Cool things about Spokane

   If your not familiar with Spokane, Washington and what it has to offer, I figured Id sell it to you all a little and briefly. lol  Seriously though all jokes aside, this is a beautiful and neat area to live or visit.
Spokane "Children of the Sun or Sun People" is located along a river and has very strong native influence and history being inhabited by a few tribes in the 1800s which named and cultivated this area. There are still a good amount of natives in this area but from my understanding a decent amount relocated or stay on the res due to government. I added some links at the bottom if your interested in reading up a little, I don't want to share to much info that im not fully sure about.
  Spokane was very small and still is fairly small for a city, but it is growing very rapidly with new businesses, restaurants and shops.  If you like eating, hiking, exploring, and history this is most definitely a place you should add to your list of places to visit. You easily get that city feel but its not overwhelming, it kind of reminds me of the Raleigh/Durham area in NC. Also, not for everyone but for those who like cannabis it is most definitely legal out here for recreation and medical purposes. If you enjoy it or curious and just don't partake because its not legal where you are, here or the state of Washington in general is the place to be.  Personally I kind of feel its part of the reason things are so laid back out here but that's just my opinion. A few more  things that are very neat about this area is the shops and restaurants, a lot of things out here are independently owned even fast food places. With that being said their very few chains and I LOVE IT!! In my opinion that makes your experience more personable and it gives back to your community which is always a good thing. Also there are always events and festivals going on good for all ages. Just a few of them are:  HoopFest(For all ages and the biggest 3 on 3 bball tourney in the world), Pow wow by the River, Pig Out in the park, and Lilac festival! I HIGHLY recommend Hoopfest if you play or like watching people play. They shut the whole downtown area down and set up courts EVERYWHERE, ITS AMAZING.For all my people that live in Maryland still, picture if Old Ellicott City was on a bigger scale; that's kind of what Spokane reminds me of. So if your ever on the West Coast, Spokane is definitely worth stopping through and not to mention its only about 30 mins from CourD'alene, Idaho which is BEAUTIFUL!!
~Cheers~

Link for hoopfest:
www.spokanehoopfest.net

Links for Spokane Tribal and city history:

www.historicspokane.org

www.spokanetribe.com

DURKINS FOR THE WIN!!!

 

Durkin's Liquor Bar

Basement Bar

   Long story short, My Fiancée and I had this go to Bourbon bar in Annapolis (DRY 85) we used to love to go to; great food and bourbon cocktails.
 Durkin's in Spokane, Washington didn't fall short at all and actually exceeded my expectations! This place has EXCELLENT bar tenders that are very knowledgeable about cocktails and make great recommendations based off your palate.  On top of the great drinks, the food was amazing too! a little pricey, but if you dine out frequently at cocktail bars you should know what to expect price wise. I had the butchers cut steak with garlic fries and my lady had the house made bologna sandwich. Both entrees were great! The steak was tender, full of flavor and paired well with the fresh fries and marrow butter. The bologna sandwich was winner too! I'm a foodie so I had to try a piece of the bologna, and man was it good! Its house made and smoked, so it doesn't taste like some ole Oscar Meyer lunch meat.



Butchers Cut w/ marrow butter and garlic fries

65th Street (Great if you like Bourbon)



House made smoked bologna sandwich

   I would HIGHLY recommend both dishes, especially that sandwich if you never gave up your childhood love of bologna. haha  Durkin's has two floors, the top floor is the restaurant/bar and downstairs is an underground bar that's kind of reminiscent of a old speak easy. The bar area is a nice chilled  spot and good for meeting with a significant other or some good friends for drinks. It can get noisy at times, but who the heck likes going to a quiet bar?! if you enjoy great food, company, and cocktails( Especially Whiskey & Bourbon) I highly recommend checking out Durkin's for a good evening! ~CHEERS~



New City...New Experiments...New Restaurants!!

What it do folks?
 Once again I know I don't have many followers, but for those of you who do check on my blog from time to time; I want to apologize again for being M.I.A. I was in the process of relocating, so now that I'm slowly getting settled in I figured I'd reconnect. I now live on the West Coast in a small but growing city called Spokane. I'm anxious to hit you all with some new experiments/recipes and some restaurant and event pictures and reviews. Hope everyone is doing well, staying positive, and creative!! STAY TUNED! ~Biggs~

 

 

 

New City

 

Ive Been slacking!!im sorry!haha

 This post is just to inform who ever takes time to stop by my page that I haven't abandoned it! To be completely honest, I haven't had the opportunity lately to go to any new restaurants, but I should have some new stuff up in the next few weeks hopefully! Once again thanks for your support!

Mario Batali's Home made Pasta Recipe

I'm posting this upon a friend's request. Now,  this is Mario Batali's recipe for home made pasta.So I'm not claiming its mine, but I tried it out and it worked well for me, just got to get a little better at the consistency. If want to venture out and make your own pasta give it a try. Bon Appetit!

P.S. the actual dish is something I put together though if you want that recipe don't hesitate to ask.Ha ha!

- 3 1/2 cups of flour
- 4 eggs

Mound the flour in the center of a large wooden cutting board. Make a well in the middle of 

the flour, add the eggs. Using a fork, beat together the eggs and begin to incorporate the flour starting with the inner rim of the well. As you incorporate the eggs, keep pushing the flour up to retain the well shape (do not worry if it looks messy). The dough will come together in a shaggy mass when about half of the flour is incorporated.

Start kneading the dough with both hands, primarily using the palms of your hands. Add more flour, in 1/2-cup increments, if the dough is too sticky. Once the dough is a cohesive mass, remove the dough from the board and scrape up any left over dry bits. Lightly flour the board and continue kneading for 3 more minutes. The dough should be elastic and a little sticky. Continue to knead for another 3 minutes, remembering to dust your board with flour when necessary. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and set aside for 20 minutes at room temperature. Roll and form as desired.

Note: Do not skip the kneading or resting portion of this recipe, they are essential for a light pasta.

Recipe courtesy of Mario Batali

Pasta before cooking

Cajun Salmon Pasta w/ cream sauce

Fox's Den

Location: Annapolis,Maryland

Cuisine: American Gastro

Price Range:$8- $25

Website: www.Foxsden.com

 

Atmosphere: When I think of a Gastro Pub I imagine a some what fancy bar tucked away somewhere with dimmed lighting to set a nice atmosphere, a decent amount of space to move around and mingle with others, great drinks and good food! The Fox's Den owner must have been in my head and took part of my imagination because its all that and above.

  Once you walk into the entrance you begin your decent down to the fox's den. The whole under ground cellar thing is so cool to me, It makes you feel like your entering a secret location that you would need a pass code or invite to get into. There was plenty of space in the pub with a bar area and table seating if you want the restaurant feel. The lighting was dimmed but still bright enough to keep the atmosphere lively and festive which keeps you from feeling like your in a stiff, super fancy restaurant but still manages to be very classy. The bar area has TV's to watch sporting events while you mingle if you want, along with high top tables to dine and drink in the bar area. If you wanted to kinda be away from the bar there is also plenty of table seating to sit down and have a more personal dining experience. Now, I will say this; with this being a Gastropub it still is some what like a bar. So don't be the person upset because of the noise levels and amount of people! Drink, eat, talk, and enjoy the environment! Another cool aspect of Fox's Den is they have real brick ovens to cook there delicious pizzas where there is also a bar top to sit at and watch the pizza being made, kind of like at a pizzeria.

Staff: The staff at Fox's Den compliments the venue very well. The doorman, and hostess were well dressed, polite, and greeted you as soon as you walk in. I didn't have much interaction with the bar tenders because we sat at a table but our server was on point. He was really laid back but tentative and made some great recommendations for the evening. He fell off slightly when we were paying our bills, but we were with a large group so that wasn't a big issue with me at all. A good establishment has to have a good staff in my opinion to succeed, with that being said I can see the Fox's Den hanging around for a very long time.

The Food: The menu at Fox's Den is not a big one and in my opinion it shouldn't be, its a gastropub! People tend to forget that and seem like they're looking for a huge over thought out menu when it should be to the point and good. I liked that about the menu, because to be honest I find it a slight headache when a place has too many options and then you end up getting something that doesn't taste all that great. I feel you should do a few things

and do them well! Fox's Den does just that; they have ten brick oven pizza choices ranging from veggie to seafood, a few appetizers, salads and a chef's creation section that changes daily to insure your getting the freshest products.

Boardwalk

 For entrees we had the Chili Mac and the Boardwalk pizza, both dishes were creative and very tasty.
 The Chili Mac was far from your basic elementary style mac and cheese with chili mixed into it; this creation was like the daddy of that chili mac. This amazing dish was pasta shells cooked to perfection covered in a homemade 4 cheese sauce with tomatillo, jalapeno and duck confit baked in a personal sized cast iron skillet topped with a little cilantro. All The flavors in this little cast iron dish were amazing! The cheesy flavor from the creamy cheese sauce mixed with the with the slight spiciness from the jalapeno and tomatillo was a genius idea. Those components combined with the flavor of the confit and cilantro puts your taste buds on cloud nine! If you like the flavor of chili and a fan of duck, this dish would be right up your alley; Creative but still has that comfort food feel to it.

 The Boardwalk Pizza was also very delicious and packed with flavor. I feel the main components of a good pizza are the crust and toppings; the boardwalk pizza was dead on in both of those categories. The boardwalk is made with a basil arugula pesto sauce; then topped with shrimp, blue crab, mozzarella and sun dried tomatoes. All of these ingredients complimented each other very well; the crust had a nice crunch to it but was still soft on the inside which was a big plus. Then pesto sauce paired with the mozzarella, sun dried tomatoes and seafood made this pizza a very memorable one and I would highly recommend it if your a seafood lover. Based off of these two item's im eager to get back to Fox's Den and try some more of the chef's creations.

Chili Mac

Drinks: I usually don't do drink reviews but one, this is a gastropub how could I not comment on the drinks? and two you have to give credit where its due. Over the years I've become a big fan of bourbon's so with fox's Den nice bourbon selection I was very happy! I had a few Manhattan's and I will say the bartender made some good ones! well mixed and a good bite! I would definitely recommend stopping through for a few drinks.

Duck Fat Fries

Recap: The Fox's Den is a lively,classy but still laid back gastropub located in Annapolis Maryland.
 They offer great food and drink selections that would make for a great date night or night out with some friends if you enjoy a bar type atmosphere. They have great brick oven pizza's and some creative dishes that are worth trying, if your ever in Annapolis or live near and looking for a nice place to check out give em a try!

Carnivore

C&B Deli "Italian deli, Good for your belly"

Location: Ellicott City, MD

Cuisine: Italian Deli

Price Range:$6- $12

website: www.candbdeli.com

Atmosphere: As basic as a deli sandwich may sound; it is hard to find one that's full of flavor with fresh, crisp toppings and a friendly, clean environment. No worries! C&B Deli is here to save the day and help out with this dilemma. C&B deli is a little Italian deli located in Ellicott City, MD off of Route 40. C&B has your traditional deli set up with fresh meats,cheeses, salads, and desserts on display along with the lovely aroma of fresh bread permeating the air. As soon as you walk in you can already assume your about to have something good served up just off of the sites and smells! C&B is open Mon.-Fri. 9 AM-6 PM and on Sun. 9 AM-4 PM, this is a great place to stop by and grab some food for lunch or dinner.

Staff: The staff at C&B is very friendly and polite, as soon as you walk in the door you are greeted with a hello and a smile. Another thing that makes this a personable experience is I believe C&B is a family owned business, so if you come often enough there will always be a familiar face greeting you and preparing your order. The staff is very helpful when you have questions or when it comes to the menu and also very clean when preparing your food. I've been here numerous times and the staff is always great!

The Food: C&B has some of the freshest deli meats,cheeses and toppings I've ever tasted at a sandwich shop. With them being an Italian Deli they offer lot's of traditional Italian deli meats such as prosciutto and capicola along with lots of other selections. C&B also has a small import section where you can purchase all kinds of Italian products such as sauces, pastas, and bread ; they also have fresh soups, salads, and dessert's for sale that also look very fresh and delicious.
 I ordered the Italian hoagie, which is their most popular sandwich on the menu. This sandwich was a perfect size and full of flavor! The bread had a nice crunch to the outside but was very soft and fluffy on the inside which made for a great foundation. The meat was very fresh, tasty, and they were not stingy at all! What brought the whole sandwich together was the toppings; as generic as it may sound, " you could taste the freshness". I got the traditional toppings which was lettuce,tomato,hot peppers,onion and their oil & vinegar mixture drizzled on top. All of these simple ingredients came together for an amazing, authentic tasting Italian hoagie that you wouldn't be able to find at your typical chain or carry out. In my opinion no matter what your serving, making sure its fresh and from scratch is the key to putting out a delicious product! For a side I got their "Hot Shots", which are small peppers stuffed with fresh

mozzarella wrapped in prosciutto  and drizzled with Olive Oil. Yes, please believe this small bite is as good as it sounds. All of the flavors marry beautifully when you bite into it and not only are these delicious but they also make for a great snack. If you like peppers this is definitely a must try! I would recommend trying different things upon each visit, I haven't had anything that didn't taste good from here yet!

Italian Hoagie

Hot Shots( peppers stuffed w/prosciutto wrapped mozzarella

Recap: C&B deli is a small Italian deli located in Ellicott City, MD with great tasting traditional style deli meats. They have a very friendly staff that makes you feel welcome and are very helpful at recommending things if your having trouble deciding. They are not your typical chain deli, so all of their products are freshly made or imported insuring that your getting that authentic taste. They sell fresh Meats,cheeses,soups,salads, desserts and also do catering if you are interested. I would strongly recommend going here for lunch or picking up dinner on your way home. If you are ever in the area and looking for a good deli sandwich stop by and check them out, you will never want a bland tasting chain deli sandwich again.