Butterfish

Alaskan Black Cod, Baby Bok Choy, and Furikake Rice

You either love fish or you don't. I grew up not loving fish, but have recently (over the past 10 years or so) started really enjoying fish. 

At Roy Yamaguchi's in La Jolla, California they have a dish called Butterfish which is probably one of the best dishes I've ever had. 

I would describe it as a wonderfully caramelized piece of fish with some delicious, starchy  sticky rice on the side. Simple. The sauce is sweet and sour, so there's a lot happening. But the overarching flavor you will notice most is just the sweet, mild flavor the buttery cod. What a great dish!

http://www.roysrestaurant.com/

The Salted Pig

 Melissa and I had dinner at a trendy little joint called The Salted Pig a few months ago. It was really really great. We spent some time on Yelp! looking through the menu and really had trouble choosing what we would eat because everything sounded so good...

The restaurant is very open with an open bar, but not an open kitchen, unfortunately. That's one thing I really like about contemporary restaurants these days is being able to see the chefs at work. I was a bit disappointed they didn't have that.

Appetizer: Bacon-wrapped deep fried dates with maple aioli. This was really great, but the creamy, sweet aioli sort of added more richness to the already fatty, fried date. I would have preferred something spicy, sour, or tangy to dip these in. Kind of a rookie mistake if you ask me. Cut through that richness!  

Melissa peruses the menu.

Entree: Melissa ordered the maple grilled chicken with parsnip purée and roasted root vegetables. I thought it was absolutely delicious. Melissa thought it was just okay.  

Entree: I had The Pig Burger. This was a masterpiece. Served on a soft, delicious bun, the patty was 50% ground beef/50% ground bacon. It was seared perfectly and had this amazingly crunchy crust on it. I was blown away. It was also topped with a fried egg and a spicy ketchup. Loved it. The fries were handcut and delicious as well. 

We also ordered some mac and cheese to share (man, what a fatty meal) which was really good. We didn't finish it. 

Dessert: Finally, we ordered the doughnuts and candied bacon ice cream. Life changed. The ice cream was made in-house with candied bacon lardon. It was creamy and some of the best ice cream i've ever had. The doughnuts were also made in-house and came in a variation of chocolate, peanut butter, and sort of a crusted maple. Needless to say, by this point we were stuffed, but not too stuffed to finish it all.  

I was very pleased with the meal, as you can see.

The check came in a cute mason jar. It was just a great experience for dinner. Expensive, but really really great. If you're in Riverside anytime soon, check it out. And bring me along!

http://www.saltedpigriverside.com/

Perfect Scrambled Eggs

My wife thinks I make good scrambled eggs.  I'm not so sure, but there are a few things that I've learned that I think are really important:

1. Low Heat -- There's nothing worse than scrambled eggs and burning them, or over-cooking them. Scrambled eggs takes time and attention.

2. Butter -- I use a huge knob of butter to cook eggs in. It adds a rich, buttery flavor to them rather than an oily flavor. 

3. Salt and Pepper -- Duh. But I'm surprised at how many people fail to season things.

4. Keep Turning Them -- Always move the eggs, folding them over and over. Don't let them sit for longer than a few seconds. This is a labor of love.

5. Take On and Off the Heat -- It's important to manage the temperature of the pan while cooking scrambled eggs. 

Cafe Rio, we will miss you...

We recently moved to California, which is a good thing in terms of food choices (expect to see a few more food blogs in the coming months). We now will be privy to better produce, seafood, restaurants, etc. 

But there is one thing that I will miss very dearly that only Utah can provide: Cafe Rio. It almost brings a tear to my eye. Over the past 10 years, I'm sure I've consumed hundreds of pork burritos, salads, and quesadillas. Cafe Rio has gotten me through 4 years of business school, college break-ups, and has made me very fat and very happy over the years. Oh Rio, how I will miss you, you've been a good friend...

Wait, what's that? There's a Cafe Rio 5 minutes from our house in California???

Sweet. Nevermind. 

Chuck's Day Off

Chuck Hughes has quickly become one of my favorite chefs. He's a funny guy that cooks sort of Canadian comfort food: dishes like lobster poutine and braised short ribs. My kind of food! 

He has a restaurant in Old Montreal called Garde Manger that is apparently incredible. 

He's also on Food Network and The Cooking Channel: Best Thing I Ever Ate, Eat the Street, Chuck's Day Off, and Iron Chef America. A highlight in his television career was when he beat Iron Chef Bobby Flay in battle lobster in 2010. This guy can cook!

Follow Me on Twitter: @kaseyyards

Today's Craving: BBQ

It doesn't happen terribly often, but today I am definitely craving BBQ. A co-working and I spent about 30 minutes this morning talking about smoked meats (he is thinking about purchasing a smoker soon) and it has made me want some ribs, brisket, or burnt ends!

Sadly, we don't have many great BBQ choices in Utah.