1) I finally had dinner with Kim and Kimber after we first discussed this last December.
2) I was able to eat again at Rose's Luxury even after it was named America's Best New Restaurant by Bon Appetit earlier this month and I read that the no reservation policy restaurant had waits of hours and hours for a table.
3) It was my Dad's birthday and I didn't feel the intensity of grief as I have previously. I've had an interesting experience where one of my closest friends also lost her father recently and our conversations have helped me greatly. But more on that later.
Kim, Kimber and I planned to meet at Rose's Luxury at 6:30 on Tuesday night. I knew to expect a long wait but I still had hope. I was the first to arrive, put my name on the list, and was told it would be a 2.5 to 3 hour wait. I texted Kimber and Kim the news and Kimber was up for finding another restaurant. Kim arrived and when I explained to her Kimber's thoughts, her face just fell with disappointment. She wanted to eat at the restaurant I had been talking about for months now.
We drove to Kimber's house which is near the restaurant and decided to wait for the table. We were warned though by the staff that we only had 15 minutes once I received the text that our table was ready to get to the restaurant. The text came at 8:15 and we ran to Kim's car. I set the stopwatch on the phone for 15 minutes and we ran lots of pink lights to get there with 3 minutes to spare. The true miracle though was finding a parking space right in front of the restaurant.
We were shown to our table and felt immense success at finding ourselves finally in the restaurant.
This lovely challah bread with honey and butter was like eating home. It was warm and delicious. Kim found true happiness while eating this bread.
We ordered the pork sausage, habanero and lychee salad which I had loved at my previous visit to the restaurant. Kim and Kimber decided it was their favorite dish at this meal. Rose's Luxury changes their menu often so it was complete luck on our part to find this still on the menu.
The summer peach salad with shiso, mint and ricotta was nice but all of us felt like it was something that we could have made at home.
I did like the peach salad paired with the sfoglini rigatoni with tomato, basil and eggplant because it tasted like I was eating a garden. The tomatoes were perfect - tangy and sweet but not too sweet.
We did not order the jerk chicken with pickled mango raita and green papaya salad because we felt that we had enough dishes but the kitchen sent us an order anyway. Delicious and a very nice surprise.
The Mexican grilled corn salad with guajillo, lime and cilantro did not look very special but it was my favorite. I loved the flavor and it was again like eating a garden.
The pickle-brined fried chicken with honey and benne seed was perfectly cooked and seasoned. There were a couple of dishes on the table with honey including the honey-glazed carrots, mascarapone, matzo meal and dill (below) and it was all very well used to showcase the meats and vegetables. Kimber said that the carrots was one of her favorite matzo dishes that she's eaten.
Dessert was not even a question and we let Kim decide since it is her birthday later this month. We ordered the first two which are not traditional desserts. Kimber said it succinctly in that both desserts were like an elevated cheese course - the savory and sweet represented equally. I loved both and we kept eating them but it may have not met a dessert expectation for someone.
The English pea cake with mint curd, pistachios and buttermilk. It was a beautiful plating.
And the smoked celery root mascarapone with chamomile honey ice and brown butter walnut crumble. I loved how each bite of both desserts was different. The ingredients worked really well together.
I'm glad Tuesday was a good day!
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