SillyGooseTravel.com

How to make homemade Gyozas

2011-01-29T20:00:00.001-05:00

Gyozas are one of my favorite Japanese appetizers and I want it to learn how to do it. There are many recipes on Internet but this one that I found and I modify it to my taste. Enjoy!

Ingredients:

1/3 cup chopped cabbage (boiled)
2 Tbsp chopped green onion
1/2 pound ground pork
1 tsp sesame oil
2 tsps soy sauce
1/2 garlic chopped very fine
1 tsp grated fresh ginger - I didn't have this, so I didn't put it but you.
20 gyoza wrappers
1 Tbsp vegetable oil

For dipping sauce
soy sauce, rice vinegar, rayu (chili oil)

Preparation:

Mix all ingredients other than oil in a bowl and mix it well by hands.
Have the wrappers ready and start placing a teaspoonful of filling in a gyoza wrapper and put water along the edge of the wrapper by fingers. Make a semicircle, gathering the front side of the wrapper and sealing the top. I tried that version but it was hard to do. So I instead closed it on the top. Like a like onion shape.

When you get all the gyozas ready, heat oil in a frying pan. I mixed vegetable and sesame oil together. Put gyoza in the pan and fry on high heat until the bottoms become brown. Turn down the heat to low. Add 1/4 cup water in the pan. Cover the pan and steam the gyoza on low heat until the water is gone. This will take around 15 to 20 minutes.

In the mean time, prepare the sauces. Mix a 1:2 ratio of soy sauce to rice vinegar and add some rayu chili oil if you would like. Or you can have also soy sauce.

Now, ready to ENJOY! Good appetite.

Until next time.

Memphis Trip, TN

2011-01-28T00:18:00.000-05:00

Got to Memphis for work and left so happy. I love the city, the people, the history, the music, the food and the best of all, I think it is the best city. It is so friendly, everyone was just charming and nice. I never felt a city like that in the USA.

And yes, Memphis is not TENNESSEE.
I visited Graceland (Elvis Presley house) Sun Studios, Beale Street and much more.
There is more in Memphis than Elvis and Sun Studio.

It is a must visit place!

Until next time. Check out the few photos.

Oma's Tomatoes Soup : Instant Classic

2010-12-05T15:17:00.009-05:00

Ingredientes para dos porciones

½ kilo de tomates de perita maduros

½ kilo de cebollas blancas

4 ramas de apio españa

Un poquito de mantequilla y una cucharadita de aceite

½ cubito de res Maggi

Una pizca de azúcar

Nut meg rallada

100 grms. de carne de cerdo molida

Sal y pimienta al gusto

Preparación

Dorar en la mantequilla y el aceite las cebollas cortadas en juliana,

Agregar a las cebollas doradas los tomates con semilla y todo cortados en cuñas medianas

Dejar cocinar los tomates y las cebollas a fuego pequeño dándoles vuelta de vez en cuando

Lavar las ramas de apio españa, cortarlas en trozos y agregarlas al guiso de tomates y cebollas

Agregar el cubito de res Maggi y dos tazas de agua y dejar cocinar un poquito más

Apagar la hornilla y dejar reposar hasta que se pueda pasar toda la mezcla por la licuadora

Pasar la mezcla de la licuadora por un colador

Preparación de las peloticas de carne de cerdo

Condimentar la carne de cerdo con un poquito de sal, pimienta negra y nut meg, amasarla bién, hacer peloticas pequeñas y pasarlas por un poquito de pan rallado

Volver la sopa a la olla y llevarla al fuego, cuando esté hirviendo agregar las peloticas de carne y dejar cocinar por unos minutos.

En este punto rectificar la sazón, agregar una pizca de azúcar, sal si hiciera falta y pimienta negra recién molida. Si quedó muy espesa se le agrega un poquito más de agua y una cucharada de los sólidos que quedaron en el colador, revolver bién.

Servir con unas hojitas de apio españa picaditas.

Notas: la sopa no se puede preparar en olla de aluminio

Los tomates son ácidos por eso se les agrega una pizca de azúcar

Los tomates no se pueden dejar cocinar en exceso

La pimienta negra se muele al instante y se agrega al final de la cocción

La mantequilla se quema muy fácilmente por eso se usa con un poquito de aceite

El apio españa no es celery, tiene un aroma y sabor más intenso

Que lo disfruten!

Rulo Stefani, Bulgarian Dish - Silly Cooking

2010-11-03T01:38:00.004-04:00

Hello everyone, I decided to make from scratch a Rulo Stefani that a friend of our told us that this afternoon. This is a similar to a meatloaf. I got the ingredients and right away, I want it to do it. This is casual, nothing was practice. However, the food came amazing. It is for sure a dish that you do it for a big group.

This is a Bulgarian dish, however; in Venezuela we have a similar one that is call Muchacho Relleno - instead of ground beef you use normal beef and you make a hole to the steak and insert the hard boiled eggs, carrots, etc.

Until next time!

Chalk Festival 2010 at Burns Court, Sarasota

2010-11-03T00:14:00.008-04:00

This weekend, I went to the The Sarasota Chalk Festival at Burns Court. This was during the weekend of October 30 & 31st when it became America’s First International Street Painting Festival.

It was a beautiful Sunday afternoon, beautiful weather and Burns Court was full of people, families and dogs. The moment I arrived, I was so impressed to see the art work. I cannot believe these artists were painting for 2 days non-stop. But the final work was just AMAZING.

There were 3D paintings, kids paintings, adults, modern, dark, all were Halloween themed. This festival brought artists from around the world.

Only one, from Holland specially from Utrech, he was using a big QR code to promote his website. This is pretty cool and modern. Even thou not that many people know what a QR code is. This is his site: www.dufois.com
His name is Leon Keer and his painting is the second on this blog. He finished in 3rd place at the Festival.

Beside the art, there was vendors, live music, dogs, kids, and a lot of fun. It was just a unique experience.

To know more about the festival check out their site www.chalkfestival.com

Tryavna, Bulgaria in September

2010-11-02T23:50:00.007-04:00

Tryavna, my baby took me to this small town that is located in the central part of Bulgaria. We got there driving in small roads, winding roads, and beautiful scenery. Fall is coming and you can see the crops all getting brown and ready to harvest.

Weather is around 22 degrees Celsius and a little bit of sun. Great to start walking the town. This town it is small and perfect for weekend getaways with their hotels and spas. It is knows for its craftsmanship talent.

Tryavna's eminence as a crafts town is evident both on the amazing houses of its old quarter and in its traditional workshops. The town was founded in the 15th century and because good arable land was scarce, its inhabitants turned to crafts. By the 18th century silk, rugs, rose oil, gold jewelry was the economy of the town.

Their woodcarvers and painters offered their quality to the monasteries and churches around the area ad what was build during the National Revival Periods.

We walked the old town and houses, it feels that you are back in that time. The time doesn't pass. You just hear the sound of the birds and the fresh air of the mountains. I was relax the moment we arrived to town.

We visited the Daskolov House which was built in 1804 by Hristo Daskolov a wealthy rose oil and silk merchant. You can tell that Daskolov had money. The house it is just amazing and the woodcarving on the ceilings are just amazing. The house is now a museum for woodcarving as well as for icons. You can see the live of the Bulgarians at that time period.

Few blocks down there was Church of Archangel Michael. OMG Orthodox Church is so close to Catholic. The power of the icons, the church architecture and details it is just amazing.

By this time, I don't know what time it is but I can feel my tummy hungry. :) The town had few cafe places but they are so European style and just relaxing. We found a nice restaurant call "Old Vine" - I had a beer (Becks), Classic Salad (cucumbers, tomatoes, red peppers, a lot of feta, one black olive, olive oil and some vinegar), then a pork stew that was baked in the over with a lot of spices and onions on a ceramic pot. OMG,it was just amazing. All the flavors was just unique. The slow cooking from the pot made the pork melt in your mouth.

After this amazing lunch we decided very slowly to maybe go back to grandma's house in Zeya.

Until next stop!

Silly Goose Wine - Shiraz (South Eastern Australian Wine

2010-11-02T21:12:00.000-04:00

I arrive one morning and what do I find on my desk? a beautiful bottle of wine and for my surprise that even made more amazing it is a SILLY GOOSE wine bottle. I was so happy and it was so perfect. From the design of the label. The use of colors and the typography works very well with the cute logo. They even have metal embossing on the top of the bottle.

After a couple of minutes admiring the bottle of wine and getting my computer ready for the day, I get an email from Roxy.cape - she was the one that gave me this bottle.

I was very happy about the nice gesture of Roxy.cape that I gave her also some wine the following week. (I found a cool name for her wine too - cannot remember now).

So when should I open the wine? It has to be on a special day since this is a SILLY GOOSE wine. Well, I did it in Miami with my menina and it was great wine. It was red wine, a Shiraz to be exact. I'm not a sommelier for wines but I don't like sweet wines or very dry. This one was either one of these.

I will give a 3 stars out of 5.

Thanks @Roxy.cape and until next bottle of wine.

Receta para preparar una deliciosa sopa de pescado

2010-07-22T21:13:00.014-04:00

Ingredientes
1 pargo de 1 kilo

5 ajices dulces

1 mata de cebolla verde (cebollin)

5 dientes de ajo
1 cubito de pescado

1 cucharada de aceite de oliva

1 litro de consomé preparado con los huesos y la cabeza del pescado

el jugo de un limón
perejil

Preparación

Preparar un sofrito con el aceite de oliva, los ajices dulces sin semillas y cortaditos pequeñito, la cebolla verde bien lavada y cortadita y los ajos machacados. Agregar este sofrito al consome y dejar hervir, cuando esté hirviendo agregar la carne de pescado cortada en trozos grandes y el cubito de pescado. Dejar hervir por poco tiempo para que pescado no se deshaga. Agregar el jugo del limón. Apagar el fuego y dejar reposar por un rato antes de servir. Servir la sopa con perejil picadito espolvoreado por encima. Sabe rico.

Burgerworks Grill

2010-06-14T08:11:00.015-04:00

This past Sunday, June 13th, Frillygoose and I and our little red dog went to Emerson Point for a walk. It's kind of a long drive but definitely worth it. They have boardwalks through mangroves, several Indian mounds, a bay walk and an observation tower from which you can see St. Pete, the Skyway, Anna Maria and Bradenton. Anyhow this built up a powerful hunger in me belly.

After going through the usual list of restaurants, we came up with Shakespeare's. A good choice with the World Cup going on, however, a funny thing happened on the way to the opera. While driving through Southside Village, I remembered seeing a new place called Burgerworks. We stopped just to check out the menu. Hmmm, this looks good.

Not only did they have a large variety of burger styles, you could get them made with an Angus beef patty, veggie burger or chicken breast. They also have starters, salads, pizza and Baja tacos. The Mahi tacos were quite tempting! But we opted for the sandwiches, Frilly Goose got a Baja Burger chicken sandwich, it has Monterey jack cheese, tomato, onion, creamy coleslaw, Guacamole and mayo. I thought about the Blue Burger but decided on the Classic Cheese, American cheese, tomato, onion, pickle, shredded lettuce and mayo. I skipped the shredded lettuce because for some reason I CAN'T STAND the stuff. All the burgers come with seasoned fries, which can be substituted with sweet potato fries or onion rings for a buck more, and coleslaw.

As we waited for our food we took in the place, 12 beers on tap, check, a nice selection of wines, check, friendly staff/owner, check. The food arrives, and we dive in, well................. excellent!! The burger is done perfectly and the chicken is tasty, the coleslaw yummy and the fries nicely seasoned. This place is definitely a must stop if you're in the area of Hillview and Osprey! Next time I'll try the Mahi Tacos.

Slater,

Gator

Burger Works Grill
1812 S. Osprey Ave
Sarasota FL 34239

View Larger Map

Emerson Point Park

View Larger Map

Starbucks not that green after all....

2010-05-23T23:44:00.004-04:00

I love my Starbucks and every store is different. However, on a Sunday morning I got to this Starbucks to get my Mocha.

I ask for a small mocha no whip - got the whip, I ask please no whip.
What do I see, she throws the whole coffee, cup and all into the trash!!! I mean, I asked no whip - just remove the whip and that is all. No need to create more waste. Be green Starbucks.

I asked the girl why she threw the coffee out and she said that she normally does that. So much for green. Very disappointing for a corporation that tries to be green.

Overall, the place is nice and I love the seats outside.

Back to green, the Starbucks in Japan have 3 recycles bins - one for the plastic lid, one for the paper cup and one for the liquid. Can we do that here too, please!!! I don't feel that Starbucks really tries to be green. I see that napkins are made from recycle or post-consumer paper - but really ideally, all are recyclables.

What do you think? please give comments. If we all contribute to this cause, I bet Starbucks will start making some changes :)

Starbucks‎
1375 South Tamiami Trail, Sarasota,
FL 34239-2210(941) 952-9912‎

Cafe Mineirho In Coral Springs, FL

2010-03-28T21:07:00.011-04:00

It is March and I'm visiting Brazilian Goose in Coral Springs :) This is going to be a great weekend of tennis (Sony Ericsson cup at Key Biscayne) and then some South Beach.

But before we start our weekend, Menina Goose wants to show us that Coral Springs is full of Brazilian culture and wants to show it to the BG Goose.

We arrive at Cafe Mineiro at Deerfield Beach. It is Friday and we are hungry, we just drove like 4 hours to get here :)

The cafe is located in a strip mall and it doesn't look very big. However, when you enter, there is a hallway full of Brazilian newspapers, fliers, news, etc - you can tell the community is thriving. After we pass the hall, there is a HUGE room - left is a bar and tables/chairs - right are more tables/chairs.

The waiter comes and he is a nice Brazilian boy - you know, very fashionista! He takes us to the table and I'm telling you, Portugues everywhere. I love that language, it is just so beautiful and the way how it sounds is just too exotic :)

We right away order our Caipirinhas (learn more),which my BG goose has never tried. He liked it. It is just such perfect drink to start the night as well as so refreshing. Then we just want to eat anything and I'm telling you, I'm craving this food. We order 3 orders of Picanha Especial - which consists of the most amazing top sirloin grilled and garnished with garly "similar to a chimichurri sauce". Plus an order of white rice, black beans, plantain, yuca, vinagrette, and sauted red/green peppers. I mean really, check out the photo below.

Every piece was just juice and the combination of every bite was just like heaven. One thing that I love was how the service was, not rushed, just enjoy a long meal while listening to live bossa nova. I mean, I really need to go to Brazil.

While we are eating and listening to live Bossa Nova, 2 guys are setting up the dj table. You can see that the night it is going to start. Dance, party and drinks - yeahhhh this place becomes like a nightclub.

One curious thing that you don't see that often in Sarasota is people trying to sell you things while you are eating. I know, weird but yes, a guy came over and was doing great sculptures with palm leaves. :) I remember those in Venezuela.

What can I say, latin culture is just too diverse and unique. I love it. I recommend if you are in the area to visit this place or in any place you are - BRAZILIAN FOOD is a MUST TO TRY! The culture is just amazing.

Especially since, World Cup (2014) and Olympics (2016) are going to be hosted in Brazil.

Until next time!

Cafe Mineiro
maps.google.com
800 South Federal Highway
Deerfield Beach, FL 33441-5752
(954) 426-1129

Schoolnight recipes

2010-03-02T07:23:00.014-05:00

Deciding what to eat on a weeknight can be a chore, so I decided to post a few recipes out here just for work-day nights. This is a fairly new combination that I came up with after a few trips to Whole Foods.

Jamaican jerked chicken skewers with curry rice.

In Whole Foods, at the meat counter, they sell chicken skewers with a "jerk" marinade, although not as good or spicy as a true Jamaican jerk seasoning, it is still pretty tasty, and at 1.99 a stick, a good deal. 2 kebabs should be plenty for one person. At first I was grilling the chicken and serving it on the stick a la carte with maybe a salad, then one day I paired it with some spicy yellow rice, it was good but something was still missing. So after a few curries at Gateway to India (see other story) I found the inspiration I needed, ansd so the hunt began. I discovered a boxed rice in Publix that complimented the kabobs nicely. It is "Near East" brand curry flavored rice pilaf, which by the way is also available at Whole Foods if you're looking for one-stop shopping. So with the rice, the kabobs and some frozen peas thrown into the mix, you should be good to go.

The grilled kebabs.

The Rice and peas.

The tasty plate.

Enjoy!

Until next time,

Slater,

Gator.

Taste of Asia in Sarasota - Food from Laos, Vietnam and Thai

2010-03-02T00:39:00.006-05:00

This is my third time at Taste of Asia and it is growing on me more and more. Today Frilly Goose and Silly Goose (me), wanted to have a drink and some appetizers. I was really looking for a soup since I had a fight with Senor Patron over the weekend.

I knew they have the best soups in town. It was cold and windy for March in SRQ. We enter and there is warm light and warm smiles, I just love the place. It is very small and tiny but it does feel very cozy. There was a lot of people, normally you can find all ages, sizes, nationalities, etc.

The place itself is multicultural. We got a table for two and at the same time 4 new tables got busy. WOW the place was full for a Monday night.

The daughter's owner comes up with a smile and asked us for drinks (Water for me) and what we want to start. Right away, I order a small bowl of chicken and rice soup with scallions, cilantro and fried/caramelized onions. YUMMMMMMM I was dead and this soup revived.

Then we got some:

FRESH ROLLS ( 2 ) Lettuce,mint, bean sprouts, rice vermicelli & shrimp(or choice of meat), wrapped in rice paper w/ peanut sauce $3.99

LUM-PLINGS (6) Steamed or Fried (Pork) Home made dumplings with chicken or pork, cabbage,chives & sprinkled with garlic and served with special soy sauce $6.99

OMG, the Lum-plings were just amazing. Yes! I'm saying Amazing again. The flavors were perfect, the pork and all the sauces. It was just what we needed for small appetizers.

Then we talked more and we were wondering what type of dessert they have. They have one dessert that is fried Thai doughnut with chocolate. We didn't get it, but I will next time.

Service was great, even thought it got a bit crazy, the service was moving and also they didn't rush you out of the table. They were just perfect. Now, atmosphere is great and the conversations that you can hear are great too. Of course, you are going to hear each others conversation when the tables are so close to each other. It is actually pretty cool. We got these 2 ladies talking about the horrible problems they have. Really! Cry me a river and just enjoy the Pad Thai :)

However, this is why restaurants are so fascinating not only for the food, the atmosphere, the experience but everything that a restaurant gives you. I'LL BE BACK! for sure.

Also, check what Sarasota Magazine has to say about it (or do you like our post instead?)

And check out the specials they have:
Early bird: Monday - Thursday
5pm - 6pm: all beers $2 & all wines $3

Lunch special - Monday - Friday
Starting from $5.50

Prices are easy on your wallet and the amount of food is very large.

I want to see you there next time! Tell us of your experience at Taste of Asia.

ADDRESS:
1535 Main Street
Sarasota, FL 34236
941-365-6278
http://www.tasteofasiasrq.com/

On Main between Orange & Lemon
North Side of Main Street
Next to Helen's Books & Comics

Nnamdi Okonkwo Art In Sarasota Art Festival

2010-02-25T07:57:00.001-05:00

This past Sunday, Sarasota had a huge art festival for all of us to enjoy. Silly Goose was filming around town with the www.foolingaroundtown.com crew and we did see a lot of art. But the moment that we got to the booth of Nnamdi's art we had to stop.

It was just a very peaceful and beautiful art we were looking at. I started to talk to the artist and ask questions when we at the spur of the moment we decided to do a video. The artist's personality was so captivating that we had to do it.

So here goes, enjoy!

His name is Nnamdi Okonkwo and is an amazing artist that lives Georgia. He creates amazing sculptures in bronze. Starting from small size to monumental sizes. He has many shows around the country as well as many installations that you can find it on display at Mesa, Arizona, Colorado, Harlem in NYC which by the end of spring it will have a new addition to the city. If you are around that area and see his work we would love to get photos from it. Just send us note and we will contact you asap.

To learn more visit his website at www.nnamdiart.com or if you want to buy or commission art contact nnamdi@@nnamdiart.com

We love doing this type of blog and meeting new people that have amazing talent. Support and thanks to www.foolingaroundtown.com for the video.

Let us know what other favorite artist you want us to find and talk about it.

NNAMDI WE WISH YOU THE BEST OF LUCK AND HOPEFULLY WE WILL SEE YOU SOON. ALL THE SUCCESS from the silly gooses.

Later!

SillyGoose has a promo video ;)

2010-02-24T08:23:00.000-05:00

Yep, it is official and a first, we have a promo video and we want to get bigger than ever. LOL.

Thanks to http://www.foolingarountown.com/ and sillygoosetravel.com we had this amazing video done on a very relaxing Sunday afternoon.

Lucky for us, when we arrived downtown there was an art festival. :) We did a lot of silly silliness and foolish foolishness around downtown. We filmed the sillygoose promo, ate gyros, got ice mocha (4 in total), got french sweets, walked a lot, saw way too many dogs and a lot of amazing artists. We even got to do videos of 2 artists.

But for now, just enjoy this little promo...............more blogs to come.

Fooling Around with Marianne from Stephen R. McFadden on Vimeo.

Any comments are welcome.

See ya later!

Pastry Art on Main Street Sarasota

2010-02-21T12:25:00.000-05:00

First time at Pastry Art on Main Street Sarasota.

Today is Sunday and there is a huge art festival starting on Main street and Lemon to all the way to where the library is.
Today sillygoosetravel.com is doing a video with www.foolingaroundtown.com. It is fun and nothing is scripted. I got my ice mocha coffee - very, very well done. Free wifi and the variety of cookies are amazing.

For sure, I will go back and do some blogging from there.

Since today there is an art festival, we also enjoyed all the street food available. Like gyros or how I call them, Mediterranean Burritos. Yummm those were good. The only thing we were missing was the Parthenon.

So we did finish the video for foolingaroundtown.com, we had our ice coffees and gyros, we decided to go and check out the festival. Looking for silly adventures.

Trust me, when you go to an art festival, you can find some very, very interesting people, artists and many funny, funny dogs. Especially those ladies that buy a stroller for their dogs. Ladies! Dogs have 4 legs and they can walk. Really, they can walk!!!!

ok, I'm out of line here, sorry... off we go for some videos. You will see them soon.

Ciao from Silly Goose.

PS: I found out that they have Open MIC Nite every Wednesday! you better go there and support local musicians and local coffee :)

Pastry Art Bakery
www.pastryartbakerycafe.com
1512 Main Street
Sarasota, FL 34236-5803
(941) 955-7545

View Larger Map

Flight of the Conchords foux de fa fa

2010-02-16T00:06:00.000-05:00

This is one of the silly things that we love and this is too funny. Did you see that they are in France :)
Enjoy!

Super Bowl, Super BBQ

2010-02-15T10:22:00.000-05:00

Happy Super Bowl Eve, Frilly Goose and I decided to have a small party this weekend for local and far-away friends. Since it coincided with the the big game, we are going to have it Sunday afternoon. I fell back to the tried and true smoked pulled pork from my Bradley Smoker. since this is a fairly time consuming process, I starts on Friday by going to the best butcher in town, "Da Block", known to most as the Butcher's Block, on 17th street, just east of Lockwood Ridge Road. Scott Mc gowan and his father Stan run a great place for not only pork but also Aged Prime steaks, chicken, Irish and Atlantic Salmon, sausages and various prepared deli foods. Not to mention a thorough variety of wines and beer. Once the pork is home, I wash it, let it dry then rub it down with a secret blend of spices, actually not so secret as anyone can get the recipe from the Bradley Smoker website. The meat is then wrapped and refrigerated over night.

Saturday morning, the meat comes out and is brought to room temperature. Next, set up the smoker and pop the butt in.

The smoker uses pucks of hickory hardwood that are introduced to a heating element every 20 minutes, so it is kind of a "set it and forget it" operation. This went in the smoker at 8:00 AM Saturday morning.

Here is the butt after about 2 1/2 hours. Only about 7 1/2 more to go. :}

Well, pretty close it took 8 more hours to produce this.

Next up is the pulling of the pork. This can be quite tedious, but only if you want just the right size pull. Lots of folk will just chop or slice the pork, but for a great sandwich it needs to be pulled, and pulled just right. To me this means strips of tender pork about an 1/8" in diameter and as long as possible. Yes it is a lot of work but well worth it in the end. Make sure a lot of the bark goes into the mix as well.

The finished product should look something like this. Next add the vinegar sauce, basically apple cider vinegar, Worcestershire sauce, water, salt and pepper. Then, all you need is some buns, coleslaw and good friends to help eat this handful of tastiness. That's all for now and by the way......

Who Dat
Who Dat
Who Dat say they gonna beat dem Saints

Apparently, not the Colts

New Orleans 31 Indianapolis 17

Slater,

Gator

Owen's Fish Camp

2010-02-06T13:53:00.000-05:00

Finally, the drive-by's and the waiting, the standard response of "2 weeks til we open", which means about the same as "soon come mon" in Jamaica, Owen's Fish Camp in the Burns District of Sarasota is open. I stopped by during the middle of a deluge and got a mini tour. Back out in the rain, I'm thinking I should have waited this out a bit in the dry confines of the restaurant. Oh well, the sometimes soggy life of a Floridian.

When Frilly Goose E-mailed me from a conference that the new Belgian restaurant was open, I told her about Owen's. We decided to dine there. When we arrived there was a 30 minute wait as the place was packed. Meandering over to the small bar we ordered drinks, another couple who were leaving kindly gave us their seats. Frilly informed the hostess that we were going to sit at the bar and dine and free up our potential table for someone else. This is one of the best ways to eat, at the bar, as your server/bartender is usually nearby.

There were quite a few specials and the bartender said the catfish was really good. I'm done, I've decided on the catfish served over cheese grits with a side of spicy collards. Frilly opted for the fried green tomato salad with country ham crisps and buttermilk dressing. The service was very quick and I think we were served in about 15 minutes.

Well, the food didn't disappoint, the catfish was breaded, hot and crispy, perfect, the cheese grits were amazing and the collards very tasty. Good southern cooking! Frilly liked her salad but said the tomatoes could have been cooked a bit longer. My only complaint was the catfish on top of the grits, which with the moisture in the grits made the bottom crust a bit soggy. When the chef came out later I mentioned this and he seemed happy to get the feedback and said he might try putting the fish on the side in the future. Always great to have a chef that listens to the customers.

A bit later, I asked about the "Boiled Roadside Peanuts" and the server gave us a small portion. Yummy, a bit fresher and less mushy than a lot I've had before and they were on the house. Nice touch!

All in all, a very pleasurable dining experience and one we will repeat.

Another great endeavour by the Brothers Caraguilo.

Get over there and try it, you won't be disappointed.

Until next time..

Slater,

Gator

Owen's Fish Camp
516 Burns Ct.
Sarasota Fl 34236

View Larger Map

Vizen Japanese Restaurant in Sarasota - Gulf Gate Area

2010-01-31T10:04:00.000-05:00

BEST sushi in town. Vizen is celebrating 3 years of excellence in perfection and uniqueness. If you are a real lover for real sushi edo style and for the understanding of flavors, presentation, and mastery of Chef Matsu this is the place to be. Best sushi in a 200 miles radius. For sure!

We had: fried oysters and scallops, rainbow roll (not any rainbow roll), Agedashi tofu and Beef tar tar sushi. YUMMMM it was perfect with ocha tea.
Until next time. You better check them out.

VIZEN Japanese Restaurant
6559 Gateway Ave. Sarasota 941-926-0830
5:00-10:00 p.m. Sun.,Tues.-Thurs. 5:00-10:30 p.m. Fri-Sat.
www.vizen-sarasota.com

View Larger Map

Grouper Sammich, Grouper Sammich, Where for art thou?

2010-01-20T09:06:00.000-05:00

Last Saturday, Frilly, Silly and I, the Gator Goose were running errands, when suddenly I'm getting hungry. What do I want, hmmmm, flash, the image of a nice grouper sandwich is firmly planted in my mind. As I share this epiphany with the rest of the gooses, I get a positive response from S.G. and we're off to Marina Jack to sit by the bay, watch the boats and birds pass, and last but not least, tackle the tasty goodness that is the Grouper Sandwich.

After parking and walking through the marina to the outdoor seating, we have our menus in hand. So we order drinks and I begin scanning the menu. Cuban Sandwich, no, Chili-Cheese Dog, no ,French Dip, no...............Sacre Bleu! There is no Grouper Sandwich to be had here, the closest thing is a Blackened Tilapia also known as Myakka Snapper. Oh the humanity, what to do now. After some pouting, I recall the old standby The Salty Dog on City Island, so we pay for our drinks and head off over the bridges and bay once again on a journey for The Sandwich.

Nice drive through St. Armands Circle, as we traverse the small bridge we see a dolphin gliding through the water. Sweet! After a slight detour through the Lido Shores neighborhood to see the Sarasota School of Architecture houses we arrive at our destination.

We take our seats at a table on the bay side of the restaurant and get our menus. Yes, there it is, the fried grouper sandwich. So we order 3 sandwiches and an order of Conch Fritters. Frilly Goose was very virtuous, getting the grilled grouper instead of our fried ones. The fritters arrive first and are yummy, they are served with a mango dipping sauce that is surprisingly good. After we polish off the fritters it's on to the sandwiches. They are HUGE! There is as much fish and batter on the outside of the bun as the inside. Now, how do we go about eating this monster. I go for the break and stack method and lift it to my mouth for the first bite....and.....Well....Hmmm.......it is stunningly......boring :(

The batter overwhelmed the fish. One look inside the batter and you can see the fish is quite thin, they would be better off with a smaller bun-sized and thicker portion of fish than they serve. I think next time at the "OSD" I'll stick with the tried and true Fish and Chips or clam strips. The staff was very helpful and even comped one of the sandwiches. And so the journey, dare I say quest, continues. Stay tuned to the hunt for the best Grouper Sandwich around these parts.

Slater,

Gator

View Larger Map

The Breakfast House in Sarasota - New Breakfast place!

2010-01-19T00:33:00.000-05:00

Sunday morning I hear a text coming over, but I was too cold and tired. I let it go!. Then finally some 45 minutes later I woke up and see the text, it was Frilly Goose and Gator Goose trying to get to have breakfast at this new place call The Breakfast House on Fruitville and Links (past Links - going west on Fruitville) and it is a cute yellow house on the right hand side of the road. It has white picket fence :)

I call my roommate and we run to get brunch - we arrive and OMG, this place is full. Nothing wrong with this, as we are in season, although it did feel like we were dining with our grandparents. However, they are the perfect market on a Sunday morning - right after church.

First we need to find a parking place - I was tweeting about the place and when we got to the porch, there was a line. The owner receives us and tell us that there will be around 5-10 minutes to wait. In the mean time, I'm reading my NYTimes on the iphone.

10 minutes pass and we get in. The place is so cute and charming and warm. It does feel that you've entered someone's living room. It is a nice feeling. The place was full and you can right away see that they didn't have enough staff.

We got coffee right away - American coffee and it was GOOD. (it passed the test)
They just opened 4 weeks ago and it looks that they got mention in the paper and that is the reason why they were so busy.

But I do get it, there are not that many different breakfast places in this town and to have a new one is good.

We order our food. I got Eggs in the Basket (which I have no idea what it is) and my roomy got pancakes with bananas and nuts. Finally, after a long wait (again, small staff and small kitchen) the food arrived.

I was amazed at how the eggs were - they were on a basket, actually the bread had a hole in the middle and the egg was cooked inside to perfection. I was really amazed at how they did this.

Over all, the place was good, services was good (slow but hey, it is Sunday, what's the rush) and prices are very good. For sure, I will be coming to get more food.
Oh, and the pancakes were soft, fluffy and delicious. Yummmm!

Come on over and enjoy.

PS: we heard that they will have outside tables with a nice garden and birds. That I got see, when the warm weather shows up again in Florida.

Address:
The Breakfast House
1817 Fruitville Road, Sarasota, FL
(941) 366-6860‎

View Larger Map

All-Inclusive Resort in Cancun!

2010-01-15T21:28:00.000-05:00

I collected a Mexican entry stamp on my passport in December 2009. Thanks to my boyfriend, we were able to stay at Crown Paradise Club in Cancun for a week.
This family-oriented all inclusive resort offers great food, fun entertainment, activities and relaxing environment. I don't know what other guests typically do when they stay at an all inclusive resort, but here is what our regular schedule looks like. We wake up around 7:30 am, then take Pilates class from 9 am and Boot Camp class at 11 am. My boyfriend's daughter instructed Plates and Boot camp classes every morning. She was a group fitness instructor for the resort for that week. My boyfriend was there to teach Tennis. He was ready to teach every morning, but unfortunately, he only had a few students showing up during our stay. Anyway, after the intensive work out, we have lunch and take a long nap. Then, we have dinner and go to bed by 10 p.m. every night. Pretty healthy, right? We didn't do much during the evening not because there was nothing to do, but because we were tired and sleepy. As a matter of fact, the resort had a special live show every night, and the night club was open from 11 pm to 2 am. I'm sure I would have wild stories to tell if I were there.

One of the great features of the resort is the main pool where guests can relax, eat, drink and have a good time. The entertainment staff offered fun activities from 9 am to 5 pm. One day we were sitting on the pool side after the morning work out. Several food staff members came and set up a couple of tables and a huge paella pan. That was the biggest pan that I ever seen. They began making paella with sauce, rice, shrimp and other items. Then, put the aluminum foil cover to cook it. Everyone at the pool side started to smelling the wonderful paella. After 20 - 30 minutes, the staff opened the cover and put the final touch to the dish. I was the first one to taste it. Rice was cooked nicely, and the flavor from seafood and vegetables was wonderful. The dish entertained my sight, smell and taste. After the great paella, I enjoyed my usual siesta.

Quebec City Eats : Le Manoir Du Spaghetti

2010-01-11T14:30:00.000-05:00

One wouldn't expect to find a fabulous Italian restaurant in French Canada but here at Le Manoir, pasta is pretty much the only thing on the menu and it is FABULOUS.

My fiance and I were visiting my relatives just outside Quebec City and decided to re-visit this favorite. Le Manoir is set within a Victorian-style mansion in the Charlesbourg neighborhood, just outside downtown Quebec City. With a heavy load of snow on the ground and below-zero temperatures, this charming restaurant was the perfect winter escape. The atmosphere is warm and inviting, fires lit in bar section and the main dining rooms, creating a beautifully romantic atmosphere. The attire is simple and dressed-down, though it is rare to see people truly dressed-down in Quebec City.

The menu is book-sized, offering delectable pasta selections from wild to mild. My honey prefers the more traditional Spaghetti with Bolognese Sauce and meatballs---softball sized at this establishment. I opt for a slightly more unusual Salsa Rosea featuring a creamy tomato sauce with bacon, onion, garlic and herbs. A nice touch is the ability to choose your preferred noodle with each sauce offering---I opted for penne. Wine enthusiasts will also be grateful for the extensive wine menu featuring bottles within a variety of price ranges and flavors.

For the Quebec visitor who's looking for a less touristy place to dine, going outside the city is always a good option. Le Manoir du Spaghetti is definitely a local favorite with good reason! The prices are reasonable considering the quality, the atmosphere is charming and very French despite the Italian food, and the service is always friendly.

When you go:
- Come hungry! The portions are very big. Their freshly baked bread and garlic butter is extremely good, too, so you won't want to miss it.
- Expect to take your time -- this is a general rule for all of Quebec. Like the Europeans, they do not like to be rushed
- Make a reservation. We waited for a solid 20 minutes on a Thursday to get a table. It was entirely worth the wait, however.

Le Manoir Du Spaghetti
7685 1re Avenue, Quebec, QC Canada
418-627-0161

Happy Travels
- Wine-ing Goose

Box Social Downtown Sarasota

2010-01-05T00:43:00.000-05:00

Box Social opened last year on Main Street,between Orange and Lemon Avenues in Sarasota, FL.
I saw it one night when a friend of mine told me to check out this new college cafe/bar - I was like, really?

I got in and it does feel like a high school/college kinda place. But it has an amazing feeling and is totally fresh, modern, avant garde and bohemian, I loved it. You will see a lot of young crowd but also different ages. They have live music every day and the bands are very good. Great musicians. Also, everyone is friendly and sometimes shy! I do feel sometimes like a cougar in there. But what I'm a talking about, I'm just 30 and taken, but that is how some of the women might feel.

Any who, don't give a s*&%# about it and just enjoy the place.

The walls have a lot of urban art and nice graffiti.

To get all the updates on their live shows visit their facebook page here

DRINKS:

Coke, Diet, Sprite
Root beer (float)
Flavored Hot & Iced Teas
Coffee & Espresso
Bottled & Draft Beers
Cabernet
Chardonnay
Sparkling & Still Bottled Water

Mondays: Movie Night
Tuesdays: Open Mic

Information

Location:
1507 Main Street
Sarasota, FL, 34236
Phone:
(941) 932-5506
Mon - Sun:
4:00 pm - 2:00 am

View Larger Map