Heights Eats

I recently made Mark Bittman’s Braised Tofu in a Caramel Sauce and served it over Isa Chandra Moskowitz’s Vegan with a Vengeance Coconut Rice:

Although this dish is vegan, it definitely tastes decadent. Fried tofu in a rich sauce is very flavorful and substantial. Sarah didn’t even like tofu until she’d had it fried (which is the most traditional preparation anyway). We liked this so much we made it two weeks in a row.

The tofu preparation is basically Darlene Schmidt’s Thai recipe, while the dish itself is from Mark Bittman’s How to Cook Everything Vegetarian.

Braised Tofu in a Caramel Sauce

1 1/2 –2 lbs tofu
1/4 cup corn starch
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup sesame seeds
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. sugar (optional)
1 cup oil for frying

1 cup sugar

6 limes
1 clove garlic, minced
2 TB. soy sauce or tamari
1/2 cup + 2 TB. water, preferably warm
1 Tb brown sugar

1/2 cup peeled and … continue reading

We found out this morning that Feeding Maybelle has tagged us with the “E” for excellence badge. We are honored that you thought of us, and placed our badge on the bar to the right. Thank you!… continue reading

Ben and I had lunch at Bangkok Thai Cuisine based on the recent glowing review from Nancy Heller’s Fun Playing With Food. We had been to their previous location on Green Road a year or two ago. In contrast the new space is much more stylish. The old space was white and pretty generic looking with only 2–4 tables, but the new space appears to have around 15 tables and has nice décor. I thought it was a little dark for lunch time, but they had nice tapestries and wooden carved figures that helped set the mood.

I ordered the lemon iced tea based on Nancy’s recommendation (and photo), and Ben got a tamarind juice. Both were sweet but with an added exotic flavor that you don’t find often. I also ordered the masaman curry with tofu (pictured above), and Ben ordered the green curry noodles. I asked for “medium” spicyness, while Ben being more adventurous chose … continue reading

While taking the St. Charles street car in New Orleans to the zoo we passed by VooDoo BBQ, which we had visited on a previous trip. We ended up getting back to the hotel later than expected, and I had some homework I needed to catch up on — so Ben suggested picking up take out from VooDoo, as we remember it being quite good on our last visit.

Ben and I each ordered the graveyard platter, where you can pick 2 of 4 meat selections and 2 sides. I chose the smoked sausage and jerk chicken, and baked beans and potato salad for my sides (pictured above). The smoked sausage was not unlike kielbasa back in Cleveland, but had a much richer smoke flavor and sort of reminded me of kielbasa from the west side market. The jerk chicken was not too hot-spicy but it was very flavorful. My favorite was actually the beans — the sauce was … continue reading

(Photo by: Old Shoe Woman)

Our recent visit to New Orleans included a visit to Gordon Biersch Brewery Restaurant, a national chain with only a small number of locations.

We started our meal with the shrimp and chicken potstickers. They came with a gingery, tangy Asian barbecue sauce that is featured in other parts of the menu as well.

I ordered the beer sampler and was quite happy with most of the beers. While fairly conventional, the Golden Export Lager had an outstanding balance of sweetness and hoppiness and was very drinkable. The Hefeweizen ranked among the best I’ve had (Franziskaner and Paulaner), while the Schwarzbier (Black Lager) was a style that should be brewed more often. The Marzen and Seasonal Red Ale were a bit sweet for my taste, without much counterbalancing hop flavor.

For entrees, Sarah ordered the Chicken Caesar Salad while I ordered the Spinach Salad with goat cheese and Grilled Salmon. My … continue reading

Mother’s is one of the most well-known restaurants in New Orleans, particularly for their Po’ Boys. Sarah and I visited there on our honeymoon, and we definitely had to return on this trip.

Sarah ordered the Ferdi Special (pictured below), a po’ boy with baked ham, roast beef, debris and gravy. Debris is Mother’s term for roast beef scraps that fall off the meat during cooking. It’s juicy and very definitely “melt in your mouth” tender. The creole mustard on the sandwich really pulled everything together. Sarah loved it, and she doesn’t even like ham much.

(Photo: riacle)

I ordered the Shrimp Creole. The peppers, tomatoes and onions in the sauce tasted liked they had been slow-cooked for hours. I added a few dashes of Tabasco, which really brought out the flavors of the dish.

Mother’s even has a kid’s menu. We made the mistake of letting Jonathan choose his own meal, though, and his interest … continue reading

On a recent trip to New Orleans, Ben, J and I had the opportunity to stop by the Central Grocery, the originator of the muffaletta sandwich (pictured below). The sandwich itself is roughly the diameter of a basketball with layers of meat (including salami, ham and mortadella), swiss cheese and an amazing olive relish that includes a lot of veggies. It is quite filling and extremely tasty. We both agreed that the olive relish is really what makes the sandwich so unique and wonderful. We have tried some sandwiches by the same name in Cleveland and have even bought some olive relish claiming to be muffaletta sandwich spread, but we have never tasted anything that came close to the sandwich from the Central Grocery.

We also had to stop by Café du Monde on our way back to our hotel. We ordered beignets (pictured above) and a frozen café au lait. The beignets were crunchy … continue reading

Monthly Archives: April 2008

Braised Tofu in a Caramel Sauce w/ Coconut Rice

Good news!

Bangkok Thai Cuisine

VooDoo BBQ & Grill

Gordon Biersch Restaurant

Mother’s

New Orleans Muffaletta and Beignets