Spots For Dates » Restaurants

In Search of Barbecue in Dallas, Texas

Lando — Fri, 19 Nov 2010 05:05:45 +0000

Last Saturday I witnessed one of my favorite athletes, Manny Pacquiao, earn his 8th world championship boxing title in Texas. We’ve all heard the saying – “Everything is bigger in Texas” – but for me, it wasn’t confirmed until I stepped into Jerry Jones’ palace of football, also known as Cowboys Stadium. I was only going to be staying in the Dallas Forth Worth area of Texas for only a day, so I could not pass up the opportunity to try one thing – Texas barbecue. Unfortunately, I only had enough time to visit one restaurant. So, where would I go?

I don’t have friends out in Texas to rely on suggestions, so I browsed through Chowhound to see what everyone else had to say about Texas barbecue. I discovered unpleasant news after finding out that the Dallas area wasn’t known for outstanding barbecue, although there were still plenty of restaurants Chowhounders recommended. Despite that news, I made the best of it and set out to still try what Texas Barbecue was all about, even if it might not be the best that Texas had to offer.

After reading a few more topics on Chowhound, I made the decision to try Mike Anderson’s BBQ.

Not knowing much about Texas barbecue, I looked to Texas BBQ blog, Full Custom Gospel BBQ, for guidance. With their rating system, they judge barbecue based off of pork ribs and sliced beef brisket. I made to sure that I would try both at Mike Anderson’s. I was in the mood for pulled pork, so I ordered that as well. Throw in two sides – BBQ Beans & Sausage and a “Cheezy” Corn Bake with Onions & Poblano Chiles, you have a complete meal, all for around $12.00.

Mike Anderson serves his barbecue sauce on the side, which I appreciated because I wanted the flavors of the meat to shine and not be masked by a sauce. I remembered the pork ribs having a good smokey flavor and with the addition of its dry rub, you only needed just a little bit of barbecue sauce to enjoy them. Just like the pork ribs, the brisket was also smokey. The brisket isn’t prepared with a dry rub, but instead gets all of its flavors from being slowly smoked over a hickory fire. Both get checkmarks for being tender and juicy. My favorite ended up being the pulled pork. I poured plenty of barbecue sauce on the pulled pork and let it all sit together. Since the ribs and brisket were prepared so well, it wasn’t surprising to bite into a forkful of pulled pork to see that it too was just succulent.

After this experience, I can already see myself trying to find a place in the Bay Area that does really good barbecue.

Mike Anderson’s BBQ
5410 Harry Hines Boulevard
Dallas, TX 75235-7211
(214) 630-0735
www.mikeandersonsbbq.com

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Dishcrawl at Attic Restaurant, San Mateo

Lando — Mon, 25 Oct 2010 03:16:03 +0000

I first want to give a shout out to Jo and Tracy for setting up this exclusive dinner at Attic, and for giving us the opportunity to be a part of it. To commemorate October’s Filipino Heritage Month, Chef Tim Luym and his crew decided to create a special dinner focusing on Pan-Asian/Filipino food. What better way to celebrate than to invite hungry food bloggers and food lovers to eat together?

If you are unfamiliar with Chef Tim’s work, you can check out our post on our Bay Area Sisig Search where our final stop for sisig was at Chef Tim’s previous restaurant, Poleng Lounge. Ever since that day, we recommended that restaurant to our friends. Sadly, due to poor economic conditions, Poleng Lounge closed its doors in January of this year.

It was a relief to discover that Chef Tim would continue his work at a new restaurant named Attic. When this new restaurant in downtown San Mateo was announced, I was sure others were excited to try it. Sure, Attic takes a few cues from Poleng Lounge, but more importantly it remains a canvas where Chef Tim would be able to display his interpretation on Pan-Asian and Filipino cuisine.

When I arrived at the restaurant, I thought the meal would only consist of a few select dishes. Our dinner that evening was more than that. Chef Tim showcased almost half of his menu, which left many of us pleasantly surprised and excited.

Sinigang ChicharonCrunchy pork rinds seasoned to have the traditional flavors of sinigang, a sour soup.

Bangus Lumpia CigarillosTranslated, means milkfish eggroll cigar. The lumpia was filled with both milkfish and black tiger shrimp.

Sweet Potato FriesWith banana ketchup, a staple Filipino condiment.

Crispy Adobo WingsEven with an adobo “glaze”, the wings still retained its crispy skin.

Chilled Tomato Water SinigangServed with a fried piece of salmon skin, this take on sinigang was a refreshing change.

Mixed Heirloom Tomato SaladThis salad was topped with a smokey Cebuano BBQ pork belly and pieces of salted duck egg.

Walu Kinilaw“A butterfish ceviche,” with coconut milk and Thai chili.

Beef & BoneThis dish was composed of a piece of roasted bone where you could scoop out the marrow, lengua estofado – braised beef tongue mixed with cremini mushrooms, and slices of grilled bread. It was one of my personal favorites of the evening.

Jasmine Garlic Fried RiceNo Filipino dinner is complete without a serving of rice.

Crispy Kare KareA tender piece of oxtail sits on a bed of snake beans, all topped with a cashew butter and baby eggplant. Chef Tim’s take on a this “peanut butter stew” amazed me visually. Kare Kare is served as a stew, so seeing it served “deconstructed”, while keeping the flavors true to the original, definitely gets my approval.

Red Horse Shortrib CalderetaAnother twist on a popular Filipino stew. This time, Red Horse, a Filipino malt liquor, is used in the sauce to spike up the flavors.

Bacon Kale AdoboSoy sauce and vinegar create the main flavors of adobo, which were all captured in the kale. I was unable to take a photo of this was dish – I was probably too busy savoring all of the main dishes that I forgot to snap a picture.

Sizzling Sisig with EggA pork lover’s fantasy come true. Read our article on sisig to see what this dish is all about.

Coconut Ube TapiocaDinner concluded with this purple yam tapioca, topped with a slice of jackfruit.

Just like you attended a Filipino birthday party – there was plenty of food around and you were left full afterwards.

After leaving Attic, I wished to myself for more success to those who are a part of this Filipino food movement, whether if they were restaurants, food trucks, or carts. I, like many other Filipinos, want Filipino cuisine to stand tall with other Asian cuisines. I want people to see our food as flavorful, deep, and complex. I want stereotypes of Filipino food to be broken. Call me selfish, but I strongly believe this should happen. With Filipino restaurants like Attic, as well as the many others in the Bay Area serving as the stepping stone for others who are unfamiliar with Filipino cuisine, I feel that it is possible. It is their craft that will help Filipino cuisine become a part of the culinary spotlight.

Attic
234 South B Street
San Mateo, CA 94401
(650) 342-4506
www.atticrestaurant.com

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A Sampling of Pasta and Pizza at Flour+Water

Lando — Mon, 11 Oct 2010 04:13:38 +0000

I’m a firm believer that everyone has a list of restaurants that they want to visit. Sure, The French Laundry and Le Bernardin, top mines, but there are plenty of recently opened local Bay Area spots like Benu, that I’ve been anxious to try. With so many restaurants in the Bay Area, there’s no question that my list of “want to go to” spots is constantly changing. Fortunately for Rose and I, an opportunity to put a check-mark by the name of a restaurant we’ve been wanting to dine at came when a couple of our foodie friends invited us to go to Flour+Water in San Francisco.

Flour+Water serves up Italian fare with a focus on a constantly changing menu that follows with what’s available in season. In house made pastas are made fresh daily and their wood-burning oven brings their Neapolitan style pizzas to life. While we were here, we all wanted to sample a little bit of everything. We opted to share everything and it was good to know that Flour+Water made eating family style easy.

Melon Salad with Taggiasca Olives, Fresh Goat Cheese, Pickled Red Onions & Chervil

Funghi Pizza – Roasted Chanterelle & Hen of the Woods Mushrooms, Taleggio, Rapini Leaves & Nepitella

Squid Ink Chitarra with Mussels & Clams, Baby Fennel & Calabrian Chilies

Nepitella Tagliatelle with Lobster Mushrooms & Wild Arugula

Porcini Dusted Halibut with Celery Root Purée, Cipollinis, Chanterelles & Baby Escarole

The dishes look simply prepared at Flour+Water, but don’t let that deceive you. Every dish brought out rich bold flavors, while using basic ingredients. From the burst of sweetness from the cubes watermelon to the finishing spicy taste of chili pepper from the squid ink pasta, each dishes’ components flowed well and altogether made for a wonderful meal.

With plenty of Italian restaurants in the city, Flour+Water has already became a standout. It has already gained the acclaim of becoming a 2010 James Beard Award Finalist for Best New Restaurant. Who knows… Flour+Water might just make it on your personal list of restaurants to try.

Flour+Water
2401 Harrison St.
San Francisco, CA 94110
(415) 826-7000
www.flourandwater.com

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Dining in Vegas at L’Atelier de Joel Robuchon

Lando — Thu, 08 Jul 2010 00:44:47 +0000

Las Vegas… Home to world class casino resorts and fine dining restaurants. No wonder this city is crowned the city of entertainment. There’s something for everybody here. Sure, you could spend your time throwing down money on gambling or spend your cash shopping in Vegas, but I wanted to make sure I was going to eat good while I was here.

Although I wanted to support my local California Chefs like Michael Mina, Hubert Keller, and Thomas Keller by dining at their Las Vegas restaurants, I knew that I could just visit their restaurants close to my home. I wanted to explore a little more. But, with so many restaurants to choose from, how was I going to make my decision?

I read about Joël Robuchon’s restaurant, L’Atelier, and how they offered an open kitchen so that you could watch your meal being prepared. That feature of the restaurant instantly drew me in. And yes, knowing that Joël Robuchon was named Chef of the century did influence me in a way, but I was intrigued to see how his philosophy on food would be seen with the way his team would prepare my meal.

Housed inside the MGM Grand Casino, you will find Joël Robuchon’s restaurants, L’Atelier and Joël Robuchon. Just a few steps away from the gaming floor, you are transported to a restaurant where your visual senses are in for a ride. When you are seated inside L’Atelier, the first thing you will notice is the open kitchen with Robuchon’s cooks busily working.

Las Vegas may be home to some amazing shows, and you can definitely list L’Atelier as a show to behold. L’Atelier offers counter seating, where you can watch cooks plating and preparing your meal just a few feet from where you sit. At one instance, my eyes were glued to the head chef as he prepared a ribeye. You could see him carefully using his turner to scoop up the juices to baste the ribeye as it was cooking. He finally finished the dish by melting a piece of butter onto the stove and letting those flavors set into the steak.

Two Chef’s tasting menus are available, but when we visited, we opted to order à la carte. It would’ve been nice to explore a tasting menu, but the dishes that we wanted to try were not offered on them. L’Atelier also offers a menu of small tasting portions which gives you that ability and feeling of building your own tasting menu for yourself, or you can enjoy those dishes as appetizers.

A selection of bread – from croissants to small baguettes

Amuse-bouche of Grapefruit gelée, Apple, all topped with Avocado and Cilantro

Appetizer – Foie Gras Ravioli served in Chicken Broth, topped with Thai Basil and Cream

The soup was topped with cream that was optional, served table side. The small pillows of ravioli bursted with flavor when you went in for a spoonful.

Free Range Quail Stuffed with Foie Gras, served with Truffled Mashed Potatoes

The quail was perfectly tender and moist, with the foie gras adding more richness to all of the succulent flavors. The truffled mashed potatoes were so fluffy and buttery. I could say that they were the best mashed potatoes that I’ve ever tasted.

John Dory with Baby Octopus, served with Fava Beans, Artichokes, and Black Olives

The sauce that accompanied the fish was slightly sweet and tart, paired well with the earthy fava beans, artichokes, and salty olives. All of the flavors seemed to absorb right into the flakey and delicate texture of the John Dory.

Soufflé served with Pistachio Ice Cream

What better way to end a French dinner, than with a classic French dessert? As an added touch, the Pistachio Ice Cream was served table side, with our server placing a spoonful of ice cream that melted down the center of the soufflé. The soufflé was light, with a sweet finish coming from the ice cream.

Throughout the entire evening I couldn’t help myself from not looking up and watching other diners’ meals being prepared. It was fascinating to witness how some of the dishes were executed. Dining at L’Atelier might just be worth a visit if you want to enjoy that feeling of being inside the kitchen at one of Joël Robuchon’s restaurants.

Here’s a video taken at our dinner:

L’Atelier de Joël Robuchon
Inside the MGM Grand Casino
3799 Las Vegas Boulevard South
Las Vegas, NV 89109
Visit L’Atelier’s Website

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Sam’s Chowder House – Lobster Rolls

Lando — Sun, 20 Jun 2010 02:27:48 +0000

It was a foggy day out in Half Moon Bay with the sun just barely peeking through the clouds. We weren’t out in Half Moon Bay for a walk on the beach. We were there to get our hands around some lobster rolls from Sam’s Chowder House. A friend of mine recommended the spot and after seeing the photos of the rolls, I knew I had to pay Sam’s a visit.

We arrived at Sam’s for lunch and the place was already packed with diners. The restaurant itself sits right next to the ocean, giving you the opportunity for waterfront dining. We were lucky enough to grab a table next to the window.

So, what makes the lobster rolls at Sam’s stand out? You can start with the bread. The roll itself is a brioche bun, specially made for Sam’s. Toasted on all sides, giving a light crunch when you bite into the roll, but still remaining soft with a rich buttery taste.

And of course the lobster. The lobster they use for the roll is meat from the claws that has been tossed in butter. They are very generous when it comes to packing the rolls with lobster meat. I counted about six claws in the roll they served me. The lobster doesn’t hide behind any mayonnaise like a traditional lobster roll, so you can really taste the sweetness coming from the lobster and roll itself. The word succulent isn’t enough to discribe the roll.

Each order is served with a side of house made potato chips and coleslaw.

In 2007, Sam’s lobster rolls have been mentioned on NBC’s Today Show as being one of the top 5 sandwiches in the country. Who would’ve expected that a restaurant on the West Coast would have such a standout lobster roll.

Sam’s Chowder House
4210 Cabrillo Highway North
Half Moon Bay, CA 94019
(650) 712-0245
www.samschowderhouse.com

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A Sample of Spring: Luce Chef’s Tasting Menu

Lando — Wed, 21 Apr 2010 01:58:07 +0000

We were no strangers to Luce when we arrived for my birthday dinner early Saturday evening. Our first visit was in 2009 during San Francisco’s Dine About Town and at that time, I was impressed at the Bahn Mi that Dominique Crenn created. Ever since then, I wanted to return. With a little under a year goes by since our last visit, and Luce earned their first Michelin star, more acknowledgment in the press, and even Crenn making an appearance on Food Network’s The Next Iron Chef.

That night we opted to go for the 8 Course Chef’s Tasting menu. The menu was very intriguing. Several keywords highlighted each course, along with the main components of the dish. It left you with a sense of surprise and wonder at what you were going to receive. Below is a look at our meal:

“Amuse-bouche”
A bite of foie gras with passion fruit ice and sweet potato.

“Dawn”
Kumamoto oysters dressed in a beet emulsion and passion fruit.

“Soil”
A mix of root and baby vegetables with sprinkled with pumpernickel crumbs.

“Herbs Garden”
A refreshingly sweet celery sorbet with toasted quinoa and apple.

“Wilderness”
Tender Venison served with a crostini and pear purée.

“Trou Normand”
A sweet drink with the essence of guava, to cleanse your palate.

“Sea”
Succulent lobster tail with sea urchin foam and buttery foie gras, on a bed of couscous.

“Farm”
A piece of beef cheek, with a incredibly soft, fall apart texture.

“Spring Sky”
“Pearls and Snow” – lychee, frozen goat cheese, and meringue, served on a pillow of pineapple tapioca.

“Fromage”
Epoisse, Sable Breton and Vanilla-Kumquat Compote

“Cacao”
A decadent chocolate cake served with a chocolate ganache.

“Dusk”
A “Surprise”, which consisted of in house made chocolates to end the meal.

What amazed us was the presentation of each course. Every dish was visually appealing and appetizing. Whether it was seeing the small intricate details of the garnishes or the arrangement of the dishes’ components, I simply thought to myself, “Wow.” It was an very enjoyable evening to be able to see and experience Crenn’s tasting menu. Just sitting here and reminiscing about the “Sea” course is enough for me to want to go back.

Luce
InterContinental Hotel
888 Howard St.
San Francisco, CA 94103
(415) 616-6566
www.lucewinerestaurant.com

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Cajun Style Crawfish and More at Crawdaddy

Lando — Tue, 30 Mar 2010 03:04:00 +0000

It’s a place where you can toss the silverware out because you won’t need them here. Spoon and forks won’t peel your food, so prepare to get your hands covered in butter and shells. This spot is Crawdaddy. Located in the Little Saigon neighborhood of San Jose, this little restaurant has been drawing in crowds of diners looking for some heat from Cajun style seafood.

Crawfish and shrimp are served in bags by the pound. Open the bags up and the aroma of garlic surrounds the table and you could just see your order swimming in a pool spicy cayenne garlic butter sauce.

We ordered a pound of shrimp which came out well cooked and was very sweet. And since we wanted to go Cajun, we couldn’t leave Crawdaddy without ordering their crawfish. It’s a lot of work to get to the crawfish meat, but it was worth it. The crawfish was sweet, and when dipped in the garlic butter sauce, the flavors just complemented each other. You had a taste of that sweet and spicy going on where sips of soda or water was a must to cool down the fiery burn.

There isn’t a lack of heat here. You have your choice of mild, medium, or hot with your orders. We went with the mild and still saw my friends gasping for cool air. I thought mild was the perfect heat level. Anything else just might make you really chug down water.

A final tip to keep in mind is to use the bibs they give you. With all the shrimp head twisting and crawfish shell cracking happening, things can get messy and you don’t want any of that on your clothes. Crawdaddy is truly a hands on restaurant and not for the lazy eater because you’ll be busily working for each bite.

Crawdaddy
779 Story Road #1
San Jose, CA 95122
(408) 286-2729
www.crawdaddysj.com

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Lunch at Redd

Lando — Fri, 26 Mar 2010 00:31:23 +0000

There’s one thing about the Napa Valley that keeps me coming back for more. It’s not the wine, but the food…

I’ll admit that I’m not a huge wine connoisseur, and being in Napa, you would expect someone to be excited about going wine tasting. I’ve only been to a few wineries and I do have a good time, but I’m more into checking out the food scene of Napa. I just feel that there’s good food to be tried and enjoyed here. So far, the meals I’ve had here have made me want to keep coming back for more.

A few weeks ago, we took a trip to Napa and I wanted to find good place for lunch, and saw that Chef Richard Reddington’s Redd in Yountville was one of the top suggested restaurants to eat at. After reading a few initial reviews, it seemed to be a spot worth checking out. Finding out that Redd held one Michelin star helped with that choice.

We started off our meal with with the Yellowfin Tuna and Hamachi Tartare as an appetizer. It was served with sliced pieces of Asian pear and chili oil to give the dish a balance of sweet and spicy. A sprinkle of Jasmine rice that was fried in peanut oil added a nice slight crunchiness to the dish.

My adventurous self wanted to try something that I never really order, so I went with the Crispy Duck Confit with Foie Gras Meatballs. I don’t ever recall catching myself ordering duck, so I was looking forward to trying this dish. It was simply delicious. The duck was served on top of spaetzle and cabbage which I thought had amazing flavor. As for the duck, it was very moist. It left me with the impression that I should be trying duck more often.

Also, on our order was the Caramelized Diver Scallops, served on top of a cauliflower purée. This was a beautifully presented dish. I’ve seen scallops at so many restaurants before, but when this dish arrived at our table, our eyes lit up. The balsamic reduction served with this dish, helped bring out the sweetness of the scallops.

I seldom talk about the service aspect of restaurants that I’ve been to, but I have to mention how a little more goes on with Redd when they treat diners. Our server explained the dishes in complete detail for us, which I always enjoy hearing. The only other restaurant that really did that for us was Ad Hoc. Ever since that meal at Ad Hoc, I really appreciated servers and restaurants that train their staff for doing that. It just adds more to the dining experience.

Redd was an experience that I have been sharing with everyone. For lunch, I couldn’t be any happier and satisfied.

Redd
6480 Washington Street
Yountville, CA 94599
(707) 944-2222
www.reddnapavalley.com

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Out in Oakland’s Wood Tavern

Lando — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 00:52:44 +0000

It’s been awhile since I was able to head out and dine at a restaurant that I hadn’t visited before. I’ve been mainly sticking to local restaurants around Fremont or cooking at home. I still had that strong urge to go out and eat somewhere new. I was out in San Francisco last Friday and I thought about checking out Delfina. It’s a restaurant that I’ve been wanting to visit for a long time. But, then I remembered my cousin talking about a superb dinner he had at Wood Tavern in Oakland. Wood Tavern also was a spot that I wanted to try after hearing all the positive feedback about it. I really wanted to do something new, and since I rarely check out restaurants in Oakland, it was an easy decision. It was also good to know that Wood Tavern continues to gain praise from local diners and critics, so I expected that I was not going to leave Wood Tavern disappointed.

It was a busy Friday night at the restaurant with tables available to those with reservations. The only option left was bar seating which I didn’t mind. I mainly was looking forward to the food.

Our meal started off with Seared Yellowtail Tuna on top of a salad of baby artichokes and olives drizzled with citrus oil and a balsamic glaze.

When I was browsing the menu earlier, I noticed they were offering a Crispy Pork Belly starter. It sounded too good to pass up, but they had a equally appetizing Pork Shoulder Confit entrée on the menu also. To avoid a pork overload, we chose to go with the Yellowtail Tuna starter and get our pork fix with the Pork Shoulder Confit.

The deliciously crispy outside and tender inside cut of pork shoulder sat on top of a serving of buttery polenta.

The other entrée we ordered was the Pan Roasted Chicken. This came on a whim. While waiting for a seat at the bar, we noticed that many diners were ordering the chicken. A server walked by us with someone’s order of the chicken and our eyes were glued to the passing plate. It smelled all too good. I often skip chicken dishes because of the thought of being served an overcooked, dry serving of chicken. That was not the case here. Moist and juicy are the words to describe this dish, which was served with spinach, fingerling potatoes, grilled radicchio, and a lemon-rosemary jus.

Throughout the dinner, I just felt a good vibe about Wood Tavern. Maybe it was because we sat at the bar. Seeing the faces of others cheering and chowing down over food and drinks really plays into that feeling of being in a favorite local neighborhood spot. My only wish is that Wood Tavern would be in my neighborhood.

I’ve always seen this city as being over shadowed by San Francisco’s restaurant offerings, but after this positive visit, I’m already wanting to see what other good restaurants there are to visit in Oakland.

Wood Tavern
6317 College Avenue
Oakland, CA 94618
(510) 654-6607
www.woodtavern.net

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Dining For Dim Sum in Milbrae

Lando — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 04:24:42 +0000

Food memories have always been a big part of me, whether it’s thinking back to a great meal or restaurant. One particular memory that stuck with me is eating dim sum at Chinese restaurants. I never did it too often, but it had a lasting impression. Picking and pointing out your choices that came your way was a rush. Having the satisfaction of eating almost instantly was just an added plus. Most of all, whatever came to the table was just plain good.

And I’ll admit, I love pork siomai, but never saw myself as someone who knew much about good quality dim sum. It didn’t seem too late to start a search, testing and trying different restaurants serving dim sum, to find a favorite spot. So, Rose and I took a trip to the Hong Kong Flower Lounge in Milbrae for dim sum. It’s a place that I picked out because whenever I’m in the area, the restaurant always catches my attention. I mean, the building stands tall on the corner of El Camino and Milbrae Avenue, and is not hard to miss. I wanted to see how their dim sum was.

Having dim sum after such a long absence definitely did bring back good memories. We left satisfied and eager to return back. Of course, I do want to learn more about dim sum, better yet, good quality dim sum. This is just a start. Maybe we’ll find better along the way.

Hong Kong Flower Lounge
51 Millbrae Ave.
Millbrae, CA 94030
(650) 692-6666

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