Tag Archives: portland

Top Noms of 2013

13 Jan

2013 was truly the best year of my life.  And most of my best memories of the year include (or entirely revolve around) amazing meals.

It was really tough to narrow it down to the top 10 this year with so many amazing meals, so I’m cheating a bit.  (To see the Top Noms of years past, check these links: 201220112010, and 2009)

Second Runner Up: After a lot of buzz and rumors of impossible reservations, we were lucky enough to walk in and get a seat at the bar at Chez Sardine.  This sticks out in my memory both for the amazing, creative food and for the fun of watching them construct it while peering directly into the kitchen from our bar seats.

Chez Sardine

First Runner Up: After two amazing meals at WD-50 (still in the top 3 of all time meals) we were excited to try Chef Wylie Dufresne’s more casual new restaurant, Alder.  Our entire meal was creative and great, but the chicken liver toast was a huge stand out that I still think about all these months later.

Alder: Chicken Liver Toast

#10: Our honeymoon was filled with a bunch of absolutely amazing meals, but our meal at Le Pigeon in Portland, OR really stood out for its freshness and unique use of ingredients. The trout lox paired so incredibly well with the raspberries. An unexpected match made in heaven.

Le Pigeon: Trout Lox

#9: We couldn’t wait to try Betony when it opened since it was from alumni of one of our absolute favorite restaurants, Eleven Madison Park.   We fell in love with the “Tuna Melt” with melted fontina cheese and there was sculptural beauty (and flavorful beauty) in the Marinated Trout Roe. Any other year this could be a #1 restaurant, but not in 2013.

Betony: Marinated Trout Roe on a puffed rice cracker with cucumber

#8: While we couldn’t take pictures of the Brooklyn Fare Chef’s Tasting menu, you will have to trust me that it all looked and tasted delicious.  We were very excited when they opened up a grocery store near our apartment in Manhattan and can’t wait to try their restaurant.  The Uni with White Truffle was so incredibly amazing and made me fall in love with uni (after a lot of “what’s the big deal?” in the past).

Brooklyn Fare Chef's Tasting

#7: For our date anniversary dinner, Mike took us to Del Posto, where we enjoyed the beautiful place almost as much as we enjoyed the near flawless meal.  It has certainly earned its stellar reputation as being a top restaurant in New York.

Del Posto: Lobster

#6: In what world does The French Laundry in Napa Valley, CA come in as #6 for the year?  I still am in a bit of disbelief that we didn’t love this famous restaurant even more.  In the end, it was probably one of the most perfect meals I’ve ever had, but it just wasn’t surprising.  But the oysters and pearls have truly earned their place in culinary history.

The French Laundry: Oysters and Pearls

 

#5: Coming back from the honeymoon, we had one last hurrah at The NoMad in NYC.  We tried the famous chicken, which had the audacity to not just be perfectly cooked with impeccably crispy skin, but also stuffed with foie gras and black truffle.  It was every bit as good as I hoped it would be, as was the rest of the meal.

The Nomad: Roasted Chicken

#4: Blanca was another Chef’s Tasting menu that didn’t allow us to take pictures of the meal (bummer), but this private room behind Roberta’s Pizza in Bushwick, Brooklyn offered surprises around every corner. There were more than 25 meticulous courses, including a stand-out king crab with plankton butter sauce and not a single bad dish in all 25.

Blanca: Chef's Tasting

#3: Anytime someone asks where they should go in NYC if they want a nice meal, I recommend Colicchio and Sons.  It never fails to impress and we went back to see if the Tasting Menu could live up to our opinion from the previous time.  Each dish built upon the last and they were all expertly crafted. I have especially fond memories about the uniqueness of the potato bavarois dome with Hackeback caviar and vodka cream with homemade potato chips.

Colicchio & Sons:  Tasting Menu

 

#2: A huge surprise was how much we fell in absolute love with Canlis in Seattle, WA during our honeymoon.  Every dish was great and service was so warm and so welcome.  It’s hard to pick a favorite part of this meal, but I still remember how much I enjoyed their preparation of foie gras with homemade brioche to spread it on.

Canlis: Foie Gras

#1 (THE #1): I was so excited to finally try Chef Grant Achatz’s Alinea in Chicago, IL at the very end of the year.  Every moment of this meal was special and fun and incredibly delicious. Even if it hadn’t been as entertaining and creative, the taste of the food alone would have made this the meal of the year.  The rest, and especially the cleverness, made this the meal of a lifetime.  The best meal we have ever, ever had.  The white truffle risotto that they brought out as a special treat was hands down the most amazing thing I have ever eaten.  It is worth a special trip to Chicago just to have the good fortune of eating here.

Alinea: White Truffle Risotto

 

Alinea: Scallop

 

We are so incredibly fortunate.  Thank you, 2013.

 

 

Honeymoon- Oregon: Tillamook Cheese Factory and VooDoo Doughnuts

24 Jul

We did visit 2 very famous Oregonian food spots that were very different on our trip.

First, on our way out to the coast, we stopped at the Tillamook Cheese Factory to sample some cheese and check out the factory.
Apologies for the sideways video… the new Instagram video function doesn’t have a flip function yet but still allows you to film with the camera horizontally. So please tilt your head to the right and enjoy the video:


Why wouldn’t we go on a cheese factory tour on our honeymoon? Apologies for the sideways video. No “flip” function yet. #theaxelbaums #nycnomnom by @nycnomnom

We really liked the “squeaky cheese” which is the cheese curds they sell.  They actually squeak against your teeth while you chew them.  Quite delish!

And then on our way out of Portland we decided it was time to try VooDoo donut.

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We had seen the line all weekend and it was reportedly multiple hours long (homey don’t play that… especially not for a donut).  But on this Monday morning, we walked right in.

Donuts #nycnomnom #theaxelbaums by @nycnomnom

We decided to try the famous bacon maple donut and we also got a Portland Cream doughnut© (“Raised yeast doughnut filled with Bavarian cream. Topped with chocolate and two eyeballs, representing the vision of our great city.”)

 

Now I know I am strange… but I don’t actually like donuts.  (Fresh made beignets not considered in this statement). I think a childhood filled with Dunkin’ Donuts has turned me off to commercial donuts for life.  But these donuts doughnuts? These were some awesome doughnuts.  The maple cream on the bacon doughnut was flavorful without being too sweet, and the bacon was a great compliment to it.  And the chocolate icing on the cream doughnut was really rich and choclately, with a nicely textured, ever so slightly sweet cream filling.  A truly exceptional doughnut, in fact.  But worth a few hours on line? No.  Go on a Monday morning. 🙂

 

Honeymoon: Portland, OR – Mother’s

22 Jul

Our last morning in Portland, Oregon took us to Mother’s Bistro, a highly recommended breakfast place.

We were informed that we HAD to order the wild salmon hash. Do not pass go. Do not collect $200. Salmon. Hash.

It came with leeks, potatoes & a touch of cream, served with two eggs any style (we went poached).

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Now this was very good.  But it wasn’t mind-blowingly good.  I think it was hyped a bit much.  But it was definitely delicious.

We also tried the bacon, which was oddly… chewy… Hmmm… Good but not great.

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Our favorite part of the meal actually wound up being the Mike’s Special Scramble that came with with prosciutto ham, roasted garlic, fresh tomatoes, basil & provolone cheese.  The roasted garlic and basil in the eggs was GREAT. Will be trying to recreate this myself very soon.

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I’m glad we tried Mother’s since many people mentioned they loved it, and the salmon hash was very good (and the scramble, I thought, even better). But I don’t know if I need to go back.

Total Nom Points: 6.5 out of 10

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