Lupa

Lupa Osteria Romana is a Mario Batali restaurant in Greenwich Village. We really wanted to go to Babbo, which is Mario's flagship restaurant, but it was impossible to get reservations on short notice. At Lupa, I think Mario is more of the money guy instead of the chef but we were ok with that because we really wanted pasta that night.

When we got to the restaurant, we were surprised at how small it was, even by New York standards. We were quickly seated but the tables were EXTREMELY close together. As in, our two top was basically a four top with the table beside us. A person could not have fit in between the two tables. I wasn't even able to put my purse on the back of my chair because the person behind me was so close. Jeff was pretty uncomfortable until the table behind him left. The person he was back to back with apparently was tap dancing at the table until they left! So the atmosphere was not something we were used to.

Once we finally settled in, we got a bottle of wine recommended by our waiter because the entire wine menu was in Italian. But it did turn out to be a wine we enjoyed. For our antipasti course, we selected broccoli rabe with ricotta, beets with pistachio and Prosciutto de Parma. We figured we would go with one thing we knew, the prosciutto and try two other new things. It turned out to be a good choice. All three were good and the preparation was was very different than anything we have had before.

For our pasta, we chose Spaghetti alla Carbonara and Bucatini All'Amatriciana. We chose the Bucatini based on a recommendation from our neighbors two inches to our right who overheard our quiet debate on which two pastas to get! The Carbonara was delicious and I have since made it at home a few times. It is extremely easy and quick and a nice luxury after a hard day at work.

All it has in it is cheese, egg yolks, diced pork, and black pepper. When I make it I use Parmesan Reggiano and pancetta. Guanciale is the more traditional pork so that is probably what Lupa uses but I can't find it in Greenville.

Bucatini All'Amatriciana is a spicy tomato pasta. I had heard of the pasta bucatini before but this is the first time I actually tried it. It is spaghetti shaped but with a small hole running through the center. It was good too but I preferred the Carbonara which worked out perfectly since Jeff preferred the Bucatini.

Like a lot of traditional Italian restaurants, pasta is only considered the first course but we were too full to try any of their entrees, even though they looked delicious. One other really cool thing to note about this restaurant is a certified Green Restaurant. They recycle, don't use Styrofoam or bottled water, and they practice water and energy conservation. The hand soap in restrooms is recycled from used vegetable oil from restaurants. All in all, Lupa was good but not somewhere we will try again.

Artisanal Bistro

A friend of Jeff's who used to live in NYC recommended Artisanal Bistro to us and I am so glad he did! This French bistro was my idea of heaven because they had a huge variety of cheese and wine. As one review, hanging on their wall, said, "it is like Disney World for cheese lovers." They even have a fromagerie in the restaurant.


The best way to get the most variety into your visit is to try their wine and cheese fights. They have 12 different cheese flights, with three cheeses each, that you can get with or without their recommended wine pairings. Since I love cheese as much as I do, we had a cheese flight for an appetizer and another one for dessert. All the wines and cheeses we tried were fabulous but the absolute best pairing was onthe Fromager's Selection Flight. I didn't love either the Epoisses, a cow's milk cheese from France, or its paired wine, a French Sauternes, on their own. The washed- rind cheese was oozy and stinky. The wine, a Chateau Padouen '06, was sweeter than I normally like but when put together with the cheese, the flavor was absolute magic in my mouth. The flavors married together unlike any other wine and cheese pairing I have ever experienced. I will be recreating that magic on my next cheese board at home.
For the main course I got the special of the day, Bouillabaisse. It was everything a good bouillabaisse should be with lots of seafood- shrimp, scallops, mussels, and fish-with fennel, potatoes and a very flavorful tomato seafood stock. Jeff got the Mussels Frites, mussels steamed in white wine and garlic with a side of crispy French fries. The mussels were good but we both agreed that they were not as good as our favorite steamed mussels at Bin 112. My stew was served with a garlicky aioli on the side. We ended up using it as a dip for Jeff's mussels and fries and it was great.
As I already mentioned, we got another cheese plate for dessert but Jeff had a hard time deciding since there was a chocolate tart with salted caramel ice cream. He isn't a huge chocolate fan but ever since he tried salted caramel ice cream at the California Grill, he can't pass it up when he sees it on a menu. Luckily, the waitress was kind enough to bring him 2 scoops to try so we didn't have to get another whole dessert (since I was obviously not giving up my second cheese plate!) The ice cream was wonderful but I was in heaven with my Epoisse and Sauternes magic.

We will definitely return here on our next NYC trip. We didn't even get to try their famous fondues. Our dinner was so good and the menu was so tempting we debating going back the next day for lunch but we ended up not being able to make it.

-Joy

Bin 112

On Saturday, We decided to go to dinner at one of our all time favorite Restaurants, Bin 112 in Downtown Greer. We discovered Bin on August 18th, 2007. The night we got engaged.

We'd eaten that evening at Gerrard's, which was also in Greer but closed a year or so later. After dinner, we were walking around downtown and came across Bin. It had opened only two months earlier in June. We went back and tried it a few weeks later and instantly fell in love with it.

The atmosphere is very intimate and casually elegant but the food and service was what really got us. The wait staff are very attentive but what really stands out is how friendly they are. Each time we go back they remember us and always strike up a conversation. A few of them will even remember our favorite dishes each time we go even if they don't wait on us for months at a time.

Atmosphere and service are great, but the reason we go, of course, is the food. The cuisine can best be described as "eclectic southern". Every item on the menu comes in half or full sizes so you can get your own meal or go tapas style. We prefer tapas style. I also love the little southern touches like the use of collard greens in many of the dishes.

Here's a rundown of our dinner on Saturday night and a few of our favorite items. We start with a bottle of Redhead Studios Yard Dogs Red Blend of Cab, Malbec and Petite Verdot From Australia. They also bring complimentary homemade chips and bread.

Our first items were half size orders of "Flaming Kasseri" "Mussels on the Beach", "Tapas the World, Mom!". Three of our standards.

The Flaming Kasseri is a fried Greek Mediterranean melting cheese finished with lime and flamed with Tequila. So freakin' good.

The Tapas the World, Mom! is a plate of marinated vegetables like olives, roasted red pepper, roasted garlic, green beans, artichoke hearts and tomatoes.

Mussels on the Beach is my personal favorite. It's fresh mussels sauteed in an incredible garlic, lemon Sauvignon Blanc sauce. My suggestion, get more bread to soak up the broth once the mussels are gone. (The picture doesn't do it justice, trust me.)

After our standards, we tried something new. The night's special was a pan fried grouper with a bacon-wrapped scallop over Carolina rice and collard greens. The dish was garnished with clams in a lobster cream sauce. WOW! The grouper was absolutely fantastic.

For dessert, we tried their new special... the Cordillera S'Mores. It's a homemade smoked chili chocolate bar with marshmallows and graham crackers served with a fire pot so you can make the s'mores yourself at your table. It was very fun.

As always, our meal was fantastic. But don't take my word for it. Try it for yourself. The website is bin112.com.

- Jeff

Ohana at Disney's Polynesian Resort

For our last night in Disney, we went to the Polynesian Resort for dinner at Ohana. The Howles had eaten here before and were VERY excited to return. I was not as excited. Being from Hawaii, I am not a fan of cheesy Hawaiian themed events and this entire resort and it's restaurants seem to fall in this category. But they were insistent that this place was awesome and the bread pudding was THE BEST EVER! I am so glad that they were right and I was very wrong.

We had to wait a few minutes for our reservations so we wandered around the resort. It was beautiful with lots of tropical greenery everywhere. There is a man-made beach that faces the Magic Kingdom and is a perfect place to watch the nightly fireworks. I definitely want to stay here on our next visit.

Once we were seated, our server brought our drinks then a big bowl of salad with honey lime dressing. This is one of Disney many family style restaurants where they bring out big platters of food for the table to share. Next came the appetizers, honey coriander chicken wings and pork potstickers. This was the point when I first realized I had misjudged this place. Ordinarily, I do not like chicken wings but these were delicious! The potstickers were crispy and flavorful. They bring out as much as you want and we requested another appetizer platter.


Next came the skewers. They have a huge, open oak fire grill in the middle of the restaurant and they grill skewers of steak, pork, turkey and shrimp. Again, I am normally not a big fan of turkey but I liked the turkey here. The steak and pork were great too. It was all cooked perfectly and the oak fire grill added such a good flavor to all the meats. Each of the meats had their own dipping sauce which just made them even better.

But the shrimp was my absolute favorite. I must have eaten at least 20 grilled shrimp. They kept coming around with more skewers and giving us more food. I think Curtis and I probably ate the most out of the group. I could not stop eating the shrimp!


The sides served with the skewers were vegetable lo mein and stir fried vegetables. The sides were just as good as the skewers. The vegetables included broccoli and snow peas and they were some of the best vegetables we had all week, perfectly cooked! Dessert was bread pudding and it was so good it is getting its own post.

Overall, the food was excellent and one of the best meals of the week. But the absolute highlight of the evening for me was the entertainment.


There was a Hawaiian entertainer named Malia. She was the epitome of what I don't like about tropical themed events, fake leis, obnoxious songs and all. Pat even asked me if I thought she really was Hawaiian and I said no. Again, I ended up being wrong. As she came by our table I noticed her name tag. All Disney Cast Members, regardless of their positions, wear name tags with their name and home town. She was from my home town, Makakilo! This is a huge deal because Makakilo is so small that it wasn't even our official mailing address. The city in our mailing address was Eva Beach which was the next largest town nearby with a post office. So she and I chatted for a while about Hawaii. She was so funny and reminded me of one of my friends who still lives in Makaliko. Then she lined all the children up and taught them a hula song and dance. It was one of the few I actually remember from childhood, The Hukilau! It is extremely cheesy but by this point I was so full of food and the Aloha spirit that I really enjoyed it!

-Joy

La Cava de Tequila at De San Angel Inn

This is a new restaurant/bar in in the Mexico Pavilion at Epcot and their specialty is, obviously, tequila. The Mexican Pavilion is one of my favorite in the World Showcase in Epcot because it has a great atmosphere, a cool ride and interesting shopping, all in an Aztec pyramid.

The new addition of La Cava makes it even better. We enjoyed our margaritas so much that we had to bring Julie and Curtis back for a second visit. The menu included over 70 types of tequila. We tried the Margarita flight with 5 different versions. My favorite was the Pepino, with El Mayor Blanco Tequila with trile sec, carmelized pineapple juice, cucumber and agave nectar syrup with lemon grass salt. (Second one from the front in the picture.) Jeff's favorite was the Jalapeno, also with El Mayor Blanco Tequila, jalapeno lime juice and agave nectar syrup with hibiscus Himalayan salt rim. (First one in the picture.) The other margaritas in the sampler included Naranja Roja, with blood orange juice and hibiscus syrup topped with blood orange foam (red in the middle), Fruta Dela Pasion (orange with foam on top, our least favorite) and Aguacate (last one) with Midori and fresh avocado.

I wish I could have a Pepino or Jalapeno one right now! -Joy

California Grill

Our second night at Disney took Joy and I to our fanciest restaurant of the week, the California Grill. The California Grille is located on the top floor of the Contemporary Resort, which was one of the two original Walt Disney World hotels and is located on the monorail loop that takes guests to the Magic Kingdom. (The other original hotel is the Polynesian-you'll hear about that one later.) The California Grill overlooks the Magic Kingdom and even has an observation deck where you can watch the nightly firework shows. But you don't have to go outside to the deck to enjoy the view since the entire restaurant has floor to ceiling windows with a great view of the Magic Kingdom as well. Before dinner, Joy and I had drinks at the bar and watched that night's firework display. It was very cool to see them from that perspective, overlooking the park. This meal was the best of the vacation. And as I said above, the fanciest and most expensive. Almost everywhere we ate, you could wear jeans and t-shirts if you wanted. Pretty much everywhere on property was that way. But there are a few places with a dress code and this was one of them. Having to dress up was a nice change of pace from many of the places on property. You could also tell that this was a locals restaurant too. Many non-vacationers were enjoying dinner even on a Sunday night. To start our meal, we ordered the cheese board with 5 different cheeses and accompaniments and yellowfin tuna three ways appetizer. The cheese board was very good and like any cheese plate there are some that we liked better than others. The really interesting part was the pairings. We had honey, glazed nuts, cranberries, apple chutney and a raisin crostini.

The Yellowfin Tuna was poki, tartare and tataki styles. The tuna was such high quality. The preparations were so simple. Some of the best yellowfin, I've ever had.

Our entrees were exceptional. I have to say that mine might have been the best thing I've ever eaten. I had a Seared Ostrich Filet with Buttery Potato Puree, Wild Mushrooms, Globe Carrots, Fig and Honeyed Port Reduction. The best way I can describe it is it tasted like a beef scallop. The rich, buttery texture of a scallop with the savory taste of a great filet. The entire dish complemented each other. It was hard to pick out any one distinct ingredient. They just all worked together perfectly. I absolutely loved it. Makes me kind of sad I don't live in Orlando.
Joy had Spiced Tuna with Sweet Potato Puree, Mustard Greens, Red Wine Braised Beef Rib Ravioli, Natural Reduction. The spiced tuna was very good but the outstanding component of this dish was the braised beef rib ravioli with natural reduction. It oddly didn't match the rest of the dish, but boy was she glad it was on the plate. The beef was so tender and the reduction so rich. Definitely worth a try.

For dessert we had Valrhona Chocolate Cake. A Warm Chocolate Cake with Molten Center, House-made Salted Caramel Ice Cream, and Roasted Golden Pineapple. The molten chocolate cake was fairly standard but the Salted Caramel Ice Cream was crazy good. I've never had a ice cream quite like it. You could actually taste the salt. It was sweet and savory. Very nice. Overall, the California Grill was excellent. We highly recommend it and we'll definitely be going back the next time we visit Disney World.

-- Jeff

Kouzzina by Cat Cora

We arrived at Walt Disney World on Saturday Dec 5th. That afternoon we went to our the first park, EPCOT. Joy and I had dinner reservations that evening at Kouzzina in the Boardwalk resort right behind EPCOT. Kouzzina is a new restaurant where Disney has partnered with Iron Chef Cat Cora for her first signature restaurant.

The restaurant has a Mediterranean "theme" to it and is filled with photographs, maps, etc of the Mediterranean region. One of my favorite parts was the open-air show kitchen.



To start, we each got a flight of wine. Joy had the Cat Flight. These are all from Cat's "Coranation" line of Wines. She had a Sauvignon Blanc that had notes of ripe apple, blood orange and spice, a Chardonnay that Cat specifically designed to go with her Mediterranean style food, and a Pinot Noir with hints of cherries, cranberries and cinnamon.

I had the California Fruit Bomb flight. It had a nice Graff Family Grenache, Edna Valley Vineyards Syrah and a Zen of Zin Zinfandel. The Syrah was my favorite. For appetizer, we had a Saganaki, which was a skillet seared Haloumi cheese with grilled lemon and oregano. Of course it was awesome, it was seared cheese.















Something that was truly amazing was the complimentary bread and butter. Now bear with me here. The bread was a fairly typical but it was fresh baked. The interesting part was the the butter. It was sweet and topped with Hawaiian sea salt which gave the bread and butter an amazing kick when you got a bit of the salt.

For our entrees, Joy had the Fisherman's Stew which consisted of scallops, snapper, shellfish, and fennel. The broth of the stew was amazingly rich with a deep tomato and olive oil flavor. The seafood was cooked perfectly, but the broth was the stand out. We literally cleaned the bowl with the grilled bread that accompanied the stew.















For my entree, I had the Slow-cooked Lamb Shank with Gigantes Beans and Pepper Sauce. It was delicious. The lamb was so tender, I could easily pull it apart with a fork. I'd never had gigantes beans before and they were huge. The size of my thumb.



For dessert, we tried two items. The first were the Loukoumades which are Greek doughnuts drizzled with warm honey. They came with two dipping sauces: a raspberry and a vanilla cream. Overall they were good, but when I covered one of the doughnuts with the vanilla cream sauce it tasted just like a Krispy Kreme glazed! Our second dessert was a warm molten chocolate cake called the Budino Cake. Pretty standard as far as these cakes go. This particular kind of cake seemed to be a trend across WDW restaurants. We found it on quite a few menus.

With our desserts, we had a pot of Kouzzina Pressed Coffee with Cat's special blend. It had a rich, dark chocolaty flavor. It was so good, it's made Joy and I serious fans of pressed coffee.

Overall, Kouzzina was very good and it stemmed two trends for us (1) our love of french press coffee and (2) salting our bread and butter.

-- Jeff

Viva Las Vegas

I was recently in Las Vegas on business with my buddy and co-worker Cory. Our trip was very quick, as we came in on a Thursday and left the following morning but we packed as much in as possible. We stayed at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino, which was awesome.

Such a cool resort. Not nearly as "casino-y" as a lot of the resorts on the strip. As you would expect, there was music memorabilia everywhere, there was also a great music hall called The Joint. (We're going to get to do some work with The Joint because Verizon has a sponsorship, really cool). Anyway, there's much more of a party scene as the Hard Rock. Would definitely like to go back when I've got more time.

Check it out.... http://www.hardrockhotel.com/ (click on nightlife to see The Joint)

After our meeting Thursday afternoon, we made our plan for the night. THE PLAN: 1) have a great dinner & 2) walk hotels until our legs couldn't go any more. I've been to Vegas before but it was Cory's first time so we wanted to see as much as we could.

We decided to eat dinner at Aureole at the Mandalay Bay Resort based on Joy's suggestion. When we were trying to decide where to eat, I called Joy to get ideas and she reminded me of Aureole. I'd heard of it before and have seen pictures of its multi-story, all glass wine tower with wine angels that move up and down the cellar on cables retrieving wine. It's also been showcased on Food Network. It's owned by Charlie Palmer and has a sister restaurant in NY, although, I don't know if it has a similar wine tower.

Dinner was great. I had a 3 course tasting menu they called the "Theatre Menu".

- First Course: Thai Style Popcorn Shrimp spicy coconut broth, cilantro coulis.

- Main Course: Berkshire Pork Scallopini lemon chives, fettuccini, sautéed rapini.

- Dessert: Caramelized Banana Bread Pudding, butterscotch sauce.

My favorite dish was the first course. It was really a soup where they poured the spicy coconut broth in the dish table-side over the shrimp and coulis. Amazing aroma and flavor.

Cory had a different tasting menu that had "parallel" plates, where each course had two small portions of two different dishes made with similar ingredients. It looked really good and Cory said it was great.

After dinner we began walking and made it through 7 Casino/Hotels before we couldn't walk anymore. We saw the Mandalay Bay, the Luxor, Excalibur, New York New York, MGM Grand, and the Bellagio. The Bellagio is definitely my favorite on the strip. The lobby is awesome. And due to the price of that hotel, the lobby is as far as I would get other than the casino floor. The also have the best sportsbook I've seen so far.

The trip was far too quick. Hopefully, I'll get to go back soon.

-- Jeff