French Fine Dining At Pearl Brasserie

After my fine dining experience the night before, I decided to treat myself for the rest of the trip and continue with the fine dining streak. So for my next adventure, I dined at Pearl Brasserie. It is a French brasserie located in a basement. But don't worry, it's a very nice restaurant, despite its underground location. From my first moment in, it was an extraordinary experience. And that's exactly what it was, an experience. It wasn't just a regular meal, it was an event. The place is very nice, but not snooty at all. There are light fixtures that look like pearl onions. I assume that's where the pearl in Pearl Brasserie came from.
Complimentary whole wheat baguette with pesto and butter. This butter was incredibly rich and amazing. And while I'm not normally a pesto person, I enjoyed it on the baguettes.
While waiting for my entree, we were all treated to a complimentary appetizer. It was pork with cumin with a horseradish sauce. Man, was this thing good. With a start like this, I knew my entree was going to kick ass.
And kick ass it did. I got the seared queen scallops and dublin bay prawns. It was served with curried gnocchi, and fresh garden peas, in a prawn bisque. Everything about this dish was amazing. The scallops and prawns were perfectly cooked, the gnocchi was tender, the peas had just enough crunch, and the bisque had an amazing flavor. I could have licked this plate. And if I wasn't surrounded by so many high class people, I totally would have.
I couldn't stop eating. Since it was french brasserie portions, I still had room, and a need to keep eating. So I got the creme brulee, and my server said it was a good choice. I love me some creme brulee, and if it's on a menu, and I'm feeling dessert, there's a good chance I'm going to pick it. This one was particularly great. It was made with organic free range eggs, and you know what, you really could tell. It had good texture, a lovely strong vanilla flavor, and a nice and crispy burnt crunch on top.

And let me tell you about the service. This place is run like a machine. But not in a cold and robotic way. Just in an incredibly precise and well-oiled machine kind of a way. Everyone worked as a team, and they were immaculate professionals. Everyone was nice, friendly, and great at their jobs. And you could tell they deeply cared about what they were doing. This was one of the most memorable meals I've ever had in my life. It was the type of meal where they spoil you a bit, and well, I enjoyed it. I wholeheartedly recommend anyone in Dublin to try this place out. You'll remember it for the ages!

Fort Lee Is The Best Place Ever... Sort Of

After walking down main street (there's really not anything worth showing), we stopped inside Parisienne Bakery just before we left. And then the most amazing thing happened! There was a Beard Papa's counter inside! What? For real? Are you kidding me? Yes, it happened. It was a real Beard Papa's! Here's the crazy thing. Outside this bakery, there isn't even a sign that it is a bakery and that it is Parisienne Bakery. There's some writing on the windows, but it's barely legible. And there's no obvious indication that there is a glorious Beard Papa's inside. Gah, I was so shocked!
Who could resist anything from this adorable little bearded man? "Buy my cream puffs!" he said. And I obliged. 6 times over.
Since we had just gorged ourselves after being starved and stuck in a car, I didn't actually have room to eat these right away. And there's a sign that says that these cream puffs should be enjoyed as soon as possible. So when we got home a few hours later, I realized there was no way I was going to be able to eat all these quickly. As much as I wanted to eat 6 giant cream puffs, I knew it wasn't a good idea. So I did what any full-blooded cream puff loving american would do - I played cream puff fairy. I called up a few friends and just dropped some cream puffs off. I wanted others to enjoy them while they were still good!
But here's the sad part. When I eventually tried one, I realized that the cream filling was too eggy. Yes, it wasn't that good. It wasn't bad at all, but it wasn't the beard papa's I'm used to. I was so disappointed. And after hyping it up, my friends probably think I'm crazy. I've eaten beard papa's enough to know that this filling batch wasn't up to par. Normally, it' just creamy, dreamy, and vanilla-y. But this one just tasted way too much of egg. So excited about this discovery, yet so disappointed at the same time. Maybe next time!

Acme Bread Onion Loaf

A introduced me to Acme Bread on my last SF visit. They have a retail spot in the Ferry Building. It was so amazing and we all devoured it in such a furor that no photo was taken. Well here it is! It is the onion loaf. It has green onions and regular onions, and it is so good. You can find Acme Bread in a few of their own shops in the bay area along with grocery stores and restaurants in the bay area. I love this bread. And man, for artisinal bread, it's so cheap! For any bread it's cheap. This giant loaf was just over $3. I expected it to be so much more! It makes me weepy that I can't find it around me.