Mint Premium Foods - Tarrytown NY

Sometimes, I feel that in my entire life, I've been eating well. This day was not one of those times. The Culinary Institute of America and Mint had, in a mere 8 hours, made me think that I've just been a plebeian in the world of cuisine, or even just American restaurant culture. Maybe I get delighted too easily by simple food eaten while sitting on the stairs, and maybe I just don't go to enough swanky places where there is live jazz music playing and a guy sauntering around offering at least 20 types of cheese on a giant platter. So I think, "Hmh, maybe I'm not actually cultured."

But then I remember that I can cook and if I tried, I could remake whatever I'm eating here, minus the classy atmopshere.

Giant cutlery and rooster sculptures are themes of this trip. Assorted rooster sculptures were displayed at Bocuse, while Pepsi - wait, I signed a confidentiality agreement with them, so I guess I can't say. :(

The green chunk is pesto cheese. Now I must buy pesto cheese! It was perfect. While we waited for our food to arrive (our group had personalized menus!), we snacked on bread, cheese, and square-rimmed bowls of olives. I tried an olive and immediately rekindled my dislike for them (it was way too salty).

I got the chipotle chicken and avocado wrap with salad and fries. I had no appetite, but I ate everything anyway because I don't like wasting food (especially good food that took a lot of energy and time to produce). The wrap was not spicy at all, though there was this orange sauce. The chicken was in some sort of casing, making it sort of like sliced chicken sausage, except that the chicken was not mushy or a slurry; it had actual chicken texture (although it was a bit more elastic than usual). There was a lot of stuff in the whole wheat wrap too, which kept falling out. The salad with vinaigrette(?) was a bit too salty. The fries smelled like fries I had when I was a kid, and they were tasty (but aren't all fries?).

Our table was made out of a slab of wood that had been sliced vertically from a tree and varnished. Hence, the table was not actually rectangular. I thought it was neat.

Tokyo Hibachi Asian Cuisine & Sushi!!

Today was spiffin'! I hung out with friends and I didn't stress out about anything (I will, later, though, while I lie in bed worrying about the past/future). We went to Secaucus and had sushi!!!

It was scrumptiously delicious and there was a lot of avocado sushi!! My favourite! I picked off the crab/shrimp from the sushi. I guess my brother would've been psyched to eat salmon sushi. I would be too if I still ate salmon (I'm still questioning why I don't, actually). So the Philadelphia roll (north east of image below) has cream cheese... I think, except that it was more savoury.

Also, I ate the fish egg sushi. As a not-really-strict-anymore vegetarian, where do I draw the line? I eat chicken eggs. Is it incorrect for me to eat fish eggs, then? Hm. As a joke, "genocide" was mentioned. Hehehe.

The online reviews seem to be more negative than positive. Obviously, people have too high standards (or, I just have too low standards?), because Tokyo Sushi people aren't rude, there is a huge (yes. huge.) selection of sushi, raw sea critters, dumplings, dim sum, and even mozzarella and tomatoes, and the environment was nice (bamboo frosting on the windows, live fish in the indoor waterfall/pool). Dude... if a vegetarian can find a niche here, why can't other food snobs? (Was that question out of line? Eh, doesn't matter.)

And all that lunch for the price of one meal at a college dining hall ($10, plus tax/tip=$13).
... and another thing: it was bright. I could actually see the people at the other tables. I wasn't in a dimly-lit room. THERE WERE SKYLIGHTS. Definitely a plus for photo taking and for admiring food.
Super-gelatine-ful mango pudding and orange cake and peanut mochi! They had tinned longans.

So, this is maybe my second favourite restaurant (owing to both the restaurant and to the experience I had today with friends), after Govinda's.

Tokyo Hibachi Asian Cuisine & Sushi Buffet

700 Plaza Dr. Secaucus NJ 07094

Chipotle and Qdoba

Initially, I was going to title this post "Chipotle vs. Qdoba", but after much consideration, I realised that I really don't know which one I prefer. I can't profess loyalty to either company - in fact, maybe I don't adore either (remember, Govinda's took over the "My Favourite Restaurant" label). Sure, I love burritos, but while I was eating Qdoba recently, I realised that I eat burritos for

1. Avocado

2. Beans

3. Cheese

(Haha. The basics - A, B, C.)

I don't eat burritos for the white flour tortilla, the rice, the tomato salsa, and certainly not the cilantro.

For around $7, I can get definitely two cans of beans, two avocados, and a package of cheese.

Anyway, I guess I shall talk about each.

QDOBA

My first visit, with TJ - the location on 15th and Walnut St. allows you to get a free drink if you show the cashier your college ID. Unfortunately, this doesn't apply to the one on campus.

I asked for everything in the burrito, which meant that it wasn't properly shaped. By "everything", I mean rice, black beans, all the salsas, sour cream, cheese, and guacamole.

Cross-section.

Taste? Well, I got a super spicy salsa, which TJ warned against, but I could tolerate it fine. The guacamole taste wasn't that prevalent, since guacamole was such a small component of the overall burrito, and it was mashed finely. The cheese melted really fast, and the beans and rice were soft. I don't really love the taste of the tortilla, but I guess I'm not a huge fan of store-made white flour tortillas, anyway.

This is another Qdoba burrito, without the sour cream and only including corn salsa (I don't particularly like sour cream). I find that heating up the burrito in a microwave, thus heating up the guacamole, actually makes an amazing dip! Again, I'm not really big on the rice or tortilla.

A vegetarian burrito with tax is $6.25, and Qdoba has a rewards card and coupons, so after some number of points, I can get a free burrito. The coupons are useful because I managed to get two burritos last weekend for $6.25. Qdoba also has other options (e.g. tortilla soup), but I don't really think I'm interested in them.

CHIPOTLE

I used to prefer Chipotle because there's one in the town next to mine, but since I'm in Philadelphia, Chipotle and Qdobas are usually next to each other (which doesn't really make sense, but it's true). Recently, Chipotle started using gold foil wrappers because they want to stress that their food is high quality. It doesn't really make a difference to me, but...

...they have brown rice now! Definitely a plus. I ordered the burrito with brown rice, fajita vegetables, medium salsa, corn salsa, guacamole, cheese, sour cream, and lettuce. There was a lot of guacamole (okay, not enough in my honest opinion, but enough to satisfy me), plenty of rice, and an even distribution of beans. I definitely should've chosen the mild salsa, because the medium one was really spicy... or maybe that was the fajita vegetables? The rice was perfectly chewy (the way brown rice should be), and the tortilla was plain.

Chipotle's burrito in the town next to mine is $6.25 without tax, and at the one on campus, it's $6.93 with tax. I don't think Chipotle has a mailing list, which therefore means that there are no coupons or anything...

OVERALL

Portion sizes a side (hah.)...the matter of which is better weighs little in my list of priorities (hah.). I would say that Chipotle does have higher "quality" because of the chunkier/higher portion of guacamole, the presence of vegetables (fajita vegetables and lettuce!) and the brown rice option. However, Qdoba definitely has it in for price; it has double-point days, it has a rewards program, and it has coupons.

Through all this chomping though, I realised that neither actually offer what I really love... they just stick in convenience and packaging, and make me think that I love the restaurant. Like I said, I don't care much for the carb parts, or the proprietary recipe for the rice/guacamole/salsas! I don't even care much for the spices added to the beans because I like beans out of a can (or British baked beans!!).

So, I guess I should from now on make my own burritos-without-the-carb-parts...

1 can of black beans = ~50c, 400 Cal

2 mashed avocados = ~$3.00, 550 Cal

2 servings of low-fat cheese = ~$1.50, 200 Cal

Maximum $5.00 for the same 1000+ Calorie "burrito".

Actually, Chipotle and Qdoba aren't even Mexican, right? I mean, maybe the ingredients are used the way they're used in Mexico, but the portion size is highly Americanised. Still, delicious.

Epic Run Times

Run around town...Actually, once I got to 9th St., I started walking, and I walked four a few hours. Hehe. At least four hours.

I saw a bunch of giant cakes in a storefront, but the store looked like it was closed and there wasn't a door or anything. The cake looks pretty sumptuous.

I went to The Space Corner again and got dried roses (to make rose tea, rose water, and Turkish delight later when I get home) for $1, mango black tea ($1) and cream of tartar.

Then I walked around the "Little Italy" area of Philadelphia and checked out the market on the pavement...and I noted that Italians aren't the ones who sell the vegetables, which is kind of ironic I guess. I bought some red peppers and walked over to a candy store, Sweet Tooth, on the corner of South and 4th. I'll update about that later.

Then, I went to Reading Terminal Market and saw this at one of the chocolate stores...which I like. Haha. Screw the diet.

At Reading Terminal Market, I dropped by the Sweet as Fudge Candy Shoppe to buy some pretty delicious morsels of sugar. That'll be another blog post.

After getting to Chinatown, I walked past a dingy little store with a zillion boxes in the store front. Then, I realised that it was a fortune cookie factory, which is pretty amusing in my opinion.

I dropped by the Mayflower bakery to get some bubble tea.

I was shocked. They had kiwi bubble tea. They had avocado bubble tea. I couldn't believe it; AVOCADO BUBBLE TEA! This is when I'm glad I'm bilingual; I asked if they used real avocado, and the lady picked up an actual avocado and said, yes, we use real avocado. It's kind of funny because on the shelf above the sinks, there were tons of boxes of powder, labelled "taro" or "coconut" or whatever.

She cut up half an avocado, used half-and-half milk, (and sugar?) and added crushed ice at some point. In all honesty, it was more of a smoothie than a "tea" or drink.

The smoothie was very thick, and tasted mildly of fresh avocado. I was surprised that avocado tastes good when it's sweet, although I prefer it in avocado sushi with soy sauce. I suppose avocado's sort of like peanut butter; both incorporated in sweet and savoury dishes.

I was really thirsty, so I ended up drinking all the slushie (oh so thick and my favourite colour and nicely textured!), and there were lots of bubbles left. The bubbles were really chewy, and not overcooked. I would really recommend Mayflower Bakery. 1008 Race St.

After a bit, I went to KC's Pastries and got a sweet yam tart, which I've never had before. Egg tart, sure, and coconut tart, but not a sweet yam tart!

Unlike other bakeries, KC's Pastries doesn't have seating, so I went to eat at Reading Terminal Market.

The yam tart was surprisingly gelatinous. It was like a super-thick pudding.

The pastry was just normal and bland.

I dropped by some grocery stores to get some vegetables and Chinese snacks.

Then I went to Cube Cafe, intending to get some eggettes ($1.95), but I was so thirsty as opposed to hungry. I contemplated bringing some eggettes home. Instead, after chatting to the shopkeepers (who were very helpful with explaining dishes and drinks), I got the Icy Poppy Drink.

I've been abstaining from soda for the past half-a-decade (I think?), partly because of the high-fructose corn syrup thing, and partly because I've just been indifferent to it (e.g. the way I'm indifferent to baklava). This drink is basically some sort of clear soda with mango bubbles.

Now, the bubbles are the strange exotic things. Once popped, the bubbles reveal a thick mango goo. I'm not sure what the covering of the goo is; it seems to be some cellulose fibre. It's an interesting concept, but I don't think that I'm going to get it again. It's an ephemeral toy.

On the way back, I got samples of hummus and chips. "Why are you guys giving out free hummus?"

"Oh, it's cuz a lot of us still don't know what hummus is, so we're giving it out to people"

Cool.

I also saw Wizard Con, like Comic Con, but I didn't get in because I needed tickets.

At Rittenhouse, I got a free can of coffee.

Nice day for food.

Sweet Tooth, 630 S 4th St.

Sweet As Fudge Candy Shoppe, 12th and Arch St.

Mayflower Bakery, 1008 Race St.

KC's Pastries, 109 N 10th St.

Cube Cafe, 145 N 11th St.

Pod

I had lunch at Pod today, with 6 people from the lab at the Monell Center for Chemical Senses where I'm volunteering, and Stephanie Lucianovic. Stephanie is a food writer [which made this lunch even more amazing!, which is certainly intriguing since I've never met a professional writer/blogger at lunch before! She also likes Alton Brown, so that's cool.

I've walked past this restaurant a lot with TJ when we go to Kings Court for dinner, and from the outside, it looked pretty amazing; everything was red and the furniture was interesting.

I walked in today and remarked that...

Firstly, it looked swanky. There is no other word to describe it - it was swanky [but then again, I don't know much about upscale-ish restaurants, except Chinese ones]. They had matches next to the door, in little pieces of card. I'm not sure why, since I'm sure they don't want the place burned down. In close proximity was a wine bar. It was all rather red and pretty.

Note the buttons that look like chocolate candies; they were about the size of a hand, and once pressed, made the lighting in the booth change colour. There were only two booths with these lights; the rest of the restaurant was nicely laid out as shown below:

Note the conveyor belt sushi! That reminded me of Genki Sushi in Hong Kong, which I sorely miss right now.

There were booths by the window which were pretty cool too. I blurred out the faces of people.

Since we had lunch under green lighting [until dessert], my photos look green. At the time, my eyes had adjusted to the green lighting, so I wasn't aware of the fact that my sushi looked... green. I don't think that green makes food that photogenic; the best lighting is evidently white light from the sun. Then, I suppose it's the yellow that I'm used to from incandescent light bulbs. Green light... well, I suppose it adds to the mood, right? Neutral, relaxing?

I got the TnT sushi roll, which was eight pieces of vegetarian sushi.

Vegetarian sushi that surprising looked and tasted un-vegetarian.

1. It looks like there are raw tuna slices on the top, but it actually is slivered tomato. It's the part of the tomato that's between the skin and the seeds. I'm wondering what the did with the other 90% of the tomato... because each ovule takes up a LOT of the tomato [the seed, the liquidy part, and the segments between them], and what I had here was merely the outer part of the tomato...

2. The chopped garnish at the top, which reminds me of walnuts, is actually a jalapeno cucumber salsa. It was a bit spicier than the ginger on the side, which, unlike the ones I'm used to seeing, were cream coloured rather than salmon-coloured. I suppose they didn't add the FD&C Red, which is good to know. However, I still didn't like the taste of pickled ginger. Maybe I will one day.

[So, I used flash a lot because the lighting was rather dim. To compensate, my photos now make the rice look like it lacks detail.]

3. The filling tasted fishy. Perhaps I am confusing umami with fishy. There was tamago, which I learned was the Japanese-style egg that I used to eat a lot in Hong Kong. Some of the tamago was crispy, which gave off that Japanese-style-eel flavour. There was also carrot, cucumber, and avocado. I truly think that the avocado makes any sushi taste fishy. I'm not sure why; perhaps the soy sauce enhances it, although soy-sauce-free avocado sushi tastes just as fishy. It could be the texture; the smooth, fatty, melt-in-your-mouth feeling reminds me of raw salmon. So, yes, avocado definitely makes sushi taste fishy.

A dissection of the filling. I suppose I was being kind of inappropriate at the lunch table since everyone else was eating their food, and there I was, prying it open with a scalpel - I mean, with a fork. After my third piece of sushi, I decided to use the chopsticks, because I realised that using a fork to eat sushi [my first time, I daresay] was a bit clumsy. So, you can see the vegetables.

4. I'm not sure what the yellow-orangey mixture, which looks like fish roe, is. It tasted like fish. It definitely was not carrot or tomato. I'll have to ask next time. It tasted nice and savoury though.

5. This is a really bad picture, but if you look closely, you can see that I've taken apart some of the rice in the front, leaving only a thin, white membrane. I could not tell what this membrane was. I tried to eat some by itself, and I noticed a hint of soy. I think that this is the soy wrapper thing that my mum cooks all the time - I'm not sure what the English name is, but it's used a lot in stir-fries with wood ear. Next time I make sushi, I will definitely incorporate some soy wrappers!

Another image of the membrane.

I tried some hibiscus tea, which arrived in a cute little teapot, which appears green under the lighting. I've tried hibiscus bubble tea before, which was tons sweeter than this, but this tea gave off such a nice aroma!! I've never seen or smelled a live hibiscus flower before, and now I'd really like to.

A close up of the stuff in the tea, which turned out pink or purple...I couldn't tell in the lighting; it almost looked light blue for a while.

Desserts! This was a Chocolate Bread Pudding, which in my opinion did not taste like bread pudding [well, I suppose if the bread was crumbled into 1mm pieces...]. It tasted like a chocolate brownie, but lacked the oily residue that commercial brownies possess. I'm not sure how the garnish thingy [A chocolate flake?] tasted.

Butterscotch Brown Sugar Cake, with panna cotta. Panna cotta is amazing! I'd never had it before, so it was new, and it did make a normal cake look pretty and taste interesting ["Butterscotch Brown Sugar Cake" is basically a sponge cake made with brown sugar...the name just makes it sound elite]. The gingersnaps were super delicious. I like ginger cookies, and these were super crunchy. They should make gingersnaps cereal. They really really should - not with reconstituted-corn-and-corn-syrup, but with actual gingersnaps. Hm... next time I buy gingersnaps, I guess I'm going to eat them crumbled up in milk, with a spoon and a bowl...

4 sorbets on a chunk of ice: pineapple, coconut, mint, and guava. One of them had a peppercorn in it, but I'm not sure whether it was the guava or the pineapple. The coconut ice sorbet had a nice refreshing taste to it, BUT THE MINT SORBET WAS... ... The mint sorbet reminded me of three or four winters ago, when I got snow, added milk and sugar to it, and added dried mint flakes. As in, the one from the shaker from the grocery store. It tasted like mint, not peppermint, and it tasted just like my snow ice cream. It just looked prettier. This was pretty surprising, because most people would expect the conventional mint-chocolate type sorbet... so this one wins at being "cool". Haha... cool mint...

But this means that I can make my snow ice cream and sell it for $2/scoop.

I lack plating and customers, though.

Oh, some pictures were taken after people had taken chunks out of the food; the desserts weren't served to us half-eaten. The servers were really nice.

One last remark: the fries that came with the hoagie were literally shoe-string fries. Sure, they were only 5cm long, but they were, maximally 2mm thick. It was an amazing sight. I should just order those next time.