Marga's Food Blog

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Tim’s Backyard BBQ – Medford, OR – Restaurant Review

December 10, 2011 / / 0 Comments

We went to Tim’s Backyard BBQ for dinner on the Wednesday before Thanksgiving.  We had seen the restaurant as we drove to our hotel, and Mike is pretty much always in the mood for BBQ.   While we liked the down home vibe of Tim’s – it’s larger and not as divish as our favorite BBQ places back home, but still very modest -, the food was somewhat disappointing.

We ordered a lot of food, and we got a lot of food.  The food was somewhat expensive, but you did get quite a lot of it.  Unfortunately, it all tasted absolutely the same.  That’s because all items came drenched in BBQ sauce, and you could taste little of the meat itself.  The BBQ sauce (no choice as to spiciness) was nice enough, but I prefer to taste my meat as well.

Of the stuff we had, the ribs were by far the best.  They were fall of the bone tender, though we would have preferred a more smokey flavor.  The pulled pork and the brisket were almost identical, both were shredded and dry (perhaps that’s why they were drenched).   The links were perhaps the most disappointing.   Links are generally Mike’s favorite, but at Tim’s they tasted/felt like store bought sausages with sauce on them.

On the plus side, the onion rings were good.  Then again, I’m pretty sure most restaurants buy the onion rings pre-made and just dump them into the deep frier.

In all, if we were in the mood for BBQ in Medford, we’d probably head somewhere else.

Tim’s Backyard BBQ
1605 West Main Street
Medford, OR
(541) 499-0707
http://timsbackyardbbq.com/

Marga’s Restaurant Reviews – Outside the Bay Area

Bellafoglia and California Pizza Kitchen Frozen Pizzas – yuuum

December 8, 2011 / / 1 Comment

Tuesdays are a hard dinner day for me.  The kids have classes until late, so we don’t get home until 5:30, and then Mike has to go and rush to make it to his School Board meetings.  While I love cooking, I don’t like cooking when I’m rushed and I don’t particularly want to cook just for the kids and I (if I make what they want, I won’t be happy, if I make what I want, they won’t be).  So often times, if we have no leftovers, we rely on take out or frozen food.  Last night was one of those nights, so I headed to Grocery Outlet for some frozen pizza.

Generally, Grocery Outlet has tons of choices, but this time they were more limited.  The kids only like cheese pizza, so I went for this California Pizza Kitchen version.  I’d had the CPK frozen pizzas before, and I’d liked them.  Well, so did the kids.  While they still prefer take out pizza, they were perfectly happy to eat this one.  We got the version that comes with the flat bread appetizer, and the kids pronounced the bread the “best bread ever”.  It’s pretty good, and it tasted garlicky to me, but I didn’t tell them that :-).  I didn’t try the spinach artichoke dip as that’s not my thing.  This pizza was available at GO for $4. It’s think crust, so it pretty much only fed my two hungry kids.

For me, I got a Bellafoglia pizza with a bunch of toppings ($4).  I’d never heard of the brand, but I’m glad I gave it a try.  This was by far the best frozen pizza I’ve ever had.  The cornmeal crust had a lot to do with it, it was just crunchy enough, just salty enough and just very good.  The cheese and toppings were good quality and were well balanced.  I did some research when I came home, and found out that Bellafoglia is a product of Hayward’s Pacific Cheese Co. a cheese supplier.  Sizewise, this pizza may be enough for two adults, but probably if they eat a salad or something else as well.  I ate half of one, and was hungry later in the evening.

In all, I think I’ll keep a few of these pizzas in my freezer for nights just like last’s.

 

Jaspers Café – Medford, Oregon – Review

December 4, 2011 / / 2 Comments

Picture "borrowed" from City-data.com

We stopped by Jaspers Café in Medford in our way back to California.  I had researched Medford restaurants before we left and Jaspers got very good reviews – plus I’m always in the mood for a burger.

Jaspers offers the most extensive selection of burgers I have ever seen in my life, a couple of dozen at least.  They also have tons of different hot dog combinations and sandwiches.  In addition to offering different topics and combos on the burgers, from your regular patty & cheese to those covered with mole sauce and pot stickers, Jaspers offers several burgers made with more exotic meats.  These include relatively common choices as Buffalo and Kobe Beef, but also elk, antelope and venison.  Of course Mike and I had to try those burgers, which definitely was a mistake.

I had the “Widowmaker” burger ($8.20), which came with a 1/3 lb Himalayan antelope patty, covered with bacon, cheddar cheese and a peanut butter chipotle BBQ sauce.  It definitely sounded interesting to me, but it was a total miss.  I’ve eaten all sorts of wild meats in my day (and this reminds me I want to post a list of them) and have generally liked them, but Himalayan antelope had an off, gamy taste which I didn’t like.  The closest thing I can compare it too is Indian goat meat (which I also dislike).  As if that wasn’t enough of an issue, the meat was incredibly dry.  I really don’t think I’ve had a drier burger.  Perhaps fortunately I couldn’t really taste the meat or the other ingredients unless I made a special effort (and I did, because I wanted to see what antelope tasted like) because the flavor of the sauce was overwhelming.  Really, that’s the only thing I could taste.  It wasn’t bad, the BBQ sauce is pretty tasty, but it made the whole burger one-note.  Needless to say I would never order this again.

Mike had almost as bad luck with the burger he ordered.  His was elk and also suffered from dryness and an overwhelming sauce, though at least the elk meat itself was tasty.

Both kids had plain cheeseburgers.  Camila liked it well enough, but Mika considered it the worst burger she had ever had in her life and didn’t eat much of it.  It definitely tasted differently than other burgers,  the taste of the meat might have been gamier.  I thought it was OK, though it needed seasoning but Mike thought it was quite good – then again, he likes his food undersalted.  We ordered fries and onion rings, both very tasty.

Another problem with Jaspers is that it’s a tiny place.  I don’t think more than a dozen people can be seated inside (they also have outside tables).  We stopped there around 3 PM the Sunday after Thanksgiving and the place was packed.  It was pretty cold waiting outside, but fortunately we managed to grab a table before our burgers came.

In all, I’m glad I tried the burgers but I would definitely not eat them again.  I’m curious enough to go back and try one of their whacky combinations with a beef patty, but given that Mika didn’t like them I probably won’t.

Jaspers Café
2739 N Pacific Hwy
Medford, OR
541-776-5307
http://jasperscafe.com/
M-Th 10:30am til 7pm
F-Sa 10:30am til 8pm
Sun 11am til 6pm

Marga’s Restaurant Reviews – Outside the Bay Area

Marga’s Road Restaurant Reviews

Ropa Vieja recipe

November 14, 2011 / / 0 Comments

Ropa Vieja, a very simple dish of beef in a tomato wine sauce, is one of my all time favorite dishes.  Indeed, it’s a favorite of several members of my family, my sister asks me to make it every time she visits.  I don’t quite understand how so few ingredients – the only seasoning on this dish is salt and bay leaves – can have such an amazing result, but it does.  Fortunately for me, ropa vieja was one of the first dishes I discovered when I first started cooking, so I’ve been able to enjoy it for almost two decades.  I used to serve it over white rice, but I actually prefer it with sourdough bread, though French bread is good too.  The one problem this dish has is that it’s really hard to avoid eating the meat as you shred it.

Ropa Vieja

Ingredients

  • 3lb to 4lb chuck roast
  • salt
  • oil
  • 2 onions, chopped
  • 2 garlic cloves, minced
  • 1 green bell pepper, chopped
  • 1 15oz can tomato sauce
  • 1 cup red wine
  • 2 bay leaves

Instructions

Sprinkle salt on all sides of the roast.  Heat a very thin layer of oil in a large pot over medium-high heat.  Add the roast and brown on all sides.  Add one cup of water, turn down the heat to low and simmer, covered, for 2 to 3 hours or until cooked through.  Turn off the heat and let cool down in the broth, covered.

Once the beef is cool enough to handle, shred the whole roast by hand, discarding hard pieces of fat.  Mix the broth from the pot with the beef and set aside.

Wipe clean the pot you used and add another thin layer of oil.  Heat over medium heat and then add the onions.  Cook until soft, add the garlic and cook for a couple of minutes.  Add the bell pepper and cook for five more minutes.  Mix in the beef, tomato sauce, red wine and bay leaves.  Season with salt to taste.  Bring to a boil, then turn down heat and simmer, covered, for 30 minutes.

Marga’s Favorite Recipes

Marga’s Cuban Recipes

Beware of Honey!

November 11, 2011 / / 0 Comments

Honey.  Who doesn’t like honey? From Winnie the Pooh to  “natural foods” fans, honey has many fans.  But a new study shows that what you are getting labeled as “honey” at the supermarket may not honey at all.  Indeed, more than three fourth of all the honey sold at supermarkets and big box stores and all the honey sold at drugstores does not qualify as “honey’ under international standards.

For honey to be considered honey, it needs to have pollen in it.  The pollen allows experts to identify where the honey came from, everything from the region of the world it was harvested to the flowers the bees fed from.  But most of the honey in the market has had its pollen removed, through a process called “ultra filtration”.  The main reason for ultra filtering honey seems to be to hide its origin.  China is a huge producer of honey, but Chinese honey is kept out of the US market.  To get around that, Chinese companies sell their honey to American distributors through representatives in other countries.  By removing the pollen, they make sure the honey cannot be traced back to them.

The problem with Chinese honey is that some of it is adulterated with animal antibiotics (which can be harmful to some people), heavy metals and even other “extenders” such as corn syrup and  other sweeteners.  You think you are paying for honey – and honey is not cheap – and you are getting other stuff instead.

There is a way around this, however.  The honey sold at farmers markets, co-ops and, more importantly for me, Trader Joe’s is all honey full of pollen.  I know where I’ll be buying my honey from now on!

Strawberry Ice cream

August 17, 2008 / / 0 Comments

Yesterday I made some strawberry ice cream from the Ben and Jerry’s ice cream book, and it was amazingly delicious. I’m not really a fan of strawberry ice cream, but this one was out of this world. I’m sure part of the reason was that I used fresh strawberries bought that same day at the farmers’ market. Definitely use fresh strawberries if you can.
Strawberry Ice Cream

  • 1 pint fresh strawberries, hulled & sliced
  • 1/3 cup sugar
  • juice of 1/2 lemon
  • 2 large eggs
  • 3/4 cup sugar
  • 2 cups whipping cream
  • 1 cup milk
    Instructions
    In a small bowl, mix the strawberries with the sugar and lemon juice. Cover and refrigerate for one hour.
    Mash the strawberries to a puree and set aside.
    In a medium-size bowl whisk the eggs until light and fluffy. Whisk in the sugar, a little at the time, until fully blended. Add the cream and milk and whisk to blend.
    Stir the strawberries into the cream.
    Transfer the mixture to an ice cream maker and freeze according to manufacturer’s instructions.
    Enjoy!

2006 Cline Zinfandel

August 16, 2008 / / 0 Comments

clinezinf.jpgDuring our trip to the wine country last month, we visited Cline Cellars, where we tried some very interesting wine. We generally liked them, so when I saw their 2006 Zinfandel at TJ’s (a wine we hadn’t tried), I figured it was worth $8 (or so). I think it is.
I like the wine. It’s not my favorite, but it’s nice. It’s full bodied and dry, with fruity undertones. There is some acidity and some bitterness, perhaps a bit too much of the latter for my taste. But all in all, a good wine for the price.

Dulseda Dulce de Leche liqueur

August 16, 2008 / / 0 Comments

dulseda.jpgEvery time I go to Argentina, I bring back a bottle of dulce de leche liqueur. I’m not big liqueur person, but dulce de leche liqueur is amazingly delicious.
Today I saw a couple of bottles of Dulseda Dulce de Leche liqueur in the bargain bin at Safeway – for $12 a bottle – and given that my last bottle has been finished several months, I decided to buy it. It turned out that $12 was a bargain, bottles of dulseda start at $20 online. It also turned out to be delicious. It’s made with rum, rather than whole alcohol, which makes it smooth and creamy, without a sharp alcoholic bent. I really enjoyed it and, if it wasn’t for the fact that it’s only early afternoon, I’d have drank a whole glass. We need to return to Safeway, and I hope the other bottle is still there, so we can snatch it.

2005 Coppola Diamond Collection Merlot

August 15, 2008 / / 0 Comments

copmerlot2.jpgWe had this wine last night at Rick & Anne’s restaurant in Berkeley. It was modestly priced at $28, and we all loved it – even I, who does not in general like Merlots. This one in particular had a full body, was quite fruity without being sweet, and it was very well balanced – a hearty wine. There was little acidity and no tannins I could discern. I checked and it’s about $16-19 online. Apparently the Safeway close to my house has the 2003 on sale for $15 – so, even though I promised never to buy wine at Safeway again, I may pick up a bottle next time I go there.

Pho Anh-Ha Restaurant – San Leandro

August 13, 2008 / / 2 Comments

I’ve been waiting for Pho An-Ha, the new restaurant at the corner of East 14th & Estabrook to open for several months now. All the restaurants in the immediate vicinity of my house are of questionable quality, and I don’t always want to cook. I figured, if Pho An-Ha is any good, I’ll patronize it often.
I was in such hurry to try it, that I took the girls there for dinner last Friday night – opening day. The place was very busy, almost all tables were taken, and yet the service was responsive and attentive – though do bear in mind some of the wait staff has limited English. Still, it seemed like the whole Vietnamese community in San Leandro had come over for dinner, and they handled it very well.
I was a little bit disappointed with the menu. It’s pretty heavy on pho and other noodle soup dishes ($5.75-$6.75), and I am just not one for soups. In addition they serve grilled pork, chicken and/or shrimp over rice (most $6.25-$8) or vermicelli ($6.75-$7.50). There is the possibility of getting beef stew over rice ($6.25), but that’s about it: soup and grilled meats. In other words, not much in the way of variety.
I ordered the grilled pork with vermicelli for Mika and had the Pork chop with rice. I also ordered the grilled chicken appetizer ($6) to share. My conclusion was that the meats were quite good, but the portions were on the small side. The grilled chicken, in particular, consisted of 3 tiny skewers of marinated chicken that would not compare favorably (in size) to the sate you get at Thai restaurants. Still, they were almost as expensive as an entree, but they were served plain (though along with your typical vinegary sauce). In comparison, you can get a much larger portion, served with veggies, for a couple of dollars more at Le Soleil, our favorite Vietnamese bistro.
The same can be said about the two main dishes we ordered. The meats were very flavorful and very nicely grilled, but the portions of actual meat were quite small – not a good deal in comparison to Le Soleil.
I should note, however, that each diner gets a free soda (not necessarily a good thing when you are having lunch with little kids – they don’t offer juice or even lemonade as an alternative). They do have strawberry milkshakes, however. The one we had that night – before Mika spilled it all over the table, the floor and herself – was delicious, almost as good as those at Vo’s. But when we went a couple of days later just to get a couple of shakes, someone else was making them and they weren’t that good. Camila didn’t even drink hers (which really, given how caloric these things are, wasn’t a bad thing).
The restaurant itself is devoid of ambiance. The place used to be a video store, and later a hip-hop clothing store, and it hasn’t changed much. There are a couple of large screen TVs mounted on the sides, though thankfully the sound was turned off while we were there.
Service, on the other hand, was fantastic. After Mika spilled the shake on herself, we hurried home to change her, promising to come back later (we live a hundred feet away). We did, and I guess they hadn’t believed our promise, for they had cleared our table and stopped our orders. They were so apologetic for that, however, that they hurried our orders, gave us more free soda and discounted our meals – and they didn’t even include the shake we’d wasted on the bill. So yeah, I feel a little bit bad writing that the place is not necessarily a good value.
In all, I liked the food at Pho Anh-Ha and given the proximity to my house, I imagine I’ll eat there often – but it won’t replace Le Soleil as my favorite Vietnamese restaurant.
Pho Anh-Ha
2089 E 14th St Unit A1
San Leandro, CA
510-357-6888
M-Su, 10 AM – 9 PM
San Leandro Restaurant Reviews
Bay Area Restaurant Reviews

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