Pre-Treatment Food & Wine
The recurrence of cancer and initial (less optimistic) prognosis has definitely impacted my perspective. I can no longer plan far into the future nor wait to find the “perfect” moment to savor something I’ve been saving. In the past, this means that the special item I’ve been saving is well past its “best by” date, having not found the right time to enjoy it, and I’ve lost to opportunity to experience. This has happened with unique Kit Kats from Japan, foie gras from France, and likely some wine, amongst others. Now, I’m planning to be more present and live in the moment.
Given that there may be a re-irradiation therapy treatment in the future, I was (and am) fearful that I may never eat and taste the same again. As a result, we ate and drank particularly well in Chicago, the Bay Area and Houston throughout March and beyond. So while we were visiting family and getting additional medical opinions, we forego the opportunity to try revisit some favorite places and dishes, try new places, and finally open up some vintage bottles of wine that have been aging in my locker.
Here are the most memorable experiences:
Oriole: tasting menu of luxury ingredients paired with vintage wines from my collection
Asian food in Houston: Crawfish & Noodles for a Viet-Cajun seafood; Blood Bros BBQ; Himalaya for Indian/Pakistani food; Phat Eatery for Malaysian specialties
Wine party at home: opportunity to open up fine bottles with fellow wine loving friends
One note: there are a lot of photos in this post and I’ve put captions on them. If you are reading this on a mobile/cell phone, you may need to turn to landscape mode to see them.
Chicago (post diagnosis)
The timing of the diagnosis coincided with a pre-scheduled visit to Chicago from my nephew Alexander. He graduated from Ann Arbor in 2020, so he never got the big graduation ceremony nor his celebratory meals. We had made reservations at Oriole and Boka, two of our favorite fine dining spots. Originally, we were going to cook at home and then eat out more casually, but we weren’t really in a mood to cook, so we also went to Girl & the Goat, Dolo, Piece, and Portillo’s, as well as takeout from Lawrence Fish Market and Fatso’s Last Stand.
The meal at Oriole was meant to be the main graduation celebration meal. The reservation was for the same night that I went to see Dr. Lorch and Dr. Tan to get my biopsy. Fortunately, Dr. Tan was able to obtain the sample with local anesthesia and both doctors said it was fine to enjoy the meal and with wine. We did so with gusto! Oriole is a 2-star Michelin restaurant with a tasting menu of luxury, decadent ingredients handled with care to taste fantastic - perfect for a special occasion. Our menu included Perigord truffles (2x), A5 miyazaki wagyu (2x), foie gras (2x) and gold leaf, caviar, spiny lobster, Alaskan king crab, spot prawn, turbot, sablefish and more. The meal took place across three locations - starting in the bar area for appetizers and cocktails, then moving to the kitchen for a foie gras course, and then settling in the dining room for the remainder of the meal. The rooms are spacious and the service is personal, so it definitely feels like a night out where they know how to take care of you.
For drinks, we sort of went all out - getting the non-alcoholic pairing, the standard pairing, plus brining in our own wines. We skipped their reserve pairing, though. If there was a place to open up nice bottles, this was as good a time as any, especially since at the time, we thought radiation was a likely prospect in the near term. We decided on a 1996 Bonneau du Martray Corton Charlemagne, 2003 Leoville Las Cases and a 2003 Chateau d’Yquem. The sommelier was very kind and complimentary, first asking if I was a collector, then stating that these were some of her personal favorites, and then later telling us that “you’re drinking better than anyone else in the restaurant.” It turned out that their own pairings included a white burgundy and a Bordeaux, so we had fine examples of each to match with their courses. She assured us that the wines were still drinking well, and I think she enjoyed sharing the wines with us. Perhaps her only disappointment was that we had plenty to eat and drink, so we didn’t open the d’Yquem. Having three different beverage pairing with each course was also a fun experience as Oriole’s selections brought out different notes in the food. Their non-alcoholic pairings were really interesting as well.
We also made a last minute reservation to Boka, one of our favorite spots, especially since we can walk there. Charles had been there for his own birthday meal, so it was a repeat visit for him. He still seems to enjoy it, though he couldn’t try the truffle dish this time. Their duck course is so, so good.
Girl & the Goat is another reliable place that we often visit when people are visiting. The menu changes seasonally, so always something new to try. One surprise of the meal came when the bill was brought out. Apparently I’m now a “Friend of the Goat,” which meant a complimentary dessert.
One thing that Charles did (finally) get to try was a hot dog. This was a great amusement to Alexander. When my nephews were growing up, they also ate quite well, and they have vivid memories of me wondering why they were eating seafood, squab and other good food instead of hot dogs and chicken nuggets all the time. So they have been reminding me that Charles eats even better than they did. So we finally decided to give Charles his first hot dog. I think he thought it was fine, but our little gourmand would prefer to eat lobster and truffles if he had a choice (he doesn’t!).
Bay Area (16-22 March)
The trip to the Bay Area was impromptu and more focused on visiting family and getting medical opinions. Thus, we needed to have schedule flexibility so not a lot of advance reservations. While we did try a few new places (takeout vs. dine-in), we focused mostly on the tried and true favorites. We also managed to visit a sour beer room in Berkeley and wine estates in Napa Valley.
We started off at our usual post-arrival destination - New England Lobster Co, located minutes from SFO. This is the place where Charles first discovered that he prefers lobster and dungeness crab over shrimp and other more common seafood. In the East Bay, I waited in line a few times at Acme Bread to get croissants, epi, jalapeño bread as well as their pizza slices. We are really fortunate that we can buy directly from the bakery location, so we can see and smell the freshness. An ear of fresh epi with a great butter is hard to beat. Another return visit was to Cafe Chez Panisse, the more casual and a la carte upstairs restaurant. Unfortunately, Aiday and I weren’t able to enjoy the entire meal, as combination of slower than expected service and Charles’s bedtime meant we had to depart early. The two new places we tried were World Famous Hot Boys for fried chicken and Tashi Delek for Indian. Both places had multiple levels of spice. In my post-radiation normal, I can barely handle a “medium” level (just above no spice and mild). Long gone are the days of the Super Hot or XXX Hot for me. My nephew Thomas, on the other hand, did order the hottest fried chicken option, which required him to sign a waiver. He handled it without breaking a sweat (literally).
The day we drove to Stanford included a few food stops as well. Before our appointment, we went to Mademoiselle Colette in Menlo Park. This was fantastic. However, the prices definitely reflect its location, so more of a splurge than an everyday visit (the way Acme is for us). For example, an almond croissant was $6.35, a butter croissant was $5 and the desserts in the $11-15 range. That is nearly double the price we are used to paying from our other favorites. On our way back to Berkeley, we stopped at BiRite Creamery for some ice cream, both to eat there and to take home. As I’ve mentioned before, their honey lavender flavor was what got me to start making my own ice cream. I was blown away the first time I had it and still return to it as a comfort food, which we needed after that appointment.
In addition to food, we did some sour beer and wine tasting with the family. The Rare Barrel, the sour beer brewery in Berkeley, has a beer club which they call the “Ambassadors of Sour.” That term seems to fit well, as the tasting room is one place where three generations of family like to get together and sample the unique offerings. Recent favorites include Wizard’s Breath, a sour beer with roasted pineapple, ancho chilis and makrut lime leaves and Flying Lizard, with lychee and red dragon fruit. We spent a (different) day in Napa Valley. Given the reservation requirements and $50pp+ tasting fees that now seem to be the norm, we only did one tasting. This visit was a 10am appointment (can only do the first tastings with a baby) at Grgich Hills Estate, one of the old school places. It was Charles’s 3rd day in wine country, so he was not as excited with the visit as he was when he went to Arista Winery and Chateau Montelana previously. For lunch, we took the casual (low stress route) and went to Gott’s Roadside (formerly Taylor’s Refresher) for burgers, fries, tacos and milkshakes. Very satisfying.
All in all, we had a tasty trip. We didn’t get to go to Sushi Sho this visit, so hopefully next time.
Houston (28 March - 1 April)
The trip to Houston was both a very productive one in terms of getting opinions from MD Anderson and a delicious one. Aiday used to live in Houston and still has several dear friends there, so we were able to meet up with them for meals. It worked out well that we could explore Houston between the appointments. We didn’t have a bad meal, and we even returned back to the practice of visiting more than one place for dinner/dessert. Houston is definitely a great food city. We were also able to visit some of the places that Top Chef is highlighting in the current season.
Our first meal after landing on Monday was at Original Ninfa’s on Navigation. It is credited with inventing the fajita, so of course, we ordered the steak fajitas with their “berry” topping - tomatoes, onions, jalapeños, and mushrooms. It was really tasty and a great way to start the trip. We were so hungry after the morning flight that we started off the meal with queso flameado, which are rolled tortillas with cheese and chorizo, prepared table side.
That night, we met with Soo, Aiday’s best friend, and went on a food tour in Katy, an area west of Houston. We started at Captain Tom’s, a dive-y seafood restaurant shaped like a boat that Aiday and Soo remember fondly. The menu is mostly fried or raw seafood. After starting with gumbo, we got a variety of oysters (raw and fried), crab and frog legs. They oysters were definitely Texas-sized, but I can’t say they were even average tasting oysters. We didn’t finish everything, partly as we intentionally over-ordered to sample more and partly because the portions were larger than expected.
After that, we drove around Katy and noticed all the new Asian grocers and restaurants. Somewhat by accident, we parked right in front of Phat Eatery, a place that I had researched but thought it was too far away. But since we were already there, we had to try some of the Malaysian items. If I had thought there was a possibility of going here, I probably wouldn’t have eaten as much as I did at Captain Tom’s. In any case, we tried the roti canal, chili prawns and sizzling tofu. The flavors were great, which reminded me how much I miss the flavors of Singapore and can’t wait to go back. Again, we over-ordered to sample more items, but glad we did.
The night wasn’t finished, though, as we stopped by milk + sugar for ice cream. They have interesting and unique flavors, so we had to get a few to try. All in all, a very enjoyable night of exploring casual places in Houston. It also resulted me in gaining 4lbs at the MD Anderson weigh-in the next morning…but worth it.
On Tuesday, following our first doctor’s appointment, we met Dr. Hajilee, a friend and one of Aiday’s former professors, for lunch at Lucille’s, which is in the Museum District and not far from MDACC. The chef was featured on Top Chef to judge a biscuit challenge, so we were excited to try those. Other highlights of the meal included the fried green tomatoes and the yardbird, their fried chicken over mashed potatoes and collard greens. We enjoyed those courses even more than their famous chili biscuits. It’s definitely a place we’ll be revisiting during future trips to Houston.
With no other appointments that day, we walked around Rice Village for a bit and then met Soo, Mr. Bass and his wife for dinner at Xin Chao. This is a JBA-nominated restaurant who's chef was also a judge on Top Chef. We had high hopes for this modern Vietnamese restaurant. However, my expectations may have been a little too high. While the food was good, it didn’t blow us away and the service was a bit too relaxed and slow for us.
Wednesday was a full day of appointments at MD Anderson. We could only grab a bite in their cafeteria, which was the least interesting meal of the trip. This is one of the few aspects of MDACC that isn’t absolutely top notch - they lack outside food vendors to provide more varied and tasty dining options. It was standard cafeteria fare.
That night, Soo and her family treated us to a meal at Crawfish & Noodles. This is a Viet-Cajun seafood place on Bellaire Road that has been featured on David Chang’s Ugly Delicious show, amongst other appearances. This was a chance to try the seafood boil from one of the original creators, and it was great. It was fun to get in there and eat the crawfish, sausage and corn with my hands. The sauce is a combination of butter, garlic and spice. We polished that off and then ordered more dishes, including a seafood salad and a beef dish (but no noodle dishes, even though it’s part of their name). That wasn’t the end of the night, as we ended up going to two different Asian dessert spots - Beard Papa’s and Meet Fresh. Both were fine but not exceptional.
Crawfish, sausage, corn from Crawfish & Noodles
With no scheduled appointments on Thursday, we had a free day while waiting for get an MRI approval. We started the day at Blood Bros BBQ, a place on NYT Restaurant List. It has both traditional Texas BBQ as well as BBQ items with Asian flavors. It was really excellent (and with a manageable 30min line). As usual, we went for a sampling, so we got some brisket, a jalapeño & cheddar sausage, brisket fried rice, mac&cheese, salad as well as the gochujang glazed pork ribs and smoked char siu pork banh mi. Good thing we can order by the lb, allowing us to sample small portions. It was so good that we didn’t have any leftovers. Definitely another place to revisit on future trips.
After that, we did a little bit of non-food sightseeing. Soo recommended The Infinite, an immersive virtual reality experience based on space exploration. I was a little skeptical, but it was very well done. Aside from the weightlessness, it really does feel like we were on the International Space Station. The imagery was incredible, especially the sunrise from space. (Too bad there wasn't a way to get good pictures of the experience). After that we went to the Rothko Chapel, but they were closed that afternoon. It’s a place we’ve visited before and Rothko is one of my favorite artists, so we wanted to revisit, especially with the new skylight installed in 2020. We ended up going the next day, before flying out. Again, another place to revisit, particularly as it is not far from MDACC. Instead of Rothko, we went to the Museum of Fine Arts Houston (MFAH), meeting with Mr. Bass and his wife.
Our final dinner in Houston was a late one at Himalaya, post MRI. Throughout the afternoon, I had been calling MDACC and insurance regarding the MRI approval. At 5:15pm (while at MFAH), I got an alert that the procedure was finally approved. After a few attempts, I found a phone number that someone answered. To my surprise and relief, at 5:55pm, I was able to schedule an MRI at 6:15pm that night, i.e. only 20 minutes later. We left MFAH and got to the appointment on time. But then had to wait a little while for the procedure, so dinner had to wait. Again, it was worth it. Himalaya is a Pakistani-Indian restaurant along the stretch west of downtown Houston with a lot of Asian places. The owner is the one who took our order, and we got a selection of curries, naan and rice based on his recommendations. It was delicious and they definitely do not hold back on spice. We’ll have to get their famous fried chicken next time. We didn’t finish this meal, but instead took the leftovers home with us. They made for a delicious pre-flight meal the next day (we did not subject the plane passengers to the magnificent smells of Indian cuisine…).
Chicago (before treatment)
Back in Chicago, we had a few days before starting treatment, so we made the most of that time as well. We didn’t try any new restaurants, but instead went back to old standby’s to get specific dishes. First stop was avec (in River North) for the bacon-wrapped chorizo-stuffed dates, and the focaccia with taleggio and truffle oil (and other dishes). Given his previous experience with truffles, it was no surprise that Charles loved the focaccia and could’t stop eating it. (The dates are too spicy for him.) The next night we went to The Loyalist for their burger and fries, and the foie gras eclair. They had a “special” burger with Diane sauce, so we opted for that version instead of the regular one. Excellent choice, as it was as satisfying as we hoped it would be. The final dine-in stop on our brief tour was HaiSous, the modern Vietnamese restaurant in Pilsen. We got the papaya salad, the whole grilled fish and the bun cha (pork and noodle dish). All as good as we remembered them. In addition, our friends Andy and Nina generously treated us to takeout Go4Food, particularly their chili fusion lobster and the french style beef tenderloin. We love these dishes and they were staples of our pandemic takeout ordering.
Finally, on the weekend before starting treatment, we decided to open up some wines from the cellar and share them with some friends from Birch Road Cellar. We’ve had the pleasure to enjoy some really nice wine and food with this group, and since the doctors have me on an alcohol prohibition, it was time to open up some bottles that had been aging for a while. I was actually a little fearful that some of the wines would be “past peak”, since many of the wines I had were from 1996-2003 vintages and some vintage charts noted that they were not meant to be cellared longer. The line up featured traditional wine regions (nothing “trendy”), and there is a reason for their fame. These included Grand and 1er Cru white burgundy, California Cabernets, Bordeaux and some dessert wines that I love. Aiday made a cheese & charcuterie platter to accompany the wines.
That was quite a month or so of eating and drinking. As of now (early June), there are no changes to my ability to eat and taste - I can still enjoy everything. Hopefully that continues. While there will not be any alcohol until at least August, I am planning on it in the future, as I am still adding to the collection. That’ll be one nice change.