Making Croissants at Bouchon in Las Vegas

2011 Follow Me Foodie Favourites & Yearblog

Happy New Year! Welcome to my Follow Me Foodie Favourites & Best of 2011! This is a recap and yearbook/yearblog of the BEST Follow Me Foodie (FMF) Food and FMF Foodie Moments in 2011.

I wrote a Follow Me Foodie Favourites & Best of 2010, so I decided to do another one this year. I don’t even know where to start. It’s been a crazy year, and I’m so grateful for everything that has happened with this blog. I’ve loved every minute of it (even the parts where it hurt to laugh because I was so full) and I’m so happy to have shared these delicious moments with you. Thank you for following me foodie and cheers to another year of gastronomic indulgence!

NOTE: IT’S NOT NECESSARILY “THE BEST“, BECAUSE FOOD IS PERSONAL AND I CAN ONLY DISCOVER SO MUCH IN A YEAR. THESE ARE JUST SOME WORTH MENTIONING IN MY BOOKS… OR BLOG? BLOG. IT’S MORE OF A 2011 RECAP/SUMMARY. ALL EXPERIENCES ARE FROM 2011 ONLY.

Top 25 Most Memorable/BEST Dishes Internationally:

At the 5th day of the opening for the first ever Ladurée in the United States in New York

Jamaican Blue Mountain Coffee on Blue Mountain, Jamaica

Food is undeniably a focus when I’m traveling. This year I was grateful to take Follow Me Foodie to Bowen Island, Seattle, Las Vegas, New York, Portland, Los Angeles, Montreal, Quebec City and Jamaica.  Here are some of my best international indulgences this year. So Follow Me Foodie to some of my favourite foods and restaurants abroad with just one click!

Listed in no particular order. Based on the menu item, not the restaurant.

1. Pine State Biscuits – The Reggie Deluxe Biscuit Sandwich – Portland, Oregon

2. Pambiche – Masitas – Portland, Oregon

3. Local 360 – Fried Chicken – Seattle, Washington

4. Beecher’s Handmade Cheese Cafe – World’s Best” Mac & Cheese – Seattle, Washington

5. Nove Italiano - Shrimp Francaise – Las Vegas, Nevada

6. Bouchon – Truite Grenobloise – Las Vegas, Nevada

7. Traif – Crispy Pork Belly – Brooklyn, New York

8. The Spotted Pig – Gnudi – Manhattan, New York

9. Katz Deli – Pastrami Sandwich on Rye – Manhattan, New York

10. Jean-Georges – Manhattan, New York

11. BonChon Chicken – BonChon Chicken Wings – Manhattan, New York

12. Peasant – Cannolichi, Suckling Pig (Porchetta) – Manhattan, New York

13. Boqueria – Croquetas Cremosas – Manhattan, New York

14. Blue Hill – Chilled Corn Soup, Berkshire Pig - Manhattan, New York

15. Scotchies – Jerk Chicken – Ocho Rios, Jamaica

16. Blue Mountain Coffee – Blue Mountain, Jamaica

17. Schwartz’s – Smoked Meat Sandwich – Montreal, Quebec

18. Le St-Urbain – Coffee Glazed Sweetbread – Montreal, Quebec

19. Van Horne – Melon Canari (Canary Melon) – Montreal, Quebec

20. Le Bremner – Kimchi Snow Crab, Lobster Toast Au Gratin – Montreal, Quebec

21. Café Clocher Penché – Duck Confit – Quebec City, Quebec

22. Laurie Raphaël – Apple Crumble, Carrot Cake – Quebec City, Quebec

23. La Traite – Wendake, Quebec

24. Au Goût d’Autrefois (Dining at the Duck Farm), Quebec

25. North End Caffe – Kahlua Pig Egg Rolls – Los Angeles, California

Restaurant: Manhattan Beach Creamery
Cuisine: Desserts/Ice Cream/Frozen Yogurt/Cookies
Last visited: October 4, 2011
Location: Los Angeles, California (Manhattan Beach)
Address: 1120 Manhattan Ave
Price Range: $10USD or less

1: Poor 2: OK 3: Good 4: Very good 5: Excellent 6: Tres Excellent!!

Food: 5 (based on what I tried)
Service: 3
Ambiance: 4
Overall: 4
Additional comments:

• Home made ice cream
• Everything is hand made
• Made in small batches
• Frozen yogurt
• Sundaes
• Cookies/pastries/cakes
• Ice cream sandwiches
• Frozen bananas
• Variety of flavours
• Candy shop
• Local favourite
• Family friendly
• Eat In/Take out
• Mon-Sun 11am-10pm

**Recommendations: Ice Cream, Red Velvet Ice Cream, Ice Cream Sandwiches

Just to recap, I was on my way to a culinary tour of Jamaica (yay!) and I had a 4 hour lay over at the LAX airport (ouch!). So, I made plans to check out the Manhattan Beach dining strip.

I just finished dinner at North End Caffe, which was featured on Food Network’s Diners, Drive Ins, and Dives. Well after that indulgence it was time for another indulgence, but this time something a bit sweeter.

About a 5 minute drive away form North End Caffe, right by the main part of the beach, was Manhattan Beach Creamery. It’s a classic local favourite popular for home made ice cream and other delicious frozen treats and candies. I was drooling at the door. Not even at the door, but starting from across the street.

The home made candy apples, cookies, pastries and cakes looked good…

… but so did the ice cream sandwiches and frozen bananas at the frozen bar!

Although it does offer frozen yogurt now, you don’t order frozen yogurt at a place that specializes in ice cream. Go for the ice cream… well in my case I wanted the cookie too. Kill two birds with one stone right? Or an excuse to eat two cookies at once?

The last time I had gourmet ice cream sandwiches like these were from Ruby Jewel Scoops in Portland, Oregon. Those were much more sophisticated and I did like those better, but these were still very good. I mean it’s an ice cream sandwich… how bad can that be?

On the table:

Red Velvet Ice Cream Sandwich – 4.5/6

• $3.50
• The cookies are pretty thin and generously filled with vanilla ice cream.
• I kind of wish they filled it with their Red Velvet ice cream though, and I didn’t know you could customize your own until after.
• The ice cream was hard, yet creamy and rich, but not too sweet.

• The red velvet cookies were a bit heavy on the dye, and the cocoa flavour was a bit mild, but they were still good.
• They were soft and chewy cookies, but since it was frozen they were hard, but not crunchy or crispy.
• The cookies also had some white chocolate chips in them.

**Almond Ice Cream Sandwich – 5/6

• $3.50
• There were toasted almonds crusted all around the ice cream and it gave a great crunch to the sandwich.
• The ice cream was just regular vanilla ice cream so I was a bit sad about that.
• I didn’t know you could customize your ice cream sandwich until after, otherwise I would have picked an almond ice cream.

• The ice cream was hard, creamy and rich, but I still wish it had almonds in it.
• The cookies were just chocolate chip cookies and again they were likely soft and chewy, but being in a frozen state they were hard like the red velvet ones.
• I wish the cookies were almond cookies or at least I wish they had almond pieces in them.
• It was a delicious ice cream sandwich, but almond cookies and almond ice cream would make a better almond ice cream sandwich.

Ice Cream – n/a

• I sampled a couple of their ice creams, but that’s not substantial enough to “rate” it.
• The ice cream was different in texture from what was in the ice cream sandwiches.
• The freezing temperature is different so it’s harder in the sandwiches.
• The ice cream was really rich, creamy and thick and it wasn’t as pliable, rich or sweet as Marble Slab Creamery, but it was a bit reminiscent.
• It’s home made in small batches and I liked it better than Marble Slab, but both are heavy duty ice creams. This one wasn’t as rich or sweet though, and it didn’t make me feel sick afterward.
• I wouldn’t say it was gourmet, but it was still good.

Red Velvet Ice Cream – n/a

• I tried this and there were pieces of moist red velvet cake throughout. Cake and ice cream is never a bad combo.

Pistachio Ice Cream – n/a

• This one was a bit too artificial in pistachio flavour for my liking.
• The pistachio nut flavour kind of kicked in at the end, but overall I wasn’t too keen on it.

Restaurant: North End Caffe
Cuisine: American/Sandwiches/Salads/Pacific Northwest/Fusion
Last visited: October 4, 2011
Location: Los Angeles, California (Manhattan Beach)
Address: 3421 Highland Ave
Price Range: $10 – 20

1: Poor 2: OK 3: Good 4: Very good 5: Excellent 6: Tres Excellent!!

Food: 4.5 – 5 (based on what I tried)
Service: 4
Ambiance: 3
Overall: 4.5
Additional comments:

• Featured on Diners, Drive Ins, & Drives
• Family owned
• Popular for sandwiches
• Local favourite
• Extensive menu
• Daily specials
• Modern/eclectic comfort food
• Hand made pasta
• Big portions
• Family friendly
• Beer/wine available
• Eat in/Take out
• Breakfast/Lunch/Dinner
• Daily 8am-9pm

**Recommendations: Kahlua Pig Egg Rolls, Aguilucho Sandwich, Short Rib Tacos and the Pasta Carbonara is a favourite. Anything with roasted pork or short ribs is likely a solid choice.

I was on my way to a culinary tour of Jamaica and I had a lay over in Los Angeles, California. I had about 4 hours to kill and there was no way I was about to let a good eating opportunity slip.

North End Caffe is located in Manhattan Beach, which is not far from the LAX airport. It was featured on Food Network’s Diners, Drive Ins, and Dives so I was prepared for something deliciously greasy before my red eye out. Eating light before bed is so overrated anyways.

I wouldn’t even really consider this a diner, drive in, or dive. I’d maybe consider it a LA version of one, but it’s definitely got a bit of a gourmet twist. It’s somewhat of a fancy little caffe that’s easily overlooked on the strip, but it is a local favourite.

The chalkboard features their specials which are more gourmet than their regular menu. The regular menu is quite extensive and offers a selection of hot/cold sandwiches, burgers, hot dogs and salads. The cuisine is generally Pacific Northwest with influences from Mexican, Italian, French, Asian and good old American comfort food. It’s popular for pastas and a variety of sandwiches, but the menu goes beyond that.

It’s very casual, clean, and comfortable, and although I didn’t try as much as I wanted to, I could see its potential and charm. It’s worth checking out if you’re at Manhattan Beach, or looking for a quick bite before or after your flight. I actually would have overlooked it if it wasn’t for the whole Triple D thing because from the outside you wouldn’t guess it would bring this to the table…

On the table:

**Kahlua Pig Egg Rolls – 5.5/6

• 3 for $10
• This is the house favourite and it was featured on Diners, Drive Ins and Dives. I’d say it’s a must try here.
• They’re jumbo egg rolls and you can order them individually as well. 2 would be enough for lunch.
• They’re obviously a bit greasy inside and out, but I’d certainly order them again.
• This is probably one of the only egg rolls I’ve liked that wasn’t from an Asian place.
• It came with a trio of dipping sauces which included Teriyaki sauce, mojo mayo, and Sriracha sauce.
• The Teriyaki sauce was obviously bottled and very sweet. I wasn’t keen on the brand.
• The mojo mayo tasted almost like a Miso mayo, but it was a bit sweet rather than citrusy or garlicky.
• The Sriracha sauce was deliciously spicy as it always is.

• It had a crispy thin egg roll wrapper and was generous stuffed with juicy, savoury, soft and moist roasted pork that was similar to pulled pork.
• There was a thin layer of plain sautéed cabbage and cheese, but I could barely taste the cheese although I could see it.
• It was literally dripping oily savoury pork juices as I was biting into it, yet it wasn’t sickly greasy. It was delicious!
• The pork is savoury, moist and pretty fatty although it has no texture of fat.
• I couldn’t taste any soy sauce, cumin or apparent seasonings, but it carried a natural pork flavour.
• They don’t taste Asian at all and I’d consider them something else entirely.
• The egg rolls were excellent with a combination of all 3 sauces.
• The sauces just gave it more flavour, sweetness and spice and made it taste more interesting.
• It was more than a pulled pork spring roll and I’m actually inspired to recreate them at home… with some caramelized pineapples.

**Aguilucho Sandwich – 4.5/6

• Carnitas, pepper jack, avocado, creole mojo, red salsa $12.75
• Ohhh I have a soft spot for that word. Carnitas. Yum!
• This was a hot sandwich and it was reminiscent of a Cubano, but with California twists.
• It was a giant sandwich and everything about it was delicious, except for the bread.
• The bread didn’t taste bad, but there was just too much of it.
• The bread cut with a crunch,  but it was actually very soft and fluffy throughout and I found it too thick.
• I wish it was brushed with olive oil or buttered, and then pressed and grilled so that it would be thin and crispy like a panini or cubano.
• It was under the “hot sandwiches” and there was a “panini” section with 3 sandwiches, but I still rather have this pressed.

• The sandwich filling was generous, but there was still too much bread, which goes to say how thick it was.
• I think it was Italian bread and it’s just store bought so there’s nothing too special there.
• The carnitas weren’t Mexican in style, but it tasted like the same pork used in the Kahlua Pig Egg Rolls. It was fantastic in both!
• It was a very soft and creamy sandwich with chunks of juicy roasted pork which had a natural pork flavour and no apparent seasonings or sauces.
• It was slathered with a creamy smooth guacamole that I could taste, and together with the soft pork it was a combination of melt in your mouth goodness.
• There was a little bit of spicy melted cheese and not much red salsa I could taste, but the sandwich carried a mild-medium spice and heat. It was probably from the creole-mojo and cheese.
• Overall it was a saucy sandwich and I could eat all those fillings on top of nachos or even a corn tortilla.

Spaghetti Telefono – 2.5/6

• Tomato, basil, fresh mozzarella $17
• They’re known for their Carbonara (featured on Diners, Drive Ins, and Dives) and pastas in general because they hand make their pasta.
• There were only 3 pasta options and all were on the specials board.
• Another diner said the carbonara was kind of “meh” and just super fattening. The waitress did recommended this as her favourite, so I picked it.
• Unfortunately, I didn’t get it. This was the only flop.
• The pasta was piled high, but it was very typical and reminded me of pasta from Americanized big portion pasta houses.
• The spaghetti was overcooked and I really don’t think it was handmade.
• I was hoping to see actual whole leaves of fresh basil throughout, but I barely saw any and couldn’t taste any for sure.
• It was heavily sauced with a part stewed tomato sauce and some pieces of fresh regular tomatoes.
• The sauce was very basic and I wanted more fresh tomato to be used.
• The fresh mozzarella was the saving grace. There were a few large chunks of it and the rest was shredded mozzarella, which melted throughout the pasta dish.
• The cheese was stringy and interwoven between each noodle and everything was well coated in cheese and basic tomato sauce, but it was a bit boring.
• Mozzarella alone is such a mild cheese that doesn’t carry much flavour so it needs help in pasta.
• As it cooled down the cheese just solidified and it stopped sticking to the noodles and it just stopped being appetizing let alone being very good.
• The garlic bread wasn’t really garlic bread, but it was buttered and grilled well with a crispy exterior and soft and fluffy middle. I liked that!

**Short Rib Tacos with Fries – 5.5/6

• Lettuce, red salsa and avocado $17
• Ohhh I have another soft spot for that word. Short Rib. I’ll take one please.
• This is their regular Tuesday special, but they usually have something with short rib on the menu, and I’m pretty confident you can’t go wrong ordering it.
• The fries were the only disappointing thing on here. They were all soft and soggy and a bit oily, but at least well seasoned.
• It had the traditional double soft corn tortilla shell, but it wasn’t an authentic Mexican taco, but an in house original. It was more of a Baja (Californian) style taco.
• It was generously filled with super saucy beef that was braised in a bit of a tomato paste, but it wasn’t tangy or that obvious.
• The beef was quite fatty so it was very juicy and moist.
• I would have loved avocado wedges, but it was a creamy rich guacamole (same one used in the Aguilucho Sandwich), which I still really enjoyed.
• Everything was very soft and mushy and the cheese never melted, but it was all heavenly and I couldn’t put it down.
• I think there was a little chipotle mayo in it giving it a bit of heat, and I couldn’t taste the red salsa much, unless that was it.
• I would have loved this with some sweet caramelized onions, but braised beef short rib and guacamole is sure to please any indulgent craving.
• I wouldn’t mind sour cream in this too since it’s not meant to be an authentic Mexican taco anyways. I could have used something tangy.
• Although it came with a lot or short rib, I actually found it pretty pricey for a place like this. $15 would be more reasonable since it was only 2 tacos.

Dessert

Of course I had some! But just not here… wait and see where. Post coming soon!

Teaser shot.

Restaurant: Absinthe Brasserie & Bar
Cuisine: French/Californian/Mediterranean/Eclectic/Fusion
Last visited: November 10, 2010
Location: San Francisco, California (Hayes Valley)
Address: 398 Hayes St
Price Range: $20-30, 30-50+

1: Poor 2: OK 3: Good 4: Very good 5: Excellent 6: Tres Excellent!!

Food: 4
Service: 5 (I had a knowledgeable server)
Ambiance: 5.5 (although a bit pretentious)
Overall: 4
Additional comments:

• Upscale French bistro & bar
• Casual fine dining
• American-European cuisine (fusion)
• Popular to locals
• Ages 30-50 hot spot
• Very eclectic/creative menu
• Lively/cosmopolitan atmosphere
• Extensive wine/cocktail/beer list
• Seasonal menu
• Oyster bar
• Busy/reservations recommended
• Tues-Wed: 11:30 am – midnight
• Thur-Fri: 11:30 am – midnight (bar open til 2 am)
• Sat: Brunch: 11:00 am – 3pm; 3:00 pm – midnight (bar open til 2 am)
• Sun: Brunch: 11:00 am – 3pm; 3:00 pm – 10:00 pm
• Closed Monday

**Recommendations: French Onion Soup, Beef Tartar, Broccoli Risotto

With the red traffic light it really looks like the Red Light District too… where’s the green fairy?!

I was in San Francisco for the Food Buzz Food Bloggers Food Festival and had decided to stay a few extra days to partake on my own dining adventures. My foodie experiences pretty much peaked when my cousin and I took a day trip out to Yountville and Napa Valley. I have to mention Redd once again, because after that experience, nothing seemed to impress me as much as it could have.

All completely different restaurants and not comparable, but of the fine dining restaurants I covered on this trip I would have to say my overall favourite was Redd, followed by Incanto, Absinthe and then Morimoto Napa, which doesn’t really count considering I didn’t try enough.

The thing that caught my attention with Absinthe was Executive Chef Adam Keough’s creative menu that fuses European and American cuisine. It pays attention to technique but uses new and innovative ingredients. The menu is seasonal and offers a few staple French items. But on the whole it is very contemporary with Californian and West Coast influence.

The food is intricate and eclectic and I have to give credit to the chef for taking chances and experimenting. Although a few of the items sounded better on the menu and some things were just trying too hard, I can at least it was original and unique to the restaurant.

I actually spent half a year living in The Netherlands and exploring Europe, and Absinthe Brasserie & Bar brought me back to those times. Absinthe breathes old European feel with new traditions. It was very reminiscent of the late night European cafes tucked away in alley ways in Amsterdam, or even the late night hot spots and French Bistros in France. I truly loved the experience and atmosphere probably more than the food, although the food was pretty good overall. On this occasion I was with my cousin again and thank goodness we have similar tastes which made the ordering easier.

On the table:

Complimentary Bread

• It was cold, but they do serve it cold in France. It tastes like a sourdough Rye bread. Not really an amazing bread or anything.

Spicy Fried Chick Peas – 4/6

• Berbere spicy, parsley $4
• I enjoyed the Crispy Ceci at Vancouver’s very own Campagnolo more.
• A good snack to start off with.
• These weren’t that crispy but they had a great smoky and spicy flavour with whole toasted cumin seeds and cayenne chili spice.
• It tasted very Indian to me and the fresh parsley was a nice addition to freshen up the flavours a bit.

French Onion Soup Gratinee - 6/6

• $4/7
• I can’t say I order French Onion soup too often, but I do enjoy it.
• Our server was a huge fan of French Onion soup and highly recommended this as the best in the city. She was honest and didn’t say everything on the menu was good either, so I trusted her. I’m glad I did too!
• For French Onion soup it was probably the most perfect I’ve had, but not my most memorable dish from this dinner.
• There was so much flavour in this French Onion soup and it was nice and sweet with lots of stringy caramelized onions and ooey gooey stringy Gruyere cheese on top.
• I could taste caramelized sliced garlic and it was made with incredible veal stock and had the perfect balance of savoury and sweet.
• There was also a crispy crouton that had absorbed all the oils of the soup and cheese which was delicious!

Cauliflower-Roasted Almond Soup (Seasonal special) - 2.5/6

• Celery, micro mint, brioche croutons $6/10
• This was one of my reasons for coming to Absinthe, all the ingredients are right up my alley and I was super excited to try it, but it sounded more creative than it tasted.
• It was quite normal and tasted like a standard semi creamy cauliflower soup. It was a bit tart from what I believe was creme fraiche to make it a bit richer.
• It was almost foamy and there was a very small hint of almond, but no mint flavours, besides it being used in the decor.
• There were little cauliflower florets and I was expecting them to be more caramelized and sweet rather than tangy.
• The almonds weren’t used as much as the cauliflower and I missed their aroma.
• It wasn’t really sweet, savoury or nutty and it fell flat from being a bit under seasoned and one dimensional in flavour.

**Beef Tartare – 5.5/6

• Violet mustard, green apple, red onion, cornichons, quail egg yolk, crostini $14
• This was a memorable dish for sure. It lived up to the description! It was a beautiful build up of flavours and I could taste every ingredient listed.
• This was a very unique interpretation of beef tartare and so not overdone like the typical beef tartar with truffle aioli, capers and balsamic vinaigrette… still good but it gets tiresome.
• The beef tartare had a nice spice, but it wasn’t spicy, although it did have heat. The beef was very fresh and buttery and the egg yolk gave it a creamy richness.
• It was nutty and smoky from paprika and cumin seeds and I could taste a hint of mustard when I looked for it.
• There was some nutty deep fried garlic chips and salty bites of capers and tangy minced pickles that kept the flavours interesting.
• The apples gave it a tart and refreshing crunch although I could have used more of them to contrast the capers and pickles.
• It was very aromatic and floral tasting and I could actually taste the violet even under all those sharp flavours. It made it almost delicate and I’ve never experienced violet used in this way and it was beautiful. It enhanced the fruitiness and sweetness of the apples in a very natural way and I loved it!
• There was a ton of tartar and I could have used more crunchy crostini, but overall it was well worth it. It’s an absolutely lovely and innovative dish!
• Bao Bei Chinese Brasserie in Vancouver actually does a Euro-Asian version with the quail egg as well – see here.

Main Scallops – 3.5/6

• Butternut squash, brussels sprouts, caper-brown-butter hollandaise $15
• This was my third scallop dish of the trip. I had the Seared Scallops with Bonny Doon Vineyard Verjus Beurre Blanc on Day 2 of the Food Blogger Food Festival and the Caramelized Diver Scallops at Redd Restaurant, which were the best I’ve had in my life to date! I was almost on a scallop hunt so I continued with the theme here.
• The scallops were nicely caramelized, tender and juicy with a crispy seared crust on both sides.
• The capers were deep fried, which took the salty edge off so it wouldn’t overpower the scallops.
• The rich, buttery, ultra thick and creamy hollandaise was more like a tangy aioli that could have been more salted, but it was well balanced with the milder capers.
• My issue was that the dish didn’t go together. The scallops were an item and the then the sauteed vegetables were another. I don’t want the “side” to overwhelm the scallops but at the same time I want it to compliment them.
• The butternut squash was mixed with apples which intensified it’s sweetness, but it was very basic and simply sauteed in butter with brussel sprout leaves and a few broken capers.
• Unfortunately, I didn’t see the value in this dish.

**Broccoli Risotto - 5/6

• Guanciale, matstake mushrooms, bottarga $15
• Guanciale is unsmoked Italian bacon made from pork jowl (cheek) rather than pork belly.
• Bottarga is a preserved and salted fish roe.
• This was fantastic, and the texture was perfectly creamy with al dente risotto.
• As creamy as it was, it actually wasn’t too rich because there was some lime juice and zest to break it up. It was an unexpected contrast that worked incredibly well.
• The salty bits of guanciale weren’t crispy and they were almost like lean crumbs of bacon shavings, but held the flavour of pork.
• The dish reminded me of a zesty broccoli, cheese and bacon cream soup without the smokiness.
• It was very fragrant and had flavours of home made gourmet mac and cheese as odd as that sounds. It was almost like a grainy puree of broccoli and cheddar cheese made into a sauce.
• The only thing is that I don’t think I’ve tried Bottarga and I wanted to try it, but there was barely any and it was just used for decor.
• Also the Japanese Matstake Mushrooms weren’t used enough to make much of a difference, but mushroom flavours in this dish would have brought it up a notch for sure. Overall, still an excellent dish.

Dessert

I must say that every single item on the dessert menu made me salivate. Everything was so creative and intricate with a few desserts using very unexpected savoury ingredients. The dessert menu matched the philosophy of the savoury dishes very well.

These kind of desserts are incredibly appealing to my tastes and I was super impressed by the pastry chef at that time. However the new Executive Pastry Chef is Bill Corbett. He’s actually a Canadian native from Toronto (**see comment) and regarded as one of the best pastry chef’s in the nation. Unfortunately I did not get to try his desserts. On another note, on this trip, I really did get to try the desserts of the actual best pastry chef in the nation at Redd Restaurant – see her desserts here.

I knew which desserts I wanted to order from the start. I probably ordered the most out of the ordinary desserts, but unfortunately they didn’t work that well. I love savory and sweet and unusual combinations, but the balance wasn’t well mastered here. It wasn’t really sweet and not really savory and the flavours were too mild and they came off as “wimpy” desserts, for lack of better word. Our wonderful server warned us that the traditional desserts were better, but I didn’t listen again… :S

Pecan Puff Pastry – 2.5/6

• Shaved & brulee Asian pear, candy cap mushroom ice cream, mint $9
• See to me, that description sounds so exotic and exciting. I mean “candy cap mushroom ice cream”… when will I ever come across that again?
• It was incredibly small, but considering the labour intensive execution, I have to see value in the $9.
• There was way too much puff pastry and not enough pecans. The pastry wasn’t layered and flaky but doughy and compressed so it was chewy.
• There was very little creamy pecan filling but it was mushy and paste like and more buttery than sweet with no pecan pieces in it. I did like the candied crunch of the sweet sugar crusted whole pecans on top though.
• The ice cream was pretty good and it carried a piney and woody mushroom flavour with a slight hint of caramel. It was quite aromatic but I think it should have been sweeter and they could have caramelized the mushrooms even more.
• The brulee Asian pear was almost completely unnoticed since it was only a thin slice made more for presentation.
• Overall it was all a little bland and although the mint did enhance the earthy flavours of the mushroom ice cream it didn’t do much for anything else. The pecan puff pastry and ice cream didn’t really do anything for each other either.
• I felt like the flavour was sacrificed for the intricate details, although I do appreciate the creativity behind the recipe.

Ode to the St. Honore Tart – 2.5/6

• Chocolate-pistachio crisp, pistachio mousse, chocolate profiteroles, pine ice cream $9
• Again it was incredibly small, but the value is in the labour.
• I love the combination of chocolate and pistachio, and I was hoping to get this delicious Mascarpone & Chocolate Brownie with Pistachio I had at Coast in Vancouver, but it was wishful thinking.
• The pistachio mousse wasn’t sweet and almost tasted floury and doughy with hints of rose and pine. It had a mucky off taste and it was like putting floral accents in mud.
• The chocolate pistachio crisp was a salty hazelnut and toffee chocolate wafer crisp which was quite enjoyable alone, but ruined with the pistachio mousse, which defeats the purpose of the whole dessert.
• The chocolate profiteroles were the most enjoyable, but gone in a matter of seconds because it was so small.
• The pine ice cream worked well in the context of a profiterole because with the chocolate it was actually sweet, and thus it became more like a dessert. It gave an earthy flavour to the chocolate yet it was refreshing because it was ice cream. The profiteroles proved what I mean when I say “ingredients working together successfully”.

Restaurant: BJ’s Restaurant & Brewery
Cuisine: Pizza/American/Pub Food/Desserts
Last visited: November 9, 2010
Location: San Francisco, CA (Bay Area/Newark)
Address: 5699 Mowry Ave
Price Range: $10-20USD

1: Poor 2: OK 3: Good 4: Very good 5: Excellent 6: Tres Excellent!!

Food: 2.5-3 based on what I tried
Service: 2.5
Ambiance: 3
Overall: 3
Additional comments:

• American chain
• Famous for Chicago style pizzas
• Popular for Pizookie dessert
• Great for groups
• American food/Extensive menu
• Casual dining
• Big portions
• Affordable
• Great for beer
• Sports bar/energetic
• Gluten free options
• Kid friendly menu
• Dine in/Take-out

**Recommendations: Chicago style pizza, Pizookie

I was still in San Francisco for the Foodbuzz Food Blogger Festival and I decided to stay a few extra days to partake on my own culinary adventures. BJ’s Restaurant & Brewery was not on my list and I wasn’t even aware of its existence. My cousin, a San Francisco local who loves to eat, but is not a foodie (her words, not mine) decided to take me to BJ’s Restaurant & Brewery. I love her dearly, but little did I know that BJ’s Restaurant & Brewery was a typical American chain restaurant. Now, there’s nothing wrong with a chain restaurant, but from a food blogger’s perspective I usually like to go for the more original and local eateries that I can’t find anywhere else.

BJ’s Restaurant & Brewery doesn’t only have a dirty name, but it has chain written all over it. The menu almost looked like a mock up of the Cheesecake Factory, mind you I do really like the Cheesecake Factory as an American chain. BJ’s is famous for Chicago style pizzas, which we pretty much have none of in Vancouver, BC; so that was actually the main reason for going. I was still excited to see what it had to offer and at least it was my first time dining here so there was still some curiosity. I looked this place up afterward and people seem to love it, but besides the pizza I thought it was quite mediocre but well priced for the generous portions. Overall I prefer the Cheesecake Factory if I’m comparing to similar options.

On the table:
Crispy Fried Artichokes – 2.5/6

• Lightly breaded artichoke hearts fried crisp and sprinkled with Parmesan cheese. Served with lemon garlic aioli $2.95
• This was cheap and it was under “BJ’s Snacks and Small Bites” which are individual appetizers or side. I really like this idea, but it makes you want to order everything because it’s so cheap. Smart BJ. Smart.
• They were lightly battered crispy quarters of breaded artichokes which were quite tangy and soft on the inside. I couldn’t get the Parmesan taste and they were served with a lemon garlic aioli which tasted like a thin Ranch dip. Not bad, not really good, but easily enjoyed as an appetizer.

Avocado Egg Rolls – 2.5/6

• Crispy golden wontons wrap a tantalizing blend of avocados, cream cheese, sun-dried tomatoes, red onions, cilantro, pine nuts, chipotle peppers and spices. Served with a
  sweet tamarind sauce $9.75
• This was a very Californian appetizer. I’ve have one version of these in Vancouver, BC and I enjoyed them better at home. Well to be specific they were at U-Lounge in Surrey, BC.
• It’s for major avocado lovers, which I do love, but this wasn’t executed so well.
• It was crispy and very well filled, but just overindulgent for such a rich ingredient. It was just too heavy and one was enough.
• It was very buttery and nutty chunky avocado mash. There’s a slight cheesy taste, tang from sun-dried tomatoes, and hint of spice from the peppers.
• It has a very strange after taste that’s almost eggy and I wasn’t a fan of it. It’s not like guacamole, but just pure creamy avocado with too many subtle flavours from strong ingredients that weren’t fully developed. The flavours just didn’t merry as well.
• I wanted some crunchy texture and perhaps some crunchy corn or bell peppers because I think it would be better as a Tex-Mex dish rather than an Asian-Mexican-Mediterranean one.
• Originally they accidentally served it with a marinara sauce, which was awful.

They ended up fixing the error and brought us the sweet tamarind sauce which tasted like sweet and tangy honey plum sauce with a little ginger and chili kick. It really contrasted the flavour of the avocado filling and not really in a very good way either.

Ahi Poke – 2.5/6

• Chopped sashimi-grade ahi and green and yellow onions are marinated in our signature poke sauce. Topped with diced avocados and served with crispy wonton chips $8.75
• This was actually quite a literal translation, but I did like the well seasoned wonton chips.
• When it comes to anything Japanese fusion I think Vancouver is tough to beat… so this was pretty subpar and typical for me.
• The signature poke sauce was the only thing to be curious about, but it tasted just like a citrus soy ginger dressing.

**Mediterranean Deep Dish Pizza – 3.5/6

• Fresh and delicious! Lightly sauced bakery crust pizza with BJ’s signature blend of five cheeses and unique combination of toppings and flavors to inspire all of your senses.
• Mediterranean: Grilled chicken, basil pesto, roasted garlic, Kalamata olives, sun-dried tomatoes, feta cheese and sliced peperoncinis.
• Individual $10.25 Small $14.50 Medium $20.25 Large $23.95
• It was huge. As expected. Being from the West Coast, I haven’t tried many versions of this East Coast specialty, so I have nothing to really compare to.
• It did have an ample amount of toppings and they were quite fresh. Except for the chicken which had a slightly rubbery texture, but hey, I’ m not expecting anything gourmet here.

• It was a really heavy pizza with a thick, soft and fluffy bread like crust. It’s quite doughy and the bottom isn’t crispy but it did have a little crispy baked Cheddar cheese edge which I wanted more of.
• I think I was expecting a really tall tender pie like crust for the edges, which is how a Chicago deep dish pizza is traditionally supposed to be.
• I did want more of a buttery crust anyways, and usually deep dish pizzas are about 3 inches tall. This one was probably an inch high.
• It did have a decent amount of cheese but it wasn’t loaded with it, which is a characteristic of typical Chicago deep dish pizzas. I should have been seeing the strings of ooey gooey cheese in the photo above.
• I did enjoy the sharp salty Feta cheese, sweet and tangy peperoncinis and juicy plump tomatoes. I did want way more Basil pesto though, which was totally lost in the pizza.
• I should have gone with BBQ chicken or something more generic because for some reason I think it would have been better with traditional pizza toppings.
• Overall it was still good with generous toppings and I can see why people like it. I’m sure it can get better, but I won’t let this represent all Chicago style pizzas.

**Pizookie Trio – 4.5/6

• Perfect for sharing! Three mini Pizookies® each served with one scoop of your choice of ice cream. Pick three from your choice of Chocolate Chunk, White Chocolate Macadamia Nut, Peanut Butter, Oatmeal Raisin Walnut, Cookies ’N Cream or Triple Chocolate made with Ghirardelli® $8.95 (Available individually)
• Left to right: Peanut Butter, Chocolate Chunk, White Chocolate Macadamia Nut
• Another must try at BJ’s Brewery. It’s their most popular item along with the deep dish pizzas.
• If you’ve never had a pizookie, you’re missing out. This was great, but not the best I’ve had it. Authentically it should come out in a cast iron pan (So apparently BJ’s is the “inventor” of the pizookie, so this is the authentic way of serving it). However I think  The Hub in Vancouver, BC perfected it by serving it in a cast iron pan – see here. That is AMAZING.
• It’s basically a half baked cookie topped with ice cream. It was a bit over baked and I did like the crispy top, but since the pans are shallow it could have come out earlier.
• I wasn’t a fan of the quality ice cream. It was that ultra creamy ice cream that never tastes cold enough, like Breyers Ice Cream. There wasn’t enough cookie to finish it off either. Although I can’t complain about too much ice cream… just not enough cookie.

• Peanut Butter – 5/6 – This was super nutty and baked in house. There was real toasted peanuts throughout.
  
• Chocolate Chunk – 3/6 – This was a bit too sweet for me and pretty standard.
  
• White chocolate Macadamia Nut – 4/6 – I’m a sucker for white chocolate Macadamia nut cookies, but the peanut butter one was the undeniable favourite.

Restaurant: Morimoto
Cuisine: Japanese/Fusion/Eclectic
Last visited: November 8, 2010
Location: Napa Valley, California (Bay Area/Wine Country)
Address: 610 Main Street Napa, California
Price Range: $50+

1: Poor 2: OK 3: Good 4: Very good 5: Excellent 6: Tres Excellent!!

Food: 3.5 (based on few items I tried)
Service: 3.5
Ambiance: 5.5
Overall: 3.5
Additional comments:

• Chef Masaharu Morimoto
• Japanese fine dining
• Sushi/Sashimi bar
• Seasonal menus
• Contemporary fusion dishes
• Posh upscale atmopshere
• Good for drinks
• Lounge/Bar/Restaurant
• A few locations abroad

**Recommendations: Fig Tempura

I honestly don’t know how I fit Morimoto Napa in. This was one of the most indulgent foodie days I’ve had. It was epic. This was still in that day trip my cousin and I took out to Napa Valley. The day had started off with 6 pastries for lunch at Bouchon Bakery, followed by a shared 7 course late lunch at Redd. Considering Redd was one of my best meals of this year, we were extremely full from what was supposed to be a “light lunch”. After rolling out of Redd we realized that we hadn’t actually visited Napa Valley and had spent the whole day in Yountville thus far. So, what did we do? We decided to head to Napa Valley for only drinks… but then my cousin remembered a place with cupcakes.

So, as we were heading back to the car from Sift Cupcakery, with a box of a dozen cupcakes and cupcakes in hand, I noticed a restaurant across the street. Morimoto. The name called out to me. I admit, I’m a total sucker for big name world renowned celebrity chefs. Don’t get me wrong, I still admire cooks and chefs with various levels of expertise, but hey can you really blame me for wanting to try the work of an Iron Chef? Unfortunately I had missed Mr. Morimoto himself as he had taken off to New York that morning.

I easily convinced my cousin that we should make this our place for drinks, which was the original plan. However things changed and we easily convinced each other that we couldn’t come into Morimoto just for drinks. It would be such a waste considering she’s from San Francisco, and I’m from Vancouver, BC. So we opened the menu saying we would only order one thing because we were still so full… however it easily turned into 3 things… and one drink.

The menu is eclectic and speaks of Japanese fusion fine dining. It’s also pretty pricey as expected, and to be honest, from what I had, I found it overrated. It was a Slanted Door experience. The food I had was good, but you do pay for the name and ambiance and it wasn’t really that worth it. Again, being a food blogger I feel a bit out of line saying that about Morimoto, but the standard Vancouver has set for fusion Japanese food is really high. I’m lucky to be really spoiled by this type of cuisine and I found that Miku Restaurant could trump Morimoto. I should be fair though, I can’t say it was completely overrated considering I only made a very small dent in the menu. You definitely pay for the experience, which was quite memorable to say the least.

On the table:

Green-tini

• Charbay green tea, sake, lychee syrup, lemon $11
• It was sweet from the lychee, but a bit more sour and quite citrusy. There was a good amount of lime and lemon peel and it was quite refreshing.

Toro Tartare – 3.5/6

• Wasabi, nori paste, sour cream $25
• This is their claim to fame and most popular and famous dish. The servers kept raving about how good it was, so yes, I had to order it. Don’t be surprised, I had to see what the hype was all about.
• Boo. Okay well not boo all the way. It was quite delicious and I did love the concept and presentation, but it was the most overpriced dish ever. At $17 I can maybe even justify it, but at $25 I didn’t think it was worth it.
• The tuna was fresh, creamy, pureed and flattened into a very shallow box. It was pretty much 1cm deep. My chopsticks hit the back of that board so fast.

• Left to right: Nori paste, fresh wasabi, sour cream, chives, guacamole, rice crackers
• Now that you know all the dipping sauces, it really doesn’t make sense to charge $25 for it. My chopsticks hit the back board of this really fast too.
• The nori paste is the most “valuable” condiment, but it’s pretty much melted nori and sugar, but it’s delicious! This is something they should do it Vancouver. It’s sweet and salty and aromatic and creamy and almost tasted like fermented paste.
• The fresh wasabi was fresh alright, the sour cream was plain sour cream, the chives were as is, the guacamole was creamy, sweet and tasted like it has some green pepper puree in it, and the rice crackers were cute, but just rice crackers.
• It’s also served with a sweetened dipping soy sauce on the side made of soy sauce, mirin, bonito and sugar.

• The concept is to take some tuna tartare or toro (tuna belly) and dip it in the following sauces of your choice.
• The idea was fun and creative and all the combinations were really tasty with nice textures, and at times Mexican tasting with the sour cream and avocado.
• It’s a “take the idea and run with it” dish, but not something I would care to order again. It’s just too easily replicated and it wouldn’t even take long to prepare.

**Fig Tempura – 6/6

• Foie gras peanut butter sauce, pomegranate reduction $16
• This on the other hand, I would definitely order again and it was totally worth $16 because it was so delicious… and rare to find! It was unique and memorable.
• My cousin and I LOVE figs, so this was a must try for us. I will still say it’s a must try in general though. Amazing.
• I know it’s small, but I can justify it because the flavours were complex and the execution was top notch.

• It was giant, ripe, sweet, and juicy figs lightly battered in a crispy and thin tempura batter with a creamy peanut butter ginger sauce and crunchy peanuts with a spicy chili powder sprinkle. There was also a slight tang from the pomegranate glaze, and my only complaint was that there wasn’t enough glaze to finish the dish.
• It was sweet, savoury, nutty, tangy, slightly spicy, juicy, crispy, creamy, crunchy and pretty much every aspect of deliciousness you could experience in one bite. I think I could have eaten 20.
• It was almost like Thai meets Japanese, and the flavours where so intense yet well balanced and I could taste every layer of ingredient. Heaven! HEAVEN! HEAVEN!

Dessert

You knew it was coming. I easily convinced my cousin that we shouldn’t miss out on dessert since everything on their dessert menu was so unique. I also told her it was “wrong” to end on a savoury note. She loves to eat like me anyways, but she isn’t a self-proclaimed “foodie” so it was easy convincing on my side.

Trust me, “bubble tea” was an initial veto for both of us. I wanted the ice cream sandwiches, but my cousin said “how good can an ice cream sandwich get?”, which is a good point, so I passed. However why on earth would we get bubble tea here?! BUT due to strong convincing from 3 servers, we decided to trust them.

Mango & Coconut “Bubble Tea” Float - 3.5/6

• Lemongrass seltzer, tapioca $12
• Yes, it was quite small, but it was still quite good and it wasn’t your average bubble tea although nothing that exceptional.

• The bubble tea had scoops of mango sorbet that was almost made of pure fresh mango puree. It was very refreshing and icy and also carbonated from the lemon grass soda water.
• It’s a very tropical and aromatic dessert and it was like a lighter version of an ice cream float since it was made with sorbet rather than ice cream.

• It was bubbly and still slightly creamy from the coconut milk and seltzer combination. We actually asked fore more, which they provided at no charge, which was great.
• I love the combination of sweet coconut and sweet fresh mango. The lemongrass seltzer combined with the coconut milk created an aromatic foam that gave it an unique accent that I could appreciate. Given the idea, this could easily be recreated though.
• The pearls were too soft and bland, and that was the disappointing part.

• I loved these! These were the American style macaroons made with coconut.
• It was a chewy and moist coconut macarons with a nutty and crispy baked crust and super soft center that was almost a bit wet.
• They were sweet and almost sticky and made of pure toasted coconut.
• At this point we were so full, and yes the dessert was good, but no I probably wouldn’t order it again.

Restaurant: Sift Cupcake & Dessert Bar
Cuisine: Desserts/Cupcakes
Last visited: November 8, 2010
Location: Few locations -Napa Valley, California (Wine Country/Bay Area)
Address: Unit 100 – 1000 Main Street, CA (In a clothing boutique store)
Price Range: $10 or less

1: Poor 2: OK 3: Good 4: Very good 5: Excellent 6: Tres Excellent!!

Food: 5
Service: n/a
Ambiance: 5.5
Overall: 4.5
Additional comments:

• Freshly baked cupcakes
• Home made
• Creative flavours
• Seasonal flavours
• Gluten free options
• Named “Best Cupcake”
• Voted “#1 Cupcake”
• Friendly service
• Few locations
• Shop & eat
• Open late

**Recommendations: Red Velvet Cupcake

I was in San Francisco, California for the Foodbuzz Food Bloggers Festival and my cousin and I decided to spend a day exploring Napa Valley. We started the early afternoon at Bouchon Bakery, followed by the most delicious late lunch at Redd, both in Yountville. We decided to leave Yountville and hit Napa Valley in search of… well more food. Actually, it was supposed to be just drinks, because we were incredibly full, although Sift Cupcake & Dessert Bar was in the back of our minds. (Funny thing, we actually ended up for more food at Morimoto after these cupcakes )

Anyways, my cousin had mentioned a clothing boutique store selling amazing cupcakes, but she didn’t know where it was. However, leave it to me, the foodie and dessert queen to find it. It took me seconds to turn on my cupcake radar and I spotted it instantly (no joke). My cousin gets credit for the awesome photos though!

Fashion + Food. That’s pretty much my perfect combination, so I was all over Sift. Yes, it was really cute, pink, and girly just like every other cupcake place out there, except half the store sells clothes and pretty stationary. Having hosted Vancouver’s 1st Cupcake Challenge, my standards are pretty high for cupcakes. For some reason trying the “best cupcake” in every city I travel too, seems to be something I’m doing quite often.

I tried Sugar Mama’s Bake Shop in Texas, Babycakes in San Diego, and Mission Minis in San Francisco and I won’t even begin with how many in Vancouver, BC. However, the ones from Sift were very impressive, as they should be for being named “#1 Cupcake” and”Best Cupcake” by various media and locals. They were incredibly moist, and very sweet, but honestly one of the most moist I’ve ever had.

Sift Cupcake & Dessert Bar had actually just closed when we arrived, but luckily enough the girl closing saw the cupcakes in my eyes. Without hesitation she opened the door and gladly offered to bring out 6 cupcakes on the house. :O What?! Yup! She actually ended up giving us a box of 12 cupcakes free. So sweet! And sweet they were!

On the table:

**Red Velvet Cupcake – 5/6

• This was my favourite and I think one of their most famous and popular flavours.
• It was delicious and decadent! The texture blew me away more than the flavour did though. I couldn’t taste any of the cocoa powder.
• The red velvet cake was super moist and it had this fluffy creamy cream cheese frosting that wasn’t overly sweet as icing. It was slightly tart and not too cheesy.
• It’s a cupcake that requires water to cut the sweetness, but definitely not to help you swallow. (Wow, that sounds bad… )
• I would say it’s one of the best red velvets I’ve tried, but I can’t 6/6 it because the absence of cocoa flavour bothers me.

Vanilla Cupcake – 4/6

• Again, the texture was awesome and incredibly moist, but I couldn’t taste the vanilla. I don’t expect a gourmet cupcake with vanilla bean seeds in it, although that would be nice, but I still want an obvious vanilla taste. It was more like white cake than vanilla.
• It was quite sweet with a creamy fluffy icing on top that was quite sugary. It didn’t seem like a butter cream to me, but more like a traditional sweet frosting.
  

Gingerbread Cupcake – 4.5/6

• This was for the Christmas holidays, so he’s a seasonal flavour.
• It was very well spiced and flavoured and this one actually tasted like a gingerbread cupcake, with a bit of carrot cake qualities especially with the cream cheese frosting.
• It was very gingery with spices of cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg, but it was a bit too sweet for me.
• The texture was moist and fabulous just like the others.

Restaurant: Joe’s Ice Cream
Cuisine: Ice Cream/Desserts/Froyo
Last visited: November 7, 2010
Location: San Francisco, CA (Richmond)
Address: 5351 Geary Blvd
Price Range: $10 or less

1: Poor 2: OK 3: Good 4: Very good 5: Excellent 6: Tres Excellent!!

Food: 4
Service: 4
Ambiance: 3
Overall: 4
Additional comments:

• Since 1959 (bought 1979)
• Japanese run/operated
• Family owned
• Home made ice cream
• Local favourite

**Recommendations:

Joe’s Ice Cream in San Francisco, California is an old fashioned ice cream parlour serving home made ice creams prepared by the Japanese family that owns and operates it. It offers some sugar free and low fat ice cream flavours as well as some unique Asian flavours such as green tea ice cream made with actual green tea. They are all home made on site in the back, but it’s not 100% organic or all natural ingredients.

They also offer non-fat frozen yogurts, traditional milkshakes, ice cream floats, and chocolate dipped bananas. It’s become a long-time local favourite for people in the neighbourhood and it’s a place that would bring back child hood memories. The ice cream is actually pretty good and reasonably priced, but I didn’t find it anything out of this world.

On the table:

**Green Tea – 4.5/6

• This was my favourite.
• I actually really liked the green tea here although it looks really fake. It doesn’t taste fake in flavour at all though and it’s made with actual green tea infused into the cream. It’s sweet, but still earthy and aromatic.

Butterscotch Marble & Mocha Fudge – 3.5/6

• Considering I’m not a huge fan of butterscotch, the butterscotch marble was actually pretty good. I did prefer the chocolate/sweeter traditional dessert flavours over the fruit flavours.

Mango Sorbet & Banana – 2.5/6

• The fruit flavours were alright and they don’t taste that artificial although they look really artificial.
• The mango didn’t really taste like mango, but it tasted like a light and icy combination of mixed fruits with a subtle taste of mango. The mango also looked more like peach and kind of tastes like it.
• The banana had a very strong banana flavour and it was a bit thicker and creamier. I’m not a fan of fake banana taste, but this wasn’t too sweet either and it was made with some real banana despite the colour.

Vanilla Frozen Yogurt

• Fat free. I made a point to order this considering I had Lucky Penny Restaurant that morning, followed by burgers at Pearl’s Deluxe Burgers, and then I had dinner plans at Incanto later that night.
• It wasn’t that tangy tart frozen yogurt, but more like the McDonald’s soft serve ice cream. It wasn’t as thick in texture, but it was still creamy and enjoyable.

Joe’s It – A Frozen Treat – 3.5/6

• $2.95
• This is a signature item and it’s pretty much an ice cream sandwich or 3 desserts in 1, or an excuse to eat 2 cookies and ice cream.
• It’s made with 2 soft oatmeal cookies sandwiched with vanilla ice cream and dipped in chocolate. It’s something I expect to see from Dairy Queen.
• It was enjoyable, but better after you let it thaw out or the cookies are really hard and brittle and the flavours of everything gets lost.
• It’s not gourmet anything, but it’s pretty much as good as you would imagine.

Restaurant: Redd
Cuisine: American/Californian/West Coast/European/Euro-Asian
Last visited: November 8, 2010
Location: Napa Valley, California (Yountville)
Address: 6480 Washington St. Yountville, CA
Price Range: $50+

1: Poor 2: OK 3: Good 4: Very good 5: Excellent 6: Tres Excellent!!

Food: 6
Service: n/a
Ambiance: 4.5
Overall: n/a
Additional comments:

• Since November 2005
• Chef Richard Reddington
• Pastry Chef Nicole Plue
• Best pastry chef in the nation
• 1 Michelin Star
• Award winning
• One of my favourite restaurants
• Contemporary American cuisine
• Seasonal menu
• Sophisticated/Elegant
• Award winning wine bar
• Lunch/Dinner

**Recommendations: Honestly I don’t think you can go wrong anywhere. I would be recommending dishes better from the best. My highlights are Caramelized Diver Scallops and John Dory. Please don’t pass on dessert, and if you’re only getting one I would recommend the Peanut Butter for sure.

I was in San Francisco for the Foodbuzz Food Blogger Festival and after the festivities my cousin and I decided to take a day trip to California’s famous Wine Country, Napa Valley. We had spent the afternoon indulging in baked goods and pastries at Chef Thomas Keller’s Bouchon Bakery, and next on the itinerary was more food, but savoury food. There’s two things to do in Napa Valley: Drink and eat. And repeat. So I guess that’s 3 things. 

It was a toss up between Bouchon, Bistro Jeanty, and Auberge Du Soleil Restaurant as well as a few others on my list, but we eventually settled on Redd. Redd was on my itinerary, but it wasn’t a priority until I heard locals give it some positive feedback. It’s been there since 2005, and it’s a 1 Michelin Star restaurant, but it often gets overshadowed by popular long standing restaurants like Bouchon.

I’m about to make a bold statement. Actually, I’m about to make several. Based on what I tried, this is one of my favourite restaurants to date. Yeah, I know! I didn’t even try the whole menu and I’ve only been here once, but it was one of my most memorable meals in terms of dining experience and food. I’m from Vancouver, BC and I would honestly consider visiting California just to dine at Redd again.

It was mid afternoon when we sat down at Redd and our intentions were only to have a late lunch/pre-dinner, which turned into a very full and satisfying meal. Every initial bite of every dish made me throw my head back and that’s a definite foodgasm. I’ve never “mmm’d”, “aahh’d” or “oohh’d” over so many dishes as I did at Redd. It’s definitely one of those restaurants where everything from ingredients, seasoning, and plating is bang on, with the flavour of each ingredient being showcased to the best of its potential.

It could have helped that Chef Richard Reddington was actually in the kitchen cooking himself, and that’s something surprisingly hard to come by especially at restaurants like this. I had to ask our server if I could pay compliments to the chef, which I rarely ever do personally, but I had to thank the master behind the scenes for one of my best meals ever.

I was lucky enough to actually meet Chef Reddington and see his kitchen of talented young chefs, so I can’t comment on the service since the mystery of blogging was something I was willing to share. Nonetheless it doesn’t even matter if they knew or not because I could sense the dedication behind the food and it was phenomenal. Oh, and did I mention the Pastry Chef just won the title of “Best Chef in the Nation”? Yup, don’t worry I’ll get back to this. 

If I was going to die after a meal it wouldn’t be bad if it was after this one. BUT I’d have to have tried every dish.

Redd offers creative dishes with influences from European, Mexican, and Asian cuisines. The food is uniquely Californian and uniquely Redd’s. It’s one of those restaurants where everything sounds good on the menu, but is even better when you taste it. And that doesn’t happen often! We were so stuffed after the meal, but there were still more dishes we wanted to try. We literally discussed running down the block five times just to work up an appetite so we could order the remaining dishes. I literally salivate just looking back at these photos, which by the way the close-ups and pretty ones are courtesy of my cousin, who should totally start a photography blog .

On the table:

Complimentary Bread

• The bread was a Ciabatta bread and it was served room temperature. It was was a little hard but nice and crusty with a chewy middle. It had noticeably large holes which is incredibly hard to achieve in a Ciabatta. I’m not sure if it’s made in house though.
  

Amuse Bouche (Roasted Chestnut & Apple Soup) – 6/6

• Roasted chestnut and apple soup – complimentary.
• This is the biggest amuse bouche (one bite appetizer) I’ve ever had. It was a full bowl of soup. It doesn’t always happen, but when chef is in a good mood, he’s in a good mood!
• This was also one of the best soups I’ve ever had and I almost licked the bowl.
• It was more like a bisque than a soup and it seemed like it was made with the pure paste of roasted chestnuts. It was ultra creamy and velvety smooth with the nutty taste of roasted chestnuts balanced with a sweetness of pureed apples. Although smooth, it was also grainy, but a grainy that you want and look for in a chestnut soup.
• It was very rich and thick, but the richness and thickness came from the flavour and texture of the chestnuts rather than the usual potatoes and cream.
• I could taste every layer of ingredient including the the subtlety of the aromatics like onions and celery to help build the intense flavour of the soup.
• It got better with every spoonful and the best one was the bite with the crunchy, yet not too hard, savoury brown butter Ciabatta crouton that had absorbed some of the flavours of the soup.
• Although different, I was reminded of the excellent caramelized onion and apple bisque with goat cheese crouton from Chef Marcel Kauer at Hasting House Country House Hotel Restaurant.

**Caramelized Diver Scallops – 6/6

• Caramelized diver scallops, cauliflower puree, almonds, balsamic reduction $14
• This is the best scallop dish I have ever had and I’ve never appreciated a scallop dish more than this one. It was my second scallop dish of the trip, and since this one I’ve been on a mission to find one that can beat it. I haven’t found one yet. This was definitely my creme de la creme of the whole meal.

• It was 3 large scallops perfectly seasoned and seared on both sides with a caramelized nutty and savoury crust and tender middle. Each bite was super buttery and juicy without being too rich and the cauliflower puree was rich enough, yet light enough to not overwhelm the scallops natural flavour.
• The cauliflower puree was buttery and creamy yet saucy like a mayo. I loved the incorporation of crispy cauliflower florets, juicy sweet golden raisins, salty bites of capers, tangy balsamic reduction and crunchy toasted almonds. It was the perfect medley of creative flavours and textures that hit all my taste buds at once and nothing was overpowering.
• Every bite was a different experience and I loved the combination of juicy bursts of sweet raisins and juicy bursts of salty capers. My only challenge was to not lick the plate.
• Another very memorable scallop dish I had was from C Restaurant in Vancouver, BC – Smoked Baynes Sound Scallop.

**John Dory - 5/6

• John Dory, creamy jasmine rice, clams, chorizo, saffron curry nage $15
• This was highly recommended by the table beside us and it was an unexpected surprise compliments of the chef. Honestly, I can’t believe I almost missed out.
• It was a cross between a bouillabaisse, a paella, and Chinese “pao fan” known as rice soup.
• It was my first time trying John Dory, and it’s a firm white fish with a mild taste, delicate and flaky flesh that simply absorbed all the flavours it was cooked in.

• It’s a very aromatic dish with Spanish flavours and the first bite is savoury and tangy followed by the sweetness of coconut milk in the rice. The rice was creamy yet balanced out by the light yet flavourful broth and hint of curry. The delicate bubbles of saffron foam added a perfume like flavour on the palette with a slight bitterness you actually appreciate in this dish.
• The chorizo was the perfect accompaniment giving it a meaty and slightly spicy bite. It was used sparingly so it never overpowered the John Dory.
• There was subtle layers of sweetness from the basic aromatics like carrots, celery, and onions which matched the sweetness from the coconut, fish and saffron.
• It was a gorgeous light seafood dish, although I found the rice a tad mushy and the clams a bit small although fresh.
• Personally I would have liked a Sablefish, but every ingredient had a supporting roll and reason to be there.

Steamed Pork Buns – 4.5/6

• Steamed pork buns, hoisin, vegetable salad $14
• I would never really consider ordering Asian food from non-Asian establishments, but I did it here because it’s the most popular and favourite dish.
• It was a very generous portion and it reminded me of the Mantou with braised beef short ribs from Bao Bei Chinese Brasserie, that was good, but this was 100 times better.

• It was a very puffy, soft, and moist pocket of mantou bread (a Chinese bread) stuffed with a generous amount of saucy braised pork belly filling, served on a bed of crunchy and refreshing Asian cole slaw salad.
• The saltiness from the savoury and sweet Hoisin sauce was a bit sharp, although eaten with the salad it was toned down and better. I could see the balance of having the salad there and since it was tangy and lightly dressed it helped cut the richness of the fatty pork belly. The salad was made with Napa cabbage so I loved the gentle sweetness it added.
• It was almost like a Chinese burger and every bite was saucy and juicy and the bread was sturdy enough to hold up to the pork, but light enough to not overpower it.
• The pork belly was a good balance of meat and tender melt in your mouth fat, but I lost a bit of the pork flavour because the sauce was so bold.
• The sauce was not just hoisin sauce though as I could also taste a little chili sauce, but it wasn’t spicy and it just added a little heat and nuttiness to the meat.

**Crisp Duck Confit – 5/6

• Crisp duck confit, lentils, foie gras meatballs, crispy spaetzle $14
• If duck confit is on the menu, it’s almost always on my table.
• It was a very meaty dish with rich ingredients, but it was executed in a rather light manner, considering the au jus sauce was very buttery and savoury with flavourful meat drippings.

• I’ve never had the duck confit served in a steak like form, so it was definitely different from the usual.
• The duck confit had a crispy skin and the texture was almost like pulled pork. It was a very good duck confit, but not as memorable as the one from Le Gavroche or Cru Restaurant. The dish was actually quite reminiscent of the duck confit from Cru Restaurant.
• Again I could taste his basic aromatics of celery, onion, and carrots, and layered on top of those sweet flavours was the nuttiness of crispy spaetzle and creamy earthy lentils. Spätzle is a type of European egg noodle that’s soft and puffy and almost like little clumps of pasta. I didn’t really see the match between the lentils and the spätzle, but I could see the match with each starch paired with each meat separately.
• The meatballs were soft and nicely pan fried with a slight crust, but the taste of foie gras was very mild and a bit too light.
• I kind of felt like I was eating two separate dishes. I think it would be better to have the meatballs secondary to the prime meat dish, which was supposed to be the duck confit. I think if the meatballs were smaller and the foie gras wasn’t mixed in, but both ingredients were more incorporated in the spätzle and lentils, that would have made all the difference.

Desserts

Dessert is a must try here. It was on par with the savoury dishes and it’s definitely some of the best desserts I’ve ever had. Pastry Chef Nicole Plue just won the award for 2010′s Best Pastry Chef in the Nation and her desserts are not to be missed. Every dessert was beautifully crafted, with careful attention to detail, and a very unique savoury and sweet balance.

Every bite kept me guessing with what ingredients were used. It was the most amazing desserts and it takes death by desserts to a whole new level. Everything sounded great on the menu, but it was even better than expected and beyond my imagination in taste. Unfortunately Plue had the day off though, so I can only imagine the magic she brings when in the kitchen.

**Peanut Butter – 6/6

• Peanut butter – milk chocolate gianduja, peanut honeycomb parfait $10
• The Peanut Butter is the must try and world famous dessert to order because this is the gem that won Plue Best Pastry Chef in the Nation.
• Every component was enjoyed alone and also enjoyed together or even in alternate bites.
• This reminded me of a dessert I had at Rush in Calgary.
• In the front was almost a deconstructed version of the peanut butter bar. It was a creamy thick chocolate hazelnut mousse on a bed of lightly candied and crunchy roasted peanuts sprinkled with a touch of fleur de sel or sea salt. The saltiness with the sweetness was perfect and it just enhanced the flavours of the nuts and everything else.

• Milk Chocolate Gianduja
  • It was a creamy smooth and mousse like chocolate and hazelnut bar on a thin layer of what seems like a crispy hazelnut Nutter Butter wafer crust. I’m a sucker for this crust and it’s also used in one of my most favourite cakes, the Blueberry Pistachio Cake from Bakery Nouveau in Seattle, WA. I don’t know how they make it, or what it is, but I absolutely love it.
  • The contrast of creamy and crispy, nutty and sweet, yet not too sweet was all very well balanced.
  • Although it was excellent, this was actually very similar to Cactus Club’s Chocolate Peanut Butter Crunch Bar, so it wasn’t as out of the world for me. That crunch bar is also one of my favourite desserts, so both are excellent. This one is better due to the quality of ingredients and execution though.
    

• Peanut Honeycomb Parfait
  • This was the component that blew me away. I don’t even know what it was. I just drank it and it was like Love Potion #9.
  • It was almost like a liquid parfait, but too textured to be a drink, and it was definitely tres tres excellent.
  • It was almost like a nutty sweet foamy coffee with little pieces of crispy crunchy honeycomb and then the taste of pure real honey bee honey. It also had a chocolaty like caramel flavour and even a scent of perfume and I almost thought there was Saffron in it. It was creamy and sweet, but still light with the foam and not too sweet with the slight bitterness from the espresso to break it all up. It was so complex and this was out of this world.
  • I couldn’t confirm anything since Chef wasn’t in house, but she rarely gives her secrets away.

**Butterscotch Sundae – 5.5/6

• Butterscotch sundae, vanilla rum ice cream, salted butter galette $10
• This was another unexpected surprise and again thank goodness because I would have missed out since ordering a “sundae” seemed too generic.
• Honestly, I’m not even a big fan of butterscotch, but when it comes like this… oh god… it’s a whole other story! I have never enjoyed butterscotch so much in my life.
• To call it a “sundae” doesn’t do it justice at all. I don’t even know how to describe it or where to start.
• It was like the best form of a semi melted milkshake and it was almost like a cold dessert soup. It was a blend of a frothy caramel milk and peanut butter mousse with a hint of espresso so it was almost like a thick latte too. It was all centered around a creamy vanilla rum ice cream and topped with crispy caramel popcorn. There was some crispy dark chocolate cookie crumbs or chocolate bar crumbs somewhere near the bottom and every spoonful was a new ingredient to be discovered.
• There’s no heaviness or greasiness of melted ice cream, but that’s almost what it seems like. I hate melted ice cream, and it tastes nothing like it, but I don’t know how else to describe it. It had multi levels of sweetness and again it wasn’t too sweet.
• It was paired with a salted butter galette which was a soft, tender and buttery cookie that is a cross between a pie crust and short bread. If you like salted caramel you’ll love this dessert because the bite of butterscotch sundae and then the bite of salted cookie was a combination not to be reckoned with.

Espresso

• After a good long dinner and foodgasm, you must end off with a good espresso

Restaurant: Incanto
Cuisine: Italian/Eclectic
Last visited: November 7, 2010
Location: San Francisco, California (Noe Valley)
Address: 1550 Church Street San Francisco, CA
Price Range: $30-50

1: Poor 2: OK 3: Good 4: Very good 5: Excellent 6: Tres Excellent!!

Food: 5.5 (Points for creativity)
Service: 4
Ambiance: 4.5
Overall: 5
Additional comments:

• Chef Chris Cosentino
• Creative Italian dishes
• Traditional Italian techniques
• Award winning food/wine
• Casual fine dining
• Famous for offal
• Fit for carnivores
• Very rich food
• Exotic meats/ingredients
• Seasonal menu/daily specials
• Good for groups
• “Leg of Beast” Dining
• Busy/Popular
• Wine bar
• Reservations recommended
• Wed-Sat: 5:30pm – 10pm
• Sun-Mon: 5:30pm – 9:30pm

**Recommendations: Paccheria al Nero (Squid Ink Calamari), Best of parts chicken risotto, Pomegranate-glazed poussin and Douglas Fir Pannacotta. I would stick to ordering the appetizers and pasta dishes over the mains. Whole beast dining (whole pig) is famous here, but requires reservations and 8+ diners.

Blood, guts & organs. If none of that sounds appealing to you, I can relate. Incanto was not my pick and I wasn’t really looking forward to it either, but I’m so glad I went. Okay, I’m not really one for offal (internal organs of a butchered animal) but when it comes to trying the specialties of a world renowned chef? I’m game! It was all about framing and this was something very well executed by Chef Chris Cosentino. Although some of the dishes were disguised, some of of the offal was very obvious with a straight up “this is what it looks like” attitude. I have to say that I really do appreciate a chef that doesn’t waste, and if I hadn’t known I would have thought he was Asian.

I’ve tried offal before mainly in Asian cuisine, but I’ve also had it in other cuisines like Portuguese, Italian, Spanish, Latin, lots of French and even some Scottish (haggis). I’ve tried raw cow’s intestine, eating live octopus and live octopus head, and bugs (pics + videos) so why should I stop there? I’ve said it before, but I’m a lot more adventurous when traveling, but traveling in the US didn’t seem far enough. However I am a foodie, and I do try and approach food with a relatively open mind  – except for dog, I’ll stop there. I think it took maybe the first bite of Chef Chris Cosentino’s dish to convince me that offal, is awfully good. If restaurants prepared it the way Cosentino did, in an Iron Chef like manner, I’d be all up for it.

I was in San Francisco, California for the Foodbuzz Food Bloggers Food Festival and the festivities had ended that morning. Nonetheless me, and my wonderful group of Vancouver food bloggers were set with our own restaurant itineraries (incredibly long) of places we were determined to try. I was joined with Kim, Sherman, and T & J as well as a few other foodies to attack the Incanto menu at full force.

Incanto is casual Italian fine dining made for hardcore carnivores and it was the most creative use of ingredients that I’ve seen. Generally the appetizers and pastas were better than the mains/entrees. Perhaps traditional in technique, nothing was traditional in execution, and it was most definitely a very unique and memorable dining experience I would recommend locals and tourists to try.

On the table:

Complimentary Bread

• The bread was great! It was crusty baguette, or I think it was Ciabatta, served with crunchy bread/pretzel sticks.
• Alone they weren’t very seasoned, but they didn’t need to be because it was served with a fantastic, almost pure puree, of olive tapenade. It was salty, full flavoured and easily eaten by the spoonfuls.

Boccalone Salumi Platter – n/a

• Piglet $11/Sow $20/Boar $36
• This one was the piglet. I sampled a few things, but it wasn’t my order.
• I’d say this is quite a signature dish, considering cured meats is one his Incanto’s specialties.
• I ended up trying some of the pig’s ear, which was crunchy and gelatinous and not for me. Overall, I’m not too much of a salumi fan, although I appreciate it once in a while with other items like cheese and crudites.

Rapini & Baccala Salad – n/a

• Rapini, baccalà, olives & boiled Meyer lemon $11
• This wasn’t my order either so I can’t comment.

Marinated Local Sardines Salad – n/a

• Marinated local sardines, sunchokes, sunflowers & capers $12
• Again, not my order, but I was reminded of my delicious Last of the Season Sardine appetizer at Tapenade Bistro.

Cod Milt – n/a

• Cod Milt with Duck Egg $13
• This was the appetizer special of the day.
• It was Sherman’s appetizer that he kindly shared. Leave it to Kim’s photography skills when it comes to making cod sperm look appetizing though. (By the way all the photos are compliments of Kim)

This is what it really looked like. My photo.

• It looked disgusting. It looks like a brain or a bunch of tightly packed fat worms. But it didn’t stop me.
• The sperm sack or cod sperm tastes like soft tofu meets trout. It has a slightly fishy flavour that comes in the aftertaste and it’s not salty like some may think….
• It was nicely seared and served in a spicy black and white pepper gravy and the creamy egg yolk gave it a nice richness. It wasn’t very spicy, but you could taste the heat.

Sweetbreads – 4/6

• Sweetbreads, potato & green walnut salsa $14
• The sweetbreads, pancreas of calves or piglets (not sure which one it was) were nicely pan fried and it tasted like chicken or pork skewer meat. I’d say it was more like pork, so I think it was piglet pancreas. It’s not gamey, but actually prepared with very nutty tastes.
• It had a crispy exterior and aromatic flavours with garlic and a green walnut salsa which came across as an herby olive like pesto. It’s not a saucy dish, but each ingredient has such a distinct flavour which married very well together.

**Pig’s Blood Pappardelle – 4.5/6

• Pig’s Blood Pappardelle Raisins and Sage $13
• This was a pasta special and it was ordered as an appetizer.
• This is the most I’ve ever enjoyed pig’s blood. I’m so used to seeing it chopped up in slices in Chinese soups or served at Filipino buffets, but if it was done like this in the first place I wouldn’t have written it off so early!
• Even as a starter it was best shared because it was an incredibly rich dish.
• The pappardelle pasta was made from pig’s blood and they were slightly undercooked before reaching al dente, so it ended up being a bit leathery. Pork’s blood doesn’t have a meaty taste and it’s actually really mild in flavour. It’s appreciated for it’s silky smooth qualities, so it was a bit lost in the pappardelle.
• It was served in a sweet and very buttery reduction that was thick, sticky and syrupy. It ended up being a little bit too much like fruit leather in syrup especially when eaten with the raisins. I also wish the sage had been crispy for more contrast in texture. It did taste very good though and I would order it again.

**Paccheri al Nero & Calamari – 4.5/6

• Paccheri al nero, local calamari, garlic & fennel $16/$10 (as appetizer)
• This was my appetizer, and an easy choice for me. It was also a house favourite.
• My first experience with squid ink used as a primary ingredient was in Venice Italy, where it’s their specialty. Since then I haven’t found anything close to it because most places hold back on the squid ink. I felt the same way about this dish, and I would prefer it to be also used in the preparation of the sauce itself.
• The pappardelle was made with squid ink, but it doesn’t really taste like squid or seafood. The texture was a bit creamy and it was better than the Pig’s Blood Pappadelle, partly because it was cooked al dente. The squid was fresh, tender, and plentiful with good flavour as well.
• It was served in a light garlic seafood broth that tasted like it was made with mussel shells. The flavours were smoky and the lemon gave it quite the tang, but with the white pepper the combination made everything come alive. There was also a hinder of licorice followed by a slight spice of chili flakes.
• As an appetizer it’s fantastic, but if I ordered it as a main I’d prefer it to be more substantial and a bit richer.

Spaghettini & Sardinian Cured Tuna Heart – n/a

• Spaghettini, Sardinian cured tuna heart, egg yolk & parsley $16/10
• This was very unusual and I’ve never tried cured tuna heart before.
• It was a creamy raw egg yolk which acted as a sauce and binder. It was mixed in with Sardinan cured tuna heart which tasted like dried flaky anchovies, but less salty and sharp.
• The dish is popular here and I expected to be more “wow’d” by it, but I took a couple bites and moved on to something else. Therefore I don’t think I really had enough to really rate it either.

Golden Chanterelle & Nepitella Risotto – 5/6

• Golden chanterelle & nepitella risotto $16/10
• Considering this vegetarian dish was made by a restaurant serving offal, it was great. For what it was, it was made pretty much perfectly.
• It was a very creamy risotto with the sweetness of chanterelles throughout as well as crispier chanterelles on top. It was delicate and well seasoned but I couldn’t taste the use of Nepitella which is a minty wild herb grown in Italy. The flavours could have been more developed with perhaps a few more ingredients, but it was very obviously a Golden Chanterelle Risotto. 
  

**Best Parts of the Chicken Risotto – 5.5/6

• Best Parts of the Chicken Risotto $17/11
• This is one of the most popular items and it’s usually something that will stay on the constantly changing menu.
• I thought it was delicious! It was very creamy again and it tasted like it was made from rich creamy chicken fat, but it wasn’t greasy. There was chicken flavour throughout with pieces of chicken gizzards like liver, hearts and kidneys.
• I think there was a bit of sage in there and a little salty cheesiness form the freshly grated Parmesan.
• The chicken gizzards were quite meaty (some chewy) and strong in flavour, so if you’re not into that… then eat around it, because it shouldn’t be missed, and the risotto is great.

California Yellowtail – 2.5/6

• California Yellowtail, pumpkin & erbette $21
• This was my main, I know, not so adventurous, but it sounded good to me and there was enough exotic meats on the table already.
• The Yellowtail was boring and dry, although it naturally tends to be dry. It has a firm texture and a mild fish flavour that reminds me of a fully cooked tuna. It did have a crispy nutty crust that I loved, but I wanted more sauce to mask the dryness, but not the flavour.
• I liked the creamy sweet and tender pumpkin pieces with the nutty crunch of toasted pumpkin seeds, but the erbette chard gave it a somewhat dull and slightly bitter taste. It wasn’t quite sweet or savoury and it had a little bit of spice and I think it was just under seasoned, just like the fish.

**Pomegranate-Glazed Poussin – 5.5/6

• Pomegranate-glazed poussin, cippolini & Treviso $23
• This was beautiful in presentation and flavour. It was actually my favourite main and the portion was the biggest and enough for 2.
• It was not a boring chicken dish at all. It was a great mix of sweet and savoury, although it was predominantly tangy in taste.
• It’s a tender and juicy bone in chicken with a very well charred skin that was slightly tangy, but more sweet from the intense caramelization. It was served with a very tangy balsamic au jus, juicy tangy bites of cippolini onions and bursts of sweet and tangy fresh pomegranate seeds. The pomegranate actually brightens up all the flavours and added great texture as well as colour.
• Every ingredient was well layered and nothing was overpowering. There was even a slight bitterness from the Treviso (Italian winter vegetable, which tastes like ridicchio) and it actually balanced out the intense tang of everything else so it was well used.
• There was such bold flavours that it really stood out compared to all the other dishes.

Offal – 1/6

• Offal bollito misto, mustard, salsa verde & horseradish $24
• I’m incredibly biased, and this dish was not for me. I suppose it is the signature dish and the thing to order though.
• I wasn’t a fan of the misto execution and it seemed rather boring for ingredients that are so out of the ordinary. Maybe that was the point though – not to over do it.
• I much rather see each organ used as an ingredient incorporated into a dish rather than eating each organ as is, alone.
• It reminded me of a Japanese Oden, which I’m not really a fan of either.
• This was Carnivore Kim’s dish though, so Kim’s thoughts on it will be better.

Pork Belly – 3.5/6

• Pork Belly, Buddha’s hand citron, yuzu marmellata & citron salsa $24
• Again, Kim has nice photos, but I have to show the proportion of pork’s belly to salad with one of my not so nice photos.

• This was a massive piece of very fatty pork’s belly and I would strongly recommend it to be shared by 4 if ordered as a main. It was an overwhelming amount for such a greasy, fatty, and rich ingredient that I found it overkill.
• The pork belly was quite tender, but I’m really sensitive to pork fat – if all of the pork fat doesn’t melt in my mouth and if I have to chew it, I don’t like. Most of it melted in my mouth, but not all of it. The flavour was great though. It had a bold pork flavor with a crispy caramelized nutty sweet crust.
• It’s served with an incredibly bitter citrus salad which is required to make you feel less guilty about eating 95% fat as your main.
• I appreciated the salad with salty bites of capers and citrus tang to cut through the grease, but the bitter taste was overpowering.
• I felt like I was eating solely the white bitter parts of a pomelo (Asian grapefruit) rather than the aromatic zest of citrus fruits. It was actually unpleasant to eat and it felt like a “must eat your vegetables side” rather than a “want to eat your vegetables side”.

Handkerchief Pasta & Rustic Pork Ragu

• $16/10
• It wasn’t my order, but I did try it. It was a sweeter ragu and the pork was a tad dry and crumbly, but it was still good.

Pipe Rigate, Duck Sugo & Castelvetrano Olives

• $16/10
• Again, not my dish, but I tried it. It’s a seashell like pasta with a sweet and savoury and tangy duck sauce that was absolutely delicious. It tasted like a duck confit sauce and the duck pieces were melt in your mouth tender.

Desserts

The desserts at Incanto are made with meat as well. Just kidding! Although bacon in desserts seems to be so popular right now. The desserts were creative with a combination of sweet and savoury ingredients. I do love traditional desserts, but these kind of desserts are even more my style. Quite often, they do sound better on paper though.

Douglas Fir Panna Cotta – 4.5/6

• Douglas Fir Panna Cotta & Bush Berries $8
• I thought they did a great job with this. It was a vanilla bean panna cotta with mild flavours of pine. It was slightly woody and it wasn’t over powering, and still very much a dessert. The Douglas Fir was very well used and it added a freshness to the creamy rich panna cotta. The tang from the berries was a nice contrast and it was a very “naturesque” dessert.

Celery Root Cake – 1/6

• Celery root cake, wet walnuts & vanilla ice cream $8
• This sounded delicious to me and so creative. The pumpkin-amaretti calzones & sage ice cream was my first choice, but they had sold out and I still wanted dessert of course.
• Unfortunately, just cutting into the celery root cake you could tell it was going to be unbelievably dry. It was dense and crumbly and tasted like a day old muffin with a hint of cinnamon and no celery flavour (even to my cousin who hates and is extremely sensitive to the taste of celery).
• The “wet walnuts” sounded dirty, but they were simply walnuts coated in a caramel syrup. I ate the ice cream, a couple nuts and left the rest.

Seckel Pear Bread Pudding – 2.5/6

• Seckel Pear Bread Pudding and Pear Sorbetto $8
• I’m generally not impressed with bread puddings that don’t come out in a casserole dish fresh from the oven. (Even a ramekin would have been nice)
• Unlike the celery root cake, this bread pudding was extremely moist with chunks of pear in the middle and a crispy crust. It was more like a bundt cake then a bread pudding though. I love pear in desserts so I naturally did enjoy this one. The sorbetto was almost like an ice cream, but it had this ooey gooey stringy texture, which I found intriguing.
• It was actually very simple, and there was nothing memorable about it and I could have used more ingredients like almonds, spices or even some vanilla beans.