Drunken Adventures at Eastern Standard, Met Bar @ Back Bay, Harvard Sq. and No. 9 with Jim

J came to visit for the weekend after Thanksgiving and we decided to head out for a foodie drunken adventure.  Our first stop was Eastern Standard.  Great for drinks and snacks…

The charcuterie plate… the pate was our favorite…

Raw oysters <3

We are both super happy!!!

Cheese Plate.. yum yum

Bubbles.. so many bubbles — and beer..

CHEERS!!!!! :] You have to do an oyster cheers!!!

And even though we didn’t order dessert they gave us some nummies anyways.

Next stop was Newbury St.. where we found ourselves at the Met Bar @ Back Bay [again]

Evil Quinoa Vodka with Goji Juice that made me halucinate

The most amazing Truffle Cheddar Popcorn

Brrr it was a cold cold night…

#2. Hello Kitty.

After the quick stop at Harvard Sq. to Chameleon we headed to our reservation at No. 9 Park

It was good.. but the wine was better than the food haha

Bread & Buttaaaaa

Foie Gras Terrine

Extra duck prosciutto

Just chomping on Quail Legs… NBD

Desserts

DRUNK

Came back and I passed out watching Super 8 within a few minutes. Hahahaha, I’m a lame host when I drink too much… but drinking all day was pretty impressive…

All about the Wine – Sirio

Last night in Vegas and we’re going out in style, with a bang bang bang…

Angel & Devil… or Devil & Angel?!  Who is who?!

I love this girl <3

We headed over to Aria to meet with my college friend Min – and while he gambled we settled at a nearby bar for some drinks.

Drinks  at Julian Serrano Tapas – place smelled good though, got hungryyy fast!!!

Kelly got a nice pretty fruity pear drink

And I got one with ginger bear, cucumber and Absinthe. HORRID. I wanted to die and barely downed a few sips. DISGUSTING. Just say NO to absinthe and bad drinks.

Min met up with us.. also tried my horrible drink and then off to SIRIO to wine and dine!!!!.. Min is a sommelier at Benu in San Fran and knows the sommelier at Sirio so I knew we’d be in for a good wine treat ;D

Another Italian treat..!!!  They also own Circo and Le Cirque … sooooo….. lots to look forward to. But super competition since we had an AMAZING Italian meal already earlier at Scarpetta…

Beautiful space!!! And we got to sit next to the windows to watch them make salads and prepare the meats/cheeses, etc…

It took us FOREVER to go thru the menu, it was overwhelmingly HUGE! There was way too many item and sections and made our heads hurt. In addition there was a specials menu AND they offered a Truffle Tasting Menu. ARGH.  Good thing we were greeted with complimentary glasses of a delicious champagne.  Bubbles helped the headache of the large menu.

I was more distracted at looking in the windows.. especially at the guy who just stood there the whole night mixing caesar salads. hahaha..

Bread and EVOO/Balsamic Dip

6 Oysters. 2 of each kind. [4 West Cost, 2 East]

They were super super tiny and the worst shucked EVER.  There was shell and they weren’t even released, we had to do it ourselves. Blah. Not worth it. Severely disappointed.

Yellowtail Tartare…

It was fresh but lacking.  Needed some acid and salt.  It’s amazing what a little salt and pepper can do.  Good little breadsticks tho, I’m a fan.  I found myself wanting to season it myself… and I rarely do that – I like light foods and tend to frown at OVERseasoned things – I think it needed a bit more texture too… frisee worked but there was just like a bite of it to split between us.

Two different Salames, Bresaola, Mortadella and some Parmigiano Reggiano
Salames for the win!!! I loved them.. there was a small one and a big one.  The mortadella was a bit mealy but good, I’m used to “slimier” feeling ones – for lack of better words – which are more bologna like, OK, better explanation, this was a drier mortadella.  It came with walnut raisin bread, grapes, honey.. balsamic?!, breadsticks and flatbread crisps with melted parm.  The parmigiano was delicious.. munch munch munch nibble.

Just the beginning… champagne… red… white :]

And then came our pastas… MMMM carbs… so far so OKAY… nothing amazing.  So we were totally counting on the pastas – it IS an Italian place so it all depends on the pasta!

Min looking good… and ready to get his eat on… 

—

Can you believe it? One of our last pics together was our sophomore year.. yikes!!! We’re all getting old.. but getting better looking with age ;]  When he was angrier and I was wayyyy nicer… hahaha

“We’re assholes, that’s why we get along so well”

“I don’t remember you being an asshole, you were nice, you were really really nice…”

The last time Min saw me was in AC for my 20th Bday… way back when… and I looked like this… and was blooonndeeeeee – freaking 8 years ago!!!

 And what do you know.. at another Caesars hahahah

–

Ok back to the delicious food..

We got two pasta specials

Left: Pappardelle with a Prosciutto Sauce and Peas…
Right: Risotto – you could also chose tagliatelle - with Black Truffle

Pappardelle was perfectly cooked and so good. The sauce wasn’t very prosciutto-y but it was really really good. Loved it.  The risotto was AMAZING, creamy, but a bit underdone.  But FUCK YEAH truffles galore… INHALED BOTH! We cleaned the two plates CLEANNNNN

Partway thru I dropped my napkin…

And the waiters walked over it, avoided it and didn’t give me a new one.  I even went to the bathroom only to come back to it STILL on the floor

Excuse me do I have something on my lip?

Min finally gave up and asked for a new napkin for the lady. HAHA “the lady” I’m so not a lady.

Grilled Lamb Chops

These were cooked really well, THERE WAS SOOOO MUCH, the portion looks small here but it was actually HUGE…. not gamey at all… barely a lamb taste – I’ve noticed I like lamb when it’s rarer than when cooked – really really good.

Ossobuco on Risotto

Fell off the bone and had delicious marrow.  The risotto was cheesy and the veggies were nice, crisp and fresh!  It wasn’t amazing or mind-blowing but quite tasty.  We were SO full by now that we could barely eat any more.. which probably affects the taste.

But we got dessert anyway :]

Min: I’m gonna make them do all that Birthday stuff…
Me: YAY
Min: HAHA you LIKE that shit!!!
Me: YEPPPP!!!!

Chocolate Souffle

Amazeballs. I LOOOOVED it – I love a good souffle.

The sommelier and our tray of dessert wines/liquors, YES all of that for the three of us.

4 each.. omg there was some bourbon one that almost killed me.  The housemade limoncello was FREAKING amazing tho. SOOOO fresh and tasty… nice and tart and not too sweet :] *swoon

UMMMM… Fuck it…

I die ;D

While the food wasn’t particularly spectacular.. the company and the booze was FUCKING amazing!  Such a great fun night!!!!!

A Birthday at The Brixton

After some Korean, we headed back to food coma and relax from the hot weather in the apt.  We watched some teevee, I changed into my sparky shorts and then we decided to head over to Brixton for Nikos’ birthday party.

It took awhile for me, but I finally settled on a Riot Sling
Gordon’s London Dry Gin, Lemon, Honey, Black Tea, Ginger Beer

Delicious. I’m hooked. I got two.

Samosas
curried cauliflower, potatoes and tamarind gastrique

These were pretty good, but the flakey skin fell apart too easily, I like mine crisp and firmer. Light curry taste and the taramind and frisee was a nice touch.

Charcuterie Board

So not a real charcuterie board, just pate and fish. WTF?!.. we didn’t finish this and they ended up giving the table two fo these and none of us touched it. haha. OOPS.

After this and ordering another drink everyone was here and we sat down at the bday table.

Red Vino & White Vino for the table…

The Birthday Boy!!!

Heirloom Tomato Cucumber Salad
with mint-yogurt dressing

This was delicious and refreshing.. amazingly beautiful sweet heirloom tomatoes… with crisp crunchity cucumbers… MMMM… the dressing was light and accented the fresh veggies… MMMM

Cheddar Ale Soup
with crispy bacon and crusty breadMost of the table got this soup or the salad..MMMM so good.

And then a lot of the table also got the Fish & Chips
beer-battered haddock with mushy peas, thick cut fries and malt vinegar remoulade

B with his Fish & Chips with mashed peas.. I may have stole some ;D

And the rest of the table, along with me, got the

Roasted Half Chicken 
with roasted vegetables, and brown gravy

It was just as J described.. melted off the bone with a crispy skin.  It was a bit on the salty side but it was good.. and the roasted veggies were also delicious. YUM.

Spike and his girl got here late and ended up ordering everything else the rest of us didn’t. HAHA.  When S’s lamb shank came me and J tried to get him to eat it from the bone, hands only, BOO, he ate it with knife and fork tho. LAME.

Shot shot shot shots…..

And sometime inbetween I made friends with one of the waiters and me and B and him got in a deep convo about Pot & Shrooms.. apparently if I ever do shrooms I have to do it with him hahaha…

and then it was back home early to finish packing and help W with his clothing donations.

:] Good times. Good people. YAY.

ROAST: Detroit just got SO much better, thanks to Iron Chef Michael Symon

Finally found a great place in Detroit aside from Slow’s and W’s cooking haha… and W’s cooking doesn’t count since it’s not really THE restaurant but HIS food hahahaha anyways… we’re also both lazy creatures of habit so we like to eat at the same places over and over again… as you can tell by my Detroit posts we eat a lot IN the hotel restaurants, the food court in the hotel, room service, Slow’s BBQ and the diner at Motor City.

We headed to the Westin Book Cadillac Detroit Hotel which is the home of Roast, something I didn’t know about until W mentioned it to me just a few days before….  I’m a fan of Iron Chef Michael Symon and have wanted to go to Lola in Ohio for AGES…. anyways, I had reservations at 9 and we were promptly sat at a nice big booth tucked away near the bar and by the wine case…

We were greeted by the nicest, most well informed waiter, who actually used to be working at Lola…  we ordered – the booze list actually came on an ipad haha… and we were quickly served

Bread + Soft Creamy Butter

Pork Crackling 

sea salt, lime, chili powder

SO good we got some to go.  Squeeze of lime, slight bit of grease, tons of crunch and a nice heat to it.  Delicious spices and amazing.  These were like CRACK.

Soon we were out :[ Sad

I was so sad I looked at it upside down and the paper and crumbs fell all over me.  I may or may not have yelped like a puppy. OOPS.

A beautiful Chilean red wine we ordered.  It was on the Somm's list AND it wasn't pricey at ALL - the others were $$ and this was not only on the low end of the price spectrum, it was Chilean, I looove Spanish&Chilean wines!

Miguel Torres, Santa Digna, Cabernet  Sauvignon, Central Valley, Chile 2009

A darkly pigmented wine with an intense, full and very fruity aroma. The palate is majestically structured - velvety, meaty and with elegant body. Its smooth, fine tannins, outlined by new oak, ensure a long evolution in the bottle.

Produced exclusively from Cabernet Sauvignon, that king of red varieties, which achieves its fullest varietal expression in the privileged climate of the Chilean Central Valley. This is a great example of the heights to which Cabernet Sauvignons produced on the Pacific coast can rise.

It had a bit of a bite to it but got creamier as the wine opened up, like most Cab Sauv's...

Our first three courses...

Today's Charcuterie Plate

A lot of everything.. headcheeses.. lomo, prosciutto and such.. everything was delicious and fatty and perfectly delicious.  There's nothing like a bad charcuterie plate, but this was a really good one!  This was the plate for ONE too... since we got so much other food.. I could've had more :] FO’ SHO’

BBQ Pork Belly

apple, watercress, almonds

The Pork Belly completely melted in your mouth and not just the fatty areas… okay it says apple on the menu but W said it was peach, but whatever.. the slight tang, the slight sweetness.. a bit of crunch with all the veggies and a TON of creaminess…

Beef Tartare

cold poached egg, avocado, lime & crostini

W mixed it all together and it was surprisingly good.  I was iffy about the cold poached egg but it was quick yummy.  Usually, as you hear me say in the video, I only have raw yolk in my tartare… but this was delicious.. esp with some added greens and avocado – which we didn’t mix in just added it with the crostini in each bite.  We DID end up putting some grainy mustard in from the charcuterie plate to add a bit of tang/spice to the tartare. YUM.

Grilled Octopus Salad

basil jalapeno pesto, cucumber, mint, kalamata olive

Super tender and delicious. Tons of tentacles which I loved and a nice char to them.  There was a slight heat and a slight tang to the dish.

Bone Marrow

sea salt, oregano, capers & chilies

The chilies was put on as a form of salsa verde. Delicious.  The charred herbs and the fatty marrow… SOOO GOOD and there was SO much of it!  I didn’t actually taste capers so not sure if they changed it on me from the menu but it was really good and perfectly seasoned.. super creamy and just divine, as ALL bone marrow should be and is.

Southern Fried Sweetbreads

slaw, spicy buttermilk and garlic sauce

It was on a creamy bed of homemade ranch with a beautiful veggie slaw that was tangy and sweet.  The sweetbreads were SO super creamy and dissolved on our tongues into an orgasm.  This may have been the best sweetbreads dish I have EVER had. I love love love sweetbreads and while I’ve had MEH ones I’ve thankfully never had a bad one.  These were ones that I’ll dream of. PLUS….. RANCH?! I’m not even a fan of ranch, but this was SO GOOD.

Bacon Creamed Corn

Super creamy and super sweet corn.  This was SOOO GOOD and DUH you add bacon and everything becomes better!

Roast Beast of the Day: Suckling Pig

Deeeeeelicious… soft, tender with nice crisp skin and some pickled onions and parsley.. and methinks a nice light salsa verde.  I mainly had it as leftovers the next day but this was SO good.  Needs to be a MUST on the menu.

Beef Cheek Pierogie

horseradish & mushrooms

“Pierogi (Polish pronunciation: [pjɛˈrɔɡʲi]; also spelledperogi, pierogy, perogy, pierógi, pyrohy, pirogi, orpyrogy; juvenile diminutive form: Pierożki Polish pronunciation: [pjɛˈrɔʂki] also in use) are dumplings ofunleavened dough – first boiled, then they are baked or fried usually in butter with onions – traditionally stuffed with potato filling, sauerkraut, ground meat, cheese, or fruit.

[...]

While dumplings as such are found throughout Eurasia, the specific name pierogi, with its Proto-Slavic root “pir” (festivity) and its various cognates in the West and East Slavic languages, shows the name’s common Slavic origins, predating the modern nation states and theirstandardized languages, although in most of these languages the word means pie. In English, the word pierogiand its variants: perogi, pyrogy, perogie, perogy, pirohi,piroghi, pirogi, pirogen, pierogy, pirohy, and pyrohy, are pronounced with a stress on the letter “o”. The Turkish word börek for a kind of pie or stuffed pastry may be a borrowing.

Pierogi are small enough to be served several or many at a time, so the plural form of the word is usually used when referring to this dish. In Polish pierogi is actually the plural, pieróg being singular. In Czech and Slovak pirohy is also the plural, piroh is singular. In Germany, this type of dumpling is called Pirogge in the singular and Piroggen in the plural, although sometimes the Polish name Pierogi is simply used.”

Ah yes.  Peroigies always reminded me of when I dated a Polish guy, I mean what other kinds of peoples loves white bland food and potatoes so much?! Hahaha, I kid.  But I do remember the one and only time I ever really ate ANY Polish food or learned about it was with him HAHA. This is SO not what I remember. Sooooooooo tender.  The skin was super doughy and almost potato-y like….. they were like gnocchi dough as skin hahaha…. and a bit undercooked.. at least the ones I ate were… but sooooo good..

The beef cheeks were super tender, like they should be, super flavorful.. and while the sauce they were in were a bit on the sweet and rich side.. the bland super doughy skin totally counteracted it. MMMM stuffed gnocchi.. that’s totally my next experiment. W beware.

Me in a obligatory bathroom camwhore shot!

The next day for lunch, while I worked, I feasted on leftover cracklings, creamed corn and suckling pig.

DEEEEEEE-LISH!

The best part?…. W cooked for me the following night… and while we both LOVED the dinner at Roast together, I freaking fell in love with his food all over again when he cooked for me the next night…. sorry suckling pig.. even if you weren’t leftover, you still can’t beat my baby’s cooking ;D

Re-living a delicious memory…at TORO

W got into town to cook for the Clio 15th Anniversary Dinner June 5.  All the great names were there… and obviously my amazingly talented boyfriend <3  So Sunday night after he got in we went to re-live our faithful frigid and yummy night in January at Toro.  OK it was still a bit chilly this night.. good thing I FINALLY listened to W and switched my shorts for pants.  And, of course, I paired my outfit with super high platform heels – I can’t help it.  I love to tower.

We got there just a few minutes after A & J around 5:30 who were just starting to enjoy a cocktail and beer, and we were immediately seated.   Good thing too cuz Toro, per usual, filled up FAST — I started with one of my fav cocktails from Toro… the Cabana Boy. Canton Ginger, spiced rum, pineapple.

We even sat the way we did that night, except J replaced S :]   And no paron.  And once again, we had a ton of food. A TON, possibly more than before?! Not sure… the bread was a-flowing and some of the highlights were these: Egg Omelette, Buffalo Heart, Pimientos, Sweetbreads [amaze balls], Tuna, Oysters, Goat Cheese [which was actually really creaaaammmy and light], Salt Cod Fritters [which tasted like delicious McDonald's Filet O' Fish in a ball of fried goodness, NO LIE], Pork Belly, Pulled Pork, just to name a few off the top of my head. We had a beautiful Spanish wine picked out by A.

But the dinner started out with a special charcuterie plate from Chef Jamie Biss. UM. SWOON.

Everything was delicious.  I wanted to order another platter – JUST FOR ME – I haven’t had a “just cheese, charcuterie and wine” dinner in awhile – THIS would SO be one of the ultimates.  That Pork Pate at the right end.  Atop chopped up kimchi – fucking fantasmic. YES.  Swearing needs to happen.  Bad language is accepted with the food is this fucking awesome.

Special of the Day: Tripe Chili with avocado and Crema.  Oh you heard right, it’s like a Fat Asian Girl’s wet dream AKA MINE!  Tender pulled pork, beans, etc… all the chili components and then TRIPE. FUCKING TRIPE.  I LOOOOOOOOOVE TRIPE.  This is like tripe porno tuesday for Miss Tiffie… except.. on a Sunday… and… only two dishes of tripe.

Bone Marrow for a Double Date.  One of us an one for them.  Perfect as always.

And hands down, BEST dish of the night was the Green Curry Tripe… tripe?  Tripe that felt like TENDON.  A and I told Jamie straight up we wanted to BATHHHHHHHHE in this and lick it off each other.  Ok, I may have added that licking part in but at least I WOULD ;]  Melted on your tongue into a bliss of green curry…. and ever-so-sultry like sliiiiiiiiiiiides down your throat. I want to SOAK in this.  Hell, I’d lick it off myself. JOY.

An amazing [early] night with great friends.  I always have an amazing time eating with A & J :]  See previous.  Oh, we ended the night in churros. You know that’s always a plus.

The rest of the night? Sex, Love and Rock n’ Roll baby <3

Happy Mommy’s Day 2012

To the best mommy in the world, who opened me to the world of… everything! And always taught me not to skimp on food.

This made me laugh so hard:

I got dressed up… clad in leather and leopard haha #classy and headed out to brunch with my parents.

Sel de la Terre had a special Mothers Day brunch so we decided to grab a bite and then wander and shop around a bit afterwards.  Coffees all around please. None of us could get up this morning.  It was already 1pm but we were sleepy. At least I was.

Some multigrain bread and foccacia

Bloody Mary for me…

MMMMMMM I feel like I haven’t had one in ages!  SDLT has pretty good ones, altho this one wasn’t mixed too well at first and my first sip was all vodka.  I’m not complaining tho, I love my vodka.

Charcuterie plate with duck liver terrine, pork rillette, whole grain mustard, toasted crostini and chutney

Soup du Jour: Tomato Soup with Cheesey Crostini

It was thick and creamy… had a cheese stank to it, in a good way and in a bad way, I’m actually not that big on creamy soups, esp ones with cheese creamed into it.  It was a good soup for dipping and much bread was inhaled by way of dunking into this orange concoction.  It was still a HUGE portion and I could only finish like 1/4 or 1/3 of it.

Entrees are served!!!

Mommy got the Lemon risotto with Atlantic Salmon, tomatoes, spinach, and smoked salmon 

She does this a lot, get something and then eat everyone else’s food but her own.  She already had a lot of bread, charcuterie – she LOVES foie gras, and some of my soup and then some of dad’s entree so she just kinda ate the salmon and some veggies from this.  She’s also not a big risotto person so…. *shrugs* that’s why I got her bacon and she was SO happy I did.  Anyways there was cooked salmon IN the risotto and smoked salmon on top.  I duno why but I thought it was odd, *double shrugs*

Daddy got the House roasted pulled pork sandwich with SDLT barbecue sauce on brioche bun, frites

The bun was fluffy and the pork was tender.. the sauce was a bit on the sweet side but daddy still loved it.  The frites were perfect as always!  Since daddy’s dish came with frites, this was the first time I wasn’t an ass and asked for my free foursquare frites HAHA.

And I got the Arugula Salad with red onions, beets and spiced cashews with a vinaigrette with a rare steak on top.

Delicious fresh crisp arugula balanced great with my mooing bloody steak. Mom freaked out when she saw how rare it was.  I didn’t expect such a huge chunk of meat so I’m glad I didn’t get more food to go with this.  SO good.  I wish there were more beets in it tho I just had a meesly few tiny pieces/slivers LAME.  There were also some foccacia croutons, garlicky, and the red onions were sliced super super thin.  Very delicious.

And of course a side of perfectly cooked Bacon! Meaty, fatty and perfectly crisp. NOM!

We balled out with a Grand Sampling for dessert…
Bread Pudding, Caradmom Ice Cream w/ pistachips, Lava Cake, Lemon Tart, Truffles, Macaron, Cookies and Creme Brulee

BOMB DIGGITY

When we got home, these were waiting for my mommy at the garage :][ From me!!!

These gorgeous flowers were from W :] Sweetest boyfriend!

Happy Mother’s Day Mommy! To the strongest, stubborn but sweet, intelligent and most beautiful woman I know.

FINALLY got Top Chef Isabella’s Pepperoni Sauce in me – Graffiato

All dressed up and definitely know where I wanna go tonight… It’s been a long fun day of food and play… but I’ve been craving something….

*SQUEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAL*

FINALLLLLLLLLLLLLY got to eat at Graffiato, Top Chef Mike Isabella’s babyyy!!!!

Remember I met him back at Eat + Pray + Heal Japan in NYC last year?!  I’ve always been a HUUUUGE fan of him on both of his seasons of Top Chef and wanted him to win All Stars SO bad. Yep. I want his pepperoni sauce in me.  And OH EM GEE, he remembered meeeeeee :D WOOHOOO!!! SOOOO psyched to finally eat here, been wanting to since the huge hype of Graffiato before it even opened!!!! *dance dance*

Yep. This guy.

Awww what a cutie :D He was smilie and talkative just as I remembered :]  I always get so chef-struck #fattienerd

Ok, back to the food MMMM, check out the menu…

We got seated so that I had the PERFECT view of the open kitchen… I couldn’t stop staring….. it was like a chef’s table without the fancy price tag

Do you see the pepperoni sauce?

Close up!!! It’s blurry and bright but yes it’s in that tub of red <3 YAYYYYYY

My champagne flute was flowing with bubbles from the Prosecco tap. YES PROSECCO ON TAP!!!!! [at least that's what W told me, blame him if it's not true hahaha jk] – I need to get this installed in my house!

First up?! W knew what I REALLLLLLY wanted… Isabella’s sauce…. *cough*

Flat Bread & Pepperoni Sauce

SOOOO excited to dip my bread in the sauce…

Up close of the Pepperoni Sauce *orgasm*

It was like liquified pepperoni… HOLY MOLY this was just as amazing as I thought it would be. I can finally check this off of my dreamlist of things I must eat.  I could dip my leather shoe in this sauce and eat it up. WOW, I’ve never used that and always wanted to LOL…

W hiding from my picture taking again… I left my digicam back in my other jacket so everything tonight was from iPhone…. HAHA good thing I’m photo ninja and caught him in the act of covering his face…

Delicious Meat Plate <#

That *points* was my favorite. You’ll just have to try them all to figure out which one I’m pointing at!

Burrata

Honey Glazed Onions, Nigella

This jumped straight out at me on the menu. I. LOVE. BURRATA.  Creamy happy deliciousness melting on my tongue and down the back of my throat.  Delicious with the tangy sweet onions, scallions and just HAPPINESS.  This was amazing and I could eat a tub of this.  Swim thru and just inhale into my lungs.  I. LOVE. BURRATA.

Broccolini

Spicy Pepper Relish, Walnut, Feta

I also love broccolini, I eat it a couple of times a week… and I love feta and walnuts SOOOOOO why not?! The only downside to this dish was that it was cold – I expected it to be hot; It kinda thru me off a bit…

Glazed Pork Cheeks

Sweet Potatoes, Pecans

Tender, juicy, meaty and just melted in my mouth.  SOOOO delicious with the silky sweet potato mash and the crunch of the pecans. LOOOOOVE pecans. MMMMM I should re-create this for a thanksgiving dish this year! SOOOO HAPPPY in my mouth!!

Roasted Cauliflower

Pecorino, Mint

“We’re gonna be farting all night” – W

HAHAHA.. these were yummy..  a little bit overcooked for me but I LOOOOVE cauliflower – YUM!  And no, no farting… hahahaha.. there was a bit of tang to it, definitely

Marinated Octopus

Romesco, Olives, Almonds

Soft, slow cooked, long cooked… Most of the time I eat my octopus with a bit of bite and chew to it… but this was creamy and had delicious flavors…. I missed the chew but adored the flavors that came with it… PLUS.. I’m a sucker for tentacles.. I’m such a texture whore…

Crispy Potato Gnocchi

Wild Mushrooms, Stracciatella

AMAZING!  Toasted and creamy.. MMMMMM I’ve had good gnocchi but mostly BAD GNOCCHI..  These were delicious…. Scrumptious mushrooms… creamy creamy melty and drippy Stracciatella OMG happiness… have you noticed the theme lately? Happiness and happy is being used a lot.

Porky’s Revenge

Sopressata, Pepperoni, Sausage, Tomato, Stracciatella

OMG look at that gooey deliciousness!!!!!

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAMZING. Meaty, juicy, CREAAAAAAMY ooey gooey sexy cheese… the crust was just as amazing as the toppings – SUCH a great way to end a huge dinner – I can never eat too mucuh pizza. LOOK AT THAT.  I was trying to figure out what was Porky’s revenge – the fact that we were EATING porky OR that we would probably have a fun time on the toilet after eating this. THAT decadent and amazing BUT SO SO SO WORTH it!

W was full and even tho I PICKED the dessert, he didn’t wanna share.. again.. hahahaha

Just kidding :] I ended up eating most of these…

ZeppolesAutumn Spices, Pumpkin Caramel

SOOOOOOOOOO GOOD. Tasted like autumn and Thanksgiving.  I smothered EACH BITE with the marscapone – SOOOO GOOOOOOD!!!!! SOOO DECADENT – I’m an indulger… MMMMM…. Creamy happy orgasm…

Thanks Chef for exceeding my already super super super high expectations for your delicious food! I’ll be back soon :] #stalk!

“…as long as there are Oysters & Bubbles”

That was basically the ONE rule for dinner last night with me & M.  We were between Legals and Sel de la Terre but obviously we decided to get a little Frenchy… SDLT it is :]

I had been working all day and I was super tired… so as soon as I found out I wasn’t a driver at all for the night, I decided to get my drink on the last hour of work while I waited for M to pick me up.

I LOOOOOVE Alice & Wonderland and collect anything I can of it – and have been BEFORE the Johnny Depp movie – I should’ve taken a picture of M with his mug that I filled up with wine for him :]  A cute little Rilakkuma yellow cup :]

After a bottle, which went REALLY fast, we headed to Natick for some grub. Yep. Number one rule. Oysters and Bubbles!!!!

Oyster Tasting

Top CCW:

The Wiannos were both our favorites.  Delicious!  AND we had it first so the rest were good, but subpar compared to the first – DELICIOUS! I LOVE raw oysters. Refreshing, cool, sliding down the throat – amazing. We also got tabasco and garlic on the side. NOM!

After our oysters and a glass of bubbly :] DELICIOUS…. we ordered a delicious bottle of red. Our awesome waitress gave us a taste first, and we loved it – so yes please!

2009 Viña Sastre - Ribera del Duero

“Bright pink. Raspberry and blood orange on the nose, with sexy floral and spice notes gaining strength with air. Juicy, sharply defined red fruit and citrus flavors are dry and gripping but not at all hard. The tangy finish shows very good, mineral-driven persistence.” 90 Points

- International Wine Cellar

PEI mussels with Tomatoes, Capers, and Fennel in a White Wine Broth with Crostini

I ADORE mussels…. this was delicious, as with the broth. MMMM.. I miss their old mussels dish tho with chorizo :] But LOVE how they kept the fennel – WOOT!

Charcuterie plate with Duck Liver Terrine, Pork Rillette, Crostini, Whole Grain Mustard, Chutney

I love their toasted brioche!

“Can we have more bread?” YAYYYY Bread Basket. Now I miss my Kelly :] “Why you eat all the bread?” “Why you eat no bread” hahahahaha…..

Crabcakes with Fennel, Orange and Pickled Red Onion Salad; Red Pepper Remoulade

Tasty! I loooove crab cakes and haven’t eaten one in AGES.  These were fluffy with a nice crispy crust and a yummy salad on top. NOM!

Special of the Day: Pork Chops
I forget details… but I remember there was deliciousness, which is why M ordered it :] I was considering it too… but then decided on CHICKEN!!!! Yeah…. just texted M and he doesn’t remember much from it either…. just “I want the special!” hahahahah…. not even sure he listened to the whole description like I tried to.

Organic Herb Roasted Chicken, Puy Lentils, Bacon Vinaigrette, Celeriac Remoulade
Crispy skin… tender chicken… on top of beautifully cooked lentils. NOM!

We also BOTH checked into Foursquare, showed our waitress and YES got TWO free orders of their awesome Rosemary Pomme Frites.. hahaha both which I tore into.. just for the good crunchy ones :]

And then after all was EATEN!… all the dishes were taken away, and bread basket scattered on the floor – WAAAAA…

So it was…. pretty late… table cleared, still sipping on our wine and I made M order the Fig Manhattan….

Waitress: are you still hungry?
M: i’m good…
T: I WANT BEIGNETS!!!!!!!!

Yep. Still hungry… I LOOOOOVE their beignets…

Apple Cider Beignets with Salted Caramel Sauce

Fluffy, light, airy, delicious crust and FILLED with apple goodness on the inside. And the salted caramel dipping sauce?! FUCKING AMAZING!

Basically the night ended like this in M’s car and in my bed:

I’m sexy and I know it

Whirlwind Of Food… all in one Night…

I got into town later than planned.. parked da car.. in the… Harvard Yahd, okay fine Pru… And yes, as usual I took a picture of where I parked. To this day, I hate parking in the pru parking lot cuz I always get lost in it…

Good company and a few drinks at the hotel bar….

Our first stop was at Eastern Standard…

Offals of the Day!!!

Calf’s Liver over Mashed Potatoes

Cockscomb & Duck Tongue Pot Pie

Bone Marrow <3

Charcuterie Plate

The most delicious oysters!!! And Clams…

Then we headed to Toro… where we got to meet Jamie Bissonnette and eat a TON of amazing food. Per usual.. ya’ll know my love affair with Toro :] Uni Sammich, Potatoes, CORN!!!… omg I can’t even remember the plethora of food that came to our table.. some compliments of the chef. Freaking genius man.

A lot of parron drinking went on….

And Pig’s Head Paella with Bone Marrow… MMMM Bone Marrow!!!

Then off to Coppa… we walked there… not as close as I wanted it to be, SO FREAKING COLD OUT!!!

The Pig’s Ears was SO GOOD!!!

Meats… and.. the farro that made my fork drop and made me pout.

Tuna Crudo, delish!

We ended the night somehow making it to Beehive…. in the freezing single digit weather.. YEP, me and my fingerless gloves… good job Tiff…  good music, a few drinks, LOTS of water… and meh steak and frites and an OKAY French Onion Soup…. somehow I ended home. [Yep! So proud, drove myself HOME!!!] And slept like this for awhile:

Vino Volo: DC Dullas Airport Wine Bar

On my way to Dayton I stopped by the DC airport for a 3 hr layover… so I immediately went to Vino Volo.  The past few times I’ve been there I’m there for a few hours before heading to Japan and Taiwan.. so I know the Terminal C & D pretty well.. Vino Volo it is!

It was a bit far from our gate but I needed to walk around and we had over 2 overs of layover – which ended up being 3 since there was a delay.

I was having a dilemma on tastings to choose from – I was in the mood for variety – I was gonna go for a spanish one but the Washington one was recommended so I thought, WHY NOT!!! It was DELICIOUS

These were all rich, bold, juicy and delicious!!!

Artisan Cured Meats

A selection of artisan meats: Coppa, Prosciutto and Salami with whole-grain mustard and country bread

These were yummy.. as expected.. loved the salami the most. For some strange reason I love salami I get outside of what I buy. Everytime I buy it I’m like MEH but when I get it on the meats plate I LOVE IT. SIGH*

Smoked Salmon Rolls

“Their” Signature dish… Smoked Salmon served with succulent crabmeat and crispy crostini

Thees were delicious.  I love smoked salmon.  The meaty crab mayo-based “salad” below the salmon added so much creaminess and even more richness to the crunch of the crostini.. PLUS they gave you HUUUUUUUUGE caperberries NOM! My fav.. salty salty pop in your mouth <3

Broccoli Mushroom PastryStuffed pastry parcels with Broccoli, Wild Mushrooms, Ricotta and Parmesan Cheese

These were flakey, hot and amazing.  As “healthy” as they seem, they’re delectably “bad” for you :] MMMMM…  Light fluffy but oh so satisfying

I also got a cheese plate which had blue cheese, manchego and another stinkier cheese.. creamy..

All recommended :]