...My Very Vegetarian Weekend, Part 1: Tin Front Cafe

I like meat.

Despite my fondness for meat, I also like to try vegetarian dishes as well.  When Weight Watchers changed over to "Points Plus", and all vegetables (with the exceptions of starches, like potatoes and peas) became zero points, I added a lot more vegetables to my diet - and vegetarian recipes helped me to accomplish that.

Over the summer, I received a free issue of Vegetarian Times magazine - and I loved almost every recipe in it!  I had to subscribe, and I look forward to reading it.  Unfortunately, I haven't had much time to cook, but after the holidays, I will.  YAY!

This past weekend, I unintentionally had a Very Vegetarian Weekend (henceforth to be known as my "VVW".)  James suggested going to the Tin Front Cafe, right across the street from Smoke BBQ and Taqueria in Homestead.  We had gone there for Sunday brunch on our second encounter, after having a great meal at Smoke on our first encounter a few days earlier.

 Cue the flashback music...

I had passed the Tin Front Cafe several times, just like I had passed Smoke several times before going there - and never even gave a thought to trying it.  You can imagine my surprise, too, when I found out that it was a vegetarian restaurant.

Vegetarian?  In Homestead?  Really?

They have a Sunday brunch with a great setup - order a main entree, and the rest is buffet - chili (vegetarian, of course), mini-muffins, potatoes, fruit, and coffee.  For my main entree, I ordered spiced pear pancakes.

I didn't take pictures because it's not a Hispanic/Latino place, and I wasn't reviewing anything other than that type of restaurant at the time.  I totally regret it.

The pancakes were so moist and delicious, I don't think that I could ever replicate anything like them in my own kitchen.  I also tried everything on the buffet except for the chili.

Yet another regret.  Everything else on the buffet was great, though - especially the mini corn muffins.

Cue present day music...

Tin Front Cafe Menu, December 17, 2011

I was relieved to see "Four Bean Chili" on the menu at Tin Front this past weekend, as I wanted to try their chili so badly.  I have made vegetarian versions of chili myself before, and I think they're better than any meat version.

Four Bean Chili

Oh, wow.  This was like the vegetarian version of Aztec Chili at The Franklin Inn.  Spicy, but not too spicy, and full of flavor.  Carrots, corn, and four types of beans (black, pinto, chickpeas, and maybe kidney?  I wasn't sure) make up the bulk of the chili, along with some soy crumbles.  The piece of bread was so fresh that James asked if they make their own.

Yes, they do.  It shows.

For our entrees, James and I both chose grilled cheese sandwiches, which are paired with an arugula salad: for me, Griddled Pear with smoked Swiss (I'm always a sucker for smoked cheeses!), and for James, Grilled Portabella with spinach, red peppers, and gorgonzola.  

Griddled Pear with Smoked Swiss Sandwich, arugula salad

Grilled Portabella, Red Pepper, Spinach Sandwich, arugula salad

 After sampling both, James and I both agreed that mine was by far the best.  His looked prettier, because of the different festive colors (red and green - it IS almost Christmas, you know!), but mine tasted fantastic.  I knew from my first experience that Tin Front does amazing things with pears, and this sandwich continued the trend.  James had never had gorgonzola melted, however, and he was surprised at how well it melted into the sandwich.

The arugula salad was simple, yet it was a great accompaniment to the sandwiches.  I'm not sure exactly what the dressing was, but it added great flavor to the arugula and shaved (Swiss?) cheese combo. 

When the check came, we were given some chocolate-covered espresso beans as an after-lunch treat, just like the first time we went together.  They are also sold at Annex Cookery, the kitchen store adjacent to the Tin Front Cafe, which sells typical and unusual kitchen tools and gadgets.  We took a look around before we left, and agreed to keep it in mind when looking for great kitchen gifts!

My favorite part about the Tin Front Cafe (besides the food) is the tin sculptures that adorn the outside (see first pic) and the patio area.  Across the street, right by Smoke, you can see what looks like a studio where these tin sculptures are made - but I have no idea who runs that or how you can buy them.  If anyone has any info, please advise!

Tin sculptures on the back patio

With Smoke right across the street, it is difficult to pass up tacos, but when we need a break from tacos, Tin Front is our best local choice (more so than any chain restaurant 2 blocks away in The Waterfront).

How was my dinner vegetarian, you ask?  Well, before I went to work at Kennywood that night, I ate a banana and an apple, but when I came home, James had bought some great Middle-Eastern goodies from Pitaland in Brookline, which we discovered on the Burgh Bits 'N Bites Food Tour - he arranged me a plate full of hummus, tzatziki, sleek, tabbouleh, and pickled turnips, along with some warm, freshly-made pita bread.  No animal flesh involved, and it was amazing.

That was Saturday.  Stay tuned for Sunday...

Tin Front Cafe

216 East 8th Ave.

Homestead, PA 15120

Website: http://www.tinfrontcafe.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/tinfrontcafe

Twitter: https://twitter.com/#!/tinfrontcafe

…Giant Eagle’s Latin Food Fiesta with BONUS The Pampered Chef Mango Wedger

This title sounds like a really bad infomercial, I know – but it needs to be said this way.

I was so excited when I read the tweet from @Giant_Eagle on Thursday that they were having a Latin Food Fiesta to celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month (September 15-October 15)!  I tweeted the link to the website with the info, which @Giant_Eagle then re-tweeted…ooh, I’m famous! 

Not really. 

I became skeptical, though, when I saw that there was a link to see WHERE this was being celebrated.  Uh oh.  I knew that the Kennywood Giant Eagle wouldn’t be on the list, but I held out hope for The Waterfront location.

They ARE!  AND they are the only Pennsylvania location holding it all 4 days – September 16, 17, 23, and 24!  AMAZING!  AND I do my grocery shopping on Fridays there anyway, so I could check it out!

It’s sad what gets me excited these days, I guess.

Later, I opened my Giant Eagle ad at home, which had arrived the day before – I probably should have looked at it sooner, but I was busy going to Mallorca for dinner the day before (more about that later).  They were advertising many Latin American brands that were on sale for the fiesta – Goya, La Preferida, etc. – brands that are widely sold at Giant Eagle, but can also be found at Reyna Foods in the Strip District.  I was excited to see what was going to be offered.

When I arrived at Giant Eagle on Friday afternoon, I went about my normal produce-buying routine – apples, bananas, kale…- and then came across these babies:

Ahhhh, mangoes.  I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again – I love mangoes.  4 for $5?  SOLD.

Not far from the mangoes was a display for produce related to the Latin Food Fiesta celebration:

Ok, yeah, hot peppers, tomatillos, avocados, cilantro, limes, sweet onions, bell peppers…I get all of that.  Nothing too out of the ordinary or exciting, though.

I remembered seeing in the ad about rambutans, which I had never seen at Giant Eagle before – I had no idea what they were, but I did remember that they were $6.99/lb. in the ad.  That’s insane!  $6.99/lb.?  No way was I buying them.

I was tempted to buy them just because they looked interesting, but I didn’t, and not just because of the price.  I didn’t know what they were.  I don’t know what they taste like.  I still don’t.  Wait, let me Google it…

Well, you can read about it at http://www.rambutan.com.  It’s totally not related to anything Latin or Hispanic – but here’s a pic:

Here’s a tip, Giant Eagle – if you want me to buy something, educate me on it…and offer a sample.

Anyway, I continued through the produce section to buy ingredients for Pumpkin Chili (I’m super excited that it’s almost fall and appropriate to eat anything with pumpkin once again), and I came upon another section of exotic produce.

GUAVA!  I have been looking for guava for months!

Yucca root!  I LOVE the yucca fries from Chicken Latino!  Maybe I can try to make my own!

Ugh, really?  Hispanic Heritage Month, and jicama is STILL $3.99/lb.?!  At least now I know that I can buy it at Stan’s Market in the Strip District for $.89/lb.

I continued about my normal shopping routine, and the usual ladies were across from the meat section, offering samples, as usual – but today I noticed that everything that they were offering samples of was a Latin brand-product – some sort of Spanish rice, some Goya product…

Oh boy.  There was prepared mole.  I had to try it. 

The woman offering the sample said that it was a chicken enchilada with mole.  I told her that I love mole, and ate my sample.

Ick.  It was cold.  And it pretty much tasted like a commercial-brand flour tortilla, covered in mole, rolled up, and cut into small pieces.  Chicken enchilada?  Barely.

No sale.

I finished my grocery shopping, and went to the checkout.  The girl ringing up my purchases rudely asked me what my Yucca root was, as I guess that’s not a common purchase, so I left, packed up my car, and went home, disappointed that Giant Eagle’s Latin Food Fiesta did not set off the explosion in my heart quite the way that the word “fiesta” does on its own.

I’m glad that Giant Eagle is taking a step to make people aware of their Latin American products, but the execution could be better.  I know that the Shaler location is having a book signing by Aarón Sánchez from Food Network’s “Chefs vs. City” on the 17^th, but that is not enough to make people aware of what Latin cooking is all about.  People need to be educated on the common flavors and ingredients, and how they come together to make Latin food taste as sabrosa y rica as it does.

After dinner at Chili’s (don’t judge me – I’ll explain more later), I came home to taste some of the unusual things that I had purchased earlier.

Well, first I had to get my pumpkin chili prepared and in the crockpot.  That was a priority.

I then took out my yucca root to take a pic for you all to see – and noticed something strange – one of the roots had split into two pieces, and a small piece had come off.  That’s weird.

Oh, that would be why – it was molding.  Fabulous.  $1.99/lb., and it’s moldy.  I had put two roots back while picking them out because they were moldy – I should have taken that as a sign that I shouldn’t buy it.

I then decided to taste the guava – I had bought those guava-flavored wafer cookies by Goya as part of the number challenge reward – they were amazing, by the way - and I had one student who came back for seconds…and thirds…and fourths…so I was curious to see what guava tasted like on its own (and not in wafer cookie form).

I took a spoon to the middle, figuring that was where the most flavor was – and I was right.  Unfortunately, there wasn’t much flavor at all.  I’m thinking that it wasn’t quite ripe enough, so I’ll let the other one sit for a day or two before I try it.

After those two depressing experiences, I needed a sure thing – ahhh, mango.  

I have to say, without a doubt, that The Pampered Chef Mango Wedger has made my mango-eating experiences much more enjoyable.  You may know (or maybe you don’t) that the skin of a mango is not edible (or tasty, for that matter), so only the yellow-orange fruity part should be consumed; however, the pit of a mango is oblong and hard, so getting the fruit by itself is not easy to do – unless you have this magical mango wedger.

With the help of my mango wedger, I have mastered the art of mango consumption.  I wedge the mango, and then cut each of the four sections in half.  This gives me eight sections of mango, plus any fruit left on the pit.  

I put it all in a bowl, and to eat the mango, I treat the skin as I would a cantaloupe or watermelon rind – I eat the fruit all the way down to it.  Mangoes are even better for this, too, because you can use your teeth to peel the fruit away from the skin, and then discard the skin.  I use a fork to scrape any fruity parts off of the pit, and eat that, being sure not to waste any good mango-y goodness.

So that was my Friday night – pumpkin chili in the slow cooker, moldy yucca root, tasteless guava…but ending with sweet, delicious mango.  Oh, and black tea.  Not important, but it was part of my night, and it was comforting.

I guess I should write about my dinner at Mallorca…and explain why I was at Chili’s, of all places, on Mexico’s Independence Day….

Giant Eagle – Waterfront Location

420 East Waterfront Drive

Homestead, PA 15120

Website: http://www.gianteagle.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/gianteagleinc?ref=ts

Twitter: https://twitter.com/#!/Giant_Eagle

If you are interested in The Pampered Chef Mango Wedger, please contact:

The Pampered Chef

Marie McDonald – Consultant

Website: http://www.pamperedchef.biz/mariemcdonald