Orsa & Winston

I was a bit puzzled walking into Orsa & Winston.  I had heard its Japanese-Italian, which seems like 2 completely disparate cuisines.  I couldn't imagine how they could merry harmoniously on a plate, let alone in my mouth, but the food this night certainly went far beyond my expectations.  There were definitely elements of Asian and European flavors going on here.  The food was unique and delicious.  The style of dining is omakase, so it's the chef's choice.  What you can choose is how many courses: 5, 8, or super omakase at 25!  We opted for the 8.

Amuse Bouche fennel panna cotta
These days, the amuse never really fits the definition of a "one bite" treat from the chef.  I'm not really bothered by that anymore because its just extra food anyways, and who am I to turn down extra food just because the portion size is too big??  I love panna cotta and one of my goals is to learn to make the perfect panna cotta, one that is just perfectly jiggly and most silky soft.  There were definitely some sweet savory flavors going on here.  A delightful first start.

Trout Crudo gingered cucumber gelee, radish, orange, creme fraiche

It looks like salmon huh?  It was both light and refreshing, yet rich and flavorful.  There were so many subtleties with the ingredients and flavor profiles.  One of the more distinctive and memorable crudos.

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Top Chef Shirley Chung Pop Up @ The Playground 2.0

I love Top Chef.  I love watching the food, the drama, the judges and contestants talking smack.  Unlike many of the other reality shows that churn out winners that don't amount to much after the ephemeral hoopla of the win passes through the minds of fans and viewers, many Top Chef winners have gone on to establish a strong presence in the culinary world, opening their own restaurants and garnering many awards. Shirley Chung did not win this last season of Top Chef, though many, including myself, thought she was a very strong contender and maybe should have won.  She herself even admitted that she "messed up" in the finale, but overall she was very thankful for the experience on the show because it really helped her "find herself."

In any case, it set her down a path to opening her own restaurant in little ole Irvine, California called "Twenty Eight" (the age she started cooking).  Why Irvine? I wouldn't really call this city an up and coming foodie town, so I'm just as confused as you.  It would have been a good question to ask Shirley, but between showing up late (like 5-10 minutes, apparently the rest of the diners who were white and had at least 20-30 years+ on me, didn't get the memo about Asian time) and Shirley's effusive excitement, it was just a flurry of eating, snapping pictures, and trying to catch every word of her explanations and background stories for each dish.

For the whopping price of $200, we were offered a 9 course tasting menu paired with drinks and inclusive of tip.  The hefty price tag might explain why the crowd was a bit more geriatric than one would expect for such a foodie event.  Really, who could throw down that kinda change?  Apparently Teety, myself, and 15 other old people!  Soprano Man had to work, *tear face*

So we didn't get the prime seats in the middle of the counter, but we still got plenty of love and attention from Shirley and and Jason Quinn (far right, chef/owner of The Playground).

Crispy Chicken Skin + Knee devil egg aioli

I'm not a huge fan of eggs, usually in breakfast format, and I'm gonna have to throw deviled eggs in that bag too.  Cooked egg yolks has such an unpalatable flavor to me since childhood.  I'll eat deviled eggs but I'll never fully love them.  Surprisingly this wasn't too yolky and was a nice complement to the crispy skin and cartilaginous knee.  A solid way to start, even for the anti-eggies.

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Tongue & Cheek

We were happy to be back on land after a whole afternoon of boating and sunsets with our borderline creepy, but kind and considerate captain.  Man was it a PAIN to find a cab to get back to our condo.  We were 8 girls flailing our arms on a major highway in the dark but no cab would stop for us.  That was a big fail on my part as the planner, but everyone was a good sport about it.  We didn't have anything to munch on during the boat tour, so we were preeeeeetty darn hungry by the time dinner rolled around at the early hour of 9pm.  It takes a while for 8 girls to clean up, ok?

Pretzel Bread

We totally destroyed these, which were piping hot, soft and chewy.  I couldn't really figure out what the sauce was, since it looked like ketchup, but was pretty sweet.

Heirloom Tomato Salad whipped ricotta, rye crackers, basil and olive oil

I should have known that good heirloom tomatoes in February would be a challenge.  They weren't what heirloom tomatoes should be, sweet, tart, oozing with ripeness.  The dish had so much potential.

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Tupelo Junction

Santa Barbara is truly an idyllic little town.  Such a contrast to the recent tragedy that occurred there recently.  But I don't want to bring down the mood, so let's stick to what makes most people happy.  The Mom, HemaSh, and I took a quick weekend getaway to Santa Barbara.  We didn't do much, just eating, walking around, and yapping like the besties we are.  I've known these ladies for over 15 years now!

Cinnamon Apple Beignets creme anglaise

HemaSh seemed a bit disappointed with the beignets, which were more like donut holes.  I didn't mind one bit.  I love dense fried balls.  That sounds all wrong, so get your minds out of the gutters folks.  There were bits of apple chunks in the beignets, which brought just a subtle fruitiness.  They were piping HOT that's for sure.

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Ramen Yamadaya

My quest to find a more awesome ramen joint than Santouka always disappoints.  I swear Santouka must use MSG in their broth.  It's just way too tasty.  Somehow that's where every other places seems to fall short.  The Rock Dweller accompanied me here.  Usually when we dine together, it's difficult to pay attention to the food because we are usually talking each other's heads off and get so distracted.  So it was quite out of the ordinary, when it was the food itself that was distracting me from the conversation, and not in a good way!  

Yamadaya Ramen 3 kinds of chashu, dried seaweed, egg

So the ramen here isn't actually that bad.  The noodles were pretty standard.  The broth was fatty, salty, the usual.  Definitely not as tasty as Santouka.  But man oh man, they served me old ass chasu!  Like it had that old refrigerated made who knows how many days ago "aged" taste.  It was not pleasant.

Kara-Age Chicken
The chicken wasn't old tasting fortunately.  It was actually juicy, seasoned and fried well.  Was it the best kara-age I've ever had?  No, not really, but it hit the spot.

Would I go back to Ramen Yamadaya after they served me "too many days old chasu?"  I am a forgiving eater, so probably yes, but only if someone wanted to go here.  Heck, I've been back to places where I've had food poisoning.  For the time being, let's just say good ole food court ramen at Santouka still has my heart.

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Havana 1957

What's a trip to Miami without taking in the Cuban culture of this heterogeneously Latin city?  We went for a quick brunch at a chain of Cuban restaurants called Havana 1957.  Bruin Bear took an earlier flight out, but she was raving about the flan here, which unfortunately they were not serving, it being 10am and all.  We were starving after our 15 minute walk to the restaurant.  It seemed like forever.

Bread Basket

We completely devoured this.  I'm not quite sure what's so special about Cuban bread.  It's just kinda flat and semi-dense.

Huevos con Vegetales 3 eggs any style, vegetables, onions, peppers, tomatoes, home fries
Someone's breakfast.  Seemed fairly standard.

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Yardbird Southern Table

I think everyone would agree that Yardbird was the foodie highlight of our Miami trip.  The food was spot on, well executed, and delighted all of our hungry tummies, which were left with food babies just before our privately chartered boat trip for the afternoon.  No matter though, I just never took off my dress/cover up!  Just kidding, it wasn't hot enough to get all skimpy and into the water anyways.  I am generally not a fan of Southern food because it can be pretty heavy and light on the vegetables.  Whatever vegetables they do have are usually deep fried or braised to an indistinguishable mush.  I guess looking back at the meal, vegetables weren't necessarily the start of the show, but the food was a more sophisticated Southern take that appealed to my modern sensibilities.

Chicken Liver Toast grilled country bread, cucumber, fresh pepper relish

Anyone who shares a love for patés is one step closer to being my best friend.  Care Bear is one such person, Ho Bag and Lo-Ma Linda being a few others.  Care Bear and I grew up in a household where paté was a common food group, which probably explains our affinity to what some might view as "offal spread."  The thought of taking animal innards and pureeing and seasoning it into a thing you spread over toast sounds frankly unappetizing.   But to me, paté is one of my favorite foods.  We split this order into thirds, so I was definitely left wanting more.  The relish definitely added a unique twist.

Butter Lettuce & Grilled Mango Salad smoked pecans, benne seed vinaigrette

I found the salad to be bright, tangy, refreshing, and comforting with the addition of the pecans.  Somehow, everything seems more Southern with pecans.  

Deviled Eggs lake meadows organic eggs, fresh dill, "redneck caviar" smoked trout roe

Try as I may, I don't go gaga for deviled eggs.  I think it's because I don't naturally love the taste of eggs, and that stems mostly from my distaste for a cooked through yolk.  Some preparations do a good job kicking up the yolkiness so it's not so offputting to me.  This was a good version.  The roe added a lot of brineness.

Morning Quiche corn, slow roasted tomatoes, butter beans, goat cheese, flaky dough pie

I've had better quiches, but this was still solid.

Fried Green Tomato BLT heritage acre farm pork belly, greens, fried green tomatoes, tomato jam, house made pimento cheese

This was a surprising favorite.  I adore a good ripe tomato, so the thought of breading it and deep frying it offends me a little bit.  Why ruin what was already so perfect in its natural state?  Though, I think every time I've had a fried green tomato, I've liked it.  A prime example of when reality fails to match up with what's in our heads.  Whoa, getting too philosophical for a food blog.  The pimento cheese, as visually unsightly as anything electric orange can be, was key in bringing the B and T together.  You must get this one!

Llewellyn's Fine Fried Chicken 1/2 free range bird, "27 hour" recipe, spicy tobacco honey

Big Ol' Cheddar Waffle cheddar, green tomato chow chow, bourbon maple syrup 

Chilled Watermelon spiced with pepper, tossed with lemon and herb

The highly anticipated "yardbird" was a bit of a disappointment.  I'm not sure if its because we waited too long before digging in (a few pieces of fried chicken between 8 people is no easy feat to split and everyone probably felt a bit shy digging in with their germy forks and knives).  The chicken wasn't all that moist, but I was eating the white meat.  The skin wasn't all that crispy.  The waffle was chewy.  The watermelon wasn't as sweet or refreshing for the warm weather.  *Womp womp*

Shrimp N' Grits florida shrimp, crisp virginia ham, adluh south carolina stone ground grits 

The last time I had shrimp and grits was in San Francisco of all places and it was one of the best things I've eaten.  This was a close second, but was a tad too salty.  The salt was actually off-putting for some, but you know me and salt.  The ham, or something really added the big punch of umami here.

'77 Elvis Pancakes chocolate chip pancakes, banana compote, bourbon maple syrup, "peanut butter"

We opted for 1 sweet dish among the myriad of savories.  This wasn't my first choice since I'm not big on bananas or peanut butter, but J-O-T was in HEAVEN, like pure bliss HEAVEN.  You should have seen her eyes just glaze over with each bite.

It's safe to say Yardbird was a big hit.  The ambiance was great, our server was friendly, the space was expertly designed and decorated, and the food could do no wrong.  I recommended this to Ho Bag, who recently went to Miami for a bachelorette party, and she loved it as well.  I guess it should be no surprised then that Yardbird was a James Beard semi-finalist for Best New Restaurant and Best Chef, South in 2012.  If there's one thing you do in South Beach, aside from check out and flirt with the HOT HOT men with the rock hard bodies, please dine at Yardbird Southern Table.  You won't be sorry.  I promise.

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OLA

To celebrate the end of her single days and the beginning of a wonderful married life, Bruin Bear and I planned a kick ass trip to Miami for our dearest friend Care Bear.  Miami was Care Bear's choice, but the food picks were pretty much all mine.  No surprise there right?  It was a challenge to narrow down all the amazing dining options in Miami to just 3 square meals.  But, I sort of thrive on solving tough first world problems.  Our first meal was intended to be our fanciest meal for the weekend.  All the gals, Care Bear especially, were dressed to kill for our first night out on this town, busting at the seams with beautiful people, or maybe just smokin' hot Latin men.  Muy caliente!  OW!

I would describe OLA as a modern Latin American take on the Miami food scene.  The ceviches and empanadas seem to be obligatory choices, but really you could go anywhere from there and do no wrong.  I will admit, my memory of this meal is a bit foggy because I was pre-gaming like Prohibition was making a comeback.  So, the pictures and descriptors could certainly use some polish, but as Jamie Foxx said..."Blame it on the a a a a a a alcohol."

Short Rib Empanada black beer braised short rib, creamy habanero sauce, smoked orange rosemary marmalade
Tender beef, stuffed inside a flaky dough.  The sauces definitely brought the needed moisture I find is always lacking in empanadas.

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Black Hogg

There are some restaurants in Silverlake/Echo Park/Los Feliz area I've been wanting to try for a while now.  The problem is, these places are somewhat far or troublesome to get to because it usually requires traversing through DTLA and it's better to have DTLA be your final destination given the horrific traffic. So it can be hard to gather any forces to conquer these places in, but luckily Ho Bag, and two new diners making their debut on the blog, Fat-Skinny-Fat-Less Fat (whose name will probably be in flux as he continues to drop weight for the upcoming bikini season) and Hates Food Porno, readily rallied to my side to check out Black Hogg.  Ho Bag will eat just about anything I suggest, having an unwavering and unquestioning trust in my food judgement.  When it comes to food relationships, I wear the pants, and very rarely does anyone try to fight me on that.  Hates Food Porno probably only came because Ho Bag dragged her.  I don't read minds, but I know she was cursing me under her breath with ever click of my camera, and every "wait wait! I'm not done yet!"  

Uni Toast san diego uni, plugra butter, maldon salt, chives

My name is all over uni anything.  It's such a stark contrast to a few years ago when uni anything made me gag.  The flavors were subtle, but the sweet butteriness of uni was brought out by the fancy buttery and complimented the crunch of the toast.  We split each in two, but I woulda been happier with a whole toast to myself.

Brussels Sprouts Hash twice cooked brussels, yukon golds, bacon vinaigrette, poached egg
It is a FACT.  Every restaurant this side of 2008 has their version of brussels sprouts.  These were pretty good.  I liked the incorporation of the soft luscious potatoes.  The bacon flavor was pretty subtle.  I'm sure the brussels were fried, and so the yolk added only another layer of decadence.

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Son of a Gun

Son of a Gun is one of those rare restaurants that really wowed me the first time I dined there.  I've recommended this place to numerous friends visiting LA, looking to have the best LA dining experience.  After my first visit, I concluded that Son of a Gun was really doing something special here.  So obviously, I was more than happy to come back for round 2.  Quadruple T and his girlfriend were in town for the New Year, so we (Smooth Obturator, Triple T, and myself) made a celebratory evening of our first meal of 2014 (yeah yeah, I'm waaaay behind!)

Uni burrata, button mushrooms, yuzu

I was pretty intrigued by the pairing of uni and burrata, definitely two of my many favorite things in this world.  I don't think the flavors worked well here.  Both elements have such subtle, light, delicate flavors, that when paired together sorta cancel each other out.  It just all tasted kinda "blobulous" (I totally just made that up).  A creamy blob of that, with a slightly salty sweet blob of this = "blobulous."  Maybe more yuzu would have made the dish sing a little bit more.

Hamachi galbi vinaigrette, pink lady apple, radish sprout
We weren't that impressed by the raw stuff, but I did find the galbi vinaigrette to be quite memorable. Packed with umami goodness, I wished I could bottle the stuff up and pour it over everything.

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King Hua

Dim sum has to fall into the same category as sushi, for it's lack of varying descriptors.  Also, while all sushi looks the same, all dim sum looks the same as well.  As a result, dim sum isn't all that exciting to blog about, but I still do it because good dim sum deserves some attention.  King Hua isn't the best, but it's pretty good.  Maybe I don't know what the best is anymore, since my favorite place Sea Harbour Seafood has faltered in quality just a tad.  LoMa-Linda recommended some new places for me to try since the prices and wait times are high at Sea Harbour.  I agreed to try King Hua mostly because they serve milk buns, and I refuse to eat dim sum unless I can have my milk buns!  This meal was a special occasion since The Gunner (who needs a new name) and Perpetually Underwhelmed were visiting me from Portland.  I wanted to show them what was good about SoCal, and ain't nothing better here than the Asian food.

Siu Mai
Porky, juicy, plump.

Pan Fried Turnip Cake

Crispy exterior with bits of Chinese sausage smattered between chunks of moist cakey turnip.

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B Patisserie

Though I have yet to try the wondrous deliciousness of the famed Cronut, I would argue that B Patisserie's Kouign-Amann (pronounced queen ahman) has to be some stiff West Coast competition.  I don't know why I had never heard of this Kouign-Amann before.  It is ridiculously amazing.  Like any good bakery, B Patisserie serves an assortment of sinfully sweet and rich pastries.

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Range

I'm really beginning to appreciate the food scene in San Francisco more and more these days.  It's definitely a much more refined food scene than LA.  The restaurants seem more ingredient driven and  have that "farm-to-table" thing going on.  It's also a nice change of pace to come to San Francisco and let another foodie take the reigns.  It's refreshing to be able to put your brain on hold and just show up somewhere someone tells you and have complete faith that the place is gonna be tasty.  This is how I feel when I dine with The Pouter.

Mendocino Sea Urchin chilled soba noodles, seaweed, ginger, sesame seeds
Our romantic date started off with some appetizers.  I LOVE uni but somehow I've never been impressed with any preparation of uni save for nigiri.  I suppose the problem is that when uni is served in some other way besides nigiri, there's never enough of it and I always feel disatisfied.  Here it looks like there's a lot of uni, but it's more like there's not a lot of the other stuff.  It was a cool refreshing starter with light Japanese flavors.

Chicken Liver Mousse frisee salad

I love most forms of meat in paste form.  This was no exception.  I didn't like the super crispy crouton pieces though, really hurt my teeth and abraded the roof of my mouth.

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Badmaash

Over the years, I've come to love braises and stews.  In that same vein, I've come to appreciate the varying brown spicy mushiness of Indian food.  I guess I just like food that doesn't require a lot of teeth to eat and enjoy.  I love food for the senile and edentulous!  I don't think I have a very refined palate when it comes to Indian food; it mostly all tastes pretty good to me.  But Badmaash was recommended by Bruin Bear, and she's born and bred brown.  Apparently, she knows the owners and really wanted me and some of our other friends to try this up and coming DTLA spot.  It was a sort of reunion for Care Bear, Token Bear, Bruin Bear, Derm Bear and myself.  The latter two had their husbands in tow too, Thai Bear, and ENT Bear respectively.  Yeah, it was an all bear kinda night.  We sorta ate like bears too!

Samosas traditional & butter chicken
Truthfully, I think I like the traditional potato samosas, but the meat one was good too.

Chicken Tikka Poutine masala fries, cheese curds, hot beef gravy, chicken tikka, cilantro
This is one of the signature dishes.  They are getting creative here combing a traditional Canadian favorite with Indian flavors.  I commend their efforts, but it just fries topped with all those things.

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Oumi Sasaya

The South Bay has its fair share of excellent Japanese restaurants.  Triple T being the stereotypical Taiwanese Japan-o-phile, feels right at home here.  Why do Taiwanese people love everything Japanese?  I have no idea, but it's like they were brainwashed from the womb to worship anything and everything "made in Japan."  If you're reading this, and you're a true Taiwanese at heart, then you know this is true!  Anyways, I digress.  This is a food blog here, so on to the food...

Cold Tofu
Oumi Sasaya is solid udon oriented joint, but we had to have some starters to kick things off.  I think this was a standard amuse bouche for everyone.  Nothing really spectacular here.

Fried Garlic Chicken Wings
You can't wrong with wings.

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Scratch Bar

LA is seriously lacking in fine dining options, but its not like the chefs in this city aren't giving it a go.  Take for instance Scratch Bar, which is a newly opened addition to La Cienega's famed restaurant row.  I suppose it's not necessarily trying to achieve the fine dining benchmark, but I guess it's definitely striving for an elevated food experience.  I've dined at very few restaurants in LA where the servers explained the dishes' preparation and presentation at tableside.  I can now add Scratch Bar to that short list.  Unfortunately, that attention to detail and the dining experience did nothing for the food itself, which fell…short.  Way to celebrate Smooth Obturator's birthday right??

Duck Skin Popcorn fresh thyme

Fat is fat.  Is there something tastier about duck fat??  The answer is probably yes, but it was not reflected in this supposed fun appetizer which tasted like stale popcorn tossed in stale old fat flavor.  We all felt it would have been a good dish had it been served just popped and warm.  Room temperature animal fat popcorn?  Pass.

Luna Oyster oven roasted, beet emulsion
I prefer my oysters raw, but this worked nicely.

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Tar & Roses

Welcome to the first post of 2014.  Granted this meal happened many weeks back in 2013, but better late than never.

I'll admit that ever since Eleven Madison Park, I've been unenthusiastic about trying new restaurants in LA, expecting disappointment at every corner.  How could anything ever top EMP?  But Tar & Roses showed me that food doesn't have to be all fancy and fine dining to knock my socks off.  I went to Tar & Roses before and after EMP, and both times I was thoroughly impressed.  The first time I went with Miss Rheeeeee and Me So Hairy, but I forgot my camera.  What a crime to miss out documenting this excellent meal, so I came back with Smooth Obturator and Triple T.  I had to call 4 weeks in advance to get a Friday night reservation!

Bruschetta & Charcuterie

Heirloom Cherry Tomato burrata, basil

Woodroasted Eggplant feta, pickled tomato, mint

Duck Liver Pate frisee, pickled radish

If you know me, you know I love places that serve up an awesome charcuterie board.  I can't actually say the charcuterie was that memorable since the meats selection wasn't all that exciting, salumi, american prosciutto, and american ham.  We chose a few bruchettas which were delicious, my favorite was probably the tomato one.  Smooth Obturator also picked a cheese, which I think was probably a gorgonzola, stinky, salty, well balanced by the nuts, pickled veggies, and dried apricots.  

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Levain Bakery

Any trip anywhere isn't complete without a bit of sweet to over indulge in.  While a trip to NYC usually necessitates a hike to The Doughnut Plant, the 3 Little Monsters made it too difficult to trek all the way out to the Lower Eastside.  Luckily we found Levain Bakery which was just a short jaunt away from our condo and is known for its cookies.  I love me a good cookie!!  It has 2226 reviews on Yelp so it had to be amazing right?

I was quite surprised by the limited selection of cookies.  You're pretty much looking at what they had. I asked if they had run out or something but they said this is what they usually serve.  Now I'm all for doing a few things really really well as opposed to have some gargantuan selection of low quality goods, but the most tantalizing foreplay to a fantastic meal or snack is the visual display of too many delicious things to eat.  The foreplay here left much to be desired.

Chocolate Chip Walnut Cookie
Dark Chocolate Chip Cookie
Fortunately, the main attraction did not disappoint.  The cookies are frickin' GINORMO, and really feel more like a heavy dense cookie cake than a true cookie.  Everyone preferred the regular cookie better than the chocolate chocolate one which I guess tasted more like a brownie.  This is NOT something you should eat in one sitting or alone.  These things have got be a giant calorie bomb.  They are flatter, but generally the size of your fist.

So Levain is pretty good, but not something I would trek across the country for, probably because I prefer a real cookie and not a cake cookie.  I'm still praying for that day that The Doughnut Plant decides to grace the West Coast with its presence.  I mean they have locations in Korea and Japan! Why not LA/OC???

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Eleven Madison Park

When I dreamed of the moment I would get to have my way with NYC, I always saw Per Se as the juicy succulent main course, and all other dining adventures as just appetizers to whet my appetite.  I didn't give much thought to what else could be on the menu.  The Pouter, being the savvy foodie she is, told me to make reservations at Eleven Madison Park in addition to Per Se.  Unfortunately she had to bow out, so I filled the empty spots with good ole sistah, Triple F, and my dearest mums.  Triple T and Smooth Obturator had to stay home and watch the 3 Little Monsters.  Oh snap, did those two miss out on the BEST FUCKING MEAL OF A LIFETIME!  Eleven Madison Park turned out to be the stunning pièce de résistance of my all too short NYC food tour.

Cheddar savory black and white cookie with apple
Who doesn't like little boxes tied up in string with a delicious surprise hiding inside?  I can't really say these tasted like cheddar or apple but they are misleading sweet when in fact they were savory.

Sea Urchin snow with smoked cantaloupe and yogurt
A bright refreshing start to the menu.  Who know cantaloupe would pair so nicely with uni.  There was also basil and lime yogurt adding some more herbaceous and acid notes.  Two bites and this was gone gone gone.

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ABC Cocina

When I visit a new city, I usually do my research and find all the good restaurants I want to try.  However, with NYC, I knew I wouldn't have a lot of time aside from the planned dinners at Per Se and Eleven Madison Park.  Also, I was traveling with my family and the 3 newest additions to the H.o.P. has made life unpredictable and chaotic to say the least.  It's a good thing The Pouter's foodie mojo wasn't bogged down by 3 little monsters disguising themselves as adorable squishy cutie patooties.  We brunched it up ABC Cocina because we were unable to snag a rezzie at ABC Kitchen. I wouldn't be able to tell you the difference between the two restaurants, which are literally attached to each and separated by glass windows and doors.  All I know is that they are both restaurants from famed chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten and ABC Cocina has a latin flare.

Bread
We were starvin' like Marvin and noshed hard on the bread.

Tomato Salad red onion, serrano chilies, sherry vinaigrette, herbs
I think if there were one food I couldn't live without in this world, it would be the tomato.  It's not like I eat tomatoes everyday.  For the most part, they are usually hothouse grown tasteless excuses for food.  But when they are the sun ripened bounty of a warm summer....I need not say more.  I think my LOVE for this dish was magnified by my pre-existing penchant for tomatoes because it was in fact a really simple salad.  I wish I could eat this everyday.

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Per Se

Dining at The French Laundry has always been a dream of mine.  I know that sounds so cheesy and melodramatic, but these are the fantasies of food people.   Unfortunately, reservations are DAMN hard to nab.  So even though I live a heck of a lot closer to The French Laundry, I had to trek cross country to have my first Thomas Keller dining experience at Per Se.

We had amazing seats that looked out onto Columbus Circle and the southern edge of Central Park.  Too bad it was on the gloomy side.  Don't be fooled, gray does NOT equal cold like it does in Portland.  It was hot and muggy, but still a great view.  I'm a city girl, and this is the kinda view that takes my breath away.  I think The Pouter and her 2 fellow New Yorker foodie friends were equally impressed.

Amuse Bouche gruyère gougères
Our meal started off with the famous gougères, which I have seen many times in pictures.  They were A LOT smaller than I had imagined or even had before at other restaurants.  Usually, they have been the size of a cream puff, but these were the size of a large marble.  They were still pretty darn good, but I wanted more!

Amuse Bouche salmon coronets
Deliciously smoked salmon served like a mini ice cream cone.  Cute and tastey.

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