barMASA, Las Vegas NV

For our last dinner during Girl's Weekend in Las Vegas we chose barMASA in the Aria Resort & Casio. Masa, the famously expensive big brother restaurant in NYC has long been a topic of discussion. Should we go? Can the food actually be worth the enormous price fixed bill that comes along with the reservation? To date, we've passed it over. But it still holds some intrigue to me - and since Patty & Gianne were game and at this casual little sister we could order ala carte we decided to give it a go.

As you can see from the picture - this is a cavernous space. Super modern and spread out, you would never use the word intimate to describe the ambiance. We have an early reservation and were one of only a few tables eating in the beginning of our meal.



Comfortably seated by the bar we settled in and ordered a bottle of Collet Rose to start. With a beautiful color, great floral nose and a nice medium finish, this was a great bottle of NV champagne that

Now for the food: I can't remember all of the dishes because we did go with most of the evening's specials - think this might have been the Sea Bream or Fluke with black truffle (oh hell yes) and the second dish was the sizzling,k spicy octopus.

We also tried the Peking Duck fried rice with foie gras. What can I say - it's one of the best ways I've ever had fried rice.

Everyone next went to sushi, rolls and a second bottle of champagne: Guy Larmandier MV Brut. From the sushi selection, all of the pieces you see below were my order - yes, I went back for seconds. I tried the Wild Bluefin fatty tuna, lean tuna; Sea Bream, Young Yellowtail, Island Jackfish, Horse Mackerel and the Fatty Deep Sea Snapper. Patty & Gianne went with a specialty roll.

This was the best meal of the trip - the sushi was stupid good - so fresh; fishes that you can't find regularly at home so experiencing something new was great. Really loved this entire meal - every bite. I would go back in a heartbeat. The champagne list was one of the more extensive and reasonable ones to be found in Las Vegas. Great evening overall.

Zagat: 26-23-24
Jenn: 90

Blue Ribbon Sushi, Las Vegas NV

This March I did a girl's weekend in Las Vegas with Patty & Gianne. One of the places we unanimously voted to go for dinner was Blue Ribbon Sushi in the Cosmopolitan. This would be my second trip to this Blue Ribbon outpost - one of a collection of restaurants in New York City and Sin City. We had a long day by the time we sat for dinner (plus drinks and appetizers at Hyde in Bellagio); ordering sushi and the famous fried chicken.

Patty & Gianne chose to start with the Hamachi Tataki (Yellowtail tartar with quail egg) while I went with a simple house salad with watercress, avocado and ginger dressing. Both were quite good even if mine seems like a boring choice...I needed something green.

Next were the sushi selections: while P&G decided to split a specialty roll, I ordered a selection of fishes including Yellowtail, Amber Jack, Tuna, Eel and Albacore. Tasty but nothing to knock your socks off.

And to finish the meal we got the Blue Ribbon Style fried chicken with Wasabi & honey dipping sauce. Now I've had this dish three times prior - the first time it blew my mind ~ so unbelievably good. The second time it was just okay but we were with a huge group of people and I only had one bite so chalked that up to poor circumstances. This time I was hoping for a repeat of that magical first encounter. But alas...it wasn't to be. Too dry, bland even with the sauce that this time felt that a mask and not a compliment. Disappointing to say the least.

While the ambiance is fun and casual and the location in Cosmopolitan is great, I think I'm done with Blue Ribbon Sushi. Too many other places that still bring the WOW factor. But that being said, if you haven't tried it and since the possibility exists that you too can have that truly noteworthy experience of this place at it's best - give it a go. When the chicken is on - it's Donkey Kong On.

Zagat's Rating: 24-23-22
Jenn's Rating: 81

The NoMad, NYC

Mary & I met up at the NoMad last week to chat, eat & drink. It's such a pretty, unique location with it's different rooms and vibes. Owned and run by Daniel Humm of Eleven Madison Park fame, it's the more casual sister also located off Madison Park.

We met in the bar for a drink ahead of time. It's a relatively small bar though for the size of the restaurant and it gets packed so assume you won't get a seat. A glass of bubbly (Billecart-Salmon) before we were shown to our table in the Parlour room. This is a more intimate room with oak and dark fabrics adding a richness. We like this room better than the larger Atrium with it's uniformed rows of tables all close together.

After selecting a bottle of the Araujo Altagracia, Eisele Vineyard 2010 Syrah we got busy picking menu options. We went with two appetizers served back to back and then a shared entree.

To start, the FOIE GRAS; SMOKED TERRINE WITH APPLE, SUNFLOWER SEEDS & THYME

This was just perfection! The sunflower seeds were roasted giving the dish not only texture but a nice nuttiness to compliment the sweetness of the terrine and apple. The bread they served with it was unexpected - almost a Texas toast thickness with multi-grain texture.

Next course was the Egg, slow cooked with mushrooms and black garlic kale.

There is no better ingredient than an egg. It won't be overwhelmed as easily as shellfish but it's delicate, runny, luxurious and goes well with almost everything. They pairing with mushrooms was fantastic. These two courses were close to perfect and there was nothing left on the plate.

For our entree we shared the whole roasted chicken for two with foie gras and black truffle. They actually come and present your chicken to you before taking it into the kitchen for deconstruction and presentation. Your chicken comes back as two dishes - the breast and the dark meat. The breast had foie gras and black truffle stuffed under the skin served with what I believe was cauliflower puree. The chicken is moist and super flavorful - added layers of depth from the truffle and foie gras ensure this isn't your everyday poultry dish.

And my personal favorite, the dark meat:

This evening's preparation was with crispy chicken skin and a poached egg. Yep, another egg! Holy happiness!! Incredible flavor - so decadent!!

If you get the chance to go to this 28th and Broadway fun spot, I promise you'll love the food. Not to be missed in NYC.

Zagat: 27-26-24
Jenn's Rating: 93
Michelin: One Star

Lorena's, Maplewood NJ

We haven't seen friends of ours in a few months so jumped at the chance to meet them out for dinner. The BYO of the evening was Lorena's in the heart of Maplewood, NJ. This is a tiny little restaurant that seats only 32 at capacity, reservations are hard to come by. Luckily our friends secured a coveted Friday evening (Jan 17).

When you enter the restaurant you are both struck by how small and almost immediately relieved that the sense is intimate & cozy not crowded or uncomfortable in any way.

Service was close to perfection - the type you don't often find outside of NYC. Always there, never obtrusive - you didn't have to wonder what was taking so long; why food was coming too fast; or if your water glass would ever be refilled. Quite a nice experience.

The menu is moderate - roughly six each of appetizers and entrees. That being said, it was harder to choose than you would have thought with so many of the options sounding fascinating. In the end, we started with a shared plate of a dozen oysters from Long Island followed by two courses.

My first course was the Warm Lump Crabmeat Crepe, Shibumi Farm Wild Mushrooms, Fresh Herbs, White Truffle Oil. Spectacular! Nothing about this dish was heavy and achieving a meld between crab that can so quickly be overshadowed by anything with wild mushrooms was heaven. Fantastic!

Alan ordered the special of the evening, the wild mushroom bisque.

This was close to perfection - with truffle oil nice pieces of mushroom afloat in a soft but rich broth...wow, so nice.

I'm having difficulty remembering what anyone else ordered - I think there was a Scottish Salmon Tartare or perhaps the foie gras.

For our entrees we covered the majority of the menu including the Slow Braised Beef Short Ribs, Cipolinni Onion, Tomato Confit, Potato Puree, Cracked Black Pepper-Braising and the Roasted Domestic Rack of Lamb with Pistachio and Herb-Shallot Crust, Baby Carrots, Black Olive Powder, Potato Puree, Rosemary Lamb Jus.

The braised short ribs weren't as fall apart succulent as I've had in the past - they came off as a bit dry so this wasn't my favorite dish.

We did open four bottles of wine / champagne with dinner that we all brought (love BYOs) and skipped dessert. Overall, a really nice evening with fantastic service and some fantastic dishes.

Pluckemin Inn, Bedminster NJ - Winter Menu 2014

We saw that Pluckemin Inn had made some changes to the menu for winter including bringing French Onion Soup back which had been a favorite of ours years ago. So a few weeks ago (Jan. 18th) we went up for drinks & to meet friends for dinner.

While drinking champagne by the glass at the bar I sampled a dozen Maine oysters with a simple mignonette, cocktail sauce, citrus & horseradish accompaniments. We also had a dozen wild caught shrimp. The oysters - two different kinds - were briny and succulent. Wonderfully paired to the bubbly. The shrimp were quite large and the cocktail sauce had a nice bite to it.

For dinner we ordered two courses including the Lobster salad with castle valley farro, cucumber, meyer lemon, radish and fine herbs see below. Meaty, generous lobster was not overwhelmed by the citrus dressing & herbs but rather supported by them. Quite a nice dish.

In addition, tried the French Onion Soup (Jeff's serving was a better balance of broth to bread than mine both both tasted wonderful), Spanish Octopus with green olive, chorizo, hakurei turnip, pine nuts and salsa verde and the Mahi Mahi with heirloom carrots, hen of the woods, braised lettuce, hazelnut brown butter.

Thought these four dishes were a wonderful additions to the menu. Alan's Mahi was the standout of the evening; cooked to perfection (sous vide?) with a beautiful depth of flavor that can often be missing in fish preparations. The side order of French Fries with trio of dipping sauces for dessert didn't hurt either.

MEATmarket, Burgers in London

On our last night in London we wanted to find a great, local burger place. Staying in Covent Garden within a few blocks of both a Shake Shack and a Five Guys kept nagging at my senses. We needed burgers!

Using Google to see what Londeners were calling their best burgers and narrowing it down to those within walking distance of our hotel, we settled on a dive of a place, MEATmarket.

A simple enough menu of burgers and dogs in a small place on the Mezzanine level above the Jubilee Market in Covent Garden. It's only got half a dozen tall bar tables with stools - enough to sit four at a table and graffiti all over the walls. Ordering was efficient and the wait fairly short. This place gets crowded! Lots of young couples seemingly on first dates (odd).

We ordered two Black Palace burgers served each with two beef patties, cheese, grilled onions, pickles, mustard and ketchup (and a tomato).

These were two of the messiest burgers we've ever had. I took off my light jacket & rolled up my sleeves before even attempting the first bite. I mean - look at that crazy, dripping, cheesy patty!!

The burger was fantastic! Really, really great - on par with Shake Shack and Five Guys to be sure. Excellent flavor in every bite. The bun couldn't stand up to the sloppiness of the ingredients mixing together - in the end you were just holding onto something that used to resemble a burger. And perhaps if we went again I'd ditch the pickles - but damn, that's a great burger. Fries were also excellent - crispy and hot.

If you are in the area, highly recommend popping in...but leave your expectations about ambiance at the door (literally) and prepare to get dirty!

http://www.themeatmarket.co.uk/

National Pasta Day: Marea, NYC

We didn't know that the day we decided to meet after work at Marea (midtown, Central Park South & Broadway) for a casual dinner that it was National Pasta Day. Had we known, there probably wouldn't have been anywhere else we would have picked to honor this incredible carbohydrate.

Arriving at 5:00pm to grab to seats at the bar - coveted, quickly snatched up, seats. They start serving the full menu at the bar at 5:30pm which makes it a popular choice at this restaurant who's reputation and two Michelin stars make it hard to get a reservation in the dining room.

We went low key - crudos and pasta dishes. So to start, three bite size pieces of perfection. After much contemplation & discussion, we choose, from right to left, the Scampi (Pacifi c langoustine, Murray River pink salt); Ono (seared wild Pacifi c wahoo, wild mushroom, lobster roe) and the Dentice (Pacifi c snapper, mandarin orange, pistachio, carrot vinaigrette). The selection of crudos on the is stunning and diverse.

SIDE BAR: One night I'd like to go and order every single selection in a Crudo Taste Off. It would cost $407 before tax and tip and would consist of 21 different kinds, 4 pieces of each....if anyone wants to take me up on that just say the word!!!

The scampi was light, buttery soft with a cucumber it's sitting on giving a hint of crunch to offset the wonderfully mushy texture of the langoustine. Excellent.

The Ono was a more earthy flavor if you can say that about fish. The seared edges added smokiness while the mushroom gave it that forest flavor. Very nice.

And our favorite, the snapper with the citrus of the mandarin orange and nutiness of the pistachio was just perfect. Could have eaten those all night.

Then came the pastas. It's almost as hard to choose these as the first courses. We knew we wanted our favorite, the fusilli. But what else? After contemplating all we went for the agnolotti which were piemontese meat ravioli, veal sweetbreads, wild mushrooms in a brown butter. The kitchen was kind enough to split both pastas for us and serve them one after the other - our casual dinner was a three course meal!

First up was the fusilli...red wine braised octopus and bone marrow in a perfect red sauce.

This is hands down THE BEST pasta dish I've ever had. Ever, anywhere. There's something magical about the crispiness of the octopus; the decadence of the bone marrow and the perfect al dente fusilli that just creates perfect culinary harmony. I've had it four times now and it's always flawless.

The second, new pasta was the ravioli.

A much heavier pasta, the sweetbreads were tender; the mushrooms gave depth and the brown butter added a sweetness. Also an amazing dish. We were glad that they split the dishes for us - a full plate of the agnolotti would have proven to be too much for one person. In this manner, it was exactly the right amount. Full but not uncomfortable - a wonderful dinner once again.

I can't say enough about Marea. If you get the chance, you need to go. And then go again.
Jenn's Rating: 91
Michelin: Two Stars
Zagat:28-26-26