Slow Braised Steak & Guinness Pie from The Pig N' Whistle - AU$ 18

Insomnia so posting this not-so-spectacular pie from Pig N' Whistle, a bistro & pub from Brisbane. I don't remember the real price but it was near/below $20.

It was okay. The Guinness taste is apparent but I'm not sure if it's the best taste around with meat. And I really like my Guinness too. I thought it was a full pie, but the pie 'crust' is all there is, put on top of a whole container of beef stew. Reminds me of "Muffin Tops". Vege was slightly dry.

In flickr you'll find the picture before this one is where I bought it.

Baby Back Ribs from Balan's Produce - $18.00

851 Old Baltimore Pike, Newark, DE - (302)292-2606

Here's the baby back ribs I spoke of yesterday. As you can see from the shininess, these suckers are soaking in BBQ sauce. The sauce is a lot thinner than most BBQ sauces I'm used to - I'd say even thinner than A1. Also, I didn't detect any tang that I usually do with BBQ sauces either. The best comparison I can make right now is the sauce that gets coated over orange-flavored chicken.

This particular batch was charred a bit more than I would've liked, so they were not quite fall-right-off-the-bone tender but they were still fairly tender. As with the pulled pork sandwich (pictured in the back), these ribs carry the same smokey flavor, perhaps even moreso because of the slight overcooking.

Overall, these ribs were a great add-on to one of the smaller sandwiches and the portion is large enough to split with two or three other people who also order a sandwich.

Smoked Pulled Pork Sandwich from Balan's Produce - $3.50

851 Old Baltimore Pike, Newark, DE - (302)292-2606

I'm not sure if this qualifies as a Filipino dish, but it came from a Filipino grocery store. Whatever the case, good food is good food.

The picture didn't turn out so great, but the pulled pork sandwich tastes much better than it looks. The meat is moist and tender and saturated with a great smokey flavor. Then the bun is soft and chewy, similar to the buns you get for Italian beefs in Chicago. MmmMMm.

The size of the sandwich is fairly small though, but the price is fair for what you get. It's probably about four or five inches long and chockful of pork. I think even my sister can pack away about two of them without too much trouble. As for me, well, that's a different story...

Side Note: My friend ordered the Smoked Beef Brisket Sandwich ($4.25, no picture available) and said the meat was sort of tough. Just wanted to throw that out there because I doubt I'll ever order it when I have to pulled pork to pick instead. Ooooh... alliteration.

Buffet @ Maharaja - $10.99

1450 Capitol Trail, Newark, DE - (302)369-1202

Since this was a buffet, I'm not quite sure of everything I grabbed. The big hunk of bread in the center is naan, the red meat in the upper right is tandoori chicken, and the orange slop up front is my personal favorite, chicken tika masala. Someone else is going to have to help me with the names for the donut-looking thing and the white frisbee. I didn't bother to learn their names because I wasn't impressed by them. One other notable dish I attacked repeatedly was the goat curry, but I don't have a picture for that.

Though my Indian food experiences are limited, I've developed a very sophisticated rule of thumb to help me decide what to try: white (other than the naan) = sour, icky stuff; brown/orange = awesome. I only took one picture, because most of what I grabbed looked like some variation of the chicken tika masala, but in a different shade of brown or orange.

The buffet is $10.99 on weekends and $7.99 on weekdays. Individual Dishes run about $12 apiece so the buffet is a great way to test multiple dishes before you commit to any single item.

Bruschetta Burger from Applebee's - $8.49

105 Wilton Blvd, New Castle, DE - (302)322.8202

The Bruschetta Burger is supposed to come with bruschetta, pesto sauce, fresh mozzarella wedges, and a 100% Angus beef patty between two pieces of focaccia bread. However, I made the mistake of ordering it in the middle of a nation-wide tomato recall. Therefore, my Bruschetta Burger was lacking, well, bruschetta. Lame.

I've ordered the burger before and thoroughly enjoyed it which is why I ordered it again. The burger without the bruschetta was half-way decent, but try to imagine chopped up tomato chunks atop the pesto sauce in the picture. Mmmm. The thick gobs of fresh mozzarella are key so if you like your cheese, that's all the more reason to try this burger.

The burger also comes with fries - try to go with the garlic fries if they have them. The regular fries are still good, but the garlic ones are better in my opinion.

Pad Thai from Tasty Thai - $8.95

287 Christiana Road, New Castle, DE - (302)322-1306

Here is yet another mediocre dish in my neighborhood. As far as I know, Tasty Thai is the only Thai restaurant within a 30 minute radius and the next closest place charges about double this for a smaller serving size. So when I need to have my Thai food fix, this is it right here.

Every trip is an adventure because their chefs are pretty inconsistent. Some dishes are GODAWFUL while others are fairly tasty. Thankfully, the pad thai dish is one of the more respectable ones I've tried, even if it does come in an orange hue.

WARNING: One of the "GODAWFUL" dishes I speak of is the Lad Na - a dish I absolutely ADORE from other restaurants, but this place has a version that makes me want to curl up in fetal position and cry.

New Zealand Rump Steak.. $9?

This is my first post as a contributor to this blog. In fact this is the first time I've ever blogged. I'm not one for blogging, but after reading eekbot's continuous posts of mediocre food, I felt it was time I show him what REAL food is.

Naturally, as my first post, I feel I have to make sure it's better than anything else that has been posted here. It also has to be of real quality. Mind-blowing goodness. A rush of emotion and a surge of electricity with every bite. So where, pray tell, does food that good come from?

Why, out of my kitchen, of course.

There you have it folks. NZ beef rump, medium rare, served in a thick mushroom and onion sauce, with a side of roasted potatoes and steamed broccoli.

Now for me the thing about steaks is, the rarer it is, the tenderer and juicier the meat. Raw meat has its own taste, a damn good one too. So I like my meat raw. For your viewing pleasure, this is how every bite looks like.

MMMmmmMMMMMmmm...

Granted, the rosemary seasoning spoilt the taste a bit, and the mushroom gravy could've been thicker... but I still say that's a plate of orgasm right there.

The slab of meat I picked up for $5.60, and the veg and potatoes I can't remember... but I'm going to estimate the overall cost of $9. Not too bad at all.

Chili Cheese Dog from Dairy Queen - $2.09

200 Buckley Blvd, Bear, DE - (302)328-2200

Despite my recent complaints about Dairy Queen, there's a strong possibility that I'll end up going back again. Why? For the chili cheese dog.

Admittedly, it's nothing special - regular bun, regular hot dog, plain chili and a slice of American cheese. But it's priced decently, it's fairly clean, and it's the only place around here where I can find one.

Mushroom & Swiss Burger Combo from Dairy Queen - $5.49

200 Buckley Blvd, Bear, DE - (302)328-2200

This is a continuation from my horrific trip to get a DQ Blizzard. There's currently a nation-wide tomato recall in progress so I ordered the one burger on the menu that didn't include tomatoes. From the looks of the picture, the burger consists of a beef patty, canned mushrooms, Swiss cheese and mayonnaise. The combo comes with fries and a drink.

The bun was a bit dry, the burger was a bit cold, and the mayo was a bit much. Not only that, but I had to wait a long time for my food. At least the fries were good though - crispy and not too salty. Anyway, this trip has reminded me why I don't go to Dairy Queen often for hot foods.

Chocolate Extreme Blizzard from Dairy Queen - $3.69

200 Buckley Blvd, Bear, DE - (302)328-2200

Even though I'm lactose intolerant, I love my dairy products and ESPECIALLY my ice cream. That's why when the Dairy Queens in Delaware fuck up my Blizzard, I have to bitch about it.

Of course, my friends think I'm exaggerating so yesterday, I actually went to Dairy Queen to get a picture of what I mean. The picture on the left is similar to what it SHOULD look like if they make it correctly - at least that's my experience in Illinois. The other two pictures show the melted mound of shit that they hand you in Delaware both with and without the spoon.

It was 75 F and very windy outside so there's no reason for my Blizzard to be that melted. I ended up throwing away about an inch or so of brown liquid so its value is nowhere near the $3.69 they charge. This is yet another reason why Rita's is so popular out here.

Jibarito from Borinquen's - $ ???

1720 N California Ave # 1, Chicago, IL 60647 - (773) 227-6038

Esquire magazine rated this one of the best sandwiches in America so I had to try it out the last time I went to Chicago. At first glance, it looks like a regular sandwich, but the "bread" is actually dried and flattened plantains. Then inside, you have your choice of meat (pork, chicken, or steak) and lettuce, tomatoes, mayonnaise, and from the looks of the picture, perhaps a few other sauces that I can't recall. It came with a side of rice and each table has some spectacular habanero hot sauce to compliment the dish.

I took the picture before I decided on making a food blog, so I can't remember the other specifics nor the price. The steak sandwich is in the upper left corner of the picture and the pork is on the right. I went with two other friends and two of the three of us (myself included) thought the pork was better than the steak but we liked both sandwiches very much.

No Fire Peppers from Red Robin - $7.79

101 W Main St, Christiana, DE 19702 - (302)455-9000

No Fire Peppers are jalapeños that have been stuffed with cream cheese and then rolled in a cracker crumb coating. It comes with a side of jalapeño jelly & sour cream for dipping as well.

As the name implies, I couldn't detect any spiciness to the jalapeños both in the peppers themselves and the jelly. The peppers are crunchy on the outside and chewy and creamy on the inside, and tasted mostly like cream cheese. The main attraction is the jalapeño jelly which gives it a light sweetness.

I'd like to note that when I ordered these, our waitress forgot to bring them out. We had to remind her about them once we received our entrées and she said she had forgotten to put in the order. She asked if we still wanted them, and we declined, so she said she would remove it from our bill. HOWEVER, toward the end of the meal, she brought out a box with no fire peppers in it and did not charge us for them because it was their fault, so that was very generous of them. So, I'll be sure to visit there again in the near future because any place willing to own up to their mistakes is worth another visit in my book.

Gelati from Rita's - $3.65

Rita's is a summertime favorite in these parts. That generalization is due not only to the fact that jailbait that typically runs these shops, but also because the water ice is actually pretty tasty.

To my surprise, the water ice is very flavorful and on top of that, the flavor doesn't immediately sink to the bottom as you eat it. Combine that with some gelati to top it off and you've got yourself a winner.

The picture below is for a large gelati with Georgia peach water ice. The available flavors change from day-to-day and from location-to-location and the mixing and matching of flavors is entirely commonplace, so Rita's deserves multiple visits even at different stands. After all, it took several visits before I learned that certain flavors include tiny chips of real fruit mixed into the ice. Mmmm...

Half Chicken Meal from Boston Market - $7.49

1 University Plaza, Ogletown, DE 19702 - (302)738-9509

Boston Market is basically a Thanksgiving-meal-any-day-of-the-week kind of place. The half chicken meal includes two small side dishes along with half of a Rotisserie style chicken. You get to choose among sides such as red potatoes, mashed potatoes, mixed vegetables, green beans, sweet potatos, macaroni and cheese, stuffing, and so on.

I'm a huge fan of their side dishes, even moreso than their chicken, so typically, I order the three side meal in addition to the the half chicken meal, but on this occasion, I had dinner plans in a couple hours so I had to limit myself. Anyway, this time, I decided to go with the sweet potatoes and the cream of spinach.

The sweet potatoes may look like nasty goop, but when Boston Market caters for our Thanksgiving dinner at work, it's the first thing to disappear so don't let the appearance fool you. The same goes for the cream of spinach - I pick that as one of my sides about 90% of the time.

Pot Roast Burger from Red Robin - $9.79

101 W Main St, Christiana, DE 19702 - (302)455-9000

The Pot Roast Burger looks pretty plain from the outside, but lifting the ciabatta bun will reveal pot roast, sautéed onions, and gravy mixed with carrots and celery. And you can't see it, but you'll also taste a hint of horseradish.

At first I tried eating it with my hands, but it dripped all over, so eventually I resorted to forking & knifing the damn thing. It's a tasty burger, but nothing that really knocked my socks off. The same goes for the fries.

The Bobbie from Capriotti's - $13.00

430 Eden Square Shopping Center, Bear, DE - (302)832-8132

The "Bobbie" sandwich is essentially Thanksgiving in a sandwich - it's pulled turkey, cranberry sauce, stuffing, and mayonnaise slathered inside a long roll.

Less than two years ago, the price was $10.50 for the same 20" sandwich. At that price, I still found a way to visit every couple weeks (Mind you, Capriotti's only accepts cash and debit, and I don't have an ATM or debit card or a local bank which makes it pretty difficult to scrounge up enough cash to buy one of these things, so every couple weeks is saying a lot). But nowadays, I go about once every other month.

A couple pointers to keep in mind: 1) Make sure to eat the entire thing in one sitting or else the leftovers will get pretty soggy from the mayo & cranberry sauce and 2) it's recommended to have a clear schedule after ordering this because all that turkey will put you right to sleep.

And yes, they have smaller sizes - $6.75 for the 9" and $8.50 for the 12" - but I'm pretty sure those are only meant for women and children... and maybe wimpy men.

Hi-Chew by Morinaga - $12.99 for 10 packs

www.circlered.com

If Starbursts and Bubbalicious could have sex and make babies, their offspring would be Hi-Chews. Hi-Chews have a waxier taste and texture than Starbursts, but the fruit flavor is much more prominent - similar to Bubbalicious within the first 20 seconds of chewing.

I was impressed enough by the candy that I went ahead and bought 100 packs for $150 at circlered.com. The individual price is probably closer to $1.29 per pack, but I can't find a local store that sells them so I had to resort to paying shipping and handling charges.

I've tried grape, green apple, mango and strawberry with mango being my favorite so far. But my Japanese friend told me that certain flavors are only sold in certain locations, so it's doubtful I'll get to try any more of them.

Monte Cristo from Bennigan's - $8.49

Here's my latest addiction. It's a combination of sliced turkey, ham, swiss, and Cheez Wiz on white bread. Then it's lightly battered, deep fried, and then sprinkled with powdered sugar. It comes with a side of raspberry sauce/jam for dipping, but they're EXTREMELY stingy with it, which is a shame because it tastes awesome. The fries are pretty inconsistent, but go well with the Monte Cristo, nonetheless.

McDonald's Breakfast from America

Why am I posting pictures of a meal from McDonald's? Well, I have foreign friends who say McDonald's breakfast is shitty and I beg to differ, so we're doing a comparison with pictures. On the top is the Deluxe Breakfast and below that is the Steak, Egg, and Cheese Bagel. Unfortunately, I suck at photography so the bagel picture is a bit blurry. Maybe I'll try for a clearer picture next time.