Food Critique

Has customer service really gone the way of the dinosaurs?  From eating out the last few days, I would say it is extinct.

First, I am currently on vacation from my 4A-6P job and took the time to travel to a nearby city to "get away" and be pampered.

I ate at a place called the "8oz Burger Bar" inside the Horseshoe hotel and casino.  I saw on the menu that The Oprah Winfrey show recommended a sandwich called the "Short Rib Grilled Cheese" .  It came with Short Rib meat, red onion marmalade, and Swiss cheese on grilled crispy bread.  The Bread was great, the meat was tender, the cheese was perfectly melted, but I think they forgot the onion marmalade.  It had a few slices of red onion on it, does that count as marmalade now?  Since it was missing the marmalade, it was on the dry side.  Not worth what we paid for it.

The next morning I went to the "JB Cafe" in the casino.  I am to suspect that it is supposed to be like a Starbucks with pastries and coffee drinks.  My pastry and mocha totaled $11!  WTF!  Starbucks is only $6.  They made the mocha backwards... they started by pulling the espresso. (I managed a high end coffee shop) that is the LAST thing you do when making a coffee drink.  My pastry was handed to me right out of the fridge instead of the case.  It was still wrapped in clear wrap.  It would have been nice if they put it on a plate.  I asked for it to be warmed in the microwave.  She microwaved it still wrapped in the clear wrap, then she handed it back to me, still without a plate, but at least I got a plastic fork this time. 

Final Verdict:

Don't waste your money eating at the casino unless you are eating at "Spread" the buffet.
See my review in the video below!

New Summer Seafood Salad

I believe that you can travel to exotic places through food.  That being said, I wanted to travel to the Mediterranean.  Here is the recipe for my Summer Seafood Salad! 

Ingredients:

1.5 pounds boiled shrimp

.5 pounds roasted scallops

1 sm tin octopus

1/2 cup onion

1/2 cup roasted corn

1/4 finely chopped parsley

1/2 cup chopped roasted bell pepper

1/2 cup light mayo (or plain Greek yogurt) 

Juice of one lemon

1/2 cup chopped Savoy cabbage 

1 tablespoon roasted sesame seeds

S&P and cayenne pepper to taste

The great thing about this recipe, is you just throw everything in a bowl and mix it up, let set in fridge for 1 hour before serving.  Great as a salad on top of lettuce or as a sandwich/wrap, or just plain!  

Don't forget to find me on YouTube (TeeJayToday75) where I post how to cooking videos! 

An alternative to coleslaw..... Carrot Salad

Every summer, coleslaw is a staple of the summer BBQ... But it gets old! Lets change it up a bit with my Carrot Salad that is to die for!

Ingredients:
2 cups shredded carrots
1/4 cup shredded cabbage
1/4 cup currants (or raisins)
1/3 cup chopped pineapple
1Tbsp jalepenos chopped finely
2 Tbsp shredded coconut
1/3 cup mayo
1 Tbsp vinegar
1 Tbsp sugar
S&P

In a large bowl combine vinegar, mayo, sugar, and S&P.... Once that is combined, add the rest of the ingredients, stir, and chill at least 1 hour before serving!

A new hit at your party or Summer BBQ!

Eating my way to Chicago and Back!

I recently got a wild hair and decided to hop on a train and go as far north as it could go.  That turns out to be Chicago.  I took a 20 HOUR train ride from Longview, TX to Chicago, IL.  What a LOOOOONG train ride but I was able to see some beautiful country side, eat some great food (some not-so great food) and I ended up in Chicago!

Here is the trip through thru food!

I started out on the train Friday night where I had dinner.  I ordered Vegetarian Alfredo Pasta in the Diner Car.  This was one of the nights that was not-so great.  The Bread that was served was hard as a ROCK!  The salad they brought out was limp! (it was just tomatoes and iceberg lettuce)  The pasta that was sent out was still frozen together in a chunk in the middle!  After I asked them to go microwave it for a minute, it tasted okay.

The next morning I just bought a coffee and a pastry as I watched the sun rise over the Ozarks in the Observation car.  Because of the view, that was the best breakfast I have had in a long while.

I skipped lunch because I knew I would be eating well in Chicago.

I finally arrived at Union Station where I called a cab to get to my hotel downtown.  Downtown Chicago was beautiful, all of the architecture, lights, people, ambient city noises, etc...  After I checked in headed down to the lobby where I was meeting a musician that I was interviewing for www.TeeJayToday.com  We went over to the hotel bar so that I could try the regional beer, "Goose Island"  It was great!  You have to try it.  Met some awesome ladies in the bar that were in town for a Hair Stylists Convention.... and yes... they had GREAT Hair!

I decided to walk around the downtown area and eat where ever I stumbled upon.  Being from Texas, I was freezing, so I ducked into an open door, and low and behold, it was a Sushi Restaurant.  So I decided to just sit down and order.  I told the waitress to just let the chef prepare me some Niguri Sushi.  The fish was FRESH... the food was AMAZING... BY FAR THE BEST SUSHI I've had! 
Here are a few pics from this restaurant.

 

After my early dinner I wanted to do some shopping, so I stopped by Marshalls, HomeGoods, Burberry, Nordstroms, and a few more stores.  After a few hours of shopping, my appetite was back and I wanted to try an original Chicago Deep Dish Pizza.  So... turns out I was only 2 blocks from Pizzeria Uno... Which claims to have INVENTED this type of pizza.  I walked in and had a seat at the bar.  (be prepared to wait, it takes about an hour to cook this type of pizza)  I ordered an individual Sausage Pizza.  As I was waiting I took the time to try another Goose Island beer, a Screwdriver, and Sam Adams while in the pub/restaurant.  Everything was GREAT,  I only want Chicago Deep Dish Pizzas from now on... except when I make my way to New York... then I want REAL New York pizza.  (this is what my Pizza looked like)

 

 

 

I finally stumbled my way back to the hotel to get some rest before I went to museums and got back on the train the next day.

 

For Breakfast there was a small croissant bakery and coffee shop right beside my Hotel.  I stopped in for a Croissant with Nutella! (So GOOD!) and a Tuxedo Coffee.... (Apparently that is a Texas term... Chicagoans call it a Zebra Mocha) which is a regular mocha with an extra pump of white chocolate.   With croissant and coffee in hand, my doorman hailed a cab for me so that I could visit the Field Museum before I needed to leave ChiTown. 

 

 

After the museum I had to run to catch the train, but since it was late I was able to explore Union Station a bit.  I was able to see where "The Untouchables" filmed the epic shootout scene on the stairs.  I had to go up and down the stairs.  I also had time to go find some food in the food court.  I found a burrito place that offered a BBQ chicken stuft burrito, plus I wanted to see if Chicago Style BBQ was as good as Texas BBQ.  It was amazingly sweet and tangy... closer to TX BBQ than I was expecting!  It hit the spot and was very satisfying and filling!

 

 

 

Back on the train for dinner, in the Diner Car.  I ordered the special hoping it wouldn't be a pre-frozen entree.  It was braised Lamb Shank with garlic roasted potatoes and green beans.  The meat was cooked so well I was able to just pull the bone out and chow down.  The potatoes were awesome, but the green beans were kind of rubbery, no doubt they were previously frozen.  Since it was the last day of my mini vacation I ordered dessert to eat back at my seat on the train.  It was a torte of peanut butter, chocolate cake, and caramel.  It was great!

 

 

 

Anyway... That is how I ate my way to Chicago and Back.... If you know of a great place to eat in Chicago, send it to me on Twitter (@TeeJayToday) and I will add it to the list here!  I hope to be going back to Chicago soon!  It was fun and the people were all very nice!

 

 

 

Want a Deep Dish Pizza Pan?

Easy AND Healthy Hummus

I was tired of spendig $5 for a pint of hummus at my local grocery, plus it had preservatives in it.  So I was on a mission to make my own.  For just pennies I was able to make a boatload of hummus that tasted BETTER than the grocery stores!  Learn how I did it by watching the video below!  Thanks



Do you make it differently?  Let me know how!

Sweet and Sour Sauce

I was making stir fry the other night and noticed that I didn't have any sweet and sour sauce.... Instead of dropping everything and running to the store... I decided to make it... It is surprisingly easy and you probably have everything already.

What you will need:

1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup ketchup
1/4 cup cider vinegar
1/4 cup water
1 tablespoon cornstarch

Optional 1/4 cup pineapple juice


In a sauce pan add everything but the water and cornstarch.... Mix the cornstarch with the water, when the items in the saucepan start to bubble, pour in the cornstarch/water mixture and turn off the heat while stirring. Add salt and pepper to taste! Too easy! If you use the pineapple juice, you can cut the sugar by half!

Easy Lemonade Pie

What you will need:

Lemon pie filling
Precooked pie crust
Canned frosting
5 lemon cookies crushed
1/4 cup frozen raspberries
1/4 cup frozen blueberries
1/4 cup white chocolate chips

Directions:

In a bowl mix the pie filling and white chocolate (keep a few for the top). In the pie crust add the crushed cookies, top with the pie filling. On top add the berries, frosting, and reserved chocolate, let set in fridge an hour before serving!