Domo Cookies at Diamonds for Dessert
I just came across this post on Diamonds for Dessert on how to make Domo cookies [via Food is My life]. The cute and cuddly Domo is the mascot for the Japanese NHK TV network, and has been incarnated in stickers, posters, stuffed animals, and practically every other form… now even cookies! However, these are not just any cookies, but are a version of Thomas Keller’s famous oreo cookies (TKOs), from Bouchon Bakery. Can’t wait to try these.
I am really enjoying the layout and illustrations in this recipe and feature article from the Bold Italic blog about the wonders of Japanese Curry.
Filed under Design and Photography, Links, Recipes
Rambling through the internet, I’ve recently found some great kawaii links. One-upping the childhood food mainstay the Easy-Bake Oven, Japanese company Bandai released Toy pot sticker maker. I never had an Easy-Bake oven as a kid – but I think the big kid in me wants one of these pot sticker makers. I guess I’m not the only nostalgic one, there is even an Easy-Bake oven knock-off that fits in a computer port.
p.s. As a bonus link from Japan – who could resist making bread with panda faces baked right in?
Filed under Reviews
Beard Papa’s
2399 Telegraph Avenue (this location closed, various others open throughout the US)
Berkeley, CA
I (M) was in Berkeley for an academic conference, and naturally decided to take advantage of some West Coast eats that we don’t have in the Midwest. One place L and I kept hearing about was Beard Papa’s, a Japanese creampuff outlet with locations all around the Pacific Rim and NYC/New Jersey. With their Berkeley location just opened, I knew I had to stop in for some tasty cream puffs after a long day of lectures.
For starters, the best thing about Beard Papa’s has to be its logo. The white bearded, yellow hatted, pipe-smoking Alaskan fisherman (?) makes little sense as a creampuff symbol, but maybe that’s why he works so well. Whatever the allusion is, it is definitely memorable (maybe his face looks like a creampuff? You be the judge.)
It was late in the day when I made it inside, and was concerned they wouldn’t have what I wanted – and I was right. The ordering process is pretty simple: pick a pastry type (regular, cookie, or eclair) and pick a filling (Belgian chocolate, vanilla, or coffee). The flavors change from week to week – these are the choices this location had on this particular day. Regardless, the cookie crust (my favorite!) was out, so I settled on regular pastry with chocolate insides.
My verdict on the worldwide craze that is Beard Papa’s? Just OK. I cannot say I have much to compare it to in terms of creampuffs, but the pastry tasted, well, like a pretty standard pastry crust with pretty good soft ice cream center. Not that there wasn’t enough – the puff was much larger than I expected (a relative deal for $2.49) and more or less exploded with chocolatey goodness when I bit into it. But I definitely was not blown away by the offerings – maybe it was just the growing pains of a new establishment? I would definitely try one again if the opportunity presented itself, but as of right now, I find it hard to legitimate the worldwide obsession around the puffs.
Filed under Reviews
I recently came across a new food that, while it looks kind of frightening, is pretty intriguing – black garlic! Black garlic is popular in China, Korea and Japan and is really just aged and fermented whole cloves of garlic. The flavor is more mellow than raw cloves with a bit of a tang. And it’s spreadable. Some Whole Foods stores sell black garlic, but you can get it online, too.
Filed under World Eats
I had heard that Mitsuwa Market in Arlington Heights was staging a public sale of some giant bluefin tuna this past weekend. The tuna was flown in fresh, and weighed upwards of 300 pounds. Mike Sula at the Chicago Reader’s Food Chain provides a nice recap of the event, which seemed like quite the experience. On non Tuna-carving days, Mitsuwa market is still worth the trip for an extensive grocery, bakery, bookstore and tasty food court with Sushi and Udon shops.
Mitsuwa Market
100 E. Algonquin Rd.
Arlington Heights, IL
Filed under Reviews
Sushi Blu [Closed]
1710 Orrington Avenue
Evanston, IL
L and I aren’t that big on sushi, but when a friend offered to take us to Blu, a visually upscale sushi bar in downtown Evanston, we couldn’t turn it down. The restaurant was empty when we entered (usually not a good sign), but were surprised by the avant-garde decorations that seem more at home in a New York or Chicago nightclub than a sushi bar.
With the upscale decor, we were shocked to realize that the $7-13 lunch specials were for an entire lunch
plate, not just a single piece of sushi. L avoided the sushi route and ordered chicken bento – grilled teriyaki chicken on a rice bed, plus vegetable tempura and a salad. M decided to try the sushi (going against a number of past eating experiences) and ordered blu maki bento – 3 sushi of shrimp tempura, 3 of spicy tuna, and a small salad.
To start, both meals came with free miso soup that surpassed our expectations of what miso soup should taste like. I in particular am not a big tofu fan, but I found this miso to be flavorful and light, unlike other thicker, over-tofu-ed misos I’ve had in the past.
But our main dishes easily stole the show. The food, on both of our plates, was beautifully presented far beyond what was necessary for a relatively quick and cheap lunch order. In addition, the amount of food we received was well beyond what we anticipated (the 10 sushi I received came out to about a dollar per roll, less than a fifth of sushi prices at similar establishments.) L’s chicken avoided the over-sugared problem of other teriyakis, and balanced nicely with the veggie tempura on the side. My sushi presented something of an eating challenge (I kept the chopsticks) but had a great time experimenting with the flavor combinations of raw tuna, shrimp, ginger, wasabi, and vegetables. The sushi was tasty and filling while managing to remain subtly flavored in all the right ways.
Overall, the food was beautifully presented, filling and tasty, and unbelievably cheap both for the amount of food and especially in comparison with other sushi places, particularly when you consider its Evanston location (not exactly known for the cheap eats) as well as the interior decor. A sushi place we might actually come back to!
Filed under Reviews
Tea is something of an obsession for the Eaters. We currently have probably about 40 varieties of teas in our possession at this moment. One of our latest favorites is Ito En Jasmine Pearl Tea. It’s a whole leaf hand-rolled tea, which unfurls when you steep it. We were previously not big fans of Jasmine teas, since when they are bad, they are really bad. However, Ito En made us a believer. Ito En certainly is not a cheap variety ($18 for 3 oz.), but it’s delicious. Bottled Ito En teas are also now becoming available at stores like Whole Foods, if you want to try them out.
Filed under Tea
Eating The World 