Hash House A Go-Go.....Off Strip Gluttony

I had first learned about Hash House A Go-Go from the popular TV program called Man V. Food on the Travel Channel.  It looked like a fun place but since it's way off the strip and I never rent a car when I'm here, I didn't think it was going to be an easy place to go to.  Enter my friend Roger who came in from L.A. to meet with me and his friend Mel.  He drove here and comes here often.  Roger asked me when he told me he was coming the same weekend if I had ever heard of the place, Hash House A Go-Go.  I told him I had just learned about it and he highly recommended it.  I went back to my DVR and watched the episode.  The feature dish looked ridiculous since it was practically 1 day's worth of calories.  No way I was going to get that.  Boy was I wrong.

The place opened in 2001 and has been running full steam since.  We waited 30 minutes for lunch and had a chance to see all the Celebrity pictures with signed menus that adorned the walls.  As we were waiting, I couldn't help but notice all the dishes that came out of the kitchen.  They were all served on huge platters that you could put a full family meal on.  They were either on large platters or cast iron Skillets.  They have a famous Bloody Mary that was garnished with Jalapeño stuffed olives, and pickles and pickled string beans.  The spice in the drink was perfect for me.  It had a great bite that stayed with you for many minutes after the drink was done.  Great way to start a meal.

When looking at the menu, I noticed the feature dish and it looked great.  I had seen it come out of the kitchen more than anything else when we were waiting.  So I decided to get it.  It's called Andy's Sage Fried Chicken Benedict.  Starting from the bottom of the plate to the very top the layers go like this:

• Red Bliss Potato mash that gets nicely browned on the bottom from spending some griddle time
• Buttermilk biscuit cut in half and put on top of the mash
• Fresh spinach
• Freshly sliced tomato
• Hardwood smoked bacon
• Sage dusted fried Chicken breast (I have to talk about this.  The sage is mixed into the batter of the fried Chicken that has been deep fried.  it was so good, I made sure I at least finished the chicken.  You could make a meal on just that kind of fried chicken alone)
• Scrambled Eggs
• Griddled Mozzarella (Chef takes the cheese and puts it right on the griddle till it melts and then puts it on top of the chicken
• topped off with a chipotle cream sauce and garnished with a big knife (to keep it all together) and a mega stalk of Rosemary.
• oh, and laid perpendicularly to the platter is placed deep fried angel hair pasta that is placed pretty much in the middle of the dish.

Here is what it looks like:

Roger and I got the same dish and Mel got the waffles and fried chicken.  Her dish had a 1/4 piece of bone in chicken that was on top of 4 mega waffles.  But there was something special in the waffles.  When they made the waffles in the waffle iron, they place two pieces of hardwood smoked bacon on top of the batter after it's in the iron so the bacon cooks right into the waffle.  Mel offered me a taste and it was heavenly.  Smokey salty bacon with sweet waffle went down real nice.  The dish also has deep fried shredded Scallions that are so crunchy and delicious.

I have to also mention that on the table is a small metal bowl filled with fresh made strawberry jam that the Chef makes every day.  Instead of it being jelly like, this was almost like fluffy strawberry jam.  I'm not a big strawberry fan but this was very tasty and light.

If you don't have a car, get into a taxi and get over to Hash House A Go-Go.  It was a fun delicious meal and if you don't leave stuffed, you did it wrong.

Hash House A Go-Go can be found here: http://www.hashhouseagogo.com/

Las Vegas starts with a Noodle at Noodles in the Bellagio

I had gotten into Las Vegas later than I had hoped for. I had originally planned a meal at a great place that I was able to postpone till Saturday night, so I just needed to get something in me to keep me awake and satisfy the grumbling.  Buffet was out of the question since i have absolutely no self control.

So I decided to go to Noodles at the Bellagio Hotel. I was staying there so it was convenient.  It was around 10:00 PM so there was no lime but all the tables were full.

I was offered the counter since there were no tables available.  This ended being a really dull seat.  Normally with counter seating, your're seated at counter where you can overlook the happenings behind the stage. I always enjoy watching a kitchen working like a finely oiled machine. Or if you go for sushi, you get to watch all the colors of the rainbow dispayed in edible form. At Noodles you get a wall. It's not a concrete wall or a poorly wallpapered wall, but a nice wood grain wall, but it is a wall about two feet high with sake bottles and jars of dried chili's adorning the top.

The menu is standard Chinese fare with the smattering of a couple of Japanese dishes and even an Imdian curry dish.  But mostly the menu is Chinese.  I decided to get some comfort Chinese food.  For me that means Shu Mai dumplings and some sort of noodle dish.


The Shu Mai arrived in a traditional steamer basket and the top was removed revealing 5 dumplings.  Yes, the photo shows 3.  I ate two and realized I forgot to take a photos.  The Shu Mai were plump and juicy and they were filled with large chunks of Shrimp and pork.  They were quite delicious.  It was served with the traditional Chinese mustard. The only problem I had was that all the dumplings stuck to the plate and I had to scrape them off to enjoy them.  My only explanation for this was that they had done the placing of these on the plate a while ago and steamed them just to warm them up, but it didn't release from the bottom. 

My Main dish arrived and looked just like I pictured it and just like I wanted it.  Yaki Udon was served with peppers, scallions and plump and juicy Shrimp.  They were all served and laced in the large Udon noodles which was covered in soy based light stir fry sauce.  The dish was both comforting and full of flavor.  It was just what I needed.

Overall it was a very good quick and delicious meal.  I just have to make a mental note that if they ask if I want counter seating, I will absolutely say no and wait for a table. 


Noodles can be found at the Bellagio hotel and more info can be found here:
http://bellagio.com/restaurants/noodles.aspx

Gumbo Ya-Ya

I'm a big fan of Cajun food.  Jambalaya, Etoufee, Craw fish (not really Cajun but prevalent in Cajun cooking), and of course Gumbo.  Ah Gumbo.  There are many different versions of the Gumbo.   Some have seafood, some have sausage, some even have turkey.   As a fan of soups, I decided a while ago to come up with my own version of a Gumbo to call my own.  I looked over many recipes and after making many different versions, I have come up with one that I make many times a year.  Whenever I make the Gumbo and serve it to family and friend, it's a huge hit.  I even tried recently to freeze a batch and have learned that it doesn't defrost well so make it, and eat it.  The good news with that is that the dish lasts about a week in the fridge.  

Here are the list of ingredients:

1 Cup Flour
1 Cup of Canola Oil
1 1/2 Cups Onion Finely diced
1 Cup Celery Finely diced
1 Cup Green Pepper Finely diced
1/2 tspn Kosher salt
1 lb. kielbasa cut into medium cubes ( you can substitute chorizo here if you would like)
1/4 tspn cayanne pepper
3 bay leaves
2 Quarts of Chicken Stock
1 lb. Chicken cut into medium cubes and mixed with seasoning below
1 lb. shrimp (51-60 size) peeled, deviened with the tails removed

Chicken seasoning:
2 Tbsp Paprika
2 Tbsp Garlic Powder
1 tspn Onion Powerder
1 tspn dried basil
1 tspn dried thyme
1 tspn dried oregano
1/2 tspn salt
1/2 tspn freshly ground pepper
1 tspn file powder (This is optional)

Before you start, this dish is for someone that doesn't mind lots of prep work and and a good long afternoon to make this dish.  But trust me, it will be worth it.

Get a cast iron dutch oven (or large pot) and set heat to medium heat.
Add flour and oil into pot and mix so it forms a roux.
Mix the roux often to prevent it from burning on the bottom.   This part will take time.  like 45 minutes time.  it's important to keep the temperature at medium otherwise all your work here in the beginning will be for naught.
When the roux reaches the color of chocolate it's done.

Now besides eating the Gumbo, this is my favorite part.  Add the Onion, Pepper, and Celery and mix with the roux.  When the veggies hit the roux it creates an wonderful steam that has a nutty smell that takes you away.
Cook up the mixture for about 5 minutes till the veggies are softened.
Add the salt, cayanne, and Kielbasa and mix so it's all mixed up and cover for 5 minutes.
Take top off and put it in the sink to clean because you won't be covering this dish anymore
Add Chicken stock and mix everything so that the veggie roux mixture gets thinned out.

Bring soup up to a simmer and simmer for 1 hour.
After an hour, mix up the soup and add the chicken that is mixed in with the seasonings.
Stir soup so all the pieces of chicken are separate and cook for another hour.
Stir soup after the hour and add the shrimp.  stir and cook another hour.
When Soup is reduced to the thickness you like, your done.
I like to add a large scoop of white rice on the bottom of the bowl and ladle the soup over the rice.

 Enjoy.

Thali in Ridgefield CT. Great Indian Meal

This Saturday Evening we had decided to make it a family dinner night.  Anita, my wife, had said that our 7 year old son Jonah had really enjoyed Indian food when they were visiting friends overseas a few weeks ago.  I was worried about our 5 year old but knew once he tried the food, he would like it.  It was a gamble, but in the end, it was one that paid off.

Thali is located on Route 7 in Ridgefield and is part of a Motel there.  Since we had gone with kids, we went early and were actually the first ones there.  By the time we left, every table had people sitting in it.  We had decided to start with Samosa's since we knew they were safe.  Since our son really enjoyed this overseas, we ordered two servings.  The outside of the Samosa's were harder than I had remembered from having them in the past but there were delicious.  Each one was filled with a tender potato and green peas and there was a light dipping sauce to go with it.  Our other appetizer was Ragda Patties.  Now I had expected something different than what we got.  The dish almost looked like a low bowl of Chili with cheese on it, but what was inside was a mix potato, ginger and a flavor of cumin that was in a dark brown sauce with green peas and chick peas.

We were excited when our Main dishes came because the place smelled great as the server approached us.  I am a big fan of Saag Paneer and theirs was real good.  large Chunks of Panner (a solid version of cottage cheese) were mixed in with a savory creamed type spinach that had garlic mixed into it.  To be safe, we ordered Chicken Tikka Masala so the kids had something safe to eat since it's traditionally a mild dish.  The sauce was a thick tomato gravy that had lots of flavor.

The third main was the biggest hit of the night.  The dish was called Chingri Malai Korma.  It was Cardamom flavored sauce with small shrimps in it.  As it turned out, this went the quickest.  Normally our oldest son Jonah isn't a big shrimp fan but he couldn't get enough of them.

The fourth dish was Malai Kofta which was basically the same thing as the shrimp but with a potato paneer ball.  We learned this later when the dishes came and we gave each other the oops look.  But the shrimp dish tasted better for some reason.

We also got Naan and Garlic Naan which were both delicious and we got Jasmine rice.  All of those did a great mopping job that you look for in Indian food.

Overall, the food and service was excellent.  We were under a bit of pressure with ordering since we didn't want to go to far from safe because of the kid factor.  I think in the future, our dishes will have to encompass a dish with no gravy.   When we were done, it looked like a table of left over soup.  The portion of the gravies were very generous and we were just too full to add more rice and Naan to soak them up.

I highly recommend Thali to anyone who likes Indian food and is in the Ridgefield area.  They also have locations in New Haven and New Canaan.  Thali can be found online at http://www.thali.com/home.html

Vegas Here I Come.......

With only one week left, i'm drooling over the idea of the various places i have booked to dine in while in the city of plenty next week. I'm going to be traveling there for business and have set aside a few days and nights to go out and sample what tasty delicacies the city has to offer.  While most of my experience and reservations are on the strip, I have found some off strip places that I have read will be a real treat.  Keep checking back here after next weekend.  I hope that I will be blogging everyday when I have a new review to report on.

Until then...Keep eating.

Marly's in Wilton CT.

I was treated to a real special meal earlier this week at Marly's in Wilton CT.  Some of the dishes are on the menu, or soon to be on the menu and some are just for fun.  It didn't hurt that I was dining with the owner Mike LeBeau that night that allowed us the extra attention.

We decided after getting the menu's that we would just close them and let the Chef make us what he wanted to make that night.  So as we were sitting there just for kicks, he brought out some Shrimp that were sautéed in chili peppers and lots of garlic and topped with green onion.  Very garlicky and not too spicy.

The second dish was still light and bigger than a bite.  Tuna Tartar mixed with Yuzu and cucumbers in a vinaigrette with a sliver of avocado and tomato to cream it up.  On the side was a light splash of raspberry sauce which added nice color and a good small accent of sweetness.  Won ton Crisps accompanied the dish as well.  Very light and fresh tasting.  Both of these dishes were not on the Main menu but will be soon one day i'm sure.

Next dish was a fun one that was right up my alley.  A little Tex/Mex if you will.  First was a pulled pork Quesadilla that had delicious flavored pork inside.  It was soft as pulled pork should be.  Under that was a BBQ spring roll.  The beef in the spring roll had a good tasting BBQ sauce mixed into it and the crunch of the roll complimented the soft beef inside.  This dish also isn't available yet but we hope to see it on the menu.

And if that wasn't enough, the chef brought out an item that was on the specials for the night.  Black tagatelle in a light cream sauce with seared scallops and medallions of lobster.  No, not a rich dish at all.  Well from the description, it could be.  But the cream sauce was used sparingly as to not overwhelm the entire dish.  The seafood was done perfectly and it was real tasty.

After that we got into talking about burgers.  Mike mentioned that they were playing around with having a "Burger Menu" and they have been experimenting with different burgers to figure out which ones they wanted on this addition.  Mike said they will be starting to offer these burgers Friday October 30th.  So when you read this, they will probably already be on it.  Chef brought out two of his favorites.  The Genoa Burger which was a delicious burger topped with Pesto sauce and Mozzarella.  Pesto can be strong on it's own but they put the right amount that it doesn't over power the burger at all.  The other burger was a French onion burger that had caramelized onions and Gruyère cheese.  Both were terrific.  Now before you start calling me a pig, it should be known that we each ate a 1/4 of the burgers.

Marly's has a great menu that can be seen online.  Everything that I have had there in past has been terrific and when you see the menu, you'll notice it has something for everyone.  Even the kids.
When you see it on the menu, get a side for the table of the truffle mac and cheese.  you'll be glad you did.

Marly's can be found at 205 Town Green Rd., in Wilton CT.  or you can see more about them here: http://marlysofwilton.com/index.html

TAG in Denver........It's it.

I spent the weekend in Denver last week and had an opportunity to visit TAG for dinner.  I was with my Sister and Brother in law who own Vesta Dipping Grill located at 1822 Blake St in Denver, www.vestagrill.com and Steubens located at 523 E. 17th Ave in Denver, www.steubens.com, as well as my other sister who was in from Boulder.

The restaurant is located on Larimer Square in downtown Denver.  In the warmer months you can sit outside overlooking the happenings on the street which I'm sure is real nice.  Our evening wasn't optimal for outdoor seating so we took a seat in a large backed booth next to the kitchen.  The space is filled with about 3 High backed booths opposite a large counter height table that could be used for large groups or fitting together a few smaller ones.  They have a glass encased wine display showing off a variety of wines to choose from.  As you walk past the wine case, you walk on a glass floor that overlooks a dining room set for private functions.  there is also seating at a bar that sits in front of the kitchen in case you want to see all the action going on.

My siblings knew Troy Guard, the owner of TAG and he had met us a few times at our table.  TAG promotes themselves as Social Dining and encourages sharing dishes at the table.  When my family gets together we tend to do this quite a bit anyway because we want to try everything we can.

For starters we had raw Kampachi with shaved jalapeño peppers on top of it.  The flavor was bright and spicy.  I had requested the Korean BBQ Kalbi Taco's (go figure right, see blog below) as my suggestion and it delivered as a nice Mexican/Korean combo.  The Korean Marinated Short rib was piled high on a thick corn Tortilla which was full of flavor.  Next Appetizer was a true clever fun surprise.  French Onion Soup Dumplings.  This was served atop an Escargot dish.  Caramelized Onions which were super sweet were encased in a dumpling wrapper and topped with guryere cheese.  Each bite made you feel like you were drinking a very savory French Onion Soup.  This was the most clever of the dishes.  If you go, please get this, you won't be disappointed.  The last of the appetizers was the Veal Cheek.  This already tender piece of meat was slowly cooked and placed on a bed of creamy risotto.  Both the Veal and the risotto were bursting with flavor.  The Veal was probably the most tender pieces of meat I've had in a long time.  The dish was prepared with pears and apples that added to the complexity of this dish.  The mix of the sweet of the pear and apple and the savory meat accompanying the risotto gives your mouth a real treat.

Half way between the apps and the mains, we got some sushi.  The first one was the Angry Volcano roll which was similar to a spicy Tuna roll with extra kick of Serrano peppers.  The other roll was the Mr. Miyagi Roll.  That roll had a flavorful battered Shrimp tempura encased in white rice and nori.  We liked this roll so much that we ordered it for dessert later on.

The main dishes were just as good as the appetizers.  Hanger Steak with fingerling potatoes covered my beef craving that I've been having for a while.  The steak was tender and flavorful and there was some soft cheese served with the dish that really added to the flavor.  We ordered a veal and pork belly special that was rich and full of flavor.  I'm a big fan of Pork Belly so I tend to try a dish like this whenever I can and this one delivered.  To finish off the main dishes we ordered the Miso Glazed Black Cod.  The fish was placed on a bed of fragrant rice and topped with peppery pea shoots.  The fish was cooked to perfection as it flaked easily with a fork and melted in your mouth.  I highly recommend this dish.

When given the choice for dessert, we decided to go non-traditional.  We ordered another Mr. Miyagi roll and the seared Scallops.  4 very large Diver Scallops were heavily seared and caramelized on one side which really brought out the flavor in the dish.  a great way to end the meal.

For those of you daring, they do offer an after dinner drink called Absinthe which is historically a highly alcoholic anise flavored drink.  The presentation is fun to watch as it is dripped from a spout onto a sugar cube placed on top of a spoon and flows into a glass below.

If your in Denver and would like a good meal, you won't go wrong at TAG.
TAG can be found at www.tag-restaurant.com