Beer and Chili Festival - A Delicious Start

Well, as much as I had wanted to blog about my trip in real time, we were too busy and there was never time. The setting was the waterfront in Long Beach, California. The occasion, the inaugural Queen Mary Delicious Chili & Brewfest. It was a hot day, one might say "Hot as Chili"! We were baking in the sun, when, just over the horizon in the faint distant, beer appeared. We were saved!

The beer was good, several great but only 2 were exceptional. These were both IPA's, and they had an assertive yet balanced hop characteristic that I totally love! It was great to find folks who can craft a hoppy beer with subtle malt characteristics that still make the beer clean tasting and refreshing.

The first one that made a big impression on me was from Rock Bottom Brewery in Long Beach. My first experience with a Habanero IPA was amazing! Brewmaster Thomas Mercado hit the nail right on the head with this one. Very clean and refreshing with a nice bit of hops to make this a great IPA. Then comes the habanero, and this pushed it over the top for me. The heat only appears in the finish and was just enough to compliment the hops without masking them. It also paired well with the spicy chili that we were enjoying thoroughly. I must commend Thomas on this one, it blew my mind!

Here is the winning chili (in my opinion) paired with the Habanero IPA. A delicious meaty chili made with Tri Tip and no beans. It was amazing how much texture the beef had, even after slow cooking for hours! It was made by On The Road Chili, who won the 2012 World Open Chili Championship. The chili was so flavorful, I was shocked when they did not place first!

The other brew that stood out for me came from Heretic Brewing Company. Another local, hailing from Fairfield California had 2 styles to sample from. It was the Evil Cousin that did it for me. This was their take on a West Coast Imperial IPA, a massive dose of hops balanced out with a light malt character. This hoppy powerhouse was more balanced than most of the double IPA's I tasted. It was delicious and refreshing, cutting right through the heat from the chili's. Evil Cousin below on the right and Evil Twin on the left.

We had a great time, even in the high heat! Beer was delicious and so was the chili. One more honorable mention for the beer was Sierra Nevada Pale Ale, a refreshing beer with a nice citrusy hop character. This was the first beer we tasted at the festival.

A great start to the trip, we left with bellies full of beer and chili. Life can be hard, drink beer and it gets better!

California Adventure - The Prologue

Well, it has been over 2 years since my last blog. A lot can happen in 2 years, life changing experiences with plenty of highs and lows. While I am quite sure I could fill this post with the changes in my life, that is neither good reading nor what this blog is about. My love for travel and all things food and drink has most certainly not changed!

In just 1 week, Alex (who just may guest write) and I will be travelling to sunny California! This is not her first trip there, and most certainly not mine either. However, we have quite a bit planned for this trip. Our first stop is San Diego, and there is a huge variety of activities and eats to choose from. We will also be spending some time in Orange County, Los Angeles, Monterey, San Francisco and Napa with many stops in between.

This blog will slowly come back to life as we make our way up the coast. From finding some of the best eats around to enjoying some of the best sights and activities California has to offer, this will be a fun filled trip that we would like to share with all of you! So even though you will not be able to fit in our suitcases, it will seem like you are along for the journey.

So strap yourselves in and get ready for the adventure of a lifetime, an adventure with Mike and Alex into a world of food and fun!

A Night of Comfort - Lamb and Red Wine

Well, it is that time of year again...winter. That chill, it makes us want to stay indoors and enjoy the warmth. There are many things that are comforting to me, food and wine are definitely near the top of that list. On this particular cold Sunday night, lamb and merlot were to be the stars of this show!

The lamb, a fresh Manitoba rack of lamb and some lamb sausages with fennel. These were sourced from a local market, La Grotta Mediterranean Market. This is one of the greatest sources I have found in this city for fine meats, sausages and seafood. Yes, I said it...seafood...from diver scallops to live dungeness crab, the selection is amazing. Meat, groceries, seafood, prepared foods and desserts...coffee, might as well throw a wine store in there too for good measure. Without sounding too much like an advertisement, I love this place. The quality is always top notch which is important to me, I will pay more for it!

The merlot, a bottle of Provenance Vineyards Merlot Carneros Beckstoffer Las Amigas Vineyard 02. First, let me say a little about Andy Beckstoffer and Las Amigas Vineyard. Founder of Beckstoffer Vineyards, Andy Beckstoffer is one of the Napa Valley's premier grape growers. He provides grapes to the likes of Acacia Vineyard, Paul Hobbs Winery and Schrader Cellars just to name a few. Las Amigas vineyard was acquired by Beckstoffer Vineyards in 1992/93 and is located in in the Los Carneros AVA. For those unfamiliar with Los Carneros(also known just as Carneros), it is in the southern tip of Napa and is generally the coolest part of Napa Valley. As far as I am aware, Las Amigas Vineyard only produces merlot, pinot noir and chardonnay...all well suited to a cooler climate.

Supporting our lamb and merlot were garlic mashed potatoes and sautéed veggies. The veggies were a delicious combination of sautéed garlic, mushroom, snap peas, spinach and zucchini.

This is comfort food at it's finest. The sausage, delicious and tender with a hint of fennel. The lamb was delicious and tender, very easy to eat...like little meaty lollipops, they do not last long.

Well, back to the wine. So Andy Beckstoffer provides these wonderful grapes from his Las Amigas Vineyard in Carneros to Tom Rinaldi, winemaker at Provenance Vineyards. A little about Tom, he makes some pretty outstanding merlot. He helped start Duckhorn Vineyards in the late 70's as their first winemaker. After helping to put Duckhorn on the map he made his way over to Provenance Vineyards in 2000 where he and Chris Cooney make some unbelievable wines from sauvignon blanc, cabernet franc to malbec...and many more!

There were beautiful notes of dried cherry and apple with a hint of vanilla, very soft and elegant. The tannins were softer than silk...who would have thought that was possible! The flavours were still quite pronounced, even after almost 10 years!

Dinner was great, company was great and the wine was great. What more could you ask for from an evening? What is comfort food to you?

Local Eating - Breakfast at Fresh Cafe

Anyone who is around me with any sort of regularity knows I have been all about locally sourced food this year. The ingredients are more fresh, it's great for the local economy and even better tasting in my opinion. After a wonderful night of food, drinks and fun...a good breakfast is the only way to get started.

I invited a friend with me for breakfast as good food is only better with good company. My first suggestion was Fresh Cafe on Corydon Avenue, I have been before but she had not. If it is your first time, be prepared as they can be very busy...especially on Sunday. Make sure you find a server near the front door and give your name as there is no host/hostess to greet you. It is often very crowded in this area on Sundays, with people enjoying fresh coffee, tea and juice based beverages while waiting for a table.

We started off with a Sweet Potato Latke. This was good, definitely what a latke should taste like. This comes from two seasoned latke veterans! Crunchy on the outside but soft on the inside with a nice texture. Not the best latke I have had, but very good.

We seem to have similar taste for food, and both chose the 2 Vita Eggs with Meat, Turkey Sausage. The yolks were a beautiful golden color, just like the sun. They are local, as are the sausages. I have tried the Bison Sausage too and I definitely prefer the turkey, there is so much more flavor. They are served with roasted rosemary potatoes, what a great start to the morning. I went with my eggs sunny side up and she had hers poached. This was all served with toast and home made crab apple jam.

By the time we finished, we were so full. I have always enjoyed Fresh Cafe's seasonal menu with as much locally sourced ingredients as they can get. We both had a great time and will definitely return again soon.

Fresh Cafe
775 Corydon Avenue
Winnipeg, Manitoba
204-221-5775

From The Deep Dark Depths - A Happy Birthday

It started small...very small, a minor scratch on a vast surface. It disappeared to somewhere deep and very dark, only to return now. The real question is, am I speaking of my own blog or of some crazy sea creature? We may get to find out the answer!

In one corner, we have a lobster. Crazy sea creature in my books, they start out very small and actually live near the surface until they develop enough to survive on the sea floor. When I say they start out small, think of mosquitoes. That will give you a good idea of their size as larvae (really young-I know I'm being too scientific). However, once this larvae becomes an adult they become one of the most delicious treats from the sea!

In the other corner, we have my blog. I started small, a few postings however June was the beginning of my "month of moving". By August 1st, I was moved in to a beautiful new home. Lakefront property, a large kitchen and a large backyard for a vegetable garden next season! This has kept me quite busy and this blog has slipped down into the deep dark depth of the vast oceans of blogs.

Oh, but what is this? It's my birthday, oh my! Maybe some lobster would like to come back to the surface to join me for this occasion...and two of them did! You can always count on the domino effect, if I am going to do my first lobster boil...I am definitely going to be blogging about it. So in the end, it seems like I was speaking of both!

The lobsters, about a pound and a half each were the perfect size. I love lobster but like it to be prepared in a simple fashion. I started with 2 cups of Santa Barbara Winery Chardonnay 09. It was a nice chardonnay, citrusy with a slight buttery texture. However, in retrospect I think I should have gone with a sauvignon blanc...next time.

Two cups for the lobsters, the rest for my roommate and I...oh and a lucky friend who just "happened" to stop by. I threw some fresh Italian sausage into the pot with some potatoes, onions, carrots, celery and fresh corn(and garlic of course).

The last things to go in the pot, our lobsters and a nice bit of cayenne pepper to spice things up. These were live lobsters from Nova Scotia, they steamed in the pot of goodies for about 15 minutes. They were tender and sweet, you just put everything on a plate and serve, simple!

So, two things have resurfaced here. Delicious lobster from the bottom of the sea and free time to continue blogging. What a birthday!

Sushi Ya - A Father's Day Lunch

This Father's Day, sushi was the consensus. My mother has been talking about Sushi Ya for a while so she insisted we go there. I hear many many things about restaurants, however, good value always strikes a chord with me(and at least 1 other person I know, you know who you are)!

We started with sushi, as always. I chose Pink Tuna, Yellowtail and Toro. The fish portions were nice for the price and the quality is good. This ended any sort of order, I went straight to a roll next.

This was the Tuna Bakudan, it was good however it could have been great. One thing I noticed, they use a lot of sauce and it can sometimes overwhelm everything else. The sauce itself, a spicy mayo is delicious with just the right amount of heat! The tuna was just spicy enough and the crunch from the tempura added a nice texture. The portions were nice again, just ease up a bit on the sauce. Appetizer time, yes there is no order here...deal with it. I did and I was still full afterwards.

The Soft Shell Crab was unbelievable and unlike a previous place I reviewed, I received the entire crab. It was served hot with a crisp outside and soft tender inside. The crunch from the batter was amazing and made me very happy. This one is a winner! On to the special rolls.

I chose the Magma roll and the Tornado roll. As you can see, The Magma roll on the top also has too much sauce. One quarter the sauce would have made this much better.. it made the roll to heavy. The roll itself was wonderful with tender sweet crab, cream cheese and the almighty avocado. The Tornado was a wonderful roll, simple and a good price! Smoked eel, shrimp, crab and cucumber with masago on top. What a treat and again, nice portions for the price.

Everything was good, some was great but not everything was great. I will definitely go back for another round though, you can count on it!

Sushi Ya
669 Corydon Ave
Winnipeg, Manitoba
204-452-3916



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Plans Are Meant To Be Broken - The Epic Adventure

Well, Saturday night I went out with a friend. The plan was to go to Smoke's Poutinerie for dinner, however as the oh so clever title suggests this was not to be the case(I will make it there). Parking in downtown Winnipeg sucks, there was a jazz festival in the area and parking was just non existent! We drove around for almost an hour before deciding to give up, where to now? We still need to eat, but what is open?

At this point we have no destination and are driving south on Pembina Highway. It is about 10:30pm and we are both hungry so we pull off into a strip mall to decide where to eat. Oh look, a Chinese restaurant and they are open until midnight! I believe this place is fairly new, it used to be something else.

We walked in, the decor was nothing special but somehow I sensed greatness in this place so after reading the menu, we sat down. Neither of us had been here before, or knew it existed for that matter.

We ordered and our food came shortly after, the dishes were simple:

Starting off with Mooshi, the filling was delicious! Tender strips of beef in a delicious sauce with garlic, tender mushroom and crunchy cabbage. The pancakes were authentic, and big! We could have made ourselves burritos with these. They held in the sauce, were soft and tasted great. That's a bonus in my books!

Chicken Fried Rice, always a staple of mine and they did it well! There was so much flavor without all the grease. Simple ingredients, large pieces of chicken with peas, green onions and egg. I could easily have eaten this whole plate, but that probably would not have been a great idea so I refrained!

Shrimp with Spicy Salt is quickly becoming a favorite dish of mine and it was exceptional here. The shrimp were plump, tender and juicy! Deep fried and then seasoned with Szechuan Salt they were delicious and went quickly!

On to the last dish, but certainly not least. Another winner, the Cantonese Chow Mein was full of wonderful colors, textures and flavors! There were crunchy vegetables, and lots of them and a combination of wonderfully smoky BBQ pork, shrimp and chicken. The noodles were wonderful, with some bits of crunchy noodle from being grilled, awesome! The sauce was just delicious and brought it all together.

So, things did not go as originally planned...but we both had a great time. We found a great new restaurant. The menu is large, the service is quick, the portions are great! The prices made this a great value and an even better find. Sometimes, the best plans are not planned at all.

Huang Pu River
2-1875 Pembina Highway
Winnipeg, MB Canada
204-261-4407