>butter dish match-up, Le Bernardin vs. Jean Georges, top New York French restaurants

Lucky me. Got to savor back-to-back French cuisine prepared by consummate New York chefs, at Jean Georges (Jean Georges Vongerichten) and Le Bernardin (Eric Ripert.) Which of these fine French restaurant meals did I enjoy more? They were both excellent, but at the risk of you calling me thoroughly spoiled, I do have to tell you I am, at the moment, a bit tired of these same old same old swanky fare. So I won't chronicle the food in detail. Sorry! iPhone photos, Jean Georges above, Le Bernardin below. So, who "wins"? What shall I compare? Le diable est dans les détails, mais bien sûr. On one score, one of these restaurants wins by a considerable margin. Yes, I do love butter so, I never get tired of the truly fine butter they serve at these fine establishments. Le Bernardin servers would keep taking my butter dish away before the butter was even half-consumed, replacing it with a fresh one. They repeated this three times with understated flair. Alas, Jean Georges failed to notice the butter dish as it was completely consumed. Le Bernardin wins!! Yay!!!

>Peruvian tiraditos, cebiches auténticos con "leche de tigre," Limón, San Francisco

Hot hot hot Friday night. It so happens that grocery trekker was looking for a place to eat in San Francisco's Mission District, and Limón seemed to be just about the only place with air conditioning.

"At long last, the original location of Limon returns this evening. It's been a long road back for the Peruvian joint—it's been nearly 15 months since it originally shut down in the wake of a fire. Since then, the disaster insurance has been a disaster and during the interim, owner Martin Castillo even opened up a more casual offshoot a few blocks away in Limon Rotisserie. But tonight, Limon reopens to the public. The interior has gotten a noticeable facelift, and the updated menu will mostly stay the course of its prior incarnation of modern Peruvian cuisine." SF.eater.com opening alert

What a perfect night to enjoy ceviches and tiraditos at a cool primo seat. The energetic staff seemed excited, and the atmosphere was absolutamente perfecto.

I tried their yuzu infused junmai sake. A tad too sweet, but it worked with their food. Too many goodies to choose from. Pescado, conchas, mixto, camarones, clasico, mosaico, causa, atun al tausi, anticuchos, lomo saltado, ensalada verde al maracuya, pulpo a la parilla. Sushi grade ono, sea urchin, camarones, hiramasa, oyster shooter. Legendary pargo rojo, quinotto de hongos, churrasco, chuleton Don Carlitos.

And of course, tiger's milk, (leche de tigre,) the juice produced from all that ceviche. Salud!

>burger-flavored potato chips, Frankfurter chips, bossam kimchi chips...

Filed under:
PEOPLE EAT THIS STUFF?

Well, these potato chips do sound fascinating.

メガバーガー味 (Mega Burger flavor) "American taste" potato chips

Fans of bossam ("wrap" 보쌈) kimchi (김치) may (or may not) appreciate bossam kimchi flavored potato chips. ポッサムキムチ味 ポテトチップス

No shortage of selections:
-pizza potato chips ポテトチップス ピザ味
"Topped with a nice gooey blend of two cheeses, Cheddar and Emmentaler. You can definitely taste the cheese. All flavors of the ingredients (cheese, tomatoes, salami and spices) balance nicely for an authentic pizza taste."
-seaweed and salt chips ポテトチップス のりしお
-mentaiko (fish roe) chips ポテトチップス 明太子味
-ever popular "consommé" chips ポテトチップス コンソメ
-(white) shrimp flavored chips しろえびポテトチップス
-and of course, "juicy" Frankfurter potato chips. Yes, of course. ジューシーフランクフルト味 ポテトチップス

>the rabbit who lost his fur 因幡の白うさぎ

因幡の白うさぎ

因幡 = Inaba
白 (shiro) = white
うさぎ (usagi) = rabbit

Read the full story of this white rabbit (shiro-usagi) at instantwisdom.bravepages.com.
A similar version at geocities.co.jp. He is made into a book, "Inaba no Shiro-usagi. The Rabbit who lost his Fur. A favourite story from Japan," by Ralph Friedrich.

***
"Winston is always expecting rabbits to come out of empty hats," he said to Chips Channon.
-from Crete by Antony Beevor
***
RAREBIT, n. A Welsh rabbit, in the speech of the humorless, who point out that it is not a rabbit. To whom it may be solemnly explained that the comestible known as toad-in-a-hole is really not a toad, and that riz-de-veau a la financiere is not the smile of a calf prepared after the recipe of a she banker.
-The Devil's Dictionary, Ambrose Bierce
***
Or you might say, this sweet-bean-paste-filled manju is kawaiiiiii!!!! oishiiiiii!!!!
***
photo on the right by うたのっこ

>gomatamago, ごまたまご, fake egg sesame cake and pudding

goma ごま, 胡麻 (sesame) + tamago たまご, 卵 (egg) = goma tamago (sesame egg)

You find "hard-boiled eggs" on a plate on my table. They may not be all they are cracked up to be. There is a chance they happen to be gomatamago cake. White chocolate shell, sponge cake white, black sesame and bean paste yolk.

If you are into this egg thing, do go after fake egg cups filled with pudding, ごまたまごプリン。(gomatamago "purin"/"puring") Yum.

***
(For sesame seed lovers)
白ごま (しろごま, shirogoma) = white sesame
黒ごま (くろごま, kurogoma) = black sesame
金ごま (きんごま, kingoma) = golden sesame
オープンセサミ! = Open Sesame!

>foie gras bonbon, ice plant salad, cassis caramel at Beast, Portland

The most delicious (or off-putting?) part of dining at Beast is that it feels like being invited to a small private banquet of a distant cousin. The small dining room/kitchen, all in one room, has only two communal tables, one seating twice as many as the other, for a total of only 20+ diners. You talk to the other diners at the table, all of whom you've just met, of course. It's a somewhat casual setting, despite its reputation as a "special occasion" restaurant, and yours truly showed up in jeans and tattered, (tattering, I guess) shirt fitting a dinner at a distant cousin's. No Portlanders seemed to mind.

(I wasn't going to take photos. These are taken with my phone.)

"Menu substitutions are politely declined." Everyone is served identical courses at the same time. This assembly line approach is smart indeed. Good food is prepared more efficiently at a more reasonable price compared to most higher end prix fixe tasting menus.

Their menu changes every day, so... here's the entire meal presented to me on July 8th, 2009.

curried carrot veloute
nasturtium and summer herb salsa verde
fried shallots
syncline underwood mountain vineyard gruner veltliner-2008

charcuterie plate:
foie-gras bonbon, sauternes gelée
steak tartare & quail egg toast
pork, pork liver, sour cherry & pistachio pâte
chicken liver mousse, pickled shallot
cor cellars columbia view sauvignon blanc-2008

baguette, fennel and sweet onion stuffed carlton farm's pork loin
local sour cherry demi glace
romano beans
syncline celilo vineyard pinot noir-2007

strawberry, arugula & ice plant salad
banyuls vinaigrette, marcona almonds & shaved sheep's cheese
strohmeier schilchersekt-nv

-selection of steve's cheese-
anise & fleur de sel shortbread
local honey, figs & candied hazelnuts
cor cellars celilo veneyard alba-2008

currant brown butter tarts
vanilla bean ice cream
cassis caramel
texier o pale viognier-2007

Go with low expectations. Don't expect first class techniques. Expect first class ingredients. Be prepared to be charmed. I was.