Savour: Steamed Calamari stuffed with black rice, caviar, seaweed salad, and miso

Blogging on the road from Charlottesville, VA, where K's fam and I dined at the excellent Savour. The chef-owner offers a very reasonable 3-course $30 pris fixe with clever flavor combinations, satisfying portions, and dazzling presentation. He even personally visited our table before our order to answer any questions, eager to accomodate any special requests and/or dietary needs.

I had a lovely meal, but the highlight was most definitely the above pictured calamari appetizer (which they call "bites"). The calamari was so delicately steamed it was practically creamy, stuffed with a savory and moist black risotto, topped with a dab of flying fish roe, all atop a bed of seaweed salad and gently dressed with a buttery white miso. Quite memorable!

After dinner, the chef came round again to send us each home with bags full of the day's leftover freshly baked (and still warm) bread. I highly recommend Savour to anyone in the Charlottesville area.

Tengda: Spiced Green tea rubbed salmon

Took my mother out to dinner at Tengda (Field Point Rd in Greenwich, CT) for a belated Mother's Day dinner. It's a (pricey) pan-Asian chain with an excellent sushi bar. My sister really enjoyed her two spicy crunchy rolls and my mom ordered a very delicate and perfectly flaky Chilean sea bass bathing in chunky red miso.

My green tea rubbed salmon (pictured above) was tasty and flavorful, cooked just a hair past my preferred doneness. I was, however, perplexed by the overabundance of foam smothering the well-spiced fish. It was my first encounter with this hip culinary trend, and I sincerely hope this "whimsical" fad goes the way of fondue. The accompanying edamame and lobster mashed potatoes were fine, though my jury is still out on the textural repercussions of burying chunks of well-steamed lobster in a starchy mass, no matter how temptingly creamy/buttery said mass might be.

Verdict: find someone willing to pick up the tab & there's some fun to be had with Tengda's menu.