Category Archives: Dining

I Want a GOOD Pizza, and I Want it DELIVERED!

Posted on by LeAnne Notabartolo

Oddly enough I watched Al Mancini’s chats with John Curtas & the Due Forni guys AFTER I wrote this blog. They mentioned good pizza as an upcoming trend. Apparently NOT in my neighborhood…..

As in many families, pizza is one of the top 5 fave foods of the members of my household. My Dad and Hubby John will cheerfully eat leftover cold pizza from the fridge. And I have eaten pizza everywhere. My Dad is of the opinion that bad pizza is better than NO pizza – I disagree. And for the record, I LOVE anchovies!

In my waitressing days I worked at La Bella Pizzeria, if you are from Hudson, NY, I know you know where this is. And even in the small rural town of Hudson, you could get a decent pizza. I can think of 3 places off the top of my head where the pizza was good, inexpensive and within a 15-20 minute drive of my house and I lived on a country road. Growing up, pizza night was one of two dining extravagances we were able to afford, and we’d go to La Bella’s. It was kinda fast food for us. When I worked a La Bella’s I would bring home a pie on Friday for the family before I went out to my cocktail waitressing gig.

I vividly remember going into a pizza joint while visiting my Dad on Campbell’s Island. We went up crooked steps, in the back door, across cracked linoleum, “Amy” by The Pure Prairie League (I know – WAY random) was playing on the jukebox and the pizza was cut into little squares. This was my first remembered experience with the “incorrectly” cut pizza. It was fantastic! I think I was 14.

I want a good pizza, and I want it delivered to my house, so I can sit on my couch and drink beer and watch TV while I am eating it. If I have to drive to get it, I don’t want to have to drive more than 20 minutes to pick it up or it will be cold by the time I get home. I do NOT want to eat pizza in a “ristorante”, I want it delivered in a white card board box, with red lettering that says, “You’ve tried all the rest, now try the best”. For me pizza is a “fast food” option, not a fine dining choice. I know there are those out there that will disagree with me and I am sure the “ristorante” owners will shake their fists as me, but let’s face it; pizza doesn’t have to cost $25/pie!

This is NOT the correct box….

My neighborhood is a nice place. I love it – far enough from The Strip to not deal with tourists all the time, but just a short drive away. Incidentally I live in a restaurant desert. Hell, even Chili’s closed up here! In the far NW part of the valley we don’t have that many dining options close to home. We have to drive cross-town to get anything decent. I think I have eaten in every restaurant in my area and there are only 2 that I would eagerly go back to, but sometimes I just don’t want to drive and I go local in favor of driving. But the food isn’t that great with two exceptions, and I can’t eat Mexican and cupcakes all the time.

Every time a so called pizza place opens near me, I try it (don’t mention Pizza Hut, Domino’s, Little Caesar’s or Papa John’s – those aren’t pizza any more than Ball Park is a hot dog). I have tried Streets of NY, North End, House of Vino, Giordano’s, etc. and none of them live up to my expectations for very long. (Moment of truth – the pizza at North End isn’t that bad, but there are 2 flaws – the counter gal is extremely rude and they are BoSox fans – hehehe). They all start out pretty good, and then they decide to make changes to feed the masses and that’s when they start to suck. John is more of a snob than I am when it comes to pizza. I just want it good, hot, fast and delivered!

John’s career with the Air Force took us all over the country and I ate reliably good pizza in only 3 major cities – NY, Chicago, and Boston. We even had decent pies in Maine until the family sold the business. I never had a good pizza in Texas. When we lived in Madrid I used to drive to the subway, take a train and then walk for several blocks (one hour each way) if I needed a pizza fix – yes I was desperate! Making pizza in my Spanish oven was NOT an option! I want a pizza and I don’t want to have to make it myself! Currently, when I make pizza, I grill it. That seems to be the only way I can get a hot enough temp to get the crust to perform the way I want. Making pizza is not difficult, and at the prices a decent pizzeria charges these days, it is WAY cheaper, but sometimes I just don’t want to do it.

Apparently in the Vegas Valley, only the people in Henderson or Summerlin are worthy of a decent neighborhood pizza. Sammy’s Woodfired is pretty close to me, but I don’t want “yuppified” pizza, I just want a traditional, New York Style pie (Moment of Truth – I would lovingly accept a GOOD Chicago style or Boston style if it was GREAT!). So, that being said, here is a very short list of decent pizza in Vegas:
• Settebello – I have never been there, but all the pizza fanatics rave about it. Why haven’t I ever been there? I refuse to drive 40 minutes for a pizza, my Madrid excursions aside, I am not that desperate. In fact I rarely go to Henderson at all. I know where my husband’s office is and that’s all I need to know.
• Due Forni – REALLY good pizza, thin crust that is crispy, yet chewy and closer to my house than Henderson. But they don’t deliver and it’s more than 20 minutes.
• Grimaldi’s – the one in Boca is closest to me, and although they are good, they aren’t great. Again, more than 20 minutes and they don’t deliver.
• The Secret Pizza Place in the Cosmopolitan – if I am on The Strip and in need of a snack, this is where I go. I won’t go out of my way to eat here (hello, it’s The Strip), but if I am in the area, I’ll grab a slice.

These pics are from Secret Pizza:

This week’s Food Memories include disappointing food in Palm Springs, my first ever kangaroo burger (it was overcooked – I think I need a do-over), marginal take-out pizza on the couch with my guys and a trip to The Wicked Spoon buffet (also disappointing – but it was what Jack wanted on his last night before returning to college).

Until next week, go out and make your OWN Food Memories!

Talk Soup – and yes there is a recipe

Posted on by LeAnne Notabartolo

Even though the weather here in Vegas is unseasonably warm, for some reason or other the only thing I feel like cooking, or eating is SOUP! I am not sure why. Maybe it is because I am coming down with a cold (first and only of the season if I have my way), maybe it is because this time of year I want comfort food. The Post-Holiday Blahs always set in hard and fast with me and eating comfort food makes everything all better. Like a kiss on a boo-boo.

My friend Deb P and I have a running joke about soup. Whenever we go out to eat she ALWAYS orders the soup. For me, since I like to MAKE soup, I only order it in restaurants when it is something I really love, like cream of mushroom, or when it is something I can’t or won’t make, or any seafood bisque. I am typically a creamy soup person as opposed to a brothy soup person, with the complete exception of hot & sour soup and wonton soup. There was, however, this fantastic “beef tea” I had at a coffee shop in San Antonio with friend Nanette C and I am still not sure what was in it. It was a beef consommé, but flavored with unusual seasonings. They said there was cinnamon of all things in it, but I can’t wrap my head around that!

Once you know how to make a decent stock the possibilities are endless. And as I have mentioned before, my favorite primer for making a good stock is in Anthony Bourdain’s book “The Les Halles Cookbook”. It is simple, to the point and written the way most of us cook. Start there!

Lately I have been playing around with “unusual” soup ingredients. And by “unusual”, I mean things I don’t normally put into a soup. This week it was kale, Italian sausage and beans. (Moment of truth – I really don’t tolerate any colored beans, like pintos and kidneys, well. They disagree with me.) A few weeks ago I was trying my hand at VEGAN “cream” of broccoli, “creamed” with soft tofu – the vegans liked it, I thought it was gross!

So what is YOUR comfort food? I know for many it is a pasta dish of some sort, others meatloaf and mashers, and still others it is chocolate. But what is it about our own individual comfort food that makes us feel comforted? For me it is about warmth. It’s always about warmth. When I eat soup I am warm from the inside out and I stay that way. If soup is your thing, here are a few good ones in Vegas and one in San Antonio to try:
• The Four Mushroom soup at Mon Ami Gabi – it is NOT a regular menu item, so if it is the special of the day, you should have it.
• The New England Clam Chowder at Rick Moonen’s rm Seafood at Mandalay Bay. If you don’t live in Vegas, grab a copy of his book, “Fish Without a Doubt” – the recipe is on page 302.
• The Lobster Bisque at Sammy’s Woodfired Pizza – it is not traditional, it’s a lot thicker than typical bisque, but I like it that way and Sammy’s are scattered around, so they are easy to access.
• The WonTon Soup at New York Chinese – Del Webb and Lake Mead – if you are from NY and are craving soup, theirs is the closest I have found to the ones I like at home. Their wontons are NOT a slimy mushy mess like everyone else’s! And at $4.05 for a quart it’s a great bargain!
• The Tortilla Soup at Mama’s in San Antonio – there are several locations, but I usually go to the one on Pat Booker Rd. For some reason this one is my fave – thanks Deb P for pointing it out!

Enjoy the recipe below.

This week’s Food Memories are all birthday related – trying out the new Public House at the Venetian/Palazzo with friend Lynn, oysters and snacks at PJ Clarke’s with Laurie and Lynn, sushi and cocktails with Super Star bartender JR Starkus at rm Seafood, Chinese food at Joyful House with The Bells!
THe lovely beer menu at the new Public House – check it out! They have CASK beer – yippee!

The Public House pate collection with some cheese

With friends at rm Seafood along with Manager & family friend Chris Moonen (with the beard) and rock star bartender JR Starkus

Sausage and Kale Soup
serves 4 generously – serves 6 regularly!

3-4 links hot Italian sausage
3 qts chicken stock
1 C dried white kidney beans (cannellini) – soaked and cooked OR 1 can cannellini beans drained and rinsed
1 bunch kale – coarsely chopped – tough ribs removed
Crushed red pepper
1 teaspoon – or to taste – Herbs de Provence (or Italian seasoning)
1 can (14 oz) diced tomatoes OR 1 can whole tomatoes crushed with your hands
1 ½ C small pasta – ditallini is my fave – but you can use anything small
Salt to taste
Parmesan cheese for garnish if desired.

Poach sausage links in 2 cups of the stock until done. When cool enough to handle, slice into disks. Strain the poaching stock to remove any solid matter and place the sausage back in. You will be adding this stock to the soup along with the sausage. When you do this there will be a thin film of reddish oil on the top of the stock – that is the flavor from the sausage’s fat and peppers leaking out. We want that BACK into the soup.

Heat the remaining stock to boiling. Add everything to the pot except the pasta – cook for 3-4 minutes until the kale is wilted. Add the pasta and cook until al dente. The kale should be done by then too.

Serve immediately topped with cheese if you like. You can also add additional red pepper flakes if you want it a little spicier.

This is basically a free form recipe – add more beans, change the beans, leave out the pasta, 1add other veggies, increase starches to make it more of a stew. It is a GUIDELINE to encourage you to experiment. Have fun with it!

Until next week, go out and make your OWN Food Memories!

A Long, Long Time Ago, in a Galaxy Far, Far Away….

Posted on by LeAnne Notabartolo

The year is 1987 and it is the day after Xmas. It’s cold and incredibly windy in upstate New York and for some odd reason I thought THIS was the season to wear a floor length white gown!

I married the love of my life on 26 December 1987. I had always wanted to be married in the fall, so that was what we had planned for 1988. We moved it up because of John’s military career. We moved it up 10 months, and in doing so, started rumors that I was “expecting”. I proved them all wrong by wearing a sheath dress that could hide NOTHING. This was the only Saturday John was able to be home from the Air Force Tech School he was attending in Denver. Getting married the day after a major holiday is, as you would expect, a blessing and a curse. We never forget the date (bonus), and we can shop for the Anniversary during all the pre-holiday sales. Downside, all of my gift receiving events happen one right after the other (my b-day is early January).
I am the one in white with the exploding head dress!

As any bride would be, I was concerned with the food. Even more so since I worked in the industry as a waitron (to quote my “boyfriend” Anthony Bourdain). My then boss wouldn’t even give me a discount on the reception! The task of planning the reception was made doubly difficult by the additional fact that I changed the date AFTER I had already laid out deposits for the original date AND that a lot of places were closed on the 26th. And let me further tell you that in 1987 there were few decent restaurants in Hudson, New York and the surrounding environments. In the end I found a great place with a fine Chef who did exactly what I wanted (imagine that!) with no arguments and it was wonderful.

The thing about “banquet” food is that if done properly it can be great, if done the usual way it sucks. John’s Aunt Mary, who hates everyone and everything, told me, and I quote, “I have been to my share of weddings young lady and that was the best food I have ever had at a wedding.” I knew I had chosen wisely! Whenever Mom goes to a wedding, my first question (and hers to me if I go to one) is, “How was the food?” What follows in our conversation is a complete recitation of the events at the reception, the hors d’oeuvres, the drinks and the cake. While most people get all excited about the cake (and that is a topic for a different blog) I LOVE appetizers and hors d’oeuvres and I have ruined my appetite for the main course more than once by enjoying them.

The weird thing about weddings is that as a young person you think the way YOUR family & friends do them is the ONLY way to do them. Being from NY, with my family, there was ONE way – cocktail hour with open bar, dinner, dancing, cake and more drinks and dancing. Simple, right? Now that I am several years older and have been to more than a few weddings, I know there are dozens of ways to celebrate that are as individual as the couple getting married. When we lived in Spain (we moved there 6 months after we were married), all the waitrons were talking one day about their weddings and I was shocked that theirs were so different from mine. One gal eloped (moment of truth – that’s what JOHN wanted to do), one gal had a reception for 350 people in the church hall with nothing but punch and finger sandwiches (no music, no bar), one gal had a backyard BBQ and on and on and on….I listened politely and wasn’t really eager to share my story with them, they already thought I was a snob, and claiming I had work to do, got up to leave. They insisted I tell them of my wedding and so I did. None of them knew what an open bar was (and frankly thought I was insane for paying for everyone’s drinks), they had no idea what Chicken Piccata or Baked Clams Oreganata were, and they were scandalized by the amount of money I spent (which wasn’t all that much in NY $$). None of them ever spoke to me again outside work, I was the snob from New York.

For years our Anniversary dinner was Chinese food. And in some of the locales we have lived, finding a decent rendition was a nightmare. We have moved on. John pulls out all the stops these days. Recent Anniversaries have had us at Hotel Occidental Mexico, at RM Seafood, Fleur, at The Beatles Love, and the list goes on. This year it is French food with a David Myers spin at Comme Ca in the Cosmopolitan and I am sure it will be fantastic.

As I write I am eagerly awaiting the wedding in March of my High School friend Bobby to his long time partner Chris. I know it will be a fantastic affair and I am not even talking about the food. Finally, after all these years, my two friends who belong together can legally tie the knot. I am thrilled for them and for so many others.

This week, spend time eating, laughing and loving those you care about. It’s the best remedy for the post Holiday blues and once you get started you’ll get hungry for it and do it all the time. The pics are all weddings I have digital photos from (so they are recent)….
Sister Nancy & Walt at their Re-marriage – October 2004

Niece Kate & Hubby Mike – March 2011

Brother JJ and bride Jenna – Sept 2006

Tracy & Greg and best man Dennis – April 2010

This week’s Food Memories include, lunches on the fly with my favorite kid, the annual tradition of Xmas Eve pizza and the veto of my 7 fishes ideas, and the delighted look of pleasure on the faces of the folks I delivered cookies to.

Until next week, go out and make your OWN Food Memories!

Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil

Posted on by LeAnne Notabartolo

What is it about staying out late with friends that makes me want to eat in the middle of the night? It doesn’t matter whether I am sober or drunk, I always want to go get a “snack” in the middle of the night on the way home from wherever we had been. It usually involved going somewhere after we had closed down the bars. In NY that meant we were hitting these eateries at 4:30 in the morning, finally returning home when the sun was rising or already in full glare.

The food doesn’t even have to be that good. When I was in college and had a part time job, it was Denny’s or some little diner for eggs & hash browns for $1.99 because that was all I could afford. Then when I had less money (or drank it all), it involved a trip to the 24 hour grocery store (Price Chopper – my former employer) with friends Jim M and Zam to make my own omelets. (Moment of truth: there is a story about Jim’s dad walking into his kitchen, I’m drunk, in a long T-Shirt and pantyhose at the stove. I ended up cooking for him too.)

As I aged and changed, so did my late night snacking desires. There was a spate of time where I wanted cheesecake from a tiny diner on Lark Street in Albany, NY (I forgot the name, but if memory serves it was owned by the same people who owned Quintessence at the time). There was the poutine phase. When I met my husband it was chicken salad club sandwiches (complete with bacon thank you very much!) and French fries.

It has usually been breakfast food and now that I am in the Southwest, it’s Mexican breakfast. Chorizo and egg burritos have been the starring feature in the past. There is a particular incident with Julie C, Lisa M and I getting off the El in the wrong part of Chicago, finding a good dive bar anyway, and me eating a burrito on the El on the way back to the hotel, directly under a sign saying “no eating or drinking”, all the while dripping chorizo grease onto the floor. Right now it is Machaca and egg burritos (Thanks Dani – this is all YOUR fault).

Of course I have a few places that are my faves, but one of them closes before I am ready to eat most nights/mornings, so I rely on Roberto’s Taco Shop. I know, kinda cheesy, but everything is made to order, it’s always hot, no nonsense, and really fast. In fact, I got my son hooked on them too and he knows where the closest one to the house is and when he’s home from college, frequents that location as often as possible.

So back to the original question, “What is it about staying out late with friends that makes me want to eat in the middle of the night?” I know it isn’t because I am REALLY hungry. And it has nothing to do with booze, because this happens even if I am the designated driver as I was this past weekend. So what is it? Habit? Comfort? Does it make me feel like the “dirty stay out” I was in my younger years? As I write this blog, I am beginning to think it is because I don’t want the night to end. I want to continue with the camaraderie of my friends, pretend we are younger and enjoy a few more laughs. Because I try to choose my friends wisely (we all should), the people I hang with are people I want to spend as much time as possible with. We laugh, dance, people watch, make fun of karoke singers (FYI – I can’t stand karoke and the only thing that saved me from having to go this weekend was that I was the driver!) and generally enjoy each other’s company. Yeah, I think that is it!

This week’s Food Memories involve cooking for one since John was out of town, eating soup for breakfast because I was so cold, dinner with my main squeeze before an art opening, dinner with Laurie and Lynn before volunteering at the Contemporary Arts Center.

In an effort to preserve the sanctity of my Girlz Nights Out, the only picture I am sharing this week is my new spoon rest. It’s actually supposed to be a cigar ashtray, but I am re-purposing it. It’s a flattened out Stone Brewing Ruination IPA bottle. You all know what drunken revelry looks like, go flip thru your own pics!

Until next week, Go out and make your own Food Memories.

Diner

Posted on by LeAnne Notabartolo

Nighthawks by Edward Hopper

On the east coast, in just about every small and large town you can find a great diner. In many cases, you do this simply by looking for the shiny aluminum building that looks like an old rail car. In fact, when I was a kid I thought they WERE old rail cars that had been re-purposed into diners. Here in the wild, wild west it is a little harder to determine what’s a diner and what isn’t without going inside and looking a the menu.

The appearance of diners has changed as we all have, and as I have moved around the world, my view of what makes an appropriate diner has changed. I remember as a kid walking into diners and salivating at the rotating case full of desserts. When I was younger they always seemed HUGE and tasted just as good as they looked. As an adult they still seem HUGE and frequently taste as good as they look, especially the pie. When we lived in Maine and I was pregnant, I would drive an hour in each direction to a small town, Houlton and the Elm Tree Diner – they had a chalk board with more than 20 different pies every day, no case ever built has been large enough to hold their daily offerings. I went specifically for the raspberry, most often times taking a whole one home after eating a slice with my lunch. It is seriously the best pie I have ever eaten, hands down!

Also in Maine, in Presque Isle, there is a small family owned joint that we enjoyed nearly weekly when we lived there, the Riverside Inn. Of course there weren’t too many eateries when we lived there (1991 – 94) and this place was family owned, clean and made the BEST bread. The first time we went there, the waitress asked if we wanted “home made toast”. I thought to myself, “All toast is home made,” and ordered whole wheat. BIG mistake – the “home made toast” is their house made white bread, thick sliced. griddled, and slathered in butter!

When traveling, I love to hit a good diner for breakfast before starting the day’s drive or before the day’s events. In Escondido, CA, there is the Centre City Cafe – I think it is an old Denny’s building. They have the best of everything, including chipper waitresses and great breakfast. While there this past weekend, I was nearly GIDDY with my eggs as they were perfectly cooked – whites solid, yolks runny!!

On Long Island, there is a GREAT diner on Merrick Rd in Seaford – the Seaford Palace Diner – with a line out the door most days. Of course Mom took me there. They specialize in fish of all things and their daily special is FANTASTIC!!! It’s a complete meal from soup to nuts for about $15, and it is enough to feed 2 people, no joke! They don’t take reservations and you have to sign in to get a table. Plan on waiting! The problem with diners on Long Island is there are SO many, it’s hard to decide where to start first. It seems like all my favorite diners in NY, both upstate and on “the Island” are all shiny metal boxcars.

Here in Vegas the closest thing I have found to a diner is Blueberry Hill. They are open 24 hours a day and have all the basics you expect and some even have a lounge with cocktails (go figure – it’s Vegas!). Alas, none of them is the shiny aluminum “rail car” of my youth. While the breakfast at The Original Pancake House is great, they aren’t open 24 hours, so they don’t qualify as a “diner” in my book. (Moment of truth – I love the corned beef hash at The Original Pancake House on Charleston).

A true diner has reasonable prices, a VAST menu and decent food and is open 24 hours a day. It doesn’t have to be fancy, just properly prepared, good, working class basics. To my mind a great diner has to have a few things on the menu and they all have to be made really well:
• Breakfast – 24 hours a day – with eggs cooked correctly
• Soup of the day, made from scratch – I prefer Cream of Mushroom or Cream of Chicken
• The perfect Club Sandwich and/or a great BLT
• A “Blue Plate” Special – usually comes with drink and dessert too.
Click here for a little info on the origins of The Blue Plate Special – thanks Fred Harvey!

As I continue to write and publish this blog, I am trying to find my own voice and style. I love the movie references, how about you? Apparently several people didn’t realize to read the entire article with the previous format that you had to click on the title or pic. So…back to the drawing board on format. How do you like this one? Your thoughts?

This week’s Food Memories include a fun dinner at Stone Brewing with the San Diego family, fried chicken fingers at Three Square Bingo while dressed as Zorro, and quiet meals with my main squeeze at home.

Diner – Steve Guttenberg, Mickey Rourke, and Kevin Bacon

Enjoy this week’s pics.

Me and Lynn Moonen dressed up for Bingo – yes that is me as Zorro!

The San Diego Contingent met us in Escondido for some fine fare at Stone Brewing

Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner….

Posted on by LeAnne Notabartolo

Happy Labor Day! I guess this is the “official” end of summer, but here in the desert we still have plenty of great weather on tap!

Living in Vegas is fantastic. World class restaurants, great shows, fun street food and street entertainment, gorgeous hiking and amazing weather! I am just a few short hours’ drive from lots of great destinations if I feel the need to leave my favorite town (maybe to see the ocean, my son or heaven forbid, snow) and everyone wants to come and visit me! John and I moved 13 times in our 21 years as an Active Duty family and never in all of those years did we have as many visitors as we have had here in Vegas. I LOVE IT!

So far this year we have had Mom, Dad & Jeanie, Sis-in-Law Bonnie, Erroin & Susanne, Tom & Sue and those are just the folks who stayed with us! Now, Sister Nancy is coming for a weeklong birthday celebration. I am so excited!

We all do it, put on the best when people come to visit. Throw parties, make great food, find cool things to do, go to fab restaurants, see fantastic shows and basically act like tourists in our own town. I suppose if you live someplace boring, the bloom would be off the rose early, but here in Vegas, there is ALWAYS something to do. Day or night. 24 – 7- 365. Let’s face it, we all like to show off our town a bit. Moment of truth: I like to show off more than most people….there I said it!

Of course when anyone comes to visit, especially for the first time I always ask, “Is there anything you can’t or won’t eat?” If someone is coming that I haven’t cooked for, I often will ask, “Is there something special you want me to make while you are here?” When Dad & Jeanie came the answer was the Redneck Chateaubriand. Of course with Sister Nancy, the question became, “What do you want to eat when you are here?” She already has a list: Secret Recipe Lemon Bars, homemade bacon, Crack & Cheese….and that’s just to start, I am sure the list will grow. I don’t mind! I am flattered that people have their favorites of the food I cook and frankly I find it humbling that people come to visit me and want to eat MY food rather than eat at one of the dozens of Celebrity Chef restaurants here in Vegas. I only wish Nancy were here during Restaurant Week to enjoy the festivities (hurry, it ends on the 11th) – oh, well – we’ll make our own festivities!!

What is it that you make better than anyone else you know? Are you tied to a particular dish? Is it your lasagna? A special dip? A most requested salad? Interestingly, I know most of my friends’ best dishes. Lynn makes a great lasagna, Shelly (TX) & Dani (LV) make amazing guacamole, and Deb P makes this killer chicken casserole! When they come here for a pot luck, that’s what they are asked to make! When I go there to see them, that’s what I want. Although, truth be told, I think Dani is sick of making guac! Years ago, I was on a Social Activities committee and one of my jobs was to facilitate and coordinate pot luck events. I knew everyone’s BEST dishes and basically told them what to bring….in a nice way of course (You make the best ____________can you please bring that?)

If you are planning to come and visit, pack your swimsuit, even in the winter. We’ll fire up the hot tub, heat up the grills and get to work. Let me know what your favorites are and I’ll do what I can to oblige. Don’t be surprised if you are given a job to do when we are cooking! I think it makes the food taste better when everyone chips in (no pun intended on the chips). And yes Nancy, this column is about you.

My Food Memories this week are Helping Out by Dining Out with my Posse, The Shuck & Swallow Oyster Event at First Food & Bar, homemade Indian food from one of hubby’s clients, and fine dining at Charlie Palmer’s Aureole with my main squeeze!

This week’s pics are from week one of Restaurant Week.

Outside Aureole with my main squeeze

The Partial Posse at Morels French Steakhouse at the Palazzo

Team Bar + Bistro, Erica and Melia from Three Square and I at the Shuck & Swallow Chef’s Oyster eating contest.

The Vegas Foodie, Dominic Scali and food writer Al Mancini and I at the Shuck & Swallow Chef’s Oyster eating contest.

Muscovy Duck Breast with Duck Confit and Foie Gras Ravioli at Aureole

Until Next week, go out and make your OWN Food Memories.

Table for Two, Please

Posted on by LeAnne Notabartolo

As many of you know, John and I took our only child, Jack, to college last weekend. It was so sad, and of course I didn’t want to cry in front of him and be the cliché Mom, so I waited until I got in the car. I miss my kid terribly. Whining you say? No I am not! I just want Jack to know how much he is missed! The most touching thing he said to me when we were dropping him off was, “Mom, I’m really gonna miss your cooking. You know the food on campus isn’t nearly as good.” Yes, I spoiled him….just a little bit. Of course we miss him, but we know it is the best thing in the world for a young man to come into his own and grow to be a stupendous human. Wait a minute….we did a good job raising him, he is already stupendous!

Now that our merry three-top has become a slightly more somber two-top, how do I return to cooking like I did when we were young? I HAVE NO IDEA! I can’t remember back that far. For years I have cooked for at least 3 people, more when there is company, but now it is just me and my main squeeze and we don’t want to gain weight eating just ‘cause the food’s there! Moment of truth: I am a member of the “clean the plate” club, because after all there are starving kids in China that would be happy to have that food….thanks Mom.

Here are the facts:
• Most cookbooks that tout “cooking for two” suck.
• Some recipes don’t work well if you try to cut them in half
• Even the most patient leftover-loving human gets tired of the same food all the time
• Cooking for two is boring for me
• There is a limited amount of space in the freezer that can be devoted to leftovers

What to do? Well, frankly there has been a LOT of dining out. I am beginning to understand when Senior Citizens say, “I don’t cook anymore.” Or when Single Folks say, “I can’t be bothered to cook just for myself.”

I enjoy cooking for a crowd, but let’s face it, I can’t have company every night. While John and I would enjoy everyone’s company, eventually one of us would revolt. We need alone together time to sit on the couch in our PJ’s and watch movies (or Yankee Baseball) without having to be charming and entertaining.

For now, I am in “seek and destroy” mode looking for recipes for two diners OR for recipes that easily are cut in half. I am having moderate success. The best thing for me right now is to just cook less of what I always do. Tonight will be a Chicken Stir Fry with ‘shrooms and broccoli. Tomorrow, who knows!? Parmigiana of some kind? Steak? Easy enough. Veal Marsala? Split Lobsters on the grill with drawn butter? Hey wait a minute! I have a great idea – I can cook all the EXPENSIVE food that we love now that we don’t have a starving, walking, food processing plant living in the house! Brilliant! I just found the silver lining in the cloud of missing my boy.

Another great idea is for all of us to dine out as much as possible the next two weeks! For those of you who live in Las Vegas with me, be sure to support Three Square Food Bank, my charity of choice, by participating in Restaurant Week. More than 100 restaurants across the Las Vegas Valley have specially crafted prix fixe menus available only thru September 11th. Part of the purchase price of each RW menu sold goes straight to Three Square. To learn more check out the following links:

www.helpoutdineoutlv.org
www.ThreeSquare.org

This week’s pics are from last year’s Restaurant Week here in Vegas.
The whole fam in front of Fiamma at the MGM

Three Square Staff member Cheryl and I at KGB for the RW Kickoff

Chef Kerry Simon and I at KGB for the RW Kickoff

The whole fam stuffed with short rib ravioli at Fiamma

This week’s Food Memories are take out Chinese that is ALMOST as good as NY, fried chicken fingers while playing Bingo and yukking it up with my friends at Three Square, Beer & Cheese fondue at Beaver Street Brewing in Flagstaff and a farewell breakfast at La Bellavia (also Flagstaff) before leaving Jackster at NAU.

Until next week – go out and make your OWN Food Memories.

I Won’t Be Needing the Wine List. Do You Have a Beer List?

Posted on by LeAnne Notabartolo

First, let me thank all of you who shared my blog in the past weeks, and especially this most recent posting. Keep sharing, I love watching the reader numbers climb!

One of the coolest things about fruits and grains is that they can be enjoyed in so many ways. Fruit can be used in jams, jellies, compotes, dried, fresh and canned. Grains can be used for cereals, polenta, bread, pasta, salads (quinoa and farrow particularly). But they also can be fermented because of the high starch and sugar content contained within their inherent structure. The thing that makes fruits and grains taste so good also makes them good candidates for producing alcohol.

It is said that agrarian cultures developed and flourished due to the need to grow grain for beer and fruit for wine. Now while that might not be ENTIRELY true, it makes for a good story. Think about it for a second. Tribes and peoples moved around a lot to deal with weather, follow the hunt, or get away from conflict. They were hunter-gatherers. Then, by accident, a fermented beverage was created and those same peoples decided to intentionally grow things TO ferment. Thus farming communities were born, or so the story goes.

Grapes are a wonderful thing, and those of you who love your wine know this! Unfortunately for me I have developed an allergy to sulfites and I can’t truly enjoy wine any longer unless I want to deal with a skull splitting migraine. There are a few times of year that I joyfully deal with the pain. One of those times is early to mid November, when the Beaujolais Nouveau comes out. Happily for me, there is a plethora of other libations of which I can partake without incident the rest of the year.

Beer – it’s like liquid bread. The same basic ingredients go into beer as go into bread – grain, water, yeast all go into bread. Add hops and a lot more water and you get beer! Oddly enough, the recipe is similar for whiskey, rye and scotch (without the hops and with a LOT more aging). Now, I know some of you will think that Budweiser, Coors and the like are beer, but they aren’t – they are carbonated bat piss. Real beer, truly handcrafted beer, tastes nothing like those impostors, and once you get a taste for the REAL thing, you never go back. There was a time that I drank Coors, Michelob, and Rolling Rock, but that is many years in the past, and frankly I am a bit embarrassed to admit it. But I have grown and so can you.

One of the things we like to do when we go out of town is go to the local micro-breweries and lucky for us they are popping up EVERYWHERE! Inside you can usually get a tour and learn how real beer is made, taste samples (except, apparently in Utah – stupid laws) and have some pretty decent food sometimes too. Take a look at Stone Brewing in Escondido, California for example. Their menu reflects what is available in the local area and they grow a lot of their own produce and herbs. Cool Beans! Then of course there are the ones like Squatters Brew Pub in Park City, Pyramid in Seattle and Gordon Biersch (several locations) – the beer is usually pretty tasty, but the menu is derivative staple bar food – no surprises and nothing truly inspiring in their offerings, except the beer, and sometimes not even the beer is all that great (Pyramid isn’t what it once was). Some of these now trendy “brewery restaurants” even take some of the “spent” grain used in the brewing process and make some damn fine bread. Perfect for everyone at the table! Natural grains give the bread a fabulous texture, there is no alcohol and the results are typically individual to that brewery. Absolutely delicious.

Hubby John has been brewing beer for 18 years now – in fact he opened his first bottle of homebrew in the hospital room the day Jack was born. Now of course, he has moved on to an uncomplicated kegging system and we always have something great for our guests to try. We have even begun composting the spent grain and I have been trying my hand at spent grain bread with moderate success. The key to perfection is still a mystery to me, and I am in search of a great bread making book – please leave a comment if you have found one!

If you are lucky enough to live in a town with an honest to goodness brewery and you haven’t been there yet, shame on you! Get your happy butt down there and try the food and the beer if you are so inclined. Even if you are a non-drinker, and plenty of my friends are, the food can be a draw for you and you are supporting a local business. Sadly for me, I have to travel to enjoy house made brews, unless I am drinking at home. Wait, that’s not sad…I get to travel AND eat and drink well.

This week’s Food Memories are a gorgeous Duck Confit and Spinach Salad at Café Terigo, a near perfect nitrogen poured Cream Ale at Wasatch Brewing, disappointing Sun Dried Tomato Risotto at Robert Redford’s joint Zoom and a spectacular breakfast with my main squeeze at the astoundingly beautiful Stein Ericksen Lodge – all in Park City, UT.

This week’s pic is that nearly perfect nitrogen poured Cream Ale.

Until next week – go out and make YOUR OWN Food Memories.

Chain of Fools

Posted on by LeAnne Notabartolo

How many times have you gotten together with friends for dinner and they all say, “Let’s go to Olive Garden/Macaroni Grill/Red Lobster? Do you want to throw up your hands in frustration and shake those people? Yeah, me too! Why is it that some people seem to think that a CHAIN restaurant/bakery/store will have the best stuff? Is it the fact that they are always the same? Is it that they are reliably mediocre and the diner won’t be disappointed? The diner knows what to expect?

In case you have been living under a rock lately there is a huge MOVEMENT to support sustainable foods, locally grown and sourced items from small businesses. You may ask yourself, “Why is this a GOOD THING?” Supporting small businesses is a GREAT thing for lots of reasons. In the 80’s and 90’s Big Box stores put a lot of the little guys out of business and we saw the decline of “Main Street”. Well, that decline took away a lot of choices we would otherwise have access to. Of course, sometimes the Big Box is a must – I have a reserved parking space at Costco – but when in your own neighborhood, or on the road, you should try to step into the smaller joints for better quality, good citizenship and all around better customer service. Here’s a perfect example – I COULD have had Jack’s Grad/Bday cake made by a grocery chain, or a Big Box, but I chose to spend a little more for a more personalized experience for HIM. The quality was superb and the flavor exceptional. We got a knockout of a cake that people are still commenting on a month later.

The fact is this: Most chain restaurants (Chili’s, Applebee’s, and the like) make NOTHING in house. It all comes in pre-portioned, all the sauces are pre-made and none of the salad dressings are made in house either. Your salad and veggies may very well be the only fresh things you get. This is not a great way to eat. First of all, the amount of salt is a problem for a lot of people (not me, I am a salt-a-holic) and they are loaded with things you can’t pronounce. I personally have a problem with MSG. Now, while this is not true for ALL chains, for a vast number of them, this is de rigeur. There are a few groups/chains that I do like and actually eat in – the Lettuce Entertain You group (Maggiano’s, Capital Grille) has some strip-side places here in town and some others in major cities that actually MAKE the FOOD, in house! Now for the moment of truth: I LOVE Jack in the Box Curly Fries and once in a while I HAVE to have the Ultimate Cheeseburger from there – I know…don’t judge me!

Supporting a “Mom & Pop” business, whether a restaurant or a store, is a fantastically wonderful thing to do for your taste buds, for your attitude and for the economy. Because these owners often make what they are selling, you can get a customized experience and unlike a Big Box joint, they CARE if you come back.

Consider this next time you have to make a dining choice: are you putting $$ in the pocket of “the man” or are you putting $$ in the pocket of A MAN (or WOMAN)? I choose the little guy as often as I can, and I encourage you to do the same.

This week’s Food Memories are grilled wild caught salmon on the patio with hubby John, freshly picked veggies from the local farm, my first successful attempt at melt-in-your-mouth braised short ribs, and popcorn for lunch at Harry Potter. This week’s pic is that fab cake from Retro Bakery* mentioned earlier and my son using chopsticks to “play” it.

*http://retrobakerylv.com

Until next week, go out and make your own Food Memories!

On the Road….

Posted on by LeAnne Notabartolo

For some people, when they travel, they look for the familiar in a land that is unfamiliar to them. SOOOO many Americans seek out McD’s in Europe, believe it or not (I will admit they have the cleanest toilets in certain areas of Europe – been there, done that). I, on the other hand, decidedly do NOT – I strive for the new and different!

I recently returned from one of my favorite cities, Chicago; I attend a conference there every July. If you have never been there, let me tell you it is great….in the summer! The winters there are too cold for me, but the summer there is special. Downtown has lovely planted garden areas, it’s a great walking town AND there is fab food everywhere you go. I have been to Chicago every year for more than 10 years for this conference, and each year I try to find someplace new to eat. This year was no exception. While I am delving into the city, and striving for the unfamiliar, there are several attendees at the conference routinely doing the same things every year, sticking to the familiar and tried and true. Why is that?

I think I have it figured out! Let’s use Chicago as the example. For people in rural areas, they don’t have a lot of the “trendy” chains – like Cheesecake Factory – so they want to go there, because “everyone they know” says it’s great. People from certain metropolitan areas don’t have Chicago specialties – like Giordano’s pizza and Portillo’s Italian Beef – so they want to go there. Still others find comfort in routine, when everything else they are experiencing can’t be controlled or they over load on foreign concepts, they stick with what they know. And then of course there are the “unadventuresome” – yes, I just made up that word – you know, the burgers & fries, steak & potato, mac & cheese people (because they know what it tastes like).

As I am none of the above, where does that leave me? I do have fave places that I find in every city I go to, and Chicago is no exception, and I try to hit those places while I am there, but I don’t need a routine and I rarely eat in national chains (not at all if I can avoid it – that topic may be my next blog…hmmm). I am nothing if not an adventuresome eater. Because I am unwilling to eat the same things on the road that I can eat at home, and I am unwilling to settle for second rate, I often find myself dining solo. The masses don’t see the boldness of new, unknown choices as a beautiful thing – for some it is scary, some are just plain cheap, and still others would blanch to see “bone marrow” on the menu!

So this trip I found TWO new places and had wonderful things in each and good company for both meals. Sometimes I CAN encourage people to stretch that comfort zone…

This week’s Food Memories include Nutella Crepes for dessert at Crepe Bistro on Wells, a ridiculously good Shrimp Burger at Public House on State St., and a solitary, but not lonely, lunch at The Purple Pig.

This week’s pic is from last year – me with the Sour Cherry Pie from Ed Debevic’s in Chicago. Until next week, go out and make your own Food Memories.