percyn

Katie probably has the real recipe and I welcome her to comment here or post it on recipegullet. My version was: 2 bulbs medium fennel - sliced 2 pears (bartlett or asian) - diced 1/2 cup salad dressing or mixture of mayo and ranch in my case. 1/2 tsp apple cider vinegar 4 oz toasted cashew Stir it all together and add in a few of the fennel leaves(?) if you like.

Over the years we have been disappointed by dining out on Valentine's day, even at restaurants that we usually enjoy. So, we decided to make dinner at home and go out a few days before or after. So on this Valentine's day we made... Dry Aged Prime Steak with Truffled Mushroom and Lobster Risotto We had a NY strip (plated above) and a Ribeye (shown below) Paired the steaks with a decent but not great Bordeaux We also made Katie's take on a Waldorf salad...fennel, pears and cashews For dessert we had some artisanal chocolates from Lacroix.

A few days ago, when we were snowed in, my wife made breakfast of Scrambled Eggs w/Potato and Ham Hash - the hash was from a the frozen section, sold by Jimmy Dean (I think). Not bad for a frozen item and I am sure part of the flavor was enhanced in my mind because this was a rare treat.

Speaking of butter, I just returned from Chicago and was served a goat's milk butter (from Quebec) at Alinea and a parmasean butter at Avenues. However, my all time favorite butter was seaweed butter used to sear scallops at L'atelier de Joel Robuchon. Anyone know of a local source for the seaweed or goat's milk butter? Hmm...maybe we can try to make this at home in a big batch if we ever do a butter tasting.

OK...does that mean you did not enjoy it enough to think it was worthy of a post? I would encourage all eG members to post their true thoughts on their dinning experiences.

As a reasonable compromise, how about doing a torchon with one batch (no special mini terrines needed) and searing the other batch? Cleansing of the palate would be essential for this tasting....what can we choose that is neutral in flavor but can cut through the richness? Vodka?

You can avoid step 11 by taking 2 lipitors before step 9

That's the squid, which was fried in what seemed like rice flour or cornstarch. Overall I thought the quality was good, though some commented that Lakeside was better. I do prefer the tripe from Lakeside and yes Lakeside's cha siu bao is probably better too. A few dishes from Imperial Inn stick out in memory though...those are the duck, the crab claw, the shumai, chicken satay (could have been a hit warmer) and the squid. I welcome other Dim Sum Mafia attendees to comment.... The food highlight of the day for me did not occur during Dim Sum, but came in the form of take out I grabbed from Penang while in Chinatown. Chicken (bone-in) Rendang w/Roti - OOOOHHHH SOOOOO GOOOOD !!! Reminds me of a dish I used to get from a small restaurant in my childhood, expect that version came with a hard boiled egg in the gravy.

The Philly Dim Sum Mafia hit again and this time it was at Imperial Inn !!

I second the Girl and the Fig. There are also some decent but not great places in the center of town. There is a great bakery (forget the name) on the edge of downtown who's baker/owner was on the US world baking team. If you are looking for a place to stay, I recommend Sanoma Mission and Inn. They also have dinners where they bring in guest hosts from the vineyards. When we were there a few years ago, it was Francis Ford Coppola. We've stayed in Santa Rosa as well, but preferred Sonoma and Nappa. Enjoy yourself and report back.

Sorry, for the delay in this post.. My notes were in the same ballpark as the others with some minor differences. It is interesting that everyone picked the clear winner - Lobels...but as it has been pointed out, at $95/steak (OK, it was a big porterhouse) + shipping, it is not a practical everyday steak or impluse buy. A few things to keep in about the tasting - taster's opinions were based on a relatively small sample from a single steak from each purveyor. A purist scientist would opt for multiple steak from each purveyor...but if the single sample method works for wine tastings...why not beef Writing tasting notes for beef can be very challenging. How does one describe a flavor profile which has a single dimension (with the exception of the Esposito)? I wish there was a "beefiness scale". Since we kept the preparation very simple and did not serve any accompanying sauce or wine, we can only hypothesize (some guesses more educated than others) what influence these accompaniments would have had on the flavor profile. Dibrunos dry aged rib eye: Flavor - Mild beef flavor and I found the juices to be a bit watery. Texture - a bit gritty. Wells Angus: Flavor - medium beef profile Texture - smoother than average Wells dry aged choice: Flavor - mild beef profile Texture - tough & gritty (could have been the piece I got) Esposito 21d dry age strip: Flavor - Very beefy with a finish which has been much discussed - hints of Parmesan rind and touch of hay come to mind Texture - nice and silky. Indeed, I would not opt for a 16oz servicing but with the right sauce or wine...who knows? It would be a great ingredient for an amuse where you need a small bite to pack a flavor punch. My #3 choice provided the portion was small. Harry Ochs dry aged porterhouse: Flavor - Could be the piece I had on my plate, but I found this to be fatty Texture - Did not like the texture and mouth feel either Whole Foods dry aged strip: Flavor - Mild and lack-luster Texture - Worse texture of all steaks...I would have probably sent this back if I got it in a restaurant ...which I don't do too often...need I say more? Wolfe neck ribeye: Flavor - Above average beefiness Texture - Smooth but not too silky. Overall, a very good steak and my #2 choice Peter Luger dry aged porterhouse: Flavor - Not as strong and I would have liked. There seemed to be a more than expected difference in taste between the crust and rare parts. Texture - Soft, but limpy Lobels 6 wk dry aged porterhouse: Flavor - Huge, intense flavor and would immediately tell that it was properly aged, though at this point, I am not sure my palate could tell it was aged for 6 wks vs say 4 wks. Texture - Buttery but I did not find this as rich as some claim. I could easily eat a 12oz portion. A clear winner here and my #1 choice. So what would have made this tasting even better, albeit less scientific? Some necesito mas papas fritas and some wine with the steaks. Special thanks to Vadouvan and David (and Townsend) for their efforts which made this a great tasting. If a dog were around, it would have been one happy puppy... Now on to the Foie...

In anticipation of Phil-A's pics, here is something to wet your appetite... The Miss Moooinverse lineup

If I recall correctly... a California Zin, a Burgundy PN, Tawny and Ruby port, 2 brands of peach lambic and stoudt's double IPA. It was a night of light drinking.

Day 3 - Breakfast at the Bellagio I originally planned to have breakfast at Bouchon. Unfortunately, for some reason it was unexpectadely closed that morning. So I decided to go back to the Bellagio and try their buffet breakfast. I did not take any pictures because while the variety of the food was good, it was typical breakfast buffet food...eggs, steak, canadian bacon, waffles, etc. They did have some other non-typical breakfast dishes like singapore noodles, asian pork, etc, but the taste was not spectacular. Infact the only think worth mentioning was the Muesli, so make sure you try some if you are there for breakfast. Day 3 Lunch - Pink's Hotdog in the Aladdin OK, I like hotdogs and all this non-stop fancy food made me crave a simple chili dog...especially a Pink's chili dog, which I had never tried before. I am glad I did as this set the new bar for chili for a hot dog (previously held IMHO by Johnny Rockets). The dog had a nice snap to it from its natural casing. Dinner on day 3 was a crappy meal served in flight, as my flight departed back early evening. Overall, dining was the highlight of my Vegas visit and while there are good restaurants in many cities, once you look past the tourist facade, only a few places have such a high concentration of top notch restaurants and chefs from around the globe. I'll be back to try other restaurants I did not get to on this visit.

Day 2 - Dinner at Okada Enterance of Okada in the Wynn I had heard good things about the sushi at Okada, but to be honest, I was a bit skeptical....afterall, it was a restaurant in the middle of the desert. I am glad to report that my fear was unfounded. In fact, other than a few minor service glitches, my experience here was fantastic and the food was very good and the sushi was amazingly high quality, rivaling the sushi I had in Osaka and Tokyo. Unfortunately, I was seated at the end of the Sushi bar, close to where the wait staff picked up orders for the main dining area. At first the traffic was annonying, but once the restaurant rush settled, you got to see what other specials were and order them if you like. I started by ordering a Nyorgi (unfiltered) sake And a Lamb Chop and Pork short ribs from the Japanese grill - these were amazing !! Tender, juicy and increadibly flavorful. A bargain for the price ($10 and $6 respectively). After about 15 min or so I received my Uni. Someone on eGullet had recommend their Uni and I can second that. It had that special lobster brains flavor that only super fresh Uni has. Next was their Sushi Platter, which included Toro, which I was looking forward to. The quality of the sushi was superb. It ranks right up there with the sushi I have had at Morimotos and while in Japan. I was seated by the head sushi chef and when the restaurant was less busy we conversed a bit. He is originally from Osaka, but ran a Sushi bar in San Francisco's Japantown before coming to the Wynn. A very pleasant gentleman. By this point, I was getting quite full, but when I saw Mochi on the menu, I assumed it was made by the restaurant and had to order it to compare it to the ones I buy from Trader Joes. Unfortunately, it was something they outsource (the head Sushi Chef later told me), but it was decent. The flavors were Red Bean (my favorite), Vanilla, Green Tea and Mango.

Day 2 - Lotus of Siam for Lunch This place is hidden in a strip mall and this keeps the general tourists away but is sought out by locals and foodies. I went around 12:30pm for lunch. They serve a lunch buffet, but I wanted to try things from the menu and am glad I did. To start, I ordered Tom Yum Kai as a benchmark. It was very good. Spicy but not overpowering. However, it did take them 15 minutes to bring me what I can only presume was a pre-made bowl of soup. For my main course, I ordered Grilled Fresh-water Prawns w/Chili Lime Sauce. Don't let the $29 price tag for "prawns" scare you, because you get 2 true Prawns, almost the size of lobsters. Served head-on, which I love. Very tasty...highly recommended. Order it with Sticky rice.

Day 1 - Dinner at L'Atelier Joel de Robouchon The decor and layout is very similar to the sister restaurant in Paris. I ordered the 9 course tasting menu and a glass of Sancerre I was served with very good bread, but unfortunately it did not come with butter or olive oil unless asked. They served an organic olive oil from Spain. Amuse Bouche - Cucumber Gelee, tarragon, yogurt, cumin oil - Light, refreshing, very clean tastes, as intened. Tuna Sashimi w/Sundried Tomatoes & Fluer de Sel - Very high quality bluefin tuna. The sundried tomatoes were not overpowering as I had anticipated, but rather deicate. Seared Scallop with Seaweed Butter - The scallop was perfectly cooked throughout (well basted) and served with an increadibly delicious seaweed butter and pepper, which I soaked up with the bread. Ouef w/Parsley Puree and Mushroom Foam - I had tried this a few years ago in Paris and is one of my favorite dishes. Roasted Foie Gras w/Chestnut foam and Bacon - I did ask and this was Rouige Foie from France. It was a bit firmer than I would have liked. The bacon did not add a whole lot and getting a bit soggy in the chestnut foam. Lightly Smoked Scottish Salmon w/Parsley Potatoes - They said this dish was added for the "american palate". I liked the textures of this dish, but found it hard to eat such a large piece of salmon that was smoked. I would have preferred it if they did not smoke it. L'onglet w/caramelized shallots & pomme puree - I was happy to see that I had an option between this Onglet and a free range quail with truffled mashed puree. I am glad that I chose this option as it was the best onglet I ever had. The shallots were well caramelized and sweet. And how can you go wrong with a pomme puree consisting of 50% potatoes and 50% butter? OK, so as though 9 courses were not sufficient, I was reminiscing the langostine I had in Paris so added that as a 10 dish from the al a carte menu. The langostine was very tender and succulent. The salad well seasoned and perfectly dressed. Dessert #1 - Sheep's milk yogurt w/rasins and mandarin sorbet - Amazing dish. The yogurt was rich and creamy while the mandarin sorbet cuts through that richness. Dessert #2 - Poached Pears w/Chocolate and Pear Sorbet - Another dish that you would not have thought would work, but it does!! Served with Tacchino (sp?) (tastes like chai) gelee. Also had a coffee to finish the meal. The tasting menu was $135 and with wine, coffee & tax it came just under $200 (exlcuding tip). Overall, a very good experience, comparable to the one in Paris. Cheers Percy

Day 1 - Bouchon for lunch My first stop after landing in Vegas (and checking in) was Bouchon for lunch. The Venetian has one of the better lobbies in LV Was promptly seated, however it took 10-12 minutes before my waiter took my order. He brought me some bread, which was excellent, but the butter was a bit harder than I would have liked and did not spread easily. I ordered 1/2 dozen oysters which were extremely fresh and sourced from all over the world. They were so fresh, it was like tasting the essence of the ocean. Like many others, I wanted to try the frites, so I ordered Poulet Frites - The poulet was perfect!! Crispy skin and succulent tender meat. The breast meat was as moist as the leg. The fries however did not live up to my (hyped?) expectations. I have had better fries locally. I asked for a side of mayo for my frites, and it was quite good. Mac & Cheese Gratin - Creamy and rich, but not spectacular. A few days later I returned hoping to have the Boudin Blanc for breakfast, but they were unexpectedly closed. Should have gone to the Bouchon Bakery in the Venetian. Sorry for the blurry pictures. Percy

I order to help fellow eGers, I thought I would post my reviews of restaurants I visited on my trip to Vegas.

I know you were looking for RJ's input but thought I would share mine by saying that L'Atelier Joel de Robuchon is a great place, as is Fluer de Lys (I have eaten at their SF restaurant, not LV) and you won't go wrong with either. However, I found the dishes at L'Atelier to be a bit more original and hit higher notes than those at FdL. If you go on a weekday before 9:30am for breakfast, it should not be a problem. They are also open for Lunch on the weekend.

Herb, are you thinking of Ruby's which is on Rt1 on the way to 322 via 202. I have not tried their burgers, but I do remember them having "Kobe" burgers on the menu.

It had sauteed onions, tumeric, chili pepper, garlic, cumin, cilantro and 1/2 a tomato. Someone gave me a tip on using Alpha Alpha sprouts, which is what I substituted for methi. The taste and texture was close.

I would like to point out that the $47,188 in travel was from "Between 2004 and the end of last year" (2006). So that's really over 2 yrs, which would equate to les than $23,594 per year. For the private sector, that is very reasonable, even for a job which requires much less travel. A typical C-level exec in of a fortune 500 company would not even fly commercial and charter jets at $2500/hr.

Methi Per Edu

Just had some Dhansak and catching up on eG posts before I take my nap. More Parsi / Parsee dishes and recipes can be found on the Parsi Cuisine thread here.