it back in your lap they are there with a new one, and of course if one of your pieces of silverware happens to fall again they are there before you could think about getting it to place it back upon the table.  During our particular meal my husband dropped his napkin and like I said they were like lighting in giving him a new one and whisking the old one away, and a little bit later during the meal my brother's napkin didn't even really fall completely on the floor it had slid down his legs and towards his feet.  He thought he was being smooth and gently pulling the napkin back to its rightful place and before he could get it sneakily back into his lap a server was there with a new one.  I have to be honest here it is a little intimidating if you are not used to so many people watching you to make sure that everything is going smoothly and there are no issues during the course of your meal. 

Now that I've let you know about the salad bar, the way the process works, and the side dishes you get to enjoy let's get down to the most important thing about this restaurant the MEAT!!!  They have 11 plus types of meats that get brought to your table.  I say plus because some of the meats are the same type of meat prepared in a different way.  On their website they have the Portuguese words for the meat, but when they come to your table they do not use them, which I am glad of, because you would not at any point know what type of meat you were eating.  Here come the meats...  Top Sirloin (My second favorite) which they also call their House Sirloin (Picanha), Filet Mignon (My personal favorite) which you can also get bacon wrapped, Rib Eye (Beef Ancho), Top Sirloin (Alcatra), Bottom Sirloin (Fraldinha), Beef Ribs (Costela), Lamb which you can get in chop form or sliced right off the leg which is my personal preference (Cordeiro), Chicken which comes both as a leg lightly seasoned or a breast wrapped in bacon (Frango), Pork Ribs (Costela de Porco), Pork Loin which is encrusted which parmesan cheese yum! (Lombo), and Brazilian Sausage (Linguica).  Please keep in mind that all these delicious smelling meats are constantly passing by you and filling the whole restaurant with a smell like no other. 

After you have had your fill of unlimited salad bar, side dishes, and meats you may or may not even be able to think about dessert.  While we were there however we took the opportunity to experience the full experience and ordered some dessert.  I enjoyed their crème brûlée which was very delectable; at some restaurants when they give you this dessert the portion is very small, but not here.  I would almost say it would be plenty to share, almost :o).  The other desserts that they offer are a South Americn Flan, Turtle Cheesecake, Molten Chocolate Cake, Key Lime Pie, and their signature dessert is their Papaya Cream which comes in various flavors. 

Well I hope that you have enjoyed my opinion of this wonderful place, and I hope that you get to visit there soon if you haven't been. 

Fogo De Chao's Website