food « The Wandering Eater

Best Graduation Gift Ever from La Maison du Chocolat – Andalouise Cake

I’ve been a long time fan of La Maison du Chocolat‘s sublime French chocolates and pastries, founded by chocolatier Robert Linxe in 1977. I even had the privilege to have a tour of their factory in Paris two years ago because they were aware of my fanaticism.

Even though their name does mean (when [...]

The Purple Pig, Chicago

Gate to The Purple Pig; Interior shots; A purple pig; The menu

When I was doing my research for places to eat around Chicago and asking friends about this question, many mentioned The Purple Pig. Even I asked the friendly baristas and staff of La Colombe Torrefaction (Chicago) and they even said, [...]

Chinese New Year Eve 2012 with Pat LaFrieda’s Whole Pig, Roasted

Chinese New Year tray of togetherness, chocolates, tangerines; Pistachios from Wonderful Pistachios; Oolong tea and pistachios on the side

Happy Lunar New Year, everyone! 恭喜發財! In Cantonese, Gong Hay Fat Choy! I wish you all much prosperity and happiness in the new year of the Dragon!

One of the most important days [...]

My Final Installment of the Holiday Gift Guide for 2011

We finally reach the final installment of my holiday gift guide. This is more of a relative hodgepodge of food related categories spanning from edible food items to beautiful housewares and cups. I’ve realized that I’m since I’m not featuring as much photos as I would like for this guide, I’ve created a Flickr set [...]

My Decadent Thanksgiving Dinner – Foie Gras and Truffle-Centric

My dining room, foie gras torchon with pomegranate and cocoa, and black truffle bacon brussels sprouts

This year’s Thanksgiving dinner was the most over-the-top decadence as my menu was not based on American traditions whatsoever. If you have to think about it, it reads French than any other cuisine. (I have admitted [...]

Ladurée’s Pied de Coq box & November’s Featured Macaron Flavor, Black Forest

Ladurée’s Pied de Coq box and their signature shopping bag and my Black Forest macarons

Earlier this week a Ladurée loyalist friend of mine told me about this macaron house’s limited release of their fashionable box Pied de Coq – a take of the traditional houndstooth pattern with bold fluorescent colors. I [...]

Saxon + Parole: Maker’s Mark Bourbon Whiskey Pairing Dinner

Starting top left: At Saxon + Parole, Dinner menu pairing with Maker’s Mark Bourbon Whiskey, Interior, at the bar

A few nights ago, I had dinner at Saxon + Parole for Maker’s Mark bourbon whiskey dinner. This restaurant is Chef Brad Farmerie and AvroKO’s latest venture, which used to be their restaurant [...]

Dominique Ansel Bakery – A Pastry Lover’s Dream

Signage outside, Inside the pastry display, and a rainbow of ‘Mini-Me’s

Pastry chef Dominique Ansel, a former alum of the internationally acclaimed chef Daniel Boulud of six years opened his own bakery in SoHo. As a person who loves pastries, I made some time in my schedule to visit this bakery.

Being [...]

The Spiked Lunch at Philip’s Seafood, Caesar’s Palace, Atlantic City

Spiked Lunch at Philip’s Seafood

The Spiked Lunch event that was part of the Annual Atlantic City Food & Wine Festival 2011 took place at the Phillip’s Seafood Restaurant at Caesar’s Palace.

I was relatively surprised as to the format of this event. Instead of it being buffet style with a raw [...]