Restaurant Leftovers

Don't look too closely at the hands in this AI-generated image that was edited in Photoshop.

The Food & Wine site has a piece on the annoyance some servers feel when customers want to take their uneaten food--which they paid for--home. The whole concept annoyed me enough to write about it. Go read the article and then come back here for my rant.

https://www.foodandwine.com/taking-home-restaurant-leftovers-6404995

My opinion: Suck it up, Buttercup! I just paid good money for this food that I can't possibly finish because: 1) I ordered and consumed an app; 2) your portion sizes are too large; 3) I have a dog who enjoys fancy food; 4) I shouldn't have to give you a reason because I PAID FOR THIS FOOD. ALSO, reason #5 which should really be reason #1: food waste is despicable. People who leave food behind in restaurants are entitled brats. No, I'm not going to mention the "starving children in China" or whatever bullshit our parents attempted to guilt us with when we wouldn't finish our boiled brussels sprouts. I am, however, going to guilt you with the amount of labor and natural resources it took to produce the food you're too good to take home with you. Farmers, laborers, butchers, bakers, food inspectors, distributors, cooks, waitstaff, restaurant inspectors, water, electricity, gasoline, and cooking fuel are used to create even the most basic fast food cheeseburger. Years ago, when I was considered an "influencer" (Instagram's algorithm has reconsidered since then), I was invited to a restaurant opening and had the misfortune to share a booth with a couple other "influencers" I didn't know very well. One of them ordered the most outlandish item on the menu--a deep-fried burger--took a bite for photographs, and left the rest on the plate, uneaten. He didn't take the leftovers. This was years ago and I am still pissed when I think about it. 

(There are a few exceptions to my rule. The first is staying in a hotel room that isn't equipped with a fridge. If it's winter, there's snow on the ground, and the room has a balcony...maybe. Otherwise, it's not safe to keep most leftovers un-refrigerated. Bread, muffins, croissants, and non-dairy-filled pastries are ok. Everything else could eventually fall victim to bacterial growth. I don't need that. Second, if I'm attending some sort of long event immediately after the meal, say going to the theatre or a concert, especially if I'm traveling from restaurant to venue on foot. Finally, if the food was truly bad, or under- or overcooked. In that case, I would have brought it to the attention of my server and the situation should have been remedied by the kitchen. But sometimes that doesn't happen.)

Also, I realize that some people are so inept at cooking that they can't fathom repurposing a leftover cheeseburger. Which is beyond sad. Take the filling out of the bun, pop it in the microwave for 45 seconds, re-bun it, and eat. There are plenty other ways to use leftovers, but that's another post for another day.)

For the servers who whine about having to send out a busboy to pack my leftovers: I am perfectly capable of doing so myself. In fact, I prefer to do it myself. Just give me a small container and I will happily scrape my own plate. And yes, I am going to take any (good) bread that is left because otherwise it will be thrown away. If a restaurant is not throwing it away, and repurposing something that was touched and possibly coughed on by the customer, I'd like to know because I will never set foot in that establishment. (It's good to avoid bread pudding for that very reason.)

I guess now I need to create some posts about reusing leftover restaurant food, huh? For now, please to enjoy the most popular post on Minxeats regarding making hash browns out of french fries.

* Any products in this post that are mentioned by name may have been provided to Minxeats by the manufacturer. However, all opinions belong to Minxeats. Amazon links earn me $! Please buy!

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Throwback Thursday: Best of 2017, Part One - Restaurant Food

This post originally appeared on Minxeats.com on January 1, 2018.

I get sad looking back on some of these posts and seeing dishes I can no longer get my hands on (or sink my teeth into). Like that beet reuben--Pen and Quill is long gone. Or anything from Smoke, though the former owner is hinting that he's planning a re-do. Hunan Taste is also gone, and the owners owe my brother $100 for the gift card he bought before they closed their other restaurant (a hot pot joint in Timonium). I've threatened to make the zucchini bread from The Turn House many times, but have never followed through. Thankfully, I can still get the tempura broccoli from Ekiben and the pambazo from Fiesta Mexicana anytime I want.

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Welcome to our annual round-up of our favorite dishes from 2017! This first post will include all the restaurant dishes we enjoyed last year. Not all of them were written about here on Minxeats; some were Instagram-only posts (they'll be the ones without links). We tend to eat at the same restaurants over and over, so it makes more sense to post pretty photos than to write repetitive posts (which we are also known to do!).  (I know the photos seem blurry, but if you click on them to get a larger version, I promise those will be much more in focus!)

So. Many. Parentheses. Sorry.

February

The tempura broccoli from Ekiben is a flavor revelation! If you haven't tried it, what on earth are you waiting for? Be sure to order it with the optional Chinese sausage, unless of course you are a vegetarian.

March

Everything at Hersh's, especially the housemade pasta, like this tagliolini with shrimp and lemon breadcrumbs. And the pizza. Always get a pizza.

April

I loved the smoked beet reuben at Pen & Quill. Though the chef that created it is gone, it's currently on the online menu; if you're lucky, they really still do have them. A perfect reuben, with all the gooey cheese and tangy sauerkraut, with beets instead of beef.

At the B & O American Brasserie, the agnolotti with smoked carrots, morels, onions, and peas really floated my boat. Smoked carrots! Everything else we tried from the Spring menu was pretty delicious, including sweetbreads that nobody else seemed to like (they took them off the menu fairly quickly) and luscious lamb ribs.

May

We've tried all the sandwiches at Smoke, and the Boss Dawg is my favorite. It's got everything one needs in a sandwich: pulled pork, house-cured bacon, cheddar, slaw, crispy onions, jalapeno-bacon glaze, and pickles.

While our entire seafood-forward meal at By the Docks was really great, I can't stop thinking about the baklava cheesecake. BAKLAVA CHEESECAKE.

OMG the fried oysters and artichoke veloute at La Cuchara. Mr Minx thought they were the best fried oysters he had ever eaten. I concur.

June

While I was quite disappointed with the soft shell crab roll I had there in the same meal, Azumi's age dashi tofu was tender, crisp, and loaded with umami. Outstanding. Enough to lure me back to try more? Maybe.

July

The brisket the Turn House served at a media dinner in July was the best fuxxing brisket I have ever eaten.

Ditto for their zucchini bread, which was served with molasses butter. Find the recipe for both at Savory Experiments.

August

I normally don't order chocolate desserts in restaurants because they can often be too rich. But we couldn't resist this warm chocolate chess pie at Nickel Taphouse. Even my brother, who claims he's not a dessert person, couldn't help but assist in the demolition of this gooey delight.

This tomato water bloody Mary served at a lovely al fresco dinner held by Copper Kitchen was the best damn bloody Mary I have ever had. And it's dead simple.

Do you like sweetbreads? I sure do, and this pile of perfectly cooked specimens with a lemony sauce was served up at the Bluebird Cocktail Room one happy Happy Hour.

November

Back at B & O again, the Buffalo Pig Tails were dyn-o-mite (as was everything else).

We were invited to a Friendsgiving dinner at the Turn House where we had a lot of really fine food, but my favorite item of the evening was this chocolate nut pie. It wasn't too sweet, nor too chocolatey. I know--no such thing as too chocolatey for some folks, but there is for me.

We always go to Hunan Taste around my birthday. This year, we might have had the best meal there ever. The twice-cooked pork was fantastic and something we'll definitely order again to go with our usual Sichuan green beans and beef on toothpicks (seen in the background).

December

I've eaten the Buffalo brussels sprouts at Nickel Taphouse a few times this year, and they are always dynamite. So flavorful!

The pambazo at Fiesta Mexicana is definitely worth writing home about. I ordered mine with "milanesa" or breaded beef, and my mouth was very happy. Can't wait to get back there again where I just might order the same thing.

Hope you enjoyed reminiscing with us. Here's hoping for a delicious 2018!



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* Any products in this post that are mentioned by name may have been provided to Minxeats by the manufacturer. However, all opinions belong to Minxeats. Amazon links earn me $! Please buy!

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Best of 2023

2023 started strong, with a trip to NYC and lots of good things to eat. Another trip to NY in June ensured some good summer eating. But then the rest of the year was kinda pfffftttt, culinarily. We've been stuck in a rut, going to the same handful of restaurants over and over. That's not necessarily a bad thing, it's just not a good thing. Then we had COVID from the end of September through mid-October and didn't really want to go out in public even after we had recovered. Plus, I didn't have any interest in food for a few weeks (I know - hard to believe!). 

Hopefully, we'll do better in 2024!

January

vegan cheeses from Riverdel in the Essex Market, NYC

I had no idea that vegan cheese could be so good! I had only tried the standard supermarket crap, which is fine if you enjoy Kraft Singles, but not if you're fond of cheese that couldn't pass for plastic. Riverdel cheese sells only vegan cheese, which is actual cheese made the way cheese is normally made, only without the use of animal milks. I can no longer remember the three cheeses I tried, though I believe one was a cheddar and another was a blue, but they were all fantastic. My non-lactose-intolerant companion kept asking for more "tastes" of my snack. Get yer own, girlie. This is mine.

el supremo at Golden West Cafe

Another vegan surprise was the vegan fried chicken sandwich at Golden West Cafe. Made by Melanie Molinaro's Little Fig Bake Shop in Rosedale, the free-form, plant-based glob of deliciousness is coated with a craggy brown crust and mimics a deep fried chicken breast extremely well. Golden West adds a brioche bun, lettuce, tomatoes, pickles, and their version of thousand island, along with reasonably mozzarella-like fried vegan cheese sticks. Like most everything at Golden West, the sandwich is huge, but also delicious. 

February

homemade shrimp & grits

I made shrimp and grits more than once in 2023, but the best time was when I topped the garlicky shrimp with roasted red pepper and fried salami. It seemed Italian, so I added fennel seeds, too. 

March

everything pizza without green pepper, from Squire's

There will never be a time when pizza from Squire's won't be one of the best things I've eaten.

kupati at Tbiliso

The Georgian pork sausage called Kupati made last year's list, and it was just as amazing in 2023.

vegan fried green tomatoes at Golden West Cafe

Yet another vegan item on the list of best things I ate in 2023 is the fried green tomatoes from Golden West. It looks absolutely hideous, I know, but the vegan pimento cheese and herb aioli were both outstanding and passed for animal-based products. The tomatoes were fried perfectly, too. 

shrimp liang and pancit at Heritage Kitchen

Sadly, Heritage Kitchen closed its doors in 2023, but we made sure to get in our fix of Chef Rey Eugenio's Filipino dishes more than once. The shrimp liang was my favorite, from the rice and greens to the shrimp and crispy squares of pork belly. 

chicken and lamb kebabs with Shirazi salad at Villagio Cafe

Another sure winner is anything at Villagio Cafe. Though their rice dishes are uniformly tasty, when I'm on Whole30, I prefer a side of Shirazi salad, a simple combination of bell pepper, onion, tomato, and cucumber.  

April

egg fu yung at Kung Fu 12

Just for the heck of it, we ordered egg fu yung at Kung Fu 12; the veggie option with broccoli sounded good. Minds were blown when we received crunchy deep-fried clouds of egg filled with barely-cooked vegetables, and a cup of cornstarch-thickened gravy on the side. It was closer to a cross between tempura and beer-battered onion rings than to the gravy-drenched omelets we expected. Fabulous, and now one of our regular orders. 

May

woodlands pie from Underground Pizza Company

Underground Pizza Company makes the list again this year with their stunning mushroom pie. I can't even explain how good their crust is, and the mix of sauteed wild mushrooms on top puts it over the top.

June

moussaka at Nautilus Diner

When I see moussaka on the specials menu at Nautilus, I order it. While the inch of bechamel makes it a lactose-intolerant person's nightmare, everything else about it is perfection.

pineapple fried rice from Mr Fried Rice at Urban Hawker, NYC

During a marathon eating extravaganza with my friend Daisy, I devoured more than half of this flavorful rice dish. Those flower cut pieces of squid you see at the bottom front were insanely tender, there was just enough pineapple in it that you noticed but not because it was too sweet, and the pork floss on top added interesting texture and crunch. Can't wait to eat this again.

pistachio supreme from Lafayette NYC

Lafayette's spiral pastries made from laminated dough (think croissants) filled with custard (this one is pistachio) are Instagram-famous for a reason. They are fabulous.

crab cake on fettuccine with vodka sauce at Pappas Parkville

I seldom order pasta in a restaurant, but I couldn't pass up this special at Pappas. Their crab cakes are huge and very good, and the pasta was excellent. Best part is that there was a ton of sauce, so between Mr Minx's and my leftovers and adding a few more ounces of fettuccine, we had a bonus crab vodka pasta dinner.

July

homemade hearts of palm "crab"cake over quinoa and esquites.

I made some pretty impressive faux crab cakes out of canned hearts of palm. Sure, they're a little tangier than real crab, but the texture is similar and they are tasty in their own right.

August 

melon, burrata, marcona almonds, gnocchi at Kneads Bakery

This dish had so much going on, all of it good. It was a cheese course kinda dish because there was a sweetness to it that isn't normally found in an appetizer, and the gnocchi were more like donut holes than pasta, but damn, so tasty. I regret not going back to eat it again before the menu changed.

roasted cauliflower with EWF seasoning 

Seems like I put the seasoning mix that Earth, Wood, and Fire uses on their chicken wings on lots of things, and one of the best was roasted cauliflower. If you look hard enough on this blog, you'll find the recipe, but it won't be credited to the restaurant because I told them it would be a secret. It was, for years, until now it's not.

December

lentil and duck salad at Petit Louis

Neal and I snuck out for a 3-course lunch at Petit Louis a few weeks before Christmas and enjoyed a lovely French lentil and duck confit salad as our appetizer. It was so good, I invested in a bag of Puy lentils so I can attempt to recreate it at home. 

allium pie at JBGB's

The allium pie at JBGB's, in Remington, has scallion bechamel, cipollini and sweet & sour onions, and garlic oil as well as fontina and mozzarella cheeses on a lovely Neapolitan-style thin crust (dark, blistered, somewhat soggy at the center). I had heard good things about this place and now I wonder why it took us so long to get there.

* Any products in this post that are mentioned by name may have been provided to Minxeats by the manufacturer. However, all opinions belong to Minxeats. Amazon links earn me $! Please buy!

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Best of 2022

I suppose it's not surprising that we didn't do a "best of" post for 2020 or 2021. Not that we didn't eat well those years--we did. We were just in a totally different groove, and blogging wasn't part of it. But we're back in the swing of things here at Minxeats--at least I am, not sure when Mr Minx will start adding his twenty-five cents (inflation!) to the blog. In any case, this post represents my thoughts on the best foods we consumed this year, both at home and in restaurants. Here's a TL;DR if you're not up to scrolling to the bottom: many of the items seem to be sandwiches or pizza. 

WARNING: GRAPHIC CONTENT. This post contains many images of food. You may find yourself drooling uncontrollably. Minxeats takes no responsibility for your actions after viewing.

January

pollo catalana @La Barra  

My BFF Andree and I went to New York in January to spend some quality time together. One of the best things we ate was a dish of chicken and plums, aka pollo Catalana, at La Barra, a restaurant within Jose Andres' Little Spain in the Hudson Yards complex. 

February

roasted cauliflower with babaganoush and other stuff.

Roasted cauliflower is a regular in the Minx household and I try to make a different version every time. This was my favorite, which involved a Stonewall Kitchens feta spread. Find the recipe here.

March 

salmon @La Calle

I've said it before, and I'll say it again: La Calle makes the best salmon in Baltimore. It's always moist, with crispy skin, and perfect seasoning. I think I ate it twice in 2022, which is not nearly enough times.

pork belly @Kung Fu 12

The Shanghai braised pork belly at Kung Fu 12 in Towson is so rich and luscious, with the perfect ratio of fat to meat. If you're not a fan of fatty foods, or somewhat gelatinous textures, you may not go for this, but that kind of food is right up my alley. 

loaded yuca fries @La Food Marketa

Another dish I ate at least twice in 2022 was the loaded yuca fries at La Food Marketa. Crispy planks of fried yuca are mounded with a pile of shredded beef short rib, drenched in queso, and topped with a fried egg. $13. Cheap and delicious, and one of my all-time fave restaurant dishes.

bone marrow crab dip @True Chesapeake

Another dish we ate multiple times in 2022 (at least thrice) is the outrageous bone marrow and blue crab dip at True Chesapeake Oyster Company. It comes with just enough grilled crusty bread on which to spread the rich and decadent delight. 

April

motzi bread @Dutch Courage

I'm not a fan of smoked salmon, but Dutch Courage's tartine of salmon mousse with horseradish cream on locally baked bread from Motzi sounded pretty good. And tasted even better. The bread was incredible and I think I might make a real pig of myself if I ever got my hands on a whole loaf.

June 

June was a good month for eating! Especially pizza-eating.

pizza with smoked baby scallops, pancetta, pesto @Cosima

This is one of my all-time favorite pies, and if it's on the menu at Cosima, I order it. Normally I go there with a group and have to share my pie, but this time it was just me and my friend Kim. I ordered the capesante pizza as my entree and loved every bite of it.

kupati with rice @Tbiliso 

I stumbled upon Tbiliso, a Georgian restaurant, while poking around Google Maps. We tried several items on our first visit (and need to go back and try more), and this sausage dish was my favorite. 

morcilla with eggs @Spanish Diner

I know blood sausage isn't everybody's thing, but I grew up eating kiszka, a Polish blood sausage. I was in the mood for a simple lunch after slogging around the Fancy Food Show so stopped into Spanish Diner at Hudson Yards for an order of fried eggs with crusty bread and these lovely patties of morcilla. So good, especially with sangria and a flan chaser.

jambalaya pizza @Earth, Wood, & Fire

Another of my favorite pies is the Jambalaya pizza at Earth, Wood, & Fire, jam packed with andouille, chicken, shrimp, and jalapenos. It's spicy, but not too, and tastes remarkably like its namesake rice dish.

Everything pizza @Squire's

Squire's has always been one of my favorite places for pizza, and theirs is not quite like others in town. The crust is drier and firmer, and the sauce is sweet and herby. I love it piled with all the meats and mushrooms, aka the "everything" but without the green pepper (which ruins it, IMHO).

July

patty melt @Nautilus Diner

Back in the day, all burgers at Friendly's were patty melts. I couldn't understand why they didn't have buns, only bread. Today, the patty melt--a burger on griddled rye with sauteed onions and preferably swiss cheese, 1000 island on the side--is one of my all-time faves. I hadn't tried Nautilus' version and am generally not impressed with most of their burgers, but I was in the mood and we were there.... And it was excellent, with just the right amount of greasy lusciousness. 

beef milanesa torta @R&R Taqueria Honeygo

Another one of my favorite sandwiches is the torta at R&R Taqueria, which I normally order with a breaded beef cutlet (Milanesa). It's also full of veggies, beans, and cheese. Far too big for one person, this sandwich is perfect for sharing. 

August

roasted cauliflower, meatballs, muhammara @home

I''ve been lazy in the kitchen this year, relying on stuff from the freezer (homemade soups and chilis) or leftover takeout. Sometimes I get creative, and this dish of meatballs and cauliflower with various Mediterranean sauces and seasonings was pretty darn delish.

sriracha lime dumplings and seafood pancake @Random Access

Another trip to New York meant another food fest. I had wanted to try Random Access, a new Thai restaurant in "my" K-Town neighborhood, but somehow couldn't squeeze it in on prior trips. This time, I feasted on these tangy, spicy, creamy, juicy, cilantro-y dumplings and a pancake/omelette thingy topped with various seafoods and more cilantro. All the bold flavors made my mouth happy.

mortadella sandwich @All'Antico Vinaio

Legendary Florentine sandwich shop All'Antico Vinaio has two outposts in Manhattan that serve up monstrously large sandwiches of Italian cold cuts on a focaccia-like bread. My La Paradiso, which included pistachio cream and pistachios as well as a kind of fresh mozzarella known as stracciatella, on a pile of thinly sliced mortadella, was easily enough for a small family. I admit I ate the whole thing.

October

lobster roll @Charly's

My friend Cyrus Keefer is currently the chef at Charly's Sue Creek, a new waterside restaurant in the wilds of Essex. He crams a whole chick lobster (1.5 lbs) into his succulent version of a Connecticut-style lobster roll. More, please.

black and bleu burger from Alonso's @home

Alonso's has the best burgers in town. Always fat, juicy, and perfectly cooked, on a super fresh roll with the perfect amount of cheese. Go try it if you haven't already.

November

cajun mac and cheese with pulled pork @Cajun Kate's

We've started a tradition of going to Cajun Kate's on my birthday (November 17, if you want to send gifts), and it's hard to leave there without trying the mac and cheese du jour. This particular day they had three varieties, and we ordered the most decadent. The creamy and very cheesy mac doesn't need a layer of smoky pulled pork, but now that I've tried it, it seems wrong to eat it any other way.

December

nonna pie @Underground Pizza Company

Our last pizza for the year came from Underground Pizza Company, which specializes in Detroit-style pies. Among the three variations we tried, our favorite was the Woodland, though the Nonna was pretty darn good. Love that vodka sauce!

peking duck on a bao bun @Kung Fu 12 Szechuan

Christmas Eve dinner at Kung Fu 12 involved half a Peking duck, which came with the option of pancakes or buns, and duck soup or crispy salt and pepper bones. The first time we had the duck there, we went for the soup and ended up bringing 2 quarts of stock home. Though it is soup season, I didn't want to have to think of what to do with all that duck stock (and it wasn't going to fit in our very full freezer), so we went with the bones. I didn't photograph it, because it was literally a plate of bones. Fried bones with crispy bits of juicy fat and skin that were a delight to eat. Though we had some other good stuff that night, I think the bones were my favorite thing on the table.