Monthly Archive for July, 2009

Brunch at Legume Bistro, Pittsburgh, PA

Published on July 31, 2009 in pittsburgh and restaurant.

I came across some pictures from a while back when a bunch of us went to Legume Bistro for Sunday brunch. Legume Bistro is located at 1113 S. Braddock Ave in the Regent Square area of Pittsburgh, PA. They are a small family operated restaurant. What caught our attention was their small but unique menu offering Italian and French inspired American cuisine. Their dinner menus change every day and they post them on their website by 5pm. Their brunch menu also varies week to week. The dishes they offer depend on the ingredients available to them. Most of the ingredients they use are organic and locally grown, with the exception of a few delicious ingredients that might not be available locally.

Normally, their brunch runs from 10am to 2pm, but one that day they had to close early to prepare for a special dinner.

Here’s what we had for brunch that day. For a beverage, I ordered the French press coffee.

I couldn’t help but notice how adorable this cream container was. The waiter told us that the owner buys them from Ebay. They are vintage moo cow creamers.

For appetizer, we ordered the steak tartar with toasted baguette. I don’t think I ever had steak tartar before. It looked pretty intimidating at first, but after I ate some, I wanted a second taste. The steak tartar was delicious and flavorful. Other than the slightly burnt baguette, this first course dish put huge smiles on our faces. We couldn’t wait to see and taste our second course dishes.

Here’s what we had for our main course.

Duck confit red flannel hash with poached eggs and toast

I ordered the duck confit red flannel. The duck confit is a French dish with duck leg. The red flannel hash is a combination of potatoes and beets, giving it the light red color. It was served with a side of poached eggs and toast. This dish was overall amazing. I was wowed by how tasty the duck meat was. It left me in a very happy and satisfied state. It totally hit the spot. This dish goes on my list of tastiest duck dishes I’ve ate, right next to that duck dish I had at the Hershey Cafe at Hershey Park last year.

Here’s what my dining buddies ordered.

Organic Scottish smoked salmon with eggs scrambled with garlic scapes, cream cheese and dill

Pork chop with potatoes and scrambled egg

Our dining experience at Legume was awesome. The service was great and the food was amazing. The dishes are a little on the pricey side, but the food is worth it. The brunch dishes range in the teens. The portions were just right in my opinion. They don’t give you overwhelming portions, but just enough it leaves your tummy happy. Even though it’s a bit pricey for brunch, you leave there intrigued by the food, satisfied by the quantity, and no sense of guilt. Legume is definitely worth the occasional visit. I would return to Legume the next time I’m in Pittsburgh if I get the chance. However, I’m a little intimidated to try their dinner menu. I would imagine their dinners to be creative and tasty, but not too friendly to the wallet. I would have to really like the menu for that day. Sunday brunch at Legume was great.

Tags: brunch, duck confit, legume bistro, pittsburgh, pork chop, restaurant, salmon, steak tartar. 0 Comments

Mackerel patties

Published on July 17, 2009 in recipes.

I found a can of mackerel in the pantry shelf the other day. I usually use it to make a spicy fish stew to serve over rice, but this time I wanted to try something different. Here’s a recipe for some mackerel patties.

Ingredients:

15 oz can of mackerel, drained
1/2 cup whole grain cereal, blended (I used Kelloggs All-bran Bran buds cereal. Since the pieces are already really small, I loosely blended the cereal and ended up with some crumbs and some whole pieces.)
1/2 cup panko bread crumbs
3 egg whites
3 tsp onion powder
2 tbsp minced garlic
3 tbsp chopped walnuts
1 tsp horseradish
salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Flake mackerel with their bones into a large bowl.
Add cereal, breadcrumbs, egg, onion, garlic, walnuts, horseradish, salt and pepper.
Mix with hands and form into 4-5 patties.
Broil mackerel patties on high in baking dish with rack in middle of the oven for about 5-7 minutes on each side.

These mackerel patties came out delicious and were so easy to make. The cereal gives it an extra crunchiness. I can eat them on its own, slice it up and add it to a salad, or simply put it into a sandwich or burger. It goes well with a little dijonnaise.

Tags: burger, canned fish, mackerel, patties, recipes. 0 Comments

Oatmeal breakfast bars 2

Published on July 16, 2009 in breakfast and recipes.

I really liked how these oatmeal breakfast bars came out last time. I decided to make a new batch of oatmeal bars, but this time make them a little bit more crunchy. I used the same recipe and added some blended cereal. I had some Kelloggs All-Bran bran buds on the pantry shelf. These little cereal pellets are high in fiber and vitamins. I rarely eat it on its own because it’s a bit too bland. It has an interesting texture because they are bran buds and not flakes. I normally mix some in about one-third cup with my cereal or sprinkle it over yogurt. I poured a cup of All-Bran ran buds into a mini food processors and blended it. After making the oatmeal bar mixture, I slowly mixed in the blended bran buds until it reached a nice consistency.

I poured it into a baking pan and tossed it in the oven at 350 degrees for about 20 minutes. These oatmeal bars came out even better than the previous. I really like the crunchiness. I store the oatmeal bars in the fridge and warm it up in the toaster oven when I want to snack on one.