I just bought a big bag of Cara Cara Oranges from Costco on Diversey about 2 hours ago, and ate 2 already... so good.

Fresh, warm bread (Cook's Illustrated Almost No Knead recipe) and cultured butter (a Wisconsin butter Llama picked up). Life doesn't get much better!

Shepherd's pie appetizer at Cafe Des Architectes from the Restaurant Week menu. Everything there was good, including one of the more impressive (both visually and taste-wise) bread services I've seen in a long time, but it's the shepherd's pie I find myself craving already.

ucjames wrote:Shepherd's pie appetizer at Cafe Des Architectes from the Restaurant Week menu. Everything there was good, including one of the more impressive (both visually and taste-wise) bread services I've seen in a long time, but it's the shepherd's pie I find myself craving already.

Good to know! I have reservations there tomorrow night. Anything else you'd definitely recommend to get/avoid from their restaurant week menu?

I was in Seattle last week and had the best Salmon Nigiri, and the best sushi of my life out there at Shiro's. The salmon nigiri is prepared with fresh lemon squeezed on to of the salmon and drizzled with sea salt, "No Soy" was what the sushi chef told me. In the past, when people descirbed Salmon as buttery I thought they were full of it, because most to all the Salmon I have ever tasted was not to my liking.

Shiro's
2401 2nd Avenue
Seattle, WA

K.D. wrote:

ucjames wrote:Shepherd's pie appetizer at Cafe Des Architectes from the Restaurant Week menu. Everything there was good, including one of the more impressive (both visually and taste-wise) bread services I've seen in a long time, but it's the shepherd's pie I find myself craving already.

Good to know! I have reservations there tomorrow night. Anything else you'd definitely recommend to get/avoid from their restaurant week menu?

Hmm. Parsnip Velouté and Duck Confit were both highly lauded at our table. Duck Confit appears to be a larger portion than that mentioned several times in the CDA thread, and definitely plated in a way that makes it easier to eat.

I enjoyed the whitefish and the red cabbage confit. I think everyone in our group had either that or the flat iron steak, which I'm told was good but nothing about it really stood out in any way.

All of the desserts were sampled and well received, with the mango mojito and floating island the two more popular of the three. You can't go wrong with any of the options though.

Also, while they don't list it on the restaurant week menu online, they offer almost as many selections in each category as upcharged supplements ($8 for appetizers, $15 for entrees like rack of lamb or arctic char, $25 for an upgraded steak, and $10 for desserts which included the chocolate salted caramel cake and chocolate pistachio dome).

Steak tacos at La Pasadita. What a classically simple, fulfilling, great late night treat. Soft, fresh steamed flour shells. And the carne inside! Good meat used, not too gristly, cooked just right with enough carbon to give it extra flavor, chewy without being too chewy, if you know what I mean. I like 'em simple: no onions, just the juicy meat and fresh cilantro, and a little of the mild green sauce from the table squirt bottle. Everything compliments every other ingredient wthout any one overwhelming or predominating. Textures compliment as well. So simple, yet so good. Gotta have two or three. Have a horchata along with it- fanastico!

Pig's head roll-a special at Longman and Eagle. Essentially whole pig head cooked down into semi-identifiable bits, morsels, and chucks of fat and meat from within served hot enclosed in a circle of pig skin with a layer of fat attached, served atop nettle greens and tiny apple slivers. Essentially a warm head cheese without vinegar before the aspic forms.
I also recently had what, I think, the Bristol calls, Sulze(?)-a homemade porcine heat cheese.
Both were great items to have on a menu, and while the Bristol's was good, the L&E version was outstanding-Anthony Bourdain would have gone orgasmic (geez, a horrible thought). Very similar food item with L&E clearly the better executed.
Interestingly, neither came with bread, corrected at the Bristol with nice rounds of baquette, corrected at L&E with a slice of Texas Toast ( I don't know if they we putting me on). Both worked fine. As an aside, putting olive oil on the the toast slices that the Bristol serves with their bone marrow is a major mistake-even Eric Aubriot's "I like fat with my fat" does not justify that mismatch.

L&E's pig roll also had a perfectly cooked, runny yolk quail's egg on top too.

From very different restaurants, two baos I ate last Saturday qualify as the "Best Thing[s] [I]'ve Eaten [Lately]."

Xiao Long Bao from Nan Xiang


Soft, yet chewy, unctuous and hot, richly flavored

Pork Belly Buns from Momofuku


Crispy, yet chewy, unctuous and hot, richly flavored

Nan Xiang
38-12 Prince St.
Flushing, NY 11354

Momofuku Noodle Bar
171 1st Ave.
New York, NY 10003

A Margherita pizza at Varasano's Pizzeria in Atlanta, GA. In my opinion, he's shaken out any home-to-restaurant issues. Great pizza that when folded together as it should be for this type of pizza tastes just too good to describe adequately. The sauce is nice and tangy without being the least bit bitter. Crust is chewy with great char and softer in the center with increasing chewiness as you work your way to the outer crust.

It was over two weeks ago and time to time I can still taste it. At 12:30AM back in my hotel room, a microwaved leftover made me wish I still lived in Atlanta and wasn't just in town for a day.

I did not want to write this up because now I can think of nothing else.

Varasano's Pizzeria
2171 Peachree Rd. NE
Atlanta, GA 30309
http://www.varasanos.com/menu.php

I love seared foie gras, and I had two of the very best presentations of it in the past few weeks. A few weeks ago I had dinner at Inovasi in Lake Bluff; theirs had a slightly salty crispiness to the oh-so-thin crust on the outside, and was perfectly tender and warm on the inside. Just yummy! Over the weekend I had another excellent preparation, this time at Animal in Hollywood, where it was served over a biscuit with maple sausage gravy. Again, just yummy!

sardine crostini and fennel slaw at cafe spiaggia.....wow.

Stopped by Uncle John's, on their last day before a month-long hiatus (some remodelling, though apparently small; and Mack is headed off to like Arkansas for a couple weeks too Had the usual rib-tip/hot-link combination.

I think Ive said this before.. but I'll say it again. Not only is this the best hot-link in the city bar none... when Uncle John's is really "on", IMHO it is the best single sausage product in the city. Ive done Hot Doug's several times for "encased meats", and Honey 1 and Smoque for theirs (hot link and Texas link respectively), and Johnnie's and Al's for their Italian sausage, and various chorizos, and all the hot-dogs and various polishes around a town that is widely regarded as having the best of those in the world. When Uncle John's is "on", when a fresh, hot, crispy-outside, moist-inside, spicy, sage-y, fatty, hot link comes off the smoker, there is no finer sausage product in all of Chicagoland.

c8w

Pork Belly Tacos. Big Star. I've had them many times before and love them. But last night from the take out window the couple I got made me think again, these are possibly the greatest of food items I've ever eaten. They had the biggest chunks of tender, fatty, flavorful swine I've ever had on them, with little bits of crispy-ness as an added bonus. For 5 to 10 minutes I completely engulfed myself in their deliciousness and forgot all my woes and fears.

Thank you Pork Belly Tacos. Thank you.

The Frenchie burger at Bad Apple last night--medium rare burger with brie, spinach, truffle, and frizzled red onions. Beef is sourced from famed NYC butcher Pat La Frieda and is delicious. The burger patty itself was perfectly red/pink in the middle with a great crunchy crust--best of both worlds. You can opt up for a pretzel roll, which I always love, but their regular bun (split top white roll, squishy but not too soft) is good too. Fries were solid, but I didn't love the poutine. I do like that the beer menu is larger than the food menu though!

Sausage pizza from Vito and Nicks before a flight out of Midway. I usually avoid Midway like the plague but whenever I travel now Midway must be considered to hit V & N's beforehand. Slightly crispy crust and sausage in every bite, one of the best pizzas I've ever had. Washed down with a couple of cold Old Style drafts and it was the perfect start to a short vacation in Denver.

Pata negra at Schwa. Served with garlic, zucchini, and a white anchovy puree. The fat on that pork was like nothing else I've ever had. A great dinner overall, but this dish was the star of the show.

Stuffed chicken wings and grilled squid at Sticky Rice.

easily the two best things I have eaten lately, both from Thursday night @ LTH

crisp pan fried chow fun with roast duck & bbq pork. The meaty noodles, and the duck and pork were brilliant:



clams evil ronnie style, just great, the noodles, the clams, the sauce. awesome:



already plotting a return to LTH, hoping to duplicate the level these dishes achieved

The Red Velvet cake at Depot American Diner. Mr. X declared it the best Red Velvet cake he's had. It was a damn fine cake after a damn fine meal.

A "build your own" sandwich from Pastoral, comprised of fine white cheddar, excellent mustard, onions, and greens on a toothsome baguette. The tomatoes I requested were a tragedy, but once removed, a stellar sandwich.

And all for what it would cost to get something so-so from Potbelly a couple of blocks away. Perplexing.

Pastoral
53 E Lake St
Chicago, IL 60601

Crunchy, hot, garlicky, sweet, salty. It's all going on here:

Pork belly entree @ Longman and Eagle.

Chicken gumbo, dirty rice and a nice size filet of Tilapia. The fish was one of THE BEST I have EVER had!! It had great breading on it with a little spice. The thing I liked best was it tasted like it was baked, not greasy at all or fried out thick batter crust. In fact there was not a spot of grease on my hands or in the little box/wrapper it came with....man I had to ask myself....how do they do this?? Will be back to find out SOON.
The hot sauce that came with it was good to NICE heat N flavor.
The chicken gumbo and rice were great also.This place is a must try.

http://louisianafriedchicken-chicago.com/default.aspx
13653 S. Cicero Ave.
Crestwood, IL 60445
p: (708) 371-8212

Hook's 15 year old (!!) cheddar from Wisconsin Cheese Mart in the French Market. Shockingly good. Crystallizing interior and a deep, deep, James Brown funk. I don't even know where the flavor is going - pineapple and minerals and dark, evil, beautiful cheesiness that is sweet and bitter. Forgo the crackers and truly appreciate this cheese. They reported limited quantities so get it while you can -- but be forewarned, it is sold only in half-pounds at $50 per pound, so you'll be paying for it. I have never even heard of a cheddar this old, though, so the novelty is worth that price, let alone the amazingly complex flavor.

Blueberry Soufflé at Wally's Desert Turtle, Palm Springs, CA

Beet Rosti with Rosemary. And I didn't even make it all that well.

This was my first time making a rosti and it will not be the last. Herbaceous rosemary was a great pick-me-up to the sweetness and earthiness in the beets.

Accompaniments for re-heat: can I get a creme fraiche from the congregation?

my past two meals at this place have been "send it back" bad, so don't ask why i returned last night (bar table karma in full effect), but Wildfire in Oak Brook churned out some of the freshest, plumpest, most satisfying mussels i've had in very long time. Charred shell revealed ultra plump, almost pregnant whiteness with briny blasts of totally chewable seameat. Sidecar of garlic butter unecessary but much obliged and a couple shot of tabasco sealed the dealsky.

The shortrib special was very well executed, the accompanying root veggies where all over the map; either overdone or under done. Wine flight was novel but a good deal, service was perfect.

Didn't hurt either that while the old lady shopped, I treated myself to a teavana tea and a 45 min. mechanical rubdown at brookstone. mmmmm, massage chair....

word.

Jalapeno Chocolate Ice Cream at The New Rebozo in Oak Park. Assertive heat that somehow makes the chocolate chocolate-y-er. I was sure I wouldn't finish the large portion, but I kept wanting to have one more spoonful, and then it was gone.

After a long hiatus (10 years) the first meal I ate after landing in Jordan at my aunt's house in Zarqa - chicken biryani with a side of sour tomato soup. The biryani was prepared gulf-style (she lived in Kuwait until being kicked out after Saddam invaded for being Palestinian) and studded with carmelized onions, pine nuts and nearly burnt raisins. Did I mention that the chicken was the best, most flavorful bird I've had in years?

Tomorrow I'm off to the West Bank for a while. I'm sure I will have plenty to post about, but probably no internet.

Nice to be home. Now what's for breakfast?