Category: travel

where my mouth has taken me…

review: aburiya…

Raku, Las Vegas, Nevada If you have one night in Las Vegas, get off The Strip and go eat at Aburiya Raku. Considering the hype and praise it has received, the restaurant delivered on every one of those commendations effortlessly. Tucked away in a strip mall, this place is tiny.  It seats 25, maybe 30 […]

Continue

review: aburiya…

Raku, Las Vegas, Nevada If you have one night in Las Vegas, get off The Strip and go eat at Aburiya Raku. Considering the hype and praise it has received, the restaurant delivered on every one of those commendations effortlessly. Tucked away in a strip mall, this place is tiny.  It seats 25, maybe 30 […]

Continue

review: quand je découvre un goût…

Le “Sandwich” Tiede á la Truffe Fraîche Michel Rostang, Paris, France Sometimes all a boy wants is something familiar, sturdy, and steadying. Michel Rostang fit the bill. Julien of Julot les Pinceaux was instrumental in my decision to add Michel Rostang to my roster of dinners in Paris. I had expressed a desire to have […]

Continue

review: quand je découvre un goût…

Le “Sandwich” Tiede á la Truffe Fraîche Michel Rostang, Paris, France Sometimes all a boy wants is something familiar, sturdy, and steadying. Michel Rostang fit the bill. Julien of Julot les Pinceaux was instrumental in my decision to add Michel Rostang to my roster of dinners in Paris. I had expressed a desire to have […]

Continue

review: riserva…

11-month dry-aged Porterhouse Carnevino, Las Vegas, Nevada Reports of an eight-month dry-aged steak seemed like a figment. I had to check it out. What: Carnevino (the logo, a cow kowtowing to a bottle, translates this Italian name rather effectively: “meat wine”) Who: Batali-Bastianich (and it looks very Batali-Bastianich) Where: Palazzo in Las Vegas I had […]

Continue

review: riserva…

11-month dry-aged Porterhouse Carnevino, Las Vegas, Nevada Reports of an eight-month dry-aged steak seemed like a figment. I had to check it out. What: Carnevino (the logo, a cow kowtowing to a bottle, translates this Italian name rather effectively: “meat wine”) Who: Batali-Bastianich (and it looks very Batali-Bastianich) Where: Palazzo in Las Vegas I had […]

Continue

review: corkage…

Compressed Peaches and Strawberries Bouchon, Las Vegas, Nevada I haven’t been to the original one in Napa (and doubt I’ll ever go – there are too many other temptations in that region), and I refuse to eat under the “SAMSUNG” sign in the Time Warner Center. So, sadly, Las Vegas is the only place I’d […]

Continue

review: corkage…

Compressed Peaches and Strawberries Bouchon, Las Vegas, Nevada I haven’t been to the original one in Napa (and doubt I’ll ever go – there are too many other temptations in that region), and I refuse to eat under the “SAMSUNG” sign in the Time Warner Center. So, sadly, Las Vegas is the only place I’d […]

Continue

review: pasta primacy…

Though we feasted for five hours at ubuntu, my buddy Aaron and I decided to keep our 9:30 p.m. dinner reservation. Chef Michael Tusk first appeared on my radar six years ago when he opened Quince. Since, the restaurant has quickly climbed the ladder of culinary esteem in San Francisco and beyond, its local cult […]

Continue

review: pasta primacy…

Though we feasted for five hours at ubuntu, my buddy Aaron and I decided to keep our 9:30 p.m. dinner reservation. Chef Michael Tusk first appeared on my radar six years ago when he opened Quince. Since, the restaurant has quickly climbed the ladder of culinary esteem in San Francisco and beyond, its local cult […]

Continue

review: multi-nippled…

2nd Course: La Tomate Joël Robuchon at The Mansion Las Vegas, Nevada Get your mind out of the gutter.  This is a family show. It’s a metaphor, silly, for the manifold outlets from which the dining elite can suckle Joël Robuchon’s genius. Or, in the case of a clear tomato consommé gelatin dotted with mozzarella, […]

Continue

review: multi-nippled…

2nd Course: La Tomate Joël Robuchon at The Mansion Las Vegas, Nevada Get your mind out of the gutter.  This is a family show. It’s a metaphor, silly, for the manifold outlets from which the dining elite can suckle Joël Robuchon’s genius. Or, in the case of a clear tomato consommé gelatin dotted with mozzarella, […]

Continue

travel: lost wages…

Trevi Fountain Forum Shops at Caesar’s Palace The temperature had already reached 90 degrees when I headed out for my run at 6:30 a.m. In a three-mile stretch, I passed the Doge’s palace, the Bridge of Sighs, the Rialto Bridge, the Trevi Fountain, the Eiffel Tower, the Arc de Triomphe, the Brooklyn Bridge, the Empire […]

Continue

travel: lost wages…

Trevi Fountain Forum Shops at Caesar’s Palace The temperature had already reached 90 degrees when I headed out for my run at 6:30 a.m. In a three-mile stretch, I passed the Doge’s palace, the Bridge of Sighs, the Rialto Bridge, the Trevi Fountain, the Eiffel Tower, the Arc de Triomphe, the Brooklyn Bridge, the Empire […]

Continue

review: through the looking glass..

Blanc de Turbot Ledoyen, Paris, France From the first time I read about it years ago to the very last crumb of my meal there in December of 2008, Pavillon Ledoyen has struck me as a curiously magical place. Like Wonderland, the unassuming Michelin three-star restaurant seems to defy many odds and good senses. Nothing […]

Continue

review: through the looking glass..

Blanc de Turbot Ledoyen, Paris, France From the first time I read about it years ago to the very last crumb of my meal there in December of 2008, Pavillon Ledoyen has struck me as a curiously magical place. Like Wonderland, the unassuming Michelin three-star restaurant seems to defy many odds and good senses. Nothing […]

Continue

review: king of the hill…

Sea Bream Manresa, Los Gatos, California Three years ago, I stumbled upon greatness. Manresa opened a chapter to an era and a process. Last month, I returned and found that process not only undisturbed, but evolved, advanced, and flourishing within its own world. It was great to return to the place where so much for […]

Continue

review: king of the hill…

Sea Bream Manresa, Los Gatos, California Three years ago, I stumbled upon greatness. Manresa opened a chapter to an era and a process. Last month, I returned and found that process not only undisturbed, but evolved, advanced, and flourishing within its own world. It was great to return to the place where so much for […]

Continue

review: the united colors of napa…

the SPRING FLOWER POT ubuntu, Napa, California Every now and then, a restaurant experience up-ends my life in the best possible way. My meal at ubuntu is the latest to join that short list of memorable meals. Undeniably, ubuntu is a vegetarian restaurant. People seem to make sure that’s the first thing you know about […]

Continue

review: the united colors of napa…

the SPRING FLOWER POT ubuntu, Napa, California Every now and then, a restaurant experience up-ends my life in the best possible way. My meal at ubuntu is the latest to join that short list of memorable meals. Undeniably, ubuntu is a vegetarian restaurant. People seem to make sure that’s the first thing you know about […]

Continue