Craft- Atlanta - I love Tom Colicchio. He's brilliant and un-pretentious and his restaurant reflects those sentiments. This was a family-style restaurant that I shared with about a half dozen colleagues on a work trip. We shared everything, and I tasted flavors that simply aren't ordinary. The service was outstanding, the food - sublime.
Seasons 52 - Atlanta - I make it point not to eat at chain restaurants, but this was an exception. Each restaurant in this company has their own seasonal menu, no one dish is more than 475 calories (which I don't care about anyway - obviously), it was a perfect meal. I had a cedar-plank salmon that was so tender and flavorful. The desserts came in small shot glasses, a couple of bites is all I need for dessert.
White Dog - Philadelphia - Organic, slow food at its best. Salads so fresh, you'd swear they still had roots on them. I had an olive-oil rosemary citrus-cream cake for dessert that was so savory and unique, it makes me believe in desserts again.
Firefly - Las Vegas - We had Valentine's day dinner there one year. Every tapas dish we had was so delicious, from meatballs, frites, and sangria, this is the real deal.
Stein Erikson - Glitretind restaurant, Park City, UT - We had an hour session with a sommelier - I guessed nearly 4 out of the 6 wines (some were blends, 2 were surprises), but talking wine for an hour was bliss. The dinner was divine. I had a Maine Diver Sea Scallop with a brilliant Citrus Beurre Blanc sauce and wild mushrooms and couscous, then a Hawaiian white fish special, seared perfectly crisp on the outside, tender-flaky on the inside, lobster mashed potatoes (two of my favorite things in life combined!), and parsnip and carrot crisps. One of my dining partners had a duck with a raspberry foam, which was sublime. I rarely order dessert, but a pistachio mousse bombe with a dark cherry center and pistachio ice cream were too much to pass up, and that did not disappoint, subtley rich flavors, amazing textures, not too sweet, a perfect balance. It was a great night with co-workers, full of deep belly laughs and friendship, amongst the white-draped Utah Wasatch mountains.
Bistro 7, Philadelphia - Sure, several of my faves include Philly restaurants. Our HQ is in Philly and I get the opportunity to travel there a few times a year, and have the fortune of good friends who choose amazing places for repast. This was a BYOB, and we bought a modest bottle, despite my insistence of a really good bottle. I had a French lentil soup, which was really more like just lentils, not as impressed, but then a salmon that was cooked to absolute perfection, meltingly tender without being mushy, in a saffron broth that soaked up the carrot, leak, and pea mixture underneath. Then a chocolate pot de'creme with a chocolate macaroon. I left the restaurant stuffed full of goodness.
Zama, Philadelphia - Same trip, lunch on my own. Sometimes I like it this way. I had a spicy tuna roll that was beyond anything I've had before, then a beef short rib with fried potatoes, amazing.
Okay, so this will be multi-part ... bon appetite, Top Chef is on!
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