dining out big time

DISCLAIMER: I borrowed these pictures from other sites.

Late Friday afternoon, Emmanuel and I went to Zuni Cafe for lunch. The nice thing about Zuni is that they're open all day. The last time we were there, we were utterly disappointed with the food. The aioli that they used for the burger was crap - it was oily and there was not a hint of garlic. This time though was a totally different experience. We started with some oysters and the endive salad. The burger was astounding and the pork chop was moist and juicy. We both noted that we really enjoyed our meal this time.

Saturday evening, we went to La Provence with a couple of friends. We shared three appetizers: La Pissaladière (A savory Provençale pie, garnished with caramelized onions, bell peppers, olives, along with (or without) anchovies), Rillette de Canard (Home made duck pistachio “rillette” with fig reduction & marmalade), and Piquillos farcis á la brandade (Skinless sweet pepper, stuffed with cod “brandade”served with a cold yellow pepper coulis). For entrees, we had Daube à la Provençale (Red wine beef stew, perfumed with orange zest, garlic, onions, olives, carrots, and thyme), Lapin Roti au miel de lavande (Roasted rabbit with a lavender honey, rosemary jus and Noilly Prat reduction), and Filet de porc à la Niçoise (Grilled porc filet mignon marinated in “Espelette” pepper, served sliced with a black olive sauce). The daube was excellent served with a few sautéed vegetables; the rabbit was a tiny bit dry but it's as expected. What they do best are the sauces. The sauces that were served with each dish were really well executed. As an added bonus, the owner poured us some sherry after dinner.

Tuesday night was going to be a night of debauchery that the incessant rain could not stop. My friend Nelson (whom I have not seen in awhile) met me at Martuni's for a couple of Mandarin Orange cosmos before heading out to Mecca. We shared TONIGHT'S OYSTERS ON THE HALF SHELL with ASIAN PEAR MIGNONETTE and 14-HOUR SMOKEHOUSE SPARERIBS with CRISPY GARLIC. Shared is a strong word as Nelson ate most of the oysters and I ate most of the finger-licking good ribs! We both had the same entree: GRILLED LIBERTY FARMS DUCK BREAST with SWEET PLANTAINS & SPICY LENTIL, JAPONICA RICE. The lentils and plantains combo was unexpectedly good. Funny, I don't remember any rice. (I wonder if the bottle of French wine we drank impaired our memory, as well as the cosmos beforehand and the cognac afterwards.)