Tartine is a cute and quaint little cafe that serves French breakfast and pastries. Before I even show you pictures, I must say that the food here is delicious! All the breads are made in house…nice and crunchy on the outside, but dense and soft on the inside. Breakfast is delicious and lunch is basically a breakfasty version of lunch…(my best explanation). They put a little touch of “Tartine” on every menu item…

Baked Egg in Brioche. 

My favorite part about breakfast foods…the cutting of the poached egg. Who knew egg yolk could be such a delicious sauce! 

Quiche. 

Cafe Au Lait.

Ham Sandwich. Triple Cream Brie. Fig Mustard. Butter Lettuce on a Baguette. 

Salmon Rillete. 

So I’m showing you pictures from two different occasions…one to go order and one sit down in their tiny patio. It’s THAT good..I’ve been here multiple times and just can’t get tired of the food. It’s refreshing and not overly heavy considering you’re eating quite a bit of carbs. All spreads are flavorful and leave you wanting more…

I don’t know what else to say. I love it so much that writing this post is making me want to visit tomorrow morning. I’ll see y’all there! 

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UPDATE 12/28/2012

So as promised, I paid another visit to Tartine and they did it again! I know this is a long post, but I’m sure a little eye candy won’t bother your taste buds…

Soup of the Day: Cauliflower Soup. 

House Pate.  Dijon. Onion Confit. Baguette.

House Smoked Turkey. Gruyere. Avocado. Roasted Gartlic Aioli. Butter Lettuce. Honey Wheat Bread.

Everything was delicious, as expected. The thing I’ve noticed with Tartine is the simplicity of all their menu items. All tartines consist of a skinny baguette baked to a perfect crunch on the outside and dense yet fluffy inside. Each baguette is topped with a fully flavored, well-seasoned spread of choice (salmon, pork, pate..etc). Sandwiches are simple and plain in appearance, but don’t let that fool you…like the House Smoked Turkey Sandwich did to me. The bread was a light and fluffy texture stuffed with deliciously smoked turkey. What really blew me away was how the garlic aioli could add so much flavor. I just wanna add garlic aioli to everything now! I can go on and on…but you’ll just have to try it for yourself! 

My favorite items: 

• Pork Rillette
• Smoked Turkey Sandwich
• Ham Sandwich

The sushi is always fresh. The sushi rolls are unique…you won’t find these same rolls anywhere else in the city. 

Sashimi Roll w/ Soy paper. Fresh Sashimi. Japanese Herbs. Optional cucumber or soybean wrapper. 

Tiger Roll (front). California roll wrapped with fresh salmon and BBQ Eel.  Caterpillar Roll. Snow crab. BBQ eel. Cucumbers. Avocado.

Sashimi Dinner (comes with Miso Soup). 

Tornado Roll. Fresh tuna, salmon. Avocado. Smelt Roe. Cream Cheese. Snowcrab. Deepfried in Tempura batter. 

Hana Special Roll. Tempura shrimp. Fresh tuna and salmon. Snow Crab. Omelet. Cucumber. Avocado. Smelt Roe. 

This roll is GINORMOUS but it’s delicious! It’s one of my favorite rolls..probably because it’s fully loaded and you get a little bit of everything in one roll. I’d say there’s about 4 true rolls in ONE of these Hana Special rolls. I tend to get 1/2 Hana Special so I have room for my other favorites!

Baked Salmon Roll. Baked fresh salmon filet wrapped around snow crab.

Notable Dishes (not pictured) 

•  Noodle Salad – they provide a small complimentary dish just for coming to dine in, but I always order a whole extra order just because I love it that much. 
• Red Dragon Roll. 

If you’re  searching for a great sushi joint, this is it. Fresh, original sushi rolls. Always fresh sashimi. Whether you’re in the city searching for good sushi or just happen to be in the area, Cafe Zen is a must try! 

Amuse Bouche. Asian-inspired dish w/ Salmon Sashimi. Fresh Herbs.

Smoked Cornmeal Encrusted Louisiana Oysters. Andouille Spoon Bread. Manchego Foam.

“KFC” Korean Fried Chicken Wings. Pepper Jelly glaze. Kimchi.

Black Lacquered Duck Tortellini. Indian Orange Mascarpone. Toasted Pine Nuts. Vanilla Tapioca. Black Duck Tea.

Nice presentation! The scallops come in this vintage looking cigar box…it helps to hold the smoke in the box so the scallops absorb every bit of smokey flavor. Let’s just say..it does the job! The scallops were delicious!

Cohiba Smoked Scallops. Chorizo Dust. Carmelized Cauliflower. Fennel Choucroute.

Hanger Steak. Crispy Sweetbreads. Sweet Kumquat Bordelaise. Pommes Frites.

Sweet Corn Caramel Flan. Salted Corn and Caramel Ice Cream. Vanilla Milk Foam. “Cracker Jacks”

Strawberry Delight. Toasted Almond Cake. Smoked Black Tea Honey Crunch. Strawberry Sour Cream Ice Cream. Strawberry Gel. Fizzy Rock.

Root’s menu is extremely creative and the presentation is just superb. I love the way Chef Phillip Lopez throws together such diverse elements and combines them to build flavors that work together so well like the duck tortellini (pictured above). Vanilla tapioca and Black duck tea?? Who woulda thought? And it tastes so good! I will say that because of the design and flair in each plate, it doesn’t stuff you so order accordingly.  The other downside was the desserts…Lots of elements and full of different and interesting flavors, but I felt it was a bit “deconstructed”.

Overall, innovative dishes. Great atmosphere. So if you’re feeling like refreshing your palate with molecular gastronomy-type dishes, check out Root!

Rating: 2.5/5 spoons

For Vday we went to Ralph’s On the Park, located in New Orleans’ historic City Park. Ralph’s is owned by the Brennan family, a New Orleans’ culinary family. If you want to experience geniune New Orleans flavors, visit a Brennan’s family restaurant. This one is one of the many typically known for their brunch. 

Blue Crab Beignets masa fried oysters, pan seared pork belly, Meyer lemon gastrique

American Wagyu Beef Belly star anise and juniper, cranberry-infused worcestershire glaze

Honey Mussels (Aphrodisiac menu) tagliatelle pasta, fennel sausage, saffron, fresh herbs, tomatoes, white wine

Oysters Aphrodite (Aphrodisiac menu) w/ spicy pepper jelly cream

Salmon Roulade  w/ lobster and white chocolate filling, wilted spinach, salmon roe, vanilla bean beurre blanc

The meal was delicious! My favorite had to be the Wagyu…it just melts into a seasoned butter in your mouth. I love the detail of flavors that Ralph’s brought to my plate. I will definitely return…especially since I have yet to try this epic brunch that everyone talks about!