Posts Tagged ‘Italian’

Friggin Awesome Burgers in Toledo!

// June 14th, 2011 // No Comments » // Blog, Restaurant Reviews

Tin Chef Chuck

I recently had the opportunity to try out two new burger joints in Toledo.  What is really newsworthy here is not how great they were, nor how awesome the service was or even how good the food was.  What really has excited me is that we now have two new restaurants that are pushing the culinary envelope.  Places that really have something unique to eat.  These are not another cookie cutter place that reheats generic burgers bought in bulk from a large restaurant supply house.  Rather each uses really high quality meat, makes handmade patties and then creates truly unique flavors by using really fresh ingredients.  Before I really dive into these new places, I need to mention one of my all time favorites.  Not quite as hip as Bar145, and not quite the gourmet experience you get at BurgerBar419, but if you are looking for an honest to God, greasy spoon awesome burger- you need to go to the Green Lantern on Broadway.  Don’t let the appearance fool you.  The Green Lantern has been around since the 1930’s for a reason.  It’s not heart healthy, but it is a great greasy cheeseburger place.  Stop in for breakfast and lunch.  Try a double Goopy, and tell Mo I sent you.  You go there once and I promised you will be hooked!

The first new place I want to talk about is Burger Bar 419.   Burger Bar 419 is located in South Toledo on 4400 Heatherdowns Blvd. or across from the Distillery in the old Matthews.  The first time we went there, we had almost every appetizer!  Start with the basic, good old fashioned French Fries.  The battered fried onion petals were good but nothing special, but then cam e the roasted marrow bones with sweet onion marmalade.  The first time we had this- it wasn’t perfect.  In fact it was almost raw.  But for crying out load- bone marrow in Toledo, minutes from my house.  Yes there were several errors in technique- but the concepts are there.  We were there a day or two after the place just opened.  The execution has gotten better and this really has become my favorite hangout in Toledo.  The pickled vegetables are awesome.  The chipotle pickled pineapple and goat cheese is great, I personally love the crispy pork belly with homemade kim chee!  This was another dish that was undercooked on our first go around, but the flavors and potential was there.  It was spectacular the next time we went.  Make sure you try the sriracha-soy deviled eggs with bacon and arugula.

The Burger Bar 419 has 15 or so burgers and they are all $9.00.  The offer a wide selection of home made mayonnaise and aolis, as well as several unique ketchup’s and mustard’s.  The Heater, Italian, Pate Melt, and Vintage Bleu are all awesome.  You can’t go wrong when you use all fresh ingredients and combine great flavors.  I can’t wait to try all of them.

We had the milkshakes for desert.  So far, this has been the biggest shortcoming of Burger Bar 419.  They were small, over priced and nothing memorable.  Personally, I would save your money and go to Handel’s!  Don’t let the deserts stop you from checking this place out though; I am sure it will become one of your favorite Toledo hangouts.

The other place we recently went to was Bar145° on Monroe Street.  Bar 145 is very different from Burger Bar 419.  First, it has a totally different atmosphere.  It seems more like a club than a burger place.  They have live music, a dance floor and a large bar.  There appetizers include fried pickled green beans, fries, artichoke gratin, a baked potato waffle, bourbon onion straws, mac and gouda, pretzel chips, and smoked salmon with garlic flat bread. By the way- any idea how Bar 145 got it’s name?  Overall the appetizers were pretty good, but nothing spectacular.  Most were served with generic salted/peppered flat crackers, which I think detracted from the flavor of several of the dips.  They have a few burgers on the menu, but they do a build your own menu.  What is nice here is that they use really high quality ingredients and do a pretty good job of creating your custom burger.  I may be splitting hairs, but I wish they would create a few more signature flavors by combining the awesome ingredients that they offer.  Surprise me, don’t make me think- create that special, signature burger for me!

We didn’t really try out the bourbon, but did have several of their gelato’s.  They had some nice flavors- but I am really partial to my salty caramel, so make sure you read TC Josh’s reviews as well.

In the end these are 2, no make that 3 great places.  If you are looking for breakfast during the week or on Saturday, the make sure you try the Green Lantern.  The Green Lantern is also a great place to grab lunch during the work week.  Once you meet Mo (Maurice), you will fall in love with the Lantern!  I look at Burger Bar 419 more as my local neighborhood hangout, where I can sit at the bar and talk to the chef as he cooks my next burger.  Bone marrow, pickled vegetables and cold Heineken and an awesome burger- can it get any better? To me Bar145 is that place you go to on a Friday or Saturday night, have a great burger and take in some great music.  All 3 places offer unique atmospheres- each may be more appropriate depending on your mood or day of the week.   But all 3 of these places need to be experienced.  If I hear one more person complain that there is nowhere to go, nothing to do, no where to eat in Toledo- I swear I am going to slap the #@%& out of you!  Places like these 3 restaurants would have waiting list in any other city- if they struggle, it’s your fault!  Take a walk on the wild side and try one of these places this week, in fact, try all 3 and leave a comment on which one you think is best.

 

Tin Chef Chuck

 

Mamma Mia

// May 31st, 2011 // No Comments » // Blog, Restaurant Reviews

Tin Chef Chuck

I usually know better than to try out Italian Restaurants when I am out of town.  Oh, sure I have been to some really spectacular places, but I have been to even more that were nothing short of horrendous.  The problem is that I am a bit of a snob when it comes to Italian food.  First, I grew up in Youngstown, Ohio.  Nobody makes better meatballs than my mother, period, end of discussion.  In Northeast Ohio there were tons of little corner mom and pop places that served authentic and nothing short of amazing Italian food.  Then I traveled to Italy several times.  So I am really hard to please.  I admit it.

So I am not sure what possessed me to stop in Mamma Mia’s Italian Restaurant in Heath, Ohio.  The parking lot was empty and I was the only patron.  The red flags were going up everywhere.  Yet I sat down.  I quickly looked over the menu and ordered the sliced Italian sausage as an appetizer, a side salad and egg plant parmigiana.  Much to my chagrin, they were out of the eggplant parm.  My second choice was the manicotti.  To be complete, I ordered a pepperoni and mushroom pizza to go.

While I waited for my order, I chatted with the owner.  He told me how business has been pretty slow.  He shared that he had been open for about four months.  He then excused himself and went to bring my sausage.  I wasn’t getting my hopes up, but it did look interesting, thin slices of sausage in a spicy marinara sauce.  It was a pretty large serving, and I was already anticipating having a few bites and then focusing on my pasta dish to come.  The owner told me he made everything from scratch- really, in Heath, Ohio.  So I started to eat it as he told me how he learned to cook from his mom and trained and worked in other Italian restaurants.  It was amazing, the sausage was tender and flavorful, and the sauce was truly spectacular.  Fortunately, the place was empty and no one saw me licking up the sauce.  The manicotti was very good.  Manicotti a simple dish’s that’s relatively easy to make and usually taste pretty good.  The only big mistake is to over season it- this one was perfect.  Being the snob that I am, no gold stars for manicotti, I was waiting for the tiramisu.  I always order tiramisu; it’s my barometer of a good Italian restaurant!  This one was home made and was over the top!  The pizza was incredible as well.

So I am sold- I found my new favorite place to eat while in the Newark area.  I can’t wait for lunch tomorrow.  If you live in the area or are passing by, stop in and support this place.  Restaurants like this need to survive!  It’s a special place were fresh ingredients are used by someone who obviously has a passion for what they are doing and does it well. With a little luck, I can get a glass of wine next time I am there!  Good food, fair prices and really nice people working there.  Check it out:  Mamma Mia’s, 773 Hebron Road, Heath, Ohio, (740) 522-0000.  They are open Tuesday through Sunday from 11:00am to 9:00pm.  See you there.

TC Chuck

Traditional Italian Christmas Eve Dinner: Smelts

// December 18th, 2010 // No Comments » // Blog, Recipes

Tin Chef Chuck

I am planning to put together a traditional Italian 7 fish dinner for Christmas Eve.  One thing that I will definitely have is smelts.  This is one thing that I remember my grandmother making growing up.  Smelts is a term to describe several species of small fish that are prevalent around the world.  We always had them around the holidays growing up.  Over the years, I have tried to get them, but living in Toledo, it’s been hit or miss, more often miss.  But not this year.  I was working out of town and found them in a local grocery store.  The weather cooperated- I just tossed them in the back of my truck and they stayed frozen solid.

Smelts out of the bag

If you look for recipes on the web, the majority involve frying them with some breading or flour.  Most smelts come now already cleaned.  I like to go one step further and remove the spine and most of the bones.  It takes a little time, but I think they taste better.  First, soak them in cool salted water.  You can use your finger to pull out the spine.  I then pat them dry and dip in a well beaten egg.  Dredge them in flour and fry until golden in canola oil.  A little salt and pepper plus some lemon juice…can you say delicious?

Stay tuned, courses 2 through 7 are to follow, and then there is Christmas Day dinner.  Definately thinking I may need to pull out my transglutaminase!

Tin Chef Chuck

Spinach Ravioli with ricotta cheese and quail eggs

// December 16th, 2010 // No Comments » // Blog, Recipes

Tin Chef Chuck

Every now and then you hit one out of the park.  Not sure if it’s luck, good karma or what, but this was one of those nights.  It started out like any other ordinary evening.  I went to Churchill’s to pick up a few things and stumbled across a box of quail eggs.  I had been looking for these for at least a year.  I had a few steaks in the frig already and picked up a few walleye fillets for my son.  I didn’t have anything special in mind, but I picked up some organic baby spinach and ricotta cheese as well.  My brother-in-law Jimmy came over and we worked on the short bus for a while.  He really rocked out with the grinder…  but that is a different story and web site.

I decided to make ravioli.  I filled my food processor with as much spinach as I could jam into it.  I drizzled in a few teaspoons of olive oil, changed the blade to the dough mixer and added my pasta mix.  Four cups of flour, four eggs and a pinch or two of salt.  The dough was a little sticky, so it took another half cup of flour or so.  I then ran it through my Kitchen Aid with the past attachment.

Quail egg & Ricoota filling

For the filling, I mixed up the ricotta with some dried basil, salt, pepper and really good fresh parmigiano reggiano cheese.  I put it in a piping bag and piped out small rings on the pasta, about an inch and a half or so across.  I then cracked the quail eggs into the center of the ring.  I put another layer of spinach pasta on top and used a little water to seal the raviolis.

I dropped them into salted boiling water and cooked them for about 2 minutes, just until they began to float.  I couldn’t come up with a good idea for sauce, so I served them with a little bit of goats cheese.When I cut into one and tasted it- wow.  If I ever open a restaurant, these will definitely be on the menu.  The yolk was still soft and when mixed with the goats cheese, the ricotta filling and the fresh spinach pasta- just amazing.  I only wish the pictures could do it justice.  I really wish I would have made pictures of each step.  I definitely will next time.  This was actually really easy to make, but was one of those out of this world dishes- and I made it!  Give it a try, you’ll be hooked!

Tin Chef Chuck

Tin Chef spinach ravioli with ricotta and quail eggs

Columbus Again… Plus a few other things

// December 9th, 2010 // No Comments » // Blog

Tin Chef Chuck

First there’s Lola’s.  Then last night I had to pick up my son in Columbus.  OSU is finished for the Christmas break.  So my wife Carolyn and I do the familiar Columbus road trip last night.  We made it in time to hit some of our old favorites.

First we managed to stop by Vincenzo’s just before they closed.  I love this place.  We used to get take out there all the time when we live in Columbus.  Now it always seems when we make it to Columbus, they are closed.  Anyway, we made it.  I ordered my old standby, the ”Italian Sub”.  It seems expensive at $14.99-  but it is an entire loaf of delicious homemade Italian bread.  Well worth it.  We also picked up a bunch of stuff for the kids, lasagna, eggplant parm, etc.  If you are in the Dublin area, and lucky enough to be there during business hours, stop by. 
We then stopped by the Gallery Art Center in Upper Arlington.  We have been going there for years.  I took my oldest daughter there when she was a few days old.  Wow time passes by in a flash.  It was great to see our old friends again. 
We finally picked my son up and then we had to check out Jeni’s Ice Cream  after Josh’s post.  I ordered the cocoa zin (awesome), sweet cream with Appalachian elderberries (Didn’t like this one so much), and the salty caramel (SPECTACULAR!!)  Chuckie and Carolyn had some other neat flavors which I can’t remember right now…  I was parked illegally and the tow truck was circling, so I had to run back to the truck!  Josh was right, over the top flavors. 
For all of you in Northwest Ohio-  good news!  I spoke with Walt Churchill and he carries Jeni’s Ice Cream, so you can pick it up locally at Churchill’s Market. 
Speaking of ice cream, Handel’s  will always be on of my all time favorites.  Call it nostalgia-  but Handel’s started in Youngstown and I remember going there during my high school and college years.  Their chocolate pecan will always be my favorite.  They’ve franchised and we now have them here in Toledo.  It’s almost as good, but I am not sure it can ever surpass the original location- although I admit it may all be in my head.  Handel’s was founded by Alice Handel in 1945  and the original location is still in Youngstown,  located on Handel’s Court on Youngstown’s South Side.  Handel’s has been  recognized as “One of the Best Ice Cream Parlors in the Country.”  In 2002, USA Today rated Handel’s as one of the top ten best ice cream businesses in the country.
You know, it’s really never too cold for good ice cream.
Tin Chef Chuck

 

I am so confused

// July 29th, 2010 // 1 Comment » // Blog

Tin Chef Chuck

So what should we eat???  Really?

I just finished eating a tomato sandwich with arugula, mozzarella cheese, mayonnaise (made with olive oil), kosher salt and fresh ground black pepper on fresh Italian bread.  It was spectacular.  I bought the tomatoes at a little road side stand.  No matter how much I try, I can almost never find tomatoes that really taste good anymore.  Not like the ones I remember as a kid.  Not like the ones my dad and I grew in the backyard.  Why?

I bought some water melon today from the grocery store.  My wife Carolyn is a little peculiar when it comes to water melon.  She hates water melon.  Well, she hates American water melon, which in reality is probably from Mexico or some other far corner of the world.  But she loves Italian water melon.    Come to think of it, I am not sure I like “American” water melon either.   The stuff I bought wasn’t all that great.   A long time ago, I was in Naples, Italy working at the Naval Hospital there.  Carolyn came to visit and we bought slices of water melon from a street vendor.  His truck was parked between the US Naval Support Activity and the NATO base.  It was a big sweet water melon sitting on a huge block of ice.  He cut each of us a slice and collected sixty zillion Lira, which if I remember was about 30 cents American at the time.  It was incredible.  Although I would never admit this to Carolyn, she is right.  (I would hate to have to turn in my man card.)  Never the less, Italian watermelon is way better than anything I have had here recently.  So where has all the good food gone?

This also made me think about what we eat and what we should be eating.  As a cardiologist, people always ask what they should eat and how to improve their diets.  I have never really had a good answer.  It seems that everything that I have been told about food since medical school has been wrong.  Salt is bad for you, don’t eat red meat, eat this, don’t eat that, eggs will kill you.  The good news is all of the stuff that I refused to give up, because I was young and invincible, may have been the right stuff after all.

Back to the tomatoes.  Did you know that most tomatoes that you buy at the local grocery store are picked green.  They are then stuck in a room with ethylene oxide, which turns them red, but never really ripens them.  This way that will last longer to allow them to be transported and stored for months.  There is never time for nature to concentrate the natural sugars and flavors.  In essence you are eating a green tomato that looks red, but it’s not ripe.  I am not sure, but I bet that has something to do with watermelons as well.

Thinking about this further, I wonder what else they do to our food.  I have looked into this recently.  I am no means an expert, but I do know what good food taste like.  I go to our local grocery store every day and buy “fresh” produce.  They have an amazing selection of the usual stuff, as well as all kinds of exotic things I never saw when I was a kid.  And they have it year round!  But is it healthy, and does it taste good?

Our country has perfected mass farming.  If you drive around places like southern California, you’ll see miles and miles of fields mass producing produce.  There are huge trucks and tractors adding just enough fertilizer containing nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium to give a bumper crop that looks pretty, stands up to disease, and will last for weeks as it finds its way to your table.  Somehow I think we are missing something.  Growing healthy fresh vegetables requires more than water, nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium.  There are all kinds of micro nutrients that are missing.  It’s just not the same as what I grew in our back yard garden.

Have you ever noticed that the Government will come out and say something like you need more beta carotene or omega 3 fatty acids or some other component or chemical in food to be really healthy.  Then, some health supplement company will come out with a jar of pills that will protect you from cancer, or improve your memory and make billions.  I have patients who come in with a list of 30 supplements that they take, who spend hundreds of dollars a month on these supplements, then croak from a heart attack.  It’s funny, but if they would eat a banana, it would be better for them and a hell of a lot cheaper.  Even vitamin C has become a victim.  I cannot think of one study that has shown that taking a chemical supplement has worked in our favor.  It doesn’t make sense, because we know you need vitamin C and all of the other stuff.  The problem is we can’t make or reproduce what nature has given us.  God put all of this stuff on Earth for a reason…  You need to eat fish, not a pill with omega 3 fatty acids.  You need to eat fruit, not vitamin C tablets.  It’s the micro nutrients or phyto-nutrients that we are missing, just like the mass produced produce we grow in this country.

But you never hear the government saying eat more apples or fish.  They say eat less saturated fats or hydrogenated fats.  Know why?  Why are we so focused on individual chemical substances in food as opposed to the whole thing.  It’s really a big government conspiracy.  Really, it is.  A long time ago scientist noticed that people that ate too much red meat seemed to have more health problems.  So a well intentioned politician from a state with a very large cattle industry came out and said Americans need to eat less beef.  Needless to say, he was voted out of office and his political career was all but over.  Politicians aren’t stupid, so they changed their tune to eat less saturated fat.  Pretty safe, but spineless.  And ever since we talk about chemical components of food rather than the whole thing, lest we offend someone.

With due respect to PITA, we need meat.  We need wholesome, fresh vegetables.  The good news is good food is finally back in fashion.  We are finally in an era when chocolate and wine are considered health foods.  It doesn’t get any better than that.

So what should you eat?  I have a couple of simple rules.  Start with the wine and chocolate.  Just additional proof that there is a God.  A glass or two of wine a day…doctors orders.  Beans- another great food, rich in protein and flavor.  I am not talking about canned green beans either.  Garbanzo beans and countless other varieties to enjoy and eat several times a week.  Olives and olive oil- a little every day.  In reality you can get by with two cooking oils, olive oil and canola oil.  Both are healthy and good for you.  Don’t forget fresh fruits and vegetables, eat lots of them.  These are most of the key ingredients in the Mediterranean diet by the way.  I am not saying anything new- it’s been around for thousands of years.

I am starting to buy more and more organic foods too.  It’s not that I am worried about what’s in the fertilizers that are used, but really what’s not in them.  We need those complex phyto-nutrients that I believe we are missing in the local grocery store.  Same with the massive chicken breast that are pumped full of steroids and antibiotics, just stay away.  I guess I’m a small breast guy after all.  Nuts, again another nature’s super food- a few servings a week.  And then there is meat and seafood.  It’s OK, in moderation, it’s not a problem.  Just make sure that you eat all of the other stuff.  I know the organic stuff is more expensive, but you really get what you pay for.

Equally important is what you shouldn’t eat.  Stay away from processed food.   If you stay on the outside perimeter of your grocery store you will stay out of trouble.  Think about it, that’s where the produce, fish and meats, dairy and other fresh foods are located.  Watch CNN lately? Now the government is out for salt.  Salt taste good and improves the flavor of a lot of food.  It’s been used for millions of years and man can’t live without.  The problem is in our mass produced society, huge amounts of salt are added to processed food.  Just stay away from it.  Use low salt (sodium) products and add salt to taste.  And don’t waste your money on sea salt.  It’s no healthier for you than plain old salt, despite what the Campbell’s Soup guy says.  Salt is salt with one exception- the colored sea salts.  They are very expensive and contain sediments from the region they were recovered.  That sediment gives an added flavor and provides the color.  But the salt part is still just salt, good old sodium chloride.  I like kosher salt- same stuff with bigger crystals, so it’s crunchy and the flavor burst in your mouth.  But it is just salt.

So, visit your local farmers market, try to buy fresh produce, organic when you can.  Grab a glass of wine and cook dinner.  Cook good food, add a pinch of salt and enjoy life.  One final thought.  The French are famous for their cooking and foods.  It’s rich, delicious and filled with all kinds of “unhealthy” things like cream, butter, eggs and salt.  The French also smoke like fiends- yet we Americans have a much higher death rate from cardiovascular diseases.  I am not condoning smoking, but I am condoning eating well, enjoying life, drinking wine, avoiding processed and fast food and living a long healthy life.

DISCLAIMER:  I would like to take this opportunity to apologize to PITA, the mega farms and farmers, fertilizer makers and sellers, the fast food industry, the nutritional  supplement and vitamin makers and sellers, spineless politicians, Campbell’s Soup and the big guy banging on pans,  and anyone else I may of offended on the way.  If you are one of the groups endorsed by this posting, we are looking for sponsors, free food or anything else we can get, call me!  Tin Chef Chuck

Braising…my favorite method of cooking

// June 1st, 2010 // No Comments » // Blog, Recipes

Tin Chef Chuck

Braising is by far one of my favorite cooking techniques.  In the past, I would toss a relatively inexpensive cut of meat into a crock pot, throw in a few veggies, a little beef stock and- fire and forget.  Although the results were pretty good, braising in the oven  results in spectacular and complex flavors.  The only down side is that it takes a little time- it’s easy, but not quick.  Braising was a typical peasant method of cooking, slow simmering beef in wine as a means of tenderizing cuts that would have turned out terrible any other way.  Braising is awesome and can transform most inexpensive, tougher cuts in to “haute cuisine“- basically delicious fancy, smancy French cooking.

The basic technique is to first sear the meat.  I like to use a cast iron dutch oven with a little olive oil and butter.  Sear all sides of the meat until it develops a rich brown color.  Remove the meat and set aside.  Preheat your oven to 375 degrees F.

In the same pan, saute one onion, 1 or 2 celery stalks coarsely chopped, and 2 carrots, also coarsely chopped. I love garlic, so I will always add several gloves of chopped garlic.  You can also add a pepper for a little heat.  You can also add a few bay leaves and flat Italian parsley, also chopped.   Cook the vegetables down, salt and pepper to taste.  Add a little more olive oil if needed. You can add about 2 tablespoons of tomato paste now, or add whole tomatoes a little later.

Put the meat back into the pot and add several cups of red wine.  Simmer for 20-30 minutes to reduce the wine down by at least half.  Add about 12-14 ounces of low sodium beef broth and if you like, a can (28 ounces) of San Marzano tomatoes that have been crushed by hand. Stir everything together.  Cover the pot and place in the pre-heated oven and braise for about 90 minutes.  Remove the cover and cook for an additional 30 minutes or so.  You could use a crock pot here, but I only do that on my boat now.

There are several variations that you can try.  The meat can be dredged in a seasoned flour before searing.  You can also mix up the veggies, typically sticking with root vegetables.  This works great with “cheaper” or tougher meat cuts.  Veal shanks (Osso Buco) are my favorite, but you can use just about any roast.  Bone in short ribs are also excellent.  Coq au vin is braised chicken.  Coq means rooster, which is typically very tough, and works well with braising.  Classically a capon is used, but we don’t have a lot of neutered chickens running around in Toledo!   But too be honest I wouldn’t even know where to look to tell if the chicken was neutered.   Coq au vin usually has mushrooms and Burgandy wine, but there are endless variations.  Beef bourguignon is another traditional French recipe and just another variation of beef braised in red wine.  It is usually seared in bacon fat and has pearl onions and mushrooms.

I love adding 1-2 hot peppers to add a little zing.  I will also add a little acid, either a splash of Ver Jus, wine vinegar or balsamic vinegar to bring out even more flavor.  Next time I will talk about making a roux and using bouquet garni in your cooking.  CJG