Nina C.'s Profile

Although I abhor lines, this is one place where I don't mind the wait.  Every person in line gets the same attentive service, which is why the wait takes sooooooo long.  Just don't forget to pull your number as soon as you enter the store!

The house-made burrata, freshly made mozzarella filled with mozzarella scraps and topped off with fresh cream is divine.  Oh my god - so good!  Another house-made item of deliciousness, the porchetta, (available only on weekends) is just a thing of porky goodness.  Personally, I enjoy theirs more so than at Porchetta!

Get your Italian staples - fresh made mozzarella (salted, unsalted, smoked), parmigiano, proscuitto, soppresata, salame, ravioli, olive oils, etc here.  Although mainly a cheese shop, they also have a huge variety of meats, sausages, pasta and Italian pantry items.  The newly expanded store means more space to move around too!

What I love is that they offer you a taste of what you're getting.  They're entirely knowledgeable on their products.  Ask for advice and they'll give it to you.  I wanted a recommendation on a new bottle of olive oil - the good stuff - and Lou set up my own personal tasting right there at the counter, even though the shop was full of customers!

I'm sorry I haven't written a review for them earlier, but I guess I was trying to keep them my own personal secret...  Guess the secret was out long before I told!

Joolz and I had tried to come here several times, but we always caught them within the time frame between lunch and dinner service.  I finally checked them out one night on my way home from my CSA pick-up.  Ordered the Chinese crispy roast pig bahn mi and just took it to go.  Since I normally pay under $4 for a bahn mi, I was hoping for something seriously delicious.  While I did like the bread it's served on, the sandwich itself was just ok.  The pork did indeed taste like the sweet BBQ glaze of Chinese roast pork with a smattering of crunchy pork skin.  The pickled carrots and daikon were fine, but there was barely any cucumber or cilantro in my sandwich.  I also enjoyed the shrimp chips that they served with the sandwich.  It was like a surprise extra something - like when you find a french fry in your onion rings...

On my second visit, Joolz and I finally successfully arrived for a late lunch.  We both ordered the pho & bahn mi combo.  I went with the grilled lemongrass pork bahn mi with the beef pho.  Though I knew it would be half a bahn mi, I was completely expecting a larger bowl of pho.  If you've ordered pho before, you know that it's usually a pretty huge bowl of hot, beefy, noodley goodness.  What I got was half a sandwich with a very small bowl of pho.  A bowl of lukewarm pho, no less!  I hate lukewarm soups.  Besides, how is lukewarm broth supposed to cook the usually raw slices of beef atop your noodles?! Ugh, precooked slices of beef with some noodles in a lukewarm, tasteless broth does not a bowl of pho make.

I also ordered a Vietnamese coffee, adamantly specifying that I wanted it to be hot.  Guess what?  Lukewarm as well.  After it sat there for five minutes, it was ice cold.  Maybe someone needs to let these guys know what hot actually feels like...

Overall - meh.  I think I'll stick to my usual pho and bahn mi joints.  Fancy versions of unfancy foods usually never live up to the original anyways...

After several looooong days alone in the office, I needed some sustenance and human interaction.  So I met up with Denis for dinner.  We both had put in a 12-hour day and needed a good, warm meal.

This area isn't exactly a diner's paradise.  It's in the western wasteland by the Port Authority and I probably would never have gone there if a friend hadn't recommended it.  Besides, Denis and I were just so tired, we didn't really argue over where to eat. I mentioned it and he just said fine.

Since the office was around the corner, I got there first and was a bit worried when I saw that it was more of a take-out kind of joint.  It's a small space with maybe four or five tables.  And, there were also NO customers in there.  While I waited someone did go inside for take-out, so that helped a bit...

So, we went in and sat down.  I can't say I remembered what Denis ordered (I think spaghettini alle vongole...), but I got the seafood pasta - spaghetti with scallops, clams and shrimp in a tomato and white wine sauce.  The scallops were slightly overcooked, but the one thing I did appreciate was that the pasta was piping hot, which was exactly what we were both looking for.

The meal wasn't anything I'd go out of my way to have again, but it did satiate both our cravings for a hot meal.

Pichet Ong's cute, new lil Asian dessert bar.

I'm very lucky to be only mildly lactose-intolerent and also not a celiac.  I think if I were either or both, I would die.  Alas, my friend Ting IS lactose-intolerent and thinks she may be a celiac!  O_o  Oh no!

So, after dinner, we made our way over here with our newly befriended communal table-mates, who tipped us off about this place, for dessert.  None of us had tried it, so we were all in for a treat (or not...)  Luckily, it was actually good!  I didn't miss the cream or eggs or anything.  Shocking!

Comparatively, my favorite ice cream flavor is Baskin-Robbins' mint chocolate chip.  And seeing that they had mint chocolate here, I had to try it - doesn't disappoint.  I was tempted to get that, but decided on a medium size with the salted caramel pecan and the chocolate almond joy.  Too bad you could only get one flavor in a small.  The medium was way too big and I was way to full to even finish.

Also available - Fine & Raw chocolates, Babycakes cuppies, vegan hot chocolate, gluten-free cones.  Drop by and give it a try.  If I hadn't know previously that it was a vegan and gluten-free place, I would've thought it was the real thing...

After an ill-scheduled annual and an entire day of starvation leading up to my blood test, BCC was calling me (LOUDLY!) with it's promises of beer, Jameson and Kyle H's burgers.  And, it sure didn't disappoint!

Needless to say, after the initial chitchatting with Peter, Jane and Miriam and getting my first drink, the smell of the grill lured me straight to the back.  It was funny to watch the line for burgers grow.  And having been unfed, I let Kyle, Andy, William and Forrest know that I was the beginning of the line, which they actually agreed on!  Awesomeness!

Can I just say that that burger was redonkulously delicious?  It was cooked perfectly - a nice, juicy pink in the middle; crunchy, caramelized, charred bits on the exterior; nestled on a Portuguese muffin slathered with horseradish sauce and topped with lettuce, tomatoes and cheese.  So freakin' good, I had to kiss the chef, which I did!

I also thought it was totally cool that they had veggie burgers.  But, that's not even the best part about that - they were cooking the veggie burgers on an entirely different grill than the beef burgers!  Niiiice!

It was a well attended event, without being overcrowded.  Overcrowding is one of my pet peeves...  I met a bunch of new Yelpers, hung out with those I already knew and just had an awesome time.

P.S.
Icing on the cake?  Photobooth!  I *heart* photobooths!

Someone tell me how a 3 course prix-fixe dinner turns into a 3-hour food experience?  It's unimaginable how long you'd be there if you went with the 7 course tasting menu...  Although I do love tasting menus, I also love having the option of making a decision about what I'm eating, so I went with the 3 courses (thank goodness!).

The run down on food & drinks:

Cocktail - The Spencer: Cîroc Vodka, Lillet, grapefruit juice and garnished with candied grapefruit.  A fancy Greyhound, I'd say, but I loved the addition of Lillet.  A wonderful summer cocktail.  I also had a sip of Yosh's Fleur (Blanc de Blancs, Campari, St. Germain).  Lovely, but then again, I love elderflower!

Canapes - Egg Bagel and English Pea Sponge: Did you know that the make the sponge in the microwave?  Anyhoo, the bagel was salty, the sponge light and airy.

Breads and Butters - French Baguettes, Olive Baguettes and Cranberry Walnut Toast, French Butter and Seaweed Butter: The baguettes were very small and crusty, the toast - I could munch on these all day!

Amuse Bouche - Foie Gras Chantilly with Tomato Jam: The jam was overpowering on it's own, but when combined with the chantilly, the acidity went nicely with the smokiness of the foie.  The tiniest little pearl of a tomato that garnished this was deliciously ripe.

Wine - Domaine Pelaquie Viognier: crisp with citrus notes, medium body.  We consulted and this was what was recommended by the sommelier.

Appetizer - Taste of Summer Sea (Madai with Yuzu Gelée; Peekytoe Crab with Sour Plum; Octopus on Smoked Beets, Sudachi; Sepia with Romanesco, Mangosteen; Uni with Lemongrass, Pine Nut): I splurged and paid the $24 supplement on this.  I could have done without the presentation of this on five different plates (a recurring theme on the plating for most of the dishes).

The madai was forgettable.  The crab was nice and fresh.  The octopus was slightly overcooked to my liking, but I liked the smoked beets it sat on top of.  Loved the black ink gnocchi with the sepia!  The garnishes of romanesco and mangosteen were nice touches.  I only wish the mangosteen was fresh and not freeze-dried.  I'll have to admit that I've had better uni than this one.  They use Santa Barbara uni, which I've had many times before.  Unfortunately, the foam took away from the briny, silkiness of naked uni.

I think I should have gone with the corn with sweetbreads and ruby shrimp.  Yosh got that and loved it!  Oh well!  That was also served on three plates with (1) corn, (2) quail egg ravioli and (3) sweetbreads and ruby shrimp on almond milk foam.

Entree - Maine Lobster with Heirloom Beets, Parmesan Crumble and Bergamot: The main dish was the lobster tail, claw and beets with a second dish with the lobster knuckles and Parmesan crumble with a smudge of grapefruit puree.  The veloute poured over the lobster was beautiful.  I believe the lobster is cooked with butter sous vide.  It was immaculately prepared.  The smudge of grapefruit butter is delicious.  Can I get the recipe for that?

Pre-Dessert - Pineapple Sorbet with Lime Foam: This I have never heard of!  Pre-dessert!  Really?  It was lovely.  The sorbet was clean and tart and went nicely with the lime of the foam.

Coffee - La Colombe Torrefaction Coffee:  Oh my, really great coffee!

Dessert - Brioche with Passion Fruit, Coffee, Compressed Banana and Stilton:  The caramel brioche was crisp on the outside, light on the inside.  Loved the tartness of the passion fruit - like an upgraded lemon curd!  Even the tiny square of Stilton went with the brioche.

Mignardises - Pate de Fruit (lychee and sour cherry [I think]), Black Mint Truffles, Chocolates (Dark Chocolate, Salted Caramel, Anise, Kaffir Lime) and Macarons (Strawberry Poppy and ?): I love petit fours and even though I was thisclose to maximum capacity, I had to indulge.

The lychee pate de fruit was almost like nibbling on actual lychees.  The salted caramel chocolate had the nicest toffee-like flavor.  The poppy macaron with the strawberry filling was so good, I can't even remember what the other one was.  The only slightly disappointing one was the kaffir lime chocolate - overpowering!  The black mint truffle was by far my favorite.

They even give you a packet of shortbread cookies with the check!

Service was nice, not too stuffy, but I was disappointed that they have a no pictures policy.  I like taking pictures of my food - dammit!  (Yes, I am THAT person, but at least I refrain from using the flash!)  The wait staff is attentive, but I can do without the ma'am and sir.  I'm much too young to be called ma'am - thank you very much!  I think Yosh and I brought down the average of the clientele here significantly.

Overall good, but over-hyped.  Good food that's well prepared, but a bit disjointed with the myriad of components to each dish.  Not sure if I'd come back, but it was still a lovely experience.

I was a bit wary to try this truck, what with all the hype it's amassed and the rumors of long lines in the sweltering heat. Luckily, MzJoolz picked a lovely day to try this cart.  We had discussed having lunch together and she was thinking of trying something new.  Oddly, this was the first place that came into mind, which is indeed odd, because BBQ is never the first thing on my mind.

So, we decided to come out a bit earlier to avoid the lunchtime mob scene.  Not sure if it's abnormal, but the line, at its maximum for the duration of time we were there, was probably - at max - 20 deep.

After a short wait, I'm at the front of the line and I decided to go with the Picnic Deuce.  It consists of a meat, a side and a drink.  I decided on the Kobe brisket with the potato salad and a sun tea.

The brisket was tender and moist, if a bit too greasy.  I mean, it was sitting in a pool of oil!  I'm sure this oil was from the fat that was rendering off of the hunk of brisket, but c'mon!  I don't want to ingest all that fat!  Although I did really enjoy it, the grease pool and the chunk of fat on one of my slices of brisket was just a bit unappetizing.

Moving on to the potato salad...  When I order potato salad, I generally like it to be chunky, with a crunchy component.  This potato salad is just straight up potatoes, dill, sour cream and mayo.  I think less of the sour cream/mayo and more potatoes, possibly with a smattering of celery and some pepper, and it really would've made the salad much, much better.  The way it currently is, it's just a few potato pieces swimming in a vat of sour cream/mayo.

Anyhoo, I made a brisket sandwich and ate that first and then finished up the remaining pieces of brisket in my container.  Overall, still a very decent BBQ experience.  I'd probably come back.

BTW, MzJoolz had the pulled Heritage pork, which she said was okay.  She liked my brisket better...  Also, the sun tea was tasty.  It was somewhat floral and nicely sweetened.  So, if I was in the area, I'd probably come back over here for some grub...

Hmm, I guess I'm the odd one out here, but I was highly unimpressed with the lunch I got from here.

I've been meaning to try this place ever since my favorite Koreans, the J(oo)(u)lie, gave such great reviews.  But, it was always so out of the way.  Had a short term gig near the Port Authority, so I thought I'd walk on down here to grab lunch.

Was excited with the kim bap offerings, but decided to go with the bulgogi bop.  When I got back to the office and opened the container, the grayish looking pieces of beef were simply unappetizing to look at.  I was already wary by the color.  And after putting a bite in my mouth, i knew I was rightfully so.  The meat was nearly flavorless, save for the sweet tinge of the onion.  The onions were so overcooked, they melted.  Even the rice was overcooked and mushy.

So, sorry, but I can't see myself coming out of the way to give this place another try.  No thanks.

Beer, burgers and baseball - how much better can it get than that?!  Daryl Strawberry!  He was there...

Ok, so the Cyclones got spanked 7-0, but I still had fun.

I loved seeing Peter D run to see the Medieval Nights Knights dueling with their swords.

Jane was busy hooking Yelpers up with the newest in the swag department - Yelp caps!

And, the best part was seeing the kid in Yelpers - people were running to Sandy the Seagull when he made his appearance on the Party Deck.  It was hella cute!

The food seemed plentiful and I tried to drink a beer an inning, but there's only so much room in my stomach...

Great job Peter and Jane!