The Kroft (Anaheim Packing House) 6.4.15 & 6.5.15

I have been waiting to try The Kroft in the Anaheim Packing House for a few months since my friend Patricia raved about their fried chicken sandwich. During my pregnancy (see note below), I wasn't up for fried food, and if you don't like heavy food or fried food (or if you have gall bladder issues), The Kroft probably isn't for you, but if you want to indulge in a delicious trillion calorie meal, I highly recommend it.

Fried Chicken Sandwich w/ Jalapeno Slaw, Garlic Truffle Fries &
Cucumber-Mint Lemonade

So, anyways, back to this fried chicken sandwich.  The fried chicken sandwich ($8.50) had a lot of hype to live up to, particularly since it reminded me in composition of the amazing fried chicken sandwiches I used to get in Oakland at Bakesale Betty (which also used to be around the corner from my home--what can I say? I like living near delicious food).  The concept of the two sandwiches is the same: a fried chicken breast with jalapeño slaw on a crusty french (or ciabatta) roll (see *below for comparison).  The cashier warned us that it was slightly spicy, but I actually didn't find the slaw particularly spicy.  The chicken was cooked perfectly, the slaw was tasty and the roll was amazing.  A solid sandwich.  As you'll see below, I still give the edge on the fried chicken sandwich to Betty's, but this is a very good alternative and I don't have to drive 300 miles for it.

As a side, my friend and I split an order of garlic truffle fries ($5.50) which were amazing.  Sometimes truffle fries are just too truffle laden for me (I know some people think there's no such thing) or too overwhelmingly garlicky.  These were perfectly cooked fries with a savory hint of both truffle & garlic.  Super yum if you're into subtle flavor and perfect fries.  I also had a cucumber-mint lemonade ($3.50) which they make fresh daily in house.  It was refreshing and delicious with a clear cucumber taste, but not a particularly minty flavor.  The lemonade is more sweet than tart (which I prefer, but others don't).  A delicious overall meal.

Prime Rib Dip Sandwich Au Jus (Add Cheese +$1), Brussels & Bacon

The day after my friend, Patricia, introduced me to The Kroft, my sister-in-law, Kim, was over and I was telling her all about it.  So, we decided to take another trip down.  This time, I tried the Prime Rib Dip Sandwich Au Jus ($12) with cheese (add $1).  This sandwich is HUGE, like so huge it didn't fit in the Au Jus cup.  It was piled with delicious thinly sliced prime rib and caramelized onions with a layer of cheese (I think it was Monterey Jack) and served on that same roll which I could eat every day for every meal.  It was amazing.  Normally, I wouldn't be able to finish the whole thing, but hey, I'm eating for two right now.  Yum.

I also ordered the Brussels and Bacon ($5.50).  This, I thought was a little bit overpriced for what it was and slightly overcooked.  The brussel sprouts themselves were tender, served with a balsamic glaze, crispy/chewy bacon and a bit of truffle cheese.  The subtle truffle that worked so well on the previous day's fries seemed unnecessary and a bit much on the brussel sprouts.  I liked the slight char to the outside,  but the outside of the sprouts were a little too crispy.

Fried Chicken Poutine (Add Fried Egg + $1)

Finally, my sister-in-law had the fried chicken poutine (I don't remember the price), which is fries, fried chicken, gravy, cheese curds, bacon and green onions.  (If you aren't familiar with poutine, here's the wikipedia introduction) My sister saw a picture of a poutine from The Kroft with a fried egg and she decided she needed to add the fried egg (add $1).  She said it was fantastic although she couldn't eat more than half of it.  It's super rich, but if you like poutine, it's one of several you can try (original, short rib, fried chicken, cheeseburger, loco moco--they're a poutine kinda place).  I'm hoping to split one with someone eventually.

Note: People that follow my food adventures may have noticed that I stopped blogging for 9 months.  Long story short, I was pregnant which changed around a lot of food cravings/ tastes and made me too tired to blog about what I was eating.  But now, with a newborn baby that needs me to eat so I can feed her, let the food blogging begin again in earnest!

*For Bay Area folks or anyone who has been to Betty's, here's the breakdown of the comparison between the two sandwiches:
Bread: The Kroft wins.  Their bread is amazing.  Shocking since Bakesale Betty is a bakery, but I don't ever remember saying, "Wow, this bread is amazing" when I ate a BB fried chicken sandwich.
Chicken: Draw -- The Kroft is more pure fried chicken, but I personally like the bit of spice in BB's fried chicken batter.
Slaw: BB wins, if you can handle the spice.  I really like the slightly more acidic vinegar taste of BB's slaw and the macerated onions--it adds a lot more flavor than The Kroft's slaw.  If you don't really like spicy slaw though, you'd probably prefer The Kroft.

Marugame Monzo (Little Tokyo-DTLA) 9.6.14

To wrap up my binge food-blogging weekend, I present Marugame Monzo, an udon shop that's right next to Daikokuya in Little Tokyo, on 1st Street.  Marugame Monzo hides discreetly behind two fabric flags just 1-2 doors down from Daikokuya.  It's humble entrance belies the awesomeness that is behind its doors.

Sorry I didn't get a picture from the front or of the udon making. I was focused on eating.
Here's what you're looking for though.

I'm mostly going to let the (MANY) pictures that I took about the food do the talking, but I have to say that when I first glanced at the Marugame Monzo menu online on yelp, I was skeptical.  I like udon, but I mean, how different can handmade fresh udon be from the udon I got in packets from the Chinese grocery store as a child.

Believe me. It's like judging all sushi by the California Rolls you get at Albertsons.

Because we were a party of 5, we got a lot of food.  I'll post pics below and then talk about the food I actually tasted along with the reviews of those in my party:

Tempura Smelt Fish w Curry Powder

Smelt fish is salty and this was salty, but the tempura batter was nice and the curry powder gave a really good flavor for this appetizer dish. 

Negitoro Lunch Rice Bowl

Marugame Monzo has a list of rice bowls that you can get as add-ons with any of your udon.  I was really hungry (after only eating a slice of cake--yes, I ate the Parisian for breakfast) so I decided to try the negitoro rice bowl.  It was negitoro (green onion & toro or fatty tuna) with a bit of seasoned soy, Japanese (sweet) mayonnaise and seaweed on top of rice.  It was a small rice bowl portion, but a perfect start to my meal.  I seriously could eat that rice bowl everyday.  Yum. 

Now, to the udon.  We got seats right by the udon window (I know, I should have taken pictures) where the chef rolls the udon pasta dough before cutting it into strips.  We got a good mix of hot & cold udon and it was definitely the best that I've ever had. Here are the pics: 

Uni (Sea Urchin) Cream Udon

So, I hate sea urchin.  Seriously, to me it is a briny, livery, metallic yuck (sorry if you're now reducing all culinary respect you had for me, but I've got to be honest)--maybe it's just having bad uni, but it's too expensive to try again.  Marugame is famous for their Uni Cream Udon though and my friend, Mike, who likes uni ordered it.  He and my friend Erica (who also likes uni) both thought the udon was good, with Erica describing it as tasting like, "Fettucine Alfredo." Thanks, but I'll still pass. 

Sansei Cold Udon (Broth behind)--Mountain Vegetable Udon

This was my friend Erica's udon which I didn't get to try, but the blob on the left is daikon, which is good because she's not a mountain yam fan.  

Chicken Tempura Udon (Hot)

This was my (8-year old) son's udon.  He loved the chicken tempura and liked the udon a lot.  He got 2/3 of the way through everything (plus a smelt tempura) which was a lot of food and then finished the rest for dinner. 

Champon Udon: Veggies, Shrimp & Scallop Udon (Hot)

This was my husband's dish and I did get to try a little of the broth which was super good. It was savory, salty deliciousness.  Yum. 

Cold Udon with Soft-Boiled Egg (Sauce not pictured)

This was my dish with bonito and daikon, green onion & the soft-boiled egg.  Typically, I'm a hot udon kinda gal, but it was hot outside and I needed refreshing cold udon.  Honestly, I think they do a better soft-boiled egg at Daikokuya, but it's hard to compare hot and cold, and the mix of the udon with all the ingredients and the sauce was delicious.  The sauce was just the right mix of savory without being overly salty and the texture of the fresh udon noodles was amazing.  Just the right amount of chewiness, cooked perfectly--it's hard to describe accurately so I really recommend just going there and eating the deliciousness.  

Now, I'm just going to have to figure out, when I'm in the neighborhood if I go for udon or ramen...or maybe next time, I'll try the sushi or get some takoyaki from down the street.  So much good eating in Little Tokyo--wish I lived a little closer!

Porto's Bakery (Downey) 9.5.14

This is actually a chain post from the previous post about Burger City Grill in Downey because this is the view from outside of BCG:

Porto's with its beautiful, beckoning glow

I first was introduced to Porto's Bakery by a friend of ours who lives near the location in Glendale and brought an assortment of Porto's goods to our housewarming.  A few months later, a co-worker celebrated her birthday with a Porto's cake (the Parisian--I only remember because this began my absolute obsession with this cake) and a couple of months ago, just prior to beginning this food blog (wait, there was eating before this food blog?!), I went to the Downey location with a friend of mine for lunch.  Here's what I had then: 

Pan Con Bistec w/ Plaintain Chips & Passionfruit Iced Tea

For savory foods, they have a variety of panini sandwiches like the Pan Con Bistec (Marinated Steak, Potato Sticks (like Pik-Nik potato sticks), Grilled Onions, Tomatoes and Mojo i.e. Cuban Garlic Sauce Pressed on Cuban Bread) that I had and the Ropa Vieja.  They also do dinner plates (which have rice, beans and fried plantains alongside chicken, steak, rope vieja (shredded beef) or lechon (shredded pork).  Those are available after 11am. They also serve breakfast and a variety of savory pastries included stuffed croissants and empanadas.  I liked my Pan Con Bistec, but honestly, I wouldn't come just for the savory food.  I'd probably grab a burger across the street unless I really felt like a sandwich. 

Porto's, for me, is all about the dessert.  So, when I found myself across the street on Friday night, just before closing time (8:30 pm on Friday), I had to drag my brother to pick up some dessert to go (there was no room for dessert after BCG).  After texting back and forth with my husband to get my very picky 8-year old's request, here's what we ended up with: 

Carrot Cake & White Chocolate Raspberry Cheesecake
 

These were for the boys and they enjoyed them.  Contrary to what this post shows, Porto's doesn't just do cakes. It's a full-service bakery with breads (baguettes, cuban bread), cookies, pastries, tarts and mousses (and savory pastries as mentioned above).  Aside from what's shown, I'm also a fan of their triple chocolate mousse and creme brulée tart.  I've had the fruit tart as well which is okay, but I've had better elsewhere, which is something that I really can't say about the pièce de résistance, The Parisian:

  

The best cake I've ever had: The Parisian

The Parisian is my favorite cake in the whole wide world.  In fact, for my birthday at the end of the month, I've actually told my husband that he needs to drive to Downey to get me this cake.  It is a Devil's Food chocolate cake layered and decorated with chocolate whipped cream then finished with chocolate shavings.  The cake is super moist and I love it because the chocolate whipped cream is lighter and less sugary than butter cream with a rich chocolate flavor.  And, I'm a sucker for chocolate shavings. If you love chocolate, you have to try it (and the triple chocolate mousse)--if you're like me and you like chocolate okay, but you're not a total chocoholic, you still have to try it.  It's so delicious. 

A few side notes: 1) Porto's serves excellent coffee and tea (by Art of Tea, one my favorite local tea producers) to go alongside their pastries and apparently really good fresh squeezed OJ. 2)  Be prepared for a long line.  The line moves really quickly so don't be discouraged, but there's seriously always a line.  

May you have your (Porto's) cake and eat it too!

Burger City Grill (Downey) 9.5.14

So, a funny thing happened in the last 3 weeks.  The semester began, effectively ending my joyous summer romp through new dining adventures.  It's not that I haven't been eating, but I've been relying on the restaurants I know, eating a ton of take out and sometimes resorting to really ugly food (seriously, two weeks ago, I brought 2 slices of ham with a slice of cheese and some rice crackers for lunch at one of my school sites--it was the ugliest thing I've eaten in a long time. Tasty, but not photo worthy.

But, last night, my brother was in town so we decided to stop by downtown Downey for some delicious burger goodness at Burger City Grill.  I had sent him the website to preview the menu a week earlier when we were deciding where to go and he said, "I hear my arteries clogging already! EXCELLENT!" A pretty accurate assessment of the menu.

Burger City Grill (BCG for short) specializes in hand-made burgers from certified angus beef.  Their menu is simple and you can sub any burger with a turkey of veggie patty, but we are all about the beef so we ordered a City Slicker (Applewood smoked bacon, Sweet Baby Ray's BBQ Sauce) with cheese and an Aloha (Applewood smoked bacon, teriyaki glaze and fresh grilled pineapple slices).  All the burgers also come with BCG spread (their version of 1000 island), dill pickle chips, roma tomatoes, leaf lettuce and red onions on a bun. We also decided on an order of Sloppy Fries (chili cheese fries) and BCG Fries (Bacon, Cheese--I got Cheddar, and Grilled Onions w BCG Spread) and two sodas.

City Slicker with Sloppy Fries

My brother's order was the City Slicker (no tomato, add cheese--I don't actually remember what cheese he got, but you can choose from American, Cheddar, Swiss, Pepper Jack, Provolone & Bleu cheese) with Sloppy Fries.  Since I didn't try his burger I can't say much about it, but I did try the fries.  The chili was tasty and very meaty (no bean, all meat homemade chili) and because they use a thicker cut on their fries, they still held up consistency under the pile of chili and cheese.

Aloha Burger with BCG Fries & Pickles on the side

This was my order.  Here's a closer pic of my burger:

Aloha burger close-up (so you can see the bacon & pineapple--YUM)

When I saw my meal, I felt compelled to tweet and IG "Fatty Heaven" and well, it's true, but hey, you only live once.  I loved my Aloha Burger and BCG Fries.  While the burger was probably a bit more well done than I would have liked, the meat was still really juicy and tasty; the pineapple was well-grilled and copious; and the bacon was perfectly cooked on both the burger and fries--not overly crispy so you can't taste the delicious smokiness, but also not soggy so you feel like you're eating bacon grease.  Everything was held together by a tasty house bun.  An awesome burger and super filling.  In fact, so filling that I couldn't finish the AMAZING BCG Fries.  Seriously, these were some fantastic fries.  If you like loaded baked potatoes, it's a lot like that with a little grilled onion and sauce. So, so tasty.  I brought them home and even rewarmed this morning, my son and husband cleaned them all up (and seriously most fries are disgusting rewarmed the next day).

Oh, and as an added bonus, there's a Coke Freestyle Machine.  I don't usually drink a lot of soda, but I had to try the machine: 

Coca-Cola Freestyle Machine

I got a Cherry Coke, not like a Cherry Coke that you get in cans, like the perfect blend of coke syrup, cherry syrup, and soda water.  It seriously tasted like I got it from a soda fountain.  I kinda wish I liked soda more so I could revel in the awesomeness of this machine.  For non-soda drinkers, there's also passion fruit iced tea, hand-schooled shakes and craft beers.

Can't wait to come back here with my husband and son (BCG Kids meal--burger & fries for $5) when we're on this side of town (or when I have a Porto's craving...but I'll talk about that in the next blog post....)

A Few Days in Food: Binh Minh (Garden Grove); Han Yang (Buena Park) and Soy-Citrus Deliciousness

To food blog or not to food blog, that is the question...especially when I'm eating one-dish, take-out or home-cooked meals.  So, why not food blog all three together?  Here goes:

Binh Minh Restaurant (Garden Grove)

Bun Thit Nuong Cha Gio: Grilled Pork & Egg Roll Vermicelli

Our first stop on this mini-culinary tour is Binh Minh in Garden Grove, which is a small shop in a strip mall between an 85 degrees and a 99 cent store where I had the grilled pork and egg roll vermicelli.  This is one of my favorite Vietnamese dishes.  The pork, egg roll and vermicelli were served on a bed of shredded lettuce and it is a fresh dish that I feel good after eating (yes, even with the fried egg roll goodness).  This was an okay version of the dish with the stand out being the crispy egg rolls which were really outstanding.  The meat was grilled well, but pretty fatty and not as flavorful as I've had it at other places and the sauce for the dish didn't add a lot of flavor either.  I also had a lemonade with soda water which is my favorite Vietnamese drink and that was good.  A nice blend of sweet and balance with the soda water.   I'd come back for egg rolls and lemonade if I was in the area but I definitely wouldn't make a special trip. 

Han Yang Restaurant (Buena Park)

Bibimbap (Bulgogi) w/ soup & banchan (house kimchi) 

I had a real hankering for Korean food today and after scouring yelp reviews, I decided to go with Han Yang which is relatively close by. I have to preface this review by saying that Han Yang is actually famous for it's Galbi Tang (Beef Short Rib Soup) and it's Octopus Rice (Spicy Octopus Bibimbap) so going with the bulgogi bibimbap, I wasn't expecting it to be necessarily stand out.  Actually, though it was good, particularly with the mustard green kimchi which was really flavorful.  The spicy sauce gave it a bit of a kick, but wasn't overwhelming, although I have had more flavorful in the past.  The miso soup though was a little bland and I wasn't as in to the cabbage & turnip kimchi, but you can't win them all.  Overall, there was a ton of food (enough for lunch tomorrow as well) and it was tasty, but not the best bibimbap I've had (that's what I get for not trying the specialty of the house).  I'll definitely have to go back for the Galbi Tang at some point, but I may have to continue the quest for a great bibimbap.  

Soy-Lime Pork Cutlet & Soy Citrus Salad

Soy-Lime Pork Cutlet w Rice & Soy-Citrus Salad

Finally, from my own kitchen, some soy-citrus love.  Tonight I was having a friend over and decided to make some dinner.  Easy peasy & delicious soy marinade for my pork consisted of: 

• Soy sauce
• Ginger
• Lime Zest & juice of 2 limes
• White wine (I used Pino Grigio) 
• Yellow Miso (optional)
• Thai Basil 

Tasted to my liking, threw that in a gallon size freezer bag and marinated pork cutlets for a few hours; 2 minutes each side on a medium-high grill (we also used the leftover marinade on tofu--YUM) and voila--a delicious entree. 

Continuing with the soy-citrus theme, I made a simple salad of baby lettuce, cucumber & heirloom tomatoes with a soy-citrus vinaigrette: 

• Soy sauce
• Trader Joe's Orange Muscat Champagne Vinegar
• Freshly Ground Pepper
• Good olive oil 

The salad dressing--so simple and SO GOOD.  

Soy-citrus heaven on a plate--quick & easy.  Probably less than 20 minutes active time (although my husband grilled while I did the salad).

So, there you have it.  A few days in food.  Hope you had good eats this weekend too! 

Brew Hawg (Orange) 8.12.14

I love good BBQ and I've been eating around my neighborhood a lot so when we had an out of town guest, we decided to branch out and search for something new on yelp.  My search led me to a little hole-in-the-wall BBQ spot called Brew Hawg.  From reading the reviews and looking at the website, Brew Hawg seems mostly to have been a catering and to-go establishment that now also serves to a small dining area of 4 indoor tables (16 seats) and 2 outdoor tables.

Brew Hawg has a variety of sandwiches as well as BBQ plates, an assortment of sides, kids' plates and non-alcoholic beverages (no alcohol in the restaurant as of yet) including fresh brewed root beer (which is delicious!).  With 3 adults and an 8-year old, we got a fair sample of some of their most popular dishes and a majority of their sides.

Kids' hot dog with fries

So, at the last bbq place I went to, they didn't have any kid options on the menu in case kids don't like barbecue sauce.  While I love bbq, my kid doesn't so it was nice that in addition to kids sliders (2 small sliders with a choice of meat and a side), they have the hot dog and grilled cheese options (which also come with a side).  And, the portion on the kids hot dog was huge.  The dog had to be at least 1/3 a pound (way bigger than my son could finish) and a ton of fries.  It doesn't come with a drink, but there are kid-friendly drinks like lemonade and root beer (and an assortment of canned sodas, bottled water, etc.) that can be added on if you like. 

"The Duke": Pulled Pork w/ Mac & Cheese on Texas Toast (with a side)

My friend, Mike, decided to try "the Duke," one of Brew Hawg's most popular sandwiches which combines a healthy serving of bbq pulled pork with mac & cheese and puts it in between two slices of  Texas toast (he got an extra side of mac and cheese for good measure).  I tried a bit of this and it was AMAZING.  I actually really loved the Texas toast in combination with the creaminess of the mac and cheese and the sweet savoriness of the pork.  I tried the mac and cheese on its own and had the pork as part of my BBQ plate and while both were tasty alone, the whole of the Duke is even better than its individual consistent parts. 

The "Standard": Choice of Meat with cranberry peanut slaw on a bun

& a side of coconut creamed corn

So, this was my husband's dish and he got the vegan option which uses a vegan meat substitute.  I tried a little bit, but I'm not a fan of vegan meat.  More importantly though, he liked it, and, it is AWESOME to have a BBQ place near my home that EVERYONE in my family can eat at (with my husband not resorting to a meal of only sides)! It was a happy day.  I really liked the slaw which had a lot of depth to it with the sweet tart of the cranberry, the nuttiness of the peanut.  Normally, I'm not a mayonnaise based slaw fan, but it was really good, especially in the sandwich. I could definitely see myself chowing down on a pulled pork version of the Standard.  My husband chose the coconut creamed corn which was really good (if you like coconut) and really unique. 

BBQ Heaven: 2 meats, 2 sides, bread and bliss 

(literally, that's what the menu reads!)

Finally, I went for the bbq plate with pulled pork, tri-tip, baked beans and potato salad which comes with a square of cornbread.  The cornbread was a little dry, the potato salad was fine, but a little bland (I like mine with a bit more tang), and the beans were good, but also could have used a bit more nuance in the flavor.  The meat itself was good.  The tri-tip was a little chewy, but the pulled pork was really delicious and I like their sauce, which is not too sweet, but has a good blend of hickory and spices.  And there was more than enough for lunch today.  I think next time I'll probably do the brisket & tri-tip and maybe change up the sides or go for a sandwich, but there will definitely be a next time. 

Random final notes: Again, despite the "brew" in the name, Brew Hawg doesn't brew alcohol, but has DELICIOUS root beer.  The service is great.  While the staff may not be at the front of the house when you walk in, if you just call out a "hello," someone will come to meet you right away, will explain the menu if it's your first time and if you're eating in will check and make sure everything's okay.  I'm excited to have found Brew Hawg and am glad to support such a nice local business that's close to home.  

Rolling Boil (Anaheim) 8.11.14

When I was a child, most New Year's Days, we would go over to my aunt's house for Chinese hot pot.  At the time, I hated it.  I mean, it was mean and vegetables boiled in water.  I didn't like the Chinese BBQ sauce which was my only "dipping sauce" option and I was terrible with chop sticks which meant that most of the meat was both tasteless and overcooked.

So, I've never understood hot pot and shabu shabu as an experience.  After all, it seemed reminiscent of those sad New Year's Days of yesteryear.  Granted, I'm much better with chopsticks and I've heard there are better sauces, but, I was still dubious.

Luckily, my friend is a huge shabu shabu fan and wanted me to give the whole shabu/ hot pot concept a try.  And, she wanted to see the Packing House, so she came over and we went to Rolling Boil.

Rolling Boil is a Chinese Hot Pot restaurant that prides itself on its house made broths.  There are two choices--the Szechuan Spicy broth and the Vegetarian broth or you can go half and half.  You could also just go for plain water (which they serve with soy sauce & chili oil), but the restaurant prides itself on their broths and let me tell you, boiled meat in water is not yummy, so I'd recommend the broth.

Half & half broth (see how red it is! That's the Szechuan talking), Chinese BBQ (Sa cha) & Sesame sauces

We ended up getting half and half broth, which honestly was too spicy for me, but that's my own fault.  I should know better than to get anything with the word Szechuan in it.  If you're not sure, you can probably ask for a small sample of each broth before deciding (the server gave the party next to us a small sample of the vegetarian broth).  For those of you not familiar with hot pot, the pot of soup is placed on a burner in front of you and you cook various meats, seafoods and veggies in the soup, then take out the protein/veggies, dip it in a sauce of your choosing (they had a house made Chinese BBQ--much better than that of my childhood--savory with a bit of hoisin, dried onion, sesame oil flavor, a sesame sauce--very much like a sesame flavored version of a "peanut sauce", and a citrus sauce--which is a bit like a soy based ponzu with much more vinegar) and eat it with rice.  After you're done with your meat and rice (brown or white, unlimited refills), ask for a soup bowl, and put the remainder of your veggies, plus the udon noodles they're served with in the soup broth for a finishing soup.

Veggie/tofu plate w/ udon noodles (hidden under cabbage) to cook in broth

Each order comes with a veggie plate, rice (brown or white) and your choice of 2 sauces as well as your broth.  We ordered the salmon (other seafood selections included gulf shrimp & scallops) and NY steak (other selections included rib-eye steak, kobe, pork and chicken).  Between us, we also got all 3 sauces. (Shockingly, I think I liked their take on the Chinese BBQ sauce the best!) 

Steak & Salmon

While I probably wouldn't end up getting the Szechuan broth again, I really enjoyed the experience and think I am cured of my hot pot phobia.  Thanks to my friend, Linda, for showing me the ropes in this first step of hot pot rehabilitation.