BACON, BACON CAFE

You may have heard in the media or witnessed it on the television, the ‘Bacon, Bacon’ food truck causing quit the stir. This food truck has a brick and mortar home base that serves breakfast and lunch that goes by the same name. The ‘Bacon, Bacon’ café is located right smack in the middle of San Francisco. To cross this of my bucket list took quit the travel commitment. To arrive during breakfast hours this Mad Meat Genius braved commute traffic to cross the bay bridge. The Racing Honda fouled some plugs in this frustrating excursion of travel. We arrived to find a non-metered parking spot on the same block. Parking karma has returned.

The entrance is nondescript except for the sign board out front proclaiming; ‘Makin Bacon for the Taken’. Once inside you are transformed into a magical special place. This small café is homage to the food I love. There is a sign board with a menu. You make your choices and place your order at the counter. So many bacon choices: Bacon scones, burgers, sandwiches and more bacon. The bacon bouquet is a must have item that consists of five pieces of bacon drizzled with maple syrup.

It was breakfast time so bacon, sausage, cheese egg sandwich was appropriate. I also had to order the bacon bouquet. This was accompanied by a cup of joe that a spoon could have sat up straight up in. Faster than you can say bacon, bacon the food was delivered. This sandwich was everything the doctored ordered. The bacon bouquet was devoured with bacony delight.

I was satisfied and had to show restraint to not order more bacon goodness. Some chocolate covered bacon and a bacon cookie was purchased for later consumption. I wanted to ride the red boar ride but I exceeded the weight limit after that satisfying breakfast. This experience at Bacon, Bacon has fulfilled my bucket list requirement. We will return to try some of their other offering. Next time it defiantly will not be during commute hours.

Bacon, Bacon Cafe

205A frederick st,

 san francisco

PERDITION SMOKEHOUSE

It is the grand opening of a new bbq house in Berkeley, California called Perdition Smokehouse. They have only been open a week but I have the hardly can waits to try their offerings.This is no ordinary smoke shack. This house of smoked meats will be offering 43 different beers on tap. It is located a couple of blocks away from U.C. Berkeley. Beer, bbq, and coeds may be a winning combination? Ms. Goofy is away on some mud wrestling clinic so I got to drive the Racing Honda solo. The parking karma may have slipped a little. I had to circle the block and finally settled on a spot one block away. I arrived to be one of the first customers of the day at 5:00 pm.

Perdition Smokehouse is located on a very busy downtown street. It is so new their is no signage in the window. I walk through the doors into a large cavernous dinning area. There are plenty new and enthusiastic  staff to greet you. The menu is written on a large sign board. You proceed to a roped line to the counter to place your order. You tell a knife wielding server what your pleasures are. She will slice and dice your requests and place them on the scale. This server paid very close attention to this scale. The person before me was denied that extra piece of brisket because it would of been 1 ounce over the target weight. There is another server who will dish your requested sides and finally a cash register. This is the opening week so I will not mention that this method was not very efficient, slow and scale challenged.

There is a separate area were the bar is located. The menu is huge, forty three beers to be exact. So many choices had me stumped so I just had some H20. I had my choice of a table or high tables with stools. Each table had an offering of four different house made sauces. They were the usual offerings of a Kansas City tomato based, mustard, vinegar &pepper and a spicy sauce. These sauces were decent but not outstanding. I did have a preference for the sweet/tart mustard based offering.
   My plate looked delicious The ribs and brisket had great color. The slaw was a red cabbage mixture that made my tray glow with bright color.. I would like to mention the uneven portions of this offering. I ordered a two meat combination. The scale only allowed me two ribs and two small slices of brisket. The slaw was proportionately uneven to this picture.The cowboy beans looked a little forlorn even though it was the beginning of dinner service. Now for the million dollar question; How did it taste?

The smoke was present but sublime. The ribs and brisket were cooked properly. They were tender. The ribs had a spice crust that was very flavorful that teetered on the salty side. I slathered them in the mustard sauce and enjoyed them. The brisket was decent enough but not memorable. The slaw was flat. It was exciting with color but did not deliver with vibrancy and seasoning..The cowboy beans may have been the highlight of this meal. They did not look the best but were hearty and studded with soft pieces of brisket.

Perdition Smokehouse has the potential to be a destination bbq restaurant. This place has several selling points that may shine. It is located in a busy area near campus. The beer selection is huge. The food was decent. I say decent because everything tasted fine but nothing reached out to say "Wow'.It is opening week and some tweaking in the ordering station may be prudent. I also felt the scale may need to be adjusted to justify their prices. We may return so Ms. Goofy can give her two cents worth.

Perdition Smokehouse
2050 University Ave,
 Berkeley, CA 94704
(510) 900-5858

COB-SMOKED BEEF RIBS

 Today’s inspiration comes from the latest ‘Cook’s Summer Grilling’ issue. They demonstrate and exhaustively explain how to smoke a ‘South Dakota’ style rib. They take a St. Lois style cut pork rib and smoke it with corn cobs and corn meal. This medium of smoking material is supposed to impart a sweet type of smoke. Smoking with corn has grabbed my attention. ‘Cook’s’ magazine is a great resource for cooking methods. We will take their research and methodology but put a Chilebrown spin on it. First, instead of pork ribs we will use some meaty beef ribs. Cook’s suggests using certain rubs and sauces but we will use our own. We will be cooking these ribs by following their method. Grab a corn cob and let’s get smoking.

Using corn cobs will be a first for us. We used a sweet corn from the farmers market. Strip the kernels off the cob and reserve niblets for other uses.  We now will make a foil packet with 1/ 2 cup of corn meal. Fold the foil over the corn meal and poke some holes through the foil. We will be using a Weber Kettle grill. Here is the setup. A water filled foil pan will be placed on one side of the bottom. Place three quarts of unlit charcoal on the other side. (A large charcoal chimney starter holds 6 quarts). Layer 4 cobs on the unlit charcoal. In a chimney starter, light 3 quarts of charcoal. When the charcoals are lit, place over cobs and unlit charcoals. Place corn meal packet on top of lit charcoal. Put the grill over fire. You will now place seasoned ribs on the grill over the water pan side and cover with lid. Position the bottom and top vents to one-half open. Cook for 4 hours rotating the ribs at the 2 hour mark. There is no need to flip them. We sauced our ribs the last 15 minutes.

While the ribs are cooking a sweet toasted corn aroma will emit from the smoking kettle. It is tempting to look at the ribs during cooking but leaving them alone will produce better results. The ribs had a wonderful smoky flavor. They did not taste like corn but I noticed a sweet smoke flavor. The ribs were fantastic. Using corn cobs as a smoking medium is an old time method and flavor. I will have to try this with some pork ribs next time.  It is always fun to experience something new/old.

NORTH STATE BARBEQUE CHAMPIONSHIP

The Racing Honda went through several racing slicks on our bbq journey this weekend. We traveled north to Redding California for the first competition of a four part series. This series is called the 'North State Barbeque Championship'. It is a three meat competition consisting of; chicken, ribs, and tri-tip. They will be held at three different casinos and a fairgrounds. Today's competition was held at the 'Win-River Casino'. We were excited to attend this first competition. It is always great to meet and greet old and new friends in the bbq community. The weather hovered in the low nineties to create a warm, balmy environment. Hydration was the key to enjoyment today.. We would like to share a couple of photos with you.

The event was held in the R.V. parking lot area. In the beautiful landscaped grounds was this public bbq. This was one heavy duty smoker. Thirty six teams were spread out over these spacious grounds. There was a beer tent that was cooled by portable misters. It was a challenge to sit in this balmy sauna of liquid libations.

A chili and salsa competition was held. I found a habanero salsa that made this chilehead sweat. Was it the habaneros or the weather? Ms. Goofy put on her new certified chili judge badge and braved the competitors offerings. I was too busy trying to stay hydrated this afternoon.

It was a great day. Our weekend are booked up for the rest of the summer. What a great way to start the summer.

North State Barbeque Championchip

COOK'S SUMMER GRILLING

Cook's Summer Grilling issue was located in the impulse buy section of the checkout line at our local store. Instead of thumbing through the celebrity gossip magazines, I picked up this issue and thumbed through it. I bought it hook, line and sinker. I was pleasantly surprised of the many informative and great sounding recipes. The Cook's line of magazines, internet and television shows does exhaustive research to find the "best and optimal' way of cooking dishes. They instruct and teach in great detail how to cook these dishes. In fact, they may be a little too instructional to the point of being 'Anal". (Can I say Anal?). Some people will embrace this method. I will use this information and follow most of their advice. I am looking forward to trying this recipe. "South Dakota Cob Smoked Ribs" Stay tuned.

MEAL TICKET

'Diners Drive-ins and Dives' is a show that we like to watch. Occasionally the host Guy Fieri visits a restaurant in our neck of the woods. 'Meal Ticket' is located in Berkeley which is close enough that it does not even give Ms.Goofy a chance to push the nitro button in the Racing Honda. Guy visited this restaurant several years back but it is still a very popular dinning destination. For this reason we made sure to be there when they opened at 8;00 am. I am not sure if this is worth a mention but we did get a parking spot right in front.

The gates opened on time and we were one of the first to place our order at the counter. You place your order and are issued a self serve coffee cup. The inside is nicely decorated with local art work that is for for sale.  You can watch the chef/owner that was featured on Diner, Drive-ins and Dives in an open kitchen. He is the only cook in this small kitchen. He is focused and very busy.After a short wait our plates arrived at our table.

The closest thing to pork chops was the loin cut. It was grilled and served with a chipotle sauce, home style potatoes and two eggs. You also had an option of toast, muffin or tortillas. The chop was tender and tasty. The sauce was mild with a smoky nuance. The potatoes were crisp with just the right amount of salt to coax maximum flavor.The coffee was strong enough to waken any sleepy eyed 'Fabulous Furry Freak Brother".(The FFFB reference was an 'Underground Comic' book characters that is an appropriate stereotypical characters from Berkeley's past.). Ms. Goofy loved her country egg scramble.
  It is a good thing we arrived at the opening bell. Within half an hour the place was totally packed and a line was forming. There is a reason for this. 'Meatl Ticket' serves a darn fine breakfast. We shall return.

Meal Ticket

1235 San Pablo Ave,
Albany, CA 94706
(510) 526-6325

Here is a link to watch the chef cook with Guy Fieri.  Watch video here

PANKO, PARMESAN CRUSTED BBQ CHICKEN

 ‘Its shake and bake and I helped’. A blast from the past is the memory of the commericial for ‘Shake and Bake’ chicken.  We are not re-inventing the wheel today. We are baking chicken in the Weber covered kettle grill. This chicken will be encrusted in a crunchy topping of panko bread crumbs and parmesan cheese. To begin, we need to brine our chicken in a solution of water, salt and sugar. This recipe and method is simple with fantastic results.

Brining is a great way to add moisture and flavor to chicken and pork. A simple solution of ¼ cup of salt and ¼ cup of sugar combined with 1 quart of water is brought to a boil. Stir to combine, turn off the heat and let cool to room temperature. Place approximately 2 pounds of chicken parts into solution and refrigerate. I am using chicken thighs and legs. The mixture needs to brine for several hours up to overnight. Remove the chicken from the ice cave, drain and dry. The next step is to apply the panko/parmesan crust. A three step dipping method of flour, egg/milk and finally panko parmesan mixture is used. The brading mixture ratio is 1/3 cup parmesan to 2/3 cup of panko crumbs. Let’s build a fire.

I have a special grill grate that has the center cut out that is perfect for indirect cooking. I have a charcoal fire consisting of 50 lit charcoals in the center. If you do not have this grate you can bank the charcoals on one side to create an indirect heat. Place your chicken on a well oiled grate. (This chicken will stick to the grill so be sure to oil your grate). Cover with lid and bake for approx. 40 minutes or until the internal temperature is above 165 degrees.

  This was an easy and tasty meal. The crust is salty, savory and crisp. The brine created a juicy and flavorful chicken. Ms. Goofy exclaimed; It was like barbequed fried chicken. This definitely will be put on the rotation of our meals.