Daily Archives: July 30, 2016

NYC – 6/22/16 – Alon Shaya @ Chef’s Club

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Shaya was one of my favorite meals of 2015 so I obviously could not miss the opportunity to have some of Alon Shaya’s food closer to home.  It was fantastic although with a limited menu I couldn’t help but feeling that I just wanted to get back to NOLA.

Salatim served with pita bread – Louisiana crab tabouleh, bulgur, mint, tomato; Labneh, hold land trinity; Blackened eggplant salad, tahini, pine nuts

Fried oyster hummus, pecan brown butter

Cochon de lait shakshouka – slow roasted pork, stewed tomatoes, green chili zhoug

Louisiana shrimp – okra, paprikash, jasmine rice

Continuing the month long birthday celebration

NYC – 6/20/16 – Gramercy Tavern

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I put Gramercy Tavern on the shelf for a few too many years always chasing something new and never going back to too many of the tried and true classics.  I’ve recently put it back into rotation although only in the Tavern room.  Such was planned for this particular night but when there was a long wait vs. no wait for the dining room my date chose the later.  We quickly decided to do the tasting menu and then somehow got to talking and I never even looked at the menu let alone remembered to take a photo.  So unfortunately no descriptions.  However if Gramercy Tavern has fallen off of your to-do list as well, do yourself a favor and go back asap because it is as fantastic as ever and holds up to anything we are all so intent on booking as soon as it opens.


NYC – 6/16/16 – Sadelle’s

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Sadelle’s is one of my absolute favorite brunch and lunch spots despite the iffy service and hordes of people. But I put off dinner for some time based on the early poor reviews. I went in with low expectations and so was actually pleasantly surprised. The prices seem high especially for presentations that aren’t even worth commenting on. But portion sizes were large and all of the dishes quite good. Unfortunately the large plates and portion sizes do not work with the table sizes and I found myself having to rearrange the entire table quite a few times which has become one of my biggest pet peeves. The twice baked potato was perhaps the best possible version of this classic and may be reason enough for a return dinner visit.

Tuna tartare

Salad

“Kaspia” baked potato

Roumanian steak

Scallops

NYC – 6/15/16 – Contra & Restaurant Andre

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Yet another great Contra collaboration dinner, this time with Andre Chiang of Restaurant Andre in Singapore.  He is fantastic as is his food and I hope to someday make it to Singapore!

Baby mushroom croque en bouche

Oyster, lapsong gelee, peas

Rose champagne, heirloom tomatoes, poisson de roche

King crab, celery sabyon, capers

Elysian fields lamb, scallop lasagna, cresson-wasabe

Quail, fava, cherries

Camembert

Charleston, SC – 6/12/16 – Two Boroughs Larder

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It is incredibly sad to be writing this on the day that Two Boroughs Larder is closing.  I suppose it is fitting that this was my last meal of a great birthday weekend.  I am happy to have visited once and can’t wait to see where Josh Keeler ends up.

TBL charcuterie – pickles, mustard, country bread
Seasonal lettuce – benne seed tahini, meyer lemon, bread crumb

Confit new potato – slow roasted carrot, bordelaise, shallot

Carbonara – bucatini, Neuske’s, english pea, calabrian chile, mint

 

Charleston, SC – 6/11/16 – Leon’s Oyster Shop, Edmund’s Oast and Peninsula Grill

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Leon’s Oyster Shop
We arrived at Leon’s focused on a few dishes from our menu preview. But as I finally am getting to this blog update looking back on the menu I realize that I would love to have absolutely everything right now.  I was trying to overdose on peel ‘n eat shrimp this trip and at least in my mind it cancelled out the calories of delicious fish fry.  And no, one can never ever have too many hush puppies.

Peel ‘n eat shrimp, old bay, comeback sauce

Hush puppies, honey butter

Char-grilled oysters, lemon, parsley, butter, parmesan

Leon’s fish fry, mixed fry with condiments, hush puppies and pea salad

Kale salad, butternut squash, pepitas, currants, charred lemon, ricotta salata

Edmund’s Oast
If you are a beer drinker and end up in Charleston Edmund’s Oast is definitely a must do.  Super interesting beers and I still can’t get over how good the PB&J was.  It sounded kind of terrible, and I was incredibly skeptical, but it was fantastic.  The PB&J flavor was there but so subtle as was the yeasty flavor of bread.  Of everything I had on this trip, that beer was one of the most memorable.


“Gin Joint” style jerky

Pickled vegetables

Beef tartare, tonnato sauce, celery, charred toast

Cauliflower, fresh sheep’s milk cheese, calabrian chile

Peninsula Grill
Following dinner we raced to Peninsula Grill to have a slice of their famous coconut cake before they stopped serving food.  I am always skeptical of heavily lauded baked goods and generally am never that impressed.  But this cake was insanely good.  If I had not exhibited any self control I could have easily finished it (and it was enormous).  I am likely ruined for coconut cake forever.