Toast... Gravy Cakes

Well I love Toast they have changed there menu just a bit. When I saw they had added Gravy Cakes I was all in. What are the Gravy Cakes you ask? They are Buttermilk biscuit griddle cakes filled with breakfast sausage. Topped with 3 eggs and scratch made sausage gravy covering the whole thing.

It is a Very Large (a slight under statement) plate of food. It was the best thing I have eaten in awhile. The
Gravy Cakes are so good, no GREAT. The cooked in sausage in not warped up the in pancake but it is cut up and put in to the batter. Then you add the the sausage gravy... it is a sausage over load. Top with 3 eggs, and for less then $10 its one of the best things ever.

Once again Toast has done it, a great breakfast

Toast

chicken noodle soup

Chicken noodle soup is easy i did it on Sunday and it took me about hour. In a stock pot cook off onions, garlic, celery. Once they are softened add chariots and chicken stock.

Now if you want to make it really good, use home made stock. Witch is really easy to. When you roast a chicken save the drippings and skim off the fat and there is its. But if you have boxed that will do, use the box stuff not the caned, the caned has a lot more salt in it. I used box and some home made this time.

You should be seasoning as you are going adding salt and pepper to the onion mix and then again when you add in the stock.

This time I'm using just cut up chicken breast. But the best thing is leftover roast chicken. But with the regular prepackaged, just cut up chicken (any parts that you like). And cook the chicken in a pan first just to cook it part of the way. Once the "pinkness" is mostly gone add to the pot and de-glaze the pan with some chicken broth. Then add that broth form the pan back in to the pot.

Now I like to cook my noodles separate because they don't get mushy. So just cook you noodles in some water and once soft add to a bowl and pore soup over them and it ready to go

Kokoro

I like Kokoro for fast Japanese food. Its good, there is better out there but its fast and cheep. The food is good for the price, $6-7 a bowl. They have a good Unagi and Curry bowl. The best part is that they are a local Denver chain, any chance I get to eat local.

So if your looking for something fast good and local, hit up Kokoro

Now Tokyo Joe's is local to, but they are just ok. for some reason I like Kokoro much better. I dont know if it is just because Kokoro seams more authentically Japanese, or that they have a curry sauce not just traiki or that it has Udon (it good to) on the menu or what. but Kokoro is just better. The ONLY thing that Tokyo Joe's has thats Kokoro donest is a bowl with eggs in its the "Okako bowl". I love eggs in my Japanese food specially bowls.


Kokoro

braised beef

Last weekend was the first time that i have braised something. I got a bottom round roast and seared it off in a stock pot ( i don't have a dutch oven). Then took it out and added chopped onion, garlic, celery, and carrot. I used a wooden spoon to get all the good bits off the bottom of the pan, and added some chicken stock ( I didn't have beef stock). On a side note there is only one organic beef broth that is BEEF BROTH not beef FLAVORED broth. Once that was done I put the roast back in and added enough red wine to go up 3/4 of the way up the side of the roast. stured it up so all the Veg was mixed in and the roast wasn't sitting on all if them. I added saffron and salt and pepper. and in to the oven it went for about 2 hours.

So it turned out good it was a little tough it could have been that it wasn't that great of a cut of meat or that i cooked it too long. I think using the stock pot instead of a dutch oven cut down the cooking time, or that it was only a 3lb roast. But the flavors were good the only thing is that next time less saffron it was a little strong. I really liked cooking it and would make it agian and I'm going to be Braising lost of other stuff.

Well he had about 1/2 if the roast left so i turned it in to beef stroganoff, that was really good to. I made a rue out of chalots, garlic, and olive oil. Then added beef broth, beef, cream of mushroom soup, sour cream and mushrooms. season with salt and pepper and simmer till the mushrooms are warm. Serve over egg noodles, it was good.

Bistro One... first dinner

This is another place we have been wanting to try. Bistro one was one of 5280s best new restaurants this year. We finally said we need to go. We met for an early dinner.

I ordered the meatball fettuccine. It is Kobe meatballs and had mad noodles, with a great slightly spicy tomato sauce. The meatballs were light and fluffy, and not a strong "beefy" taste. the noodles are to die for. My wife order the Stake Frites, it was very good as well.

all and all i need to eat more because what i had was really good.

bistro one

Pete's Central One Restaurant... lunch

well i have driven by Pete's Central One Restaurant hundreds of times but never have stopped. One day for lunch i decided to stop in. well my first tip off should have been there was no one in there but me. i know it was late lunch but still. so after a bit of looking at the menu i decided on the Greek Style Combination lunch plate.

A combination of Mousaka and Pastitsio served with vegetables. now Mousakais a casserole layered w/eggplant, potatoes, seasoned ground beef, and cheese. Topped w/a parmesan custard and a light tomato sauce. And Pastitsio is a layered blend of seasoned ground beef and large macaroni noodles topped w/a creamy parmesan custard and a light tomato sauce. This sounds good so i could try a couple of different things and came with soup or salad, i got the soup it was a creamy chicken and rice.

Well the soup tasted like caned NOT fresh and the veg on the side tasted frozen. The Mousaka and Pastitsio both came in a "light tomato" sauce witch is code for flavorless. The Mousaka was an odd mush on some ground beef that had no flavor. The Pastitsio noodles were over cooked and pasty.

well there was a reson that no one was eating there... its just not good. so if you are driving by Pete's Central One Restaurant keep driving

Central one Greek

The Counter... burger of the month

We found out about The counter form 5280 magazine. It sounded so go so we went for lunch. It is a burger joint, but not just a regular joint. You can build your own burger form beef, turkey, veggy, or chicken, in the sizes of 1/3, 2/3, or 1 lb. There are 10 different cheeses to chose form, and you can pic 4 toppings of 18 and 10 premium toppings. Finley a sauce and a bun. so you can get any burger you like! There are a few signature burgers as well, including the burger of the month.

I had this month's burger witch is JAPANESE STYLE AHI BURGER
ahi tuna mixed with pickled ginger, topped with furikake nori, daikon radish, carrot ribbons and scallions. served on a hamburger bun with wasabi aioli. I ordered mine with a over easy egg on it. The tuna was great and fresh, the flavor of the burger was Very Japanese. It was really good, like eating a spring roll or rice bowl at a good Japanese place. The burgers my wife and mom ordered were very good as well.

Every thing was every fresh and cooked to order, with so many choices there are lots of reasons to eat at The Counter but the best is that it is SO Very good.

The Counter