and back to heavier again... well, food-wise, at least.

It's been kinda heavy eating-wise this week. Not food obsessed like me? Might want to skip this entry :) Last Friday mr. l took us out for a belated birthday dinner (well, my birthday, not d's). I picked our favorite local Korean place, New Jang Su.

The really awesome thing about this place is that the name is not actually on it in English. (Now that I think about it, since I don't speak Korean I'm really just taking their word that that's really the name.) It does however, say "KOREAN RESTAURANT" and "BBQ" on the sign, which I guess is the most crucial part.

Yummy! That's (left to right, from top): side dishes, tuk bok ki, jab chae, kim chi/tofu jigae, sur lung tang, pottery bibimbab. Yes, spelling for Korean food is different in every restaurant. Click through for more info/details/links to descriptions.

Then, Sunday was the Phantom Gourmet Food Festival here in Boston. It's always on Lansdowne St. over by Fenway. We went last year, remember? Last year we saw the amazing Kobayashi out-eat four people! Poor Kobayashi-san. BTW, he's on myspace (though he hasn't logged in since Dec. 2006, I am particularly fascinated to find that his income as a prof. eater is upowards of $250K) and has a blog (translated version). Anyway.

W & J came back down from Maine again, and it was good. Some new foods, but oy! it got CROWDED earlier than it did last year. I think it cleared out earlier too, probably 'cause it was Sunday and there was a Pats game on.

Again, click through for more details + links to individual pics. And there's a whole set of pictures here. As has become the tradition now, we headed to Beerworks after we couldn't eat or walk anymore. Because obviously, drinking beers helps with being stuffed. Right?

W + J brought down some lovely wine + two of the most obscene (but very funny) cards I have ever read as belated birthday gifts. And speaking of birthdays, d + I went out for my belated birthday dinner on Tuesday. Just two weeks after the actual date! I'd been wanting to go to The Melting Pot, and we did just that...

It was really cute, they have this "Lover's Lane" there (which is a corny way of saying that the tables are pretty secluded and quiet) and they had this little vase with flowers on the table, plus balloons + a card when we got to the table. The pics are dark cause there was only candlelight, due to afore-mentioned romantic atmosphere.

We had the "Big Night Out" meal, which is for two, and includes: choice of cheese fondue, salads, a sampler of entrees, and your choice of chocolate. The two of us had (brace yourselves):

• Cheddar Cheese fondue (aged medium-sharp cheddar + Emmenthaler swiss cheeses, lager beer, garlic + spices)
• a Spinach Mushroom salad
• an Athenian salad
• the "Fondue Feast" -- filet mignon, balsamic-marinated sirloin, garlic + herb chicken, citrus pork tenderloin, white shrimp, wild mushroom ravioli, roasted red pepper rigatoni + fresh veggies -- Coq au Vin style (fresh herbs, mushrooms, garlic, spices + burgundy wine). This also came with about a gazillion dipping sauces ranging from cocktail sauce, blue cheese dip, yogurt curry sauce, teriyaki, and more...
  
• "Cookies and Cream Marshmallow Dream" chocolate fondue -- dark chocolate with flambeed (not kidding) marshmallow creme, with crushed oreos mixed in. Dippers: strawberries, bananas, pound cake, brownies, rice krispie treats (!), graham cracker and oreo-coated marshmallows (!!), and an entire slice of cheesecake. Not sure if the cheesecake was just 'cause of my birthday (it had a candle in it), but we dipped it too.
• Strawberry Basil Lemonade -- strawberry twist Smirnoff + basil + fresh strawberries + lemonade
• other assorted beverages + coffee

It wasn't so bad until about ten minutes after we finished the chocolate, at which point both of us felt the need to lie down. All in all, a pretty decent meal. Not amazing-- my salad was watery, like it hadn't been spun, but everything was pretty tasty. Pretty pricey, so not your average night out, but fun! We were there for about 2 hours and fifteen minutes, so it's sort of like an activity plus dinner. Oh yeah, full set of pics here.

I'll work on posting some not so food-obsessed entries soon, 'kay?