July 4th Dinner Cruise with Odyssey

Screw the Hurricane… Odyssey Cruises

Pre-gaming at Copley Square Hotel FER FREEEE… they had beers, and burgers and hot dogs… NOM

Was craving burgers.. so had a cute little slider.. NOM NOM.. usually the hotel has free wine happy hour but since it was July 4th they had specials!

All dressed up and ready to party

Yea I ordered like 3 bottles of wine/champagne… oops

Creamy salty butter… NOM

Cheese tray… prob a little too much

Cuz I also added on an extra shrimp cocktail/ceviche

Watermelon Salad
Arugula, Romaine, Goat Cheese, Watermelon, Sugared Pecans, Balsamic Vinaigrette

Screw Hurricane Arthur… still got my modeling on, on deck

Gorgeous View, even in the stormy weather

Roasted Chicken
Heirloom Potatoes, Thyme Demi-Glace, Fried Leeks

And of course I got the

Odyssey Short Ribs
Fontina Scalloped Potatoes, Roasted Brussel Sprouts, Carrots & Squash, Cabernet Demi-Glace

Desert was some of everything…

Bread Pudding, Chocolate Cake, Berry Galette and Sorbet… with more bubbly

Actually ended up taking short ribs and cheese home.. OK FINE I ordered too much… but it was delicious, fun and amazing. Probably don’t wanna spend that much on a July 4th again tho… hahahha – and we didn’t even get fireworks. BOOOOO…

Today…… and last week’s breakfast

I had the most shitty day.

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

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

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

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

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

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

BLACK Truffle… this thing was worth like over 90$

Dinner… Rose Champagne and Wine [brought by J]

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

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

Roasted Brussels Sprouts and Wild Mixed Mushrooms…. 

My first plate….. of many…

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

Didi was jealous cuz J was in her spot

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

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

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

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

BEST. BREAKFAST.

KBBQ at Honey Pig

I needed some Korean in my belly…. and after changing plans over and over again we ended up back to the original plan.  Honey Pig out in VA.  W was kind of hesitant about going at first.. and we almost went to Bonchon, but stroke of luck, it was past 9 and bonchon was closed so off to kbbq – what I was REALLY craving!

Soju and Salad.. and banchan– sadly only four :[ I wanted more varieties.. haha I’m spoiled.

A

Galbi and Spicy Pork Belly

Deliciousness…

The goods..

Gaeran Jim

Soft and fluffy and delicious. TOTAL comfort food.

Clearly NOT enough so I wanted MORE!!! Bulgogi!!!!!

W caught me in the act showing food in my mouth with the lettuce AND adding extra meat with the chopsticks. The more the merrier :]

My belly was so happy. I even got a pink piggy shirt from them to commemorate.  Will definitely be back next time we’re around.

Pre-Eating at No. 9 Park

Our plans from last week got cancelled since I got so sick so M and I rescheduled our Truffle dinner at CLINK for this week. After a long day of work I finally got ready, got pretty, got REALLY hungry and was ready to drive into town for a night of good drinks and good food.

I am Food Ninja, hear me roar…

I parked Valet at the Liberty Hotel since that was one of our ultimate, possibly last, destination of the night… I grabbed a drink at the bar and waited for M to arrive. And then a “short walk” to No.9 Park. SO NOT A SHORT WALK WHEN IT’S FREEZING OUT! Up the hill, down the hill… thank GOD I wore my extra thick long fur jacket hahaha. FREEZING, my nose was snotted up and eyes were tearing up hahahaha FROZEN. As soon as we got in I was like de-frosting.  Got a few ultra strong drinks and got ready to grub.

Customized Cheese Plate

I told them no goat cheeses, and the ones they picked were delicious. My favs were the middle three. I also LOVED the toasted nuts ;] Macadamia nuts. MMMM TOASTY.

Chicken Fried Foie Gras + Waffle

The most AMAZING dish! OMG. This TOTALLY ruined regular Fried Chicken + Waffles for me. I can still smell and taste it.  The butter was SOOO creamy, salty and amazing. The waffle was fluffy and perfect. AMAZING Maple Syrup and that GIANT Perfectly Fried Foie??!! Best dish of the night HANDS DOWN. And we’re just still pre-eating :] Totally ruined the rest of the food of the night for us HAHAH…

Short Ribs & Bone Marrow

Actually have no idea how this showed up on our table… we didn’t order this, But it was good :]  The veggies were so good!!… BONE MARROW!!!

Pretzels with Mayo & Whole Grain Mustard

I’m a sucker for pretzels, obviously… so M knew just what to order.. he knows my tummy so well :] HAHA… these were amazing.. NOM NOM NOM.. tiny bites of yumminess.. the best part is the pretzel skin anyways so little bites make me oh so so happy!

Bone Marrow on everything, Pretzels with everything!!!!
Bone Marrow and Pretzel.. hahaha I have issues :]

AND yes, this was our Pre-Dinner :]

“Some people pre-game, we pre-eat!” – M

We ate so much and for so long we were a TINNNNY bit late to CLINK :] Hehehe SOOO WORTH IT!  The restaurant got a cab for us so we were there in a jiffy!!! YUM! Must return again and get everything else on the menu!

Oh and then there was this moment:

Oh Barbara Lynch, another delicious meal! :]

GROTTO: Good Shoes, Bad Pasta…

All dressed up and somewhere to go…. this is me showing off my new shoes.. I bought awhile ago, that I totally forgot about. Tonight was the perfect night — I hadn’t seen Z in like 2 days and I needed to look fabulouso.  I was at a Bridal Shower, Dressing Fitting and running errands all day so Z made all the details and reservations for the night. Tonight? Grotto.

GUCCI Leopard Gradient :D

Grotto is on the bottom of a HUUUUUUUUGE HUGE hill… we parked at the top, but Z was such a gentleman and carried me down.  Some weirdo yelled “I see her thong”.. except I wasn’t wearing a thong… yay granny panties [haha kidding] STILL.. awkward.. hahaha.. maybe Z should’ve carried me a different way.. hahaha..

Dense bread and EVOO and Olives…

Grilled calamari, White beans, Peppers, Greens, Lemon

Underneath all the delicious fresh arugula was 3, ONLY 3 pieces, but some of the most tender, perfectly grilled calamaris EVER. SO GOOD!!! The sauce, the freshness of the peppery green – AMAZING!!!

Arugula, Proscuitto, Reggiano, Lemon vinaigrette

Delicious Balsamic Vinegar… also came with EVOO and Lemon Vinaigrette 

BUT THEY FORGOT THE CHEESE!!!! FOUR ingredients and they forgot one HUGE major one… like, WTF.  But when we asked for some they gave us a mini bowl of parm :] YUM YUM YUM. I love cheese!

Salad overload much? It’s okay we still had fondue and mussels on the way… but that’s when the meal started going downhill.. at least my shoes are hot [haha]

Fontina cheese fondue, Beef tenderloin, Aged balsamic, Truffle oil, Portobello mushrooms

It smelled truffly but the cheese was soooo thin and runny.. very watery.  I wish it came with crudites.. bread cubes, something.. other than a few sinewy pieces of beef and some flabby cuts of mushroom. SO disappointing. I freaking ADORE fondue… and I miss good quality fondue.  Need to stuff ourselves silly at Artisanal ASAP [where’s your fav place for fondue in the City?]

And then the night just got worse from there [at least food wise, we were having great convos].  They forgot to put the order of mussels in, but then they came out with the pastas beforehand — so we just cancelled the mussels. WRONG MOVE… still hungry :[

Potato gnocchi, Short ribs, Mushrooms, Gorgonzola

Just LOOK at them. HOW THE CRAP IS THAT GNOCCHI?!?!.. they’re ginormous and so rough looking.. it tasted like raw dough balls… not pillowy, not fluffy not okay. NO BUENO.  I had half a gnocchi and a bite of the short ribs.. the SHORT RIBS were SOOOOO tender, melt away.. but the sauce was so bland… and .. waaaa BAD GNOCCHI…

Spaghetti, Meatballs & Grotto’s insanely fabulous tomato sauce
As soon as we walked into Grotto we saw the spaghetti and meatballs, EVERYWHERE. And we were craving. CRAVING.  Earlier that day my BFF [bride-to-be] ordered off the bridal shower menu and got a spaghetti and meatball, so I was def craving.

THIS was the WORST spaghetti and meatballs I’ve EVER had. The tomato sauce was so off… smokey and too many jumbled herbs.  The pasta was OKAY.  But the worst was the MEATBALLS – which is so sad because ya’ll should know by now I’m ALL about the meatballs.  They were SOOOO salty, mushy and just… rosemary or thyme or something just OVER herbed.. *sigh* SO frustrating…

Crab ravioli, Asparagus, Almonds, Saffron

This was the only edible one IMO.  The vegetables were SO fresh tasting… it was delicious.. the only gripe is the pasta.. and the fillings could use more crab in it. But all in all, minus the tough, pasta [not even like under cooked more like pre-cooked and sat out]  So SO happy with the asparagus and the tomatoes.  I sprinkled extra cheese and hot pepper flakes on it for added oomph.. I ended up just not eating most of the pasta part… Z was a sweetheart and let me eat the whole plate [minus one hehe]

So all the pastas were pretty… not good.  Which partially might also because we always have a good time when we go out for italian [ok that last link was MY pasta I made hahahha].  We’re obsessed with good pasta and these just felt like they were sitting out way too long.

Lemon panna cotta, Raspberry sauce, Crispy pizzelle cookie

The flavors were great, but the texture was off. OK so it tasted, texturally, like cheesecake.. a thick creamy cheesecake… NOT panna cotta like  Jay Rayner said “A good panna cotta, if it’s set right, is meant to wobble like a woman’s breasts.” Mwahahahahaha… and it was only half a pizzelle :[ I adore pizzelles.. hahaha wish they had a dessert option of a plate of fresh pizzelles.

Banana bread pudding, Caramel sauce, Caramel ice cream, Spice nuts
Also dense, not bread pudding like… just like a banana spiced bread… banana nut bread minus the nuts… but the burnt caramel ice cream was FREAKING AMAZING!!!!… i gobbled it up with the nuts :]

Ok. No bueno. But the wine was pretty good.. and it was a fun atmosphere.  Definitely not a go to spot for Italian…

Our Best Dinner Yet…

Yep, it’s official, on March 30, 2011 we just may have had our best dinner yet.

Z and I have had a lot of delicious meals… and a few too many not so delicious ones…. but this just may be the perfect delicious meal – not one complaint or yick escaped from our mouths [except me towards our neighbors haha] Dish after dish, delish! I was having a good day, a really good day [been having a lot of those lately] so Z was taking me out to dinner [celebraaaaaaaaaaation] to L’Artusi :] Yep, the same chef as another pasta love of mine, dell’Anima! [does Z know me well or what?!] But unlike my dell’Anima meal, I liked EVERY. SINGLE. SAVORY and SWEET morsel/bite :D

I love Open Kitchens

Hilarious…

Z asked for his usual lemon and lime slices.. but somehow only ONE slice out of the four got into my water :[ Waaaa… meanie!!! LOL

Cute little rounds of bread and EVOO

Special of the Day: Housemade Ricotta

EVOO, Sea Salt, Marmalade and delicious Cheese Crisps

I have been daydreaming about this ricotta… and having wet dreams. This is the creamiest light but yet still flavorful ricotta. SOOOOO fluffy and creamy it was like a gelato… a light drizzle of EVOO on top and a sprinkling of big crunchy sea salt. AMAZING. I dug in, sans crisp, as soon as it landed on the table [well AFTER the photograph hahaha] – and then combined with the cheesy but light cheese crisps. OH EM GEE.

Hamachi Tartare

Lemon, Chives, Ginger

This was delicious. Tender, fresh… the ginger added a delicious kick to the frisee and the fatty, but light, fish.  The citrus provided a nice balance against the fat of the fish as well.. and lightened the “fishy” taste.

Escolar

Avocado, Basil, Chiles

The fish was SO soft and fluffy….. fishy and amazing like an escolar should be.  The sauce was really thick, delicious but overly spicy and overpowering for the fish and the other flavors. Sadly I got no avocado or basil in the bite.. I ended up wiping off most of the sauce on the fish and just eating the fish underneath.

Roasted Mushrooms

Pancetta, Fried Egg, Ricotta Salata

Absolutely heavenly. The pancetta was big thick chunks of pork belly and not overly salty at all. Or salty for that matter – they were perfect.  The mixture of wild mushrooms were cooked to perfection…. delicious gooey egg on top [also cooked perfectly] and a very generous portion of ricotta salata. Oh dear my poor lactose intolerance. I am in love.  Everything was licked clean off the plate and sopped up with fingers and bread.

Special of the Day: Beef Short Rib Agnolotti

Fennel Butter Sauce

Never have I tasted such a pure butter sauce.  I was scared that the fennel was going to be overpowering but it was so LIGHT.. I mean a LIGHT but RICH butter sauce?! Who could ever imagine in their wildest dreams? Well I tasted it in mine. The agnolotti was made PERFECTLY.. the dough, the filling.. very reminiscent of Michael White’s tortellini from the SOBE W&F ’11 Dolce Brunch.  Oh was this heavenly… I know it must be bad for me… well bad for my waistline [no wonder I can’t fit into my old jeans anymore] but OH SO GOOD for the soul <3 THIS needs to be a regular on the menu!!!! I would get two bowls of it just for myself.

Crispy Sweetbreads

Hazelnut, Brown Butter

I’ve had bad sweetbreads and meh sweetbreads, but these were delicious, creamy and perfectly fried. Crunchy outside, soft fluffy creamy innards and an amazing brown butter sauce… the hazelnuts added a great nutty, but not overpowering crunch to the dish. I could eat these like popcorn.

Brussels Sprouts

Pecorino, Black Pepper

These brussel spouts were roasted to a crisp and coverd in delicious pecorino. MMM it was a HUUUGE portion, probably the biggest portion out of all the dishes we had that night.  They were small tender brussels sprouts, could’ve used lessed time under the broiler methinks but delicious nonetheless. I love a good burnt crispy sprout :D

Roasted Quail

Braised Pancetta, Sweet Potatoes, Radicchio

I still can’t stop thinking about the quail from SOBE W&F ’11 Gilt Dinner… to DIE for. I’ve only had quail twice in my life that make me dream about them nonstop. The mere thought of quail makes me think of that Gilt Dinner and the Tandoori quail from this modern indian bistro+bar, Tamarind Bay, in Harvard Sq. This quail was pretty delicious. The legs were a bit salty on the skin…a nice serving of delicious thick pork belly pancetta… and amazing sweet potatoes, cooked to a soft chew and they were naturally so sweet – for a second I was almost convinced I bit into a carrot.

After cleaning our plates.. more licking and sopping off the juices… we wanted dessert.  Our eyes went straight to one of them…

After watching last Sunday’s Chopped All-Stars and the battle of the souffles for dessert round we HAD to get this dessert:

Caramel Souffle

To DIE for. Best souffle I’ve had to memory. Just a little sauce went a long long way.  Poked a little crosshair hole at the top and poured it on top and all over.. OMG.. gooey hot perfect fluffy goodness inside. I can die happy now… but then I wouldn’t have gotten to eat the delicious buttery walnut cookies that came with it… and of course the gelato balls we ordered…

Yep, in Tiffie fashion, we also got some gelato which came with the most delicious little chewy almond macaron-style cookies covered in toasted pine nuts :]

Baci, Amarena Cherry-Ricotta Gelato

Sea Salt Gelato

They were DELICIOUS. I especially loved how the sea salt gelato came out. Salty but not in an overpowering way – very subtle and went delicious with the baci [I’m pretty sure baci is starting to take over my love of Stracciatella for gelato now OH NO – I blame it on delicious GROM :D]

My Next Food Network Star Audition Tape

Soooooooo remember a few months ago I sent in an app and audition for NFNS.. OBVIOUSLY they didn’t want me but the video makes me laugh so hard still *pees pants* I thought it would be a great time to finally share it with the world… :D

[ I made a shortrib bone marrow french onion soup with a 3cheese puff pastry crouton ]

Enjoy!!!! & keep on eating Jelly Bellys

my sweet six-twen part duex

I woke up to flowers, balloons and pancakes & crepes w/eggs and bacon in bed… well.. in couch, while watching the Ren&Stimpy marathon all day.

The second chosen Birthday Dress :]

Elizabeth & James Dress, YSL Shoes and my new Chanel Bag

amuse bouche

creamy chickpea puree with pickled melon
We were sitting around looking at the menus when this delicious and creamy concoction came to us… smooth rich chickpeas emulsified into the creamiest I’ve ever had… with the surprising crunch of the pickled melon with a drizzle of fruity evoo on top.

The best bread and butter I’ve ever had… I literally ate more than 20 pieces of this… apparently NO one has eaten this much bread and butter before and they ended up serving us huge baskets – instead of pails of it :]

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

Goal: Corn + Sangria = Best Drunkenness…

Toro is one of those happening places that are still crazy busy late at night… and in Boston, that means it’s good stuff. We got there right before 9 and had to wait about an hour before we could eat. That means sitting at the bar and downing some bubbly before getting seated. We chitted and chatted and got hungrier and hungrier seeing and smelling all the great foods being passed around us.

It’s one thing for me to think a restaurant is delicious, but it’s another to have me want to go there over and over again. Toro is one of those places. I think I could come here once every week or two for the rest of my life and be sooo sooo happy. I know I wrote about this place pretty recent… but I had a craving for them the other night so made R go with me as soon as he set foot outside my house Friday night :]

Since I was soooo hungry and it was sooo late by then I just had one goal in mind… Corn + Sangria and  a drunkingly good time….

We started off with one of our favorites at Toro.

Uni Bocadillo

Pressed uni sandwich with miso butter and pickled mustard seeds
How could anything with uni be bad? Unless the uni is bad…. The creamy uni and miso butter… and then the crunchy pickled mustard seeds that add even more texture to it. NOT TO MENTION… perfect bread. PERFECTLY TOASTED BREAD!!! With sandwiches bread is SO key… you need perfect ratio of breads to innards and this is so perfect.