I can't overlook the local talent

When I travel, going out to eat is becoming more and more fun.  At first, I was more into staying in the room and just getting room service.  I felt a little awkward going out to dinner by myself, or I wouldn't want to take away time from work.  Now, it's a compltely different story.  I go for the food and the experience.  In fact, next week I head to Boston for work, and am already picking out my dining locations.  I scheduled my flight to ensure I would get in early enough for dinner, sleeping be damned!  There will definitely be some posts relating from the trip.

But I'm not writing to preview my trip.  Rather it's something my pending trip made me think about.  I've started a spreadsheet with different restaurants in different cities that I want to try as a travel across this great country (yes, a spreadsheet...I'm still a marketing geek at heart).  I'm thinking about my annual trip to Chicago and where to eat.  I am trying to figure out an excuse to get to NYC or the Bay Area or even South Florida.  There are so many places with renowned chefs and great restaurants and tempting cuisine that I forget what is in my own backyard.  But one city was consipicuously absent...Seattle.  That's right, my home city (though it has now moved to the front of the list).  It's not that I forget that Seattle is a great place for top-notch dining; I've had many amazing meals around the city.  I think it is more a symptom of me enjoying cooking, and I wonder if other home cooks do the same thing.  When I'm out of the city, I'm more or less forced to go out to eat.  But when I'm home, it's time to experiment, try new things, and save a few bucks by cooking at home.  

Last night I was looking at the chefs that will be participating in the upcoming season of Top Chef Masters.  These chefs are the best of the best.  Last year's competition featured the likes of Hubert Keller, Rick Bayless and Michael Chiarello just to name a few.  I watched them put together meals in a dorm room on a bunson burner that I could never imagine making in the finest kitchen with the finest ingredients and all the time in the world.  Anyway, this season there are 21 different chefs competing.  The most represented cities are New York and Los Angeles with 5 each, followed by Chicago and Seattle with 3.  That's right, not Boston or Miami, or the Bay Area, but Seattle.  Chefs Maria Hines (Tilth, Earth & Ocean), Thierry Rautureau (Rover's), and Jerry Traunfeld (Poppy, formerly the Herbfarm) will be representing Seattle.  And sadly, I have to admit, I have not eaten at any of their restaurants.

Going beyond the chefs featured in this season of Top Chef Masters, you can find celebrity chefs (Tom Douglas, John Howie), Iron Chef participatns (Tamara Murphy, Brasa), and so much more.  The Seattle restaurant scene is actually quite impressive, and I think I'm doing myself, and readers of my blog, a disservice if I don't take advantage of these wonderful places right in my own backyard. 

So, be sure to check out the Seattle chefs in this Top Chef Masters (free endorsement for Bravo, maybe next year I can charge when my readership is up), and I'll do my best to get out more often in my local community to provide some feedback on the various Seattle restaurants.  And maybe in the process I'll learn a thing or two that I can take back to my own cooking.

Restaurant Review: Deck on CraftSteak

I definitely don't want to make a habit out of posting past dated restaurant reviews.  And actually, this should be my last one as I head out on the road to Boston next week, and can dive into the restaurant reviews.  But it would be sacrilegious to have a food blog and not talk about my dining experience at CraftSteak.

CraftSteak, one of the Craft family of restaurants created by 5-Time James Beard award winner Tom Colicchio, is located in MGM Grand in Las Vegas.  Besides being an award winning chef, Tom Colicchio is the head judge on Top Chef, one of my favorite food shows on television.  So, after watching him rate, review, and breakdown contestants, I wanted to see if he could really deliver the goods.  So, since I was in Vegas, I grabbed my friend Nick (aka DJ Nicky Tsunami*), and headed over for dinner.

After a day at the pool where we hadn't exactly consumed a lot of food, we sat down at our dinner ready to eat.  Fortunately I had thought ahead to make a reservation as it is quite the popular place, though the bar does offer the full menu.  The first thing that came out was a pan of dinner rolls.  Eager for some sort of sustenance I dove in.  The rolls were absolutely delicious.  Light and fluffy rolls with buttered tops, but it was the hint of salt on top that actually put them over the edge.  We each put away two rolls before we even opened the menu to look at the food.

With our hunger briefly satiated, we took a look at the menu.  It featured a wide variety of steaks and sides and appetizers, all of which had the potential for deliciousness, that Nick was trying to wrap his head around.  So, rather than try and figure out what was best, I suggested that we do the Wagyu chef's menu, figuring that it would be better to let the chef put his best foot forward.  The chef's menu consisted of three courses; appetizer, entree and dessert, and all of the courses consisted of multiple dishes, and to say that we were excited to see what would come out is an understatement.

Within a few minutes the appetizers arrived at the table, and instantly we knew that we were in for something special.  We both went immediately for the steak tartare served with a nice crostini.  I heaped a generous portion on the crositini, took a bite, and felt like I could die happy.  The texture was so smooth and creamy, the flavor of the beef was so rich, and then the crunch of crostini was just perfect.  It was so incredible that it is making my mouth water right now, just thinking about it.  I could have made an entire meal out of that alone.  But that was only one of the appetizers.  Also on the table in front of us were some delicious and perfectly cooked breaded prawns.  As an appetizer on their own, they would have been excellent, but they paled in comparison to the tartare.

Now sufficiently happy, full of tartare and more rolls (seriously, they were just addictive), it was time for the star of the show.  You can't possibly have a restaurant called CraftSteak without serving steak.  I should also say here that I don't go to a lot of steak houses because I feel like for the price, I can make something that is equally good.  But this was Tom Colicchio's restaurant, so I gave in.  And am I glad that I did.  We did not only have placed in front of a beautifully prepared, medium rare, prime cut of filet mignon, but also an even more beautifully prepared, medium rare prime cut of Ribeye, hands down my favorite cut of meat.  Our server could barely get his hands back in time before the forks went flying into the steak.  One of my biggest criticisms with a lot of places that do steak is that they don't let the meat shine.  There is too much seasoning and flavoring and sauces on top of the steak or it's not rested properly or it's overcooked or any number of other things that ruin a steak.  CraftSteak knew how to make the meat shine.  With a light spice blend that seemed to feature no more than salt, pepper and rosemary the flavor of the meat was just the star.  The first bite was the filet which was so moist and juicy, just terrific.  Then there was the Ribeye.  The Ribeye was a thing of beauty, an unbelievable cut of meat that put a smile on my face and made me close my eyes sit back and enjoy.

After devouring the steak and a good, though unspectacular accompaniment of side dishes (potatoes and asparagus), we were treated to a variety of dessert options.  For me, the sorbets were excellent, especially the pear sorbet, one of my favorite flavors of anything. 

CraftSteak absolutely lived up to its billing.  The service was fantastic, the type of service that is efficient, but non-invasive, where we were able to have a conversation, look down, and our plates and silverware had been swapped out for the next course.  For me, the only non-amazing parts of the dinner were the plating (very simplistic, but expected for a more "family-style" service approach),  the side dishes which were for the most part unmemorable, and the desserts which were pretty simple (unlike Fleur de Lys, where I actually had to take a picture prior to eating).   

But the steak, oh the steak.  It was far and away the star, and made all the other things not really matter that much.   CraftSteak is an absolute must visit on your next trip to Vegas.  As Nick described it, "That was the food of the Gods".


*Side note:  Nick has been helping me promote my blog, and I need to help him promote his music.  Check out his mixes at http://www.letsmix.com/nicky_tsunami.  When it comes to food, I'm your guy, but when it comes to music, it's all Nicky Kats. 

A newfound passion...

About five and a half years ago, I met this girl.  Like any guy, I wanted to find any way to talk to her, and any way to impress her.  So, for one of our first dates I decided to cook her dinner.  It was a mess.  We ended up eating slightly undercooked steaks and potatoes in the dark.  But that date spawned something.  Maybe it was my desire to keep trying to impress her with my cooking prowess.  Maybe it was my understanding that she was never going to be the cook in this relationship.  Whatever it was, I kept trying new things, and slowly improving what I was doing.  I'm not sure what the tipping point was exactly (though I'm pretty sure it was right around the time I ate my first meal at a Bobby Flay restaurant), but in the past year, a new passion has taken hold.  So, like any 20 something in this high-tech, inter-connected world, I'm not just exploring it, I'm blogging about it.

Now, I'm not about to embark on something like the Julie and Julia (or whatever the title was) movie where I work my way through a cookbook.  And I'm not about to drop everything to go to culinary school and open a restaurant.  It's not about me becoming a great chef.  It's simply about me enjoying food; whether it be cooking it myself, enjoying the labors of others, or learning about new things in general.

So, that brings me to my point.  I've developed a new appreciation for food.  I've gone from the type of guy that prided himself on being able to purchase a month's worth of groceries for $100 to a guy that will spend twenty minutes just staring into the meat section at Whole Foods before selecting just what I want.  I went from having two pots and one pan to watching Iron Chef and adding things to my wedding registry because I was so intrigued by what they were doing (though I had to draw the line at vacuum sealer and imersion circulator).  I watch shows like Top Chef and Iron Chef America to get some ideas as much as for pure entertainment.  I went from Mac and Cheese to Roasted Red Pepper Risotto with Applewood Smoked Bacon and Orange Glazed Prawns.

But, it's not just about the cooking.  It's about the eating too.  I am already anticipating blog posts about restaurants that I've been too (guaranteed that CraftSteak and Mesa Grill are coming up).  I've actually created a spreadsheet of different restaurants in different cities that I want to try, given the opportunity of making it to the city through travel.  

I know I'm no different than many amateur chefs out there.  In fact, there are many that have far more talent that I do.  But, it is something that I absolutely enjoy, and I'm hoping that a few of you that read this will enjoy it as well.  And who knows, maybe as my skills continue to develop, one of these days I'll be able to share some of my creations with you.

As the French would say, Bon Appetit!