good food – Page 10 – THE DUDE OF FOOD

Captain Croc – Paris, France

As I walked the 65 miles or so around town I could feel my energy getting lower.

I needed to eat and when in Paris you do as the Parisians do so I decided I needed wine with my lunch. The Captains Croc provided me with a delicious plate of salmon pasta in cream sauce and some wine to help keep me going. The staff was friendly, the food was great and I’d certainly go back.

If you are in the area then I recommend you walk over, just across the river from Notre Dame, and eat lunch here. You won’t be disappointed by the quality food, reasonable prices or friendly service. Merci Captains Croc.

Santa Monica Pizza – Paris, France

At the web site listed below you will find the information to the first sign I saw upon exiting the Métro at Place des Fêtes . Having left Santa Monica, CA 15 hours earlier you can imagine the surprise this sign caught me by. I laughed and knew I must go check it out.

After traveling for 15 hours I was ready to drop my bags off, eat and wander around Paris. The Santa Monica pizzeria was closed so I didn’t get to eat there until the second night of my stay and found Ismail and the staff to be friendly and hospitable. I went back as much as I could while in Paris. Merci Santa Monica Grill.

check them out at-

www.lafourchette.com/restaurant/santa-monica/22029

or if in Paris – 15 Rue Henri Ribiere 75019 Paris

Mr. Coffee is back in my kitchen!

Back in July of 2013 I had to lay my Mr. Coffee to rest after many years of good service. I tried to embrace another brand but the brewer just could not perform to the standards that my trusted Mr. Coffee maker operated at. The biggest set back was the new machine just would not brew the water hot enough.
Anyways, after a couple months of struggling, I gave the new one away to my security guard buddy who works nights and bought another Mr. Coffee machine.

Now all good is restored in my kitchen.

Welcome back Mr. Coffee and thank you.

https://www.mrcoffee.com/ Welcome back

Chocolate Candy Showdown!

Whitman’s vs. Russell Stover chocolate candy taste test.

Today I had the awesome task of tasting a bunch of chocolates and then telling the world my opinion. Lets get down to business.

I had a box of Whitman’s assorted chocolates containing 7 candies, a box of Whitman’s Reserve that had 2 candies in it and a box of Russell Stover chocolates containing 4 candies.

After tasting each I came to the conclusion that I like the Russell Stover chocolates a bit more. It’s hard to say chocolate is better than chocolate but being side by side made it easier to pick a favorite. My taste buds told me that I favor the Russell Stover candies a little more than I liked the Whitman’s candy.

In 1993, the Whitman’s Chocolate brand became part of the Russell Stover’s Family. They continue the tradition of creating the Sampler boxes.

Unfortunately, neither Marsatta Chocolate or See’s candies were not sold at Rite Aid and did not participate in this survey.

AQUINAS – Napa California Cabernet

AQUINAS 2011 California Cabernet Sauvignon

Named after St. Thomas Aquinas (1225-1274), an Italian Dominican friar, priest and revolutionary scholar who used the laws of science to support his belief in the Almighty. This wine, like it’s namesake, is smart, bold, dedicated and has many quality attributes.

The Dude of Food rating:

Give this wine a try.

Kudos to this spatchula maker.

http://www.farberware.com

http://www.lifetimebrands.com

A couple weeks ago the Dude of Food needed a new ‘spatchula’ and ended up purchasing a Farberware “slotted turner”. It turns out there was a problem with the one I bought and I wrote the company an email to inquire about it.

The problem was the first spatchula they sent me was super flimsy and wasn’t worth the plastic it took to make it. To the credit of the company, they were interested in hearing about my experience and what happened. After we spoke they were more than happy to replace the product. Today the new product arrived and the replacement is heavy duty, solid and overall is a much better made product. All is good in the kitchen again.

Thank you Farberware and parent company Lifetime Brands, for supporting your customers and standing behind your product line. Maximum respect. You can bet the Dude of Food endorses your kitchen gear and when I need new kitchen utensils you can bet I will be looking at your brands.

Delicious Catfish Po’ Boy

New Orleans has much history and many things cultural to share that a creative human can appreciate and enjoy.

The city has flavored many musicians, jazz and otherwise as well as helped season many top chefs.

Another gift of New Orleans is the Po’ Boy sandwich. (www.poboyfest.com/history)

Pictured here is my homemade tribute to the Catfish Po’ Boy with pepper jack cheese. Ingredients procured and fish fried at Ralph’s market seafood section.

https://www.ralphs.com/stores/grocery/ca/venice/venice/703/00281?cid=loc_70300281_gmb

Celebrity Kitchen LA – Gwyneth Paltrow & Chris Martin

Imagine that table filled with platters of various appetizers, while us guests sip sangria served up by kitchen mermaid Rachael Ray and enjoy the smells of BBQing meats by another of my favorite grillers wafting in from outside through the open french doors to the patio.

In the meantime, the musical entertainment plays and we wait for the Dude of Food to throw the fresh coconut crusted cod in the pans heating up on the grill of this kitchen in the home of some fabulous people for all to enjoy

Seafood Guide and Watch.

The Monterey Bay Aquarium puts out a sustainable seafood watch guide booklet that recommends to avoid the following due to over fishing and/or harmful conditions-

https://www.bu.edu/scnc/2013/02/23/nothing-fishy-getting-better-acquainted-with-sustainable-fish-varieties/

Cod Pacific (imported)
Cobia (imported farm raised)
Crab King (imported)
Grenader
Lobster (Brazilian)
Mahi Mahi (imported longline)
Monkfish
Pacific Snapper/Rockfish (trawled)
Shrimp (imported)
Tilapia (Asian farm raised)
Tuna (skipjack, tongol, canned)

It goes on to say minimize the following consumption due to mercury levels-

California Halibut
Caviar Sturgeon (wild imported)
Chilean Seabass
Dogfish (US)
Lingcod
Marlin (striped pacific blue)
Orange Roughy
Salmon (farm raised including Atlantic)
Sharks
Swordfish (US & imported)
Tuna (albacore, bigeye, bluefin, yellowfin)

Visit www.edf.org/seafoodhealth or www.seafoodwatch.org
for more information.

World’s best fried egg by Chef Alex

All I know is that this thing is amazing.

If you like eggs, then you’ll love this.

Chef Alex, from Border Grill Santa Monica, creates a special that happened to be one the Dude of Food will never forget. This egg dish has been raved about to all my friends in the neighborhood. The shell is pancake batter. The inside is poached.