For AL's birthday we heaced to Archipelago for dinner. (now that we're getting older, our celebrations are increasing in $$) Archipelago is a fusion restaurant mixing Filipino foods with french and other european influences. The head chef, chef Alain, is a cordon bleu professor who previously worked at French Laundry as a chef and head cheese selector.
There were 15 of us. a relatively large group for a restaurant their size. This was my 2nd time at the restaurant. a relatively good experience.
Quartet of Hot/Cold Oysters.
2 hot & 2 cold oysters. one with lemongrass vinaigrette. one panko fried with banana sauce. one with rhubarb reduction. one with chinese mustard.
This came recommended on Yelp and by the waitress. we ordered a few to share around the table. I thought this was a pretty interesting dish. The temperature was alittle weird and I wasn't sure which one was cooked vs raw. I am a fan of these little oysters though. esp, lil raw oysters (yum!).
Lamb Rack
roasted lamb. roasted veggies. layered "scalloped" potato.
EL ordered this lamb. i'm not a big lamb fan, but it looked like it was done fairly well. looked juicy. not much for me to say..
Grilled Kurobuta Pork Chop
Grilled pork chop. black rice. caramelized endives with other veggies.
I ordered the pork chop as it was recommended by the waitress. it was pretty good. good portion size. juicy. the black rice was a nice touch, as I've been eating primarily this 10 grain rice at home. it was a little bit too greasy for me though.
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I don't have pictures, but DK ordered a grilled whole bonzini (Mediterranean fish) which was very juicy and perfectly cooked. The grilled chicken was a little disappointing, not much food on the plate.
The cocktails were pretty good. I had the pineapple basil. (i LOVE basil cocktails).
Dessert was yum. their caramel apples are ingenius. lil melon-balled apples coated with warm caramel and 3 diff't toppings to dip into (peanuts, marshmallows, and dark chocolate bits) SOOOOO GOOD! The creme brulee duo is good as well with a hazelnut one and a vietnamese coffee one.
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and I leave you with a random photo. that i thought was pretty cool. taken by DK
(hmm...whose girly lychee-tini is that?)
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