Hard Cooked Eggs

Sometimes, we review visits to restaurants that impress us.  Because the title is Alphageek Talks Food, sometimes we just like to ramble on about some new food find.  Other times, we like to pass on something interesting in the world of food (I was going to say Wide World of Food, but I would probably get in trouble with ABC.)  that we find out in some unexpected way.  Today, is a little rambling about eggs.

We had an extra dozen eggs.  Don't ask how we got them, let's just say they showed up.  We thought it would be great to have some hard boiled eggs.  We began to wonder about the "ideal" way to prepare them. Never mind that egg cooking, is a subject that some people write entire books on, just stick with us here.  There was some discussion and debate at the Alphageek HQ.  In the end, we consulted Alton Brown's I'm Just Here for the Food: Food + Heat = Cooking.  You can get a copy over on amazon.com, but I don't make any money. (Note to self: figure out how to make money with referrals!)

As a side note, Alton Brown is somebody that every geek can get into.  His attention to detail and measurement is commendable.  But I digress from today's topic.

Mrs. Alphageek looked through the book, and found several new ways to try cooking the eggs.  We settled on trying to steam the eggs.  The cooking technique is rather simple:  put about an inch of water into the bottom of a pot. Bring the water to a boil.  Place a steamer basket on top of the boiling water.  Place the eggs in the steamer.  Wait twelve minutes and then remove the eggs to a cold water bath.  Really, it is that simple.

When opening the eggs, we noticed that the shell peeled away from the egg very easily, almost in one piece.  The eggs that emerged were simply some of the best hard cooked eggs that we have ever made here at the headquarters.

I'll bet you you could do a google search on steamed hard cooked eggs and find out more.  I could do that too, but I promise original content, not other people's stuff.  You might also try cooking the eggs in the oven too.

I took some pictures, but pictures of eggs are just not very interesting.  Sure, I could have dressed the picture up with some phony mask to make the picture look like it was taken with a narrow depth of field, but that filter seems pretty overdone these days.  Overused fake photography techniques: sounds like another idea to me.  There is nothing overdone about these eggs and you should try to experiment today.


Mid Atlantic Seafood & Produce

 Mid Atlantic Seafood & Produce on UrbanspoonYet another interesting restaurant that one does not expect to find sort of out there by itself.  I will do a little different review of this restaurant today.  The first thing you will notice is that there are no pictures.  I had my cell phone, and I did take some pictures with it, but they were pretty bad. We have standards here at AGTF and we are not going to compromise those standards, just to put some crappy, soft picture here on the website.  Instead, we will bring you a short, hard hitting review that you will hopefully find useful.

I was looking for somewhere to eat while on travel.  My initial thought was some sort of fast food, because it would be relatively quick and easy.  I checked into the hotel, and decided to check my Urbanspoon app to see if there was anything interesting nearby.  Not only nearby, but with walking distance was Mid Atlantic Seafood and Produce Market.  I decided to be adventurous, and stopped by.  I checked out their menu online, and noticed that they carried a wide selection of food.  I thought some sort of fish sounded good, so in I went.

I noticed that the restaurant is large and unassuming inside, just like I like.  The food is the star, not some fancy restaurant.  I noticed that grilled tilapia with two sides was on special, and decided to go with that.  I hate taking a long time to decide.  I decided corn and potato salad would be my sides.

My food took about ten minutes to prepare, at which time I was handed a take out container with my food inside.  I was pretty sure I would either really enjoy this meal, or really pan it, without much in between.  I stopped by the sauces on the way out to get some hot sauce, and noticed that they have some sauce called mumbo sauce, so I squeezed some mumbo into a little container and left.

When I opened my Styrofoam container, I was greeted by my corn, plus some grilled onions and peppers.  The onions and peppers covered my tilapia, which is too bad, because the fish looked pretty good.

My visual senses stirred, I tasted a piece of my fish.  It was lightly seasoned with some cajun flavors, that allowed the well cooked fish to shine through.  I enjoyed the nice, simple taste of a well prepared tilapia fillet. The onions and peppers were cooked, without being super overcooked to the point of being soggy.  I will have to admit that I love simple flavors, and that is how the fish and accessories were prepared.  I liked the corn's natural taste, as opposed to the corn that swims in butter, that seems to be too common these days.

I also tried the mumbo sauce, and found it to be something I can't remember trying before.  It was a cross between bbq sauce, and cocktail sauce.  I found it a great combination with the simple flavors of the fish.

If my travels ever take me this way again, I will be sure to try some of the other dishes that they offer on their extensive menu.


View Larger Map