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creepygirl

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  1. Yeah, I am too. I love cakes and pastries, but am finding it harder and harder to find ones to satisfy my finicky palate. 95% of what I try tastes oversweetened to me, including Cupcake Royale's offerings. (I bet I would have loved the place when I was a kid and budding food snob--I loved cupcakes, but hated the shortening-frosting they used at bakeries where I lived). I'm intrigued by the Macrina recommendation, and will have to try them out on a future trip. And thanks for the kind words and welcome from you all.
  2. I think it was about three hours, give or take a half hour. The timing of the courses was fairly deliberate--we'd have a course put in front of us, eat, watch the chefs and the kitchen at work, and in a little while we'd have another course put in front of us. Some of the dishes were smaller than the others and got eaten faster, which meant a slightly longer wait for the next course.
  3. I posted this on another forum, but thought it might also be of interest here. Took another trip to Seattle to see my boyfriend. I'm not going to cover every place we went, because I want to focus on our dinner Monday night at Mashiko, which was really the highlight of the trip. Friday morning we met our friend R. and went to Salumi for lunch. I had the lamb prosciutto once again, boyfriend had the cured meat plate, and I can't remember what R. ordered. R. thought the bread was a little too dense for her liking, but otherwise liked it. We also picked up some things for Saturday night's dinner. After lunch, we walked around Pike Market and stopped at Beecher's to buy some cheese. We were a little overwhelmed by the selections of cheese, but picked out the Beecher Havarti, some Humboldt Fog goat cheese, and a really nice blue cheese. We passed by Bottega Italiana, and decided to get some gelato. I got straciatella, which I'd never had before. I really liked the way the base flavor was neutral, which made a nice contrast with the bits of chocolate. There were a few bits of ice in my gelato, though. R. thought the ice cream was not as dense as real gelato from Italy. For dinner, boyfriend and I went to Thanh Vi in the International District, a new place for us. We got the banh xeo (crepe), which tasted mostly of turmeric to me. We also got some sort of dish that had grilled pork meatball, beef, and shrimp cake on sugar cane, vermicelli noodles, a huge plate of herbs, plus rice paper rolls for wrapping. It was delicious. I keep feeling like I've barely scratched the surface of Vietnamese cuisine. I keep finding new (to me) and wonderful things. We also got lemongrass chicken. It was quite tasty, if not as lemongrass-y as I prefer. Saturday we walked to Pike again and got some apples from the market, then walked to Gelatiamo. Boyfriend had caramel and chocolate, I had straciatella again and coffee. I thought the gelato was better here overall than Bottega, but I liked the chocolate Bottega used in its straciatella better than the stuff that Gelatiamo used. Saturday night we went with R. to Central Market, and picked up a few more things for dinner, including some bread from Essential Bakery. We had way too much food--proscuitto, three kinds of salami (including hot paprika), and gnocchi with lamb sauce from Salumi, the cheese from Beecher's, the bread, and lots of fruits and veggies. Sunday marked our dating anniversary. We met R. and another friend, E. for lunch at Hosoonyi. Got the seafood crepe, as always (was particularly crispy and good that day), some sort of spicy squid dish and the stuffed chicken soup. The chicken soup tasted under-seasoned. We didn't realize until after we'd finished the meal that we were probably supposed to toss in all of the salt that came with the soup all at once. We've also been advised to try a soft tofu soup on the next trip. We then drove out to Greenlake, and checked out Chocolati there. E. had a couple of pastries that he really liked. I tried a few of their chocolates (including the cinnamon Aztec) and wasn't blown away. Sunday night we cooked dinner at home, with provisions from Central Market. Monday was boyfriend's birthday. We met our friend J. for lunch at Andaluca. We started off with an appetizer of lamb dolmas, which were quite tasty, but were a bit messy to share, since they tended to fall apart. Boyfriend had a preserved lemon and mushroom risotto, I had a tasty (if a bit soggy) lamb burger that I basically inhaled. J. had a chicken and prosciutto sandwich that she really liked. We went to Amore in Bellevue to continue the chocolate gorging process. Chocolates were fabulous as usual. J. isn't a chocolate fan but was blown away by the chocolate chip cookie there. Monday night was Mashiko night. Mashiko is boyfriend's favorite restaurant, so we thought it would be great to try their kaiseki dinner. There were twelve courses. 1. Geoduck ceviche. Chewy bites of geoduck, in a sauce that tasted kind of like salsa fresca. 2. A trio of bites, one of which was salmon belly (very rich), one tofu with uni, shiso, and a squirt of lemon (very pretty), and one striped bass that had been arranged in a barrell-like shape. The striped bass blew me away. Wonderful blend of flavors, and I have no idea what they were. 3. Abalone in sweet mushroom broth. Light. 4. Sea snail. The only dish I disliked. They're extraordinarily chewy, and have no discernable flavor to reward all that chewing. Mariah told my boyfriend, "Well, we had to think hard of something you haven't had here yet." This is not a regular menu item there. 5. Chawan mushi. Wonderful mild flavors, and I had a chance to savor them. 6. Frog legs in garlic sauce on top of salad greens. This was the first time I had frog legs, and they were amazing. They were fried perfectly and the flavors really enhanced the meat for me. I slurped up all of the greens to get the last taste of the sauce. 7. Prosciutto wrapped scallop and spicy crab, topped with avocado and tobiko. This was a favorite of both of us on previous trips, and they remembered. Aww. It was just as incredibly good as we remembered. 8. Baby eggplant in a soy sauce with mirin and sesame. This was a cute little round eggplant with the stem attached, which made a nice handle for tearing apart the eggplant to eat it it. 9. Broiled beef tongue. First time for both of us, and we were both pleasantly surprised. The tongue was made with cayenne or other hot spice, and the spiciness made it really delicious. The meat itself was like chewy or well-done beef. 10. Spinach rice ball with salmon roe (ikura), fried salmon skin. The presentation of this was just beautiful, with the spinach stretched out tightly over the rice ball, and the salmon roe "spilling" out of it. Salmon skin was reminiscent of bacon in flavor. 11. Soup with bonito flakes, clams, tofu, and head-on shrimp. Daikon sprouts added a really nice note to counteract some of the sweetness of the broth. 12. Fresh tamago with unagi. Apparently this is a very painstaking thing to make, and the end results were fabulous. These were quite possibly the best eggs I ever had. In addition to the stellar food, it was a lot of fun to watch the sushi chefs at work all evening, and there was live jazz music while we there, which was a nice coincidence (boyfriend is a jazz fan). It was a wonderful experience. Tuesday morning we checked out Cupcake Royale in Madrona. Apparently, even using Guittard chocolates in cupcakes is not enough to make them interesting to us. They were also kind of dried out. We made up for it with two great sandwiches from Banh Mi 88. I had to fly home tonight (Tuesday), but I had the best meal on the plane: leftover Salumi salami, Havarti and blue cheese from Beecher's, and bread from Essential Bakery. Now back to semi-normal eating habits and inferior chocolate.
  4. One more thing to keep in mind about Pizzeria Bianco--it gets crowded, so you'll either have to expect a 45-90 minute wait (they have a lounge where you can get some wine while you wait), or show up early (like 4:30, a half an hour before it opens), or get a group of 6 or more to get a reservation.
  5. Hmm. That's a tough one. It would depend on what kind of dining I'd be in the mood for, I think, because Gregory's and Sea Saw are so different. Sea Saw's can be a really different experience. You get teased and tempted with a lots of unusual flavors and textures, and unexpected ingredients/combinations, and I'm sure it's magnified if you do the wine pairings (I'm not a wine drinker, but the restaurant has access to a large wine selection). As I mentioned, there's a tasting menu, though most of the items on the tasting menu were available as small plates on the regular menu when I went. They seem to have gotten the execution of their dishes down to a science, so that everything is as good as it possibly can be. Space is small and a bit cramped. Service is efficient. Gregory's is located in a shopping center next to a yogurt place, but you'd never know it once you go in. The ambiance is warm, and the servers are friendly and eager to please. There's a lot more choice of items on the menu than you'd find at Sea Saw (for example, Sea Saw doesn't serve dessert). Food is more restrained in flavor combinations but still wonderfully executed. So, if I want to take people out to a place where they feel totally comfortable, and can have dessert, I'd do Gregory's. If I want to have them experience the cooking of an innovative chef, I'd do Sea Saw.
  6. Been racking my brain on the new Indian restaurants, and haven't come up with anything. There's a place called Goa on McDowell, which serves Goan cuisine (Goa is a province in India which had a lot of Portugese influence if I recall correctly). Emphasis is on seafood, and there may also some be some Chinese influence on the dishes. Went once, only sampled a small part of the menu, but what I got (lamb vindaloo) was good. Would like to go back at some point and order some of the seafood dishes.
  7. Roxsand's closed last year. Haven't been to Cowboy Ciao yet. Roaring Fork is to me a place that does many things very well, but has no dish that particularly blows me away. I don't think I've eaten at its current location, so I don't know what the ambiance of the place is now. High-end places I like in Scottsdale include Sea Saw, an "Asian small plates" place (the tasting menu is well-executed, and anyone who can make cold edamame soup exciting is a rare talent indeed) and Gregory's World Bistro (fusion cuisine that isn't jarring or weird, really really good starter of lobster bisque with crawdad cake).
  8. address or phone of this place, please. 623 E Adams St PHOENIX, AZ 85004 - 2334 (602) 258-8300
  9. Green bell peppers--I actually don't mind eating them with a little dip when they're part of a crudite platter, but when they're added to cooked dishes or salads, their flavor completely overwhelms the other flavors in the dish for me. Probably one reason that Cajun food generally doesn't do it for me. Maraschino cherries--Way too sweet and an unnatural, uncherry-like flavor. Fondant--only discernable flavors are sugar and something that reminds me of paste. Nasty texture, a way to ruin an otherwise perfectly fine cake.
  10. I'm not familiar with the Italian groceries in the area (I've been meaning to find some because I want to find some good pancetta), but I know there's a place that makes great sausages. It's called Schriener's, it's located at 3601 N 7th St. in Phoenix. Haven't actually been in the store, but they supply the fennel sausage at Pizzeria Bianco that makes me swoon. -cg
  11. for pizza or ????? Yes, for wondeful pizza. I love the fennel sausage pizza. Also for the antipasto plate, and the appetizer (I think it may be called Spiedini) which consists of prosciutto wrapped around cheese on a stick, and if you're lucky, the desserts made by chef Chris Bianco's mom. The food is amazing at Pizzeria Bianco because there's a fanatical attention to procuring the best quality of ingredients, and preparing them perfectly. Chef Bianco now also runs Pane Bianco, a sandwich place on Central Avenue. I've only been once, but it seems to be the same quality of Pizzeria Bianco on a much smaller scale (three regular sandwiches, one special, plus you can buy bread there). I had a fabulous bacon, cheese and collard green sandwich. It sounded weird to me, but I knew Bianco knows what he was doing, and it was great. The bitterness of the greens was a perfect offset to the fatty, salty flavor of the bacon and cheese. -cg
  12. Hi, Esther and welcome to Phoenix, Beverly! I work near Camelback, so I have some familiarity with the area. My favorite restaurant on Camelback is Havana Cafe on Camelback and 40th or 44th. Really nice Cuban restaurant. You can fill up on appetizers/tapas or go for the substantial entrees. Pretty much everything is good there. They also have the best take-out deal in town (assuming they still offer it, I haven't had it in a while). It's called Pollo to Go and you get a small roasted chicken and potatoes, plus black beans and rice, plus bread, plus a slaw/salad, and bread pudding for something like $18.00. All of this is ostensibly for two people, but could easily feed three. The quality of the take-out food is just as good as the food that gets served at the restaurant. If you find that you like Korean food, there's a new restaurant in Mesa (Dobson & Southern) that you might want to try out, called Hodori. The seafood crepe and barbecued pork bulgogi are fabulous. -cg
  13. Another Asian market is Lee Lee in Chandler. I believe it's bigger than 99 Ranch Market, and it has a huge fresh seafood section. I love getting fresh herbs there, especially big bunches of mint, and big stalks of lemon grass and lime leaves. There are a bunch of little Middle Eastern stores as well. Haji-Baba in Tempe has a lot of little bagged spices and a huge selection of baklava on display (haven't tried it yet). Middle Eastern Bakery and Deli in Phoenix has an assortment of dips and sauces and the like, as well as a nice little restaurant on the inside. (Come to think of it, Haji-Baba has a nice little restaurant on the inside, too.) -cg
  14. Ay yi yi. I'm not even (yet) a resident of Seattle, only a frequent visitor, and I already have so many of them: The Seriously Dark Truffle and the peanut butter cups at Amore Chocolates in Bellevue Fish head curry soup at Malay Satay Hut Ham banh mi from Banh Mi 88 The seaweed-cured rockfish at Mashiko Rococoa cookie (chocolate and orange) at Nishino Lamb prosciutto and lamb sausage sandwiches at Salumi Seafood crepe and pork bulgogi at Hosoonyi -cg
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