Best night at Hommage

I've mentioned Hommage many times on my blog such as here, here, and here! Rightly so, since it is my favorite restaurant! So I couldn't help but post again about this amazing place, especially because I got to meet the chef, Nico Borzee, and I totally had a fan girl moment!

We went this past Saturday with Michael's parents as a special occasion, and I have to say out of the times we've gone, that night was perhaps the best. The fact that this place can still surprise me speaks volumes.

With the sun shining, a table with the view of the canal, and excellent wine, it made for a good atmosphere. To start we had the carrots, salad, and a buckwheat crepe. Check out the edible art!

The cool concept with the carrots was that the chef wanted to invoke the sense of new carrots sprouting from the ground like spring, so the dish was warm and cool and the texture felt like the best 'dirt' I'd ever eaten.

 

 The salad was a farm fresh salad with lemon spray and walnut sauce. Yum

The crepe was excellent with the egg yolk and ham. Good balance of savory with nice textures.

For our main dinner we decided do the two specials of the night. A red snapper and pork cut. For all these dishes there were way better names than what I'm coming up with, but you get the idea.

The fish was my favorite part. I love snapper and it was made perfectly, cooked over a piece of wood from a wine barrel with an orange glaze. So succulent and moist, it was delightful.

Equally good and Michael's favorite was the pork served right out of the pot! Savory without being oily or salty with a carmelized sauce, it was definitely a hit.

For dessert we had some chocolate, but the way it was delivered was cool, sweet, with a touch of salt that balanced it out. One of the best desserts I've had.

If you're ever in Seattle, this is my top recommendation. Consistently exceptional, it will certainly surprise you.

Mkt.

It's been awhile since I've done a food/restaurant post. I hope you've already eaten, because I'm about to make you very hungry.

This past weekend Michael and I were invited to do a double date with our good friends at a new Ethan Stowell restaurant in Tangletown that recently opened called Mkt.

Mkt. is very small and intimate, serving Americana food. With an open kitchen with delicious smells wafting through the air and open windows for the summer breeze to come right in, giving out a casual vibe. You'd think the food would be just 'casual' too, but it was quite the opposite: classy and tasteful in a very good way.

We started the night with sparkling rose. Summer just equates to sparkling wine in my mind and it was delicious and went along with great conversation. We started off with Macrina Bakery baguette with olive tapenade and herb butter. For out first plate, we had the crispy fried quail with potato salad, and apple cider reduction.

Quail is always so yummy and delicate. It reminds me a lot of my childhood when my mom used to make quail. She doesn't make it too much now, and I for one wouldn't know where to get it, nor cook it! I will definitely put it on my try-to-cook list though. This quail, however, was one to remember, and certainly the best dish of the night.

Next we had the castelfranco salad with Spanish anchovy, smoked pecorini, and brioche breadcrumbs.

This salad had a ceaser-ish side to it, but with a hint of bitterness that lightened up the taste.

At our server's recommendation, we had stone-ground corn grits, with grilled porcini, bacon, crème fraiche, and sea beans.

Very decadent and savory tasting, but with a bright and acidic wine, it really hit the spot.

Then we had a grilled wagyu beef crusted with peppercorn, rosemary, fingerling potatoes, fried onions, and red wine sauce.

The red wine sauce added a depth to the steak and the fried onions were a nice touch texture-wise, making the dish very pleasurable to eat!

And what's a good meal without dessert? Chocolate terrine with salted caramel gelato. Need I say more? This was chocolatey, creamy, with a crunch of texture at the bottom. A version of heaven in dessert form!

If in the mood for Americana in Seattle, I'd happily recommend this place!

Vegas photos, a dose of nostalgia, and a poem.

I should've blogged about my sister weekend in Vegas, but life got busy, and whatever happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas, right? So instead of bombarding you with pictures, I picked out my favorites (most from just the first night). If you're curious, we did XS Friday, Rehab pool party Saturday, Omnia that night, and Sunday was spent sinning with food.

Saw Zedd. Highlight of the trip!



My partner in crime.



After a few busy weeks, life is finally starting to slow down just in time for summer. Since I've been taking a break from writing after completing my first draft, I've had the time to finally watch Season Two of 'The Paradise' and if you can believe it, went through my entire e-mail box from college. I had 7,600 e-mails since I last checked it! I cleaned it up and started archiving old creative writing assignments and papers just because I think it'll come in handy for story ideas. Not to mention, just knowing I have that bulk of work really makes me elated at how I've evolved as a writer. It's just really amazing when you think about all the work it took to get that piece of parchment (degree). Lab reports, research papers, science papers, theoretical papers, critical essays, and creative assignments. I just love it. It's made me so nostalgic for school.

Funny how at the time I just wanted it to be over and done with and now I find myself wishing I could go back. Where has the time gone?

Stepping away from the cubicle the other day waiting in the Starbuck's line I jotted down a quick poem about it on my phone:

A strange longing
of hazelnut coffee cups and freshly mowed lawns.
Conversations at picnic tables
with minds that can read my own.
Pressed notebooks with ink stains.
Stacks of books with too many owners.

I feel brave, new, scared, but learning
with every page that I'm turning.

In the moment it feels like forever;
an impasse from reality,
but it is the reality I miss.
Along with the hazelnut coffee,
biking under arches of trees,
as the sunlight beams on me.

I know this place, I know them all,
even when I don't.
But a strange pull, and big dreams,
pull us all together.
That I wonder where we've all ended up.

Asia Vacation: Day 11 & 12 / A to Z Challenge

D is for dawn.

We (my two sisters, Michael, and I) literally arrived at dawn in Seoul, South Korea on day 11 of our Asia vacation. The red eye had been long enough that it made us uncomfortable, but short enough that we couldn't get any sleep.

And right as we waited for our train I was pushed from behind. I turned behind me and found an elderly man. Everyone laughed and Michael informed me that the elderly here weren't the friendliest bunch. I'll say! What a stark contrast to my grandparents! During this trip, I was pushed a lot by old people. Perhaps they were attracted to my purple coat or something.

We dropped off our bags at the hotel and went to a Starbuck's for much needed coffee then explored Gagnum and had breakfast at Butterfinger Pancakes. Their portions were so huge we had to split our entrees, but so good. After we walked around for a bit and did some shopping.

My first reaction to Seoul was how westernized it was, that if I hadn't known better, I probably wouldn't have been able to distinguish it from any other city. Of course we weren't going during tourist season so maybe that would have changed my perspective?

And oh man was it cold. Freezing really, compared to the eighty degree weather we had just left. Now it was 30 degree weather which was a big adjustment. Throw in exhaustion from the red-eye flight and we were beat. We had an early dinner then all went to sleep.

To make up for our early night, Day 12 started off packed! We went to Gyeongbok Palace. The palace was expansive and well kept. It was pretty, and I expect it would have been even better in the spring of fall. But we made do and took photos galore!

By the end of it we were famished, so we headed to Myeong-dong and had lunch at Bulgogi Brothers.

After that we shopped and took a rest at the hotel before venturing out for the night. Street food vendors were everywhere and so enticing they became our dinner.

For dessert, we went to Poem Café and had waffles and tea (apparently they love waffles in South Korea, but I'm not complaining because so do I).