Coming Soon: Double Trouble

I'm headed to the hospital in a couple hours to get induced! Double Trouble should be here at some point on Friday. These were our last meals out pre-DT.

Last brunch: No. 7
We love brunch at No. 7. The food is great and the service is attentive without being overbearing. It hasn't been overly crowded the couple times we've been so Double Trouble and I have had a little more belly room.

DMR and I split an order of waffles and half fried chicken for a DIY version of chicken and waffles. The waffle is good, though I prefer the thicker, Belgiany kind, as well it to be a little more on the crisp, well done side. It's served with two little dishes, one with candied almond slivers and one with an apple and raisin compote. I dig the apples pieces out and leave the raisins for DMR to consume. The fried chicken can be ordered in 1/4, 1/2 and whole portions. The 1/2 order is more than enough for us. You get 5 well seasoned pieces (a drumstick, a breast cut in half , wing and I think a thigh?). The batter gives off a nice crunch. I like alternating between dipping my chicken in the maple syrup and the home made hotsauce.

We also shared an order of latkes and a cinnamon bun the size of a squashed softball. This was the same exact meal we ordered the one other time we had brunch here, with a few minor tweaks. The latkes were all potato on our initial visit but the second time around some carrot and celery was mixed in. Our cinnamon bun was relatively straight up last time, this time it was studded with bacon bits.

Last dinner: iCi
I read about iCi's $25 3-course prix fixe on Grub Street or Eater and it sounded like a good deal. The restaurant offers up three appetizer and entree choices and then a choice of two desserts. DMR and I like different tastes, so we usually order and share our plates. To begin, we went with the crispy potato cake with goat cheese, apple sage chutney and a winter salad of frisee, radicchio and a roasted garlic vinaigrette. I let DMR eat most of the goat cheese as I'm not really supposed to eat soft cheeses, but at this point, it probably doesn't matter. The cakes were definitely crispy on the outside, but still tender and soft on the inside. The sage in the chutney was probably my least favorite part. We both could have eaten two cakes a piece easily, but the lightly dressed winter salad was a good partner and a good idea. Odd appetizer out: house cured salmon.

Dan ordered the roasted pork medallion with kale, pinenuts, currants and a sweet potatoes for his main and I opted for the Spanish mackerel with squash, red peppers and kalamata olives in a ginger lemon beurre blanc. The pork was unfortunately a little over cooked and tough, but the sauce and kale were delicious. My mackerel on the other hand was expertly sauteed. Odd entree out: tagliatelle with sun dried tomatoes.

There were only two options for dessert, so no feelings were hurt. We shared the chocolate pot de creme with chantilly cream and a coconut tart with almond brittle. Left to our own devices we probably would have each ordered the pot de creme, which is one of my favorite desserts ever. It easily blew away with the coconut tart, which was perfectly respectable (with the exception of the almond brittle, which contained some unexpected chewy citrusy ingredient). The pot de creme reminded me those melted chocolate bar cookies from The City Bakery. In a word, deliciousness. Dark chocolately decadent deliciousness.