Ototo which replaced the 3rd installment of sushi den/izakaya den's den deli opened last week with a menu focused on refined fusion tapas.
Chedd's the gourmet grill cheese joint which closed last year at the corner of 19th and Pearl in uptown just opened as Walter's pizzeria with whole pies, slices, lasagnas and baked subs!
Monday, November 29, 2010
Saturday, November 27, 2010
First Bite Boulder 2010
I believe that first bite boulder is great steal however the food was mostly sub par. Here are the highlights and unfortunately some of the many lowlights
Greenbriar inn plate score: 3
At the classic greenbriar inn, we had a justin bieber look a like with the hair with and some interesting hip moves while tossing our caesar salads. He seemed to confuse veal sweetbreads (thymus glands) with the pituitary gland. For those of you who are not familiar, your pituitary gland is about the size of a green pea and is found in your brain, so there really wouldn't be much to eat plus most Americans don't usually eat brain. Then again thymus glands are probably not high up on the list either. The classic preparations and ingredients were not exciting for me as i believe my palette has adjusted to multiple layers of flavor and textures i expect from contemporary and fusion cuisines. Additionally the pumpkin cheesecake had lumps of unblended cream cheese and did not come close to the pumpkin cheesecake at Q's in the hotel boulerado last year.
4580 plate score: 5
The service wasterrible at 4580 with 2 waitresses covering at least 6 tables each. The butternut squash bisque was heavy on the orange zest which masked the flavor of the squash. The whole lamb shank, supposedly braised in red wine, tasted bland and needed salt. Even though the owner brought us dessert wine to apologize for the poor service, the food could not make up for the poor service.
Black Cat Plate score: 5
I was most excited about the Black Cat's farm to table approach after reading so many positive things from food editors in local and national magazines. We sat up against the open kitchen at black cat and watched intently as the chefs sauteed and plated their dishes in the tiny space behind the counter. The savory spiced pumpkin cake with dressed greens was a solid appetizer but my parsnip soup had the texture and consistency of milk. It was simply unappetizing. My roommate appeared to enjoy her pumpkin bolognese gnocchi but my braised and crisped pork shoulder, which the waitress excitedly explained came from a pig that was raised by the chef was not as fatty as the waitress had described and thus was not worth the $8 supplement.
The disaster came at the dessert with the madeira chocolate terrine. The wine flavor was super concentrated and thus extremely bitter and as a result I could only muster two small bites. I shared my concerns with the waitress with the very intent of her offering us another dessert. We promptly settled for the replacement pumpkin mouse which was served in a champagne glass and a stale (or strangly chewy) gingerbread cookie. There was a layer of egg cream which added a nice contrast to the spice of the pumpkin flavor but I would have liked something crunchy perhaps a streusel topping of sorts.
Mateo Plate score: 8
Mateo suprised me as being the "best" out of the the four places. My apple and chestnut soup was delicious with slices of honeycrisp apples and toasted hazelnuts. The gnocchi with onions, squash and mushrooms in a sage butter broth was suprisingly light and delicious versus the normal cream sauces i encounter. My grilled colorado lamb loin was slightly overcooked but paired well with the roasted tomato and truffled lentils.
I will not return to 4580 and greenbriar inn but will give black cat a second chance in the future.
Greenbriar inn plate score: 3
At the classic greenbriar inn, we had a justin bieber look a like with the hair with and some interesting hip moves while tossing our caesar salads. He seemed to confuse veal sweetbreads (thymus glands) with the pituitary gland. For those of you who are not familiar, your pituitary gland is about the size of a green pea and is found in your brain, so there really wouldn't be much to eat plus most Americans don't usually eat brain. Then again thymus glands are probably not high up on the list either. The classic preparations and ingredients were not exciting for me as i believe my palette has adjusted to multiple layers of flavor and textures i expect from contemporary and fusion cuisines. Additionally the pumpkin cheesecake had lumps of unblended cream cheese and did not come close to the pumpkin cheesecake at Q's in the hotel boulerado last year.
4580 plate score: 5
The service wasterrible at 4580 with 2 waitresses covering at least 6 tables each. The butternut squash bisque was heavy on the orange zest which masked the flavor of the squash. The whole lamb shank, supposedly braised in red wine, tasted bland and needed salt. Even though the owner brought us dessert wine to apologize for the poor service, the food could not make up for the poor service.
Black Cat Plate score: 5
I was most excited about the Black Cat's farm to table approach after reading so many positive things from food editors in local and national magazines. We sat up against the open kitchen at black cat and watched intently as the chefs sauteed and plated their dishes in the tiny space behind the counter. The savory spiced pumpkin cake with dressed greens was a solid appetizer but my parsnip soup had the texture and consistency of milk. It was simply unappetizing. My roommate appeared to enjoy her pumpkin bolognese gnocchi but my braised and crisped pork shoulder, which the waitress excitedly explained came from a pig that was raised by the chef was not as fatty as the waitress had described and thus was not worth the $8 supplement.
The disaster came at the dessert with the madeira chocolate terrine. The wine flavor was super concentrated and thus extremely bitter and as a result I could only muster two small bites. I shared my concerns with the waitress with the very intent of her offering us another dessert. We promptly settled for the replacement pumpkin mouse which was served in a champagne glass and a stale (or strangly chewy) gingerbread cookie. There was a layer of egg cream which added a nice contrast to the spice of the pumpkin flavor but I would have liked something crunchy perhaps a streusel topping of sorts.
Mateo Plate score: 8
Mateo suprised me as being the "best" out of the the four places. My apple and chestnut soup was delicious with slices of honeycrisp apples and toasted hazelnuts. The gnocchi with onions, squash and mushrooms in a sage butter broth was suprisingly light and delicious versus the normal cream sauces i encounter. My grilled colorado lamb loin was slightly overcooked but paired well with the roasted tomato and truffled lentils.
I will not return to 4580 and greenbriar inn but will give black cat a second chance in the future.
Sunday, November 7, 2010
Chicago style part 2
On halloween night, we ventured to Graham Elliot for what we hoped to be a delicious meal but left with a just a few highlights and a lighter wallet. We secured our reservation for 5:45 so we would have time to return to get ready for the night's halloween festivities. I was happy to see that even though Graham elliot is a fine dining establishment, they allowed their servers to dress up in costume. We were greeted by a female version of beetlejuice who had zombie make up that was actually quite shocking. Zorro and Flash gordon zipped through the dining area but my friends were delighted when Harry Potter dropped off a basket of popcorn drizzled with truffle oil. As we muched on the pre meal treat, the menu featured meat and seafood dishes throughout the first and main courses but lacked few vegetarian options. There was also several tasting menus ranging from $75-$120 dollars. We decided on 2 appetizers to share and 3 main courses
the mac and cheese risotto with beer braised brawtwurst and apple gremolata and the bruleed figs with ricotta, microgreens, proscuitto and balsamic. The creamy risotto was solid but I personally enjoyed the cold appetizer of figs a little more. The sweetness from the caramelized figs paired well with the drier and saltiness of the ricotta, the crunchy proscuitto crisp and the acid from the balsamic foam. I did not enjoy what i presumed was an arugula puree (green blob) which was far too bitter for my palette.
The main courses
Plate score: 6
The 2 appetizers featured below were
the mac and cheese risotto with beer braised brawtwurst and apple gremolata and the bruleed figs with ricotta, microgreens, proscuitto and balsamic. The creamy risotto was solid but I personally enjoyed the cold appetizer of figs a little more. The sweetness from the caramelized figs paired well with the drier and saltiness of the ricotta, the crunchy proscuitto crisp and the acid from the balsamic foam. I did not enjoy what i presumed was an arugula puree (green blob) which was far too bitter for my palette.
The main courses
were solid in certain elements within each dish but provided no cohesion in flavor and contrasts in texture. The waygu beef was grilled and seasone to a perfect mid rare but i was bored with the accompainments of chopped carrots, turnips and potatoes in truffle jus. The suckling pig dish was a fusion version of the classic korean bimbimpap which a variety of meats and veggies of rice. Graham Elliots preparation of the suckling pig was dry but the scallion noodles, kimchi and pickled radishes, and enoki mushrooms enhanced the overall flavor profile. I can't remember the scallops....
Plate score: 6
The next morning, we wheeled our suitcases to urban belly, an asian fusion dumpling, noodle and rice joint located in a strip mall next to a laundromat. This James Beard Award winner did not disappoint and it only cost us each $13 to stuff our faces after a night of halloween fun. We ordered the chicken and mushroom, and duck and pho spices dumpling, the shortrib and scallion fried rice and the urban belly ramen. I was expecting steamed dumplings but the chicken dumplings were panfried and the duck ones were deep fried. Both were quite delicious but my palette gave the top honors to the rice and noodle dishes. The shortribs were braised in korean style marinade of presumably soy, ginger, garlic, sugar and scallions and grilled to juicy perfection. There were 3 ribs, cut against the bone lay over a heaping pile of fried rice stir fried with scallions and egg and no soy sauce (which is how it is supposed to be!). The ramen was served with mushrooms and slices of pork belly submerged in a sweet and savory soy broth. It reminded me of the amazing ramen experience at Ippudo in NYC. All three of us agreed that the rice and noodles were the stars as we boarded the L to O'hare with a full belly!
Plate score: 9
Plate score: 9
Tuesday, November 2, 2010
chicago style part 1
This has been one of the most expensive but equally delicious food weekends i've had in a while. The culinary geniuses of Chicago did not disappoint me but i will complain about the some of the NY like prices.
I will provide you all with the highlights otherwise this might as well be a book and who has time for that when we I have the achievement gap to worry about.
First stop, you can't go to chicago without trying their chicago style deep dish pizza which is about 2 inches in height and cooked in a cast iron pan. We ordered the veggie (onions, green peppers, and mushrooms) at Giordano's for lunch. As you can obviously see, it looks more like a round lasagna than a pizza and we could not imagine how this behemoth of a pie could serve 1 person. My initial reactions was the obsence amount of cheese, i distinctly remember feeling as though i was chewing a giant wad of bubblegum. The taste was well like a pizza though i felt it needed more sauce, but overall a solid carbohydrate experience
Publican Plate score: 7
Apparently, Chicago is a late night kinda of a town as we secured reservations for Girl and the Goat for an 11pm seating (last seating at midnight!) but more on that meal later. To prevent ourselves from eating our own arms, we decided to go for appetizers at a beer and meat gastropub Publican. We had attempted to go there Thursday night but was told that the wait would have been 1 hour, apparently, thursday nights in chicago are most people's friday night. The room had a tall ceiling with walls decorated with 10ft paintings of obese pigs. There were additionally long wooden tables as well as booths that resembled pig pens (with a gate), fitting for the carnivorous offerings on the menu. We stood around a bar table and ordered the ham plate anad pork rinds, which was sliced to order in the open kitchen as we sipped on an international beer list of over 100 beers. What is pictured below is you guessed it, pork rinds flavored with chili powder and lemon juice. It reminded me of pop chips, you know the ones that say not baked, or fried but POPPED! Anyways it really didn't do anything for me except kept me thinking about the fact that i was eating fried pig skin.
Girl and the Goat Plate score: 9.5
11:30pm, filed with british brew, red wine, some sliced ham and pork rinds later, we were seated at the the Girl and the Goat. Girl and Goat is owned by Season 4 Top Chef winner Stephanie Izard...... who used her winnings to open this ultra successful small plates eatery. As a note, we were bombarded with our meal and were done eating with in 20 minutes of ordering, it was as though, they were sending us a message to finish and leave. We decided to share the chickpeas fritters with heirloom tomatoes and fresh mozzarella
I was concerned the fritters would be dense but on the contrary it was fairly light (as light as anything fried can be) which paired well with the tomato puree, micro greens and fresh mozzarella creme
Next we had kabocha squash ravioli, mushroom raisin ragout brussels leaves mushroom creme fraiche
This was unanimously one of the top dishes of the night, which a complex depth of flavor and textures in the cream sauce, al dente pasta, sweetness from the raisin ragout and the acid from the brussel leaves. I think we all secretly wished we had a larger of serving of it. i am always intrigued when restaurants serve beef tongue so i was quick to propose this to my dining companions unfortunately, it was over braised (if that is actually possible0, the texture was rendered mushy though i could taste the crispy exterior from its time spent being panfried. Goat, another ingredient that is also fairly uncommon on most restaurant menus was beautifully prepared on the smoked goat pizza There was no unintended gamey flavor from the goat which was shredded and tossed with a tangy bbq sauce. The meat was topped with apple onion, leek blend for sweetness, ricotta for some creaminess and shredded kale on a cracker thin crust. I haven't had very much goat so i was happy to add it to my number 1 spot out of 2 goat experiences.
mHenrys plate score: 7
mHenrys was solid for a brunch spot with freshly squeezed orange juice and a pastry case selling bite sized brownies, cheesecakes, key lime pies and assorted breads and muffins. My omelette with proscuitto with a few other veggies tasted strangely smokey but not in a good way. However I did enjoy the housemade brioche cinnamon raisin toast studded with plump golden raisins and more than a few bites of my friend's "Latina" omlette which had all the predictable yet delicious latin flavors of cumin, cheese, and cilantro, onions black beans and a small side of fried plantains.
Stay tuned for chicago part 2 coming soon!
I will provide you all with the highlights otherwise this might as well be a book and who has time for that when we I have the achievement gap to worry about.
First stop, you can't go to chicago without trying their chicago style deep dish pizza which is about 2 inches in height and cooked in a cast iron pan. We ordered the veggie (onions, green peppers, and mushrooms) at Giordano's for lunch. As you can obviously see, it looks more like a round lasagna than a pizza and we could not imagine how this behemoth of a pie could serve 1 person. My initial reactions was the obsence amount of cheese, i distinctly remember feeling as though i was chewing a giant wad of bubblegum. The taste was well like a pizza though i felt it needed more sauce, but overall a solid carbohydrate experience
Publican Plate score: 7
Apparently, Chicago is a late night kinda of a town as we secured reservations for Girl and the Goat for an 11pm seating (last seating at midnight!) but more on that meal later. To prevent ourselves from eating our own arms, we decided to go for appetizers at a beer and meat gastropub Publican. We had attempted to go there Thursday night but was told that the wait would have been 1 hour, apparently, thursday nights in chicago are most people's friday night. The room had a tall ceiling with walls decorated with 10ft paintings of obese pigs. There were additionally long wooden tables as well as booths that resembled pig pens (with a gate), fitting for the carnivorous offerings on the menu. We stood around a bar table and ordered the ham plate anad pork rinds, which was sliced to order in the open kitchen as we sipped on an international beer list of over 100 beers. What is pictured below is you guessed it, pork rinds flavored with chili powder and lemon juice. It reminded me of pop chips, you know the ones that say not baked, or fried but POPPED! Anyways it really didn't do anything for me except kept me thinking about the fact that i was eating fried pig skin.
Girl and the Goat Plate score: 9.5
11:30pm, filed with british brew, red wine, some sliced ham and pork rinds later, we were seated at the the Girl and the Goat. Girl and Goat is owned by Season 4 Top Chef winner Stephanie Izard...... who used her winnings to open this ultra successful small plates eatery. As a note, we were bombarded with our meal and were done eating with in 20 minutes of ordering, it was as though, they were sending us a message to finish and leave. We decided to share the chickpeas fritters with heirloom tomatoes and fresh mozzarella
I was concerned the fritters would be dense but on the contrary it was fairly light (as light as anything fried can be) which paired well with the tomato puree, micro greens and fresh mozzarella creme
Next we had kabocha squash ravioli, mushroom raisin ragout brussels leaves mushroom creme fraiche
This was unanimously one of the top dishes of the night, which a complex depth of flavor and textures in the cream sauce, al dente pasta, sweetness from the raisin ragout and the acid from the brussel leaves. I think we all secretly wished we had a larger of serving of it. i am always intrigued when restaurants serve beef tongue so i was quick to propose this to my dining companions unfortunately, it was over braised (if that is actually possible0, the texture was rendered mushy though i could taste the crispy exterior from its time spent being panfried. Goat, another ingredient that is also fairly uncommon on most restaurant menus was beautifully prepared on the smoked goat pizza There was no unintended gamey flavor from the goat which was shredded and tossed with a tangy bbq sauce. The meat was topped with apple onion, leek blend for sweetness, ricotta for some creaminess and shredded kale on a cracker thin crust. I haven't had very much goat so i was happy to add it to my number 1 spot out of 2 goat experiences.
mHenrys plate score: 7
mHenrys was solid for a brunch spot with freshly squeezed orange juice and a pastry case selling bite sized brownies, cheesecakes, key lime pies and assorted breads and muffins. My omelette with proscuitto with a few other veggies tasted strangely smokey but not in a good way. However I did enjoy the housemade brioche cinnamon raisin toast studded with plump golden raisins and more than a few bites of my friend's "Latina" omlette which had all the predictable yet delicious latin flavors of cumin, cheese, and cilantro, onions black beans and a small side of fried plantains.
Stay tuned for chicago part 2 coming soon!
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