Fatty Friday, Fourth of July Edition

Hey, sorry I was MIA for a few days *hears crickets*, with the long weekend the Fisherman and I were busy loving America by embracing the various cultures and foods that make this country great (other things could definitely be improved, but that's another post for another day).

So, to kick off Fatty Friday, I finally tracked down Kimchi Taco Truck and had four of their tacos for lunch.

The four choices were grilled Korean BBQ Beef (bulgogi), seared pork, pulled chicken and tofu edamame falafel. The beef and pork were flavorful and juicy, the chicken I could have done without. The falafel took me for a surprise, a really, really good surprise! It made me remember how much I love kimchi!!

 Then for dinner, I took the Fisherman to a local Japanese/Thai/Chinese place, Chopstick, in Elmhurst. I've loved this place since I first found it, and learned the hard way that when they offer all you can eat sushi, it's per roll, not per piece. This was my first sushi experience where you jot down what you want, but it hasn't dampened my experience of the place. I coerced the Fisherman into also doing all you can eat, so we had a SUSHI PAWTY!

Teriyaki wings, really good sauce. Good job Fisherman!

Fried shumai, also nice

My fav trio, spicy crab, tuna and salmon. Zesty!

I forget what this is, but it was amazing. There's also sashimi, eel and fluke. I will update when I look at our report cards :)

Also cannot remember. I tend to read what looks good and go for it!

Same, but it looks beautiful.

I almost want to paint this!

 

 

Then, on Saturday we needed to make a trip to Flushing to take care of some car insurance stuff. We then went to one of my favorite places in the area, Pho Hoang. I love their curry noodle soup so much, I am researching to find a recipe so I can DIY it (and probably die from all that coconut milk, mmmm). I also love the crispy tofu skin. So crunchy, great for dipping in the fiery broth. This one had fishcake stuffed peppers and eggplant, not bad. Next time, more tofu skin.

Here's me at a previous trip, lovin da skin!

Awwww, makes me want some now...

Then, we decided we were going to grill to ring in the Fourth, but the weather decided not to cooperate, so we grilled inside. 

Wings dancing around a burger. OOGA OOGA OOGACHA!

My compromise with the Fisherman; I wanted burgers, he wanted meat bricks.

Our new invention, the Four Corners Burger. A burger with four types of cheese (in this case, muenster, gouda, cheddar and harvati with dill)

Grilling steak on a hubcap, I mean, Korean-style grill. He does make a damn fine steak.

 

 

Then, to really tie it all together, we grab some ingredients and I attempt to make pad thai, again. I made it up in the Great White North while in college (aka, Upstate New York, closer to Canada than NYC) for a dear friend of mine. Now I try again, using this recipe from Mark Bittman, aka The Minimalist.

I found that even after halving the amount of limes used, it was still WAY too sour. Nor did I realize there was a difference between tamarind paste and pulp (I'd appreciate a clarification here!), and the Fisherman claimed there were too many veggies. I might try this again, might use an entirely new recipe. We shall see.

So, that's how we celebrated the Fourth of July, the way it should be done, enjoying what makes America one cool place, for eating, that is.