Double Feature: Grilled Pizza on my new Grill/Blue Moon Summer Honey Wheat Review

I was hoping to post about my new grill sooner, but due to operational commitments I was unable to until now.
Last Saturday, Amy and I bought a new grill so we could cookout at the new house.

Behold, the STOK Tower

This thing took about an hour to put together, but the end result was great.  One of my favorite features of this thing is that it has a built in charcoal chimney in the base that doubles as an ash canister for easy removal of old ashes.
You fill the wire basket on top of the canister with wadded up newspaper, then the whole thing hooks in under the grate that the charcoal goes on and then you light the newspaper.  There's also a charcoal basket that can be inserted from the top to keep the charcoal in the center for quicker and easier heating.  Then, when the coals reach a temperature you want to cook at, you can use the insert removal tool to take the basket out and it will spread the coals on the grate for you to use the whole grill for direct heat cooking.  You also have the option of leaving the basket in while you cook and use the outer edges for slow cooking or for items that need a lower temp to cook properly such as veggies or for toasting buns and such. As was alluded to with the charcoal basket, this grill also has a great feature of a center grilling area which can be swapped out for different functions such as
a pizza stone

you can see the charcoal basket under the stone in this pic...

Or a chicken roasting pan...with beercan holder for drunken chicken.

or just a regular grilling insert

 

There is an insert removal tool that is used to safely swap out the inserts, though it doesn't work with the pizza stone.  However, the pizza stone is supposed to go in and come out cold anyway, so it's really not needed.  

Okay, so enough talk of the grill.  On to the pizza and beer.
So, after seeing that you can grill pizza on this thing, i had to try it.  It works great!  The pizza has a nice firm crispy bottom, but still has a nice chewy crust on the sides.  It ends up tasting a lot like a brick oven pizza.  Delicious, yet a bit too crispy and cooked for Audrey's discriminating tastes.

srsly?

 

Yes, her official quote is "I only like pizza while it's raw."  What she probably meant was that she didn't like the crispy crust, which I can understand as I'm not fond myself of thin crust pizza.  Seriously, it's like a pizza cracker.
Anyway, the grill insert is just the right size for making personal size pizza, but we made some really thick crust, so only half the pizza was actually eaten.
Amy's pizza was not cooperating when I tried to move it from the peel to the grill, so I ended up making it a calzone.

It ain't pretty, but it is tasty...

The pizza turned out really well and I enjoyed mine with a Blue Moon Summer Honey Wheat beer.

Yes, I'm eating off a baking sheet.  Anyway, the beer was okay.  I'm more a fan of darker, stronger beers, so I was a bit disappointed with the flavor.  Really, I was expecting something closer to the taste of regular Blue Moon, which is more like a Belgian White.  This stuff was more like a Budweiser Select.  I was at least expecting it to be as rich as J.W. Dundee Honey Brown, but it was pretty flavorless.  I've had Blue Moon's Pumpkin Spice Ale and Harvest Moon and they were both fantastic.  So, I was expecting a lot more out of this.  It wasn't terrible, but it didn't meet my expectations.  If you like Budweiser, but you want to pay more for the taste, try Blue Moon Summer Honey Wheat.

Restaurant Review: Rose Garden, Eastport, Maine.

So I recently returned from my fourth of July trip to the easternmost city in the country, Eastport, ME.  While there, I found a great little bar and restaurant called The Rose Garden.

 The inside of the restaurant part of the place had all this cool artwork on the walls made mostly of corks, random bit of stuff and spray paint.  It honestly reminds me of some of the stuff my brother, Dan used to do in high school.  I especially liked the painted plywood pieces. 

 

This is my friend Lara, who was quite fond of the art piece pictured on the wall behind her. 

 The food at the Rose Garden was very good.  I had a steak one night that was delicious, but I failed to take a picture until it was gone.  It was just that good.  They serve all their dinner entrees with fresh cornbread, ceasar salad and a choice of potato wedges or what they call confetti corn, which is corn, red peppers, bits of bacon, and some other stuff I couldn't identify.  It was pretty good, but the steak pretty much did me in.  I also had a chance to try some of their ribs, which were excellent.  Lara, myself and our comrade, Ryan split a whole rack and it only cost us $18.  Due to the small size of the town, things seem to cost more, but they are often large portioned and worth the higher price tag.  Their ribs are no exception.
The Rose Garden also features a decent beer selection including a local brew called Andrew's

This stuff is amazing.  I'm going to have to see if Total Wine and More carries this brand.  They had both a Stout and a Pale Ale.   In addition to this great beer, they also had Harpoon IPA, and Sam Adams.  Not that I was really surprised.  New England is home to some of my favorite microbrews including Magic Hat and Boston Brewing Company.
But the restaurant is only half the greatness of Rose Garden.  They also have a side room where live music and DJs play.  They have a decently stocked bar (for a tiny town in Maine, it was impressive.) and the ladies who run this place are the nicest waitstaff and bartenders I've ever seen on a port visit.  Maybe it's just that this town loves the Navy and it was 4th of July weekend, but they put up with so much drama from so many drunken idiotic sailors (I'm pleading the fifth) and were still glad to have us again and again.

They even let me hook up my guitar and play some songs a couple of the times I dropped by.  While there weren't TOO many other places to hang out in town, Rose Garden was still my favorite.  The other bars were usually too crowded and loud and the environment was just a bit more chill for the most part.  Plus, I loved the fact that they have a local art gallery.  You can see the entrance in the back left of the picture above.  All artwork in the place is for sale, even the stuff on the walls in the restaurant.  So, if you ever have the desire to visit the easternmost point in the United States, be sure to drop into The Rose Garden.  Be sure to tell Mandy I told you about the place.  She was very helpful and hospitable.

Hopefully, I can add some more stuff before I head out to sea again this week.  We'll see.

(Almost) Wordless Wednesday: BBQ Bacon Four Cheese Pizza

For the full story to these pics, check out Epic Portions.

Restaurant Review: Domo Sushi

This is by far one of the best sushi places in Hampton Roads!  I'd even say that it's one of the best sushi places I have ever been to.  The prices are decent, the staff (at least at the Va Beach location) are friendly and prompt with service.  They have a delightful array of various entrees, as well as a full picture sushi menu.  The great thing about Domo is that they have more than just sushi.  They have traditional Asian cuisine, Japanese steak, as well as a selection of tempura and teriyaki dishes.  Their simple rolls range from $2.50 to $5.00 and their house rolls can range from $5-$10.50.  My faves are their BlackJack Roll and the Granby Street Roll.  I wish I had pics, but unfortunately, I forgot my camera the last time I was there and the inturwebz doesn't really have much to offer.
However, one doesn't need to see it to believe it.  You can take my word for it, or you can march your happy ass down there and see for yourself.

Domo Japanese Restaurant                  
273 Granby St.                                    
Norfolk, VA                                        

Domo Sushi          
4540 Princess Anne Road
Virginia Beach, VA      

Domo Sushi Chesapeake
109 E. Gainsborough Rd.
Chesapeake, VA

Family Fave Friday: Domino's Pizza.

Okay, I know this looks like a copout, but I SWEAR Domino's is a Family Fave.  Up until about six months ago, every Friday was Domino's Pizza time at our house. 

Get the door...it's a college student with no future.

We still do this from time to time, but pizza Fridays has become less of a tradition and more of a special event.  But, honestly, Domino's has been a fave of mine since this guy was their mascot...

Yes, me and Domino's have a bit of a history.  Not to mention that my parents go to church ON Domino's HQ property.  In fact, Tom Monaghan, the creator and former owner of Domino's Pizza funded the building of my parents' church.  But I digress...
Most of the time we get Hawaiian Pizza, due to my daughter Amelie's love of ham, which in turn is due to her obsession with thinking she is the title character from the movie Ponyo, who also loves ham.

We often try to take advantage of their $5.99 for two or more medium 2-topping pizzas. The only roadblock we usually have is, of course, our oldest and most food picky daughter, Audrey.

seriously?

Yup, her discriminating tastes often force us to get one of Domino's tasty pasta breadbowls.

Fortunately, Domino's also has online deals for mix and match with three of either sandwiches, breadbowls, or medium pizzas.

The best thing about Domino's now is the new crust.  I was a major fan before, now it's near obsession.  It almost reminds me of Hungry Howie's,

which unless you are from Michigan or Ohio, you probably have never had...which I find sad.

Anyway, join us next time for a review of one of my new favorite restaurants in Hampton Roads.

What The Eff Is That Thursday: Calamari with Broccoli Rice

Just in case you were wondering...

"what the eff is that mound of weird green stuff" in the last pic I posted yesterday...

I've decided to share with you one of the most interesting culinary experiences I've had in my travels with the Navy (even moreso than the haggis I had in Scotland which I will most likely blog about next week). 

Now, when I ordered this supposed delicacy of Brazil, I was expecting some squid rings with some rice and a few trees of broccoli on the side or somethign of that ilk.  Instead, I was served this Half Dome-esque creation that you see pictured here. 

Wordless Wednesday: Dining in Rio De Janeiro!