"Pyle-ing" on the coffee and doughnuts in Dallas

I've been a scofflaw and neglected my blog for the last several weeks while I focused on a blogging project for work. I'm not officially done with that yet, but I needed to start catching up with my Bite & Chew updates before I started forgetting what these pictures on my Blackberry are supposed to suggest. Take for example this mysterious image.

While it may look like a whimsical art project, the fact that it's on a plate should clue you in that this is an incredible, edible dessert creation. I had the pleasure of enjoying (and the pain of not being able to sleep after consuming) this assemblage at Stephan Pyles in Dallas. They simply call it "coffee and doughnuts" but that is clearly a tongue-in-cheek moniker that undercuts this frighteningly decadent reinvention of the working man's classic breakfast combo. The base is a cajeta crème brûlée surrounding a square vessel holding a syrupy espresso flavored hot liquid confection in which sits a skewer of freshly fried powdered doughnuts. After eating this dessert, I didn't mind the fact that I was eating alone at the bar of a fancy restaurant on a business trip. I missed the group dinner earlier that evening at the same restaurant due to tech drama with my corporate blog - why can't every blog platform be as easy as Blogger?

Although the most interesting image I got was the dessert, the rest of the meal was superb. I started my solo meal with a banana empanada with cardamom scented spit roasted suckling pig. Not something I would ever conceive of combining but all I could say was wow! Even the blue corn muffins they served for me to nosh on between courses were incredibly spicy and memorable. My entrèe of barbecued beef short rib with a "criollo" tamale and a dried cherry salsita was enough to ruin every other BBQ beef experience I was to have while in Texas by rendering everything else boring and tasteless in comparison.

Stephan Pyles is a see and be seen-scene, so I was a bit embarrassed to show up in my jeans and polo shirt - bleary eyed from staring and cursing at a laptop for the last several hours. Despite my worn affect, the bar staff couldn't have been nicer. They have a flat screen TV over the bar that, rather than showing a Dallas Mavericks game, broadcasted the live action from the kitchen reflecting their pride in the food and its prep. It was a powerful statement. I even got the chance to chat briefly with an overly friendly rich middle aged couple that was grabbing cocktails before dinner. Nice folks, but they seemed to be moving through the evening in a state of extended foreplay, so I wanted them to keep on moving. They were loving life just a bit too much.

Ah - it's good to be back on my own blog.

Let 'er cook a little longer - Indio Mexican Cuisine

After much anticipation for Indio - the new Mexican place in Uptown, I failed to follow my own rules of avoiding new restaurants in their first week of being opened. The smells wafting out as I walked past and seeing the warmly candle-lit space that had been empty for months enticed me to give it a try about a week ago. J the BF and I walked over to check it out for a late Friday dinner.

The menu is a mix of usual suspects for appetizers with a Yucatan-inspired upscale portfolio for the main courses. They offer a decent happy hour menu and the cocktail list looks promising. The wine lists is limited, but acceptable. In terms of execution on all this . . . well?

We started with their Huasteco (guacamole) which was very chunky, fresh and flavorful, but served with a scant amount of freshly fried tortilla chips. J had the Flauto de Pato (Duck Flautas) while I veered toward the adobo marinated seared ahi tuna served over roasted mashed potatoes with tequila lime butter and pineapple relish. I found my dish very good, though basic with a slightly messy presentation, while J was not as impressed with his.

While we were relatively pleased with the food, we were victimized by the usual new restaurant blues. J's Diet Coke arrived as a flat metallic syrup over ice, while my cocktail, a Mojito A La Diabla (basically a mojito with chile de arbol) arrived flat and flavorless as well. Clearly, their fountain was not calibrated or working properly. The service was painfully slow, due in part to them having to hand-write and process orders, and our server was awkward, nervous and at one point locked herself out of the back door. Some patron sitting near the back took pity on her and let her back in.

All in all, Indio has promise and the makings of a good neighborhood place (if you don't mind dropping about $50 - $70 for dinner for 2), but we're going to let her simmer for a few weeks to work out the bugs before we go back.

A melted cheese tray - Warm Pecorino Fondue at Craftbar

I had some business in NYC a few weeks ago, and this time I worked ahead to get some restaurant recos. My neighbor, Ms. Goldberg, strongly suggested that I check out CraftBar - a creation of high-profile James Beard award winning chef Tom Colicchio (also now infamous as head judge on Top Chef). J the BF happened to have business in NYC at the same time, so we decided to have a pre-Valentine's day date night at this "moderately priced" outpost of Colicchio's Craft empire.

We started the meal with a Warm Pecorino Fondue which was good enough to make your teeth sweat. The dish itself was fascinating in the enticing combination of components of a cheese tray
(cheese, nuts, honey, spicy veggies) into a hot, creamy molten bowl of pleasure. The pecorino was melted along with acacia honey, hazelnuts and pepperoncini. The meal that followed was equally stunning and inspiring (including the warm frissee with gorgonzola and poached egg which I have already been trying the recreate).

Strange sights & great eats at Sanctuary

My boss raved to me about the food at Sanctuary, but warned me that "the guy clearly didn't have much $$ to put into decor" so I should be sure not to judge the place on initial impressions. I was taking a prospective employee out for dinner, so I was a little nervous about trying a new place and potentially putting a cloud around this guy's interviews with us the next day. Trusting my boss's taste in food, I took the risk and am glad I did.

Sanctuary occupies one of those new buildings that have popped up near the Guthrie on Washington. The evolution of this neighborhood, with a spate of new condos, restaurants and office spaces, seems to be in full-spite of the horrid Metrodome that continues to cast its shadow over that area of town.

Upon entry, my dinner guest and I were greeted by an enthusiastic short bearded man in what looked like a tux who made very showy and pointed gesticulations of welcome as he showed us to our table. As he swept away, I was wondering where the floor show would occur. From the ceilings hung oddly traditional chandeliers that flirted heavily with kitsch and the place was furnished with high-back antique-y looking chairs that looked like they were swept from an Ozzy Osbourne estate sale. We were seated next to the very chatty bar at the back of the dining room, which was more comfortable then the mostly empty front area where we passed only one dining party of 6 young folks happily noshing amazing looking dishes and drinking wine.

Strangeness aside, it was a great meal. We both started with the carnival squash soup with truffle mouse and pasilla oil. It was exquisitely sweet, earthy and just a touch of spice to warm us out of the cold fall stupor we were in. I went decadent on the entree and opted for a surf&turf special of beef tenderloin with poached lobster in this indescribably good sauce. My life would be so much more complete if I got more lobster. We shared a massive serving of the pumpkin bread pudding with cinnamon ice cream and jalapeño maple sauce (compliments of the house as a thanks for stopping in). The two of us couldn't finish it, but only because of the sensory overload. It was terribly enjoyable and satisfying. Those tables should have been full on a Thursday night, so if you have not been to Sanctuary - go!

Crema's Hidden Magic

Summer in the Twin Cities is coming to an end and we have many reasons to be a bit down about that. Not the least of which being that I only recently discovered Crema. I've driven past the place a million times, but assumed it was simply an over-done ice-cream joint. With the summer being very short here, I never found time to go check it out.

We walked down one particularly warm evening after reading an article in our local neighborhood paper about their unusual featured flavors like olive oil and other unexpected things in addition to more traditional varieties. I tried their signature "crema" flavor which was suggestive of a iced latte. After grabbing our ice cream, we walked out to the alley dining area and discovered one of the most romantic spaces I've scene in Minneapolis.

In addition to the kitschy lights, there was a babbling fountain and selective foliage interspersed with intimate candle-lit tables and the open sky above. Apparently you can get a limited dinner menu there as well, but we were hard pressed to figure out what that menu was (seemed to be a secret that was only available by request). The ice cream itself was very good by the way.

20.21 - A dinner that stares back

Earlier this summer, I took a potential employee for my company to Wolfgang Puck's 20.21 at the Walker Art Center for a pre-interview-day dinner. I enjoyed my last meal at 20.21 and I have enjoyed the Puck cuisine at other restaurants, so it seemed to be a safe bet.

My last visit to 20.21 was with J the BF on a very crowded Saturday night. I forget what we were celebrating, but I've been reminded several times since that my ADD that night which seemed to keep pulling my eyes toward the wait staff, as opposed to my BF was not at all appreciated. Besides his irritation, I remember that the place was too loud & chaotic, the tables too small for the elaborate dishes (requiring most of the items to be plated by the servers at the table to prevent disasters) and the food was superb.

This time, it was Wednesday and it was business, so I expected the scene to be less chaotic, but the food equally superb. If I failed to give my dining companion proper attention, it wouldn't be perpetually thrown back in my face. After embarrassing myself getting us lost in the museum trying to find the bloody restaurant, we got in and were seated in a prime location in the signature window overlooking the Downtown vista hovering over the busy street below.

I started with my favorite dish, the crispy calamari salad - perfectly crisp tender bites of calamari over a fresh blend of greens tossed with a sweet/spicy chili sauce that is intoxicating. We ran through a few more mediocre dishes before being greeted by the grotesque disappointment of a whole crispy sea bass. Somehow, they managed to fry any flavor out of the fish to the point that even the fish looked shocked. The server was nice enough to take away the carcass and it's horrified stare before we labored to complete the meal. I fear that 20.21 is moving into that realm of places with great cocktails and tasty apps, but I'm not going to risk the $$s on the main dishes again any time soon.

Montreal - The French out there . . . La Chaumiere du Village - St. Agathe des Mon

We capped off our vacation to Montreal with a weekend in the Laurentian mountains north of the city at a quaint, but slightly quirky gay B&B. For our first night in the mountains, we returned to a great little French restaurant in the little town of Saint Agathe Des Monts simply named La Chaumiere du Village.

While the building itself suggested a converted 1950s home, the food itself was remarkable. 3 of our party of 4 started with a puff pastry appetizer featuring chicken-like wild mushrooms, white and grey shallots (who know there was such a thing) in a creamy white wine sauce sandwiched within a tongue tingling pastry studded with cracked black pepper. The server/pastry shelf, a spry petite little elderly woman who hovered over us throughout the night was tickled to see our delight in her creation.

After a refreshing "gourmand pause" of lime sherbet floating in a shot of gin or vermouth (it was difficult to tell), I was treated to a main course of flank steak paired with a sweet-smoked red wine reduction. I love grilled flank steak, but i struggle to keep from over-cooking it. This was among the best I had ever tasted and the sauce was a work of art unto itself.

Montreal - O'Chalet; Tres Gay

I wanted to sample the nightlife in Montreal, so we made a reservation at O'Chalet, a quaint family-run place at the edge of "le Village," the uber-gay area of town. This was to be followed by a cocktail and sight seeing at one of the local watering holes.

We enjoyed O'Chalet's simple finely tuned approach to French Canadian fare. We started with two appetizers - Tempura Shrimp with a finely chopped sprinkling of pineapple (not sure how this is Canadian) and a veal ravioli in a rich butter/egg sauce. The shrimp were delightful but the ravioli sauce was a bit rich and and the meat texture too rustic for my taste.

For my "plat", I enjoyed a duck confit with roast potatoes and a lightly dressed salad. I'm not used to seeing a duck confit served on the bone (chefs in high-end US restaurants tend to shred the meat and serve it in an over-engineered manner), but the flavors were simple and satisfying. Given that I only understood about 20% of the French menu, I think we fared well.

As we dined, we found the surrounding tables were filled with gay male dining parties which seemed odd among the rather drab surroundings. Clearly regardless of decor, solid good food appeals to all.

After dinner we walked Rue St. Catherine searching for a good place to cozy up for a drink, but nothing seemed quite right. It was only 10pm and Montrealers are notoriously late-night people so many of the promising locations looked too empty to bother.

We made our way back to the east side of downtown (Centre Ville est) to catch a little of the Montreal Jazz Festival. We saw one poor singer (Robin McKelle) fighting to keep her dress from blowing up and revealing her high notes in the mid-summer breeze. Moving on to a stage uphill, we encountered a massive crowd dancing almost club-style in front of a stage where a DJ, guitarist, 2 horn players and a woman with a traditional African percussion instrument (which looked to be a gourd wrapped in beaded netting) were whipping the crowd into a frenzy. As we stood enjoying the beats of Moses Mayes, I noted that this was a very appropriate end to a night in a city jostled between languages and cultures in such a 21st century manner.

Montreal - Senegalese Super Shrimp at Ferreira

The last time we went to Montreal, we counted on our wandering instincts to find some of the great food we kept hearing about. We weren't very successful. Turns out that to eat well in Montreal, you need to do your homework and make reservations well in advance for the choice dinner spots. La Ferreira was no exception.

After some email volleying a couple of weeks before our arrival, we snagged a prime 8pm slot at one of the hottest chow spots in the city. La Ferreira focuses on Portuguese-inspired fusion cuisine with an emphasis on unique preparations for seafood.

The scene screamed "hot spot" with several tables of power dining in-filled with couples dressed for ultra-luxe action. The center of the scene is an open kitchen where you can see the white-clad staff churning out the fresh cuisine.

I opened my meal with a spicy gazpacho topped with a mixture of chilled poached Mexican seafood & avocado. Although the portion was overly generous, the flavors were fresh, bright and well-balanced such that the freshness of the tomatoes and herbs took center stage.

The appetizer course was the highlight of the evening - grilled giant shrimp from Senegal. Each shrimp was about 10 inches long and had been halved lengthwise and grilled to perfection. they were served with an amazing combination of sweet/spicy sauces at the base of the dish. If the sizes of the shrimp was not eye-popping enough, the intense and near-orgasmic flavors were enough to throw us over the edge.

My entree of black pepper crusted seared tuna over wasabi mashed potatoes would have seemed pedestrian (though good) had they not taken the extra step of broiling thin slices of foie gras on top of the tuna to add a rich buttery dimension to the dish. While I could have quarreled over the selected tuna cut (it was very chewy in places) the preparation was exquisite. I am not an expert on Portuguese cuisine, but I would have to agree with the critics that La Ferreira is a must-visit point on any culinary tour of Montreal.

Montreal - Cafeteria: One Plush Lunch

Cafeteria :: Plateau, originally uploaded by markj.

A city with a strong cafe culture like Montreal requires an ample supply of establishments that morph throughout the day from coffee house to lunch spot to happy hour to dinner to after hour bar. Last year, we delighted in Java U as a stellar example. For this trip, Cafeteria seemed to have been designed to fit the bill and was a new experience for us.

After our first thwarted attempt to get lunch at Schwartz's Deli, we defaulted to Cafeteria. The name is slightly ironic as there are no lunch ladies or melamine dishes to be found in this joint. The decor is plush red velvet seating, dark luxurious wood tables and a melange of textures in every wall, floor, and lighting treatment. The entire facade of the restaurant opened out into the street beaconing us in with a hip rhythm-driven vibe that almost seemed out of place at 12:45pm on a Wednesday afternoon.

Inside were a couple of young dudes surfing on laptops while sipping on draft beer, a few groups of young people noshing on burgers & sandwiches and the too-cute bartender casually providing drinks to the servers who nonchalantly kept the show rolling.

I opted for one of the 3 selections of Moules et Frites (mussels & fries). This version was cooked in an arrabiata tomato sauce that was mildly spicy. In Minneapolis, I noted that a lot of high-end bars/lounges offer mussels or fries, but this was the first encounter I had with them paired as an entree. The mussels were delightfully fresh and the sauce was flavorful enough to invite my bread and fries to play. At $12CAD, it was an excellent value and an appropriate lunch to welcome me to Quebec before setting my credit card on fire at more extravagant venues.

Montreal - Schwartz's Smoked Beef, Do NOT call it Pastrami!

Upon arrival in Montreal, we dropped our bags at the Hotel Godin (which has since been acquired by a new owner and re-branded Opus Montreal) and immediately stomped up the street to Schwartz's Deli in search of its infamous smoked beef. We had read several times that Montreal smoked beef is a culinary marvel and Schwartz has perfected to a level that they get orders for it to be shipped around the globe

According to some travel/food guide I consulted (can't find the reference), Montreal smoked beef brisket is typically cured for several days, smoked for hours and then (as if this beef hasn't been through enough) shoved for several hours more into a spice loaded steam box resulting in a fall-apart tender delight of gastronomical proportions.

Upon arrival at Schwartz at 12:30pm, we found a line out the door and 1/4 of a block long. Given the hungry frenzy we were in, we defaulted to a less busy place (Cafeteria) down the way but returned promptly at 11:20am the next day to beat the rush.

On our return visit, we successfully scored a seat immediately and we both ordered "lean" smoked meat sandwiches (you can order different levels of desired fat) with an order of fries and a pickle. The sandwiches promptly arrived piled on soft thin slices of rye slathered with mustard. The meat was literally dripping off the sandwich as we picked them up to feast. Sure to the promise, the meat was tender and well seasoned, but less decadent than I expected (likely due to our opting for lean). Next time, we'll take up the fat level to see how that impacts the experience. Whatever you do, don't call it Pastrami, lest you get a prompt tongue lashing from the Quebecois.

Montreal - La Poutine - Don't try this @ Home

While one would think that the Québécois would choose to embrace a dish that illuminated their French heritage in a refined manner, it is a bit ironic that the bite with the most iconic standing in the province is resolutely Canadian.

Le Poutine Québécois (pardon my slaughtering of French grammer) is a gastronomic monster. Don't try this at home kids! They take a big plate of fries and cover them in brown gravy and finished with a heavy sprinkling of cheese curds. It's heaven and a heart attack on a late. I give myself permission to do Le Poutine just once when I'm in Montreal and I chose to do it at Peel Pub in the main shopping district off Boulvard St. Catherine.

Peel Pub was recommended to us during our visit in 2006 by a sales clerk at the HMV across the street. She suggested it was a reliably good, cheap place that she enjoyed visiting after work. The menus are printed on the place mats (English on one side, French on the other) while every direction has TVs and projection screens beaming sporting matches and coverage. The tables at noon are filled with a broad cross-section of Montreal urbanites all excitedly enjoying massive platters of brochettes, burgers, pizza, fish & chips and of course, poutine!

While watching coverage of the Wimbledon semifinals, I ordered "The Canadian" - 2 grilled hot dogs "all dress" with a poutine Quebecois and a side of cole slaw. I fear I broke some cultural code by adding my slaw to the dogs atop the "all dress" fixings of mustard, pickle relish and onions, but the result was fantastic. I didn't finish the poutine for fear of shortening my life by a few months (+ the gravy was strangely sweet). Nevertheless at $4.99CAD, the value was stunning after 2 nights of $100+ meals around town.

NYC (3of5) Dos Caminos - Heavenly "Mexican" in Soho

Our agency partners in New York set up some "team development" time at a Mexican restaurant in Soho called Dos Caminos. When I arrived, folks were huddled around the bar looking out onto the impossibly glamorous patio enjoying their signature margaritas and south-of-the-border inspired cocktails. I sparked the curiosity of my business colleagues by ordering a "Cosmo del Diablo" which was as wickedly good as it sounds. Svedka Vodka infused with 5 Chiles, Pineapple, Passion Fruit all shaken and served on the rocks. It reminded me of my favorite margarita - the Mango Mariachi - at my neighborhood standard Bar Abilene. Sweet and spicy with a little kick-in-ass where it counts.

By the time we were seated for dinner, several of the group of 20 diners had followed me down the Diablo road. They went down a little too quickly and I certainly did not want to be "that guy" at the company function who drank too much, said too much and got way too comfortable in mixed professional company. Good thing I metered it out, otherwise, I would have missed the nuances of a fabulous meal.

Appetizers were pre-ordered for us and came out in bountiful quantities - a decadent cazuela de queso dip, crispy stuffed seafood empanadas and fresh colorful salads. I feared that I would be too stuffed to enjoy the main course - a gorgeously grilled skirt steak with this amazing sauce drizzled over the top - superb and melt-in-your-mouth tender. I ended the meal with the Oaxacan chocolate mousse cake, spiked with morita chile and accompanied by pistachio ice cream. Sounds almost over-the-top, but with the mousse foundation it was actually a lighter, well rounded end to the meal. My list of must-returns for NYC is definitely growing.

NYC (2of5) When Italian goes BOOM!

When J the BF suggested we have dinner at a place called Boom in SOHO - Manhattan, I wasn't expecting Italian. A name like "Boom" suggests a nightclub or some over-wrought fusion cuisine hotspot full of beautiful people sipping cocktails and eating cuisine of indeterminate origin. While some of the above was true about Boom, the cuisine was nothing to sneeze at.

Yes, Boom was full of beautiful people including the servers who all seemed to be cut from the same mold of tall, dark, lean and just-off-the-runway young dudes. They were a terribly friendly attentive bunch dressed in their black "Make Food, not War" t-shirts (or something like that). A fabulously worldly looking woman in impossibly flat-soled sandals (and was clearly the restaurateur) continuously zipped between the tables and the folks languishing in front enjoying a smoke to ensure all was well.

They brought us several delicious updated Italian standards including items from a variable bruschetta menu that you just have to experience to do it justice. We experimented with a special that they had for the night with shrimp and avocados - yum! My entree of petite scallops over pasta was very well prepared in a richly decadent (but well proportioned) sauce. Boom is definitely on my list for a return visit.

NYC (1of5) Wilting expectations at Witchcraft

J the BF decided to tag along with me on a business trip to New York to do some "trend shopping" for his business. We flew in on a Sunday morning to get a full day of tooling around town together before going our separate ways for business purposes. The miracle of the fact the I made it to NYC at all could be subject for another post on a different blog where late-night parties, excess gin, 7am flights and pissed-off boyfriends are germane to the editorial direction. Therefore, I digress . . .

I had read a short post in some foodie or travel mag several months ago extolling the virtues of Witchcraft - a sandwich purveyor in NYC that was taking the town by storm. The picture of their slow-roasted pork sandwich with slaw and fresh sliced jalapeños on ciabatta captivated me and had been on my mind for a long time, so we had to find one of these magic sandwich places post-haste upon arrival in Manhattan.

The closest location to our hotel that we could Google up was in the lobby of an Equinox gym in Soho. Looking at the menu, the fare at Witchcraft seemed to be a bit out of place in a fitness center, but judging from the uber-urbane clientèle and the post-modern industrial chic interior, I figured it all must fit if you are a New Yorker and can get it.

I ordered my long desired pork sandwich and was frankly disappointed. The meat was dry, the jalapeños overpowering and the slaw relatively tasteless. Add to that the over-done chewiness of the bread and I felt more than a bit let down after pining over that image for so long. There is something to be said for overwrought expectations sucking the wind out of a new experience (as well as how a hangover leaves nothing tasting right). Given the circumstances, I can't say I won't make another go at the Witchcraft handiwork next time I'm in NYC, but I won't go in with the high hopes I had originally.

LA (2of2) 0 to Packed at Chaya Venice

After a day of meeting with a partner company about plans, ideas and what-not, their team offered to take us out to a nice meal at Chaya Venice. In order to assure we got a decent seat, we were told to meet them promptly at 6pm, which seemed to be an obnoxiously early time for dinner, but I'm glad we took their council. Within 25 minutes of our arrival, the place went from pin-drop empty to every table being filled with the vaguely beautiful, but pained set that only southern California can produce.

My friend Eric had suggested/considered Chaya for our dining spot the night before, but it was closed on Monday so it was either an odd coincidence that our business colleagues chose this place or there just aren't many choices in Santa Monica for high-end cuisine. Like Chinois, Chaya Venice aimed for Asian fusion, but with a more Japanese underpinning and a modern aesthetic that added to the vibe and energy of the place.

I started my meal with a fabulous set of seared sea scallops over Thai green papaya salad. The dish was lightly dressed with a delicate ginger garlic vinaigrette that helped to bring out the sweetness of the papaya and the scallops beautifully. I followed the scallop salad with another attempt at paella. My last experience with paella was viciously heavy and unpleasant so I feared ingesting this dish while wearing a shirt that was just on the edge of being too tight for a business dinner. This particular paella was served with half a grilled lobster on top so I couldn't resist giving it a go.

The mix of seafood and rice was superb in every way. The underlying dish was well seasoned to help the sweet meats of the lobster, shrimp and squid to shine, but the portion was reasonable enough to not leave you feeling like a stuffed horse. This is certainly a place to be if you want to dine among the sorta beautiful (but certainly well dressed) people and try to "get" what SoCal is about.

LA (1of2) - What the Puck? Chinois on Main

I had to make a quick run out to LA for business, so I called up a friend/former co-worker who is now living in Santa Monica to connect over chow. My buddy Eric clearly doesn't get out much as he kept pointing out places that he heard were excellent, but since he had never been to any of them, he couldn't say for sure. Of the options he presented, we aimed for Chinois - a long-standing Wolfgang Puck establishment on the Main Street drag.

If I did not know it was a Puck establishment, I would have been nervous. The place has clearly not been renovated since the 80's and every surface had a Miami Vice/Buddha Palace color and texture palette applied to it. The Puck folks describe the design as "timeless" with only the slightest hint of irony. Eric had heard that this was one of Wolfgang's first restaurants and that the food was excellent so we gave it a go.

The menu read like a twisted Chinese-America culinary romance novel, if such a thing existed. Dishes like "Warm sweet curried oysters with cucumber sauce and salmon pearls" and "Braised veal cheeks with plum wine and long life noodles" suggested hard-core gastroporn, so I aimed for two of the less sexy items labeled as "Chinois Classics" to get a better feel for the soul of this joint.

I paired an entree of Grilled Szechuan beef with spicy shallot cilantro sauce with a side dish of the Crispy Spinach. The beef was exceptional in tenderness, flavor and raw spirit and was brought to new heights with the side sauce.

If you have not enjoyed a good fried hardy green, the Crispy Spinach at Chinois is a sporty intro. I fell in love with the concept of taking good a tough leaf like spinach or collards and deep frying them to tender crispy perfection several years ago. Whenever I see crisp greens on a menu, I can't resist. The side dish was a bountiful massive platter that both Eric and I noshed down to the clean plate below. Fried vegetables are a beautiful thing!

While I could quibble with the decor, the food wiped it all away and made me forgive the Puckster for some missteps he's made at my local Puck hot-spot 20-21 (another place with great food, but questionable restaurant design) or those horrid Wolfgang Puck Express outlets in airports and malls. If I were him, I'd expand more cautiously.

Art, Azia and a very stiff drink

Some friends of ours live at the semi-exclusive Minneapolis address of 801 Washington Ave, which is a massive loft conversion that was at the forefront of the conversion madness in that part of town that now has run amok. Nevertheless, the space is fabulous, the lofts gargantuan and the public areas are used as a gallery to display art. Once a quarter they host an art opening there for the public called, "Art at 801" so that the residents can show off the building to the community of envious gawkers and the art-i-nistas. After a couple of hours of people watching, it was after 10pm and we were peckish enough to brave Azia - a rather over-the-top pan-asian fusion place on "Eat Street" in Minneapolis.

We went with a happy-hour order of cranberry wontons and some fried calamari off the main menu. Calamari begs for salt - I don't know why, but anytime I've been disappointed with calamari, it was due to a lack of salt - this was no exception. The most interesting part of the dish was the sweet basil dipping sauce that I tried to capture in a photo. The color was akin to lime sherbet and looked terribly unnatural, but was quite tasty. They have a version of the calamari sauted with a sweet chili sauce so we'll try that next time.

The Cranberry wontons were $5 or $6 on the happy hour menu and made up for the calamari disappointment - they were crispy fried and stuffed with cream cheese. They made for the perfect companion for the Lychee-tini - a 14.5oz knock-your-socks-off monster of a cocktail made with lots of 3 vodka (it's apparently distilled from soy) and lychee-fruit puree. Be sure to hit this drink up at happy hour when it is 1/2 price - it's $14 during regular business hours. Given previous trips to Azia, I knew one of these would make me happy, two would create a personal disturbance. I stopped at one and was home watching TV by midnight.

Leading me back to Lucia's

Reading another local food blog recently, I was reminded of Lucia's Wine Bar/Restaurant/Cafe and whatever else they have over there under that name. Saturday afternoon, the BF and I wanted to break out of our rut of going to the same places and hit up something off our regular circuit, so we decided to walk over to Lucia's to grab lunch.

Although our friends and every reputable food critic in the know extols the virtues of Lucia's fresh approach to local ingredients, our experience dining there a couple of times several years ago was underwhelming. While the food was expertly prepared and of very high quality, our Southern-tilting palates had a difficult time understanding what all the fuss was about. We figured after five years in Minnesota, the hot sauce and butter-fried remnants of our years in Atlanta have faded, so we figured it was time to give Lucia's another try.

The BF was disappointed that Lucia's was serving brunch, not lunch, but I didn't mind repeating breakfast. It was once my favorite meal until I started adhering to a standard breakfast of Fiber One Raisin Bran and scrambled Egg Beaters on the weekends (kinda takes the wind out of your sails on breakfast). I ordered up a Bloody Mary and their French-style omelet stuffed with slices of mild chorizo sausage and topped with guacamole (so much for leaving the southern palate behind). Like before, the food was expertly prepared and deliciously fresh, but not that flavorful.

I was debating whether or not to try again for dinner in the restaurant sometime earlier today when I got a gift of a $100 gift certificate to where else - Lucia's - from the head of my division at work as a "thank-you" gift. All the signs are pointing me back to Lucia's.

The big red Weber Grill in Schaumburg, Il

I spent the better part of last week on the road for work observing focus groups of women talking about cooking and meal planning. During most of these sessions, we were treated to delivered boxes of food from local suburban casual dining dives and disasters like PF Chang's and Bennigan's. During a session in Schaumberg, Illinois (about 30 minutes outside of Chicago) we were able to slip out of the research facility for an actual sit-down lunch. Drawn by the 10% discount offered on our hotel keys and the fact that it was across the street, we opted for the Weber Grill Restaurant - an outgrowth of the infamous back-yard primal cooking appliance company we all know and have encountered.

This place took the grill idea over the top. The front lawn was graced with a 15 foot high red grill greeting the passing traffic. Inside, the light fixtures were made of grill covers and every opportunity to refer to Weber's heritage was taken. For lunch, I opted for the Pulled Pork/BBQ Chicken combo plate with my pork served North Carolina style (seasoned with a spiced vinegar sauce vs. the Midwest style that relies on tomato based sauces).

The chicken was tasty enough and the pork had more than sufficient flavor, but the texture left much to be desired. I kept encountering what tasted to be little pellets of fat and the meat was tenderized to the point of near-butter making it barely distinguishable from the fat globules. Looking at the other dishes, I have to imagine there is more to this place than what I encountered. Given they have 3 Chicago-area locations and are expanding to Indianapolis soon, it's only a matter time before I find myself in the Weber Grill again sometime soon, so I'll have to give them another chance to prove themselves as other than the another suburban chain restaurant.