Vegetarian No Meat Burgers!!!… and other yummies from the past few days!

Today I tried something new… while I had a beef burger…. oh so yummy, I tried out a special recipe for my mom and her vegetarian friend…. no-meat burgers for them using Beyond Meat product! I prefer Yves non-meats but couldn’t find any at Whole Foods today :[ Bummer.

For 2 Burger Patties:
1 bag of Beyond Beef Beefy Crumbles

1/4-1/2 onion
A few cloves of garlic
Paprika
Salt
Black Pepper
Dried Basil (fresh is probably better and if so, minced)
2 eggs
flour

I first sautéed the minced onion and garlic til caramelized and starting to be transparent and browned slightly. I mixed it with the beefy crumbles. Added S&P, paprika, dried basil and perhaps a few more secret ingredients. I added two eggs and a few pinches of flour to help it bind better – I probably should have added more flour since it was a little too wet. And I grilled them.

For toppings I sautéed onions and mushrooms. Topped the patties with cheese as they were about to be done cooking and put a lid on the pan to melt the cheese. I added a few slices of rings of red onion, sliced tomatoes and some avocado. Some other options (which I put on my beef burger) were jalapeños and cilantro.

And to make the dinner even better.. some kale chips… just kale… drizzled in evoo, s&p I added cayenne pepper… or whatever flavorings you want :]

BTW, this was my BEEF burger haha

Sorry, being “healthy”… even tho the burger was rare *MAD COW DISEASE* haha but I ate my in lettuce wrap….”sort of” ok some of it with fork and knife….

More stuff I made this weekend..

Vegetarian Soup… there’s kale, corn, leeks, mushrooms, onion etc etc… topped with some cheese and cilantro and a “garlic bread” croissant

There were more veggies but I don’t remember

And our pre-Masquerade Harvard Ball dinner

Duck Confit with Leek/Mushroom Risotto and Spicy Broccoli

Just used a tiny bit of white truffle butter, topped with parm and scallions in the risotto, had fresh white truffles.. but forgot to top it… duck confit cooked in lots of duck fat for awhile so super crispy… and then just steamed broccoli with hot pepper flakes :]

Craigie on Main – 8 Course Tasting Menu

The one and only Woo Bear, my favorite NYPD PoPo/Detective/Bodyguard/Bestie came to visit me in Boston and being so busy with work lately we FINALLY got a chance to meet up, rant, chat, laugh and just have a jolly awesome time.  I picked him up from his hotel and even though we got there early they had a table for us already set for us.

Woo Bear & Peep Peep unite!!!!!

AKA

He’s the Gru to my Agnes

I told him we had to go to Craigie on Main.. it’s farm to table and seasonal and just one of my favorite places MUST GO TO EAT AT places in Boston… well it’s in Cambridge but same difference. I adore their open kitchen. And everyone there is SO friendly and awesome. PLUS every time you get the tasting menu you get different and new things it’s NEVER the same.

After careful, not so careful thinking we decided to order the everything 8 course tasting menu.  We started off with a champagne for me and a “manly” scotch drink for him. I think the waitress said it was a scotch rimmed with absinthe?!… I thought it was delicious!!!!

We also ordered a bomb ass bottle of French Burgundy Pinot Noir – mad $$ but soooo worth it

I asked for them to write out the menu for us so I could have it when I went home… obviously so I could blog!!!

And then it began….. as we sipped our yummy drinks, the food started flowing….

Trio of Amuse Bouche

Citrus Cured Striped Bass, Avocado, Red Onion, Pickled Pine Nuts

This was Woo Bear’s favorite… mainly cuz of the avocado he said.  It was good and reminded me of tuna tartare, I think mainly cuz of the color, would’ve never thought it was striped bass – but I guess it was cuz of the citrus cure.  You couldn’t really taste the citrus but it was a good bite.

Razor Clams, Uni Vinaigrette

Texturally wise, this was my favorite of the three. It was obviously clams… and I LOOOOOVE razor clams.. I’ve never had it sliced before and it was amazing.  Need to start taking my razor clams not whole on a shell… hehe…

Smoked Bluefish Rillettes, Hackleback Roe

Taste-wise this was y favorite. It was a beautifully soaked fish… and with the caviar and everything it was pretty divine.

The waitress loved that I had a champagne glass tattooed on me haha..

Sea Trout Pastrami
Winter Chicories, Blood Orange, Pistachio Vinaigrette

I actually expected a smokier tasting salmon, from the looks of it, but the taste was impeccable.  The texture of the salmon was of smoked salmon but it definitely had that “pastrami” kick to it.  With the added crunch of the chicory and pistachio it was heaven in each bite.  It actually would’ve been an amazing salad with more chicory and pistachios but deeeeeelish!!!!!!!

Roasted Sturgeon à la Poêle
Camargue Red Rice, Red Onion Soubise, Beurre Rouge

When the last dish came out we finally finished our first drinks and got to get into the the wine, which paired PERFECTLY, as waitress said it would, with the food… It was salty was soooooo gooooood.  Not sure what the greens were but the rice was just barely el dente and chewy and amazing, I almost thought it was wheat berries…the surgeon [this was the first time Woo Bear ever had it, but I have] was soooo buttery and beautifully cooked.  Like I said, it was salty but it still tasted awesome….

Delicious wine with an amazing friend!!!

Spice-Crusted Striped Bass Kama

Wait. What? KAMA? UM, I LOVE YOU CRAIGIE.   I love Fish Collar Bone [aka Kama]

Even the waitress told me to make sure to take a pic – I think she saw me taking pictures before… and probably assumed since I was asian HAHA

It’s all about this:
the Tuscan Olive Oil, Citrus Vinaigrette

And cuz we were “her friends” she poured it on for us. AWWWWW I felt so loved….!!!! She even said “Of course Tiff, you’re my friend” hahahaha… maybe she remembers me from my past eatings there…. LOLOLOL… I always eat SO much here

This was my piece… Woo Bear and me both picked our pieces CLEAN!!!!!… We ASIAN YO.  We waste NOTHING!!!

House-Made Red Beet Conchiglie Pasta
Boudin Noir Ragoût, Fava Leaves

This was beautiful. Fucking beautiful. BEET PASTA? It’s like taking a veggie I love with a pasta I love and combining the two.  When I first looked at it, I was like UHHH.. meat? blah? WHAT? But it was delicious.   The sauce didn’t overwhelm the beet taste in the pasta and the lava leaves added a nice green freshness to it.   Will definitely try to make a beet pasta in the future… altho I’ll probably make pappardelle or gnocchi.

Slow-Roasted Veal Sweetbreads
Wild Mushrooms, Farm-Fresh Egg, Chorizo Sauce

This may have been my favorite dish of the night, minus the bone marrow later, but I can never not LOVEEEEEEEEEE and orgasm with bone marrow.  But the poached egg was SOOOO beautiful.  The sauce, the mushrooms and of course SWEETBREADS.  I really need to find a place that sells sweetbreads so I can start cooking them.  They’re one of my favorite delicacies.. even more than bone marrow and foie gras cuz I can never find them to cook them myself… and because of that, I ALWAYS ALWAYS have to order sweetbreads when it’s on the menu.. well I guess the same with the other two but still….

And then when we thought it was all over….

Axis Venison Two Ways: Spice-Crusted Leg, Crepinette
Mustard Spaetzle, Hakurei Turnips, Red Cabbage Purée

And obviously we got it with the BONE MARROW!!!!

Can you believe they asked us if we would rather have duck fat roasted carrots OR bone marrow? UMMM… we didn’t even look at each other and Woo Bear and I both screamed BONE MARROW!!!

It was all so freaking delicious….  the crepinette was SOOOOOOOO delicious. It was a yummy venison meatball!!!… and the venison leg, sliced and cooked rare was just SOOO tender and delicious.  I ended up eating the marrow on toast and then the rest of the marrow all over my veal dish and licking it up. The spaetzle was crunchy and divine and while it was from “mustard” it had almost a delicate “cheese” taste to it.  Definitely some of the yummiest spaetzle I’ve had.  The turnips were great.. I thought it was daikon – which I guess is basically a turnip/carrot – and just all of the items combined was ORGASMIC. We had SOOOOOO much bone marrow it could feed a family of 10.

Palate Cleanser
House-made Lime Frozen Yogurt
Basil Seeds

Delicious. Refreshing. YUM.

We got this amazing Bourbon:
Michter’s 20yr Cask Strength Single Barrel 114.2°

At 67$ a glass it better be fucking amazing and it was… smelled like caramel and was soooooo tasty. Yeah disgustingly expensive but also disgustingly delicious.

Dessssert time.. so it was definitely more than just 8 courses….

Moroccan ‘Upside Down’ Carrot Cake
Goat Cheese Sorbet, Dates, Caramelized Almonds

I told them no goat cheese but they gave me some anyways.  I ate it anyways.  But the cake was super dry, even though I loved the look/concept of the cake.  Next time I make carrot cake I’ll have a beautiful slice of carrot on top.  It didn’t go with the goat cheese even tho I tried it together to make it “wetter” and neither did the sauce.  It was kinda sad to see such a fantastic meal end so badly.

Chocolate-Fernet Branca Crémeux
Roasted Lemon Puree, Tarragon Ice Cream

I don’t really think that was what we got… it tasted like mint ice cream on chocolate mousse and crunchy sticks hahahaha…. it was good but didn’t feel like a FULL dessert, like a side to a dessert…

BUT AT LEAST THIS SAVED THE NIGHT

We had a special complimentary Hot Cocoa to warm us up… there was definitely some chilies and cardamum in it <3

Everything was talked about, we definitely spent a good few hours there… and in the end we realized:

Love you Woo Bear. Can’t wait to play again soon!!!!! Miss you dearly already!!!!

alta strada

Life has been super hectic and busy, but I thought I’d post a slightly late but still kinda recent food adventure before a personal post :] This is first and foremost a food blog right?

So last month I finally had the chance to eat at alta strada in Wellesley. It’s so close yet I never had the chance to go.

I even broke out the nice Vera Wang stems

Of course I started off with a nice Italian red…

They gave us a beautiful slab of delicious bread.. EVOO, S&P and I asked for some Balsamic Vinegar as well :]

COULD NOT STOP EATING THIS BREAD.  The crust was perfection.

We ordered three AntiPasti [basically Italian Tapas]

Chilled Calamari with Cucumber and Citrus [top]
Marinated White Anchovies with Frisee [botom]

I looove anchovies.. the frisee totally helped balance out the saltiness of the fish… MMMM…..  The calamari almost felt like a ceviche… and the squid was cut into noodles… It was good, vinegary but nothing out of this world.

And of course Roasted  [Golden] Beets with Grana Padano

I actually wanted more but the waiter said that for two people this was far more than enough.  And he was right, I expected smaller dishes but these were HUGE.

And then split a pizza…

Prosciutto and Arugula

I asked for an egg in the middle, you know the pizzas that come out like this:

But I guess they just had no clue.. even tho I just asked for ONE gooey egg in the middle… they gave me chopped eggs all over the pizza… Kinda disappointing but it was still delicious.

And for dessert, even though we were super full, we got the Mascarpone Cheesecake; Lemon Curd, Vanilla Tuille

Light fluffy and a perfect sweet ending to an amazing dinner.

The tale of Miss Tiffie and her first Balut

After many years of wanting to, and seeing Zimmern and Anthony Bourdain do it (my ‘eat/try anything food idols’) and so many of my Filipino friends…. I’ve wanted to try a Balut.  It freaks me out… I saw on Hell’s Kitchen recently… I don’t want no feathers and beaks… But I do wanna see whar the fuss is about.  I always try everything so when I had the change to try this. OBVIOUSLY I was 110% on board!

What else can I say? Texturally I actually would prefer it to be a little older duck since it just melted in my mouth.  The broth tasted like super condensed duck soup and the yolk was creamy and had a duck flavor to it.  The duck itself kinda had a gamey organ taste to it..  Not bad but the thought of eating it was kinda freaky.

Miami Day 4 & Joe’s Stone Crabs… and 72oz of Margaritas at Primetime

It’s our last day in Miami…. I don’t wanna leave…

Neither does J.

Time to say bye bye to our beloved free amazing gourmet breakfast buffet at Eden Roc

Note: See all of J’s beloved donuts. Yes he’s a donut fanatic. :]

My last free omelette and bacon

Bye Bye Bye :[

Sad Good Bye

Had the most AMAZING time with the most amazing person.

Bye bye Lobby Bar [Bartender Tommy haha J’s new friend]

SO OFF WE WENT… hiked the beach… first stop, nostalgia…. Wet Willie’s…. we got some blue shocker mixed margarita. SO sweet…. but hey I felt 18 again.

We continued our long walk on the beach… a nice long walk from Eden Roc [Miami Beach] to the end of South Beach at Joe’s Stone Crabs

Woot woot finally got to sit INSIDE. Last time I was REJECTED cuz of dress code. UH. Tube Top and skirt was a NO-NO.

AMAZING BREAD. Pretzel bread and the flatbread crips were the SHIT!!!

One again I was in charge of food and J was in charge of wines….

Delish!…. he got a Chard… I got… uhhhhhh…….. something spicier?!… I don’t remember..

Crab Nicoise
shaken with jumbo lump crab, locally grown tomatoes,
olives, green beans, eggs, potatoes, red onion & herb vinaigrette

Chock full of fresh sexy crab…. amazing crisps… and just UGH delish!.. Even the dressing was SOOOOOOOO divine!!!!….. I loved how they served this in a cup and shook it out in front of us. HOOKED.

We got the SELECT Stone Crab Claws… I’ve had the medium and I’ve had the jumbo [bigger isn’t only better] which were ok, so select was definitely the best choice.

Best last lunch in Miami.

And of course their famous Key Lime Pie.

Demolished. LOVE.

But our day wasn’t over yet. We were determined to get a GIANT margarita on Ocean Drive. So where do we end up? Primetime. Of course :] We could’ve gotten smaller ones but it was 2 for the price of one and I wanted the giant one… so we both got 32oz ones…..

J got the
Aperol Spritz
Aperol Liqueur, Astoria Prosecco and splash soda

And  I got the
Champagne Kiss:
Champagne, Chambord raspberry liqueur blended  to perfection

I was taking pics of us so the waitress offered to help…

Much better..

Bigger than my head.

Tipsy tipsy weeeeeeee… time to head to the airport to drink more….

Today…… and last week’s breakfast

I had the most shitty day.

And then I had the best ending to the night…. my bf gave me frownies that looked so cartoonish and comical… I couldn’t stop giggling… I fell over in giggles……

It’s insane and ridic to explain the whole thing that happened tonight… today…. yesterday…. but ok I admit it’s been a shitty few days since my crash.  I’m still not done figuring out my insurance/police reports and my anxiety/panic attack medication……. my psychiatrist is on VACA. WTF. Part of the reason I had the crash WAS cuz of it, I’m sure.

BUT… I wanna say, I got a lot of stuff done the past two days… and I had full support from friends and mostly my wonderful bf J.

Thanks for your cute little frownie faces that make me giggle and laugh like crazy.  See you soon.

You are just another blessing in my life. Thank you. Love you.

And I’m glad you loved the food I made the last time you visited me……….

BLACK Truffle… this thing was worth like over 90$

Dinner… Rose Champagne and Wine [brought by J]

Red Wine Braised Short Ribs with Swiss Chard, Habaneros, Celery, Carrots and Onion…. 

a WHOLE Fresh Black Truffle Whipped Cauliflower with white truffle salt and oil…. 

Roasted Brussels Sprouts and Wild Mixed Mushrooms…. 

My first plate….. of many…

And then we decided I should get this… we had a glass of wine and then……. DID IT…

Didi was jealous cuz J was in her spot

The next morning J made me food… I helped with peeling bacon and mixing eggs…

So much bacon and so much bacon fat….. we fried the WHOLE packet!!!!!!

And then we scrambled like 8 eggs in the bacon fat…. just added some pepper to it… thiS WAS AMAZING…

Obviously I made the mimosas and some black coffee… and we had fresh pineapple to gnaw on…..

BEST. BREAKFAST.

Oisiiyo Ramen with……. uh, Cheese?

Late Night Ramen at Oisiiyo

After a nice 2 hour massage.. and no dinner…  I had amazing dinner at Oisiiyo…. while the veggies and ramen and broth… oh yeah and pork – were amazing… there was a huge chunk of some sort of American Cheese on it. Uh. Ew. Done and done. Next time you go, it’s definitely delicious ramen, just ask for NO CHEESE.

First Stop: Din Tai Fung & AoBa & a little modeling

All dressed and ready for my xiao long bao fix.

Soup dumplings soup dumplings yay yay yay!!!!

After a nice brunch…. we decided to shop a bit…

Here’s my modeling some of Isabella’s furs and coats for this season….

And then it was dinner time at AoBa, the usual yum yums….

Bamboo Shoots

Sweet Potato Congee

Egg Omelette with Pickled Radishes

Pig’s Feet [my favorite EVER]

Clams and Loofah

Fresh Fish of the Day, Steamed with Ginger & Scallion

And complimentary Peanut Mochi…. still warm :]

It’s good to be back….

TAAN Noodles

So after one kind of ramen the other night we decided to try the new place in Adams Morgan…

A whole bottle of girly sochu for me

Not the best pork [pig-wise] bun.. but the bun itself was fluffy….

My ramen had chicken duck and pork, DELICIOUS. It was amazing.  This was a lighter version compared to Toki’s but also delicious – and I usually prefer this kind of broth too, makes me feel less fat hahahah…

They forgot my egg

But W and A gave me theirs

<3 Def recommend but the place is pretty small, the lounge upstairs is a little….out of place and there is def gonna be a wait. Best bet is sit at the bar and go early :]

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Baltimore for the day…. Wit & Wisdom and the Aquarium

It was a late late night… but we ended up getting up SUPPPPER early in the morning to run to the train to head to Baltimore for the day…. I may have been hungover… can’t really remember at the moment. BUT it was early but the train ride was quick and fun,

a

The view from Wit & Wisdom at the Four Seasons in Baltimore. GORGEOUS

They had a brunch buffet… so I OBVIOUSLY needed a pic of all the ketchup

We ordered a few things and then were served EVERYTHING

Pastry Basket – sadly were out of house but still yummilicious

We got pancakes and fruits

MMMMMM cute little pancakes

Tiny Buttermilk Pancakes with Bourbon Maple Syrup

These were seriousy probably the BEST pancakes I have EVER eaten. W was talking with his buddies and I was trying to be a lady cutting them into thirds and nibbling. OMG I could’ve INHALED in one bite.

Side of Bacon YUM

and then Shrimp & Grits!!! OMFG.. WITH PORK BELLY. I DIE. DELISH
A tried to kill W with the shellfish [haha I kid] but I had it and DV had it… SOOO GOOD…. creamy creamy grits… succulent super well spiced shrimp and fatty pork belly/bacon…. I LOVE… since W cant eat shellfish, DV ate it and seemed to love it as much as I did, def ate it faster.

Fried Egg over Biscuits and Thick Chunky Gravy

The gravy and sausage was on the sweet side but it was SO tasty.  ESP with the biscuit to balance it off. And you guys know that a good fried egg is a sexy fried egg and it’ll always make me extremely happy. I ended up eating the fried egg, the sausage, most of the biscuit and half of the gravy. There’s always that bit of micro greens that makes me feel healthier. HAHA.

W got the  Crunchy Chicken Sandwich
bread & butter chips, crystal hot sauce mayo

And I got the
Jumbo Lump Maryland Crab Cake Benedict
old bay hollandaise, crab glace, benton’s country ham, green

By this point I was gonna burst, but OMG SO FUGGGGGGING GOOD.

Egg Porn Time

DELICIOUS.

FULLLLL and SUPER FULL we walked over to the National Aquarium to wander for a few hours. SO MUCH FUN.

And then we were off to eat at Pabu….. yes THE Pabu.K