My wedding day is finally here! I can’t believe it is time! Tomorrow Mr. J and I will be married and we’re super excited. The planning process has been pretty smooth and easy. I can’t wait! This time last year we were in NYC for a weekend getaway when Mr. J surprised me and proposed.

Cake wasn’t something I cared about…I was thinking of some cake alternatives but Mr. J wanted a cake so we’ll have cake. The tastings were pretty crazy. They bring out huge spreads of cake choices or filling to try. It was fun to taste ’em and I’m sure everyone will enjoy our cake. I don’t usually eat cake at weddings but I’ll be sure to report back. I wanted to eat the decorated strawberries above but we weren’t sure how long they’d been there, or if they were just decoration.

Think sweet thoughts for us!
Lobstah

I love them! I really prefer to eat them at home. Having a server checking on you while you’re dredging meaty chunks into sweet butter isn’t necessary. Also, I don’t don the plastic bib.The thrill is actually in the meat. Mr. J peered over since we were crackin’ away after the burgers were gone. He inquired if the tail or the claw was better. It really made me think. I don’t think I have a preference. I love it all. Check out the size of the claw!

I had a lobster roll at Anthem this summer and was unimpressed. Lobster as a roll is my least favorite form since I prefer it hot and buttery.
“Lobstah” makes it really feel like summer.
Restaurant Week Luncheon
Maybe it was the restaurant choice (Marliave), maybe because it was at lunch, maybe it was the menu, maybe they just have good waitstaff, I don’t know what it was but they restored my faith in restaurant week!

My colleagues and I joined our sister-office for a restaurant week lunch outing at Marliave. I couldn’t get over the menu. It has stayed up on the website for awhile so take a peek! Literally something for anyone. I have just a selection of our choices for a glimpse of the meal.
I started with the mac & cheese. I mean, are you surprised? It was probably the best I’ve ever had…and I’ve had a lot. They use house cut ziti which makes all the difference. The black truffle doesn’t hurt either. It is served in a small caraf that couldn’t be cuter.

Ms. M had the caprese. Seems like a slightly less filling choice. It had aged balsamic and fresh balsamic. She said she could absolutely tell that it was Italian mozzarella. She lived in Italy as a child. She’s also vegetarian so I totally trust her on this.

The second course was troublesome for me. So many choices! I ended up with fish & chips which is kind of random for me. I wanted the risotto but knew that wouldn’t pair well with the mac & cheese.

Ms. M got the mushroom risotto. Apparently if you don’t like mushrooms, this dish still won’t turn you to the other side.

I really wanted the rarebits, but would be on cheese overload. I also had been eyeing the muscles appetizer. I should have just asked if I could have 2 first courses.
Peeking down the table the trout looked lovely and the portabello would have been good too. I suppose nothing could follow the mac & cheese anyway. I also didn’t eat much of it anyway so choosing something that reheated well was probably wise.

Dessert just made me want to roll on out of there. I was seriously so full and getting antsy that I couldn’t eat dessert. I chose the box of truffles and brought them back to the office. I really enjoyed them the next day.

Ms. M had the chunky brownie sundae. It was delicious. She graciously offered me a bite. We all had commented on the butterscotch pudding. I tasted it and really couldn’t get over how creamy but light it was. Yum.

Based on the size portion of the glorious mac & cheese, I wish our server offered to wrap the massive amount remaining. Also, It took way too long for a weekday lunch that close to the financial district. Our reservation was for noon when it wasn’t busy at all and we had to really push to get the check once dessert. Empty plates showed we were done but we still waited quite awhile.
The mac & cheese was worth the $20.11 (plus tip) alone. They won me over and I’ll definitely have to hit up Marliave again…especially when cocktails are appropriate.
Food Swappin’
In an effort to increase my green score I decided to attend a food swap. Just kidding. I’m already considered “fairly green” since I’ve attended other swaps. I had kept my eye, and my twitter, focused on the upcoming food swap dates the Boston Food Swap was hosting. I could finally go in August!

It’s now September and the next swap is fast approaching all before I’ve even posted the August one! I need to be cut some slack…it’s now into the single digits until my wedding. Eeeeek!
How it works:
Folks sign up and bring whatever swapable items he/she’d like.
Swapable foods have to be home grown, cooked, baked, or foraged.
There are no set quantities or suggested items.
Once arriving and laying out the goodies, everyone mingles and samples.
Bidding occurs by offering your own treats in exchange for somebody else’s.
The trade! The bids are only indications as to who wants your food. Hopefully you want food from others who want yours, thus the trade transaction.
It was really fun and I’m glad I went. I’ll definitely go again. I brought marinated mushrooms mostly because I was thinking what would travel well and what was easy yet interesting to whip up.

I went with 12 canning jars so I had plenty to trade with. I’d guess there were about 20-25ish people there. I used 2 sizes of jars and was thankful to have some larger and smaller ones. I hadn’t even planned that some small trades would be more even.
It felt a bit like a potluck with strangers. Honestly, I was proud of myself for going by myself. I didn’t know anyone there and met some great people with all sorts of tasty treats! It was wayyy better than a cookie swap.

I got some lime rice pudding, refrigerator pickles, smoked turkey meatballs, butternut squash ravioli, plum salsa, raspberry preserves, cookie dough apple butter, and assorted baked goods.

I wasn’t psyched about the baked goods. Although I don’t bake, it felt like nobody wanted them that much. They were good, but 2 very small cookies? Seriously?

While making my traditional (Italian) marinated mushrooms and balsamic marinated mushrooms I feared ‘what if nobody wants my stuff’. I thought about what it’d feel like to come home with stuff I brought. Thankfully that wasn’t the case and I kept that in mind when bidding since I had so many to offer.

Mr. J reminded me I wouldn’t be able to trade what I didn’t bring. He’s such a wise one.
Walk Like an Elephant

After a beachy day and before a night on the town, a wonderful gaggle of girls and I ate here for a bachelorette party. I really loved my meal and was totally intrigued by all the other meals! I should confess I had no idea what Cambodians ate…apparently quite similar to their neighbors in Thailand. Lots ‘o rice and meat with veggies.We had our own table in a great little niche downstairs. It was so great to be able to ‘do our own thing’ (read as: be as chatty and loud as we wanted).

I started with a sweet & pear flavored cocktail. I don’t remember exactly what was in it…wish they posted a cocktail menu online since this would be a fun one to recreate.
We shared some rouleaux and some vegetarian rouleaux. These spring rolls were fried & crispy like a Chinese egg roll. They came with tuk trey a sweet & spicy sauce for dipping. The rouleaux were great for sharing and came with plenty to go around.

I chose a shrimp curry dish called Curry de Crevettes…how creative. It came with asparagus, bok choy, snow peas and a mound of rice. I forgot to ask for brown rice though. I like that it’s more flavorful and nutty than white rice. The health benefits don’t hurt either.

It was a sizeable portion and I ate the shrimp out once I started getting full since I knew I wouldn’t take it with me.
The bride-to-be got a veggie curry entree which looked really good. We made a stop back to her apt before going out so she was smart to take the rest wtih her.

I thought the presentation on this pork special was great. I usually hate when meat is sliced for me but they made this look good! The crisp greens on top made me very intrigued.

The beef tips (Loc Lac) seemed like the most simple dish on the menu. They are grilled with black pepper, garlic, & soy. There was a lime dipping sauce I would have liked to try…especially given my love for lime dressing.

With such a big menu I loved that the French influence made it easy for me to scan quickly to get to chicken or fish! There were tons of vegetarian options (like tofu not just meatless options) and lots of gluten free choices. I liked the sauces a lot and thought everything seemed really fresh and flavorful.
I was really impressed. The food was really good and our servers were great. All of our meals came out at the same time and there were probably 10-12 of us! Like our friend Arnold might say, I’ll be back.