Benkay Japanese Sushi Bar

I cannot begin to tell you how well we ate in Maine. Our vacation culinary adventures began in Portland, Maine. This coastal city is foodie bliss. We've written about our weekly sushi cravings and being right by the sea coast, we couldn't resist taking advantage of some of the best and freshest seafood in town. What I really wanted to try was Miyake, mainly because Alex Guarnashelli declared their mushroom miso soup The Best Thing I Ever Ate  and I remember seeing Andrew Zimmern making a Bizzare Foods stop, but being on a limited budget and because J hates mushrooms (one of these days he'll be a convert), we decided to go on a Yelp sushi search. 

Our findings led us to the best sushi meal we've ever had at Benkay Japanese Restaurant and Sushi Bar. We consider this our #1 all-time sushi spot now. Too bad it's now 4hrs away from Albany. We might very well consider a weekend trip just to eat this sushi again.

Breweries of Maine

I've been meaning to get around to this for a while, and hopefully once I get out of my current job and into something with somewhat human hours I can start writing relatively regularly again (just 2 more weeks).

Now, to be fair, before I met R my idea of a great dinner was putting frozen shrimp in a pot of ramen.  I was really proud of myself for that one, so inventive.  She's the one who taught me how to taste, who showed me what real cooking can be, and how much fun it can be.  I never grilled before I met her, now it's my favorite thing to listen to John Sterling call a Yankees game in the back, grill flaming away, beer in hand.  I use the beer to time my grilling, if you were wondering.

All that said, I really feel like R captured our culinary experiences in Maine beautifully, and I'm hoping she's planning another post to describe the lobster pound we basically maxed our credit cards at 3 days in a row (hint).  I don't feel there's a ton I can add about the food, so I'm going to talk about the beer instead.

Being a fan of craft brewing, I love living in the northeast.  R kind of humors me when we go on vacation, we always look up and visit at least one brewery near wherever we're staying even though she doesn't really drink.  Win-win for me, since at tastings I get to drink hers too if I like it.  Here, in order of visit, are the breweries in Maine we've visited and my thoughts on their brews:

Pho 88

Sorry for the long hiatus! J & R just got back from a week-long vacation in Maine. We made a point of stopping by some of the best foodie spots in Portland and discovered some great gems along the way and can't wait to share them with you within the next few posts. We are still recovering and slowly detoxing with lots of veggies and salad since I'm pretty sure our cholesterol levels are up the roof. But let me tell you how helpful Yelp was on this year's trip! 

Armed with the trusty Yelp and Foodspotting phone apps, we found a great little Vietnamese place in Lowell, MA. No McDonald's rest area lunch stops for us! If you find yourself anywhere near this area, make a point to stop by Pho 88. I was craving my mom's Bun Bo Hue (a spicy vermicelli soup, with soft tendon, sliced shank, ground shrimp and pork) and was so surprised to find it on the menu that I had to have it and boy did it hit the spot. This version even came with black blood pudding, a little bit too adventurous/Andrew Zimmern Bizzare Food-esque, even for me. The broth was perfectly spicy and full of delightful aromas like lemongrass. It was just as good as mom's (just don't tell her that). 

I'm pretty sure I got J addicted to pho since we started dating. If you have yet to try Vietnamese food, start out with this noodle soup and you'll be hooked. I make an o.k. chicken pho at home (in the crock pot!) but for the beef pho, we usually go out to Van's Vietnamese Restaurant in Albany or Saigon Spring in Clifton Park for the real deal bowl of goodness. One hot steaming bowl of pho is sure to cure any illness. Pho 88's version was just as good, if not better than Albany's. To drink, J had a tra da chanh (limeade made with jasmine tea) and I had a a durian milkshake with tapioca bubbles. Durian! Yup, it's that's funky fruit that to some people smells vile, is banned in enclosed spaces in Asia, but that I find oh so delicious! 

I wish Vietnamese restaurants here in Albany had as much variety as Pho 88 in Mass. They have dishes like bun rieu (Shrimp and crab meat with vermicelli noodle in a special crab tomato soup) and bun mang vit (Duck leg and fried bamboo shoots with vermicelli noodles soup) that are quintessential Vietnamese dishes that I crave and can't get around these parts, unless I place a special

order with mom when she comes to visit. I can't even get a proper bahn mi sandwich (the real deal baguette made with rice flour and schmear of pate) and that makes me want to start up a food truck just so I can eat one. The best ones by the way, are the ones made in Montreal. The Canadian-French-Vietnamese folk make a mean baguette. But until our next road trip east, I'll settle for Albany pho. -R

What's Cooking?

Having a bad day? Stop by The Meat House and treat yourself to some of the best steak you'll ever have, if not THE BEST. Throw it on the grill and your inner carnivore will thank you for life. It's THAT good. We found a new found love for grilled steak thanks to The Meat House. The quality of the steaks are above and beyond that of your average supermarket's. The best steak is as simple as olive oil, salt, and pepper and that meat just melts in your mouth. *drool* In the past, we were always hesitant to spend a little extra on meat, but we've now seen the light at the end of tunnel and are addicted! As much as we love going out, sometimes treating ourselves to a good 'ole steak on the grill is just as good. 

The best steak sandwich we've ever made was with Meat House steak. The butcher gave us a sample of their house marinated steak tips and were hooked from that day forth. It was unbelievably tender, delicious, and flavorful. Add your steak tips to a grilled focaccia roll with a schmear of tangy goat cheese, pickled red onions (just soak slices of onions in some rice wine vinegar and sugar), and grilled shrimp and man will your belly be happy. This surf 'n turf sandwich is out of the world. Inspired by The Illium Cafe's own surf 'n turf sandwich (a combo of marinated sliced filet, grilled shrimp, blue cheese-garlic herb butter, roasted red peppers, and arugula on foccacia), our homemade version is just as kick-ass. Last night's version was made with a strip steak but we definitely recommend the marinated steak tips. The meat sweats have never been better. -R

Hulk Smash

I get made fun of at work for drinking this glowing green smoothie but it's so delicious! Green smoothies are my way of getting the fruits and veggies in that my body needs in order to balance out all the sugar and bacon food groups that I consume. You can't even taste the spinach with all the fruit and juice blended in. Some people substitute or add kale, but I think spinach is the most neutral tasting green for smoothies. 

My go to green smoothie consists of a blend of a handful of fresh spinach, frozen mangoes, greek yogurt, and Trader Joe's Green Plant Juice, which contains broccoli, spinach, barley grass, chlorella, and spirulina. Looks like pond scum but you mostly taste the fruit in the juice which also contains apple, peach, pineapple, banana and mango. 

For good measure, I add a tablespoon of chia seeds, also  from Trader Joe's. Told you I had an obsession with TJ's. Apparently it's the same kind of chia seeds used for chia pets...cha cha cha chia! But a lil goes a long way; a single tablespoon gets you 6g of fiber, 3g of protein, and 2.9g of Omega-3 fatty acids. That to me sounds healthy and it adds a great texture to smoothies. Chia seeds makes your drink thicker too. When you soak chia seeds, they turn into a very space-age like gel.  Some other great add-ins for these green smoothies are bananas or blueberries. Any fruit really! Go ahead, try a green smoothie! Promise you won't turn into the Hulk. -R

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