STEAK HOUSES IN ST. LOUIS, MO.

Aloha and it's me again Ron, and no I am not in St. Louis, MO. although my favorite football team is there the St. Louis Rams. But I am on the island of Maui folks, right stuck in Lahaina as I write this blog.

So the other day I was talking to some visitors as usual, I love talking to visitors here and this was about a few hours before TS Flossie hit the island, and this couple was rather apprehensive. "Are we gonna get hit hard?" I was like, "No worries guys."

So I asked them where they were from, and this young honeymoon couple Mark and Alley were from St. Louis, Missouri and just happened to be on the island celebrating their nuptials and enjoying the pre-storm festivities. Oh yeah there were clowns in town laughing it up with funny circus music and balloons.

Anyhow I'll get right to the point, I asked them about food in St. Louis, like what kinds of foods they like to eat. Mark says, "I like to eat steaks. And there's a place called Carmine's Steak House." Okay so what's Carmines? "They got aged beef, great delicious chops, even fresh seafood for being in the central U.S. believe it or not? It's a great restaurant, we go there on occasion, they belong to a restaurant group."

"Yeah I love meat too," says Alley. "We aren't vegans."

Hey my kind of peeps, I mean I love vegan food I really do, but if it's great steaks? I'm there baby!!!!

So I looked up Carmine's on Yelp.com. And I was amazed at a lot of people liking this joint. So let's go over what Carmine's is. It is a restaurant that belongs to Lombardo Restaurants, when you search for Carmine's Lombardo's website comes up. So Carmine's is located at:

Carmine's Steak House
20 South Fourth Street
St. Louis, MO 63102
Phone: 314-241-1631

Email: CarminesSteakHouse@att.net
Open for dinner 7 nights a week.

Okay what looks good on their menu? Let's see.

Hmmm their appetizers looks good totally Italian, after all the originals came from Sicily. This is what I'd actually pick if I could only pick one, just from looking at the menu.

I'd get the Toasted Ravioli, Lombardo's Housemade Colossal Meat Filled Ravioli, now anything house made has to be good. I mean anything, it's fresher hence more flavor, that is if it's done right. And I gotta admit, these guys has been around for a long time. So I'd order that, it's $9.75..if it's that great I'd order another one man. 

The salads? I'd get the Caesar Salad, I love that kind of salad, and these guys put Shaved Asiago Cheese in there with their own Caesar Dressing. That costs $8.00.

For the chicken meals? What stood out to me was this one, Chicken Modega which is a boneless breast of chicken, breaded and charbroiled, and topped with Provolone cheese and white wine lemon prosciutto mushroom sauce. That stood out man, sounds really savory eh? $19.95 this one costs.

Seafood? Sorry I get gout if I eat that but if I did eat seafood, or crustaceans I'd order the Spinaci Scallops. It has Shitake shroomz, spinach and bacon, balsamic syrup, topped with gorgonzola cheese. $26.00. Or the lobster tails.

Now for the meat!!!! If I could get only one entree here, by just reading the menu I'd go for the...24 oz. Porterhouse!!!! (The Best of Both Worlds-Tenderloin and Strip Loin Married by the Bone. That sounds wicked!!! $38.00. And all of their entrees comes with a side, and served with Carmine's Steak Butter! Mmmmm, me loves butter!!!! Man if they got a Marinara Mayonnaise I'm all over that shit! Yes!

And the sides? They got some good looking ones, just real good looking stuff, like:

Sautéed Mushrooms and Onions $5.75
In-House-Made Onion Rings $6.95
Sautéed Spinach $5.95
Jumbo Shrimp Scampi $6.25
Jumbo Lump Crab Meat $6.95
Béarnaise $3.25
Cajun Rub $2.95
Gorgonzola Crumbles $3.25
Gorgonzola Sauce $3.25
Pepper loin Sauce with Cracked Pepper $3.25

So just by looking at Carmine's Steak House menu, it's not overly done, it's straight to the point. They're saying "Look, guys we were in biz for a long time, and this is what we do good, no fuss, no fluff, just good Italian style steaks and chops. And I like that kind of menu.

Well you know I've been to a lot of places where the menu is so vast, the chef is trying to make a point, "Hey I been to Thailand, I been to France, I been here I been there, so let me show off my skills." And then you get there, only some of the things are really worth eating. So looking at Carmine's and listening to my friends from St. Louis, if I ever get there, I'd go to Carmine's and sample that big ass Porterhouse steak! And the butter.

www.lombardosrestaurants.com

Copyright 2013 ®

Copyright 2013 ®

rsmedia@yahoo.com

CHINESE NOODLES VANCOUVER, CANADA

I'm on Maui, and I happened to talk to a couple from Vancouver, Canada. I asked them where's a good place for me to go and eat if I ever get to Canada.

"Hmm, well we go to this place called Shalin Noodle House," said the man in his late sixties. "Do you like Chinese food?"

I was like, ".....ck what you talkin bout Willis?!!!"

The wife was like, "Shalin, remember that name, they have great Chinese food there."

Okay, case closed. So we chatted about them, and me, and then them, and then me. Okay I got it, nice peeps, so I decided to get on my $18,000.00 high perf MacBookPro at Barnes and Noble in Lahaina with a a tall coffee, 2 brown sugars and some half and half. Ready to go!

So as I googled Shalin, I had to find out when this place opened up and this is what I found from their website www.shalinnoodlehouse.com

Alright, I'm having a difficult time in one click so screw that who cares when the hell they opened up, last year? Ten years ago? Who cares, let me look at their menu and see what I'd try.

As I look at their beautiful website I clicked Shaolin Specialties, and what came across as inviting is the Fried Cutting Noodles/Dragging Noodles/Pushing Noodles/Round HELA Noodles w/ meat and vegetables. for 9.95 (Canadian) So I think...we pay more in U.S. dollars. I think...

What else looked good here at Shalin? I'd order the Zhajiang Pork w/ Cucumber on Rolling Noodles $7.95 (I love pork but can't really fathom the gout it gives me)

Or maybe the Stewed Noodles wit Chicken & Vegetable in Soup 7.95

The Fried Beef with Onion looks good 9.95

Stewed and Fried Beef Tendon 9.95

Stir Fried Fresh Shrimp 11.95

Fried Scallops with Broccoli 10.95

Spicy Fried Shrimps 12.95

The snacks menu looks delicious: 

Steamed Pork & Vegetable Dumplings 12 pcs. 7.95 18 pcs. 9.95

Dumplings in Sour Soup 12 pcs Pork or Vegetable 9.55

Green Onion Pancake 3.50

Beef Pancake 4.25

Small Chinese Eggs and Chives Buns 2 pcs Deep Fried 3.95

 Shalin Noodle House
656 W. Broadway
Vancouver, V5Z 1G1
604-873-1618
SUN-THURS. 11AM -930PM
FRI-SAT. 11AM- 10PM

Photo Below from www.foodobyte.com

Sesame Beef with Shanghai Noodleswww.mightysweet.com

I want to thank the cool couple from Vancouver that was nice enough to talk to this local boy dressed in some old beat up red Quick Silver shorts and a raggedy t-shirt that says, "Kill Them _______!" They weren't afraid of me even.

Copyright 2013 TM®

Copyright 2013 TM®

EMAIL: rsmedia@yahoo.com

KOREAN BBQ SPREADING

This is just a take on Korean BBQ, and why it is so popular, is it the umami flavors? Is it the heat in some dishes such as kimchi? Well for myself Korean BBQ is all about the taste, the soy sauce, sesames, chilies, sweet, the garlic and ginger. The smell, that awesome aroma that only the Korean marinade emanates through the air on any given holiday at the beach or pool. Or if it's a restaurant, if done right...well, when you go out with friends to spend money that same aroma just invites!

In Los Angeles there's a huge Korean community hence people are exposed to this type of cuisine. If you love Chinese and Japanese foods, Korean should be easy to take. It's not uncommon to find Korean food counters in shopping malls, on main streets, or food trucks, because Korean BBQ and other dishes are like a freight train, it hasn't reached its pinnacle yet.

Korean BBQ Beef is a popular item.

Raw prime steaks used for finer Korean BBQ
www.rachelphotodiary.com

Korean Short Ribs (beef)
www.userealbutter.com

Pork www.seasoningandsalt.net

Just some Korean American facts:

One of the first Korean Americans was Seo Jae-pil, or Philip Jaisohn, who came to America shortly after participating in an abortive coup with other progressives to institute a political reform in 1884. He became a citizen in 1890 and earned a medical degree in 1892 from what is now George Washington University.

Historical Population
1910- 462

1920- 1,224

1930- 1,860

1940- 1,711

1970- 69,130

1980- 354,593

1990- 798,849

2000- 1,076,872

2010- 1,423,784 

Metropolitan Population (2 largest cities)

The two metropolitan areas with the highest Korean American populations are the Greater Los Angeles area (334,329); and the Greater New York City area (218,764)

So for the Korean BBQ, you'll find lots of it in these two cities, with other cities burgeoning. It is an ethnic food that is being sought after by a lot of people. In Hawaii Korean BBQ is considered "local" food because it blends well with the Asian population's foods such as traditional Japanese teriyaki, Chinese dim sum, chowmein, etc.

One of the most famous local restaurants that has expanded to the mainland from Hawaii that features Korean BBQ is L&L Drive Inn.

L&L Drive Inn's Korean Style (Hawaiian Style) BBQ comes complete with 2 scoops of white rice, and one scoop of macaroni salad.

Copyright 2013 TM®

PIZZA IN CHICAGO

Just recently I been kind of getting to know our visitors here on Maui Island. I mean our visitors (tourists) are coming here to get to know our island, I might as well get to know some folks and get to understand where they came from and what kinds of foods I should eat when I visit their city if I ever get there that is...

So I am cruising Lahaina Town, and I run up on a dude and his girlfriend, first thing I notice is they are both lovey dovey and wearing Chicago Cubs jerseys and caps, me I'm wearing a Dodgers cap. 

I approach them, "Hey Cubbies!"

They stop in their tracks, "Us?"

"Yeah you guys..by any chance are you from Chicago?"

The guys smiles, "Yeah how'd you know?" I point to their caps. "Oh yeah that's a give away huh?"

"Yeah."

"Are you from L.A.?"

"Huh?"

He points to my cap, "You're wearing a Dodgers cap?"

"Oh yeah, I mean no, I'm from here."

So we get to talking about baseball, I made reference about that kid that caught a foul ball during a playoff game a few years ago, the Cubby Nation felt that kid cost the Cubs the playoffs.

"Yeah you know I remember that one, that kid was threatened, it was scary."

"People really tried to hurt the guy?" I asked.

"Yeah," says the dudes girlfriend. "What creeps!"

So we talked small talk, where they should go on Maui, blah blah blah...how to say certain words in Hawaiian. Blah blah blah. Then we talked about food, I asked them where they go for pizza since pizza and Chicago are synonymous. And they mentioned Gino's East of Chicago. 

"Yeah they make things fresh, not like Pizza Hut man," the guy says. "It's real Chicago Pizza."

Okay, since that's what they told me, I had to Google it, and this is what I came up with from their menu. First of all Gino's has a few locations in Chicago (4), and one in Wisconsin.

MENU

APPETIZERS (3.95 TO 12.95) Reasonable
Minnestrone Soup
Garlic Sticks w/ Dip
Cheesy Pizza Bread
Toasted Ravioli
Bruschetta
Chicken Tenders w/ BBQ, Honey Mustard, Spicy Buffalo or Ranch
Gino's Wings w/ BBQ or Buffalo
Mozzarella Sticks
Spinach Sticks
Calamari
Spinach Artichoke Dip
Gino's Family Platter- combination of Spinach Sticks, Bruschetta, Calamari and Toasted Ravioli.

SALADS ADD CHICKEN TO ANY SALAD FOR 2.50
Gino's East Fresh House Salad-Crisp lettuce blend w/ tomatoes, red onion, and black olives.
Caesar Salad- Crisp romaine, Romano cheese, and croutons tossed in Caesar dressing. Served with breadsticks.
Tuscan Harvest Salad- Hearty mixed greens, Granny Smith apples, tomato, dried cranberries, walnut, and gorgonzola cheese tossed in fat free raspberry vinaigrette.

"Never mind that, I wanted to see the meat of the menu. What I'd order? This what I'd order that looked good on the menu.

1. Buona's Italian Beef & Sausage Combo- Buona beef and Italian sausage topped with sweet green peppers, served with a side of au jus and giardiniera. 
Giardiniera is (Jar Dih Nair Ah) is pickled foods. $8.50

2. Buona's Italian Beef- Thinly sliced roast beef (served like No.1) $7.95

3. Meatball Sandwich- Lots of meatballs $7.95

4. The Beef Stromboli- Flaky crust stuffed with tender sliced beef w/ mushrooms, onions, peppers, and a blend of 3 cheeses! yeah!!! $9.25 with fries of course screw the salad!

5. Gino's East Supreme Pizza- Sausage, onions, green pepper, and mushrooms. But I'd add on some bacon, and ground beef too. $27.50 for a medium plus $3.25 extra for each ingredient.

Photo from http://www.google.com/url?sa=i&source=images&cd=&cad=rja&docid=490AAatgbnwnwM&tbnid=HHoaXH-JwWi5xM:&ved=0CAcQjB0wAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fonemansblog.com%2F2009%2F01%2F16%2Fthe-coldest-walk-ever-after-pizza-at-ginos-east-in-chicago%2F&ei=B8vpUdLIIqesiAKMp4GADQ&psig=AFQjCNHtn0yIy25lzQDc6f1RuyGLWMtzcw&ust=1374362759611008

Photo from http://www.google.com/url?sa=i&source=images&cd=&cad=rja&docid=l3re4Ao5WOEaQM&tbnid=BAfkopHbSdE5rM:&ved=0CAcQjB0wAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.roadfood.com%2FRestaurant%2FReview%2F6833-9119%2Fginos-east&ei=dMvpUY_nCaWuigLBrIDoAg&psig=AFQjCNHefy2XlIw_ps7_XS_YVtXaWOvxJA&ust=1374362868192991

Photo from http://www.google.com/url?sa=i&rct=j&q=www.ginoseast+images&source=images&cd=&cad=rja&docid=65DlKCFSfilQwM&tbnid=6G9JyfG4saTguM:&ved=0CAQQjB0&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.cheftalk.com%2Ft%2F980%2Fginos-east-pizza-crust%2F60&ei=6svpUcurJ6bwiwKttoD4CA&bvm=bv.49478099,d.cGE&psig=AFQjCNEHPXhWNBkzYd5g2NZukI3fbLUhMg&ust=1374362979692563

So I got a heads up from a couple from Chicago, so if I ever get there I'll check out Gino's East. And maybe I'll go watch a Cubs game.

www.ginoseast.com

Copyright 2013 TM ®

SAUCE BASICS White Sauce or Béchamel

Here is a simple sauce that most chefs learn to make, however my style of cooking style rarely allows me to make this..this French thang. So it's a great thing to go over the things I learned to do and may need to utilize again.

To the left is a finished béchamel sauce, or white sauce. photo from www.masterclass.com

Here's what you can use this sauce for, it is a base for creamy wine sauces, and creamy cheese sauces used for dishes like the popular mac and cheese. You can use this sauce and make it Japanese by infusing mirin and soy sauce, make it Korean by infusing Go Ju Jang, or Chinese with oyster sauce and sesame oil.


Here's a basic white sauces:

2 tbsp. of unsalted butter
2 tbsp. of all purpose flour
1 1/2 cups of milk or half and half
pinch of salt
pinch of pepper

Directions.

1. In a sauce pan, slowly melt the butter and flour together known as making a roux (roo) which becomes a thickening agent.

2. In another saucepan, slowly heat up the milk or half and half. Once it begins to bubble remove from heat.

3. Slowly add this heated milk to the roux and whisk it until it becomes thickened. Season with salt and pepper. Add more milk or half and half to make it more runny.

Tips: After slowly adding in the milk or half and half, you can infuse it by adding white wine for flavor, possible 2 tbsp. worth. Or any flavorings you want to achieve a unique flavored white sauce.

Other ideas? Saute some shrimp in garlic butter, half way through the sautéing process, add in some white sauce with wine.

Cheese sauce? Half way through the finishing process add in some fresh grated parmesan cheese and melt it in the white sauce.

You can dress grilled chicken breast with this also, the sky's the limit with this sauce.

Variants:

When making seafood pasta, you can make a cream sauce by adding a little wine to the pan, and cook off the alcohol for a couple minutes, then add in the milk or half and half and cook until bubbling and continue to reduce or add in some flour and butter mixed together and add it into the pan to thicken the  sauce, and then pouring the entire pan over some cooked penne pasta.

Good Luck you saucier!

Coypright 2013 TM ®

WOK SEASONING BREAKING THE RULES ON STOVES AN BTUs

The wok you see to the left is a finished seasoned and oiled wok, brand new from my friend Pete on Oahu. I needed some good Chinese style woks I could utilize on a flat top electric stove or on a gas stove burner. I went to some places on Maui couldn't find it. I went to the Macy's in Queen K Shopping Center nope! Weak! I need those hand hammered carbon steel woks that conducts heat fast! I called Pete.

"Hey Pete how's everything?"
"I'm okay Ron what's up?"
Okay Pete as in Peter Pao, master of setting up restaurants around the country, I call him brother Pete. Pete's like an older brother I never had, we played hoops with our buds back in the day at the 505 courts in Lahaina, those were the days. And Pete, well he's just a foodie, knows everything about it. He's an awesome cook too, one time long ago he made us fantastic Japanese fare, his tempuras were flaky and very juicy on the inside, and I am talking large shrimp, or midget lobsters.

"Hey Pete I need to get some good woks, I was thinking maybe go get those Macy's woks they got on sale."

"Wo Ron hold on, don't get those ________ pieces  of _______ !!!!"
"Okay Pete, hey maybe you can go look for me in China Town?"
"Yeah man, no worries what kind?"
"Well flat bottoms for sure because it'll be for me cooking in people's homes and stuff, so maybe a 12" wok and a 14" wok, and I'll pay you back."
"Okay let me go look and I'll text you or email you back."
"Roger dat Pete thanks man."
"Anytime man, talk to you soon."

Well Pete is a cool bro, when he says he'll do something he'll do it, and fast. This one time I needed a fish filet knife, I got it in the mail in 2 days! What a friend, what a bro! And this time, he calls me back the next day.

"Hey Ron I got it, but I think the 14 is slightly larger more like a 15, and your 12 is more like a 13, and it is flat, but not perfectly flat because it's hammered, but it does sit pretty evenly and you'll be able to use it on a flat top electric and for a gas burner no problem, these are very good Chinese woks the pros use, nothing flashy, just remember to season it and oil it up before you use it, never use soap when cleaning it, and always give it a light coating of oil before you store it to prevent rusting."

"You da man Pete."
Long story short, I gave Pete my address so he could mail it to me, and from Oahu it would take a day maybe 2. However two days later he calls me and says that he's on Maui for business for a day and that we should hook up and I can take my two babies with me, I meant the woks. Well I had to work, so I arranged a drop of point for the woks, sort of like a drug deal, "Go to Sara at the train depot, drop it off and she'll have an envelope for you." Well I got my woks that evening, and the next day went to my sister's house to use her flat top electric to season my two woks.

Here's a myth with wok cooking that I had to dispel. First and foremost if you have these Chinese woks from China Town, carbon steel hammered, they are thin enough to conduct heat quickly on an electric or gas burner. I had to season these woks on my sister's flat to electric and it had enough heat to smoke out her house, we had to call the fire department.

So as far as home cooking with a wok, these carbon steel woks works brilliantly, and you won't need a high BTU gas burner, not for these smaller size woks, maybe those big ass 30 inch woks for large ass parties, but home cooking, nah. So what did I use to season my two babies? Here is what I used and it worked out just fine. 

1. I got some soy sauce and vegetable oil mixture and heated it up until it was smoking, and continued to swirl it all over the slope of the wok. Then I emptied the oil and soy sauce, then I added some sesame oil, more soy sauce, some mirin and heated it up. Then I drained that out, and then got some fish sauce, oil and more soy sauce and just cooked it up, swirling it all over the sloped sides. Then I drained that.

2. Then I rinsed the wok under cold water with nothing more than a soft plastic scouring sponge. (Never use soap, you want that oil on the wok).

3. Then I got some cooking oil with a paper towel and wiped the insides of the woks down, and then stored it in the cupboard. Now it is ready from my stir fry gigs, "Watch out here comes Ron to a home near you to stir fry!"

So here's some myths.

- You need a gazzillion BTUs to do wok cooking.
(Yes and No. Yes if you are cooking with a very large wok like in a Cantonese restaurant, or for a fund raiser and you are cooking out doors)

- Your stir fries need to be finished in 2 minutes or less.
(True if you're again working in a Cantonese restaurant or doing large parties. But, for home cooking, because of stoves not having high BTUs, you can cook your stir fries in batches.

- Hand hammered carbon steel flat bottom woks wont work on home stoves.
(False I just did it, these woks are not perfectly flat, however because of the thickness of the carbon steel, and how fast it conducts heat, these not so perfect flat bottoms are great!)

What's BTUs? A British Thermal Unit (BTU) is the amount of heat energy needed to raise the temperature of one pound of water by one degree F. This is the standard measurement used to state the amount of energy that a fuel has as well as the amount of output of any heat generating device.

You might be able to imagine it this way. Take a gallon (8 pounds) of water and put it on your stove. If the water is 60 degrees F. and you want to bring it to a boil (212 degrees F.) then you will need about 1,200 BTUs to do this.

All combustible materials have a BTU rating. For instance, propane has about 15,000 BTUs per pound. Charcoal has about 9,000 BTUs per pound and wood (dry) has about 7,000 BTUs per pound. This gives you an idea of how much fuel you'd need to, say, cookng something.

When it comes to gas grills they all have maximum BTU rating per hour. If you see a 35,000 BTU gas grill that means that the grill puts out 35,000 BTUs from all of its main burners combined in one hour, or uses a little more than 2 pounds of propane an hour. While the BTU rating on a gas grill doesn't necessarily tell you how much heat it will produce, it does give you a general idea of its heat output, and it tells you how much fuel you'll be burning.

http://bbq.about.com/od/gasgrills/g/gbtu.htm 

The What's BTUs is an article from About .Com and is their copyrighted information, I want to thank About .Com for having this information online, the actual link is right above.

Also Mahalo to my friend and brother Peter Pao of Pao and Associates, if you are going to open up a restaurant, call Pao and Associates and get expert help before delving into your business of creating your awesome dishes.

PAO & ASSOCIATES
2895 Ualena St.
Honolulu, HI 96819
808-837-0030

Copyright 2013 TM ®

Wok Cooking On A Home Stove- Good Or Not?

As experience comes with living life, recently not to far away I went to a couples' home to cook stir fry meals, well a few dishes Chinese style. The fist was beef broccoli, the other was sweet sour shrimp, and the other was pork with shrimp paste, all easy to do, however this is the problem.

When I got there I noticed that they had a gas stove, "Great," I thought. I set up the ingredients, sliced everything thin so it would cook fast, after all in wok cooking a dish shouldn't take 10 minutes from the time it hits the heat to the time you plate it. Oh well, their stove was so weak, it took forever to get the oil hot enough to do the first dish.

What I came to realize is that you really need good heat in wok cooking, and doing it on a typical American brand stove is not sufficient enough. But I had to wing it, had to fly with the eagles and not say, "I quit!"

Doing this gig, I brought 2 old woks I had both flat bottoms. I had one I think it was 10" and the other one was an old 14" and on hot stoves with a gazzillion BTUs it works fine, however on a 8000 to 14000 BTU stove, it did not cut it, it was just to cold.

As my friends looked on the woman said, "Ron is everything okay?"

I said, "Well, this isn't anyone's fault, it's just for wok cooking this stove is too cold."

They did not understand, I simply told them that a stir fry that usually takes me about 2 minutes in a pro kitchen would take me maybe 10 on their stove and that the texture may not be what they were used to when dining at their favorite Cantonese dive in China Town. They didn't mind at all.

But.. big but, when I was finally done after 10 minutes on the beef broccoli, the husband did notice, "Hey Ron you said something about not hot enough? I think I see what you mean. The meat doesn't have that char on it, and it doesn't smell very powerful, did you use garlic and ginger?"

I explained, that I did use all the ingredients that was needed, and that the heat was too cold, I could not get the proper sear on the meats and the garlic and ginger did not really heat up well like it would have in a restaurant with higher BTUs on the stoves.

"Well, sorry guys but I had to make do with what I have, I hope at least it tastes okay, and if it doesn't well, this is on the house, I should have asked you first what kind of set up you had in your kitchen."

They were kind, "It actually tastes very good Ron, but yes the char on the meat is missing, as well as the flavors, it does not have that high flame taste, when ever we eat out at our favorite Chinese restaurants, the dishes are steaming hot."

"Yeah well it's hard to get a good sear on a low heat stove..ah again, my bad."

Well long story short, if you will be wok cooking in a home with low heat stoves, I do suggest..

1. Use maybe the smaller woks, and cook in batches.
2. Make the wok as hot during preheating to really get the oil and fats started.
3. Let your diners know that the stove is cold and that you'll do the best you can.
4. Pray.

Wok cooking is an art, and it is not out of the question to get a decent stir fry on a weak stove. If all possible, cook with a wok burner stet up, usually a propane gas burner on a stand with a wide burner that sounds like a jet, if you hear a wooooosh! then that burner will be the thing to wok cook on.

But don't let a weak burner discourage you, just cook in small batches, use a 10" flat bottom wok, and cook in batches, let your diners know, "Look guys, as I plate these dishes you guys start to eat alright?" And if they ask why, just explain..."It's all about the heat, and I ain't getting it on this stove."

Stir fries need to be eaten ASAP when it just comes out of the wok. A good idea is to have lots of appetizers so your diner won't be hungry, so when your small batches of stir fries start to come out, they'll be somewhat fed.

Good luck.

BIG DADDYS BURGERS Austin, TX

Big Daddy's Burgers & Bar
9070 Research Blvd. #101
Austin, TX 78758

Okay my bloggies, I've never been to Austin, Texas however, I did meet some cool Texans and I asked them where do they get killer burgers. And one name came up and they were totally adamant, it was Big Daddy Burgers. So they told me, "Ron you gotta google it, that's all we can tell ya, but if you're ever in our neck of the woods, why you call us, we'll show you a great time." Like an idiot I lost the guy's business card oops.

So I went to www.bigdaddysaustin.com and saw some incredible looking big ass burgers with all kinds of stuff on the platters. Well you go see for yourself, and just to let anyone know out there I am borrowing some photos from the web, and I am not selling those or trying to profit, this blog post if anything will promote Big Daddy Burgers and the people who took these photos.

First let's take a look at their menu shall we?

For appetizers they got (stuff I'd order)

HATCH GREEN CHILI QUESO w/ housemade tortilla chips 5.95 (shit if it was Maui? that would be 10.00)

BIG DADDY QUESO Hatch Green Chili Queso w/ pico guacamole and Basil's Texas chili 8.95

JERRY-WORLD DEATHSTAR NACHOS- Housemade tortilla chips topped w/ queso, pic de gallo, house-cured pickled jalapeños, sour cream. 6.95.. with Basil's Chili 8.45; crispy pork belly 8.95; grilled chicken 8.95 (This shit sounds great!)

U.R. FRIED SAMPLER- A fried food lovers' smorgasboard wit dipping sauces, mushrooms, mozzarella, hot wings, along with onion and poblano rings 11.95

POOKIE'S SLIDERS- Three mini burgers w/ house cured pickles and American cheese. Served w/ honey mustard and blood-mary ketchup 6.95

Nice rich food just the way my doctor don't want me to eat.

Now for the burger menu, and it's very creative.

They have a thing called Make it Yours: Add-Ons like Cheddar, Swiss, bleu, mozzarella, pepper jack, American, guacamole, bacon, house cured pickled jalapeños, fresh jalapeños, grilled onions or mushrooms, fried egg .75 cents.

Extra patty 2.50, Fried Mozzarella Cheese Patty 1.95, Classics: Mayo, mustard, ketchup, House cured pickles Free.

SUB the PATTY- Panko crusted shrimp patty, Housemade veggie patty, Grilled chicken breast, Blackened chicken breat, Pan-seared Portabella, all with a number 1 at the end?

Okay let's go check out the branded burgers:

CLASSIC BURGER 1/2 lb. Texas beef patty w/ setup on a brioche bun, Served w/ fresh cut fries. 7.45 

CLASSIC CHICKEN- Choice of grilled/blackened/fried chicken breast w/ setup of honey mustard on brioche bun w/ fresh cut fries. 8.95

BLACKENED CHICKEN- Blackened chicken breast w/ bacon, pepper jack cheese, setup on a brioche bun. Served w/ fresh-cut fries. 8.95

CLASSIC BACON CHEESEBURGER- 1/2 lb. Texas beef patty w/ smoked bacon, choice of cheese, setup on brioche. Served w/ fresh cut fries. 8.95

SHROOM & SWISS 1/2lb Texas patty w/ grilled mushrooms. Swiss cheese and setup on a brioche bun. Served w/ fresh cut fries. 8.95

TRIPLE-DECKER BLT- You know the drill Texas toast. Served w/ fresh cut fries. 6.95

CHRIS CRONIC BURGER- 1/2lb. Texas beef patty, house cured pickled jalapeños, pepper jack, Ghost Chile aioli and Habanero relish on a jalapeno-cheese bun w/ set up. Served w/ tortilla chips. 8.95

HANGOVER BURGER- 1/2lb. Texas beef patty, fried Mozzarella, marinara, pepperoni on a brioche bun. Served w/ fresh cut fries. 11.95

* Just a few of their awesome burgers go visit the website.

HEART ATTACK GRILL LAS VEGAS, NEVADA

In Las Vegas, Nevada there's a place called the Heart Attack Grill located in the Down Town district. This is a burger joint that has an ER theme, where waitresses are dressed like nurses, risqué nurses..if you know what I mean.

Been to Vegas many of times, just haven't gotten to Heart Attack Grill, and most photos are really copyrighted so I can't rip it off. However if you vista www.heartattackgrill.com you'll see the theme, it's really adult in nature. Huge ass burgers, looks like a fun place to go and get a ...a heart attack. Go ahead and click on the link and see for yourself, those juicy burgers looks like they'll give you a heart attack.

Okay- I'll paste some pictures and give credit to the photographer.

www.articles.latimes.com Got this photo from this website (I am not selling this photo) just for interest.

www.ctvnews.ca Photo from this website and belongs to them, just to show my bloggies what the burgers looks like. Now this tripple burger with cheese looks like it'll give you a heart attack!

I guess this is called the Triple Bypass Burger!

This photo is from www.elevenwarriors.com

Now this dude is really nailing a huge ass burger, is this a fun burger joint? Looks like it.

This dude's pic is from www.examiner.com

This is another huge burger looks like a quadruple bypass too. Next time I'm in Vegas I got to check this place out for sure, I don't know if I'll nail a quad, but I could eat at least a double.

This photo above is from www.gossiponthis.com ; I guess the waitresses must make bank in tips, and they don't need to subject themselves to dancing and swinging from a pole, all they need to do is wear those nurses outfits and serve hungry burger eaters.

Okay so the next time you're in Las Vegas, Nevada check out Heart Attack Grill located at 450 Fremont Street, Las Vegas, NV 89101.

Hours Daily from 11am to 12 midnight.

Cash only!!!!