WooDaddy Waffles

WooDaddy Waffles is a pop-up restaurant located in Moynihan's on Main St. It is a great alternative for breakfast if you wake up late and Annie's Clark Brunch is closed. I decided to order the chicken and waffles, it was the first time I had tried the combination. I have tried it and I can finally say it works. I know it sounds strange, but it tastes delicious. They give you a full bone-in chicken breast and a great waffle. With hot sauce and maple syrup it is a taste combination like no other. The waffle was delicious and it reminded me of a spiced waffle with malt, and spices like cinammon, nutmeg and clove. The chicken was so good they could have sold it on its own. I highly recommend checking WooDaddy Waffles out if you want to try another place for breakfast. Enjoy!

The great debate: Vietnamese food in Worcester

Around the campus of Clark, there are many options if you are a fan of Vietnamese cuisine. There is Da Lat, Saigon, Pho Dakao, and Anh Thu. While I haven't been to Pho Dakao, I have been to the rest of the restaurants and I have come to a final conclusion. Anh Thu wins the great debate of the best Vietnamese in Worcester. It is on Park Ave right next to Honey Farms. It is a very small restaurant, but that doesn't mean bad food. In fact it means the total opposite. The food is amazing. I usually get the Pho, Vietnamese beef noodle soup. I also usually get the fresh spring rolls. These are made with fresh rice paper, vermicelli, shrimp, sliced pork, and fresh herbs. They come with this amazing dipping sauce. I would highly suggest going to Anh Thu. I guarantee you will like it. Enjoy!

Drink Time: Troegs Troegenator Double Bock

This was my first time having any Troegs offerings besides their Nugget Nectar, which is an amber ale. I had the Troegenator Double Bock and it was very delicious. It is 8.2% alcohol which makes this a very heavy beer to drink. It is available year round so you can have whenever.Any beer lover would love this beer. Troeg is out of Hershey, PA. They have many other offerings besides the Troegenator Double which I should try at some point and so should you.  I would highly recommend this beer, but if you are not a beer drinker, this is not for you. Cheers and Enjoy!

green chili with chicken

Green chili is a dish that I love. Usually made with green chiles, it is nothing like the red chili that most Americans are used to. For this I used a bottle of salsa verde. Salsa verde usually has tomatillos, onions, cilantro, jalapeno, and other kinds of green chiles such as poblanos. First I sauteed green bell peppers, jalapenos, onions, and garlic. I then add the chicken and sautee on both sides with salt, pepper, oregano, and cumin. Once the chicken is browned on both sides I added the salsa verde. I then cover the wok and cook for about 10 mintues at a simmer. The chicken should be done by then. I serve it with tortilla chips, but you can serve it with rice or what ever you feel like. Enjoy!

Ode to the Sub of the Month

Being a student at Clark, Uncle Sam's always has a special place in everyone's heart. The pizza and sub of the months offerings are what college is about. Being a college student it is really awesome to know that if I don't have a lot of cash, I can still get a good meal for not a lot of money. For about 3 dollars, you can get a large or small sub. How bad can that be? This month's sub of the month is ham and cheese, but it changes so it depends on the month. A place like Uncle Sam's is something that makes the experience here at Clark. Enjoy!

Drink Time: alcoholic ice cream float

As a part of the blog I am going to be highlighting some of the drinks that I have created. I will also be commenting on the beers I have had so keep posted. This happened on a random night. Sometimes I like to unwind with a drink. This night however I was eating ice cream with my Crown Royal, when I had an epiphany. What if I combined the Crown Royal with cola, and ice cream. I did it and it was awesome. This is a great cocktail and its pretty freaking delicious. You can use rum or vodka if you like. I would not use any gin however. The taste of gin would not go well with the ice cream. Enjoy and Cheers!

Snack Time: BBQ chips with cheese

While watching some quality television on Food Network, more specifically Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives, you tend to see some amazing looking food that you want that very second. The problem is, you probably do not live anywhere near the restaurant they are filming at and you probably don't have the ingredients to make it home. Sometimes however, you can recreate the food on TV. This is what happened a few days ago when watching Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives. The show was at the restaurant that served homemade potato chips topped with BBQ sauce and melted cheese. It sounds kind of wrong, but it tastes very right. I did not have potatoes to make the homemade chips, but I did have a bag of chips lying around so I used those. I then covered the chips with some Sweet Baby Ray's and cheese. Then I put it in the toaster oven to melt the cheese. Once the cheese is melted, the snack is complete. A rule of mine is always try something before you bad mouth it. Even if it sounds gross and odd, its probably going to taste nothing like the way it looks or smells. Enjoy!

Orange Chicken Stir Fry

This is a great way to mimic the classic Chinese take out dish, without it being unhealthy. For the stir fry you will need chicken, onion, green bell pepper, chopped garlic, carrots, cumin, orange zest, salt and pepper. First I saute sliced onions for two minutes on medium high heat. Then I add the sliced carrots and cook for another two minutes. Next I add the sliced green bell pepper, salt, pepper, and cumin. I saute this for another two minutes. Finally I added some chopped garlic, toasted sesame seeds, and orange zest to the stir fried veggies for a minute. Once the veggies have cooked I transfer them to a bowl.

I used chicken thighs, but you can use chicken breasts. I slice the chicken and cook it until browned on both sides. While the chicken is cooking, I make a sauce of sugar, orange juice, soy sauce, sriracha, sesame oil, and toasted sesame seeds. When the chicken is just about done I add chopped garlic and orange zest and let it cook for another minute. I then added the sauce and let it reduce to the consistency I liked. I added the veggies back to the chicken until the veggies are incorporated fully with the chicken and the sauce. I served the stir fry with some pasta, but you can serve it with rice. This recipe shows that you can easily make Chinese takeout at home. Enjoy!

Worcester Restaurant Week: Mezcal

Worcester Restaurant Week is a cool concept in which a bunch of restaurants in Worcester have prix fixe menu of a 3 course meal for $23.21. Its a great deal and it gives you the opportunity to have some great food. My friends Liz, Shoshana, and myself went to a great place on Shrewsbury St. called Mezcal. Its a great Mexican restaurant with a very large selection of margaritas, tequilas, and of course mezcal. Mezcal is a liquor very similar to tequila but smoky. Anyways, the food was pretty good.

For starters we ordered the house guacamole, which is the traditional guacamole consisting of avocados, tomatoes, onions, cilantro, jalapeno, and lime. 

For appetizers, My friend Liz and I had the seared sesame crusted tuna crudo with mango risotto cake, and wasabi tequila drizzle. 

My friend Shoshana had the jalapeno rice balls with chipotle lime aioli. 

For entrees, My friend Shoshana and I had the grilled bistro tenderloin steak with yucca mashed potatoes, cilantro lime mojo, and grilled asparagus. 

My friend Liz had the beef burrito with Mexican rice. 

For dessert, we all got the coconut crusted fried ice cream with whipped cream, shaved chocolate, ad strawberry sauce. When a restaurant offers fried ice cream, you know you are going to order it because it is just that good.

Overall, Mezcal is a great restaurant. If you like margaritas, this is a place for you. If you like Mexican cuisine, you should check it out. Enjoy!

Veggie Quesadillas

Many of my friends have said to me "Why don't you cook any vegetarian food? Why does everything you make have to have meat in it?" Well, the reason is I am not a vegetarian, its plain and simple. Once a human eats a piece of bacon, he or she will eat it forever. Its a crazy theory, but I don't care. 

Getting back to the recipe, I made veggie quesadillas. This one is for my vegetarian friends and those who just like food. For the veggie mixture, I first sauteed onions with salt, pepper, garlic, and cumin. I let the onions cook for two minutes before added the green peppers. I let the onions and green peppers cook for another two minutes before adding a can of drained black beans. 

For the quesadillas, I took two corn tortillas and warmed them in the toaster oven until they were pliable. Once the tortillas were pliable, I took one of the tortillas and put cheese, then the veggie mixutre, and topped with more cheese. I then put the other tortilla on top and in a pan I cooked the quesadilla until both sides were crispy and the cheese melted. You can really put anything in a quesadilla and it would taste good. Try chicken, beef, or even something completely out of the ordinary such as buffalo chicken. It is all up to the eater basically. Sometimes just a cheese quesadilla with some salsa is the best. Anyways, I hope this inspires you to make your own quesadilla. Enjoy!

Kristals Soul Food

Kristals Soul Food is a new restaurant near campus. It feature southern soul food such as fried chicken, ribs, chicken and dumplings, fried okra, cornbread, and mac and cheese. I went there and got the fried chicken. For the price it was not a lot of food, but it tasted good at least. I ordered the fried chicken and hush puppies, which are fried corn cakes. The fried chicken was really fried chicken wings. They were good once you put the hot sauce on it. I guess I will have to try it again to see what their other food tastes like. Overall, I think if you are a Clark student you should try it.

Green Curry Chicken with Noodles

When most people hear the word curry, they automatically imagine the spicy and aromatic curries of India. Curry is not just an Indian dish, curry is a common dish found all over South East Asia, especially in Thailand. Thai Green Curry is one of my favorite dishes to order out. The problem is there are no Thai restaurants around campus. An easy way to make Thai take out at home is to buy a few essential ingredients. The first essential ingredient is the green curry paste. You can easily find this in the Asian aisle of the grocery store. Thai green curry paste usually consists of green chilies, galangal or ginger, garlic, lemongrass, salt, onions, kaffir lime, and other spices. It is milder than its Indian cousin. The other essential ingredient is coconut milk. You can find coconut milk in most grocery stores. 

I first boiled the pasta. You can use any kind of pasta you like. You can even use ramen noodles if you have them on hand. I used an angel hair pasta. I cooked the pasta until it is about to be done so that it can finish cooking in the curry sauce. 

 

For the actual curry I chopped chicken, carrots, celery, and garlic. I sauteed the carrots and the celery for about 2 minutes. After the carrots and celery have been cooking for 2 minutes I added the chopped chicken and browned the chicken on both sides. I used chicken thighs because I think they have more flavor, but if you want to use chicken breast go right ahead. After the chicken has been browned on both sides I added the chopped garlic and the green curry paste. I let that cook for a minute before I added a can of coconut milk. I brought the coconut milk to a simmer and let it cook for 5 minutes. I then added some salt, pepper, parsley, cilantro, toasted sesame seeds, sesame oil, and soy sauce to finish the curry. I also added the pasta back to the curry sauce to finish cooking and so it can soak up the curry sauce. Serve it in a bowl and you have a pretty delicious dinner. Enjoy!

sliced bread pizza

Here is an easy and simple interpretation of the ubiquitous college food, pizza. I simply took a slice of bread, put some tomato sauce on the bread with some garlic powder for more flavor. I then covered the tomato sauce with shredded cheese. Next, I topped the cheese with two slices of pepperoni. Finally I put it in the toaster oven until the cheese melts, the pepperoni is crispy, and the bottom has been toasted. It is a simple snack and you do not have to use the ingredients I used. If are a vegetarian , you can put peppers, onions, and mushrooms on the pizza and it would just as good. It is a simple method in which you the eater can vary the ingredients in which you use. Enjoy!

Bocado

Bocado is a great restaurant on Winter St in Downtown Worcester. It is a tapas and wine bar. Tapas are small plates of food indigenous to Spain. My family took me out to Bocado for dinner a couple of nights ago and it was delicious. Everything about Bocado is great. They have a large menu so even the pickiest of eaters can find something they want. My family and I did the Bocado Experience for two which comes with two plates of charcuterie and cheese, four plates of hot and cold tapas, a paella of our choice, and churros with chocolate sauce. We had to have sangria since it is a quintessential Spanish libation. Bocado offers four different styles of sangria. We had the Sparkling Sangria which is made with lemoncello, lemonade, fresh raspberries, and lemons. It tasted like an alcoholic pink lemonade. It was very good and I highly recommend ordering it again. Here are the dishes we ordered.

fried goat cheese with honey and almonds, and pheasant sausage. The pheasant sausage tasted just like chicken sausage.

Next is a Vegetable Terrine made out of roasted eggplant, red and yellow peppers, sun dried tomato, artichoke, Parmesan and mozzarella  with asparagus-sweet pea coulis, and tomato oil.

With the Vegetable Terrine, we had the tortilla española, which is a spanish frittata with potato and onion. the Tortilla came with tapenade, which is sort of an olive spread, and red pepper crème fraiche.

 Here is the sangria

Next we had the gambas al ajillo, a traditional Spanish tapa of sauteed shrimp with garlic, parsley, and olive oil.

With the shrimp, we had almejas con chorizo, which is sauteed littleneck clams with chorizo, garlic, tomato and saffron.

We had the classic paella, which is made from saffron rice, shrimp, chicken, calamari, chorizo, mussels, little neck clams, sweet peas, and tomatoes. It is served in a paellera, which is a pan specifically made for paella. The paella is usually cooked and served in the paellara.

For dessert we had the classic Spanish favorite of churros with chocolate sauce. These are pure decadence. They are great way to finish off an amazing Spanish tapas meal.

The prices at Bocado are a lightly bit out of the average college student's budget, but for a birthday dinner or a special event it is perfect. Overall, the food at Bocado was amazing. I definently recommend checking this place out. Buen Provecho! Enjoy!

Breakfast: take two

This is another take on a weekend breakfast. I made fried eggs with fried pepperoni and toast. I first fried the pepperoni on both sides until both sides were crispy. I then fried the eggs. Right as I took the eggs out of the frying pan I put some cheese on the eggs so that it would melt from the heat of the eggs. I then topped the eggs with the pepperoni and had a side of toast. mmmmmm delicious. Enjoy!

St Patrick's Day

I hope everyone had a great St Patrick's Day. I surely did with Irish cream, and Harpoon Celtic Ale. The Irish cream is great on the rocks, or in coffee. I hope everyone had a great time. 

More Latkes

I love latkes, its common knowledge. So when my friend asked if it was okay to make latkes when it is not Hanukkah time, I said yes. Making latkes does follow a bunch of steps, but they are worth it. Peel the potatoes, and grate them. When the potatoes are grated, strain all of the liquid from the potatoes. Grate half a cup of onion, and like the potatoes you should strain any of the liquid from the onions. Mix the onions and potatoes, with a large egg, salt, pepper, and some flour. When everything is mixed evenly, heat up a pan with enough oil to fry the latkes. Serve with sour cream and apple sauce and you have a delicious side dish or snack. Enjoy!

Garbage Plates

One day my friend Mark asked me whether I would be willing to make this dish called a garbage plate. I agreed because anything by the name of garbage plate should be good. The garbage plate is indigenous to Rochester, New York, where it was first invented. It consists of home fries or french fries, potato salad or baked beans, a meat of choice, chili, mustard and onion. It will literally sober you up if you eat it when you have one too many drinks. The way we made the garbage plate was unorthodox to say the least. We used french fries, baked beans, Hamburgers, ground beef in BBQ sauce, and macaroni and cheese. The french fries were seasoned with salt, pepper, garlic powder, and chili powder. The hamburgers were cooked on medium to medium-high heat with a little oil. I cooked them 5 minutes per side. If you like it more well done, cook it longer. It was wicked delicious. It was a perfect St Patrick's Day meal because it sobers you up and gets you ready for even more partying. The combinations you can make are endless. You can have hot dogs, or fried chicken instead of a hamburger. Garbage plates are really  about what you want to eat. Make your own garbage plate and enjoy the deliciousness.

Marinated Chicken with roasted potatoes and broccoli

Marinating chicken is a great way to impart bold flavors into something that is usually pretty bland. For my marinade, I combined ketchup, mustard, sriracha, soy sauce, sesame oil, cumin, garlic powder, and oregano. I marinated the chicken for an hour and a half, but the more time the marinate the chicken the more flavorful the chicken will be. When it is nice outside, I like to grill. Sometimes the weather does not cooperate so I cooked the chicken in a frying pan with a little bit of oil on the bottom of the pan. You can also use a George Foreman Grill if you have one. For a side dish, I decided to mix things up a bit. Steamed or boiled broccoli is pretty bland, but not when you roast it. I cut up some potatoes and mixed them with oil, salt, pepper, and garlic. I roasted the potatoes for 30 minutes at 400 degrees Fahrenheit. After thirty minutes, I added the chopped broccoli and roasted for another 30 minutes. Roasting your vegetables is just as good as steaming or boiling them. For the chicken I cooked it about 6 minutes per side on medium to medium-high heat. I used the reserve marinade for a sauce. To do this, I put the marinade into a sauce pot and brought it to a boil. By bringing the marinade to a boil. By bringing the marinade to a boil, it reassures me that none of the germs are present from the raw chicken. Enjoy your own marinated chicken and the possibilities are endless.

BAMBA

I love Bamba. If you do not know what Bamba is, it is a snack food from Israel. The best way to describe it is as a cheese puff that instead of cheese is covered in powdered peanut butter. They are addictively good and I would eat a bag of them while I was studying in Israel in the summer of 2007. I would buy a bunch of bags from the marcolit, or market, on the kibbutz I was staying at. When I went food shopping at the 24 hour Price Chopper on Park St near WPI, I found them. The packaging is different, but the product is the same. They are great snack and a change of pace from the regular junk food that I tend to eat at points. Go buy them and see for yourself. Do  not say something is bad when you never tried it. Try and if you do not like them that's fine. Just try new foods. Its always good to try new experiences. When I miss Israel I know I can buy some Bamba and imagine myself back there. Enjoy!

Jarritos

I love Jarritos. You know, the Mexican sodas. Having a Latin Market like Santiago's nearby I love buying Jarritos there. One day I saw that they had a flavor called Jamaica. I found this quite odd because I did not know you could capture the flavor of a country in a soda. I thought it would taste like a tropical fruit, but I was wrong. It was not as sweet as I thought it was going to be. It was much more dry than anything else. It kinda reminded me of pomegranate. I did some research and the flavor is hibiscus. It was subtle in flavor, and I probably wont buy it again. Mango Jarritos is my favorite because it is good by itself or in a mixed drink. Salute, Cheers!!