DC's MITA makes me want more (vegan) (12-27-24)

 My first trip to Mita was back in June and I LOVED it. I was shocked that the entire menu was vegan. Chef Miguel will blow you away with his flavors, spices and presentations for a tasting menu that cannot be beat! The wines are also excellent, and I decided I needed to bring our son Sam who is vegetarian back as the three of us head over on Friday night for a multi-course menu that was truly magnificent.

Will ordered the MGM-Mita's Garden Margarita with Mijenta Tequila, Amara's Verde Mezcal, Lou's Herbs Mix, Lime and Cointreau, Sam loved his creamy COQUITA with Coconut Milk, Oat Milk, Cinnamon, Vanilla & Rum, while I adored my LOU's MARTINI of Belvedere 10 Vodka, Manzanilla Sherry, Blanc Vermouth, Giffard Piment and Celery Bitters.

Drinks are fun here, but so is the wine and we started with a Vouvray 2022 made from Chenin Blanc from Domaine Sebastien Brunet that Will called "cream of mineral" with green able tones and lots of minerals in the creamy finish. Our red was one of my favorite Mexican wines, "Gabriel" from Adobe Guadalupe in Baja California. The wine packs a punch at 13.5% alcohol with 50% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Malbec and 20% Merlot, and while I love this wine the 2109 vintage perhaps was not as good as the ones I have had before.

The meal started with our extremely handsome server, Harry, brinking over the smoking covered pot called Copal with Tamarind/Mango/Tajin Caramels on top. They had a burst of mango, a slight spice and were more like soft pate a fruits. The wrappers are edible for a fun touch!

We opted for the supplemental Arepas order ($21 for the table) and as I recalled from last time, this is a must. There are 5 types of arepas (all photos on FB): Platano/Potato/Yucca/Corn/Whole Wheat and three dips for them: Guasacaca (a guacamole with cilantro)/Sour Cream (made of Cashew) which is unbelievable)/Chontaduro Butter (made from peach palm). This is fun as there are so many combinations, but I always come back to the savory arepas with the sour cream!

PACHAMAMA is a glass class enclosed with keepsakes given by the staff and on top has the dish which is Yuba Crisp with Balck Bean Mole, Celery Root, Lemon Zest and a nice kick from the Aji Amarillo. One of my favorite courses here (besides the arepas) is the Arracacha, a Venezuelan soup, here made with Fava Beans, Sweet Plantain and has a Dashi Broth(togarashi) poured tableside that has been cooked for 12 hours and is richer than veal stock!; onion ash is slashed across the top. It is a rich dish and very filling, but I managed to slurp up every last drop!

Watermelon Crudo comes with Fermented Carrots, Wild Rice Cracker (in the style of Chicharron), Cilantro Oil is slow cooked watermelon and passion fruit in a quasi-fruity-ceviche with a vegan viva from the Aji Amarillo & Avocado. it is the ideal palate cleanser!!

The "first main: was Masa Churro (Mexico) with Chanterelles, Black Garlic, Pipian Rojo Sauce (a mojo verde) and Mezcal! It was hard to decide which of these "main" dishes was better as they were simply both so magnificent.

The second "main" course is Charred Banana with Pearled Barley, Charred Mitake(menu spelling) Mushrooms, peas, Crispy Shallots, Pea Tendrils, Soffrito Sauce and Lime Juice. If you were not full by this course, something was wrong.

Of course, there is dessert with Po'e Cake from Easter Island with vegan coconut ice cream, Miso Pineapple Mousse, banana, sweet potato and shaved fresh coconut. It is a great "cake" and has so many great flavors to beat.

Botero caramelized avocado treats came to send us home (no photo)!

MITA is magnificent and really tops for vegetarians and vegans in town, but I love it too!

AKE -Table & Vin etais vraiment parfait pour notre dernier nuit ici a Pairs(12-23-24)

 So tomorrow we head back to the USA only for a month or so (can't wait to return to France) and we chose a small bistro on the northeast side of Paris near the Republique that was simply wonderful.

AKE has seating for about 20 plus some seat at the open kitchen bar and has wobbly tables with candles and super ambiance. The menu has about 8 options and are meant to be shared, so we chose two to start and ended up with four all great options.

The wine was a Hautes Cotes de Beaune 2018 Gymnopodie from Domaine de la Roseraie which was a superb aged pinot noir that went with everything. It took our server a while to find the wine in the cave, but she found one bottle numbered 1352 out of 2336 so the production was very small!

We started with the Terrine(all photos on FB) of pork and chicken with pistachio and Armagnac and a fruit infusion like marmalade and the sourdough bread was warm and had a super crunchy crust to boot. Next came Gateau grille, a "cake" made of potato, carrot and Jerusalem artichoke with a super yet simply aioli.

Choux de Bruxelles were grilled Brussels Sprouts with parmesan, fried shallots and citrus (oops grapefruit) and fried anchovies that we loved. The winning dish was the Croquettes de lieu noir or Fish Croquettes made from Saithe(fish) with spinach and leeks with a fabulous to-die-for remoulade(was it apple in the sauce) and radicchio. Our friends back home know how picky we are about crab cakes and these fish croquettes were as pure and simple as the best crabcakes back home.

We finished with a glass of Grenache and some cheese: Comte and Tomme de fleur de Savoie that was so floral and super to give us a take-away flavor from France ending this amazing 7-week journey that seemed to start ages ago in the UK!

Paris' L'OISEAU BLANC get bravos for the service and views and food is superb save for over-saucing (12-22-24)

 For this trip to Paris our Michelin star adventure was to the elegant L'OISEAU BLANC situated atop the Peninsula Hotel. The room is small, quiet and classy with all glass walls facing over the city and a monster-view of the Eiffel Tower. This would have earned it at least one Michelin star alone. The service was perfect indeed with the handsome Antoine and his team always there to accommodate any need, pour any wine and answer any question. That would have garnered a second star for sure. The food was indeed quite delicious and only marred in several dishes by the multitude of sauces that did at times conflict on the plate. That said, the two Michelin stars are well earned and there were many things to praise indeed.

The name comes from the famous plane that attempted to be the first to cross the Atlantic and a replica of this is located in the hotel courtyard hung at the 6th floor where the restaurant is located. Even the bathroom has a deco-inspired plane theme with the faucets looking like plane wings.

The crystal is Riedel, the silver is Sheffield, and the crisp white linens are spotless. White roses were everywhere, and white-frosted miniature Xmas trees were mingled with elaborate wine decanters. The plates had a copy of the Oiseau Blanc plane and blue clouds. As we sat, a huge cart arrived with multiple champagnes to choose from, and Will opted for a JM Seleque Rose while I preferred the yeasty Tarlan 2009 vintage! Riesling glasses were used instead of flutes as the sommelier explained it allows one to smell the wine and the effervescence to improve; I didn't buy it. Sparkling water was Orezza from Corsica which was nice, but not as good as our favorite Badoit. We marveled at the view as the Eiffel Tower put on a light show for us all evening and settled in for our culinary journey. I explained to the team that Will was not eating a lot due to his medication, and they asked the chef if we could do one tasting and one a la carte; et voila, he approved.

A tiered caddy arrived with three amuses (all photos on FB along with views and videos of the Eiffel Tower light show): an okay butternut squash tartelette with cacao, a fabulous puff pastry with herbs that exploded in our mouths and Lobster wrapped in spinach that was a tad to lemony for me. With this came a Kugelhopf (the famous German treat) but here was as fluffy as could be in its miniature form and made with Indian spices, mushroom and Ossiau-Iraty cheese! Sourdough bread with very yellow butter followed which Antoine informed us came from naturally grass-fed cows and ws rich in beta-carotene and hence so yellow! Another amuse bouche arrived in a bowl with snail, bone marrow and turnip bathed in a beef broth with citronella (I thought it awas in candles only) that was quite rich, and one could tell much love went into this small carafe of broth.

We ordered a white and red wine and both were spectacular but are grateful for the sommelieuse's recommendations as the Saint-Aubin 1er Cru "En Remilly" 2022 from Domaine Marc Colin was the most creamy and unctuous white we have had in ages. The Chassagne-Montrachet "Les Chaumes" 2022 from Domain Morey-Coffinet was a tad young and chewy at first but opened up over the time we ate and was ideal with our heavier dishes later in the meal.

My tasting menu began with SHELLFISH consisting of Leeks in seaweed crust, RAZOR CLAMS smoked/grilled/sea urchin and a black garlic cream sauce with oyster leaf and red shiso. Accompanying this in a separate bowl was a poached oyster in leek and bearnaise sauce. The flavors were excellent, and I loved it all, especially the superb use of leeks and the oyster leaf did taste like an oyster!

My second dish and Will's starter was SCALLOPS consisting of a huge scallop mousseline in a crispy buckwheat "crepe" cracker that had bone marrow/matured sorrel & watercress, with a black truffle-meat sauce which was where the sauces did conflict, and the dish was indeed rich. Accompanying it was a superb carpaccio of scallops on a bed of crunchy lentils with caviar!

BLUE LOBSTER was a claw and tail/Carbonade with Fermented Grains/Cabbage in Beer, black truffle and beef crisp in a cappuccino coral with Lobster jus-beer sauce. The sauces were less intense here and worked well, although I am not a beer fan, this was a yummy treat as lobster is always good.

Will's main course was PHEASANT HEN with royal squid, passionfruit, chestnut and black truffle and while I did not taste, he raved about the entire dish. My "main" was Roasted WILD PIDGEON with citrus peel. salsify, clementine and roasted pepper while on the side was a small bowl with WOOD PIDGEON CONFIT in its sauce with chorizo oil. Each bite was a burst of flavors and amazing treat, but we were both starting to really fill up and almost 3 hours had passed!

We were not prepared for what was to follow although we knew the dish was called Speyside Pearl with fresh milk, marinated galangal, sunflower praline and pistachio sap.

The sommelieuse brought Macallan 15 year scotch tableside with a large kind of snifter machine to which she added refined tea and heated it(video on FB). Other ingredients were involved as she poured the concoction in our glasses and we drank it (I prefer straight scotch, but this was novel) and the sweet dish with the above ingredients was served to pair with it and the meringue was made with scotch too, I think. We both loved it.

My final dessert was Crystallized Taha'a Vanilla with Burnt Onion, Soubise, Onion Tuille, foam and caramelized layers but sadly had some licorice in the soubise that I just could not eat. Within minutes another dessert appeared which was the same vanilla but with no licorice or the crispy onion, which I kind of liked, but was a tad weird.

There were mignardises naturally and the three were all yummy:

Vanilla Quinoa Cups, Apple with Lemon Caviar and Mango Pavlova.

We did roll home but truly had a superb time at this lovely location with the great food and the unbelievably superb staff. 

Paris' GLOU is great modern bistro and sustainable to boot (12-21-24)

 We decided to have lunch today a tad later rather than dinner as we head to the new production of Lez Miz here in Paris this evening. GLOU is a small popular modern bistro in Le Marias that at 2pm was still full of locals. We were seated upstairs where the huge windows overlooked the beautiful Picasso Museum across the street and despite being full, we did not feel crowded like the night before. We even had a friend in the dog at the next table who could tell we were dog lovers!

I ordered a glass of white Beaujolais "lievre blanc" 2021 Domaine Jean Max that was loaded with citrus and was great with my first starter (we each ordered two appetizers): Huitres tres speciales de M. Jean-Paul Guernier no, 3 d'Utah Beach which were salty and briny and from the famed Normandy Utah Beach. Will started with a glass of Languedoc red and chose the Tartare de VEAU BASQUE, jaune oeuf, marne au soja which was an amazing tartare of veal with a barely cooked egg and served with grain/cereal seeded crackers. I had the same dish as my second starter, but chose to use the tasty bread instead of the crackers. I had mine with a glass of Loire VDF "Bangarang" red from Domaine Masse 2023 which was about the fruitiest red wine ever, but I loved it.

Will had a plate of Beignets de Pommes de Terres with Tome fraiche and Aoili which were the richest creamiest croquettes that he raved about and praised way more than those of the previous night!

It was a yummy lunch and we opted for coffee as opposed to dessert since tomorrow is our multi-Michelin star multi-course dinner!

Off to Les Miz!

Paris' FERDI is funky, freezing and a bit fun (12-20-24)

 We arrived in Paris for a long weekend before heading back to the states Tuesday and headed around the corner from our hotel to Bistro FERDI which has some big name supporters(I won't say who, just google them) and the Spanish/French tapas menu sounded fun. The place was really drafty and crowded and we never really warmed up the whole time there. We saw that almost everyone was ordering their famous burger, but we would have none of that.

We ordered a bottle of Cotes du Rhone Saint Joseph red from Domaine Courbis 2023 that was nice and warming in the cold. We settled on some starters and tried to warm up in the teeny space with not more than a dozen tables and stuffed animals, model cars, and kitschy decor that really was quite dusty.

Croquettes de Cabrales were made with Asturias blue cheese and they were okay, but Will felt they needed more blue flavor. The Tarama a la Truffe Noir was a dream dish: taramasalata with truffles, need I say more!! Boquerones were also awesome and came in a white wine yuzu marinade with artichoke dip and salmon caviar. Two hits and one not so great.

We were still chilly and getting full, so soup seemed on the bill, and we chose the CHUPE made with chicken, corn, potato, cheese and avocado which was indeed a wonderful hot meal in itself. We squeezed our way back out between the tables trying to figure out why folks would want to dine here in such a cramped setting even with some very good dishes.

L'EMBARCADERE a Bordeaux always gets bravos (12-15-24)

 When in Bordeaux we must always go to our favorite seafood spot, L'Embarcadere, and it was a real treat this time as winter is a time for heavier foods and L'Embarcadere delivered.

We ordered a bottle of red as it was getting chilly out and the Chateau Lafitte Carcasset from Saint-Estephe 2018 was drinking superbly. Will and I both started with the fish soup that was slightly spicy and served with the beautiful rouille (aioli), parmesan and croutons to put on as you liked. Will ordered the same main as last time as the Pace de Morue is always great: a cod fillet cooked in a rich local tomato sauce with the amazing sliced and fried potatoes on the side, although they were a tad more oily this time around as last time they were crunchy as crack! My Pave de saumon et fondue de poireaux was a superbly cooked salmon fillet that was bathed in a rich creamy leek sauce and covered with leeks.

I had the Poire rotie aux epices which was a roasted spiced pear with vanilla ice cream and it was even better than the tarte tatin we head this spring.

Simple dinner with great food in the best seafood bistro in town for sure!

Bordeaux ZEPHIRINE est superbe (12-14-24)

 We had a great meal back in the spring at ZEPHIRINE here in Bordeaux and decided it had to be at the top of our places to return to for a more refined meal while in town for this week. The menu offers a multi-course tasting for 89Euros(all three starters, all three mains and all three desserts!), but you can eat just as heartily for the 69 Euro menu which includes 3 starters for the entire table plus your choice of main and dessert.

The place is small with just over 15 tables or so and has an outdoor area for summer, now occupied by a large Xmas tree. The decor is simple and rustic with white 3-D veggie sculptures on the walls and mirrors (I love the backlit artichoke the most). The wooden tables and chairs could use a cushion, but other than that Bertrand and the whole team in the open kitchen are so welcoming. 

We ordered a bottle of 2020 Savigny-les-Beaunes 1er Cru "Clos de Guettes" from Jadot which we loved but came out so cold it needed 20 minutes to get to room temp! Once it got there it was super with all the fab food we had as Will was doing fish, and I was on the veal side.

We started with the terrine of pork and poultry with Port, herbs and pickles which was so good, we bought a container to take home after dinner! The other two starters came together: POTIMARRON ENCORNET was pumpkin & squid but the former was sliced thin and served firm and not mushy making it a completely different dish than what we are used to in the states. It was served with Black Citron(lemon) and a Marigold Ravigote sauce, parmesan sable, nuts and red curry veloute that was out of this world.  Second was the Farm egg barely cooked with mushrooms, Basque ham & buckwheat mousse in a garlic butter sauce. 

Will chose the Maigre de Ligne or local Drumfish from the nearby Bay of Arcachon grilled a la plancha with a fish sauce, lemon and capers while I adored what was called "faux filet" de Veau or fake filet as it was not the entrecote, but another lesser cut still delicious and served roasted with a magnificent sauce au poivre and roasted chicory, veggies, garlic and caramelized onions and potatoes!!

Will chose the Zephirin a la Clementine Corse (Corsican mandarins) which was like a giant baked donut holes and I chose the Mousse au Chocolat with Salted Caramel Tuille, Egg white Neige (think floating islands) and chocolate crunch.

We left full loving Zephirine even more!

BABEL at Babylonstoren is Farm to Table ON THE FARM in South Africa's wine country (9-11-24)

 Our last night in wine country was in the north of Stellenbosch where the lands are flatter and mountains loom to the east. Babylonstoren (meaning "Tower of Babylon") is a quaint property with simple accommodations in Afrikaans/Dutch style housing some of which is very historic ranging up to villas which are modern and luxurious. We settled into our cottage and then headed off to dinner in the restaurant called BABEL!

There is an outdoor courtyard and indoor seating (we chose that as the rain threatened) and we chose the various menu items we would share and then our mains.

We started with the Babylonstoren Viognier '22/'23 which I had tasted earlier and loved, but Will had skipped the tasting and needed to enjoy this lovely wine. We moved on to a Candide 2024, another one of those fabulous blends (36%Chard/25%Semillon/16.5%Chenin Blanc/12.5%Roussanne/10%Viognier); our only complaint was that the wines did tend to come quite cold and needed a good warm up!

I should explain that Babylonstoren is a working farm with over 800 employees and even a complete water buffalo farm for the purpose of milking the largest herd in Africa!

Our server Stephanie brought us a beautiful plate of Lemon Cucumbers from the farm as well as homemade Rosemary Sourdough with Farm Butter made with honey and dusted with Lavender Powder! Following these Mission Figs and Eve(a type I had never heard of) Figs arrived for us to savor, also from the farm, of course.

The farm is also known for its cow herds and they raise CHIANINA which is an Italian breed, so I had to try the CHIANINA BEEF TARTARE & TANNIE LEONIE's HEN's EGG & Garden Radish. It was a tasty dish indeed with toasted super thin sourdough to scoop up the yummy tartare and gooey raw egg after we broke it atop the super lean beef. We had not had oysters in South Africa so Will tried a dozen of the SALDANHA which are local from the Cape but apparently out of season. They were extremely salty and briny and came with a large citron-like lemon to squeeze on them with a huge cherokee purple heirloom-style tomato also in cheesecloth to squeeze over for tomato water...a novel idea and fun. 

Norman;s Line Fish of the Day was Yellowtail and it was superbly cooked with super-crispy skin and served with "Summer Marrows." the local term for zucchini squash as well as a Smoked Tomato (from the farm) Concasse. We had heard that the local smoked trout was amazing and asked for a taste. Stephanie brought an entire plate which would have covered a 1/2 dozen bagels and we did taste it and adored it, but felt horrible that she brought so much! We ordered the side of Heirloom Moestuin Beetroots with Garden Herb Aioli and again it was a huge portion so we picked at the fabulous local beets and then decided to try the cheese for dessert "From Our Neighbour's Farm" served with Fynbos Honeycomb, Pear Chutney and Crisp lavash. The cheese, alas, came right from the fridge and was so cold it lacked taste. There was a chili brie, a goat, a camembert, "Huegenote" and a barely blue cheese. 

The next morning at breakfast after our tour of the water buffalo farm we were treated to water buffalo butter, yogurt, mozzarella, ricotta and more which was a real treat as well.

The DELAIRE GRAFF RESTAURANT As-SALT-ed with SALT! (12-10-24)

 Our second night at Delaire Graff we chose to dine at the main restaurant, considered one of the finest spots in the region. It is a truly elegant setting with a choice of indoors or outside on the large terrace (which does lack that fabulous sunset view from the night prior). There was a Signature Chef's Tasting Menu which I immediately wanted, but Will was feeling full from the night before and wanted two courses only. After a lot of back and forth between the servers, managers, chef and staff, they finally agreed to do the two different types of menus as we told them just to being Will's starter with one of my earlier courses and his main with mine! Really a simple solution for what they seemed to think was an impossible task!

Since there were two meat mains and several light starters and it had been a warm day in wine country, we took the sommelier's suggestion for a fabulous Oliphant's Bay "The Matriarch" 2019 made from Roussanne, Grenache Blan and Chenin Blanc, another mastery of blending that is done so well in the region. An amuse arrived of a very sweet macaron with brie, fig, pancetta and gooseberry all of which was nice save for the sweetness of the macaron which should have been savory. The gorgeous bread arrived in the form of warm butter rolls with sea salt on top. They were accompanied by delicious red onion chutney, salted butter(no need for the salt with the rolls salted) and a new-to-us biltong dust to sprinkle on the rolls, which just added more salt. 

I have to apologize for some of the Facebook photos as I took them halfway through the course as I forgot to take pictures! Perhaps a result of too much wine tasting during the day! The first course of my menu was a truly magnificent Asparagus with an asparagus/parmesan velouté, crispy kale and shaved Italian white truffles with a tad of basil oil. It was a dreamy and simple dish taken to the greatest heights, alas only to fall later on.

Garden Beetroot Salad was a wonderful dish with lemon creme fraiche and hazelnuts served in a beautiful bowl that alas always had the silverware sliding into the dish! Why do they not figure out these dishes are stupid and make your silverware all messy!

At about this point Will got his starter of SPRINGBOK CARPACCIO with Kei Apple, Potato Sorghum and Nasturtium Pesto. The carpaccio was not thinly sliced meat, but indeed a hacheed tartare and was quite huge. The pesto was nicely spicy but the potatoes which were really shoestring (not sure why they call them sorghum) were unbelievably oversalted. Feeling full, and a tad disappointed, Will cancelled his main course fish dish.

I moved on to a yummy West Coast CRAYFISH with summer cucumber, cream cheese(ther only ingredient that was weird), onion and a superb pea velouté. The cream cheese was a lump in the middle of the velouté with the cucumber as was so out of place and tasted just gross.

Eastern Cape VENISON was my first main with heirloom radish, daikon, coriander and a superb pine nut salsa verde. The meat was cooked to perfection just past rare and crusted magnificently, but alas the crust was so oversalted had to cut it all off to be able to eat the meat! At this point, I mentioned to the staff and manager that everything was so salty and wondered if something was wrong with the chef. They apologized and then brought out y main course of KAROO WAGYU PRIME & TONGUE with tomato sauce that was so salty I just brushed it away, sorghum (popcorn) which I alas cannot eat, seaweed and bordelaise sauce. The tongue was fabulous, and it is always one of my favorite dishes which was a main reason I wanted the tasting menu, but it was just one small piece. There were 4 large pieces of perfectly cooked Wagyu again that was so salty I left 90% of it. The manager asked if I wanted it redone and I just told him to forget it as it was getting late, and we were tired.

I was excited about the "cheese" course of HILTON BLUE CHEESE MACARON with ganache and candied sage, but the macaron was so sweet (like the amuse) that it overpowered the cheese. Dark Chocolate Chip Cookie was a crunchy warm marquise with hazelnut, sushi rice and miso caramel ice cream. It sounds weird, but was yummy and YES, SALTY! I decided to call it quits and just tell them we were very disappointed and all they could do was apologize and not even take a dime off the bill!

The next morning at breakfast we were offered a consolation for the poor meal, a $10 bottle of the Rose that we like. I would have preferred the 950rand($52) refunded (or part of it); incidentally a truly amazing price for a tasting menu of that type!

Delaire Graff's Hōseki is OMG Omakase (12-9-24)

 We left Capetown early Monday to head one hour east to Stellenbosch, the beautiful wine country offering dozens and dozens if not hundreds of wineries to taste and buy from. We were staying two nights at Delaire Graff where we had done a tasting on our previous visit and really loved the wines. The 14 or so lodge accommodations are luxurious, and we loved the setting and the mountain views. We dined at Hoseki the first night (there are several dining options at the winery) which is located in the lodge's reception area just seocnds from our "villa." As we were guests of the winery for dinner, we had no clue what was included but were thrilled to see they had chosen the 6-course Chef's Omakase with paired wines from the winery! We did ask for a substitution on the Wagyu main as we were wagyu-ed out!

On arrival the staff all yelled "Irashamase" very loudly as the Japanese traditional "welcome." and we were seated overlooking the mountains as the sunset blazed through the windows in oranges and red (lots of sunset photos on FB as well as the food!). The tables are all bronze with inlaid wood and small bonsai trees on each one. The chandelier (photo on FB) is a giant flock of birds sculpture that is most impressive and the artwork is amazing. Mr. Graff choses each piece of art for each location on the entire estate and moves them around on each visit, constantly adding to what is the largest private art collection is South Africa!

Caile was our sommelier and she arrived with Sunrise Brut made from Chenin Blanc, Chardonnay and Cab Franc a superb bubbly served in Riedel crystal (as they do in the tasting room as well!!). Kayla, our server, followed with OSHIBORI & OTOSHI (Cherry Blossom & Edamame) was the first course and we first received some tsukumono or Japanese pickles and then came the edamame with a wet towel scented with cherry blossom for finger cleaning. This was followed by a small amuse of Cucumber Maki Roll with Ponzu Gel.

DUCK TSUKUNE was one of our favorite dishes of the evening and was duck foie gras with Hijiki XO sauce, cured egg yolk, Aioli and Gochuchang with fluffy pancakes and Oyster Mushrooms. The barely cooked egg was oozy and gooey and the foie gras almost sausage-like consistency, and the whole dish was just a real revelation. It was served with a Banghoek Chardonnay from Delaire Graff that had a slight acidity to cut the dish's richness.

Sushi consisted of Local Yellowfin, Spanish Bluefin and Norwegian Salmon with ginger, wasabi, shoyu and caviar to top it off! How decadent and served with Coastal Cuvee Sauvignon Blanc 2024 with a huge grapefruit intensity; I would have truly preferred a smooth sake! The Palate Cleanser was Rose Geranium Kakigori (Japanese shaved ice) which was an entire production with the machine rolled tableside and the granita shaved and seasoned with elderflower and yuzu gel!

Cape Wagyu was substituted at our request, and we got the most magnificent BLACK COD with Miso Glaze in Ginger Dashi  served with one of our favorite wines from the estate, 2022 White Reserve a 50-50 blend of Semillon and Sauvignon Blanc which is the same as a Bordeaux Blend but I have to admit the Semillon is not prominent nor slightly sweet as it is here in Bordeaux!

SANCHO (a Japanese mountain pepper) PANNA COTTA came with white chocolate, yuzu, matcha noodles, strawberry sorbet and a strawberry cracker all of which was fun and tasty save for the (yes, again) gummy and sugary matcha the consistency of marzipan, which I also dislike. Cape Vintage 2021 Port was a nice treat as well.

A great first night in wine country!

Capetown's POT LUCK CLUB is cool cuisine (12-7-24)

For our second and final night dining out in Capetown (the third night was at GOLD with the whole cruise group and is not really worthy of a review as it is an entertainment show/dinner venue) was at POT LUCK CLUB. We asked our new friends from the cruise, Regiane & Kevin, to join us and the four of us had a ball.

We had visited TEST KITCHEN on our previous visit and wanted to try this new venue from the same team that was located in the same building but on the top floor with glass windows overlooking Table Mountain. We couldn't see much as our dinner was late after sunset, but the vibe was really amazing in this simple setting with a huge open kitchen at one end with wooden tables and chairs that did get a tad loud at times, but never obtrusive.

The menu was varied and exciting and set up like tapas to be shared, so we chose a bunch and settled back with a bottle of Delaire Graff 2023 Cabernet Franc Rose, the winery we would be staying at the following week. It's a great rose and very inexpensive ($10 at the winery!) and great with spicy foods as well. CEVICHE LECHE de TIGRE was first with Yellowtail being the fish and coming with Pickled Nashi Pear, Quinoa Tabbouleh, toasted Almond Milk and crushed almonds. Our server Sipho was very helpful and made some great suggestions such as the FISH SLIDERS on Steamed Buns made with Hake, a spicy Mojo Dressing (that mad us think of the mojo we had earlier in the tirp in the Canary Islands), Miso Mayo and Pickled red Onions.

THAI LOBSTER SALAD was one of the specials and one of our favorite deishes that we almost ordered a second, but chose to do something different. It had a Papaya Puree and a kicky spicy Red Curry Dressing with fresh coconut shavings.

CHICKEN & SWEETBREADS was a huge portion with actually two separate dishes and came with confit chicken and chicken jus on one side(all photos on FB) and sweetbreads wrapped in pancetta on a hibachi-like grill that we cooked at the table. The sauce was Orange XO with a turnip espuma, butternut squash and pinenuts. OMG!

We had switched to a fabulous red recommended by Sipho Rijks Private Cellar Pinotage 2021 that was so good we had second bottle rather than try a new wine.  It paired brilliantly with another special on the menu, SMOKED WAGYU in Truffle Sauce with Black pepper that also came with a Salsa Verde on the side that was more like chimichurri with mint and I was not a fan, but it was not needed as the truffle sauce rocked!

To even out the meat dish we ordered BROCCOLI PENANG which was made with peanuts and lemongrass for spice in a coconut curry sauce that was also fabulous.

We decided to share three different desserts:

PLC(Pot Luck Club) Sweets was a combination of many items: Macadamia Nougat, Salted Chocolate Caramel, Pear & Tonka Bean Pate de Fruit and Mango & White Chocolate Mochi, the last of which I am now really not a fan having it two nights in a row as it is truly gummy and weird.

PEANUT BUTTER BOMB was a banana mousse with a fabulous honeycomb crunch, banana tuile and Frangelico Sabayon

The cheeses were Ash Goat, Karoo Crumble, Languedoc and Smoked Sanford--all very different and quite wonderful.

We rolled out and headed back to the hotel a tad sad knowing that the next day we would say goodbye to many of the new friends we had made on the cruise.

Capetown's FYN is fabulous (12-6-24)

 Our first night off the ship in Capetown, we headed to FYN (pronounced feen) as in the Fynbos referring to the vegetation unique to South Africa, a Relais et Chateaux gastronomic temple where South African cuisine is fused with some Japanese techniques to create an 11-course blow your mind meal, that took us over 4 hours to consume!

We were greeting by our server Marcus (catch him in the videos on Facebook!) who presented the menu as well as the wine pairing options, wine list and cocktail menu. As it was 630pm, we chose the Smoky Tomato Essence made from Shochu Japanese Vodka with tomato essence, smoked and salty Cape Citrus koshu and served in a cocktail glass with a huge block ice cube emblazoned with FYN and a res shiso leaf. There was a hint of citrus that had a spicy finish that we loved as we perused the menu(US$121) and I decided on the lower priced wine pairing(10 wines for US$95, but I opted for the extra wine for an added $22)! Will chose wines by the glass as we went thru the meal and started with a Stark-Conde Rose 2023.

We both got Tsukemono or Japanese pickles as an amuse with cucumber, broccoli, amazing daikon with gardenia and a fabulous Japanese salted plum the size of an olive(no photo). The first course arrived with TUNA Nigiri, Ishikawa rice, Aged Local Cape Cheese and Cape Rough Skin Lemon on the left, Kombujime Yellowtail cured between sheets of kombu, Sotslaai, and Young Apricots in the center and Lambert's Bay Abalone cooked sous-vide and seared with Miso Wakame and Ponzu dressing(oops no photo again) which for me was paired with both Kagatobi "Gokkan" Junmai Sake, Ishikawa(rice) that could have been a tad colder and Sakkie Mouton Piquepoul Blanc 2024 from Olifantsriver (all wines were from South Africa) on the west coast that was mineral intense and superb with the amazing abalone.

The first photo is of the spectacular Burnt Mushroom Custard (think Mushroom Brulee) with a Hokkaido Milk Bun that was paired with Domaine Des Dieux "Claudia" Brut MCC 2011 from Walker Bay that was a tad too gaseous for me but nice as a cleanser.

The next wine was a Saurwine(not a good name for a winemaker/winery) "Chi Riesling 2024 from Elgin that was just bottled and released and the chi referring to tai chi...it needed food and was ideal with the Peri-Peri Prawns(video on FB) that we cooked the langoustine and Nylon Prawn or Ebi on a small table braii and then dipped in the wonderful sauce that was not too spicy as peri-peri can be.

Will moved on to the De Keir 2022 Grenache Noir from Ceres Plateau (that we passed today!) and I got a Sadie Family "Experimental project" 2023 Alicante Bouschet from Swartland to pair with the Karoo Local Wagyu (that Marcus seared tableside) Temaki with Renosterbos(plant) Nikiri(soy), shiso leaf, Ishikawa rice that was quite sticky and Yakinori to wrap the whole thing with as well as pickled bamboo. Another superb if slightly rich meat with a tad too much marbling for me.

Villiera "Dak Wijn"(meaning dark wine) 2022 was a fortified Chenin Blanc from Stellnebosch akin to sherry that I loved and went with the Seared Chokka (Cape Hope Squid) made into noodle form (with no wheat) in a rich Sesame sauce that Marcus topped with a tad of Madagascar Caviar. 

The Laingsburg Lamb was served with Winelands Artichokes and puree, Wild Garlic & Sorrel Gremolata, Walnut and a Chasu glaze giving it a hit of Michelin-starred BBQ sauce. The Sijnn "Red" Blend 2015 from Malgas was mostly Syrah with Touriga Nacional, Cab and more.

Will moved on to his last wine the "Directions Reserve" 2013 High Road Syrah and I got Brookdale "Sixteen" Field Blend 2023 from Paarl that had Chenin blanc, grenache blanc and Grillo which I loved. These went with the Atlantic Ridge Kingklip with Kapoknos(wild rosemary) tempura, Braiied Bone Broth poured tableside, Coastal Plants, Daikon, Garlic Puree and bonito-like Spekboom flakes.

We both loved the main game choices which were presented at the beginning and Will chose Ostrich while I went for Springbok and we switched halfway to enjoy both whcih were Sancho crusted and served with Ceres Cherries, Shiso & macadamia Nut "pesto," Prenia Leaf(an endangered plant that they grow for consumption) & Buchu (local herb) sauce. The meat was cooked perfectly, and I got two amazing reds to enjoy it with: Rijk's "Reserve" 2019 Pinotage from Tulbagh and Kanonkop 2014 Pinotage from Stellenbosch where we shall be headed this week!

Amasi & Rose Pelargonium Sherbert with Strawberry & Green Tea Jelly with a Mochi Veil that was a tad gummy for me came next with a Delheim :Edelspatz" Botrytis Riesling 2022 also from Stellenbosch and then we opted to take our Wagashi or after dinner treats home in the form of Grenn apple taffey, Rubious tea and caramel crispy & Shoebun of pistachio & sour fig caramel which we enjoyed today!

WHAT A MEAL!

We love LA HIERBITA (the little herb) in Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Canary Islands (11-16-24)

 The cruise we are on has no overnight stays in ports save for the last night in CapeTown, so with an 11pm departure last night we decided to head into Santa Cruz to a wonderful place recommended by our guide that day, Blanca. She was spot on and while the menu was large, our server guided us well and the three of us had some superb and thrilling local dishes including two we loved on our previous visit 8+ years ago!

La Hierbita is tiny and had about a dozen tables outside with about the same number indoors, it was about 74degrees, and outside dining was calling on this quiet little side street. The wine list was two whites and a red that the server brought, and we started with the white, an organic wine from south Tenerife, Tierra D Frontos Blanco Sec with no clue what the grapes were, but we loved it.

Red and Green Mojo (the local sauces used on everything) arrived and while the green was magnificent, the spicier red was quite salty indeed. Large rolls for dipping in the bread also arrived, but we tried to keep them to a minimum. The three cheese Queso del Pais platter arrived with a local hard cheese akin to parmesan, an amazing cheese spread called Almogrote made from red peppers and cured cheese and our favorite the Queso di Cabra with Miel di Palma, a local goat cheese that is melted and served with the local palm honey drizzled on top; think goaty gooey mozzarella on crack!

Next came Revuelto de Champinones y Gambas, a magnificent scramble of scrambled poached eggs with mushrooms and shrimp which was even better with the Mojo Verde!

Another dish we had last time was the Berenjenas a la Miel or grilled eggplant with palm honey. The eggplant is cut in thick sticks and grilled to perfection and drizzled with the honey and a savory crunchy crumble (no clue what it was) that we all went nuts over. Not being an eggplant fan, this is truly one of my fave dishes ever and makes eggplant a truly magnificent star.

We switched to red and enjoyed the Rivendel Roble Cinco Mesas 2023 from Ribera del Duero in Spain and ordered the Pulpo Guisado estilo Hierbita which was one monstrous octopus tentacle (check out the FB pics) with Salt-crusted roasted potatoes. There was a BBQ-y sauce that was superb and more mojo on the potatoes made them not as salty and the red wine was ideal with this.

There was no room for more or dessert, but we sat around for a tad finishing the red and then had a treat of a street parade with guys playing instruments dressed in quasi-medieval minstrel costumes, also on FB!

Cruising south today towards Cabo Verde (Cape Verde Islands) and then onto the African continent where we arrive in CapeTown in early December, so probably no reviews until then! HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

Palacio Chiado in Lisbon is superb seafood in a sumptuous palace (11-11-24)

 We only had one night to dine out in Lisbon, and we knew our flight was arriving late, so we made an 8pm reservation in the city center's old town at Palacio Chiado.

We arrived and walked into a very busy bar on the entry level, but then we're told to please go up the staircase and check in. This was no ordinary staircase, as the building was originally a palace, and the steps were long, and I hope that handicap folks had an elevator. On the top floor there were several large rooms with ornate gilded ceilings with frescoes, and one room even had a giant hanging gold lion of Venice. Our room was more intimate, with less than a dozen tables and our server Amar always had a smile and a positive outlook that was so refreshing these days. The tables were green marble slabs and chairs simple bistro style and barely comfy.

Seafood was big on the menu here, so I immediately perused the wine list and spotted a wonderful Douro Portuguese blend of Alvarinho, Verdelho, Habitat and Viognier from Quinta da Pedra Escrita that we fell in love with. Wonderful minerality and citrus, and truly a great white blend, which was refreshing as we had only reds for three most part in the UK as it was so cold. Temperatures in Lisbon, we're ranging in the 60s at night and 70 today!

Will went for the local oysters to start while I had Camarão Alho e Malagueta, a take on garlic shrimp but here with garlic and chillis and "pata negra" ham and guanciale, pork cheek; it was superb and bathed in butter.

Main courses were the traditional Bacalao Lisboa a Braga for Will, a beautifully plated cod with poached egg, olive/parsley talented, agria potato, olives and garlic. My Cataplana de Peixe e Langosta was another Portuguese treat; basically, a rich stew from fish broth and veggies loaded with cod, lobster, clams, mussels, squid, potatoes and peppers that was a meal in itself.

I did have the aged goat and aged sheep cheese for dessert both of which were superb but not a tad as good as the goat we had in Setubal some 6 years ago!

Today, we board our ship for a 3-1/2 week voyage to Africa.

Josephine at Langley Castle in Northumberland is just right(11-10-24)

 Our last night in the UK was spent at Langley Castle in Northumberland where we had a magnificent meal with oir friends Sue and Steve at the restaurant in the castle called Josephine.

We enjoyed cocktails first in the great room and ordered our dishes, and then proceeded downstairs to the main dining room. The accommodations and all public spaces here are very cushy and very comfortable. There were plenty of photos on facebook, showing all the spaces.

An amuse of cauliflower velouté arrived with yummy rolls and butter and we started with a Puglia Chardonnay 2023 Tormaresca which was superb with our starters:

-Parsnip soup

-Mackerel fillet with gooseberry and caramel, yogurt and elderflower.

-Caesar salad with anchovies

-Goats Cheese Panna Cotta with Tomato/Arancinini and Basil Walnut olive oil.

-Scallops in cauliflower purée with curry , capers, sultanas and pine nuts.

The scallops were indeed an odd combination of ingredients but tasted fabulous.

We moved on to our red wine a Manara Terre Siciliana 2022 Syrah which was truly wonderful with all of our main courses:

-Halibut fillet with Pearl Barley, Caramelized Cauliflower apple and dill

-Pheasant breast with Pancetta Pommes Anna, Parsnip, sprouts and Heather honey

-Sam's Ricotta and Basil Ravioli with wild garlic pesto and roasted peppers did not get any raves, but my

- Venison loin was cooked perfectly and came with a super Haggis Pie, butternut squash, purple kale and sage.

The worst item that came to the table were the truffle frolies, which were truly salted to death and almost inedible.

Desserts were a fabulous cheese plate with

Cornish Yarg, Yorkshire Blue, Charcoal Cheddar, a gutsy Honey Bee goat, Waterloo Brie and a fabulous German Montagnolo as well as Northumberland Nettle!!

Passionfruit sorbet was simple.

Maple Crème Brulée came with a mini-Toffee apple and blackberry crumble

Lemon and Honey was Lemon set cream with Heather honey ice cream and honeycomb crackle.

Everything was truly delicious and what was best was we had a wonderful meal with our friends before we headed off to Portugal today to board our ship for Africa tomorrow.

Cafe LILLI in Norton, Stockton-on-Tees (North Yorkshire area) is always luscious (11-8-24)

Eight of us gathered last night for our annual visit to Sue & Steve's favorite place just blocks from their home and as always Cafe Lilli was a dream. The wines lean Italian and we were chilled from the damp cold, so started with a full-bodied Chianti DOCG "Straccali" and then moved to a Sicilian Shiraz Terre Siciliana IGT "Collina d'Estate" which was even better. Wines here run in the 20-30($26-40US) pounds for their entry levels so never a financial bust and keep in mind in the UK all prices include taxes, and they often add a service charge of 10% max.

Starters ranged from the Vegan Bruschetta with cherry tomato, shallot and dill oil to Pork Belly Pate with Tomato Chutney that got raves. Mussels were steamed with garlic, White wine and in a rich creamy sauce that begged for bread dipping. My Beetroot & Orange Gravlax was superb and came with fabulous miniature pickles, basil emulsion & Citrus Dressing with a tasty thin sliced bread that was toasted to crispy (as did the pate).

Mains were even more amazing as we are entering winter here indeed and everything has moved to that vein:

Pan Fried SeaBass came with Fregola, Greens, Salsa Verde, and Cherry Tomatoes for the lighter dish

A vegetarian Pinsa (flatbread) with Caponata was the size of a full pizza

Butternut Squash with Spinach & Cashew Nut Goan Curry & Basmati Rice was another veggie delight.

Pan Roasted Chicken Breast with Baked Potatoes, Seasonal Greens and Florentine Sauce was popular, but the two divine dishes were the

Roast Goose Breast with braised red Cabbage, Parmentiers, Honey Roasted Carrots, Parsnip, Greens and red Wine Jus while

my

Pan Fried Pheasant came with Chestnuts, Smoked Pancetta a superb Pearl Barley Risotto, Greens and a Red Wine Jus with a tasty dumpling on the side!

Desserts are always great here from Creme Catalunya with Berries to hazelnut Ice Cream to Lemont Posset with Raspberries and of course, my Cheese platter with

Cornish Yarg, Carrigate Blue, Mature Cheddar & Brie was a delight as were the excellent black grapes which reminded me of Concord grapes at home (without the seeds!) and a tasty chutney.

We all had an amazing time seeing old friends and new ones and just being with great company and having great food and wine!

The Waiting Room in North Yorkshire is a veggie vacation! (11-7-24)

Our friends Sue & Steve found a vegetarian finer dining option for Samuel, so we tried The Waiting Room in Yarm last night. The name comes from the train station nearby and apparently, they have been in business for 40 years! The dining room is small and simple with some cute art (a lampshade made of photographic slides was cute), with hewn wooden tables and quite uncomfortable wooden chairs which must have come from a schoolhouse as they had book slots in the rear of each one. The menu is large, so we asked our server, Rosie May, what items were the best and most popular. The wine list was short with about 3 or 4 whites and reds each, but a note to ask about the wine list from the sister wine bar next door. I walked over there and looked at a shelf of wines with price tags on them and was quite amused by the variety and options. The first wine we chose was fizzy and corked and Rosie May said it had been on the shelf for ages, so we chose a Dominio de Punctum Petit Verdot/Tempranillo from Cuenca, Castilla in Spain which we all loved, as Sam had his local cider.

The starters included several orders of Spiced Pumpkin Soup as it was a very chilly and damp evening, and we had been out galivanting all day. Funghi Misti al Dragoncello sounds like a fiery mushroom dish with alcohol made by dragons, but are tarragon sauteed mushrooms on Waiting Room seeded toast. My Twice-baked Wensleydale & Pumpkin Seed Oil Cheese Souffle was divine and came with a yummy Goosegog (gooseberry) chutney that was only marred as it was quite cold (coming from the fridge, I guess) and took away from that wonderful steamy hot souffle. 

Our second wine was a Mirasoles Appassimento "Finca el Olmillo" Monastrell which turned out to have a slight sweetness to it, but actually went nicely with our mains which, by the way, were all huge portions!:

Mushroom Bourguignon with celeriac dumplings and swede (turnips)

Puy Chilli Enchilada- sizzling hot & Spicy Puy chilli in a seeded tortilla was smothered in melted cheese with sour cream, salsa and jalapenos

Mole in the Hole (a take on Toad in the Hole, a local sausage dish in bread) was Leek/Halloumi/Winter Herb/Garden ats Sausage in a Yorkshire Pudding with Autumn mash (sweet potato), Roast Roots (Carrots) and Butter-Roast Savoy (Cabbage) all in a yummy Port Gravy! 

Delicious (have you ever seen a menu using the word "delicious?") Mélange Lasagna made with Buttery Jerusalem Artichokes, Spinach & Sage, Roast Tomato, Garlic & Butter Bean Lasagna and a Salsa made from Artichoke hearts/fennel/tomato.

We were all quite full and there were lots of leftovers for Sue & Steve to take home, but we did share one Vanilla Ice Cream with Butterscotch that was yummy and caramelly and delish.

RBG (The Restaurant Bar & Grill) in Leeds, UK is always a respite (11-6-24)

We have been dining with our family in Leeds for many years at The Ivy and decided to switch after Will and the family really enjoyed RBG(you gotta love those initials) on his last trip here in the spring. The prices are similar(quite high) and the menu is similar as well, but we had a super server, maria, from Argentina who has a great sense of humor and made it a fun evening as well. She prefaced by saying the menu and wine list were changing the next day and thus, 1/2 the items were gone. It was quite sad as almost 1/2 the items and 80% of the wines we chose were sold out! The one BIG plus was that they had plenty of wine glasses unlike our last fiasco at the Ivy where they ran out!!

The Filet Steak Tartare here is a treat and uses excellent beef filet with a free-range egg yolk on top of a large piece or sourdough toast with Horseradish & Parsley. The sourdough was NOT toasted making it quite hard to cut through the chewy bread and a thinner piece would have been welcome. Asparagus are Char-grilled and served with a poached Duck Egg and Hollandaise while the Heritage Beetroot Salad came with avocado, soy labneh, orange, crushed hazelnuts and micro basil.

Our first wine (that was available) was the 2022 Malbec Atocedro reserva from Uco Valley in Mendoza which Maria suggested as she is from Argentina, and it was quite yummy. The second red was really amazing as it was a 2012 Chateau Meney from St. Estephe Bordeaux which we all just went crazy with.

Main courses were a Halloumi Burger with Spicy sauce and chips (that fries, USA folks); Roasted Lamb Rump which was a huge portion with potatoes, minted greens and red wine sauce. The Tuna au Poivre came with Bearnaise sauce on the side and was cooked a tad too much when asked for rare as was my Slow Roasted Crispy Duck with Stir-fried greens(broccolini and bok choy), ripened tomatoes, red chilli coriander paste and a honey & Sesame dressing. 

The setting in a huge old historic building is quite dramatic as it is some three-stories tall inside with elegant leather booths, chandeliers and cushy chairs. The noise level is high, but hot horrible and it has a truly grand old world feel.

For dessert there was Honeycomb Ice Cream; Warm Chocolate Fondant with Shortbread Crumb and Vanilla Ice Cream and the very nice cheese trio of Wookey Hole Cheddar, Tunworth(like Camembert) and Colston Basset Stilton with quince jelly.

The best part of the meal was the family!!

MOON RABBIT makes it all ravishing (10-25-24)

 After our introduction to the new MOON RABBIT by Chef Kevin Tien on F Street last month we had to return, and the meal was another huge treat with every bit and sip a true delight.

We had a friend visiting and chose three different cocktails, all of which were fun. I returned to the OUT OF DIPPING SAUCE with Haku Japanese vodka, Chinola passionfruit, lemon, Nuoc Cham(fish sauce) syrup. It's a great treat. We all tasted each other's, and I also loved the BACK IN CALI made with Kasama Filipino rum, Mig river Baijiu, lemon calamansi vinegar and brulee egg foam. Will had the NINE DRAGONS with Mekong Thai Rum, Johnnie Walker blended scotch, Jackfruit cordial, lime and jasmine air.

Andrew, who goes by ADL, is a super sommelier and came over with some suggestions off the menu after we tasted the Suerte de Arrayan Albillo Real 2022 white which comes from Mentrida, Spain and was crazy funky in flavor. We instead got the amazing 2006 Le Vieux Donjon Chateauneuf du Pape Blanc which was aged beautifully and went so well with all the crazy spices and flavors.

We decided to share a lot of different plates as everything is so good and that way we had more options. We ordered several sets of plates, and our once again brilliant server Monique paced everything perfectly. The menu has changed a little to fall mode, but many of the wonderful dishes we had last month are still there and we chose some of those as well.

First came the amazing TUNA CRUDO which we loved last month due to the Fresno pepper puree on the ahi with strawberry, lemon verbena, cilantro and tomato water poured tableside! (fotos on FB). There are two crab dishes and we chose the CRAB RANGOON which is usually a big disappointment at so many Asian restaurants. here the dish is deconstructed with huge scallion crackers on the side to scoop up the "dip" made from MD. Jumbo Lump crab, Robiola cheese(a huge improvement over cream cheese!), Pepper Jelly for spice, Kani Kama(crab stick) and sweet garlic. It's a great starter to share and very addictive. It is also great on the wonderful Pan del Sol or Pandan bread that comes with amazing vegan condensed coconut milk butter!

Another dish we returned to was the RICE CAKE with Umami tofu crumble, ginger, scallion and cured egg; I am pretty sure this will be a fixture on all the menus as it is a great vegan option using vegan fish sauce that really has great flavor making it ideal for vegetarians and vegans.

CHARRED CABBAGE (Bap Cai) is new and a great veggie dish as well with sesame puree, pickled mushrooms and Nam Tom(egg sauce). the final dish we chose again was SHRIMP THERMADOR which has moved from huge U-5 to monstrous U-4 prawns head-on in the shell in a magnificent Lobster Sabayon with fine herbs and meyer lemon. 

We moved on to a red we had last month and loved the Serre Besson Rhone Blend and it was ideal with our last dishes which were all new.

BOUDIN NOIR(Nem Tret Canh) is Chef Kevin's take on the French dish using Viet Cajun Sausage in a goji berry/miso/brown butter/date/golden raisin mostardo topped with small fried octopus that were adorable. The dish was amazing and the mostardo divine.

PATE CHAUD is listed on the menu as "limited availability" and boy, were we glad we sked to have one held for us early on. The dish looks like a beef wellington and is a gorgeous flaky puff pastry stuffed with foie gras, wood ear mushrooms and served in a pork jus. It was the ideal dish to finish off the evening with.

Will & I were stuffed, but our friend could not resist the wild dessert selections and chose the MUSHROOM(Nam) which is chocolate mousse, tamarind caramel, wild mushroom streusel, Chanterelle Ice Cream(this alone is a treat) and Pomelo. It is a great dessert and really has so many flavors and so much going on, it really is several desserts.

Speaking of several desserts, you cannot leave without the little mignardises and we got Passionfruit Chocolate Truffles, Guava Gel with Basil & Chili Sugare and the superb mini Tapioca Corn Pudding Puffs.

Once again, the staff proved to be some of the nicest, friendliest and best servers around town and this always makes you feel welcome and warm. Monique is truly a gem, and we shall have to ask for her every time we return. Bravo tutti.