Greek Offerings

I remember in the 11th grade, my high school chemistry teacher went to Greece and recounted to me how amazing the food was. I instantly decided on the spot that I was going to Greece, for the pretty landscape but more so for the food. 5 years later, I got my wish, although I wasn't all that much wiser on Greek cuisine since the only exposure I've ever had to Greek food was Greek Lady aka lamb meat and french fries stuffed in a pita, and hummus (which isn't even exclusively Greek). Fortunately for me, my chemistry teacher was right and the food was amazing (the landscape was pretty great too) and I finally learned about the nuances and complexities of Greek cuisine.

Pork filet stuffed with smoked cheese from Metsovo, wild rise on veal gravy and fig syrup
Veal rib-eye with truffle honey garnished with hot salad from local black-eyed beans on veal gravy

Grilled octopus stuffed with rice, lamp mutton, ragu pasta, Greek yogurt with dried fruit.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Pork T-Bone Steak, Grilled Octopus.

Pork Souvlaki, Mezze, Spring Salad, more Greek Yogurt with dried fruit.

Baked feta cheese with honey, BBQ pork chops, Stewed beef with feta.

Amazingly delicious salads, a very innovative Greek salad with capers, Mushroom risotto.

Michelin Funkyness @ Funky Gourmet

Was browsing through some travel pictures and I realized I had an entire backlog of Greece pictures I never, figured I would start with what was probably my favorite meal of the entire Europe trip. While  the food was delicious, what made the meal so memorable was the creative presentation and innovative production of each dish. We ordered two different tasting menus and thoroughly enjoyed each item they presented to us. There was also a tiny army waiting on us throughout the entire which was quite an experience. The concept of Funky Gourmet is to put some serious twists on traditional Greek dishes and ingredients.

Left: Mastic, Mastic, Mastic (aka Mastic 3 ways)
Right: Salsify in the Soil

From what I can understand, Mastic is a plant resin that comes from the Greek island of Chios, it seems to have quite a few medicinal and cosmetic uses, which is probably why the glob of mastic on the left like soap. It was also the first time I saw a dish presented on a gnarly tree branch. Salsify is another interesting ingredient that refers to the root of a purple plant considered to have oyster undertones. We were served dried salsify roots in a cream mixture meant to represent dirt. How clever.

Left: Squaring the Pea
Right: Spring Vegetable Salad.

The spring pea soup was tasted and light with lots of "green" flavors. But let me rave about the salad. I know it doesn't look like much but it was hands down the most complex, delicious salad I have ever eaten. The mini plum tomatoes were blanched in a sugary liquid and peeled. They were so delicate and light, I didn't even realize I was eating a tomato. If I could create a last meal menu, this dish would be on that list.

Croxetti with Basil Pesto

The Croxetti might have been my favorite dish just because it was so fun. Croxetti is a type of medallion pasta that originates from Northern Italy and traditionally bore a coat of arms; our croxetti were made from a beet base and bore the name of the dining establishment. There was also a mortar for us to make our own pesto and a small pot of hot water to cook our pasta. 

Left: Scallop in the Sea
Right: Yellowtail with Wild Greens

The yellowtail was cooked splendidly and perfectly moist, but the star of the two was definitely the scallops. The scallop was only slightly cooked and retained a sweetness to it that I had never experienced before; what was even crazier was the ginger ale foam it was paired with.

Left: Funky Gourmet Burger
Bottom Right: Greek Salad

The burger was quite tasty but I forget what meat they used. When we saw greek salad on the menu, we didn't think it was going to be a very impressive dish, but we were so wrong. All of the flavors we were used to from ordering copious Greek salads throughout the trip (sweet tomato, sour vinegar, tangy feta, spicy onions) had been packaged into some sort of granita were each bite of ice tasted like we were actually eating a Greek Salad.

Rib Eye on the Stone

Another DIY dish. The stone was steaming hot and the smell of the thyme underneath perforated the entire restaurant. We were instructed to sear each piece of meat on the hot stone for few seconds and eat with the accompaniments. I loveed the idea but apparently Japanese BBQ is very similar so V was not very impressed.

Beef Cheek with Pairings

I loved the wide selection of pairings we were given. Depending on the pairing, it really altered the taste of the beef cheeks. Since we were getting quite full already, the lighter pairings such as the onion jelly, green apple and tomato paste really stood out.

Left: Orange Explosion
Bottom Right: Smoked Ice Cream Sandwich

Who doesn't love liquid nitrogen overflowing all over a table? The orange explosion was a fun mini dessert which consisted of dark chocolate filled with orange liquor liquid that exploded in your mouth. How they got the liquid inside such a thin shelled chocolate ball, I have no idea. I probably could have gobbled up 10 of those things along with another 10 ice cream sandwiches.

Left: Bread, Butter & Honey at -196C
Right: Mignardises

When I saw bread and butter for dessert on the menu, I was slightly disappointed but once again,  I was pleasantly surprised. The dish essentially tasted like creamy chunks of ice cream with delicious goblets of the best honey I have ever eaten and it was all made with liquid nitrogen. Pretty sure we tried making ice cream in chemistry class with liquid nitrogen and it tasted nothing like this. The mignardises consisted of a blueberry chocolate muffin, raspberry macaron, orange jelly candy and a chocolate truffle.

Definitely one of the best and coolest meals I have ever eaten. Don't know when I'll ever be back in Athens but if I am, I might just have to go back to this place.

China Part I: Homecooking

Meal spreads paired with "bai jiu"

Usually when we go to China, its filled with lots of eating out where I wind up stuffing myself silly. This time around however, most of the eating was done at home (where I still wound up stuffing myself silly). My na-na whom I guess would technically be my great aunt in law (or something like that) cooked us the most scrumptious breakfasts, lunches, and dinners. I only managed to capture 1/4 of all the food she made us since the rest of the time I was too excited to eat. Added to that are my aunt and grandma and grandpa who are also amazing cooks (most be a family trait). Life back in the states these days has appeared quite sad compared to all of the great food I got to eat for the past 2 weeks :(

Welcome Lunch

Fried fish, thousand year old eggs, fish meatballs, pressure cooked chicken, pork belly, spring veggies, potato salad

Meals at Coquinarius

The text above says it all.

One food group that I have not been giving Florence enough credit for are its desserts. Apple cakes and cheesecakes galore. I'm generally not a big cheesecake fan, but Italian cheesecakes are on a whole other level. I'm not sure what cheese they use (probably ricotta?), but its definitely not Philadelphia Cream Cheese (no offense Philly). The unassuming cheesecake above was hands down, the best cheesecake I've ever had and totally worth the 5 euros we paid for it.

Coquinarious is another well-known Florence establishment. Less homey and rustic than some of the other popular spots for the locales, Coquinarious still served up traditional dishes in a beautiful open, high ceiling dining room. The portions were also quite generous. Having stepped in for lunch one day, we also decided to return for our final dinner.

The meat dishes (we finally branched away from pasta!) we ordered were hearty and filling, and as was to be expected a little on the heavy side. Kind of reminded me of all of the duck and red cabbage we ate in Prague. Now, what we really went crazy over was the green cauliflower they served up with the rabbit. It was amazing and I have no idea what it was exactly...going to need to do some digging on this one.

Meals at Zeb

We discovered our favorite pasta combination of all time while in Florence, from a little pasta shop that was literally a 5 minute walk from our apartment. And ever since we discovered that pasta combination and V took his cooking classes, we have been making pasta with said combination almost everyday (post forthcoming). And who knew that this combination would contradict all of my previous notions about fruit in savory dishes?

So what is it?? Pear and Cheese. Ricotta cheese to be specific. At least the first time we had it. The second time, it might have been pecorino. And the third time, I wasn't exactly sure...

Dinner(s) (and lunches) at Zeb. Of all the restaurants we visited on our 3 week sojourn into Italy, there were only two restaurants we visited more than once. One, we went to twice - mostly by default; another, we went to more than twice - and that was by choice. How many times you say? We went 4 (or was it 5?) times in the span of 10 days.

Above: Mini Meat Tortellinis with meat sauce.
Below: Large Raviolis with Pear and Ricotta Cheese

Both of the above dishes, we ordered at least twice. The pear and ricotta ravioli literally blew our minds away. The tortellini dish had one the most perfect meat sauces I have ever eaten - it was seasoned soooo perfectly and I have been dreaming about it ever since.

Above: Spaghetti with Truffle
Below: Mini Cheese Ravioli in Apple and Leek Sauce

Zeb, is a tiny although modern looking bistro restaurant. Its located South of the Arno right before one climbs the steps to the Piazza de Michaelangelo, a magical square above the city that offers breathtaking panoramic views. Zeb is family owned and all of the pasta is handmade with the menu changing day to day. Of course my pictures don't do the meals justice. After a lot of decent pasta and some rather underwhelming pasta, this restaurant finally made me realize just how good pasta in Italy can get.

Firenze Revisited

The last time I was in Florence, I was not impressed. The city felt underwhelming and the food was fine, but nothing that made me want to instantly return.Fortunately for me and for Florence, my second time to the city was a very different culinary experience than the first.

Plate of Tuscan cured meats, lard, bread and bottle of Chianti Classico

With all of the amazing meat, cheese, bread, and wine that Florence has to offer, I don't understand how I didn't fall in love with the city last spring. While in Florence, (which I have to had was for 10 whole days), we got to go on a gastronomical food tour with one of the chefs V had during his sojourn into Italian cooking. During the tour, we got to sample the meat platter (shown above) and learned about all the nuances of Tuscan cured meats and cheeses.

A typical afternoon of house wine and reading at the corner wine bar.

Tuscan Salami, Tuscan Prosciutto and Soft Pecorino cheese

Milano

Vittorio Emmanuel Galleria

Milan is a large, sprawling city. Some call it ugly and its definitely not a tourist destination, but I think its beautiful in its own urban way. It reminded me of NYC (and we all know how much I love NY) :)

Hot Chocolate Break at Shockolat

Milky Hot Chocolate with very large dollop of whipped cream

Shockolate is a very popular and famous chocolate bar, about a five minute walk from the church holding Da Vinci's Last Supper. The hot chocolate was rich and delicious, but what blew us away was the decadent yet light chocolate cheesecake.

Chocolate Chip Cheesecake

Lunch at Yoshi

I have to say, Milan has amazing sushi. You're thinking "duh, its a super international city", and you're right, but I thought this was still worth mentioning since it was that good.  
 

Bento box: fish filet, salad with hamachi, vegetable tempura, hamachi sashimi, salmon sushi. 

Venice

The magic of St. Mark's Square - it actually looks better in winter than spring. 

Next up on the Tour de Italia is Venice. I think I was little too busy taking pictures of the gorgeous canals and St. Marks's Square that I may have neglected on photographing most of my meals. No worries, I did managed to capture one of the best meals we had in Italy.

The pasta feast continues... Dinner at little mom & pop shop near our hotel on one of the first nights. I can't remember what was in the ravioli filling but I did remember loving the dish for its big portions and generous servings of meat. The sauce scooped up with a piece of bread could have been a meal in itself.

Fettuccine with asparagus, olives and shrimp
Ravioli with meat sauce

Dinner at Osteria Alle Testiere

This little 10 table gem has been a Michelin forerunner for the past 5 years, but according to our lovely server, the restaurant will probably never get awarded a Michelin star because it doesn't serve the "right" kind of food...whatever that means.

While Venice is known for having an abundant supply of fresh seafood,  90% of the restaurants are tourist traps and I was terrified of ordering shady seafood. Of course, at Alle Testiere, I happily ordered away.

Ravioli with Citrus Fruit, Ricotta, and Scallops
Turbot (?) with Capers, Olives, and Tomatoes

I absolutely loved the ravioli dish since it was so different from what we had been eating and anything I have seen before (V was not a fan). The punch from all of the herbs and seasonings was fantastic and everything tasted incredibly fresh.

House White Wine
Mini Gnocchi with Squid and Cinnamon
Panna Cota with blueberries 

Who knew you could pair squid with cinnamon? We were both dubious but the flavor combination definitely worked and the gnocchetti (mini gnocchis) was a pleasant change from the usual denseness of regular sized potato dumplings. The dessert was a nice and light panna cota with a blueberry fruit sauce. Who knew but it is now one of V's favorite desserts. I personally prefer the rich dark chocolate cake. Oh well, to each her own.

Roma Part II

Besides pasta, what else is there to talk about when it comes to the eats of Italy? There's gelato, coffee, pizza, and meat...obviously. So let’s go in that order.

Gelato from Giolitti

Giolitti is an institution. It was founded in 1890 and even on a freezing January day, there can still be line stretching from the gelato counter across the expansive displays of confectionary goods all the way to the door. They also have the largest selection of gelato flavors we saw anywhere in Italy. V said and I quote that the pear flavor was even better than Capogiro’s. That is indeed a Big Deal. 

Left Flavors: Pear & Coffee. The coffee actually tasted like real coffee: bitter & refreshing. 

Right Flavors: Pistachio & Stracciatella. The pistachio even had real chunks of pistachio, finally! Italy is the only place where you can get pistachio flavor that doesn’t look like it resulted from a science experiment. 

Coffee from Sant' Eustachio II Caffe

This place is also an institution, hence why I am also blogging about it because while the cappuccino was spectacular, just about every cappuccino we had in Italy was spectacular. This is the reason why Starbucks doesn’t exist in Italy and I love it.

Creamy cappuccinos with perfectly foamed milk. 

Tour de Italia - Roma Pasta

View of St. Peter's Basilica

This past year was a rather fail in terms of blogging but fortunately, not a fail in terms of life. Just returned from a 3 week tour de italia….oh and did I mention? I graduated. And I’m employed. Of course, I’m not starting work for another 6 months which means no excuses this year (at least until July) when it comes to updating this blog. Plus, I have even less excuses considering I got an amazingly wonderful and beautiful camera lens from V.

Let me preface these Italy posts. Of all of the cities we visited (Rome, Florence, Venice, Milan and some Tuscan towns), there were plenty of scrumptious local specialties, but one of the reasons we went on this trip was for a certain someone to appease his pasta obsession so about 90% of our food consumption consisted of pasta. It was a good thing we walked everywhere, or else I would be needing a whole new wardrobe right about now.

I will say that it was still quite the fun foodie adventure to learn about all of the different types of pasta and  compare the differences and similarities across cities.

First up: Rome.

Rome is mostly known for its pizza and is often viewed as on par with the city of Naples (the origin of pizza itself) in pizza – making, but they also serve up quite a good plate of pasta. In particular, the most popular are the carbonara (cheese & egg), cacio e pepe (cheese and pepper), and Bucatini all’ Amatricana (tomatoes & child peppers). I think we sampled carbonara from about 3 or 4 different places and one in particular really stood out. Guess what the restaurant was called? La Carbonara. Figures. 

Top left: Seafood spaghetti and what a generous portion of it too! The last time I had seafood pasta was in Sorrento last spring and this dish came pretty close to matching it in flavor depth. For some reason, my favorite thing about seafood pasta is not so much the seafood as the sauce the seafood creates when it melds with the pasta water and tomato sauce. Yummers.

Bottom left: Freshly made strozzapreti aka priest choker pasta with white mushrooms. These pastas are like a chubbier version of penne, more chewy and way more delicious. The always reliable Wikipedia offers a quick description on why it’s known as the priest choker pasta.

Top right: Fettuccine pasta (there might have been a ragu in the tomato sauce, but I can’t remember). Trattoria da Lucia, located in Trastevere, came highly recommended by our Rick Steve’s guide book although I have to say we were a bit disappointed by both pasta dishes. Despite pasta’s intense carbyness, most of the dishes we had were still surprisingly light. These however, were drenched in a little too much olive oil.

Bottom right: Spaghetti with tuna in tomato sauce.

Charleston Part II

Back to Chucktown because I just couldn't stay away. Naturally, we just had to go to Poe's for lunch again. The second time was even better than the first and of course everyone ordered burgers because that's what vacation is all about :)

Lunch on a sunny day = perfect

Pit & Pendulum (Applewood Bacon + Cheddar Cheese)
Amontillado (Guac, Pico de Gallo, Chipotle Sour Cream & Jalapeno Jack Pepper)

Annabel Lee (Crab cake & remoulade sauce)
Burger of the Day (Pineapple salsa and other ingredients I can't remember)

And a new addition - Pougan's Porch! Seriously the best mac & cheese I have ever had and I don't even like mac & cheese. The salmon and the grilled cheese were only so-so but the fried chicken sure looked good :)

So much Southern charm

Mac & Cheese (Smoked Gouda & Country Ham) ~ deliciousss!
Buttermilk Fried Chicken
Duck Confit Grilled Cheese w/ homemade chips
BBQ Grilled Salmon w/ cheddar grit cake, fried sweet onions, sautéed spinach

 A few more Southern eats to come!

Berlin (and a little bit of Dresden)

1) Eating like a Berliner: Doner Kebabs, Currywurst & Mushrooms, Pfannkuchen

Doner Kebabs from the Turkish district (after an intensive 4 hour walking tour - too hungry to take a proper picture..oops)
Currywurst in Dresden
Pfannkuchen aka the "Berliner" - yeast dough donuts covered in sugar

2) Movenpick Ice Cream

Technically Movenpick is Swiss but 1 scoop of Mrvenpick for 1 euro??? We each got 3...it was our dinner for the day.
+ chocolate chip & coconut, cappicino and straticella flavors in a waffle cone

 3) Haggen Daaz

Not really that big of deal except that we got German ice cream in Germany. Woot.
+ Hazelnut hot chocolate
+ Chocolate chip/chocolate ice cream cake with brownie filling.

4) Brunch Buffet

Almost missed our bus for this meal but it was so worth it. 12 euros for unlimited brunch buffet? Finally a city that has heard of brunch! I went for the smoked salmon, roasted veggies and caprese salad.

Cappuccino with a plate of desserts including chocolate covered strawberries, nutella crepes, fruit sticks and yogurt parfait.

Amsterdam

People and by people I mean wikitravel warned me that Dutch food was not going to very good, something about the dishes being bland and underwhelming. So it came as a big surprise when my mom and I literally spent our entire trip eating. Our schedule consisted of breakfast, walking, snack, lunch, walking, dinner, and dessert. Then repeat for 2 more days. Granted most of the food we ate consisted of crepes and french fries. Is that considered real food?

Dutch Pancakes at Sara's Pancake House

+ crepe with cherries, chocolate sauce, vanilla ice cream and powdered sugar
+ cappuccino
+ legit syrup

We had our first Dutch pancake experience at Sara's Pancakehouse, a small shop somewhere in the Southern part of Amsterdam. Apparently Amsterdam is known for its pancakes? The pancake aka crepe was out of this world. It might have been the best crepe I have ever had (Shocking considering we are comparing this to Paris and Montreal). Everything about the dish was perfect and most surprising of all was the nondescript place we ate them from. After that experience, we were hooked and decided that we needed to eat our fill of pancakes before we left. I did some googling and according to the New York Times, the place to go for pancakes is none other than Pancakes! so that's where we headed the next morning.

Breakfast at Pancakes!

on left: traditional Dutch apple pancakes with raspberry sauce
on right: chocolate, banana and mixed nuts crepes

Pancakes! is a tiny little establishment with about 5 or 6 tables and swathed in typical Dutch blue and white. There was about a 30 minute wait but what's 30 minutes for the city's best pancakes? We opted for the dutch pancakes which came with fresh squeezed orange juice and a banana/chocolate/nut medley. Unfortunately, the meal was somewhat disappointing. Maybe it was all the hype or our raised expectations or the specific dishes we ordered but we both agreed that Sarabeth's offerings were definitely better.

Pomme Frites and Pickled Herring

Pomme frites with mayo
Picked herring sandwich with pickles and onions

Before I visit a new city, I compile a list of the it foods that the city is known for and I make it point to try it when I am there. Pickled herring was one of them. I've never actually encountered the concept of pickled herring as a dish before, except for the jars sitting in our fridge at home that my dad buys and then no one eats...but since this was supposed to be an authentic Dutch specialty, I had to give it the proper attention. Surprisingly, I actually enjoyed the combination of the herring with the sweet pickles and onions on a roll, my mom was not a fan. On the other hand, pomme frites aka french fries was something that we were quite familiar with. The way they serve them up is in big thick wedges in a paper roll with a massive serving of mayo on top (we asked for ours on the side). Golden perfection. 

Ice Cream 

Yogurt and Mango flavored ice cream

We stumbled upon this ice cream place after our breakfast at Pancakes! and lo and behold, there's a line stretching out onto the sidewalk and an award on the window stating that its been crowned the best ice cream in Amsterdam. Yea, it was pretty darn good.

Waffles

+ stroopwafel
+ waffles with dark chocolate and candied nuts

On Saturday, we journeyed  to the Albert Cuyp Market which one of the most well-known flea/foodie markets in Amsterdam. In addition to some nuts and a cornish hen (yup a whole one) that we sampled, there was also a stroopwafel and a chocolate waffle. Stroopwafels are made of two layers of as sweet cinnamony batter and in the middle is a layer of thick caramel sauce. They are fantastic. You can buy them from the grocery store or if you are lucky and happen to stumble across a little stand at the flea market, you can buy a fresh one for 1 euro. wowzers. The waffles were also absurdly delicious, made fresh to order and smothered in chocolate and nuts :)

Beer and Meat

+Cornish hen
+ beer
+ dippings for fries and meat

There's a been a big trend in microbreweries in Amsterdam in the past few years. Although the city is the HQ of Heineken, independent breweries weren't really a thing until pretty recently. We had dinner at Bier Fabriek, a rustic restaurant with a small food selection and even smaller beer selection. There's a handful of bar snacks you can order, some salads and the roasted cornish hen.  For beer, there were about 4 offerings with 2 on tap that the restaurant brewed themselves. You can see them roasting the cornish hens about 20 or 30 at time upon entering the restaurant, there's a huge rotisserie oven right by the front and 4 chefs manning the device. All in all, Amsterdam was quite the foodie adventure.