7 Things You Never Knew about Dental Schools

Two weeks into classes at dental school and already, I have never felt like I worked so hard yet had THIS much fun learning as I do now! Here are 5 things that even I didn’t know about dental schools and dentistry before school started!

Check out our simulation lab.

7. Dental school folks know how to work hard (really hard)…and play hard too!

6. Dental students dissect cadavers from the pelvis and UP! That means, we have to memorize every single nerve, muscle, artery, vein, membrane, fascia and its function. (which also means, I’m in anatomy lab ~15+ hours/week…that’s how well we have to know our bodies!)

5. Dental school is 4 years and we need to pass the national boards (after 2nd year and after 4th year) to be able to graduate, just like in medical school.

4.If you want to specialize (i.e. orthodontics, pediatrics, oral surgery), there is an additional 2-6 years MORE schooling you have to go through to be licensed! (You also have to be like…top 5% of your class to be able to get into one of those programs!)

3. Dental students practice giving EACH OTHER injections (mostly during their 2nd year of school) before they ever inject a patient.

2. Dental school is just as competitive to get into as medical school! (Tufts accepted under 4% of their applicants to their dental class this year.)

1. If you’re like me, after dissecting a human body, you have NO desire whatsoever to eat anything that has blood or animal fat. The current dental school diet for me consists of: Plenty of bars, PB & jelly banana sandwiches, and take-out.

As for protein, please meet my newest friend (courtesy of Tofu Xpress):

This would be my new Tofu Xpress tofu press, containing SILKEN tofu! Yes, silken! I was shocked to find that not only did this contraption get all the liquid out of my soft, silky tofu block, it didn’t crush it to pieces! I was able to take out the whole block of tofu in one block. The only complaint is that it takes some womanly muscles to push that springy lid all the way down to lock under the plastic wings.

Alright guys…back to studying. Such is life.

Just for Fun!, Product Reviews

September 19, 2010

22 Comments

Welcome to Boston!

It’s been a few months since I last updated. I know I’ve been MIA with the comments but I’ve been following you all – yup, even through the HLS, which I unfortunately missed due to travels and moving.

My very lucky taste buds have been eating their way through Hong Kong, Cancun, LA, Malibu…and now, BOSTON!! I’ll be reporting to you live, the life and gripes and food from the perspective of a poor dental student, but hopefully it’ll be fascinating too! If you ever wanted to know how dentists were educated or what dentists eat…maybe LTB will shed some light on that.

Garlic “Tong Choi” from Fuk Lum Moon, HK dimsum restaurant.

Grilled MahiMahi with Coleslaw and Rice Pilaf from Malibu Seafood.

Cha Cha Chicken from Cha Cha Chicken at Santa Monica Pier.

While I settle in, I’d love if any of you familiar with Boston’s dining scene to drop a comment or 2 below! I welcome all recommendations! And if you’re not familiar with Beantown, tell me what you’ve been up to!!!! Don’t give up on me yet.

On a side note, CSN has a lot of options for twin beds for me to furnish this little home of mine at a good price!

Just for Fun!

Boston, CSN, Hong Kong, Los Angeles, Malibu, Travel

August 29, 2010

19 Comments

Manna Bread Uncensored

Oh Manna. This ain’t your ordinary bread. I like to think of Manna Bread as the healthiest, most wholesome, nutty delicious flour-less vegan cake-like organic bread you can possible devour. Except it’s not cake. This is 100% “bread” because Manna breads have no grease, no sweeteners, no eggs, and no salt.

Intrigued?

What is Manna bread? It is a line of 100% sprouted high-protein whole-grain bread (so moist and dense it’s like cake, the way I see it.)

Manna bread does NOT contain: No salt, yeast, oils, sweeteners, leaving agents, anything artificial!

Manna Bread comes in 9 flavors: Banana Walnut Hemp, Carrot Raisin, Cinnamon Date, Fig Fennel Flax, Fruit & Nut, Millet Rice, Multigrain, Sunseed, and Whole Rye.

Manna Sourdough bread comes in 3 flavors: Multi-grain Flax sourdough, Bavarian Rye sourdough, Sunny sourdough

The Pros: The breads really are delicious (read: addicting), filling, high in protein, high in fiber, all-natural, nutrient dense, nutty, in short, WORTH every penny!!

The (Only) Cons: These loaves come smaller than your average loaf of bread and are NOT pre-sliced. I have difficulty stopping at a single piece or two because they taste so good!! For those a little afraid of portion control, make sure you slice it or weight it or stash it away once you’re satisfied!

The Sourdoughs…

Multi-grain Flax Sourdough

Stats (per slice/50g): 130 cals, 2.5g fat, 200mg sod, 24g Carbs, 6g Fiber, 5g Protein

Ingredients: Filtered water, organic whole wheat flour, organic rye flour, organic multigrain blend (organic whole wheat, organic rye, organic barley, organic oats, organic flax, organic millet, organic buckwheat), organic flaxseeds, sea salt.

Tastiness: 7.5/10. This exceeded my expectations for both a sourdough bread and a multi-grain bread. Obviously, the stats are great, but after toasting, this bread gave off a lovely nutty yet sour doughy smell that

Bavarian Whole Rye Sourdough

Stats (per slice/50g): 120 cals, 1g fat, 220mg sod, 25g Carbs, 8g Fiber, 5g Protein

Ingredients: Organic rye flour, filtered water, sea salt, organic caraway seeds, organic fennel seeds, organic coriander seeds.

Tastiness: 9/10. This was one of the best savory, smooth, hearty sourdough breads I’d ever tasted. The flavor was not too tart like sourdough bread can be with a deep rye aroma. Wonderful when topped with hummus!

The Non-Sourdoughs…

Cinnamon Date

Stats (per 2oz slice/56g): 150 Cals, 0g fat, 15mg sodium, 29g carbs, 5g fiber, 6g sugar, 8g protein

Ingredients: Sprouted organic wheat kernels, filtered water, organic dates, organic cinnamon, organic oatmeal

Tastiness: 9/10. This is everything I wanted in a nutty, sweet bread that is high on chew and doughy factor. It is definitely not as cinnamon-y or date-filled as I would like, but paired with some pumpkin butter and your own sprinkling of dried fruit, this is wonderful dessert bread. Perfect for an after dinner treat!

Banana Walnut Hemp Manna Bread

Stats (per 2oz slice/56g): 140 Cals, 4.5g fat, 5mg sodium, 27g carbs, 2g fiber, 12g sugar, 5g protein

Ingredients: Sprouted organic wheat kernels, filtered water, organic dried banana, organic walnuts, organic flax seeds, organic hemp seeds

Tastiness: 6/10. This bread fell short of my expectations because it wasn’t half as banana-flavored as I’d like. However, the bread was still tasty and studded with lots of walnut pieces. This flavor isn’t as succulent and sweet as several other flavors, such as the fruit and nut or the cinnamon date. If you’re craving some real banana flavor, try topping the loaf with some fresh banana slices!

Fig Fennel Flax

Stats (per 2oz slice/56g): 120 Cals, 1.5g fat, 10mg sodium, 26g carbs, 5g fiber, 8g sugar, 4g protein

Ingredients: Sprouted organic wheat kernels, filtered water, organic black mission figs (diced figs, organic out flour), organic flax seeds, organic fennel seeds, organic poppy seeds, organic pumpkin seeds, organic sunflower seeds, organic sesame seeds

Tastiness: 7/10. A textural PARTY in my mouth! Ultra moist, dense, and absolutely loaded with crunchy pumpkin and sunflower seeds over the top while the inside is studded with crunchy flax seeds. Initially, it doesn’t seem as sweet as the name promises and I didn’t feel the fig represented in the loaf, but the next couple bites sealed the sweet deal. However, I’m not a fan of the fennel in sweet bread so the heavy fennel flavor was a no-go for me.

Fruit and Nut

Stats (per 2oz slice/56g): 140 Cals, 1g fat, 7mg sodium, 27g carbs, 6g fiber, 16g sugar, 6g protein

Ingredients: Sprouted organic wheat kernels, filtered water, organic raisins, organic dates, organic almonds, organic cashews, organic hazelnuts, organic cinnamon, organic nutmeg, organic oatmeal

Tastiness: 8/10. This loaf has the most sugar nutritionally out of all Manna bread flavors, mainly coming from the organic raisins and dates. However, being someone with a sweet tooth, this bread was perfect as a dessert, sweet snack, or breakfast. PERFECT when topped with peanut butter!

Millet Rice

Stats (per 2oz slice/56g): 130 Cals, 0g fat, 10mg sodium, 28g carbs, 5g fiber, 9g sugar, 5g protein

Ingredients: Sprouted organic wheat kernels, filtered water, organic millet, organic brown rice

Tastiness: 8/10. Flavor-wise, this had a hint of sweetness, was nutty and mild. The versatile bread could use a topping or two in order to play up either its sweet or savory characteristics, but it is also delicious on its own. Texturally, the millet rice provided a ton of crunch to it, almost to the point where I felt like the millets were designed to get stuck in between my teeth.

Other Manna Bread FAQ’s (in case you were wondering)…

1. You can buy Manna breads in the frozen section at Whole Foods, or online. Here is Manna’s product catalog.  http://www.mannaorganicbakery.com/ver.php?mod=categories_product_catalog

2. How long can Manna Bread keep for?

Frozen (-10 F) – up to 1 year

Refrigerated (35 F) – 2-3 weeks

Room Temp (65 F) – up to 5 days

3. Why is the bread so sweet if Manna doesn’t use sweeteners?

The sweetness of Manna Bread® is solely due to their unique sprouting process, which converts starches into maltose and other complex carbohydrates. There is no added sugar, no yeast, no salt, or preservatives.

For all other questions, please visit Manna Organics for information!

Product Reviews

Bread, Manna Bread, Organic, Product Reviews

July 21, 2010

27 Comments

Ultra-Swirly Cinnamony Cinnamon Rolls

I have always been afraid of live yeast.

I was a science major in college and even with 4 years of bio labs under my belt, yeast cultures on petri dishes still gave me goosebumps. When Nick suggested we bake cinnamon rolls from scratch this weekend, the first thing that popped into my mind was, OH CRAP, YEAST.

Except, who knew that it was going to be so easy and that it would be so much fun to make your own cinnamon rolls at home??

Here is my issue with buying cinnamon rolls from “others”. Yes, including the purchase of you, mister P. Doughboy rolls:

1. They are always TOO freakin’ big! Who needs 6 rolls the size of your head when you can have 12 the size of your fist you can eat and share with your doorman, or neighbors, or friends?

2. There are NEVER enough swirls!!! I am a cinnamon sugar girl, and if you don’t make your own rolls, the rolls will have 2 swirls at the most! Meaning, it is full of unflavored dough and not enough cinnamon.

3. They are always too sweet. There is always too much icing.

4. Laying out rounds of Pillsbury doughbough can never instill as much pride in you as overcoming your fear of living yeast, rolling your own dough, and baking cinnamon rolls you can call YOUR own.

5. Did someone say, TOO MUCH BUTTER?

To avoid all this, I suppose the best thing to do would be to bake your own rolls. and you know what? It is SO worth it.

THE ULTRA-Cinnamony CINNAMON ROLLS (The lower-fat and sugar kind)

This was originally Paula Deans recipe. I took out some butter and sugar, stretched the dough thinner, added more cinnamon, and made more swirls. The result? 20 cinnamons rolls vs. 12 and a TON more flavor! As usual, feel free to substitute ingredients.

Ingredients

Dough:

• 1/4 ounce package yeast
• 1/2 cup warm water
• 1/2 cup scalded vanilla soy milk
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar (I used NuNaturals baking blend for a sugar-free dough)
• 1/3 cup butter
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 egg
• 3 1/2 cup all-purpose flour (you can use whole wheat flour)

Filling:

• 1/4 cup melted butter
• 3/4 cup light brown sugar
• 3 tablespoons ground cinnamon (I used 4!)
• Oil spray to grease baking pan
• granulated white sugar to dust over pan (optional, but totally delicious)

Glaze:

• 2 tablespoons butter, melted
• 1 cup powdered sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 3 tablespoons hot water  

Directions

1. Dough: In a small bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water and set aside. In a large bowl mix soy milk, sugar, melted butter, salt and egg. Add 2 cups of flour and mix until smooth. Add yeast mixture. Mix in remaining flour until dough is easy to handle. Knead dough on lightly floured surface for 5 to 10 minutes. Place in well-greased bowl, cover and let rise until doubled in size, usually 1 to 1 1/2 hours.

2. When doubled in size, punch down dough. Roll out on a floured surface into a 15 by 11-inch rectangle. Spread melted butter all over dough. Mix sugar and cinnamon and sprinkle over buttered dough. Beginning at the 15-inch side, role up dough and pinch edge together to seal.

Cut into 18-20 slices. (Nick cut half a tube, I cut the other half)

3. Heat oven to 350 degrees F. Coat the bottom of baking pan with cooking spray and sprinkle with granulated sugar. Place cinnamon roll slices close together in the pan and let rise until dough is doubled, about 45 minutes. (I’m not sure if the lamp/heat helped, but it did make for an entertaining sight!)

Bake in oven for about 35 minutes or until nicely browned.

4. Icing: Meanwhile, mix butter, powdered sugar, and vanilla. Add hot water 1 tablespoon at a time until the glaze reaches desired consistency. Spread over slightly cooled rolls. If you’re desiring a taste before icing, go ahead!

5. Do not allow to fully cool before devouring. Pick your favorite pieces or the biggest roll there is…and eat!!

  

A note to my favorite readers: I’ll be vacationing in Hong Kong for 2 months before I return to the US and move to Boston for grad school in August! I hope you all follow me and my foodie adventures to Asia and soon enough, Boston!! I am SO excited.

And just for you, I’ve calculated the nutritional stats at Caloriecount.com. These stats are for one Ultra-swirly cinnamony cinnamon roll.

Nutrition Facts

Serving Size 50 g

Amount Per Serving

Calories 188 Calories from Fat 64

% Daily Value*

Total Fat 7.1g 11%

Saturated Fat 4.2g 21%

Trans Fat 0.0g

Cholesterol 27mg 9%

Sodium 171mg 7%

Total Carbohydrates 28.4g 9%

Dietary Fiber 0.6g 3%

Sugars 11.5g

Protein 2.8g

Vitamin A 4% • Vitamin C 0% Calcium 1% • Iron 6%

Nutrition Grade C

* Based on a 2000 calorie diet

Recipes

Recipes

June 7, 2010

40 Comments

Pretzel Crisp Winners

Winners of the Snack Factory Pretzel Crisp Prize Pack are:

#59: Jill at My So Called Health Life

#78: Ruth at she-fit.com

Congrat’s ladies!!

Freebies!

Freebies!

June 7, 2010

Leave a comment

Giveaway! Modern Classic Pretzel Crisps Uncensored

Have you ever had those amazingly delicious dark chocolate covered pretzel crisps from Trader Joe’s??

The Snack Factory pretzel thins from the new Modern Classics line are very much the non-chocolate coated, less caloric version of that treat. My favorite, the cinnamon toast flavored pretzel crisps!!

I’m not gonna lie, I also am a sucker for beautiful, colorful, gourmet-looking packaging and Snack Factory definitely has this down. You may have already enjoyed several products created by Snack Factory founders Warren and Sara Wilson. With 30 years of snacking behind them, the Wilsons were the creators and former owners of the New York Style Bagel Chip Company and the Funnel Cake Factory. In 2004, they founded Snack Factory and in 2010 launched a new line of pretzel thins with a focus on natural and healthy snacks!

There are 3 product lines by the Snack Factory company:

Deli Style: Original, Garlic, and Everything

Special Edition: White chocolate peppermint, Dark Chocolate, Peanut butter & Choc

The Modern Classics: Tuscan Three Cheese, Supreme, Cinnamon Toast, and Classic

With only 110 calories per serving (average of about 10 pretzel thins), Snack Factory is encouraging consumers to “Rethink Their Pretzel.” Below are my takes on the “Modern Classics” line and here’s a chance for you to win 4 flavors of these delicious pretzel crisps!

The Classic

Stats (11 crisps/28 grams): 110 Cals, 0g Fat, 330mg Sodium, 23g Carbs, 1g Fiber, 2g Sugar, 3g Protein

Tastiness: 6.5/10. Nothing against classic/plain pretzel chips, but without the extra flavoring, all I can focus on is the saltiness…which is, I suppose, inherent in all things labeled “pretzel”. These crisps are uber crunchy (not crispy) and hold up well to any dip. It also isn’t as dry as a regular pretzel, which I like. Overall, a 6 because there is nothing special about its flavors – a solid savory snack, but too salty yet still bland when eaten without accompaniments.

Cinnamon Toast

Ingredients: Flour, Seasoning (sugar, brown sugar, cinnamon, salt), Soybean oil, Sugar, Salt, Malt Syrup

Stats (10 crisps/28 grams): 110 Cals, 1.5g Fat, 230mg Sodium, 23g Carbs, 1g Fiber, 4g Sugar, 3g Protein

Tastiness: 9/10. I will always be a sucker for the cinnamon and sugar combination. I have to seriously give Snack Factory major kudos for resisting over-dosing the pretzels with sugar. Although sugar comes in as the 2^nd and 3^rd most plentiful ingredients in the list, one serving in total only amounts to 4g of sugar! That’s definitely an upgrade from lots of sugar-laden energy bars on the market. The best part is that this was done so strategically NO flavor was compromised. Yes, it may not be sweet enough for some folks, but to me, this was the perfect amount of sweetness for an after dinner snack or mid-afternoon munchies.

Tuscan Three Cheese

Ingredients: Flour, Seasoning (Whey, sea salt, sugar, natural Romano, Asiago, and parmesan cheese flavors, brown sugar, cheddar cheese powder (pasteurized milk, cheese cultures, salt, enzymes), buttermilk, soybean oil, whey, disodium phosphate, citric acid), non-fat dry milk, dehydrated red bell pepper, dehydrated garlic and onion, tomato powder, natural olive oil flavor, chili pepper, citric acid, red pepper), soybean oil, sugar, salt, malt syrup ), Soybean oil, Sugar, Salt, Malt Syrup

Stats (10 crisps/28 grams): 110 Cals, 1.5g Fat, 520mg Sodium, 22g Carbs, 1g Fiber, 3g Sugar, 3g Protein

Tastiness: 8/10. For someone who does not like the flavor of stinky cheese, I loved the Tuscan 3 cheese!! Call me crazy, but the seasonings on these pretzel thins border more along the lines of a ranch sauce gone gourmet. I’ll call it, ranch-lite!

Personally, I am rejoicing over Pretzel thins because FINALLY there is a pretzel that doesn’t leave my mouth feeling like the Gobi desert!!! Something crunchy, flavorful, satisfying all on its own, and yet will actually hold up to any chip dip I choose to dip into!   There is a flavor for every taste bud:

• If you like sweets, THEN head for the Cinnamon Toast
• If you love savory,PICK up some Tuscan 3 Cheese (though it does have the most complicated ingredient list)
• If you like dips or if you enjoy original/seasoning-free flavors, THE Classic is for you

I am more than surprised at how flavorful and delicious the actual pretzel seasonings are without going overboard. Nutritionally, the pretzels actually beat out a ton of other “healthy” products, including many granola bars, cereals, wheat thins, and yes, chips!

THE GIVEAWAY

The who: Two lucky winners

The What: A total of 6 bags (each 6oz) of modern classics pretzel crisps, including:

• 2 bags Tuscan Three Cheese
• 2 bags Cinnamon Toast (my favorite!)
• 1 bag Classic
• 1 bag Supreme

The (Easy) How:

1. Comment below and tell me which non-reviewed product from the Snack Factory you would like to try (mandatory entry)
2. For 2 additional entries EACH: blog, tweet, or link back on your next blog post about this giveaway with a linkback to this post. Make sure you comment in the section below for each item!
3. For 1 entry: Add Lucky Taste Buds to your blog roll or google reader (new readers only please!)

Giveaway closes June 7th at 6pm CST!!

Freebies!

Freebies!

May 31, 2010

92 Comments

Graham Elliot: Spring Menu Review

Although Graham Elliot was a contestant on Top Chef Masters twice…and lost BOTH times, it did not seem to dull my desires to experience his modern, “deconstructed”, new American cuisine. Paired with the fact that GE is one of the most highly regarded, interesting and fun restaurants in Chicago, GE is practically a foodies playground.

For our 3 year anniversary, Nick took us to GE to experience the Spring 2010 menu. Graham Elliot changes its menu every season, including its famous original cocktail concoctions.

Our impressions before going: Creative delicious cuisine that’s “fancy food without being stuffy”

Check out the drink menu. Guess which one we went for?

Starter: The Popcorn Basket(s) complete with truffle oil, freshly shaved parmesan, cracked black pepper, chives, and salt

Rating: A+ fresh, A- stale(ing). Apparently, it takes 3 rounds of popcorn to be able to get the freshest, least stale popcorn possible. Our first basket, despite the kernels being cold and starting to stale (i.e. getting chewy and undesirable) was still full of flavor, delicious and pungently awesome. If you happen to get a fresh basket, you’ll find warm medium-sized plain popcorn, evenly coated with a light film of truffle oil, salt, and pepper. Over the top of the basket, there’s a generous sprinkling of thinly shaved parmesan cheese that even a cheese hater (such as myself) came to enjoy. The cheese brings richness to the light popcorn but the servers seemed almost reluctant to bring our refills! Is that truffle oil so expensive you have to be stingy with bringing a second…or third basket?

Cocktail: Carrie Me Home

Rating: B. The cocktail didn’t blow me away and wasn’t so unique that I’d recommend it. That being said, it was one of the less intoxicating, more palatable and pleasantly sweet cocktails I’ve ever ordered at a restaurant.

At this point, popcorn basket #1 was gone. We asked our server sweetly for another basket right away. Basket #2 came 10 minutes later.

From the “Cold” Appetizers

My Starter: White Tuna Sashimi with passion fruit sorbet, crispy plantain, whipped avocado, and cocoa nib ($13)

Rating: A. This was not only a stunner, but incredibly delicious to eat. “sashimi” instills the idea of Japanese cuisine, yet when you actually combine all the elements of the plate together into one bite, the flavor screams CEVICHE!! The fish itself was extremely fresh and the flesh was actually the sweetest element on the plate. It took me a few bites to warm up to the school of sorbet that accompanied the dish, but it was unmistakably necessary to bring the acidity and icy cold element to the dish. The sauce itself didn’t just provide beauty, but it was actually the cream, rich component to the sashimi and tastes almost as if it were guacamole. Needless to say, I scraped the plate CLEAN.

Nick’s Starter: Carpaccio of Beef with hydroponic watercress, french baguette, red onion, horseradish custard ($15)

Rating: A. I have never heard Nick rave so much about an appetizer. As a dude who has never had carpaccio before, he went out on a limb to try this dish. The beef was fresh and supple and was laid upon what appeared to be a long thin rectangular bar of cream cheese.

From the “Hot” Appetizers

My starter: Scallop Almondine with haricot vert, blood orange, marcona almond, brown butter ($15)

Rating: B+. Apparently, this was such a successful entree from the winter menu that they decided to move it into spring as an appetizer. Despite the fact that the scallop itself was seared to perfection (browned on the outside but still soft, tender and juicy on the inside), the sour blood orange based topping was not anything I’d ever order again. The

Nick’s starter: Satay of Duck with green papaya, thai curry, purple basil, coconut emulsion ($14)

Rating: B-. Highlight of the dish was the flavorful peanut sauce (but to be honest, it’s hard to mess up creamy, peanut satay sauce) and the presentation. Flavor-wise, the duck was not too gamey but also not very ducky perhaps because it tasted a little overcooked. The texture was chewy almost to the point where it was tough. I had one bite and refused another.

At this point, popcorn basket #2 was out. We asked the busser clearing our dishes if it was possible to have more popcorn. He said yes…and never returned.

Entree Options

  

I’m embarrassed to ask someone else, but that popcorn is like crack to me.

10 minutes later, our server came to check back with us and I asked for more popcorn. I kinda got a funny look and 5 minutes later, fresh popcorn arrived! WOOHOO!!

The Entrees

My Great Lake Whitefish with red lentil, curried cucumber, currant chutney, chai froth ($28)

Rating: A+ Awesome. This Indian-themed, Asian inspired seafood dish really hit home for me. Personally, I am the hugest fan of pickled vegetables and Shanghainese vinegar (thank my Chinese heritage), which I’m guessing was what GE marinated their sour berries in. The rest of the dish, including the pureed lentils, fried curry cauliflower, and pan-seared fish were actually one the heavier side, so to have some acidity from the cucumbers and berries really made this dish sing for me. The individual elements of this dish were prepared perfectly including the tender yet crispy outside of the whitefish. However, I can see someone who’s not too crazy about Indian spices or tart flavors be too fond of this dish.

Nick’s Crispy Jidori Chicken with rice gnocchi, black garlic, pickled maitaki, and edamame puree ($28)

Rating: B. Although the flavors of the dish were solid, both Nick and I agreed that the chicken breast was dry and over cooked.

Popcorn Newsflash – By the time we got to dessert, popcorn basket #3 was out. I seriously debated whether to ask our server for another basket, but before I could ask, she said, “I’m going to have you wean you off the popcorn. It doesn’t go very well with the desserts!” I was totally taken aback.

Boy do I wish I had asked for another basket of popcorn instead of dessert.

A Shared Dessert

Pineapple ($10)

Rating: B-. Wish we hadn’t spent $10 on this. Nothing to write home about. Freshly chopped pineapple was soaked in syrup and plated with a sweet custard sauce and a sour lime-based sauce. The dome-shaped angel food cake was awfully dry and required plenty of that deliciously sweet mango sorbet to make it palatable. The most creative aspect to this dessert was the black sesame brittle, but even that wasn’t that impressive.

Total tab: $150 (without tip)

RATINGS

Taste: 4/5

Plating: 4.5/5

Originality: 5/5

Value: 3/5

Service: 4/5

Overall, the dishes were either a hit or a miss. He either nailed it, or it just…didn’t work. My favorite aspect about this restaurant was the fact that it allowed diners to be playful with their food and have some autonomy over the flavors you’d like to pair, all on the same plate. The deconstructed food concept will make it or break it for some diners, but for me personally, I appreciate the fact that I can alternate between one flavor combination to another all on the same dish and all within the same flavor profile/theme. The whimsical fun factor and laid-back atmosphere was also a plus.

However, some of the portion sizes and certain flavor pairings were a little disappointing. GE would certainly benefit from modifying its prices to reflect the cost of the actual ingredients better (i.e. 3oz of chicken breast is definitely not worth $28). I wouldn’t say this restaurant was the best value for money…the man paying for it (Nick) definitely said he prefers MK over Graham Elliot for new American food. I would have to agree, although GE was such a unique dining experience (I’m clearly still wowed by the whimsical food factor) and that popcorn…oh that popcorn.

Nick and I decided that yes, we would go again during another season, but make sure you have the server describe the dish for you pre-ordering to avoid disappointment!

Recommended for: people looking for a fun special occasion restaurant who are feeling a little more adventurous than usual.

For some reason, food is most fun when eaten messy. And most tasty when it looks rather unappetizing. Anybody else agree?

Restaurant Reviews

May 28, 2010

15 Comments