Teikoku

Last weekend my usual lunch mate took my partner and I out for dinner to a wonderful place called Teikoku. Located on a very empty stretch of highway on Route 3 in Newtown Square, PA, Teikoku is one of those places I’ve driven past many times but never stopped to eat in, so I was very excited to finally have a chance to visit.

I poked around a bit before we visited Teikoku and found out that it is a Japanese and Thai Restaurant headed by two chefs Takao Iinuma and Aniwat Vadhanachai. Chef Iinuma is a world famous Japanese chef and friend of Iron Chef Morimoto. In fact Iinuma appeared on the original Iron Chef working with Iron Chef Morimoto. He was even the executive chef at Morimoto’s in Philadelphia, so I was pretty sure that we were in for a treat-and we were.

From the outside, which is very simply yet distinctively decorated, you can tell Teikoku means business. Walking into the restaurant you’re greeted by a friendly staff and a gorgeous interior. The bar is breathtaking and the water wall is amazing. There are izakaya style tables to one side and a large dining area to the right, and another in the back.

We were seated at a nice table in the larger dining room and began to pour over the ample menu. So many choices, so little time. The menu was quite varied with Thai, Japanese and even some Chinese style dishes. Their drinks menu was also pretty robust and that was where the first and only misstep of the evening occurred. I ordered a drink (at the waitress’ recommendation) called Memoirs of a geisha. It was an unfortunate combination of vodka, triple sec, pineapple and champagne. It was so bad that I sent it back and went with a pomegranate martini instead which was quite tasty.

Choosing appetizers and main courses was definitely a challenge as so many dishes on the menu sounded alluring. Even with three people, we had a hard time pairing down the selections. In the end, we went with the Shrimp and Lobster Tempura Fondue and the Kobe Beef Hot Rock. For our main dishes my partner selected perhaps his favorite Thai dish Drunken Noodles, my friend ordered Sesame Chicken and since we had both the Thai and Chinese covered, I ordered several maki rolls. My choices were the Shrimp Tempura Roll, Philadelphia Roll, my favorite Spicy Tuna Roll and last but certainly not least the Teikoku Roll. First up, the appetizers!

We had heard about the Kobe Beef Hot Rock long before we visited Teikoku. They are known for this appetizer and it did not disappoint. Six slices of beef, a hot rock, and a citrus soy sauce made for an amazing dish that I wish I did not have to share. Dip the beef in the sauce (so it doesn’t stick to the hot rock) and cook to your desired temperature. Absolutely delicious. The fondue was also stupendous. How can you go wrong with Gorgonzola cheese? It was served with tempura fried lobster, shrimp and veggies. The fondue was so tasty I would have liked to lick the bottom of the bowl if I could have.

Next our main dishes. The Drunken Noodles were just about the best that we’d ever had. A bit on the hot side, but that’s not really a bad thing! The seafood was fresh and the chili sauce was perfect.

Likewise, the Sesame Chicken was also a delight. The sauce was one of the tastiest I’ve ever tried and the chicken not being fried took the dish to a higher level. Superb.

Now on to my dinner… the maki rolls. Hands down some of the best maki I’ve had outside of Japan. The fish was incredibly fresh, the rolls were just right. The classics were on point and the specialty rolls were to die for. This was especially true for the “Teikoku Roll” which was described as “boiled shrimp, crab meat, masago, avocado, and crunch wrapped in cucumber” I would just describe it as heaven. I’ve never had a maki rolled in cucumber before and it’s fantastic. The crunch and the avocado worked in harmony to make a lovely creamy and crunchy roll. Just out of this world.

As stuffed as we were from dinner, we dared to have some dessert. Banana Bread Pudding, a chocolate soufflé with fig ice cream and fresh fruit and chocolate fondue paired with a Courvosier VSOP were a lovely ending to our our evening.

So in summary, Teikoku is going on my list of favorite restaurants. The food was outstanding, the service was very good and did I mention the food was outstanding? No doubt in my mind that Teikoku gets 5 pans. If you are ever anywhere near Newtown Square, PA make sure you stop in.

Teikoku
5492 West Chester Pike
Newtown Square, Pennsylvania 19073
610.644.8270
http://teikokurestaurant.com

Final Answer… once and for all—Filling is Better!!! (Maybe)

A while back JJ posted a poll about which is more important in a sandwich: the bread or the filling. I must say that I fall on the side of thinking that the filling or content of the sandwich is more important. Yes, I do like bread but, I always wish that they would put enough filling in sandwich, at least to make it look like the picture. Right?

Someone must be listening… KFC this week announced that they are testing something called “The Double Down”—an idea that was brought up back in August. What’s a “Double Down?” It is bacon and cheese between two pieces of fried or grilled chicken which are used in place of bread. No bread whatsoever!! I’m not sure if I should be happy or scared to eat this delectable morsel of goodness. I am happy that they are thrusting the filling into the lead role but I would probably miss having a little bread.

Each Fried Chicken Double Down will have 540 cals. and Grilled Chicken one will have 460 cals. Of course, with all these fillings, they are loaded with a lot of sodium and fat. I will probably give the “Double Down” a try but I don’t know if I can eat these on a regular basis. Look for it April 12, 2010. Dammit let’s go eat some KFC.

Review: Brickside Grille (Dinner)

I recently blogged about having brunch at one of my favorite restaurants… the Brickside Grille. It was my first time at brunch there but hardly my first time at the Brickside for dinner. We visit pretty regularly (maybe once a month) and I figured it was high time I wrote about dinner there.

As I said, this is one of my most favorite places to eat, not only because the food is so good, but because of the atmosphere of the place. Very laid back and not stuffy at all, it’s a great place to go and sit with your friends and enjoy some food and drink. In fact, drinks are one of my favorite things at the Brickside. They make some very good martinis there and although it’s not the most masculine drink, my very favorite thing at the Brickside Grille is their Apple Martini. I’ve been known to pound back quite a few over dinner!

On this particular visit I was accompanied by my partner, sister and father. No special occasion, we just wanted to go out for the evening and have a great time. It was my father’s first time, but not my sister’s. The menu at the Brickside is pretty nice, they serve a nice Raw Bar selection, Brickoven Pizza, Sandwiches and some wonderful entrées. One thing I like is they have monthly specials, a nice selection that usually contains several things that catch my attention! We poured over the menu while we we waited for our cocktails, discussing each dish and realizing that not only were there many things each of were interested in but that my partner, father and I all picked the same entrée! I pleaded with them to each try something different so I could write about it and lucky for me, that was not a problem at all.

We started with some appetizers, my favorite Tri-Color Nachos, which I’ve written about before at the Brickside’s sister restaurant, The Drafting Room. They are just as delicious at the Brickside. Three different types of chips, blue, red and flour on top of refried beans, topped with homemade salsa, pepper jack cheese and lots of sour cream.

A very close runner up to the nachos for my favorite appetizer is the calamari. Perfectly fried, tender pieces of squid, served with Pepperoncini peppers and a lime aioli. I had to fight to get some before my dinner mates devoured the entire plate.

After our appetizers and another martini, we moved on to our main dishes. My sister went with the very simple but very tasty chicken caesar salad, and while it is great, caesar salads are pretty much all the same.

My father chose the Filet Tip Stroganoff, made with cavatelli pasta, caramelized onions, mushrooms and filet mignon tips served with sour cream. It was so amazingly delicious from the sauce to the beef, just perfect.

My partner went for another favorite, that has been on the “Monthly Menu” a few times… the French Cut Chicken. It’s served with dried tomatoes and a delicious champagne mustard sauce and a really nice cheddar-bacon potato cake, that is so good that I would eat every single day if I could.

Saving the best for last was my entrée. I was totally intrigued by it when I saw it on the menu. The Hazelnut Chicken. It was absolutely mind blowing. I have never had chicken prepared like this and I actually went back two more times before it went off the menu just to have it again. The dish was chicken breasts lightly breaded and fried, with a breadcrumb mixture that I think included ground up hazelnuts, and topped with brie and a ginger-apple compote. I just can not express how perfectly all of these ingredients came together to make for the most delicious chicken dish I’ve had in ages. The brie and apples were so tasty I made sure that every bite contained a bit of each. Truly marvelous.

As always, dinner at the Brickside Grille was an amazing experience. Delicious food, wonderful atmosphere and a laid back attitude makes it the perfect place to sit and enjoy a meal with your friends. It truly deserves a 5 pan rating.

Brickside Grille
Eagleview Town Center
540 Wellington Square
Exton, PA 19341
610-321-1600
http://www.bricksidegrille.com

17 Healthy Meals for $26—via Cheap Healthy Good

I was looking around to see if there are some recipes out there where either the ingredients could be stretched over several meals, or where the leftovers from one meal could be the basis of another because planning your meals out is by far the cheapest and best way to save money. I came across the “Cheap Healthy Good Blog” and what do you know… they have a post that talks about just that.

From CheapHealtyGood…

1 Chicken, 17 Healthy Meals, $26 Bucks, No Mayo
The stretchability of a whole chicken is a frequently discussed topic among food and frugality bloggers. It’s commonly accepted that a single fowl will feed a family of 11 for weeks, years – even millennia. Even after 20 months of keeping CHG, I’m constantly gobsmacked by how moms and dads can create dinner after dinner from the same bird.

Here’s the thing: sometimes, those dinners aren’t the healthiest meals in the world. There tend to be a lot of quesadillas and casseroles whenever these type of posts pop up, not to mention chicken salads drenched with full-fat mayo. Now, there’s nothing wrong with this whatsoever (except the mayo – blech), but I wanted to see if I could put a healthier spin on it.

In a sentence: I wanted to find out if it was possible to create a gaggle of inexpensive, lower-fat meals with the leftovers from one big ol’ chicken.

Read the whole story on CheapHealthyGood HERE

Review: TJ’s Restaurant and Drinkery

In my search for restaurants to review near work, I consulted Yelp! and came across TJ’s Restaurant and Drinkery. One of the reviewers claimed it was the best burger they had ever had. I checked their site and found out that they had won a “Best of the Mainline” award, that in addition to all the good reviews on Yelp! led me to put TJ’s on my short list of places to check out.

One chilly Wednesday afternoon, I rounded up some lunch mates and we headed down to TJ’s. It was a little hard to find in Paoli, but it was nice enough looking from the outside, with an ample parking lot.

I was pleasantly surprised at the decor inside of the restaurant. It was fun and modern, and divided into two different sections, the bar and the restaurant.

The menu was wonderful and full of so many interesting choices from the Appetizers, to the Panini, Frittatas, Burgers and Salads. Not only was the menu varied and large, but it had a very neat metal cover to boot.

As we had three people for lunch we decided to make strategic choices and try to sample as much as we could on the menu. We started off with the Mojo Chicken Quesadilla, as it came very highly recommended, but I also could NOT resist the Mac n Cheese, it just sounded so good. And to be honest, it did not disappoint. Instead of your typical elbow macaroni, TJ’s used cavatappi aka double elbows. A wonderful pasta for a more unique Mac and Cheese experience. The cheese sauce was superb, smooth and creamy, I think it was a lovely sharp white cheddar.

The quesadilla was also very tasty. A nice mixture of jack and cheddar cheeses, grilled chicken and jalapenos made it very nice combination. I would hardly call it the best I ever had but it was certainly better than average.

For mains, we split the duty of sampling the menu evenly, one of my lunch mates went for the burger to see if it truly lived up to the “best burger” rating given by the reviewer on Yelp. He ordred the Wild Mushroom Burger. A very large patty on a brioche roll, topped with smoked mozzarella and sauteed mushrooms. I snagged a taste and I have to say it was a very, very tasty burger. The mushrooms were tasty, the cheese was perfectly matched… quite a burger.

My other friend decided to give the Montchevré Chicken Panini a try. Pale ale marinated chicken, Montchevré goat cheese, caramelized onions and a orange vinaigrette combined to make an incredibly tasty panini. I will say that it was a bit messy but sometimes a good sandwich is!

I decided to go in an entirely different direction and sampled the Belgian Ale Shepherd’s Pie. Ground Beef in a beer flavored gravy, lots of fresh veggies and topped with mashed potatoes. It was positively delicious. I hadn’t had Shepherd’s Pie in quite some time and it really made me happy!

Our lunch at TJ’s was turning out so well that we all decided to go all the way and sample some desserts. My friends ordered the Apple Pie a la mode and the Peanut Butter Cheesecake. I went for something a bit out of the ordinary Thin Mint Cheesecake.

The Apple Pie was on point. A perfect slice of pie with a nice helping of vanilla ice cream, drizzled with caramel… I mean it’s kinda hard to mess up Apple Pie, but TJs was wonderful.

Now to the cheesecake. I have to say that while I was really pleased with the Peanut Butter Cheesecake, I was really disappointed with the Thin Mint Cheesecake. The cheesecake was something between a ricotta cheesecake and a New York style cheesecake. Not so sweet, and kinda creamy. It was a perfect match to the Peanut Butter. I’m going to go on record as saying this was the best Peanut Butter cheesecake I’ve ever had. I could have inhaled the entire thing!

Now what made the Peanut Butter so tasty, was also what made the Thin Mint (yes the Girl Scout Cookies) cheesecake not so great. The cheesecake itself was not too sweet so the Peanut Butter matched well, the Thin Mint cookies however, didn’t hold up as well. Their flavor was not quite strong enough to bring the mint flavor in. Not bad… but not at all as good as the Peanut Butter cheesecake.

All in all TJ’s Restaurant and Drinkery did not disappoint. Not only did I have a great meal from start to finish, but the atmosphere was fantastic. The service however was a bit slow, and I had to wait quite a bit for a refill on my water and they weren’t so great about clearing used plates, but that was minor blip on an other wise fantastic visit. 4 pans.

TJ’s Restaurant and Drinkery
35 Paoli Plz
Paoli, PA 19301
(610) 725-0100
www.tjsbeer.com

What’s for Dinner? – Chicken Parmesan

I have been woefully remiss about keeping up with my “What’s for Dinner” series, and I’ve been even worse at writing about them! I made this dish all the way back in January and to be perfectly blunt… it was pretty much a disaster. The moral of this story… read, read, read the recipe.

One of my favorite Italian dishes has always been Chicken Parmesan. It’s something I love to eat both out and at home and my partner has a great recipe for it, but it’s not exactly the most healthy recipe as the chicken is breaded and pan fried in oil. I decided since we are both trying to eat more healthy, to look for a more healthy recipe, one that called for the chicken to be baked and not fried.

I headed out on the internet and found two such recipes. The first one however didn’t call for breading the chicken breasts, something I really wanted to keep from the original fried recipe. I went looking again and found another recipe that did include it, so I headed off to the market to get my ingredients.

When I returned I set about the task of making dinner. I laid out my ingredients and checked the recipe on my laptop.

I started by pounding the chicken flat, dipping it in the egg wash and rolling it in the bread crumbs.

I then checked the recipe again to figure out how long the chicken needed to bake for. The recipe said to put the chicken in the pan cover with sauce and cook for 35 minutes. I did just that.

I put the chicken in the oven and walked away. A few minutes later, I had a thought… how on earth was the chicken going to get crispy when it was sitting in the sauce? I checked the recipe again and I realized I mixed up the two. I was supposed to bake the chicken without the sauce in the recipe I chose! I was pretty worried that I had ruined dinner. I let it cook according to the rest of the correct recipe and crossed my fingers.

In the end, it turned out okay, the top of the chicken was crispy, but the bottom was not. All of the breadcrumbs had been absorbed into the sauce but the chicken tasted great and dinner was not a total loss. I did however learn an important lesson… always read and re-read the recipe!

Ad Hoc Chicken – via Uncrate

Taking a quick break from work, I wandered over to uncrate.com and saw this… the Ad Hoc Fried Chicken Kit.

Sold at William-Sonoma, the kit is everything you need (sans chicken) to cook up restaurant quality fried chicken like that sold at the famous ad hoc Restaurant in Napa Valley. The kit includes the all natural brine and the coating for some mighty flavorful chicken.

I am so tempted to pick this up and try to fry some chicken!

Photo: Williams-Sonoma

Chick-Fil-A Dwarf House

On my last day in Atlanta, I found out that my flight home was delayed. Luckily, there were enough restaurants around for one last adventure.

I wonder where to go? My friend Kevin always has the answer. He yelled “Original Chick-Fil-A”. Yet another one of my personal favorites. Any other Chick-Fil-A would just be ok too, but the “Original” piqued my interest. Plus it is less than a mile from the Atlanta Airport. I gathered my thoughts and my belonging and headed to fill up my rental and then off to Chick-Fil-A.

The parking lot was almost full by the time we got there even though it was only 11 ish. The building was recently renovated and done very nicely with some of the old unique look still peeking through. It was originally opened in 1946 and was named the “Dwarf House” after Disney’s “Snow White and Seven Dwarfs”. The building even has a red door sized for small child and a mural of a Snow White scene with mechanical dwarfs walking in and out of the coal mine. Had they added the “Hi-ho” theme song from the movie, it would have been perfect.

Inside, the style of the original restaurant was preserved as well—it was separated into two major seating areas, the larger half was more of a diner style with counter style seating and the remainder was pretty much what you would have found in a fast food restaurant.

We sat in the diner area and looked over the menu. I was surprised that they offered much more than your typical “Chick-Fil-A” menu. They even had hamburgers and a few other salads and sandwiches.

Of course, I am a big fan of the plain Chick-Fil-A sandwich but without pickles. My friend Kevin ordered two grilled chicken sandwiches and we both had iced tea. I also added Carrotand Raisin Slaw which was tasty, I will post my own recipe replicating Chick-Fil-A’s Carrot and Raisin Slaw. My chicken sandwich was as awesome as I remembered. I am a big fan of the Chick-Fil-A sandwich, it is simply just a lightly battered chicken breast and buttered toasted burger bun with 3 slices of pickle. I usually tell them to hold that, since I think pickles don’t go with the chicken all that well… of course that is just my preference. Waffle fries are another unique item from Chick-Fil-A which I love as well. They also have awesome Lemonade—regular or diet.

I was happy with the meal but Kevin suggested a dessert, and who can say no to a made-in-house homemade peach pie with vanilla ice cream. I was a happy boy when I left for the airport.

We have only a few Chick-fil-a restaurants in the Boston area, but I always make sure to stop by and at least pick up some of their chicken nuggets for snack. In some of their locations, they also serve breakfast items such as a Chicken biscuit, and let me tell you…it is also very good.

If you have never been to Chick-Fil-A before, go and at least try out their chicken sandwich. You won’t be disappointed.

(404) 762-1746

Recipe: Buffalo Chicken Dip

While I was writing about the Crab and Artichoke Dip, I remembered another dip I love to make (and eat!!) Buffalo Chicken Dip. It’s like a bucket of hot wings in a dip. I decided to make it tonight for my family who is coming to stay for Christmas Eve. Also super simple to make and so tasty!

Buffalo Chicken Dip

Ingredients
2 lbs chicken breasts
2 (8oz) packages of cream cheese
1 cup ranch dressing
3/4 cup Hot Wing Sauce
2 cups cheddar cheese

Preparation
1. Preheat oven to 350F.
2. Poach and shred the chicken breasts


3. Soften cream cheese
4. Combine the chicken, cream cheese, ranch dressing, hot wing sauce and cheese in a bowl.

5. Mix thoroughly.
6. Bake at 350F for 20 minutes.

Serve with tortilla chips (I prefer Tostitos Scoops!).

Enjoy!

Tom Kah Gai Soup

Tom Kah Gai (Chicken Coconut Soup) has that distinctive balance of spicy, salty, sweet and sour. It is one of the soups that I can make very well and people seem to really enjoy it. Since it has lime juice and galangal root, it will help you ward off a cold or the flu. You can serve it as a soup or add rice noodles to make it a complete meal. Some of the ingredients may seem foreign to you but you can easily find them in your local Asian supermarket. Here is the recipe:

Ingredients (Serves 6-10)
• 6 cups chicken stock
• 2 chicken breasts, thinly sliced
• 2 lemongrass stalks, cut into 1 1/2 inch chunk
• 10 kaffir lime leaves
• 2 cups straw mushrooms or oyster mushrooms (from a can is OK)
• 1 small piece galangal root
• 1-3 fresh thai chilies, minced, can leave whole if you don’t want it to be too spicy
• 1 can good-quality coconut milk
• 3 limes, juiced
• Fish sauce (to taste)
• 3 tsp. sugar
• Chili oil
• handful of fresh cilantro leaves
• rice noodles (if serving as a main dish)

Directions
1. Add the sliced lemongrass, galangal root and chicken stock to a large pot over medium-high heat.
2. Next, add the chicken, mushrooms, kaffir lime leaves and fresh thai chilis to the pot and boil until the chicken is cooked.
3. Reduce the heat to medium, add the coconut milk and fish sauce. Stir well. Simmer gently for 3 minutes.
4. Turn heat down to low. Add the lime juice and stir.

For this soup, you are looking for a balance of salty, sweet, sour, hot. For example, add more fish sauce if not salty enough. If too sour, add the sugar plus a little more if you need it. Add more thai chili if you like it HOT. For color and a little extra heat add 2-3 tsp. of Chili oil. Serve in a bowl. Sprinkle with a little fresh cilanto to finish it off.

Enjoy!