See you at Carnival, boys!

A few weekends ago, I finally traveled back to the big apple to celebrate a co-worker's birthday. We went to a rooftop bar and I thought that I would take advantage of this opportunity and get together with a few pikes and have a Pike Reunion Dinner!

I heard a few pikes were in town and that they wanted to all go out to dinner, but of course, they had nothing planned and left it to me to organize...Great. I ended up choosing SD26, a modern italian restaurant that was very close by to the bar we were heading to later. (Location played a huge factor)

I was very excited for dinner and was surprised after walking in to the restaurant! SD26 had a very large space (for nyc, anyway) and the decor and lighting were very intriguing!

What was even cooler was their drink menus- ipads! Aw yeah technology!

After waiting for an hour, (I have begun to realize that pikes are not punctual at all) we finally got to look at the menu and order our dinner (at 9:30). We all got a bunch of different things- I got the Uovo ravioli with truffle butter and a half portion of the gnocchi with chicken liver and brussel sprouts.

Gnocchi with Chicken Liver, Brussels Sprouts and Fried Sage

Sundar's Gnocchi (I have no idea what sauce it's in)

Shellhammer's Lobster Bisque Pasta

I have mixed feelings about this place. First off, I really liked the ambiance and the courteous service (our server was very gracious when the rest of our party showed up over an hour late to our reservation). The food was very good- unique twists on simple dishes. But really, this place is extremely overpriced and the courteous server ended up being very slow in taking our orders and giving us our check.

My gnocchi was awesome. I ended up getting the half portion (which I would say is a lot more worth it than the full portion) and the soft pillowy gnocchi with the crisp brussels sprouts and sage was out of this world. Chicken liver is definitely an acquired taste as half of the table didn't like the flavor, but I love it and couldn't have enough of it! Make sure you like chicken liver before you order this dish though.

My Uovo ravioli was interesting. One very large ravioli with an uncooked yolk on top was such a decadent and rich entree. Although the portion is very tiny, the silky egg yolk running over the soft and creamy ravioli filling was so... sexy. It is also very heavy and incredibly fattening that after you had that one ravioli, you won't want anymore.

Both of my entrees were very unique and the flavors were incredible- it was a very yummy dinner!

At the end of the day, I liked SD26. However, with their prices, I dont think I would return. I would say it would be a good place to try out and would recommend this place to others if they're looking for something new and different, but I wouldn't go there very hungry as the portions are very, very tiny.

Nevertheless, I of course had a great time! How can you not when you're surrounded by brothers?

After a few sips of absinthe with Dorian, usual ridiculousless with Sundar and Shaman, reconnecting with Sean, Shellhammer and Moon, I couldn't believe how long it's been since I've seen them! I need to move to New York....

See you at Carnival, boys!

Thanks Wolfgang

So I realized that I recently have been on a food binge and I have nothing but the great meals I've had at Borgata two weekends ago to blame. Not only did I get to enjoy famous Chef Zakarian's place, Sunroom, we got to celebrate a good friend's birthday at Fornelletto as well!

But before all that adventure started, Eric, BJ and I decided to have a 'casual' Friday night dinner at Wolfgang Puck's American Grille to start our trip off right. And boy did it.

It happened to be restaurant week in Atlantic City and so we were able to get our three-course dinner for only $35! We of course added wine and Arnold Palmers to the check so in the end it ended up costing more, but hey- we were at Wolfgang's in ATLANTIC CITY, we had to live it up, right?

The restaurant week menu was a little different than the normal menu but we were glad to have been able to try out the 'best' of Wolfgang's creations!

BJ and Eric started with a special crisp apple salad while I got the traditional Minestrone.

Crisp Apple Salad

Market Vegetable Minestrone

For our main entrees, BJ and I got the Shrimp and Crab Risotto while Eric got the Braisesd Beef Shank.

Shrimp and Crab Risotto

Braised Beef Shank

(I've been trying to rotate this picture, but it won't work!)

We then ended with the molten chocolate cake (of course!)

Molten Chocolate Cake

What a great meal! The Crisp Apple Salads were great and was barely a salad at all! Mostly just thin strips of sweet apples, the appetizer was a perfect light start to the meal. My soup was also good. Nothing all too special, you can't really go wrong with some fresh vegetable soup!

Our entrees were great. My Shrimp and Crab Risotto was so incredible, the broth was amazingly full of sweet seafood flavor. Although the risotto itself was a bit undercooked, I would say that this dish left me craving for more- in fact, i'm hoping to be able to find a recipe and make it at home myself!

Eric's beef shank was tender and fell off the bone- he absolutely did not need the the knife that was provided to him. In fact, I liked his dish better than my risotto.

And of course, of warm molten chocolate cake was divine. The warm oozing uncooked chocolate cake batter was a perfect contrast to the freshly homemade vanilla ice cream. A classic dessert.

I would have to say that we started out our weekend pretty right with Wolfgang's American Grille. We had a wonderful meal and got to fill our bellies before we headed to the craps tables!

Thanks Wolfgang for a great meal!

Price: $$$

Ambiance: A

Food: A

Service: A-

Skip if you can, please!

I just left a Yelp review on Osteria 2350 and thought I'd make a quick blog post to warn fellow friends about this place.

On my recent visit to Pittsburgh, Eric and I decided to try Osteria 2350 as it was the closest lunch option (he lives in the Cork Factory).

We were excited about the seemingly fair prices and the clean interior and we ordered a mozzarella appetizer to start and I got the Mushroom Pasta with Truffle Oil.

The appetizer was OK and was pretty decently priced for what we got. The warm tomato with olive oil was a unique twist on the classic caprese salad- a salad that Eric and I are oh-so used to.

My pasta was gross. It was extremely watery and this time, that truffle oil did not satisfy my palette. I ended up feeling nauseous from the taste- how can you mess up truffle oil?!?!?!

I would say that this place would not be a great place to go to for lunch, especially with all the other great options in the Strip District! Skip if you can, please!

Service: B+

Food: D+

Ambiance: B

Price: $$

Get the spoons

So over a year ago, I made a post on Umi- indicating that it was one of the best meals I've ever had.

Although, recent meals at the Four Seasons in Italy and other great dining locations have rivaled Umi, it is still by far one of the best restaurants I've ever been to- most definitely the best sushi restaurant, at least.

After many, many visits to Umi, Eric and I were ready for something more. We have frequently seen others get the omakase (which is what we normally get) and have tried different variations (replaced a dish or two or added a few on).

On our most recent trip to Umi, we saw that the menu had changed, and that there was more than the original $85 omakase option- there was a $130 one! An eleven course meal with Mr. Shu....we had to get it.

Delicious... absolutely perfect.

We got 11 delicious dishes, some similar to the ones we always get during our usual omakase but the spoons made the world of a difference...

The first spoon seen was two different selections, Kobe beef with garlic and Lobster with Foie Gras. Holy crap was this good! The tender kobe beef with the sweet sauce was absolutely delicious while the lobster with foie gras is the best combination of my two most favorite ingredients ever. Both were silky and luxurious and absolutely melt in your mouth...

..speaking of melt in your mouth, the monkfish liver with salmon was to die for. I didn't think i would like anything better than foie gras (duck liver) but monkfish liver was 100 times better. The buttery smooth liver with the soft texture of the salmon was delicious and left us wanting more.

Mr. Shu is a genius. Born and raised in Taiwan and getting his culinary expertise from great cities all over the world.. I can't wait to go back and GET THE SPOONS.

Price: $$$$

Ambiance: A

Food: A+

Service: A+

I can't wait to work from home again!

Sooooooo I just wrote this long blog post about this restaurant I went to a few days ago... and it somehow erased and none of it was saved..... great.

So here is my quick run down of Origin, a french/thai restaurant that I had the pleasure to discover with Eric.

When walking into Origin, I quickly noticed all the business men dressed in suits, hoping to grab a quick lunch with some co-workers. I felt a little off wearing my usual black tights with my Nemesis sweatshirt, but the hostess graciously sat us down and our orders were taken VERY quickly (i mean, I was taking off my jacket and the server came to ask me if i was ready to order).

A little bit thrown off, I quickly perused the menu and decided to get the safe option, Pad Thai. Eric got the duck burger.

Duck burger

Pad Thai

I am so excited that I found this place with Eric. The food came out extremely quick (they were obviously ready for the working lunch crowd) and was very well priced for what we got! Eric's duck burger was delicious. Full of flavor, the burger was huge! I really got that smokey (and a bit gamey) duck flavor out of my first bite and couldn't help but to take another! (Eric then yelled at me).

My Pad Thai was also great. It was extremely flavorful had a lot of shrimp in it, and best of all did NOT give me an allergic reaction!! (Most thai places unfortunately cause some bad allergic reactions).

The best part about this place was that not only did Eric and I got an option of a soup or salad with our entree, it all came out to be ~$10 each! What a great price!

Although I don't see what exactly makes this place FRENCH, I would definitely visit Origin again. I hope dinner is as fairly priced (although I hear it is not), but at least I know where to go when I work from home- this place is just 5 minutes from me! Wow, I can't wait to work from home again!

Price: $$ (Lunch)

Food: B+

Service: C

Ambiance: A-

My Special Valentine

As some of us know, being in a long distance relationship is pretty difficult. It's never easy to be away from the one you love, especially on Valentine's Day.

Eric and I have gotten pretty used to our relationship, and for the special holiday, we thought we'd have a special sushi Skype date on Monday night (Eric has class until 9:30PM on Tuesdays). I couldn't wait!

He told me to dress up as if we were going to go on a real date. To my surprise, he showed up in New Jersey and brought me out to a restaurant in the city!! What a sweetheart!

It turns out that Eric had been planning this surprise for a while and knowing me best, he picked out a restaurant where he knew I would absolutely love the menu- and he did a great job! We ended up going to SHO Shaun Hergatt, a restaurant located right on Wall Street. The food was absolutely delicious.

The menu at this place was really interesting as that you can't order things a la carte- but it was either a 4 course or 5 course meal! (We went with the 5 course- yum)

We got: Hudson Valley Foie Gras with Duck Skin Tuiles, Vermont Creamery Goat Cheese Pave, Slow Poached Knoll Krest Egg with Santa Barbara Sea Urchin, Nova Scotia Lobster with Coconut Cream Rice Balls, Three Day Beef Cheek with Black Trumpets, New York Guinea Hen, Blue Cheese with Quince Puree, Caramelia Custard.... yes.. we had lots of different dishes!

After we ordered, we got the complimentary amuse bouche (pictured below):

The shot glasses were my absolute favorite. A custard with some mushroom froth topped with sound ground coffee was absolutely amazing. The intense, earthy flavor of the mushrooms really shone through where the bitter coffee grounds added a nice aroma.

The round truffle looking balls were purposely made to look like truffles! I'm not really sure what it was (oops) but I do know that the outside was made with squid ink- how interesting!

The last one is a panna cotta. I didn't like this one too much.. it sort of tasted like a bar of soap....oops?

As for our first course, I was back in heaven.. mmM foie gras


The duck foie gras terrine covered in duck tuile was delicious. The crispy tuile added a great crunch and texture to the smooth, rich and creamy terrine. I love the sweet apple flavors that were the accompaniments as well! Perfect.

Eric's Goat Cheese first course

The slow poached egg (which Eric and I both ordered) was delicious (sorry not pictured). It was perfectly cooked and had some sea urchin on the side.

Nova Scotia Lobster-third course

The lobster is absolutely delicious. Paired with a coconut curry sauce, this asian inspired dish was perfectly paired with warm rice balls and crunchy cucumbers.

Guinea Hen

Three Day Beef Cheek

Our fourth course was also amazing (ok everything I had here was basically amazing). My beef cheek (that had been marinated for 3 days) was braised and just melt in your mouth. I did not need the knife that they gave me and it just fell apart. Full of flavor, this may have been the best piece of beef I've ever had. Seriously.

Eric's Guinea Hen was also delectable. The texture was not what I had expected- it reminded me of some really good pork belly! I like his as much as I liked my beef cheek!

Overall, this was one of the best meals I have had and definitely makes the list. The one thing that stands out at SHO Shaun Hergatt is the presentation. You can tell the detailed efforts invested into each plate and the presentations are absolutely gorgeous and very creative!

I'm so happy that I got to try this restaurant out, but even more, I'm happier that I got to spend the night with my special Valentine.

I really do have the sweetest boyfriend in the world, and I feel so incredibly lucky!

Happy Valentine's Day, love.

Food: A

Service: A

Ambiance: A

Price: $$$$

Hey, at least I learned how to ski?

Happy New Year! I am finally back from the west coast and have been experiencing the weirdest jetlag (yes we would sleep in until 11am in California (2PM EST)). It's been hard for me to wake up for work- and im working from home!!

California was great. I went over with Eric for the Christmas holiday and we drove up to his cabin in Lake Tahoe. We got a lot of family time in with brothers and cousins, but I would have to say the best part was learning how to ski (and learning that I'm quite good at it)!!!!

There are a number of different resorts up near our cabin, and we mainly skiied at one called Alpine Meadows. Although not one of the newer ones, I would have to say it now holds a special place in my heart, now that I have learned how to ski there! I was able to surpass the green runs and make it down the blues by the second day!

Wildly excited by my progress, Eric thought he'd take me on a difficult blue run at a new resort that he's never skiied at (Eric makes wise decisions). We headed over to Squaw Valley Resort and I skiied the steep blue run. I unknowingly went down the harder parts of the run and was doing great until I had a pretty bad fall. I ended up going way too fast, twisted my knee, and then sat on my binding. I was not a happy camper. (I was also lying on the ground screaming in pain for a good 2 minutes)

So, long story short, to make up for it, Eric decided to make me happy and take me to Mamasake Sushi Bar. (I was pretty much sick of plain, american food and needed some asian in my life!) Quite excited to finally have some asian inspired food, I couldn't wait for lunch!- and I heard that the place was pretty good.....................

Meh. Maybe it's just me, but the west coast is weird. I find that the service there is awful and I dont really understand why. Is it because they are more laid back? Is it because there was no snow and there weren't too many skiiers? But from where I am from, servers can't ignore customers and congregate and have conversations and texting wars...

We got seated at the sushi bar near the back and immediately got ignored for a good 15 minutes. Impatient, dehydrated, starving and in pain, I needed some food/water pronto. We finally got our server and didn't hesitate to put our order in with our drink order in fear that he was going to forget about us again. The menu was pretty simple and short and so it wasn't too hard to choose from.

Eric got the Mama's Basic Sashimi and a Stop Drop and Roll sushi roll while I started with some miso soup then got a shrimp tempura roll and some Basic Salmon Sashimi.

Mama's Basic Sashimi- sliced hamachi with sesame oil, ponzu, and serrano chile

Meh. Our sashimi dishes were both fresh (my salmon was pretty good)-Eric's hamachi was flavorful but the serrano chiles were very overpowering. Eric's Stop Drop and Roll sushi roll was basically a very spicy tuna roll, while my shrimp tempura was a plain ol' boring shrimp tempura roll. I would have to say that I started this meal knowing that this wasn't going to be anything special, and the price we were going to pay was going to be wayyyy too much. But I of course, was lucky enough to get a tuna scale stuck in between my teeth that cut my gums!!!

Squaw really does suck.

So it very well could be that I was in a bad mood because I could barely sit down thanks to my fall, but I would have to say that the next time I visit Squaw again (which won't be for a while), I won't be getting my sushi fix from Mamasake.

With a highly overpriced menu and poor service, I would have to say I am going to stroll over to the Fireside Pizza Co. for some good pizza instead.

Hey, at least I learned how to ski?

Price: $$$

Food: B-

Ambiance: C+

Service: B-