ink

los angeles, ca

website

i'm not a big top chef fan. first, it's too combative and stressful. second, i prefer not to watch people make food that i can't eat. but i do like eating at restaurants of successful top chef contestants. cindy c made reservations at top chef winner michael voltaggio's new restaurant on melrose in los angeles. the interior was very similar to thomas keller's ad hoc in napa valley: giant chalkboard menu hanging over the bar, loud music, casually dressed waitstaff, and courier font for everything. except - the food at ink is much more inventive and interesting. yeah, i said it.

good thing anthony joined us - gave us the freedom to select more dishes from the small-plates menu. we ended up ordering about a dozen plates, including three desserts. the highlights: oysters (pictured) simply dressed with a refreshing mignonette ice, brussel sprouts served with crispy pig's ears and lardo (best "vegetable" dish ever), egg yolk gnocchi - somehow voltaggio created fluffy pillows of pasta with a creamy yolky center, and finally, a deconstructed apple pie with burnt wood ice cream - tasted like an apple pie baked over a campfire but looked like ice cream with little gelees. amazing. remarkable. molecular gastronomy in a gastropub - wonderfully strange and delicious.

madera

palo alto, ca

website

madera is now one of our favorite special occasion restaurants in the area, right up there with evvia. it's a favorite restaurant (also hotel/spa) for the venture-capitalist/hedge-fund/dot-com/silicon-valley types. not that derek or i fit into any of those categories, but we know good food when we taste it. we've been here twice already in the last few months - once to introduce m+s to silicon valley (they recently moved from berkeley) and again when derek's parents visited. it's a beautiful location - sit outside for dinner if it's not too chilly and you'll have a gorgeous view of the sun setting behind the mist covering the distant hills.

my favorite dish here is the appropriately titled "rich & salty" - which consists of three split bones with roasted bone marrow topped with osetra caviar. yes. bone marrow topped with caviar. i know! the toast points on the side were underwhelming - bland, thin, and too crunchy. i wish they would serve a proper toast accompaniment - like the crispy bread with garlic, olive oil, and balsamic vinegar at casa mono. but i'm just being picky. the rest of the food at madera was good, but everything paled in comparison to the rich, fatty, salty goodness of this simple yet extravagant appetizer.

michael mina

san francisco, ca

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derek is very good at thinking ahead and making reservations. when he found out that cindy was coming for a weekend visit, he immediately made reservations at michael mina - highly rated, has one michelin star. a had been there before, so we followed his lead and ordered a la carte. cindy, a+ma, and derek split two orders of the tuna tartare (which was very good), but i had to be an uni-snob and order the uni pasta off of the tasting menu (pictured). the uni was incredible, the rest of the pasta was pretty good as well.

my entree, highly recommended by the waiter, was the "japanese inspired whole dungeness crab" served with ramen. some of the crab was tempura-fried and the rest of the crab was poached in miso-butter. the poached crab was amazing, served with an incredible sauce. the ramen was disappointing - tasted like overcooked instant ramen in a bland broth. the highlight of the meal, however, might have been the bread served on the side - ridiculously good. grilled, buttered sourdough bread served with a little pot of (what i assume must be) fresh ricotta topped with a layer of honey. after you finish one slice of bread, they bring you another slice and another pot of ricotta, so feel free to go crazy with the ricotta. overall, it was a quality fine-dining experience, just don't get the ramen.

evvia

palo alto, ca

website

one of the top restaurants in palo alto, it's been recommended by nearly everyone we've met since moving to the south bay. it's not the kind of restaurant where you can get a table on a whim, which is how we usually decide on dinner. but for derek's birthday, i made 8 pm reservations about a week in advance. the atmosphere at evvia was surprisingly cozy and welcoming for such an expensive restaurant.

pictured is the best octopus that i've ever had - grilled with lemon, oregano, and olive oil. perfectly charred yet tender. delicious. for my entree, i ordered the moschari souvlaki - beef filet, sweet peppers, mushrooms & onions with Cretan rice & Greek yogurt. the beef was well-spiced and served over excellent rice. everyone raves about the ice cream sundae - it was good, but a little bit too rich for my tastes. overall, a fantastic meal. there's so many other items on the menu that i want to try, but i'll definitely be back for the octopus.

kanpai

palo alto, ca

website

yes! finally! two things to celebrate. 1 - derek and i finally found a decent sushi spot in palo alto and 2 - i've finally caught up with all of my posts. i ended up skipping a few places because i either forgot to take a picture or i had taken a picture, but couldn't remember the restaurant. i hope to blog more regularly in the future but we'll see how it goes... anyway, back to the food -- kanpai received some pretty good ratings on yelp, so we decided to give it a try. as soon as we walked in, the atmosphere reminded us of authentic japanese restaurants we visited in tokyo and manhattan, so that was very promising.

derek knows all about my love of uni. as soon as we sat down he asked the waiter whether they had uni. the response - "yes, and it's very fresh!" and it was amazing uni, some of the best that i've ever had - extremely fresh. in fact, i ordered another piece after eating the first. the rest of the sushi was good, but not the same quality as the uni. next time, we know to ask them for what is "very fresh" that day. they also serve the sweet shrimp nigiri with the shrimp heads deep-fried, so you get all the good brainy bits too. delicious. in addition, kanpai has an excellent sake list and really good rolls - we'll definitely be back!

sasabune

los angeles, ca

website

you know a place is going to have good sushi when ... (1) it's recommended by cindy c and (2) you're greeted with a sign that warns you that they don't serve california rolls, spicy tuna rolls, or teriyaki. the only real option at sasabune is the omakase -- the waiter asks you whether you'd like the japanese or the american tasting menu. (we chose japanese, of course!) i had no idea how much lunch was about to cost, but i didn't particularly care. i had been deprived of good sushi for far too long to let financial concerns interfere.

amazing sushi, definitely around seki-level quality. we started with two plates of sashimi - toro in a ponzu sauce and what i think was raw clam with pink salt. so good - extremely fresh, buttery sushi. then the waiter brought us the nigiri courses, two pieces at a time. my favorites were the uni and ikura (pictured) and sweet shrimp, although every piece was fantastic. finally, they serve crab hand rolls - they don't look appetizing, but they were delicious. lunch ended up costing about $100 (incl. tax and tip) so this is definitely a special occasion spot, but i was very happy with the entire experience.

charlie palmer steak

washington, dc

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charlie palmer is best known for his restaurant aureole, which i've never been to but heard good things about. after several days of hotel catering, i was really looking forward to a real meal and a real steak. when i lived in manhattan, derek and i went to many excellent steakhouses. palo alto, not so much. in california, they tend to drench their steaks in unnecessary sauces. ridiculous.

charlie palmer did not disappoint. my steak was excellent - perfectly cooked and perfectly seasoned. the right amount of char and the right amount of fat. a pleasant surprise was the amazing starter salad, served with a poached egg to add yolk to the dressing. dessert, a berry cobbler, was also very good.

la toque

napa, ca

website

sorry for the lapse in blogging, things have been very busy, but now the big event is over and i will try to catch up with the backlog so that my new posts will be more timely. the lag has caused me to forget many details about prior meals. i'll skip the meals where i can't even remember which restaurant we ate at. hopefully moving forward i'll be able to post right after the meal rather than months later and give my devoted reader(s) more accurate information.

derek and i decided to take advantage of our new norcal locale and venture up to napa valley to check out what the fuss is about. unfortunately we also decided to stop by the car dealership while we were up there and ended up spending most of the weekend getting a new car rather than touring wineries. we did make it to la toque, however, which is a michelin star restaurant. derek and i were missing the fancy new york food scene and thought we could relive the experience at la toque. unfortunately, the only thing amazing at la toque were the desserts. the panna cotta was incredibly light - somehow floral and fruity all at once. the food was good, but not worth the price. the sommelier was engaging and gave us intriguing backstories on each of the wine pairings, but one of the wines was undrinkable. overall, not worth the trek but perhaps it was an off-night.

prospect

san francisco, ca

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derek and i made it up to SF to join tina, vanita and rajesh for dinner at prospect a few months ago. yes, i'm that far behind. excellent decor and atmosphere. extremely high ceilings, dark wood interior, roomy comfortable booths. in fact, my firm had an event here a few weeks later - the back room was perfect for a gathering of about 40 of us. the bar area and cocktail list looked pretty good as well, but tina had brought a fantastic bottle of wine from rochioli vineyards to share.

my favorite dish is pictured - the uni risotto with tiny seared scallops. amazing. buttery and rich uni in buttery and rich risotto. although it was unfortunately only a starter, so the portion was small. next time i might order two because i wasn't that impressed with my main course. the desserts were fantastic, though -- loved the fancy smores.

quality meats

58(5/6)

website

i suggested to derek that we try quality meats, a midtown steakhouse, because i heard great things about it on the internet. i might have neglected to mention that the great things i heard were that it's female-friendly and that it serves amazing single-serving ice cream cakes. what he doesn't know can't hurt him, right ? i arrived before derek and was led to the back of the restaurant, up some stairs, around a few turns, into a small room with a low ceiling that overlooked the front entrance. the waiter seating me could tell that i wasn't thrilled about the location, but he explained "it's our room for special occasions."

now it's hard to pinpoint exactly why i was placed into the upstairs dungeon for dinner. was it because i made my reservation only 2 hours in advance? because of how i was dressed? or because i'm (gasp) asian? i don't know, maybe the 30 empty tables i passed along the way were truly reserved. regardless, the service we received in that little dungeon was beyond reproach. efficient, friendly, attentive, even poured me a little extra wine to finish a bottle. and the menu is indeed female-friendly. i ordered the hanger steak with cherry sauce, a great combination. the hint of sweetness from the cherries matched perfectly with the steak. and we indeed ordered one of the ice cream cakes, topped with a cute candy cow. will we be back? probably not. my hanger steak was a tad overcooked. plus derek needs more serious steak and for that, we'll head to primehouse.

marea

central park south (bway/7th)

website

managed to finally knock another restaurant off of my list of five restaurants to try in 2010 thanks to cindy c and her excellent reservation-making skills. marea is known for amazing seafood and has gotten many rave reviews since it opened in may 2009. it's quite a splurge, but it's worth every penny. they suggest that you do the 4-course prix fixe for $89. but if you're like me, you're full after the pasta course (especially after eating both servings of olive-studded foccacia bread). so i suggest getting one antipasti and one pasta and then dessert only if you still have room.

the antipasti to get? the "astice" - nova scotia lobster, burrata, eggplant al funghetto, and basil. jenny wisely chose this appetizer and graciously let cindy c and i taste some. perfectly cooked lobster melts with the smooth burrata cheese - rich and decadent. although even more rich and decadent is the pasta that you have to order - the fusilli with red wine braised octopus and bone marrow (pictured). the most amazing pasta dish i have ever had - perfectly cooked everything with little nuggets of marrow to send you into foodie nirvana. everything else was good, but ended up being also-rans compared to the lobster and octopus dishes. my recommendation - get the lobster, get the octopus pasta, eat the olive foccacia, and have a glass of wine to cut the richness of the dishes. then skip dessert and enjoy the complimentary chocolates instead.

j&g steakhouse

washington, dc

website

we were staying at the W in washington DC, which has great views of the city from its rooftop bar - you can see the top of the white house! in an effort to be fancy and exclusive, there's a velvet rope and a bouncer managing the line. derek and i managed to skip the line by flashing our room key cards (a nice perk). we wanted to get a good spot in order to see the cherry festival fireworks. once we got up there, however, it wasn't that crowded. (but maybe DC has a different definition of crowded). we snagged the perfect spot with a view of the water and enjoyed yummy strawberry lemonades (infused with alcohol, of course).

by the time the fireworks were over, it was pretty late for dinner. after browsing through a few dinner options in our hotel guide, we learned that the j&g in the hotel's lobby restaurant actually stood for jeans-georges, a famous new york chef. an easy choice for lazy people of somewhat discerning taste. for my entree, i had the snake river farm wagyu sirloin, which was amazing. derek had the bone-in rib eye, which he enjoyed (and considered just a small step below primehouse's 40-day aged rib-eye). for dessert, i had a cookie plate which made a pretty picture and a nice treat. derek had the famous jean-georges molten chocolate cake, which is one of the few desserts he truly enjoys.

churrascaria plataforma

w bway (franklin/white)

website

the price of their prix fixe dinner has increased significantly since i took ryan and cindy here on their nyc vacation a few years ago. the price is understandable because it is all-you-can-eat, but i simply don't eat enough to justify the cost. i'm saddened because i like this place - great food and lots of fun. at the beginning of the meal, everyone gets a disc that is green on one side, red on the other. if you leave the red side up, you are free to go to the "salad" bar, which includes sushi, cheese, risotto, salads, various antipasti, and the BEST chicken salad i've ever tasted. i would be completely satisfied with a meal that consisted entirely of the "salad" bar.

but wait, there's more. flip your disc to the green side and that gives the waiters the green light to start bringing you giant slabs of meat. the meat is often carried by the waiter on a spear. if you would like a piece of a particular cut of meat, the waiter slices off a piece for you. there are all different kinds and cuts - duck, filet mignon wrapped in bacon, chicken, sausage, prime rib, sirloin, beef rib, pork rib - even octopus and salmon. my favorite was the sirloin - fatty and juicy with crispy charred spots. amazing. derek has mastered the art of staring down waiters who are carrying his desired cut of meat. it's quite impressive - he spots them as they walk out of the kitchen and stares at them until they walk to our table. with the price, however, this is a restaurant to save for special occasions - maybe the next time will be when cindy and ryan visit the big apple again!

sushi seki

new york, ny

link to yelp

this is my favorite sushi restaurant in the city and it is very difficult to get reservations. fortunately, i managed to snag a table for 3 at 8:30 pm on a wednesday night for myself, eric and jenny. if you're a sushi-eater, you have to get the special platter or the omakase. otherwise it's a waste of a reservation. (for non-sushi-eaters, i hear their other options are fantastic, though i have never tried them.) my first visit to sushi seki was in 2005 when the special platter was called the omakase, had huge pieces of fish, and cost around $30. a steal. it now costs $45 and has smaller pieces of fish. a separate omakase option now starts at $60. i'm sad that the price has increased so much, but i understand the economics of the decision.

derek and i once celebrated an anniversary here - we told the waiter how much we wanted to spend and chef seki sent out plate after plate of amazing sushi. it was one of the best meals i've ever had. since then, however, i've stuck to the special platter which includes most of my favorites from that meal. seki has unique sauces and preparations for each type of sushi. unlike the omakase menus at other restaurants, these special preparations generally stay the same every day. my favorites are the tuna topped with a creamy light tofu sauce, salmon served with onions and tomato, seared king salmon sauced with soy and sake, seared scallop. even the eggplant is melt-in-your-mouth good. definitely try this place if you've got some room in your budget for amazing sushi.

eleven madison park

new york, ny

website

dinner at eleven madison park is not a meal, it's an experience. i'm not sure my humble writing skills can do this place justice, so i invite you to read frank bruni's take on this place. the restaurant is housed in a beautiful old bank building overlooking madison square park. the service is stellar - this is a place that takes the "customer is always right" motto to another level. and the food - between the hors d'oeuvres, amuse bouche, appetizer, entree, dessert, and all the extras in between - it is sensory overload. it is foodie heaven. i'm going to try to explain the experience, but i'll have to go over my two paragraph limit.

we start by requesting a bottle of champagne from the champagne cart (yes, there's a whole cart) - vouvray petillant brut 2002. after ordering from our menus, the waiter brings the first plate of extras - hors d'oeuvres. these include a beet-flavored marshmallow, celery gelee with truffle, a savory macaroon, something with goat cheese, and my favorite - sweetbreads stuffed in a crispy shell shaped like a carrot. after a while, the waiters bring another extra - mushroom soup with parmesan foam, served with a mini brioche. it's unreal - rich and creamy but light and frothy at the same time. just when you think they're done with the pre-appetizer appetizers, they bring a curious glass container, filled 2/3 with dry rice and topped with a small, black ball-shaped item. what could it be? why, it's a black truffle beignet! of course. upon opening the container, the scent of truffles pretty much smacks you in the head. the beignet itself is doughy and earthy. quite surprising.

now we get to the food that we actually ordered. my appetizer was unbelievable - a farm egg, slow-cooked so that the white and yolk are both the same soft foamy consistency, served with a wine sauce, winter mushrooms, and extremely tender frog legs. again, the flavors and textures are incredibly rich, yet delicate. derek ordered the shrimp wrapped in avocado. for our entree, we shared the bluefoot chicken. the entire chicken was sliced in front of us - the breast meat was served with a truffle sauce with tiny potatoes and leeks. the dark meat was taken back to the kitchen where it was turned into a creamy dish with chanterelles. i didn't like the breast meat (but i rarely do), but the dark meat was delicious. at this point, i was full beyond full and i might have looked at the waiter skeptically when he brought our desserts - a vanilla souffle with passionfruit sauce and the chocolate peanut butter palette. both were quite good. and we're not done yet - next, the waiter presented a large plate full of adorable mini macaroons for us to choose from. i took one out of politeness and simply stared at it. derek really enjoyed his peanut butter and jelly macaroon.

finally, as a parting gift, we each received a lovely little box of housemade jelly candies in grapefruit, lemon, lime, and tangerine. the next day, or maybe a week later, taking a bite of one of the candies and tasting the fresh fruit and delicate texture, is the perfect way to reminisce about the eleven madison park experience.