Cooking with Smoke and Direct Fire at Primitivo in the Garden District

What:

Primitivo
@EatPrimitivo
At this NOLA newcomer, our waitress explained that there isn’t really a theme or nationality that guides the menu Primitivo, just a philosophy. That philosophy is to use local, seasonal ingredients and prepare them in some manner that involves their gigantic open-flame hearth. Smoke is the key to nearly every dish they serve here.

Where:

Off-the-beaten path between the Garden District and Center City
1800 Oretha Castle Haley Blvd. New Orleans, LA 70113
[wpgmza id=”289″]

When:

Perfect for dude’s night out in NOLA.

The decor has a masculine German beer-hall vibe with gothic calligraphy typography and distressed wood defining a majority of the aesthetic. Between the huge, hearty portions and very reasonably priced cocktails, this place was made for the bachelor party “nice-meal”. While I do really like the place, I wouldn’t necessarily tell NOLA first-timers to go on their first trip — there’s plenty of other places in the city I think are more essential to go to first (see: Cochon, Commander’s Palace, Red’s Chinese, Compère Lapin, or Sylvain for example). (more…)

Continue ReadingCooking with Smoke and Direct Fire at Primitivo in the Garden District

There’s a Michelin Starred Chef’s Counter Hidden Inside of This Hot Dog Shop

What:

Kitchen Table at Bubbledogs
@BubbledogsKT
A speakeasy-style high-end chef’s tasting menu hides behind a curtain in the back of a hot dog shop.

Where:

SoHo near the Theatre District
70 Charlotte St. Fitzrovia, London W1T 4QG, UK
[wpgmza id=”299″]

When:

Based on the price point and difficulty of snagging a reservation alone, this definitely falls into the “Special Occasion Restaurant” category. Save this one for when you’re celebrating a birthday, anniversary, or any other major occasion worth celebrating and spluging for. (more…)

Continue ReadingThere’s a Michelin Starred Chef’s Counter Hidden Inside of This Hot Dog Shop

This is Undoubtedly the Best Po’ Boy Shop in all the Land

What:

Parkway Bakery and Tavern
@ParkwayPoorboys
This bar and restaurant is quite old, very famous, and generally regarded as the ultimate place to go for the very best poboys in NOLA.

Where:

Midcity
538 Hagan Ave. New Orleans, LA 70119
[wpgmza id=”290″]

When:

This is the kind of place that’s perfect for any time you need a big, cheap, hearty sandwich full of greasy meat and deep-fried seafood to crush an epic Bourbon Street hangover.

It’s a bit out of the way, so you’ll probably need a car to get all the way out there unless you want to splurge on a long cab ride. This place is known to generate long lines, though we were fortunately able to get food in hand in just about 15 minutes after our arrival. So, come only when you’ve got a bit of patience in case you encounter a longer line. (more…)

Continue ReadingThis is Undoubtedly the Best Po’ Boy Shop in all the Land

Burlingame Is Home To The Best Burmese Near SFO

What:

Mingalaba
A very authentically prepared and reasonable priced Burmese food. Also, super-close (only a twelve-minute drive) from SFO.

Where:

Downtown Burlingame
1213 Burlingame Ave. Burlingame, CA 94010
[wpgmza id=”286″]

When:

Elegant and stylish enough for a date night, but also casual enough for a cheap lunch in Burlingame. Also, if you’ve got a layover in SFO and want to get your Burmese fix, this is the place to go. (more…)

Continue ReadingBurlingame Is Home To The Best Burmese Near SFO

Mike Winston’s Best Meals of 2015

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.

(more…)

Continue ReadingMike Winston’s Best Meals of 2015

Catfishing for Southern Deep-Fried Perfection in Denison, TX

Over my many trips to Texas and other parts of The South, there’s one thing I’ve learned for sure – the most delicious foods usually come deep-fried. There are exceptions, of course, but in general I’ve found that Southerners have a very skilled hand using a deep fryer. Whether it’s deep-fried bacon, deep-fried eggs, deep-fried breakfast steak, deep-fried vegetables, deep-fried cheese, deep-fried balls of mystery meat, deep-fried sushi rolls, deep-fried samoa Girl Scout cookies, deep-fried sandwich fillings, or even an entire deep-fried sandwich – it’s all bound to taste really good and of course be really bad for you. But, one of the simplest, but most incredible things I’ve found you can get deep-fried in Texas is catfish and there’s one place I constantly return to for the very best – Huck’s Catfish in Denison, Texas.

(more…)

Continue ReadingCatfishing for Southern Deep-Fried Perfection in Denison, TX

Where to Go For Boatloads of Fresh Sushi That Paddle Right Up to You

The Japan Center Mall is a mysterious maze-like shopping center full of stalls selling Asian miscellany and a wide variety of authentic Asian eats. There are many places you could choose to eat at – with specialists for just about every Japanese food type you could think of. There are in fact a number of sushi options, but there is only one sushi purveyor inside of this massive mall that I find myself consistently returning to. It’s called Isobune and its a truly special place.

(more…)

Continue ReadingWhere to Go For Boatloads of Fresh Sushi That Paddle Right Up to You

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

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.

(more…)

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

Emeril & Guy Fieri BOTH Love Mahony’s Po-Boy Shop on Magazine St.

We had just endured a brutal red-eye from San Francisco to NOLA via LA to finally arrive at our Airbnb on the very fun, cool, and completely non-touristy Magazine St. After napping for a few hours to catch up on lost Zzzzs, we woke around lunch time and found ourselves in desperate need of something very satisfying to transition our minds and bodies over to NOLA time. A quick Foursquare search of the nearby neighborhood led me to a sandwich joint called Mahony’s Po-Boy Shop fully vetted by Guy Fieri and Emeril Lagasse on Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives. Seriously, Emeril made a guest appearance on DDD just to hawk this place to the masses alongside The Spiky One. With a simultaneous seal of approval from both of these men, how could I not check it out for myself?

(more…)

Continue ReadingEmeril & Guy Fieri BOTH Love Mahony’s Po-Boy Shop on Magazine St.

The Incredible Burmese at Rangoon Ruby has Finally Arrived on Polk

I’m so excited, it’s finally here. I’ll keep this short, but the brand new location of my all-time favorite Silicon Valley restaurant Rangoon Ruby, has opened a sister location a block from my SF apartment. In a space that used to be a lackluster sushi spot called Sushi Rock, my beloved Palo Alto Burmese favorite has planted roots. From the moment Sushi Rock had shuttered, I was aware because the place is actually in directly eye line from my apartment window. I anxiously awaited something new and interesting to come and take over the space. And I was over-the-moon elated when I saw a Coming Soon banner indicating that it would be a location of the exact place I missed most after transitioning from Palo Alto to SF.

(more…)

Continue ReadingThe Incredible Burmese at Rangoon Ruby has Finally Arrived on Polk