Thursday, December 22, 2011
Tuesday, May 24, 2011
The Sweet Chocolate Trail Part 3: The ChocolateSmith
Our last stop on this trail of cocoa confections was the ChocolateSmith. Inside this shop is an eclectic collection of almost '50s style stuff. Old Fridgedaires holding sodas and water and little tchotkes for sale on a table near the front window. There is a large display case that holds all the chocolates and separates the front store from the large production kitchen that is clearly visible from the front counter and allows you to see the chocolates being made and interact with the staff. The lady working the counter was very nice and even gave us a couple of options for dinner in the area. We talked awhile about chocolates and travel and such and tasted some of the free samples placed out on the counter. We ended up buying two truffles, one was the classic peanut butter cup style truffle and at the counter lady's advice we also purchased the Don Juan Pecan
Both of these truffles were exceptional in my book . The peanut butter was rich, creamy and in perfect harmony with the chocolate. The Don Juan Pecan was really something special. It was huge in comparison with other truffles we had tried that day, and the caramel inside was delicious. The pecan was the perfect addition to the infamous combo of chocolate and caramel and one I don't often see . This was a great shop and would highly recommend stoppin by anytime you're in the area.
The Sweet Chocolate Trail of Santa Fe Part 2: C.G.Higgins Confectionaries
Our second stop on the chocolate trail was C.G. Higgins . This place was chosen as the official candy maker for the 400th anniversary of Sant Fe. As you enter the doorway, you are in a little foyer and can see into a small kitchen where it look like most of the sugar and popcorn work is done and we actually saw a worker there making kettle or caramel corn. There is a couple of really cool pieces of artwork on the wall and a little space to hang your dogs leash before you enter the next room that houses the display cases filled with chocolate and other sweets.
As we entered the display/tasting area, we were greeted by two very friendly workers who were very nice and eager to tell us about all the confections that they produced at their establishment. They had some very interesting chocolate combinations and we were excited to try them all. We skipped the usual combos and went with some more inciting ones, like blue cheese, mango habanero, balsamic cherry, and Himalayan sea salt. We also tried their chocolate that they created for the anniversary of Santa Fe
All of these truffles were delicious, but my faces were the blue cheese and the anniversary truffle. The blue cheese really comes through and compliments the chocolate nicely. The tart bite of the cheese is smoothed out and at the same time enhanced by the velvety chocolate. The anniversary truffle was really a unique combo of flavors and actually tasted like a oatmeal cookie.
Wednesday, April 27, 2011
Into the Land of the Fiery Fowl
For our 2nd anniversary, the wife and I decide on taking a road trip. We decided on going to Phoenix and on to New Mexico to explore that state. We headed out kinda late on a Friday , but made really good time getting to Phoenix. It was still light when we got to the hotel, so we dropped our bags in the room and laid on the bed to look a some spots to hit up in city. We were only going to be here for one day so we mostly just ate, and that first night we were there I chose to go to the infamous( that means that it's so famous, it's in- famous) Alice Cooperstown . I had heard about this place first on No Reservations and then again on Man vs. Food, so I had a feeling it would be kind of a cool experience.
Cooperstown is located right in the heart of Phoenix's downtown area and right next to a sports complex, and the outside is like walking into a baseball stadium. There is a large gate with the huge Cooperstown sign and enters you into an outside seating area with wood benches and umbrellas and a concession style bar/ ordering food area at the back of the area. When we walked in we were greeted by the hostess wearing the obligatory Alice Cooper trademark eye make up, which all the waitstaff are required to wear along with a surly rock and roll attitude . The menu is a plethora of items named after or for figures in the rock business or the sports business and even some names that are food business. It is loaded with the usual sports bar fare of wings, burgers, sandwiches, and such, but there is also BBQ , huge salads, and some veggie items as well.
Now, I love me some rock and roll ( not so much lovin for the sports), but the the thing that drew me here was Randy Johnson's "Big Unit". Now, while I am sure his package is impressive, I'm referring to the full pound, 22 inch, all beef hot dog served on a whole baguette. The regular "Unit" comes bare and you can add toppings on to it as you wish, but that's for wusses, real men get the Adam Richmond "Bases Loaded Big Unit" which is piled high with the nightmare chili, onions, tomato, bacon, cheese sauce, jalapenos,sauerkraut, sweet relish, and shredded cheddar and served with a handful of fries. This behemoth has to weigh at least 2 pounds now and is served on a silver tray. When it is hefted out to the table, the server pushes a button that engages a loud buzzer and all the staff yell, " Biiiggg Uuunniitt" as loud as they can.
When it's plopped down in front of you I won't lie, it's kind of daunting, but as you cut off a hunk and all those flavors hit your tongue you know you won't stop until it's gone. The contrast of hot and cold, crisp and soft, spicy and sweet dance along your palate in a sweet symphony of gluttony. The hot dog is a Vienna all beef and for me it doesn't get much better than that, unless you go Hebrew National, but that just might be genetics talking.the baguette was soft yet slighty chewy and had the balls to hold all that beast inside and stay relatively intact and delicious. Before I even knew it the glorious dog was gone and all that was there to remind me was a soggy, ripped, tray liner and my wifes stink face expression because of my oniony breath. I would definitely return to Alice Cooperstown for another "Big Unit" or maybe something else on the menu.
www.alicecooperstown.com
The next morning in Phoenix, after much hemming and hawing, the wife and I decided to make our way over to a place called OverEasy. It's a breakfast/lunch joint that I saw on the good old Triple D ( diners,drive-ins, and dives) and figured it would be a nice place to try out. To our dismay we saw that the place had no outdoor seating to accommodate us and our pup and also had a 25 minute wait which our stomachs would not stand for, so we high tailed it over to a place that the wife had oohhed and ahhhed over on our way past. That little gem is called the Chicago Hamburger Co. This place is serving up old school Chi town sliders, hot dogs, and milkshakes along with wings and other fine fare since 1975. The sign in the parking lot is old and weathered and has a giant picture of the famous slider on it and was the cause of the wife's ohhs and ahhs.
When we entered the building, we could see that there was already a sizable lunch crowd and more were coming in behind us. The whole place is covered with Chicago sports memorabilia and street signs and of course the always present Yankees suck stickers. It's the kind of place where you place your order then find a seat and wait for the owner to come bring you your food. It has that family feel of a place that you know every kid in town has worked at least one summer here and that all the local kids flock here when the game or dance is over. The prices are very good in these troublin times and add to the comfortable vibe you get from this little spot. The wife and I had a terrible hunger a-brewin so we ordered up 5 regular sliders and 5 cheese and topped it off with fries and a peanut butter chocolate shake to share. The shake came up first and was awesomely delicious. It had a great balance of chocolate to peanut butter and you could taste the handcraftedness of it. There was even chunks of peanut in it. When our order finally came up, we grabbed our sack of burgers and headed to the car to enjoy the spoils .
As we opened the sack of sliders, a feeling came over me, I had that sense of cool, calm, collectedness that must have come over Harold and Kumar in that sweet flick. I wasn't chased by a cheetah and N.P.H didn't steal my car to party with coked up strippers, but I was hungry and these little puppies were going to quell the fire in my belly. Every slider has onions, pickles, ketchup,and mustard and I suggest you don't mess with that chemistry because that is the way nature intended sliders to be. The meat is grilled and smashed perfectly on the flat top and you can taste the steaminess in the bun. As you bite into these tiny pillows of meat, cheese, and rainbows, you are filled with a sense of peace, a sense that all can be achieved if only all mankind could and have a slider. One after another, the sliders vanished down our throats, filling us with pride and satisfaction until the last slider was gone and all we could do was sit back and sigh in relief. Without question I would cross the fiery stretches of desert for another taste of these magnificent sliders and so should you.
www.chicagohamburger.com
After our lovely brunch at Chicago Hamburger Co., we took a drive down to a neat little place that the wife will fill you in on, so don't think we just went from one eating place to the next, I mean we did, sort of, but there was time between them I mean we aren't gluttons, well a little bit, but not for punishment.
I always try to look for something fun and weird and full of local culture to do when we visit a new area, and on this particular trip, we tried to pick activities where we could bring the pup along with us. Mystery Castle seemed to fit the bill. It has a pretty sad backstory. A man was diagnosed with tuberculosis and moved to Arizona for the dry weather in hopes of curing his illness. He left his wife and daughter, thinking he only had a few months to live. He began building his own version of a castle because his daughter always wanted a permanent version of the sand castles they used to construct on the beach. Being in Arizona, he thought it would be perfect because he could build her her sand castle and the waves would never knock it down. Months turned in to years, and the father ended up building an 18 room home made of recycled parts and each piece was laid by hand. He left the home to his wife and daughter after he died. The actual daughter used to live in the house and gave the tours herself, but she passed away just a few months before we took our tour. The castle was fun to look at, from the outside, but the inside was full of random tacky stuff, and it was so cramped that it became unenjoyable. It was such a hot day, there were so many people taking the tour while we were there, and we had the baby and the Miso in tow, so we saw what we wanted to see, captured a few pictures, and left before the tour was over.
The next restaurant we hit up is Chompies. This place is awesome. It's a straight up legitimate New York delicattessan in Arizona .
Founded in Phoenix by the Borenstein family, originally from Queens, New York, Chompie's serves up a huge menu of award-winning "Breakfast All Day", authentic N.Y. style Pastrami and Corned Beef Mile High Deli Sandwiches, traditional Matzo Ball Soup, fresh Specialty Salads, homemade "All Time Favorite" Dinners, fresh baked-from-scratch Breads, Cakes and Gourmet Pastries, and our world famous multi-award-winning N.Y. style boiled-then-baked Bagels in 35 "hot" varieties morning to night, 7 days a week. It's located in a mall between a Sears and Dillards and doesn't look like anything special from the outside.
If you walk in from the parking lot you are greeted by the bakery and deli cases, filled with cakes, cookies, bagels, hallah, white fish, liver pate, etc, etc. A beautiful sight that warmed my not technically Jewish heart. The whole place screams New York from the picture of the founders in their fancy going out clothes to all the New York road and subway signs that are lit up by the white neon sky line that traces its way around the ceiling of the entire restaurant.
The reason I picked this restaurant was the innovative slider that is on the menu. This simple yet thoughtful item makes me Jew heart strings vibrate with pride. Picture a lovely roll of hallah about the size of a dinner roll, then place on that roll slow braised brisket, a beautifully fried potato latke, and velvety gravy and you have proof that the Jews are truly the Chosen People. The only thing better than these sliders was the mile high tongue sandwich we shared.
The tongue was moist, flavorful, and bursting with beef flavor. The spices, the tongue, and the cooking process all got together in an orgy and created this love child that blows any other tongue I have ever had away. Nothing I could say would do it justice you must try this sandwich.
Chompies is a great place with fabulous food and a great staff. It is a little slice of New York in the desert and is well worth your while to take a trip out to Phoenix to try this awesome place
http://www.chompies.com/
Cooperstown is located right in the heart of Phoenix's downtown area and right next to a sports complex, and the outside is like walking into a baseball stadium. There is a large gate with the huge Cooperstown sign and enters you into an outside seating area with wood benches and umbrellas and a concession style bar/ ordering food area at the back of the area. When we walked in we were greeted by the hostess wearing the obligatory Alice Cooper trademark eye make up, which all the waitstaff are required to wear along with a surly rock and roll attitude . The menu is a plethora of items named after or for figures in the rock business or the sports business and even some names that are food business. It is loaded with the usual sports bar fare of wings, burgers, sandwiches, and such, but there is also BBQ , huge salads, and some veggie items as well.
Now, I love me some rock and roll ( not so much lovin for the sports), but the the thing that drew me here was Randy Johnson's "Big Unit". Now, while I am sure his package is impressive, I'm referring to the full pound, 22 inch, all beef hot dog served on a whole baguette. The regular "Unit" comes bare and you can add toppings on to it as you wish, but that's for wusses, real men get the Adam Richmond "Bases Loaded Big Unit" which is piled high with the nightmare chili, onions, tomato, bacon, cheese sauce, jalapenos,sauerkraut, sweet relish, and shredded cheddar and served with a handful of fries. This behemoth has to weigh at least 2 pounds now and is served on a silver tray. When it is hefted out to the table, the server pushes a button that engages a loud buzzer and all the staff yell, " Biiiggg Uuunniitt" as loud as they can.
When it's plopped down in front of you I won't lie, it's kind of daunting, but as you cut off a hunk and all those flavors hit your tongue you know you won't stop until it's gone. The contrast of hot and cold, crisp and soft, spicy and sweet dance along your palate in a sweet symphony of gluttony. The hot dog is a Vienna all beef and for me it doesn't get much better than that, unless you go Hebrew National, but that just might be genetics talking.the baguette was soft yet slighty chewy and had the balls to hold all that beast inside and stay relatively intact and delicious. Before I even knew it the glorious dog was gone and all that was there to remind me was a soggy, ripped, tray liner and my wifes stink face expression because of my oniony breath. I would definitely return to Alice Cooperstown for another "Big Unit" or maybe something else on the menu.
www.alicecooperstown.com
The next morning in Phoenix, after much hemming and hawing, the wife and I decided to make our way over to a place called OverEasy. It's a breakfast/lunch joint that I saw on the good old Triple D ( diners,drive-ins, and dives) and figured it would be a nice place to try out. To our dismay we saw that the place had no outdoor seating to accommodate us and our pup and also had a 25 minute wait which our stomachs would not stand for, so we high tailed it over to a place that the wife had oohhed and ahhhed over on our way past. That little gem is called the Chicago Hamburger Co. This place is serving up old school Chi town sliders, hot dogs, and milkshakes along with wings and other fine fare since 1975. The sign in the parking lot is old and weathered and has a giant picture of the famous slider on it and was the cause of the wife's ohhs and ahhs.
When we entered the building, we could see that there was already a sizable lunch crowd and more were coming in behind us. The whole place is covered with Chicago sports memorabilia and street signs and of course the always present Yankees suck stickers. It's the kind of place where you place your order then find a seat and wait for the owner to come bring you your food. It has that family feel of a place that you know every kid in town has worked at least one summer here and that all the local kids flock here when the game or dance is over. The prices are very good in these troublin times and add to the comfortable vibe you get from this little spot. The wife and I had a terrible hunger a-brewin so we ordered up 5 regular sliders and 5 cheese and topped it off with fries and a peanut butter chocolate shake to share. The shake came up first and was awesomely delicious. It had a great balance of chocolate to peanut butter and you could taste the handcraftedness of it. There was even chunks of peanut in it. When our order finally came up, we grabbed our sack of burgers and headed to the car to enjoy the spoils .
As we opened the sack of sliders, a feeling came over me, I had that sense of cool, calm, collectedness that must have come over Harold and Kumar in that sweet flick. I wasn't chased by a cheetah and N.P.H didn't steal my car to party with coked up strippers, but I was hungry and these little puppies were going to quell the fire in my belly. Every slider has onions, pickles, ketchup,and mustard and I suggest you don't mess with that chemistry because that is the way nature intended sliders to be. The meat is grilled and smashed perfectly on the flat top and you can taste the steaminess in the bun. As you bite into these tiny pillows of meat, cheese, and rainbows, you are filled with a sense of peace, a sense that all can be achieved if only all mankind could and have a slider. One after another, the sliders vanished down our throats, filling us with pride and satisfaction until the last slider was gone and all we could do was sit back and sigh in relief. Without question I would cross the fiery stretches of desert for another taste of these magnificent sliders and so should you.
www.chicagohamburger.com
After our lovely brunch at Chicago Hamburger Co., we took a drive down to a neat little place that the wife will fill you in on, so don't think we just went from one eating place to the next, I mean we did, sort of, but there was time between them I mean we aren't gluttons, well a little bit, but not for punishment.
I always try to look for something fun and weird and full of local culture to do when we visit a new area, and on this particular trip, we tried to pick activities where we could bring the pup along with us. Mystery Castle seemed to fit the bill. It has a pretty sad backstory. A man was diagnosed with tuberculosis and moved to Arizona for the dry weather in hopes of curing his illness. He left his wife and daughter, thinking he only had a few months to live. He began building his own version of a castle because his daughter always wanted a permanent version of the sand castles they used to construct on the beach. Being in Arizona, he thought it would be perfect because he could build her her sand castle and the waves would never knock it down. Months turned in to years, and the father ended up building an 18 room home made of recycled parts and each piece was laid by hand. He left the home to his wife and daughter after he died. The actual daughter used to live in the house and gave the tours herself, but she passed away just a few months before we took our tour. The castle was fun to look at, from the outside, but the inside was full of random tacky stuff, and it was so cramped that it became unenjoyable. It was such a hot day, there were so many people taking the tour while we were there, and we had the baby and the Miso in tow, so we saw what we wanted to see, captured a few pictures, and left before the tour was over.
walkway leading to the beginning of our tour
stones of different colors and petroglyph drawings incorporated throughout
The edge of the circular window is made of remnant bricks that were partially melted
One of my favorite parts of the castle.. so much going on..
Aaron pointed out that this little window framed the great view like a picture
The inside.. was creepy. So much crap that I guess the family thought was funny?
..I didn't really get it, but it adds to the overall weirdness of the castle
The next restaurant we hit up is Chompies. This place is awesome. It's a straight up legitimate New York delicattessan in Arizona .
Founded in Phoenix by the Borenstein family, originally from Queens, New York, Chompie's serves up a huge menu of award-winning "Breakfast All Day", authentic N.Y. style Pastrami and Corned Beef Mile High Deli Sandwiches, traditional Matzo Ball Soup, fresh Specialty Salads, homemade "All Time Favorite" Dinners, fresh baked-from-scratch Breads, Cakes and Gourmet Pastries, and our world famous multi-award-winning N.Y. style boiled-then-baked Bagels in 35 "hot" varieties morning to night, 7 days a week. It's located in a mall between a Sears and Dillards and doesn't look like anything special from the outside.
If you walk in from the parking lot you are greeted by the bakery and deli cases, filled with cakes, cookies, bagels, hallah, white fish, liver pate, etc, etc. A beautiful sight that warmed my not technically Jewish heart. The whole place screams New York from the picture of the founders in their fancy going out clothes to all the New York road and subway signs that are lit up by the white neon sky line that traces its way around the ceiling of the entire restaurant.
The reason I picked this restaurant was the innovative slider that is on the menu. This simple yet thoughtful item makes me Jew heart strings vibrate with pride. Picture a lovely roll of hallah about the size of a dinner roll, then place on that roll slow braised brisket, a beautifully fried potato latke, and velvety gravy and you have proof that the Jews are truly the Chosen People. The only thing better than these sliders was the mile high tongue sandwich we shared.
The tongue was moist, flavorful, and bursting with beef flavor. The spices, the tongue, and the cooking process all got together in an orgy and created this love child that blows any other tongue I have ever had away. Nothing I could say would do it justice you must try this sandwich.
Chompies is a great place with fabulous food and a great staff. It is a little slice of New York in the desert and is well worth your while to take a trip out to Phoenix to try this awesome place
http://www.chompies.com/
On our way out of Phoenix, we stopped at another castle, Montezuma's Castle. It's an old Aztec community built into a mountain. There used to be direct tourist access to the cliff dwelling via ladders, but they realized that maybe it's not a good idea to let people walk around up there and destroy a part of history. So, now you can just look at it from below (which is still interesting). A little model of what the community may have looked like in its prime showed tunnels and rooms similar to what a mole rat or ant colony looks like.
pretty desert flowers
the "castle"
daddy and the baby boy
family picture
We started to see billboards for the best preserved meteor crater in the world, and decided to stop before getting in to New Mexico. We barely made it there in time before it closed, but we still got to see what we wanted to see. The viewing area of the crater was incredibly windy! Even Aaron felt the effects of the wind throwing him off balance. There was another family up there the same time we were there, and the dad kept making his kids walk over to the edge of the crater to take pictures of them. I couldn't understand how he could keep asking them to move closer to the edge, as windy as it was! He was a crazy photo taking dad, choreographing segments of video and taking way too many pictures with his point and click camera and taking way too much time doing it.
After looking at the crater, we went into the visitors' center museum area. While in the meteor crash simulation booth, Kaila had a little accident (on mama.. and the floor of the museum). Crazy dad and family followed in to the museum after us, so we just warned them about the "wet" spot on the floor while we went to get paper towels to clean up the area. We cleaned up and left shortly after. On a side note, after this trip we vowed to use only Pampers Cruisers from now on.
above the crater
sooo windy!!
chilling out on the lower level viewing area
the crazy dad ended up taking our picture for us (after I took about 3 or 4 for them...) it came out just fine :)
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