Category: restaurant review

review: raining stars…

Santa Barbara Sea Urchins Eleven Madison Park, New York The sidereal has turned.  The stars have aligned. In almost every respect, Eleven Madison Park is the new kid on the constellation. In the months since my last visit in May, Eleven Madison Park has been awarded four stars from Frank Bruni, the former restaurant critic […]

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review: raining stars…

Santa Barbara Sea Urchins Eleven Madison Park, New York The sidereal has turned.  The stars have aligned. In almost every respect, Eleven Madison Park is the new kid on the constellation. In the months since my last visit in May, Eleven Madison Park has been awarded four stars from Frank Bruni, the former restaurant critic […]

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review: from the dragon’s perch…

Steamed Garoupa Fillet with Morels Lung King Heen, Hong Kong Pleased to let me arrange our entire eating itinerary, my friend Mr. RBI flew all the way from the U.S. just to eat with me during my first three days of my trip to Hong Kong. It was his first time in Asia. Being a […]

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review: from the dragon’s perch…

Steamed Garoupa Fillet with Morels Lung King Heen, Hong Kong Pleased to let me arrange our entire eating itinerary, my friend Mr. RBI flew all the way from the U.S. just to eat with me during my first three days of my trip to Hong Kong. It was his first time in Asia. Being a […]

Continue

review: a preternatural prenatal yen…

“Porcupine” Milk Custard Buns Tim’s Kitchen, Macau If you’re the type that reads this blog with any regularity, then it won’t take much to convince you that there are some people who are born with a higher (indeed, abnormal) affinity toward food. In fact, I’m a strong believer that this predisposition is prenatal. To wit: […]

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review: a preternatural prenatal yen…

“Porcupine” Milk Custard Buns Tim’s Kitchen, Macau If you’re the type that reads this blog with any regularity, then it won’t take much to convince you that there are some people who are born with a higher (indeed, abnormal) affinity toward food. In fact, I’m a strong believer that this predisposition is prenatal. To wit: […]

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review: gnawing on brains…

Tea-Smoked Bresse Pigeon Man Wah, Hong Kong If the little dish of fried walnuts was the fantastic opener to our meal at Man Wah, the Kung Po Bean Curd (HK$110) was the headliner. The tumble of fluffy cubes of tofu – thinly glazed with a crisp, fried sheen of spicy sauce and commingled with blistered […]

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review: gnawing on brains…

Tea-Smoked Bresse Pigeon Man Wah, Hong Kong If the little dish of fried walnuts was the fantastic opener to our meal at Man Wah, the Kung Po Bean Curd (HK$110) was the headliner. The tumble of fluffy cubes of tofu – thinly glazed with a crisp, fried sheen of spicy sauce and commingled with blistered […]

Continue

review: farrago…

European Ham Assortment Pierre, Hong Kong Conventional wisdom dictates that if Pierre Gagnaire’s not in the kitchen, don’t go. I violated this rule, and I paid the price. But I did so in the company of a veteran and devotee of Gagnaire’s restaurants – he’s been to every one of them: Paris, Bangkok, Hong Kong, […]

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review: farrago…

European Ham Assortment Pierre, Hong Kong Conventional wisdom dictates that if Pierre Gagnaire’s not in the kitchen, don’t go. I violated this rule, and I paid the price. But I did so in the company of a veteran and devotee of Gagnaire’s restaurants – he’s been to every one of them: Paris, Bangkok, Hong Kong, […]

Continue

review: where’s my huitlacoche?…

Terra at Encantado Auberge & Resort Santa Fe, New Mexico Dining at Terra, I’ve been told, can be a gamble. While Chef Charles Dale has good intentions, they don’t always translate on the plate. I’d agree. Terra is the flagship restaurant at the Encantado Auberge & Resort, tucked away in the hills outside of Santa […]

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review: where’s my huitlacoche?…

Terra at Encantado Auberge & Resort Santa Fe, New Mexico Dining at Terra, I’ve been told, can be a gamble. While Chef Charles Dale has good intentions, they don’t always translate on the plate. I’d agree. Terra is the flagship restaurant at the Encantado Auberge & Resort, tucked away in the hills outside of Santa […]

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review: impresario of sauce…

Alex at the Wynn Las Vegas, Nevada I have a friend who works in the kitchen at Alex at the Wynn. He had been begging me to visit for quite some time. Truth be told, I wasn’t really hot on Alex before I went. The food seemed pro forma in the reading. I mean, what […]

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review: impresario of sauce…

Alex at the Wynn Las Vegas, Nevada I have a friend who works in the kitchen at Alex at the Wynn. He had been begging me to visit for quite some time. Truth be told, I wasn’t really hot on Alex before I went. The food seemed pro forma in the reading. I mean, what […]

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review: italia overnighted…

Classified Wanchai, Hong Kong Because I’m a glutton, after wrapping up our dim sum lunch at Summer Palace, I solicited my friend’s advice for last nibbles and bites on my last day in Hong Kong. I had about five hours to kill before dinner. He recommended, among a few places, a nearby restaurant opened by […]

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review: italia overnighted…

Classified Wanchai, Hong Kong Because I’m a glutton, after wrapping up our dim sum lunch at Summer Palace, I solicited my friend’s advice for last nibbles and bites on my last day in Hong Kong. I had about five hours to kill before dinner. He recommended, among a few places, a nearby restaurant opened by […]

Continue

review: on the roof…

La Cantina, Coyote Cafe Santa Fe, New Mexico About two years ago, Mark Miller – a Chez Panisse alumnus and Berkeley transplant – sold his celebrated Coyote Cafe to fellow Santa Fe chef/restaurateur Eric DiStefano of Geronimo. While the Coyote Cafe is a more formal restaurant, the Cantina – its sister operation on the rooftop […]

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review: on the roof…

La Cantina, Coyote Cafe Santa Fe, New Mexico About two years ago, Mark Miller – a Chez Panisse alumnus and Berkeley transplant – sold his celebrated Coyote Cafe to fellow Santa Fe chef/restaurateur Eric DiStefano of Geronimo. While the Coyote Cafe is a more formal restaurant, the Cantina – its sister operation on the rooftop […]

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review: beloved forest of crêpe paper…

Cafe Pasqual’s Santa Fe, New Mexico Cafe Pasqual’s might just be Santa Fe’s most beloved restaurant. Now in its 24th year (I believe), James Beard Award-winning chef and owner Kathy Kagel’s corner cafe is packed from the moment it opens its doors for breakfast to the last table seated at night. It’s rare to find […]

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review: beloved forest of crêpe paper…

Cafe Pasqual’s Santa Fe, New Mexico Cafe Pasqual’s might just be Santa Fe’s most beloved restaurant. Now in its 24th year (I believe), James Beard Award-winning chef and owner Kathy Kagel’s corner cafe is packed from the moment it opens its doors for breakfast to the last table seated at night. It’s rare to find […]

Continue