My Crazy Trip to the North End

So, it's kind of been a while...

But I have an excuse!  Lots of activities, lots of studying, lots of everything.  Whoever said second semester of senior year was easier than first semester was a dirty liar whom we should all fling poo at.  Because that was definitely NOT the case.  But it's all over and done with, and I have a high school diploma to prove it :)

So anyways, a month or so ago, I was in Boston.  And I know what you're thinking.

And that was precisely the week where Tamerlan and Dzokhar Tsarnaev bombed the Boston Marathon and then were captured.  I was there for the capture (which took place between the 18th and 19th of April).

So, basically, what this means was that on the 19th, a Friday, I was stuck in my hotel room for several hours while the police searched for Dzhokhar Tsarnaev in Watertown, on the Cambridge side of the Charles.  I was staying on the Boston side of the river, looking dead on at Cambridge, and saw a large number of police cars pass by.

My dad and I were very bored, and by 2:00 PM, very hungry.  Since we were on the Boston side of the river, we were able to leave the hotel, so we escaped to the North End.

The North End, most notably Hanover Street, of Boston is famous for the seemingly impossible number of Catholic churches and it's wonderful Italian food.  It was where many Italian immigrants decided to inhabit upon coming to Boston, and their legacy was the wonderful food they left.  And all of the freaking churches (there are literally two churches within a five minute walk from each other.  On the same street).

So anyways, after spending half an hour trying to find a parking spot, my dad and I went into this cute little bar/restaurant called Florentine Cafe on the corner of Hanover and Prince streets.  We sat down to some deliciously warm bread and olive oil, and our server was very cheerful and nice.  She informed us that the restaurant we sat in was the oldest bar in the North End, opened directly after Prohibition was lifted and renovated in 1995.

The Florentine Cafe!  And a really tricked out Ford Fusion.  And you can see one of the many churches.

 So there it is in all its glory.  We were kind of hungry, because we had been trapped in a hotel room all day, so we decided to order some fried calamari.

That looks delicious even now.

Now, I don't say this lightly, but oddly, this was the fluffiest, lightest calamari that I've ever eaten.  It was chewy, but not rubbery, and the batter was buttery and delicious, with just the right amount of flavor.  The tomato sauce had a bit of a bite to it (in a good way), and complemented the calamari in a very beautiful way.

My next course was the specialty of the house:  Lobster Ravioli.

Needless to say, these make Chef Boyardi toss and turn at night.

Dear Christ.  This dish perfectly defines the North End, with its geographic location right by the water and its Italian heritage.  There were a couple of lobster nuggets outside of the ravioli, which, paired with the sauce (which I will get to), tasted something like I envision heaven tasting like.  It was divine.  The sauce was deliciously creamy, with flakes of parsley mixed in for color and flavor, and honestly, could be eaten by itself as a soup.  When you add the wonderfully crafted ravioli, cooked al dente with a delicious filling that hardly tasted like seafood at all, your tastebuds just rocket into space having been propelled by an incredibly flavorful force.  It was that good.

So, that's some of what happened when I went to the North End they day they were looking for Dzhokhar Tsarnaev on the loose in Cambridge.

Best Cuban Coffee in Miami: Versailles

When it comes to Cuban coffee, you really can't go wrong anywhere in Miami.  No matter where you go, the espresso is light, sweet, and tasty, as is custom with the coffee.  You can have a small demitasse cup, a colada, a larger cup with milk, café con leche, or you can go halfway between the two with a cortadito, where you get Cuban coffee with just the right amount of sugar in a demitasse cup with milk in it.  Desserts also tend to be pretty good anywhere, whether you are eating arroz con leche, or rice pudding; pastelitos de guayaba, queso, o guayaba y queso, or cream cheese, guava, or guava and cream cheese pastries; tres leches, a three layer milk cake where the layers are made with whole milk, evaporated milk, and condensed milk, respectively; or flan, or egg custard.  Any way you choose to go, your taste buds will thank you very much.

This is especially true of Versailles, a Miami landmark that has been serving customers on 8th Street in Miami's "Little Havana" district for over 40 years, and counting.  Famous for its delicious Cuban food and wonderfully Miami atmosphere, it's a lot of fun to go eat and even to just look around to see who is there.  From the outside, one of its most famous features, what the locals call la ventanita, or "the little window," is instantly visible, as there is always, no matter what time of day, a group of people, typically older Cuban men, gathered there to drink coffee and discuss South Florida (and Cuban) politics.

Excuse the poor quality of this picture.  You get the message, though, right?

When you walk in, you notice that the place is absolutely packed.  They are so busy that they have a restaurant and a bakery attached that serves coffee and desserts to those who wish not to enter the craziness that is the actual restaurant.

Isn't that something?  You can just smell the goodies made inside from here, right?

However, if this gets too crowded to your liking, you always have the option of taking the hallway in the back of the bakery to the main restaurant.  As afore mentioned, this place is always hopping.  There are two large rooms:  a foyer, where you enter the restaurant and where a majority of the seating is located, and the back room, where about 1/4 of the seating is located.  Mind you, this back room still isn't very small.  It can hold quite a large number of people.

Look at this!  And this was on a weeknight at 11:00 pm!

Once you are able to find seating, which is no small feat in a restaurant as crowded as this, you are provided a menu and a dessert menu.  I chose to have a cortadito and a dulce de leche flavored flan.

Isn't that glorious?  Makes me really thirsty when I think about it.

While you can get good coffee anywhere in Miami, there is a difference between good Cuban coffee and great Cuban coffee when it comes to the cortadito.  The difference?  Most places use whole milk to mix with their coffee.  Versailles, on the other hand, uses evaporated milk.  And this is where the magic begins.

The Versailles cortadito is distinct because of the evaporated milk used, which really ties everything about this little cup of paradise together.  The coffee has a refined sweetness, not too sweet, like some cups of coffee, and the coffee itself is present flavor wise, but not the main flavor contributer.  Add the evaporated milk, with its succinct flavor, and the flavors of the coffee and the sugar are bridged together into this light, frothy delicacy.  There is a real equilibrium within this cortadito, which is obvious to anyone who happens to take a sip.  So I happily enjoyed mine.

My siblings and I drinking cortaditos.  From left to right:  my brother Michael, myself, 

and my sister Hannah.  We are just way too cool for our own good.

Now it's the flan's turn.  Dulce de leche is a sweet candy that is made out of the sugar in milk, and can be made at home or bought at the grocery store.  Flan is a very popular dessert in many hispanic countries, although if you ask me, Cubans make it the best.  Ok, I may be biased, but we are all entitled to our opinions, am I right?

Mmmmmmm.  It just looks divine.

The interesting thing about this flan to me in particular is the fact that it combines two classic Latin desserts, and does so in a way that exceeds expectations.

Sometimes, when a flan is overcooked, it can be hard and rubbery in texture, which is not uncommon to find in flans on restaurant menus anywhere.  Many restaurants fear serving undercooked flan to guests, which, since it contains eggs, may contain salmonella, and thus over cook their flans, but this was not the case for the Versailles flans.

The dulce de leche flavor could have been extremely overpowering in sweetness, as dulce de leche tends to be a very sweet candy, but this flan had a subtle sweetness that very much captured the essence of both the flan and the dulce de leche that did both sweets justice.  As a result, the flan had a marshmallowy taste, which was unexpected but welcomed, and had an overall smooth texture.  In summary, this dessert gets an A+!

I guess the main lesson I learned from the coffee and desserts of Versailles is the importance of balancing the flavors, textures, and appearance of a dish or a drink in order to make it both aesthetically pleasing and downright delicious.  Too often restaurants skimp on taste and balance of flavors in order to get the cheapest product out to the table, but this was not the case at Versailles, where you can indulge in both of these treats for under $6.

Tiraron la casa por la ventana with this one.

So if you're ever in Miami, and happen to see this sign while driving down 8th Street, do yourself and whoever else is in the car with you a favor and go eat.  Your taste buds, and your stomach, will thank you.

Diner Time!

Hey there, everybody!  I apologize profusely for not posting anything for the past two months.  I have been very, very busy with my school work (senior year finally caught up with me... oh boy), and I have been unable to do anything that is not related to statistics, US Government, world literature (including Spanish literature), and life sciences since the beginning of November.  However, I am glad to say that I have a couple of posts ready for the lineup that have come from my adventures over the past couple of months.

First, let's take a stop in Mebane, North Carolina so that we can go to the Blue Ribbon Diner.  In November, I trekked back to Winston Salem for a band clinic, and on the way, my father and I stopped at this wonderfully homey diner.

When you get off of the Mebane exit on highway 40 west, you drive off on a road and come to this sign, which points you in the right direction, in case you can't see this:

After taking this, I look back and think that this picture looks a little surreal. 

 Like something you would see in heaven.  Or something like that.

Once you enter this fine establishment, you are met with wonderfully southern folk who promptly seat you and offer you drinks.  Looking around, you see a place that has truly found its niche in the town it resides, as you see pictures of the local high school sports teams and yearbook clippings from high school senior classes of the  past.  As I looked at the menu, I saw that their sweet tea (a southern staple) was "award winning," so I decided to give it a shot.

Please excuse the messy paper in the background.

I took a sip, and it was not noteworthy.  It was sweet, but it had a bit of a bitter aftertaste, so I put some lemon in it, and it made it better.  Overall however, the tea did not live up to the high standards that southern society has set for it.  Although the lemon covered up the bitterness, it was not sweet enough to make a lasting impression.  It actually reminded me of the taste of powdered Lipton tea with sugar in it.  So I ended up just drinking water.

However, what they lacked in tea, they made up for in actual food.  Blue Ribbon is famous for their "AppleJack" chicken marinade, so I decided to indulge in a grilled AppleJack chicken sandwich with french fries.

Mmmmmmm... How yummy!

This was an awesome sandwich.  The chicken was mildly sweet, but mixed with the cheddar, bacon, lettuce, and tomato that were on the sandwich, the mixture of flavors just exploded in my mouth.  I wasn't sure that the cheddar really belonged, but its sharpness really complemented the sweetness of the bacon and the chicken, and really added something to sandwich.

On the side, they served fries with ranch sauce, and they were actually delightful.  It was obvious from the color of the fries themselves that they were originally frozen, but their shape was able to make up for the lack of freshness.  They were shaped like steak fries, but they had ridges in them, which added an interesting texture bonus that helped the fry gather more ranch dressing.  The ranch and the fries went together well, since the fries themselves did not have salt on them.  It's a combination that I don't think I would have come up with, but it works, so I think I will try it in the future.

On a side note:  if, on an off chance, you find yourself at this little establishment in rural North Carolina, don't order the green beans.  They are from a can and just lack any semblance of flavor.  Just take my word for it.

Blue Ribbon Diner has such a homey charm, and the food is good, making it a favorite every time I happen to be driving US 40 Westbound.  If you happen to be in the area, give it a shot.  You will enjoy it for all that it is, not just the food.

El Plátano: An Fresh Take on Latin Staple

When I was a kid, there were two staples to meals in our Cuban household :  rice and plantains.  There were very few exceptions to this rule.  Bread showed up sometimes, if there was any worth eating, and potatoes and pasta were occasionally mixed into our diet to shake things up a little.  However, no matter what the entree was, it was very probable that rice and plantains were to be served with it.  What I will focus on here, though, is the plantain.

Plantains are NOT bananas.  They are similar, but are quite different.  The thing is, you can fry a plantain.  You cannot fry a banana without it turning into a gloopy mess of disgusting proportions.  Yuck.  Fried plantains are the way to go.  They are very popular in many areas of Latin America, and can be fried to make tostones, which are twice fried and smushed plantain chunks; mariquitas, which are plantain chips; and maduros, which are fried chunks of ripened plantains.  The first two varieties result in something similar to fried potatoes in that they are not sweet, while the maduros are sweet (I just got really hungry as I typed this.  Go figure).

Anyways, now with this wonderful knowledge from Three Guys from Miami and Wikipedia, we can get onto what I want to talk about...

What is this?  This, my friends, was a pretty good idea.

This is what the North Raleigh restaurant Tacos and Tequila (I didn't choose the name) calls "El Plátano."  Basically, it is a whole fried ripe plantain sliced down the middle stuffed with pieces of steak, cheese, and a red paste topped with thinly cut lettuce over a bed of pinto beans.  Whew.  Try saying that five times fast.

Tacos and Tequila is a Mexican themed restaurant that is owned by a Colombian immigrant who wanted to bring the tastes of Latin America to North Raleigh, serving Mexican dishes with twists from other Latin American countries.

Overall, the ambience of the place is pretty cool.  There are pictures of famous Latinos (Frida Kalo, Sofía Vergara, Antonio Banderas, etc.) plastered all over the walls, and the salsa music, while out of place at a Mexican themed restaurant, gives the restaurant a nice celebratory vibe.  They make their own salsa, so depending on the day, it can be very spicy or not at all.  And the chips are pretty standard Mexican restaurant corn tortilla chips.

When I saw this dish on the menu, I was curious.  My love for plantains is abundant, but I was unsure as to how something like this would taste.  So I ordered it.  When it got to the table, I felt that it was almost too pretty to eat.  However, I don't have much self control when it comes to eating, so I promptly dug in.

It was pretty good.  Not fantastic, but good.  The plantain was nice and sweet, and with the steak, beans, and everything on top, it gave it an interesting, Tex-Mex flavor.  By themselves, the beans kind of lacked a ton of flavor, and the steak was a little on the chewy side (with told me that the quality of the meat wasn't the best), but the combination of the flavors is what made this dish really stand out to me.

Tacos and Tequila's "El Plátano" brought a vibrant set of flavors together that complemented the sweetness of the plantain quite nicely, and it wasn't that expensive either.  If you are ever in the area, give your taste buds a wake up call and try this out.

If you like Five Guys, You will Love These Burgers

Ah, the hamburger.  The fast food staple that has come to define American cuisine to people around the world.  So greasy, so fatty, yet so delicious that I really can't resist doing another post about it.

This post, however, is going to be a little different from my post about Backyard Bistro.  Today I am going to talk about this wonderful restaurant called BurgerFi.  It is a chain based out of Fort Lauderdale that uses all organic ingredients to make their burgers, fries, onion rings, hot dogs, and frozen custard.  I would describe it as a Five Guys for those who enjoy shopping at Whole Foods and the Fresh Market.  The difference isn't that noticeable, but it's the little things that make BurgerFi a better option for burger lovers like myself.

Excuse the picture's awkward orientation.  Just look at the burger.

Let's start with the burger itself.   It was not an enormous burger; it was about the size of my fist, and I have a pretty small fist, so that's saying something.  Once you bite into it, however, you forget that it's not that big.  The meat was cooked perfectly, and all of the condiments complemented each other quite nicely.  I ordered a bacon cheeseburger with white Cheddar cheese, lettuce, tomato, grilled onions, pickles, mayo, and ketchup, and it was rather delightful.  The cheddar went well with the burger, moreso than the American cheese, which had the consistency of a Kraft Single (just don't order that.  If you go with anything else, you are good).  The bacon was nice and crunchy, the lettuce and tomato were fresh, and the pickles had a homemade texture that really added something special to the burger.

Now I shall talk about the bun.  The way that they cut it, it functions more as a pocket holding everything together than a bookend for the insides, which makes it easier to eat and pretty darn adorable.  On top of that, they brand the top, which makes it a little steamy, in turn making it soft and fluffy.  It serves its purpose well.

One thing that I will say about this burger is that the grilled onions are a little sweet.  You can see in the picture that they are almost brown, which tells me that they are very caramelized, which is either a good thing or a bad thing, depending on your taste buds.  I personally could have done without them, as typically when I grill onions, I make sure to sear them just a little bit so that you get rid of the bitter raw onion taste while still maintaining the actual onion flavor.  Other than that and it's size, it's not a bad deal.  It's also relatively inexpensive, as it cost me about $6.

I have to comment on the fries and the onion rings, because they are far too delicious to ignore.  The fries are remarkable, just crispy enough on the outside and soft enough on the inside to rank them high on the list of the best fries I've eaten.  The inside has a baked potato-like consistency, which may sound a little gross, but is actually really delicious and interesting.  The thick grains of salt also added to the flavor of the fries, just adding the needed zest here and there that the fries themselves lacked.

As for the onion rings, as you can see below, they were thick, and the batter really blew me away.  A slight hint of beer flavor really made this batter, and the firmness also made them easier to eat than other onion rings that I have had in the past.  There isn't much to say about them other than that.

Look at those.  My mouth is watering a little just thinking about them.

Another really interesting thing about this restaurant is that they serve frozen custard and concretes similar to those of the popular local chain called Goodberry's.  I'm not a huge Goodberry's fan, due to the fact that you have to load it with condiments in order to get rid of the custard's odd aftertaste, which can be expensive and undesirable.  In the case of BurgerFi custard, there is no aftertaste, which means that I could get a small serving without having to pay for loads of other stuff to put in it.  Yay!  I ordered a small Pumpkin Spice Chocolate Chip frozen custard, which was really, really delicious.  It tasted like a creamy pumpkin pie with bits of crust and chocolate chips mixed in.  Needless to say, it was pretty incredible.

BurgerFi gives Five Guys a run for its money, using fresh, organic ingredients that really add to the flavor of everything on the menu.  It's not that expensive, and in my opinion, is better than Five Guys for this reason.  Give this place a try.  You won't regret it.

Wait. Let me get this straight. The Chinese Restaurant's Specialty is Korean Food?

Hey there everyone!  I'm sorry that I haven't posted in a while--with classwork and college applications, I barely get time out of my day to write any more.  However, that doesn't mean that I don't have anything coming up in the near future!  I've had some interesting experiences within the past couple of months, some disappointing and some not, and I will be sharing them with you promptly.  So stay tuned!

Ok.  So we shall start out with a bit of an anomaly.  It was a Saturday night, it was raining, and we were hungry, so of course, the logical thing to do is to drive forty minutes out into Durham to have some soup. (I know, "what is a logic?" But I'm getting to it, don't worry)

Like I said, it was raining, and we get to this little hole in the wall Chinese restaurant called China Express at the intersection of highways 55 and 54.  There was an Indian restaurant next door that appeared to be closed, and we ran inside to avoid getting wet.

The place looks, basically, like any other Chinese restaurant.  However, unlike other Chinese restaurants, it has a dark secret.  It specializes in...

Korean Noodle Bowls.

I know what you're thinking.  Really?  A "Chinese" place that specializes in Korean Noodle Bowls?  What is going on here?

Well, we ordered some Chinese appetizers, and after noting that they were mediocre at best, I ordered the Jan Pong, a spicy seafood, meat, and vegetable soup that was well hidden on the menu on the back (just kidding.  It was the first item on the back of the menu.  I plead guilty).  But it was seriously delicious.

You can't really tell from this picture, but this was a LOT of food.  

Don't get me wrong, though, because there was no way I could complain.

Look at that.  Just look.  The vegetables are colorful, the shrimp are perfectly plump, and you can't tell, but the noodles are just the perfect combination of firm and tender, and as long as my arm, at least.  Even though my arms are small, I think that's pretty long for a noodle.  The broth was spicy, yet it was also flavorful, capturing the flavors of the squid, scallops, and shrimp as well as that of the vegetables, creating a wonderful mixture of flavors that just explode in your mouth.

I really don't think they should call this place China Express.  The Chinese food is ok, but Durham is a town that would appreciate a good noodle restaurant.  Despite the fact that North Carolina is not as diverse as some other states, even in the "metropolitan" Triangle, I think that we could all appreciate the ownership of this place opening up a Korean restaurant instead of a Chinese restaurant with a well kept secret.

Despite the false getup, this place is awesome.  I usually refrain from using such a terrible word, but the experience was nothing short of that.  And, as I was looking up in awe over this wonderful Jan Pang, I noticed that the restaurant's ceiling has really cool panelling.  Check it out!

DRAGONS.  DRAGONS EVERYWHERE.

Ok.  I'm not going to pretend that I am not amused by dragons.  As a teenager, I cannot resist a good depiction of a dragon.  It's also so quintessentially Chinese looking, that I feel that people could go to this place and order Chinese food without thinking twice about it.  Which makes me sad.

Moral of the Story:  When you are at an ethnic restaurant, make sure to explore the menu.  You may find something that you wouldn't expect that is incredibly more delicious than everything else, but the trick is to be a little adventurous.

I'd Never Expect to Eat a Great Burger in Raleigh!

Well, I'm back in Raleigh for this post!  And I'm not going to lie, this post really shows you why I named this blog "Pocajama."  I was helping out with a summer camp at my high school a couple of weeks ago and after the camp was over, I went to lunch with a couple of people I volunteered with.  We went to this place called Backyard Bistro, which is right next to the PNC Arena/Carter Finley Stadium in Raleigh, about 10 minutes outside of Downtown.  When you look at this place, you don't imagine that the food you're going to get is anything better than what you'd get at Chili's or Applebees, considering the decor and the way it's designed.  Even the name, Backyard Bistro, is kind of odd in that despite the fact that they throw Bistro in there, the word Backyard makes it seem as if the quality is not going to be top notch.  Little did I know that this place was going to give me a good burger, not to mention one that would knock my socks off.

Now, I know quite a few burger joints in this town.  All of them are good, but they each have their shortcomings.  At some, the fries are good, but the bun is lacking; others have fantastic buns, but the meat isn't great or the fries just aren't anything worth a second pass of the tongue, etc.  But this place... if you like burgers as much as I do, you will enjoy this.

I ordered a Build Your Own Burger with Lettuce, Tomato, Red Onion, Ketchup, Mayo, Pickle Spears, American Cheese, and Bacon, which came with fries.  I wasn't expecting much, based on how I previously described the atmosphere, but boy was I in for a surprise.

Isn't it beautiful?

I would just like to take a moment and take a look at this picture.  Don't you wish you could just reach out and grab that burger?  Well, let me tell you, it was about as delicious as it was pretty.  Just about everything about it was perfect.  The bun was freshly made at a nearby bakery, and was toasted and buttery.  Even the crust was buttery and enticing.  The patty was thick and juicy, with just the right amount of seasoning, and the meat was of very good quality.  The cheese was melted perfectly and tasted just as American should, smooth and mild, and the bacon was as crisp and smokey as bacon should be.  The lettuce, tomato, and onion were all crisp and fresh, and these alongside the pickles and the bacon added a nice crispness to the sandwich.  Ketchup and mayo are ketchup and mayo, but I seriously cannot have a burger without them.  Boy,  was this puppy good.

Even the fries were of excellent quality.  They were home cut and fried, and you could tell by the taste and texture.  They were a tad flimsy, but anyone who has ever made homemade fries will tell you that it is nearly impossible to get a thick potato slice crispy.  It can be done with extreme care, but considering the ambiance of the restaurant, I won't hold it against them.  Besides the slight floppiness, which reminded me of the fries my mother used to make, they had the perfect flavor.  The potato itself was slightly sweet, but with the salt, the balance was kept and the mixture was the absolute prime taste that any fry eater would want.

As I said earlier,  I was not expecting to have an amazing burger when I walked into this place.  I expected to have another mediocre meal in a mediocre restaurant across the street from a major sports arena, much like anyone else would have expected.  It did not appear to be anything special, but the food itself said otherwise.  When I took one bite of this burger, I knew that it was special, and that you can't get another burger like that anywhere in Raleigh.  So, this one is for the burger lovers:  if you want a fantastic burger, go to Backyard Bistro.  You won't be disappointed.