2011 - The Year in Food

A few highlights from the past year....

Everything at Curate, especially at our first meal there in May

Hot Dog and Battered Fries at Manchester, TN's Jiffy Burger

Breakfast at Bonnaroo post-Graveyard dining there

Cheese and wine raging with Bisbee Sunday night of Bonnaroo

Roasted white asparagus with brown butter at Home

Ziti with chili/basil/garlic tomato sauce, pan-fried zucchini, and goat cheese at Home

Fried crawfish tails at Bayou Bay in Knoxville

Some delicious off-the-menu item at Bayou Bay that I can't remember the name of - not gumbo, not etouffee, and not jambalaya - what is it?!

Grilled tilapia taco with corn, cabbage, cilantro, onion and tomato at Home

Purple potatoes at Home

Sichuan Spicy Cold Noodles (Hand-Stretched) with Cucumber at Beijing Noodle No. 9 in Las Vegas

Pho at Pho Kim Long in Las Vegas

Hard-carved adobada at Tacos El Gordo in Las Vegas...

...and on the taco

e by Jose Andres in Las Vegas

One of the many pastas from B&B pasta tasting menu in Las Vegas

Wine and cheese plate at Loews in Atlanta

Me and Brandy pre-Grizzes (Coronita topped off with a shot of tequila) at El Myr in Atlanta

McDonald's at 4 AM in the back of Roddy's truck at Halfway to Forecastle after-party in Louisville

Dried Fried Eggplant at Tasty China in Marietta, GA

Budvar at the hotel in London after a really, really long two days of travel

A perfectly grilled steak at Home

First taste of the New Belgium Clutch beer in Portland at the Horse Brass

Homemade Patas Bravas, Jose style

Home-cured olives, Jose style

Silken Tofu Mousse at San Francisco's Bushi-Tei

Broiled California White Bass at Bushi-Tei

Soy Braised Short Ribs at Bushi-Tei

Chocolate Bread Pudding at Bushi-Tei

The best pizza I've ever had -"Panna" (tomato sauce, cream, basil, shaved parm) - at Pizzeria Delfina in San Fran...and really good Italian white wine - Valle Dell' Acate Zagra from Sicilia

Belgian beer at The Trappist in Oakland

Bun Thit Nuong & Cha Gio (Grilled Pork & Egg Rolls w/ Vermicelli) at Pho 2000 in San Francisco

Probably the best beer ever - Sara's Ruby Mild - at Magnolia Gastropub & Brewery - in San Fran, presented here by Admiral Ackbar

Meatball pizza pie at Lombardi's in NYC

Papaya King dog for breakfast at NY's LaGuardia airport

Cochon at, well, Cochon in NOLA

Entrance to Arnauld's French 75 Bar in NOLA

French 75s at French 75 Bar in NOLA

The best, I say, THE BEST, Ramos Gin Fizz at Bar Tonique in NOLA

Barbecued Leeks at Town House in Chilhowie, VA

Duck Prosciutto at Town House

I can't remember, but doesn't it look awesome - at Town House

Preserved carrot with muscavado sugar and tonka at Town House

Burt Embers at Town House

I'm baaack...from Germany

Just got back from Berlin and Muenchen.

Check out Brandy's photos from Deutschland.

The first were taken before a few too many Berliner Pilsners...and dunkels...and hefeweizens... and a local Berlin version of Jagermeister at Schnelle Quelle. I can't remember the name of the liquor. Again, too many....

Food was amazing. Took little to no pics on the trip beyond Brandy's few (tried to leave the technology behind), but highlights were pommes frites with peppery mayo at Checkpoint Curry @ Checkpoint Charlie, pizza, and pho @ Pho Co in Berlin, and crispy roasted duck & venison chops @ Spatenhaus, weisswurst and Kartoffelsalat (German potato salad) @ Donisl, truffle pasta @ Ristorante Galleria, Gluhwein (hot mulled wine) @ Christmas ice skating, Wiener schnitzel @ Augustiner Keller, and bier (!!!) in Muenchen.

Augustiner was definitely the favorite of the primary Muenchner braus (Augustiner, Paulaner, Spaten-Franziskaner-Lowenbrau, Hacker-Pschorr, and Hofbrau).

Wish we were there in warmer weather to take advantage of the farmer's market and all the meats, cheeses, seafood, and wine. Wow, so amazing!

Best part of the trip? Well, Rammstein at Olympiahalle in Muenchen. Finally! What a great place to see them. And now I love the band even more than before because they bought out all the concessionaire's bier cups with RAMMSTEIN branded cups. I had to make sure I made my rounds to get all four. It was like collecting cups from a kid's meal at a Burger King!

Check them out. (Custom concert tickets from MSG and Olympiahalle in the background.)

Tapas

Inspired by "Made in Spain" and "Tapas - A Taste of Spain in America" by Jose Andres and Curate bar de tapas in the kitchen this weekend!

(Initial attempt at) Drunken goat cheese and tomato salad

Spinach, Catalan-style

Oven-roasted potatoes and mushrooms

Las Vegas 2011 #2 - Peppermill Fireside Lounge

The best place in the world.

The best Old Fashioned you can get - and finally at a seat by the fireside!

My sister and Brandy's Scorpion - i.e. "mega girly drink"

Las Vegas 2011 #1 - e by Jose Andres

Returned to Vegas this month with Brandy, but this time we joined my family.

I will share some of the highlights across a few posts, starting with our dinner at e by Jose Andres.

E is a super-secret 8-seat, one-room restaurant within a restaurant (Jaleo) in Vegas' new Cosmopolitan hotel. We were fortunate enough to obtain a reservation through a business acquaintance who formerly closely worked with Jose at ThinkFoodGroup and also Ferran Adria at el Bulli.

At e, you're able to interact directly with the chefs, who prepare most of the 20+ courses directly in front of your eyes in a (Japanese sushi/hibachi -style) bar-type setting with really quirky decor, supposedly representing an insane snapshot of Jose Andres' mind. My reservation confirmation was every bit accurate to call it a "show." The service is all handled by one "host" and the 4 chefs. The food was, well, amazing.

My only major complaint was actually the other diners! We unfortunately dined with people that give "foodie" the bad connotation it has. I genuinely believe a couple of folks were there just to have a bad time. I am not sure why they spent the time and money they did just to complain. It really put a dark cloud on the dinner, as it was impossible to ignore them, having only 7 people at an 8-person table in one room with essentially no music. They were real assholes.

Regardless, between e, Jose's Made in Spain on PBS, and more, Jose Andres is easily my favorite food personality right now, and I thoroughly enjoyed this experience.

Now, a few snapshots....

Jose's Gin and Tonic

The best!

Spanish "Clavel" and Caramelized Pork Rinds

Yes, an edible flower served on an actual mold of Jose's hand!

Crispy Chicken Skin in Escabeche

Amazing!

Jose Taco & Artichoke with Caviar

The "taco" is Iberico ham with caviar - so good!

"Sandria"

Sangria soaked and compressed watermelon

Ajo Blanco

A marcona almond soup - the best dish of the night!

Chickpea Stew with Iberico Ham

Those aren't real chickpeas - they are pureed chickpeas with Iberico Ham reformed as chickpeas - so porky, rich and amazing

Catch of the Day

Fluke, I think. Awesome.

Rosemary Wild Mushrooms in Papillote

Morels cooked in rosemary infused liquid cooked in a pouch. To die for. Morels are so excellent.

Secreto of Iberico Ham

Iberico Ham sirloin? with chanterelles. This gave the best steak ever a run for its money.

Apples & Red Wine "Fredy Giradet"

Watch Jose Andres' "Made in Spain" on PBS and look for this dish. It is sooo good. The apples are soaked in red wine.

Like I said, crazy decor.

Wine glass rack. The car catalogue is supposed to represent Jose's brain.

Prep area