Degustation 7 Course Tasting Menu

I am a man of little faith.  I have no faith in religion, humanity, or trusting the choices in a tasting menu.  I threw caution to the wind and allowed my meal to be dictated by the chef's 7 course tasting menu:

Amuse Bouche (Croquetas): in typical fashion, I put the entire bite sized piece in my mouth only to realize that the inside was hot lava. I vented my mouth, let the steam out, and went through with my commitment to eat it in one bite (my options were to spit it out and look ridiculous, douse it with a mouthful of water and lose the flavor, or to commit and risk a burned mouth).  Luckily, I got through unscathed and the croqueta had a nice crunchy outside and savory creamy inside.  

1st Course (Pimento Soup): I was a little disappointed by the simplicity of the soup: pureed pimento peppers and garnishes cut too big.  My nervousness set in.  

2nd Course (Charred Vegetable Salad): We received a beautifully plated dish, but it was just quickly charred carrots, micro-sliced apple/radish, and cauliflower.  My panic was in full effect ("what have I done!?").

3rd Course (Soft Scrambled Eggs with Potato Foam): The only reason I was upset with this dish is that I didn't have more.  You could really taste the "essence" of both the egg and potatoes....that's right, I said essence. I put less and less of it on the spoon because I didn't want it to end.  My faith was starting to get restored.

4th Course (Sea Bass): Which sadist invented the tasting menu?  The sea bass was perfectly cooked and I wanted more than my Oliver Twist serving....I'm starting to sing "Food, Glorious Food" to myself.   

 5th Course (Cavatelli Pasta with a Littleneck Claim): The cavatelli was cooked al dente and I couldn't get enough of the chorizo, butter, clam juice/pasta water sauce.  I looked at the server with puppy dog eyes hoping for another serving.  Damn you tasting menu!    

6th Course (Short Rib on Flatbread): I normally love short rib, but I wasn't in love on this course. The sauce was overpowering and I don't know why the flatbread was included.

Palette Cleanser (Pop Rocks and Pineapple): Pop rocks = sensory overload.  The palette cleanser was effective.

7th Course (Caramelized Torija): We watched the chef torch our dessert and we began dancing in our seats.  It was the perfect ending to the meal - the torija was a brioche with a pudding like inside (like french toast).  The caramelized crust completed the dish and me.

The restaurant is small, all seats face the open kitchen (so its like dinner and a show), and I'll faithfully return.

Best Thing I Ever Ate: French Pastries (Dominique Ansel Bakery 189 Spring Street New York, NY 10012)

Their pastries are so good that I agreed to drive into the city on a Saturday, be dragged along shopping, and did I mention that it was raining?  I struck gold the first time by ordering a DKA and a cannelle (now I refuse to order anything else to prevent lessening my professed love for their pastries):

- DKA: is a lightly glazed / sugared croissant.  Crunchy and sweet on the outside and buttery soft on the inside (simple indulgence).

- Cannelle: imagine a soft caramel crust with custard inside.  You will stare at amazement at the miracle performed with egg, sugar, milk, flour, rum, and vanilla.

Their pastries must have mini boomerangs in them because as soon as I eat one, I return back the next day to get more. 

Artisanal Premium Cheese Class

I took their "Sexy Cheese & Sumptuous Wine" class and the last thing I felt was sexy or sumptuous.

I went straight to the class after work and I was paranoid that we weren't going to get a lot to eat/drink - I was completely wrong.  We were welcomed with a nice cheese spread (complete with fondue) and Cava (Spanish sparkling wine).  I was almost full heading into the class (instead of marbles, imagine a hungry hungry hippo going after different cheeses - that was me).

We were led into the class and my knees almost buckled. Each table setting had 7 cheeses and 4 full wine glasses (why didn't I pace myself!?).   The cheeses were:

- Humboldt Fog
- Ossau Iraty Pardou Arriou
- Edwin's Munster
- Uplands Pleasant Ridge
- Adelegger (***my favorite***)
- Prima Donna
- Bleu de Laqueuille

It was a vast variety of cheeses: goat milk, sheep milk, cow milk, soft, blue, hard, nutty tasting, etc.  Erin (our cheese instructor) retired from her corporate job and made her love of cheese into a new career.  She was very knowledgeable, had great handouts, and went through the history of cheese (and why it's so damn sexy).  But wait.....it gets better!  They also had full glasses of the following wines:

- Verdejo / Viura Rueda
- Chenin Blanc
- Grenache / Cinsault / Tibourin
- Shiraz

We were supposed to try each cheese with each wine to decide which ones pair well together.  I played the pairing game for awhile, but your palette will be overloaded and your taste buds will go numb. Robert (our wine instructor) was equally knowledgeable and poured freely if you had space for more.  Good luck finishing everything and remember to pace yourself. 

Weisses Brauhaus (Munich, Germany)

Before Weisses Brauhaus:
- The thought of beer at breakfast seemed foreign.
- The thought of boiled white sausage and pretzels at breakfast seemed unappetizing.

After Weisses Brauhaus:
- When in Munich, do as the Munichers do (drink beer at breakfast).
- There was nothing more than I wanted to eat every day than a typical Bavarian breakfast: I went with the dark beer (instead of the traditional wheat beer), the delicious white sausage, the freshest baked pretzel, and sweet mustard.
- Everyone has their own method to removing the sausage skin (I preferred to surgically remove it versus ripping it off by hand).

Hofbrauhaus Beer Garden (Munich, Germany)

How to act like a tourist at Hofbrauhaus:

A) You stand around waiting at the entrance as if a hostess is going to seat you.
B) After you realize that no one is going to sit you, you walk around the entire beer garden looking for a mythical empty table.
C) After finding a place to sit, you don't hang up your coat, but instead create a 'fort' of coats around you.
D) Instead of ordering a beer right away, you decide to ask for an English menu and delay the time it takes to get a beer exponentially.
E) After finally getting your beer, you decide to take a thousand pictures of you holding the beer, drinking from the beer, comparing the size of the beer to your head, holding 2 beers, etc.

This place is massive with different rooms, floors, and an outdoor beer garden area.  It has tons of atmosphere with the diversity of people drinking here (we witnessed a 7 year old girl drinking with her parents).  The food is ok (Weisses Braeuhaus has better white sausages/pretzels and Haxnbauer has a better pork knuckle), but let's be honest....you're not here for the food.  Good luck not getting hungry watching other people eating food at your table. 

Haxnbauer (Munich, Germany)

Not all pork knuckles are created equal.  This is the place to go for a hunk of burning 'pork' love.

Sure, you can order a pork knuckle anywhere in Munich...but why ruin your experience and go with subpar knuckle?  Haxnbauer roasts their pork over a wood fire for 3 hours and it smells divine when you walk in (I thought I died and went to porky heaven).  If you order an entire knuckle (good for 2 people), the waiter will let you pick your own (with price tags included).  The skin was perfectly crispy and the meat was absolutely delicious (I didn't want to stop eating until there was just a bone left on the plate). It's definitely a must do.

 

Best Thing I Ever Ate: Italian @ Del Posto (85 10th Ave, NY NY 10011)

Del Posto must have one hell of a dish washer because our silverware was taken and replaced (whether used or not) on all 7 courses and multiple amuse bouches.

This was the best service I have ever experienced:

- I made a mistake on OpenTable and messed up on the date - they quickly accommodated us in a packed restaurant
- One of the people in our party spilled something on the table and they responded immediately by cleaning it and putting another table cloth over the spill
- The first pouring of wine was a tableside production
- The eagle eye bus boy spotted that I touched the rib eye bone and got me an unsolicited wet napkin with a lemon/sprig of rosemary
- The piano in the background made it a soothing classy experience
- They had someone stationed outside of the restaurant to hail a cab for you (like a hotel)

We went with the 7 course meal with supplements (our main waiter called it "The Captain").  The trio of amuse bouches was a nice touch: risotto bites, a shot that resembled a short rib broth, and another delicious undistinguishable bite.  The bread came with butter and lardo (mmmm lardo).  We went with a few bottles of 2001 Brunello (2001 was an optimal year for the soil, conditions, etc - or so we were told).  Here is what we received:

- Roasted Winter Vegetables with Robiola Sformato & Truffled Hazelnuts: delicious but I always final like truffle oil is "cheating"
- Carne Cruda with Truffled Salsa, Parmigiano-Reggiano & Shaved King Oyster Mushroom: I could have eaten a bowl full of this
- Wild Striped Bass, Warm Late Harvest Radicchio Salad, Bagna Caôda & Campari: we got the meaty tail section; it was cooked perfectly where you could taste the "fish's oil" between the meat
- Pumpkin Cappellacci with Brown Butter: amazing (worth the whole visit)
- Orecchiette with Lamb Shoulder Sausage, Crispy Morels & Minted Soybeans: the ground lamb shoulder made me want to buy a stand mixer with a meat attachment so I could make it at home
- Beef Ribeye with French Fried Potatoes, Seared Butter Lettuce & Dried Tomatoes: I never order my steak medium-rare, ever.  This was meat perfection - perfect hard crust sear
- Pineapple Coppetina: nice palette cleanser
- Tartufo al Caffe, Dark Chocolate, Sant'Eustachio Coffee, & Candied Lemon: it was ok. I wasn't impressed with the desserts.  We each got different desserts and the olive oil gelato is unique - I love the olive oil's tongue coating viscosity  
- Final 6 piece Dessert Amuse Bouche: nice touch

Roast Duck with Peach Balsamic Glaze

 

If I see duck on a menu, its one of a handful of things that I zero in on (chorizo, pancetta/pork belly, poached eggs, truffle, and mac & cheese are others).  I read a few recipes and combined aspects of each: I brined it over night, blasted it with heat at 425 degrees for 30 minutes to crisp the skin, roasted it for an hour and 45 minutes at 350 degrees (flipping it twice), and brushed it with a peach juice (1/2 cup) / balsamic vinegar (1/4 cup) / honey (1 tbsp) mixture. Ducks are fatty animals, so be sure to put potatoes under it to soak up their delicious fat (I added potatoes, mushrooms, and garlic with a 1 hour and 15 minutes left).  I personally hate roasting whole birds (somehow I make great turkeys) - but chickens, hens, and ducks don't seem to yield enough viable meat.  I'll try my hand at duck breasts next.