London – 4/8/17 – Bao, Zetter Townhouse, Kitchen Table at Bubbledogs

Bao
Upon the recommendation of a trusted friend I decided at the last minute to scrap my original lunch plan and check out Bao.  I did have to wait in line (to be found across the street from the entrance) but it moved quickly.  A solid tasty stop although not the best buns I have had.  Service is extremely fast so if you don’t have to wait in line you can be in and out in under 30 min.

house pickles
Taiwanese fried chicken, hot sauce
baos – lamb shoulder and classic


Zetter Townhouse
Once again I was the only person at a bar mid afternoon in London.  Loved the space and this drink was perfectly refreshing for the warm day.

Kitchen Table at Bubbledogs
It always seems to be the most difficult to write about the places I love. If I lived in London I would quickly become a regular.  Yes the food is all fantastic with so many local ingredients and great accompanying stories.  But KT excels at hospitality as well and the overall experience is so lovely that I will probably never go to London again without dining here.  So many restaurants track a guest’s past reservations and various other details but never seem to do anything with the information.  It so easy to just acknowledge that a guest has dined with you before and welcome them back (and bonus points for remembering the time frame).  The crispy chicken skin was as delicious as I remembered (although I had a fix at at collaboration dinner not terribly long ago) as was the sloe gin.
 
raw hand dived scallop, ponzu, pickled seaweed

raw grey mullet, buttered miso infused with Meyer lemon, turnip, confit Meyer lemon skins, turnip tops, sliced fresh apple

crispy chicken skin, rosemary mascarpone, bacon jam

parkerhouse rolls, smoked and cured cod’s roe, dehydrated grated scallop roe, brown butter, fresh lemon zest


raw kale, sour cream and anchovy dressing, Meyer lemon puree, toasted sourdough breadcrumbs

steamed Cornish brill, roasted cauliflower florets, cauliflower puree and pickled cauliflower couscous, diced apple, mango puree, toasted peanuts, coriander stem, house made yoghurt, Moilee sauce, house made Goan curry powder

skate cooked in garlic cream, black garlic puree, wild garlic (wilted fresh, sauce, pickled stems, flowers)

in house made gnocchi, 36 month aged parmesan sauce, roasted chestnuts, perigord black truffle

24 hour cooked lamb belly, fresh mint sauce, English asparagus, Scottish morels, lemon thyme, lamb sauce

Saint Duthac blue cheese, crab-apple and rosehip jelly, caraway and fennel cracker

beetroot and brambly apple marmalade, sour cream ice cream, woodruff infused beetroot sauce, woodruff granite

rhubarb, hibiscus poached Yorkshire forced grown rhubarb, charred black pepper meringue, milk ice cream, poaching syrup

parsnip treacle tart, natural creme fraiche

caramel ‘ice cream cookie sandwich’

house made sloe gin

NYC – 2/15/16 – Luskus (w/ Kitchen Table)

A terrible snowy night to trek to Brooklyn and on the walk from the subway I was wondering what the heck I was thinking.  But I absolutely loved my visit to the Kitchen Table at Bubbledogs last year and was quite excited for this collaboration dinner.  Plus it has been far too long since I have been to Luskus.  I could have eaten a complete meal of the chicken skin and was thrilled to have it again.  It was an utter surprise that my favorite dish of the night was the one I thought I would hate – balsamic, truffle, artichoke.  All individual components that I love, but cold the thought was immediately terrible.  It somehow took me back many many years to when I first had the olive oil gelato at Otto.  I would love to do this entire dinner over again.
 beetroot, salsify, dulse
 razor clam, blood orange, fennel

beef tartare, purple daikon, laver
 chicken skin, rosemary mascarpone, bacon

sea scallop, ginger

Ryan and the Gosling – Evid Twin/Crooked Stave

shrimp, walnut, tarragon
 Sasuga – Oxbow

roasted sunchoke, rye, dulse
 sea bass, onion, nettle
 squab, damson, hay, rye
 lamb breast, salted plum, rutabaga
 balsamic, truffle, artichoke

 carrot, bay leaf, licorice