TDM CCN Header

26 April 2011

Tonight's Episode: Dr. Sproutlove, or How I Stopped Worrying and Learned to Love Brussels Sprouts

          Admit it, you hate brussels sprouts. I hated them. My dog hated them. I know this because she wouldn't eat mine. I have had a conversion, however. I now LOVE the little green orbs of yuck and have a favorite joint to gobble them up by the bowl full. I'm sure I've lost most of my readers by now, but keep an open mind. Maybe you'll learn to love them, too.
         Let's define why we hate brussels sprouts. As kids, our mothers threw handfuls of the evil mini-cabbages into boiling water and let them cook until mushy. The result was a sulfurous boggy ball that offends multiple senses, with the stench, the bitter taste, and the gummy texture. The overcooking releases a glucosinolate that provides the bitter taste and smell. The overcooking has another unintended side effect, stripping the sprouts of their anti-cancer properties. That's right. Brussels sprouts help prevent cancer. They also help you become super-human strong. Remember Jean-Claude van Damme? Most people mistakenly think he was called "The Muscles from Brussels" because he was Belgian. Nope, the man ate sprouts like Popeye in a bar fight.
           So how did I go from cursing my ungrateful dog for not destroying the evidence to being a die-hard sprouthead? The first taste of a good sprout came from the cookbook of my least favorite TV food personality, Ina Garten (http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/roasted-brussels-sprouts-recipe2/index.html). At the bottom of the recipe she says "I like these salty like French Fries." That caught my attention, and I decided to cook them up. Belissimo! From her recipe I expanded, first by quartering the sprouts to brown more completely, to adding bacon and a balsamic drizzle. Salt is a must though, plenty of Kosher salt. There are several other sprout recipes that I have found that I truly enjoy, including Alton Brown's (http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/brussels-sprouts-with-pecans-and-cranberries-recipe/index.html) and even Brussels sprout soup! (http://www.squidoo.com/brussels-sprouts)
            Okay, we have home cooked sprouts down, how about restaurants? There are a couple of fine dining spots that have pretty darn good sprouts. Oak would be one, of course (http://www.oaksteakhouserestaurant.com/index.html). They don't have the best, though. For my money the best Brussels sprouts belong to a chain restaurant. That's right, a chain; although it is a local chain. Tbonz (http://www.tbonz.com/), whose sister restaurants include Pearlz and Kaminsky's, has been around for years. I, however, have never been much of a fan. That would be courtesy of the Market Street location, which is priced perfectly to draw in the tourists by the busload. So for several years, Tbonz has been on my 'why bother' list.
            That all changed when I received a coupon this past December. Being the thrifty Scot I am, I grabbed The Girl, and off to the West Ashley location we went. I'm not going to go in depth about most of the food. The steaks are on par with Outback, and well ahead of Applebee's. Good, filling, inexpensive. The rack of ribs are Titanic in scale, and priced on par with the much smaller portions at Chili's. None of that matters. None of that is why I come back. I come back for the service and the Brussels sprouts.
           The preparation of the sprouts is amazingly simple. Halved, flash fried for 30-45 seconds with parmesan cheese and Old Bay, and on the plate. THAT IS IT! Boy does it taste like more work. The nutty parmesan and the slight bitter of the sprouts blend seamlessly. The Old Bay is subtle, so much that until you know it is there you can't place the taste. Once you realize that fact, you realize these aren't Brussels sprouts, they are Crab sprouts! The similarities in taste to Maryland blue crabs is uncanny. This one dish is a must have for anyone who loves, or hates, these much maligned veggies.
         Every other week for several months we have been stopping in, mostly so I could have sprouts. Then on Easter Sunday, the 6th Day of Passover, our waiter Ben nearly ruined my world. He told me that they were planning on taking the Brussels sprouts off the menu. I know they are a winter veg, and in spring and summer they can be much smaller, but they are so damn good! Apparently my shock was so visible that Ben went to his GM, Rob, and told him about my dismay.
             I want to stress the fact that at this time no one knew who I was, or that I write this blog. To Rob I was just one more face that passes through his restaurant, one of hundreds he sees every week. He asked me if it was true that the sprouts were the reason I keep coming back. 'Of course they are, they are perfect!' I tell him. His next sentence won me over as a customer for life. "Well, I guess we will just have to keep them on the menu then." One person wanted to keep them. One person he has never met. One person who might never tell another soul about the generous move on his part. Can you imagine the GM at Outback doing this? Tbonz may be a chain, but it is a local one, with a local focus, and a real focus on the guest experience!
            So there you have it. In one post I have been able to show you that my outlook on a childhood arch-nemisis and a poorly thought of restaurant have changed over the course of time, with the help of proper preparation and great service. What other foods and restaurants have I ignored all these years that might actually be good? How about you, what are you going back and trying again?

Tbonz The Scores:
Ambiance: 2/5
Service: 5/5
Food: 7/10
Value: 5/5
Overall: 19 out of 25, If you are looking for an inexpensive but good tasting steak, check out Tbonz, and their Brussels Sprouts!

T-Bonz Gill & Grill on Urbanspoon

2 comments:

  1. I had a DELICIOUS! brussel sprouts and pancetta warm salad at Monzo's about two months ago! It was to die for! I haven't recreated the dish at home yet, but be sure once I do it will be up on my blog!!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Dang it, I thought I was being all original and clever with my Dr. Sproutlove title. You beat me to it :( http://zombie-fitness.blogspot.co.uk/2012/06/dr-sproutlove.html

    I'm really glad I finally managed to find a way to get rid of my bag of frozen sprouts without throwing them away :D

    ReplyDelete

Labels

Charleston dinning (26) Charleston Restaurants (19) Best Restaurants in Charleston (10) Charleston (9) Best of Charleston (8) Charleston Fine dinning (7) Tristan (6) BBQ (3) Charleston Wine + Food Festival (3) Instant pot recipes (3) Sean Brock (3) Seattle (3) The Green Door (3) The Lot (3) Angel Oak (2) Bacon (2) Big John's Tavern (2) Charleston Bars (2) Charleston Food Trucks (2) Charleston Wine and Food Festival (2) Chef Bacon (2) Garden and Gun (2) Guerilla cuisine (2) Hugh Acheson (2) Husk (2) Husk Restaurant (2) Instant Pot (2) James Island restaurants (2) Jeremiah Bacon (2) John's Island Restaurants (2) King Street Restaurants (2) Nate Whiting (2) Oak steakhouse (2) Perfectly Franks (2) Risotto (2) Sandwiches (2) Stars Rooftop (2) Sweetbreads (2) The 'Wich Doctor (2) Two Boroughs Larder (2) Vietnamese (2) Western Washington (2) 'Cesca (1) 200 Beer club (1) 2017 (1) 2017 year in review (1) 5 & 10 (1) Andrew Zimmerman (1) Angel Oak Restaurant (1) Angel Oak Tree (1) Anson (1) Anson restaurant (1) Asian travel (1) Athens Dinning (1) Athens Restaurants (1) Authentic Fijian food (1) AutoBanh (1) BORAGó (1) Bacon and Pear pizza (1) Banchan (1) Bar Marco (1) Barley Risotto (1) Batman (1) Batman v Superman (1) Batman vs Superman (1) BatmanvSuperman (1) BatmanvsSuperman (1) Bavaria (1) Beaufort Dinning (1) Beaufort restaurants (1) Beets recipe (1) Best Restaurants in Chile (1) Best Restaurants in Santiago (1) Best bites singapore (1) Best food in Singapore (1) BlackJack BBQ (1) Border Springs (1) Bourbon (1) Bourbon Ribs (1) Bourbon Sorghum Glazed Rib Recipe (1) Bread Pudding (1) Bread and Butter pickles (1) Breakfast Recipes (1) Brunch (1) Brunch Recipes (1) Bulleit Bourbon (1) CHSWFF (1) Callie's Charleston Biscuits (1) Captain Morgan (1) Caribbean restaurants (1) Carolina Panters Wings (1) Carolina's (1) Cascades (1) Challah Bread Pudding (1) Challah and Sweet Potato Bread Pudding (1) Charleston BBQ (1) Charleston Breakfast (1) Charleston Culinary Tours (1) Charleston Mixology (1) Charleston Spas (1) Charleston Thai (1) Charleston Vietnamese (1) Chase After A Cure (1) Chaîne des Rôtisseurs (1) Chef Alex Lira (1) Chef Collins (1) Chef Jamilka Borges (1) Chef Marc Collins (1) Chef Sean Brock (1) Chicago dinning (1) Chicago restaurant (1) Chicken Recipes (1) Chicken recipe (1) Chile (1) Chile Restaurants (1) Christmas (1) Chuck Hughes (1) Circa 1886 (1) Co Restaurant (1) Coda del Pesce (1) Cook it Raw (1) Cook it Raw Charleston (1) Cook it Raw Charleston 2013 (1) Copenhagen Street Food (1) Cork (1) Crab Mac n cheese (1) Crab and pancetta mac n cheese (1) Crab mac and cheese (1) Crock Pot Chicken (1) Crock Pot Recipes (1) Croque Madame (1) Croque Madame Muffin (1) Crown Royal (1) DC (1) DC Food (1) DC Restaurants (1) David Chang (1) Dawn of Justice (1) Denarau Island (1) Denarau Restaurants (1) Diners Drive-ins and Dives (1) Dinners Drive ins and Dives (1) DishCrawl Charleston (1) Downtown Chalreston (1) Easy Chicken Recipes (1) Eat Seattle (1) Eater (1) Egg Recipes (1) Fat Hen (1) Fat and Juicy (1) Fiji (1) Fiji Destination (1) Fiji Vacation (1) Fiji dinning (1) Fine Dinning Associations (1) Firefly Moonshine (1) Folly beach (1) Folly beach restaurants (1) Food Truck (1) Food Trucks (1) Fuel (1) Fuel Restaurant (1) Garde Manger (1) George Dickel (1) George Mendes (1) Glasgow (1) Glasgow restaurants (1) Good Eats (1) Grill 225 (1) Ground Turkey (1) Ground Turkey Tacos (1) Guerrilla Dinner (1) Guy Fieri (1) HCG recipe (1) Heart (1) Heart Woodfire Grill (1) Heirloom Book Company (1) High Cotton (1) High Wire (1) High Wire Distillery (1) Holiday Desserts (1) Honey Garlic Chicken (1) Honey Garlic Crock Pot Chicken (1) Honey Garlic Slow Cooker Chicken (1) Hot 11 (1) Hot dogs (1) Icicle Canyon (1) Instant Pot Korean (1) Instant Pot Korean Recipes (1) Instant Pot Risotto (1) Instant Pot Shrimp risotto (1) Instant pot thai chicken bowls (1) Italian food (1) Italian food in Scotland (1) Jamaican restaurant (1) James Beard (1) John T Edge (1) John's Island (1) Josh Keeler (1) Kaminsky's. Charleston Dinning (1) Kitchen 208 (1) Korean (1) Korean Beef Bowl (1) Korean Recipes (1) Last Supper (1) Leavenworth (1) Liquor (1) Lowcountry Bistro (1) Mac and cheese (1) Mac n cheese (1) Magnus Nilsson (1) Manchester Farms Quail (1) Mango Salsa (1) Mango Salsa recipe (1) Mango-Avocado Salsa recipe (1) Mellow Mushroom (1) Mellow Mushroom Charleston (1) Mock Tacos (1) Montreal (1) Montreal Restaurants (1) Mornay Sauce (1) Mushroom Risotto (1) Nadina (1) Nadina Authentic Fijian Restaurant (1) Nadina Denarau Island (1) Nadina Fiji (1) North Charleston restaurants (1) O Paprico (1) Occidental DC (1) Occidental Grill Seafood (1) Othello (1) Othello Restaurants (1) Oyster Bay (1) Oysters (1) Pho (1) Pickled Red Onions (1) Pickled Red onion recipe (1) Pittsburgh (1) Pittsburgh Food (1) Pittsburgh Restaurants (1) Pizza (1) Pizza recipe (1) Porto Restaurants (1) Portugese restaurants (1) Republic Reign (1) Rib Recipe (1) Ribs (1) Rigs Pigs and Swigs (1) Robert Irvine (1) Robert Irvine's Eat (1) Roti Rolls (1) Runaway Bay Restaurant (1) Ryan Condon (1) Salted Bourbon Caramel (1) Santiago Restaurants (1) Scotland (1) Scott's BBQ (1) Scottish cuisine (1) Scottish food (1) Seafood (1) Seattle Food (1) Seattle Pho (1) Seattle Restaurants (1) Seattle Tourism (1) Seattle Tours (1) Seattle trip ideas (1) Sepia (1) Shrimp fried rice (1) Singapore (1) Singapore 2020 (1) Singapore Eats (1) Singapore food (1) Singapore restaurants (1) Singapore travel (1) Slow Cooker Chicken (1) Slow Cooker Recipes (1) Smoky Oak Taproom (1) Sorghum (1) South American Restaurants (1) South Bend (1) South Bend Wa (1) South Bend Washington (1) South Seattle (1) Southern Cuisine (1) Southern Foodways Alliance (1) Southern Soul BBQ (1) Stars Restaurant Rooftop & Grill room (1) Steak (1) Sugar Bob's Finest Kind (1) Sugaree's Bakery (1) Summerville restaurants (1) Super Bowl (1) Superman (1) Sweet Potato Bread Pudding (1) Taco Recipes (1) Taco Seasoning (1) Teriyaki chicken (1) Thai (1) The Cocktail Club (1) The Cooking Gene (1) The Fat Hen (1) The Grocery (1) The Macintosh (1) The Ordinary (1) The Pour House (1) The Southern General (1) The Warehouse (1) The Wich Doctor (1) The Woodlands (1) The strip District (1) Turkey Lettuce wraps (1) Vasa Museum (1) Vietnamese restaurants Seattle (1) Vitamix recipe (1) Wa Seafood (1) Washington DC Dinning (1) Weekend in Charleston (1) What to do in Seattle (1) Willapa (1) Willapa Bay (1) Wings (1) Zagat (1) bacon and pear pizza recipe (1) bacon recipe (1) burger cook off (1) butternut squash soup (1) cooking bacon (1) cooking bacon in water (1) curing bacon (1) fiji restaurants (1) gin (1) haggis (1) healthy risotto (1) instapot (1) instapot thai chicken bowl (1) intstapot recipes (1) low calorie (1) low calorie risotto (1) low sodium risotto (1) making bacon (1) mayo recipe (1) moto (1) mushroom and barley risotto (1) orzo mac n cheese (1) pear recipe (1) pickles (1) recipe (1) recipes (1) risotto recipes (1) rum (1) shrimp risotto (1) soup (1) thai chicken (1)