Dish, again.

I know, you're all thinking I must be crazy for heading to Dish, yet again. I don't care! Incredible food, incredible service for an incredibly low price means you can't keep me away. Saturday I remembered to bring my camera with me and photographed not only my food but a few dishes leaving the kitchen and some of the kitchen as well. So I'll start with dinner descriptions and end with the photos! By the way, this may be out of order but at least all the dishes are describe and I always seem to be so excited to eat the dishes so pictures come after a couple of bites. Oops.

The Original - The same as below, serrano ham, manchego and sherry.

Tomato Bisque - Wow, this had a bite I didn't expect but it sure was welcomed!

Hawaiian Marlin - This marlin is sliced thin and smoke cured bacon style. Served with house made kim chi to balance the smoky fish. Wow.

White Truffled Pasta - Housemade pasta is served with a simple buttery sauce then white truffles are shaved generously on top and are perfectly showcased against the mellow pasta. Divine, absolutely divine.

Diver Sea Scallops - Seared and served with a lemon buerre blanc, pink grapefruit and fume de sel which is stored in oak chardonnay barrels so it takes on a bit of those flavors. I will definitely be making a dish with scallops and grapefruit at home as it was a wonderful contrast in the buttery scallop and the sweet-tart flavor of the grapefruit.

Roasted Chicken - Served in an open face saffron ravioli and an herbed cream broth. As I moved the sheet of pasta off the chicken and broth the aroma of the herbs hit me. And all I could do was inhale the beautiful smell and anticipate the first bite of pure comfort food.

Baby Iceburg Lettuce Wedge - Served with avocado, red onion and a creamy bacon dressing (with a bite of it's own). A nice refreshing break between rich dishes!

Beef Short Ribs - These had been braised for nearly 12 hours and literally fell apart as my fork touched them in the slightest. They were served with organic roasted carrots and a light coffee glaze with microgreens.

Churros - Yes, you read that right, churros. I wasn't excited about these until I started seeing them pass by me through the night (I was sitting right next to where the servers pick up food to take to other tables) and kept watching that little dish of dark chocolate ganache dipping sauce pass by. These were crispy on the outside and coated with cinnamon and sugar then warm and doughy and tender on the inside. Dipped in chocolate, they were pure heaven.

Buttermilk Cake - Kevin (the sous chef) couldn't decide which dessert was better so he served me both. This lemon buttermilk cake served with raspberry coulis is quite possibly the best non-chocolate dessert I've ever had the pleasure of enjoying.

Basically, this restaurant is bound for greatness. I see this being a destination spot, a place vacations are planned around. I only hope they'll still find a spot for me at their kitchen bar when they are booked to capacity months in advance. And I don't think it will be very long before that happens. In fact, I've already got my reservation for 7 people 2 months from today.

A disappointment...

So, tonight I was invited to join a group of co-workers for dinner at Il Fornaio, a chain of fancy Italian restaurants. The antipasto of different items was decent and I feasted on prosciutto and fresh mozzarella happily and enjoyed a simple mixed green salad. Next came the first disappointment. I ordered a lobster stuffed ravioli topped with shrimp and diced tomatoes in a tomato cream sauce. Honestly, it sucked. The pasta was way underdone, the sauce flavorless and the tiny shrimp probably came to the restaurant pre-cooked.

It continued when I ordered creme brulee which is my absolutely favorite dessert (this coming from a chocolate lover). It came to my table and I discovered that it was topped with a chocolate custard which may have been good but I went in for my first bite, tapping to crack the familiar sugar shell. Nothing. No telltale cracking sound. I tried a different spot and got the same. How is it creme brulee if you don't brulee the top?

Needless to say, this restaurant is definitely on my list of never to return. There are far too many excellent restaurants out there to waste my money and time and calories there. At least this time the company picked up the bill.