Two Fat Bellies

Archive for 2009

NC – Danny’s Bar-B-Que

Monday, November 23rd, 2009 by virginia

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While we were in Raleigh I really wanted to try Carolina barbecue, which is smoked meat doused in a vinegar based sauce, but because we were there over Labor Day weekend, most of the bbq joints my brother wanted to take us to were closed. Boo. I really had my heart set on having it though so my brother found a place near his home called Danny’s Bar-B-Que that was still open.

The restaurant is located in kind of a nondescript strip mall and the décor is a bit generic but that didn’t really matter because we were here to sample the food. The restaurant is definitely kid-friendly and there was plenty of room for Alexander’s stroller at our table. The hostess and the servers were all super friendly and offered up their suggestions when Josh and I said we were inexperienced with Carolina barbecue.

We started off with an order of hush puppies, something that I’ve had before in Hilton Head. It’s basically deep fried corn bread batter. The ones at here were uniformly shaped logs so I think they were probably the frozen kind but at least they were served piping hot tasted pretty delicious. They had a crispy outer shell that gave way to a sweet corn center.

Crispy hush puppies

I really wanted to have some baby back ribs so I opted to go with a two meat combination with baby back ribs and beef brisket (baby backs are $4.75 extra). The combination came with Texas toast and a choice of two sides. I picked baked beans and the special of the day, collard greens. The ribs came in a huge slab and were really tender. The brisket was a bit on the dry side but I doused them in the vinegary carolina bbq sauce as well as a spicy bbq sauce. The baked beans were sweet and smokey, and the collard greens had a nice slightly bitter flavor to them.

Beef brisket, baby back ribs, baked beans, Texas toast, collard greens

We wanted to try all of the bbq meat offerings so Josh went with the three meat combination that came with St. Louis style ribs, chicken, and chopped pork. The St. Louis style ribs were larger than the baby backs but not as falling off the bone tender. The chicken was juicy and flavorful, while the chopped pork was a bit fatty but super moist. For his sides, Josh chose french fries and Brunswick stew. The french fries were standard and fried well, but the Brunswick stew was a bit of a disappointment. There was no meat in it, just beans, and it tasted like they were just dumped straight from a can. The stew didn’t have much seasoning and still had a tinny metallic taste to it.

Chicken, chopped pork, St. Louis style ribs, french fries, Brunswick stew

Overall I thought the food at Danny’s Bar-B-Que was decent but didn’t blow my mind. I don’t know what I was really expecting with Carolina barbecue but I thought it would be a bit smokier in flavor. Most of the meats we had were tender but unseasoned and a bit bland. I guess this is so you can pick what sauces you want to douse on top, but then all I tasted was the sauce and not the meat. I did like the vinegary bbq sauce though, as it’s not as sweet and overpowering as regular bbq sauce. Not being a barbecue connoisseur, I don’t know how authentic the food is but it was a nice place to have a fun, casual, and affordable family dinner.

Danny’s Bar-B-Que (multiple locations)
9561 Chapel Hill Rd.
Morrisville, NC

Tags: BBQ, North Carolina, Ribs
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Ruby’s Diner

Monday, November 23rd, 2009 by virginia

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The airport diner… we meet again. After the debacle last time at Garden State Diner, also at Newark Airport, I was a bit wary to try another but we were hungry and had time to kill before our flight to Raleigh. So Ruby’s Diner it was. Slightly smaller, a bit less kitschy. I don’t know if we got an abbreviated menu but there really weren’t all that many options for us to choose from. Maybe it was just the time that we were there but the menu only had a handful of breakfast items, which we were told they would be cutting off soon as they switched over to lunch, so we quickly placed our orders and hoped for the best.

Josh ordered a simple bacon, egg, and cheese breakfast sandwich that was served on a long soft roll. Though the sandwich was slightly larger than the typical bacon/egg/cheese on a roll, it was pretty standard. The cheese wasn’t even melted on the sandwich. It did come with a side of home fries but when Josh asked if he could switch it to french fries, the waitress thought for a second and then gave a flat out “no.” I’ve never been to a diner where they wouldn’t swap home fries for french fries during breakfast, but given the location, I can’t say I was surprised. The home fries weren’t terrible but they were a bit mealy and underseasoned.

Standard bacon, egg, and cheese on a roll and home fries

I ended up getting two eggs with bacon, toast, and home fries. However, I didn’t get a choice of how I wanted my eggs cooked (they turned out to be scrambled) or what kind of toast I wanted (I prefer white; I got wheat). I don’t know if that was the diner policy or what but I found it kind of strange. At that point however, we didn’t have much time left before boarding so I didn’t bother asking to exchange my food. It’s just eggs and toast after all.

Bacon, home fries, scrambled eggs, whole wheat toast

Josh kept with the airport diner tradition and got a vanilla milkshake, which was fine. It wasn’t as good thick and frothy as the one from the Garden State Diner, but it’s pretty hard to mess up a milkshake.

Classic vanilla milkshake

What else can I say? Ruby’s Diner is at an airport, and that pretty much sums it up. It’s nice to have a place to sit down and get table service while you’re waiting for your flight, but it’s very overpriced and the food is just meh. Our waitress was also pretty surly and unhelpful, which only made the meal seem much worse. It looks like Ruby’s Diner is a chain restaurant though, and I can only hope the food/service is better at the other locations.

Ruby’s Diner (multiple locations)
At Newark Airport
Newark, NJ

Tags: Airport, Diner, NJ
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Two Fat Bellies Hit the Road – Raleigh, NC

Sunday, November 22nd, 2009 by virginia

Josh and I recently became an uncle and an aunt! My brother and sister-in-law just had the most adorable baby boy named Alexander. We’ve been to visit them twice in Raleigh, once over Labor Day weekend and another weekend in October for Alexander’s baptism, and also took the opportunity to sample some Carolina barbecue. While there wasn’t much to do near Raleigh, aside from visiting the campus of Duke University, we did get in some quality nephew-holding time as well as some good eats.

Tags: North Carolina
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Sacco Pizza

Sunday, November 22nd, 2009 by virginia

Josh and I are still on our quest to find the best go-to pizza place for delivery. We eat pizza a lot, as you can probably tell, but we still haven’t found a place that we can both agree on. While walking home from a bar on 9^th Ave. one evening, we passed Sacco Pizza, a tiny hole-in-the-wall joint where a lot of people were lined up for a late night snack. The pizza that was being dished out look and smelled pretty good so we picked up a menu and made a mental note to order from there the next time.

When our next hankering for pizza rolled around a few days later, we placed an order for an extra large cheese pie and something called gaucho pie. We had no idea what gaucho pie was but it turned out to be kind of like a beef empanada with a pizza dough crust. Or it could be a calzone stuffed with ground beef but no cheese or sauce.

Gaucho pie

It was an interesting concept but we weren’t huge fans of the beef filling, as it was kind of greasy and didn’t have much meaty flavor. It was also overly salty, and I wish they gave us some tomato sauce to dip with. I was glad to have tried it but would probably not order it again.

Gaucho pie innards

The pizza was pretty good, though the crust was on the thinner side. Again, this is where Josh and I disagree. He likes super thin crispy crusts and I like crusts with a bit of a chew on the inside.

Pizza with a relatively thin crust

Sacco’s crust was thin but it still had some chew. It was nicely browned and had a good flavor to it.

Underside shot

It also had a good sauce to cheese ratio, and we both thought it was a very well done pie.

Good cheese to sauce to crust ratio

Overall I think we would probably order from Sacco again. We didn’t try out their heroes, which is one of our tests of a go-to pizza place, so next time we’ll have to make sure we test those as well. We’ll pass on the gaucho pie though.

Sacco Pizza
819 9^th Ave. at 54^th St.
New York, NY

Tags: Delivery, Midtown West, Pizza
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Duane Park

Thursday, November 19th, 2009 by virginia

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Josh’s parents celebrated their 30th wedding anniversary this year. In honor of their big day, we had a big family dinner at Duane Park, a restaurant in Tribeca. The restaurant received an impressive 25 rating for food in the latest Zagat guide, and it’s pretty reasonably priced to boot. The restaurant is pretty tiny but the décor is elegant and romantic. They set up a long table for us in the back corner and didn’t give us any problems when some people in the party were running late, which was a refreshing change from other restaurants that refuse to seat you if not everyone has arrived.

While we were waiting, I started off with a drink from the cocktail menu called the Cliff Hanger. It had lime vodka, lime-mint sorbet, and fresh lemon juice. The drink was really delicious and very dangerous, as all I tasted was the subtly sweet and refreshing sorbet and lemon juice. A few sips later though I could already feel the affects of the lime vodka. It was a lovely cocktail overall and I would definitely order it again.

The Cliff Hanger

After everyone arrived and we placed our orders, they brought out metal containers filled with chewy baguettes and small bowls of white bean and olive oil spread.

Chewy baguettes

The baguettes had decent flavor but I wish they had crispier crusts, as they were so chewy in texture that it kind of made them hard to eat. The bean dip was a nice touch but could have used a tad more seasoning.

White bean and olive oil dip

For my appetizer, I selected the slow cooked duck confit with sherry-mustard marinated green beans and jersey tomato jam. The portion was huge, and could have easily been an entrée. It was a whole duck leg and thigh that was falling-off-the-bone tender. The duck was perfectly seasoned and went well with the sweetness of the tomato jam.

Slow cooked duck confit

Josh chose the crab and scallop cake with avocado-poblano aioli. We swapped plates halfway through so that we could each try the other’s appetizer. The crab and scallop cake was chock full of seafood and had very little breadcrumb filler. It was seared on the outside so it had a nice crust and the seafood was cooked perfectly throughout.

Crab and scallop cake

Josh’s mom had the best appetizer of the night, which was skillet roasted shrimp with cheese grits and garlic sauce. The restaurant has a Cajun/Creole twist and this dish showcased that the best. The shrimp were perfectly cooked so that they were plump and firm and contrasted nicely with the creamy cheese grits. The garlic sauce bound the whole dish together, and we used the baguettes to scrape up every last bit of sauce and grits from her plate.

For my main course I went the safe route with grilled New York strip steak. It was served with herb-fried crushed potatoes, haricot verts and paprika aioli. The steak was cooked rare, as ordered, and perfectly fine but nothing special. I liked the smokiness of the paprika aioli but the potatoes were kind of a disappointment, as they were kind of soggy and tough and topped with just a small sprinkling of fried herbs. At least the green beans were tasty and still a bit crunchy.

Grilled New York strip

Josh opted for the seared double cut pork chop with sweet potato mash, pear chutney, broccoli rabe and pork jus. The pork chop was perfectly cooked and juicy. The sweet potato mash was not overly sweet, and the broccoli rabe was delicious and not overly bitter.

Seared pork chop

For dessert, I had the bittersweet chocolate pave with mocha ice cream and chocolate sauce. The pave was kind of like a flat, undercooked brownie. The texture was similar to molten chocolate cake without the liquid center. It was decadent and chocolately, but between the pave and the mocha ice cream and the chocolate sauce, it was a bit too much chocolate for me. I wish there was something else to cut through the richness of the chocolate.

Chocolate pave with mocha ice cream

Josh had a warm pear crisp with honey ice cream. The pear crisp was delicious and comforting, and the honey ice cream had an interesting flavor. It reminded me of apple pie a la mode with a gourmet twist. I’m not really a fan of honey but I thought it paired well with the pear dessert.

Pear crisp with honey ice cream

Overall I really enjoyed our meal at Duane Park. The food is well prepared with interesting flavor combinations. Portions are generous and dishes aren’t overly fussy. The service was attentive but not overbearing. It would be a great place to go on a romantic date. The restaurant isn’t cheap but it’s not expensive for the quality of food that you get. I would definitely come back here to celebrate another special occasion.

Duane Park
157 Duane St. between West Broadway and Hudson St.
New York, NY

Tags: Continental, Seafood, Steak, Tribeca
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Corn on the Cob, Fun with Leftovers

Thursday, November 19th, 2009 by virginia

We were feeling particularly lazy this evening so we decided to have a simple meal of steamed corn on the cob. This was the corn we picked up at the greenmarket a few days earlier, and it was quite possibly the best corn I’ve ever eaten.

Huge pile of fresh picked corn

Since the corn was super fresh, we didn’t want to take away from the flavor of the corn. We simply boiled a little water in the bottom of our pasta pot and placed the shucked corn into the pasta basket insert, then let it cook for about 10-15 minutes until the kernels were tender but still crisp.

Shucking the corn for steaming

A little pat of butter, a sprinkling of kosher salt; that was all this corn needed. I don’t usually like corn, but even I couldn’t resist the super sweet kernels just bursting with corn flavor.

Simple and sweet

We also had some bland sesame noodles left over from our Lucky Sunday takeout that I revamped. I hate wasting food so whenever we order something that doesn’t have much flavor, I’ll try to figure out a way to “fix” it rather than throw it away.

In keeping with an Asian theme, I tossed the noodles into a pan with a dash of soy sauce and a spoonful of garlic chili sauce. I let that warm through, and then I tossed some chopped up kimchi on top. I took the pan off the stove and mixed everything together, so that the heat from the noodles warmed up the kimchi but didn’t make it limp or soggy. Between the kimchi and the garlic chili sauce, the noodles packed a lot of heat and it definitely did not wimp out on flavor. I thought it was a great improvement to the bland noodles, and I was happy to not waste any leftovers!

From this:

Bland cold sesame noodles

To this:

Hot and spicy noodles with kimchi

Tags: Greenmarket, Leftovers
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Potato Leek Soup

Wednesday, November 18th, 2009 by virginia

On Wednesdays and Saturdays on the NE corner of 57^th St. and 9^th Ave., there’s a little greenmarket that features fresh produce and delicious-looking baked goods. After brunch one Saturday we decided to take a quick look at what vegetables they had and walked away with a huge bunch of gorgeous leeks and some freshly picked corn on the cob.

Gorgeous fresh leeks

What to do with a big pile of leeks? Make potato leek soup, of course. The recipe for this just doesn’t get any easier. Basically I just use one small/medium potato per leek. If I only have large potatoes on hand, I’ll use two potatoes for every three leeks. But honestly, it really doesn’t matter. If you like a stronger leek flavor, use more leeks. If you prefer a heavier potato flavor, use more potato. Either way it’s really hard to mess up this soup.

Cut off the roots and the dark green parts of the leeks, then cut it in half lengthwise. Chop the leek into about half inch pieces (doesn’t have to be perfect or even), and rinse thoroughly. I make sure all the pieces are separated as dirt can get trapped between the leaves. I usually do this in the basket of my salad spinner, then spin it dry afterward. Also peel the potatoes and chop into about 1 inch chunks.

Chopped leeks soaking in the salad spinner

Put two tablespoons of butter or olive oil, or one tablespoon of each, it doesn’t matter, in a soup pot (I always use my dutch oven) and heat on medium high. When it gets hot and starts to shimmer, add in the leeks and sauté for several minutes until the leeks are soft. Then add the potatoes and pour in one quart of chicken stock. I use low sodium because I prefer to season the soup myself. If you think there isn’t enough stock to cover everything, just add some water. Cook everything in the pot, covered, until the potatoes are soft and starting to fall apart, about 30 minutes.

Boiling the potatoes and sauteed leeks in chicken stock

I use an immersion blender to puree the soup. Make sure the blender is completely submerged before turning it on, otherwise you can really hurt yourself with the splatter. If you don’t have an immersion blender, you can use a regular blender and puree it in batches, but please be sure to read up on the proper technique of blending hot liquids as you can really burn yourself if you don’t do it correctly.

Blending the soup with the immersion blender

After the soup is completely blended (I prefer my soup smooth, though you can leave it a bit chunky if that’s how you prefer it), you can add some heavy cream for some richness. A half a cup is fine, or you can use none if you want to keep it light. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

To serve, simply ladle the soup into a bowl and top with a garnish of parsley or chives. I had some leftover watercress that was about to turn so I just chucked a handful on top. Delicious! The watercress was crispy and a little bitter, which complemented the smooth richness of the soup perfectly.

Creamy soup topped with crunchy watercress

This soup really couldn’t be simpler to make and is a quick and filling meal on its own, or it can be dolled up to make an elegant starter to any dinner party.

Tags: Greenmarket, Soup
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Lasagna Restaurant

Tuesday, November 17th, 2009 by virginia

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I was super excited when I received an email from my old college buddy Phil saying that he would be in the city for a few weeks visiting his sister. Phil lives in Massachusetts and Josh and I haven’t seen him since our wedding. It always seems like whenever he happens to be in the city, Josh and I are traveling or spending the weekend with our parents in NJ. Finally we were able to nail down a day where we could all get together, grab dinner, and catch up.

Phil said that he was craving Italian food so I suggested going to a restaurant in my neighborhood called Lasagna, which looked like it had an interesting menu. Obviously the main feature is lasagna of all kinds but they also have lots of other options available if that’s not what you’re not in the mood for.

I wasn’t super hungry so I didn’t get an appetizer. Instead I concentrated on the bread basket, which was filled with warm and crunchy pieces of garlic bread. We polished off the first basket right away, and the quickly brought us more. This bread is seriously delicious and addictive in a junk food kind of way.

Yummy toasted garlic bread

Phil had a bowl of minestrone soup to start while Josh had a caesar salad. Both seemed pretty standard but perfectly respectable. I stole a few bites of Josh’s salad and the dressing was thick and creamy, though they were a bit heavy-handed with it.

Caesar salad with creamy dressing

Since it was our first visit to the restaurant, I of course had to get my standard Italian restaurant test order of chicken parmesan. The chicken wasn’t pounded too thin, which I liked, and the red sauce had a nice flavor to it. The cheese was bubbly and browned properly, and it was piping hot. The chicken was served over penne pasta that was still al dente, which was a huge plus.

Chicken parm over penne pasta

Before I ordered the chicken parm, I made sure that Josh was getting a lasagna because we couldn’t go to a restaurant named Lasagna and not get their signature dish. Josh chose the lasagna with sausage and he received a huge wedge of it that had been placed in a gratin dish and covered in cheese, then broiled. Even though the dish was bubbling hot, the lasagna noodles were still surprisingly al dente. The sausage, however, was just ok. I don’t actually like sausage but the pieces in the lasagna weren’t very flavorful or spicy. Still, it was a pretty good lasagna overall.

Sausage lasagna

Phil selected the Penne Jambalaya pasta, which had shrimp, chicken, ham, and mushrooms in it. It was served in a pink sauce that was described as being spicy but it didn’t have too much of a kick. The pasta was well cooked though, and it was a tasty dish overall. It just didn’t really remind me of jambalaya, which is usually pretty smoky in flavor. The pink sauce was closer to a vodka sauce.

Penne jambalaya

Overall I thought the food at Lasagna Restaurant was pretty good. Our meal got off to a great start with the delicious garlic bread, which I couldn’t stop eating. All of our pastas came out al dente, which sounds like such a simple thing but sadly too many restaurants turn out disgustingly mushy pasta. I liked their red sauce a lot, as it was nicely seasoned and tangy. The portions aren’t absurdly huge but I took home enough leftovers for lunch the next two days. Prices are pretty reasonable and it seems like it will be a reliable neighborhood spot.

Lasagna Restaurant (multiple locations)
785 9th Ave. between 52nd and 53rd St.
New York, NY

Tags: Italian, Midtown West
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El Ñato

Tuesday, November 17th, 2009 by virginia

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The guide who picked us up from the airport gave us a few recommendations for dinner in the city. Her first was Lo Nuestro, the seafood restaurant we went to our first night in Guayaquil. Her second recommendation was El Ñato, a traditional barbeque restaurant that was conveniently located across the street from our hotel. That was perfect, as I had been craving barbequed meat after eating so much seafood on the ship.

After we returned from our long walk down the Malecon and the hike up Santa Ana hill, we made our way across the street to the restaurant. The first thing I noticed was that we were the only tourists in the joint, which was great sign. There were lots of families having dinner and huge groups of friends chatting over pitchers of sangria. We probably looked a bit out of place but that didn’t matter, I was happy to eat somewhere that seemed authentically Ecuadorian.

The restaurant had a large menu but we had a hard time navigating through it, even though Josh’s spanish is really good and mine is somewhat passable. Getting grilled meat was obviously the way to go, but the choices were vague. There were several “mixed grill” options but they didn’t specify exactly what was included. We tried asking the waiter but he couldn’t really explain the differences. We ended getting the one that said “mixed grill with beef and chicken,” as that seemed like the safest bet. They didn’t have much in the way of side dishes so we got a plate of French fries. No salchipapas on the menu, sadly.

We ordered a pitcher of sangria with fruit, and it had chunks of watermelon in it that I thought was a nice touch. I also liked that there was no ice in the sangria pitcher; they gave you ice in your glass so that the sangria didn’t get watered down. It was very tasty and refreshing.

Refreshing and fruity sangria

They brought us a basket of garlic bread to start. It was warm and toasty and covered in fresh herbs and garlic.

Garlicky garlic bread

They also gave us a few sauces to go with our meat, which turned out to be a sort of garlicky pesto sauce and a spicy red salsa.

Herb pesto sauce and spicy salsa

The meat was served on top of a small lit grill, which kept it sizzling hot but also overcooked some of the meat on the bottom. Our mixed grill ended up having steak, chicken, pork, sausage, blood sausage, intestines, and kidney. It was a ton of food, way more than we could finish.

Huge pile of meat on top of a grill

The chicken was pounded thin and a bit overcooked but still pretty tender. The steak was flavorful but tough. The pork chop was the best of the bunch, thick, tender, and well seasoned, with delicious crispy bits of fat on the ends.

Pork chop, beef, chicken, sauces

The regular sausage was fine, but I’m not the hugest fan to begin with. The blood sausage wasn’t as gross as you would think. It had a rich iron taste to it but it wasn’t like it was oozing blood or anything.

Sausage and blood sausage, plus garlic-topped intestines in the back

The intestines were a bit funkier in the flavor, and a bit tough in texture. They were topped with chopped garlic and herbs but those didn’t hide the weird flavor of the meat.

Piece of intestine up close

The kidneys however, were surprisingly delicious. We had a hard time figuring out exactly what they were at first. They were clearly pieces of organ meat, but we didn’t know which one. There were lobes, so we thought maybe it was brains, but the texture was too firm. Then we thought sweetbreads, but the pieces were too large and the texture still didn’t match. It didn’t look like a heart either. It was Josh who decided they were kidneys, and I was surprised because after the funky-tasting intestines, these pieces were sweet, flavorful and not weird tasting at all. The waiter confirmed that they were in fact kidneys, and I was totally blown away. Josh only sampled a tiny bite but I ate an entire piece and it was my second favorite cut of meat after the pork chop. Yum!

Surprisingly delicious kidney

Our lone side dish, the French fries, were fresh, hot, and crispy, just the way I like them. Even with all the meat, we managed to polish off the whole plate.

Crispy french fries

Overall I thought the meal we had at El Ñato was great. The presentation was not elaborate or fussy, and the restaurant is quite casual. The food is similar in that it is hearty but straightforward. The grilled meats are simply prepared and seasoned with just salt, pepper, and garlic. The waiters were attentive and efficient. Portions are ample and prices are cheap. It’s definitely a great place for large groups and a good way to sample traditional Ecuadorian barbeque.

El Ñato
Guayaquil, Ecuador

Tags: BBQ, Ecuador, Fries
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Galapagos Wrap Up and Return to Guayaquil

Tuesday, November 17th, 2009 by virginia

We left the Galapagos early on a Saturday morning and flew back to Guayaquil so we were able to spend the whole day in the city before our flight back to New York the next afternoon. Overall we had such an amazing time in the Galapagos, and I highly recommend taking a tour with Lindblad Expeditions. The entire staff was friendly and helpful, and they really take care of you the whole way through.

They had arranged for someone from the hotel to pick us up from the airport when we first arrived in Guayaquil, someone was at the check-in desk to greet us, and they took care of arranging our flights to the Galapagos and back, even picking up our boarding passes for us so we never had to wait in line to check in. Our luggage magically made its way to the ship and back, and even though our AeroGal seats were coach, we always had access to the VIP waiting lounge.

I’ve already raved about the naturalists on board that led all of our hikes and snorkeling adventures, but the crew members on the National Geographic Endeavour were also tremendous. The ship is small enough that we got to know a lot of the staff, like the crew that drove the zodiac boats back and forth from the landing sites. One person on our tour left his camera battery in his room on the ship and one of the crew members immediately retrieved it and brought it to him on the island. It’s little things like that act of kindness that made the trip such a great experience. Every time we entered the dining room someone greeted us by name – try to imagine that happening on one of those giant cruise ships like the one we took to Alaska.

Several people on our tour had taken other trips with Lindblad Expeditions and loved every single one. I wish we had taken our trip to Alaska with them, and even though I had the greatest time our honeymoon in Egypt, I can’t help but wonder if I might have enjoyed it even more had we gone with Lindblad instead. I sincerely hope that this trip to the Galapagos will not have been our first and last voyage with Lindblad Expeditions.

Back in Guayaquil, we headed to the Malecon again after dropping our stuff off at the hotel. We started on one end, where the artisan market is located.

Artisan market

There we picked up a few souvenirs and gifts then continued along the Malecon looking for a place to eat lunch. During our first visit to the city we had noticed a lot of middle eastern restaurants and food stalls. Josh asked one of our cab drivers about that and he said that middle eastern food was very popular in Guayaquil, so we decided to get lunch from a food stall that offered shawarma and falafel.

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The falafel was shaped in a long log rather than individual balls, which was unusual but kind of smart as it made the sandwich easier to eat. However, it didn’t taste anything like falafel to me. There was very little seasoning, and it actually tasted really starchy, like fried green plantains rather than fried chickpeas.

Falafel log on pita bread

The shawarma also didn’t taste like typical middle eastern food to me. The seasonings were very different, and the chicken had a strong lime flavor to it, which I found unusual. Neither of the sandwiches were bad, they just weren’t what I was expecting. We did top them off with squeeze bottles of garlic sauce and hot sauce, which helped boost up the flavor a bit.

Chicken shawarma on pita topped with garlic sauce and hot sauce

Chicken shawarma on pita with garlic sauce and hot sauce

I of course also wanted salchipapas with our lunch. We made the mistake of ordering them from the stand next to the shawarma stand, which was a pizza stand rather than one serving traditional Ecuadorian food.

Don't get salchipapas from a pizza stall

The French fries were soggy and oily, and the hot dogs were just gross. I don’t think they were spoiled, they just had a bad taste to them. We kind of picked around the fries and left the hot dogs untouched on our plate. Bleh.

Really bad salchipapas

After lunch (which cost like $8 even with two beers), we stopped for some 75 cent ice cream cones from McDonalds. The cone itself was weird, kind of mix between a cake cone and a sugar cone, but the vanilla soft serve tastes the same at McDonalds everywhere. It was refreshing in the hot heat of the afternoon.

Soft serve vanilla ice cream

We walked all the way down the Malecon to the other end and then hiked up Santa Ana Hill to the lighthouse on top. It was quite a climb – 444 steps altogether, but it was worth it. We were able to see the beautiful Las Penas neighborhood with colorful houses, and the view from the top was spectacular, giving us a 360 degree panorama of the entire city.

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Tags: Ecuador, Falafel, Middle Eastern
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Archive for 2009

NC – Danny’s Bar-B-Que

Ruby’s Diner

Two Fat Bellies Hit the Road – Raleigh, NC

Sacco Pizza

Duane Park

Corn on the Cob, Fun with Leftovers

Potato Leek Soup

Lasagna Restaurant

El Ñato

Galapagos Wrap Up and Return to Guayaquil

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