Saturday, February 27, 2010

Guestbook Fun

Here's another great quote from the guestbook:

"Absolutely wonderful experience. Great food, atmosphere, and service. We definitely will be return guests."

With an endorsement like that, what's stopping you from running out to Johnny's right now? :)

Wednesday, February 24, 2010

Shrimp Plate



Fried, Grilled, or Blackened- order your "barbecuer's dozen" (that's 13 shrimp!) whichever way is going to make you the happiest. I find myself at a loss to recommend which way I liked the most, so I guess this is a decision you're going to have to make for yourself! No matter how he cooks them, Johnny's shrimp retain that perfect, fresh-seafood feel that will have you coming back for more.

My shrimp were perfectly paired with sides of cool pasta salad and steaming french fries. Like his mac 'n cheese, Johnny's pasta salad is all about the fixins. The pasta noodles themselves are plentiful and delicious but, more importantly, tomatoes, olives, and a healthy dose of seasonings abound in this dish. The moment these tangy noodles hit your tastebuds, there's no mistaking this pasta salad from anything but an original, homemade JMS creation.

As for the fries, not a bit of sogginess in sight. Normal fries might have turned to mush while waiting for me to finish taking pictures of this spread. Not so with Johnny's fries. These amazing wedges of potato are fried to a perfect golden-red on the outside while still retaining their flaky white insides. I'm certain you won't find any other fries that start out so delicious and stay that way, even after sitting out.



Friday, February 19, 2010

More From the Guestbook

Here's another fun quote from the guestbook.

"Fabulous! We'll be back. Loved the brisket quesadillas, hash-browns, and Coca-Cola cake."

I haven't tried the Coca-Cola cake yet, but you may have noticed that brisket quesadillas are one of my favorites too :)

Wednesday, February 17, 2010

Fish Filet




For those of you who have been waiting with bated breath for this post, thanks for your patience! Today, I’m going to try to relive yesterday’s experience of fried fish filet, mac n’ cheese, and onion nibs.


Johnny’s fish filet is available fried, grilled or blackened. I highly recommend trying this fish, even if you’re not normally a seafood lover. Johnny’s fish filet is firm and flaky, without a fishy aftertaste. The fried filet was deliciously breaded but wasn’t drowning in grease. This is a very hearty serving! I had to save half my filet for later.


Onion nibs and mac n’ cheese were the perfect complement for this filet. The nibs are just the right size for dipping and popping into your mouth. The outsides were just the right amount of crusty while the onion inside stayed firm and tasty.


As for the mac n’ cheese, it may be my new favorite side dish. The large noodles were smothered in different cheeses and creamier than you can imagine. At times, I would spear a chunk and debate whether I was eating pure cheese or if a noodle was buried somewhere in there! Johnny makes each dish o mac n’ cheese to order so that it will be as creamy as possible and won’t get crusty from sitting around. This dish is great for anyone who loves mac n’ cheese. Because none of the cheeses have too much of a bite, I would also recommend it to picky eaters.



Now for some fun facts about JMS fish. I noticed that the menu doesn’t specify exactly what type of fish this is so I asked Jill about it. I had no idea it would turn out to be such an involved story!


About two years ago, Red Lobster got in trouble for selling fish that they called sea bass but that turned out to be another type of fish entirely. Restaurants everywhere panicked as they realized that even if they were ordering sea bass from their distributors, they may not have actually been getting sea bass. Because the demand for sea bass was so great, distributors had been substituting other fish without telling their buyers.


Concerned, Jill read all the fine print on the fish packages ordered by JMS and found that JMS wasn’t getting sea bass either. Johnny’s made the switch to real sea bass, only to find that their customers hated it. Real sea bass was much fishier and not as delicious as the unknown substitute supplied by the distributor.


As part of her constant effort to make her customers as happy as possible, Jill began researching the “fake” sea bass that Johnny’s had previously used. She found that the original “sea bass” was actually panga (also called swai). Panga is an Indonesian freshwater fish. Like all meat at JMS, this panga is ordered from Buckhead Beef. Buckhead Beef has American-owned holdings around the would to ensure that their meat is the highest quality available. The panga used by JMS is raised in woven river cages so that fresh water is rushing past the fish at all times. Jill calls panga “a wholesome fish raised on a wholesome diet.”


Even if you’re not a fan of seafood, at least give this exquisite fish filet a chance!


Check out more photos on Facebook :)

Tuesday, February 16, 2010

You Missed It!

If you didn't make it to Johnny's today, you missed some amazing specials!


Soup of the Day: Chicken Vegetable

Special Dessert: Mardi Gras Bread Pudding


Johnny says his chicken vegetable soup is good for the soul and I quite agree. The smooth yet flavorful broth, yummy chunks of chicken, and a healthy dose of vegetables make for a soup that will fill your stomach and warm your heart.


In honor of Mardi Gras, Jill put together this very special bread pudding. Unlike other bread puddings I’ve had, it wasn’t mushy! This was a special dish for today only. Recommendation: beg Jill to make it again next year!


In the mean time, be sure to visit Johnny’s often so you won’t miss out on other very special daily specials.



Check back later for photos and a post about the fish filet with onion nibs and mac n' cheese!

Saturday, February 13, 2010

Winter Wine Dinner



I had such an exciting evening yesterday! I’m posting this around lunchtime so that you’ll be able to sit down and eat as you read about last night’s lovely Winter Wine Dinner. Remember: the Smokehouse is open on Saturdays. If your PB&J sandwich suddenly isn’t cutting it, treat yourself to lunch (or dinner) at Johnny’s!


The Pairings:

Amusé: Croquette filled with brisket and two cheeses

Appetizer: Seared Scallop and Shrimp on Lobster Cream; served with Noblissimo Pino Grigio

Entrée: Beef Filet with Peppercorn Reduction, Potato Gratin, and Green Beans; served with Napa Cellars Zinfandel

Dessert: Chocolate Cherry Cobbler and Vanilla Ice Cream; served with Solaire (Cabernet Sauvignon) by Robert Mondovi


Now that your mouth is watering, let me assure you that each dish was just as amazing as it sounds.


I’m already voting to make last night’s amusé a permanent part of the JMS menu. I’m beginning to realize that I love brisket more than anything else in the world. Combining brisket with cheese resulted in a delicious puffball reminiscent of a crab cake but with that extra yummy briskety essence.


As for the appetizer, I was only sad that I didn’t have a spoon with which to scoop up every last bit of lobster cream. Johnny’s scallops were perfectly cooked and the texture of the shrimp somehow accentuated the subtle flavors of the cream.


This menu was exquisitely balanced so that I wasn’t full by the time my beef filet arrived. Good thing because I think my heart would have broken if I hadn’t been able to do justice to this amazing entrée. Not only was the beef perfectly tender, the potatoes were exactly as they ought to be. However, for me, the green beans truly stole the show. Not only were they the most photogenic, but they were also crisp and buttery, delightful yet irrefutably healthy.


The chocolate cherry cobbler was a delicious cap to a lovely evening. I never pass up a chance for chocolate and the cherries were such a nice surprise!


Bottom line: sign up for the next wine dinner! I *promise* you won’t regret it.


Check out Facebook for more pictures! This is the first time I’ve photographed so much food in one sitting but I think these pics still give you a great feeling for how attractive and delicious JMS food is.

Friday, February 12, 2010

Fun Quote From the Guestbook

I thought I would spice things up a little bit by posting quotes from the guestbook at Johnny's. We'll see how it goes but here's the first one:

“The brisket is like meat-flavored cotton candy! Melts in your mouth!”

Also, don't miss tomorrow's post about tonight's Winter Wine Dinner!

Thursday, February 11, 2010

Ribeye



I’ve spent the last two days bouncing ideas around in my head, trying to find the best words to explain exactly how uniquely amazing Johnny’s ribeye is. So far, I’ve had no great inspirations. I guess you’re stuck with me just giving it my best shot. If worst comes to worst, you may have to go to Johnny’s and sample this juicy sucker yourself!

First, I had Jill and Johnny explain to me just how special this cut of meat is. While I have confidence that Johnny can transform anything from just average to absolutely amazing, knowing the quality of his ingredients helps me understand how he churns out perfection each and every time.

I learned that ribeye is considered one of the choicest cuts of beef. Delmonico ribeye is truly the cream of the crop: it is cut from the center of the ribeye and is possibly the best piece of the entire cow. Delmonico ribeye captures all the amazing tenderness of typical ribeye but eliminates the fat around the edges. This means that a 16 oz Delmonico ribeye is an entire 16 ounces of juicy, waiting-to-be-eaten meat.

Knowing all of this, I shouldn’t have been surprised when I cut into my steak and savored a bite of what every piece of beef should taste like. It’s always nice to realize that once again Johnny has created a masterpiece better than anything I’ve ever had before.


The ribeye is served with two sides; I had a green salad and hashbrowns.

The salad is a very straightforward bowl of mixed greens. The best thing about it: no iceberg lettuce! This mix of field greens and spinach is not only delicious but actually has some nutritional value.

The hashbrowns were a quintessential example of a Johnny Mitchell’s Smokehouse surprise. When you see them on the menu, you wonder what on earth hashbrowns have to do with barbecue. When you see them on your plate you realize that “hashbrowns” is way too simple a word to describe them. You wonder if any word could adequately describe this garlic parmesan potato cuts. The answer is no: a thousand words can’t tell you what makes these potatoes so special. A thousand pictures can give you an inkling. The only word that truly describe these hashbrowns is the knee-jerk “mmmm” that you can’t help but utter after you take your first bite of these beauties. How do you put that on

a menu?



More photos of ribeye and friends on Facebook!


Warning: viewing photos of ribeye, salad, and garlic parmesan hashbrowns

may cause an uncontrollable desire to run to JMS and order steak immediately.




Tuesday, February 9, 2010

Hot Wings



Another delicious week at Johnny Mitchell’s Smokehouse! I’m getting sick of this rainy weather and was glad to forget my troubles while sampling some amazing food!

Lucky dog that I am, I chowed down on hot wings. At parties, I usually avoid wings. I’d rather chat with my friends while eating something a bit less messy.

Today, with homemade wing sauce coating each and every one of my fingers, I realized I’ve got to make a point of breaking that habit. Like Johnny’s ribs, these wings are worth the effort! The hot wings had just enough zing to make me sit and pay attention but weren’t overpowering. The blue cheese dipping sauce that Jill brought out was the perfect complement to their spiciness.


Don’t forget: it’s homemade! Johnny and Jill make their wing sauce, dipping sauces, and salad dressings in-house from only the best ingredients. Jill admits that she finds herself turning up her nose at grocery store sour cream and mayonnaise because she’s so used to the high-quality ingredients used at the smokehouse.


This week I was in for a very special treat: two dishes. In addition to the wings, I also sampled Johnny’s ribeye with hashbrowns and a salad. Check back on Thursday for my description of this amazing hunk of meat.



And, of course, more photos on Facebook!

Tuesday, February 2, 2010

Crab Cakes





I would say that the outside temperature today was more than a little bit chilly. Fortunately for me, it’s Tuesday and I spent the afternoon lounging inside the warmth of Johnny Mitchell’s Smokehouse. I was super excited about today’s appetizer: crab cakes. With all the distractions like brisket and chicken salad, I had never had Johnny’s crab cakes before.

The two crab cakes are a combination of lump and claw meat. Johnny says his philosophy about crab cakes is to “KISS it” (keep it simple stupid). The crab cakes are as much meat as possible, skipping the additives like potato or bread crumb, which are usually used to make crab cakes. JMS crab cakes are just crab, spices, and a bit of red bell pepper. They’re served on a bed of spring greens with pico de gallo, corn salsa, a lemon wedge, and smokehouse sauce.

This presentation makes for a pretty platter of food, and it even tastes delicious. I can’t call myself a crab cake connoisseur but Johnny’s seem to have the perfect crabby texture and flavor.

Hooray for another culinary triumph that I delighted in eating!


What are crab cakes doing in a barbeque restaurant?

First of all, Jill says that crab cakes are one of her favorite foods and she always wants them on the menu for that reason. Secondly, Jill has a large painting of a crab that she has hung on the back wall of the restaurant. She loves that crab painting but says she feels she has to have crab cakes on the menu to justify keeping the painting up. She thinks everything should be connected, and wi

thout crab cakes that painting would be sorely out of place. What a great combination of love and logic!



Check out more photos on Facebook!





Jill's favorite painting: "Meet the Chef" by local artist Keith Lewis


Johnny Mitchell's Smokehouse On Facebook