food and the city: August 2010

Monday, August 23, 2010

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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Friday, August 20, 2010

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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Friday, August 13, 2010

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.