Pirikara Tsukemen @ Taishoken
Taishoken has a new soup called Pirikara for their, oh so delicious noodles. As with all their soups you can get this as tsukemen style or ramen style. Pirikara is a shoyu based broth that has fried ground pork, togarashi (Japanese red pepper), Korean red pepper, ginger and garlic in it. The first time I had it I was sold. It is sooo good and it has just the right amount of spicy kick to it.
Previously my regular order was the Miso Tsukemen but ever since I had the Pirikara I don’t know who Miso is.
Willie G's Seafood and Steak House
As I arrived in downtown Denver I eyed a bunch of steakhouses. Willie G’s being one of them. I decided to eat there on my last night of my trip.
My waitress first brought out some sourdough bread. When I broke off a piece it was piping hot. This was a good sign that the bread was fresh out of the oven. The bread was served with olive oil and fresh cracked pepper. The Bread had a nice crispy crust and it was soft inside.
The appetizer I ordered arrived next. They were a 1/2 dozen Blue Point oysters on the half shell. I was told that these particular oysters were farm raised in the cold waters of the Delaware Bay. They were served with freshly grated horseradish, cocktail sauce, lime and lemon. It was very fresh with a nice crisp briny flavor.
Next up was my main dish. Now I could have ordered the special which was a cowboy cut 20 oz. dry aged, bone in rib eye steak served with artichoke risotto, but I opted for what I had since I have never had it before. What I ordered was the dry aged 12 oz. buffalo rib eye. It was char broiled to my liking (medium rare) and served with a side of perfectly steamed vegetables (green zucchini, yellow zucchini, carrots, and broccoli) and homemade garlic mash. I also was able to choose between two sauces: béarnaise and rosemary-peppercorn, but I asked for both sauces and they happy obliged. My first bite of this steak was… WOW. It just melted in my mouth. Although I have to say I really couldn’t discern this from beef. The flavor of the rosemary and peppercorn blended with a red wine reduction to make the rosemary-peppercorn sauce which perfectly complimented the steak. I typically go by the belief that a good steak doesn't need a sauce, but I found my buffalo rib eye taking a swim in the rosemary-peppercorn sauce quite often.
This is what I COULD have ordered for dessert (starting at the piece nearest, going counter-clockwise): 6 layer chocolate fudge cake, key lime pie, raspberry-blackberry-strawberry tart, turtle torte with caramel fudge and pecans, NY style cheesecake. I didn’t order any because: 1. I was full and 2. It only takes a little to satiate my sweet tooth so any one portion would have been waaaay too much for me (I usually share desserts).
Makino Chaya Mililani
OMG I am a filthy whore. Never again. I was curled up in the fetal position in my bathtub while cold water showered down on me afterwards.
Man I’m really behind on posting. Here is one from almost a month ago. I visited
En Fuego in Kapolei and I really enjoyed their plate lunch. I ordered the Hamburger Steak and Garlic Chicken combo with brown rice and mac salad.
You pay a premium here over your average plate lunch but imho it is worth it. I will pay a premium for good food and this place is good. The gravy for the hamburger steak had fresh mushrooms in it, not that typical canned stuff. The garlic chicken was good. Typical local style (sweet, but not too sweet) with a good amount of garlic punch. The brown rice was very moist and not dry. After looking at their website menu there is a ton of stuff that I want to try. The next time I am in that area I will be definitely going to
En Fuego.
Here is another breakfast post from my trip to Denver. This morning a fellow colleague and I ate at
The Delectable Egg. I ordered The Godfather omelette.
This was a three egg omelette with Italian sausage and mozzarella smothered with their homemade marinara sauce. It was served with a side of their specialty potatoes and toasted, buttered English muffins. The weather was so nice that morning that we decided to eat out on tables outside. None of the pictures I took depict the weather well, but it was in the 70s, crisp air and not a cloud in the sky. Nice!
