What did you eat last night for dinner?

[ChicagoRon]

Went to Benu - I was very impressed, and got my money's worth. Was paying for an ex-gf, so did not want to spring for the tasting menu - plus I was not hungry enough for all those courses, so we settled on 3 savory a piece from the ala carte menu, plus a shared dessert.

amuse bouche > Ginger baloon in pickle juice with melons. Tasted good, baloon is a little big.

Course 1>

Ex - Saucisson of beef w/ crispy maitake mushrooms
Me - Crispy veal sweetbreads

Both very very good. Sweetbreads had more "breading" on them than I generally prefer, but the seasoning was right on and the pickles and sauce were quite good.

Course 2> WINNER

Ex - Rigatoni w/ Sea Cucumber, Oxtail, and few other accouterments...
Me - Risotto w/ black truffle, corn, lavage, and uni

The rigatoni was house made, perfect pasta with a very rich, complex sauce. Stellar.
The Risotto was one of the ten best plates I've ever had. Made up for the sub-par uni risotto at LB. THe key difference was that the uni was chilled and resting atop the risotto, rather than strained through a tamis and integrated. The flavor at LB just got lost.

Course 3>
Ex - Duck - a little meh. It might have been done sous vide. The fat didn't really render off and the skin was not crispy.

Me - "pre sale" Lamb. Very good. And the baby carrots served with it were off the chart. THe server explained "pre sale" refers to a french concept that lambs raised near the coast did not require as much salt because of the salinity of the foods they consumed (or something like that).

Dessert> Shared Chocolate Ganache, Fuille de Brick, Banana Ice Cream, Caramel, Ginger, and some crunchy stuff.

HOT DAMN. Dessert was fantastic. I could have eaten three of them.

Overall, great dinner. The service held it back a little. Bad pour on my beer, the ex was a little unhappy that they would not pour her 1/2 glasses of wine (she's a litghtweight who likes variety), no offer for a second beer when I finished during course 2.

I was asked to sign a release for a picture that was taken (with me in the background) for a Conde Naste publication. Hopefully I will make the cut.

 

[Rambo]

Originally Posted by iammatt

Fried chicken.
Asian or Black?

 

[itsstillmatt]

Originally Posted by Rambo

Asian or Black?
Jewish.

 

[Rambo]

Originally Posted by iammatt

Jewish.
Was it coated in matzoh and fried in schmaltz?

 

[fritzl]

Originally Posted by gdl203

I don't get this combination.

what's not to get?

 

[gdl203]

Originally Posted by fritzl

what's not to get?

What is this shrimp doing on the plate? Veal, jus, potato/parmesan cake, pea puree... OK... now a shrimp ?

I have nothing against meat & seafood combinations but this is not something that makes much sense to me.

 

[itsstillmatt]

Originally Posted by Rambo

Was it coated in matzoh and fried in schmaltz?

Ha! Neither black nor chinese, non traditional and quite a long process. Freaking awesome, though. Best fried chicken I've ever had by a good margin.

 

[sho'nuff]

last night i had kimchi chigae w tofu and mandoo, 1 avocado, gim, and fruits

 

[impolyt_one]

do you put butter in your kimchi jjigae?

 

[sho'nuff]

Originally Posted by impolyt_one

do you put butter in your kimchi jjigae?

no we dont. my wife just uses anchovy stock, onions, red chili powder, gochoojang, and kimchi. then she puts in the soft tofu and mandoo at the end. maybe some pork belly.

it's really good her recipe. no oil or butter.

 

[gdl203]

What is anchovy stock and where can I get some?

 

[sho'nuff]

Originally Posted by gdl203

What is anchovy stock and where can I get some?

im not really sure because i dont do the grocery shopping, but i think she just makes it from buying a pack of dried anchovy. and then she puts a handful in a pot of water and boil for a while to make the stock. it is a base for alot of korean soups.



the packs or boxes of dried anchovy can be found at all korean or asian grocery stores. some are cheap , some are expensive, depending on quality/name brand, of course

 

[ChicagoRon]

Originally Posted by Rambo

Was it coated in matzoh and fried in schmaltz?

That's the Blue Ribbon recipe (for real)

 

[Rambo]

Originally Posted by iammatt

Ha! Neither black nor chinese, non traditional and quite a long process. Freaking awesome, though. Best fried chicken I've ever had by a good margin.
Interesting. Post up the recipe if you've got a link. I'm curious to see what's going with that.

 

[Fabienne]

Smoked salmon spaghetti carbonara was my son's request.