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{Image Source: Style.com}Who: American and New York-based Gary Graham
When: Saturday, September 11, 2010
Where: Milk Studios in Meatpacking District
Makeup: Mike Potter for MAC
The Make Up Look: Modern Cleopatra
Tools for the Look (all MAC products):
When we found out that we couldn’t order the molecular menu at AnQi by Crustacean at South Coast Plaza unless we were a party of eight AND made a reservation two weeks in advance, we jumped ship and mosied on over to Charlie Palmer just across the way.
Having no idea what was on the menu (we usually review these before we dine anywhere), it was kind of fun to be surprised for once.
Charlie Palmer has a small plates menu as well as a regular menu of appetizers and entrees. Because we didn’t have much of an appetite, we opted to order five dishes from the tapas side.
Roasted Bone Marrow with Raisin Marmalade – the marrow itself was just as decadent as the one we first tried at RN74. However I didn’t love the raisin (there was too much of it). If I ever come again, I’d probably order it anyway and eat even less of the marmalade than I did that night.
Duck Meatballs with parsnip puree and orange sections were good in flavor but I would have appreciated a heartier meatball. These were tiny and didn’t satiate my appetite.
Grilled Lamb Burger on a steamed bun with a cucumber yogurt sauce. Umm, hello? Where the heck has this dish been all my life? It had wonderful flavors that are reminiscent of a gyro. But the lamb patty, it was to die for. So juicy and flavorful and perfectly prepared.
Mussels in white wine sauce with garlic and saffron aioli – a dish that you’ve probabaly eaten before. At Charlie Palmer, if you’re looking for a safe option, this is it.
Finally, from the appetizer (or first course) menu, we ordered Crispy Pork Belly with summer melons. By far, the worst dish of the night. The plating was colorful and pretty but it wasn’t crispy as the name promised. It was more like chewy and not quite cooked to its full potential. The Boyfriend and I were really looking forward to this but was definitely let down.
And for dessert, we were forewarned by our server that this menu was very impressive but wanted to finish off the meal with something sweet anyway. By his recommendation, we tried the Vanilla Braised Pineapple with a warm sugar cake, vanilla ice cream and caramel sauce.
Okay, if the main description is “vanilla braised pineapple”, I expect that to be the star of the dish. Do you see the pineapple right there on the right in the photo? Yup, it’s only three chunks next to the sugar cake. It was decent in flavor, but definitely left a lot to be desired.
Our server was right, dessert is not a strong suit at Charlie Palmer.
Overall, the food was okay (I expect more from such a name in the food world) and the ambiance very lovely. My only major gripe about eating all small plates was that they brought everything out at once, leaving us feeling like we had to eat everything at once, or quickly before plates got cold. If you go, remember to request just one or two dishes sent out at a time so that you get to savor every bite.
Have you dined at Charlie Palmer at South Coast Plaza yet? What is your favorite, or least favorite dish on the menu?
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Like a lot of people, I tend to take a diligent approach to skincare. But unlike most, I have a hard time staying faithful to products for more than a few months. As a beauty blogger, I’m constantly looking for the newest thing to hit the shelves.
But sadly, one brand I don’t get to literally see “hit the shelves” is Lush. The nearest brick and mortar store from home is more than 80 miles away. So it was a special treat to be able to test the new Lush 9 to 5 Cleansing Lotion ($8.95 US), their first liquid cleanser!
In celebration of Vogue’s Fashion Night Out this year, CHANEL Global Creative Director Peter Philips developed a trio of exclusive urban-chic khaki nail lacquer shades.
On my nails today I’m wearing Khaki Vert ($25 US), a mossy foam green that didn’t look very pretty to me at first. It comes off as a putty gray in the bottle but translates to an unusual color on my nails that I’m actually intrigued by.
