Last night, I dined at Poste Brasserie in DC. I accidentally left my phone (and camera) at home so no pictures of this restaurant. I'll have to rely on words.
Overall, I'd give Poste's efforts an A-. We were dining with a sizable group so we were lucky to be put into our own private room. I say lucky because the bar there was hopping so the main dining room was quite noisy.
The first course I had was a housemade charcuterie board. Yummy. Fresh, flavorful, spicy, everything you want fresh housemade sausage to be. There were 4 slices on the board; fennel salami, porchetta, besaola, and coppa. 3 were amazingly good. The 4th was sort of like an olive loaf. The taste of the meat was fine, but I'm not a big olive person, so that got left uneaten.
My next course was the celeriac soup. The presentation was nice, if a bit overdone these days--they served it in a highball glass. Very frothy at the top. The soup was very flavorful and complex. Would have been good on its own. But what raised this above ordinary was the pieces of shrimp and smoked bacon in the soup. Awesome! Of course, anything with bacon is better, but the smoky flavor of this bacon went well with the celeriac soup.
For entree, I went with the Grilled Pineland Farms Flatiron Steak. It was nicely flavored with a Bordelaise sauce, of which I am a great fan. So it would have been hard to mess this up. I asked for my steak cooked to a warm pink center. It was a little rarer than that, so grilled just perfectly. The Bordelaise sauce was made to a perfect consistency. A strong effort overall.
The steak was served with some "boulangerie potatoes." I had a taste of these (quite good) but concentrated mainly on the side order of Macaroni and Cheese which we were all splititng among us. Apologies to my dining companions, but I think I hogged the Mac & Cheese.
I love macaroni and cheese. Ever since I was a little kid, I've been eating M&C like its in limited supply and I've got to finish it all before someone else does. I'm a big fan of Kraft Mac&Cheese actually. I run into some restaurants (or people) that try to do their own homemade mac & cheese but only two times has that been really enjoyable, where I wanted more. Last night was the second of those two times.
The M&C at Poste Brasserie is obviously made with good quality, fresh cheese. Some time is put into the creation of a creamy, thick sauce that had a hint of sharpness to it. My guess would be some sherry. Light on the bread crumbs atop the serving dish. I would go back there just for the Mac & Cheese. I thought it was that well-made and tasty.
Btw, the other return-to-me mac&cheese was made my by friend, the Canadian Michelle Hill who makes this odd dish she calls mac & cheese but is kind of franco-american spaghetti o's like. She claims she can only get the right noodles and cheese in Canada. But for all its oddities, its DAMN DELICIOUS and I hope she gets back to canada soon so I can get some more of it!
That's it for now.
Sunday, January 27, 2008
Thursday, January 24, 2008
Reds
Back in October (yes, I am seriously late in blogging this, keep your comments to yourself), I went on a business trip to Toronto. We were up there for the ONA conference. Online Newspaper Association. Yeah, I never heard of it either.
It was a nice conference, and I was lucky enough to have an evening free as my boss went out to dinner with some ex-coworkers of his. I asked the concierge at the hotel for a place where I could find some good food and a nice glass of wine and she suggested the restaurant "Reds" named not after the baseball team or the Warren Beatty movie, but after red wine. Ah, good find!
The bar at Reds was hopping. It was hard to miss because it took up the entire first floor of the place. Their selection of wines by the glass was excellent, and better, reasonably priced. And in October, the US dollar wasn't doing so good vs. its Canadian brethren. The dining room was upstairs and the first impression I had was that it was noisy. Because it was open to the bar below. Once I got over that impression, I liked what I saw. The entire front of the restaurant overlooked a pleasant but busy street, well-lit at night with lots of people and activity. Major plus when you are dining by yourself to have something to focus on (side note: i read when dining alone, when I'm not actually eating).
The service was very attentive but not intrusive. Another major plus.
For appetizer, I had a seafood stew with mussels and shrimp. In the stew was some asparagus, corn, carrots, and green onion. It was polished off with a dollop of pesto. Very complex flavor, nice texture. A great start.
One of reds specialties, in addition to having a great wine list and lengthy selection of wines by the glass was that each and every appetizer, main dish and dessert came with a recommended wine to pair.
With the seafood stew, they recommended the 2004 Scarbolo Pinot Grigio. Not only was the pinot grigio excellent, but the pairing was outstanding. Needless to say, I was excited for the rest of the meal. And by the time I realized how excited, my plate was cleared and I have no picture.
On to the second course. I have a picture, but have no idea what they called it. It was a bit of shredded duck blended with olive oil, salt and pepper (that is the lump just behind the fork. Behind the duck is a roasted blueberry. The triangles to the left are herb crostini type things. Each piece individually was just OK. However, together, very very strong. A bit salty, but overall an extremely awesome combination.
Note: thanks to Corey, I seem to have figured out how to correctly get my photos inline. We'll see if it lasts ;-)
The main dish was up next and so I decided to order another pairing with my entree since the first was so well done. The problem was that instead of ordering the small glass, I ordered the bigger glass. It came nicely prepared in a small carafe. Made for a great table setting:
My entree was a filet server atop some mashed potatoes, with some al dente veggie pieces and thinly sliced potato chip type things. The sauce was a red wine reduction, flavored with mushrooms. The pairing was a Langmeil Shiraz that was quite peppery, and again, paired nicely with the richness of the sauce and the meatiness of the tenderloin. Presentation of the dish was beautiful as well:
To finish up, I went with the cheese course, not being much for dessert. I went back to the well and had another glass of the Pinot Grigio I had with the app. Reds had a wonderful cheese selection. You could choose 2 or 3 from among 20 artisan cheeses. I selected the Isle of Mull Cheddar from Scotland, the Thunder Oak Gouda from Canada, and finally a Manchego from Spain.
Such a nice finish. I wish I was back there right now.
In summary, an excellent dinner. Would only have been made better by having good company with me :)
It was a nice conference, and I was lucky enough to have an evening free as my boss went out to dinner with some ex-coworkers of his. I asked the concierge at the hotel for a place where I could find some good food and a nice glass of wine and she suggested the restaurant "Reds" named not after the baseball team or the Warren Beatty movie, but after red wine. Ah, good find!
The bar at Reds was hopping. It was hard to miss because it took up the entire first floor of the place. Their selection of wines by the glass was excellent, and better, reasonably priced. And in October, the US dollar wasn't doing so good vs. its Canadian brethren. The dining room was upstairs and the first impression I had was that it was noisy. Because it was open to the bar below. Once I got over that impression, I liked what I saw. The entire front of the restaurant overlooked a pleasant but busy street, well-lit at night with lots of people and activity. Major plus when you are dining by yourself to have something to focus on (side note: i read when dining alone, when I'm not actually eating).
The service was very attentive but not intrusive. Another major plus.
For appetizer, I had a seafood stew with mussels and shrimp. In the stew was some asparagus, corn, carrots, and green onion. It was polished off with a dollop of pesto. Very complex flavor, nice texture. A great start.
One of reds specialties, in addition to having a great wine list and lengthy selection of wines by the glass was that each and every appetizer, main dish and dessert came with a recommended wine to pair.
With the seafood stew, they recommended the 2004 Scarbolo Pinot Grigio. Not only was the pinot grigio excellent, but the pairing was outstanding. Needless to say, I was excited for the rest of the meal. And by the time I realized how excited, my plate was cleared and I have no picture.
On to the second course. I have a picture, but have no idea what they called it. It was a bit of shredded duck blended with olive oil, salt and pepper (that is the lump just behind the fork. Behind the duck is a roasted blueberry. The triangles to the left are herb crostini type things. Each piece individually was just OK. However, together, very very strong. A bit salty, but overall an extremely awesome combination.
Note: thanks to Corey, I seem to have figured out how to correctly get my photos inline. We'll see if it lasts ;-)
The main dish was up next and so I decided to order another pairing with my entree since the first was so well done. The problem was that instead of ordering the small glass, I ordered the bigger glass. It came nicely prepared in a small carafe. Made for a great table setting:
My entree was a filet server atop some mashed potatoes, with some al dente veggie pieces and thinly sliced potato chip type things. The sauce was a red wine reduction, flavored with mushrooms. The pairing was a Langmeil Shiraz that was quite peppery, and again, paired nicely with the richness of the sauce and the meatiness of the tenderloin. Presentation of the dish was beautiful as well:
To finish up, I went with the cheese course, not being much for dessert. I went back to the well and had another glass of the Pinot Grigio I had with the app. Reds had a wonderful cheese selection. You could choose 2 or 3 from among 20 artisan cheeses. I selected the Isle of Mull Cheddar from Scotland, the Thunder Oak Gouda from Canada, and finally a Manchego from Spain.
Such a nice finish. I wish I was back there right now.
In summary, an excellent dinner. Would only have been made better by having good company with me :)
Friday, January 18, 2008
Geeking Out!
My iPhone now has a Mixx Webclip icon on it! Woo hoo!
Now we just need an iPhone version.
Here's a crappy picture of it:
Now we just need an iPhone version.
Here's a crappy picture of it:
Thursday, January 17, 2008
Waiting for Gosnow
Bad pun, yes.
I'm waiting for snow to show up today. Out at home, the forecast is for 6". Here, near work, they are saying 2" converting to snow. My boss won't be happy when I skip out early, but I have no desire to try to fight the hills in my neighborhood getting home. I don't want Z to have to walk home in the snow. We'll save that for when he turns 3 ;-)
Speaking of Z, here is a picture from our drive into work the other day (from my iPhone so forgive the quality and my ability to get it to show vertically)
He loves his video iPod and watches the Backyardigans on the way to and from work. Here, the headphones got stuck looking like blinders. Made me laugh!
I'm waiting for snow to show up today. Out at home, the forecast is for 6". Here, near work, they are saying 2" converting to snow. My boss won't be happy when I skip out early, but I have no desire to try to fight the hills in my neighborhood getting home. I don't want Z to have to walk home in the snow. We'll save that for when he turns 3 ;-)
Speaking of Z, here is a picture from our drive into work the other day (from my iPhone so forgive the quality and my ability to get it to show vertically)
He loves his video iPod and watches the Backyardigans on the way to and from work. Here, the headphones got stuck looking like blinders. Made me laugh!
Tuesday, January 15, 2008
How to Disguise Chicken
I think I should write a book on how to disguise chicken. I'm dieting by doing the lo-carb thing, and so chicken has become a mainstay in my diet. Troy is perfectly happy just plopping a bunch of chicken meat down on his plate and calling it a meal. I, however, need to be more clever in disguising the flesh.
On a low-carb diet, you are theoretically supposed to stick to about 20g of carbs a day. Spread out over 3 meals, this means I go for chicken disguises of 5g carbs or less. My favorites:
1. Salad dressing
The bolder the salad dressing the better. Look for something about 2-3g of carbs per serving (generally 2tblsp in size). That way, 4 tablespoons of dressing can be applied to the chicken to make it stop tasting like chicken! That's a TON of dressing. If you rotisserie a chicken or marinade it so the chicken has some flavor, then a complementary dressing is great, and, extra bonus, less dressing is needed. My personal disguise dressing is Brianna's Chipotle Cheddar. Looking at their website tells me I'll have to try some more of those!
2. Salsa and Sour Cream
When you eat a chicken taco, you wrap chicken, lettuce, cheese, salsa and sour cream in a tortilla and call it a meal. So take the tortilla out of it. Cut out the need to shred some lettuce and cheese and voila! Low-carb heaven. I love salsa and sour cream mixed together. To me, its as good as peanut butter and chocolate or wine and cheese. So how can this NOT make chicken yummy?? Add some extra zing with a little sprinkle of cayenne in the mixture.
3. Bruschetta
After saying I'm too lazy to shred some lettuce for #2, I'm *not* advocating making your own bruschetta here. Costco sells some really tasty brushcetta in a jar. Just watch the carb count on this one. Its up near 7-8 for 1/10th of the jar. The jar is honking-big so I'm not sure I could even eat 1/10th of it. But I do hate when they measure in that way. I mean, am I suppose to empty the whole jar into 10 even piles of tomato-y goodness in order to figure out how much that is?!?
I don't think anyone actually reads my blog, because I haven't told anyone about it, but if you are reading and can think of some other good disguises of the low-carb variety, let me know!
On a low-carb diet, you are theoretically supposed to stick to about 20g of carbs a day. Spread out over 3 meals, this means I go for chicken disguises of 5g carbs or less. My favorites:
1. Salad dressing
The bolder the salad dressing the better. Look for something about 2-3g of carbs per serving (generally 2tblsp in size). That way, 4 tablespoons of dressing can be applied to the chicken to make it stop tasting like chicken! That's a TON of dressing. If you rotisserie a chicken or marinade it so the chicken has some flavor, then a complementary dressing is great, and, extra bonus, less dressing is needed. My personal disguise dressing is Brianna's Chipotle Cheddar. Looking at their website tells me I'll have to try some more of those!
2. Salsa and Sour Cream
When you eat a chicken taco, you wrap chicken, lettuce, cheese, salsa and sour cream in a tortilla and call it a meal. So take the tortilla out of it. Cut out the need to shred some lettuce and cheese and voila! Low-carb heaven. I love salsa and sour cream mixed together. To me, its as good as peanut butter and chocolate or wine and cheese. So how can this NOT make chicken yummy?? Add some extra zing with a little sprinkle of cayenne in the mixture.
3. Bruschetta
After saying I'm too lazy to shred some lettuce for #2, I'm *not* advocating making your own bruschetta here. Costco sells some really tasty brushcetta in a jar. Just watch the carb count on this one. Its up near 7-8 for 1/10th of the jar. The jar is honking-big so I'm not sure I could even eat 1/10th of it. But I do hate when they measure in that way. I mean, am I suppose to empty the whole jar into 10 even piles of tomato-y goodness in order to figure out how much that is?!?
I don't think anyone actually reads my blog, because I haven't told anyone about it, but if you are reading and can think of some other good disguises of the low-carb variety, let me know!
On One-Upmanship
I know a few people who are constant one-uppers. Not only have they had the same experience as you, but somehow, some way, their experience is grander, more extreme, more magical, more memorable, more humorous. Just more.
After a lot of thinking, I think this is motivated by low self-esteem and a high degree of neediness. Overall, a bad combination. Their lack of self worth compels them to dish out exaggerated stories that make them look good, or interesting. Their high degree of neediness makes them need the constant validation that these stories bring.
I suppose that all these people started off in a different place, but then grew to realize their crazy stories brought them attention and approval.
I'm glad I'm not like that. At least I don't think I am. Look at me looking for validation.
Anyway, that's my thought for this morning.
After a lot of thinking, I think this is motivated by low self-esteem and a high degree of neediness. Overall, a bad combination. Their lack of self worth compels them to dish out exaggerated stories that make them look good, or interesting. Their high degree of neediness makes them need the constant validation that these stories bring.
I suppose that all these people started off in a different place, but then grew to realize their crazy stories brought them attention and approval.
I'm glad I'm not like that. At least I don't think I am. Look at me looking for validation.
Anyway, that's my thought for this morning.
Thursday, January 10, 2008
I Am The Biggest Loser!
I went to the gym today. Again. These college lectures I bought have done wonders for my desire to workout. I actually look forward to exercising my brain by learning something new.
Today, it was Julian the Apostate. He was the last pagan emperor of the Roman Empire. For the average person, probably boring. For me? Worth trotting on a treadmill or riding a bike for 30 mins to learn about.
I'm down 5 lbs.
Now guess which of these discussion points makes me the biggest loser ;-)
Today, it was Julian the Apostate. He was the last pagan emperor of the Roman Empire. For the average person, probably boring. For me? Worth trotting on a treadmill or riding a bike for 30 mins to learn about.
I'm down 5 lbs.
Now guess which of these discussion points makes me the biggest loser ;-)
Tuesday, January 8, 2008
Update on the Dieting
I was just reading my old posts about dieting back in August.
The good news is that I kept off 4 of the 5.5 pounds I lost back then. The bad news is that I didn't lose anymore.
After our trip to Chicago (and to moto), I kind of fell off the wagon a bit. We then went to Vegas, and fell off a bit more.
Then my new job I referenced? Well, we finally launched. Mixx.com
But it took a lot of working long hours, being stressed, and tons of work. We're doing well, but it didn't help my dieting and exercise program.
I'm back on it now. This time inspired by my sister-in-law Lisa, who has dropped a bunch of weight and is looking good.
I'm a week in and doing great so far!
The good news is that I kept off 4 of the 5.5 pounds I lost back then. The bad news is that I didn't lose anymore.
After our trip to Chicago (and to moto), I kind of fell off the wagon a bit. We then went to Vegas, and fell off a bit more.
Then my new job I referenced? Well, we finally launched. Mixx.com
But it took a lot of working long hours, being stressed, and tons of work. We're doing well, but it didn't help my dieting and exercise program.
I'm back on it now. This time inspired by my sister-in-law Lisa, who has dropped a bunch of weight and is looking good.
I'm a week in and doing great so far!
Moto Part 3: Dessert
Continued from Part 2
Now we move on to the desserts. By this time, I've had a bit too much wine, so if the pictures get blurry, you'll understand.
Course 14: CO2 Fruit
Expectation: what the hell is CO2 fruit???
Reality: This one is hard to describe. The bottom square there is a piece of watermelon. They somehow injected CO2 into the watermelon so that it was this fizzy, carbonated, soda-like solid. Delicious, btw. I can't remember what the brown flakes were. The middle thing was a pudding that was citrus-y and fizzy. The top thing was like a cripsy piece of sugary dough--almost like a funnel cake, but insanely thin like phyllo dough. For the life of me, I have no memory of what was under the deep-fried dough, but I do remember it was good. Again, let me remind you of the wine.
Course 15: 3 Cotton Candy Stages
Expection: BIG. First, I love cotton candy. Second, last time we were at the restaurant, I remember being in love with this course. Third, this is Troy's anticipation of this course:
Reality: Did not disappoint. This dish had, as advertised, 3 parts to it. The cotton candy truffle is the ball in the upper left. The piece of paper was the 2nd part. And finally, the straw the 3rd:
The cotton candy truffle they warned us about. It had a liquid center that tasted like liquid cotton candy. The outside was like a solidified cotton candy ball. The two textures meeting in your mouth after you bite into it was really cool. Similar but different tastes and totally different textures.
The cotton candy paper was like one of those Listerine breath strips. No, not in terms of taste, but in terms of experience. You could bite into it or plop the whole thing in your mouth at once. It was kinda big:
So I chose to just rip it into pieces. I placed the piece on my tongue and let it dissolve. At first, it totally tasted or felt like paper. Then it started to dissolve into cotton candy goodness. Yum, yum. I also liked the "fine print" on this one--a copyright notice from Homaru Cantu the chef. Well deserved copyright of the edible paper thing.
The third cotton candy dish was like straw. You know those fried potato straw things they sell at Outback or some other chain steakhouse? It had that texture or feeling. I'm having trouble describing it because it was lighter than that. Both in weight and width. It was kind of crunchy, but didn't taste fried. Don't know how they accomplished that, but it was awesome :)
This might be my favorite course. It was certainly my favorite dessert. Although the next one was pretty cool
Course 16: Frozen Flapjacks
Expectation: Pancakes plopped in a freezer?
Reality:
OK, so the size was a bit disappointing,the flavor was interesting, but the experience was so cool. The server comes out wearing a cold-resistant glove (which, btw, looks amazingly like a heat-resistant glove) holding a metal? flat tablet that has been dipped into liquid nitrogen. I put the question mark next to metal because I thought that most metals shatter when you put them in liquid nitrogen. I wonder if they break a lot of these things.
Anyway, another server then comes over with a plastic large syringe with the flapjack batter in it and doles out a small dollop onto the frozen tablet thing. They take this mini-spatula and flip it over and use the cold to "cook" it. They then plop it on the spoon, put it in the dish and then pour some maple syrup on it. I was too impatient with my picture-taking to wait for the maple syrup.
Summary: taste good, method cool!
Course 17: Carrot cake
Expectation: Slice of cake with white frosting and a little frosting carrot on it.
Reality: Carrot cake soup! WTF?
I have to confess, I don't like carrot cake. Or at least, I don't think I do. I haven't had it in as long as I can remember. And maybe I just never tried it because really, carrots don't belong in cake. Period. SO I didn't taste this one. Troy did, though, and here are the results:
End result, I guess, was it was good cause he slurped down his and mine (politely, of course).
Course 18: Chicago Dog
Expectation: Hot dog for dessert? Uh, no thanks
Reality: A mini-hot dog in a bun with toppings all made out of ice cream. How cool is that??
It tasted like ice cream. Had a little vanilla creme dipping sauce. Over all, good stuff.
Course 19: Pina Colada Forms
Expectation: no clue.
Reality: Puffy, Pina Colada Clouds! Exceptional!
Course 20: Chili-Cheese Nachos
Expection: With the previous hot dog dessert, we knew we were in for a treat. The nachos were made all out of dessert items, but for sure did look like nachos:
Note that I had already started eating before I snapped the photo (back to the wine thing).
Hard to tell here, but the nacho chips were made out of a churro-like batter. The ground beef was actually chocolate. The cheese strips were some sort of un-remembered fruit. And the salsa was also a sweet jelly-like fruit. Really tasty, really inventive. Loved it!!
Final picture to leave you with?
Mysterious reddish puffs that I have memory of:
So WOW! 20 courses plus a mystery bonus at the end. Three hours, 12 wines, good friends and conversation later--Very happy diners!!!
Now we move on to the desserts. By this time, I've had a bit too much wine, so if the pictures get blurry, you'll understand.
Course 14: CO2 Fruit
Expectation: what the hell is CO2 fruit???
Reality: This one is hard to describe. The bottom square there is a piece of watermelon. They somehow injected CO2 into the watermelon so that it was this fizzy, carbonated, soda-like solid. Delicious, btw. I can't remember what the brown flakes were. The middle thing was a pudding that was citrus-y and fizzy. The top thing was like a cripsy piece of sugary dough--almost like a funnel cake, but insanely thin like phyllo dough. For the life of me, I have no memory of what was under the deep-fried dough, but I do remember it was good. Again, let me remind you of the wine.
Course 15: 3 Cotton Candy Stages
Expection: BIG. First, I love cotton candy. Second, last time we were at the restaurant, I remember being in love with this course. Third, this is Troy's anticipation of this course:
Reality: Did not disappoint. This dish had, as advertised, 3 parts to it. The cotton candy truffle is the ball in the upper left. The piece of paper was the 2nd part. And finally, the straw the 3rd:
The cotton candy truffle they warned us about. It had a liquid center that tasted like liquid cotton candy. The outside was like a solidified cotton candy ball. The two textures meeting in your mouth after you bite into it was really cool. Similar but different tastes and totally different textures.The cotton candy paper was like one of those Listerine breath strips. No, not in terms of taste, but in terms of experience. You could bite into it or plop the whole thing in your mouth at once. It was kinda big:
So I chose to just rip it into pieces. I placed the piece on my tongue and let it dissolve. At first, it totally tasted or felt like paper. Then it started to dissolve into cotton candy goodness. Yum, yum. I also liked the "fine print" on this one--a copyright notice from Homaru Cantu the chef. Well deserved copyright of the edible paper thing.
The third cotton candy dish was like straw. You know those fried potato straw things they sell at Outback or some other chain steakhouse? It had that texture or feeling. I'm having trouble describing it because it was lighter than that. Both in weight and width. It was kind of crunchy, but didn't taste fried. Don't know how they accomplished that, but it was awesome :)
This might be my favorite course. It was certainly my favorite dessert. Although the next one was pretty cool
Course 16: Frozen Flapjacks
Expectation: Pancakes plopped in a freezer?
Reality:
OK, so the size was a bit disappointing,the flavor was interesting, but the experience was so cool. The server comes out wearing a cold-resistant glove (which, btw, looks amazingly like a heat-resistant glove) holding a metal? flat tablet that has been dipped into liquid nitrogen. I put the question mark next to metal because I thought that most metals shatter when you put them in liquid nitrogen. I wonder if they break a lot of these things.
Anyway, another server then comes over with a plastic large syringe with the flapjack batter in it and doles out a small dollop onto the frozen tablet thing. They take this mini-spatula and flip it over and use the cold to "cook" it. They then plop it on the spoon, put it in the dish and then pour some maple syrup on it. I was too impatient with my picture-taking to wait for the maple syrup.
Summary: taste good, method cool!
Course 17: Carrot cake
Expectation: Slice of cake with white frosting and a little frosting carrot on it.
Reality: Carrot cake soup! WTF?
I have to confess, I don't like carrot cake. Or at least, I don't think I do. I haven't had it in as long as I can remember. And maybe I just never tried it because really, carrots don't belong in cake. Period. SO I didn't taste this one. Troy did, though, and here are the results:
End result, I guess, was it was good cause he slurped down his and mine (politely, of course).
Course 18: Chicago Dog
Expectation: Hot dog for dessert? Uh, no thanks
Reality: A mini-hot dog in a bun with toppings all made out of ice cream. How cool is that??
It tasted like ice cream. Had a little vanilla creme dipping sauce. Over all, good stuff.
Course 19: Pina Colada Forms
Expectation: no clue.
Reality: Puffy, Pina Colada Clouds! Exceptional!
Course 20: Chili-Cheese Nachos
Expection: With the previous hot dog dessert, we knew we were in for a treat. The nachos were made all out of dessert items, but for sure did look like nachos:
Note that I had already started eating before I snapped the photo (back to the wine thing).
Hard to tell here, but the nacho chips were made out of a churro-like batter. The ground beef was actually chocolate. The cheese strips were some sort of un-remembered fruit. And the salsa was also a sweet jelly-like fruit. Really tasty, really inventive. Loved it!!
Final picture to leave you with?
Mysterious reddish puffs that I have memory of:
So WOW! 20 courses plus a mystery bonus at the end. Three hours, 12 wines, good friends and conversation later--Very happy diners!!!
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