Mary's Bread Basket

Ah the irresistible appeal of a warm, buttery baked good. .. Last weekend at the market with my newbie to Hali friend Melanie, we tried crepes from the Creperie Mobile. Yesterday, I thought I'd show her Halifax's "best" Cinnamon Roll. Mel was pretty skeptical as to the assumption that she was really in store for such a treat, but once I showed her all the "Best of the Coast" awards, well, the writing is literally on the wall.

And so, fortunately, we arrived just as a piping hot batch of rolls were coming out of the oven....It might seen anti-climactic, but I actually don't have a photo of said culinary wonder. I opted for a pumpkin-poppyseed scone, by far MY personal favorite at Mary's. The scone is a rich, butty mix of sweet pumpkin and crunchy poppyseeds. Slathered with even more butter, and I am one happy gal!

Mel thoroughly enjoyed her bfast as well. I love introducing people to good stuff and watch their reactions; the eyes brighten up and a slow smile spreads across their faces. It's what I like to refer to as the "Hell yeah- that's good" face...we were both wearing those faces this week.

Late Night Feed at Hamachi Sushi

Last Wednesday, I went out for drinks with a friend at the Economy Shoe shop on Argyle. Between several pints of my favorite patio beer Stella Artois (well, favorite beer in general really), I informed him of the little known deal that occurs at Hamachi Sushi on Morris St. every night.

The secret, my fine friends, is this: after 10 pm, every single night, Hamachi Sushi has "Happy Maki" whereby a good portion of their appetizer and maki menu is cheap, cheap, cheap! The term maki describes the sushi rolled around or inside nori, aka, seaweed. I love late-night sushi, especially when the contents of my stomach consists solely of beer.

And so, we maneuvered ourselves down to Hamachi, at 11:30 on a school night, scored a comfy corner table and set to work making our choices. I chose a plate of the Tempura Vegetables; zucchini and sweet potato in tempura batter and deep fried. The veg selection did, admittedly leave something to be desired, but what can you expect at almost midnight?

Tempura Vegetables

We then moved on to the real good stuff; Spicy Salmon rolls flanking the Rainbow roll, a new one for me, but absolutely a favorite from now on. The Rainbow roll is a culmination of the popular California roll consisting of crab and avocado wrapped in MORE crab and avocado along with salmon and tuna. Yummers!

Welcome to the NEW "with bite" !

Hello all-

Last night I cam home from dinner at CUT with a fellow social media/blogger/twitterer and was instantly inspired to shake things up a little! So here it is, the NEW "with bite" with a new look and a new address.

That's right, I've gone straight up .ca! Don't fear, you'll be redirected from the old address www.withbite.blogspot.com, but bookmark www.withbite.ca for the future!!

Happy eating!
Kristen

Creperie Mobile

Last Saturday morning after Friday night's revelry, I was feeling a bit...shall we say, under the weather. I was feeling the need for a little bit of grease in my system when my friend called to see if I wanted to go to the Farmer's Market. As this is my general Saturday morning routine, I found it hard to say no, so I dragged myself out of my apartment, into the sunshine and trotted down to the Hollis Street entrance.

My friend having just moved from Newfoundland, this was her first market experience, and I'd be dammed if my hangover was going to lessen the adventure for her. As I said though, I needed grease, not healthy fruit and veg, or an amazing baked good- nope, I was going for sustenance of the unhealthy kind. But where do you find something of that nature at the market where freshness abounds and artery clogging, deep fried is nowhere to be seen? You don't!

After I had dragged my awed friend through the maze of food, jewelry, clothing and crafts, she mentioned that "I hear you can get really good crepes here." Ding, ding, ding- sold! As I said, the breakfast that I had in mind was impossible to find at the market- so I set my sights on an even better option; a crepe from the Creperie Mobile!

This was just what the doctor ordered. I decided on a Ham and Cheese Buckwheat crepe, with a touch of mango chutney. The warm savory crepe encompassing the salty ham and melted cheese did the trick to turn me right side up. I wasn't at all in the mood to deal with a knife and fork scenario, so I rolled my crepe up burrito-style and attacked. That poor crepe didn't stand a chance!

Talay Thai

Talay Thai is one of those random little restos in my hood that I always noticed, but never ventured into- BIG mistake! This place is one of those little gems that, once you've eaten there, it'll end up on your "go-to restos" list. At least I have one- doesn't everybody??

I went with a friend of mine and we decided to share two distinctly different curries. He also indulged my desire for grease when I declared my need for something deep fried. We shared two spring rolls that were only slightly greasy, delightfully crispy and ridiculously delicious!

Spring rolls

We shared the two curries that were freakin amazing, and an order of basmati rice. I have to say, it's a little humbling when you out eat your date, but I'm over it because this food was so delicious. The Duck Curry had big chunks of meat in a sweet and spicy sauce accompanied by tomatoes, red grapes and pineapple, while the Cashew Chicken, a little milder had loads of peppers and crunchy, buttery cashews.

Duck Curry

Cashew Chicken

I love trying little spots that are just around the corner. There's no shortage of fine dining, ethnic cuisine or greasy goodness in my SOSG hood (South of Spring Garden, although it doesn't have the same ring as SOHO). Dammit! Anyway, these all contribute to my stomach being satisfied, and when you think about food as much as I do, that's my #1 priority.

There's Something About Curry

I've recently realized that I've become a bit repetitive when it comes to the Brooklyn Warehouse...Mostly because I've been there three times in the last month! I don't normally order vegetarian meals, but sometimes, I like to see how the other "half" lives. And so, here is yummy, saucy, and - I asked for it- extra spicy Green Curry at Brooklyn.

Hamachi Kita delivers..literally!

One of my very close gal pals and favorite partner in crime recently made the ridiculous decision to further her education, move to Australia and abandon me. Hmph. Kidding...I'm so proud of her moving across the globe, and now get regular updates of the cuisine down unda'!

When I asked my pal what she wanted to do for the "last supper", she mentioned a local restaurant that we've both been dying to frequent due to their incredible menu of gourmet comfort food. Unfortunately, when the day arrived, accompanied, in true Nova Scotian fashion by torrents of rain, we were swayed to abandon our original plan and order in.

We tossed several ideas back and forth, and decided that sushi would be just the thing to drown our farewell sorrows...but what better to pair with sushi than curry! That's right, Hamachi Kita offers a menu of both of our favorite types of ethnic foods. The Asian fusion offered by this menu is downright dreamy- we proceeded to pour over their online menu and made our selections.

We ordered our favorite type of curry that never fails to sate our hunger for spicy-sweet fare; Thai Red curry with duck is, in my opinion, a staple for any Thai restaurant visit. With the spicy broth, rich meat and sweet red peppers and snow peas, the flavors touch all of your taste buds.

Thai Red Curry

We then moved on to the sushi component of the meal; lots and lots of rolls! We compromised on this issue, getting Maria's Fire Kamakachi, a mix of rich smoked salmon with creamy avocado; my deluxe lobster roll, no explanation is necessary here...mmmm... and a classic; the well-loved spicy tuna roll.

Maria & Krissy's Special Combo
Fire Kamakachi~Avocado, spicy mayo, tempura, topped with smoked salmon
Deluxe Lobster Roll~Avocado, green onion and spicy lobster
Spicy Tuna Maki

Lastly, Maria allowed me to indulge in a little deep fried goodness - sweet shrimp in crisp, salty won ton wrappers...I felt the need for something naughty, so deep-fried normally does the trick!

Shrimp Fire Crackers Jumbo shrimp seasoned in red curry,
wrapped in won ton wrappers and deep-fried

These delicious dishes paired with vodka martinis marinating a slice of pickled ginger made for an absolutely lovely meal- no restaurant setting required. I miss my gal pal, but I know that someday I'll be hanging out in Aussie land eating Kangaroo steak...and I can't hardly wait!

Betcha can't eat just one!

One day I found myself with absolutely nothing in my fridge. Ok, ok- I don't mean nada, but it consisted of BBQ sauce, maple syrup, soy sauce and vodka. And, a potato. So, clearly, I poured myself a martini and set to work making homemade potato chips!

Using my mandolin- a kitchen utensil that slices veg or cheese very thinly, I sliced up one large baking potato and fried the slices in a touch of olive oil. Then, I sprinkled them with coarse sea salt, and sat back to enjoy my chips. I've made them since, and I'm sure they would be great sprinkled with Cajun seasoning, curry powder, dried dill, ect...but I like them plain, just fine!

Homemade Potato Chips!

Method:

Slice a baking potato and pat dry with a paper towel to remove excess moisture- this ensures a crispy chip. Add 2 tbsp of oil to a heavy skillet and heat on med-high heat. Fry potatoes to golden on one side, then flip and repeat. Transfer to a clean paper towel to absorb the remaining oil, move to a plate and sprinkle with delicious, crunchy sea salt.