On The Blues and Jazz Trail

Chicago or The windy city as it is known , is a  beautiful city with a mix of modern and baroque style buildings. Terribly jet lagged on the first day there but knowing that we needed to get out of the hotel lest we succumbed to tired eyes,  we decided to take the  architectural tour via a  cruise on the river. Best decision we made, the cold crisp air ensured that we didn’t sleep (well most of the time ) and with a humorous and entertaining   guide who regaled us with scandalous  tidbits , it was truly a good way to see the city with its various ‘Hollywood’  buildings like the Transformers building, The Batman  building and the round  car park to name a few.

Chicago is home to Jazz and Blues and hosts the biggest free blues festival in the world. And it’s true.. tis really the home of  the Chicago blues which is apparently their own version of the Blues. I didn’t know this. Dating back to the days of the Depression, which saw many Black Americans migrate from St Louis and further south to industrial towns to try and make it , it was here in Chicago,  that  great musicians like Muddy waters , Howlin Wolf , Buddy Guy  started out as street musicians..And even today, on the sidewalks  one sees a number of  buskers playing the sax or the guitar just singing the blues. I wondered as I watched one of them, could this be a legend in the making? One particularly endearing image in my mind was an old timer jamming away, complete with harmonica , banjo, guitar and cymbals between his knees , singing the blues and singing it as  he saw it…. the bus that just pulled up and the sound it made and the hat on a little boys head.. and  he was playing for the sheer joy of the music and I don’t know how the words just flowed. In Chicago , everyone sings and sings well.  If you are big on your music particularly   blues/jazz …..theres no other place like Chicago outside of St Louis ....thats what I am  told anyways and I can certainly believe it .

The Legends, a Bar owned by Buddy Guy, on a side road pays testament to this. Legends hosts acoustic sets (encouraging new talent) throughout the day  and once the headliners come in at 9 PM every day , ..theres no place to stand ....We were lucky  to get a table that night. This wonderful intimate atmosphere

Buddy Guys 'Legends

where everyone is so totally in the moment  jamming with them old timers on stage , was nothing like I’ve ever experienced before.  The place itself is filled with memorabilia from Guitars owned by the greats ,photographs dating to the 50s ,to a  petition signed by all big names in the music industry  to include some Mr Johnson to be included in the Rock of Fame.  That night ,Mr Ronnie Hicks and his band played some fabulous  music, each one of the band members able to take the other on a different ride and then sitting  back waiting  for the response….so impromptu  and so much at ease  with their talent and soo loving it.. Apparently Buddy Guy does come in occasionally and jams with whoever is playing on stage.  Chicago is filled with places like this, Howl at the moon , The Redhead Piano Bar  The Greenmill  of the Al Capone fame to name a few. Going by popular choice we checked out Andy’s Jazz  &  blues bar which plays host to a number of jazz talents. I am not so clued in on Jazz and the great musicians. But really, it doesn’t matter…The music takes you places and just seeing the raw talent in that small bar, surrounded by folk who are there for the music(and not just to be seen as often the case in Dubai ) Big smiles all around , loud unbridled appreciation, heads a tapping,  yeahs all around… Fabulous.

Mr Hicks & his Band 

Yup Chicago with its beautiful buildings and friendly people was wonderful to experience .If there's anything about the Americans that I love, its their positivity…from our waiter at the hotel to the homeless lady in the corner to the sales ladies at the store..they are so liberal with their positiveness and blessings…. That by itself is something that will draw me back again. Their ‘how u doing maam’ is so nice.. We know they don’t really want to know more ,but just the asking with a smile brought  a smile to my face everytime.

Incredible Spelt Salad with Pork Loins 

How can I speak of our travels without talking about the other thing that I am passionate about....food.. O my gosh, having sworn off pork after a recent Europe trip, I’m back to loving it .The Americans do their pork like no one  else .  I had the most tender Pork Loin in spiced apple sauce and the  Spelt and  dried  cherry salad was the perfect side to it .

I was not going to leave the US without trying their famous juicy steaks and although I’m not so much of a beef person of late, I was not going to go away without experiencing some of the cuts. After a bit of research and asking around I decided to try out a gastro pub interestingly called  Sidedoor Unlocked .

The waiter, a Van Halen fan helped me with my   choice and I opted for a platter which had about 4 oz of tender Angus cuts accompanied by Au jus, whipped horseradish and mustard along with a few slices of inhouse baked bread, focaccia . It was just the right amount of meat and really, I didn’t need to drizzle any of the sauce over the meat, it was juicy, tender and melted in my mouth. The whipped  The whipped horseradish was sharp with  just a bit of tangyness . And all the while my Van Halen friend kept me entertained with his stories of the band  and reunions.

The Best Angus Cuts. 

Soul food is very popular and the Gumbo and Jambalaya can be found everywhere. The Veg Gumbo at Legends  reminded me a bit of our curry dal… tasty with Cajun spices and comforting in the bitter cold. The sauces that came with the seafood were all different to what we are used to here in Dubai . From Bourbon sauce with  Cajun spices to  Creole mustard sauce we tried them all . The only thing that we missed out on was Étouffée ..

Another reason to go back? I think so….  The Side Door is unlocked.

Tarragon Baked Salmon With Asparagus and Cherry Tomatoes

Salmon is a favorite at 340 Saheel. Well  3 out of 4 of us anyway.  So its almost always made when the disliker(Mitchie Mo)  is away… or  when the cook lady is too lazy to think of  curries. So it came to pass after a beautiful early morning  swim at JBR beach followed by Pappa roti , that Friday lunch was to be just salads. Now, knowing the low down of my family’s hunger pangs, I knew I had to rustle up something other than ‘just salads’.. So Salmon it was...

Tee Pees Style Tom Yum

To put a name to a dish is the most difficult thing to do…. by which I mean deciding on what to make on any given day is so difficult. One , everyone should kinda like it, two , the fridge must be kinda stocked and three and most important , I must also be kinda inclined to  make the effort .

Fried Eggs & Friday Mornings.

I wrote this many months ago in 2013.. re read it this morning and decided to post it here as there's food involved!!  Photo will be uploaded on Friday morn! 

Sizzle ,Crackle...almost there!1

Fridays in Dubai, a day that many of us look forward to , a day of sleeping in ,lazing around in jammies, just  enjoying  that feeling of not needing to do anything.  Friday Breakfast, some time ago, used to always be a South Indian one . Idly /dosa /vada at the neighborhood  Sangeetha restaurant or Saravana Bhavan .Just a 10 minute drive to fill our stomachs with the crispy papery Dosa , the mildly spicy  sambar and the inconsistent tomato chilly chutney.  We would wait impatiently 

Foodastik Fun at Lakshmi Lunch home.

After the excesses of Christmas , Thanksgiving (yes!! in that order) New Year, it was a relief to take a break  for a few days  . It also gave us some time to prepare well for the Post New year lunch at the Shiv Shankars.. 

It was the Weekend  Foodie Group’s  first  meet of 2014 .With a Chattakari theme to give it a kochi

flavor, the table was beautifully dressed in blue tinsels with a menu card detailing the lavish spread. 

How to test a Steak!!

The staycation at Sir Baniyas island passed all too quickly. A fantastic project initiated by Sheikh Zayed which really highlights the immense love this  great man had for animals.. to actually create a Jurassic park like island where animals could roam freely  and in the process help in the conservation, rehabilitating  of many creatures that are on the brink of being endangered.   I will probably write more about it  at a later stage but while there, I came across an interesting article on Steaks and thought I would share it with the Foddie gang ..

The way the cookie crumbles ...

The onset of winter brings about a craving in me for cloyingly sweet food.. not that I don't crave sweet food all year round :-) The feeling that winter is around, just heightens the craving and also gives one a license for indulgence. The body needs to burn more calories just to stay warm .. right.. if it is wrong, its just not your turn to comment....

‘Brilling’ at the Green Community

The first barby of the season and what excitement it created from what to prepare ,what to wear to what to expect!!(Psst camels)  There’s no better place to kick start it than 542 Chamomile lane. What with the top of the range Webber and a fantastic Pit master  in full form with efficient aides , platters and platters of marinated cuts to be brilled (not sure if  grilled or barbecued is the correct term) it was truly a night to remember. Hunger pangs of course started early on and it was fun to see the debate going on about what to start throwing on to the Barby.

The Can’t Go Wrong Christmassy Carrot Cake

Thank you Lakshmi!! After a very long time I got into a baking mood and decided to make my favourite Can’t Go Wrong Carrot Cake today.   It’s always my first choice for dessert and with a cream cheese topping, its divine. The carrot cakes at the patisseries and bakeries are usually nicely spiced and a tad heavy for me if you know what I mean. I am not a big fan of the spice standing out in a cake or desert and therefore you will see most of the desserts that I make usually have very little of those and therefore understated.

Liver Roast for Christmas

Christmas round the corner and its only natural that everybody is brushing up their gastronomical memories from the past to see what yummy dishes can be recreated for the coming season

Christmas trees, Santa and   gifts these are a few of their favourite things that immediately come to  mind

To Blog or not to blog...

Pressure. Pressure. Pressure.

Pressure comes in many forms. Stress from work and the never ending ‘To do’ list, where the more you do, the more there is ‘To do’. Stress from relationships, where absence makes the heart not fonder, but more stressed. Add to this there is blood pressure, the constant monitoring of which is a full time activity.  The pressure of decisions: to eat or to exercise, to cook or to canter, to shop more or shape up. And then there is pressure, tremendous pressure, gentle, but inexorable, persistent and relentless, to write on the blog.

Apricot Pudding ....Kerala Style

I was not born a foodie. Neither did I grow up as one. My mom can narrate stories (horror for her, I am sure ) about how difficult it was to make me eat.  I grew up as the ‘thin girl ‘, with all of my hundred aunts giving my mom tips on how to make me healthy!  And then I got married. If someone tells you, marriage changes your life, that would be an understatement.   Cooking de-stresses him ( seriously !!)  God has a weird sense of humor, I should say ! He looked down at me and said ‘not enough ’and gave me a group of friends for whom life revolves around food.

The Land of the Gurkhas!

Seeing that  the gastronomical experience in Nepal has been well documented ... I thought I would spin one on the other highlights of the trip......

5 wonderful  days…...the awe inspiring  Himalayan ranges, trekking through thick forests,  rafting on frothy rivers to the spiritual Pashupatinath & Bhaktapur , Nepal for me, was also an opportunity to tick a few boxes off my bucket list and face a few of my fears.

Nepal .. We came, We ate, We conked out..

It has been quiet on the foodie blog front. But hey it’s been a very active period for the group exploring nature and connecting with nature in Nepal. Nepal filled us with a plethora of varied activities. Getting up at 4AM to see the sunrise over the Annapurna range, the sun unveiling the Fishtail peak in a seductive dance of light and clouds, white water rafting to explore the silken but awesome power of water, Zip Flying to beat nature at her own game of gravity, Paragliding over the expansive valleys of Pokhara .. the group had it all and that too with the blessings of Lord Pashupathinath in his high abode in Kathmandu..

Cena Perfetta con Giuseppe Verdi

In the end, It turned out to be the perfect belated anniversary celebration for M and I, thank you Philippe .

A gala dinner concert celebrating the 200^th birth anniversary of Giuseppe Verdi also marking the launch of the Rigoletto  pen( dare I just call it that and not (in a posh accent) ‘a writing instrument’ ??) from Montegrappa. 

For me, Montegrappa meant nothing until the invite was brought home the day before in a typical Mahesh fashion. ‘’Listen, we have an invite to this thing tomorrow and dress code is ‘’Elegant’’.  So, that meant a day of frustration, turning my wardrobe upside down looking for Elegance. (Sadly missing from my pile)  Going back to this Montegrappa , so is it a wine, Mahesh? It certainly sounds like one.  I was very quickly enrolled into a basic Montegrappa 101   course and was enlightened.

Zimble Yummy Black Pomfret Curry

Just back from a weeks travel through a couple of south Indian cities. The abundant monsoon of the last couple of months seems to have retreated and has been replaced by a balmy but welcome heat and a gentle breeze. Though busy with non-stop travel and meetings one has to stop to admire the plethora of food aromas that waft through the busy city roads, especially when one passes by the busier parts of the city like the bus stands and the railway stations. Trivandrum at one end of India can be the start of a life long passion for marvelling at the variety and diversity of food.

Down the road to Yas

As a precursor to Nepal..

How does one define a Road trip??

Wikipedia defines it as “any journey taken on roads, regardless of stops en route, typically long distances traveled by automobile”. I think the definition should be changed slightly. It should read as any distances traveled by automobile/s with good friends, good cheer , good food and drink.

So the drive up to Abu Dhabi yesterday evening (19^th Sep 2013) was certainly a road trip, ticked all the boxes and even had the grand old Tom Jones at the end of it as well. What more can we ask for? O yes that we got the passes for freeee. Icing on the cake!!Thank you M @Du.

Its Green – Lets go.

Weekend Loaded Spinach salad

There is nothing to start off a great lazy weekend meal than a crunchy salad full of flavor, color and aroma. The right kind of salad gets the system going…. as John Fowles may have put it

            “Eyes, nose took in their fill, 

             Tongue drooled in anticipation;  

             Brain treasured up the whole”.

Sushi Night

Sushi night anyone? 

(Not Nobu)

Weekend Orange and Almond Cake

Desserts are the best part of any meal in my opinion. It brings the whole experience of dining to a wonderful end, while ensuring that the conversation still flows. Whether it be the Perfect pie or flan ,Glorious Gateaux, Magical Meringues or all Manner of Mousses, there’s always  an air of expectancy after a meal even if we are all so full….

Good food is magical. It can lift your moods high, create ever lasting memories, transport your imagination onto far way locations, bond with enthusiasm, tastefully merge art and science and provide never ending themes and variations to explore throughout ones life. It makes cultures and nations proud and prod its explorers to stretch the boundaries of knowledge and wisdom. It allows you to confirm and rebel at the same time. It transcends eating – a mundane necessity for survival – to higher planes of meaning and pleasure. To see the world in a spoonful of the best that one can dish out…