Monthly Archives: May 2015

Portland, OR – 4/17/15 – Maurice Luncheonette, Clyde Common, Expatriate, Beast

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Maurice Luncheonette

Once again this year’s Bon Appetit best new restaurants list hits it out of the park. Such an adorable space, fantastic food, and amazingly friendly service. Not to mention that compared to my skewed NYC barometer, the prices were downright cheap. If I lived in Portland I’m afraid I would be here every other day…and it would not be a bad thing.



Carrot, Prune & Pea Greens   
Nora’s Lefse with milk braised pork

Lemon Souffle Pudding Cake

Clyde Common

A quick stop for a mid afternoon drink. On my next trip I hope to actually be able to stay and eat!

Land Speed Record – gin, orange juice, Noilly Prat ambre, lime, Fernet Branca, bitters

Expatriate

Having the 2nd seating at Beast gave me the perfect opportunity to check out Expatriate, Kyle Linden Webster and Naomi Pomeroy’s cocktail spot right across the street.  While the cocktails were fantastic – and yes the blue drink theme continues – I still think about the burmese tea leaf salad.  I could eat that every single day.

Four in Hand – Control Pisco, Aperol, Marolo Chamomille Grappa, Cynar, Foreign palm sugar, fresh grapefruit and lemon

Burmese tea leaf, green cabbage and cherry tomato salad
Hollygrove -Pierre Ferrand 1840 Cognac, Yellow Chartreuse, Fresh Lemon, Foreign Palm Sugar, Fresh Orgeat, Blue Curaçao

Beast

This is definitely the Portland restaurant that I have wanted to visit for the longest time and it did not disappoint.  The ambience was charming – perfect lighting, cozy communal tables, an open kitchen and polished service.  While I know the menu doesn’t change much, for the first time visitor it was a lovely meal and the signature charcuterie was exactly what I was hoping it would be.

Dungeness crab deviled eggs, salmon roe, piparras peppers

Charcuterie
steak tartare, quail egg, toast
foie gras bon-bon, peanut shortbread, sauternes gelee
crispy pork shoulder rillettes
bourbon cured duck breast
seizoen & sage pork sausage
Anderson Ranch rack of lamb chop – mint & green garlic sauce verge, spring raab, mesquite grilled onions, poblano-hazelnut romesco
 Oak leaf lettuces – shaved fennel, candied walnuts, creamy gorgonzola & cider vinaigrette
Selection of artisanal cheeses, prosecco-poached apricot, acadia honey, fried macron almonds, black pepper crackers
Saigon cinnamon pain d’épices, toffee sauce, candied kumquat, malted date ice cream

 

Portland, OR – 4/16/15 – Pepe le Moko

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A perfect late night stop for a fantastic cocktail and snacks.  I have to say I am thrilled to see the amaretto sour resurrected.  Granted I didn’t know any better, but this was my favorite drink in my college days.  And done right, its really is so good. Oddly as I was sitting here drinking my amaretto sour, I happened upon the recent Eater article about blue drinks so of course my second drink had to be the blue hawaii.

Amaretto sour

Blue Hawaii 
Roasted carrots (maybe some of the best I have ever had)  

Princeton – 4/14/15 – Mistral

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On my first trip to Mistral a few months ago, I enjoyed each dish individually but the menu seemed very disjointed. Some dishes were very complex, others were very simple and they just didn’t seem to belong in the same restaurant. I’m very glad I made a return visit and happy to see what appears to be a lot of growth and a very cohesive menu. Now if only Elements would hurry up and reopen so I would have another option in Princeton!

Sunchoke tahini, warm pita, caviar, sieved egg
Squash & Kale salad, mole granola, queso fresco, chipotle , cacao
Charred squid salad, green curry, peanuts, coconut, puffed rice
Pork Belly Tteokbokki, jersey rice dumplings, fermented radish, shitake

Tuna tartare, turnip tofu, furikake, ponzu

Warm date cake, cream cheese ice cream, pecan crunch

NYC – 4/12/15 – King Bee

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I typically try to avoid the first day of anything to allow a restaurant some time to get the kinks out.  But if I hadn’t known, I wouldn’t have guessed that this was the first brunch service at King Bee.  We weren’t crazy about the pork cracklins I have to admit.  But foie makes everything better!

Pork cracklins, peanut, caramel, malt vinegar powder  
Brûléed bread pudding, foie gras, rhubarb, cheddar, maple syrup

Mushroom buckwheat crepe galette, maitake, trumpet royal, shiitake, rucola, spring onion confit, egg

Farro salad

Louisiana crawfish roll

NYC – 4/4/15 – Cafe Boulud

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One of my earliest NYC restaurant memories is a trip to Cafe Boulud with my aunt & uncle who were visiting from out of town well over a decade ago.  That of course was the Andrew Carmellini era and while I don’t remember anything that I ate, I must have loved it as I followed Chef Carmellini when he left to open A Voce.  For no reason other the UES seems so far away I hadn’t been back since.  So it was appropriate to finally return with my same relatives so many years later.  Still lovely so many years later.


Tai Snapper Tartare, caraway, paddlefish caviar, watermelon radish, cucumber dill broth

Crescent Farms Pekin Duck, lavender honey, kasha, currants, turnip, arugula, jus de canard

Colorado Lamb Loin, fava bean, panisse, spring garlic, morel mushroom, jus

Crêpe Cake, poached rhubarb, thyme diplomat, ricotta sorbet

Marrakesh Delight

  

NYC – 3/29/15 – Cafe Cluny

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Its been ages since I’ve been to Cafe Cluny and ended up here for a late brunch purely by accident.  Wherever it was that we wanted to go was in between lunch and dinner service.  Just as I had remembered it, always a solid choice, the salad presentations were lovely and the burger satisfied the craving I had for weeks! 




NYC – 3/16/15 – dell’anima

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Yet another place that I have not been to in much too long.  Perhaps I have always thought of dell’anima as a date spot in which case I suppose I am not dating enough.  An absolutely lovely meal with a front row seat at the chef’s counter.  And again waiting months to update this blog has come back to bite me as several menu items have changed and thus I have no descriptions.  Oh well….these were all delicious!

Fluke crudo

Arugula – lemon, parmigiano reggiano

 charred octopus –   Rice beans, chorizo, chicories

Bone marrow – testa, charred cippini, pickled red onion

NYC – 3/15/15 – Marta

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I am very happy that the service at Marta has improved since my first visit shortly after opening.  As I like a thin, crisp crust this is one of my favorites in NYC.  But my previous experience left so much to be desired that I was very hesitant to return.  I still think there is much room for improvement but at least it is headed in the right direction.

Suppli Alla Terrazza – green risotto croquettes, mozzarella, mixed herbs  Seppioline – grilled baby cuttlefish, potato, calabrese chili
Funghi – fontina, hen of the woods, hedgehogs, red onion, thyme
Anatra – duck confit, fennel, golden raisins, fontina