I'm always surprised that some of the best spots in LA are in the most random locations. Or, um, I guess that could be explained by my absolute resistance to acquainting myself with LA and thusly locations seem more random than they actually, probably are. In any case. Koi was on la Cienega near Santa Monica. WhatEVER.
The creative team I was traveling with had been to Koi at least a few times before, so I let them order and never even attempted to read the menu. It was too dark anyway, without my glasses on I could barely make out the fork at my placesetting let alone a menu. However, for all my reluctance to appreciate LA, when the deconstructed California rolls arrived, I was in sushi heaven. Our waiter recommended adding fresh avocado to the soft crab wrapped in super thin rice paper with smoky toasted sesame. Tuna with jalapeno, miso cod, lobster tacos. I was barely willing to tear my attention away from the ridiculously innovative sushi bites to catch a glimpse of David Spade at the table next to us.
Recommended by my too-hip Aussie coworker, I was a little worried Speedos might be too much of a scene for me to relax at on a casual Sunday morning, my single day off in Sydney. But I forget that Bondi is the Santa Cruz to Sydney's already lax SF and any clothing in addition to board shorts and bikinis is pretty much optional. Speedos was meters from the surf, catering to locals and wanderers looking for coffee by the bar or comfort food by the truckload. Close to 1pm (it took me a while to figure out the right bus to take to Bondi and a bit longer to walk the arc of the beach) I was ravenous and opted for the menu listing with the most goodies. Thick Turkish toast, eggs with yolks the color of pumpkins, soft bacon, sweet sausage with sweeter tomato chutney and crispy hashbrowns. Sure, it was far more food than I needed, but I thoroughly enjoyed tasting the range of flavors and combinations.
Less than a mile from my old home in Belltown, Lola is still my favorite. Loud in that airy, sparkling way that feels cozy and comfortable with a twinge of excitement. Whether celebrating with a group or finding a table by the window with Shelly, it always feels like an event. For my birthday, Sherry and Kristin surprised me with brunch there on a crisp, crystal clear Seattle morning.
We had to start with beignets, as one does at Lola, which arrive with clotted cream, strawberry rhubarb compote, and taste like warm, sugary...vehicle food. I love how light and fluffy they are on the outside, crispy on the outside with giant granules of sugar so you can't miss the texture match.
In a sort of embarrassing coincidence, we all ordered the exact same dish with the exact same style of eggs: Tom's Big Breakfast with octopus, pumpkin, spinach, bacon, red onion and sunny-over-medium egg. All of this on a bed of garlic yogurt with vegetable caviar and seeds that pop with flavor. I really can't forget to mention the spectacular coffee but I guess that goes without saying in Seattle. Can't wait for my next trip north, as soon as it starts to get cold in SF, I miss meandering around Belltown.
Chris secured us a reservation at French Laundry for lunch the Saturday after Thanksgiving. Holiday weekend + Napa + three-star Michelin restaurant = culinary mecca. Epic.
Making our dinner selects was too easy. Even before we made any decisions, John and I had caesar salad (with anchovies, of course) and beef tenderloin in mind. Once we figured out there would be a seafood and vegetarian dish, I was leaning toward salmon, but it only took one bite of Madera's halibut and we were sold. Seared to perfection on a generous bed of creamed corn and covered with mini heirloom tomatoes, I think the best part of the dish was the smoked pepper sauce peeking out from underneath like it would only be revealed to the one who discovered it!
Beef eaters were served medium rare tenderloin with broad beans and brussels sprouts over mashed potatoes. Mushroom sauce and giant sea salt were the finishing touches. For the veggies, we chose a spicy tomato ravioli that was so awesome I almost ordered it. Roasted cherry tomatoes and fresh parmesan with a cream sauce topped some of the most tender ravioli I've tasted.
As impressed as we were during the tasting, I think our guests were surprised how amazing the food was. Either that, or they know EXACTLY how to flatter this bride! The best surprise however, has been that Madera was awarded a Michelin star less than a month after we hosted the wedding there! Couldn't be more proud that we got to party there before they made it big.
My fabulous CBA team at Goodby took me to a boozy lunch the day before I took time off for the wedding. In addition to sparkling rose all around, fried calamari with a fantastically sweet thai chili sauce and caprese salad with thick balsamic, we savored A&H's signature Angels on Horseback: oysters wrapped in smoked bacon. What's not to love about a combination of two of my favorite flavors and textures? I opted for the lobster roll for lunch, such a treat whenever it's on the menu but especially at such an east coast seafoodery.
Two months later and a new last name, we went back but for dinner this time. In the cold and the dark, the space is much less designer dockside and much more coastal cabin chic. I couldn't help myself ordering more sparkling wine, it just seems right when I know I'll be ordering fish! To kick things off, we chose the grilled baby octopus (reminding us all of Greece) and shrimp with crispy eggplant. The octopus were tiny, just like calamari but with a smoky, spiciness working well with pesto, but the best part was lemony white beans to cut the powerful flavors. John and I ordered the same thing for the hundredth time, obviously fish and chips. This particular dish is tough to judge because it's always either just right (aka just what I expected) or really really wrong (soggy, bone-y, mushy). Extra crispy Smithwicks batter, firm cod—not too greasy—it was just right at A&H. Even the tartar sauce was lemony goodness.
New England and Manhattan were already taken, so Carmel now has a signature clam-based chowder.
On a super cold, rainy night in Carmel with some of John's Alaskan salmon, I undertook my first chowder. The best recipe I could find began with bacon. What recipe which begins with bacon could possibly be mediocre? The other major selling points were the cup of half and half (instead of boring old milk) and that I would be grating a carrot instead of chopping it. What fun!
6 slices thick cut bacon, sliced into 1/4 inch strips
2 cups yellow onions, diced
1 large carrot, grated
3/4 cup celery, chopped
3 cups cooked potatoes, in 1/2 inch cubes
1 Tbs dill
1 tsp thyme
1/3 or 1/2 cup flour
3/4 cup dry white wine
3 cups clam juice
3 6.5 oz cans of chopped clams, juice included
1/2 tsp white pepper
1 cup half and half
salt and pepper to taste
3/4 lb fresh salmon, in 1/2 inch cubes
(plus a good tablespoon of brandy for kick)
After the bacon is crispy and the veggies are softened with spices, you make a roux with the flour and bacon drippings and stir in all the liquids except the cream. As it came to a boil, I put a bunch of chopped vegetables in the oven as a side dish. Just before serving, sourdough rolls went into the oven to warm up, the half and half was stirred in, and finally this comfort food feast was ready to devour!
It was a wonderfully wintry meal, complete with a fire in the fireplace and rain pouring down outside. I thought the soup itself was super creamy, almost to the point of being too much and when I warmed leftovers, I added a few cups of seafood stock and more sauteed vegetables (in bacon of course). The dill really makes this soup, it's not a shocking combination of cream, salmon and dill, but it's certainly a time-tested classic.
One of the new, exotic items in my kitchen thanks to our wedding registry is a Bamix hand mixer, perfect for blending vegetables to make soup. Given the autumn turn of the weather and upcoming Thanksgiving, comfort food like squash soup is often on my mind, so I sauteed a pan of butternut squash cubes in a bit of olive oil. Adding white pepper, salt and cinnamon, the squash softened and slightly carmelized in the pan. As soon as I was sure they were cooking through, I added just enough chicken stock to cover the vegetables and brought it to a boil before letting it simmer for a few minutes. Transferring hot liquid is not without a few splashes of terror, but once it was safely in a deep glass bowl, I was able to start using the Bamix to smooth into a soup. The texture was pretty thick, so I added more stock until it was just right. I was really happy with how the soup turned out and how quick it was to whip up! Next time: burnt garlic and creme fraiche on top, or perhaps the "so hot right now" fried sage leaf and sage oil.
Many things make the "art" of cooking especially gratifying: pleasing your taste buds, pleasing your guest's taste buds, successfully achieving a difficult result...others are less obvious; finding you have just the right ingredients already in the fridge, discovering a new, delicious sauce combination by accident...and my favorite today: filling the entire house with inviting, mouth-watering scents and using pristine cookware!
On a lazy, rainy Sunday, I was looking for a meal that would make for an extra challenging and enjoyable afternoon of cooking. Beef Bourguignon? Done! This time I would follow Julia's "Mastering the Art of French Cooking" recipe to a T—hours of prep and all. I wish I could somehow capture the aromas wafting around our apartment; fresh rosemary and thyme mixed with carmelizing cippolini onions, bacon, fresh pepper and wine...it's warmth and coziness in the form of food.
I must say, cooking with our new cookware makes the experience about doubly delightful. Our knives are so sharp and adept, I was able to peel 25 cippolini onions in record time. The giant le Creuset dutch oven John bought me for Christmas last year is a much better suited size for the 3 lbs. of beef. The All Clad sautee pan is about as even a skillet as ever, allowing me to leave the onions carmelizing with herbs for 50 minutes without trouble. We even have prep bowls to store chopped garlic and thyme! And enough mixing bowls to set aside the bacon, meat, onions and mushrooms separately and sanitarily! Oh, such joy of cooking!
While honeymooning in Greece, I ate baked moussaka more than anything else. At Byzantine, it was a choice slice of casserole while at Blue Moon and Mama Thira, it was baked in an individual clay pot. I couldn't wait to learn how to cook this classic dish. Below is the recipe I used, plus notes on what I changed and what I need to change on the next round:
Casserole:
3 eggplants, peeled and cut lengthwise into 1/2 inch thick slices - next time, 1/4 inch slices or thinner
salt - go nuts
1/4 cup olive oil - a teensy bit at a time in the pan to flash fry the eggplant
2 onions, chopped - only used one since it seemed like so much
1 clove garlic, minced
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon - used 1/2 teaspoon and it still wasn't enough!
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg - ditto on the nutmeg, recommend a full teaspoon
1/2 teaspoon fines herbs
2 tablespoons dried parsley
1 (8 ounce) can tomato sauce
1/2 cup red wine
Bechamel Sauce:
4 cups milk
1/2 cup butter
6 tablespoons all-purpose flour
salt to taste
ground white pepper, to taste - the more, the better
Topping:
1 1/2 cups freshly grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
I also added quarter-inch slices of potatoes at the bottom of the casserole since that's how it was served in Greece. Although the cinnamon, nutmeg, fines herbs and parsley add a bit of flavor, I still felt it wasn't nearly as flavorful as I was hoping for. On the next batch, I won't be so hesitant to double and triple up the spice quotient. This experience also taught me how underrated white pepper has been in my cooking repertoire.
To prepare, slice the eggplant and potato, sprinkle with salt and layer in a casserole dish. The recipe called for browning the eggplant in olive oil but I made one casserole without browning the eggplant at all and it tasted and cooked the same. In a skillet, brown the beef and lamb in some olive oil. Then add garlic, chopped onion, herbs, spices, and finally the tomato sauce and wine. Layer half of this mixture over the eggplant, then sprinkle a half cup of parmesan. Layer more sliced eggplant, the other half of the meat and another half cup of parmesan.
For the bechamel sauce, prepare as you typically would but add in another teaspoon of nutmeg. Pour this over the final layer of the casserole and sprinkle the final half cup of parmesan on top. Bake at 350° for one hour, then let cool for 20 minutes before serving.
We finally went to Wayfare Tavern this weekend and holy poutine coma! More calories in one sitting than I've had in ages but after you hear this you'll understand why: braised short rib, French fried potato, truffle jack cheese and veal jus. Just, wow. We tried to carry on a conversation during this appetizer but I couldn't concentrate on much else.
The atmosphere is intimate and inviting with modern touches overlaying an almost hunting lodge vibe. We rounded out the meal with deviled eggs (no kidding!) oysters, fried chicken and truffled mashed potatoes. (photo is from the Wayfare Tavern website because the dining room was way too swanky for me to whip out my camera)
One of the many remarkable things I learned in the process of wedding planning was that pastry chefs across the board expect a bride to know exactly what kind of cake she imagines cutting into as a freshly minted wife. Seven layers with a different cake/frosting combination on each tier, tropical cocktail-inspired flavors, buttercream versus fondant, flowers made from sugar, silk or real ones! As you may be able to tell from the lack of dessert-specific posts on this blog, I don't have a big preference when it comes to cakes. The more I thought about it, the more options I saw online, the more I pictured a simple white cake! And what's white? Vanilla! It just works. Biting into an almond croissant on the way to meeting the catering manager one morning, I realized the filling is one of my favorite flavors and a light bulb went off; the cake would have to involve almond, somehow.
In the end, the cake we saw on our wedding night was beautiful and I think the cake itself was almond flavored! My first bite was memorable too, mainly because it was giant and all I could think about were all the flashes going off and how embarrassing it would be if I dribbled frosting on my chin!
At the tasting, the pastry chef brought out six different flavor combinations for our cupcakes. We couldn't decide on three so we served all six!
1. Almond cake with vanilla bean frosting (and gold leaf!) matched the wedding cake
2. Pistachio cake with dulce de leche frosting and fleur de sel caramel
3. Chocolate cake with espresso frosting
4. Banana walnut cake with toffee frosting
5. Red velvet cake with cream cheese frosting
6. Lemon cake with meringue!
All were to die for, but my personal fave was the pistachio with its sweet n saltiness. YUM!! Nice work, Rosewood ;)
I've been a newlywed for 3 weeks! 3 weeks of culinary bliss, to boot. After watching what I was eating for six months to fit into the white dress, I was in heaven tasting my way through the Greek Islands.
Being married is about the same as living with my boyfriend of 5 years but the excitement of being family—for real—is lovely to get lost in. While we're waiting for the official shots of food from the wedding, here's a sneak peek at the table setting.
Sure, I'll have a fresh new ring on my finger and a last name I don't know how to spell, but the most exciting thing about the next two weeks is I'll be back in Greece, eating the best food on earth. My past trips have all been at the height of the tourist season in summer, so I'm hopeful there is still a bounty of octopus and squid in October!
To kick off my amazing Seattle weekend with the girls, Sherry hosted a fiesta on her fab "new" deck. I couldn't believe how lucky we got with the weather—sitting outside all afternoon across the street from Greenlake, sipping margs and powering through months of much-needed girltalk catch-up.
She began with homemade shrimp ceviche loaded with spicy onions, jalapeno, tomato and bell pepper. If this wasn't impressive enough, Melissa chimed in with her now-famous hummole (guacamole hummus!) By dinnertime, I was expecting simplicity given the obvious trouble of the ceviche, but it only got better! Tamales FROM SCRATCH!! Amazing and so delicious with pork, potato and the creamiest cornmeal.
The piece de resistance was a chipotle brownie with basil-infused mango sorbet. Sherry, you've outdone yourself.
Since the most amazing women in my life are spread out all over the world, my mom and my aunt hatched a plan to host a few of them in Seattle last month. Wendy sent out the most adorable invitations, enticing guests to celebrate not just my upcoming wedding but to do it with my favorite kitchen color: red! As you must have guess by now, everything we registered for is food-related, whether for entertaining or for cooking. Too fun!
Three of my four aunts were on hand, as well as my cousins and bridesmaids (all except my maid of honor in London, but we'll get there soon enough). Wendy put together a gorgeous spread of spinach-bacon quiche, fruit salad, tomato salad, cheese (obvi) and cupcakes. There's nothing more comforting than warm quiche for a late brunch. Pair it with a coffee and glass of Walla Walla white wine and I'll be happy as a clam! She did a really nice job with the presentation too, tomato slices roasted on top and a flaky, just-made crust.
The cupcakes were a different story. I'm not usually a fan of sweets, but the frosting was lavender-flavored, and they were from Cupcake Royale so I had to give them a try. Having been one of those enticed by the adorable ceramic pots of "cooking lavender" at Williams Sonoma, I've been constantly trying to find the right place to use it. I've added to a quiche with herbs de Provence, coq au vin, all those funky French dishes in which flavors can be distracting from the ultimate goal. So while I have all kinds of hopes for this floral "herb," I've yet to experience its mastery. Until the shower! The frosting was unreal, a sort of gentle lavender flavor with crunches of candied lavender seeds—just enough to make you hope you get one in the next bite but not enough to overpower. Done right.
My obsession with salt comes to a head with two things: cheez-its and jerky. I will eat any meat that has been dehydrated to the root of its salty goodness. Another bonus of John's trip to Alaska? Salmon jerky! Really fishy stuff. But just the right amount of smoky and spicy.
Usually, payback is a bad thing, commonly referred to as a B and not in the endearing (I hope?) way my friends refer to me.
In this case, however, my payback for giving John a flight to Alaska for 10 days to visit Drue is an endless supply of the freshest, most delectable smoked salmon! In just over a week, the man caught over 100 lbs of halibut and salmon, which means that annoying, top-loading extra freezer in our kitchen is finally full of something I can't wait to thaw!
Look at my impressive husband-to-be! (if you're impressed by this sort of thing, which I guess I am, even though I have no idea how they got a stick through 6 salmon or whose idea it was to put a stick through the gills of these fish)
We've been eating smoked salmon with nearly every weekend bagel, savoring the texture and barely-there fishiness I've never experience with store-bought lox. The halibut—impressively thick steaks so fresh it's nearly impossible to overcook them to dryness—have provided endless opportunities for new recipes. We've made baked halibut with blue cheese cream sauce (a John concoction), grilled halibut with chipotle lime butter (low-calorie Ellen option), lemon and red onion pan-seared halibut, even white wine and mushroom halibut with fingerling potatoes! I can't get enough of it.
Most girls plan a night of partying and drinking—my bridesmaids knew me well enough to know what I really wanted: amazing food! They took me to Toulouse Petit, a new restaurant in Seattle, well, new enough to be new to an out-of-towner. Atmosphere was totally conducive to a fab girls night out: buzz of conversation without being too loud, fun music (Journey!) even candlelight to put us in the best light.
I somehow convinced them to order a bowl of clams dripping with butter and garlic. They must have agreed we didn't need to worry about our breath tonight! A side of frites with aioli was the perfect accoutrement and what crispy, flavorful fries they were. We attempted to soak up the remaining white wine, garlic, butter deliciousness from the clams with bread but our overeager waiter scooped it right out from under our dipping fingers.
I went for some fresh halibut for my main, delivered in a light lemon sauce with roasted cherry tomatoes, cippolini onions and al dente artichoke hearts. This paired quite well with my champagne and cucumber-infused vodka martini, if I do say so myself.
By the time we departed, I was feeling light as air yet happily satiated. I was actually really impressed with how good all of our food was considering the atmosphere is clearly the draw here. It was even reasonably priced, so it's definitely recommended and a spot I'll look forward to coming back to for happy hour when the New Orleans French menu gets even more exotic!
Warning: Not about food. In fact, about foot. Pretty close, eh?
First this.
Then this.
For the past 3 months, this has been my life. Wanted to document my lack of fine dining these past weeks. I've not been able to cook or make it out much at all! But I am getting back in the saddle right away now that my feet are behaving normally for the most part. Stay tuned.
I wish this photo had come out better! Seated at the bar, which wrapped around the sushi chefs in a medium-sized rectangle so we could watch their practiced sushi-making dance, each time a certain roll was ordered they busted out a blow torch. We scanned the menu to figure out what he was doing exactly and then threw shame out the window and just said "we'll have whatever that is." It happened to be a California roll-type deal with shrimp on top that were ever-so-slightly charred so as to add a carbon element subtle enough to turn average into rather remarkable. Eventually we were also served kingfish "sashimi"—quotation marks signifying my wavering about whether it can still be sashimi if it's crisped by flame—with criss-cross burn marks. Expert. If only I got a shot of the head chef double-flaming with a torch in both hands!
The past few months have been a swirl of wedding planning, feet-icing, and generally keeping busy. To put the world on hold for an evening, John and I planned a night at our favorite romantic bistro. When I first visited John in SF, it was called Chez Maman, but today it's Gamine, finally owned and operated by the friendly Frenchman who always chats us up en Français. We didn't arrive until after 9pm and as reservations aren't accepted, the tiny space was full for another 45 minutes. Absolutely not put off, we claimed a couple chairs outside, a glass of Burgundy and some warm bread.
Once our table was ready, we didn't need to review the menu in order to make our selections. At this point I've probably tasted everything on the menu and there are some gems. However, given the length of time since my last visit, I couldn't wait to indulge in my favorites. There is nothing better than a restaurant specializing in timing. Each dish arrived perfectly timed to our progress through the previous bit, our conversation, held hands and sips of wine. After dinner, the owner brought us a congratulatory chocolate mousse, light as air. He seemed to like hearing that our courtship began at their restaurant, right about the time it opened! The place really does evoke romance in my mind and what fun to have a special spot we can always return to for a special night.
Something about summertime makes me crazy about hot-off-the-grill burgers. Well....Actually I wasn't even aware of this until I uploaded food photos from the past couple months and noticed a distinct trend. Which makes more sense since it's not really summer here in the fog anyway. My whirlwind burgerama begins with Hubert Keller's Burger Bar. The owner/chef at Fleur de Lys opened this spot opposite Cheesecake Factory in Macy's last year. My expectations were surprisingly high given his rep and I couldn't help myself ordering the signature FdL peppercorn sauce on the side! Three sliders—one buffalo, two different types of beef—all with cheddar on cute lil buns.
Next up: The Butler on Lake Kalamazoo, MI. A very satisfying, very rare, very delicious burger on a charred bun. And then, one of the better burgers I've tasted, a salty masterpiece at Nopa. I'm typically one to slather spicy mustard, ketchup, lettuce, tomato and onion on my burgers; never turning down blue cheese, bacon or mushrooms. But this burger was fine just by itself. I put a thin spread of house aioli for a kick of garlic but otherwise savored the flavorful bun and burger solo. Impressive. Wedding venue Rosewood Hotel is next up: Niman Ranch sliders with soft goat cheese and freshly made tomato sauce. Too small to make a meal but quite good. It was a smart decision to go for the garlic fries with aioli this round. And most recently, the new Marengo on Union Street whose mantra is 'wine, whiskey and sliders.' So yeah, we checked out the sliders. Marengo (named for the street in Pasadena, not the chicken recipe or booze) offered some more unique options like jerk chicken, coconut shrimp cake and mushroom-barley. But they nailed the classic blue cheese and bacon. Mmmm!!
The second attempt at the First Class Cooking green garlic soufflé was a success! Give credit to the real, actual souffle dish or the expert second try, either way it was a fluffy, creamy achievement. Voila!
After hearing about Longrain from nearly everyone I saw in Sydney, how great Longrain is for cocktails and how long you have to wait for a table at Longrain and how the best Asian fusion is at Longrain, I had to try it. Restaurants are so modern in Sydney! Low, super long, family-style tables stretched from the front to the way back of the space. High ceilings with one low table and one high table made the space feel vast and echoing. At first, I thought the reason tables at Longrain were so sought after was because there were barely any seats, but there were actually tons of people just sitting at these two giant tables.
Everything I ate in Sydney was some variation of pan-Asian or Asian Fusion. It became rather hilarious in a really delicious way. Longrain appeared to be heavily Thai but with such a modern twist it could only be described by everyone I asked as, wait for it, Asian fusion. One of the first dishes to arrive appeared to be somewhat famous with its egg net wrapped around pork and shrimp. It was pretty interesting although no one wanted to touch it and break it apart! I tried posting a video of how they make it, pretty cool.
We ordered way too much food, as you always do at family-style restaurants I think. Red curry beef, green curry Kingfish, basted crispy duck, salmon and lemon trout. Betel leaves topped with shrimp, roe and smoked trout. My favorite was the salmon with fennel and giant pearls of roe. Just for fun, even though we barely made our way halfway through the meal, we ordered the dessert platter. It was a smorgasbord of gooey treats like sticky rice, pudding, tapioca, custard, jellies, and caramel. Dinner was so enjoyable, the ambiance was lovely and the food was impressive. My client said the last time she was there, Gordon Ramsey was eating in the private dining room! I don't blame him, it's one of the first places I'd love to return on my next trip.
When your choices are meat pie lathered in mashed potatoes or hot dogs covered in chili, it's less the kind of place you stumble upon and more the kind you seek out. Even if it's a shack by the water in front of your hotel...Enter the Tiger. Meat pie, pastry crust, mashed potatoes, mushy peas and graaaaaaaavy.
Getting out of the cab on the corner Spice Temple is supposed to be on, we spun around a few times looking for a door before noticing a giant digital panel with animation of an exotic curtain rippling in the "wind." Of course this turned out to be the door, which was an appropriate introduction to the place. Winding stairs led down into an underground lair of lush velvet curtains, modern low tables and orchids galore. Our private room had low lights around a square table, as modern as you can get, Sydney signature.
We were celebrating the wrap of another long shoot so our producer who was familiar with the trendy spot handled the ordering. I started off with a Dragon: Tanqueray gin with lemon, lime and ginger. Each dish was spicier than the last, like a gimmick without escape, not that you would want to. Calamari steaks with a dry rub were hot enough without the chili paste we dipped them in. Crispy eggplant and chicken was so overrun with chilies that when I accidentally bit down on a small one, an antiseptic numbness inside my entire mouth ensued for minutes. Dragon was the only cure! The impressive dish was the Leather Jacket, a white fish that arrived in a bowl of broth with 3 inches of chopped, roasted peppers and a pepper expert waiter. He described the mix of pepper types while he allowed them to steep in the broth. One had notes of citrus, you know, once you got past the ear-popping fire explosion on your tongue. Another was known for the antiseptic I discovered previously and yet another was supposedly smoky. As he scooped out one after another heaping basket of peppers, about a 10 ounce fillet of fish was hiding in the broth beneath. I couldn't believe the flavor. By the time we got to the Leather Jacket, so many spicy dishes (and so much Dragon) had been sampled that I felt like I had worked up to it. I could handle more and more spice, so I could actually taste the delicate citrus and smoky flavor right before my tongue became completely numb. Dinner at Spice Temple was more like an adventure or a trip somewhere exotic where you can't wait to try the local specialty than any other fusion restaurant I've been to. I would highly recommend a group experience here so you can try as many plates as possible.
I'm about to head back to Sydney so I was thinking about my favorite spots from when I was visiting in January. I was fortunate to be wined and DINED a few months back: China Doll, The Malay, Pony, Toko, Speedos, Busshari and Bambino.
I still think about how amazing Busshari was. I've come to a point where I'm not impressed with sushi (what's wrong with me?!) but seriously, there's only so much you can say about a California roll. Busshari got me excited about sushi again. Lea and I watched a nearby table being served what looked like a halibut where chunks of meat were cut out, fried, and plopped back on the plate in what might not sound like a lovely presentation but really was.
This year, 7x7 offered a prize to the first person to make their way through the 2010 100. And you know, for like, a good 10 minutes, I thought it could be me. I pictured a cover story where I got to tell San Franciscans what my favorite little gems were in the city; green salsa at Tacolicious, smoked salmon at Boulette's Larder, coconut chutney at Udupi Palace...and then I snapped out of it and I think that was right about when the winner was crowned. No joke, it took less than 3 weeks for some guy with a family who dragged his wife and kids to Michael Mina and Quince. Can he be my dad?
Anyway. This year's list reveals even more uncharted territory within SF's 49 square miles. I don't know how anyone has enough time to explore all these spots, let alone how the magazine decides which dishes make the list—all I can picture (in my happy food-driven imagination) is a team sitting around reminiscing and salivating over their exploits. I want that job.
Ok, so now that I've established my envy of the list's creators and conquerors, here is the list:
I count 22 so far. The crazy thing is, a bunch of these items on the list are seasonal or even on the menu by chef's daily discretion! Even with the best intentions, I can't imagine getting through this without gaining about 50% body mass and blowing through my savings account. However, if you want to meet up and cross one of these off, I am there.
Who doesn't love getting dressed up and being taken out? Um, obviously if you are even bothering to read this, you do. Because you know I do.
Ha.
Just for kicks, and to celebrate my future mother-in-law's birthday, we glammed and glittered up for the Black & White Ball. Absinthe was the obvious choice for pre-party-in-the-middle-of-Van-Ness-in-front-of-City-Hall. I mean, where else would you go. Every time I'm here, I feel like I could stick around all night drinking French wine and ordering more combo plates of cheese. This time I chose a smart and sexy sea bass with salty fingerling potatoes. The fish tasted like it was poached in broth, a method I can appreciate but don't love as much as a seared, crispy fillet. Even though the marinated asparagus was awesome, the spicy pepper puree wasn't spicy and I was pretty bored with my fish. Ah well, just another sign I should stick to wine and cheese.
I'm always surprised that some of the best spots in LA are in the most random locations. Or, um, I guess that could be explained by my absolute resistance to acquainting myself with LA and thusly locations seem more random than they actually, probably are. In any case. Koi was on la Cienega near Santa Monica. WhatEVER.
