Before and after takeoff

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After feeling very relaxed after a spa session at the Rosewood Sand Hill, we had a few hours to kill before our evening flight home.  While we could have ventured out for a nice dinner somewhere, the easiest thing to do seemed to be staying for yet another meal at Madera.

Grape and almond gazpacho

Potato leek soup, Yukon Gold potatoes, pickled pearl onions 

Breakfast, brunch, and dinner

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I'm chillin' out at the Rosewood Sand Hill over the weekend, and there's really nothing much in the 'hood.  Pretty much gotta get a ride to go anywhere or do anything.  So it kinda made sense that we would stick around the hotel for most of the day.

I went over to Madera, the hotel restaurant with a macaron, to grab myself some breakfast.  I figured I couldn't go wrong with the challah French toast, which came with some walnuts.

One night in Chicago

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I'm back in the Windy City after 5 years, but unfortunately this time I only have one dinner slot.  I figured I needed to get together with some local experts to figure out where to go, so I pinged two ladies from halfway around the world, and they agreed to show me around.

Blondie suggested Smyth right off the bat, and I know it's one of her favorites so I had absolutely no problem with that.  Thanks to her relationship with the restaurant, they were able to accommodate us even when my travel itinerary changed.

After changing out of my monkey suit, I headed west and met the ladies at The Loyalist - the more casual eatery downstairs - for a drink.  I was a little flustered when I arrived and didn't really have a chance to figure out what I wanted, so someone very kindly plopped down a glass of bubbly.

Eventually we went upstairs to take our seats.  We had originally asked for a short, classic menu because we were to be joined by my friend who doesn't like long, tasting menus.  But since my friend wasn't joining us, I figured we could be a little more adventurous...

I didn't know what to order in terms of wine, so I guess I kinda got myself the wine pairing without specifically asking for it...

Charles Heidsieck Rosé Réserve

Horseradish root - pickled and compressed salsify, cooked in whey, wrapped in kombu (昆布) and horseradish.  The kick from horseradish wasn't too bad.

Maine uni glazed in egg yolk - a classic dish here, apparently.  The texture of Main sea urchin was more firm and solid.  Egg yolk sauce and egg white garum, along with habanero (?) oil.  The flavors here were interesting, with fruit fragrance which reminded me of citrus notes, along with good acidity.

The chef who smiles not, NY edition

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It's been more than 5 years since I was last in New York, and thankfully this time I'm staying a little longer than a day.  Unfortunately for me, I only have 2 nights in town, which really leaves just one slot for dinner.  There was never any question about which restaurant I'd hit, though... and my good friend The Dining Austrian very kindly hooked me up with Chef's Table at Brooklyn Fare.

After changing out of my monkey suit into something more comfortable after a full day of meetings, I rushed over to the restaurant only to discover, to my horror, that I actually forgot to wear a jacket to dinner.  So I dutifully donned the loaner from the restaurant, and the two of us took our seats at the large, C-shaped counter.

César Ramirez seems to have a reputation for being a man of few words, although he did stop by and greeted us for more than 3 seconds since he knew one of us was friends with The Dining Austrian.  He never came near us again for the rest of the evening...

We started the evening with a glass of bubbly:

Pierre Peters Blanc de Blancs Cuvée de Réserve, dégorgée Mai 2019 - a little over-ripe, some acidity here.  Somehow this just wasn't great.

Caviar - a tartlet with wild yellowtail (鰤) topped with Kaluga Queen caviar (no specific type mentioned so I will assume it's huso dauricus), perilla flowers, and sansho leaves (木の芽).  I was surprised at the acidity here, which came from lemon juice on the yellowtail.  That kinda balanced out the salinity coming from the caviar, I guess.

27 hours in Fukuoka: ancient river

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It was tough waking up this morning after my late night run, but I needed to have one last lunch with The Dining Austrian before flying home.  Oryori Furukawa (御料理  古川) has gotten themselves two little macarons in the latest guide from the Rubberman just a year after opening, so naturally this was on my friend's hit list.  I was only too happy to go along with my friend.

Furukawa-san is apparently a friend of Tabara-san from last night, and had received a picture of us from Tabara-san... So it's a very small world, indeed...

Fried chicken mushrooms with spinach, soft tofu - on top of the very soft yuba (組み上げ湯葉) with the texture of cream cheese was a pile of spinach and fried chicken mushrooms (丹波しめじ).  We've also got a gelée made with chrysanthemum petals and flavored with a little wasabi.  This was very clean and refreshing, and a great way to kick off the meal.