Joe's New York Pizza, Las Vegas!

Pizza!  

     

     Joe's New York Pizza is one of my favorite Las Vegas pizza joints!  New York style pizza is the most popular kind of pizza in Las Vegas.  There are several New York style pizza restaurants in Las Vegas that are popular, but Joe's New York Pizza has the advantage of being at a great location for a pizzeria.

     Joe's New York Pizza is located at Paradise and Harmon, across the street from the Hard Rock Casino, next to the UNLV campus.  This pizzeria is popular with the college students and the rock n roll animal crowd.  Joe's is a fun college pizza joint to hang out in and the place has a cool atmosphere.  Joe's New York Pizza is a good place to grab a bite to eat, before drinking and dancing all night at the bars and clubs in the Las Vegas fruit loop district that is nearby. 

     Pizza by the slice is the featured offering at Joe's New York Pizza.  All the par baked pizza pies are on display behind glass.  After the pizza slice is selected, it is placed in the pizza oven to be finished.  The slices are cut big, just like the pizza slices in New York.  

     The flavor of Joe's pizza is like the flavor of a good old fashioned New York pizza.  The sauce is well seasoned with Italian herbs and garlic.  The sauce is not sweet like Chicago style pizza.  The cheese and toppings are of good quality too.

     Saturday, I stopped by Joe's New York Pizza for a bite to eat.  I had a slice of a loaded vegetable and meat pizza.  The crumbled Italian sausage really had a nice flavor and it was much better tasting than the cheap sausage that fast food pizza restaurants use.  Pepper, onion and mushroom pizza with sausage and pepperoni is a favorite of many pizza lovers.  One slice of this pizza was very filling!

     I usually only have one slice of pizza while at Joe's.  Many customers sample a variety of different flavored pizza slices while dining there.  There are several interesting gourmet toppings to chose from.  Joe's New York Pizza does sell whole pizza pies.

     I honestly recommend Joe's New York Pizza!  If you are craving good New York style pizza while in Las Vegas, then you'll find it at Joe's.  Yum!  ...  Shawna   

Sourdough Egg Sandwich and Mango Smoothie at Jack In The Box, Las Vegas!

Fast breakfast food!

   
     I don't spend much time on fast food topics in my blog, but there actually are a few good options out there in fast food world.  Jack In The Box's Sourdough Egg Sandwich is a pretty good breakfast sandwich!

     Jack In the Box became popular in the 1960's.  I remember going through the drive through at Jack when I was a kid.  I remember how the intercom speaker that looked like a clown in a a jack in the box was filled with garbled static and it was so very irritating to listen to.  Customers hated Jack In The Box drive through, because the intercom never worked!  The drive through was totally fried out.

     Jack In the Box started as a fast food burger stand.  The food quality was very poor and eventually Jack In The Box gained a negative food reputation.  The restaurant chain was on the verge of going out of business.  Jack In The Box was doing very poorly and changes were needed.  New management totally redesigned the Jack In The Box theme to be more competitive.  A new clean restaurant design and a cutting edge fast food menu gave Jack In The Box a good new reputation.  Jack In The Box found a niche in the competitive world of fast food by offering food that no other fast food restaurant offered.

     I do not like everything at Jack In The Box, but some of the menu items are pretty good.  The sourdough egg breakfast sandwich is one of the items that I like.  This sandwich is cooked to order, with no microwaves involved, unlike the major breakfast sandwich competition from the other fast food restaurants.  The sourdough egg sandwich's ingredients are simply grilled sourdough bread, fried egg, bacon and ham.  The sandwich is not greasy or soggy like the competition's breakfast sandwiches.
     Jack In The Box offers this sandwich on a 24 hour breakfast menu.  Jack In The Box is a popular 24/7 drive through that Las Vegas taxi drivers and party animals like.  A key for a visitor of Las Vegas that is looking for good quality cheap food is to look at where the Las Vegas taxi drivers dine.  The taxi drivers know every nook and cranny of Las Vegas and they do know where good cheap food can be found.  I first tried the Jack In The Box sourdough egg sandwich, while driving taxi in Las Vegas.   

     Mango smoothie is also a nice item for a fast food breakfast.  There is plenty of mango juice is in this smoothie!  

     The sourdough egg sandwich and the mango smoothie are a couple of nice quality items that I recommend at Jack In The Box!  Not all fast food is cooked like fast food.  Yum!  ...  Shawna

Elvis Wich at Which Wich in Las Vegas!

Elvis Presley's favorite grilled sandwich served as a sub!  

     

     Which Wich is a franchise style sandwich shop in Las Vegas.  I drive past the Which Wich location at Lake Mead and North Rainbow Boulevard on the way home from chef school quite often.  I notice quite a bit of traffic and customers walking out of Which Wich with bags of sandwiches and that is always a good sign.

     Which Wich offers their customers brown paper sandwich bags with the menu and sandwich options printed on the bag.  Placing an order is as simple as marking items like a check list on each sandwich bag and handing the bag to the clerk.  

     The sandwich menu has some nice sandwich offerings and a few items on the list of ingredient options that are unique to Which Wich.  Pesto spread, horseradish spread and a few different styles of olives are some of the options that looked interesting.

     Specialty sandwiches are also offered.  I was pleasantly surprised to see an Elvis Wich listed on the specialty sandwich menu at Which Wich!  I do like the flavor of a traditional Elvis Sandwich and having a submarine style Elvis sandwich seemed interesting.

     The original Elvis sandwich is grilled bread with peanut butter, bacon, banana and honey.  This sandwich was Elvis Presley's favorite sandwich!

     The Elvis Wich at Which Wich has the same ingredients as the original Elvis sandwich, but it is served on a toasted sub sandwich roll.  

     The flavor of an Elvis sandwich is unforgettably good tasting!  Elvis Presley liked the flavor combination.  I have had Elvis Sandwich flavored ice cream at the Rio Casino in Las Vegas and I also liked that ice cream a lot.  One of these days, I will post a recipe for an Elvis Souffle, because the sandwich flavors would be nice in a souffle too.

     The Elvis Wich was simply delicious!  Its a hard flavor combination to imagine, but after the first bite, there are nothing but smiles!

     To be honest, the regular subs at Which Wich are not like good Italian or NY delicatessen sandwiches, but they are good tasting.  The sandwich meat portion is small, but the price of the sandwiches are reasonable.

     When in Las Vegas, you will probably experience Elvis Presley one way or another.  Experiencing an Elvis Wich at Which Wich is a good way to get your Las Vegas quota of Elvis Presley's favorite sandwich!  Yummy!  ...  Shawna  

Bacon Wrapped Shrimp, Dates and Peppers, a Hummus Platter and Toasted Coconut Date Milkshake at the Mad Greek Cafe in Las Vegas!

     This location has closed!  The Mad Greek location at Sahara and Durango is open for business!  This article will be left intact for reference purposes.

     The Mad Greek Cafe is a new Las Vegas restaurant that opened about two months ago.  It is located at 2330 South Rainbow about one block north of Sahara.  A good land mark to look for is the gigantic Red Rock Harley Davidson dealership building that is located at the same plaza..

     The menu board at the Mad Greek Cafe has many Greek and middle east specialties.  A dessert case is full of nice looking Greek pastries and baklava.  Some of the menu cold sandwiches and salads are pre-made, for people who are on the go.

     I thought about getting the Mad Suvlaki or the Mad Gyro for lunch, but I was craving something lighter.  Falafel sandwiches, spanokapita and several other Greek specialty items were on the menu.  The hummus platter sounded like a heathy lunch snack, so I placed an order for lunch.  A petite salad style entree of Bacon Wrapped Shrimp with Dates and Peppers sounded yummy too, so I ordered this item as another snack.

     There are over twenty milkshake flavors to choose from on the board and most of the flavors were of Grecian or middle east origin.  I was craving a second milkshake this week for some reason, probably because the Maui Banana shake that I had Sunday night was so satisfying.  I decided to have a Roasted Coconut and Date Milkshake for lunch! 

     I sat at my table and waited for my order.  A few minutes later, the clerk yelled out to the dining room "Coconut and Date milkshake!"  I went to pick up my milk shake and I noticed that it was a large shake instead of a small one.  I asked if this was my shake, but there was quite a language barrier to deal with behind the counter.  I figured, there was probably nobody else that would possibly order a coconut and date flavor combination in the dining room, so it must be my shake!  The clerk nodded when I asked.  I thought to myself that I got more than I bargained for and I'll just drink a portion of the milkshake, rather than go into diabetic shock!

     The milkshake looked very nice with whipped cream and toasted coconut on top.  The shake even had one of those cool old fashioned tiny cocktail umbrellas as a garnish!  The flavor of dates and toasted coconut is phenomenally good tasting in an old fashioned milk shake.  The milk shake was yummy, even though it was the wrong size.

     A couple minutes later, my order of hummus was delivered to the table.  The hummus plate looked nice and there was plenty of fresh toasted pita bread on the plate to scoop the hummus up with.  The only thing that the hummus lacked was a small amount of good olive oil poured over over it like Arabic or Persian hummus, but that was okay.  The Mad Greek Cafe is a Greek restaurant!  The hummus had a nice balance of flavor and it was quite enjoyable for lunch.  

     The Bacon Wrapped Shrimp, Dates and Peppers showed up at my table next.  I wasn't thrilled with how the shrimp looked.  The bacon was obviously overcooked and very dark.  I had complimented the waitress when the milkshake and hummus were placed at my table, but I just said thanks when the shrimp arrived.  I said nothing about how the shrimp looked.

     Then I heard the guy behind the counter yell "Coconut and Date Milkshake!"  I turned around to look and there was the small size milkshake that I ordered, sitting on the service counter.  The waitress brought the small coconut date milkshake to a gentleman sitting at a table close to me.  I kind of laughed as the gentleman told the waitress that he ordered a large coconut and date milkshake.  I interrupted the waitress and the customer.  I said to the gentleman "I think that I got your milkshake by mistake and the small shake was my order."  The waitress tried to give me the small shake and I pointed to the mammoth size shake that was sitting in front of me, as I said that I can't even finish the milkshake that I already have!  The waitress who had the language barrier really got confused, but she corrected the gentleman's order.  

     I asked the middle eastern looking gentleman what the milkshake flavor was that he ordered.  The gentleman said to me "Toasted Coconut and Date!"  I said to the gentleman that is the same flavor milkshake that I ordered and we both broke into laughter!  I said "With all the milkshake flavors on that board, it is amazing how two people would order that particular flavor combination."  The gentleman agreed and we laughed some more.

     Coconut and date is not your everyday milkshake flavor.  I am a fairly good oddsmaker and I figured the odds to be well over 11,000 to 1 that two people would order a toasted coconut and date milkshake at the same time.  I mentioned what I thought the odds would be to the gentleman and he laughed while saying that the odds sounded about right!  We both could not believe that we both ordered that flavor.  This is Las Vegas and that is how conversations go.  Gamblers are extremely good at figuring odds and the oddest things happen!

     I tasted one of the least burnt of the bacon wrapped shrimp, date and pepper on my plate.  The flavor was really very nice!  Before I could think of eating the second shrimp, a waitress sat a plate of perfectly cooked bacon wrapped shrimp dates and peppers at my table.  The waitress said that the manager sent me the second perfectly cooked plate of shrimp, because the first plate looked rather dark.  That was very nice!  

     The waitress said that I could have both plates of shrimp and if I don't want the overcooked shrimp then don't bother to eat them.  She apologized a few times and I said its okay!  I liked the way the second plate of shrimp looked.  The bacon was crisp and it was a much lighter color.

     It is service like that that makes me smile.  I did not complain or ask for better looking shrimp.  Now I thought to myself that this was not just the Mad Greek Cafe, this was now the Psychic Mad Greek Cafe!  

     I was very happy with the second plate of shrimp!  The flavor of the bacon, shrimp, sweet date and mildly spicy pepper was a great tasting combination.  I liked how the manager voluntarily corrected the situation.  That is how things are done in good small Greek cafes! 

     The Mad Greek Cafe is clean and the food is some what well managed.  Language barriers and confusion over which customer gets what order of food was a small problem.  I realize that the Mad Greek is fairly new and I do give them credit for trying very hard to please their customers.  I had two mistakes during my visit that ended up being in my favor.  That is nothing to complain about!

     Even though I drank only half of the huge milkshake, it was one of the richest milkshakes that I ever had and it caused two of us customers to have a good laugh!

     I actually had a fun and enjoyable experience at the Mad Greek Cafe and the food was really pretty good.  I'm glad they corrected the shrimp and sent me a plate of shrimp that was properly cooked or I would not be recommending or writing about the Mad Greek Cafe.  

     Yes, I do recommend the Mad Greek Cafe to my Las Vegas readers and Las Vegas visitors!  The food is good at a reasonable price, just like what you would expect at a Greek cafe.  Do not expect to have a fun dramatic dining experience like I did, because mistakes like that don't happen every day!  Ha Ha!  Yummy!  ...  Shawna            

Roasted Rosemary Pork Loin Chops and Vegetables with Braised Red Cabbage and Baked Apple

German Octoberfest Cuisine!  Das ist gut!  Ya!
     Like any good chef or cook, I post recipes for the seasons and holidays.  Octoberfest is a celebration where good German beer and German food play the lead role.  If any celebration helps people put on a little bit of comfortable fat for the cold winter, it is Octoberfest.  The fall season and fall harvest is a traditional time of joy and celebration everywhere in europe.  The fall season is perfect for indulging in excesses of food, beer and wine!
     Simple roasted meats, braised meats, sausages, braised cabbage, sauerkraut, breads, pastries and potatoes seem to be the preferred foods of Octoberfest.  If it goes good with beer, then cook it!  Heavy saucy food and stews are better for the winter season.
     Roasted rosemary pork loin chops and vegetables is a great simple recipe.  Place the pork chops over braised red cabbage and you have a great simple German recipe!  A baked apple adds a nice touch to this Octoberfest style plate of food.
     When making German braised red cabbage, there is two important things to keep in mind.  One is to not over season or under season the braised cabbage.  Under seasoned braised cabbage has a very boring flavor.  Over seasoned braised cabbage is very overbearing.  The spices in the seasoning are very strong, so it only takes a pinch of each to season this braised cabbage recipe perfectly.
      The second thing to keep in mind is the balance of sweet and sour.  The intensity of the sweet sour flavor should not be over bearing.  It should be closer to the middle of the scale.  Apple and sugar are the sweeteners.  Keep in mind that the apple flavor will become sweeter as is braises with the cabbage.  Dry white wine and cider vinegar adds the sour flavor.  Add a little bit of the vinegar at a time, till it starts to taste right and that is all, because after the braising liquid reduces, the flavor will be more concentrated!  Too much cider vinegar will cause an unpleasant sour flavor.  The key is to remember that the cabbage flavor is also meant to be tasted!
      This braised red cabbage is a little bit different than last year's Octoberfest braised red cabbage recipe.  The flavor is similar and this recipe is also traditional.
   
     Braised Red Cabbage Recipe:
     This recipe makes enough braised red cabbage for about 3 to 4 portions.
     Heat a braising pan or a wide shallow sauce pot over medium/medium low heat.
     Add 5 pats of unsalted butter.
     Add 1 strip of chopped black forest bacon.
     Gently saute, till some of the fat renders from the bacon and till the bacon just begins to turn a light golden color.
     Add 1 minced garlic clove.
     Add 1 teaspoon of ginger paste.
     Add 1 small handful of finely chopped onion.
     Add 1 tiny handful of finely chopped celery.
     Saute till the onions just start to turn clear.
     Add 1/2 of a head of red cabbage that is thinly sliced.
     Saute and stir the cabbage, till it becomes hot.
     Add 1 diced apple.
     Continue to saute and stir, till the cabbage begins to wilt.
     Add 1 cup of dry white wine.
     Add 2 tablespoons of cider vinegar.
     Add 2 tablespoons of sugar.
     Add enough water, so the cabbage is nearly covered with liquid.
     Add sea salt and black pepper.
     Add 1 1/2 pinches of cinnamon.
     Add 1 pinch of allspice.
     Add 3 cloves.
     Add 1 pinch of nutmeg.
     Add 1 pinch of ground sage.
     Add 1 small pinch of ground celery seed.
     Stir the ingredients.
     Cover the pan with a loose fitting lid.
     Place the covered pan into a 325 degree oven.
     Stir the cabbage once every 10 to 15 minutes.
     Bake until the cabbage becomes tender and the liquid reduces to a small amount.  There should only be enough liquid to coat the braised cabbage, when it is done baking!
     While the cabbage is braising in the oven, the roasted rosemary pork, vegetables and the baked apple should be roasted in the oven.
   
     Roasted Rosemary Pork Loin Chops and Vegetables:
     Place a celery heart that is cut in half into a high sided roasting pan.
     Place a 5 inch long piece of whole carrot that is cut in half into the roasting pan.
     Add 2 peeled potato quarters.
     Place 5 or 6 thin boneless trimmed pork loin chops in the roasting pan.
     Brush the vegetables and pork with melted unsalted butter.
     Add a splash of dry white wine.
     Add a tiny splash of water.
     Season with sea salt and black pepper.
     Sprinkle 1 tablespoon of fresh rosemary leaves over the pork and vegetables.
     Roast the pork and vegetables in the 325 degree oven.
     Roast till the pork becomes fully cooked and so it is tender a juicy.  The thin pork chops will finish cooking first.
     Remove the pork chops from the pan and set them on a dish.
     Keep the pork warm on a stove top.
     Return the vegetables to the oven and roast till they become fully cooked and tender.
 
     Baked Apple:
     The apple can be baked at the same time as the pork and vegetables.
     Core a medium size apple.
     Cut the bottom of the apple so it sits flat.
     Peel the apple around the center and leave the skin on the top and bottom of the apple.
     Brush the apple with melted unsalted butter.
     Season the apple with a pinch of cinnamon.
     Place the apple on a baking pan.
     Bake the apple in the 325 degree oven, till it becomes tender, but not mushy.
     Keep the baked apple warm on the stove top.

     Assembly:  
     When the cabbage finishes braising, return the roasted rosemary pork, vegetables and baked apple to the oven for a minute or two to reheat them.
     Place a portion of the braised red cabbage across a plate as a bed for the pork loin chops.
     Place the roasted rosemary pork loin chops across the cabbage, so they overlap.
     Place the baked apple on the plate.
     Place roasted rosemary vegetables on the plate.
     Pour any roasting jus that is in the roasting pan over the pork chops.
     Garnish the plate with a parsley sprig.
     Garnish the baked apple with a tall rosemary sprig.
     Awesome German Octoberfest food!  The flavor of the roasted rosemary pork is very nice with the braised red cabbage.  The cabbage in the pictures turned out perfect.  The balance of flavor is one that any German cook would like!  The vegetables have a very nice roasted color and the rosemary flavor is present.  The baked apple gives this plate a very nice tasting light flavor accompaniment.  This is a very nice entree that makes use of a slow roasting temperature oven.  Yum!  ...  Shawna
     
           

Seared Spicy Thai Beef and Rosemary Parsnip Veloute with Roasted Red and Gold Beets

Yummy French Fusion Cuisine!

     One thing that is great about French fusion cuisine, is that you can create an interesting entree with the last few ingredients that are left in a refrigerator!  Some of my best food in restaurants and at home has been made with just a few items that there was not enough of to make a traditional recipe with.  That is the best time to experiment with creating a nice flavor combination.  Many cooks have no sense of imagination and small amounts of food are often casually discarded or left in a refrigerator till it turns into some kind of a science project.  I never waste food!  

     The beef was a cut of top round steak that was very lean.  Top round is better if it is marinated to help tenderize the meat.  A mildly spicy Thai style marinade was used to flavor the beef.  The beef can marinate for as short as 20 minutes or it can be marinated overnight.  Its just a matter of convenience.  

     

     Spicy Thai Marinated Beef:   

     Place a 5 to 6 ounce, one inch thick piece of top round steak into a small bowl.  

     Add 1/2 teaspoon of garlic paste. 

     Add 1/2 teaspoon of ginger paste.

     Add the juice of 1/2 lime.

     Add 1/2 teaspoon of crushed dried Thai pepper.

     Add sea salt and white pepper.

     Add 1/2 tablespoon of soy sauce.

     Add 1 tablespoon of rice wine.

     Toss the ingredients together.

     Cover the bowl and marinate the beef for at least 20 minutes or overnight.

     

     Rosemary Parsnip Veloute:   

     Place a small sauce pot over medium high heat.

     Add 1 cup of light chicken stock or light veal stock.

     Add 1/2 cup of dry white wine.

     Add 1 teaspoon of minced shallot.

     Add 1/2 of a minced garlic clove.

     Add 2 tablespoons of small diced parsnip.

     Bring the sauce to a boil.

     Reduce the temperature to medium heat.

     Add enough blonde roux, while whisking, to thicken the sauce to a very thin sauce consistency.

     After the roux combines, reduce the temperature to medium low heat.

     Add 1 teaspoon of chopped fresh rosemary.

     Add sea salt and white pepper.

     Gently simmer and reduce the sauce, till the parsnips become tender and the sauce becomes a thin consistency.

     Keep the sauce warm over very low heat.

     Roasted Gold and Red Beets:

     It is important to keep the two different colored beets separated, or the red will bleed into the gold.  Work with the lighter colored beet first and then the red.  Keep the beet colors separate in the roasting pan too!  

     Peel 1 red beet and 1 gold beet.

     Cut 1 or 2 one quarter inch thick slices through the center of each beet.  

     Cut 4 or 5 one quarter inch thick petite beet sticks out of each slice.

     Toss the petite beet sticks with a small amount of vegetable oil.

     Place the petite beet sticks on a small roasting pan.

     Roast the beet sticks in a 350 degree oven, till they become caramelized and tender.

     Keep the roasted beet sticks warm on a stove top.

     Seared Spicy Thai Beef and Rosemary Parsnip Veloute with Roasted Red and Gold Beets:

     

     Remove the beef top round steak from the marinade.

     Brush any excess marinade off of the steak.

     Heat a saute pan over medium/medium high heat.

     Add a tiny splash of vegetable oil.

     Place the marinated steak in the pan.

     Sear both sides of the steak and turn the steak a few times, so it cooks evenly.  

     Cook the steak to your desired temperature.  (The steak in the pictures is rare/medium rare.)

     Set the seared steak aside to rest, while the plate is set.

     Arrange and alternate the roasted beet strips, so the fan out in a circle that is about wide enough for the sliced steak to slightly overlap.

     Very thinly slice the steak at no more than a 45 degree angle across the grain.

     Arrange and fan the steak slices in a circle shape, with the steak tips forming a peak on the center of the plate and so the steak slices slightly overlap the roasted beet strips.

     Spoon some of the rosemary parsnip veloute around the sliced steak and over the beets onto the plate.

     Garnish the center of the steak with a small rosemary sprig.

     

     Delicious!  This entree did turn out rather nice tasting.  The Thai spicy marinated steak has a nice sharp flavor and the sweet flavor of the roasted beets counters the spicy sensation.  The gentle veloute adds a comfortable warm savory mellow flavor that is rich with rosemary and parsnip flavors.  The veloute is nice looking on the plate too.  This would be a nice entree for a multi course dinner.  Yum!  ...  Shawna    

     

     

     

XXL Double Kingburger, Fresh Onion Rings and a Maui Banana Milkshake at FATBURGER in Las Vegas!

I can't believe that I almost ate the whole thing!
   
     After being ill from Thursday through Saturday and eating almost nothing but a Korean soup and a vegetable borscht, I was starving for some food Sunday night.  I mean I was very hungry!  All that the Sunday afternoon Ukraine Borscht meal did was wet my appetite.  I figured that FATBURGER would be a good choice for filling my tummy up on a Sunday evening!
     I posted a blog about FATBURGER's Red Rock Casino location a few weeks ago.  A free standing FATBURGER is located close to where I live and that is a nice convenience.  I went to the FATBURGER that is located on Rancho, one block north of Craig in Las Vegas.
     The free standing FATBURGER shops have a much more comfortable feel than the food court locations at casinos.  The theme of this FATBURGER location was 1960's soul music and 1950's classic hamburger stand!  Pictures of many great Afro American soul and pop entertainers were hanging on the walls.  Soul music and early 1960's pop music was playing in the dining area!  Chrome plated red vinyl soda fountain stools, tables and chairs and stainless pre-fab diner decor gave the dining area a very nostalgic feeling that was perfect for an old fashioned true hamburger experience!  This FATBURGER location is like stepping into the golden age of hamburger history!
     I was so very hungry when I placed my order and "my eyes were bigger than my stomach!"  All I could do was stare at the at the picture of the XXL Double Kingburger on the menu and think to myself that I can handle this huge burger.  The Double Kingburger weighs 16 ounces!  That is one whole pound of burger between two buns with cheese and all the fixings.  I must have been temporarily insane from hunger, because I also ordered the fresh made onion rings and a hand scooped ice cream Maui Banana Milkshake too!
     FATBURGER has great service and fun employees.  Each item was delivered to my table!  The first to arrive was the hand scooped ice cream Maui Banana Milkshake.  No, this milkshake did not come from some kind of an imitation pink slime milkshake machine, like the ones that nearly every burger restaurant uses to make awful imitation milkshakes.  This was a milkshake that was made in a blender, the same way that milkshakes were made in the 1950's!  The Maui Banana flavor was incredibly refreshing and great tasting!
     The fresh made onion rings showed up next.  I cannot even give the slightest compliment about other burger stands or fast food restaurants that sell frozen "mystery" onion rings.  When I first started as a cook many years ago, all onion rings were made to order the old fashioned way, just like FATBURGER does.  For someone who likes onion rings, there is no better way to make an onion ring!  The flavor of the onion literally comes alive.  These onion rings needed no ketchup.  This was the first time that I have ordered onion rings at a burger stand in over twenty years, because I only like fresh onion rings!  The o-rings were great!
     The 16 ounce XXL Double Kingburger with Cheese was the last item that was delivered to my table.  The Double Kingburger is monumental!  This is a priceless work great big hamburger art!  Fresh beef,  top quality old fashioned American cheese, lettuce, pickle relish, tomato, mustard and mayonnaise is how old fashioned burgers were served, many years ago.  Ketchup on the side and onions on request is how many classic American burger stands offered a menu burger.  FATBURGER is tradition, so this was hoe the burger was served!  The two 8 ounce patties were tender, juicy and full of great grilled burger flavor!
     I chomped and "scarfed" that burger down like a crazy person that had been lost in the desert for a week and found a burger stand in a mirage!  I was hungry!  I kind of hit the proverbial wall with only two bites of the Double Kingburger left to go.  I literally could not eat another bite of the 16 ounce burger, or I might explode!  I did finish the yummy milkshake and the onion rings.  The employees were watching me eat and they had that Las Vegas look on their faces like they placed wagers on whether I could finish the Double Kingburger or not!  I actually came pretty close to conquering this huge hamburger.
     After my meal, I kept saying to myself that I will never let my hunger order so much food to eat ever again!  I was flat out stuffed to the gills!  All that I could do was lay down and groan with pleasure after I got home.  I definitely got my money's worth at FATBURGER and I was not hungry any more.
     There is only one burger that is bigger at FATBURGER and that is the XXXL Triple Kingburger that weighs in at a staggering 24 ounces!  There is absolutely no way that I could ever eat that whole burger in one sitting, no matter how hungry I could be.  It would take someone with a very big appetite to finish that giant burger.
     Again, I recommend FATBURGER if you want the classic traditional burger experience in a great old fashioned 1950's burger stand atmosphere!  There are no heat lamps or microwaves at FATBURGER.  Everything is cooked to order!  The service is second to none and FATBURGER is always rated as the best in the west!  So yummy!  ...  Shawna

Ukraine Borscht

Yummy borscht!
     Borscht is a classic traditional Russian and eastern european soup that is made with winter cellar vegetables.  There are many different variations of borscht recipes.  Most borscht recipes have beets and cabbage as the main ingredients.  Tomatoes or tomato paste is sometimes added.  Borscht can be made as a vegetarian entree and it can also have meat or sausage added to the recipe.
     This borscht recipe is a typical Ukraine borscht.  Red beets and red cabbage give this borscht its deep reddish purple color.  Nearly any root cellar vegetables can be added to this recipe.  I used celery root and turnip to add flavor to this recipe.  The vegetables should be a high proportion to the broth.  Pork broth adds a nice traditional flavor.
     When it comes time to season a borscht, many cooks assume that Russian cooking is always bland, so they only season the borscht with salt and pepper.  Cinnamon, allspice and clove are commonly used to season borscht.
     I made this borscht recipe for a special menu soup that was for an annual meeting of American WWII prisoners of war that were held in Russia, till after the war over.  Back in WWII, American pilots that were shot down chose to parachute inside Russia, rather than behind German lines.  The Russians had a policy of holding American pilots in soft prisons that were more like internment camps.  It was safer and cheaper for the Russians to hold the American flyers in soft prison camps, than it was to ship or smuggle them back to allied lines.
     When I cooked for the American Russian prisoners of war annual meeting, there was only seven veterans remaining.  One of the Russian POW veterans was president Gerald Ford's brother.  That made this Russian POW meeting a little bit special!  I do have a bit of a prankster in me and when the chef asked me what soup should be served for the Russian POW meeting, I replied with the word borscht!  The chef said that he had never made borscht and he asked me to prepare the soup.
     I made this same Ukraine Borscht recipe for the Russian POW's, but I added the one ingredient that Americans dream about, especially when they are stuck in a Russian POW camp.  Beef!  I used a light beef broth and added thin strips of bottom round beef to my Ukraine Borscht recipe.  The flavor of that borscht was particularly nice!
     I figured that since the first course of the meal was soup, I would love to see the look on the Russian POW's faces when a hot bowl of borscht was set in front of them.  The Russian POW's had a look of dread when they saw the borscht and then they all started laughing!  Apparently they ate borscht a few times a day, everyday that they were being held in Russia.
     Once they tasted my Ukraine Borscht with beef, they all complimented the flavor!  The comments of "I wish the Russian cooks had put beef in our borscht when we were in the prison camp!" started.  The Russian POW's liked my beef borscht and President Gerald Ford's brother said that my borscht tasted much better than any borscht that they had in the Russian prison camp!  I guess that I had to take that statement as a compliment.  Russian prison food is not exactly gourmet cuisine!
   
     Ukraine Borscht Recipe:
     Heat a large sauce pot over medium heat.
     Add a splash of vegetable oil.
     Add 2 cloves of minced garlic.
     Add 1 teaspoon of ginger paste.
     Add 1 chopped shallot.
     Add 1 small handful of thin 4" long julienne sliced carrot strips.
     Add 1 small handful of thin julienne sliced turnip strips.
     Add 1/2 of a golden beet that is cut into thin julienne strips.
     Add 1 small handful of celery root that is cut into thin julienne strips.
     Add 1 red beet that is cut into thin julienne strips.
     Add 1 large handful of red cabbage that is cut into thin julienne strips.
     Add 1/2 of a peeled russet potato that is cut into 1/4" thick strips.
     Saute and stir the vegetables, till they start to cook and till they become aromatic.
     Add 1/2 tablespoon of tomato paste.
     Stir the vegetables, till the tomato paste starts to caramelize.
     Add a small splash of cider vinegar.
     Add enough light pork broth, so the vegetables are covered with 1" of broth.
     Add 1 pinch of cinnamon.
     Add 1 pinch of allspice.
     Add 2 cloves.
     Add 1 pinch of marjoram.
     Add sea salt and black pepper.
     Add 2 pinches of paprika.
     Add 1/2 tablespoon of sugar.
     Stir the borscht.
     Raise the temperature to high heat.
     Bring the borscht to a boil.
     Lower the temperature to medium low heat.
     Gently simmer the borscht, till the vegetables become very tender, but not mushy.  (Do not stir the vegetables as the borscht simmers, or the vegetables may break apart!
     Presentation:  
     Spoon the borscht into a large soup bowl.
     Garnish the borscht with parsley sprigs.
     Place a couple of thick slices of bread on the borscht against the rim of the bowl.
     Serve with a small bowl of sour cream on the side.
   
     This Ukraine Borscht tastes really nice!  The hint of spices melds with the flavors of the root vegetables.  This borscht has a very satisfying old fashioned healthy flavor!  During the slow simmering, the borscht broth becomes rich and dark red.  Bread is usually served with borscht and it is nice to stir into the broth.  Sour cream is an optional accompaniment and it is best to let the guest add the amount of sour cream that they prefer.  Ukraine Borscht has a healthy appeal, when the weather gets cold.  The weather gets very cold in the Ukraine.  Delicious!  ...  Shawna  
 

Pork Dumplings in Beef Broth (Manduguk) at the 마당 Yard Garden Restaurant in Commercial Center, Las Vegas!

Soothing yummy Manduguk!
     I have dined at the 마당 Garden restaurant a few times over the years.  The food has always been good there.  This is a small Korean restaurant that has a family run business feel to it.  The menu is written in English and the food is authentic Korean.
     The 마당 Garden name of the restaurant is confusing, because I don't read Korean language.  마당 translates to front yard or back yard as in garden.  Like many Las Vegas restaurants, if you don't speak the language, then questions are not always answered, because of language barriers.  There is also a Korean Garden BBQ restaurant that is located on Spring Mountain Road in Chinatown, Las Vegas.
     The Commercial Center is an old plaza that has seen better days, but there are some great restaurants to be found there.  The central building in Commercial Center is home to four good Korean Restaurants.  Four Korean restaurants in one building is not something that you see everyday.  The Yard Garden is located at Commercial Center on East Sahara Boulevard in Las Vegas.
     The 마당 Garden is a comfortable little restaurant that has some unique design features inside that are from restaurant days of the past.  Each table has a buzzer button for service.  One thing about Las Vegas asian restaurants, is that customers are not always in a hurry.  A slow pace of customers eating one course after another for many hours is common in Las Vegas asian restaurants.  The buzzer is a nice feature on a table, when dining on Korean food, because a Korean meal is an elaborate event!  The buzzer helps to notify servers in small restaurants during slow hours, because the waitress is also sometimes the cook in the Kitchen.  Korean dinners feature many main courses, soups, stews and banchan side dishes.  A Korean dinner can go on for hours as a social event and the object is to become full of food!  I have never had to press the buzzer button at 마당 Garden, because the service has always been attentive.
     Waitstaff buzzers are a thing of the past and they are kind of fun to wonder about while talking at a table.  I can see why server buzzer buttons are a thing of the past.  I could imagine curious children at a table pushing the button every chance that they got and the waitstaff would go a little bit crazy!
     I thought about getting a spicy jjigae stew for dinner, because I have been under the weather for a few days.  Hot chile peppers seem to have a way of knocking out the remnants of an illness.  The other direction was to order something brothy and soothing.  The pork dumplings in beef broth (Manduguk) menu item looked quite appealing with its gentle flavors!
     Manduguk is large pork stuffed half moon shaped dumplings in a light fresh beef brisket broth.  Manduguk is a traditional Korean soup with a long history and its origins are from Korean royalty.  Nori seaweed and green onion is the traditional garnish.  Egg is added to the broth, just like egg flower soup.  The dumplings were stuffed with a mildly seasoned minced pork, rice and garlic.
     The weather in Korea can be quite harsh.  Cold and flu season can get pretty bad.  Soups like Manduguk and Samgyetang are perfect for helping an ill person feel better!  After being ill Thursday and most of Friday, a "feel good" soup like Manduguk is just what the Korean doctor ordered!  I really liked the gentle flavor of this soup and the pork dumplings.  I ended up sleeping all night Friday and most of Saturday day after eating the Manduguk for dinner.  Saturday night, I felt pretty good again.  The soothing gentle Manduguk soup was the best choice for dinner!
     Petite portion plates of Korean side dishes accompanied the soup.  Korean green bean pancake, two kimchi styles and several other traditional appetizers satisfied my cravings for spicy flavorful food.  The kimch cabbage and the kimchi daikon radish were of very nice quality.  Kimchi has medicinal value too.  Some people say that kimchi is a cure for the common cold.
     Of course I had my usual Korean Hite Beer with dinner.  Hite is a nice clean tasting lager that comes in a rather large bottle.  Rice wine, tea or Korean beer is best with Korean food!
     Like many Las Vegas Korean restaurants, the television is tuned to the Korean channel.  I always get a kick out of watching Korean TV shows.  Some of the content gets kind of whacky!
     I had a good experience at the 마당 Garden restaurant at Commercial Center!  The food and service was good as usual.  I honestly recommend the 마당 Garden restaurant for anyone that wants to try some good old fashioned Korean food!  Yum!  ...  Shawna