Top Ten Mispronounced Foodie Words

1. Bruschetta (broo-SKEH-tah)
2. Gnocchi (NYOH-kee)
3. Gyro (YEER-oh)
4. Huitlacoche (wheet-lah-KOH-chay)
5. Pouilly-Fuisse (poo-yee fwee-SAY)
6. Mole (MOH-lay)
7. Paczki (POONCH-key)
8. Pho (fuh)
9. Prosciutto (proh-SHOO-toe)
10. Sake (SAH-kay)

Via The Chicago Tribune

Mondo's Saloon - Pedmall, Iowa City

When my friend, and co-writer of this blog, suggested we try out Saloon for a late night dinner, I was skeptical. I had passed by the place often and not once considered venturing inside; the name Saloon conjured images of greasy burgers and sloppy salads I remembered from the bar-restaurants back home. Fortunately for my taste buds, food at Mondo's was nothing of the sort.

As soon as we walked in, I was pleasantly surprised. The place was clean and dare I say it - almost cute. The walls were littered with TheWildWest/hunting/Mexican paraphernalia, there were booths conveniently made for twos, fours, or sixes, there was even easy, chilled music playing.

We started with the Chips and Queso ($6) as an appetizer. Soooo goood. The tortilla chips were perfectly seasoned, not too salty not too bland. It came accompanied by a large bowl of mildly spice and savory queso sauce and a barely-sweet, refreshing tomato-based salsa. We even asked for seconds (that good), which they gave us for free.

If we stopped there, I would've been perfectly content. But we ordered full meals, full, mindbogglingly good meals. Shreya had the quesadilla (around $5) while I got the chicken burrito (around $5) with a side of cilantro rice ($3).

What was good:

•  The portion/the price.
  They gave Shreya FOUR good sized wedges of quesadillas along with two salsas and shredded lettuce. While I got two large half burritos, a wonderfully smoky sauce and a salsa. 
• The taste.
  I don't know how they do it (trust me, I wish I did), but everything was overwhelming satisfying. MHMMMM!! was the only thing we could say after that first bite. The flavor explodes in waves over your tongue, melting into your mouth, permeating into your every sensation. 
• The pairing of contrasting flavors.
  This is where the magic happened. For Shreya, her two salsas were served in one little jar, a spicy green chile (we think consisting of cucumbers, limes, banana pepers, and green tomatoes) along with a milder red one. The combined flavor went really well with her quesadillas. And when she added shredded lettuces and sour cream, she described it as "magical," the new layers of texture and taste made her eyes water with joy. It was that good.
  As for my dish, the sauce (I think a combination of tomato-based and Worcestershire) added such a depth to my simple burrito. The smokyness hit the back of my throat in a really pleasant way. The cilantro rice surprised me with its defiant garlicness, I was fond. 
• Service/atmosphere.
  We tipped her 25 percent. We are college students. This should testament enough to how much we liked the lovely waitress. We also loved the relaxed and easy-going atmosphere of the restaurant.

What was bad:

• Shreya's quesadillas were oily...really oil to the point where her hands were glistening. This didn't hurt the flavor at all, but I'm feeling iffy about its healthiness. 
• My cilantro rice were far too dry. The buttery garlic flavor would've been perfection had the rice been a tad softer, which, I believe, would also absorb the flavor better.  

Overall, our Mondo's experience was WONDERFUL.The total bill came at just over $21. As my Econ professor will tell you, it's all about the utility per dollar. For the price-value-ratio, I don't think there is a better restaurant in Iowa City


 Mondo's Saloon
112 East College Street
Iowa City, Iowa 52240
319-354-3837
www.mondossaloon.com 

Mango Glaze - Attempt at Food Blogging 2

I really dislike maple syrup. Which is strange, considering I love waffles and pancakes and french toast; I mean, what goes better with those than maple syrup?? To my palate though, anything else. Unfortunately, this little culinary quirk of mine usually means I turn down pancakes and waffles at restaurants and rarely bother to make them at home. Naked French Toast just doesn't seem that appetizing (this turned out to be apparently not true, later post on the Nutella Version).

To remedy this, I recently came up with a Mango Glaze that seems to be a hit among friends and housemates. It's basically a simple brown sugar reduction with a tiny bit of mango concentrate.

• First heat up 1/4 - 1/2 cup of water and 2 tspoon of butter, swirl until melted. 
• Add in 3 heaping spoons of brown sugar, wait until fully integrated.
• Bring sugar-water mixture to a boil, add in another 1-3 spoons of brown sugar (or just any type really).
• You can also add in a spoon of honey if desired at this point. 
• Continue to boil mixture, taking care to not burn by constant stirring. 
• Add in two spoons of mango concentrate (I just did one spoon of liquid from a can of mangoes and one mango chunk, diced).
• Continue to boil till mixture reach desired consistency (I wait till it is syrup-y). 
• Serve in drizzles, VERY sweet, don't overload.

First Burger

Compared to the other blog, I don't update this nearly enough. Apologies to our encouraging (though few) readers! I actually have a decent amount of pics/recipes piled up, but sometimes find no motivation to make these long posts. However, I shall continue to try.

Now, did I mention I like burgers? Well, if you didn't know, I do. A LOT.
At home, my dad makes all the burgers, I just watch and occasionally toast the buns. Earlier this summer, my friend Isaac and I made my first burgers together! It turned out amazingly (relatively, it's, of course, no Dundee).

Ingredients:
Essentials:
- 1 pound package of ground beef
- buns
Toppings:
- 1 tomatoe, sliced
- 1 package of mushrooms
- 1 red onion
- american cheese
- lettuce
- mayo of choice (we used horseradish sauce)
Stuffing
- cheese of choice (american and parmesan for me)
- red onion, diced
- smoke sauce
- spices of choice (chilli powder for me)
- pepper/salt
The amount of stuffing is really up to you and your tastes, I like to just eyeball the amount and change my recipe next time if it doesn't work. Cooking is a process!

For my burger, I packed it with diced red onions and hand-ripped pieces of american cheese (1 slice). After mixing those with the meat, I added the smoke sauce (about 2 teaspoon), chilli powder (three pinches, need more next time, probably 2-3 teaspoons), grated parmesan (I used a lot). Combine all ingredients together, make sure everything is mixed well, I then added just tad of salt and pepper for good measure.

The good thing about burgers is how easy and convenient they are. You can make the burger patties ahead of time, freeze it, and throw it on the grill later (not longer than maybe two days, otherwise, won't taste as good). I actually recommending chilling the stuffed meat for a while (>30 min), it makes it much easier to form patties.

So we shaped them into five patties, so a little smaller than quarter-pounders. Since we don't have a grill (hey, we are in college!), we just pan cooked them. Isaac did the honors, mostly because I have no idea how to tell when burgers are cooked. He actually probably overcooked the first patch, but the second was pretty excellent, especially for a guy with no experience.

For the toppings, I sauteed onions and mushrooms (I prefer shitakes). Isaac thinks sauteed things all look disgusting and brown, but I think sauteed things taste pretty good. Also sliced up fresh red onions and tomatoes. For sauces, we used horseradish and some kind of weird mayo. Obvs, you can add ketchup, mustard, whateves, but we just didn't feel like it.

We tried toasting our buns ghettoly, on the stove top, not a good idea. Burn issues. So we just went to the toaster, which is less exciting but much safer. Though I am now getting rather good at stovetop s'mores, but that's for another post.

Assemble you burger! Which is the fun part. Then eat! Which is the best part.

Featured below: Isaac's lettuce bowl burger (my idea). It prevents all the toppings from falling out; yes, we are some bright college kids.

My next burger creations plans to be much more adventurous. Stay tuned (does that apply to blogs?)!

Found a recipe for snickerdoodle cupcakes!

I am SOOO there.

Refreshing Summer Salad

I was really craving mozzarella the other day. So I went to co-op in search for some fresh ones. Then I saw some tomatoes and was craving that too. So I decided to put together a salad. Now, I REALLY love mozzarella, so if you are making this, you might want to tune down the amount.

Ingredients:
- normal serving of mozzarella balls. Mine came in a tub, about quarter-filled, I'd say around 15-20 balls.
- one tomatoe, diced
- few slices of red onion, sliced
- chopped scallions and chives

Toss with vinaigrette of choice!

For my vinaigrette:
I just made a simple dressing of 1:1 olive oil and rice wine vinegar with the teeniest splash of fish oil and a dime size amount of chili paste. It wasn't bad, suited my needs rather well.

But for those with a more refined vinaigrette tastebuds, I really like the dressing I used to make at home - 1:1 oil and cranberry redwine vinegar, with the oil being half peanut, half olive. Splash of sweet soy sauce and a bit of garlic paste to taste. It's yummm.

Also, keep in mind: this salad (and most foods) is only as good as the ingredients. Make sure you purchase good quality cheese and fresh veggies. And for the dressing, the olive oil I have here is terrible (compared to the expensive EVOO at home, I'm food-spoiled), so the dress was ughh-blahh to taste but when added to the salad, it wasn't bad.

I hope you made it to your own variation. Next time, I may add some cucumber. Enjoy!

Sweet lemonade o' mine

Java House. 6.35 pm. One order of Fresh Raspberry Lemonade. I am unbelievably happy.... best lemonade I've had in a while - it's the perfect combination of sweetness, freshly squeezed lemons, raspberry puree and ice. All I need is a porch swing, a good book and somebody to take the MCAT for me and it might actually feel like summer.

Raspberry Lemonade - $3.17

JH: 1575 S 1st Ave, Iowa City

Also, I do NOT have a black eye - can't help that the lighting is spotty here.