After not writing for over a week, I have so much to share! Classes have been going really well and I have been studying my tail off. The tests are constant because this "block" (class schedule) is only a total of 6 weeks long. During the last week and a half I have had at least half a dozen tests (all cumulative) and a large presentation in my Gastronomy class on Craig Claiborne (NY Times food columnist who essentially invented food journalism and the restaurant review as we know it today!) In between tests last week I was lucky enough to get to visit NYC to see my Michigan gals and celebrate my dear friend Amanda's return to the city!
This past Saturday Ben took me out to Wolfgang Puck's The Source for my birthday dinner and it was absolutely amazing. I usually over use that word quite a bit but I have to say this was one of the best meals I have ever eaten! It was tremendous! Ben was even able to keep the dinner location a secret until we walked up to the Newseum on Pennsylvania Ave downtown in D.C.
As we walked in my eyes lit up. I had wanted to eat there for months and was thrilled! Our meal started with Szechuan green beans with candied walnuts brought to our table compliments of the chef. I could taste the peanut oil, chili sauce, and sesame seeds and they clashed wonderfully with the sweet candied walnuts. Delicious! The adventure started when we used chop sticks for string beans. I may have made a mess on the table. Just maybe.....
After looking at the menu for way too long, we finally ordered and our feast of Asian inspired dishes began :) We started with the warm calamari salad and the spicy tuna tartare cones. The warm calamari was lightly friend and served with a salad of beet tendrils, honey mustard vinaigrette, and thinly sliced cucumbers. Calamari was so light and sweet. Like nothing I have ever eaten before. It was shipped direct from Alaska and had never been frozen. What a difference! The tuna tartare was served in small cones made of sugar and different colored sesame seeds. The fish was inside the cone with a spicy sauce, ginger, and scallion. Again that contrast of sweet and spicy chili hit the spot! Delicious we both agreed! The tuna was like butter in your mouth.
For the main event (see bottom picture), I ordered lamb chops prepared rare and oh boy they were RARE! Beautifully plated, I received two of the double thick chops with a spicy green chili mint sauce. The plate came with a mix of greens (which I sat identifying on my plate as I ate them- I had taken a test of lettuces and greens the previous day!) and a side of Hunan style eggplant and snow peas. The eggplant and snow peas were served in a hot pot on the side which was very nice I must say. The flavors were separated which I enjoyed. The only thing I could say was "wow." I sat and raved about every bite I took as I identified the various excotic produce items. (I think Ben may have gotten tired of it by the end of the meal:)
Ben enjoyed steak "au poivre” with wild mushrooms and a caramelized shallot and ginger sauce (see top picture). The waitress described it to us as meat you can cut with a spoon. It was so tender it melted in your mouth. Of course I had a bite or two of his meat and a mushroom or two (also sat identifying the wild mushrooms - they were on my test earlier that week as well). So like the big food geek I am, I was really excited when I could identify everything on the plate.
At one point in the meal the uber attentive waitress came up and asked me if everything was okay. She said she saw me examining the food and was concerned. I exclaimed that everything was wonderful and I was a culinary student (she seemed to understand then- apparently there are others like me).
Of course we had to finish off the meal with desert. Ben and I shared a warm blueberry crumble with creme angles, fresh blueberry sauce, and homemade ginger ice cream. The ginger ice cream was awesome! Spicy, yet sweet, and a unique compliment to the salted blueberry crumble. Wow.........
Along with a bottle of Merlot from Washington state, everything was magnificent! I could not have asked for a better meal. I even got to go back into the kitchen and introduce myself to the chef and give him my compliments on the meal. I was beaming to say the least :) Ben was so right on and could not have picked a better spot!
I was lucky enough to meet up with some good friends downtown to celebrate my 25th (where does the time go?!) later that night. But back to the food, if you don't feel my excitement about this meal from the description above- just ask me about it some time and I could give a ton more detail. Eating that dinner only reinforced why I want to be a chef. I love food because it always has the potential to be created into something new, exciting, or in this case thrilling! It was all in all a great birthday weekend!
No comments:
Post a Comment