Charlotte, North Bear-alina...this one's for you...this one's for you...us us us...

Betty and I took a last minute trip to Hilton Head last month and stopped in to visit some fam and friends in Charlotte, NC on the way. We had some good eats and the highlight of the trip was getting some quality time with our friends and family whom we don't get to visit with often. We kicked off opening night at a Mexican restaurant which of course I was eager to try. Our friend took us to Azteca. I must admit the location of the restaurant was slightly seedy as it was connected to a hotel but there was a warm vibe in the air which included a Mariachi band and folks who would stop by your table and make fresh guacamole.


chips & salsa w/ an interesting cabbage salad/salsa/slaw?


$8 guacamole made fresh in front of you


carnitas de puerca aka pork tacos.


sopapilla-esque dessert with fruit topping

Overall I was pleased with the meal, the vibe and the great conversation during dinner. There was perhaps slightly a bit of ADD in the air with all the music and action happening in the restaurant but it was fun none-the-less. The chips and salsa were standard. The cabbage dip was intriguing though not my favorite. I asked for hot sauce and hot salsa and was underwhelmed with both options that were brought out. The $8 guac tasted more like $5.75 guac but was still decent. The highlight of my meal was my carnitas taco dinner. The pork was extremely delicious and cooked tender topped with my favorite veggie red onions. Does it really get any better than this? I thoroughly enjoyed my tacos. Dessert was very delicious and a palette cleanser to change up everything we had been eating all evening.

The next morning I noted there was a Bojangles nearby our friend's place so I had to let Betty experience the guilty fried indulgence that is Bojangles.


biscuits & gravy to the left to the left & a spicy chicken biscuit with taters to the right to the right...

The biscuits and gravy were sinfully delicious. I really need to find a recipe for biscuits and gravy because I really love and crave them. I know Bojangles is fast food -- but their biscuit and gravy gives all the other dine-in joints up north a run for their money. The chicken biscuit was very good too. The potato wedges were a'ight but not anything too exciting. We also ordered a blue berry biscuit from them which was excessively rich and buttery but also delicious. It was fun to share this Southern fast food tradition with Betty though you really only need to eat Bojangles once every 2-3 years.

Betty and her bear-friend went to get their paws done at the bear-lon so I decided to stop by and visit my aunt and uncle. I was treated to some fantastic-ly fresh and tasty Indian food.

my aunt's Indian falafel

These were great. The meal was a take on Greek falafel but consisted of chick peas and lentils in the batter. The balls were rolled, deep fried and then served with a pita with some very tasty cilantro cream chutney. Talking to my aunt about how she made the Indian falafel made me want to revisit the process of deep frying foods. Betty got me a fry daddy when we still lived in the Short North but I was always scared to use it.

Up next was my aunt's golgappa a true Indian delicacy:


golgappa covered with seasoned yogurt, tamarind chutney, cilantro and chick peas

When I ate this yummy dish I couldn't help but reflect on how my tastebuds have evolved since I was a bitty bear. I never liked this dish as a cub -- i think mostly because the sweet and sourness confused me -- but now being somewhat older my taste buds have matured or something and this dish hit the spot. For those not familiar with golgappa -- it is essentially deep-fried mini crispy bread shells topped with chick peas, onions and usually a mix of yogurt and sweet-and-spicy chutneys.

In the evening Betty and I visited my cousin and her husband in the heart of downtown Charlotte. My cousin prepared for us an organic vegetarian Mexican dish of chili verde enchiladas. Not pictured were some tasty appetizers of guacamole and a cheesy bean dip.


chili verde vegetable enchilada stack

The enchiladas were fresh, simple and pretty tasty. A little light on the spice for my tastes but all in all a good meal. During dinner Betty and I had great discussion with my cousin and her hubs about the China Study, the challenges of maintaining an organic lifestyle and bear-ituality. Good times indeed.

The next day we caught up with more fam and hit up Big Daddy's Burger Bar which is a burger joint that prides itself on grass-fed hormone free burgers. Since I was down in the South I figured I should try their Classic Southern Burger:


Classic Southern Burger: burger topped with chili, American cheese, relish, mustard and slaw along & french fries fried in duck fat.

This burger was fresh and tasty but a bit of a mess. I suppose you get what you order right? The duck fat fries were good but I couldn't really distinguish the taste of the duck fat from the usual french fry preparation except for the fact they tasted firmer and were a little on the salty side. No worries because this place specialized in soft serve for dessert which was the perfect way to end the meal.

ultra sweet-soft serve with sprinkles

I forgot to take a picture of our last home cooked meal with my cousins and aunt but it was a delicious meal of cholay and dal. Betty and I had a lot of fun in Charlotte. I was impressed with all the yummy home cooked meals my family shared with us and really the best part was getting to visit with everyone and seeing our family and friends. I was happy to learn of similar cooking and diet interests with my cousins -- and hopefully next time we visit I'll get to share with them some of my ck freestylings in the kitchen. Word is bear-log!

the best burger in Columbus?...Northstar Cafe

Betty and I met up with some friends at one of our favorite restaurants in Columbus good old Northstar Cafe the one located near Clintonville. Ever since the Rose and Thistle shut down about 5 years ago -- the Northstar Burger has become what I believe to be the best burger in Columbus.


the Northstar burger...aka the best burger in Columbus?

Okay...so best burger might be pushing it because of 2 caveats:

1. the Northstar burger is a veggie burger
2. it costs an arm and a leg at $11.50

Those aside -- nothing's messing with the flavor. Their menu describes the ingredients that go in the veggie burger: "...organic brown rice, black beans and beets topped with white cheddar, lettuce, tomato, pickle & onion + simple salad..." Who knew that such a simple burger with beets could pack such a delicious, fresh, hearty, yummy taste? Betty and I split the burger and decided to try their ever so hyped guacamole.


Northstar guacamole aka not the best guac in columbus

Now I've read some great reviews of the guac from Northstar -- it is the same guac they have at their sister shop called 3rd and Hollywood. Furthermore -- when I placed my order the lady who rung up my order said I would not be disappointed and that it was the best guacamole ever. I told her that was a bold claim and that I've had a fair share of amazing guacamoles and NONE of them have been served at restaurants. With that being said on to the guac. The plating looks nice but I think they forgot to give me a couple of scoops considering it costs $9.50 for their guac. Betty and I tried the guac and it tasted pretty good. A little light on the salt but very fresh and pretty tasty. Just pretty tasty but definitely not the best guac I've ever had and come on now...$9.50 for guac. You're prolly thinking I'm a crazy bear since I'm spending $11.50 for a veggie burger no complaints but then whining about the guac...oh well. Betty said that it's the best guac she's had out at a restaurant but not the best tasting guac ever and I concur. I love the Northstar burger. I seldomly get anything else from there. I grew up eating a number of veggie burger vendors and providers and this burger not only tastes yummy but perhaps makes me nostalgic of some great days as a kid -- but is it the best burger in Columbus? I think it is having tried a number of places including Thurman, Barleys, Club 185 and Old Bag of Nails to name a few -- but if you disagree or know a burger that you think competes with the Northstar Cafe burger -- tell me about it cause I'm game. As for the guac - save your $9.50 for a chocolate truffle cookie cause I can't rationalize the cost.

license to grill at the Chateau...

Betty and I had a busy 4th of July weekend grilling out. I tried my sister's marinade once again on some chicken tenders and thighs this time but changed it up a bit adding some other spices and even beer to the recipe.


chicken tenders and thighs on the grill...okay so not quite Los Potosinos...but still

The chicken tenders were good but even after a day of marination did not seem to be ultra-flavored as previously made. The chicken thighs on the other hand were simply delicious though not as healthy. I think the fat tissue on the thighs hold the marinade better.

We also stopped off at Whole Foods and picked up some 85/15 ground beef burgers.


covered burgers on challah buns with American cheese, lettuce, tomatoes and pickles

This was my first time grilling beef burgers and I struggled cooking them. I left them on the grill for 12 minutes but they were still bloody so I cooked them longer. In the end I got them to a medium cooking color and we served them with challah buns. The burgers were phenomenal. Why have i been spending my money on restaurant burgers when these are the jam?


plated above was the grilled chicken thighs with chipotle mac and cheese and tater salad all bear made

The chipotle mac and cheese was a freestyle from 2 different recipes and included 2 different types of cheddar and a pepper jack cheese, 3 adobo chilis and paste, and 2 chorizo sausage links. This was my first time making mac and cheese and it turned out pretty good but still not as good as my sister makes. The tater salad was the freestyle salad inspired by Columbus Yogurt that consisted of both sweet and dill pickles, pickle juice, red wine vinegar, curry and cumin. We used the grill 3 times over the weekend which brings my total grilling adventures to 7 or so. There is still a lot to learn about grilling and heating strategies on the grill but for now it's safe to say that I have a license to grill. Now the only question is...what to grill next?

Massachusetts Bear Colony Presents: Boston Blur

Betty and I returned from Boston Monday night tired but happy from our weekend trip. We were in-town for a friend's wedding. In 3.5 days we pawed our way through a very beautiful, pedestrian friendly town with so much rich history consuming as much local seafood and local grub as we could. We did our scouting homework thanks to some tips from a Bostonian couple we met on our Princess Cruise Misadventures and were eager to check out the sites, sounds and eats of Bear town...err...Bean Town.

Up first Regina Pizzeria. This is supposed to be Boston's Best pizza.


volcanic looking cheese pizza


similarly volcanic looking sausage pizza

Betty and I had to wait in line about 30 minutes to try the pies but it was worth it. Regina Pizzeria is in the genre of thin crust brick oven pizza. Our favorite pizza John's Pizzeria in NYC is of the thin crust coal oven genre. Regina's reminded me of a distant cousin of John's -- which meant that I loved it. As is all too common one person's GPOAT is another's person's weaksauce. Though I appreciate pizza in its many forms -- the thin crust genre is prolly my favorite. That being said - Adriaticos thick crust is my GPOAT. Regina's pizza was perfectly cooked served scorching hot and slightly burnt on the edges and crust. Greasy cheese and sweet tomato sauce go perfect with carbon. That's a tip that most pizza joints just don't get. We ordered a topping pizza and a purist plain -- a habit Betty got me into many years ago. This way you get to appreciate the classic ingredients of a pizza while also getting an idea of how the pizza flavors enhance and build from the combination of extra toppings. I loved both pizzas. Regina's homemade sausage was very much on point but at the end of the day -- Betty and I had to fight for the last slice of cheese -- though you can do no wrong with any topping selection I would fathom. I can't say for certain that Pizzeria Regina is the best pizza in Boston. Those folks who don't like thin crust may not fancy this pie. I will say that the next time we're in Boston I'm going to Pizzeria Regina -- and that any other pizza joint would be hard-pressed to top it's taste. We were advised to go to the original location at 11 1/2 Thacher Street -- as there are chains across the city -- and the dining environment was charming. Our first Boston mission was accomplished -- the only problem was that I kept wanting to go back and get more instead of branching out...

Not too far from Regina's was Mike's Pastry which had been mentioned to us as having good cannolis. We heard rumors of an $8 cannoli there but Betty and I settled in on the $4 chocolate cannoli. I don't know too much about cannoli's but this was easily the best one I had.


chocolate cannoli with some Boston shower sprinkles -- that's right we ate this in the rain outside and it still knocked us on our paws.

The next morning found us touristing around market square and we had to try some of the fresh seafood at one of the shops. The name escapes me but it's the place in Quincy market that has the shrimp salad displayed right next to it.


peel and eat shrimp round 1. $9.95 for 6 shrimp? ouch.

The ginormous shrimp were expensive but extremely tasty. Regular readers know I am a price hound and if your food costs mad loot it better taste real good or you got one mad bear blog on your hands. The exception to this rule is normally vacation but Betty and I were having so much fun on our Boston-whirl-wind-tour that going broke never felt so good.

Continuing our walking tour on the Freedom trail south west to Beacon Hill...to Boston Common all the way back around to the Boston harbor worked up a tremendous appetite. We came across this strange trailer-esque building on the harbor marketing their lobster bisque called James Hook and Co. I was sold with the meer mention of lobster bisque and ventured in with Betty reluctantly following unsure of why I would want to enter this hole-in-the-wall.

When we walked into said strange trailer-esque building there were fresh lobsters and other sea creatures in the place with a small presentation/serving display. Though not ubear inviting I ordered a cup of the lobster bisque soup. Bear oh bear -- this soup was lobster-bliss. Sweet, creamy and lobstered out beyond tastes could describe. James Hook should have a TV show called Lobster My Soup cause this bisque is all about flavor.


sucky picture of lobster bisque -- we were sitting under a red umbrella...ella ella eh eh eh...

Between the shrimp in the morning and the lobster bisque for a snack Betty and I needed more sustenance so decided to check out the convenient Tia's Bar that was located not to far from our hotel. Surprise surprise...more sea food in the mix.



clam chowder bowl...they shouldn't even offer cups...


peel and eat shrimp vol. 2

This was some good straight up clam chowder creamy but with no suggestion or real hint of spice enhancement et al. The shrimp was fresh and delicious. I had no qualms ripping off the legs of the skrimp as Columbus Yogurt's girl calls them -- even for a domesticated bear like me.

Our last morning in Boston found Betty and I up early trekking out to Harvard and MIT -- hoping to take in the experience and aura of these prestigious universities and perhaps feeling enlightened in the process? No enlightenment was achieved in this case though it was fun to walk around both campuses. Nothing really caught our eye from a food perspective though most places were closed because we were on campus early -- plus I had failed to do my homework on what places to check out. As our hunger evolved we eventually decided to eat at Mass Avenue Restaurant somewhere in Cambridge on Massachusetts Avenue. Seemed like a hole in the wall diner but since their sign read Mexican food I was hoping for some good eats. I was already dreaming of devouring my refried beans and egg dish concoction only to discover that refried beans were not available until lunch. Weak Sauce. I disappointingly ordered the Mexican omlette -- which aside from salsa and sour cream had nothing that really made it Mexican per se...no chorizo...no spices...oh well.


"mexican" omlette

The food was decent and you sure got a lot of food for $7.00 but my stomach wasn't that into it.

After concluding our AM walking/subway trek to Harvard and MIT it was time to check out of the hotel -- but I was not quite done with Boston just yet. Betty and I decided we'd do a quick pub crawl before heading to the airport. Our next stop was The Black Rose. If you open your Tourist Reader to page 1 you'll most likely read how this pub is one of the best pubs in Boston if not the whole country. That's a pretty bold statement considering Boston might as well be called Pubston with all the small bars we saw on our walking tour. This place was charming in the typical-pub-brick-interior-irish-flag-sorta-way that many Ohio pubs emulate -- but this place was the real deal. In addition we were excited to learn that the Black Rose had the limited edition Brick Red Sam Adams beer on draft. I had to roll with the clam chowder again which was very tasty. Where as Tia's chowder was straight up cream based -- the Black Rose's chowder had a more flavorful spice undercurrent that was predominantly dill as in dillicious.



dillicious clam chowder

I also had to roll with the house burger.


Black Rose Burger - topped with Irish bacon, caramelized onions, sauteed crimini shrooms

The burger was a'ight. It wasn't cooked to my preferred temperature of medium so it was difficult for me to appreciate it. In the end I just ate the burger and left the bun for better or for worse. I was surprised that there was nothing particularly magical about the Irish bacon, crimini shrooms and onions combo. Oh well -- the ambiance and beer were good and Betty and I were off to hit up a couple of more pubs.

Boston is a great city with a rich history. I think i said that already. More importantly for us on this trip -- we had a blast at the wedding and meeting up with our dear friends. The city was very easy to walk about to see all the sites and sounds. As for the eats however -- Betty and I barely scraped the surface of the cuisine and food that we smelled in the streets and drooled as we walked all over town. We look forward to visiting again and getting more time to eat and perhaps less time touristing.

itb remix f. big salad and bold hummus

With many leftovers from the weekend's festivities I had fun remixing them for numerous new meals this week.


indian turkey burger, hummus, pita chips & tomato cucumber salad with sriracha.

let the indigestion begin...

This weekend Betty and I headed home to Dayton to celebrate my sister's engagement. The menu would feature a diversity of foods from your typical cook out to traditional Indian fare. I was up early assisting my sisters and my moms with the cooking and trying to pick up some new recipes and cooking tips.

Up first my middle sis was cooking up some of her delicious macaroni and cheese. She has remixed her recipe a number of times. Today we would be treated to a gruyere and white cheddar mac and cheese with chicken sausage and red onions. How you gonna hate on that?

Click on the thumbnail below to see me guide you through the mac and cheese creation process:


My moms and my older sis prepped turkey burgers Indian style. What makes it Indian you ask? Turmeric, garam masala, hot peppers, garlic and cilantro -- yeah that's what's up.

Click on the thumbnail below to see Betty tell you all about the secrets of the ITB...Indian Turkey burgers that is...:



We also had the usual black bean dip.




I was excited to learn that I would be responsible for making a special run to Shri G Grocers to pick up what I believe to be the best samosas hands down.



Now they don't make them there -- Shri G works with a mysterious someone who works out of his/her home and brings them to the store in a minivan. That was all the info I had. Oh yeah-- samosas are $.75 each.

The day was a blur between running around town, eating yummy food, meeting future fam and catching up with old friends that I fell behind in the picture taking department. There were a number of other items that I did not get a chance to snap photos of including: cholay, ras malai, gulab jamun, a tasty yellow cake from ELE bakery and who knows what else I'm forgetting -- but in the end -- a good time was had by all and bear oh bear...I really shouldn't have eaten those last 3 samosas and 4 pieces of cake...

what exactly is a Surf and Turf Burger?

Betty and I were in Cleveland this weekend and hit up the Moosehead Hook and Ladder pub with some friends. Imagine if a pub was put into an old Firestation and there you go. This place has a unique warm dining atmosphere. When it came time to order drinks I was underwhelmed with the beer selection but their menu was eclectic though difficult to read. Because I'm a nacho hound we started off with the seafood nachos that had shrimp, crab, and provolone on it topped with a lobster cream sauce and jalapenos on the side. They were simple and sweet but very delicious.


seafood nachos

After some contemplation I had to go with the Surf and Turf burger. What exactly is a surf and turf burger ??? --


surf and turf burger

a beef patty with a crab cake on top and grilled crispy onions. I got mine medium. Everyone was waiting for me to try this beast of a sandwich. When I took the first bite I was very surprised with how well the crab and beef actually went together. The burger itself was a little bland probably to allow it to go with the crab cake seasoning. All in all the flavor was decent but not mind altering -- the burger could have benefited from some form of bold condiment -- there was a tabasco-tartar sauce that was okay...but I could have gone for a more spicy mustard or even bacon -- but all in all a pretty unique burger. The rest of the table was a little underwhelmed with their food but I enjoyed what I tried including the fried grouper fingers. Overall the Hook and Ladder was a great place to catch up with friends for the mood and decent food. I would definitely go back there to try some of the other eclectic items on their menu.