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!!!!

Italian Date Night….

I know I know it’s bad when I go on a date. But I did go on one recently… to an Italian place, super hidden away, called Marcellino’s…

Leaving….

He doesn’t even like wine but he ordered a bottle and share it with me… UMMM… kinda really awesome

Carpaccio – Sliced Beef Filet, Arugula, Fennel, Parmesan, Lemon Vinaigrette, Capers

His VEAL Saltimbocca – Prosciutto, Sage, Mozzarella, Demi Glaze which he gave me a taste and it was YUMMMMM apparently it’s his always go – to.

And the waiter recommended to me the
Fruitti Di Mare – Shrimp, Calamari, Mussels & Linguine in a spicy red sauce —- which I asked for to be extra spicy… but it wasn’t :T But it was still super yummy so I had the leftovers the day after… there was SO MUCH FREAKING PASTA

We headed to a bar after… tried this Rebel IPA which was yummy

But we ended up having some Whiskey…FUCK! I got sauce on me…

:[

Bloody Finger….. so free meal at Giginos at Wagner Park

Remember this meal?

Just simple minced beef with onion, garlic, soy sauce, sesame oil and some  chili pepper if you wanna spice it up.  Baked int he oven at 425 degrees for about 30 minutes and let rest for 5.

That turned into a late night dinner since I sliced almost the whole tip of my ring finger off while prepping in the kitchen? Yep, J and I were happily partying it up with drunk people in the ER for an ill minute.

Thankfully this baby is feeling up quite well now…

Anyways mama felt bad for me and our night being ruined so to cheer me up she offered to treat J and I to a lovely dinner of our choice, anything under $200.

See poor finger? :[ Need yummy food

Besides. J wouldn’t let me go near a knife for awhile….

I found an ear cuff to hide my “alien bump” ahhahaha….

We played around with food ideas but really just wanted to stay in the neighborhood. It was beautiful out so we decided on Italian or Tapas… and we wanted to dine outside. So J immediately suggested Giginos At Wagner Park and we got a beautiful seat outside with a gorgeous view of the Statue of Liberty.

J picked out two wines we could try and I chose the one with a cooler name that I liked.

And he let me pick out the food :] As long as he got his olives!!!!

[ps they have yummie bread which you get to dip in EVOO and Balsamic Vin.]

The olives come in a mezze trio or whatever of also cured meats and other stuff but we only wanted olives. J <3 Olives hehe Olive Monster…. so they let us just order that.

As an appetizer we got the simple Mussels with white wine, garlic, black pepper and…. basil I think it was. DEEEELISH!

There were a ton of mussel dishes to choose from, and just saying, the menu was HUGE… HUUUUGE… intimidatingly so which is why I ended up choosing the simplest items.

Grilled Monkfish with Broccoli Rabe and Baby Bok Choy

This was a special…. it was between this and the branzino but since I had gotten the branzino last time I had Italian, when J’s parents were in town, I wanted some tender juicy Monkfish.  Need to spice things up a bit, y’kno?!

Pappardelle San Marzano – Fresh pappardelle with San Marzano tomato, garlic, olive oil and basil AND a beautiful fresh shavings of parm all over it. YUM.

SUPER SUPER FRESH TENDER AMAZING NOODLES.  Perfectly al dente. OMGOMGOMGOMGOMG.. pasta made so simple and delicious with my favorite type of pasta. HEAVEN.

We opted out of dessert… and I think we ended up back home watching tv and probably having a scotch or whiskey  on the rocks. It was a beautiful walk around FiDi even tho it started to get a bit chilly. MMM MMMM MMMMM I would love to come back during the day and when it’s a tad bit warmer to see the day time view.

Crazy Good Italian Book Signing for Top Chef Mike Isabella

After Brunch, I went shopping with J and W went home to rest a bit.  After a fun relaxing afternoon, we headed over to Graffiato to W’s buddy’s book signing at Graffiato. You might know him.. Top Chef Mike Isabella.  The booze were flowing and the snacks were a-coming. Even saw a quick glimpse of other Top Chef Bryan Voltaggio.

Hahaha YESSS.. I’m a “celebrity tweeter” ;]

[BTW this cook book is pretty awesome, you should totally go out and get it. NOW!  EVEN has his pepperoni sauce in it ;] YUM]

After a super fun party W and I decided to sit down and eat there. I’ve never ever had a bad meal at Graffiato. SO FREAKING GOOD.  We ordered a few things and we got surprised with a few items as well.

Crudo

Light, fresh and perfection.  A perfect way to start a meal.

Pig’s Head.

As soon as I saw this on the meats&cheeses part of the menu, I KNEW I had to have it. DIVINE.  Fennel, apple, SOOOOOO good. Thinly sliced and pure scrumptious.  I like the bit of cartilage from the ear in it. NOM.

Burrata with asian pear, walnut, & pickled cauliflower

My MUST get here.  W already knows so he doesn’t even have to ask and I don’t need to say and he knows I want it.  I love it when a man knows exactly what you want to eat without asking.  He never gets me wrong.

Crispy Veal Sweetbreads with Fried Green Tomatoes and Coffee Aioli

Who would’ve thought a coffee aioli would be good.  It was SOOO good.. light coffee flavor.. creamy.. paired SO well with the tender crisp fried sweetbreads. BUT.  I must say, the star of the show was the fried green tomatoes!!!  W and I were digging for them. SOOOOO good.

W’s must get: Roasted Cauliflower with pecorino, mint

Delicious, per usual. We both adore Cauliflower.

Sweet Corn Agnolotti with Pinenuts

I forgot what the other stuff was. Olive?  Not sure. But these were tender and pillowy. YUM.  The creamy innards were bursting with sweet corn flavor.

We always get the Porky’s Revenge so I wanted to try another one.

Countryman Pizza with black truffle, fontina, farmed soft egg

Sexy Egg… our waiter popped it and spread it for us, but I secretly wished I did it instead haha…

Although it was just truffle oil, it was delicious.  BUT… I think Porky’s is still my favorite… still need to try some others. HEE HEE. But I love my pig.

Charred Octopus with potato, black garlic, olives

Another dish we always get.  It’s SO tender and delicious. YUM.

Crispy Lamb with yogurt, cucumber, tapenade

You guys know I’m not a huge fan of lamb but W loves this. NOM NOM NOM.

Complimentary Desserts from the Book Signing Party before.. SOOOO GOOOOD

Nutella Pudding and Tri-Color Italian Cookies

SOOO GOOD.. and the nutella.. OH MAN, I licked the shot glass cleeeean!!!! And I may have kept the cute little spoon ;]

SHHHH

I don’t remember why I was doing this and why W took this pic of me. But apparently I was NOT amused.

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!!!!!

Scott Conant makes my tummy swoon: Scarpetta in Vegas

It was a lazy day of pool and grubbing.. and yes, more drinking… but we finally decided to get our deal together and realized that it’s hard to find a good place to eat on a Friday night.. trying to book a table when it’s already 7pm… in Vegas…OOPS.  After a few failed attempts with the concierge at Caesars…

…[we got ready anyways] and ended up deciding on Scarpetta

[Oh Scott Conant you so dreamy <3 swoon]

…with an old coworker of mine, who also happened to be in town.. we headed over to Cosmopolitan – GORGEOUS hotel.  Had a few drinks at the bar and then finally sat down before 10.

Bread and yummy stuff to dip it in… MMM BREAD!!!

George & I

Appetizers Round

Roasted Sea Scallops
truffled white asparagus, pink grapefruit & uni aoili

Super tender scallops… delicious white asparagus… MMMMMM….. To me, if someone can cook a scallop to perfection, they can cook. It’s hard to get it just right, especially since it’s so easily overcooked and turns rubbery like whoa.  These melted at the touch of my tongue. Light, decadent. Amazing. But hello. Two scallops and two asparagus for three people? Awkward!

Special: Steak Tartare

This was okay.  Probably shouldn’t have ordered it, wasn’t bad, wasn’t great.  Wish there was a bigger portion….

And the best dish of the night — and possibly of the whole time in Vegas:

Creamy Polenta
fricassee of truffled mushrooms

Here is the guy pouring the sauce with truffled wild mushrooms all over the creamy polenta…

SO good we got it twice – YES twice!!! We started smothering ALL of our food with this stuff.  Words can NOT describe how amazing it is… and as soon as we licked the bowl clean, we ordered another one.  I’ve never had creamier, buttery polenta in my life.  It was like melted ice cream of savory truffled goodness.  Delicious tender mushrooms.. OMFG.  Last dinner sort of food. I can die happy in a hot tub of this.

We all ordered our own dish but shared everything – not allowed to order the same thing hahaha….

Duck & Foie Ravioli
marsala reduction

This  was obviously mine.  It was the least tasty of the three, methinks, not that it wasn’t tasty.. the filling was good but a bit dry/mealy.  The texture was a little weird for me, but the flavors were spot on – and the pasta was a good al dente.

George picked the Special: Bone-In Prime Rib with a side of Potatoes

It was delicious. If you fuck up beef, than you can’t cook at all.  It was HUGE, Fred Flintstone style. I love a good piece of meat with a nice bone in it.

Kelly got the Special: Chicken & Sweet Corn Agnolotti

This was actually  in my running to be one of my choices.. it was really good and the only thing we all finished!!!! YUM – the corn was amazing and added such a great texture and sweetness to it. YUM

We opted out of dessert but our awesome server gave us some deliciousness anyways…

Butterscotch pots <3 YUM

We headed to XS afterwards…. but ended up waiting a million hours in line.  I ended up cutting a ton of people to get thru, get stamped, just to wait LONGER.  Got to see B for a brief moment and say hi at least…. at least tummy was happy – cuz feet were NOT.

Meatball Madness

Another day of working… woke up early and headed to the grocery store down the block for Meatball groceries…. all groceries check… time for a quick lunch.

I ordered some beef tacos for W and a beef tongue taco and a pulled chicken Taco salad from Super Tacos.  YUMMMAYYYY – It was HUGE and filling!!!!

An ice cream cone for dessert :D

I love my French Fries shirt ;D Bonjour….

I made my meatballs.. there was no veal at the store so it’s half beef and half pork.  W has no measuring spoons or cups so I eyeballed everything.. woot!  There was also no smoked mozz so I just used a regular fresh mozzarella.. and thanks to a suggestion from W I sauteed  the onions before popping it into the mixture… it also flavored the pot – NOM

I mixed together  tomato/basil sauce with an arrabbiata sauce and then popped everything into the oven for a few hours.

After unhoarding W’s room and socks [haha] we finally settled down to a quick dinner of spaghetti and meatballs a la MEEEE :D

I also popped open a bottle of wine.  French red table wine. YUM.

Happy Cleaning!!!

Best of Detroit – Slow’s BarBQ

W has Mondays off as well so since we failed to go to Slow’s yesterday we decided to go today… of course after some pool and hot tub time :]

Slows BarBQ

The sauces.. they later brought out the “special” Mustard sauce which was the tastiest and my favorite of the five.

I got a nice light beer.. x2 :]  You gotta have some beer with your ‘cue!

Our neighbors were also in the foodie industry and super annoying… well the guy was hahahah He kept saying how they ordered SO much food and that they “were little people”

They got one sandwich and 3 sides for 3 people… LAMMMMEEE-O

We ordered SO MUCH MORE…. !!!!! Look how excited I am :D

This was BEFORE the desserts :D

My combo… Call the You Choose – I got half a slab of Baby Back Ribs, delicious succulent Pulled Pork, and two side dishes… one was Mom’s Green Beans…

My ribs were a bit anorexic :[ Reminded me of Chef Spike & Chef Marcus’ skinny ribs from the first epi of the last season of Next Iron Chef

Go to 5:17 They’re called Anorexic and Supermodel ribs LOL…

but yeah – but these ribs weren’t dry and were quick tasty… this was when I tried all the sauces… Mustard won and then NC [vinegar based] and the apple and the sweet were too sweet and the spicy just had a weird taste to me… and wasn’t spicy…. the NC was the spiciest… and Mustard had the best flavor.

The green beans were stirfried with onions and had an amazing mustard flavor.

Special of the Day: Pork Belly Sandwich

The pickled onions were really sweet which was a nice balance with the fatty pork.  They need this on the menu!  Haha I loved how the bartender explained to us what a pork belly cut was.. lol… :] Silly guy, didn’t realize what fatties were are. HAHA. And we know our pig. OINK. YUM. I forgot what it was called.. I think it had something to do with Nature in the title?!

Oh, my other side dish was the Mac-N-Cheese

Delish and made with shells instead of macaroni :] amazing!  The cheese was IN the shells YUM.. I made the mistake of eating most of the other stuff before digging into this so it got a little cold – so eat it while it’s hot!

W’s side dishes were the Waffle Fries w/ Hoffman Cheddar & Coleslaw

I’m not a mayo fan so I don’t usually like coleslaw unless it’s mustard based, but this was light and totally cut thru the heavy meats.  The waffle fries, well what can I say, I LOVE WAFFLE FRIES!!! And nothing like a nice cheesy dip :] Chedddaaa makes everything betta…  hehe you can also see W’s peach sweet tea…

SOOOOO GOOOOOOOD!!!

And while we were past the point of explosion, we couldn’t pass up dessert.

Peach & Raspberry Cobbler with ice cream

This was good but not what I was craving and expected.. instead of a crumble it was cornbread on top. I only had half of it because I was distracted by W’s choice….

“The Chuck Norris” aka CHOCOLATE HEAVEN!!!!! AND sprinkled with BACON!
Chocolate and Oreo Brownie, Ray’s Detroit Club Coffee Ice Cream and Sander’s Hot Fudge

The bartender gave me a free glass of this sour beer to help “wash down” the richness of the chocolate – SOOO GOOD.. I was busting out of my pants and yet I couldn’t stop shoving food down my throat. DELISH!

I can’t really remember what happened after but I’m pretty sure we went back and passed out… hahahaha

GO-TO place in Detroit! MOST DEF!

Truffle Dinner at CLINK

After our pre-eating at No. 9 Park.. the restaurant got us a cab back to the Liberty Hotel!  Quick ride later, we were back at CLINK and ready to eat – okay we were a little bit late ;]

“Set on the lobby level of The Liberty Hotel, a national historic landmark that was once the storied Charles Street Jail, CLINK. offers Bostonians and hotel guests Modern American Cuisine prepared by classically-trained Chef Joseph Margate. Each dish reflects his intense focus on flavor and dedication to seasonal, sustainable, and local ingredients.

Vestiges of original jails cells create cozy nooks for dining, and an open kitchen displays the theater of cooking as each stylish dish is prepared. Warm gold leather seats, butcher block tables and granite accents add contemporary style to the dining experience.”

We had a cute little table by one of the jail cell windows… :]

I looove the look and feel of this place… outside the place was POPPING!!!! Very crowded.. lots of pretty peoples.. but we were busy inside eating….

The Menu:

Deep in conversation… no recollection of what they were talking about….

HUGE pours!!! We started off with some bubbly.. and then instead of wimpy “Tasting” pours of wine, they gave us HUUUUGE full glasses. YUM!

Sashimi of Yellowtail with Black Trumpet Mushrooms and Black Truffle Butter Powder

Paired with: 2010 Innocent Bystander Pinot Gris

The fish was fresh but was WAY overpowered by the truffle butter powder.. I suspect a bit of “faux” truffle flavors.. truffle oil? Truffle essence?  Could not taste the fish at all… which is strange since it’s Yellowfish, very oily and pretty strong tasting… It paired BEAUTIFULLY with the wine tho.. a bit oversalted. We ate it all anyways!

Fresh Pasta with Truffled Pecorino and Domestic Black Truffles

Paired with: 2007 Saia Nero d/Avola, Sicily, Italy

Not really truffle-y and just had more of the Black Trumpets from the first dish.  The pasta was fresh and actually tasted great but I needed more than just two shavings of truffle on top.  I might have been spoiled already from our pre-dinner.

Beef Shortribs with Brussel Sprouts, Potato Puree and Black Truffle Jus

Paired with 2008 NXNW Cabernet Sauvignon Columbia Valley Washington

The menu said fingerlings but we got Brussel Sprouts. Which is great cuz I LOOOOOVE Brussel Sprouts and I devoured them. AHHH!!! :] SO GOOD!  The Shortribs had the two shavings of truffle on top – didn’t really taste the truffle in it but it was so tender, fatty and falling apart. NOM NOM NOM.

And then came the dessert… was kinda excited to try a dessert with truffles… butttttt… this is what we got…

Truffled Rice Pudding Brulee

Paired with 2006 Mulderbosch Late Harvest Sauvignon Blanc

Ok, I LOVE rice pudding but when I think brulee, I def think of something at least lukewarm. This was cold :[ A bit of truffles on top, and yes you could taste the truffle… flavors weren’t bad but it was COLD!!!!

:[

While the truffle dinner was disappointing, the wine was a-flowing, the company was great, awesome conversations!!!! :] And of course many travel destinations being planned for M & I hahahaha…. we’re fat and sexy and we know it! LOL…. Thanks for a great time and for my water and your scarf HAHA, I’m holding it hostage. Keep those mimosas on ice for me ;] Piggie tails SOON!

Burger in a Bowl….

After a long day of running errands and shopping I decided to stop in for a nice Burger at Met Bar + Grill…. I’ve learned to stop trying on clothes AFTER eating but before :] Less, self-hate hahaha  Anyways I’ve blogged about them before but it’s definitely my go-to spot when I’m in the area – great drinks, great service, delicious food. It was SOOOO busy this night so service was a bit slower but our waiter was super nice!  I figured I’d blog about it since I just watched this:

Ep. 5, Beavis and Butt-Head (Season 9) | Ep. 5 | Supersize Me / Bathroom Break

Ready for a good meal… :] No salad for this little lady, I need me some BEEF! MOO

I also need that toy.

Getting my sexy face on for my burger WOO

A nice Malbec to start the night… or end the day with… whichever, both works.

Chile Fried Calamari

Sishito Peppers / Garlic / Lime Leaf / Sweet & Spicy Dipping Sauce

Usually I’ll get their guacamole which is AMAZING and also their wings [which they sadly took off the menu in the new change] or great salmon and tuna tartares….korean chicken tacos :] BUTTTTT, today was a calamari day.  LOTS of tentacles in this batch – huzzah! Best!  Crunchy, not greasy, very lightly fried… and lightly battered. Great. Love the fresh crunch of the peppers and the watercress!

Lobster Diavolo

Spicy Tomato Sauce / Lobster Meat in Shell

Can you believe this is the HALF portion?!…. Half a lobster, delicious spicy tomato sauce with chunks of jalapenos.  The noodles were tender and cooked perfectly – as was the lobster.  Sadly they seem to have gotten rid of their Daily Pasta Menu so now they offer this every day, but they did get rid of other things :[ WHYYYY Met Bar, WHYYYYYY?!

My Kobe Burger in a Bowl and a side of Fries & Pickle

 Fried Egg / Melted Swiss / Onion / Sauteed Mushrooms / Foie Gras / Avocado / Sprouts on Arugula

This was AMAZING.  A nice gooey fried egg and foie gras totally kicked it up a notch.  Crunch of the arugula and sprouts and RAW red onion – ya’ll know how much I ADORE Raw Red Onion… *onion breath*  I asked for some jalapenos in it but they forgot them :[ Waa!  The fries were aaaaaaamazing.. per usual but the pickle I wasn’t that into.  It was a bit too salty and not enough sour… still too “fresh cucumber” like, needs a little more pickling :] LOVED how the mushrooms were a nice wild mushroom medley/mix and not just sauteed button mushrooms….

Btw I need this game, and foodies to play it with! Two of my loves in one!

And amongst many bags of stuff bought at the mall, I wore this one as soon as I got it :] Half off from Nordstrom too *killer fur steal – the stylist there was SO nice and was helping me in the fancy dressing room they have in a special section, bringing me hot designer wear, unfortunately everything was too big, so just this for me.