Foodie Field Trip- NewBo City Market and Sykora Bakery

A couple of summers ago I belonged to a bloggers group in Iowa. The purpose of the group was to network with other bloggers, share ideas and hints, plan and attend classes and seminars and bigger conventions, and to create interest in our local areas. The other members were from all over the state and were interested in all different types of blogging subjects. One woman was a turkey farmer with her husband, another a stay home mom in Amish country, another a pig farmer, and yet another a military veteran now promoting a green lifestyle and homeschooling. This diverse group of people, both men and women, would hold a meet up a couple times a year and on one occasion, the meet up was help at a place called the NewBo City Market in Cedar Rapids. I had not heard of this market, or whatever it was, so I did a little research and it sounded exactly like something I would love. At the last minute I was unable to attend the meetup, and had to make do with every one else's pictures and stories about their experiences that day, and it made me even more sad that I'd missed out.

Fast forward about three years and here I am, with a whole Saturday of nothing to do and nowhere to be when inspiration struck and my friend Jessica and I decided to hit the highway on a little adventure. Cedar Rapids is not all that far from Des Moines so we got up early in the morning and set out to experience the market for ourselves.

You get a real big city feel when you step into the market. The building, which is a former warehouse and metalworks company, is very spacious and home to a number of local vendors offering a wide selection of food offerings, baked goods, meat products, health and beauty, coffee, and much more. Right in the heart of the New Bohemia District in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, the market is open year round and is also a busy events center in addition to a cool market. This nonprofit organization prides itself on its commitment to the community, offering classes, entertainment, assistance with business startups, arts and educational opportunities.

Our visit to the market was awesome. It's so easy to get to and has loads of parking, something a lot of downtown districts in other cities can't say. When we arrived volunteers were out on the lawn setting up and Easter egg hunt for neighborhood kids. Stepping through the doors and it's almost sensory overload. Lots and lots of welcoming smells, busy sounds, laughter, happy people milling about. I was surprised at the variety of vendors in the market. The first one I saw was offering plants and interesting pottery pieces, and right next to them a vendor had a gorgeous display of botanical art- posters featuring different birds, butterflies, plants and flowers. A gourmet ice cream shop was to my right, and a steamed Asian dumpling stand was on the left. 

Essential oils, crystals and rocks, pizza, artisan breads, cheeses and meats, cakes and cupcakes, pies and plenty of food options for our lunch rounded out the market. There were food choices from the most popular cuisines- American style gourmet grilled cheese, barbeque, Mediterranean, Mexican, salads and vegetarian, and the Asian dumplings. Jessica chose a very very gooey and perfectly toasted grilled cheese with three cheeses and homemade hand cut sweet potato fries. I went for the dumplings and had Korean mandu and Chinese pork and cabbage. Everything was soooooo good. 

I snapped up some essential oils and a gorgeous loaf of crusty sourdough bread before we left the market and headed over to explore the Czech Village. It's hard to imagine that just ten years ago all of this part of the city was under ten feet or more of nasty muddy floodwater. Now it's busy and growing with all kinds of cool loft buildings and condos, shops, restaurants and interesting places to visit. 

The Czech village is literally a few blocks away from the market, on the other side of the river, and besides the lure of the antique shops, which you know, we just had to check out, offers something I plan on visiting everywhere I go- a bakery. In this case of course, it's a Czech bakery and featured cases of fruity kolache for sale, Czech cakes like the babovka and breads, a cafe that serves lunch, and Czech gift items. The bakery is named Sykora Bakery, and it's located in a building that's been around since the days of dirt roads and wooden sidewalks. Originally opened in 1903, the bakery was purchased by Joseph Sykora in 1927 and was operated by the Sykora family until 1994, when another local family purchased the bakery. Devastated by floodwaters in 2008 and it took over 300 volunteers to get things back into working order including completely gutting and rebuilding the building and replacing the eighty year old Hubbard ovens with modern equipment.

You know we grabbed some kolache to take back home, I chose cherry and apricot, one of each for The Chef and I to sample. Absolutely lovely. Flaky and tender pastry and generous amounts of the fruit filling that surely were homemade. They had big chunks of apricot and big sour cherries- these couldn't have come from a can or jar. They had many other flavors to choose from like apple, strawberry, blueberry, cheese, fig and poppyseed. That's maybe half of the flavors offered. The variety was huge! The babovka reminded me of bundt cakes and looked delicious.

The antique stores were fun to visit. They had a lot of things you see at any antique store as well at a fairly large selection of European and especially Czech, items for sale, such as artwork, books, glassware and china. The cast iron display was enormous!!!

We did a little sightseeing around Cedar Rapids before hopping back on the interstate and heading home, but in all honestly, it's not much to see. It's a very industrial city and not a lot of curb appeal for driving around, but if you seek out those little hidden gems like the market and the Czech Village, it's definitely worth a visit.

Foodie Field Trip- Main Street Cafe and Bakery

Ohhhhhhhh cake. I have such a love affair with cake you just cannot imagine. On the heels of the cupcake bakery boom our city is seeing an uptick in bakeries, many serving lunches and dinner and I am having all sorts of fun exploring them. Everyone knows my almost-sister Jessica and I have our little "thing" we do- thrift shop for a weird variety of goodies that The Chef thinks I don't need (but honestly, I DO need more cookbooks and doilies and teacups and unusual knives and.........) and then we grab a bite to eat, and many times this is centered around what we might have afterwards for dessert. One recent Saturday, after a trip to a thrift store in Ankeny that didn't result in many great discoveries we decided we needed something to cheer us up- cake. 

Ankeny has been growing my leaps and bounds in the last several years and entire new section of town had sprung up- like a town center all by itself with loads of houses and apartments and new schools, new shopping and of course, new restaurants. It's in one of these little districts that the Main Street Cafe and Bakery can be found. Don't let the drive thru menu outside fool you- what you find inside is so much more than cheapo drive thru food. The menu is large but not overwhelmingly so. Lots of salads, sandwiches, burgers and a few pastas give you lots to choose from. There are ten daily soups- yes ten! 

My first visit to Main Street was so delicious. Jessica had been there before but I had not, obviously, and had no idea what to expect. She warned me there would be cake. Ohhhhh Lord she wasn't kidding. The entire counter was lined end to end with beautiful cakes. Chocolate, carrot, lemon,red velvet, grasshopper, so many, but the ones that caught our attention were the Chocolate Raspberry Cake and the Almond Cake. We ordered dinner- we'll get to that in a bit, and a slice of cake each so we could share. Now the chocolate cake was decadent, rich fudgy truffle-like frosting and moist cake layered with sweet raspberry filling. Three amazing layers of chocolate heaven. As wonderful and swoon-inducing as this cake was, it was nowhere near as sublime as the almond cake. One bite and the words wedding cake popped into both of our minds. Moist and tender white cake with a lovely vanilla and almond essence layered with almond buttercream. Ho.Ly.Heck. 

Like I said, we did actually order dinner before the cake, and it was fantastic. We both ordered a Frisco burger- juicy burger, Swiss and Cheddar, caramelized onions, signature sauce sandwiched between slices of sourdough coated in butter and Parmesan cheese. Crispy crust on the bread, super juicy burger and the sauce was awesome. I had a choice of side and went with a salad with Blue Cheese dressing- perfect partner. Plus.......it left room for cake!!  

On our second visit we knew to go easier on the dinner order and save room for the cake!!! This time around I had the Cheesy Chicken Tortilla Soup, which came to the table steaming hot, full of chunky chicken, corn, black beans, tortilla strips, all drizzled with crema. One of the best soups I have ever had in a restaurant. Jessica ordered grilled chicken strips with steamed broccoli and it looked amazing. The broccoli was so fresh!

So, again, we had cake. Jessica chose the coconut cake and I had KitKat Cake. The coconut cake was a snowy dream of vanilla cake and toasted coconut, creamy buttercream, promises of heaven and love and angels' wings. The KitKat Cake was another sky high chocolate masterpiece of luscious chocolate cake layers, milk chocolate buttercream, dark chocolate drizzle and miniature KitKats. Yum yum yum yum YUM. I kinda liked it, in case you were wondering. 

The cake keeps calling me back, and on my most recent visit, we met just for dessert. Jessica chose the almond cake again and I went with a raspberry almond cake. I keep going back for the raspberry cakes! Wow. Heavenly layers of golden vanilla cake layered with a swirled buttercream and raspberry jam. Sprinkled with slices of toasted almond and swirls of that creamy buttercream. Just wow. This might be my favorite of all the cakes I have tried here!

Disclosure of Material Connection: I have not received any compensation for writing this post. I have no material connection to the brands, products, or services that I mentioned. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 55: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."

Foodie Field Trip- Zanzibar's Coffee Adventure

I'm not one of those new year new me types. Not at all. I do, however, tend to make a mental list of things I am going to do in the new year- foods to try, recipes to learn, places to eat. Last year I made a half hearted attempt at embracing the coffee bean. I went about it all wrong. You know the type- chain coffee shops with a million choices and more sugar than a soda in most of them. Did I love those? Well YA, who wouldn't? I mean come on, coffee or espresso, often hidden with creamy milk, sweetened flavorings, buried under a mound of whipped cream is enough to entice a lot of people. I learned right away that iced coffee beverages were my favorite, and then we had even more sugar going on. Then one day I slowed down, bought a coffee grinder, got a French press, some whole bean coffee and started at the beginning- a regular hot cup of coffee. 

What I learned is this, coffee is as varied and complicated as wine. Different beans, different regions, different roasts, different methods of brewing- I had a lot to learn. Jessica is the coffee connoisseur in my life and figured she would be the appropriate guide for me. She does enjoy Starbucks, having grown up in that region of the country where Starbucks was born, but she is a coffee person- not a froo froo espresso beverage person so I am going to learn a lot as we explore different kinds of coffees, and many unique coffee houses in Iowa. We have been making a list!

Our first couple coffee discussions did take place in a local Starbucks, over brewed coffee for her and some sort of latte for me. Most of the time the topic was how we both desperately want to own our own coffee place, with baked goods and maybe light meals. That's been our dream for a very long time. My curiosity about coffee also spurs a lot of conversation about the different types. One day Jessica and I sat around her kitchen table with a pot of freshly brewed Starbucks Kopelani Blend. All I needed was the slightest splash of half and half to make this cup perfection. Not a grain of sugar added. I could really taste the coffee without all the extra junk added. I loved that! That really fed my curiosity. 

Remember that whole bean coffee I bought? Let's talk about that- I chose Colombia Supremo Medium Roast from Trader Jo's. This whole bean coffee had an amazing coffee aroma the minute I opened the container. The beans were plump and once ground they were so fragrant. The cup they provide was lovely. Very smooth, not bitter at all. Again, just the slightest bit of cream and no sugar and I had the perfect cup of coffee. The Chef didn't like it as well from the French press, but in the regular coffeemaker it was much more successful.

Now as promised, we did not just make cups of coffee at home, we explored. Des Moines is home to quite a few unique coffee houses and first on the list was Zanzibar Coffee Adventure. I knew a little about Zanzibar from social media. As a locally owned business, which I prefer to support, I have been following their page for some time and was in awe of the list of available beans they publish every few days. The selection is crazy! More on that later though, first- the shop itself is a little Disneyland for coffee lovers. Situated in the trendy Ingersoll neighborhood in Des Moines, it's in an old building with sky high ceilings with stamped tin tiles covering it, big windows loaded with plants, a long counter for service, as a display for all the delectable baked offerings, and seating. Little round tables line one wall the entire length of the room, and shelves and cubbies dot the room- offering coffee supplies and souvenirs of all kinds.

Big chalk menu boards list not only the menu offerings but also the huge variety of beans available on that day. The selection varies depending on what they receive from suppliers. All of the beans arrive green and are roasted in small batches in-house in their famous Dietrich roaster. The day that we visited the beans available ranged from around $12 per pound to $62 per pound. The variety of flavors and origins was unlike anything I'd ever seen. Jessica made her coffee selection- a Sumatra, and I chose a cafe latte. Not iced, real hot cafe latte. I wanted something different. 

Remember how I said the counter where you order also has all the baked treats sitting there? Well.... there was a cherry pie sitting there, and we could not resist. The pie is baked by a local baker exclusively for Zanzibar- it was without a doubt the BEST cherry pie I have ever had in my entire life. The crust was flaky both on the bottom and the lattice top, which was lightly sprinkled with sugar to add crunch. The cherries- oh my the cherries. HUGE and juicy. Tart and sweet. I wanted the whole pie!

Jessica loved every bit of her coffee. Me, my cafe latte arrived in a bowl. Very light foam on the top- not sugary whipped cream, but foamed milk, and the coffee- heaven. It was coffee and steamed milk. No sugar. No sweet syrups. No crazy flavors. Just beautiful coffee and steamed milk. I was so in love with this coffee. Zanzibar has set the bar very very high for all the coffee houses we will be visiting in the coming weeks and months, and you can bet I will be back many times.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I have not received any compensation for writing this post. I have no material connection to the brands, products, or services that I mentioned. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 55: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."

Foodie Field Trip- Is This Heaven?

It doesn't take much to get me excited these days- and a new store in a brand new shopping mall here in our city hit the nail on the head with one, and only one, store included in the project. Now some people need to drive an expensive car. Some women want the best, biggest and highest clarity diamond jewelry. Other people spend hundreds of dollars on hairstyling and spa treatments, and others spend hundreds on designer bags and clothing and shoes. I'm over all that stuff. Now, I spend my "big money" on things that are important to The Chef and I- high quality kitchen equipment and "good" grocery products. Seriously, those things go hand in hand. You might splurge on a $500 piece of AllClad but if you're just going to cook Hamburger Helper in it, save the money and buy a big box store cheap skillet. For us, we prefer to purchase what we consider investment pieces, things that will outlast us. 

Good knives are a must. I have accumulated a very nice collection of Wusthof knives from their open stock- I was able to purchase exactly the pieces I wanted and didn't end up with a knife or two that I'll never really use. I bought my block from eBay and saved a nice chunk of money on that. In fact, I often still do browse the eBay offerings and just see what's out there for sale. I sometimes grab a good buy. Now, don't think I don't also own some other knives, because I do. I have a couple Mercer Genesis knives and I'm quite impressed with their quality. Guy Fieri suckered me in to buying a big Knuckle Sandwich chef's knife when they first came out, and I couldn't resist a set of Tomodachi knives one day when I was wandering around a Sam's club. Cute, colorful, somewhat practical and disposable when they become too crummy to continue to sharpen. 

My real and true love is cookware. I've owned a set of Calphalon for a good ten years now and while some of the pots have seen better days, they are heavy, solid, the lids are all still intact with no loose handles or broken pieces. These guys are built for the long haul for sure. My next true love is cast iron. All kinds of cast iron. I love the old fashioned black cast iron that needs to be seasoned and has to be hand washed and might have been passed down for generations. There is something really special about owning a skillet that a great grandparent used to cook with. Just imagine all the breakfasts, all the bacon, steaks and burgers, all the pancakes and fried potatoes. You can't buy that kind of history. When it comes to cast iron, for me, the great French Le Creuset does it for me. Sure, I own some of the old fashioned black cast iron too, but the color pop of the Le Creuset just makes me happy. Sturdy and heavy, these beautiful cast iron, and a few ceramic, pieces are absolutely investment pieces. My first piece was a Dutch oven. I chose a color that was perfect for me- Marine, a dusty and deep turquoise that wasn't really bright or pastel, it is smokey and has a gray tint to it. I wish I had bought more pieces in this color because...... ugh, it's discontinued.  Instead now you have to make your choice between beautiful bright cherry red, sunny yellow, the perfect lime green, deep blue, a bright and pretty turquoise, pumpkin orange, and even pink. They do add new special edition colors from time to time as well.

My LeCreuset Dutch oven in Marine.

I said this is a field trip so that means we are going somewhere, right? You bet! Have you ever hear the old movie line "Is this Heaven? No, this is Iowa"? That sentence holds an entirely new meaning for me. Heaven, in Iowa, is the brand new Outlets of Des Moines shopping mall that features one store that fills my heart with joy- the Le Creuset store. My sister/friend Jessica and I made the trip the brand new mall on opening day and we had only one destination in mind- Le Creuset. She and I have a lot in common. Besides being family, we have an obsession with kitchen stuff. Cookware especially and beautiful things like bright enameled cast iron. We do the majority of our hunting at thrift stores, where you can score some great vintage pieces but we never pass up a chance to wander around, touching, holding, lusting over the beautiful brand new Le Creuset pieces.

Before we continue any further, let me insert a very brief lesson in French pronunciation here, because we cringed outwardly at the mispronounced name being spewed by literally ALL the other customers in the store and at least one employee. Say it with me: Le Crew Say. Again, Le Crew Say. Not Le Crew Set. Got it? Ok, let's move on.

The entrance walkway into the mall, which, by the way is a gorgeous open-air mall with coverings like an open roof over some of the walk ways, lovely glass store fronts that aren't looking over parking lots (those are all "behind" or around the outside of the plaza type setup), plants and benches sprinkled about, very contemporary and classy, leads right straight to nirvana......... the Le Creuset store.

Floor to ceiling glass walls give Jessica and I an incredible view of the goodies inside the store. Every size, every shape, every color of the rainbow.  We can hardly contain our glee. I said WE because she was just as giddy and giggling as I was was. Walking through the doorway literally brought tears to my eyes. I'm not even exaggerating here, guys. So many gorgeous cast iron pieces in such stunning colors, and we can TOUCH them and pick them up and hug them. Red, orange, deep blue and turquoise met us at the door and I immediately latched on the braiser. I have been wanting this piece for several years. I've entered every giveaway I've found trying to win one- and nada.

Off to the right the orange pieces have been transformed into pumpkins. I understand you can easily do this with a dry erase marker but I'm not so sure I'd try it. I was nearly jumping up and down like a kid in the toy store at this point. 

Just beyond the pumpkin display- kitchen linens. Gasp!! Le Creuset kitchen LINENS!!!!! OMG OMG OMG! Don't laugh, you people ought to know my by now.

The back wall of the store features all kinds of fun add-on pieces, like mini coccottes and mini baking dishes, utensils, a variety of cookbooks, teeny tine serving tureens, butter keepers, and crocks for all kinds of things. They even had wine glasses every bit as delicate and well crafted as Riedel. 

Teapots!!!! I die!!!!

If you wanted to, they had a table set up with filled pepper mills, in colors to match all your Le Creuset pieces, for you to try out and give it a few grinds. 

Rounding out the store, the pink pieces that you see in October and again near Valentines Day- shaped like hearts and flowers and super cute, a big selection of ceramic baking dishes, again in colors to match all the cast iron pieces, apple shaped pie pans, casserole dishes, lasagna pans, and a selection of teapots I could barely keep my hands off.

Floor to ceiling Dutch oven wallpaper

Jessica and I wasted no time getting signed up as Preferred Customers and believe it or not, we left the store without making a purchase, BUT, we both made a shopping list and we plan on working our way down the list in the very near future. We just could not pass up a visit on Opening Day!!

Disclosure of Material Connection: I have not received any compensation for writing this post. I have no material connection to the brands, products, or services that I mentioned. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 55: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."

Foodie Field Trip- Culinary Food Fight 2017

Once again, it's all about who you know!! Or in this case- who you are related to! Once again I got to enjoy the fun and excitement of culinary competition as a spectator, not a frazzled contestant, at the most recent installment of Culinary Fight Night, Des Moines. How? Well, let me explain. See.....I have told you guys before about my younger daughter, Laurie- the restaurant general manager. As is often the case when you know someone "in the scene" she would often invite me to different food events and a couple years ago she invited me to a Culinary Fight Night, the first of it's kind in Des Moines. You can get all the details by clicking HERE, but briefly- boxing rink, two chefs, six course, loads of great food, one winner. This time around, she is not only in the scene, her chef is one of the competitors, and she is helping in the kitchen! Talk about exciting! Since Laurie would be in the kitchen for this event, my other daughter Debbee joined me for this fun evening of sampling some of the best dishes Des Moines has to offer. Laurie's restaurant, Magnolia Wine Kitchen, was represented by their very own Chef Nico Ebtinger.

Chef Nico comes to Magnolia Wine Kitchen with a pretty impressive resume. Before joining Magnolia as a chef he was the executive chef at Prime Land and Sea in West Des Moines, the sous chef at Pricci and chef de partie at Cherokee Town and Country Club, and cooked at Bistro Nikki in Atlanta, GA. He attended Le Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts in Atlanta. Chef Hailey Dixon is the chef at the new West Des Moines brunch spot, Eggs and Jam Brunch Cafe. The restaurant boasts a fun hp hp theme and creative dishes with clever names such as Slim Shady, Flava Flav Flatbread, Rumpshaker, and Ludabiscuits. It's brand new on the culinary scene and lots of people are talking about it.

Of course, I would be a terrible mother if I didn't boast about my daughter, Laurie. She, as you know, is the general manager of Magnolia Wine Kitchen, the fantastic downtown restaurant and wine bar that provides the total girlie dining experience and even lets you bring the guys if you must. The restaurant is gorgeous, the menu very chick-centric. Beautiful ingredients and interesting combinations dominate the menu. Charcuterie and cheese plates are all the rage and Magnolia features some wonderful selections. The salad combinations are some of the most creative I have seen in years, the lobster roll- oh man, HUGE chunks of lobster, and the dinner menu is just stunning. Anyway, Chef Nico is in the ring and Laurie is supporting him in the kitchen, prepping foods, preparing sauces, and plating the courses. Laurie made the lemon picatta sauce for the salmon entree and it was heavenly- you better believe she is going to be teaching Mom how to make that sauce at home!

Now, let's get down to business- the fight and the food. The appetizer round always starts off the event and this time we sampled two dishes that were somewhat similar in flavor, but totally different presentations. Chef Nico prepared a beautiful panzanella salad with big chunks of chewy focaccia, lovely baby lettuces, heirloom tomatoes, bright red sweet pepper, cucumbers finished with a cherry vinaigrette and balsamic. The salad was a gorgeous plate. The colors of the vegetables were so vibrant, tip top freshness, and not overly dressed. The cubes of bread were dense and chewy, not like rock hard croutons, and were perfect for sopping up that delicious sweet and tangy vinaigrette.

Chef Hailey's appetizer was a favorite at our table, and a quick glance around the room, was a favorite of most people. She featured charred baby tomatoes, with the perfect kiss of flame and just perfect char marks, not enough to cook the tomatoes, just enough to give that hint of charred flavor, nestled alongside a scoop of creamy burrata, drizzled with olive oil and balsamic syrup. Perfectly crispy croustades alongside made this the perfect bite- a little smear of the cheese, a chunk of tomato, and that crispy crunchy toasted baguette. So delicious. My daughter Debbee has never had burrata before- she was sold! This was a very delicious and creative take on caprese salad and something I'd love to eat every day.

In between the courses our host and organizer of the event, Walt Henderson,  brought members of the audience up to the ring for some fun and games and prizes. He held a blind tasting, a Name The Celebrity Chef, and Identify the Herb contests, and drew for cash and gift card too.

The entree round was even better. This time the chefs went in very opposite directions. Chef Hailey created a Pistachio and Ricotta Raviolo, with Sauteed Shrimp, Golden Raisins and Brown Butter Cream Sauce. For me, Hailey won in creativity but fell down a little bit in execution. The flavors were fantastic. This dish was a textural masterpiece. The creamy ricotta filling was peppered with bits of crunchy pistachio and herbs. More pistachios adorned the top along with the surprise of golden raisins and sauteed shrimp, with a healthy drizzle of the browned butter sauce. The filling was delicious. It was not sweet, definitely savory, and the pistachios added a much needed texture. The pasta was a little too thick in spots, especially the edges, so it wasn't evenly cooked, and had some tougher spots. The butter sauce and raisins were an interesting addition but the shrimp seemed out of place. They were simply sauteed- nothing more, and perched atop the raviolo with a little garnish of micro greens. Stunning presentation though.

Everyone who knows me knows I HATE salmon. Hate it. Detest it. Except for raw in sushi, to me salmon looks, smells and tastes like cat food. Gross. I dreaded the salmon entree but Chef Nico totally changed my opinion with his entree- Roasted Faroe Island Salmon with jasmine rice, Haricot Verts and Lemon Caper Picatta. Was it the roasting that made the difference? Was it the type of salmon? I don't know what, or why, but I was in love at first bite. The salmon was perfectly cooked, flaky and tender. The haricots verts were roasted and some of them had crispy ends and those little touches make me so happy. The jasmine rice could have been a little more elevated but it was absolutely delicious, and my tablemates raved about it. I just could not get over that salmon! Nor could I put my fork down! We were served a very generous portion and we were getting full but I could not stop!!! Yes, it was THAT good. I really want to talk about the lemon sauce. It was phenomenal. Creamy and lemony and sprinkled with capers it was the perfect accent for that gorgeous piece of fish, and for dragging a forkful of rice through. Amazing, and so simple- nothing but freshly squeezed lemon juice, lemon zest and butter. Lots of butter. You can bet I'll be getting this chef's secret recipe and making this at home.

In spite of all that salmon and me being unable to stop eating it, we had to save room for dessert. Chef Nico's dessert, Bourbon Apple Crepe Flambe with Jack Daniels Chantilly Cream and Honeycrisp Apple Compote was the ultimate autumn dessert. The apple compote was amazing. The apples were bathed in bourbon, you could taste it without any icky boozy taste- just the woody warm bourbon and a kiss of honey. The chantilly cream again, the essence of Jack Daniels but not a whiff of harsh boozy edge. But that crepe though! It was thin and light and perfectly cooked, just perfect. I have made more than my fair share of crepes and this one was flawless.

Chef Hailey present us with a crispy Lemon Shortbread cookie with White Chocolate Mousse and Blueberry Compote. Everyone at our table raved about the mousse. It was very good. Not perfect, but very good considering it was made for a crowd. Kudos to Chef Hailey for that. The blueberry compote was a much needed touch but not truly special. Could have been kicked up with some limoncello or Gran Marnier or something. The lemon shortbread was delicious and lemony and buttery. The ladies at our table went crazy over the cookie. Hailey's dessert was good but it didn't have the wow factor for me or Debbee like Chef Nico's did.

The judges completed their scoring, the audience filled out their People's Choice ballots and the winner...... by the tiniest of margins....... was Chef Hailey. Our host Walt presented her with the Culinary Fight Night Championship belt as the crowd cheered. It was a great food fight, and we, the audience, got the real prize- all those delicious courses. The food fighting doesn't end here. November will host another round of courses with two different chefs, and the two winners, Chef Hailey and whoever wins the next bout will compete in the third Culinary Food Fight for a grand prize. I am looking forward to these events- and you should too. Keep watching my blog and social media for a chance to grab your tickets!!

Disclosure of Material Connection: I have not received any compensation for writing this post. I have no material connection to the brands, products, or services that I mentioned. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 55: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."

Foodie Field Trip- Blu Toro Cantina and Grill

It's another hot hot hot Saturday in Des Moines, and it's only June. Ugh. So hot that I abandoned my idea of going to the farmers market downtown- not feeling like battling a hot and sweaty crowd- and the Greek Food Festival was off the table. The Chef has to work and that was something he and I would have enjoyed together. Maybe tomorrow, right? Jessica, one of my very best friends, and I decided we should find something fun to do so we decided to go grab some dinner. Like always we had trouble deciding where to go, but I have a new secret weapon. Remember those tiny spiral notebooks you could carry in your purse or pocket? Yep, I went totally low tech. I've had a list on my computer, but who carries their computer around? Had a smaller list on my phone but didn't keep up with it. So the notebook just makes sense. I can write the name and address of each restaurant I want to check out, along with notes- what other people recommend, what their specialty is, if they have brunch, what the style of cuisine is, important info like that. We narrowed our choices and settled on someplace neither of had been before- Blu Toro Cantina and Grill. Blu Toro is somewhat new to the city, opening as a new upscale Mexican restaurant.

Walking into the restaurant is like stepping into a shishi Beverly Hills or Los Angeles eatery. The space is gorgeous. Sleek lines, contemporary furniture and that trendy open kitchen add to that first impression. The bar is just of the dining room and features a large open wall, open to the outside patio. Handcrafted cocktails are the new thing, and Blu Toro is on top of the cocktail game. The margarita options alone are impressive. Chili Mango Margarita? Yes, please! Of course tequila is the real king here and the selection is impressive. Several options for tequila flights are available too. I was tempted, but I was really in a wine mood, as was Jessica, so we ordered four different wines. Acrobat Pinot Gris, Lagosta Vinho Verde, Piccini Memoro Rose, and Bodega Colome Torrontes. Each wine brought something different to the meal. The Pinot Gris was fresh and crisp and absolutely delightful. The Vinho Verde was fruity and green. If you like Vinho Verde you'll understand the green thing. It has aromas of citrus and freshly cut grass. It's just.....green. The Rose was Jessica's favorite and the one she went back to when we ordered dessert. The winner for me that night was the Torrontes, and I enjoyed this one so much I had another! Fruity, not too sweet and with a flinty aroma it was lovely with my tart and sweet dessert. More on that later.

The dinner menu is amazing. You'll see some familiar things featured- quesadillas, fajitas, enchiladas, but they're not the everyday Mexican recipes. Upscale ingredients and expert preparation makes these dishes not only delicious but beautiful. Steaks, seafood, chicken and pork entrees have expertly crafted Mexican flavors throughout, the pork chops are prepared al pastor style, one of my favorit Mexican foods ever. Slow braised short ribs are draped in poblano cream sauce, steaks get the Toro treatment, scallops, halibut and salmon all get their own Mexican flavors. For dinner we again ordered several different tacos. Jessica chose three different street tacos- beef barbacoa, carne asada and chicken tinga. My two tacos were lobster and chicken tinga, with some beautiful and huge asparagus spears as a side. 

First, the beef barbacoa. Tender, flavorful and delicious. The carne asada was every bit as delicious. We both chose chicken tinga for one of our tacos. The tinga is made with chicken thighs, and I'm so glad they were. Chicken thighs are so much tastier than chicken breast and you would have to cook the life out of it to dry it out. The chicken tinga was expertly flavored and the little pile of shredded radish and a lime wedge was the perfect accompaniment to all three taco choices.

Now, the only other time I have had a lobster taco was in Galveston. It was delicious, but it was more like a Mexican version of the lobster roll- cold chunks of lobster meat in a mayo based sauce served with shredded lettuce in a flour tortilla. It was good. Didn't wow me. That taco pales in comparison to the lobster taco I enjoyed at Blu Toro. Big chunks of lobster, including claw meat on corn tortillas, crunchy shredded cabbage and a lovely spicy crema. The chunks of lobster meat were so big I had to cut them up! Honestly, this is one of the best things I have eaten in a long time.

We sneaked a peek at the dessert menu before we ordered dinner so we knew we needed to number one, save room, and number two, which wine to have with it. We had already made our wine decisions, so now it was all about dessert. Ever since we got here Jessica has had her heart set on the Tres Leches Cupcake. The cupcake arrived  topped with a cloud of fluffy whipped cream and grated chocolate. Inside the cupcake was a layer of dulce de leche. The flavors were awesome and the cake itself tasted good, but it was just a touch dry. A couple minutes less oven time, or a more thorough soaking in the caramel before serving and this would be spectacular. Jessica had the Rose with her dessert and it was a great match for the rich and creamy cake.

I chose the lime tart. It was out of this world. The lime curd was tart and absolutely smooth. The crust on the bottom was still crisp and had absolutely no sogginess at all. The tart was topped with a beautiful swirl or meringue that was torched to browned perfection. I swear I'm going to get the recipe come hell or high water! I had the Torrontes with my dessert and it was the perfect accompaniment. 

Our server was great. We had never been there before, so we had menu questions, and she had answers. She not only knew the dinner menu but she also knew every wine on the drinks menu and recommended wines based on the different dinner selections. The chef. Josh, came out to visit with us too. The entire staff was friendly, professional and very welcoming. Overall the experience was one of the best I've had in this city in quite some time. I hope to visit Blu Toro many more times in the future. I highly recommend it when you're looking for someplace new in Des Moines.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I have not received any compensation for writing this post. I have no material connection to the brands, products, or services that I mentioned. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 55: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."