Foodle

Many things to write about so I must be brief with my words.

A zeugma is a linguistic trick where you join two mismatched things together - like ‘holding the door and a grudge.’

El Primo Taqueria is built entirely on this tension. It serves authentic carnitas and mid-century nostalgia with equal conviction.

To honor that friction, I’ve gone for a strictly old-school flat lay style - a visual echo of a place that exists somewhere between a Mexico City street corner and a 1980s diner.

The room radiates a specific cinematic grit. I half-expected to find Dominic Toretto at the counter, muttering about ‘family’ over a lime Jarritos. I know it is a culturally incoherent fantasy – he is a Cuban-Italian paradox in a drag-racing franchise - but in this specific lighting, it feels entirely appropriate, and I’m sticking with it.

The music transition was wild – starting with Celia’s Oye Como Va, and moving through to Return of the Tres, by Delinquent Habits and Si Senor by Control Machete. You basically travel from a 1960s dance hall to a 1990s East LA house party in the span of 3 songs. Love it.

Shout out to Valeria, our taco consultant, who showed elite emotional intelligence - subtly moving to block an aggresive sun beam to my face, while walking us through the menu. She also suggested the salsa macha (Not Matcha, as the Serb quickly found out) for the shiitake tostadas and validated our two-dessert strategy without a trace of judgment. It is a rare luxury to be in the hands of genuine hospitality.

As for the food, Chef Jon Collin (LPM, Zuma) brings the ruthless discipline of fine dining to the chaotic joy of street food. Success is rarely an accident - this is decades of technique & hard work distilled into a single corn tortilla.

We worked through the pastor, the beef cheeks, and the shiitake truffle tostada. Did I mention the desserts. Plural. The execution was “correct” - a technical term for absolutely without fault. Delicious & delightful.

It managed a rare paradox: my mouth danced with flavour, yet my soul felt grounded by a deep, ancestral comfort.

A taqueria with serious intent & zero pretense. The kind of place that upgrades your week. Less

One of world’s best wine lists with over 6000 varietals , Silvio Nickol has held Michelin ⭐️ ⭐️ for going on 15 years .

The menu starts with a little unexpected Thai inspiration . A chunky Kingfish tartare has great texture and swims amongst a Crab Tom Kha sauce , radish and jalapeños add texture . Fresh and lively beginning .

The signature dish is a foie gras forest , the liver mousse lies beneath the soil , and there are plenty of surprises to uncover with various nuts and mushrooms hidden within , along with spruce and Peruvian chocolate .

Scallops are finely sliced and caramelised, they arrive adorned with a trio of leek preparations, koshikari rice and veal head terrine . Some Thai influence reappears in the form of a fragrant leek oil .

Monkfish with artichoke cream , barigoule and a terrific mussel . A classic presentation that pivots towards France .

A “carbonara “ of turbot with cuttlefish noodles , cuttlefish guanciale and a pecorino foam missed the mark . This bore little resemblance to carbonara and was overly salty with capers, pecorino and a turbot bone dashi combining for too much salinity .

A classic venison saddle highlighted the main course , this came with beets, salsify and blueberries, and a forceful venison jus with plenty of pepper . Sadly the deer was overcooked .

Cheese course was presented as a Comte foam , with plenty of macadamia shavings , plum compote and an intriguing pine seed oil ice cream .

Pavlova is the first dessert , a nice palate refresh which featured yuzu and chai masala along with a tarragon oil .

Final dessert was a hit , a lighter take on sticky toffee pudding with cranberry and hazelnut and a dash of whisky .

Notwithstanding a couple of less successful courses in the middle of the meal , this was a terrific experience, the wine cellar is a huge draw for this place and the prestige wine pairing will be worth returning for alone . Service and all the intra course snacks are also first rate . Less

The Perfect Bluefin Chutoro @sendo.nyc 🍣🔥🍣
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This cut from Ehime, Japan shows why many consider chutoro the very best part of Bluefin Tuna. It has more flavor and umami than it's fattier cousin, Otoro, but still retains the richness and soft texture that you cannot get from the leaner Akami. This cut especially is a beauty 🤤
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📍Sendo, NYC
🍣 @sendo.nyc Less

🎍𝗡𝗲𝘄 𝗬𝗲𝗮𝗿’𝘀 𝗦𝗽𝗲𝗰𝗶𝗮𝗹 𝗖𝗼𝘂𝗿𝘀𝗲 𝗮𝘁 𝗗𝗲𝗻
🐴年末年始限定、傳の「お正月コース」
…𝘥𝘦𝘵𝘢𝘪𝘭𝘴 𝘣𝘦𝘭𝘰𝘸 · 詳細は⤵︎

✼••┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈ 𝗘𝗡𝗚𝗟𝗜𝗦𝗛 ┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈••✼

The globally renowned “𝗗𝗲𝗻” has been repeatedly featured on @theworlds50best restaurants and holds two @michelinguide stars🌟

We visited during the New Year period for their special “𝗢𝘀𝗵𝗼𝗴𝗮𝘁𝘀𝘂” course, which embraces a traditional “Edo” style🎌

This menu draws inspiration from @zaiyuhasegawa’s formative training days in Kagurazaka, featuring plates he inherited from his Master🥢

A personal highlight was the exquisitely crafted sweet “𝗧𝗮𝗺𝗮𝗴𝗼𝘆𝗮𝗸𝗶” rolled egg omelette, prepared with eggs, soy sauce, dashi broth and sugar💯

① 🌿New Year’s Appetiser Platter
② 🐡Fried Monkfish
③, ④ 🍲White Miso “Ozoni” Soup
⑤ 🐟Tuna & Longtooth Grouper Sashimi
⑥ 🐟Black Cod with Yuan Sauce
⑦, ⑧ 🥔Simmered Ebiimo Taro
⑨ 🦐Minced Shrimp “Shinjo” Cake
⑩, ⑪ 🍳“Tamagoyaki” Rolled Egg Omelette
⑫ 🍚Bamboo Shoot Claypot Cooked Rice
⑬ 🍮Caramel Pudding
⑭ 🍶Japanese Sake

✼••┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈ 𝗝𝗔𝗣𝗔𝗡𝗘𝗦𝗘 ┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈••✼

ミシュラン2つ星を連続で獲得し、「Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants」では過去に1位にも輝いた、世界中から注目を集める名店「傳」🌟

今年も年末年始限定の「お正月コース」に伺いました🐎 こちらのスペシャルメニューは普段と違う、長谷川シェフが神楽坂で修行時代に学んだ伝統的な江戸前スタイルです🏮

特に印象に残ったふわふわな「玉子焼き」は甘味が効いていて、しっかりと焼き色をつけた虎柄模様が特徴的でした🐅

① 🌿八寸：黒豆・子持ち昆布・栗の渋皮煮
　　　鳥松風・ローストビーフ・唐墨・つぶ貝
② 🐡鮟鱇の唐揚げ
③, ④ 🍲白味噌のお雑煮
⑤ 🐟鮪と九絵のお造り
⑥ 🐟銀鱈の遊庵焼き
⑦, ⑧ 🥔海老芋のオランダ煮
⑨ 🦐海老しんじょう
⑩, ⑪ 🍳江戸風玉子焼き
⑫ 🍚新筍ご飯
⑬ 🍮プリン・アラモード
⑭ 🍶日本酒

✼••┈┈┈┈┈┈┈ 𝗜𝗡𝗙𝗢𝗥𝗠𝗔𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡 ┈┈┈┈┈┈┈••✼

📍┆Den · 傳
🗼┆Gaienmae · 外苑前
👩🏻‍🍳┆Japanese Fusion · 創作料理
🏷┆#傳 by @zaiyuhasegawa
💰┆New Year’s Course · お正月コース (¥28,000)
👣┆Smart Casual · スマートカジュアル
✍️┆Food: 𝖤𝗑𝖼𝖾𝗉𝗍𝗂𝗈𝗇𝖺𝗅 · Vibe: 𝖶𝖾𝗅𝖼𝗈𝗆𝗂𝗇𝗀 · Price: ¥¥¥¥

✼••┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈ 𝗛𝗔𝗦𝗛𝗧𝗔𝗚𝗦 ┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈••✼
#tokyohalfie_den #tokyohalfie_傳 Less

Old Jesse (老吉士) - Shanghai (China)

In order to truly understand the Shanghai food scene, it is imperative to dine in one of the city`s old-school restaurants. These are the true gatekeepers of the local cuisine, also known as Bebang, which is influenced by the Jiangnan region as a whole.

The most representative of such restaurants is undoubtedly Old Jesse, a legendary institution in the former French concession neighborhood.

Jesse has expanded to several locations, but the flagship one is where we headed for a very special meal and celebrated my birthday while introducing ourselves to the Bebang cuisine.

In true Chinese fashion, even with a reservation we still had to wait outside for our turn to enter the dining room. It was small, simple, with a low ceiling and efficient staff members quickly moving from table to table.

The extensive menu made it impossible not to miss out on several hits, including a scallion fish head that looked amazing on another table and that I had read wonders about online.

From the dishes we did order, the Hong Shao Rou (红烧肉) was melt-in-your-mouth tender. This recipe, a slowly cooked and red-braised pork belly, represents many of the local cuisine characteristics, with notable sweet and caramelized flavors.

Another favorite was the Hexia (河虾), tiny freshwater prawns that paired with vinegar.

Finally, one of the perks of visiting Shanghai in October is that fall is peak hairy crab season. This gave us no choice but to order an off-menu specialty: 蟹膏捞蟹肉砂锅饭, a crab meat and roe sizzling claypot rice. The waiter kindly triple checked that we were OK with the price tag, and upon confirmation the kitchen staff prepared what was an aromatic, intense and very pleasant end to an educational meal.

(Versão em Português nos comentários) Less

I realized I've actually posted on-feed only once about Sushi Sanshin, which feels a bit strange since it definitely is approaching the level of my most-visited sushiya in Japan. After repeated visits, I am convinced that Ishibuchi-san is a creative genius. At this point, the list of "signature" items served here is notable and growing - in spring, giant-sized hokkigai, torigai covering a paste of its "miso", or hotaru ika chopped into "paté". In fall and early winter, iwashi negimaki, or buri wearing a "jacket" of daikon, pressed into stout squares like tiny houses. Nothing is overly sweet, heavy, or overseasoned, but the flavors are refreshing and emphasize the natural ingredients. Like many forms of art, mastery is a prerequisite for innovation, and it is indisputable that has been proved here.
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The pic above is the first half of the sushi course from this past November, which is always served on a mirror-polished black stone geta. Notable seasonal items were nitani kujira and taka ebi, something I had never tried before. Ishibushi-san mentioned this shrimp is exceptionally rare, and that he's only served it twice in the past 9 years. Less

What a magical place!
With HEARTwarming people!
Simply absolute world class! On all levels!
Love goes out to you all!
❤️😘🫶🙏

Was für ein magischer Ort!
Mit HERZerwärmenden Menschen!
Einfach absolute Weltklasse!
Auf allen Ebenen!
Liebe geht raus an euch alle.
❤️😘🫶🙏
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Waldhotel Sonnora - ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Dreis, Germany
#miguelontour #mcculinarylife #youdinner #youdie #waldhotelsonnora Less