Review #4: Ö

15 September 2018

It’s so good to be “home” in Tallinn…it’s been awhile. And already I’ve had quite a long day, and even skipped lunch as it has turned already so hectic. But dinner was on with two dear old friends at my favourite place in town, Ö. I’ve had many great dinners here over the years it’s hard not to be excited — especially after the trying dinner last night in Riga…

I was a little early as the weather had turned, so I lucked out. My friends arrived soon after as the skies opened up, so we enjoyed a cocktail as we pondered the choice on which tasting menu to go for — and we opted for the longer one. It didn’t take long before the first set of snacks appeared. The first were tasty potato crisps made from Laura and Blue Congo potatoes grown on the island of Muhu…

Then an assortment that included organic yellow carrot, a delicious egg and cod cream, and an herbal “shot” that was quite refreshing. A good start so far, and our martinis were all quite good, using a tasty Estonian gin. But then the wine is poured, and next up is the roach dish…

No, not that roach, the fish roach. It’s mixed with sour milk and black breadcrumbs, alongside herbs, flowers and of course cucumber — all with some fish broth added. Again, quite tasty. We enjoyed the food and the conversation, and then the next course is focused on the celeriac.

Hmmm, now this didn’t work as well as it did last time, when it was just salt-baked and perfect. This was a bit of a mess as they tried to get too fancy. Not fond of the fried vs foam thing. Oh well, hopefully this was a blip.

But at least the conversation is always good with these two — who I turned into a couple by accident and they now have 2 kids…

Service has been very good, done bilingually (my friends are a mixed Anglo-Estonian couple), and the wine pours have been solid. Service here has always been good, and tonight not an exception. Anyway, the dinner moves on with the moose dish, and you know if anything Estonia does moose dishes well…

And it is excellent, lovely quality moose from Saaremaa, which is all under this nice set of garden greens and herbs and crispbread. Delicious dish, back on track. Then the trend that I see from “Nordic” places coming here that I don’t care for, the specific bread “course” way into a meal…

Fine, a bunch of nice butters, but still… The problem for me is that bread that comes this far along usually does nothing but fill me up, so I barely touched any as my friends enjoyed them. I was just waiting for the next course, which is the ubiquitous pike-perch.

Delicious, lovely flesh on the fish. A nice bit of foraged forest greens as well. Oh, did I mention the wine pairings were excellent and generous? I forgot to take notes on the wine as I was enjoying the conversation too much…oops. This is why I often don’t write reviews when I dine with others… Then next up, a rather unique dish, a celebration of roes…

Hard to describe, but it’s a combination of buckwheat and roes from salmon and whitefish… The texture is odd, not sure it really works for me. Again, trying too hard to be fancy. I really kind of miss how they used to do things, not just the beautiful plating, but the solid, dish-based approach instead of being too obsessed with a concept. This tasting menu has not flowed well at all.

And we’re already at our last savoury dish, the one that’s usually the bread-and-butter (sorry) item here, the quail…

What happened? This was their classic dish, done so well so many times before… The quail from Järveotsa is good quality, but the plating is a mess…what is with this gigantic cabbage? Considering this is the last savoury dish…

To me this is a weak tasting menu, especially compared to the last two visits. They’ve sadly regressed to go after this misguided concept. Poor balance, poor progression. They are trying too hard to stick to the concept and it’s taken far away from their previously excellent cooking…

Sigh…I’m so sad inside. If it wasn’t for my friends here I would be ridiculously disappointed. Of all the many times I’ve eaten here, even times I’ve not reviewed, I’ve never had anything remotely this weak here. A few good dishes, but it’s nothing like a series of awesome dishes I’m used to here. Really disappointing…

Anyway, we have the fog coming again, alongside the dessert…

Quite nice. One dish is focusing on juniper and soaked berries, the other rhubarb with sweet curd. Quite tasty stuff, at least the dinner is ending on a good note. Then a large selection of petit fours…

We ended up having a few after dinner drinks and kept the conversation going. It was a fun night, but the tasting menu was truly disappointing. By far the weakest food I’ve ever had here. I’m sad that I’ve talked up this restaurant to my friends for so many years for them to have this weak rendition. Sigh…

I still recommend this place, but this kind of puts a sting on it. I’ve waited for a long time to come back here, but another of my “comfort” places has kinda failed me… Oh well, but at least I’m “home” again…

Ö
Mere puiestee 6E
Tallinn, Eesti

Review #2: Restorāns 3

14 September 2018

For my final dinner in Riga, I chose to return to Restorāns 3. I had an interesting meal there last time I came through Latvia 2 years ago, and am hoping for another good dinner. I purposely chose an earlier dining time for this busy Friday night, hoping that a smaller crowd will make things move smoother for a tasting menu.

Usually Bibliotēka №1 is my usual choice, but they ignored every reservation request I made, so screw them. Plus, their long-time chef had left, so…

I got to Restorāns 3 at an early hour and was seated. I was determined to use only Latvian today, and I wasn’t going to change that here. So it’ll be a challenge, but I’m ready for it. I looked at the tasting and went with it, as well as the pairing. Pretty quickly an amuse appeared…

Hmmm…not very inspiring to be honest. Odd flavours. And the bowl of popcorn they also brought with the bread was about half a day old if not more, and was more sponge than crunch… Bad start…

Nevertheless soon a German Riesling was presented and the first course, a two-parter focused on the beetroot.

Sloppy work here, as the horseradish gelato was frozen solid still. The beet sauce was tasty, and worked well with the rye bread crumble. On the other hand, the candied beet was pretty meh. A mixed start, but the wine pour was better than expected. Next up, with an Austrian Grüner Veltliner, is the ubiquitous pike perch.

Not bad, the flavours are pretty good. The fish was excellent, though again sloppy work by the kitchen as I found a few stray bones. The assorted items alongside, from the broad beans to the samphire, were all quite nice. A good dish overall, despite the stray bones.

So far not too bad, and the procession continued with a pour of an Italian pinot grigio…

This dish focused on king crab, and it worked surprisingly well. A generous portion of crab, and the assorted items, from the nasturtium to (again) samphire, worked well with the slightly creamy crab. Good dish.

The pace has been very good, but I noticed more and more people arrive, so things slowed down. Plus I may be the only Latvian speaking table for service, so they kept getting confused, but brought some levity to everyone involved. After a bit of a wait, a pinot gris is poured for the chanterelle dish.

Sadly a poor dish, much like in Warsaw a few days earlier at Smaki Warszawy. Unnecessary heavy cream, very few chanterelle, and tons of buckwheat under all this mess. Not good at all, and thank goodness for the pinot gris to wash this all down… Why can’t they let the natural flavour of the chanterelles shine instead of covering them in some ungodly cream that smothers every other ingredient?

This little flashback to 20th century Riga cooking was unpleasant, but let’s see what the next course brings. A little gap in time, and we have a tour with a New Zealand white for the zucchini dish.

Well, if it was just the blossom then it was fine, nothing special. That cream just made my heart flutter, and I stayed far away from it. Made this an unnecessarily heavy dish once again… I’m starting to lose faith in this dinner, as these are not execution issues, these are menu issues now.

Then to the last of the savoury dishes, and things start to go pear-shaped. The server finished the bottle of a cheap tempranillo, which didn’t really equal a glass — and never came back to top it up. And left a crapload of sediment in the glass. I was gonna complain, but when my main arrived my heart sank and just didn’t bother…

This looks like what the cobblestone paths of Riga look like at 3am on a Friday night frankly, and I just lost my appetite. The veal loin was very meh, cooked poorly and tasted boring. The liver was okay, but that’s it. There was a mini naan provided, but it was utterly inedible as it seems to have sat around since I was in Jelgava in the morning. And the sauces that looks like, well, sick, was pretty awful. I’m done…

I really didn’t have the heart to enjoy the dessert, but it was coming. The service was a crawl and sucked, but that’s probably due to it being a shitshow as the restaurant was packed and they are getting completely overwhelmed. Eventually they poored an okay dessert wine and presented the dessert.

Meh, nothing to write home about. The sorbet, which was supposed to be tomato-based, tasted all sugar. The white chocolate was okay as was the raspberry. But whatever, I’m done.

Well, this was not the final dining experience in Riga I wanted, which is too bad. Maybe I should have stayed in Jelgava for a better dining experience. This started out okay, but quickly went downhill. Obviously they cannot cope with a Friday evening crowd, but also some poor ideas that you can’t blame on a Friday shitshow. I almost wished I went to Bibliotēka №1 despite their idiocy, but…

Anyway, that’s that. I got the hell out of there and never looked back… And sadly, that’s how I’ll leave Riga tomorrow morning on a bus too, never to look back…

Restorāns 3
Kalēju iela 3
Rīga, Latvija

PS: One consolation — I ended up in this cocktail bar called The Left Door Bar and had a few interesting drinks…

And even managed to have a long conversation in Estonian with another solo traveller…

Review: Parks

14 September 2018

After that nice but short stay in Warsaw, I headed to a town that I have a love-hate relationship — Riga. I’ve spent so much time over the years here, even more than Warsaw, but it’s a place I’ve grown to dislike more over time — from the hoardes of drunken tourists to the ineptitude of municipal workers & officials. And now, for the first time since stepping foot here in the early 1990s, a dodgy taxi that I couldn’t escape from.

Ušakovs has run this city into the ground…

But I arrived late and spent the afternoon at the awesomely renovated Latvian National Museum of Art, where I spent a happy few hours slowly exploring the works of some of my favourite Latvian artists, especially Janis Rozentāls. Then a good evening having a few beers with a dear old friend in a busy suburban cafe. Now that’s the Riga I still love…

The next day I took the awful minibus out to Jelgava — formerly Mitau, the capital of the Duchy of Courland (which, btw, had built 2 small colonies that is known today as Gambia and Tobago). All my years in Latvia I’ve never made it here; the previous trip I was planning but quit the country as Riga pissed me off so much… But a wonderful morning exploring the historic town before I headed to lunch.

The only restaurant I’ve read anything about is Parks, which is conveniently near the bus station and all the sights. I relaxed over some wine and looked over the interesting menu and ordered. I relaxed and took in the moment… Little did I know when I first started working on the Baltics in the early 1990s I would imagine sitting overlooking a nicely-maintained park with a glass of New Zealand chardonnay in Jelgava 25+ years later… Then the starter arrived…

Oh my, this seafood soup was far better than anything I expected. The quality and diversity of the seafood was quite excellent, the broth lovely and deep. A very pleasant surprise, actually may be one of the most delicious things I’ve ever eaten in Latvia over the years. And a nice portion too. Then my main course…

I am now totally surprised. This catfish is just wonderful, rich and uncompromising. If you know good catfish you know, and I’ve not had ones this good in a long, long time — maybe in Richmond at Roosevelt a few years ago. Wow. I’m blown away. Aside from Bibliotēka №1 in Riga (which I’m skipping since they keep ignoring my booking requests), this may be the best meal I’ve had in Latvia.

As I head back in an overcrowded, overheated, smelly minibus back to Riga, the quality of this lunch was the only thing that kept me from losing my sanity. I was brought back to reality with intense body odour of the very rotund teenager squeezed into the seat next to me, who was wedged in so tight none of us could give our seats to a poor old lady that had to stand the whole way back… Not just back to Riga, but back to reality…sigh…

A very pleasant surprise tho! Jelgava is very much worth a visit, and with a place like Parks there it is more than worth the journey. Highly recommended, especially to get out of Riga for a little bit!

Parks
Krišjāņa Barona iela 3
Jelgava, Latvija

Review #4: Senses

12 September 2018

One of the joys of coming back to Warsaw is to visit my good friend Andrea Camastra at his awesome restaurant, Senses. Ever since my first visit back in 2014 when it was the new kid on the block, I found something extremely special with this place. Since then, they earned their Michelin star, and Chef Camastra is a superstar in the world of Note-by-Note Cuisine.

I have since returned once a year, but my crazy travels have kept me from Warsaw for a little longer this time. It’s been 2 years since my previous amazing dinner, and I am looking forward to this special evening. I was led to not my usual table, but one further in the back. More cozy, but perhaps a bit darker than usual, so I do apologise if some of the photos are not too great.

Chef Camastra came out to say hello and to prepare me for the evening’s experience, and I noticed a few familiar faces in the FoH team from my frequent visits. This should be a good evening, I’m excited! Soon after Chef headed back to the kitchen, the opening set of snacks arrived…

Very interesting opener to say the least. The “cocktail” was a take on aperol spritz that had a wee peppery bite to it, refreshing. The onion ring was quite intense, very concentrated flavour with a lovely touch of oniony sweetness; the sauce wasn’t really needed, but a nice touch.

And the “olive” was (for me) a classic Camastra item, a focal point of flavour intensity, with the peppery oil bringing the flavour profile towards the first item. A good — and very “Camastra” — opening!

By the way, you DO know that if you click on the picture you can see a larger one, right?

At this point I was regretting not taking a proper apertif as there’s a lot of items before the wine service, but the water did its job. Because soon after, the next snack appeared — salmon.

Quite delicious, the fish was intense yet smooth, with a texture I couldn’t quite figure out how the kitchen managed it. The apricot at first hit very acidic, but in a fraction of a second it neutralises. Somehow it works, and the acid flash was just a memory. More of his chemistry magic here! Touch of sorrel, and this is a very nice dish!

A good start so far! Then next up, we have more Camastra magic with his take on cheese…

This is an interesting yet traditional combination of local goat cheese and beet, albeit with radically altered textures. Delicious combination as usual. Then we get a larger set of “cheese” snacks…

Wow, this is some really crazy stuff. First you have a delicious oscypek croquette, with the smoky gooey goodness threatening to leak out every second. Next you have some excellent local burrata, just lovely. Then finally, the “blue cheese” drink…really intense yet not overwhelming, delicious!

That was quite a set, Chef Camastra doing his magic with several local cheeses, lovely. Then we have the final snack item, a take on the traditional mizeria salad.

Wow, imagine all the cucumber goodness intensified into another of Camastra’s patented spheres…all threatening again to gush out until you make that break…then just bliss… Love the martini glass style too. A perfect palate cleanser.

You know things are moving on when the bread selection arrives…and as usual, the apple essence I love so much to use…

Then the first wine is poured, a bone-dry lovely Ximénez-Spínola sherry, and we have Chef’s take on the traditional ryba po grecku Christmas Eve dish…

There is actually a stunningly good piece of mackerel under the base here. The tomato base is just superb, something I can drink all day, so intense yet clean. But that mackerel, wow…it reminds me of how mackerel tastes in Japan or Korea, something I can never quite get elsewhere. I suspect Chef has employed some techniques from that side of the world here. But this is just superb…lovely plating, yet easy to devour. Oh, I want another dish…and another glass of this amazing Ximénez-Spínola!

So far quite excellent. Then next up a smooth Marramiero from Abruzzo is poured for Chef Camastra’s version of the omelette…

Lol, I just love this… It looks like a cute cuttlefish! It’s actually the tentacles sticking out of the egg foam! The body is actually calamari “pasta” with Iberico, as well as a bit of a base focused on peas. Just a superb dish, it’s both an omelette and a pasta dish. The egg foam comes through a lot more than you think, and the secret is to really destroy the plating and mix the bloody thing all together. Wow…

Again, this has been excellent so far, a blend of creativity, fun and intensity. Now with a pour of the wine I’ve grown to really like since New Zealand a few weeks ago, the Greywacke sauvignon blanc, we have the next item…

Which is almost a mid-course item, but it really has the beautiful flavours of the Sicilian blood orange (which I love) in the sorbet. The horseradish foam adds a new dimension to the sorbet, as does the wee amount of chestnut milk. A fabulous mid-course, would beat most desserts I’ve had this year! Then a Valenciso white rioja is poured for the next dish, Chef’s take on the zeppelin.

Not quite the Lithuanian cepelinai here (perhaps a sleeked-down, Mediterranean version) but thank goodness! You have to get a guy from Italy to make the most perfect potato dumpling dough I’ve ever had… The smoked eel velouté gives the richness the hearty potato needs, yet the delicious lamb filling does that job well enough on its own. Goodness this is good. Then a rich burgundy pinot noir is poured for the monkfish…

Oooh, delicious again, the leek consommé is just damn good…a touch of the natural sweetnees of the leek, but intense enough to really bring this monkfish out. Fish is cooked extremely well, super tender. Even the fried enoki, usually I don’t like it being cooked this way, was surprisingly delicious with the flavours retaining well. Another finely crafted dish!

At this point we get a palate cleansing snack based on Earl Grey…

A touch of bergamot, a nice little snack. All before the next dish, with an excellent Chilean white, a seafood treat…

Wow, what a selection. First in the steamer you have a delicious dumpling, and with the steam still rising it looks like the bonito flakes are moving! Then the scallop, which bears a consistency that’s hard to believe — almost like Japanese fish cake — working extremely well with the rich sauce.

Oh goodness it’s good… And the prawn chips? Excellent. Almost wanted to lick that sauce…

Lovely dinner so far, not filling, portions working well with the intense flavours. That’s the key to all this, the intensity of each dish. It’s challenging, and the pairings have worked well. Then with a pour of a beautiful Lebanese red, we have the final savoury dish set — based on the now-traditional closing dish of goulash.

They bring out the components separately, so I had to do my own impromptu plating…

The beef cheeks are excellent, with a ridiculously smooth texture — almost like he’s reconsituted it somewhow. The base was extremely intense. I’ve always loved this dish, and it’s become even more intense. It’s like a total concentration of flavour here…

Wow. The savouries are at an end here, and I’m smiling. This was fantastic. A night of intense flavours for sure, but with levity, creativity, precision, and top-notch execution. Later Chef told me the entire segment was under 900 calories. Shocked me…wow… This is what Note-by-Note can do…

It’s not over, as we have the sweets… First up, a sherry blend and we have Chef’s take on the Monte…

Crazy rich stuff here…lovely chocolate soufflé alongside the very tasty hazelnut gelato. So good…so much for the previous 900 calories!

Then for the final dessert, a Kir Impérial is poured and we have this rhubarb-centric joy to the eyes…

This is really excellent, from the almond gelato to rhubarb cubes…and it also comes with a chamomile cake…

Almost too big! Delicious! I though it was over, then the large selection arrives to close the evening into a foggy dream…

And we have a crazy selection of petit fours…

At this point, as I’m nibbling on these, Chef Camastra makes his reappearance. Then the next few hours we proceeded to catch up on things now his kitchen duties are done, from talking about food trends to life, and of course about this dinner. He showed me the expanded lab next door, giving him even more room to work his magic. And of course, the meal ends with the traditional “cigar”…

Chef was knackered, as you can imagine, so I bid him farewell and finished up my last coffee and headed out myself. Early morning flight tomorrow, so I’m headed for some rest. But once again, what a fabulous dinner. Amazing flavours, lovely dishes, excellent service, just wonderful all around. It keeps progressing, perhaps into zones unknown, but its evolution is one of the exciting things about coming back — especially after an especially long absence.

Senses outdoes itself each time I’m here, and Chef Camastra is going to be a global superstar soon. He is going to change the way people think about food, and sure it will be extremely divisive — especially in the food world. We’ll see what happens. But it’s one of the few places in the world the food has never failed me.

If there ever was a restaurant to take a detour for, this is the one. It will intrigue you. It will challenge you. It will make you shake your head. It will confuse you. It may upset you. You may exclaim “how the f**k” loudly. But that’s the full package here, like no other dining experience you’re likely to have. Go to Warsaw, you won’t regret it. Just fabulous.

Senses
Bielańska 12
Warszawa, Polska

A Delicious Return to Warsaw…

11-12 September 2018

After a break of a few months I was finally back in Europe, though the inexplicable idiocy of Charles de Gaulle Airport almost made me miss a connection to Warsaw — despite a 3+ hour layover. I have not made a connection in Terminal 2 before, and lessons learned — never again. I was quite frazzled when I arrived in Warsaw finally.

Good to be back to a city I really love to spend time in. I nursed a lot of my post-breakup time here, and a very loving soul was here to help me until I guess she couldn’t deal with my constant grief anymore. But every time I come back to Warsaw, I can’t help but remember her… Anyway, first things first, lunch…

I’ve watched Warsaw’s food scene grow up quite a lot since my first visit in the early 1990s, when it was grim beyond belief. Still remember being offered a swig of vodka by a gang of skinheads at Warszawa Centralna, they were so impressed I could communicate with them in Polish… But over the years and about a dozen visits, I can’t help but smile to see how much this place I truly love has grown into a major city again — with confidence, style, and good food. Of course there are still issues, but frankly nothing different from issues diners face in anywhere from Paris (more on this later) to Stockholm (more on this later too).

I had nothing planned for lunch but wanted to spend the afternoon in Warsaw’s National Museum. So en route I found a place called Smaki Warszawy. They were winding down for lunch but happily sat me. Funny how they smiled so much more when I spoke Polish to them… It was chanterelle season, and they had a few specials, so I went for it.

A glass of okay wine in hand, then the two items appeared — with contradictory results. The first was the chanterelle cream…

Not sure if this was meant as a stew, soup, sauce or dip, but it was just awful. Mixture of heavy and bad acid, and too little chanterelles. I picked out as many as I could and abandoned it…

But the selection of veal pierogi with chanterelle sauce was much more like it, though I’ve had better. It was at least filling. I settled up with my cheery server and headed out for the National Museum.

The last time I was here I didn’t take any photos, and really wanted to spend some time with my favourite Polish artist, Jan Matejko. And lo and behold, the room was closed due to restoration work… A few other people cursed when they saw the sign too… So just got a few camera grabs… Nevertheless, spent a wonderful afternoon going through the lovely museum, though I noticed many tourists walked right past masterpieces by Tintoretto and Bernini for example…

After spending the rest of the late afternoon unpacking and doing all those post-flight things like ironing and logistics for upcoming busy days of travel, I headed out to dinner at Alewino, a hip place that people seem to rave about. Plus it was an extremely warm evening (Mel brings unseasonable warmth yet again) for a day that hit 30C, so the outdoor seating area was quite popular.

I relaxed with a wine and scratched my head at the rather interesting menu, and ordered. Ironically the wine was a Greywacke sauvignon blanc that I had drank quite a lot of whilst in New Zealand. Chilled out a bit and then the first item arrived and I chuckled…

Yep, śledź sushi po polsku…geez. Nice try, I gotta say it’s a cute service. Not bad, tho the “Polish wasabi” is really quite a laugher. But nice try, I like the cuteness. Then with a really nice Polish red (yes, again, it’s very good!), the pork cheeks.

The pork is cooked very well, the flesh ridiculously tender and nice. However, I wish the sauce worked better, to be frank. This could have been a blow-me-away dish if they had done a better sauce. It was so meh with such a wonderful meat. A bit of a letdown, but it was good.

I wasn’t gonna have dessert, but the fruit dish looked nice, so I went with it.

A good selection of berries for sure, working well with the cream and the wee sorbet. Perfect blending of tart and sweet, lovely close. I thanked my server and liberated the table that is no doubt in much demand and headed back. No boozing in Warsaw these days for me…

The next day I tried to catch up on a little sleep, so wasn’t out the door until 9am or so. I made my way to the Old Town, where I usually avoid due to crowds. But I wanted to really spend time in the Cathedral — especially the crypt — again, as I’ve not been there for over a decade… A friendly priest who was more than happy to crack a few jokes with me (all in Polish, I’m so glad it’s coming back to me so quickly) as he let a few of us down there at our leisure. It was nice to slowly take in the church and the crypt, the latter most wonderful due to the lack of tourists.

I was going to stop in for lunch at a local place, but instead decided to run back towards my hotel as I had to do some trip logistics for the coming weekend. So I stopped at a place I know to be safe — perhaps not for lunch when it’s 30C outside — Butchery & Wine.

I’ve had excellent food here before, their Polish beef is top notch.

A cute and attentive server took my order, and we had a moment of laughter when I had to ask her how to say “medium rare” in Polish as I had forgotten… I have to say, some people find Polish service gruff, but that’s also part of how they cope in English (especially the ones who have never worked food service in the UK), but when you do it in Polish it’s smooth and friendly. Just looking at the fridge makes me happy…

With a glass of wine in hand, I relaxed. Then soon my Polish ribeye appears…

Mmm, this is delicious meat once again. Lovely stuff, not as aged as the one I had before, but still full of flavour. This is the thing — beef from Poland (as well as Estonia) are of top quality. There’s only need for import because of lack of supply, but if you can get the local thing, DO IT.

And my side which a corn-on-the-cob, lol. Tasty, sweet with just enough charring. A really nice lunch yet again! I thanked my excellent server and headed out for a long afternoon of walking in the 30C sun, and now with the meat sweats… But worth it!

Again, sometimes you get some inconsistencies, but Warsaw is growing up very quickly and I think it holds its own very well with other regional cities like Berlin and Prague. It’s a shame food tourism isn’t as big as the other cities, but you are getting some solid places. I love this city, and trust me, if you visit it, you will too.

And then there’s dinner tonight at Senses!

Smaki Warszawy
Żurawia 47/49

Alewino
Mokotowska 48

Butchery & Wine
Żurawia 22
Warszawa, Polska

Review: Veritas

28 August 2018

You can’t imagine how bad of a day I’ve had. Began at 7am with a serious car crash; a half second later I would probably not be here writing this… It’s never fun when it’s a rental vehicle, and it took the cops an hour to arrive. And another two hours for the tow truck. By the time I painfully climbed into my replacement vehicle, it was pretty much the afternoon.

Oh, I had been in Pittsburgh, having driven in from Columbus the day before. A short closing stop after the South American trip, which I thought was gonna be drama free. No such luck… I made my way back to Columbus, curtailing my stops as I was in some discomfort from the hard impact. Plus I had to deal with insurance and all that stuff…oh my head…

What I really needed was a good dinner, and I’m hoping Veritas in downtown Columbus can deliver. I was intrigued by the menu, which is really strong for a state where I’ve not had too many good meals. From Cleveland to Cincinnati, I’ve been constantly disappointed by the food in Ohio, but I’m hoping on such a shitty day we’ll have an exception.

I got to the busy eatery and was seated at a nice table. I didn’t feel like sitting at the bar, although the cocktails were flowing at first already…I certainly needed one. I chose the tasting menu because frankly my head was killing me, and I didn’t want to bother looking… Hopefully this was a good choice.

I enjoyed a nice cocktail as my server also poured a wee bubbly, all for the devilled duck egg…

I like the do-it-yourself hot sauce thing, which wasn’t really very hot. But the egg was very tasty, the caviar a nice touch. A good start. As I was in need of booze after this idiotic day, I happily guzzled the bubbly and finished my cocktail before they managed to pour a beautiful Riesling from the Finger Lakes — my old stomping grounds in Upstate New York — for the next dish, tomatoes.

I truly liked this dish! The surprise is the cottage cheese, which is one of my guilty pleasures. This worked deceptively well, the balsamic really bringing both the tomatoes and the cottage cheese out. Surprisingly good. I’m starting to feel better, although the pain radiating from my neck is getting worse…

Thank goodness for the booze, right? So far it’s been generous pours, and now we have a Gewürztraminer from Sonoma for the third course, hamachi.

It’s actually marinated in hibiscus, which explains the colour. The assorted items with this dish, from the coconuts to the jalapeño, really added a nice touch to the already good fish. I’m actually kind of impressed with this kitchen so far. The service has also been excellent, very efficient. I mentioned that since I’m a single diner the kitchen doesn’t need to play timing rules on the dishes, they can just proceed at their own pace — and I’m liking the pace.

Then a lambrusco is poured for the next item, which is more like a snack — the pork belly bun.

Oh this is delicious, lovely flavour with the pork and the bun was done very well. So many places do the pork well but screw up the bun, or try to get too fancy with too much crap inside. This works perfectly. I’m really happy so far with this dinner, the generous pours on the pairing for the relatively small food items helping to relieve some pain for sure… Then a nice white from Loire is poured and we have the pasta dish…

A delicious casarecce, cooked perfectly, graced with duck confit and lobster mushrooms, as well as corn. Really excellent dish, another pleasant surprise. So far easily the best meal I’ve ever had in Ohio, and we still have a few more items to go. Then a syrah is poured for the last savoury dish, the lamb.

Wow, this meat was really nice, albeit the portion a bit limited. I wish there was a bit more, as the foam was a bit distracting being cold — compare to the jus. The Australian black truffle made me cringe a little after my extended exposure to it the previous trip… But the lamb itself was fantastic. It says something when this excellent lamb was probably the weakest overall dish so far!

One thing I liked is that this dinner has taken just a little more than an hour so far, so it’s moving very well — especially for me — despite the place being busy with many people ordering ala carte. Then we shift into the desserts and a madeira is poured…

An interesting little dessert based on buttermilk and yuzu, with a touch of cherry. Not bad. But tonight my brain, when it’s working post-trauma, is not interested in dessert. I asked for the after-dinner drinks list as the last dessert item did not have a pairing. And I’m glad I got something stronger, as this dinner came to an unfortunate end…

Yeah, one of my biggest dining gripes, edible gold. I got it the hell off my food as much as I could before I consumed this concoction of lime and cucumber. A nice closing palate cleanser, which ironically worked with my peaty scotch…

I had another drink and coffee before I settled up and thanked my server. A really excellent evening that surprised me. Smooth and quick service, generous wine pours for the pairing, and fantastic dishes. The casarecce and pork bun were the top items tonight, but it all worked really well. Very pleasantly surprised.

I so needed this as I headed out, waited for my ride to go back to my hotel. I know I’m not supposed to sleep (or drink) when you have a likely concussion, but I frankly don’t care. I went back and had a few more at the hotel before I zonked out. Home tomorrow, then to deal with all the fallout from this morning…

Aside from all that drama, Veritas is highly recommended!

Veritas
11 West Gay Street
Columbus, Ohio

Review: Kyu

26 August 2018

I won’t bore anyone with the details of my trip getting back to Miami from Quito, but it was hellish. Tocumen Airport in Panama proved to be as shitty as ever, and Copa Airlines not much better. Throw in a shitty hotel near MIA Airport that gave me food poisoning, the whole thing sucked.

I didn’t recover until the next late afternoon, when I headed to dinner at local hotspot Kyu. Yeah, why am I going to dinner at 4pm? Because I have a flight out at FLL tomorrow at 6am, so I have to wake up around 3am tomorrow…

I usually don’t like places like this, full of weekend drunks and revellers, but I was intrigued by the menu. Sat at the bar and enjoyed a nice cocktail as I ordered some food. The drinks were good and imaginative, so I can recommend this place as a bar already. Then my starter arrived, the octopus.

Surprisingly good, perfect cooking here of well-sourced octopus. The palmitos were a nice addition for a good plate. Then it took ages for my main to arrive, so I had more drinks. When it arrived I understood why it took so long…

Huge! Stone bowl of rice with crab. Pretty good, generous with the crab for one thing. It took several bowls to finish it off…

Delicious. Also, I had a big ol’ side of maitake as well, which was also really good.

Sauce a bit heavy but it was delicious; the herbs were also nice to nibble on. This turned out to be quite a good early dinner. I wasn’t ready to head out yet so had a few more drinks, including this as a dessert…

Yeah, it was cognac with a side of duck jus…well, it was more like a gravy than jus to be honest. It could have been better if it was jus. Oh well. But there’s a lot of off-the-wall drinks here, and it’s been good overall.

I headed out pretty happy with this dinner, though the scene is just not me. Good food tho. I headed back to the hotel-from-hell and set my alarm at the time-from-hell for my flight out tomorrow. Ugh, I am tired…

Kyu
251 NW 25th Street
Miami, Florida

Quito is a Foch-ing Nice Food Town…

24-25 August 2018

I’ve eaten quite well the last two days in Quito, from the fascinating Quitu to the excellent Nuema to the intriguing URKO, three fabulous tasting menus. But my time here is winding down, as is this entire trip.

I got up a bit groggy, as I think this trip is wearing me down a little. The altitude is one thing, but I think I never properly recovered from the tail end of that Australia-New Zealand trip thanks to those 2 red-eye flights… But I still forced myself to go, and spent the morning exploring the National Museum of Ecuador. Fascinating place, very recommended.

I did a little shopping as I walked towards Plaza Foch and then went to my lunch destination, Miskay. Some people call it a tourist trap, but it looked good.

I enjoyed a nice canelazo as I ordered my lunch. Relaxed, and the opener came — the ceviche set.

Mmm, definitely a nice selection. The squid with the passion fruit base was really nice, the octopus with the coconut base excellent, and the shrimp in tomato quite good. A really good selection. I switched to a surprisingly good Ecuadorian red before my large main course arrived, seco de chivo.

An excellent and rich goat stew, really nice stuff. Goat tasted like goat, and the sauce excellent with the rice. Really enjoyed this, which went down well with that local red. I thanked the staff and headed out happy — but really full.

I had to run back to the hotel to deal with some trip issues, and also to pack. I was also low on energy, so didn’t explore much through the afternoon. I went for an early dinner at another place some say is a tourist trap but I say is a pretty good place, Achiote.

It’s a classy place but geared towards tourists surely, and they sat me at a nice table. They brought over a drinks cart when I ordered a local version of a caipirinha.

I like this tableside cocktail thing. Nice drink. I then relaxed and ordered my dinner. Chilled out and the place got a little busier as the early Friday evening went on. Then my starter arrived, more ceviche.

A nice mixture of octopus and crab here, quite nice. Not as good as lunch, but quite nice as I wrote. Then I enjoyed a glass of the surprisingly good Ecuadorian red before my main arrived, grilled cuy.

Last dinner here, so had to do it. It’s a quarter, and it’s not much meat tho. The side veggies were nice, but the much-advertised chocolate rice was pretty lame…

Yeah, I went for it. Smells great, but tastes boring. Oh well. Finished and had room for dessert, so I ordered one and also some caña to push the evening along…

A rather big cheesecake for sure, but it was pretty good. The passion fruit was a good addition here. I relaxed with a coffee and another caña, and closed up and thanked my server. Again, excellent English, even though I was using my Spanish quite a lot more today. I also thanked the guitar player/singer, as I seemed to be the only one who cared — and he noticed, and was very appreciative.

Dinner was not as good as lunch food-wise, but it was a nice dining experience. The next day I had some time in the morning for some final exploration, and then I decided to have lunch before I left — since I wouldn’t arrive back in Miami until nearly midnight (including a stop at the absolutely barren Tocumen Airport in Panama).

So I found a place near my hotel called El Arrecife de las Conchas, which has a few locations focusing on seafood. It was barely open, but I went in anyway. Workers weren’t ready, but quickly got to moving. The work ethic in Quito is so much better than in Colombian cities I have to say…

With a really delicious coconut juice in hand, I ordered my lunch. After a short time my starter arrived, a shrimp empanada.

Meh, it’s filled badly, skimped on the filling. Oh well, what did I expect. Then after a bit my larger-than-expected main arrives, the arroz marinero…

A nice bit of seafood here, and the rice is very tasty. Huge dish, full of various seafoods. But it was perhaps too filling for a lot of flying. I was stuffed as I headed out, pretty satisfied with my last bit of food in Ecuador. I thanked my server and headed back to the hotel to head to the airport.

This trip to Ecuador has been eye-opening. Beautiful place, extremely hospitable. The food sector is doing better than Colombia IMHO, with far better servers with better language skills. The food itself is excellent, both traditional and modern cooking, using some excellent ingredients. I enjoyed this segment far more than the Colombian ones, and I see so much promise for this town I’ve grown to really like. This town is way, way underrated on the food trail!

I’ll be back, Quito, ¡mil gracias!

Miskay
Calle Joaquín Pinto 312

Achiote
Calle Juan Rodríguez 282

El Arrecife de las Conchas
Avenida Isabel Católica 953
Quito, Ecuador

Review: URKO

23 August 2018

After a busy day exploring Quito, I was getting hungry again. The excellent lunch at Nuema had carried me through the afternoon, but I have another nice dining experience planned for this evening. As I was doing research for this trip, URKO kept popping up on my radar as a place to check out.

It was not a far walk from my hotel, so I took the stroll (albeit uphill) in the nice cool evening. I so like this weather here! I arrived at URKO and upon informing them I was most happy to do their tasting menu, they led me to the second floor seating area. They had said very little at this point, so I was a little confused. They brought out a glass of chucula as I waited…

Pretty delicious, this local plantain-based drink also had a nice bit of plaintain vinegar, so it was in essence a palate cleanser. Then after a few minutes, still with not much info, we (there was a couple who had also come at the same time) were led to the rooftop where there was not just the urban garden where they grow a lot of their vegetables and herbs, but also an outdoor charcoal grill. After a tour of the plants, we were led to seats at the grill.

We were served some herbed water as the cook at the grill was hard at work. Soon the first item was presented…

A delicious little nibble comprised of mango, apple, pepper and eveb cacao nibs. A good blend of acid that again helped to open the palate but not overwhelm it Danish-style. Then we have a treat wrapped in leaf, which they carefully cut open…

Mmmm, this red mullet is delicious, lovely flavours with excellent texture in the flesh. It’s accentuated with just a tiny bit of artisanal cheese, with cassava, chimichurri amongst other touches. Really nice. And this charcoal aroma is just wonderful…

Well, we were then led back downstairs, and actually to our tables. I sat down at mine, overlooking the bustling street, and relaxed. This should be good. A glass of chicha de jora is presented with the next dish…

I’m guessing this is cuy (and I learned later I was correct, cuy belly to be precise), which was quite nice. The accompanying oca was nice, accentuated by the paico leaf, all covered by black bread powder. Really an excellent dish here, the bread powder doing wonders.

So far going well! After a little time, a wee herbed kombucha is presented (BTW I had ordered the “traditional” pairing) and we have a beautifully-plated dish…

Though focused on chicken pâté on the tapioca chip, other elements like radish (for texture) and peppermint (for flavour) added to the overall appeal of this bite. Very delicious. Then we have another item, continuing with the chicken theme…

A lovely duo here. First up we have an extremely tasty chicken skewer, probably cooked upstairs on that excellent charcoal grill. Really high quality stuff, reminds me of how good this tastes in Japan…

And the second is the “yolk” swimming in an amazing broth. Oh my is this good, the broth containing an ancestral black pepper called neapia that is very important to the Secoya people from the Amazon. I can drink this broth all day…so good. Forget those “bone broth” things people flog in Michelin-starred places, this beats it on a daily basis…

I was still enjoying the flavour of that broth when the next series began, starting with an apple drink. Then the next item, based on cucumber, arrives…

Thin layers, with touches of nettle, very refreshingly served in a tomato-based base with a touch of avocado oil. Nice mixture of vegetable flavours, and again very refreshing. It helped to clean the palate from that awesome broth (too bad tho!), as we move into the selection for the main course…

Hard to see from this angle, but the pork is quite delicious. It came with a lot of goodies…

The peas were delicious, and the salad much needed. A nice bread with herbal butter too. All of it made for several platings’ worth of food…

Look how good this pork is, just juicy, deep and delicious. They sourced it from a local farmer, as they also control the interesting feed. Really delicious. And that salad was also quite excellent. A lovely close to the savouries, though I was still a bit hungry as the portions (aside from the last dish) was modest.

We shift into the dessert portion now. BTW the service has been absolutely excellent. The entire team of servers have impeccable English and described the dishes in excellent detail. Frankly, the service I’ve seen in Quito has blown away most places I’ve seen in Latin America, including the lauded-yet-shitty D.O.M. in São Paulo. Frankly staff from that 2-“Michelin” restaurant should come here to be taught a lesson on service. Talking about dessert…

A really delicious guanábana treat here, with a touch of lemongrass, all accentuated with some nice tart local lemon ice. Love the acid balance here, again done so well without that unnatural Danish acid-until-you-dissolve philosophy. I am gonna so miss having guanábana when I head back north… All this worked with a delicious drink of sugar cane juice with cacao. And we keep going with the second dessert, which would put a smile on anyone’s face…

Oh my is this chocolate rich, extremely deep, with the granola mixture giving it some texture. And on the side, goat milk ice cream topping some slices of red banana. This may be one of my favourite dessert dishes of the year, wow… And with a sparkling herbal drink focused on mint acting as the final palate cleanser, we have the final treat…

The chocolate one on the left is naturally cacao-centric, lovely with a touch of mint. The right we have a wonderful amalgamation of mulberry and strawberry, a fantastic final combination of tart and sweet. An excellent close.

I enjoyed some excellent coffee (enough for 3 cups) as the evening wound down. This has been another excellent meal here in Quito, 3 out of 4. I really enjoyed a lot of the food; oh that broth with the chicken! The pork was also absolutely fantastic. However, I wish the portions were a tad larger on the savoury side, but that was made up with the longer dessert segment. And at the beginning they should probably explain the process a bit better as the upstairs-downstairs thing was a little confusing — though that was part of the charm to be up on the roof for the opening segment. And perhaps the paired drinks should have been described a bit clearer during the opening, as they paried well but was not done as smoothly as, let’s say, at Leo the other night.

But overall, the service was awesome, and they can teach some Michelin-starred places a lesson on hospitality and efficiency that’s for sure.

Again, highly recommended! Another wonderful example of modern Ecuadorian cooking bringing the best out of Ecadorian ingredients!

URKO
24-862 Isabel La Católica
Quito, Ecuador

Review: Nuema

23 August 2018

I woke up after an okay sleep, looking to spend the morning exploring Quito’s old town. The historic UNESCO site is something I had wanted to see for ages, so I was happy to spend the morning exploring it. Such a lovely area, full of energy and activity, but beautiful history to see as well.

I had also timed my lunch today at Nuema, which is based in the old town, for after the long stroll. This was the other restaurant my friend Leonor Espinosa from Leo in Bogotá had recommended, and since Quitu had worked out so well I was really looking forward to this lunch.

If you check Google and it says the restaurant has closed, it has just moved — into the boutique ILLA Experience Hotel in Quito’s historic old town. I got there and was seated at a nice seat. I was hungry, especially after that disappointing dinner at Laboratorio Diseño Gastronomico last night. The server was extremely efficient and again had excellent English (my goodness, the service staff in Quito has really impressed me), and took me through what was to be a tasting menu of modern Ecuadorian cooking.

I happily went with a wine they recommended and commenced with the dining experience. Not long after I started sipping the wine, the first dish appeared, based on the melon.

Apparently the name of the fruit is just “melón” and it was delicious, graced with cocoa nibs and peppermint. Delicious and refreshing. A nice start! Then we have a ceviche next.

Interesting, the shrimp is worked by a peanut-based sauce, bringing an interesting dimension to the seafood. Some corn, oxalis and onions help it along. Pretty good for sure. I enjoyed a bit more of the Chilean red and we have a fun “cappuccino” here…

It’s actually a potato soup with milk foam on top, all with an avocado base. An interesting item, and pretty good mixed together. It really grew on me with each spoonful, and by the end I was wishing there was more. Excellent! Then we move into the larger dishes, first up being lamb.

The meat is very tender and flavourful, the sauce really tasty with the mustard seeds. The cassava was a bit less interesting though the beans were nice. Not bad. Next up, a dish based on the ubiquitous plantain.

Far better than you think, as plantains are delicious in any case. I love plantains, and this roasted version is garnished with a seafood sauce. Pretty good again. I’m enjoying this lunch very much. Then we have the main dish, the pork belly.

Nice and slow roasted, this was really nice. Really good quality, nice portion for a main. I was getting a bit full, so the pacing worked just perfectly. Delicious.

Had a nice chat now with Chef Alejandro Chamorro as he brought out the dessert…

A nice apple and chamomile treat, with a nice moringa ice cream. A delicious closing number. I really enjoyed today’s lunch, much like yesterday’s.

There are distinct differences with yesterday’s excellent lunch at Quitu. Today’s is far more approchable, and the cooking is more refined and modern, compared to yesterday’s more exotic and rustic rendition. Both are excellent to explore Ecuadorian cuisine, and I’m glad I got to do both of these. Both are highly recommended!

I thanked my server and chef as I headed out to wait for my car back to my hotel. After this, I need a siesta before I do anything more. Another good lunch!

Nuema
ILLA Experience Hotel
Calle Junín E1-44
Quito, Ecuador