Here is an excellent primer on the Types of Salt and How To Use Them from SAVORYsimple. Which salt should be used when? What exactly is kosher salt, and how is it different from table salt? Can you substitute one for the other?
Anniversary Dinner at Lemaire
Lemaire
101 West Franklin St. (Inside the Jefferson Hotel)
Richmond, VA 23220
804-649-4757
www.lemairerestaurant.com
American | $$$
Located in the stately Jefferson Hotel, the dinning room with all it’s dark wood reminded me of the Edwardian Room at the Plaza Hotel in New York. A nice change from the modern era flashy noise enhancing decors of many restaurants.
Whipped butter and home-made bread are a nice start.
We started with this Jumbo Lump Blue Crab Cake that was the best I have had. For a whole host of reasons it takes a good bit to get me to order seafood when I can’t see the sea from the restaurant. I am glad I ordered the crab cake, it was extraordinary. When I mentioned how good it was to the waiter he told me the chef adds a pureed scallop to each pound of crab. I asked the waiter 2 more times about this thinking I did not hear him correctly.
When you order steak you get a serious knife. It really wasn’t necessary, the steak was so tender you could cut it with a butterfly.
I enjoy a Sous Vide steak.The asparagus was perfect, just a little bit of crisp to it.
My wife had the Pan Seared Rockfish. She really enjoyed it and said she would order it again.
For my dessert I chose the Fluffernutter Candy Bar with a Brownie, Peanut Butter Marshmallow, and Salted Caramel Brittle. Chocolate and peanut butter, you can’t go wrong.
My wife had the Peaches & Cream dessert. It is a light White Chocolate Cheesecake with Peaches and Hibiscus. She is not a big cheesecake fan but said this was one of her favorites.
The wait staff was excellent on par with what you would expect in a better restaurant. The noise level with low making it a pleasant romantic dinner.
Consider arriving early for your reservation to take the opportunity to wander the beautifully restored 120 year old hotel.
Overnight Brioche Cinnamon Rolls with Cream Cheese Frosting
Here is a nice recipe for Brioche Cinnamon Rolls from Alexandra’s Kitchen.
Source: Overnight Brioche Cinnamon Rolls with Cream Cheese Frosting
Mike Isabella’s Restaurant Group Is Closing
Mike Isabella’s Restaurant Group Is Going Out of Business less than a year after a sexual harassment lawsuit rocked his restaurant empire. The once $40 million company will go out of business by Dec. 27.
Source: Mike Isabella’s Restaurant Group Is Going Out of Business
Jackpot, The Neighbors Have a Dinner Party
We are blessed to have wonderful neighbors all around us. Right next door are the sweetest sisters from the Philippines who can cook traditional Philippine dishes like nobody’s business. Take a look…
It was all so good…
French chef first woman to earn three Michelin stars in US
French chef Dominique Crenn on Thursday became the first woman in the United States to earn three Michelin stars for her modernist San Francisco restaurant Atelier Crenn.
Source: French chef first woman to earn three Michelin stars in US
The Inside Story of Mike Isabella’s Fallen Empire
Washingtonian Magazine has a great overview of the collapse of Mike Isabella’s restaurant group. A cautionary tale for chefs about how poor personal choices can destroy years of work.
“When Isabella Eatery opened, no one imagined it would close nine months later—and certainly not like this.”
