A foodie weekend

I ate a lot of delicious food this weekend and I want to write about it. Friday night I went out for Restaurant Week with friends to Anthos, a Mediterranean / Greek restaurant owned by Donatella Arpaia and Michael Pskilakis. They gave us a few free dishes which was a really pleasant surprise, including fish balls, butternut squash soup, and rosewater-infused homemade marshmallows (after dessert). I chose the most basic traditional dishes on the menu -- greek salad, roasted chicken, and a chocolate dessert (I can't remember the exact name... kripaditas?) -- because I think that sometimes less is more. I loved the greek salad, which contained broccoli, cauliflower, purple broccoli, feta, onions and tomatoes. My chicken was tender and the skin was perfectly crispy, which melted in my mouth. The mushrooms and potato puree that it was served with added a textual richness and complemented the dish perfectly. The dessert I would describe as three square chocolate bars, that were made with bittersweet chocolate, and served with cinnamon ice cream. I really enjoyed it because it wasn't sickly sweet like a lot of chocolate dishes, and the cocoa flavor was still rich. Overall, an elegant dining experience with well-crafted, creative dishes.

On Saturday I ventured to Prospect Heights in Brooklyn with friends to see a photography exhibit, "Who Shot Rock and Roll?" at Brooklyn Museum. Of course, this was the perfect opportunity to try out some food. We ate at Franny's for lunch, which is a semi-high end Italian restaurant / pizzeria. All of the ingredients are local, which accounts for the prices being a little high. The pizza was thin crust, a little thinner than I like. The flavors of the ingredients and cheeses were all delicious, but I tend to like a "doughier" crust, like Keste. Nevertheless, it is a beautiful spot and our server was more than helpful with recommendations (as well as directions to the museum), which made for a very pleasant, relaxing lunch.

After battling the crowds at the museum, we headed to Joyce's Bakery for some "energy." I had a soy spicy hot chocolate which had a really delicate flavor, with half of a chocolate pecan cookie and half of a blueberry tart. Both were tasty, but nothing to rave about. What I really wanted was a cinnamon bun but they were sold out :(. Adorable spot.

For dinner I met my mom and family friend at Seasonal, a gorgeous Austrian German restaurant and weinbar. We chose the tasting menu, which I think contained about 8 courses... I really lose count to be honest. My favorite things were a salmon roll (not sure of the correct word but it was a rolled piece of salmon) served with a cucumber and cauliflower puree, sea bass served with pomegranate farro and a watercress puree, veal cheek served with a side a spatzle, and the dessert of crumbled, caramelized pancakes served with raisin and apple compote. The fish dishes were rich but light, and I almost picked up my bowl to lick the leftover sauce from the veal cheek. The spatzle was heaven... I don't even know how to describe these flavors. I loved the purees because they were so easy to mix around and combine with everything on the plate. Eating a tasting menu for the first time since I was living in Argentina secretly made me wish I could professionally review restaurants and have "tasting menus" every day. But then I remembered that restaurant reviewers try to be discreet and not announce the fact (read Frank Bruni's book, "Born Round"). Oh well... a girl can dream.