French Toast Explosion!

Steve and Anja put Ian and I up for the Chicago weekend. As a way of returning their kindness I decided to cook a big breakfast Sunday morning after the LSF show. I made French scrambled eggs, home fries, bacon, and French toast. The real star here was the French toast. To make really good French toast you must start with French bread. Cut the loaf in one inch thick slices on the bias and allow the bread to stale for at least an hour, or overnight if possible. Next comes the custard that you will batter the bread in. Six eggs to a pint of heavy cream will really coat the bread nicely as well as crisp up due to high amount of protein in the eggs. To season the batter I always use cinnamon, nutmeg, and sugar. Other items that compliment these flavors include vanilla, clove, and bourbon if you have any.

To cook the toast properly melt plenty of butter over a medium heat, dunk each slice in the custard, and place in the skillet. Cook three to four minutes per side or until a nice golden crust has been achieved. Hold the finished slices in a warm oven while cooking the remainder of the toast. Serve with warm maple syrup and more softened butter. This is sure to BRIGHTen up any Sunday brunch!

Arturo's Tacos

Arturo’s Tacos
WOW! This was my favorite meal of the whole Chicago trip. Arturo’s Tacos is a twenty-four hour restaurant that serves up authentic, reasonably priced, Mexican and Latin American cuisine with fast, efficient, service. The portions are huge and everything meets or exceeds expectation. I was surprised to see tacos filled with brains, tripe, and tongue, as these are typical of the American view of Mexican food. I ordered the chorizo torta, a dish that is masterfully handled by Dayton’s own Mex-a-Hole so they had big shoes to will. In addition to this huge sandwich I ordered a taco langua (tongue.)

The torta was filled to the max with wonderful house-made chorizo that was really strong on clove. Steve informed me that this was the case prior to eating it and to be honest I was weary. Clove is not a spice I ordinarily enjoy especially when used in savory dishes. The clove was definitely the main flavor in this sausage but it was in complimented the fattiness and the spiciness of the meat. The bread used to make a torta is a rich, eggy, brioche, like bread. Shredded lettuce, diced tomato, and sour cream served as the garnish on the sandwich and helped to cool the heat of the chorizo.

The taco langua was fantastic. The texture of tongue is often stringy and chewy but not this version. The meat was braised well and was so soft it fell apart in your mouth. The taste of tongue is similar to regular beef only much more intense. When I was in culinary school I spent ten days eating nothing but organ meat and tongue was one of the offal products that I truly enjoy. These tender bites were topped with mild farmer’s cheese, fresh chopped cilantro, and diced onion for texture. Then everything was wrapped up in a house-made white corn tortilla.

My dining companions enjoyed carne asada, chorizo, and vegetable tacos in addition to cheese quesadillas. The service here was quick and pleasant. Everything was very laid back and our waitress did a great job. 10 out of 10!!!

[An] Ear [Full Of] Wax

This past weekend I went with Ian (read hetero-life-mate) to Chicago. We visited friends Steve and Anja as well as being able to see Les Savy Fav. We ate several places that I loved. The first was Ear Wax, (ed.-excuse the above GBV reference) in the Wicker Park neighborhood of Chicago. They serve up a variety of vegetarian fare as well as some really good sandwiches. I ordered the steak sandwich pictured above which came with gorgonzola cheese, lettuce, tomato, on a house baked hoagie roll as well as a generous helping of seasoned fries. I was reasonably happy with my meal. The steak was well seasoned and the bread was great. The cheese was cream and rich without being overpowering as I feel it has a tendency to do. My complaint with the sandwich was the steak itself. They used a generous cut of rib-eye but they over cooked the meat, which makes all the connective tissue in the meat very tough and stringy.

Other dishes ordered at the table included a black bean burger and two beautifully cooked medium rare bison burgers topped with goat cheese. These plates seemed to be met with approval by all.

Service was a bit of an issue. The hippy girl that waited on us was not really on the ball. I ordered hummus and pita bread for the table that never came, which she seemed indifferent about. My other complaint is that the tables in this place are about two inches apart so it feels as though you are eating with the strangers next to you. The food was decent and the company was nice so my lasting impression is a good one. 7 out of 10.