Sociale (Como, Italy)

I'll keep this post less detailed than usual, because after all, aren't holidays about trying to relax as much as you can?

After a few days wandering the streets of Prague, we made our way to Italy, more specifically, Como to spend some time with family by the lake. After a day visiting the beautiful (touristy) towns of Varenna and Bellagio, and enjoying the fresh lake breeze under the warm sunshine, we decided to head into the main town of Como for dinner.

The streets certainly are pretty:

After being vetoing a few restaurants we walked past, and being turned away from a restaurant due to lack of space, we ended up at Sociale, a homely restaurant tucked away near the cathedral. 

Our waiter was mostly attentive throughout the evening, and well versed in Italian, English, and French, among other languages too I'm sure. We started off with the obligatory bread with olive oil and balsamic vinegar, a bottle of red: 

and some cold appetizers,

Affettato misto da

 and warm appetizers to share.

Antipasto caldo del Sociale

Tonda di polpette

 For mains,

Spaghetti alla carbonara

Osso Buco

Proposta di pesce del giorno 

As you can see, the food couldn't be considered light by any standards. Hearty and filling, it was perhaps over-seasoned with salt and/or MSG (we were all very thirsty afterwards). Reasonably priced however, we left with full bellies and in a happy mood (good food, good wine, and good company will do that after all). 

A nice evening walk along the lake capped off a pretty superb day.

Como, you were so touristy but still so lovely.

Sociale
, , Italy
Wed - Mon 12:00pm - 230pm, 7:00pm - 10:30pm

Rudie's Seafood & Sausage

2017 passed by in a blur of work, travel, and bursts of activity followed by bursts of hibernation. We did somehow manage to summon the energy for a road trip down to Nashville after Christmas, and so found ourselves at Rudie's on NYE.

Which turned out to be a pretty great thing, especially in the biting cold. It's a warmly lit, well-heated, neighborhood restaurant in East Nashville, filled with comfort food options. Not much more you could ask for right on the cusp of healthy new years resolutions.

Resolutions for me which include a Dry January, so I was definitely ordering a Vesper Martini:

Vesper Martini

Smooth, intriguing, and full of alcohol - perfect.  

As mentioned, the menu is comforting. Which means indulgent. Wanting to warm up from the inside out, I ordered the Half Hog Stew.

Half Hog Stew

This consisted of a stew of tender braised pork (including unctuous pieces of fat), red potatoes, leeks, rosemary, accompanied by a gig and cave-aged cheddar grilled cheese, drizzled in honey. Sweet, salty, rich, and crunchy, all rolled into one dish. Heaven on a plate (and a bowl). 

Friends ordered similarly decadent dishes (but from the Chef's Specials menu) and were similarly happy with their choices:

Lobster Pot Pie

Lobster Pot Pie with lobster tail, lardon, fennel, leek, and grilled corn, accompanied by a lobster butter popover.

Pork Chop Tomahawk

Pork Chop Tomahawk (16oz!) with collard greens, black-eyed peas, and a sweet potato and relish puree. 

From a glance at some of the blackboards decorating the joint, the sources for the meat and seafood can be attributed to single farms across the country. Which would cater for the hipster-vibe of the place. 

Even with all the decadence, we couldn't pass up on a chocolate lava cake for dessert - split three ways of course. 

Dark Chocolate Lava Cake

Which came out not looking quite like a lava cake, but did have an interesting blueberry-lavender ice-cream (give me all the lavender ice-creams please) on the side. A perfect end to a wonderful NYE meal.

Overall, Rudie's is deserving of it's high rating. The ambiance is cozy, the servers are efficient and friendly, and the food is rich and decadent. Definitely a nice dinner date location, or for a indulgent catch-up with friends. If only I lived closer to Nashville.

Rudie's Seafood & Sausage

1402 McGavock Pike, Nashville, TN
Mon - Fri 4:00pm - 10:00pm, Sat 1:00pm - 10:00pm, Sun 11:00am - 10:00pm

Next

Well made documentaries have a way of getting into your head. After watching a few episodes of Chef's Table (a series that profiles a single world-renowned chef in each episode), when we heard that the restaurant Next (by Grant Achatz) was running a "50 World's Best" menu it was merely a matter of when we were going to go, rather than if.

The allure of a short-appearance menu, featuring recreations of brilliant dishes from world-renowned chefs, was too much to pass up. 

We ended up booking the last seating on a cool Friday night, and settled in for a 17 dish extravaganza, getting ever-more sillier as the dinner and wine-match progressed. But my, what a feast and delightful time we had. 

After entering the dark but bustling restaurant, we were given orders not to touch the centerpieces. It soon became apparent why - they had edible components. 

Rose - Quique Dacosta

Our first dish was presented as part of the roses decorating our table. The rose, apple, and pomegranate bite was tart and refreshing, and just a touch sweet. 

This was followed by what seemed like a simple cracker, but really, should be the cracker-style amuse bouche by which all others are judged. 

Jerusalem Artichoke - Geranium

More complex than a potato crisp, this was salty, and crunchy, and the only disappointing thing was that there was only one per person. 

A cold, initially confusing dish was up next.

An Oyster's Frozen Kiss - Mugaritz

The idea here was to bring the ice-ball up to your lips, so that you effectively kissed the ice in order to eat the oyster. Having not made it out to Mugaritz when we were in San Sebastian, we were looking forward to trying this. We were not disappointed. The oysters had a rich taste, and were just a little briny. The radish flower was delicate and pretty to look at, although didn't add anything perceptible to the taste and so didn't take away from the purity of the oysters. Delightful! 

Eggs Benedict - Eleven Madison Park

Eggs Benedict - Eleven Madison Park

This next dish was fun. Quirky presentation in a little tin can, with bits of ham and asparagus, offset with indulgent caviar, made this the fanciest Eggs Benedict I've ever had. And with the cutest little English muffins too. Perhaps one day we'll make it out to Eleven Madison Park - after all, NYC is only a short plane flight away.

Marine Soil - Central

The next dish was beautifully presented and had me dreaming of pottery classes again. The sea urchin was creamy and custard-like, the razor clams were super sweet, and the jicama was a nice crunchy contrast. Celebrating all things ocean, this was one of my favourite dishes of the night.

King Crab - Noma

That said, this was my favourite dish. Succulent and sweet king crab, with beef garum and rose miso lending a good dose of umami, and hens egg yolk to amp up the creaminess. The smell alone was heady and intoxicating. I never wanted this dish to end (and am considering making a trip to Noma as soon as it reopens). But as always, as showstopping as this was, the show must go on. 

Tartare - Estela

Tartare - Estela

After the headiness of the king crab, this bison tartare didn't quite shine as brightly as it should have. The most filling dish of the night, it was well constructed, and full of flavour, but didn't really pack a punch. 

Badger Flame Beet - Blue Hill at Stone Farms

I'm also all for celebrating the essence of an ingredient, but as heirloom and special as a beetroot can be, and as sweet and earthy as it was, I'm not sure it should have warranted a spot on this menu. Each to their own though I suppose. 

Riso Cacio e Pepe - Osteria Francescana

I was on much happier ground with the risotto dish from Massimo Bottura. Rich with Parmesan, and touched with pepper and not much else, it really was a masterclass in perfectly cooked risotto. Soft grains, with bite, and really just a super-perfected comfort meal. Lovely.

Langoustine - Restaurant Tim Raue

With wasabi, mango, and Thai vinaigrette, this lobster-esque dish was delicate and refreshing. Not what I would have imagined German food to be, but that's half the beauty of this menu - breaking perceptions and spreading globalism, all while sitting at the same table. 

Monkfish - Aubergine

Another masterclass in presentation was this Monkfish dish. Or maybe I just have a thing for blue plates. The fermented peppers were a touch spicy, and offset the sweetness of the white fish. Which are also a hideously ugly species if you're ever inclined to look them up. 

I should mention at this point, the wine pairing was really hitting me, so while I tried to keep critical of the dishes, in honesty, I was having too much fun at this point to do more than just enjoy the experience. 

Vuelve a la Vida - Quintonil

Sweet scallops, rich tender beef tongue, and a slightly tangy salsa to tie it all together. This is what my limited experience would call elevated Mexican food. Which reminds me I do need to travel to Mexico at some point and try real Mexican food, not just tacos and Chipotle.  

All Parts of the Pumpkin - Attica

I really, really, wanted to like this dish. But I didn't. Too acidic and too jarring compared to the preceding dishes, I was hoping for a better representation of Australian fine dining. I hadn't had the chance to visit Attica back when I was living in Melbourne, and this dish hasn't compelled me to try. Which is a shame.  

Squab - Next

What I did enjoy was Next's own dish. Perhaps as a cheeky nod to the fact they're not yet in the 50 World's Best list but thoroughly deserve to be. The meat (pigeon) is tender, with a beautiful delicate herbal flavour from the lavender sauce. I can't wait to see what Next does, well, next. 

Memory - Restaurant Andre

This dish was rich. Foie gras and black truffle - what a combination. Looking like a dessert and tasting like a savoury flavour bomb, it was delicious but undoubtedly heavy. Go hard or go home I guess.

Apples - Relæ

And was immediately followed by something refreshing and light. Some crunchy chanterelles accompanied the classy apple granita, and served as a nice palate cleanser. 

Then came the bold dessert celebration, where all was swept off the dining table, and a sheet laid down turning it all into a giant canvas.

Chocolate - Alinea

An Alinea signature, dessert is a show to cap the end of a long entertaining food journey. Yogurt is treated like paint, with milk chocolate and blueberries adding substance, this is a super fun dish to see being created, and to consume. You are literally eating off the table. 

What a way to end the night.  

Next - The World's 50 Best Restaurants Menu

All in all we had a great night out. Expensive but worth every penny, the menu really did showcase the insane amount of skill possessed by the team of chefs. Served in dark-cool surroundings by super-professional yet friendly waiters, it's an experience I'm keen to return to, time and time again. Which, luckily for me, I can given the regularly changing menu. What a joy of a restaurant!

Next
953 W Fulton Market, Chicago, IL

Wed - Sun 500am - 1130pm

20 Eiffel

I was lucky enough to spend my birthday in Paris (!) and we decided to spend my birthday dinner in the shadow of the Eiffel Tower. Bib Gourmand rated 20 Eiffel did not disappoint. While it was filled with tourists, it was far from a tourist trap, with delicious, well-thought out food, at reasonable prices, served with efficiency and a smile. What else could you ask for.

We went for the three course menu (32€) available for lunch and dinner. There's also a two course menu (24€) available for lunch only that also seemed like great value.

Of course, whatever money we might have saved was cheekily spent on wine: two glasses of celebratory champagne, and this bottle of gorgeous, rich Bordeaux.

Chateau Malescasse Haut Medoc

We were seriously impressed by this bottle. It was fruity, fresh, and rich, full of sweetness but with depth.

But onto the food.

Being in France, I chose the escargot (sea snail) with chorizo mousse dish as my starter.

Poêlée d'escargots décoquillés, mousse de chorizo

The snails had a meaty texture and were accompanied by a silky broth full of sweetness and umami. Definitely a great way to start a meal.

M chose something lighter:

Saumon mariné, granité de concombre

Salmon with cucumber granita I believe. I tasted a small bit of the salmon and it was delicate and oh so slightly cured so that the flavor really shone through. Fresh and luxurious.

Tender duck with cherries was on the menu for my main.

Filet de canette aux cerises

The duck was medium-rare and moderately game-y, nicely fatty and juicy, and oh-so-tender. The skin wasn't quite as crispy as I hoped, but really now I'm just being picky. The cherries were ripe and syrupy, cutting through the richness of the duck with ease.

M chose the fillet of veal with mashed peas.

Filet mignon de veau, purée de petit pois à la sarriette

Simple, elegant, and cooked to medium-rare perfection. Somewhat humble but impressive at the same time.

Dessert was an amusing affair - our reservation had not mentioned who's birthday it was, so both birthdays came out with candles. More wishes for me then right?

Fraises, crème légère à la violette et meringue

I had a elegant little strawberry pot and violet tinged cream and meringue. Elegant and a satisfyingly sweet note to end the stellar.

While I've never tried making a souffle, I don't think I have the courage to try. I've heard such horror stories, but then again, that never stopped me from attempting to make macarons (and failing multiple times).

Soufflé au parfum du jour

No such drama with M's apricot flavored souffle. Light and fluffy, it wasn't too fruity, and once again was an elegant end.

Which is about how I'd sum up the entire experience: simple, elegant, and well-crafted. Reasonably priced, great service, and in a desirable location. What's not to love? Take me back to Paris please.

Eiffel Tower

20 Eiffel
, , France
Mon - Sat 12:00pm - 2:00pm, 7:00pm - 10:00pm

Doretta Tavern & Raw Bar

I rarely have much to write about regarding the restaurants I try while on work trips. Usually it's much to late in the evening for many places to be open that are also within walking distance of wherever I happen to be staying that night. Add in the amount of travel time and 75% of my meals turn out to be either be from the hotel restaurant or somewhere in an airport.

Luckily, during a recent whirlwind trip to Boston (I was there for 18 hours), there was a decent Greek/Mediterranean restaurant just on the other side of the road from the hotel. I headed out for dinner around 9 pm at night and was looking for something cosy and comforting. Doretta fit the bill, even though the restaurant is located in an area of equally expensive restaurants (one glance at the shops on the street would would tell you that)

I have yet to try many Greek restaurants in the US, even after almost 4 years here, but the cuisine is just as mouth-watering as I remembered.  The food was full-flavoured and wonderful, and the serving sizes were generous.

To start, there was a tangy mushroom appetizer on the house.

Mushroom Appetizer

While I like mushrooms, I don't exactly love them. That said, the sourness of the vinegar added a fresh kick to the earthiness of the thinly sliced, lightly sauteed mushrooms and I polished off the dish.

The star of the evening was however the lamb main.

Lamb shoulder with loukaniko, lentils, turnip, and kumquat

The lamb was juicy, and melt-off-your-fork tender. The loukaniko (a Greek sausage) was brightly flavoured with hints of orange peel and fennel seeds and all kinds of wonderful herbs and seeds. Lentils are always a little boring to me, but these soaked up the lamb juices wonderfully. What do you say about turnips? I'm not sure, but the kumquats added an unexpected but refreshing tang. Overall, it was a satisfying dish, with plenty of flavours and variety, and most importantly, superbly cooked lamb. Heaven.

The service here was great (attentive but not pushy), and there were quite a number of parties here just catching up over glasses of wine and small plates of food. The price tag was relatively steep ($32 for the lamb main) but given the location, it's understandable. 

I had a great time, and know where I'm going to eat next time I do a fly-in/fly-out of Boston. 

Doretta Tavern & Raw Bar

79 Park The Garden, MA 

Mon-Sun 5pm - 1am 

Maude

How is it almost February already? Did January really disappear so quickly?

Reminiscing about the past isn't something I do outside of life as a food blogger, but there are times that I'm really, really glad that I reminisce about the meals I had because they were just damn awesome. And my credit card statement really does force me to think about some of them, like this one.

Due to quite a bit of coincidence, M and I managed to score a NYE reservation at the tiny, tiny restaurant Maude in Beverly Hills, LA. With a new menu every month focusing on a single star seasonal ingredient and headed up by Curtis Stone, this was a must try as soon as  we discovered its existence. 

The NYE menu was always going to be extra special (with an extra special/expensive price tag of $250 per head excluding tax and tips to match of course), and there was no better way to start than a glass of Krug. 

Krug

When I say Maude is tiny, I mean it's really tiny. At a maximum it seats 25 people and there's a clear view into the kitchen area.

Maude

Maude

This creates a comfortable sense of intimacy. The mellow lighting and vintage silverware and crockery also adds to this (although contributes to some less than perfect photos so you'll have to excuse me).

Being a fine dining restaurant, the menu started off with some amuse-bouche.

Pumpkin Packet

Eel

Uni

Oyster

Straight up we were incredibly impressed by how much flavour and texture each of these small dishes had, and the obvious care that had gone into crafting them. How can you not have fun with packets that burst with liquid flavour (the pumpkin packets) or foam (accenting oyster).

From there we moved onto pancakes.

Traditional Caviar

Yep, tiny fluffy pancakes (blini?). I prefer to think pancakes are the star of the show here because they're just too darn cute, but of course they're overshadowed by the indulgently delicious generous heaping of salty cavier. In keeping with a winter theme, there was some pumpkin puree to lend a touch of sweetness to the dish. 

Next up was a squash salad. 

Squash salad with farro, watercress and pumpkin

The presentation of these dishes really are beautiful. The composition is beautiful to look at and the colours were so much more vibrant in person (curse that yellow lighting). The textures also played nicely in this dish with the crunch of the farro contrasting nicely with the lightness of the squash foam and the crispness of the watercress.

Course 4 (if you count the amuse-bouche as a single course) was a Hiramasa Crudo.

Hiramasa Crudo with Bottarga, Pumpkin Cured Salmon Roe and Dashi Gel

The hiramasa, otherwise known as yellowtail kingfish, was delicately soft and a deceptively large serve. Accented with two types of roe, it was a great reflection of fresh seafood. The dashi gel is always great fun, although in this instance I'll admit it didn't have much of a flavour. 

More seafood for the next course:

Striped Bass with Little Gem, Anchovy and Chicken

Take a lightly seared fillet of bass with some little gem lettuce and chicken skin and you have another good tasting dish. I probably liked the other dishes more than this one, but it's not like this was skimping on taste or presentation in any sense.  

Lobster, Carrot, Buttermilk and Curry

How could I not like this next dish? Sweet, tender lobster, with slightly crisp/crunchy carrots and a slightly tangy sauce. I've only just started cooking with lobster myself, and am now determined to get my hands on some incredibly fresh lobster. Pity it's the wrong season though.  

When they brought the next dish out, I had flashbacks to Chemistry courses in university. 

Consomme

Isn't that coffee siphon? Indeed it was, but the creative minds at Maude had appropriated it to make a consomme.

Consomme

A ramen-style broth (without any pork) heated heated through a combination of herbs including fennel and beech was entertaining to watch (and isn't fine dining about classy entertainment?). 

It was then poured over a combination of dried mushrooms (enoki & oyster) and squid to create a moorish Japanese-inspired broth. 

Consomme with Squid, Mushrooms, Fennel and Beech

I will take a detour and say that this was 'wine-matched' with sake. Different but somehow it worked!

The next dish was simply glorious. 

Truffle Ravioli with White Alba Truffle

Look at that ridiculous amount of white truffle! It was shaved at the table and the scent was overwhelmingly indulgent. M was in positive ecstasy, but then again he loves truffles more than the average person. 

The dish was comforting, and indulgent and made us incredibly happy. It had the side effect of making us incredibly full as it was unsurprisingly filling, not that we really cared.

We did have to soldier on through three other courses, not including dessert!

Pheasant with Kabocha Squash, Parsley Root and Pearl Onion

The next dish really couldn't hit the lofty heights of the truffle dish, but that was to be expected. It was nevertheless well balanced with pheasant cooked two ways, another riff on the squash theme and a slight tang from pickled onions.  Can we also just take another moment to appreciate the beauty of vintage silverware? Time to hit up some markets myself I think.

Wagyu Cheek with Nori, Radish and Turnip 

Whilst the puffy white thing is reminiscent of pork crackling, it's not. It was in fact beef tendon. Just let that sink in a bit. Beef tendon? How did they manage to do that to something that's meant to be tough and inedible until it's stewed to death? It worked incredibly well with the Australian Wagyu and so we had another great dish. 

Wrapping up a meal, it's almost expected that there'll be a cheese dish and indeed there was.

Vacherin with Pumpkin 'Caviar'

I'll admit that this was the only dish that I couldn't finish. After all, there's only so much rich dairy that I can take. The cheese was reminiscent of Camembert, but with a stronger flavour and was paired beautifully with the slightly sweet pumpkin 'caviar'. Once again, I have no idea what magic they used to turn pumpkin into tiny little balls of flavour, but it was gleefully impressive.  

Then it was on to dessert.

Pomegranate Sorbet

As a foreshadowing of the January menu, the first dessert was a refreshing pomegranate sorbet. Slightly bitter, it was nevertheless interesting and delicious.

The second dessert was significantly heavier. 

Kuri Squash Beignet with Rice Sorbet, Carmel & Cinnamon

A rich, rich dessert that had plenty of sweetness, it was perfectly accompanied by a bitter coffee.

Espresso

After all, this grandma needs some caffeine if staying up till midnight was required. 

Petit Fours

As a final bookend to our meal, we were served petit fours (or should it be petit threes?). The macarons could have rivaled any good bakery, and the gellies were a perfect sweet ending.

All that was left after this was a midnight champagne toast to celebrate the new year with other diners and the hardworking staff.   

Nightcap

We had a great time at Maude: it was our first fine dining NYE experience, first degustation experience in the USA and it did not disappoint. While expensive, it was a worthy investment for a night of culinary alchemy/magic, the best service you could hope for, and of course, great tasting food with plenty of indulgences sprinkled throughout. This is by no means a typical menu (because really, NYE is special) but looking at the menu for 2015, there's plenty to look forward to - truffles in November and December anyone? 

Maude Restaurant

Tue-Sat 530pm-10pm (reservations required)