I miss you already

I miss you already. Yes, you.

This past weekend was a blast, and I can't wait to have more weekends like this to come!

After a long and tiring (but fun) weekend of Disney and outlet shopping, Nina, Krishna and I had dinner in St. Augustine. It was a great ending to a fun-filled weekend and the food was superb! Kudos to Nina for picking the restaurant- Collage.

I didn't know what to expect as Nina had done the research and made the reservations without consultation, but I was pleasantly surprised by the atmosphere and unique twists on their dishes.

We started off with some fresh baked sourdough bread that came with a whole head of roasted garlic. The garlic was pungent and sweet and the warm soft bread was the perfect compliment. I almost ate the entire garlic head. Delicious.

I saw Foie Gras on the appetizer menu, so I of course had to get it. I was also intrigued by the cashew butter sauce- which ended up being delicious. 

They called it a PB&J foie gras dish, which sounds a little strange but it ended up being amazing. The light nutty flavor of the cashew butter with the sweet sauce (which you find a lot on foie gras dishes to balance out the heavy fattiness anyway) was perfect. The crunch of the large baked crouton and the mango chutney on top of the foie gras was lovely! The only thing bad about this dish, the foie gras itself. Way to use low-quality foie gras, Collage. It was almost impossible to cut clean with all the veins running through the liver! I suggest Collage invest in some higher quality foie, especially for this intricate dish that needs to be maneuvered very carefully!

Since I was a party pooper and got something that I couldn't share too easily, Nina and Krishna got the Brie for Two appetizer. The nutty brie with the flaky phyllo dough was great! Thanks for sharing, guys.

As for our entrees, Krishna got the only vegetarian option available- Butternut Squash Ravioli with winter vegetables. Nina got the Lobster Ravioli (with a 5 oz. lobster tail on top) and I got the Shrimp and Scallop All' Imperiale!

Butternut squash ravioli

Lobster Ravioli

Shrimp and Scallop All' Imperiale

Our entree presentations were nice (but not spectacular) and our food was pretty tasty. Krishna's ravioli were soft, fluffy and light while the cream pesto sauce over Nina's ravioli gave it a buttery decadent texture. My pasta dish was good- not too creamy. The seafood were also cooked perfectly. I would say Nina's dish won for the night- I love lobster.

Of course, Nina insisted on getting a dessert. Their signature Bougainvillea dessert.

The dessert had vanilla ice cream on top of sauteed, warm strawberries in a baked phyllo dough cup. The Phyllo was the most memorable part- so flaky and buttery.. mmmmmm

Although this place wasn't bad, I wouldn't say it was spectacular. The food was tasty, the protein was cooked correctly and the ambiance is nice. I would return again, but only after I've tried all the other great places in St. Augustine- I can't wait!

I also need to get used to the slow service down here in the South....

I'll miss you both- best of luck to Krishna on his epic adventure! Like I said, I miss you already.

Price: $$$

Food: B+

Ambiance: B+

Service: B

Frog and The Peach

Ohhhhhhh boy. I am in Florida. Yes. Florida. As great as I hear the seafood is, I'm pretty sure nothing is going to beat the food in the Tri-State Area. Boy am I going to miss the food......

But more importantly, I am absolutely going to miss the people! I moved down to Jacksonville,FL so quickly that I barely had the chance to hang out with some close friends. Good thing a few are coming to visit soon!

Nina Bina is coming for a Melina weekend tonight and it made me reminisce about our last meal together- lunch at the Frog and The Peach.

Nina and I decided to skip the lunch at our last ITLDP training one day and head to the Frog and The Peach for a real meal. Anything but Christopher's. 

The Frog and The Peach is a nice French restaurant that had a reasonably priced lunch menu- I've been dying to try it for the longest time! I got the winter vegetable soup to start and the seared day boat scallops as an entree.

Winter Vegetable Soup

Seared Day Boat Scallops

To be honest, I was expecting it to be better. I mean, it was my last meal in New Jersey! The soup was OK. For those of you who know me, I am a huge soup fan. This one was a little too much pumpkin and squash and not enough... savory and salt, if you know what I mean. The texture was extremely thick and grainy and it was very hot for a long time- we could barely drink it! I didn't end up finishing it, which is a travesty in my book. 

The scallops were also.. OK. Although it was perfectly seared, the miso vinaigrette with the sesame peanut noodles were a little underwhelming. The hot seared scallops with the extremely cold/refrigerated noodles takes you by surprise. I'm not sure if they meant to do it this way, or they just were in a rush (to be fair, we told them we had to be done with the entire meal in 45 minutes). The miso vinaigrette was good- although a bit too salty, but the cold noodles and slaw could have been better. 

We ended the meal with a pretty delicious dessert- a coffee creme brulee. Although it was small, to me it was the perfect portion for a light lunch. I've had many creme brulees before but the intense espresso flavor infused with the sweet cream of the dessert was the perfect ending- and a good pick me up after a long morning of training!

I would say that I had higher expectations for this place. It could be that I just didn't get the right stuff, but I was hoping for more savory fatty goodness (that the french is so famous for) than a light, asian inspired lunch! The greatest thing was our very attentive and understanding server- very good service!

In the end, the meal was perfect because I was with the perfect person. 

So excited for Nina to visit- time for Disney tomorrow!

Food: B

Service: A-

Ambiance: A

Price: $$$

If it's good enough for Mr. Big Burrito, I guess it's good enough for us

I have had the ultimate meal. And yes, it was at Umi again. Oh Umi. It's strange how I haven't talked to anybody that has even gone to Umi and I really have to say that you are all missing out. Mr. Shu is an absolute genius, and if you really appreciate good food, I would say forget about damn Soba and head upstairs for something soooo much better!

We finally did it. We did the 'Trust Mr. Shu' omakase. We've had the regular $85 omakase a bunch of times, then upgraded to the $125 omakasse, and we finally decided that we'd go all out and have one of the best meals ever!

There were 16 courses so I'm not going to go into detail, and I of course can't remember. But I hope these pictures speak for itself...

Kumamoto Oysters with special sauce

Uni on top of tempura

Raw Kobe Beef Carpaccio with special sauce

Kumamoto Oyster with foie gras and a side of fried eel, with foie gras

Whitefish Sashimi

Spanish Mackeral with a light citrus sauce

Lobster Sashimi with special sauce

Salmon two ways: One with spicy sauce, and another piece of nigiri topped with foie gras

Salmon Belly

Spanish Mackeral seared with hot sesame oil

Lobster sashimi spoon with foie gras, sashimi topped with Uni

Raw Scallops with special sauce

Yellowtail with mushroom paste and truffle oil

Black Cod Miso

Lobster Sashimi with raw scallops on top

Soft shell crab tempura topped with O Toro

Just looking at these pictures is agonizing. Each dish was spectacular and absolutely perfect. I would say the dish I liked the least was the soft shell crab with the toro. But, really, it was still amazing. 

To top it all off, we sat at the sushi bar and had this great meal with the owner of Big Burrito! He was celebrating his birthday with his son Max (the reason Mad Mex is named what it is) and it was great to know that we were having the same meal as him! If it's good enough for Mr. Big Burrito, I guess it's good enough for us. 

I don't know the next time I will have this meal (probably never) but I can say that it is one meal that I don't mind paying for. If you are new to Umi, I would suggest to bite the bullet and go for the simple omakase and then build you way up to 'Trust Mr. Shu', but I promise- whatever you go with you won't be disappointed. 

Seriously, go to Umi and get the Omakase. 

And say hi to Drew for us!

Price: $$$$

Service: A+

Food: A+

Ambiance: A-

Almost there Class of 2011!

First off, I hope all is safe from Hurricane Sandy! Please let me know if you need a place for refuge as I am currently housing the Russian and so the more the merrier! We have power and heat and lots of food!

To be honest, as great as it is to hang out with Yulian all day, I really wish I was at work and things were back to normal! I miss my lunch excursions and can't wait to have my next one! (Too bad EVERYTHING is closed around here)

A few weeks ago, Pooja decided to visit Titusville and so Jackie and I thought we should visit Paulie Anna Rose for some lunch. Oh the good old days.. the days when you can get lunch at a restaurant......

We had a great time together and I was really happy that Pooja came to visit! I wasn't too happy with the food though. 

Penne Ala Vodka

Pooja and her sandwich

Jackie and I both got the Penne ala vodka while pooja got the grilled vegetable sandwich. Both portions were huge and enough for two meals, but the flavor itself was not huge. 

My penne ala vodka tasted more like a tomato based mac and cheese. The creamy, heavy, sticky sauce was almost even yellow! It wasn't awful, but it definitely isn't something I would pay for again. Very heavy and oily, I would say that I probably ate 2000 calories- and I only ate half!

Although the food was a bust, the lunch itself was not! It is always great to see Pooja and being all the way in Titusville, Jackie and I love visitors!!!

We can't wait to venture out to more places for lunch once everything from the hurricane settles down. As final placement comes rolling around, I can't wait to try as much as I can out here before we possibly leave! 

Almost there Class of 2011!

Food: C-
Service: C
Ambiance: C
Price: $$

Yes, the vegetarian chose a steakhouse

I am officially experiencing Vegas withdrawal. ACK.

Maybe it's because it's all the way on the other side of the country, or that it feels like you are in an alternate reality, or that I am an addict, or that it's all of the above, but whatever it is, I want it again. 

So a few weeks ago, I took yet another trip to Vegas with a few co-workers. Yes, I went to Vegas without Eric. And to be honest, as much as I love Eric, I had a blast with my co-workers. Some were Vegas veterans and some were new to this world (Jackie),  but I would have to say that all of us had a great time!

The one thing about Vegas is that you can never get bored. No matter how many times you've been there (I would say that I've been there almost 20 times in my life- it's really too many to keep track of nowadays) you can always have fun and always experience something new. 

Thanks to Krishna, I was able to get my first breathtaking view of the Strip from the Rio Casino. All of us were on a quest to get as much out of the town in the short 3 days we were there. Especially since Jackie had never been-we wanted to show her everything!

Krishna was in charge of planning our 'fine dining' experience one night, and he chose VooDoo Steak. Yes, the vegetarian chose a steakhouse. He justified his decision by telling us that he had heard about the amazing view at the Rooftop Night Club- and boy did he make a good decision! The view was AMAZING. 

It truly was spectacular, and with just the view alone, I would say that you should visit VooDoo Steak (so you can get the free access to the rooftop)

The food wasn't bad either- I was pleasantly surprised!!

The menu at VooDoo Steak was pretty classic and so of course, I got the foie gras to start and the scallops for my entree

Seared Foie Gras with Fruit Compote

Pan Roasted Sea Scallops with Braised Short Rib

The foie gras was perfectly seared and was balanced well with the tartness of the fruit compote. Buttery and not oily, I would say the foie gras was executed very well- I wish it was bigger!

When the menu described the scallops as being paired with some braised short rib, I was expecting a round rib bone to be on my plate. However, it was just some thin slices of meat, and I think I liked it better that way. The scallops were crisp on the outside and tender on the inside, and was not overcooked. The light aroma of the mushrooms paired with the tender short rib meat was perfect. The crisp salad on top also added some great crunch and contrast to the tender proteins on the plate. What a great dish- what a great meal!

The only thing I did not like about this place was the service. It turns out that if you are a Total Rewards member you get a few discounts off the menu. Once the server heard about our discount he was completely rude and was not attentive at all. Not only was he rude near the end of the meal, his ability to coordinate the order placements of our drinks and our entire meal was laughable. We ended up sitting with the huge menus on the backs of our chairs because he didn't know how and when he should take our orders. It's not hard buddy. 

Besides the poor service, the food and view were absolutely amazing. I am so happy that I got to experience something new in Vegas. Thanks Krishna!

Price: $$$

Food: A-

Ambiance: A-

Service: C-

Sorry Ewing,NJ- I'm a city girl

So, I did it. Yes, I went to another restaurant near work. I'm on a roll!

Although I did say that it was just going to be Jackie and I, this time we invited a bunch of coworkers (and then somehow our intended restaurant was changed to a restaurant that a coworker wanted to go to.....boooo... but that's another story...)

So this past Friday, right before the holiday weekend, a few of us went to Metro Grill, a small restaurant in Ewing,NJ.

Jackie and I had wanted to try Paulie Anna Rosa, since we were hankering for some pasta, but I guess Metro Grill hit the spot this time! 

Jackie got the Penne ala Vodka while I got the linguine with white clam sauce...

Linguine with white clam sauce

Penne ala Vodka

After a good portioned meal, I would have to say Metro Grill was not too disappointing. I tried a bit of Jackie's penne and it was creamy and delicious and lighter than some other vodka sauces I've had. 

My linguine was also great and had a lot of clams for the amount of pasta- perfect! The sauce was light and buttery and filled with fresh slices of garlic- very tasty indeed.

The decor was a bit old and traditional while the service was nothing spectacular. The only big complaint I have about Metro Grill is the prices!!! You figure that in the area that you are in, you would get a slightly cheaper meal (or at least have some type of lunch special!!!). 

I don't think I would visit Metro Grill again, simply for the price (It came out to $20 a person). With the price I'm paying for lunch, I rather grab a lunch special at a nice Italian place in New York City. Sorry Ewing,NJ- I'm a city girl.

Thanks for the lunch Metro Grill, see you.. never...

Price: $$

Service: B

Food: A-

Ambiance: C

I'm a bad asian

My oh my, how long it has been since I have visited my dear old blog!

So I have to admit that I haven't been taking pictures of my food lately (I know, im a bad asian), and thus, I haven't had any material for my blog posts! 

Thankfully, when going to lunch with Jackie last Friday, I was able to snap a quick pic! Yay!

Jackie and I have been trying to find good places to eat around our office for months. We work next to a farm, so really, we work (and live) near the middle of nowhere.

We searched for a nearby lunch joint so we could get out of the office during the beautiful summer day and we happened to come across Nick's Cafe 72 in Trenton.

Yes, we went to Trenton. Yes, in my new car. Yes, I was scared.

After parking my car as far away from other cars as possible, I was hankering for something greasy, fattening and of course, delicious. I got the Corned Beef Reuben- and it hit the spot.

Reuben from Nick's Cafe 72

So flavorful and a perfect pairing with sweet potato fries and an arnold palmer, this sandwich made my day. Salty briney corned beef with sweet sauerkraut and russian dressing, this was an amazing reuben.

Not only was the sandwich yummy, the service was quick and fast. Perfect. Although a little bit pricey for being a random diner/cafe in Trenton, I would have to say that I would definitely return again if I'm hankering for something sinfully fattening.

So excited we found a good place near work, we're going to try another place this Friday! Stay tuned!


Price: $$
Service: B+
Ambiance: B
Food: A-