After two meals in two and a half hours, it was time for some culture.
We walked up to MoMA. We checked out the art; one of Cam’s favorite artist’s work was showcased, and we cruised through the paintings by Lichtenstein and Picasso. I mentioned that my parents said that the restaurant in MoMA (one of Danny Meyer’s many establishments) was incredible, so naturally, that was our next stop (Editor’s note: the Bar at the Modern). We each ordered a signature cocktail. One sip acted as the kick in the pants we needed in order to get our hunger back. We decided to share a small appetizer. Now, by this point, Cam and I had walked all around downtown New York, eaten two buttery, cheesey, rich meals, had two very strong cocktails in the span of three hours and STILL had a full meal ahead of us. We decided to share the foie gras torchon with cherries, duck prosciutto, and toasted brioche. Because THAT would be a “light snack” before dinner. Tart cherries, RICH foie gras, salty duck- that was perfectly seasoned and maintained a beautiful duck flavor- crunchy toast, and a small salad of micro greens. It was a delicious combination of flavor and texture. This was the highlight of the day so far.
Last stop of the day: Momofuku Noodle Bar.
We’d walked off some of the foie gras and were ready for the final meal. We were seated in the kitchen bar, right in front of the saute cook, so we could watch him dominate during the dinner rush (seriously, he was impressive). Cameron and I ordered a couple of 22 oz Japanese beers as well as:
Pork Belly Steam Buns: soft buns, perfectly braised pork belly, lightly pickled cucumbers, and drippy, sticky, 
sweet sauce (photo upper left)
Roasted and Braised Pig Tails (a special menu item): fall-off-the-bone tender, very rich, and paired simply with some tart Asian pears
Chicken Wings: a no-brainer. Seared on the flat top griddle and tossed ina soy glaze with scallions- delicious of course
Momofuku Ramen: noodles swimming in broth with fish cakes, pork belly, scallions, sauteed mushrooms, and a soft egg. This dish was pretty similar to the ginger scallion noodles we also had that had similar flavors, with a little less broth and more cucumber.
The Star of the Show: Seared and Roasted Foie Gras with Pineapple and Celery Root Puree. (photo right) Cam and I agreed that this dish was one of the best all time dishes either of us had ever eaten. The foie gras was melty throughout and crispy on top, resting on sweet/sour pineapple, served alongside an ultra smooth celery root puree with celery leaf, chervil, brown butter panko, and pineapple foam. Cameron and I were contemplating ordering another plate for dessert, but we settled on the sour cherry-olive oil swirl soft serve as an end to our lovely day.
A few hours spent in one of my favorite cities, with a few great meals and one great friend.
One of the best days I’ve had in a long, long time.
July 19th, 2010 | No Comments »
If you’d like to keep up to date on all the happenings during the Tom Douglas Culinary Summer Camp, complete with pictures and all sorts of tomfoolery (pun totally intended), click on the above picture or right here! You’ll get up to the minute updates from the TDcamp staff and our treasured campers!
If you’re already on Twitter, feel free to comment on what you see by adding #TDcamp to your tweet!
July 13th, 2010 | No Comments »
Summer Camp Counselor extraordinaire, Herschell Taghap, has been making these beautiful demo sets for our celebrity chefs all day long. The fourth annual Tom Douglas Summer Camp starts tomorrow!!!!!!!
July 10th, 2010 | 5 Comments »
I went back to visit my friends and family in northern New Jersey a few weeks ago, and as it happened, my good friend (and Lola sous chef), Cameron, was visiting New York City for his first time. Before we both headed out East, we swore that we would spend a day in the city and do nothing but eat, drink, and laugh.
We set the date for Thursday, May 27, at noon.
We met at Tom Colicchio’s sandwich joint, ‘wichcraft, to start our day off with a sammie and a beer. I opted
for the grilled gruyere and caramelized onions on rye (because I’m so devoted to a similar sandwich that used to be served at SMITH on 19th on Capitol Hill) while Cam chose the Reuben with thick sliced corned beef, melty swiss, sauerkraut, and spicy grain mustard. Both were absolutely delicious. One of the key things that made these sandwiches so fantastic was the thinly sliced bread, so we weren’t filling up on just bread, but the melty, gooey, cheesey goodness in between the slices. The beer, also, was an important element in the tastiness factor of this meal. Needless to say, I purchased my first panini press the following day. Seriously.
We finished our first meal and walked up to Madison Square Park to get a shake at Shake Shack. After spending a few minutes on a park bench letting our first meal settle, we approached the 100 foot long line up to the Shack. After the first 15 minutes of waiting, we were getting more and more excited for our shakes and the burger that we decided to split. The shakes were great, very thick and creamy ( I had the chocolate; Cam had the strawberry) and the burger was pretty good as well. I will admit, however, the super salty crinkle cut fries made for a perfect accompaniment to our frosty ice cream treat.
After two meals in two and a half hours, it was time for some culture….
(Editor’s note: stay tuned for Part 2 of Kat’s New York Adventure!)
July 9th, 2010 | No Comments »
Spot prawns on the menu at Dahlia, Lola, Etta’s, and Palace tonight- straight from Puget Sound Prawns in Anacortes!!!!
July 9th, 2010 | No Comments »
There’s nothing like a girls’ night out to celebrate a birthday! Last week our Etta’s girls’ group got together to celebrate lovely Barbie’s birthday and Cantinetta was the restaurant she chose for the special occasion. The whole experience was delicious and amazing. We devoured every item down to scraping the bottom of each plate! Some of our favorites were the pancetta wrapped dates that were incredibly smoky and melted in our mouths! Roasted cauliflower with 15 year old balsamic was as delicious as I remembered it from my first visit.
Chef Brian Cartenuto’s ricotta gnocchi with lamb spezzatino and peserved tomatoes (photo left) was something we all agreed we could eat every night of the week! The pappardelle with rabbit sugo and morels and the tagliatelle with favas, pecorino, and pancetta will definitely be on our table next time we dine there!
The five of us have never been the types to settle for sharing one little dessert, so 
next up was a menage a trois of chocolate desserts by Lorna Stokes, Cantinetta’s pastry chef: chocolate torrone- a nougat filled with short bread cookie pieces and almonds; the Chocolate Trio- a cake with a swirl of almond jello topped with chocolate sauce and almonds- and last but definitely not least, the budino, a heavenly Italian chocolate baked pudding!
Thanks, Barbie, for another memorable birthday dinner to add to our years of celebrations, and thanks to everyone at Cantinetta, including Aman- our incredible server who never once disciplined us even though we were obviously having too much fun and were a slight bit noisy. Ok, those of you who know us realize we were more than noisy- but we were celebrating!!
July 7th, 2010 | 1 Comment »
Despite the heatwave (or perhaps this is our one short week of Seattle summer), Garrett is slaving away in the test kitchen to develop yummy recipes for the upcoming Dahlia Bakery Cookbook. This is our Summer Cornbread with Blueberries and Lemon Thyme Streusel. Too hot to eat yet, but it smells heavenly. I did taste a bit of the streusel topping. Delicious! Garrett and I think it will make a great fruit crisp topping too- maybe with peaches! Another loaf pan of quick bread is waiting its turn for the oven. This one has lots of dried figs and a bit of black pepper. We think it will be great with a soft oozy cheese and a drizzle of honey!
July 7th, 2010 | No Comments »
As the sun was setting last night, I captured the last long rays glowing through the ripening peas. So pretty. We are going to have a marvelous summer this week!
July 7th, 2010 | 1 Comment »
Tom Douglas and Premera Blue Cross have partnered up to teach a series of healthy cooking classes for kids and their parents. Our last class in Palace Kitchen focused on using the best ingredients we could find at Pike Place Market, and here’s what our youngsters made:
Emmer farro salad with the freshest of veggies
Tzatziki sauce
Salmon salad and red raspberry vinaigrette
Plus Pamela Hinckley, our CEO, assisted the kids with delicious little “mocktails” made with fresh market fruit. Who could resist it since Summer is finally here! (Isn’t it?)
Here’s Chef Audrey (photo top left) breaking down a salmon at the Made from Scratch cooking class! The kids were captivated by seeing how you work through the whole fish to produce a filet. Some brave youngsters(photo top right) asked to come up and touch the fish guts!!
Classes are sold out through the end of the summer, but stay tuned to the website for our Sunday Family Lunch Cooking Series that will take place in Palace Ballroom starting in November!!
July 4th, 2010 | 1 Comment »
Early this week, Shelley and I took a minute out of our rather crazy schedules to sneak over to Serious Pie and get our pizza fix for the week!! Of course the starters and pies were delicious, but we were incredibly pleased we took the extra time to order and enjoy two of their new deserts- nectarine sorbet with a crisp pizzelle and a scrumptious little bowl of perfectly ripe yellow raspberries wading in a Rosé reduction topped with vanilla bean mascarpone! All this plus a little shot of espresso absolutely made our day!!!
July 4th, 2010 | No Comments »
After two meals in two and a half hours, it was time for some culture.
sweet sauce (photo upper left)
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