CIA gastro getaway

Hope you had a terrific Halloween! I spent mine still aglow from last week's CIA encounter - not the CIA with spies, but the nicer Culinary Institute of America (Anthony Bourdain's alma mater).

You can dig into goodies at five award-winning, student-run restaurants. We tried Caterina de' Medici, above. The prosciutto & warm robiola, oxtail with romanesco, and tiramisu were heavenly.

And the restaurant's yellow villa is straight out of an Italian town!

You'll also appreciate the bucolic setting in Hudson Valley, NY. :)

~ Wishing you a delicious week! ~

P.S. The CIA offers popular culinary boot camps - wouldn't it be great to say you went to "CIA boot camp"?

(Images via Valley Fig, Virtual Tourist, Richmond Magazine, Study Discussions and CIA Photo Archives.)    

Yauatcha in London

{Yauatcha's excellent dumplings, cheung fun and lotus rice packets}

Oh dim sum! You delicious little things, you're so hard to find in truly tasty (not bland, over-greasy, over-salty) form. (This is sadly true even in Hong Kong!) Thankfully, Yauatcha gets it right.

This is not your typical dim sum house, no loud din or foodcarts.

And it might be hard, but save room for beautiful tea & bonbons!

P.S. Yauatcha is Michelin starred. :)
P.P.S. On a totally different note, it's late musician Peter Tosh's birthday. I've listened to Downpressor Man since childhood & it got me through challenging times...music can have such power.

(Collage 1 images via Le Petit Patissier, Town & Country Travel and London Chow. Remaining images via Yauatcha; last image via London Evening Standard.)

Magical Venice

So many reasons to love Venice...

This is definitely one of them...a magical confection of hazelnut and chocolate gelato, topped with a giant slab of thick whipped cream. Just ask for the gianduiotto at Gelateria Nico.:)

(Images via UWO, Destination360, Frizztext and Foodista en ville.)

London's Busaba Eathai

The dining vibe at Busaba Eathai is sleek, casual and buzzy, yet somehow intimate (a true design feat!). Their delicious, Thai-inspired dishes include the excellent Mussaman duck curry and Chinese broccoli with garlic and shiitake mushroom (the apple chicken is yummy too).

But the best part? Reasonable prices! No small thing in London. (Hence the loong lines at Busaba in Soho, above. Arrive early. :))

(Images via thecattylife, MyVillage, FluidLondon, Analog Weather Report, Busaba Eathai and TripAdvisor.)

Easy homemade guacamole

Guacamole is so easy & summery. I've made my own for ages, but fell a little in love with Rosa Mexicano's tableside version...and judging from the reactions I saw, so did other diners! (Bonus: the Lincoln Center locale is handy for opera/dance/theater-going. :)

EASY HOMEMADE GUACAMOLE (2-3 servings)

Seen at Rosa Mexicano
Time: 5-10 min, or 60 seconds if you're Rosa Mexicano waitstaff

2-3 tablespoons (30-45g) diced onion

2-3 teaspoons cilantro (10-15g coriander), chopped fine
1 teaspoon (1/6 ounce or 5g) salt
2 small ripe avocados, pitted, peeled & cubed
Optional: 1 teaspoon (1/6 ounce or 5g) jalapeño, seeded & minced
Optional: 2-3 tablespoons (30-45g) ripe diced tomatoes

Using a bowl and spoon -- or molcajete if you feel fancy! -- mash 1 tablespoon (15g) onion with 1/2 teaspoon (1/12 ounce or 2.5g) each of cilantro, salt, and optional jalapeño. 

When onion and cilantro get more pulpy, add the avocados.  Stir gently to coat avocados with onion-cilantro paste. Then add remaining onion and cilantro, plus optional tomatoes.

Mash all ingredients slightly, avocados should stay chunky. Add more salt or jalapeño to taste, folding-in gently. Serve right away with tortilla chips or fresh, warm corn or flour tortillas and chow!

♥ Little notes ♥

The Rosa Mexicano version does not use lime juice, which is how I prefer it, but you can add a bit if you like. Also, instead of lime juice (to prevent guacamole going brown), you can apparently return the avocado pits to the guac, cover & refrigerate 3-4 hours...it should stay green-y...But who can wait that long? :-)

{Apologies in advance for my *rough* metric conversions!}

(Image via Julie and Ed.)

Ramen hits the spot

Why is warm brothy veg, fish, chicken & slurpy noodles so magic? I'm starting to feel blargh (uh oh), like the last time I caught a cold. Luckily, I had the perfect cure then: daily doses of ramen (from this London Wagamama). It's soothing & I'd highly recommend it!

British-based Wagamama is known for their affordable, pan-Asian ramen bar style. (Stateside, Wagamama is just in Boston & Cambridge...but any good, warm noodle/pasta dish does the trick. :)


(Image of Wagamama's signature ramen via CW's Food & Travel.)

Cafe in the Crypt, London

A very popular London cheap eat is in a 300-year old...crypt! Yes! Cafe in the Crypt, in St. Martin-in-the-Fields church, offers nice crumbles, afternoon tea & much more under lovely brick arches.

You can pop in for live jazz or just enjoy dining atop bodies :) (Charles II's famed mistress, Nell Gwyn, is somewhere there).

(Images via Yelp and Swift City).

Taste Art London

One of London's best restaurants is a hidden gem in the venerable National Gallery of Art, where you'll get your food and art on. The National Dining Rooms have won awards and serve local, seasonal fare (like lamb fillet & sweet corn salsa, or oak-smoked salmon).

You'll also savor gorgeous artwork in a gorgeous art gallery (free!)

The National Gallery of Art, London

Van Gogh "Sunflowers"

JMW Turner "The Fighting Temeraire"

Botticelli "Mystic Nativity"

(Images, top to bottom, via National Gallery Dining Rooms and Venere; all art images from National Gallery of Art via The Art Wolf, The Mail Online, and Olga's Gallery).

Franklins in London

Smoked quail and radicchio (via)

Franklins is possibly the first gastropub-y place I ever visited, one of those cozy joints where everything is quality & happy-making.

Awesome - endless brews (via)

They menu is seasonal and British - in the best way! - with smoked ham & mash, oxtail faggots (like a meatball) or ox anything, serious roasts and smoked goods, and of course smooth brews.

Now, if only we lived closer or it was easier to get there...

Not awesome - London tube and bus meltdown (via)