Melting in Maui…

19-20 August 2015

The trip began great. I got from DC to LA and had an excellent quick stay and then headed off to Maui — the first time I am back on that island in over 30 years. And it started even better, with an unexpected upgrade to First Class (never though I’d utter these words, but THANK YOU DELTA!) — although I basically slept the whole way there.

The humitidy immediately got to me, and after a mild snafu at the car rental due to my humidity-addled brain, I headed out into Kahului and went to look for lunch. First thing I do whenever I get “home” to Hawaiʻi is to get a plate lunch, and I went searching. I headed to the nearby and famous Da Kitchen, but sadly the queue was out the door by 11am, and I had no patience in this heat and humidity, so I just drove on out towards Lāhainā before the tourist-infested traffic got too bad.

Looped the way to Lahaina and dropped into an excellent place (a converted motel) simply called Local Food, and had my kālua plate. Oh, now I feel at home. I forgot to take a picture so please forgive me. Nothing out of the ordinary, but just great to eat kālua where it belongs. It was too hot though (a hot day even for Maui standards), so I ate most of it in the car with the AC running…

Had a nice and busy afternoon before checking into my hotel and trying to decompress — and cool off. So good to be away from the resorts and in the centre of old Lāhainā. Walked around and ended up having a few beers (this will hurt later) in a local drinking shop before my dinner at the much-lauded Lahaina Grill. I headed back to my hotel to chill before dinner.

I walked downstairs (it’s my hotel’s restaurant) and was soon seated in this busy restaurant. You can tell lots of folks with vacation homes on the west coast of Maui come here for dinner too. I chose not to do the tasting menu as it steered away from local foods (stuff like Hudson Valley foie gras…now why would I leave the East Coast by 6 time zones and choose to eat something that’s sources 45 minutes away from home base?). In fact, this is a huge issue when dealing with tasting menus in Hawaiʻi…you still can’t get the provincialism out sometimes…

I ordered and chilled out with a cocktail. The place was busy and lots of misbehaving children, but I bit my tongue. Par for the course here. Eventually my first course came, the shrimp rolls.

I chose these partly out of the fact the shrimp were sourced from Kauaʻi. They were nice, but nothing to write home about. In fact, one problem with choosing items from the menu was the lack of locally-sourced items. This shocked me, as Maui has so many good farms. I was extremely disappointed that all of the meats, and a good amount of the seafood even, were from the Mainland. Very disappointing.

But that also explains Maui in many ways. I saw Maui basically like a Pacific Ocean version of Florida, full of places where mainlanders have their vacation home (or rent them). The population of Lahaina looked distinctly not what I would say is typical Hawaiʻi, and I don’t quite remember Lāhainā like this. Oh well… Anyway, my main arrived, one of the few things sourced locally.

This was the opakapaka, or pink snapper, done in a very ordinary way. Nothing special, and I’m starting to wonder why this place gets all the praise. Feels formulaic, and lacking in ingeniuity or understanding of local ingredients. It’s actually sad. I had another drink and decided to retire early. A disappointing and rather sad dinner.

The next morning I sat and stared at the Pacific Ocean for awhile, partly as my room was stifling thanks to the AC dying overnight… August 20th is a very symbolic day for me, as my readers know. So much of who I am and what I am came because of what happened on that day in 1991 and 2004. One defined my entire career, one defined my entire soul. And now with both so distant, I wonder…I don’t have a career anymore, and I am starting to feel I no longer have a soul.

I left Lahaina after a long morning stroll. Good to be back in shorts and slippers for a few days… Hopped into the car before the tourists jam the road back to Kahului and drove on out. I thought about trying Da Kitchen for lunch again, but decided to go somewhere else further inland towards Haleakalā. I wasn’t headed up the mountains, but got to the higher plains and dropped into Haliʻimaile General Store for lunch.

The ethos of this place is far better. Built from a historic building during the age of plantations, this turned into a restaurant some years ago, with a focus on not just history but also the region. I appreciated my lunch here so much more, but to be honest the open-air nature of the restaurant (as many places are in Maui) curbed my appetite. There was a distinct lack of trade winds on an already hotter-than-usual and moister-than-usual day, and it was hard to eat too much to be honest.

But I enjoyed this island curry dish, with some excellent locally-sourced seafood. Perhaps not too genuine to Maui in taste (a little more eastern seemingly), it was tasty and had very nice and generous amounts of seafood. I thanked my server and headed out into the steaming afternoon.

A long and busy afternoon in the heart of Maui, I headed back to Kahului to another hotel. This had barely-working AC and no hot water. Nice… I chilled for a bit before I fought traffic (yes, traffic, thanks often to confused tourists on one-lane roads) to visit another of the top-rated place on the island, Mama’s Fish House.

When I got there my heart sank. I thought it was a serious food place, but it looked more like a tourist trap. Terrible valet system, and they made me wait far after my reservation. It was hot and there again was no trade wind. I was knackered, emotional and just running out of patience. Again, the demographics of the audience is one thing, but I’m extremely surprised about the servers. It seems all the locals are being relegated to busser and back-room jobs, and the noticeably blond folks are working the tables. This is so absolutely un-Hawai’ian… You know it’s a tourist trap with this…

Again, very annoyed at a segment of seafood from the mainland, but there’s enough local stuff. I ordered and tried to chill out, but it was full of loud children and confused tourists. Maui partially became so touristy because of the influx of mainland tourism, unlike Honolulu which was built on Japanese tourism first (before the mainland onslaught). But it just didn’t feel right, and as kama’aina this was the wrong place to be tonight…

The first dish was a “wonton” of the same Kauaʻi shrimp as yesterday. Again, nothing special. Sad it’s one of the very few local options. There were good Hawai’ian stuff but a lot of it wasn’t seafood… It’s like this place has its priorities wrong.

I waited and waited for my main course, but it was over half hour. I lost my patience. Others may be paying for the view and weather, but I came for the food, and this place did not deliver. I asked for it to go and to close up. I was livid. And to add insult to injury, the valet on the way out was utter chaos.

I drove back to my still hot hotel room and opened this…this was a $47 dish?

If you wonder what plating does to a dish, this is a great example. I pretty much lost my appetite here and decided to just call a night instead of going to get some real grinds. The weather has run me down, I cannot handle this weather anymore to be honest…

Headed out of Maui tomorrow early morning, honestly I cannot wait. So much of this island is now the worst tourism trap/kitsch/hell I can imagine, the ones I avoided growing up in Honolulu, the ones I avoided living in London and NYC and DC and Tallinn, the ones I try to avoid now. It’s all designed like this, and I can’t imagine how locals feel when they are all but relegated to be the sideline act. Very sinister and disappointing.

I say goodbye to Maui for good. Can’t see myself ever coming back here.

Local Food
222 Papalaua Street

Lahaina Grill
127 Lahainaluna Road
Lāhainā, Maui, Hawaiʻi

Haliʻimaile General Store
900 Haliʻimaile Road
Makawao, Maui, Hawaiʻi

Mama’s Fish House
799 Poho Place
Pāʻia, Maui, Hawaiʻi

Review: Alden & Harlow

28 July 2015

After this lengthy trip through Wisconsin and New England, today is the final day. A long, long day, flying home from Boston later in the evening after a planned early dinner at the much-praised Alden & Harlow in Cambridge. I left my hotel near Providence not long after sunrise, as I was covering a lot of the Massachusetts coast before fighting the inevitable traffic towards Cambridge, where I need to return this crappy rental car.

I explored a bit of south Massachusetts before moving towards Plymouth and slowly going up the coast. Things were going well, ahead of schedule, and the weather was fantastic if not a bit hot. The sun was blazing as I drove into Cohasset and made a quick stop. Just as I pulled onto the town’s main road, my car’s engine made this horrific sound and I knew the game was up… And Thrifty yesterday told me don’t worry about the engine light?

I pulled into a cul-de-sac with the engine making a horrible grinding noise. It’s dead. I called Thrifty and they said they’ll call me back. It’s 11.30am, and I sense my day was ruined… I opened the car up and wow…the fanbelt is gone, snapped right off, among other issues with the engine. It was a complete mess inside. This thing is dead. Then after about half hour, Thrifty calls me back saying they’ll bring a replacement — but the ETA is about 2 hours. TWO HOURS?!

So for the next 2 hours, in the middle of nowhere, with no shade in the blazing sun, on the hottest day of the year, I was stranded. Sitting in the car was a non-starter as it was already an oven, and the AC cannot run in this condition without risking the car catching on fire. I had half a small bottle of water. So I just plopped myself down on the grass outside and tried to wait it out.

Got very little Twitter sympathy for my predicament tho…that was kind of annoying. Don’t need to be wound up when you’re burning up physically. Cops came by a few times but I told them the tow was coming. Some people just drove by, stared, and drove off… It wasn’t until after 1pm that a kindly neighbour brought me a bottle of water. That was very, very nice of him. He began by “which rental company is this?” — so I sense this has happened here before!

After more waiting, now the sun was in full afternoon blaze on the hottest day of the year, the tow shows up. No wonder it took so long, it came from Everett, which is a suburb way north of Boston, which had to pick a car up at Logan, which is east of town and has crazy traffic, and had to roll down the coast to Cohasset, which is south-east of Boston, crossing goodness knows how many bridges and tunnels… What idiotic system they have!

But I got into another clunker that they brought and they took the dead car away, and I was off, dehydrated and not feeling that great, after 2.5 hours in this sun. People will ask where I got this tan, and I’ll tell them Massachusetts…ugh…

I made a few stops on my way north-west up the coast and fought the traffic into and through Boston, just to make it back to Cambridge and the even more ridiculous traffic just before time to return the car. What a waste of a day… I was so worn out I didn’t give them too much lip when I returned the car, just explained quietly. They took 25% off the rental…ugh, that’s it? I felt ill…

But then I just walked out to Alden & Harlow a block away, one of the most exciting restaurants in Cambridge for small plates. I was early by 20 minutes before opening time. I had purposely planned this place because it was convenient to the car rental and the T, but I suspect after this mess I was gonna cab it to Logan after dinner. Waited around and was finally seated. I opted for a counter space near the roasting station because it was bright, and everywhere else was way too dark. It was warm…

I tried to relax despite today’s ordeal. Obviously I’ve not eaten since last night, but the priority was a few glasses of water first, then a cocktail. Then I ordered a lot of food… I chilled out and just tried to enjoy things, but was still too wound up from today’s idiocy. Some pickled string beans arrived as an amuse. Then the first dish arrived, and I physically relaxed…

I love broccoli, and this was a huge plate of it. I focused on the very tasty greens and all but skipped the accompanying almond-graced hummus, not because it wasn’t good, but when you are dehydrated that’s the last thing your tongue wants or needs… And the broccoli was so damn good… Then plate number two came, and I smiled.

A plate of fried smelts, I love these things. Lovely, fried just perfectly retaining the natural flavours of these small fish. Did not need any dip at all, and the lemon slices were tasty too. Excellent, simply done and solid. The plates kept coming…

The next was a nice clams dish, with some smoked pigs tail. Excellent, the Boston area is known for its clams obviously, so this was excellent. Full flavours here. Really enjoyed it. I drank a lot more water and rose (I had switched to wine) and then the final dish arrived.

Fried rabbit. A nice piece, with a lot of natural flavours inside the well-done breading. An excellent dish closing an excellent dinner. I kept picking at elements from all 4 plates though the main ingredients in all 4 — broccoli, smelts, clams & rabbit — were long gone. Maybe too much food, but I needed it today.

I thanked the staff profusely, found a cab and headed off to Logan to catch the late flight home. I was dizzy… What a crazy, stupid day. If it wasn’t for this excellent dinner at Alden & Harlow, today would have been one of the stupidest in my life. Damn you, Thrifty, for this. I was ill for 2 days after this… At least I’m home…until the next trip, which is sooner than later…

Alden & Harlow, highly recommended. Thrifty? No.

Alden & Harlow
40 Brattle Street
Cambridge, Massachusetts

Review: New Rivers

27 July 2015

Despite that nice meal at Birch last night, this morning began with a shudder — thanks to Mother Nature. The skies cracked open, and I see a long, wet day ahead. I fought traffic towards Aquidneck Island, slowed by weather and stupid drivers making stupid turns, as well as major roadworks. Took ages to drive a short distance; should have gone around west via the bridge…

But once I got onto Aquidneck Island the skies opened up big-time. Newport was grey and wet and soon flooding. That was not a good morning, and I was soaked to the bone… After a bit, I was driving to Middletown and the flash flood warnings came on my phone. Great… But I survived, and eventually made my way off the island onto the Bristol peninsula, just to see the engine light come on my piece-of-crap rental. Did all that water get in the engine or under the car?

I pushed my way back to the Providence area in early afternoon just as the weather got better — go figure. After a good lunch at the legendary sandwich house Miller’s Roast Beef — including a big ol’ roast beef sandwich and the “caserla” (spicy pork) special sandwich — I went to my hotel to dry off and change, and to call my car rental agency. It drove okay, but I called Thrifty and they said “oh, it’s just the maintenance light, just don’t drive over 1000 miles” — oookee…

For dinner that night I headed to what others consider the best place to eat in Providence, this time on the other side of the river (the Brown University side), New Rivers. When I was doing my trip research I was intrigued by what Chef Beau Vestal wrote, which fits my way of food thinking so much: “the chef is simply a spoke in the wheel of the food cycle, a conduit for ingredients to get to the diner. We try to get the best things we can, try not to over manipulate them, and pass them along to a hungry audience.” Amen, brother.

I chilled at the end of the bar at a very early hour. I wanted to eat early as I had a stupidly long last day tomorrow, so I relaxed with a cocktail and looked over the menu. So many good choices, but I made my choices with an interesting selection. I chilled and enjoyed the ambience. You can tell this is a place that plenty of regulars — both full-time and seasonal — hang out, as so many people seem to know each other. And I was told they keep changing the menu to keep the regulars on their toes. Excellent. Then the first item arrived.

A pretty simple dish, the smoked mussels were excellent. The flavour was really intense, and worked very well with the cherry tomatoes. Again, little adulteration, and this is a wonderful little snack. I liked it. I switched to some rose for the next course, and my mouth was hanging open when it arrived.

Wow. That is a LOT of crab in this dish, graced with ample sea urchin. Now this is a fun dish. The crab were simple and flavourful, with the urchin bringing out even more of the ocean’s essence. Cucumbers worked perfectly here too. Fabulous! I was enjoying myself and lots of friendly folks at and behind the bar, so lots of good banter too. Then came my self-constructed main.

Yep, went with the charcuterie for dinner. They specialise in it, giving people choices on how to construct it. I decided to go with today’s special sausage (sweet Italian), the thick-cut house-smoked bacon, and the smoked duck ham. Very nice selection. The sausage was delicious, but the bacon was just fabulous — cured with brown sugar, smoked with hickory and graced with plenty of ground pepper. Almost perfect. The duck was also fabulous, tasty and smoky. A very nice selection indeed, true to chef’s ethos.

I had an after-dinner drink before I headed out the door, thanking the staff for an excellent evening. Simple and good, everything that’s necessary for a solid night of dining. I headed back to the hotel, hoping to catch up on some sleep for a very, very long last day tomorrow on this lengthy trip.

New Rivers
7 Steeple Street
Providence, Rhode Island

Review: Birch

26 July 2015

I made my way from New Hampshire to Rhode Island, the trip delayed by a day because I had forgotten that the Newport Folk Festival was in full bloom, and there were few hotel availabilities. So after a day off just north-west of Boston, having some terrible BBQ at a place I won’t name (nor review), I made my way south early this Sunday morning to Rhode Island.

Was a long day, dealing with weather and so forth. I was also quickly visiting a historic cemetery in the centre of town, and that was probably the most dangerous cemetery I’ve ever visited. Came close to stepping on used needles a few times and it’s clear people are shooting up there next to oil drums used for winter heat next to some beautiful Armenian tombstones. This is a scary ass place and neighbourhood (I’d forgotten how nasty parts of Providence is) and I got myself out quickly…

The weather just broke when I got to my hotel. I’ve been lucky to have seen almost no bad weather on this trip, even the Wisconsin leg, but it’s changing now with ominous skies. I chilled out in my hotel and decompressed a bit before the evening, then wandered to dinner at what many say is the best restaurant in Providence, the tiny but interesting Birch.

I got there and it was tiny — just a horseshoe-shaped counter. It was already busy at an early hour and I adjusted myself into the tight space anticipating a good meal. I was still re-living the wonderful dining experience at Stages at One Washington in Dover two nights ago, and hoped for another good one tonight. I enjoyed a cocktail as I looked through the menu and ordered.

It’s a tiny space and thus interesting with a lot of interaction all over the place. A small amuse of a golden cherry tomato presented itself first before we moved into the dishes — and my switch to wine. The first dish arrived soon after, and it looked awesome.

Frankly, simple slices of grass-fed local beef. Excellent, full of flavour, lovely stuff. Simple and excellent, just what I like. I can’t even imagine what places in Milwaukee, like Braise, would have done to this dish… Good stuff. I chilled with more wine when the second dish arrived.

Very seasonal, this corn dish sat in a broth of shellfish, very concentrated. Excellent flavours here, with some preseved shellfish as well. Corn and shellfish are very symbiotic flavours, and this was just excellent. It tasted so much of the season here in Rhode Island. Excellent.

I like this place, even if it’s a bit tight seating. Solid food, excellent and quick service, friendly folks. I happily drank on more and awaited the third and main course, a tasting of local pork.

It came and it looked very delicious. Cooked well, the meat was extremely tender and juicy, as well as rich and full. The charred veggies was good in this meaty dish. Very nice. I can see why people like this place.

I relaxed for a bit, chatting with fellow diners before the last course arrived, a strawberry-based dessert.

Interesting, almost like a compote over some grain-based base… My fellow readers, you know I’m terrible with desserts… But it was tasty, without it being artificially sweet, the natural strawberry was winning here. Nice close.

I had an after-dinner drink as the crowd thinned out. It’s amazing the quality of this dinner at such a low price (under 50 dollars for the 4-course dinner), the kitchen doing the local products very proud here. That corn dish was excellent, and will carry me through a very long day tomorrow on Aquidneck Island.

Excellent, highly recommended — if you can get a spot!

Birch
200 Washington Street
Providence, Rhode Island

Review: Stages at One Washington

24 July 2015

I had to be in New Hampshire as I headed north out of Boston. I didn’t need to be in Concord until the next morning, so I meandered up slowly along the coast. Originally I was going to stop in Portsmouth for the night — it being the twin city of Estonia’s Pärnu — but when I was doing my research I found this place that I’ve never heard of before called Stages at One Washington in Dover. So I decided to stop at this town just north-west of Portsmouth.

I switched my booking to a little earlier in the evening since I was in town already and wanted a good night sleep for an early morning, so I walked down there. One Washington is the location of a historic mill in Dover, now converted into lofts for shops and food and drinks. I eventually found Stages and it looked…abandoned. I walked in, no one is anywhere. Then suddenly Chef Evan Hennessey shows up and seats me at the counter.

He explained to me that they got a last-minute catering gig and all the staff were there, so it was just gonna be him running the restaurant solo. Wow, really? He said there are 2 other couples with bookings, so it’ll be 5 diners and chef — who was pouring water and bringing silverware while explaining the menu options. There were several, a very, very interesting a la carte, but for some reason I went with the 10-course tasting. There was just something about this menu that looked so interesting. And the wine pairing.

Chef acted as sommelier too, pouring the wine. Then one of the couples showed up as he was just starting up cooking my first dish, and they decided to order the same 10-course menu — much to chef’s relief I can imagine! I told him feel free to synch us 3 to make it easier on himself. But he was a pro and worked hard, synching us only at dish 2 and letting me enjoy the first dish first.

There’s a very nice tomato with some caponata, graced with some basil. One thing chef does is to introduce a lot of fresh herbs into the dishes, cut directly off growing plants in the kitchen. Dish was snappy, fresh and delicious. An excellent start. During the whole time it’s a marvel that chef is doing all the cooking and pouring our wine pairings too…

He quickly gets back to work and when we finish, he steps in on service too…when have you ever seen a chef at this quality do this unless he was a private chef? A bit surreal…

He returned to cooking and it looked even more interesting. The second dish soon appeared once he finished putting the aster flowers on top.

Looked brilliant, the artichoke was extremely tasty. I’m not a fan of sunchoke in general (well, mostly for its issues with our digestive system), but worked well in puree. A bit of radish too added to texture and complexity. Another excellent dish that shows off the best of nature.

Chef clears out plates and once again replaces silverware and pours wine and water while he’s cooking our third dish. Hardest working chef in the country I suspect, on this odd night. He’s slicing and cooking and suddenly our third dish was put together.

It’s a tasting of some excellent potatoes, accompanied by goose yolk. What a rich way to treat the humble potato, in several different methods as you can see, all with that decadent goose yolk. Mmmm, this was just delicious!

I was really loving this dinner so far, and it’s been a celebration of the rich products New Hampshire offers. Now this is the way chefs should treat ingredients, by bringing out the best, not by manipulating them so they no longer have the taste nature intended. I really like how Chef Hennessey designed this menu so far. He happily chatted with us as he worked on our next dish

Now we have a fresh raw oyster bathing in a crab consomme, with some more fresh local radish and other delicious items from the earth. The rich broth brought out a nice touch to the oyster and the radish, which added texture. A fine dish, very happy so far!

Still, chef is still pulling one-man duty cooking our food, bussing our dishes, pouring our new wines from the pairing menu, topping off water, and chatting with us. This man is a wonder, and you can see he’s actually enjoying himself despite doing the job of a whole team. He’s got a lot going for the next dish and we sense the meal is moving to a new stage with dish #5, and I was indeed right.

This dish focuses on cod, bathing in a very well-done oyster sauce. Some strings of dried agretti grace the sauce, but the most interesting side item is the “oyster chip” — which is extremely concentrated and deep tasting, something I can see becoming a huge snack trend in Asia! Cod was fantastic, especially with the rich sauce. Chef did well turning one of the fishes I consider most boring into something very delicious.

At this point one of the staff returned, and you can see chef’s face relax. She took over the FoH duties, and chef could concentrate fully on the food, and the next dish was the most complex one so far.

This dish focused on lamb neck, which was ultra tender from braising, accompanied by flageolet beans and a bit of black trumpet mushrooms (which I love). The richest dish of the night, solidly fabulous!

Chef was still on top of his game despite not having to worry about wines and clearing our dishes, and he worked hard to get the next dish together quickly. He did mention there were 2 more diners coming tonight, so he can’t quite relax even as we reach dish #7.

I was really looking forward to this, the corned beef heart. Excellent preparation, without removing the unique taste of the heart. The small charred kohlrabi was surprisingly delicious too. This chef is a master with simple but tasty vegetable preparations! Excellent, chef has pulled off this meal with skills that few chefs have — not just running the whole restaurant single-handedly for the first half of the meal!

We shift gears a little as we move onto a cheese course of sorts. Vermont has some very interesting cheeses, and chef liked to share these. We watched him there pulling some excellent local chedder, working them non-stop. He then got them ready, plated it and voila…

Wow, this was kinda wild. With cauliflower essence. Cauliflower worked so, so well here. Wild but rich and fabulous, this is one of the most interesting cheese courses I’ve had in ages. Lovely!

Now the 2 other diners arrived and chef went through the menu options, and they apparently went with the “other” menu — the so-called “Secret 8” menu. This is a menu made from the a la carte menu selections, but just everything — all 8 dishes offered. None of them were the same as the tasting menu’s 10. So chef, by himself, had to execute 18 dishes in this service running solo. Wow.

One of the pleasures now as he simultaneously work on our #9 and their #1 is seeing how he balances things and makes sure all runs smoothly. He gets their first dish out first (which happened to be veal terrine) as he then put our first dessert course together.

Mmm, one of my favourite things, beets. Lovely stuff, with strong flavours. I love beets, and the sorbet was lovely as well. All of us were pretty full so we were enjoying this course slowly — but partly me and the couple next to me wanted to see the other courses too! And in the mean time we saw chef bring out a duck egg and spigiarello (!!!) dish, then after that a small “carbonara” with duck prosciutto. Wow… Remember, it’s only him in the kitchen.

He didn’t forget about our final course, the last dessert, and that soon appeared.

A small tasting of chocolate here. As someone who doesn’t focus on desserts, I was more interested in the other dishes. This dish was nice, but I was watching (and smelling) an awesome oyster stew with various sea vegetables…holy cow, I almost asked if I could do another menu at this point…

I ordered a calvados and just chilled watching the other dishes come for the other diners, drinking really slowly. First was a cusk dish in a green crab dashi, then finally a boar and kohlrabi dish. Oh my goodness, I really need to come back to do the other menu!!!

The last of the others’ food are cheese & dessert so I think I’ve been overwhelmed enough. Did I mention chef was doing everything solo? Wow. I thanked Chef Hennessey profusely and headed out and wandered back to my hotel.

This was one of the best, most interesting tasting menus I’ve had in a long time. It’s unique in approach, focusing on fresh local produce far more than other tasting menus, even more than places like Maaemo. There is a deep love and understanding for the stuff that grows locally by Chef Hennessey, and now I see why he’s rated so highly even though he’s in a hidden-away place like Dover. This guy is damn talented.

And frankly, it’s like having a private chef for a night. Oh, what a night… Beyond recommended, worth a massive detour just for dinner here!

Stages at One Washington
1 Washington Street, Suite 325
Dover, New Hampshire

Review: Erbaluce

23 July 2015

I had another crazy busy day, starting at 6am, that took me as far as Worcester and once again — third day in a row — no lunch. But the fine memory of last night’s excellent dinner at Taberna de Haro kept me going until tonight’s dinner. I got back to my hotel and showered and changed, and jumped onto the T and headed to one of the best-rated Italian places in town, Erbaluce.

After that excellent dinner at Coppa, I was hoping for a lot tonight. Will this be a perfect Boston hat trick of 3 awesome dinners in a row? I got to Erbaluce in the heart of the city food traffic and was seated in a rather dark place (explains the bad pix). I guess they are going for the romantic feel here…

They seem to be in a sunflower mood so my drink was a sunflower martini of all things…no pix, wasn’t worth it… I looked over the menu at the same time and my server came out with the specials…and sheeeeeeyet…he was telling me crudo is raw. Huh? I don’t even hear that in the middle of nowhere with no water nearby. And they needed to describe the types of pasta like I was from the sticks. Huh? I know Boston is full of tourists but why do you assume? I had to stop the waiter and mention I have spent quite a lot of time in Italy so no need. He told me they’ve had lots of people unhappy and sending back the crudo because they didn’t know it was raw! Huh? Wow…

Anyway, I ordered and chilled out. Somehow I was still a bit bewildered by all the stuff my server said. How 24 hours and the distance of a few T stops can make… After a bit the starter showed up, the aforementioned crudo.

Not bad, but nothing special in these scallops. Not especially tasty, pretty ordinary stuff. The vegetables were actually more memorable to be honest. Problem with scallops crudo is that they are either succulent and sweet or they are pretty meh — these fit the latter. The added acid brought nothing out, just made it harder to eat.

I switched to some wine and the place was filling up a bit more now. Then my pasta dish arrived, a nice carbonara.

I have to say this was done very well. Pasta cooked perfectly, flavours strong. Excellent. My mood lifted considerably. Now on an adjacent table were some tourists from Asia that had a lot of trouble with the menu…and they got confused by the crudo. Is that it? Is this area beseiged by tourists who send food back? What is with Boston and sending food back? I’ve never seen this trend! Then my main arrived.

Shoulder of boar. Looked good, but it was actually rather flavourless. I should stop ordering “wild boar” in the US because they are not wild. The joy of eating a real wild boar, especially in Europe or Japan, is that it is actually WILD. The joy is tasting the wildness, not this “managed” game. It was cooked okay, but it was just again, meh…

The place was filling up now so I took my leave after a grappa. It was not bad, but it was a bewildering experience. And as I walked out I saw several hotels that cater exclusively to Chinese tourists…ah, now I get it. Anyway, it was a meh of a night, and definitely too mediocre to ever ponder coming back. No authenticity, too contrived, and it really doesn’t rise to the level it thinks it reaches. And probably a tourist trap…

Plenty of other, better places in the Boston area. And without the strange stuff.

Erbaluce
69 Church Street
Boston, Massachusetts

Review: Taberna de Haro

22 July 2015

I someone got myself awake and functional despite imbibing a bit too much last night at the excellent Coppa, and was out in Cambridge by 8am to pick up a rental car. I had a long, long day today coming up, and surprisingly no significant hangover… I guess last night’s effect was from skipping lunch.

In any case, a long and exhausting day and I got back to my hotel and took a quick shower and changed, and headed out for the T station. I soon arrived at my destination at the tip of Brookline on Beacon Street and see my dinner destination, Taberna de Haro.

Now you think, why is Mel at a Spanish restaurant in the US? I’ve bitched and moaned about how bad they are in general, from being mistakenly (or deliberately) “Latinised” or just missing the point. I remember yelling at the staff at the “supposedly” with-in Casa Mono for from bringing me out a plate of bellota that looked like someone went at it with a hatchet.

They seem to miss the point of how food works in Spain here in the US, but for some reason I went to Taberna de Haro with some confidence it will be better — thanks to the menu. It’s clear there is understanding of how eating in Spain works, so perhaps the kitchen will too?

I chose to sit outside as honestly inside was way too dark. Again, one of my pet peeves is lighting. All this work to make beautiful food, why hide it? I like to see my food when I eat. And it was not too hot outside and the rain was holding off, so…

I had some nice sherry and ordered and the excellent staff worked quickly to bring things out (as everyone was sitting outside it seems). I chilled before the first item showed up, and I relaxed knowing dinner will be good.

Orejas a la plancha was first. Excellent pigs ears, not softened to lose its crunchy texture, not too hard to eat. Perfect seasoning too. Almost wished there was more on this plate! Most places tend to fry them, or braise them (like at Madrid’s Casa Alberto), but this more difficult-to-do-right way was fantastic. Excellent start!

I smiled as I enjoyed them when the second dish showed up, one of my favourites…

Ah, some nice cuttlefish. With some ink aioli. Love these things when they grill up so well, solid and juicy. Too many places go easy with squid or octopus, but there is something special about the cuttlefish that I just can’t describe. Lovely stuff, loving this!

My very efficient server, poor girl, was dealing with a difficult table next to me. Some very, very old people that kept sending food back… They even started bad-mouthing her, which is extremely rude. Just to show how rude they are, one of them dropped a fork, I got up to pick it up for them, and I got a dirty look from one of the geriatrics. Now that’s a perfect example of how sometimes the resto biz is just thankless…

But then I returned to focusing on my dinner when my next dish arrived, and wow…

Now these are frogs legs. It has not been cooked to death to lose its unique goodness. People always ask me what good frogs legs taste like. If it tastes like chicken, then the kitchen screwed up. There is a seafood goodness about them if the kitchen does it right. It was done right when I was in Seattle at Roux, it was done right here too. Fabulous!

I was just loving this meal and I had almost forgotten the last item, the stuffed piquillos…

Honestly this didn’t work that well, maybe it’s the texture and frying after two solid grilled dishes and a sauteed one. I was full, but wanted to eat more from this excellent kitchen!

I got my server’s attention and ordered one last dish, which I would destine to take half with me as it is huge. She said it’ll take awhile, but no worries as I was gonna enjoy my wine anyway. It was a nice evening out and the wine was excellent, but the table next to me with the 2 very old ladies were starting to annoy me, because they were not treating the staff with any respect. And they kept sending things back with idiotic, nonsensical complaints. You know what, if you leave your bread on the table outside without touching it for 20 minutes and you send it back for being cold, you should just go home to your personal chef and team of specialists…

Then the dish arrived, and it’s one of my favourites — arroz negro.

I love this dish, and it was done nicely. Maybe a little low on the ink flavour, but ink is expensive (real, good ones). It was very tasty, and I ate far more than I planned before calling it a session.

I asked for it to be boxed up and I actually moved inside to finish my wine and to have a coffee. And I had a chat with the staff about that crazy table and they’re all fed up with them, but they still go about serving those 2 old nuts with a smile and professionalism. These are the type of staff, especially my server Giselle, that I would have been proud to have been on my old team. Real professionals, as well as being very friendly and efficient.

They comped me a nice sherry and I chilled before I headed back to the T for the ride back to the hotel. It’s been a long, long day, no lunch, but rewarded by a fabulous dinner. Taberna de Haro surprised me in a very good way, and I will say it’s one of the very best Spanish restaurants in the US. Easily top 3. Blows all the NYC places out of the water.

Oh, if this place was nearby I’d be there every week…

Taberna de Haro
999 Beacon Street
Brookline, Massachusetts

Review: Coppa

21 July 2015

I left Milwaukee on a very early morning flight with a slight headache but with still a full belly after last night’s meat-feast (and copious amounts of wine) at Ward’s House of Prime. I got to Boston just to see someone try to walk off with my luggage…ugh, I hate travelling in the summer…

After running around in town in the late afternoon, I was soaked from the ugly humidity. I dropped into a posh hotel bar to cool off with a pair of martinis before I made my way to one of the best eateries in Beantown, the much-loved neighbourhood trattoria Coppa. Only prob is that it’s not that close to any T stations, meaning more walking in this ugly humidity. I don’t mind long walks but when it’s humid and my clothes are just utterly soaked…

I got to Coppa at an early hour and chilled out with another cocktail. This was a cool place, and the bar is a perfect place to enjoy both the excellent drinks and food at this place. I’ve always liked food in the Boston area, my favourite being the excellent Craigie on Main by the fabulous Tony Maws (who used to cook with my former chef years ago). But, just like skipping the amazing L’Etoile in Madison, this trip was to check out new places, and this was top of the list in Beantown.

I ordered some snacks and enjoyed more drinks. Then it began, first with the marinated mushrooms…

A nice snack, especially for drinking, a change from the usual olives. Then the panini…

These were nice, loaded with sea urchin and some tongue (I suspect corned). Excellent, especially since I needed some substance in my stomach having not eaten since last night’s giant dinner. And I’ve been drinking a bit too much and too fast, having sweated like a madman for hours… In fact, unfortunately I ended up drinking way too much…

Nevertheless, it was fun. Next up was a cool little starter, the roasted pig bones.

Basically a cute version of a BBQ, these were tasty though perhaps a little too sticky for my hands. Good nevertheless. Then finally my main arrived, a beautiful plate of pasta.

An excellent ink capellini with cockles. Flavourful, this was done perfectly. Good pasta, nice bivalves that really contributed to the entire flavour. Solid but simple stuff, excellent.

By now I was rather tipsy and didn’t want to face the humidity again, so I got a cab and drank even more before I headed back to my hotel. It’s nights like this that makes me love Boston so much. But with a very early morning tomorrow, I know I’ll be facing it with a nasty hangover…oh, the price I pay for fun and sloppy nights…

Coppa
253 Shawmut Avenue
Boston, Massachusetts

Review: Ward’s House of Prime

20 July 2015

I was starting to seriously sour on Milwaukee’s ability to produce a finely-cooked dinner experience for me. I gave it the benefit of the doubt after the mess at Braise. But the not-quite-there night at Goodkind put me off further exploration. I had two possibilities for my last dinner — ethnic or meat. I was thinking of doing Serbian at the venerable Three Brothers, but since I had to be downtown anyway I decided to go somewhere else. And thank goodness I skipped lunch…

I headed to Ward’s House of Prime, a rather unabashed temple for the king of beef — the classic prime rib. So many of these places, especially the old school institutions, have disappeared around the country, such as the much-loved but shaky Tom Sarris Orleans House in Arlington VA. The excellent Taylor’s Steakhouse in K-town Los Angeles is one of the few to keep the spirit alive. But as I walked through the horribly humid afternoon across the Milwaukee River and uphill, I got to Ward’s soaked in sweat… Thank goodness it was heavily AC’d and the martini was icy cold.

I chilled out and relaxed, and enjoyed the aroma of meat in this temple for beef. I’m not sure how I feel about this place serving items that are so excessively big it’s insane — and entices the “competitive eater” to go stupid. Not me. How do you enjoy food at that volume?

I ordered my food and surprisingly ordered a bottle of red to go along. No driving today, and tomorrow I got a morning flight, and it’s still early, so… I chilled out and was just enjoying the first sips of wine when my food arrived…

Gee, were you surprised by what I ordered? This is a 24-oz bone-in prime rib, roasted just about perfectly. It actually didn’t look as big as I thought (photo angle don’t do the thickness any justice tho…), more like a 18 or 20 to be honest, and bone in.

The sprouts looked excellent too. I attacked this dinner with all the frustration of 2 bad dinners in Milwaukee finally made right on dinner #3. The meat was excellent, again perfect temperature, no adulteration or cheating here, full richness and strength. In the next half hour or so, I ravaged nearly everything on my table. The steak was done, although I wish there was a sharper, thinner knife to properly clean out the bone. The sprouts were done. The red was about to be finished.

I was full and happy, but then a surprise — they comped me a dessert…

Wow, this was huge. An excellent but rich banana cake — what I would have ordered if I had the choice from the dessert menu. I somehow finished this with little problem, enjoyed a single malt as I wait for my taxi to take me back to the airport area.

I’m so glad I did this tonight. Finally, an excellent dinner in Milwaukee. I love prime rib when done right, and this was shamelessly rich and fulfilling. Who knows, I may have been able to eat an even larger cut, but I think this was the perfect experience. This helped to salvage Milwaukee to some extent for me.

Next stop, Beantown!

Ward’s House of Prime
540 East Mason Street
Milwaukee, Wisconsin

Eating My Way Through Wisconsin…Ribs, Bluegill, Sisig, and Hmong!

15-19 July 2015

As in a few previous trips, I have tried my best to experience more locally-unique places, as well as BBQs, during the lunch hours. Sometimes I wonder why only for lunches, after the 2 disastrous dinners I’ve had in Milwaukee so far. Looking back, the lunches were some of the most interesting foods of this trip, and each of them tells a story about Wisconsin.

Again, I began by flying into Milwaukee. Before that terrible dinner at Braise, I had lunch at a little bar just west of the city called Double B’s BBQ & Burgers. A non-descript bar & grill with country music on and golf on the TV, it is known for some of the best BBQ in the Milwaukee area. I ordered some ribs to test it out.

Rather good, solid flavours and tasty meat. No dryness here, a fine choice of meat with healthy smoke too. Happily was dry-rub as well, so the flavours really was of the meat and not the any sauce. They offered a variety of sauces on the side; not necessary. Very nice. I took some “bacon balls” out for later (meatballs wrapped with bacon) — which saved me after that disastrous Braise dinner…

The next day I headed for Madison and en route on a very busy morning I stopped quickly in East Troy, a bit south-west of Milwaukee, and visited LD’s BBQ. Yes, a BBQ joint in a gas station. But people rave about this place as the best in all of Wisconsin. I was there just as they were prepare to open, and they were coincidentally just pulling the rib tips out…

These are fabulous rib tips. I was planning on eating them while driving (yeah, I know…) but they were good enough (and also heavily sauced) I pulled over to enjoy them. Sauce brought out the meat well, and you know I rarely like heavy BBQ sauce. Good stuff, compared well with A&R in Memphis — though nowhere close to the amazing rib tips at Sim’s in Little Rock. But solid stuff, certainly ranks on top of the list in Wisconsin.

I had my excellent dinner at A Pig in a Fur Coat that night and the next day was a busy one in Madison — despite the hangover. And it being Friday, I decided to follow the Wisconsin tradition of the Friday Fish Fry. With a huge Catholic population, this has become a celebrated event on Fridays all over the state, especially with good fish sources from all the lakes. I was in Madison, and the best place for it was Dexter’s Pub.

A large bar that’s also a haven for craft brew, I enjoyed a few (hairy dog, m’fraid) before my lunch arrived…

Ahhh… Bluegills are considered one of the delicacies for Wisconsin Friday Fish Fry sessions and they were excellent. Very little breading, fried just right, full of flavour. The portion wasn’t as small as it looked, it was the photo angle (sorry). There was actually ample fish. The fries were heavily garlicked too, so that was perfect. I drank more beer than I should (not due to alcohol but my recent digestive issues with beer…) and headed out very happy. Loving this particular Wisconsin tradition!

And that night another wonderful dinner in Madison at Forequarter. I left Madison loving the town even more than I did the last time I left. It is such a little haven for wonderful cooking and friendly people that will bring me back. However, I had to head north for an event way north of the state, so I meandered up through the early morning and stopped for lunch in Oshkosh. Huh?

Yeah, I stopped in Oshkosh this Saturday late morning and dropped into Manila Resto. Filipino food in central Wisconsin? Yep, and in a prime location too. I was very early so it was not busy this morning (plus there was a fair nearby). I had a hectic afternoon and long drives so wanted a solid lunch. And I got it, and more.

The starter was the sisig (left), which honestly didn’t work that well for me. I wished it was more rustic with “proper” parts used, not just meat. It should have snouts and all sorts to make it real, to have texture. Plus, I usually don’t like the mayonnaise’d version compare to straight vinegary. But overall, for middle of Wisconsin, it was solid. Then the main, the pork adobo, was tempered a little but tasty. A good intro to Filipino cuisine for those who don’t have experience with it I suspect. There was also a sushi bar inside and they also do robata, so it’s a catch-all type in this small city, which is probably necessary. Charming owners too, who came by to have a chat.

I headed north full and satisfied, with a box of sisig leftovers. Knowing I have to skip dinner due to the event later on, I had this leftover and needed more. For the next few hours I meandered north and in the mid/late afternoon arrived at the town of Wausau. I then dropped in to get some carry-out at a place called Hmong Eggrolls.

Hmong food?

Yes. There is a huge population of Hmong in Wisconsin, especially central and west, along with their large numbers in Minnesota. In fact, Hmong is the largest Asian minority in Wisconsin, and actually makes up over 10% of the population. Their cuisine has never featured prominently even in larger population areas, but Hmong Eggrolls is a rare (and excellent) exception. Looking like a “typical” Asian restaurant, it had some fabulous stuff under the heating lamps. I wish I had time to eat properly but had to rush off further north. So I took a bunch of stuff to go and sadly drove on…

When I got to my destination I opened my food and this was there after I ate a few of the egg rolls. The prawn one was best, but all of them were excellent. Sorry for the terrible picture as it had gotten wee soggy from the long drive from restaurant to motel, it really doesn’t do it justice. And the sausage was just fantastic, and the roast pork belly? Fantastic and decadent. All roasted red. Fabulous. I should have taken the pix at the restaurant…you’d be drooling.

I went to my outdoor event, got utterly frustrated by the organisation — and especially the people — and was eaten alive by mosquitos. I made my way back to the motel and finished the food happily, but the rest of the night was a trial thanks to idiots in adjacent rooms… Why are children jumping around at 2am? Where are the parents?!

With not much sleep the next early morning I made my way back south via the eastern coast and got back to Milwaukee in early afternoon, where I dropped into the legendary Solly’s Grille for lunch. I got there early but it filled up very quickly and by the time I was done people were queueing for seats.

This old school diner is famous for its burgers, cooked with butter. It’s rich as hell, and I ordered the jalepeno version.

Mmm, this is fabulous. Rich and solid, with a good bite from the japeleno. I can see why this is rated the best burger in Wisconsin. Service is very old school diner, with one sweet old lady working the counters at her pace. I left as quickly as possible to let all the hungry diners get a slot and I drove out. Later that night was the again-not-quite-right meal at Goodkind.

Frankly that soured me so much the next day, my last day in Wisconsin, I chose to skip lunch. Originally planning ethnic — especially German — but I didn’t want volume for lunch. You’ll understand why when you see what I had for dinner — which is the next review.

But truly, Wisconsin has a great variety of local flavours, some touched by older tradition like the Fish Fry, some coming from newer ethnic communities such as the large Hmong population. If you get a chance, explore this state, it is beautiful and interesting in so many ways. Just minimise your time in Milwaukee, maximise your time in Madison, and beware the mosquitos and other bugs of the forests! And eat, eat, eat your way through it!

Double B’s BBQ & Burgers
7420 West Greenfield Avenue
West Allis, Wisconsin

LD’s BBQ
1880 County Highway ES
East Troy, Wisconsin

Dexter’s Pub
301 North Street
Madison, Wisconsin

Manila Resto
107 Algoma Boulevard
Oshkosh, Wisconsin

Hmong Eggrolls
1040 South 10th Avenue
Wausau, Wisconsin

Solly’s Grille
4629 North Port Washington Road
Milwaukee, Wisconsin