Atera

**Note.  If you are planning on dining at Atera, I highly recommend eating the food before reading this post, as it will ruin a lot of surprises through the course of the meal**

It's amazing how many culinary trends New York City has undertaken in the past decade.  The fall of the twin towers caused the death of fine dining, where as a nation we turned to more economically feasible comfort food options.  We looked for menus that had a recognizable burger and french fries, instead of duck and foie gras.  Fast forward a few years and we became ready to play with our food, and all the emphasis was on molecular gastronomy and the multiple ways we could manipulate nature's ingredients.  Heston Blumenthal's Fat Duck in Bray, England, and Ferran Adria's El Bulli in Catalonia, Spain were the world's best known restaurants to showcase it.  When trendsetters like Alinea in Chicago, and WD-50 in New York City ran out of ideas, so did the city's interest with science.  We've seen it already, what can we do next?

Then out of nowhere the "fad" was a practice multiple chefs had been utilizing for years.  Relationships they had built with farmers and emphasis on fresh and local produce started the "farm-to-table" craze.  Like little kids showing off their newest and coolest toys, it became a trend for restaurants to show which local farmers they were using, and how they were showcasing their products.  "Here we have a strawberry soup utilizing strawberries from Berried Treasures Farm."  It was a vehicle that caused all these hard-working low-key farmers at the greenmarket to finally become celebrities in their own right, but chefs decided to push this further.  They wanted to up themselves.  Thus began urban farming and rooftop gardening.

But this is New York City.  We need to push the envelope even further.  We need to watch what chefs from all around the world are doing, and then we need to up that.  Well, New York finally has a theater in which to showcase the newest food craze.  It is called Atera, and the 31 year-old Chef Matthew Lightner has brought from Portland not just a philosophy to utilize local farms, but local parks.  The new trend is called "foraging", and foraged food is now beginning to pop up on menus all around the city.

Swine

"Not another one!"

When news broke out on Eater.com that Swine, a new pork-centric restaurant located in the West Village, was about to debut, it wasn't exactly welcomed with praise by commentors.  "Another pork restaurant?  How innovative.."  "Yawn."  "I guess they could have just called it 'No Jews.'"

Even though on the downwards part of the slope now, pork is still very much in demand in NYC.  So many restaurants have popped up that offer pork-centric menus, housemade charcuterie, nose-to-tail feasts, and great beers.  Back in 2007, Resto was at the forefront of this movement.  Fast forward five years, and it seems NYC is starting to get tired of the trend.

One thing I love to do is ignore what the mass population says and try out a restaurant for myself before forming an opinion.  In the case of Swine, I am more than happy that I did, because even though its not a new concept, even though its not innovative in any way whatsoever, it delivers a meal that is executed perfectly.  Sometimes, that's really all that matters. The flavors speak for themselves and nothing is effed with.  If you're a fan of offal, charcuterie, and cheeses, definitely make your way in.  Chef Phil Conlon delivers, and this restaurant is not a gimmick.

Located on Hudson Street, right next door to Red Farm and a block away from Takashi, Swine is easily found because of its large blue awning stretching out onto the sidewalk.  A very small hostess stands awaits you on the other side of the entrance, on a small floor in between the bar (top floor) and main dining room (located in the basement).  Although the decor is indescript and pretty much what you expect from a restaurant like this located in the West Village, the food and drinks are really why you're here.

Animal

The front of restaurant Animal (via Eater.com)

For weeks leading up to my first trip to Los Angeles I couldn't help but constantly think about Restaurant Animal.  It was first opened in 2008 by Jon Shook and Vinny Dotolo.  You may recognize these punk rockers from Food Network's "Two Dudes Catering".  Soon after opening Animal and losing the catering business, they grew to national culinary fame with their small meat and offal-centric, 45-seat nondescript restaurant, even being awarded some of Food & Wine's Best New Chefs title of 2009.

I first met Jon and Vinny at Meattopia 2011.  By now I knew of their reputation, after watching them on Food Network and skimming through their cookbook from time to time.  Although they don't match any type of contemporary look for chefs, one thing is for sure, these guys know how to cook, and they can cook pretty damn well.  

Lamb Head Skull, the only decor on the walls

Animal was inspired by trips to Martin Picard's Au Pied de Cochon in Montreal, and Fergus Henderson's St. John in London.  Their chicken hearts with burnt eggplant puree that I tasted at Meattopia was just a teaser for things to come.    For now I am finally here in Los Angeles.  Looking at the no-name restaurant with black beams, full wall-size windows, and the numbers 435 across the top from across the street, I became a giddy schoolboy.  Come on Chef Floyd Cardoz, it's time to eat.  

The decor of Animal is very minimal, with nothing more on the walls than a lamb head skull.  A small bar in the back of the room provides the only color contrast to a small restaurant with wooden tables and beige walls.  Forget about it, though, you're not here for tablecloth wine service.  Take one look at Animal's menu and be prepared for the rich, fatty, spicy, fresh, well-balanced meal to come.

Jardiniere

View of Jardiniere from across the street

Whenever I travel I make it a point to eat out a lot.  There is so much you can learn from a city by eating your way around it.  The dining trends, where people like to hang out, and visit all the different neighborhoods by visiting different restaurants.  With a visit to each city I always splurge on one big-named restaurant.  A restaurant that I don't mind paying upwards of over $150 for myself, as I know it will be worth it and remain a memory worth having.

In the case of San Francisco this restaurant was Jardiniere.  Owned and operated by Chef Traci Des Jardins, Jardiniere has remained one of the top restaurants in the Bay Area for the last 15 years.  Recently just finishing a solid run on Top Chef Masters, Traci has won numerous awards through her career including "Rising Star Chef", "Best New Chef", "Best Chef Pacific Region", and "Best New Restaurant" after Jardiniere opened.  With so many accolades under her apron it was no surprise I made it a point to dine here.

The spectacular ceiling of twinkling lights

Located just across San Francisco's City Hall, the corner building with exposed brick walls is where Chef Des Jardins makes her home.  Walking through the glass door entrance you are transported to a room designed after an inverted cocktail glass filled with champagne.  On the ceiling is a spectacular glass dome with twinkling lights evoking the feeling of effervescent bubbles.  The decor continues downward to a champagne-colored staircase connecting the ground floor.   The ground level has marble floors sweeping throughout, laying home to a large, circular mahogany bar and the entrance to the main kitchen.  Exposed brick walls on the inside of the restaurant give a more rustic feel and counteract the elegance of the tablecloth covered dining room.

Incanto

Anyone who loves offal as much as I do knows the name Chris Cosentino.  He is considered to be at the forefront of nose-to-tail dining in North America.  His restaurant, Incanto, has been named by some as the most adventurous restaurant in the United States.  He runs the website, Offal Good, educating people on how to buy, handle, and cook offal.  He opened a small shop called Boccalone in the Ferry Building, selling San Francisco's famous "meat cone".  For someone with so much passion for what they do, it is no surprise that I made Incanto my first dinner stop during my trip to San Francisco.  I was psyched.  

The restaurant is gorgeous, and very well put together.  Large wall-size windows overlook the sidewalks of Noe Valley, pictures of pigs grazing, figurines of pig heads on the walls, colors of light brown and white stretching from the front of the restaurant to the back, an open kitchen, and humorously, a bookshelf in the bathrooms containing cookbooks that would make any avid collector smile.

A friend and I decided to go big.  Heck, I flew 3000 miles to come here.  When talking with our server we asked if we had ordered enough, and when she said yes, we ordered some more.  The restaurant started us off with a bread platter containing house-made tapenade, breads, and breadsticks.

Incanto's Bread and Breadsticks with House-Made Black Olive Tapenade

Like many restaurants, I tend to skip on bread platters, as they serve no more purpose than to just get your palate going, while filling you up in a few bites.  Incanto was no different, serving bread which was passable, but not exceptional.  The olive tapenade didn't do wonders for me.  This was pushed off to the side.  Now bring on the offal.

Lyon: Bouchon Moderne

It’s not very often that I disagree with a NY Times review, but so is the case when it comes to dining at Lyon. 

Lyon is located in the heart of the West Village, seen easily anywhere on the street by the bright yellow and white light-up sign hanging over the sidewalk.  Walking into Lyon you’re immediately transported into a classic French bistro.  The room is bright, especially during the day as the large windows allow natural sunlight to shine on the dark woodwork running through the room, offset slightly by a hue of red.   The color scheme then carries over to the red-and-white picnic blanket style napkins, also displayed proudly by the service staff uniforms. 

My only complaint about the décor is that the tables for two are packed so tightly together.   So tight that the entire table has to be removed for the patron that is seated against the wall to get in or out.  Make sure they make a bathroom trip before the meal starts, because it’s damn near impossible for them to be removed once the table is full of food and drink.  In fact, everyone should make a trip to the restrooms, which are located in the basement.  Every wall displays colorful classic French cartoons.  Your friend taking too long?  No problem, amuse yourself with the “Adventures of Asterix”.  Your friend is most likely doing the same inside the stall. 

The Executive Chef here is Chris Leahy, who opened Lyon with business partners Francoise Latapie and Penny Bradley.  Of Irish background, Chris has a very impressive cooking background training under some of the best chefs across the country, and his heart lies in classical French cooking. 

Au Pied de Cochon

It just made sense to me to make my first real post about my favorite restaurant.  It’s called Au Pied de Cochon (or PDC for short), and it is located in Montreal, Quebec.  If you have not heard of it, the Chef’s name is Martin Picard, and he specializes in everything related to foie gras, pork, duck, and fat.  How could this not be MY favorite restaurant in the world?  This is truly a gastronomic destination. 

The restaurant is very easy to miss the first time you walk by it.  The only visible signs are located on a high window.  I don’t think it is much concern to Chef Picard, though, because the restaurant is packed every night.  I have eaten there a total of five times, and was able to get a reservation only once.  I have realized as a single diner, your best bet is to walk in once they open, and grab a seat in front of the open kitchen. 

The entrance way is very tiny.  I was greeted by two hostesses and sat in the "special seat" at the bar.  When Au Pied De Cochon opened in 2003 Martin Picard asked for donations because he couldn't afford to buy all the seats he needed at the bar.  The result was three hunters donated three chairs that looked VERY out of place, but are very cool in their own sense.  I felt lucky to sit in the last one standing, which was wrapped in gold antlers. 

When you walk in you immediately pass by their seafood tank, and then a huge array of market produce before making your way to your seat.  So many fresh tomatoes, turnips, apples, and so forth just on display.  The tank hides the pizza oven area, where two cooks prepare the large items like the guinea hen for 2, pork loin for 2, and the lamb shank.  PDC bakes their bread fresh daily, and also had eight of their fresh sourdoughs attached to what looks like a giant spear on a counter table.  Unlike most restaurants, the FOH team is very involved with the daily routines of the kitchen.  I witnessed my kitchen runner slicing fresh sourdough to order, as well as others peeling and shelling fresh cranberry beans.