Whole Lobster Pop-up (July 2016)

There we were... wandering through the VIP section at A Taste of Cambridge when we came upon a booth carrying a tasty lobster bite. Tara can't refuse a lobster snack and so... was drawn right in. In our brief discussion with the folks at the table we were told of the Pop Ups they do and pointed to a note pad that would be used to gather reservations for these small and personal events...   I'm certain you're all shocked that we signed up.

Pre-dinner Cocktails
More pictures we didn't take... As Nick and I arrived early, there were beverages to be tried. I, myself, am not a whiskey drinker and so... I settled on some wine. Nick and Synda tried some of their signature beverages and then we were all served with a complimentary drink which was called a Milk Punch (clarified).  I was particularly surprised at this beverage as not only was it made from milk product but also contained gin.... might I just say, it tasted of neither and had a nice, smooth sort of flavor that would have been palatable with most of the dishes that we were yet to know were coming!

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Dinner Time

Some people were... late... in fact, even though we waited more than a half hour to start while waiting for them, they never showed. Don't BE these people... it's rude to the establishment and the handful of other folks that participate!  We got sat at a table with two other pretty awesome people and quickly struck up foodie conversation especially as we were reviewing the menu and the appetizers spread around the table.

Lobster butter and sourdough bread... lobster and truffle popcorn...charred shishito and lobster aoli made for a really nice start to the meal... we tried to get more popcorn but were thwarted by receiving only PLAIN popcorn... oh well... it was good while it lasted!

Lobster salad on a house-made herbed cracker and green goddess dressing. This was especially good and a nice balance of herbs and fresh lobster flavor. The cracker received mixed reviews at the table but I liked it just fine :)

Heirloom Tomato Lobster Gazpacho with Cucumber

Generally we all felt as if this needed a little more "lobster". In and effort to utilize the entire creature they had ground up the shells and made the broth for the gazpacho from the lobster broth. It didn't create a very notable "lobster" taste but the soup itself was good as it were.
 

Squash Blossom, Lobster Mousse garnished with Summer Truffle and Fried Egg Yolk

This was a stunning dish that held surprises for all of us. The mousse was very well executed and presented in the squash blossom was a great presentation and flavor. The truffle slices were both gorgeous and tasty but the star of the plate seemed to be the fried egg yolk (seen above at the top of my plate) which was FAR more tasty than I would have expected for a simple egg yolk lightly battered and flash fried.
 

Summer Beans, Lobster Tortellini and Wild Flowers 

This was a super star dish and I believe one of the favorites of the night. The stuffing on the tortellini was nearly all lobster which made for a heart bite. The pasta was all made on-site (Chef noted that he loves making rolled pastas!) and the bean salad beneath was fresh and really tasty even though I'm not typically a fan of beans.  We all felt like the bean salad was a strange pairing. It worked but it felt a little awkward and the beans just lost when it came to the competition between them and the tortellini. People have to have priorities!

Apricot & Summer Squash, Lobster Claws & Knuckle with Geranium

There's little doubt that the claw shown on the plate was a piece of art in itself. It was an unusual presentation as typically it's difficult to get the claw and knuckles out in one piece. Mine was perhaps the messiest of them (mine is shown here) but still beautiful. General consensus seemed to be that the claw should have "had something" as a flavor profile of its own as it was completely untreated. I personally enjoyed the cleanness of the claw meat and used the rest of my plate to sort of flavor it up in a manner that was appealing to me.
 

Heirloom Carrots,  Grilled tail, Vaduovan Currry, Coconut and Wild Rice

Tail is nearly always the highlight of any meal for a lobster lover and this dish did not fail to deliver. While I was not a fan of the rice on this dish (it was crisped a little too much to the 'burnt flavor' side for me personally) the rest of the dish was a really great combination of things with the curry just adding an amazing quality to the already great flavor of lobster tail. And... who can go wrong with a purple carrot?!
 

White Chocolate, Cremeux, Short Cake and Lobster Candy 

 Blow this picture up and make sure you take a good look at it. Although I didn't eat all of mine (it was just sweeter than I could handle at this point in the meal) I can't say enough good things about "lobster candy" which, prior to this, might not have ever sounded particularly appealing. It's combination with white chocolate in this manner and mixed with those sweet clover leaves that you see there (that got ZERO billing... such a shame!) was simply one of the best things I've had in a while. A very nice end to this experience!

The Wrap-Up

As the plates were cleared and we all sat chatting and filling out the comment cards provided we bantered about the feedback each of us was providing. Hops Test Kitchen does the pop up dinners to help change and update the menu for both the Cambridge and Brookline locations. We all provided our individual commentary on our meals which, as usual, varied a little but the consensus was that nearly all of the dishes were delicious if not just slightly off an expected mark when compared one to the other. Some were strong, some were less so.  

The night ended with a visit from (and a length conversation with) Chef Brian Miller who we thanked profusely for his and the remainder of the kitchen's work and told him we look forward to participating again in the future!

We would highly recommend trying out Hops Test Kitchen or even HopsNScotch but definitely... DEFINITELY try to find out when the next Pop Up dinner is and get yourself signed up!

Chicago (April 2016)

It was rainy in Chicago during our first expedition out together on Friday April 1st. That... was unfortunate. But we had a good sight seeing adventure from the John Hancock Tower and afterwards we descended 94 floors to find ourselves some food. The first restaurant we looked at (per recommendation of one of the attendants at the checkout) was filled up until way too late for us... so Nick took to Yelp and we found this place called NoMi and upon looking it up in OpenTable... we found it to be a 1k point restaurant so we were in! 6:45PM reservation it was as we figured that would give us enough time to move on over the few blocks to get there.

The above was my first view of NoMi. I liked the window.... little did I know what we were getting ourselves into!

Nomi - Sticking out from the side of this hotel

NoMi is part of a hotel... a Hyatt. That typically doesn't even filter into our decision and neither did it here. We just saw good reviews, a "reasonable" (but on the high end) cost estimate and said, "What the hell! Let's go!" And thus, here we landed.  I didn't photograph the entry because, really, it's not very unique. It's standard. Classy enough. The staff was quite pleasant and helpful even if we weren't exactly "smart casual" all the way. They didn't seem put out at all! So in we went.

First sighting... the CHEESE FRIDGE!  As you're all WELL aware... we're suckers for cheese and this seemed a nice collection. We didn't get to stop and preview the varieties in the chest but both of us made note that a place that has a variety like this can't have a terrible cheese plate!  Sure enough, there were cheese plate offerings on the menu.... but.... we didn't end up there.... We'll get to that shortly.

We passed on by the sushi bar.... and at that point... I was really happy, already with our choice! The chefs cheerfully greeted us and then went back to discussing whatever it was they were working on.

Not a single scent of anything resembling fish in the air.... at all.... I hadn't really realized that at the time but upon review, I'm thinking that was definitely a great sign also. Not to mention the plates of sushi I eyeballed on other tables around us when we sat.... in that window I took a picture of on our way in!  I thought that was pretty awesome as well :)

The kitchen was semi-open but with no immediate tables or seating options. On a prep table just outside the table was a nice leg of Iberico Ham and an old school slicer which was just a really nice touch.  As the rest of the restaurant was designed in a neo-modern, sculpture-based decor I liked the flavor this station added to the potential for what was to be coming out of the kitchen!

Our view wasn't too shabby from our window-facing seat... It was light when we arrived. We got to watch the storm clear, the sky turn blue and then watched the colors of the sunset bounce off the buildings and a portion of one of the buildings before us fade into the skyline as it turned the same blue before it went colored red and orange and then... dark. Leaving us with this.

We always examine the cocktail menu first and we chose our first beverages while we were still reviewing the food menu itself... 

Tara: There's always something different to consider and although there were quite a few interesting drinks, there were only a couple that particularly grabbed my attention as I'm not a fan of gin or any of the browns.... bourbon or whiskey.  SO I chose to first order a drink called Child's Play which was a vodka-based beverage worth a shot for sure! Unfortunately we did not get a snap of the menu itself so I cannot tell you what exactly what was in it completely but I do know that it had egg white which explains the "head" on my beverage. It was tasty indeed!

Nick: Swizzle drinks seem to be a thing in Chicago and they remind me of Bermuda so I jumped in on this drink.  It was tasty and well balanced, but probably a bit strong for Sushi - had I thought ahead of time.

Next course the drinks were selected FOR us and he did wonderfully. Mine was the other vodka-based drink called "Part and Parcel" which is made with grapefruit and St Germain and for Nick there was the Thyme Slip which is kind of a Tequila spin on a Lemon and Thyme drink popular for whisky but with some spicy heat to it.  Both of these were excellent.

Our final drink course was wine with our entree dishes. Mine was a very perfect Viognier from Jean Luc Columbo Viognier "La Violette" Languedoc. Nick's was a very bold and fruity Zin: Frank Family Zinfandel from Napa Valley. Both paired wonderfully with our entrees... wait until you see them!

A nice little "bread basket" appeared with some spiced butter. Everything in there was quite tasty but... it was a very rare occasion and we barely ate much of it because of the amazing food that followed!

First course came out as sushi which was thrilling. Part of the issue with the menu was attempting to decide between the really delicious looking and sounding sushi menu and the equally as intriguing entree menu... 

In our zeal... we both snapped up a piece of the maki roll before the picture.... oops! Foodie faux pas!  So.. here we have two pieces each of salmon (wrapped around cucumber), tuna and yellowtail and a Tiger Roll which consisted of shrimp tempura, spicy big eye tuna, snow crab, avocado.

For the second course this arrived first!  Burrata - Shaved artichoke, marinated baby vegetables, and cherry tomatoes.  And along with that came this little number...  Jumbo Scallops, Iberico ham, fig compote, onion purée, sunchoke chips. Both appetizers were just beyond words. The scallops were perfectly cooked and, although the burrata was BEYOND yummy, I think the scallops were our favorite of this course.

For the entree course... it is required that I tell you that we did NOT give this waiter any information about us at all. So when these two dishes came out we sort of laughed because we thought they couldn't have been chosen for us any better if these people knew us personally!

I was presented with this lovely dish,  Maine Lobster - Butter-poached, fava bean, green pea, fried scallion, saffron nage.  And Nick received, Braised Pork Cheek, baby potatoes and baby onions.

So, perhaps the only "miss" on the whole meal was our side presented during the entree and neither Nick nor I were really certain that was the fault of the dish itself or, rather, that we much preferred our entrees and just never got around to the side:

Spring Pea & Bean Salad, shallot marmalade, pickled garlic, extra virgin olive oil

And just WHAT would a dinner adventure be without a dessert to die for?

So all three pieces appeared at the table at the same time but... we were riveted to the casserole that contained enough dessert to feed AT LEAST four people! And the SMELL!? Oh my... we immediately made to find some room in our stomachs for the following:

This... is the "seasonal cobbler" which for us was Pear & Apple Cobbler.  We each also received our own triple vanilla goat's milk ice cream. It's a good thing too because I'm certain it would have been a fight to the death if we had to attempt to share that...

And the literal icing on this cobbler combination?! Black pepper cajeta which was a nice spicy sort of goat's milk caramel sauce that just complemented the rest of the dish SO WELL!

Overall our "happenstance" appearance at NoMi was a hit! The service was great, the food was great! Everything about the place was pretty great (Honestly, I joked that even the bathrooms were pretty great.) I believe it's safe to say that we would highly recommend anyone in Chicago looking for a good meal be ready to make reservations here.

Oh... the pricing? Well... it's a little "higher than normal" but expect the $30-50 per plate range and if you do an adventure like ours you're looking at about $320 but it doesn't HAVE to be that way.

Choose your own adventure, right? That's what being a foodie is all about :)

WD 50 (Aug 2012)

This is a bit of retro-post. From one of early travel trips for great food. Ripped from our old food blog.

For Stephan's birthday this was part I of our secret food surprise.  WD-50 is not on the outside what we expected from the world's best chefs, and potentially the most advanced Molecular Gastronomist in the country.  We took an exciting cab ride to the Lower East Side, tucked away from any major industry or commercial areas.  A quaint red and blue neon sign is all that made its location known on such an unimpressive locale.     

       While we dropped the ball taking photos, mostly because it was so nice that doing so seemed highly inappropriate, the presentations were some of the best we've ever seen.   The above is from Google :p

       The first couple dishes were very seafood heavy.  I was a much bigger fan of the Nigiri, as a whole the dish had a much greater range of taste.  The Nigiri used the rooty vegetable Salsify as a rice substitute and that was pretty cool.  Even though the "Roe" sounded like something I would like, overall I don't remember liking it that much, but then again, anything with pickled onion is going to be hard for me - FYI the "Roe" is the noodle.

The Pho Gras was one of my favorite dishes of the evening.  A clever play on Foie Gras, there were a good piece of Foie Gras with some noodles and a very tasty Pho broth full of flavor.  I found out afterwards, the crunchy bit on the side is beef that has been cooked, dried, and then fried - it was like a pork rind I think.

The Amaro Yolk dish had some of the trippiest flavors.  In particular - the peas are actually condensed carrots then rolled in dehydrated peas.  The pasta looking part is actually ribbons of carrot, and the confit chicken was epic.

Veal being one of my favorite meats, this dish was great, but surprisingly not one of the best ones.  I think some of the zing was in the mustard crackers which I avoided extensively.

The crab toast was my least favorite - i liked the bottom part which was pretty much just saffron flavored cake.  But overall too much crab flavor.

I actually really liked the Sole, but was iffy about the tomato and avoided the black sauce (licorice). 

Sweat breads have become something I really like.  This was no exception.    They can sometimes be salty, and the creme on the bottom and pistachio help cut that and add flavor.  This is possibly my second favorite dish until we get to dessert.

Prior to coming I had big hopes for the root beer ribs dish.  While the dish delivered with high marks and had an amazing flavor - it was just savory and not breath taking.

Of anything we ate - this honeydew jasmine cucumber pallet cleanser was epic.  I think I have a hidden torrent love for clean and crisp and subtle dishes.  I love honey dew, and this was just all around great.  I wouldn't ever try cucumber icecream on its own.

I don't remember much at all about yuzu ice milk.  Someone else can hopefully say more.

Last but not least - The Smore.   This is hands down the most spectacle worthy dish of the night.  The smear around the dish is charred meringue that gives a true caramelized marshmallow flavor.   The actual marshmallow is ice cream, also meringue that allowed it to be charred as well.

The entire experience was amazing.  Each dish hinted the mastery of Molecular Gastronomy but had amazing flavor portfolios and more classic aspects.  All 12 courses took several hours to work through and we enjoyed a handful of great cocktails which I can't even begin to remember anymore.  I would do it again in a heart beat.