A Beast in the Kitchen

You may remember that earlier this year I enjoyed dinner prepared by Art Smith, a chef famous for his classic Southern cooking.

This restaurant was part of the USA Pavilion's participation in the EXPO in Milan and was open for 6 months.

Before it closed, I was able to attend another dinner, this time prepared by West Coast chef Naomi Pomeroy.

Like Art Smith, I had previously watched her cook on Top Chef Masters. She came in 4th on Season 3.

Top Chef is one of my most favorite shows.

Right behind Dancing with the Stars.

And Project Runway.

But Tom and Padma. Totally my jam. Love them.

So, we made a reservation for Pomeroy's visit in October.

Peggy, Ann, Lisa and me

We loved Naomi's food.

Even though some of it pushed our (my) eating boundaries a bit. (cough, cough...see the first pic!)

Steak tartare, quail egg, brioche tart

Ummm...this was pure deliciousness:

Tomato and taleggio, creme fraiche tart

Crispy pork rillettes

celery and fennel veloute

The pork was soooooooo tender:

Brined pork, wild mushrooms

And this salad was the bomb:

Fall chicory salad, apples, toasted hazelnuts

I wanted to lick this plate:

Bete noir, salted caramel sauce

Pomeroy, post dinner, discussing the menu

It's such a shame that this dinner series is over, but it was awesome to get to experience such a thing- twice!

Dinner was delicious! If you are on the West Coast of the US, you should make a point to head to Pomeroy's restaurant, Beast, in Portland, Oregon.

I'd love to go...maybe it's time to put some more domestic trips on the agenda.

EXPO 2015 Milan.

This year Milan hosted the EXPO, which is what the World's Fair is more or less known as now. Leading up to the event the city was a hot mess, with construction everywhere, trying to prepare everything for millions of visitors that were expected.

The EXPO kicked off at Piazza Duomo with a free concert featuring Andrea Boccelli and pianist Lang Lang.

Boccelli in front of the Duomo.

While it was crowded, there was more than enough room not to feel like you were being pushed from all sides. I stayed for a bit and listened to several performances before heading home.

It's hard to pass up the opportunity to hear one of the world's greatest tenors sing live FOR FREE!

One night in June, Caitlin and I headed out to the EXPO site, which was located outside of the city.

If you went after 7 pm, it was only €5 to get in.

Every country built a pavilion to showcase their homeland and feature ideas about food and sustainability, which was the theme of the EXPO this year.

Many of the pavilions were incredible, in design and architecture.

Since we only went in the evening, we missed out on some of the daytime events, and I think this caused us to be a little bored with some of what was on display.

There was a lot to look at, but seemingly, not a lot to do.

I had intended to go back before the EXPO closed October 31, but that just didn't happen. I had it on my calendar for late October, but heard the crowds and the public transport getting to the site were unbelievable, so I decided that I wouldn't try to get out there again.

If you missed the EXPO in Milan, you have 5 years to plan your trip for the next EXPO...in Dubai!

Did you go to the EXPO? What was your favorite pavilion?