The Meat House- Goat Cheese Sausage and Kalbi Steak

Was able to finally try out the Meat House in Mission Viejo thanks largely to a Groupon offer. They provided excellent service and I was looking forward to comparing to my favorite butcher shop in OC and maybe on planet earth in the Beef Palace in Huntington Beach.

Anyhow to report, we picked up some kalbi steak tips, some goat cheese sausage, a preseasoned steak which I never cooked, and some basic beef hot dogs for the kids.

As I was perusing the line of sausages the guy behind the counter at the Meat House highly recommended the Goat Cheese Sausage so I took him up on it and glad I did.  The creamyness and slightly tart elements of flavor were a very nice contrasts to the savory spices of the meat. Everyone in attendance raved about it. Would be a wonderful pairing served with a dab of creme cheese on a craker or a toast point. Even by itself though was easily worth the price of admission.

As for the Kalbi, the quality of the meat was easily top notch. The texture and consistency was amazing and once again no doubting the quality and grade of the meat was that of an uber-grade. As for the seasoning, it was not too bad but not the best either. I could see in other parts of the country some would consider it a home run but considering our proximity to Garden Grove and Westminster and some of our local Korean BBQs it lacked that distinct Kalbi flavor that I am used to. Did not detect much garlic nor any sesame oil. A great cut of meat for sure though.  You take this cut of meat but use the marinade at Takamiya Market in Maui and youve got yourself Korean BBQ heaven.

Some other items....found some huge russets that I cut into large steak style fries rolled in olive oil and grilled. This is a great BBQ item as they taste just like french fries, which the kids love, and sprinkled with some garlic salt and some Parmesan make a fantastic side and nice alternative to traditional baked potatoes.

Also finished up with more chicken from the Beef Palace. Its a cant miss BBQ item and I asked whether we wanted to do some BBQ sauce but everyone said no as the quality of the chicken holds up on it's own. I also used some mesquite/apple wood smoke chips that gave a nice coloring.

We had a couple of wines as well in 2 Aussie Shiraz offerings, Red Knot Shiraz and Metricup Road Margaret River Valley from Total Wine. I know people always like to pair Shiraz with BBQ offerings and these two bottles were alright. The Red Knot was better from initial pour but once the Metricup opened up had some nuances and interesting elements that made it worthy. Nice picks....not home runs but once again both had enough going to make the worthy for your next BBQ.

Blogging in Maui; Takamiya Markets Delicious Ribs

There is a little shop in Wailuku Maui that is listed in almost every Japanese Brochure for Maui but not so many American brochures. My wife told me they are known for their teriyaki and its hugely popular for visiting asians. Ironically, I was going to go here on my last trip to maui but when we made it to the shop it happened to be on a sunday which happened to coincide with the day the market is closed.

This time however I made it one of our musts on our list of things we absolutely had to do and I was not disappointed. Located in a part of maui that looks like its not the best, most attractive part of the island by far lies this little shop that's a dream come true for us foodies. With real cuts of meat, it could be called a butcher shop by Maui standards but not really like a butcher shop by Beef Palace Standards.

They had prepacked steaks but do some specialty cuts as well though I was really just content with getting some of the Kalbi style ribs prepacked/pre-marinated and ready to grill. My we also picked up some Shoyu Ahi Poke(raw fresh tuna cubes marinated), Kim Chee Tako(Octopus marinated in Kim Chee seasoning), mac salad(every meal in Hawaii comes with mac salad...when in rome!), and a thick delicious Maui onion we also bought. They also had a hot lamp filled with Bento and Spam Masubi and other stuff but time was semi-limited. One thing that they had that I truly have never seen was two types of marinated beef...grade B and grade C. I can honestly say that of the numerous butcher shops I have been to I am semi sure I have never seen any Grade B beef...much less Grade C. I couldnt help but think after eating the Ribs that one of my old sneakers marinated overnight would have been palatable.

I took the meat back to the condo's grill, poured myself a big plastic glass of Lindeman's Cawarra I bought a few days earlier at Costco and went about fulfilling my dream of drinking wine on the beach while BBQing in Hawaii.

Hawaiian Style Kalbi Ribs...this teriyaki was almost like a candy style glaze. The ribs themselves are cut thicker then the ribs we get in So Cal. Next time I get back I will request them to be cut thinner. Not that I am knocking up, I am just used to the more traditional style korean cut.






The Shoyu Ahi Poke and Kim Chee Tako.


Some other pics of the meal.






All in All the hoopla of this place is completely warranted. Much like the proverbial needle in the haystack, in a town that looks like time has passed it by and the time that has kept has treated it none too kindly, this place will forever be on my list of must things to do in Maui. Probably the best sweet Teriyaki I have ever had with some of the freshest, most authentic Hawaiian dishes I have ever had...of course I have only been in Maui twice so take it for what its worth. We also ate at the Gazebo, not bad for the pancakes and the Fried Rice so popular on Yelp but by that same token not in the same class as Egg's and Things in Honolulu.

Kalbi Style Korean BBQ!!

Well we went with a Korean Motif last night as you can plainly see. The Wife marinated the short ribs in her top secret korean marinade-I will let you in on a secret though; one of the ingredients is something called "Sesame Oil."

Anyhow the top plate shows the ribs, some marinated bean sprouts, some Kimchi as well as our beer of Choice Kirin Ichiban. I know to the untrained American eye the Kimchi and Sprouts probably look more like entrails and tapeworms but rest assured these two items are in fact vegetable based. The bottom picture shows the 4 year old hand of Hip JR trying to nab one of the succulent ribs off of the plate. What can I say-hes a chip off the old block. Reminded me a bit of my food related petty thefts when I was his age. When I was 4 or 5 it wasn't all that uncommon for me to Shoplift Smoked Gouda, Italian Prosciutto, and Imported Spices(saffron and Madagascar vanilla ) from the local Lucky Market on shopping trips with my mother.

On a semi related side note-Kimchi is a great source of naturally occurring Pro biotic Culture and has some other great health benefits. You can read more about here or search for yourself if you are so inclined.

http://www.treelight.com/health/nutrition/KimchiHealthy.html

If you like spicy food and garlic-Kimchi will be right up your alley. It has a pretty strong flavor though so pairs much better with beer then it does wine. If it is something you want to try though I would certainly recommend going with some lower priced bottles. And as always, if you do manage to find a wine that pairs well...I'm all ears.

I also did some BBQed hot wings this weekend that were fantastic but in my zest to digin forgot to take pictures. I may do them again for dinner tonight and If I do I promise Ill take pics and post them here. Thanks again for all the positive feedback Ive received in the month or so this blog has been in existence. If anyone here wants-feel free to add the link to your blog but make sure you title the link
"Hipcheck's Food and Wine Blog that is not only the best blog on the internet but singlehandedly revolutionizing the way we view dining in todays modern socio and economic climate."