Features – Page 3 – Fervent Foodie

Features, Food Articles, Ramblings, Urbanspoon

Tastefully handling distaste

August 14, 2012 No Comments

Fervent Foodie is a contributing writer for the official Urbanspoon blog.

I’m three bites into my shrimp fajitas at a new (to me) Mexican restaurant, when the waitress appears at the table inquiring how the meal tastes. I pause, wiping my mouth as a stall mechanism, while I frantically try to piece together words and form a polite response. A simple “it’s good” is all I can muster. She smiles and walks away. I frown. The shrimp’s fishy odor, which arrived at the table well before the plate, lingers over me like a putrid fog. The menu touted fajitas with onions and peppers, but…

(continue reading on the Urbanspoon blog)

Features, Ramblings

Crazy big news!

August 3, 2012 12 Comments

A month or so ago, I was piddling away evening hours on Facebook when something caught my eye in a big way—Urbanspoon, the leading online local restaurant guide (and a resource I use religiously), was seeking bloggers for the official Urbanspoon blog. What! A crazy excitement washed over me, and with blazing eyes and a butterfly filled belly I began furiously typing an application letter. I introduced myself and my blog and my deep passion for carbohydrates. I wrote about my love of Urbanspoon and how I am both a long-time user and contributor on the site. I flaunted my Urbanspoon Prime status, and even though I couldn’t visually emphasize that elite status with sprightly jazz fingers, the page was sparkly enough to imply them.

That was the easy part.

Then the hysteria began to diminish and the self-doubt speak started flowing. Was anyone even going to look at this thing? There had to be thousands of applicants… What am I doing? My shoulders hunched, but I trudged onward and began to plead. If selected, I promised not only homemade chocolate chip cookies but also a 5-course Italian dinner, complete with my famous tomato basil bruschetta and Amazeball’s meatballs (of course, famous here is used in relative terms). I sat and stared at the blinking cursor on the screen. It didn’t seem like enough–it wasn’t enough. I had no choice but to level with them, so I wrote “If given the opportunity to be a blogger for Urbanspoon, I’d probably poop my pants (in a good way, if that’s possible).”

Then I emailed it off, poop reference and all.

Features, Restaurants

Ten Courses at Bistro La Bon–Charlotte, NC {Restaurant Review}

July 10, 2012 5 Comments

The chef approached our table. Instinctively, I sat up straighter, excited, as if I’d been approached by a celebrity (and in my eyes I had). He smiled. I smiled.

“I’m Chef Majid Amoorpour.”

My grin widened as I recalled thinking this restaurant, his restaurant, Bistro La Bon specialized in French food. Not quite (thankfully), despite what the name suggests. I looked up at the chef, still starstruck, as he asked if we had any allergies. We did not. Then he asked if there was anything we generally did not enjoy eating. Immediately, the words “RAW MEAT” scrawled through my thoughts in giant blood red letters, but as I began to relay this tidbit to the chef, I hesitated. Something about him–his warm demeanor, or the way he stood so serenely with his hands gently clasped in front on him, or maybe it was just his easy smile–made me trust him. I wanted to eat anything he cooked. I wanted to go wherever he wanted to take me. I wanted to put the world in his hands.

So, I asked him to surprise us.

The chef nodded then headed back to the kitchen, and I settled into my chair. Jarrod raised his eyebrows and grinned. This would be more than a meal–this ten-course tasting would be the ultimate dining experience.

One by one, the dishes emerged from the kitchen, and we listened intently as our server, Matt, described each in enticing detail.

Course one: salmon tartare with lemon zest, sesame cracker, and fresh dill. My heart sank as soon as I laid eyes on the dish. Though I’d never tried it, I was fully aware “tartare” meant R-A-W. It’s an adjective I’ve purposely avoided on every menu I’ve been presented, with zero pause for consideration. But here, the start of ten courses at Bistro La Bon, I felt venturesome. Jarrod and I lifted the crackers gingerly to our mouths then slammed them down in single swift swallows.

It took me a minute to sift through my thoughts, quit focusing on the word “RAW!”, and think about the taste. Honestly, it wasn’t bad. Surprisingly light and bright, actually, with a lovely lemon flavor. I can’t say I’d ever order tartare on my own, but wasn’t that the point of this tasting? To try new and interesting things? To go wherever the chef wanted to take us?

Course two: fresh buffalo mozzarella with local heirloom tomatoes, sea salt, and cracked black pepper with a balsamic reduction.

This beautiful dish was one of my favorites of the night. I’m a sucker for caprese. Actually, I’m a sucker for cheese, period, and this mozzarella was soft and supple like a freshly poached egg.

Features, Food Memories, My Favs, Recipes

Easy Black Bean Burritos {recipe}

May 3, 2012 5 Comments

A funny thing happened the other day.

I went to a sausage making class and emerged three hours later a fleeting vegetarian.

Bring on the beans and cheese.

Of course, I expected a slightly different outcome when I signed up for the class. Visions of grinding my own meat and hand-stuffing thick chicken, turkey, and pork sausages filled my thoughts while mounds of frozen links filled my fantasized freezer. I was one excited sausageer – that is until I spent 3 hours huddled around fifty pounds of raw pork. There was just so much meat and so many people and so much talk about the step-by-step process involved in getting the poor free range piggies from the farm to that fork you’re holding in your hand there. And the smell…. oh dear god the smell.

I didn’t know it was possible to get the meat sweats without actually consuming meat.

Features, Fitness, My Favs

9 things I learned while training for a half marathon

April 30, 2012 21 Comments

When I first started having knee problems about two years ago, I went to see an orthopedic doctor. After a lengthy round of Q&A and a few X-rays, the doctor simply concluded that “some knees just aren’t made for running.” Really, doctor? Apparently the x-rays didn’t show the stubbornness that fills my bones like a tough impervious marrow. From that day forward, I’ve wanted nothing more than to run farther, longer, and faster than I had the day before. I love running, and I wanted, no, I NEEDED to prove that doctor wrong.

In December, I signed up for the Charlotte Racefest (my first ever half marathon), but after four long months of training ending with yet ANOTHER knee injury, I wasn’t sure I’d be able to run it. This time around, I hurt my knee doing lunges in a bootcamp class at the Y. When will I learn? I took it easy the entire month before the big race, but when race day arrived I still wasn’t confident I’d be able to run 13.1 miles. At that point, I only had two 10-mile runs under my belt.

Since I’d already forked out the cash for the half marathon, I decided to at least attempt to run it. During the race, I tried not to think too much about my knees, but as the miles ticked by I couldn’t help but feel dumbfounded that I was still running. Most of the race was shrouded in a euphoric haze, but as I neared the finish line I started to feel nauseus. My pace slowed, and I began to feel dizzy. With every step, the looming finish line appeared to be one step further away. At that moment, the BF jumped out from the sidelines smiling and hooting and clapping his hands like a crazy man. I was so close. I put my head down, dug my heels in, and pumped my arms. Seconds later I crossed the finish line clocking in at 1:56:58–literally seconds below my original 9-minute mile goal!

As I hobbled to the sideline, I could do nothing but let out an exasperated “BOO YA.” Some knees just aren’t made for running, my ass.

Here are the top 9 things I learned while training for my first half marathon:

#1 Buy good shoes. This one is #1 for a reason, and I can’t stress it enough. The first time I hurt my knee, it was completely and solely due to the fact that I was wearing a cheap pair of old cross trainers. I urge you to go to a real running store and hop on the treadmill. Have the sales associate watch your running patterns and check to see if you under or over pronate your ankles. Is your stride too long? Are you heel striking? (I was!) Don’t buy shoes based solely on the sweet color or the cool gel thingy in the heel. It’s hard, I know. I LOVE my Asics Gel Nimbus 13’s, and plan to get a new pair this month!

#2 Create a plan (brownie points if you use Excel). When you’re training for a long distance race, especially if it’s your first one, you can’t just approach it all willy nilly. Are you serious about completing the race? Yes? Well then sit your butt down, do some research, and create your plan of attack. Make sure to factor in short runs, long runs, and those extremely important recovery days. Check out my half marathon training plan here.

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