3 courses of food paired with 6 different wines – Only $30 per person

Saturday April 21st, 2012 at 1PM | Call the restaurant to make your reservations today, space is limited.  801-825-2502

By far one of the most popular specials we’ve ever offered is back!

Buy $100 in Gift Cards and receive $80 in Gift Certificates for FREE!

Packet of four (4) $20 gift certificates, one for every season in 2012!

Purchase $100 worth of Corbin’s Gift Cards (in any denomination) you’d like, and we’ll give you one gift pack for every $100 you purchase.  It’s a great deal for you and a great deal for us, everybody is happy!

Oh, and did I mention that you are welcome to use Gift Cards to pay for our Cooking Classes?  Our cooking classes make the PERFECT Holiday Date Idea and just in time for the holidays we’ve opened reservations for TWO classes in January!

Cooking Classes by Corbin’s Grille

Rules & Restrictions
*Free Gift Cards come in a booklet of four (4) $20 Certificates – one for every quarter in 2012.

Promotion valid while supplies last. We reserve the right to make adjustments or changes to this promotion at any time without notice (though we have no current plans to do so).  FREE $80 Promotional Gift Packet has no cash value, cannot be used for alcohol (by state law) and when redeemed they cannot be combined with other offers. Redemption is limited to one per table, per visit.

10 FREE Shark Burgers Every Week in July!

Giving 10 away all 4 weeks in July 2011

I remember when I was in grade school every fourth of July I’d get an unexplainable sense of reverence for the amazing gift that I feel this country has been to my life. I don’t mean to sound like a braggart or anything to people from other countries, nor do I think our government perfect… far from it actually… but the gift our Founding Fathers gave to us was an amazing one.  A government where the people ruled instead of the royalty.

In celebration of that gift we’re giving away a gift of our own, 40 of them to be more precise!

40 Free Shark Burgers

Equals plenty of chances to win!

Every week in July 2011 TEN lucky winners will receive an invitation for lunch on us, we recommend the Shark Burger…

Wood Fired Shark Burger

Fillet of shark (we know it’s real because we hand slice the fillet ourselves) on a toasted bun with pepperjack cheese, lettuce, tomato and chipotle mayo.  Served with Parmesan Steak Fries.

Heck, we’ll also throw in a refillable Corbin’s Lemonade for FREE, we squeeze the fresh lemons every day for our homemade recipe.

Entering is as Easy as…

Commenting on our Facebook Page – literally.

Visit our facebook page at www.facebook.com/corbinsgrille and leave a comment, tag us in a photo or participate with our fan page in any way shape or form and you might be selected as one of that week’s winners!   It’s as easy as that.  Look for the special post each week to comment on if you don’t know where to do it.

Don’t have Facebook?  That’s ok, you can also leave a comment on this blog post and we’ll include you in the random drawing.  It’s that easy!

Why are you still reading?  Get over to www.facebook.com/corbinsgrille and leave a comment right now!

More details…

and fine print.

We reserve the right to change, modify, alter, adjust or cancel this contest at anytime, for any (or no) reason, at our sole discretion… though we have no plans of doing so.  If you are chosen as a winner you will be able to claim your prize anytime during regular lunch hours during July or August.  Dine-In Only.  No Cash Value.  Non-transferable.  Not valid with other discounts or promotions, one per table.  If you don’t like the sounds of a Shark burger you can substitute it for any lunch entree of equal or lesser value. If you don’t love fresh squeezed lemonade you can have a ice cold soda of your choice instead.  We’re cool like that.  Enter (by commenting on different posts, photos or tagging us) as much as you’d like.  The more you do so the better odds you’ll win.  No purchase necessary to enter.

I hadn’t eaten our crab cakes in probably two years, until just a couple weeks ago I came in for lunch with friends and they placed an order.  It was like having a crab cake for the very first time. I seriously was surprised at how good they were, which is weird because I should have already known!

So what’s the secret?  Well I can’t really tell you that, but I do happen to have our recipe book in front of me right now… allow me to give you a run down of some of the ingredients we use to make our deliciously cakes with the perfect blend of moist and flakey.  First we start with two kinds of crab meat, bread crumbs, five different types of seasoning and spices, fresh red bell peppers, fresh celery, fresh yellow onions, fresh green onions and a touch of worcestershire sauce.

The crab cakes are oven-baked to order (they never see a microwave) in a sizzling pan with a touch of butter, served with fresh Jicama Cucumber Slaw and a drizzling of our home-made remoulade (a slightly spicy version of mayonnaise).

Served as an appetizer for lunch or dinner the crab cakes definitely qualify as a dish you absolutely must try!

A Miracle Food?

Here’s a pop quiz, can you name a country that had  32% less cases of heart disease than the United States (in 2005) but who’s average citizen eats 42 times more olive oil as the average person in the U.S.?  The answer is Greece!  Furthermore, every one of the top three countries in Olive Oil consumption (Italy, Spain and Greece) have significantly lower cases of heart disease than the U.S.. I know that doesn’t necessarily have anything  to do with eating Olive Oil but consider this:

• Monounsaturated fats (the good kind of fat) in olive oil may help regulate cholesterol levels in the blood
• Olive Oil contains one of the most powerful antioxidants (DHPEA-EDA), which protects red-blood cells from damage
• Studies have shown that people that eat olive oil high in polyphenols  (like Virgin and Extra Virgin Olive Oils) have more elasticity in their arteries than people that eat olive oil with lower concentrations of polyphenols

Navigating the Olive Oil Labels

Buying Olive Oil at the grocery store can be a bit intimidating.  There are dozens of Olive Oils from several countries with labels that say things like 100% Pure Olive Oil, Virgin, Extra Virgin all with dramatically different prices.  I thought I’d help by first letting you know what the different terms mean, and I’ll also tell you why you should be very careful buying Olive Oil produced or packaged in the United States!

Extra Virgin

Extra Virgin Olive Oil has the most flavor, the most anti-oxidants, and the least amount of acid.  The reason is simple, the more times you press an olive the more acid you get out of it, so extra virgin oil comes from the first or second pressing of an olive. Use this type for salad dressings, vinaigrette, bread dipping, and drizzling over side dishes.

Virgin

Virgin Olive Oil has a bit more acid, a bit less flavor and anti-oxidants.  The quality is still good though, just not the absolute best of the best. Use this less flavorful, and less expensive oil for cooking.

100% Pure Olive Oil, and Everything else!

Don’t be fooled, “100% Pure Olive Oil” is used for the absolute lowest qualities of Olive Oil, usually containing much more acid than Virgin Olive Oil, significantly lower anti-oxidants and a very low flavor profile.  Unless you’re using it for frying I would pretty much avoid buying anything in this category.

Be Extra Careful about buying Olive Oil made in the U.S.A.!

As very patriotic individual it pains me to say this but as far as Olive Oil is concerned the U.S.A. needs to get their act together!  The United States is one of the few (and largest) Olive Oil producing countries that is not a signee of the International Olive Oil Council and it’s the I.O.O.C. that tests and regulates which olive oils can be labeled “Virgin” or “Extra Virgin.”

What does that all mean?  Well, in a nutshell an olive oil produced in the U.S. can legally put “Extra Virgin” or “Virgin” on the label of any olive oil they produce regardless of the acidity or anti-oxidant level. If you’ve read this far you can already see why that could be a pretty big problem for you, the consumer, when trying to make an informed decision on the type of Olive Oil to buy!

There is a solution though, The California Olive Oil Council provides a way for Olive Oil Producers to submit their Olive Oil for testing and certification, so before trusting the label of a U.S. made Olive Oil look for the C.O.O.C. seal and you should be just fine!

Ideas for Eating More Olive Oil at home or at Corbin’s Grille!

Request it during Bread Service!

We serve our delicious Garlic Butter with our loaf of sourdough bread when you dine at Corbin’s Grille for dinner (bread service is on-request only during lunch) but did you know that you are welcome to request Olive Oil and Vinegar instead?  Try it next time, but if it gets too popular you may have to wait your turn since we only have a handful of containers suitable for use at the table.

Try Our Home-Made Vinaigrette Dressings

We make all our own dressings and our Citrus Vinaigrette, Raspberry Vinaigrette, and Balsamic Vinaigrette use more Olive Oil than the rest of our dressings.

Do an Olive Oil Tasting

Olive Oil Tastings are starting to become very popular at Farmer’s Markets especially in California, why not organize one for yourself with all your food-loving friends.  Check out this site for ideas, terms and education about Olive Oil tasting.   http://oliveoilsource.com/tasting.htm

What do YOU think?

I would love to hear about your ideas and favorite recipes using Olive Oil, please leave a comment and share your opinion with the world!

-Jake Garn
Owner/Operator of Corbin’s Grille

Want to read more?  Here are some of my sources used for the information in this blog post.

• http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/04/090401200447.htm
• http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/08/070811224755.htm
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Olive_oil
• http://www.oliveoilsource.com

Corbin’s Grille Unsung Hero

Applewood Baby Back Ribs

History and Trivia

The term “baby” has nothing to do with the age of the ribs and everything to do with where the ribs come from.  Baby backs come from market-sized hogs, and more specifically they come from the very top of the back where the bones are smaller (thus the term “baby”) and there is more meat in between the ribs.  Spare ribs also come from pigs, but they come from the bottom part where the bones are much thicker and meat has a much higher fat content.

What’s So Great About Corbin’s Baby Backs?

We Buy the Best!

We start off with the absolute best ribs we can find, over the years since we have been opened I have tried ribs from around ten different companies, always comparing them in a blind taste test with our current ribs, just to make sure the quality we use is at the absolute top.  In fact, I have a tasting scheduled with a local company I just heard about later this week.  I will let you know how that goes.

Preparation, Preparation, Preparation

When we’re talking BBQ we’re talking three main things that determine the flavor – the rub, the heat and of course the sauce.  For our rub we use a generous 1/4 cup of our secret seasoning for each slab and literally rub it into the meat.  This helps tenderize the meat just a bit and it also infuses the flavor deep within the surface.  Then comes the heat, which is a three step process.

First the ribs are smoked with applewood and hickory wood for a full hour in our Cookshack Smart Smoker, this is by far the best smelling time to be in the restaurant, infusing the baby backs with the smokey flavor is as real as Mother Nature intended!

Second we slow roast the ribs for 4 hours and 30 minutes at 250 degrees, this slow cooking further enhances the tenderness bringing the ribs to as close as “fall off the bone tender” as possible.

Third when you place the order for your ribs they are started on the last leg of their cooking process and fired on our 6-foot grill fueled with White Almond Wood (from California) which gives the ribs just a kiss of sweet smokey flavor.

Then comes the star of the show – Corbin’s Grille original West Texas BBQ sauce.  Our home-made recipe uses 11 different incredients which are lovingly combined with one life-mission in mind, and that is to lather your order of ribs while it rests on the sizzling grill to finish off the long journey to Baby Back perfection.

Available during lunch or dinner, Half Rack is $18 and comes with choice of soup or salad and choice of side.

It was High School graduation night…

So the dinner rush was pretty busy with lots of families celebrating graduations.  Because of this our staff, myself included, were running at just a step above their casual pace.  Just when the frenzy started to die down a bit one of our regulars walked in, she was meeting her husband momentarily and after catching up with our chit-chat for a moment or two I took her to a booth so she could enjoy a glass of wine, a Clos Du Bois Merlot, while she waited.

Wouldn’t you know it, about fifteen minutes another regular walks in and speaks with Jef, Corbin’s general manager, after visiting for a minute Jef took him to a booth on the opposite side of the restaurant so he could relax while he waited for his wife to arrive.

Couldn’t have been more than five or ten minutes later I watched as the both of them walked across the restaurant (both on their cell phones) and rendezvoused at the waterwall.  Wouldn’t you know it, now that I see the both of them together it’s obvious that they are the couple I’ve known all along, even with his new military haircut.

-Jake Garn