Frida, Not Just an Artist…
August 12, 2021
I was fortunate enough to live in an area that had some of the best Latin American food outside Mexico. Peruvian, Salvadorian, and Mexican Taquerias were scattered all over the San Francisco Bay Area. Concentrated in The Mission District of San Francisco was a myriad of excellent and cheap restaurants that put their heart and soul into their kitchens.
Attempting to find places in the Tri-State area I was told about a restaurant in Covington’s Mainstrasse District called Frida, named after famed Native Folk artist Frida Kahlo. The building is beautiful, spacious and also has a taco window, in case you want to grab a quick bite, then sit at one of the many picnic benches in the park.
This wouldn’t be classified as a traditional Taqueria or even an authentic ethnic restaurant. Their claim to fame is “Latin Street Cuisine”. and has many different influences including American. My guess is this is American-owned but pays homage to different Mexican and South American food trends. In the two visits to Frida, the execution was focused and the food was well presented and very good.
My first visit, I opted for a chicken burrito and a fish taco as seen in the pictures below. The flavors are balanced, the plates were nicely designed, the fish was crispy, seasoned well, and hot! My only gripe is when you put wet ingredients like toppings for the burrito, you are then obligated to eat with a knife and fork which causes the paper that is lining the serving tin to shred throughout the course of the meal, thus leaving you with having to sift through the food you are eating to discard the shredded paper.
In order to not have to navigate another burrito paper lining debacle, I decided on four tacos. Two fish, a beef and a chicken. Each one of them had a unique preparation and the beef resembled almost a braised short rib consistency and was delicious. I also ordered the chips and salsa sampler with a tomatillo, peanut satay, and traditional pico de gallo salsa. The peanut sauce was my favorite.
Each visit was accompanied by their house margaritas. I don’t want to get on a soapbox here, but you can serve a shrug-inducing screwdriver, gin and tonic or greyhound anywhere and get away with it. What you don’t want to fuck up are margaritas. I’ve had some of the shittiest margaritas in my time from places I dined as well as places I worked. It is imperative that you put some effort into this amazing drink or you will lose my business. Frida nailed it. Not heavy on the bar mix, the lime juice shined through and you could taste the tequila. Some spots I’ve been, windshield washing fluid gave these drinks a run for their money. No Bueno!.
I suggest early afternoon on weekdays to enjoy a carefree lunch and afternoon saloon. Both times I went around three o’clock and it was empty. By the early evening, the place was packed. I can see why.
Don’t Hate Me Damn It! I Love Fried Chicken!
August 12, 2021
You always read comments from people asking “If you were on a desert island, what three things would you bring with you?” Without getting into any personal details on the other two things I’d bring with me, one thing is for sure that would accompany me would be a well-made plate of fried chicken. Yeah, I know what you are saying. This guy is friggin’ nuts. I offer no apologies. It is an admitted weakness. Especially places that can really execute it well.
One of my all time favorite places in Cincinnati that served some of the best fried chicken I’ve ever had was The Hitching Post which was nestled in the little mini strip mall bordering Hyde Park, Oakley and Norwood. You’d never would notice the storefront if you drove by but the smell of that amazing chicken would be like a Siren’s Trance luring you into the deep fried rocks of Nirvana.
Unfortunately, The Hitching Post shuttered thus leaving me flailing for options to satisfy my need for this amazing dish. There were not many options in Pennsylvania so my hunt for a replacement was on!
I’ve heard rumors of a place in Northern Kentucky that was supposed to have a cult-like following in regards to fried chicken. It was call the Greyhound Tavern on Dixie Highway in Fort Wright Kentucky. I’d never been there before but many family and friends swear by the food.
I decided to take a leap of faith and venture out into the unknown as a solo diner. I sat at the bar, ordered a Great Lakes Edmund Fitzgerald. That beer went down as fast as the ship itself. Deliciously malty, smooth and with great carbonation.
I didn’t waste any time with the menu. I never opened it. I knew what I wanted. The bartender looked into my eyes, and could see what my soul desired. Their house-made fried chicken.
The breaded four-piece half chicken came with two sides which I opted for Coleslaw and mashed potatoes with gravy. On Monday and Tuesday, they offer an extra side and a biscuit special for a dollar less but when I ordered the special, it was obvious because of the volume, they pre-fried the chicken then heated it up. This time, I took my Nephew and Brother out for his birthday on a Wednesday, and the chicken was made to order.
I have to say, the Tavern became my new all time favorite fried chicken spot. Perfectly seasoned, moist, hot AF, and the sides were delicious. The mashed potatoes were made in-house, and the gravy was sublime. My brother had the chicken as well and loved it. I highly recommend this place but go early. It fills up after five o’clock and was packed when we left.
Bro Can Cook!
July 24, 2021
I’m currently staying at my brother’s house for a week-long visit. We are pretty simple folks. Nothing has to be too fancy and we look at food pretty straightforward. Today, he decided to ramp up his breakfast game and the result was pretty damn good. I’ve worked in upscale brunch places on and off for several years. His creation, though simple would be an excellent grab-and-go item for the busy commuter in the morning.
He made from delicious bacon, sausage, and cheese biscuit cups. He proceeded to make scrambled eggs, sausage that was chopped, and then rolled out biscuit dough with a little bit of flour and places the biscuit dough in a muffin pan, then spoon in the mixed egg and sausage mixture then top with shredded cheddar cheese. After about ten minutes, VOILA! Breakfast is served. Add some fresh fruit and it was a great filling meal! Nice job JP!!!
Fish! It’s What’s For Dinner!
July 24, 2021
As I resurrected my blog after an extended time in limbo, I didn’t think that I would be focused on cuisine that spans from South America to Spain. I’ve always enjoyed the flavor combinations that are derived from fresh ingredients and the spices that make this food patently unique. I picked up some Red Snapper at a local grocery and some simple vegetables. It was to be a quick meal to keep things lite since my diet has been all over the board recently.
I managed to find purple potatoes, which are also called Peruvian purple potatoes. They have the same texture and taste as red bliss potatoes but are bright purple. The colors tend to fade when boiled but still have a nice colorful hue. They are different than the purple Okinawan sweet potatoes which I cannot seem to find anywhere but these worked perfectly for the dish.
The aim was to make a simple has combining fresh-cut corn, potatoes, red onion, , chives and some smoked apple wood seasoning. The combinations were great. Sweet corn flavors with a hint of smoke and some heat.
I used a blackening seasoning for the snapper and seared the fish in a cast-iron skillet. I then decided on a smoked Romesco sauce. It’s a simple Spanish condiment used on various proteins such as fish, chicken, or beef. It’s a combination of roasted peppers, tomato, garlic, chili flakes, red wine vinegar, and in this case I used smoked almonds instead of regular sliced almonds. The result was a deliciously tangy and complex sauce that worked very well with the fish.
Paying Homage to South American Cooking
July 11, 2021
I lived in California for over fifteen years. It’s a place I called home for almost a third of my life. I met my wife there, landed my first executive chef job there, and met some amazing people from all over the globe. It’s also where I was exposed to some of the greatest food I’ve ever eaten. When you think about San Francisco, the first thing that comes to mind is the food scene. During my time, there were over three thousand restaurants crammed into seven square miles. This is not an exaggeration. You had global cuisine at your every beck and call.
What many don’t realize, is that there is also a myriad of restaurants in San Francisco that are as equally as amazing as Michelin-starred restaurants which don’t carry names like Michael Mina, Alice Waters, or Nancy Oakes. These are little hole in the wall Taqueria’s that are all over the area but mostly located in The Mission District. I worked in the Mission for over three years. You can find any cuisine that starts from the top of Mexico down to the tip of South America.
Mexican, Peruvian, Honduran, and Salvadorian restaurants were my most favorite but you also had some Spanish Tapas restaurants that served cheap and amazing food. I’ve always have had an affinity for meats, spices, and vegetables from Mexico and South America. I worked in a restaurant that had cooks from six different countries working in my kitchen.
I was exposed to those amazing Salvadorian meat or cheese-filled griddle cakes called Papusas. My friend’s wife from Mexico introduced me to a meat and hominy soup that blew my mind called Posole. I learned how to make a proper hot salsa from my Mexican cooks. I had Beef Tongue for the first time. It was a life-altering experience that I never would have enjoyed unless I made the trek to California and I will be forever thankful for what I’ve learned while on my culinary journey in that incredible state. I do miss it.
The great thing about being back home is having friends who share the same enthusiasm for Latin/Hispanic food. Chris Mundy who in his own right, loves to dabble in this simple fare. But there is nothing simple about the flavors. Smokey, salty, acidity, spicy, and above all, fresh comes to mind when creating and eating this food. Chris is no slouch. If anyone has ever seen his “Jam Band” dinners, you realize he puts a lot of research and effort into what he prepares. Every meal seems carefully executed. I admire that.
This will be our second collaboration. Both have South American themes. In no way am I trying to replicate exact dishes of any specific country, but it’s more of an homage to the ingredients utilized to create dishes that I’ve learned from my friends in California and will always appreciate.
Chris made an Aji Verde sauce. Traditionally, the sauce comes from Andean countries like Columbia, Bolivia, and Peru. It is a mayonnaise-based sauce with cilantro, jalapeno chiles, red onion, and lime juice that is pureed and served as a condiment over fish, chicken, or beef. In Chile, they substitute lemon juice and is called Aji Chileno.
I made the ultimate trip to Jungle Jim’s, warned my knees about the size of the place and my brain about the hordes of people I’d encounter. I took and deep breath, and pushed the cart through the door! Yay! First step!
The place is huge but I had my list and made just a short pit stop by the wine department. I picked up various items for our dinner including Mojo seasoning which is a Cuban meat seasoning that I thought would go great with the chicken because of its citrus properties. I also picked up a cast-iron skillet. Yes, I always need this in my life.
The base of our meal was Peruvian beans, white onion, diced tomatoes, garlic, white wine, paprika, lemon juice, and salt and pepper. Though Jungle Jim’s didn’t have Peruvian beans, white and red beans were a suitable substitute. I also topped the beans with sauteed arugula with fresh lemon juice, garlic, and sea salt.
I purchased a whole Amish chicken which I deboned into quarters. Dusted the chicken with the Mojo seasoning and pan-seared it in the cast iron skillet. I transferred the chicken to the oven at 350 degrees for a half-hour and then in a heavy pot, added olive oil, and brought the heat up to high. I sauteed the onions, added garlic to sweat then deglazed with white wine. I add the beans and tomato and then slowly incorporated the paprika and salt. Adding salt early and reducing the sauce of the beans can make the beans very salty. I finished with lemon just a put aside.
I did a quick saute of olive oil, garlic, arugula, lemon juice, and sea salt. Mounded the beans on the plate, topped with the sauteed arugula, arranged the cooked chicken over the beans and arugula, and topped it all off with Chris’s great Aji Verde sauce. He also brought a seared Halloumi cheese with mint and watermelon and the whole dinner was amazing. Cheers!
Pork! The Other White…Oh Let’s Just Do This!
July 4, 2021
In my attempt to find fun ingredients to prepare, I discovered a small grocery store in Hartwell called Country Fresh Market. They offer a variety of dry goods, meats, prepared foods, and a killer beer and wine department. The prices are competitive as well. I managed to get my hands on some beautiful Spring Onions.
I also picked up Pork Loin, Honeycrisp Apples, and other various items that will help compel me to cook versus eating at chain food outlets.
It’s a fairly straightforward dish. I roasted the Spring Onions and Apples with Olive Oil, Salt, and Pepper. I pan-seared the Pork Loin and roasted it with fresh sage. I made a simple Mushroom Couscous and then prepared a Balsamic Pan Gravy which was Beef Broth, Balsamic Reduction, and cracked Black Pepper. I reduced it to a glaze.
I let the Pork Loin repose, sliced half, and then kept the other half whole to give a contrast in texture. The result was a great, balanced meal. The whole process took me about a half-hour. No, there were no leftovers….
Bon Appetit!
The Joy of Cooking Again!
July 1, 2021
When one is met with peculiar family dynamics that have not been encountered before, there are two paths to take, especially when there is potential for conflict. One option is to stand your ground, watch the cortisol levels rise like Mount Vesuvius, and in the end, never accomplish the result you were trying to achieve. The other option is to simply resign to the fact that this is life as we know it for the time being, so just sit back and try to enjoy the roller coaster ride.
I’ve been in this situation for five years with limited access to a home kitchen. My wonderful wife has taken on the arduous task of cooking for three people daily. It keeps everyone fed and the conflicts are minimalized. I for one, love what my wife prepares. She’s a great cook.
This current respite I’m enjoying has allowed me to cook again. Not in a professional kitchen where one can hear this old chef’s bones crack like stepping on celery with every bend, stoop and pivot, but at a home setting where the wine flows like a waterfall and the setting is calm, peaceful and creative.
My friend of almost forty years Chris Mundy came over for a nice, simple dinner collaboration. He in his own right, is an elevated cook with a great palette, a keen sense of creativity who isn’t afraid to push the culinary boundaries that would make most of our family members wince at the very mention of “Chimichurri.”
He was going to his family’s cabin in Michigan and we both had ingredients we wanted to cook that wouldn’t last the week he was in Michigan so we decided on a pot luck dinner. The result was pretty spectacular.
I’ve adjusted my expectations on where to shop while I’ve been back. I haven’t had the opportunity to make the trek to the infamous Jungle Jim’s where you can procure everything from Rattlesnake to a hot sauce that would give the Sun a run for its money. So, until then, I have been relegated to the big box corporate grocery stores that I also encounter where I live. To say the least, the choices were grim.
It makes sense to stock their shelves with items that the residents of that area would purchase. I get it. I was hoping for something a tad more exotic than Strip Loin Steaks. Perhaps even frozen Duck Breast would suffice? Unfortunately, Strip Loin was the only choice.
I purchased some Applewood Smoked dry rub for the steak. I roasted some fresh Cauliflower, Crimini Mushrooms, and Radish with fresh herbs and olive oil. We combined these with fresh Blue Lake Green Beans. I decided on butter basting the steak with fresh herbs and garlic. I love grilling steaks but butter basting creates a rich, yet artery clogging euphoria that grilling seems to miss.
I let the steak repose and sliced it thin and placed it over the vegetable melange and topped it with Chris’s homemade Chimichurri Sauce which is like an Argentinian pesto, made with parsley, oregano, garlic, chili flakes, vinegar, and olive oil. It is used as a condiment on anything from eggs to vegetables. His version was excellent.
We added a Garbanzo Bean salad and we both shared wine. It was an excellent collaboration. It felt good to cook again. I’m hoping to keep this trend up during my stay.
Next stop. Jungle Jim’s. Just don’t tell my wife.
Venturing Out Into The Unkown
August 6, 2019
In the vast wasteland of the Bucks County culinary landscape where you have to travel up to forty five minutes to find meals prepared that don’t require cheese steak, marinara or something that is deep fried , it is rewarding when you reach the destination of a number of restaurants, taverns and BYOB eateries that reward you with locally produced vegetables, meats and cheeses painstakingly prepared by cooks who sincerely care about what they are cooking and who they are cooking for.
I’ve mentioned in previous blog posts about truly great gems that we’ve stumbled upon in Bucks County that we still frequent today. Places like La Campagna in Quakertown, the never missed Hachi in Chalfont, Slate Bleu in Doylestown, Blue Moose Cafe in New Hope and Bowman’s Tavern in New Hope are just a handful of eateries that get it. They really understand how to menu plan and execute great meals.
We’ve also enjoyed a robust brewery scene that is continually growing in the region which include consistently great Freewill Brewing in Perkasie, Mad Princes Brewing in Buckingham and Vault Brewing in Yardly. This a just snippet of wonderful craft breweries that are in the South East Pennsylvania area.
Getting out and about trying to find new places to visit is hard. Restaurant work is tough. It gobbles up any free time you have and you end up either sleeping your entire day away or on the couch watching Netflix with box wine and sandwiches from your local Italian hoagie joint.
My wife has been trying to drag me up to Easton Pennsylvania for over two years now. I’m not a big travel guy. I work a lot so when I have time off, my battery is pretty low so even getting off my ass to get to the shore has been met with failure for three years and counting. I just love being alone and relaxing and the thought of strolling down a boardwalk in 90 degree temperatures being bumped into by one tone deaf family after another with the waft of cotton candy and sunblock is nothing short of cringe worthy.
This time I acquiesced. I recently left my job and after a week have discovered new found energy not only physically but mentally. Jude brought up the idea of going to the Easton Market. They have Ramen place there and it’s been over three years since I’ve relished in the wonderful concoction of noodles, vegetables, eggs and proteins you normally don’t find in soups like togarashi dusted fried chicken or slow braised pork belly. Mr.Lee’s Noodles in the Easton Public Market offers pretty decent Ramen. It’s not most amazing Ramen we’ve had compared to Portland Oregon and San Francisco but for a small community in Eastern PA, I would definitely go back and have it again. The value of the product offered and the ingredients were solid.
The Easton Market was a breath of fresh air. I’ve never been to Easton before nor did I know of its history. Founded in 1752, it was a major hub during the Revolutionary War and one of three places where the Declaration of Independence was read. It resides by two rivers, the Delaware River and The Lehigh River. The layout of the town is interesting because you can see how they have preserved much of the city’s historical buildings and were still able to create new businesses without razing structures to be replaced with new construction.
The Easton Market itself is housed in a two century old building which is an outgrowth of the Easton Farmer’s Market which to this day is the oldest open air farmers market in the country. The schematic of vendors is planned out well. They have a wood fired pizza restaurant, an east coast crab shack, a chocolatier, a spirits booth, a crepe restaurant, a bbq restaurant and various craft gift and vegetable stands. We tried the Ramen and Crab shack. Both were good but the Lobster roll we tried did not really seem like a value for $22.00. We are excited to try the crepe and pizza booths when we make our next trip.
We didn’t have a lot time to visit much of the town on our first trip. It was getting later in the day and we both were getting tired. I think the next trip will be an overnight stay so we can really get a chance to see what Easton has to offer. I personally enjoyed the architecture and how the town was split up by the two rivers. It was a gorgeous place. We spoke to a young server named Cody from the Ramen booth. He mentioned how the city is in transition and ten years ago it was a very rough place to live. I could see what he was talking about. Many of the towns outside of Philadelphia never survived the smoke stack industry decline and fell into tough times and disrepair. Easton seems to have addressed this and it shows by the businesses currently occupying the downtown.
The diversity was also a welcomed sign. Families, kids with purple hair, artisans, chefs, every ethnicity you could fathom were all together enjoying what the market had to offer. You tend to forget about this when you reside in an area that has no diversity what so ever. We actually laughed about this when chatting with Cody. We were like, “When can we move here????” I think the only other area that remotely resembles this type of diverse environment is New Hope. Another place that we really enjoy.
I have no clue what my future has to offer me. Job hunting, getting grounded, not obsessing about the future is just a few things on my plate. It was refreshing though to see a new and interesting spot that is only forty five minutes away. Easton, you’ve found a new fan.
Tales From an Urban Chef 