Tuesday, October 16, 2007

Monday night round up

So I was out with my friend S (who is a Sake Brewerer from Japan) last night, and we went to Union Square Cafe for apps and drinks. The reason we stopped by was, Chef Romano just happens to be a huge fan of my friend's Sake. He says it's his favorite... And actually came up to introduce himself to my friend the other day at a food show.

Unfortunately Chef Romano wasn't in yesterday. He's in Japan for 3 weeks helping out with the opening of Unions Square Cafe Tokyo...

All things aside, I have to say, the Danny Meyer Hospitality is fantastic. The staff took real good care of us and were very approachable... They even sent something out on behalf of the chef. We had :

- Fried Calamari with Anchovy Mayonnaise **
- Pan Seared Foie Gras with Figs and Baby Kyoho Grapes **
- Ricotta Cheese Gnocchi with Tomato Sauce and Parmesan Reggiano Cheese ***

The Ricotta Cheese Gnocchi is one of those signature dishes that you go, "hmm... where has this been in my life and why haven't I had this earlier?"
I will go back to have every single one of these dishes again. It was great.

So after the amuse, we walked towards Chanto and Hakata TonTon... Unfortunately they were both closed today and so we finally ended up at En Brasserie. There, we had :

- Natto with Pork wrapped in Lettuce ***
- Braised Red Perch in Tsuyu Broth *
- Pan Seared Duck Breast with Grated Daikon Sauce *
- Broiled Beef Tongue *
- Spanish Mackerel Rice cooked in Earthened Pot **

Needless to say, we ate to our heart's content and walked across town back to my car.
Until next time! Bon apetit.

2 comments:

Aramis said...

Union Square Cafe is one of my favorite restaurants in the city - next time go for the braised short ribs! It maybe the best I've ever had...

Anonymous said...

It's not a regular Menu Item but will definitely look for it. The Osso Bucco on Sundays right now may be the closest thing to the braised short ribs.

Ricotta Gnocchi, can't praise it enough.