Category: Recipes

Food Review: El Sur in SOMA

I’ve been wanting to try El Sur for a while now, and I finally got to around lunch time on Sunday. Here’s the breakdown:

Environment:

El Sur has a great clean and open space. You walk in and order at the counter, then they bring your food to the table or seat at the bar you choose. Water and cups are available for free at the bar, as well as some sauces you can put in cups to bring to your table. My favorite thing, however, was the fresh flowers cutely vased at each table.

Menu and Food

Their menu is found here on their website. Full of many different Honduran and other Latin American foods that you can’t find in many places around central Arkansas, it was hard to pick! I really wanted to try the fried yucca (I know I love that), pupusas, and the pollo chuco.


However, it was brunch time and I felt like I should try something I can only get once a week there. So, we ordered the Torrejas, Honduran French toasts simmered in syprup from dulce de caña, topped with orange zest and choice of two eggs.

The chorizo and eggs we chose were perfect- flavorful, but not too greasy. You can’t go wrong here. The French toast was plentiful and smelled amazing with citrus. If you like your french toast soggy, you’re going to love this. Unfortunately, I do not. So, this wasn’t my favorite dish and I had big regrets not ordering the Pollo Chuco.

On the specials board, the Salpicon sounded amazing and a lighter dish would help level out our meal of French toast. So, the decision was made.

In all honesty, I was a little disappointed when the dish was placed at my table. It looked pretty bland. However, I poured the sauce it came with over it all, as well as a mild and hot sauce from the front counter and everything was pretty good! There’s a great citrus flavor in the beef, though the texture is more like canned tuna, so it threw me off a little. While I enjoyed this, I was still deeply regretting not getting one of the items on the menu I know will be good, like the pupusas.

Overall, I think I need to give this place a second chance with its most popular dishes rather than trying ones that are only available that day. So, if you’ve had any dish there that I MUST try because it is so good, please comment and let me know!

What’s for Dinner? Tender, Juicy, Honey- Garlic Pork Chops

I have finally found a boneless pork chop recipe that is fool-proof. Always juicy and tender and full of flavor. I’ve never been a fan of boneless pork chops because they are so easily dried out. However, this one is now a staple in my home. I love it! And it’s pretty quick to be so fancy. Win-win!

I’ve been making it with all different sides: garlic soy green beans, salad, mashed parsnips or potatoes. It goes with just about anything. So, give it a try and let me know what you think!

Ingredients:

For marinade:
-2 tablespoons lemon juice
-2 tablespoons olive oil
-1 clove garlic, minced. (Or one tablespoon of pre-minced garlic)

For the rest:
-2 boneless pork chops (bone in is fine, too!)
-salt and pepper, to season
-2 tablespoons butter
-4 cloves garlic, minced. (Or 4 tablespoons of pre-minced garlic)
-1/4 cup honey
-1/4 cup chicken broth
-2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar (or any white vinegar or apple cider vinegar)
-1 tablespoon soy/ tamari sauce

Directions:
1. Add olive oil, lemon juice, and 2 cloves garlic in a ziploc or container and mix. Add chops, making sure they are covered all over. Refrigerate for at least an hour.
2. In a cast iron skillet, or other oven-safe skillet, heat on medium high.
3. Remove from and wipe off all marinade from the pork chops. Salt and pepper liberally.
4. Sear the fat side of the chops first, until brown. (About 2 minutes) You’ll probably have to hold them up here with tongs.
5. Cook the two main sides of the chops until brown, about 3-4 minutes. Remove from heat.
6. Add the butter and garlic until the garlic starts to brown (About 1 minute). Scrape off any good bits on the bottom.
7. Add the honey, chicken broth, vinegar, and soy sauce. Stir occasionally until the sauce is thick. (About 4-5 minutes)
8. Add the chops back to the pan, making sure to cover them in the sauce.
9. On high broil, add the pan to the oven for 2 minutes, or until slightly charred.

Tender, Juicy, Honey- Garlic Pork Chops

5 from 1 vote
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 1 hour
Cook Time 10 hours
Course Main Course
Cuisine American, Chinese
Servings 2

Ingredients
  

  • 2 boneless pork chops bone is fine, too!
  • 2 tbsp lemon juice
  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 5 garlic clove, minced
  • 2 tbsp butter
  • 1/4 cup honey
  • 1/4 cup chicken broth
  • 2 tbsp rice wine vinegar or any white vinegar or apple cider vinegar
  • 1 tbsp soy or tamari sauce

Instructions
 

  • Add olive oil, lemon juice, and 2 cloves garlic in a ziploc or container and mix. Add chops, making sure they are covered all over. Refrigerate for at least an hour.
  • In a cast iron skillet, or other oven-safe skillet, heat on medium high.
  • Remove from and wipe off all marinade from the pork chops. Salt and pepper liberally.
  • Sear the fat side of the chops first, until brown. (About 2 minutes) You'll probably have to hold them up here with tongs.
  • Cook the two main sides of the chops until brown, about 3-4 minutes. Remove from heat.
  • Add the butter and garlic until the garlic starts to brown (About 1 minute). Scrape off any good bits on the bottom.
  • Add the honey, chicken broth, vinegar, and soy sauce. Stir occasionally until the sauce is thick. (About 4-5 minutes)
  • Add the chops back to the pan, making sure to cover them in the sauce.
  • On high broil, add the pan to the oven for 2 minutes, or until slightly charred.

Video

Keyword honey, garlic, pork chop, tender, juicy, pork, boneless, soy sauce