Food Ruts

We've all done it. Gotten into a food habit where all we want to eat falls into the same category of snacks or meals. You know you've done it. Ordered Creme Brûlée at EVERY meal for a a month or had the same exact beer with dinner no matter where you go.

Well, I'm not immune either and am likely one of the world's worst offenders when it comes to mood foods and their longevity. Mine might even go beyond the usual because my inclination is to find a perfect meal and keep replicating it.

Take, for instance, my ongoing obsession with sushi. I don't eat it at every meal anymore, but I do tend to find a way to enjoy raw fish on a regular basis.

I'm not sure what causes this phenomena, but it's got to have some basis in our comfort ties to meals. *I've also gone through my steak, burger, burrito, BBQ and noodle phases - so it can change.

What is on your mood-food menu these days? Feel free to link back to your blog and your photos of those meals.

A Newish Twist

As you've seen from the last collection of posts, I'm covering food a lot more here now. That - I think - is going to be the full-time focus of this blog as I've established TheGadgetReporter.com as a site where you can find out about technology, social media, Web, consumer products and more.

It also gives me a little more freedom to talk about food travel and experiences to an audience that is rabid for that stuff.

Over the next couple weeks and months I'll be morphing the design of this site and the titles so it becomes Jeff Cutler's Food Lab or something similar. If you have ideas for layout, what you want to see more of, or places and foods you want me to try, just give a shout.

Thanks!

606 Congress - Blue Ribbon NYC - A Tasting Event

The other night I had the pleasure of attending a tasting event at 606 Congress in Boston. The restaurant, with chef Rich Garcia at the helm, is nicely appointed and was the perfect place to share a few new menu items. But these items were actually developed by Blue Ribbon, a foodservice group out of New York City, and then introduced to Rich and 606. Then we got to taste them.

Here's how it went...

After arriving and being feted with drinks - even some of those were created just for the restaurant - we got into the tasting. Here are some food shots and descriptions...

The Tasting Menu, Including Drinks

The Michelada. They make it with Harpoon UFO, Lime Juice and Hot Sauce. Tastes like a beer bloody mary.

Jeff Cutler and Rich Garcia

The mingling prior to the Tasting Event

Our Tasting Table at 606 Congress

Our place settings at 606 Congress. They took some care to create a nice presentation.

Bromberg Brothers Blue Ribbon Cookbook. Some great recipes inside. We received a copy as a parting gift.

The funky design placemats at 606 Congress

Menu and Logo from Bromberg Brothers Blue Ribbon Restaurants. Find them on Twitter - @BlueRibbonNYC

Manchego and Mexican Honey Toast. Light and divine. Still warm when it arrived. B+.

Another shot of the Honey Toast. The honey comes from Mexico and honey farms that Blue Ribbon operates.

Spicy Egg Shooters. Pickled peppers and olive oil mayo. These had a little kick, but were perfectly balanced. A-

Another shot of the Egg Shooter

Who thought Hummus could be fancied up? White Bean Hummus Toast. Best dish of the night. A

Another photo of the toast. Olives mixed in were perfectly salty for balance.

Fried Rock Shrimp. These popped when you bit them. Perhaps one of the best preparations of shrimp I've experienced lately. Just so well cooked that I was pleased. Taste was very good. B+

The Rock Shrimp platter

When I take food shots, I look for the best visual of the night. These win for that. While the Smoked Salmon Toast wasn't over-the-top as a winning dish, the fragrance was superb and the color was amazing. B

Another shot of the Salmon

Some of the honey. This was delivered so we could drizzle it on the "Northern Fried" Chicken Wings.

The Wings - a Blue Ribbon specialty. Taste was very good and the best feature was probably the breading/skin. It didn't fall off by itself but clung nicely to the chicken so you had a very balanced bite each time you sampled the wing. B

Wing on my plate

Honey drizzled wing on my plate

Rich Garcia explaining the dishes and the 606 Congress atmosphere and philosophy.

They have some wine.

In all, I had a great time and am looking forward to trying some of the other Blue Ribbon venues. They have a top-end sushi restaurant in New York City that I'd love to visit.

Have you been to 606? What did you think?

Dinner at Jean Georges Steakhouse - Las Vegas - at Aria Hotel

Food is near and dear to my heart. I've been through times and situations where I wasn't allowed to eat solid food for six weeks and times when I was on a liquid diet for months. But I've also been feted at the most luxurious restaurants on earth and have dined on food that still makes me sigh orgasmically.

With that preface in mind, the meal I had last week in Las Vegas was top-notch and as memorable as any other on record. Here's the situation...

I was in Las Vegas on business and my friend Kevin Palmer sent me a message. It implied that Kevin had set me up with either the folks at Caesar's or Aria Hotel and they were going to take care of me. Being a skeptical human, I wasn't sure whether I should believe Kevin and thought nothing of his note until I got a Twitter update from @arialv.

It said that Aria would like to speak with me privately about having a meal at one of the signature, on-site restaurants....Jean Georges Steakhouse.

Aria and I traded a few emails and it was decided. I would dine at Jean Georges with a friend and I would be the guest of Aria Hotel.

WHAT?! That's right. As guest of the hotel I could order anything I wanted and my only obligation was to enjoy myself. Well, I did that all right.

With Kristina and Reggie and Taron waiting on us (I took my friend Derek Wilmot to dinner as an objective observer), we experienced all five, six or seven stars Jean Georges had to offer. We started with wine.

Beginning with wine at the table (see photos above of handwritten note from Reggie for what we had), we chose the tasting menu and set ourselves up for a treat. Here's that menu...

And here are the photos of each dish...

From start to finish - even with a post-meal tour of the kitchen - I was impressed. The service was impeccable, the food was divine, the preparation was perfect. If there was one thing I took issue with, it was that the Filet Mignon was too large after sampling so many delightful dishes before it.

Is there a verdict? Sure. This place is fantastic. From the moment we walked in, I felt appreciated and respected. The food was great and the pairings of wine were perfect.

I welcome the opportunity to try other Aria Hotel restaurants the next time I'm in Vegas, but I'll be sure to make one of my meals at Jean Georges.

Next thing I've got to do is get my co-host on NomX3 to come with me so we can do a show at this place.

Met Bar & Grill

Address: Legacy Place Plaza, Dedham, MA

Who Goes There: Local couples, teeny boppers & overall, people of a variety of ages

Special: Burger bar, custom made to order

Clearly the draw to this place was the burgers. The place is pretty spaced out so it never feels like you're cramped for room. The waitstaff is pretty good. We had a great waiter who was on his game. There are a few TVs for the sports fans and there's a relatively large bar space as well. Not the best date spot as it's really loud and there's no atmosphere.

Now let's get to the food and drink.

Knowing we were going to get burgers, we started things off with a 2006 Cabernet which was amazing. It was the perfect compliment to the burgers. The bread they give you at the beginning is really hard. Probably the hardest bread I've ever had. Definitely not their selling point.

Their burger bar is pretty extensive. They have pre-selected combinations varying from the all-American burger to a French style burger. Then it's the create your own where you can order pretty much anything your heart desires. I'm talking from a double Kobe burger with feta cheese, bacon, ranch dressing & Spanish onions to a simple salmon burger with horseradish sauce.

Food comes with lettuce, a tomato, a pickle and fries that aren't bad at all.

Overall, the meal was really good. I don't gjve ratings for restaurants but I will say that since this place is close to my house, I'll be there again soon!

Thomas Edwards is @URWingman on Twitter and can be reached via his Website.