Back on Track...

Sorry about my extended hiatus from writing. I was having some issues with my boyfriend's ex-wife spying on our activities through my food blog and trying to use it as ammunition against him. How pathetic, right? Anyhow, I'm back to my scribbles about the various culinary adventures that I've undertaken...both big and small...expect to see several posts in the next few weeks. Thanks for reading & bon appetit!

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Gadgets: Seriously, how cute is this oven?

Kenmore PRO Red 36 in. Dual Fuel Freestanding Range

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Masons - CLOSED

1116 15th Street, Sacramento, CA 95814.  (916) 492-1960

There’s nothing I hate more than wasting good money on bad food. That being said Masons…what a complete and total let down. Just shortly after my visit, the Wong family announced that they would be closing Masons and I can’t say I’m too surprised. If you were rating a restaurant on aesthetics alone I’m sure Masons would fare well with it’s hip furniture, coifed staff and trendy West Elm color scheme…but when you get down to it are you willing to hand over your hard earned cash to choke down food that exudes as much flavor as an actual West Elm catalog?

My recent visit to Masons was during Dine Downtown Week. Some will disagree with me, but I’ve always thought that DDW is a perfect opportunity for a restaurant to showcase what they’re all about and to lure in some new clientele; but I’ve found that more often than not, most restaurants fail to seize this opportunity. Anyhow my dining partner, Mr. S., was curious to explore Masons and see if there was any validity to the hype so off we went.  Reservations were easy enough through opentable.com but upon checking in at the hostess desk we were informed that our table was not ready and were directed to the bar. A cursory glance in the dining room showed several open tables. Strike one…I hate when you make a reservation, are on time and are not promptly sat. What’s the point of making a reservation if you end up having to wait anyway?

Mr. S. escorted me to the bar and excused himself to check out the lavatory (if you get a chance, do duck in there and check out the one-way mirror—it can be quite entertaining). Sitting at the glossy bar, I was left to attempt to try and flag down the bartender who was more interested in fixing his perfectly tousled, highlighted locks than attending to his one lone patron. His obvious annoyance at my request for a drink was evident. When I inquired what types of scotch they carried, I was answered with a silent wave over his shoulder to the backlit bar wall. I’m no bespectacled granny but sitting at the bar just a few feet from the bottles, I could barely make out the various liquor labels so I went with what I knew. Once I got my drink, a Macallans 18, let’s just say the pour was unmistakably small. Strike two. Finally after fifteen minutes of watching the bartender adjust his bangs in the mirror, we were finally escorted to our table. The table was flanked by two chairs on one end and a small robin’s egg blue cushioned bench on the other. Since the hostess had taken the liberty to place both menus on the side with the bench, Mr. S.  and I arranged ourselves there. What seems like a romantic idea, in actuality is the most uncomfortable way to sit and hold a conversation in a restaurant. We found ourselves having to contort our bodies so that we were perched sideways on a stiff cushion in an awkward half turn. To be honest, I’m not even sure that the acrobats from Cirque de Soleil could have made themselves comfortable on that bench.

As for our server, she was nice enough…when we saw her. In a half empty restaurant, she was MIA for the better part of the night. After a significant lapse in time, she popped up to take our order and to inform us that one of the dessert choices, a “french toast crème brulee” was no longer being offered…duly noted. I opted to start with a glass of their Kung Fu Girl Riesling (I’ll admit I ordered it solely for the whimsical name) and as a first course, the linguine carbonara with housemade pancetta and shaved grana.  Mr. S. went with a baby spinach and winter citrus salad. I found the carbonara to be gluey and cold. I noticed that Mr. S., an ardent salad lover, to be listlessly pushing his salad around the plate so I snuck a taste…not just was it overly bitter but the olives seemed to be an odd pairing for a citruscentric salad.

First course completed, plates cleared and I still hadn’t received my wine….hmmmm. For the second course, I decided to go with the slow roasted beef short rib and Mr. S., a bit more adventurous than I, went with the fancily named Ecuadorian white prawn cioppino (a dish which holds a place on Masons’ regular menu). The cioppino was touted to consist of a Spanish chorizo-tomato compote and saffron-lobster broth. Sounds exotic and delectable, right? Well, it was everything but…the broth lacked flavor and Mr. S gagged a bit when he got a bad mussel. My ribs were fatty and stringy simultaneously although the horseradish potato puree was decent…but then so are Betty Crocker’s instant garlic mashed potatoes and I can get those for a fraction of the cost that these spuds cost me.  Oh yes, my wine…don’t let me forget that…like my server did. Halfway through our second course, she did pop by to inquire about our dishes and to ask whether we “would like something to drink.” I had to bite my tongue to not retort with a flippant, “Yes, the wine I ordered when I sat down,” but having a mom who instilled good manners in me as a young child, I smiled politely and inquired about my forgotten wine. I shouldn’t have bothered. The Kung Fu Girl Riesling had no kick and was oddly reminiscent to a glass of Two Buck Chuck I had recently been subjected to at a house party.  Strike three, Masons…and you’re out.

Having not been punished enough, we foraged ahead into the third course…dessert. Mr. S. went with a cheesecake with a viscous like huckleberry compote and I requested some sort of chocolate cake with an embellished name.  We opted to get the desserts to go and surprisingly when we dove into them later in the comfort of my abode, they weren’t bad.  They were no Jacques Torres creation but definitely the highlight of this meal.

So you win some and you lose some and in this case our visit to Masons was a total bust. Rumor has it that the owners are slapping a revamp on the place and will be converting it to a “comfort food” restaurant (which seems all the rage these days) by the name of Cafeteria 15L. My opinion on this impending transformation? To borrow a quote from our current president, “You can put lipstick on a pig, but it’s still a pig,”…meaning, you can slap some new paint on an eatery, change the light fixtures and fiddle with the menu but in my experience if the food’s bad, it’s bad and no amount of “lipstick” is going to fix that “pig.”

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~ Here We Go ~

Ever since Yelp jumped the shark, I've missed writing reviews of various restaurants I visit. Also, since I pulled the plug on my personal blog, "Geisha in the Grid" last year, I have nowhere to spout off about the various recipes I try out on my unsuspecting victims...I mean, friends. Hence the conception of "A Girl and Her Fork," which combines both--restaurant and recipe reviews. I'll get some new reviews underway soon, but in the meantime enjoy a few of my restaurant ramblings that I've pulled from my old Yelp account from 2006-2009.

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Welcome to Mum's Delicious Cuisine.

Everyone has favorite chef in their life and she is The MOTHER.

Mum’s touch of love to any simple recipe makes it very special.Some of the dishes Mum makes come from old recipes ,The GrandMa's recipes since the passing down of recipes from mothers to daughters is a tradition in many families,but most of them are from memory. Mum seems to know just how to make a meal, and it always turns out perfect.. :)

I treasure the memories of time spent in the kitchen with my Mother & GrandMother, watching, helping them and learning from them.

Here is a collection of Mum's recipes we talk about and still enjoy, and nobody can make them like MUM!!! Love You Mom..:)

Browse Through :

• Vegetarian Dishes
• Non-Vegetarian Dishes

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The Maltese

1600 Park Ave, Chico, CA 95928. (530) 343-4915

When a friend of mine recently called and invited me to accompany her on a Saturday night to catch her boyfriend’s band’s show in Chico, I can’t say at first that I was jumping up and down in anticipation. This had nothing to do with the band’s musical abilities; but rather that my not-so-distant memories of Chico are mostly associated with late nights at Riley’s Bar, out of control frat parties and consuming unnecessary amounts of Goldschlager (yes, I was THAT girl at one point). However, upon rolling up to the Maltese, I was pleasantly surprised. The bar reminded me of the quintessential dive/biker bar…only much cleaner. It’s situated away from the main drag of drunk college kids throwing up their way across Fraternity Row; however, its location is conveniently just a short jaunt from the neighborhood late-night greasy spoon (Jack’s) and a patch of affordable motels for post-partying crashing.

As far as I could tell, the Maltese appears to cater to the non-mainstream twenties to thirties crowd. Most of the crowd was composed of Chuck and jeans wearers, but there was a generous sprinkling of rockabilly and punk types. On the particular Saturday night that I visited, the evening’s entertainment was composed of three bands for a mere $2. From alt-rock to reggae-punk, every musical palate was pleased throughout the course of the evening. Note, there’s no real stage to speak of, leaving you practically nose-to-nose with the bands—but to be honest, I found that to be one the most likeable aspects of the bar, especially when there’s a cute mohawked-guitarist performing. Drinks were plentiful and reasonably priced (they do take plastic) and the bar staff was equally friendly to both regulars and non. I found that I rarely had to wait to place an order nor did I have to scream my order repeatedly, which is often the case at musical venues.

Despite it's rugged-exterior, the Maltese does an excellent job of upkeeping their facilities. The restrooms are surprisingly tidy and properly stocked for a dive bar. I’m not saying I’d lay down and nap on the women’s room floor but it was as clean as most of the higher end bars in Sac. They’ve also taken the time to build a fenced in, cemented patio area for its patrons to smoke refugee style and mingle in. Before you go and start thinking this is the Waldorf-Astoria of dive bars, please be advised that it IS a dive bar and to keep your expectations in check. The décor is typical bar crapola (posters, beer signs, etc), but the joint is able to pull off a feeling of comfort. Trust me, within a few minutes you’ll feel like you’ve been visiting their counter for years. I know if I’m ever in the area, I’ll definitely make a point to stop in the Maltese for a brew or two.

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Sambal Tauco (Yellow Bean Sauce Sambal)

Ingredients:
• ¼ cup (70g) yellow bean sauce (tauco) or miso
• ¼ cup (60 mL) thick coconut milk

Spice Paste:
• 3 green finger-length chilies, deseeded
• 4 shallots, peeled
• 3 cloves garlic, peeled
• 2 tablespoons oil
• 1 stalk lemongrass, thick bottom third only, outer layers discarded, inner part bruised
• 2 salam leaves
• 1 tablespoon tamarind juice
• 1 teaspoon shaved palm sugar or dark brown sugar

Preparations:
• Make the spice paste by grinding the chilies, shallots and garlic to a smooth paste in a mortar or blender, adding a little oil if necessary to keep the mixture turning. Heat the oil in a wok over medium high heat and stir-fry the ground paste with all the other ingredients until fragrant, 3 to 5 minutes
• Add the yellow bean sauce or miso and stir-fry for 1 more minute. Reduce the heat to low, add the coconut milk, mix well and simmer for 3 to 4 minutes, stirring until the sambal is thickened. Remove from the heat and set aside to cool, then serve in small bowls. This sambal keeps a week in the refrigerator

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