Day 1 – Friday, travel day. We flew from FWA to MSP and missed our connection to Seattle, so we were rerouted through PHX. This gave us precious time during the day to eat.

1. Biscoff – I had my first Biscoff cookies. They’re rather like shortbread: dense, sweet, and crumbly. I have a jar of Biscoff cookie butter at home that I’m going to freaking kill when I get home now.

2. Bacon Cheeseburger and sweet potato fries at a Pei Wei burger spin-off in PHX. For as limited as the menu was, service took forever. There was entirely too much lettuce – each bite came off cold because there was more lettuce than anything else that might have been hot. The sweet potato fries (I’m learning these are not easy to do well) were pretty good, with a good balance of crispy outside so the fry holds its shape while making its way to your mouth, and tasty-gooey-starchy innards. These were lightly salted – I find myself becoming increasingly cognizant of the salt levels in everything I eat. Basically, it was a horrible lunch but we were starving and we almost missed our flight (again) because of it.

3. Golden Beetle (http://golden-beetle.com/menus/dinner/) – Mom and I ate at this restaurant at my sister’s recommendation. Very east coast with an organic certification, GF/Vegan menus. Renowned chef.

We started with the trio of dips – The flat bread it was served with was a thicker, fuller bread, but wasn’t filling. As it should be, it was rather neutral in flavor to allow the tastes of the dips to come out completely. The spicy beet ginger hummus was bright red and Mom thought it was going to be hot – but it wasn’t. It was calm and soothing, sweet and silky smooth. The Muhammara was very complex, and that’s a good thing. The Baba Ghanoush was my favorite. This is a dish I’ve always heard of and never had a reasonable opportunity to try. It was a little spicy, carried the olive oil with which it was topped very well, and was worth the 35 year wait.

The cauliflower salad was next to come out. This was fine florets cooked to a point where they maintained the slightest crunch but weren’t still raw. The tahini base was perfectly balanced with the fresh mint flanked by almonds (which were surprisingly flavorful) and chickpeas, and there were some white raisins in there as well, I’m sure of it. If I could recreate this recipe, I could permanently change the face of Midwest barbecues for the better.

Next out was the Bulgur-Lamb Meatballs. There were four oblong balls presented on a bed of the Baba Ghanoush. The power of the lamb was present here (I don’t know why we’re all so hesitant to eat lamb in the Midwest) and reminded me of the Lahore Tikka House in TO, a little Pakistani restaurant that was so authentic I had to have my luggage (which didn’t even make it to the restaurant) dry cleaned. The pine nuts and date puree served two functions – first was flavor, second was consistency, and they were  both chosen perfectly. I believe the meat-oblongs were roasted and lightly fried to give them a nice, crisp crust. Absolutely divine.

Our last dish was carmelized Brussels Sprouts. Now, this is one of my favorite vegetables and carmelizing is one of my favorite preparation techniques. This was done absolutely perfectly. The sprouts were cut into smaller, more manageable pieces, which helped both in preparation and in consumption. It meant I had no work to eat it, but it allowed the carmelizing to be consistent and for the entire dish to be done well. This dish was a touch salty. The dish came out as a mix – pickeled celery, hazelnut, and grilled apple were mixed in.

The GB also does specialty cocktails, and the one I had (not listed online) was nothing short of spectacular. I believe it was a Duneagle which Google is telling me is a location in Downton Abbey. It was scotch – whose base came through very well. Often in cocktails, it’s almost as if the point is to cover up the taste of the alcohol, to drown it in soda or juice or toss mangled fruit on top of it. If you’re going to do that, then you really should only be using vodka, gin, or tequila. Here, however, the scotch never lost its flavor, it was, rather, enhanced by the flavor mixed with it. I believe what I had was a basil-infused soda and garnished with orange and lime zest. Whatever it was, it was so good I would not order it again until I’d had every other of their cocktails first.

Now, we’re getting up for the second day. Let’s see how much coffee one man can consume in a single day. Or weekend.