Sticky Eggplant at the Potsticker House

Some time ago, my friend Marcy (previously featured as the maker of massaged kale salad) reported that a restaurant in Bridgeport makes an amazing eggplant dish. A couple weeks ago, we finally made an Aubergenius excursion to the Potsticker House. The place is just awesome. I give it 4.5 out of 5 eggplants.

Our excursion caught in a strange and awkward moment with someone else coming through the door who apologized for getting in the shot and nobody ready for the camera. 

The eggplant in question was the usual menu item -- eggplant in garlic sauce -- only this version was different from the usual. In many restaurants, eggplant in garlic sauce involves segments of Chinese eggplant friend in oil until deliciously mushy, then served in a dark garlicky sauce with some sprigs of green stuff. This version, in contrast, consisted of battered-and-fried eggplant strips (similar to the House Eggplant at Tony Hu's Lao Beijing) coated in a sticky-sweet-salty-spicy sauce. The addition of peppers and fresh woodsear mushrooms also set this version apart. The mushrooms themselves don't have much flavor, but they have a wonderful rubbery/crunchy texture and soak up sauce like a sponge. 

The eggplant: oh so delicious.

Other things we ordered: ma po tofu (in the corner), a pile of miscellaneous green stuff, dumplings.

There were other eggplant items on the menu that I'm hoping I'll have an opportunity to try sometime in the future. Anyone for a repeat Bridgeport excursion?

Or we could just get 4 orders of this. I wouldn't mind.

Seattle, Satay... I feel like there's a pun waiting to happen but it's just not working

I recently learned that there is a competition called the Punderdome, and that someone I vaguely know just WON. As the Aubergenius, I'm naturally looking out for a Portmantournament (groan) or better yet, a Choonerism Spampionship (ouch). In the meantime, I keep feeling like Seattle and Satay are similar enough words that something good should come of this... but Seattay and Sattaytle are strangely unsatisfying.

It's an eggplant Sattaytle!

During my recent trip to the Seattle area, I went to one of my family's favorite restaurants, the Tamarind Tree. Their menu is massive and there are a number of veggie options, most of which are unusual things I've never seen at Vietnamese restaurants before -- like coconut cake topped with miscellaneous grilled things, crepe filled with other miscellaneous things, strange dumplings filled with somethingorother (OK clearly I can't remember this menu exactly), and a variety of satay appetizers.

A noodle bowl topped with marinated and grilled tofu, fried thingies, fresh thingies and also some stuff.

Dumplings filled with stuff, topped with fried onions and tofu and other fried things that seem like a root of some kind but actually I don't know what it was but it tasted good.

Pho.

 Overall, my impression of the restaurant (not that you asked): nice decor, albeit somewhat dark (black ceiling can feel a bit cave-like), gorgeous bathrooms, hip plateware and presentation, food looks and smells delectable, full of different textures... but regrettably, all the vegetarian options come with the exact same sugary-sweet soy sauce dressing, which results in everything tasting very much the same. Perhaps a couple more veggie sauces on the menu (whatever happened to peanut sauce?) might have improved the experience.

But overall, a SATASTY meal. Guffaw.

This post is relevant to the topic of my blog!