Three Sheets

Three Sheets might be the best travel show ever.  The show bills itself as an international pub crawl where host comedian Zane Lamprey travels around the world exploring regional drinking culture.  You might recognize Lamprey from Food Network's Have Fork, Will Travel which is similar to Three Sheets but more focused on local cuisine and not nearly as hilarious. In each episode Zane travels to a different country and drinks the local specialty in local bars with some pretty amazing locals.  Plenty of ridiculousness ensues and the next day he attempts to alleviate is hangover with a local remedy.  There are some great recurring characters including his old college friend Steve Mckenna who gets legendarily drunk, Pleepleus the monkey, the Beer Hunter and a member of his production crew who has a penchant for throwing up.  Some of my favorite episodes are Champagne, Croatia, Munich and Taipei.  Three Sheets airs Friday nights on MOJO but you can watch it for free anytime on their website and on hulu.com.  Cheers!

Compost FEAST

FEAST (friends eating a supper together) is a potluck hosted by a group of friends who get together once a month and cook and eat around a theme.  The theme is decided and posted on their blog and everyone brings a dish relating to the theme.  Past themes include Granny Glam Christmas (Jell-o salads and scary retro recipes), a southern barbeque in honor of Martin Luther King Jr., miniature food and the versatility of pumpkin.  

The dinner that I had the pleasure of attending was based around the concept of compost.  The idea of cooking with what you would normally discard might not sound very appetizing but needless to say all of the dishes brought to this FEAST were wonderful.  

The meal started out with two different chicken liver pates and a beautiful amuse bouche of crab and corn custard served in an eggshell.  These were followed by a pizza topped with beet greens and goat cheese, ratatouille and a leftover casserole.  We finished up with a garbage cocktail served in an orange rind (I have no idea what went in to this but it was delicious) and Jamaican brownies made with dark chocolate and coffee grounds.

It was an amazing meal and really great to see so many interpretations of a really fantastic theme.  Can't wait to see what next month brings!

Our first home cooked meal (it's been a while)

I am

 almost embarrassed to admit it but we have been eating out for about two months now.  Between packing, moving, and setting up our new place cooking just hasn't been an option.  When we finally got out kitchen somewhat set up I wanted our first meal at home to be a memorable one.  I got these beautiful lobsters, corn that tasted like the middle of the summer (where did it come from?), parsley new potatoes and a bottle of Chassagne Montrachet. 

New Neighborhood

We recently relocated from San Diego to Brooklyn, more specifically Sunset Park.  Our new place puts us right in the middle of Brooklyn's wonderful Chinatown on 8th Avenue and a few blocks away from all of the Mexican places on 5th.  A few days ago we took a walk up 8th to buy some groceries, I was just blown away by the amazing variety and fantastic quality of the produce.  Black chickens, razor clams, durian, pig snouts, snake skin, geoduck, sea snails, loofah, here are a few photos.

A Thing of Beauty - Patty's Fruitland

  When you think about Mexican food what is the first thing that comes to mind?  Tacos? Burritos? Carne Asada? Rice and beans?  When I first moved to San Diego that was Mexican food to me until I did a little exploring around my neighborhood and discovered that there is so much more.  Tortas, mariscos, coctelerias and possibly my favorite the fruteria.  These places specialize in all things fruit.  Fruit salads, liquados, smoothies, pico de gallo (a salad made of melons, cucumbers and jicama seasoned with chile), escamocha (fruit with sweetened condensed milk, almonds and shredded coconut),  usually a few great tortas and sometimes tostadas de ceviche and even Tijuana style hot dogs with bacon and jalapenos.  

  Patty's Fruitland is my favorite, in fact I am eating one of their wonderful fruit salads right now. Strawberries, honeydew, cantaloupe, pineapple, papaya, mango, watermelon and banana topped with cottage cheese, granola, coconut, raisins, almonds and honey.  The guys who own it are so sweet and friendly and the decor is just amazing and they make a mean banana split! 

 

Fish Tacos in Ensenada

  We had the most amazing fish tacos in Ensenada.  They were from a roadside stand made out of a hitch trailer.  The freshest fish, warm tortillas, crunchy cabbage, hand chopped salsa, crema and about a million choices of hot sauce.