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So which burger looks better? On the left you have the cover model of the July 08 bon appetit mag and on the right you have our version. We made a couple substitutions to the ingredients. First, we didn’t have cheddar so we used swiss. Next, instead of searching for canned chipotles we mixed in a ground chili chipotle spice to the ketchup that we had on hand. Finally, I wasn’t in the mood for an english muffin so we used soft, fresh ciabatta. They said they used a muffin but that sure looks like a bun. If you ask me the bon appetit burger had some work done and some retouching.
Either way you look at it, it was a bangin’ burger. The ketchup had a spicy kick and the onions were sweet. Variations of this burger will grace our table for years to come… gotta add some bacon and maybe avocado or shrooms next time!
Filed under: Main Dish, RECIPES | Tagged: bon appetit magazine, burger, Cheddar Burger With Balsamic Onions and Chipotle Ketchu, food, RECIPES | 1 Comment »
Crimson is hidden in the corner of a strip mall on Los Gatos Blvd. It’s really not a great location but worth the time to find. As soon as you walk in you will know why the restaurant is named Crimson. Inside it is covered head to toe in red decor. My favorite being the beautiful fresh red rose at each table. Crimson is a Green Certified restaurant serving ingredients direct from local farmers. We arrived on Tuesday July 8 for their weekly $30, 3-course prix fixe menu. We had heard about it over a year ago and we finally decided to go. After looking at the menu Mike and I ordered one of everything so we could try it all.
Once again, I outdid myself. 
How could I not know about Mr. Pickles? I am in downtown Los Gatos at least once a week and I have never seen this little sandwich shop. I read a review on Yelp and decided to seek it out. It is located on a small side street across from the Wells Fargo bank. When we arrived on the 4th of July around 1pm there was a line out the door. I guess I’m the only one in LG not familiar with this place. They feature over 20 specialty sandwiches that are huge, fresh and tasty. Mike and I shared “The Abbott” which has turkey,avocado and bacon with a bag of dirty chips and were full for hours. If you are in need of a great sando, go see Mr. Pickles.
Our 105 lb black lab mix is deathly afraid of fireworks. Most of the evening he is cowering in our closet as our neighbors light off M-80’s loud enough to rock our foundation. This year in between consoling Mr. Ed we made S’mores. I decided I wanted to do something different so instead of a chocolate bar we used Nutella. I also toasted some coconut to toss on top because I like it. The Nutella was a brilliant substitution. Instead of the usual semi melted chunk of chocolate we had creamy chocolaty hazelnut. Give me S’more! I’ll never use a chocolate bar again…
While wandering around the Vintage Wine Merchant store at Santana Row Mike and I noticed a display of wines for under $10. The low price is not what caught our attention it was the labels on two of the bottles. One was called Bitch and the other Pure Evil. As we chuckled we then saw a sign that said Bitch, a Grenache, and Pure Evil, a Chardonnay, received 90 point ratings from Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate.
Bay Area Foodie 