Review - Lone Star

Sorry for the two months without any posts - we are back now and posting all the pictures that we put off for the past while!

We decided to take a quick visit to Kingston in the summer, and decided to visit some of the restaurants that we had grown to miss after not being in Kingston for almost a year. One of these first stops was Lone Star - which had a huge burrito which I enjoyed. For those that haven't heard of this chain - it basically offers Southern/Mexican food and has a number of locations I believe. However, that being said despite being a chain - they have excellent freshly made tortilla chips as well as huge portions.

M's Huge Burrito

Y's Taco Salad

Verdict:

You don't come to Lone Star if you want a great gourmet meal - but if you want a meal to really fill you up that tastes pretty good - this is the place for you. After washing down our meal with a margarita for Y and a XL Corona for M - we left full and satisfied.

Rating: 3.5/5
Price: $$ (Around $45 for both of us with drinks)

Back In Action!

Sorry for the hiatus, being in the last year of university, we've been consumed with projects after projects, meetings after meetings, then the dreaded midterms. But not to worry, we have visited many places in Kingston and will be reviewing them one by one.

Review: Ostermalm Food Hall

Before heading to the Vast Museum to see the infamous Viking boat, we trekked off to see the world largest food hall - Salluhall. Stepping in, it reminded me a lot of Granville island in Vancouver. The food hall contained many shops from delis to meat shops to pastry shops. Being there on a weekday, we noticed that many business people around the area trickled in as lunch time came around. After having spent a long while deciding on which store to eat at, we opted for a traditional Swedish lunch. Being a seafood lover, I ordered the Open faced shrimp sandwich on Danish bread. This dish was sort of like a sandwich, however, the top piece of the toast was not there. Fried Herring with Mash Potatoes and Lingonberries was what M decided to have. Unlike at restaurants, at Salluhall, one orders from the vendor and self seats at one of the many cafeteria style tables. It felt quite cozy as you can hear others chatting away.

Outside the Food Hall

Inside the Food Hall

Cheese store inside the Hall

Open Faced Shrimp Sandwich on Danish Bread

Fried Herring with Mashed Potatoes and Lingonberries

Closeup of Lingonberries

Two Tarts from the Food Hall

Verdict:
Trekking out to the Ostermalm Food Hall was a great experience, all the vendors here carry top quality produce and the atmosphere is great! Unlike many of the other popular "tourist" locations in Sweden, the Food Hall remains a relatively popular place for locals to go and the food here is amazing. If you are out looking for a souvenir for a foodie friend back home or just looking for a quick bite to eat, the Food Hall is a great place to start looking.

Rating: 4.5/5
Price: $$ (Around $35USD for both of us)

Seafood Chowder

We've been digging through our pictures and realized that we had a number of cooking attempts that we had forgotten about. The first of these was our attempt at making seafood chowder. After picking a relatively basic recipe, we set out to go to Carrefour (the local grocery store in Toulouse) to hunt down the ingredients. Using our basic knowledge of the French language we managed to scrape together most of the ingredients (crossing our fingers for some of the items that we had bought hoping they were the right ones).

Another note, we must apologize for the quality of the pictures the lighting was not the greatest and we had the bare minimum of equipment in the kitchen!!

Ingredients
A few strips of bacon cut up
1-2 Tablespoons of Butter
2 Large Onions
Seafood (shrimp, mussels, small scallops, unknown fish (make sure to pick a firm one))
2-3 Large Potatoes
1/4 Cup Flour
1 Teaspoon Thyme
4 Cups Half-Half
Salt and Pepper to taste
Fresh Thyme

Steps
1. In a large pot fry the bacon
2. Mix in the butter and onions till soft
3. Add 2-3 cups of seafood stock
4. Mix in flour slowly
5. Add potatoes, thyme and salt and pepper. Cook till potatoes are soft
6. Add seafood and simmer for 10 minutes
7. Mix in the cream and heat (don't boil)
8. Enjoy!

This was based off a recipe we found on the internet but we were forced to make a few adjustments with the ingredients we could find.

Seafood Chowder

Verdict:
A simple recipe that turned out great! Not much more to say!!

London in a Nutshell

Before heading to Dublin for St. Patrick's day, a couple of friends and I stopped in London for a brief visit. Of course, visiting means tasting the food this culture had to offer. So, our first stop, even before we went shopping, was at a fish and chip place near Oxford St. I have to say, after that meal, my expectations for fish and chips have gone up. For high tea, we decided to stick with the recommendation the concierge had given us - St. Jame's Restaurant. Another phenomenal experience. There was so much offered that all three of us had a take home box after a two and a half hour eating session.


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Delicious golden fish with chips and peas - Yum!

Indulging

Lovely plates and cup in the colour of a Tiffany's box

There's a saying that the Brits don't have good food. I beg to differ. I highly recommend the St. Jame's Restaurant if price is not a concern.

Address:
181 Piccadilly
London W1, United Kingdom
020 7734 8040

Review: S/S Stockholm Brunch Cruise

The city of Stockholm is made up of numerous archipelagos, thus there is inevitably a large harbour. In order to better explore the city, M and I decided to take a day cruise that sailed around the different islands of Stockholm. Coincidentally, to our delight, the price of a ticket to the S/S Stockholm included a Swedish brunch buffet.

Having purchased the tickets in advance, we were offered prime seating - on the upper deck by the window. The 3 hour trip allowed us to realize vast beauty of Stockholm. Not only does this city have the latest fashion and technology, but one can also find nature and tranquility.

Being able to taste Swedish food while touring the different islands was definitely a treat. The cruise offered a variety of breakfast and lunch items.

The Buffet

Another shot of the buffet

Overall:
For any tourist going to Stockholm this is a great way to see the islands in a comfortable way. Book in advance to ensure you have a good seat and you will be able to enjoy a great scenic view while having a relatively tasty buffet.

Rating: 3/5
Price: $$

Review: Esperanto

Being placed as the 72nd best restaurant in the world by S.Pellegrino World's Best Restaurants 2008, as well as being recognized as the best restaurant in Sweden by The Whiteguide 2008 & 2009, we had big expectations for this restaurant. After a creative meal full of excitement, we came to the conclusion that Esperanto is everything we expected and more.

Unlike other restaurants, Esperanto only offers two fixed menus: a 5 course and an 8 course one. We opted for the latter as the dishes offered more suited our liking.

The overall experience was phenomenal. From the moment we stepped into the building, we were greeted by a doorman who offered to take our jackets and led us to a waiting lounge. There, we were presented a drink menu. However, having had drinks prior to coming to the restaurant, we politely declined. The waiter then asked if we'd like to order wine for our meal. Being fairly new to wine pairing we asked for his suggestion. He was very knowledgeable and picked one that fitted all our criteria. To our surprise, it was not the most expensive bottle on the menu - rather, it was more fairly priced.

The waiter then led us into the dim dining room, where on the right, part of the kitchen was exposed and we saw the head chef, Sayan Isaksson, plating the delicious dishes.



Dried Salmon Skin - "unreal"


Fennel Mayo to go with the Salmon Skin


Octopus Macaroon - surprisingly good


White Asparagus with Frozen Herbs


Chicken Skin with a Layer of Vinegar Gel


Frozen Ingrid Marie apples with warm pickled oyster from Grebbestad, caviar and oyster yoghurt


In the mood for spring concerning fresh garlic - potato with broccoli; whipped goat cheese, and sweet wild grass from a Swedish Island

Green Grass Drink that came with the dish


Turbot skirt with crème de Breton - also came with assorted seafood

King crab with scallops, black lemon and crab paste

Tartar of lamb in lambjus and caramelized onion with Jerusalem artichoke


Cod with confit of its roe, egg yolk 64.4 degrees with warm fennel


Pork, Foie Gras, potato puree Epoisses and green leaves


Avocado pudding with soy milk, sweetened steam bun oriental style filled with macadamia nut and miso paste

Raspberries filled with creme; Chocolate with Cherry Filling; Hazelnut with chocolate cake; Almond Paste Square; Traditional Swedish Chew Bag

Overall: Worth every penny! Each dish provided a different kind of explosion of flavor in your mouth. With the attentive staff, this meal fulfilled not only the taste buds, but it also provided our eyes with entertainment. Highly recommended if you are ever in Stockholm.

Rating: 5/5
Price: $$$$$