My team asked about my birthday lunch and the only restaurant I wanted to try was Nada. It opened in late 2007 and has been on everyone’s charts since opening day. From my knowledge Nada took Bella’s place. A coworker called to make reservations for 10 and before she hung up she was told we would get a private room for the birthday party. A private room for me? oooooh, that’s exciting.
On Friday, I was so excited to go to lunch I almost didn’t get any work done. Yes I am that bad when it comes to food. The restaurant is conveniently located in the heart of town so street parking’s hard to find; if you find a spot, you’re lucky. We parked in one of the underground garages which set us back 7 dollars for 1.5 hours. Not bad.
After being greeted, we were told our party would sit upstairs in the back room. We walked up the funky, curvy stairs and headed to the private room. As we walked pass long and curvy red couches I was in awe of Nada’s contemporary chic interior. It plays up the bright color theme with reds, yellows and oranges. For a Mexican restaurant, they’ve transformed the space to resemble a hot spot for hip happy hour goers and diners.
The lunch menu is limited compared to the dinner menu, obviously, and consists mostly of tacos and sandwiches. I got Mahi Mahi tacos and my companions ordered grilled chicken tacos or Nada sliders. If any of you are familiar with White Castle, you know sliders are infamous with the fast-food joint. I won’t disgust you with the origins of the name. Tacos are served with a side of beans and rice and sliders are served with sweet potato fries. I read reviews about the Jalapeno Macaroni and Cheese so I ordered an extra side along with rice and beans. Gluttonous, I know.
My Mahi Mahi tacos had bright flavors. The fish was dipped in a batter, fried and stuffed in flour tortillas between guacamole and pico de gallo. With a sprinkling of lime juice the tacos came alive. As a lover of Mexican food, I would have preferred corn tortillas for my tacos as opposed to the flour tortillas. I am glad I ordered a side of macaroni and cheese. The top was crunchy from the broiler and the pasta was not overcooked. Additionally, the cheese and jalapenos added a spicy creamy kick to the traditional favorite. I didn’t care for the rice and beans because they weren’t flavored properly. There wasn’t enough of anything- cumin, coriander, chili powder or salt. Others that got sliders raved about the meat, they said it was tender and juicy. I stole couple sweet potato fries, for good reason. They were flavorful, not overcooked or greasy which is easy to do with shoestring fries. After stuffing ourselves, dessert wasn't an option for anyone.
Our server did an excellent job serving and staying on top of everything, especially with the 10 of us. And we're a colorful bunch. We were all a little surprised with the bill; we thought the portions were small for the price. However, combination of good food, service, food presentation and ambiance give Nada a prominent place in the mix. If you’re in search of an upscale modern Mexican restaurant, Nada fits the bill. I certainly plan to go back for happy hour, a formal sit down dinner, or even the macaroni and cheese. While it is a great restaurant to visit once in a while, I prefer the holes in the wall, mostly Spanish speaking joints that serve authentic food- the no frills spots that satisfy my Mexican food fix, inexpensively.
Showing posts with label beans. Show all posts
Showing posts with label beans. Show all posts
Tuesday, April 01, 2008
Thursday, January 24, 2008
perfect for winter soup
This past Saturday was a fun filled one. I volunteered at a local center in the morning. I am happy to say it was my kind of volunteering; it was a cooking class for patients, recovering patients and/or families of patients that want to learn new recipes and ideas to healthful cooking and eating. I volunteered to help the chef/teacher prepare, cook and serve the food. While I got started, the teacher talked about the benefits of each fruit, vegetable, herb and spice we were using. Words can’t describe how much fun I had.
She had planned to make lots of things. Given that we had 2 hours for the class we narrowed it down to about 6 dishes. They were:
Green salad with Peanut dressing
Another salad with kale pesto dressing
Curried Cauliflower
Red Bean Vegetarian Chili with Hominy
Leek, Apple and Walnut sauté
Squash and Kale with northern bean soup
I dived right into making the peanut dressing as she started her talk, then made the chili and curried cauliflower. I had excellent students sitting across from the stove that were interested in the spices for chili and cauliflower than a lesson on good eating habits. I loved talking to them and answering their questions. I heart cooking.
All in all, it was a good day, volunteering.
We usually have lots of vegetables and fruits left over from cooking class, and instead of wasting, I brought home 2 lbs of kale and Swiss chard.
My thought process: “It’s perfect weather for soup, kale is in season, and I’ve got a bunch that needs to be used, why not try it?” I saw some recipes for white bean and potato soup, one with arugula that I used as a guide.
That evening I made a Kale, Northern Bean and Potato soup.
1 medium onion, roughly chopped
3 garlic cloves, smashed with the pan of a knife
1 cup dried northern beans, any white beans will do*
2 medium Idaho potatoes, scrubbed, peeled and roughly chopped**
1 teaspoon dried Rosemary
1 teaspoon dried Thyme
1/8 teaspoon of jalapeño chili pepper, optional (I like it for a slight kick)
1lb Kale, washed, drained and chopped
3 cups vegetable stock, low or no sodium
1/2 cup milk
Salt
Freshly ground Black Pepper
Shaved Parmesan cheese
*Note: I prefer to use dried beans (this includes cannelini, kidney, garbanzo, black eyed peas- not really beans but you get the point) because dried beans retain their flavor and, in my opinion, are much fresher than canned. If you prefer using canned, use those. (side note: The husband and family think I only enjoy food that’s labor intensive. Not true but I’ll let them have it.)
If using dried beans, soak beans in water for couple hours, overnight is preferable.
Pressure cooking beans and long cooking starches such as potatoes and root vegetables speeds up their cooking process. If you don't have a pressure cooker, follow the recipe starting with olive oil in a sauce pan.
**Note: Scrub, half and cook potatoes with beans in a pressure cooker.
If using pressure cooker: rinse soaked beans with water, add to the pressure cooker with halved potatoes and salt. Add enough water to cover both beans and potatoes. Follow the instructions to your pressure cooker for heat and cooking times. After 5-6 whistles, turn off heat and cool before opening. (Opening a hot pressure cooker immediately after turning off heat can mean disaster so allow it to cool, until the steam escapes from the cooker.)
If not using the pressure cooker, in a tall pot, bring the dried beans, salt and water to boil. Turn heat to medium and simmer for 30-40 minutes. Stir occasionally so the beans do not stick to the pot.
Tip for dried beans, they are done when they smash smoothly between thumb and index finger.
If using canned beans, skip the above steps. Scrub, peel and roughly chop potatoes, onions, garlic, green chili pepper, if using (for jalapeño (or any hot) pepper, use gloves or wash hands immediately).
Heat olive oil in a medium saucepan on medium flame. Add onions and garlic; there should be a sizzle when adding these, if not then the pan isn’t hot enough. When onions are translucent, add pressure cooked potatoes, beans, ground pepper, rosemary, thyme, jalapeño pepper and cook for 3-5 minutes. Add roughly chopped kale, enough stock to cover, milk, salt and black pepper. Stir and cook until kale wilts. Using a stick blender, blend the ingredient in the pan or transfer to manual blender and blend the soup into preferred consistency. The husband likes a pureed soup and I like it with pieces of potatoes and kale so I blend until it is 75% pureed.
If using canned beans and raw potatoes.
Add raw cubed potatoes and salt to translucent onions and cook for 10 minutes covered. When potatoes are almost done, add simmered or canned beans, ground pepper, rosemary, thyme, jalapeño pepper and cook for 3-5 minutes. Follow the steps for kale and rest of the ingredients.
Add shaved parmesan cheese to the soup and serve hot on winter nights.
Damn that was a long post.... And you read all of it? Thank you, you should be awarded. If you try this recipe, leave me comments, and suggestions.
Picture to come…
She had planned to make lots of things. Given that we had 2 hours for the class we narrowed it down to about 6 dishes. They were:
Green salad with Peanut dressing
Another salad with kale pesto dressing
Curried Cauliflower
Red Bean Vegetarian Chili with Hominy
Leek, Apple and Walnut sauté
Squash and Kale with northern bean soup
I dived right into making the peanut dressing as she started her talk, then made the chili and curried cauliflower. I had excellent students sitting across from the stove that were interested in the spices for chili and cauliflower than a lesson on good eating habits. I loved talking to them and answering their questions. I heart cooking.
All in all, it was a good day, volunteering.
We usually have lots of vegetables and fruits left over from cooking class, and instead of wasting, I brought home 2 lbs of kale and Swiss chard.
My thought process: “It’s perfect weather for soup, kale is in season, and I’ve got a bunch that needs to be used, why not try it?” I saw some recipes for white bean and potato soup, one with arugula that I used as a guide.
That evening I made a Kale, Northern Bean and Potato soup.
1 medium onion, roughly chopped
3 garlic cloves, smashed with the pan of a knife
1 cup dried northern beans, any white beans will do*
2 medium Idaho potatoes, scrubbed, peeled and roughly chopped**
1 teaspoon dried Rosemary
1 teaspoon dried Thyme
1/8 teaspoon of jalapeño chili pepper, optional (I like it for a slight kick)
1lb Kale, washed, drained and chopped
3 cups vegetable stock, low or no sodium
1/2 cup milk
Salt
Freshly ground Black Pepper
Shaved Parmesan cheese
*Note: I prefer to use dried beans (this includes cannelini, kidney, garbanzo, black eyed peas- not really beans but you get the point) because dried beans retain their flavor and, in my opinion, are much fresher than canned. If you prefer using canned, use those. (side note: The husband and family think I only enjoy food that’s labor intensive. Not true but I’ll let them have it.)
If using dried beans, soak beans in water for couple hours, overnight is preferable.
Pressure cooking beans and long cooking starches such as potatoes and root vegetables speeds up their cooking process. If you don't have a pressure cooker, follow the recipe starting with olive oil in a sauce pan.
**Note: Scrub, half and cook potatoes with beans in a pressure cooker.
If using pressure cooker: rinse soaked beans with water, add to the pressure cooker with halved potatoes and salt. Add enough water to cover both beans and potatoes. Follow the instructions to your pressure cooker for heat and cooking times. After 5-6 whistles, turn off heat and cool before opening. (Opening a hot pressure cooker immediately after turning off heat can mean disaster so allow it to cool, until the steam escapes from the cooker.)
If not using the pressure cooker, in a tall pot, bring the dried beans, salt and water to boil. Turn heat to medium and simmer for 30-40 minutes. Stir occasionally so the beans do not stick to the pot.
Tip for dried beans, they are done when they smash smoothly between thumb and index finger.
If using canned beans, skip the above steps. Scrub, peel and roughly chop potatoes, onions, garlic, green chili pepper, if using (for jalapeño (or any hot) pepper, use gloves or wash hands immediately).
Heat olive oil in a medium saucepan on medium flame. Add onions and garlic; there should be a sizzle when adding these, if not then the pan isn’t hot enough. When onions are translucent, add pressure cooked potatoes, beans, ground pepper, rosemary, thyme, jalapeño pepper and cook for 3-5 minutes. Add roughly chopped kale, enough stock to cover, milk, salt and black pepper. Stir and cook until kale wilts. Using a stick blender, blend the ingredient in the pan or transfer to manual blender and blend the soup into preferred consistency. The husband likes a pureed soup and I like it with pieces of potatoes and kale so I blend until it is 75% pureed.
If using canned beans and raw potatoes.
Add raw cubed potatoes and salt to translucent onions and cook for 10 minutes covered. When potatoes are almost done, add simmered or canned beans, ground pepper, rosemary, thyme, jalapeño pepper and cook for 3-5 minutes. Follow the steps for kale and rest of the ingredients.
Add shaved parmesan cheese to the soup and serve hot on winter nights.
Damn that was a long post.... And you read all of it? Thank you, you should be awarded. If you try this recipe, leave me comments, and suggestions.
Picture to come…
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