A Disappointment of Onions

Is there anything more disappointing than biting into a sandwich and finding it full of onions?  I understand that many sandwiches, and most burgers come with onions by default.  It is one of the defining factors of my existence, that I have to special order things and tell them to....

....wait for it....

Hold the Onions!!!

But, three times recently, I have been annoyed to find that what I bought had been infested by a disappointment of onions.  Yes, I just coined the phrase.  You have a murder of crows, a pride of lions, a mischief of mice, and now, I am adding to the English language...

A Disappointment of Onions

Which, shall be defined as...

Enough onions to ruin whatever dish they are added to.

If I ruled the world, every menu would be required to include ONIONS in big red letters beside any dish that included onions.

When I can see the onions in the picture of the item, or can reasonably assume that onions will be in the dish (you do not know how hard it is for me to put "reasonably" and "onions" in the same sentence), then I am careful to order them without the offending onions, but today's sandwich showed no outward sign of onions (and there was no big red ONIONS on the menu), and since it was a chicken sandwich rather than a burger, I gave no consideration to the possible presence of the evil onion.

Well, I think that this is my first onion rant, but I doubt it will be my last.  The last two onion offenses were both by browned onions, I am not sure I would call them caramelized, but I am betting that they do.  But, onions on a BBQ chicken sandwich?  That is simply not necessary, and it is not listed on the menu, nor does it show in the picture.  Unfortunately, it was a fast food restaurant and I had driven off before I discovered the onion pollution.

Well, at least I will remember next time.

Hunan North

Hunan North

9306 N Lamar Blvd
Austin, TX 78753

(512) 837-2700

I cannot think of a clever way to start this review, so I am just going to jump in. I ordered my usual Sesame Chicken. It was a little above average in price, being over $8 including tax. It it's even more above average when I discovered there was no eggroll included. I was rather surprised. The meal did include Hot and Sour Soup.

It smelled good as I carried out out to my car. The pieces of chicken were quite large, some thing else that was above average. I cannot say the same for the portion, which was adequate. There was broccoli mixed in with the chicken and an adequate amount of sauce. The soup cup was filed right to the top.  The rice was fried and their was a double scoop, once again above average.

Unfortunately, the taste was not above average. The chicken was fatty and often chewy. The sauce was a little on the sweet side, and worse had very little flavor depth behind the sweet. It was a bit bland. The rice was much worse, since it was very bland. Fortunately there was enough sauce to flavor most of the rice.

Now any regular readers of this blog will know that I am more of a fan of Hot and Sour broth than I am of the soup. The first I tried it I was rather put off by the unidentifiable floaty bits in the soup. Much later I discovered that the worst looking stuff was the egg that is put in at the last moment.

Hunan North's Hot and Sour Soup was in keeping with the rest of the meal, large in portion and average or maybe just below average on taste.

Patty Melts and Sloppy Melts

Now, I am a big fan of patty melts, and I have been for a long time.  In fact, I have been a fan so long that I remember when patty melts did not come polluted with caramelized onions, and before people forgot that the proper cheese for a patty melt is swiss.
 

Patty Melt
 

Ingredients, per patty melt

• 1/4 lb ground beef
• 2 slices rye bread
• 2 slices swiss cheese (maybe more)

Form the patties so that they will fit the shape of your bread, season to taste, and then cook as you would cook any hamburger patty, then set aside to rest.
 

Butter one side of each slice of bread, and cover the other side with cheese (this is where you may need more than one slice of cheese, depending on the size and shape of your bread).  Place the burger patty between the slices of bread and grill the entire sandwich on both sides until golden brown.  Extra points for getting the cheese to melt down onto your pan so that it can fry into an extra bit of crispy goodness.
 

So, I made Patty Melts for my son and myself the other day, and then a couple of days later, I was trying to think of something to do with frozen ground beef and I came across the idea of Sloppy Melts.
 

I started by defrosting the beef in a pan.  As the outer layers soften, they can be scrapped away to speed up the process.  I then made the browned ground beef into sloppy joe meat by adding barbeque sauce, mustard and Worcestershire sauce, along with my usual burger spices, salt, pepper, garlic and onion...powdered onion, of course.
 

Then, I did roughly the same thing as above, except that we only had Colby cheese in the house, so I used that.  Rye bread, cheese, sloppy joe mix, cheese, rye bread.  It turned out pretty good.

First Try - Spaghetti Carbonara

So, I have decided to give a special title to something that I have been doing all along.  I like to experiment with food, and some of that is trying new recipes....well, almost.  When I try something new, I will title it as First Try.

I have seen Spaghetti Carbonara on several cooking shows recently and thought I would like to try making it.  I read several recipes before tonight's experiment.  Most of them were for more food than I wanted to eat.  Tonight, it was only me and my son, and we don't need a pound of spaghetti.  The other problem is that you get totally different ratios of ingredients. 

The basic ingredients of Spaghetti Carbonara are:

• Pasta
• Bacon or Pancetta
• Olive Oil
• Garlic
• Eggs
• Parmesan and other Cheeses

All but one of the recipes called for 1 pound of Spaghetti, and the lone man out called for 12 oz.  I decided on half a pound of pasta.  The problem is that the amounts of the other ingredients changed wildly.  One called for a pound of pasta and 8 eggs, while another called for only 2.  So, I decided to go with an amalgam of several recipes and it looked a little like this.

• 1/2 lb. Spaghetti
• 6 thick slices of bacon
• 2 teaspoons olive oil
• 2 cloves garlic
• 2 Eggs
• 1/2 cup Parmesan Cheese

Now, I had to make a few substitutions because I was lazy and making this during a bit of a thunderstorm, so I was not going out to get fresh garlic, or fresh parmesan.

I fried the bacon in the olive oil, which looks rather a mess in the middle, as the bacon begins to render it's fat, but hasn't started crisping.  I also thought I might end up in a time crunch, as the timing seems to be pretty important.  Just after the bacon started to crisp up, I tossed in my garlic, which started browning pretty quickly.  I finally had to turn the bacon off while waiting for the pasta to cook.  I mixed the two eggs with the parmesan cheese and set that aside. 

Drain the pasta, toss it into the pan with the bacon and garlic and mix until all the pasta is coated.  Then stir in the egg and cheese and mix until it no longer looks like raw egg.  The pasta should be hot enough to cook the eggs, so you cannot let it sit after draining. 

A minute before pulling my pasta off the fire, I turned the bacon and garlic back on so that it would be hot. 

It came out really nice, though I think it could do with a bit more garlic, but I am thinking that fresh garlic will make the difference.

This is not really all that hard, and it is delicious.

Great Austin Burger Hunt - Elevation Burger

Elevation Burger
2525 Anderson Ln #1-200
Austin, TX 78757(512) 419-7444

 

I do not mind paying more for a burger that tastes better, but I really have to wonder about a place that advertises something you cannot taste. That is my first reaction to Elevation Burger...but, let's go back and start at the beginning.

 

I ordered the Elevation Burger, with two slices of cheddar, fries and a regular drink.  The total was over $11.  For a place that is not a sit down restaurant, that is definitely a premium burger price. They do not ask how you want your burger and it was delivered so quickly that I can only assume that they pre-cook their patties.  I do not  believe that it is possible to cook beef, even unfrozen, all the way through in the amount of time that passed before my burger was on my table.  It arrives on a metal baking tray, the kind that is used for baking sheet cakes, or I believe more properly, half-sheet cakes. I was shocked to see that the burger was quite small.  For $6, with cheese, and without fries included, I expect more.

 

The burger comes in a little half bag, and then wrapped in waxed paper.  I took it out of the bag, which was a mistake and took a bite, and ended up with grease on my shirt, and all over my table.  Yes, you could say that the burger is juicy.  You could also say that it was greasy.  I ordered it with lettuce, which was wilted and disgusting after about 5 seconds.  I removed it. The burger is tasty, but not tasty enough to warrant that price.  The burger is go greasy, that as the grease drained off into the wrapper, it looked like it took about half my cheese with it.

 

The fries were on a par with Mighty Fine, and 5 Guys.  Greasy, but tasty.  One thing to note, while their order of fries is not as large as the one at 5 Guys, it is still quite large and can easily be shared by two, or maybe even three, unless you really like fries.

 

I find the idea of a Health Food Burger Shop to be a bit of an oxymoron, but that is what Elevation Burger is trying to be.  Organic, Grass-Fed, Free-Range Beef, at least that is what their sign says.  Fries cooked in "heart healthy" olive oil.  Fries may be...healthier...when cooked in Olive Oil, but somehow I doubt that makes them "healthy."   And, while organic grass-fed beef may be healthier, I do not see that making a burger a healthy choice.  To me, what they are selling is the antithesis of a great burger.  Now, that would not matter one bit to me, if they delivered a great burger, but they don't.  It is a good burger, but not great.

 

One interesting side note.  Some time back, I reviewed Terra Burger.  The location that I tried is now an Elevation Burger.  They both sold organic beef burgers, but the burgers could not be more different.  The Terra Burger was dry, and the Elevation Burger has gone too far off the opposite end of the scale.

Unless Organic, Grass-Fed, Free-Range beef is the deciding factor in your burger choice, you can do better than Elevation Burger...and for a less.

Great Austin Burger Hunt - EZ's

EZ's Brick Oven Grill
3918 N. Lamar 
Austin, TX 78756 

(512) 302-1800 

 

I have driven by EZ's dozens...heck, possibly hundreds of times over the last few years and never stopped in.  My wife and I fixed that situation a few nights ago.

 

The restaurant on Lamar is done up in a sort of retro 50s style.  It reminds me of Mighty Fine, but that is the 50s as done by a big national corporation.  EZ's is a smaller chain, with only 5 stores and they have done a better job with their retro style.

 

We both ordered Bacon Cheddar Burgers.  I ordered the Curly Fries and my wife ordered the Sweet Potato Fries. The problem is that I ordered a soda, and when I made my way to get my drink and found that they are a Pepsi house, which is a big negative for me.  Worse, they had no Diet Dr. Pepper.  I ended up having to drink Diet Mt. Dew, and that is nasty.  This is definitely a case of a restaurant not caring about their customers, especially those who want or need to have beverages without sugar.

 

Our food arrived quickly, and the burger was pretty good.  It would probably make my top ten.  It comes on a wheat bun, and that is without them asking me, so I have to assume that is the regular bun.  The meat was well cooked, and the bacon was crispy, which is a big plus.  The only negative, it was a little bit heavy on the mustard

 

The sweet potato fries were very crispy, but the chipotle sauce that came with them had crusted over.  It tasted okay, but the crust made it less than appetizing.  Now, when it comes to the curly fries...well, it is going to take a bit of explaining. 

 

When you put the words "curly fries" on the menu, it carries a certain connotation that goes beyond the shape of the potatoes.  Curly fries are seasoned fries, but not at EZ's.  Also, they were not terribly crisp.  They were alright, but not great.

 

Because of the beverage situation, I will not be putting EZ's on my list of places to try again.  The burger is not good enough to make up for having nothing to drink.  After seeing a few of their pizzas, I may be tempted to brave the lack of drinks to try the pizza.

New Mandarin Chinese Restaurant

New Mandarin

212 E. Oltorf St.

Austin, TX 78704-5531

 

Today's review is on carry out food, which is not new, but this time someone else went out to bring it back, so I got it probably 15 or more minutes after it was prepared.
 

Now, if you remember my review of Rice Bowl Cafe, you may remember that I was looking for another restaurant in the same area of town.  Well, that was Mandarin Chinese and I think they may be connected with the north Austin Mandarin that went out of business about two years ago.  I say this because the New Mandarin website is using exactly the same template as the site for the out-of-business Mandarin website.  Fortunately, the south Austin Mandarin, or New Mandarin is still going strong.
 

I ordered my usual.  Sesame Chicken, Hot and Sour Soup, Fried Rice and it came with an eggroll.
 

The Hot and Sour Soup is quite peppery, and quite good.  Now, I am a fan of Hot and Sour Soup, but mostly I am fan of Hot and Sour Broth.  I do not mind the egg, but the mushrooms, tofu and other ingredients are not something I care for.  I tend to skim off the broth and leave the rest.  Well, when I got to the bottom of the bowl, I found that there wasn't much left, so I give them an extra point for giving me lots of broth.
 

The Eggroll was in the box with the rice and chicken, so it is a bit soggy, though it does retain some of it's crunch.  Tasty enough, considering that I did not have to move from my desk to enjoy it.
 

The sauce is quite dark, and a bit less sweet than average, but still good. The chicken is cut into smallish pieces and mostly cooked properly.  As I am eating it, I hit occasional pieces that are a little overdone and chewy, but mostly the chicken is done correctly.  The pieces are well coated, but there is not an abundance of sauce.
 

In an unusual but welcome surprise, there are no vegetables or onions in the fried rice.  It's a bit bland, but a little soy sauce takes care of that.  I wish there were more of the sesame chicken sauce to mix with the fried rice.
 

I managed to miss New Mandarin in my own searches for Chinese restaurants, but I will be happy to give them another try.