Gluttony

I realize I’ve been absent from the Aquarium for some time. Partly because I haven’t been inspired to write anything interesting. Mostly because the last entries I wrote, and some of my more entertaining entries in the past, were about Chach, and it’s still really hard to even think about him being gone, let alone reread what transpired over the last few months of his life. Today is one of the hardest days I’ve had in awhile (started randomly tearing up about him on the bus this morning) and I’m not sure why. I just miss that little face so much!

But, thanks to my boss’s recap from a conference she attended, where she was advised to spend five minutes each day doing SOMETHING creative, I’m back. For today.

I’ve had the opportunity to visit some really fantastic restaurants in the past few months. Some in Chicago and some in San Francisco, Napa, Calif., and New York City. I’m the geek who tries to order something different and then takes a picture of it.

Looking at pictures of food is like porn to me. So is watching “Barefoot Contessa,” but that’s also partly because I think Ina and Jeffrey do a great job at insinuating what’s to come in the bedroom after dinner.

“It’s Friday and Jeffrey’s driving in from the city. He DEMANDS that we have chicken on Fridays so I’m making roast chicken with thyme and lemon.”

(Ina smirks and raises her eyebrows).

“I just know he’s going to love it.”

Just look at Jeffrey. All he had done that day was drive his stupid BMW and think about cookies. Useless.

Wipe the drool off your face. Back to the Aquarium, where I’ll give a rundown of some of my favorite restaurants I’ve been to recently.

Sayat Nova: This one’s a favorite among the ADA News staffers. It’s an Armenian restaurant at Michigan and Ohio in Chicago. I hate gyros and am not a fan of lamb, so I was a little apprehensive when my boss chose it for her birthday lunch.

The menu wasn’t any more comforting, as Armenian kabobs are not the kabobs Jan and John Soderlund are grilling in Roselle. They’re more like a pita sandwich with meat and veggies. I settled on the trout stuffed with dill, cilantro, scallions and parsley. And I’ve thought about it ever since. It’s served with rice pilaf and is so light and flaky and lemony and herby and just a delightful lunch.

We went there again last week for a co-worker’s birthday and I ordered the same thing. Didn’t even open the menu. 

Aside from my love affair with the trout, the hummus at Sayat Nova is amazeballs. I recently made roasted red pepper hummus at home in my food processor, and there’s just no comparison. I decided to be sophisticated today and order Armenian coffee, which is the size and strength of espresso but all of the grounds sit at the bottom. “When it starts to get thick and grainy, you’re done,” my boss said. You’re then supposed to read your fortune, but we don’t deal in witchcraft here at the Aquarium.

The Sentinel: This is a sandwich shop in San Francisco I ordered lunch from while on a business trip. We were all stuck in the convention center office and needed to eat, so I offered to go pick up lunch. My boss stumbled upon this place through a Google search, so we decided to give it a try.

The address kind of says it all, 37 New Montgomery St. (at Stevenson Alley). It’s hard to even call it a shop, because The Sentinel is really just a storefront shack. But when I walked up, the line was around the block (into the alley), so I figured it must be good. It’s just a counter and a guy in the back making the sandwiches.  Their indescript website, www.thesentinelsf.com, doesn’t list any sides (but does have a photo of two random guys in a headlock) so my coworkers told me to just pick up whatever they had. And what they had was about five bags of barbecue chips. No other flavor, and there really seemed to be only five bags behind the counter.

But the sandwiches …ohhhhh the sandwiches. My boss ordered a veal and pork meatball sandwich that looked hearty and delightful while I stuck with an old faithful roast beef sandwich. One of the best I’ve ever had. The meat was pink and rare with some type of cheddar spread and horseradish sauce.

Sanraku: I’ve previously shouted from the rooftops that my all-time favorite sushi place is South Coast in the South Loop in Chicago. I’m ready to climb on the rafters again and proclaim Sanraku in San Francisco as my second favorite. This was an after-hours, “we’re all traveling on business together so we might as well share a civilized meal together” trip with three co-workers.

The restaurant is about as big as my bedroom, but the food more than makes up for the ambiance. The sushi tasted like my waiter took my order, hopped on the trolley to Fisherman’s Wharf to catch my dinner then beamed himself back to serve it. So. Fresh.

My co-workers got a little crazy and each ordered the saki sampler; a drink I can’t get on board with unless I’ve had many other drinks before. I was Debbie Downer and ordered a Sapporo beer.

Fish Story: This is a cute little restaurant on the river in downtown Napa, Calif. Moogs, Lauren and I lunched there before heading up the mountain in St. Helena to taste some wines (and prior to little Moogs getting sick in the back seat of the cab from all the winding mountain driving).

Fish Story is like many restaurants in California in that they serve “sustainable” and “farm fresh” food. California restaurants are all about you believing you are putting natural, won’t cause cancer food in your body. Fish Story is less my story and more Lauren’s tale. This was the site of the BEST SANDIWCH EVER, according to Ms. Franciose. I think it was some type of shrimp salad BLT. I didn’t have a bite but I trust such an orgasmic reaction. And honestly, I can’t even remember what I ordered. Lauren’s reaction has trumped my memory.

RPM: This is the new hot celebrity restaurant in Chicago. It’s partly owned by Bill and Giuliana Rancic (of “The Apprentice” and E! fame) and it’s a chi-chi Italian restaurant in River North. I was skeptical given the hype, celebrity attachment and that it was Italian (It’s rare that I LOVE Italian food in a restaurant). RPM is also mostly small plates; a fad in restaurants I wish would go away. I want my own meal and don’t want to share!

I went this summer with a group of girls and kept it real by ordering spaghetti and meatballs. Now, I have the mom who makes the best meatballs in the world so this was going to be a tough cage match. And, I have to say, RPM’s are some of the best meatballs I’ve had at a restaurant. I brought my mom there over Christmas and she reluctantly concurred.

Il Cortile: While I’m talking about Italian restaurants, I can’t not mention the best Italian meal I’ve had out. Il Cortile is one of the dozens of Italian restaurants in Little Italy in New York City. If you’ve ever been, you know it’s hard to choose which one to dine at. Guys stand outside with their (possibly fake) Italian accents telling my “beautiful face to just come inside and give us a try.” It’s hard to pick! Luckily, when my mom and I visited New York last year, her boss recommended Il Cortile and we loved it.

So we went back a few weeks ago when we filmed “Kelly and Janice Take New York Part Deux.” I ordered the same thing as last year, spaghetti Bolognese, and we ordered two meatballs as an appetizer and man it was good. I ate until I almost threw up, and we immediately retired to the hotel for a post-gluttony slumber.

Quality Meats: Random name for a restaurant, right? Almost stupid, like you are going to the butcher? I agree, and I almost didn’t click on the link when I Googled “best steakhouses in New York City,” but I’m so glad I did. This one’s on 58^th Street near Central Park and where my mom and I dined our first night in NYC this year. It was the last night the ADA was footing the bill for my meals, so I decided to go balls out (exceeding my $85 per diem rate).

The restaurant is sleek and dimly lit and …oh, I’ll get right to why I’m writing this post: they make your freakin’ steak sauce at the table. Like, mortar pestal style. What’s in it? In my “I’ve been drinking red wine all night and just ordered another bottle” state, all I remember is fresh thyme. But I do remember it being delightful. 

Not that my steak needed it. Perfectly medium rare and just melted in my mouth (to be cliché). Which is fitting since I’ve learned from the steak cook-off that Barefoot Contessa and Jeffrey had that most steakhouses sear their steaks on the stove before putting them in the oven with a pad of butter on top. Jeffrey grilled his and was NONE too pleased Ina won the challenge.

Maison: This is a lovely French bistro in Midtown Manhattan that has become a staple for the Soderlund girls’ NYC trip. Cappuccinos and complimentary beignets. Enough said.

That’s enough for now. My signature sin of gluttony will continue …