Broward County's Chinatown

I'm not sure how many people are aware of it, but there is kind of a mini Chinatown in Broward county.  It can be found almost in it's entirety in a long strip center just South of Commercial Blvd and 441.  There is a Asian bakery that has roll cakes, more than a dozen different types of buns baked and steamed, and all kinds of cakes filled with anything from custard to sweet red beans and bean paste.  Just a few doors down is a Saigon City Vietnamese restaurant.  If you go South in the strip you'll see a Vietnamese market that sells Vietnamese, Chinese, Japanese and other Asian staples, fresh produce, frozen everything and even a meat section that sells mostly offal.  If one keeps walking South in the plaza there is a store that sells prepared Chinese foods like a few kinds of dumplings, various types of rice pastes and other items that most of us don't eat.  Still a little bit farther South is the best Chinese cooked meat market around.  They have hanging ducks, whole crispy  pork hanging, three different kinds of chicken, Char Sui pork and of course spare ribs.  They have a few different kinds of buns and dumplings and a variety of offal of course for you to peruse and buy.  Very good value for the dollar.  The roast pork, duck and chickens are as good as your going to get in this area. 

But as always I would love to hear your opinion of these places.  Am I on the mark or have I swung and missed.  Just let me know.  I want the reviews to be as legitimate as possible.  Next up for the blog will be some recipes from my restaurants that are frequently requested and a quick discourse on meat purchasing.

Betty's isn't heaven, but it's close

For Father's Day this year we(but really me) decided to try Betty's on Sistrunk and 22nd Rd.  I had heard and read about it a few times.  One of the last bastions of soul food left in South Florida.  I don't know if things have really gotten that bad Soul Food wise in South Florida.  I think that the more real the place is the more hidden it becomes.  Whether that's due to location, general vibe of the place, it's patrons or any other reason that the fickle public can come up with for not liking a particular establishment.  So for of us white people sat down in four swivel chairs that are attached to little tables.  Exactly like Mickey D's has or used to have in many of it's establishments.  There is a beat up jukebox, and a counter with five or so soda fountain stools.  There is a nice mix of generally large(heavy) people in the place.  Betty would be the person behind the register that also answers the phone and runs into the kitchen to plate food or do anything else that's necessary.  I would hate to guess how long she's been running this establishment.  The base is quite busy and seems to be a little short staffed.  There is only one waitress for 40-50 people plus the phone and the counter.  She's good though so things go very smoothly.  Don't expect your food in five seconds if you order things other than breakfast.  We ordered chicken wings, side of grits and Pork Souse.  The wings were very good, the grits were excellent and then we get to the Pork Souse.  Now suddenly we turn into Andrew Zimmerman territory.  It's a bowl filled with a reddish broth that smells intensely of pork and something smellier than pork, offal.  There is a little bit of corn, but other than that it's offal and strange parts in a bowl.  I ate all the broth which tasted better than it smelled.  I ate about half of what was in the bowl and brought the parts I didn't like home for the dog.  We then ordered whole fried catfish, a vegetable plate, Eggs with a ton of bacon and hash browns, smothered pork chops, corn bread and biscuits.  The catfish is a 15 out of ten. There aren't even a lot of bones left when I'm done it.  One of the best things I've eaten in the last year.  The lima beans are also in the category.  Need to know what they do to them because they are addictive.  The candied yams are truly candied so don't eat them if you don't want to go into diabetic shock shortly thereafter.  The stewed cabbage and collard are greens are so aggressively seasoned that my mouth was numb by the time we got home.  It's too much salt for me but once in a while it's really good.  The fried okra wasn't my thing.  They don't use cornmeal and they weren't crispy enough for me, but they weren't bad.  Just not my style.  The green beans are excellent and not as heavily salted as some of the other veggies.  I got a side salad which hit the spot with french dressing.  Excellent portion for a side item.  The smothered pork chop was very good, but standard compared to the fish.  Breakfast was also excellent.  My son commented that it's nice to get hash browns somewhere other than Waffle House.  We also got an excellent slice of sweet potato pie and banana pudding with nilla wafers to go.  The pudding portion was huge and incredibly good.  Haven't had a chance to try the sweet potato pie yet.  I won't order that much food again and will be more careful about what I get due to the salt overload, but I'm already dying to go back.  This place has Soul to spare and great food.  I also really need to try the peach cobbler.  I'm kicking myself for not getting one to go.  It wasn't the cheapest place I've ever been but was a good value in my opinion.

Kid's are gone

Shipped two of my children off to Japan today.  That means we'll be eating dishes with a little more spice since they don't like hot food that much.  It also means I can experiment more since I will only be cooking for 2-3 people.  It also means that if there are leftovers I will need to eat them since the two children that are gone are my scavengers.  They eat anything not nailed down in the fridge. 

There are a few things that I'm trying to achieve here.  One of them is to answer questions when they're posted for recipe ideas or help with cooking anything.  I'm not the best baker so baking questions probably need to be asked of another blogger. 

I also wanted to mention that I am now eating raw dried foods that I don't think I would have been into even a few years ago.  One of my new favorites is a dried banana coated with shredded coconut.  Maybe one the best dried foods I've ever eaten.  The mango version of the product is very good as well.  The company that's making them is OMG(our marvelous garden).  You can find them on Facebook.  They make great dried products, fruit leathers and vegetarian and vegan products.  If you or your children don't like to eat vegetables, green veggies and things of that nature try one of their veggie and fruit leathers.  Tastes like fruit but loaded with vegetables.  Lasts forever, full of fiber and they taste great.  I didn't really like the one I tried with dandelion greens, it was a little strong, but all the other ones are great.  They even make a vegan chocolate product that's pretty damn good for vegan stuff that is.  I still prefer the real thing, but I'm not vegan in any way shape or form.

I will start putting some recipes in the blog sometime next week.  I think the first recipe that will need to be published is secret to Bourbon Chicken.  One hint would be it has nothing to do with Bourbon and everything to do with the type of chicken that is used.  More on that later. 

Simply Divine Flan

Went to dinner at Don Carlin last night.  The dinner was delicious, the red beans were as always a revelation, the rice was just right as usual.  Then after dinner came the flan that three of us would share.  It took all of my self control not to drink the caramel in the bowl when we were done with the simply divine flan.  It is one of the best things you will ever put in your mouth.  Get a cappuccino or a cafe con leche to go with it and heaven is right where you're sitting.  One of my teenage daughters got up this morning and said, "mmm.  Meat".  She couldn't wait to get to the leftover Churasco sitting in the fridge.

I didn't sleep well cause the beans really hurt me, but once every three months or so I have to eat a whole cup of them at Don Carlin.  Damn the pain and suffering that comes with it.  There are times I wish I could just sit in a chair and that flan till I couldn't eat anymore.  I don't the human body could survive such a viscous attack on its pancreas.  Good way to go though.  Or to water boarded but replace the water with the caramel juice/sauce from the flan dish.  Maybe interspersed with some just sweet enough cafe con leche.  What a way to go.  I'm ready for a really good dream one night soon, can't wait.

Real Honest Restaurant Reviews

One of the key reasons I decided to start writing restaurant reviews is because so many of the reviews that I have read aren't honest.  I have started a list of favorite restaurants that is totally subjective but honest.  I haven't written reviews for each of them yet but will get started with that project today. 

One of our families favorite places to go for dinner is Sonny's BBQ.  We all admit that Tom Jenkins is way better, but it's farther away doesn't have a salad bar, and doesn't have the fries that we love.  It has many other things we love which is why we eat there but it's far enough away that we don't go very often.  Sonny's has great crinkle cut french fries, horribly good Texas toast that my son loves, BBQ that is decent to good with sauces that we've come to love.  It's not that hard to make BBQ sauce taste good.  All you have to do is hook up some sweet sauce with pork fat and bam you've got great tasting sauce and pork.  There are great sauces and better BBQ out there.  However we like the vats of soda and ice tea that they give you, the salad bar is pretty good, and if you ask for fatty sliced pork it's really good.  The lean kind doesn't do it for me.  The chicken is pretty good.  Again fatty dark meat chicken with BBQ sauce is awesome in moderation.  They also have all you can eat options for gluttons, very quick service and are easy to find in a pinch.  Very similar to my opinion of Cracker Barrel.

Another honest review would be for Don Carlin.  They make very good Cuban food.  Excellent choices in my opinion are the oxtails, the pork chops, churasco, the best flan within 30-40 miles, great coffee, great bread, and very slow service.  Do not go if you can't wait.  Good things take time.  If you need a nibble get the fried plantain strips covered in mojo(for garlic lovers only).  I need to add that the red beans and rice are some of the best I've ever had.  I don't eat the black beans there but there great.

Now that's my kind of ramblin' post.  Curious if my opinions are similar to anyone else out there.

The meaning of Kuishimbo

I have now learned the true meaning of Kuishimbo.  In one sense it means Foodie.  In another sense it means gluttonous foodie.  It is also the title of a Japanese Comic and Animated TV show that ran in the late 80's and early 90's.  I think my whole family falls into this title.  We love food and love finding new things to eat. 

We are not all fruit hunters though.  My brother and I definitely are food hunters.  We are going to get in accident while driving someday since we are always looking for new finds.  I found a house today with 7 60 foot tall Lychee trees.  Such a beautiful site.  They don't even advertise their fruit because people have just been showing up to buy since they bought the property in old Plantation.  If you like lychees they have as many as you want for 3 dollars a pound.  They are located near the corner of Bel Air and Coconut Terr in Plantation.  The whole neighborhood is a veritable fruit paradise. 

I'm not sure what type they are but some of the mangoes that I've been getting right off the ground are awesome.  Sweet with a citrus note that's just awesome.  I don't even have to pick them.  They are just laying on the ground.  People don't usually get mad if you take what's lying there in there front yard.  The other place that's great for free fruit is Victoria Park on the east side of Ft. Lauderdale.  Well time to go shopping for dinner.  Got to cook tonight since I'm not working and money will get tight quickly.  Still nice to take a break for a few days.

Back to the meat of the matter

So let's get right down to it.  I love food and South Florida has some real finds out there.  I know that many of my friends have their favorite places.  I want to start a list that's real and doesn't take any prisoners.  All of the newspapers, yelp, etc. don't really live up to billing much of the time.  I'm looking for real info for the people that live here.  I'm going to start this list and keep adding to it.  I'm sure I'll figure out the tech part as time goes on and the list grows.  I will need help and want to go and eat at places that I've missed. 

Here is an example of what I'm saying when I say overrated.  Versailles is awesome but not for it's food which can be fair to excellent.   People watching is the reason to go there and get a dessert and coffee product of your liking.  If you want to eat Cuban food you try to find a nice family restaurant near wherever you are in South Florida.  My neighborhood spot is Don Carlin restaurant in Sunrise.  If the fam is looking to eat Chinese food we almost always eat at Toa Toa Chinese Restaurant.  They have dim sum all the time, the service can be evil, the food is excellent and most importantly there are always Jews and Asians eating there.  That's all I need to know when judging Chinese restaurants.

Those are my tidbits for the day.  Time to go start eating mangoes and lychees.  Feel like a monkey when I eat this way but it sure is tasty and fun.