The Chef's Table at Second Empire

As a truly special treat for my birthday, Jessica took me to Second Empire (http://www.second-empire.com/) to enjoy their Chef's Table.  The Chef's Table is a unique experience that cannot (and will not in this post) be adequately described to properly convey how incredible it is!  Basically, the head chef (Daniel Schurr) served as the host, server, and chef for our dinner, all taking place at a table INSIDE THE KITCHEN.  As a result, we were able to learn so much about the food, the wine (manager Nick Saddlemire explained the origin of everything we tasted!), the process behind preparation, and the atmosphere inside a kitchen during service.  The entire staff was so incredibly nice and accommodating throughout our meal, and we hope to return in November again because the experience is so fantastic!

Because I cannot do true justice to the Chef's Table experience, I'll focus mostly on the food and then let you try the Table yourself to see it in full action!  With each course, we had a paired wine that without question always complimented whatever we were eating (because I don't know a lot about wine flavors, I'll forgo amateur descriptions... but they were all excellent!).  At the start of the meal, Jessica and I agreed to try everything and I ended up finishing each of my plates (except for dessert, because I was too full).  Jessica did the same except for some of the lamb on the last course, again because she was so full!  This resulted in me trying beans, collard greens, haricot vert, and many others I normally wouldn't like... and all were delicious!

Swordfish

Our first course was a rosemary and citrus grilled swordfish with beans and a fried green tomato.  Neither Jessica nor I had tasted swordfish before but we were both excited because we've heard good things.  Much like I'd heard, the swordfish had a good, meaty flavor (maybe most closely compared with tuna although it's more a white fish) that I really enjoyed.  The citrus and rosemary compliments were excellent, as was the sweet balsamic reduction.  More and more, I enjoy a sweet sauce with my main proteins (whether they be meat or seafood) and this combination worked perfectly.  Surprising to me, I really enjoyed the beans and squash also (two things I don't really eat at all) and hopefully that'll encourage me to try them more in the future.  There isn't a better start to the meal that I could have imagined, and I worry now a bit that the next time I order swordfish (and I will), I'll be disappointed because it doesn't compare to this taste.

The second course was one of our favorites; called a short rib "croquette" it can probably be most comparable to a crab cake that has no filler, except instead of crab it was made of braised short rib and pork belly, then rolled in breadcrumbs and deep fried.  If my chicken-fried ribeye at Revolution was upscale chicken-fried steak from the South, then this was the Rolls Royce of that combination.  By adding the fried crust to the short rib, the kitchen elevated short ribs with contrasting textures... true genius.  If the croquette alone wasn't good enough, the saffron and smoked tomato risotto was arguably better!  Never have I had a more creamy, balanced, flavorful risotto than this; I wish I could have it every single day.  The ginger molasses jus was again a nice sweet compliment to the meaty flavors in the dish.

Foie Gras

In between our second and third courses, we had blood orange sorbet, which was very good.  Jessica thought it was the best thing EVER and I enjoyed it even if it was quite tart for me.  Regardless, it was quite the fancy "pallet cleanser" considering it was basically a full serving of gourmet, exotic sorbet!

As a special treat from the chef, our next course was extra... a magnificent piece of seared foie gras served over grits and collard greens.  Jessica and I had never ventured into the "foie gras" world in any meaningful way, but any apprehension we had about trying it was erased on the first bite.  Words truly cannot do justice to this tasting experience... without question, it was the best thing either Jessica or I had ever eaten.  My mind barely processed all of the flavor, but it was like a mix of excellent steak, butter, fat, and caramelization but better.  If you haven't tried this before (and don't live in California), please order it the next time that you have the chance.  Even Jessica, who is not Mrs. Adventurous with cuisine, loved every single bite!  An added bonus was the wine pairing of sauternes, which is apparently classic with foie gras.  It is a sweet, syrupy wine and may have been my favorite of the night.  The grits and greens were great too, and a nice addition, but I barely remember them because the foie gras was that amazing.



Lamb



Our "main" course for dinner was  de-boned rack of lamb stuffed with foie gras and spinach and served with creamy hominy (delicious) as well haricot verts and a prune-horseradish jus.  For me, the lamb was perfectly cooked and flavorful; not as gamey as other times I've tried it but with enough distinction from a piece of beef.  The arrangement on the plate, with the stuffing and contrasting white hominy, was very cool as well. 

I was probably most impressed by the flavor and creaminess of the hominy; I'd never had it before and couldn't stop eating it in the accompanying sauce.  By this point in the meal, I was so full but I powered through and finished every bite; the dish was really good!

For dessert, we had chocolate souffle with vanilla cream.  From the two bites I tried, I'd say it was fantastic, but I feel bad I was too full to enjoy it more.  It's an odd dynamic in the kitchen when you see someone working so hard to prepare something, and preparing it so well, only to eat a couple of bites before hitting a completely full state!  Hopefully the pastry chef understands the predicament I was in (she probably has seen it many times before!) and wasn't offended.  Jessica did her part to chip away at the dessert (we actually only had them give us one instead of one for each because I knew this would be an issue!) so by the end it didn't look quite as bad.  Still, though, it would have been

great to box up (although that was tough with us going out after).  I think next time, I'll figure out a way to save room and savor ALL courses at the table!

Without any exaggeration, this was the best meal of my life.  The food was great, and the experience completely unique.  I have become so interested not just with eating new foods but with seeing ways to prepare them, meeting people who have chosen the culinary profession, and experiencing the "business" from an insider's point of view, that this will be something I never forget.  The tastes, the interactions, the setting, and the food service were all perfect... I cannot wait to return with Jessica to celebrate her next birthday!

Thank you to Second Empire... Chef Daniel Schurr, Nick Saddlemire, and the entire staff made this my best birthday dinner ever!

Our Second Trip to Revolution in Durham

Last night, Jessica and I met friends for dinner at Revolution (http://www.revolutionrestaurant.com/) in Durham.  This was our second trip to the modern Durham restaurant (click here for our first try), having enjoyed it for Valentine's Day in 2011 enough to recommend it again.

We started our night in the expansive bar, trying some of their specialty cocktails.  Jessica ordered one of their two "spicy" drinks and it was quite good, but with a lot of heat.  Everyone else seemed to enjoy their selections, and the bar area was surprisingly active for being so early (~ 6 PM) on a Saturday night.  For dinner, we were seated at a table in their downstairs seating area.  The space was okay, and made better when full of people, but it didn't have quite the atmosphere of the upstairs where the decor is more consistent and upscale.  Still, for our group of six, it didn't make any difference because the downstairs allowed us to enjoy each other's company without worry of being too loud!

The table split a few appetizers, and I tried both the scallops and lamb sausage.  The scallops had an excellent sear and were properly cooked... not overdone but certainly not raw either.  There wasn't anything that struck me as "special" about these scallops, but I definitely was satisfied that they delivered what I hoped.  I was honestly surprised that they served five per order; even though they weren't huge, they were still large enough where three could have been the appetizer portion.  The lamb sausage, while somewhat plain on the plate, was more unique than the scallops.  It was slightly spicy and reminded me of a mereguez sausage (which it probably was meant to be) that I'd had before.  I didn't have the chance to taste the sausage, which crumbled from the casing a bit more than I'd like, with the honey, but I imagine that pairing was perfect!

For dinner, I was thrilled to order a chicken-fried ribeye.  For those unfamiliar with the concept, chicken-fried steak is typically a pounded-thin round steak that is then coated in flour / batter and fried so that it has an outer crust like fried chicken.  In this case, they used an excellent, thick-cut ribeye in place of the thinner, lower quality beef commonly used, and the result was very interesting.  First the things I loved about it... high quality steak cooked to a perfect medium rare, crunchy exterior (particularly at the edges) for an excellent texture contrast uncommon with steak, and heavily seasoned for great flavor.  Now the things that could have been better... some of the breading was soggy (maybe unavoidable with a thick, juicy steak), the onion gravy was more of an acidic onion marmalade and I was hopping for an actual gravy typical of country-fried steak, and the sweet potato cake wasn't as crisp on the edges as I'd like.

Overall, though, I loved the steak dish.  I'm always excited to try something a bit different from the norm, and combining my favorite cut of steak (ribeye) with a favorite preparation I don't have often (chicken-fried) was perfect.  There were small areas to improve upon, the easiest being to crisp up the sweet potato cake, but I appreciate the creativeness and the execution of something that I'd never seen before.  When I finished my dinner, the plate was entirely clean and that ultimately speaks for itself!

Our group's experience was very positive; everyone seemed to like their meals and the atmosphere allowed for us to converse, joke, and even get a bit loud at times.  The service was also impeccable (no water glasses ever empty, food arriving at the same time, etc.) and not rushed as our dinner neared three hours.  For a more romantic time at Revolution, I'd definitely make sure to sit upstairs, but that's a small detail.  I think that people looking for a fun night our with good and creative food should definitely consider Revolution.

Centro in Raleigh

One of my favorite trends in the restaurant world is the influx of chefs elevating "standard" ethnic cuisine either with modern twists or more upscale ingredients and preparations.  One such example is Vivace in North Hills (Italian) and another is J. Betski's in Raleigh (German / Polish).  Last night, Jessica and I joined a friend for dinner at Centro (http://www.centroraleigh.com/) on Wilmington Street in downtown Raleigh.  Billed as a Mexican restaurant and tequila bar, Centro isn't a regular restaurant serving chicken quesadillas and boring tacos.  Instead, they use fresh ingredients and more authentic preparations (which come with a larger price tag if you're used to $1 tacos!) to create a unique dining experience.

The restaurant itself is VERY small and doesn't take reservations... this can lead to long wait times even if you call ahead to get in line (which didn't work for us anyway) but the bar is more than willing to take you on.  Our party tried their margaritas and also their take on an Old Fashioned, and we were not disappointed.  The cocktails were well-made; fresh and flavorful with a lot of "Mexican" ingredients and flavors.  After waiting for thirty minutes or so, a table was finally ready for us.

To start, the server brought a shot of spicy, corn-broth soup.  My experience with corn soups is that they are creamy; instead, this was more like water but packed with great flavor and a fair amount of heat.  I always enjoy when restaurants start the meal with something like this (whether here it qualifies as an amuse bouche I don't know) because it shows they are proud of their concepts and cooking methods.  After the soup, we treated ourselves to their queso with chorizo.  It was, clearly, delicious, as was the standard salsa served with their fresh-made chips.  I'm normally not a salsa person but I could have eaten my whole bowl here.

For my main course, I went with the Chile Sureno... a poblano pepper stuffed with cheesy grits, mushrooms, onions, and shrimp.  The gravy, allegedly made with tequila and ancho chilies, was amazing but not identifiable with those two flavors for me.  I thought the dish (pictured above) featured the broth best, with the grits soaking up a lot of the flavor.  The shrimp were well-cooked although I think serving them without tails would make the eating experience simpler (without losing presentation points).  My minor complaint for the dish would be that it needed a bit more salt, but I got over it and cleared my plate save for the mushrooms, which is no surprise to anyone who knows me.  The portion was perfect too; I was full without feeling miserable as is often the case with more casual Mexican places.  Both Jessica and Matt liked their entrees as well (Tinga Poblana for Jessica and Tacos de Pescado for Matt).

Centro focuses on preparations of fresh ingredients with their simple menu (I thought almost everything sounded great) in a wonderful atmosphere to dine.  Throughout our entire time drinking and dining, every table was filled with a line of people out the door.  I think they hit the mark on every dish and drink I tried; their food seems more "authentic" than Mez in Durham even if Mez has a wider range of choices and is probably my prefered choice.  Regardless, for a fun night out when time isn't super critical, I think Centro is a wonderful place to start with a fresh, festive meal.

Cooking at Home for Valentine's Day

Jessica and I like to celebrate Valentine's Day with a great meal together, but we've found that eating out can be overly expensive, crowded, and generally limited with set menus.  Instead, for the past few years, we've cooked dinner at home to make an equally fantastic meal with far less hassle.

This year, we started with beef crostini topped with caramelized onions and then seared scallops with Parmesan risotto for the main course.  While the two courses were not overly fancy, they were both a step or two above our typical home-cooked dinners.

The first key to preparing a special meal at home is finding good ingredients.  Instead of using the local grocery store, I traveled to Fresh Market to get the scallops and beef tenderloin for the meal.  Fresh Market may have higher prices than other stores, but the quality is also a notch above and well worth it for a special meal.  Also, the additional cost pales in comparison to the savings gained by eating at home rather than out.  Restaurants charge $30 for an eight-ounce filet and $20 or so for an order of scallops, and yet I was able to purchase both for a combined $20.  Even factoring in the preparation (which for our meal wasn't too difficult), the markup is incredible!

First for the beef crostini... I was inspired to make this dish from the Sandwich King on Food Network, who made something similar in one of his episodes.  My goal was to sear the beef (and then finish it roasting in the oven at 500 degrees) to a medium rare.  Creating the sear is extremely important; a lot of flavor is created with that crust as salt and pepper join the caramelized beef flavor to add a great exterior "seasoning" for the meat.  The concept of "locking in the juices" isn't really accurate, but visual and taste effects with the sear are great.  I cooked my filet on the stove top on medium high with a bit of butter, and the sear was perfect!

In concert with preparing the steak, I prepared my caramelized onions.  I started with a whole sweet onion, a bit of olive oil mixed with butter, and a fair amount of salt.  My knife skills are not great but I generally cut the onions to a small dice so that the final product is almost creamy rather than large strands.  For me, patience is the key with these onions... I probably simmer them down for 45 minutes or so to make sure they cook slowly and brown nicely. 

Once I finished both the steak and the caramelized onions, it was time to assemble.  I purchased rosemary olive oil crostini to add extra flavor, and then I layered the following ingredients:

- A few shreds of Parmesan cheese

- A couple crystals of kosher salt

- A slice of the seared tenderloin

- A "dollop" of onions

Both the cheese and (obviously) the salt helped bolster the other flavors in the dish.  I also let the beef cool down to room temperature (because that is common in recipes I found), and that worked well.  Jessica and I thoroughly enjoyed the bite-sized crostini and I thought each and every ingredient added something useful to the flavor.

The scallops and risotto were far simpler to prepare, although equally delicious.  For the scallops, I simply dried them and then coated each with salt and pepper.  I buttered my cast iron skillet (adding a bit of canola oil to help not burn the butter as easily) and waited for it to brown, then added the scallops and cooked 2-3 minutes per side.  The result was perfect... tender and just cooked through in the center with a nice crunchy sear on each side.  In the future, I'll ask for more similarly sized scallops because one was much larger than the other three, impacting cooking time.

For my risotto, I use ~ 1 cup of arborio rice with reduced-sodium chicken stock (normally 4 cups or so).  I started by sauteing garlic, then toasting the rice and deglazing with white wine.  For the next 20-25 minutes, I stirred and added the stock until the rice was tender.  For the final step, I added a handful of Parmesan cheese for flavor.  This is one of my wife's favorite dishes that I prepare, and it's actually quite easy.  Just remember though, that SALT is critical to bringing out the flavors!

While our Valentine's Day dinner lacked the fanciness that you can find at restaurants around the Triangle, it matched the flavor and variety at a fraction of the cost.  With a few simple recipes and a couple of great ingredients, we were able to prepare and enjoy a wonderful, home-cooked meal!

Meat and Potatoes in Pittsburgh

For brunch yesterday, my mom, Jessica, and I ventured into downtown Pittsburgh to try Meat and Potatoes (http://meatandpotatoespgh.com/), a self-proclaimed "gastropub" that opened in 2011.  The restaurant, a hip newer establishment located in the Theater District, exemplifies the revitalization efforts of the city with a trendy, upscale-yet-casual atmosphere that appeals to a wide range of customers.  The dining area features a large bar centered in the room with tables against the outer walls (one of which acts as a window to the outside street, a second showing the specials of the day, and a third displaying the various animals and cuts of meat available on a sketched cow).  At 1 PM on a Saturday, the whole restaurant was filled completely with more people in the waiting area, normally a promising sign for a great meal!

Drinks

We decided to eat at the bar rather than wait for our table (we were about 25 minutes early) and it was perfect.  One of the brunch specialties here is the Bloody Mary Bar, which both Jessica and my mom tried.  They serve several different infused vodkas (black pepper and garlic, bacon, and chili were three of the six options) and then allow the diner to add the fresh-made tomato mix as well as seasonings and countless pickled vegetables.  Both Jessica and my mom were very happy with their concoctions.  I went with one of their brunch cocktails, a whiskey drink with orange and cherry that was superb.  And because we were sitting at the bar and watching drinks be made over and over, the three of us split their French Toast Flip, a sweet cocktail with a whole egg added to create foam and a creamy texture.

Food

As with roughly 80% of the other tables (my estimate from watching the food leave the kitchen), we started with the "Fried Taters" accompanied by truffle mayonnaise.  The smell from the truffles alone was worth the order, and the perfectly crisp fries were equally excellent.  Served in a small cast iron skillet, the pile of fries was liberally salted and seasoned, making them wonderful on their own but even better when dipped in the sauce.  Had we known that two of our three entrees came with fries (something the menu doesn't mention for some reason), I'm not sure we would have started with these but I'm glad we did to start the meal off right.





PBLT

For my lunch, I had the PBLT, a healthy portion of pork belly and bacon served with arugula and tomato on toasted, thick white bread.  It's rare for me to enjoy (or even tolerate) added items to a sandwich like tomato and arugula, but I actually felt both made this sandwich better.  The bacon was crispy, which I normally don't like either, but it was the perfect texture contrast to the almost creamy pork belly (which was ridiculously good).  Even though half of the sandwich was more than enough for me, I powered through and finished the entire thing, which I didn't regret even if I could barely move for a few hours after.

For their respective meals, my mom and Jessica had the short rib hash and chicken biscuit (chicken, rosemary ham, and Swiss cheese on a fresh made biscuit).  I had a taste of each and enjoyed both thoroughly.  To offer a minor criticism of the hash, I think it would have benefited from a bit more flavor contrast, but I didn't try it mixed with the eggs that topped the order.  It also came with a horseradish hollandaise so that would help as well.  I'm not sure I could find fault with the chicken biscuit, except that it too was served with an egg (something A LOT of the brunch meals include) and I despise them!

Service

The service at the bar was excellent; the bar tender was very conversational and didn't mind us asking questions about the various cocktails she made during our meal.  Her co-worker, who seemed more like a manager for the brunch shift, was also helpful with our food selections offering recommendations and specialties of the house.  The only slight problem we had was a delay in the delivery of Jessica's biscuit... although once I asked about it, it arrived in less than a minute!

Overall, Meat and Potatoes delivered exactly what I hoped when we booked the reservation.  The menu featured modern twists on standard brunch food, and elevated the quality with the inclusion of specialty ingredients (like the pork belly, for example, or the truffle mayonnaise).  Every bite of food I tried was amazing, and the drinks matched the same quality.  I'd love to try dinner at Meat and Potatoes since the menu seems to further raise the complexity of the dishes (most brunch items were sandwiches and / or true breakfast offerings) although I really cannot imagine much improvement on what was a truly memorable meal.