What's in a Name?

I've noticed a pattern among my favorite restaurants. Most of them have first or last names in their title. Chaffin's, Suzie's, Lindy's, Brawley's, etc. I'd like to think the reason for this is the focus is on the food and the title is an afterthought.

Last night I got drinks at 47 Scott in downtown Tucson. In my experience when a restaurant is named after its street address it can mean either two things: it's unassuming or it wants to SEEM unassuming and is actually in fact quite pretentious. My vote is still out on 47 Scott.

On one hand, the drinks were delicious. I had something called Dark and Stormy, which consisted of dark rum, lime, bitters, and the restaurant's own housemade ginger syrup. (My phone takes very bad pictures in low lighting, so another friend used his phone to light up the drink. This photo truly was a group effort!)

The drinks are decently priced as well. Happy hours consist of $2 wells and $1 PBR (ha!). I was impressed with the food prices too- my pommes frites were only $3. My only complaint was service. My friends and I were sitting on the back patio and despite the low volume of customers it still took awhile to get any service. And when I asked for my fries to go, the waiter looked at me like I had spit in his face. (It then took another 10-15 min to actually get the box.)

So does 47 Scott fit in the pretentious category? I'm still not sure. I'm willing to give it another try.

Black and White Cookie

As I write this I am munching on a Black & White from Nadine's Bakery. And as much as I adore Nadine's, it's not a real B&W.

I had never heard of a Black & White cookie before living in New York. The more I became acquainted with the deli's, the more I spotted these sweet treats. The exact origin of the B&W is a little hazy. The explanation I first heard, and like the most, is that a bakery in Brooklyn started using it's excess cake batter to make cookies. This explains the traditional texture of the B&W, which is more cake-like than cookie-like. (And alas, this is where Nadine's got it wrong.) I've also noticed that traditional B&W's have a chocolate icing that is more bitter than sweet, therefore accentuating the taste difference between both sides.

Last time I went to New York I noticed that even Starbucks started marketing these treats. They were little mini versions of the real thing but tasted surprisingly similar.

I could go on and on about B&W's but I think Smitten Kitchen has already said it all:

http://smittenkitchen.com/2008/09/black-and-white-cookies/

Miss Saigon

Last night my friend Matt and I ate at Miss Saigon, a local vietnamese restaurant. I'm nuts

for asian food and it's actually been awhile since I've had any. I ordered the Bun Tom Duong (think I spelled that right...) which is a shrimp and noodle dish over cucumbers and greens. I'm not sure what's in the accompanying sauce, but it adds a very delicious and unique flavor.

Miss Saigon also has a variety of Milk Teas, my favorite being the chocolate (of course). They serve the drinks in a plastic cup with a plastic film cover over it. I have never seen this before, and it's actually quite convenient if you take your drink to go (although not very environmentally friendly...)

Froggy in the Basket?

I was testing out a french toast recipe this morning when it suddenly hit me- why not make my new favorite morning meal, Egg in the Basket, but use french toast instead!

I did everything the same except I dipped the bread in french toast batter before I placed it in the pan. The result was... good? I still prefer a regular Egg in the Basket. French toast and an over-easy egg aren't really the best combination. Too sweet, not buttery enough.

However the french toast itself was delicious. The recipe I found called for a little bit of flour, something I've never tried, it's supposed to make the end result a little fluffier. And it did. Success!

Delightful Weekend

I ate a lot of great food this weekend. My weekend started with a trip to Beeline, a cute little restaurant on 4th Ave. I like Beeline for a lot of reasons, mostly being they have a rotating pie case stock full of mouthwatering desserts. (This is the same reason I love the Cup Cafe in Hotel Congress.) I think that pie cases needs to become trendy again. It tempts people who normally would shy away from desserts, and it also encourages a greater variety of sweets. (I hate places that offer a single dessert, like sorbet. Give me a break.) ANYWAY, back to Beeline.

I enjoy Beeline because they actually have decent beers on tap, and a lot of them. Kevin usually gets the milk stout, while I settle down with my Velvet Merkin. Beeline has a wide variety of meals as well, everything from fish tacos to vodka pastas.

I ordered the Black Bean Burger, soooo good. I'm at the point where I almost prefer black bean burgers to beef. (I know, sacrilege!) This burger had pepperjack melted over it and a southwest sauce, the bun was nicely toasted. It comes with homemade potato chips (which I like to dip in ketchup.)

My favorite dessert from Beeline is their salted caramel tart. It's not just the caramel itself that's salted, that is actually kosher salt sprinkled on top- not sugar. UNBELIEVABLE. The dark chocolate on top really compliments the other ingredients. Fun for the tastebuds. Yes.

On Saturday, my friend Rikki hosted a Pride & Prejudice marathon and I made one of my cheeseballs. (Cheeseballs are my new obsession, there will a blog entry forthcoming.) This one was "pink grapefruit" flavored and covered in sugar crystals. It was sweet, tart, and I will definitely make it again!

On Sunday, a friend and I split a bottle of wine, SKN Cabernet. This is the first time I've tried SKN (Screw Kappa Nappa) and I liked it. I don't know much about wine though, unless it's really rank I usually enjoy it.

I finished up the weekend with a fun impromptu barbeque, where I tasted a Saturn peach for the first time. Also, roasted veggies, fruit salad, and a perfectly delectable burger.

Today's Tip

The current temperature in Tucson: 104 degrees. This puts me in the mood for ice cold lemonade. La Poloma Resort keeps a huge jar of pink lemonade in their lobby for anybody to partake of. The hotel grounds are beautiful, and shaded. It's a lovely way to waste an afternoon without spending any money.

Dim Sum

Sundays at Gee's Garden used to be a tradition of mine until most of my asian foodie friends moved away. I'm crazy for dumplings and Gee's has so many varieties. Gee's also has the best sticky rice I've ever tasted- steamed in a lotus leaf.

When I want to satisfy my dim sum craving I usually wonder over to 17th St Market and get some frozen dumplings. I found some beautiful ones recently-

With the exception of one fishy variety, they were very tasty.