Superbowl Tamales

by Rachel Perlow

I’ve recently begun experimenting with the making of tamales, the yummy Mexican treat of a savory filling surrounded by a corn meal paste known as masa. And, while I’m by no means a tamale expert, which I believe starts by being an abuela, I must pat myself on the back and say “wow, I can really make a tamale!” Making tamales is surprisingly easy, if not quick, as long as you have the right ingredients and equipment.

Click on the “Read the rest of this entry” link below for the recipe and step by step photos…

Zinburger brings you Jet Fuel with a pastrami afterburner

Zinburger’s special “Jet Fuel” burger.

The New York Jets may have missed their opportunity for Superbowl glory this year in last weekend’s game against the Steelers, but Zinburger in Clifton still wants to support the local team. In honor of a hard fought football season, they’re offering the “Jet Fuel” burger which I had the privilege of trying over the weekend, and it tastes as good as it looks.

The burger, which is going to be featured on the menu for the next two weeks at their Clifton NJ location, features Certified Angus Beef topped with 1000 Islands Mean and Tasty New York State Cheddar, Gulden’s Spicy Mustard, New York Pastrami, Lettuce and Mayo on a lightly buttered brioche-style bun.

Accompanied by a nice glass or two of Pinot Noir or a California Cabernet, that doesn’t sound like such a bad way to drown your sorrows in front of their HDTV sports bar on Superbowl Sunday if you’re a Jets fan.

Florida Dining: Verdea

Verdea
4530 PGA Boulevard (In Embassy Suites Hotel)
Palm Beach Gardens, Florida
(561)691-3130

Web Site: http://www.verdearestaurant.com

The Embassy Suites Hotel in the commercial district of Palm Beach Gardens is not where you’d expect to find a high-end, destination dining experience in Palm Beach County — you’d expect this sort of restaurant near Royal Palm Way or Worth Avenue on Palm Beach Island, South Florida’s equivalent to Rodeo Drive and where Florida’s wealthiest citizens and visitors still strut their stuff and buy Gucci bags and Patek Philippe watches on their Amex Centurion cards.

Nevertheless, there it is. Verdea, which is owned and managed by the Remington Hotels Group which manages and operates dozens of luxury hotels across the country, has opened to little fanfare in early December of 2010 in a space that used to be the hotel’s nightclub.

The restaurant, which serves New American cuisine with Mediterranean flavors with a seasonal, focused menu and sources much of its produce from Florida, has brought in the talents of Chef James King, a veteran of the Remington group’s various hotel restaurants including the One Ocean Resort in Jacksonville, and who earned his toque locally as a sous chef at the famous Breakers Hotel and then banquet chef at the Four Seasons resort in Palm Beach.  Later, he went on to participate in the opening of the hotel restaurant Quattro at the Four Seasons Silcon Valley, where he was exposed to California-style Mediterranean/Italian cuisine.

I got a chance to dine at Verdea while visiting family in Florida during the 2010 holiday season, only two weeks after its opening. I was skeptical that such a high-end, locavore-oriented, “Farm to Table” restaurant would open in such a medium-range business hotel, which would normally be reserved for a more upscale property such as a flagship Hilton or a resort hotel, but I was glad to have been proven wrong.

Unfortunately my photos in this post don’t live up to my usual standards as I was carrying my point and shoot G7 and not my DSLR. The restaurant also has very muted mood lighting and so it made for a challenging environment to photograph. However, I can assure you, the place is absolutely stunning looking inside, and the plating is gorgeous and the food is fantastic. I can’t wait to return here with my 50mm f1.4 and the 50D.

Verdea is surely destined to become one of Palm Beach County’s premier destination restaurants. Click on the “Read the rest of this entry” link below for more.

NJ Dining: Cheeburger Cheeburger

Cheeburger Cheeburger
49 Route 17 South, East Rutherford NJ

Web Site: http://www.cheeburger.com

It seems that during the last months of 2010, when it came to restaurant openings in Northern New Jersey, it was all about the upscale hamburger chains — Elevation Burger in Montclair, Bobby’s Burger Palace, multiple locations of Smashburger, Zinburger in Clifton, and now Cheeburger Cheeburger, a 50′s-style hamburger chain that originated on the Gulf Coast of Florida, on Sanibel Island.

Cheeburger Cheeburger is now a pretty big chain, with locations in 20 other states, but it’s never been able to take hold in the Northern part of New Jersey. Indeed, I’ve been to their locations before, but the last attempt to open a location in sleepy New Providence burned out like a candle in the wind in 2007.

The current franchisee owner, Steve, who owns the rights to open locations in all of Northern New Jersey, has decided to start out in East Rutherford, a very high-traffic area with many retail businesses, so it should do quite well.

Can we have our very own Cheeburger in Paradise in New Jersey? Click on the “Read the rest of this entry” link below” for more.