DIY Pancakes at Staks

Flipping out for your own pancakes?
Try Staks on Poplar.
The new breakfast joint has it going on, a carafe of pancake batter and a do it yourself table top griddle.

I really had a lot of fun making my pancakes and adding in extras. I have to say it was pricey for breakfast but it was fun.

My Grandma ordered some pancakes from the kitchen and she really liked them.
The local banana was good and all the ingredients were fresh just the amounts were small.

I think they should move the coffee from the front to maybe the back or some where and hire a barista - it was off putting to have the girl taking my money making my coffee and when my cup was cracked and dirty she just dumped the coffee into another cup! I did not want to drink it.

The interior was cute and fresh- it felt very fun.
The layout was a bit confusing with the door right next to the cash register.

Overall I had a good time but with our breakfast for three at $40 I am not sure when we will go back.




Love the cabbage Leaf
Logan

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Blue Chef Coat Double Thumbs Up To Blue Apron

Everyone really knows I love to cook and I just kind of create and plan out my ideas and menus in my head. I keep a recipe book, so that I don't forget. I also have a food journal and even a sketch book.

So when I started hearing about companies that send fresh food to your door, I was curious. What would this be like to get a box of food? Easy? Boring? Dull? Expensive?

I ordered a 3 meal, 2 person plan from Blue Apron and to say I skeptical would be an understatement!

The website was easy to use, the recipes and food looked creative.

My first impressions were very positive.

When my box arrived it was on time and perfectly packaged! The food was in great shape and it all looked really fresh.
Now I am a very adventurous kid chef so to have three new ingredients was very surprising. I had heard of these ingredients, just never cooked them, so that got me even more excited.

First, I prepared the Lamb Burgers with the harrissa spread, and wow were they good. The directions were simple and straight forward, the pictures made it easy to follow.

I don't cook from recipes but I tried my best to stay straight with these.

 Had I been hacking them ,I would have added some mayo or yogurt to the harrissa and used the extra arugula in a side salad with the harrisa as a dressing. 

The carrot side was so simple and good we have made them since. The carrots were seasoned with caraway seeds and cumin. The meal did require some prep work but it was definitely worth it! I really loved my lunch.

It was a thumbs up! And I was starting to get impressed

Next up the Tamarind glazed cod.

The dish has included the glazed cod some zesty rice and a jicama cucumber topping.


I could not resist pan searing one piece of fish, I just needed that extra bit of control, all in all this was a great tasty dish! The tamarind was the new item for me and I really liked it. I plan to buy a bottle for the pantry.

The simple addition of lime zest to the rice just was genius and added a bunch of brightness to the plate.
I had lots of extra jicama and cucumber so I made a salad and that was a bonus.
Another thumbs up!

Last was the baked chicken with potato latkas and celery root.

The celery root was new to me and it was fabulous definitely a buy again! What a pop of fresh flavors! Now, my mom makes the best potato pancakes, so these were just ok for me. But if your mom does not make the best potato pancakes then these would be good.

I liked the apple mustard chutney and have made it several times since.

While one piece of chicken is technically enough for a serving I could have had another.

The roasted cabbage was very unusual and it was also unusual plating.



All in all the roasted veggies, pancakes and chicken made a great meal.

So you ask would I get it again?

Heck yeah! Hot lunch or dinner, fun to cook, easy but just a touch chefie, perfect packaging and ease for a busy schedule! Also this gets you cooking and gets the creative juices flowing!


If you are going to be a loyal Blue Apron customer then I would invest in two or three refrigerator bins to keep all the food together.

I hope to get another box ASAP!

And as an added surprise here is a special link from Blue Apron just for you!

Get 2 Meals Free On Your First Order!

Happy cooking
Love the Cabbage Leaf,
Logan

You can also Follow me on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, and Vine.

Let's not forget those who are hungry!

I know I am very lucky that I have never gone hungry. I have never opened the pantry and found it empty.

This is not true for everyone - in America, kids still go hungry. People still do not have enough to eat.

When you practice cooking sometimes there are mistakes - burned food, bad tasting food, poorly cooked food- food that no one wants to eat. You can't practice without making mistakes. So there is food waste. In order to have the freedom to learn to cook you need to waste a bit of food. It just happens.

A few years ago, I was learning and ruining food - so my Mom took me to St. John's Soup Kitchen just down the street from me and we cooked for those who are hungry. St Johns has a long history of feeding those in need and serves about 150 meals twice a week (that's 15,600 a year). It was my privilege to cook with them and give back to the food world. I am sure it does not surprise you that is is not restaurant quality food. It is stretch the money, feed the most people we can kind of cooking. It is harsh facing all those hungry folks - young, old, every race, every age, hungry people. It is tragic. It is real.

My Mom also had me help cook meals for Ronald McDonald House at St. Jude. these are families going through hard times dealing with tragically ill kids. They may not be classically hungry but they are in need and we decided we could help. The food left our home and we hoped it brought them comfort. We hope it told them we cared and that we wished them all health.

Last year, we heard that our friends at Trinity were going to host the homeless in a program called Room in the Inn - and they needed to feed 30 people a decent wholesome meal. We stepped up and cooked. Ham, hearty vegetable bean soup, potatoes, salad,  biscuits fruit, dessert. We fed these sometimes forgotten people. We hope they too felt the warmth of a good meal, the fellowship of friends and warm place to sleep. This year we cooked the Thanksgiving meal. 


We heard through the Boy Scouts that the local Rotary Club was going to package meals for hungry people- so I went early and with my friend and we packaged food. 1 cup rice, 1 cup vegetable protein, 1 vitamin pack, 1 tbs dried vegetable. Food enough for 6. Desperate food, low coast food, needed food. These packs are GRATEFULLY accepted. They are fought for. They are needed. And no chef would ever consider them in restaurant.

All these food experiences make me a better cook, a more compassionate food explorer and a more grateful human.

Maybe one day I will share my most meaningful story from St. Johns- the one I always carry in my heart. Not today.... today I am grateful for Breakfast!

Love the Cabbage Leaf,
Logan, Masterchef Junior Contestant







Here's a link to Trinity, if you want to help out. 
http://www.trinotes.net/store/c1/Featured_Products.html

Bounty on Broad

I really like Broad Ave. It has a true Memphis feel and is really trying hard to revitalize itself. I have taken some classes at the 5 in 1 social club and really enjoyed them. Now when my Dad said he wanted to try Bounty I was all for it so off we went.

Bounty is cool looking very Hipster chic and the view of the water tower is killer! It feels clean and fresh. I liked it.

We ordered three plates of food - it is family style tasting plates and she recommended 4-5 for three of us. She meant it. We tried the quinoa stuffed peppers, the fried oysters and the hanger steak. 

The peppers were good- the quinoa stuffing was dense and had a nice flavor. It had chorizo and onions maybe. There was a roasted red pepper sauce that was pretty nice. I like the dish. It was good, but felt vegan. For me it was missing just a hint of something, I have not figured out what. But it was good.

The oysters were good fresh and tasty. They had a nice clean taste and sat on a slaw bed with green onions. The apple cider sauce was really nice.  I like this dish. I got some extra sauce and I really enjoyed it.

The hanger steak was tasty too. It was a little too rare for me but it had a good flavor. The stak sat on a brussel sprout bed with some great oyster mushrooms stir fried in. I mean these really were the stars of the dish. They had a great flavor.

I am glad I went but not sure if it is an I cant wait to go back place. 

Love the Cabbage Leaf

Logan HDM 

"Cook Wanted", so I applied - The Nina and The Pinta

It was a beautiful fall day and I went on a field trip to the Nina and Pinta down on the Mississippi
River. I saw a sign that said "Cook Wanted", so I asked for the job, but I had to be, sigh, 18.

I talk to the crew on how terrible the food was and how they needed a good cook. I felt kinda sorry for them, so my Mom said I could bring them dinner. I was all set to smoke some pork anyway, so I decided to give them a good Memphis Style BBQ meal. They were the guinea pigs for new seasoning blends I have been working on, but don't tell them!

I smoked a pork shoulder with my own blends, some sausage and some chicken. It tasted pretty good. I also made my own BBQ sauce to go with the sandwiches. We cooked up some beans and made some slaw.
I got my Dad to drive down to the docks to deliver the dinner. When all the prep work came together, we got to make some great volunteers very happy. The crew of the Nina and Pinta are unpaid, so they don't get to taste much local cuisine.


I got to go into the hold of the Pinta and it was cool. The galley is tiny, the hold is tiny, everything is tiny, and it is the bigger of the two ships! Now that made it a field trip! As a thank you they gave me a hat and an awesome postcard signed by the crew!

This may seem really crazy, but it an absolutely positively true story, just ask the crew!



Making people happy with food.

Love the cabbage leaf,
Logan

Pizza King Longview, TX from Post MasterChef Junior Auditions Season 2

One of the best things about doing the audition in Dallas for MasterChef Junior Season 2 was getting to visit my cousin Michael in Longview TX. He was in college there and I got to see the campus and it was all really cool.

We took him out for dinner and you might not know this, but Longview is a small town. We asked Siri the best place to go and she said Pizza King.

The inside was really cute with all kinds of vintage cars and trucks. It had a 50's diner feel and I liked it.  

Relaxing after MasterChef Casting

I was not expecting much in terms of the food. I mean it is a small town and all. But it was really good. We got some salad and ordered maybe 3 pizzas. We wanted to leave Michael with some extra food. You know he is a college guy and probably always can find a friend to share pizza.

I enjoyed the pizza. It was fresh, cheesy and well a pretty good pizza!
Michael liked it too, and when he told his Mom where he was, she told us that is the first place she went on a date with Michael's Dad. Michael had never been so it was kinda fun to think about his Mom and Dad having pizza at the  Pizza King.

So it you are road tripping through Texas and get hungry- Try it!

PS I did not take and pictures of the food sorry! My cousin Michael was there and I just was too excited to take them!

Love the Cabbage Leaf,
Logan

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Pizza King

Twisted Root Burger Co. a Big D Must, Before MasterChef Junior Auditions

For the MasterChef Junior Season 2 Audition, we pulled into Dallas the first thing we had to do was grab something delicious. I asked Siri for the best burger and she said Twisted Root Burger Co. It was close so we went.

It is a rustic kind of place with a great sense of humor. They have 2 of my most favorite things Root Beer and Pickles. It was love at first bite.

I ordered a burger and then I realized my Mom's burger was better so I ate hers. It happens frequently, sorry Mom! I get too adventurous and she saves me by choosing my favorites. This burger was huge and juicy and perfectly cooked. I loved that they made their own ketchup. They also make the pickles and the unique root beer. It is the BOMB. 

The fries were crispy and delish. I loved the place! The bathroom was devoted entirely to Chuck Norris! How cool is that?


I would say Siri did hit the best burger in Dallas, maybe....it is a big city and I am one hungry boy.

Love the Cabbage, Leaf
Logan


Twisted Root Burger Company