Wicked Chicken

New item at Popeyes. Tenders in a flour crust little heat until you pour on your the Tabasco sauce that comes with it. I certainly glad I tried it but I am not likely to repurchase. Now if they would bring back naked strips I would be there.

Izzo's Illegal Burrito

OUT AND ABOUT

Izzo’s Illegal Burrito
625 West Prien Lake Road
Lake Charles, LA
337-562-7902
www.izzos.com


Seven days a week 11:00 AM to 9:00 PM $1 to $16

For me this “roll your own” place came about three years too late. We have a couple of establishments serving authentic Hispanic food along with a vanished taco truck lamented by many people including me. The mantra “more is better” sometimes does not apply to Mexican street food. That saying is something that is totally American. Let me state now this is just my opinion. This place seems to be a fine starting point for people who want to get the taste and flavor of Mexican fare but in a convenient place

That is not to say the food is bad here. The worst thing I ate was the burrito. You have to understand that I am not enthusiastic about this particular type of Mexican food. In fact I dislike it a lot. Since it was in the name of the place I tried it. I got Pork Carnitas with a cayenne tortilla, black beans, Monterey Jack and Cheddar, grilled onions, roasted corn, and tomatillo salsa. Picked up some lime wedges and the Izzo salsa at the salsa station. Following the instructions on the wall I dove in. It was very salty and bland and the deeper in the more soggy and unappetizing it became to me. Maybe I just chose the wrong things or it was a bad day. I may have to go back and give it another go.

Next up was the Burrito in a Bowl. I went with Steak, pinto beans, pico de gallo, romaine, red onion, diced tomatoes, sour cream and tortilla strips. I really liked this. The steak proved tasty and made this item turn into a great entree salad. This is coming from someone who doesn't really care for salad. The clincher on this deal was the Southwest Caesar dressing. It seemed nice and spicy with a strong cumin kick. I would not mind getting this again maybe with the chicken. It is pleasant to be surprised with something turning out to be nicer than you thought.

Last and certainly the best was a Quesadilla. I kept it on the lean side with a regular white tortilla, shrimp, Monterey Jack and Cheddar, grilled onions and pickled jalapenos with sour cream and guacamole on the side. The shrimp were tasty and not overcooked. They worked well with the cheese and onions. The jalapeno gave a nice kick with the tortilla nice and crunchy. Judicious amounts of sour cream and guacamole made it rich and savory. I washed it down with their machine margarita, not half bad. This would be my go to item. The main problem with this venue for me is my physical condition. I never did take to my artificial limb. Therefore standing around a long while on the crutches supporting all my weight is not thing I like to do. Going in my wheelchair is ok but the space is so tight that I cannot maneuver without causing a problem for other people. The atmosphere here is friendly and the food seems fresh. Since it is laid out if front you can make informed decisions on what you want. I think it is a good establishment for the lake area and would not hesitate to accompany my friends if they wanted to go here.

http://tinyurl.com/ydl9uwx

http://www.izzos.com/index2.htm

Faux Pho

Another bachelor trick. Take any oriental noodle soup. I usually use the grocery store ramen. This happens to be a rice noodle I got on line. Boil the water for it putting in an appropriate protein. Here it is Eddy's smoked brisket for beef flavor soup. I keep chicken tenderloins and shrimp in the freezer for chicken and seafood. Cook the noodles and add the soup base. Then pour in a bowl adding angel hair cut cabbage. It lasts longer than bean sprouts and I love the texture and taste of cabbage. Stir to wilt the cabbage and add hoisin and chili sauce to taste. Sure is a fast remedy for the chilly and rainy day blues

Cajun Singles

This is a new one in the Richard line. I choose it because to my taste the pastas work better than the rice ones. I hate long grain separate rice that still has a bit to it. I was raised on broken grain rice that was slightly sticky. The sauce was a little thin but held great spicy flavor and the pasta was great. A tri color corkscrew type. The tiny shrimp made enough of an appearance that you did not feel deprived. The sauce thicken as it sat.
This is my second favorite in the Savoie line. Nice chunks of chicken with potato and carrot with enough spicy brown sauce to make the rice palatable. Except for the rice it is everything I love of about SW La Cajun food ie prairie Cajun. Deep rich brown sauces with just enough spice to bring out the flavor without searing off the skin on your tongue

These were bought at the Kroger on 12th St.

La Truffe Sauvage

This is my Christmas Eve dinner . This is the bread basket. Cracker bread and buttermilk whole wheat raisin

Smoked Wild Alaskan Halibut potato galette, caviar, vodka crème fraîche. On the right hand side was some shredded potato made into a cake with herbs and fried. It is topped by the creme fraiche. On the left hand side is the halibut rolled up with a dollop of caviar. Splashes of olive oil and finely shredded red cabbage surround it. Everything worked by itself and in combo. The delicately smoked halibut was very like fine sashimi. It was lean but sweet. The caviar added a salty note with a fresh little pop. The savory potatoes were mellowed out by the rich but acid French sour cream.

Morel Mushrom Velouté colossal lump crab, celery root chips. The deep dark earthiness of the soup because of the morels played well against the sweet crab and the chips added its own earthiness but in a light crisp form I have had little experience with morels so this was a must have for me and I was not disappointed at all.

Colorado Rack of Lamb Navarin with ratatouille & black truffle mashed potato. Perfectly cooked American lamb with a herb breadcrumb crust melted in the mouth. The sauce complement the slight gaminess of the meat. The refined ratatouille added a nice southern french note while the potatoes seemed pretty ordinary. I could not catch any taste of the truffles.

Chocolate Bûche de Noël traditional Christmas dessert with moist sponge, chocolate buttercream & dark chocolate ganache. The berries perfect as usual. Their signature raspberry puree and creme anglaise the perfect complement to the substantial dark chocolate ganache and the light as air milk chocolate buttercream and cake. A cup of espresso went superb with it.

They are featuring the same menu for New Years Eve. A truly elegant way to bring in the new year

http://tinyurl.com/yh9zdhv

Christmas Eve Concoction

Finally pictures I can hear you say. I had some chorizo. Not the wet Mexican and not the dried Spanish kind. Sort of in between. So I diced it up and fried it with some corn tortilla strips. Took them out, Then I fried some onions adding flour when they were done to create a roux. Added some pork stock to that to make a thick gravy. Took that out. I had some canned potatoes (don't ask too long a story) so to give them a little flavor I pan fried them. Finally everyone back in the pool. I cracked some eggs in my stew/hash brown concoction and poached them topping with a salsa I had in the fridge. A kitchen sink concoction .
Here is my serving. It does not look that good but it ate a treat.

Logans

Again no pictures. I had a coupon and no desire to cook. I was looking at the appetizers and again nothing for a single person. All were meant for a group of four. Then I spotted it. I now know what to order at roadhouse themed joints. A cup of chili. That's what I did here. I tell you know lie that it was better than Chili's. It was a more than decent "bowl of red" as they say. No beans, nice chunks of meat, thick sauce with a nice punch. Chili's seemed more like ground meat and bit off taste. Then I went for Roadhouse Deluxe Burger with bacon, shredded cheese, Brewski Onions, sautéed mushrooms, & Roadhouse BBQ sauce on a toasted bun. It satisfied my burger hunger which I thick I was really after. A trend I like these days is the proliferation of single desserts. Here I got the Nutter Butter®Fudgeslide. Chilled chocolate mousse, fudge & Nutter Butter® Topping with a crunchy peanut cookie. It was served in a tiny tin bucket. Just enough sweet to satisfy me

http://tinyurl.com/38mo5s