Steak Three Ways

This actually isn't steak three ways, but rather steak with three different sauces because a chain like Outback I don't think is allowed to do anything really creative, but I digress:

Why the hell did they give me so many green beans?

So Outback and I have had a rocky relationship.  The thing is, the only time I actually go to Outback is when it's Josh's birthday...or if Josh coincidentally offers to pay haha.  Prior to this visit I had been to Outback four times.  The first two were lackluster.  The latter two were actually quite good with the most recent featuring a combination of ribs, steak, and a baked potato.  Naturally that was only for a brief time and was no longer on the menu for this visit, but instead they had this special of steak with three different sauces on top of potato pancakes served with a side of green beans.

It was alright.  Filling,  yes.  Flavor-wise, eh.  It left a little bit to be desired.  I mean, their regular steak isn't really that good to begin with, so the star of the show here by default is the sauce which I think creates a problem.  I mean, sauce shouldn't really be the show for a steak.  For a Big Mac, sure.  But not for something that actually takes time to cook and, you know, doesn't have all of the nasty preservatives that a Big Mac has. 

Decent effort, Outback.  But eh.  

The Greatest Candy Bar Ever Part II

A couple posts ago you witnessed the Greatest Candy Bar Ever.  Well, tonight I give you...the Second Greatest Candy Bar Ever:

If your eyes are having an orgasm, imagine how your taste buds are gonna feel

Compliments of Chocomize.  Now, in the last post I praised Chocomize's customer service for replacing the two damaged bars without any hassle that they initially sent me.  Naturally when I e-mailed them a question about this order I received no response.  I had a 10% off coupon code from an e-mail they sent out that was good for a few more days but forgot to apply it to this order.  So I e-mailed them asking if it could be applied and here's the code that I was given.  Of course they didn't respond. 

Since I ordered 3 of these guys the total dollar amount saved would have been only about three bucks so it's not like this is a big deal but...really, guys?  I mean, it's the principal of the thing here.  Of course they did promptly replace the damaged bars so it's not like I'm going on a crusade here but I'm just sayin'.  I could have cancelled the order and just done it all over but that would have been a pain in the ass, that's why it would have been easier if they had just responded.

But we'll call this one a wash.  They're a great company and this particular bar is like whoa.

Pastrami on Rye with Mustard

I wanted to post this again, as this is a unique case of something looking really, really tasty but ultimately being kind of a letdown, which is a phenomenon that we here at Greg's Gourmet are always trying to figure out.

Pastrami, the most sensuous of the deli meats as showcased in a famous Seinfeld episode.

The same pastrami that my mother shuns me for eating with cheese and mayonnaise, citing it as the most un-kosher thing anyone can eat.

Thankfully a delicatessen opened up in La Jolla and while it's still not kosher...it's still something.

One of the few restaurants that doesn't lie about "piling it high"

So this is a place called Nosh Delicatessen that just opened a couple months ago.  Has a typical delicatessen menu, good plate presentation, but there's something not quite there with this place and I can't quite figure it out.  Maybe it's the waiters who come around to make sure everything is okay despite the fact that they're not actually waiters.  Maybe it's the fact that the food was actually kind of underwhelming despite its beautiful presentation.  I'm serious, this pastrami must have been lean or something because it was lacking in the kind of flavor that I was expecting from it.

Of course being a new restaurant they need some time to work out certain things to see what works and what doesn't so I'd be interested in returning.  Just looking at this pictures is making me salivate all over my screen.  

The Greatest Candy Bar Ever

Also known as...Chocomize:

Oh...oh yes

So Chocomize is this Internet company that allows you to customize your chocolate bars any way you like.  They've got countless combinations of spices, herbs, fruits, nuts, and candy that you can pile high onto your chocolate bar like an Alex Rodriguez steroid denial.  

This one has Gushers, Skittles, Junior Mints, pop rocks, and gummy bears on a milk chocolate bar.  It's chewy, sticky, fruity, and absolutely delicious.  So damn good.

What makes this an even better experience is that Chocomize also provides great customer service.  If you've been reading this blog long enough you know how much I appreciate good customer service.  Initially I had ordered two chocolate bars; one for my mom and one for myself, but they came in damaged and freezer burned.  I sent Chocomize a note and even took pictures but they quickly responded apologizing for the issue and saying this happens to about 2% of all the bars that go out and they'd send replacements right away.  Simple as that.  It's seriously amazing how easy good customer service is yet equally amazing how many companies simply don't get it.

Chocomize.com.  Check it out. 

Hell's Kitchen, Season 11, Finale Recap

HELL'S KITCHEN

Season 11, Finale Recap

Ladies and gents, your Hell's Kitchen Season 11 winner, Ja'Nel!

I don't really want to type a whole lot or get into specifics.  While it's not a shocker at all that Ja'Nel won, Mary really did put forth a valiant effort.  No one took her seriously from the beginning, including myself and Chef Ramsay.  In fact she was the butt-end of numerous jokes on this site throughout the duration of the season.  But she really impressed me and managed her team and menu well.  Mary, if you ever read this - you did really good.

We also witnessed the first ever kitchen ejection in Hell's Kitchen history when Mary kicked Dan out for being a prick.  Man, what's the deal with that guy?

As for Ja'Nel, obviously a very talented person but her ego really bothers me and makes her really unappealing at times, such as when she refused to listen to her team during menu prepping.  Look, yeah, she won, but she's had this extremely cocky attitude all season long that's really rubbed me the wrong way.  It's not confidence or even over-confidence, it's just really annoying and I wonder if that'll affect her during her career.  I mean beef cheeks?  Really?

The second half of the finale reminded me of what Hell's Kitchen used to be.  It was fun, it was intense, it was well cut and a general pleasure to watch.  The first few episodes of this season were similar fun and I actually did have high hopes early on.  But then the To Be Continueds starting coming in all different directions and as the total number of competing chefs began to dwindle, the show's quality just tanked and tanked.  It's really too bad because this show is really a shell of its former self.  

But this finale I will say was entertaining and I'm glad I watched it.  Big congrats to Ja'Nel and Mary!  It's been an interesting season. 

A Really Big Pastrami Sandwich

Went to a new place in La Jolla last week for mom's birthday called the Nosh Delicatessen.  Now, my mom makes fun of me for being born in California as opposed to her native New York and naturally always hassles me for never having eaten at a real Jewish delicatessen before.  Yeah, I don't fully understand it either.  Anyway, Nosh opened up not too long ago and while it's not a real Jewish delicatessen (i.e. it's totally not kosher), it's still worthwhile to check out.

Naturally I had to get the pastrami on rye with mustard:

"I find pastrami to be among the most sensuous of the deli meats"

The thing is, though...this wasn't a home run sandwich.  It was good but it's almost like the meat was too lean and lacked a real kicking taste.  Obviously it looks beautiful and it's really filling but I'm not sure what was going on with the flavor, cause this is real pastrami here.  They do have lean pastrami on the menu so maybe something got mixed up?  I dunno.  

I would try it again.  Happy birthday, mother, and many, many, many more!  I love you!

Hell's Kitchen, Season 11, Episode 20 Recap

HELL'S KITCHEN

Season 11, Episode 20 Recap

Gordon enjoys sucking on a lemon between takes

So we're down to four, and what an annoying four it is.  I can't believe this but Jon is actually the least annoying person there, even though he's annoying simply because he lacks a fun personality.  Ja'Nel is a loud-mouthed mega bitch with a pretty face.  Mary is just dumb and Cyndi must have a Rolodex of cliche phrases that she uses over and over.  Seriously, I know Hell's Kitchen is scripted quite a bit so you'd think the writers would at least give her some better things to say. 

I haven't watched it yet but I'm gonna say the finals will be Jon vs. Ja'Nel. 

Mary, telling the truth: "It sucks that you voted me up but I understand why."

Cyndi, puzzling: "A puzzle?  Seriously?  The last time I did a puzzle was, uh, actually not too long ago."

Puzzle challenge: Okay, they'll complete the puzzle and then have to cook the dish.  Yeah, who didn't see that one coming?

Jon, going with the beef, man: "I'm going with beef filet, man.  I'm confident that's what it is." Holding you to that, pal. 

Mary, disadvantaged: Did you ever notice that whenever Mary says she has an advantage or that she should win the challenge she never does?  

Ja'Nel, here's to hoping: "I'm really confident and I'm hoping that I got it right."  Wow, really, Ja'Nel?  I thought you were hoping that you got it wrong.  Boy was I way off!

Mary, she's just now embarrassed?: "I'm humiliated.  At this stage of the game it's embarrassing!"  Yeah, never mind all the other royal screwups you have, mixing up venison with lamb is the one that sets you off. 

Mary, I hope it's not hers: "Ewww someone's thong underwear here in the corner!"

"I'm going to demonstrate how to give yourself an enema using these two fingers."

The thing is, as much as I make fun of Cyndi for being an annoying female version of Captain Obvious, I think she'd actually do well in an executive chef position.  Mary I don't see it, Ja'Nel I think would annoy her staff, but Jon and Cyndi I think would do very well.  Jon is a shoo-in, but I'm not sure Cyndi has what it takes to overthrow Ja'Nel.  Definitely an underdog.  And I guess I'd rather listen to her cliches than Ja'Nel's loudass voice.

Cyndi, doesn't got this: "I got this, I got this shit alot!" as she's about to serve crab risotto instead of lobster.  Jeez, and I was just pulling for you, Cyndi. 

Cyndi, really funny troll: "Jon, you know we can't special order a no pork in the wellington. They're already pre-rolled!  You want us to, what, break one open and take out the prosciutto?  You serious?"  On the other hand, what kind of schmuck goes into a fine dining restaurant and asks for a pork wellington without the pork?  THAT'S JUST DOUGH THEN YOU STUPID IDIOT!!!  Fire that customer. 

So when it comes to running the brigade, Cyndi struck out with the quality control, Ja'Nel did pretty good, Jon struck out with quality control, and I'd rather shove raw scallops in my ear than listen to Mary scream like a beheaded orc during the battle of Helms Deep. 

Gordon, total liar: "Never before in the history of Hell's Kitchen have I had such a difficult time deciding who are the final two."  Yeah, my ass, Gordon.  It'll be Jon and Ja'Nel and you know it.

MARY IS IN THE FINALS??? WTFFFFFFFF?!?! She's so excited and she just can't hide it.  She can't believe she'd be in the finals AND NEITHER CAN I.

Her scream caused the lens to break right after this

And a TBC.  Blow me, Gordon.  But I will say that with a season of disappointments and poor quality, seeing an underdog like Mary in the finals is a bit refreshing.  I've been bashing her the whole season but hey, I like this.  Yeah, she does some odd things and is kinda creepy at times but she's worked hard.  And she seems like a nice girl at least.

So...there goes my prediction.  Jon or Ja'Nel?  Maybe both, who knows?