Best Ever Ideas for Burgers

First, apologies for not keeping up with the blog.  Back to school, sports, and after school activities have really taken up any free time we've had to work on the blog...imagine you can relate. 

Anyway, if your kids love burgers like ours, you'll love the creative ideas offered in this website by the Cheese & Burger Society. 

What: a great link to a website with 32 recipes for burgers.  Obviously sponsored by Wisconsin Cheese, it is a well done flash site with voice over by "Putty" (Patrick Warburton) from Sienfeld, for the kids in the audience, he is also the voice of  Kronk" on The Emperor's New Groove cartoon. 

Special thanks to my brother, Craig, for sending the link to me. 

Why It’s The Best:  there's nothing else like it on the internet.  "Putty's" voice over, the graphics, and the humor make it very entertaining...not to mention mouth watering.   Also a great site for cheese lovers...in particular, those who love Wisconsin cheese. 

How We Know: take a tour..see if you don't crave a burger afterwards.  No. 30 is a personal favorite.

Craving Level:  based on our children, at least weekly, bordering on daily.

Oh, I almost forgot to mention to make sure that you enter for a chance to win a new grill.  The contest ends September 30th at mid-night.  Sorry for the late notice...just finished a home work assignment.   Stay tuned for upcoming posts on The Best Ever Recipe for Chocolate Chip Cookies, Best Ever Foie Gras, Gnoochi, and Pear Tart. 

Best Ever French Tip

Jennifer has been telling me about the Slow Roasted French Dip sandwich at Jackson’s Mighty Fine Food & Lucky Lounge restaurant (part of the local DC Great American Restauarnt chain and listed in Washingtonian's 100 Best Restaurants) in Reston, VA since it opened several months ago. My first attempt to try it for dinner one night was unsuccessful, and very disappointing, as the coveted French Dip is served only during the lunch hours (and only “while it lasts”).

What:  Homemade rolls, thinly sliced roast beef, and an au jus dipping bowl.

Why It’s The Best: There is more than one reason why we think this sandwich is a “best ever.” The au jus is the real deal (not water flavored with beef bouillon). The roast beef is slow cooked, tender, flavorful and consistent, and served perfectly medium rare… The wrapper that makes it all come together is the bread. Soft and super absorbent, it is baked fresh every day by a local bread company called Best Buns Company, buttered and toasted before the meat is piled on, it soaks up the au jus like a sponge. Jennifer always orders hers with cheese, which she believes makes just about everything better.

How We Know: You really have to try this to know. We have taken out-of-town friends (and their children to test this delicious sandwich – HUGE success every time!)Jennifer had been telling me it was the best ever but it wasn’t until I had it was I able to really know.

Craving level: WEEKLY…while it last.

Reviews and Directions: Yelp, Metromix

Best Ever Cream of Crab Soup

If you live in the mid-Atlantic region, you know that summer means blue crab season. One of our favorite ways to enjoy crab is in soup, weather it’s Maryland Crab, She Crab or Cream of Crab. If you’re traveling on the Eastern Shore this Summer or Fall make sure you stop in Easton, MD and have lunch at Legal Spirits Tavern (next to the Avalon Theatre) and have a bowl of the best ever Shore Boys Cream of Crab soup.

What: Jumbo lump crab meat, butter (lots), sherry, cream, old bay seasoning, etc.

Why It’s The Best:  For starters the soup contains a lot of crab meat, which is key.  Too many restaurants focus on the cream and skimp on the crab... it needs to be ALL about the taste of fresh lump crab.  Second, the soup has a nice consistency and it's not "starchy" which can also be the downfall of a good bowl of soup.  Finally, you can taste the sherry and a hint of old bay seasoning, which blend wonderfully with all of the other ingredients in the soup.  For us, the right balance of sherry in a cream based soup is test for a greatness...winner -- Shore Boys! 

How We Know:  We've tried cream of crab soups up and down the east coast.  She Crab soup in the "Low Country comes close, but no one does Cream of Crab as well as the Shore Boys.   If you need more proof read the reviews at TripAdvisors.

Craving Level: Weekly, bordering on daily.  The great news is that you can order the soup on line.  The bad news is that it's an expensive treat...you have to pay almost as much in shipping as you do for the soup.  It's worth a road trip to get it, and Easton is a nice get-away weekend location.

Best Ever Cheap Eats

Okay, so we should have posted this on Monday when the DC Restaurant Week (24th-30th) kicked off, but it’s not too late to take advantage of some good deals at local restaurants. During this week you can get a 3 course meal for $35.09 or a 2 course lunch for $20.09.

Click here for participating restaurants and to make a reservation.

We’ve eaten at 3 restaurants in the last 3 days (we’re kidless this week), and here’s what we’ve learned:

Savings are modest – we saved about $15 off our meal at Chef Geoff’s in Tysons and about $10 last night at Dino’s in Cleveland Park.

But other good deals exit – on certain days of the week restaurants are running deals on wine, like ½ price bottles at The Palm on Wednesdays (join their 837 Club for more specials), and the same at Chef Geoff’s on Mondays. And from Tues-Thursday at Dino’s, certain wines are marked down to $18. The real savings have been on the wine.

Early Bird Specials – here’s the other good news -- some restaurants are getting smart about filling their place early, and on off days during the week. Chef Geoff’s Sunset Special gets you a 3 course dinner for $19.99 at Dino’s the Menu della Sur offers the same for $25.

Our view is that in this economy everything is, or should be, on sale. Some restaurants get this while others don’t…but will. Search the DC Restaurant link to find those who understand that diners want more for their money…they’re out there, and those specials (like the ones above) will continue after this week.

Best Way To Get Kids to Eat Fish Ever!

by Jennifer

Getting kids to eat salmon (or any fish for that matter) can be a bit of a challenge -- and we all know, because it's so rich in Omega3s, it's an important part of our diet.... Here's a recipe I recently stumbled upon (from the Epicurious.com website), and it's fantastic -- quick, uncomplicated, and simple to make -- now a staple in our home. Hope you like it, too!

What: Wild Salmon (fresh is ALWAYS best, but it works with frozen, too), Frank's Redhot Sauce, and panko bread crumbs (I've also used italian style, or even combined the two, and it's just as good -- you can play with it yourself).

Recipe: Buffalo Salmon

• 5 Tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1/4 cup hot sauce (we love Frank's)
• 1/3 cup panko (Japanese style bread crumbs)
• 1 Tablespoon vegetable oil
• 1 (2 pound) piece salmon fillet (definitely try to use wild caught).
• Preheat oven to 425 degrees, with rack in upper third of oven. Lightly oil a shallow baking pan. Melt butter with hot sauce and 1/4 tsp. of each salt and pepper over medium heat. Set aside 1/4 c. of sauce. T
• Toss bread crumbs with oil in a small bowl. Place salmon, skin side down, in pan and sprinkle with 1/4 tsp. each of salt (I use garlic salt for this part), and fresh ground pepper.  Pour prepared  hot sauce mixture over salmon, and sprinkle crumbs evenly over the top of the fish.  Then bake until top is golden and fish is just cooked through (16 to 22 minutes).  
• Serve reserved sauce on side.

Why It's the Best: You have to try it yourself to fully understand. When I was searching for something new to do with salmon, and came across this recipe, I was skeptical, but the zesty flavor of the hot sauce, crunchy topping, and buttery flavor do something quite unique to the fish.

How We Know: My family LOVED it! They are really tough critics when it comes to fish dishes -- especially our daughter who would rather go hungry than eat a piece of salmon (our son said he would eat it every day!). I have shared this recipe with a couple of close friends, both who called the next day to say how great this dish was, and not only did they (and their husbands love it), but their children did as well. It's a winner for both -- YEAH!

Craving Level: WEEKLY

Best Conch Chowder Ever!

This summer we vacationed on the island of Turks & Caicos (TCI). Looking through the comments from previous guests (left in the guest journal of the home we rented),we noticed numerous references to Da Conch Shack as one of the highlights of vacationers' time on the island. Being the curious "foodies" that we are, we had to check it out.

What : Queen conch, vegetables, peppers (most likely habanera) in a fish and tomato based stock.

Why it’s the Best – freshness really counts in seafood, and it's no exception with conch. Old conch can take on a rubbery texture and lose its flavor. The conch in this chowder is tender and delicious. The chowder itself had a great balance of flavors and just the right hint of spiciness. It didn’t try to overwhelm the dish which we’ve run into a few times at other island restaurants.

We also sampled conch in about every other way imaginable; fritters, stir fried, even curried, and we weren't impressed. The conch is fresh and best eaten in soup or in fritters...in our opinion.

How we know – because we literally watched our meal go from the ocean to our plate...our soup bowl in this case. Plus, everyone in the guest book said so! Of course, the Rum Bar could of had something to do with it as well.

Interesting side note, conch fishing in the US waters and territories (the Keys, U S Virgins Island, etc.) is banned. Most restaurant conch is farm raised and Turks & Caicos is one of the largest exporters of Queen conch in the carribean. If you get a chance to go to TCI book a charter to go conch diving. Conch also makes a great salad (actually, it tastes more like delicious lime/jalepeno/cilantro salsa).

Craving Level: YEARLY (only because we're being realists, and don't own a private jet to take us there more often!).

Review & Directions: TripAdvisor

Best Cheese Steak Ever!

If you're traveling Rt 68 in Western Maryland this summer, time your trip to hit LaVale, MD around lunch time. You'll want to pit stop into D'Atris Restaurant for the Best Ever Cheese Steak. Having grown up eating this cheese steak I can tell you that it is the "benchmark."

What: Steak, provolone cheese, grilled onions, special salad toping (lettuce, tomatoes, hot and sweet peppers, oil and garlic salt). Available in small (8") or large (12").

Why It's the Best: It depends on the type of cheese steak you prefer. If you are a Philly traditionalist this might not be your "Best Ever." The reason is that what makes this a winner in our book is what the Philadelphians would call "the salad." (Interestingly enough you can also order this as a cheese steak as a salad also outstanding). The special recipe salad mixture of oil, garlic salt, parsley, etc. sets it apart from everything else. If you're looking for the total package this is it, from the fresh baked bread to the "salad" topping nothing else beats it.

How We Know: Jen went to college in the Philly area and dined on many cheese steaks, especially late night. Scott spent 6 months in central Philly for work and spent his free time searching for the Best Ever cheese steak...never found it.

Craving Level: DAILY

Reviews & Map: Insiderpages