cakeypal: March 2008 Archives

When I lived in Phoenix, there was an apartment complex on my street with large, black, wrought iron letters spelling "Casa de Susan." The sign invariably made me laugh. There was something incongruous about the words and the appearance. Perhaps not the best example of joining together the disparate.

I'm happy to say there's nothing incongruous about Casa Nueva in Athens, Ohio except, perhaps, the title of this blog entry. On my last day in Athens, Johnnie and I managed to squeeze in a quick lunch at Casa. Johnnie was ravenous and I just wanted to have one more experience eating there--and pictures so I could blog about the food.

Casa's website summarizes its history: "Back in the spring of 1985, a group of eight recently unemployed restaurant workers decided to form a worker-owned cooperative. The original founders had never run a business before, but collectively had over 100 years of restaurant experience and the determination to create their own livelihoods." With the help of the Appalachian Center for Economic Networks, Casa Nueva was born. The restaurant features organic food grown by local farmers, and the menu is seasonal. We ate from the new Spring menu which featured broccoli and mushrooms as the featured veggie combo the first time we ate there with Catherine and Steven and chard and mushrooms when Johnnie and I ate there last week.

We began our meal with chips and salsa. Casa's chips are nutty, thick, and salty--there's something satisfying and (deceptively?) healthy tasting about the chips. Of the many (9?) different salsa on the menu, we chose the mildest, the black bean salsa. Although I usually prefer a tomato based salsa, the black bean salsa is divine with its garlicky goodness.

Johnnie ordered the Spring Grilled Cheese sandwich with habanero salsa. The sandwich looked a little dry to me, but Johnnie seemed to enjoy it.

I ordered two enchiladas a la carte. One combined cheese, chard, and mushrooms with a chipotle sauce. It was really, really spicy, so much so that my nose quickly began to run. Still, the veggies were delicious and healthy (the amount of cheese was miniscule). Nevertheless, the other enchilada was my favorite: cheese, marinated tofu, and black beans with salsa verde. This sauce was more mild which allowed the intense flavors of the tofu and black beans to take center stage.

I was very glad that I'd ordered these a la carte--the portions were much bigger than I expected and I was even able to eat the leftovers for breakfast the next day. I didn't even miss the black beans and jasmine rice that generally accompany the meals at Casa.

I love this restaurant. I love what it stands for with its business model. And I love that it takes a principled stand while serving delicious, innovative, interesting food. So, yes, Casa may serve dishes that don't look authentically Mexican, but somehow, its food works . . . and it works well.

Athens, Ohio has some great restaurants--and over the last week, I've been returning to many of my favorites.

But, first, a new restaurant for me, Miller's Chicken.

Eating at Miller's Chicken is not about eating healthy food. Rather, it's about eating comfort food, the kind of food that mom used to make when you were a kid. The kind of food that you'd eat now if only you weren't so worried about your darn cholesterol. Although I don't have to worry about high blood pressure and other health problems (knock on wood), after eating a piece of Miller's Chicken, I felt like perhaps I should get a blood test in order to convince myself never to have another piece again. Don't get me wrong, fried chicken can be delicious (and this was crunchy, a little spicy/nutty, and flavorful). Still, I think I prefer the kind of fried chicken that one makes at home--shake the chicken in a paper bag with flour, salt, and paprika. Fry in a little bit of oil, and voila . . . a delicious piece of fried chicken. You know, the kind of chicken that doesn't necessarily settle like a brick in the bottom of your stomach. Glad I tried Miller's once, but I don't feel a need to ever, ever go back.

I have a different relationship to Burrito Buggy, the trailer that parks just off Court Street in Athens near the university. I always love talking with Cindy (the kind of woman I'd want to hang out with if I lived in Athens), and the food is tasty. One of the most interesting things about Burrito Buggy is that they serve burritos with their own marinated (and frozen, then cooked) tofu. I tried a couple of different types of burritos this week. My favorite was the black bean burrito (with lettuce, tomato, sour cream, and a mild sauce). The black beans were so yummy and I liked the crunchy lettuce that was included. Unfortunately, I didn't take a picture, so here's a pic instead of the black bean, rice, tofu, cheese, lettuce, tomato, sour cream, and mild sauce version.

This may not be the most appetizing picture, but, believe me, this is good food. It also lasts for hours on end . . . which is a good thing when one is going to the library to read/study/write.

Tonight, I went to O Betty's with Paul, Jeremy, Ayesha, Michael, and Johnnie. I had the gypsy made with a tofu dog and the chili cheese fries with tofu.

Although I've loved O Betty's in the past, tonight it was just so-so. My hot dog needed more zip (more mustard, more something) and the fries were just a touch undercooked. I didn't mind, though, because I really enjoyed the company. It was fun to talk about our hobbies (reading Star Wars books and romance novels) and to get to know each other better.

Since I know Paul and Jeremy actually read my blog, I thought I'd include a picture with them (and Johnnie). They might not be crazy about being featured here, so look instead at the paraphernalia in the background. Lots of kitsch, lots of fun. After dinner tonight, we saw a scary movie, El Orfanato. It led to lots of good discussion afterwards.

One last Athens restaurant that I love to visit: Village Bakery. I've blogged about Village Bakery before, so here's a picture of the breakfast pizza, a dish I haven't included a picture of in previous posts.

This version of the breakfast pizza included spinach, tomato, egg, kalamata olives, and a little cream cheese. It was quite tasty . . . I saved the bits with olive for the last since they added a nice twist to the mostly mild pizza. The crust was quite yummy, too.

I still want to blog about Casa Nueva--it's perhaps my favorite restaurant in Athens. No pics yet, so I hope you'll see an entry soon (because that will mean that I've been able to go back there to eat!).

Still, I think that Athens has a great quota of good places to eat. In comparison, Fresno food seems a little less interesting.

Last night, Johnnie and I ate at Japanese Oriental Restaurant (JOR) on High Street in Columbus, Ohio. We've eaten there before, but the last time we were there, I didn't end up blogging about it. That's all going to change with this post.

If you've been reading this blog regularly, you know that I've just started eating sushi in the last year. JOR serves a variety of Japanese and Korean dishes--and I really like both the food and the presentation. If I lived in Columbus, I'd want to eat there a lot--and I'd even want to go just for the sushi.

The two types of sushi that I really like are the two types we ordered last night: spider roll and tuna/avocado. I like the crunchiness of the soft shell crab in the spider roll, and the mild, rich flavor of the tuna and avocado mix. When Johnnie described sushi as comfort food, I had to think about that a minute. Because raw fish and seaweed are such newly acquired tastes, I wouldn't have thought to describe the combination as comfort food. But the more I thought about it, the more I understood. I can say that there's starting to be something familiar and homey about sushi. I like that it's served in bite size portions--and it's just enough food to feel full but not overstuffed if one eats it all in one sitting. It's also really satisfying with the sticky, chewy rice. After last night's dinner, I can see myself eating sushi regularly (now, if only I could handle chopsticks more expertly). The one thing I still need to push myself to do is to combine the soy sauce with wasabi.

But the meal didn't end with sushi. Johnnie ordered calimari barbecue, which he said was overcooked. It did look beautiful, though (I didn't try it since I haven't developed a love for squid yet).

He also ordered the Shrimp Tempura Udon which he said is always fantastic.

I'd read about katsu on a couple of blogs, so I decided to try the Katsu Don with Chicken. Johnnie thought that I should play it safe because I'd just traveled all day and was ravenous. He thought I might not like the katsu as much as I liked the Bi Bim Bop that I ate last time I was at JOR. But the katsu turned out to be just about as safe as possible: breaded chicken, onion, rice, and some kind of sweet sauce. It's topped with egg and diced scallions. It was quite delicious, kind of like a gourmet chicken tender.

I also liked the banchan that accompanied the meal, even the pickled turnip and kim chee. Of course, my favorite was the teriyaki-like potato. Yummy!

I really enjoyed the meal. Still, Johnnie says that the two times we've been to JOR together, the food has just been okay. The other two times he's eaten there, it was fantastic. We'll be back in Columbus in a week and a half--and we plan to return to JOR. I'd like to go on one of the fantastic nights, especially since I've really liked the food both times I have been there. Hard to imagine it can be even better. . . .

It seems like everyone is blogging about Pinkberry, the frozen yogurt chain. Walking to my hotel one evening in Long Beach, I spied a Pinkberry shop. I wondered what the big deal was so I decided to try it out. I suppose the first thing one should know about Pinkberry is that it's healthy (not that there's anything wrong with that). I had the small cup--the manager told me there was just 90 calories in it (until I added stuff). The shop I was at had three flavors: original, coffee, and green tea. I ordered the original and added raspberries, coconut, and a few chocolate chips.

To imagine the taste, think of plain yogurt (no sugar or fruit added) frozen to the texture one expects in frozen yogurt. The taste of the yogurt was tangy, smooth, and, well, a little tart. I liked the bites that included raspberry, but wasn't crazy about the the bites sans berries. Overall, I'd say I'd choose gelato or Ben and Jerry's over Pinkberry. Still, it was fun to try something new.

I also drove down to Huntington Beach today. I used to live there in the late 80's when it was a sleepy surf town. Now it's commercial and crowded . . . but still beautiful.

I walked on the pier (rebuilt after the original blew out to sea during a bad storm), watching the surfers and enjoying all the woodies (cars from Australia owned by surfers) from years gone by. Here's a classic:

It was a gorgeous day--sunny, just cool enough to be pleasant, a little windy. I fell in love with Huntington all over again, wondering why I ever left. To continue the theme of nostalgia, I went to my favorite taco place in HB, Las Barcas. They had a big banner up to celebrate 21 years of business--although they opened the year I moved to HB, I think it took me a year or two to find the place. I really love their tacos--grilled steak, guacamole, lettuce, and cheese. Here's a blurry picture of the inside:

The steak to guacamole ratio was just right. And the crunchy lettuce was a nice texture to add to the soft tortillas.

I also decided to try a fish taco, which I also loved.

The white fish was also grilled, I think. Although this time I ordered it with tartar sauce, I think it would also be really tasty plain, with just a little bit of lemon. This was a juicy, mild, delicious taco.

Now I have two reasons to go back to Las Barcas.

Iceberg lettuce was a mainstay in our home as I grew up. I'm not sure that I even knew other types of lettuce existed until I went away to college. As an adult, I discovered the great wide world of lettuce--and I've gone, respectively, through a number of phases in my salad making: spinach, romaine, butter leaf, red leaf, and watercress. I'd seen that iceberg lettuce was making a comeback with the wedge salad, but I had yet to try one.

Recently, Tastespotting posted a picture of a beautiful looking salad with a wedge of iceberg lettuce. The recipe sounded good, so I decided to try it for lunch today. Because the original picture is so good, I didn't take a picture myself . . . but click here in order to see the creation of "Confections of a Foodie Bride" aka Shawnda Horn.

No really . . . look at the picture. I'll wait . . .

My opinion of this salad? WOW! I loved it! I think the two key ingredients are the pancetta and the pepper. The saltiness of the crispy pancetta and the combination of red and black pepper balanced the more subtle flavor of the iceberg and goat cheese. I misread the original recipe and came home from the grocery story with avocado, which I added to the mix. Since I've adapted a couple of other things (and since I want this recipe on my website where I can find it), I'll type it in. And if I can get a good picture tomorrow, I'll add it to the site. For now, make this recipe. I don't think you'll regret it.

Salad

1/4 head iceberg lettuce
Crumbled goat cheese
3 slices of crumbled crispy pancetta
chopped tomato
basil (I didn't have fresh, so I just used the dry version)
chopped avocado

Top with the following red wine vinaigrette

1/4 c. red wine vinegar
1/2 t. honey
1 small clove garlic, finely chopped
ground black pepper
sea salt
red pepper flakes
1/2 c extra virgin olive oil

I tend to be conservative with pepper (ask Johnnie), so my "liberal" amount is probably pretty miniscule compared to what others might like. My thanks to the Foodie Bride for sharing this recipe.