Posts in Category: 2012

Canelé | Los Angeles, CA USA

Canelé’s sign greeting you as you enter.

 

Assorted table side items.

 

Dining area

 

Gazpacho with soft cooked egg, toast and anchoiade

 

 

Pancetta pasta spaghetti with pancetta, pistachio, parmesan and

 

Bistro steak with sauce bordelaise, pommes anna and creamed spinach

 

Honestly, we were originally trying to go to Tacos Villa Corona, but… they’re closed on Saturdays. Ended up making a last minute search of what was good/nearby and found Canelé. Ended up being quite pleased with the food! I think because of the hot weather, the bistro steak might not have been the best choice, but still tasty. Will definitely make a trip back to try some of their other offerings.

Canele (information gathered 8/2012)
3219 Glendale Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90039
323.666.7133 ?
Hours
Tues – Wed 5:30pm – 10pm
Thurs – Sat 5pm – 10:30pm
Sun 5pm – 10pm
Mon Closed

Parking
Parking can be found nearby at meters along the road.

Please be advised, all images and content are copyrighted and may not be used without permission. Got questions? Email me: mweats <dot> info <at> gmail <dot> com

References:

Chefs Feed http://www.chefsfeed.com/
Canelé http://www.canele-la.com/

The Optimist | Atlanta, GA USA

When you first walk in, you’re greeted by the Oyster Bar; first come first serve with a varied menu than what you can get in the main dining area.

 

Inside of The Optimist, main dinning area.

 

Shot of the bar area

 

Hot out of the oven bread with sprinkles of sea salt on top

 

Peel & eat ga white shrimp, “come back” sauce & lemon

 

Duck fat poached swordfish, pickled sweet peppers, crispy pancetta

 

Maine sea scallops, oxtail marmalade, brown butter-chicken jus

 

Pan seared red snapper

 

Grilled rack of lamb, field peas, preserved lemon, lamb jus

One of the newest restaurants in Atlanta that serves sustainable seafood. They seem to change parts of their menu; when I tried looking at the menu from The Optimist’s website, they no longer had the grilled rack of lamb nor the version of the red snapper. But I hope they never change the Maine sea scallops served with an oxtail marmalade because that dish is AMAZING! Go get that if nothing else. mmm….so good.

Also their website is pretty awesome. The main page has audio of the waves cascading against the shore. Looping infinitely. I think I’ll just leave that on while I work from now on…

The Optimist (information gathered 8/2012)
914 Howell Mill Road
Atlanta, GA 30318
404.477.6260 ?
Hours
Lunch
Mon – Fri 11:30am – 2:30pm
Dinner
Sun – Thurs 5pm – 10pm
Fri & Sat 5pm – 11pm

Oyster Bar
Mon – Fri 5 till …
Saturday & Sunday 3 till …

Parking
A good amount of parking space available in their own lot. Medium/High volume of cars sustainable.

Please be advised, all images and content are copyrighted and may not be used without permission. Got questions? Email me: mweats <dot> info <at> gmail <dot> com

References:

The Optimist http://theoptimistrestaurant.com/

Wondee Siam | New York, New York USA

Duck Kra Prow

 

Deciding to walk back to Central park from the pier, we were getting hungry so out came the Chefs Feed app to save the day. Love the ‘Feed Me Now’ option to find out what’s nearby. What we found was Wondee Siam. A quaint little Thai place off of 9th and 54th, based on the reviews it looked like the Duck Kra Prow was the thing to get. It was pretty good but I’ll have to go back to try some of their other offerings.

Wondee Siam (information gathered 7/2012)
792 9th Avenue
New York, NY
212.459.9057 ?
Hours
Mon-Thu, Sun 11am–11pm
Fri-Sat 11am–11:30pm

Parking
We walked from the harbor, but it looked like there was limited street parking.

Please be advised, all images and content are copyrighted and may not be used without permission. Got questions? Email me: mweats <dot> info <at> gmail <dot> com

References:

Chefs Feed http://www.chefsfeed.com/
Wondee Siam http://wondeesiam2.com

HD1 | Atlanta, GA USA

 

Red Haute; brisket chili, pimento jack, Vidalia onion

 

Merguez; house stuffed lamb sausage, currants, minted cucumber,

 

One of Richard Blais’ newer restaurants opened back in 2011, this restaurant specializes in all things meat in tube form.

HD1 (information gathered 08/2012)
664 North Highland Ave NE
Atlanta, GA 30306
404.815.1127
Hours
Sun – Thurs 11:30am – 10:00pm
Fri – Sat 11:30am – Midnight

Parking
It can be tricky to find parking as the spots in their parking lot as well as along the street may get full quick.

Please be advised, all images and content are copyrighted and may not be used without permission. Got questions? Email me: mweats <dot> info <at> gmail <dot> com

References:

HD1 http://www.hd1restaurant.com/

Neptune Oyster | Boston, MA USA

 

Kumamoto Oysters; small, sweet, plump, creamy, hints of honeydew melon

 

Buttermilk Johnnycake; honey butter, smoked trout tartare, Little Pearl caviar served on a thin slightly crispy cornmeal pancake

 

The inside space

 

Maine Lobster Roll; toasted roll, hot with butter

 

Outside looking in.

 

End of the night, where’d all the seafood go? :/

From the marble table tops to the tiled/textured ceiling, the ambiance definitely takes you back to simpler times. This 42 seat capacity restaurant (yeah it’s that small) is definitely at the top of my list for seafood. The positive side of such a quaint eatery is the staff is quite attentive during your dining experience; the con, however, is you may have to wait a while to get in. Should the need to wait arise, simply go inside, stand at the doorway (because honestly there is limited space to stand) and wait for one of the staff to come take your name and phone number. I consider that pretty cool, they’ll call you when they’re ready for you. Just make sure you’re near.

From personal experience, I arrived around 6pm on a Tuesday so I was practically asking for a long wait, but it actually wasn’t so bad. Probably a solid 35 minute wait which was fine. I ended up going to the coffee shop, Boston Common Coffee Co. a block away for a quick cup of coffee and relaxed thinking of the superb seafood I was soon to become one with.

Goodness. Those oysters on the half shell (Kumamoto) were so sweet and fresh. The combination on the Buttermilk Johnnycakes, who knew those things would go together?! It just was so well balanced between the hot texture of the johnnycake and the cold smoked trout tartare and caviar… it was an experience that sent chill down your spine because of how good it was. Towards the end of the meal, I decided I would go all out and top it off with a lobster roll. The generous helping of large chucks of Maine lobster meat on a well toasted bun; some butter to make it all happy.. It was just a wonderful way to end the meal. There are still some items I still have to cross off my list (e.g. Neptune Burger, Tuna Ribbons, The Neptune Plateau from the raw bar). Time to bring the stretchy pants.

Neptune Oyster (information gathered 07/2012)
63 Salem Street
Boston, MA 02113
617.742.3474
Hours
Mon – Thurs, Sun 11:30am – 9:30pm
Fri – Sat 11:30am – 10:30pm

Parking
It can be tricky to find parking as the spots along the street are typically full. Come early.

Please be advised, all images and content are copyrighted and may not be used without permission. Got questions? Email me: mweats <dot> info <at> gmail <dot> com

References:

Neptune Oyster http://www.neptuneoyster.com/
Chefs Feed http://www.chefsfeed.com/

Din Tai Fung | Arcadia, CA USA

Christine / Xteeener standing outside

During my layover in California checking out IMATS in Pasadena, both Christine and I agreed we had to take a trip to Din Tai Fung. I think recently I’ve been on the search for a great soup dumping (aka xiaolongbao) and I have to say, out of the places I’ve gone so far in the United States, this place has been the best. The most perfect display of elegance per the ballet of light flavorful soup and the thin thin skin. I have not yet met its equal and is why each time we’re back in Los Angeles, it’s a must that we make the hour+ drive from the airport to Din Tai Fung.

Cute toy!

 

Steamed shrimp and pork dumplings

 

Zhongzi; a traditional Chinese food, made of glutinous rice stuffed with different fillings and wrapped in bamboo

 

Spicy shrimp and pork wonton

Having had been here more than once before, I decided I would check to see if this place was on the app ‘Chefs Feed’ so I could add it to the foods I’ve ate. Come to my surprise there was actually another dish they recommended! The spicy shrimp and pork wontons…. oh wow. This thing was packed with flavor! Make sure you try this dish out.

 

Soup Dumplings, aka Xiaolongbao.

 

For those of you going for the first time, I would highly recommend going with someone who has had this food before, because there is definitely a consumer’s manual for this cuisine. It comes out SUPER hot on the steel steamers so you can kind of guess the soup in the dumplings will be the same. Yes, soup.. in a dumpling!

So just in case you decide to brave the soup dumpling solo, despite your inexperience, there are steps that most typically follow but it’s probably fair to say, you will probably get burnt tongue before the meal is over. It happens to everybody. Call it a right of passage. But oh man, it’s so worth it. The steps I recommend are:

  1. There will normally be a little plate of finely julienne ginger slices. This is meant to be combined with vinegar so feel free to pour some into the dish. (Note: make sure its vinegar and not soy sauce)
  2. Hold the chopsticks in your dominant hand and the soup spoon in the other
  3. You may want to practice your chopsticks skills because this next step could be tricky.  Pick up the soup dumpling by grabbing the tip of the dumpling. The place where the swirl on the dumpling skin converges is the most durable spot, you’l have a better chance of the soup not spilling out by grabbing there
  4. Dip the dumpling in the vinegar and ginger 
  5. While lifting up the soup dumpling, slide the spoon underneath to help brace the subject while motioning towards your mouth
  6. Much like eating a hard shell taco, twist your head as if to make out with the dumpling and nibble a small hole off the top/side. Not the direct side, since the soup would surely spill out
  7. Cautiously suck the soup from the recently made hole. Repeat until confident that the soup will no longer burn
  8. Potentially add more vinegar and ginger and once you’re sure the dumpling is semi hot/semi warm, feel free to eat the rest!

It’s definitely an experience and so well worth it. Oh! Some tips:

  • Much like how this is not your typical dumpling, the restaurant and how it operates is just as different.
  • Expect a wait and bring a pen because you’ll need it to order.
  • At the host station be sure to grab your number in line and an order sheet to start marking the amount you want.
  • The host/hostess will typically let you know if something is sold out.
  • Make sure everyone in your party is there, they wont seat you otherwise.
  • Finally, know all that you’re ordering, from the drinks to the other consumables, because  there will be at the most two or three times the waiter/waitress will come to the table. Be ready.

Din Tai Fung (information below gathered 07.2012)
1108 S Baldwin Ave
Arcadia, CA 91007
(626) 574-7068
Hours
Mon-Fri 11am–10pm
Sat-Sun 10am–10pm

Parking

A really good soup dumpling place in a small parking lot in Chinatown? Yeah, get there early, you’ll be waiting for a parking spot before you wait for your table. But trust me, it’s SO worth it.

Please be advised, all images and content are copyrighted and may not be used without permission. Got questions? Email me: mweats <dot> info <at> gmail <dot> com

References:Din Tai Fung http://www.dintaifungusa.com
Chefs Feed http://www.chefsfeed.com/
Xteeener https://www.facebook.com/pages/Xteeener/57086274728