My Urban Pantry

the magic starts now

May 11, 20131 Comment

we did it. Five years later we have ~~caved succumbed relented~~ taken the plunge and purchased annual passes for all the magic that is Walt Disney World. We often say, if we only had a pass we would head out for the evening or afternoon and not feel like we had to spend all day to get our monies worth. We would often like to just go for dinner or a walk and a ride or three. So, last night we did it. We kicked off this year of adventuring with a slow noshing stroll through the Epcot (formerly known as Experimental Prototype Community Of Tomorrow) Flower and Garden Festival which this year also included some food kiosks celebrating and dedicated to sophisticated harvest inspired small plates where we sampled and shared small bites ranging from my two favorites – watermelon salad with pickled red onion, feta, arugula and balsamic drizzle and a pork carnitas taco with chicharrones to frushi (a fruit sushi with coconut rice and fruit). The watermelon salad is my new favorite and I’m going to reproduce that at home. Frushi harbored the Disney tax* and was overpriced and over-hyped everywhere I saw it online. I loved the taco and could go back for that anytime. We thought it would be dry but the meat was dense with flavor and I wish they had these amazing little tacos year round and not just developed what are really great small bites for special events. So, all that said, we stayed two or three nicely paced hours tasting plates and looking at topiary for the garden event and then went home to a good nights sleep. We also purchased the Tables in Wonderland option which includes 20% off in most of the eating establishments that we have been eating in anyhow. We will see if it is worth the investment. I’m looking forward to the coming year and the adventure and feeling more like I fit into all that Central Florida has to offer. If you are an annual pass holder or just a lover of all things magical, I’d like to hear what your favorite thing to do at the parks is so that we can take it all in!

*KZ Definition: Disney Tax: noun: a compulsory contribution to the coffers of that place which while is the happiest place on earth leaves the majority of visitors under 10 in tears and despite this fact I want to go there all the time to experience the magic that it can offer.

hash house a go go

May 10, 2013Leave a comment

a new kind of mini-chain opened in Orlando a week or so ago called Hash House A Go Go. They have outlets in Vegas and California. I’m not 100% sure if the go-go is strictly necessary but it seems to really be part of the name. I guess since maybe hash house conjures other ideas for some of the less savory population. Located on International Drive (I-Drive), it is in the tourist district. We went there for brunch with another couple on a Saturday morning. The menu insists that this is twisted farm food and in that, they are right. There is a lot here that is twisted. We placed our drink orders. A cup of coffee for me and a ridiculous caramel mocha for Z. It was oozing with caramel and chocolate syrup including a puddle in the saucer. I figured ordering hash would be the way to go so I ordered the corned beef. Now, it comes standard with swiss and I asked our server if I could have cheddar. Without saying no, he said no. Kind of a mistake there because I went off the place right then and there. I ordered the basted eggs which was my second mistake. Uncooked whites which oozed down over my hash when I broke into them thoroughly ruined any enjoyment I would have taken in my meal and caused me to really take a look around at what people were eating. The couple that we joined for breakfast had each ordered Andy’s Sage Fried Chicken Benedict w/ maple reduction, 2 eggs, bacon mashed potatoes & a biscuit which came out as an eight inch high tower of food fit for 4. Between the four of us I suppose we had enough food for I’d say 12 people? Obscene. This is really not my favorite type of restaurant. I’d say it’s had enough of my time.

khooing over Rachel’s food

May 9, 2013Leave a comment

during Christmas time I dvr’d the show, Little Paris Kitchen Cooking with Rachel Khoo. Rachel Khoo is the most delightful British girl living in Paris cooking some semblance of French food with her own twists. I’m not sure Parisians want things with a twist but they may be more flexible than I’ve been led to believe. I kind of think in general, things have been perfected to a certain standard in France and that is how they are expected to be. But again, she is a gorgeous girl with the cutest accent. Stew = schtew. I love that. She cooks everything in a tiny – microsized really, kitchen. She has basically two burners and a toaster oven. She has a tiny little dutch oven and I think only one electrical plug. I wanted to eat her food so I ordered the cookbook from Amazon. Ah, marketing. The first thing I made was an easy little croque madame. Basic white bread (they have that in France?) is rolled out, buttered and pressed into a muffin pan. An egg, gruyere studded bechamel and black forest ham are dropped in and the whole mess is baked for 15-20 minutes. A perfect Saturday morning breakfast with the buttery toast and cheesy sauce elevating my usual egg on an english muffin. I’m looking forward to future meals in this grand little scale.

guts & glory

May 8, 2013Leave a comment

we were fortunate to be able to go see Anthony Bourdain perform at Hard Rock Live at Universal CityWalk. Advertised as an evening of conversation we weren’t really sure what to expect. The Hard Rock has a large restaurant and middle size concert venue in the Universal CityWalk entertainment area of restaurants and bars. We arrived at six so we could take in dinner at the Hard Rock and still make the show at 8. We pre-reserved our seating time on their website and it really worked well. We slid into our seats by 6:30. I ordered a burger and Z some blackened chicken alfredo. The food is about what you’d think, plentiful, middle of the road, salty and not heavily spicy-a fair neutral for the travelling public. I had a fruity hurricane-which I find I love-rum and fruit punch with a cherry on top, not sophisticated or classy but fun and warm and summery like Florida.
We exited the restaurant through the gift shop like any good attraction and headed into the venue. A couple of $4 bottles of water later we found our fifth row center seats. A note here about the venue: dang those seats are tiny and close together and I was beyond thrilled my left neighbors no-showed and we took over one of their seats. Anthony started speaking a few minutes after eight. He is more or less what you see on tv-crass, cheerful and thoughtful too. He broke the evening into a few portions. The first being a general roast of food television personalities. He walked over Paula, Giada and lightly over the rest. His main beef with Paula is really the unashamed hawking of calorie and fat laden dishes when she herself suffers from diabetes and didn’t share that fact with the tv viewing public. He then talks about his television history and philosophy. One of things that I respect about his is that he has walked through his show uplifting and singing the praises of the common man and woman. How they cook, eat, drink, live and love. He doesn’t turn down food cooked by someone who has little and is offering him the best they have. He said he knows some of them are going to require a long course of antibiotics and might need the help of his television team to get it all down but he respects that person to their core. He is not a fan of the chains-the Olive Gardens of the world but did tell us his guilty pleasure-KFC Mac N Cheese in all its salty processed glory. His current CNN show is still directed this way but has a little more of the politics of food and culture as well. He wrapped things up speaking a bit about his six year old daughter and then taking a few questions from drunks in the audience. We really enjoyed the experience and while I don’t agree with him on every point (he is counter to my culture in a lot of ways.) I also agree with him on a lot of points. We will continue to watch as he travels the world and dream of and hopefully visit some of his stops. He is currently on CNN on Sunday nights at 9pm. Tonight we will follow him to Canada. I can’t wait.

prato

May 7, 20132 Comments

hurrah-our friend had a birthday and we were invited to help celebrate! We joined him and a couple other friends at Prato in Winter Park. We met in the doorway and while it was a warm evening it felt open, green, cool and dark inside-a total relief from the day. And wonders will never cease because we got to sit immersed in the the hurry of the kitchen. We sat at a counter high table that must be for prep and we were between the expediter and a station filled with dishes, condiments and the kitchen itself. I judiciously chose my seat so I could watch plates being cooked, plated, finished, and garnished. Cooks with their heads down and a quiet determined hustle in an extremely open concept. This is before we even take ten seconds to look at the menu. But then we fall into that reverie that is an outstanding menu. How do you choose between the options when they all sound amazing? Prato has a classic Italian menu made seasonal with local ingredients.

I started with an aperitivo called bevanda fragola, a refreshing gin, strawberry puree and ginger drink that has wannabe’s totally populating my pinterest happy hour page! Herbal and strawberry drinks are a hot weather dream come true. We were treated to a dish of warm olives and the most gigantic capers. I love capers! We had a couple of starters including the most tender meatballs with cipollini agrodolce and beef carpaccio with grilled artichokes and amazing salty dry pecorino. I ordered pizza – the widowmaker. Prato has an amazing pizza oven and the crust was thin and blistered in my favorite way. It had arugula, sausage and an egg. Delicious. Next time I would probably go for the pasta because Z had a primi plate of mustard spaghettini cacio e pepe that I tasted and horribly wanted to steal. I have searched the internet for other mustard pastas. So incredible-savory and addictive. Cacio e pepe is a miracle sauce-only basically two ingredients, cheese and pepper in pasta water. I do not understand it but when done well is a revelation of ingredients and flavor. He also had some Cape Canaveral Flounder with orzetto and cauliflower caponata. The mildest whitest fish we have ever seen with a beautiful sear. I don’t often walk away from a meal thinking how absolutely beautiful the ingredients and flavors are. The pride and care in each dish was so apparent. This is my favorite kind of eating.