Tapas at Solea

Tapas? Tapas yes! How can you ever say no to Tapas?!.. Nothing like some Spanish Tapas.. and while I usually go to Toro for it… Solea is closer.  Since I’m so behind in posts I’m gonna be doing a lot of just plain picture posts with minimal writing….

I got some Red Sangria with some bubbbbbbbly in it… !!!
Sangria Royal, Red Sangria with Cava and Gran Marnier
a

Bread and Hummus

Always a good pair.

Pulpo a Feria, Galician Style Octopus with Paprika and Olive Oil
This is a cold dish.. the octopus is tender but I thought that there was just way too much.

Gambas al Ajillo, Sizzling Garlic Shrimp

Pimiento de Piquillo, Shrimp and Crab Stuffed Piquillo Peppers
This was alright.  I’ve had better in other places…

Chorizo a la Plancha, Seared Spanish Sausage

Pato Braseado, Roasted Duck with Berry Sauce

This shall always be my favorite dish to get when I get tapas. DUCK IS THE THING TO GET!

Almejas a la Marinera, Steamed Littleneck Clams with White Wine and Herb Sauce

Vieiras al Azafrán, Scallops in Saffron Cream

I’m not too big on cream sauces so I only had one.  There’s something about my palate I can taste everything but saffron. Weird.

Solomillo con Chimichurri, Beef Tenderloin with Spicy Herb Sauce

The beef was tender but by the time we got this we were so full of everything else….

Setas al Ajillo, Sautéed Wild Mushrooms

Codorniz, Braised Quail with Lentils

Almendras Marconas, Roasted Marcona Almonds

Churros con Chocolate, Cinnamon-laced Fritters with Dark Chocolate Sauce

Flan, Coconut Flan

Everything was delicious but it was super filling for just three people.

Pre Dinner & Cocktails at Oyamel Cocina Mexicana & Jaleo

Got to hang out with my buddy B and his girlie friends…. K and A, the other day..  W and I headed over to Oyamel after I was done with work and they were already finishing up a pitcher of margaritas – I gladly joined in and quickly catched up.

SOOO much tequila <3

We decided to order one of everything off of the 4$ each bar menu. YUM.  PS their chips were SOO much better than the flimsy ones from Los Cuates

Ceviche verde “El Bajio”
Wild Pacific ono with a creamy avocado, tomatillo, green olives, and jalapeno chiles sauce

W loved it, I thought it needed a bit more crunch or spice to it.  Avocados made me happy though.  Eating it with chips helped.  <3

Taco de barbacoa de res
Beef stewed in a Oaxacan-style guajillo chile sauce with pickled catcus paddle

Beefy, a bit dry but tasty.

Albondigas enchipotladas con queso doble creama
Meatballs in chipotle sauce with crumbled ‘double cream’ cheese and cilantro

Soft small balls of meatballs. I’m a meatball snob but these were good.

Shredded Pork Tacos

Pulled Pork and cabbage. My favorite ones of the night. DELISH!

Taco de cochinita pibil con cebolla en escabeche
Yucatan-style pit-barbecued pork with pickled red onion and Mexican sour orange in a house-made corn tortilla

I thought these were a bit dry too :T Meh.

Bathroom

And then we headed to Jaleo for some tapas and the… DESSERT!!!

I remember ordering a regular bubbly but ended up getting served a rose sparkling wine that cost 4$ more but it WAS tasty. Our waiter was kinda pushy with what we wanted to order. Awkward… but B’s rice pudding was FAB!

My flan <3

BATHROOM!!! Freaky…

But no toilet paper so I left them this HAHA

Balling out at Craigie on Main, 8 Course Tasting

You guys may know by know that one of my favorite restaurants in the area is Craigie on Main.  Not really in Boston, Cambridge near MIT but still :] I still say I live in Boston even tho I live in the woods hahahah….

BTW on the way  I witnessed a crazy car crash RIGHT in front of us.  Our taxi was getting onto Storrow Drive and there was a car in front of us who got smacked COMPLETELY in the front half and 90degree’d blocking one of the exists.  HOLY CRAP.  It was so loud and I screamed haha.  Thankfully no one was, at least not obviously, hurt but it was CRAZY and mad damage to one of the cars. YIKES.  Our cabbie kept complaining about it too hahaha… “Night driving is bad for people who don’t know their way around here” lol…. YIKES.

…but yes back to the point. The topic.  The main reason why I’m blogging here this afternoon and procrastinating at work [shhh!!! Hi Boss!!] What can I say about Craigie that I haven’t yet before? It never fails to disappoint, and plus I love pig.  They have the most amazing pig tails and pig’s head :] YUM

LOVE the atmosphere…

LOVE the open kitchen

Source

hipster bartenders with the pornstaches kinda freaked me out a bit… not gonna lie… *cough

Just LOVE LOVE LOVE everything :]

So what we get drunk?
So what we smoke weed?
We’re just having fun
We don’t care who sees
So what we go out?
That’s how its supposed to be
Living young and wild and free

So why not go all out after a huge brunch and eat a 8+ Course Tasting meal :] And perhaps get a little drunk…. and minus the weed [altho it’d probably help with the consuming of all this food yeah? HA!]

Ready to gooooo gooogooooo?!… We started off with some drinks while they set up the table.  I requested a nice big corner table and we got one :] Yay! So comfy!  We did have amazingly amusing neighbors.. including a poor guy who looked like he was trying to get laid but was doing a total womp womp job. Also he inhaled the hard rolls in like 4 bites smothered in butter.. over and over again LOL, and then the long table of  loud Japs.  OMG. LOUD!  THE TEETH! HAHAHA… OH the stories I could tell about it, but onwards to more interesting things and the reason why you’re here.

Seafood Amuse Trio

I remember getting a seafood trio the first time I ever ate here so I was excited to get delicious little bites again. I LOVE restaurants that constantly change their menu and work with what they got and what’s in season. YUM. Fresh and delicious.

Squid Noodles, Nuon Cham, Toasted Garlic

I LOOOVE raw squid, these were SO good!  From the crunchy strong garlic on top to the fish sauce OMG.. it was like a little bite of Thai heaven. Happy dance in my mouth and into my belly.

Foie de Lotte [Monkfish Liver], Miso-Mustard Vinaigrette, American Sturgeon Roe

It was super creamy but all I tasted was the roe :[   They were running around in my mouth and I was busy catching them between my teeth to pop them. Salty roe taste but no monkfish liver :[ But like I said, super creamy aside from the eggs hehe.

Smoked Scottish Salmon, Buttermilk Vinaigrette

Very delicious. I love smoked fish!!!

Crispy Fried Nove Scotia Smelts
Preserved Lemon, Pickled Peppers, Squid Ink Anchoïade

I adore fried smelts. The last time I had them were when they were a special at Legal’s.. [ugh they SO need to put it permanently on their menu! ADORE!] But this was to another level. Screw the forks and knives we dug in with our fingers.  Bones and all [obviously] It was delicious. And the squid ink?! Freaking amazing!  This dish was SOOO major!!! LOVE LOVE LOVE.  I could’ve eaten a bucket full of this.. and you could dunk my shoe in that squid ink and I’d devour it.

Dayboat Cod à la Plancha
Cumin and Daikon Salad, Savory Carrot Ju

Soft flakey cod with a nice skin – a light delicious carrot jus and I LOVED the sunflower seeds. For some weird reason, sunflower seeds always remind me of the salad bar at Sizzler when I was like 4 hahaha. Is that weird? Sunflower seeds and bacon bits. OH SIZZLER lol. Do they even exist anymore? Why am I going off in so many tangents today? Maybe I am high.. HA! Kidding… but yes this fish is SOOO GOOD. Cod is always a good go-to fish if you want a nice tender mild not too fishy fish.  The salad had some nice acidity to it so I was eating it all together. MMMM and sunflower seeds. Yep, I’m back on them seeds…

Spice-Crusted Baquetta Grouper Kama
Lemon Vinegar, Tuscan Olive Oil

This was amazing!!!! You know Hamachi Kamas right? If you don’t you are a BAD READER OF MY BLOG!  I eat them at least once a week… hahaha.. but this is Baquetta Grouper… and was very similar to Hamachi, Yellowtail.  Oily, almost fatty like texture, SOOOOO tender,  so meaty, so fresh with the most amazing crust.  The crust was some of the best part :] Hahaha. I was fed the most amazing juicy delicious meaty bite with crust and meat and fat and all; YAY #spoilt

Haha on a side note, I’m one of those people that if you feed me I will eat. Bites wiggling in front of my mouth and I will CHOMP at it, no matter HOW full I am… usually even if I don’t REALLY want it… unless it’s absolutely revolting, I will ingest. One day I’m gonna be 600lbs and rolling around, until then, I will eat til I burst!

House-Made Rye Flower Casarecce
Venison and Arugula Ragoût

They make amazing fresh pastas here.. and Venison!!! YAYYY as soon as I heard venison my heart, and tummy skipped a beat. This could’ve also been my downfall to getting so full.  INHALED. Like, literally, I ate it so fast I barely breathed. SO good..  tender venison, a great sauce, beautifully made and cooked pasta… the slight bitterness of the wilted arugula, the fresh sprouts on top. OH ME OH MY!  The textures were beyond amazing.  I love with my mouth and senses feel a million things at the same time.

Crispy-Fried Pig’s Tails
Pickled Peanuts, Nuoc Cham, Cilantro

Honestly?! Is this old age?! A few years ago I downed 8 courses and then some.. two bottles of wine, last year I did the same thing and had pig’s head and etc… and now I’m ready to ass out head first in pillows after 2.5 glasses of champagne and wine and this course.  But I looooooove their pig tails.  It’s like chinese takeout in delicious gourmet fatty pig tail form.

Veal Four Ways 
Roasted Sirloin, Grilled Tongue, Braised Cheek & Sweetbreads
Kasha, Turnips, Bok Choy, Satsuma Tangerine, Pomegranate

I managed to down at least a bite or two of each taste before I called it quits.  A bit salty and heavy on the sauce for me but they were also super tender and quite delicious. MMMM sweetbreads!!!

Duck Fat Brussel Sprouts

I love duck fat. I love brussel sprouts.  And since we already had bone marrow earlier in the day and then there was my binging on delicious marrow the night before, we ordered the brussel sprouts.  They had amazing flavor and a great char, but I was kinda disappointed at how mushy they were :[ I like my brussel sprouts to still have a bite and a crunch to them.

The rest of the chops after they cut our pieces :]

Dessert Amuse:
Vermouth Jelly with Herb Granite
White Chocolate Crumbs

SOOO refreshing. It totally cleansed my palette and got me ready for dessert time!!! MMMM delicious!!!  All sorts of different textures – the cold granita, icy and herbal, the jiggly jelly and the chew of the white chocolate. Amazing.

Cajeta Crème Caramel
Candied Kumquats, Sweet Potato Croustillant

Creamy salty and a delicious sweet potato crisp on top that reminded me of thanksgiving.  Rich and delicious but also light and almost had a fluffy texture to it. Delicious.  Two bites and I was done.  Plus I was nibbling on the ice cream tart next to me ;]

Bourbon Pecan Ice Cream Tart
Bacon Chocolate Crust, Mexican Chocolate
So stuffed but I couldn’t resist and couldn’t stop licking. This was SO good, so much flavor… and while I didn’t get too much bacon this was ALL DELICIOUSNESS.  I’m such a sucker for ice cream, it was creamy, delicious, full of pecans and a bourbon taste to it. Amazing and not too sweet.  The crust was great as well… :] MMM CRUST! Best part of tarts and pies..hahahah

We both got teas and Craigie was going to give us a complimentary Whiskey tasting… which now that I think about it, would it have helped me digest better? Ah so worthless after all that food teehee.

Thanks W, mr Chefy Chef, for being a FAB foodie partner in crime this weekend – visit soon :] 

Amazing food, good company and fun times :] #foodcoma

In the mood for Thai…

You know how I roll… I eat, day by day, on a “what I’m in the mood for” basis… sometimes it’s Ramen… sometimes 1$ pizza… sometimes I wanna go all out…  but this Thursday afternoon:

THAI!!!!

So my partner [and also Thai-craving] in crime ended up getting the 15 Course Tasting from Kittichai – we were warned that it was a lot of food, but instead of getting scared, we ordered a few more dishes.. and even ended up ordering a few more desserts ;D You know how I roll…. anyways the dishes were brought out and wine paired into 5 sets…. 2 apps, 2 entrees and a dessert :D

celebrating dos de mayo

Since we decided to celebrate Cinco de Mayo at home [read about it at the end of this entry], we decided to go out for Dos de Mayo…. not sure why but we’ve been in the mood for Mexican for awhile… we had tried to get in the day before but it was booked for the whole night… so Sunday night Mexicano dinner it was :D This is just a few blocks from our apt so we strolled down on the nice hot – slightly too humid – night to Hell’s Kitchen and got our Mexican on :D

Apparently their “busy time” is 5-7 so thats the only time they take reservations… when we got there we sat at the bar waiting for a table and got us some drinks….

Dos de Mayo

Hers: Wajito – Light Rum, Fresh Watermelon, Lime Juice  & Fresh Mint

His: Classic Margarita

Complimentary dip from the chef…

Delcious black bean dip with sour cream and delicious little sweet corn bread slices…..

Guacamole with Homemade Crispy Guajillo Corn Tortillas

The tortilla chips were sooo good and thick and crispy. The guacamole was amazing, LOVE good classic guac :]

Baby Back Ribs

We were in the mood for ribs, they were amazing. Fall off the bone happiness…

Shrimp Ceviche

Delicious and fresh. Ceviche and some sangria is the perfect hot summer day meal :] Speaking of which we ordered a pitcher of it…

Sangria

Love it when sangria has chunks of fruit in it :D

Duck Confit Empanadas with Cranberry Mole & Pico de Gallo

These were sooo soooo soooo good!!!! Crisp outside and yum flavorful duck on the inside.

Grilled Shrimp with Serrano Sauce, Sweet Plantain & Guacamole

Loved the little salad in the middle. THe plantains were so delicious and each one was topped with shrimp. Needed some heat so I asked for some hot sauce and they gave me a nice roasted pepper hot sauce.

Pan Seared Chilean Sea Bass with Grilled Chayote, Sweet Plantain Puree & Salsa Verde

Buttery rich fish and loved the puree and the chayote. The salsa verde was pretty light. Wish it had been spicier as well…

Poached Artichoke Quesadilla with Idiazabel Cheese, Roasted Sweet Corn & Poblano Crema

This was a huge disappointment. I was most excited about this, because I LOOOOOVE artichokes but just like at dell’anima, it was overpowered by the idiazabel cheese which was a little pungent for me and it just tasted like cheese mush :[ Waa…

For once I actually felt stuffed… but then came the delicious trio of desserts…

Tres Leches with Cherries Sponge Cake Soaked in Rum & Milk

SO GOOD. I love a good tres leches :] I’ve had some bad tres leches before where it’s TOO milky and almost sour. This was sweet, not too sweet, and just so good…

Caramelized Banana Empanadas Bittersweet Chocolate Sauce

LOVE empandas and LOVE bananas :] This made me oh so happy!!!

Flan de Coco – Cocounut Flan with Fruit Salad & Coconut Macaroon

SO GOOD. I can never pass up flan, it’s so simple but it’s always so good…. :D

We will definitely be coming back here again… Ok, that’s a lie, we might not. There is just way too many restaurants and places to eat at in the City… I’m more into menus that change seasonally so I’d like to come check it out later in the summer or in the fall to see if it’s changed at all… it’s not REAL mexican food and there are some people who have reviewed this place and aren’t that into that.. but it’s a nice spin and gourmet-a-fying it. But then this just makes me want to be at Frontera Grill ;D

Cinco de Mayo

I decided to make a special pork shoulder taco dinner for Cinco de Mayo.. we planned on eating at home and then going out for drinks afterwards :D

Shredding the pork after 2-3 hours and then putting it back in the oven for another hour…

We had grilled corn and drank Inedit… maybe too much Inedit… anwyays we ended up NOT leaving the house because of food coma and already drunk :D

IRISH I WERE DRUNK…. Spanish for St Pattys Day…

What did you do for St Pattys Day?I headed into the city to celebrate with some friends :] After spending a long afternoon in the city – I had barely eaten and was absolutely FAMISHED, so I headed down to La Paella around St. Marks in the East Village for some Spanish tapas :]

Now before we begin I must apologize for one of the ugliest sets of photos I’ve ever taken – and this is all taking place in this post :]

Did I mention how famished I was? Completely lost count of how many dishes we ended up ordering… seriously…

Good Food, Bad Night…

I’m cranky tonite. Having a bad nite *argh* All work no play. Work is stress. Home is stress, I need to get away…

I got lazy and decided not to make groats. I am soaking them in water so I guess I’ll make them tomorrow night instead :] I decided to make my new THICK Rolled Oats from Bob’s Red Mill. Usually I just buy Quaker Oats and I’ve only gotten Red Mill flours and stuff… but these caught my eye :]

My oats came up fluffy and creamy!!! I used a cup of oats w/ 2.5c water. (I split it with my mommy, she was in the mood for oats too!!!)

 

I had a bowl of oats (about 276g, I told you I weigh randomly on my food scale now that I have one) with tons of brussel sprouts (steamed) and 15 thin/small stalks of asparagus (also steamed) with two small chunks of 豆腐乳.. I’m out :[ I need to go buy more this weekend!!
 
Mid-bite… 

Also had some green peppers w/ chicken :] Very yummy!!! I ate it with a ton of wild rice, brown rice, grains mixture :] SOOO good.. forgot to take a pic but I had like 3 bowls of that rice!!!
 

Dessert was Vietnamese Flan from Ba Le :]

It was really good but less…”solid” feeling than the usual flan (umm, less dense I guess it was a lot lighter) but a lot sweeter…. 

& 3 Banana Cakes…

These pink banana filled syrupy cakes are becoming a favorite of mine. The last piece I had tho was a bit more dry.. I think I like them more syrupy (which is funny because I thought it was gross and runny looking at the store and put back the overly runny ones for drier ones… MAN, now I wish I hadn’t…) 

& 2 Baked Rice Cakes… 
 
These green cakes weren’t as good or chewy as the white rice cakes I love so much.. these were drier.. and more, well, they’re baked so the crust was def. a lot more dry… but they were tasty (and less sweet!) in their own way. Def. more “cakey” then spongey…

After my shower.. I dressed Dior up in one of her.. um, 7 or 8 Halloween Costumes I bought for her


Caterpillar :D SO CUTE!!! 

I watched The Tripper which was.. interesting.. I thought it was kinda funny actually… one of those random over the top boobies galore chop chop fests… poked fun at politics too…

& munched on 3 pieces of chocolate covered fruits (2 orange, 1 peach)

& then another peach one while watching the news and reading my new Food & Wine magazine :]
 

I’m hungry :[ My mom says I eat too much and to stop :[ I’m such a fatso :[