Summer Treats

So its been a while since I've posted anything... but I can tell you I have eaten since then... and I've eaten a lot. After working at Olive Garden for seven months, I've come to the realization that smelling and feeling like a dirty breadstick everyday is not very appealing. In order to balance out my daily intake of garlic breadsticks (I ate them out of pure boredom), I found some little restaurants that featured words like organic, garden fare, or refreshing in their menu instead of saturated, buttery, or creamy. Pita Jungle saved my life during those times. Its hip setting and its healthy, inventive recipes made me crave something that was not only tasty as ever, but healthy too. This amazing pizza features spinach, mushrooms, large tomato slices, and mozzarella cheese on top of a baked pita. With fresh ingredients, it would be just as easy and just as tasty to make it at home as it would be to get in your car and drive there. Unfortunately, the healthy streak didn't last too long due to my trip to New York, my diet regiment left in Arizona. First item on the New York list was a steak sandwich and a side of Mexican grilled corn from Cafe Habana. This little cuban corner street cafe is tiny. But its taste is anything but. Grilled steak, onions and peppers inside a yummy baguette and a spread of spicy chipotle mayonnaise makes this sandwich the best I've ever had. You could say I flew to New York just to have one. I could go on and on with things I've eaten this summer (giant portobello mushrooms as the Blue Bayou in Disneyland, mussaman curry galore nearly every week etc. etc.), but these two entrees might just be the highlight of my summer.

The Farmhouse

I can never understand the people that just skip breakfast. Well, I can never understand people that skip any meal for that matter. But you just can't skip breakfast, especially when you have a restaurant down the road like the Farmhouse. To give you a visual, The Farmhouse is comfortably nestled in Old Downtown Gilbert, an area of town that looks like it could be a movie set for an old western. It isn't surprising to see a cowboy or two walk out of the barber shop across the street. And the restaurant opens at five for the early birds, so you will always see a line out the door no matter how early you get up. The interior decor, black and white framed pictures mounted on the wall, random, comfortable seating, and remains of the original roofing of the early 1900's home, is simply quaint. And the food matches the ambience. We started off with a colossal, flakey, melt-in-your-mouth cinnamon roll (the picture shows only a 3rd of it) and then my sister, brother, and I shared a green chile, bacon, tomato, and cheese omelet and a side of biscuits and sausage gravy (if you can call 6 biscuits and a mountainous topping of gravy a side). It might have been the best breakfast I've ever had.

Bueno!

What can I say, I live in Arizona. So whenever someone says bean and cheese burrito I say where. This one, from a little mexican restaurant called SomeBurros, is oh so delicious. The world just wouldn't seem complete without them. The tortillas are large and floury and the beans are addicting (its because of the lard...sounds gross but it makes them tasterrific). You'll just have to go there and have one for yourself. Save a seat for me.

Indonesian Chicken Noodle Soup

Going to the gym to lift weights is one way to work off the bagel with extra strawberry cream cheese you had this morning. However, grinding jalapeno chiles, shallots, ginger, garlic, almonds, lemongrass, and an assortment of spices using a pestle and mortar is another, much more satisfying way. This spicy indonesian chicken noodle soup was well worth the sweat. Imagine a spicy chicken broth with a subtle hint of fish sauce and curry powder, poured over stringy rice vermicelli and shredded chicken, and topped with fried shallots, mung bean sprouts, and a hard boiled egg. It sounds like it would be a bold taste, but underneath the spiciness is a smooth, and (I dare say) smokey aftertaste that leaves me going back for seconds. It takes a little longer than the regular chicken noodle but it might be one of my favorite soups. I found the recipe in an Asian cook book by Williams- Sonoma... its called Asian. I'm sure you can find it on Amazon somewhere.