We’ve encountered a lot of crazy food ideas in our travels. Some have become regular practices, like having breakfast at other meals. Others have shown us how to combine interesting tastes and cross-cultural flavors in new and unique ways. We thought that it would be fun to take a look at some of the mixed up meals we’ve tried along the way and share some of the best with you. Maybe it will even get your own creative juices flowing to spur you on in trying your own brand of mixed up meal. While we love cold pizza or Chinese lefties for breakfast, here are a few of our favorite Mixed Up Meals discoveries.
Poutine is a favorite Canadian treat, with some combination of meat, potato fries, cheese curds and gravy. Put that combination on top of a hand thrown pizza crust, and you’ve got one hearty, surprisingly tasty meal. Here’s the roasted duck poutine pizza we tasted at Bannock restaurant in Toronto, Ontario.
We’re always thrilled when we try something we’ve never had before, and the bibimbap burrito at Graze in Madison, Wisconsin both surprised and delighted us. An inspired Aisan-Mexican combination, the crispy rice surprises along with ground pork or tofu, a sunny-side-up egg, veggies and spicy gochujang. If you’re looking for something deliciously different, this is it.
One of our favorite combos anytime of day is bacon and eggs. Who better to work wonders with such time-tested ingredients than the French? The Salad Lyonnaise, combining pork lardons (big juicy chunks of bacon) with a poached egg, served atop some delicious salad greens is is one way we like to carry the a bacon and eggs theme throughout the day. This one from our friends at Le Bouchon of Chicago, Illinois.
If you’re a fan of Japanese cuisine, you know that breakfast often includes many savory foods. But you might also find this twist a little intriguing…fruit sushi! That’s right. We saw this idea by one of the chefs competing in the Hyatt’s Good Taste Series of culinary competitions.
And, speaking of breakfast, if you like pasta, you might be interested in a breakfast twist that we used to get all the time at Hugo’s restaurant in Los Angeles. Called Pasta Mama, its fresh pasta scrambled with eggs, garlic, parsley, and parmesan cheese. If you’re a carnivore and like the idea, there’s Pasta Papa with bacon, turkey sausage & scallions too. Or, if you want a truly Italian approach, try a carbonara that includes a bit of pancetta or slab bacon. Mama mia, what a way to start the day!
One way to find a new twist is to think outside the bun. That’s how we discovered this delicious hamburger crepe. Yes, we said it. Gruyere cheese, grilled onions, and a big juicy beef burger stuffed inside a delicious French crepe at La Bonne Crepe on Las Olas Boulevard in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida.
While bagels have made their way from breakfast side dish to sandwich staple, we have seen some other carb delights that need to step out into the limelight for their versatility. Chief among these is the Bavarian Pretzel. Yes, you hear it. Chocolate covered, stuffed with garlic butter, covered in cheese…these are just a few of the many wonderful ways we’ve seen them made. These are just a few from one of our visits to the Christmas Market in Frankfurt, Germany.
So from poutine pizza and barbeque pork eggs Benedict
to ramen burgers
or fishcakes and kedgeree…and beyond, we invite you to explore more tastes at more times with no limits.
Share your favorite Mixed Up Meals with us in the comment section below.
THE QUICK BITE: We’ve encountered a lot of crazy food ideas in our travels. We thought that it would be fun to take a look at some of the mixed up meals we’ve tried along the way and share some of the best with you.
Hmmm lots of interesting choices! I had an interesting mixed up meal in Korea. Budae jjigae is a soup that originated after the Korean war when there was a shortage of food. Surplus food from army bases (hot dogs and SPAM) were made into a soup with kimchi, and noodles. It’s still a popular comfort food.
These are inspirational, Sue. We eat mixed-up meals all the time, but they are usually a meal made of dishes from various Asian countries, seldom crossing the east-west line. I am especially intrigued by the Korea-Mexico combo of bibimbap burrito, and would love to give that a try!
Mr. Excitement came home with a sushi burrito the other day. The weirdest I’ve gone is a Philly cheese steak wrap. Please don’t tell anyone from Philadelphia that I ordered this or I might get drummed out of the tribe.
Ramen burgers? Hmmmm….I’ll have to think about that. I LOVE lardons. Whenever I am in France I cook up a pasta meal with lardons. (Sounds so much better than “bacon”). I’ll have to think about my favourite Mixed-Up meal. Maybe I’m a boring eater. 🙂