L.T.O. [Limited Time Only] with Top Chef Leah Cohen

For the past year, Top Chef-testant Leah Cohen [Season 5] was traveling all over SouthEast Asia [yep and she blogged about it too, woot!]b So for four nights, Chef is serving up a 5-course menu [with or without the cocktail pairings] here at L.T.O. [Limited Time Only]

A little bit about the restaurant… same space, same name, same servers but they constantly, and consistently, change up the chefs/restaurants that do pop-ups here.  VERY cool concept – especially with the recent boomage/popularity of pop-up restaurants. Very clever….

I got there a few minutes early and sat at the bar with a glass of bubbly while I waited for Z to get there.  I was asked by the bartender if I wanted “house sparkling” or “champagne”… I asked him which one was better, confused since I’ve never heard of ‘House Sparkling Wine’… I know there’s always House Red and House White, which unless is in Italy, usually isn’t too great, but not bubbles. He whispered “Champagne is better…” haha cute. And yes, it was tasty.

We were seated at a tiny little table in the back next to the DJ booth, but Z knew me too well and asked for the big booth with the nice squishy comfy seats for us. :] YAY! My butt is happy!

Amuse Bouche
Steak Tartare with Truffle Oil on a Freshly Fried Taro Chip

And so it begins…. MMMMM… I LOVEEEE steak tartare… I LOOOOOVOEEE taro chips and, of course, I LOOOOOOVE truffles.  The taro chip wasn’t greasy at all, perfectly fried [or maybe since it wasn’t greasy it was baked? Regardless, perfectly crunchy and flavorful] The steak was chunky and super tender. The crisp greens added another textural fresh element to the bite.  And of course, the truffles were AMAZING.  I did feel, however, that the truffle oil masked the natural flavors of the steak itself.  It was an amazing bite, but I kind of missed the meaty taste of the beef itself.

Delicious concoction of Prosecco, lemon and vodka.

To be honest, I’ve been kind of scared of overly sweet cocktails since Luckyrice.  While I do enjoy a cocktail once in awhile, I don’t think I had drunken so many cocktails in my life, COMBINED [college included] as I did that night.  THIS drink looked evil but was delicious. Bubbly, light.. did not taste alcoholic at ALL – aka EVIL… – I could’ve drank these ALL night.

Mussel Omelet
Bean Sprouts, Coriander, Sriracha

Adorably plated and executed.  Reminded me of my favorite Taiwanese classic, 蚵仔煎 Oyster Pancakes.. The bottom of this omelet was a nice starchy fried crunchy “pancake” bottom. Despite the liquid surrounding the bottom from the cooked sprouts and mussels, it stayed crunchy.  The egg itself was perfectly cooked – although I could’ve done with a few more mussels, when I did get a bite of mussel, it was delicious.  I LOVED the crunchy fresh bean sprouts.  It played perfectly with the creamy mussels, the fried egg and the “heavier” crunchy bottom… of course I love cilantro – always refreshing in any meal and when I did get some sriracha in my bites [more sprinkling of it please] I was in heaven. You definitely need some of each element to create the perfect bite.

Champagne Raspberry Cocktail

Pork Neck
Watermelon, Crispy Skin, Lime Chili Dressing

My favorite dish of the night and the dish I was most looking forward to. Fatty fatty pork neck with melt in your mouth meat and a super crispy skin.  The watermelon was slightly cooked and super refreshing.  The lime chili dressing, i actually did not expect to like but it was SO delicious and perfectly balanced.

Separately I enjoyed the white wine but I actually found it not very complimenting to the next dish…perhaps it was because of the Chinese sausage…

Cod
Chinese Sausage, Cockles, Yuzu, Dashi, Thai Basil

COCKLES!!!!!!!  And for once, a yuzu dish that isn’t overpoweringly yuzu tasting! Brilliant.  I really liked the dish.. the cockles were cooked perfectly and the chinese sausage added a great spice and fatty element to the dish.  It was diced really small, which I’m actually not used to as much.. because even my mommy’s fried rice with diced Chinese sausage has pretty huge chunks of the stuff… it was a very light sausage – also another thing I rarely see – and the cod, perfectly cooked, tender, and had a generous thick toasted rice topping.  While, Z didn’t really find it good with the fish, I loved the play on the texture with the fish – I just found it hard to cut into.

Last savory dish of the night..and while very yummy, left me wanting more… #hungry

Grilled Hanger
Star Fruit, Rice Noodles, Peanuts, Herbs

I loved the starfruit addition to the dish, Z did not.  He thought it was weird, I thought it was brilliant.  My dish was a bit sloppy but the servings were huge – which was funny because throughout the night I kept getting larger portions than Z did.  The steak was cooked perfectly but I found it to be a bit too sweet.  The rice noodles were cooked great but cut into small pieces so it was really hard to eat – not to mention I REALLY wanted some chopsticks to eat this dish with.  I loved the addition of peanuts.   Crunch crunch crunch – and of course the chili peppers and cilantro are always a plus for me.

Lastly there was dessert… that came with a very very slightly sweet dessert wine – which is great since usually they’re TOO sweet and overpowering compared TO the dessert, this was perfect, light and crisp.

 

Pain Perdu
Toasted Coconut Ice Cream, Bananas, Pecans, Bourbon Palm Sugar Syrup

To be honest, before I really dive into how amazing this dessert was – I didn’t think much of it. I love pain perdu – basically a dessert version of French Toast – it’s been done. BUT this just may be the best of the night.  Ok, I lie I loved the pork neck, but this was Z’s favorite, in fact he STILL can’t stop talking about it. It was a good dessert though – simple, just sweet enough, texturally great, and just YUM! The crunch of the nuts, the silky smooth ice cream and the creamy, yes CREAMY, pain perdu…. with the sweet caramelized bananas – mmm I want bananas foster now – THIS was SUCH a great way to end the night, and one of the best desserts I’ve had in awhile. :] No lie.

Full, fat and happy…

After dinner, I was sad that Leah didn’t really come out to talk to any of the tables so I asked our waiter if I could meet the Chef… waiting patiently we saw her come out, make her way all around the room AND…….. skipped us!!!! SO SAD…. but then one of the servers pointed out that we were the ones who requested to meet her so happy Tiff Tiff again… we chatted for awhile asking about her dishes and her travels around Asia. HELLLLZ YEAH, she went to Taiwan, and loved it. She said she spent the majority of her trip in Thailand.. which was very apparent in her dishes that night.  She was really sweet.. and when we went to take a picture together she freaked out about  my height [haha] and asked if her eyes were closed in the pic.  In which I promptly replied, “I’m the asian one, shouldn’t I be asking that?!” Hahaha… She also mentioned that while she wasn’t allowed to talk about it she was opening a restaurant soon which will also be based on SouthEast Asian flavors.. YUM! I can’t wait.

Going Public, Brunch Style

We were all set for a brunch day at Public with my lovie, Sarina and her hubby Bri, but Sarina ended up being really sick so she had to bail :[ Z and I were still down for some bloody marys [he said they were super good at Public] so we ended up going anyways… the wait was ridiculous so we just got a seat at the bar….

Fig & Vanilla Bellini

Sounds great but it was just okay to me. TOO vanillay not figgy enough.. would have LOVED it if there was fresh fig puree or something in it to thicken it up… or see some vanilla bean specks floating around…. the dried fig was a nice touch but Z drank it all for me cuz I had pout sad face.

Public Mary

As soon as you walk in you see a table with a choose what you want scones/pastries station along with jams/jellys/spreads :D

Lamington stuffed with strawberries and cream

Delicious and fluffy <3

Literally the best part of the meal [aside from the Public Mary] I loved it by itself but I thought the jams were really tasty. Loved the toasted coconut ginger jelly <3

Irish Breakfast…. Poached Eggs on Sourdough Toast, Caramel Apple, Boudin Noir and Tomatoes

I love blood sausage [aka boudin noir] it was pretty tasty but the texture was a lot more mealy but creamy… I like more of a solid sort of boudin noir…. I’ve never had the irish brekky with the apple but it was good.. tasted like a sweet baked apple [haha] and the toast with perfectly poached eggs were NUMMMMIE <3

Grilled Venison Burger, Rare – On Miso Bun with Tomato Chili Jam and Cassava Chips

Look at that beautiful burger..

The bread was perfect and squishy.. great meat to bun ratio, cooked beautifully…. and I love the sweet tartness of the sauce…. I thought it worked really well together and fully enjoyed this.

Side of Bacon

They needed to be crisper but good fat:meat ratio… I love extra crispy, melt-in-your-mouth-fatty bacon so these were a bit too limp and chewy for me. Good flavors tho….

Bloody Maria

Tequila tequila… didn’t feel spicier to me… but tasted boozier…. not a fan of Marias so this was meh.. I ate the pepper tho :D SPICCCCYYYY!!!

Thai Teaser

Bloody Mary with FISH SAUCE in it… actually pretty tasty.. still preferred the classic Public Mary tho.. so we ordered two more of those after this round….

Tropical fruit salad with rosewater and sweet tahini yogurt

When I asked about the fruit the bartender/waiter said there was a lot of citrus in it… I’m like “anything TROPICAL?” said maybe some kiwis, mangos etc… sadly I got NONE of that just lots of citrus [at least there was blood orange] and some grapes.. lame.  I couldn’t taste rosewater and the tahini yogurt just tasted like plain greek yogurt…. nothing sesame-ish about it at all [which is sad cuz I LOOOOOOVE tahini]

Ginger spiced lychee French toast with lemongrass dark palm caramel and pomegranate mascarpone

French toast wasn’t bad… the lychee and the sauce didn’t really go too well together [Z prefered it without the fruit, I liked it better with but thought the caramel was too sweet] Def needs a bigger portion, but then again, I couldn’t eat too much of it.

Afterwards, feeling full but not fully satisfied we grabbed a quick “Grilled Corn Mexican Style” across the street at Cafe Habana – not bad but it’s no Toro corn ;D

Then went to Whole Foods so I could make it our taco night…. :D

Worst Brunch Ever, Masa

We were SO excited for Masa. Like, REALLY excited. Ok, maybe a lot of it was mainly me….. Unfortunately it wasn’t that good … BOOO.. we got prime parking spot too [hate trying to find parking in South Boston it’s so crowded, esp with the snow and totally lacking in parking spots]

Onwards towards the suckage….

Corn Bread and jams….

Cranberry Preserves, Honey Butter and an Apricot Jam

Corn bread wasn’t bad. Wish it was warm and had a better crust tho… tasted best with the butter… meh…

Chef Phil’s Bloody Marys – Stoli and Pickled Jalapenos

It was OK.. nothing to brag about or really enjoy, I didnt even finish mine….

Our waiter never checked on us and just left us after bringing the bloodys over. LAME.

Nut Crusted Texas Toast Stuffed with Caramelized Bananas
Dulce de Leche Syrup

This is DEEP FRIED. It was disgustingly oily and I couldn’t get over that.. it’s like chewing a sponge of grease. It was deep fried in oil that wasn’t hot enough. When we complained it was oily our waiter, who was a horrible one btw, was just like “well it’s deep fried” OK OBVIOUSLY…. SO disgusting. Just thinking about it now makes me wanna gag… re-gag. Ew.

Santa Fe Style Eggs Benedict Atop Southwestern Biscuits
Avocado, Green Chile Hollandaise and Southwest Home Fries

First time having eggs benedict with no meat in it. The biscuit was meh and the sauce was too lemony and overpowering…. Z liked the potatoes but I only had one  with a bite of everything, all together, nothing special to me. The eggs were perfectly cooked but come on…. thats it… Honestly I didn’t even see [or taste] the avocado *sad*

Corn Cob Smoked Bacon

Ok honestly. These tasted like generic Stop & Shop bacon or something. Thin, salty and just….. meh bacon.

Shrimp and Cheesy Grits with a perfect fried egg and salsa

This was the best dish of the day. And even then it wasn’t that great. Guess it’s hard when it’s got good competition. Wish it was a bit cheesier tho… the yolk was great mixed in with everything though… NOM! I love some good grits… :D

We got the french toast off our check… and I told them their bathroom had an open dirty baby diaper [stunk SOOOOO bad] and we bailed. I was sad. He was sad. We were sad.

I tweeted about the diaper and they were actually really rude and told me to take it off. No please or apologies for my bad experience…. how rude!!!! The funniest part, THEY DELETED the tweets of them being rude.

Soooooo he cheered me up by bringing me to Cabots for ice cream :D What a guy <3

Freshly made waffle with oreo froyo, hot fudge, rainbow sprinkles, whipped cream and a cherry :D DELISH!

Then we went home, watched my favorite romantic movie OBSERVE  & REPORT <3 Hahahaha and we even made some freshly popped popcorn… ate cheese and drank some good Spanish wine :]

I was pretty full for a long time for some reason…. so late late dinner ended up being Taiwan Cafe….

Pajama Party at Tremont 647

Z: “Can you check the address of Tremont 647? Is it just 647 Tremont?”
Me: “Probably….”

Z and I both woke up super early to do some volunteer work for Tzu Chi in Chinatown Sunday morning…. [hahaha drunken promise he’d come with me from Friday nite] We got there a little after 830 and was there til 1. Afterwards, swirls of Dim Sum were no longer swirling in our heads… but Bloody Marys were… we had a destination, South End…. so that way we drove.. and straight to Tremont 647 … one of Boston 2010’s top brunch places.

I’ve known Chef Andy Husbands for over a year now after I met him thru twitter and helped him promote a charity event/dinner. I’ve been dying to try his Taco Tuesdays but ended up trying his brunch first. If you don’t know much about him… he was actually on Hell’s Kitchen a few seasons ago…

As soon as we walked in we saw James in blue silk pjs, wait, PJS?!… how come I didn’t show up in PJS?!.. no fair… no FREAKING fair… everyone working there had comfy happy pajamas on… and they do this every Saturday and Sunday. FUN! I need to work here…

Complimentary Breakfast Loaf Bread…

Me thinks it was some light banana bread or walnut bread with powdered sugar… I didn’t think it was sweet enough, even with the powered sugar, but I love crust, so crust were picked :]

Two Big Girl Mimosas

Yep, they have mimosas AND “Big Girl Mimosas” altho it was funny because when Z ordered them he only called them “Big Mimosas” – psh can’t say girl ;D

These were pretty much just champagne :] As we were drinking this….we got treated to some extra complimentary appetizers :] Yum yum…

Special: Pear Pop-Tart

The crust was like an undercooked shortbread dough. Delicious… with amazing rainbow sprinkles. LOVE rainbow sprinkles…. the filling was amazing… fruity and delicious.

Crispy Pork Momos

Soy Sake Dipping Sauce and Sriracha

The dough was a bit too thick and undercooked for my liking but the filling was really delicious. Very asian-fusion and reminded me of thick fried guotie [pot stickers] If only the dough was a little bit thinner because the crispness was great.

The Breakfast Burger

Grass-Fed Half Pound Burger, Fried Egg, Bacon, Cheddar, Avocado, Shoestring Fries

This was probably my favorite one… mostly because I’ve been craving burgers like crazy.

Look at that gorgeous pink…. Perfectly Rare… YUM!  The burger was really good. Perfect soft bun… crunchy lettuce, tomatoes and red onion… the egg was creamy and the burger, the meat, OMG… I love you rare burger. I love you.

Crispy Bacon

Z asked for them to be extra crispy, to the point of black [hahaha] but we got them like this… bacon never fails… :] You can always trust bacon. Yay. Kinda wish there were more fatty pieces… haha

Special: Pumpkin Cream Cheese French Toast

This wasn’t as “French Toast”-y as I expected… they look like grilled cheese :] Hahaha…. super super creamy and cream-cheesy…I wish the french toast was a little gooier and had a bigger crust… I ADORE pumpkin so as soon as I heard that it was a special of the day my eyes lit up like crazy.

Fried Chicken “Benedict”

Biscuit, Poached Eggs, Gravy

The fried chicken wasn’t the fried chicken I expected… the crust was really light, the chicken was super moist and brined really well…. there wasn’t really any breading at all but the crust was crisp. The gravy was really light [thanks for not being hollandaise] and the poached egg was slightly overcooked… Z & I both like gooey, like REALLY gooey, yolky RAW yolk, but this was just slightly goopy solidified yolk.

Best Bloody MaryIt was a bit too thin for me.  And not spicy enough, it had the flavor I just needed my chunk in it. I was a bit disappointed in them.. I missed my celery and olives :] Hahaha… but drink drink drink it up I did… their drinks are strong but don’t taste that way – YUM!

A week in Boston…

I’m behind and have a million things to blog about. I may blog less, but I certainly don’t eat any less… ;D So I was back in Boston for the past week, er well last week…. but I’ve been busy chowing down….

There was O Sushi at Copley with mommy :] One of our fav quickie lunch stops when we go on shopping sprees [and we DID spree… Jimmy Choo specifically]..

[L-R Top to Bottom]
Sake Kinutamaki – Sake, Avocado, Cucumber, Scallions & Tobiko wrapped in Daikon
Edamame
Soft Shell Crab served Tempura Style w/ Ponzu Sauce [for mommy]
Salmon Sashimi, Unagi Sashimi, Tako [octopus] Sashimi, Tuna Sashimi, Hotate [Scallop] Sashimi
Scorpian Roll [for mommy]

And then having a groupon certificate helped too :D We have 2 more to go ;D

AND THEN…. there was more birthday chowing down, at Oishii Too specifically… with two friends

Kin Zan Sake

salmon, truffle oil, chives, sesame seeds, yuzu wasabi, thinly sliced truffle
topped with caviar and 24k gold flake

Can’t find the name on the website but it’s crab salad in ponzu sauce in a tomato :] SO YUM!

Baby Hamachi Sashimi, White Tuna Sashimi, Hotate [scallop] Sashimi, Tuna Sashimi, Salmon Sashimi, Unagi Sashimi, Tako [octopus] Sashimi

There was also Hamachi Kama, Seaweed Salad, Edamame, Eggplant and other snackies :]

And then there was using another one of my Groupon certificates [I’m obsessed] for Sel De La Terre… one of my fav places to go, outside of Boston, when I’m at home.

Apple Street Farms heirloom tomato salad with Boston bibb lettuce, crumbled feta; harissa vinaigrette

Hearts of romaine with bosc pears, shaved red onion, Fourme D’ambert, candied nuts; sherry vinaigrette

Pan seared East Coast halibut, sweet corn grits, romaine fondue, confit cherry tomatoes

Grilled rainbow trout, eggplant caponata, wilted baby arugula; bacon vinaigrette

And then there was brunch before watching Eat, Pray, Love on Sunday :] Everyone should know by now that Brunch is my favorite meal of the day. We ate at Met Bar.

I had the L.A. Avocado / Tomato / Sprouts / Roasted Garlic Egg White Scramble

MEXICO Jack Cheese / Jalapenos / Guacamole / Cilantro Scramble

Daddy got the HAND-DIPPED BRIOCHE FRENCH TOAST
Strawberry Jam Filling / Maple Glazed Bananas

..and mommy went hardcore and got the huge COWBOY STEAK & EGG BURRITO
Sliced Skirt Steak / Scrambled Egg / Poblano Peppers / Pepper Jack / Charred Onions / Red Chimi Hollandaise / Extra Large Flour Tortilla

The movie, by the way, was sooo great. I’ve read the book before and I thoroughly enjoyed the movie as well. Is it just me or is Julia Roberts getting more and more gorgeous as she gets older?!… Not only that, it made me LONG for a trip back to La Bella Roma…. the pasta… the fresh food, the smells, the wines, the views, SIGH* Someone take me, please?!

That nite before I went back to the City, my mommy made a plethera of dishes, again, including spicy marinated cold seaweed salad… Halibut,, Ketchup Shrimp.. these things were as big as LOBSTER tails!!!… some Crispy Duck and of course lots of veggies :] NOM!
Tonite?!… I made a zesty blanced asparagus, heirloom tomato, vidalia onion balsamic dressed salad with garlicky baked potaters and a filet mignon for me [rare] and a nice big ribeye. I have onion breath, so you better find it sexy. If not. Too bad :D

BTW, I realize now that I STILL haven’t blogged about Yakitori Totto… *fail* tomorrow will be the day… as will my blogging about Agua Dulce, a few dishes I cooked at home and of course, the fantabulous LE BERNARDIN <3

Mommy & Daddy Approved

My parents came up to see the new apartment so I decided to take them to get some tasty food.  My parents are always out to find some good asian food… and at first we were going to go to Flushing and get some Taiwan food… but then decided on some nice xiao long baos and other ShangHai eats in Chinatown… [closer too]

First they dropped Dior off and me and I took her for a walk around town and to play in Bryant Park for awhile…

Anguilla // Day Two

I started the day [just like every other morning for the rest of the week] with our complimentary breakfast sent to our private terrace…

Coconut Crusted Brioche French Toast / Brown Sugar Glazed Bananas

This came with a side of caramel [which was fun to dip our bacon into] this was really quite tasty… I would’ve loved more bananas and coconut shavings on it :]

Apple Wood Smoked Chicken Hash / Poached Farm Eggs, Creole Potatoes, Chive Glacage

How to Survive the Day after Paradise…

I just got back from a week long trip to Anguilla. Absolute paradise. But what happens when you’ve gotten used to beach, 80 degree weather, delicious caribbean (heavily french influenced) food – mostly seafood and good bbq – on a daily basis…

What to do…
What to do…

Why eat beef.

The only red meat we’d had at all in Anguilla was the best steak tartar E.V.E.R. at lunch right before we went to the airport to fly back to freezing cold Boston. [but that’s another story to be told…]

So what were we dreaming of when we woke up Saturday morning? STEAK!

We quickly decided on MOOO [the Kobe might have reeled us in for the kill… Grill 23 came in at a close second]

But that’s for dinner, and the only open reservation was 8:30. So we decided on getting a nice big delicious BRUNCH.  We hopped in the shower and headed into town, BEAN-town that is.. aka Boston for you non-Masshole folk,  to get some PIZZA [that I’ve been craving like crazy] at Sonsie’s…

Alas, no shrimp curry pizza awaited us [no longer on the menu, sniffle], but BRUNCH was still calling our name….. Me being me, I suddenly found myself losing my pizza craving and ordering the German Pancake. MMMM….

Black Coffee & a Peach Sangria for me… [same for him, sans coffee]

Hers:

pancake // german puffed, warm apples, raisins, cinnamon créme fraiche

Wait, it’s Monday again?….

My quick weekend has been a blur… a yummy one… and a nice, warm and sunny one. A great last weekend before……..

Well, we’ll talk about that later :]

Saturday night, I had originally planned to cook from my beloved Momofuku book… but wanted something quick and simple instead. MINI PIZZAS!!!!

Whole Wheat Tortillas
Mozzarella
Parmigiano-Reggiano
Fig Spread
Grilled Chicken
Prosciutto
Drizzle of Truffle Oil

I gobbled a few of these up. Super cheesy and gooey :]

OctoBEER Fest a la Rick Gresh

Oh Gresh, you genius you! Not only can you cook you can brew some delicious delicious beer. I don’t remember the last time I DRANK this much beer… maybe since college?!?!?!… And back in those days it was just cheap beer too… yours?! I’d pay a LOT for it :] I’m SUCH a fan!

The peach one was (also the first one we got) was one of my fav beers of the nite :] Read on below to find out the details