Girl Cooties

I've not been to a Mormon singles event in years. Until last night …

Of Good Report, 2 | Lone Star Taqueria

Preparing a meal is a magical act… and this is because food is a perfect conductor of both love and neglect. That is why it's such a delight to find a restaurant that conveys love and not neglect. Lone Star Taqueria is one such place…



I discovered the taqueria via the ever-useful, always charming blog Your Heart Out, who mentioned the shop this afternoon — just as I was leaving the office, and most susceptible to talk of food. So it's no surprise that I soon found myself in Fort Union (of all places!), on the hunt for a fresh food find.

You can do it, to, of course… they're easy to find:

Lone Star Taqueria
2265 Fort Union Blvd.
Cottonwood Heights, Utah
(801) 944-2300

The food is delightful… flavorful without being bald, subtle without being bland. The service is quick and chipper. The menu has English translations. And the ambiance is 100% authentic fun — not to be confused with places where the minions wear "flair".

And there you go: today's good report.

Psst… check out my photos from my maiden voyage!

This post is part of a week-long series focusing on the good and praiseworthy in my life… please consider reading all seven: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7.

Meme: Food Druthers

It's not exactly a meme until you take it and run with it, but the folks over at Serious Eats inspired me with this question: regarding food, what are few of your like-more-thans?

I Like _________ More Than _________ .

• savory… sweet
• rare… well-done
• al dente… soft
• cooked… raw
• local… shipped
• artisinal… industrial

Gotta Get Me Some Vittles

So today was the first day of the Spring Dine O' Round, here in Salt Lake City — and the first time for the Spring installment of what has been an Autumn-only ritual until now.

Here's the scoop: for about two weeks (from Friday, May 4th through Saturday, May 19th), select downtown restaurants have a special event menu featuring $10 lunches and $15 or $25 dinners (per person). Now, that may not sound all that special… but these are 30 of the best restaurants downtown, in a city that is becoming known for its dining.

So come on down, and splurge a little — $25 dinner at The Melting Pot or the Metropolitan? Unheard of!

Vegas > Los Angeles | Part II of Driving to London

I woke-up Friday morning and dawdled at my sister's place for an hour or so — breakfast, a couple of games of sudoku, and then a shower — before hitting the road.

It was early, and the roads were pretty clear, heading out of town. Down to Primm, then up and over the mountains to Baker. It's a lovely drive with good roads, little traffic, and expansive views of the desert. I called a few friends to make-up for the radio that had been stolen when my car was broken into a while back… and I helped a business partner with some tech question or other.

A quick stop in Baker for a little breakfast, and then a quick stop in Victorville for gas and a car wash before descending down into Los Angeles. I was in Pasadena before I knew it — just 3.5 hours from Vegas. Another hour to cross town, and I was at the hotel.

It's strange for me to be in a hotel of any particular quality, as I've always preferred to stay in smaller one-off establishments and bed-and-breakfasts. I'm just sleeping there, so I can never justify paying for prestige or pampering. In Boston, I stay at the College Club. In DC, I stay at the Tabbard Inn. In NYC, I've stayed at the Y. Each place just a bed, a shower, and a friendly face at the front desk. I like it that way. But this place had a concierge, and complimentary drinks (I got orange juice) upon arriving.

Eh. I think I'll stick to small.

The big reason for flying out from Los Angeles instead of Salt Lake, was the wedding of an old friend and roommate… I couldn't make his wedding because it would have meant leaving for London way too late, but I could make it for his bachelor party. So I did.

It was great... he, and I, and five or six of his closest friends all descended on Medieval Times for an evening of Campbell's soup, chicken, knights, horses, and lots and lots of laughter. Even with the cost of entry set at the astonishingly high $50 per person, the evening was a complete success… and I wouldn't have missed it for the world.

We're all Mormons, so the evening ended at a respectable hour, and I was dropped at the hotel with hugs and promises of seeing each other again, soon.

Next stop: The Airport!

__________________

Photos from this leg of the trip can be found at my flickr account... starting with this photo I took of three of us at Medieval Times.

Salt Lake City > Vegas | Part I of Driving to London

My trip actually started the week before Valentine's Day, when I took the beast (my 1994 Saturn SC2) in to get a new water pump. I had had a coolant leak in it for a little over a year, but hadn't found a mechanic I trusted. When I finally found the great guys down at Airview Texaco (1700 South, 1100 East — and they're full-service!), I was just too busy to leave the car for a day... but this trip was important, and I didn't want a failing water pump to keep me from seeing my sister, wishing my old roommate well on the eve of his wedding, or catching my plane. So I took her in... and a few hours later, she had a new water pump and coolant reservoir — and I had the confidence I needed to drive to London.

Instead of going out on the town, like I did last year, for Valentine's Day, I stayed home and packed... Then on Thursday morning, I hit the road.

My plan was to stop-in at BYU and have Reid — my barber — cut my hair for the trip. Then a breakfast date. But the breakfast date fell-through, so I stopped-in at the BYU Museum of Art to check-out their Beholding Salvation exhibit. Very very nice... and I was happily snapping photos of my favorite works until I was informed that photography wasn't allowed — though no sign said as much — by a surly she-guard.

* mumbles about the excesses of copyright *

But the exhibit was nice enough to inspire a visit to the museum store, where they had a lovely book for sale — with most, though (infuriatingly) not all the pieces featured. I also grabbed one for my sister.

After that, I hit the road in earnest and arrived in Henderson (Nevada) at 4pm. Right on time. It was good to see my sister and two of her three children. And after I passed-out some gifts that had been accumulating — including a hoodie for Chael from War Regime — my sister and I headed-out for dinner at Kona Grill. Tasty food... neat ambiance... smelled weird in the back. But a wonderful evening when all was said and done.

Next Stop: Los Angeles!
__________________

Photos from this leg of the trip can be found at my flickr account... starting with this photo I took at the museum.

Back from London

So, I've just returned from a short vacation across the pond in London. It was a wonderful (WONDERFUL!) trip... and I can't thank my bud Gareth enough for hosting me nor Mihaela enough for taking time off here-and-there to play.

The trip, strangely enough, began by driving to Los Angeles — with a stop-over in Las Vegas to see my sister and her family — to wish an old roommate well on the eve of his wedding. I then took-off from LAX for a flight to London with a stop-over in Chicago. I had hoped to attend church with Mihaela Sunday morning, but snow delays in Chicago and two hours spent in London customs (good GRIEF) nipped that in the bud. Instead, I went straight for Gareth's and a short nap. After that, I walked the city a bit and then met-up with Mihaela to show her around a bit (this wasn't my first time to London, and she hooted that she should be showing her around... but she enjoyed getting the night off from playing tour guide). The plane ride wasn't all bad, of course... I met a delightful woman named Felicia, on her way to London with a pal before heading to South Africa on Fullbright.


MONDAY

I woke well-rested and set-out to see some more of the city. I focused on the book sellers of Charing Cross Road, and picked-up tickets to see the London production of History Boys, that night. Lunched at a wonderful little tandoori restaurant called Saint Martin's Spice, then headed over to the London Business School to see Mihaela before returning to Covent Garden for the play.


TUESDAY

Slept like a baby again, and woke to Gareth fumbling with his keys as he returned from his week-end out-of-town. I had accidentally locked him out. I was installed comfortably in his bed, so he crashed on the couch for an spell before he headed in to the office (OUCH!). After my morning routine, I set-out to do a little food shopping for a dinner party Gareth and I were hosting that night...

The whole day was a lot of fun — shopping, cooking, and chatting the night away.


WEDNESDAY

Wednesday morning, I took it slowly — I hate to rush while on holiday — and didn't get out of the flat until after one. From there, I hoofed it up to the New London Architecture... and shot plenty of photos on my stroll. After drooling over all the amazing maps and maquettes, I hopped the tube back over to Baker Street to catch-up with Mihaela. We chatted, then took the tube out to Notting Hill, where Manu (her amazing boyfriend) joined us for a walk up to this amazing little book store that specializes in food literature and cookbooks. I'd found it on my last trip to London, and was determined to return.

From there we headed down to Victoria Station and the Apollo Victoria to see Wicked. I flirted with Adam, one of the theater workers while they ran-off to find some pizza for Manu (no complaints), and then we settled-in for a delightful evening of song, dance, and deciphering.


THURSDAY

My last day in London wasn't as sunny as the rest of my trip... but no bother. I packed in the morning, then walked over to St Jermyn to do some clothes shopping, and then up to the Marlybone high street to window-shop a spell. Gareth met me there for dinner at Fish Works — and he treated, which was especially nice.


FRIDAY

Breakfast at Paul with Gareth, then a tube ride to Heathrow and my 11am direct flight to LAX. The plane ride was nice... no new friends made, but I did catch edited versions of Running with Scissors and Little Miss Sunshine. So no complaints... landed in LAX and spent 15 minutes in customs (way to GO!)... and then six HOURS snarled in LA traffic. Ugh. I had hoped to sleep at my sister's in Las Vegas, but I was full-on hallucinating in Victorville, so I got a hotel.


SATURDAY

Got into Las Vegas at 9am and spent the morning with my sister, my niece, a nephew, and one of his best friends. Sissy treated us all to lunch at PF Chang (I had never been before) before I hit the road one last time... and I finally collapsed in my very own bed last night at 10 pm.

That's not all I have to say, of course, but that's enough for now... pictures and more stories to follow!

:)


PS... Now that I'm back, I can let it out of the box that the poem The Frail Light of Light is a short homage (no pun intended) to the men of London... which means I've changed the word "subway" to "tube".

Meme: Four Things

Sorry about two meme posts in a row... but a dear friend ( whose Batman Begins I'm holding for ransom ) just sent me this... so I couldn't resist:

A. Four jobs I have had in my life:

Baker's assistant
Bag-boy
Bill collector
Software interface designer

B. Four movies I would watch over and over.

Young Sherlock Holmes
Lord of the Rings Trilogy ( I II III )
A Man for All Seasons
Spirited Away

C. Four places I have lived

Spokane, WA
East LA, CA
Québec City, PQ
Provo, UT

( Check-out my "Places I've Lived" map at Platial )

D. Four TV shows I love to watch

Project Runway
Prison Break
Psych
Eureka ( I found this one on iTunes )

E. Four places I have been on vacation

Copenhagen, Denmark
Banff, Canada
Reykjavik, Iceland
San Francisco, USA

F. Four Websites I visit daily: ( I have 400 feeds in my newsreader... but you want just four... )

Metafilter
Times & Seasons
Ideas in Food
Utah Centralist

G. Four of my favorite foods:

Pho
Miso soup
Vanilla ice cream served in my famous spicy fruit reduction
Corn dogs

H. Four places I'd rather be right now:

Stockholm, Sweden
Boston, USA
Beijing, China
Isfahan, Iran

I. Four friends I think will respond:

Hehe... this is a trick question, right?

Menu: Dinner among Giants

I spent Sunday evening with some wonderful people from my ward... new friends, and already treasured. And though I could go into detail, I'll just say that while the food was ( admittedly ) amazing, the company and the conversation was even better.

So in lieu of tantalizing gossip, a menu:


Seared brined pork chop served breakfast-style on savory French toast, with warm onion chutney.

Brined Pork Chop

Brine pork as follows ( multiply quantities by combined weight of chops )... For every pound of meat, mix 1 qt water, 1/4 cup sugar, 1/4 cup kosher salt, sage, garlic, bay leaf, and coarsely-ground black pepper. Brine is best when sugar, salt, and water are brought to a quick boil until salt and sugar is completely dissolved, then chilled with herbs until room temperature.

Add meat to brine and let marinate in the cooler for 1 hour for every pound of meat ( based on average weight of meat in question ).

In my case, I had three pounds of meat divided among four 3/4-pound chops... So I tripled the basic brine recipe, and soaked for 3/4 of an hour. After the soak, chops are removed from brine ( which is discarded ), and are rinsed thoroughly and patted dry.

Sear the chops on high, with a pat of sage-infused, clarified butter. Place in 375 degree oven until medium-rare ( about ten minutes ); then remove from heat and let rest five minutes before slicing on the bias and serving atop savory French toast with onion chutney.


Savory French Toast

Cut quality baguette into one-inch slices ( on the bias ). Let air-dry overnight ( or use day-old bread ). Combine half-and-half and eggs to create egg bath, and add sage leaf, salt, and freshly-ground black pepper. Cook French toast as is customary.


Onion Chutney

Coarsely chop sweet onion, then brown in large sauté pan with olive oil, salt, pepper, bruised garlic, and a dash of red pepper flake. Brown in small batches, adding sweet, plump raisins as you go — roughly a 1:2 ratio, raisins to pre-browned onion. When complete gently pulse in food processor.


Sage-infused Clarified Butter

Gently melt unsalted butter. Let rest until milk solids separate and remove milk solids. Bring clarified butter to a medium-high temperature and add sage leaves. Remove from heat and let steep for a few minutes. Strain-out sage and store clarified butter in air-tight container in frig.


: )

Artfully compose plates. Enjoy with good friends.

Can I Buy You a Coke?

Looks like the geniuses behind Coke's adverts have done it again.

Welcome to the Happiness Factory!



My favorite part? The snow people getting fargoed.

Heh.

YouTube Link.

Menu: Pizza Party

So I had another dinner party this weekend... this time PFD and Ferry joined me at Captain K's place.

I set this one up, and asked PFD and Ferry to bring the meat (steak, chicken breast, and two types of sausage), and asked Captain K to provide the pizza dough and ice cream (for desert)... while I brought (and then cooked) the fixings for the three pizzas. I must say that this arrangement was fortuitous: Ferry's family being in beef, we had a choice steak which didn't cost them a penny... and Captain K's wife, Pumpkin, made the best pizza dough I've seen. It was absolutely amazing.

The meats were cooked separately and put into dishes as a condiment, as I wanted the unique fixings I chose to be the stars:

Pizza One

Hand-roasted bell peppers pickled in apple-cider vinegar, red chili flakes, and molasses
Farmer's market-fresh basil
Cow's milk mozzarella from Tony Caputos


Pizza Two

Caramelized sweet spanish onions from the farmer's market
Dollops of clotted cream


Pizza Three

Pan-sautéed porcini mushrooms
Roasted garlic cloves (whole)
Blue cheese


Dessert

Breyers vanilla ice cream (well, ice milk, actually... but that's another story)
A chilled. piquant, fruit nectar reduction (featuring apricot, pear, and peach nectars)


It was amazing.

We rolled-out the doughs, brushed them liberally with olive oil, then dressed them with the fixings, and baked them at 450º. Very tasty... my only regret: re-heating the mushrooms. They dried-out a bit in the oven. Should have just put the sautéed mushrooms on a docked crust after it had cooked in the oven — or, perhaps, used pie weights.


* drools *


Between courses, we played a wonderful round of Settlers of Catan. Much to Pumpkin's chagrin, Captain K won. But only just — PFD gave him a real run for the money.

Can't thank Captain K and Pumpkin enough: their hospitality really made it all possible... and it was really fun watching PFD and Ferry make new friends.

Thank you again!

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• steak
• chicken
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• pizza
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• bell pepper
• basil
• mozzarella
• tony caputo
• onion
• clotted cream
• porcini
• mushroom
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• blue cheese
• cheese
• breyers
• vanilla
• ice cream
• fruit nectar
• reduction
• settlers of catan

Menu: Dinner with PFD & Ferry

"Menu:" is a new category.

I love cooking for friends ( and even the occasional stranger... so long as they're a good sport, and appreciate quality over quantity ), and I love sharing what I cook with others. This won't be so much a recipe post as a menu post with lots of details.

Anyway, enjoy!

Last night I spent a few hours with a young couple from my ward: PFD (Pork Farmer's Daughter) and her husband, Ferry. Ferry's family has a cattle ranch, so featured on tonight's menu was family-raised beef... specifically porterhouse steaks. It was a wonderful evening, with a little vacuuming, a little basil sniffing... and a lot of laughter. We'll definitely have to do this again!

The menu:

Seered, spiced, porterhouse steaks, served cubed on a bed of toasted trofie pasta.

A composed salad of organic mixed greens, basil, chilled pear spears, gorgonzola cheese, and toasted almonds. Served on a skiff of ranch dressing and dusted with fresh-ground pepper.


Tasty.

: )


Author's note: you may have noticed that I have, once again, featured people with really strange names. If it's not painfully obvious, these are nicknames, handles — pseudonyms. They don't get to choose what they're called, but I take great care in finding just the right name.

Why? Well, I'm the last person who should be using a person's real name online...

Meme: Four in the Morning

I got the idea from my good friend Listless Lawyer, who is continuing the Four in the Morning meme from somewhere else.

As usual, if you decide to pick-up on the meme, leave a comment!

Four Places You’ve Lived

• Spokane, Washington


• Clovis, California


• Cap Rouge, Québec


• Salt Lake City, Utah

Four Jobs You’ve Had In Your Life

• Baker's Assistant (It was a nice place when the baker wasn't drunk, his son wasn't pouting, and his wife wasn't high on weight-loss drugs.)


• Bag Boy (I still can't get over being told that I was too helpful.)


• Shoe Salesman (I still can't get over being told that I was too helpful... yeah, I know!)


• Bill Collector (I understood why "helpful" wasn't what they wanted here, though.)

Four Movies You Could Watch Over and Over (and Over and Over)

• It's a Wonderful Life


• Sixth Sense


• Phenomenon


• Rear Window

Four TV Shows You Love To Watch

• West Wing


• House


• Lost


• Battlestar Galactica

Four Places You’ve Been on Vacation

• Copenhagen, Denmark


• Reykjavik, Iceland


• London, UK


• New York City, USA

Four Websites You Visit Daily

• Salt Lake City Tribune


• Cute Overload


• For Better or For Worse


• PVP Online

Four of Your Favorite Foods

• Saag Paneer


• Wasabi Peas


• Sushi


• Butternut Squash Soup

Four Places You’d Rather Be

• Fez, Morocco


• New Zealand


• Boston


• With Friends

Four Albums You Can’t Live Without Adore

• Soundtrack: Brokeback Mountain


• Squirrel Nut Zippers: Hot


• Andrew Bird: Swimming Hour


• Soundtrack: A Charlie Brown Christmas

Four People to Tag With This Meme

• The three people reading this... and one of their friends.