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

A Simple-y AMAZING Dinner Party

Dinner party at my place Sunday night….

Look at this delicious spread!!!

The star chef: the one and only W :]

Checking on the chickens

SEXY ROAST CHICKENS
Simple and delicious!!!!

Choppity chop chop chop

My 1st plate…

Chicken with dijon mustard, Mexican Baby Corn, Panzanella salad [cuc, tomato, asparagus, mint], Potatoes+Onions [YUM] and a creammmmmmy Butternut Squash puree… YUM

YAYYY I helped with slicing the potatoes, and making the croutons :D NOM NOM!!! ANNNND W taught me how to tie up a chicken before roasting, weeeeeee!!!!

Some of the lovely company!!!! A + J :D YAY for them coming

“Did you get that from Ann Taylor? I HAVE THE SAME SHIRT BUT IN PINK!!” hahahaha….

Apparently I don’t have enough forks so Kate and I used chopsticks TEEHEE

The food was SOOOOOO GOOOOOOD!!! And yes, as usual, I was super anxious about the meal but it came out quick and deliciously… we had great conversations, great wines [funny enough me and A both bought the same white wine TEEHEE.. and we broke out a nice fancy wine W got me a few weeks back YUM]

A + J brought desserts over so I didn’t get to make my ginger snap cookies… Lobster Tails and delicious fresh strawberries which we mixed up with some sugar… SOOOO tasty!!!

A great light way to end the meal. MMMMMM…..

You got me to eat LAMB! @ the Lamb Pro Am

After a yummy brunch and a trip to the museum… we headed over to eat some lamb at the Lamb Pro Am at the Hotel Palomar! Now ya’ll know that I’m not a huge lamb fan.  I never ate it growing up, and didn’t have my first bite OF lamb til college.. I’ve had SOME good lamb experiences and some bad so I’m always open to it :]  I also get REALLY excited when someone can take me to the …. dark lamb side :] So this event is when the food bloggers make the recipe and the chefs make it?!.. They got voted on, online and then the top four got to compete at this event.  I’m pretty sure this is what it was. I have linked to the bloggers’ recipe on their blogs! ENJOY!!

The room was pretty stuffy… so need beer… ice cold.. there was this Amber one that I loved…. there was tons of wine and beer flowing thru-out the event, small space, mostly booze haha and only four stations of food, one station of swag….

The first thing we tried was:

Chinese Roast Lamb with Rice Noodles – Chef Anthony Lombardo of 1789 Restaurant

Large chunks of lamb stir-fried with tender silky noodles and some sprouts and scallions.. the flavors were good, but still a bit gamey for me, a bit too much lamb for my liking… and while I loved the noodles.. I was kinda disappointed it was like getting takeout. I wanted something with a bit more OOOOMPH to it. Altho I’d eat noodles all day long if I could :]  I’m also super biased cuz I’m asian HAHAHAHA…..

Lemongrass Lamb Stew - Chef Adam Sobel of Bourbon Steak

Fluffy yummy rice on the bottom and the stew on top and you could add your own toppings.. reminds me of Pho :D Hahaha.. Basil, Onions and Sprouts, MMMMM

It was nice and hearty and comfort food-y.. definitely less gamey than the dish before NOM NOM NOM.  Sad I didn’t really get much lemongrass flavor out of it.

Roasted Leg of Lamb with Caramelized Onions & Fig Sauce - Chef Nick Stefanelli of Bibiana

MMMM this was sooo good.. the textures, flavors.. creamy… UMMM, I have no idea what that scoop of meaty stuff was but it was good.. MMMM… meat paste.. tender perfectly cooked lamb, the onion the sweetness of the fig. CHOMP! So far my favorite but we still have one more to go…. MMMMMM

Welsh Rarebit Lamb Nachos - Chef John Critchley of Urbana

LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE

This was SOOOO good, not gamey or lamby AT all.. I could snack on these all day long. How awesome would it be to eat these during superbowl?! I’m a sucker for nachos anyways.. MMMMM AMAZING!

That creamy sauce was crack. MMMMMM

See, W inhaled two in a row and I caught him licking the sauce :]

As the event started winding down… we headed back to the Bourbon Steak table.. and chitted and chatted… time for…

SHOTS SHOTS SHOTS SHOTS

Sorry you were yummy!

I came back with tons of lamb swag, including pins, tattoos, stickers and chapstick lol :] AND YAYYYYYY the Nachos, my favorite of the night, won!!! WOOHOOOO congrats!!!