Tag Archives: honeymoon

Honeymoon Finale: Back in NYC – The Nomad

22 Aug

And then… it was over. Our incredible, awesome, and totally amazing honeymoon had to come to an end.  We knew that after spending 3 weeks in bliss (1 week for the wedding in Maine followed by the 2 week road trip in the Pacific Northwest), returning home would be tough. But we planned ahead and booked a reservation in NYC that was on our Grubbit list for “Must Try Soon” locations.

We took the red eye back from San Fran on Saturday night and arrived pretty tired and dazed on Sunday morning.  We just weren’t ready to quit, however, so we took a nap and then finally went to dinner at The NoMad. (created as a more casual place to eat by a few guys from our favorite restaurant, Eleven Madison Park).

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The dining room reminded me of being in Europe; specifically the Westin Paris – Vendôme with the glass ceiling.

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We noticed that there was Ithaca Beer on the menu.  At first we noted how nice it was to see Ithaca Beer on this menu too (since we also had some at Eleven Madison Park) and it took us a few minutes to put some facts together.  I went to Ithaca College and had a nice conversation with the owner of Canlis (Brian Canlis) about his being roommates with one of the owners (Will Guidara) of Eleven Madison Park at Cornell (which is in the same town of Ithaca as my alma matter, just across the gorge).  Now suddenly it dawned on us… Ithaca beer wasn’t an accident. It was on both menus because it meant the same thing to these guys as it did to me… great beer from our great little college town.

Sadly, I no longer see Ithaca Beer on the menu posted online, but I’m pretty sure this was a beer that was brewed specifically for The NoMad.  And we loved it.

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The bread that was served was quite delicious. Like a flat foccacia with rosemary. The rosemary looked more like Christmas Tree trimmings and was a bit much, but I liked that you could take off or keep on as much as you liked.

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We began our meal with the Sweetbreads appetizer which were described as croustillant with parsley. I had no idea what that meant, but was pleasantly surprised when they came out looking like crispy spring rolls.

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The flaky crisp on the outside was a great conduit for the delicious sweet breads inside.

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This is how I want to eat sweetbreads. While I’ve always loved the taste, I’m not a huge fan of the texture. The crispy outside got rid of all textural issues and just let me fully enjoy the great flavors.

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And who are we kidding? You think we could say NO to the famous chicken for two we had been hearing so much about?  It was described as a whole roasted chicken with foie gras, black truffle, and brioche.  I had read all about the preparation in this New York Times article and was very excited to try it.

As is one of my favorite traditions, they showed us the whole bird (feet and all) before carving it up. I find the tradition of shoving fresh flowers and herbs into the cavity quite funny, actually, in a admittedly and unabashedly juvenile way.

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And then it was taken away to be carved and plated. It probably took all of 5 minutes for that chicken to come back, but after the smell I got and the look at that beautiful skin, it was the longest 5 minutes of my life.

We each got a breast served over a truffled potato purree (though I remember it being more chunky) and asparagus.

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The key to the chicken is that it is stuffed under the skin with foie gras that has been mixed with truffles and brioche.  This created an incredibly decadent stuffing that also infused the meat with a rich, umami taste. I’m sure it is also a big reason why this was one of the most moist, flavorful chicken breasts I’ve ever had.

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This was one beautiful, thoughtful, sensory blissed out dish.

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I mean come on… this skin is a work of culinary ART. (Yes… I’m a little obsessed with this chicken dish)

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The leg meat (all of it) is served on its own a separate dish.  This was with morel mushrooms and a sauce that was like a refined hollandaise. As if this could get any better.

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And I did mention that they serve ALL of the leg…

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Wow. Just wow. Chicken shouldn’t be allowed to be that good.

And after that, we couldn’t end without dessert.

We split two.

First up was the “Chocolate” which came with malted ganache with chocolate fondant and malt ice cream. Honestly, besides being chocolate, the description didn’t wow me all that much. But the dessert itself was as tasty as it was beautiful.

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Lots of textures and flavors going on.

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But sadly, that is all I remember about it because it was so overshadowed by the second dessert.

This was the “Milk & Honey” which was described as being shortbread, brittle & ice cream.

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First, it was one of the most visually gorgeous dishes I have ever seen. So beautiful, in fact, that it has graced the cover of the NYC Nom Nom Facebook page since we ate there (with many people asking where the picture was taken).

Second, it tasted as good as it looked.  The honey flavors sparkled in my mouth.  The brittle and the ice cream were fantastic, with a white softer crunch that was somewhere close to meringue.  The taste of the honey itself was insanely good and made me reminisce a bit about our burnt honey ice cream experience from a few days prior at The French Laundry.

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What a way to end it!  It was quite the finale to our incredible trip (and this was right in our backyard).  Eating here made me remember again how much I love living in this crazy city.  I have the best food in the world within walking distance.

And this was a prime example of how good food can be.

Every morsel was delicious and thoughtful. The food here was smart but not smarty pants smart.  It was hot librarian smart.  (And it was chicken!)

I cannot wait for more.

Total Nom Points: 9 out of 10

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Honeymoon: San Francisco, CA – Umami Burger (FINALLY!)

20 Aug

 

We had spent a good amount of time in San Francisco on a prior trip, so we really only spent a few hours in the city before our flight back home.

The only place we made a point to stop at was Umami Burger.

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All my California friends sing the praises of Umami burger constantly, but we were yet to get one in NYC (that all changed just a few weeks later). So this was our chance.

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Umami burger has a regular menu but then also has specials that align with the individual location. This being San Francisco, the specialty burger was the Bacon-Wrapped Scallop Burger: hand-chopped scallop patty, crispy pork belly, sweet chile sauce and yuzu-garlic aioli.  We went without the chile sauce due to my allergy, but we certainly didn’t miss it.  This was one flipping fantastic burger!  The scallops were so sweet and so flavorful and everything on it just made for a decadent and flavor rich mouthful.

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We also tried the Truffle Burger which came with house-made truffle cheese and truffle glaze.

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Do not let looks deceive you. This burger looks simple but the taste was outrageous. Super truffly and the burger patty itself was packed with rich flavor.

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We also got a side of the truffle fries which were fantastic.

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And we couldn’t stop there when there was a homemade ice cream cookie sandwich to devour!

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I can’t remember the flavors, but I remember it was awesome.

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I absolutely see what all the fuss is about and I cannot wait to try the one in NYC!  Great burgers, great flavors, original ideas.  Awesome.

Total Nom Points: 8.5 out of 10

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Honeymoon: Sonoma, CA – The Girl and the Fig

15 Aug

After our pretty epic meal at The French Laundry, we took the day pretty easy and relaxed on the porch of a winery (in our new favorite wine AVA: Lost Carneros).  We then went into the town of Sonoma and decided that it was time for a break from being tourists and went to see a movie (Monsters University to be exact).  Even though our earlier meal was amazing, by the time 9pm rolled around, we found ourselves a bit in need of some more food.

A friend had recommended The Girl & The Fig, and since it was right in town, we went for it.

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We wound up sitting in the patio out back, which was quite lovely. (Except the sun was setting, so the pictures aren’t all that great… apologies in advance)

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I really enjoyed the whimsical decorations.

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Every table was set with olives and these… things… (still not positive what exactly they are… anyone know?)

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And, of course, what is a honeymoon meal without some good alcohol?  I got the fig kiss and I absolutely loved it.  It was made with figcello di sonoma, st~germain elderflower liqueur, and cranberry juice. Not too sweet and a nice way to end a great day.

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We began with the pastis-scented steamed mussels with frites: garlic, leeks, herbs, grilled bread.   These were good but not overly memorable.

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Though the fries were perfectly crispy and seasoned very well.

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I started with the soup of the day. And what it was? I cannot recall. But I remember it was earthy and very good.

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Mike got the burger with a farm egg on top.  The burger itself was very well cooked and seasoned and had great flavor. The egg on top pushed the burger up a notch.

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I went with the duck confit (anyone have a count on the number of times I ordered confit during this honeymoon?)  It came with spinach spaetzle, red pearl onions, carrots, and walnut vinaigrette.  This was a very, very good confit with a nice crisp skin and delicate flavors.  The accompanying spaetzle, onions, and carrots all went very well with the duck.

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Our meal here was great, but after all we had over the previous 2 weeks, and the earlier tasting menu, it seems to have washed into a blur.

I would absolutely go back if (when) I’m in the area again.

Total Nom Points: 7 out of 10

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