Book Parties and Fried Food

I'm walking two steps slower than normal today courtesy of the endless pours of cava at Sarma Melngailis' book party last night at her fabulous restaurant Pure Food and Wine. We were all there celebrating the release of her new raw food cookbook Living Raw Food. The party was great, the books even better. Its packed with Recipes for fig bars, morning glory juices, entrees like chanterelle and alama olive ravioli and choucroute and ruby sauerkraut. And there are even special features like one page info on raw food staples like dulse- a sea vegetable that can easily replace salt in your salads and veggie dishes - and chia seeds - powerhouse seeds high in omega-3 fatty acids.

Afterward we went next door for small bites at Casa Mono. Going there is always a good idea in theory and then you get there and realize that actually, it's not the greatest stuff in the world.  It's an excuse for grown ups to eat like kids: fried this and fried that with a side of something fried. But some of the dishes work, like the foie, a personal favorite. The thing is, after the grease laden tastes of pumpkin and goatcheese fritters. baccalao logs and pigs feet, the foie wound up tasting less than the delicious way it should taste. It was like sucking on the grislte on a boney steak. It is a normally  delicious plate, but just not along with everything else. I know I will go back and hopefully will navigate the menu better so I can really appreciate and enoy what they do there.