Blu Blogging: Clam Bake

Have you tried Blu Seafood and Bar's Clam Bake yet? I was delighted to see it on their new summer menu. I had thoroughly enjoyed Shellfish Bake events at Blu over the years, so the prospect of being able to order a clam bake on a whim was quite exciting, indeed. The photo above was my 2nd MFR's place and I managed to appropriate several of the clams. I've ordered it twice since then. You get clams (obviously), an ear of corn, small pieces of sausage, several potatoes and a butter dipping sauce. It's just perfect, really. Let me know what you think!

Blu Blogging: Flounder and Mushrooms

Yes, I know my previous post was about Blu Seafood and Bar and so is this one. It's my blog and I'll write about what I want. So there. This is definitely food worth writing about, even if there's a slight delay. A couple of weeks ago, a flounder special, pictured above, was served with grapefruit salsa, green beans and a chipotle butter sauce over basmati rice. It was beautiful and tasty, too. I couldn't resist the grapefruit.

Last weekend, Chef Tim Lyons provided a complimentary culinary adventure: shitake mushrooms baked in parchment paper.

We opened up the paper to see the mushrooms peeking out.

If you know me well, you may be wondering what happened to Lenore and start looking for my pod. I don't generally like mushrooms. I've discovered (initially from the Spicy Dried Tofu with Pork at Eastern Lights) that I do like shitakes, because they have a completely different texture from other mushrooms and I've always liked the flavor of mushrooms. In any case, these were delicious and the chiffonade spinach with truffle oil was also superb.

Blu Blogging: Carribe!

Last night I tried Blu Seafood and Bar's new signature baked oyster dish, Oysters Carribe, for the first time. The oysters are baked with tasso ham, poblano pepper cream sauce, queso fresco and topped with a plantain crust. If you like baked oysters or even suspect that you might, give these a try. The poblano peppers provide a spicy kick, so be prepared, but I would categorize the dish as only medium spicy, because none of the flavor is lost in the excitement. I'm a huge fan of spinach and oysters, so I order Oysters Rockefeller on a regular basis, but it will be nice to mix things up with this original appetizer.

2011 New Year's Resolutions

First of all, Happy New Year! Thanks to my new job and Splat Space (and of course family and friends), 2010 was an incredible year for me. I had more opportunities to learn things and meet new friends than I would have ever imagined. I am optimistic that those opportunities and friendships will only grow in 2011 and for that I am very thankful.

From talking to some of you in person, I've gotten the impression that you thought that I would actually keep my resolutions from 2010 and go to all the restaurants that I planned to visit during the course if the year. Why did you think that? These were resolutions like any other. They could and would be broken.

I did go to two of the restaurants on the list, Panciuto and Queen of Sheba, both of which I liked a great deal. The problem is that I *really* liked Queen of Sheba. I kept wanting to go again and again. That kind of put a damper on my wanting to go to some of the other restaurants on the list, most of which are on the expensive side. I became an addict long before Queen of Sheba started linking to my blog post.

Cafe Parvaneh lost their lease at the end of last month, so that is no longer an option. (h/t mark_c)

What's on tap for 2011? To me, making New Year's Resolutions is really about having fun. I don't like to take anything too seriously, particularly not myself. Since I'm not even going to think about these resolutions for the majority of the year, it's not even so important that they be measurable, timely and all that. Below is stab at what I'm considering for the new year, in no particular order.

• Go to Lantern.
  
• Go back to Sugarland more than once this year.
• Eat at Blu Seafood and Bar as much as humanly possible. (an easy one, I know)
• Don't try to predict the future. It's a complete waste of time and can ruin your day.
  
• Be prepared. (not a complete contradiction and this comes naturally to me)
• Eat more fruit. (such a sacrifice)
• Don't be overwhelmed and stressed by rapidly aging fruit in the fridge, but do actually eat it.
  
• Attempt to concentrate on just one one thing at a time.
• Go to a taqueria for the first time.
  
• Don't feel that it's absolutely necessary to accomplish something in your spare time unless you don't have any clean clothes to wear tomorrow. Relaxation is an accomplishment. Having fun is, too.
  
• Think about exercise. It's a great concept.
  
• You love baking. Do it.
• If someone gives you a genuine compliment, don't insult their good taste by arguing with them.
• If someone claims to have met you before and you don't remember, don't argue with them either. ...at least not the second time.
  
• Take the time to play more games in 2011.
  

That's enough to completely ignore for one year.