Tiny Urban Kitchen

Shabu Ya

2012-05-30T22:36:00.000-05:00

Sometimes I just feel like eating something light and simple.

An aromatic broth, thinly sliced meat, and an abundance of vegetables.

When I'm in that mood, I often seek out shabu shabu (Japanese), or hot pot (Chinese). Although shabu is much cheaper to make at home, sometimes it's just a lot less hassle to pay the $10-$20 and have someone else take care of all that slicing, chopping, and washing of ingredients (not to mention doing all the dishes afterwards!).

The other day while we were in Harvard Square, I was craving just that - something simple, hearty, healthy, and warm. Our favorite shabu place felt just a bit too far away that day, so we decided to check out this local one within walking distance of our home.

The interior is bright and colorful, with trendy lamps, modern furniture, and tons of light. There's a sushi bar to one side, a huge "shabu" bar in the middle, and tons of other seating. The place seems to be filled with Asians, not a surprise considering the cuisine.

Things look promising in the beginning. Tiny bits of condiments such as fresh horseradish, habanero peppers, scallions, and Chinese "Satsa" sauce (BBQ sauce) come on this cute, modern plate.

The tables are equipped with induction stoves on top, which you can control by touching the nifty flat buttons. We order a spicy hot broth (check out that color!).

Most of the shabu plates come with meat of your choice, assorted vegetables, tofu, and noodles. The prices range from $12.95 (vegetables) to $20.95 (surf and turf). Although the presentation of everything was nice, I was not particularly impressed with the quality of the produce. The carrots and the broccoli reminded me of pre-chopped refrigerated vegetables that come from a bag. The other vegetables were average - sort of like vegetables you'd get in Chinatown, not ones from your local organic farmers market.

If you really want to splurge, they even have Wagyu beef from Australia ($29.99) and Oregon ($39.99). Our server wasn't very knowledgeable, and had to go back several times to ask about the difference between the two types.

After one round of questions, we learned that the Oregon beef was "better".

Bryan said, "can you tell us why it's better?"

She looked a bit confused, and then said, "hold on a minute."

She came back a few minutes later and declared that the Oregon beef was "more marbled."

Although it wasn't much information to go by, Bryan decided to spring for it. He's predictable in that way.

After having tried it, we both agreed that it's worth skipping. The Oregon wagyu beef, although tasty, wasn't that earth-shattering and probably not worth the significant extra premium price. It's nothing like the incredible kobe beef shabu that I had in Japan, which I would argue, is well worth the money (even if it was over $100 a person).

Because I had ordered a Korean dish, I was thrilled to get all the "freebies" that always come at the beginning of a meal in a Korean restaurant. These were solid, and I enjoyed them quite a bit.

My simple tofu stew ("suntofu") was delicious. It had tons of seafood inside, making the soup super flavorful, rich, and very, very comforting. It was exactly what I was craving. I was even content to ignore the bits of dirt (probably from the clams?) at the bottom of my bowl.

At $12.95, it wasn't a bad price at all.

The sushi, on the other hand, was below average, especially considering the price. Almost all of the fish (with the exception of salmon) had virtually no flavor and were reasonably bland. At $8.95 for 5 pieces, you can definitely do better elsewhere.

It seems like their sushi bar focuses more on the fun, creative rolls that rely more on spicy mayonnaise, tobiko, and various sauces for flavor than the actual fish. If I ever had to order sushi here again, I would choose to order rolls instead of straight up nigiri, which really needs quality fish to taste good.

Concluding Thought
I guess we had mixed thoughts about Shabu Ya. I really enjoyed simple yet flavorful tofu stew, which perfectly hit the spot. For simple Korean food, I may considering coming back.

However, I really was not impressed with the sushi, and definitely would not order it again.

The shabu is average. It's serviceable, for sure, but overall we just were not super impressed with the quality of the ingredients. I definitely would not recommend springing for the Wagyu. I think you can get a lot better meals in Boston if you're willing to spend close to $50 for your entree!

If you're in the area and you're hankering for shabu, the place will deliver. The broths are OK, the condiments are authentic, and the produce is acceptable. It's not terribly expensive (as long as you don't get Wagyu), and it's reasonably authentic. You can get your hot pot fix.

However, if you're willing to travel just a bit (we're talking maybe 1-2 miles), there are definitely much better places in Boston for shabu.

Shabu Ya
57 JFK Street
Cambridge MA

Coi

2012-05-29T22:03:00.004-05:00

This is part 7 and the final post of the Napa Valley Adventures series. Other posts in this series: Ad Hoc, Bottega Ristorante, Joseph Phelps Winery, Etoile, and Terra Restaurant.

My husband is from California, and like almost all Californians, thinks that California is "the promised land" and "the happiest place on earth."

"Why would you ever want to live anywhere else?"

Yes, it begs the question why he lives in Boston now. Let's just say there was this girl . . . ;)

Having lived my whole life either in the Midwest or the East Coast, I like to think I have a more balanced view of the world, including the ability to appreciate great things about all different regions.

Having said that, there is one thing I love about California more than any other place in the U.S.

The produce.

Yep, the produce in California is astounding. Trying stopping by the farmers market at the Ferry Building (where you're bound to see produce you've never seen before), or visit the Berkeley Bowl, one of the coolest markets ever.

The abundance of fantastic produce allows unique restaurants like Coi to exist in California. Coi is really interesting because the entire menu is built around foraged ingredients.

Chef Daniel Patterson has been doing the foraging thing long before it became in vogue. He began 18 years ago when he opened his first restaurant Babette in Sonoma County. At Coi, he continues his commitment to the concept, creating menus that are so focused on foraged ingredients, they would "fall apart" without them.

Patterson remarks, "once you go down that road [of foraging for your ingredients], it’s merciless. You can’t just call a purveyor for a delivery because it’s cold and raining. You do it, every day, under every condition."

I've always been a huge fan of vegetables and herbs, so of course I was intrigued to see how Patterson's philosophy would play out on the plate.

Before heading out to Napa Valley to cover the 10th annual S. Pellegrino Almost Famous Chef Competition, Bryan and I snuck in a meal at Coi after landing at SFO.

The atmosphere at Coi is zen-like and inviting. It's on the quiet side, but it doesn't necessary feel stuffy. The service is excellent, and we settle comfortably into our cozy seats in the small and intimate dining room.

We begin with a simple amuse - brown rice crisps accompanied by a light and airy goat cheese "dip." Thankfully, the goat flavor is subtle. In fact, the dip is bright and citrusy, its fluffy texture being the perfect match to the delicate crisps.

For our first course, we taste "celtuce," an ancestor to our common lettuce which has more stems than leaves. This light, crispy vegetable is enveloped by an airy romaine heart and smoked oil foam. Perched on top is a most delicate tuile made from seaweed and squid ink garam. A tart beginning ends with a rich and smoky finish.

Next we enjoy an East coast Virginium oyster ("locally" grown in Seattle) served with radish mignonette and a basil gelee (not pictured - I know, I can't believe I forgot!). The oyster is sweet, mild, and not too briny.

A gorgeous little mosaic of colors (reminding me of another even more intricate mosaic I'd had a few years earlier) appears next. Dark purple cubes of cocoa-roasted beets sit interspersed with bright pink cubes of rhubarb gelee. Beet powder, yogurt, hazelnuts, and tiny little cilantro leaves complete the plate.

The tartness from the rhubarb nicely balances out the deep richness from the cocoa. I like the additional contrast from the aromatic cilantro and the crunchy hazelnuts.

"Allium" is a general term that describes plants in the onion family. It's large enough to include leeks, scallions, all different kinds of garlic, and (of course), onions. This dish includes various types of allium, including green garlic, spring onion & lardon purée, "allium", toasted breadcrumbs, and fresh flowers. I love the intensely rich flavors between the strong allium components and the fatty lardon puree.

Continuing with the green theme, we next savor a velvety asparagus soup with coconut foam and "green" flavors (lemon balm and lemon grass).
The next course is a playful take on an all-American classic: the movie popcorn. On the left: traditional movie-style butter popcorn. On the right: grits made from butter popcorn that have been smashed, ground up, and strained over and over to attain this consistency. This is whimsical, fun, and actually quite tasty (though I wonder what part of this dish is foraged?).

Delicate ribbons of abalone "a la plancha" (grilled) resemble noodles when served with shaved fennel and artichoke. The dish is perfectly seasoned - a balanced combination of bright tartness and savory umami.

The only true meat course is lamb served two-way. First, we try lamb tartare from Anderson Farms in Oregon served with fresh sprouts and wheatgrass purée. Bryan thinks the lamb could use more flavor, though I personally love the wheatgrass puree. It is wonderfully "grassy" and herbaceous, and probably helps cut any residual gaminess from the lamb.

We end with gorgeously tender lamb poached in olive oil, smoked over pine, and served with wood sorrel, yet another edible wild plant that has been eaten for thousands of years.

I loved the "cheese course", a sheep's milk yogurt tart made with a beeswax crust and gooseberry sauce. Even though the yogurt is salty by itself, the overall dish tastes sweet and tart when eaten with the honey served on the side.

Oro blanco (a cross between pomelo and white grapefruit) and ginger ice cream becomes a sort of palate cleanser between the cheese course and the true dessert.

Finally, a delicate soy milk and white chocolate silk with kiwi and a faux tuile on top.

We end with litte nibbles of a raw almond and honey tuile. I find this to be satisfyingly delicious. Though a bit cold (as if it came out straight from the refrigerator), it is sweet, rich, and just slightly chewy.

Overall Thoughts
I personally really, really liked Coi. Chef Patterson is very creative with his use of foraged herbs. In general, there were no flaws in the execution of the entire evening. Dishes were perfectly seasoned, flavor combinations worked tremendously well, presentation was gorgeous, and service was impeccable.

It's not for everyone, that's for sure. There are hardly any meat courses, and many of the dishes are subtle in their flavors. Bryan got the wine pairing, and almost every course was paired with a white wine save for the final few. That tells you something about the overall "lightness" of the dishes.

However, I felt great when I finished our meal at Coi.

Frankly, I almost never feel this way. Typically, after a multi-course tasting menu at a fancy Michelin-starred restaurant, I'm stuffed, slightly uncomfortable, and vowing to Bryan that we won't ever eat tasting menus again.

This was different.

I walked out feeling perfectly satisfied, even healthy, and really, really happy. I remember telling Bryan, "I really, really enjoyed that meal."

Bryan, your more-typical guy who enjoys a balanced blend of meat and vegetables, thought Coi was good, but acknowledged, "I think you liked Coi a lot more than I did."

We both agreed that execution was fantastic, and at the end of the day, it comes down to personal preference whether you'll just like and respect Coi or absolutely fall in love with it. Me, I absolutely think they deserve their two Michelin stars.

This ends the Napa Valley Adventures Series! If you haven't had your fill of Northern California related posts, check out some of these!

French Laundry
Ad Hoc
Bouchon Bakery
Bottega Ristorante
Etoile
Terra
Redd

Coi
373 Broadway
San Francisco, CA 94133

Midnight Ramen at Uni Sashimi Bar

2012-05-24T21:03:00.001-05:00

Ramen is hot hot hot in Boston right now.

It's inexplicable, but for some reason there's apparently a vast shortage of good ramen in this city, and people are sitting, glued to their computers, hoping to have a chance to experience a seriously good bowl of ramen.

In some ways it's true. There really aren't that many ramen places in this city. Ken's Ramen Shop in Allston closed last year, and it seems like the only other place left is Sapporo Ramen in Porter Square, whose five or so tables just can't seem to fill the demand of the entire city (evidenced by the perpetual long lines outside).

So what do you do when there's tons of demand?

You fill it, of course.

Soon after the Guchi's Midnight Ramen craze began, Ken Oringer jumped on the ramen train by offering late night ramen at Uni (his Sashimi bar next to Clio) from 11PM - 2AM on Friday and Saturday evenings. Oringer says he's been wanting to do ramen for years, and this worked perfectly with the reopened renovated Uni space. Soon after, Myers + Chang followed suit and added it to their lunch menu as well.

A couple weekends ago, a group of us decided to skip normal dinner to visit Uni to slurp some ramen into the wee hours of the morning.

Uni is the downstairs cousin adjacent to the fancy and upscale Clio. During normal hours Uni is a sashimi bar that serves creative renditions of Japanese-inspired raw fish dishes. Right at 11PM, the ramen bar takes over.

The menu is pretty small and is hand-scrawled on a piece of cardboard right at the bar. There were four of us, so it was pretty simple to order the entire menu. We also sat at the bar, which gave us the best views of the chefs preparing our food.

Most of the prep work has been done beforehand. The broth has been simmering for hours, and the various components are neatly chopped and stored in uniform plastic containers.

Even the perfectly cooked two-hour eggs (perhaps made sous vide or slowly poached under low temperatures?) seem to already be done, housed in a pot of their own.

There's only one choice for sake, Momokawe Silver Sake, which is served in a cute bamboo container. It tastes pretty good - mild and clean, a good contrast to the rest of the food, which is savory, rich, and full of umami.

We start with the Fried Shishito Peppers.

Are these spicy? Maybe. It was really like playing Russian Roulette. If you were lucky, the pepper wasn't spicy at all. However, every so often, a random unsuspecting member of our party would take one bite and immediate begin sweating.

I was never so unlucky, so my impression of this dish is that it's mild, reasonably tasty, and a nice way to start the meal. However, be forewarned!

Zojirushi Hot Dog

"What in the world is a Zojirushi hot dog?" we all wondered. We were all familiar with the rice cooker, but as a type of hot dog??

Out came a deep fried hot dog topped with pickled bean sprouts and a miso-mustard sauce. It was OK, I guess, but I was not particularly impressed. I'm not sure I love pickled vegetables on top of my hot dog. I'd probably skip it next time.

The Pork Bun, on the other hand, was very good. The fatty pork belly had the perfect balance of crispy exterior and juicy interior. The bun itself was nice and soft, and the overall balance of flavors was perfect.

Unfortunately, I could not say the same about the Duck Bun, which was too dry.

Bryan and I both ordered the Umami ramen, a fascinating broth made from ten different kinds of mushrooms plus a Parmesan rind. It's served with a generous piece of barbecued eel (unagi) along with scallions, bean sprouts, seaweed (nori), and a two-hour egg.

I'm so sad to say this, but we were disappointed.

Though the noodles are purportedly homemade, they were too soft, overcooked, and lacked the chewy al dente "Q" texture that we were seeking.

The broth was full of umami, as promised. However, I found the intense umami of the broth coupled with the rich and fatty eel to be a bit too much. When a broth is that thick and rich, you almost wish for a leaner meat (or some sort of vegetable) to balance the entire dish out. A part of me dreamed about the lighter yet still very flavorful seafood-based broth I had enjoyed at Guchi's Midnight Ramen.

I appreciate the creative effort put into this "twist" on a traditional dish. However, sometimes there's a reason why the traditional version has stuck around for so long.

Pork Traditional Ramen

Thankfully, the traditional pork ramen was quite solid. It's a dashi and chicken based miso broth served with roasted pork shoulder, scallions, nori, and a two-hour egg. The noodles were still more overcooked than we would have liked. However, the flavors were balanced, and the two-hour egg was delicious.

Green tea ice cream with ginger cookies

I knew I had to try at least one dessert. Although I typically only like chocolate sandwich cookies, I was very pleasantly surprised here. I really really liked the dessert. The ginger cookies had a strong ginger flavor, further accented by small bits of chopped crystallized ginger throughout. It was chewy and dense, and worked quite well with the green tea ice cream.

Thoughts
It was tough waiting until 11PM to eat dinner. Although it was fun and sort of exciting to come out to Uni so late on a Friday night to try their ramen menu, I came away with mixed feelings.

Sure, some aspects of the evening were great. The space is lovely, the ambiance is hip, and the service was fine. We really enjoyed the pork buns, the shishito peppers, and the dessert. The traditional ramen (minus the slightly overcooked noodles) was still one of the better ones in the city, especially for $10.

However, nothing was so good that made it worth it (for me, at least), to wait until 11PM to trek out to the city for dinner.

Maybe if Uni ever offers ramen for lunch, or an earlier dinner, I would consider returning. For now, however, I'm perfectly happy slurping my Sapporo Ramen or waiting until I get lucky enough to try another one of Guchi's creations.

Uni
370a Commonwealth Ave
Boston, MA 02215

The Monday Club's new Food Bar

2012-05-22T23:48:00.000-05:00

I love dining at the bar of a nice restaurant.

The bar is a bit more relaxed, a bit more personal, and the food is just as good. Usually, you have an expanded menu, consisting of both the bar menu (typically a bit less expensive), and the dinner menu.

Not everyone eats at the bar, so there's less pressure to order an entire full-length dinner without feeling like you're being cheap. It works great for people with smaller appetites like me.

In fact, we almost always eat at the bar at our favorite local haunts.

Imagine how thrilled I was when I found out that my favorite al fresco dining spot was opening a bar, complete with a new bar menu.

Perhaps Monday Club will become a year-round destination now?

Island Creek Oysters
green papaya mignonette

The bar at the Monday Club was constructed in late 2011 and completed in early 2012. The aim was to provide a space within the Monday Club (downstairs of Upstairs on the Square) for more casual dining and drinks. You can always order everything off of the regular Monday Club menu at the bar. However, the special bar menu also has some additional pizzas, paninis, and various little small plates.

We started with some raw oysters. Though they try to get Island Creeks when they can, they sometimes have to substitute. When I was there, we had Wellfleet oysters. I'm naturally not a huge fan of Wellfleets, though these were fresh and paired well with champagne. Bryan, who generally likes raw oysters more than I do, thought they were good. I'm pretty certain if they had been Island Creeks I would have liked them a whole lot more.

Olives, Pickles & Nuts
Japanese eggplant caponata and muhammara

The small plates are fun and derive inspiration from many different countries. We tried a variety here with a Japanese eggplant caponata and this interesting "pate" made from cod ro.

The eggplant caponata is nice and refreshingly not too salty. I must admit, however, that the cod ro is definitely an acquired taste. I found it a bit oily, salty, and quite fishy. Chef Susan Regis insisted that we try it again with a "really charred piece of toast" since that's the way it's traditionally eaten.

It was definitely better with the charred toast, but I still think it's a taste that takes some getting used to.

Seared Tuna ($13)
Za'atar, black pepper, coriander

Speaking of Chef Regis . . .
Chef Susan Regis recently took over as executive chef at Upstairs on the Square and The Monday Club. A winner of the James Beard Award for America’s Best Chef – Northeast in 1998, Chef Regis has also trained under Gordon Hamersley, Jody Adams and Lydia Shire.

It was a treat to be at the restaurant when Susan was there. Since I was there for a media tasting, we basically told her just to pick her favorite dishes and make us whatever she wanted.

We next tried a simple seared tuna appetizer, which was well-executed (perfectly rare) with a nice, exotic combination of flavors (the za'atar adding a unique Middle Eastern twist to the dish). It was light, refreshing, yet boldly flavored at the same time.

Keep in mind that the photos of the dishes in this post are tasting portions, so you'll actually get larger portions for all these dishes if you order them at the restaurant!

Lobster Pizzette ($13)

One of our favorite bites of the night was the lobster pizzette. I was quite surprised at the reasonable price of this "pizza", which is generously topped with fresh chunks of lobster. The pizza crust is sinfully delicious. Crispy and quite buttery, it holds its own against the rich chunks of lobster and generous sprinkles of scallions.

Brick pressed Spanish Octopus ($12)
smoked potato, sel de mer

Another special and unique dish they have is the brick pressed Spanish octopus. According to Chef Regis, it's really really hard to obtain this type of octopus from Spain. It is only because of a special connection they have with some guy in Spain that they are able to source this particular type of octopus.

We agreed that the octopus was very good. It was meaty and flavorful, yet not tough or rubbery at all. Chef Regis serves it with a spicy and creamy sauce on the side. Other Mediterranean components, like olives, round out the plate. Though not the absolute best octopus I've ever had (that honor probably goes to either Craigie on Main or Marea in New York), it's still excellent and a fantastic value for its price.

Tasso Ham and Fried Oyster Tartine Panini

The tasso ham is house cured and served with fried oysters. The flavor combinations are good (how could a fried oyster not be good in a sandwich?), and I could totally see myself ordering one of these paninis for lunch.

Tagliatelle Heritage Pork Jowl "Bolognese" $12 | 21

After trying several dishes from the bar menu, we decided to order a few entrees from the regular Monday Club menu. All of their pastas are homemade (yay!). The bolognese comes with two types of meat: a delicious slice of fatty roasted pork on top and a sauce made with shredded pork and veal.

This bolognese sauce is a bit different than a typical bolognese sauce because the meat is less "processed". Instead of being ground up completely, it is sort of shredded, not unlike pulled pork. We found it to be quite flavorful, though it was just a tad salty for my tastes and I would not have minded just a bit more depth of flavor. Of course, Bryan loved the fresh, homemade pasta.

Gnocchiolo
ricotta & grappa, plumped apricot & figs, duck confit $14 | 23

We both though the Gnocciolo was really interesting. It's a ravioli made with gnocchi skin and served with apricot, figs, and crisped duck on top. The combination of flavors is deep, rich, and really interesting. The duck and fruit work quite well together, and we enjoyed the texture of the homemade "gnocchiolo."

UpStairs Butterscotch Pudding
pecan caramel shortbread cookie $8

For dessert, we savored a gorgeous butterscotch pudding. It's sort of a cross between a traditional pudding and a creme brulee, since it does come with that lovely burnt top and is quite rich inside.

Deb's famous Signature Milk Chocolate Pecan Turtles Plate of 3 for $8

Deborah Hughes, one of the co-owners of the restaurant, created this decadent dessert years ago when she was executive chef at Upstairs at the Pudding (predecessor to the current restaurant). It's unlike a typical turtle because the inside is filled with pecans and a thick, crystallized maple syrup filling. It reminded me of pecan pie filling, actually. It's rich, really sweet, and best enjoyed in small portions with lots of espresso!

The wine director, Matthew Reiser, was extremely helpful in picking out interesting wines for us to enjoy with our food. Mr. Reiser travels frequently to New York to scope out and procure the best wines. We had a lot of fun sitting at the bar and just chatting with him about wines, restaurants, New York, and basically all things food.

Co-owner Mary Catherine Deibel, Executive Chef Susan Regis, and me!

General Thoughts
The food bar at the Monday Club has a great looking menu that I'm really excited to explore. I would definitely come back for the lobster pizza, the octopus, and the excellent wines. I believe the bar menu is available when you sit outside as well (my favorite thing to do in the summer!).

The lunch menu is priced at a very friendly $12-$14 per entree range, which I think is really reasonable considering the quality of the food.

Overall, I'm just thrilled to have yet another nice restaurant within walking distance of my home where I can stop in on a random weeknight for a casual but fantastic dinner at the bar.

Thanks Mary-Catherine, Susan, Matthew, and Danny for a superb evening. We really enjoyed it!

Upstairs On the Square
91 Winthrop St
Cambridge,MA 02138
(617) 864-1933

Disclaimer - I did not pay for this media tasting meal. All opinions are my own.

Terra (Napa Valley)

2012-05-21T13:40:00.000-05:00

This is part 4 of the Napa Valley Adventures series. Other posts in this series: Ad Hoc, Bottega Ristorante, Joseph Phelps Winery, and Etoile.

Usually, I don't pay much attention to the people dining around me at restaurants. Occasionally I may glance at other diners' dishes for inspiration, or perhaps I'll overhear a funny conversation. In general, however, I'm pretty oblivious to my surroundings (hello inner Myers Briggs "N" personality type).

But then there was that dinner at Terra in St. Helena, Napa Valley.

An older couple, probably in their seventies, was enjoying a meal right across the (small) room from us.

I think we were struck by how sweet they were to each other. Throughout the night, the man referred to promises he had made to his wife, and how he intended on keeping them.

And then we found out they had been together for fifty years. They were celebrating their golden wedding anniversary.

Bryan quietly pulled our waiter aside.

"We'd like to treat them to their drinks. Whatever they are drinking, just put it on our tab."

Bryan turned to me.

"Fifty years is a long time!"

I briefly had a flashback. Probably 15 years ago, a year after we started dating, Bryan had given me a card. It had a picture of a really old couple, riding bikes, holding hands.

"I look forward to growing old together with you."

What better place than Terra to celebrate such a momentous occasion. We absolutely loved this restaurant. The ambiance is really romantic, the service is excellent, and the food is top notch.

Chilled Capellini with American Sturgeon Caviar, Virgin Olive Oil, and Chive

Chef Hiro Sone and his wife pastry chef Lissa Doumani have had this Napa Valley institution for over twenty years. The couple originally met while working at Spago in Los Angeles. Before that, Chef Sone trained in a number of places, including École Technique Hôtelière Tsuji, where he studied under the likes of French greats like Joel Robuchon, Paul Bocuse, and Pierre Troisgros. He also learned from many other chefs from Japan, Hong Kong, Italy, and China.

In January 2011, the couple decided to renovate and "reinvigorate" their 20+ year old restaurant. After obtaining a liquor license, they made several changes.

The restaurant, which used to have two separate rooms, has now become two separate parts. One side is a more casual bar (Bar Terra), with "inspired drinks and lighter fare." The other side is Terra, the fine dining restaurant that holds one Michelin Star.
Tuna Sashimi with Radish Salad, Hijiki Seaweed, and Yuzu Pepper Vinaigrette

They've changed the menu format at Terra as well. I love this new format, in fact.

The menu is a long list of smaller-sized "tastes." Essentially, you get to create your own tasting menu.

You can get four courses for $66, five courses for $81, or six courses for $92. The omakase (Chef’s choice tasting menu), consists of seven or more courses. There is also a special daily set menu of 3 courses for $57.

Polenta Soup with Fontina Cheese, Slow Cooked Jidori Egg, and Winter Truffles

We absolutely loved the food. Although Chef Sone is Japanese, his food expresses influence from all over the world. His diverse training is evident throughout the menu. We certainly experienced Japanese-inspired dishes, but we also tasted aspects of France, Greece, Italy, and China.

Handmade Cavatelli Pasta with Oxtail Sugo and Braised Winter Greens

My favorite part was the flexibility of the menu. Bryan and I both decided to go for the smallest tasting (4-course for $66), yet we ordered eight completely different dishes. What resulted felt like an 8-course tasting for only $66, which is quite a bargain when you consider the quality of the food.

Fois Gras Tortelloni in Game Sauce with Cipollini, Shimeji Mushrooms, and Shaved Chestnuts

I liked how we weren't forced into a normal style tasting menu, where you have to start with a light (often raw) dish and end on some heavy, buttery steak or other red meat.

Broiled Sake Marinated Alaskan Black Cod and Shrimp Dumpling in Shiso Broth

Instead, I had the option of ordering whatever I wanted in whatever order I fancied (though they will make suggestions). Notice how we have no red meat in our tasting, instead ending with fish and duck.

Grilled Liberty Farm Duck Breast with Chestnut Yam Puree and Huckleberry Duck Sauce

I also liked how they had less expensive options for wine. Bryan and I shared a house red, served in an Erlenmeyer flask! (See top picture - I was quite thrilled). Our celebrating "friends" sitting across from us ordered something similar.

Fig Compote with Labne, Mt. Shasta Wild Flower Honey and Pistachio Burma

The dessert from pastry chef Lissa Doumani was excellent. The burma was perfectly executed in all its flaky, crispy, and messy-to-eat glory (sorry Bryan!). Similarly, the figs and labne, both very classic Middle Eastern components, worked perfectly with the dish.

I would highly recommend coming here. The combination of the friendly price point, flexibility of choice, and the fantastic food (not to mention the Japanese influence), makes this one of my favorite restaurants in Napa Valley thus far.

* * * epilogue * * *

At the end of the night, when the couple found out we had paid for their drinks, they came over to thank us. Turns out they have three children and loads of grandchildren. They grew up in this area and absolutely love it. The woman is an extremely talented artist with an education from Stanford University (can you imagine being a woman at such a top notch university that many years ago? wow.)

The man chuckled and jokingly remarked "we lasted this long because we both knew that if one of us left the other, we'd be stuck alone raising three kids."

All joking aside, it was clear that this couple had been partners for a very long time and cared deeply for one another. We were thrilled to be able to share this wonderful day with them.

We said our good-bys, exchanged cards, and went along on our merry way.

Definitely a dinner I won't forget.

Terra Restaurant
1345 Railroad Ave
St. Helena, CA 94574
St Helena, CA 94574

Korean Bulgolgi

2012-05-18T11:21:00.001-05:00

Up until I was around eighteen, I was woefully unenlightened when it came to certain Asian cuisines.

My family rarely, if ever, dined at Korean restaurants when I was growing up. I still remember finally visiting a local Korean restaurant with my parents while I was in college and being tickled at all the lovely free "appetizers" or "tastes" that came out (think various types of pickled vegetables, tofu, and other little bites).

Ever since college, I've learned to love Korean food. The rich, fiery, and complex flavors of this delightful cuisine borrow influences from China and Japan yet maintain much of their unique originality.

Alas, since Bryan's not the biggest fan of Korean food (and we've been together essentially since college), I have never really explored cooking the cuisine that much (notice the dearth of Korean restaurants and recipes on this blog?).

Thankfully, I still get my fix at times. I hit the jackpot when my sister married a Korean (Hi Mike!). Mike's a fantastic cook and knows how to make all sorts of amazing Korean dishes.

One favorite I've always been dying to make is bulgolgi, Korean barbecued beef. Perhaps you've seen it at Korean restaurants where they have the grill right at the table. Mike was super kind and shared with me his recipe for making this timeless classic.

This dish is a huge crowd-pleaser. I've made it at various potlucks and it's always super popular. It even won a competition at my church years back.

Try it out - you won't be disappointed.

Start with thinly sliced sirloin or ribeye beef. The best way is to pick this up at a Korean market because it's already been perfectly pre-sliced really thinly for this exact purpose. Chinese hot pot pre-sliced meat may work as well, but I've never personally tried it. If you must, you can try slicing your own, but I would recommend semi-freezing it before trying.

There are many aromatic ingredients that add to the flavors of this dish, such as onions, garlic, and ginger.

But the key ingredient? The "secret" ingredient?

Coke!

Just kidding! Well, half kidding. You need something acidic to help break down the proteins so that they become more tender during marination. Pears or apples are common, but some people actually use something carbonated, like Coke!

I used Korean pears, but you can use any sort of ripe pear. According to Mike, canned pears work just fine as well (and they are easier to mash!).

Combine all ingredients together in a bowl (except the sesame oil).

Mix!

Mike suggests adding the sesame oil the next day. This allows the marinade (sans oil) to better penetrate the meat.

I find it easiest to get my hands dirty and really mix it up well. Since I usually make this in large volumes while entertaining (ha ha, certainly not at home when it's just me and Bryan), it's pretty impossible to adequately mix up everything with just a little spoon.

Let marinate overnight.

The next day, add sesame oil to the mixture, either the morning of or up to just before cooking.

Fire up the grill or oven broiler, and cook accordingly!

To serve, pull apart some gorgeous Boston lettuce.

Let guests assemble their own bulgolgi wraps. I like to provide some rice and gochujang sauce mixed with sesame oil.

Enjoy!

Korean Beef Bulgolgi
prep time 20 minutes | cook time 15 minutes | serves 4
total time: 36 hours

Ingredients
1 to 1 ½ lb thinly sliced sirloin beef

Marinade
1/2 cup soy sauce
1/2 cup sugar
1 tablespoon minced ginger
3 tablespoons minced garlic
1/2 ripe Asian pear, mashed
2 small onions, sliced
3 tablespoons sesame oil

Fixings
3 cups of rice, cooked
1-2 bunches of Boston lettuce leaves

Sauce
1/3 cup gochujang sauce (Korean red pepper paste)
1 tablespoon sesame oil

Combine all marinade ingredients except the sesame oil. Add the beef to the marinade and mix well. Refrigerate overnight. Right before grilling, add sesame oil, mix well. Ideally cook on a grill or in the broiler. The beef is ready when it is nicely charred and a little crunchy on the edges.

You can also cook this on a grill pan or even on the stovetop in a hot pan, but it might not get as charred and may steam a bit more.

Mix together gochujang sauce and sesame oil. Set aside.

Serve with Boston lettuce leaves, rice, and sauce.

Firebrand Saints

2012-05-17T22:22:00.000-05:00

When I was in college at MIT, dining choices around campus were really, really slim. We usually ordered out from places like Quan's Kitchen, Pu Pu Hot Pot, or Mary Chung. For Italian, we would trek all the way to Bertucci's or Cinderella's on Main Street (a pretty far walk from west campus dorms!). Once in a blue moon, we would hop on the T and go to Chinatown or the North End.

How much more fortunate are today's students! In the past two years, Kendall Square has transformed from a hungry, relatively food-starved techland to a vibrant area hailed by many to be the "next hot restaurant neighborhood."

So many new restaurants have moved into the area recently. Lucky students even have a great boba place virtually on campus.

I've tried Abigail's, Area Four, EVOO, Catalyst, and Think Tank. Mead Hall, Fuji, Voltage Coffee (and many others, I presume), are still on my "to try" list. It's hard to keep up with all the openings.

A couple weeks ago, we came one step closer trying all these new offerings in Kendall. After hearing great things about Firebrand Saints, a friend asked us if we wanted to try it together. Within two hours of that phone call, we found ourselves in Kendall Square, ready to check out yet another new restaurant.

Located virtually at the foot of the Longfellow Bridge at the edge of Cambridge and the Charles River, Firebrand Saints is a collaboration between MIT and Gary Strack of Central Kitchen. The dining room is as much a technoart gallery as it is a dining space. Gary Strack has partnered with several different artists to deliver art in many different forms.

I love the space the moment I enter it. A clean, open loft-like space beckons me in with cool graffiti art on the walls and an ever changing sketch of black and white cityscapes projected on the wall.

Above the bar, a row of TV screens light up. One shows the actual broadcast, while the other four project artistic interpretations based on the broadcast, whether it be text or visual modifications.

We start with these lovely Deep Fried Battered Onions which come with a side of scallion buttermilk dressing. A fancy "tempura-style" version of onion rings, this starter consists of a variety of members from the onion family, all fried to perfection. My favorites are these fried, long green strips, probably either scallions or garlic scapes. Whatever they are, they are fragrant, punchy, and delicious.

The FbS Style Deviled Eggs are filled with bacon and blue cheese, adding a strong, flavorful kick to an otherwise ordinary starter.

Bryan quips, "How can you go wrong? Add bacon and blue cheese to eggs, it's bound to taste good."

Our friend orders the Spit Roasted Lemon Sage Chicken, which comes with a side of fingerling potatoes and broccoli rabe. I do not taste his meal, but he seems quite pleased with it.

I order the Roman Style Porchetta Plate, which is rolled up with chopped kale inside and served alongside soft polenta. I order a tiny simple arugula salad on the side.

Though the flavors are pretty good, the porchetta is uneven - some parts (the fatty ones) are reasonably moist while others are a bit dry. It is nowhere as good as the crispy, juicy, heavenly porchetta sandwich I enjoyed in San Francisco at Roli Roti. As for the sides, the polenta is creamy and flavorful and the arugula salad is citrusy bright and refreshing.

Bryan orders the Lamb & Sirloin Burger, which is topped with spicy pickles, frisee, and harissa aioli. The burger is wonderfully juicy and perfectly cooked.
Overall, even though I'm not a huge fan of lamb, I like his burger better than my porchetta because it is so well executed. I like the spicy kick from the pickles and the harissa (a Tunisian hot chili sauce).

The dessert menu is simple, with your choice of a fresh baked pie from Ipswich, MA and/or ice cream from Coop's Ice Cream in Harvard Square (in the old Herrell's location). The pies are excellent (wonderful crust, not-too-sweet, fresh fruit), and the ice cream is solid.

Thoughts
Overall, we had a really great time at Firebrand Saints. The prices are reasonable, the food is pretty good, and the ambiance is really special. If I were to return, I would probably skip the rotisserie offerings and instead focus on trying a burger and sampling some more of their interesting appetizers.

I'm excited that Kendall Square continues to grow with these great restaurant choices, and I really think this is just the beginning. I can't wait to see what the neighborhood will hold in another year or so.

Firebrand Saints
1 Broadway
Cambridge, MA 02142

Bridlewood Wines at Harvest

2012-05-16T16:55:00.002-05:00

Several weeks ago, I received an invitation to attend a unique dinner called "The Art of Winemaking" hosted by Bridlewood Wines at Harvest in Harvard Square.

It's been years since I'd last visited Harvest, so I was excited to see what Mary Dumont (former contestant on The Next Iron Chef) had to offer. Furthermore, how could I say no to an evening of sampling dishes that Chef Dumont had personally designed to pair with a variety of Santa Barbara wines?

Even with that, the entire evening turned out way above my expectations. Of course the food was great, and Chef Dumont gets a ton of credit for pairing the food so well with the wine.

However, it was the discussion with the winemaker that night that I found the most fascinating and memorable.

Meet Dave Hopkins, the eccentric and colorful winemaker at Bridlewood Wines.

Dave spent the entire evening telling us all sort of things about winemaking - everything from his basic philosophy on how he makes wines to the intricate details behind the chemistry of wine.

Yes, you heard me right - Dave talked about chemistry.

Dave was a chemistry graduate student before becoming a wine student. Throughout the evening, he threw around words like "pyrazine", "pH", and "phenols" in the same breath as "grapes", "wine", and "terroir."

My inner nerd was completely hooked, and I furiously jotted down as much as I could.

Dave's philosophies on wine making are pretty simple and can be easily summed up in a few bullet points.

1. Make wines that pair well with food

2. Use the best grapes

3. Use old world European techniques

1. Make Wines That Pair with Food
Dave designs his wines first and foremost to pair well with food. He thinks about the food with which he wants to pair the wine, and then he designs the wine to fit the pairing.

Seared Scituate Scallop
Richter Farm Rhubarb, Celery, English Peas, Candied Ginger & Celery Salad

Our first course was scallops. These were lusciously sweet, perfectly cooked. The rhubarb added a nice, tart contrast to savory scallops and spring peas.

The scallops were paired with a 2008 Monterey Country Chardonnay. The wine was sweeter and creamier than a typical Chardonnay, with notes of green apple. According to Dave, this wine is made in the European style, which means it has less alcohol and is a bit more acidic. A splash of Viognier (dessert wine) and a mix of stainless and oak barrel aging give this wine its unique character.

On its own, I thought the Chardonnay was only OK, but then I'm not a huge Chardonnay drinker. I do think it tasted better with the food, which makes sense considering Dave's philosophy.

2. Use the Best Grapes
The cool, foggy climate of Monterey County allows for a much later harvest of grapes. These 6-8 additional weeks of "hang time" give the grapes more concentrated flavors.

Dave sources his grapes from a bunch of different growers. His quality control process is pretty straightforward. If your grapes end up at the bottom 15% (in terms of quality) 2 years in a row, Dave drops you as one of his vendors.

Painted Hills Tenderloin Tartare
Caperberries, Crispy Shallots, White Truffle Oil, & Toasted Country Bread
2008 Monterey County Pinot Noir

The next course was a Painted Hills Tenderloin Tartare served alongside a few sauces (resembled Sriracha and Hoisin sauce) and toasted bread. The tartare was fresh, spicy, and quite flavorful, although I did find it to be a bit too salty.

Eating it with the bread helped, although there was not quite enough bread for the ratio that I preferred.

The tartare was served with a 2008 Monterey County Pinot Noir. I found the wine to have a huge nose (i.e. it had a strong aroma). However, neither Bryan or I were fans of this wine. We found it a bit harsh, bitter, not too deep, and sort of "earthy" or "grassy". Dave said that grassy notes result when the level of a chemical compound called pyrazine is too high in the wine.

Roulade of Giannone Farms Chicken
Wild Mushrooms, Green Garlic, Fava Beans, Vanilla Scented Carrots
Central Coast Blend 175

Dave had an interesting point about wine. If the wine does not pair well with the food, oftentimes customers will attribute the poor dining experience with bad food, not necessarily bad wine. Restaurants do themselves a huge disservice allowing customers to order expensive wines that may not necessarily pair well with the food.

This next course may corroborate that idea.

This course (both food + wine) were Bryan's favorites of the evening. It must have been a fantastic pairing of two great things.

The chicken was perfectly cooked - soft, juicy, and very flavorful. It went well with the sweet butternut squash puree and the spring fiddleheads.

The wine paired with this course, Central Coast Blend 175, was very drinkable, with lots of fruit. It was rich and full of flavors, yet not too tannic at the same time. It's a mixture of Cabernet and Zinfandel grapes, aged in a mix of American and French oak barrels (our thoughts on American vs. French Oak barrels).

Dave calls this the wine that "gets Cab drinkers to drink Syrah" and "gradually introduces the Cab drinker to the 'better' wine."

3. Use old world European techniques

Dave's story about how he learned the old European wine techniques made us laugh. Apparently, whenever he met one of these newer European winemakers, he would tell them,

"your wines are great. What are you doing differently from the way your grandfather used to do it?"

The young winemaker would then proceed to explain how his grandfather used to make wine, and how he's improved upon the process by incorporating all these new, innovative technologies and techniques.

Dave would then write down the grandfather's techniques and ignore the winemaker's newer ways.

Rooibos Tea marinated Pennsylvania Duck Breast
Bing Cherries, Fennel, Soy Beans, Forbidden Black Rice
Paso Robles Cabernet Sauvignon

At this point I was a bit stuffed with all the meat courses we were having. But alas, the food must pair with the wine, so we soldiered on.

For the next course, we enjoyed a gorgeous rooibos tea-marinated duck breast. I loved the cherry sauce in this dish, which I thought went really well with the duck. The soybean fennel "succotash" was simple but delicious. The black rice was light but nice and creamy, with an excellent al dente texture. Even though I don't love duck, this may have been my favorite course of the evening.

The wine had a wonderful nose and have deep, deep fruit flavors. The small addition of Merlot in this blend gets rid of chalkiness of the wine so it goes better with food.

It's illegal to add refined sugar (sucrose) to wines, although many winemakers get away with adding concentrated grape extract (glucose) instead. Dave increases the sweetness in his wines by mixing in other sweeter wines. In this case, he adds a touch of Viognier to the Cabernet.

Toffee Chestnut cake
Milk Jam, Mead Jelly, Orange, Sheep's Milk Frozen Yogurt
Late Harvest Viognier

We finally ended with a lovely toffee chestnut cake. I loved the brightness of the sheep's milk frozen yogurt, which was nice and tart. The cake was spongy, moist, and full of rich, caramel flavors. It went really well with the tartness of the dessert wine, which was accentuated when paired with the dessert.

Epilogue
Overall, I had a lovely evening learning way more about wine than I ever thought I would - all while enjoying excellent food paired with nice wines. Thank you so much,Bridlewood, Harvest, and Dave for giving me this unique opportunity to learn just a little bit more about the fascinating world behind winemaking.

Disclaimer - I did not pay for this meal

Harvest
44 Brattle St
Cambridge, MA 02138

Spontaneous Weekend Trip to Rome

2012-05-15T08:06:00.002-05:00

It's been over 10 years.

Bryan and I took a semi-spontaneous weekend trip to Rome this past weekend. Spontaneous because we tacked it onto a business trip I had in England, and frankly, with our busy schedules, we hadn't expected to actually be able to go.

But somehow, surprisingly, the dates worked out, schedules opened up, and . . . . we just decided to go for it.

Jen & Bryan in Rome September 2001

Rome is special because we spent our honeymoon there. In September of 2001 (right before the attacks actually, but I'll save that whole crazy story of being stuck in Europe during 9/11 for another post), we visited Rome, Florence, and Venice.

Revisiting (and enjoying cappuccinos) at the hotel we stayed at 10 years ago

It was really special going back. We visited old haunts, discovered new ones, and (of course), sampled tons and tons of incredible food.

Here's a sneak preview of some food we had, to be explored more in future posts, of course!

Beautiful buffalo mozzarella with roasted cherry tomatoes from our favorite restaurant this trip in Rome.

Prosciutto made from "black pork" (Berkeshire pork / kurobuta) from that same favorite restaurant. This was amongst the best prosciutto we'd ever had.

Gorgeous artisanal pastas at markets near Piazza Navona.

An antipasto of grilled vegetables and buffalo mozzarella cheese.

A simple but lovely gnocchi with all'Amatriciana (guanciale + tomato sauce).

Fantastic Roman-style Magherita pizza with a super paper-thin crust.

A tasting of crudo (raw seafood) from our only Michelin star experience in Rome.

According to Bryan, the best pasta carbonara he's ever had.

A delicious seafood entree from a lovely, romantic restaurant near Piazza Navona.

Said to have one of the best Sicilian-style cannolis, we had to stop and try a bite.

Similarly, I had to try at least one of the famous gelato places near the Pantheon. Can't wait to share with you more about my journey in (hopefully soon) upcoming posts.

Ciao . . .

--------------------
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Cilantro Foam

2012-05-09T18:45:00.002-05:00

Finally, I blended it with a hand blender and served on top of steak.

The foam worked out OK, although it was not as fine as the ones I have seen at restaurants. I'm not sure if it's because of the nature of my little hand blender, or whether it's because a different additive (such as lechitin) would have worked better.

I guess as I continue to learn more I will share about it! For now, this method works OK. The foam lasts about 1-2 hours, which should be fine for a dinner party. You can always create the liquid first and then just whip it up right before guests arrive.

Enjoy!

Cilantro Foam
Source: Feast

Ingredients
1 cup water
¾ cup chopped cilantro
1 pkg gelatin powder (2 tsp)
1 Tbsp cold water

Boil water in a small saucepan. Remove from heat and pour over chopped cilantro and let sit for 15 minutes. Blend the cilantro-water mixture and pour over cheesecloth to filter out the solids. Add cold water to the gelatin package and let sit for 5 minutes. Add cilantro liquid mixture to the gelatin mixture. Whip the mixture with an immersion blender (or wire whisk!) until a foam has formed. Refrigerate, uncovered, until ready to use.

The foam will stay set for a couple hours, but will eventually start to deflate. It's best to make it soon after you plan on serving it.

Enjoy!

Vanilla Bean Panna Cotta with Matcha Caviar

2012-05-07T12:01:00.000-05:00

This post is part of a larger series devoted to a Molecular Gastronomy focused meal I made: Molecular Gastronomy with an Asian Twist. Other posts in this series include Spherification (making "caviar", Pho Inspired Grilled Steak with Mint, Cilantro, and Lime, Sweet Basil Pesto with Rice Noodles, and Bok Choy Agar Noodles

I'll never forget the first panna cotta I ever had.

Bryan and I were celebrating some sort of special occasion at Craigie Street Bistro (now Craigie on Main). It was one of the first multi-course tasting menus we had ever tried, so everything was new and exciting.

Near the end of the meal, the server brought us out two little cups of panna cotta. Mine was infused with Rooibos and it was fantastic. Creamy, fragrant, and oh-so-rich, I fell in love with this Italian version of custard.

For years I thought it was a fancy dessert, sophisticated and smart, difficult to make well.

I finally tried making panna cotta this past weekend and was floored by how easy it was.

It's really nothing more than a cream-based "jello". Despite the simplicity, I love the flexibility that you have in designing new flavors.

This is all you have to do. Heat up cream in a saucepan. If you want to infuse another flavor into the cream, this is the time to do it. I added vanilla beans, but you can add anything, such as tea leaves, matcha powder, or even spices!

In a separate bowl, heat up gelatin in water and then pour the gelatin mixture into the cream mixture. Pour the combined mixture into little bowls, refrigerate, and serve!

So easy!

Panna Cotta
3 cups cream (mixture of heavy cream and half & half)
1/3 cup sugar
1/2 vanilla bean, halved
1 package (2 tsp) gelatin

Heat cream and sugar in a small saucepan over low heat. Remove pan from heat and scrape in vanilla beans. Steep the bean pods for about 15-20 minutes before removing the pods. While steeping, add about 3 tablespoons of water to the gelatin and let sit, agitating slightly until it dissolves. You can optionally add a bit of heat to quicken this process. Combine the two pots, stir, and pour into little cups. Refrigerate for at least 4 hours.

Serve! (optionally with matcha spheres)

Bok Choy Agar Noodles

2012-05-05T21:46:00.003-05:00

This post is part of a larger series devoted to a Molecular Gastronomy focused meal I made: Molecular Gastronomy with an Asian Twist. Other posts in this series include Spherification (making "caviar", Pho Inspired Grilled Steak with Mint, Cilantro, and Lime, and Sweet Basil Pesto with Rice Noodles

Playing with molecular gastronomy is fun, although things can get a bit wacky at times.

Like these crazy bok choy "noodles," for example.

Admittedly, making my own "caviar" using spherification was by far the "nerdiest" thing I did this past weekend. Nevertheless, I would give these green noodles a close second.

Here's the back story. As part of my original proposal to Foodbuzz for this Foodbuzz 24, 24 meal, I had promised to make bok choy "noodles" as part of a larger, molecular interpretation of a deconstructed Taiwanese beef noodle soup.

Funny thing is, I really had no idea how I was going to make these. I find that I often like to invent absurd and overly ambitious meals in my head, sometimes promising to deliver them without really thinking things through.

It bites me back sometimes when my fantastic proposals actually get accepted and I have to deliver.

Thankfully, the internet is full of solutions, and my friends had given me a nice, big bag of fun powders to try.

At the end of the day, under the pressure of time, I was actually able to deliver a meal that came surprisingly close to my original proposal.

This "deconstructed Taiwanese beef noodle soup" begins with the baby bok choy, a common vegetable used as the "green" part of a beef noodle soup. I decided to mix up the shapes and flavors, making the bok choy into a noodle instead.

I blended up a couple small stalks of bok choy and a small shallot in some dashi broth in the blender.

Heat up the bok choy "soup" with some agar agar, a red algae based gelatin.

Pour out the solution into appropriately-shaped containers. Since I was trying to make noodles, I tried to put them into square containers. Let set at room temperature or in the refrigerator for at least an hour.

Remove from containers, and slice!

Though they look sort of like noodles, the texture is pretty different. It's kind of soft, breaks easily, and (frankly), isn't nearly as good as a real wheat-based noodle.

I think this recipe works better for making interesting vegetable "pates" or "terrines."

Nevertheless, it's a cool way to make some interesting, gluten-free noodles which incorporate any flavor you might want. I'm sure this would work with all sorts of other vegetables, such as arugula, basil, spinach, or maybe even carrots!

Bok Choy Agar "Noodles"
Ingredients
7 oz bok choy
1 small shallot
3.2g agar agar powder
1/4 cup broth (I used dashi)
salt to taste
dash of sugar

Blend together bok choy, shallot and broth together until a fine puree forms. Heat 200g of the bok choy liquid with agar agar until boiling and agar agar is dissolved. It will become much thicker. Pour into a level, square surface up to about 1/2 inch thick and let cool for at least 1 hour.

Slice up into "noodles" and serve.

Giveaway! 2 tickets to Coppa brunch this Sunday

2012-05-05T15:27:00.000-05:00

Cod from Ken Oringer's restaurant Clio

Update!

Congratulations to A.M. who won the giveaway!

A.M. said:

this sounds ah-mazing. I want to go so badly. i am drooling over the pictures of this place

Thanks all for playing!

Last minute giveaway!

Are you free this Sunday May 6th 11AM - 1PM?

Do you want 2 tickets to a brunch at Coppa, cooked by Chefs Ken Oringer & Jamie Bissonnette?

It's crazy - you'll also get the following:

a free Keurig® Single Cup brewing system and a 12-ct box of Barista Prima Coffeehouse® coffee K-Cup® packs (to be shipped after event to all event attendees, value $190)
Bottomless Fantinel Prosecco
European-inspired brunch cocktails
Uber transportation to and from event (yes they will pick you up at home, bring you there, and then drive you home)
Postagram photo and postcard
Live music performed by local musicians affiliated with Zumix

Sounds pretty fantastic. I wish I could go, but I'll be at church and then serving at the Boston Rescue Mission Sunday afternoon.

Comment below (say anything! maybe tell me about yourself. I'd love to get to know my readers) and I'll do the drawing TONIGHT at midnight.

Jen

I won! Best Restaurant & Dining Coverage

2012-05-04T01:20:00.000-05:00

I have some amazing news to share.

I'm still in shock, actually.

You won't believe this but . . . I won! Saveur's Best Food Blog Award for Best Restaurant / Dining Coverage.

It's a bit surreal, actually.

Winner was chosen by votes, so obviously I could not have done this without all your votes. I am floored at the amount of support that I received. I seriously did not expect to win this at all.

Thank you.

Seriously, thank you so much.

I really appreciate those of you who nominated me, voted for me, and shared about my blog to your friends. I'll continue to work my hardest to provide the best content I can create.

It is a tremendous honor to be recognized by one of the most respected food magazines out there.

Definitely check out the rest of the nominees - no doubt an incredibly talented and impressive bunch.

Snap Food
Kevin Eats
The Ulterior Epicure
Judging Your Breakfast
Paris Patisseries

Just for fun . .

Sweet Basil Pesto with Rice Noodles

2012-05-04T00:38:00.000-05:00

This post is part of a larger series devoted to a Molecular Gastronomy focused meal I made: Molecular Gastronomy with an Asian Twist. Other posts in this series include Spherification (making "caviar" and Pho Inspired Grilled Steak with Mint, Cilantro, and Lime

This Asian pesto recipe I'm about to show you is so ridiculously easy, I was skeptical about whether it would actually taste that good.

It's sort of like normal pesto, but with a few major changes.

First, it's made with sweet basil (also known as Asian basil or Thai basil), which I think is more floral and a bit sweeter than Italian basil.

Second, since it's Asian, there's no pine nuts nor Parmesan cheese. In fact, it's just fresh garlic, sweet basil, oil, and salt.

It's so easy, yet the pungent garlic and the aromatic sweet basil make a fantastic combination. I tossed this with some simple pho noodles and I was hooked.

Sweet basil is a bit harder to find. I don't think I've ever seen it at a local Western supermarket. Asian markets are the best place to find it.

Outside of markets, I see sweet basil most often at Vietnamese restaurants, where they give you a whole pile of it to eat with your pho. Taiwanese people will also use it in dishes like three-cup chicken, and it shows up all over the place in Thai cuisine.

I made this sauce as part of a larger molecular gastronomy meal this past weekend.

I hate to say this, but since I was in such a hurry when creating this sauce, I didn't measure anything and just threw it all together.

Amazingly, it turned out great! I really think pesto is a very, very forgiving recipe. How can you go wrong when you blend a gorgeous herb with deliciously strong, fresh garlic cloves?

On the side, I boiled some traditional pho noodles, but I think this pesto would work with any sort of noodle.

Toss together with the pesto and serve!

Thai Basil Pesto
1 large bunch of Asian basil leaves (stems removed)
4 cloves garlic
1/4 cup oil
1 tsp salt (or to taste)

Again, this is a very, very flexible recipe. I didn't measure anything, yet it turned out great. I slowly added salt bit by bit until I thought the flavor was about right. Definitely play it by ear, and give yourself the opportunity to add extra elements to adjust the flavor.

Combine basil leaves, garlic, and oil in a food processor and pulse until completely pulverized. Add salt to taste. Toss with pho noodles.

Optionally serve with the other half of my dish, "Pho-inspired Grilled Steak with Mint, Cilantro, and Lime".

Enjoy!

"Pho" inspired Grilled Steak with Mint, Cilantro, and Lime

2012-05-02T21:46:00.000-05:00

This post is part of a larger series devoted to a Molecular Gastronomy focused meal I made: Molecular Gastronomy with an Asian Twist. Other posts in this series include Spherification (making "caviar".

I am really starting to think that Southeast Asian cuisine is one of my favorites in the world.

I'm addicted to the fragrant and exotic herbs and spices typically used in the cuisine, From floral lemongrass and herbaceous Thai basil to the intensity of fish sauce and Sriracha sauce - I love it all.

This steak recipe incorporates many Southeast Asian flavors, adding an intense but flavorful kick to an otherwise mundane grilled steak recipe.

I tried it with skirt steak the first time, which worked out OK, but I may recommend trying a nicer cut, such as flank steak, if you want to avoid the chewier, stringier texture of skirt steak.

The elements of this dish are simple: a nice piece of steak, Southeast Asian herbs (mint, cilantro, shallots or onions), and chili flakes (to add some heat!).

Mix together all these chopped herbs.

Add soy sauce, fish sauce, lime juice, and the meat and mix it all together. If you are using a traditional grill, put all this in a Ziploc bag and let it marinate for at least 1 hour, if not longer (preferably overnight).

In my case, I sealed it up in a vacuum bag and cooked it sous vide for 3 hours.

Simply grill according to the doneness you prefer (I highly recommend medium rare), and serve! This tastes great over salads, on top of noodles, or just on its own.

"Pho" Inspired Grilled Steak
Adapted from Food & Wine
1/2 cup soy sauce
1 teaspoons freshly ground pepper
1 pound steak (I used skirt steak)
1 1/2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
1 tablespoons Asian fish sauce
1/2 tablespoon crushed red pepper
1/4 teaspoon sugar
1 medium shallot, thinly sliced
1/4 cup mint leaves, finely chopped
1/4 cup cilantro leaves, finely chopped

Sous vide
Combine in a vacuum seal bag with steak and cook sous vide at 125° F for 3 hours. Remove from bag, dry the meat, and quickly sear on the grill just enough to get a nice sear. Serve immediately (sous vide steaks do not need to rest - they are already perfectly cooked inside!)

For more details about the sous vide method for cooking steaks, click here.

Grilling
Combine all ingredients in a Ziploc bag and marinated for at least 2 hours, preferably overnight. Before grilling, sprinkle kosher salt and pepper all over the steak.

If skirt steak, grill 2-3 minutes a side for a medium to medium rare steak. If a 2-lb flank steak (the usual size of a whole flank steak), grill 4-6 minutes on each side. Let rest, covered in foil, 10 minutes before slicing (against the grain!) and serving.

*note - whole flank steaks are usually 2 lbs, so just double the recipe above.

Pan-sear
For a perfect steak, use the oven to pan method described here.

Enjoy! Optionally pair with spherified Sriracha and hoisin sauce!

Spherification (Making "Caviar")

2012-05-01T08:59:00.003-05:00

This post is part of a larger series devoted to a Molecular Gastronomy focused meal I made: Molecular Gastronomy with an Asian Twist

Spherification is a modern molecular gastronomy technique that was first invented at El Bulli by Ferran Adria in 2003. While visiting a company called Griffith España, Adria and his team discovered a cool Mexican sauce with little spheres floating inside. They learned from the company sodium alginate was the key ingredient used to make these spheres.

Adria and his team got some samples of the ingredient from Griffith España and started experimenting on their own. Soon they were making all different kinds of spheres with all sorts of liquids.

Armed with sodium alginate and calcium chloride, I set out to try my own hand at making some spheres.

There are two key kinds of spherification techniques, each with its own pluses and minuses. If you're short on time (e.g., if you have only one day of prep time), the Basic Spherification technique is your only option. This technique is easier and is great for making small caviar-like balls. The biggest negative is that once the spheres form, the jellification process does not stop. This means the spheres need to be served immediately. Otherwise, over time, the balls will cease to be filled with liquid, instead becoming solid, gelatinous balls. Furthermore, this method does not work as well for acidic liquids.

Reverse Spherification is a more complicated technique which requires a few days advance preparation. Instead of mixing your "stuff" with sodium alginate and adding to a calcium chloride bath, you add your "stuff" to a sodium alginate bath (thus reverse spherification). The biggest benefit is that the jellification process stops upon formation of the balls (the gel is only the outer shell, not mixed into the inner liquid), which means you can store the caviar for longer periods of time before serving.

Additionally, this method is not as sensitive to acidic liquids, giving you much more freedom in the types of pearls you can make (virtually anything!). The biggest downside is that you had to let the sodium alginate bath rest for 24-28 hours (to remove air bubbles) before you can use it.

Today I will only be describing the basic spherification technique.

The first step in making spheres is the dissolution of sodium alginate in water. Sodium alginate is not very soluble in water, so it will taking plenty of agitation in order to get it to dissolve. I used an immersion blender and probably stood there for a good 5-10 minutes before the solid completely dissolved.

Once in solution, bring the mixture to a boil over high heat. When it reaches a boil, remove from heat and let cool to room temperature.

Meanwhile, in a separate bowl, dissolve the calcium chloride in water (this is quite easily done).

Now is the fun part! You have your two basic starting materials and the rest is up to your creativity. Essentially, mix the sodium alginate with whatever liquid you want at a roughly 2:3 ratio v/v (liquid: sodium alginate solution). You will need to experiment a bit to get the right ratio. Certain liquids were more viscous than others and I had a harder time forming good spheres sometimes.

Since I was mainly experimenting, I would just use a spoon and mix a small volume (like 3 mL) of a liquid (e.g., wine, juice, or sauce) with a slightly smaller volume (like 2 mL) of the sodium alginate solution. I would then use the syringe to suck up the liquid and slowly drip my mixture calcium chloride bath.

It was like magic! Instead of dispersing, the drips would solidify into little bubbles. It was so pretty.

Ha ha, I know these matcha balls kind of look like peas. That's what happens if you use a pretty thick liquid on the inside (matcha powder does not dissolve easily in water!)

I played around and made all sorts of different kind of spheres.

Typically, the less viscous the liquid, the better the shape of the spheres.

Isn't this gorgeous? I made some spheres out of red wine.

Notes on Spherification
Certain types of liquids don't work super well with this recipe. For example, if your liquid is too acidic, it won't form proper balls. One way to address this is to add sodium citrate to your sodium alginate solution to bring down the acidity of your liquid. I haven't personally tried this, but apparently sodium citrate is a bit tart and salty, so adding a bit too much could affect the flavor of your final product.

We did notice that really complex flavors were significantly affected by the chemical reactions involved. Our spherified red wine (Chateau Le Tour Carnet) lost its characteristic deep tannins and instead became much more fruity and light. The Cabernet part of the blend seemed to disappear while the Merlot portion became more pronounced.

Spherified scotch whisky lost a lot of its sweet and floral notes yet maintained a strong "peaty" characteristic.

My guess is that fruity, less complex wines and drinks in general would work really well with this technique.

Enjoy!

Spherification

Sodium Alginate Bath
3g sodium alginate
325g water

Calcium Chloride Bath
5g calcium chloride
1000g (1 L) water

Syringe
liquid of choice (200 mL)

Dissolve sodium alginate in water, using an immersion blender to get the powder in solution (could take 5-10 minutes). In a pot, bring the solution to a boil and then let cool to room temperature. In a separate bowl, dissolve the calcium chloride in water.

In a small bowl, mix together your liquid of choice with the sodium alginate solution in a roughly 2:3 v/v ratio (liquid of choice: sodium alginate solution). Using a pipette or syringe, gently squeeze the liquid out drop by drop into the calcium chloride bath. Small spheres will form. Let the spheres "cook" for about 1 minute before removing them from the bath using a slotted spoon. Rinse with water before serving.

Serve immediately.

Note: you can continue to reuse the calcium chloride bath as you mix together portions of the sodium alginate bath with various different kinds of liquids. Have fun!

Foodbuzz 24, 24: Molecular Gastronomy with an Asian Twist

2012-04-30T00:41:00.001-05:00

I never thought I'd say this.

But, I actually miss the lab.

It's been years since I've touched a syringe, weighed out powders, or set up chemical reactions. Before law school, I worked for years as a synthetic research chemist making new molecules that could potentially become medicines. There was always a sense of excitement in trying to make something that had never been done before, hoping to find the next breakthrough.

This past weekend, the inner chemist in me finally got a chance to play.

Friends of mine gave me a molecular gastronomy set from Artistre for my birthday last fall. I can't believe it's taken me this long, but I finally cracked open my multiple bags of powders and began experimenting this weekend.

I had so much fun! All afternoon I read voraciously on the science behind techniques such as spherification, gels, and foams. I set up several "reactions", "purified" end products, and ran many test experiments.

The final result? A four-course meal consisting of various classic Asian dishes, re-interpreted with molecular gastronomy.

Course 1: Pho + Sauce

Pho is a traditional Vietnamese noodle soup that consists of an aromatic broth, meat (usually beef or chicken), and rice noodles. It is usually served with bean sprouts, Asian basil, mint, and fresh lime wedges as accompaniments on the side. Additionally, a pho meal would be incomplete without the two fundamental sauces: Sriracha (a spicy chili sauce) and hoisin (a sweet bean sauce).

My modern, "molecular" interpretation of this dish took all of the elements from traditional pho but presented them in vastly different ways.

Part 1: "Pho"

Lime, mint, and cilantro marinated skirt steak over Pho rice noodles tossed in an Asian basil pesto

I marinated skirt steak in lime, mint, cilantro, and chili peppers, all classic flavors associated with pho.

I also added soy sauce and fish sauce to round out the flavors of the marinade. For a modern twist, I cooked this steak sous-vide for about three hours before quickly searing the steak on a hot grill.

The end result was absolutely delicious, juicy and full of those wonderfully fragrant Southeast Asian flavors.

Pesto

For the pesto, I combined Asian basil, garlic, salt, and oil in a food processor. I tossed the pesto with traditional rice noodles used in pho. The resultant pesto is aromatic, herbaceous, and peppery.

Part 2: Sauce

Typically at a Vietnamese restaurant, the tables will already be set with a container full of chopsticks, a napkin dispenser, and several bottles of sauces. Classic sauces you see with pho include a sweet, dark bean sauce (hoisin sauce) and a red hot spicy sauce (Sriracha - yes the famous one with a rooster on it).

I used a technique called spherification to make balls of hoisin sauce, cilantro essence, and Sriracha sauce. Spherification involves mixing your "juice" or "sauce" of choice with Sodium Alginate and then "pipetting" out small bubbles into a basic Calcium Chloride bath. You can then use your nifty hot pot scooper to gently fish out the balls, which you rinse with water before serving.

Putting It All Together

Using a mold (we used a cookie cutter kind of like this), layer the pesto noodles and top with slices of grilled steak. Remove the mold. Add the three different flavored "caviars" on the other side.

Course 2: Deconstructed Taiwanese Beef Noodle Soup

I've made traditional Taiwanese beef noodle soup before (yes, I even hand-pulled the noodles). A traditional Taiwanese beef noodle soup is made by stewing beef shank in a rich soy-based broth infused with spices such as star anise, hot bean paste, and chili sauce. This gorgeous beef "stew" is served with noodles and vegetables (for example, bok choy).

Bok Choy "Noodles"

For this meal, I decided to be a bit more creative with the presentation. Instead of traditional noodles, I decided to take the bok choy element of the dish and make that into noodles instead.

I blended bok choy, dashi broth, and shallots into a puree, and then cooked it with agar agar and some salt.

It only took about an hour at room temperature before they set.

Finally, I cut them into "noodles" and served them alongside the other two elements.

Cilantro Foam

Cilantro is one of Bryan's favorite herbs, and it's often served as a garnish for beef noodle soup. Foams have become popular in the molecular world because they can infuse the pure essence of a flavor without dilution by anything else, except air.

I made a foam by first steeping cilantro in hot water before blending the mixture to create a cilantro liquid. I then added gelatin powder + water to the liquid (as a stabilizing agent) before incorporating air into the liquid with my favorite immersion blender.

This foam can stay intact in the refrigerator for a couple hours, although eventually it starts losing some structure.

I used the foam as a topping for the steak, but you can use it in all sorts of different applications.

Beef Soup "Caviar"

I made normal beef noodle soup and spherified the broth using the same spherification method described above.

As an alternate preparation, you can just enjoy a simple bowl of the spicy beef soup with the bok choy noodles.

Put it all together

Course 3: Vanilla Bean Panna Cotta with Matcha Spheres

Although the use of gelatin does not seem nearly as novel as some of these more modern methods, I still think of using gelatin as a form of rudimentary molecular gastronomy. After all, you're still adding a powder to some food and changing its structure, right?

Panna Cotta is a classic Italian dessert that uses gelatin instead of eggs to create a sort of "custard" from cream.

Panna Cotta is so easy to make (it's just like jello but with cream!) yet easily impresses guests because it looks so elegant and tastes so darn delicious. You can infuse any sort of creative flavors you want into the cream + gelatin mixture (for example, I used fresh vanilla beans). Pour the creamy liquid into cups (like tea and coffee cups) and let cool overnight in the refrigerator.

To add both an Asian and molecular twist, I made matcha spheres using the same spherification method described above. Put a few matcha pearls on top of the panna cotta and enjoy with a nice sauterne.

Course 4: After Dinner Drinks

Just for fun, we tried spherifying a few wines and spirits to see how they would taste. Surprisingly, the chemical reactions involved in spherification affect different types of drinks differently. Spherified scotch whisky lost a lot of its sweet and floral notes yet maintained a strong "peaty" characteristic.

Spherified Chateau La Tour Carnet

Spherified red wine, on the other hand, lost its deep tannins and instead became much more fruity and light. The Cabernet part of this blend seemed to disappear while the Merlot portion became more pronounced.

Epilogue

Jen on her last day of work as a chemist

It was a wild and fun weekend, full of interesting challenges and surprises. In many ways, working in my kitchen "lab" this weekend reminded me a lot of my past life in the lab. I weighed out powders; I stirred interesting liquids; I tested a variety of "conditions;" and I wrote copious notes.

However, there was one huge difference.

Never in the chemistry lab could I ever taste my final product.

That's priceless.

Please note that I was not able to put all of the recipes for all of these cool dishes into this one post (it would have been way to unwieldy). I plan on posting individual recipes for most of these dishes this coming week, so stay tuned!

Thanks Foodbuzz for sponsoring this meal as part of Foodbuzz 24, 24!

Roasted Beet Salad with Feta and Aged Balsamic

2012-04-26T23:11:00.002-05:00

Sometimes, you really don't need much cooking skills to make a really fantastic dish.

I swear, if you have access to high quality ingredients, you're most of the way there. Really good ingredients naturally supply a ton of flavor and nutrients. The rest is simple. Just mix good ingredients together.

So easy.

And so, so good.

I had a seriously good beet salad the other day at home, and it was ridiculously easy to make.

In the past, I've always roasted my red beets whole, covered in foil in the oven. This method is great if you have tons of time and don't feel like handling the beets. Then I discovered the glorious oven-roasted golden beets, made through a method that caramelizes the beets beautifully in the oven.

Just recently, because I was short on time, (and because I had bought these monstrously huge beets that would have taken hours to roast whole), I decided to chop them up while raw and roast the pieces in the oven with just a splash of olive oil, salt, and pepper.

It worked out great. I cut my roasting time in half, and I found yet another way to prepare this versatile vegetable. Yes, I did have to deal with having slightly pink fingers (easily addressed with a pair of gloves), but the time saved was well worth it.

I tossed the roasted beets with high quality imported feta cheese and drizzled them with a beautiful aged balsamic vinegar.

What a gorgeous combination of flavors. It was healthy, flavorful, and simply delicious.

I can't wait to buy my next batch of beets.

Oven Roasted Beet Salad with Feta and Aged Balsamic
serves 4-6 as an appetizer

2-3 whole beets, cut up into similar pieces (about 3-4 cups worth)
1 tablespoon of olive oil
salt and pepper to taste (about 1/2 teaspoon of each?)
1-2 oz feta cheese (or to taste)
1-2 tsp aged balsamic (or to taste)

Preheat oven to 400 °F. Toss the beets with the olive oil, salt, and pepper. Roast for about 25 minutes.

A few notes:

It's hard to write a precise recipe for this salad because so much of it is subjective. Some people like lots of cheese, others don't. Similarly, the amount of balsamic vinegar you add will really depend on the flavor of the particular one you bought. Slightly sweet balsamic vinegars work better for this salad. You could try reducing cheaper balsamic vinegar down with a bit of sugar.

I think quality of ingredients can make a huge difference in whether this salad is just ordinary or whether it pops. I used a more expensive, imported Greek feta cheese and a really nice 10-year aged balsamic vinegar that I purchased at Il Buco (post coming soon!) in New York City. It was fantastic, and I think it made a huge difference in the dish as well.

Enjoy!

Etoile (Chandon Winery)

2012-04-25T09:47:00.000-05:00

This is part 4 of the Napa Valley Adventures series. Other posts in this series: Ad Hoc, Bottega Ristorante, and Joseph Phelps Winery

There aren't that many places in Napa County where you can sit on the grounds of a winery and dine at a first rate restaurant.

Why is that?

Napa County actually has a law that prohibits restaurants inside of wineries. Although many wineries do offer small bites of food during their wine tastings, full fledged restaurants are not allowed. Etoile, a one-star Michelin restaurant nestled right in the middle of Domain Chandon Winery, was lucky enough to be grandfathered in when this law took effect.

As a result, a meal at Etoile is unique in a lot of ways.

You can visit the winery in the morning, and then walk straight into the restaurant for lunch. The dishes are tightly integrated with the wines at Domain Chandon, and the views of the vineyard from the restaurant are gorgeous.

Domaine Chandon is a super convenient winery to visit if you're staying in Yountville (home of The French Laundry, Ad Hoc, Redd, and Bouchon), because it's right on the other side of St. Helena Highway from the town center of Yountville.

I love, love, love walking, and I came up with the brilliant idea of walking to the winery from our hotel. At first Bryan wasn't thrilled with the idea, but after seeing how close it was on a map, he agreed to try it. It took about 15 minutes and worked out great. The walk was crisp, refreshing, and beautiful. The path isn't necessarily designed for pedestrians (you do walk up this looooong "driveway" to the winery), but it's totally safe and doable. There is a definitely a clear pedestrian and bike route for crossing to the other side of St. Helena Highway.

Domain Chandon was the first French owned winery in Napa Valley to produce sparkling wines. Moet and Chandon (yes, the famous champagne company) came to Napa Valley in 1973 to start Domain Chandon.

Although Domain Chandon is most known for its sparkling wines, the winery also makes pinot noir, pinot meunier, and even cabernet sauvignon! Most of these other wines are made on a smaller scale, and many of them are not available outside of the winery and the wine club.

They also have several types of sparkling wines, including the top of the line étoile Tête de Cuvée, which has spent seven years aging on the lees (yeast).

Bryan and I took a fun little basic tour at 11AM ($12) right before our 12PM lunch reservation at Etoile. We walked through various barrel rooms and learn interesting facts about Chandon. We tried a barrel tasting of a pinot meunier, which tasted young, a bit harsh, and definitely not quite ready.

After the tour ended at 11:30AM, we spent about 30 minutes tasting a few Chandon wines (you can purchase individual "splashes","pours", or you can opt for a flight instead). We even tried a bottled version of the same pinot meunier, which tasted much better! Our favorite was (not surprisingly), the étoile Tête de Cuvée, which was complex, creamy, and had much more character than the other ones we tried. Of course, it also retails for $100 ($80 for club members).

The dining room at Etoile is gorgeous, with large windows facing out into the winery. I especially loved coming at lunch because the entire dining room was bright, basking in the sunlight from the outside.

I began with the Romaine Heart Soup ($16), a velvety, gorgeously green soup poured over fried tempura oyster, braised bacon, onion jam, and roasted purple artichokes.

The soup was fantastic - it was intensely flavorful (of romaine!) yet light and healthy at the same time. I loved how the strong umami from the oyster, bacon, onion jam, and roasted artichokes complemented the grassy notes from the romaine heart soup.

Bryan started with the Dungeness Crab ($20), which was also very, very good. The tender crab meat came with salt roasted radish, young fennel, sorrel, and pickled Meyer lemon. I loved the variety of seasonal vegetables represented on the plate. Ah, imagine living in Napa Valley where you could get this produce every day.

Wine pairing: Chandon Brut Classic

For my main entree, I tried the Seared Dayboat Scallops ($33), which were excellent. They were perfectly seared and served with sweetbread, melted endive, treviso, and a deep, rich lobster veal sauce.

Wine pairing: Newton, "Unfiltered," Chardonnay, Napa County, 2007
Finally, Bryan (who loves homemade fettucini and sea urchin) not surprisingly chose to get the Sea Urchin Fetuccini, ($30) which came with an incredibly artful display of heirloom radishes, Meyer lemon, miners lettuce, and fennel all along the side of the dish.

Wine pairing: Poet's Leap Riesling, Columbia Valley, Washington, 2009

Isn't that an impressive display of vegetables? They are so pretty.

Caramelized Pear Mille-Feuille ($11) made with brandied butterscotch , almond toffee, and a candied peach was fantastic and highly recommended by the server.

Wine Pairing: La Spinette Moscato d'Asti Italy 2010

Thoughts
We had a great time at Etoile. We went off-season during lunch on a random Monday, so it was not very crowded at all. I assume that during the summer months, especially on weekends, it may be much harder to get a reservation.

The food was all very well designed and executed - no real misses. It wasn't the most creative or inventive menu I've ever seen, but everything was cooked with great skill.

In some ways, I felt like I was eating really, really high-end spa food. Everything was so fresh and delicious yet felt really healthy at the same time. I like feeling that way when I eat at a restaurant. I wish more restaurants made me feel good and satisfied in a healthy sort of way when I leave (as opposed to feeling gross from being overly stuffed or unbalanced somehow!).

The ambiance is formal and a bit quiet, though the service is very warm and friendly. The wine list is so big that it's actually housed in an iPad. If you buy wine at the wine shop outside and you want to drink it in the restaurant, you still have to pay a corkage fee.

Overall, if you plan on visiting Domain Chandon anyway, this is a convenient and great option for lunch. If you actually do decide to join their wine club, you get a discount at the restaurant the day you dine there. We initially signed up for the wine club (tempted by the 50% off all purchase that day) but then canceled when we found out the discount did not apply to the étoile Tête de Cuvée, our favorite (you only get 20% off for that one).

Etoile
1 California Drive
Yountville, CA 94599

Joseph Phelps Winery

2012-04-24T08:07:00.000-05:00

This is part 3 of the Napa Valley Adventures series. Other posts in this series: Ad Hoc and Bottega Ristorante

Imagine having a chance to play winemaker for an afternoon.

A chance to sit in your own "wine lab" and experiment, tasting individual flavor components from single origin wines, and then mixing them according to your preference.

Better yet, imagine you were using the same components used to make the winery's own very special, very expensive signature wine.

The Joseph Phelps Winery in Napa Valley holds many different kinds of interesting wine classes and workshops. The inner chemist in me was drawn to this "Make Your Own Insignia Blend" class because it looked so much more interesting than a basic tour. Better yet, we would be able to taste elements of the wine that we'd never be able to taste anywhere else.

The class is held inside their main tasting room. As soon as you enter, you see that each place setting already contains six glasses full of small amounts of red wine.

These are the individual components of the Insignia, the signature wine that Joseph Phelps Winery makes. From left to right, we tasted the following components, each from a single vineyard:

2008 Merlot
Oak Knoll District
Napa Valley

2008 Cabernet Sauvignon
St. Helena Ranch
St. Helena (Napa Valley)

2008 Cabernet Sauvignon
Suscol Ranch
Napa Valley

2008 Cabernet Sauvignon
Las Rocas & Barboza Ranches
Stags Leap District (Napa Valley)

2008 Cabernet Sauvignon
Banca Dorada Ranch
Rutherford (Napa Valley)

2008 Petit Verdot
St. Helena Ranch
St. Helena (Napa Valley)

The individual components are never sold to the public. Instead, they are blended together to make the signature Joseph Phelps Insignia, which contains 89% Cabernet Sauvignon, 7% Petit Verdot, and 4% Merlot. Of course, we don't know the secret combination of the the ratios of the different Cabernet Sauvignons!

It was definitely interesting to taste the individual components. The Merlot definitely has the deepest fruit, while the Petit verdot is the complete opposite - almost harsh and acidic in a way. The different Cabernet Sauvignons tasted much more similar (it is the same grape after all, just different terrior from each of the regions), yet you could definitely taste the differences between the different regions.

It's pretty incredible how the mere soil from plots that are only a few miles apart can make such a difference.

After tasting all the wines, the real fun part began! Based on our own preferences, we tried blending our own wine. Each person was given a pipet that could hold 10mL of wine.
We then mouth pipetted various amounts into a glass and blended them to see how they would taste. For fun, Bryan first tried making a wine that was equal parts of each component. He quickly conceded that it wasn't that great.

Similarly, my random blends were OK, but didn't taste that amazing either.

Finally, they poured us a sample of the actual Insignia wine. Not surprisingly, it tasted a lot better than any of the blends we had tried making. Of course, it benefited from the fact that it had been kept at the perfect temperature and served in the perfect glass. Still, I think we've decided to keep our day jobs for now and not become winemakers!

Overall, we had tons of fun at the wine making seminar. It's just a bit different from a normal winery tour + tasting that you'd get.

Furthermore, on top of tasting all the components, you do get to taste several other Joseph Phelps wines. So it's sort of like a normal tour + tasting but with a fun and unusual twist.

Afterward, you get to hang out on the patio overlooking this gorgeous view for as long as you like.

Sip your wine, savor the sun, and just relax.

Notes
Tickets are $60 and you must reserve them beforehand from the website.

5 Napkin Burger: Beer and Bourbon Series!

2012-04-23T12:55:00.000-05:00

A burger so juicy that you will need five napkins to wipe up all the juice?

That's the claim behind 5 Napkin Burger, a fancy hamburger-focused bistro that spun off of a really, really popular burger on the menu at Nice Matin, an Upper West Side restaurant in New York.

The restaurant has since been expanding, with the first Boston location opening in Back Bay right inside the Prudential this past year.

Recently, they began a Beer and Bourbon Dinner Series, where the restaurant partners with various different beer or bourbon providers and offers a multi-course dinner paired with the featured drink company's products. For $45, you get a 2-course dinner plus dessert, passed hors d'oeurves, and a chance to try 4-5 different types of beer.

Bryan and I happily accepted an invitation to attend the first dinner of the series this time around, feature Stone Brewing Company.

The evening begins with passed h'ors d'oeuvres and a sample of Stone Levitation Ale. The beer was light and refreshing, not too malty or hoppy, with a hint of sweetness.

My favorite appetizer of the evening was the cheddar tot. It's a perfectly fried little bite filled with mashed potatoes and cheese.

The guacamole was good as well, chunky and chock full of avocados. The chicken skewers, on the other hand, were dry, overcooked, and not very pleasant to eat at all. I couldn't finish mine. Similarly, the tuna tatami wontons, topped with a bit of wasabi mayo and tobiko, were underwhelming.

I did run into Michelle from The Economical Eater, who was also at the event!
After about 30-40 minutes of hanging out in the hors d'oeurves room, they introduced Stone Brewing Company and ushered us into the main dining room. We all sat at a long table, making friends with those around us.

First Course: Peel & Eat shrimp & Beer Boil

Whole shell-on "beer boiled" shrimp were served with drawn butter with a side of parsley. I'm not sure if I like beer-boiled shrimp. The texture of the shrimp was oddly mushy and not very flavorful. Bryan, who hates getting his hands dirty, suffered silently as he picked at the shrimp shells to get at the mushy meat. We were quite disappointed with the shrimp and neither of us finished that course.

The Stone IPA paired with the dish, on the other hand, was quite good - hoppy with malty notes.

Then the main courses came, along with normal and sweet potato fries. I absolutely loved the sweet potato fries. They were crispy and perfectly seasoned on the outside while sweet and moist on the inside. I usually love normal fries more, but in this case I found myself continually going back for the sweet potato fries (though the normal fries were good too!).

Bryan ordered the Mushroom bleu "black & blue", which means the burger is charred on the outside but then basically rare on the inside. The Mushroom Bleu contains seven ounces of fresh ground beef, blue cheese, and is topped with sautéed mushrooms and shallots.

They did an excellent job executing the burger. It was cooked perfectly, with a good char on the outside and a nice rare center. The blue cheese flavor was prominent, though not evenly distributed. In general, the burger definitely was made with high quality ingredients.

Despite all that, Bryan still though the burger did not quite reach an optimal balance of texture and flavor. The bread to meat ratio was not ideal: he wished for less bread and more mushrooms and sauce. He also would have preferred some sort of crisp or crunch (maybe from lettuce, or something fried?).

But perhaps we're being picky, comparing this burger against some of the best burgers in the city. Overall, it's still a perfectly enjoyable burger and still much better than many burgers throughout the city.

The beer that came with this course was delicious, and probably my favorite of the bunch. We had the Arrogant Bastard Beer, an aggressive IPA that was deep, hoppy, and flavorful, almost like caramel. It definitely was strong enough to pair with the flavorful entrees we were enjoying.

I ordered the Veggie Burger, which was served with 5 Napkin's own sauce ("5N Sauce"), bread & butter pickles, lettuce, and tomato on a multigrain roll.

I was really really impressed with the veggie burger and I really think it's one of my favorite veggie burgers I've had! Unlike many veggie burgers, which rely on rice or beans, this one had beets as one of the main ingredients. It was a gorgeous bright red tone (ha ha, it looked like Bryan's rare meat burger!), and was filled with lentils, carrots, beets, wheat berries, and sunflower seeds (among many other ingredients, I'm sure).

I was surprised how much I enjoyed it. If I came back, I would seriously consider ordering it again.

For dessert, we had "Smore's Pie", a cylindrical dessert made with chocolate ganache and marshmallow on top of a graham cracker crust and covered with a chocolate glaze. It was OK but nothing particularly exciting. This was paired with Stone Smoke Porter, a deep, chocolatey and creamy beer that actually worked quite well with dessert!

Overall, this entire meal was fun, informative, and really a pretty good value. For only $45 (inclusive of tax, tip, everything), you get to try 4 different beers, a bunch of hors d'oeuvres, and a three course meal. They are pretty generous with the pours, and they won't hesitate to refill if you finish your beer early. [Heh, I have such low tolerance you can see how much of each beer I could finish before moving onto the next one, thus explaining how I was able to get this shot!]

It was a great chance to try the burgers at 5 Napkin, and we discovered a new craft brewery that makes very good beers. Stone Brewing Company beers can be found in several places around Boston, such as Lord Hobo in Cambridge and Craft Beer Cellar in Belmont.

There's still one more going on tomorrow night, featuring Long Trail Brewing Company. You can get tickets here.

Disclaimer
I did not pay for this meal

Bottega Ristorante

2012-04-20T11:29:00.000-05:00

This is part 2 of the Napa Valley Adventures series. Other posts in this series: Ad Hoc

For food-obsessed individuals, Yountville is like a surreal, magical place that seems too good to be true.

This tiny town is home to some of the best restaurants in the nation. Just walk up and down the one-mile strip of the main road (Washington Street), and you'll saunter by Thomas Keller's empire (The French Laundry, Bouchon Bakery, and Ad Hoc are all within a mile of each other), Redd (1 Michelin star), and Bistro Jeanty (an excellent French bistro that's a favorite of the locals).

The local convenience store sells bottles of Opus One, Joseph Phelps Insignia, and gourmet cheeses alongside batteries and magazines.

Wine shops with incredible selections and tasting rooms dot both side of this road.

About halfway up Washington Street, right in the center of all this action, sits Bottega Ristorante.

Chef Michael Chiarello opened Bottega in December of 2008. After spending over a decade running a huge business that included his own family vineyard, the NapaStyle stores, and his TV shows, he decided he really wanted to get back into the kitchen. The restaurant has since received both IACP and James Beard Award nominations, as well as accolades from many other publications.

Chiarello loves being at Bottega.

"I don’t think I’ve been happier in years. It’s great to be able to throw a party every day. You don’t get that on TV. There, you are cooking alone," [Food Gal]

Bryan loves Italian food, so it was a no-brainer that we would eventually try this place. After failing to get a reservation the past few times I was in Napa, I finally landed an early (5PM!) reservation for dinner this year.

Chef Chiarello makes wine (we are in Napa Valley, after all!) which he serves at his restaurant. These are very small production wines and not that available outside, so we thought it would be fun to try. His bottles aren't cheap (I think this bottle of Eileen Cabernet Sauvignon (WS 92 points) was close to $80 at the restaurant!), but they are pretty good. Most of his wines score in the low 90's on Wine Spectator.

We started by sharing a huge plate of Parmiggiano truffle fries, which were excellent. They were serious contenders to my favorite truffle fries in Boston. I can't believe we polished off that entire plate.

I ordered the Caramelized Brussels Sprout Salad as my starter, which came with citrus segments, toasted Marcona almonds, prosciutto bits, and an aged balsamic dressing. I loved the crispiness of the roasted Brussels Sprouts. The dish had a nice mix of sweet (citrus) and savory (prosciutto) flavors.

I am a huge fan of pan roasted gnocchi so it's no surprise that I really enjoyed my Pan Roasted Potato Gnocchi with spring vegetables (I love fresh peas!). I especially liked the texture of the gnocchi, which was crispy on the outside but nice and chewy on the side.
Isn't this gorgeous? This is the Potato dough Raviolo filled with spinach and ricotta, black truffles, farm fresh egg yolk, and sage browned butter. I was a bit surprised that the ravioli was so huge! (You only get one for your entire order!). We loved the farm fresh egg that oozed out, and we used it as a sauce for the rest of the ravioli.

The Smoked & Braised Natural Short Ribs is the signature dish that Chef Chiarello made when competing on Top Chef Masters. I did not watch that season, but apparently he wowed the judges with this amazing short rib recipe, with James Oseland saying this was the best rendition of the dish he'd ever had.

The shortribs were served with whole grain mustard spaetzle, Sicilian pickles, quince paste, and a smoky horseradish jus. Bryan loves pickles and horseradish, so he really, really enjoyed the dish. Execution was perfect - the short ribs were soft and tender, the individual components were well seasoned, and the flavors of the dish came together quite well.

For dessert, we ordered the Ricotta Zeppole, Italian doughnuts fried to order served with Italian Praline dipping sauce. It's hard to go wrong with doughnuts, and these were fantastic. They reminded me of beignets I've had at other restaurants (frankly, I really didn't see a difference - maybe they are the same as a beignet?). They were hot and crispy on the outside, soft and moist on the inside.

Overall, we had a great time at Bottega. The place definitely fills up fast and I can see why it's so popular. It's centrally located; the food is very good; and it's a fun atmosphere inside. Although none of the dishes soared to any new heights to blow us away, all the dishes were very well executed.

We had a great time.

And I would totally come back again - if only there weren't so many other fantastic restaurants in this food-centric region to try first!

Bottega Ristorante
6525 Washington St
Yountville, CA 94599

Ad Hoc

2012-04-18T14:02:00.000-05:00

"for temporary relief from hunger"

Thomas Keller's more casual restaurant in Yountville, called "Ad Hoc" was never intended to be a permanent restaurant. While designing a very different type of restaurant (think "burgers and bottles" hamburger and wine pairing), Thomas Keller's team temporarily opened up Ad Hoc ("literally meaning for this purpose only") for just six months to serve the local community.

The concept?

Offer a 4-course family style meal with a small, accessible wine list in a casual environment that is "reminiscent of home."

It became so popular that it was really hard for them to close it down.

Thomas Keller quipped "if we keep it, we'll have to change the name. Maybe to Ad Lib."

That was 2007. Ad Hoc is clearly still around and going very, very strong. In fact, its fried chicken has become legendary, and Thomas Keller has even written a cookbook for the restaurant.

So finally.

Finally, after having tried Per Se, The French Laundry, and countless different Bouchon bistros and Bouchon bakeries, I can finally say I've tried all of Thomas Keller's restaurants in the US.

The interior here is airy, bright, and very inviting. Though the atmosphere is casual (most people were wearing jeans), you still feel that everything is high quality and thoughtfully laid out.

The menus come in these brown no-nonsense folders (see picture up top), and all the food is served family style. The menu changes daily, and each day only one specific four-course menu is served ($38).

Since we were having brunch, Bryan ordered a mimosa (made with delicious, freshly squeezed orange juice) for $9.

Biscuits & Jam was the first course, and it was fantastic. The biscuits were among the best I've ever had. They were warm, flaky, and perfectly crispy on the outside. On top? A lovely dollop of maldon honey butter. Yes, even though I'm sure the biscuit is already loaded with butter, it tasted even better slathered with this slightly sweet butter.

Yum.

The homemade strawberry jam was delicious, not-too-sweet, and full of intense fruit flavors. This was also wonderful with the biscuit.

The "Biscuits & Jam" trio also came with a bowl of freshly cut pineapples, oranges, and grapefruit. All of the fruit was great - sweet, juicy, and and very refreshing.

The second course was a grilled Niman Ranch Beef skirt steak served alongside a soft scrambled hen egg topped with roasted pepper stew and grilled spring onions. I've made skirt steak before. I know it's a tougher cut of meat that can be challenging to cook right. All of the elements of this dish (the steak, eggs, vegetables) were executed properly and enjoyable to eat. However, none of the flavors were really that unusual, and I was a bit underwhelmed. In the end, the entire plate was good, but not exactly that memorable.

Similarly, the fried Russet potatoes were perfectly fried to a golden brown, but did not particularly impress me. I think I've had better home fries at cheap diners.

Thankfully, I absolutely LOVED the rocky road ice cream sundae. This should come as a huge surprise to anyone who knows me because typically, I don't really like marshmallows, and I hate nuts in my desserts! However, I love marcona almonds, and the candied marcona almonds worked beautifully in this dessert. I loved the dense crunch that they provided; plus the creamy chocolate ice cream was divine.

I thought I was stuffed, but we finished up that ice cream really, really quickly.

Thoughts
In general, Ad Hoc is a fun place to visit. The ambiance is friendly, the food is solid, and the prices are reasonable. I found certain menu items (biscuits and ice cream) to be really special, while others (steak, eggs, vegetables) were a bit sleepy. I think your experience will vary tremendously depending on which day you go. If you happen to go on a day when they have their buttermilk fried chicken, you just may think it's one of the best things you've ever tasted in your entire life (or so I've heard).

I plan on returning, if nothing else just to try the fried chicken (which appears twice a month on Monday evenings and sometimes as "chicken and waffles" during brunch). You can also check out Addendum, his new take-out restaurant that only serves their fried chicken and BBQ chicken (not yet opened for the season when we were there in March).

Reservations were impossible to get via Opentable, but a breeze via the telephone. I think they just don't make that many seats available online.

Ad Hoc
6476 Washington St
Yountville, CA 94599

Napa Valley Adventures (& a little bit of SF)

2012-04-17T12:18:00.001-05:00

I first got to experience California's breathtaking wine country when I traveled there three years ago to cover the S. Pellegrino Almost Famous Chef Competition. I've been so lucky to be able to go back every year since that first time, and every time, I discover something new.

This past March, between the craziness of covering the Mystery Basket Competition and the Finals, Bryan and I had some time to get away and enjoy some other parts of Napa Valley.

We tried some fantastic meals (there seems to be an endless supply of really good food in this area!), visited some awe-inspiring vineyards, and even tried our hands at making our own wine blends.

Here's a sneak preview of upcoming posts from our next trip series on Napa Valley.

After landing in San Francisco and before heading up to Napa Valley, we enjoyed a lovely tasting of seasonal, local, freshly foraged ingredients at a two-Michelin star restaurant in the city.
In Yountville, we finally got to try brunch at Thomas Keller's more casual restaurant, sampling some of the best biscuits I've ever had.
A delightful sampling of dishes from a French-trained Japanese chef (alumnus of Spago) at a one-Star Michelin restaurant in St. Helena.

Food is art at this French one-star Michelin restaurant, the only restaurant in Napa Valley inside of a winery!

A solid Italian experience from a celebrity chef who has hosted several shows on the Food Network and was second place in Top Chef Masters.

I had a chance to make my own "Insignia" blend by pipetting various ratios of component wines.
One of the coolest wineries we visited - it's housed entirely inside a cave in a mountainside and has its own waterfall to keep the humidity constant!

Chandon Winery, Yountville CA

We tasted wines at several other wineries, all unique in their own special way.

Stay tuned as we continue the Napa Valley Adventure Series throughout the next several weeks. Enjoy!