Laut is LOUD

Like I’ve said many times, there is nothing quite as wonderful as a city weekend in the middle of summer. A few weekends ago I went to two Michelin star restaurants, ran 12 miles, and cooked up a storm. And I ADORED every second of the city.

The second Michelin star I attained on my city weekend was a random spot that I wanted to cross off due to the fact that I had so-so expectations. I therefore had no intention of saving it for a special occasion. When I mentioned to a group of my favorite foodie friends that Laut had a star, I was met with a number of astonished faces. According to many of these friends, the food at Laut is good Thai/Malaysian cuisine but there is nothing extraordinary about it. After dining there, I am inclined to agree. I do think I’ll go back in cooler weather and try one of the noodle soups or even head there for some of their very affordable lunch deals. After all, the food is good and affordable. But from my dinner there the other night and with my limited expertise as a want-to-be Michelin critic (I’ve now dined at 22 of the 54 total spots), I just don’t think Laut has what it takes to merit a star. I feel that the food and overall experience of a Michelin restaurant should make it worthy of going on a special evening.

For starters, when I walked into Laut I was inundated with blasting top 40 music. I would seriously consider asking them for their playlist for my iPod run mix, as it would definitely have made my 12-miler more enjoyable. But for a restaurant, I HATE fast paced music because I tend to eat and drink to tempo. If it is intentional to keep the tables moving, I would at least appreciate if it were a bit more subtle than it was at Laut.

The service is okay at Laut. Things arrive but not necessarily with any mind to timing or presentation. It took a while to get our beers on each round…just about long enough both rounds to leave us wondering whether or not our waitress forgot our drinks. Laut is no-frills dining…no amuse bouche, no complimentary bread starter, and only a ginger candy as a send-off after the bill is settled. I’m not trying to say that any of these things are required to merit a Michelin star, but to me the food better be earth-shatteringly fabulous if there is no element of dinner-theatre type style and no extras. Call me crazy but I prefer to go out for the full experience.

The menu is rather long at Laut (Appetizers, Salads, Noodle soups, Noodles, Rice Dishes, and Entrees). I had read online that the must-haves were Roti Canai and Coconut Rice. We started with the Roti Canai and after my first bite I thought “Well this place might just prove me wrong…if everything else tastes this good than I’m 100% for their Michelin star”. The Roti Canai comes with a thin roti pancake to dip in a chicken curry sauce. The roti pancake at Laut is sweeter and slightly more crisped than any I’ve ever had before and it had this Belgian waffle-like aroma and flavor hint. I LOVED it. And then I tried it dipped in the chicken curry, and I ABSOLUTELY ADORED IT. The coconut undertone in the sweet and mildly spicy curry resulted in a dip made in heaven.

My favorite thai dish is definitely Pad See Ew. So I figured I would try out Laut’s version with beef and see how it stood up. The noodles were just the way I like them and the sauce was very good as was the beef. But one of my favorite parts of Pad See Ew is the broccoli and there was nowhere near enough in this dish. Also, the flavor was good but nothing better than I’ve had at any other thai restaurant. We also ordered the Malaysian Chicken with Coconut Rice. The chicken curry was good but nothing close to how good the chicken with the canai was. The chicken was nice and moist but nothing so amazing that I would order it again. The coconut rice was perfectly light with a lovely coconut flavor. I was delighted to find that it was not stodgy at all like some other versions I’ve had and been disappointed in.

I’m wondering if I need to find more things on the huge menu that wow me as much as the roti canai, but I can’t help think that everything on the menu of a Michelin star restaurant should warrant a wow.

I guess I just don’t see what all the noise is about.

Seasonal Restaurant and Weinbar - A Definite Star

The chef duo behind Seasonal, Wolfgang Ban and Eduard Frauneder, dish up Austrian cuisine with some modern twists. The restaurant is located on a random stretch of West 58th St and holds a modest number of seats in a sleek dining room. There’s a small bar in front with some two tops and then some booths and tables in the back.

The wine list has a number of pricey options, with some more reasonable choices sprinkled throughout, and an impressive showing of Austrian wines. Karen and I like to go with the “when in Rome, drink as” mindset, so we chose a reasonable bottle of 2008 Roter Veltliner by Leth, Hofweingarten, Wagram. We both loved this nice, medium bodied white that went very well with everything we ate.

Seasonal offers a 3-course Taste of Austria, a 5-course tasting, or an ala carte menu. We went with the Taste of Austria menu, which is a relatively reasonable $52. Our Taste of Austria began with an amuse bouche that was a really flavorful bite of smoked mackerel and tomato topped with a leek emulsion sauce. I really liked the light smokiness combined with the leek, a nice start.
When our amuse plates were removed, the bread basket arrived. The bread basket had a choice of a brown bread and then a lighter rye/pumpernickel type bread and was accompanied by two different spreads, paprika and pumpkin seed. Strike one was that the bread was cold. But then I slathered a piece with the paprika spread and forgave this minor misstep. The paprika spread was slightly smoky and just absolutely delicious on the brown bread. The pumpkin seed spread was also very good but couldn’t come close to how wonderful the paprika was. Although, since both were completely gone when they came to clear the bread basket and bring the appetizers, no one would believe we had a favorite!

There are three choices for each course on the Taste of Austria menu. For her appetizer, Karen ordered the Pocherietes Ei, which is a soft poached egg, lobster, hen of the woods mushrooms, and pumpernickel bread crumbs. The mushrooms and bread crumbs were lightly fried and crispy, which added so much depth and paired perfectly with the velvety poached egg and delicate lobster meat. It was such a gorgeous dish, with a nice salty and earthy mushroom flavor. For my appetizer, I ordered the schweinebauch, pork belly with romaine, anchovy, and potato. The pork belly was of the melt in your mouth without a crisp skin variety, and was perhaps the best version of this type of pork belly I’ve ever had. It was served over a meat jus along with a sweet green puree of romaine, some herbs and spinach and mini little potatoes with crispy salty anchovies on top. I LOVED this fabulous pork dish and the rich meat jus.

For my entrée I ordered the weiner schnitzel. When it arrived, I was in awe of the puffy batter on the thin veal. It was the ideal dish of salty, crispy batter surrounding gorgeously moist veal with some sweet lingonberries to spread on top. Oh and the Austrian potato salad was AMAZING...served warm with a vinegary-mustard undertone. The only complaint I have about this potato salad was that there wasn’t enough on my plate! The presentation of the accompanying shredded cucumber salad in a little oval was beautiful but it was difficult to take a bite of. The flavor was good but not worth the hassle! I would’ve taken double the potato salad in its place. Karen chose the Tafelspitz, which was flatiron steak, oxtail consommé with a trio of sauces (apple, horseradish, and spinach) and a side of rosti (potato pancake). The waiter explained that the steak actually comes in a soup type dish covered in the consommé. He said they feel the need to explain this, as some people order it and are not expecting the outcome. Despite the fact that it was a soup-type presentation, Karen opted to stick with her order. I’m glad she did because the steak was excellent. The steak had a good deal of fat on it, in a good way, and the broth and sauces were perfect pairings. I liked the sweetish apple and the spicy horseradish sauces the most. The potato pancake was delicious, as all fried potatoes should be. I also ordered a side of the spaetzle, because I just love the stuff. Seasonal’s version did not disappoint. It had a buttery herb flavor and soft texture that brought back childhood memories of my favorite pasta roni noodles!

For dessert, Karen ordered the blaubeeren-topfentorte, which is blueberry, topfen (a soft cheese), and chocolate crumbs. It was sort of a trifle of blueberry cheesecake and was extremely good. I had the Kaiserschmarrn, which is crumbled caramelized pancakes with apple compote. These were so amazing. I loved the crispy sweet pancakes and have already looked up a recipe to recreate these at home!

With our check, a mini jelly sour and a raspberry square arrived. Neither of us were wowed by either of these.

Seasonal was a delightful meal that is worthy of a Michelin star. I think the fact that I would like to go back to Seasonal and also try out its sister restaurant Edi and the Wolf says it all.

Daniel - If Michelin had more stars Daniel would too!

I find it is so shocking when I anticipate an experience for many years and it still manages to live up to my expectations. So imagine my amazement when my dinner at Daniel managed to surpass the hype and even earned it a coveted spot in my heart right next to Gramercy Tavern and Dovetail. I couldn’t help but sit there and think how stupid I was for not getting there sooner. The setting of Daniel is gorgeous…Upper East side townhouse on a tree lined block. Honestly, as a 30-something that still feels like they’re in their 20s, I was incredibly intimidated walking through the grand entrance and down to the hostess stand while the brigade of staff stared at our party as we approached.

The dining room is breathtaking, with a series of tables in the slightly lower level and a mezzanine of tables around the edge. There are columns all around the perimeter and grand chandeliers over the lower level. As we sat down, they brought additional seats for our handbags. Yes, fancy very fancy.

Since it was a special occasion (well and because I love cocktails), we decided we’d start with one of the fabulous sounding house cocktails. I ordered the Basil Haven which is gin, St. Germain, basil, lime juice, cucumber and a dash of pepper. Susan had the Tarragon Tipple with Pisco, white vermouth, yuzu juice and tarragon. Karen had the white cosmo with vodka, St. Germain, lime juice, and white cranberry juice. Karen’s cocktail totally won…A cosmo glass with a round ice cube with a hibiscus flower inside arrived and the fabulous white cosmo was ceremoniously poured over it. The ice in each of the cocktails was very obviously uniquely cut and all of the cocktails were so delicious that they totally deserved the special, custom ice.

The great thing about a restaurant that is established, fine dining like Daniel is that they usually let you sit and enjoy a leisurely full night of dinner out. Our waiter didn’t approach to take our orders until we neared the finish of our cocktails. Oh and when I say waiter I mean the person that seems the most in charge of service for the table. There were multiple people that served our table.

As it’s the middle of the summer and appetites and clothing are much smaller, we decided to go with the three-course option and wine pairing. Minutes after we placed our order, our amuse bouche was brought and in perfect synchronization placed on each of the plates in front of us. This synchronized waiting would continue all evening. The evening’s amuse was a homage to cauliflower with three separate bites. The first was lemon marinated shrimp with cauliflower, the second was pureed cauliflower with curry and apple, and the final bite was a cube of smoked salmon with pickled cauliflower. The other two bites didn’t stand a chance versus the curried cauliflower puree that was just a velvety delight.

As you know, I LOVE bread baskets. Daniel’s blows away the competition….I think there were somewhere in the ballpark of 6 choices. All three of the ones we had (olive, nut, and sourdough) were excellent. But knowing we had a lot of food ahead of us, we tried to avoid further eye-contact with Mr. Bread basket because we knew if he returned none of us would be able to refuse the opportunity to try another of the options.

All of the wine pairings we each were given with our dishes were perfect. The pours were a little smaller than I like for the price of three glasses. I mean, sue me I wanted more wine. I think perhaps the better choice at Daniel is a full bottle rather than the pairing option.

I have to say for each course I couldn’t pick a clear winner. Everything was fantastic and every bite revealed a new depth of flavor that the previous bites hadn’t. Karen began with the Peekytoe Crab with avocado, cumin-carrot coulis, crab craquelin and ginger. The crab was so fresh and the silky avocado and mildly spiced carrot cumin sauce was spectacular. The crispy fried crab craquelin added another layer of texture to the dish. I was rather jealous of Karen’s ordering. Susan had the special duo of octopus with olives, cheese, and hearts of palm. I’m such a sucker for hearts of palm that this dish immediately had my love. My appetizer was the lobster ravioli with vadovan spice. The ravioli was served in a thin broth with that slightly curried flavor and a buttery finish. The ravioli was wonderful but since there was a supplemental charge to order it I felt it should’ve been even better. Regardless, all the first courses were just fabulous.

Susan stuck with the duo theme and chose the duo of beef for her entrée. The duo was a black angus short rib with beet marmalade and seared wagyu beef tenderloin with braised cabbage, chickpea panisse and bordelaise jus. Holy cow…Literally! Both pieces of meat were insanely tender and the sauces on each had such a rich, deep flavor. Karen ordered the slow-baked black sea bass with sumac, figs, fennel mousse and syrah sauce. This is one of Daniel’s signature dishes and I could understand why the second I tried a bite. The bass melted in your mouth and the flavors were so perfect. And surprise of all surprises, I ordered the Trio of Pork that was a roasted chop with glazed turnips, braised shoulder, and smoked ribs with fennel apple coleslaw. The plating was spectacular, with the pork surrounded by a thin crown of shaved cucumber. I mean, after all, all pork should be treated like royalty, right?! But enough about the plating, because the important part was how incredible and moist the pork was. It wasn’t the best pork I’ve ever had but the flavor combinations were impressive and gorgeously harmonious as was all else about the restaurant.

The dessert menu was divided into fruit and chocolate options. The three of us all chose something from the chocolate side and joked with our waiter about our table’s chocolate addiction. I guess they thought perhaps we should be a little more open minded because when our desserts arrived there was one additional one from the fruit side of the menu. I ordered the warm guanaja chocolate coulant with liquid caramel, fleur de sel, and milk sorbet. This was a classic study in how molten chocolate cakes are supposed to be…a delightfully rich melted chocolate interior and a slightly crisp chocolate cake shell. I was in heaven. Karen had the caramelized hazelnut sable with dulce de leche cream, caribe chocolate mousse and horchata ice cream. Susan had the caramelia chocolate mousse, brown sugar biscuit, Haitian coffee cream and toffee muscavado ice cream. The extra dessert that they brought was vanilla slow cooked rhubarb with yogurt mousse, caramelized phyllo and acacia honey ice cream. I loved all the desserts but I’m glad we stuck to the chocolate side because I far preferred them over the rhubarb one.

After dessert (since we clearly hadn’t had enough food!), they brought a basket of warm pillowy lemon madeleines dusted with powdered sugar (amazing and so good they were addictive despite how full I was), a plate of six different petit fours (little cherry tart, panna cotta, passion fruit macaroon, caramel chocolate bite, and a peanut butter chocolate bite), and trays of six different chocolates for us to choose from (Peanut Butter, Passion Fruit, Lemon Verbena, Caramel were the ones we choose).

We had such a lovely, leisurely dinner that evening and it made my birthday so special. I will definitely not wait too long before I find a special occasion worthy of going back to Daniel. It is undoubtedly worthy of each and every one of the three Michelin stars it has.

Minetta Tavern

Minetta definitely made the Michelin list with a big “sceney” vote. Minetta is one of Keith McNally’s restaurant empire and the kitchen is led by Executive Chefs Lee Hanson and Riad Nasr who both worked at Daniel. It’s a redo of a Tavern from the 1930s and it’s designed to carry that old tavern feel and a bit a speakeasy charm with no windows. When you walk in, there’s a long bar with a mirror behind it and big red stools lining it. The floor is black and white checkered and the walls are dark wood paneling with a sepia haze atop that makes you feel like the restaurant has been around for years. The menu is very much classic French Brasserie, which you’ll never hear me complain about. The cocktail list is well conceived with classic cocktails redone with modern twists. They’re a bit on the pricey side at $15 a pop, but at least the ones we had carried a potent mix of booze that gives you a sense that you’re getting a bit more bang for your buck.


I arrived before my friend and found the bar to be a bit more bustling and crowded than I would like. I fought through the crowds though and ordered a Rhubarb Sophie. After my first sip, the crowd simply melted away. This absolutely delightful cocktail of cucumber, vodka, rhubarb bitters, agave syrup and lime was pure refreshment that reminded me of a hot summer day sipping limeade.


When my friend arrived and we were led back to our table in the main dining room, we realized that the tables were packed ridiculously tight. So tightly in fact that there was someone whose job it was to pull the table completely out of the lineup of two tops and let one guest in to the booth side and then push the table back in. So not only is one of you pretty much stuck for the whole meal, but you both can hear the conversations on either side of you. Sometimes the eavesdropping in these situations makes the evening much more entertaining but on this night the couple next to us were on an anniversary dinner and the wife complained about EVERYTHING which was not entertaining in the least.


The waitress came by and offered an impressive list of delicious sounding specials. However, my heart was set on the summery sounding crab salad appetizer on the main menu. So we started our meal by splitting this as an appetizer. The crab salad was awesome – beautifully fresh crab with slices of avocado, wedges of grapefruit and hearts of palm. The flavors and textures were just wonderful with the citrus, crab, and avocado. A fabulous summer salad.


For my main, there was no way I could order anything other than the infamous custom blended black label burger from the meat purveyor La Frieda. The burger is a blend of dry-aged beef (supposedly a mix of dry aged ribeye, skirt steak, and brisket) with caramelized onions on top of a brioche bun. They apparently cook it over relatively low heat until it develops a crust and drizzle it with some clarified butter while it cooks. As the burger rests, the onions are cooked in the burger juices left on the griddle. The waitress delivered the burger with a “the chef recommends you try the burger without any condiments first”. I’m a huge ketchup fan so this was quite a request. But since I love chefs just as much, I heeded their advice. The aged beef gives it this really cool funky, rich flavor and the sweetness of the light smear of caramelized onions contrasts really nicely. The burger had a nice crust on it and was the perfect juiciness that oozed into the bun that captured all the delicious drippings. It wasn’t the best burger or bun I’ve ever had but it scored some serious points for the interesting flavor. And if it’s any sign of how much I enjoyed it, I finished it completely condiment free. Now, one thing you must be aware of that I almost missed…About halfway through my burger, I paused and looked down at my plate only to notice a pickle I hadn’t seen before. I will passionately urge all of you to eat this pickle. It is definitely homemade with a hint of spiciness that you get at the tail end and delicious dill and fennel flavors. Just awesome. And the thin cut fries were crispy for the entire time my plate was on the table.


My friend ordered the beef tartare for her dinner which came with thin, waffle cut fried potatoes. The beef tartare was fabulous. The fresh beef was perfectly seasoned and had the right balance of capers and lovely egg that oozed over the tartare.


I enjoyed the food at Minetta. There truly were only good bites and the food deserves the accolades it receives. The scene was perhaps a bit too bustling and the dining area a bit too tight for me. But I suppose some people really enjoy this type of atmosphere. Is it worthy of a Michelin? I'm not completely convinced. But it is worthy of a visit.

Soto Is Sorta Michelin

Some girls like to collect diamonds, but I prefer to collect Michelin stars. The benefit of having a mission of collecting all the Michelin stars NYC has to offer is that friends really embrace and support the goal. In fact, many friends have taken my birthday as an opportunity to contribute to the mission and I truly can't think of a better gift!

The birthday stars began with a trip to Soto a few weeks ago. Soto is a rather intimidating restaurant. The exterior is unmarked, with only a number and a window of odd white cutouts to assure you that you're at the right spot. When you enter, the dining room is austere and you partly feel like you just barged in on someone's private affair. On the left side, there's a sushi bar and on the right there are a series of tables. My friend and I were seated at one of the tables, but if I return, I'll likely aim to sit at the bar.

Sake lovers will appreciate Soto's impressive sake list. But personally, when I have sushi, I prefer to stick with beer. The menu is four sections of different styles of preparation. The first is a series of small, mostly raw fish preparations. Then there are the items from the sushi bar, from the kitchen dishes, and finally the sushi, sashimi, and sushi rolls. Soto offers two omakase options, one that spans the entire menu and the other that focuses on sashimi. Typically at a sushi restaurant, I would opt for the omakases; however, Soto has an endless supply of dishes that highlight the chef's love of uni (sea urchin). I don't share this love in the slightest. In fact, sea urchin is on my list of top three things I never want to eat EVER again. Since neither my friend nor I felt comfortable with the idea of leaving our meal selection completely in the hands of an uni lover, we decided to order off the menu a la carte. We selected two items from each of the four sections and awaited the beginning of our star acquisition.

After we ordered, complimentary edamame was brought to the table. I love edamame, but often it's unremarkable from place to place. This was some of the best edamame I've ever had. It was coated in almost a syrupy salt flavor and cooked perfectly. For the small bites, we chose a lightly grilled salmon with a mustard sauce and thinly sliced fluke with lime and yuzu. The salmon was thin squares that had a beautiful texture and flavor. And I loved the yuzu on the fluke. The small bites were definitely a nice lead-in to the meal. I would order both when I return to Soto.

For the next options, we had the wild snapper carpaccio, salmon citrus, and aji tataki. The aji tataki was chopped mackerel with ginger shoots, chives, scallions, and shiso leaves. Really just a delicious raw fish salad with a nice, light ginger flavor, slight oniony kick, and herbal shiso finish. The wild snapper carpaccio was served with chopped ginger and it was very good, but nothing special. What totally stole the show from this course and the whole meal was the salmon citrus. My friend took one bite and declared she could eat it every day and would if given the option. The salmon was beautifully fresh and slightly cured with a very soft citrus sauce. Absolutely fantastic.

For our items from the kitchen, we had a platter of tempura and langoustine with shiitake sauce. The tempura was really nicely fried and the dipping sauce was delicious. But it was simply a well executed tempura that was nothing I would feel inclined to order again. The langoustine itself was the perfect texture, but it was covered in this creamy mushroom mixture that was reminiscient of campbell's cream of mushroom soup. The mushroom flavor overpowered the whole dish and I just didn't love it.

We ordered a few pieces of sushi and sashimi as well and each was melt in your mouth fresh. When I return, I'd definitely order more off the sushi menu.

The one problem I had with Soto was how quickly the dishes arrived. As soon as we put down our chopsticks, the dishes were cleared and the next ones arrived. I prefer a much more leisurely meal and tend to believe a Michelin restaurant should be the type of place in which you don't feel rushed.

Soto has two michelin stars and the quality of food definitely is deserving of at least one. I'm not certain if it merits two stars. Perhaps if I was into uni, it would be two stars. Regardless of whether it is one or two stars, with all the delicious, fresh sushi bar preparations, Soto is certainly a place to return. Especially to have that salmon citrus again!

Aldea - Chef Mendes's Perfect Little Village

Aldea means village in Spanish and its cuisine, by Chef George Mendes, is inspired by the Iberian Peninsula. The restaurant space is long and narrow, with the bar area in the front and the kitchen in the back of the first floor. The decor is that vibrant mix of blues and whites that evokes the feeling of being on the coast somewhere. I instantly fell for it, as I love anything that feels like you're on vacation. The bar area is certainly one fit for bar dining, although the large white chairs are packed a bit tighter than I would like.

We were seated on the first floor, allowing me to peer down the hallway to the kitchen and get glimpses of Chef Mendes in action. I'm sure you all appreciate the actual Chef of a restaurant being in the kitchen, and seeing this Top Chef Masters contestant at work was a pleasant surprise (NB - he is far more handsome and younger looking in person than on tv).

As seems to be the trend at these Michelin restaurants, the bread basket offered three options. If available, I try to choose the bread that is the most unlike ones I've had at other places. So you can imagine that I jumped all over the bacon cornbread, while my more conservative friend opted for the plainer looking roll. I was saddened to find that the cornbread didn't actually have any bacon in it, but rather, it tasted as if it was bathed in cold bacon grease. This resulted in a wierd textured cornbread that was chewy and nothing like the crunchy, soft, and buttery cornbread that I crave. I presume my friend's roll was far better, as she devoured it and praised how delightful it was.

Aldea has a nightly 5-course tasting menu. The evening my friend and I went there was only one item on the tasting, the soft shell crab, that held my interest. Since we couldn't rationalize ordering a tasting menu that was batting only 20%, we ordered off the main menu. The regular menu is divided into the sections little bites, charcuterie, appetizers, entrees and sides. There was something about the menu that lead us both to focus on seafood appetizers and meat entrees. We ordered one "little bite", the bonita tuna rillette with caper and tomato on charred bread. Fact is, just writing the name of this wonderful little bite, makes me contemplate when I can fit going back to Aldea in my schedule just to have it again. The thin slice of perfectly toasted bread with a coating of olive oil was topped with the most tender flaked tuna. The flavor just popped with the salty capers and a mild tomato essense. Little bite also doesn't quite do it justice. It was a thankfully generous serving.

For appetizers, my friend ordered the shrimp alhinho with garlic, coriander, pimento and pressed jus and I had the warm maine lobster with artichoke, vadouvan butter, and vanilla pineapple. The shrimp had a bold spiced flavor and was very well cooked, but in the battle of the crustacean appetizers, the lobster just blew the shrimp clear out of the water. The tender lobster just melted in your mouth and the pineapple and vanilla made a very interesting addition to the plate that really worked well. Vandouvan is a french curry spice that is typically a combination of onions, shallots, and garlic with indian spices like cardamom, curry leaves, and fenugreek. In other words, it results in a hint of indian-spiced flavor with sweet and smoky notes. Yes, the vandouvan butter on the lobster was just perfect. And with the sweetness of the vanilla and pineapple the whole dish really burst with flavor. The lobster is absolutely another dish to add to the list of return visit musts!

I know I always order the pork dish on every menu. But after Public's disappointing pork performance the week before, I was a bit put-off and I was made more skeptical by Aldea's inclusion of clams on its pork dish. Luckily, my friend decided she wanted the pork, which made me feel more comfortable ordering the hanger steak. The hanger steak was served with smoked eggplant puree, garlic broccoli rabe and maitake mushrooms. The steak was nicely charred on the outside and tender and pink inside. I loved the smoked eggplant puree that leant such a rich, smoky flavor to every bite of steak. The broccoli rabe was sort of an afterthought to me. As it is, I'm not a huge fan of this bitter green, but I thought it was pretty generic in character. And for a restaurant that puts forth a lot of inventive garnishes, this seemed too obvious a side. Then, I tried the hertigage breed pork chop with manila clams, vinho verde, and caramelized turnip. With one bite, I realized that I would go back to ordering the pork almost everywhere I dine. This pork chop is not for those who are afraid of a little pink on their pork. Its cooked medium and is juicy and tender. Simply put, the flavor borders on the insane.

Towards the end of our meal, we found that we over-ordered on the savory front, which is much to the contrary of my normally dessert-focused mindset. In all honesty, at that point I felt like I made the ultimate rookie mistake, because all the desserts sounded marvelous. Well that and I didn't order the pork! But as I recapped all the food in my mind, I couldn't imagine cutting any of it from the evening's line-up. It truly is a restaurant deserving of a Michelin star.

I can't wait to return to Aldea and try out the dessert! And of course have the tuna rillette and pork chop! Seriously...I've been thinking about it All-dea.

With food like this, I wouldn't go Public

It's not that I didn't expect some disappointments on this Michelin journey. It's just that I was truly hoping to be only mildly disappointed. Perhaps its best that I got one disappointment out of the way. After all, Susan smartly brought up the fact that I probably should save a restaurant that I was really looking forward to for last so that finishing up doesn't feel anticlimactic. Like ending the mission at Kajitsu, the all vegetarian buddhist restaurant, might just be an ill-conceived plan. Anyway, that's besides the point. Let me tell you about my first and hopefully only disappointment on this michelin mission of mine.

Like all the restaurants designed by the AvroKo Restaurant Group (to name a few Stanton Social, Quality Meats, Park Avenue and Double Crown), the design of Public is a very detailed, well thought out concept. The concept is supposed to remind you of public institutions, but think much hipper library that you'd want to hang out at because it has adult beverages and good food. I didn't get that public institution feel from the design, but I did really think the space was beautiful. And, as the night I dined at Public was one of those gorgeous spring nights, I adored the garage-like sliding doors that are open on such lovely nights.

Public has some interesting sounding cocktails and I was really excited to try the one with Ribena. But, after I ordered it, the waitress told me they were no longer making that cocktail. I was too disappointed to pick another one, so I settled for a very nice glass of cava. The bread basket had some interesting choices. My culinary school friend that I went with opted for the dried cherry and aleppo pepper roll and I had focaccia. Both of the breads were the sort that made you thankful that bread was ever created and we both quickly finished our pieces. The cherry aleppo bread didn't have a strong flavor of either pepper or cherries but still had a nice texture. It was a very nice way to start off the meal, but sadly these were one of the most memorable parts of our meal.


Public is a global fusion restaurant with a focus on New Zealand and Australian foods. To start, I ordered the special appetizer of lavender cured ham with a frisee salad, candied pecans, and truffle oil. Both my friend and I tried very hard to get any sort of lavender flavor from the ham but after many bites realized we weren't tasting it because it just wasn't there. The ham on its own was tasteless, and a bite of all the components together was only saved by the truffle oil. There was nothing remarkable about this plate. It wasn't bad but it wasn't something I would feel any pull to order again. My friend had the grilled kangaroo on a coriander falafel with lemon tahini sauce and green pepper relish. The kangaroo was cooked perfectly. It had a very tender texture and just melted in your mouth. But, the coriander falafel overwhelmed the flavor of everything on the plate. As my classmate said, it just tasted like she got a decent falafel from a cart for lunch. In other words, just another unremarkable appetizer.

For my main, I showed my true pork loving ways and followed my pork appetizer with a pork main consisting of confit pork belly and roasted pork tenderloin with salsify, apple puree, and a sage shortbread. The pork belly was a big disappointment. I like pork fat and all but my pork belly was almost entirely skin and fat with maybe only a thin slice of meat to speak of. The tenderloin was the perfect pink color and gorgeously tender but it lacked any significant flavor. I was really looking forward to the salsify, because I so rarely get to have this root that I love. The salsify had a really nice caramely sweet flavor to it, but I found it to be a bit undercooked for my tastes. When all hope was lost on my plate, I found the saving grace. Below my tenderloin, was this absolutely delightful sage shortbread that just popped with buttery sage goodness. It provided the tenderloin that missing flavor it needed. My classmate ordered the lamb with caper piquillo salsa and cauliflower puree and said it was good but not amazing. She offered me a bite with the warning that it was very lamby tasting. In other words, she knew I would try it, shrug my shoulders, and say the same thing I always do when I have a bite of lamb..."tastes like lamb and nope I still don't like lamb". I figured that I would save both of us from this deju vu and declined a taste of her dish knowing it would not be the one that would convert me to lamb lover.
For dessert we had the yuzu-lime tart with coconut meringue ice cream and lemongrass sauce. It was a refreshing fruit dessert that was very good but again failed to elicit a wow from either of us.

As we finised our meal, my classmate mentioned that she's had brunch at Public and it was much better than our dinner. I just don't know if I can get over the disappointment of the dinner to go back and try another meal here. The menu sounded so promising to me, with lots of different global flavors paired to make lovely sounding dishes, but the execution of the plates did not deliver what I believed was promised on the menu. Huh...perhaps the restaurant did remind me more of a public institution than I first realized.