The most disgusting soup I have ever had

So I was at work today and decided that I wanted a little bit of warm soup with the salad I brought for lunch. In my building (LaSalle Plaza, Mpls), there is an Erbert and Gerbert's. I decided to run down there.... Once there I ordered the blanco chicken chili.

Now, I know that this is a fast food type of place, and expectations are understandably low. However, there are several similar places downtown where you can get a decent, if not great, bowl of soup.

THIS WAS NOT ONE OF THEM.

The soup broth reminded me of pot pie broth in color, but like phlegm in consistency. It also had only a few random beans in it, and very little chicken other than a huge chunk of gristly stuff that I didn't dare put in my mouth. On top of that, the soup was simultaneously WAY oversalted and had too much pepper. So my brain kept going back and forth between both unpleasant sensations.

Overall, a complete waste of money and a meal. I will never darken the door of that place again.

Beajolais Nouveau est arrive!

Its Beajolais Nouveau time!!

What is that you say? Beajolais is a red wine that is only shipped from France to other parts of the world once a year. In fact, French law requires that the wine be released on the third Thursday of November every year. The wine originates from the Burgundy region, where there are about 3,600 Beajolais growers.

The wine is made from 100% Gamay grapes, which have a thinner skin. This produces a lower tannin level. (Tannins are what give red wine that sort of "bite")

Wine experts are especially excited about it this year because it is expected to be the best vintage in the past 50 years, as all growing conditions were perfect! That said, this is generally not a wine to be aged. It is generally recommended to drink this wine within 12 months of bottling. There are some exceptions to this for some of the Crus.

Serve this wine slightly chilled to bring the young, fruity flavors forward.

Saji Ya

Tonight we went to Saji Ya to celebrate Pat's birthday. This is located on Grand avenue in St. Paul, next to Dixie's.

As I am sure you have figured out by the name, this is a Japanese restaurant. I have been to many of the Japanese restaurants here in the city, and overall I would place this one in the middle of the pack.

When you walk into the restaurant, the vestibule leaves much to be desired. The interior of the restaurant is also a bit too spare in my opinion, but they do have some neat detailing on the walls behind the sushi bar.

As for dining, you have two options here: you can for for the traditional experience of ordering food off the menu, or you can make reservations for Teppanyaki. Teppanyaki is a set up where a group of people sit around while a chef in the middle cooks and chops food in front of them. Its fast and a fun show. However, there tends to be a minimum number of people you need to have for that experience. We went for the traditional experience.

The menu here offers something for everyone, from sushi and sashimi to all sorts of appetizers and warm entrees. It was particularly good for us as we have people with us who are less adventurous when eating, and there were choices for them to enjoy as well.

For appetizers we ordered Gyoza (pork potstickers) and Harumaki (eggrolls). They were both very good, but I think the gyoza could have been drained before serving. The eggrolls were excellent. Flavorful and crunchy.

All the entrees come with soup and a salad to start. The egg drop soup and miso soup that we had was adequate, but nothing out of this world. However, the salads were really good! It has a orange dressing on it that has a really unique flavor that I loved. When paired with sunflower seeds, it was even better. I could eat that salad all day.

Around the table we ordered: chicken tempura, Pork Tonkatsu, New York Strip, and a sashimi plate.
* Chicken tempura is chicken and vegetables fried in a light batter. This came with steamed rice and soy dipping sauce. It was decent, but predictable. A safe choice for those who may not otherwise like Japanese food.
*Pork Tonkatsu is a port cutlet, breaded and fried. It is supposed to come with a sort of Japanese steak sauce on it, but mine did not come with the sauce. I was not pleased. In addition, it came with steamed rice, ginger broccoli, A chicken drummie, a bowl with sweet potato and pork chunks in it, and a small fried mackerel cake. This is served in what is called a Bento box.

This was really good, and a LOT of food. I liked everything except the fish cake, but that is because I don't like fish! The Broccoli was so good I think it would be a great way to get picky kids to eat it.

*The New York strip in this case was served with a ginger sauce on it. This also came with all the sides that the Tonkatsu had as a bento box. My companion really enjoyed the steak. This is another great choice for persons who may not be into the more traditional Japanese fare.

*Sashimi is raw fish that is sliced thinly, served cold with rice, pickled ginger, wasabi and garnish. My companion rated the Sashimi was good, but not the best compared to other places. In addition, the portion was a little small for the price that you pay for relatively inexpensive fish that was on the platter.

The dessert menu was odd. Other than the obligatory green tea ice cream, it wasn't very Japanese. They had mango cheesecake, death by chocolate cake, and Tiramisu. Yes, an italian dessert in a Japanese restaurant. So, of course my companion ordered the Tiramisu. Overall it was decent in flavor, and it was very nicely plated. However it isn't the best we have ever had.

Over all, this restaurant is good, but not great. This is a good choice if you have less adventurous eaters because they have more tame options than other Japanese restaurants in the city.

Pumpkin Spice Pancakes!

So I went out to breakfast this morning and I had pumpkin spice pancakes at Good Earth restaurant in Roseville. For those who may not be familiar, this is the sort of organic-granola style restaurant in the Parasole family of restaurants (Muffuletta, Salut Bar Americain, Pittsburgh Blue, etc).

These pancakes are AWESOME. They have them every fall. The pancake itself is the pumpkin part, and they are covered with a sweet apple butter and craisins. Talk about NOM. The pancakes themselves are not very sweet like a pumpkin pie, more like a less sweet spice cookie. Very hearty, I can never finish more than half of a portion of these beauties! If you get a chance, definitely stop in with these before they go off the menu. Bon Appetit!

Broccoli and Potato soup

I recently made a soup that I found in the book "Marcella Cucina," by Marcella Hazan. Because this recipe is copyrighted, I will not reproduce it here, but the book is definitely worth picking up.

At first I thought, "Broccoli and potato? I dunno about that..." However, I was intrigued by the combo and I decided to try it. IT WAS EXQUISITE. So incredibly good, with a depth of flavor that I hadn't expected.Its also a way to include a vegetable that a lot of people don't like in your diet. I think even kids would eat this.This is a thick soup, so it is definitely more suited to the fall/winter seasons.

Something to note: because you are working with fresh broccoli, this soup takes a while to make. So don't try to make this when you want a really quick dinner. However, the extra time spent is more than worth it.