Gracie's Sea Hag Restaurant and Lounge - Newport, Oregon.

In my recent travels, I went to Oregon for spring break. Now keep in mind, good food can be good food by itself, but it only gets better with friends. This was our last meal for the trip and we went all out, thanks to our friend with very deep pockets. I myself had the king crab. It melted in your mouth, cooked to perfection, and just barbaric enough to make you feel more of a man! But the king crab wasn't the highlight of the meal. It was actually the desert.

Marion Berry Tart

Renowned Oregon Marionberries in a flakey pastry shell, slighty warmed & topped with ice cream & whipped cream garnish.  Another Sea Hag original that is featured in the New York Times Cookbook.

$5.95

Oregon is renowned for their Marion berry, and boy did they nail it with this desert. The berry itself is rich and colorful and has the slight taste of a blueberry/raspberry/strawberry flavor to it. I know that sounds like a lot of berry, but if two perfect berries got together to make a berry, it would be the Marion berry. It rivals the Olallieberry in California. These two are bitter, nay, sweet enemies. The flakey pastry shell and the ice cream were a perfect combo. It was a lot like a Marion berry pie with ice cream. Warmed just enough to melt the ice cream and cool enough that you didn't have to slow down to eat it. This desert is featured in the New York Times Cookbook, as it should be.

Overall rating: 4.6 out of 5

Opah Restaurant & Bar - Irvine, California

Don't you love it when you happen on great places by mistake? As a group we wanted to go elsewhere but the place next door had a 45 minute wait. We thought Opah would be a good alternative. We were thinking Greek, but boy were we wrong. If it is so bad to be wrong, I don't want to be right.

"The Opah or "Moonfish" once was viewed as good luck when caught by old-time fishermen and often given away as a gesture of goodwill."


Kobe Beef Burger


½ lb. with sweet caramelized onions
$12
(add aged cheddar, Havarti, Gorgonzola or smoked bacon + $1)




As far as burgers go, it doesn't get much better than this. The Kobe beef really made the difference from an okay fast food burger, to a gourmet masterpiece. The meat was so juicy and had just enough pink. The condiment that I rarely use was actually a great staple in this meal. Ketchup. I hate the word, but this was not your ordinary ketchup. It was thick, almost whipped. It didn't make the burger, but it helped bring it all together. The shoelace french fries were killer. Salty enough with a hint of garlic, perfect.






Overall rating: 4.4 out of 5

Robin's - Hand Crafted Global Cuisine. Cambria, California.

Okay, so I love to take people with me when I eat. Or in this case, take me with them to eat. "Robin's" in Cambria is what sparked my idea to start writing about food. I had three meals that were so profound I had to write about them.

The town set the perfect ambiance for this restaurant. The atmosphere fit my personality like a glove. It was big enough to hold maybe 40 tables. Perfect for a small group of two to six people. The service was great and it was very relaxed. As strange as it sounds, I really enjoyed sitting under a heat lamp in the covered patio. It seemed to add the perfect feel for what was about to come. The meals we ordered are as follows:

PAN SEARED FURIKAKE TOFU
-mango forbidden black rice, roasted root vegetables, soy-yuzu sauce 


Seriously a great meal if you want something light and filling. The tofu really takes on the flavors of the rice and vegetables. The sauce and the mango are what really pulled it all together. But my third favorite of the night.


MALAYSIAN CHICKEN CURRY
-spicy yellow coconut curry, toasted coconut, cucumber salad


So much flavor! The curry was so sweet but had just enough bite in it to keep it interesting. The mix of the rice, cucumber salad, and the chicken curry was perfect. It was spicy but not so bad it would make a grown man cry, even sweat for that matter. The coconut made it finish smooth right after the burn. Perfect combination of flavors. Not the ordinary Indian curry, It was that and so much more. 


KOREAN BLACK BBQ GLAZED FLAT IRON STEAK
-Szechuan vegetables, sweet potato shoestring fries


This was the best steak I have ever had. I know, that is bold to say. I know I make an amazing steak but this plate has changed me. The steak was cooked to perfection. The glaze was heavenly as the Korean BBQ hint added to the perfect cut of meat. So tender and juicy you could almost, almost, cut it with a knife. It was an explosion of flavor just on its own, then they added the sweet potato shoestring fries and Szechuan vegetables. The vegetables were great but the fries were to die for. They were cut more thin the the average shoelace. They had just enough crunch and were a perfect combination to add to the steak. By far, the best plate of steak I have had.


Over all rating: 4.8 of 5.

Think, Love, Sleep, Eat...

There is no sincerer love than the love of food. Food is our common ground, a universal experience. Food is to eat, not to frame and hang on a wall. Food should be enjoyed rather than endured. Food should be loved more than three times a day.

Man is born to eat. I am not a glutton - I am an explorer of food. I didn't fight my way to the top of the food chain to not enjoy every bit of it. I LOVE all food. I may not look like it, but I do. I really like to sit down and analyze what has been put in front of me. How does this meal look? What can I smell? What are the textures? What are the keys? What is the theme? And of course, How does it taste? It is an art that I am trying fine tune. 

I love food so much that I am willing to dedicate my time to tell you just how much I love it. I will make record of all the great places I find in my travels. The food that stands out the most. When I go places, all I want to do is eat. So why shouldn't I share it with you? I will eat till I die. And in the end, when I am dead, I want my headstone to read: "Poor, darling fellow- he died of food. He was killed by the dinner table."

I bid you good eating..