Food fit for a King

King Market
and
Laos Thai Cafe
1801 Antioch Pike
Nashville, TN
615-333-3103

(next to Walgreens and Dollar General)
Closes at 7:30 pm

for the answer to the mystery food,
scroll down to the bottom of this post.

the sign

The sign says so -KING. This is food fit for a king. The situation here is that the Asian market has a dining space in the back with a kitchen. There is a separate cafe pay station from the the regular market. There is also another funny thing, this market and cafe venue also has a jewelry store too. If you were looking for some squid, soy sauce, yams, noodles and quail eggs, you can get them here, and stop into the cafe for a little snack, the go get yourself some 18k gold. It is your one stop shopping! I am actually impressed with the visual cleanliness of this Asian market. The rows of dry goods are neat and tidy. There is a very neat and tidy produce section. There is a neat and tidy refrigerated and frozen section. There is a very neat and tidy jewelery shop. The cafe is also neater than some other East Asian restaurants I have been to in other parts of this country.

chicken larb

So the story goes, I get this energized phone call from my fire eating friend and her family on a Monday after they ate at King Market and Laos Thai Cafe. They insisted on me meeting them at King the next evening after work to dine there. They called a bunch of their other friends to join them on Tuesday. So, we all show up, and walked into the market an followed the signs for cafe hanging from the ceiling. The cafe was filled with a lot of East Asian customers, us and a cop. This is a family owned business, and the table staff are the the 20 something aged kids of the cook and dish washer. The kids are so friendly, and are so happy to see people enjoying their food. The kids took a lot of time with us to describe the dishes we had questions about. They were so nice! I should know they were nice because I actually went back 3 times this past week! LOL!

pad mee kao

We ordered fresh coconut juice, fresh squeezed cane juice, spring rolls, tom ka gai, chicken larb, pad mee kao, green curry, papaya salad, and pad sen lon. When we were done with the coconut juice, they broke open the coconut for us to eat the white juicy flesh. What fun we had with coconut. The cane juice was sweet, but not so over the top sugary. It was refreshing. The spring rolls are like fresh Thai or Vietnamese rolls, but the dipping sauce is just a bit different, it is Laos style dipping sauce. The tom ka gai was made fresh for us, and was enough to serve 6 people. Don't worry, if you don't finish it, they have to-go containers for soup. Or better yet, bring your own quart jar and take your left overs home with you. The soup was really smooth, not a lot of salt was used, not a lot if fish sauce was used, so I enjoyed it. As the young lady dropped of the larb to our table, she mentioned that the chopped chicken meat also includes chicken livers. The dish was spicy and yummy. The pad mee kao is made with dried rice noodles, and is the most popular dish they serve. This one was spicy spicy spicy too! Pad sen lon is made with clear bean thread noodles and some Thai basil, spicy spicy spicy too! But, the dish of resistence was the papaya salad. It was julienned green papaya mixed with red and green hot peppers. One taste for me, I started to sweat. Fire eater is the only one who could eat this dish. She turned a little rosy in color, but she ate it like a regular green salad. I have come to understand that Laotian food is even more firery than Thai food! If you go and order Laos style hot, you are asking for a burn more than any other burn you have ever experienced. It is hot!

the mystery food - Longan Fruit

Here is a little secret. It is true, and you may have heard of this before. If you go to an East Asian restaurant, like a Chinese restaurant in Boston, New York, Philadelphia, Chicago, Los Angeles (I know by experience) there is a hidden menu that only people in the know. There is at least Asian restaurant in Nashville that I know of that has a secret menu. So, for the ones who don't know about the menu, they are relegated to the nasty sweet and sour Americanized food, and none of the real deal. The upswing about King is that all the English menu items are authentic Laos and Thai food. But, King also has a secret menu. They have noodle soups with a broad homemade rice noodle that looks like udon, and the broth and toppings are like tom yum and vegetables. King will also cater to the "old world" clients who gather up some items from the grocery store, and mom in the kitchen will cook up whatever Laos or Thai dish the want. On Friday and Saturday, they have some East Asian delicacies that you cannot find anywhere else in Nashville. They offer balut, Laos style chitlins, pig feet and eggs in black vinegar sauce, house made roasted duck and an East Asian style roasted pork that I have not had in over a year. They also offer a variety of mangos, now that the stupid USA import ban has been lifted on all great mango varieties except for that one reddish green one.

I really enjoyed the hospitality on all 3 visits last week. I enjoyed the menu items I opted for, and eventhough they are menu items, they were not "dumbed down" nor Americanized. They were straight forward Laos family home cooking. Next time, I am going to order from the secret menu and get a spicy noodle soup made with house made noodles. I am also going to try and get a roasted duck too. The ducks go fast, so I better get there early!

Guess the food game

Name this food!

The food pictured above are almost round. The diameter of the typical round thing is slightly larger than a quarter coin. The round things are tan with darker tan speckles. I would say the coloring is a bit like a russet potato. That is another hint, this food picture above has nothing to do with russet potatoes. The leaves and stems are not eaten. What is this food?

Wait for the next post in the next couple of weeks for the answer.

Food, Inc. Come see it with me

Come see it with me at the Belcourt Theater June 26 - July 2. Let's all start eating real food again.

It will Melt your heart

Melt Bar and Grill
14718 Detroit Ave
Lakewood, OH
216-226-3699

I wish I could say that grilled cheese was comfort food for me when I was a kid, but I can't. When I was a kid, I was unbelievably allergic to certain types of cheese that went into the typical grilled cheese or macaroni and cheese. Things were not pretty when I ate cheese, every major organ that could have a reaction to the cheese reacted to the cheese. I would swell up so much that even my eyelids would swell shut and I couldn't see for days. Breathing is a necessity of life, and that was hard too. Oh, the full body discomfort, pain, itching after a bite of grilled cheese was absolutely not worth it. The thing about cheese that was actually the worst part was scaring the crap out of my mom when she saw how I reacted to grilled cheese. By the time I went to college, I could eat small amounts of real cheeses (not that fake stuff in USA grocery stores). When I got to college, I thought it was time for me to try eating grilled cheese and mac and cheese just because the other univ. food was so horrible, low grade, ill prepared food, that I would risk all the childhood full body reaction for some food that wasn't terrible. To my luck, I have nearly outgrown the allergies to nearly all cheeses, and all I get is some slight puffiness and congestion, but that is it, and I can definitely live with that. Given a choice now, I would opt for a hot grilled cheese sandwich over any coldcut sandwich any day!

I still don't eat grilled cheese often, it usually is made once per year in my house, because I did not grow up with this traditional kid's food, and I don't normally think of it. I love grilled cheese, and I wish I could think of it more! It has texture, it has buttery goodness, it has oozy cheesy tanginess, and cutting it into 2 triangles gives the dish a nice visual shape. I can see why adults call this comfort food from childhood, and think of it fondly. It is warm and inviting, and seems to bring a smile to all who eats grilled cheese.

If I can get a good grilled cheese, I am going for it! I was so lucky to stumble upon Melt, the Grilled Cheese bar and grill in Cleveland. It is up on Detroit Ave in the town of Lakewood, a few blocks away from Lake Erie, on the north side of Cleveland. This little place has maybe a dozen+ tables, an extensive beer menu, extensive rootbeer menu, and an extensive grilled cheese menu. I can just imagine people of my generation being fed grilled cheese and root beer as weekend lunch. I was imagining how it must have been for the traditional American family that made grilled cheese at home when I sat down at Melt. The grilled cheese combos are make your own, or order one of the many combos. There are chicken, ham, veggie burger, and other proteins to add into the grilled cheese. The cheeses include cheddar, American, provolone, swiss, vegan and more. I opted for the Wake and Bac which is 2 fried eggs, 3 pieces of hickory smoked bacon, cheese of my choice, all grilled in big slices of hand cut sour dough bread. The sandwich came with a big pile of fries and some fresh slaw. I got a sarsaparilla made with real cane sugar (none of this HFCS) to wash it all down. All this was about $10 total, and I only ate 1/2 for lunch, and took the other 1/2 for dinner. That is rather great in my mind to have a full day's food, restaurant made to order no less, for $10.

The gig is, there is a really small kitchen at Melt, and everything is cooked to order. That means, be patient, you are gonna be waiting around for about a half of an hour, so perhaps an option of beer or root beer should be enjoyed while you wait. Melt has a variety of hot sauces to put on the sandwiches if you like, and they have Sriracha, that Thai spicy sauce. It was perfect with my Wake and Bac. Melt also Mexican hot sauces if that is your pleasure. The slaw was actually interesting to me. It is made inhouse with a little salt, black pepper, a dash of cane sugar, and a splash of vinegar. It was really good to me, and I usually don't like slaw.

The waitress in my section was really knowledgeable about the food, ingredients and was an all around good staff member. I overheard her talking to the table next to me. The young woman was asking about vegan options for grilled cheese and any type of vegan meat substitutes. There is a complete vegan meal available here with vegan cheese, vegan sausage patty, and vegan bread. Vegans can't eat most American bread, especially sour dough because of the yeast involved. Sour dough, that is dough starter that is all about keeping a live yeast culture thiving by "feeding the mother" or as Anthony Bourdain would say "feeding the bitc@&" every week. I thought that was funny to go to a grilled cheese on bread restaurant when she won't eat the 2 main ingredients, bread and cheese, and then ask for a bread and cheese sandwich that really isn't bread and cheese. Amazingly enough Melt can do it, a complete non-cheese and bread, grilled cheese. I, however, opted for real cheese because I have been given the opportunity, in my adulthood, to enjoy the pleasures of cheese without having a reaction that could kill me.

OK, for you out there reading this, and will be in Cleveland in July, take note... The word on the street is that Guy Fieri, host of Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives on the Food TV Network will be filming at Melt, to showcase all the great grilled cheese options you can get there. Melt will be shut down for 2 days for filming, because the kitchen is way too small for the film crew, Guy and owner chef to be in kitchen at the same time and even fathom to carry on a normal day's business. What that means for you, if you are up there, they will need people to sit in as diners and patrons of Melt. Who knows, this may be your day for fame on TV!

Aloha from the Mainland

The challenge has been offered. I took the challenge. See you in Maui, September 19, 2010 for the 40th running of the Maui marathon.

I better start training now, it seems like I will need to get acclimated to the hot and humid weather in Maui, by running outside all summer long here. The weather channel said September is the height of summer in Maui, and Wunderground weather history for the past 5 years said highs of 95F and 95%-100% humidity.

Nashville, Come see these!

Everyone, mark your calenders for FOOD WEEK at the Belcourt! The hottest films of this year (in my foodie mind that is) are Food Inc, and Pressure Cooker, and they are going to be playing at the Belcourt Theatre. I have been wondering and waiting to see when Food, Inc was going to make it's debut in Nashville, and here it is! To learn about about food issues, and other issues through a film/visual medium, check out www.TakePart.com.

As you know, I have already seen Pressure Cooker, and HIGHLY RECOMMENDED it to anyone with a screening near you, and here it is. Pressure Cooker will be playing at the Belcourt on Tuesday June 30 and Wednesday July 1st. Go see it. It is a "feel good" documentary about a teacher and students in a poor section of my former home town Philadelphia. I love Philadelphia, and I love this movie.

Read on about The Belcourt, and the Foodie Movies it will be offering June 26 thru July 2. Here is what the Belcourt wrote on their events page www.Belcourt.org :

FOOD ON FILM WEEK

JUNE 26 – JULY 2

On the week of Fri-Thu, June 26-July 2, the Belcourt Theatre will run four new food themed documentaries, all of which have garnered numerous awards on the film festival circuit and are currently or just about to hit theaters nationwide. With the support of Whole Foods Market and a host of fine local organizations, we bring you the following program and activities...
(click on film titles for trailers and even more info!)

Friday through Thursday, June 26-July 2

FOOD INC

In the incendiary new documentary FOOD, INC., filmmaker Robert Kenner lifts the veil on our nation's food industry, exposing the highly mechanized underbelly that has been hidden from the American consumer with the consent of our government's regulatory agencies, USDA and FDA.

--On Sale Now: OPENING NIGHT PANEL DISCUSSION—

with a group of local and regional advocates and professionals working closely with these issues moderated by Carrington Fox, restaurant reviewer of the Nashville Scene.
Generously sponsored by Whole Foods Market, who will provide light hor d'oeuvres.

LAURA BUTTON – Co-owner of Journey to Bliss Raw Foods, a Smyrna-based maker of prepared, raw, vegan foods under the brand name Intentional Food. The "Intention" is to create great-tasting, highly nutritious food made from ethically obtained ingredients.
CINDY DELVIN – President of Tennessee Organic Growers Association. Cindy also owns and operates Delvin Farms with her husband Hank and her children.
WILL HARRIS – Owner/Operator of White Oak Pastures, Bluffton, GA, a Georgia based grass-fed cattle producer.
CASSI JOHNSON - Director, Food Security Partners of Middle Tennessee and Vanderbilt Institute for Public Policy Studies.
MARTY MESH - Executive Director of the Florida Organic Growers (FOG). Marty also serves on numerous agricultural boards in the US and works internationally with the advancement of organic and sustainable agriculture in developing countries.

Saturday June 27th 11am to 3pm:

OUTDOOR INFO/EXPO

An "All-American" styled information fair in the parking lot of the Belcourt in conjunction with Whole Foods of Nashville, Slow Food Nashville, Bongo Java Roasting Co, Nashville Originals, Food Security Partners, Nashville Farmer’s Market, Local Table, Green Bag Lady, Delvin Farms, Alimentum, Buy Fresh/Buy Local and Team Green. More information on this event to be announced…

Sunday through Monday, June 28-29

THE END OF THE LINE

Filmed over two years and across the world – from the Straits of Gibraltar to the coasts of Senegal and Alaska to the Tokyo fish market – featuring top scientists, indigenous fishermen and fisheries enforcement officials, THE END OF THE LINE is a wake-up call in a world where scientists predict that if we continue fishing as we are now, we will see the end of most seafood by 2048.
Whole Foods Market Green Hills Seafood Specialists will be on hand to answer questions regarding sustainability after the 7pm screening on Sunday night.

Tuesday & Wednesday, June 30-July 1

PRESSURE COOKER

Against the backdrop of the row homes of working-class Philadelphia, Wilma Stephenson has helped countless students reach the top culinary schools in the country. And under her fierce direction, the usual distractions of high school are swept aside as a group of high-schoolers prepare to achieve beyond what anyone else expects from them.

Wednesday & Thursday, July 1-2

THE GARDEN

The Oscar-nominated documentary THE GARDEN is an engaging and powerful look at the famous political and social battle over the largest community garden in the U.S (located in south central Los Angeles) which shows how the politics of power and greed (backroom deals, land developing, green politics, money) tragically intersect with working class families who rely on this communal garden for their livelihood.

In the Pitts

Some people I know, or have run into, who have never really spent time in Pennsylvania, or Pittsburgh, have rather harsh ideas about one of our oldest cities in the nation. The unfounded opinions about the 'Burgh are as unfounded as those opinions about Nashville and the south from those who have never spent time in Nashville or the south. I wonder why the 'Burgh gets such hard opinions? Is it because of the sound "Pit" in the name? Do people automatically think it is a pit? Believe me folks, the 'Burgh is anything but a pit when it comes to food. The 'Burgh still carries all the old world food traditions from East Europe and Italy. In the beginning of Pittsburgh, Iron City, Polish and Italian immigrants moved to the 'Burgh looking for work, a better life for their families, and the brought their cooking traditions with them, and those traditions live on today.

I just get giddy when I think of spending a weekend in the 'Burgh, what am I going to taste and eat when I get there? What chef owned delights am I going to go manic over? Here is a chronicle of my last trip to the foodie heaven - Pittsburgh.

Skyline Chili 3 -ways

To go to the 'Burgh, I actually fly into Cleveland, OH because I can get a direct flight, the airport is really easy, the airport car rental is fairly reasonable in cost, and it is a straight shot to drive from Cleveland to Pittsburgh on the turnpike. My trip started off around lunchtime, so we stopped into a Skyline Chili. Skyline has finally made its way from Cincinnati to Cleveland. When I am driving through Cincy, it is a tradition to get Skyline. Since I was driving through Cleveland, and heard about the new Skyline Chili enroute, it felt right to stop in and get some Greek style chili 3-ways. I was going to get 5-ways with onions and beans, but I was in a car load of people, and I thought it would be kinder to the the others to not eat beans that would cause me to toot my own horn, if you know what I mean. After a quick lunch, off we went down the OH turnpike to the Pittsburgh turnpike, into the Butler Valley where Pittsburgh is.

1st Friday Dinner at Enrico's Biscotti - antipasta

It was 1st Friday of the month when I got into the 'Burgh. On 1st Friday, Larry who is chef owner of Enrico's Biscotti on the Strip, offers a 1st Friday supper, 5-course meal, chef's choice, made with enthusiasm event. I have heard about 1st Friday supper for a long long time, and last autumn, I started making plans for a culinary trip to the 'Burgh centered around Larry's 1st Friday supper. Larry used to be a blue-chip company executive, with a love for biscotti and Italian inspired family style cooking. He gave up the executive life to follow his passion, cooking, biscotti, and wood-brick oven breads and pizzas. Larry also enjoys knowing about his food sources, his meats and eggs are from local grass fed farms and his veggies during the summer are from local organic sources. I was told that Larry did not want to be saddled with a dinner restaurant, staffing issues, daily issues etc, but compromised with an elaborate 5-course supper on 1st Friday to feed his passion for cooking, but not have to be saddled daily grind of a restaurant.

Enrico's Biscotti's open kitchen

I really love Larry's idea of 1st Friday dinner. For years now, I have fantasized about being independently wealthy, and opening up a limited seating restaurant, that only serves once per month, a chef's choice dinner. I want to feed my love of creating great meals, but not the burden of the reality of having a traditional restaurant. The few that I have told about this idea laughed at me, but Larry has proved it can happen.

Anyway, for 1st Friday dinner, we started with a family style antipasta plate including fresh sardines, anchovies, 3 cheeses from a soft St Andre to an aged cow's milk cheese, tomatoes, tomato jam, artichoke hearts, salumi, pickled veggies, and figs. There is something else I am forgetting. As we sat down at the long table, 2 other dinners sat near us. They were from a suburb of Pittsburgh taking in the town, wine tasting earlier, and then having 1st dinner at Enrico's. We talked about there horses, cats and dogs, they have a regular zoo that they love. Most of the pets the have are rescue pets. Given technology, we were sharing pictures loaded on phones and iTouches. It was fun to break bread with new friends. Our 2nd course was marinated flank steak, shaved cucumber salad and wood-oven roasted tomatoes. Our 3rd course was fresh baby field greens from a local organic farm with a balsamic dressing. Our 4th and main course was tagliatelle with fresh tomato sauce and giant peppers stuffed with local organic grass-fed beef and pork, and rice. The 5th and final dish was Larry's Enrico's Biscotti almond biscotti and a home made ricotti ice cream.

Larry was so joyful to cook and share his meal with all of us. The energy from him and his staff that night was just heartwarming. What Larry is creating is fulfilling the image of the big extended family dinner I have in my mind, except the extended family are cheery strangers at the table with me. Hopefully in the fall, before snow comes, I can make it back out to the 'Burgh and parttake in 1st Friday supper again, and bring some other foodie friends with me to bask in the full-body dining experience.

B's breakfast gathered from around the city

Early in the morning, before anyone awoke, B took the dog for a walk, and then went to a bakery and food co-op. The bakery he went to is not on the Strip, but is owned by a baker from Normandie. The baker would have stayed in Normandie, if it had not been for a lovely Pittsburgh woman visiting his home town. He was smittened, married his love of his life, and moved to the 'Burgh to be with her and family. That is true love. The rest is history. The 'Burgh has this lovely bakery with real croissants that can compete with any croissants I had in France during my vacation. The reason why these croissants are so dang good is because the baker is the real deal, he holds that French croissant secrets, and ovens imported from France. B also got a bunch of fresh fruit from the co-op, and cut them up for us. Just look at the photo, it is a feast for the eyes as well as the tummy. If I had any painting talent, I would paint the breakfast photo because it is so beautiful to me.

B's cappuccino

Along with B's breakfast feast, B offered cappuccino made in their fancy schmancy Italian industrial grade cappuccino maker. There is no perk or drip coffee here, it is all European espresso drinks here. OMG, ok! I just was in heaven sipping on the cappuccino B made for us. We probably took a few hours together snacking and tasting the breakfast buffet, and sipping on the coffee before we got on our way for more culinary touring of the 'Burgh.

B's Breakfast Omelet

B's stress relief is cooking. I love B and his family for that. I love going to their house for the fabulous treats B wants to make. B has been taking time to follow the Michael Bittman philosophy of cooking - SIMPLIFY. The breakfast meal was topped off with an omelet made with a variety of local organic mushrooms. Pennsylvania is the mushroom capital of the USA, and fresh woody, earthy, aroma of the mushrooms came alive in this omelet. I used to live in PA too, but on the east side, and I forgot how good fresh cut mushrooms can be. By the time mushrooms travel to TN, they have lost a lot of their essence, and many times it is like eating styrofoam. Not so in the center of the mushroom world, it is just devine.

B recently renovated the kitchen and dining area to be more open and available for chit chat and relaxing with friends. B's family also renovated with re-used and sustainable green products. The most interesting thing about their new kitchen is the countertops. B had been talking about this for years, recycled material chemistry lab bench as counter tops, with sustainable bamboo cutting surface as one counter. Amazing. I want that. The chemistry lab bench is more expensive as a counter top than other synthetic and stone/granite tops, but it is so dang hearty! Drip, drop, heat, acid, drip away, nothing can hurt the lab bench.

pierogi is plural for pierog

So, for the afternoon, we went to the Strip, yet another culinary highlight of my trip. The strip has a significant farmer's market on Saturdays, fire bread, a couple real fish mongers, Italian cheese shop, Italian cured meats shop, Asian market, Eastern European market, Penzy's, olive oil shop, pasta shop, coffee shop, biscotti shop, salsa shop, fresh tortilla shop, oh heck, every type of food you want. The Strip is really still of the European tradition of the marketplace. There are no chain grocers here, no big box stores, yet you can find everything you need, and more here, and it is all created and sourced with care.

Because Nashville had more of the British immigration early on, and not really the culinary immigration from Eastern Europe or Italy, there is a real lack of Eastern European old world cooking traditions. So, when ever I am in a place to get pierogi, I am going to do it. There is a new Eastern European market that just opened on the strip. It seems to be a family run business with the older adults speaking their mother language, and the teenagers helping at the register easily slipping into English and their parents language. I am not sure what language it was, but it was making me jealous that these kids seemingly spoke both languages perfectly. They would say, "Four dollars please. Enjoy the pierogi, we make those fresh everyday!" and then slip into explaining to their parents what they said to us. There was smiling and nodding between us. I was imagining that is how it was from my mom, who immigrated to the USA before she learned English. There must have been a lot of smiling and nodding. Anyway, this market has a lunch counter, and I ran in to grab pierogi to taste as a snack. Ah, yummy potato and cheese pierogi. Again, I was just giddy and laughing with my friends as we chowed down on this goodie.

We continued down the strip to the Pennsylvania Macaroni Co., and other of my favorite shops to see what I could see, and see what foodie treats I could bring back to the house.

Coffee shop along the Pittsburgh marathon Route Mile 17-ish

I wish I could remember this cheese name, I must ask my friends if they remember. There was a new cheese at Penn Mac, it was from Vermont, it was an aged cow's milk cheese made with truffles. I got about 1/4 lb of it for us to snack on back at the house before dinner. I should have gotten a lb of this stuff, it was so good!

1st Man at the 2009 Pittsburgh Marathon

The next morning, how lucky I was to wake up and find out it was the Pittsburgh Marathon day! I love running or is it jogging, I guess I mean staggering for myself at this point, and anytime I can watch or participate in endurance running, I am happy to be there. I walked from B's house to about mile 17 of the route and waited for the runners to come by. I had some coffee from the local coffee shop and had camera in hand. For what ever it was worth, the 2000 Pittsburgh Marathon was the men's Olympic qualifier, and I watched that unusually hot race. In 2000, it was over 80F, humid, and there were a bunch of qualified racers that did not finish this hilly marathon, collapsed or gave up. The front runners really did earn their spots on the Olympic team that year. The Pittsburgh Marathon ran in 2003, and for a few reasons, the city stopped having the marathon until this year 2009. This year, the weather was just the opposite of 2000. It was a high of 50F, drizzly and then rainy. Anyone who runs, and have run in the rain knows that lovely wet running fabric rubbing on swinging arms and such. One marathon I ran was in the rain, and I still have scars from having my shirt hem cut open my arms. Anyhoo... This 2009 marathon was trying with the wet and cold weather.

1st Woman at the 2009 Pittsburgh Marathon

I had a rain coat, and I stayed long enough to see the 1st man and the 1st woman pass by me, and be able to take a snap shot of them, and to cheer them on. A little while later the rains really came, so the for the recreational marathon (like myself) it was harsh rains that poured on them causing stinging red, and cold chapped skin. I then remembered why I don't run in the rain anymore. If it is raining, I get to sleep in. Oh, I was so lucky to be able to be in Pittsburgh for this long time coming event. It has renewed my interest in the Pittsburgh Marathon, and I may just have to run it myself next year.

Korean Restaurant

Hai Woon Dai
(aka Korean Restaurant)
2051 Antioch Pike
Nashville, TN
615-333-9186

the sign

I have this friend who can really eat hot spicy hot food. There is no capsaicin pepper that is too hot for her. She eats cayenne pepper sauces by the spoonfuls, and I am not exaggerating. We have gone to a Chinese restaurant on a few occasions, and she took spoonfuls of the hot cayenne chili sauce and covered her food like gravy, and she even licked the cayenne pepper sauce spoon. She does turn a bit blushed from eating so much hot red chili sauce, but she doesn't sweat. She says she kind of gets a mouth and taste bud high when she eats food this way. If I ate that way, I would be sweating, looking for anything to save my mouth from the burn and I would be really upset. What I think she needs to do is go on that Travel Channel TV show Man vs. Food, and challenge the dude to a hot food eating contest. I bet my friend could have won the "hot ramen challenge" at Orochon Ramen in Little Tokyo, Los Angeles, CA, where he downed a giant soup bowl of ramin made with 10 types of chili peppers.

Anyway, my friend likes strong flavored food, including spicy food, and she loves ethnic foods like spicy Indian curries, red hot Chinese, and over the top flavorful Korean. As we were eating dinner one night, she said she found a pretty decent Korean restaurant in Antioch, but she did not know the name of the place. She wanted to go there because their seafood pancake is so good, and the other food she tried there was really flavorful, and better than most other Korean places she has tried. I asked her what the restaurant name was, and she just could not remember. She said she thought it didn't have a name. She couldn't tell me how to get there either, although she had been there a few times. I was thinking that she was going nutty, but after she had me follow her in her car to this place, it became apparent that she was not nutty, and it is rather difficult to explain how to get to this place.

the Korean Grill

First off, I have to give it up to my friend and her lack of directions. I could not explain how to get to this place either. I know how to get back there if I drive, but no way am I able to give directions. Get a GPS is my ownly advice. The restaurant is located near a crazy intersection off of Antioch Pike, a mile or 2 south of Harding Rd. It is tucked into the way back of a strip mall that seems to have many other Korean shops and a billiards hall which had only Koreans playing in it during the evening we went to this restauarnt. The problem is, this is a confusing interesection with multiple streets intersection, and an I-24 exit ramp is close by, and there are a few other stripmalls with the same situation of little stores with small signs that you can't tell what they are from the road. Maybe GPS or Google Maps might help, but directs from me or my friend are not happening.

Second, I have to give it to her again, how is she supposed to know the name of the restaurant when there is no name of the restaurant on the sign! Hai Woon Dai doesn't have a sign saying Hai Woon Dai, it has a sign saying "Korean Restaurant". It is a smallish sign about the door. It is like stepping Repo Man and going to the grocery store and buying a can of "Food". I know my friend has good and adventurous taste in food, so I wasn't that scared to walk into the door under the generic sign. I walk in, and I swear, I was still in Repo Man, with stark white walls, stark white lighting, and very generic tables and chairs in what looks like old wood paneling cubicles. I got really nervous about flashing back 25 years into Repo Man. How could my friend who loves really strong flavors and chili peppers bring me to this funny generic Korean Food place that is just stark?

But to my delight, the food was a different story, and pulled me out of the generic food movie, and into the present. We all sorts of kim chi made with garlic and peppers, and my friend just enjoyed every last bite of garlic and peppers. We got a seafood pancake that resembles a huge egg foo yung of yester-year. It was tasty, and filled with shrimp and squid. Note to people who don't like eating tenticles with suction cups, you may not want this dish. I, however love squid, so I was very happy. We got a spicy pork bulgogi, a fish dish, spicy tofu and fresh pork belly grill. The soup was ok, but I think Tofu House (specialty is the spicy tofu soup) is better for Korean style soup. The pork bulgogi was so damn flavorful, and probably the best bulgogi I have tasted in Nashville. The fresh pork belly grill-at-the-table was fun. The grill was actually a ceramic grill, not an aluminum or stainless steel grill. We cooked up the onions, mushrooms and the pork belly and ate it with gusto with the variety of kim chis. There was no room at our table because it was full if plates and dishes. I am sure there are dishes here that are going to be a hit or a miss depending on peoples taste. We really liked the pork bulgogi, and we like the grill-at-the-table options. Overall, we had a fun time getting "Food" from the "Restaurant".

Weenees

The Weenee Hut
4317 Milan Rd. (State Route 250)
Sandusky, Ohio
(419) 626-9101

My home away from home, Sandusky, OH, has this fantastic little independently owned Weenee Hut with some pretty darn good hotdogs. I have been driving by this place for a couple years now, and I have not stopped in until now. We tried stopping in once during the winter, but they were closed. We stopped in once late night, and they were closed. This time, we stopped in for lunch and had a chance to get a hotdog. Here is the gig:

1. Pick your dog: beef, kosher, regular, brat, or sausage

2. All or as little as you want: mustard, ketchup, salt, celery salt, pepper, mayo, A1, etc

3. Pick 4 or more ($0.50 for 5th and more)
Chili, Real Bacon Crumbles, Jalapeno Peppers, Salsa, Lettuce, Cole Slaw, Banana Peppers, Sour Cream, Tomato, Pineapple, Sport Peppers, Blazin’ Red Hot Sauce, Diced Onions, Black Olives, Green Peppers, Sweet Baby Ray’s BBQ Sauce, Sautéed Onions, Green Olives, Sautéed Peppers, Marinara Sauce, Crispy Onions, Mushrooms, Cheese / Dressing, Teriyaki Sauce, Sweet Hot Relish, Sautéed Mushrooms, Cheddar Cheese, Cheddar Cheese Sauce, Dill Pickles, Diced Celery, Swiss Cheese, Sweet Pickles, Chow Mien Noodles, Mozzarella, Sauerkraut, Tortilla Chips, Cheese Whiz, Baked Beans, Jerk Seasoning, Parmesan Cheese, Pepperoni, Horseradish, Bleu Cheese

The two kosher dogs we got were really fun. The 1st one was onions, kraut, celery salt, dill pickle, and banana peppers. The 2nd was a straight up kraut and spicy mustard. To balance the meal, I got a salad. I know, I know, who wants salad at a hot dog joint. It is tough in Sandusky to get fresh veggies. Most of the chains there, and most of the other restaurants there, do not serve fresh veggies if they serve veggies at all. So, yeah, I got the mound of shredded iceburg as a side to my hot dog. I don't recommend the salad. I am now looking back on the trip to Weenee Hut, and I am thinking, "Why did I bother with the salad, I should have gotten another hotdog!" I should have made a crazy hotdog with pineapple, chow mien noodles, A1, ketchup, Cheese Whiz, green olives and marinara sauce. That sounds like a great hotdog you would eat on vacation to Lake Erie and Cedar Point!

Hungry? Many kids are too

If you want to help child hunger in the USA (yes, there is a hunger problem in the USA and the problem is growing during these uneasy economic times), put your money where your mouth is! Help support Share our Strengths - Taste of the Nation fundraiser to help stop child hunger. The Nashville Event is Sunday May 31st held in the historic Hermitage Hotel's Grand Ballroom. You too can bump elbows with the who's who of Nashville and the culinary scene. You would not believe who is cooking!! You know how much I love the food of Chef Tyler, Chef Tandy and Chef Debra, they are all coming to make their yummies for all who attend. I love it when my charitable giving goals are filled by such a delicious lineup. Do you want to go? Read on!

Share our Strengths

Taste of the Nation

Sunday, May 31, 2009
The Grand Ballroom231 Sixth Avenue NorthNashville, TN
6:00 pm - Cocktail Reception

7:00 pm - Exquisite Multi-Course Wine Paired Dinner
Host Chefs
Tyler Brown, Executive Chef, The Capitol Grille

Andrew Manchester, Pastry Chef, The Capitol Grille
Guest Chefs
Sean Brock, McCrady’s Restaurant, Charleston, SC

Hal Holden-Bache, Eastland Café, Nashville, TN

Jason McConnell, Red Pony Restaurant, Franklin, TN

Debra Paquette, Zola, Nashville, TN

Tandy Wilson, City House, Nashville, TN

There are two ways to get this awesome event:

1. as an individual it is $95 and tickets are available by phone 888.273.6141 or by the Share Our Strengths website (click on SOS hotlink)

2. get a table for $5000
Get a table for 10 for this event. You also get one of the evening's participating chefs to join your table for a course; name recognition in speaking program; logo or name recognition on website, email invitation, event signage and event program; full-page color ad in the program; and one souvenir program signed by all the evening's Chefs.

Help! Stamp Out Hunger!

Help! Join me, it is EASY!

It is as easy as getting mail from a mailbox!

Please donate non-perishable food items on Saturday.

Read on. This segment is extracted exactly as is from the

2nd Harvest Food Bank of Middle-TN Newsletter

Letter Carrier's Stamp Out Hunger Food Drive
Stamp Out Hunger Food Drive
Saturday, May 9, 2009

On Saturday, May 9th, letter carriers will again help Stamp Out Hunger! ™ across America with your help in order to provide assistance to the one in eight Americans who struggle with hunger. The Stamp Out Hunger! effort is the nation's largest single-day food drive, having collected more than 909 million pounds of food since its inception in 1993. Last year, letter carriers across the country collected a record total of more than 73.1 million pounds of food, but with hunger impacting many Americans– including working families, children and the elderly – help is needed now more than ever before. There is simply no easier way to help the community than to contribute nonperishable food items through the Letter Carriers Food Drive on Saturday, May 9th. Place your donated food items in a bag near your mailbox that day, and your letter carrier will pick up and deliver the food to Second Harvest Food Bank. Then, the items will be distributed by Second Harvest Food Bank to emergency food pantry programs throughout the community.

Most needed items include: canned tuna or chicken, peanut butter, canned soup, fruit, vegetables, rice and macaroni & cheese.

Pressure Cooker - The Documentary

I went to see PRESSURE COOKER at the Nashville Film Festival on Saturday. I highly recommend it for any foodie out there. What a journey it was for 13 motivated kids from an under served part of Northeast Philadelphia. I smiled, laughed, cried and cheered for these kids. I had lived in Phila for about 10 years, and I know a little about Northeast Phila. Phila itself as a whole is a hard working class city with its share of poverty and crime. But, what Phila has going for it is a lot of history starting from revolutionary times, and an equally impressive food tradition and history. Anyway, if you are in a city with a film festival, go ahead and sit in on this one. It will warm your heart.

About the film:

"Three seniors at Philadelphia's Frankford High School find an unlikely champion in the kitchen of Wilma Stephenson. A legend in the school system, Mrs. Stephenson's hilariously blunt boot-camp method of teaching Culinary Arts is validated by years of scholarship success. Against the backdrop of the row homes of working-class Philadelphia, she has helped countless students reach the top culinary schools in the country. And under her fierce direction, the usual distractions of high school are swept aside as Erica, Dudley and Fatoumata prepare to achieve beyond what anyone else expects from them." from the official documentary website
http://www.takepart.com/pressurecooker/

LoseIt App for the iPhone/iPod Touch

picture from LoseIt.com, a Fit Now, Inc. website

Anyone who wants to lose some weight and has an iPhone or iPod Touch should look into this free app from LoseIt.com. Most of all the reviews are 5 stars for this app, and I added my review of 5 stars as well. People using this app claim to have lost weight. Well, I did download this app to give it a shot. I love this app, and it works for me! Well, I love my iPod Touch, and I am addicted to it. When I am not working or jogging, I am on my iPod Touch. Ok, so being addicted to the iPod is helpful in getting me to use an application. There are a lot of other weight loss tracking systems out there that are computer based, or paper based that never would work for me. If I had to wait and get home and type something on the computer, I would forget what amount I ate, not log a jog, or just plain never log on and write the stuff down in the computer. If I were to use a paper based tracking system, I would never pull out a piece of paper and write anything down at a restaurant. Also, paper tracking systems require prior knowledge of calories, fat grams etc, things I just don't want to have to remember.

Recording things on this iPod app is awesome for me. I enjoy my iPod so much, and use the LoseIt.com app all the time. I use it before I order something to see how many calories may be in it. The way I travel for work, I find myself with only fast food options many times, and LoseIt.com has most every low level chain menus dialed in like McD's, Pizza H, Olive G, Taco B, Starb., etc. Great to be able to find out what the calorie count is before eating something. For example, that single serving of French Fries are 600 calories with 30 gm of fat. If they are soggy bad fries, why waste the calories on such a dish that adds up to about 1/3 of my daily recommended intake of calories. I want to eat healthier when I am on travel status because when I am at home, I eat foods from my CSA (consumer supported agriculture) farm fresh foods, and eating road foods makes me weighed down and logy. The LoseIt.com app helps with keeping the healthier eating goal in mind. The feedback of the LoseIt.com app seems to exactly what I want, it keeps track of input from the day and week, every week back to when I started this program in January. It tracks carbs, fiber, sodium, calories etc by the day and week. It is great. With the LoseIt.com analysis, I have discovered usually don't get the recommended 25 gm of fiber per day, and I don't eat enough protein. I need to work on both. This program also tracks exercise, so it helps me keep track of when I jog, when I walk, when I lift weights.

What I don't get from this program is why it is free. It is so worth a bunch of $$. There are no ads. I don't believe that my app is being data mined by the developers. The reason being is that I use the app in mostly non-wifi zones, where no data can be exchanged from my iPod. I think it is just out there for free use. Does anyone know otherwise?

End of an Era

the grill right before

The recent history of the land that I currently live on is that there used to be a big old wood construction southern plantation home that caught fire in the early '80s. There wasn't enough insurance money to rebuild the home to its original splendor, so the former owners sold the 0.75 acres to a developer who divided up the property into 5 lots with a home on each lot. At the time when the developer came in, the neighbors in their 1944 stone home (sort of arts and crafts style home) were sick to have 5 bad 1980s construction homes go up next door. They eventually got used to the homes instead of the lovely plantation home, and became friends with the neighbors. There was one unusual thing in between the 1944 stone home and the former plantation home property, and it was the brick grill that was said to have been shared by the 2 properties.

As we were considering moving into one of the bad 1980's constructed homes, the outgoing residents said that they had Sunday dinner potlucks around that grill with all the neighbors, and it was kind of a stress relief fun thing to do before the new work week started. The outgoing residents were saying how much they were going to miss the neighbors, and how awesome each neighbor was. As we were being told that, some neighbor's kids went rolling by on their bikes yelling, "Hi Jack!! Hi Jack!! Can you play later?!!" and waving furiously. Skeptical, thinking were getting a "hard sell" on location location location and neighbors neighbor neighbors, we moved in anyway. Wouldn't you know it, Jack wasn't fibbing. When we 1st moved in here, the neighbors were all really nice, and we did have potlucks most every Sunday for a few years, and the kids went by on their bikes waving hello, the neighbors always stopped to chat when walking their dogs, and on some weekends, the kids would have a lemonade stand to raise money for the pets at the Human Assn. It was like we moved to Mayberry, and it was perpetually a cool summer day when everything is right with the world.

Then, things started to unravel. Some neighbors had to move out of state for a job, some neighbors moved to make room for an in-home business, some neighbors fell into financial problems and had to downsize and move, some neighbors got divorced, and some neighbors got very sick and died. As the neighbors came and went, the grill stopped hearing the laughter, conversation, and life on Sundays. The grill went silent, and the new neighbors never got to see the grill in its full splendor. Last year, the 1944 old stone home was purchased and fully gutted for the soon to be wedded new neighbors. Everyone is different now.

the pile of the grill after

The new 1944 stone home owners did not get to pet the neighborhood dogs, did not hear the laughter, did not wave to the kids on bikes, and did not participate in conversations to solve the worlds problems that the grill has witnessed. They just saw a broken brick grill standing in the way of putting a fence up. So, last week, the brick grill was brought to the ground and is now a pile of rubble awaiting removal to the land fill.

the foundation

This is all that is left where the neighborhood grill once stood. All that is left are my memories of my old neighbors, delicious potluck food on the grill, the kids running around with the dogs, and great chatter about what we were going to make for the next week's pot luck.

Rah Ra!

Al-Rasoul Restaurant (USA Bakery)
367 Elysian Fields Rd
Nashville, TN
615-837-8807

Al-Rasoul is a little place off of Nolensville Rd, behind the Gorilla Garage and Green Auto Sales, and is across the side street from the UHaul. The side street is just a few blocks south of the Aldi's shopping plaza and the zoo entrance, but north of Harding Pike. You cannot see Al-Rasoul from Nolensville Rd, only from Elysian Fields Rd. Do not be confused, there is an Elysian Fields CT, but that swoops around to connect with Elysian Fields Rd. There is only a small red sign with yellow Arabic writing on it in front of Al-Rasoul. If you google this place, you can type in USA Bakery with the address and see the street view. What I am trying to say is that this place is delicious and hard to describe how to get there.

my dish I made with products from Al-Rasoul

Years ago, we were tipped off by my foodie co-worker that there is a wonderful Persian flat bread maker behind the Gorilla Garage. She did not know the name of the bakery, and the only thing we had to go on was the Gorilla Garage. Later, after some searching on Google, we determined the name of the flat bread bakery is USA Bakery. We made it to this location, and we saw the wonderful bakery in the back. The brick ovens look like a really big old style top-loading washing machine. The flat bread is made by stretching dough balls out into big round disks, like a nice pizza disk. The disk is slapped into the oven hole onto the wall of the oven, and the cover is closed. When the bread is done baking, they bread is lifted off the wall, and packaged up 4 for $2. The bread has a lovely wood oven flavor, and can be eaten as is, eaten with some delicious food from Al-Rasoul, or made into the base of a pizza at home. Whole wheat and white flat breads are available. We have tried both, and both are delicious!

The USA Bakery is in the back of the building. In the center of the building is a small grocery market with some vegetables, cold case goods, dry goods, and some Halal labeled meats. The last visit, I picked up some Nabulsi cows milk cheese which is mozzarella like cheese made with mahlab and black caraway seeds. The mahlab is tough to find in the USA, but is a common spice used in the Persian Gulf region, and is the seed of a specific type of cherry. Nabulsi cheese is slightly aromatic with mahlab, offering an aroma and flavor reminding me of a nutmeg, or cinnamon that you would get in Skyline Chili. Nabulsi does melt when heated, but not as much or as oozy as mozzarella. There is also other types of white cheeses available here including feta.

In the front of the building is the Al-Rasoul Restaurant. The hot food cafeteria line offers different meals of the day, with curried lamb and lamb kebobs as staples. There could be spice baked Cornish game hens, braised lamb shanks, and other Halal meat offerings, but the menu changes from day to day. There were a 6 variety of soups offered during my last visit, all looked great, but since I was taking food to-go, I had to pass on the deep red soups with luscious veggies peeking out from the vat because I did not want to risk spilling in my newly cleaned car. The rice they offer are white rice, and a rice pilaf that looks like the ancient recipe of the original Rice-a-Roni. The history of Rice-a-Roni was recounted on NPR and you can click on the link and hear about it. I opted for a $2 serving (a filled to the brim take-away container full!!) of the special pilaf made with aromatic spices, diced veggies, raisins, tiny pieces of vermicelli and rice. It is likely this rice was made with real chicken broth. The flavor of this rice is subtle, the way a rice pilaf should be.

The lamb entrees looked great, but I was here for the lamb kebobs. They are only $1 per skewer. The kebob here is also known as kubideh in other restaurants in town. Al-Rasoul's kebob is ground lamb with spices, and the spiced lamb is patted onto a skewer and then grilled over very high flame. The kebobs are made to order, so you will have to wait until they are cooked right in front of you. In my humble opinion, these are the best kebob or kubideh made in Nashville. The charry goodness, the meat flavor, the spice flavor is a perfect combination here. To get a dinner platter, I believe it comes with 4 kebob, soup, tiny salad, bread and a big pile of rice for less than $8. Bring a tupperware to take food home because portions are enough for 2 - 3 people.

OK, so I usually take-away from Al-Rasoul because I have something else planned for the the food. I make a Persian inspired pizza and here is how I do it with ingredients from USA Bakery and Al-Rasoul.

My Persian Inspired Pizza, feeds 4-6 people
and makes 4 large pizzas
oven 375F 10 min

Whole wheat (or white) flat bread made fresh (4 per pack)
8 kebob (dice when you get home)
Large block of Nabulsi (shred when you get home)
2 tomatoes (dice when you get home)
1 medium onion (chopped when you get home)
4 small handfuls of olives (chopped when you get home)
Salt, pepper, oregano, basil, garlic powder, sharp paprika
Olive oil

Method per flat bread:

1. Take flat bread and lightly brush with olive oil
2. Sprinkle to taste with salt, pepper, and spices (use the ones you like)
3. Sprinkle 2 diced kebobs over the flat bread distributing evenly
4. Sprinkle 1 handful of chopped olives evenly over the pizza
5. Sprinkle 1/4 of the chopped onion evenly over the pizza
6. Sprinkle 1/2 diced tomato evenly over the pizza
7. Sprinkle 2 handfuls of Nabsuli over evenly over the pizza
8. Put flat bread pizza in a 375F oven for 10 minutes, or to the done crispiness you want
9. Cut and enjoy!
Hint: since I do not have a pizza stone, I put the pizza on the bottom side of jelly roll pan (jelly roll pan upside down in the oven), so that it is easy to slide the pizza off the pan and onto the cutting board.

I guess I should mention that the reviewer on Yelp (click on the address at the top of this post to connect with the Yelp review) has a point. This is an inexpensive lunch and early dinner place, and it closes about 8 pm or earlier if there are no more customers. This is a delicious place, but not a place to wow a 1st date with ambiance, but I would say it would WOW a first date in Persian style yummy food. The owners have really spiffed this place up over the years, and it looks a lot like a lot of other established meat and 3 restaurants in town. The building may be old and showing a lot of wear, but the tables are comfortable and clean. Every time I have been to Al-Rasoul, there have been mostly only men eating here, and a few families. In general, I am the only single woman eating here. I have seen single women grocery shopping in the store section, single women taking out the hot food to take home to for dinner, and I have seen the women bakers working, but in general, my observation in the dining room is similar to the Yelp review description - I am one of the few single women dining here. Is this different than any other restaurant in town, I don't think so. Most people go to dinner with a friend or family. I just happen to be one person who is used to dining out alone because of all the work travel I do, and am forced to dine out alone on many occasions. I am totally fine with being the only single woman eating here, or anywhere else when Matt, my friends or family aren't with me. Every single time I have been to Al-Rasoul, I have been treated with respectful, friendly, smiling and earnest service, kind of like Norm walking into Cheers. And the last time I visited, the young cashier let me have a honey cookie on the house! Deliciously Sweet!