Franceschetta 58

Background: 
I went to Italy this fall for the ten year anniversary of when I studied abroad in Florence. I went with two of my good friends, Vishnu & Ravi, who had to deal with my crazy picture taking of food, and for that I am forever grateful. We did a lot of good eating on this trip---so much so that I think I turned Vishnu into a little bit of a foodie. PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT: If you haven't listened to the podcast Vishnu and I did on our entire trip to Italy, check it out here.

One day I arranged for a day trip from Florence to Modena, about an hour and a half's drive away, for the sole reason of going to one of Massimo Bottura's restaurants. I've been obsessed with Bottura ever since he was on the first ever episode of Chef's Table listening to parmesan reggiano cheese like I listen to a good episode of Fresh Air with Terry Gross (aka--very intently--love you Terry!). We tried to get into Osteria Francescana, but it was completely booked, so we "settled" on the more casual Franceschetta 58. After the success of Osteria Francescana (currently ranked #2 in the world), Massimo Bottura decided to open up Franceschetta 58, a more modestly priced, less fancy restaurant in Modena. We all three agreed this was our favorite restaurant of the trip.

Eat this:
There are two options when you go to Franceschetta 58, you can pick between two fixed price menu (the 48€ Tradition in Evolution Menu or the 65€ I <3 Modena Menu), or you can go a-la-carte. Everyone at the table can choose what they want, so I went with the I <3 Modena Menu while Vishnu and Ravi went a-la-carte. After the meal we all decided that a-la-carte was the way to go, because we feel you actually got more value that way, plus you got to choose what you wanted. 

The menu itself is highly focused on local ingredients found in the Emilio Reggiano region of Italy, the two most famous being parmesan reggiano and balsamic vinegar. You think you know what good parmesan and balsamic taste like, but you have no idea until you come and taste them here. The flavors are more pronounced, with no bad aftertaste that you can get sometimes, especially with cheaper parmesan. This brings us to the first dish of the night: 

Pumpkin with Parmesan Reggiano and Bacon

This was the best dish of the night, hands down. The sweet, smoothness of the pumpkin combined with the rich, strong parmesan and the salty, crispiness of the bacon was an epic combination--one that I don't think any of us had had before. Who would have thought to put parmesan over pumpkin? Pure genius. In addition, Vishnu really liked this because it was the free appetizer of the night. "The best dish was free!", Vishnu kept saying.

Cheese Plate

I am normally not the biggest fan of cheese plates, but when you are in the home of parmesan, well then, you get the cheese plate. This parmesan was made from white cows from Modena and aged for 30 months. So good. The other cheeses were good as well, but let's be real--we're here for the parmesan.  

Low-temperature cooked egg, Parmigiano Reggiano fondue, black truffle, and Jerusalem artichoke

What if god was one of us? Answer: he'd eat this dish, probably every day. If you are seeing a trend here, almost every dish has parmesan in it, because why not? Can you go wrong with a combination of black truffle, crispy Jerusalem artichoke, and parmesan fondue? I think not.

Creamed cod, Chickpea Purée, Hazelnuts, “Crusco” Pepper, and Mushroom Broth

This was a modern take on a traditional Italian fish dish. The creamed cod had a mashed potato like consistency in the mushroom broth, which made for a great combination, especially when you got a crunch of the hazelnuts. The red pepper seemed to be more for show, because it didn't really have too much of a taste.

Emilia Burger by Massimo Bottura

This was, to our surprise, the one disappointment of the night. We were thinking that the burger by Battura would be the best because this was the one menu item with his name on it. Unfortunately it kind of just tasted like a burger from McDonalds (note from Yvonne--"Um, that sounds excellent! Don't diss the McD's!"). 

Tortellini with Parmigiano Reggiano Sauce

Now we've moved on to the pasta courses, or the primi piati, if you are following along in Italian class. Seriously, this parmesan sauce was so good when Vishnu and Ravi went to the bathroom I licked the plate. Don't tell them.

Orecchiette with “Burrata” Mozzarella, Anchovies, Confit Tomatoes, Thyme and Bottarga

What was super cool about this dish was that the anchovies were ground up and used like a salt on top of the pasta. How smart is that? The one complaint most people have about anchovies is that they are to salty, so why not play on that and turn them into the salt portion of the dish? Magnifico! 

Pork Belly with Balsamic Vinegar Sauce, Carrot and Ginger Puree, and Sautéed Spinach

Here comes the balsamic, which complimented the fattiness of the pork belly like Dwight Howard compliments Kemba Walker. A pick and roll dunk if i've ever seen one. The carrot and ginger puree added a nice, earthy kick as well.

White Sea Bass, Marinated Cucumbers, Yogurt and Bell Pepper Ice Cream

A trend we saw on this trip to Italy was vegetable flavored ice cream. Here it was bell pepper, at Per Me in Rome it was tomato. As Yvonne knows, I will basically do anything to not eat vegetables, but putting it in ice cream is a good way to get me to like it. The cold, sweet and salty ice cream really mixes well with the fish. I'm always a big fan of mixing opposites, like sweet and salty, or hot and cold. To a certain extent, this dish kind of sums of Franceschetta 58. There is a way to take familiar, traditional Italian flavors and turn them into something modern and fresh.

Homemade Vanilla Ice Cream with Chocolate Crumble and Warm Morello Cherries

We're on the home stretch. At this point we were almost bursting with the amount of food we'd eaten, but rule #1 of Scallionpancake is that we always have room for dessert. What was excellent about this was the warm cherries, which made for a nice compliment with the cold vanilla ice cream. Just a pure, classic dessert.

Cold Coffee and Orange Custard, Cocoa Brownie, Rhum and Raspberries

Oh did I forget to mention it was my birthday? What a way to end the night, with a little magical brownie with some coffee and orange custard. So good, and it left for a great taste in our mouths for the drive back to Florence.

Atmosphere:
Franceschetta 58 had a very modern, warm feeling. The restaurant is very small, and is located in an old automobile repair shop, so it's very long and not very wide. There are plates of different colors and shapes on the main wall - a modern homage to rustic Italian cooking. Black tables with no table cloths cement that this is not going to be a traditional Italian meal.

Italian Hospitality:
The waiters and waitresses were very nice and attentive, answering all the random questions we had with a smile on their faces. Vishnu and Ravi even arranged for a candle on the last dessert, which was a very nice touch. 

Birthday Wish

Frankie's Notes: 
It's fun to see friends from the past and hang out for a week together in Tuscany; If you aren't eating gelato three times a day in Italy, you aren't doing it right; "Rome wasn't built in a day" seems like something that should be obvious; Aziz Ansari--fellow NYU Alum from South Carolina, aka TWINNING; PSA #2--we do not believe the current allegations against our beloved Aziz; We saw a pug that day in Italy and I almost caused an accident crossing the road to pet it; #puglife.

*Bonus* Vishnu's Notes:
Hello my little pancakes. GFOP (Good Friend of the Pancake) Vishnu here. I want to take a quick moment to thank Jason, my fam from another ma'am, for being the driving force behind our pilgrimage to Franceschetta 58. Best idea ever. He already broke down our wondrous meal with the zeal and attention to detail of a prepubescent Brad Stevens breaking down game film so all that's left for me to do is yammer away about literally whatever comes to my mind. I promise you'll only regret this a little, SP!

Since our meal I've decided to refer to Massimo Bottura as il piccolo mago. Because he's short in stature and long in magic-making (that's your Italian lesson for the day, you're welcome). Good magic conjures up something unexpected, right? Let's talk about that parmesan pumpkin starter. I'm not a foodie but I love food, so I'm not used to sitting down for a meal and being genuinely surprised. I order a chicken parm or a pad see ew and I already have a basic outline in my head of what I'm getting. My taste buds are already preparing to compare that order to past iterations. This starter knocked me on my ass. At first glance it looked liked a standard cheese fondue but when I sunk my spoon in, see, that was the magician's turn. The pumpkin puree spilled out from underneath its blanket of Parmigiano-Reggiano sauce and suddenly it's, well, magic. When was the last time a dish genuinely surprised you? When was the last time you felt that unique moment when surprise gives way to joy? It's a beautiful thing. It was a beautiful meal.

One more thing, I'd like to take this opportunity to offer some foodie advice from a non-foodie: if you can, in preparation for a meal that you expect will be pretty special, walk around Modena for a bit. Preferably with dear, old friends. What do you mean you can't find a quaint, sleepy Italian town to wander around before all your meals!? Alright, fine, if you can't then just do something that gets your soul stirring a bit. Maybe peruse your favorite book store, or walk down your favorite street or through your favorite park, or talk to someone you love. It gets the juices flowing, digestive and otherwise. Trust me on this. Allora, buon appetito!

RATING: 

5 OUT OF 5

 

Geranium

Background:
Scallionpancake has been extremely fortunate to go to five of the top restaurants in the world this year. Geranium makes the list at number #19 under the creative talents of Head Chef Rasmus Kofoed. Kofoed opened up Geranium in 2007 after working at a fancy hotel in Copenhagen, and it quickly climbed the ranks of all of the "best" lists; it's the only restaurant in Copenhagen to have three Michelin stars (yes—it's hard to believe, but Noma only had two before it closed for renovations!). Fun fact about Kofoed, according to the Top 50 list, "Kofoed is the only chef to have ever won bronze, silver and gold at the prestigious Bocuse d’Or cooking competition in France." Impressive!

Round of applause for Kofoed

Eat This:
You only have one choice here, and that's the Universe tasting menu. This is a three hour experience, so buckle up ladies and gentlemen, and get ready for the ride.

Danish Lobster covered with milk, carrot juice, and sea buckthorn oil

And we're off! The signature first dish is lobster. This was almost like a gelatin, with the buttery lobster contrasting with the cool, earthy carrot. We also loved the presentation with multiple dishes on top of each other.

Jerusalem Artichoke Leaves, Hazelnut Oil, and Rye Vinegar

Dip the artichoke leaves in the hazelnut oil and rye vinegar mayonnaise.

Razor Clams with Minerals & Sour Cream

The signature dish of Geranium. The rumor is this took Rasmus over six years to perfect. In his book, One Day at Geranium Restaurant (which we absolutely purchased), Rasmus calls this the, "perfect abstract illusion of a razor clam shell." The shell is edible and painted with algae and charcoal to make it look like an actual razor clam shell. In the middle is a creamy razor clam tartar made with sour cream.

Tomato Water, Ham Fat, & Aromatic Herbs

We love eating flowers with our tomato soup. We also love ham, and we especially love fat. Mix them all together and you've got a Scallionpancake trifecta. The sourness of the tomatoes and the warm, saltiness of the ham mixed great with the aromatic herbs.

"Dill Stones" Mackerel, Horseradish, & Frozen Juice from Cucumber & Dill

This was one of our favorites. The mackerel dill stones were plated on real sea stones, to blend in as if taken directly from the sea. Of course we love dips, and why not dip your mackerel dill stones in a frozen juice of cucumber & dill with a spicy horseradish cream?

Salted Hake, Parsley Stems, & Finnish Caviar in Buttermilk

Our favorite dish of the day. Cold flattened and salted hake covered in a warm buttermilk filled with Finnish caviar. Is there anything better in the world than warm caviar on a great fish? I don't think so.

Crispy Grains, Bread with Old Grains, & Gluten Free Bread with Seeds

We always love the bread course. This bread was okay, but nothing we really need to talk about.

Scallop in Juniper Aroma, Filippa Reduction, and Browned Butter

Scallops are hard to get rght. It's easy to overcook them, and then they taste like a chewy bar of soap. Also, a scallop should be on the larger size --if they are too small, you can't get the proper texture throughout the meat. Geranium's scallops were amazing. They were presented first in a bed of sea grass, as if they magically appeared from the sea for our pleasure. The scallops were then plated in a bowl in front of us, and then the waitress poured the Filippa reduction on top. The scallops had a great rich taste, and you could cut them with a butter knife.

Lemon Sole, Onion Herbs, "Vesterhavsost," and Pickled Pine

Let's take a journey to a Danish village, where we walk along the sea and pick flowers. We stumble upon a local fisherman who, as we walk past, catches a sole on his wooden fishing pole. He cleans the fish in front of us and serves it to us lightly cooked over an open fire mixed with the flowers we had picked up along the way. You get it?

Tartlet with Fjord Shrimp, Sol, & Pickled Elderflower

Are you sensing a pattern here? Almost every dish had some sort of flower on it. The Danes love flowers on their food --it provides a pop of color and flavor to the dishes. Plus everyone knows the saying, "When you eat shrimp, you should stop and smell the roses."

Cabbage Sprouts, Chicken, & Hay Beer

A big theme in all the restaurants we ate at in Copenhagen was the lack of meat. This was the only non-seafood meat on the menu, and it was not the focal point of the dish. The Danes love thier greens and seafood! What we liked about this were the sprouts, which added a nice little crunch to the chicken.

A Bite of Beetroot, Blackcurrant, Yogurt, & Tagetes

Like a kiss at the end of the rainbow, more precious than a heart of gold. You know what I mean.

Ice Cream from Beeswax & Pollen with Intense Rhubarb

The winner of winners when it comes to dessert. This ice cream tasted as if a million bees flew to you, spelled out your name in the air, and then presented you with their finest beeswax in the form of ice cream. It was so creamy and had the subtle flavors of beeswax and honey.

Sweets:

Carrot Tree, Cake with Pumpkin Seed Oil, Caramel with Cloudberry and Chantrelle, Chocolate with Oaks and Sea Buckthorn, Marshmallow with Rose Hip, & Green Egg with Pine

Yvonne calls this the fireworks grand finale, where they bring out an onslaught of desserts all at once and then you get to go to town like it's your birthday (and we're going to party like it's your birthday). We were instructed to eat them in any order, except the green egg had to be eaten last, because it had a strong flavor. Our favorites were the marshmallows with rose hips and the cake with pumpkin seed oil.

Drink:
Geranium makes all of their drinks right in front of you. They are known for their gin and tonic, but we didn't try that (we were still in our non-drinking during lunch phase--lame). We ordered tea during the savory dishes, and coffee with dessert. For the tea, they roll out a cart with roots and herbs growing from pots. The waitress then asks what types of herbs you like, and then proceeds to pick them from the pots and make your tea. The coffee is presented in a similar way, with the waitress boiling the water and pressing the coffee right in front of you.

Picking the herbs for our tea

A coffee lover's pour over dream

Atmosphere:
The atmosphere at Geranium can best be described as friendly, yet sterile. Everything about the restaurant was clean and perfect, almost too perfect You didn't feel like you could make sarcastic jokes with the wait staff--but you know we tried to anyway. The restaurant is located on the top floor of the national soccer stadium, which provides great views of all of Copenhagen. You can even see Sweden from across the water on a clear day. The whole staff was very international, our waitresses were from Australia and Martinique, and the chef who took us of a tour of the restaurant, was from Sweden. It felt very cosmopolitan, and you could tell that there was a lot of room for collaboration and creativity in the kitchen.

The kitchen overlooks the stadium-- pretty cool on match day!

Danish Hospitality:
The service here was just as exceptional as you would expect at a fancy-shmancy place like this. What was unique, was that after the savory dishes, one of the chefs gave every guest a tour of the entire restaurant, from the test kitchen to the fermenting room. We even got to see Head Chef Kofoed, who touched me on the shoulder. I havent washed my shoulder since.

The front desk, sponsored by Apple

Frankie's Notes:
Frankie also has not washed since we were in Copenhagen; It's nice to have the option to play a soccer game and then go have a three Michelin star meal, all in one block; If Frankie could have tea with anyone in history, he would pick Lassie, and then punch him in the face after; We like to be able to banter with our waiters and make them feel uncomfortable; We have started putting flowers on all of our canned tuna now that we are back in the U.S.

Rating:

5 out of 5 with 2 Michigan Pugs

 

NOMA Under the Bridge

Background:
The original Noma is one of the best restaurants in the world. The legendary Copenhagen staple has been under renovations for about a year. During this time, the NOMA team has opened up pop-up restaurants all over the world--most notably in Sydney and Mexico--while everyone eagerly anticipated the re-opening of the main restaurant. This was slated to happen in the summer of 2017, but did not due to building delays. Therefore, the team decided to open up a pop-up restaurant under a bridge in Copenhagen in the meantime and bam: NOMA Under the Bridge (UTB) was born. 

The pop-up was only supposed to last a few months, but because of the continued construction delays on the main restaurant, it ended up having an extended stay from June until the middle of November. This was great for us, as we visited Copenhagen in late September and were able to snatch up two coveted tickets for our first night in the city. 

Eat This:
UTB is a five course tasting menu. The main dishes seem to have stayed pretty consistent throughout the entire time, with the chefs who had rotated in and out from around the world adding their flare to the bookends of the meals—appetizers and desserts.

Grilled Focaccia with Horseradish

What was special at UTB was the unique mixture of flavors. What a great combination of flavors. The softness of the focaccia combined with the crunch of the crust and pop of the horseradish made this bread disappear faster than a $100 bill dropped on the streets of Times Square.

Mussel Soup

Underneath, that creamy soup was swimming with some delicious mussels--you just had to get in there and find them. A game of culinary hide and seek, if you will.

Tacos with Deep Fried Shrimp

Here you could see a clear inspiration from NOMA's trip to Mexico, as they combined the Mexican chiles with Nordic greenery and seafood. The shrimp were fried and meant to be eaten whole with the shell. Hot sauce and salsa were provided so you could season your tacos to your taste preference. We'd never eaten shrimp prepared this way, and the spicy, crunchy taste was out of this world. That texture combined with the coolness of the cabbage wraps and greenery made for one of the best dishes Scallionpancake has had all year—we can’t stop thinking about this one!

Cod

with capers

Squid ink cauliflower

Wowzers bagowers. If you had three glasses of wine and closed your eyes, you would think this cod was a piece of steak--it was so meaty and well seasoned with the capers and sauce. The cauliflower was covered in squid ink which gave a nice acidity. There were also small potatoes served with a red tomato sauce (un-pictured) that paired nicely with the cod as well. This part of the meal really felt like we were eating at a Danish home, only the meal was prepared by the best chefs in the world, obvi.

Dessert:

Concord grapes

with milk cheese

almond cake

with cacoa nibs and lime zest

The main dessert of the night was concord grapes with a milk cheese: simple and refreshing. However, the real star of the show was the final bite—an almond cake covered in a lime zest. Like the horseradish and focaccia before it, I had never once thought to combine lime and almond flavor together. What a revelation! The sweetness of the almond with the acid zest of the lime mixed in your mouth like a mermaid and merman swimming to Frank Sinatra & Dean Martin’s "That’s Amore." There was simply not a more beautiful sight to behold in the culinary world, in this food blogger’s humble opinion.

Drink:
UTB teamed up with wine importers Rosforth & Rosforth to curate a wine pairing for the menu. They also had a juice pairing for us gout stricken humans who couldn’t partake in the alcohol. In addition to the pairings, they served coffee or tea with dessert at the end. 

First glass in wine city

Atmosphere:
The atmosphere here was truly one of the most magical dining experiences we have ever experienced. There is only one long table which sits about 75 people, so you feel like you're in Hamlet's banquet hall sharing plates and stories with your new friends from around the world. There were a few plates which were done individually—the soup and the dessert, but the rest were family style, and you shared with your new, six-person family. At first we were nervous because Donald Trump is President and we don't like to speak too much when we are out of the country, but it actually was quite nice to be forced to talk with people around you and bond over the food. Food really does bring everyone together, and we made friends and had conversations with people from all over the world, which we would have never done at a typical restaurant.

Gnome Hospitality:
When you purchase your "tickets" beforehand, you have to prepay for the entire meal ($175/person), which included wine or juice pairings. This was really refreshing because you didn't have to worry about up-charges, or tips, or anything--you could have literally left your wallet at home. We were there to eat and be happy. We might have been under a bridge, but the hospitality was top rate. This was NOMA, after all. The waiters and waitresses were knowledgable and friendly, and were able to accommodate special requests very well (like my juice pairing). They made you feel at home under the bridge. Hygge at its finest.

Frankie's Notes:
It's not good to have your best meal of the trip on your first night, #letdownnation; New friends are fun, especially those who eat less than you and let you have their leftovers; The mayor of Freetown Christiania is a pug; If a mermaids don't exist, then how are babies born?; The reason why Frankie can't go on trips with his mom is because he wouldn't be able to keep up with her 13 miles a day of walking.

Rating:
5 out of 5 plus two Michigan Pugs

 

Restaurant Tim Raue

Background:

Tim Raue is broadly considered to be the best chef in Germany. He had a hard upbringing ; he was abused by his dad, and raised by his mom and grandmother who had little money. Raue joined a gang when he was young, he describes himself as angry and violent. After being unsuccessful at school, he was given three career paths at a vocational school --a gardener, painter, or chef. He chose chef, and it is lucky for us and the culinary world that he did. Raue was talented at school, but couldn't get hired because he was from the wrong part of town. He was given at chance at Chalet Suisse, where he honed his craft and learned the basics. He eventually wound up at Schloss Glienicke under the tutelage of Johannes Klapdohr. He first became a head Chef in 1998 at Kaiserstuben. In 2005, he was named "Rising Star of the Year,” while head chef at Swissotel, where he earned his first Michelin Star. He was also named Gault Millau Chef of the Year, the highest award for a chef in Germany.

Raue opened up his first restaurant in 2008 called Ma Tim Raue, which was heavily influenced by his previous trip to Asian a few years prior. He loves the ying and yang that Asian flavors bring to dishes. He opened up Restaurant Tim Raue in 2010, quickly earning two Michelin Stars and at one time the restaurant was as high as #36 in the world rankings. The restaurant is currently ranked #48 in the world.

A West Berlin Side Story

Eat This:

We went to Tim Raue for lunch. We appreciated that you could order a tasting menu or a la carte, and you could mix and match these options for the table. Yvonne did a four course tasting, and I did the Signature six course tasting menu.

Picked Ginger, cucumber and garlic, and red pepper marshmallows

Spicy Cashews

Dance for your spicy cashews

When you arrive, they immediately start putting little dishes in front of you—eight in total, because this is the luckiest number in Chinese culture. These dishes included spicy cashews, pickled ginger, cucumber & garlic, red pepper marshmallows, and smoked trout. Our favorites were the spicy cashews. We were off to a, dare we say, spicy start.

Wasabi Langoustine

We both ordered the Wasabi Langoustine, because this is Tim Raue's signature dish and my favorite dish in the entire world. We first tried this dish at In Situ in San Francisco, and we specifically wanted to come to Tim Raue to try this original.

In many ways, Tim Raue is our Mecca, and this dish did not disappoint. The spiciness of the Wasabi mixed with the butteriness of the langoustine, as well as the sweet, spicy, and crunchy mango sauce beneath adds up to something incredible. It's perfection, and gave us more faith that there is a god. I almost ordered another one at the end—it's that good.

PikePerch

with kamebishi soy ten year, leek, and ginger

Next up was the pikeperch. This was brought out in a steamed bamboo box and served over the ten year soy. After the wasabi langoustine, this dish seemed pretty average.

Suckling Pig

with Japanese mustard and pickled ginger.

This was my second favorite after the wasabi langoustine. The pork was cooked perfectly and paired nicely with the spicy Japanese mustard—again, the ying and yang Raue loves. Pork is hard to cook right and is often served overcooked and tough. What made this nice was the crunchiness of the skin and the tenderness of the center.

Dim Sum

Pork, green pepper, and mayonnaise

Raue is known for his modern take on dim sum. The pork dumplings were cooked perfectly and the green pepper added a nice flavor.

Chicken egg

with morning glory and black truffle.

Talk about an explosion of flavor in your mouth! The delicate black truffle with the egg combines in your mouth like two lineman clashing at the line of scrimmage (sports reference). The presentation seemed to be almost a play on Dr. Suess' green eggs and ham.

Peking Duck

Raue's other signature dish is peking duck. He uses the entire duck, serving it in three separate dishes. The main dish is the fried duck breast with leeks, apple, and a duck feet sauce. The second dish is duck liver mousse with cucumber, leek and crispy skin. Finally, you are presented with a duck broth containing the tongue, heart, and gizzards.

Duck Liver Mouse

If it ain't chocolate mouse, we'll take duck liver mouse

Duck Gizzards

Gizzards for dayzz

yuzu Cheesecake

How cute is this little guy? A chocolate and caramel coated koi yuzu cheesecake with yuzu ice cream. The koi had a really nice crunch to offset the creaminess of the cheesecake. The yuzu ice cream added a nice acidity to compliment the dish as well.

Drink:
Tim Raue has an extensive wine list and cocktail list—over 1,200 wines in total. This was lunch, so we didn't partake in any alcoholic beverages; however, I did get a sparking grape juice from South Africa that was very nice. Yvonne enjoyed tea and coffee.

Atmosphere:
Tim Raue feels mid-century modern, with brown wood and different shades of blue chairs. Raue describes Berlin as a Blue city. I'm not sure what that means, but it seems super German. There is really interesting modern graffiti art and bird cages with fake birds. Yvonne's favorite piece of art was the painting of trash bags you see pictured below. This painting should not work in a dining room setting, and yet, it totally does. There are table clothes on the tables, but they don't cover the whole table, which I think plays to Raue's edgy style. For a nice restaurant, it has a really relaxed, comforting, approachable vibe. 

The Chicken Egg was served with cute, colorful cuttlery (say that 3 times fast)

Edgy tablecloths: so hot right now

German Hospitality:
The wait staff couldn't have been nicer, but they definitely gave off the stern German vibe. Basically they didn't laugh at my jokes, and I don’t like that. Other than that the service was exactly what you would expect it to be for a restaurant of this caliber— everyone was knowledgable and the service was exceptional.

Frankie's Notes:
Frankie is an East Berlin pug with West Berlin dreams; We are only stocking our next kitchen with bright green plastic spoons; Is it weird I ate the koi's head first so it wouldn't suffer a painful death?; After four tasting menus in four days on this trip, all we ate after this were kebobs and salad—we're still professional eaters though.

German bird cages hang behind the reception desk.

Oh yeah, they served stuff in these cute things, too

Rating: 5 out of 5 + 1 Michigan Pug

 

Astrid & Gastón

Background:
Gastón Acurio, chef & owner of Astrid & Gastón, is considered the Godfather of Peruvian cuisine. 20 years ago he opened Astrid & Gastón and put Lima on the map as one of the best food cities in the world. He has mentored many famous chefs, including Virgilio Martínez of Central. The restaurant relocated to Casa Moreyra in San Isidoro in 2014, and Gastón Acurio took over as ahead chef in 2015. Gastón's wife, Astrid Gutsche, is the head pastry chef and walks around greeting guests throughout the night. Astrid & Gastón is currently ranked the 33rd best restaurant in the world.

Gastón Acurio is the godfather, capisce?

Eat this:
You can order a la carte or do a tasting menu here. We did the tasting menu, because that's how we roll. 

The Hostel's Bed with Ocean View

Empanada, alfajor, dashi and tartar

First bites are important, and Astrid & Gastón did not disappoint. We started off with a crab alfajor (to die for!), an empanada made of seaweed and oyster, and a fruit log with some magic on top. We were instructed to each one in one bite, which Jason loves to do since he is the fastest eater of all time.

Sea Bass Ham

Lard, avocado, and sweet potato bomb

Something consistent through all of Lima is the excellent quality of fish due to their proximity to the ocean. This bite of sea bass was no exception. The crunch of the cracker, the smooth citrus of the avocado, and the freshness of the fish come together for the perfect Peruvian bite.

19th Century Cebiche

Catch of the day and sour orange tiger's milk

Ceviche (Cebiche) is the national dish of Peru. The orange citrus is the key to this dish, which is the perfect kiss of flavor after you have the first taste of the fish. If you don't drink it up like a soup then you aren't living your life right!

Sea Urchin Salad

Soba noodles and nikkei aroma

It's the token sea urchin dish! In Scallionpancake's opinion you can take all the sea urchin off every tasting menu because it's just not that good. We get it --it's expensive and we are supposed to lose our minds over it. But we don't like eating something that tastes like ocean water, even if it has really good noodles with it.

Cured Bonito & Coquito Melon

Vinagreta from all bloods and herbs from our garden

This was the dish I like to call, "the good fish with colorful flowers." It was good quality fish covered in colorful flowers. Fin.

Bread

It's bread time! Hands down the best bread we had in Peru. The breads came with whipped butter, whipped avocado, whipped roasted red pepper spread, and a little container of the best lard ever.

A Scallionpancake rule is don't serve your butter hard, because WTF is up with that. News flash: it's hard to spread a solid object with a butter knife. Astrid didn't disappoint us, and all the spreads were perfectly room temperature. The breads were all great, too. A few standouts were the potato and cheese, the olive roll, and the gooseberry bread.

The Blushing Egg

Hidden on a fish cupe from Lima.

There isn't much to say about this one, other than we didn't like it. Let's move on.

Guinea Pig Pekinesse

The one of all the life

Guinea pig, or cuy to the Peruvians, is a local delicacy. Astrid & Gastón's take on the cuy was to make it peking style, so it tasted like a crispy piece of duck. It came on a purple corn crepe and was meant to be eaten like a taco. Two bites of perfection.

It's time for a Scallionpancake life lesson: always try weird stuff when traveling, especially at nice restaurants. Would you eat a guinea pig in America? Probably not. But when a dish is a part of a local culture it's important to see what the fuss is all about. Because if you don't you would have missed out on this delicious guinea pig.

Catch of the Day

According to the Sea

The fish of the day was sea bass, and it maybe the best sea bass we've ever had. The fish was cooked to perfection on a little bed of risotto. The perfect fish-lover's dish, for sure.

Confit Suckling Pig

Cacao, Peanuts, and Pibil Juice

What made this dish outstanding was the flavor of the chocolate with the perfectly seared pork. Who knew that chocolate would mix so well with pork?! That's why Gastón is the Godfather. Of all the dishes we had in Peru, this was Jason's favorite.

Astrid's Desserts

Sheep's Milk Ice Cream

with tangerine and mint ice

Then god said, "let's the desserts came," and so they did. We started out with a sheep's milk ice cream with a tangerine and mint ice (Yvonne's favorite because it wasn't too sweet). Then came the caramel ice cream cone with a caramel "cloud," and it was declared very good by all parties (ahem, the two of us).

Just when we thought we were done, chocolates were handed out. At this point in the meal, Jason was so done from two tasting menus in one day that he almost fell asleep at the table, but he's just a touch classier than that so he kept his cool.

Ice Cream Cone

with caramel cloud

Various Chocolates

Drink

Strawberry & blackberry

Astrid & Gastón had a wide variety of cocktails and mock-tails, which were a staple throughout Peru with their variety of fruits and vegetables. The mock-tail pictured above was strawberry and blackberry. They also have a 250+ wine list that is considered one of the best in Peru

Atmosphere
Astrid & Gastón has a wow factor, and definitely had the coolest space of the three fine dining restaurants we tried in Lima. It is located in Casa Moreyra, which is a hacienda built in the middle of the 18th century and is designated as a historical landmark. The decor is modern, with the work of contemporary Peruvian artists gracing the walls. The bar area is the main focus, with a two level Spanish courtyard and tree with streamers. The space is huge, with at least two other smaller bars and two main kitchens. Each room had its own unique feel and flare. It definitely felt like you were in a cool, trendy place.

Cardinal Flamingo

Upside-down plants like woah

San Isidoro Hospitality:
The wait staff here was, for the most part, good, but definitely not great. We had a few weird moments, including where the waiter made us, for no discernible reason, write down our passport number on our receipt, for which Jason just made up a random eight digit number. For a place of this standard you would expect the service to be much better.

Frankie's Notes:
Two tasting menus in a day keeps the doctor away--or perhaps makes the grim reaper show up twenty years too soon; Booking your hotel within walking distance of the best restaurants really makes the walk home much easier; Ice cream cones are good in every country; Our biggest regret is that we didn't order off menu for the chocolate bomba; We still have nightmares about not trying the chocolate bomba; No seriously we haven't slept in a month; Our dream house is a mansion with a top 50 restaurant inside; Passport numbers are for border control and website passwords only; J/K our password is food12345.

Rating: 5 out of 5