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Missy

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  1. Missy

    Makoto

    Makoto is the kind of place that makes you better than you really are. Smaller. Neater. Quieter. More graceful. In short, a match for the lovely women who orchestrate your perfect evening. I went on a sultry night, entering this calmer world through a lovely enclosed carved wooden entrance on MacArthur Blvd. Inside the door, doll-like steps lead steeply down to a tiny alcove with a cobbled floor. The hostess slid back the shoji and welcomed me, then pointed from my elegant size 5 strappy black sandals to a large pair of floppy slippers, the kind Beaver’s father might request, along with a pipe, after a long day at the office. I slid them on. She smiled, and led me into a tiny dining are that seemed to shrink around me. Halfway across the polished wooden floor, one of the floppy slippers shot ahead during a forward step. I giggled and cried, “Oops, there goes my slipper!!” The hostess lifted one magic eyebrow. Its puzzled upward arc transformed me into a hulking hayseed, complete with bouncing Adam’s apple and an oatstraw clutched between my horselike incisors. At the sushi bar, I stored my purse in a little wooden box that doubled as my seat for the evening. Within 5 minutes I had my drink of choice, green tea in a beautifully rough earthen cup, had ordered the tasting menu, and unwrapped my chopsticks. I discarded the crumpled paper strip beside a black marble slab that was my place setting. A waitress, quiet as a shadow, picked up the chopsticks and carefully placed them on a porcelain holder, then quietly removed the crumpled paper. My Adam’s apple bulged even larger as a tinkle of meditative New Age piano music filtered through the air. I noticed a miniscule speck of my earlier lunch on my pink silk blouse. The first course arrived quite soon: two porcelain dishes in a lacquer box, one containing pickled “winter vegetable,” the other, steamed and chilled snow pea leaves. I don’t know what winter vegetable actually is, but I had had it before in a Japanese pickle assortment. It’s a gray-green stalk, incredibly, delightfully crisp, with a light sweet/tangy pickled flavor. The snow pea leaves were dressed with a slightly sweet/tart dressing that had a smoky undertone. The second course was my favorite of the entire evening: a baby spinach salad with one poached shrimp and one poached scallop, a tangle of shredded carrot, and a slightly sweet citrusy dressing with an undefinable herbal note. This dressing was so light that it was almost tasteless on the tongue, but rose in a cloud of aromatics through the back of my mouth. It was one of the most mysterious and delicious fragrance/tastes I’ve ever encountered. The waitress told me the dressing was of yuzu – Japanese lime. Whatever it was, the high amount of aromatics in the juice made me think it had been freshly squeezed. The third course arrived. It was a tiny selection of tuna and grouper sashimi with freshly grated wasabi – the first I had ever had. Wow. The fresh wasabi has a complex sweet heat that the powdered stuff doesn’t even hint of. In the midst of my wasabi revelation I realized I had eaten from both ends of my chopsticks, which were identically tapered. I surreptitiously wiped off one end before the shadowy waitress who refilled my tea cup could take note. Fearful of being cast as a rube who eats the table décor, I neglected the bright-green serrated-edge leaf beneath the fish. Too late, I learned that it was a shiso leaf, with flavors of mint and basil. The fourth course was another revelation. I’ve never had anything like it… chicken wrapped in a tofu skin, poached in a few swallows of smoky golden broth, which also contained a few nuggets of crisp-tender asparagus and a carrot piece steamed to sweet custardy goodness. The tofu skin wrapper was resilient and chewy without beng tough, the chicken firm and flavorful. The fifth course was SOOOO delightful… a softshell crab cut into two pieces, each coated with finely crushed rice cracker crumbs and salt, deep fried, and served with a big piece of lemon. Sweet, crunchy, salty, tart. Next came a marble slab with three small tastes: a bowl of cold crab mixed with grated daikon and topped with salmon roe: a nugget of cold rare roasted beef and a slice of kelp coated with Japanese black pepper, and three bites of peeled chilled asparagus in miso sauce. Despite the understated beauty of its presentation, this was probably my least favorite course. I don’t know if the beef was kobe, but to me it tasted just like roast beef. The kelp was very nice: chewy and salty, and the pepper was highly aromatic with just a touch of heat. The crab was quite good, fresh and sweet, but I disliked the wet graininess of the daikon, and the roe was a little strong for my taste. The seventh course was a small sushi collection: yellowtail, grouper, and tuna, with fresh wasabi tucked between the fish and rice. The fish was wonderful, and the presentation striking: these were carefully placed on a narrow, dark green leaf laid diagonally across a black marble slab. The eighth course was grilled salmon with a miso glaze. My favorite part there was the skin… so crisp and black and caramelized with salty-sweetness. The ninth course was a bowl of sobe noodles in clear, smoky broth, topped with “mountain vegetable.” The waitress said this was like a fern… I didn’t see any resemblance to fiddleheads. Instead, the bright green slivers looked to be some kind of a chopped grass. Some pieces had the appearance of flat blades, while others were round, jointed stalks. It had a very spring-green taste that was a distinct contrast to the deeper flavor of the broth. The final course was the perfect ending… a red grape sorbet. The ice was not granular but flaky, a really delightful texture. Barely sweet, nicely tart, gorgeously colored. I paid my bill (just $59 with tax and tip) and thanked my waitress, noting that my voice was now low and melodic. I rose with grace. The slippers didn’t flop as I glided toward the shoji. My posture was impeccable. Outside the entrance, the sky was booming with a storm. Fat drops were plopping on my head, and I couldn’t catch a cab. But I could write a bad haiku. Alone in the rain The untasted shiso leaf Was my umbrella.
  2. Thanks, all. That gives me some good choices. The 8-year-old is a pretty good eater, but I think Korean would daunt him. As long as he can get fried calamari he's happy. Heck we live in Winchester, Va., and the best restaurant in this town in the Golden Corral. And no, I'm not kidding. Sad, isn't it???
  3. Thanks for the advice. Maybe I wasn't clear. WE WILL DRIVE FOR FOOD!!!!! DOes not have to be downtown exclusively. Does that shake out anything else? HOw about Franco's or Abruzzi? Are they any good?
  4. Wow, I'm SO glad to see there IS someone up there! I live in rural Virginia and the hubby, kid and I are meeting the Anne Arbor grandparents in Pittsburgh this weekend. Looking for some suggestions that will please all... fortunately, all, inclduing the 8-year-old, are adventurous eaters so we will take ALL recs for lunch and dinner gratefully (breakfast taken care of at hotel)! Isn't the Italian up there supposed to be real good? We will be staying downtown and doing the Carnegie Museum, zoo, maybe the aviary... stuff like that, but are not averse to travelling cross-town for a fine feed. Thanks in advance!
  5. I had a wonderful dinner last year at Mark's on Las Olas in Ft. Lauderdale. I hope somebody responds to your post, though, because I'm heading to Boca in 3 weeks andI haven't been able to find much in the way of recommended eats either. Surely SOMEONE knows the score down there!!!!
  6. Cuisina P.S. I was almost shot at once in a harold's chicken shack... really scared the heck out of me. I now make it a rule not to eat in places where the staff is behind bullet proof glass. And I don't believe celebrity chef Harold was actually in the kitchen either. There'a a Harold's right behind the Chicago Hilton on Michigan Avenue, in a safe, well-lit and touristy neighborhood. It's right next to a not-very-good Thai place.
  7. Craig Camp www.vinocibo.com Vino e Cibo Viaggi in Italia "Trio is your first celebrity restaurant, but you've been to very nice places indeed? What does that mean?" Am I being graded here? How many celebrity restaurants must one endure before being qualified to hold an opinion on them? At any rate, do you honestly think that only celebrity restaurants can be classified as “very fine indeed”? That attitude, I submit, is the very reason we have such an epidemic of fatuous dishes being pawned off as fine dining. Foodies eat where they are told too and are primed to love, or at least claim to love, every dish they’re been told is sublime. Let’s face it: Who wants to spend $350 and walk away saying “I don’t get it” or worse, “That really wasn’t very good.” There’s a humiliation factor there, as Adam correctly pointed out. The alternative to loving everything is to face the horrifying possibility that your palate isn’t as good as everyone else’s. Rather than perpetuating a colony of foodie lemmings, is it not wiser, more brave, and definitely more honest, to point out that silly, over-wrought dishes are just that? To suggest that for $350/couple, every dish should be outstanding and not just OK? To communicate that pretentious service is neither pleasant nor a mark of sophistication? If anyone is interested in some consistently wonderful food accompanied by a warm, gracious atmosphere, I would suggest any of these “very fine, indeed” restaurants in the East: No. 9 Park, Boston; I Ricchi, Cashion’s Eat Place, Tosca, and Jaleo, Washington, DC; Slightly North of Broad, Charleston, SC; Herbsaint, Brigtsen’s, New Orleans; Gramercy Tavern (both tavern and prix fixe menu), NYC. At none of these, save the prixe fix room at Gramercy Tavern, will you spend $350/couple and sit for three or four hours. If those are prerequisites for a great meal, keep throwing your dollars at the celebrities.
  8. Hey Adam, I completely agree with everything you described in your original message. I'm sending my message this way as well because after so many reponses I feared you would never see mine. Last month I ate at Trio in Chicago, after a difficult decision between it an CT. I paid $162 for my 8-course dinner; had 1 glass of wine ONLY. I expected to pay a lot but I did not think the meal worthy of that price. I'm 44 and a former food writer and big eater with some experience at very, very nice places indeed; Trio was my first "celebrity" restaurant and I doubt I'll ever try another one. There's such a thing as trying too hard in food. These chefs desire so desperately to be innovative that they forget what food should be all about: TASTING GOOD!!!!!! At some point you want to stand up, ripping apart all the over-the-top reviews, and shriek: THE EMPORER HAS NO CLOTHES!!!! And when you spend several hours and several hundred dollars, you have a right to feel not only well-fed, but appreciated by those whose salaries you are paying. I loved your post. You're a very funny writer. Next time you're in Chicago, try Harolds Fried Chicken! I ate there the night after Trio and quite possibly enjoyed it more; the chicken was great, the people were friendly and funny, and I didn't have to cover my mouth when I burped.
  9. Are we breaking the DC chefs' Chilean sea bass ban ("Take a pass on sea bass")? Or is that still on?
  10. I'd highly recommend Slightly North of Broad. I had a meeting at Kiawah Island last June and made my way to Charleston for dinner each night. SNOB was one of the finest. Living near the Chesapeake Bay, I've had plenty of great softshells but nothing can touch the one I had there in size or crunchy fried goodness. It was like some giant mutant Japanese horror movie crab, except that you ate it and not the other way round.
  11. I'll be on a business trip to NO in a couple of weeks. I've reserved one night at Clancy's, one at Brigtsen's. What am I in for? My fear is that the food at those places looks rather similar. Perhaps I'd be better off with another choice? Any good lunch choices (up- or downscale) within walking distance of the hotel? Also, I arrive early (8:30 a.m.) on a Sunday. My plan is to drop the luggage at the hotel (Hilton Riverside) and walk and eat until 4 p.m., when I have to get back to a meeting (hotel food dinner). Can anyone give me some good hints on how to spend a productive day, hopefully returning stuffed enough that I won't have to endure meeting food, and exercised enough so that I won't have to endure my fat jeans?
  12. I really recommend the Floataway Cafe. It's in a converted warehouse near Emory University; the taxi driver had a bit of a hard time finding it. The warehouse has been converted into something very Soho-ish: the bricks left exposed, the ductwork painted silver. The ceiling is very high - warehouse-height - but beautiful off-white floaty curtains section off the dining areas. The food was very, very good, reasonably priced, and if I recall they had a very nice list of wines by the glass. There were lots of local regulars there and the conversation was animated and very upbeat. A very nice bar as well. I bet you'd really like this place!! The website is www.starprovisions.com and you click on Floataway Cafe. The menu is listed.
  13. Do you have room for two more? I'm also a "newbie" and I've love to join you. I'm pretty sure I could drag my husband along.
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