The Daly Dish.

Summertime.. and the grillin' is easy!

2011-08-01T11:07:00.000-07:00

Phew, it's HOT. And what's the last thing you wanna do when it's hot out? Cook. Bleh. I have been using my grill nearly everyday for the last couple weeks... And, my favorite go-to grilling meal? Grilled pork chops with mango salsa and grilled veggies.. mmmmm..

Serves 2

2 boneless pork chops
Trader Joe's Island Soyaki sauce, or any sesame ginger marinade works too

(this makes enough salsa for 3-4 people)
Mango Salsa
1 large ripened mango, peeled and diced into small pieces
1/2 small jalapeno, seeded and diced extra fine
1/4 medium red onion, diced fine
1/4 large red bell pepper, seeded and diced fine
Fresh cilantro, chopped fine (as much or as little as you want)
juice of 1 lime
pinch of salt, pepper

(note: You can sub out for dried cilantro and crushed pepper flakes if you don't have jalapeno or cilantro. Sometimes I do that. Don't tell anyone.)

For the grilled veggies:
1 red bell pepper, sliced
1 small onion, sliced
Trader Joe's Island Soyaki Sauce

Marinade the sliced veggies and the pork (separately) in the soyaki sauce. Combine all of the ingredients for the salsa. Taste. Faint from how incredibly simple, fresh and delicious it is. Grab a tortilla chip and eat it "just to make sure." Let the flavors combine while you're grilling.
On a hot grill, place the veg in a grill pan (not a stovetop grill pan, the pan you put on the grill, what's that called? a grill pan, right?). I like to put a grill-safe lid over the grill pan, so that it cooks faster. Grill chops until cooked through. Do not overcook - I repeat - do not overcook!
Here I served this with some steamfresh rice w/ veggies. Easy peasy. A great meal when it's too hot to cook inside.

My favorite Saturday mornings.

2011-03-16T12:21:00.000-07:00

Wow. It's been such a long time since my last post. I've certainly been eating a lot, so that's not an excuse. I'm not sure why I haven't kept up with it. Work kinda gets in the way I guess.

This past Saturday my husband decided to break in his new golf clubs and I was excited for a couple reasons. As much as I love spending time with him, everyone needs a little "me" time. He has golf, and I have, well, time to myself to do things that I enjoy. I use this time to watch chick flicks, clean/house chores (ok, not fun), shop, and two of my most favorite things - breakfast at Panera, and grocery shopping at Trader Joe's.

You see, when I was single I had nothing but time to myself. I watched all the chick flicks I wanted, shopped, ate breakfast at Panera every Saturday, and went to Trader Joe's after kickboxing class. It didn't hurt that Panera was 1.5 miles from my house then. Aahhhh....

So back to my story. Can we just talk about Panera Bread for a minute? There are two things on the breakfast menu that I absolutely adore. The bacon & spinach souffle, and the cinnamon crunch bagel with hazelnut cream cheese.

I can't tell you how much I love these two items, though I usually go for the souffle. The sweet, flaky pastry outside, and the savory, smoky bacony cheesy inside. It should not even be legal. I mean, look at this thing. Nowhere else can you go and get a delicious, decadent treat like this and pay $3 and change.

You must get to Panera before 10 a.m. - lest they sell out of the souffles! There was a time when I would get them multiple times a week (I was skinny, working out regularly - I could never do this now) and the cashier said, "They should make souffle cards (similar to the coffee cards they had then) - because you get them all the time." This is when I realized that maybe I needed to back off the souffles for a bit. So then I went with the cinnamon crunch bagel with hazelnut cream cheese. My mom would make me bring a whole box of them when I would go home to visit. They are divine. Just amazing. It's like a cinnamon bun with cream cheese frosting. Here's a photo of it without the cream cheese - see that crunchy, sugary top? It's the best part. LOVE. AAHHHHH.

Oh Lord. Now I'm hungry.

So this Saturday I opted for that spinach and bacon souffle with a coffee. After savoring every last morsel, I walked the two stores down to my other favorite place in the world - Trader Joe's. If you've been to Trader Joe's, then you understand how I feel. Shopping is not a chore here. It is something I look forward to. If you haven't been to Trader Joe's, then you may be confused about my adoration for a grocery store. But let me share with you the experience that is Trader Joe's.

First of all, it's not big and overwhelming. It's cozy and welcoming. It's affordable. Everything is awesome. The staff are really friendly and just "cool." And give it up for their awesome paper bags with the handles, right? That's if you don't bring your own bags and they give you a raffle ticket for helping to save the environment.

They always have something cooking up with free samples. One day it was thanksgiving turkey. Another it was bool kogi (asian beef) and stirfry. Another it was Edamame Hummus. And always free coffee samples.
I tend to try new things just because I think, "Well, Trader Joe's only has awesome products. It must be awesome," and because everything is so affordable, it's not a waste if you don't enjoy it (but you always do).

Let's talk about their hummus, for example. I mean, I enjoy hummus. I buy it regularly. But never did I experience hummus like their mediterranean hummus. It is out of this world. You open the container, and it greets you with olive oil and pine nuts, and you dip down inside, and you find the smoothest, creamiest, most delicious hummus ever. And a big tub (16 oz) is $3.99. Thank you TJ's.

And let's talk about some of my other favorite TJ's products:

Chicken gyoza potstickers. Delicious. $2.99. You must have them with their sweet chili dipping sauce. $1 something. mmmmmm
Vegetable stirfry. It's seriously the best combination of veggies ever.
Island Soyaki - it's a great soy-sauce based marinade with pineapple flavor. Great for grilling or stirfrys.
Their cheeses. I mean, wow. And affordable. Brie. Gruyere. Feta. Fresh Mozzarella. You had me at Parmigiano Reggiano.
Their bread selection. Can we say freshly baked sliced sourdough? Ciabatta anyone? Hello?! Is this thing on?
Their coffee selection - whole beans! Yay! I am a coffee snob with a programmable grind & brew so I love my beans. Cheap cheap and great. French roast is my go-to.
And probably my most bought item - their soups in a carton. Tomato. Roasted Red Pepper & Tomato. Roasted Corn & Red Pepper. Latin Black Bean. Yum, healthy and cheap. A carton is around $2.29, and you can get 4 nice sized bowls. That's four lunches at 100 calories a pop for $2 ish. Yes!

If you live within a 25 mile radius of a Trader Joe's, run, don't walk! You will not regret it. If you go to the one on route 202 in Wilmington, stop at Panera Bread for breakfast or lunch. It is my favorite way to spend a Saturday morning. :)

Woodbury Station Cafe

2010-08-18T18:59:00.000-07:00

My friend and I went to the Woodbury Station Cafe for lunch on one of my Fridays off. I pass by this place every day on my way to work, but I never really knew much about it. It's right on Cooper St. at the railroad crossing in Woodbury (you know, the train you get stuck at for 10 minutes?). My friend had been there previously, and told me that it was just up my alley. So we planned to go on a Friday, since we have off of work on Fridays in the summer (Yes, you can be jealous. Yes, it is awesome). We parked in one of the only spots left (always a good sign). Speaking of good signs - here is the cute sign that greeted us on our way in.

Patio seating, or indoor seating? Well, it was on one of the less-than-stifling summer days, so we opted for outside. It was so charming.. lots of foliage to make the otherwise very public outdoor space just a little more private (creating charming patio seating next to train tracks is no easy feat). Our view (ok, not a great picture I know) is below.

So I took a look at the menu.. so hard to make a decision! There's a lot of french-inspired entrees - beignets (i would have loved to have tried them), some delicious breakfast entrees that made me think twice about ordering lunch (they serve breakfast all day). Everything sounded delicious. But I opted for this little number (I have no idea what it was actually called) - grilled chicken with roasted red peppers and sharp provolone, on brioche. Take note to that side of sweet potato waffle fries. That was no afterthought, baby - I hate when a side is an afterthought. *cough* coleslaw *cough*

I have to give props to this place for their attention to detail - that brioche MADE this sandwich. Simply fabulous. And those sweet potato waffle fries - dusted with a cinnamon sugar mixture. I'm still thinking about them. So fresh, salty and sweet.My friend ordered the thanksgiving-on-a-roll (turkey, cranberry sauce, stuffing) sandwich with a side of regular fries. She enjoyed it.

The prices were reasonable. I think the sandwiches were around $8 or $9. We thoroughly enjoyed our meals, in a lovely atmosphere. I look forward to going back for breakfast.. or maybe a long lunch hour! I highly recommend it!

Trying new recipes... we found a winner!

2010-08-16T18:10:00.000-07:00

I took out a bunch of books from the New Castle Library a couple weeks ago - all cooking books. Easy Entertaining by Michael Chiarello, The Buffet Book by Carolyn Peck, Giada's Kitchen, and Forever Summer by Nigella Lawson. Hands down, Giada's recipes looked the best. They were simple, and most included everyday ingredients that you can find in your local grocery store (spare me your pinch of saffron, Michael. Some of us aren't millionaire celebrity chefs). I tried out two recipes recently. This one I just had to share.

Every time I try a new recipe, my husband gets a little nervous. You see, I had a bad experience with a Barefoot Contessa recipe a few years back, and he's never let me live it down. I'm not sure that it was Ina's fault - I think I messed up on the fresh herb ratio - too much dill in the herbed basmati rice that accompanied it. It was flat out awful. Anyway, so any time I try a new recipe he comes into the kitchen with trepidation.. "You know what you're doing in there?" And I invariably shoo him out of the kitchen. But I've been in a rut, and I want to add some new recipes to my repertoire.

So I gathered all of the ingredients for the Chicken Piccata. It always takes a little longer the first time you do a recipe, because you have to keep looking back at your instructions, running around trying to make sure everything is right.. "Crap I forgot the butter." "Is that what the sauce should look like?" What I have learned over the years, especially after the Barefoot Contessa catastrophe, is taste and season - taste and season! So when I got to the end I hadn't added as much butter as it had called for, but I ended up putting the rest in to balance out the lemon. And more salt! Pepper! I boiled up some capellini to serve with the chicken.

The result was nothing short of fantastic. I didn't even fully intend to blog about it, but I brought it to the table and the presentation was so lovely. Frank said, "That looks like some gourmet shiz (yes he said "shiz"), you better get the camera so you can blog about it." I'm so glad he reminded me.

It tasted even better than it looks. I made the full 4 servings and Frank ate nearly three pieces on his own (ok, I picked a little at the third one). It was only my second or third attempt at using capers in cooking, and my God, the flavor! Those little pearls of deliciousness have been seriously underrated. I'm definitely putting this on my regular rotation. And it's pretty enough to make for company. Come over and I'll cook it for you!

Jersey (er.. Delaware) Fresh Dinner...

2010-06-22T10:19:00.000-07:00

There's something about fresh summer vegetables that gets me all excited and inspired to cook. Good thing, too, since it's so darn hot out I need a little inspiration.

It's kind of sad when I think of how I never truly appreciated the summer vegetables that we would grow at home until I left. We had the biggest garden growing up... 70+ tomato plants (grape, cherry, plum & big boy) and all the veggies you could think of... corn, lima beans, string beans, squash, zucchini, bell peppers, cayenne peppers, jalapeno peppers, okra, sometimes eggplant, peas, watermelon or leaf lettuce, just to add a little variety. We would have a bounty of fresh vegetables for dinner every night - corn on the cob, sliced tomato with a little salt and pepper... fried okra (don't get me started on this stuff. It's so good).. I think the fact that I labored in that garden for hours every day in summer made me hate those veggies. Now I miss them. It is amazing how you can grow the most delicious things from a little seed.

There's something about slicing open a jersey tomato and seeing all that beautiful bright red center, and biting into your first ear of silver queen corn. So sweet. I love it.

So Father's Day was this past weekend, but Frank & I were away celebrating our anniversary, so I asked my parents to come over for dinner this week instead. I'm planning my menu, and since my Dad loves his veggies and would much prefer them over starches, I've got a semi-healthy but definitely deliciously-summery-vegetable menu planned.
Caprese Salad

Sausage-stuffed mushrooms (these are my Dad's favorite, so I have to make them)

Asian Grilled Salmon courtesy of Barefoot Contessa(see pic -I've never made this before so I'm really hoping Ina doesn't fail me)

Grilled asparagus with garlic, olive oil, and parmesan

Grilled corn on the cob

and for dessert...

Chocolate Lava Cakes courtesy of The Pioneer Woman (one of my fav food blogs. She has the best writing style!).

Anyway, it should be a good one.. I'll let you know how it goes!

Day 9

2010-06-10T10:36:00.000-07:00

It rained. All day. We shopped some more, Frank got a new "fancy" hawaiian shirt ("fancy" because it cost $70 from a "fancy" store)

and I was determined to get to Cuzzin's restaurant for lunch, because everyone said it was the best authentic caribbean food downtown. Sadly, we got to Cuzzin's and they were closed on Sundays. Boo. So I remembered the other place on my list, Gladys' Cafe.

Because it was a rainy day and there were a few ships in port downtown, everyone and their mom thought of Gladys' too. Boo again. But the waitresses there were hustling and we got a table very shortly after we arrived. I was excited because I had heard good things about this place too. I got jerk chicken, I think Frank got curry chicken. It came with a side of rice, fried plantains and macaroni and cheese.

Well, sadly, I was disappointed. Those fried plantains were nothing like Miss Lucy's, or the place at Coki Beach (neither crispy on the outside nor creamy on the inside). I don't know if you can see but the mac & cheese really left something to be desired (I have issues with mac & cheese that needs to be cut with a knife). The chicken was, eh, alright. But I was sad. I'm going to give Gladys the benefit of the doubt and say that it was because of the incredibly busy day they were having. Gladys herself was quite charming.

She serenaded us at the bar when we came in to an Ella Fitzgerald song. Can't remember which one. But I liked it. Too cute.

After our rainy day, we decided to make a reservation for Craig & Sally's (again). Our waitress recognized us and asked if we lived on the island. That made me excited for a minute. Do we really seem like locals? It was only because she knew we had been there before. :) I didn't take pictures or remember exactly what we had. I remember I got prime rib and Frank had a ribeye I think. Yes, I ordered beef for dinner three times on our vacation. Not sure why. Shouldn't I be ordering seafood? Who knows.

Anyway, for tapas we had three again. I remember there was this watermelon and brie thing with balsamic reduction. That was really good. We also had a mini baby back rib & cornbread. mmm. And the third one I can't remember.. huh. Oh well. I remember we ate all of it, whatever it was. For dessert we got some special kind of creme brulee (it might have been coffee, or chocolate) that was off the hook. And I'm not a real creme brulee fan so that means it was good.

A good end to another dreary day. We walked out of the restaurant with sad faces, knowing this was the last day of our vacation and maybe the last time we'd go to Craig & Sally's for a long time, maybe ever. .

End Day 9. Next post will be either a restaurant post or a recipe post, but I promise I'll keep up with it. Stay tuned!

Days 6,7,8

2010-06-08T06:14:00.000-07:00

As I get to the end of blogging my vacation, I'm getting a little ADD about the one-day-at-a-time post, so I'm just going to consolidate it into one or two. Besides, the last day and a half of the trip it rained and there really wasn't that much exciting stuff to speak of. So, here's the cool stuff. Especially the food. MMM.

Day 6 (I think) we went to Magen's Bay. This is one of those "top 10 beaches in the world" places. It was pretty, but honestly wasn't my fave beach we went to. I wore my phillies shirt just to "put out the signal" as Frank says. I almost nodded off and I heard a "Go PHILS!" We met a couple guys from Washington Twp. They told us that the Irish bar in Red Hook - Molly Malone's - was a Philly bar. We then went over there a few days later to see for ourselves. Sure enough, yep.

On day 6, we also had a night snorkel scheduled with Homer's Snorkel Tours - after our day at the beach we were pretty tired and weren't really feeling up to it, but it was already scheduled and paid for so we knew we had to go. We got the call that we'd be snorkeling from Hull Bay - great news because it was close, and we could still make it to North Side Bistro for dinner afterward.

Hull Bay's waters are very salty and buoyant. It requires very little swimming abilities. We put on our wetsuits, snorkel gear and got into the waters.

The first thing I thought when I looked into the murky waters - flashlight in hand - was, "Oh God, I can't do this." It was so dark I couldn't see anything. We kept moving out further and the water cleared up... just floating on the surface scouring the ocean floor with our flashlights - and found some really cool stuff. A caribbean lobster, a stingray, a sea urchin, and this guy:

Homer was very knowledgeable about all of the sea life - he went down into the water and pulled up the lobster & sea urchin - and asked us if we wanted to hold the sea urchin. I said no way, but he made me hold it in the palm of my hand. It released its tentacles onto my skin and it felt like velcro. Crazy!

We went to Northside Bistro for dinner - had a great meal - I think I had steak (sorry no pics).

End Day 6.

Day 7 we went to Coki Beach. This was one of my favorite finds. Driving up to Coki, well, let's just say we weren't sure if we were in the right place. Lots of trash around the "parking lot" - a rastafarian came up and asked if we needed anything to rent - beach chairs, snorkel equipment, etc. We didn't, because the owners of the apartment provided us with all of those things. How nice. After navigating around the old tires and trash laying around, we came to this:

Just gorgeous.

This beach was much different than the two that we had been to previously - Hull Bay and Magen's Bay. There were locals with shacks set up on the sand and they sold food and drinks out of the shack. We set up right in front of this one.

A nice lady came up and asked us if we wanted a menu. Jerk chicken? Yes please!

This was amazing. The platter came with fried plantains, salad, rice and a hot sauce on the side. Delicious. We decided to snorkel a bit to work off the lunch. We had no idea what we were in store for! I put on my snorkel equipment and bobbed my head below the surface and saw this:

Millions of fish everywhere.

There were tarpin (sp?) that were about 4 feet long, too - I got them on video but not any good pics. I'll see if I can upload that. Frank was very excited.

We finished off Day 7 with another stop to Amigos for their $2 taco happy hour. I got a pulled pork taco and a chicken taco.YUM.

Day 8 was our last sunny day in St. Thomas. Well, it started off sunny and then quickly went south. Hurricane Bob (the guy who owned the apt. we were staying in) told us we HAD to take the car ferry to St. John. So we decided to go on Day 8 - Saturday. He also told us we should go to Miss Lucy's for lunch. I'm so glad we took his advice.

St. John is about 50% occupied by a national park, so compared to St. Thomas' population of 50,000, St. John is about 4,000. It has a completely different feel to it. There is none of the commercial touristy downtown like St. Thomas (although there are downtown shops, they are mostly occupied by local artisans).

We passed this little guy on our way out to to the east end of the island (there's only one road).

There was clearly no way to get lost on the way to Miss Lucy's. You just keep going until you get to the end of the road. Chickens greeted us at the parking lot, which is adjacent to a handful of patio dining sets set up outside along the waterfront. Charming. It was looking cloudy but we decided to park ourselves under one of the trees for what we assumed would be a typical tropical passing shower.

The waitress handed us menus and I began to peruse. The a la carte sides got my attention: sweet potato stuffing, fried plantains. MMM. I had to have them. We ordered both, and an order of their chipotle wings and a chicken roti with mango chutney. Having never had a roti before, I wasn't sure what to expect. It was chicken curry with veggies (potatoes and a few other things I believe) wrapped up in a wheat tortilla with a side of this chutney that was out of this world. This was unbelievably delicious. Those fried plantains that were crispy on the outside and creamy on the inside, and that chutney - I've never had anything like it. I could smear that stuff on everything. The wings were incredible, too. A very memorable meal.

Our trip to St. John was cut short when we realized that the passing shower was not passing, but lingering. So we took the 3:30 ferry back to St. Thomas. I was secretly excited, because this meant that we may be able to snag a reservation at Thirteen - the restaurant on the Northside that was acclaimed for its innovative menu and reasonable prices. I crossed my fingers that we'd be able to get in.

We called as soon as we got back to the house and I found the number (not an easy feat, as they have no website and barely any listings at all online - this place is completely word of mouth). They told us we could get in at 8:30. Great.

It wasn't easy getting to this place, either, as the GPS here doesn't understand the post office addresses that most St. Thomas places have. We basically drove into a couple people's driveways (which we thought were roads) on the way. It was extremely foggy (we are up in the mountains) and rainy and difficult. I was afraid we weren't going to find it. But sure enough, we did.

I didn't take a lot of pictures while we were there. I think because I was so enamored by the food that I got a little distracted. I had steak (again) with garlic truffle fries (phenom!), broccolini (I love broccolini - it's got more crunch than broccoli I think and it's easier to manage) paired with a nice Malbec. I used to be a Shiraz fan, but now it's Malbec. Frank had the mahi mahi. One of the best parts of the meal was the dessert. Here it is:

Warm fudge brownie with cayenne ganache, crushed pretzels and bacon. Yes, I said bacon! It was to die for. Spicy, salty, sweet, creamy, crunchy. Just delicious.

I can't think of a better way to end a rainy day.

Day 5 - Wednesday

2010-06-07T09:08:00.000-07:00

We didn't have any plans for Wednesday, so we decided to go downtown. I should have checked the cruise ship schedule first. I think there were 5 cruise ships in port.

As a background, Charlotte Amalie is a bustling tourist shopping district with about a million different jewelry shops and 25 tourist souvenir shops. They also have some nicer upscale clothing shops as well. We were burnt (again) so we figured we'd enjoy the a/c and shade. Besides, we had plans to go to Paradise Point for their Wednesday night sunset party so we figured we'd stay downtown and check it out.

We shopped around a bit, but after being hounded by jewelry shop owners I was pretty much over it. We drove up to Paradise Point (they have a tram that will take you up the side of the mountain for $18 pp, but you can drive up the mountain for free on Wednesday nights). It was really busy. They have a sunset party every Wednesday, and you can see here why:

The view was spectacular. This is above the restaurant - in a gazebo overlooking the harbor (yes, I'm wearing the purple dress again. Love it). We could still hear the music playing below and no one was around, so, we danced around a bit.

Then, for kicks, we did a few crane kicks, which I plan to submit to the Crane Kick Chronicles:

All in all a good day.

Day 4 - Tuesday

2010-05-28T05:50:00.000-07:00

Frank & I woke up bright and early for our daysail with New Horizons Charters. Another one of my research finds, New Horizons is highly recommended on Trip Advisor if you ever go to the USVI. They really take care of you and they tell you that your day with them will be the best day of your vacation(it definitely was a contender). If you order online you get the deal for "half price" (though I don't think anyone paid full price on our trip) so it came out to $60 a person. You leave at 8 a.m. or so and return around 4. They feed you a continental breakfast and an amazing lunch, and it's open bar the whole time and provide you with all the snorkel gear you'll need. We left from Sapphire Bay Marina and we stopped at a few different snorkel stops along the way.

That guy in the black polo and cap is our captain. I can't remember his name. Scott or Mark or something. He was great.

This is what we look like at 8:30 a.m. on vacation.

A handy use for our fins. That Frank is so clever.

This was our first stop at Caneel Bay on St. John for snorkeling. Unfortunately I forgot my underwater housing for my camera back at the apartment, which I purchased specifically for this snorkel. Oh well. It was cool. We swam to shore at Caneel Bay and then snorkeled along the coast through some coral reefs. Lots of cool stuff. Nemos, alligator gar and more. Ask Frank. He knows what those things are actually called.

For lunch when we got back to the boat (lunch consisted of baked meatball parmigiana, fruit, pasta salad, lunch meat, brownies (baked right onboard) and a bunch of other stuff I can't remember. We were really hungry so we devoured it. It was soo good. And one of the crew members was passing around pitchers of these drinks called nooners - I have no idea what was in it but it was delicious. Anyway, we were tired and full and had no interest in going back out for another snorkel. Especially since the tops of my feet were really burnt, even though I had put a ton of sunscreen on them. We just sat under the canopy and enjoyed the rest of our sail. Then this guy - a barracuda that our captain affectionately named Barry - showed up. That was pretty cool.

Around 3:30 or so we headed back to the marina. Man I was so tired. I don't think I even showered before I went to bed for an hour. That's gross I know. Frank woke me up at 5:30 or 6 and said he wanted to go back to Hull Bay to check out their sushi bar, Watahoshi Sushi (another find that I actually researched before we went on our trip). Word on the street was that it was actually good - I wouldn't find out until later how they managed to serve authentic and fresh sushi out of a shack in St. Thomas.

This is the sushi chef. Turns out, he is actually the son-in-law of the owner of Hull Bay. Originally from Japan, he and his wife (owner's daughter) moved to San Francisco after they had been married for a few years and opened up a sushi bar out there. When Hull Bay's owner decided to move to St. Thomas full time and buy the Hull Bay Hideaway, she convinced them to come down too. Enter Watahoshi Sushi. Authentic Japanese sushi out of a shack on the northside of St. Thomas.

This is his wife. She was hostess and waitress. We looked through the menu... I can't tell you exactly what we ordered but I believe there was scallop sashimi (I now know that I'm not a fan of raw scallop), a few rolls of sushi with some variation of avocado, shrimp, salmon,etc., and the Hideaway Roll ($14). The most expensive thing on the menu, it's an inside out roll made with beef filet, avocado, and a bunch of other stuff I don't remember. Really yummy. The waitress told us that her husband created the roll for her mom (owner of Hull Bay), who at the time said she didn't like sushi. She now eats everything on their menu. We left full and satisfied. I think the bill came to about $60 or something.

It was relatively early so we decided to find a nice place to go and enjoy the view of the cruise ships leaving port. Our handy GPS took us to the Banana Tree Grille overlooking Charlotte Amalie Harbor (where the cruise ships dock). We enjoyed a glass of wine and thought about the fact that we still had 5 more days to enjoy on the island. End Day 4.

Day 3 - Monday

2010-05-27T05:55:00.000-07:00

After an amazing dinner on Day 2, I slept like a baby and woke up to this:

I wondered if I was still dreaming. I pinched myself and then realized I wasn't.

Backing up a bit, I never mentioned our "area" of the island we stayed on. It is the Northside, more of a middle-class residential area - away from the crowds. Our view here is of Magen's Bay (on the right side of the peninsula to the north) and straight to the north is Peterborg - a very exclusive gated area of St. Thomas for the wealthy (not us).

After our long beach day on Day 2, Frank was not in the mood for salting his already sunburnt wounds. So we decided to explore Red Hook, the hip area of St. Thomas on the East End that has lots of bars and restaurants. We also had a daysail planned for the following day, Tuesday, and we wanted to make sure we knew where we were going, since we had to be there early in the a.m.

Our first stop was Big Bambooz, a new outdoor tiki bar close to the St. John Ferry. The waitress greeted us with a smile (they're all so friendly here! Why am I so surprised when people are nice?) and asked if I wanted a "I'm on vacation-fruity-frozen-drink" and I said, "Ok."

I'm not even sure what was in this thing, but it was like a banana milkshake. She called it a Banana Bailey Colada (so it sounds like there was some Bailey's in there, maybe some coconut or something). Ah-mazing. It had to have been like 1,000 calories. I was so full afterward. Frank had a Virgin Islands Summer Ale. We decided to walk around and explore a little bit.

We ended up at Amigos, a Mexican cantina with delicious margaritas and we snacked on some nachos (not pictured). They also have an awesome happy hour with $2 tacos that we discover on about Day 6 or 7, but I'll get to that later. Notice Frank is still drinking the summer ale. That's because you can walk from place to place with a drink in your hand. No one cares. It's a little too laid back if you ask me (there's no such thing as DUI here - well, there is, but you don't get in trouble for it).

We stopped at the grocery store on the way home and bought some ridiculously overpriced produce and bread and I made shrimp scampi for dinner. I'll post my recipe some time. It's super easy and super good.

End Day 3.

Day 2

2010-05-26T05:23:00.000-07:00

We woke up early on Day 2 and we were off to the beach by 9:30 (8:30 EST!). We decided to check out Hull Bay for our first beach day. My research told me it was a "locals" beach, and on a busy port day I figured it would be a good option. Plus, it was the closest beach to our apt.

It was definitely quiet, we were the only ones there for the first hour or so. We lost track of time and just enjoyed a lazy day. By about 12 or 1pm, we were hungry. We turned around and right behind us (literally) was the Hullbay Hideaway. It's not even a restaurant really, more of a series of outdoor structures with roofs to protect you from the rain. A hole in the wall really. A hole in the wall that locals love. So I heard through my research anyway.

We mosie(is that how you spell mosie?)'d up to the bar and Arthur greeted us. Ok, there wasn't much greeting. He gave us a menu while he took our drink order. We quickly learned that Arthur was not only the hostess, waitress and bartender, but also the cook. We both order the Presidente Burger (burger seared in Presidente Beer, topped with beer sauteed onions, lettuce, tomato and pepperjack cheese). Arthur goes to the back to start working on our burgers. A short time later (I don't know how this guy does it), he comes out with two huge burgers piled high with fries. I wish I had taken a picture of it. You just have to trust me on this. It was one of the top 3 burgers of my life. I don't know what this guy is doing, but he's doing it right. And he's doing everything. I must take a trip back to St. Thomas, if only for another presidente burger.

We then went back to the apt. to take a nap, and then woke up and got dressed for dinner. We stopped at Drake's seat on the way for a photo op.

Notice how skinny I look. This is because it's only Day 2, and it is before dinner.

A lot of places in St. Thomas are closed on Sundays, but Craig & Sally's was open. Some nice people at McDonald's pointed us in the right direction (everyone's so nice here!) and we scooped up the last unreserved table.

The menu at Craig & Sally's changes every night . They blog about it (YES! BLOG!) every day. Check their blog to see what they're serving tonight. This place had the most interesting menu. The tapas were so innovative, and you can order them individually, or select a platter of 3. We picked 3.

Chicken Pot Stickers and Peanut Curry; Brie, Cranberry-Orange Relish and Toasted Almond Crostini and Warm Artichoke and Spinach Tart. The tart was eh, kinda like quiche. Not really what we were expecting. The crostini and potstickers were phenom. LOVE.

When Frank saw this on the menu, he knew what he wanted.

Pan Fried Cashew and Parmesan Crusted Striped Bass Fillet
Artichoke Heart, Sauteed Mushroom, Goat Cheese Studded Wild Rice Pilaf
Blackened Tomato-Roasted Garlic Cream

Sorry I didn't get a picture of it before he ate half of it. Trust me it looked prettier.

I ordered the
Pommodori Secchi
Sundried Tomatoes, Kalamata Olives, Red Onion, Garlic, Touch of Red Pepper Flakes,
Basil and Proscuitto sauteed in EVOO, tossed with Linguini and Parmesan

It was delicious. Light, yet filling. Perfect for a warm day in the caribbean. A nice bottle of wine, a leisurely dinner. We were both very happy. One of the top 10, ok, maybe top 5 restaurant experiences of my life.

Day 1

2010-05-25T12:29:00.000-07:00

Our trip to St. Thomas started in Philadelphia, with a short puddle jumper to Dulles Airport. From Dulles we flew nonstop to St. Thomas. Our plane was delayed in Dulles, so we were late getting into St. Thomas. By the time we got there we were exhausted. We parked our car in the "parking spot" - I use the term loosely -

and plans to go out to eat were quickly dismissed. We got out of our winter clothes (yay!) and went to the grocery store.

Anyone who has ever gone to a grocery store in the "islands" will quickly tell you that it isn't cheap. My dreams of buying local, exotic fruit at low prices turned into Florida Avocados for $2 each. Really? Pineapples were $6. I kid you not. I can buy a Costa Rican pineapple in Delaware for $3, but here the same pineapple is $6. Liquor, on the other hand, was dirt cheap. Anyway, not much in the food department to blog about for the first day. Day 2 will bring more interesting surprises.

I'm back.

2010-05-25T12:20:00.000-07:00

Ok, I know I promised to blog, made two posts and then gave up. I've fully intended to continue my blogging, but then I just got sidetracked. We've been to different restaurants and I've taken random pictures, intending to post, and then I just didn't. So, in an effort to catch you up on a few of the last months, I will start here. I'll start with talking about different restaurants that we experienced on our vacation, and then I'll go to restaurants in the area. In addition, I might change the premise of the blog a bit. I'm going to blog about my own cooking from time to time, as well as interesting places that maybe we've found on our travels, not necessarily restaurants. So here goes.

St. Thomas, February/March 2010

Frank and I took a trip to St. Thomas, USVI in late February/early March 2010. We rented an apartment for the week, which we found on Vacation Rentals by Owner (www.vrbo.com) - a website that I'm kind of obsessed with. Think renting a house "down the shore" - but your possibilities are endless. After our trip to Ireland last year, we realized that we really enjoy staying in a "home" and then exploring the area in day trips. It feels so much more comfortable than a hotel, and a lot of times it's cheaper. Not to mention the $ you can save on meals by eating in.
So here's the condo we stayed in.

It had an amazing view. I must have taken 20 pictures just of the view.

We absolutely loved it.

If you know me, you know I'm a researcher. So I had a list of restaurants that I wanted to try while we were there. After hours and hours of researching, I came up with a shortlist of about 6 or 7 restaurants. We had 9 days, I figured if we didn't get to all of them that was ok, but it was certainly a good start. I guess the easiest way to document our trip is to do it by days. So I'll start there.

Mexico Lindo

2010-01-17T11:17:00.000-08:00

So after much persuasion, the hubby took me (or rather, I took him) to Mexico Lindo, a local mexican restaurant that we probably pass every day and have never ventured inside. Driving into the parking lot, we realize it's empty.

"Babe, we're the only ones here."

"No we're not," I say, "there's other cars."

"I don't know babe, I think they work here."

Well, we walk up to the door, peek inside, and sure enough, we're the only ones. There's a man sitting at the bar, but that's it. The sign says, "Please seat yourself" so we do.

The TV has some program playing in spanish, looks like music videos en espanol (Sorry babe. They don't have the game on). A cheerful young girl, probably all of 17 years, greets us with a generous bowl of chips and salsa. She takes our drink order - dos margaritas on the rocks - and we start to look over the menu.

MMM. The chips are still warm, and the salsa has a nice kick to it. So far, so good. I take a minute to look around. It's about what I expected. decorations...a little cheesy ...there's valentine hearts hanging from the ceiling, and there's still christmas garland hanging in the window. The server comes back with our margaritas and we order. We order the guacamole ($3.50), and I order off of the a la carte menu, the burrito mexicano with chicken ($4.25) and the americano pork taco ($2.75). Frank orders Brochetas Mexicanas ($11.50), which the menu describes as a mexican version of a shish kabob with chicken, beef and shrimp.

We dig into the margaritas (tasty, perfect with the chips and salsa, but definitely a mix), and then the guacamole comes soon after.

"This is it," I say, "this is the real test." Survey says? Pretty good. Not the best guac I've ever had, but I enjoyed it nonetheless (the complimentary salsa blew it out of the water).

We have our fill of guacamole, and soon after the entrees come out. Frank's entree looks delicious. Two kabobs with grilled vegetables, chicken, shrimp and beef, on a bed of a large portion of chicken fajitas, rice and beans.

Brochetas Mexicanas

I dig in to my burrito, and it's delicious. The flavorful combination of chicken, rice and beans is perfect. I go for the pork taco, and it's hmm. Salty. Funny taste. Maybe pork wasn't a good idea. The burrito was generous enough to fill me up, so I pass on the taco and finish my burrito. Frank devours his entree. We end full and satisfied, just in time for the bill. The damage came to $41, but considering $20 of it was margaritas (4 @ $5 a piece), we're thinking we didn't do too bad.

Will we be back? Sure, but not in the near future, as we've got plenty of other places on our list. Well, maybe if it's $2.99 margarita night. The service was good (it should be, since we were their only patrons), and I'm pretty sure the server thought we were food critics (my guess is from all of the photos we were taking) and she kept trying to buy our affection with free pens (?). Yes, I'm serious. First one, then another... then a styrofoam container to take home our guacamole (there was barely any left).

If you're ever in the New Castle area, perhaps stuck in traffic on Rt. 13 on your way down to the Delaware beaches, stop in Mexico Lindo for some fresh chips and refreshing margaritas. And if you've got time, try any one of their dishes. But you may want to stay away from the pork. :)

Rating:
Value - 4 stars
Taste - 3 stars
Atmosphere - 3 stars
Presentation - 3 stars
Service - 5 stars

Total rating - 3.5/5

Rating the restaurants.

2010-01-16T13:48:00.000-08:00

So Mr. Frank told me that we need to give some sort of rating system for this endeavor. So here is our system of rating each restaurant.
1. Value
2. Atmosphere
3. Taste
4. Presentation
5. Service
We'll allow a max. of 5 stars for each category, and then take the average amount of stars for the final tally. Tonight's destination: Mexico Lindo.

A Culinary Adventure through Ordinary Delaware

2010-01-15T08:43:00.000-08:00

My husband has lived in Delaware for over 3 years, and there are still restaurants that we have yet to "check out" that we pass numerous times a month. We live in such a multicultural and diverse area that there's so many authentic places to choose from, and we still always end up going to the same spots (not that they're bad - they're great Jessop's Tavern - awesome, our fave, Firebirds, Deep Blue, Brandywine Prime, Domaine Hudson, and Mikimotos to name a few)... So I've made a list of all of the places and vow that we will try them this year. Well, most of them. And while these ones are definitely ones to try, there will be additionals I'm sure (you wanna hear about our other faves too, don't you?). Here's the list, and as we try each one I will provide updates with reviews.

1. Casablanca Restaurant - I've heard so many good things about this place and it sounds so fun. 7 courses of Moroccan food for $25? Right down the street? Sign me up.
2. Pho Nhu Vu - ok, I just drove by this place and checked out the website. I miss Pho Eden in Cherry Hill, and I'm hoping this one can cure my craving for Vietnamese. Summer rolls? Yes, please!
3. Rascals BBQ & Crab House - this place is pretty famous around here, sounds fun for a casual, laid-back Saturday or Sunday...
4. Aqua Sol
5. Potstickers Asian Grill
6. Mexico Lindo - this place looks like a hole-in-the-wall, but word on the street is that it's great authentic Mex.
7. Island Spice - no website for this place, but there wasn't one for Genelle's either. Genelle's was a place we fell in love with in Wilmington w/ delicious caribbean food. Sadly, it closed, but the cook has opened her newest establishment even closer to us on Rt. 9. Nothing fancy, just good,authentic Caribbean food (or so I hope). 202 East 6th Street New Castle, DE 19720-4566 (302) 322-2401
8. The Green Room at the Hotel DuPont - snooty? maybe. Good? I hope so (This technically isn't a first for me, as I've had brunch here once, but dinner will be a new adventure).

I figure I should give you a little background as to why I started this blog. The idea for this came from Frank & I sitting down at one of our new favorite finds and he said,

"Wouldn't it be great if we could get paid to go to places like this?"

my hubby, on our honeymoon in Ireland, eating al fresco at one of our favorite off-the-beaten path places, The Coffin Shed (that's my Chardonnay).

And me, at another one of our favorites, Messrs Maguire:

Not that we're ever going to get paid for it, but hey, if this blog takes off, maybe I can throw up some ads or a paypal link. Never hurts to dream...

DISCLAIMER: THIS BLOG HAS NO LIMITS TO WHERE IT WILL GO... we'll go to the fancy, the yuppie, and we'll certainly go to dives, so they'll be something in this for everyone.Also, as a foodie and cook, I may from time to time put up a recipe.

This all sounds so delicious while I sit here and remember that I've got at least another 5 lbs to lose before we go on vacation at the end of next month, but everything in moderation. No diet is worth sticking to if you can't enjoy yourself every once in awhile, right? Besides, my husband promised me that if we blogged about restaurants we try, then he'd take me to Mexico Lindo (the facade of this place scares him, but I say, it's always the gritty ones that have the most authentic food! Well, that may not always be true, but I have a good feeling about this one!).