Restaurant Replica | Zuppa Tocano

Dish | Zuppa Tocano

Restaurant | The Olive Garden

Just went to The Olive Garden for the first time in many many years, and had the most delicious soup. Zuppa Tocano... potatoes, bacon, spicy sausage, kale and a touch of cream. 

For my version, I used some spinach and left out the bacon. I thought about using milk instead of cream, but nah...

Restuarant Replica | Shabu Shabu

Dish | Shabu shabu

Restaurant | Shin-Sen-Gumi

Location | 1695 W. Artesia Blvd.  Gardena, CA

I miss all-you-can-eat shabu shabu in Japan. I miss all-you-can-eat anything in Japan. I miss eating in Japan. Boo hoo. Anyhow, if you can find the sliced meat for shabu shabu it's one of the easiest meals you can make. The hardest part is slicing the veggies. Unfortunately, there weren't a lot of interesting vegetable choices at the market because of the season. I really wanted corn but couldn't find it anywhere.

Restaurant Replica | Breakfast Bars

Dish | Breakfast bars
Restaurant | Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf

If I could, I would have a delicious pastry with coffee every morning. Once a week I usually hit up Whole Foods or Coffee Bean for a latte and a sweet treat. On other days of the week I either have a bowl of cereal, or a smoothie when I have time. Coffee Bean had a "wholesome" breakfast bar which was pretty tasty, I'm sure it was healthier than a blueberry scone or piece of pound cake. It had some oats, cranberries and granola in it, it was moist and not hard like a granola bar. So, I decided to look up some recipes online for some "healthy" breakfast bars. I came across two recipes which I decided to experiment on to make them a bit more substantial for my morning meal.

Restaurant Replica | Chicken Tikka Masala

Dish | Chicken Tikka Masala

Restaurant | Indian lunch buffet

Location | Anywhere, USA

The Old Man loves chicken tikka masala, but my dilemma for this post was deciding between just using a jar of tikka masala paste and doing it from scratch. I decided it's recipe and not a product review, so I'll make my own masala because I was recently a gifted a big jar of ground cumin.