IP restaurant week: part 5 + 6

Yup, it's that time of year again: Inman Park restaurant week!!!! You have no idea how excited I get about it. As before, I went to TWO restaurants :)

First up: Pure Taqueria. The main reason I wanted to go there was the ceviche appetizer. I was so nervous they might run out of ingredients to make it, we went there on Monday night - the first day of restaurant week - at 6 pm. Well, it paid off because I did get the ceviche :) Like all the Pure ceviches, it had an innovative presentation with both a tortilla and a plantain chip. The ceviche was a little salty, but very refreshing.

For the entree, I ordered the trout with corn cakes and guacamole. It had too many things I love to pass over: corn and guacamole. The salty theme continued on the trout, but the cakes and guacamole were perfect. The trout was crusted in chile, so there was a little bit of heat to the dish, but it wasn't overwhelming.

Finally, I had the pineapple flan for dessert. It was soo soo good! Sooo smooth, you couldn't even feel it. At the same time your tastebuds detected a rich flavor of pineapple with a hint of nutmeg. The nutmeg was really a great addition. The topping of caramelized pineapple also went great with the dish. Somehow, the rich syrup cut through the flavor of the rich custard to make for a great combination that did not feel cloying at all. This flan was one of those desserts where you say "no, I'm too full, I can't eat any more," but then you have one bite and the rest is gone before you even realize it.

For the second installment of restaurant week, we went to Rathbun's. Note, this is different from Kevin Rathbun Steak. It had been a long time since I'd gone there, but I quickly remembered why I love the place. I love the atmosphere of a remodeled industrial space (read: cold concrete) and Southern hospitality meet to form a sophisticated, but warm place. And the modern American menu is always exciting and unique. I started with the pork and fennel crepinette (sausage) with mashed potatoes and arugula salad. The sausage was probably the best, moistest sausage I have ever had. It was delicious. However, I could not taste the fennel in it at all, which is surprising because fennel has a pretty strong flavor.

The choice of an entree was very difficult, but I settled on the tri tip steak with potatoes. Expecting a square meal? Thing again. The steak was perfectly tender and seasoned. It was topped with a chimichurri-like sauce that also went very well with the herbed potatoes. I guess I liked the steak so much, I forgot to take a picture of it...

For dessert, I continued the custard theme and got the sour cream creme brulee. I was convinced it would taste just like any other creme brulee, but I was happy to be mistaken. I could actually detect the sour cream in the custard - it gave an interesting tartness to the creme brulee that was very unexpected, but wonderful. The cookie on the side was just blah, though. I could have gotten a better chewy cookie at many other places. In the background of the picture you can also see my co-worker's chocolate cupcake with coffee oreo gelato. I loved the rich cupcake, and he was also very happy with the gelato.

Yet again, I wasn't disappointed with Inman Park restaurant week. Now I can't wait for the fall to do all of this again!

Chirashi Cravings

Despite living right next to a sushi restaurant, I can go for months without having sushi. Then, all of a sudden, I go on a sushi binge. This time, I didn't simply crave sushi, but chirashi. Do not confuse it with sriracha! Sriracha is the Asian hot sauce, and chirashi is a fish-and-sushi rice dish. The reason I love chirashi is that you get plain fresh fish without any sauces to hide its taste. If the fish is not the best quality, you'll notice it right away. And I prefer chirashi to sashimi or nigiri because you do get some fix-ins in terms of vegetables. Plus, there's plenty of rice to fill you up if you're really hungry.

In the last couple of weeks I had chirashi from two different places: Zuma at Toco Hill and Sushi Itto. I've been to Zuma multiple times, trying many of the rolls and the bento box, but this was the first time ordering chirashi. It came in a HUGE bowl with the sushi rice completely covered by lettuce and then the sashimi on top. The fish selection consisted mostly of tuna and salmon, with a few pieces of white fish mixed in. While the fish was fresh, eating it was a little challenging because of all the lettuce.

In contrast, the chirachi at Sushi Itto is exactly what I want from chirashi: mostly sashimi and rice, with a few vegetables for crunch. And look at how pretty it looked!! I almost didn't want to eat it. Almost ;) The fish (tuna, salmon, what I guess was tuna belly and white tuna) was sooooo good and fresh. It all just melted in your mouth. I don't love salmon, but I couldn't get enough of the salmon in the bowl. And despite it being sliced so thin, there was a substantial amount of fish in there. My only tiny complaint about this dish was that it was hard to squeeze the small lime slices. But who cares about limes when there's delicious fish to enjoy?!?!

So how exactly do you eat chirashi? I'm sure everyone has their opinion about what is THE right way. I say, stop worrying too much about being proper and just enjoy the dish. Unless, of course, you're trying to impress some native Japanese people for some reason ;) In which case, don't order the chirashi ;) Anyway, I like to mix all the ingredients, bipimbop-style. I also add some soy sauce to the rice. I don't spread the wasabi around the bowl because I can take wasabi only in tiny fractions. Instead, I add just a little bit of wasabi to a side bowl with soy sauce and use it for dipping any bites that might need a little more soy sauce. Another common way to eat chirashi is to alternate fish and rice bites, dipping each in a side bowl of soy sauce. Someone likened this way to eating Thanksgiving dinner: you don't shove turkey, stuffing, cranberry sauce and mashed potatoes in your mouth all at once; instead you take a bite of each in turns. I guess I like the mixture of textures I get from mixing fish, veggies and rice, so I'll keep using my method :)

Sunday Supper, part 2

My first experience with Sunday Supper at JCT Kitchen came about a year ago. After saying a thousand times that I want to go again, we finally made it back there, using Bulgaria's Independence day as an excuse. Even though she's not Bulgaria, Snooki also tagged along.

As before, the table shared biscuits with apple butter and brown butter, a large salad and deviled eggs. And after what seemed like an eternity, we finally got our entrees. JCT Kitchen, you need to get your act together because it's not OK to make people 30 min after the salad to get their meals. I suspect our dished were just waiting on a counter somewhere because they were cold by the time we got them. Everything was still delicious, but I know it would have been a lot better if warm. Oh yeah, here's what we ordered: I had the pan-seared steak with mushrooms, Snooki had the pork tenderloin, my dad got the grouper with beets, and my mom ordered the fried chicken with cornbread. It's funny how it works out this way so many times, but I liked Snooki's dish (the pork) a lot more than my dish (steak). The pork was very tender and moist compared to my dry cold steak...  At least the mushrooms were great...

I think my favorite part of the Sunday Supper are the sides, especially the mashed sweet potatoes that we had last time. I've been dreaming about them! Well, day-dreaming ;) But they didn't have them on the menu this time! I'm outraged! Now I'll have to figure out how to make them myself. In the meantime, we had to choose something different and settled on mac and cheese, Brussels sprouts, and mushrooms with Parmesan. However, our not-so-good waiter brought us mashed potatoes instead of mushrooms. Thankfully, he let us keep to potatoes and brought us mushrooms in addition to that. So in the end, we got a free side out of it :) Plus, the mushrooms turned out to be different from what we expected. We thought that they'd be sauteed mushrooms with cheese on top; instead, it was a mushroom risotto with cheese. It wasn't bad, but not the deliciousness I was waiting for. As to the other sides, the mashed potatoes were good, albeit too greasy; the Brussels sprouts were cooked perfectly, not bitter at all, and the mac and cheese was spectacular - very, very cheesy and with huge chunks of pancetta. By the way, if my parents like the Brussels sprouts, they must have been good. My dad especially is not too eager to try new foods.



And at the end of the meal came the dessert - caramelized pear pie. We were all complaining (in a good way!) how stuffed we were after the side overload. I was even telling myself that I'll have only a couple of bites of the pie. But boy oh boy! This pie is one of the BESTTTTT things I've ever had. The pears were soft and gooey, they were fragrant with warm spices (cinnamon, etc.), there was a little bit of custard, and the pie was sooo flaky and soft to the fork. It probably took me all but a minute to devour a pretty huge slice! At some point I did remember to stop for long enough to take a picture... It doesn't look that impressive, but you all should be jealous that you didn't try it. Well, that pie made us all forget about some of the mishaps earlier during the dinner :) And yes, it's up there on my list of amazing foods, right next to the French Toast at La Boulange :)

Mardi Gras

A friend of mine recently moved to Baton Rouge, LA, to work at LSU, so my roommate Snooki and I went to visit her at her new house. And it just happened that Mardi Gras was going on at the same time. You know, no coincidence at all ;) But in between the parades, Bourbon St and driving around to find a parking spot, we got to enjoy some awesome Louisiana foods.

It was Snooki's first time in New Orleans, so she had a long list of things to try. Thankfully, every touristy place in the French Quarter has a New Orleans sampler platter. This one came with gumbo, crawfish etouffee, and jambalaya. One time that was missing was the rice and red beans, so read the menu carefully to make sure you go to a place that has all four! Anyway, Snooki loved the gumbo, but didn't enjoy the etouffee too much. She is freaked out by the crawfish even when they're cleaned up ;) But she likes shrimp... Go figure... That first night I had a proper fried oyster po-boy because getting a po-boy from a BBQ place doesn't really count. This one was really really good. The oysters were crispy on the outside, but not overfried. And the fries were surprisingly good. However, nothing was better than my bloody mary which had the perfect amount of kick to it :) Sorry, though, I don't have pictures from the dinner.

We finished off the night in Baton Rouge at a local beignet spot. By the time we got there it was already 2 am, but why not have some sugar, right? They are known for the "Finger" beignets. Sounds creepy, but all it means is that they were fried in long, thin streaks. The larger surface area-to-volume ratio makes them very crispy. We also got their traditional beignets which are bigger and not as crispy as the ones at Cafe du Monde. On the bright side, they were completely free because the store owner was an incredibly nice Southerner who was impressed that it was Snooki's first time in NO. Oh, and he made us try the hot chocolate! After many refusals (after all, it's not wise to have sugar AND caffeine at 2 am), we did each have a sip. And I was glad we did because it was great! And we didn't have to worry about not being able to sleep after all; we passed out as soon as we got to my friend's house.

The next day was extremely hectic and we didn't have a real meal until 9 pm. We did each have a snack during a parade we saw, but our major source of calories that day was beer ;) Not surprisingly, we were starving by dinner time at stopped to eat at the first restaurant we saw after getting to the French Quarter: Corner Oyster House. I skipped the oysters and went out on a limb and decided to try something different - alligator picante. Well ,i can tell you that everything does taste like chicken... The meat wasn't too flavorful and it was quite dry. The spicy sauce was much better, though. And I was so hungry that I ate the whole thing despite the inferior quality ;P

On our last day there, we woke up semi-early and had brunch at The Chimes, a place right next to the LSU campus. I was really happy when we got a table after only about a 20 min wait. Some of our friends decided to get the fried bowties and artichoke dip for appetizer. Yes, bowties as in the pasta. I admit I wouldn't order something like that because I can't image what fried past would taste like... But I'm glad they did because it was really good! That pasta was very crispy, but not completely stiff. The dip was just a regular dip, but overall the appetizer surpassed my expectations. For my entree, I had the crabcakes. That was a great choice because they were amazing!!! They had a good amount of crabmeat, were moist, and a little spicy. The potato hash lived up to the high standards set by the crabcakes, too - crispy and with a little kick. I even liked the grits even though I'm not a huge grits fan. Unlike most grits out there, these tasted like corn :) Again, I ate the whole thing. I guess the best way I can summarize this trip to New Orleans is "overeating on delicious food." Mardi Gras, what?

Elegant Buffet

Elegant buffet? Huh? That can't exist. Right? Well, turns out it's possible, in Las Vegas of all places.

Buffets have been a part of Vegas history from its initial days. People who went to Vegas didn't care what they ate as long as it was enough to get them through a night of gambling. Thankfully, all of this has changed. Together with the sophistication of the city, the buffet has been revamped. A perfect example of this is the opulence of the Bacchanal Buffet at Caesar's Palace.

How many times have you had to wait for 2 hours to get into a buffet? Well, you better be prepared to do that at peak times at Bacchanal. But once you get in, you forget about the wait. The chic modern decor, the subdues lighting, the delicious food scents wafting through the air - they all make you want to dig into some food. But hey, slow down! [Record scratch noise.] You need to wait in another line for seafood! Yes, that's right. That's why my boyfriend (Rusty) and I started with the Asian section that was less busy and got some sushi and dumplings. There was nothing too special about the sushi, but it did fill our starving stomachs a little bit. Then we were ready for the seafood!

Rusty and I were at Bacchanal at a particularly busy time, so the seafood line was winding all the way to the back of the buffet, past most of the other sections. While waiting, we were often tempted with Mexican (Rusty said the tacos were delicious), carved meats, breads, deep-fried baskets, etc. Well, we made it to the seafood without too much damage to our hunger, so we loaded up on seafood. There were all types of clams, mussels, shrimp, fish, steamed and cold oysters and crabs, ceviches, shooters, etc! And yes, we got a little of everything :) The appearance was often deceiving, and the things I thought I would love were a little bland. Overall, the food was liking spice, but I do tend to like more spice than the general population. Still, there was a lot of amazing food to make up for the blander one.

The next stop was the "potatoes and meat" section. I call it that because it had many types of meat and all the typical sides they would go with. Rusty and I tried the lamb chop, ribs and chicken wings. The sides we had were mashed potatoes, mac and cheese, corn on the cob, and cornbread. I absolutely loved the chicken wings! They were spicy and herby (because of added cilantro). The cornbread was also really good. The rib and lamb chop were cooked perfectly, but were a little on the bland side again. The mashed potatoes were really really creamy :) However, the mac and cheese had a weird, grainy texture despite having a ton of cheese in it. I don't like buttery corn on a cob, but I think other people would have enjoyed it. Oh, we also got wagyu beef sliders. They were sooo moist and well-flavored! I wish I wasn't that stuffed because I wanted to eat several of them.

Finally, even though we could barely walk, we had to try the dessert. There must have been about 100 options just on the dessert display. There were soo many things that we wanted to try! We had to settle for a key lime tart, pecan tart, tiramisu, red velvet cheesecake, chocolate peanut butter cupcake, chocolate creme brulee, and vanilla and espresso ice cream. I LOVED the key lime tart. It was tart and just enough sweet :) Also loved both types of ice cream, especially the vanilla one. The vanilla flavor was so rich, but not overwhelming. All the other desserts were also good, but not as amazing. And it says a lot if I enjoyed them after all the savory food before that ;)

There were definitely hits and misses at the buffet, but the overall experience was very good. Most of the time I forgot it was a buffet. Vegas is going in the right direction with its food scene. Another development are the many elegant restaurants, many of them run by celebrity or award-winning chefs. But those will have to wait until my next visit to Vegas :)

Wolfgang Puck Cafe

Wolfgang Puck. I always twist my tongue when I try to say his name, but I've wanted to eat in one of his restaurants for a long time. This opportunity finally came up to us when my family and I went to Downtown Disney during our annual Christmas vacation. To keep it on the cheap side, we had lunch at the cafe.

After several large meals around Christmas, I kept my lunch light with the Big Kahuna sushi. My sister (Pumpkin) had the same idea with a Greek Shrimp salad. My mother ordered the Chicken Aioli sandwich, and my dad got Chicken tenders.

My sushi was really great, with fresh seafood and a nice spicy sauce on top.

Pumpkin's salad looked delicious, too. The feta was moist and creamy, resembling a little Bulgarian-style feta. It was definitely not the dry crumbly thing they sell in grocery stores and call feta.






I also really liked the chicken aioli sandwich. The chicken was very tender and moist, and the aioli wasn't overpowering. The fact that the chips were sprinkled with Parmesan on top was a nice touch to transform them to something more special.





I'm not a big fan of chicken tenders, but the side Ceasar salad that my dad good looked really good. It even had bruschetta on top.


This was a satisfying lunch, but I didn't think there was anything special that could have been made by a famous chef. I sure hope the full restaurant is better than this.

Bad Dog Tacos

I love cooking, so I bring my own lunch pretty much every day. I do save a lot of money and eat nutritious meals, but I also miss out on eating at some of the good lunch spots around town. There are several places around Emory that are pretty good. And I didn't even notice that a new one had opened: Bad Dog Taqueria. As with pretty much every new place in Atlanta now, they use local ingredients and claim to prepare everything fresh. Hey, this fad is fine by me.

I went to Bad Dog with a couple of my labmates, and we started by sharing the chips and salsas. This is probably one of the best deals I've seen around. The chips are a mixture of corn tortilla chips, plantain chips, and yucca chips (I love yucca!). And to increase the variety even more, there are three different salsas: salsa fresca, plantain pineapple serrano, and fire-roasted tomato. Oh, and a generous portion of this goodness is only $4!

For lunch, I ordered the We've Got Seoul and Skinny Bitch tacos. By the way, I love restaurants with character like that. The Seoul taco had Korean BBQ pork and kimchee slaw. And the Skinny Bitch was made with grilled mahi mahi. When they arrives, I couldn't wait to dig in. The grilled flour tortillas (corn tortillas available upon request) and overflowing filling made them look very appetizing. Unfortunately, they both tasted ok, but I was expecting a bigger punch of flavor, especially from the Korean BBQ. Instead, I could feel the texture of the slaw and mayo, but not much else.

Still, I like the idea behind these tacos. The quality of the ingredients was obvious. I want to give Bad Dog tacos another chance. Maybe some of the other tacos will live up to the character/flavor that their names suggest.