Recipes

May 4, 2012 Asian

Sweet Basil Pesto with Rice Noodles

This post is part of a larger series devoted to a Molecular Gastronomy focused meal I made: Molecular Gastronomy with an Asian Twist. Other posts in this series include Spherification (making "caviar" and Pho Inspired Grilled Steak with Mint, Cilantro, and Lime

This Asian pesto recipe I'm about to show you is so ridiculously easy, I was skeptical about whether it would actually taste that good.

It's sort of like normal pesto, but with a few major changes.

First, it's made with sweet basil (also known as Asian basil or Thai basil), which I think is more floral and a bit sweeter than Italian basil.

Second, since it's Asian, there's no pine nuts nor Parmesan cheese. In fact, it's just fresh garlic, sweet basil, oil, and salt.

It's so easy, yet the pungent garlic and the aromatic sweet basil make a fantastic combination. I tossed this with some simple pho noodles and I was hooked.

Sweet basil is a bit harder to find. I don't think I've ever seen it at a local Western supermarket. Asian markets are the best place to find it.

Outside of markets, I see sweet basil most often at Vietnamese restaurants, where they give you a whole pile of it to eat with your pho. Taiwanese people will also use it in dishes like three-cup chicken, and it shows up all over the place in Thai cuisine.

I made this sauce as part of a larger molecular gastronomy meal this past weekend.

I hate to say this, but since I was in such a hurry when creating this sauce, I didn't measure anything and just threw it all together.

Amazingly, it turned out great! I really think pesto is a very, very forgiving recipe. How can you go wrong when you blend a gorgeous herb with deliciously strong, fresh garlic cloves?

On the side, I boiled some traditional pho noodles, but I think this pesto would work with any sort of noodle.

Toss together with the pesto and serve!

Thai Basil Pesto
1 large bunch of Asian basil leaves (stems removed)
4 cloves garlic
¼ cup oil
1 teaspoon salt (or to taste)

Again, this is a very, very flexible recipe. I didn't measure anything, yet it turned out great. I slowly added salt bit by bit until I thought the flavor was about right. Definitely play it by ear, and give yourself the opportunity to add extra elements to adjust the flavor.

Combine basil leaves, garlic, and oil in a food processor and pulse until completely pulverized. Add salt to taste. Toss with pho noodles.

Optionally serve with the other half of my dish, "Pho-inspired Grilled Steak with Mint, Cilantro, and Lime".

Enjoy!

May 2, 2012 Asian

"Pho" inspired Grilled Steak with Mint, Cilantro, and Lime

I am really starting to think that Southeast Asian cuisine is one of my favorites in the world.

I'm addicted to the fragrant and exotic herbs and spices typically used in the cuisine, From floral lemongrass and herbaceous Thai basil to the intensity of fish sauce and Sriracha sauce - I love it all.

This steak recipe incorporates many Southeast Asian flavors, adding an intense but flavorful kick to an otherwise mundane grilled steak recipe.

I tried it with skirt steak the first time, which worked out OK, but I may recommend trying a nicer cut, such as flank steak, if you want to avoid the chewier, stringier texture of skirt steak.

The elements of this dish are simple: a nice piece of steak, Southeast Asian herbs (mint, cilantro, shallots or onions), and chili flakes (to add some heat!).

Mix together all these chopped herbs.

Add soy sauce, fish sauce, lime juice, and the meat and mix it all together. If you are using a traditional grill, put all this in a Ziploc bag and let it marinate for at least 1 hour, if not longer (preferably overnight).

In my case, I sealed it up in a vacuum bag and cooked it sous vide for 3 hours.

Simply grill according to the doneness you prefer (I highly recommend medium rare), and serve! This tastes great over salads, on top of noodles, or just on its own.

"Pho" Inspired Grilled Steak
Adapted from Food & Wine
½ cup soy sauce
1 teaspoons freshly ground pepper
1 pound steak (I used skirt steak)
1 ½ tablespoons fresh lime juice
1 tablespoons Asian fish sauce
½ tablespoon crushed red pepper
¼ teaspoon sugar
1 medium shallot, thinly sliced
¼ cup mint leaves, finely chopped
¼ cup cilantro leaves, finely chopped

Sous vide
Combine in a vacuum seal bag with steak and cook sous vide at 125° F for 3 hours. Remove from bag, dry the meat, and quickly sear on the grill just enough to get a nice sear. Serve immediately (sous vide steaks do not need to rest - they are already perfectly cooked inside!)

For more details about the sous vide method for cooking steaks, click here.

Grilling
Combine all ingredients in a Ziploc bag and marinated for at least 2 hours, preferably overnight. Before grilling, sprinkle kosher salt and pepper all over the steak.

If skirt steak, grill 2-3 minutes a side for a medium to medium rare steak. If a 2-lb flank steak (the usual size of a whole flank steak), grill 4-6 minutes on each side. Let rest, covered in foil, 10 minutes before slicing (against the grain!) and serving.

*note - whole flank steaks are usually 2 lbs, so just double the recipe above.

Pan-sear
For a perfect steak, use the oven to pan method described here.

Enjoy! Optionally pair with spherified Sriracha and hoisin sauce!

May 1, 2012 Recipe

Spherification (Making "Caviar")

This post is part of a larger series devoted to a Molecular Gastronomy focused meal I made: Molecular Gastronomy with an Asian Twist

Spherification is a modern molecular gastronomy technique that was first invented at El Bulli by Ferran Adria in 2003. While visiting a company called Griffith España, Adria and his team discovered a cool Mexican sauce with little spheres floating inside. They learned from the company sodium alginate was the key ingredient used to make these spheres.

Adria and his team got some samples of the ingredient from Griffith España and started experimenting on their own. Soon they were making all different kinds of spheres with all sorts of liquids.

Armed with sodium alginate and calcium chloride, I set out to try my own hand at making some spheres.

There are two key kinds of spherification techniques, each with its own pluses and minuses. If you're short on time (e.g., if you have only one day of prep time), the Basic Spherification technique is your only option. This technique is easier and is great for making small caviar-like balls. The biggest negative is that once the spheres form, the jellification process does not stop. This means the spheres need to be served immediately. Otherwise, over time, the balls will cease to be filled with liquid, instead becoming solid, gelatinous balls. Furthermore, this method does not work as well for acidic liquids.

Reverse Spherification is a more complicated technique which requires a few days advance preparation. Instead of mixing your "stuff" with sodium alginate and adding to a calcium chloride bath, you add your "stuff" to a sodium alginate bath (thus reverse spherification). The biggest benefit is that the jellification process stops upon formation of the balls (the gel is only the outer shell, not mixed into the inner liquid), which means you can store the caviar for longer periods of time before serving.

Additionally, this method is not as sensitive to acidic liquids, giving you much more freedom in the types of pearls you can make (virtually anything!). The biggest downside is that you had to let the sodium alginate bath rest for 24-28 hours (to remove air bubbles) before you can use it.

Today I will only be describing the basic spherification technique.

The first step in making spheres is the dissolution of sodium alginate in water. Sodium alginate is not very soluble in water, so it will taking plenty of agitation in order to get it to dissolve. I used an immersion blender and probably stood there for a good 5-10 minutes before the solid completely dissolved.

Once in solution, bring the mixture to a boil over high heat. When it reaches a boil, remove from heat and let cool to room temperature.

Meanwhile, in a separate bowl, dissolve the calcium chloride in water (this is quite easily done).

Now is the fun part! You have your two basic starting materials and the rest is up to your creativity. Essentially, mix the sodium alginate with whatever liquid you want at a roughly 2:3 ratio v/v (liquid: sodium alginate solution). You will need to experiment a bit to get the right ratio. Certain liquids were more viscous than others and I had a harder time forming good spheres sometimes.

Since I was mainly experimenting, I would just use a spoon and mix a small volume (like 3 mL) of a liquid (e.g., wine, juice, or sauce) with a slightly smaller volume (like 2 mL) of the sodium alginate solution. I would then use the syringe to suck up the liquid and slowly drip my mixture calcium chloride bath.

It was like magic! Instead of dispersing, the drips would solidify into little bubbles. It was so pretty.

Ha ha, I know these matcha balls kind of look like peas. That's what happens if you use a pretty thick liquid on the inside (matcha powder does not dissolve easily in water!)

I played around and made all sorts of different kind of spheres.

Typically, the less viscous the liquid, the better the shape of the spheres.

Isn't this gorgeous? I made some spheres out of red wine.

Notes on Spherification
Certain types of liquids don't work super well with this recipe. For example, if your liquid is too acidic, it won't form proper balls. One way to address this is to add sodium citrate to your sodium alginate solution to bring down the acidity of your liquid. I haven't personally tried this, but apparently sodium citrate is a bit tart and salty, so adding a bit too much could affect the flavor of your final product.

We did notice that really complex flavors were significantly affected by the chemical reactions involved. Our spherified red wine (Chateau Le Tour Carnet) lost its characteristic deep tannins and instead became much more fruity and light. The Cabernet part of the blend seemed to disappear while the Merlot portion became more pronounced.

Spherified scotch whisky lost a lot of its sweet and floral notes yet maintained a strong "peaty" characteristic.

My guess is that fruity, less complex wines and drinks in general would work really well with this technique.

Enjoy!

Spherification

Sodium Alginate Bath
3g sodium alginate
325g water

Calcium Chloride Bath
5g calcium chloride
1000g (1 L) water

Syringe
liquid of choice (200 mL)

Dissolve sodium alginate in water, using an immersion blender to get the powder in solution (could take 5-10 minutes). In a pot, bring the solution to a boil and then let cool to room temperature. In a separate bowl, dissolve the calcium chloride in water.

In a small bowl, mix together your liquid of choice with the sodium alginate solution in a roughly 2:3 v/v ratio (liquid of choice: sodium alginate solution). Using a pipette or syringe, gently squeeze the liquid out drop by drop into the calcium chloride bath. Small spheres will form. Let the spheres "cook" for about 1 minute before removing them from the bath using a slotted spoon. Rinse with water before serving.

Serve immediately.

Note: you can continue to reuse the calcium chloride bath as you mix together portions of the sodium alginate bath with various different kinds of liquids. Have fun!

April 30, 2012 Asian

Foodbuzz 24, 24: Molecular Gastronomy with an Asian Twist

I never thought I'd say this.

But, I actually miss the lab.

It's been years since I've touched a syringe, weighed out powders, or set up chemical reactions. Before law school, I worked for years as a synthetic research chemist making new molecules that could potentially become medicines. There was always a sense of excitement in trying to make something that had never been done before, hoping to find the next breakthrough.

This past weekend, the inner chemist in me finally got a chance to play.

Friends of mine gave me a molecular gastronomy set from Artistre for my birthday last fall. I can't believe it's taken me this long, but I finally cracked open my multiple bags of powders and began experimenting this weekend.

I had so much fun! All afternoon I read voraciously on the science behind techniques such as spherification, gels, and foams. I set up several "reactions", "purified" end products, and ran many test experiments.

The final result? A four-course meal consisting of various classic Asian dishes, re-interpreted with molecular gastronomy.

Course 1: Pho + Sauce

Pho is a traditional Vietnamese noodle soup that consists of an aromatic broth, meat (usually beef or chicken), and rice noodles. It is usually served with bean sprouts, Asian basil, mint, and fresh lime wedges as accompaniments on the side. Additionally, a pho meal would be incomplete without the two fundamental sauces: Sriracha (a spicy chili sauce) and hoisin (a sweet bean sauce).

My modern, "molecular" interpretation of this dish took all of the elements from traditional pho but presented them in vastly different ways.

Part 1: "Pho"

Lime, mint, and cilantro marinated skirt steak over Pho rice noodles tossed in an Asian basil pesto

I marinated skirt steak in lime, mint, cilantro, and chili peppers, all classic flavors associated with pho.

I also added soy sauce and fish sauce to round out the flavors of the marinade. For a modern twist, I cooked this steak sous-vide for about three hours before quickly searing the steak on a hot grill.

The end result was absolutely delicious, juicy and full of those wonderfully fragrant Southeast Asian flavors.

Sweet Basil Pesto

For the pesto, I combined Asian basil, garlic, salt, and oil in a food processor. I tossed the pesto with traditional rice noodles used in pho. The resultant pesto is aromatic, herbaceous, and peppery.

Part 2: Sauce

Typically at a Vietnamese restaurant, the tables will already be set with a container full of chopsticks, a napkin dispenser, and several bottles of sauces. Classic sauces you see with pho include a sweet, dark bean sauce (hoisin sauce) and a red hot spicy sauce (Sriracha - yes the famous one with a rooster on it).

I used a technique called spherification to make balls of hoisin sauce, cilantro essence, and Sriracha sauce. Spherification involves mixing your "juice" or "sauce" of choice with Sodium Alginate and then "pipetting" out small bubbles into a basic Calcium Chloride bath. You can then use your nifty hot pot scooper to gently fish out the balls, which you rinse with water before serving.

Putting It All Together

Using a mold (we used a cookie cutter kind of like this), layer the pesto noodles and top with slices of grilled steak. Remove the mold. Add the three different flavored "caviars" on the other side.

Course 2: Deconstructed Taiwanese Beef Noodle Soup

I've made traditional Taiwanese beef noodle soup before (yes, I even hand-pulled the noodles). A traditional Taiwanese beef noodle soup is made by stewing beef shank in a rich soy-based broth infused with spices such as star anise, hot bean paste, and chili sauce. This gorgeous beef "stew" is served with noodles and vegetables (for example, bok choy).

Bok Choy "Noodles"

For this meal, I decided to be a bit more creative with the presentation. Instead of traditional noodles, I decided to take the bok choy element of the dish and make that into noodles instead.

I blended bok choy, dashi broth, and shallots into a puree, and then cooked it with agar agar and some salt.

It only took about an hour at room temperature before they set.

Finally, I cut them into "noodles" and served them alongside the other two elements.

Cilantro Foam

Cilantro is one of Bryan's favorite herbs, and it's often served as a garnish for beef noodle soup. Foams have become popular in the molecular world because they can infuse the pure essence of a flavor without dilution by anything else, except air.

I made a foam by first steeping cilantro in hot water before blending the mixture to create a cilantro liquid. I then added gelatin powder + water to the liquid (as a stabilizing agent) before incorporating air into the liquid with my favorite immersion blender.

This foam can stay intact in the refrigerator for a couple hours, although eventually it starts losing some structure.

I used the foam as a topping for the steak, but you can use it in all sorts of different applications.

Beef Soup "Caviar"

I made normal beef noodle soup and spherified the broth using the same spherification method described above.

As an alternate preparation, you can just enjoy a simple bowl of the spicy beef soup with the bok choy noodles.

Put it all together

Course 3: Vanilla Bean Panna Cotta with Matcha Spheres

Although the use of gelatin does not seem nearly as novel as some of these more modern methods, I still think of using gelatin as a form of rudimentary molecular gastronomy. After all, you're still adding a powder to some food and changing its structure, right?

Panna Cotta is a classic Italian dessert that uses gelatin instead of eggs to create a sort of "custard" from cream.

Panna Cotta is so easy to make (it's just like jello but with cream!) yet easily impresses guests because it looks so elegant and tastes so darn delicious. You can infuse any sort of creative flavors you want into the cream + gelatin mixture (for example, I used fresh vanilla beans). Pour the creamy liquid into cups (like tea and coffee cups) and let cool overnight in the refrigerator.

To add both an Asian and molecular twist, I made matcha spheres using the same spherification method described above. Put a few matcha pearls on top of the panna cotta and enjoy with a nice sauterne.

Course 4: After Dinner Drinks

Just for fun, we tried spherifying a few wines and spirits to see how they would taste. Surprisingly, the chemical reactions involved in spherification affect different types of drinks differently. Spherified scotch whisky lost a lot of its sweet and floral notes yet maintained a strong "peaty" characteristic.

Spherified Chateau La Tour Carnet

Spherified red wine, on the other hand, lost its deep tannins and instead became much more fruity and light. The Cabernet part of this blend seemed to disappear while the Merlot portion became more pronounced.

Epilogue

Jen on her last day of work as a chemist

It was a wild and fun weekend, full of interesting challenges and surprises. In many ways, working in my kitchen "lab" this weekend reminded me a lot of my past life in the lab. I weighed out powders; I stirred interesting liquids; I tested a variety of "conditions;" and I wrote copious notes.

However, there was one huge difference.

Never in the chemistry lab could I ever taste my final product.

That's priceless.

Please note that I was not able to put all of the recipes for all of these cool dishes into this one post (it would have been way to unwieldy). I plan on posting individual recipes for most of these dishes this coming week, so stay tuned!

Update: Links to the recipes
Bok Choy Noodles
Sweet Basil Pesto with Rice Noodles
"Pho" Grilled Steak with Mint, Cilantro, and Lime
Spherification
Vanilla Bean Panna Cotta with Matcha "Caviar"
Cilantro Foam

Thanks Foodbuzz for sponsoring this meal as part of Foodbuzz 24, 24!

April 27, 2012 Recipe

Roasted Beet Salad with Feta and Aged Balsamic

Sometimes, you really don't need much cooking skills to make a really fantastic dish.

I swear, if you have access to high quality ingredients, you're most of the way there. Really good ingredients naturally supply a ton of flavor and nutrients. The rest is simple. Just mix good ingredients together.

So easy.

And so, so good.

I had a seriously good beet salad the other day at home, and it was ridiculously easy to make.

In the past, I've always roasted my red beets whole, covered in foil in the oven. This method is great if you have tons of time and don't feel like handling the beets. Then I discovered the glorious oven-roasted golden beets, made through a method that caramelizes the beets beautifully in the oven.

Just recently, because I was short on time, (and because I had bought these monstrously huge beets that would have taken hours to roast whole), I decided to chop them up while raw and roast the pieces in the oven with just a splash of olive oil, salt, and pepper.

It worked out great. I cut my roasting time in half, and I found yet another way to prepare this versatile vegetable. Yes, I did have to deal with having slightly pink fingers (easily addressed with a pair of gloves), but the time saved was well worth it.

I tossed the roasted beets with high quality imported feta cheese and drizzled them with a beautiful aged balsamic vinegar.

What a gorgeous combination of flavors. It was healthy, flavorful, and simply delicious.

I can't wait to buy my next batch of beets.

Oven Roasted Beet Salad with Feta and Aged Balsamic
serves 4-6 as an appetizer

2-3 whole beets, cut up into similar pieces (about 3-4 cups worth)
1 tablespoon of olive oil
salt and pepper to taste (about ½ teaspoon of each?)
1-2 oz feta cheese (or to taste)
1-2 teaspoon aged balsamic (or to taste)

Preheat oven to 400 °F. Toss the beets with the olive oil, salt, and pepper. Roast for about 25 minutes.

A few notes:

It's hard to write a precise recipe for this salad because so much of it is subjective. Some people like lots of cheese, others don't. Similarly, the amount of balsamic vinegar you add will really depend on the flavor of the particular one you bought. Slightly sweet balsamic vinegars work better for this salad. You could try reducing cheaper balsamic vinegar down with a bit of sugar.

I think quality of ingredients can make a huge difference in whether this salad is just ordinary or whether it pops. I used a more expensive, imported Greek feta cheese and a really nice 10-year aged balsamic vinegar that I purchased at Il Buco (post coming soon!) in New York City. It was fantastic, and I think it made a huge difference in the dish as well.

Enjoy!

April 25, 2012 California

Etoile (Chandon Winery)

This is part 4 of the Napa Valley Adventures series. Other posts in this series: Ad Hoc, Bottega Ristorante, and Joseph Phelps WineryThere aren't that many places in Napa County where you can sit on the grounds of a winery and dine at a first rate restaurant.

Why is that?

Napa County actually has a law that prohibits restaurants inside of wineries. Although many wineries do offer small bites of food during their wine tastings, full fledged restaurants are not allowed. Etoile, a one-star Michelin restaurant nestled right in the middle of Domain Chandon Winery, was lucky enough to be grandfathered in when this law took effect.

As a result, a meal at Etoile is unique in a lot of ways.

You can visit the winery in the morning, and then walk straight into the restaurant for lunch. The dishes are tightly integrated with the wines at Domain Chandon, and the views of the vineyard from the restaurant are gorgeous.

Domaine Chandon is a super convenient winery to visit if you're staying in Yountville (home of The French Laundry, Ad Hoc, Redd, and Bouchon), because it's right on the other side of St. Helena Highway from the town center of Yountville.

I love, love, love walking, and I came up with the brilliant idea of walking to the winery from our hotel. At first Bryan wasn't thrilled with the idea, but after seeing how close it was on a map, he agreed to try it. It took about 15 minutes and worked out great. The walk was crisp, refreshing, and beautiful. The path isn't necessarily designed for pedestrians (you do walk up this looooong "driveway" to the winery), but it's totally safe and doable. There is a definitely a clear pedestrian and bike route for crossing to the other side of St. Helena Highway.

Domain Chandon was the first French owned winery in Napa Valley to produce sparkling wines. Moet and Chandon (yes, the famous champagne company) came to Napa Valley in 1973 to start Domain Chandon.

Although Domain Chandon is most known for its sparkling wines, the winery also makes pinot noir, pinot meunier, and even cabernet sauvignon! Most of these other wines are made on a smaller scale, and many of them are not available outside of the winery and the wine club.

They also have several types of sparkling wines, including the top of the line étoile Tête de Cuvée, which has spent seven years aging on the lees (yeast).

Bryan and I took a fun little basic tour at 11AM ($12) right before our 12PM lunch reservation at Etoile. We walked through various barrel rooms and learn interesting facts about Chandon. We tried a barrel tasting of a pinot meunier, which tasted young, a bit harsh, and definitely not quite ready.

After the tour ended at 11:30AM, we spent about 30 minutes tasting a few Chandon wines (you can purchase individual "splashes","pours", or you can opt for a flight instead). We even tried a bottled version of the same pinot meunier, which tasted much better! Our favorite was (not surprisingly), the étoile Tête de Cuvée, which was complex, creamy, and had much more character than the other ones we tried. Of course, it also retails for $100 ($80 for club members).

The dining room at Etoile is gorgeous, with large windows facing out into the winery. I especially loved coming at lunch because the entire dining room was bright, basking in the sunlight from the outside.

I began with the Romaine Heart Soup ($16), a velvety, gorgeously green soup poured over fried tempura oyster, braised bacon, onion jam, and roasted purple artichokes.

The soup was fantastic - it was intensely flavorful (of romaine!) yet light and healthy at the same time. I loved how the strong umami from the oyster, bacon, onion jam, and roasted artichokes complemented the grassy notes from the romaine heart soup.

Bryan started with the Dungeness Crab ($20), which was also very, very good. The tender crab meat came with salt roasted radish, young fennel, sorrel, and pickled Meyer lemon. I loved the variety of seasonal vegetables represented on the plate. Ah, imagine living in Napa Valley where you could get this produce every day.

Wine pairing: Chandon Brut Classic

For my main entree, I tried the Seared Dayboat Scallops ($33), which were excellent. They were perfectly seared and served with sweetbread, melted endive, treviso, and a deep, rich lobster veal sauce.

Wine pairing: Newton, "Unfiltered," Chardonnay, Napa County, 2007
Finally, Bryan (who loves homemade fettucini and sea urchin) not surprisingly chose to get the Sea Urchin Fetuccini, ($30) which came with an incredibly artful display of heirloom radishes, Meyer lemon, miners lettuce, and fennel all along the side of the dish.

Wine pairing: Poet's Leap Riesling, Columbia Valley, Washington, 2009

Isn't that an impressive display of vegetables? They are so pretty.

Caramelized Pear Mille-Feuille ($11) made with brandied butterscotch , almond toffee, and a candied peach was fantastic and highly recommended by the server.

Wine Pairing: La Spinette Moscato d'Asti Italy 2010

Thoughts
We had a great time at Etoile. We went off-season during lunch on a random Monday, so it was not very crowded at all. I assume that during the summer months, especially on weekends, it may be much harder to get a reservation.

The food was all very well designed and executed - no real misses. It wasn't the most creative or inventive menu I've ever seen, but everything was cooked with great skill.

In some ways, I felt like I was eating really, really high-end spa food. Everything was so fresh and delicious yet felt really healthy at the same time. I like feeling that way when I eat at a restaurant. I wish more restaurants made me feel good and satisfied in a healthy sort of way when I leave (as opposed to feeling gross from being overly stuffed or unbalanced somehow!).

The ambiance is formal and a bit quiet, though the service is very warm and friendly. The wine list is so big that it's actually housed in an iPad. If you buy wine at the wine shop outside and you want to drink it in the restaurant, you still have to pay a corkage fee.

Overall, if you plan on visiting Domain Chandon anyway, this is a convenient and great option for lunch. If you actually do decide to join their wine club, you get a discount at the restaurant the day you dine there. We initially signed up for the wine club (tempted by the 50% off all purchase that day) but then canceled when we found out the discount did not apply to the étoile Tête de Cuvée, our favorite (you only get 20% off for that one).

Etoile
1 California Drive
Yountville, CA 94599

April 24, 2012 California

Joseph Phelps Winery

This is part 3 of the Napa Valley Adventures series. Other posts in this series: Ad Hoc and Bottega Ristorante

Imagine having a chance to play winemaker for an afternoon.

A chance to sit in your own "wine lab" and experiment, tasting individual flavor components from single origin wines, and then mixing them according to your preference.

Better yet, imagine you were using the same components used to make the winery's own very special, very expensive signature wine.

The Joseph Phelps Winery in Napa Valley holds many different kinds of interesting wine classes and workshops. The inner chemist in me was drawn to this "Make Your Own Insignia Blend" class because it looked so much more interesting than a basic tour. Better yet, we would be able to taste elements of the wine that we'd never be able to taste anywhere else.

The class is held inside their main tasting room. As soon as you enter, you see that each place setting already contains six glasses full of small amounts of red wine.

These are the individual components of the Insignia, the signature wine that Joseph Phelps Winery makes. From left to right, we tasted the following components, each from a single vineyard:

2008 Merlot
Oak Knoll District
Napa Valley

2008 Cabernet Sauvignon
St. Helena Ranch
St. Helena (Napa Valley)

2008 Cabernet Sauvignon
Suscol Ranch
Napa Valley

2008 Cabernet Sauvignon
Las Rocas & Barboza Ranches
Stags Leap District (Napa Valley)

2008 Cabernet Sauvignon
Banca Dorada Ranch
Rutherford (Napa Valley)

2008 Petit Verdot
St. Helena Ranch
St. Helena (Napa Valley)

The individual components are never sold to the public. Instead, they are blended together to make the signature Joseph Phelps Insignia, which contains 89% Cabernet Sauvignon, 7% Petit Verdot, and 4% Merlot. Of course, we don't know the secret combination of the the ratios of the different Cabernet Sauvignons!

It was definitely interesting to taste the individual components. The Merlot definitely has the deepest fruit, while the Petit verdot is the complete opposite - almost harsh and acidic in a way. The different Cabernet Sauvignons tasted much more similar (it is the same grape after all, just different terrior from each of the regions), yet you could definitely taste the differences between the different regions.

It's pretty incredible how the mere soil from plots that are only a few miles apart can make such a difference.

After tasting all the wines, the real fun part began! Based on our own preferences, we tried blending our own wine. Each person was given a pipet that could hold 10mL of wine.
We then mouth pipetted various amounts into a glass and blended them to see how they would taste. For fun, Bryan first tried making a wine that was equal parts of each component. He quickly conceded that it wasn't that great.

Similarly, my random blends were OK, but didn't taste that amazing either.

Finally, they poured us a sample of the actual Insignia wine. Not surprisingly, it tasted a lot better than any of the blends we had tried making. Of course, it benefited from the fact that it had been kept at the perfect temperature and served in the perfect glass. Still, I think we've decided to keep our day jobs for now and not become winemakers!

Overall, we had tons of fun at the wine making seminar. It's just a bit different from a normal winery tour + tasting that you'd get.

Furthermore, on top of tasting all the components, you do get to taste several other Joseph Phelps wines. So it's sort of like a normal tour + tasting but with a fun and unusual twist.

Afterward, you get to hang out on the patio overlooking this gorgeous view for as long as you like.

Sip your wine, savor the sun, and just relax.

Notes
Tickets are $60 and you must reserve them beforehand from the website.

April 23, 2012 Back Bay

5 Napkin Burger: Beer and Bourbon Series!

A burger so juicy that you will need five napkins to wipe up all the juice?

That's the claim behind 5 Napkin Burger, a fancy hamburger-focused bistro that spun off of a really, really popular burger on the menu at Nice Matin, an Upper West Side restaurant in New York.

The restaurant has since been expanding, with the first Boston location opening in Back Bay right inside the Prudential this past year.

Recently, they began a Beer and Bourbon Dinner Series, where the restaurant partners with various different beer or bourbon providers and offers a multi-course dinner paired with the featured drink company's products. For $45, you get a 2-course dinner plus dessert, passed hors d'oeurves, and a chance to try 4-5 different types of beer.

Bryan and I happily accepted an invitation to attend the first dinner of the series this time around, feature Stone Brewing Company.

The evening begins with passed h'ors d'oeuvres and a sample of Stone Levitation Ale. The beer was light and refreshing, not too malty or hoppy, with a hint of sweetness.

My favorite appetizer of the evening was the cheddar tot. It's a perfectly fried little bite filled with mashed potatoes and cheese.

The guacamole was good as well, chunky and chock full of avocados. The chicken skewers, on the other hand, were dry, overcooked, and not very pleasant to eat at all. I couldn't finish mine. Similarly, the tuna tatami wontons, topped with a bit of wasabi mayo and tobiko, were underwhelming.

I did run into Michelle from The Economical Eater, who was also at the event!
After about 30-40 minutes of hanging out in the hors d'oeurves room, they introduced Stone Brewing Company and ushered us into the main dining room. We all sat at a long table, making friends with those around us.

First Course: Peel & Eat shrimp & Beer Boil

Whole shell-on "beer boiled" shrimp were served with drawn butter with a side of parsley. I'm not sure if I like beer-boiled shrimp. The texture of the shrimp was oddly mushy and not very flavorful. Bryan, who hates getting his hands dirty, suffered silently as he picked at the shrimp shells to get at the mushy meat. We were quite disappointed with the shrimp and neither of us finished that course.

The Stone IPA paired with the dish, on the other hand, was quite good - hoppy with malty notes.

Then the main courses came, along with normal and sweet potato fries. I absolutely loved the sweet potato fries. They were crispy and perfectly seasoned on the outside while sweet and moist on the inside. I usually love normal fries more, but in this case I found myself continually going back for the sweet potato fries (though the normal fries were good too!).

Bryan ordered the Mushroom bleu "black & blue", which means the burger is charred on the outside but then basically rare on the inside. The Mushroom Bleu contains seven ounces of fresh ground beef, blue cheese, and is topped with sautéed mushrooms and shallots.

They did an excellent job executing the burger. It was cooked perfectly, with a good char on the outside and a nice rare center. The blue cheese flavor was prominent, though not evenly distributed. In general, the burger definitely was made with high quality ingredients.

Despite all that, Bryan still though the burger did not quite reach an optimal balance of texture and flavor. The bread to meat ratio was not ideal: he wished for less bread and more mushrooms and sauce. He also would have preferred some sort of crisp or crunch (maybe from lettuce, or something fried?).

But perhaps we're being picky, comparing this burger against some of the best burgers in the city. Overall, it's still a perfectly enjoyable burger and still much better than many burgers throughout the city.

The beer that came with this course was delicious, and probably my favorite of the bunch. We had the Arrogant Bastard Beer, an aggressive IPA that was deep, hoppy, and flavorful, almost like caramel. It definitely was strong enough to pair with the flavorful entrees we were enjoying.

I ordered the Veggie Burger, which was served with 5 Napkin's own sauce ("5N Sauce"), bread & butter pickles, lettuce, and tomato on a multigrain roll.

I was really really impressed with the veggie burger and I really think it's one of my favorite veggie burgers I've had! Unlike many veggie burgers, which rely on rice or beans, this one had beets as one of the main ingredients. It was a gorgeous bright red tone (ha ha, it looked like Bryan's rare meat burger!), and was filled with lentils, carrots, beets, wheat berries, and sunflower seeds (among many other ingredients, I'm sure).

I was surprised how much I enjoyed it. If I came back, I would seriously consider ordering it again.

For dessert, we had "Smore's Pie", a cylindrical dessert made with chocolate ganache and marshmallow on top of a graham cracker crust and covered with a chocolate glaze. It was OK but nothing particularly exciting. This was paired with Stone Smoke Porter, a deep, chocolatey and creamy beer that actually worked quite well with dessert!

Overall, this entire meal was fun, informative, and really a pretty good value. For only $45 (inclusive of tax, tip, everything), you get to try 4 different beers, a bunch of hors d'oeuvres, and a three course meal. They are pretty generous with the pours, and they won't hesitate to refill if you finish your beer early. [Heh, I have such low tolerance you can see how much of each beer I could finish before moving onto the next one, thus explaining how I was able to get this shot!]

It was a great chance to try the burgers at 5 Napkin, and we discovered a new craft brewery that makes very good beers. Stone Brewing Company beers can be found in several places around Boston, such as Lord Hobo in Cambridge and Craft Beer Cellar in Belmont.

There's still one more going on tomorrow night, featuring Long Trail Brewing Company. You can get tickets here.

Disclaimer
I did not pay for this meal

April 20, 2012 California

Bottega Ristorante

This is part 2 of the Napa Valley Adventures series. Other posts in this series: Ad Hoc

For food-obsessed individuals, Yountville is like a surreal, magical place that seems too good to be true.

This tiny town is home to some of the best restaurants in the nation. Just walk up and down the one-mile strip of the main road (Washington Street), and you'll saunter by Thomas Keller's empire (The French Laundry, Bouchon Bakery, and Ad Hoc are all within a mile of each other), Redd (1 Michelin star), and Bistro Jeanty (an excellent French bistro that's a favorite of the locals).

The local convenience store sells bottles of Opus One, Joseph Phelps Insignia, and gourmet cheeses alongside batteries and magazines.

Wine shops with incredible selections and tasting rooms dot both side of this road.

About halfway up Washington Street, right in the center of all this action, sits Bottega Ristorante.

Chef Michael Chiarello opened Bottega in December of 2008. After spending over a decade running a huge business that included his own family vineyard, the NapaStyle stores, and his TV shows, he decided he really wanted to get back into the kitchen. The restaurant has since received both IACP and James Beard Award nominations, as well as accolades from many other publications.

Chiarello loves being at Bottega.

"I don’t think I’ve been happier in years. It’s great to be able to throw a party every day. You don’t get that on TV. There, you are cooking alone," [Food Gal]

Bryan loves Italian food, so it was a no-brainer that we would eventually try this place. After failing to get a reservation the past few times I was in Napa, I finally landed an early (5PM!) reservation for dinner this year.

Chef Chiarello makes wine (we are in Napa Valley, after all!) which he serves at his restaurant. These are very small production wines and not that available outside, so we thought it would be fun to try. His bottles aren't cheap (I think this bottle of Eileen Cabernet Sauvignon (WS 92 points) was close to $80 at the restaurant!), but they are pretty good. Most of his wines score in the low 90's on Wine Spectator.

We started by sharing a huge plate of Parmiggiano truffle fries, which were excellent. They were serious contenders to my favorite truffle fries in Boston. I can't believe we polished off that entire plate.

I ordered the Caramelized Brussels Sprout Salad as my starter, which came with citrus segments, toasted Marcona almonds, prosciutto bits, and an aged balsamic dressing. I loved the crispiness of the roasted Brussels Sprouts. The dish had a nice mix of sweet (citrus) and savory (prosciutto) flavors.

I am a huge fan of pan roasted gnocchi so it's no surprise that I really enjoyed my Pan Roasted Potato Gnocchi with spring vegetables (I love fresh peas!). I especially liked the texture of the gnocchi, which was crispy on the outside but nice and chewy on the side.
Isn't this gorgeous? This is the Potato dough Raviolo filled with spinach and ricotta, black truffles, farm fresh egg yolk, and sage browned butter. I was a bit surprised that the ravioli was so huge! (You only get one for your entire order!). We loved the farm fresh egg that oozed out, and we used it as a sauce for the rest of the ravioli.

The Smoked & Braised Natural Short Ribs is the signature dish that Chef Chiarello made when competing on Top Chef Masters. I did not watch that season, but apparently he wowed the judges with this amazing short rib recipe, with James Oseland saying this was the best rendition of the dish he'd ever had.

The shortribs were served with whole grain mustard spaetzle, Sicilian pickles, quince paste, and a smoky horseradish jus. Bryan loves pickles and horseradish, so he really, really enjoyed the dish. Execution was perfect - the short ribs were soft and tender, the individual components were well seasoned, and the flavors of the dish came together quite well.

For dessert, we ordered the Ricotta Zeppole, Italian doughnuts fried to order served with Italian Praline dipping sauce. It's hard to go wrong with doughnuts, and these were fantastic. They reminded me of beignets I've had at other restaurants (frankly, I really didn't see a difference - maybe they are the same as a beignet?). They were hot and crispy on the outside, soft and moist on the inside.

Overall, we had a great time at Bottega. The place definitely fills up fast and I can see why it's so popular. It's centrally located; the food is very good; and it's a fun atmosphere inside. Although none of the dishes soared to any new heights to blow us away, all the dishes were very well executed.

We had a great time.

And I would totally come back again - if only there weren't so many other fantastic restaurants in this food-centric region to try first!

Bottega Ristorante
6525 Washington St
Yountville, CA 94599

April 18, 2012 California

Ad Hoc

"for temporary relief from hunger"

Thomas Keller's more casual restaurant in Yountville, called "Ad Hoc" was never intended to be a permanent restaurant. While designing a very different type of restaurant (think "burgers and bottles" hamburger and wine pairing), Thomas Keller's team temporarily opened up Ad Hoc ("literally meaning for this purpose only") for just six months to serve the local community.

The concept?

Offer a 4-course family style meal with a small, accessible wine list in a casual environment that is "reminiscent of home."

It became so popular that it was really hard for them to close it down.

Thomas Keller quipped "if we keep it, we'll have to change the name. Maybe to Ad Lib."

That was 2007. Ad Hoc is clearly still around and going very, very strong. In fact, its fried chicken has become legendary, and Thomas Keller has even written a cookbook for the restaurant.

So finally.

Finally, after having tried Per Se, The French Laundry, and countless different Bouchon bistros and Bouchon bakeries, I can finally say I've tried all of Thomas Keller's restaurants in the US.

The interior here is airy, bright, and very inviting. Though the atmosphere is casual (most people were wearing jeans), you still feel that everything is high quality and thoughtfully laid out.

The menus come in these brown no-nonsense folders (see picture up top), and all the food is served family style. The menu changes daily, and each day only one specific four-course menu is served ($38).

Since we were having brunch, Bryan ordered a mimosa (made with delicious, freshly squeezed orange juice) for $9.

Biscuits & Jam was the first course, and it was fantastic. The biscuits were among the best I've ever had. They were warm, flaky, and perfectly crispy on the outside. On top? A lovely dollop of maldon honey butter. Yes, even though I'm sure the biscuit is already loaded with butter, it tasted even better slathered with this slightly sweet butter.

Yum.

The homemade strawberry jam was delicious, not-too-sweet, and full of intense fruit flavors. This was also wonderful with the biscuit.

The "Biscuits & Jam" trio also came with a bowl of freshly cut pineapples, oranges, and grapefruit. All of the fruit was great - sweet, juicy, and and very refreshing.

The second course was a grilled Niman Ranch Beef skirt steak served alongside a soft scrambled hen egg topped with roasted pepper stew and grilled spring onions. I've made skirt steak before. I know it's a tougher cut of meat that can be challenging to cook right. All of the elements of this dish (the steak, eggs, vegetables) were executed properly and enjoyable to eat. However, none of the flavors were really that unusual, and I was a bit underwhelmed. In the end, the entire plate was good, but not exactly that memorable.

Similarly, the fried Russet potatoes were perfectly fried to a golden brown, but did not particularly impress me. I think I've had better home fries at cheap diners.

Thankfully, I absolutely LOVED the rocky road ice cream sundae. This should come as a huge surprise to anyone who knows me because typically, I don't really like marshmallows, and I hate nuts in my desserts! However, I love marcona almonds, and the candied marcona almonds worked beautifully in this dessert. I loved the dense crunch that they provided; plus the creamy chocolate ice cream was divine.

I thought I was stuffed, but we finished up that ice cream really, really quickly.

Thoughts
In general, Ad Hoc is a fun place to visit. The ambiance is friendly, the food is solid, and the prices are reasonable. I found certain menu items (biscuits and ice cream) to be really special, while others (steak, eggs, vegetables) were a bit sleepy. I think your experience will vary tremendously depending on which day you go. If you happen to go on a day when they have their buttermilk fried chicken, you just may think it's one of the best things you've ever tasted in your entire life (or so I've heard).

I plan on returning, if nothing else just to try the fried chicken (which appears twice a month on Monday evenings and sometimes as "chicken and waffles" during brunch). You can also check out Addendum, his new take-out restaurant that only serves their fried chicken and BBQ chicken (not yet opened for the season when we were there in March).

Reservations were impossible to get via Opentable, but a breeze via the telephone. I think they just don't make that many seats available online.

Ad Hoc
6476 Washington St
Yountville, CA 94599

April 17, 2012 California

Napa Valley Adventures (& a little bit of SF)

I first got to experience California's breathtaking wine country when I traveled there three years ago to cover the S. Pellegrino Almost Famous Chef Competition. I've been so lucky to be able to go back every year since that first time, and every time, I discover something new.

This past March, between the craziness of covering the Mystery Basket Competition and the Finals, Bryan and I had some time to get away and enjoy some other parts of Napa Valley.

We tried some fantastic meals (there seems to be an endless supply of really good food in this area!), visited some awe-inspiring vineyards, and even tried our hands at making our own wine blends.

Here's a sneak preview of upcoming posts from our next trip series on Napa Valley.

After landing in San Francisco and before heading up to Napa Valley, we enjoyed a lovely tasting of seasonal, local, freshly foraged ingredients at a two-Michelin star restaurant in the city.
In Yountville, we finally got to try brunch at Thomas Keller's more casual restaurant, sampling some of the best biscuits I've ever had.
A delightful sampling of dishes from a French-trained Japanese chef (alumnus of Spago) at a one-Star Michelin restaurant in St. Helena.

Food is art at this French one-star Michelin restaurant, the only restaurant in Napa Valley inside of a winery!

A solid Italian experience from a celebrity chef who has hosted several shows on the Food Network and was second place in Top Chef Masters.

I had a chance to make my own "Insignia" blend by pipetting various ratios of component wines.<a="" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/tinyurbankitchen/7086511317/" title="Untitled by tinyurbankitchen, on Flickr"></a="">
One of the coolest wineries we visited - it's housed entirely inside a cave in a mountainside and has its own waterfall to keep the humidity constant!

Chandon Winery, Yountville CA

We tasted wines at several other wineries, all unique in their own special way.

Stay tuned as we continue the Napa Valley Adventure Series throughout the next several weeks. Enjoy!

April 13, 2012 Boston

Eleven Madison Park "Tour" at Menton

This is so not your ordinary cookbook.

And most certainly not your typical cookbook tour.

What other (newly minted!) three-star Michelin chef has toured the country, cooking from his book at fine restaurants around the world?

It is seriously a treat for us Bostonians to be able to sample taste of Daniel Humm's creations from his new cookbook, the Eleven Madison Park Cookbook, a compilation of dishes from his award winning restaurant in New York.

Back in December, for one day only, Daniel Humm took over the kitchen at Menton. Together with a huge team including folks from both Eleven Madison Park and Menton, Humm prepared an unforgettable four-course meal consisting of dishes from his new cookbook.

In anticipation of this event, Menton's general manager Alec Riviero said, "this is probably one of the biggest evenings we are going to have here this year."

Here's our write-up, complete with many, many exclusive peeks inside the kitchen (Yes! Bryan and I had the great honor of sitting at the Chef's Table during this fantastic event!).

What's the Chef's Table?

The Chef's Table is a very special table in a small, cozy room inside the kitchen at Menton. You get upfront views of the kitchen in action. It's fascinating to see all the individual steps that go into such a production.

On this special day, as we walked through the kitchen to the Chef's Table, we observed dozens of people hard at work. Above, you can see Colin Lynch (executive chef at Menton) at left and Daniel Humm at right.

We mingled with glasses of champagne, enjoying fantastic little bites of passed hors d'oeuvres, such as white truffle risotto on spoons (absolutely heavenly!!!), mini housemade crackers topped with salmon and caviar (delicious!), and many others, not all of which I had a chance to try!

We entered the room with the Chef's Table, and continued to be mesmerized by the scene in the kitchen. It's seriously incredible to watch these folks. You really learn to appreciate your food that much more when you see all the effort that goes into it.

Soon, beautiful, hot buttery croissants came our way. I think the bread for the evening came from Menton, and it was excellent.

If you've ever been to Eleven Madison Park, you'd know that Daniel Humm's menus are different from most other menus. The courses are inspired by ingredients, and that's all you see when you get the menu. For a four course, you just choose four "elements", such as "oyster, cauliflower, pork, and lemon." You then proceed to be delightfully surprised, course by course.

The four courses we had that night were similarly named, although they did give us a little extra explanation for the dishes, something that can always be done verbally at Eleven Madison Park if requested.

Chef Humm came into the room after the meal began and greeted us all, introducing us to his tour, his book, and his restaurant. You can see him with Will Guidara, general manager at Eleven Madison Park and also co-author of the cookbook, as well as Barbara Lynch, chef-owner of Menton.

"Way early on when I came to New York we did a charity dinner in NY for Share our Strength and that's how I met Barbara. Right away we clicked."

When we planned the cookbook tour Barbara invited us and for us it was a no-brainer. We are honored to be able to present our book here in Boston."

And then back into the kitchen they went . .

I love this moment that I caught. There was a young (13-year old) apprentice in the kitchen, the son of a good friend of Chef Barbara Lynch. He showed an interest in cooking at a young age and Chef Lynch decided to take him under his wing. He was in the kitchen the entire night. His mom dined at the Chef's Table with us, cheering him on.

You wonder what kind of sage advice Chef Humm is telling the boy . . .

The Courses
When asked how he chose what courses to cook, Humm said "it’s just our favorite dishes, and all of our dishes are from the book."

Will Guidara further added, "[t]he book is organized seasonally, so where this tour fell we were obviously looking at the second half of the book. And for [Daniel], it’s obviously a chance for him to show the different cities what we’re all about."

Here's the winter menu!

Langoustin
Marinated with Celeriac and Green Apple
2010 Donnhoff Riesling "Estate"

Lobster
Poached with Bergamot and Celery
2009 Domaine du Bagnol Cassis Blanc

Cauliflower
Roasted with Grapes, Almonds, and Curry
2004 Trimbach Pinot Gris "Reserve Personelle"

Putting finishing touches on the last course . . .

Chicken
Slow-Cooked with Truffles, Butternut Squash, Parsnips, and Cabbage
2009 Rion Vosne-Romanee

You can't tell from the photo, but the preparation of this chicken is really quite impressive. There is a full but thin layer of black truffles stuffed between the chicken and the skin. Can you imagine how labor-intensive that is?

The Food
I can't remember the details anymore, but I do remember that every single dish was absolutely phenomenal. Interesting and complex flavor combinations, intriguing textural nuances, and excellent execution of all the dishes - it was all there. This was definitely one of the best meals we'd enjoyed in Boston.

Prepping the beignets.

Sweet Potato
Beignet with Chocolate and Chestnut Honey
NV Rare Wine Company Madeira "Boston Bual"
This was a lovely surprise and one of my favorite desserts of the evening! Surprise! Yes! It's what you think it is! It's a chocolate bonbon with a black truffle on top. It surprisingly works really really well. I even asked Chef Humm whether this peculiar bonbon was in the cookbook, and he assured me it was.

Really?? But where would I find such gorgeous truffles?

And then, finally, finally, the crazy commotion in the kitchen began to die down.

The last dish had gone out.

They were finally done.

The chefs all celebrated as they breathed a sigh of relief after working under intense pressure for the last four hours.

Chef Humm gathered all the assisting chefs together for a short talk. He commended them on the great work they did today, and he added a bit of advice about the career path in general. It's a tough road, he acknowledged, but he encouraged them to keep at it.

He was kind, humble, charming, and really inspiring.
And then it was time to really celebrate! Beers and pizza magically appeared and multiplied on the table for these ravenous chefs who had been working nonstop for hours!

In some ways it seems like such an odd contrast. After having just prepared and served some of the most sophisticated dishes in the city that night, these famished chefs were digging into boxes of simple, local pizza.

Chef Humm was super friendly and agreed to sign our cookbooks for us (yes, the meal came with an included cookbook! So Bryan and I have TWO!). [And yes, that is Lydia Shire of Scampo and Towne fame in the background].
Thanks for an awesome meal Chef Humm. I can't wait to visit your restaurant again.
I also ran into Barbara Lynch on my out, so I introduced myself and thanked her so much for giving us a chance to enjoy the meal at the Chef's Table.

Most of all, thanks to all the chefs for the hard, hard work they put into making this meal possible. It was fascinating to watch you guys, and I was seriously blown away by the amount of work that it takes to execute such incredible food to such a large group in such a short amount of time.

Eleven Madison Park
11 Madison Ave
New York, NY 10010

Menton
354 Congress St.
Boston, MA 02210

April 12, 2012 Boston

Island Creek Oyster Bar

This massive oyster bar right next to Fenway has only been open for a little over a year, yet its success is indisputable.

Island Creek Oyster Bar's main aim is simple: "to bring the restaurant to the farmer" and to create a collaboration that joins "farmer, chef, and diner in one space."

A few things help make this work. Most importantly, one of the owners (Skip Bennett) is actually an oyster farmer from Duxbury. He helps supply the restaurant with its amazingly fresh and delicious assortment of raw oysters. Furthermore, the restaurant has relationships with other seafood vendors that enable it to get really, really fresh fish.

Their bar is run by the same guy who runs the bar at Eastern Standard. Both places are known for having excellent drinks.

We came on a Sunday to enjoy their special Sunday brunch menu.

The space is huge, and gorgeous, with tall windows streaming in tons of light from the outside. The oyster bar sits right up front, proudly displaying some of the day's fresh offerings.
It's definitely fun to try the oysters. Along with your menu, you get a piece of paper that lists the fresh oyster offerings of the day. Although most of the choices are local (of course including Island Creek Oysters!) you'll see representation from the West Coast as well.

The oysters were fantastic, and Bryan and I definitely sampled several! They were all super fresh, with various different flavors depending on the region. Definitely try the Island Creek Oyster. Not only is it the cheapest of the bunch (around $2 each), it's also excellent.
Because it was brunch time, Bloody Marys were popular; it seemed like everyone was ordering one. Bryan thought the drink was only OK, still citing the "make your own Bloody Mary Bar" at East Coast Grill to be one of his favorites.

We came with some friends. Here's a look at some of the dishes we tried!
Fried Clams (hand-dug in Ipswich) over a bed of French Fries.

Smoked fish (was it trout or salmon? I can't remember) over pesto, toast, and orange slices

Crab Cake Benny $15 - poached eggs, spinach, and spiced hollandaise

Thoughts
I can see why this place is so popular. The space is really inviting, the service is solid, and the food is all well-executed. Considering the sheer number of people they are trying to serve at once, the consistency of quality is definitely a sign of a tightly run kitchen.

Seafood is definitely their strength, so make sure to at least try some of the oysters, if not one of their fresh fish offerings. Brunch entrees range from $9-$15, lunch from $9-$18, and dinner from $13 to $32. Of course, once you add a drink, a handful of raw oysters, and an appetizer, you're probably looking at closer to $35-$65 for dinner.

I think this would be a great place to take out-of-town guests. Imagine, sitting virtually right next to Fenway Park while enjoying some of the freshest New England seafood around.

You can't get more Bostonian than that, can you?

Island Creek Oyster
500 Commonwealth Ave
Boston, MA 02215

April 11, 2012 Las Vegas

L'Atelier de Joel Robuchon

This is the last post (part 6) of the Winter in Vegas Series. Other posts in this series include The Wicked Spoon, Il Mulino, Table 10, and Max Brenner.

The first time I tried French food, I hated it.

I was 17 years old, visiting France as part of a three-week home-stay exchange program. Being used to rice and stir-fried vegetables, the plethora of meat and butter at every meal turned me off.

If only I had known of Joel Robuchon back then, I may have changed my mind.

Joel Robuchon is the master of French cooking, having trained the likes of Eric Ripert and Gordon Ramsey. He's won countless awards and holds more Michelin stars (26!!) than any other chef in the world. Robuchon himself shunned the richness of classic French cuisine and instead (inspired by the Japanese) sought out a more delicate style of cooking that focused on the natural flavors of ingredients.

Bryan and I absolutely love Joel Robuchon's food. He takes great, great care in designing each dish, creating flavor combinations that will delight you, surprise you, and most certainly make you wish you had more. We celebrated our tenth anniversary by enjoying the Menu Degustation at Joel Robuchon and were seriously blown away. Even our shorter course meal at the Mansion was nothing short of incredible.

This past trip, we finally had a chance to try the more casual side of Joel Robuchon. The food is still made with the same precision and love. However, instead of opulent carts filled with every bread choice imaginable and waiters dressed in tuxedos to attend to your every need, you sit at a very trendy bar overlooking an open kitchen.

We had a fantastic time. We loved the casual vibe; the service was fantastic; and the food? Still among the best meals we've had in Las Vegas.

I think it's one of the best "bangs" for your buck in this city.

Although there's no huge elaborate bread cart, the "free" bread here comes out of the same bakery (believe it or not, Joel Robuchon employs seven dedicated bakers!). We loved the fresh, crusty rolls and couldn't get enough of it. In fact, we finished off that whole basket and asked for another one! (gulp!).

Though not as artfully presented as at the Mansion, the butter here was very different from any butter we'd ever had. It was smooth, just a bit sweet, and had that really fresh, creamy taste. After inquiring the server, we found out that it was Echire butter. This butter is known to be among the best butters in France, made exclusively in a small town called Echire in the Western part of the country. Echire butter is mostly made in small batches by hand, and France only lets about 15% of it out of the country, so consider yourself lucky if you're able to get some here! (Ordering online seems to result in some ludicrous shipping costs!)

The hot themes of red and black add to the modern vibe of the place, which is so different from the royal, opulent, almost "magical" environment at the Mansion.

After looking at the menu, I noticed that several of the courses included fois gras, which I don't love. They happily accommodated my request that they substitute the fois gras courses with something else. Of course, Bryan loves fois gras, so he went along with the normal menu.

This first dish is a Fois Gras Parfait with wine and Parmesan foam. It was creamy with a definite hint of fois gras. For me, I only thought it was OK since I don't love the flavor of fois gras that much. Of course Bryan loved it.

In place of the fois gras, I got an Avocado Cream with radish, tomato jam, and basil oil. It reminded me of a simplified version of a dish I'd enjoyed at the Mansion. Still delicious with gorgeous, bold flavors, it was just a tad less complex than the one I had enjoyed before. I still loved it, and preferred it over Bryan's fois gras dish.

Famous last words.

Bryan's next course was absolutely incredible. Le Celeri – Celery mousse with wasabi, beef stew gelee and slices of foie gras. Although I don't like fois gras, I thought it worked perfectly here. We loved the combination of the creamy fois gras, crisp celery, crunchy fried pork, and strong wasabi cream.

My substitute dish: Tuna Belly Confit over tomato gelee, vegetables, black olive, and a quail egg. It was excellent, but I have to admit that Bryan's fois gras Le Celeri was significantly better.
The next course was La Huitres - a trio of Baby Kusshi Oysters (clean and sweet, sort of like Kumamoto but raised in Washington State) poached in French Echiré butter (yum, it's that butter again). These lovely oysters were sweet and worked well with the accompanying red pepper powder, which added just enough kick without overpowering the sweetness of the oysters.

The next dish was Le Homard - Maine lobster in a spicy tomato broth with wild mushrooms. The broth was mild and delicate, with subtle flavors that reminded us of a light seafood broth. It didn't blow us away, but we thought it was well executed.

La Cebette came next, a cute little onion tart with a thin, pastry-like crust topped with asparagus, bacon, Parmesan, and a perfectly poached quail egg. Although it was delicious and full of familiar (and good!) flavor combinations, we both agreed that it was more casual in design and definitely was not at the same level of complexity as some of the earlier dishes we had tried.

Next came La Lotte, monkfish cheek, baby leeks, and a buttery shellfish sauce with lime and ginger. We found that the "steak-y" fish cheeks paired nicely with the velvety mashed potatoes. Of course the shellfish sauce was delicious.

La Caille was the final main course, foie gras stuffed free range quail with mashed potatoes (highly recommended by the staff). If you didn't know before, Joel Robuchon's mashed potatoes are insane famous, we're talking really really famous. It is unreal how creamy and flavorful they are. Although the potatoes have tons of butter in them, the end product tastes fresh and creamy, not heavy and buttery at all.

According to Bryan, this dish was fantastic, with the perfectly executed juicy quail and creamy fois gras inside. Of course, we both loved the mashed potatoes. I'm so glad Bryan let me try a bit! Seriously, the next time I go, I am going to order an entire side dish of it!
Isn't that a gorgeous dessert? This reminds me more of the types of dishes we would see at the Mansion. Here we have champagne gelee topped with a frozen raspberry mousse and rose scented meringue. I loved how it wasn't too sweet and how everything actually came together quite nicely. It reminded me of my favorite macaron in the world.

We enjoyed the contrast of textures between the baked chocolate ganache (thick, dense and creamy) and the aerated devil's food cake (light, airy). Fresh mint ice cream was the perfect contrast to the deep, rich chocolate flavors.

How else would you end a meal? With espresso and a signature truffle, of course!

Thoughts
We had a really, really good time at L'Atelier de Joel Robuchon. We thought several of the dishes were incredible, and all of the dishes were excellent. The service was great, and the ambiance is modern, trendy, yet relaxed at the same time.

For the quality of food, this place sure beats a lot of other expensive places in Las Vegas (except, of course, the Mansion, which costs much, much more). The simplest menu starts at $59 (I think it's a three-course), and it goes up to $155 for Menu Decouverte de Saison (Seasonal Discovery Menu), which is the 9-course that we did. Meals are so over-priced on the Strip anyway, you might as well get really good food if you're going to spend the money, right?

I would highly recommend this place and I would not hesitate to return. I can totally understand why Joel Robuchon has won all these accolades. He is truly a master of this art, no matter if it's a fancy-schmancy decadent over-the-top restaurant or a modern, trendy open-kitchen bar with really, really good food.

It's all good.

And I'm so glad he came out of retirement to open these places in the US!

* * * *

Don't forget to vote for Tiny Urban Kitchen for Saveur Magazine's Best Food Blogs Award!

L'Atelier de Joel Robuchon
3799 Las Vegas Blvd S
Las Vegas, NV 89109

April 7, 2012 Tidbits

Finalist for Saveur's Best Food Blog Award!

I got the craziest email last night.

I was quite sleep deprived, actually, so I wasn't even sure whether to believe my tired eyes or not when I received an email from Saveur telling me that I was a finalist for their annual Best Food Blog Awards in the Best Dining/Restaurant Coverage section.

Thanks to whoever out there nominated me, and thanks to those who worked so hard to narrow down such a crazy huge number of nominations (over 40,000 they said??). It's a tremendous honor to be among such a small, talented group of bloggers. Even if I don't win the actual award, in many ways I already feel like I've won.

All final winners will be chosen based on number of votes. To vote, please click here. You will have to sign up for an account with Saveur just so they can keep track of the votes.

For fun, I decided to round up some of my favorite restaurant posts from the past few years. It was hard to narrow it down, but I worked together with Bryan on this, and we tried to pick posts from all different sorts of locations.

Enjoy!

Craigie on Main (Boston)
One of our favorite restaurants in the Boston area, we scored the exclusive "ringside seats" for Bryan's birthday, where we got to watch the kitchen firsthand!

Kyubey (Tokyo, Japan)
The one-on-one interactions with the sushi chef as well as the top-notch sushi makes this one of our most memorable meals in Japan as well as one of our favorite restaurants in the world.

Menton (Boston)
A really unique and educational white truffle tasting meal at the Chef's Table at one of the best restaurants in Boston.

Kago (Tokyo, Japan)
Insanely delicious shabu shabu with kurobuta (Berkshire pork) belly from the Kagoshima region in Japan.

Eating in the Greek Isles (Santorini, Greece)
Pictures and food from one of the most beautiful places in the world.

Joel Robuchon the Mansion (Las Vegas)
The craziest, most over-the-top meal we've ever had (to celebrate our 10th wedding anniversary)

Made In China (Beijing, China)
At one time only available in the imperial palace to royalty, this mouthwatering, delicious specialty was finally brought to the masses in the 1800's and is still immensely popular throughout Beijing today. This was one of our favorite restaurants (and yes, we tried several places!)

Jia Jia Tang Bao (Shanghai, China)
The most delicious pork soup dumplings (xiao long bao) that we enjoyed in China, and only $1 US for a dozen!!

Granville Moore's (Washington D.C.)
Lines go out the door at this fascinating, historical moules frites Belgian pub in D.C., which serves fantastic mussels, delicious fries, and has one of the largest selections of Belgian beers in the US.

Peking Restaurant (Los Angeles)
Our favorite "hole-in-the-wall" Chinese place in the Los Angeles area - you must try the "beef and scallion roll" (pictured).

The French Laundry (Napa Valley)
An exquisite meal in a farm house in Napa Valley - our first experience trying Thomas Keller's creations.

Per Se (New York)
Thomas Keller's urban, East Coast flagship, we visited this place just a month after visiting the French Laundry.

Eleven Madison Park (New York)
Having just received three Michelin Stars, Chef Daniel Humm produces dishes that look like works of art and taste like magic.

SAMM (Los Angeles)
Sample Jose Andres's favorite creations (hello molecular gastronomy and various Spanish and French influences!) by trying a multi-course tasting at this restaurant-within-a-restaurant.

Peter Luger Steakhouse (New York)
Insanely amazing steak at this no-nonsense cash-only steak restaurant right across the bridge in Brooklyn.

The Gastronomy Fiesta
Spain's Basque region's most famous chefs (15 total Michelin stars between!) ALL together in the kitchen at once to create a tasting menu of a lifetime at the World Expo in Shanghai.

April 3, 2012 Cambridge

Cooking for a Cause - East End House

One large ballroom right on the ocean.

Over a dozen well-respected local chefs personally handing you dishes they have designed and cooked for the event.

Mixologists from Boston's best bars stirring up cool drinks for you to sample.

Wines from New England wineries and incredible desserts from the area's well-known bakeries and chocolatiers.

Oh, how could I forget? Absolutely amazing coffee from what has become one of my new favorite coffee shops.

All this to benefit East End House, a Cambridge organization dedicated to serving under-resourced families in Cambridge by providing services such as an emergency food program, a child care program, after school programs, and training workshops for adults.

It takes a lot for all of these chefs to take so many hours out of their busy days to support such a fantastic event. Kudos to all who participated in this event!

Here's my recap!

Jason Santo from Blue Inc served a creative Pastrami Reuben dumpling!
William Kovel from Catalyst in Cambridge served an Aleppo pepper crusted tuna over a coconut rice cake and topped with a mango compote.
Andy Husbands of Tremont 647 (co-judged with me at the S. Pellegrino Almost Famous Chef Regionals Competition) made a lovely pulled pork sandwich.

Tony Maws from Craigie on Main (yes, he brought his son!!) served a delicious homemade beet pasta with boudin noir ragout (read: pig's blood). It was actually fantastic and turned out to be one of my favorite dishes of the night. I was so distracted by how good it was (or was I distracted by trying to photograph the child?) that I totally forgot to take a picture of the pasta!

I did manage to photograph mixologist Ted Gallagher's lovely cocktail made with pisco and rose jam, a lemon thyme cordial, and orange liqueur.

Chef Peter McCarthy from EVOO made a lobster- parsnip bisque with leeks, tarragon, hedgehog mushroom, and butter.

Chef Dante from Dante made Pork meatballs in a pig head sauce.
Chef Ming Cao from the new sushi restaurant in Kendall called Fuji made assorted sushi.

East Coast Grill made a Cuban style smoked pulled pork shoulder with cilantro, crispy slaw, mango mojo, and tomato salsa.

Grill 23 made a delicious lamb kibbee with tzatziki sauce.
Chef Chris Coombs from Deuxave made a beautiful duck liver mousse with rhubarb mustarda, tarragon, and pickled red onion. This was quite good as well and I came back for seconds!

Post 360 served a delicious Mexican-flavored seafood tortilla soup chock full of shrimp, mussels, squid, and lots of flavor!

Jody Adams from Trade and Rialto served a delicious char crudo topped with ginger pickled rhubarb, parsnip chips, and pea shoots. Jody told me that this crudo dish just started appearing on the menu at Rialto!

Green Street Grill made a beautiful endive cup filled with Rhode Island fluke, splashes of lemon and lime, grape chopped tomatoes, jalapeño, and scallions.
Mary Dumont from Harvest made a lovely, light and refreshing Jonah crab salad with spring garlic and English peas.

Island Creek Oyster Bar served yet another refreshing asparagus salad with toasted orzo and lobster roe (but no oysters!).

Bistro du Midi served a crostini topped with marinated octopus, sundried tomatoes, eggplant caviar, and pine nuts.

Chef Paul O'Connell from Chez Henri Smoked made a creamy cod and lobster chowder topped with lots of parsley!

Aura, one of the restaurants in the Seaport Hotel, served a tasty honey glazed pork belly with chipotle and a purple carrot and jicama slaw.

Drinks
There were several great mixologists serving up some pretty cool drinks!

Tamo Bar made a rosemary infused Stoli blueberry vodka with lemonade.
The Hawthorne made a twist on a traditional French 75 by using Earl grey tea syrup, fresh lemon, Berkshire Mountain Distillers gin, and sparkling wine. I loved this one and came back for seconds! (I think I have a weakness for any drink made with sparkling wine!)
Eastern Standard made an interesting drink from Kevin Martin Rum, Becherovka (a Czech liqueur), lemon juice, and velvet falernum (anise/clove-like flavored syrup)

Green Street Grill made a Margarita "Bermejo" made with Lunazul blanco, Cointreau, lemon & lime juice, and salt.

Local Massachusetts winery Westport Rivers Vineyard and Winery served some lovely sparkling wine.

The Masciarelli Wine Company served several of their Italian wines.

One of my favorites of the evening! Voltage Coffee made absolutely incredible little cups of cappuccino. I absolutely loved my Burnt Sugar Vanilla cappuccino. Their coffee is from Barismo Coffee Roasters.

Sweets

The Dancing Deer Company provided brownies.
Area Four made super cute Caramel corn cupcakes. When those ran out, they just passed out their homemade caramel corn.
Taza Chocolate gave out little samples of their stone-ground Mexican chocolate.

Kickass Cupcakes had a lot of cupcakes as well, though they were all gone by the time I came back!

It was a great evening, and the auctions raised a ton of money! Here's the auctioneer auctioning off a package that included a 4-person dinner with Tony Maws, 6-person dinner with Andy Husbands, and another 4-person dinner with Jason Santos. This crazy set of three meals sold for $5000!!!

I had a ton of fun. Best of all, I got to take home this humongous loaf of bread from Iggy's! Thanks Craigie on Main!

Disclaimer - I came as a press member and did not pay to attend this event.

April 2, 2012 Cambridge

Super Fusion Sushi (Cambridge)

This is the second restaurant post in the new series, Welcome to My New Hood. Other posts includes Rafiki Bistro.

I am always suspicious when I hear a name like “Fusion” in the name of a restaurant. In my mind, FUSION = NOT AUTHENTIC, which then begs the question of how good can the food be?

Clearly, Super Fusion Sushi is quite popular in Boston. The location that we visited in Cambridge is actually their third location. They started out in Brookline and quickly got the reputation of being a very good, authentic sushi bar with reasonable prices. A second one opened up in Watertown soon afterward. Finally, just about a year ago, this third location in Porter Square opened up.

Considering there is quite a lot of competition in the Porter Exchange Mall (unofficially the “Little Tokyo” of Boston), you figure it has to be decent in order to stay in business, right?

We decided to walk the 10-minute trek from our house to find out.

What immediately caught my eye were the surprisingly reasonable prices. Most normal rolls were $8.50, with some "Chef's Special" ones costing $10.50. There was a healthy variety of nigiri, including toro (fatty tuna belly), uni (sea urchin), and saba (mackerel).

A number of creative, “fusion”-type rolls were prevalent throughout the menu, including classics like Rainbow roll and Caterpillar roll and more creative ones like Cambridge roll (Eel tempura with cucumber, topped with tuna, torched with spciy mayo, eel sauce & tobiko) and Batman roll (Tuna tempura w/ spicy mayo topped w/ grilled eel, avocado & eel sauce).

Toro (fatty tuna belly), Saba (mackerel), and uni (sea urchin).

We decided to try a number of nigiri. I seriously believe Super Fusion Sushi wins the prize for the largest nigiris in Boston. The rice ball was about twice as a large as a normal rice ball, and likewise the fish on top was similarly huge (just look at that toro!). Because we had not expected each nigiri to be so big, we majorly over-ordered and had a really hard time finishing the dinner.
The quality of the sushi reflects the prices. For cheap, take-out sushi, it’s acceptable. However, you can clearly tell that the fish is frozen (not fresh), and some of the pieces were really not that great. I would especially avoid the chutoro (tuna belly), which didn’t have good flavor, tasted frozen, and was still pretty expensive. Certain classics, like the yellowtail and salmon, were decent, but overall, the nigiri was very average.

Maki Rolls

Instead, I would stick with the “fusion” rolls, which don’t rely so much on the inherent quality of the raw fish to taste good. The spicy salmon rolls were reasonably tasty (I do have a weakness for any kind of spicy mayo in general), and some of the rolls were quite creative.

Having said all that, I still think Super Fusion Sushi is definitely a good value for the money. You don’t even have to order as much as you usually do because their portion sizes are so humongous. I think you'll fare much better if you get fun, creative rolls as opposed to simple nigiri.

Free dessert - green tea cream, tapioca, and azuki bean

How does it compete with the nearby sushi places in Porter? Well, it's different. It's less authentic than places like Blue Fin, but you definitely get a lot more food for the same amount of money. I'm not sure if I'd go back for a sit-down dinner. However, I would consider ordering platters of rolls if I were having a party at my house or something. It sure beats a platter from a supermarket!

Super Fusion Sushi (Cambridge)
1759 Massachusetts Avenue
Cambridge, MA 02140

March 31, 2012 Cambridge

Rafiki Bistro - update NOW CLOSED

This is the first restaurant post in the new series, Welcome to My New Hood

- UPDATE - CLOSED

How do you respond to heartbroken customers when you take over a space that had been occupied since the 1930's by the same restaurant?

Many people mourned the closing of the Forest Cafe (in all its gritty and inexpensive glory) when it finally shuttered its doors in 2009. The question remained for quite some time, "who would take over the space"?

Last year, the same folks who run Clear Conscious Cafe in Central Square (that coffee shop at the entrance of Harvest Coop), decided to open up a restaurant that focused on fresh, local ingredients with an aim to offer really good, vegetarian friendly dishes.

It's been over a year now since Rafiki Bistro first opened. The menu has changed a few times. The brunch is no longer available. It's moved a bit more towards French bistro and a little less vegetarian-focused.

After we moved to this stretch between Harvard and Porter, we resolved to try every single restaurant "in the hood." Here are our thoughts after our first visit.

The ambiance is warm and cozy, which was perfect since we came on a cold, mid-week evening. Only a few tables were occupied. The bread came right away, accompanied by a white bean dip.
After much indecision, the waiter convinced me to get the crab and avocado crostinis, which turned out to be pretty tasty. I liked how they were served on a bed of arugula (one of my favorite salad vegetables). The arugula's pungeant, peppery flavor actually cut the richness of the avocados and crabmeat nicely.

Bryan got the duck cassoulet (a traditional French casserole made with meat and white beans), which was hearty, full of flavor, and an excellent value for the price (around $12 or so).

A black chalkboard outside the restaurant claims that their scallops are among the best in town. We do agree that the scallops are perfectly cooked and absolutely delicious, although the preparation is relatively simple and, if given similarly high quality ingredients, something one could probably execute at home. Nevertheless, we are happy to enjoy this relatively healthy and delicious meal while dining out.

I order one of the few vegetarian options on the menu, a "napolean" of fried polenta and roasted vegetables. The dish is quite enjoyable, with nicely fried polenta cakes and perfectly roasted root vegetables.

Thoughts
It's a bit sad that so few people were at Rafiki Bistro that night. I know they have offered several promotional discounts (such as through Groupon) and I wonder if they are struggling. Although most of the dishes were perfectly solid, nothing really blew us away.

I do like how several of the options seem healthier than your typical restaurant offerings. It's not a bad place to stop by if you just don't feel like cooking but want something that's pretty good at a place where there's probably no wait.

Rafiki Bistro
1682 Massachusetts Ave.
Cambridge, MA 02138

March 30, 2012 Cambridge

Welcome to My New Hood

It's been a little over half a year since we moved from our tiny urban condo to our slightly bigger medium-sized urban house in Cambridge.

I am amazed at how time has flown. It seems like just yesterday we were packing endless boxes, throwing out all sorts of junk, and dealing with the move.

Though we aren't completely settled yet, we've made significant progress. About 95% of the boxes are unpacked, 85% of necessary furniture purchased, and 0% of the home decorating has been done (OK, I guess I did hang up one print . . .)

In honor of the half-year anniversary of our new house, I've decided to dedicate this next series to highlighting some of the new restaurants we've discovered in our "hood."

We essentially ate our way up Mass Ave from Harvard to Porter, and then visited several other nearby places, all within walking distance.

Here's a sneak preview of the places we visited!

French style bistro with a nicer-than-average selection of tasty vegetarian options.
This French/Cuban restaurant has been around for decades and boasts the city's best Cubano sandwich.
The sushi and sashimi at this third outpost of a popular Brookline joint is so large that you really should order half the amount of sushi you usually get!

Solidly executed food, reasonable prices, and a nice vibe make this one of the most popular gastropubs on the stretch between Harvard Square and Porter Square.

One of my favorite bakeries, I was thrilled when it moved that much closer to me. Now it's really less than a 5-minute walk away to excellent pastries, my favorite vanilla loaf in the world, and delicious sandwiches.

Our new favorite hangout - excellent food, cozy atmosphere, a constantly changing menu, and an all-around great chef draws us back over and over again.

March 29, 2012 Cambridge

Baraka Cafe

I love hidden gems.

I love small, family-owned, little finds that serve fantastic, authentic food in a warm and cozy environment.

I discovered Baraka Cafe, an Algerian-Tunisian and North African restaurant, years ago when I started my current job in Central Square. Just a little off the beaten path (you have to walk down Pearl Street a bit), this family-owned restaurant churns out flavorful, unusual dishes at prices that look like they haven't changed in decades.

Chef-owners Alia Radjeb Meddeb and Krimo Dahim, who grew up in Tunisia and Algeria, run this small, cozy restaurant. The kitchen is crazy small (I'm amazed at what they can churn out there), and seating is limited.

The moment you walk in, you feel like you are visiting someone's home.
The atmosphere is very relaxed, and everything is made to order in the back. The woman in front (perhaps the owner?) is super friendly and treats you like you're family. I usually find the pace of service to be a bit - how shall I say it? - "relaxed"? Don't come here on a workday if you have a strict one hour lunch break. You just never know exactly how long the service might take. Some days it's totally fine, but other days you'd be in trouble if you had a meeting back at the office within an hour.

If you go, you must get their signature drink, the Cherbat. It's an Algerian style homemade lemonade with rose petals and North African spices. Get a glass for $2.00, or share a carafe ($5.95) or a pitcher ($7.50) with friends. It's gorgeously refreshing in the summer, and is pretty different from most lemonade you could get elsewhere.

I absolutely love their bread, which comes loaded with really interesting spices. It's not spicy hot or even salty, just very, very flavorful. We ordered the bread with h'rissa ($3), a homemade North African spicy red pepper pesto made with parsley, olives, and garlic. It's bold, deeply flavorful, and quite addictive.

Their lunch menu has several very reasonably priced open faced sandwiches, which are served on a hand-stretched, homemade flat Berber bread with salad greens tossed in a black caraway and mustard vinaigrette. These come alongside their house-made fries and h'rissa.

Pictured above is the Homemade Grilled Merguez, a lamb & beef North African sausage seasoned with ras-el-hanout, a Moroccan blend of spices used commonly in North Africa. I love the interesting and unusual spices in the sausage.

We also ordered Mahdjouba Djazairia, a grilled Algerian crepe stuffed with a tchektchouka (like an omelet with poached eggs) of bell peppers, onions, tomatoes, and farm cheese. This comes with a mixed green salad. I opted for the vegetarian version ($7.00), although you can add grilled chicken or merguez (lamb/beef sausage shown above) for an extra $1.50. The salad was fresh, the crepe was perfectly executed, and I just absolutely loved the exotic flavors.

Though I generally love everything I've tried here, there is one thing I once tried that I absolutely hated. It's definitely due to personal preference and not a reflection on their execution of it. I ordered the Turkish coffee, which was filled with a huge amount of ground cardamon. I really, really don't like the smell of cardamon - it reminded me of gasoline. I had trouble finishing it.

So, if you're not a huge fan of cardamon either, you probably don't want to order the Turkish coffee.

Overall, however, I love coming here. The food is fantastic, the prices are really reasonable, and the overall experience is very, very authentic. Better yet, this type of cuisine is so different from what I usually eat, it makes every dish a really fun adventure.

I don't come too often because it's hard to get out during the middle of a work day to take a 1-2 hour lunch. When I do come, however, it's always a huge treat.

Useful Tips
This restaurant is not open on Mondays, and doesn't open until 12PM for lunch (Tues-Sat only). I learned this the hard way as I tried to come here twice (once on a Monday, once at 11:30AM), only to be sadly greeted by a closed door. It's cash only, and there's no alcohol.

I have yet to try this place for dinner, but I'm confident that the food is fantastic. The dinner menu has a much larger variety of interesting items to try. One of the most famous ones? The Classical Bastilla Torte, a crazy complicated dish that requires 36-hour advanced notice. It's a filo pastry layered with squab or chicken and a plethora of other interesting ingredients (almonds, cinnamon, saffron, parsley, figs, mint, parsley, and orange blossom infusion!!).

Don't forget to order the signature rose infused lemonade - it's so good, you may not even miss the fact that there's no alcohol.

Baraka Cafe
80 ½ Pearl St
Cambridge, MA 02139

March 28, 2012 Cambridge

Moksa

Edamame potstickers

It's been hyped. And continually delayed. For months.

I walk down Mass Ave in Central Square every day on my way to work. Ever since early summer last year, I've passed by a sign in front of Moksa that says, "opening late, late, late summer."

People have wondered for awhile now what Chef Patricia's Yeo's new project would look like. After Ginger Park (her first Boston venture) closed, she joined Om as their executive chef. Meanwhile, in the background, she's been planning an Asian fusion izakaya which features small plates inspired by street foods from China, Japan, and Southeast Asia.

Edamame potstickers

In Japan, an izakaya is a drinking establishment that serves casual, small plates meant to go really well with the drinks. Here, Chef Yeo has taken that concept and melded it with the street food idea. Moksa serves appetizer sized portions of a variety of dishes, many of which are inspired by street dishes from Asia.

It's only been a few weeks since the restaurant has opened, so I'm sure the kitchen is still trying to figure things out. Nevertheless, here's a recap of my first visit there. We got the unusual opportunity of sitting outside on their patio (in the middle of March!!) due to unseasonably warm weather.

Kimchi fried rice with a poached egg and gochujang

Dishes here are meant to be shared, and the portion sizes are a bit smaller so that people can try more than one dish. We ordered about two dishes per person and it turned out to be just about right. Some of the dishes, such as the rice and noodle ones, are a bit larger while the items from the grill are much smaller. Order a mix of everything and you should be fine.

Chef Yeo liberally borrows ideas from all sorts of Asian cuisines. The kimchi fried rice, for example, resembles a bi bim bop because it is served with a perfectly poached egg and gochujang (Korean sweet chili sauce) on top.

I love the homemade edamame potstickers (pictured above). The skins have a nice chewy texture, and the mashed edamame filling tastes just like you expect. If you love the flavor of Japanese edamame, you'll enjoy these dumplings.

Beef tartare and oyster "roti"

The roti (commonly seen in Malaysian and Indian cuisine), is more like a small taco. Don't expect the "roti" part of the dish to be fluffy, light, and slightly chewy like traditional roti. Instead, the texture of the roti is really more like the skin of a Mexican soft taco shell (more dense, less fat). Yeo veers quite a bit from traditional Asian fare by topping the "roti" with beef tartare and a fresh, raw oyster. This dish turns out to be one of my favorites of the evening. It's nicely seasoned, uses very fresh ingredients, and tastes delicious.

Duck bacon (I think? I can't remember) is one of the smaller "grill" items, coming on just two skewers.

Kurobota pork belly ramen with 5-minute egg

The "kurabota [sic] ramen" (called such presumably because it uses Berkshire pork, known as kurobuta in Japanese), gets its twist from being served with a 5-minute egg and high quality pork belly. I am disappointed that the noodles resemble packaged ramen noodles (curly and quite mushy), and the broth is very, very salty. This is not the first time I've found Chef Yeo's food to be too salty, so perhaps that first time was not a fluke after all? The pork is reasonably tasty, but the overwhelming salt levels make it hard for me to enjoy the soup.

The menu offers a variety of shaobings. Unlike the traditional Chinese shaobing, which is delicate, flaky, and nicely toasted, this "shaobing" more resembled a dense English muffin. It's thick, dense, and a bit dry. Frankly, I think I would have preferred a traditional shaobing.

Shao Bing: spicy beef short ribs

The flavors of the fillings for the shaobings are decent. The saltiness of the short ribs is tempered by the thick and dense shaobing bread.

Saigon Fried Rice

I am woefully uneducated when it comes to Vietnamese food, so I have no idea how authentic this "Saigon" fried rice is. I do know that Chef Yeo traveled to Southeast Asia in 2007 to study the cuisine, and I'm sure some of these dishes were inspired by that trip. This fried rice reminds me a bit of ketchup fried rice, but a bit sweeter with the addition of the pineapples. It is OK, but not something that I love.

Chicken Pad Thai

The chicken pad thai is not bad, nicely augmented with a colorful assortment of vegetables not typically seen in pad thai. The flavor is decent, and it's one of the few dishes that isn't too spicy for our spice-fearing guests.

Twenty vegetable fried rice

The twenty-vegetable fried rice is balanced in flavor and reasonably light. It's a nice, healthy alternative to ordering normal white rice.

Dan Dan Mien

The dan dan mien is a very polarizing dish. Although it's deeply full of flavor (strong umami generated by the pork, mushrooms, various aromatics, and chili spices), I (again) find the dish to be too salty. I yearn for a larger portion of baby bok choy to counter the saltiness in the meal. The noodles themselves are unremarkable, a bit too soft and mushy for my tastes.

First Thoughts
I have to be honest. I was disappointed after my first visit. I had been really, really excited about a cool izakaya serving high quality "street food" at reasonable prices. Although some of the dishes were quite promising, several were oversalted and lacked the finesse in flavor I was looking for. Perhaps it's too much to ask, but I yearned for fresh, chewy handmade noodles.

Our lunch came out to be about $25 a person, not exactly cheap considering we only drank water (it was lunchtime) and we were mostly eating street food. Granted, Moksa does source high quality, often local ingredients, and the rent in the area is not cheap (plus there's that liquor license!). It's natural that prices will be a bit higher.

I've read that Moksa has a fantastic mixologist on board, so maybe you won't notice that the small bites are a tad salty if you're enjoying them with a fantastic cocktail. After all, an izakaya's foremost purpose is to be a place to drink.

Perhaps Moksa will turn out to be that cool, trendy place in Central Square where you can get a fantastic cocktail, a tasty small plate, and enjoy a really cool vibe. The ambiance is pretty nice, with lots of bamboo, clean lines, and modern simplicity.

Moksa
450 Massachusetts Avenue
Cambridge, MA 02139

March 26, 2012 Japanese

Sharpening Your Knives in New York

It may look like a real sword, but no, I have not taken up swordfighting.

What you're seeing is a very special tuna knife! This specialized knife is used to cut up an entire tuna fish, which can grow up to six feet long!

This past weekend I took a wonderful (but short) trip to New York City. Bryan and I enjoyed a lot of Japanese culture this time, everything from visiting a Japanese knife shop to eating our favorite sushi and trying handmade soba noodles.

One of the highlights of our trip was a special visit to the Korin Japanese Trading Company (a place that sells to the likes of Eric Ripert, Daniel Boulud, Nobuyuki "Nobu" Matsuhisa, and Masaharu Morimoto) in downtown where I got my special Japanese knives sharpened by the greatest knife sharpening master in the US.

Meet Chiharu Sugai, the master knife sharpener at Korin. Sugai is of a rare breed, one of very few people who has been trained in the art of Japanese knife sharpening. Sugai studied knife sharpening in Sakai City, the hub of samurai sword and knife making since the 1300's. Yearning to learn more, Sugai sought out the great Shouzou Mizuyama, an 84-year old knife sharpening master known as one of the top knife sharpeners in Japan.

Until Sugai, Mizuyama had never fully revealed all his hidden techniques to anyone. After some persistence (Sugai showed up at Mizuyama's workshop everyday for three years), Mizuyama agreed to take Sugai under his wing as his first ever true apprentice. Sugai is the only person ever to have been given free access to observe, study, and train under Mizuyama.

Sugai continues to travel to Japan multiple times a year, honing his skills in the art of knife sharpening under his master. He sharpens knives for some of the top Japanese chefs in New York, such as Nobu and Morimoto.

Although Sugai is already an expert at what he does (and is even training up his own apprentice here in New York), he still reverently refers to Mizuyama as a "genius" when it comes to knife sharpening.

This past weekend, I had the unique opportunity to watch Sugai in action as he sharpened my knives in New York. He let me follow him into the basement of the store - his workshop where he does his magic.

It's pretty incredible to see the number of steps that go into sharpening a knife.

My words don't do it justice. Check out this video I made instead, where you can watch him in action!

HELP JAPAN

This month is the one year anniversary of the devastating earthquake and tsunami that hit Japan. Korin Trading Company is donating all proceeds from knife sharpening services this month to benefit Japan. If you are in New York and have some knives that need to be sharpened, definitely consider Mr. Sugai. It's hard to find someone else who has trained for so long in the art of knife sharpening to sharpen your knives!

I seriously consider it a privilege to have my knives sharpened by him!

Korin Japanese Trading Company
57 Warren Street
New York, New York
10007

Disclaimer - Korin provided the knife sharpening services to me at no charge

March 23, 2012 Las Vegas

Max Brenner (Caesars Palace)

This is part 5 of the Winter in Vegas Series. Other posts in this series include The Wicked Spoon, Il Mulino, and Table 10.

"Chocolate by the Bald Man" is the peculiar logo for Max Brenner, an Israeli chocolate shop that has now spread to many parts of the world (including Boston just this past year!).

The focus of this chocolatier is not so much on the quality of the chocolate itself as it is on CHOCOLATE as an overall theme. The menu at the shop is filled with a dizzying array of chocolate treats - everything from breakfast (chocolate waffles and crepes) to desserts (chocolate fondue, chocolate shakes, ice cream). and even stranger concoctions (chocolate martinis or chocolate pizza anyone?).

It's a bit gimmicky, but overall fun, casual, and pretty relaxed.

One fun thing to do is to make s'mores, table side! Even though Bryan usually hates getting his hands dirty, he's willing to do it once in a blue moon for something worthy.

It's definitely something fun to do, though I couldn't tell from just eating the s'mores whether the chocolate was particularly spectacular (it didn't strike me as such, but then I'm not a huge fan of s'mores in general).

We also got their signature "hug mug" of hot chocolate, named as such because your hands have to "hug" the mug in order to pick it up. This helps to warm icy hands on a cold winter night. The hot chocolate was fine, though a bit too sweet for me. It also wasn't nearly as chocolatey as my all-time-favorite hot chocolate in Boston. I think we drank about half of it but couldn't finish due to its sweetness.

I see this as a convenient place for friends to gather and hang out for dessert or breakfast. All of their chocolate is kosher, and there are many fun options to try. Inside is a gift shop where you can pick up all sorts of funny chocolate themed gifts (yes, those are the words "aphrodisiac" you see in the background).

Service was slow and spotty when we went. Maybe it's because we were seated "outside" on the "patio" and thus not in the direct view of the staff. [For those of you who have never been to Vegas, a lot of these casinos have HUGE shopping areas where the ceilings are painted to look like the sky, thus making you feel like you are "outside."]

Would I visit again? Maybe, but probably not. For other fun chocolate adventures on the Strip, you can always check out the place that serves the $1000 sundae, the largest chocolate fountain in the world, or grab a TKO or chocolate croissant at Thomas Keller's uber famous bakery.

In my opinion, any of those places are probably much more destination-worthy.

Max Brenner
The Forum Shops At Caesars
3500 S Las Vegas Blvd Ste L03
Las Vegas, NV 89109

March 22, 2012 Las Vegas

Table 10 (Emeril LaGasse)

This is part 4 of the Winter in Vegas Series. Other posts in this series include The Wicked Spoon and Il Mulino.

Table 10 is named after a very significant table.

"Table 10" was the table at Emeril LaGasse's original flagship restaurant in New Orleans where staff meetings were held, menus were created, and new ideas were born.

Table 10 opened in Las Vegas in 2008 and focuses on French/Creole cooking with an emphasis on market-fresh produce.

Out of all of the famous chefs represented in Las Vegas, this was one of the last ones we had yet to try. We had already hit many of the famous "household name" TV chefs (Mario Batali, Bobby Flay, Rick Moonen) as well as other famous Michelin-award winning chefs (Thomas Keller, Joel Robuchon, Jose Andres, Charlie Palmer, and Wolfgang Puck).

We were at CES (Consumer Electronics Show). It was lunchtime. We were already viewing exhibits at the Venetian. We were hungry.

Since we'd already tried several other restaurants in the vicinity (Mario Batali's Enoteca de San Marco, Sushi Samba, and Bouchon Bistro), we decided try something new.

The space inside is really neat. There's a huge open kitchen that diners who sit at the bar can watch all night long.

The service was good. Bread came right away and our server was friendly and very enthusiastic about the food. He immediately recommended the special soup of the day, a corn and lobster bisque ($9), saying that he had tasted it earlier and thought it was insanely good.
The corn bisque was indeed sweet, flavorful, and very, very rich. The lobster was a nice addition, and overall the soup was solid, though a bit too rich for my tastes. It didn't come close to the best corn soup I've ever had from one of my favorite restaurants in Boston.
Feeling like something light, I ordered the Frisée, a frisée salad tossed in a red wine vinaigrette with a poached Glaum Farm egg, a mini brioche, and North Country apple smoked bacon with shaved Parmesan Reggiano. This salad was only $11, a refreshingly reasonable price for the Strip. The egg was perfectly poached, and the rest of the ingredients were overall solid, though I found the red wine vinaigrette to be a bit too acidic.

I do appreciated how the menu tries to tells you the source of all the ingredients. Market fresh indeed.

Since Emeril is known for his New Orleans style southern cooking, Bryan had to order at least one signature dish. He ordered the Slow Cooked Pork Po-Boy ($15), a perfectly satisfying and tasty sandwich with slow cooked pork in a molasses barbecue sauce and cole slaw. Natural cut fries came on the side.

General Thoughts
The meal was solid, reasonably priced, and the overall experience fine. I wouldn't call it a destination-worthy restaurant, (there are so many other much more interesting similarly priced places to enjoy). However, if you're hungry and in a pinch, it's a perfectly fine place to enjoy a quick lunch.

Now, back to CES! (can you find Bryan?)

Table 10
The Palazzo
3327 Las Vegas Blvd S Ste 2900
Las Vegas, NV 89109

March 20, 2012 Las Vegas

Il Mulino (Las Vegas)

This is part 3 of the Winter in Vegas Series. Other posts in this series include The Wicked Spoon.

Crowded tables, unpredictable service, difficult-to-score reservations, crazy high prices, huge portions, and fantastic food.

These are words commonly used to describe the original Il Mulino in New York - a tiny, Italian restaurant in Greenwich Village that's been open since 1981. Founded by brothers Fernando and Gino Masci (who grew up in the Abruzzi region of Italy), Il Mulino aims to reflect the true Abruzzi experience: fresh, rustic vegetables and meats cooked in simple ways to allow the ingredients to shine.

The food, no doubt, has been bringing diners back over and over throughout the years. Heck, it's even the place where Bill Clinton and President Barack Obama chose to meet for dinner.

Reservations are notoriously hard to obtain. Even if you get one, you may not necessarily be seated at the allotted time. Space is at a premium, and diners are packed closely together.

Thankfully, Il Mulino has been opening new restaurants around the country, and now there are outposts in many cities, including Chicago, Miami, Atlantic City, Las Vegas, and even Tokyo!

Because Bryan absolutely loves Italian food, and because we didn't know whether we'd ever be able to visit the New York location, we made a reservation at the Las Vegas Il Mulino to see what all this hype was about.

First, the interior of the Las Vegas location looks nothing like a crowded, jam-packed Italian spot. Probably similar to another famous New York Italian institution with an outpost in Vegas, this Il Mulino was downright spacious, with plenty of elbow and walking room.

We were seated immediately.

Within a minute, servers dressed in tuxedos started coming by our table and giving us all sorts of interesting free antipasto appetizers! Pieces of Parmegiano-Reggiano cheese scooped straight from a huge wedge (delicious), very garlicky garlic bread, salami, oven roasted zucchini (fantastic!), thinly sliced olive-oil toasts (so addictive!), bruschetta, and even a little bit of steamed mussels!

Bryan and I were floored and slightly overwhelmed at the flurry of activity going on around us.

Apparently this is standard at Il Mulino, but we had totally not expected this. It's awesome if you are hungry. I still think all restaurants should have something that they can give you the moment you sit down. It's so nice to be able to much on something while perusing the menu.
It actually took a little while, but eventually our "Captain" for the evening came by to help us pick out our dishes for the evening. He suggested a bunch of specials, and we also asked him about his favorite pastas. We eventually decided to share everything, and ordered one appetizer, three "half" primo sized pasta portions, and one main course (secondi).

Prices for the specials tend to be much higher than the other items on the menu, so be sure to ask. Otherwise, don't be surprised if you see a $60-80 bill for your special on the menu!

We started with a beautiful Bresaola of beef served over arugula and a lime-based vinaigrette (poured table-side). Bresaola is air-dried, salt-cured beef that is typically aged for 2-3 months and served thinly sliced with arugula, salt, pepper, oil, and vinegar.

The bresaola was soft, tender, and wonderfully flavorful. I loved how the peppery arugula, bright acidic vinegar, and meaty bresaola balanced each other out.

Next came our small portions of pasta. The Captain had highly recommended the Bolognese, saying it was one of the best dishes on the menu. I am a huge fan of Gnocchi Pesto in general, so I really wanted to try their version. Finally, Bryan really wanted to try one of their specials, a Porcini Ravioli tossed in a cream sauce of Parmiggiano, champagne, and black truffles.

We both absolutely loved the gnocchi. Pillowy soft yet with just a tad of resistance, they were absolutely perfect. The accompanying pesto sauce was classic yet excellent. This was definitely my favorite pasta dish.

The Porcini Ravioli was way too thick, creamy, and rich for my tastes. I've never been a fan of any cream-based sauces (with the exception of tomato-cream sauces), so perhaps I'm a bit biased? Bryan enjoyed it, and definitely loved the truffle-flavored cream sauce. However, he also agreed it was not his favorite one.

The Bolognese was top notch, with a deep, rich meat sauce and fresh handmade pappardelle, which had just the right al dente texture.

We ended by sharing a salt-baked Branzino. This is a classic Italian dish. Even though the Captain said it was meant to serve just one, I am so glad we chose to share it. It was not until later that I learned that Il Mulino is known for its huge portions. People are often advised to share entrees. I now see why!!

The salt-baked Branzino came with a side of peas and prosciutto. Although the peas were not farm fresh peas, we were surprised at how delicious this simple side tasted. The fish was sweet, tender, and quite enjoyable.

For dessert we shared a tiramisu, which was fine, but nothing particularly earth shattering.
After the entire meal, another server came and gave us each a glass of grappa, a strong, grape based Italian brandy that contains anywhere between 35% to 60% alcohol! It was quite sweet and super strong. I sipped a little, but I really could not finish it.
Bryan and I had an excellent time at Il Mulino.

The service was solid, the space was comfortable, and the food was really, really good - in some cases, some of the best we've had. We especially loved the pastas, and definitely would consider returning and getting slightly bigger portions of some of our favorites.

The prices are high, and you may be appalled to pay such crazy prices for seemingly simple, Italian fare. However, there's something about the high quality ingredients, well-tested recipes, and superb execution that continues to bring people back again and again and again.

While walking out of the restaurant, both Bryan and I contemplated whether it had become our new favorite Italian restaurant in Las Vegas (yes, possibly even over B&B and Rao's).

Now that's saying something.

What it really looks like - one of the darkest restaurants I've ever visited . . .

Caesars Palace (The Shops)
3570 Las Vegas Blvd S Fl 3
Las Vegas, NV 89109

March 19, 2012 California

10th Annual Almost Famous Chef Competition: Signature Dish

This post is part 2 of a larger series about the 10th Annual S. Pellegrino Almost Famous Chef Competition

Welcome to Day 2 of the Almost Famous Chef Competition!

If you missed Day 1 of the competition, the Mystery Basket, definitely go check out that post here to learn about the background of this competition.

This was it - the final culmination of months of intense preparation. These contestants had poured hours and hours into practicing their signature dishes over and over again.

The Signature Dish Competition features the same exact winning dishes that these students created during Regionals.

The twist?

Instead of serving it to just eight judges at Regionals, they would be preparing it for 200 guests! Yes! All of the guests would get to taste these creations!

The day is intense, with the kitchen opening up right at 1:00PM (isn't that the most gorgeous culinary school kitchen you've ever seen?)
Contestants have exactly four hours in which to complete everything. The bell rings at 5PM, and they need to bring everything down to the reception hall for the guests, who arrive at 5:30PM.

Each contestant has two assistants (students from the Culinary Institute of America) to help out in whatever way possible!

Ding! Precisely at 5:00PM contestants pack up their dishes and bring them down to the reception area. Here, they have exactly 30 minutes to set up before guests arrive.

At 5:30 PM, guests started pouring in, lining up at various "stations" to sample all of the dishes the contestants (and their assistants) had worked so hard to prepare. Of course, there was plenty of Acqua Panna and San Pellegrino water to keep everyone well hydrated.
Meanwhile, the judges sat in a separate room, tasting and critiquing courses one at a time.

Who are the judges?

Top Row: James Oseland from Saveur, Chef Gary Danko from Restaurant Gary Danko (sitting next to Jody Adams), Chef Eric Ripert from Le Bernardin (talking to host Jake Hanover)

Second Row: Chef Michel Richard from Citronelle in DC, Culinary Institute of America instructor

Third Row: Susur Lee from LEE Restaurant in Toronto, Tony Mantuano from Spiaggia in Chicago, Sophie Gayot from Gayot.com, and Lucy Waverman from the Globe and the Mail

Fourth Row: Jody Adams from Rialto, Adam Rapaport from Bon Appetit, and Bob Hurley from Hurley's Restaurant.

[For more details and background about the judges, check out the Mystery Basket post]

Let's see what each contestant prepared!

The Signature Dishes!

Daniela Molettieri from Institut de tourisme et d'hôtellerie du Québec made Fillet of Veal Stuffed with Wild Mushrooms, Butternut Squash and Roasted Hazelnut Puree, Mix of Québec Vegetables.
Paul Terrebonne from Nicholls State University – Chef John Folse Culinary Institute made Snapper Lafourche.

Jane Harris from Stratford University made Korean Bibimbap.
Joseph Johnson from Le Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts in Los Angeles made Ras El Hanout Crusted Lamb.

Jennifer Kim from Kendall College made Chard-Rolled Duck Roulade.
Helen Hayes from The Culinary Institute of Charleston at Trident Technical College made Thai Inspired Halibut with Sautéed Shrimp & Coconut Rice.
Eliakim John Acuna from Le Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts in Miami made a dish called D’ Oceana.

Christopher Ravanello from The French Culinary Institute made Braised Short Ribs with Sweet Potato Puree and Celery Root/Apple Foam.
Geoffrey Lanez from Johnson & Wales University in Providence made Pan Fried Halibut with Pistachio Crust.

Daniel Beal from Johnson & Wales University in Denver made Sauté Chicken Breast with Asparagus, Potato and Ox Tongue.

The Awards!

This year, chef Ralph Pagano and actress Lorraine Bracco hosted the award ceremony.
First, they honored all of the judges, asking them to come on stage.

Then they asked all of the contestants (the true stars of the weekend!) to come up on stage. What an intense moment! Months and months of hard work, practicing over and over in the kitchen, was culminating at this moment.

People's Choice Award

The winner is Joseph Johnson! Joseph made an absolutely delicious spice-rubbed lamb that was wonderfully flavorful and perfectly cooked. It was definitely one of my favorites of the evening, and I can totally see why it won the popular vote - it was really, really tasty!

Fan Favorite

The winner of the Fan Favorite Award (which is based on online voting) is Eliakim John Acuna, whose D'Oceana dish consisted of a variety of seafood stewed in a Thai-inspired coconut broth.

Mystery Basket

The winner of the Mystery Basket Competition is Jennifer Kim, who made a gorgeous seared veal top round, black kale chips, sautéed seasonal vegetables, and Parisienne gnocchi the day before creatively using the secret ingredients veal and black kale.

Signature Dish

The winner of the Signature Dish Competition is Daniel Beal who made sauté Chicken Breast with Asparagus, Potato and Ox Tongue!
Let's take a look at that gorgeous winning dish again.
And then it became time to announce the final winner of the S. Pellegrino Almost Famous Chef competition. The stakes were huge: $10,000 and a paid internship with one of the chef judges. The winner has the highest combined score from both the Mystery Basket Competition and the Signature Dish Competition. Because of that, it was likely that either Jennifer or Daniel would win the entire competition.

And the winner is . . . .

Jennifer Kim!!!!

Congratulations Jennifer!

You performed solidly throughout the entire competition. Your Mystery Basket entry was creative and perfectly cooked, and I personally really enjoyed your Signature Dish (loved the tart mustard sauce on top of the perfectly cooked "sous-vide" duck roulade).

Let's just take a look behind the scenes to see how much work went into Jennifer's Signature Dish.

Isn't that incredible? Jennifer used various parts of whole ducks to complete her meal, including roasting duck bones to make a stock, crisping up duck skin, cooking a duck roulade in a Sous Vide circulator at a very precise temperature.

Super congratulations! Here is Jennifer with several of the winners.

Congratulations Jennifer! (Hee hee, I got to hold the BIG check!)

Luis Young, Joncarl Lachman, me, Jennifer Kim, and Jane Harris

I also had a chance to meet a few of the hosts and judges:

Here I am with TV personality Jake Hanover, who actually hosted ALL of the Regionals competitions this year! I met him at New England Regionals while since I was a judge there! It was great, because he really got to follow the students and get to know them.
I had a wonderful chance to chat with my "neighbor" Jody Adams from Rialto (whose restaurant is only a 10-minute walk from my home!). I also met her husband, Ken Rivard, who photographs and writes an absolutely gorgeous food blog called The Garum Factory which details the dishes he and Jody cook at home.

It's my second time seeing Eric Ripert this year! He was super nice to everyone, talking to people and signing cookbooks that people were handing to him.

Although I didn't get photos, I also enjoyed chatting with Tony Mantuano, who told me all about what it was like to be on Top Chef Masters. Interestingly, three other people from that season (Jody Adams, Susur Lee, and James Oseland) were actually judges here. Tony told me the chefs became really good friends through the show. Susur Lee also confirmed the fact in a later conversation I had with him.

I asked Tony whether he would do something like Top Chef Masters again, and he said, "maybe."

All the Signature Dishes

I'm always awed by the talent of these young chefs, and this year was no exception. Great job to everyone - you are all winners and I am confident you will all go very far.

Til next year, Napa!

Coming up - we will return to the Winter in Las Vegas Series. I will also write about some of the other experience we had in Napa, including the last Thomas Keller restaurant not yet covered on this blog, a couple fantastic Michelin starred restaurants in San Francisco as well as Napa Valley, and visits to some pretty awesome wineries.

Disclaimer: San Pellegrino paid for my travel and lodging expenses for this event

March 16, 2012 California

10th Annual S. Pellegrino Almost Famous Chef Competition: Mystery Basket

We take a brief break from Las Vegas to head over to Napa Valley . . .

It's that time of year again!

Welcome to Day 1 of the finals for the S. Pellegrino Aqua Panna Almost Famous Chef competition.

Last month I had the privilege of being one of the media judges at the New England Regionals Competition. There, we crowned Geoffrey Lanez from Johnson & Wales University in Providence as the champion with his delicious pistachio encrusted pan fried halibut dish.

This past weekend, I traveled to Napa Valley again to witness the winners of each Regionals Competition compete for the coveted National prize of Almost Famous Chef. What's at stake? $10,000 and an internship with one of the chef judges.

Trust me, this year's chef judges are an impressive bunch, and I think it would be a privilege to train under any of them.

Additional prizes, each worth $3000, are also given out to the "Fan Favorite" (based on voting from around the world), "People's Choice" (based on voting of the Signature Dish prepared in Round 2 of the competition), winner of Day 1 "Mystery Basket", and winner of Day 2 "Signature Dish Competition".

This post will focus on Day 1: the Mystery Basket Competition

ingredients at the Culinary Institute of America's kitchen

The Mystery Basket competition reminds me most of TV competitions like Iron Chef.

Contestants have exactly two hours to design, create, and execute eight portions of a dish using the secret ingredients. Of course, they don't find out about the "Mystery Basket" ingredients until right before they are supposed to start cooking.

Contestants are staggered in 15 minute increments, with the first contestant starting at 9AM.

Once their two hour bell chimes, they have a 15 minute window in which to present to the judges. If they miss the window, they are forced to wait until the very end of the competition, all while trying to keep their food warm and presentable.

I personally think this competition is much more stressful and intense than the Day 2 Signature Dish Competition because contestants have to invent a dish from scratch (on the fly!) and execute it in 2 hours. Unlike their signature dishes, they can only practice so much for this one.

And the mystery basket ingredients this year??

Veal and Black Kale!!!

I think students were quite surprised that the secret ingredient was veal. Several students had very little experience cooking it, and had to use knowledge derived from their experience cooking other meats (which sometimes worked, sometimes did not). Kale is tricky too. Cook it for too long and it becomes mushy. Cook it too short and it's really, really tough.

Before we get into what the students made, shall I introduce you to our esteemed judges?

Left: Sophie Gayot, a food critic from Gayot, has been a media judge for several years now. Right: Chef Jean Joho from Everest and Paris Club in Chicago. Chef Joho also owns the Eiffel Tower Restaurant in Las Vegas and Brasserie Jo in Boston.

Top left: Chef Eric Ripert from Le Bernardin, Michelin three star and James Beard award winning chef. At right is Chef Tony Mantuano of Spiaggia in Chicago. Some of you may remember he competed on Top Chef Masters a few seasons back. Bottom left: Chef Gary Danko, chef-owner of Michelin one star and Mobile 5-star restaurant Gary Danko. Bottom right: James Beard award winner Chef Michele Richard from D.C.'s Citronelle.

Media Judges: Left: Adam Rapoport of Bon Appetit. Right: Lucy Waverman of The Globe and Mail in Canada.

Left: Susur Lee of LEE restaurant in Toronto (among many others throughout Asia). Right: Jody Adams of Rialto and Trade in Boston. Both Susur Lee and Jody Adams competed on Top Chef Masters during the same season as Tony Mantuano. Susur Lee also tied with Bobby Flay in the Battle of Bacon on Iron Chef America.

* * *

So . . . two hours is up! Let's see what the contestants made!

Daniela Molettieri from the Institut de tourisme et d’hôtellerie du Québec made seared veal shank, purée of potato, chard and shiitake sautée, warm salad, and a basic reduced stock sauce. Daniela told the judges she was aiming for a more medium-rare shank, which she definitely succeeded in doing. One judge wasn't sure how the tomato fit with the rest of the components.
Paul Terrebonne from Nicholls State University – Chef John Folse Culinary Institute made seared veal round, carrot puree, citrus marinated kale, and veal shallot pan gravy. Paul grew up in the South (Louisiana, to be exact) and has been cooking ever since he was eleven, influenced by both his grandmothers.

Jane Harris from Stratford University made herb-crusted veal, sautéed kale with pepper, and roasted red potato. Jane was originally an alternate competitor at Regionals and only found out a few days before the competition that she was competing! Jane won the Mid-Atlantic regionals competition, bringing her to Napa! Furthermore, Jane is actually studying to be a pastry chef, so she's really cooking outside of her training here! Judges suggested cutting the meat against the grain and trying to cook it a bit less.

Joseph Johnson from Le Cordon Bleu School of Culinary Arts Los Angeles made sautéed veal with creamed garlic black kale, "farotto" and mushroom veal reduction. "Farroto" is a word that Joseph created, combining the words farro and risotto. He sliced thin medallions from the veal, pounded them, and cooked them well done (though he may have been aiming for medium well).

Jennifer Kim from Kendall College made seared veal top round, black kale chips, sautéed seasonal vegetables, and Parisienne gnocchi. Judges commended her on presenting the food on a hot plate. They also said her meat was a perfect medium rare. Chef Adams really appreciated Jennifer's good use of herbs.

Helen Hayes from The Culinary Institute of Charleston at Trident Technical College made pan seared veal with sage beurre blanc, sautéed turned root vegetables, and braised kale with crispy shallots. Helen talked about the importance of color in making food beautiful. For her own kids, she has learned how important it is to make food look good to get them to eat it!

Eliakim John Acuna from Le Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts Miami made veal stuffed with shiitake mushroom, soy sauce and coconut milk, glazed carrot, and mashed potato. The judges liked the cornmeal crust, which Eliakim used because he could not find breadcrumbs in the Culinary Institute's kitchen! One judge commented that the potatoes and the sauce sort of overpowered the rest of the dish. Everyone agreed that this was a very creative interpretation of the Mystery Basket ingredients.

Christopher Ravanello from The French Culinary Institute made Provençale veal stew with a side of braised black kale in chicken broth with garlic and olive oil. Chris switched careers to pursue a culinary education after recovering from cancer, realizing that he wanted to do what he loved.

Geoffrey S. Lanez from Johnson & Wales University in Providence made veal roulade stuffed with kale potato cake, carrot puree, and veal au jus. Geoffrey told the judges how he really loved cooking, describing his crazy, rigorous commute (multiple buses and trains!) that he takes from Rhode Island just to put in long hours in a Boston restaurant kitchen every day. Judges wondered whether his carrot puree was a bit too sweet, but were impressed with the lightness of his potato cake.
Daniel Beal from Johnson & Wales University in Denver made braised veal, coconut stewed black kale, apple—soft & hard, and curried parsnip. The judges were really impressed with his overall dish, and commended him on his plating of the elements. One judge suggested cutting the meat into slightly larger pieces, thus ensuring that the meat would be slightly more medium than well done.

And then, it was time for the judges to score.

Who would they pick?

If you were actually there, you'd have to wait a whole day and night until the awards ceremony the following day to find out the winner.

But I'll tell you right now.

The winner is . . .

Jennifer Kim from Kendall College!!

Let's look at her gorgeous dish again.
Congratulations Jennifer! The judges were awed by your perfect execution of the veal, wonderful use of herbs, and gorgeous delivery overall.

Great job!

What fantastic talent from everyone!

March 15, 2012 Las Vegas

Wicked Spoon (Cosmopolitan)

This post is a part of a larger series titled Winter in Las Vegas.

The landscape in Vegas has changed dramatically in the five years that I have been visting. Between my first time in Vegas and this last trip, Palazzo has been built, Encore (Wynn's sister) opened, and the entire City Center complex has been completed.

One of the newest casino/hotels that has come up recently is the Cosmopolitan, a hip, trendy building conveniently located right between the Bellagio (still my all time favorite - love those fountains) and the new City Center.

Inside this hotel is a buffet that's really different from all the others.

The concept is - small portions, higher quality.

It's all-you-can-eat, tapas style. Almost all of the dishes come in mini-portions, plated much more elegantly than food at a typical buffet.

Bryan and I met some friends there for a very reasonable $22 brunch. After paying the crazy, exorbitant Strip prices for several meals in a row in Vegas, this was a welcome relief.

BLT Salad
Good-by big, messy, self-serve salad bars! Salads here are plated individually in tiny little bowls. Though people who like to control exactly what they put in their salads may be disappointed, I think most would welcome the higher quality and classy plating.

Charcuterie?

In general, the dishes are more on the "gourmet" side, with food represented from several different cultures. Here we have cured meats (salumi anyone?), cornichon, and other charcuterie-type nibbles.

Smoked salmon and all the classic fixings, like red onions, capers, and tomatoes.

I really liked the healthy, vegetable-focused options, such as this oven roasted asparagus and onion salad.

Because it was brunch, there were a lot more "breakfast-like" offerings, such as these made-to-order custom omelets!

Hash browns with caramelized onions and cheddar

Tacos al pastor has always been one of my favorite types of tacos, and I was thrilled to find some here.

Each appetizer-sized pan seared fish comes with herbed rice on a trendy square plate.

You have to love the presentation of the fried chicken inside these cute fryer baskets!

There's definitely no shortage of meat.

Slab bacon - yum!

Asiago stuffed gnocchi with spicy sweet potatoes and Brussels sprouts

Cheese Tortellini in tomato sauce

Cheddar mac & cheese with linguica sausage

Butternut squash ravioli with brown butter, sage, and pumperknickel croutons

Assortment of desserts!

How was the Food?
We all thought the food was pretty good. It's not as fancy as some of the nicer (and more expensive) buffets we've been to, like Wynn and Bellagio (no fancy King crab legs here). However, they make up for the lack of super expensive ingredients with thoughtful dishes, solid execution, and nice presentation. The variety of cuisines is a nice plus.

Most of the offerings were quite tasty, though there were occasional duds. The fried chicken, despite being presented in such a cute way, was only OK (not super crispy). I did really enjoyed the asiago-stuffed gnocchi, and the unlimited gelato bar was just fun to explore.

Honestly, for $22 (which includes soft drinks, coffee, juice, and service), it's really quite a steal. I would definitely consider coming back, especially after my wallet's been suffering for a few days paying jacked-up Vegas prices at Strip restaurants.

Brunch: $22
Weekend Brunch: $29
Dinner: $35
Drinks are $5, wines are $8/glass or $20/bottle

Wicked Spoon
3708 Las Vegas Boulevard South
Las Vegas, NV 89109

March 13, 2012 Las Vegas

Winter in Vegas

For the past five years, I have had the opportunity to visit warm Las Vegas in the middle of January, one of the coldest and (usually) snowiest months in Boston. I fight with the crowds that swarm upon this city every winter to witness the release of fancy new electronic gadgets, bigger-than-life TVs, and eye-popping 3D displays.

That’s right.

Bryan and I go to the Consumer Electronics Show each year for fun. (Yes, we actually take vacation days from our day jobs to attend this conference).

Of course, witnessing the latest and greatest new technology is only part of why we like coming to Vegas.

We come because my mom's at the conference every year, so it' fun to visit her in Las Vegas. Additionally, Bryan and I love watching the various shows in Vegas. I think we've seen every single Cirque du Soleil as well as a couple magic shows.

Oh yes, how could I forget? The food!

Admittedly, the restaurant prices on the Strip seem unreasonably expensive, marked up partly because Las Vegas is in the middle of desert (export costs); but also because the Strip is filled with deep expense account pockets, tourists, and those that hit the jackpot playing slots or some other casino games the night before.

Nevertheless, you can’t deny that the Strip has one of the most concentrated collections of really, really good restaurants in the nation. Many of the top chefs in the world have come here to make their mark. You can easily stay in Vegas for two weeks and not run out of good places to try.

Alas, that is why, even in 5 years, we have barely made a dent in our belt of “Vegas Restaurants.”

This Vegas series will focus on the new restaurants we visited this past January. If you’re interested in seeing all of our past Vegas write-ups, click here.

Here's a sneak preview of some of the posts to come!

The more “casual” cousin from one of the world’s more famous chefs, holder of more Michelin stars than any other chef in history.

A buffet built on a concept that I really like – smaller, individually cooked portions that emphasize quality over quantity.

S’mores tableside? This fun, chocolate-centric dessert bar hails originally from New York and actually resides in Boston as well!

One of Emeril LaGasse’s many restaurants in Las Vegas, this one was inspired by his original New Orleans eatery and focuses on market fresh vegetables.

It is virtually impossible to get a reservation at this iconic Italian restaurant in New York, which is why you come to Vegas! Fantastic food and an authentic experience has elevated this restaurant to become our new favorite Italian place in Vegas.

Enjoy the Vegas posts!

March 9, 2012 California

SAMM (Chef's Tasting Room at Bazaar byJosé Andrés)

This is part 5 (final post) of the Los Angeles Eating Adventures Series. The other posts in this series include Peking Restaurant, Scoops Westside, Sushi Zo, and Bouchon Bakery Beverly Hills.

Who or what is Samm?

Samm is a dining room inside José Andrés’ main restaurant in Los Angeles, Bazaar. Samm only offers a tasting menu which highlights Jose Andres’ best or favorite dishes from his various different restaurants. Think of it as a "greatest hits" plus some hidden favorites only available at Samm.

José Andrés is best known for introducing the tapas concept to America through his many Spanish-influenced restaurants in the US. He trained under the molecular gastronomy king Ferran Adria at El Bulli, whose influence you can definitely see in his dishes today.

After a chilly walk around Beverly Hills (where I visited the only Bouchon in Los Angeles), we headed to Samm, anxious to see what surprises José Andrés had in store for us.

The only way into Samm is through Bazaar, the main restaurant inside the SLS Hotel a few miles from the famous Rodeo Drive.

Meander on inside, past the sweets shop and the interesting museum-like items, to arrive at a door deep inside the restaurant.

Step inside, and a calm, warm oasis away from the flurry of activity outside greets you.

Chef's Tasting

Kaviar Kir Royale
We start with a most interesting interpretation of the Kir Royale, a cocktail traditionally made with champagne and creme de cassise (black currant liqueur). In this case, the creme de cassise is trapped inside these small, caviar-like bubbles and thrown into a glass of cava. Although they start at the bottom of the glass, the pressure from the gas bubbles slowly lifts the bubbles within minutes of the pour. It's a beautiful site to watch.

Apple Meringue with Blue Cheese
We enjoy our whimsical drink with an apple blue cheese meringue topped with a hazelnut sauce of sorts. The texture of the meringue is super airy, almost like you are eating a really light styrofoam. At the same time, it has a strong blue cheese component, which works surprisingly well with the bright, fruity apple flavor.

Seabeans in Tempura
The next course arrives on a wrinkled tissue paper. Two small seabeans are coated with coconut powder and fried to resemble tempura. A thick tamarind reduction is drizzled on top. This turns out to be one of my least favorite courses of the night. The beans are overall too greasy and nothing like the ethereal 2-star Michelin tempura I had in Japan. Maybe they fried it too long or at too low heat? The beans have a heavy flavor of the sea, and are quite dense.

Spicy Hand Roll
The next dish more than makes up for my disappointment in the seabeans. Do these "ice cream cones" look familiar? Of course! The salmon cornets from Thomas Keller! José Andrés' version is made with raw tuna, wasabi, avocado, and cilantro. There is actually nori (seaweed) inside. All the flavors in this little bite come together beautifully, and I wish I had more than just one.

Oysters and Jamon
Another winner! This oyster is paired with jamon, the famous cured ham from Spain. The salty, briny taste of the oyster is nicely offset by the bright citrus notes.

Jose's Combination
You know when a dish is named after the chef, it must be one of his all time favorites. This next course is outstanding. Imagine: Iberico consommé gelee, Spanish sturgeon caviar from the Rio Frio region, and mini droplets of artichoke purée on the side.

Iberico consomme is a stock made from jamon iberico, prized pigs from Spain who are fed acorns (I've raved about them several times on this blog already). This deep, rich, ham-like stock is warm and full of depth. Of course the caviar is fantastic, and the artichokes add a nice contrast to the strong, salty flavors.

Interestingly, this particular course is paired with a wheat beer specifically designed to be paired with food. Feran Adria and an Australian beer maker collaborated to design food-friendly beers.

Patatas Bravas
The next course is interesting, arriving on a ripped paper bag. It is based on a basic Spanish street food - fries in tomato sauce. José Andrés has re-invented this street classic by deep frying potato souffle with tomato sauce on the inside. This largish single "fry" is topped with and paprika and aioli.

The flavors for this "street snack" are fantastic. Even though the dish is cold, the "bravas" still has a super thin crispy exterior with a very flavorful tomato sauce inside. I love the strong, spicy paprika, which adds a nice kick to the entire course.

Chicken Skin & Cigala
"Cigala" is a Spanish term that refers to a Norwegian lobster. In this dish, a paper thin crispy chicken skin is topped with Norwegian lobster and parsley air. Although the textures are unique, the flavors of the lobster and chicken skin are more normal, though still quite tasty. The parsley "air" (a foam of sorts) does add an interesting twist and helps to cut the rich fattiness from the lobster and the chicken skin. I hadn't ordered a pairing for this meal, but this was a dish the I felt could have paired well with something light and crispy to offset the richness.

Not Your Everyday Caprese
This next dish definitely takes full advantage of molecular gastronomy techniques. The Mozzarella ball is actually made using via a method called spherification. It oozes out mozzarella liquid, which is absolutely delicious. This is served with cherry tomatoes, a gorgeous pesto, and some pillow shaped crackers.

Crispy Nigiri
Another excellent course, this "crispy nigiri" takes a slice of yellow jack tuna and places it over crisp puff rice and celery root purée. It is topped with pickled turnip and fresh yuzu zest. This bite is delicious and I like the strong celery component as well as the texture of the crunch from the crisp rice.

Uni & Eel
This next course is probably our favorite dish of the entire meal. The risotto consists of Spanish rice (maybe Calasparra rice?) cooked in a to-die-for uni and eel broth (plus vermouth!). This rich, velvety, risotto is topped with fresh uni, grilled strawberries (a la plancha as they say in Spanish), wasabi, and black garlic.

Surprisingly, the strawberry works really well in this dish! The entire dish is creamy, al dente, and super flavorful. We are both super sad when we finish the bowl, and more than once we gaze enviously at other guests when they receive their bowl of uni + eel.

Chipirones
"Chipirone" is a small squid common in Spanish cuisine. In this case, squid is grilled and served with artichoke purée, an artichoke chip, baby spinach, and cippolini onions. This is served at room temperature and I thought it was fine, but nothing particularly special.

Banh Mi
"Banh Mi" is traditionally a Vietnamese sandwich made with cold cuts and pickled vegetables inside of a French baguette. José Andrés makes his with a deep fried steamed bread (sort of like a Chinese manto). The interior? Wagyu beef, fried tofu, pickled carrots, daikon, cilantro, and aioli.

I personally think the fried bread is too greasy and some of the flavors are a little too overpowering. The pickled vegetables are too strong and the fluffy fried bun just isn't substantial enough to stand up to the strong ingredients on the inside. Although it is a nice concept, I think the traditional banh mi actually tastes better!

Carrots & Bay Scallop
Carrots are the theme of the next dish, where even the plate is painted with orange carrot "paint". There are boiled carrots on the side, bay scallops dipped in carrot paint, as well as shaved red carrots on top! There is a hint of sesame oil flavor, and the dish is also served with black sesame praline.

Mirugai
"Mirugai" is the Japanese term for geoduck, a seafood with which I have a love/hate relationship. The first few times I tried it in America, I thought it had this awful stinky odor that I didn't really like. Then I experienced it in Japan at high-end sushi restaurants, where it tasted fresh and delicious.

Here, the geoduck, which is served with radish and an herb oyster purée, is again fish and stinky. 🙁 I guess I only like really fresh geoduck from Japan.

Wagyu & Mushroom Escabeche
This next course comes with the option of shaved white truffles. I'm usually too cheap to go for such luxury extravagances, but Bryan is always excited and willing to try new things. My wagyu beef is well executed but kind of boring. It has traditional French flavors from the mushrooms, but it does not strike me as anything particularly creative.

with white truffles
Bryan's dish with the white truffles tastes (not surprisingly) better than mine. The white truffles add a nice, aromatic and creamy element that enhances the entire dish. I am still disappointed that the white truffles only made an average dish better, not elevated an amazing dish to new heights.

Mushroom & Duck Liver
Bryan and I have very differing opinions on this next course! First off, keep in mind that I don't really like the taste of liver, and I only like fois gras if it's prepared really exceptionally. Bryan, on the other hand, just loves fois gras and liver in general.

Candycap mushrooms (which are beautifully aromatic with almost a sweet scent - hence the name) and fois gras are cooked in a plastic bag which is cut open tableside.

I really did not like this dish. Most of the fat from the fois gras had melted, creating this thick layer of oil on top of the dish. What remained of the fois gras tasted much more like boiled liver, its fat stripped and melted. In my mind I kept thinking "what a waste of white truffles". I couldn't finish it.

Bryan thought I was being way too harsh on the dish. He thought the fois gras was still quite enjoyable and the overall flavors were very nice. He did concede that boiled fois gras is not the best way to go, and that he also prefers it seared.

Japanese Baby Peaches
The next course is almost like a palate cleanser (after all that richness!). It consisted of baby peaches that are picked before the pit has formed, burrata, Z'atar spices, brioche croutons, and hazelnuts. Although the overall dish feels just a bit rich (perhaps I need something even more stark after all that fois gras fat!), the flavors are pretty good.

Dragon's Breath Popcorn
For the longest time we have no idea what this next course was. They bring over a huge metal bowl with nothing inside. Then, they carry over a jug of liquid nitrogen and two puffed corn cakes.

"Eat it quickly and breath in and out."

Well, it's pretty obvious from the pictures why this dish is called "dragon's breath" popcorn. This would have been really novel had I not already seen it once before in Japan (click here to see that post, which includes a video of Bryan with smoke coming out of his nose!)

SAAM-buca
Sambuca is an Italian, anise-flavored liqueur. This particular sambuca flavored ice cream also has compressed green apples, fennel gelee (related to the star anise), and a candied burnt shell on the bottom. I enjoy the fruity and light nature of this dessert, and I'm always a huge fan of anything candied and burnt!

Chocolate Rock
The chocolate rock, which contains many porous holes like lavarock, is made by dropping chocolate into liquid nitrogen. This is served with lime yogurt and some sort of brioche.

Sexy Little Sweets (aka les mignardises or petit fours)
Chocolate with anise, Chocolate with saffron, White chocolate with red peppercorns, Dark chocolate with cardamon, Clementine gum drops (not pictured)

Final Thoughts
It's interesting to try such a long, varied, and drawn out meal because you really get to see so many different aspect of José Andrés' cooking. I was especially impressed with some of the earlier dishes in the tasting, which I thought exhibited a lot of creativity and strong execution. Some of my favorites were the Jose's Combination, Patatas Bravas, Not Your Everyday Caprese, and the Uni and Eel. My least favorite dishes were the two meatier courses that came with white truffles.

I remember even muttering to Bryan that I thought José Andrés should just stick to Spanish food and molecular gastronomy because his French-like offerings were noticeably weaker.

After getting a tour of the kitchen, we learned that my two least favorite dishes had actually been designed by one of the chef de cuisines at the restaurant, not José Andrés (though he did approve them for the restaurant).

All in all, the whole meal was a fascinating experience and I still enjoyed most of the meal. I wouldn't recommend splurging for the white truffle option here. Save your money and get it at a restaurant that will blow you away with it (or buy your own and cook a fabulous meal!).

The price for the tasting, which includes 20 courses, is $120/person, which is not that bad considering the crazy amount of work that goes into each meal. Compare that with other chef's tasting menus like The French Laundry ($250/per person), Per Se ($275/person), or Joel Robuchon (a whopping $385/per person). Of course, there are plenty of amazing chef's tasting menus in the lower $100's range. Some of my favorites that come to mind include Momofuku Ko, Menton, and L'Atelier de Joel Robuchon ~~(post coming soon!)~~.

If you don't quite feel like shelling out over $100 for a meal, you can always go to Bazaar, where you can order some of these dishes a la carte, such as the Banh Mi and the Not Your Average Caprese.

SAAM at the Bazaar
465 S La Cienega Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90048

March 8, 2012 California

Bouchon Beverly Hills

This is part 4 of the Los Angeles Eating Adventures Series. The other posts in this series include Peking Restaurant, Scoops Westside, and Sushi Zo.

It seems fitting that on Oreo's 100th birthday (OK, I'm technically late by a day or two), I have a post that prominently displays Thomas Keller's version of this delicious cookie, the TKO ("Thomas Keller Oreo).

I really love the concept of the chocolate sandwich cookie. Cookies & cream has always been one of my all time favorite ice cream flavors. In fact, there was a time when I used to carry around crushed Oreo cookies with me just in case I happened to need it.

Not surprisingly, the first time I tried Thomas Keller's version, I completely fell in love. So enamored, I began to hunt locally for a similar cookie. I tried making my own. Though the homemade cookie is a valiant substitute, it still wasn't quite the same.

It still looked like I could only enjoy this cookie sporadically, whenever I visited New York.

Then, this past Christmas while in LA with Bryan's parents, I unexpectedly stumbled upon a snowman shaped TKO.

My jaw dropped. There's a Bouchon in LA?

Up until this point, I really though I had visited every single Bouchon Bakery in the world.

There's the original one in Yountville (right down the street from The French Laundry). Then there's one in Las Vegas inside the Venetian. In New York there are two: One in the Time Warner Building in Columbus Circle and one in Rockefeller Center (right across the Good Morning America studios where I saw Brad Pitt behind glass).

And I thought that was it.

I had no idea there was one in Beverly Hills.

How could I miss this one? Are there others of which I am not aware?

Most Bouchon Bakeries are pretty similar, so I won't repeat myself here. You can read all my other Bouchon posts to get a sense of the bakery. Instead, I'll share some holiday specific bakery items they were selling at the time.

Aren't these snowflake cookies adorable?

That's an expensive Buche de Noel, maybe because of the gold? I think it's cute there's a little chocolate macaron on top. It is supposed to be a mushroom?

How could I resist? Of course I bought some cute snowman TKOs. Sadly, the family dog got a hold of them and I never got to eat any of it!! At least I snapped a photo before they were devoured! 🙁

Holiday decorations on Rodeo Drive.

Someday. Someday there will be one in Boston, I hope?

Bouchon Bakery
235 N Canon Dr
Beverly Hills, CA 90212

March 7, 2012 Boston

Cooking for a Cause + Giveaway!

We take this short break from the Los Angeles Eating Adventures Series to tell you about a great food and charity event happening in Boston in a couple weeks!

I am so excited to tell you about a really exciting food charity event that's coming up in a few weeks here in Boston.

On Friday, March 30, 2012 at the Seaport Hotel in Boston, the East End House will be holding its annual Cooking for a Cause. It'll be an incredible evening where some of the area's best chefs and mixologists, along with wine, beer, spirits, and coffee vendors, will come together to create a fantastic evening of food, cocktails, wine, and entertainment.

The event benefits the East End House, a community center in Cambridge that reaches out to under-resourced families in Cambridge. The East End House offers all sorts of services to the community, including an emergency food program, child care program, after school programs, and training workshops for adults.

The line up of local chefs is pretty impressive. There are many excellent chefs from Cambridge, such as Tony Maws from Craigie on Main, Jody Adams from Rialto, Peter McCarthy from EVOO, and Mary Dumont from Harvest.'

Tony Maws from Craigie on Main

One of the many courses in the Ultimate Chef's Tasting at Craigie on Main

Jody Adams from Rialto

Wavy black ink risotto with New England razor, mahogany and littleneck

If you haven't had a chance to try out those new restaurants in Kendall Square yet, you could sample the dishes from several of those chefs at this event, such as Chef William Kovel from Catalyst, Chef Michael Leviton from Area Four, and Ming Cao from Fuji, the new Japanese restaurant in Kendall.

Peter McCarthy from EVOO

To see the entire lineup, check out the event website here.

Tickets are $125 each, and can be purchased at this link.

Giveaway!!!

The organizers at East End House were kind enough to give me TWO TICKETS (worth $250) to this event to give away on this blog. They would love to get the word out about this event.

Here are the rules for the Giveaway:

To enter, you must do both steps below:

1. Comment below telling us one of your favorite Boston restaurants. You must include either your twitter handle or your facebook information in the comment below so we know you fulfilled item #2 below

2. Tweet or post on your facebook page about this contest, including a link back to this page (see below for an example)

Enter to win 2 tickets ($250 value!) @tinyurbankitchn for this incredible wine&dine event @EEHCookingCause http://bit.ly/xwAKwb

One entry per person.Giveaway ends March 21, 2012 at midnight, EST.

Good Luck!

Just for fun, a few more pictures from restaurants participating in the event. (Yes, these pictures show you how woefully behind I am in writing posts. Posts will be coming soon for these, hopefully!)

Area Four

Deauxave

Chez Henri

Island Creek Oyster Bar

Disclaimer - East End House is giving me two free press passes to attend the event for free

March 7, 2012 California

Sushi Zo

This is part 3 of the Los Angeles Eating Adventures Series. The other posts in this series include Peking Restaurant and Scoops Westside.

Could it be?

A sushi experience in the US that actually mirrors the experience I had in Japan?

From my many experiences eating sushi in Japan, I've come to the conclusion that sushi in Japan is nothing like sushi in the US. Although the sheer availability of fish in Japan has something to do with it, I've always noticed that the dining experience is different.

You can read my detailed thoughts about it here, but certain things are different in Japan. The sushi chefs don't let you put wasabi in your soy sauce; they instruct you whether to use soy sauce at all; and they hand you the pieces, one morsel at a time.

Imagine my curiosity when a good friend of mine told me, "we found a place in L.A. that serves sushi just like in Japan! Piece by piece, and they are really strict about wasabi!"

After finding out that this restaurant also had one of the highest Zagat ratings possible (29), along with one coveted Michelin star, I was more than just curious.

I really, really wanted to check this place out.

Sushi Zo sits in the unlikeliest of places. It's on the edge of a strip mall in Culver City. The interior decor is spartan, and the overall ambiance is very casual.

Maybe casual is not the right word, since the restaurant is not exactly the most relaxing atmosphere.

The chalkboard in front dictates that everything is omakase only. This means you do not order from a menu. Instead, the chef just chooses what he wants to serve you (taking into account any dietary restrictions that you tell him at the beginning). You tell him when you're full. The price is a mystery, although it usually ends up costing anywhere from $100-$150 per person.

Other seemingly strict rules include the no cell phone sign and a specific note that says they do not sell cut rolls (perhaps they've tired of the "can I get a California roll?" inquiry). The chef will be stern with you, instructing you whether you are allowed to add soy sauce or not to your sushi. Mixing wasabi paste in your soy sauce? Out of the question.

The last time Bryan went, he attempted to take a photo of his food, only to be told by the sushi chef - No Photos! As you will soon see below, this policy was not strictly enforced when I came, at least not until after my entire meal when I tried to snap a picture of the chefs. Then they yelled at me. Oops! I put away the camera after that.

A Story of Thirty Courses
I'm thrilled I was able to capture images of every single item to share with you. Here are my thoughts about each course. I've tried my best to match up the photos with the descriptions, which should go in order from left to right and then down.

Enjoy!

We started out with (1) Kumamoto Oyster. It was super sweet and fresh, with hints of lime. Next was what turned out to be the only traditional sashimi dish: (2) Maguro (Tuna) Sashimi with a dab of wasabi on top and soy sauce. The quality of this tuna was only average, and not as good as the tuna I've had in New York or Japan.

The third course (3) Abalone with Yuzu came in a shell and was quite interesting. It was hard, almost crunchy. Definitely exotic and interesting. (4) Sea Urchin with Squid was gorgeously creamy, sweet, yet salty at the same time. The squid was actually soft, like noodles.

(5) Hirame (halibut) was a "no soy sauce" kind of dish (the chef told us not to add soy sauce!). Instead, he sprinkled some sea salt on top. The fish was a bit cold but the rice was warm (the way it should be). Overall, I found this one to be OK but not that exciting.

The (6) Albacore Tuna was the right temperature (not too cold like the previous one) and had a nice flavor accented by a dash of lime. I was surprised at how tiny the piece was - it was smaller than any piece of sushi I'd ever seen in any restaurant! I loved the (7) Mackerel, which was buttery, salty, and delicious.

The raw (8) Scallop was sweet, creamy, and had a strong wasabi essence -- a "yes soy sauce" dish. The (9) Yellowtail was solid, though again a bit smaller than I liked. The flavor was alright, but I've had better. (10) Chutoro (fatty tuna), one of my favorites in general, was creamy, flavorful, and the rice had excellent texture. The chef flavored this one for us by brushing on some sort of soy sauce.

(11) Embodai (pompano), a mild, white fish, came with ponzu sauce.

(12) Kampachi came topped with a small dollop of yuzu kosho and was dense, slightly creamy, and quite tasty.

(13) Kimidai (golden eye snapper ) was OK, but the fish was just a bit cold compared to the warm rice.

(14) Skipjack Tuna was served with yuzu soy sauce and was absolutely delicious.

(15) Black Snapper with Truffle Salt was the perfect temperature and had pretty good rice texture. I absolutely loved the truffle salt on top. What a good idea!!

(16) Seared Black Cod with Miso Vinegar had a nice soft texture, although I didn't love the fish flavor. The sauce was creamy, (maybe mayonnaise based?) and pretty sweet.

*Wow, if you're seriously still reading, I am impressed if you made it this far. I know, it's a long post, but there were so many courses!!!*

The (17) Yellow Striped Bass was a "meaty" fish and was slightly cold, but overall pretty good.

The (18) Sea Perch was kind of sweet, like scallops, and the accompanying rice had decent texture.

The (19) Orange Clam with Truffle Salt was a bit too salty and had a really strong wasabi component! The clam itself was nice and sweet, with a toothsome bite. I found the (20) Herring to be a bit chewy and less fatty than something like mackerel.

(24) Sayori (needlefish) had a clean taste with a texture like halibut or sea bass. The fish was soft and just slightly cold, and was served with a sweet ponzu-like sauce.

You often don't get good (25) Ika (squid) in the US, but this one was excellent, being slightly chewy yet still soft enough to enjoy.

The (26) Red Snapper, though slightly too cold, had a nice, soft texture and a good, clean flavor. The chef served it with ponzu sauce, salt and wasabi.

The (27) Salmon was unusual. If you look really closely, it's served with a thin layer of transparent seaweed on top.

I loved (28) Anago (saltwater eel) when I was in Japan. Cooked with truffle salt, it was very soft, fatty, and flavorful. There was a nice combination of flavors from the vinegared rice and the sweet seaweed, though overall the anago was still not as good as those I've had in Japan.

(23) Monkfish Liver was creamy, with a subtle liver taste but pretty strong seaweed flavors.

The (22) Mirugai (geoduck) was toothsome almost crunchy in texture and topped with lime and truffle salt.

The (29) Uni and Ikura (sea urchin and salmon roe) was actually very fresh and not stinky at all! The uni still wasn't as sweet as those you find in Japan. Nevertheless, it's among the best I've had Stateside.

Are we stuffed yet?

Just like in Japan, you know your meal is coming to and end when you give you your (30) Toro Maki.

And then when the (31) Tamago (sweet egg) comes, you know it's over. This last piece is virtually like dessert.

Finally, (32) a simple, sweet drink just to clean your palette.

Epilogue
Wow, that was a crazy long post. How often does one write up over thirty courses?

This is one of the closest dining experiences to Japan I've ever experienced in the US. From the strict rules about soy sauce to piece-by-piece way in which the sushi was served, many aspects of Sushi Zo remind me of Japan.

The variety and selection of seafood is excellent, and the overall quality is very good. In terms of execution, I found certain pieces to be perfect, while others were just a bit off (e.g., temperatures of the fish vs. the rice).

The omakase for our meal was predominantly nigiri sushi, with only a handful of non nigiri pieces in the beginning and the end. The nigiri pieces are the smallest I've ever seen served at a restaurant. It's hard to tell from the photos, but the rice underneath is about 1.5 inches long.

In some ways, having tiny pieces is fun because you get to try so many more pieces in one meal. Overall, however, I felt that it was harder to fully enjoy the optimal chewing and tasting experience for each nigiri piece because it was just a bit too small.

I'm really being pick at this point, though. Seriously, this is still one of the best and most authentic sushi places I've visited in the US (the other being my all time favorite, Sushi Yasuda in New York). I appreciate the vast selection of high quality seafood that they offer, and I love the authentic sushi bar experience where they hand you one piece at a time, each one individually custom-flavored.

I do wish they were a bit more flexible (e.g., letting you order something other than an omakase, letting you take pictures more often). However, it's cool that they offer such an authentic experience, and it's true that many of the top sushi restaurants in Japan operate this way.

The omakase ranges from $100-$200 depending on how many pieces you eat. You can probably get out for well under $100 during lunch. I can't quite remember, but I think our dinner was in the $150 range.

Sushi Zo
Culver City 9824
National Blvd Unit C
Los Angeles, CA 90034

March 2, 2012 California

Scoops Westside

This is part 2 of the Los Angeles Eating Adventures Series. The other posts in this series include Peking Restaurant and Sushi Zo.

On the west side of Los Angeles, not too far from the glitzy restaurants that Hollywood stars frequent, sits a tiny little ice cream shop that serves up some really unique flavors.

You know me and ice cream. It's something my body has been accustomed to having ever since I was about two years old. I'm a sucker for creative ice cream flavors, and I seek out cool places that aren't afraid to be creative.

What's even cooler about this place? It's run by a fellow food blogger - a person who decided to give up his day job as a commercial bank analyst to pursue his passion for all things food.

Meet Matthew Kang. Matthew write the LA-based food blog Mattatouille. I first met Matthew at the Community Dinner at the first ever Foodbuzz Festival in 2009. Matthew took a huge leap at the end of 2010 by quitting his day job to focus full time on opening up his own ice cream shop. Scoops Westside just passed its 1-year birthday a few months ago, which is a testament to all the hard work Matthew has put in this past year!

When Bryan and I arrived, we had a really hard time trying to decide what to order. As a huge, huge fan of grape nut ice cream in Boston, I knew I had to try the famous "brown bread" ice cream. The original brown bread ice cream is made from grape nuts and is probably similar to the ones I've had out east. The version at Scoops Westside, called brown brown bread ice cream, takes grape nuts, coats them in brown (?) sugar, and the mixes them with dulce de leche ice cream. What results is a sweeter, more intense, rich, and caramel-y ice cream chock full of grape nuts.

It was fantastic, though potent! I can see it getting too sweet for me if I eat too much, but the mixture of flavors works quite well.

Bryan got the pistachio honey, which was quite nice with a strong pistachio flavor.

They have so many other types of interesting flavors. The lavender honey ice cream had a lovely floral fragrance that I loved. It was probably one of my favorites.

I tried their nondairy strawberry lychee and blueberry lavender "ice creams" (I think they are made with soy), which were light and refreshing, but really not at all a replacement for ice cream. Think of it as something completely different, like sorbet or sherbet.

Matthew is a coffee aficionado, and also offers "pour over" coffee from Intelligentsia (as well as other hand-picked artisanal brands, like the Colombian one shown above). I must say Matthew has great taste in coffee (and he's highly skilled in making that perfect pour), because I absolutely loved the flavors of the coffee.

I almost feel like I'm back in the chemistry lab (my former life!) playing around with flasks.

In my haste, I almost missed Joshua Lurie from Food GPS, another LA-based food blogger who hang out here a lot (see top picture). We chatted a ton about the LA food scene, and they gave me some great recommendations for places to visit near the SLS Hotel (Jose Andres' Samm inside Bazaar), which is where I was dining later on that night.

I love the variety of flavors at Scoops, and they change constantly. You can always follow their twitter feed to find out the daily specials. Some more interesting ones that have jumped out at me include unfiltered sake toffee, cheddar Irish Cream, Coconut Wasabi, Maple Black Truffle, Yuzu Basil, Pandan Cheesecake, and Lemon Jalapeno. If I lived nearby, I swear I would stop by every so often just to try some of these crazy flavors!!

In terms of texture, the ice cream is lighter than the heavy cream stuff we have here in the East Coast. Maybe they are more health conscious out there? At the end of the day, I guess I'm a super premium ice cream girl at heart, so I still prefer the thick, almost "doughy" ice creams we have out East. Nevertheless, this ice cream is still fantastic, and kudos to Scoops for offering such creative flavors.

Definitely check it out!

Scoops Westside
3400 Overland Ave
Los Angeles, CA 90034

March 2, 2012 California

Peking Restaurant

This is part 1 of the Los Angeles Eating Adventures Series. The other posts in this series include Peking Restaurant, Scoops Westside, and Sushi Zo.

I am absolutely stunned that it has taken me this long to tell you about this place.

Year after year, trip after trip, we always come here whenever we are back in LA. Whether it be with his parents or his high school friends, we never tire of visting this place for a tasty, satisfying lunch.

Simply called "Peking Restaurant" (Bryan and his friends all call it "Beijing"), this unassuming dive in a strip mall in Westminster has been the spot Bryan and his friends visit for authentic, cheap, and fantastic Northern Chinese food.. Bryan grew up eating here (it was really close to his church) and never fails to return every time he is in Los Angeles.

So what makes this place so special?

They make so many things really well. A must-get is the "Roast Beef with Green Onion Pancake" (niu ro juan bing), a scallion pancake wrapped around beef, chopped scallions, and a hoisin-like sweet sauce (see picture up top for cross sectional view). They do a fantastic job on this, and I don't think I've ever seen anything quite like it anywhere else. The outer pancake is wonderfully crispy, and the beef inside is flavorful and delicious. It's by far one of their most popular items.

Another signature dish (which we also always get) is their potstickers. Often they will ask you right when you sit down whether you want the roast beef roll and/or the potstickers.

"Yes and yes, please!"

Their potstickers are juicy and flavorful, and the gorgeous crispy bottoms can't be beat. It's hard to find this particular style of potstickers in the US, so it's always a treat to get them here.

Their handmade dumplings are quite authentic and look just like the ones I had in the real Beijing. These are delicious as well, and a nice, lighter contrast to the crispy potstickers.

The spareribs are another favorite of the family, something they order often when we come together.

They make an admirable soup dumpling (xiao long bao). Although not as refined as the ones from Din Tai Fung, they are still quite tasty and perfectly enjoyable to eat.

One of the best things about this restaurant is that you can get handmade noodles in any noodle dish for only an extra dollar. This is definitely money well spent. The texture of the handmade noodles is fresh, chewy, and overall so much better than dried noodles.

Bryan's favorite soup is Da Lu Noodles, a thick, eggy soup filled with seafood and vegetables. It's served with the chewy homemade noodles that we all love. It's warm, comforting, and delicious.

If you're not in the mood for soup noodles, you can opt for stir fried homemade noodles instead. Here, we've ordered a combination dish full of all sorts of goodies like beef, pork, shrimp, broccoli, cabbage, and carrots. Though it's perfectly tasty, this dish doesn't stand out the way some of their other dishes do (aside from the homemade noodles, which are already a huge treat!).

The decor in this family-owned restaurant is simple, but the food that comes out of the kitchen is really special.

On top of all that, the prices are really reasonable! Most of the appetizer-like dishes (like the roast beef scallion pancake and the dumplings) hover around $6-$8 for an order. The main dishes are closer to $10-$12. A family of four can easily get out of there for well under $50 and be really, really satisfied. Please note, they will only accept credit cards for orders over $30. Otherwise, it's cash only.

This place is definitely worth visiting if you are like Bryan, a HUGE fan of homemade noodles and dumplings!

Peking Restaurant
8566 Westminster Blvd
Westminster, CA 92683

March 1, 2012 California

Los Angeles Eating Adventures

Ever since I've been married, without fail, we head out to sunny Southern California for the holidays. Most winters, it's been a great reprieve from the harsh winters that we experience in Boston.

Boston gets dark so early (think pitch black by 4:30PM in the dead of winter), there's a part of me that's secretly glad that I'm always in a region where the sun doesn't set until around 6PM during the shortest days of the year.

I digress.

This past holiday we again went to Southern California. This time around, we visited Disneyland (riding the new Star Tours ride FOUR TIMES), ate at our favorite Chinese haunts, and checked out a few new exciting places. This next series will highlight some of these fantastic restaurants.

Can you guess where we went?

Our favorite Northern Chinese hole-in-the-wall in Westminster serves gorgeously crispy beef filled scallion pancake rolls, handmade noodles, pot stickers, and many other dishes, all at prices that look like they haven't changed in over a decade.

Of course I had to stop by my favorite dumpling place.
By visiting this location, I have now visited every single one in the world. Aren't these cute snowman-shaped TKO's?

This highly regarded sushi place only offers omakase and provides one of the most authentic sushi experiences I've ever had in the US.

A premium ice cream shop opened by a food blogger?

Molecular gastronomy is prominently featured at this restaurant within a restaurant in Los Angeles.

This is what Christmas in LA is like - sunglasses and no jacket!

Hope you enjoy the next series!

February 29, 2012 Asian

Seared Sea Bass with Bok Choy and Yuzu Mushroom Broth

As a person who travels and eats quite a bit, I always struggle with the same issue of "feeling gross."

You know the feeling. You travel to some amazing destination so you want to take advantage as much as possible of the food there. You plan out your breakfasts, lunches, and dinners. Even though you aren't even hungry by the next meal, you soldier on.

I typically try to compensate by walking a TON during my trips. Still, after a few days of non-stop eating, I'm usually ready to go home, cook healthy and simple "spa food", and let my stomach take a break.

This seared sea bass dish is something I concocted recently. It's based off of other broth-based fish dishes I've had at restaurants, and the flavors are inspired by my first, unforgettable encounter with yuzu kosho, now one of my new favorite sauces.

It's clean, light and healthy. At the same time, it's complex and full of interesting flavors. I think it's the perfect antidote to a heavy week of eating out.

The broth served with the fish is based off of a dashi stock. Dashi is a fundamental seaweed based stock used often in Japanese cooking. I think it's one of the easiest and quickest stocks to make from scratch, as long as you have two key ingredients: kastuobushi (dried bonito flakes shown on left) and kombu (dried seaweed shown on right).

The stuff lasts forever, so I always just keep some on hand in the "pantry" (aka the shelf in the basement).

It's so easy to make this broth. Just soak the kombu in cold water for about 20 minutes. Bring the water to a boil.

Once boiling, just add the bonito flakes, turn off the heat, and let it sit for about 4 minutes.

Strain and use! So easy! For an even easier method, just soak everything in cold water overnight and drain the next morning.

The key ingredient in this zingy, flavorful broth is the addition of yuzu kosho. Yuzu kosho is a Japanese seasoning made from yuzu zest, chili peppers, and salt. Yuzu is a Japanese citrus that looks like a lime but is much more floral in its aroma. I first discovered yuzu kosho at a little izakaya in Tokyo where they added it to their dashi-based shabu shabu broth.

I was floored by the intense floral, spicy, and citrusy notes. Even though I was stuffed from the rest of the meal, I couldn't stop sipping at the fantastic yuzu-infused shabu broth.

Inspired by that meal, I decided to add yuzu kosho to my homemade dashi broth. To incorporate yet another dimension of umami, I also included some mushroom broth from these rehydrated morel mushrooms.

On the side, I sauteed some baby bok choy, though you could really use any sort of green. Try pea tendrils, or maybe spinach. Any relatively neutral leafy green should work pretty well.

Finally, pan fry some fish to serve on top.

Homemade Dashi Broth
4 inch piece of kombu (dried seaweed)
½ cup katsuobushi (dried fish flakes)
3-4 cups water

Soak the kombu in a pot of cold water for about 20 minutes. Bring the water to a boil. Once boiling, add the bonito flakes, turn off the heat, and let sit for 4 minutes. Strain and use.

Mushroom Broth
Soak dried mushrooms in hot water for about 10-15 minutes. Remove mushrooms and reserve for another use (or you can saute them and serve them alongside the bok choy!).

Yuzu Dashi Mushroom Broth
3 cups dashi broth
½ cup mushroom broth
1-2 T soy sauce
1-2 teaspoon yuzu kosho

Combine all ingredients in a pot and heat under just under boiling. Keep warm until ready to plate.

Pan Fried Fish
1 lb white, firm fleshed fish (e.g., sea bass, cod), cut into single serving sizes

Heat a skillet on high heat with 1-2 T of canola oil until the oil is smoking hot. Sear fish in a pan for about 2-3 minutes and then flip and sear for another 2-3 minutes, or until the fish is done to your liking (I tend to like fish more on the semi-rare side!). In a separate wok, saute baby bok choy with a little bit of dried shrimp and dashi soup base (recipe here).

To plate, layer baby bok choy on the bottom and fish on top. Pour in the broth on the side, and serve!
Enjoy!!

February 28, 2012 Europe

The Trout Inn (Oxford)

This is the fifth and last post in the series Winter in London. Other posts include Bob, Bob, Ricard, Kitchen W8, Fernandez and Wells, and The Turf Tavern and Jamie's Italian.It's sort of awe-inspiring to stand in an old, old building that is so replete with rich history.

Welcome to the Trout Inn, an old, storied pub in Oxford that's been around since the early 1600's (!). The Trout Inn faces the Thames River and is a fantastic place for outdoor dining in the summer. The food's solid and the ambiance inside is warm, cozy, and all around really inviting.

There's so much more to the pub, however.

Because it's so close to Oxford University, it has a ton of cool history associated with it. For example, did you know that on this same riverbank Lewis Carroll (a lecturer of mathematics at Christchurch College) entertained Alice Liddell and her sisters with imaginative stories that would later become Alice in Wonderland?

Or that the Trout Inn was one of CS Lewis's favorite hangouts, where he and his literary buddies would often "sit on the wall with the Isis flowing below us and munch cheese and French bread"* ?

For some reason, knowing that these literary greats used to hang out at the pub makes it that much cooler to visit. It's like you're experiencing a bit of the past when you step into that warm, cozy bar.

I absolutely loved the ambiance inside this place. It was warm, cozy, and had the perfect blend of old and new. The building is quite large, but it's split up into so many smaller rooms (including a fireplace in one!) that it doesn't feel cavernous at all.

I'm not really familiar with European beers, especially English ones, so I relied on the bartender and my gracious hosts for helping me pick out a beer!

We enjoyed a drink in the front before heading into one of the cozy back rooms for dinner.

Cool wines in one of the cozy dining rooms.

Although the service was woefully slow (I've noticed that service all over Oxford in general seems slower than in the US), the food was quite solid. I loved the roasted garlic that came with the fresh, homemade bread.

The hamburger was decent, though in general there are much better hamburgers to be found in the US!

I ordered a fish pie, something that I had never tried before which seemed decidedly British. It's sort of like a shepherd's pie in that there's a baked mashed potato topping. The bottom was a mixture of a white fish and shrimp. I thought it was alright, but not something I would order again. I think I like shepherd's pie more!

I will say that we did all loved the strawberry and black currant crumble with vanilla custard (pictured at right). The vanilla custard was my favorite part -- warm, creamy, and super rich, it tasted more like hot vanilla made from fresh, heavy cream than a typical egg-based custard. I swear, the milk here must have a higher fat content or something, the cream here always tastes so good.

Final Thoughts
At the end of the day, you don't come to the Trout Inn specifically for the food. If you did, you may be disappointed (unless if you just get that crumble, hee hee). The food is fine but nothing that particularly stands out. Instead, the draw of this place is the cool history, incredible ambiance, excellent bar, and the unique Thames-facing al fresco dining experience.

Winter in London Series
This ends the Winter in London Series. I'm not sure when I'll return to London again, but I typically have opportunities from time to time (I work with those UK folks a lot!), so hopefully soon! Until then, I have many more series in the queue (several are travel related, but one is Boston-focused), so stay tuned!

* Collected Letters, Volume III, p. 1481

February 27, 2012 Europe

Oxford: The Turf Tavern and Jamie's Italian

This is the fourth post in the series Winter in London. Other posts include Bob, Bob, Ricard, Kitchen W8, Fernandez and Wells, and the Trout Inn.

I guess it's a bit misleading to call my series "Winter In London" when a large portion of my trip was actually in Oxford.

Oxford is a beautiful city and definitely worth a visit if you have time. The train ride from Paddington Station in London is less than an hour. If you travel during off-peak hours (e.g. something like anytime after 9AM), you can save close to half off the fare of the ticket!

The city center itself is quite small, and most sites are within walking distance of each other.

This is Christ Church, an awe inspiring building whose dining hall was actually used in the Harry Potter films (yes, THAT dining hall with the sorting hat and all . ..).

I spent about 3 days in Oxford and had a chance to check out some of the famous pubs in the area.

The Turf Tavern was the first place I visited. Legend has it that former U.S. president Bill Clinton, during his Rhodes Scholar years, infamously "did not inhale" here. The building itself has been around since the 17th century, sitting on top of a foundation that dates back to the 13th century (!!).

The pub is definitely off the beaten track (you drive through a bunch of small, windy roads before arriving at your destination). If it weren't for the cars, you could almost convince yourself that you've traveled back in time a few centuries.

I only stopped her for drinks, but they had a pretty cool selection of beers, most of which were unfamiliar to me (I'm not really a beer expert by any means). The inside lodge area was full, so we sat outside in the tent area and enjoyed our drinks. It was definitely a nice, cozy experience and felt so authentically British.

For dinner, we went to Jamie's Italian, Jamie Oliver's chain of Italian restaurants across England. Huge prosciutto hams hang alongside the window, giving the entire place an air of Italian authenticity.

Although some of the dishes, such as the burrata and the carbonara, were solid (no fresh pasta here, but it was cooked a nice al dente), other items were clear misses. The black truffle risotto was not cooked properly (too watery and mushy!) and neither dessert succeeded in impressing us.

The person who brought me here assured me that the risotto has been better in the past, so perhaps we just stumbled upon a bad night. Nevertheless, it may take me quite awhile before I decide to come back and give this restaurant another chance. There are too many other good places to try!

Circling back to my original point, I definitely think it's still worth visiting Oxford. The architecture is stunning, the history is rich, and it's just a fun place to walk around. You could probably make it a day trip.

If you do plan on a day trip, I would head back to London for dinner, since I think food is still generally so much better in London. However, if you do decide to stay in Oxford, you may want to check out the other pub that I visited, which I'll write about next in this series!

February 26, 2012 Dessert

S'mores by the Fire + Giveaway!

I absolutely cannot believe it's already February and there's not a speck of snow on the ground.

I swear, I've never, ever experienced a winter like this before. In many ways, it's absolutely wonderful not to have to deal with slushy sidewalks, slippery driveways, and salt-laden shoes. On the other hand, I feel like we missed a season somehow.

It feels weird, and I'm starting to think I'm a seasons kind of gal, someone who actually enjoys the changes in the weather throughout the year. I wonder how I would fare in a place where weather never changes?

In any event, I'm still loving this mild weather we've been having. I couldn't ask for a nicer, gentler way of being initiated into the joys of traditional homeownership (shoveling, salting sidewalks, high heating bills, etc.). Perhaps we'll be in for a shock next winter.

Despite the fact that it's "mild" outside, the evenings still get chilly. Our new house has a fireplace, something I've never had the privilege of owning.

This past Valentine's Day I did something different. Bryan was out of town on a business trip, so I invited a couple of friends over, and we had a quiet girls' night in.

I did have a moment of panic because I had bought marshmallows, graham crackers, and chocolate, but did not have skewers on which to roast the marshmallows! Then I remembered the handy-dandy grill set that Mr. Bar-B-Q sent to me to test out a couple months ago. (I had used them to make grilled skirt steak tacos).

I pulled it out and - viola! Shish kabob sticks that would double perfectly as marshmallow roasting sticks! The cool serrated edge spatula worked pretty well at holding graham crackers and chocolate!

We made s'mores, talked about life, and just enjoyed soaking in the warmth of the fire.

It was one of the most relaxing nights I've had in a long time.

Happy February!

Nom nom nom

Giveaway!
Mr. Bar-B-Q has offered to giveaway one barbecue tool set to a lucky Tiny Urban Kitchen reader! Just "like" them on facebook and comment below letting me know your facebook name (so we can confirm that you follow them). Of course, you're welcome to tell me your favorite way to use a fireplace or a campfire! I'm a newbie at this fireplace thing, so I'd love to hear your stories and suggestions!

Giveaway opens today and ends Friday, March 2, 2012. One entry per person; US shipping addresses only.

Good luck!