I got a package of DEEP brand HomeStyle Masala Paratha at Santos Spice Products in San Leandro yesterday. I’m quite pleased with it. The parathas are pretty flaky and don’t taste frozen, plus they are very quick to make (just heat for 2 minutes on each side). They are a bit spicy, but not overly so, and nicely seasoned. They are nowhere as good as the parathas available at some restaurants, but I think they’re pretty good for a frozen product.
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–Cocina Poblana in Jack London Sq. showed me once and for all that I don’t like moles.
–Messob, an Ethiopian restaurant on Piedmont Ave. was OK, not worth a second visit.
– Misty’s Grille / Character’s Lounge: The restaurant at the Red Lion hotel in Medford, Oregon. We went there because we were staying at the hotel (the cheapest place to stay in Medford, bid $50 in priceline) and we were too tired to go anywhere else. It sucked.
–Applebees in Salmon Creek, Washington, is among the worst restaurants I’ve ever been in my life. It was definitely the worst burger I’ve eaten in many years.
–Black Angus in San Lorenzo provided me with a decent steak and a disappointing dessert – and a long wait for the kids’ mac&cheese.
More soon.
I first went to Elmer’s in 2007 when we went to visit my in-laws in Washington state. We liked it, so we stopped there last November when we went to visit them again. What follows are my updated reviews. You can find the original review here.
Elmer’s has become our favorite family restaurant chain while in the Pacific Northwest and we went there twice during our latest trip to visit my in-laws (November 2009). Here are my reviews:
Elmer’s – Springfield – 11/09
The kids had their usual chocolate-chip pancakes ($4 for 4 small
pancakes). This time we had them share one portion and they barely
finished even that. We also knew better than to order two full
breakfast entrees (they are quite big) so instead we ordered the
Hazelnut pancake combo ($9.50, comes with your choice of meat and eggs)
and a side of potato pancake ($3.30), this was enough for Mike and I to
be satisfied but not stuffed. The potato pancake was once again good,
though it needed a bit more seasoning. The bacon was great but I was
somewhat disappointed with the pancakes. I was hoping that they were
stuffed with ricotta, but either the cheese was completely absorbed into
the batter or the batter was made with it, as there was no ricotta to
taste. Without the cheese, the pancakes were rather dry; they were
nice in those bites that had hazelnuts in it, but too plain in the
others. I would not order them again.
Service was good, the restaurant was nice and clean and I’d stop there
again just order something different.
Elmer’s Restaurant
3350 Gateway St
Springfield, OR
(541) 726-1261
Elmer’s Grant Pass – 11/09
We stopped here for lunch and, once again, we had a pleasant experience. I was unhappy to find out that in Oregon it’s against the law to serve burgers cooked less than well-done. Well done burgers are dry and tasteless, so I opted not to have one that day. Instead I went for the NW Cheese Steak Sandwich ($10), which I had with the optional onion rings ($1 extra). It was a good choice. The pot-roast sandwich was very good, the pot roast actually had a grilled flavor to it (probably the peppers) and the cheese was neither skimpy nor overwhelming. I was very happy. The portion, in particularly when coupled with the onion rings, was also large enough that I could save half for later. The onion rings, on the other hand, were somewhat of a disappointment. They were cut very, very thick and the gritty batter needed more flavor. They were also too oily. On the plus side, there were plenty of them.
Mike had the BBQ chicken sandwich ($10). He was happy that the chicken breast was an actual breast, not some reconstituted heresy. He liked the BBQ sauce and was all in all pleased. He also had the onion rings and was not impressed.
Camila had a cheese sandwich ($4) which she liked. I tasted it and it was plain (and therefore dry) but tasty enough. Mika had the cheeseburger ($4) and she was very pleased with it, she thought it tasted great (but she’s no gourmet, she likes the ones at her school cafeteria quite a bit). The burger was served plain (as it should be, kids are picky!) and it was large enough that she could not finish it by herself.
For dessert we had the sundaes and we were disappointed in them. Mika’s sundae had the triple berry topping and she found it quite sour. Camila’s had plain chocolate syrup (rather than fudge) and it was just OK. I wouldn’t order them again.
Elmer’s
175 Agness
Grants Pass, OR
(541) 474-0740
Elmer’s Medford – 11/08
Our one dinner at Elmer’s was perfectly fine. I had the flat iron
steak, which I think came with a perfectly acceptable clam chowder.
It was perfectly cooked medium rare (which means towards the rare side
of medium rare), and quite tasty. It wasn’t particularly large (for
once!), but still a good deal at $14. My only complaint is that it
did not have the consistency of a flat iron steak, it was more like a
sirloin (but a well cooked sirloin).
Mike had the small chicken salad ($10) and was happy with it. The
veggies were fresh and he liked the dressing. The kids shared a mac &
cheese ($4), which was definitely large enough for both of them.
Our two breakfasts at Elmer’s were just as good. The kids loved the
chocolate chip pancakes, which they’d had the previous year. Each
portion includes 4 medium-size pancakes, so be smart and order one for
two kids. I liked the pancakes quite a bit as well. My first time I
had the caramel banana french toast, which was delicious. There is
just so much sugar I can take, however, so I wasn’t close to finishing
it, even with some help from Mike and Mika. My second time I went for
the potato pancakes with bacon & scallions. I can’t say these are
delicious, but they are satisfying. I’d definitely order them again,
and I wish it wasn’t such a pain for me to peel and shred potatoes,
otherwise I’d make them myself. My only complaint here is that there
wasn’t enough sour cream. I had the pancakes with a side of bacon,
and the bacon was very nice and meaty. Once again, however, I
couldn’t finish the whole plate. Both times Mike had some sort of
skillet, which he declared to be fine. He’s never very excited about
these breakfast dishes, however.
So I suspect that we’ll be going back to Elmer’s on our next drive
through Oregon.
Elmer’s
2000 Biddle Rd.
Medford, OR
(541) 772-2000
Original Review
Road Restaurant Reviews
Chain Restaurant Reviews
Restaurants Beyond the Bay Area
Trader Joe’s Harvest Grain Blend is a blend of Israeli couscous, orso, baby garbanzo beans and tiny red quinoa grains. Israeli couscous predominates. I don’t remember how much it cost, but it was cheaper than the bags of pure Israeli couscous. Most importantly, my kids love it, and I think it’s probably marginally more nutritious than the Israeli couscous by itself.
Though the instructions say to cook it with 1 Tbsp of butter ( I guess to make it more buttery), I always omit it without any adverse effects. I do the same with regular couscous and other grains, why have added fat if it’s not needed? Once you have the water boiling, it cooks in 10 minutes. So it’s a great and easy side for stews.
For years I have been reading, in the craigslist food forum, about how wonderful this epicurious.com recipe for Mahogany Beef Stew with Red Wine and Hoisin Sauce was. But for one reason or another, I never made it. Until this week, that is, when the muse struck me and I decided to finally give it a try. It was just as advertised, great, with deep flavors, a little bit sweet, but not too much. Mike liked it, and so did our 5 year old guest Aegea (who seems to like my food more than my kids do). I served it with the Trader Joe’s Harvest Grains Blend that I will write about on my next post.
Marga’s Best Recipes
I was having a tea party, and of course I wanted to make scones. But I wanted to make vegan scones, because one of my guests is a vegan. I’m not experienced enough either as a baker or a vegan cook to transform a regular recipe into a vegan one, so I went in search of a vegan scone recipe. I found this one at allrecipes.com and decided to give it a chance – though the reviews did warn that the results resembled more a cookie than a scone. Indeed, they did, even though I didn’t use *any* of the soy milk and water the recipe asked for.
As cookies go, these were delicious. Chewy, full-flavored and just yummy. Some of the best cookies I’ve ever made, though probably with a flavor more suitable for adults (the kids all went for the glazed sugar cookies). In any case, I’d make them again even if I didn’t have vegan guests coming over. The one change I’d make is reducing the margarine & sugar somewhat (you will probably have to reduce the liquid as well).
Ingredients
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 4 tsp. baking powder
- 1/2 tsp. salt
- 3/4 cup margarine
- 1/2 orange, zested & juiced
- 2 Tbsp. poppy seeds
Instructions
Preheat oven to 400F. Oil two cookie sheets.
Sift the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt together. Add the margarine and work until the mixture resembles crumbs. Add the orange zest, juice and poppy seeds and mix well.
Scoop dough into cookie sheets (about 1/4 cup or 1-ice cream scoop sized) – the cookies will spread a lot, so make sure the scoops are far apart from each other.
Bake for 10-15 minutes or until the edges start to brown. Cool before serving.
Marga’s Best Recipes
I found this cookie icing recipe at allrecipes.com. It’s really good /once you alter the proportions/ of the liquid & corn syrup. It produces a creamy and glossy icing that dries out beautifully.
Ingredients
- 1 cup powdered sugar, packed
- 1 1/2 Tbsp. milk
- 1 1/2 Tbsp. corn syrup
- 1tsp. vanilla extract
- food coloring
Mix the sugar and milk in a small bowl until smooth. Beat in the corn syrup and vanilla extract, until smooth and glossy. If the icing is too thick, add more corn syrup.
Divide the icing into small different bowls. Add a few food coloring drops and mix well. Bush on top of sugar cookies. Let rest for 15 minutes to harden.
Marga’s Best Recipes
Yesterday, we had some friends over to celebrate the 200th anniversary of Darwin’s birthday. I decided to have a tea party, and the following is the menu. One of my friends is vegan, so I got a couple of vegan treats for him – which ended up being the stars of the table. Here is what I served:
–Harrods No. 14 English Breakfast tea
I got this at the London airport last year, and I was quite happy with its full, balanced taste. A good black tea.
–Chicken Salad sandwiches
–Tomato & Avocado sandwiches
on vegan whole wheat bread, with hummus. They were good, 2yo Jaime loved them, but I thought they tasted too much of hummus. Next time I’ll try to use less (maybe only spread it on one slice of the bread)
–Trader Joe’s Mushroom Turnovers
–Iced and plain Rolled sugar cookies
in heart and Darwin fish shapes (see below). I wasn’t thrilled about the taste of the cookies, but they held their shape beautifully – great for the skinny legs of the Darwin fish.
The icing recipe was great and I’m posting it next.
–Vegan orange poppy-seed cookies
Very, very tasty, recipe to follow
–Trader Joe’s Apple Streudel
This vegan dessert was delicious, a little bit on the sweet side, but with a great flaky buttery (but made with no butter) crust. Vegan or not, you should definitely try it.
–Birthday Cake!
What’s a birthday without a birthday cake? My friend Fanny brought it, she made it from scratch, and it was delicious. We sang the birthday boy “Happy Birthday”, the kids blew the candles and devoured the cake.
And that was it. We watched the beginning (“Nace la Tierra” or “The Earth is born”) of “Érase una vez el hombre“, a French series, translated into Spanish, that I watched when I was a kid. This cartoon series records the history of human kind from the beginning of the earth until the 70’s, when the series was made. The series is not always historically accurate, but it’s a great introduction for children to history. The beginning is particularly good as it shows the evolution of mankind from a cell to a human being.
Katrina read a book on the history of the universe to the children, and Fanny read parts of a biography of Darwin. Mike played the Monty Python universe song, and everyone had fun and learned a little bit about Darwin. Alas, the kids (the oldest being 7 1/2 yo) can’t quite understand the theory of evolution yet. I didn’t learn it until I was in college, so I can’t fault them for that.
Marga’s Party Recipes
Last night I made my first stir fry. Ever. Really.
I had meant to try one before, I had bought the sauces, but for whatever reason I never got to do it. Then a few days ago I found the jars of stir-fry sauce I’d bought at the supermarket (probably over a year ago, they don’t have an expiration date, and by God I hope they’re still good!), and decided to use them. That’s my new plan: either cook international recipes or recipes that use up the ingredients I already have at home. Come to think of it, this is not really a very new plan – and it’s not one that works particularly well. Yes, I use up ingredients, but I buy new ones to make the new recipes, so that it becomes a huge food cycle. At least we rarely eat the same thing twice – if that’s a good thing.
Anyway, back to my stir fry, I can’t believe how easy it was. I sliced some thin-cut pork cutlets (I’d have bought chicken, but it wasn’t on sale, and I almost only buy meats on sale now), stir fry them on some oil for a few minutes, I removed them, dumped out the fat, and then stir fried some broccoli, celery and snow peas for a couple of minutes. I returned the pork, added the sauce, and voila! That was it. The results were pretty good. Of course, I only ate the pork, which was a bit tough (I will try chicken next time) and a bit bland (next time I should salt it, rather than rely purely on the sauce), but mostly good. The sauce (Kikkoman Stir-fry Sauce), was very nice – somewhat reminiscent of teriyaki, but not as sweet. It gave a good flavor to both the veggies and the meat. Mike liked that the veggies were still crunchy. Camila ate a tiny bit of pork and broccoli, but she didn’t complain later that she was hungry, so I guess that’s all she wanted. She hates food with sauces, but I just told her there was no sauce on the pork. She can be pretty clueless sometimes.
Mika didn’t eat any of it – she was doing her homework and didn’t want to be disturbed by dinner. She ate some grapes (88c lb at Safeway this week!), and I guess that was enough.
Anyway, the moral of this story is that making a stir-fry is very easy, and I should plan to make it again in those nights when I don’t have much time to cook. I’ll probably try chicken next time, see if it’s more tender, but I liked the thin pork cutlets because they had very little fat to get rid of, maintain their shape, and were incredibly easy and quick to slice up. I’ll also try new veggies next time (though my kids only like a limited amount of veggies): some mushrooms, some red peppers (for color if nothing else), mini-corn, if I can find it at the supermarket, etc.
Continuing my project of cooking International Food, in recent weeks I’ve made Californian and Chadian food. Pasta, short ribs and even duck were part of the former’s menu, while the latter featured a delicious roasted chicken and an ever-present peanut stew.
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