Boka, Chicago. June 2nd, 2008

Located next door to the famous Alinea restaurant in the trendy Lincoln Park neighborhood of Chicago is Boka. Run by Chef Giuseppe Tentori, a former chef de cuisine at Charlie Trotters for a couple of years, he said his goal is to make, "simple and light food." So far he is doing a very good job based on the meal I enjoyed there.

After placing my order I mentioned to my server that I was a culinary student. Chef Giuseppe then came out to talk to me and see how I was liking my culinary trip of Chicago. He then sent out several courses that I hadn't ordered, all of them being a full portion (not tasting size.) It was much appreciated but I was incredibly full at the end of the meal!

I started off, by recommendation of my server, with a Passion Fruit Margarita made with Don Julio Bianco, Cointreau, Passion fruit puree and Habanero peppers. It had just the right ammount of sweetness from the passion fruit and great habanero flavor but without any of the heat. Very refreshing.

I was then served an amuse of two oysters. East - Hillsborough oyster, Mango gelee and horseradish. West - Kumamoto oyster, black radish mignonette. the Hillsborough oyster was smaller and sweeter then the Kumamoto. I particularly enjoyed the sweetness of the mango with the oyster. The Kumamoto was meatier but not as flavorful as its counterpart but both were very fresh, good quality.

Next, Grilled White Asparagus Terrine wrapped in Prosciutto, Quail eggs, Marcona Almond puree. This dish was great! A lot going on but the flavors all went very well together. The Terrine was wrapped in seared prosciutto and bound by a truffle jelly. There were also slices of green and white asparagus, thin bread crisps, a lavender powder sprinkled on the plate, and a balsamic reduction. The entire dish speaks strongly to his Italian background.

I was then brought one of the few dishes that I actually ordered, Crispy Veal Sweetbreads, Maitake Mushrooms, Fava Beans, Oregano Mole. But the Chef decided to add a very nicely seared piece of Foie Gras just to toy with me. Delicious!

At this time, I was brought two dishes that I hadn't ordered that the Chef wanted me to taste. The first one: Grilled Baby Octopus with pickled Celery and Apple, Prince Edward Isle Muscles and horseradish sauce. I am not a huge fan of Octopus because I don't like the super chewy texture and this one was quite chewy but It had gotten a really nice char flavor from the grill.

The other one: Maine Diver Scallop, Pea Wasabi sauce, Lotus Root, Hijiki and Grapefruit. Each component of this great dish played a role. The Scallop was very nicely seared and cooked, the velvety smooth Pea sauce was sweet and meshed well with the scallop, the lotus root added nice bitter/spice. the grapefruit, some needed acid to balance the richness and the Hijiki added a little crunch.

Finally to my main plate, Grilled Mahi Mahi, Vidalia Onion-Caper sauce, Red wine braised Fennel, Veal Tongue, Fiddlehead Ferns. The Veal Tongue, I was told was braised and then cut to a very small diced and put over the fish. It added a nice meatiness to the Mahi Mahi in one of the more unusual surf and turf dishes that I've tasted but delicious nonetheless.

 

The fish was also served with a side of their "Mac and Cheese" with Edamame. the Edamame was really al dente and along with some truffle breadcrumbs added some great texture to the Mac and Cheese.

I was way too stuffed to order dessert by this point but they thought I could handle just a little bit more. Three different ice creams. I forgot to write them down!! but I believe the first was Campari and grapefruit, then Meyer Lemon and the other was Dark Chocolate.

Boka

1729 N Halstead St.

Chicago, IL 60614

(312)337-6070

Jun Sakamoto June 7th, 2008. Sao Paulo, Brazil

Jun Sakamoto restaurant is the highest rated Japanese restaurant in the country currently holding 2 stars from the Guia Quatro Rodas, and probably one of the toughest reservations to get in Sao Paulo. There is a spontaneous tasting menu offered for about $150 dollars available only to 8 people that sit on the small sushi bar and are served by the sushiman himself. The rest of the 36 seats in the restaurant is a la carte only and that is what we ate. This restaurant takes their sushi seriously and it is easy to see, first they have their own house-made Shoyu, which we found slightly sweeter then the store bought and very good. They pickle their ginger and mix wasabi in house. Also, the servers carried palm pilots to take down our orders which were wirelessly transmitted to the kitchen. To drink during the meal, we had their house sake, which was very good quality and cost $10 dollars for a glass.

To start the meal we were served grilled Salmon in a Miso sauce with Nabu salad. the sauce was very nicely balanced and the salmon was amazing quality cooked to a very tender medium rare.

I then ordered probably his most famous creation: the Tuna tartare with foie gras and japanese mustard and wasabi, salmon roe marinated in sake and a gelatinous demi-glace sauce. The foie gras enhanced the fattyness of the tuna and the dish reminded me of O-Toro on steriods, because it had more tuna flavor then O-Toro and just as much fatty flesh. The sauce was slightly sweet and very pleasent, my only complaint on the entire dish is it was a little one dimensional texturally and I would have enjoyed something other then creamy and gelatinous.

Next, Santa Catarina Oyster platter with ponzu sauce, flying fish and salmon roe. The oysters were very fresh and meaty. The roe went well with the briny oysters.

We then asked our server to bring us 8 of the most unusual sushi that they have, and we were presented with: on the left, Jellyfish and on the right, Shirauo or whitebait. The Jellyfish was slightly sweet and chewy with something that looked like seeds that added some crunch. The Shirauo was melt-in-the-mouth texture but a bit bland overall.

The other four were: on the left, Eel and on the right, Shark fin. I've had Eel before but this one was by far the best I've ever had. It was extremely meaty and lacquered with a glaze that had a faint anise taste and topped with a ground japanese herb. the Shark fin had the texture of gelatinous noodles, we were recommended not to use Shoyu on it to enjoy its natural taste which was mild.

I liked the combination of Tuna and Foie Gras so much that I decided to order some more of it, this time in a sushi form. from left to right: Tuna and Foie Gras sushi x2, Salmon roe, and Octopus. the Tuna and Foie Gras sushi is probably one of the best mouthfuls of food I've ever had!

The picture below shows how the sushiman snuck the foie gras under the slab of tuna:

Next, I ordered a Scallop and Shrimp fried roll with Port-ginger reduction. The rolls were crispy and served warm but I found it pretty average and unremarkable.

A Great dessert: Grilled Mango with Mint sauce and Lychee ice cream. the Mango was perfectly ripe and served warm and the Lychee ice cream was fruity and refreshing.

Jun Sakamoto Restaurant

R. Lisboa, 55 (Pinheiros)

Sao Paulo, Brazil

(11) 3088-6019

D.O.M. restaurant June 5th, 2008. Sao Paulo, Brazil

D.O.M. restaurant is located in one of the nicest parts of Sao Paulo, it has nice lighting, dark and intimate wood tones to the main dining hall with a mezzanine that seats about 12 people for private parties.  The kitchen is in open view located on the northeast corner of the restaurant with a glass wall separating the diners from the heated bustle of service.

Run by Chef Alex Atala, a former DJ that on his travels through Europe discovered fine food and worked at several restaurants in Belgium and France. D.O.M. is now the pinnacle of international fine dining in Brazil, having garnered just about every top award for food and service in Brazil, as well as currently being ranked as the #40 restaurant in the world by UK's Restaurant Magazine top 50 list.

walking into D.O.M.:

 

Dinner cost a total of 250 dollars per person for the 8 course tasting menu, including wine and service.

We started with several amuse bouche. From left to right: Tuna quenelles, french butter with chives and fleur de sel, Cambuci pepper from the amazon, from the northwest of brazil Coalho cheese mousse with black pepper and not pictured, an entire head of garlic fried in olive oil. We were also offered 5 varieties of bread at this time, all good quality.

1st course: raw Robalo (Snook) and Squid marinated in Soy sauce, Summer fruits and Melaço, which is a sweet biproduct from cane sugar processing. it was topped with what looked like beet and radish sprouts. The seafood was of very good quality and the broth fruity and acidic was nice and complemented the fish. I didn't like the soy sauce, I didn't think that it added anything to the dish and it detracted from the locality of a dish that would otherwise be entirely Brazilian.

2nd course: Salad of Zucchini with Langoustine and 12 different Brazilian herbs with a tangerine vinaigrette.  The raw zucchini ribbons had nice texture and the herbs brought a great flavor to the salad, the Langoustine was served cold and barely cooked (if at all.) The herbs were all very lightly dressed which let each of their individual flavors to come through. This, I believe is a kind of Brazilian rendition of Michel Bras famous Gargouillou salad and both me and my father agreed it is probably one of the best salads we've tasted.

3rd course: fried brioche-breaded Oyster with tapioca and salmon roe. The oyster was delicious, creamy on the inside with nice texture from the brioche breadcrumbs. the salmon roe added a nice brinyness to the dish and it looked just like the little tapioca pearls which worked well.

4th course: Coconut 'risotto' with palm oil and nori. I didn't enjoy this dish, the nori added some texture to what would otherwise be an oily creamy mess. The palm oil overwhelmed any other flavor that would be in the dish although I tasted some soy sauce in it too.

5th course: pan-seared Foie Gras with bonito broth, Cashew roasted and sorbet, and fried wild rice. This was a great dish! The bonito broth had a nice sweetness to it which went nice with the rich, perfectly cooked piece of foie gras. the wild rice added a great crunch to the dish.

6th course: Robalo seared and lightly dusted with manioc flour with tapioca pearls and a robalo foam. Nicely cooked piece of fish with good texture from the manioc flour but there was little flavor from the tapioca or the foam.

7th course: Brazilian 'Brandade' with Hearts of Palm and Anchovy, port reduction. Clever idea replacing the traditional french dish of Cod and Potato with Hearts of Palm and Anchovy but the strong tasting anchovy overpowered the mild nuttyness from the Palm.

8th course: Roasted Paca with a white bean mousse and lemon butter sauce. Paca is a large roadent from the northwest of Brazil. It was very fatty and had a delicious crisp skin, the lemon butter sauce was nice in cutting through the fattyness of the meat but the atrocity of the dish was the bean mousse that was extremely gummy, coated the palate and was hard to eat.

Intermezzo: Paca Consomme. This was pretty bad. My father and I took one sip and cringed a bit. I tried drinking it down but it was painful. The table next to us that received this same drink took one sip and left it on the table. It tasted of paca with a hint of cinammon but it wasn't pleasent at all.

Cheese course: Aligot made with Minas cheese. Another Brazilian twist on a french classic, Aligot from the south of france traditionally made with Tomme cheese. It had great flavor and nice texture. A clever way to do a cheese course but my only complaint was that it was a little monotonous to eat, it would have been nice if it had been served with something like a fruit compote or some bread. Our server had the cheese spinning between two spoons all the way from the kitchen and brought it to our plates. A bit gimmicky presentation but I thought it was neat to show how elastic it is.

My dad said, "I think it's going to fall on the ground!" 

Pre-dessert: Mint Ice cream served on an ice block. Tasted very refreshing and a nice palate cleanser.

Dessert: Almond cake with Jack Daniels sorbet and curry chocolate sauce, curry powder. Cake was moist and delicious. The chocolate sauce was velvety smooth and paired beautifully with the curry. a sprinkling of sea salt balanced the sweetness of the dish and the Jack Daniels ice cream had really strong flavor, like taking a shot!

Mignardise: Pate de fruits, Macarons, Chocolate cups and a spongy DOM cake.

D.O.M. Restaurante

Rua Barao de Capanema 549

Sao Paulo, Brazil

(11) 3088-0761

Welcome to my blog!

I decided to set this up so that you, my dear friend or family member, can keep in touch with me and know about my experiences while I am away. To give you a little time line for my plans.. I left Kansas city at the end of may to spend a couple months with my dad in Brazil, and then leave for Paris july 20th. My classes start at the end of august.

I'm going to attend Ecole Supérieure de Cuisine Française Gregoire Ferrandi.
It is located in the latin quarter of Paris, where I hope to find an apartment near the school if possible, but the prices can be pretty steep in that neighborhood so I might have to live on the outskirts of Paris and just relly on the metro to get around.

I started studying the history of cooking, how french chefs developed many of the western cooking techniques that the rest of the world follows and the general philosophy of the grand french chefs like Escoffier, Careme, and specially Fernand Point that food is to be enjoyed and celebrated. A meal is not just fuel, it can be something beautiful that brings people together, and brings joy both to the people eating and the people preparing it.

When summer break came along, I decided to apply to a few restaurants and a few jewelry stores to look for a summer job. The first person to contact me was Rob, the owner of a restaurant called 1924 main. I hadn't heard about this restaurant but my family said they had eaten there and loved it, so I decided to go in and talk with him. After looking at the menu and seeing the great dishes he had on, and the ingredients he used, I was sold. Working some long hours I learned something new everyday. When I wasn't at the restaurant I would be reading books about technique or great chefs around the world. It didn't take long to realize that I had a true passion for this and wanted to pursue it as a career.

That is why I am going to Paris, to further my knowledge of food, expand my horizons and plain and simple, learn from the best.

Here is a video that I took a while ago, it's a little tour of 1924 main, where I spent most of my days and nights this past year.

I miss that place, and the people in it. More to come soon: Meals in Chicago and Sao Paulo.

I am now in Sao Paulo about to eat a meal that I've dreamed about for a long time. I heard about this restaurant months ago and cannot wait for this meal. I am eating at restaurant D.O.M., the only brazilian restaurant to be ranked in the top 50 restaurants in the world list where it holds #40.