The Deft Palate

I'm not sure what happened, but there seems to be no ending to the Big Daddy's review! Rest assured, this will be repaired tomorrow.

Big Daddy's satisifies big appetites
It's usually not good to go out to dinner and have the entire meal fall apart. At Big Daddy's BarB-Q, this happens regularly, and the patrons don't seem to mind at all. On any given night, diners watch as the meat falls off their plates of ribs or melts in their mouths.
In its current location in the Wickersham Hall in downtown Fairbanks, Big Daddy's BarB-Q has set up a permanent version of their popular trailer, seen at fairs and festivals across the Interior. The dining area can easily seat about 18 parties, with another four booths by the bar. A main feature of the interior is the large bar, which features multiple flat-screen televisions.
When we made our way inside on a recent Monday evening, we chose a booth against the wall, underneath numerous framed barbecue awards. Melissa, our waitress, asked if we would be warm enough at that table, then brought us a six-pack of sauces. I wanted the Pig Out Platter, which offers Texas beef brisket, smoked chicken, St. Louis spareribs and Carolina pulled pork, plus two sides and Texas toast, all for $25.75. One of my dining companions, who has omnivorous tendencies, insisted this wouldn't be enough, so we added appetizers of babyback ribs and Texas toothpicks. A vegetarian friend ordered the all-you-can-eat salad bar. Hey, I warned him there weren't many vegetarian options at a barbecue restaurant.
Melissa dropped off our appetizers, and told us that the ribs were the best bones in the world. I might have to agree with her. The half-rack of ribs, $10, were sweet and spicy. The meat was so tender that it fell off the bone. Not to be outdone, the Texas toothpicks, $5.75, consisted of strips of onions and jalapenos, batter dipped, deep fried, and served with a sour cream ranch dip. The batter itself was spicy and, thankfully, not overpowering. One of my pet peeves is eating fried food and tasting nothing but batter. In this case, the batter was a delicate layer of crunchiness on the toothpicks. Melissa also brought us some Texas toast with our appetizers, big slices of Italian bread, grilled on one side and still fluffy on the other. The grilling gave the toast a savory, buttery flavor, without being hard and crunchy.
I was already feeling slightly full, but the main course had yet to arrive. True to its name, the Pig Out Platter holds quite a bit of food. Unsure of where to begin, I piled a mound of pulled pork on my plate. As it turns out, the pulled pork was a great foil for the different sauces, but even unadorned, it was heavenly. The meat had a rich, smoky flavor, and was not fatty or greasy. Big Daddy's signature hot sauce was tangy with an afterkick, but not very hot. The sweet sauce seemed to be about the same level of heat, but with a peppery, tomato flavor. My true favorite was the sweet and spicy mustard. It was hot and peppery, yet still sweet and tangy. I chose to slather this over the rest of my pulled pork.
Turning my attention to the spareribs, I was a little hesitant. I'm not a fan of greasy or fatty meat, but I found these to be delightful. The skin was crispy, and the meat was buttery and not too fatty. Again, it was so tender that it fell off the bone easily, and had a delicious teriyaki flavor. I was so happy with the spareribs, that I cut myself a big chunk of brisket. Unfortunately, its hard to escape the fat in brisket. "I got to admit, the fat tastes pretty good," my boyfriend said, but I couldn't agree. I found a compromise, though, in the edges of the brisket, where no fat seemed to lurk. The meat had a peppered flavor reminiscent of beef jerky. Again, the meat fell apart. Big Daddys takes their slow cooking seriously.
The smoked chicken, which I saved for last, turned out to be my least favorite portion of the meal. Though it looked delicious, I thought it was too dry. Instead, I chose to selfishly eat all of the fried cobbet we had ordered. Fried cobbet is half an ear of corn, which is grilled and then fried, and served in a small bowl of melted butter. To quiet their whining, I let my friends each try a bite, but that baby was all mine. I generously let them eat our other side, fried okra.
Throughout our meal, our vegetarian friend kept making trips to the salad bar. Although he said it seemed to be pretty run of the mill, his plate was always piled high with accoutrements such as pepperoncini, corn salsa and a spread that reminded us of a cheeseball. "I get the feeling that meat is their specialty," he said. He also brought back generous portions of cornbread and honey butter to supplement what Melissa had given us.
At this point, I had discreetly unbuttoned my pants under the table to give my expanding stomach room. Therefore, I had space left when Melissa showed off the dessert tray. Convincing my companions that surely we could fit in two bites each, I ordered a peanut butter tart, $3.50, to share. The tart was lovely to look at, served on a paper doily that became messy as we ate. The crust was average, but the filling was creamy and light. It was more like a peanut butter mousse than a rich filling. After all we'd eaten, that suited us just fine.

Adding to my summer eating venues review, I stopped by Bun on the Run today. I've already eaten the sandwich and am saving the cake for dessert tonight. I was tempted by Zorba's, but I know I love their gyros, so I opted to go with something different. Just a few more restaurants and I can write the review.

What was supposed to be a nice dinner out for the opening week of the Alaska Salmon Bake is, apparently, turning into a restaurant review. I'll be adding to it, and creating a summer eating review. It should include the Salmon Bake, Souvlaki, Zorba on the Run, Bahn Thai, Midnight Sun Desserts and anyplace else I can think of that only serves during the summer.

Stay tuned....

Nothing was decided at the board meeting last night. Except to have another board meeting in early June to try to decide on a statement of purpose and where the board wants to go as far as the cabin. Argh!

After the meeting, James showed up at my apartment, so we sat on the deck for a while, drinking, smoking and eating cookies, while I regaled him with stories of the meeting. See, it's nice moments like that that make me sad about possibly leaving. Hopefully things will actually be decided at the emergency meeting.

On a positive and shallow note, I stopped by Value Village yesterday and all purple tags were $0.99. Hurrah! Sadly, the dress I fell in love with was not on sale, so I paid $6.99 for it, but I also got a bunch of other stuff, including a great Hawaiian barkcloth dress that doesn't quite fit me. It's too small, but I plan to add in fabric under the arms to adjust the fit. Who knows if that will actually work?

Well, tonight is the big night ... the Hidden Hill Board Meeting. If we can agree (and by that I mean if we can get the one holdout among the seven members), the cabin plan will move forward.

You see, I live in a commune. I was told when I moved in that as the newest resident, I would have to leave if the Friends in Residence showed up. The FIR had put off the trip for the last two years, but now they seem set on coming to Alaska, which means I would have to move out. However, there has been a movement to rebuild an old cabin that burned down many years ago. If they rebuild, I can stay, and Tom can join me.

So far, everything has been discussed, but nothing has been decided. It's the Quaker way, I guess. But now it's crunch time. If the Board doesn't agree to move forward on the cabin at this meeting, there won't be enough time to get it done before the FIR arrive. So I'm going to channel all my powers of persuasion and see what happens. Stay tuned....

There are pizza places where you can eat a lovely pasta dinner by the soft, flickering candlelight, selecting from a wide variety of pastas and calzones to go with your pie, and then there are pizza places that deliver some pretty basic foods right to the dorms. Dayton Street Apizza falls somewhere between the two extremes.
Although it is possible to eat at Dayton, most of the seating is a bench under the window where customers can stare down the counterperson while waiting for their pies. Don’t be fooled by the four tiny tables crushed into the storefront—this is a delivery place. Need proof? Look behind the counter at the towers of pizza boxes. Dayton has a pretty steady delivery business. However, it is possible to eat in, especially if no one else has gotten the same notion in their heads. With just 10 chairs, it can be hard to find a seat.
Unlike the stereotypical pizza delivery joint, Dayton has a wide variety of pies available. Cooked in a brick oven, the pies are tasty and unusual, but they still do not have the exotic toppings I crave. Granted, the small primavera pizza ($6.95) ordered on my last visit was unusual by most pizza chain standards, but I still crave odd combinations that I have been unable to find in New Haven thus far. However, before I could even begin to contemplate the pizza, I ordered a gorgonzola salad.
The counterperson was easily coerced into bringing me a half portion of the salad ($3.50), which calmed my hungry stomach while I waited for my pizza. Even though it was only half a portion, the salad was still falling out of the serving bowl. The greens were, to my disappointment, only iceberg lettuce. Hefty chunks of gorgonzola and tomato completed the salad, which had a faintly tangy dressing. The cheese was sufficient to flavor the salad, and any additional dressing might have disguised the balance of flavors.
While eating, I discovered only one small black olive in the salad. It was like being teased, since I searched the rest of the salad for more olives. Maybe if I had sprung for the full portion ($6.95) I would have merited more olives. Of course, the salad was only a warm up for the pizza.
A mouthwatering aroma of garlic began to drift toward me before I even heard the pizza being sliced. The small pizza was still nearly a foot across. The crust was delightfully thin and bubbly at the edges. The pie was topped with artichoke hearts, roasted red pepper, basil and garlic. Curiously, two wedges of lemon also adorned my pie. I ignored them as I grabbed a piece of pizza. Heaven! The crust was crispy and far too thin to support the weight of the toppings. The best crust acts as a frame for the pizza, allowing the flavors of the toppings to shine through, rather than masking them with a bready flavor. Dayton’s crust, with some support from my fingers, did that perfectly. It was a great balance between crispy and chewy.
Overjoyed by this crust, I eagerly worked my way toward the end. I am one of those crust people who thinks the best part of the pizza is the piece most others consider the handle. I can and will eat friends’ pizza crust. Sadly, this plan backfired when I got to the Dayton crust. That delightful framework that so perfectly balanced the pizza toppings was bland and lifeless on its own, like a saltine cracker with no salt.
I was disappointed, but still curious about the lemon. Why was it on my pizza? I gave an experimental squeeze over the next slice and quickly found out. The tang of fresh lemon juice enriched the flavor of the artichoke heart and gave the pizza a completely different twist. I squeezed the remaining lemon over the rest of the pie and set to work. It would have been nice if the lemon had managed to rev up the crust as well, but alas I was to be disappointed in the end by the crust. It worked perfectly well for the pizza, but did not hold up on its own.
Overall, Dayton Street Apizza was a pleasant experience. I had high hopes for the crust but was partially let down. As a restaurant that offers pizzas, subs, pasta, calzones and 11 kinds of wings, Dayton has the variety to keep many people happy. And with free delivery from 11:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. during the week and until 11 p.m. on Friday, Dayton will probably become a favorite for many college students.

As promised, here is one of my old reviews from Connecticut.

Bad location, good grub
By Mary Haley
Head Copy Editor
There’s a buzz going around campus that there’s a hot new breakfast place in North Haven. OK, the buzz is just from one of my friends, but he’s really on to something. Iris, located at 61 State St., is turning out some fine breakfasts, and from the looks of their lunch menu, their talents extend beyond the morning hours.
Open for just 4 months, Iris is hidden in the middle of an industrial wasteland, right across from an Agway. The building itself is nondescript, save for the sign out front. Inside, Andrea Bocelli drifts out of the speakers in a simple dining room. At 10:30 a.m. on Wednesday, the place is not exactly packed, so I took a large table and studied the menu.
Along with omelets, pancakes and eggs, it offered pecan crusted French toast ($6.95) and poached eggs over sweet potato hash ($6.95). My waiter, Jason Giamattei, checked with the cook and confirmed that I could place half orders of certain items. It’s a good thing, because I was mightily tempted by the French toast stuffed with apples, cinnamon, raisins and cream cheese ($2.25 for one piece). Giamattei said that the seasonal option, stuffed with strawberries and bananas, was even better. Alas, it will not be available again until next year.
Nevertheless, when the buzzer called Giamattei to the kitchen to pick up my order, I happily tucked into the French toast. Made of a stuffed French bread, not just battered white bread, it was a large serving. The first bites were simply delicious, yeasty bread, the outer crust crisped to perfection. Lurking inside, tender chunks of baked apples accompanied a strong cinnamon flavor. The cream cheese made each bite slightly tart, so I dunked into the freshly whipped cream served on the side. It was like having dessert for breakfast.
After this warm-up, I attacked my main course, poached eggs with caramelized onions and sautéed spinach on an English muffin, topped with smoked gouda cheese ($6.95). These were two neat little stacks on my plate, piled with toppings and covered liberally with shredded gouda cheese. I had never really understood why they called them caramelized onions until I tried a bite. The onions were incredibly sweet with none of that tangy bite I usually associate with onions. The eggs were poached to a runny perfection, and the meal turned slightly messy as I attempted to devour every scrap of food.
The only slight disappointment was the homefries that accompanied my meal. After raising the bar so high with the other menu items, the homefries fell short. They looked colorful, but were bland. Salt and pepper helped greatly.
It was too early for lunch and I was already stuffed, but I did look longingly at the menu. Burgers, salads, sandwiches and quesadillas all showed an interesting little twist from the chef. A spinach salad with grilled chicken and balsamic vinaigrette was spiced up with red onion, gorgonzola cheese, walnuts and dried cranberries ($7.95). Burgers ranged from $6.49 – 7.95, including options like a gorgonzola burger. Even the basic turkey sandwich was jazzed up as a wrap featuring roasted red peppers, lettuce, tomato, red onion, Dijon mustard and cranberry mayo ($6.95).
During my leisurely meal, more people drifted in to eat. For a relatively new restaurant in a poor location, Iris seems to attract a fair share of customers.
"It gets busier every month," said Giamattei. "Lunches are big."
With the creative choices to excite what would otherwise be a standard menu, it’s easy to see why people would come back again and again. I know I’ll be back soon to sample their lunches.

Well, I've been too lazy to actually register my domain and set up a Web site. Plus, with the imminent demise of my job (and its handy access to computers with fancy programs) I will not be able to create pages for a while. And so, I've fallen back on blogging.

So I'm set up. I'll post reviews soon, including old reviews from Connecticut, published in Southern News. And I guess we'll just wait and see if blogging will be enough of a presence on the Web for me.


Mary