We had a pretty killer New Year’s Eve dinner at a little place called Communal. As its hippie name might imply, Communal is a trendy place that offers local, organic food– we’re talking the chef hand-picks veggies in the morning and cooks with them in the afternoon. The upscale comfort food is often interesting, daring, and perfectly balanced. So, here’s what we had for our NYE dinner (a steal at $50 a person for 5 courses). All the beautiful photos were taken by Jeff.
One of the secrets of ComicCon: the nearby hotels are some of the coolest places you can hang out. We spent several evenings lounging in the Marriott Marquis and Marina bar, surrounded by bustling attendees and celebrities, and we loved taking a break from the Con to lunch at the Marina Kitchen, also located at the Marriott.
For lunch, we couldn’t help but start with their warm potato chips, which are covered in cheese and crispy prosciutto, with a chive crème fraiche on the side. The warm housemade chips in and of themselves were excellent, but add all that other goodness? Forget about it. It was love.
(warm potato chips)
This is the secret of The Avenues. We went to Cucina on a whim and were blown away. Although, we made the mistake of ordering side dishes with our main course– the portions are huge and these photos don’t really do them justice. Everything was delicious, the service was lightning fast (although we were there for a late lunch, not peak hours), and we have zero complaints.
The winner of the day was a ham, cheese, and squash pie in a flaky, golden crust. This was to die for, though it was a special and not necessarily always on the menu. When you walk in, there’s a counter gleaming with all sorts of beautiful dishes made daily, and these rotate.
Editor. Tetris master. Beatrix Kiddo cosplayer. Adjunct English instructor. Kid Robot collector. Whedon trivia queen.
Geek Appetite: Serving up geek goodies & good eats 