The Ladies Who Lunch (Part 3)

[heidih]

1. @Anna N  Great looking meals above!. Especially the cauliflower preps. As to the convoluted story at the Carib restaurant - well Jesuits are different. (have you ever read Andrew  Greeley?)

[Anna N]

 Back in our own hometown(s) after a delightful sojourn in nearby London, Ontario, I didn’t have much hope that lunch would happen today. I had a dental appointment and did not fancy being in a restaurant, drooling from one side of my mouth, in public. Apparently things have improved immensely. The freezing had almost completely disappeared before my bill was paid. But something comforting and consistently good still seemed like a practical idea. And so we returned to Sakai.

 

Tea for Kerry and sake for me and this time they did not bring an additional drinking cup!

 

 Again we decided that a selection of appetizers was the route to go.

 

 

 

 Steamed dumplings.

 

 Korean kalbi  beef. 

 

 

 And the signature dish—rock shrimp. 

 

Just as an aside foie gras was on the menu. 

 

 

 

 

 

Beef sashimi. 

Edited May 1, 2019 by Anna N
To add the name of the beef dish. Not sure why things became somewhat confused here. Operator error I am sure. (log)

[rotuts]

 

just saying

 

Foie Gras ?

 

really n?

 

just to review

 

[Anna N]

2 hours ago, rotuts said:

 

just saying

 

Foie Gras ?

 

really n?

 

just to review

 

 Yes it was on a daily special menu along with a Wagyu beef dish. 

[Anna N]

 Yesterday @Kerry Bealand I returned to 

Kamoosh in Waterdown. 

 

 

 I asked Kerry to take a photograph of their cutlery. It is stamped “Bowering”  which used to be a boutique housewares chain but I believe it is long gone out of business. 

 

 

 A glass of  South African  Sauvignon Blanc for me. 

 

 

 Tea for Kerry. 

 

 Then we shared a selection of cicchetti (I had to ask!).  Apparently the word means Italian tapas?

 

 

 Polenta chips with lemon ricotta.

 

 

 Duck mousse with preserved pears and grilled baguette.

 

 

 Smoked salmon carpaccio.

 

 

 Lots of lovely grilled baguette.

 

 And then we shared the grilled calamari.

 

 

 For once we did not order too much food. The downside of that being there were no leftovers to take home.☹️

[blue_dolphin]

That's my kind of meal - lots of little tastes to enjoy!

Edited to add that I just looked at the menu and don't know how you managed to narrow it down - so many interesting choices!

Edited May 8, 2019 by blue_dolphin (log)

[blue_dolphin]

Lunch @ Carrara Pastries with my cousin.

I had a Tri Tip Panino with coleslaw 

 

She had a Caprese Panino with truffle fries

 

They make their own gelato, which is excellent, but we were too full to have any today. We did take time to admire the pastries and cakes. 

 

Next time may be just dessert!

[Okanagancook]

Wow, what a pastry case!!  They must be busy.

Lunch looks delicious...not too much on the plate for once.

[blue_dolphin]

32 minutes ago, Okanagancook said:

Wow, what a pastry case!!  They must be busy.

Lunch looks delicious...not too much on the plate for once.

 

Yes, the place was started a few years ago by 2 brothers from Italy, Damiano and Massimiliano Carrara.  They have been quite successful with 2 locations and a lot of catering work.

 

[Anna N]

 Yesterday, @Kerry Beal and I paid a return visit to Cavallonero in Ancaster. (This was after we had entered another restaurant and got rather a bad vibe and decided to follow our instincts and find another place to eat).

 

 I enjoyed a glass of an Argentinian Malbec.

 

 

 Kerry had tea with lots and lots of milk (we both remarked on how wasteful it is to use these tiny milk containers).

 

 

Crispy calamari. It was very tender if somewhat under seasoned but the garlic sauce that accompanied it was so moreish we eventually asked for another serving of the sauce. 

 

 

 

 We each had a bowl of one of the daily soups.  This was tomato, rapini and sausage garnished with extra Parmesan and some pepper.

 

 

 And we shared a mushroom pizza.   That’s not an entirely a true statement. I was lucky enough to bring most of it home.  

[Smithy]

Oh, my word...that all looks wonderful. 

[Anna N]

 Although I had expressed a wish to try something new for lunch yesterday,  I don’t think I was being truthful. For both me and @Kerry Beal,  It really seemed a day when familiarity and comfort were in order.  Kerry had just flown back from the Workshop in St. Louis and I was dealing with some family issues.  So after a brief drive around a small section of Hamilton in search of someplace new,  we both agreed that a return to Lemongrass  was in order. 

 

 

 Ginger tea for Kerry and beer for me.

 

 

 A spicy beef salad. The strange antenna-dish-looking thing is a shrimp chip!

 

 

 Crispy duck.

 

 

 Rice and peanut sauce.

 

 

 

 

[chefmd]

My cousin and I are in Richmond for a quick visit.  We were impressed by Virginia Museum of Fine Arts.  And Edgar Allan Poe Museum is very interesting.  But I travel to eat ;).  Lunch at Sabai.  https://www.sabairva.com/. Green papaya salad, pork belly, dry beef were outstanding.  Calamari were not my favorite but my cousin loved it.  Entirely too much food.  Entirely consumed.

 

[Kim Shook]

6 hours ago, chefmd said:

My cousin and I are in Richmond for a quick visit.  We were impressed by Virginia Museum of Fine Arts.  And Edgar Allan Poe Museum is very interesting.  But I travel to eat ;).  Lunch at Sabai.  https://www.sabairva.com/. Green papaya salad, pork belly, dry beef were outstanding.  Calamari were not my favorite but my cousin loved it.  Entirely too much food.  Entirely consumed.

 

We haven't made it there yet, but are looking forward to it.  The VMA is an outstanding museum for a city the size of Richmond.  

[Smithy]

7 hours ago, chefmd said:

Entirely too much food.  Entirely consumed.

 

That should be somebody's tagline. (Maybe I'll change or augment mine!)

 

If nothing else, it characterizes a great meal! 

[Anna N]

 Yesterday @Kerry Beal  and I decided to go to Stoney Creek to take advantage of a half-price book sale at the Value Village thrift store (we thought this particular branch usually had the best selection of books). I scouted for restaurants on Google and came up with BananaLeaf. What a treasure.  

 

 We were the only diners even though it was the lunch hour. This can often suggest that one ought to find a different place to eat. But not on this occasion.

 

We were greeted by a delightful man who proved to be the owner/server.

 

 

 Ginger tea for Kerry. 

 

 

Warm sake for me.

 

 

 Golden fried calamari.   Never had calamari that was this tender.

 

 

Hakka chowmein.

 

 

 Diced green bean chicken.

 

  

 Sizzling black bean beef.

 

 

 

 

 Small bowl of rice.

 

 Everything was freshly prepared.  

 

 Of course there is far too much food as always but at least this time we didn’t finish it off.

 

 I was the lucky one who got to take the leftovers home and when I opened one of the containers I was once again reminded of how much trouble the man had taken with his offerings:

 

 

 As an aside, this calamari reheated beautifully in the Cuisinart Steam Oven on the steam bake function at 325°F for 15 minutes.   Almost as good as when it was served fresh.

 

 

 

 

  

[Anna N]

After an appointment this morning,

my daughter wanted to have lunch with me and had heard of a new restaurant on Kerr Street in Oakville. 

Gingerman

 

 

I had made some serious inroads into my wheat beer before I remembered to take a photograph. 

 

 

My daughter didn’t recognize any of the draught beers on offer but decided to try a pint of the Steam Whistle Pilsner.  It really was not to her liking so I ended up drinking about half of it.

 

 

 Lettuce wraps for her.

 

 

 “Cow in a blanket” for me.   

 

 The menu can be seen in the link I supplied to the restaurant website.

[Margaret Pilgrim]

Anna, this is my first time crawling through this thread and I can only say that you totally redefine "Ladies' lunch".    I am mightily impressed with the breadth of plates you share with us.    My lunches sorely need an upgrade!

[blue_dolphin]

Ladies lunch today at the Petit Trois outpost in the San Fernando Valley.  We were celebrating a birthday so we started off with some pretty bubbles.

 

 

Chicken liver mousse with onion confit and cornichons

 

French onion soup

 

Frisée-Lardon salad with poached egg

 

Canelé

 

Espresso

 

Rather disappointing to step outside afterwards and find ourselves back on Ventura Blvd in the valley instead of somewhere in France!

 

Edited June 4, 2019 by blue_dolphin (log)

[Okanagancook]

Oh boy, I could eat that meal and drink that wine!  Would like a bit more toast with pate...what think you?

I love the egg atop the salad.

 

[blue_dolphin]

1 minute ago, Okanagancook said:

Oh boy, I could eat that meal and drink that wine!  Would like a bit more toast with pate...what think you?

I love the egg atop the salad.

 

It was a treat!  I agree the amount of toast wasn't at all sufficient for the paté.  Luckily they had lovely little baguettes that I forgot to photograph. 

I could have used a couple more cornichons as well!

[ElsieD]

Sure wish my poached eggs look like that.

[Margaret Pilgrim]

1 hour ago, blue_dolphin said:

Ladies lunch today at the Petit Trois outpost in the San Fernando Valley.  We were celebrating a birthday so we started off with some pretty bubbles.

 

 

Chicken liver mousse with onion confit and cornichons

 

French onion soup

 

Frisée-Lardon salad with poached egg

 

Canelé

 

Espresso

 

Rather disappointing to step outside afterwards and find ourselves back on Ventura Blvd in the valley instead of somewhere in France!

 

 

 

You're living WELL!

[blue_dolphin]

13 minutes ago, Margaret Pilgrim said:

 

You're living WELL!

Believe me, this was a treat and I know it!

[Anna N]

10 hours ago, blue_dolphin said:

French onion soup

 This would do it for me.