Foodgasm: Moto Sushi, Thai Me Upp, Scarantino's Italian Inn & El Morfi Argentine Grill
I know, I know. I post too much about food. But you have to admit, food is one thing we're all obsessed with. In fact, I'm so lucky to be dating someone who not only has the same palate as I do (for the most part) but who also encourages me to be more food-venturous.
Moto Sushi
This place came with a recommendation from my boyfriend's friend. He has never let us down so far, and the places he recommends are places we usually end up becoming regulars to. We tried Moto once but found it only average and overpriced for the quality we got. They put a lot of fake wasabi, and while it was nice of them to upgrade our salmon cuts to salmon toro for free (even though I accidentally ended up eating both instead of sharing them with my boyfriend), there is no point to adding toppings to a good salmon cut. Let the fresh fish speak for itself.
On aforementioned friend's urging to try the place again, we went for a second time over the weekend. I've never been so happy for second chances as we were completely blown away by our second visit. We ordered two orders of salmon, two orders of yellowtail, one order of bluefin tuna, one order of monk fish liver, one order of unagi and one tuna roll. We saw that they had LIVE UNI and immediately added two orders of it as well. (Note: It was market fish price but when we went there, they were $20/order). Also, remember to state NO WASABI on your order sheet if you're not into the fake, powdery wasabi most sushi places serve.
The yellowtail, bluefin tuna and tuna rolls were both okay. Pretty standard taste, if not a bit below average. Both the salmon and unagi were fresh and delicious albeit not the best ones we've had. The monk fish liver, on the other hand, definitely won a place in my heart. I haven't had a lot of monk fish liver sushi but that was quite a gustatory experience.
The live uni came on top of an emptied out sea urchin, which made for a really cool-looking plate. I mean, how many people can say they've eaten on top of a sea urchin? This might be an important time to note that the first foodgasm I've had was when I tried uni for the first time. I didn't think anything else could top that. I was obviously wrong. It was usurped out of the throne by super fresh uni topped with real wasabi (because fake wasabi is gross and is a joke).
We ordered one more monk fish liver to share and ended our evening with a big smile and a full stomach. You best believe we'll be back.
Moto Sushi
This place came with a recommendation from my boyfriend's friend. He has never let us down so far, and the places he recommends are places we usually end up becoming regulars to. We tried Moto once but found it only average and overpriced for the quality we got. They put a lot of fake wasabi, and while it was nice of them to upgrade our salmon cuts to salmon toro for free (even though I accidentally ended up eating both instead of sharing them with my boyfriend), there is no point to adding toppings to a good salmon cut. Let the fresh fish speak for itself.
On aforementioned friend's urging to try the place again, we went for a second time over the weekend. I've never been so happy for second chances as we were completely blown away by our second visit. We ordered two orders of salmon, two orders of yellowtail, one order of bluefin tuna, one order of monk fish liver, one order of unagi and one tuna roll. We saw that they had LIVE UNI and immediately added two orders of it as well. (Note: It was market fish price but when we went there, they were $20/order). Also, remember to state NO WASABI on your order sheet if you're not into the fake, powdery wasabi most sushi places serve.
The yellowtail, bluefin tuna and tuna rolls were both okay. Pretty standard taste, if not a bit below average. Both the salmon and unagi were fresh and delicious albeit not the best ones we've had. The monk fish liver, on the other hand, definitely won a place in my heart. I haven't had a lot of monk fish liver sushi but that was quite a gustatory experience.
The live uni came on top of an emptied out sea urchin, which made for a really cool-looking plate. I mean, how many people can say they've eaten on top of a sea urchin? This might be an important time to note that the first foodgasm I've had was when I tried uni for the first time. I didn't think anything else could top that. I was obviously wrong. It was usurped out of the throne by super fresh uni topped with real wasabi (because fake wasabi is gross and is a joke).
We ordered one more monk fish liver to share and ended our evening with a big smile and a full stomach. You best believe we'll be back.
Thai Me Upp
I think we found our new neighborhood Thai restaurant with this place and it's not because of the pretty dorky name. Situated in a plaza next to Paris Baguette, this tiny restaurant showcased a confused sense of interior decoration. When we stepped inside and sat down, the chef/owner exclaimed,"Awww you guys are so cute!". I mean, it could only go well from there right? We were given shrimp crackers with an enticing chili dip, which we scarfed down almost immediately. We then ordered the Eggplant Tofu Basil, Cha Cha Fish (one of their specials), a large bowl of garlic fried rice (we totally should have just gotten the small) and their homemade vinegar drink.
You guys, we're in love with their Cha Cha Fish Dish (ooh that rhymed). It was probably the best fish dish we've had in awhile (and trust me, we've had plenty in the last couple of months). The Eggplant Tofu Basil and the homemade vinegar drink were delicious as well, and we're definitely coming back to try out more dishes. My only complaint would be that our orders were served individually and not together, which I would have preferred. Their yelp reviews give them pretty low ratings for the slow service. Fortunately, my boyfriend and I are both willing to wait for good food.
Have you tried any of these restaurants? How was your experience?
I think we found our new neighborhood Thai restaurant with this place and it's not because of the pretty dorky name. Situated in a plaza next to Paris Baguette, this tiny restaurant showcased a confused sense of interior decoration. When we stepped inside and sat down, the chef/owner exclaimed,"Awww you guys are so cute!". I mean, it could only go well from there right? We were given shrimp crackers with an enticing chili dip, which we scarfed down almost immediately. We then ordered the Eggplant Tofu Basil, Cha Cha Fish (one of their specials), a large bowl of garlic fried rice (we totally should have just gotten the small) and their homemade vinegar drink.
You guys, we're in love with their Cha Cha Fish Dish (ooh that rhymed). It was probably the best fish dish we've had in awhile (and trust me, we've had plenty in the last couple of months). The Eggplant Tofu Basil and the homemade vinegar drink were delicious as well, and we're definitely coming back to try out more dishes. My only complaint would be that our orders were served individually and not together, which I would have preferred. Their yelp reviews give them pretty low ratings for the slow service. Fortunately, my boyfriend and I are both willing to wait for good food.
My boyfriend had been to this place a couple of times before and he raved about their empanadas, which, of course, he wanted me to try. We went for dinner and were seated near the window, which I liked. Plenty of people watching and sunshine - yes please! We ordered a couple of spinach & jalapeno empanadas, a pitcher of sangria, seafood linguine and eggplant parmesan with spaghetti on the side.
As we waited for our order, we were given bread and an olive oil with pesto basil dip for appetizers that we both loved! We finished about two servings of bread before we decided that it was a bad idea to say yes to more. My boyfriend joked that that was the highlight of the meal. Between the spinach and jalapeno empanadas, we both liked the latter more. It was more flavorful and worth every penny.
By the time our entrees had arrived, we were finished with our pitcher of sangria, which was pretty concentrated and made me a bit tipsy after one glass. The eggplant parmesan I got was good albeit the texture wasn't to my liking and the flavor wasn't up to par with The Park's version of the same dish. My boyfriend wasn't particularly enamoured with his seafood linguine either. His joke turned out to be factual in this case. Aside from the pesto basil dip and the jalapeno empanada, there wasn't a lot to write home about.
I found Scarantino's through a yelp search while I was craving for pasta, and because my boyfriend is awesome, he obliged. I don't think they have parking space as we accidentally parked at the parking space of the mental institution next door. We stepped inside and were immediately welcomed with the smell of melting parmesan cheese. After a 15 minute wait, the maitre d' showed us our table. We ordered the red snapper (his), eggplant parmesan with spaghetti on the side (mine), cannoli and tiramisu.
We both loved his red snapper. Meanwhile, my eggplant parmesan was only slightly better than El Morfi's. I would unfortunately report that neither version topped The Park's version of eggplant parmesan. We both liked the desserts but he liked the cannoli more whereas I opted for the tiramisu. We had a really great time and the food was delicious but we'll probably be headed to El Morfi for my pasta fix (because empanadas & pesto basil dip, y'all).
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