On a whim, we snuck away to D.C. for the weekend to visit our friends J and K who were stateside for a few weeks.

We dined in old historic buildings with tasty prix fixe menus and visited the Dutch masters and Rodin exhibit at the National Gallery of Art. Then there was brunch at Acadiana for delicious southern Louisiana gumbo and eggs Benedict over crawfish cakes (which, felt very much the right thing to eat while the air was so hot and thick) followed by a nice drive with the top down and the wind blowing through our hair.

Check out this beautiful cocktail from the Asian-fusion molecular-gastropub, Red Medicine in Beverly Hills. According to their tumblr, it's made with Leblon, rhubarb, lime, ginger ale, orange peel, and lavender. It's almost too pretty to drink.

[1. Red Medicine via Oh Joy!]

A few snaps from the robata restaurant where we feasted on hokke, pork sirloin, green onion, and grilled potato.





[1-3. c. lynn]

I had to post about this amazing tempura (天ぷら) restaurant that was recommended to us on our first night in Sapporo. Ebi-ten serves up the most delicious tempura that I've had—just as amazing as the tempura that we once had in Kyoto at Ten-ichi (a high-end tempura restaurant that Clinton visited during a presidential trip to Japan).

At Ebi-ten, we enjoyed the Hokkaido tempura set meal, which included the most delicate squid tempura, as well as tempura kabocha (カボチャ) or winter melon, succulent hotate (ほたて) or scallop, potato, salmon, Hokkaido surf clam or hokkigai (ほっきがい), and shungiku (春菊) or garland chrysanthemum. We also had to order the kuruma ebi (くるまえび) or Japanese imperial prawn, which is served as a piece of tempura prawn accompanied by a tiny popcorn-sized tempura prawn head (atama, あたま). I firmly believe that I could eat these by the bowlful, which makes me wonder about how potentially delicious crickets and grasshoppers could be served in the tempura style. 

(Below: The ultimate onion ring: a tempura pearl onion)




[1-4. c. lynn]

Hokkaido is famous for their hairy crab, king crab, and queen crab. We tried this delicacy from the Sea of Okhotsk in several preparations: vinegared crab (served cold with sweet vinegar), grilled crab legs, and finally in a delicious shabu-shabu preparation.

Shabu-shabu (しゃぶしゃぶ, ), meaning "swish-swish" in Japanese, is a hot pot preparation where you cook raw meat in a broth of water and sake. You also add vegetables to help build the broth like cabbage, carrots, mushrooms, and finally glass noodles. At the end of the meal, when all of the main protein is devoured, you can ask for zōsui (雑炊) or leftover rice/noodle, which are then added to the broth to soak up all of the remaining liquid.



[1. Bryan Chan, 2-3. c. lynn]

Last night we were off to the Happy Valley racetrack for some casual bets and a few beers. It was fun to see such a turnout for the races—young and old—including a vibrant ex-pat scene.

After the races, we were whisked over to a Spanish tapas restaurant in Hong Kong called Fandango where our friend knew the chef. Although a little indulgent with the traditional Spanish atmosphere featuring armored knights and a singing duo of guitarists, we enjoyed their delicious tapas—albondigas, potatas bravas, prawns in garlic and oil as well as a chicken paella and roast suckling pig.

[1. c. lynn; 2. yeelonger; 3. Ed Eats]

Things are on the mend! We finally shrugged off our difficult adjustment to life stateside and went out for the most delicious (and decadent) meal at the Screen Door.

With a strong craving for fried chicken and all its trappings, we split their generous two-piece fried buttermilk-battered chicken entree with collard greens, gravy, and mashed potatoes. We also ordered a few sides including a roasted beet salad with toasted pistachios, avocado, goat cheese, and orange segments finished with a delicious lemon vinaigrette; a plate of heirloom carrots and broccoli, and a small dish of some of the best mac & cheese that I've had in awhile. But unbeknownst to me, this dinner was all really leading up to the most incredible dessert of my life—a three layer chocolate orange cake with chocolate sour cream icing topped with vanilla bean ice cream and candied oranges. Chocolate sour cream icing. I didn't even know that I liked icing. It was unbelievable—like a tangy chocolate cheese in between layers of moist chocolate cake. I wanted to be left alone in a room with it. The pastry chef, Erin Eberlein-Sage is a goddess for creating this cake.

You can see the leftovers below:

[1. Where the fork am I?; 2. ? 3. c. lynn]

Last night I had a girls' night out with my friends R and R over at Laurelhurst Market in NE Portland. We had a great time tasting different cocktails at the bar (more on that later) and laughing over dinner. To start, we ordered a delicious beet salad that was served with shaved fennel, pickled blueberries, Cypress Grove chevre, arugula, and a refreshing mint vinaigrette. The pickled blueberries were so divine that I must recreate them. They have a pickled tang on the tongue at first, but then explode with sweetness and antioxidants. Delicious. We ordered the moules frites, a Niman Ranch steak frites, and a burger and I must report that everything was grilled to perfection. Not bad for a dinner without the boys.

Laurelhurst Market is known for its preparation of local, grass-fed or the best internationally-sourced meats available. They operate a much sought-after butcher counter within the restaurant for takeaway and lunch sandwiches. Having recently won the Rising Star of the Year award from the Oregonian, I'm sure that it won't be long before they start receiving a lot of well-deserved attention.


[1. Laurelhurst Market; 2. The Oregonian]

I think one of the best things that we learned about Portland on our scouting trip was that the people here know good food and appreciate eating locally, sustainably, and seasonally. We never picked a mediocre restaurant and we embraced all of the sultry winter flavors served up in a range of inventive ways at each place we visited. Food, as you can tell, is a pleasure for us and its high on our list of criteria for places we could possibly live.

One of the places that we tried for dinner upon the insistence of friends, is Park Kitchen. We devoured a chestnut ravioli with cranberries and red cabbage, black cod with potato gratin and oyster sauce, a shaved apple and toasted hazelnut salad, and a few pieces of xocolatl de David.

We also gobbled up tasty pollo verde tacos at Por Que No? tacqueria on Hawthorne. The atmosphere of this popular taco spot was lively and casual with recycled and thrift store elements sprinkled throughout the decor.

For a comforting bowl of tomato soup paired with a classic grilled cheese sandwich, we tried Blueplate lunch counter, a homey luncheonette that specializes in milk shakes with local Cascade Glacier ice cream.

For a range of festive holiday beers, we tried Henry's 12th Street Tavern which has over 100 craft beer on tap and very inexpensive happy hour dishes (think $2 melted Reuben sandwiches). Henry's tavern now operates inside of the same building that used to house the Blitz-Weinhard Brewery which produced quality beer for over 140 years.

We tried Ten 01 in the Pearl District and were treated to the tastiest northwest oysters (my favorite), a delicious roasted chicken with celery root-butternut squash risotto, a beet salad, handmade black pepper fettuccine, and chocolate peanut butter bread pudding with pretzel bark and malted ice cream. Oh yes it was good.

I should also mention Mother's bistro, which we visited post-Christmas for the perfect holiday hangover Bloody Mary.

[Park Kitchen]

Yesterday we visited the edible local garden festival at the New York Botanical Garden. Dr. Amy Goldin, author of The Heirloom Tomato was there to lecture about 150 varieties of the heirloom tomato. Dan Barber, executive chef of Blue Hill restaurant at Stone Barns/New York and well-known proponent of locavorism was at the event to talk about his views on the local eating movement as was Martha Stewart who hosted a cocktail hour with herbs from her garden. There were living examples of how to start your own plot of tomatoes, herbs, fruit, etc. as well as a tour of the 250 acres of gardens and native forest that were set aside by wealthy New Yorkers in the late 1800s for public use. We also saw wonderful examples of an edible tropical garden (taro root, pineapples, black pepper, pomogranate, etc.) in their permanent Flowers of the World collection in the Enid A. Haupt Conservatory, a Victorian glass Greenhouse. It was a very well executed event with lots of information, local fruits and vegetables served up by chefs from the Culinary Institute of America, and everyone wore their favorite gardening sun hats, which made me feel a bit nostalgic for other venues for hat-wearing

One of the unexpected highlights of the trip to this gem in NYC was meeting Martha Stewart's famous French bulldogs, Francesca and Sharkey. How cute!

I haven't written very much about my trip to Tokyo earlier this summer. I guess it was a bit of a whirlwind trip and was very personal for me. I would, however, like to share a little more about some of the great finds along the way.

Ramen. A Japanese soup of Chinese origin that can be prepared and flavored in various ways depending on the locality that the chef is from; my personal favorites being tonkotsu (pork broth) or miso-flavored (originating from Hokkaidō). Last night we grabbed a delicious bowl at Ippudo on Fourth Avenue.
I love conjuring up thoughts of the many ramen-ya (ramen shops) we visited in Tokyo. Ten seats lining a bar serving ramen with a handful of choice toppings. It's hot in the shop but the soup is savory and the crisp sesame is ready for grinding on top.
Above: A favorite ramen-ya eatery in Tokyo, Tukumo Ramen where the house specialty is cheese ramen.