La Buca (April 2, 2007)

Second time here!

Two reviewers: ts and csc; with a cameo by js

[ts]
Haha, I guess csc forgot all about her GRAND PROCLAMATION that she wouldn't return to either La Buca or Parkside until a REALLY LONG TIME has passed.

(We last ate at Parkside on March 23.)

[ts]
Anyway.... We decided to eat like "normal" people and ordered "normal" amounts of food. The same server was there! Teehee.

[her] "Are you the...?"
[me] "Yes."
[her] "You're the group that..."
[me] "Yes."
[her] "You ordered 4 courses?"
[me] "Yes."

Haha.

Calamari ripieni alla griglia, salsa verde
Grilled stuffed squid with tomato fondata and green herb sauce

[ts]
This was CSC's dish. This was the appetizer of yore, so as you already know, it's really good. CSC would like, however, to reiterate her satisfaction with the nutty, peppery flavor of arugula.

Linguini Puttanesca
Olive, caper, anchovy, red onion, garlic, chili

[ts]
I had a HALF-SIZE of this. (Haha.) Don't really have that much to say. It was good.

Risotto
The risotto of the day was sweet corn and pea risotto with scallops.

I was tempted! But, am not really a scallop person. It was the CORN that was the most tempting for me, but I decided to go with the special MEAT for the day.

Duck breast, duck meat cannelloni, vegetables, blood orange sauce/reduction
The cannelloni was all right. I was actually still a little full because I ate "lunch" at 430pm!

The duck itself was pretty good. The GENIUS, see, was the blood orange sauce! It saved the dish from being too "MEATY."

On that note, though, WHY IS IT THAT I STILL CAN'T EAT TOO "MEATY" THINGS?!?!!!

I mean, that veal cheek trauma was way back in January! Also, since I have low iron, wouldn't it stand to reason that my body would actually CRAVE iron-y/meaty/bloody things?! But nooooo...

Why?!?! Why?!?!

Fish of the day:
Halibut, crispy-fried artichokes, potatoes, dried tomatoes, olives and such, sauce

[ts]
csc's dish. I don't really know the details re this dish. I only know the GENIUS part where Andrey Durbach MADE her like artichokes!!! HAHAHA...

[csc]
Artichoke… fried with batter… don’t know what… but little pieces, like 1 inch long, and boy, were they GOOD!!!!

I mean, I liked them with the halibut, and I liked them even without the halibut. Texture wise, they gave the right amount of “chewiness/crunchiness” and then flavor wise… I liked them a lot!

I was almost not wanting to order the halibut dish coz I heard “artichokes” but then I also heard “fried” so I figured, well, maybe they will be ok… or I’ll just put them on the side…

but then had to eat them all, and was actually too enthusiastic that I miscalculated and had halibut left over, and no more artichokes… usually, I’m pretty good with eating things in proportion (ie, every single bite has every single ingredient in it until the last bite).

Dessert:
Sauteed strawberries, aged balsamic, pinenut sable, whipped cream

[ts]
This was good. The balsamic didn't really have any vinegar-y taste at all. I forget how old the server said it was. But i guess really old! Haha... So I guess it's like a "parfait" or "trifle" in format: basically the different components were layered in a glass.

Dessert:
Chocolate "Salami", orange marmalade, whipped cream

[ts]
The GENIUS, the GENIUS.

When the server said "Chocolate Salami", I know right away we had to order this, hehe.

Apparently, CSC said when she heard that, she immediately dismissed it. She said she didn't HEAR the quotation marks around "salami." =)

Anyway, the genius is this: instead of just having a chocolate pate like almost everybody else, his chocolate pate was studded with ladyfingers and nuts and such! (Basically it's in a round, then sliced. It had squares/rectangles of stuff in it, like the fat squares in salami.)

I don't really get just having a plain chocolate pate -- coz that's just one taste. Sure, most of the time, restaurants pair it with raspberry sauce or some such thing, but really, it's just one-dimensional. But here, the "salami-ness" of the dessert is GENIUS!!! The ladyfingers and nuts and such are GENIUS! And CSC said that the orange marmalade also went really well with the "salami."

[csc]
Oh, chocolate salami dessert…

Shobe (aka "ts") was very insistent that I order this dessert… and truth be told, as soon as I heard “salami” I don’t want to order anymore and so completely ignored what the server was saying… ..hahaha…

but good thing one of us was listening… so then I got this and it was good. I normally don’t like chocolate pates (don’t really get the point), but this one… “salami-like” in style, but wonderful in taste!

[csc]
When we were waiting for dessert, the table next to us had their order arrive, and I can tell you, my mouth started watering just looking as their pasta order… (this after I had appetizer and main course).

I want to PUNCH that chef and tell him STOP IT STOP IT STOP IT…

I don’t like getting too enthusiastic about food… coz you know… too much food, not good… plus it adds up (price)… so I think I am starting a “love-hate” relationship with this La Buca/Parkside chef.

[js]
HAHAHA
This is soooooooooooooooooo funny. . .the part with the punching and the STOP IT STOP IT STOP IT STOP IT. . .LOL

[ts]
To summarize, my duck dish was "all right" for me... Again, crazy "meatiness" aversion at work.

But, still, again, HE IS A GEHNYUS AND WE NEED HIS MAAAHND!!!