New Direction

So I left the blog for awhile. Part out of laziness , part to try to cut back on going out so much.  So instead of only reviews the blog is going to add some of my homemade adventures. I guess I have evolved into a foodie sort. I previous thought of the word foodie as a negative connotation, but since my wife and friends keep telling I'm a foodie I guess I am.  I look forward to sharing with the sparse reads, my creations and highlight of local Chico fare.

Sean

Bad Blue Moon Risin...

OK, I'm not an Uberblogger. I think I need to probably write more then once a year. Anyway today I was moved to write about a new food experience. In an effort to be kind I will not mention the establishment , but I think you'll figure it out.

A few months ago a friend mentioned that a new " gourmet" donut shop opened up in town. Being a dedicated Food network junkie I had some high hopes. What might they entertain me with....Bacon, Chipolte , honey, maple crumble? Kinda. Not that we eat donuts much in our house, but on lazy day off I go out and grab a few belly bombs for the the family.

Today was the day to give it a shot. I dropped the kiddo off at school , let my wife sleep in , grabbed a starbucks and off the the Donut shop...Well at a glance the shop looked pretty standard, nothing to crazy, the baked sweet smell of treats, a few patrons huddle around a table, a couple of college kids grabbing some "breakfast".

The racks were filled with what looked the icing covers donuts on steroids. Were they Cup Cakes or Donuts? I swear they must have been an inch or more on top of these behemoths. Unfortunately, while there we probably about 15 different choices they we basically all the same note. Cutesy little names, " fatboy" "blue moon" but a lot of cream filled choices. Where were the standards like the crumb, or fritter. Oh that's right gourmet , so these must knock your socks off with flavor. So I grabbed a old fashion for the wife and The Blue Moon ( a blueberry cream filled). I should mention they did have a bacon maple bar, but it looked well, like a maple bar with a strip of bacon on top. Maybe my problem , but I think I expected something different.

We got them home and man oh man, what a disappointment. The icing tasted super sweet like a cupcake, maybe something right off the Betty Crocker shelf. Way too much too, and the filling was to be nice.. not good...I wanted this awesome homemade taste , chunks of fresh blueberry, something like that.. And for the cake....Anybody got a glass of water? Man that was dry and bland. Do you get were I'm going with this? Could it be I'm in a sugar fueled rage due to all the icing? Could be, but for now I'll stick with the 50cent donuts at Safeway or The Donut Nook. Off for a 30 mile jog to burn that belly bomb off..

Cheers

Come on and Teas me, Teas me like you do......

It was too easy to pass up the Who in blog about Tea Bar. So my wife invited me to date night, she had been talking about Tea Bar for a few weeks, so I thought it was time we check it out. First off it has a great coffee house meets sushi bar vibe. The night we went they had a guitar duo with some mellow tunes. Dave Brubeck's Autumn Leaves on smooth electric guitar... I was stoked I actually remembered something from my J.C. Jazz appreciation class ( Thanks Art Davis).

Now normally , I'm not one for the tea scene. My mom is from Ireland, we grew up with Black tea with cream and sugar. No Orange Peko, or Green tea... But lately, I'm coming around to iced teas. ( speaking of teas ever had the Sweet Cottage Jasmine /Mint..thats for another post). We ordered a couple of black iced teas. Very nice and refreshing with a little lemon and sugar. For the meal, we both went with the rice bowls. They have the 1-2-3 ordering system, 1- your meat of choice- 2- rice- 3- dressing.

I ordered the roasted lamb, with Wasabi- ginger dressing . I find Asian and Mediterranean restaurants usually season lamb well enough that you don't get that gamey lamb taste. Growing up my mom would make leg of Lamb, not always my favorite, so going with the lamb is a step to open up my palette a bit. Unfortunately this missed the mark. It looked pretty , smelled good , but the lamb was as dry as the Sahara. No amount of dressing could save this. The rice was great Lundburg brown rice, the veggies crisp and fresh, but the star was missing. I was even a bit disappointed by the dressing. If you call it Wasabi you have to bring the heat. This was mild and frankly bland.

Now maybe the saving grace..My wife's meal. Yes she shared with me ( probable to shut me up from complaining about the lamb). She too ordered a rice bowl , but choose the Sweet chili Chicken and Miso dressing. The chicken was moistand tangy with a little heat, the dressing savory with that salty soy taste. Well done.

If it weren't for my wife I might I written Tea Bar off. I'll likely try them again, but not the Lamb.

Overall

People in Bamboo Houses....

Tonight was Mother's Day Dinner. If not looking for Pizza, my wife will pick an Asian restaurant of some sort. We ate with the Kids tonight at House of Bamboo. We had been there once before. Overall a really nice place. Its a bit hidden from the main drag of downtown ( Unless your lookin for a real fine pair a boots at the Diamond W). Frankly it appears always slow, but word of mouth seem to keep the place going.


I had the Orange Sesame Chicken, my wife the Curry Chicken and Vegetable soup. The chicken was good maybe a little on the sweet side, but far better than something you get on a two item combo plate. I tend toward spicier dishes so I was missing the heat on this one. Nothing a little Sriracha couldn't fix. The service really nice , very pleasant waiters. I think what makes the House better then most Chinese style restaurants is the menu. Its more of a pan Asia/Thai feel , so you have something for allot of differing tastes.
I guess since this is the first review I should come up with some sort of ranking system. How about an very opinionated scale of 1-5 Forks

So House of Bamboo gets

Creative outlet

So this is it. Much debated , I decided to start a blog. A warning: Please forgive my typing skills and grammar, I tend to type first ask questions later. And by type I mean 18 years of refined hunt and peck.
I decided to start a food blog, not because I know a stitch about food , but because it has become a hobby of mine the past few years. I think I can trace it back to a humid afternoon on the couch with some friends ( you know who you are) in Texas. Yep , the food network. Probably because my job is not a terribly creative outlet , and flipping house is so 2004 , I find myself dreaming up things to make for the wife and kids. Its fun , we like it , and if I screw it up Woodstock's is a phone call away.
Now to the blog. Chico is a relatively small town by California standards, but full of energy and ideas. Since out growing the bar scene, the restaurants are the attraction for a family man like myself. We have all manner of places to eat. From the ubiquitous Taco trucks, burger joints to somewhat shishi ( is that a word) upscale bistros. That being said, I want to chronicle visit to all. Commenting of the food of course , but also the overall experience. A friend recently said life was too short spend time watching a bad movie, listening to a bad band , and reading a bad book. I would take that a step further, its also too short to eat bad food and spend your time and money is an establishment that doesn't value you as a customer. Don't look for me to comment on the use of truffle oil, or the foie gras. It just need to be good, made with some care. Anyway that's it. Feel free to chime in if your agree or if you think I'm dead wrong.