Forking Tasty

Finally Forking Spicy

It took over a year but chef Ben Long and I finally made it into the kitchen together. It had become our mission to collaborate on a 4-course meal since our mutual supperclubs, Spice and FT Suppers, came into existence. In our vision we cooked a magnificent, over-abundant, delicate and rich meal for over 40 bi-coastal diners who flew, walked and rode in just for the occasion. As it turns out we spent a random weekday evening crafting 4 succulent dishes for Ben’s wife, my friend and business partner, Kelly. Sometimes your vision is wrong and reality is the only thing that can prove what’s perfect. Shedding the pressure of the guests, the craziness of the kitchen and the perfection we both demand of ourselves we were left…

The Opposite of a Fast Food Burger

Forking Tasty – Black Shack Burger Joint from Anthony Anello on Vimeo.

The Black Shack was a nice find. One correction from the video, The Steak House Burger does not have crispy fries on it, although that sounds great too, it has crispy onions, just like the Western Burger. After we were done eating the chief/owner came out to chat with us. The whole idea behind Black Shack Burger Joint is to give you a burger that the fast food chains of America have forgotten about when creating their burgers, essentially the correct way to make a burger. Those places like McDonald, Burger King, White Castle were the inspiration to show how a burger should really be made. White Castle is one of, if not the oldest burger joint. I’m sure their burgers were much better when they first came on the scene before the mass production line. Black Shack would be the opposite of White Castle, hence the name. Very clever.

I’m looking forward to heading back for a sloppy joe some time in the next couple weeks.

It Started With Pistachio Butter

For months now I have been porting in Puerto Vallarta but we never stay late enough to get a good dinner. Well times have changed and we finally left Puerto Vallarta at about 8pm, plenty of time to get a great meal. Since the southerner and I are not at a late port to get a Christmas dinner this year we decided that this was going to be it. I had spoke to a few people on the ship for some ideas and decided on the Vista Grill. This was not going to be a cheap Mexican taco type of meal, needless to say we were both very excited having had typical Mexican food for months now…

American vs Italian Fried Chicken

Saturday I decided to fry some chicken. After 2 weeks of hints dropped by the Canadian I figured I couldn’t escape the gentle coaxing any longer. It’s not that I didn’t want fried chicken, it’s just that…well…it’s a big, smelly, oil riddled production that always leaves the far reaches of my apartment smelling like a roadside joint in north Georgia. In addition, you never make just fried chicken. The chicken is just the gateway to creamed spinach, fried potatoes, beans, beer and the occasional hard narcotic. Ok, that’s a step too far, unless you can overdose on canola oil. The picture above reveals the ultimate success in the aforementioned madness. It wasn’t until Sunday when the point of this post was revealed. After such a calorie-counting-less indulgence I decided to keep it simple and clean on Sunday. Or so I thought.

I popped into the supermarket late Sunday afternoon and…

More Pretty Fish

You never get to play with your sushi in the restaurant so I thought I’d have a little fun at my coffee table in between some Travel Channel show about the Grand Canyon. Keeping with the pescatarian diet, I only ate chicken twice yesterday. Really this post is about the pretty picture of a bunch of stacked sushi. Happy low-calorie, fish-instead-of-cow, double gym Weekend.

Pretty Fish Regimen

For some reason I like to make my fish pretty. Inspired by Immaculate Infatuation’s cleanse I decided to take a deeper look into my calorie consumption over the next two weeks. A happy little app called “Lose It” is keeping track of what I eat and how I exercise. My stomach told my brain of it’s disappointment with the little experiment due to a little holiday just 14 days away. Besides that little snafu I have taken to a semi pescatarian diet, hard for this die hard carnivore, and picked up a few goodies at the local fish monger.

The colorful tower above starts with a layer of thin sliced lemon juice marinated cucumbers and cracked black pepper. On top of that are thin sliced pear tomatoes in a red wine vinegar and salt slurry. The sesame crusted monkfish sits in the middle and is topped with carmelized onions and garlic. I snuck in a hint of Spanish smoked paprika too. Finally the chapeau is fresh made cilantro pesto. Delicious at 296 calories.

The left overs, along with some red snapper, are already in the lime marinade for tomorrows ceviche. And so begins the pretty fish regimen.

Unreal Scallops in B.C.

Ferris Oyster Bar – Victoria B.C. from Anthony Anello on Vimeo.

I have not been to Victoria British Columbia a lot yet. I just started my next contract on the ship and was recommended by two friends to head to Ferris’ Upstairs Oysterbar. I only have a couple of weeks left on these Alaska runs and I can’t wait to go back. Victoria is a fun little city with lots of restaurants and bars. Hope I get a chance to try as many places as I can.

A Twisted Juneau Gem

In Juneau Alaska I mentioned the hit and can’t miss spot to eat is Tracy’s Crab Shack. However, a close and impressive second is the Twisted Fish. I was really impressed with the type of seafood this restaurant served. A couple unique items to mention, Coconut Salmon strips with a berry chutney and Baked Salmon in a Puffed Pastry served in a reduction sauce. I will be in Juneau again in September and I may have to have lunch and Tracy’s and then dinner in the Twisted Fish. I have to admit, for a while there I was not to impressed with the restaurants in Juneau but I have found a couple gems.

Channeling Butter and Milk

I usually don’t start a post with a pic of dessert. In fact, I don’t usually order dessert. As it turns out, that recurring Canadian I mention on this blog has some influence over my consumption after all.

A few weeks ago I traveled south to Carroll Gardens to dine with some friends who have the hood dialed. Knowing that I would be critical of the food choice, they started me out with some bread, cheese and a balsamic reduction at their apt. to ease me into dinner. Just across the street and a block down is Buttermilk Channel, named after the channel that used to be crossed for dairy farmers to sell their goods to Manhattan. Today’s channel is much deeper and is home to the Queen Mary 2. The restaurant pulls form a bit of that old world by making everyone feel quite at home whether you are a regular patron or a first time visitor.

Since we started with dessert, let’s continue backwards…

Sliders Can Be Filling

The slider. It’s a different type of burger. It can be used as a regular meal or just a safety meal depending on how hungry you are at the time. For this forking tasty experience I was joined with a friend who loves burgers just as much as me at St. Marks Burger. I enjoyed 2 regular sliders and we shared their fries. The burgers remind me of White Castle burgers. All the sliders come with cheese and grilled onions. The unique thing about the St. Marks Sliders is they use a grinder to make their own meat. They do put a good set of spices in the burgers as well. The fries are super crispy, just how I like them…