Tag: food

Food Talk Friday

Published on by Live Vi-Carrie-ously

I’ve been twice and I’d go back anytime. It’s a fun and unique restaurant.

I’m talking about Black-Out Dining. I first heard of this distinctive restaurant concept from two friends who’d been and highly recommended it. There seem to be a few of these around the country (and world), but I’m talking about the place in Las Vegas. (A London version is in the movie, About Time, which I watched before my first visit and is very fun!)

I happened to be in Las Vegas back in May and suggested it to the friends I was meeting/retreating with. 5 of us made the bold decision to visit a restaurant where we wouldn’t be able to see (or know) the menu, choose our food, or even see our food when it was served. We’d be eating completely in the dark.

A few things to know:

Yes, you will be eating completely in the dark. You’re given a locker to stow purses, phones, and watches.

The menu is prix fixe and vegetarian-based (and absolutely delicious).

As you check out/pay, you’re shown a copy of the menu, so you can then figure out what you ate. But you can’t take a picture of it. 😦

The women I was with in May all enjoyed the experience and we had a blast. I wanted to bring Stud Muffin, but it didn’t work for that trip. But last month, we found we were going through Las Vegas, so I made dinner and hotel reservations and we started off.

Some of the courses seemed similar to what I’d had in May, but others were completely different.

Again, I had a blast and Stud Muffin didn’t complain too much. In fact, I think he kind of enjoyed it too.

Because I don’t eat a lot, the first few courses, I’d take two or three bites, then ask for his hand and put the rest of my portion in his hand.

There were seven courses and even Stud Muffin was full by the time dessert arrived.

It really is completely dark. Which likely saves on interior decoration and styling costs. The servers wear night vision goggles, so they can help you to your table (you go conga line), and out, and where to place your food in front of you. They give clear instructions about where to find your napkin, flatware, and drinks. There’s even a panic button on the table if someone gets totally freaked out.

If you’re ever in Vegas for a show or whatever, I highly recommend dinner at Black-Out Dining. If you go, be sure and let me know what you think!

Food Talk Friday: Pizza!

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Delicious fresh pizza served on wooden tableGreat pizza starts with a great crust which starts with a great dough. This recipe was mentioned by my friend, Ralaine, on Monday’s post. She shared the recipe with me. Her (Italian) husband gives it his full approval, so it must be good!

Ralaine’s Pizza Dough

 

2 ¼ cups of all-purpose or bread flour

1 teaspoon of fine sea salt

1 cup of lukewarm water

¾ teaspoon of active dry yeast

1 teaspoon of olive oil

 

Combine flour and salt

 

In a small mixing bowl, stir together the water and the yeast. Let is sit for 5 minutes or until it blooms. Add olive oil, and then pour in to the flour mixture. Knead until well combined – about 3 minutes, let it rest of 15 minutes. Then knead the rested dough for 3 minutes more. 

 

Scrape out the dough on a floured surface. Oil the side of your mixing bowl before returning the dough back to the bowl. Turn the ball of dough over to coat it with the oil, cover and let it rest and rise of 3 to 4 hours at room temperature or for 8 to 24 hours in the refrigerator. (If you refrigerate the dough, remove it 30 to 45 minutes before you begin to shape it for pizza.)  

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Stud Muffin and I are planning a trip with friends to Italy in 2020. We’re already dreaming about the pizza we’re going to eat. Naples, which bills itself as the birthplace of pizza is definitely on the itinerary. We can’t wait!

pizza

We love all pizza. The simple margherita (fresh mozzarella, tomatoes, basil). An obscene meatlovers. All veggies (well, maybe with a few pepperoni thrown on). Our standard go-to is pepperoni, olive, and mushroom. Something about that combo is delish. We love it.

In New York, we tried several different pizza places. John’s of Times Square (Fabulous!) A  by-the-slice, stand or sit-facing-the-wall place called Patzeria, also great and fun.

We haven’t really experienced a true Chicago deep-dish style. Hmmm … I wonder if there’s a local place … Off to do some research …

Chicago Style Deep Dish Cheese PizzaWhat is your favorite? Do you do homemade? Take out only? Chains? Local pizzeria? How about toppings? Everything? Anchovies? Cheese only?

I’m taking notes!

Media Monday: CHEF and THE HUNDRED-FOOT JOURNEY

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I got to see two food-based movies last week.

Each told a compelling story of one person’s life with food.

The Hundred-Foot Journey
The Hundred-Foot Journey

In The Hundred-Foot Journey, an Indian immigrant to France becomes the chef cook at his family’s new restaurant, Maison Mumbai, which opens across the street from a hoity-toity place serving gourmet French cuisine.

Hassan Kadem, the young Indian chef has a gift for food and spices. When the family moves to town, the first person they meet is a sous chef, Margueuite, who works for Madame Mallory the restauranteur across the road. Hassan and Marguerite forge a friendship and a love for food and freshly harvested vegetables.

Helen Mirren plays Madame Mallory who is on a quest for a second Michelin star. She does not want her ambiance affected by the high spirits, joyous music, and spicy aromas wafting across the street.

Madame Mallory is slowly won over by Hassan’s food and when she sees her petty attitudes reflected in other townspeople. She teaches Hassan until he moves to Paris to pursue culinary perfection but loses himself and forgets why and what he loves to cook.

The Hundred-Foot Journey is charming and reminiscent of The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel. I saw it alone but will make sure to see it again with Stud Muffin. He loves food movies.

chef
Chef with Jon Favreau

Which brings me to Chef. We did see this one together. The only thing the two movies have in common is that food is a central character.  In Chef, Carl Casper, played by Jon Favreau, is the once-upon-a-time hottest chef in Miami and LA. Carl is stymied creatively and professionally by his restaurant’s owner, played by Dustin Hoffman.

Carl also has a beautiful ex-wife played by Sofia Vergara and a young son who yearns to spend more time with his perpetually busy and distracted father. A Twitter war gets out of hand and goes viral and Carl heads back to Miami to figure out what he wants.

He ends up with a broken-down food truck that he and his son and an LA friend restore and they begin cooking Cuban food. They drive to California, cooking and eating along the way.

There’s some rough language in Chef but no sex or violence. I loved seeing an engrossing movie that takes food and the comfort it offers seriously. It neither glorifies nor condescends to its intended audience: lovers of food and cooking.

In the closing credits is a short clip of a cook teaching Favreau how to make the perfect grilled cheese sandwich. The care and love poured into that lowly sandwich elevated it to co-star status.

Both movies are gentle love stories between a boy and his food and along the way he discovers his family and himself.

Both are highly recommended.