Meadowood

Very dramatic table setting

This year we continued our family tradition of celebrating November birthdays (new member of the 27 club!) at a nice restaurant after Thanksgiving. While it was a good, solid meal, I don't think it was comparable to the other 3-Michelin-star restaurants that I've been to (French Laundry and Le Bernardin). Moreover, I thought the food at Providence (2 stars) and Le Chateaubriand (no stars) were both way more satisfying and exciting. Their dessert options were also a bit lacking in the creativity department, which was really disappointing. I don't know how Michelin rates restaurants, and I usually never take reviews that seriously, but I just didn't see why Meadowood has been getting so much hype. Great food, regardless. And very interesting patron demographic. That's all I will say.

Heavy hitters

The a la carte items were more memorable than any of the tasting menu courses

Beautiful plating

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Little Boys

Made some desserts for my one-year-old nephew's cowboy birthday! Throw in some Roadside BBQ, college football, and Rockband 3 and we have a party.

Menu:
- Mini sweet potato pies with pecans
- Chocolate peanut butter rice krispies treats
- Pumpkin whoopie pies with spiced cream cheese filling
- Caramelized apple turnovers
- S'more cake: chocolate layered cake with marshmallow cream and crushed graham crackers
- Spiced roll-out cookies in different shapes for the kids to decorate (cactus, cowboy hat, cowboy boot, and the state of Texas!)

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Get Real Get Right

Alice, amazed at the aisles filled with the most ridiculous selection of Barilla; sticky figgy gelato from EATaly (it was gross and even Alice threw hers away)

Not pictured: the Stumptown baristas chucking newspapers while stroking their staches

Juicy lamb burger (side of cumin mustard) and charcuterie at the Breslin

Mac n cheese pancakes and ebelskivers from Shopsins

High and low: afternoon tea at Bergdorf with Jess, then late night Shake Shack

Cheesecake and pies

Ice cream galore to combat the scorching heat

Vegan "burger" and curry pan at the UES Japanese Soul Food Fest

OK, I didn't intend to spend more time and money on Mr. Chang, but how could I resist a $25 pre fixe power lunch with Wendy?? Spring rolls in particular were deceptively modern

Not pictured: wasabi-packed uni panini from El Quinto Pino, multiple stops for iced coffee at Ost and the Third Rail pop-up at Rapha, the feeding of 5000 at Madangsui, yet another depressing defeat at The Australian, and a feast of Chino Latino and congealed Joe Shanghai leftovers!

Looking forward to colder weather... it's starting to smell like fall!

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Kim + Mike

About a month ago, I started prepping for Kim and Mike's wedding pretty much right off the plane from Paris. Kim was an absolute delight to work with and really just the sweetest bride ever! She's also an extremely creative architect, and designed/drew the invitations and background herself, as well as the hanging decorations. You can check out her description of the wedding on the PW blog, and there are more photos on PW's featured wedding of the week. Once Wed also posted some photos of the wedding on their blog.

Of course, my friend Grace put the table together, and Jess kept the sanity and was a real savior/trooper. I really could not do anything without them! =)

Here's the menu:

Buttermilk panna cotta tart / lemon curd
Mini berry pies with lattice (time-consuming, but so cute it's worth it)
Lavender cupcakes / lemon buttercream
Mascarpone cheesecake / blackberry sage glaze
Chocolate mousse peanut butter bar
Chocolate chip cookies
Oatmeal cookies with cherries and pistachios
White chocolate citrus macadamia cookies
Watermelon (bride's favorite)
Earl gray chiffon cake / orange blossom buttercream (for cutting)

All photos are courtesy of Orange Turtle Photography

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All Delighted People

I've been eating out a ridiculous amount lately, but good food with good friends is never something to complain about. Another restaurant that opened on 10-Aug was Commonwealth, brought to you by the MSF team. We decided to forgo the tasting and went a la carte, where our favorite dishes were the marrow-stuffed squid (deliciously smoky), the hen which was cooked perfectly, and the "s'more" dessert that had a punch of cardamom. The space is comfortable even if our table was too small, and the casual atmosphere definitely made the "fine dining" experience more accessible.

I also had a meal at Limon Rotisserie, a more casual offshoot of Limon on Valencia. While the interior of the space looks like your standard trendy Mission restaurant, the food was actually REALLY CHEAP. My friend and I shared a whole chicken that came with two sides, and it was more than enough food so we packed leftovers. Even better, it was only $20. For the both of us. So ridiculous! If I lived closer I would definitely make it a ritual to have dinner there followed by trivia at Shotwell's.

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benu

The standout dish: "shark's fin soup" with a delicately silky truffle custard at the base

It's too early to say much about Benu, but I definitely appreciated how much thought and precision went into the food, space, and the service. I have mixed feelings, but again, it's only day 3! Any restaurant needs time to find its groove and get situated, regardless of the caliber of the team.

(R) Monkfish liver torchon was truly beautiful to look at, and the accompanying brioche was quite perfect

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Something Old Something New

Eiji miso cod and strawberry mochi (photos courtesy of she-rene)

Lots and lots of puff pastry dough and butter, pizza from Americano

Brussel sprout chips (the lemon really makes it sing!), ADD burger drenched in grease from Marlowe

Pork bun from Spice Kit (short ribs are pretty money), kouglof and pain au chocolat et pistache from Laduree

some dish from the lazy ox, burma superstar leftovers

heart attack from namu, santa ramen on easter sunday

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