Deep Dish Pizza in Chi-Town

I went to Chicago 2 weeks ago with a student organization. Despite the unpleasant 15 degree weather, the city was beautiful and the architecture was breathtaking. I could imagine myself living there one day, especially if global warming took effect.

I knew I was going on this trip for about 6 months, so I had plenty of time to plan what kind of food I wanted to try while I was there. While watching Bobby Flay Throwdown last semester, Flay competed against Marc Malnati, owner of Lou Malnati's, a local deep dish pizza restaurant chain. I trust Food Network more than I probably should sometimes, and I figured if Malnati's pizza is good enough for a Throwdown, it's good to be thrown down into the pits of my blissful belly. So I told my friends that was one stop we had to make while we were there.

We had a group of 23 students, so we figured we should go ahead and make a reservation. Boy, were we lucky that we did. We walked into the restaurant, which was much smaller than I anticipated, and there was a pretty decent line of people waiting to be seated. I'd say we took up a good 1/3 of the occupancy with our party alone. The selection of deep dish pizzas didn't seem that large, but I guess it's a sign that they really specialize and perfect what they do have. We got a Malnati salad, one thin-crust cheese pizza, one large "Lou", and one large "Deluxe" pizza for one table of 11.

The salad was so delicious. The dressing was very sweet, yet tart, adding the perfect taste to the greens. Also, it was topped with crumbled gorgonzola cheese and fried salami bits. If you think you like bacon bits, wait until you try fried salami pieces. If they sold that in grocery stores, salami would steal all the bacon lovers.

It took a while for the deep-dish pizzas to come out, and I'm thinking it's because they take longer to cook than a regular thin-crust. Whatever the reason, the wait wasn't bad considering how amazing these pizzas tasted. I had the "Lou", which was the vegetarian stuffed pizza.  I had deep-dish pizza once before, but Lou's was so much better.  Just visually speaking, Lou's beats the other deep-dish I had in Orlando a couple years back.   Your eyes eat before your mouth does, and let's just say that Lou's made my mouth water, and the other made my eyes water.

Although it had no meat, this was a VERY filling slice of pie.  Stuffed with mounds of cheese, spinach, and mushrooms, and topped with tomatoes and (surprise) 3 more cheeses, I could feel a heart attack coming.  But it wasn't the cheese that took me overboard to near-cardiac arrest; it was the flaky buttercrust.  For only $1 more per pizza, you had the option to have buttercrust instead of their regular crust, and goodness gracious was I glad we decided to have that instead. The crust literally crumbled the minute it entered your mouth.  I would have eaten a plate of just crust if they offered that on the menu.  It's a shame that wasn't an option. But upon reflection, it's probably illegal to serve clogged arteries on a plate in Chicago. Different story in the south.

I had a bite of my friend's "Deluxe" pizza, which had cheese, mushrooms, sausage, onions, and green peppers, but I think the "Lou" was much better in taste.  The thin-crust was good, but I honestly think that Austin has some pretty good if not better thin-crust.  I would say that Malnati's specializes in their deep-dish and that would be my recommendation if you decide to make it out there.  But if Chi-town is too dreadfully cold for a visit, they ship their pizzas all across America.  It is a bit pricey, but if you're really looking to splurge, this might be a good option.  

While talking with locals there, I heard a lot of comments about Chicago hot dogs. The next time I go back in April, I will have to make a stop at a dog stand. That report will come later. Until then, happy eating :)

A Visual Heartattack

BEWARE: Viewing the below website/blog may clog your arteries.

This is why you're fat

A Table at the Gratitude Cafe

One stop that we made while in San Francisco was at Cafe Gratitude, a healthy, environmentally-aware cafe. Eccentric to say the least, this restaurant was nested in an area near no other restaurants. The interior was painted green with accents of blues. On each table sat a board game with cards that encouraged diners to introspect and dig deep within themselves for self discovery and understanding. Napkins were recycled dishcloths and self-bottled water in etched glass pitchers were readily available to guests.

Upon glancing at the menu, I was surprised to see what Cafe Gratitude offered. Not only was 90% of their menu raw, gluten-free, and organic, it was also extremely pricey. They sold smoothies for $10! No one at our table ordered one of those, but it was definitely a surprise. By raw, I mean that the restaurant does not cook their menu items. Only the soups were cooked; all other foods were prepared as they were picked. For example, my friend ordered a "pizza" but the base that would normally be the crust was made of uncooked cracker-like dough. They called it a pizza, but it was nothing like what you would order from California Pizza Kitchen or Pizza Hut.

I was in the breakfast mood so I ordered a bowl of apple & granola, almond milk, and a slice of almond toast. The granola was extremely crunchy beyond belief, but had a nice cinnamon bite to it. I was really excited about the almond milk, but my expectations were unmet. When I ordered it, I was thinking something more along the lines of Almond Milk Tea, but I was deceived. It tasted more like cardboard than anything else. The almond toast was a shocker as well. I felt like a hamster biting into a round hockey puck of seeds because it was so hard, but the taste was decent.

However unimpressed I may have been with my entree, I was won over with the dessert at Cafe Gratitude. Between four people, we decided to split a chocolate cake and a banana split. I had never had a gluten-free cake before, but it was probably the most delicious cake I had sunk my teeth into. It was moist and dense all at once and so rich in chocolate flavor. It took a long time for our dessert order to come out so I was wondering whether or not they were making the cake to order but it came out chilled, so we never figured out what took so long. Whatever it was they were doing in the kitchen at that time, it was well worth the wait.

The banana split that we ordered was equally if not more delightful. I'm thinking that they made the ice cream from scratch, and it was oh-so-scrumptious. Maybe that's why our dessert order took about 30 minutes to arrive. With a fresh banana, chopped nuts, and a drizzle of chocolate sauce, this was your favorite dessert as a child that got dressed up and went to fancy cocktail party. Definitely the most sophisticated tasting banana split sundae that I have had. Sonic's and DQ's banana split can well...split because the Sundae for Two at Cafe Gratitude puts theirs to shame.

Cafe Gratitude is a restaurant that is very local and unique in its offerings and environment. If my local Californian friend had not suggested it, I would have never set foot in the establishment. I'm really glad that I did because the experience was very special and I know that I will not find a place like that in the south. For a picky eater, a completely raw restaurant probably isn't the best idea, but for a food adventurer like me, it was an appreciated journey.

If you're in the Bay Area and your stomach is prepared to digest food in its most fresh and raw form, I would highly recommend Cafe Gratitude. The waitstaff is eccentric, the food is like no other, and the ambiance is hippie-chic. Heck, even Jason Mraz talks about this place in his song "Make it Mine". If nothing else, go because their plates are adorned with cute phrases and they have menu items like "I Am Grateful" and "I Am Renewed". You will walk out a different person.

Gluttonous Goodies at Google

My roommate and I made a semi-spontaneous trip to Nor-Cal during our winter break.  While half of our time in the beautiful coastal state was spent sight-seeing and doing tourist activities, I'd say the other half was dedicated to expanding our blissful bellies.  

One of our unique experiences was our visit to the Googleplex in Mountain View by San Jose.  My friend from Harvard had a friend who recently started working there andshe was nice enough to show us around the beautiful complex.  Not only was the Googleplex in a jaw-dropping, scenic environment, the people and amenities that the company offered were unheard of.

I'd heard of companies like SAS who treat their employees like royalty, but I think Google puts all those other companies to shame.  Aside from their reflection pool, free massages, 

community bicycles for travel across campus, on-site garden (which employees are allowed to pick from and from which the Google chefs gather ingredients to prepare their "cafeteria" food), and freedom to bring your dog inside the office, the food is surprisingly abundant, fresh, free, and oh-so-delicious.   

When you think cafeteria food, you probably think "What is this brown mush they scooped and dumped on my tray?"  Not at Google.  Google probably has the nicest cafeterias that I have seen in my life.  They have variety and quality that any person could appreciate.  From succulent shrimp in garlic butter sauce, banh mi sliders, roasted quail, and gourmet pecan pie ice cream, their cafeterias offer something for every taste.  Even their drink selection is impeccable - blood orange juice, Naked juices, Rice Dream rice drink, and agave lemonade are just several of the options that their fountains & fridges offer.  

Aside from the many cafeterias that cater to different needs and tastes, each floor has a "microfridge", which is basically an area stocked with foods to keep Googlers productive.  Sure does beat the water cooler next to the printer and stale coffee that most other companies have.  Microfridges had food ranging from fruit leather and gummy bears to organic vegetable or wasabi chips and every drink you could ever want to wet your tongue.  Talk about exotic snacking.  The person who showed us around the buildings told us that many Googlers gain weight upon starting.  I could see why.

But it wasn't the range of foods or the quality of the offerings that impressed me the most.  Every one of the aforementioned items are free to all Googlers and visitors.  In my short 1.5-2 hour stay at the complex, I probably downed $30 worth of food.  Now multiply that by 1,000s of Googlers working in Mountain View who are snacking away on these tasty treats.  I honestly don't know how the company is able to absorb a cost like this during an economic crisis, but I'm sure none of them are complaining.  I certainly wouldn't be. 

My brief visit to Google was extremely memorable and I am so grateful that I had the opportunity to walk in the presence of such intelligent, light-hearted, and just plain fun individuals.  Once a fan of just their search engine and applications, I have now fallen head over heels over everything this young company has blossomed into.  For a foodie and semi-techie like me, I found my haven.  I left Amphitheatre Parkway with more than just a blissful belly.

Journeys in Japan: Part 2

The first day that we were in Japan, we decided to wander around the town of Yokosuka. A military town, I didn't expect a whole lot of activity but was shocked to see a huge festival happening in the streets. And just like festivals in America, Japanese street festival = carts and tents filled with delicious food and eventful games.

This was a great way for us to get a taste of Japan's rich culture. We were able to hear typical music, see traditional dress, and taste unique foods that I had never heard of or seen in my life.



I didn't prepare my stomach before making my way over to the festival, so I left the place really stuffed. This is just a sample of what I put into my blissful belly:


Yakitori is the Japanese version of kabobs. Instead of the typical skewered meats we put on a stick, Yakitori uses all parts of a chicken (skin, liver, thighs, etc.). It has a great honey glaze on it, so it's quite different in taste than the normal kabob. Just imagine the glaze of a Honey Baked Ham on small pieces of chicken. When you walk up to a cart to order one, they're freshly made, so they're hot and delicious. The chicken is not overcooked and is extremely succulent. I personally thought the chicken skin yakitori was a little scary because I never eat chicken skin, but I'm sure it tasted excellent.

Tacoyaki was something my brother was talking about right when we discovered the carnival. It is fried squid drizzled with mayonnaise, a condiment that the Japanese are absolutely in love with (they come in huge vats and squeeze bottles there). Putting the nutrition facts behind you, this is the best mollusk I've ever had in my life. I think those who are fearful of squid would even find Tacoyaki enjoyable. The lightly fried batter and mayonnaise mask any fishy taste that you might expect.

The dessert bananas were everywhere. I passed by at least 4 different carts with it, so I couldn't resist any longer; my near-exploding belly decided that it had to make room for the chocolate-covered fruit. They offered two kinds: one covered in milk chocolate and sprinkles and the other with white chocolate and sprinkes. I opted for the milk chocolate and hate to say that I was a bit disappointed. While passing by these carts, I imagined the banana treat to be a somewhat cold treat. I reasoned this because the chocolate wasn't melting off the sticks of banana. However, the banana was room temperature and nothing better than something I could have made at home. It definitely wasn't worth the 300 yen they sold it for.

The wax lollipops were a hit with children at the festival. My mom ended up buying one, but I didn't actually taste it. It looked very much like normal lollipops that we have in the States and I didn't wanted to waste my tastebuds on something so American. The novelty of these candies were the fact that they were put in little disks made out of ice cream cones. The disks are filled with wax-looking hard candy that is liquid before it hardens and locks in the lollipop. Cute? Yes. Absolutely scrumptious? Probably not.

I think the day at the festival was probably one of the most exciting days that I had while in Japan. It was a wave of culture in a couple of hours and I got to taste, hear, and see so many things that I had never before experienced. I wish Japan were like that everyday.

Food Journeys in Japan: Part 1

Right at the beginning of summer, my family and I made our first trip to Japan. Not know any words other than Konichiwa, Moshi Moshi, and Arigatou, I knew we were going to be pretty handicapped. This was my first time being in a country where I didn't speak the language, and it was definitely a learning experience. The most valuable takeaway: Food is universal. Despite not knowing how to communicate, we were still able to discover great foods. All you need to do is point and use lots of hand gestures!

The first meal that I had was at the airport. Being the foodie that I am, the first thing that came to mind when I got off the plane was filling my belly. What was outside of the airport was of little importance at that moment. We walked around for a while to see what kind of foods the airport offered and I was pleasantly surprised. Every restaurant had a visual menu displayed in their window. Every single item that they offered was for show. This made things especially easy for the language-impaired. I knew what I would order and how much I was going to pay before I even went in. I don't know how any passerby could walk by without stopping, admiring, and drooling. I'm sure the other people in the airport could tell that I was a foreigner with all the excited squeals I made as I excitedly pointed to each and every item in the window like I had never seen food before.

After pulling my eyeballs away from the myriad of windows displays, we stumbled upon a small little restaurant that served homestyle food. Before we landed in Japan, I told myself that I wanted to eat authentic Japanese food, and I figured a place like this was the place to go. Although this restaurant did not have the massive window menu of lifesize foods, they offered a paper menu with images of each item. I scanned through them and found one that sounded appealing - blown rice topped with salmon roe, seaweed, fish, parsley, and these exciting little crunchy, crispy things.

To eat it, you pour the soup from the teapot (upper right hand corner of the tray) into the bowl and make a soupy rice mixture. The soup tasted like a basic seaweed soup and added the right amount of saltiness. The order came with pickled vegetables, seaweed, and tofu. After eating everything on the tray, I was pleased with our food selection. I had never seen anything like this in America whereas many of the items in the window displays were more typical Japanese fare that the States offers. During the rest of the trip, I was only able to eat this one more time, but if I had the chance to go back, it would definitely be near the top of the food list.

Considering that this was consumed within my first hour of landing in Japan, I knew I had lots to look forward to. More to come in the next post!

Dim Sum Delight

In my travels in China, we made a point to eat a lot of dim sum. Although Houston has some pretty good dim sum varieties, there are many items that aren't offered here in the States.

The first dim sum item worth mentioning is low sa bao, a steamed white bun with a runny, yolk-like filling. I've had a version in America that has a solid filling, but the uniqueness of this treat is the liquid-form of the egg-yolk center. It gets messy sometimes, but it's absolutely delicious and worth the mess.

The second item I'd like to feature is a Portuguese tart (poa taht). Similar to an egg custard tart, the top of this is torched like a creme brulee. When it's freshly torched, the top is extra crispy and the pastry is the perfect flakiness. Although I haven't had this tart in the south, the egg custard tart is sold in every dim sum restaurant I've ever been to.

This item is a very traditional dim sum food, but I decided to talk about it because I had never seen a restaurant go to the extreme and shape it into a fish! This turnip cake was not fried like it normally is, but was steamed. I personally like fried versions better, but the presentation was definitely interesting and worth mentioning.

If you're completely unfamiliar with the concept of dim sum, it's a Cantonese brunch tradition. In a literal translation, it means "to order to your heart's desire". At a genuine dim sum restaurant, a menu with about 40 items are listed for you to select from. Because portions are small, you typically order multiple items - or as many as your 'heart desires'. Once you are done with your selections, your waiter/ress collects your 'checklist' and brings your food out as it is completed.

At the dim sum restaurants I've dined at in the States, they typically push a heated cart around with already prepared items. Each cart will feature multiple items, but the items typically have something in common. For example, one cart might be all desserts, another might be all fried, the other might be steamed, one might have all buns, etc.

Most major cities have a Chinatown and I'm almost certain will have at least one dim sum restaurant. As more and more people begin to appreciate Asian cuisines, these types of restaurants have and will continue to thrive. Each time I go, I see more and more white American families taking a stab (with their two-handed chopstick techniques) at dim sum. I have yet to meet one person who does not enjoy dim sum, and I doubt that I ever will. With the vast variety of food offered, strong flavors, and rich culture the dining experience offers, I can't imagine it being anything less than an enjoyable experience.