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!!!!

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!!!!!

Valentine’s Day 2012

Be My Valentine

I’m not a huge Valentine’s Day person. Most Vdays are linked back to BAD memories or no date at all.  In fact one of my best ones was when a crush of mine in HS took me out, bought me a rose and taught me how to drive. :]  Unfortunately for us, he never knew I liked him, he admitted to liking me later on…. annnnd he had a gf at the time. Woot? Anyways. Tragedy.  While I’m not a huge Valentine’s Day I can’t help but give into it if it’s in my face. This was a great Valentine’s Day :]

Last year I was at Blue Hill at Stone Barns and the Patricia Fields Valentine’s Day Costume Ball.. this year was a bit more low key :] But super tasty and fun!!!

Last Year

This Year
This dress looks like a tube top but somehow stretches out into a dress….

Red lips to match my red platform 6″ heels ;]

I worked most of the day and didn’t even start getting ready til late in the day… but I did get a beautiful surprise in the afternoon.. the largest bouquet of flowers I’ve ever received… this tiny little old man who looked like he was 90 carried it all the way to my front door – people who know my house and where I live and how to get to my front door KNOW that sucks balls… but yeah… this was bigger than him.. AND SOOO BEAUTIFUL.

Thanks Love <3

I have late dinner plans with M… so OBVIOUSLY that means we’re gonna pre-drink.. and more importantly, PRE-DINNER!!! So off to DRINK we go.  I love Barbara Lynch…. Obviously… so I was super excited to come here.. it’s in the basement of Sportello – also a Lynch establishment. WOOO!!! Seriously, M knows me way too well… #stalker ;] I had champagne cocktails the whole time, deliciousness and each one was unique~ WOO! He also immediately ordered two things that I LOOOVE

Fried Oysters & Fried Pig Tails

Absolutely AMAZZZZZZZING!!! M knows that I’m IN LOOOOOOVE with pig tails.. these were meaty, fatty and just deliciousness…. while Craigie’s are kinda on the sweet side, these were somehow light fluffy and SUPER fatty and FUCKING AWESOME!  M was sweet enough to let me have most of it. HAHAHA… :] Methinks he enjoyed me nomming on them and licking my lips and dropping it on my legs hahaha #perv ;]

“What else do you want?!”

Yep M REALLY knows me TOO well.. #stillhungry… So hard to choose since there was so much yumminess on their menu…. but obviously I needed to continue my obesssion with Steak Tartare… I still miss my true love.

Steak Tartare: Brioche, Truffle Parmesan Aioli

I LOOOOOVE super chunky tartare and this was a btit finer than what I like but the taste was AMAZING. The meat was super fresh, tender, tasty and YUM YUM I love brioche!

Seriously?

A few drinks and pre-dinner apps later… we were off to our final destination… No. 9 Park :] We already decided the last time we were here to come for Vday… :] Planning ahead hahaha.. altho we WERE supposed to be wearing sweats…

We got the Valentine’s Day Chef’s Tasting Menu with Wine Pairings, there were a few courses that had two options so we got one of each :] at No. 9 Park.. we had resos at 9:45 but didn’t get seated til well past 10 something… good thing we were already getting our drinks on….

Hawaiian Hearts of Palm

Mushroom Vinaigrette, Petite Greens, Black Truffle
Paired with: NV Aubry 1er Cru Champagne Brut

These were SO delicious and definitely made me happy from the truffle fail with M a few weeks ago…  I loooove hearts of palm, and I love that they were the focus of this dish. Amazing.

Pour pour pour

Chilled Peekytoe Crab

Chevril Vichyssoise, Crème Fraîche, American Caviar
Paired with: NV Aubry 1er Cru Champagne Brut

Deliciousness.  LOOOOVE crab everything!!!!!  Looooove caviar everything :] HAPPY HAPPY.. plus I always giggle when I hearcreme fraiche cuz of South Park hahahahha…

Maine Diver Scallop

Smoked Guanciale, Cauliflower, Sauce Périgueux
Paired with: 2008 Simon Bize Savigny-les-Beaune

Is there anything about the flavors and ingredients that are bad at all?! FUCKING BOMB!!!

Seared Yellowfin Tuna

Maine Shrimp, Couscous, Black Olive
Paired with: 2010 Bison Ciliegiolo Rosato 

Super fresh and tasty Tuna. I’m not a huge any kind of cooked tuna girl. I love my tuna rawwwww.. but this was just BARELY seared and delicious. HEHEHE, cute little shrimps and it was super yummy!

Boule de Quercy Raviolo

Celeriac, Dandelion Greens, Bread Crumbs
Paired with: 2007 Lucien Crochet Sancerre Riouge “La Croix du Roy”

We both got one, these were DELICIOUS!  Beautiful fresh pasta, crumbly crunchy bread crumbs… great combo of textures and deliciousness. BOMB diggity of flavors :]

Soooo many wine glasses and we sucked each one down dry

Terrine of Foie Gras

Persimmon, Hazelnut, Quince
Paired with: 2003 Château de Suronde Quarts de Chaume

Creamy and salty… we each had our own, they were HUGE slices and oh so yummy :] I think this was around the time our neighbors yelled at us for speaking too much profanity.. HAHAHA.. srsly, SO much awkward dates going on tonight…

OK I have to say after this the night gets a little fuzzy, more wine was poured, more drinks came and while, yes, the food was banging, I don’t really remember much.

Pekin Duck Breast

Chestnuts, Rillette, Poached Pear
Paired with: 2008 Monpertuis, Châteanuneuf-du-Pape “Suvée Classique”

Prime Ribeye of Beef

Potato Mille-Feuille, Grilled Porcini, Vegetable Blanquette
Paired with: 2009 Margerum “M5”

You are a sexy beast

Out of all the things I don’t remember eating I remember eating this, YUM!

Pomegranate Sorbet

Hibiscus

Chocolate Cream Tart
Pistachio, Banana, Tonka Bean
Paired with: EL Maestro Sierra Pedro Ximenez, Sherry 

Ricotta Cheesecake
Red Currant, Blood Orange, Cornmeal
Paired with: 2010 Marenco Brachetto d’Acqui “Pineto”

Complimentary mini Muffins and Truffles

I actually remember trying a muffin. I think I may have had a frowny face hahaha…. not that it was bad but it was LITERALLY a muffin!

How the hell did we finish EVERYTHING?! Including the wine… How is my liver still alive?! And how am I not 200lbs yet?

OK.. so I don’t exactly remember ALL the details, a bit hazy here, sorry, I blame all the booze beforehand :] Still want more piggie tails, those fried oysters from DRINK… and then the Chicken Fried Foie from last time… I have a feeling I’ll be back soon :]

I love you my Didi baby… my favorite Valentine

Mövenpick Cafe at 明曜

I woke up with I NEED ICE CREAM FACE

OK I woke up late… I’ve been taking SUPER meds since I’ve got stupid ear infection and then I got a weird skin allergy that gave me super hives :[ I wanted ice cream…. but I needed some grub with it as well…. HRM… but I ended up wandering around til like 330ish before I finally sat down to eat something….

*I dream of Ice Cream*

OOOO LA LA… after getting insulted by a short stout girl saying I needed a size L corset for my wide waist and that I couldn’t fit into her smaller size, I DID and it was LOOSE. BITCH! GRR. So, after getting the TINIEST size corset, telling them HA! I headed over to Mövenpick Cafe for ice cream :] I’ve ALWAYS had their ice creams all over Taiwan but just at restaurants, buffets and stands.. not their Cafe. And OH MY YUM have I been missing out!

Here are some things on my list of things to tryyyyy!!!

VOLCANO!

Strawberry Princess..

Alcoholic Dress Toast

Dutch Waffle Pastry :] MMM Layers

And their DELICIOUS Ice Cream Flavors.. gotta eat them all!

First I needed some real food, there was some Tea involved [with a chocolate muffin]

And a Seafood & Chicken Salad with Rosemary Bread

Cucumbers, Romaine, Tomato, Egg, Shrimp, Crab, Chicken, Olives & Corn… YUM!… with a creamy Caesar dressing on the side [sans anchovies haha]

Then after a quick gobble down I was ready for my DESSERT!!!! Come baby come!!!

Americano [x2]

Fantasy Ferris Wheel

Pistachio, Stracciatella, Maple Walnut, Chocolate, Black Currant, Vanilla, Strawberry

The Maple Walnut, Choc, Vanilla and Strawberry were the ones that came with the wheel and I got to choose 3 more.. BOO! I thought it was 7 of whatever I wanted and I made my whole list and submitted it until they told me LATEAR that I could only pick 3 :[ *pout* I hate rules!

But this plate was licked clean! Maple Walnut & Stracciatella are still my favorites. The vanilla was SOOO creamy tho and the chocolate had chocolate ribbons in it like the Stracciatella :] And each ball was on top of a slice of brownie. NOM!

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!!!

Right after, I headed to SOGO to meet up with my cousin, his gf, their adorable baby girl Zoe, my aunt [cous’ mom] and my mommy for dinner at Ding Tai Fung!!!!

She looks so much like when I was a baby :] My mini-me! She was posing with me all nite!!! TEEHEE* And we played peekaboo after dinner until she was ready to fall asleep and started getting a lil fussy hyper. LOL CUUUUTE!!!

I’m an Auntie ;]

1o*o5 Daily Munch

Woke up too late so I have to go to MFA another weekend *pout*

I took my vitamins, drank my daily herbal drink and popped 1 tbs of Chia Seeds and ran out the door to brunch @ Aquitaine Bis.

The fresh fruit bowl had pineapple, cantaloupe and honeydew :]

Cheddar Buttermilk Biscuits, Sausage Soubise, Scrambled Egg Whites

Potato Latkes, House-smoked Salmon, Poached Eggs & Caper Crème Fraîche
SOOOOOOO FREAKING GOOD!!!!!

Also got a sideorder of yummy Applewood Smoked BACON!!!
Bought tons of goodies from Rosie’s Bakery (congo bars, apple crossiants, pb cookies, meringues, etc….) & got a sample of apple muffin!! A bit too buttery but very cinnamon apple-y :]

& then decided to crash a Bridal expo :] Well, the end of it….. but lots of free cake, cupcakes, cookies, candies and mini brushettas.

My favorite stand :]

I had 5 helpings of these *blush* :[ The pink frosting was light, buttery and fluffy with white chocolate shavings. The cake was very very moist and not too dense and not sweet. The pistachio chocolate cup with raspberry was SOOOO GOOD and had gold shavings and crushed pistachios on it!!

Had a small black coffee @ the cafe after some shopping (too many cupcakes… *blush*)

& then I bought a ton of stuff @ the kitchen store :] A 4C liquid measurer…. new tongs… a DIGITAL FOOD SCALE!!!!! :] & a ton of other goodies… hehehe…

My stomach hurts and I’m so out of it. Too many cupcakes and I’m still full from it so I duno about dinner. Maybe just some yogurt and fruit later tonite….. I can’t believe I blogged that much last nite, I was drunk and passed out in front of my laptop drinking my wine and eating a huge box of dots. HAHAHAH…