Potato Chips in Greece

While we were in Greece, my husband and I raided the local supermarkets for water and snacks for the beach. I stumbled upon the interesting variety of potato chip flavors there like Paprika.

Herbs are very popular in Greek dishes, so I wasn't surprised that Oregano was by far the most common potato chips flavor. I was just very amused to see an American brand producing flavors for the Greek taste buds in a familiar packaging but all in Greek.



It was so good that we bought 2 more bags after our first try!

Santorini Pistachio Nut

I recently brought home some roasted pistachio nuts from Santorini. What do they look like? They remind me of Santorini's infamous Red Beach.



Their reddish color isn't much of a surprise given Santorini's abundance of volcanic soil. I wasn't sure what to expect inside though. The only color I'm familiar is green, but they're actually yellow inside!


They definitely don't taste or look like the pistachio nuts in the States. Other than the obvious color, they're skinnier in size. In terms of flavor, they are very fragrant as they are roasted. If you pay close attention, you'll taste what I'd consider a very sophisticated pistachio nut - richer and a tad more intense.

Del Posto

Del Posto was the final stop of our NY restaurant week streak. I felt like I was in a high class, serious, old school hotel the moment I stepped into the restaurant. A huge door mat with the restaurant's initials welcomed our arrival (all it was missing was a door man). My eyes were overwhelmed by dark brown furniture and geometric printed floor tiles (I felt like I was looking at one of M.C. Escher's Symmetry works) as I took a few seconds to take in the decor of the restaurant. My eyes were so busy that I only had a glimpse of Sandra Lee from the Food Network walking right past me only less than a foot away!

Overall, the food was very good...not hit you over the head with inventive combination of flavors, but executed very well. I believe the restaurant sticks to Mario Batali's philosophy that when you have fresh ingredients, you really don't need to do much to it but to cook it to perfection.

I started with an heirloom tomato salad that was dressed with a simple but delicious vinaigrette. The colors of the tomatoes ranged from yellow, orange, to red...they were fresh and sweet. Fresh parsley further enhanced the dish's freshness. My husband had a salad of thinly sliced speck and cheese, and arugula. I enjoyed the speck's smokiness and how its combination with cheese did not taste overly salty.

Then came my salmon with bean salad. I know, I should've ordered pasta in an Italian restaurant, but my other option was spinach pasta in "Mario's favorite" (bolognese) sauce...I've been dabbing into pork, but not beef. Anyways, the salmon was excellent, aside from it being a tad undercooked. The bean salad was so flavorful with the use of pickled vegetables. My husband had the berkshire pork. He had absolutely no complaints.


And finally, dessert. I had a chocolate pudding with caramel. I'm not a caramel fan, but I did enjoy the dish very much. I loved the contrast in texture between the smooth pudding and crunchiness of the nuts and little chocolate covered beads that tasted like rice crispy (they may have been Goobers). I couldn't say the same for my husband's hazelnut bar though. The combination of the sweet chocolaty hazelnut cake with citrus sauce and spicy salty roasted hazelnut was way too complex for me. Needless to say, I didn't like it.


Overall, it was a very good meal. I just wish the portions were larger so I wouldn't have to chow down three rolls to get full.

Wedding Wednesdays: All Good Things Must Come to an End

It's been more than a month since our wedding. I am very happy to put an end to that part of our journey and say goodbye to my obsessive behavior in all things wedding related. Sadly, with the end of that part of our lives comes the end of Wedding Wednesdays.

I will though, with no doubt, be sharing with you our journey in building our nest - I will be transitioning from being a "consultant designer" in my sister's new home to being a leading designer in our future home!

Cafe Boulud

My husband and I are on a restaurant week streak! This time around, we tried Cafe Boulud for lunch. Aside from the mostly senior citizen crowd, it was fantastic.

This is one of the few instances that I don't have photos to share from my meal. My husband didn't want me to take any pictures since the restaurant is a classy joint.

I had the Crispy Tiger Prawns to start, which was served with pineapple, cilantro, pickled jalapeño and Thai eggplant purée. At first, I was worried at the amount of red onion I saw on my plate, but it was just the perfect amount! I didn't taste anything Thai with the eggplant, but I loved the combination of the saltiness of the eggplant and the sweetness of the pineapple.

Then came my Pan Seared Cod, served with mustard greens, caramelized onions, rustic potatoes and garlic-herb beurre blanc. There was no shortage of butter in this dish! The cod was hot off the pan and perfectly cooked (total opposite of what I had at Spice Market). I knew it was perfect when the meat bounced back a bit when I poked it with my fork. I loved the delicate texture of the fish combined with the crunchiness of the potatoes, which by the way, tasted like yummy home fries. The only problem I had with the dish was the over-saltiness of the mustard greens.

Meanwhile, my husband had the Grilled Hanger Steak, served with wild mushroom polenta, green asparagus sauce béarnaise. He said it was perfectly cooked to his taste (medium), and the meat was very tender.

For dessert, I had the Chocolate Hazelnut Cake with praline ice cream. It was so rich in hazelnut that you can't mistaken the taste for anything else. My husband had the Vanilla Crème Brulée, served with poached raspberry, lady finger raspberry sorbet. I have never tasted such a light and delicate (but rich) creme brulee ever!

Run, don't walk to Cafe Boulud!

"Over"Spice"d" Market

I've had Spice Market on my radar for a long time, but never got around to it. So when restaurant week came around, my husband and I took the opportunity to cross it off my to-do list. We tried out the restaurant for lunch to make it wallet friendly. While the decor of the restaurant was stunning, I was disappointed that neither the food nor the service matched the decor. Of the 4 dishes we tried, I thought only 1 was a winner.

Since my husband and I started house hunting (I am potentially saying goodbye to NY and hello to CT), I've been paying a lot of attention to home decor. I could not get over the chairs at Spice Market! I especially loved how the distressed wood displayed within the restaurant was combined with modern chairs. I was snapping pictures of the place like a tourist!

Check out the distressed wood!

And then there was the food...We started off with the very well-stuffed Chicken Samosas and Shave Tuna. I was glad to find that they did not skimp on the Samosa filling at all. It was nicely spiced and was served with a cooling cilantro yogurt. I only wished they arrived piping hot. As for other appetizer, the tuna floated in a milky mixture of chili tapioca with Asian pear and lime, which I thought drowned out the flavor of the fish.

Shaved Tuna appetizer

Then came our main courses of Striped Bass with Wok Fried Napa Cabbage, Waterchestnut and Cucumber, and Cod with Malaysian Chili Sauce Thai Basil. The sauces in both dishes overpowered the delicate flavors of the fish - the vinegar in the former; and the pool of chili sauce in the latter. I thought the chili sauce was very tasty and packed a big punch, but there was simply too much sauce on my plate. On top of that, I thought the fish was just ok - it was only lukewarm and a bit overcooked.

Cod with Malaysian Chili Sauce Thai Basil

Fortunately, the desserts were much better than our main courses. My Thai Jewels and Fruits with Crushed Coconut Ice was, unlike the flavors we had in our main course, delicate. It had slices of papaya, among other fruits, with chewy jelly pieces and half melted & fragrant coconut ice. It was a somewhat familiar dessert to me since it was similar to some Chinese desserts, but could be strange for others due to the fruit, chewy jelly and coconut juice combination. My husband had the passionfruit sorbet inventively served (and most definitely frozen) in a cute little Chinese takeout container. It had just the right amount of sweet and tartness.

Thai Jewels and Fruits with Crushed Coconut Ice

Most customers would assume that a restaurant would put some of their best dishes on their restaurant week menu to draw repeat customers, so I was surprised to find that only 1 dish was good. As for service, our appetizers did not arrive at the same time (I had to wait an extra 5 minutes at least for them to catch my tuna and "shave" it), and our server took my husband's main course order wrong. Based on my experience, I would not return to Spice Market again. If I do, perhaps I'll stick to their non-fish dishes that can better withstand the punch of their spices.

Wedding Wednesdays: Not So Traditional Greek Eats

My husband and I love eating local food when we travel, both traditional and non-traditional. We had the most non-traditional Greek eats in Santorini, one of our honeymoon stops in Greece. We had some of the most inventive presentations and flavors while staying there. I don't eat much Greek food in the States, and have never had New-Greek food, so I was pleasantly surprised by our meals there.

Here are some of the more inventive ones we had in Santorini:

• Octopus Carpaccio with Smoked White Eggplant Salad - Isn't the representation just stunning? Thinly sliced octopus tentacles rested on top of a dome-shaped bed of white eggplant, which is native to the island. The tough texture common in octopus was changed by thinly slicing it. The dish was tangy (a bit tangy for my husband), smoky and fresh, a perfect appetizer.
  

Selene's Octopus Carpaccio

• Sea Urchin Salad - Sea Urchin on grilled artichoke with fava cream and scallops with lemon foam. The dish was not "hit you over the head wow", but it was very nice.
  

Selene's Sea Urchin Salad

• Greek (or Santorini - forgot) Spiced Red Mullet with Sweet Olives and Bloody Mary Sorbet. I've never had sweet olives before. I must say, it was quite good! Overall though, the dish was just okay.
  

Restaurant 1800's Red Mullet

If you find yourself in Santorini, I'd recommend Selene in Fira. We liked 4 out of 5 dishes we had - not bad odds huh. Just don't order the Monkfish and Langoustine with Traditional Pasta - while it was tasty, the Langoustine was clearly not fresh. BUT I was willing to overlook that dish based on the incredible view and delicious dessert (cheese on puff pastry with sweet capers and sweet tomato).