In Japan, I was told that there are three things that you must eat in Tokyo: Sushi, Wagyu beef and tempura. In less than 24 hours there, I managed to consume two out of three.

First, beef. We had spent our first few days in the country being served gorgeous, but often inedible, kaiseki meals that contained oddly textured fish and tofu dishes that you’d never see in a Japanese restaurant in the United States. We were ready for some red meat.

The meal came at the Park Hyatt Tokyo, which became internationally famous back in 2003, when a small film called Lost in Translation was filmed there. I watched the movie again on the plane ride over to Japan, so while I knew the hotel’s bars and skyline views were touristy, I was looking forward to seeing it in person.

Our dinner took place in the New York Grill. This was the only place on our 12-day trip where Westerners outnumbered the Japanese, and one of the only hotels that seemed full. I kept glancing around to see if any celebrities were in the mix.

The waiters brought cuts of raw meat to the table for us to choose. I’m not much of a red meat eater, but I had Wagyu beef once before and knew how different it would taste from your garden variety steak.

And we weren’t disappointed. The steak came out, and although it was more medium than rare, it still blew other cuts of meat that I’ve had out of the water. It really does melt in your mouth. Our sides included whipped potatoes, creamed spinach, and macaroni & cheese with leeks. Absolutely decadent.

The rich food and red wine meant that I fell into bed in a meat-induced stupor. All to soon, my alarm went off at 3:30 a.m., preparing me for my next indulgent foodie outing.

Shinji Nohara, the Tokyo Fixer who has set up meals in Japan for a constellation of food writing stars, met me at 4 a.m. for a trip to Tsukiji Fish Market. The bad news was that visitors were forbidden to visit the market’s famed tuna auction. The good news? We’d be among the first in line at Sushi Dai for breakfast.

As we waited, Shinji told me a little bit about the history of sushi. The practice of eating fish and rice wrapped together started in early Tokyo (when it was known as Edo). It appealed to the working class, who ate it from stalls run by food vendors.

Sushi Dai isn’t the only sushi restaurant open at Tsukiji Fish Market, but it’s one of the best, as evidenced by the lines. Doors open at 5 a.m. and the lucky first 13 file in for breakfast, greeted exuberantly by the staff.

Shinji pointed out a few differences between American and Japanese sushi restaurants. For one, the rice is served warm, not cold, and it’s always made fresh. The pieces are put on the bar directly, as soon as they are created. And you don’t use chopsticks; instead, you pinch the sushi with your fingers and eat it. There’s even a saying, Shinji said: “Let’s go pinch some sushi.”

I was still full from my meat indulgence the night before, but I started to get hungry while watching the chefs at work. It’s hard to turn down fresh fish.

Shinji did the ordering, and the pieces kept coming. I did decline sake; at 5 a.m., it seemed like it would be a little hard on my stomach.

The piece de resistance? A clam so fresh, it arrived writhing on the bar. I laughed, and bit right into it. It tasted crisp and briny, not chewy as clams often do in the States. Shrimp was also a revelation – so much sweeter and better than you’d find here.

Besides clams, Shinji encouraged me to taste a few other species of fish I hadn’t had before. I tried sea bass, which came slightly salted with pink rock salt, jackfish with ginger and scallions, and Japanese gizzard, which is a type of fish, not innards (it’s pictured above).

The meal cost about 7,000 yen (about $95 US) for both Shinji and I. That may be a lot for breakfast, but it’s nothing compared to what you’d pay in the States for fish that fresh.

After my sushi breakfast, I returned to the Park Hyatt where I indulged in a swim and hot bath in the hotel’s spa. The workers at the pool were very adamant about swim caps, while the spa attendant chided me for wearing my bathing suit in the spa.

Next time I go to Japan, I’m going to schedule more time in Tokyo, just for eating. I’ll return to Sushi Dai, visit one of those tempura places that Shinji talked about and hit up some ramen shops. The city is a playground for food lovers, and I need another play date.

My visit in Tokyo was sponsored by the Park Hyatt Tokyo, but my opinions are my own. 

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Japan in Jan: Eating Tokyo, Sushi & Wagyu is a post from: Chris Around The World: A Journalist's Travels on the Road

Picking the most memorable meal, out of a year in which I ate very well, is difficult.

The Park Hyatt Masters of Food and Wine Festival in Mendoza, Argentina stands out for sheer decadence (by the end of my long weekend, I felt like a goose with an enlarged liver, fattened up for slaughter).

Our Mardi Gras weekend in New Orleans also produced some superlatives, both from old favorites Jacques Imos and Commander’s Palace and from Scott Boswell’s new-to-us Stella!

And then there’s the Thanksgiving dinner we had with my old friend Delia Neese and her husband, Jonathan Wright, who just happens to be the executive chef at the prestigious Sandy Lane resort in Barbados. The holiday will never be the same again.

But for sheer memorability, I’m picking the 10-course omakase that my husband and I had at Mashiko, a restaurant specializing in sustainable seafood – that just happens to be in our neighborhood of West Seattle.

Don and I are fairly adventurous eaters, although you’re never going to see me eat some of the wacky things that Andrew Zimmern downs on Bizarre Foods. In recent years, we’ve expanded our taste for the raw, moving beyond the basics on sushi and sashimi menus. An omakase – where you eat what the sushi chef picks out for you – seemed like the next step; while I had sat down to a meal served by the Iron Chef himself at Morimoto in Philadelphia about 10 years ago, Don had never tried one. Our 4th anniversary seemed as good a time as any.

Our server asked us if there was anything we wouldn’t eat. “That’s what we’re here for – to try new things,” Don told him. Omakase meals are a specialty at Mashiko; the night we were there, at least three other people at the sushi bar also ordered one. We knew quite a bit of food was coming so we split most dishes; we also fasted most of the day so we could truly pig out.

Our sushi chef heard us rave about geoduck, a giant clam indigenous to the Pacific Northwest. Don and I had tried it once before, and enjoyed its texture. There’s a snap to it when you bite in, and it’s never mushy. For our first course, we had it served ceviche style with  Asian pear.

The mollusk-fest continued with a pair of Kumamoto oysters and cherrystone clams. What I like about Mashiko is that they always put what’s fresh and unusual on their board, so you don’t have to ask. Don and I have eaten plenty of Gulf oysters over the years, so we’re happy to expand our horizons with varietals from the West Coast.

The next dish featured some new-to-us tastes. We had never had ocean trout or smelts served raw before. We liked the combo- fresh, but not too fishy.

I wasn’t sure about the next course, especially once the server described it. The photo is blurry so it’s hard to see, but the dish is  fresh abalone, sourced from Big Island Abalone in Hawaii. The stomach of the abalone is served separately, filled with seaweed. While the thought of abalone stomach didn’t exactly excite mine, I gave it a try – and found it tasted very similar to the seaweed salads that I love. Points to Mashiko for introducing us to this.

Those points were taken away, though, with the next dish. Now I know sea urchin – also known as uni – is a delicacy. So I took a big bite – and almost spit it out. It tasted like paint to me, and Don agreed that there was an essence of turpentine to it. Others in at the sushi bar felt the same way, as almost everyone made a face and left the dish untouched after a bite. Don said he’ll give it another try sometime, but I’m wary. Luckily, we were quickly served some Northwest Albacore tuna in a chili ponzu sauce, which eradicated the taste.

And we forgave the chef with the next course, white king salmon tartare with quail egg, sea salt and avocado. The salmon and avocado in particular worked well together, for a velvety smooth texture.

On our trip to Lana’i earlier in the year, Don and I discovered the joys of poke (pronounced po-kay). The Mashiko version that day was made with yellowtail, and served with macadamia nuts. Bliss.

You’d think we’d be full by now. And we were, mostly. The chef insisted on serving an assortment of nigiri that included skipjack tuna, mackerel, cod and seared scallops. These aren’t the fish we normally order, so we were pleasantly surprised to add a few more to our repertoire.

At this point, I was out. It was up to Don to dig into dessert: Ginger ice cream with meringue and plums.

The total bill for our sushi pigout came to about $150, about par for a special occasion meal (we also had several glasses of sake).  For us, Mashiko is a little pricey for a regular dinner out, but the omakase has now jumped to the list as an experience that we’d do once or twice a year, for birthdays or Valentine’s Day.

As you can see, I didn’t love everything we were served. But for me, a memorable meal isn’t just about the standards done well. It’s about introducing my palate to new sensations – and our chef at Mashiko certainly accomplished that.

Side note: I’ll be going to Japan for the first time in a few weeks. I’m excited and a bit nervous about all the new foods I’ll encounter. Stay tuned! 

2011 in Review: Most Memorable Meal is a post from: Chris Around The World: A Journalist's Travels on the Road

I grew up in Minnesota, so I knew a bit about the good – and bad – aspects of Scandinavian cuisine (lutefisk, never again!). But I was surprised to discover that the simple flavors and natural ingredients of Finnish food suited me, and we ate well on our visit, particularly in Helsinki and Lapland.

I thought the Pacific Northwest was salmon crazy. Turns out that they have nothing on their Finnish brethren. I ate salmon at least once a day, sometimes more. No need for fish oil tabs! In the above picture, snapped at K17 Kitchen Cocktail in Helsinki, notice the cool silverware. Finnish design, of course.

Foodies have to visit Helsinki’s market , down on the waterfront. It was mushroom season while I was there, and the stalls were full of bright orange and yellow chanterelles.

Berries are also popular, and you’ll find lingonberry garnishes on many dishes. Their bright red color perks up any dish, no doubt appealing to the Finns’ innate sense of color and design.  They taste tart, somewhat similar to cranberries.

 The Finns have been on to foraging for years, even before it became a trendy culinary movement. All the Finnish forestland is public, which means that anyone can go into the woods and pick all the berries and mushrooms that they want.

Helsinki has a reputation for drinking and I had visions of Russian-style vodka shots flowing all night. We did see this culture in action at a restaurant located on one of the city’s islands   (although I think the drinkers in question were actually Swedes). They sang a drinking song every time they took a shot; we stopped counting after the 10th song. Kippis!, as the Finns say.

Our meal at K17 did include drink pairings, testimony to the craft cocktail movement that you now find around the world. I’m not a huge cocktail fan, but I did swoon over a dill-infused drink that paired perfectly with salmon tartar. Forget sake, this is what I want to drink with my sashimi.

Perhaps the best meal of the trip took place in Lapland, on a reindeer farm just outside of Rovaniemi. After feeding and playing with reindeer, we settled inside a smoke tent where we….ate them. Yeah, a little weird. But reindeer meat has been a major food source for the Sami (the native Laplanders) as well as the Finns for years. You can eat it smoked, sauteed or ground, and it’s apparently lower in fat than beef.

I enjoyed the simple, stew-like preparation that we were given. The ground reindeer tasted like hamburger, only more savory and little heartier than venison. The snap of the lingonberries and the creaminess of the potatoes complemented it well, and it’s the perfect meal for a cold climate. We exclaimed over the deliciousness – and asked for more.

I also had a reindeer panini at a golf course that sits on the Arctic Circle. The reindeer meat was cured, almost the same as prosciutto, with a slightly gamier aftertaste.

As with anyplace I visit, I start imaging what I would do if I went back. I would have loved to have sampled some of Helsinki’s Michelin-starred restaurants (while our lunch at Salurget down at the waterfront was lovely, I’m sure there’s more exciting preparations going on), visited more of the markets and indulged in their crayfish eating rituals (which sound suspiciously close to those down in Louisiana). And we were way too exhausted to sample Helsinki’s famed nightlife. Next time, next time.

Thanks to The Eurail Group, which sponsored my trip to Finland. 

Fascinating Finland: Finnish food is a post from: Chris Around The World: A Journalist's Travels on the Road

#1 – Poke, several ways.  We were eating this every chance we could.  Lanai, Hi

#2 – Tom Yum soup.  I just love the combination of a hot red pepper based soup with seafood and lemon grass.  Siem Reap, Cambodia

#3 – Fish tacos.  These were the best I’ve ever had.  Puerto Viejo, Costa Rica

#4 – Black risotto (with squid ink).  Not to miss out, we ordered the white risotto also.  Dubrovnik, Croatia

#5 – Cardiac arrest on a plate – fried chicken livers with pepper jelly.  Just do it.  New Orleans, LA

#6 – Conch roti.  Like a burrito… only better.  Imagine conch or other seafood with potatoes, and an indescribable sauce that hints of Indian influence.  Grenada

#7 – Yellow curry with chicken.  I can’t get enough of curries, but I prefer yellow.  Thailand

#8 – Spätzle.  Germany?  No, Portland, OR at Grüner restaurant.  An outrageously good version from James Beard nominee, Chris Israel.

#9 – Apple strudel.  Here’s a nod to Leipzig, Germany – this is as good as it gets.

#10 – Tuna tartar, tapas style.  This is the way to eat – lots of excellent small dishes.  Barcelona, Spain

Bonus photo – Naked Sushi… at least that’s the way it was advertised.  Does it really matter where this is from?  Providenciales, Turks and Caicos

Photo Essay: Top 10 Favorite Foods is a post from: Chris Around The World: A Journalist's Travels on the Road

Where: Voodoo Doughnuts has several locations in Portland, as well as one in Eugene. We lined up at the one downtown, on SW 3rd Avenue, which has recently undergone renovations.

Why we went: A 24-hour punk rock donut house that offers a signature Voodoo Doll doughnut? What’s not to love? Plus, I love their naughty slogan, “The Magic is in the Hole” and the signature pink box (which reads “Good things come in pink boxes.”)

Who’s there: On a glorious July Saturday morning, the line outside Voodoo stretched down the block. After others in line told us it was worth the wait, we settled in for about 45 minutes. Everyone around us seemed to be from Seattle. Guess Top Pot would have some serious competition, should Voodoo move north of the state line.

Chowing down: So many choices! Donuts topped with Fruit Loops. Donuts dusted with Tang. Donuts in the shape of a blunt. Donuts as large as your head (no, really. The Texas Challenge donut is the size of six regular donuts put together. The website says that if you can eat it in 80 seconds or less, you get your money back).

We weren’t quite that committed. But we knew there was no way we could each pick just one. Finally, we settled on four to go: The Portland Cream, the Voodoo Doll, the Bacon Maple Bar and a monster peach fritter covered in frosting.

Libations: Stumptown coffee, of course.

Order this: The Portland Creme, with its two eyes peering at you, may look too cute to eat. But when you take a bite of its yeasty goodness, paired with Bavarian cream, you want to shout to the world, “Damn, this is one fine donut!”

I had my doubts about the peach fritter, pictured above. Frosting on a fritter just seemed too much. But we saved it until the final Monday of our trip and I have to say, whoever decided to put more sugar on top of sugar is a genius. The frosting took the fritter to a whole new level of deliciousness.

Meh: The guy ahead of us in line swore by the Maple Bacon Bar. “Imagine the way your bacon tastes when the maple syrup from your pancakes runs into it,” he said. Sold! But we found the maple icing way too sweet for the two slices of bacon to even make a dent.

The damage: Doughnuts range from $1.95 for the Voodoo Doll doughnut to more than $5 for the cock n’ balls, which I’m told is VERY popular at Portland bachelorette parties.

Go back: Definitely. The Old Dirty Bastard – a yeast donut covered with chocolate frosting, Oreo toppings and peanut butter – is calling me. And I didn’t know there was a donut with M&Ms on top until I looked at the website later. Clearly, I should have done more research.

Deets: Voodoo Doughnuts is cash only, but don’t worry, there’s an ATM inside. Because of the renovations, the 3rd Avenue store isn’t open 24 hours again yet (it opened at 10 a.m. on the Saturday we were there).

Portlandia: Voodoo Doughnuts is a post from: Chris Around The World: A Journalist's Travels on the Road

Where: Grüner, 527 SW 12th St., Portland. 503-241-7163

Why we went: After our amazing meal at Pok Pok, we thought we’d spend our last night in Portland eating at food trucks downtown. But many of them were closed and others were packed, in anticipation of the Rose Festival parade that was going on that night.

Then I remembered reading about Grüner, a German restaurant by Chris Israel. Israel made his name in Portland as a chef making Mediterranean food, then pan-Asian (fun fact – he left cooking for a short stint as an art director at Vanity Fair). When he announced in 2009 that he would switch to Alpine cooking, many fans wondered what the hell he was doing.

But Israel somehow knew that Pacific Northwest ingredients would lend themselves to dishes from Germany, Austria, Italy and Switzerland. (It didn’t hurt that the restaurant opened just when the charcuterie craze took off). He was nominated for a James Beard award for best chef in the Pacific Northwest this year.

Who’s there: In a town where even the top restaurants appear a little ramshackle and counter-culture, the Grüner crowd looks surprisingly grown up (with dinner entrees in the $20-$30 range, patrons need to be earning some money). The decor is blond wood modern and there’s great natural light coming in.

Chowing down: Soon after we sat down, the bartender put a plate of pretzel bread in front of us. The chewy, salty dough made us realize that we made the right decision. We started with a charctuerie plate that included samples of speck, spicy coppa, soppressata, house made mortadella, liverwurst canapés and country pâté.

From there, we moved on to a Belgian endive salad served with gala apples, fourme d’ambert, toasted hazelnuts & hazelnut vinaigrette, and the restaurant’s spätzle special. We finished with a plate of alpine cheese and fruit for dessert.

Libations: Craft cocktails have gone from being exciting to being ubiquitous. That being said, I loved how the drinks on the menu reflected the alpine theme. I started with an Alpina – a cocktail made of sparkling wine, St. Germain elderflower liqueur, and rose water.

Don was drinking beer until we noticed the bartender, Drew Putterman, studying a book of vintage cocktails with another bar patron. Turns out that Drew is always looking for inspiration for his new concoctions, and he loves nothing better than to come up with a new version of a classic.

With that in mind, I asked him to put his stamp on my favorite champagne cocktail, a kir royal. He used the typical  creme de cassis, but then switched it up by adding Italian vermouth, wild peach liqueur and a splash of apple bitters. Delicious.

Don asked Drew to making him something reminiscent of the islands. Drew immediately rinsed glass with rum, and then filled it with brandy, topping it with an egg white foam and nutmeg.

Order this: We ordered the spätzle at Drew’s recommendation, even though I had been eying the hasenpfeffer (rabbit). And I’m glad we did, as the earthy chicken, mushrooms and dumplings were lightened by fava beans, tarragon, crème fraîche and a splash of riesling.

Meh: Looking back, I’m not sure why we ordered cheese for dessert when we could have tried the milk and dark chocolate parfait, or the poppy seed shortcake that comes with lemon curd. I blame it on the cocktails.

The damage: $135 including tip and tax. The bill came in a cute German translation of Pablo Neruda

Go back: While the food was good (I’m a little amazed we didn’t try the house-made sausages), I’d go back to try more of Drew’s cocktail concoctions. This time, I’d bring a recipe to stump him.

Deets: Open for lunch, Monday-Friday; dinner, Monday through Saturday. Happy Hour in the bar weekdays from 4:30-6 pm. Reservations recommended.

Portlandia: Chris Israel’s Grüner is a post from: Chris Around The World: A Journalist's Travels on the Road

Where: Pok Pok, 3226 E. Division St., Portland, OR, 503-232-1387

Why we went: I heard raves about Pok Pok from friends in Seattle and fellow Pacific Northwest travel bloggers. In fact, it seemed like a travel blogger rarely went to Portland without visiting Pok Pok. Then I did some research and found out that the restaurant’s chef-owner, Andy Ricker, had taken top honors at the James Beard awards for Best Chef in the Northwest and it was on.

Pok Pok is known for serving up dishes from northern Thailand that are inspired by the country’s street food.

Who’s there: From the outside, Pok Pok resembles an enlarged version of the food trucks in the pod across the street; there’s a distinct shack-like vibe to the whole place. You can sit outdoors under a covered area, or go inside to the slightly cramped interior. On the Friday night we were there, we took a seat at the inside bar to avoid the wait (which can get quite long, according to Yelpers). The crowd is decidedly Pacific Northwest casual, with plenty of tattoos, piercings and odd facial hair witnessed around the room.

Chowing down: You won’t find pad thai here, and that’s a good thing.  The lengthy descriptions on the menu, which included their Southeast Asian inspirations and recommendations, all sounded deliciously different from what you normally see in a Thai restaurant. We settled on Ike’s Vietnamese Fish Sauce Wings (“based on our daytime cook Ike’s recipe from his home in Vietnam,” the menu told us), and Kaeng Hung Leh, pork belly and pork shoulder curry.

As we debated a third dish, the couple sitting next to us suggested the Yam Tuna, a Thai-style tuna salad with ginger, garlic, Thai chiles, green onions, lemongrass, cherry tomatoes and canned Oregon albacore tuna. When I saw our bartender nod assent, I put the order in.

Libations: Pok Pok has jumped on the craft cocktail craze, and daily drink specials with artisanal drinking vinegars and syrups were on the board along with the food. The mango Alexander that I ordered –  mango-infused vodka combined with coconut milk and lime – went down so easy that I feared for the night ahead , Don went with the rhubarb blush that you see at the end of this post; it’s a combo of aperol (an Italian apertif), gin and rhubarb bitters on the rocks.

I was impressed with Pok Pok’s drinks before I even tasted my cocktail, however. The restaurant steeps its water with pandanus leaf, which gives it an almond taste. I loved it; Don did not. He felt it tasted tinny.

Order this: The chicken wings, which are marinated in fish sauce and palm sugar before they are deep-fried, are justly famous. We loved the sticky sweet-and-savory flavor of the fish sauce (that being said, we didn’t think they stood up to the Korean fried chicken that we’ve had at Bon Chon in Washington DC).

I had not expected much from the tuna salad, but it ended up being a winner. Our bartender told us to eat it with our hands, sopping up the tuna with a ball of sticky rice. Messy! But delicious.

Meh: I may be declaring a moratorium on pork belly; while I love the creaminess of the cut, the fattiness has been making me wince lately. It didn’t seem solid enough to stand up to the rich sauce, which had tamarind, ginger, pickled garlic, tumeric, palm sugar and Burmese curry powder.

The damage: $77 before tip – a bargain for three dishes and four cocktails!

Go back? Yes. The few dishes we ordered from the menu only enhanced our desire to try more – but the portions were plentiful and we were stuffed. I’d love to come back with a group so we can at least sample more of Ricker’s dishes (and I could drink that water all night long).

Deets: Open 11:30 a.m. to 10 p.m., seven days a week. Reservations only taken for groups of 5 or more.

Have you been to Pok Pok? What should we order next time?

Portlandia: Andy Ricker’s Pok Pok is a post from: Chris Around The World: A Journalist's Travels on the Road

Where: JoLe: Farm to Table, Calistoga in Napa Valley

Why we went: Napa Valley may be Michelin-star central, but JoLe caught our eye because its chef owners - Matt and Sonjia Spector – ran the insanely popular Matyson Restaurant back in Philadelphia. Since the husband-wife team moved to Calistoga, they’ve racked up accolades in their new home.

Who’s there? Located in the boutique Mount View Hotel, JoLe oozes sophistication in the only Napa Valley town that still seems agriculturally based. The crowd on a May Saturday night looked Wine Country relaxed, in jean and button-down shirts. At first we were bummed by our table by the kitchen, but then we realized we could watch the pastry chef at work at an open counter.

Chowing down: The menu is made of small plates ranging from $7 to $19. You can put together a five-course tasting menu for $50 (you choose your courses) and add wine pairings for another $30. Between the two of us, we tasted most of the menu – and then added on a dessert course to share at the end.

Among the dishes we picked: grilled asparagus with balsamic vinegar and strawberries, grilled octopus, bacon and chorizo stuffed dates, veal sweetbreads with fava beans, foie gras mousse in endive (yes, this was a very politically incorrect meal), seared scallops with tabboulah salad, crispy duck rillette with dandelion greens, crispy lamb’s neck and pork belly with fried green tomatoes and cheesy grits. Don insisted on splitting a piece of coconut cream pie for dessert.

Um, yeah. We were full.

Libations: Here’s where JoLe made its mark. All of the wines served with our courses were unusual varietals that perfectly matched our food. My grilled octopus came with a 2010 Qupe Marsanne, while the foie gras was paired with a Calistoga Charbono that was so good, I begged the sommelier to let me know where he got it (from a small vineyard called Shypoke). The wines turned what was already an innovative menu into a memorable night out.

Order this: Comedian Jim Gaffigan calls bacon the “Fairy dust of the food world.” Pair it with chorizo and stuff it in a date? If you don’t like it, we probably aren’t friends. You should also save room for dessert; JoLe celebrates its pastries, so much so that the owners have opened The Bakeshop nearby.

Meh: I ordered the duck rilllettes primarily for the dandelion greens, which I love (my grandma used to make salads out of dandelions). But the dish faced stiff competition, so we felt it was the least memorable among them.

The Damage: $216.41.

Go back? Napa Valley is full of so many great restaurants that it’s hard to go back to the same place. But I would absolutely recommend it to foodie friends, particularly if you are staying in Calistoga.

Deets: Open for dinner seven days a week. Make reservations on weekends and holidays.

Napa Valley Weekend: JoLe, Calistoga is a post from: Chris Around The World: A Journalist's Travels on the Road

Even during the times in my life when I didn’t have much money, I made sacrifices for good food. I remember crashing on a friend’s couch outside NYC during a Restaurant Week when I was in graduate school, solely so I could come into the city and eat a fixed price lunch at Nobu. The signature black cod in miso blew me away.

Even though Nobu Matsuhisa has expanded his restaurant empire around the world, I’ve never returned to a Nobu (too many other chefs to try, I guess). But when Crystal Cruises invited me to dinner at his on-board Silk Road restaurant last Friday, I was happy to go back and see if it was as good as I remembered.

I’ve never taken a Crystal Cruise, but it’s my parents’ favorite line so I was excited to tour the Symphony (the line also owns the Serenity, which is currently repositioning for the Baltic cruise season).

With 400 rooms, 7 restaurants and an upscale atmosphere, Crystal attracts an older, country clubish crowd that’s often described as “well-heeled.” I didn’t see too many people under 40, although Kate Stingley, who reps the line, told us that the average age varies by destination. New England fall foliage cruises attract the 65+ crowd, while passengers on the Mediterranean cruises are around 45. It’s also popular with families looking for multi-generational travel.

Lots of newer cruise ships have come out in recent years, so to keep up, the Symphony underwent a massive renovation in 2009. Because the ship travels to more temperate destinations, the line turned one pool on the Lido Deck into an enclosed lounging area. There’s also a 20-person jacuzzi, paddle tennis, and a driving range.

Of the 7 restaurants on board, 2 are considered premium: Prego, from Piero Selvaggio of LA’s Valentino and Nobu’s Silk Road.  Both restaurants are included in the cruise price, but you might have to book early to get reservations.

Silk Road serves Matsuhisa wines, Nobu’s private label. Drinks on Crystal are currently not included in the cruise price; instead passengers usually get a hefty credit toward on-board purchases. The line is moving to all-inclusive pricing in 2012.

OK, on to the food. Our meal started with several different kinds of sashimi, as well as the sushi that’s pictured at the top of the post. This is the yellowtail tuna with jalapenos….

….And this is the salmon. I’m a huge sashimi fan, and found both of these fresh and delicious.

Next came a plate of Nobu’s “new style” sashimi, so called because a hot mixture of sesame oil and yuzu is poured over the fish. Our dish came with scallops and beef carpaccio. If you can’t stomach raw fish, this might be a better option.

For my appetizer, I chose the Rock Shrimp, another one of Nobu’s specialties. It comes in a creamy sauce and apparently is one of Scarlett Johansson’s favorite restaurant dishes ever. Even at sea, the recipe held up to Nobu restaurant standards.

Since I’ve been in Seattle, I’ve become addicted to seaweed salad, and have enjoyed sampling different types of  greens. Nobu’s version was good, although it didn’t contain the nutty-flavored brown seaweed I had at Sushi Samba  in Miami last year (I keep looking for it).

As you can imagine, I was getting full at this point – and I still hadn’t had my bento box. When it arrived, all the dishes were so savory that I quickly found room. From left to right: lobster stir fry with truffle-yuzu sauce, the famed black cod in miso sauce, grilled Wagyu beef with wasabi pepper sauce. I don’t know if it’s because I developed a newfound appreciation for beef in Argentina, but that was my favorite of the three.

After finishing the bento, I was done (although Don found room for a few bites of a chocolate dessert). We left the Crystal Symphony full, and a little tipsy.

Overall, I felt that the ship executed Nobu’s menu well. The dishes are no longer ground-breaking – there are other Japanese chefs pushing the boundaries these days – but they are at the point that they could be considered classics, as Nobu’s preparations did change the way that Americans think about Japanese cuisine and raise expectations beyond Benihana. ‘If I was booking a cruise on Crystal, I’d have a hard time eating somewhere other than at Silk Road; if you’re on the ship, make sure you make reservations.

Thanks to Crystal Cruises for hosting my dinner.

Nobu Sushi on the Crystal Symphony is a post from: Chris Around The World: A Journalist's Travels on the Road

Jambalaya, crawfish pie, file gumbo….I think we ate them all. Besides my cocktail-fueled costume lunch at Commander’s Palace and luxe Saturday night dinner at Stella! in the French Quarter, our forays into New Orleans cuisine kept on going, with two visits into the Carrollton neighborhood.

Photo courtesy of Flickr Creative Commons

Jacques-Imo’s is one of my favorite New Orleans restaurants; I even celebrated my 30th birthday there. I’m not the only one who loves it, though, and often the long lines keep me away. But with my whole family in town, we were able to get reservations (HINT: you can always get a drink at the awesome tin-ceiling-ed Maple Leaf Bar next door as you wait for your table).

Owner Jacques Leonardi is one of those New Orleans characters that this city loves so much. The folk art at Jacques Imo’s mimics his colorful personality. The best seat in the house is a decorated truck parked in front of the restaurant.

This is not a place for nibblers – portions are huge and hearty, starting with the warm garlic cornbread that comes to your table.

Lots of people rave over Jacques Imo’s sausage and alligator cheesecake. But I prefer the fried green tomatoes with shrimp and remoulade or the oyster brie soup. Then again, it’s hard to beat the duck and andouille gumbo. Look how much meat is in this dish!

What you’ll find at Jacques Imo’s are classic Louisiana dishes, heavily spiced and dished up in messy glory. I love his use of local ingredients, and even your salad comes with a fried oyster. This is a photo of Don’s crawfish etouffee.

At a friend’s recommendation, I ordered the fried catfish with crabmeat stuffing. I believe the sauce was a Tasso hollandaise, but I didn’t take notes. I was too busy oohing and ahhing over my food.

This night, however, it was my sister who may have made the best order. Jacques Imo’s fried chicken is considered by many to be tops in the city, and I know that it gets my vote. Crispy, juicy, served with a side of maque choux (a Cajun corn dish) and mac and cheese? It’s hard to do better.

Here’s where Jacques Imo’s gets its gut-busting reputation. Every meal comes with your choice of two sides (this is beans and rice, and collard greens). This is in addition to the fried oyster salad and cornbread. The good times weren’t the only thing rolling out of the neighborhood that night. We were stuffed.

Yet somehow we made it back to Carrollton two nights later. This time, our destination was Boucherie, a meat-riffic restaurant born out of a food truck. Despite such humble beginnings, Chef Nathanial Zimet also trained at Commander’s Palace and Stella so he has plenty of white tablecloth credentials. The result is one of the most popular restaurants in New Orleans right now.

We went with Laura Maggi and Mike Kunzelman, two married reporters who both won prestigious George Polk journalism awards this year. Times-Picayune staffer Laura covered the investigation and trial of New Orleans police who shot civilians on Danziger Bridge, one of the more horrifying stories to come from Hurricane Katrina, and Mike wrote and edited the Associated Press’s coverage of the British Petroleum oil spill last summer.  (I love bragging about my smart and talented friends).

Is it any surprise that I wasn’t that hungry? (I blame the praline bacon I had earlier that day at Elizabeth’s). Boucherie has both small plates and larger entrees, all under $20. I ordered the gougeres, fried balls that oozed with warm duck liver mousse. Amazing. And yes, you are seeing a strip of bacon there. Just in case the mousse didn’t provide enough fat.

Don somehow found his appetite. He ordered the pulled pork, shaped like a cake and piled high with purple slaw.

For meat lovers, the real star of Boucherie’s menu may be the smoked Waygu beef brisket, served with parmesan fries. This is Mike’s plate; rest assured that the rest of us ordered an app version of the fries, which are cooked in garlic butter, for the table.

What’s great about Boucherie (besides the duck liver balls) is the price. We paid about the same amount that we’d spend on a dinner out in Seattle. If you’re planning a NOLA trip and want to give it a try, be sure to call ahead. Reservations are a must.

I’ve nattered on about New Orleans food for a couple of days. Now it’s your turn. What’s your favorite New Orleans dish?

New Orleans Cuisine: Boucherie & Jacques Imo’s is a post from: Chris Around The World: A Journalist's Travels on the Road