Cheesecake Factory's Special Menu

So, unfortunately, there has still been no more work in the kitchen. They were supposed to put in the appliances today, but that got moved back to tomorrow, so who really knows when those will ever go in. After they do the appliances, they still have to do all the final touch ups, and then we can finally get our kitchen back into working order, and I can finally use the new kitchen!!!

On the bright side of things, Cheesecake Factory has introduced a new "Special Menu" and when they say "special", they ain't lyin'. This thing is brilliant! It's got a lot of appetizer type foods, plus some entrees, all for a really great price. 

My friend and I went there the other day and got stuffed mushrooms, a sausage and ricotta pizzette, crispy artichoke hearts, and a wild mushroom crostini for $10 each, and we didn't even finish all the food because it was too much to eat.

This is the sausage and ricotta pizzette. My friend didn't like it very much, but I gotta say, I love this thing! The dough is not too thick and the ricotta is sooo creamy, it's an awesome taste bud experience with all sorts of textures and flavors. I totally recommend it. They also have two other pizzettes, "Wild Mushroom" and "Margherita", but this is my personal favorite.

This was my first time ever trying this, and I was impressed. All you see is fried little balls, but once you bite into one of these things, the artichoke hearts are so tender and juicy it blows your mind. I couldn't believe it. 

The stuffed mushrooms were also amazing. It's the soft texture of the mushrooms that contrast with the crunchiness of the toasted breadcrumbs, in the smooth sauce, with the creamy cheese. It totally works! This was my friends favorite dish of the day.

Not shown is the wild mushroom crostini we had. My friend enjoyed it, but I just couldn't get too into it. Something about the sauce just didn't suit me the right way. 

Other then that, the meal was delicious, and you've really got to try this new menu! Hopefully I will have good news on the kitchen soon, but until then, eat your heart out!!!

Love and Good textures,

KD

Sea World Inspired

Hey everyone! So today was the projected completion date of the kitchen, but it came and went. Our garbage disposal is broken, so we had to buy a new one. The faucet for the bar was the wrong size, so we had to pick out a new one. There weren't enough electrical sockets under the sink for the new water heater, so we had to go buy an extension cord, and an extra socket connector. Then, there were broken pipes under the sink so those also had to get replaced. Basically, it's just been problem after problem. All I want is the kitchen to be finished so that I can get in there and get cooking! The kitchen appliances are supposed to go in on Wednesday, so hopefully after that they can wrap it up.

This past Friday I had the chance to go to Sea World with one of my best friends, Meaghan. Besides being a really fun and educational day, it really got us inspired to go eat some seafood. It's ironic, because you'd think after seeing all those animals we wouldn't go eat them, but we did. We ate shark, but the sharks there scared us anyway so no harm no foul, right?

King's Fish House in Corona, California

Meal started off similar to most in the fact there was bread for us. This bread was particularly tasty - a nice, bold sourdough that really hit the spot.

The bread was especially good dipped in a cup of the clam chowder we both got. It was a relatively cold day, and this warmed me up well. It was creamy, warm, and had decent flavor. No match for Sea Salt but still.

After that, we had some fried farm-raised willapa bay oysters. They were alright. My friend really didn't like them, but I thought they were decent. It was an interesting textural experience because you have the crunchiness of the coating, but then the somewhat gooey, slimy-ness of the oysters. It was good with a spritz of lemon, some cocktail and tartar sauce though.

After that we split a plate of wild local tresher shark, corn, and baked potato. The corn was good; buttery, salty, what more can you ask for, ya know. The baked potato was really good because the skin was super crunchy with sea salt in it's deep cracks. It was especially good with a little sour cream and chives on top.

This was my first real experience eating shark (pictured above). Overall, I enjoyed it. It's meaty and seems to lend itself to spices well because it doesn't have an incredibly powerful flavor by itself.  However, I enjoyed it just being grilled with a little bit of lemon.

Overall, pretty good. 

I hope next time I have better news about the kitchen, and I know next time I will have just as good or better food to talk about! Best dishes to all of you out there**

Kayla

Vapiano and Backsplash

Hey everyone! I just got home last night from Washington DC. I was there on a hockey tournament (we got third place), but now I'm back and ready to talk about the food and the remodel.

The kitchen remodel is finally winding down. This past week they put up the tile backsplash, but as far as major changes go, that's just about the last one! 

On to pictures:

Tile backsplash

Tile backsplash with the socket protectors put back on

Backsplash contrast nicely with the cabinets. The white spot is where the microwave is going to go.

The kitchen remodel is just about finished, and should be completely down in about a week. They just have to finish electrical, plumbing, putting in all the appliances, and then final touches.

I can't wait!

So like I said before, I just got back from a five day tournament in Washington DC. One of my favorite things about traveling is finding good restaurants, little hidden gems. Vapiano's in Arlington, Virginia was no different!

This was not your typical italian place. It was not red brick with huge wooden tables and italian music in the background. Instead, it was a nice modern take on "Italian" with decor and the way you got your food.

You walk in, and they hand you a card. There are three stations you can walk to: Pasta, Salad, and Pizza. I chose Pasta. The card is used to pay for whatever you get from any of the stations. For example, if you wanted a salad and pasta, you would use your card at both stations.

You pick up a little menu for ideas, but basically, you could get anything you want added or taken out of your pasta. 

Then, you pick what kind of pasta you want. They had eleven pastas, including two whole wheat choices. I personally chose Conchiglie. It was not a pasta I was very familiar with, but the chef recommended it, and I thought it looked interesting. 

Picture of the different kinds of pastas you can choose from. 

My pasta being cooked.

I chose a dish off the menu called "Granchi De Fiume". It's pasta, crayfish, lobster sauce, and fresh vegetables. Once you choose what you want, they begin to cook it right in front of you. The cool thing about this is you can watch exactly what they are putting into it, and how much. Then, if necessary, you can tell them to change things, like for example, how much chili peppers, or vegetables, or meat, etc you want.

A picture of my dish being cooked. Carrots, zucchini, crayfish, oh my.

The lobster sauce being added.

A picture of my dish all done and ready to enjoy! After the pasta is cooked, they hand it to you, and you go pick a table to sit at.

They also give you bread, and at each table there is olive oil and balsamic vinegar, as well as a little pot of fresh basil to pick and put on your food as you desire.

I really loved this place. My dish was good, though admittedly it was a bit too creamy for my taste. The real thing I loved about this place was the concept of it. The fact that you get to walk up, watch the chef cook your meal, tell them exactly what you want, and then get it. I hope that more of these types of dining experiences start to pop up, and I sure hope Vapiano makes a restaurant in southern California soon!

Peace, Love, and Creative Eating,

- Kayla

Tile Floors & Countertops

So I know I haven't done a real update in a while, but tonight that's going to change! After taking off a week, the guys are finally back and doing more work. This for me is the most fun stage of the remodel because it's when it really begins to look like our brand new kitchen.

 The new floors have been put in.

Picture of the guys putting in the tile. 

Final picture of the tile all done, grout included! I wasn't too sure about the floor at first, but now I'm really enjoying it because I think it warms up the space with it's brown tones.

So the floor happened about a week ago. Today was the first day the guys came back after a week holiday, and they started it off great by putting in the countertops.

Here's a picture of the new countertop with a plastic wrap on top so all the glue dries correctly. You can't see it very well but also there is our new stainless steel sink. Our new faucet was also put in.

Another picture of the new countertop from a different angle.

Here's a picture of the bar countertop and the stainless steel sink.

I really like the color of the countertops, I think it's warm, and is a good contrast to the dark color of the kitchen cabinets. So that was today, and tomorrow they are supposed to be doing the backsplash. Today they also put in the bathroom sinks and quartz countertop, which looks absolutely gorgeous!

Now on to the food.

Sometimes, I just want pizza. It's not healthy, it's not upscale, it's greasy, and calorie-laden, but sometimes it just fits the bill. 

I am especially a big fan of Pizza Hut's thin crust pizza. It's not too doughy, and not too saucy, it's mostly justttt right.

I'm usually a fan of just plain old pepperoni (except at CPK) but my friend had just tried sausage and red peppers and really liked it, so we decided to get that. I'm pretty open to trying new things, so it was no big deal. Though I will admit after a couple of bites I was missing my good old pepperoni. It's not that this pizza was bad, it just wasn't good. It wasn't the pizza that I love to eat on a cold day while watching television and drinking a good beverage.

Luckily, we bought enough food to feed an army, and also got wings. These wings are from the Wing Street Pizza Hut. They are the Garlic Parmesan wings. They are decent. They weren't like traditional wings, but still pretty good. Very buttery/greasy, as you can see a little pool of the stuff at the bottom of the box.

 

My favorite thing alllll night! It's kind of sad, but it's true! I love Wing Street's tater tots. They're just greasy and crunchy and super delicious when you've got a craving.

Overall, 2.5, maybe a 3.

That's all for now, see you soon foodies!

It's been a while

It's been a while, crocodiles!

Sorry for the lack of posting this past week. It's been an incredibly busy one though not with the kitchen. We did get new flooring, which I will be posting pictures of soon, however, they are taking a week off the remodel while the granite countertops are being made. 

So instead I thought I would just write a food review! 

This is the kind of food we have been eating at home lately. Not much, really. A water bottle, a ham sandwich with mustard on wheat bread, some cheeto puffs, and a vanilla yogurt with chocolate pieces. 

Although we don't eat spectacular food at home, we go out a lot, which is still nice though I do miss a good home cooked meal. 

I will have a better review and blog post next time. Until then, foodies, best wishes, and dishes.

- Kayla