Go Places & Eat Things

Three Dessert Night

After our second move in six months – from house to new state and temporary condo to new house – things are finally getting back to normal. Sort of. Well, of course there will be some kitchen reno, but more about that later. So, feeling a little more settled than we have in recent months, we ventured out this weekend for a little celebration dinner.

Our destination: Lee, Mass., with a late reservation at Chez Nous, where a husband and wife team serve French bistro food and delightful desserts. On the last Saturday of the summer season, we arrived onto a vibrant scene filled with the frenzied vibe that says “Enjoy it while you can!”

After a brief stop at the bar, we were shown to our table in a cozy room with a fireplace that I can imagine lighted and warmly glowing on a snowy night sometime in the too-near future.

With hot-from-the-oven bread before us, we considered the menu, and decided to try the appetizer special Jonah crab cakes with sauce chien – described as an Antilles-style salsa – and a smoky tomato and goat cheese timbale that featured Monterey goat cheese surrounded by seared and marinated tomato “petals” with greens and balsamic. Both were good, but the timbale was our favorite, with its beautifully contrasting textures and flavors.

You can hardly go wrong at a bistro with the steak-frites. At Chez Nous it is served with espelette pepper and herb infused EVOO. We also ordered the grilled organic salmon with coconut nage and 5-grain organic pilaf. All good, but the best was yet to come. And we ordered three of them!

That’s right. We ordered three desserts. It’s my fault. I couldn’t resist! Pastry chef Rachel Portnoy was trying out a chocolate and hazelnut tart for fall and, if it were up to us, it would make it onto the year-round menu. Creamy, luscious and sweet, it will surely develop a devoted following.

 

I had never had lemon-lavender posset, in fact had never heard of a posset, so I ordered one of those, too, and it was crazy good. It’s an “old-fashioned English dessert: creamy eggless lemon custard infused with lavender” and served with a red berry compote and two exquisitely tiny and perfect almond-raspberry macaroons. The tart lemon-lavender custard reignited my taste buds after the first two courses. You can find a lot of recipes out there for lemon posset. The Chez Nous version was served in a tiny canning jar – adorable. The macaroons were a preview of the goodness that still to come in our third (!) dessert, the Chez Nous cookie plate.

I may have mentioned it before, but I am a BIG fan of cookies on the dessert menu. After a satisfying meal I am not often looking for a big, gooey dessert, just a little something soft and chewy or crisp and nutty to go with my after-dinner coffee. Importantly, you can get maybe three tastes/textures on a properly composed cookie plate, whereas with another dessert, you get an often overly large portion of just one thing.

Cookies rule, and the standout on the Chez Nous plate was the sable, possibly a labor of love for Portnoy, who said it comes from the same region of France that her husband calls home. Here’s a link to a great piece from the New York Times about the cookie plus a recipe from Dorie Greenspan. The sable was wonderful and the rest of the cookies on the plate, at least the ones I tasted (the hubby might have beaten me to one or two), were all just perfect.

And speaking of after dinner cookies, I’ve been talking about launching a “Campaign for Cookies on the Menu,” for a while now. This seems like a good time to do it. Watch for an upcoming post, and tell me about your favorite restaurants with cookies on the menu.

In Which We Save the Birthday From the Rainy Day

A rainy day dampened our enthusiasm for a drive to the ocean yesterday, but it was the hubby's birthday so I resisted the urge to go back to bed, and considered our options. Antiques shopping in quaint small towns is not really his thing, but a nice meal out is something we both enjoy. The answer: lunch at Gramercy Bistro and a wander through MASS MoCA, which share a campus in North Adams, Mass.

Despite nearly constant precipitation, our ride through the Berkshires wrapped us in watery splendor - the hills reduced to overlapping shades of gray-green, lush, and sanctified to a higher purpose by fingers of cloud reaching down from the sky. It goes without saying that iPhone photos don't begin to do justice to the scene before us. For a couple of recent transplants from the flat though equally blessed corn and soybean fields of the Midwest, it was breathtaking.

The peaceful quiet of the as yet unfilled dining room at Gramercy Bistro suited our lingering awe of the natural beauty of the drive, but it didn't last, and it was nice to see the space fill with a diverse crowd.

We took our time with the menu. I considered the soup du jour, which was leek and potato, but selected the smoked trout pâté - a spread, really - served with crostini, tarragon sauce, mustard and cornichons. I am a somewhat late arrival to the smoked trout fan club, but I'd like to be its president. My brother has a smoker and has tried all kinds of fish, meats and cheese and I am his grateful convert. The delicate smokey flavor of the trout in the pâté held its own with the other spread ingredients and the well-suited accompaniments. I enjoyed it with a glass of Domaine du Tariquet chardonnay from France.

The birthday boy had the shrimp and pork spring rolls served with a sweet and spicy chili sauce that he declared "tasty" with just the right amount of tang and heat and a nice crunch to the roll. I agree. The flavors were nicely balanced and the heat was pleasant. He selected a cabernet sauvignon and seemed happy with the pairing.

The cab was especially nice with his steak frites, a slightly over done grilled marinated flank steak and quite satisfying - I know because I had one several - hand cut fries.

I chose the lobster mac and cheese over the goat cheese quiche and briefly regretted my decision because the quiche came with roasted carrot and fennel and dressed greens, and the mac and cheese came with, well, lobster. I always feel a little bad when my entrée does not include a side of veg. But I soldiered through most it before I threw in the towel and declared myself stuffed. I recovered nicely when the server brought the dessert menu.

The chocolate hazelnut dacquoise cake with candied hazelnuts did not come with a flaming candle, but it was consumed until there was nothing left but plate. I have made dacquoise - lovely nutty meringue - and really should dust off the recipe I used many years ago. The Gramercy Bistro dessert by pastry chef Lindsay Bleau featured the dacquoise in a little crunchy/melt-in-the-mouth Stonehenge around a satisfying chocolate and hazelnut cake. Much to his credit, the celebrant did not once utter the word Nutella.

I didn't need a doggie bag for my dessert either. The fleur de sel caramel tart comprised a lot of lovely caramel and salt on a wafer thin chocolate cookie crust.  The little spoon decoration was of the same cookie dough.

We walked off our decadent lunch at MASS MoCA next door, spending quite a bit of time in the mind-boggling Sol Lewitt "A Wall Drawing Restrospective." It was as inspiring an exhibit as the scenery on our drive to the museum.

 

Dinner on the Porch, and a Cookie

I know I said I was going to tell you about vegan restaurants in Munich, but that will have to wait a little longer. Tonight hubby and I enjoyed a delicious meal on the covered porch at Alta Restaurant and Wine Bar in Lenox, Mass., and I just had to tell you about it.

This was not our first visit to Alta. We have been for lunch and were pleased with the food and the experience. On my first visit I had a sandwich called The Autumn, which consisted of house roasted turkey, grilled butternut squash, caramelized onion, cheddar cheese, and cranberry sauce. Oh, it was good! I've been back since and enjoyed a number of items but tonight was especially good. The fading light and mild temperature made their contributions to a pleasant evening, but the food was very much to our liking.

We shared an appetizer, Local Goat Cheese Roll, comprising unspecified local goat cheese and dates in a fried egg roll-type wrapper. Creamy and sweet and crunchy. A great start!

For the entree, I had caramelized diver scallops served with pineapple quinoa, Equinox spinach, coconut milk & fresh lime, and I took their suggestion of the Villa Maria Sauvignon Blanc 2009, from New Zealand. The citrus and light fruit flavors suggested a tropical setting. A perfect meal for a summer evening. The hubby likes to have a steak when we go out, so he had the pan seared NY strip steak, fingerling potatoes, tomate provencale, with fig veal demi-glace. Eschewing the recommended Russian River Cabernet Sauvignon, he chose instead a 2007 E. Guigal Cotes Du Rhone. He didn't say much while he ate, so I know he enjoyed it.

Winters can be long and cold both where we come from and where we now find ourselves living, so the first outdoor meal of the season is a real treasure, whether at home or on the porch of a lovely restaurant. The long sunset casts a glow that puts surroundings in a special light and memories can be particularly sweet.

In this case, the dessert was especially sweet, because Alta has a cookie on the menu! I think cookies should be on more menus, and I'll cover that in a future post, but suffice to say that the fresh, warm, chocolate chip cookie I enjoyed tonight at Alta was the perfect ending to a lovely light meal.

Perfect Summer Days

After days of rain that never seemed to end, and before the current heat and humidity pressed in, we enjoyed a run of perfect summer days here in the Chicago area. I'm talking about sunshine, temperatures in the 70s and low 80s, and that cloudless, endless blue sky the color of carefree childhood mornings spent roaming the local park, days that call you outside in magical voices that refuse to be ignored.

On two such perfect days, we made our way to Chicago by train and to Millennium Park which, at 24.5 acres is considerably larger than the playground of my youth, but no less ripe for discovery. Gardens, walkways and fountains that are wonderful on any day of the year are positively enchanting on such a perfect day, when the laughter of children and the hum of nature and human activity are never noise but music to the ear.

You're probably thinking that a picnic lunch would have been the best way to enjoy all this summer wonder, and you would be right. But on one day we just had a taste for a beer and, because it was a little early on the calendar for Taste of Chicago, we made our way into The Gage, a restaurant and tavern across Michigan Avenue from Millennium Park. We've eaten there before and the Smithwick's is always cold, the food is good and the service is great. On another day, dressed more for work than for play due to a meeting in the area, we ducked into the Elephant and Castle on West Adams for a quick bite. This was our first experience with the chain and we kept lunch really simple, so we have to go back some time for a more leisurely visit.

We walked around a bit before making our way back to the train, stopping into Pastoral, the artisan cheese, bread and wine shop, on one trip and checking out the Chicago French Market on another. As a former commuter, I found myself wishing the French Market had been there a decade ago. It would have been a pleasant stop before climbing aboard the train for home.

Here's to perfect summer days.

Baby Goats Say Cheese

 
When the folks at Prairie Fruits Farm & Creamery send out an email inviting people to come and visit their baby goats and have a little breakfast, I don't need any arm twisting. I'm a big fan of the business, located in Champaign, Illinois. Road trip: on!

My husband and I, along with an old friend and fellow food lover, set out from our house at 6:30 Saturday morning and enjoy a leisurely drive along route 47, a normally busy, mostly two-lane north-south artery that clogs with semis, cars pulling trailered motor boats, and farm equipment depending on the season. At this hour of the day we stop only for the occasional red light, and watch the sun come up over the stubble from last year's corn crop. Just south of Dwight, where Interstate 55 crosses our path, we wonder anew at the graceful, dancing giant wind turbines that dot the landscape from east to west as far as the eye can see.

After a three hour ride that flies by under the time-hastening spell of good conversation among friends with shared history, we arrive at Prairie Fruits Farm, wondering aloud how so much good can come from such a seemingly compact operation. Our parking spot in roughly the next county indicates the popularity of the 9-noon event, but we cheerfully make our way across mostly dry turned earth at the edge of a field to the farm buildings housing the goats, the breakfast and the sampling market.

I'm struggling to recall the last time I was this close to a baby farm animal when a break in the crowd reveals several dozen wobbling, nibbling and cavorting young goats only too willing to make our acquaintance. I'm not lying when I say the adults in the room are smiling more broadly than any of the children. It is beautiful. Time passes slowly.

We move on to pay a respectful visit to the does who make the wonderful Prairie Fruits Farm cheeses possible, and from there work our way back to the busy breakfast room, chat briefly with owner Leslie Cooperband, and purchase some chevre with herbs de Provence. The room is packed with fans of the farm, so we head back to the car and into Urbana for a late breakfast at a favorite spot, The Courier Cafe.

Back on the road, our now south-to-north perspective and our recent up-close visit with the source of one of our favorite foods -- goats milk cheese -- enriches our conversation.

Bien Trucha: Muddled and Magical

 
I just made my fourth visit to Bien Trucha, in the far western Chicago suburb of Geneva. I'm just now writing about it not because I was unsure about it the first three times, but because it is so good I had to keep going back for more! The self-described modern Mexican changarro serves up flavor combinations on plates and in glasses that amaze and delight.

The restaurant is tiny and almost always busy, with long waits on Friday and Saturday nights. If I'm lucky I get a table with a view of the bar, and people watching gets put on hold to follow every move the bartender makes as he muddles and mixes drinks from all manner of fruits, vegetables, peppers and herbs. The tomatillo margarita tastes like summer and the mango water cools my tongue for the next plate to emerge from the kitchen and land on our table.

Everybody seems to love the tacos pescado, but the pastor, bien trucha, arrachera and hongos also get rave reviews. Food is served tapas style, four tacos to an order, emerging from the open kitchen at a studied pace. I like the appetizer cazuelita de camarones with four sauteed shrimp, red onion, garlic, chihauhua cheese and cilantro chimichurri. The side dish called esquites, with grilled corn, epazote butter, lemon aioli and chile piquin challenges my descriptive powers with every roasted, crunchy, creamy, zesty, comforting mouthful.

The next time I go to Bien Trucha, and I hope it is very soon, I'm going to sample the tortas and, perhaps, the grilled cactus salad. Or maybe the creamy roasted poblano soup and the guacamole of the day. Then again...

Pure Comfort Food

On our last day in Boulder, my friend and I spent the morning looking at real estate before heading to Colterra, in nearby Niwot, for brunch. The temperature had dipped overnight and the sun was in hiding, but the restaurant was warm and inviting and our server was charming and helpful.

I ordered a glass of Prosecco and perused the menu. On this late winter visit, dishes comprising fall and late harvest vegetables were especially appealing. I passed on the appetizer Grand Marnier beignets with warm local Madhava alfalfa honey in favor of the roasted local beet salad with field greens, chevre, walnuts and raspberry vinaigrette. I love the texture and complex flavor of beets, especially in a cold salad.

For my entree, I was seriously torn between the roasted forest mushroom omelette with arugula and chevre, and the fall vegetable gnocchi with forest mushrooms and roasted local squash. The gnocchi won and it was pure comfort food. I asked to be shown to a private room where I could lick my plate -- it was that good. I thought about skipping dessert, but the beignets were calling my name, so I tried them. Warm, flavorful beignets topped with warm honey were just what the gray, rainy day called for.

My friend ordered the all natural Long Farm ham, poached egg and chard with bearnaise sauce. She declared it a really nice take on ham and eggs with a bearnaise of perfect consistency.

Colterra was a wonderful finale to the dining portion of our brief tour of Boulder and environs.

If you want to enjoy more fun foodie posts, check out WanderFood Wednesday.

Boulder's Local Flavors

So many great restaurants, so little time...That's how I felt as I sat pondering the many fine Boulder restaurants I'd read about or passed by on my walks around town. The answer to the question of where to go for dinner on my last evening - a Saturday night - in Boulder, was not going to be easily answered. I asked the front desk staff at my hotel for help in securing reservations, but soon discovered that many restaurants don't books tables in advance. I also learned that the dinner hour starts early in Boulder and that I might have better luck getting a table if I waited until after 8 p.m.

I was able to make a reservation for 8:30 at Black Cat Farm Table Bistro, but at 6 p.m. we were hungry and ready for a glass of wine. Two women I had spoken with earlier in the day had recommended The Med (1002 Walnut St.) for a drink and an appetizer from the tapas menu so we headed there, but the place was packed. Nice for everyone with a seat, but we had to move on.

High on my list of places to try was chef Bradford Heap's restaurant, Salt ( 1047 Pearl St.), so we headed over there and were quickly seated in the downstairs bar. The restaurant interior has quite a story, with many of the materials used having been recycled from Tom's Tavern, the business that had occupied the space for 40 years. We quickly had drinks in hand and, enveloped in the buzz of the comfortably crowded room, we contemplated the menu.

The food philosophy at Salt starts with the premise that the best food travels the shortest distance, and much of the credit for the great meals is given to the local farmers and ranchers who supply the restaurant. I like that. Keeping our 8:30 reservation in mind, we ordered from the small plates section of the menu. The Haystack cheese plate comprised a selection of Haystack Mountain Dairy cheeses including Aspen Ash, three onion jam, mostarda and grilled bread. The flavorful jam and mostarda complemented the cheeses beautifully. We also tried the crispy polenta & grilled d'Anjou pear with dolce latte gorgonzola sauce and pine nuts. The textures and flavors brought something a little different to every bite. On our way out, we saw people enjoying the wood grilled pork chop and the Tom's Tavern burger from the entree selection. It all looked good. The menu also includes a vegetable tasting that at this time of year included roasted beet risotto cake, Tuscan beans, garlic seared escarole, forest mushroom farrotto and more. I hated to leave without tasting more.

We arrived at Black Cat (1964 13th St.) right on schedule and eager to try chef Eric Skokan's farm-to-table menu. From the amuse bouche of delice de jura to the salmon and scallop entrees and dessert, we enjoyed the food and so much more, including the attractive space and the efficient and harmonious service. I'd love to return in a month or two to taste what comes out of the restaurant's garden in the springtime.

Three by 3 in Boulder

The second day of my recent visit to Boulder, Colorado, opened with the promise of weather well suited to leisurely walking and outdoor dining - a real treat on a late winter day. Little did I know when I set out from Hotel Boulderado that I would enjoy three meals by 3 p.m!

There are plenty of options for morning coffee on the streets of Boulder, so I left the hotel early and walked over to Pearl Street, quickly choosing Atlas Purveyors (1505 Pearl Street) for that important first cup of the day. The door stood open to the mild morning and I enjoyed a cup of coffee and a light breakfast, and watched Boulder wake up outside, while an artist installed a new work on the shop's chalkboard wall inside. Atlas Purveyors also serves tea and food items.

After coffee, my plan was to head over to the Museum of Contemporary Art just a few blocks away at 1750 13th St., thinking for some reason that it opened at 9 a.m. on Saturday. When the door was still locked at 10, I called the museum from across the street in Central Park and learned the opening time was actually 11. Moving quickly to Plan B, I walked through the park, admiring Boulder Creek and  dodging runners at every turn, and crossing the street to The Boulder Dushanbe Tea House (1770 13th St.), which is open daily for breakfast, lunch, dinner and tea.

The Teahouse was a gift to Boulder from its sister city, Dushanbe, Tajikistan. Artisans there created hand carved walls and ceilings, ceramic panels for the outside of the building and other decorative components, assembling the teahouse and then taking it apart again to ship it to Boulder. Locals I spoke with seemed proud of the gift from the people of Dushanbe, and the crowd inside made it clear that I should stop and check out the menu.

The crowd inside also meant a wait for a table, but there was no waiting outside in the pleasant dining area with a great view of the exterior tile panels decorated with a Tree of Life pattern. I ordered a cup of lightly smokey, slightly spicy Russian Caravan tea that came to the table loose and brewing in a little white pot. The knowledgable server left a 3-minute timer and instructions for brewing my tea selection. From the brunch menu, I considered the Persian Chickpea Kufteh and the Szechuan Tofu Scramble before deciding on the Indian Masala Dosa. The cumin and fennel crepe held a warm mixture of fragrant curried vegetables, which along with the dahl, sweet raisin chutney, cucumber yoghurt and onion fritter created a wonderful combination of flavors and textures. For dessert, I denied my inner chocolate monster, selecting a dish of warm gingerbread pyramids with a tangerine sugar reduction and ginger whipped cream. If it had been my last meal of the day I would have been completely satisfied, but I was just getting warmed up.

After brunch, I returned to the Boulder Museum of Contemporary Art and this time I got inside. Three exhibits were on display in the modest space, so my visit didn't take long, but the art was by turns powerful, playful and thought provoking. Perfect!

I spent the next few hours window shopping and reading menus displayed at the many restaurants on my path. I especially enjoyed Peppercorn kitchen and home store, Two Hands Paperie, Bayleaf on Pearl and Barbara & Company, all on Pearl Street.

Around 3 p.m., I was tired and thirsty and knew that what I wanted most was a beer. I recalled seeing an Irish Pub near the hotel and headed over to 13th Street. For the next hour, I sat near the wide open front window at Conor O'Neill's (1922 13th St.) drinking a Smithwick's and snacking on a lunch-size order of fish and chips.

After that it was back to the hotel to rest up for dinner!

Discovering Boulder

We roll into Boulder, Colorado, a little before noon on a Friday, having driven the short, table-flat expanse from Denver International Airport in a rented Camry. Our low-impact transition from the highway to this city of 100,000 people was due to the complete absence of high-speed expressway traffic and roller-coaster off-ramps, the low-profile skyline, and the flatirons, foothills of the Rockies, visible west of town.

It is sunny and 50+ degrees on this late winter day and I am immediately in deep "like" with Boulder. I'm visiting with a friend, who is expected shortly at an afternoon meeting,  so we check into Hotel Boulderado and off she goes, leaving me to explore and enjoy this beautiful day on my own. This town clearly is made for walking, so I set out in the direction of brewing coffee and an outdoor seat to watch the scene. At an information kiosk on the Pearl Street pedestrian mall I find a treasure - a brochure called "Boulder Sliced & Diced: A Chefs' Guide for Visitors," in which top local chefs describe how they would spend a perfect day in the city. Coffee in hand, I sit down to map out my culinary path for the next 2.5 days. So much to do, so little time.

I head back to the hotel for a late lunch at The Corner Bar, where I enjoy chef John Platt's grilled salmon sandwich with red onion marmalade, spinach, and horseradish aioli, and a pint of Ellie's Brown Ale from Boulder's Avery Brewing Company. The English brown ale is creamy and nutty/sweet, and I make a note to look for it again. I enjoy trying local brews, but since I can only manage one or two at the most with a meal, I often wonder what I might have missed. The Ellie's Brown Ale was a great choice!

Back on foot, I walk off my lunch while discovering some of Boulder's historic downtown buildings including the Art Deco/Art Moderne style Boulder County Courthouse (1325 Pearl Street) designed by architect Glen H. Huntington, and the Art Deco Boulder Theatre (2032 14th Street), built in 1935-6. The Hotel Boulderado also is in the downtown historic district. It was built with money raised from the sale of public stock and opened on New Year's Day in 1909, and is a popular place for weddings and receptions.

I caught up with my friend around 7 p.m. Pearl Street was lively as we made our way to Centro Latin Kitchen & Refreshment Palace (950 Pearl Street), where our wait for a table was smoothed by a Don Julio Reposado on ice and people watching in the rustic decor of chef Ian Clark's popular restaurant. For dinner, I enjoyed the griddled shrimp tacos with garlic-chipotle mojo, and my friend had the white sea bass grilled in banana leaf with vinegar-chile-tomato sauce and grilled potatoes.

What a fantastic start to my exploration of Boulder, Colorado.