Vegetarian Lettuce Wraps at Ohana's Restaurant in Disney's Polynesian Resort

Ohana's restaurant in Disney's Polynesian Resort quickly became one of our favourite eateries when at our vacation home.  This restaurant is famous for it's grilled meats prepared over an oak fire served from long skewers, churrascaria style as well as their delicious Ohana Bread Pudding à la mode with Bananas-Caramel Sauce!  The atmosphere is simply delightful.  Reservations are a must and are six months out so we have already booked for our fall visit!
  

Ohana's has changed their menu slightly.  Grilled chicken skews are no longer available, the salad dressing has been changed from honey lime to passion fruit vinaigrette, and the stir fried vegetables have been updated to include more vegetables, less broccoli and no garlic sauce.  The atmosphere and quality of food remains above average.

The dinner began with Ohana Pineapple-Coconut Bread Mixed Greens Salad with Lilikoi Dressing (passion fruit vinaigrette with chunks of passion fruit and mandarin oranges).  Pork Dumplings tossed in Garlic-Ginger Sauce Honey and Coriander Chicken Wings appetizers are followed by skewers of Sweet-n-Sour Pork Loin served with Peanut and Sweet-n-Sour Sauces,  Szechuan Sirloin Steak served with Peanut and Sweet-n-Sour Sauces , and Spicy Grilled Peel-n-Eat Shrimp accompanied with noodles, tossed in a Teriyaki Sauce with Fresh Vegetables and Stir-fried Vegetables.   Ohana Bread Pudding à la mode with Bananas-Caramel Sauce finishes off the delicious meal.

I was intrigued with the vegetarian lettuce wraps.  This low calorie dish is a must make at home.  The spicy  filling consisted of edamame, bean sprouts, mushrooms, shredded carrot and sauce.  Unfortunately there is no mention of the wraps on the website for Ohana's dinner menu.  They may be a new menu offering in the testing stage.  According to reviews, the wraps replace the grilled chicken which may or may not be the case.  At any rate, I am going to experiment to create a similar filling for lettuce wraps.  These will be a nice change from salad!

If you go to Ohana's the Ohana Bread Pudding à la mode with Bananas-Caramel Sauce is a must!  Even if you are counting calories, factor in enough wiggle room to enjoy a bit of this absolutely heavenly dessert.  The ice cream has flecks of vanilla bean giving a decadent flavour that pairs nicely with the bread pudding.  The warm banana-caramel sauce tops this dessert nicely.  Delicious! 

Tex Mex Salad at the Clubhouse

Yesterday, I wrote about my May hiatus.  We left home in beautiful but still quite cold Ontario in the early evening of May 6 to stay overnight at a motel close to the airport for an early morning flight with our final destination being our vacation home in sunny Florida.  It seemed like such a short time ago that we had arrived home!  Really we had only been home four and a half months but it had been through the brunt of a rather nasty, cold winter that refused to relinquish its grip.  Like many northerners, we were anxious to enjoy a bit of warmth and sunshine.  And so our spring vacation started...

Travel days are always quite exhausting even if they go smoothly.   They tend to be high calorie expenditure but low caloric intake aka we are very active but don't eat much.  We finally have flying south down to a routine where we stay overnight leaving on an early flight which puts us in Florida around 2 PM.  We stop for groceries then head to the house.  After opening up the house, unpacking, and putting groceries away we head to the pool for a quick swim.  Feeling refreshed, we head back to the house to change then back down to the clubhouse for dinner.

Our clubhouse is a lovely spot to meet up with friends we haven't seen since our last trip.  The food is nothing spectacular but it is decent.  As homeowners there we do try to support it by eating there at least a couple of times each trip.  We ordered an appetizer, Tex Mex salad and drinks. 

The Tex Mex salad was huge!  We shared the salad that was served in a large bowl.  The salad consists of chopped tomato and chicken on a bed of iceberg lettuce topped with shredded cheddar cheese and Fritos corn chips then drizzled with ranch dressing.  It was quite tasty and filling!  The corn chips were something a bit different that added a nice crunch.  There really wasn't a lot of dressing on the salad even though it looks like there is.  I would guess at about 2 - 3 tbsp (about 150 to 200 calories).  Despite the dressing, the salad was on the healthy side.  When I make this salad at home, I plan to kick it up a notch by adding arugula, substituting Monteray Jack cheese for the cheddar and use grilled boneless, skinless chicken breast. 

Butter Y'all

My last post detailed our very enjoyable visit to The Lady & Sons restaurant owned by Paula Deen and her sons Jamie and Bobbie in historical Savannah, Georgia.  While waiting for our reservation, we strolled around looking at some of the quaint shops, stopping to make a few purchases including adorable apron sets for two of our grandkids.  After lunch, we stopped in Paula Deen's gift shop that is attached to her restaurant.

The Paula Deen Retail Shop is located right beside the restaurant.  There is an entrance to the shop through the waiting room of the restaurant as well as two street side entrances.  The quaint, country store style shop is a pure Paula Deen fan mecca!  We did a bit of early Christmas shopping.

I bought a beautiful 18" x 22" acacia wood pie board for one of our kids who makes a lot of pastry.   The pie side is engraved with 6", 8", 9" and 10" rolling guides, and is edged with a 14" ruler for easy and accurately preparing pie dough.  The other side is not engraved and can be used as a cutting board.  I just knew she would love it!

One of Paula Deen's catch phrases is butter y'all because she is well known for cooking with a lot of butter.  My husband always joked that her show Paula's Home Cooking should really be called Butter!  In fairness, chefs used butter over margarine because it is real food that imparts a flavour that can't be duplicated with margarine.  We use butter for cooking in our own kitchen for the same reason. 

I just could not resist buying two of the butter y'all butter dishes (one shown).  They were just too cute!  One was a gift for the same kid receiving the pie board, the other for us.  I keep butter on the counter ready to use as desired.  I only refrigerate it for storage and one hot, humid days.  The butter dish comfortably holds a 4 oz stick of butter.  I buy butter in full pounds so have to cut it for the butter dish but that's fine.  It's a wonderful and functional memento of our visit to The Lady & Sons.

The Lady & Sons in Savannah, Georgia

We left our home in beautiful Ontario, Canada on the morning of October 9, 2013 with a final destination of our vacation home in Florida.  Our plans were a sightseeing trip on the way down, staying there three week, flying home for three week, then returning to Florida for five weeks.  Once we crossed the border, we made our way to I-75 to I-33, crossing on an angle to I-77 then to I-26, then to I-95 and finally I-4.  This route was a little longer than the direct route of I-75.  Originally, we planned on staying a an adorable sounding bread & breakfast (Nostalgia Inn) in Pipe Stem, West Virginia.  Those plans were suddenly change an hour away when we called and the hostess told us she was expecting a large group on the weekend so didn't want to clean up again even though she had told us a room was available the day before.  Apparently she hasn't heard of Karma!  So we continued traveling, finally stopping in Orangeburg, South Carolina for the night.  That meant we would be in Savannah, Georgia (our primary sightseeing stop) before lunch rather than the planned dinner.  We had planned on staying in Savannah overnight but we would be at our vacation home before dinner with good traveling so decided to shorten our stop in Savannah.  Aside of seeing historical Savannah, the huge draw for us was eating at The Lady & Sons.

The Lady & Sons, established in 1989, is owned and operated by celebrity chef, Paula Deen and her sons, Jamie and Bobby Deen.  The restaurant is located at 102 West Congress Street in historical Savannah, Georgia.  Reservations are required.  They can be made by calling the restaurant or through their website.   If you get there early you can reserve a spot from the hostess located at the side entrance (to the right of the car) before the restaurant opens. 

We arrived a little before 10:30 AM so that handsome gent (aka my husband) carrying our purse went ahead to get our name on the reservation list for the 11 AM opening.  Not pictured is the crowd that gathered outside the side door prior to opening in the hopes of getting reservations.  It was indeed an impressive sight!  While we waited, we passed the time walking about Savannah enjoying the gardens and quaint shops.  

The Lady & Sons restaurant has seating on three floors.  The first floor is L-shaped.  The long arm of the L was the dining room; the short arm housed the buffet stations.  At the end of the buffet stations room was the entrance to the restaurant waiting area.  We were seated on the first floor at the table in the lower right corner with the chair on the angle.  We were close to the window beside the double doors in the picture above so had a wonderful view of passers-by while dining.  The dining area is spacious yet cozy.  The original wood floors added that extra ambiance. 

What impressed us was the lack of pretentiousness, something we did not expect given that Paula Deen is a celebrity chef!  Our entire experience was nothing but top notch.  The waitstaff were some of the best we have ever had, extremely friendly and sociable, attentive to our needs.   This restaurant is certainly brimming with old fashioned southern hospitality!

The menu was enticing but we decided on the all you care to eat southern buffet lunch ($15.99).  The waiter brought us southern cheese biscuits and hoecakes.  A hoecake is a unleavened johnnycake (cornbread cooked pancake style) made of cornmeal.  This bread was originally baked on the blade of a hoe over and open fire, hence its name.  Oh my!  It was had to decide between the two.  They were both as delicious as they looked, cooked to a beautiful golden brown with a tantalizing aroma.  The biscuits were rich, fluffy, tender and flakey.  The hoecake was tender and flavourful.  

The room holding the food bars was surprisingly small with just enough room for a few people at a time.  It was filled with the aroma of delicious food!  The small salad bar was tucked in by the stairs leading to the second floor dining area.  It was small and unpretentious yet well stocked with the basics for a salad.  All of the offerings were very fresh looking.  One of the trays (middle right) held packets of butter for the biscuits or mashed potatoes.  The only ingredient not often seen at this style of salad bar was artichokes.  The dressings were also are kept to a minimum.  Something about the simplicity of the salad bar struck me.  The focus was on simple food, nicely prepared and ready to enjoy, an excellent visualization that food does not have to be fancy to be good.

The entire main course buffet station was only about ten feet long at best, with serving from both sides.  Once again, the simplicity echoed in the unpretentious main course offerings, especially the southern fried chicken done to perfection and piled high in the tray.  There was no doubt that chicken looking this good would be a sure-fire culinary delight!  Less selection means that the focus was on a few dishes cooked perfectly rather than a large selection of mediocre dishes.   To me, that is always key.  The main course buffet station certain did not disappoint!  Each tray was filled with delicious looking dishes cooked home-style.

My husband chose the southern fried chicken, baked chicken, meatloaf with gravy, mac & cheese, creamy mashed potatoes and a mixed vegetable casserole.  Both styles of chicken were cooked to perfection!  The meatloaf was a basic ground beef based meatloaf, lightly seasoned, moist and tender topped with a rich, creamy brown gravy full of flavour.  The mixed vegetable casserole was a mixture of peas, carrots, lima beans and corn in a creamy sauce topped with cheese.  The mac & cheese was just like homemade, rich and creamy with lots of cheese then topped with cheese!  My husband enjoyed his meal then went back for seconds. 

I chose the southern fried chicken, creamy mashed potatoes, green beans, black-eyed peas and collard greens.  Now this was some of the best southern fried chicken I've ever tasted!  It was nicely fried to a golden brown, seasoned perfectly, crispy on the outside yet moist and tender meat.  I normally do not eat the coating or skin but tasted a little. Delicious!  The mashed potatoes were a dream, light and fluffy with a rich creaminess undoubtedly from milk and butter.  This is the second time I've had collards and while they were nicely cooked, they really aren't something I will be making at home.  The black-eyed peas were delicious.  The green beans were my only complaint.  They were cooked in bacon grease in traditional southern style.  They looked like green beans, perfectly cooked to al dente but despite their appearance, they were mushy.  I know this is the way southerners cook their green beans as opposed to the northern al dente, still it was a bit of a surprise. 

Dessert (peach cobbler, banana pudding or ooey, gooey butter cake) came with the buffet so we each got one to share.  More specifically, me to have a taste and my husband to enjoy most of it.  This has been a standing tradition with use ever since our newlywed days.  I very seldom eat dessert and we rarely order dessert when out but when we do, he ends up eating both.  I ordered the banana pudding.  This rich, creamy dessert was scrumptious!  The flavour was amazing, not too sweet.  a lovely dollop of whipped cream just accented the flavour.   Paula Deen's Classic Banana Pudding can be duplicated at home as well as and Paula Deen's Not Yo Mama's Banana Pudding, a fancier version of the classic recipe.  I plan to make the classic version for our next family gathering.

Paula Deen is well know for her use of butter and the catch phrase butter y'all.  It isn't surprising that she came up with a specialty cake aptly named, the ooey gooey butter cake.  This dessert is incredibly rich and way to sweet for my liking.  My husband who does have a sweet tooth even declared it too sweet.  I'm certain it is a popular choice for many though given the reviews on the restaurant.  I found it interesting that when I searched for a recipe to duplicate at home, I found several versions of her butter cakes, just not this particular one.  At any rate, if you like rich, chocolatey sweetness then you would like this dessert!

Overall, we were impressed with The Lady & Sons!  As mentioned our experience was wonderful, well worth the side trip, and we had a chance to see a bit of historical Savannah.  I kept hoping we'd spot one of the Deens but that didn't happen.  Perhaps we will get to meet one of them during our next visit to Savannah...

Shipwreck Lee's Bar & Bistro in Tobermory, Ontario

We arrived in Tobermory, Ontario just after 11:30 AM to sunny skies despite the cold, wet and windy weather of South Baymouth when we set sail.  It had been an uneventful passing over Lake Huron although it was too chilly and rainy to sit outside on the upper deck of the Chi-Cheemaun.  The waves were high due to the stormy weather although no where near as bad as they could have been.  As boaters, the rougher waters didn't bother us.   We were quite pleased to see the sunny skies knowing we wouldn't be setting up camp in the rain. 

Shipwreck Lee's Bar & Bistro is located at 4 Bay Street in Tobermory, kitty corner from the only grocery store in town not even a block from Little Tub harbour.  To the left just out of camera range is the facade of the restaurant with a small indoor dining area but the happening dining area is outdoors.  The very friendly waitstaff are dressed as pirates acting the part right down to the lingo making this a fun, kid friendly eatery.  The licensed bar features beer (aka their house wine) from Flying Monkey Craft Brewery of Barrie, Ontario.  It's the perfect little eatery for lunch, dinner or after hours.  Oh, and dogs on leases are allowed on the grassy sitting area above the gravel sitting area making this the perfect pit stop for those traveling with man's best friend.

Outdoor sitting is a must in Tobermory!   There are amazing sights to enjoy while people watching in this quaint little port village.  Shipwreck Lee's Bar & Bistro caters nicely to enjoying the great outdoors.   The simple wood picnic tables are painted blue and white echoing a nautical theme.  Blue and white striped dining tents provided shade from the warming rays of the sun.  The gravel sitting area is somewhat sheltered with a small grassed area rising about 3 feet above to the right just out of camera range.  A wonderful hand painted mural completed the pirate theme.

Tobermory is in bear territory so all the refuse containers are bear and racoon proof.  Visitors are encouraged to use these containers scattered throughout the village to help discourage wildlife from becoming a problem.  Shipwreck Lee's Bar & Bistro is set up with this in mind.

The Bruce Peninsula is well known for its Georgian Bay whitefish, a mildly flavoured local fish.  Shripwreck Lee's Bar & Bistro also refers to Georgian Bay whitefish as their house wine.  And rightly so!  We each ordered the two piece lunch special Georgian Bay whitefish & chips ($13.95).  The delectable whitefish was batter coated served on top of a generous portion of fries, garnished with a party umbrella for a festive touch.  It was served with a small side of coleslaw.  The presentation added to the atmosphere of fun dining with the emphasis on good, unpretentious food.  I really have to give this small, unique eatery two thumbs up.  It has fast and friendly service, good food and great atmosphere!

I just had to show a close-up shot of the Georgian Bay whitefish.  The texture is similar to that of cod but smaller flakes.  There is just a hint of wild to the flavour, hard to describe but incredibly delicious!  It was coated in batter then deep fried similar to English style fish (usually cod).  While I don't eat the batter, I do like fish cooked this way as it keeps the fish moist and tender.  Doesn't that fish look delicious?

Tobermory is on Georgian Bay.  The only main road south to Owen Sound is Highway 6, a small but very scenic two lane highway.  Scattered along this route are several roadside stands as well as a few farm markets selling local whitefish.  We normally stock our cooler with whitefish and other goodies to take home.

Carol's & Earl's Restaurant & Farmer's Market Ltd., South Baymouth, Ontario

We stayed in Gaylord, Michigan the first night of our great road/camping adventure.  The next morning we headed north on I-75 finally crossing back into Canada at Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario just before lunch time.  After a few detours around Sault Ste. Marie we proceeded along the Trans Canada as far as Espanola, Ontario where we turned south for our evening destination of South Baymouth.  We had booked a room there and had reservations for the Chi-Cheechmaun ferry that would take us to Tobermory, Ontario the following morning. 

It was a cold, dreary day with on and off rain yet we happily made our way through the amazingly beautiful Canadian landscape.  It was our anniversary and having spent many a mile traveling together over the past 36 years, it was a rather fitting way to celebrate this milestone!  We arrived at South Baymouth shortly before 7 PM and decided to stop for dinner before going to the motel.  South Baymouth is in Tehkummah Township, population 406 (2011).  It is the northern terminal for the Chi-Cheechmaun ferry, the southern being Tobermory.  This is very much a tourist pass through point as thousands make the trek from Espanola through Manitoulin Island with a destination of Tobermory saving considerable time and kilometer in comparison to driving the northern route.  The town has access to the Canadian mainland during the winter months via Highway 6 as the ferry does not run during the winter months.  Essentially the town shuts down for the winter months.  We have driven through Espanola several times staying on the Trans Canada during the winter months and let me tell you, folks up there have no choice but to keep very well stocked pantries and necessary supplies on hand to get them through the long winter months!

Carol's and Earl's Restaurant & Farmer's Market Ltd., is located at 21306 Hwy. 6, South Baymouth, Manitoulin Island, Ontario.  It's on the left hand side of the road heading into South Baymouth.  The building is rather non-descript but don't let that fool you.  Through those door you will be greeted with some of the most delicious homemade pies I've ever seen.  They are made from scratch daily.  To the left of the doors is a small dining area then archways lead to the larger dining area under the roof peak (centre).  The restaurant seats 100 at full capacity.  I can't comment on the 'farmer's market' portion of their name as there were no signs of produce when we were there although I suspect that is what the two picnic tables were set up for.  As is customary with many farm stands in this area, local white fish and wild blueberries are often sold.  I sure would have loved to been able to buy some of either for the camping portion of our trip! 

We planned stopping at Carol's &  Earl's who specialize in home cooked meals for their yellow perch.  Yellow perch is a local fish, mildly flavoured and just down right delicious.  It is usually lightly coated and pan fried.  We both ordered the yellow perch dinners that came with a choice of soup or salad.  My husband ordered the homemade chicken noodle to accompany his meal.  Carol's & Earl's make all of their soups from scratch.  The chicken noodle soup was about as close to the way I make it as you could get starting right from homemade stock.  The soup was chuck full of broad egg noodles and chunks of chicken.  Served piping hot, it was a pleasant way to warm up after a chilly, damp day that was only getting colder.

The yellow perch came with a choice of mashed or fried potatoes and a side of coleslaw.  I ordered mashed; my husband ordered the fries.  We ordered a side of gravy.  The mashed potatoes were real mashed while both the gravy and coleslaw were homemade.  The mouthwatering pan fried yellow perch was delightful! 

Carol's & Earl's is a must stop at eatery when visiting South Baymouth.  Their food is delicious!  Their service is friendly, very much home style and they love to talk to their patrons.  We bought a cherry pie on the way out the door sure that it would be a lovely dessert at the campground.  We were not wrong!  Even if you don't stop for a meal, be sure to stop for a pie.  Originally the pies were made by Earl's Mom but now they are made by Earl.  Honestly, they are amazing!   If you visit this restaurant, they do not accept debit or credit cards.  I recommend carrying sufficient cash for fuel and meals when traveling through northern Ontario as many places are cash only.

The Clarkston Union Bar & Kitchen in Clarkston, Michigan

Yesterday I wrote briefly about our recent road/camping trip that took us from southwestern Ontario through the thumb of Michigan, across Lake Huron to Tobermory, Ontario, and finally back home.  The entire adventure was six days in its entirety.  Four of those days were spent rustic camping with our kids and grandkids.  Talks about a wonderful adventure!  Over the next few days I will share some of the foodie highlights we enjoyed during our adventure.

We are avid fans of several Food Network shows including Diners, Drive-Ins and Drives, affectionately known as Triple D with host Guy Fieri.  We watch one episode that featured The Clarkston Union Bar & Kitchen located at 54 S. Main Street in the Village of Clarkston, Michigan.  This classic greasy spoon housed in a converted 1840's wooden church holds the bragging rights as having the most macked mac & cheese.  Kid Rock frequents the restaurant as well so there's always a chance of seeing him there. 

A small gift shop, the Union General, home of the Cupcakery is located just behind the restaurant outdoor patio.  It features coffee, ice cream, sweets, bath and toys.  Be warned, this shop is heavily scented, not suitable for those with respiratory problems or asthma.

Clarkston was listed on the National Register of Historic Places as a Historic District on the merit of its architectural and historical significance in 1980.  The village is home to important examples of Queen Anne style homes, well worth visiting for it's historical significance.  We planned a stop in Clarkston the first day of our travels to check out this featured eatery and do a bit of sight seeing as it was on our planned route, less than a mile off of I-75 N.

The interior decor of The Clarkston Union Bar & Kitchen is warm and inviting, very much church-like.  The owners have certainly maintained and built on the church-like feel.  The high ceiling, hanging lights, stain glass windows, wood floor, authentic church pews and open kitchen all lend themselves nicely to the atmosphere. Even the pale creamy yellow walls is reminiscent of many church interiors.

We had a short wait for seating but this restaurant is reputed to have rather long wait times.  There is a sitting area to enjoy while waiting in what was once the front entrance to the church.  There is seating at the very well stocked bar (middle right) in addition to the dining room seating.  Seating is close but open.  We were seated in the middle just on the other side of the two folks in yellow shirts.  The restaurant is loud (ok borderline very loud) with a very social atmosphere though, definitely not the place for a quiet dinner conversation.

We each ordered ice tea with our meals.  The nice thing about ordering ice tea in the US is it is just that, tea.  It is not sweetened.  If you want sweetened ice tea then you have to order sweet tea, but sweet tea is not always available.

The Clarkston Union Bar & Kitchen had a very impressive beer list, many unique artisan, small batch brew and specialty beers (eg. gluten free).  Their listing of available beers is on blackboards at the very front of the restaurant near the waiting area for seating. 

Despite their long list of beers, I decided to try a non-alcoholic beer, Buckler, imported from Holland, brewed by Heineken.  Non-alcoholic (de-alcoholized) beers and wines have less than 0.5% alcohol by volume.  They are gaining favour with those who what to enjoy beer and wine without the negative effects of alcohol.  I've been sampling several to find those to stock for entertaining.  In general, the European non-alcoholic beers and wines are far superior in flavour to those brewed in North America.  I found the Buckler non-alcoholic beer is light and refreshing.  It has only 75 calories as well.

We decided to order one entrèe and a full order of mac & cheese to share.  With a long ride ahead of us, we didn't want heavy tummies but we did want to get a good sampling of the food at The Clarkston Union Bar & Kitchen.  We ordered the meatloaf special ($9.75) made with house ground seasoned angus beef, topped with marsula gravy, mashed potatoes and vegetables.

The meatloaf was fine but not spectacular.  It was heavily seasoned with white pepper and there definitely was a hint of nutmeg, the cook's obvious seasoning of choice.  The seasonings clashed somewhat with the marsula gravy that had a nice flavour and smooth texture.  The mashed potatoes looked delicious but again were heavily seasoned with white pepper and nutmeg to a fault!  The baby carrots were almost an afterthought, simply boiled and plated with no seasoning or garnish.  They were over cooked as well so were lacking in flavour.  

We ordered the mac & cheese made with Canadian cheddar and mild pinconning cheeses layered with penne rigate and a crunchy crust ($13.95).  The generous full size portion of mac & cheese arrived at our table delightfully hot and bubbly.   Technically there is no mac (eg. maccaroni) in this mac & cheese but it sure did have eye appeal!  This mac & cheese was rich and cheesy but not creamy.  Once again the white pepper and nutmeg pairing appeared.  It wasn't as strong as in the mashed potatoes but it was strong enough to be noticeable.  Unfortunately, this mac & cheese did not live up to its reputation.  It was ok, lacking the velvety creamy texture of a good mac & cheese, and simply over seasoned.

The Clarkston Union Bar & Kitchen is a busy place with an interesting atmosphere set in a historical, quaint village.  The food itself is really nothing spectacular and I suspect many visit there for the same reason we did, we saw it on Diners, Drive-ins and Dives.  The prices are average to high for what you get and service can be slow.  That being said, we might go back again if in the area but we would not make a special trip to eat there.  That says a lot because we have no problem driving a couple of hours or more to enjoy a restaurant that impressed us.  If you decide to visit The Clarkston Union Bar & Kitchen, don't expect the 'wow factor' for the mac & cheese. 

Leonardo's Italian Grille in Romulus, Michigan

One of our great pleasures when traveling is discovering new restaurants that offer homestyle cooking in a cozy atmosphere.  While we find some of these gems through word of mouth, quite often we discover a good eatery by shear luck.  Sometimes it is the name of the restaurant, other times the  look of the exterior and others still a combination of both.  So it was during a recent road trip when we discovered a small, cozy Italian restaurant.

Leonardo's Italian Grille is located at 7575 Merriman Rd in Romulus, Michigan about a mile away from Detroit MetroAirport.  The restaurant is owned by brothers Vito and Joe Liparoto who emigrated from Sicily to America in 1969 with their family.  Years later the brothers opened their first pizzeria, now operating as Leonardo's Italian Grille.  They have captured the essence of authentic Sicilian cuisine with the inspiration of Chef David Neal. They offer a variety of Italian specialties as well as dishes from the grill.

The exterior of Leonardo's is modern architecture  with Italian overtones of red and green.  There is a large outdoor dining patio to the left of the entrance.  The interior is cozy and welcoming with shades of taupes and greens, lots of wood, and an Italian themed mural.  There is an impressive bar with comfortable sitting in the lounge area as well as tables and booths.  The atmosphere is cozy, casual with friendly waitstaff.

The waitress brought us a basket of fresh bake twisted Italian bread stick with butter to accompany our meal.  These soft chewy bread sticks were delightfully delicious!   The texture was quite similar to a crusty roll yet a slightly different.  A little twist opened the warm bread stick forming a small pocket perfect for the butter.  This is one recipe I will be looking for to make at home!

Entrées were served with soup or salad.  We both ordered salads with our entreé.  The side salad was a simple salad greens with shredded red cabbage, shredded carrots, red onion slices, cherry tomatoes, croutons and Italian dressing. 

Leonardo's serves Provimi veal, a superior milk-fed pale coloured, fork-tender veal, the finest available.  My husband ordered the veal parmesan ($19.95).  The generous portion of tender veal was coated with Italian breadcrumbs, sautéed in olive oil then topped with marinara sauce and baked with mozzarella cheese.  It was served with spaghetti in marinara sauce.  The dish was garnished with finely chopped red onion and carrot, something a bit different from the over . used sprinkling of dried parsley. 

My husband really enjoyed the veal parmesan.  It was tender with a nice richly flavoured mainara sauce and gooey melted mozzarella cheese.  This entreé was a sure winner!

I ordered the Sicilian pasta ($15.45) with a side salad.  This entrée consisted of sautéed tender peas tossed with homemade meat sauce and fresh ricotta served over bowtie pasta.  The fine textured meat sauce had a bit of a zip bordering on heat to it so I think the meat was hot Italian sausage rather than ground beef.  The Sicilian pasta was a delicious entreé!

Leonardo's is ranked #2 of 33 restaurants in Romulus on Trip Advisor and for good reason.   The waitstaff are friendly and provide fast service.  The unpretentious food is simply good, homestyle basic Italian nicely presented in a cozy, inviting family-style atmosphere.  The portion size for the entreés is substantial. It is child-friendly for those traveling with little ones but can also accommodate larger groups.  If you are in the vicinity of the Detroit Metro Airport, this is a great restaurant for lunch or dinner.

The New Fox & Hounds Restaurant & Tavern in Hubertus, Wisconsin

My husband and I do a fair amount of traveling which always involves food in some fashion.  We traveled by train a couple of weekend ago to visit our kids in Wisconsin.  Now that was a wonderful way to avoid a long and tedious drive when roads tend to be rather nasty especially at the bottom of Lake Michigan during the winter months.   Finding great restaurants when traveling is usually by word of mouth for us combined with a little good luck.  Our kids made 4:00 PM reservations at The New Fox & Hounds Restaurant & Tavern because she had fond memories of going their as a child with her parents.  It had been years since she had been there but the restaurant still had a good reputation so they thought we would enjoy it.

The New Fox & Hounds Restaurant & Tavern is located at 1298 Friess Lake Rd in Hubertus, Wisconsin.  Friess Lake Rd is narrow and winding, sure to be rather nasty with any snow coverage.  The restaurant and tavern is located well out into the woods with not much around it.  The building was a one room cabin built in 1845 in the wooded, rolling hills of the northern Kettle Moraine.  It was acquired by Ray and Alta Wolf in 1929 who restored the cabin, added a basement bar and opened it to fellow equestrians where it became headquarters to many fox hunts, hence its name.  Their restaurant opened in 1933.  Ray passed away in 1963 so Alta sold the restaurant and tavern to Karl A. Ratzsch Jr.  When he retired, his son Joseph and wife Jane purchased the restaurant.  The family owned and operated the restaurant for over forty years!  Brothers Thomas and Will Masters along with Jim Constantineau are the new owners of the The New Fox & Hounds Restaurant & Tavern where Tom and Jim parked cars at The Fox & Hounds over thirty years ago.

There is a sign hanging in the foyer of The New Fox & Hounds Restaurant and Tavern proudly announcing that the location has been home to a restaurant since 1933.  The first thing that you notice aside of the sign is the abundance of wood, only a small hint of what's inside.  The maitre d greets you just inside the restaurant where your dining party is shown to your table.

There is a lower dining area divided in several sections (some as almost private rooms and named) along with the tavern.  Then upstairs dining area divided into sections as well but a bit more open.  Be warned, the stairs leading to the upper level are rather steep!

The pub located on the lower level is warm and cosy, featuring live music on Saturday evenings.  Despite the small size, the ambiance is delightful.  A real open wood fire in the stove at the end of the tavern creates a beckoning welcome while imparting just a hint of smokey aroma to the air while the warming glow dances.  To the left of the fireplace is a small hallway that leads to the restrooms.  Further to the left of the fireplace is the narrow aisle leading to the staircase.

When we arrived the tavern was almost empty.  When we left, it was beyond packed and the only way out for those dining upstairs is through the tavern.  It was wall to wall, packed tight with people.  So, it is best to make reservations for an earlier dining time as the restaurant does fill up rather quickly for reasons that will become apparent below.

It is quite apparent from the inside the building is quite old.  Despite newer windows, there were   drafts coming from around the windows and log chinking.  Yet the upper dining area where we sat was quite comfortable.  There is a lot of rustic touches throughout the entire restaurant.  To the right is the top of the staircase.  There was a very impressive lit chandelier that had been constucted from empty wine glasses placed on an angle in a round metal frame.  I counted 16 rows of wine bottles in the picture I took but it didn't get the very top.  The entire chandelier had to have been 8 feet long or more, reaching over the bar and aisle area just before the stairwell.

This restaurant offers BOGO deals!  Monday through Thursday after 4 PM, Saturdays and Sundays after 3 PM all entrees are buy one get one free of the same or lesser value.  It excludes their Super Surf & Turf (8 oz filet, 8 oz lobster tail as well as the lobster tail entree BUT they do have a special Surf & Turf (6 oz filet, 5 oz lobster tail) as part of the buy one get one free entrees.   Along with the BOGO free entrees, desserts from the dessert tray are also BOGO as are some bar drinks.  This explains why it gets so buy there!

Reading through their impressive menu, I wasn't surprised to see the price range for entrees in the $20 and above range with many options averaging $26.  I thought that the BOGO deal would not include extras but I was wrong.  Dinner entrees include homemade soup or fresh house salad, choice of potatoes (garlic mashed, baked or savory fries).  A loaf of fresh baked bread with maple tarragon butter.

Appetizers and drinks are extra.  Appetizers average $9 with the exception of the Fox Feast which is an appetizer platter priced at $18.99.  We ordered the stuffed portobella mushroom caps stuffed with cab, topped with Bearnaise sauce and shredded Parmesan cheese to share.  It was scrumptious!

My husband ordered the 18 oz prime rib entree with broccoli cheddar soup, baked potato and steamed vegetables (baby carrots, baby corn, red onions and green beans).  There was a creamy horseradish sauce for the prime rib.  As you can see he likes his prime rib rare, pretty much blue and just barely not mooing!  It was a very generous portion of prime rib, more than he could finish in the meal.  He declared the meat cooked to perfection!   

We had ordered baked potatoes with our entrees.  They were a nice size served in a small baking dish aside of the main plate.  I really did like their presentation including the way they served the baked potatoes. It was simple, unpretentious and kept the focus on the food where it should be. 

The kids and I ordered the surf & turf special that came with a 6 oz steak, 5 oz lobster tail, whole browned mushrooms, and steamed vegetables (baby carrots, green beans, cauliflower).  Hot drawn butter and a lemon wedge was included for the lobster.  This was a beyond delicious entree, very much full of flavour.  The lobster tail was cooked perfectly and nicely presented.  The juicy steak had nice hash marks with a nice flavour.  I normally ask for steak sauce with my eat out steaks but didn't this time

The entree portions were quite generous.  I couldn't finish my steak nor could the kids or my husband his prime rib.  We asked for take-out boxes just for the meat that we reheated for brunch the next day.  We sliced the meat into strips then made a light stir fry to serve with fried eggs and home fries.  The meat remained tender and juicy, a sign the meat had not been originally over cooked. 

We had never heard of The New Fox & Hounds Restaurant & Tavern prior to this visit so I was rather surprised to read some of the reviews on Trip Advisor.  While I do have some reservations about the reviewers on Trip Advisor, we had no complaints at all with this restaurant!  The atmosphere was wonderful, the waitstaff were friendly and efficient, and the food was good.  We enjoyed four well prepared, nicely presented entrees for the price of two so you certainly cannot complain about this.  The only thing I would recommend is to make reservations and go a bit earlier to avoid the crowd.  This restaurant is on our must go to list when we are in that area again.

Calypso Salad at Cheeseburger in Paradise

I was on one of the biggest salad kicks during our December stay at our vacation home (Nov. 29 to Dec. 20).  It really was the one dish I could not get enough of.  I love my salads, enjoying one at least once a day but in this case it was a bit different because I was listening to what my body was telling me.  I had been sick the week before we flew out, to the point I was concerned about having to cancel our flight.  Then while we were there I was again sick for four days.  Salads are high in nutrition, low in fat especially with no creamy dressing, easy to pick at when not feeling well AND they provide the body with much needed hydration.  It's best to decrease salad consumption if the illness is gastrointestinal until it subsides but as soon as it does subside, boost the consumption.

I really increased my salad consumption as soon as I felt well about four days before flying out.  I had a large salad at the airport while waiting for the flight then extra salads while we were there except when sick.

We arrived at the airport homeside about 10:30 AM and had planned to do a bit of Christmas shopping.  After a couple of stops, we found a Cheeseburger in Paradise restaurant for lunch.  I ordered a Calypso salad ($8.99).  The salad consisted of  field greens, strawberries, grilled pineapples, mandarin oranges, apples, honey roasted almonds and red onions tossed with a citrus vinaigrette dressing.  Grilled salmon or blackened chicken could be added at an additional charge but I just wanted the salad.  This was a rather large salad, definitely more than most folks would eat even as a dinner salad.

This really was a delicious salad combining a lot of flavours in a unique way, well worth tweaking for a refreshing summer salad at home.  Overall, I really enjoyed it but when I make Calypso salad at home I will make a few changes.  I think the citrus vinaigrette flavour could have been a bit stronger and I found the honey roasted almonds too sweet which have been because I hadn't been feeling well, but I would replace them with plain toasted almond slivers.  A dash of lemon zest would really add a lot of flavour without the extra calories.  I also not a huge fan of iceberg lettuce.  It provides a lot of crunch and water but not nutrition.  I think a mesclun or spring mix would be a nice substitute for the iceberg lettuce.

Crab & Eggplant Napoleon from Harry's Seafood & Grille in Lakeland, Florida

From our home to yours we wish you a very Happy New Year.  May your pantries be overflowing and your table always filled with a wondrous assortment of healthy, delicious foods! 

Harry's Seafood Bar & Grille is our number one favourite place to enjoy a delicious meal.  This New Orlean's style restaurant that we discovered back in 2010 is sure to please so whenever we are at our vacation home we enjoy a meal or two there.  Friends of ours live in Clearwater Beach, Florida.  During our October stay, they introduced us to Crabby Bill's Seafood Co in Clearwater Beach.  During our December stay, our friends took a road trip to visit us so we took them to Harry's Seafood Bar and Grille in Lakeland, Florida.


Manuel Meza is the current General Manager of this location.  His staff are some of the most professional and friendly folk you will ever meet. The atmosphere is always welcoming, the service is five star if not better and they never make you feel rushed to leave.  Their food is delicious, nicely presented and quite reasonably priced. The only negative thing I can say about Harry's Seafood Bar & Grille is you are so full after eating there, you waddle away and really don't have to eat again for a couple of days!  Kudos to Manuel and his staff for making Harry's one of the most delightful dining experiences we have ever found.

I go to Harry's for two things so already know what I'm ordering before I even get there.  My choice is a Caesar salad followed by a bowl of She Crab soup.  Despite finding an authentic recipe for the She Crab soup I still haven't found the roe so have not made the dish at home.  My husband always orders the She Crab soup and another dish.  We usually get appetizers and drinks as well.

One of our friends ordered the Crab & Eggplant Napoleon (pictured).  This dish consisted of panko crusted eggplant stacked with layers of crab meat then topped with a Parmesan basil cream sauce ($8.99).  This dish looked very interesting and it will be one I try duplicating at home.  Eggplant is something I have very little experience with and after many failed attempts, gave up.  It is one of the very, very few vegetables we don't eat.  However, we both like crab meat, Parmesan and basil and a cream sauce is basically a Béchamel sauce (white sauce) so duplicating this dish should be rather easy.  The sauce did have a bit of a blush to it, not as dark as the She Crab soup but still a blush.  I would omit the rosemary sprig as well but other than that, it will be right on my clone recipes to tinker with in the new year.

Tampa Bay Brewing Company in Ybor City, Florida

We spent three weeks at our vacation home in December.  Unlike our October stay, the December visit was much more laid back and relaxing.  We had no family or friends staying with us and we weren't on the road near as much as we usually are.  We went to Cleveland Heights twice with friends for dinner and the evening entertainment (Ken Brady, and friends).  We also made a side trip to Sanibel Island to hunt for seashells then stopped to visit family in Naples, Florida.  One of our friends and their son drove their other son's car down to Tampa.  He works on the cruise lines and needed his car down there.  We met up with our friend and son for dinner at Tampa Bay Brewing Company, a restaurant and microbrewery friends had introduced us to during our October visit.

Tampa Bay Brewing Company is located in Ybor City, founded by Vicente Martinez-Ybor as a cigar-manufacturing centre.  Ybor City is one of two Floridian National Historic Landmark Districts; it is also known as Tampa's Latin Quarter.   This area is well worth visiting for the eclectic shops, museums, patio bars and nightly music!  The air is filled with tantalizing exotic aromas too tempting not to indulge.  Ybor is famous for its café con leche, a perfect drink for people watching.   you can watch hand-rolled cigars being made.  It is one of Florida's top ranting nightspots.

John G. Doble, III founded the Tampa Bay Brewing Company in 1996.  The microbrewery was originally located in a two-story brick building (former horse stable) on 15th Street in Ybor City.  The business was moved to its current location on the plaza level of Centro Ybor in 2006. The business continues to be family owned and operated.
,

All the beers brewed at the Tampa Bay Brewing Company are handcrafted by brewmaster, David Doble and his assistant brewers on the premises using a 10-barrel brewing system.  The brewhouse consists of a combination of: mash/boil kettle, lauter tun, hot liquor tank, cold liquor tank, three 10bbl fermenters and a 20 bbl fermenter.  Unlike some of the microbreweries we have visited, we did not see the tanks or brewing process because we sat on outdoor patio to enjoy a bit of people watching and the absolutely delightful atmosphere in the district.  However, it does appear from their website that the tanks and brewing can be viewed from the indoor restaurant area.

Our friend ordered a sampler of beers.  They were generous sized samplers!  Now, if you are going to a microbrewery, you must taste some of their beer.  The best way to do this is via samplers.  I hope I'm getting this right, from left to right: old elephant foot IPA, red eye amber ale (American), one night stand pale (American ale) and wild warthog Hefeweizen (German).  I had a true blond ale that had a slight hop nose with a smooth, crisp and slightly citrus note.  My husband seldom drinks beer so he ordered an alternative adult beverage but he did have a sip of mine.

I was on a huge Caesar salad trend the entire trip.  Quite frankly Caesar salads seldom vary other than creamy verses oily dressing and presentation.  So, even though I took a picture, there really wasn't anything interesting show.  Don't get me wrong as it was a good salad just basically the same I've shown in previous posts.

Our friend's son ordered the personal sized  Tomato Caprese pizza made with whole milk mozzarella cheese, sliced roma tomatoes and fresh basil chiffonade.  The crust is hand tossed featuring their own dough made with their own ale.  Doesn't it look absolutely delicious?

This would be very easy to duplicate at home.  I always use beer when making pizza dough.  It really does make a huge difference.  My requirements are a microbrew beer, usually Sleemans out of Guelph, Ontario and good, fresh ingredients.  I would recommend making this pizza when tomatoes and basil are in, but with a bit of care you can keep both growing indoors over the winter.  Roma tomatoes have been so over bred they really are tasteless especially if not bought in the peak of season.  Fresh basil is a must have for the chiffonade.  Tampa Bay Brewing Company used fresh, sweet basil but really any basil (and there are so many) will work.

A chiffonade can be made with any green leafy vegetable and it works nicely for broad leaf herbs like basil as well.  Simply wash and pat dry the leaves then stack.  Carefully roll the stack then cut across the stack to form thin strips.  Sprinkle the chiffonade over the pizza or dish of choice for that wonderful punch of flavour.  It really is nice, flavourful presentation!

WildSide Bar & Grille in Kissimmee, Florida

My husband and I spent our fall vacation (October 2 - 23, 2012) at our vacation home in sunny Florida.  This vacation is very much a family, friends and golf vacation which means we end up making a few trips to two different airports depending on where family and friends are flying into and out of.  We arrived in Tampa late on October 2 then made the drive to our vacation home.  My husband's sister and her pre-teen arrived on October 5 on a bit earlier flight in Orlando to spend the Canadian Thanksgiving weekend with us.  We decided to go for dinner before picking them up.  So we pointed Lucy (our GPS) in the direction of a restaurant we wanted to try close to the airport.  That ended up in a field of nothing!  We told Lucy to take us to our next choice and again were greeted with an empty field.  So, we drove around heading towards downtown Orlando where we found a nice little gem of a restaurant.

We are huge barbecue and grilling fans.  Although the terms are used interchangeably  there is a difference.  Barbeque is low, slow cooking (hours) which gives tender, juicy, fall off the bone results.  Grilling is high heat that seals in the juices giving nice hash marks.  The best of both worlds combined with smoking is to do the BBQ then finish off with grilling.  Well, we spotted a huge smoker outside of a restaurant and knew that was it so we stopped in for dinner.

WildSide Bar & Grill has three locations, two in Orlando and one in Kissimmee.  We stopped at the Kissimmee location at 7725 W. Highway 192 just a short distance from the Walt Disney World Resort.  There is a really lovely piece of wall art on the side of the building where we parked (to left of photo out of camera range).  I was going to include it as well but five pictures is about the maximum for a blog post.  There is covered outdoor seating on the front porch and in the gazebo, both facing Highway 192 (W Irlo Bronson Memorial Hwy).  After taking several pictures, we decided to eat indoors out of the misty rain, high humidity and threatening a heavier shower.

Just take a look at this gorgeous smoker set-up. Isn't it impressive?  I would have loved to see it in action so that is on our to-do list for our winter vacation.  The black smoker unit on the far right is a separate smoker from the larger unit.  The larger grey unit is part of their full service catering for any special occasion but I imagine they fire it up on premises as well.

We dodged the rain, noting patrons enjoying a drink and bit of quiet time on the covered patio shielded from the rain.  It looked cozy and inviting but in Florida with rain comes humidity so we made our way into the restaurant to the comforts of air conditioning.

Oh my, this place immediately hit you with a warm and welcoming feeling.  It has almost a British pub feeling yet more.  The restaurant is two levels high, with a lot of wood.  To the right on the lower level is an open fire grill.  The picture was taken from our table just to the bottom of the picture right beside the last opening in the wood railing.  There were an abundance of HD televisions to indulge in as many sports as desired.  Now this place definitely had atmosphere!

We were promptly greeted and the wait staff made us feel like they had nothing else to do but wait on us.  They were extremely friendly, very attentive to our needs, and just downright pleasant.    The wait staff themselves make this a must stop at restaurant.  They are absolutely delightful!  This is a very good indication that management here treats their staff well which is reflected in the service they give to their patrons.

The restaurant offers a variety of appetizers, salads, sandwiches, pasta dishes, chicken, ribs and seafood.  My husband told me to order the lobster tails which normally I would be very tempted but I was in the mood for good BBQ.

After our drink orders, a photographer came around to take our picture.  We declined.   We often get one of the waitresses to take a picture of us anyway but we prefer having the photo on our camera where we have control of where it goes.   We aren't comfortable having our pictures online but that doesn't appear to be the case with WildSide.  It's more of a souvenir photo to remember your visit to the WildSide.

We knew we had to meet a flight so didn't have a lot of spare time after encountering a large detour to get around a massive accident.  Surprisingly, we did not have to wait long for our meals at all even though we never told our waiter that.  Our meals came with a small loaf of warm bread that was brought out within a few minutes of ordering followed by my salad.  My husband ordered the half rack of baby back ribs ($15.99) that came with a choice of two sides.  Extra sides are available at a small charge if desired.  The ribs were dry rubbed then grilled to perfection.  He had macaroni $ cheese and BBQ baked beans as the sides.  As promised, the baby back ribs were grilled to perfection -  mouth-watering, tender and flavourful.  He was quite pleased with his meal!

I ordered the half smoked chicken ($12.99) that came with a choice of two sides.  My side choices were roasted red potatoes and a garden salad with Thousand Island dressing (not pictured).  My gosh, the potatoes were delicious perfectly complementing the chicken.  The chicken was nicely seasoned, delightfully tender and aromatic.  They really could have done without the nachos to help fill up the plate as they didn't go with anything.  Besides, with warm loaves of bread who needs nachos?  This proved to be too large of a serving for me but then I wasn't feeling well to begin with.  I would have loved to take the left-overs back to the vacation home but we didn't have a cooler with us.  We still had to pick up my husband's sister and young one at the airport then make our way back to our vacation home.

The only negative thing I can say about this restaurant is I wish we had a bit more time to relax and enjoy it. With Lucy taking us on wild goose chases we lost a bit of time and even though their plane took off 15 minutes late, they arrived early so we got the phone call midst meal they had just landed.  It was skedaddle time but rest assured this is going to be one restaurant we will be revisiting during our winter vacation!

Hockeytown Cafe (Detroit Metro Airport) - The Start of Our Fall 2012 Vacation

My husband and I own a vacation home in Florida where we spend anywhere from three to five weeks per vacation in the spring, fall and winter.  In all, it amounts to about 3 months per year.  Logistically this creates a bit of a culinary dilemna at both residences during the time we prepare to travel to one or the other.  When we are preparing to leave for our vacation home, we don't buy any perishable food for a week or so before.  This means if we are out of eggs a week before we leave, we simply don't cook anything requiring eggs.  I clean out the refrigerator, with anything we didn't use (eg. produce, eggs) going to one of our kids then wash the refrigerator from top to bottom.  We we arrive back home the refrigerator is pretty much empty except for condiments and a can of coffee.  On the vacation home side, depending on the time period we arrive to a completely bare refrigerator.  We rent our vacation home out when we aren't there so cannot leave anything in the refrigerator or freezer.  We do store a small amount of non-perishable food in a locked closet.  We are able to leave food in the refrigerator between the fall and winter vacation which helps somewhat.

We left for our fall vacation on October 2, 2012 return home on October 23.  We travel light with only backpacks, computer case and purse.  That means we don't take much in the way of food with us either way.  The night before we usually eat out so as to not create any garbage in the house.  Travel day is a light breakfast with coffee or tea, home canned soup or other home canned quick meal and dinner at the airport.

We usually fly out of Detroit Metro Airport when going to our vacation home so enjoy eating at the Hockeytown Cafe.  Airport food in general tends to be a bit more expensive. The food is good and prices reasonable.  My husband ordered the Double Play Burger which consists of two half pound patties of seasoned fresh ground beef served with lettuce, tomato, red onion and choice of cheese.  It came with a side of nacho chips and salsa.  At $11.95 this was a rather good deal.  He declared the burger delicious and filling!


I ordered the Chicken Caesar Wrap ($8.95).  It consisted of a grilled sliced chicken breast wrapped in a flour lavash with romaine lettuce, Caesar dressing, croutons and Parmesan cheese served with a dill pickle, nachos and salsa.  A lavash is an Armenian flatbread similar to a Mexican flour tortilla but rolled into a larger rectangular shape rather than a round.  Traditionally, a lavish is shaped then slapped against the sides of a clay oven to cook.  It is made from flour, salt and water.  This was a large wrap!  It was very tasty.  I ate one half of the wrap then popped the other half into a zipper sandwich bag to enjoy during the flight.

Chicken Caesar wraps are one of my favourite summertime meals.  I keep packets of grilled and pan fried chicken breast strips in the freezer specifically for this purpose.  I usually do up a batch of 15 to 20 chicken breasts at a time.  I like to grill (preferred method) or pan fry the chicken breasts with a light seasoning of lemon pepper that really accents the flavour of the Caesar dressing nicely.  Once the chicken is cooked, I let cool enough to set the juices then slice into strips and place in the refrigerator to finish cooling.  When the chicken is fully cooled, I package into quart vacuum sealer bags, vacuum seal and freeze.  With these on hand it is always easy to whip up a quick yet delicious wrap with little effort!