Zorba's: Grand Reopening in the Works?

Driving down Green Street the other day, this is what I saw. THE ZORBA'S SIGN IS BACK! And it looks like work is being done inside!

As you may know, a raging fire engulfed the building in which the gyros palace-cum-jazz club was housed—what? A couple of months ago? Afterward, in an article in the News-Gazette, the owner expressed uncertainty about whether or not Zorba's would be able to reopen, because of the extensive damage and the costs involved in rebuilding.

It looks as if there might be cause for celebration. Now, not being a real reporter, I don't have any official word on the matter. I'll leave that to, oh, Christine des Garennes, say. But unofficially? It looks promising.

Zorba's, we're rooting for you, and we hope you reopen soon!

From the Pantry: Black Dog Smokehouse Rub

News flash: It's not only little girls that are made of sugar and spice and everything nice.

Did you know you can purchase the rub that the smoke masters at the Black Dog in Urbana use to make their tasty barbecue, and thereby replicate that 'cue in your own backyard? It's true. Just ask your waitperson or the bartender for it next time you're at the BD, fork over six bucks (a decent price for the large, 5.7-ounce jar), and you'll be the proud owner of their secret seasoning blend.

Well, it's not totally secret. According to the ingredient list, there's the aforementioned sugar in there, and in the spice department, there's paprika, sea salt, onion salt, celery salt, cayenne pepper, chili powder, chipotle powder, lemon pepper . . . and "spices." That's the secret part. You didn't think they were going to tell you every single thing that goes into their rub, did you??

In any case, I recommend getting some BD seasoning mix now that grilling/smoking season is nearly upon us. Keith and I rubbed some rub on back ribs recently, and we didn't even do them on the grill, as it was kind of chilly outside. We let the rub sit on the ribs for some hours, then we roasted those babies in the oven at 275 °F for a little over an hour and a half, and they were maybe the best ribs we've ever made. The flavor was great, and the sugar in the rub resulted in some caramelization, plus the meat was extremely tender.

You can use the BD rub on pork, beef, chicken, fish—heck, massage it into your tennis shoes and grill those, I bet they'd turn out finger-lickin' good. I look forward to using this stuff all season long. Thanks to the Black Dog for sharing. Now, if I could just replicate their Texas-sized, wood-fired smoker...

That's it from the pantry for now. See you soon with another must-have item from around C-U for your cupboard or fridge.

Quick Bite: Chicken Salad at Holy Land Mediterranean Grill

Update: I'm sorry to report that Holy Land is no more. The restaurant closed in the summer of 2011—not long after this post appeared. -Lisa

Though summer doesn't officially start for a month and a half, we're getting quite a sneak preview now, aren't we? A very nice thing for hot and humid days is this salad from Holy Land on Neil Street.

The base is HL's house salad, which the menu says is made with chopped romaine lettuce, cucumbers, tomatoes, and scallions and is dressed with olive oil and lemon juice. All that is true, but the cook does his own thing at HL, so when I got this salad the other day it also included tasty black olives and red onions. The salad is then topped with chunks of tender and succulent grilled chicken (one shish tawook, or skewer of chicken). It's a large plate of salad and very filling for $6.99.

If you want to be like me, you can have a small dish of hummus on the side ($3.99). Ordering hummus gets you pita bread, as well (Holy Land, please do something about your pita! Last time I was there it was stale and had been microwaved in an attempt to bring it back to life—which only made matters worse, as within minutes it became hard and dry). I love HL's hummus, topped, as it is, with sumac and olive oil. The combination of that and the chicken salad is just about perfect.

Other salads include tabbouleh, fatoush (highly recommended—there's mint in that one and pita croutons, $4.99), Greek salad (a very good Greek salad with kalamata olives and feta for $5.99), and tahini salad.

You can dine in at Holy Land or call in an order for takeout. If you eat in, you can watch Middle Eastern music videos and drink Arabic tea or American Coke (or Orange Crush!) while you wait for your food to come.

Holy Land Mediterranean Grill
705 North Neil Street
Champaign, IL
217-355-0599
Open 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily
Credit/debit cards accepted

Nancy Clark Recipe App Now Available

Since C-U hosted a marathon last weekend, and thus we're all feeling like, "hey, with the proper training and motivation, I could do that," I think it's an appropriate time to tell you about a new iPhone app called Nancy Clark's Recipes for Athletes. Because whether you're thinking marathon, half-marathon, 10K, or 5K—or whether you'd just like to work up to taking yourself out for a walk every day, it's never to early (or too late!) to start training.

The Recipes for Athletes app may help you in your quest. This app was produced by a company called Human Kinetics, which is based right here in Champaign, Illinois, and has subsidiaries around the world. I happen to work for the company, and I even played a small part in the creation of the app (I took some of the photos).

Nancy Clark's Sports Nutrition Guidebook is the basis for the app. The book includes a ton of valuable info and tips for healthy eating in general and eating to fuel your workouts specifically. It also addresses some of the myths and misinformation related to diet, exercise, and weight loss and provides sane advice about listening to your body instead of to numbers, scores, tests, advertisements, and the like. Who is this Nancy Clark, you ask? You can find out more about her on her website.

The Sports Nutrition Guidebook has a recipes section, and this is where the app comes in—the app gives you ALL of the recipes from the book (71 total) in a portable, easy-to-check-while-at-the-grocery-store format. The recipes cover breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snacks, as well as beverages.

I particularly like Nancy's recipe for a homemade sports drink (think homemade Gatorade). It's super easy to put together, it tastes better than the commercial sports drinks I've tried—which isn't surprising, as it has fresh, natural ingredients in it rather than stuff you can't pronounce—and it's very economical.

Another recipe from the book and app that I like a lot is the one for Nancy's version of salmon cakes. The cakes come together quickly and easily (quick and easy being the hallmark of all the recipes in the book and app), they taste great, and they provide a healthy balance of protein, carbs, and fats.

Simple Salmon Patties
From Nancy Clark's Sports Nutrition Guidebook and the Nancy Clark's Recipes for Athletes iPhone/iPad app

Headnote to the recipe: "These salmon patties are made with canned salmon, an inexpensive source of healh-protective omega-3 fat. Enjoy them with Pasta with Spinach and Feta or with brown rice and a green vegetable for a complete meal."

1 14-ounce (420 g) can pink salmon, drained and flaked (remove the skin, but keep the bones for added calcium)
1 cup (70 g) crushed whole-wheat saltine crackers or bread crumbs
1 egg or egg substitute, slightly beaten
1 cup (150 g) diced bell pepper, green or red
1/2 diced onion, preferably a sweet onion such as a Vidalia
1/4 cup (60 ml) milk, preferably low fat
Lemon pepper or black pepper, as desired
1 to 2 tablespoons olive or canola oil, for cooking

Optional: 1 teaspoon Worcestershire or soy sauce; dash of hot pepper sauce; 1/2 teaspoon dried dill or 2 teaspoons chopped fresh dill

In a large bowl, stir together salmon, cracker or bread crumbs, egg, bell pepper, and onion. Mix in milk (and Worcestershire sauce and hot pepper sauce, as desired). Add lemon pepper or black pepper (and dill, if desired), and mix well with your hands. Lightly press the mixture into 8 patties.

Heat oil in a large skillet on medium heat. Once oil is hot, place the patties in the pan and cook on both sides until lightly browned, about 3 to 5 minutes.

Yield: 4 servings (8 patties)
Nutrition info: 300 calories per serving (2 patties); 24 g carbohydrate; 27 g protein; 11 g fat (2 g omega-3)
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Now, I cannot tell a lie, so I will admit that I used (white) panko instead of whole-wheat cracker or bread crumbs and whole milk instead of low fat. But the patties still seemed vibrantly healthy! Ha. Also, I added some Old Bay seasoning to the mix, used the Worcestershire and hot pepper sauces and the fresh dill, and served the patties with wedges of fresh lemon. Mm, mm, good.

Another recipe that has become a staple around our house is Nancy's Mustard Dill Salmon, which takes virtually NO prep time and is a great way to get your omega-3s, or omega-6s, or beta-whatevers. But more important, it's a weeknight-friendly, delicious dish.

Pasta with Spinach and Garbanzo Beans was a keeper, as well. I added leftover roasted chicken to the dish, since I had it around. Again—quick and easy to whip up, and the leftovers made great take-to-work lunches.

The app also has a recipe for a little number called Oven French Fries (photo courtesy of Holly Gilly) that I want to try ASAP. A potato, some olive oil, sea salt, and fresh pepper come together to produce an elegantly simple, guilt-free potato snack. In the recipe, Nancy shares a tip for making them extra crispy outside and tender inside.

What's nice about these recipes is that though they're targeted for beginning cooks and people who don't want to invest much time or energy in creating meals, experienced cooks can modify and gourmet-up the dishes as desired.

The app is also nice because using the Quick Find feature, you can search for recipes in specific categories. I just did a search for gluten-free recipes and found that there are 32 of them. As well as 22 vegan-friendly recipes, 47 that are (or can be made) vegetarian, and 36 that are totally free of dairy products! My esteemed life partner wanted to know why there's not a Beef Lovers search category, so I had to point out that there's an entire Beef and Pork section in the recipes list. Whew—thanks, Nancy. That was close.

Oh, and you can set the app to show either imperial or metric measurements (you do that in your iPhone, iPod Touch, or iPad's Settings area; click on Settings on the home screen, scroll down to the Apps section, click on Nancy Clark, and touch either Imperial or Metric).

But Lisa, you moan, I don't have an iPod, iPhone, iPad, or iAnything! Don't worry, there's a product called a printed book that you can buy, and it has all the recipes the app has. (You can purchase the e-book instead if you're a little bit high-tech.)

Gotta run. Having downed my Nancy Clark Fruit Smoothie and chomped on some homemade Honey Nut Granola, I'm out the door for a quick 10-mile jog. Yeah, right. I'm just hoping to fit in a 20-minute walk later. I may not actually be an athlete, but thanks to Ms. Clark's app, I can at least eat like one on occasion.