Archive for June, 2009

Vegas Day 1 – Studio Cafe

Friday, June 5th, 2009 by virginia

DSCN8568

I flew out late Thursday night after work so I didn’t arrive in Vegas until nearly midnight (3 am eastern time). The flight out was tiring, as it was full of college-aged kids already in party mode who couldn’t wait until drink service so that they could buy ridiculous quantities of beer/wine from the flight attendants. Needless to say, I didn’t get much rest on the flight, so for a late dinner (since they don’t serve food on the plane these days) I just grabbed a quick club sandwich from the Studio Cafe in the MGM Grand Casino to take back to our room.

I was too tired to think clearly and forgot to take a picture of it, but it definitely was the strangest club sandwich I’ve ever seen. It had the standard turkey/ham/bacon/cheese combo, along with nonstandard alfalfa sprouts and half an avocado (not slices, literally half an avocado), and it was a triple-decker, but it was on a roll, not on toast or bread, and it wasn’t cut into quarters. So basically it looked like a Big Mac, but with club ingredients. Regardless, I was starving and scarfed it down, along with the accompanying fries.

The next morning, since it was Friday, Josh still had to go to work so I dragged myself out of bed and accompanied him to breakfast, also at the Studio Cafe. I wasn’t too hungry so I decided to be adventurous and order an omelet called the Quiche Lorraine, which had tons of fillings, including the standard onions, bacon and cheese found in a typical quiche lorraine. The waitress made a point to ask me if I was sure that I knew it was omelet, not actually a quiche, so I guess a lot of people have been confused by that before. When it arrived, I couldn’t believe how enormous it was.

"Quiche Lorraine" omelet

"Quiche Lorraine" omelet

The eggs were wrapped around the fillings, not mixed in, so it was kind of like eating a giant crepe made from scrambled eggs. There was also an onion mixture on top that tasted like Lipton’s French onion soup dip. It was pretty interesting, but a lot to handle after only getting a few hours of sleep. It was very rich and I could only get through about a third of it. The hash browns were fantastic though, a compressed cake of super crispy and hot shredded potatoes.

Omelet innards

Omelet innards

I think Josh was sick of eating at the same breakfast place every day for the last two weeks so he just went with a plain waffle that came with strawberry cream on the side. Good, but boring. He didn’t even want to try a bite of my omelet. Poor boy, I guess one can get sick of eating out all the time? I don’t get to go on business trips so I’ll never know!

Waffle with strawberry cream on the side

Waffle with strawberry cream on the side

Overall the Studio Cafe is a good place to get a quick snack while you’re at the casino, but it is by no means a dining destination in Vegas.

Studio Cafe
At the MGM Grand
Las Vegas, NV

Two Fat Bellies Hit the Road – Vegas Baby!

Friday, June 5th, 2009 by virginia

DSCN8572

Josh was assigned to a long-term project in Las Vegas, so I was really upset for two main reasons: 1) We’d be apart for several weeks, and 2) I was jealous of all the great food that he had access to! Not that we don’t have great food here in NYC, but somehow the mentality of going out to eat is different when you’re away from home.

Nevertheless, I couldn’t argue when it comes to work, and Josh appeased me by arranging for me to fly out to Vegas one weekend and meet him (we already had plans for the other weekends). We stayed at The Signature at MGM Grand, which is a condo hotel offshoot next to the main hotel/casino. The room, a one bedroom suite, was absolutely incredible – and it was larger than our one bedroom apartment here in NYC! There were two full baths, including one with a Jacuzzi tub, as well as a fully equipped kitchen and a flat panel TV that rose up from inside a desk. Simply insane. But, this being Vegas after all, we were rarely in the room and only used the fridge in the kitchen to hold some bottles of champagne for pre-dinner drinks. I came to Vegas with my meals already mapped out, and our bellies definitely grew after this trip.

DSCN8578

Quickie Recap: Emmett O’Lunney’s

Thursday, June 4th, 2009 by virginia

DSCN8460

I met up with Rodney for quick lunch so we decided to try some place new near our offices. He suggested Emmett O’Lunney’s, an Irish pub that I’ve been to for drinks after work, but never for food. We both opted for cheeseburgers with swiss. Mine was cooked medium rare to order, and had a nice thick layer of swiss, but the fries were a huge disappointment. They had that outer coating, similar to Burger King fries, that are supposed to make them crispier but just make them brittle and weird tasting.

Cheeseburger with swiss

Cheeseburger with swiss

Autopsy shot

Autopsy shot

Overall I’d still come back here for a drink, as it’s a large space and good for happy hour crowds, but I wouldn’t come back for the food. The cheeseburger was pricey at $12.95, and really not worth the expense. There are better places to get a bite to eat in the area.

Emmett O’Lunney’s
210 West 50th St. between Broadway and 8th Ave.
New York, NY

Stuffed Artichokes

Monday, June 1st, 2009 by virginia

While we were at Whole Foods in Paramus picking up a few last minute supplies for the Memorial Day BBQ, I saw a beautiful display of large, bright green artichokes and couldn’t resist picking up two. I’ve never cooked artichokes before, but I’ve been craving the deliciously garlicky version of stuffed artichokes from Carmine’s. I didn’t have a recipe handy though, so I just looked up a few on the internet and improvised, playing up the flavors I like best (garlic, parmesan, lemon).

I had no idea how to clean the artichoke, so I ended up cutting off about an inch from the top to remove most of the spiky tips, cut off the stem so that the artichoke would sit up by itself, and used a spoon to get out as much of the stringy choke from the middle. That was the hardest part, and I know I left a lot of it, but in the end it didn’t make much of a difference.

Cleaning out the artichokes

Cleaning out the artichokes

For the stuffing, I combined about a cup of breadcrumbs with half a cup of grated parmesan cheese, two large cloves of minced garlic (I used a garlic press to get a finer mince), approximately two tablespoons of minced fresh parsley, the zest of two lemons, and salt and pepper to taste.

Salt, grated parmesan, lemon zest, bread crumbs, parsley, and garlic

Salt, grated parmesan, lemon zest, pepper, bread crumbs, parsley, and garlic

Then I drizzled in a bit of olive oil to form a thick paste out of the mixture.

Stuffing for the artichokes

Stuffing for the artichokes

Then came the fun part – stuffing the artichokes. I pried the leaves apart and just used my fingers to smush in as much of the mixture as I could, making sure to get it between every leaf. After all the leaves were full, I spread the leftover stuffing over the top of the artichoke.

Stuffed artichokes ready to be cooked

Stuffed artichokes ready to be cooked

In my dutch oven, I heated up a few tablespoons of olive oil (enough to cover the bottom of the pot) and tossed in four cloves of minced garlic. I stirred that around for about a minute (make sure the heat isn’t too high so the garlic doesn’t burn), then added 1.5 cups of white wine, 1 cup of chicken broth, and the juice of the two zested lemons. I also threw in a sprig of thyme for some extra flavor.

Cooking liquid for the artichokes

Cooking liquid for the artichokes

Place the artichokes in the dutch oven, cover, and simmer over medium heat. I kind of lost track of time as to how long I heated it, but it was a little over an hour. I checked on it periodically, making sure all the liquid hadn’t evaporated, and tugged a little on the outer leaves to check how tender they were.

Artichokes cooking in the dutch oven

Artichokes cooking in the dutch oven

I pulled them out when the leaves started pulling out very easily, and then I reduced down the remaining liquid and seasoned with salt and pepper. I poured the reduced liquid into two wide rimmed bowls, then topped with the stuffed artichokes.

Artichoke presented with the reduced cooking liquid

Artichoke presented with the reduced cooking liquid

To eat, simply pull off a leaf, making sure to get a bit of stuffing, dip the root end in the liquid, and scrape the edible portion off with your teeth.

Artichoke leaf with stuffing on top

Artichoke leaf with stuffing on top

When you finish all the leaves and get down to the heart, scrape off the remaining choke, and enjoy!

Artichoke remains

Artichoke remains

For my first attempt, I think it was a pretty successful version, though still not as tasty as the one from Carmine’s. Next time I think I’ll add more garlic for a bigger flavor punch.