Lou & Mickey's, 224 5th Ave San Diego, CA 92101

The view upon walking in the front door was great!...a lovely raw bar greets you!

It was late afternoon, so I kept my order pretty light.  I started will a half pound order of chilled mussels.  They were very fresh (even after the black out experienced the night before).

For my entree, I ordered the ahi tuna salad.  The chef really over-killed on the cracked peppercorn coating, but the fish was fresh and tasty.  The white anchovies were a nice touch as was the potato and green beans.

My companions had the chicken piccata and the fried chicken sandwich.  The piccata was cooked nicely and the lemon-caper sauce was light and flavorful.

The decor was lovely..beautiful hard wood was EVERYWHERE as a real steakhouse should be!  I wish were were there for dinner so I could try one of their steaks with a nice scotch (assuming they had a presentable list).  One gentleman at the next table seemed to really enjoy his steak and I was a bit jealous as I was totally distracted by the crazy awesome aroma!  :0)

Flûte (Champagne) Bar, 205 W 54th St (@Broadway) New York, NY 10019

I have been going here for years, though the last time I was in the city, I went to the Gramercy location, I prefer the Midtown location because it is more intimate, cozy, and mature (crowd-wise).  There are a limited amount of "private, heavily-draped, covered booths in this space!  Gotta love that!

The bubbly cocktails and 'neat' bubbly options are spectacular.  They also have great hors d'oeuvresI can't wait to see you guys again!!!...likely at FlûteFest 2011 in November!!!

Looking forward to visiting Flûte l'Étoile, Paris

Flute Bar Website (Midtown NYC):
http://flutebar.com/en/?page=midtown-ny/

The Met (Metropolitan) Bar, 1210 Boylston Street Chestnut Hill, MA 02467

So, I finally made it to The Met Bar last week for one of their weekly 'themed' meals.
The beautiful property offers the following deals throughout the week:
Sunday:  Chick Dinner Sundays ($15.95)
Monday: Burger Mondays ($4.99 per slider)
Tuesday: Taco Tuesdays ($6.00)
Wednesday: Twin Lobster Wednesdays ($24.99)
Thursday: Steak Frites Thursday ($17.95)

Chef Winer is superbly creative.  One menu item which left me speechless was the CAULIFLOWER STEAK!  Yes! You read that correctly!  This creation truly blew my mind and I am so glad my curiosity got the best of me when perusing the menu on Burger Monday last week. I packed a bit to take home...anticipating reliving the moment over lunch, but ALAS... my impetuosity got the best of me and I made a B-line for the doggie bag just minutes after getting home!  The cauliflower steak was beautiful...a pan-seared/charred complete slice of cauliflower from an intact head cooked in garlic/truffle oil in EVOO?? (which usually isn't my thing...but I love when a chef forces me out of my comfort zone).
It was Burger Monday so I tried the Mexican burger (slider) which was topped with cheese, fantastic guacamole, on a soft bun.  I order it medium well and it was perfect!


Anyone who has dined with me OR knows me well, knows I can be hard on Mac n' Cheese...The Met Bar exceeded my expectations with their hearty macaroni (large noodles).  It was not lacking in the cheese department as most restaurants are...not watery in the bit.  This was one solid, perfectly flavored and CHEESY mac n' cheese.  This makes my top list for Mac n' Cheese on Yelp.com (www.devotedfoodie.yelp.com )
The duck spring rolls were average. I found the duck a bit dry but the flaky spring roll wrap was perfectly flaky!  Because it was so late in the evening, I'd give this dish another try in the future.

The bartender was also on point with a perfect Manhattan (made with my favorite bourbon...Knob Creek).  I love any bar that serves bourbon cocktails (or those which call for a cherry) with authentic maraschino cherries (not the bright red average store-purchased kind)...this gave me a beautiful flashback to Marliave (the first to break the real maraschino cherry obsession for me in Boston).

The Met Bar is a perfect spot for weekly obsessions and dabbling into the creative mind of Chef Winer.