Saturday, January 20, 2007
Dinner at Ad Hoc, Yountville, CA
Our pilgrimage to Napa was inspired by our reservation at Ad Hoc, Thomas Keller's family style, casual joint. It was named Ad Hoc becuase it was supposed to be open only temporarily. However, it has become so popular that Keller has decided to keep it open. The family style menu changes daily and is $45 a head. Overall it was a great meal, but definitely not mind-blowing.
Roasted Beets, Frisee and Radish Salad
A nice melange of textures and flavors. Sweet, salty, crunchy and acidic.
Faro and Wilted Greens
A clean accompaniment to the the decadent main course. Nicely chewy.
Duck Breast with Winter Fruits and Nuts in Jus
The duck was cut into perfect strips of juicy meat and crunchy skin. The figs, apricots and walnuts lent an earthiness from the dish. This duck was truly amazing.
Gruyere and Pressed Apples
The cheese was tasty, but standard. The pressed apples were interesting, super crunchy, and very nicely acidic. Apparently these apples are pickled in white wine vinager and sugar, the pressed to reduce the water content.
Warm Brownies with Caramel Sauce and Fresh Whipped Cream
Nicely bittersweet.
Roasted Beets, Frisee and Radish Salad
A nice melange of textures and flavors. Sweet, salty, crunchy and acidic.
Faro and Wilted Greens
A clean accompaniment to the the decadent main course. Nicely chewy.
Duck Breast with Winter Fruits and Nuts in Jus
The duck was cut into perfect strips of juicy meat and crunchy skin. The figs, apricots and walnuts lent an earthiness from the dish. This duck was truly amazing.
Gruyere and Pressed Apples
The cheese was tasty, but standard. The pressed apples were interesting, super crunchy, and very nicely acidic. Apparently these apples are pickled in white wine vinager and sugar, the pressed to reduce the water content.
Warm Brownies with Caramel Sauce and Fresh Whipped Cream
Nicely bittersweet.
Labels: Decor: 1, Food: 2, regional American, restaurant, review, Service: 2
Lunch at Go Fish, St. Helena, CA
We went up to Napa with some friends specifically because we had reservations at Ad Hoc for dinner. However, we decided to make a day of it and we started out with lunch at Go Fish, a restaurant none of us have ever heard of. We'll never go back--the food was ok, but the service was the worst we've ever had. They never brought us bread. They didn't get our water for about 15 minutes, despite the fact that we asked twice. The food was timed wrong and 3 out of 4 entrees were brought well before the last, leaving our friend without food and the rest of us wondering whether to be polite and wait while our food was getting cold. The only redeeming quality was that they took a big hunk off of the bill for our troubles.
Onion Rings $5
These were addictive, although we had to ask for kechup.
Kumamoto Oysters $2 each
Standard.
Sauces for Oysters
A nice breadth of choices.
Wood Grilled Salmon with Saffron Vin Blanc Sauce $22
Very tasty, actually, but expensive for the portion.
Brussel Sprouts with Red Onions and Red Wine $5
A nice mix of acidity and sweetness.
Surf and Turf $27
Seared scallops and seared foie gras with citrus. Fresh and well prepared. An interesting take on surf and turf.
Ratings:
Food: 1
Decor: 1
Service: 0
Website
Onion Rings $5
These were addictive, although we had to ask for kechup.
Kumamoto Oysters $2 each
Standard.
Sauces for Oysters
A nice breadth of choices.
Wood Grilled Salmon with Saffron Vin Blanc Sauce $22
Very tasty, actually, but expensive for the portion.
Brussel Sprouts with Red Onions and Red Wine $5
A nice mix of acidity and sweetness.
Surf and Turf $27
Seared scallops and seared foie gras with citrus. Fresh and well prepared. An interesting take on surf and turf.
Food: 1
Decor: 1
Service: 0
Website
Labels: Decor: 1, Food: 1, restaurant, seafood, Service: 0
Breakfast at Home
Spinach and Sausage Scramble
The quickest homemade breakfast of all.
Labels: breakfast recipe, eggs, homemade, sausage, spinach
Friday, January 19, 2007
Dinner at Home
Pre-Flight Snack at the Chilis Too Airport, Las Vegas, NV
Chili's Too is everything you expect from an airport spinoff of a chain restaurant... mediocrity. The waitress was nice, but a bit sluggish, probably from having to cover all the tables.
Boneless Buffalo Wings - Standard but good.
I forget the what the called this thing, but it was some disgusting concoction of batter and chicken.
Cheese and Brocolli soup. Thick and flavorless.
Website
Ratings:
Food: 0
Decor: 0
Service: 1
Boneless Buffalo Wings - Standard but good.
I forget the what the called this thing, but it was some disgusting concoction of batter and chicken.
Cheese and Brocolli soup. Thick and flavorless.
Ratings:
Food: 0
Decor: 0
Service: 1
Labels: Decor: 0, Food: 0, regional American, restaurant, review, Service: 1
Lunch from Sellers Market, San Francisco, CA
Cobb Salad
Tasty and fresh.
Lunch at Pyramid Cafe, Las Vegas, NV
I can only imagine the dreck that has to drag himself to the 24 hour Pyramid Cafe, situated on the casino floor of Luxor. The poor sap, that has just stayed up 20 hours, losing all his money, half out of his wits from the combination of cheap whiskey, craps adrenaline and stale second hand smoke. He fishes around in his empty pockets for the comp coupon that is all he has to show for his bankroll. The unsympathic wait staff forces him move to a table from his cush spot in a booth and choke down rubbery pasta and overcooked chicken paramsen. Yeah, I can only imagine.
Website
Ratings:
Food: 0
Decor: 0
Service: 0
Website
Ratings:
Food: 0
Decor: 0
Service: 0
Labels: Decor: 0, Food: 0, regional American, restaurant, review, Service: 0
Thursday, January 18, 2007
Dinner at The Burger Bar, Las Vegas, NV
When we visit Las Vegas, it's hard to resist going to Chef Hubert Kellar's The Burger Bar, located between the Mandalay Bay and Luxor. Offering the ultimate build your own burger, you can combine such ingredients as Foie Gras, Lobster and Truffles (and much much more), with a choice of cheese, meat, bun and fries. The decor is decidely Las Vegas, featuring booths with private TV's and busty waitresses.
Here's how I ordered it - 'From the top, foie, chedder, ridgefield, bacon, blue cheese, ridgefield no bun, no fries, rare' - ~$30
As you can see the burger was made perfectly to order. A pleasant suprise was that there were three(!) pieces of foie.
Ratings:
Food: 1
Decor: 1
Service: 1
Website
Here's how I ordered it - 'From the top, foie, chedder, ridgefield, bacon, blue cheese, ridgefield no bun, no fries, rare' - ~$30As you can see the burger was made perfectly to order. A pleasant suprise was that there were three(!) pieces of foie.
Food: 1
Decor: 1
Service: 1
Website
Labels: burger, Decor: 1, Food: 1, regional American, restaurant, review, Service: 1
Dinner at Home
Costco Tequila Lime Chicken Wings
From the freezer to my mouth in 20 minutes.
Green Salad with Balsamic Vinagrette
Labels: homemade
Lunch at Work
Labels: leftovers
Breakfast at Home
We had leftover roti prata from Borobudur and discovered that is can be easily refreshed by a spin in a hot pan. It already has a lot of oil, so none is needed. We ate it with a fried egg and leftover curry sauce.
Fried Egg.
Fried Egg.
Roti Prata
Curry Sauce
Labels: breakfast recipe, homemade
Wednesday, January 17, 2007
Dinner at Borobudur, San Francisco, CA
We decided we needed some roti prata in our bellies after we'd had a few drinks...
Beef in Chili Sauce $10
This was not very good. The meat was kind of stringy.
Chicken in Chili Sauce $10
We usually don't order chicken in restaurants, but this time we did. And it was a good decision. This chicken was spicy, delicious and fall off the bone tender.
Beef in Chili Sauce $10
This was not very good. The meat was kind of stringy.
Chicken in Chili Sauce $10
We usually don't order chicken in restaurants, but this time we did. And it was a good decision. This chicken was spicy, delicious and fall off the bone tender.
Labels: review
Imperial Palace Restaurant, San Francisco, CA
Today we decided to walk to Chinatown and eat at the first Dim Sum place that looked decent. We found Imperial Palace. It was relativly busy, but had a few problems. Firstly, it smelled strongly of mildew, which isn't appealing in a place where you are about to eat. Second, there were 2 dim sum carts, but only one dim sum server, so only one cart could be pushed around at a time. If they had 3 carts and 3 servers it would have been much better. The food was better than we thought it would be, but we probably won't go back until they can do something about the smell. I think the whole meal was $17, which is not bad for 2 people who were very full at the end.
Har Gow
A standard rendition.
Spare Ribs
Surprisingly delicious and incredibly tender. They fell right off the bone.
Sui Mai
They weren't that fresh, but they were full of meaty chunks (which is a good thing).
Chicken Feet
Also very tender.
Shrimp Dumplings
These were bizarre. They contained an unappealing sprinkle of frozen peas, carrots and corn (?!?) in addition to the shrimp. It was as if they were trying to appeal to a 1950's housewife.
Ratings:
Food: 1
Decor: 0
Service: 0
No Website
Health Code Violations
Har Gow
A standard rendition.
Spare Ribs
Surprisingly delicious and incredibly tender. They fell right off the bone.
Sui Mai
They weren't that fresh, but they were full of meaty chunks (which is a good thing).
Chicken Feet
Also very tender.
Shrimp Dumplings
These were bizarre. They contained an unappealing sprinkle of frozen peas, carrots and corn (?!?) in addition to the shrimp. It was as if they were trying to appeal to a 1950's housewife.
Food: 1
Decor: 0
Service: 0
No Website
Health Code Violations
Labels: Chinese, Decor: 0, Food: 1, restaurant, review, Service: 0
Breakfast at Home
Tuesday, January 16, 2007
Dinner at Home
Cream of Spinach Soup
The Costco FINALLY got spinach back after the whole E.Coli snafu. We made a nice, smooth soup to celebrate. For the recipe click here, but we added 1/2 cup of cream to this version.
Chili Rubbed Baby Back Ribs
These are an excellent response to wanting a tasty meal without too much cooking.
Labels: dinner recipes, homemade, pork, soup, spinach
Lunch at Work
Breakfast at Home
Chupaqueso
A hearty breakfast of fried cheese topped with an egg, salami, tomato, onion, guacamole sour cream and hot sauce.
Labels: chupaqueso
Monday, January 15, 2007
Dinner at Home
Pork and Green Bean Stirfry
A tasty use for a pork loin if you want dinner quicker than it would take to roast something.
A tasty use for a pork loin if you want dinner quicker than it would take to roast something.
-1 lb pork loin, but into bite size pieces
-1 lb green beans, cut into thirds
-2 tb soy sauce
-4 tb oyster sauce
-2 tb chili garlic sauce
-2 tb chili black bean sauce
-5 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
Mix all the sauces together and marinate the pork pieces in it for at least 1/2 hour. Sautee the garlic in some olive oil and when it begins to brown add the pork plus marinade to the pan. Quickly brown the pork, add the green beans, cover and simmer for 10 to 15 minutes.
-1 lb green beans, cut into thirds
-2 tb soy sauce
-4 tb oyster sauce
-2 tb chili garlic sauce
-2 tb chili black bean sauce
-5 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
Mix all the sauces together and marinate the pork pieces in it for at least 1/2 hour. Sautee the garlic in some olive oil and when it begins to brown add the pork plus marinade to the pan. Quickly brown the pork, add the green beans, cover and simmer for 10 to 15 minutes.
Labels: dinner recipes, green beans, homemade, pork
Lunch at Work
'Cobb" Salad from Sellers Market
Terrible. The worst salad ever. It was supposed to be a Cobb, instead it had apples, dried cranberries, walnuts and celery AND a dressing so sugary it could have been candy. Gross.
Breakfast at Home
Sunday, January 14, 2007
Dinner at Home
Dungenesse Crab
Steamed and served with melted garlic butter.
Whole Trout with Almond Crust and Bacon, Garlic, Parsley Sauce
Tender flesh and tasty sauce. Bacon makes everything better.
-1 whole trout, gutted and cleaned
-1/4 cup almond meal
-1 egg, beaten
-4 strips bacon, cut into lardons
-1 handful fresh parsley, chopped
-leftover garlic butter from crab dipping
Coat the fish in egg and then almond meal and pan fry over medium heat for a few minutes on each side. Fry bacon, drain fat and add garlic butter and parsley. Pour sauce over fish.
-1/4 cup almond meal
-1 egg, beaten
-4 strips bacon, cut into lardons
-1 handful fresh parsley, chopped
-leftover garlic butter from crab dipping
Coat the fish in egg and then almond meal and pan fry over medium heat for a few minutes on each side. Fry bacon, drain fat and add garlic butter and parsley. Pour sauce over fish.
Roasted Brocolli with Cheese
Roast brocolli on 400, covered with foil, for 20 minutes. Uncover, add cheese and roast for another 5 minutes.
Labels: brocolli, dinner recipes, fish, homemade
Lunch at Home
Dijon Chicken Salad
A variation on our standard rotisserie chicken salad.
-1 rotisserie chicken, shredded
-1/2 cup mayo
-Juice of 1 lemon
-2 tb dijon
-1 packet Splenda
-1/2 onion, diced
-1 bell pepper, diced
-salt and pepper to taste.
Mis all ingredients thoroughly.
-1/2 cup mayo
-Juice of 1 lemon
-2 tb dijon
-1 packet Splenda
-1/2 onion, diced
-1 bell pepper, diced
-salt and pepper to taste.
Mis all ingredients thoroughly.
Kraft Mac n' Cheese
Shameful, we know, but of so good.
Labels: chicken, homemade, salad
Breakfast at Home
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