Foie Gras & Flannel

Monday night was Fresno’s 10th installment of Pecha Kucha Night (“pecha kucha” Japanese for “chit chat”). If you’re not familiar with the concept, presenters are given 20 slides – and 20 seconds per slide – to talk about whatever they want. In the context of a theme, that is. Monday’s was Tasteful/Tasteless

My interpretation was more along the lines of tast-y. It’s embedded below, but before you watch that, check out these other food-related presentations from the event:

Dusty & Kristin from Dusty Buns Bistro

Mmm…now I want their grilled cheese…

Flannery & Katherine from Fashionably Bombed

High energy; high fashion. It’s hard not to smile around the f-bombed girls.

Rebecca Plevin from Vida en el Valle

Reminding us that many of our neighbors don’t enjoy the same luxuries. Thanks for the perspective, Rebecca!

Me

Talking about two of my favorite things: food and flannel. Specifically, my “food journey.”

Stop #5 on the food tour during our weekend in Pasadena came as a recommendation from a local. We walked up to front door of The Counter around 12:45 p.m. on Saturday; like everywhere else we visited, the place was packed.

I thought it might be a southern California thing, but The Counter an international franchise. It’s rare for me to find a burger at a restaurant (especially a chain!) that rivals something I can make at home, but I really enjoyed our meal. I also enjoyed the “build a burger” experience, though another patron told us it’s even better at the Santa Monica location, where you can watch the construction (thus the “counter”).

Pictured above is what Kim ordered: The Counter Burger. The onion crisps were overkill, but the burger was tasty.

I ordered a bison burger (bison was the market special – it’s not normally on the menu) with smoked gouda, fresh greens, red onion and steak sauce. The burger was cooked a perfect medium, at the recommendation of our server, and had excellent flavor. Actually, I was quite impressed with how little seasoning was used, even with the steak sauce; it speaks highly of the meat quality.

Sweet potato fries. Hard to screw these up.

Each menu comes with a pencil to mark meat, topping and bread selections.

Action shot.

Crisp, clean. We sat out on the patio to soak in the weather.

Random story: I couldn’t help but watch this woman with her labradoodle – she was struggling to keep him from jumping on everyone that walked by.

Daisy Mint is proof to me that a business that is notable can overcome a lot – including a less than desirable location. The place was packed Friday night.

We ordered the beef salad (I had hoped it would be comparable to B&K’s yum nua, but it had it’s own unique flavors), panang curry and summer wraps. Everything tasted incredibly fresh.

From Euro Pane in Pasadena. I wanted to eat everything they had, but I refrained.

My brother invited me to join him at our sister’s place in Baton Rouge for Mardi Gras. I couldn’t make it happen, but that didn’t mean I couldn’t celebrate with friends: Kim, Nicole, Amanda, Ruby, Ron, Phillip, Alisa, Oliver—did I miss anyone?

I can’t really take credit for anything here – friend, foodie and food pornographer Amanda cooked up the grub. Check out her recap of the festivities, then drool over her photo of the chipotle-strawberry filled king cake. She’s a little better at the photo thing, but here’s a few more for memory’s sake:

King cake #2: apple and cinnamon.

Kim, in a mask. That’s Phillip in his pimp hat in the background.

Decorations. Also, Nicole in the background.

More decorations. The organizers took this party seriously!

And salad.

Not pictured: the roast beef sandwich that was served with this. Or the brie appetizer I ate before.

And to think, that’s only a fraction of one menu, in one of Tenaya’s five restaurants. I think we need a few more days here to explore them all.

[update] As he promised, Steven delivered on the recipe. I’d second his recommendation to cut back on the bacon.

You read that right. Bacon. In an apple pie.

Tasty.

Thanks to Steven for baking it for the office (proof that a happy former intern is a pie-baking former intern). He’s promised to post the recipe on TasteFresno.

Turkey, bacon, avocado, pepper jack and jalapenos on fresh-baked sun-dried tomato and basil bread.

I ♥ Charlotte’s.

It’s like a Snickers bar, but better.

Sometimes, you just need a hamburger. And if it comes with mushrooms and caramelized onions, that’s okay.

(Side note: Get outside—it’s gorgeous! Perfect day for a ride or walk down the Fulton Mall.)