OUR SECOND ANNIVERSARY

Tom and I celebrated our second anniversary last night with dinner at Wood Tavern in Oakland. It's been one of the new, hot restaurants in Oakland since opening last year, and my cousin had given us a gift certificate for Xmas. So we saved it up to use on this occasion. We arrived a little early and decided to walk around the neighborhood, which has a cute strip of small shops and restaurants- there's a bakery, butcher, grocery store, wine shop, coffee shop, tea shop and chocolate shop. Basically everything you need for a gourmet destination in the middle of North Oakland.

After a bit, we decided to head over to the restaurant. It was packed (actually, we'd noticed how packed it was when we'd walked by earlier) and it was very noisy. But after reading the reviews, I wasn't too surprised. The hostess was very nice to us and showed us to our seats immediately. The setting is really nice- high ceilings, a bar that stayed full the entire evening and lots of tables scattered throughout. It wasn't a huge restaurant and along with its popularity, it stayed full the entire time we were there- including a line of ppl waiting to get in.

Since it was our anniversary and we had a gift certificate, we definitely splurged a bit. The menu wasn't very long (keeping it very seasonal) with 6 appetizers, and around 6 entrees. I was interested in the butcher block, with a number of house made charcuterie (3 of the 4 items featured duck), but opted instead for a Smoked Alaskan cod served on avocados and baby shrimp. Tom was interested in the bone marrow, but decided to order the Butcher Block so he could share it with me. Here's my appetizer.I was rather silly in imaging a hot appetizer but of course, if it's smoked it's going to be served cold. That's the whole point of smoking- to preserve foods. The fish was tender, but was too smoky for my taste and wasn't my favorite thing. I did enjoy the avocados and shrimp a lot though.

Here's Tom's butcher block. I liked the house smoked duck breast, but his favorite was the pork terrine with figs and the duck rillettes. Served with little warm toast pieces, whole grain mustard and house made relish, he liked it a lot.

Ok, I'll admit that after my appetizer, I was full. I'm such a lightweight. But the meal was well timed, and by the time out entrees arrived, I was actually hungry enough to eat a bit of it. (Had it arrived right after the appetizer, I would taken two bites and asked for a doggy bag). I ordered the pan roasted half chicken. True, it's not the most creative thing in the world, but lots of people were ordering it and I learned why- the meat was so juicy and tender and just delicious. Plus, they basically deboned the chicken for you, so it was easy to eat. It was served on a bed of fingerling potatoes, spinach and radicchio, but there was so little raddicchio that it was more of an afterthought, really not adding much to the dish. Overall, I thought it was delicious and happily ate the leftovers for lunch today (I had to save room for dessert after all).

Meanwhile, Tom ordered the steak. He doesn't often get to eat beef, so took advantage of the opportunity to do so. Plus, it was served with crispy leeks, which he was looking foward to. He definitely enjoyed his meat, which was actually cooked to the requested temperature. Plus, there was a wine reduction sauce that he liked. Best of all, it was all served on a big pile of Parmesean mashed potatoes, which were very parmesean-y.

And of course, I can never pass up dessert. (By this time it was too dark in the restaurant to take pics) I wasn't interested in most of the options that they had on the menu, so I ordered a strawberry sorbet. It was very well made (strawberries are in season right now- I eat a ton of them every week) and they gave me a lot of it. It was a nice, light way for me to finish my meal.

Tom ordered a warm chocolate cake. He says he got it so I could try it, but I never order warm chocolate cakes since their so ubiquitous. Their version was pretty good, though nothing extraordinary. Overall, we had a really enjoyable dinner. Our waitress was super nice to us, despite the restaurant being packed and having a lot of customer to handle. It was a pretty pricey dinner, but thanks to our gift certificate, Tom claimed it was the cheapest expensive dinner he'd ever had.

A VISITOR FROM THE EAST COAST

Two weeks ago Sue Min was in town for her dental school interviews. It was fun seeing a friend from Boston- the very first one to visit us from the East Coast. And of course, this gave us the perfect opportunity to go check out a new restaurant. Since Sue Min had missed her flight the previous evening- she arrived right before our lunch reservations at Chez Panisse, so that was the first stop we made after she had landed.

As many of you may already know, Chez Panisse is the highly influential restaurant in North Berkeley founded by Alice Waters. It is the cornerstone of an area that's now known as the Gourmet Ghetto and Alice Waters effectively established California cuisine- the use of fresh, local, organic, seasonal ingredients. We had lunch in the upstairs part of the restaurant, which is also known as the cafe. (The bottom part is only open for dinner). After being seated in the wooden and brass accented dining room, I realized that I'd been here before. 10 years ago when I was still deciding on what college to attend, I had visited Berkeley and my cousin had brought me here for dinner. I still remember that fava bean salad we had from that night.

After taking a look at the menu, Sue Min and I ended up ordering the same thing while Tom got the prix fixe menu, which was actually a pretty good deal. The menu really did feature a lot of local growers and ingredients. Sue Min and I started with what ended up being our favorite dish of the day, a little gems salad with anchovies, egg and I forget what else.

The salad dressing on this was perfect. I wish I could figure out how to make it myself. Actually, I'm sure it's in Alice Waters' new cook book. At any rate, I quickly gobbled it up and could have eaten more.

Next came our main course. I actually forget what kind of fish it is now, but both Sue Min and I found it a bit overcooked. It was simply poached and dressed with a good olive oil and fresh herbs. However, Sue Min really like the turnips that were served on the side, while I enjoyed the fresh, flavorful potatoes.

Here's Tom's calamari spaghetti. He also enjoyed this, and I liked the smokiness of that the grilled calamari brought to the spaghetti.

Of course, we had to have dessert. This is Tom's dessert. It a huckleberry and pear sorbet sitting in a pool of muscat. I actually ended up trading desserts with him. He didn't like the muscat, but I think it paired perfectly with the sorbets.

Meanwhile, I ordered this chocolate cake, which ended up tasting a bit like an overcooked chocolate brownie. It wasn't chocolatey enough for me and I think I could've done a better job at home.

Overall our lunch was good, but really pricey. I can see how this restaurant was revolutionary when it started, especially after the excess of the 80s, but the principles of Alice Waters are now very well established. When I know that I can go down the street to the farmer's market and buy the exact same produce, that I get veggies just as fresh in my CSA box every week, that I can drive over to Acme bakery and buy the same bread, it just doesn't seem like a meal here is worth the high price tag. But I'm glad that we were able to try it and figure that out.

LONDON: DAY 4

On our fourth day in London, we didn't have any really big plans. The main one was lunch at Maze, a Gordon Ramsey restaurant that I'd made reservations for months before we arrived. So we spent the morning checking out chocolate shops and buying tickets to see Wicked that evening. We also went to Fortnum and Mason- yet another super fancy department store.

I know that some people compare it to Harrod's, but Fortnum and Mason is much smaller and lesser known. It also means it's quieter and makes for a more enjoyable shopping experience. It kinda reminded me of Takashimaya in NY.

Just like Harrod's, the also have a large food section in the basement. Here's a pick of some dried beef and another of the veggies:

After our little shopping excursion, we went back to the hotel to change into some nicer clothes. Then we headed off to Maze at Grovsenor Square (near the American Embassy). I'd chosen Maze because I knew I wanted to have one nice meal in London, and Maze has a 28 pound 4 course prix fixe for lunch. (yes, that's still quite expensive, but it's cheaper than anything else you're gonna find). Also, the current chef (not Gordon Ramsey) at Maze has become quite well known for his talent- he used to work at El Bulli in Spain.

The dining room is very modern and well lit by large windows overlooking the square. I like it's muted colors of brown and beige. When we arrived, the dining room was already half full, and it'd fill up more as we ate. And for the first time, we seemed to be the only Americans in the room. Everyone else was English. There were lots of business lunches going on around us, but there were also a few group of friends having lunch and a few couples like us. First, we were served bread with butter and salt. The butter is also a deeper yellow and more yummy in Europe. (higher butterfat content).

We were then given menus. Not surprisingly(for having a Spanish chef), it was organized in a tapas style, where you're recommended to get 4-5 courses( generally around 10-15 pounds per course). I already knew I was going to be ordering the prix fixe (you get two choices for each entree, and you can also order a 6 course prix fixe if you really want), but Tom decided that he was more interested in ordering from the menu, and so went for that.

My first course was this lovely pumpkin soup:It had little bits of caramelized chestnuts and onions at the bottom, and then the soup was poured over it. I loved the savoriness of the caramelized parts, and the sweetness of the soup- I just wish I could've had a bigger bowl of it. It was supposed to be served with this little brioche that looks like a mushroom (below) but the waiter gave it to Tom! (I let him have it, I don't like egg breads and he loves brioche)Meanwhile, Tom had his first course- some form of avocado mousse with creme fraiche, topped with crab and oddly enough, a quenelle of sweet corn sorbet and caviar. All these flavors my sound kinda crazy, but the sweet corn sorbet was surprisingly good, and this ended up being Tom's favorite course.

My next course was a seared scallop served with squid ink risotto and "micro squid" (really tiny pieces of squid which I gave to Tom). This was also a very good dish, I loved the risotto because it was packed full with butter. Oh, also, Maze is really into tableside presentation, so when I got my plate, the waiter actually came with a tiny copper pot and spooned the risotto onto my plate (I wish I could've asked her to just leave the pot- I know there was more in there). For Tom's second course, I had encouraged him to order a version of the croque monsieur, with Jamon Iberico and what really interested me- a 2 hour egg yolk. (which means the egg yolk was cooked for 2 hours via sous vide). Tom thought this course was ok. I would've liked it more had the presentation been different, but he found it hard to eat the sandwich with his hands while trying to spread the egg on top.

Next up, Tom got a chicken poached in butter. It was served with this little potato guy on the side. Personally, I didn't find it that amazing, but the sauce was packed with butter and the chicken was moist. I guess I just don't particularly like poached chicken, even if it is poached in butter.
As we ate, I did notice that table next to us- a business meeting of 4. They'd ordered wine and were having the same prix fixe meal as me, but I felt I was getting shafted. They got two scallops, rather than my one, and seemed to be getting more generous portions of everything! Tom thought I was being paranoid, but I think it'd because they were more likely to come back, and we were just tourists. Oh, but I will mention that service here is impeccable, as you would expect from a restaurant of this caliber. There's a ton of waitstaff on the floor and they are quick to refill your water (and at 4 pounds for a bottle of Evian, why not?) and meet your needs.

Ok, for my main course I had the "fish and chips". This wasn't my favorite course. The fish was just slightly over cooked, and not hugely flavorful. And the "chips" weren't potatoes! They were fried turnips. Lastly, the homemade tomato sauce that they'd served it with wasn't really tasty at all.

For Tom's final course, he ordered the beef tongue and cheek (aww, isn't that such a cute name?)I think he also found this course to be pretty good. It was well cooked and the meats were tender.

And now for my favorite course of this meal- dessert. Normally, I find desserts to be a major let down. I rarely say that I like them (even the desserts at Jean Georges were disappointing). I asked Tom when the last time is that I said I even liked a dessert. It took a while to decide, but I did love the caramel tart served at Enoteca. (oh, and the gelatos at Mozza). I'd eaten at both places in March.

I wasn't expecting much from this dessert- a mainly chose it because it came with a doughnut. (mmmmmmmmmm, doughnut). You'll noticed it as that little fried ball- and it was filled with a very nice apple filling. But the best thing was the apple caramel trifle. It's got a layer of apple gelee, a layer of caramel pudding, a layer of vanilla cream, and apple granita spooned on top by the server. It was DELICIOUS. I'm not even a fan of cream, puddings and gelees, but the combination of it all was great.
And of course, we ended our meal with a few petit fours: chocolates and rose gelees. By the end of the meal, Tom was stuffed and I was pretty full. I know that people on Chowhound had complained that the portions on the prix fixe were too small for the price, but I think Americans are always complaining too much about how small portions are. I found this lunch to be just right, and I didn't walk away painfully full (definitely a good thing). I really did enjoy our meal, but we certainly won't be doing anything like it again anytime soon. With everything included, I think it came out to around 90 pounds- you can do your own calculations into dollars.

After our large meal, we went back to the hotel to rest. But we were up soon enough. A tube strike had started that afternoon, and we needed to take the bus to get to theatre where we'd be seeing Wicked that night. We arrived a little early, so I consulted my Cheap Eats guide and decided to take us to a fish and chips place a few blocks down from the theatre. I don't remember the name right now, something involving Super Fresh and fish. At any rate, they have a sit down restaurant, but next door, they also have a take out part. We decided a cod fish and chips combo. We took it to go, found a seat on the sidewalk and began to eat (yes, we're super fancy like that). Here's the cod. It actually wasn't too bad. It was really really hot, but it was moist inside and pretty yummy. The customers in front of us had gotten a large amount of take out, so this had just been fried. (I could see how it'd tasty pretty crappy if it'd been sitting under a heat lamp for a while).

The chips were not as great. They were all different sizes, so they didn't fry evenly. And they were clearly frozen and not too delicious. Overall, it was a great little snack to have before we headed into the theatre- and an appropriate meal for our last night in London.

KO PRIME

A little while ago, I wrote about going to a party at KO Prime with Leah and my initial impression of the place. So on Friday, Leah, Tom and I decided that we needed to have an actual meal there, and we headed downtown. Leah knows Ken Oringer, the consulting chef, and we both name Jamie, the chef de cuisine. Unfortunately, neither of them were there that night (which was kinda surprising on a Friday night, only a few months after opening.) Sorry, no pics for this post. It was really dark inside, and as the evening wore on, at 8pm, it was still more light outside than it was indoors.

Upon arriving, we were shown to our seats quickly. As I've mentioned before, the decor is very cow oriented. The have these strange leather place mats at each seat, which kinda bothered me, because it kept slipping around. Leah and I also pondered a strange composition placed in the ceiling. We didn't really think it related to steaks, but oh well.

When we were handed our menus, we were also greeted by a very very enthusiastic, cheery waitress (but you know, it's that fake kind of cheeriness that's kinda annoying). Unprompted, she started going through the favorites and recommendations on the menu and the scurried off so we could actually peruse the menus ourselves. Not surprisingly, there are lots of cuts of meat, but there were also a bunch of interesting appetizers, sides and some fish entrees.

For Tom, the highlight of his meal were the appetizers. He ordered a half dozen of Wellfleet oysters, which had been recommended by the waitress. He also got the Crispy Veal Sweetbreads (listed as McNuggets style). He said the oysters were very good (though the shucking could've been done better, there were pieces of shell) and the veal McNuggets were just funny cause they were also served on little sticks (but both Tom and Leah found them well cooked).

Meawhile, I got the asparagus with poached egg and hollandaise. The eggs was well poached, so that when it broke, all the yolk leaked out on the asparagus. But it was a heavy appetizer. I was kinda full after I finished it. And Leah got the lobster bisque, which she also enjoyed. I found it far too salty the last time I'd tried it, but Leah likes salt and she found it quite good.

Onto our entrees. As you all know, I don't eat beef, so I ordered the duck breast au poivre. The waitress let me know that it'd be prepared rare, and I said I didn't mind. Meanwhile, she failed to ask either Tom or Leah how they wanted their steaks done. Sometimes chefs do this because they feel that the meat should be cooked to a particular temperatures, which is fine , except...Tom's NY strip steak ended up a bit overcooked. He said it was a good piece of meat, but he found it too hard to cut through. Meanwhile, Leah had ordered the skirt steak and she found it quite tasty. I'll also take note that both Leah and my meals come pre-sliced. Oh, and I did like my duck breast. It wasn't stellar or the best thing I'd ever had, but it was well prepared. I'll also let you know that if you want a side with dinner, you're gonna have to order it (unless you count the 5 cipollini onions that came with Tom's dinner a side). We shared a side of fries with ricotta salata, but we agreed that they weren't all that great. The fries were cut too large, so didn't come out crispy and the ricotta salata really didn't do anything.

And finally, onto dessert. We were all stuffed by this time, but I insisted that we share some, because that's what I do. We ordered two desserts to share, mint mousse with warm chocolate ganache center and a dessert featuring lemon curd. The mint mousse dessert was a disaster. Mainly because the chocolate ganache was burnt, and you could taste its bitterness the second you put it in your mouth. I let the waitress know, and the manager had it removed from our bill. Meanwhile, the lemon curd dessert was quite good. The lemon curd sat a top a little piece of cake and that formed the base for a tall cookie tower. The tower was filled with fresh summer berries, and the combination of it all was very enjoyable.

I felt the pacing for our dinner was a little rushed. With our 7:30 reservation, we were out of there before 9pm. It was enjoyable dinner and great to have an adult meal with Leah and Tom, bu I don't think any of us will be rushing back. It was solid food, but nothing stellar, and it was quite expensive. (Entrees range from mid 20s-mid 40s). Certainly a great place to go if your parents are in town, or if you're entertaining clients.

NY DAY 4: FROM HIGH BROW TO LOW BROW

We had only one thing to do on our last day in NY, and that was lunch at the famed Jean Georges Restaurant. Now, as many of you know, Jean Georges is one of the few restaurants in NY that has been awarded 4 stars by the NY Times. I've only been to only one other 4 star restaurant, and that was Per Se. Amazingly enough, Jean Georges does a lunch prix fixe menu that's very reasonable. You get two courses for $28 and each additional course is $12. (Dessert is only $8, and considering the price of dessert yesterday at KO Prime, that's a freaking bargain).

So Tom, my cousin Jeany and I headed off to Trump International on Columbus Circle. When we arrived, we were escorted through Nougatine (the casual part of the restaurant) into Jean Georges. The dining room was very small (actually, I think it was smaller the Nougatine) and I'm sure it couldn't seat more than 50 people. The rooms was bright and airy, with high ceilings, but I immediately started noticing some flaws- the stain from a spilled drink on the carpet, the smudge on the white tablecloth, paint faded on the dishwear...small details, but details that a 4 star restaurant isn't supposed to miss. Perhaps it was because we were dining while the sun was streaming into the restaurant that I noticed these flaws, and they would be less noticeable during dinner service, when the lighting of the restaurant would make in dimmer and change the atmosphere.

The service was quick, attentive and pleasant, though I could sense the disappointment when we didn't ordered wine with our meal. When we opened up our menus, we realized that it was very seafood heavy. A ton of fish, which isn't unusual for summer, but with Jeany being pregnant, she didn't have a ton of choices. I, on the other hand, had a tough time trying to decide what I'd be ordering and Tom ended up getting 3 lunch courses.

I did order a fun passion fruit lime soda, which was quite tasty. I do love passion fruit. And soon we were serve our amuse bouche (compliments of the chef). Below, you'll see a shrimp, a mini spring roll and a chilled mango soup.

My favorite (actually I think everyone's favorite) item was the mini spring roll. It contained a very familiar Asian plant, but I don't know the name in English. But this is when Jeany first noted that there's a progression of flavors in your mouth. You start out with something, and it becomes something else. Take for example, the mango soup. I wasn't a fan of it, but the first thing you tasted was salt. Then there's a hint of sweetness from the mango and it finishes wish a slight tingle and heat from a mild chili. It really makes you think, and this would be repeated the same experience would be repeated throughout the rest of the meal. And I must say, I think this is the first time I've had an eating experience like this.

Next up was my first course. It was grilled prawns on shitake mushrooms and topped with a yuzu foam. When it first arrived, I was surprised at the sheer amount of foam. First, I kinda feel that foams are very 5 years ago, and I've never been a huge fan of them. Plus, foam was also used in Tom's appetizer of sashimi.

Again with this dish you have that same progression of flavors. The slight sweet/sour character of the foamy. The saltiness of the shrimp, and there was a mayo-like sauce spread on the bottom of the plate. It was pretty good, and really filling.

Next up was Tom's second course. A dish of scallops with cauliflower and caper sauce.

I'm picturing it here cause I really enjoyed the pairing of cauliflower and scallops. It's not something I'd ever think of, but the sweetness of the cauliflower really enhanced the flavor of the scallops. However, the capers sauce was far too salty and overwhelment the entire dish. It should've been used sparingly.

Next up, my second course. Poached halibut with Shimeji mushrooms and lemongrass water. This was my favorite dish of the entire meal.

The halibut was cooked well, maybe like 30 seconds too long, but it was still tender. And once again, you have that same progression of flavors: the earthiness of the mushrooms, the sweetness of the fish and the spice of the lemongrass. It looks simple, but really was quite complex.

For his third course, Tom had sweetbreads, which he enjoyed, saying they were very well cooked and tender. Oh also, during our meal, we actually did see the chef, Jean Georges Vongerichstein. He came out to the dining room to greet some of his VIP diners, and I always say, it's great to see a chef in one of his long running restaurants. I mean, he really didn't need to be there. It was a Monday, lunch service, and the summer. Could you ask for a slower time? And I was recently reading an article about his plans of developing an eatery in Mexico City. Yet, there he was, checking up on his restaurant, and I admire that.

By this point in the meal, we were all stuffed, but I insisted that everyone order dessert, because the pastry chef, Johnny Iuzzini, is very well known, and I wanted to see what he was doing. Jean Georges is well known for serving "themed" desserts. For lunch you get 2 small plates (dinner you get 4) which revolve around a theme, like chocolate. I ordered "summer", Jeany ordered "rhubarb" and Tom get "chocolate."

Here's my summer dessert: I was really excited by it because I got a mini cherry souffle with a side of chocolate ice cream and a plate of macerated peaches with candied pistachios and farmer's cheese. Unfortunately, I wasn't totally in love with it. The souffle was a bit undercooked and the peaches were kinda mealy. Half way through, I made Tom trade with me.

Here's his chocolate dessert:
There's a Jean Georges chocolate cake (aka, a molten chocolate cake) with a side of vanilla ice cream, and chocolate panini with hazelnut, olives and cheese (I forget which kind). I must say, the panini was my favorite dessert, just for its interesting combination of flavors and the crunchy chocolate "bread". The chocolate souffle was also well made, but not anything new.

Lastly, here's Jeany's rhubarb dessert:
The thing on the right is some type of rhubarb slushy, that Jeany enjoyed. She let us have the rhubarb cake with yogurt ice cream on the left. I gotta say, it wasn't all that great.

And of course, you gotta finish with the complimentary petit fours. Here's a plate of chocolates:I was surprised at how well made the chocolates were. Usually when pastry chefs make chocolates, they don't turn out great. (The ones at Per Se weren't stellar) But these were very well made.

And finally, a side of homemade marshmallows (in vanilla, mint and stawberry) and some mini macaroons.I wasn't a fan of the marshmallows, though I applaud the cute idea (having them cut in front of you fresh from a jar). And the mini macaroons were good, but too tiny to really proffer an opinion on.

Up to this point, our meal was well timed and the serving staff quite attentive. But after the desserts were served, we were basically ignored. We had finished eating, plates had been cleared and we had to wait 20 minutes before getting our check. We would've asked for it if our server was anywhere near us, but he was too busy serving his other tables. Plus, the valet service and door service at Trump International in general leaves much to be desired. They should keep in mind that dining is an entire experience, and waiting an additional 15 minutes in 90F heat post lunch for your car to be pulled out of valet (in addition to the $25 they charge), doesn't make a diner leave happy.

Overall, we had a pleasant dining experience, and I'm sure it's a different restaurant during dinner service. But based on our experience, I just feel that Jean Georges was more like a 3 star restaurant than a four star one. For me, we didn't have any truly memorable dishes. Ones that we'd remember and talk about later (Like the chestnut agnolotti or the oysters and pearls at Per Se) I don't think we'll be back, too many other places to try, but if you're looking for a fancy lunch at a bargain price, Jean Georges is the way to go.

After finishing lunch, we started on our long drive back to Boston. I say long, because we got delayed on the departure and ended up in the middle of rush hour traffic. We made one stop to get gas and ended up grabbing dinner at a Friendly's. My very first trip to Friendly's (though I see them all the time)
I was expecting to be like a fast food take out place, more like Wendy's, but turns out, it's a sit down restaurant more like Denny's (with really ugly decor that's suppose to invoke memories of your aunt or grandmother's place).

We still had a way to go, so I didn't want to order anything too heavy. I got a salad and soup combo. Hands down, this is one of the worst salads/meals that I've had in a long time. The soup tasted like Progresso and the salad just didn't taste like salad. When I ordered it with Italian dressing, the server proudly presented me with a bottle of Ken's Lite Italian dressing, proudly proclaiming that I got the whole bottle. The only edible thing on the plate was the garlic bread. I should've just ordered an ice cream sundae, which looked quite good.

Meanwhile, Tom got a turkey burger. Which he said was edible. I snacked on some of his fries.I only include this because this meal was the polar opposite of the one we'd had early in the day. But it just shows our ability to go from high brow meals, to low brow meals, all in the course of 6 hours.

A PREVIEW OF KO PRIME

The KO in KO Prime stands for Ken Oringer. His new venture, a steakhouse that took over the space of Spire, opened just 3 weeks ago. Not much has been written about it (it just opened after all), but the handful of reviews on Chowhound have been pretty positive. We (Leah, Elisabeth, Tom and I) were able to check it out last night, courtesy of Leah and a Daily Candy party. Leah had been invited to the party, and I crashed (not very difficult at these type of events) mainly cause Leah knows Ken, and we are both friends with Jamie, the former chef at Eastern Standard and current chef de cuisine at KO Prime.

When we arrived, the place was pretty packed, but we quickly spotted the display of charctuerie and snagged ourselves some seats. We snacked on small bites during the time we were there, so of course, this can't be a full assessment of the place. So first for the surroundings. I was told that the space was small and that was right on. The main dining room we were was probably 1,000 sq feet. There was a neighboring bar area, but really, there couldn't have been more then 20 tables in that space. They decorated with chic steakhouse themed decor: antler chandeliers, cow's hide rug and chairs also covered in cow hide.

Even though Ken Oringer is the consulting chef here, it was nice to see that he allowed Jamie's character to shine through, and many of the classics served at ES are also present at KO Prime. I've already read on Chowhound that Jamie is serving bone marrow. But he also has his usual variety of homemade charcuterie. Elisabeth, Tom and Leah snacked on plates full of stuff, while I hoarded things for them.

Of course, I would be out of luck on sampling many of the items at KO Prime, since I don't eat red meat or pork, so here a quick listing of what we did try:

Lobster Bisque: full of lobster flavor, but far too salty.

Salt cod fritters: Served with a dollop of ketchup, it was similar to the ones served at ES, but for some reason, more yellow and again, way too salty.

Tuna tartare "burrito": Pieces of tuna tartar wrapped in a thin, flaky crust. My favorite item of the night; the tuna had a nice texture and didn't taste fishy at all. Just clean and served with a delicious, savory sauce.

Shrimp ceviche on a plantain chip: I got the last one. Not very memorable, and I'm not a fan of plantains, but ate it cause I was hungry.

Mini burgers: Tom had a few of them. Everyone felt the patties were flavorful, but the buns were too big and there was just too much bread. Perhaps it was because these were the mini versions. Maybe the bigger version is different?

Kuamamoto oysters: Tiny little guys. Tom said they had alcohol in them, so he wasn't a big fan. I gave him mine.

Steak with caramelized onion on a stick: Doesn't everything taste better on a stick? Tom said he liked this a lot. (Despite the fact that his caramelized onion fell off).

There was one really nice server who kept bringing us stuff. (I think it's because she was Asian and we were the only group of Asians there. Though according to Leah, I'm not Asian- long story). So we had a fun time. The food wasn't spectacular (SALT ALERT!), but they were just little bites, and after it's been open a little longer, we'll make a trip back and I'll give you a full review.

NANTUCKET, DAY 1

Well, we were off to Nantucket. No, not for a little weekend getaway. I was teaching a course at the Nantucket Wine Festival for the second year in a row. So I thought I'd take Tom along, since he'd never been, and it's always fun to have a traveling companion. We left super early on Thursday morning (around 6am) to avoid traffic and make it to the 9:15 am ferry. Luckily, the roads were pretty much wide open, and we arrived in Hyannis before 8. Knowing we might have a little time to grab breakfast, I had looked up the Collucci's Brother's Diner and we headed over there to grab something to eat.

I'm a little embarrassed to say that I knew about this place after watching an episode of "Throwdown with Bobby Flay." It's not a show I usually watch, but they were doing a competition in Hyannis! (and most likely, nothing else was on). When we walked in, the place was fairly empty (it was super early), so we were seated quickly. The interior is filled with mismatched furniture and mugs. It's decorated with lots of New England style memorabilia- Red Sox stuff, baseballs caps from local fire stations, etc.

We were given coffee right away, which was quite welcome due to the low temperature outside. We then perused the menu and decided on what we'd be ordering. At this point, a few locals had started arriving and the servers sort of forgot about us. Finally someone came by to take our orders. I ordered biscuits and gravy (I love biscuits) and a side of homefries. Here's a shot of the homefries, which honestly must have been some of the best homefries EVER. They were crispy all over and creamy and soft in the middle. I wouldn't be surprised if they'd been deep fried at some point.

And here are my biscuits and gravy. I was a little disappointed to find the gravy inundated with chunks of meat (what appeared to be sausage), so I had to scrape that off to the best of my ability. In addition, the biscuit wasn't so great. It seemed to be day old and heated in the microwave, because it had the tough quality of microwave heated pastries. I wasn't so thrilled, but was so happy with my homefries that I just finished those up.

Tom, on the other hand, LOVED his order of protein on protein- Corned beef hash with two eggs AND a side of bacon. You know considering that this is what he chooses to order for breakfast, I don't think he should blame me for making him fat. He actually finished the entire thing, too. Sigh, that's my boyfriend...

Then it was off to Nantucket. We took the ferry over and arrived around 12:30. So it seemed like a good time to go searching for lunch. I had printed out a few lunch/breakfast options for our trip and thought the Something Natural Cafe would be a good place to go for a light lunch of sandwiches. I realized that it'd be a bit of a walk from where we were, but the sun was finally peaking out through the clouds. As we began our walk, I noticed that we were walking past homes. There really weren't any businesses about. And when we finally arrived, it turned out that the place was a house.We walked in and looked at the display of fresh bread and pastries and ended up ordering a couple of half sandwiches and drinks. There weren't any tourists here, just locals, and it's probably a place they just stop by to pick up a quick lunch. There are no seats indoors, just picnic tables outside, in a yard, with this boat. It really was a cute place for a picnic lunch. And here are our sandwiches. I got turkey with tomato and cheese on herb bread.
And Tom got a turkey sandwich with lettuce. To be honest, these sandwiches weren't all that great. I could've made the same thing at home. And overall, I don't think it was work the ten minute walk up hill. After I taught my class, we spent the afternoon settling in and getting ready for dinner. Dinner was the one thing I was looking foward to the most on Nantucket, because I had made reservations for us at Sfoglia. Their NY location had gotten a great review from the NYTimes a few months ago, and my publicist had gone the previous evening and had an excellent dinner there. Though it was a bit cold, and the wind had started blowing, we decided to walk to dinner, and this is where Google Maps screwed up. When we finally reached the place indicated on the map (a 20 minute walk), there was no restaurant to be found. I called the restaurant and found out that we needed to keep walking, they were located mid-island and after another 15 minutes, we finally arrived on their doorstep. I'll mention that I didn't take pics here because it was too dark and small and I didn't want my flash disturbing other diners.

The restaurant is located in a small house. It really is quite "cozy" aka tiny. The dining room is dimly lit, but decorated with whimsical stuff. Old kitchen implements and bowls of various fresh ingredients - a tub of potatoes, citrus fruits on one table, a giant bowl of artichokes on another and our table had a glass jar of rhubarb. Tom described the style as distressed-chic. We were quickly shown to our table by one of the two waitresses, who were also filling many roles- answering phones, bussing, seating ppl, etc. To be honest, the space really couldn't fit more than two of them.

We were given a small bowl of olives to munch on and then the menus. It wasn't a huge menu, which I like because that means that things are fresh and seasonal. And we both decided to order several courses. After we ordered, we were given a plate of breads and a plate of live oil on the side. I decided not to fill up after ordering 3 courses. I started off with a bowl of spinach soup and Tom got an order of cheeses. (I found it unusual that they were serving cheese as an appetizer since normally this is served at the end of the meal, but whatever. ) I really like my spinach soup. If you think of saag paneer, minus the paneer and pureed until it was a soup with melt of the mouth veggies, that would be this soup. Nice intense flavors. They topped it with bits of frittata, which I thought were unnecessary. Tom enjoyed his cheeses. His favorite was a gongonzola.

Next, we were served our entrees. I had ordered a pollo al mattone, which is chicken under a brick. I like making this dish at home, but what I liked about the one at Sfoglia was that they didn't just use a breast, they used half a chicken. Plus they had nicely seared the skin and put red chili flakes all over it (I'll be doing that next time). I thoroughly enjoyed my chicken, despite the fact that it was a bit undercooked. (I didn't send it back because I was so full I didn't finish it). But my most favorite dish of the night was the simplest one- a side of radish bagna cauda. Normally a bagna cauda is served more like a fondue, but in this case, I was given a bowl of mini radishes with the anchovy sauce on the bottom and topped, oddly enough, with grated hard boiled egg. The combination was DELICIOUS. The egg didn't add much flavor so much as an interesting texture, but the anchovy sauce and radishes were great. I'm gonna try to make it at home.

Meanwhile, Tom was working on a massive veal chop that was the size of his plate. On top of this, he had ordered a side of spaghetti with calamari. I wasn't a huge fan of the spaghetti, cause it tasted so briny (like calamari, I suppose), but I think Tom enjoyed both dishes. Unsurprisingly, he didn't finish his veal chop.

And lastly, Tom had ordered a freshly made almond and fig jam tart. They had asked us to order this at the beginning of the meal because it takes 30 minutes to prepare. And they said it was large, so we'd have to share. I was a little annoyed that they didn't give me any other dessert options, just bringing out the tart (I know they had other desserts cause they offered it to our neighboring tables), but I wouldn't have ordered anything else, anyway. The tart was warm and delicious. It was served with a scoop of anise ice cream, which Tom ate. I'm not a fan of fig, so I mainly nibbled around the edges of the tart, eating up all the yummy, buttery pastry. We didn't finish the tart, either.

At this point in the meal, the restaurant was nearly full. A neighboring birthday party of 10 was in full swinging and the noise level in the place had become deafening. So we were happy to head out, with our bellies stuffed. The dinner was a bit of a splurge and Tom disliked the dimly lit dining room, but overall we had a great dinner and for anyone who's visiting Nantucket, I would highly recommend a visit to Sfoglia.

NEW YORK: DAY 1

It had started snowing and Boston was expecting 4-8 inches of snow, awaiting the arrival of the largest winter storm of the season thus far. In anticipation of the storm, Jetblue cancelled over 200 flights. And so, on that cold wintry day, we boarded a very crowded train and headed down to New York. Luckily, we had decided to take the train this time. If we had planned on driving, we would never have even made it. I've been planning this trip for weeks, and wouldn't it just figure that I chose to go the one weekend this winter where there would be significant amounts of snow and make walking treacherous and difficult? But we pushed on.

By the time we arrived in New York, the city was covered in a thick blanket of snow. In addition, the streets weren't being plowed fast enough and the wind was blowing painful ice crystals directly into my face. As we struggled to get to my cousin's condo in DUMBO, Tom asked if we were really going to venture out into the snow again. Of course! I replied. We had reservations at Enoteca.

So yes, I was able to score my reservation at Enoteca on Friday morning. And when the reservationist plugged my info into their computer system, she realized that we'd been there before. That was a nice touch. I made the reservation for 6 people, but in the end, we only had 5. When we finally arrived at Enoteca, not surprisingly, the restaurant wasn't bustling like the first time. The bar empty was nearly empty (though Joe Bastiniach was sitting there making phone calls), but the Enoteca was still pretty full. We were seated at the largest table they had, which comfortably holds six, but in the future, I won't go here with a party greater than 4. I won't go into the details of the meal, because the menu was exactly the same as the first time I went. I will say that the Spaghetti Aglio e Olio was probably the best thing I had. It was soooo simple. Perfectly cooked fresh pasta, some olive oil, salt, garlic, parsley and red pepper flakes, but delicious. I don't think I could reproduce it in my own kitchen. Tom got to enjoy his lardo and I also had a wonderful chocolate hazelnut tart for dessert. Service was impeccable as usual.

Though I wasn't as stuffed as the first time I'd been to Enoteca, I think we all walked away from dinner quite happy. It was certainly worth a cold, wet trek in the snow and was a great start to a weekend filled with food.

A COZY DINNER AT TEN TABLES

I've wanted to go to Ten Tables for a long time now. And now that I think about it, I don't know why it ever took me so long to get down there. It's not far, just in JP. It's not expensive; a meal there costs about the same as at Petit Robert or Eastern Standard. (which admittedly I don't go to all the time, but at least once a month). I think it was the perception of the difficulty of acquiring a reservation, which proved to be false. With Huong in town, I thought it was a good opportunity to try the place out, so last Friday, I called to make a reservation. I've done this a few times now, and normally I get shot down, but the standard protocol is that a machine picks up, you tell them when you want a reservation and they call you back. This time, a person actually picked up. So I made a reservation for Wednesday night at 8pm. Wednesday night is when they have their prix fixe $25 menu. I got to talking to they guy on the phone and it turns out I was talking to the chef. And he saw the caller ID and knew that I was calling from my store. Turns out he's been here before, so that was nice to hear. I don't know why, but it's always kinda redeeming knowing that people from your industry are actually interested in your store.

Ok, so the reservation was made. And about 2 seconds after I hung up, I realized that Wednesday night was the only week of the night I wasn't free. I was teaching yet another class. (I'm averaging about 2 a week these days. Which is great for the income, but it gets repetitive and tiring). Tom was able to change the reservation pretty easily, and we made it for Monday at 7. So the three of us headed down to JP and got a great parking space right in front. I knew the space would be small, but it wasn't as tiny as I had assumed. There really are just 10 tables, with an open kitchen taking up half the space and the dining area taking up the other half. I did take my camera out, ready for some photos for the blog, but the place was so small and intimate I didn't want my flash going off and bothering everyone. So we'll be using our imaginations today.

We were seated at a table right next to the kitchen. It's not the smallest kitchen I've ever seen. And that size kitchen, with a few more staff members, could certainly serve a much larger dining room, but it was nice, having this cozy neighborhood place. There were 2 servers for the entire dining room, which I felt was a good number, and they were pretty decent and friendly, though quite inattentive by the end of the meal. I also enjoyed seeing what was happening in the kitchen. They started us off with generous plates of bread and an amuse bouche- a cold celery soup with grapefruit granite. I got to see them assembling them and I thought they were quite nice, the contrast of sweet citrus and celery.

So we placed our orders. The menu was actually pretty small. They keep things fresh and seasonal. I knew that every night, they have a prix fixe vegetarian menu for $25. You get 4 courses, but they won't tell you what you'll be getting. It's up to the chef. I thought about ordering that, but after viewing the menu and knowing what a picky eater I am, I decided to play it safe and order things that I'd definitely eat. Huong was more adventureous and ordered that. Meawhile, Tom knew he wanted meat. He got a chorizo appetizer and a steak. I got a simple salad and a chicken entree.

The main problem I had at dinner was the pacing of the meal. I felt it was a bit slow and that they allowed way to much time between each course. The restaurant wasn't packed and we could see the chefs working, so they were never truly slammed. That was the main thing I thought they could work on. Meanwhile, we got our appetizers. I enjoyed the simplicity of my salad, with its blood oranges, shavings of reggiano and marcona almonds. Tom liked his chorizo, though would have preferred that it be grilled on all sides, rather than just one. And Huong got a carrot ginger soup, which she also enjoyed.

Watching the chefs works, you could tell that they were able to work in this tight space with a lot of planning and mis en place before service. Many dish components had been made before hand, and just needed to be plated, like the many beet salads I was being made. Oh, and that's what Huong got for a second course. Actually, I would've ordered the beet salad, had it not been served on a bed of blue cheese. (I'm not a fan of stinky cheeses). Huong thought it was allright, she's not a big fan of beets.

There was a bit of a wait before our entrees arrived. And I could tell the chefs weren't really working on anything else, so I didn't particularly understand that, but when they arrived, all three were excellently prepared. Tom thought his steak, though not a very expensive cut of meat, was cooked perfectly. I felt the same way about my chicken and enjoyed the fingerling potatoes and broccoli rabe that it came with. Huong got potato gnocchi served with root veggies and covered with cheese. She enjoyed that a lot, too. Around the time we had our entrees, we watched as one of the waiters departed and only one waiter was left to take care of the dining room. As I said earlier, the dining room wasn't packed, maybe 70% full, but I don't think it was great that there was only one waiter left.

After we finished our entrees, we had to wait a while before we were able to order dessert. There was only one dessert I'd eat, which was a Chocolate Marquise cake. Huong didn't get to pick her dessert, which I felt was a little silly. There was only one dessert on the menu she didn't want, a rice pudding, but of course, that's what she'd end up getting. Tom just got some tea, but he ended up having the rice pudding. Huong and I shared the chocolate cake. But before that, we were presented with little homemade chocolate chips cookies with orange that the chef had just made and little shots of milk on the side. It was a very sweet touch. The chocolate cake arrived it was dense and delicious. We actually couldn't finish it all, since we were so full by this point. But the chef came over and introduced himself. I totally recognized him and we chatted a bit. He's a very nice guy, so I look foward to going back. But after he left, the dinner began to drag. It was approaching 9, our desserts had been sitting untouched before us with the ice cream melting into a little puddle, and yet, the waiter was MIA. Or rather, he was standing 5 feet from us, with his back to us and he talked to the guys in the kitchen. (It wasn't busy in the restaurant by this point).

Finally, Tom had to ask for our check. It ended up being a 2.5 hour dinner, which is longer than it had to be, had the waiter been a bit more attentive. Being next to the kitchen it had gotten quite warm and kinda uncomfortable, and I was ready to stand up. Overall, though, I had a great meal. I loved the casual, warm environment. I loved that there were locals there and that I could see stacks of cookbooks in the kitchen, like Mario Batali's book and the Zuni Cafe cookbook. Even when I went down to the bathroom, there were copies of a mushroom guidebook and Sunday Suppers at Lucques. I will certainly be having dinner here again in the future and welcome anyone who'll be in Boston to join.

NO. 9 PARK

This is part 2 of my birthday post. A while ago I had told Tom that all I really wanted for my birthday was dinner at No. 9 Park. I'd wanted to go here for some time, especially after Barbara Lynch won the James Beard Award shortly after my move to Boston. For those of you who don't know, the James Beard Awards are like the Oscars of the food industry. Tom dutifully made the reservation a month in advance, and also invited along some of my friends, so the four of us headed off to No. 9 Park on Tuesday evening.

Given how hard it can be to get a reservation here, I had expected the place to be completely packed when we arrived, and though there were a good number of people there, it wasn't uncomfortably so. The ceilings of the restaurant were surprisingly low (well i guess it is a basement after all) and the lighting is dim and romantic. I also liked the little beaded thingies they had on all their light fixtures. After waiting for a few minutes, we were shown to our table in one of the two dining rooms, where we were given drink menus and waited for Jayna to arrive. Our waiter was pleasant, but a little too eager. We just wanted to settle in and relax, and he wasn't giving us much of a chance. But after Jayna got there and we refused alcohol, he backed off a bit.

I had told Tom that he should order the famous prune stuffed gnocchi: seared foie gras, Vin Santo glaze, so both he and Leah both ordered that. Meanwhile, I went with Chowhound recommendations to order some type of pasta, so both Jayna and I started off with the Fresh Ricotta Ravioletti: chestnuts, sage, Parmigiano-Reggiano. (oh right, the menu is here is you wanna check it out). Ok, I'll warn you know that I didn't photograph everyone's plate. I always feel a little uncomfortable having my flash go off in fancy restaurants (like Per se and Enoteca) so I limited myself to taking shots of my own food and a few extra ones. Anyway, here's my ravioli. I was surprised when the dish arrived cause I was expecting mini ravioli and instead, there were two gigantic ones. They were great, though. The pasta was well made and perfectly cooked and the ricotta was so smooth and creamy; I don't think I've ever had any ricotta like that. One thing I didn't like were the chestnuts, which ended up being candied and a little hard. I understand how they were supposed to provide a contrasting flavor and texture, but I could've lived without them. Meanwhile, Leah loved the gnocchi and Tom also enjoyed it.

I didn't have a super hard time deciding what I wanted for dinner, cause I didn't eat a lot of the meats on the menu, so I was debating between the scallops and chicken. I wasn't in a seafoody mood, though, so I went with the chicken: Giannone Farms Chicken, baby turnips, Perigord Truffle, sauce supreme. I was also excited about the truffles on the chicken. Here it is below. I found the chicken tender and really well cooked and flavorful. I was disappointed with the truffles, though, and found that they didn't provide any extra flavor at all. And I was surprised to find one of my favorite parts of the dish was the baby turnips, which were perfectly cooked and incredibly flavorful. Meanwhile, Tom really like his venison which he had ordered medium rare and said it was like butter. Leah and Jayna also enjoyed their entrees. We were having great food, but the one thing I noticed that people like certain parts of their dishes rather the dish as a whole.

Ok, I insisted on having dessert and stopped eating my main dish just so I could have one. I knew from Chowhound that they had some convoluted descriptions of their desserts, and you can find them here. There was also this really cool cheese cart being pushed around, so Leah got that. Here's a pic of all the fixing they give you with the cheese cart. I found it kinda cool. I also wanted to take a picture of the cart, but didn't get a really good chance. So instead, here's a pic of Leah's cheese plate. She got one cow, one goat and one sheep's cheese. I only tried the Pecorino, which I found incredibly salty. But overall, everyone enjoyed the cow's cheese. (in the top left hand corner of the plate)
Lastly, here's my dessert. I ordered the Pineapple Chiboust: tropical salade, buddha's hand confiture. Tom got the Seckel Pear Retourner: star anise glace, quince, chocolate and Jayna got the Milk Chocolate Creamsicle: pomegranate, bittersweet panini . A number of the desserts interested me, but each one had components that didn't. For example, I would've gone for the pear, but I hate quince and star anise. But I wasn't gonna go for the boring chocolate cake (yes, they have a ganache cake on the menu). My dessert wasn't what I expected. While I did expect some sort of pastry, this was like a large piece of moussey/tofu flavored with pineapple and it was waaaaaaaayyyyyyyy too sweet.. Actually, I should've asked the waiter what it was cause I just looked up the definition of chiboust on line: It is a pastry cream, finished with Italian meringue. and had I known that, I never would've orderd it. My favorite part ended up being the tropical salad, which was floral and flavored with something I couldn't indentify. My favorite dessert ended up being Tom's (minus the ice cream and quince). Again, it seemed that we all enjoyed different components of the dessert, but not the dessert as a whole. Jayna didn't even finish her bittersweet panini cause they tasted like they'd been drenched in oil.

Overall, we had a fantastic dinner at No. 9 Park; one of the best dinners that I've had in Boston. The service wasn't impeccable. The waiter had definitely backed off too much during the meal and we rarely saw him until dessert, but it was still very good by Boston's standards. And the food was also pretty great. Overall, if you have the opportunity and the means, I would highly suggest a trip here, it's definitely one of the "must visit" restaurants in Boston.