My new favorite salad, and it's topped with grilled beef!

This is the Papaya Salad with Grilled Beef from Hoanh Long at 6144 N. Lincoln Ave. Chicago. This a Vietnamese, Seafood, and Pho spot. Seafood is their specialty, and they also have Chinese, and some Thai food on the menu. I have eatin a lot of stuff from here, and this is easily my favorite meal from Hoanh Long so far, the Papya Salad with grilled beef. This has a nice mix of a cool sweet and savory papaya salad, topped off with a blast of grilled meat! Monte-licious!

Let's take a look inside; shostring papaya, onion, carrot, mint, in a sweet and spicy sauce. It is then topped off with thin, tender, grilled pieces of beef, topped with peanuts and fried garlic. It comes with a few fish flavored rice cakes, but I don't touch those. This is an appetizer, and I order it as my meal, it is that freakin good! Also, there is a similar meal on the menu, it is the Sweet n Sour Papaya Salad, do not get that, the beef is not grilled in that dish.

Yer hero about to enjoy his dominant ordering decision while his friend still awaits his meal. Yes, I eat as soon as my meal comes. No manners!

Savagery at it's best!

So not handsome, nor sexy while I eat. Yet I have a wife. Who knew??

This is a hot pot. Another smart order. They have beef, pork, and fish hot pots. combo pots are also available. A pot has a burner brought to yer table, and then it comes with a pot of soup. The soup is huge and filled with tons of "Asian style" veggies, and yer meat choice. When you get beef, you get everything. Brain, tripe, etc. They serve it all! And it's the good stuff, the soup gelatinizes. If the used a beef stock, it would remain a liquid when cool. The fact that it turns to a gelatin is really good, yer getting the collagen and that is really good for you!

Check out Hoanh Long when you get a chance, you will love it. And the service is good, which I love! They always have somewhat inappropriate movies playing on the T.V. which I enjoy. This hot pot is filled with seafood, which is actually what they are none for, seafood is their specialty!

Ras Dashen for Ethiopian, where the food comes fresh! Not from a freakin in house Buffet in the kitchen!

Ras Dashen is easily one of the nations greatest Ethiopian spots you can dine in. They are Monte, and Michelin Recommended. Ras Dashen is located in the Edgewater neighborhood at 5846 N. Broadway. And no matter where you live, it's worth the drive/visit. First let me say that everything comes fresh!! It's not out in 3 minutes like most every other freakin Ethiopian restaurant in the city. And if you go for Ethiopian, you know what I am saying. The food is prepared fresh per order. So you will wait, but it is worth it!

From the oven to the table, fresh! Look at how damn delicious it all looks!!!! And the waitresses are hot!! They make their own Injera bread, fresh, every day!! FRESH!! Not ordered in from somewhere else, product control! Helps keep the consistency.

Ethiopian food is eaten with Injera bread, and placed atop of the Injera bread as well. Injera bread by definition; (taken from wikipedia, thanks!)
Injera (Amharic, Tigrinya: እንጀራ, pronounced [ɨndʒəra], sometimes transliterated enjera; Oromo: budenaa; Somali: canjeero) is a yeast-risen flatbread with a unique, slightly spongy texture. Traditionally made out of teff flour,^[1] it is a national dish in Ethiopia and Eritrea. A similar variant is eaten in Somalia (where it is called canjeero or lahooh) and Yemen (where it is known as lahoh).

You eat with yer hands! Fun!

The purple stuff is cabbage, the yellow stuff is split pea, the red to the right of the yellow stuff are red lentils. The white stuff is a very soft and fluffy goat cheese. The red stuff in the center is a stewed lamb steak in strips, and little chunks. And the brown stuff is a mushroom thingy, I don't like shrooms so I skipped em. Everything is exceptionally flavorful, slightly spicy, and will give ya the sh*ts. But is so freakin Monte-licious it is worth it! Here is a link to their web page for all and any other information you may need, or want http://www.rasdashenchicago.com/

This is us at our table. Us is: (left to right) Crystle, Meatball, Yer Hero!! This is the ideal place to bring friends in from outta town, or it's a good first date spot too.

Street side Tacos!!! Eat on, or in yer car. Only!!!

Isabelles Streetside Tacos, located roughly at 3600 S. Kedzie. I say roughly cause she is on the street, in a parking lot, selling tacos. Some of the best I have had in a long time too! And they're only $1.50 a piece!

She even makes the corn taco shells by hand!! While you wait! You barely see that in brick and mortar taco spots!! These are awesome taco shells! Nothing beats hand made food items. No machine will do it better than this lady right here.

Look at Isabelle preppin the shells, not only with her hands, but with love. That is why she wears all red, love.

Flattening the shell for yer pleasure

Removing the shell

Then cooking the shell! These are some of the tastiest corn shells you can ever put into yer mouth. Monte-licious with every bite!

Steamy steak goodness. Oh, she uses styrofoam plates, ask her to put napkins on the plate first, you don't want hot, melty styrofoam on yer taco.

Steamy chicken goodness. Look at that...... ahhhhhh. It's like meditating.

Servin it up like a proper waitress would, and you don't even have to tip! But I do!

Isabelle also has homemade spicy salsa. The salsa is robust, has a kick, and full of flavor! You will want to try it!

Spicin up the steak taco! I should mention she has onions, cilantro, sour cream, tomatoes, and another salsa for you to use/choose from. I skipped all the other stuff, and just did cheese and salsa. I hate cilantro, and raw white or yellow onions. Only cooked, or raw red onions will do for the Mont Man!

Since it is street side, the only place to eat is going to be on, or in yer car. I chose on my trunk!

Look at the view from the trunk of my car. That is the Sears Tower in the background, behind the chain-wire fence, to the left of the smoke stacks. You will pay big bucks for a view of the skyline anywhere else. At Isabelles, I paid $3.00!!!! Or you may get a similar view of the city from a prison, where every view is from behind chain-wire fences.

Chicken taco goodness about to be gone-ness!

Look at that cheesy goodness! You gotta go and try em for yerself. And tell her Monte sent ya. She will be befuddled either by who I am, or her lack of understanding english. Either way, tell her I sent ya!

My friend Jessica enjoying the tacos with me. Jessica does a podcast and blog worth checking out. Here it is http://yesjessica.com/ this is her blog. It is all photos, couldn't find the podcast. If you dig deep enough, she has pics of her boobs and other nude body parts. It's cool to see a girl naked that yer friends with. It's cool to see most any girl naked.

Bacon & Egg Cupcakes. Or, Bacon Boobs!

First, you will need BACON!! I recommend any brand without all the chemical, and hormonal additives. I have no loyalty to a single brand. Not yet, at least. But I am loyal to chemical free, no hormones and or additives. I prefer my meat from 100% grass fed animals. And so should you!!!!!

You will need a cupcake baking tin. I use silicon, it just seems easier. I hope it's not poisoning me. I should investigate that. Anyway, this is what I use.

And eggs. These are farm fresh eggs! I know all eggs come from a farm, right? Wrong! Most eggs come from corporate coops where the chickens are in cages, or roaming in a room filled with 1,000's of other chickens. Eating chemically treated feed, getting sick, dying... stay away from that sh*t. These come from my wife's urban agriculture foundation, The Gan Project. Here is a link to information if yer interested in urban agg. and farming.. http://www.wix.com/ganproject/updates

You must first fry the bacon on an extremely low heat. You wanna brown the bacon only!! If it gets crispy it will not work for this recipe! So cook it slow and steady.

Before you put bacon in yer cupcake tin, you must coat with a non stick substance. I recommend olive oil, or coconut oil. I used olive oil.

Place the bacon into the cupcake slots.  First you wanna cut some of yer bacon into pieces small enough to layer on the bottom of yer tin, then wrap a whole piece of bacon around the interior of the cupcake tin. Done, and easy to do.

then crack that beautiful, full egg into yer bacon cup.

Look at how beautiful those eggs are. The yolk stands up firm, like a nice weighted B/C or D cup breast. I love firm breasts.

Pre heat oven for 10 min at 400 degrees. Pre heating is the key, you must pre heat yer oven!! Dum dums do not pre heat their ovens, we do!

Toss in em for approximately 15 min. 

This is after 16 min at 400 degrees

Here is a top and side view for ya. Look at how pretty those eggs look! 2 of em, up high and firm. Bacon boobs!

Side shot, for yer viewing pleasure!

Bottom shot! Gotta love a bottom shot.

Monte-licious!! Gettin ready to take it down!!

Your hero.

The yolk after 16 min in the oven is not spilling out, but still has a little fluidity to it. Very little. I prefer em a  little runnier, but this way is less messy. But who cares about messy when yer eating, right? I hate when people are afraid to eat ribs cause they don't wanna get their hands dirty. Jerks! You can't have sex without gettin dirty, and you can't eat like a proper savage without gettin dirty. I am a SAVAGE!! 

 

There you have it people, Bacon & Egg cupcakes. I also recommend topping them off with yer favorite cheese, and maybe some chopped chives or what not sprinkled atop. Any way you choose to make em, have fun with em, and EAT EM UP!!!!

I would like to thank Benita Santillanes for the inspiration to make these!

Ethiopian in New Orleans' Garden District! And it's Monte-licious!!

Cafe Abyssinia at 3511 Magazine St. in the Garden District in New Orleans. This is the front entrance to a very small, yet extremely delicious Ethiopian restaurant. it is hard to find good, Ethiopian food outside of a major metropolitan area, but I found it here. This place is great! The food is made fresh to order, and comes out steaming hot.

No explanation needed here

I had the veggie special for $11.99. That included tax. That is a good meal at a good deal! Look at that table setting/placement. I am the man!!

Left to right: red lentils, potatoes & carrots (stewed), split yellow peas. All atop injera bread. You eat with yer hands. This meal was made with love, and I could taste it in every bite. It was super solid food! The lentils were still firm, with an easy break. The potato and carrot stew was soft, and succulent. The split peas were mushy like baby food, so freakin Monte-riffic! You will lose yer sh*t when eat this meal!

Ya grab some of the injera bread that comes on the side, and scoop that goodness up and into yer mouth. Injera bread is a yeast-risen flatbread and is spongy in texture. It is made out of teff flour which is a grass grain, high in fiber, protein, calcium And iron. Ladies, iron!

Look at how delicious I make it look. That is the owner in the background, he was cool. He knew of Ras Dashen, a Chicago Ethiopian spot, which is king in Chicago for Ethiopian.

The cool thing about Ethiopian food, you eat the "plate."

And you keep eating the "plate." I know it's not literally the plate, but the food sits atop it like as if it were a plate.

Traditional Ethiopian table. Not comfy for a guy like me with a lousy back and bad knees.

The front street side sign, so you don't miss it. It is set back, off of the street.

See? It's way in the back, like a garage or coach house. Or the maid. I shoulda had those jerks do my laundry! Drats!!