My 1st Restaurant Review... Zack's

Located in the Grand Mesa basin is a small, quaint, and friendly little town called Hotchkiss Colorado. The mood is mellow with no honking horns and speeding cars. The fresh mountain air is rejuvenating and the friendly residents are inspiring. My uncle Paul lives near and I was visiting him when he asked my Dad, "well Warren should we take him to Zack's?" The consensus from talking to anyone who has braved the 4 1/2 hour trip from Denver to visit "Big Paul" is that you have to go to Zack's, no ifs, ands, or buts about it. Let me tell you...something about small local hole in the wall restaurants usually turn out great for me.

When you first enter Zack's you know you are not in for a fine dining experience. The place is small and there are plastic table cloths decorating the dining area. Some local pictures line the walls but that is it for decor. The first thing your nose notices is the smell of applewood smoke working it's wonders on something in the back.
The menu is reasonably priced. I found the average for a plate with drink was about 6 bucks. Zack's does not offer a huge selection but there is a good variety of smoked meats. My pick was the BBQ chopped beef special...Two chopped beef sandwiches and a side. I opted for the coleslaw for my side but got served fries. It worked out because the waitress promptly brought out my slaw.

The meat was not over-smoked or over-sauced. There was also not a bunch of condiments to get in the way, just 2 pickles and a leaf of lettuce. The buns were your standard white buns you can get at your local grocery store. Simple not elegant but simplicity works well in this case. The sandwich was wonderful. The slaw was very interesting. The veggies in slaw were pretty standard cabbage and carrots but the dressing was not creamy like I'm used to. It was clear and vinegary. It was sweet and had the usual celery seed added in. All in all I was pleasantly surprised by the new way to eat slaw.
My pops had the french dip meal and when it came out it was not your usual french dip. Nope instead of the shaved roast beef you usually find atop the hogie roll there was instead nice thin cuts of brisket. I got to sample a small taste of the meat and whoa baby was it good. Perfectly smoked and perfectly cooked.
I had seen a man get some ribs delivered to his table so I asked him how they were and he announced (pretty much to the whole restaurant) "Son this is beef country...Best dang ribs on the western slope!"
After our lunch was complete the waitress pressed us to get some pie. I was pretty full and not really in a pie mood so I declined. She continued to press us until my pops finally caved and ordered a slice of the black berry pie. I got to sample that as well and I am regretting not getting a slice of my own. I later found out that almost everyone who goes to Zack's gets a slice of pie. It was the best pie I've ever had!!!!
So if you get a chance to visit Hotchkiss Colorado then try out Zack's you will be happy ya did!
Introducing my rating system. All restaurants will get a pig rating 1-5. The more pigs they get, the better the pig out spot.
Zack's received...

Spaghetti Carbonara

Here is a great inexpensive and quick recipe.
The whole story of this dish is widely discussed and many theories are out there.
One idea originates the dish to cucina romana. Another idea is that truth lies in translation to it's name alla carbonara. The translation is coal worker’s style and is believed that it was cooked over a coal fire and the coal workers used an abundance of coarse black pepper flakes to resemble coal. What ever the meaning or origin the true fact is that this dish is flavorful, easy, and elegant.






Spaghetti Carbonara

2 cups Spaghetti
4 slices thick cut fatty bacon (rashers)
2 tbsp. oil
3 eggs
3 tbsp. light cream
1 generous cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
2 cloves garlic finely chopped
2 tsp. chopped chives
2 tsp. chopped basil
salt and milled pepper

Method
1) Cut bacon into thin strips. Fry bacon in the oil in a large pan.
2) Cook spaghetti in boiling, salted water until al dente.
3) Whisk the eggs and cream and season with salt and pepper. Stir in half of the Parmesan cheese and the chives.
4) Remove the bacon from the pan and allow to drain over paper towels. Saute' the garlic in the bacon fat until translucent (do not let garlic burn)
5) Drain the spaghetti well, then place into pan and toss pasta in the bacon fat. Add the basil. Remove the pan from the heat.
6) Pour in the egg and cream mixture and stir until the pasta is coated with the sauce. The residual heat from the pan will tighten up the sauce. Mix in the bacon.
7) Using tongs place a serving on a plate twisting the pasta do it mounds and stands up. Sprinkle remaining cheese over the top of pasta season with more pepper and garnish with fresh basil leaves.


Coming up I do my first restaurant review.

Fun and exciting update!!!

Quick update before I get to this weeks post. I am going to be branching out and adding local food reviews to my blog. So you'll still get recipes and stories but you will also get some reviews of restaurants. Most of these will be for Colorado, however, if I travel I will try to get some other areas. So enjoy the blog and again thanks to all of my followers!

Brazilian Shrimp Stew with coconut milk

Most people think the clear substance in a coconut is coconut milk. The truth is that liquid is coconut water. Coconut milk is actually a combination of equal parts of shredded coconut and water, simmered and then strained through cheesecloth, squeezing out as much of the essence of the pulp as possible.

The cool thing about coconut milk is that it has a mild coconut flavor but renders a clean creamy base for soups and stews. The addition to sugar can give it a Mediterranean flavor. Even though some of the spices used in this recipe are in fact not Brazilian, the method and most the ingredients are. So here is my take Brazilian Shrimp Stew with coconut milk

14 oz about 2 cups frozen shrimp
2 carrots julienned and diced
1 large potato julienned and diced
7 oz spinach rolled and ribboned
2 cloves of garlic finely chopped
1 tsp canola oil
1 14 oz can chopped tomatoes
1 14 oz can coconut milk
1/4 cup sugar
1 scallion cleaned and finely chopped
2 tbsp fish sauce (I like oyster sauce)
1 tsp red curry
1 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp ground star anise or all spice
1 tsp clarified butter
1 tsp hot sauce
juice of 1 small lime
salt and pepper to taste

Method
in a large, deep skillet heat oil. saute the potatoes and carrots for three to five minutes. Add tomatos and continue simmering for ten minutes, stirring occasionally.

Add coconut milk, fish sauce, sugar, curry powder, coriander, star anise and a dash of salt and pepper. continue to simmer.

in a small skillet heat butter until bubbling. Add scallions and saute for 30 seconds then add shrimp and garlic. Saute for 5-10 minutes or until the shrimp is pink and not translucent but still slightly soft.

Add the juice of the lime to the shrimp skillet.

Add shrimp skillet saute to the deep skillet. Over high heat bring to a boil. Once boiling reduce heat to low and add spinach. Cover pot and allow to cool for 5 minutes.

Ladle into small bowls and top with a few drops of hot sauce and scallion and serve with a grilled buttered crustini.

A twist is to serve cold after a day in the fridge.

Next post is a super easy recipe for Spaghetti Carbonera

Upcoming Post

IS...Brazilian Shrimp Stew with Coconut milk and a twisty take on Spaghetti Carbenara! STAY TUNED ;)

Been awhile!!!

Okay so I FINALLY got a hand me down computer from my Dad that will do more then make noise. I appologize to all my followers at the gap in posts...I really do appreciate you following. This blog is under construction. I hope to get back up and running soon...No more than two weeks I promise! I have some new stories to share, some new recipes, and a cookbook I'm working on. More to come!

organics is bad...I believe in grass fed!

Organic is a sham...Grass fed is true...more to come!!!

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