still in town

We met up with friends Ron & Mary for dinner as we met the 'one week home" mark- nice to catch up with them and dine at Il Milanese! 

I am still working on the deck plantings - did the six hanging baskets (which did not weather the winter at all!) and washed the rugs with the heavy duty cleaner 

we worked in the cellar to clear space for some cases that Neil needs to store there.

Last night we went out to Chengdu Impressions for our favorites - 

Tonight we are going to try a new place for Bosnian food D4 Cafe on Western with Mike. Update - It was marvelous! A FB foodie turned us on to this terrific Bosnian place. Mom and Pop in the kitchen - kids out front. Wonderful experiences with amazing food that we have missed since the demise of Sarajevo on Lawrence Ave. The burek with spinach was a meal in itself.  Luckily I was dining with two others. We demolished the mixed meat platter, hence the big gaps that once held three servings of cevapi and three of pljeskavica, as well as the things shown. Incredible pita bread and kymak cheese. Thanks Frank Patterson! We will definitely return.

I also went to Gethsemane for my annual deck flower purchases. I had to revamp some plans as I changed up the hanging pots. I ended up with three flats of flowers (one too many) and and two good sized hostas... given the empty pots I have I will now have marigolds in the salvia planters and impatiens in the plant with the failed (over the winter) hostas and then the two moderate sized pots get the hostas- LOL  I know- TMI...   

Tonight we have sushi from Lawrence Fish Market - 

The rest of this week is Doctor visit week-  once we are done witht htis week we will be all caught up from the six months in Europe... YAY! and ready to just enjoy our summer - Phil has a ball game Friday so I will finish my deck planting then and relax for the weekend! 

42 grams of "soul" food

Tonight we had the fall menu at 42 grams.  This was a meal we had eagerly anticipated after our two visits for the summer menu a few months ago.  I may have mentioned that 42 grams is named for the combined weight of two souls (21 grams each) and this may be the most perfect name ever for food that speaks to your soul - "soul food" in a new and different way!

It is hard to transition to new menus when you have favorites from a prior menu- I think back to the moment when goosefoot first changed the corn soup for the chestnut soup (I thought - wrongly - that I would be disappointed, instead I not only loved it as well, it might have been just a bit better) And I was a bit worried tonight because I so loved SO MANY of the courses from the summer menu... but I needn't have worried...

I won't keep you in suspense any longer about the menu... here we go...

we were happy to see that Matt (who had his first day on our first visit to 42 grams) was still there helping in the kitchen... and apparently the food is curing his eyesight LOL because he no longer is wearing glasses! 

here Matt works on the set up for the early courses- 

oh yum- this air-dried tuna (tuna iberico) is still on the menu for now--- so I don't have to mourn the loss of that one! LOL

the "bread course" somethings are new and some repeated- very nice mix of flavors and textures- 

we chose a Chenin for the white tonight- it was very very young- will wait a good amount of time before we open another (bought this when we were in South Africa in 2011 and it has lots of time left...)

I love oysters!!!!

here is the air-dried tuna course - so happy we got another shot at that one- you can see the little "sticks" peeking out of the side-

a tribute to Trotter - the flavors of the sea - server on actual Trotter's dishes gifted to Jake & Alexa...

sturgeon with green curry - loved the texture of the chicken skin and cashew - very nice contrast with the moist tender fish...

the red we picked when instructed to think medium bodied red- a Spanna from Dessilani... also quite young

an incredible new salmon course - brined in smoked tea (wonder if it is a PUR tea like we had on the Tibetan Plateau last October?)

before (above) and after the sauce was added - the flavors of this dish were outstanding - the mushrooms, the nasturtiums and best of all this amazing amazing bread made form spent hops and barley from a local beer maker- incredible flavors and textures - this is a complex and subtle masterpiece!

a few shots of the interior of 42 grams from the cork wall to the rake wine glass racks - lovely small thoughtful touches of approachable, amid the elegant food and service-

the "boys" continue to work work work in prepping our fabulous meal!

PORRIDGE!!! but not like any you have ever had before - texture is the name of the game here, but there is so much more! Supported by pork jowl and pig heart, there are creative flavors of incredible depth behind the crunch!

and my NEW favorite course (I still get to keep my OLD favorite though!) this incredible sweetbread and foie gras bomb! #todiefor

and yes as I mentioned my OLD favorite is still here! YEA! the A5 wagyu beef with the bone marrow- an explosion of essence of beefiness in your mouth! Don't hang the crepe for this one yet- mourning the passing of this one has been delayed!

still working (Eveready bunnies?- LOL) these men are dedicated to creating perfection for us this evening!

green tea and yuzu an excellent combination

palate cleanser burst of tartness encased in a thin white chocolate outer shell

and dessert- which to me was the essence of brown butter and sweet!

the final note - "coffee" - another former favorite we were still lucky enough to enjoy again! this is way all coffee should be - eaten with a spoon for dessert in the form of an espuma.

the menu was passed out at the end (I gave it to you upfront to follow along)

and Jake & Alexa together at the end of the evening- tomorrow morning Jake will be on TV at the crack of dawn to discuss the Charlie Trotter Tribute this weekend, so hopefully they are fast asleep right now! Thanks guys for another wonderful meal and fun night visiting with you both (and with Matt!)

next up - friends visit from out of town and we have dinner at Senza - along with a couple of other places with perhaps more pedestrian food- LOL... Bosnian at Sarajevo and old time French at Kiki's Bistro- we eat food at all levels from "hole-in-the-wall" to the top (next month - next:Trio 2004 is on the calendar as well...) so as always - stay tuned!