Below are the 10 most recent journal entries recorded in duff00's LiveJournal:

Monday, June 23rd, 2008
10:39 am	Otom - Why are you so delicious? Oh, Otom. Otom, Otom, Otom. I just can't find the words to tell you how delicious you were on Friday night. So I've written a short acrostic. Something I threw together. Just...well...to tell you how I feel. O - is for the OH face that I made throughout the night; T - is for my Titillated Tastebuds, because it tasted just right. O - is for the Orgasm the Mac and Cheese causes; M - is for the Moaning, as I ate between pauses. What we had: Mixed drinks were delightful! Didn't have any wine. It was a rough day at work and we needed some real booze. I especially enjoyed the one with a rosemary sprig as a swizzle stick. You can see some Molecular Gastronomy influence on this menu but it's too delicious on its own to simply call it Moto's Little Brother. Amuse: carbonated watermelon (yes, it was carbonated - and oddly good) in a little spoon with a sprinkle of cayenne and a root veg puree. Apps - We got three (lay off me, I'm starving!): 1. Mac and Cheese with Bacon and truffles. SO f-ing delicious. It was quite possibly one of the most perfect dishes ever created (it's right up there with the Risotto at NoMi, the Sweetbreads at Custom House and the Foie Gras with Caramel and Curry Powder at Courtright's). 2. Salmon Ceviche with Citrus Bubbles (little caviar-looking things - weren't too citrusy) on fried wontons with amazing red pepper and cilantro sauces on the plate. 3. Butter-poached Shrimp with some citrusy beans (yes, citrusy is a word now) and a dope mole-type sauce. Entrees: 1. Beef Short Rib Ravioli. Little puffs of beefy goodness. Shredded, tender short rib an goat cheese in a little fried pillow-shaped puff. 2. Duck breast, seared to perfection, with jasmine rice that tasted like cilantro. Shreds of stripey beets. Was good. So, to recap: Eat at Otom. Everything else is piss. 951 W. Fulton Market 312-491-5804 Current Mood: full (Comment on this)
Wednesday, June 11th, 2008
4:50 pm	Park Grill in Chicago's Millenium Park Shame on you, Park Grill. Just because it’s in Millennium Park and it’s outside doesn’t mean that you can serve crap. First, let’s start with the positives (I’m not a COMPLETE D-bag). My hamburger was pretty good. The watermelon gazpacho was quite refreshing (note: the addition of squid was unnecessary). The frozen beverages were tasty. CONS: The chips in the $7 chips and salsa. Maybe the fact that they were multi-colored tortilla chips justified the price? The chips were so stale they were inedible. I know the restaurant is really busy and all, but do you really need to portion out chips ahead of time for faster service? It’s humid outside. Keep the chips tightly covered and we won’t have this problem. Or, I’d tell you not to use old, stale chips…but since you serve SO MANY of them a day (see below) it shouldn’t be a problem. Here’s the conversation that I had with the server: “I’m sorry...um...these chips are terrible.” (silence) “I’m not trying to be rude, but they’re pretty bad…” “Well, I’ll take them off of your bill.” “Okay, thanks.” “Wow, I‘m surprised, ‘cause, I’ve served, like, 40 already today and nobody said anything.” “Oh, really, bitch? Maybe that’s because they all have poor taste or are tourists who are too geeked out to be eating in Millennium park that they didn’t care.” (okay, I didn’t say that one out loud) The Goat Cheese Salad with Grilled Peaches – a smear of goat cheese on a plate (literally) topped with piles of greens and some grilled peach slices. Come on, you know we only ordered it for the cheese! And this is what we get. A smear. Not only did it look bad, it tasted bad. Kettle Chips served with everything – invest in a deep fryer. Or bring them out from inside. Is this not America? Give us some f-ing fries with our f-ing lunch. Make them with duck fat or something. Or put some truffle salt on them. I dunno. Jesus, do I have to think of everything? Kobe Beef Tacos – thought it’d be slices of beef (how else would you serve Kobe?) but it was ground. GROUND! I understand the restaurant wanting to use up leftover trimmings from the Kobe steaks that they serve at night. So, shame on us for ordering these, I guess. (Comment on this)
Tuesday, January 1st, 2008
4:56 pm	Green is the new douche. Happy New Year! Attended festivities at Pheasant Run Resort last night. We've attended each year that we've been dating except for one (we were in New Zealand on NY Eve '03 - good excuse, no?). And, like me and my big fat married ass - they've really let themselves go. The rooms: waaaay too much mildew in the bath tub and the wallpaper is peeling in some spots. The dinner, while always mediocre, was *superbly* mediocre this year. How many times can you feed me shrimp stuffed with crab meat? Ya think no one is going to notice that you serve it almost every year? First of all, it's not stuffed, it's a mounded on top. And it's creepy. It's plated on top of a baguette slice, ostensibly to keep the fishy crab juice from running onto the icky stuffed slice of beef ("Mountain Dew or Crab Juice?" "Blecch! Eww, sheesh, I'll take a crab juice.) And what's with you stuffing everything? I did like the goat cheese appetizer. The salad was odd and I'll leave it at that. You know I'll eat anything, but good Lord. Cinnamon apples? Got my February Bon Appetit. I do like the new look - the logo, illustrations, colors. But it's a "green" issue this month and the next time I get something "green" I'm going to compost it up real good and recycle it right up the publisher's asshole. I'm all about being a locavore and shit. If I had a big yard I would put my coffee grounds and potato peels and fish heads into a little box bought from Smith and Hawken and turn it over with a god-damned shovel every few days so I can sleep at night secure in the fact that I didn't have to add to the plastic bag-filled landfill by buying store-bought dirt. Then I could plant some delicious heirloom tomatoes and make a nice tomato salad in August sprinkled with sea salt (speaking of which - I had to buy a new box of Maldon, I ate it all already. That can't be good for me). But I counted SIX little card inserts in my magazine. You know, those little things that fall out that you send in for subscriptions. So, you're encouraging me to eat delicious-yet-lowfat-and-renewable bison yet you like to kill trees with your unnecessary little inserts? It IS 2008. Time to upgrade your marketing tactics. And while you're at it, stop sending me letters to renew. You send about 10 each year. Now I have to recycle those too, creeps. Think of all that fuel the recycling trucks use to haul your shit. Current Mood: happy (Comment on this)
Tuesday, September 25th, 2007
12:47 am	Adventures in Napa Valley Just returned form a *glorious* trip to Napa for a whole wide week! Here's how it all went down: Day One - Flew into Oakland around 2pm. Requested a Mustang Convertible to driv eup to Napa in. Got a Sebring Convertible instead. Not all that bad, but can I still get a FUCK YOU to these bitches from all of my bitches who don't got love for Enterprise who don't got Mustangs (for players who want Mustangs)? Word. Stayed most of the week in the utterly delightful Carneros Inn. And I will be stying there each time I return to Napa. I encourage all to do the same. Not very cost effective, but worth every penny. You get your own little free-standing cottage with a large private deck surrounded my a tall metal fence ("farmhouse chic") and there is a heater outside. Inside, there is a seating area with a wood-burning concrete fireplace and a flat screen TV above. The bed is big and comfy. The bathroom is huge for a cottage this size, with a HEATED slate floor, a bath tub so deep the water came up to my shoulders when I got in, and a shower with three heads. Oh, and did I mention the OUTDOOR shower? Super fun. A bit too cold, but I did it anyway. Toiletries = brand is some fancy spa stuff called Red Flower and we got the Blood Orange scented ones. Yummy. Free wireless, room service, etc. Everything you'd expect, done really, really nicely. And in the elegantly low-key and casual way in which most things happen in Napa. Will discuss restaurants and wineries next! Current Mood: cheerful (Comment on this)
Monday, September 3rd, 2007
7:02 pm	The douchebag store called...and they're all outta ME. Wow, it's been a year, huh? Here's a rather casual review as I am all doped up on pain meds (I have a very bad toothache and my asshole dentist hasn't called back yet). Went to St. Louis this weekend. Ate at Tony's, the "best" fine dining restaurant in Missouri, according to may St. Louisians I've spoken to (and the restaurant itself - the only joint in Missourah to have five diamonds from AAA or some shit like that). I must admit, my restaurant snobbery came out in full force before we got there. Chicago has some of the best restaurants in the country! I said to myself. I've eaten in some of the finest restaurants in the world! London, Dublin, Rome, San Fran, Barcelona! I'm fucking SARAH for god's sake. Don't try to tell me what's up. But I was immediately put in my place. I'm such a douche. Tony's deserves all of its accolades and more. It was a lovely dining experience. They have the whole table-service thing down pat. Was this what fining dining was like in the 50's? Waiters whipping up Manhattans on a little cart in the middle of the dining room. Servers placing your napkin into your lap before you have time to grab it. Desserts being set on fire. I asked for something from the waiter and he said "You're at Tony's - you can have anything you want." It's old school fancy dining, but it's done tastefully (this is key, people). And here is something I appreciated, not to go all Womynist on ya: I made the reservation and I ordered the wine and such, so the servers treated me as sort of the "head" of the table. They even gave me the check at the end, even though there was a gentleman with me. Kinda dope. The servers finish almost every dish table side. My aunt's scallops were placed individually onto her dinner plate - from a smaller plate. "They say he carved it himself - from a bigger spoon." -Lenford "Lenny" Leonard Then a little pan sauce was whipped up on a burner next to our table. The food lived up to the hype and the service was impeccable. We asked them to pair wines for us, a different one for each course, as we often do. Sometimes we're lazy, sometimes we genuinely need suggestions, and sometimes I think we do it just to test them. They passed with flying colors. Pairing were spot-on, they didn't dumb it down for us, and they gave us each a different wine since we ordered different stuff. Tony's really does sauces well. Hell, they do EVERYTHING well. Some standouts: beef tartare, nicely flavored with chopped capers, a ripe heirloom tomato salad, carpaccio with heavenly white truffle oil, stuffed quail with wild rice, and a beef tenderloin with a perfectly-cooked slab of foie gras on top. ***Suck on that, City Council of Chicago - even restaurants in ST. LOUIS can sell foie gras. You're an embarrassment! The owner, a cute little older guy name Vince Bommarito, along with a few managers and such came by often to ask how our meal was. Well, sirs...it was fantastic! (oh, and thanks for signing my menu) Tony's 410 Market St St Louis, MO 63102 (314) 231-7007 Right across the street from the old courthouse, where the historic Dred Scott decision was made. Right outside you can see the Arch and you can hear the fireworks from Busch Stadium when the Cardinals win! Nice little area. Jackets required for gentlemen. In totally old-skool fashion, they'll give you one if you aren't wearing one. This place is super fucking fancy, asshole. Wear something nice. Current Mood: groggy (Comment on this)
Monday, June 12th, 2006
11:39 pm	I was happy to see that I received my new issue of Food and Wine Magazine today. It's the Best New Chefs issue. I grabbed it and scanned the photos on the cover to see if I knew anyone (I didn't). There have been six or seven guys that I've cooked with on the line that have been featured in some food magazine or another. Two have been on the covers of Food and Wine's Best New Chef issues. Now, I love NOT being a professional cook. The happiest years of my adult life have been the last six or so - after I quit. But it just makes me wonder: what if I had stayed in the game? Would I be on the cover and Food and Wine instead of reading it? (Comment on this)
Saturday, June 10th, 2006
12:54 pm	Custom House A paragraph on the inside of the menu at Custom House tells about the sordid past of Printer’s Row, the neighborhood in which Custom House resides. It used to be called the Custom House Levee vice district, and was home to some 37 bordellos, 46 saloons, and “the most beautiful girls in the city.” Quite a titillating history. What’s even more thrilling than its debauched past is its sensational present. Custom House will seduce you. The dining room is simple and elegant, with deep browns and reds, a striking limestone wall, and arrangements of sexy, graceful calla lilies. A youthful and attractive crowd packed the place. Custom House’s main vice is the noise level – at the peak of the evening it was almost unbearable. Our voices were hoarse by the end of the night from yelling across the table. We decided it better to stop talking and focus on the food, and to continue with our conversation as the evening died down. The menu is separated into First Course, Main Course and Sides, which are further split into categories like “Raw/Cured/Marinated” or “Roasted.” The first courses are the stars here, and the heavenly sweetbreads are the best I’ve ever tasted. There are served in miniature Staub pot over a bed of white polenta, shitake mushrooms and fatty slabs of bacon. A fresh-tasting venison carpaccio was flavored with a smoky paprika aioli and pan frite, little pieces of fried dough, redolent of a carnival funnel cake. Also excellent was the beef tartare with adorable poached quail eggs (though the sourdough croutons were terribly greasy). The Maine crab appetizer topped with white anchovies had great seafood flavors. As for mains, the “Meats, Braised” included flavorful veal cheeks in a heady tomato-anchovy sauce, served with a marrow crouton. Another good choice is the rabbit loin wrapped in bacon, served with a little pot of rabbit stew. The seafood choices are also formidable in this meaty joint. One to try is the perfectly seared halibut with asparagus and potato “risotto.” Sides are offered ala carte and I’d recommend you share them with the table. Braised greens were a bit lacking in flavor, though the Wisconsin asparagus redeemed the veggie section with a creamy ricotta sauce. Yukon Gold potato puree and a summer risotto with peas, zucchini and a most agreeable citrus flavor are the best of the potatoes and grains. Many items on the menu have a hefty price tag ($27 for a halibut filet?) but most choices are worthy. Now if they’d just use that extra cash to work on the acoustics of the room. Notable desserts included the chocolate pave with a crispy crust of toasty nuts and “bananas and cream” with a delicious vanilla bean sauce. Also offered with dessert is a selection of fine cheeses served with tasty croutons, fig puree, and candied almonds. You can choose three selections for $10 and add more choices from the list ala carte. The wine list offered few choices by the glass, much to the dismay of my light-drinking companions. Whole bottles are separated into lighter and heavier wines to have with appetizers or main entrees. A full bar and some fun non-alcoholic choices are available, like the basil lemonade. Our server really knew his stuff, and carefully explained the menu and assisted with wine pairings. Service is low-key and amiable. Our water glasses were never empty. As we left the building, the noise of the dining room was still ringing in our ears. Or perhaps it was the clinking of beer bottles in the saloons, the cat-calls and merry-making in the houses of ill repute, the raucous echoes of the past. *** (Three stars our of four) Custom House 500 S. Dearborn Street (corner of Dearborn and Congress) 312-523-0200 Valet parking. Attire is “business casual”… try to look cool to fit in with this crowd. (1 Comment |Comment on this)
Wednesday, April 5th, 2006
12:10 am	I cannot sleep..so here is our dinner at Courtright's tonight This is not a proper review, just a list of what we had and my thoughts. I'm too tired to write right now. And yet I can't sleep... Dinner was fantastic, as always. Amuse was a smoked salmon mousse with fried capers and lemon oil. Tasted great, but the fish left my palette raw and sore, not sure why. There weren't enough capers for the acid to get to me.... First course: "Tuna Nicoise" - raw tuna (fresh and perfect) with black olives and pieces of potato served with a smear of mustard dressing. Yummy. Served with a forgettable 2003 Trimbach Gewurztraminer from Alsace. Second course: Flounder with brown butter, micro greens (tasted like radish sprouts) and grapefruit segments. Delightful. Detected wonderful savory sweet-onion-type flavors somewhere in there...maybe it was the smell of the brown butter. Served with a wonderful 2004 Kim Crawford Sauvignon Blanc from New Zealand. It went perfectly with this dish. Bright flavors of grapefruit. Smelled of grapefruit. Tasted great with the GRAPEFRUIT in this dish (are we detecting a pattern?). Third Course: Foie - magnificent. Poached wrapped in seaweed, served in a sweet tuille cup with balsamic vinegar and pineapple. Also a dusting of curried salt and nori on the rim of the plate. Chef Harootunian always has a wonderful way with foie and this dish was no exception. Served with a 2003 Kracher Beerenausslese from Austria. I love this wine, we've had it before. Sweet, deep golden color, smells like caramel corn. Fourth (main): Filet Mignon over truffled mashed potatoes, morels, fried onions, scallions. Delicious. Steak was perfectly prepared. Sauce was flavorful. Served with a 2002 Pine Ridge Cab Sauvignon from Napa. I liked. During the mains the chef came out and chatted with us a bit. I guess when you order a degustation menu once a month they start to recognize you. We talked for a while about his food, restaurants we like, etc. He was cool, it was most enjoyable. We've toured the wine cellar, now we just need to see the kitchen... Cheese: Don't remember the cheeses, honestly. They were pretty darn good. Served with homemade cranberry jam and a 2004 Los Cardos Malbec from Argentina. Not bad. Dessert: Ice cream sandwich - milk chocolate ice cream between two peanut butter cookies. Those cookies were so goddamn good, they looked and tasted just like Grandma Duff's, even had the fork marks on top. Which made me happy. :) Dessert Wine was a perfumy 2004 A Faccio Villa Giada Moscato d' Asti from Italy. Reminded me of my fav moscato, Nivole. Bubbly and fun. Just like me. HA. I'm tired, Douchebags. Goodnight. Current Mood: tired (Comment on this)
Sunday, April 2nd, 2006
2:04 pm	Easter Dinner 2006 Gougeres with Housemade Smoked Trout, Goat Cheese and Dill Miniature Lobster Rolls Blue Cheese and Honey Veuve Cliquot Brute Champagne "Yellow Label", France Honey Baked Ham Potatoes Au Gratin with Sun Dried Tomato Pesto Ruth Ann's Cole Slaw Dorothy's Deviled Eggs Spring Greens with Anjou Pears, Candied Walnuts and Balsamic Vinaigrette 2003 Rippon Gewurztraminer, Central Otago, New Zealand 2003 A to Z Pinot Noir, Willamette Valley, Oregon Or maybe some sort of dry Rose? Not sure yet. The ham is salty and has a really sweet glaze - I am serving cold. Blackberry Shortcakes Miniature Lemon-Lime Meringue Tarts Moscato d' asti "Nivole", Italy Current Mood: hungry (Comment on this)
Thursday, March 30th, 2006
11:22 pm	Alinea **** My evening at Alinea was one of the finest dining experiences I’ve ever had. I say experience because that is truly what it was – an evening full of excitement, drama, and intrigue, backed up by some really delicious food. The entire meal was filled with one wonder after the next, eliciting laughter and gasps of amazement from me and my companions. Upon entering the building we walked down a strange gray hallway that seemed to get smaller and smaller as we went ala Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. After a few feet you realize there is no door and nowhere to go - a brief moment of confusion and awkwardness - when a steel door slides open and reveals a foyer with smiling hosts anticipating your arrival (I envisioned chefs gathered around a monitor in the kitchen, laughing at a video of guests arriving and awkwardly trying to figure out how to get in). We were lead up a glass stairway and through a striking dining room to our table – made of dark mahogany, unadorned but for folded linen napkins and a golden honey comb on a wooden pedestal. Small fabric pillows were placed before each of us to rest our silverware as there was no cloth on the table. Every detail is attended to, and we were well looked-after. When the server placed our utensils down, he placed them parallel to the edge of the table (onto our little pillow, of course), and I noticed he placed my friend’s facing the opposite direction of mine. The server had noted that he was left handed! He was amazed. Our charming server thoroughly explained the two menus guests may choose from. A Tasting which gets you 12 courses for $125 and a 24-course Tour for $175. Many of the courses offered in the Tasting menu were also offered on the Tour menu (and then some) so my companions and I decided on the Tour – two dozen small courses designed to give us a tour of everything the kitchen is capable of. Which is, well…a lot. Wine pairings with several of the courses are offered, and there is an expansive wine list you may choose from. The knowledgeable sommelier helped us pick some fantastic wines. I’d also recommend the pairings; in his capable hands it could bring this perfect meal to new heights. One of the most interesting things about Alinea is that with each course your server gives you instructions on how to eat it. Mainly so you can figure out how to physically eat the darn things (sometimes a necessity) but also how the chef wishes you to enjoy his creations. The first course arrived and we were smitten. Dubbed “Hot Potato, Cold Potato,” it was served in a rubbery custom-made bowl with a thin metal skewer stuck though the side, and was full of cold potato soup. Hovering over the soup was a ball of hot potato and parmesan cheese topped with a slice of black truffle. We were instructed to pull out the skewer, allowing the ingredients to slide off and into the bowl, and to drink the entire thing at once like an oyster shooter. We did, and it was a fascinating sensation. Cold potato soup, a hot ball of potato, earthy and aromatic truffle, all in one bite. The next 23 courses were delightful, exotic, distinctive, but Hot Potato, Cold Potato is the one we talked about all night long. Next we were offered some satisfying homemade breads with goat’s milk and cow’s milk butter. Each succeeding course messed with our minds. Most notable: a lobster course served on a ribbon of coconut water, with yuzu and hearts of palm which were decorated to look like pieces of lobster -when we dug our fork in we thought it might be frozen lobster but upon eating we realized we had been duped. A thin slice of mussel arrived on a little porcelain pedestal with a cube of chamomile gelee and a parisienne ball of cucumber. We were instructed to slide the entire portion into our mouths and eat. We did as we were told and the results were stunning. A ball of curried cocoa butter filled with pear juice arrived in a shot glass with celery juice. A fork with shredded foie gras and hibiscus gelee cubes was slid into our mouths and then we swigged homemade blueberry soda. In between this succession of delightful savory bites we were served four sweet courses, a welcome change for our palettes. Ribbons of frozen yogurt yielded under our silver spoons and melted into a creamy mango puree. Sweet potato puree flavored with bourbon was fried onto a cinnamon stick which served as our eating utensil. Next, more culinary wonders: Kobe beef with honeydew tiles and cucumber. A little packet of dried pineapple filled with sausage, basil and tamarind, swung from a bow-shaped metal contraption. After these delights and five more dessert courses (the sable cookie dough with plantain puree won top reviews), we left satisfied. I am recommending Alinea with a rating of four stars. Because there are only two menus to choose from, picky (a.k.a annoying) eaters won’t enjoy not being able to order what they wish. And remember that 12-14 courses takes time; our dinner took exactly 5 hours from arrival to departure. The small portions, strange serving contraptions and the long evening may not be everyone’s cup o’ tea. But it was definitely mine. An aromatic Chamomile, with a drizzle of wildflower honey. Alinea 1723 North Halsted Chicago Illinois 60614 312-867-0110 Alinea is open for dinner Wednesday through Sunday. Reservations are required, as are jackets on the guys. A tie wouldn’t hurt, either. Current Mood: sleepy (Comment on this)