Kartabar

My friend Natalie was in town recently, and she introduced me to this fun restaurant near Brown University called Kartabar. It's Mediterranean themed, but more a martini bar than anything. When she and I went there for drinks, I had this delicious plate of hummus with deep fried pita and three ridiculously amazing martinis.


I was so impressed that I told my boyfriend that we had to go there for dinner soon. The following week, we did. He ordered this poached pear/walnut/goat cheese/caramelized onion/golden raisin salad as a starter that was sweet and tart and just so yummy.



For my entree, I ordered this roasted vegetable wrap that was filled with artichoke hearts, red peppers and portabella mushrooms, with french fries that might've been beer battered. We couldn't tell. The sandwich was hard to eat like a sandwich because it was so juicy, so I ended up needing to use my silverware. It was scrumptious.

For his entree, Jason got this spinach, tomato and caramelized onion pizza. I never would've thought to get caramelized onions on a pizza, but since having this one, we've ordered it at another restaurant. It's a sweeter option than just plain onions, which I still don't like.


All in all, Kartabar made fans of both of us, and I'm sure we'll be going back again.

I feel bad for people who don't eat bread

There's not that much to overly praise at the Cheesecake Factory - it's not terrible food, but it's not spectacular either - but the bread they give while you're waiting is delicious. The brown bread especially.

Mmm, Peas

I can't believe I didn't like these when I was a kid.

Edamame!

I can't wait to recreate this phenomenal grilled edamame with sea salt and chili flakes.

Mmm, Martinis

These were the most well-crafted and balanced martinis I've ever had in my life, enjoyed at the historic Oak Room in The Plaza hotel in New York City. The one on the left is watermelon and yuzu, the one on the right is citrus and mint.

My taste buds seem to have changed!

For as long as I can remember, I've not liked the way fried eggs taste. Pretty much if it wasn't beaten into submission and scrambled or whipped into an omelet, I wasn't interested. But recently I ordered an egg on a bagel sandwich with mozzarella and forgot to specify that I wanted it scrambled.

So I did the polite thing since it was my mistake, and ate it. And you know what? That was a delicious sandwich! I put some Tobasco and a little salt and pepper, and it was just perfect. I love when I find out I like something I formerly didn't.

Like strawberries. I haven't liked strawberries for years, I know this is weird. But it is what it is, right? I dealt with it, and all of the strange looks I'd get from people when I expressed that no, I did not like strawberries at all. Until last summer when Colette and I decided to grow strawberries in our little garden. I had to try one; I grew it!

And you know what? It was glorious. And so now I have rediscovered flavor profiles I'd forgotten I liked, like strawberries and chocolate, and strawberry yogurt.


And fresh strawberries on breakfast foods, like this french toast with fresh strawberries and granola.


Or this Belgian Waffle with fresh berries in an apricot glaze.

It was like my world opened up. And in a way, it did.

You can never go wrong with bagels

Toasty goodness!

Little oranges!

Is there anything sweeter than a clementine?

Southern food done right

My best friend Colette and I took an overnight trip to Ashville, NC last summer to see her favorite band. While we were there, besides hiking in the Blue Ridge Mountains and having a ton of fun at the show, we ate dinner at this amazing little restaurant called Tupelo Honey Cafe.

Colette had the Tupelo Angus burger, with I think havarti cheese, which came with homemade pickle slices and these awesomely delicious home fried potatoes. She said it was possibly the best burger she's ever had.
I had marinated grilled tofu, candied ginger corn bread - which was served with whipped peach butter - and a house salad. That tofu was hands down the best grilled tofu I've ever had - and I've had my share of tofu. And the cornbread? Oh. My. God.

It looks less appitizing than it was

While this baked meringue with sweet lemon custard, chopped kiwi and berries on top was an above average dessert, I think I prefer my meringue to be soft and springy rather than crispy like a cookie.

Dinner at Siena

Exceptional Italian food in Providence, especially over on Federal Hill, isn't hard to come by. My boyfriend had been wanting to try out Siena, where a friend of his works, for a while now, and we finally had the time this weekend. It was, as advertised, wonderful.

We both opted for the special salad, which consisted of mixed greens, toasted pears and almonds, feta cheese and a raspberry vinaigrette. Simple and delectable. Also: toasted almonds should be an ingredient in every salad. Mmmm!

We also both ordered the potato and ricotta gnocchi with a pesto cream sauce and roasted peppers. The gnocchi was a little heavier than I'm used to, but still so good.


Desert was a harvest crumble with apples, pears and cranberries, with vanilla gelatto on top. At the bottom it was so gooey and extra cinnamon-y and clumpy that I was convinced there were figs in there as well. There wasn't, but it didn't matter. It was a perfect desert.

I prefer my pizza to be greasy and unhealthy anyway

We had this pizza at an inn we were staying at in Sandwich, MA (on Cape Cod) that was supposed to have bacon on it, but we asked for it without. Sadly, this wasn't one of those times where the absence of bacon wasn't missed. The saltiness and texture were for sure the exact things missing from this otherwise soft, almost bland sweet potato/artichoke/balsamic pizza.

Oh well. Not every culinary risk pays off.

This dessert is bananas.

Banana spring rolls. Yummmm.

Creative desserts make me so happy

Maybe I'm prejudiced, but I'd never expect Providence to be a huge foodie kind of town. And yet, while at the bar in a restaurant called McCormick & Schmick's at the Biltmore, the chef sent out this gorgeous chocolate paper bag filled with chocolate mousse and fresh berries as a gift to my friend Amy. It was one of the most tasty desserts I've ever had.

Simple Italian made magnificent

My boyfriend and I spent a week in NYC, where he was shooting the TV show he works on. Lucky for us, restaurants in Manhattan stay open late. One night we had a late dinner at a little Italian place called Luna Piena. It was absolutely divine.

Instead of just bread and olive oil, we were brought bread, olive oil and a mixture of olives and lentils.

My meal was baked wheat penne with fresh mozzarella on top, mixed with some vegetables (zucchini, yellow squash, onions).



Jason got regular penne with buffalo mozzarella and eggplant.

Our desserts were even better than our entrees, but I stupidly didn't take pictures of them. I had the most heavenly poached pear and he had a super yummy pistachio creme brulee.

Vegan can be delectable

While in NYC, my boyfriend and I went to an organic vegan restaurant in Chelsea called Blossom. It was highly recommended on Yelp, and we, being vegetarians, thought we'd give it a try despite his hesitance given his past experiences with vegan restaurants.

Blossom, however, not only exceeded my expectations based on the glowing reviews I'd read, but it changed Jason's vegan restaurant prejudice. (Next stop: California Vegan next time we're in LA).

Jason had this bacon cheeseburger, which tasted so much like bacon and hamburger that he doubted it was veggie at first. I took a bite and it would definitely fool a carnivore.


I had a Philly cheese steak sandwich, which was so incredible and completely satisfied my years-long craving for one. While I wish it had been thinly sliced like actual cheese steak steak, I'm not really complaining because it was so yummy. It even held up as a leftover.

'wichcraft, Visit Two

For my second visit, I had this chopped chickpea sandwich with roasted peppers, black olives, lemon and parsley. Even better than the grilled mozzarella.

'wichcraft, Visit One

I had dinner with a friend at Tom Colicchio's 'wichcraft while in NYC recently. This is grilled mozzarella & fontina with tomato-olive preserves. It was messy and delicious.

Breakfast at Dunkin' Donuts

Sure, it's not good for me, but damn do the waffle sandwiches at Dunkin' taste like a little corner of Heaven.

This is reason enough to go back to North Carolina

There's a restaurant in Greensboro, NC called Sticks and Stones that named all of their dishes after Ryan Adams songs. That is genius. And, looking at the menu, it sounds tasty, too! I'll take a Rosebud, a Dance All Night and an Avalanche.

You can never go wrong with pancakes

Apparently there this thing called Pancake Day, and who am I to deny Pancake Day? So I made these. And they were good.

Mmm, Almonds

So totally my favorite snack. These are honey roasted and delicious.

I know, it doesn't look fake!

We went to NYC for the day recently to take in the Tim Burton exhibit at the MOMA. Afterward, we went to this little place Jason had read about called Chai for some Thai food. I ordered this vegetarian duck with peppers, onions, and basil. At first we questioned if I was served the actual duck by mistake, because it looked incredibly real. The server assured us it was vegetarian, and so I dove in. And that was one of the best vegetarian fake meats I've ever had. Crispy, well-textured, and absolutely delicious.

Butternut Squash Ravioli. Crispy Sage. Green Beans.

Butternut squash ravioli made from scratch by my best friend, Colette. All of it, even the pasta. The absolute best part was the crispy sage. What a revelation.

Welcome!

Welcome to 10/6.

I love to eat. I love food. I think it's beautiful, especially when artistically plated. This is where I will be posting the pictures I take of food, which is something I do often. I wanted a place to chronicle the pictures, whether they be of something I make myself or meals ordered out.

I thought, to start I'd post pictures of a meal my best friend and I made this summer. It was based on a spicy honey chicken dish she ordered from a local Chinese place, but we substituted chicken with tofu for my share. The sauce was made with honey, chili oil, brown and white sugars and some sauteed garlic.


We battered the tofu in flour and pan fried it in oil heated in a cast iron skillet until lightly crispy. Then we stir fried some veggies, fried rice in a wok and put them all together.

The finished product.

It was delicious.