Sushi Time! (Seaside, CA)

Step over Pho King (snicker) here comes Sushi Time!

Ok y'all, this place has me so excited I'm going to have to bust out my southern accent for a minute!

Hot Damn this was the best sushi I've had in a long time!! I am so full from my $13.50 plate of Chirashi Don that I think I need a nap. This place is seriously giving Chrystal Fish a run for the money. I love Chrystal Fish but I was too far to get there so I did a quick check of yelp reviews to find the best place near me and Sushi Time caught my eye. I have to admit I was enjoying the name before I even went in. There are so many little two seat tables, which I love because when I'm with my date we like to be a little intimate so we can talk and share food. (Doesn't everyone do that??)

I also want to add that they had no problem at all switching my rice from white to brown rice. The waitress told me she made it herself and was more than happy to give me that. The Chirashi Don was so good, have a mentioned that? The Chirashi Don plate had the seaweed and some pickles, the rice was covered in those orange eggs? and some sesame seeds, there was ample everything. Shrimp, Crab, Hamachi, Salmon, Tuna, that egg cake thing?, and something else. Honestly I never know exactly what I'm eating. All I know is that it was GOOD! Service was GOOD and this place was busy. This plate was probably enough for 2 because right now I'm about to take a nap. Hurry and check this spot out.

I did a little research and it turns out that the chef here, Dylan Bae, has a friend who owns his own fish company (*courtesy Monterey County Weekly, Mark C. Anderson) and they want to keep things affordable. it seems they couldn't keep everything under $10 but I sure got my money's worth!

Making Peachdish Beef Lettuce Wraps with Orange Broccolini

Let me start  by letting you know, this dish was so GOOD that my family has asked me to make this again in the next week. This may become a regular menu item at my house! Peachdish.com invites a new chef each week to work with them in creating these meals and this week, the chef was such a good fit for my family that I am going to have to laminate or scan the recipe cards so I don't lose them! At a minmum I am going to have to bookmark the recipe from the Peachdish page. Are  you familiar with who Peachdish.com is?
     Peachdish.com is a company that ships out all the ingredients you need for 2 different meals each week. The meals are different each week, and according to their website - southern inspired. I love getting things in my boxes that have little references to places in the south. You get almost everything you need to make these two dishes, you just have to supply the labor, maybe a little oil, salt and pepper and standard cookware. If you want to see an example of what comes in one box, check out my post about just what the value of the items you receive looks like read my blog here: www.finicky-foody.com 

     So, let's get on with making of this recipe. It was not only delicious, it was EASY. First I rinsed and drained the rice, then simmered it in salted water, turned down the heat and covered it. I like to call this set it and forget it until the meal is ready to be served. Then I washed the lettuce and chopped up a couple things. A little onion, some garlic, cashews, and some ginger. I set this aside while I combined the orange juice, garlic, shallot and balsamic in a small sauce pan over medium heat. Watch this carefully as it can reduce quick if you aren't careful! I want to mention that everything was pre-measured so I didn't have to measure the orange juice, the balsamic or any of the other ingredients. I just put it in which is so easy! Once I noticed the the liquid had reduced, I turned it off and set it aside. I boiled the broccolini in water until it was soft and removed it, cool it off and then mix the sauce and the broccoli. Set this aside
     Last things up already! Crumble some ground beef in a skillet, you don't even have to stir! Just let it cook away in there, after it is well browned you mix it around, make a little space in the center, mix in some garlic, green onions (the white part), and ginger. after those cook up a little on their own, stir it together with the ground beef, add in the nuts greens of the green onion, and other optional ingredients. Separate this all between a few butter lettuce leaves, plate with the broccoli and rice. It is AMAZING! Don't forget to add a little sweet chili sauce or maybe Siracha! Bon Apetite! Thank you so much to Peachdish for sending out this AH-mazing dish that my family loves. I am going to be making it again really soon! If you want to find new family favorites like I did this week. Sign up today at Peachdish and save $15 off your first box by using my link Peachdish.com.

If you like learning about new recipes and other food related things, watch me on YouTube like me on Facebook, Follow me on Twitter, Instagram, and for restaurants in the Bay Area and beyond check me out on Foodspotting. If you try this recipe and like it like we did, let me know in the comments or if you have a recipe you want to see, let me know that too!

Thinking subscription food boxes are too expensive? Check out the break down

Ok guys, so if you have been hesitating to try a food subscription because it sounds too expensive, let me show you the value in these boxes! When you break down the prices, it's a REALLY GOOD deal! Now to be fair and to avoid hearing that you have things in your fridge or that you can use something later because you have bought it in costco size and saved a ton on the price, I have taken the prices at Safeway to buy the items and broke the cost down to the approximate amount that you would actually use, even though I know that I would have to buy the whole pound of meat or the entire bag of rice, and soy sauce bottle - even if I may never use this item up before it expires in my fridge which is what happens to me ALL THE TIME. In the case of something like strawberries, I just eat or my family will eat what I don't use, am I right? Ok well let's dive into the value. Here is a list of what came in my subscription box from Peachdish this week

That's a LOT of stuff, right? Here is how the costs break down:

Ginger Beef Lettuce Wraps + Broccoli in an Orange Garlic Sauce

½ pound ground beef        $2.49                  Cilantro                           $0.60

Corn Nuts (4oz)                $1.54                 Cashews                          $2.19

Head of Garlic                   $0.50                Ginger Root                      $1.32

Kikoman Soy Sauce           $0.57                White Rice                        $0.65

Basil                                $2.19               Green Onion                      $0.69

Shallot                              $0.59              Brocclini                            $3.29

Sweet Chili Sauce               $1.00              Balsamic Vinegar                $0.89

Orange Juice                      $0.85            For a total of                        $19.36

Chicken, Corn, Potato, & Pea Hash + a Strawberry Balsamic Salad 

Chicken Breasts              $2.85       Yellow Corn                        $0.86

Spinach                          $1.50       Garlic                                $0.50

Green Beans                   $1.50       Basil                                 $2.19

Oregano                         $2.19       Rosemary                           $2.19

Thyme                            $2.19       Russet Potato                    $0.35

Dijon Mustard                  $0.50       Pecans                              $3.29

Balsamic Vinegar              $0.84       Strawberries                      $1.65

Cherry Tomatoes              $2.17       Spring Onion                      $0.82
                                                     For a total of                        $25.60



So after just looking at the ingredients here, you can see that we are super close to the $50 it costs to get this box. My prices are based on Safeway's website and can vary but as you can see with a total for all the items in the box.

I came up with $44.96 and it would be well over that when I have to buy a normal, full size of any of the sauces or juice.

Watch my unboxing here http://youtu.be/v_OQKW2ZZWo

Connect with your kitchen. Receive $15 off your first meal with my code  http://subscribe.peachdish.com/?referCode=tqCKxSO5

Peachdish Unboxing

I am new to Vlog so let me know what you think!

Peachdish.com: Blackened Fish Tacos Topped with Black Cherry Slaw & Fresh Field Peas

Hi friends! So I am a food subscription service junkie! These things are the best thing since cell phones (this saying should replace sliced bread because really, what has made life easier? Sliced bread? or Cell phones?)! They make life so easy.So anyway, the one I want to tell you about is called Peachdish. Peachdish.com is based out of Atlanta, GA and they have some really great meals! They have featured chefs who come in and create the meals and then you can get 2 meals for either 2 or 4 people. I'm hoping for shrimp and grits to show up at my California home one day but for now these blackened (red snapper!) fish tacos were divine. Everything I needed came in this one box, and most of the dry ingredients were in this cute little bag that looked like a present. All I needed to do was to prepare them. So here we go!


I poured the peas in a colander and rinsed them well.
I chopped the onions up small.
I minced the garlic.
I chopped each tomato in half.
I turned the stove burner on medium and warmed up my pan. . .(waiting a couple minutes)

5. Put a little olive oil and the onions and garlic in the pan until the onions become translucent.

Add the peas and cover with water, salt and pepper. Let book for 20 minutes or until the beans are what I call al'dente

Add in the tomatoes and cook a few more minutes then set aside.

Then we get to move on to the tacos!!! 

Preparing the slaw by chopping the cabbage, cherries, and lime. This slaw was the very best thing on my plate! 

Dredge the fish in the provided blackening spices and fry. I found that it worked out best to fry the fish non-skin sided down first, and then I sliced the fish into strips and fried it a bit more because I'm terrible with undercooking and I don't want to play around with fish! Besides - it fits better in the taco! :-)

Finally, the plating. I am not really sure I did this correctly but here's how my final outcome looked.  Not too shabby and my boyfriend enjoyed the meal which is a bonus.
Peachdish is a lovely company with great customer service and a fantastic plan for providing their customers with a quality variety of meals each week.  If you would like to try making one of these meals where all the ingredients are shipped to you, no shopping, no forgotten ingredients,  and save $15 on your first shipment by using this link http://subscribe.peachdish.com/?referCode=tqCKxSO5

Loose Noodle Pasta House - Monterey, CA

Loose Noodle Pasta House. . . what a name! There were some giggles before I made my way here but once I got inside all that was forgotten. This restaurant is located along Lighthouse Blvd. in the New Monterey district. It is one of several small unobtrusive looking restaurants along this row. I have driven past this place countless times. I never bothered to even look twice. Then came a Groupon I found, I had cancelled another Groupon so I had some extra money to put toward something and I didn't want to wait too long as .. well honestly, I'd forget I had it. So.. Groupon for the Loose Noodle Pasta House it was. The Yelp reviews for this restaurant looked to be ok and there were some really happy customers lately so I took the leap and although I don't usually choose Italian restaurants, I thought that I could find something pretty good and this would be my opportunity to give it a try without spending too much cash.
     The sign looks as if this place has been here for quite some time. I have no clue exactly how long that was but we were hungry so we headed right in! As I walked inside and along the wall I looked over to see the beautifully dressed tables with white tablecloths and flowers on the tables and great lighting from the front window. I was alarmed because I wasn't dressed for this! I was not expecting this level of dining for such a small cost which I had paid for my Groupon but I still walked in, I mean this is a tourist town, people often come in all sorts of different attire and today had been an exceptionally hot Monterey day. I didn't notice being treated any differently due to my shorts and t-shirt attire in this very well dressed restaurant. I was thankful! Anyway, the dining room was beautiful.

     The waiter was so very kind as well. When we sat down he immediately offered water and asked if we wanted lemon which I felt was very considerate to actually ask if I wanted it and to not press me to order drinks first but to just offer some water on a hot day. It was very kind. Again he was considerate when I explained that I was going to be using the Groupon which I purchased online. He was very knowledgeable about the Groupon and let me know exactly what my options were and how it would be used toward my dinner with them. He suggested that the appetizer I chose not be bread since I was going to get free bread with dinner and was overall very helpful with the Groupon use. So, on to what we ordered. I went to the restaurant with my 8 year old son, he eats like an adult might these days so he was very happy to order from the adult menu rather than the kids menu and he has rather matures tastes at times so I was sure to get another great review on a dish. Unfortunately, it's true that the apple doesn't fall far from the tree because we ordered two dishes that were very similar. We ordered Cajun Shrimp appetizer and for our dinners I ordered Crab Cakes and Shrimp Scampi and he ordered plain Shrimp Scampi Pasta. They brought out a lovely basket of bread with pats of butter and I very large tub of garlic. This bread was delicious and had a really good chew to it. Very crusty and slightly chewy in the center.  Now, I'll address the appetizer. The Cajun Tiger Prawns was made of 4 very large shrimp and a lot of sauce, I didn't read it in advance but the sauce was a simple tomato ketchup and tapatio sauce. It was ok but something about it just made me not like it much. I probably wouldn't order it again. 

     My son ordered the Shrimp Scampi which is Tiger shrimp sauteed with lemon, garlic, butter and fresh herbs, served over angel hair pasta. This was a beautifully presented dish and he loved it. He ate nearly the whole plate and we loved that they provided an ample side of Parmesan cheese. However, I realize this is something that is typically done but why do the tails of the shrimp have to stay on!?!?! it makes for very messy eating.
There was just enough garlic, and a great flavor in this plate that made you want to keep going back for more. 
     I ordered the Crab Cakes and Scampi. I already told you about the scampi,

mine was equally delicious and covered with a good number of shrimp, but in addition to the scampi were these two lovely patties of crabby goodness. Crab Cakes are by far my favorite way to eat crab. I feel that crab meat is a good vessel for a wide array of spices to explode in my mouth. These crab cakes were perfectly crispy on the outside and soft and delicious in the center. The sweet and sour pineapple mango salsa that covered them gave it a great unexpected flavor that I will probably be craving in the next couple weeks again. It was one of those things, so unique that you will think about it for weeks to come and you'll be wanting to have that flavor in your mouth again from time to time. 
     This meal was already so delicious, and we were feeling the happy dance come along from being so delighted with out meal when we remembered that dessert was left to be had! The options were nothing fancy, it was a very basic menu of things like chocolate mousse, strawberry sundae, chocolate brownie a la mode, cannoli, and a few others. We chose the chocolate brownie a la mode. It did not disappoint, at all! The brownie a la mode is a cousin of lava cake which we absolutely love. The brownie was warmed to perfection, and topped with a creamy vanilla ice cream and then topped with not 1 but 3 cherries! The cherries are a favorite of my son so he got 2, I got 1, we loved it so much that we had to do a little spoon fight over who would get the last bites.
     Overall I would give Loose Noodle Pasta House 4 stars. They had a very nice atmosphere, delicious dishes that would please most everyone with a good amount of seafood options that one may expect when visiting Monterey. They were very attentive and checked on us several times, to refill our waters, and offer more bread as well as check on how our meals were going. The wait staff was very courteous, the food was well prepared and I was happy that I had made the leap to try this restaurant with my Groupon. I think I'll be back again. What is your favorite spot to eat Italian food on the Monterey Peninsula? I'd like to hear from you, maybe I'll try it out next. Let me know in the comments!