Umami with Mara

Summer rolls

When Mara was visiting a few weeks ago, we went to Umami for dinner. We had the summer rolls, the sesame seaweed salad with shiitake mushrooms, the mixed greens salad, and the tonkatsu ramen with a garlic bomb. The summer rolls were a tad bland, but, as always, the seaweed salad and tonkatsu ramen were marvelous.

Seaweed salad

Tonkatsu ramen

Partying like it's 2012

Just a few shots from my 35th birthday extravaganza in September, which included a picnic by the lake, dinner at Umami, shopping at reThreads west and dinner at Eno Vino, and dinner and La Brioche cake at A. + H.'s house. Oh, and the boy bought me my very own bocce ball set. I can't wait to try them out. Woot!

B.'s tutu transformed me into a birthday nymph

Delicious cake from La Brioche

Umami

I just finished my leftover ramen from Umami Ramen and Dumpling Bar on Willy St., and my belly is hippity-hoppity happy. (The hippity-hoppity thing is a belated nod to the Easter bunny. :)) J. and I ate there last night.

We each ordered tonkatsu ramen (with a garlic bomb add-on to share between the two ramen entrees), and we split a small order of the vegetable dumplings. The tonkatsu ramen contained thick slices of delectable pork, ramen noodles, scallions, bamboo shoots, flavor-infused egg, nori, bean sprouts, and last but definitely not least, a sumptuous pork broth.

I say last but not least for a reason. When I ate the leftover ramen at work, a layer of fatty goodness from the pork broth had congealed on the top of the take-out container. I scraped what I could into my soup, but a few tempting, lardy bits remained. For a few moments, I contemplated weaseling my tongue into the cover's grooves to extract the bits, but I refrained. I'd like to claim that self-restraint was the driving force here, but it was more the thought of a colleague catching me red-tongued (like red-handed, get it?) in such a gluttonous pose. But just so you know, I seriously considered it.

The veggie dumplings were filled with smoked tofu, bok choy, and shiitake mushrooms. Next time, I'd skip them, though. They were less than stellar and occupied valuable gullet space where more delicious ramen could've lived. The shiitakes were the only discernible flavor; the bok choy and smoked tofu were so muted that they got lost in the mix. And even the shiitake flavor vanished when the dumplings were dipped in the too-spicy sauce.

They get a few points off for taking too long to correct the bungled bill. The waiter added other diners' items to our bill, and that's not such a big deal. I'm willing to forgive mistakes if they're handled properly, but the waiter first implied that our claim was questionable. Then, he and the manager took an additional 15 or 20 minutes to remedy the situation.

I'm going to assume the bill issue was a fluke. When I return, I'd like to try the pork buns, the tuna poke, and the apple walnut frisee salad (tart apple, dried cranberries, walnuts, goat cheddar in a light pomegranate mint dressing). And I might just get the tonkatsu ramen again.

In praise of ramen

It's the last night of the three-day weekend, and I'm settling in to enjoy Letterman with a steaming bowl of picante chicken ramen* (doctored up with several handfuls of spinach) and some crusty, multigrain bread. Some people think only college students eat ramen. But it has always been a favorite of mine, and it contradicts those who claim that I am a food snob. :)

I promise to present something a bit more exciting on the culinary front in the near future. The potatoes in the kitchen have been clamoring to be used before they are irreparably spoiled, so I'm thinking potato-leek soup is on the horizon. Also, I saw Julia and Jacques cooking French onion soup and a Mediterranean fish stew with rouille, and I'd like to attempt those, too.

*This post generously sponsored by a donation from the Nondorf Foundation.