Brunch at Boston Chops

After moving to Boston, I miss my food loving blogger friends, so I joined the blogger group Boston Brunchers for brunch at Boston Chops last week.

Boston Chops is a steakhouse in the SoWa area, but they're also known for their brunch dishes such as french toast and fried chicken. We couldn't resist starting brunch with some Island Creek oysters ($29/dozen)

I'm really loving this particular type of oyster and since they're from nearby Duxbury, MA, they're always so fresh and sweet in this town!

The restaurant sent out some Pecan Sticky Buns ($7)

I like that they've made it bite size and easy to share, no more trying to messily split sticky buns.

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Caviar at Happy Hour? Only at Petrossian (West Hollywood, CA)

There are plenty of happy hours in Los Angeles, but where would you find caviar on the happy hour menu? Well, at Petrossian - the renowned caviar purveyor - of course you would. For happy hour drinks you can get either the caviar cocktail or vodka at a discounted price, or $6 wines.

Let's talk about the food! Last year I put Petrossian's lobster roll as one of the best bites I had that year. The lobster roll was topped with sea urchin and caviar!

For happy hour, you can get a mini version:
Mini Lobster Roll, topped with Sea Urchin, Caviar, Fennel, Daikon, Chives, Parsley, Brioche Roll, Lemongrass & Garlic Aioli, French Fries ($15)

I went for a media preview so they had cut up the mini lobster roll into smaller pieces for us to taste. It's just as good as I remembered and made me want to come back in for a full size!

Other offerings include Tarte Aux Pommes de Terre (Potato Tart, Crème Fraiche, 20g Transmontanus Caviar - $24)

The crispy potato tarts remind me of latkes - but topped with caviar makes it that much better, of course.

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Qui (Austin)

For my first trip to Austin, I had two must-visits on my list: Franklin BBQ and Qui. Qui is the upscale dining concept from Top Chef champion Paul Qui. Austin is pretty big on having outdoor dining areas, so at Qui you can choose between the warm, dim dining room or the bright patio.

There was an amuse bouche of a nori (seaweed) chip with Vermont cheddar foam

The cocktails here are worth ordering. I tried the Manila Envelope made with Batavia arrack, benedictine, lime, coconut, orange, and hops ($10)

I veered towards ordering his interpretation of Filipino dishes, since those would be the ones I can't find anywhere else.

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