Restaurant Review - Green Tea, Bangor Maine

Jody: We went out Saturday to have a nice anniversary dinner after seeing Lincoln (great movie, btw). We stopped by Kobe, also in Bangor, but between the thick, trendy crowd, and the New Jersey prices, we decided to try Green Tea, just down the road. Apparently it was a night for disappointments.

Green Tea tries to be a fusion of old and new. The first thing you notice is the new Tokyo style neon lights illuminating the exterior. This continued into the waiting area with hundreds of tiny neon lights shining on the walls. Once you get to the interior, though, it is all wood beam and shoji screens. The bar, located int he middle of the restaurant had 2 TVs, both with football games playing. What seemed to be an attempt at fusion ended up just confusing. 

 









Steve:    My experience at Green Tea was slanted by my experience in the food-service field.  A good chunk of my life has been spent in food-service in one capacity or another.  I am usually VERY forgiving of a lot of things in a restaurant, but Green Tea unfortunately pushed that forgiveness to the breaking point, and beyond.  As Jody pointed out, the decor was nice, and the place was clean.  The food was even good, when I was actually able to eat it, since the implements we'd requested didn't arrive with the appetizers, even though they had been requested when we ordered initially.  

Jody: There were a lot of empty tables, too many for a Saturday night. That should have been our first warning. We waited 10 minutes for our waitress to arrive and in the mean time, the host that seated us offered us a different table. We should have taken him up on the offer, because our waitress turned out to be a grave disappointment. We ordered a couple drinks, hot sake for me, soda for Steve. We also ordered appetizers dinner and requested chopsticks and water. The sake and soda arrived fairly quickly, as did the appetizers. The chopsticks didn't arrive until the dinner and we had to ask again for the water. I noticed immediately that while I had ordered handrolls, which were showed as a single conical roll on the menu, I was given six-piece sushi rolls. I pointed out to the waitress that I had ordered handrolls and she said to me, "those *are* handrolls". I knew better, but I really didn't want to sit and wait for new rolls to be made, so I resigned myself to eating something I didn't order. I ordered Mochi ice cream for dessert. I have to admit that I had never had mochi before, and was unprepared for it's uncooked doughy consistency.  It was unusual and sat a little heavy. Oddly, it was topped with whipped cream and sprinkles, which, I guess, was a little throw back to the old & new fusion thing. It didn't work for me, though, and I scrapped it off.

My non-handrolls

 Steve:     I really am so very disappointed in this place.  I liked all the food I ordered.  I enjoyed the decor.  Our meals came out in a very timely fashion, and tasted good.  And the prices were very reasonable.  I am so sad that the terrifyingly abysmal service wrecked that.  Not only was our server unable to fill water glasses ON REQUEST, she walked past our table after filling the glasses of the table next to us with the pitcher of water in hand AFTER we had asked for water.  My appetizer sat until my entree arrived, since I had no chopsticks to eat it with.  By the time I got to it, it was lukewarm.  Still tasted good, but that's not the point.  Now, there were forks on the table, but in my mind, my stubborn mind, I had asked for a specific utensil and did not receive it in a timely fashion.  I shouldn't be forced to do something I don't want to, especially if we're paying for the privilege of being there in the first place. 

Mongolian Beef

      Lastly, I am going to point out that our server was both ignorant of the type of food she was serving and also almost non-existent as far as being attentive goes.  As Jody pointed out before, she didn't know the difference between a hand roll and a sushi roll, and was just rude enough to tell Jody that what she has was what she had ordered.  Also, at one point after the appetizers had arrived, I caught our servers' eye from across the room, a sure sign I wanted her to come over, especially since I had a what I suspect was a look on my face like "Um, something's wrong over here".  She walked back into the kitchen and we didn't see her again until the entrees arrived.


Jody: The prices were reasonable for a restaurant with decent service, but paying $1 for a soda refill was another blow to their score.In the end, I'm going to give them a score of 2 stars, mostly because the food was edible. 

Steve:      Like I said, I am very forgiving of a lot of things. But this was just too much.  I'm giving Green Tea 1.5 Stars, and again, that's because I liked the decor and the food was good.  The terrifying service destroyed this place otherwise.

Silliness: Bendy straw

Whipped cream, sprinkles & cherry

Clams Casino by Jody

Since 2005 (with a 2 year break) Thanksgiving dinner for me has been a lobster dinner. One of the sides that I've been making is Clams Casino. This is not the huge bread-crumb laden monstrosities that you see at the grocery store. My Clams Casino are chunky, cheesy, include bacon.

My lobster, Harold, soaking in beer

Harold, ready to eat

Start by cleaning about 25 live little-neck clams. I start by soaking them in brine for about 15 minutes, then scrubbing them under running water to get rid of any grit. If any clams are open, give them a tap to see if they will close. If it doesn't close, it's probably already dead. Toss these out because you don't know how long they've been dead. Steam the live ones over a couple cups of water until they all open. Let them cool for a bit, then remove the meat from the shells, cleaning off the 'skin' from the neck. Rinse & save the shells.

1 red bell pepper, finely diced
3 shallots, diced
2 garlic cloves, minced
Oregano (fresh, if possible)
1/3 cup white wine
5 slices bacon, finely chopped
Salt & Pepper, to taste
Parmesan, or other hard cheese

Cook bacon until crisp, chop and set aside
Saute bell pepper, shallots, garlic & oregano until shallots are translucent. Add wine & reduce.
Remove from heat. Stir in bacon and half the cheese. I used fontina in the mix and parmesan on the top.
Salt & pepper to taste.
Spoon mixture into saved shells, top with cheese.
Broil until cheese is melted and golden brown. 

Faux Pho` by Steve

Faux Pho`

     Having watched more than my share of food television, and being a huge fan of Anthony Bourdain, it goes without saying I've seen a lot of his overseas travels.  One of the dishes he keeps going back to time and time again is Pho`, a Vietnamese soup-like thing.  On the surface, it seems pretty straightforward, but not ever having had real Pho` myself, I can't be sure of the flavor profiles.  So I make what Jody called "Faux Pho`".  I especially like to make this when I'm sick, as it is that sort of comfort food that many like to lean on when they feel like crap.  The soup itself is pretty simple, but it's the add-ons you do to it after you serve it up that makes it special.  I like mine with a ton of hot chili sauce to give it a real spicy kick.

Faux Pho`

2 quarts chicken stock

1lb. ground pork

1 bunch scallions

1 medium/small piece ginger root

1 head garlic

2-3 big handfuls spinach, chopped roughly

salt

pepper

garlic powder

onion powder

Chinese 5 spice powder

Auntie Arwyn's Shy Panda Stir Fry spice mix

1 package Soba buckwheat noodles

     Start the chicken stock on medium low to bring it to temperature.  Brown the ground pork, seasoning to taste with all seasonings listed.  Once browned, add the pork to the stock and leave that to simmer slowly.  Finely chop the scallions and garlic and add those to the stock.  Peel and grate the ginger root into the soup. Add the spinach, stirring occasionally.  Check for seasoning, adjusting as needed.  I needed to put more salt in than I expected, so plan for that.  In a separate pot, prepare the Soba noodles according to instructions on their package.  To serve put noodles into your bowl then ladle the soup over them.  At this point, the gloves come off to an extent.  Jody likes lime and sweet chili sauce in her Pho`, I prefer hot chili sauce, and a lot of it.  Enjoy!

Moxie - by Jody

Monday, 11/20/12 5:30pm
Sunday I was 'gifted' with a can of the quintessentially Maine beverage, Moxie. I've heard a lot about it during the 2 years I've lived here, but so far I've never tried it. Luck? Maybe, but I won't know until I try it. Later, after dinner

Wednesday 11/22/12 12:30pm
I wrote the above on Monday, sure that I was going to break open the can and try it. I decided to have a couple glasses of wine instead. In the end, my courage failed me, and I didn't try it. Tuesday was the same. It's now Wednesday afternoon and I am planning on tasting it tonight. Really, I am. 

Wednesday 11/22/12 8:11pm
I've poured out 3 glasses of Moxie mixed with various alcohols. Gin, Tequila and Saki. And of course, I'll taste it plain.

Initial thoughts: Smells a bit like Barq's rootbeer. Tastes like rootbeer with leather and bark notes. Does not have the medicinal taste that people talked about. It's like rootbeer but without the specific tastes that I like.

Now just for fun: Saki - good, gives it an interesting flavor that I can't quite express, but as with other mixes, the Saki doesn't overpower the Moxie. Tequila - Also good, but the tequila overpowers any taste of Moxie. Not that that's a bad thing for some people. Gin - Tastes terrible, but gin is a difficult alcohol to pair. Overall, if I had to mix it with something I think I would like the Moxie & Tequila in the summer and the Moxie & Saki in the fall. However, I have to admit that I didn't finish any of the drinks.

Final thoughts: This isn't something that I would seek out, but I can see how it would become an acquired taste. It's a dark taste that isn't exactly refreshing. The best I can say is: Moxie - it doesn't taste like ass.

Bacon Review, Luce's Meats - by Steve

     One of the products we picked up at the Maine Harvest Festival last weekend was a pound of bacon from Luce's Meats.  They market their bacon under the name Maine Farms Brand.  The bacon was (and it is a was, as we decimated the pound this morning for breakfast) a medium cut, and was quite meaty, with not a ton of fat content.  I like bacon like this, as you get more chew and meat flavor from it.  That's not to say that I don't like a nice fatty bacon, I love that too.  The bacon was hickory smoked, but not overpowered by it.  You could definitely detect the smoke flavor, though.

     Overall, this was an amazing bacon.  I would highly recommend finding this stuff.  And we'll help you do just that.  As I said, the bacon is done by Luce's Meats, 366 Embden Pond Rd., North Anson, ME 04958.
You can also find their products at www.mainefarmsbrand.com.  Check these guys out, their products are great.  Well worth the $$.  While it was a bit pricy at $8.00 a pound, I really feel it was worth it.  Not for an every day bacon, but for a special occasion, drop the extra money and find this stuff.

Rotisserie Pork Roast with Oven Roasted Vegetables - Steve

      One of the happy side effects of this blog is that it is encouraging us to cook more frequently, and that is never a bad thing. That being said, here is the latest entry.

 

Rotisserie Pork Roast with Oven Roasted Vegetables

1 pork roast, 3-4 lb.

2 large potatoes, russets work fine, you can use sweet if you like

2 medium yellow onions

1 small bag baby carrots

2 medium bell peppers

3 heads garlic, broken into individual cloves

Salt to taste

Pepper to taste

Dry mustard

White pepper

Granulated garlic

Granulated onion

Dried thyme

Dried rosemary

 

Preheat your rotisserie to 350 degrees. Mount the pork roast on the spit then season liberally with salt, pepper, white pepper, dry mustard, granulated garlic and onion. I did not use the thyme and rosemary on the roast since the vegetables are heavily herbed, and didn’t want to overpower the whole meal with the herbs. Start your roast in the rotisserie, set for about 45 minutes initially.

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl, combine the vegetables. Quarter the onions, cut the peppers and potatoes into eighths, peel the cloves of garlic, and dump the whole bag of carrots. Liberally dose with olive oil, then season with the rosemary, thyme, salt, pepper, white pepper and dry mustard. Toss the vegetables to combine and thoroughly coat with the seasonings. Dump everything onto a sheet pan and put into the oven, again, set for 45 minutes initially.

Check the roast at the 45 minute mark. An internal temp of 140 is fine, it’s going to finish at least 5 more degrees after you take it out. If it is not here, set for another 20 minutes and check again. Once you’ve reached the desired temp, pull your roast, cover with foil and let it rest. Make sure to save the excess juices that do run off the roast, as that is liquid gold. As with your roast, check your vegetables at the 45 minute mark. You’re really checking the carrots to see if they’ve softened enough. If they are good to go, bump your temp up to broil and set for 4 more minutes to brown the potatoes. This will also brown the onions a bit, and that makes them that much more tasty. Once they are done under the broiler, pull them out. By now your roast should have rested long enough, and you can carve and serve.

Maine Harvest Festival

We went to the Maine Harvest Festival last Saturday. There were over a hundred vendors, many with samples and except for the alcohol producers almost all of them were selling their wares.

The view from above

Along the way we stopped at a lot of places to sample and buy. Since I had gone to this festival last year there were some people I looked for. Sadly, one of my favorites, Fuzzy Udder Creamery did not display.

Mmmm, meaty goodness

We bought bacon and chourizo from Luce's Meats. They had skillets full of Italian sausage, maple breakfast sausage and chourizo so we could sample before we bought. We haven't broken into the bacon yet, but I think we'll have that for Sunday breakfast soon.

 

Stone Fox Creamery is a popular ice cream maker in Maine. The kid got Salted Caramel. I think she's an aspiring foodie too.       

Spaghetti Squash

St. Joseph's Hospital had a cooking demo. The chef taught me a couple things about roasting Spaghetti Squash that will improve my next attempt.

Caramels made with fatback. Criminally good.

Made by Bagaduce Farm, this is an idea I'm dying to try with bacon fat. I'll let you know in a future post how that comes out.

 Balfour Farm makes some really good cheese. I bought the Cotswald.

Following are some of the other vendors we bought from:

Steve's "Whatever is in the Cheese Drawer" Mac & Cheese

For those of you who know us, you then know we like cheese. Those of you who DON’T know us, well…..we like cheese. A lot. I mean, a LOT. I tend to be a fan of harder cheeses, and Jody loves nothing more than a nice runny Brie. The side effect of this is that we often end up with a cheese drawer in the fridge that ends up overflowing with our bounty of cheeses. So, instead of letting them go bad, since there is only so much cheese you can eat in a day, I will, on occasion, make a batch of mac and cheese from whatever is in there. Tonight was one of those nights.

Something else about me personally and my style of cooking. I almost never, EVER measure anything. I have always been a “Throw it in and see what it does” kind of cook, and I have been lucky that I don’t often screw anything up too too badly. (except with the possible exception of chili, which Jody swears was inedible) To that end, you will see that I’m not often offering true measurements, instead giving “about”s and “maybe this much”s. This mac and cheese recipe is one of those.

STEVE’S “WHATEVER IS IN THE CHEESE DRAWER” MAC AND CHEESE

2/3 quart milk

12-16 cups (I know, cups) shredded cheese, preferably 4 or 5 kinds

1lb. pasta of your choice (I used whole wheat rotini, I like the way it hold the sauce)

Salt, pepper, onion and garlic powder, and dry mustard to taste

2 big handfuls spinach, chopped fine

 In a medium saucepan, bring the milk up to temperature *SLOWLY*, and by temperature I mean somewhere between medium low and medium, and by slowly I mean SLOWLY, otherwise you risk scorching the milk, and that will end badly. 

 While the milk is coming up to temp, shred all your cheeses together ( I know it sounds like a lot, but remember that there is a LOT of air mixed in with that shredded cheese, so while it sounds like a ton, it really isn’t). Once you have your milk up to temp, incorporate the cheese, a handful at a time, whisking to allow the cheese to melt uniformly into the sauce. Add your seasonings at any time during this process, but preferably near the end, so the different flavors of cheese don’t throw off your seasoning levels. Once your cheese sauce is together, leave it on low and bring a half pot of water to a boil, add your pasta, cook to desired doneness,

drain, add your sauce and spinach, stir to mix well, and eat happily.

Restaurant Review - Oriental Jade by Jody & Steve

Jody - 

We went to the Oriental Jade in Bangor for dinner Saturday night. The main reason for going to this place was that the kid likes it, it's inexpensive and has something for everyone in our little family. Steve and the kid had the buffet, so he'll review that part. I had the Vietnamese Summer Roll (also known as Fresh Thai rolls) and the Pad Thai entree.

 The Summer Rolls (2 of them for 4.95) were ok. The filling was cucumber, carrot, iceberg lettuce and basil. They came with 2 sauces: citrusy/spicy and sweet chili. Neither sauce really did anything to make the rolls anything but a tiny salad wrapped in rice paper.

The Pad Thai was also just ok. The flavors were muddy, washed out, and overall it was lacking anything special about it.

For my part I can't give the Oriental Jade any more then 2.5 stars, and the half star was for the good service we received. 

Steve -

So, one of the things we decided to do with this was not only talk about the food we’re making, but also the food we’re eating. You will occasionally see a restaurant review here as well. That being said, we chose a popular Bangor landmark, the Oriental Jade as our first landing spot.

The Jade has been in business for well over 20 years in a couple different locations, all around the Bangor Mall. Over time their claim to fame has become their All You Can Eat buffet. I am going to be very, very blunt and honest here, and say that the Jade’s buffet is…mediocre, at best. While you will most definitely get your money’s worth, (Lunch starts under 10 dollars, and Dinner under 14) you will, however, have to plow through the standard fare of Americanized Chinese food.

The service has always been attentive and polite, so that is a high point. The restaurant, at least what I can see of it, has always been clean and well presented. All this does not, however, make the buffet any better. One upside to the Buffet is that they offer a wide variety of dishes, ranging from chicken wings to vegetarian dishes. The variety and cleanliness are what get this place an extra half star, but no more than that. Go if you don’t mind adequate food, especially if you’re on a budget.

Stars: 2 1/2

The Etiquette of Sampling - by Jody

Today Steve and I went to the Maine Harvest Festival in Bangor. We'll talk about that in a different post, but this post is a small rant.

So many times I've been a places that offer samples of food. Grocery stores, festivals, farmers markets, and many other places. Today at the MHF several times I stood watching someone block off the sampling area, causing a line of disgruntled people, and stopping the sales that might have been made had they taken their sample and moved on. People! Cut out that crap! Take your sample, and move to the next item. If you want to buy something, move off to the side away from the samples and make your purchase. I have to admit that I was rude in return. In both instances I went around them and used my body to cut them off from the samples because they refused to hear my polite 'excuse me's. Standing in front of the samples and engaging in conversation with the vendor prevents the free flow of commerce and pisses off everyone around you. Don't be surprised if people respond in kind.

Inspired by greatness - by Steve

So, where to begin. I suppose a little background would be a good plan. I am third generation food service. My grandfather ran the local pool hall, and my grandmother ran the kitchen that served it. My mother has been in food service all over the state of Maine, and I am proud to say that I’ve followed in her footsteps, at least to an extent. I love cooking, and I love even more taking something simple and basic and seeing how far I can push its boundaries. That being said, here we go.

This is my first entry on Two Aspiring Foodies. No reason to get all kinds of crazy with it. I was reading a good friends’ blog the other day, and he posts weekly a recipe he has recently made. I owe this first post to my friend, the Aspiring Luddite.

He posted a recipe for Boxtie, a basic, straightforward Irish potato pancake. Now, before I continue, I’m going to be honest and admit that I like very much to take basic recipes and screw with them mercilessly. Often it works out, at times it blows up in my face dramatically. Had I not seen Aspiring Luddite’s post, I wouldn’t have made this homage to his Boxtie tonight.

Between Jody and myself, we discussed the Boxtie and what I could do to it. I immediately thought scallions and bacon. (Over time you’ll see how my brain works in this direction repeatedly.) She suggested onion and, though they are similar, onion and scallion are different profiles, so that went in. In doing my shopping for the ingredients I didn’t have in the house I saw chives as well, so those came along for the ride. Her last suggestion was the best, though. Adding spinach to the mix was what put these Boxties over the top. At the last minute, I decided to fry the Boxties in the leftover bacon grease instead of butter, and I can say everyone was happy with the result.

Boxties, Part Deux

4 large white potatoes, peeled

½ pound bacon, chopped

½ medium onion, diced

6 scallions, chopped

1 bunch chives, chopped

2 handfuls of leaf spinach, sliced fine

1 cup + 1 tbsp of heavy cream

1 cup flour

2 tbsp black pepper

2tbsp garlic powder

2 tbsp salt

1tbsp onion powder

2 tbsp butter (unsalted)

Render bacon over medium heat until crispy, set aside. Take pan off heat and set aside, leaving grease in pan. Cube two potatoes and boil until soft, mash with butter and about a fifth of the cream. Season lightly with salt, pepper, onion and garlic powder, set aside. Shred remaining two potatoes, combine with mashed, scallions, bacon, onion, chives and spinach. Add flour, remaining seasonings, and the remaining cream, stirring thoroughly until a thick batter is the result. Return pan and grease to medium high heat, spooning batter into pan in desired size. Flatten pancakes to a uniform thin state, brown on both sides. 

 

Green Tea Cookies - by Jody

As I promised, I'm bringing you my mistakes as well as success. Tonight I attempted Green Tea Cookies. I used to live in Woodbridge New Jersey and would shop at the, now closed, Hong Kong Supermarket. I used to buy a shortbread-like green tea cookie, but I can no longer remember the brand. So since I no longer live in NJ, I decided to try making my own.

I started with a shortbread recipe from a friend and I added 2 teaspoons of Matcha powder. They were a lovely green color in dough form.

However, when I cooked them the green faded, and they ended up being a nice golden brown.

They are delicious, tasting just like shortbread should, but there really isn't any discernible green tea taste. Next time I try it I'll use about a tablespoon and a half of Matcha powder.

An Introduction

We are Jody & Steve, 2 Aspiring Foodies. We're the type of people who love cooking shows, trying new restaurants,  harvest festivals, farm stands, making new things, and recreating old things. We both cook, sometimes together, sometimes separately. For us food is one part art, one part adventure and one part comfort.  We'll take you on our adventures and show you our learning process. We'll also show you our mistakes since that is part of our education.

 Your polite input is welcome. Let us know if there is something you would like us to try.