Tonight Mariko and I celebrated our 25th wedding anniversary with an amazing omakase dinner at Takao restaurant in Brentwood. We’ve been to Takao a few times for our anniversary and have always enjoyed it.
This time, the executive chef/owner, Izumida Takao, prepared all of our main dishes. Everything was delicious, but the toro wrapped around uni, and topped with caviar and truffles (photo above) was both Mariko and my favorite. In fact, it was one of the best things I’ve ever eaten in my whole life! 😀 If you would like to try some awesome sushi, I definitely recommend Takao.
Photo info: FUJIFILM X-E4, 55mm, f/4.5, 1/140 sec, ISO3200 “Salvadorian Chicken” Cedar Park, 2021
I was reorganizing my browser’s bookmarks and came across this recipe for Salvadorian Chicken which I hadn’t made in a few years so I decided to make it for dinner. It’s a braised chicken in wine dish, and very easy to make.
I don’t really know how authentic it is, but it’s pretty tasty! I usually like very flavorful and spicy dishes, and this dish would be considered quite tame. Probably perfect for those with less-adventurous palettes.
Photo info: FUJIFILM X-E4, 35.8mm, f/3.6, 1/60 sec, ISO800 “Chicken Tikka Masala” Cedar Park, 2021
Mariko made chicken tikka masala and naan for our dinner tonight. It was super yummy and I ate way too much. Actually, my portion wasn’t too large but I didn’t eat much all day today so my stomach shrunk a bit. That’s my guess.
After dinner I started on my usual 5 km run, but I felt so sluggish that I decided to cut it a bit shorter than usual. That’s okay though… I’m happy that I at least got out there. 😀
Today we went for an early dinner at Loro. The restaurant is very popular, so we went early to beat the crowds and grab a table outside. Loro’s menu is kind of a mix of Asian and Texas BBQ, and everything we had was deeeelicious! Highly recommended if you are in Austin!
FYI, we’re still in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, with cases rising here in Texas, so we thought hard about going out to eat. But because we went early and Loro has plenty of outdoor seating, we though it was safe. Indeed, all staff was masked up (as we were, when not stuffing our faces) and they were cleaning tables regularly.
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/2.8, 1/60 sec, ISO640 “Anchovies” Cedar Park, 2021
Anchovy pizza is not a thing you see very often on menus, which seems somewhat strange to me because it seems like such an iconic topping. Maybe it’s that way just for me or my generation, and I suspect it might have earned a permanent space in my mind because of old Looney Tunes cartoons. In writing this post, I found out that the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles often ate anchovy pizzas, but that was a little after my time and I never watched them, so I suspect it was Bugs Bunny or even Scooby Doo that put anchovies into my brain.
At any rate, several years ago I first ate them on pizza, and I thought they weren’t very good. Basically salty and fishy. But I actually kept craving them, and after a few more tries, I grew to love anchovy pizza! Thankfully, canned anchovies are readily available in markets so I can have my anchovy fix whenever I want. I am still a little baffled on why I like them so much since I think they are still overly salty, but truth be told, whenever I see the can of anchovies in the pantry just waiting to be used, I get a warm feeling in my heart and a craving in my belly. 😊
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/2.8, 1/100 sec, ISO1250 “Fresh Pizza” Cedar Park, 2021
