Layla's Falafel.............A touch of Lebanon in Fairfield County

For years now we have been going to Layla's for some great middle eastern cuisine and they continue to keep the great food coming.

The Layla's that I go to is located in a small strip mall on Black Rock Turnpike in Fairfield.  The place is very small with only enough seating for about 15.  You don't go there for the ambiance.  You go there for the Shwarma.

Layla's has all the great middle eastern treats.  Falafel, Baba Ghanoush, Tabbouleh and of course, Shwarma.  For those of you who don't know Shwarma, basically either marinated Chicken or Lamb is set on a long skewer and place vertically infront of two heating elements that char the outside of the meat as it is rotating.  Using a long knife, you cut down the charred meat and it is added to a piece of flat bread.  There, lettuce, pickles and a garlic spread that my sister says you can eat like soup is all rolled up into rolled up sandwich.

I do have to admit that I got their Hummus and it really wasn't that great.  Many of their items have a great amount of garlic.  The Hummus lacked the rich flavor that I love in a good Hummus.  It needed more garlic, salt and maybe some more olive oil.  But please don't let this stop you from going there for the many other items.

If you need your middle eastern fix, this is the place.  And there is not just this place. They have 2 locations in Stamford as well as Fairfield.

Layla's can be found online here: http://www.laylasfalafel.com/

Just for the PHO of it........PHO Saigon in Bridgeport

I work in Bridgeport.   My regular day job takes me to the east side of the city where a long time ago, I would read the Monday paper about all the stabbings and robberies and homicides that took place over the weekend.  So of course I would never venture out of my way from the highway and back.  Since then, the city has gotten safer and I have realized that the city really isn't all that bad.  Its actually quite a melting pot of ethnic variety that has much to explore.

About a year ago a friend of mine was visiting from Phoenix and he asked me if I have been to Pho Saigon.  I told him I never heard of it and he said if I like the Vietnamese soup Pho, then I will love this.  Pho is basically a Vietnamese noodle soup.  Served in a big steaming bowl, you will find noodles, and some sort of protein.  The Most popular is a beef variety.

I found the address and made my way to Iranistan rd in Bridgeport.  On the corner of Iranistan and Wood Rd is a house with small restaurant on the main floor.  It's a simple place really that is basically one room with a kitchen off in the back.  There are maybe 20 tables inside each with a stack of chopstick and Siracha chili sauce.

I have enjoyed Pho before but don't know all the ins and out of it.  So I just ordered the first one on the list which was the beef Pho.  Unfortunately I had to take it to go so I walked out with a square Styrofoam container and a quart size container of broth.

When I got back to my office I poured the broth into a big bowl and opened the Styrofoam. Inside was a large amount of rice noodles, bean sprouts and thinly sliced raw beef.  In addition to that was scallions, licorice  basil and another thin leaf.  I threw it all into the broth to let it cook.  I also got a side container of Siracha and chili paste and added a generous amount.

After only a few minutes, the beef had been cooked and the noodles were all warm and soft.  The broth was very aromatic with hints of 5 spice and garlic.  But the flavors went much deeper with the layers of chili paste and basil.

It's a huge amount of food and I said I can have this for lunch and dinner but my inner pig took over and I ate the whole thing.

I can't wait to go there again and eat there.  While we were waiting there was one woman in the restaurant who was eating a dish that was very colorful with many different colorful vegetables. Looked awesome.

PHO Saigon is located at 1275 Iranistan rd in Bridgeport CT.  I highly recommend it.

Diet Shmiet, I Gotta Eat!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Salad, Salad, Salad.  How much roughage can a person eat.

Don't get me wrong, I love salad. Nothing like a crisp refreshing crunch salad for lunch or even for dinner.  How many times have you had a nice seared Tuna over crisp fresh greens with a full bodied soy based sesame dressing and felt so content that it was a good meal. Many times I'm sure.  I know I have.  But every extra that you throw on adds calories.  When your trying to lower your calories, less is obviously more.  

The craziest thing when dieting is the word Salad itself.  You're out to a meal with some friends and everyone is ordering a burger, or a big sandwich and you say, I'm going to have a salad.  "I'm watching myself".  Ah the magic words.  "I'm watching myself, I'll have a salad".   Then you order a cobb salad.  You might be having more calories than your friends with the burger.  But its a salad right?  I see all that lettuce right there.  It's a big bowl of lettuce right?  see it?  It's right under the two whole eggs, mound of chopped bacon and pile of blue cheese.  Looks a little dry, better add that Ranch dressing.

For three months now, my main meal for lunch and dinner has been a salad that consists of just lettuce, tomato and cucumber and a protein.  That protein could be grilled chicken breast, grilled or baked fish, or even a can of Tuna.  Plus a serving of dressing.  Having that for lunch and dinner for months on end can wear on you.  So you gotta change it up a bit.  But I want to really get to my goal so how do I eat sensibly and get filled up on something other than cold salad?  It's all in educating yourself on what to have and what not to have.

I've always loved fish and this recent changing in eating has enabled me to embrace fish again.   I probably eat 5 portions of fish a week minimum.  Mostly over salad.   Now that it's getting cold here in the Northeast, having a warm meal is something I want to have more when I sit down for dinner.

One of my favorite pieces of fish is Cod.  It's mild, flaky, meaty and just plain good.  I like to have full tasting food and nothing is ever too spicy for me.  The key is how to control the fatty lubricant so the meat doesn't stick to the vessel it's cooked on.  Grilling is always great because when anything reaches it's optimal seared exterior, it just flips easily.  But Cod is not good for the grill. So I prefer to bake it. I have discovered that oil, whether it be olive, canola or vegetable, it's still about 125 calories per tablespoon.  That's a lot.  Especially when I'm used to pouring on about 10 tablespoons on anything before I season it.  So I've embraced the spray not stick solution.   PAM.  So here is my recipe for you.

Preheat your oven to 425 degrees.
Spray your baking dish with some PAM or any other non stick spray.
Mix up 1 tablespoon of minced garlic with 1 tablespoon or Sriracha sauce.
Squeeze the juice of one lemon onto the piece of fish.  Coat both sides of the fish with the garlic paste.
Bake for about 7-9 minutes until the fish flakes.
When it's done, add another splash of lemon and add with steamed Brussell Sprouts.  ( I just split and steamed them)

Then you have this:

That meal right there was probably 400 calories total.  And it was delicious.  Yes, there is no starch and no bread.  And the spouts serving is rather large.  Personally I love Brussell Sprout so that is no big deal for me.  But it was hot and fulfilling.

It's very easy and you can put a spin on it any way you want with spices.  Experiment and let me know how you like to prepare this dish.

WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN? WHY HAVEN'T YOU WRITTEN?

Hello.

I'm still here.

Yes It's been a while. But I've got almost 30 good reasons why I haven't been here.  Yes, the "D" word.  To all the foodies out there, you know that word.   Yes. "D" equals "Diet".

For those of you who know me, my size is a presence.  For those of you who don't know me, i'm 6'4" and when I first started writing, I was about 245 lbs.  Big Boy!!!!  But my height didn't make it look as bad as I really was.  

I have struggled with my weight my whole life. I owe so much to my parents.  They gave me my sense of humor, my vast music appreciation but most importantly, my love of food and cooking.  Our lives were and are surrounded by food.   Whenever the whole family gets together (all 5 siblings with kids and parents) every meal is an event and it ends with what are we doing for the next meal.   Really.  We eat lunch so we can plan for Dinner.  My parents introduced me every ethnic food they were able to get their hands on and I tried everything that was put in front of me.

Unfortunately, I did eat everything that was put in front of me.  But as many do, I ate with my mouth and not with my stomach.  Every meal for me was until I was really full.  If Chewing and tasting were a job, I'd be the CEO, CFO, COO and any other C initials that are involved in corporate america.  So with all that eating, and really not enough moving, I gained weight.  All my life I was always sort of out of shape.   I tried all the diets.  Liquid Diet, Low Carb Diet, Vegetable Diet and many of them worked.  I lost weight, but with all failed diets, I eventually gained it back.  Usually with some extra bonus weight. YAY!!!!

So after doing all these diets, it finally hit me.  The only thing that really works is that you have move more and eat less.  That's really it. But that is a really big IT.  Especially for someone who loves to cook and eat as much as I do.  Not only was it the mantra of eat less and move more, but for me, the diet is very much a mental obstacle.  If my head isn't into it, there is no point in even trying.  I feel like I'm just fooling myself if my head is not in eating properly mode.   So it has to click in my head.

Well Click it did.  My previous post to this one was for my trip to Taiwan.  I was at the airport in New York getting ready for the flight.  I have two hours to kill and decided to get something to eat.  I was in the mood for a real juicy burger.   There was a Chili's in the airport and said that is my burger.  Now, in New York, it is now a law, and a good law, that all fast food and fast casual restaurants have to list the calorie content of their meals.   Fast Casual for those of you who don't know are restaurants like chili's, Applebees, Red Robin, TGI Friday's and that sort.   So I looked at the burgers and I think the one that had the least amount of calories was about 1700 for the whole dish.   From eating my whole life as much as I did, I knew the average that anyone should eat is around 2,000 to 2,500.   Or something like that.   Add a beer to that meal and you have almost you whole day's worth of calories in one meal.  I was floored.  I'm a very visual person so seeing those numbers had an effect on me.  Even the salads were high in calories.  In the end, I had them make me a salad with Grilled chicken and dressing on the side.

In Taiwan I was e-mailing with my brother and he told me about an iPhone app called Loseit!  I downloaded it and took a look at it.  knowing that I was in traveling, it would be difficult to diet, I watched what I could.  But really didn't start till I got home from the trip.

The app basically is a calorie counter.  Its as good as you are honest with putting in the app what you put in your mouth.  And that is what I did.   You put in your starting weight and your goal weight.  You then decide if you want to maintain your weight or lose up to 2 lbs per week by 1/2 lb increments.  So I chose 2 lbs a week and a goal weight that the number began with a number "1".  It was 199.  let's not get carried away.  I haven't been under 200 lbs since Anita, my wife, and I started dating.   I think I even had a pair of spandex shorts then.  sorry for that image and the mess you made in a bucket close by.   What it does is it tells you a calorie count that you need to be under and you will lose that amount of weight each week if you stick to it.  If you exercise, then you add calories to your daily intake.  So exercise is good for your health and allows you to eat more.

So, It is now about two months later and I'm down almost 30 lbs.  That included a trip to Vegas mind you.  Yes I even didn't write about my trip there this time.    I handled Vegas but working out almost 2 hours a day.  Sensible breakfast and lunch and enjoying dinner.  My weight loss graph had a bit of spike during that trip but I'm now back on the loss scale.

If you like Salad, then you can do pretty good with this diet.  I love salad.  one of the things that has really helped me with this diet has been salad.  lots of it.  Basically, lunch and dinner is only that.   A large salad of lettuce, tomato and cucumber and a protein.  If I really get tired of salad, I will grill or bake some fish and have some roasted or grilled veggies to go with it.

I have stayed away from almost everything high in calories which includes carbohydrates.  The only real low cal stuff that I'm eating is low cal ice cream and low cal mayo for a dressing on a salad I make.  Yogurts, cottage cheese and fruit.  Lots and lots of fruit. grapes are a great nibble fruit.

As of today, I'm down to 215 and my goal was to be at 215 by thanksgiving. I'll be well ahead of that by next week.  My next goal was to be by 210 for New Years and Honestly think that if I keep this up, I'll be at my goal by New Years.

That is where I've been.  I know I'll be back again writing as I will always have food in my life.  I still go out for dinner but watch what I order and eat.  I just needed a step back.  so I've stepped back and will have many fun meals ahead of me.  I have an Indian restaurant reservation ahead of me this Saturday and I've offered to make Curried Butternut Squash soup for thanksgiving.  Perhaps you'll see it here shortly.

Sorry for the delay but I hope you all understand.

If I don't speak to you, Happy Thanksgiving.

Dinner in Taiwan first night.........Been to this familiar place before and just plain love it

Every trip to the southern town of Tainan always takes me to a restaurant that the owners of the company represent love to go.  Bill and Olivia Shih who own the company are very friendly with Jennifer the owner and they take many people there from out of town.

This Loud Restaurant and bar seems to have floating tables in the middle as we found the table constantly moving to accommodate large parties that seem to come and go.  As I mentioned in my previous post, the island's main source of protein comes from the fish that are caught close by.  Most of the places have the seafood on display where before you go in to be seated, you look at what is available and decide which you want and how you want it cooked.

We were originally 5 people and then later on three others joined us.  Which was a good thing because a 6 pack of beer arrived and we needed help drinking it.  It's not just your average 6 pack.  This was a 6 pack of 32 oz. beers.

We started off with some Edamame which was peppery and hot.  We also got an order of Sashimi.  I only had the salmon and it was very fresh.  The flesh was firm and rich in oil which gave it some great flavor.

We were next served shrimp.  I don't think I have seen shrimp like this in a long time.  they were huge and salted. like most places outside of the United States, Shrimp are served with the head on.  It's usually a very dramatic display having them on.  Plus most of the time it adds to the flavor.  That is Jennifer the owner in the picture with the shrimp.

I was told the next dish was a real delicacy but it was really just chewy.  Stomach of black fish was served with green onions.  They say it's seasonal and I told "Its good for the man to be strong".  I can see why it makes you strong, because you have to really work your jaw muscles to eat it.  it was good.  just chewy

We were served a type of sweet and sour pork rib which wasn't in rib form.  it was the bottom of the rib that have the small tough cartilage type bones.  It was really sweet.   As you will see in the photos, we had two kids with us and they like the sweet stuff.

One of my favorite dishes was the Squid with Thai basil and sliced Ginger.  The ginger was peeled and sliced long ways so you got a real good bite of it.

The next dish I they had brought out was one I had eaten there before.  It was bean sprouts with some sort of Minced pork on top of it.  it was delicious and also challenging for my customer to eat with his chop sticks.  Very amusing for me.

The final dish was the funkiest.  it was a whole fried fish that was sitting in a shallow pool of brown gravy. inside the gravy were sautéed vegetables and chili peppers.  The fish had a crispy outside and moist inside. I find that you can get this type of fish at home but mostly in NYC in Chinatown.  Many people don't like to fight the bones and the people of Taiwan are very comfortable eating something and spitting out what is not edible.  Its not the classiest way of eating but you get very comfortable quickly spitting things out on your plate while everyone else is.  It's just as fun as making a ton of noise slurping up noodles at a noodle bar in the subway of Japan.

Next came a dish that was very unusual for me but one that I enjoyed.  Everyone loves to pickle things.  I thought I have seen everything pickled and now I have.  small green mango's were sliced thin and pickled.  it was a very unusual taste because it didn't have a mango taste or a pickle taste.  What did it taste like?  I don't know but it was good. I also understand at times like this i'm not a good judge because I pretty much like everything.  But it was something I have never had before.

The last dish was also unique and guess what?  I didn't like it.  I'm not much of a sweet eater.  This dish was chopped sweet potato that was covered in a sugary glaze.  it came out as one solid mass.  our host was wrestling with it to break it apart to put it in cold water.   I got hit with some shrapnel when it was being broken up.  the kids at the table really liked it.

Overall another very successful eating adventure in Taiwan.  My only dissapointment is that i'm not sure when I will get out there again.  But I know when I do, it will be a great time.

Below is a photo of myself with my customer and the company that manufactures the machine I represent in North America.

Taiwan again starts off with a bang.........Chinese food done in a familiar way

So I'm back in Taiwan right now and I'm going to try my best to keep up with my meals here to share with you so I can remember them well.  My main reason for being here is not for the food.  That is a great side bonus but the real reason is for the final runoff of two machines I sold over a year ago.  The machines ran great and the customer is happy.  So all is good.

We had a successful morning so lunch was very relaxing and enjoyable.  We went to a different place than what I have written before.  The husband of the husband/wife ownership team was in China on business so the customer, Leroy and I went with the main salesperson Jinna and the wife of the husband/wife team Olivia.  They took us to what they called a light lunch.  Light it was not.  But it was far different from the elaborate meals we have at the hall around the corner from the factory.  

This meal was more like the chinese food we get back home. But it was lighter.  At least most of the dishes were lighter.

For starters, we got sautéed onions and green vegetables in a very bright light sauce.  They were so fresh and crisp and flavorful.  It was a nice way to start the meal.

Next came a beef and onion dish that seemed very familiar to what we have at home.  It was a stir fry that like the veggies above, it was lighter and fresher than what we get at home.  The flavors were very bright and fresh.

Then came a dish had a lot of bite.  Chicken with peanuts and hot peppers.  I'm not one to shy away from peppers in a dish.  This one as you can see is more red from the dried Chili Peppers. It was spicy and tasty.

We had rice last night so when asked, I wanted noodles over rice.  Out came again another familiar looking noodle dish but again, it was lighter than what we do back home.  I think if the people back home were able to cook like this, it would make Chinese food less fattening.  Yes Noodles are noodles but it just didn't taste heavy.

Next came the only dish I did and didn't like.  It was the only dish that was in fact heavy and very sweet.  The sweet is what I am not crazy about.  But it was Fried Tofu which I really like.  I actually like all tofu.  This dish was just heavy and sweet.  I had a few pieces just to get a taste.

The second fairly heavy dish was the tomato and egg sauté.  It was like a tomato sauce and fresh tomato scrambled egg mash.  It was ok but it was mainly gotten for Olivia who is a vegetarian.

We had gotten a soup that was very light and common when we go out for lunch.  Hot broth is simmered with pieces of pork to flavor the broth up.   it was fairly bland and not exciting but for some reason people get it at most lunches.  Its like a very light beef tea.  I know, that sounds gross but its really like a light consumme.
The last dish was really great.  Sauteed cuttlefish.  This dish was cooked and topped with a mash of garlic and peanuts and green onions.  It looked great but tasted better.  The fish was light and flaky and the topping was almost like when you get a baked cod and the breadcrumbs are on top of the fish.

I know, it doesn't look that appetizing but it was really tasty.

Again, they called that a light lunch.  The dishes weren't that big which was nice and for the most part, most of them were light.  So we were able to have a good taste of many things.

Believe it or not, i'm off to dinner.  

A Visit to the cousins in NJ and had a Hot Dog Differently than I ever had before

So we were going on a family vacation in Delaware and decided to invite ourselves to stay at my cousin's place in New Jersey to break up the trip.  My cousin Rob and Carole have always had a good sense of taste when it came to eating so we knew it would be a fun night.

I was promised the recipe for the char grilled Corn Guacamole that they first made.  when I get it I will pass it on to you guys because it was fantastic.  Nothing like fresh corn this time of the year.  And why not put it in everything.

We had some great pomagranite margaritas to wash everything down and realized that unless you go to a real unique place, there will be no better margarita than one you make yourself.  I have another restaurant report to write up about a New York City experience I had that had me drinking a Habanero Infused Tequila grapefruit margarita.  Fantastic yes.  But not something I want everyday.

So for dinner I was turned onto something I also had never had before.  Western BBQ cut London Broil.  I have never heard of this.  When I look at it, it looks like a flank steak.  But a thinner version of it.  It is a real juicy cut that grills real nice.  it also doesn't require a longer cooking time to make the meat softer.  Rob threw a whole bunch of spices on there including, cumin, Chili powder, garlic powder and a whole bunch of other good stuff.  Grilled over coals, the meat melted in your mouth.  Look for this cut.  you will love it.

But crazy as it sounds, the real treat came before the steak.  Rob said, "i will make you a hot dog like you have never had before"  He calls it a "Taco Hot Dog" and it is just that.  Except you don't have the tortilla or the ground beef.  Take a dog and a bun and then imagine it's a taco.  so what do you add?  Great Corn Guacamole, salsa, jalapeños, melted cheese.  Eat and enjoy.  Initially you look and think, all this on a Dog?  But then you eat it and it is delicious.

 Personally my favorite is a natural casing dog with deli mustard and sauerkraut.  I can eat those everyday.  But it's great to travel around an try different kind of dogs.  Chicago probably has the best selection around.  I've tried many different kinds there alone.

So I ask you my readers.  All Three of you.  How do you like your hot dog?  My kids still love it with Ketchup and it makes me mental watching them.

Let's hear it.  How do you like your dog?  Grilled?  Boiled?  Fried?  in beans?