Adobos Caribbean Grill

Address: 9460 South Union Square Plaza, Ste 106, Salt Lake City, UT 84070. 801.523.3672.

Review: Puerto Rico: small caribbean island that's actually an American commonwealth. Puerto Ricans vote every so often about becoming a state, but they never pull the trigger. No matter, their food is a mix of Spanish and caribbean influences and just plain tastes good. A Puerto Rican woman once made me coconut flan for which I still long fortnightly. Thus, it was with serious anticipation I tried Adobos Caribbean Grill.

First, I ordered the pan con ajo (bread with garlic).

The bread was pressed Cuban, brushed with olive oil, salt, and garlic. Every good European or European influenced cuisine has a dish like this. For example, in Italy, crostini are browned, rubbed with raw garlic, then doused in olive oil and salt. The pressed bread used in pan con ajo is a fluffy white bread pressed to become more dense, which is good since plain fluffy white bread is all air and no substance. Ultimately, though, you can only dress up fluffy, non-distinct white bread so much because it will always taste like non-distinct bread with some stuff on it.

Next up was the mofongo, which is a dish of, essentially, smashed plantains and a protein. In this case, I ordered the carne frita.

The carne in the carne frita is fried pork sirloin. It was served with onions and bells peppers and smothered in a heavily spiced (not as in spicy, but as in lots of spices) tomato sauce. As you can see, the plantains served as an edible bowl for the pork. Now, I dig me some plantains, and these didn't disappoint. They were crunchy and stiff (in a good way), and had just a hint of sweetness to them. The pork was very well cooked, crunchy on the outside, juicy on the inside. So far, so good.

And then there was the cilantro mojo, which I'm assuming (out of complete ignorance) is the tomato sauce. It included cilantro, and some oregano, lots of other flavors, and lots of not-really-cooked tomato sauce. In fact, the sauce was in that no man's land between uncooked-and-therefore-light-and-acidic sauce and not-cooked-enough-to-develop-deep-flavors sauce. Man, how I wanted to like it because I dug the rest of the mofongo, but I just couldn't. This element really brought down the dish for me because it was ubiquitous and overpowering.

Honestly, I think I ended up ordering something I just didn't like. I could see the deft hand of someone who knew how to prepare darn good food, but that mojo, man. I'll be back, and I think when I order the arroz con pollo or another mofongo, my rating will likely improve.

Rating: 5/10 (5/10 is average).

Trattoria Brown - Insalata Caprese w/ Jacob's Cove Tomatoes

Insalata caprese is nothing more than mozzarella, tomatoes, basil, salt, and olive oil. It's so incredibly simple, and correspondingly beautiful, that I'm always amazed at just how good it is. But then, aren't the most beautiful foods always built on a foundation of a few quality ingredients?

Having picked up some Jacob's Cove heirloom tomatoes at the farmers market early in the day, and mozz from Tony Caputo's, we set out to make a caprese. I could describe the caprese-making process, but why do that when pictures will suffice.

And there you have it: tomatoes, mozz, basil, salt, olive oil. This is the essence and perfection of summer.

Downtown Farmers Market - Tomatoes, Honey, and Pig Statues

Address: Pioneer Park, 300 S 300 W, Salt Lake City, UT.

Experience: The Saturday morning farmers market in Pioneer Park is one of the great summertime activities in Salt Lake City. There's something wonderful about strolling through the stalls, dodging other patrons, all in the cool early morning hours.

There are a myriad of choices at the farmers market, from organic honey vendors (more on that later) to sheep's milk cheese purveyors to hippies selling metalwork to Mormon housewives selling reversible headbands. This morning, we were on the hunt for pizza fixins, specifically tomatoes.

Ever since I ate an insalata caprese at Pizzeria 712 in Orem last year, I have been taken with Jacob's Cove tomatoes.

They produce great heirloom tomatoes with bright full flavors that are perfect for pizza. Here's what we ended up buying.

What a gorgeous variety of colors.

After the tomatoes, we headed toward the artwork portion of the market and found this dude, drumming away.

And then we came upon Slide Ridge Honey, a family-owned organic honey vendor from northern Utah.

These guys were nice enough to spend time answering my questions about their honey. Apparently, they have a number of mountain hives they keep in the very labor-intensive way beekeepers do. The honey is not filtered or pasteurized, which gives it a full, complex flavor, not just the highly sugary taste of supermarket honeys. While the honey was good, I was particularly interested in the honey wine vinegar Slide Ridge produces.

Having never experienced this product before, I'm not entirely sure how it's made. However it's made, it's pretty darn good, with a nice balance of acidity and sugar. It reminded me of aged balsamics I've tasted in Italy given the fact the taste (and color) of the environment comes through in the vinegar. This is a quality, and very interesting, product.

Well, after circling the market, and tasting a terribly unfortunate pistachio gelato that tasted like jello pistachio pudding, we made our way back to the car. On the way, my son wanted to strike a pose atop made a couple swine statues.

Great end to a great morning.

Squatters

Address: 147 W Broadway, Salt Lake City, UT. 801.363.2739.

Review: Squatters is a beer place. As a teetotaler, I won't be commenting on Squatters's liquid refreshments, which, I readily admit, is likely the fatal flaw of this review. (And this is why I won't be giving a X/10 rating, as is my wont.) This noted, let's discuss food.

I ordered the ahi tuna burger, described thusly on the menu: "Minced Orca Bay Yellowfin tunna patty with fresh herbs and spices, topped with pico de gallo, cilantro cabbage, sliced avocado and wasabi aioli." Oh, and instead of fries, I requested the salad --- gotta drop some poundage after Italy, you know.

Let's begin with the salad. Mixed greens with some carrot shavings. Nothing more, nothing less, nothing exciting, nothing particularly thoughtful. The mustardy, tangy, just-a-shot-of-heat vinaigrette livened things up a bit, but not that much.

The burger. Well, the bun looked like it might be whole wheat, or might not be, with oat parts sprinkled on top. Honestly, not sure what the bun had to do with ahi tuna, or how it was designed to enhance the tuna's flavor. The tuna itself was cooked to about a medium, which meant it was entirely overcooked. The natural juiciness and beautiful raw flavor of the tuna was gone. The pico de gallo barely registered any flavor, and I'm pretty sure the cilantro cabbage wasn't there at all. (I tasted neither cilantro nor cabbage.) After the second bite, I had to ask for more aioli because the burger was completely dry as composed. I liked the aioli, but found myself having to use so much of it to moisten the burger that it became a little overpowering. In the end, the burger was a bit of a mess.

So, go for the beers. I hear they're great.

Himalayan Kitchen

Address: 360 S State St, Salt Lake City, UT. 801.328.2077.

Review: With an hour between a mediation and a collections hearing, I thought Indian food sounded like a good bet for lunch. Since Himalayan Kitchen is a veritable hop, skip, and a jump from the Matheson Courthouse, the decision to eat there was simple.

Himalayan has a lunch buffet, but, let's face it, 99% of buffets do not contain high quality food. So, instead, I ordered the saag paneer and two types of naan. The first items to arrive were the naan. Their arrival was a bit awkward though, since the entree didn't arrive for another ten minutes, which mean the naans were cold when the eating got going. In any case, I had the regular naan

and sweet naan (naan stuffed with raisins, nuts, coconut, and cherries).

As I said before, by the time the entree arrived the naan was cold and stiff. However, even if it had been warm, the regular naan would have been only okay. If didn't have much flavor and lacked any sponginess or elasticity (not that there should be a lot with naan, but some). The sweet naan was, likewise, okay. I could sort of tell the primary flavor was cherry, but could not taste any coconut or raisins. The nuts gave a little texture, which was nice, but not much. Overall, the predominate flavor was sugar.

And introducing the saag paneer.

Saag is a spinach sauce studded with onions and other spices. Paneer is homemade pressed cheese. Himalayan's version was, again, okay. It lacked the complexity and deeply spiced flavor I've found in other saags. The paneer was adequate but couldn't make the dish.

Also, the rice was plain. There was no spice or herb to it, so it didn't add much more than starch to the saag paneer.

In all, what I had was alright, and nothing special that makes me want to return the next time I find myself between hearings.

Rating: 5/10 (5/10 is average).

Ristorante Della Nonna

Address: Strada per Talamello, V. Verdi 40, 61015 Novafeltria (RI), Italy.

Review: Italy is not an eating-out culture. The fact is Italian food is so uncomplicated, so unencumbered, that a restaurant cannot usually make it better than a homecook. Another factor in all of this is in Italy it is considered a badge of honor to cook at home, and each family will have a cadre of its own recipe, all of which, of course, are better than those of their neighbors.

I mention this because when Italians do eat out, they usually want something that is comparable to what they make at home. Ristorante della Nonna (Grandma's Restaurant) fits that bill perfectly. Like all good Italian restaurants, Nonna's appearance is unadorned, positively spartan even.

The food though . . . .

We began with the passatelli al pomodoro (passatelli with tomatoes).

Passatelli are interesting pastas in that their base is not flour, eggs, and water, but bread crumbs, parmigiano reggiano, nutmeg, and eggs. Once the ingredients are mixed together, the passatelli are extruded and cooked in boiling water. In this way, they are similar to spaetzle, but with a more salty and robust flavor. Nonna's passatelli came with a very simple tomato sauce. The taste was very simple and good. Not the best passatelli I've had, but enjoyable.

Next up were the tagliatelli al sugo di carne (tagliatelli with meat sauce).

I've had this dish a thousand times before, but this was truly amazing. The sauce, which is nothing more than a slight condiment on the pasta, didn't actually contain much meat, but it tasted like they dropped five pounds in there. Nonna's was able to imbue the essence of meat throughout that sauce like I've never tasted before. I have never seen more done with less. It was a truly great pasta experience.

After the pasta, we moved to the meats. First up, vitello tonnato.

Vitello tonnato is sliced cold veal covered in a mayonnaise like sauce flavored with tuna. Classic Italian fare. At Nonna's the veal was quality, if not slightly dry. The sauce was thick and complex. It tasted like mayonnaise, sort of, and tuna, but only a very small hint. You wouldn't think in a million years a dish like this would taste good, but it's somehow great.

And now, some pork chops, steak, and sausage.

The sausage was caseless and obviously made in-house. It was also juicy, with a bit of char, and full of texture. There's nothing refined here, and thankfully so. This is how sausage should be. The pork chops were thin, juicy, and tasty. There were no special spices added to enhance the taste, just salt and pepper. A little lemon made these chops sing. The steak was a tough cut (probably shoulder), and cooked quickly, hence it was a bit sinewy and tough. Good flavor though.

Finally, the veggies.

We got stuffed tomatoes, stuffed peppers, and potatoes. I'm not entirely what strain of crack Italians put in their roasted potatoes, but my goodness. They're always crispy and light, but not dry, and have a seriously earthy, salty flavor (usually aided by the addition of rosemary). Nonna's potatoes possessed all of these wonderful qualities. The stuffed peppers were okay. I know they were actually quite good for stuffed peppers, but roasted peppers is one of my least favorite foods on planet earth. Everyone else at the table loved them. The stuffed tomatoes amazed me. I usually cannot eat roasted tomatoes because the texture is just awful. Nonna's, on the other hand, were stuffed with a crunchy bread crumbs, onions, etc., and the balance of the stuffing with tomatoes cooked to the point they were almost disintegrating made a stellar dish. Very surprising and very good.

After we finished eating, I playfully told the proprietress (i.e. nonna) I need to take her home to make me food every day. Her response was something like, "If I went home with everyone who said that, I'd never go home again." Delightful woman. Delightful meal.

Out of all the meals I had in Italy, this was the one that best encapsulated the essence of Italian cooking. Simple homefood prepared with few, quality ingredients that absolutely blew me away.

Rating: 8.5/10.

Trattoria di Gesso da Titi'

Address: Via Gesso 133/A, Zola Predosa (BO), Italy. 0517511550.

Review: This, sadly, represents the last of my meals in Italy. Since I'm actually back in Salt Lake writing this post, I'll begin this post with the end and end it with the beginning. After my meal at Trattoria di Gesso da Titi', I had planned on going to Da Romano, located on Burano in the Venetian lagoon, and eating a fish risotto I had heard wonderful things about. I had been looking forward to this for months. However, I ended up eating so much at Trattoria Titi' that eating anything else for about the next twenty-four hours wouldn't have been worth it, or possible. Okay, so that's the end at the beginning. Now, let's get back to the beginning at the end.

Trattoria Titi' is on the outskirts of Bologna, and, unsurprisingly, serves Bolognese food. (If you think you've never had Bolognese dishes, you simply didn't know what you were eating was from Bologna. Many famous Italian foodstuffs, like lasagna, tortellini, bologna, are directly derived from Bologna and its outskirts. There is no greater food culture in all of Italy than that of Bologna.) And Trattoria Titi' specializes in the old Bolognese recipes. For example, tortellini are made by hand, panna cotta is cooked long and low without preservatives, and the crescentine are freshly fried.

I began with a classic antipasto of crescentine (a fried dough sometimes called gnocco fritto); squacquerone cheese (a creamy and tangy cow's milk cheese); pickled shallots, mushrooms, artichokes, and olives; and slices of cured meats (pancetta, prosciutto crudo, mortadello, etc.). It looked a little somethin' like this:

As with all things Italian involving bread or pasta, the bread (in this case the crescentine) was the star. It's fried bread, but it was lighter than any other fried bread I've ever experienced, and it was perfectly golden brown. The squacquerone is a cheese that needs to be eaten to be understood. It's liquidy (about 60% water), but tangy and beautifully creamy. It's a perfect accompaniment to cut through the fat from the crescentine and the fatty meats. And speaking of meats, they were gorgeous. The prosciutto was wonderfully salty, and the little token-size salami never made it anywhere but my hand and mouth. The pancetta was great, but, honestly, the best meat of all was the mortadella. Mortadella is what we called bologna, but Bolognese mortadella is not a amalgam of crap stuck in a tube like it is in America. Bolognese take their mortadella seriously, and it showed in this meal. The pink flesh and tasty lardons running like fatty veins through the meat were the perfect accompaniment to the bread and cheese. Likewise, the pickled vegetables added lightness and a distintive tang to what would otherwise have been a very heavy antipasto. This antipasto was brilliant 200 years ago, and it's brilliant now.

Next up came the tortellini in brodo di cappone, or tortellini in capon broth. (Capon is a castrated rooster. Why castrate a rooster you ask, other than the obvious answer that it helps control population? Well, castration helps keep the flesh supple, since in non-castrated roosters it tends to become tough and hard over time.)

This dish looked so simple, and yet tasted incredibly complex. The capon broth was like the Captain America of broths in that it beats up all other broths. It was fragrant and strong, with poultry running throughout. And while the vegetables used in preparation rounded out the flavor, capon was the unmitigated star. Then there were the tortellini. The pasta was fresh made by hand, and it was all cooked to al dente. Inside was a meat filling, likely of mortadella, sausage, and maybe some other ground meat. These were entirely different from the broth, and yet you couldn't really ask for a better taste combination. Every element was distinct but harmonious on the whole. Again, an old recipe flexing its muscle and showing why it has been around forever.

I was so taken with the food I ordered two desserts. The first was a panna cotta.

Never had anything like this before. The cream didn't seem really gelatinized, but cooked until coagulated by natural processes. It was creamy and stiff and very good. Underneath the cream was a layer of caramel that was heated to just under the point of burning. This created an intensely flavored caramel with the full range of sugar taste, from sweet to almost carbonized. So interesting.

And lastly, the tortino bomba al cioccolato (chocolate lava cake, more or less).

This was heavy, abundantly chocolatey, and gooey. There was no light sponginess you get with chocolate lava cakes in America. Very satisfying, although nothing spectacular.

What a wonderful meal. Stunning food made from centuries' old recipes by people who care about legacy and who care about doing things right. This was Bolognese food in all its glory, and a fitting end to a great Italian vacation.

Rating: 9/10 (5/10 is average).