At work, I have the pleasure of going to lunch in Metro Birmingham. In general, we try to go to various restaurants in an effort to find unique and tasty meals. There are good meals, bad meals, and extremely memorable meals. Today brought a very memorable meal, but not for the reason I expected.

We ventured to Jinsei Sushi (http://www.jinseisushi.com/) this afternoon. Located in SoHo in downtown Homewood, Jensei is a quaint little Sushi restaurant with an excellent decor. Today’s selection: The Jinsei Special roll, the Alabama roll, and the Wagyu Baby Burgers. Being the semi-Foodie that I am, I was extremely excited, if a bit skeptical, about the Wagyu Burgers. How could I pass that up?

Let’s talk about the rolls first.

The Alabama roll is described on the lunch menu as having: “tempura shrimp. avocado. tuna tataki. spicy dressing.” This was a rather enjoyable roll with just the right amount of spice. Add some wasabi, top it with a sliver of ginger, and dip it in soy sauce… this is a tasty bite. I would definitely order it again. This was the highlight of my meal.

The Jinsei Special roll is described as having: “tuna. yellowtail. jalapeño. cilantro.” This roll was good enough, but wholly forgetable. Though the menu specificaly calls out the jalapeño, we struggled to get any hint of heat from the pepper, even when eating a piece unadulterated.

That said, the sushi was decent and worth a repeat visit.

This brings us to the Wagyu Baby Burgers; an exciting premise that just left me angry. When these slider style burgers hit the table, I could tell something was just off. I am all for simple presentations and this fit the bill: a crusty roll, the burger patty, and a simple sauce (in this case: horseradish).  There was a side of tempura vegetables served with Ponzu sauce as well, which was a bowl of tangy goodness.The vegetables were cooked perfectly and had a great crunch.

I look at the patty, a dark, dry, tough hunk of meat. If this was truly a Wagyu burger, then what I was served was criminally overcooked. My excitement turned to annoyance with the first bite. With each bite, irritation. After I finished these burgers, I just got angry. Even slathering the burger with the ponzu sauce couldn’t save this catastrophy of a dish. With a little education on Wagyu Beef, you’ll discover why my expectations were more than a little dashed. Needless to say, I will not order this entree again. One might argue that I shouldn’t have ordered a burger at a sushi restaurant. Consider this a lesson learned.

So our quest concluded with a bitter disappointment. Will we return to Jinsei? More than likely, as the sushi was quite good. Next time, we’ll take on a wider variety of rolls and sashimi.

My coworker , Dorothy, recommended this restaurant to me. Adam and I ate there for our anniversary last year and loved it. The meatball appetizer was the best part of the meal. Definitely a five star in my book.

Amore’ Restorante Italiano
Greystone Center
5510 Highway 280 S., Suite 116
Birmingham, AL 35242
(205) 437-1005

 May 22nd was a beautifully sunny Saturday day and so we rose early and headed out to hit the local farmer’s markets. Though the Mt. Laurel Farmer’s Market doesn’t officially begin until June 4th, there were a few vendors out this weekend selling garden fresh vegetables, knit & crocheted items and one of my favorites, cheeses and jellies. As a matter of fact, while I was working at the CMMS event I met Dr. Robert from Southern Pines Chiropractic Center at Mt. Laurel. He mentioned his wife Sasha loved all things foodie or crafty. I found Sasha’s Simply Cheese on facebook and immediately fell in love with the business. Not only does she sell products from www.simplycheese.net but she also makes her own fruit and wine jellies. I was so happy to meet Sasha at the Mt. Laurel Farmer’s Market Saturday and try her delicious cheeses and jellies first hand. The Lavender Zinfandel jelly was sweet yet floral and would be delicious on chicken or poured over some brie, wrapped in filo pastry and baked. Yum. We also tried her cabernet sauvignon jelly paired with the pepper jack cheese and immediately picked up a jar. I intend to pour it over pork tenderloin as a marinade before grilling. I think I will also make a sauce for the pork with the jelly. It was just so good. 

After visiting with the MLFM vendors we stopped off for a quick and inexpensive bite at Jimbo’s and then headed to Pepper Place in downtown Birmingham. I love going to Pepper Place every year because there are so many local farmers, artists, crafters, musicians and all around awesome people there. We first went through the fresh produce area and let me tell you I really regret that I did my grocery shopping the day before because I wanted one of everything. I picked up some kale from Pond Creek Farm (Cullman, AL) and then a half dozen Chilton County Peaches from Burnette Farms. I want to make Spanish bean soup this week and I am going to try my hand at a peach cobbler. 

We stopped by the Pepper Place garden and then headed to the back area which I don’t remember there being vendors back there last year. I purchased some green tomatoes from A & P Farms (Gallant, AL) and the lovely woman working in the booth gave me two recipe cards with alternate recipes from fried green tomatoes. One is for grilled tomatoes with Cajun dressing and the other for un-fried tomatoes.  Zoey and I stopped to share a cup of Strawberry Italian Ice while Adam taste-tested some wines from the Winery at Pepper Place. He picked out his two favorites; the Jacquelyn which is an apple Riesling and Triptych which is a blended red wine.

We ventured to the far side of Pepper Place to walk through the artist/crafting vendors and I grabbed a loaf of French bread from the Culinard Cafe. We looked at handmade crocheted items, beautiful cutting boards and carved wood, fun kitchen wind chimes, handmade jewelry and much, much more. All-in-all the day was relaxing but adventurous.  Zoey enjoyed the music and seeing all the dogs walking with their owners. Adam loved the taste testing and the ambience and I loved spending the day in the sun with my family and some interesting and creative small town vendors. To by fresh, to buy organic and to support local small business owners makes me extremely happy.

I am perched atop a high-top at the obviously popular Feast Restaurant & Bar in downtown Chicago. Though headed to an Italian restaurant recommended by the concierge, the outdoor seating and clientele caught my eye. Besides I am having pizza tonight.

They have a breakfast lunch and dinner menu. It is 1:30 and they are still serving breakfast — yeah! Full wine menu and a 22 seat bar with two small flat screen TVs for your sport watching enjoyment. The decor is modern in design with warm apricot walls and toasted wood finish. Out my window I see at least a dozen tables with comfortable-looking faux wicker chairs. One of the enticing features is the neighboring deli called The Goddess and Grocer.

I chose the Eggs Portobello but they were sold out. I switched to the Crab Benedict described as “two poached eggs and crab cakes over jalapeño-cheddar corn bread with chipotle hollandaise + feast potatoes $13.50.” My food arrives and it’s a good looking plate of food. The potatoes are crunchy but needed to be warmer. The crab cakes are delicate and flavorful. The cornbread underneath is moist and has a little bite with the jalapeño. I would preferthe egg be cooked a little more but it is white and fluffy I just don’t care for eggs where the whites run clear. They were close but they needed a few more seconds. Texturally I would have liked the crab cake to have a more crisp exterior to provide a textural contrast in the bite. It wasn’t till my second crab cake that I even noticed their were capers. The second cake was more enjoyable and I could feel more of the jalepeno heat on my lips. Proportionally I didn’t need this many potatoes but I suppose I would prefer more than not enough.

The dish was good not great. Let’s put it this way, I haven’t eaten anything all day and I didn’t finish my plate. So it didn’t blow me out of the water. I am sure it would be better in the am when everything is fresh. I did like my waiter though. He was quiet and friendly. He kept my coffee full and even made me one to go. Thanks Boomer. I also like that there are grown up smoothies on their menu with different types of vodka. It seems interesting. All-in-All I give it a 3 out of 5. It was definitely worth the price and and easy to get in and out of. I can see why the locals like to pop in here to eat.

feast restaurant & bar
25 E. Delaware Place
Chicago. IL 60611
Ph: 312.337.4001
Fx: 312.896.2590

I work for a publishing company and one of our sister companies is located in the suburbs of Chicago, IL.  About once a year we visit our distant friends to discuss business face-to-face. The last few times we visited, our team took us to Bob Chinn’s Crab House to enjoy some delicious seafood as well as an extraordinary dining experience. The atmosphere is energetic, loud, and sizzling with a huge dining room and vivacious staff. The room smells of fresh steamed crab claws, perfectly buttered fish and mouth-watering steaks. The menu is a simple, legal-sized sheet of paper with 8 point font as tight as it can be on the front and back. (Click Here to view a sample dinner menu).

Our table ordered a variety of appetizers including the Crab Cake Nuggets, Oysters on the Half Shell, Portobello Mushrooms, Calamari and King Crab Fingers.  We passed the dishes around the table, eating family style.  My favorite was the little Crab Cake Nuggets because they had a crispy exterior with a moist mixture inside that melted in your mouth.

During our first visit, I had the 8 oz Strip Steak & Antarctic Bay Scallops for dinner.  The portion was perfect.  The steak had a perfect sear and cooked to perfection at medium-rare.  The scallops were small but flavorful; buttery and delicate.  I had the pleasure of taste-testing a few of the other guests’ meals and fell in love with the Sea Bass Steamed Asian Style, so much so that I ordered it when I returned a year later.  This moist, mild fish is steamed in a soy sauce base with sesame oil and fresh ginger.  It is topped with scallions and cilantro and served with white rice.  The appearance is of a bright white fish with a translucent sweet smelling sauce, vibrant green accents perched on a small puff of steamy white rice.  I am so glad I tried the dish again, it was so worth it.

Some other recommendations from my dining partners were the 10 oz. Prime Rib, the Macadamia Sautéed Sea Bass and the Alaskan Bairdi Snow Crab Legs.  If you have the chance to stop by Bob Chinn’s Crab House, I highly recommend it.  I even brought home two of their signature tiki cups and a t-shirt for my hubby that says “I have the best legs in town”.