Meeting Jose

Friday night, Frank got hung up at work and had to cancel on our plans last minute. For a brief minute, I considered not going to the "Cocktails with Jose Andres" event at China Poblano. But rather than resting my sore ankle at home, I decided to live a little and went solo. Immediately upon entering, I was welcomed with a Bombay Sapphire Gin & Tonic adorned with a ice sphere, verbena, juniper berries and elderflower. It was beautiful.

Fortunately, I found a table of familiar faces - a group I've met at previous Yelp events were already noshing on bites from the kitchen. Servers came by with a variety of dishes at rapid pace. I tasted eight in all. The carnitas taco and guacamole were my favorites. I also enjoyed the chicken jisong a very tasty version of lettuce wraps. Those I liked the least were the 'Don't be Jealous' hot and sour soup and the taco barbacoa was too salty for my liking. Other bites such as sui mai beef, lemon tree shrimp and rou jai mo street sandwich fell somewhere in between. It was fun to experience the connection between East and West through China Poblano's menu.

There were plenty of local celebrities in attendence. I caught glimpses of Norm Clarke, Al Mancini and Kerry Simon. I did have the opportunity to meet Jose Andres. As tasty as the bites were that was the real treat.