Last Friday, I finally caught up with my friend Chris, who is a professional photographer, Slow Food member, and fellow food lover. She had worked painstakingly over many months to restore and improve all of my negatives, taken with a Kodak 126 Instamatic Camera in the 1970s-80s, of my dear late friend Harry Chapin. We met Friday afternoon so that I could pick up my package of disks and prints, and so that she could experience Lola for the first time. And, as a bonus, she taught me how to use a few features on my camera.
We began by making some adjustments to the white balance on the camera. I took this photo, not only to ensure that the adjustments were right - but to prove to my sister Chaya, that I am indeed following her Ayurvedic suggestion to regularly consume warm lemon water, to aid digestion and flush toxins. It is actually very palatable!
Anyway - we moved on to share an appetizer (and both took some photos of it - can you tell which one the professional took??)
Cured Tuna with Saffron Aoli, Olives, Fennel & Mint
This was fantastic - though Chris and I agreed that the olives overwhelmed the delicate tuna a little. So our solution - separate the olives from the tuna slices, enjoy the tuna with the aoli, then enjoy the lovely olive mash. I could eat this by the plateful.
Bread Service
Hard as it was to choose - we each elected a "Half & Half." This was Chris's:
Chick Pea Salad
Grilled Veggie Flatbread 1/2 Sandwich
Chris loved this - Eggplant, Zucchini, Roasted Pepper and Goat Cheese.
I went for a combo I had tasted before, but not like this:
Mixed Greens w/Apple, Bleu Cheese, Vinaigrette, Candied Pecans
I had enjoyed this salad at the Cleveland.com Food & Wine Forum Lunch in January - but I hadn't asked for the Bleu Cheese on the side, so it overwhelmed the salad for my palate. This time, I asked for the cheese on the side - and put just a bit of it on the apple shreds, which was a perfect combination for me as I do not care for Bleu Cheese in large quantity.
Spicy Tomato Bisque w/Bleu Cheese
I had passed on ordering this option in January, because I was afraid of the Bleu Cheese - then I tasted Bob's and realized I had made a mistake to pass this up. I wasn't about to make that mistake again! This soup is a Michael Symon signature dish for good reason. And, you can see a couple of large chunks of the cheese in the soup bowl. I left them for last, then spread them on some of the buttered bread - which diluted the bleu-iness enough for me to really enjoy and appreciate it.
I don't normally eat dessert, especially at lunch, but Chris adores sweets (and how could I not encourage her to try one of Cory Barrett's creations!). We each ordered one:
Chocolate Pot du Creme
Peanut Butter-Chocolate Mousse Topped With Caramel, Peanuts & Salt
Chris enjoyed her taste of this delicacy so much that she ordered one of these, also!!
It was a delightful lunch. But did I learn anything about photography? That remains to be seen. That very evening, we dined at Momocho, a favorite place. We were long overdue in getting there - and my pictures were so bad, I'm not even going to post them. Oh well.
Ok - I'll post one, just because I loved this dish so much, and it is rarely seen in Cleveland:
Momocho Dinner Special - Sauteed Halibut Cheeks, Corn Pudding, Snake Beans
Sometimes, it can be frustrating to play with your food, especially in dim, red lighting conditions. But, I carry on - because life is too short to not play with your food!
We began by making some adjustments to the white balance on the camera. I took this photo, not only to ensure that the adjustments were right - but to prove to my sister Chaya, that I am indeed following her Ayurvedic suggestion to regularly consume warm lemon water, to aid digestion and flush toxins. It is actually very palatable!
Anyway - we moved on to share an appetizer (and both took some photos of it - can you tell which one the professional took??)
Cured Tuna with Saffron Aoli, Olives, Fennel & Mint
This was fantastic - though Chris and I agreed that the olives overwhelmed the delicate tuna a little. So our solution - separate the olives from the tuna slices, enjoy the tuna with the aoli, then enjoy the lovely olive mash. I could eat this by the plateful.
Bread Service
Hard as it was to choose - we each elected a "Half & Half." This was Chris's:
Chick Pea Salad
Grilled Veggie Flatbread 1/2 Sandwich
Chris loved this - Eggplant, Zucchini, Roasted Pepper and Goat Cheese.
I went for a combo I had tasted before, but not like this:
Mixed Greens w/Apple, Bleu Cheese, Vinaigrette, Candied Pecans
I had enjoyed this salad at the Cleveland.com Food & Wine Forum Lunch in January - but I hadn't asked for the Bleu Cheese on the side, so it overwhelmed the salad for my palate. This time, I asked for the cheese on the side - and put just a bit of it on the apple shreds, which was a perfect combination for me as I do not care for Bleu Cheese in large quantity.
Spicy Tomato Bisque w/Bleu Cheese
I had passed on ordering this option in January, because I was afraid of the Bleu Cheese - then I tasted Bob's and realized I had made a mistake to pass this up. I wasn't about to make that mistake again! This soup is a Michael Symon signature dish for good reason. And, you can see a couple of large chunks of the cheese in the soup bowl. I left them for last, then spread them on some of the buttered bread - which diluted the bleu-iness enough for me to really enjoy and appreciate it.
I don't normally eat dessert, especially at lunch, but Chris adores sweets (and how could I not encourage her to try one of Cory Barrett's creations!). We each ordered one:
Chocolate Pot du Creme
Peanut Butter-Chocolate Mousse Topped With Caramel, Peanuts & Salt
Chris enjoyed her taste of this delicacy so much that she ordered one of these, also!!
It was a delightful lunch. But did I learn anything about photography? That remains to be seen. That very evening, we dined at Momocho, a favorite place. We were long overdue in getting there - and my pictures were so bad, I'm not even going to post them. Oh well.
Ok - I'll post one, just because I loved this dish so much, and it is rarely seen in Cleveland:
Momocho Dinner Special - Sauteed Halibut Cheeks, Corn Pudding, Snake Beans
Sometimes, it can be frustrating to play with your food, especially in dim, red lighting conditions. But, I carry on - because life is too short to not play with your food!
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