Lucky Lunches!

It's not unlike a Vietnamese Lassi...

Homemade yogurt, lime juice and... drum roll please... the very goddess of delicious beverages herself: condensed milk...

Sip happy...

... was frightfully devastated by Hurricane Ida!!! In the aftermath, all that was left was a small green puddle of basil sorbet that no amount of scooping with my spoon could pick up...

In a moment of reflection, the hurricane was appreciative of the wonderful balance of flavors between the strawberry, the basil, the caramelized marshmallows and the cream...

What does it cost for us to like a restaurant on Facebook? Apparently, just the promise of a special treat... which turned out to be this chocolate bread... which was totally worth it because it was amazing!

Yeah this is the opposite of that philosophy... This is pure indulgence, the exuberant and yet refined union of truffles, foie gras and bechamel with beef, pork and crepe that makes for such thrilling mouthfulls that I can just barely refrain from eye banging the rest of the cannellonis coming from the kitchen for the rest of the meal... and truthfully, the first time I tried this, I did immediately order seconds... uncouth maybe, stupid no...

So... the weekday lunch deal at Esquina is really spectacular with 4 courses at just $38...I know, insane right! This main of ribeye, romesco and charred leeks will set you back an extra $5, but it will leave feeling pretty satisfied for the value deliciousness for the money!

I have to imagine this would be the kind of magical fusion cuisine that would spring up. This Spanish tortilla tasted like the love child of a traditional tortilla Espanola with a blini, playfully studded with olive oil caviar and let loose to run through a big pan of paella, filching all the creamy aioli on the way!

This one is kind of a no brainer... if you want kids to eat veggies, make sure to cook delicious veggies! Can't go wrong with roasted cauliflower, especially when bejeweled with Spanish ham on a bed of yummy cous cous...

This josper grilled carabinero prawn sparkled, but the real fight was over the incredibly nuanced oil, with intense prawn overtones further enhanced by garlic, chilli flakes and the gentle punch of quality salt... luckily, Burppler BlueSkiesCottonClouds charmed chef into giving us extra bread to soak up allllllll of that decadent oil...

This Chicken Nanban was excellent and despite the tasty sauces stayed crispy and hot until the last bite! We had quite a lot on the table so it was especially impressive!

Brilliantly plated Japanese style marinated cucumbers... Crunchy and cool! I could make it at home, but it wouldn't be this fun to look at!

Beyond the awesome ramen, you'd expect from them, Ippudo also had some great snacks on the menu including this beautifully plated and delicious salmon roll!

Korean Chinese sweet and sour pork is usually a thing of beauty for about the first 5 minutes on your table, but the extremely delicate batter and the very wet and sticky sauce can quickly congeal into an unappealing mess...

To avoid this self destructive behavior in your tender and crispy little pillows of pork, be sure to ask the wait staff to keep the sauce on the side and then you can just dip to your heart's delight!