Posts Tagged ‘Pork’

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Liberty View

Saturday, November 20th, 2010 by virginia

At a recent Sunday night dinner with the family, we revisited an oldie but a goodie. When all of us lived downtown in the Financial District and Battery Park City, Liberty View was our go-to Chinese restaurant for Sunday night dinners. Since Josh and I moved uptown, we haven’t been to the restaurant in probably a year, which is too bad because the food is really quite good.

Every time we go, we always make sure to order the steamed juicy buns, or soup dumplings/xiao long bao. These are some of the best ones that we’ve had, and believe me, Josh and I have eaten our way through most of the soup dumplings in Chinatown. I was happy to see that they were still as tasty as ever. The skins are super thin but still slightly chewy, the meat full of porky goodness, and the soup inside is hot, flavorful, and has just the right amount of fatty richness to it. Delish!

Soup dumpling in all its glory

Another of our usual appetizers is the spare ribs, which are sticky and citrusy and not too sweet. They can be a little fatty sometimes but they’re generally pretty tender.

BBQ spare ribs

We also got an order of the cold noodles with sesame sauce, which something that we hadn’t tried before at this particular restaurant. It’s a pretty standard, simple dish, but unfortunately, this version was pretty bad. The sesame sauce was watery and not very flavorful, and there just wasn’t enough of it to cover all the noodles. The dish wound up being extremely bland, and it’s not something we would order again.

Cold noodles with sesame sauce

For entrees, the moo shu pork is one of our favorites. Strips of pork are stir fried with scrambled eggs and shredded cabbage, then rolled into thin pancakes dabbed with hoisin sauce. Just make sure you ask for the same number of pancakes as you have people, because if you don’t specify, I think they only give you a certain number. We were short the first few times we ordered so we learned our lesson. The good thing is that they’ll wrap up the moo shu for you and portion it out evenly across all the pancakes.

Moo shu pork

Another favorite is the crispy spring chicken in house brown sauce. The chicken is always tender and juicy with crispy brown skin. The house brown sauce is a mixture of soy sauce and chili oil, and is chock full of scallions and black pepper, which gives it a little kick. The dish comes garnished with crispy prawn crackers that are puffy and crackle delightfully if you leave them on your tongue. These were one of my favorite snacks growing up, and while they don’t really do much for the chicken, they’re a fun addition.

Crispy spring chicken and prawn crackers

My personal favorite dish is the Shanghai style pan fried noodles. It’s a bed of thin egg noodles that have been fried until crispy, then covered in a mix of chicken, pork, broccoli, carrots, snow peas, wood ear, mushrooms, and other assorted items in a flavorful brown sauce. You mix everything together and the noodles add a wonderful crunchy texture to the dish.

Shanghai style pan fried noodles

To add some veggies to our meal, we originally asked for hollow water spinach, which is my favorite vegetable, but they were out of it that evening. We settled for pea shoots instead, which are another leafy green vegetable similar to spinach. The pea shoots were sauteed with garlic and cooked until just wilted, so that the stems still had a nice crunch to them.

Sauteed pea shoots

Last but not least, we got an order of pork fried rice. It was fairly standard but there was lots of pieces of roast pork mixed throughout, and the rice wasn’t overly mushy or greasy.

Pork fried rice

Overall Liberty View is one of our favorite Chinese restaurants in the city. It’s a bit more refined than some of our go-to places in Chinatown, though I wouldn’t really call it fancy. It’s in a nice location though, right along the Hudson River, and has a nice view of the Statue of Liberty. Service can be a bit overbearing at times, however, because they try to plate and serve everything for you. What I like about Chinese food is that it’s served family style, so everyone should be able to help themselves. Aside from that, I think the food is really good, almost up to Chinatown standards. Now that we’ve rediscovered how much we like the food there, I’m sure we’ll be going back more often.

Liberty View
21 South End Ave. at West Thames St.
New York, NY

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Summer Restaurant Week 2010 – Tribeca Grill

Thursday, July 29th, 2010 by virginia

For Jess’ birthday, we made a reservation at the Tribeca Grill because it was the only restaurant we called that would seat 10 people without forcing us to explore “private dining” options. We’ve eaten there before and the food was pretty good – it was straightforward, hearty, American fare. We found out when we got there that in addition to the regular menu, they were offering their Restaurant Week menu for dinner on Sundays. The Restaurant Week offerings sounded pretty good, and I liked that the options came directly from the regular menu, something we don’t see too often on Restaurant Week menus. Our waiter assured us that the Restaurant Week dishes were the same portion sizes as the regular menu, and considering that most of the a la carte entrees cost close to $30, the $35 three course menu seemed like quite a bargain.

The Restaurant Week menu online was different than the one we received so I’m not sure if the offerings change from day to day, but here is the menu we got:

First Course
Heirloom tomato & goat cheese salad ~ Sweet corn sauce and opal basil vinegar
Braised artichoke & fennel salad ~ Marcona almonds, green olives & manchego cheese
Warm asparagus salad ~ Morels, cipollini onions & lardons, fig essence

Second Course
Goat cheese ravioli ~ Artichokes, favas, cherry tomatoes & spinach
Pan roasted Atlantic salmon ~ Sunchokes, caramelized beet & apple chutney
Grilled Berkshire pork chop ~ Cassoulet of summer beans, chive dumplings & ramp salsa verde
Roasted red snapper ~ Summer squash, Tunisian couscous, pea shoots & warm tomato vinaigrette

Third Course
Chocolate truffle cheesecake ~ Espresso anglaise
Vanilla & grenadine flan ~ Market berries
Morello cherry financier ~ Yogurt sorbet

While we were deciding on what to order, we munched on the bread offering, which was a round, hard roll with a chewy interior. It didn’t have much flavor to it but I was hungry so I just slathered on lots of butter, which made it a bit more palatable.

Hard bread roll

Our appetizers arrived right away, and 8 out of 10 people at the table ordered the same thing – the heirloom tomato and goat cheese salad. It looked beautiful on the plate, with many different kinds of tomatoes in assorted shapes and colors. The sweet corn vinaigrette was really interesting, and the dish was both sweet and tangy at the same time. The tomatoes were intensely flavorful and paired well with the micro basil scattered on top. My only complaint was that there wasn’t enough goat cheese for my liking, just a small dollop. But the dish was wonderfully light and refreshing, and huge hit at the table.

Heirloom tomato and goat cheese salad with sweet corn and opal basil vinegar

In addition to splitting the tomato and goat cheese salad, Josh and I selected the braised artichoke and fennel salad as our other appetizer. The salad was a tall tower piled high with the ingredients. There was I think frisee mixed in, which added a slight bitterness, and a tangy dressing that added a nice acidity to round out the flavors. The artichoke and fennel were very tender and worked well together with the olives and manchego. I just wasn’t a fan of the almonds, as I thought they overpowered everything else, but Josh enjoyed them.

Braised artichoke and fennel salad with marcona almonds, green olives, and manchego cheese

View from the side so you can see how tall it was and all the layers of ingredients

For our main course, Josh and I chose the grilled Berkshire pork chop and the roasted red snapper. The pork chop was huge and cooked perfectly, so that it was still tender and juicy. It was nicely seasoned and there was a sweet smokey flavor to it that we later found out was maple syrup. It was served on a mix of summer beans that were fresh and seasonal. There were two small chive dumplings that were like chewy gnocchi and didn’t really serve much purpose. There was also a ramp salsa verde that I think was on top of the pork chop, but I didn’t detect much ramp flavor. Still, it was a well constructed dish and another favorite at the table.

Grilled Berkshire pork chop with summer beans, chive dumplings, and ramp salsa verde

The roasted red snapper had a crispy skin that was nicely seasoned but unfortunately, the fish itself was overcooked and bland. It had a rubbery texture to it that made it a bit hard to eat. I ended up breaking it up as best as I could with my fork, then mixing it in with the accompanying couscous and squash. The couscous was light and fluffy, and the squash was tender but still had a nice bite to it. The tomato vinaigrette tied the whole dish together and provided the acidity that the fish badly needed.

Roasted red snapper with couscous, squash, and tomato vinaigrette

For dessert, we had the chocolate truffle cheesecake and vanilla and grenadine flan. The chocolate cheesecake really didn’t taste much like cheesecake but that was ok. I like chocolate better than cheesecake anyway. It had a chocolate cookie crust that tasted like an Oreo cookie, and I liked the espresso anglaise that was drizzled underneath.

Chocolate truffle cheesecake with espresso anglaise

The vanilla and grenadine flan wasn’t as silky as I would have liked but it had a nice vanilla flavor to it. The grenadine was slightly sour, which cut through the sweetness of the dessert, and the market berries were plump and fresh. Texture aside, it was a very tasty summer treat.

Vanilla and grenadine flan with market berries

Overall we were all pretty impressed by the meal we had at the Tribeca Grill. The Restaurant Week menu proved to be a good value, and we left the restaurant full and satisfied. Service was good but they did pace our meal pretty quickly, giving us the impression that they were rushing us out. We did end up lingering a bit over coffee and dessert but all of our courses were served at quick intervals.  The restaurant was packed though, especially for a Sunday night, which might have contributed to the frenetic pacing. We were still pretty pleased with our experience regardless, because the food exceeded our expectations. As for the decor, it’s a pretty restaurant with tall ceilings and a loft-like feel, and the ambiance is upbeat but intimate. While I think the a la carte menu is a bit pricey, I would still recommend the restaurant for a special occasion.

Tribeca Grill
375 Greenwich St. at Franklin St.
New York, NY

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China Day 1 – Flight and Beijing

Thursday, May 6th, 2010 by virginia

We left for China on Thursday afternoon, flying on Air China from JFK to Beijing. The flight itself was fine, with minimal turbulence, but the amenities on the plane were lacking (no personal tvs and bad movies at random intervals on grainy projection screens). The food was pretty decent though, as far as coach airplane food goes. Nothing spectacular by any means, but definitely edible and relatively flavorful. We ended up having two meals on the way over, dinner and lunch, and while the entrees changed, the sides did not. Both times we were given a tuna salad and a roll on the side, and a pre-packaged mango shortcake for dessert. I had chicken and rice first, which came in a nice black bean sauce.

Chicken in black bean sauce with rice, tuna salad, bread, and mango shortcake

Josh had beef and rice, with chewy beef and blandly steamed broccoli and carrots.

Beef with rice, broccoli, and carrots

For my second meal, I had seafood noodles. The noodles were pretty limp but still had some chewiness to them, and the four accompanying shrimp were fairly edible.

Seafood noodles with shrimp

I don’t remember what Josh had. Pork maybe? It was in a gloppy brown sauce with more bland broccoli. Meh.

Possibly pork with rice and broccoli

We landed in Beijing in the early evening but by the time we got through immigration, got our bags, met up with members of our tour group, and took the hour bus ride from the airport to the city, it was pretty late. We were still hungry though so we ventured out of our hotel, the New Otani, and went in search for food. We wound up at a restaurant on the street behind the hotel that seemed to be the most crowded. The restaurant’s specialty appeared to be seafood (like whole fish in a spicy chili broth), but none of us were in the mood for fish so we ended up picking mostly familiar dishes and a few fun snacks.

The name of the restaurant on the menu

We started out with some beer, of course, one that was local to Beijing. It was pretty light and fairly tasteless, but refreshing enough.

Yanjing beer

Our first dish was sweet and sour deep fried crullers (yeo tiao, or “oil sticks”). These crullers are popular in Taiwan wrapped in sesame pancake and dunked into bowls of hot soy milk, so I was intrigued to see them served in a different way. The sticky sweet and sour sauce was more sweet than sour, and had a subtle maple flavor to it. It went well with the crunchy pieces of cruller. I actually liked this dish a lot, even though I originally thought it would be weird.

Sweet and sour deep fried crullers

We had to order Josh’s favorite dish, shredded pork in garlic sauce. It had a good amount of spice and lots of fresh ginger mixed in. I was only slightly turned off by the weirdly soft texture of the pork, but that was something I would have to learn to deal with over the course of the next week.

Shredded pork in garlic sauce

I was excited to have the marinated duck, since I’ve always found poultry to be better in Asia. This was a bit disappointing because the duck was quite small, and the skin was not rendered and super fatty. Flavor-wise it was good though, with lots of duck flavor shining through.

Marinated duck

The mapo tofu we ordered was SUPER spicy and burned my mouth so much that not even plain rice or beer could calm it down. You can just see how much bright red oil is coming off the dish, though Josh really enjoyed it. I like a little spice, but not when my mouth goes totally numb. The chunks of tofu were good though, a bit firm but still quite silky.

Super spicy mapo tofu

From the snack section of the menu, we ordered baked buns with sesame. They were nicely browned on the outside with a lot of sesame sprinkled on, and the inside was filled with pork.

Baked pork buns with sesame

The bun part was a bit thick, but the pork inside was pretty tasty.

Porky innards

For dessert, we had fried sesame balls with black sesame paste filling. I’ve had similar balls in Chinatown but they’re usually filled with red bean paste. These were also significantly larger than the ones in Chinatown, practically the size of softballs. We asked our waitress to cut them in half so they would be more manageable.

Fried sesame balls filled with black sesame paste

Overall we thought the food at Fei Teng Yu Xiang was quite good. Everything was well seasoned and there was lots of spice involved, as it is a Sichuan restaurant. We weren’t in the mood for seafood but I’ve read that it’s their specialty, so maybe we missed out but I still liked what we had. We definitely ordered way too much food for the four of us but the meal was super cheap – less than US$25 TOTAL, including the beers we had. It’s hard to beat that!

Fei Teng Yu Xiang
Beijing, China

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Fleming’s

Saturday, April 10th, 2010 by virginia

So I’m going to do something that I don’t normally do, which is to review a restaurant with no photos of the food. We unintentionally left the camera in the car but I didn’t bother going back out to get it because we were a run-of-the-mill chain steakhouse, and it was Easter so I figured we deserved a break anyway. I was pretty appalled by the food we had so I changed my mind about doing a write-up, and instead I’m using this as an experiment to see how a review turns out without pictures. Given all the publicity lately about food photography (aside from Grant Achatz and Anthony Bourdain, the New York Times just ran an article about it), and the debate about taking pictures, this seemed like a good opportunity to test out what it would be like if we scaled back on photos. Please let me know what you guys think!

Josh’s mom had a craving for steak so we ended up going to Fleming’s in Edgewater for Easter Sunday dinner. I was surprised that they were open on Easter but they seemed to be fully staffed and operational, and while the restaurant wasn’t full, it was definitely more crowded than I expected it to be. We were only a party of four on this particular Sunday night so we got a nice cozy booth near the back of the restaurant, with a good view out the panoramic windows that face the city skyline.

We were given a loaf of soft rosemary bread to munch on while we looked over the menu. The bread was dense and fluffy with no real discernable crust, but I enjoyed the woodsy rosemary flavor. There were two different butters that came with the bread, one was salty and flavored with feta while the other was sweet and flavored with sun dried tomatoes. Both were pretty enjoyable slathered on the soft bread.

Josh and I had a big Easter lunch with my family and had been snacking all day so we decided to forgo appetizers. Alice and Lloyd shared the wedge, which was a quarter wedge of a large head of iceberg topped with red onion, grape tomatoes, and crumbled blue cheese. Josh and I really dislike blue cheese but I tasted a small portion of the salad and found it to be pretty good. The iceberg was crisp and fresh, the tomatoes were sweet and juicy, and the blue cheese was relatively mild compared to others I’ve tasted. I can see why this is such a popular combination for a salad.

For my entrée, I had the double thick pork rib chop that was baked with apple cider, creole mustard, and a julienne of apples and jicama. It sounded good on paper but the flavor was off in execution. It was sweet and sour in a weird way, and the flavors were muddled. I couldn’t really taste apple, or mustard, but something more maple-like and a bit smoky. The pork chop was huge but it was kind of tough and I think a bit overcooked. I had asked for it medium, which our waitress said would be pink in the center, but it was white throughout and a bit hard to chew. The julienne of apples and jicama came out like a mushy sauerkraut and had both a strange texture and flavor. Suffice it to say, I was not a fan of the dish.

Both Josh and Alice ordered the petite filet mignon. Alice’s medium rare steak ended up being more rare, so she sent it back for them to cook it a bit longer. However, Josh asked for his black and blue, and it was cooked perfectly. The outside had a nice seared crust, it was ruby red in the middle, and the seasoning was just perfect. It was a good piece of meat and pretty well executed.

Lloyd had the lamb chops served with a champagne mint sauce. I had a bite and it tasted pretty good, with a nice crust on the outside and lots of gamey flavor. Lloyd seemed to enjoy his dish and I didn’t hear any complaints.

In typical steakhouse fashion, the meats are mostly served a la carte, so there is a long list of sides you can order to accompany your main course. We got sautéed sweet corn and creamed spinach for the table. The corn was fine, with sweet kernels cooked in a buttery sauce, but it was uninteresting. The creamed spinach was mostly cream and cheese but I still thought it was tasty. It definitely could use more spinach in the mix though.

Alice and Lloyd also split a baked potato, which comes with sour cream, butter, chives, bacon and cheddar cheese. The potatoes are usually huge and fluffy on the inside, but this time their potato was only medium sized and hard in the middle. It had clearly been undercooked, so they sent it back and got another potato, which was also on the smaller side and had a big unpleasant-looking black bruise on one side that was basically inedible. Not wanting to send back a second potato, they ended up just eating around it but it wasn’t a great potato to begin with. Considering you’re spending about $7 on a baked potato, I would expect them to inspect their potatoes a bit more closely.

Josh and I split an order of the half and half, which is half French fries and half onion rings. The fries had such potential because they were thin shoestrings and obviously cut from real potatoes, but the frying left much to be desired. The fries were limp, soggy, and greasy, which was really too bad because they looked so appealing. The onion rings, however, were fantastic. Huge slices of onion were lightly breaded and fried to a perfect crisp. I wish we had a whole plate of these onion rings instead of the lackluster fries.

Overall we were pretty dissatisfied with the meal we had at Fleming’s. We’ve eaten there previously so we know it’s standard steakhouse fare, but I thought the overall execution was pretty bad. I could barely get through half my pork chop, not because of its size, but because of how it tasted. The steaks and lamb chops were better because they were simply seasoned and broiled. I think sticking with the plain meats is the way to go at this restaurant. The sides were mostly all pretty disappointing though. What makes it more unforgivable is that this is an expensive restaurant. Yes, it’s a chain, but most entrees are $30+, and they’re served a la carte. Sides are an additional $7-$9 each. The side dishes can be shared but it’s still not a cheap dinner. Service was ok but not particularly attentive. Our waitress didn’t really come by to check on us very often, and they seemed annoyed when we sent back the first potato. I just don’t think the restaurant is worth the price, and I doubt that we’ll be going back there any time soon.

Fleming’s (multiple locations)
90 Promenade, City Place Shopping Center
Edgewater, NJ

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Craftbar

Thursday, March 25th, 2010 by virginia

Josh celebrated his birthday recently, which is always a traumatic experience for him (but next year will be even worse I bet!), so to ease his pain his parents took all of us out to a nice dinner at Craftbar. We ended up at Craftbar for the same reason that we went to Wallsé for his dad’s birthday, namely that most upper scale restaurants don’t take parties that are larger than eight people. Why this is the case, I still don’t know. It’s quite annoying though, because we tend to be a party of nine, and just missing the cut off is really very frustrating, and means that our choice for restaurants is very limited.

Nevertheless, Craftbar was able to seat us at a prime dinnertime, and after eating at Craftsteak in Las Vegas, I was eager to taste more of Tom Colicchio’s Craft empire. Josh and I were the first to arrive at the restaurant, surprisingly, so we settled at the bar to wait for the rest of our group. Josh ordered a scotch while I selected a pear cider from Sweden. The cider had a lower alcohol content and was nicely sweet and fruity. It went down like soda, and I actually enjoyed it quite a bit.

Pretty good pear cider

After half of our group arrived, we moved over to the table they reserved for us, a long rectangular one near the center of the back area, giving us a great view of the restaurant. The décor was a bit industrious, with metal catwalks framing the front part of the restaurant, and very tall ceilings, giving the space a lofty feel. Josh and I actually liked the feel of the restaurant a lot, as it was spacious and modern with clean lines, refined but not stuffy.

The adults in our party were running late and they told us to order some appetizers while we waited. We chatted for a while until hunger drove us to look at the menu, which featured a wide variety of appetizers and entrees, as well as a section titled “Small Plates.” We decided to order a few dishes from this section, and then settled down to munch on some breadsticks our waitress provided.

Crunchy rosemary breadsticks

The breadsticks were super long, almost a foot and half, and very tasty. They were relatively thick and on the harder side but very crunchy, and were flavored with rosemary and salt. We happily snacked on these while we waited for our small plates and the adults to arrive.

Fortunately the adults came just as the appetizers were delivered, so everyone got to taste all the dishes. The portion sizes were pretty small (hence the name “small plates”), but we just cut everything into smaller pieces so that each person got a piece. The first thing we tried were pecorino risotto balls served on top of a spicy tomato sauce. The balls were deliciously crispy on the outside and creamy and starchy in the middle. The tomato sauce wasn’t very spicy but added a nice tanginess that cut through the creaminess of the risotto.

Risotto balls with spicy tomato sauce

The second small plate we had was sausage stuffed sage leaves served with lemon aioli. We could definitely taste the sage but the sausage was mostly salty and not very flavorful. The little logs were quite dense and chewy, and although I liked the lemon aioli, this was my least favorite of the small plates.

Sausage stuffed sage leaves with lemon aioli

Lastly we had the salt cod croquettes served with piquillo peppers and capers. The croquettes were perfectly fried and the flavor of the dish brought me back to Spain, evoking memories of the countless tapas I ate while we were there. The cod had a nice subtly fishy taste that paired perfectly with the sweet red peppers, while the capers added saltiness and brininess to the dish.

Cod croquettes with piquillo peppers and capers

We were too busy catching up and talking so there was a while before we placed our dinner order, but our waitress was very patient with us and didn’t try to rush as at all during the meal. I had a hard time deciding what I wanted to eat because the menu had so many options that I wanted to try. For my appetizer, I ended up getting the veal sweetbreads with rutabaga and sweet onion chutney. I love sweetbreads. To me, it tastes like a very mild liver, and is very rich and creamy. Craftbar’s version was really well cooked, with a crispy, salty outer crust and a velvety interior. The crust may have been a tad too salty, but when I ate the sweetbread together with the rutabaga and the onion chutney, the sweetness of those components really cut through the saltiness and richness. It was a very good dish, I only wish that the portion was larger, as it was really just a small piece of sweetbread on the plate.

Veal sweetbreads with rutabaga and sweet onion chutney

Josh selected the pecorino fondue with acacia honey, hazelnuts, and pepperoncini. I didn’t peg that as a dish he would order but he never ceases to surprise me. The fondue was cheesy and gooey, as it should be, and the saltiness of the cheese was set off by the honey and hazelnuts. The nuts were really a very interesting addition, giving both a sweet and savory crunch to the dish. There also seemed to be a lot of garlic flavor in the fondue, and although it was greasier than I preferred, it did go really well with when dipped into with the accompanying bread. It was a unique and tasty appetizer, though if ordered again it would probably be best shared with multiple people, as the dish was pretty heavy and rich.

Pecorino fondue with acacia honey, hazelnuts, and pepperoncini

Other appetizers at the table included the field mushroom bruschetta with fontina cheese, the white anchovy bruschetta with soft-cooked egg and braised leek, and the baby beets with goat cheese and candied kumquats. I didn’t get to taste everything but heard rave reviews all around, so the meal was definitely off to a great start.

For his main course, Josh had the pekin duck confit with duck egg, savoy cabbage, chestnut, and yellow foot chanterelles. The duck egg was really cool, as it was breaded and fried but still soft boiled, with a nice runny yolk. The duck itself was moist, though the skin could have been a bit crispier. Unfortunately, the cabbage mixture underneath was a tad on the salty side, which detracted a bit from the overall dish.

Pekin duck confit ith duck egg, savoy cabbage, chestnut, and yellow foot chanterelles

I ended up ordering the porchetta served with black trumpet mushrooms and polenta. To be honest, I had no idea what porchetta was, aside from the fact that it’s made from pork. I had read about a sandwich shop named Porchetta, which served chunks of roasted fatty pork with super crispy skin on ciabatta rolls, so I thought it would be something similar. What I got wasn’t what I was expecting, but after dinner I looked up porchetta in Wikipedia and got a definition that was more in line with what I received. According to Wikipedia, this is how porchetta is prepared: “The body of the pig is gutted, deboned, arranged carefully with layers of stuffing, meat, fat, and skin, then rolled, spitted, and roasted, traditionally over wood.”

The slice of porchetta I received definitely had many layers, but unfortunately, most of it was fat. I really had a hard time cutting through it and separating the meat from the fat, and what meat there was ended up being tough and chewy. There was also sausage stuffed in the center of the slice, but it was pretty salty and uninteresting. Plus I was sad that there was no crispy skin to be found anywhere. While the polenta was pretty good, creamy with a nice grittiness, the black trumpet mushrooms on the dish were almost inedible, as they were just way too salty. I was quite disappointed with my dish.

Porchetta with black trumpet mushrooms and polenta

I abandoned my entrée halfway through in favor of Alice’s cavatelli Bolognese. She wasn’t hungry so she generously gave me most of her dish, which I thought was absolutely fantastic. The cavatelli were nicely chewy and the Bolognese sauce was dense and meaty. The entire dish was covered with crispy browned breadcrumbs, which added a great crunchy quality. It was almost like eating a really meaty mac and cheese, minus the cheese. The sauce was well seasoned and the variety of textures in the dish just made my mouth really happy (not to sound like the ditzy actresses on the original Iron Chef, but that’s just how it made me feel). It was such a comforting and homey dish, and I loved every bite of it.

Other dishes on the table included mussels cooked in white wine with garlic and parsley, a scallop, celery, pancetta, and smoked orange puree dish, the skate wing with fingerling potato and sauce gribiche, the pan-fried chicken with tuscan kale and Jerusalem artichoke, and the veal ricotta meatballs. The mussels were classically prepared and very fresh, with no sand to be found anywhere, which is always a plus. Josh tasted and liked both the scallop dish and the pan-fried chicken. The meatballs, however, were a paltry portion (three balls and no pasta), and they were tough and overly salty. The skate wing was deemed to be too salty as well, a theme that seemed to be running through half our dishes.

I know I complain when a dish is under seasoned, but at least it’s usually still palatable and salvageable with a few shakes from the saltshaker. When a dish is too salty, however, it’s hard to recover from that and the only fix is to send it back, but that’s not always the best solution either. Several of the dishes we had were on the higher end of being borderline inedible, but we didn’t feel it was worth the hassle of sending things back since it was already a long meal to begin with. But whoever was cooking in the kitchen that night was definitely a bit too heavy handed with the salt.

Moving onto dessert, Josh had the meyer lemon panna cotta with citrus fruit and ginger snap cookie. The panna cotta was fantastic – rich, creamy, and lemony. The texture was smooth and velvety on the tongue, and the flavor was refreshing and spot on. And because it was his birthday, there was also a candle in the dessert, a nice touch.

Meyer lemon panna cotta with citrus fruit and ginger snap cookie

I was slightly less thrilled with my olive oil cake with orange-cardamom ice cream, pear, and spiced walnuts. The cake was more like a muffin, and denser than I had hoped. I did taste the olive oil flavor though, which I liked (especially since I’m such a fan of olive oil gelato), but I found the dessert kind of uninteresting despite some of the exotic ingredients. It was a perfectly fine dish, but nothing really popped or stood out in my mind.

Olive oil cake with orange-cardamom ice cream, pear, and spiced walnuts

Overall we thought that Craftbar hit some pretty high highs and some pretty low lows. We loved the small plates we had, except for the sage/sausage rolls, and all of our appetizers were really well prepared and very tasty. The entrees, however, were very hit or miss. I loved the cavatelli Bolognese but was quite disappointed with my porchetta order, and a lot of people received dishes that they thought were too salty. It was a packed restaurant for a Sunday night, which may have contributed to the inconsistencies in the preparations. Service was good though, as our waitress was efficient and attentive. The prices are pretty reasonable, with small plates ranging from $6-$9, appetizers ranging from $9-$14, and entrees from $17-$26. It seems like a good place to share a few smaller dishes with some friends and have some nice wine or cocktails. There are also cheeses, charcuterie, and sandwiches on the menu. We liked the décor of the restaurant and the overall feel, with a casual yet upscale vibe, and I think we would probably come back here again.

Craftbar
900 Broadway at 20th St.
New York

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NC – Ole Time Barbecue

Wednesday, February 24th, 2010 by virginia

As promised, as soon as we landed in Raleigh, my brother, sister-in-law, and nephew picked us up from the airport and we headed straight to Ole Time Barbecue for lunch. The restaurant was smaller than we expected, and completely packed when we arrived, which is usually a good sign. Fortunately we didn’t have to wait too long for a table, though it was a bit of a tight squeeze with Alexander’s car seat. They brought us a basket of hush puppies to munch on while we looked over the menu.

The menu cover

These hush puppies were fantastic! Hot, crispy on the outside, soft in the middle, and full of corn flavor. They were irregularly shaped and clearly homemade, unlike the perfect logs that we’ve gotten at other bbq restaurants in the area. They were addictive and we polished off the basket quickly.

Amazingly good hush puppies

The combination meals seemed like the best way to try the most dishes. Josh and my brother both opted for hand chopped bbq pork and bbq chicken. The bbq chicken was falling off the bone tender and pretty tasty, while the chopped bbq pork was soft and super vinegary. Both were made even better after being doused in the acidic bbq sauce and tangy hot sauce.

Hand chopped bbq pork and bbq chicken

For his sides, Josh selected the french fries (at my request) and fried okra. The fries were pretty bad – cold and soggy – but the fried okra was delicious. The little crunchy breaded slices of okra were bursting with flavor, and not slimy in the least. I may have found one of my new favorite side dishes.

Crunchy pieces of fried okra in front, limp and soggy fries in back

My sister-in-law had the chopped bbq pork and Brunswick stew combination, with sides of collard greens and fried apple sticks. The stew was meaty, but the portion was small compared with the other combinations.

Unfortunately, I had the worst meal of the bunch. I opted for the full rack of baby back ribs, which were so dry and tough that never mind trying to pull them apart with my fingers, I couldn’t even cut through the meat with a knife and fork. The meat was flavorless and stringy, and I ate about two ribs before giving up. What a huge disappointment. My sides of collard greens and baked beans were good, but nothing could salvage the awful ribs.

Dried out baby back ribs, tangy collard greens, and sweet baked beans

Overall I think we were all disappointed by the food we had at Ole Time Barbecue. It came recommended to us by a reader who commented about our dining choices during our first trip to Raleigh, plus it was featured on the Food Network show Road Tasted with the Neelys. While the hush puppies definitely lived up to expectations, everything else was downhill from there. I did like it better than Danny’s Bar-B-Que but it was nowhere near as good as Smokey’s BBQ Shack. The barbecue at Ole Time simply wasn’t as flavorful or as meltingly tender, and the ribs were just terrible. I know my Northern palate isn’t up to the same Southern standards, but dry is dry. None of the meats were really outstanding, and unfortunately, I don’t think that we’ll be going back the next time we’re in NC.

Ole Time Barbecue (multiple locations)
6309 Hillsborough St.
Raleigh, NC

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Killington Day 2 – Santa Fe Steakhouse

Thursday, February 18th, 2010 by virginia

After a grueling second day of skiing (it was super icy and I was having boot issues), we were starving and looking forward to having a nice, relaxing meal. It was Valentine’s Day so the few restaurants we called in the area that take reservations were all booked up. There are many Killington restaurants though that don’t take reservations, but wait times were ranging from 1-2 hours. We decided to stay in for a while and watch some of the Olympics before heading out for a late dinner, hoping to miss the prime time rush. We ended up stopping at the closest restaurant to our condo, the Santa Fe Steakhouse, and were able to get a table right away.

Josh and I ate at the Santa Fe Steakhouse last year and found the food to be pretty good, which is why we recommended stopping there. The décor is a bit kitschy but the atmosphere is lively. There was live music playing from the lounge next door, which we could hear from our little alcove on the upper level. While we looked through the menu, our waitress came by to take our drink orders and informed us that they were out of several things, including the rack of lamb, which I had my eye on. I had eaten the lamb last year and it was nicely prepared and well seasoned, and after the bland food we had at Hemingway’s the previous night, I wanted something that packed a lot of flavor. I ended up choosing a steak from the specials menu, and after we placed our order we headed down to the salad bar that is included with all of the entrees.

The salad bar offerings

The menu calls it a Caesar salad bar, and while there is Caesar salad available, that’s not the only thing. There was also a big bowl of mixed greens, and an assortment of salad toppings such as tomatoes, onions, beets, beans, and cheese. It was actually a pretty good selection and makes for a great appetizer.

I ended up sticking with the Caesar salad, topped with a few grape tomatoes. The dressing was tangy and garlicky but there wasn’t enough of it. The salad was pre-mixed in a large bowl and I wish they had put some extra dressing on the side, as I really wanted more. Still, it was refreshing and all the vegetables were crisp and fresh tasting.

Caesar salad

While we munched on our salads, we also nibbled on the basket of rolls they brought. There were plain ciabatta rolls and some seeded rolls, all served hot right out of the oven. Though the interiors were a bit dense, they had nice crispy crusts and good flavor. We ended up polishing off several baskets.

Hot and crusty rolls

For my entrée, I went with the Mardi Gras ribeye, which was one of the specials of the day. It was a huge piece of meat and cooked medium rare as requested. The steak was coated in a lot of different seasonings, which gave it a nice charred crust on the outside. I think cumin was the predominant flavor and imparted a pleasant smokiness. Ribeye is a fatty cut but the meat surrounding the fat was tender and juicy. The steak was topped with a creole crab mustard sauce that was thick and rich, with little bits of crab mixed in. It was a delicious steak, and I’m happy that I ended up ordering it. The mashed potatoes and vegetables that came on the side were a pass though. The potatoes were over seasoned with a weird combination of spices, and the vegetables were limp, tasting mostly of chewy, tinny corn.

Mardi Gras ribeye

Josh ordered the pork loin, which our waitress said was one of the more popular dishes at the restaurant. The loin came thinly sliced and topped with a brown sauce, but the pork was completely overcooked. It had an unappealing gray color to it, and when I took a bite it was like chewing on sawdust. The chipotle demi glace sauce did nothing to help, and it was a disappointing dish overall. Josh ended up eating only one slice of the loin out of four, and I gave him half my steak (it really was huge) so that he could fill up.

Super dry pork loin El Paso

The other entrees ordered at the table were not quite as bad, but they were also just only passable. Jess had a tuna steak that was perfectly cooked rare, but it had a crust of blackened seasoning that was super spicy and totally overwhelmed the fish. Alice had shrimp scampi that was extra garlicky as requested, but nothing special otherwise. Lloyd’s duck with a Jack Daniels maple sauce was better than the duck we had at Hemingway’s, but nothing to write home about.

Fortunately service was great, as our waitress was very attentive, filling up our water glasses continuously and bringing us extra bread when requested. She noticed that Josh barely touched his meal and apologized, even though it wasn’t her fault. She ended up not charging us for the pork, and instead just charged him for a salad bar entrée, which was much cheaper.

Although we did enjoy the salad bar and the bread, aside from my ribeye, none of the other entrees were ones that I would order again. The food wasn’t terrible, but it just wasn’t great. Although entrees are a tad expensive, they do come with the aforementioned salad bar, so that helps to make the price seem a bit more reasonable. The annoying part about coming here, however, is that no one was answering the phone so we didn’t know what the wait would be. They had an answering machine message pick up that only gave the hours of operation, and then hung up. It was kind of frustrating, and not a good way to attract customers who don’t want to take the chance that there may be a huge line. I guess my advice would be that if you do come here, stick with the steak. It is a steakhouse after all, and they do cook a pretty good piece of meat.

Santa Fe Steakhouse
3501 Killington Rd
Killington, VT

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Winter Restaurant Week 2010 – Aureole

Tuesday, February 9th, 2010 by virginia

In addition to the reservation we had made at A Voce Columbus on the first day of Restaurant Week, we had also managed to nab a prime lunchtime spot at the Bar Room of Aureole on the very last day of Restaurant Week. I was hoping to get some last minute reservations at a few places in between as well, but I wasn’t able to find the time to take a long lunch, as it was a particularly busy time at work for me. Josh ended up going to DB Bistro Moderne with a few of his coworkers but he didn’t seem too impressed by his meal there, so I didn’t feel too bad about missing out. I was really looking forward to our meal at Aureole, however, and couldn’t wait for the end of the week to finally arrive.

Aureole recently moved from the Upper East Side to the new Bank of America building at One Bryant Park. We had never gone to the old Aureole but I was kind of surprised by the casual décor at this new space. Granted, we were seated in the Bar Room at the front, and the dining room in the back did seem to be a bit more upscale. The front room was very bright, with lots of tall windows, and a huge, modern chandelier. There was a large bar that took up an entire wall, and a giant array of wine bottles behind rounded glass windows.

The Bar Room in front

What I didn’t really like was that the tall windows faced onto 42nd St., and you couldn’t help but be aware of all the people walking down the street and the cars driving by. Plus there was some very unattractive scaffolding across the street, and I kind of feel it was a bit distracting. The more formal dining room, however, is set back behind some glass and the décor was a bit more subdued, with a predominately brown and beige color scheme. And while the tables in the dining room were covered in gleaming white tablecloths, the tables in the Bar Room were bare, with the exception of some place mats.

After we were seated and had placed our orders, we were brought a wooden bowl filled with slices of baguette, and a small ramekin of creamy butter topped with crunchy kernels of salt. The bread had a nice crispy crust and an airy, chewy interior. It was pretty tasty, though I wish it had been warmed up a bit. However, I must admit that I did get a bit jealous when I saw that in the dining room, there was a bread man walking around with a basket offering five different kinds of bread. To add insult to injury, the wooden bowl that held our bread was severely cracked on both sides and looked like it was about to split in half. We were both surprised that they would let a bowl like that out of the kitchen, as the cracks really were conspicuous.

Tasty slices of baguette but served in a cracked bowl

Moving on to the actual meal, it wasn’t too hard for us to pick which dishes we wanted to try from the Restaurant Week menu, as we simply avoided the vegetarian options in each course (salad in the first course and winter vegetables in the second course). As per our tradition, we each started with a dish and then swapped plates halfway through so that we could taste both offerings. I wound up with the potato leek ravioli first, which featured bacon, caramelized onion, aged cheddar, and a chive creme fraiche sauce. There were three small but plump raviolis in the bowl, bursting with a tasty potato leek puree. The filling was well seasoned on its own, but when eaten with the accompanying toppings, it was a great mix of flavors and textures. Both the bacon and caramelized onions are very assertive ingredients but complemented the raviolis perfectly, with no one component standing out above the others. I found the dish to be very comforting, kind of homey, yet still refined and beautifully presented.

Potato leek ravioli

Our other first course was the wild striped bass ceviche, which was marinated in citrus juices and topped with red onion, avocado, smoked paprika, cucumber, red pepper, microgreens, and popcorn. The striped bass was sliced thinly, kind of like a crudo, and the citrus marinade was very light. I liked that the dish wasn’t overly acidic, and the freshness of the fish really shined through. The accompanying garnishes were chopped into tiny pieces so that they provided a textural contrast without detracting from the delicate flavor of the striped bass. Although this was a very elegant version of ceviche, I thought the popcorn on top was a playful nod to the traditional way the dish is usually served.

Wild striped bass ceviche

For the main course, Josh started out with the spotted skate wing, which was topped with cauliflower, golden raisins, toasted almonds, and a caper curry brown butter. The skate was pan seared perfectly so that it had a nice golden brown crust on the inside, yet was still tender and flaky. The curry in the brown butter sauce was very mild but combined with all the other ingredients, it was an intriguing combination of flavors and textures. Every bite highlighted a different component, from the sweet raisins to the savory cauliflower and tangy caper berries. There was a lot going on yet it all worked together very well.

Spotted skate wing

Our other main course was braised pork belly with apple, brussels sprouts, cornichons, dijon mustard jus, and roasted pearl onions. The pork belly was fatty and luscious, just as it should be, but it was served in one long piece that was a bit hard to cut neatly. I ended up separating the fatty top from the rest of the meat by accident and couldn’t get a thin enough slice of both that would just melt in my mouth. I think the restaurant should have sliced the pork belly up for us rather then leaving it for us to deal with on our own. That aside, the dish was a great mix of sweet and savory, highlighted by the apple sauce and shaved brussels sprouts. While it wasn’t the best pork belly we’ve ever had (that honor belongs to L’Atelier de Joel Robuchon in Las Vegas), it was definitely near the top of the list.

Braised pork belly

There were only two options for dessert so we got one of each. The first was a caramel corn sundae with vanilla chantilly, bananas, and salted peanuts. This dessert was so incredibly playful that it just put a huge smile on our faces. It tasted just like cracker jacks, but better. The refreshing popcorn(!) ice cream was topped with sweet vanilla cream and streaks of caramel, and biting into the pieces of banana and salted peanuts were like finding little prizes in the sundae. The kernels of caramel corn just put the whole thing over the top.

Caramel corn sundae

The other dessert was a bittersweet chocolate ganache tart with blood orange creme. This was the polar opposite to the caramel corn sundae, as it was dark, rich, and very intense. The ganache was very dense but delightfully creamy on the tongue. The creme had just a hint of citrusy flavor to it, and was a nice complement to the dark chocolate. It was a good dessert on its own but couldn’t compare to the light and whimsical sundae.

Bittersweet chocolate ganache tart

Lastly, they brought us a small plate of cookies to finish off our meal. There was a thin and crispy sandwich cookie, a hard and crunchy biscotti, an intriguing salted chocolate chip cookie, and a classic shortbread cookie with jam on top. We were stuffed after our lunch but couldn’t resist having a few nibbles.

Platter of mini cookies

Overall Josh and I both loved this meal. We thought that it was one of the best Restaurant Week lunches we’ve ever had, certainly the best of winter 2010, and we were really impressed with all of our courses. While I didn’t love the atmosphere of the restaurant’s new location, service was exemplary. Our waiter explained each of our dishes to us as they were served, and when he noticed that we swapped plates during the first course, he made sure to help us with the swap during our second course. More importantly though, I thought the dishes we had were bold and innovative, as well as fun and imaginative. This meal was absolutely a highlight for us and definitely made us interested in trying some dishes from the regular menu. We sincerely hope that Aureole will be participating in Summer Restaurant Week this year, and will be offering yet another stellar menu.

Aureole
135 West 42nd St. between 6th Ave. and Broadway
New York, NY

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Consistent Delivery from Pearls

Friday, January 22nd, 2010 by virginia

After our successful first time ordering in from Pearls, we hit them up once again the next time that I had a craving for Chinese food. We considered trying one of the super unusual entrees but I wasn’t feeling so adventurous and the dinner combinations were too good the last time for me to pass up this time.

We decided to get two combinations, plus one more entree. We both chose the hot and sour soup, which was still tasty. It’s not too thick or gloppy, and has a nice balance between the sourness and the pepperiness. It’s chock full of assorted vegetables and I like the different textures.

Hot and sour soup

The egg rolls that were such a hit last time didn’t disappoint this time either. They were freshly fried, still piping hot, filled with veggies, and had a nice crispy and flaky outer shell.

Egg roll innards

For the entrees, we tried the pork in garlic sauce. I’ve mentioned before that this is one of Josh’s favorite dishes, and one that we get almost every time we have Chinese food with my parents since they know how much Josh likes it. When I first opened the container, it didn’t look like any pork in garlic sauce that we’ve had before. The pork was cut in large chunks, not thin strips, and the dish typically doesn’t have snow peas or carrots in it. I was a bit apprehensive but after tasting a piece of pork, I was pleasantly surprised. The pork was tender and the garlic sauce was flavorful. It wasn’t spicy, but it definitely packed a garlicky punch and wasn’t just a standard brown sauce.

Pork in garlic sauce

Our second combination entree was General Tso’s chicken. I have to say that I really didn’t like this dish. Too many filler veggies (carrots, baby corn, peppers), not enough chicken, and the sauce was too sweet. The chunks of chicken were large but also a bit fatty. I vastly preferred the sesame chicken from last time to this dish.

General Tso's chicken

In addition to the two combination specials, we got an order of moo shu pork. The pork and veggie mix was ample and was stir fried in a nice tangy brown sauce, but the dish only came with two pancakes. Two pancakes! That’s really stingy, and nowhere near enough for all the filling they give you.

Moo shu pork and pancakes

We ordered four additional pancakes, at 50 cents a pop. Kinda steep, but in the general scheme of things it was still pretty cheap overall. I actually liked the dish a lot and would definitely order it again, with the extra pancakes.

Moo shu pork wrapped in a pancake

I thought this meal from Pearls was still pretty good the second time around. Is the food amazing? No, but it’s tasty and familiarly comforting. Prices are extremely reasonable, and the delivery arrived in 30 minutes. Everything was hot and freshly cooked. If you have a craving for Chinese food that needs to be satisfied quickly, this is the place for you.

Pearls
732 7th Ave. between 48th and 49th St.
New York, NY

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New Years Banquet at Zen Peninsula

Sunday, January 10th, 2010 by virginia

After we got back to the Bay Area, Claire and Sean dropped us off at my godparents house, which was about 20 minutes away from their apartment. I was thrilled to be able to meet up with my godparents for dinner before our flight from SF back to Newark. I hadn’t seen my godmother since our wedding in May 2008, and my godfather since the last time we were in California, in October 2005. They graciously arranged for us to have a New Years banquet dinner at a Chinese restaurant near their home called Zen Peninsula.

The restaurant was a pretty big and grand space, perfect for large banquets and wedding parties. It was decorated in similar style to restaurants in NYC Chinatown such as Jing Fong and the Golden Unicorn. There were 10 of us dining altogether so we had a big round table with a lazy susan in the middle. The meal started off in typical Chinese banquet fashion, with a platter of assorted meats sliced into small pieces. There was juicy bbq pork, slices of either pork or duck (Josh and I couldn’t agree on it but I still think it was pork) with super crispy skin on top, compacted tofu skin, and jellyfish.

A little taste of everything - jellyfish, compacted tofu skin, roast pork or duck with super crackly skin, and bbq pork

Funny story about jellyfish – if you’ve never tried it, it kind of looks like long, thick rice noodles, and has sort of a gelatinous, crunchy texture. For our wedding rehearsal dinner, we had a big banquet at Jing Fong where our meal started off with a similar platter of meats surrounding a huge pile of jellyfish. Most of Josh’s family and friends had never eaten or seen jellyfish before so they all thought it was noodles or some sort of vegetable, and gobbled up the entire serving. It was only later when they found out they had eaten jellyfish that they denied liking it, but the empty platter doesn’t lie!

Back to our dinner at Zen Peninsula, our next course was shark fin soup. It was served in a mild, clean-tasting, yet rich soup. The pieces of shark fin had a soft, loose texture, a bit similar to shreds of scallop or stingray.

Shark fin soup

Next was one of my favorites, peking duck. The pieces of duck were served with soft steam buns, scallions, cucumbers, and hoisin sauce.

Peking duck in a steamed bun

I was shocked when I saw the size of lobster in the following course. It was huge! It must have been at least five pounds, and was chopped up into large pieces that were battered with salt and pepper and deep fried. The meat was still moist and tender.

Giant lobster head

We also had a large dungeness crab that was battered and deep fried. I snagged one of the legs, which was sweet and flavorful.

Fried dungeness crab

A dish of vegetables followed, filled with bok choy, shiitake mushrooms, carrots, tofu skin, and what I think were ginko seeds. They’re the yellow round things and had a soft texture and a mild nutty flavor.

Assorted vegetables

Then we had a big platter of poached chicken surrounded by a bitter green vegetable. It was a simple dish but the meat had a very concentrated and deep chicken flavor.

Poached chicken with a bitter green vegetable

Next we had even more lobster, this time in a ginger scallion sauce.

Lobster in ginger scallion sauce

Then fried rice with pork and shrimp.

Pork and shrimp fried rice

Our last savory course was something that I’ve never had before, a braised lamb dish in a hot pot with assorted vegetables. The lamb wasn’t very gamey but the whole dish and a really interesting and complex flavor that was kind of hard to describe. Our waiter would come by every so often to reheat the pot and add in a few more vegetables.

Braised lamb in a hot pot

For dessert, we had mango pudding, which was the best mango pudding that I’ve ever tasted. It was like a thick and rich jello consistency, and the mango flavor was really intense. It actually did taste like mangoes, which surprised me since most other mango puddings have an artificial taste to them.

Delicious mango pudding

Then we had some Chinese petit fours, which were a small roasted bun with a sweet paste filling, a square of mochi covered in coconut, and a small, dense almond cookie.

Roasted bun with sweet paste, mochi covered in coconut, almond cookie

Last but not least, we had a traditional New Year dessert, nian gao, which is like a sticky crepe made with rice flour and was filled with crushed peanuts. It was sweet and salty with lots of interesting texture to it.

Sticky dessert crepe with crushed peanuts

After the feast, I went to look at the fish tanks in the front that held some of the fresh seafood we had eaten during our meal. There was a tank full of ginormous lobsters.

Ginormous lobster in a tank full of ginormous lobsters

And one with huge dungeness crabs.

Dungeness crabs

King crabs with super long legs.

Live king crabs

Some freaky and scary looking eels.

Scary looking eel

And some giant prawns that were bigger than my hand.

Giant prawns

Overall I really enjoyed the banquet meal that we had at Zen Peninsula. The food was delivered at an even pace, and all of the dishes were hot and freshly prepared. Seafood is obviously one of their specialties, based on the dishes we had and the large tanks they had out front. My favorite courses of the evening were the two lobster courses (who doesn’t love good lobster?) and the peking duck. The best part of the meal, however, was being able to catch up with my godparents. I get to see them so rarely and each time is a wonderful treat. I feel so honored and thankful that they held off on their New Years banquet for a few days because they knew that Josh and I would be in town that weekend. It was a great end to a really great trip.

Zen Peninsula
1180 El Camino Real
Millbrae, CA

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