Restaurant Review - Golden West Cafe

Golden West Cafe has been around for a long time--I'm going to say at least 25 years. It started in a wee storefront on 36th Street on the Chestnut Avenue end of Hampden's popular strip of shops and eateries popularly know as "The Avenue." The menu was similarly tiny. I can recall my one visit to that location, during which I enjoyed a Thai-ish noodle dish with shrimp, while seated on the front porch with a friend. After a few years, the restaurant moved several blocks down the street with much larger digs and a huge menu of breakfast-all-day options, vegan items, and the flavors of the Southwestern US, plus burgers and a number of gluten-free items.

I'd eat there once in a while until a bajillion new restaurants opened in the neighborhood. Then I sort of forgot about it. Mr Minx and I ventured in a few years back but had a less-than-stellar experience. The dish I ordered was just shy of being too spicy to eat, and Mr Minx bit into a stone that was lurking in his black beans. The manager was very apologetic and comped hubby's meal, but we were wary of returning. 

Recently, however, I've been seeing Golden West get Instagram love for its vegan offerings. While far from vegan, I'm lactose intolerant and appreciate the ability to have a restaurant meal that doesn't require a handful of Lactaids to enjoy. I decided to give the place another chance. It's just down the street from my hair salon, and unlike some other Hampden restaurants that are dinner-only places, Golden West is open all day so I can pop in for lunch before my appointment.

On my first visit, I sat near the bar and ordered an oatmilk latte and the vegan French toast. I'm not sure why I did that, as I mostly eschew wheat bread; I suppose I was feeling indulgent. I was completely satisfied by the mountain of coconutty ciabatta and banana, which didn't even need the accompanying syrup. Unfortunately, I couldn't finish the mammoth portion and didn't want to carry soggy leftovers around for the rest of the day, so I didn't get a doggy bag. 

I did doggy bag about half of my next lunch of chorizo and eggs with hash browns. It's a burrito on the menu, but can be had as a bowl. I requested the spicy chili sauce and salsa on the side, just in case the sauce was too hot for my palate (it was actually pretty mild). I loved the locally made pork chorizo and would definitely order it again.

On another occasion, I was tempted by the El Supremo vegan chicken sandwich. The tofu-based patty is made by Little Fig, a vegan bakery in Rosedale, and has just the right texture and flavor to mimic a battered and fried chicken thigh. It was topped by a vegan mozzarella stick that actually oozed like real mozz. The flavor was more buttery than cheesy, but was a realistic facsimile of dairy cheese. The whole sandwich, which included tomato, lettuce, pickle, and something called "wild island sauce" was rather gigantic (as things tend to be at Golden West) but so good I finished it all. And didn't have to eat for 2 days afterward.

I went Whole Vegan again on my next visit, this time with Mr Minx. We shared the fried green tomatoes with vegan pimento cheese and basil-forward herb aioli. The cheese was pretty impressively cheesy, and I made sure to scrape up and eat every bit of it that fell off the messy tower of tomato onto the plate. 

I also had the "Mission Impossible" burger, which in addition to an Impossible patty included fried brussels sprouts, vegan bleu cheese sauce, lettuce, tomato, and pickle, Additionally, a vegan chicken drumette was impaled atop the whole thing. (Again, a lot of food.) It was delish. Also excellent was Mr Minx's over-the-top Hangover Burger, with 8 ounces of beef, cheddar cheese, guacamole, bacon, and a fried egg. It was messy enough to require a knife and fork, but hubby didn't seem to mind the extra effort.

One might say that I've become quite fond of Golden West Cafe over the past few months. I have a lunch date with a friend later this week and have already been perusing the menu ahead of time. Should I go vegan again, or should I opt for meat this time? Sweet breakfast food, or a savory lunch? I feel like it's hard to make a bad choice there.

Golden West Cafe

1105 W 36th St.

Baltimore, MD 21211

https://www.goldenwestcafe.com/home

Rating: Recommended

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Posted on Minxeats.com.

Avocado Soup

I've gotten super lazy, as far as cooking is concerned. I haven't been particularly inspired to concoct anything new, and have been happy to eat whatever I could throw together from stuff already on hand. And we've been eating restaurant meals quite a bit. Then came a weekend in which we had no plans following a week in which we ate out four times. I had no excuses not to whip up something tasty and satisfying, else be labeled a fraud as a food blogger. (Who ever heard of a food blogger who doesn't want to cook?)

On the way home from work, I stopped at the grocery store to pick up a few things. I knew we had two ripe avocados at home to work with and went from there. Rather than simply make my typical cop-out, guacamole, I thought I'd do something soup-like. I've been trying to avoid wheat, so for texture (and carbs...Mr Minx must have his carbs) I made some polenta croutons with blue cornmeal that had been sitting in our pantry, neglected. More texture came from crunchy toasted pumpkin seeds, and shrimp were added for protein. The result was colorful and tasty, and I was very very pleased.

Thinking back on my concoction, I realized many of the ingredients were similar to those in the not-so-great meal I had at David Burke Fabrick in NY last year. Had I received there what I concocted in my own kitchen with my own hands, I might have looked more favorably upon the place.

Avocado Soup with Chipotle Shrimp and Blue Corn Polenta Croutons

For the soup:
1/2 onion, roughly chopped
Olive oil
Salt
5 tomatillos, husked, rinsed, and roughly chopped
2 cloves garlic, peeled and smashed
Large handful cilantro leaves and tender stems
2 4-ounce cans chopped or diced green chiles
2 avocados
Chicken stock
Fresh lime juice

For the croutons:
1 cup medium grind blue cornmeal (I used Bob's Red Mill)
Salt
Olive oil
Oil for frying

For the shrimp:
2 cloves garlic, crushed
2 teaspoons of adobo sauce from a can of chipotles, plus 1 chipotle, minced
1 tablespoon light soy sauce
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 lb large shrimp, peeled and deveined

To garnish:
Plain Greek yogurt thinned out with milk to a drizzle-able consistency
Cilantro
1 tomato, seeded and diced

For the soup: Add onion, a couple teaspoons of oil, and a pinch of salt to a medium saucepan. Cook over medium high heat, stirring regularly, until onion has wilted and is beginning to brown lightly at the edges, about 10 minutes. Add the tomatillos, garlic, cilantro, and chiles. Stir to combine and bring to a boil. Lower heat, cover pan, and cook until tomatillos break down, about 15 minutes. Remove from heat, pour into a container, and refrigerate until completely chilled.

When ready to serve, pour into a blender jar and add the flesh of 1 1/2 avocados. (Cut the other half into dice and season with lime juice and a pinch of salt. Set aside until ready to serve.) Puree the tomatillo avocado mixture, adding chicken stock as needed to make a consistency thinner than a puree, but not runny. Season with lime juice and salt. Pour into a covered container and refrigerate until ready to use.

For the croutons: Bring 2 cups of water to a boil in a medium pot. Add a big pinch of salt and the cornmeal. Stir constantly with a wooden spoon until cornmeal is incorporated--this should only take a minute or so. Turn down the heat, cover the pot, and let the cornmeal simmer for about 10 minutes. Check and stir frequently so the cornmeal doesn't burn or stick. Once all of the liquid has been absorbed and the cornmeal is rather thick, Add a few teaspoons of olive oil and stir vigorously until the cornmeal comes away from the side of the pan into a ball.

Oil a 8-inch square baking pan. Pour in the cornmeal (it will come out in one big blob) and smooth until it fills the pan evenly. Bash pan on the counter once or twice to help it out. Cover pan with plastic wrap and refrigerate until firm, about 3 hours.

Once cornmeal has firmed up, invert the pan over a cutting board and cut half the cornmeal into 1" cubes. (You won't need all the cornmeal for this recipe. Save the rest to fry up for breakfast the next day, served with maple syrup.)

Heat a bit of vegetable oil in a skillet. Add cornmeal squares and fry until browned on all sides. Drain on paper towel-lined plates.

For the shrimp: Put the garlic, adobo, soy, and olive oil in a zip-top bag. Add the shrimp. Seal the bag with as much air removed as possible, then mix the shrimp around with the marinade ingredients. Refrigerate until ready to use.

Once the soup and croutons are done, it's time to fry the shrimp. Heat up a large skillet and pour in the contents of the shrimp bag. Cook shrimp over medium-high heat, turning them once, until they are pink and opaque.

To serve: Arrange several croutons in a shallow soup bowl. Gently pour in some of the chilled soup. Top with a few shrimp. Combine the chopped tomato with the reserved chopped avocado and garnish the soup with it. Drizzle yogurt over all.

Serves 4



Posted on Minxeats.com.

Green Chicken Chili

Football season has once again reared its ugly head. Yeah, I'm a Ravens fan, and while I do enjoy a rousing match of good (Ravens) vs evil (everyone else), I usually find myself getting stressed out on game days. There's always a lot to do on Sunday--and I don't mean resting--and I need to get everything accomplished before the game eats up a good three-hour chunk of the afternoon. Dinner is the big bugbear. We like to eat early, especially on weekends when we don't ordinarily have lunch. If the game starts at 1, it's usually not over until 4, and then I have to throw something together fast--after I walk the dog (that part is not optional, so don't even suggest changing it). For this reason, I prefer to make something I can throw in a pot either before the game, or that will come together fairly quickly if I have to cook after the game is over.

This green chicken chili fits the bill in both cases. Because it uses pre-cooked chicken (I use the leftovers from a rotisserie chicken purchased earlier in the week) and canned beans, the only real cooking involves softening the veg and cooking it long enough to get the flavors to develop. I can also cook it during the game, letting it simmer over very low heat so it can develop even more flavor. Heck, I guess you can even make it in a crock pot, although I've never used one so wouldn't know for sure.

This is good with cornbread, of course, but we like to crumble in handsful of tortilla chips, too.

Green Chicken Chili

1/2 large onion, chopped
2 jalapeno peppers, chopped
Oil
Salt
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 lb tomatillos, husked, rinsed, and diced
2 4-ounce cans chopped green chiles
Cilantro
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
2 cups chicken stock
2 tablespoons lime juice
3 cups diced cooked chicken
2 cans cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
Agave syrup or honey
Sour cream and cilantro for garnish

In a large pot, sweat the onion and peppers in a tablespoon or so of oil and a pinch of salt. Once the veg are softened, add the garlic and cook for a minute or so, stirring regularly. Add the tomatillos, green chiles, and a good handful of chopped cilantro leaves and tender stems. Cover the pot and let the tomatillos break down a bit, 10-15 minutes, stirring once in a while. Add the seasonings, stock, and lime juice. Cook, uncovered, 15 minutes. Stir in the chicken and beans. Cook another 15 minutes, then taste for seasoning. Add salt and pepper, and enough of the agave or honey to balance the tartness of the tomatillos and lime. If you want more cumin and coriander in there, then add it now. (As a rule, it's not a bad idea to add spices multiple times during cooking.)

Ladle into bowls. Garnish with dollops of sour cream and a bit of cilantro. Serve with cornbread or tortilla chips.



Posted on Minxeats.com.