Seoul Fried Chicken (Pinole, California)

Not sure if it is still Grand Opening (8 months) but new to us. It was fried crunchy chicken with fun and unusual flavors. We enjoyed our meal.

 

Frank’s Red Hot Squeeze Ghost Pepper Ranch Sauce

To fuel my chile addiction, I had to try Frank’s Red Hot Squeeze Ghost Pepper Ranch Sauce. It is available at your local grocery store and cheap. I tried it with some bbq wings. I was pleasantly surprised how good this sauce is. It is creamy and has a familiar ranch flavor. It has a sleeper heat that impressed. At first bite it was cool, smooth and a refreshing accompaniment to the smoky wings. Then the heat slowly creeps in and grabs you by the throat and says “HELLo”. Maybe a slight exaggeration but it did have a medium hot pepper heat. I liked it a lot. Ms. Goofy did not even want to have anything to do with this sauce

BASEBALL STEAKS

We cooked up a couple of 'Baseball' steaks the other night. They are a cut from the sirloin. They have a ton of beef flavor. They are not as tender as a filet but the flavor department shines through to make these steaks delicous.

 

GRACIE'S BBQ

We paid a visit to Gracie's bbq in Vallejo California. This was not our first visit but it has been over 15 years since our last. To be honest our intention was to visit the micro-brewery Vallejo Brewing Company owned by the same people. After a couple of very quenchable beers we decided to revisit Gracies. The nice thing about being next door is you can place your order and they will deliver it to the brewery.

 I had the ribs and Ms. Goofy a pulled pork sandwich. I liked the ribs. They were tender, smoky and meaty. Sauce was on the side as requested. Ms. Goofy liked her sandwich but did not lick her paws afterward. All the side dishes were very pedestrian. This was decent bbq but did not get us excited. It may be another 15 years until we return.

R & W LIVESTOCK

 

 

We were approached by a gentleman at the Rio Vista bbq competition who represented a local livestock Company. He told us about his beef from his company R & W Livestock. We gave it a try. Last night we had a New York strip and a Filet. They are lean but what a umami flavor beef bomb diggity bomb flavor. They are grass raised and corn fed bliss finished. Ms. Goofy's filet was fork tender and my New York had a little tug to it. They both were delicious.

 

WASABI

 

Have you ever had wasabi at a restaurant? Chances are you are not getting true wasabi but horseradish with food coloring. Wasabi is a rhizome which is extremely diffucult to grow. The majority of wasabi is grown in japan. A company in Half-Moon Bay California has recently started to grow and sell wasabi. Because it is so difficult to grow wasabi is very expensive. That is why most restaurants substituted horseradish alternative. I pulled the trigger and purchased some. I wanted to try the real deal.

   To use wasabi one must grate it right before using. Freshly grated wasabi's flavor can deteriorate within 15 minutes of grating. It has a wonderful vegetable smell. The fumes are enticing to the flavor jolt you are about to experience. I tried the freshly grated wasabi with some shrimp. Wasabi immediately gives your sinus a jolt. There is a heat to this root but not like a chile pepper. It can overwhelm if you use too much but luckily the heat jolt is very temporary. I would say wasabi is very similiar to horseradish and maybe not even as hot. It does have a wonderful sweetness and green vegetable vibe to it. This is a lot of fun. Expensive fun.

FOSTER'S BIG HORN

 

 Yesterday we judged ribs & chili in Rio Vista California at "The 12th Annual HOG AUGUST BITES Rib & Chili Competition". This was a great local festival with plenty of food, music, vendors, sun and fun. There is a restaurant in town called Fosters Big Horn. I have always wanted to visit to see the wild game trophies on the wall. It was very impressive. 

Oh and did I mention we judged ribs and chili?