Tag: Peppers | Winston Wanders

Emeril Lagasse Still Has A Few New Exciting Tricks Up His Sleeve

Post author:Winston
Post published:03.31.2016
Post category:Reviews
Post comments:0 Comments

What:

NOLA
@NOLARestaurant
One of three Emeril-owned restaurants in his hometown of New Orleans. The menu is full of Cajun classics, with plenty of unique twists to keep things interesting.

Who:

A first name is all he needs: Emeril. The dude is a legend and one of the major pioneers in food television. He has somehow managed to stay both very relevant and lovable over all of these many drastically different years.

Where:

French Quarter
534 St. Louis St. New Orleans, LA 70130
[wpgmza id=”288″]

When:

Perfect for a cautious New Orleans first-timer’s first foray into Cajun cuisine. The menu is quite accessible, but everything is still executed really really well. There’s also plenty an experienced New Orleans eater can find to love at NOLA too. (more…)

Mike Winston’s Best Meals of 2015

Post author:Winston
Post published:02.03.2016
Post category:Guides
Post comments:0 Comments

Yes, I know this year-end list is beyond belated. Actually, I’m probably over a month late. Normally, I’m not one to make these kinds of excuses, but my life has been pretty hectic lately.

As you may or may not know, I’m getting married in a couple of months, so my time has recently come at an extreme premium and I haven’t been able to commit as much attention as I’d like to this little ~~publication~~ obsession. With that being said, over the next couple of months, I’ll be playing around with post style and formatting a bit in an attempt to find new ways to rapidly pump out awesome food articles with fewer publishing limitations on my end. Please feel free to give me feedback on the new content — I’m planning to review this little experiment in a few months and we can take it from there.

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Experimental Meat-tastic Creations at Chris Cosentino’s Cockscomb

Post author:Winston
Post published:01.12.2016
Post category:Reviews
Post comments:2 Comments

Break out the confetti and champagne!! It’s a perfect ten! Chef Chris Cosentino knows exactly how to work his way into that soft spot in my heart. All it took was a few of his crazy, funky, zany, inventive, and downright delicious over-the-top meat-filled culinary creations. Yes, that’s right — I’m giving this place my first and only flawless 10/10 review, so buckle up for a long one as I explain why I’m so obsessed.

You may know of Chris from his many stints on food TV, but I’ve found myself uncontrollably drawn to him because he cooks only the kind of food that he wants to eat. With his cooking, there’s no remorse for pushing people’s palettes to the edge of fear. Fear? Yeah, most of his food utilizes all of the delicious miscellaneous organs and obscure cuts of meat that many other chefs won’t even dare to work with that most people don’t ordinarily choose to consume — frequently involving complete nose-to-tail dishes. Fortunately for me, I share his love for well-prepared organ meats.

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The Best Pizza in Dallas: A 900° Wood-Fire Oven and a Secret Menu

Post author:Winston
Post published:09.01.2015
Post category:Reviews
Post comments:0 Comments

If I were to tell you about a trendy, hipstery pizza place in Texas serving authentic and innovative Neapolitan-style pies, what city do you think it would be in? I bet your first guess would be Austin, but I’m here to show you that this kind of awesomeness can also be found in the extremely underrated Dallas dining scene if you know where to look. The place I’m specifically talking about is located in the Deep Ellum neighborhood, which is basically the Williamsburg of Dallas. It has a thriving live music scene, loads of dive bars, and plenty of interesting casual dining options to explore.

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This Incredible Chinese-Creole Cross-Over is Unlike Anything You’ve Ever Had Before

Post author:Winston
Post published:08.27.2015
Post category:Reviews
Post comments:1 Comment

I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but I also don’t know how you could have possibly missed it. Over the summer of 2015, fried chicken was quite the hot trend, completely dominating all mainstream food media outlets with hyped up content. With big name heavy-hitters like David Chang opening his much-hyped Fuku and Danny Meyers launching a fried chicken sandwich at his much-loved burger shop Shake Shack, seemingly everyone was scrambling to get into the fried chicken game. Every place was busy concocting their own signature breading type, fry-style, and of course secret spice blend.

But, there’s one fried chicken variant that I had this year that was invented long before all of this summer’s madness and I still can’t seem to get it out of my head. This insane fried chicken creation has literally crept into my dreams on more than one occasion like Freddy Krueger, taunting and torturing me to return from within. Unfortunately, this unconscious itch can only be scratched in one place — and this unusually creative shop called Red’s Chinese is located in a way-off-the-beaten path New Orleans neighborhood called Bywater. If you’re in NOLA without a car, Red’s Chinese is not the easiest to access, but if you’ve got one, it’s an absolute cannot-miss. Actually, you better book your flights to NOLA now, you’re gonna want to experience this one for yourself.

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A Wild, Wacky, Happy-Go-Lucky Hot Doggery in NOLA

Post author:Winston
Post published:08.14.2015
Post category:Reviews
Post comments:1 Comment

This is probably the most bizarrely happy-go-lucky place anywhere on the entire planet. On this day, torrential rain was falling from the sky, the shop’s WiFi was out so the normal music source was unusable, and many of the ingredients had not and were not going to be delivered. But, that couldn’t hold the Dat Dog staff down – it’s not in their nature. In fact, from the moment I laid my eyes upon that gigantic, two-story, neon, multicolored building on New Orleans’ Magazine Street, I knew there was something special about the place. I think passing through those Heinz mustard-colored doors functioned as a sort of portal to a comically super-happy alternate dimension.

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10 Tips On How To Actually Enjoy The Gilroy Garlic Festival

Post author:Winston
Post published:07.29.2015
Post category:Special Events
Post comments:0 Comments

From the first moment many years ago when I heard about the Gilroy Garlic Festival – a festival designed to celebrate garlic in all of its many uses – I knew I had to go at least once in my life. I am a garlic-lover after all, even though you may recall that my recent visit to a world famous garlic-centric restaurant in San Francisco ended with disastrous results. But, I figured if any place could redeem the concept of garlic worship, the annual Gilroy Garlic Festival would be it. My move this year to San Francisco put me in close enough proximity to this Winston Wanders bucket list destination and provided the perfect opportunity to make my much-awaited garlicky pilgrimage to the Garlic Capital of the World.

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Unusual, Extremely Spicy Dishes Drew Me to House of Thai in the Tenderloin

Post author:Winston
Post published:05.18.2015
Post category:Reviews
Post comments:1 Comment

God, I hate walking through this part of town. How the hell did I even end up in the Tenderloin? Well, it was a Saturday afternoon and I knew I was in the mood for some raw seafood. I considered getting sushi and thought about stopping into Swan Oyster Depot, but the line was already way too long. But still, I had another idea that was close by and had a raw seafood dish I had been meaning to try since I first landed in SF.

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Unique Pizza: Beautiful Thin-Crust Bar Pies at Colony Grill in Stamford, CT

Post author:Winston
Post published:11.05.2014
Post category:Reviews
Post comments:0 Comments

I had no idea how much of a dump Stamford, CT was until I visited. I had these visions of nature and colorful foliage, but that’s not what I found in that horrible mini-metropolis. In need of a really good post-wedding hangover meal in the area, we ventured from the Fairfield and Norwalk area over into the heart of Stamford and headed to a place called Colony Grill to see what Connecticut-style pizza was all about.

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Simple, Satisfying Date Night Fare at Salt House in the Financial District

Post author:Winston
Post published:10.20.2014
Post category:Reviews
Post comments:0 Comments

I feel like it’s a good idea to always have at least one great date night spot in every neighborhood. San Francisco’s Financial District is pretty quiet at night compared to the rest of the city, so it isn’t always too easy to find a great place to serve this purpose. One night I was in the area looking for a nice place to take Amy to and I stumbled upon Salt House which I seemed like it might very well fit the evening’s bill.

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