Must Have | Matouk's Hot Sauces

The one thing Trinidad got right - hot sauce! We are devotees of Matouk's. We pour it on everything. I'm going to go out on a limb and say it's better than even Marie Sharp's. (Sorry Belize.) The Hot Pepper sauce is simple - scotch bonnet peppers. The Calypso Sauce is mustard based and goes great with cheesy scrambled eggs. There are a variety of other flavors, but these two are on heavy rotation here. If you like hot and spicy, give Matouk's a try. You won't be disappointed.

Restaurant Review | Taiwan Teahouse

Most everything in Indiana is in a stripmall. You can't ever judge a book by its cover in this state. And Taiwan Teahouse is one of those places. I have a funny hobby of eating Chinese food everywhere I go. It's like a regional taste metric. I don't believe regional Chinese food should all taste authentically Chinese, unlike this lady. French Chinese food - horrible. Guatemalan Chinese food - just as bad. Irish Chinese food - delicious. Chinese Chinese food - pretty good. I'm not going to get into the politics of Taiwan as a domicile of China, but Taiwan Teahouse is tasty either way. The mapo tofu was very good - maybe even the best I've ever had. We had a spicy dumpling appetizer that wasn't very spicy and a little too salty for my taste. The Old Man enjoyed his General Tso's chicken. All in all, two thumbs up.

Booze | Crispin Cider

I had Crispin for the first time in Chicago. I was in love. I'm a serious cider drinker and Crispin hits the spot. It's a lot less sweet than any Woodchuck. It's similar to Strongbow, but slightly more refreshing. After having it in Chicago, I went on the hunt here in Indy. It's actually kind of funny because the guy at one store asked if it was a "hard" cider. I had no idea what he was talking about. Oddly, I hate apple juice. (It's a long story involving me repeatedly watching Footloose as a child.) So, I don't drink "soft" cider and didn't realize not all ciders are alcoholic. You learn something new everyday.

Recipe | Riso Parmesan with Mushrooms

The original recipe called for shaved truffles. I decided I don't want to break the bank over dinner, so I make mushroom chips instead. I looks a little like white rice in the picture, but I use riso pasta and it's a very flavorful recipe.

Restaurant Review | Pita Bar and Grill

Restaurant | Pita Bar and Grill
Location | 519 N Fairfax Ave Los Angeles, CA 90036 

This place has a delicious falafel sandwich! Many times in LA, I found falafel sandwiches served with cold, soggy falafel, iceberg lettuce, a little hummus and a stale piece of pita bread. For me, its about all the unique ingredients that go into this sandwich, that make is so good. I've had a difficult time finding anything close to that sandwich until I came across Pita Bar and Grill. The falafel in the sandwich is served hot and crunchy, with creamy hummus, pickled veggies, on a thicker than average pita bread. SO GOOD!

Product Review | Oscar Mayer Real Bacon Bits

I was pleasantly surprised with these bacon bits! My first thoughts were, How can meat sit out like that? Bad idea! I'm glad I tried them because they're pretty tasty. It says on the packaging to refrigerate after opening and best if used 14 days after opening. I've kept them long past 14 days and they taste fine. Although, I'll keep food until it gets up and walks away. It also says it it "may" contain potassium chloride and maple flavoring. I don't know what Oscar Mayer is implying by the statement. Neither is listed in the ingredients, which are only chemically-cured bacon and hickory smoked flavor. If you're not shy, try them. It's a lot easier than buying a slab of bacon, popping grease everywhere, and having the rest of the pack turn into slim a week later when you forget you have it.

Marketplace | Saraga International Grocery

Location | 3605 Commercial Drive  Indianapolis, IN

This place is the Disney World of international food. I don't even think there's anything remotely like this in LA. I think it's because LA has a lots of different neighborhoods and people are pretty isolated in their respective ethnic villages - Chinatown, Little Armenia, Thai Town, Little Tokyo, Little Ethiopia. I feel like if someone could get some square footage in DC, where people are forced to live amongst each other, this place would make a killing. It has most everything you can imagine from anywhere on earth (with the exception of passion fruit concentrate). I can get Ting by the case here, so I'll always be loyal.

Restaurant Review | Le France

Location | Place de la Loge  66000 Perpignan, France

Somehow, I decided we should go to Perpignan. Primarily because Aer Lingus had a cheap flight there back to Dublin.  It's a decent-sized town very close to the border with Spain. It is in the Catalan region, so there's a lot of Catalan pride. However, no one really speaks Catalan. And unfortunately, no one spoke Spanish either, so we were still stuck with pointing to menu items and saying s'il vous plait. Le France was around the corner from our hotel, so we decided to hang out there to have some drinks and tapas. This is the place we became addicted to chorizo iberico.

Trippin | French Junk Food

Surprisingly, the French love McDonald's. We drove through the South of France last month and made a pit stop to have McDonald's per recommendation. Luckily, there are kiosks to order from and you can choose many languages to avoid struggling with French at the counter. I got a Big Mac and it tasted like a Big Mac from home. I really enjoyed the French side salad. The Old Man ordered some kind cheeseburger and it had horseradish sauce on it. It was surprising, but I think he enjoyed it. Because we were on the road so much, we ate lots of French junk food.

Restaurant Review | Le Table Marocaine

Location | 14B, Chemin de Tivoli 13800 Istres, France

If for some reason you find yourself in Istres, check out Le Table Marocaine. My brother (who plays basketball in Fos-sur-Mer) can't figure out if he likes couscous, so he brought us here so he could try it again.