Craving Arpege

Where can we find a culinary artist that creates beautiful and insanely delicious masterpieces? In Paris, on Rue de Bourgogne, there is a chef by the name of Alain Passard, who designs picturesque dishes looks as good as they tastes. When my bf and I dined in his restaurant, Arpege (which is not the easiest to make reservations to BTW), Alain Passard came out of the kitchen and said hello, asked where we were from, and asked if we liked vegetables. Of course we liked vegetables, but after having the dinner that was served at Arpege, I am now in love with vegetables. I’ve always heard that Paris is the city of love, and now I’m an official believer because I fell head over heals in love with the incredible and unique recipes at this Parisian restaurant and Arriere-Cuisine that satisfy cravings as well as the visual appetite. AP’s designs and technique have given life to probably the most gorgeous food I’ve ever laid my eyes on and if we think something can’t taste beautiful, well we’re wrong. Either the way AP’s food tasted made the food look better, or the way AP’s food looked made the food taste better, or both, or neither. All I know is that I felt like I was looking at a super model physicist, confused because it never happens… food should never look and taste that good. I wasn’t the only one who felt that way. My bf said that it was the best meal he’s ever had in his life (and this was only 5 dishes in to an over 15 dish meal, not counting the dessert).

Just to make our lives easier, we both had the tasting menu of AP’s specialty and signature cuisines, and I had a glass of their recommended Riesling. The menu included Coquelier, Collection de tomates, Aiguillette de homard bleu nuit acidule au miel nouveau, Fines ravioles potageres multicolores, Turbot de la pointe de Bretegne grille entire au, Robe des champs, Rostisserie, Fomages Bernard Antony, Mille, Sucrereis, and several surprises that I can’t pronounce or repeat even if I wanted to. The only reason I can even list the items on the menu was because the staff gave me one to take home. I tried keeping track of the courses, but after the 10th item, I was already I delirious (with joy and satisfaction); however, even when I thought I could eat no more, I found that I kept clearing my plates. During my meal, I told my bf that Arpege is the true “Happy Meal,” because it can really make a person happy. The funny thing was we actually left with a “gift.” Arpege gifted a souvenir, which was the dinner knife we used during dinner. The staff cleaned it and folded the blade into the handle like a pocket knife. Engraved in the wooden handle is “Arpege 2013.” Although already an unforgettable experience, I now have a remembrance of my Arpege love affair of pure indulgence and bliss.

Craving Friday’s Station

What was for New Year’s Eve Dinner? We celebrated with an amazing New Year’s Eve dinner at Friday’s Station on the 18th floor of the Harrah’s Hotel and Casino, where we are staying. As soon as we walked in, we were greeted by a woman who looked identical to the host at the Sage Room. Coincidentally, the two hosts are identical twin sisters. My boyfriend and I were able to get squeezed in tonight since we switched our reservation from last night. We were so pooped yesterday that we just stayed in and ordered room service, but the change worked out perfectly. There was a preset Menu tonight for the holiday and for the appetizer, I ordered the chilled Baja shrimp, scallops and lobster cocktail, which consisted of Mexican white shrimp, Calico scallops, and Baja-style lobster with avocado, cucumber, and cilantro served in a short martini glass. The second course I enjoyed was the Dungeness crab caesar salad. My entrée was the duet of sea bass and shell-fish brochette; pan-fried chilean sea bass, paired with a tiger prawn and diver scallop served with pineapple-rum Buerre Blanc brochette, rife pilaf, and asparagus. The dessert was a trio of vanilla bean ice cream, mixed berries in anglaise cream, and a chocolate marquise topped with a little animated clock with a 2013 top-hat made out of white chocolate. Like the Kitchen 19 in the Harvey’s Hotel and Casino, this restaurant is on the top floor of the Harrah’s and has a great view, with floor to ceiling windows. Our dinner ended with fire works over the lake that I viewed from my seat at the dinner table. This was definitely a great way to end our last night here in Tahoe and also a great way to start off the new year.

Craving Kitchen 19

What’s the first thing I think about the second day of travel? You guessed it, where to eat of course… Whenever I am on a trip, it’s one of those things that I constantly have to think about since I don’t have a refrigerator full of food or a kitchen to cook in. It is; however, nice to already know what restaurants to count on when craving great food, so we headed to Kitchen 19 on the 19th floor of Harvey’s Hotel and Casino. We started with a half dozen of the the blue point oysters (I know, we had oysters last night, but oysters never get old for me). They were actually so good that we asked for half a dozen more. We made a fast friend in the elevator to the restaurant (every one is really friendly in my experience in South Lake Tahoe), who recommended the shrimp scampi flat bread, so that came out next. Then shortly after the flat bread came the scallops, asparagus and spinach risotto, my favorite. The pan seared scallops with creamy Northern Italian rice prepared with asparagus and wild mushrooms is no joke. For my main course, I had one of the signature dishes, the dover sole, which I managed to finish despite me already feeling full after the risotto. Kitchen 19 is located on the top floor of the hotel and one wall is covered in floor to ceiling windows overlooking the lake, which is beautiful, especially at sunset or if your lucky enough, during a fireworks show over the water. If you are ever in town, this is the definitely one restaurant you can’t miss.

Craving Sage Room

What’s the first thing I think about whenever I travel? Where to eat of course… Whenever I am in South Lake Tahoe, I usually prefer staying at the Harrah’s or Harvey’s Casino. These casinos are within walking distance to the Gondola and after a day of boarding, everything is in your hotel to experience Tahoe’s nightlife of lounging, entertainment, gambling, or my favorite, dining. My boyfriend and I are staying at the Harrah’s this time around, but on our first night here, we had dinner at the Sage Room at the Harvey’s. We shared everything, starting with some appetizers: the king crab cocktail and a dozen oysters on the half shell, freshly shucked, with lemon, horseradish, tabasco and cocktail sauce. Prepared table-side, we had the Caesar salad for two made a dressing that I saw prepared with worcestershire sauce, tabasco sauce, dijon mustard, egg yoke, vinegar and anchovies tossed with romaine lettuce and topped with fresh parmesan cheese. I will definitely be attempting to recreate this salad at home. Although the Sage Room is a steak house, we had one of the fish specials, which was a sea bass with asparagus and a baked potato with butter and sour cream. The server was surprised we actually had room for dessert, but we couldn’t resist the Chocolate Lava Cupcake, a fresh made chocolate cupcake served piping hot topped with fudge sauce, chocolate chips, and served with vanilla bean ice cream. Pure deliciousness.