Valentine's Day Dinner

Who needs chocolate when you can eat cheese

First off, I can't believe it has been so long since I last updated my quasi-defunct blog. My MBA program has taken over so much of my time, but now that the summer internship process is coming to an end I can start blogging again ... and my Valentine's Day dinner was so amazing it made it a perfect time to start!

So what does a guy get for a girl that does not like chocolate for Valentine's? CHEESE! Here are some pics of the food we had tonight:

*We went on a trip to Murray's Cheese to create our cheese wheel. We decided on a little European tour with cheeses from Spain, The Netherlands and France. From left and clockwise (from the mildest to the strongest): Gallego (cow soft cheese), Murcial al Vino (goat cheese cured in red wine), 2 year Boerenkaase (gouda with crystals) and Bleu D'Auberegne (sheep roquefort)*

*After buying the cheese, we made a stop at the charcuterie, on the left we have wagyu beef bresaola and on the right side black truffle salami*

*To accompany our meal, we opened the Newton unfiltered chardonnay we bough at a wine tasting some months ago. We have been saving it for a special occasion*

* And for dessert, we split a red velvet cupcake from Crumbs*

As for presents, we gave each other things that we have both wanted for a while. In other words, we bought our own presents and just have them to each other. Brendan got his golf shoes, and I got a new racing swimsuit and water goggles for my swimming training.

Happy Valentine's Day Everyone!

Opera in the park

*The sun setting in Central Park*

The only thing that is better than going to the Opera is going with friends

Every year the Metropolitan Opera of New York puts on a Opera performance for free in Central Park. I love the opera soI got the girls organized and we got tickets. This is one of my favorite events of the year, what can better to lay out on the lawn, have a picnic, drink some one while listening to the Opera with friends? Oh, having all of that, for free.

*Toast with cheese ... it was yummy!*

Goodbye lunch at Sushi Yasuda

*The master, Chef Yasuda, hard at work at the end of the sushi bar*

A very memorable goodbye!

My last day at the company is next Wednesday, so my people manager Tatjana took me out to goodbye lunch. Since I was allowed to choose I had not doubt in my mind that I wanted to eat at Sushi Yasuda. I was so happy to go to Yasuda with Tatjana, she is the best manager anyone could ever ask for, I wouldn't have been able to do half of the things I have done at Towers without her advice and support (and since I am leaving the company I do not have to kiss anyone's @$$, so I am being completely truthful when I say she is the best).

Sushi Yasuda is one of the best sushi restaurants here in NY. Its one of those places where the fish is so fresh and cut so masterfully that, as it melts in your mouth, you have a life-changing experience and your soul feels uplifted from its mundane existence for a little while.

Another amazing fact is that at lunch time they have a great prix fixe for around $25!!!! Of course, I needed to order some additional things here and there, since it was my goodbye lunch after all. The menu changes every day, and Chef Yasuda's recommendation for the day are circled in red. It took me a good, intense 15 minutes to make my selections.

*Sake from Hokkaido, it was very sooth and now to sweet (I don't like sweet sake)*

As part of my pre-fix menu, I ordered the sushi and sashimi special. The sashimi was picked by the chef, I got makarel, tuna and yellowtail. All three were incredibly fresh and melted in my mouth.

*Assorted sashimi*

*Starting from the bottom right: mackerel, orato, sea trout, scallop and uni (uni not pictured)*

For the sushi, I could acually pick my selections, so I did a mix of some favorites and some new fish. For some tried and true selections, I picked mackerel, uni and scallop. The uni was unreal, it had that fantastic, briny taste that develops in your mouth, and it melted like butter. I also tried some fish that that I had never eaten raw before. I picked orato and sea trout, the sea trout was a great new discovery for me.

And for dessert, I had some red bean mochi ice cream. It was a perfect way to say goodbye to Towers Perrin and to Midtown.

A nice sunday

Good food, good Sunday

The vintage shoes I bough from Etsy finally arrived and I got to wear them for the first time this Sunday. I am absolutely in love with them, they are as cute and comfortable as I was hoping they would be!

I did not have a lot of food left in the fridge at lunchtime, so I ate soba noodles (I didn't even have scallions for the sauce!), avocado with soy sauce and rice wine vinegar, and kiwi and apricots with honey. It was very simple and very refreshing.

After my long run around lower Manhattan, I stopped by Pinkberry and rewarded myself with a fozen yogurt (not pictured, I don't run with my camera). Then made a stop at the supermarket and bought somefood items for dinner, I ate sauteed shrimp with an avocado, orange and radish salad and dates for dessert. Then curled up with The Economist and read until I fell asleep. Overall, it was a really nice Sunday.

Dinner at Momofuku Ssam Bar

* Watching the rain from the window of Momofuku Ssam Bar*

Rainy day, delicious food

One of my really good friends from Georgetown is in town, and since he loves food as much as I do I suggested dinner at Momofuku Ssam Bar. Ssam Bar is one of David Chang's three restaurants in the East Village , he is only 30 years old and he is getting nominated for his third James Beard award! I am a big fan of his cooking and I have been wanting to go eat at Ssam bar for a while. I am so glad we went, his food is terrific!

I forgot my camera (grrrrrrrrrrrrrrr) so I used my iPod to take pictures of our great dinner. The pictures do not make justice to the delicious flavors of the dinner. Here are some pictures of the things we ate:

* Cured hamachi with horseradish sauce, edamame and wakame*

* Steam buns with pork belly, hoisin, cucumbers and scallions (these are seriously delicious)*

* Pork shoulder steak*

* Beet and lime ganache with goat's milk frozen yogurt in a pistachio/granita bed*

Dinner was absolutely delicious, but the most wonderful part of the meal was the dessert. I typically do not like sweets and seldomly order dessert, but this dessert was phenomenal. It was the perfect combination of sweet from the ganache, cream from the frozen yogurt and savory crunch from the pistachios. My mouth starts watering again now that I am writing about it!

After dinner I decided to walk home and stopped by St. Mark's bookshop on the way. I have a summer reading list and decided to buy the first book on that list.

Hope you are having a great weekend!