Review: Shari Sushi Lounge

For Valentine's Day, Errol took me to an awesome sushi place, Shari Sushi Lounge. I went on my flight to Orlando all dressed up for dinner and we went straight there. The picture above is a screen shot of their website, with a picture of where we were in the restaurant. We were on the second floor, and it felt like a private area. It was quieter and more romantic - not to say the commotion downstairs wouldn't be enjoyable too! 

Errol and I are self-proclaimed sushi snobs. We've been to so many sushi places and prefer raw, raw, raw fish. So when we sat down and perused the menu, we were pleased to see this place doesn't have California roll or Philadelphia roll. All rolls were considered "Specialty". 

We started out with Toro Tartare: 

Toro Tartare: Fatty tuna chopped with scallions and smelt roe atop a crispy tortilla chip, with black flying fish roe, Shari spicy mayo and shaved tempura shallots

 Then the Beauty and the Beast Roll:

Beauty and the Beast Roll: Two-in-one roll with: half tuna, avocado, asparagus, and spicy tobiko roe, and half eel, cucumber, asparagus and wasabi roe

And the grand finale was the Sushi Sashimi Moriawase: Combination of nigiri and sashimi selected by the Chef, served with fresh Japanese wasabi and imported soy sauce.

Errol and I have had numerous plates of nigiri/sashimi. It's always a combination of great pieces of escolar, salmon, and tuna; plus fake crab and disgusting shrimp (and I love shrimp). Since it's "Chef's choice" we can never dictate that what we really want is just the good stuff (of course). So we devised a plan to say that one of us has a shellfish allergy so we can't have shrimp or [fake] crab.

We did it this time, and our waitress said, "Don't worry there's no shrimp or crab." We literally raised our eyebrows. But oooooh man when our platter came out we were knocked out of our seats. It was the most amazing presentation we had ever seen.

Pieces of nigiri on one section of the plate as if they were swimming in water.

Then an ice boat on the other side with THICK pieces of sashimi. 1) ice boat?! and 2) these were the thickest pieces of sashimi I've ever had. The ice boat served to keep the sashimi nice and cold.

Then the martini glass had a rose bud made of pieces of white fish and surrounded by slices of strawberries. This was an AMAZING presentation!

To round out the flavors was a specially imported Japanese soy sauce (in the shot glass). It was saltier (and I normally use reduced-sodium) but when you taste it, the flavor is just fuller. It's hard to explain but it wasn't about the salt, but able the breadth of flavor.

My Valentine!

No shellfish in sight :)

Errol and I took our sweet time to finish every last bit of our dinner. It was our first dinner together since the beginning of January, so it really was a lovely time for numerous reasons. I was definitely spoiled by this dinner and loved every minute of it.

Review: Buku (Triangle Restaurant Week)

http://bukuraleigh.com/buku/

Yesterday was the last day of Triangle Restaurant Week (TRW), a week where tons of restaurants in Chapel Hill, Durham, and Raleigh create pre-fixed menus at pre-fixed prices for people to explore. These prices are generally much cheaper than when it's not TRW and is an innovative advertising opportunity.

This TRW, a few friends and I tried out Buku: Global Street Food. It is truly a global restaurant with twists on classic dishes ranging from:

• South America (Colombian arepa, Argentinian short rib)
• Europe (Polish pierogi, Belgian steak fries, German soft pretzel knots)
• Asia (Burmese deviled eggs, Vietnamese crepe)
• Africa (South African lamb kebabs)
• (Just to name a few!)

It was really exciting to even see twists on Filipino classics: 

• Lumpia with chili-mango ground pork, mango salad, and cilantro chutney
• Duck Adobo with coconut rice, atchara, and fried duck egg

The lumpia wasn't on the prefixed menu, but I had to get it. It was delicious! The meat tasted just like home, but the twist with the mango salad and cilantro chutney was amazingly refreshing. And I loooove cilantro. 

First Course: Laotian Duck Larb

Duck leg confit, sticky rice, cucumber, Laotian herb pesto, lime 

This was my first time having confit, and anything Laotian, so I had no idea what to expect. The duck had a strong flavor of salt and spice, and the cucumbers were necessary to balance that out (along with lots of water).  The taste was great, but I generally prefer sauces with meat and this was relatively dry. I didn't finish this course (a theme throughout the meal) but still liked it!

Second Course: Macademia-encrusted Red Snapper

Purple sweet potato puree, mango, coconut-papaya salad, taro chips, passionfruit reduction

I was pretty full by this point (blame the water from the confit) but kept trying to power through. These were more flavors I'd never had; the sweet potato was really good. I wasn't the biggest fan of the sweet potato texture but I always like starch with a meal. The salad was pickled, which I didn't expect, and it was very good. The taro chips were a great texture in addition with the macadamia crust on the fish. 

Dessert: Normandy-style Roasted Apple Cake
Golden raisins, chevre buttercream, Calvados-vanilla bean ice cream, fried sage, cider reduction

I needed some sweet to round out the meal and this hit the spot. The ice cream was my favorite part of the entire meal! The cake is a dense one, but it's not too sweet (my kind of dessert). The raisins add a nice texture and flavor to the dish as well.

Overall, I would come back to Buku. It's definitely a place with dishes I couldn't recreate without spending a ton on fancy ingredients and taking some cooking classes. It's great to see a place that has such a wide variety of dishes from all over the world; it's like traveling to different countries all in one night!

Italy Trip: Food in Rome

Food is extremely important... especially in Italy! In Rome, I didn't necessarily learn as much about food history as I did in the Tuscan region, but as our first stop in Italy, Errol and I learned a lot of the "traditions" and restaurant etiquette. 

COLAZIONE:

I rarely ever eat breakfast... I prefer to sleep right up until I have just enough time to change and run to the bus for class. But when you're trying to have enough energy for the physical and mental toll that Rome takes out of you, carbo-loading is a must. And eventually, it became part of my stomach's food clock that has even rolled over to now! 

Of the three places we stayed in Rome (and in the other cities - more on those separately), the breakfast was the same: cappuccino, bread, pastries (filled with cream, nutella, etc.), and various spreads. Another benefit of breakfast was that it was always included in our hostel/B&B, so we saved Euros that way. 

PRANZO:
We always wanted to have light but filling (is that possible?) meals for lunch so we didn't get food coma. That usually meant pizza! Pizza in Italy is quite a delicacy, and made me forget the greasy dough I used to get from Little Caesar's for $5 for a quick college dinner. We had lots of different types of pizza, but all menus had generally the same kinds:

• Margherita - tomato + mozarella
• Napoli - 4 to 5 anchovies spread across the pizza; only need a little bit for the full effect! 
• Prosciutto - self-explanatory; delicious, melt-in-your-mouth slices 
• BIG TIP: "Pepperoni" in America is "salame piccante" in Italy, and is much better! 

My absolute favorite pizza was in Dar Poeta in Trastevere, a quaint area in southeast Rome. This pizza had the perfect combination of tart and savory, and I couldn't get enough of it:

buffalo mozzarella with artichokes topped with parmigiano reggiano

Just as a heads up, restaurants try to maximize tables in a small area, so every place has an outside area. We almost always chose to sit outside! Just keep a look out for the scooters and Smart cars that try to squeeze through; they get pretty close!

ANTIPASTI:
Probably one of the more expensive places we ate was at Enoteca Cavour 313, recommended by our Rick Steves guidebook. These pictures are what we had for dinner one night, but count as appetizers in my book. We got to have some delicious cheeses, and a first - beef carpaccio! As you can see it's raw beef sliced extremely thinly, topped with olive oil, red onion, capers, and a couple of anchovies. Surprisingly it was almost too salty for me (those who know me know that's a rarity!), but I still really liked it.

PRIMI e SECONDI PIATTI:

Another restaurant we went to was our first full meal with multiple courses, and we learned a lot.

1. Water is never free in a restaurant. You order one water for 2 people, and they bring out a 500 mL bottle that you ration on your own (generally 2-3 Euros a bottle!).
2. Sitting costs money. There's lots of standing eating, or getting food to-go and eating at a square. In fact, when I think back I think only tourists eat at restaurants because true Italians think a cover charge is ridiculous (which it is). It will cost 2-3 Euros per person tacked onto the bill. 
3. BIG TIP: If there's a cover charge, DON'T TIP. Really, don't. 
4. There's a charge for bread, and you get it no matter what. Most Italian restaurants in America give you bread with olive oil and herbs, or garlic breadsticks. In Italy, you get bread with olive oil and vinegar (balsamic or white wine). And that's normally 2-3 Euros. 

With that, you already have added at least 6 Euros to your bill before you've even had your meal. Crazy, right? As we progressed through the trip, we ate at restaurants less often simply due to all of the extra hidden costs. 

That being said, the food at this restaurant (whose name escapes me) was delicious! Top left is buffalo mozzarella (absolute fave), bottom left was spaghetti carbonara (on my food bucket list), and bottom right was Errol's veal. 

If you are sick of pasta - which you are bound to be no matter how much you love it - there are kebab places all over the place! Super cheap, super delicious, they're essentially the gyros you know of, but in wraps. Once we discovered these, we ate at one every couple of days. I wish we had more places like this to replace McDonald's! 

DOLCI:
Last but not least was the sweets! In Rome, I didn't have very much dessert. However, we did have plenty of gelato at any time of day! There are little window shops everywhere, where you can order your cone or cup and be on your merry way. There are tons of flavors, and some are quite interesting... but Errol's favorite was mango! Here he is holding one of the dozens of mango in a  "cono piccolo".

The only other dessert we had in a restaurant in Rome was the nutella calzone... I think you can guess if I liked it or not.

Another dessert on my food bucket list was panna cotta, a creamy dessert that is a mix between pudding and jello and is delicious! I grabbed one of these in a window shop for a couple of Euros.



Overall, the first city in Italy gave us a great introduction to food, and the best was yet to come! If you ever go to Italy, I hope you learn from our restaurant mistakes and try a lot of the things we did.

Restaurant Review: The Lantern

Website screenshot: http://lanternrestaurant.com/

I had the distinct pleasure of Errol and my final date in Chapel Hill during our year together to be at The Lantern. It's tucked in by all of the other unique, local restaurants and shops on Franklin Street. One of the pharmacists at work suggested we eat there because her sister-in-law owns it. 

It's a delicious, high-end restaurant that combines contemporary style Asian dishes with locally grown farmer's market fruits and vegetables. Despite the prices being higher than our usual (entrees ranged $25-40), we decided to splurge for our last date.

I got a cocktail (I can't remember it for the life of me, but it had rum and ginger ale), and Errol got a beer. 

My entree was a twist on lettuce wraps. On the left side of the picture below, you see the roasted peanut hoisin and the absolutely delicious pork shoulder. It's cooked overnight in lemon grass, and the meat basically melts in your mouth. I would have been happy with simply a plateful of that pork. It was interesting to make lettuce wraps with a different kind of leaf, but it worked. And I finished every last bit of the dish.

BBQ’d Chapel Hill Creamery pork shoulder
with cool rice noodles, lettuce cups, Vietnamese herb salad,
chile-lime sauce and roasted peanut hoisin

Errol wanted to go to Ben and Jerry's afterwards to fulfill his ice cream craving, but I wanted to finish the experience and have dessert at the restaurant. I've never had roasted banana ice cream, but it tastes just like you might imagine: mouthwatering. The brittle was a nice touch too.

Roasted banana ice cream with caramel, soft cream
and NC peanut brittle

When we ordered the ice cream, our waiter came with this extra dessert and told us "Compliments of the owners, the drinks and desserts are on the house". What a great surprise! Our pharmacist told them that we were there, and they did us a great favor by taking ~$40 off our bill.  This was my first panna cotta; it tastes like a milky, creamy gelatin. The locally grown organic cherries were a sweet and tart addition to the palate.

Almond panna cotta with organic cherries, rosé syrup
and almond-sesame candy

I would recommend The Lantern to anyone and everyone wanting to spend a wonderful night with delicious food. It is a quaint restaurant, and I would recommend reserving at least 4 days in advance. Errol tried to reserve the day before wanted to go, and it was completely reserved for 2 days. If you find it is fully booked, do what we did: go there when it opened at 5:30PM and were immediately seated.

After perusing The Lantern website, I saw that the owner has also published a cookbook: Cooking In The Moment. It looks like a great cookbook that has recipes to take advantage of seasonal fruits and vegetables. Maybe I'll try it out! North Carolina is filled with farmers markets, and I'm looking to grow herbs on our new patio.

Website screenshot: http://www.andreareusing.com/

Cheers to good eats, good dates, and good people. 

Summer travels: Blue Ridge Mountains, Asheville, NC

One of the many travels Errol and I did in the month of June was a final trip to Asheville, NC. This was my second trip since moving to North Carolina, and Errol's fourth(!).

The trip in the fall was to see the beautiful leaves changing colors and the Biltmore Estate with Christmas decorations. This time, it was to see the amazing greenery along the Blue Ridge Mountains.

It was a 3-hour drive, and the first time my car experienced true altitudes and angles. I may need to get my breaks checked after this trip...

We stayed overnight in a Best Western and first took a stroll around downtown. The streets are full of local restaurants, bars, and shops. Each one different from the next. It would take weeks to completely experience each one.

But I found the most amazing place... The Gourmet Chip! It was filled with so many fancy style potato chips, plantain chips, and more! 

"The Italiano"

On the second day, we drove up and down the Blue Ridge Parkway, up to the top of Mount Mitchell. The views were breathtaking, and the landscape just as amazing.

One of the short trails we walked along the mountains

Another view of the trails

Found a beautiful place to have lunch

Beautiful sites

The final walk up to the top

View from 6,684 feet!

Errol says he definitely wants to come again on one of his trips to visit North Carolina. Can't wait!

Orientation Day #2/First Dose of Franklin

Second day of Orientation was on Friday and was much shorter (9AM-12:30PM). Met a lot more great fellow classmates :) I think my favorite part was listening to the presentation about "Getting Involved" from 2 school leaders. It both inspired and intimidated me; I'm not sure if I could ever follow in the footsteps of those guys!

Afterwards, I treated Errol to lunch for dropping me off/picking me up from both days of Orientation. Thank goodness for his GPS on his handy-dandy Droid because we can just type in what we're craving and it will lead us there. I was craving some pad thai noodles, so we were led to Thai Palace on Raleigh St.

It was very delicious! I had my usual (always try out the noodles every Thai restaurant I go to) with thai iced tea and Errol had some curry with rice noodles. Not the biggest fan of curry, so I didn't try his plate, but mine was so good! The portions weren't large; we finished both of our meals (which is very rare for me) and the prices were very reasonable.

That night was the first Dose of Franklin at The Library on Franklin St. The "Doses" are sponsored by Student Senate as a social/fundraiser ($3 cover before 11PM went to Senate). Beforehand, a fellow PY1, Errol, and I joined in on some pre-gaming with PY2's. Had some delicious shots and was introduced to the games, "Boom" and "Last Word".

The Library was a lot of fun! It was packed with fellow students and it seemed like I could approach anyone and just introduce myself. Had some Rx Shooters, Washington Apples, Apple Sauce, and another one I don't remember. But all were yummy! Met a lot of new people and hung out with ones I met at Orientation.

Overall, great day!