I forgot to post about Petit Louis, a/k/a restaurant week restaurant #3. I'm so sorry!!
Unfortunately I don't have any pictures from Petit Louis. It was super dark and poor Ginger is just not equipped to handle such conditions. She is after all just a cellphone. But I can attempt to describe the sinfulness that is their confit de canard (or duck confit to the rest of us).
Sweet mother of mercy.
It melted. I mean, all you had to do was touch the duck with your fork and it flaked into ducky goodness. The skin was cooked to perfection. The meat was tender, juicy and all around perfect. I can't. I'm drooling right now just thinking about that duck.
In my excitement over the duck, I forgot to tell you about my appetizer! I had a cup of vichysoisse to start with (along with a glass of Bouvet-Laduby Brut Rose). The other thing I love about Petit Louis is their commitment to authenticity. Vichysoisse is a cold potato and leek soup. In most American restaurants, your appetizer soup is enormous and by the time you finish it, you're stuffed to your gills. But Petit Louis stayed true to their French roots and served a much smaller portion. In fact, it was the perfect portion of this delicious little soup.
The meal ended with an amazing chocolate mousse. I'm not normally a chocolate person, but this was amazing.
Of course I can't forget the most important part of the meal: catching up with a dear family friend. I always love my dinner dates with Kathi. She has the most interesting stories and is always getting into new adventures. It's so wonderful to spend time with someone who is so uplifting and supportive.
Last night was restaurant week restaurant #4: Roy's Hawaiian Fusion. I went with the other law clerks from my firm. We left straight from work and headed down to Harbor East. Part way there, one of the clerks got a call from our boss. Apparently he had spotted us together and wanted to know what kind of trouble we were getting into. We told him our plan and he said he would join us.
Roy's is an interesting place. They start you out with edamame instead of a bread basket.
Not that I minded one bit. The edamame is not only better for you, it was much tastier as well. There was some sort of delicious spicy, garlicky seasoning on it that just pushed it over the edge. And that Hawaiian martini wasn't too bad either!
Once our boss showed up, in a pedicab no less, he immediately ordered a round of shots for the table. I was taken completely by surprise. I guess having worked in South Korea I shouldn't be too surprised; it's normal to take shots with your boss there. But working at a law firm you don't normally expect such things.
Thankfully we went for a pineapple upside down cake shot which was delicious but not as strong as straight alcohol.
The appetizers were amazing too! Everyone at the table got the beef dumplings with a bleu cheese fondue on the plate.
They weren't greasy at all, which I loved. I love the crunch of fried food but I'm not huge on the grease. After our appetizers it was time for shot number two: a lemon drop. After shot number one, our boss decreed that the shot was too weak. He asked for something super strong. The lemon drop was stronger, but it was apparently not strong enough because he asked for something even stronger next time.
It was probably around the time I finished the lemon drop (and my martini) that I began to wonder if I would make it out the door for my run early this morning. Thankfully we got a break when our dinner showed up. I had a lemongrass crusted shrimp, served with a wasabi butter sauce and a little triangle of rice. The rice had little flecks of seaweed and sesame seeds around the outside, which goodness knows I love. The shrimp was amazingly well prepared and the wasabi butter had just the right amount of kick.
See the little rice triangle in the background? Isn't it precious?? I love that it was triangle shaped.
Finally shot number three showed up: a Washington apple for the girls, and straight Crown for the boys. Never have I ever been so thankful for mild sexism on the part of a bartender.
Last but not least was a strawberry guava tart with a side of pistachio ice cream. You know it's funny. My whole life I thought pistachio ice cream would be salty and unpleasant. It's my dad's favorite and it always baffled me that he liked it so much. Turns out, pistachio ice cream is not even a little bit salty. Instead it's pure deliciousness. So was the tart.
After dinner, our boss had to run to a meting but we decided to stay out a little longer. We headed across the street to James Joyce where it conveniently happened to be ladies' night meaning that all cocktails were only $5. Don't worry--I only had one Irish punch. We chatted about work, life and the Olympics for a bit before finally getting tired and calling it a night. After all, we did have to be at work at 9 AM the next morning.
And yes I did make it out the door for that run this morning :).
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