BBQ Town: A "picar"er's dream

"Picar" means to "pick at" in Spanish, most commonly used to refer to picking at your food.  I love picaring and if you're variety-seeking, want to try everything, buffet-loving person like myself then BBQ town is the place for you.

At BBQ town, you're served all-you-can-eat Korean side dishes including peanuts, eggs, calamari, etc to accompany grill yourself, marinated meats and prawns. You can (and will) eat until you wish you had stopped about ten "this is my LAST bites" later.  But it's good, seemingly fresh, and fun.  I prefer BBQ Town to the Flores original version because there are more side dishes, better service, and no need to worry about getting robbed on the way out.  The most satisfying $90 pesos a person place in Buenos Aires these days...

Joanna and Dario getting ready to chow down

Side dish section 1

Side dish section 2

Side dish section 3

Spicy seafood soup

Prawns and panceta

Pork and beef

Cooking action

Anna action

Michael Jordan does more than play basketball

Apparently Michael Jordan likes steak.  I had the "opportunity" to eat at his steakhouse at the Mohegan Sun Casino in Connecticut during a soccer convention that I attended for work.  This is not my typical blog post, but it made the cut due to MJ's surprisingly good taste in food.  

My partner had the filet mignon while I went for the ahi tuna steak and roasted brussel sprouts with bacon.  Both good, a far cry from San Francisco's foodie finds, but a job well done.  The best part was that every single item down to the butter was monogramed with his initials.  I suppose his ego had to be boosted post NBA somehow.

Ahi tuna with roasted rice cake

Filet Mignon

Roasted sprouts with bacon.  Amazing!

Biggest and BEST Asado Argentino

Welcome home!!!

Normally when I see a BBQ full of meat, I think that I'm in for a boring dinner of overcooked steak and a decent chorizo.  Typically, I bring vegetables or demand a chicken to be grilled as well.  BUT my life changed the other week when I ate the RIGHT meat and now I have a new found respect for Argentine beef.  Key to an asado's success (at least for me) is a good asador, entraña, a nice rib (costilla), and chorizo. Sencillo.

This was a mega asado for 20 people with costilla de something, entrana, chorizo, morcilla, and other ridiculously good cuts of meat.  I had to add a little yankee flair with a potato and pesto salad.  All 10 puntos.

The magic grill

All it needs is a little salt

Yes please

My potato salad

Pesto pasta salad

Kansas City BBQ: Un asado estilo EEUU!

Kansas City BBQ is on point.  The brisket and ribs are so tender they fall off the bone.  The turkey and chicken are delicious and still leave you feeling slightly healthy.  The thick-cut white wonder bread makes you reconsider ever buying wheat bread again.  The sauces are sweet and spicy, not vinegar based.  The sides and dessert top off an already too indulgent meal, but are so good you don't care.  In fact, I loved the BBQ at Arthur Bryant's and Jack Stacks so much that I, not the boys, requested to go two nights in a row, and I'm going to get some for my plane ride back to Argentina this evening. 

If ever in Kansas City, please stop by one of these two restaurants.  Arthur's is more hole-in-the-wall, famous for just being the best.  Jack Stacks is also great, but the sides are what win out.  If I had to choose just one, I'd go for Arthur Bryant's and order the POUND of meat with burnt ends and ribs.  (It's a pound minimum and America at it's finest).   So while Kansas City in general didn't llamar mucha atencion, it's BBQ was worth the trip alone.

P.S. some photos didn't come out great with my phone.

Counter and menu at Arthur Bryant's

"Open faced sandwich" with burnt ends and chicken

Small portion of ribs and beef

Brisket and Turkey with baked beans and cheesy corn

Mega sampler platter

Best carrot cake of all time (except for the one I make)!

A little late: New Year's Eve Dinner

Yes, homemade pizza, roasted green beans with parmesan cheese, baked sweet potato fries, sausage and veggie kebabs, incredible steak, and cupcakes seem to be sufficient for 4 people!  This year's NYE was low key and fun, just friends cooking dinner over wine.  All I need to be happy!

I was inspired by the following recipes:

Pear, goat cheese, pancetta pizza
Chicken apple sausage, cherry tomatoes, and goat cheese pizza
Kebabs with sausage and veggies
Roasted green beans
Sweet potato fries

The Richmond - A trio of hotdogs!

The Richmond is a cute spot on Balboa and 7th in the Richmond District of San Francisco.  Apparently it's been open for 6 years, but only recently has climbed to the top of open table best in SF lists.  I thought I'd try it out because it's perhaps the most reasonably priced "upscale" restaurant I've come across in a while. 

I knew I had chosen well when the meal started off with 3 types of butter to top our warm, crusty baguette.  I moved onto a creamy and delicious pumpkin soup, while my friend could not resist the trio of hotdogs.  Chili dog, corn dog, and bacon-wrapped dog - come on!  I tasted the chili dog and it was awesome.  Then we ordered the salmon and bacon-wrapped steak.  We were clearly trying to balance out our bacon-guilt by ordering a few healthier options as well.  The Salmon was cooked perfectly, pink on the inside, moist, well seasoned.  The steak was decent, maybe even great for meat lovers, but I can't judge because I don't like red meat in general.  I'd probably opt for another item if I go back.

The overall meal was great, but edged on the salty side.  It's affordable and has a great wine list.  The best part is that I went two weeks ago and see that the online menu has already changed.  A sure sign of a good chef!

French bread with olive, salted, and sage butter

Pumpkin soup with roasted pepitas

Trio of hotdogs.  We went there.

Salmon over Ratatouille and tomato cream sauce

Bacon-wrapped steak with chard and potatoes

Polenta Lasagna with Beef Ragout

Cheesy, beef ragout, polenta lasagna

I really liked this recipe if you're looking for a hearty dinner that will make you feel warm and satisfied.  I was inspired by this recipe, but really didn't follow too much.  I opted to use larger pieces of beef, slowly cooked in tomato sauce rather than ground beef.  The key to this recipe is to let it sit for at least an hour to cool down or else the distinct layers melt into each other when you're trying to serve.  I'd even suggest making it a day in advance and reheating if you really want it to be lasagna-like with the different layers.

Ingredients:

• 1 onion, minced
• 1 carrot, chopped
• 2 bay leaves
• 2 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1 pound beef cut into large pieces
• 1/2 cup good-quality dry red wine
• 3 tablespoons tomato paste
• 1-2 canned tomatoes or pulp, juices reserved
• 1 teaspoon sea salt, plus more to taste
• 3 tablespoons minced fresh basil leaves
• Freshly ground black pepper to taste
• 1/2 pound semi-soft cheese, such as fior di sardegna or tuscan caciotta, or young Spanish manchego, shredded
• 2 cups instant polenta prepared according to package with milk, not water, and some cheese

Direction:  Prepare the polenta according to the package, but use milk or at least half milk for a much richer polenta.  I added some of the cheese in it to make it even better.  Also add salt and pepper to taste.  I find that it needs plenty of salt.  Add half of the polenta to the baking dish and let it harden why preparing the sauce.

For the sauce: add the onion to a pan with olive and saute until clear and cooked through.  Add garlic, onion, bay leaves, and beef.  Start to brown the beef and add the wine and let it cook off for a few minutes.  Add tomato paste and canned tomatoes.  Let cook on low heat for at least an hour until sauce reduces and becomes very thick.  Add salt, pepper, basil, or any other herbs you like (provencal, rosemary, etc).

Add half of the sauce over the first layer, then another layer of polenta.  Top with the rest of the sauce and all of the cheese.  Cook in the oven on medium heat until the cheese is melted and crispy.