Mildreds

This is my second time in London for work, and one of the things I struggled with immensely the first time I was here was where to eat.  It seemed that mediocre Italian and standard pub fare dominated the restaurant scene.  I vowed that this time it would be different, and with the help of some friends, today's dining experience had a completely different tone than the first time.

Well, today I found two such places- or rather, two such places found me.  The first is Mildreds.

Image is from the restaurant website

I was meeting a friend (who happens to be named Mildred), and the person who introduced the two of us suggested that we meet for lunch at this cafe, since it shares our friend's name and all.  It is a vegetarian restaurant, so I knew that veggies would be in abundance; the only concern was whether they would be tasty veggies.

We met outside the restaurant just after 1, and were seated promptly at a table for 2.  It was fairly crowded, which is generally a good sign.  After looking over the menu, I decided upon the Jerusalem artichoke and pear blini along with rocket and parmesan salad as a side.

The salad was tasty.  Plenty of parmesan, with some pinenuts thrown in for good measure, lightly dressed with a balsamic vinaigrette, but at the end of the day it was still a salad.  Nothing mind-blowingly innovative here.

The blini, however, was fantastic.  It had a quartered and roasted pear, along with some Jerusalem artichoke, on top of a blini- which seemed to have been made with some sort of cornmeal, as it was less crepe-like than the Eastern European blintzes I'm familiar with.  This was topped with arugula, and drizzled with honey and some squares of blue cheese.

The combination of flavors was delicious.  Pear and blue cheese was something I've had before, but I never would have thought to add Jerusalem artichoke to it, and it worked very well.  Definitely something to think about recreating at home.

I would definitely recommend Mildreds to friends in London, and may stop back later this week.

Do you have any recommendations for places to eat in London?

Eleven Madison Park

Date night this week was a trip to Eleven Madison Park, as a rescheduled holiday dinner.  We'd made reservations for December 22, only to be hit by the dreaded swine flu- so when we saw availability for 5:30pm reservation on January 15, we quickly snatched it up.

My first trip to EMP was part of a Christmas gift to Nick in 2008.  That evening blew me away, and made me convinced that the restaurant was one of the top in the city, and provided phenomenal value for price.

This trip confirmed much of the same, with a couple of caveats.  Our early reservation meant that we were among the first tables of the evening.  Service started out a bit off- there was some reaching for glasses, and our conversation was interrupted several times to ask if we were ready to order wine, etc.  Not a huge problem, but service was not nearly as impressive as it was the first time.  Towards the end of the meal, the service did seem to hit its stride, with it improving to what we had received last time.

We started the evening at the bar; Nick with his standard Plymouth gin and tonic, and I opted for a "Vertical Railroad" (sherry, pear brandy, orgeat and allspice).  My cocktail tasted like winter in a glass, an adult snocone made of real snow mixed with the spices of gingerbread.  For wine, we ordered a bottle of Domaine du Deffends, Clos du Bécassier, Coteaux Varois 2006, a blend of Cinsault, Grenache, Syrah, Cabernet Sauvignon.  Never having head of Cinsault before, I was intrigued.  And for $35/bottle, it was probably the cheapest wine on their very extensive wine list.

The food, however, was just fantastic.  The menu is a three course prix fixe menu, consisting of 2 savories and 1 sweet.  I opted to for the prawn roulade and the pork (Cochon de Lait)- I'm still dreaming about the pork belly I had last time, and had to go with the pork despite it being a different preparation- while Nick went with the egg, mushroom and frog leg appetizer and the lamb.  But before we even ordered, we were given an amuse bouche consisting of 5 small bites (a beet marshmallow, a foie gras macaroon, a sweetbreads cornet, and two other items I can't properly describe) along with gougeres.  

All were delicious, and really set the stage for the next course, of a mushroom soup with some sort of cheese foam accompanied by a mushroom brioche.  Delicious.  And also included gratis with our meal.

Next up was two rolls- one olive, on sourdough- that were accompanied by a salted goat's milk butter, and an unsalted cow's milk butter.  Really very delicious; the butters were creamy and served at perfect room temperature (holding their molded round shape, but spreading extremely easily) and the bread was hot.

Then it was time for the appetizers.  My roulade was good, and reminded me quite a bit of a dragon roll.  Delicious, extremely fresh, but not particularly inventive.  Nick's egg/mushroom/frog legs was AMAZING.  Creamy, flavorful, the ingredients just melted in your mouth.  Definitely something to order.

The entrees went similarly.  My pork was incredibly moist and flavorful, but Nick's lamb really stole the show- moist, flavorful, tender.  I'd definitely recommend getting the lamb.

Dessert was the highlight of the meal for me.  Nick opted for the Araguani Chocolate, whereas I opted for the Chocolate and Milk.  I have very little to say about Nick's- it was good- but mine was really the highlight of the night.  Dried milk foam, dehydrated chocolate mousse, the dessert was more WD-50 than Eleven Madison Park.  And this is exactly the sort of thing I love- food that is crazy enough I have no idea where to even begin to make it at home.

The desserts were followed up by macaroons (we both opted to try one of each of the flavors), which were absolutely perfect, and were sent home with a box of citrus gelees.

All in all, a fantastic meal.  The food was excellent, and the service was good (and improved initially.)  It was also nice to have the early reservation; our 3 hour meal meant that we still had most of the evening before us when it ended.

Hungry Mother

I frequently travel to Boston/Cambridge for work, and have been trying to expand my horizons beyond Cambridge Brewing Company and Legal Seafoods.  On the advice of a coworker, I headed to Hungry Mother.


It was a cold Tuesday night, and the place was packed.  I was with a coworker, and the only option for us was to sit at the bar, which we happily took.

The atmosphere was warm and cozy, the bartender friendly, and the air filled with chatter.  A quick glance of the menu, and I almost immediately settled on the Braised Berkshire Pork Shoulder. 

As an appetizer, I ordered the chicken liver mousse crostini, and decided on a glass of the wine du jour- a red burgundy, if I recall correctly.

The wine was the only disappointment of the evening.  The pour was generous, but something seemed...off about the wine.  I wasn't convinced that the wine was corked or otherwise tainted, but it definitely was not too enjoyable. 

The crostini, however, was absolutely delicious.  The mousse was made without eggs, so it was a bit runny (which was perfect for soaking up with bread that was served), and the flavor was spectacular.  The bartender mentioned that it was his favorite item on the menu.

The pork was also fantastic.  Served with potatoes and cabbage, the first bite was Germany embodied in a dish.  The flavors of the root vegetables reminded my time abroad in Freiburg my sophomore year of college.  And the meat was so tender- you touched it and it just fell apart. 

For dessert, I ordered the sticky toffee cake.  Warned by the bartender that "you can really taste the bourbon," I thought I was in for a delicious treat.  And it was...good.  The sauce was fantastic, but the cake itself was bland.  I'm not sure that it is something I would order again.

All in all, it was a good night out- the appetizer and entree were outstanding, and the service was very friendly.  I'd definitely go there again when I'm in Boston.

In Cleveland...

Ever since college, I've wanted to live in New York City.  And now I do.

But I'm still a girl from Cleveland, with mad pride for my hometown.

The Monday Room

One of my favorite low-key-good-food-and-wine-without-making-reservations-weeks-in-advance-places is The Monday Room.  Part of the AvroKO design firm's restaurant group, it's how I've imagined British gentlemen's clubs look:

Image from The Monday Room

We'd planned to go out to dinner with a friend of mine from high school, but all of the places we'd thought of originally either had no availability for 3, or we'd be eating after 10pm.  (One of the things that annoys me about the NYC restaurant scene is the need for reservations.  It was 6:30pm on a Saturday when we started looking.  Where are your reliable don't-need-a-reservation places that don't require an hour wait?)

A quick search on OpenTable indicated The Monday Room had an 8pm reservation available for a party of 3, which we quickly snagged.

We arrived at five after eight, and were seated promptly while we waited for my friend.  (Another note for NYC restaurants: why must you wait for all members of the party before you seat them?  Especially if it you're waiting on 1 member for a 2- or 4-top.  Even if the person doesn't show, the same sized table will be used.)

The menu consists of mostly of small and medium sized plates, and an extensive list of wines available by the 1/2 glass, glass, 1/2 bottle or bottle.  Where the restaurant really shines is in the flights; you give the server (since it really is the server and not a proper sommelier) your preferences and a price range, and you end up with 3 generous 1/2 glasses of wine.

I asked for "New World Reds", Nick went with the featured flight of Shiraz from around the world, and my friend asked for "really deep rich reds."  We were given our respective wines, along with colorful descriptions- the hit of the night (whose name I cannot recall) was "an old man's wine."  All of the wines that I had were delicious (and I followed up the flight with a glass of Zweigelt and a glass of something French), and the knowledge of the server was impressive.

On the food front, we had the eel with quail egg, the butternut flan, mini venison burgers (for which we placed a second order because they were so delicious), the large cheese board and 3 desserts: baba au rhum, stout cake and apple crumble with miso-chedder ice cream.

In a word, delicious.  The eel was served on three large spoons as single-serving bites, and were light and refreshing.  The venison burgers, accompanied by spicy ketchup, were perfectly cooked and accompanied by some of the best onion rings I've ever had- the grown-up version of the late Saturday night fast food run in college, and way more delicious.

The flan was good, but not "wow"- I'm not sure that I would order it again.  The cheese board was totally different than the one we had Friday night at Bistro 61- minimalist, with 6 cheeses, each with about a teaspoon of an appropriate accompaniment (figs, dulce de leche, kumquats, etc.)  Nick said that he preferred The Monday Room's cheese board to Bistro 61's, because of the pairing with the accompaniments.  I'm can't make a decision on that one, as the boards were so different in style and cheese content.

In regards to the desserts, they were good.  Interesting flavors- I especially liked the cheesecake ice cream that came with mine- but I think I would have preferred more cheese or another order of those burgers.

All in all, it was a fantastic night out.  We arrived at 8pm, and didn't leave until 1:30- and never felt rushed or encouraged to leave.  The wines were delicious, and the food- especially the savory- was very very tasty.