taste the season: spring blonde wheat ale

spring blonde wheat ale - formerly rising moon, originally blue moon spring ale - is the blue moon brewing company's refreshing spring draft.

i was a huge fun of rising moon and enjoyed tall glass of it (with an orange slice) over springbreak. rising moon is by far, hands down, one of my favorite seasonal beers. it was described as being a "... smooth, balanced ale ... with three varieties of speciality malts and an infusion of fresh Kaffir lime leaves and lime peel to bring out the freshness of spring"

unfortunately, upon returning home there was no rising moon to be found. instead, the shelves of liquor and grocery stores alike had "spring blonde wheat ale" and i thought okay. it's just a name change. but no. blue moon completely re-crafted their spring ale. so what's different? the new recipe (as of 2011), no longer contains Kaffir and instead focuses on orange + lemon peel flavors. it's now described as a "lighted bodied ale crafted with orange and lemon peels and white wheat" ... how disappointing!

while the spring blonde wheat ale is still tasty, it's not nearly as delicious a rising moon. i can only hope blue moon changes their recipe back next year! (and doesn't change any of their other recipes)

a very food-filled springbreak

springbreak 2011: that time we went to cape cod + boston ... and got engaged!

springbreak was planned for part relaxation and part foodcation. unbeknownst to me, all of our foodventures would pale in comparison to my boyfriend's engagement proposal.

our foodventures included:

• exploring cranberry bogs
• hyannis: seaside pub on main / emBargo 
• yarmouth: retro burger 
• boston: flour bakery + cafe / clio / aura / quincy market (boston chowda company) /  LTK 
• cape cod potato chip factory tour
• samuel adam's brewery tour 

i'm really excited about all the things we did. i tried oysters for the first time and went on a (free) brewery tour. not to mention i've never had a 14course chef's tasting until clio. 

... more to come when i finish unpacking! 

hudson valley restaurant week: recap

so as i mentioned in an earlier post, hudson valley participated in restaurant week. and while i was busy with school, my internship and work, i managed to make it to TWO of the participating restaurants.

first we went to blue, located on church street in white plains ... which is a short walk from our apartment. it was our second time at blue and it did not disappoint! it's quite the neighborhood gem. to start, the ambiance is absolutely beautiful and intimate. also, the staff was attentive and helpful with all of our menu inquiries.

i was pleasantly surprised to find that with their 28dollar dinner prix fixe there was not three but FOUR courses. talk about 'getting your money's worth'!
i started off with the arugula salad with shaved fennel, candied walnuts, gorgonzola and a meyer lemon vinaigrette. the arugula was fresh and earthy ...  i've only had fennel one other time before and, while i didn't think i would be a fan of it, the flavor combination worked well.
my second course was the braised short rib & asiago cheese ravioli served with herb brown butter, sage, pine nuts and shaved parmesan-reggiano. when i first saw the plate i was confused - where was the short rib? ohhh ... INSIDE the ravioli. who knew!? what a deliciously brilliant concoction! the ravioli was thick and perfectly cooked and the braised short rib asiago cheese stuffing was MOUTH-WATERING. the herb brown butter gave a slightly sweet taste which was balanced by both the pine nuts and sharpness of the asiago/parmesan-reggiano cheeses. i was underwhelmed with the portion size after my first bite because i wanted more!  especially since i sacrificed half of one (out of 3) ravioli in exchange to try the firecracker chicken spring rolls that my boyfriend ordered.
my third course was the herb roasted french breast of chicken with creamy polenta, roasted winter vegetables and chamomile au jus. i know, ordering chicken sounds lame but it was so good! and so was the polenta. yum, how i love polenta.
my fourth and final course was the wild berry napoleon. the puff pastry was extra crisp and layered with whipped cream, fresh wild berries and a berry sauce topped with powdered sugar.

all-in-all, blue really delivered. we first went there on new years eve and enjoyed every bite of the new american/asian fusion-esque cuisine so we knew we wanted to go back. one of the biggest complaints about restaurant week is the shrunken portion sizes, but that was not the case with blue ... not to mention an additional course? i couldn't have asked for more.

the second restaurant was fig & olive for my birthday dinner! fig & olive has five different locations one of which is conveniently located in scarsdale. the place is elegant and modern, the interior palette is warm and one of the walls is lined with bottles of different olive oils (how appropriate) & wine; and it's all tucked in amidst a shopping center. the mediterranean inspired menu was delicious.

to start, our server brought us over a tray of three olive oils with varying flavor profiles ranging from fruity to nutty to spicy. i had no there were so many different types of olive oil. the first was fruity and had a thinner mouthfeel than the other two. the second was nutty with flavors of almonds and a silky texture. the third was slightly spicy, like black pepper and sharp, with a thicker mouthfeel. the three were served with fresh rosemary focaccia.

unlike blue, fig & olive stuck to the traditional and expected 3-course dinner. for my first course, i had the yellow fin tuna tartar with chive, shallot, cucumber and toasted sesame balsamic dressing served with pieces of lightly toasted bread. when it comes to food, i'm a texture eater; i like a mix of textures and prefer foods with a crunch. so because i've never had tartar before i was a little nervous there would be a lack of crunchiness but there wasn't because of the added shallot and cucumber. the tuna was light and full of flavor, which was enhanced by the sesame balsamic dressing. ... i also had a bite of the mediterranean chicken samosas. so good. the chicken, cilantro, bell pepper and scallions were mixed with greek yogurt and incased in a flaky crust served with harissa olive oil. 

my second course was - predictably - the grilled truffle chicken paillard. the free range chicken breast was marinated with thyme and served with truffle mashed potato, leek confit in olive oil and herbs in white truffle olive oil. the chicken was thin but still incredibly moist. the leeks were cooked to perfection, not too crunchy and not too mushy. the potatoes were also amazing (and purple). 

my third and final course was the chocolate pot de creme. the actual dish was practically ice cold and served with a crunchy praline financier. the chocolate and vanilla creme was sweet and creamy ... a perfect way to end the meal.

overall, i was pleased with fig & olive. unfortunately, the portions were typical of restaurant week - aka on the smaller side. but i didn't leave feeling hungry ... between the olive oil and rosemary focaccia starter and 3-course meal i was satisfied. also, fig & olive's prix fixe restaurant week menu was an appropriate representation of their standard menu, including much of their regular items ... which was good for us because we've never been there before and now have an idea of their usual cuisine.

good stuff eatery: a washington dc must

good stuff eatery ... the name says it all. i first heard of good stuff eatery after the chef/owner spike mendelsohn was a contestant on bravo's top chef. having gone to good stuff only once before when i lived in DC, i knew i HAD to go back when i visited this past weekend.

good stuff is essentially a burger place ... however, it's unlike any other burger place you've ever been to. when we got there it was a such a beautiful day we grabbed ourselves a table outside and went in to order. good stuff is a "boutique" burger place ... it's not fast food and it's not sit down; it specializes in gourmet burgers (and other burger-esque inspired cuisine). i have to admit i was more than disappointed with the service. the first time i went it was great - the place was packed, i got to meet spike and the food was excellent. this time though, perhaps because of the late afternoon awkward timing, it took us almost ten minutes to order ... and not because we were waiting in line. despite the wait it was, of course, delicious as their slogan, "say hello to fresh" is reflected in the pure quality of their ingredients. 

i ordered the "good stuff melt" with bacon ($6.89+1.00 for bacon). it was layered with mushrooms and caramelized onions, melted cheddar and muenster cheese with "good stuff sauce" ... it was absolutely mouth-watering. when i unwrapped the burger the cheese was literally oozing out. it was cooked perfectly. i usually eat my burgers medium, but even though this was cooked well-done, the meat was juicy. the sauce was creamy and the bacon was a perfect addition. i also shared a side of the "spike's village fries" ($3.79: enough for two); slightly soggy, which i'm a fan of, and topped with fresh thyme, rosemary & sea salt. i also sampled my friends' mint chocolate chip milkshake (featured flavor of the day) and milky way milkshake but decided on a classic chocolate.

good stuff eatery is exactly that: good stuff. and it's not just for burger lovers, good stuff also offers free range turkey and naturally farm raised grilled chicken sandwiches. and for all you vegetarians (or for your lame friends that are) there are plenty of vegetarian options as well like the "vegetarians are people too 'shroom burger" and wedge salads. so, if you're a burger lover and are in the DC area stopping by is a must! especially for those of us on a budget  - all of the menu items are under eight dollars!

happy pi day!

... even though it's not actually food related.