Shanghai - January 2012

Pictures from a recent work trip to China.

Click here for the album

The Perfect French Fry

Long article, but I did like this part...
"Myhrvold cuts his potatoes into batons and rinses them to get rid of surface starch. Then he vacuum-seals them in a plastic bag, in one even layer, with water. He heats the bag to 212 degrees for 15 minutes, steaming the batons. Then he hits the bag with ultrasound to cavitate the water—45 minutes on each side. He reheats the bag in an oven to 212 degrees for five minutes, puts the hot fries on a rack in a vacuum chamber, and then blanches them in 338-degree oil for three minutes. When they’re cool, Myhrvold deep-fries the potatoes in oil at 375 degrees until they’re crisp, about three more minutes, and then drains them on paper towels. Total preparation time: two hours.


The result is amazing. The outside nearly shatters when you bite into it, yielding to a creamy center that’s perfectly smooth. The key is the cavitation caused by the ultrasonic bath—it creates thousands of tiny fissures on the potato’s surface, all of which become crunchy when it’s fried. When Plato saw the shadow of a french fry on the wall of his cave, the guy standing behind him was snacking on these."

Full Article Link - Wired.com

(via Wired)

America’s 100 Best Beer Bars: 2011

For your weekend planning...
Full Article - DraftMag.com

(via DraftMag.com - H/T S. Archut)

America’s Top 10 New Sandwiches

"At ChurchKey, a house-made brioche donut is glazed in savory maple-chicken jus and topped with warm pieces of oven-baked pecans. While that sounds like a meal already, the brioche is cut in half and stuffed with a hunk of buttermilk fried chicken and wedges of applewood smoked bacon."
Full Article Link

(via EndlessSimmer.com - H/T J. Adamek)

For Every Holiday Party, the Right Drink

Can't believe Four Loko didn't make the cut...
Article Link - NYTimes.com

(via NYTimes.com - H/T: MBP)

The Dipr Cookie Spoon

I'm sold...

Article Link

(via Gizmodo)

Why Cheese is Like "Dairy Crack"

...oh right, because it's got morphine in it.  Of course.  
"Turns out that researchers have known since the 1980s that cheese actually contains small amounts of morphine—yes, the very same drug given in hospitals as a hardcore pain relief."

Article Link

(via Gizmodo - H/T B. Mahoney)

Make Your Own McRib

This only sounds about 1000x better than the actual McRib...

Article Link - Saveur.com

(via Saveur.com)

Food Stops: Tommyknocker Brewery & Pub - Idaho Springs, CO

From left:  Onion rings, Hop Strike Black IPA, dipping sauces, sunglasses, Raspberry Chipotle wings

First of all, great name.  I've had a few of their beers before but have never stopped at the pub.  It's not very far from Denver and I decided to make a quick trip out to Loveland Pass (pictures in another post) before the PSU game, so I figured I'd stop for a bite to eat.  Glad I did.

iPhone picture of the bar

You can't tell much from the picture, but they have a great selection of beers, listed here.  I always like to try the seasonals, so I went with the Hop Strike Black IPA.  I don't think I've ever been so sure about a beer after the first sip.  Immediately into the "best beers I've ever had" category.  Hoppy like you would expect an IPA to be, but also dark and malty.  I think their website says it best:


Hop Strike! Black Rye IPA - 7% ABV
Hop Strike! is a dry hopped Black Rye-IPA built from the ground up at Tommyknocker Brewery. This Beer is characterized by an intermingling of spicy citrus hops and chocolate malt creating an interesting complexity and great first impression on the nose. Hop Strike’s substantial 78 IBU's are balanced by the Chocolate Rye resulting in a nice depth of malt character and deep color.


As additional evidence of this beer's awesomeness, a couple sat down next to me at the bar and the woman couldn't decide what to order, so I suggested the Hop Strike.  She took one sip and gave it my favorite rating:  "Really f**king good" - or, as I like to say, "RFG."  I couldn't agree more....


Hadn't heard/read much about their food, but they seem to have a decent menu.  I wasn't starving so decided to go with the "Monster BBQ Wings" (6 for $8.99, but they were the biggest wings I've ever seen) and onion rings.  As many of you know, I have a huge sweet tooth, so I went with the raspberry chipotle sauce, described in the menu as: Fresh Raspberries and the heat of mesquite smoked chipotle peppers. 


Wings:  Like I said, they were huge.  Six was plenty.  Cooked well, with good breading - meat fell off the bone.  Really liked the sauce.  Spicier than I expected, but in a good way.  And I really believe the part about the fresh raspberries.  Overall, really well done.  Two other pluses - they were served with both ranch and blue cheese (without asking) and also came with celery AND carrots.  Always bonus points from me on that one since I despise celery.  Hey, it's the little things. - Grade:  B+


Onion Rings:  First, I'm not a huge onion rings fan, but something sounded good about them at the time.  As you can see in the picture, you get a pretty good serving - and, as with the wings, they were pretty large.  Of course, I created the requisite pool of ketchup for dipping and dug in.  Eh.  Taste was good/average but the rings definitely lacked structural integrity.  If you ever watch Diners, Drive-ins, & Dives, you know that one of Guy's onion rings tests is that you should be able to bite the ring in half without the onion sliding out of the breading.  I can't say that was the case for these.  In addition, the breading kind of just crumbled in my hands as soon as I folded them in half or took a bite. - Grade:  C     


Beer:  Can't say much more.  If you fly into Denver and find yourself on I-70, definitely worth a stop (especially if Hop Strike is on tap).  And note that some of their regular brews are available in other states (including PA!) - Grade:  A+
  
Overall....good place.  I'm sure I'll be back for the beer, and would like to give some of the other food a try as well (some of the buffalo burgers sounded great).  Seems like a solid après-ski stop and I have a feeling I'll be spending a lot of time on I-70 this winter...


And if you're wondering what a Tommyknocker is (other than the Stephen King depiction) click here.  Lastly, some interesting info here on the mining town of Idaho Springs.


Hope everybody's having a great weekend - and a Happy Halloween.  If you have any comments/suggestions/etc., please let me know.


Tommyknocker Brewery & Pub
1401 Miner St.

Idaho Springs, CO 80452