dining out

We still haven't unpacked the kitchen.

Which means we've been dining out or ordering delivery every single day for the past week. Not exactly ideal -- it's an expensive way to live (especially after a move), and you can only eat pizza so many times before you find yourself never wanting to look at a pepperoni again.

But our situation does allow us to justify trying a number of restaurants we've been curious about.

Tonight we finally made it to Le Bistro. We've heard nothing but raves about this restaurant; Yelpers love it, our co-workers love it, even The Chron gave it a nice review.

And man, does this place deserve praise: We had a fantastic meal tonight -- an every-plate-licked-clean type of experience. The restaurant itself is a teeny-tiny space (maybe 12 tables max, plus a bar that seats five), dimly lit, with a slight European feel. While it isn't make-out-in-the-corner-booth sexy like our old favorite French place in San Francisco was (for some reason, red walls have this effect), Le Bistro is definitely romantic in its own way -- lots of candlelight, you can have a conversation without yelling across the table, the timing of the courses isn't rushed, the server doesn't hover annoyingly, etc.

Then there's the menu. It's short and it isn't quite French (no onion soup, nothing made out of liver, no coq au vin), but to me this is bistro fare in the sense that it's well-priced, no-frills but still high-quality food that you can tell is prepared by a chef who knows his stuff.

We started with the tomato and red pepper soup, which was drizzled with pesto. And while neither tomatoes nor red peppers are in season right now, the flavors in this soup were just right -- I could distinguish the tomato from the red pepper, and vice versa, but at the same time, the two were melded together very nicely. For our mains, I had the parmesan-crusted tiger prawns in a pesto Champagne sauce, and he had the special -- Mahi Mahi in a beurre blanc with capers. Both were delicious, and I can't gush enough about the prawns. The parmesan crust was such a nice touch -- created great texture and a hint of saltiness. Then for dessert, we shared the chocolate pot de creme, which was accompanied by espresso gelato. So freaking good! Perfect consistency -- thicker than mousse, but not as thick as custard and still fluffy, not weighted down at all. Loved it.

I heart veggies

No, Homer, you do make friends with salad.

Take today, for instance. I took a writer out to lunch at Mustards, where we started our meal with some rosé wine and a salad of organic greens, candied walnuts, goat cheese and (my favorite ever) golden beets.

The greens in the salad were actually from the restaurant's on-site garden, which to me is very impressive. I'm all for eating locally and in season, and an on-site garden is pretty much as local and as seasonal as you can get! Since I was with a writer, we were invited after our meal to tour the planter boxes and the greenhouse and talk to the gardener.

Pretty damn cool.

settling down

I was doing so well with my posts, and then I went to Montana on March 27 and became completely engulfed in My Brother's Wedding. And then there was no more posting. Just a lot of ribbon-tying. And family-greeting. And picture-taking (with a cruel photographer who made us bridesmaids stand outside in strapless dresses while it was snowing -- I have never been so cold in my life).

Montana marked the end of my travels, but I'm still living out of a suitcase. We finally -- finally! -- completed our move to the new house Tuesday. Everything is in boxes, and we've been living off of pizza since we haven't unpacked the kitchen yet.

Funny, though -- the one thing I have unpacked is all the wine that we store in the wine refrigerator. How's that for prioritizing?

as seen on tv

I'm not a fan of the Food Network. I find it annoying that instead of showing viewers how to cook, the Food Network devotes entire shows to processed food ("Unwrapped"). I also despise Sandra Lee, don't understand how what she does can be called cooking and have no idea why anyone would want to eat any of the horrific things she semi-homemakes. And I find "Ace of Cakes" incredibly boring: Gasp, yet another near-disaster this week -- just like last week and the week before and the week before that!

But I hate "Throwdown with Bobby Flay" more than any other Food Network show. I think it's incredibly insulting that a celebrity chef can just barge in on the best local cooks and assume he can best them at their specialty -- the menu item they've spent their entire careers working to perfect. Nothing makes me happier than when he loses.

So imagine my joy when the Rathbun brothers kicked Bobby Flay's ass on "Iron Chef" a few weeks back. I've loved the Rathbuns for about two years now -- ever since I first ate at Abacus during my last trip to Texas. (And then there is also Rathbun's in Atlanta and the Krog Bar next to it -- both are amazing.) They deserve such sweet victory.

Anyway, we went to Abacus again last night -- just in time because they are closing on Saturday for a three-week renovation. The first page of the menu now has all of the dishes the Rathbuns made on "Iron Chef." (Elk was the secret ingredient.) Smackdown, Bobby Flay!

thou shalt not steal

... unless you are at a wine-tasting.

Tonight we poured at Mercy Wine Bar's fifth anniversary celebration. (Yes, I'm in Dallas now.)

For the most part, these tastings are fun. People show up, you introduce them to your wines, you chat a bit, share thoughts and observations, etc. And everyone feels very happy.

But then there are the vultures. These events seem to bring out the worst in some people. They start trying to steal anything and everything they can -- it's like they think a wine-tasting is one gigantic opportunity for freebies.

Tonight we saw one guy swipe an unopened bottle off of another winemaker's table. He just grabbed it and walked off through the crowd as fast as he could. Luckily, this guy got caught. I've poured at tastings where I've turned my back to grab a new bottle, and when I turned back around, one of the bottles on my table had mysteriously disappeared -- no sign of where it went.

And people don't stop at the wine. Our broker here in Dallas said he once saw a woman put an entire wheel of cheese in her purse at a tasting. In fact, sometimes people even bring Tupperware or plastic bags and load up.

We've had people steal wine glasses from our events at the work -- one woman drove away with a set of six Riedels, even after we had told her the glasses were rented and not for guests to take home. People have stolen the buffet signs from our events (I have no idea why you would swipe a buffet sign -- what the hell would you do with it?), table decorations and even sugar bowls from the coffee stand.

I just don't understand it. The people who go to wine-tastings are usually fairly well off or at least somewhat comfortable -- I mean, admission to these events isn't exactly cheap! If you have money, why the hell do you have to steal a bunch of things that you can probably afford to buy on your own? Doesn't make sense to me at all. In fact, it downright disgusts me.