Will The Scalini's Eggplant Parmesan Throw My Wife Into Labor? (A follow-along case study)

Come close to your computer screen. I have something very private and graphic to tell you. Ready? OK.

There is a small child in my wife's stomach. And it technically shouldn't be there anymore. It's rather imperative that we get the child out, lest the 'authorities' will take said child out in a more aggressive manner. And nobody wants that.

And here's where we begin. Scalini's in Smyrna, GA has eggplant parmesan that is notorious for making women go into labor. They started a 'Bambino Club' for pregnant women that order the Eggplant. If you eat the eggplant parmesan and go into labor within 48 hours your baby is in the Bambino Club. They get a free shirt, picture on the wall and something else think. Maybe the newborn gets a free meal or something. 300 babies have been born as a result of this eggplant dish. I tried getting a total number of attempts so this process would be a little more scientific, but our server didn't know how many there were. Judging by the size of and number of names in the book they sign people up in, I'd be surprised if it was over 5%.

We went last night and gave the eggplant parmesan induction a shot. That was roughly 12 hours ago and there's been no action yet. I'll continue to update.

On the restaurant and food itself - if you're familiar with the Provino's restaurants around Gwinnett, this is essentially the exact same thing. Similar looking sign out front, similar decor, same looking menu and items, same food. There is a Provino's 5 minutes from our house so had we known it was the same thing, I'm not sure we would have gone. Provino's doesn't have a baby club or famous labor eggplant, so unless I really think the eggplant induces labor by itself, the extra drive was for novelty purposes.

Judging by all the graffiti on the walls, the section of booths we were in was in the cool section of the restaurant. My least favorite kind of graffiti was all over the place. It lacked art value and was mostly someone writing they loved their lover because the person before them wrote that they loved their lover. Many laughs were had as a result of these markings, for example, my wife asking me how long it would take to write 'sucks' after every single person's name. And then the awkwardness that one would feel if they brought a date there after they previously professed their love for a different person on the same booth.

 My wife obviously got the eggplant parmesan. I got Veal Diana, a veal and eggplant dish. Both were good. Like Provino's, the meal comes with unlimited garlic rolls and salad. The first set of rolls we got felt old and tasted way too salty. Second batch was much better.

Here's the aftermath of my veal diana:

I Totally Endorse This: My Drunk Kitchen

First Pot of Boiled Peanuts for 2011

It just doesn't get much better than this.  No need for words in this post.  The pics can do the talking.

Not your typical lunch meeting

Usually the Chamber or Tourism luncheons are nothing to write home about. You usually get the standard "Chamber Chicken". You might get a piece of cheesecake. It is just always a lot of meh on top of meh.

Well, yesterday the Tourism Leadership Council's luncheon was at Savannah Technical College. Again...not looking promising at all. Little did we know that there is a culinary school there and they were the ones preparing our lunch for us today. Students making lunch for us? Again...the red flags went up. Got to say, outside of the pate, it was an excellent lunch.

Plenty of bread on the table is a great way to always start the meal. Especially with the olive oil & balsamic vinegar close by. The appetizer, as I stated before, was meh. I am not one for pate and that pretty much turned me off of the dish right away.

The main course more than make up for that dish with the Osso Bucco. The meat was perfectly cooked and was melting in my mouth. I could have eaten about 3 more of these, it was that good.

The dessert was a peach creme brulee tart with a side of pistachio ice cream. This was a great dish to close out the meal, other than the horrible coffee flavored syrup on the plate. I am not a coffee person and that could have been easily left off the plate.

10th Annual Taste of Downtown in Savannah

Each year the Chamber of Commerce puts on a great event for its members, and the public, called the Taste of Downtown. It is a great way to get out and sample something special from the local restaurants here in the Savannah area, as well networking with fellow chamber members. This years event was held in beautiful Johnson Square and had plenty of variety for everyones taste buds. From casual to fine dining, it was there. Below is for the most part the best of the best that I ate. Some vendors were there that I didn't try just because I eat in their restaurants so often or the fare they were offering just didn't excite me enough to want a bite.

You can watch the news feature at the end about this event, in which I make a guest appearance in a drive by shot.

First up I tired the Braised Short Rib Slider Topped with Shrimp from The Olde Pink House. This was quite possibly the best dish I ate of the night and it was the first one out of the gate. It set the bar pretty high for everyone to match and only their sister restaurant, Garibaldi's, came close with their stuffed fried shrimp entry. This one was so good that I ended up coming back around for seconds.

Everything else was pretty good. The duck wrap was a nice bite. The ribs from a chef in Richmond Hill were excellent. The crab dip from another restaurant was spot on. The steak sandwich from Ruth's Chris was decent. But one other thing stood out...the cupcakes from Gigi's.

Gigi's has been one of our favorite guilty pleasures since they opened here in Savannah a couple of months ago. Bethany, the owner, has done an amazing job with her shop and these works of art are something to behold, and eat. Last night they had an amazing sampling of the mini cupcakes for everyone to enjoy at the event. These were far and away the best desserts of the night, and it wasn't even close. Every time I turned around Bethany was roping me back in and she let me know that the regular cupcakes would be arriving shortly. She gave me a couple for the road to take home to my wife, that is what you see pictured below. The one on the left is the Italian Wedding Cupcake and the other one is the Cherry Limeade Cupcake. Sadly only one made it home as I lost the Cherry Limeade one on a sharp turn. The cupcake went rolling onto the passenger side floor for the rest of the ride home.

For those that have never had a cupcake from Gigi's, find a location near you and get one today. You won't be disappointed at all.

Spiced Right BBQ in Suwanee, GA. The Challenge for Best Ribs (in the state, county, country?) is On.

This is the 3rd location for the Spiced Right BBQ family. I remembered eating at the one in Lilburn when I was a young pup many many years ago and was excited to see this location pop up. (In an old Shane's Rib Shack location, nonetheless).

This is based on my 2 visits there in the past 2 weeks. The first time my wife and I stopped in she got a pulled pork sandwich and I had a 1/2 rack w/ side of stew. The pulled pork was pretty good - not sauced before hand (GREAT sauce here) and nice big chunks. Stew was fine, even better with some sauce in it. These ribs though. Holy mother of pig Jesus. They were excellent.

Went back with the in-laws this past weekend and did what I suggest everyone reading this does. Go straight for the ribs. Forget everything else, except maybe some bread to make a rib meat sandwich.

Here's a list of awesome things about these ribs:

1. Meat fell off the bone. And not in a mushy way either. Tender tender rib meat.
2. Smoky crust on the outside. Awesome flavor. Very smoky with just a hint of sweetness. 
3. Ribs didnt even need sauce. I used some, of course, because it's awesome. Not necessary though. If you're a glutton like me, the sauce also helps the ribs go down easier when you're approaching the fill level. 
4. I love animal fat. These ribs had the most delicious pieces of animal fat on them. It wasn't all over the place and not so prevalent that my wife was disgusted by it, but enough for me to taste and savor all the gooey goodness. 
5. Throw these things on some white bread with some sauce and say hello to an amazing sandwich. 

Also, they have very bangin banana pudding. So go get ribs, white bread and banana pudding. Maybe a drink too.

Publix Sub and Spicy Cayenne & Cheese Lays

Today was a work from home day. I love work from home days for a number of reasons, but one is that my lunch options are different than they are at the office. Lately I've been on a Publix sub kick. I don't know what brought it on, nor do I care. These things are awesome. I also treat myself to a fancy bag of chips almost every time. Today I went with Lay's Ketttle Cooked Spicy Cayenne and Cheese chips. They didn't taste exactly like cayenne or cheese. Do chips ever though? Have you ever had pizza flavored pringles? I used to LOVE those when I was a kid. They definitely don't taste like pizza.

The sub was an ultimate. Ham, cheese, turkey, roast beast and swiss + condiments. I've tried to nail down exactly what is better about these than Subway or whatever and I know it starts with the bread. I should try getting just bread and mayo one day to see how it tastes. My guess is it will be delicious. On to the pics...

I ate outside with the dogs today since it was so nice. Freaking perfect 70-72 out. I also got a new camera, (This awesome white Pentax k-x. I call it the Storm Trooper) so you are blessed with some super huge pics if you want to guess every condiment on my sandwich. 

Chips, Sandwich, Lemonade

Sandwich

Portobello at Downtown Disney

Some would say that it is sad that the best part of your meal was the bread. However, in this case it isn't really a bad thing. The problem is that there was nowhere for the meal to go but down after the bread and roasted garlic came out. I will get back to this in a second...

Portobello is one of those places you wouldn't expect to find in a place like Downtown Disney. It has the feel of a local family restaurant rather than one that is part of a bigger national restaurant group. Portobello is part of Levy Restaurants that also has Fulton's Crab House and Wolfgang Puck Grand Cafe in Downtown Disney. It has the charm of a local eatery and reminds you of that every step of the way through your meal.

Speaking of the meal, lets talk about the best part of it. After we ordered we were brought out a plate of roasted garlic. There was a bottle of olive oil on the table, so I poured some of that on the plate along with some cracked black pepper. The garlic is so tender you can dig your knife into it and spread the garlic on your bread like butter. This was like putting heaven on your bread with every bite. Really hard to have anything better once you taste this.

The salad came out and it was meh at best. For my lunch I got the meatball sliders. These were really good, and I was informed that they make all their meatballs fresh every morning. The first meatball, from left to right, was a chicken meatball. This was different and good all at the same time. The second meatball was a spicy pork one that had fire breathing out of it for days. The last meatball was a beef & veal meatball that was the best of the bunch.

For something off the beaten path while at Downtown Disney, Portobello was a pretty decent choice.

Olives Mediterranean Cafe in Nassau

Who would have thought that conch fritters and lamb gyros would be a perfect match? However, in Nassau this is exactly the case. Olives Mediterranean Cafe is an excellent marriage of the Caribbean and Mediterranean.

Tucked away in a side alley off of Bay St. in the heart of Nassau, Olives is one of those gems you are glad you stumbled upon. We were walking down Bay St last week looking for some lunch when we saw a sign pointing us down an alley to Olives. What we walked up to was a little side cafe with a few tables and a lot of charm. Olives has a full lunch and dinner menu, plus a bar for those that want some libations. As for what I ate...

You can't go to the Bahamas and not have conch. These conch fritters were the right amount of spice and conch. A great way to start lunch and get my fill of fresh conch. The gyro took quite a while to come out. Actually, quite a while is an understatement. It actually took almost 40 min for the gyro to come out. It was worth the wait, as far as gyros go. The lamb wasn't tough and was cooked perfectly. They didn't go overboard on tzatziki sauce, which many places tend to do so often.

If you are ever down that way, check Olives out. It is a nice break from the norm and they have free WiFi. The last picture is one I took from our cruise ship, the Disney Dream, as we pulled into Nassau.

Lasagna from ????

I took this picture of lasagna. I can't remember where I ate it. Pic is a couple months old, but it was probably delicious.















update: this is on a white plate and I have white plates at home. This MAY be from my house.

Shami Kabab in Duluth - Afghan Restaurant

I'm going to preface all this by saying I've never even considered Afghan food as an international style I have ever thought about, much less considered trying. So when I saw 'Shami Kabab - An Afghan Restaurant' pop up in a shopping center not far from my office I was intrigued to say the least.

So what is Afghan Food? Here's the wikipedia entry on afghan cuisine. It didn't really whet my appetite or anything. At the mention of naan I thought it was going to be like Indian food, and I love Indian, so I was willing to give it a shot.What I should have paid more attention to was that the shami kabab is an actual dish. It's a kebab that's made from minced mutton, beef or chicken and spices. AKA meat stick. AKA awesome.

Side was some awesome eggplant and rice. Shami beef kabab is where it's at though. Hit this place up if you're in the Duluth/Gwinnett Arena area and looking for something different.

Heart attack goodness on a plate...

I had this for lunch Friday afternoon from Max's Ricas in Lawrenceville. It is a Colombian restaurant with traditional Colombian fare.

The plate is a Bandeja Paisa, a very traditional large meal found throughout Colombia. While there are many regional variations, the true Bandeja Paisa was started in the paisa regions of Colombia, which traditionally encompasses the state of Antioquia (city of Medellin) and Valle de Cacua (city of Cali).

This particular bandeja was a regional variation. It had red beans (cooked with pork), rice, Chicharrón (fried pork rinds), Colombian chorizo, carne asada (marinated/grilled thin flank steak), fried plaintain (oh, so sweet and good!), an arepa (think of an unleavened biscuit), a nice big slice of avocado, all topped with a fried egg.

I washed it down with jugo de lulo (Lulo Juice). Lulo is a tropical fruit that I have never been able to find here because the restaurants buy them up so quickly. It is also known as a naranjilla in some areas. It has a sweet taste with a slightly tart aftertaste, and is very refreshing.

Bandeja Paisa has been featured on No Reservations with Anthony Bourdain recently. IF you get the opportunity, I would highly encourage you to try one. Max's Ricas in Lawrenceville and La Casona in Doraville are two very good, authentic Colombian restaurants. Also try the sancocho, which is available on the weekends. I will review sancocho next week.

Bucket of Oysters at Bonna Bella Yacht Club

Final Four Chicken Nachos

This was about as simple as it gets to make but it tasted like I slaved away all day on this dish. I diced up a couple organic chicken breasts and cooked them off with some green peppers, garlic, and taco seasoning. While that was going on I heated up a can of refried beans and brought the cement mixture to temperature. I then spread out a layer of Tostitos onto a cookie sheet and then topped them with cheese, the chicken mixture, and the refried beans. I then covered everything in more cheese and some fresh jalapenos. Bake until all the cheese has melted and the chips get super crispy. Finish with a little sour cream and some salsa and this dish is ready to be eaten.

The Best Cereal Ever is Back!

One of my all-time favorite breakfast cereals is Cap'n Crunch's Crunch Berries.  It was only though for the Crunch Berries themselves.  I would always pick out all the Crunch Berries and leave the Cap'n Crunch in the box.  Back in the mid 90's Quaker got the brilliant idea that there were more people like me out there and created Oops All Berries cereal.  This was exactly what I wanted, but it was for a limited time only.  Every now and then it would pop back up, but hasn't in many years.

Until now...

Yesterday I noticed that Publix was selling the most awesome of cereals once again.  Oh happy days!  Go enjoy yourself a bowl of this delicious treat with milk or eat it by itself as a snack while you are watching the games on tv.  Either way Oops All Berries is a winning choice.