What did you eat last night for dinner?



kwilkinson said:

Exactly. Every first Friday of the month we do these free passed appetizers for a couple of hours for a happy hour kind of thing. Last night, one of the regulars that has Celiac's disease came in. I realized that five of the six apps we were passing had gluten in them, and I didn't want her to only get one, so on the line I made her some shrimp spring rolls from scratch, which are not on the menu. I was happy to do it. She is a good customer, we weren't very busy, and it didn't slow down the service or make anything an issue. She loved the spring rolls, and more importantly she truly appreciated me doing that for her when I didn't have to.
But if someone had come in and ordered spring rolls that night, I would have told the waitress to **** off and die. Unless said waitress was my girlfriend, in which case I would have just told her to **** off.

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exactly the context I was speaking in. You really think I'd walk into a restaurant with a 40 minute wait and demand an ostentatious, time-consuming meal? I do it whenever I'm casually having a conversation with the owner and he suggests I have X or Y. and I genuinely appreciate them going out of their way to make my experience more enjoyable. You're just a little quick to jump on me tbh.



Rambo said:

Jesus Piob, I wasn't saying you were stealing from these poor, hard working country folk. Just curious how that "special invite" situation went down.

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I didn't think you were saying that. I was just telling you my mindset. I go in expecting to pay full on. If they do something nice for me it's even better.



pocketsquareguy said:

Damn, that makes me hungry. Good and simple.

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Glad you liked the pic.

Warmed Scallops, Honey Tangerine Confit, Szechuan Pepper Vinaigrette, Minutina.

"Peas and Carrots"...


...and lobster.

Roasted Striped Bass, Artichoke Puree, Baby Artichokes, Rosemary Vinaigrette.

Challerhocker, Granny Smith Apple, Almond and Olive Crumble, Purslane Salad.

last night I had crab spring roll type thing, it was actually very good. And then salad, which I didn't touch. And lobster ravioli which was really good, but I only had a little bite. Great wines with all.

Good looking meal mm. Can you describe the peas and carrots dish a bit more?



KJT said:

Good looking meal mm. Can you describe the peas and carrots dish a bit more?

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Thanks, KJT.

So this is another dish by Thomas Keller. You start by steeping the lobsters and removing their meat. Stock is made from the bodies, along with tomatoes, carrots and thyme. You reduce this stock until it is a glace. The flavor is pure lobster. A few pounds of carrots are juiced, along with some ginger, and then reduced as well; pure carrot. I did all of this last night.

The next day, you take your claws and tails and cut them into a fine dice. Mix with mascarpone, shallots, chives, s&p, and a tablespoon of the lobster glace. Refrigerate until ready to fill. You then make a crepe batter, which is simply flour, salt, eggs, milk and chives, and then make the crepes. It was my first time making crepes, so I made plenty of batter so I could get the hang of it.

Then, take 1/4 cup of lobster filling, place on a crepe , and fold. Brush with melted butter and leave until ready.

Simmer carrot puree, add cream, reduce, then whisk in butter and emulsify. Keep warm.

Dress pea shoots in shallots, lemon oil, s&p. Warm stuffed crepes in the oven for 8 minutes and serve.

It was a bit of work, but totally worth it. Most of it can be done ahead of time. Impress your guests.

Dunked some shrimp in 1/2 cup olive oil, 1/2 cup fresh squeezed lemon juice, garlic, parsley, cilantro, paprika, cumin, salt and pepper. Whizzed it all up in the food processor and soaked some shrimp in it for an hour. I reserved half and stirred up some baby zucs, mushrooms, shallots, and chunked red bell pepper in it. Skewered the veg, skewered the shrimp, and grilled them all. A nice German Riesling and we ate outside listening to chill music. Perfect dinner.

Various from the last few days:

For Pio..a Foie Gras restaurant in Kyoto. Didn't try it but thought of you.


Matsutake season:


Ramen! This was really outstanding..the dashi combined a very rich chicken stock with a rich pork stock. And how about some fried chicken with that ramen?




Saba sushi:


Kyoto sweets:




Been travelling a lot recently...meals on the bullet train:

That ramen looks intense. And matsutakes are insane, the supermarket my house has ones from Iwate, 3 for 25,000Y

Pot stickers and salad.

LEft over jalof rice and chicken. Mmm the grease soaked through my paper plates, through the several pages of papers I was using as a mat and onto my leather ottoman. Grease came out easily though



Alter said:

Various from the last few days:
For Pio..a Foie Gras restaurant in Kyoto. Didn't try it but thought of you.

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Antipasto - Sformatini di zucca con parmigiano
Primo - Tagliolini al tartufo
Contorno - Verdure gratinate e verdure alla grigia
Dessert - Semifreddo al pistacchio e nocciola
Cafè
2009 Chianti

Sublime truffle dish.

Not last night (which was a sub) but in Asheville I went to 12 bones and had some good ribs. apparently O'(b)angye's entourage makes it a point of stopping their. It was good .

alter--your pics have revived my interest in visiting japan.