The 'Mexican' way to drink tequila.

On a recent trip to discover some of the best restaurants in Mexico City, I ate at Quintonil, a small, understated restaurant in Polanco. Chef/Owner Jorge Vallejo, formerly of Pujol, oversees the kitchen, and his food is nothing short of sensational.

However, before I had eaten a thing, I experienced tequila the way it should be consumed — with a shot of sangrita on the side.

Sangrita is a non-alcoholic concoction, blood red in color, which dates back to the 1920s in Jalisco. Traditionally it is made with Seville orange, lime and pomegranate juices with chili powder and hot sauce, though recently tomato juice has been added as an option. The two are sipped together as the sangrita cleanses the palate between each peppery sip of tequila.

On this occasion (and yes, someone has to do this!) we were drinking Don Julio 70.

The sides have it....

We all know creative sides are a great way to build your average check. But how often do you go to a restaurant where a side dish is SO good it becomes a talking point and reason you would return to that restaurant? This happened to me recently in San Francisco at Roka Akor.

The dish in question is innocently called sweet corn with butter and soy. The sweet corn is creatively cut in sticks, cooked sous vide with butter and sweet soy, grilled on the robata and topped with soy butter, togarashi and chives.

Everything else we ate was pretty amazing too, but we couldn't stop taking about this corn. And yes, I'd really go back there just for that dish!

I WAS amused!!

I am not a fan of the amuse bouche. When expertly prepared and served at the start of an appropriate menu, it serves a purpose. But for many years it started popping up everywhere — even at breakfast!

I recently enjoyed a magnificent multiple course dinner at Meadowood in Napa Valley, California. At the start of the meal, Chef Christopher Kostow sent to the table some baby organic vegetables that were grown on the property that had been soaked in Champagne overnight. 

They were crisp, extremely flavorful and set the tone for one of the most creative series of dishes I have eaten in years. Hurrah for thinking differently!

A perfect G and T

One of the many things that impresses me about a great restaurant is when it takes a simple experience and blows it up into something extraordinary.

Nota Bene is one of Toronto's best restaurants. Owner/partner Yannick Bigourdin has taken the simple gin and tonic and turned it into something exceptional. (I first saw this concept at Jaleo, Jose Andres' tapas restaurant in Washington, D.C.) 

At Nota Bene the menu offers multiple gins, multiple tonics and multiple methods of preparation. The one pictured is with Botanist gin from Scotland and Fever Tree tonic. The garnishes are juniper berries and dried hibiscus flowers, which add a tart note to the drink and impart some color when added.

A perfect start to a great meal.

The dead what??!

With the focus on mixology, craft beers and authenticity, it's good to discover places that are really getting it right.

The Dead Rabbit Grocery and Grog is in Manhattan’s Financial District. (Explanation for the name can be found on the establishment's website!) There are so many outstanding elements to this bar it's no wonder it spent the last year picking up “Best” and “Favorite” awards from just about every serious publication giving them out. But reading is not experiencing. Find an excuse to visit. You'll be happy you did.

Above is a photo of a cocktail called the Grassot, which features rosehip-infused Remy V, Marie Brizard Parfait Armour, Pernod Absinthe, fresh lemon juice and strawberry syrup.

Is it just me?

When asked to try one of those rare, uber-expensive delicacies, am I the only one who says, “Really?”

This time I was in Cabo San Lucas enjoying a fabulous dinner at Las Ventanas. Joaquim Costa, uber-charming DOFB, educated me about the uber-expensive delicacy known as huitlacoche. Literally translated it means corn smut (a fungus that forms on sweet corn). Apparently the flavor is supposed to be mushroom-like, sweet, savory, woody and earthy.

Unless you might offend someone, I would save your money.

The black filling oozing out of the quesadillas below is the huitlacoche!