Trader Joe's Treasures

I have an unhealthy obsession with all things Trader Joe's. I'm also going to pretend that most everything at TJ's is healthy because it's all organic, including that 1-pound bar of chocolate that J and I love so much. 

What I love most about TJ's is that it satisfies my penchant to try new and most often weird snacks, all for a reasonable price. My latest favorite snack are these dried mandarin oranges. Funky right? But so delicious. Forget the fact that they're loaded with sugar. It's almost like eating a "healthier" version of a gummy. "Healthier" only because in my mind it's made from real fruit so it totally counts. Even though it's dried oranges, it's still soft and juicy, just like the package says. 

My only gripe is that some products at TJs are limited edition/seasonal, so I hope this one stays around for awhile. It's a 9 out of 10 in my book. -R

What's Cooking?

Does salad for dinner sound whimpy? Not when you have a grill. 

Let me blow your mind: try grilling your romaine lettuce. Say what? Trust me, try it, and thank me later. There's something about getting a smoky char on lettuce that somehow brings out its inherent sweetness and elevates a salad to a whole new level. I usually just dress with olive oil, salt, and pepper. I call the grill J's second girlfriend and grilling lettuce is a perfect way to get some greens in him while satisfying his need to set things on fire.  

Naturally, a grilled steak pairs well with grilled lettuce. I decided to try Chrissy Teigen's recipe for Thai Beef Salad (Yum Nua). Nevermind the fact that she's a supermodel, but the girl loves bacon as much as I do and she is half Thai.I'd like to pretend that we are long lost sisters but I am no model,am Viet, and not engaged to John Legend but to an equally dashing guy. Props to Chrissy and her blog, So Delushious! It's a hilarious read. 

I had a few missing ingredients (cilantro, thai chili powder, tomatoes) but even without them,  just dressing the meat made for a super flavorful but light dish overall. Salty, sweet, and spicy. What more could you want? Didn't even need extra dressing on the salad, and you don't miss it either. On a whim, I decided to add mint to the salad which gave it another delightful herby dimension. 

Give grilled lettuce a try and let me know what you think. Happy grilling. -R

Foodspotting

I'm one of THOSE people that takes pictures of their food. No shame in it, especially when it's almost like a piece of art. If it looks good and tastes even better, of course I'm going to share it! 

Have you heard of Foodspotting? It's an app on your phone that lets you snap your own foodie shots, share, and even find dishes wherever you are. The Facebook of food if you will. Followers can say "Great Find" or "Great Shot" and you get reputation points and a "Worldwide" ranking. What gets me excited is when I get elevated to Gold Level Sushi Expert and get a nifty badge for it. That badge totally makes me a legit sushi expert. Sometimes the restaurants themselves will comment too and that is even more exciting! <----major dork.  

So if you're like me and want to show off your food shots, get on Foodspotting, follow me, and we can be foodie friends! -R

Our Favorite Capital Region Sushi Spots

The pressure of the inaugural blog post... Let's preface our first blog post with a disclaimer/introduction: J. and I are by no means culinary experts. We are merely foodies who enjoy tasty treats, love to dine out (even though we have a terrible streak of getting awful service), and we are fanatics of Food Network's Chopped and Restaurant Impossible. 

80% of our culinary escapades are to sushi joints. We crave it on a weekly basis and it's only a matter of time before we get mercury poisoning. Sushi isn't hard to find in Albany; the Capital Region is saturated with mediocre places. Hell, even Wal-Mart carries it, *cringe*. Amazing and quality sushi on the hand, can only be found at a handful of places. Here are our regular and favorite sushi spots: 

1. Sushi Tei (Guilderland): Blink and you can easily miss this small and pleasantly quiet and quaint place. It is hands down one of our favorite spaces for authentic and delicious Japanese food without the frills of loud weird techno music and glowing gaudiness (*cough* Sushi X, cough cough). Our go to here is a dinner box: your choice of two rolls, fruit, chef's choice of an appetizer (we've had gyoza or seaweed salad) and one of the reasons why we love the dinner box so much is a side of crab salad (crabmeat, panko crumbs, tobiko, and cucumber). Salmon here is top notch when at its peak of the season and one of our favorite appetizers is the tuna dumpling (crab salad wrapped with tuna sashimi) and the raw scallop sashimi, which comes with lemon slices and really elevates the flavor and sweetness of the scallops. Also, try the udon noodle soup at least once. All Over Albany has all the udon details here.

2. Mr. Fuji Sushi (Stuyvesant Plaza): We're always greeted with a smile and have never had bad service here. Our go to is the boat for two. That's right, a boat of sushi. Once in awhile we'll deviate and some stellar standouts include specials like the naruto roll (mixed fish rolled with cucumber instead of seaweed and rice); raw scallop sashimi; and jalapeno yellowtail. J is a fan of the salmon and I think Mr. Fuji hands down has the best white tuna sashimi. Mr. Fuji, whoever he is, also makes spicy rolls that are actually spicy and not too heavy on the sesame oil and breadcrumbs. 

3. Sake Cafe (Albany): We come here solely for the Crazy Couple Roll (a spicy tuna and spicy yellowtail roll) that no one else seems to make. Another favorite is an appetizer called Treasure Island (mixed fish in an avocado half with spicy and eel sauces). 

Honorable mentions: Sushi Thai Garden (Saratoga & Clifton Park) and Sushi Na Ra (Latham)

On the flop side, one of our worst sushi experiences have been at Sushi X (Latham). At first we were jaded by the "all you can eat" aspect of it. Each time we went back, service was worse and worse (i.e. took 15-20 mins for first round of food to come, long time to get our check, waiter forgetting our drink order) and so was the quality of the fish. It lacked flavor and full of fillers like breadcrumbs and too much rice to fish ratio. We kept going back hoping things would get better but the last time we went, the waft of stinky fish odor that greeted us as we walked in the door was a definite sign for us to never come back.

So we're curious, what are some of your favorite Capital Region sushi joints? 

Happy sushi eatings, 
J & R