Restuarant Review: Basque Norte

About a month ago, it was our 2nd anniversary for my BF and I.  Like the year before, he wanted to surprise me and take me to a restaurant where we haven't gone before.  The previous year it was Lassen Steak House, which was disappointing.   More on that restaurant later if we ever go back to it.  This year, he took me to Basque Norte.  (Yes, I know this was a little awhile ago.  But you still have to give me credit for still reviewing this.) :]

This restaurant is tucked away in the quiet part of Chico.  Upon arriving, we had to wait a little by the bar area since we didn't have reservations I noticed that they serve tapas or Spanish cuisine appetizers.  Since we wanted to be seated in the dining room, not the bar, we ordered from the dinner menu.  On the dinner menu, they have main entrees like steak, seafood, fowl, lamb, baby back ribs and ravioli.  My BF and I choose the Brace of Quail.  We never had quail before, so we both had to try it.  The main entree comes with a various of sides that was shared between the two of us.

We started off with some french bread from the Tin Roof Bakery and tomato garlic soup (both not pictured).  Then came the relish plate with carrots, pickles, califlower, red peppers (top right).  On the bottom right, we have the house dinner salad.  On the left, there was the spaghettini with ajioli sauce.

On the top left, we have the green beans with dill and onions.  On the top right, there was the basque style red potatoes.  Then, on my plate (along with the pasta and salad) there was the spicy red beans seasoned with pork sausage.

And my main entree: Brace of Quail (2 oz. Pharaoh Quail: lightly floured, lightly seasoned, and deep-fried).

Last, we have the complimentary chocolate ice cream with whipped cream.

The service good-they were friendly and pleasant.  The environment was dark and quiet.  But that was okay for me because... it was our anniversary dinner... ha. When we got there I noticed that everyone who was leaving the restaurant had take-out boxes.  That could mean a few things...  I thought that my BF and I would finish everything off the table.  But that wasn't the case.  The sides were decent and were generous proportions for both of us.  With all of the food, we each had to take some side leftovers and we both saved one of our quails to eat later.

This restaurant is a bit on the high side for dinner prices.  I recommend going here for special occasions due to the prices.  But overall, good service and decent food.  Sometime in the future, I will come back and try their tapas. 

Restaurant Review: Kinder's Meat & Deli

Last night, my bf and I decided to have dinner at Madison Bear Garden since I had a "Buy One, Get One Free" facebook offer for that day only. I was so excited. I wanted to try their Jiffy Burger (burger with creamy peanut butter and bacon. My heart is pounding thinking about it...)  When we showed up the line was out the door. Hungry, I didn't want to wait or make dinner at home so the bf suggested we go across the street to Kinder's Meat and Deli.  We both had one of their hot sandwiches.

The bf had Kinder' Cheeseburger (Two 1/3 lb Angus beef patties w/ American Cheese. Served with a  side of salad.

He said this sandwich is what he gets everytime he comes here.  Must be good.

I had the Pulled Pork Sandwich with a side salad.  This sandwich was pretty good considering I rarely have BBQ.  The side salad was a little small and average, but it made me have some greens for that day.  For the sandwich they added coleslaw to it, which made it a little creamy.  The meat was tender and I thought they put a generous amount in the sandwich.  But the highlight was the BBQ sauce.  That night they had the options of mild or spicy BBQ sauce.  I ended up getting a few ketchup cups of spicy BBQ sauce for the sandwich.  I kept on pouring the sauce on my sandwich. It was great.  The spicy BBQ sauce was smokey, sweet, and added a nice kick at the end.  If I ever do BBQ, I'm considering buying their BBQ sauce bottles they have in the deli.

Overall: So glad I finally got to try Kinder's. But the service was okay.  When we were waiting to order our food, we were standing behind a couple with their little kids, who was ordering from the counter.  A guy came in and stood behind us.  Then another cashier who came from the kitchen told the guy in back of us to go up to the counter and order from her.  I don't know if she saw us or she thought that we were with the family, but I thought that was rude.  She asked the guy if he was part of the group before us, but you would think she would ask us that too if she saw us.  But I decided to close my mouth and wait.

But a happy note: Now I know where to get good BBQ sauce :]

Taste of Chico 2012

Last weekend, I got the chance to enjoy myself at the Taste of Chico.  For a few hours, restaurants, breweries, wineries, and beverage distributors from around the area gave samples on the downtown streets.  There were also art galleries and four live music stages.  There were three ticket options that were available for the event.  I decided to get the bf and I each the middle ticket option of 7 food samples and 6 non-alcohol beverages.  I was tempted to get next option with 9 food samples, but then we would've wasted our money on the alcohol drinks samples.  We are not much of alcohol drinkers...  I consider soda as my "drink of choice." :]

For the non-alcoholic drinks samples: 

-I had Jones Green Apple, Orange, Berry Lemonade, and Cream Pure Cane Soda: Loved it.

-Chico Chai: original chai with organic milk: 1st time I had Chai. Good!

-Some GNC's sports drink: tasted horrible!!!

For the food samples:

The first food sample that we both had to try was Lovely Layers Cakery.

Left Cupcake: Peanut butter cream (vanilla cake swirled with peanut butter, topped with peanut butter cream cheese, peanut butter streusel, and a chocalate drizzle.)

Right Cupcake: Strawberry Lemonade (strawberry cake, topped with cream cheese and lemon drizzle.)
OMGsh!!! So good! This wins the best for this festival!!! Wished I came back and not waste my last sample on Woodstocks. I have to go to their store and try the rest of their cupcakes!!! :]

Food sample that the bf tried was Bella's Sports Pub.

This was their Pulled Pork Sandwich (BBQ pulled pork served with coleslaw)

The 2nd food sample I tried was Crush

Brick Oven Meatballs (roasted tomato sauce, basil pasta, and fresh ricotta)

3rd food sample: Lucero

Top: Extra Virgin Olive Oil with bread

Right: Tequila Jalapeno Kiss Mustard

Bottom: Grilled Tomato Tomato Tapenade (tomatoes with inions, garlic, capers, with doses of extra virgin olive oil and balsamic vinegar)

Left: Green Olive Tapenade (red bell peppers, carrots, garlic, and parsley with green olives, extra virgin olive oil, and capers)

4th food sample: Leon Bistro

Beef Burger with carmelized onions

Beef Burger with fried egg and carmelized onions

5th food sample: Chico Natural Food Cooperative

Harvest Rice Salad: Local organic Aassa & Lundberg rice with local seared summer squash, sweet gypsy peppers, roasted local winter squash, toasted local walnuts, squash seeds tossed with Berkeley Farms olive oil, and Orland Cremery Feta.

On the side: Heirloom tomato and fresh peach salsa with Lundberg rice chips
This dish was so refreshing, healthy, and left me satisfied!

6th food sample: Mom's 

Pulled Pork Pancakes (corn pancakes with jalapeno cheese, chipotle pulled pork with a Carolina BBQ sauce & whiskey syrup)

Buttermilk Biscuit Bread Pudding (topped with a caramel sauce)
I hope this gets put on Mom's menu!!! I would definitely order this!!!

7th food sample: Upper Crust Bakery

Strawberry Triffle (strawberries, vanilla pudding, angel food cake topped with whipped cream)

8th food sample: Woodstock's Pizza

(Pepperoni Pizza: not worth taking a picture of.  This was my last sample of the day.  Everything else was either closed or ran out of food)

The winners for this event was Lovely Layers Cakery cupcakes, Mom's Buttermilk Biscuit Bread Pudding, and Chico Natural Food Co-Op salad. I cannot wait for the next Taste of Chico or any community event!!! :]

TNFM: Annie's Asian Grill

Yesterday was Chico's Thursday Night Farmer's Market. Having been at school most of the day, worked out at the gym, and not having much to eat, I decided to have dinner.  So what did I have?  My original plan was to try the waffle stand, but they were not there. I decided that I would have Annie's Asian Grill's Bi Bim Bop.  Say that many times...XD

This is a Korean dish that is served with mixed rice (or white) on the bottom.  For Annie's version of the dish, they put lettuce, zucchinis, carrots, onions, bean sprouts, and beef on top of the rice.  To add spice to the dish, you get a container of Gochujang, a hot pepper paste. 

This was soooo good. Everything was perfect.  Wished they still have their restaurant.  I love getting this dish in a piping-hot bowl.  But it's an extremely delicious, flavorful, and healthy dish! The Gochyjang adds a big kick of spice.  After this meal, I felt satisfied, leaving me in a good kind of full.  I will have to make this at home! :]]]

Restaurant Review: Sin of Cortez

Awhile back ago, my Bf and I decided to go out for breakfast before the school year started.  Since he picked breakfast last time, it was my turn to pick.  As I looked through the Chico breakfast menus online, I chose Sin of Cortez.  I was intrigued by the menu.  They have your standard breakfast dishes such as fruit pancakes/ french toast, scrambles, egg burritos, sandwiches and wraps for lunch. What really caught my eye is that they serve a few Asian inspired dishes like Wok Fried Rice Bowl and Crispy Noodles and Crunchy Vegetables.  Another eye catcher was the selection of healthy dishes made with tofu, brown rice,vegetables, and egg whites.
As we entered the restaurant, we noticed that they have a drive-thru window. When we entered, we were told to sit ourselves.  When I looked on Yelp, I read that this place can be busy at times, but on a weekday around noon, it was partially filled.   The restaurant's atmosphere was nice.  When we were given our menus, my eyes darted at the Zen Breakfast, which is brown rice & tofu grilled in their house made ginger-soy served with egg whites and steamed spinach.  But I decided on a breakfast wrap since I had Chinese food with tofu the night before.  This is what we ordered...

The Bf had the Rosemary Breakfast: A generous portion of rosemary potatoes served with 3 scrambled eggs and rosemary bread.  He said that this was good. 

I had the Powerhouse Egg Wrap: Egg white, black beans, scallions, jack cheese, and roma tomatoes wrapped in whole wheat tortilla, served with a side of fresh salsa.

I was laughing because it seemed like our food roles had changed for that day. This is something that my Bf would ordered (he usually gets burritos), while I would usually ordered his dish.  See what happens when there's so much to choose from...

 The wrap was big, but with a big appetite that morning I ate the whole thing.  Overall the wrap was good.  Everything in it was "right out of the kitchen" fresh and hot.  My problem was the beans and salsa. Personally, it was too much beans. As I was eating, a whole mound of them kept falling.  At the end, I felt that my whole area around my mouth was covered in beans.  For the salsa, I thought it didn't add much flavor since the wrap was covered in beans. But the rest of ingredients worked well for each other.

For my drink I ordered the Thai Coffee.  I loved this.  It wasn't too sweet for me.  According to their site, they make their own coffee.  If their drive-thru is open, I'm definitely going to use it to try more of their coffee.

Verdict: The coffee was good. If I come back, will try another of their coffee specialties.  The food was okay.  Next time I'll try their Zen Breakfast.  Overall, this is a good restaurant with an interesting hearty and healthy meals.  Go check them out!!!

Sin of Cortez website: http://www.sinofcortez.com/index.html