Archive for August, 2009

>Sushi Samba – Chicago

by Mark on August 22, 2009 in cancha, ceviche, Chicago restaurant review, chicharron, kobe, seaweed, Sushi Samba with No comments

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Chicago, Illinois

WHAT HAPPENED?

I used to love this place…I used to love this chain…I have so many great food memories from the Miami and Manhattan restaurant locations and hope that they haven’t also become this decrepit.

SUSHISAMBA used to be fun. Where else could you put together an evening of Japanese, Brazilian and Peruvian fusion cuisine, music and design? I stopped in three times over a five week period and found myself sitting in broken chairs at chipped tables in a filthy restaurant with stained carpet and dirty dishes. What the hell happened here people?

The food was good…well let me rephrase that…the food was above average and only because it still retains some of it’s exciting roots that can’t easily be found elsewhere; I’m a sucker for aji infused wasabi and a heaping bowl of cancha fried corn.

Over my three dinner meals I had some ups and downs. The flash fried Japanese river crab was ok, the green bean tempura with black truffle aioli was limp and cold yet the chicharron was excellent. Consistency is probably the biggest issue I found…even a simple yellow tail ceviche which was very good the first time I ordered it, came back the following week as a disaster which hung thickly on my spoon and bubbled in my stomach. The Samba rolls seem to have the best shelf life from visit to visit, particularly the zuke tuna and kobe rolls. The entrées I stomached were boring including a quinoa casserole which stunk like dirty mushrooms. really? The highlight of all three visits was the medley of four seaweeds; clean and fresh and yummy.

Let’s call a spade a spade. Sushi Samba is no longer hip. It’s not even clean and the food is not exciting enough any longer to hold your attention. So long Sex and the City crowd. The fusion nature of the space as a bar restaurant live music special event venue probably has merit these days, but I’m not interested in gagging down sloppy fare to live Afro-Brazilian percussion pumped to 100 decibels. The martinis are strong and the liquor is top shelf.


Sushi Samba Rio on Urbanspoon

>Jar Restaurant – Los Angeles

by Mark on August 18, 2009 in Butterscotch pudding, Japanese Purple Yams, Jar restaurant, Lamb Shank, Los Angeles, Suzanne Tracht, Top Chef Masters with No comments

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Los Angeles, California


TOP CHEF MASTERFUL

After seeing the thoughtful dishes coming out of Suzanne Tracht on Top Chef Masters, I immediately made a reservation at her restaurant in Los Angeles. “Jar” located on Beverly and Harper, makes you feel like you’ve just stumbled onto a neighborhood secret when you pull up to its small corner location.

The decor was simple and stylish…a little mod… nothing pretentious… an open, comfortable dining room with soft leathers and soothing wood tones that helped us sink into our martinis and the menu.

This is a chop house… a modern American California inspired version of one mind you, and the main focus of the menu are the Braised and Sautéed selections along with a few well chosen family-style sides. I had a braised pork shank prepared with star anise, coriander and garlic floating in an amazing reduction that I think is one of the best I’ve had…anywhere. It was simple, straight forward and delicious! It was the Sunday type dinner that warms your belly and makes you sleepy. Suzanne Tracht…will you marry me?

We shared a table of ample sized side dishes including Japanese purple yams, creamed spinach, duck fried rice, sautéed pea tendrils and asparagus. Very good…not great.

Dessert was as true to the restaurants mission as anything else on the menu…a straight forward, delicious, comfort food American classic; butterscotch pudding.

Jar on Urbanspoon

>Pierre Hermé Macaroons – Paris

by Mark on August 18, 2009 in Macaroons, Paris, Pierre Hermé, St Sulpice with No comments

>Paris, France


MACARONS…BREAKFAST OF CHAMPIONS

If you haven’t had a french macaron before you’re in luck…you’ll be ever chasing your first macaron high. First of all you have to get rid of the coconut stack idea of a macaroon most people associate with the name and think of a soft chewy meringue type cake cookie on either side of a confiseur filling. In essence they are tiny flat almond cakes filled with ganache. Light and delicate but bursting with flavor. The have a chew to hold onto but start melting as soon as they touch the tongue. They are the quintessential Parisian pastry and they take them very seriously.

We woke up early and made a bee-line to the St Germain de Près boutique of the French macaron master Pierre Hermé. The “jewelery shop” boutique as its referred to at 72 Rue Bonaparte is in almost direct opposition to the soft pop and candy colored decor of the rue de Vaugirard store. The small, rich, walnut paneled boutique (wait…was I just buzzed in?, no) exudes elegance and even a little Swiss restraint in design. The brilliant colors of the tartes and petite gateau, macarons and petits-fours pop like culinary gems underneath the long showcase.

The service is polite and professional. You must declare your intentions first or at least tell them which size of brightly colored box you’ll need….not being shy I of course went big. Each macaron selected was delicately pinched with silver tongs and whisked away to the staging area for packaging. Escorted to the cashier, my wrapped ribbon box was presented to me with a little apprehension and a large feeling of responsibility. So French…Gawd [rolling eyes].

Running out of the boutique with glee we settled down on the steps of St. Sulpice and delicately shared each others catches. The Arabesque of pistachio with apricot filling was so beautiful, the l’Huile d’Olive macaron started me down a future path of loving olive oil cakes, the Plentitude was a chocolate and caramel wonder and the Fleur de Sel and caramel macaron was chewy, stiff, light and gooey. My favorite was the simple one of chocolate and coffee.

I’ve heard that real Pierre Hermé fans should go to Tokyo where his macarons are all the rage and he supports them with a chocolate boutique bar, a gourmet convenience store and the largest of his four retail outlets. As they say in Japanese “Mou ii kai” – “here I come!”



>Barcelona Tapas Restaurant – Indianapolis

by Mark on August 17, 2009 in Almendras, Barcelona, Boquerones, indianapolis, restaurant review, Sangria, Tapas with No comments

>Indianapolis, Indiana


COME ON PEOPLE!

I’ve eaten here several times, tried my best to eat everything on the menu and keep wondering why this place has a ton of people in it whenever I walk by. This place is a hoosier version of a Spanish culinary tradition and it is…I have to say…the worst attempt at the tapas trend I’ve tried. It’s mostly filled with a younger crowd and I have to venture to guess that it’s due to the cheap plate prices and that demographic not having had the real thing.

This place has sloppy, lazy renditions of some Spanish classics yet tries to be casually elegant in presentation. I don’t think there’s a single imported item in the kitchen and even with the simple classics they miss that it should be about great ingredients. I’m embarrassed to say that our table actually laughed at the Sangria and sent it back.

I’m sorry…I want to support something like this place…especially downtown…I really do! But I just can’t get over the large elephant in the middle of the culinary room; This is lazy, cheap food that isn’t even very tasty.

If the food wasn’t odd enough? The staff is young (as you’d expect) and they seem to think that just because they’ve been told what Boquerones and Almendras are that it comes with a degree in snotty. How about actually preparing food well first?

Barcelona Tapas on Urbanspoon

>Hai Sizzling Wok Restaurant – Indianapolis

by Mark on August 17, 2009 in Chinese, gai roll, Hai, indianapolis, restaurant review, Sautéed Beef Roll, Sizzling Wok, Vietnamese, Vietnamese Chicken Soup with No comments

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Indianapolis, Indiana


SCUMMY YUMMY!

The atmosphere makes it hard to convince my coworkers to join me here for lunch, and the area of town only makes it worse…but the Sautéed Beef Rolls are out of this world and the Vietnamese Chicken Soup is more feel-good than your Jewish mother’s matzoh ball. The Comb Soup (pictured) is a winter day delight and the green and yellow curries are soulfully satisfying. The Gai Rolls are above average.

This place is the inexpensive strip mall secret on the near west side.

Hai Sizzling Wok on Urbanspoon

>Hot Tuna Seafood Restaurant – Indianapolis

by Mark on August 17, 2009 in Hot Tuna, indianapolis, Omni Severin, restaurant review with No comments

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Indianapolis, Indiana

REVOLTING!

Hot Tuna is artificially kept alive due to the Omni “needing” a restaurant to service their guests. This place, like it’s name, churns the stomach as boring, lifeless, culinary school type “food.” Do we really need more of this kind of place in this town?


My stomach still bubbles from the smell of the coagulated butter cheese sauce that dressed my pasta. Burp.

>Amici’s Italian Restaurant – Indianapolis

by Mark on August 17, 2009 in Amici's, indianapolis, Italian, Lockerbie, restaurant review with No comments

>Indianapolis, Indiana


LIKE IT.

Don’t confuse my “like it” status to mean the food is good though. It’s Midwestern watered down crappy Italian but it’s a Lockerbie neighborhood social gathering spot where sometimes it’s nice to see local folks and gnaw on a cheap cardboard pizza.

The sausage linguini reminds me of something you would have made on a hot plate in the dorm freshman year.

Amici's Italian on Urbanspoon


>New Favorite Thing – Latin "Sweet Bread" Snacks

by Mark on August 16, 2009 in coconut pudding, cuban bread, date bread, el salvadorian, Latin sweet bread, snack bread, Zemita Lido with No comments

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My latest addiction? The slightly sweet and savory latin snack breads! They are in between a dense bread and a cake texture and I’ve seen them with fig (my favorite), date, pineapple or strawberry fruit purée smeared thinly across the middle of them. They are overall dry with just enough moisture to grab in your mouth. The top of the bread is usually lightly dusted with sugar or crystallized fruit sugar. I’ve bought them in Miami as “Cuban Bread”, “Date Bread” and “Sweet Bread” and have found them in the midwest under “Sweet Bread” and in the El Salvadoran grocery section as “ZEMITA LIDO.”

They are great on their own…not too sweet…as well as broken apart and layered underneath a coconut pudding. I like them slightly above room temperature.

>VOX Restaurant – Reykjavik, Iceland

by Mark on August 16, 2009 in Brennevin, Bründlemayer Steinmassel Riesling, Iceland, Icelandic Food, inkara shiraz, pouilly fuissé bouchard, Reindeer, Reykjavik, sancerre frank millet, torres moscatel oro, VOX Restaurant with No comments

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Reykjavik, Iceland


NEW YEAR’S EVE CELEBRATION EXTRAORDINAIRE

One of the main reasons I wanted to start this blog was to share different experiences I’ve had with food…here’s one from my food journal (one of those analog paper binder things that you write in? remember those?) from a winter holiday trip we took to Iceland in 2007.

This was a really special meal and a daunting one too (we arrived to over 20 wine glasses on our table for two) and was the perfect ending to a long day stuck on frozen roads, a wonderful trip to the frozen waterfalls, a choral evensong in Icelandic at Hallsgrimskirkja and the most insane and dangerous free for all of fireworks on the planet (those people are scary addicted to fireworks).

The amuse bouche consisted of a smoked reindeer with herbed cream and french pastry served on a sterling bent amuse-bouche spoon along with a very small demi-tasse of spiced carrot soup foam and a glass of champagne.

The first course was a lightly cooked shellfish tartare of shrimp, scallops and lobster with buttermilk and vendage roe infused with shallots, dill and Danish balsamic apple vinegar. It was served in an open organic looking tear shaped metal bowl on top of a large charger. Glass of Bründlemayer Steinmassel Riesling 2003

The second course was perfectly marinated pickled herring with hot spring rye bread and beetroot three ways with fresh herbs. It was served in a small pickled herring jar with lid and a tiny sterling fork on a wooden tray. Small glass of Danish “Öl” beer and a cordial glass of Icelandic Brennevin “Snafs” with fresh dill.

The third course was a refreshing light course of locally caught rainbow trout served with home made feta cheese on Icelandic blinis with crème fraîche. Glass of Pouilly Fuissé Bouchard Aîne 2006

The fourth course was a very nice small cup of creamy celery soup infused with Swedish truffles, and topped with chives and a crouton. Another glass of the Pouilly Fuissé Bouchard Aîne 2006 (ok people…getting drunk here).

The fifth course was a pine wrapped langoustine fried in Icelandic butter and served with a shellfish gel cauliflower, broccoli and almond herb salad…with a large pour of Cloudy Bay Chardonnay 2005.

The sixth course (was…something with more alcohol….ok…stop drinking every drop Mark and you’ll make it) was Reindeer was served two ways; slowly cooked and lightly fried, served with root vegetables, mushrooms and fondant potatoes with a small pitcher of gravy and a small glass of Inkara Shiraz 2004

The seventh course was a small selection of warm local goat cheese served with apple glaze and purée and a sip of Sancerre Frank Millet 2005.

Our lovely meal was rounded off with two dessert courses; the petit dessert of almond praliné with mandarin served with rosemary ice cream with orange peel was the best thing that has ever entered my mouth…EVER! Followed by a trio of chocolate foam, chocolate mousse and dark chocolate shavings served on a bent spoon. The final glass for the night was an excellent Torres Muscatel Oro.

I’m embarassed to disclose how much this meal was (except to say it was equal to my mortgage payment)…and although I realize that money can’t buy happiness…sometimes it comes close.

>The Oceanaire Restaurant – Indianapolis

by Mark on August 16, 2009 in diver scallops, indianapolis, oceanaire, restaurant review, tuna tartare with 2 Comments

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Indianapolis, Indiana

I HAVEN’T STOPPED CRYING

I don’t understand the buzz about this place…it looks like just any other chain not trying to be a chain while tempting local customers into thinking that expensive prices equals good food. Sure the 1930′s ocean liner styling ambiance is delightful (hmmm…these beautiful plaster columns look familiar though…wait a minute…I’m sitting where the Clinique counter used to be in the old L.S. Ayres department store! I’m eating in a mall?) but it starts to feel cheap real quick with the lack of a dress code; jeans, shorts, t-shirts and ball caps (Im not kidding). I know this is the casual midwest but for god’s sake people, at least require business casual when you’re charging me $38 for Arctic Char…in fact…you MUST show me a high heel and a few sport jackets.


First impressions of the menu were good…fantastic looking raw bar, good minded ceviche and traditional caviar service…I think I’m gonna like this…uh…wait a minute…my waiter (who up until last month was a realtor) just asked me if tap water was ok. “Check please!”

The Tuna Tartare was lackluster and could have been helped with a crank of sea salt, a splash of citrus and a shot of spice (wasabi, soy, sriracha…anything boys). The purist in me tried again…but even the buttery, openly round taste of raw tuna was missing. What in the hell was I actually eating? Do they store their sashimi in water?

Round two…Maine Diver Scallops…one of my favorites (even though I know they are out of season) and something every chef likes to use because they (like lobster) speak beautifully for themselves. I ordered them suggesting the Chef’s best preparation and I have to admit I thought of nothing else for the next 20 minutes. My knees were bouncing…my eyes stuck on objects at the table as I day dreamed about them. “Maybe they’ll be floating in a light lobster and wine sauce…perhaps piled high on a small bunch of chanterelles or sea greens… or maybe stacked on a rutabaga purée with a touch of dijon?”

Finally our realtor (I mean waiter) rounded the corner, his arms piled high with dishes and proudly presented in front of me my…uh….I have no idea what he just put down infront of me.

My scallops smelled like seaweed, were smaller than expected, seared incorrectly and mixed into a bowl of marinated sliced skirt steak, a small handful of what I think were either marinated enoki or sea vegetables and tossed in a sticky sickeningly sweet brown sauce and served with bread (?). NO!!…it was absolutely revolting. I must have looked like I was about to cry since everyone at the table stopped looking at me and a strange hush came over them. I swallowed hard, took another bite and imagined I was required to eat it.

Third course? Dessert? (which mind you was a pull-off-the-top processed vanilla ice cream cardboard dixie cup with wooden spoon attached piece of crap served on a warmed plate…no…not a playful culinary amuse presentation of what I just described filled with maybe a french custard or a zabaglione, but the actual processed 49 cent hunk of crap manufactured by some new jersey company with freezer burn). uh…no thanks.

Oceanaire Seafood Room on Urbanspoon