Mrs. Burgerdogboy taught me to appreciate soup more than I had in this lifetime.   She made some pretty good ones, but turned out, I am better at it than her.  She’s happy with a bowl of ramen or a can of Progresso, adorned with a couple of tablespoons of Tabasco;  I go more for complicated flavor layers made from scratch.

Today’s brilliant concoction was a cream soup made from celery root and other vegetables.

Ingredients:

• 1 Celery root, peeled and diced
• 2 C celery stalk, washed and diced
• 1/2  Leek, diced
• 3 cloves garlic, diced
• (Optional)  ham bone for smokey flavor
• 2 T butter
• 1/4 C white wine
• 1 qt chicken stock
• 8 oz cream or half/half
• Salt / pepper to taste
• Celery leaves for garnish

Method:

Place the vegetables (and optional pig part, I used a piece of hog neck)  in a large pot with the butter and wine, simmer until soft, approximately two hours.  Remove the vegetables from the pan and puree in a blender or food processor in batches, and return to pot, adding chicken stock and simmering for another thirty minutes.

Minutes before serving, turn down the heat, and  lightly stir in the cream. Season to taste. Serve in deep bowls with celery leaves for garnish.

Makes 8 large servings.

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Nice to pop into one of these recently in suburban Chicago.  I had no idea the company had sprouted so many locations in the past few years.

I first became acquainted with the chain in New Orleans, Mrs. Burgerdogboy and I were having kind of a funky / downlow Thanksgiving, and we wandered into the store and bought literally ‘handful-sized’ portions of things that interested us from the deli counters.   It was a ‘tapas’ Thanksgiving as it were, and it’s a great memory.

I like Fresh Market better than Whole Foods, as it is small and easier to navigate.  If I want gourmet offerings in a grand venue, my favorite is Central Market, with a half-dozen locations in Texas, and is part of the HEB chain.

In Minnesota, it’s Byerly’s.   Here in Portland, we have several great local chains, like Zupan’s, and New Seasons.

I used to work with a lot of people from overseas, and they’d come over for business meetings, and always wanted to visit a grocery, amazed at the choices.  Of course, there are hypermarkets everywhere today – I was at the grand opening of the first Sam’s Club in China years ago.  I love these upscale markets, even though they are spendy. I’d rather have a few quality items from a store like this, than a basket full of groceries from a discount mart.

That’s a good memory – that Thanksgiving with Mrs Burgerdogboy.  I hope we’ll get to share another one someday.

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We used to drive down US 53 out of Superior Wisconsin, for winter family ski trips to Telemark, or some jaunts to various Wisconsin lakes.   At the time, Minong, about 30 miles south, was a one horse town with a car dealer, grocery, and gas station, and a small butcher shop and cattle pen called “Link Brothers”.

Today Jack Link, still headquartered in Minong, is undisputeably the world champion for jerky and related snacks.  I’ve traveled all over the world and seldom see a place where Jack Link’s products are missing from the shelf.

I like ‘em.

So imagine my delight when I saw the billboard for the “factory outlet store”, which can be found inside the town’s only grocery.   You’ll be in jerky and beefstick heaven, and save a bundle to boot.  Too bad Mrs. Burgerdogboy wasn’t along, except for she would have dropped a small fortune here and been in a jerky comma the rest of the trip!   She do love herself some jerky!

I scored these two, 2 pound bags of beef stick bits for $5.

If you don’t anticipate driving through Northern Wisconsin this year,  the store does ship, and here’s the dope on that.

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(By Roger Kethcart)

The Meat Lovers of Professional Golf
The Masters golf tournament is one of the biggest professional sporting events of the year drawing thousands of fans and golfers to Augusta National Golf course. And where there’s a crowd, there’s food. Held the Tuesday before the tournament, the Masters Champions Dinner is one of the oldest traditions of the tournament. The menu for the exclusive dinner (only past Masters champions are invited) is selected and paid for by the prior year’s champion. What’s on the menu? Meat, and lots of it. Take a look at some of the unique meats from the past twenty years of menus:

South African Lamb Barbecue
Charl Schwartzel, a native South African, chose a traditional barbecue of lamb chops, steaks, and sausages. The meat mix is also called a “braii” which is Afrikaans for “barbecue” or “grill.”
Blood Sausage

It’s as intimidating as it sounds. Blood sausage is made a variety of ways, but most commonly includes pig’s blood, pork fat, onions and breadcrumbs. It’s a deep red color with a strong taste. Angel Cabrera from Argentina selected this dish that also included grilled chorizo, short ribs beef filets and mollejas – thymus, or glands from a calf.

Minced Meat Pie

Who doesn’t love pie? A minced meat pie basically combines dinner and dessert into one course. Also called “Bobotie,” this is another South African dish selected by Trevor Immelman. The pie is made of a spiced minced meat baked with an egg based topping.

Elk and Wild Boar

True to his native Canada, Mike Weir served a carnivore heavy course including elk, wild boar, and Arctic char. Elk is hard to find, but a must try if you can find a restaurant that serves it. The taste is said to be a cross between beef and venison. Order it on a burger for an extra punch of flavor.

Cheeseburgers

Tiger Woods kept it plain back in 1997. He served cheeseburgers, French fries and milkshakes. Meat doesn’t get much more American than that.

Adam Scott won the Masters this year, and will host the Masters Champions dinner in 2014. What will he select? Hailing from Australia, all bets are on Shrimp on the Barbie.

(Roger is a life-long lover of meat and editor at Cable.tv.  His love of meat runs so deep that he was one of the founding members of Meatfest – a 24 hour celebration of all things cooked on a grill where participants, who were in high school at the time, only ate grilled meats for a full 24 hours.)

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I’d always meant to get to Caro Amico with Mrs. Burgerdogboy for a romantic dinner;   we thought it might be great because we had enjoyed their food via Delivered Dish (www.d-dish.com)  and its position, on a hillside overlooking the river, might have made for some dreamy views.

We never got there as a couple, but I was spot on about my feelings with regards to all the rest, as evidence by this report from a recent visit.

“We loved the place, liked the big windows, the view and fantastic atmosphere; the service was great, the waiter friendly.

We started with the Caesar with prawns, which was romaine lightly dressed with olive oil, rather than a typical Caesar dressing, and the prawns were warm with a hint of garlic flavor.  The entire salad was generously dusted with Parmesan and finely chopped croutons.

For our mains, he went with Chicken Parmesan, one of his favorite meals, which was a large plump breast, very juicy, served with a colorful array of sautéed veggies, and penne with marinara.    The breading on the chicken was light, not overbearing, and the breast may have been brined ahead of time for extra flavor.

Chicken Parmesan

She opted for the Canzano Calzone, stuffed with chicken, bacon, green peppers and pepperoncini.   The crust was thin and crisp, and the marinara was some of the finest she had ever consumed.  She would have liked a bowl of it all on its own, she said.

For dessert, we went with the dense and delicious cheesecake, topped with whipped crème and a raspberry sauce so yummy she wanted to lick the plate clean.

From now on, this will be their special ‘date spot’.  Often overlooked by locals, even though it was Portland’s first Italian restaurant, it continues to please on every level.”

Previous review.

Caesar with Shrimp

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There’s a phrase from an old song my pals and I bandy about on occasion “Do you know what it’s like to miss New Orleans?”   Well, I surely do.

The question I ask myself over and over again these days tho, is “Do I know what it’s like to miss my ex best foodie friend?”

The answer to that is I surely do, as well.

For the past eight years, I’ve had a best pal who has shared almost all of my food adventures, whether it’s been eating in a new restaurant, going to a YELP event,  shopping at obscure markets and discovering treasures, cooking meals together, cooking for each other, and on occasion, feeding each other.

My foodie partner tired of my somewhat pedantic approach to cuisine.   She wanted to sample more of life, try different things, and she thought that would have been in conflict with our partnership agreement, so she exited.

We weren’t Siskel and Ebert by any means, but we were tight for a long time.

I was sitting in the bathtub today, something I rarely do on my own,  thinking about her, tho I must confess barely an hour goes by that I don’t think of her.  We used to sit in the tub together sometimes, and once we even had a dinner of Thai noodles in a hotel bathtub.  That’s a picture I’ll never forget.

So now I am wandering the highways and byways of the planet on my own, and she is out drinking in as much life as she can, as fast as she can.   I’m winding down, while she’s winding up.  I understand that.

But it doesn’t mean there isn’t a void in my life.

It only appears to the outside world our link is broken.  In my heart, it’s like an old Chinese saying I once told her, she’s the kite, I’m the string, and even though she may soar above the clouds, and I can’t see her, we will always be connected.

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It’s one of those places where most “reviewers” are not going to be able to find fault;  nor will your average customer who walks in off the street.

Affable hosts, prompt service, delicious food, artfully presented, and a fair price.  That’s the story at Kabul House on Oakton Street in Skokie.

A soothing atmosphere with linen tablecloths and napkins is the perfect setting to sample a wide variety of the cuisine of Afghanistan.

The restaurant has been around for quite some time, but has been in various locations around the North Shore;  the Skokie location is the newest and nicest.

They bill themselves as “Chicago’s only authentic Afghani restaurant”.   I have no way of knowing if that is true or not, of course, but I do know the food is spot on to other Afghan dining experiences I have had outside of the US.

We opened the experience with hot cardamom tea all around, which was both delicious and palate cleansing;  on to lentil soup, with was hot, thick, with just a hint of spice.

For appetizers, we shared the “Mantoo”, steamed dumplings stuffed with seasoned ground beef and plated very attractively with a tomato based sauce and yogurt, and split the vegetarian platter entrée as another starter, a plate of sautéed spinach , eggplant, cauliflower, and pumpkin.   If you’re a regular reader, you know how much I enjoy dumplings in any form, and the same goes for cooked spinach.

For my entrée,  I opted for the Koubideh,  seasoned ground beef skewers or kabobs (yes, I seek out hamburgers  in any shape!) , with grilled vegetables.  All entrees come with a choice of three styles of rice, a seasoned version, plain white, or dill.  I went with the dill, enjoyed it very much.   The other diners in the party enjoyed the shrimp kabobs, and the chicken kabob entrees.

I generally pass on dessert, but my companions raved about the rosewater and cardamom ice cream, made in-house.

Tea, two appetizers, three entrees, two desserts, two coffee, less than fifty bucks.

I generally don’t look at other reviews on line, but I was curious about how Kabul House fared, because my experience was so divine;  I wasn’t surprised that the majority of reviews I saw paralleled my own experience.

This family deserves your business, and all the success that life in the free world promises.  I’m happy to have had the experience of dining here.

Lentil Soup

Steamed beef filled dumplings

Ground beef skewers

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Swinging thru the South, seemed like a good time to do a “compare and contrast” on chicken strips, or fingers, tenders, or whatever you call them.  I would have preferred doing a compare and contrast on bacon strips, but that would make Mrs. BDB unhappy, unless she was co-judging.  Next trip.

She’s not a chicken strip gal, though; she says a true gourmand/gourmet would only eat the dark meat of poultry, so I’m just some trashy white meat eater with chicken and turkey.   But that’s why we’re together and so compatible, together we can polish off a bird with no leftovers, except enough for her to crank out her fantastic home-made soups!

I think I’ve covered the tender spectrum, pretty much, KFC, Popeye’s,  Zaxby’s,  Chester Fried, Bojangles.  I didn’t go to Chick Filet because it was a Sunday when I passed one, and they aren’t open on Sundays.   I didn’t get to a local favorite in New Orleans “WOW” (World of Wings) because of timing.

So here’s the rundown.

Although I recently crowed about liking Bojangle’s breakfast, I didn’t think their chicken was on a par.  The strips were small(ish) and with no distinguishable seasoning.  They come with a little pot of Honey Mustard sauce, and a biscuit.  My recollection is it was north of $5 for the 4 strip box, and most chains the price is about the same.

I mentioned World of Wings (Wow Café) .  This was a start-up from New Orleans, I first went when there was one location, and now they are spreading across the country, but not as fast as another Louisiana start-up, Raising Cane’s, which is rubbing up against national penetration.  What I liked about WOW was you could have your wings/tenders TOSSED in a selection of sauces, as well as get a wide variety of dipping sauces.  Not sure if they still do it that way, but I liked mixing up my order, with half on the buffalo side, half with some variation of Thai Peanut.

Then of course, there is Popeye’s, another Louisiana creation, and really the only nationwide contender to KFC.   It’s our go-to chicken place most often, I’d say, as both me and Mrs. Burgerdogboy like their chicken, the spices, and she especially digs the red beans and rice side dish.  Superb.  I like their LTO’s, too, from time to time you can get a piece of catfish or some special shrimp prep.  If you don’t know about the genius that started Popeye’s, Al Copeland, you should look up his story sometime.  Smart dude.  Dead.

Zaxby’s was started in Statesboro, Georgia, and today has over 500 locations.  It’s a chicken finger centric menu, but with a more inviting dine in atmosphere, a variety of sauces, and a fairly large offering of sides and extras.   Deal clincher for me?  A piece of Texas toast in every pack.  The chicken is good, the fries are crinkled, and the Zak sauce is some pink mayo slightly spicy thing.   One day, someone will invent a truly “secret sauce.”  I’d be a regular if there was one nearby.

Zaxby’s menu is online.

Chester Fried, or as I call it, “gas station food”, but in the deep south, they often refer to these counters as “fry delis”, and they offer breakfast sandwiches, chicken, fish pieces, sometimes shrimp, sometimes BBQ.   It’s often cooked on site, independently, or connected to a marketing affiliation agreement with a company like Chester Fried.    What I like about these places is you can order by the piece, and I was in the mood for 2 strips, and one honking big piece of catfish.  And that’s what I got, for less than $4.  No fancy sauces or preparations here, it’s down and dirty food on the run.  And damned good.  Previous story on chick/Chester Fried.

KFC?  Consistent with the chicken, but the rest of the menu seems to vary regionally.  I do like the outlets that have a buffet, but that seems to be a phenom of KFC in the Deep South, only.

Verdict?   I’ll remain a loyal customer of Popeye’s but wait eagerly for times I can get back to Zaxby’s. (Unless Mrs. BDB is cookin’).

Bojangle’s Chicken Strips

Chester Fried

KFC Strips

Zaxby’s Chicken Strips

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Couple weeks ago, I wrote a piece about being done with McDonald’s because of my continuing disappointment with their food.  Sometimes they get you whether you want them to or not, in being the only place open, the only place around, the only place with unlocked bathrooms (or free wifi).

My kid and I were joking about Fish McBites, and I said I wasn’t brave enough to try them, but we did.  They come in three sizes, accompanied by a small ramekin of tartar sauce, not sure if this is a limited time offer or not, possibly, some Lenten tie-in.

They aren’t “bad” per se, they have a stronger fish taste (to me) than the McFishawicheroo, and the tartar appears the same as the sandwich.  My particular order (and this was out in the middle of nowhere…no idea what state even, Missouri, Arkansas…..weren’t quite ‘done’ I suspect.  Al dente Fish bites.

Interesting to me, as it was the same week Wendy’s asked me to try their new Premium North Pacific Cod sandwich, and I pronounced that the best fish offering in fast food.  Why don’t you try both and let us know what you think?  The Wendy’s deal is an LTO.

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North Carolina sez they invented barbecue, and who am I to argue? Leave that for Texans, Memphisites, Kansas City folks. The state is dotted with barbecue joints of all manners and sizes, ages and menus, but you’ll find a concentration of 20+ outlets around Lexington, KY, and that’s where I started my tour.

The “Lexington Barbecue” is supposed to be da bomb place, and the old timey one, but I arrived in town early in the AM, and Barbecue Center, another old was open early. I popped in expecting only to find a breakfast menu, but I suppose die-hard ‘cue folks eat it whenever it’s available, so the full menu was available.

Dilemma. Breakfast? Country ham biscuit with sausage gravy, oh my? Or go right for the ‘cue.

Answer. Both. Ate the country ham on the spot, got the sandwich to go. Both excellent. If you’re a ‘cue hound, head to North Carolina. I’ve been to the BBQ capital of Texas, Lockhart, and Lexington beats it by miles.

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