christmas at vermilion.

I hope everyone had wonderful Christmases!  Just a heads-up: blogging is going to be a bit sporadic through the end of the year.  I’m moving to a new apartment and visiting with friends who are in town for only a short time, but I’ll pop in when I can!

My family did the usual on Friday: movies and a restaurant.  After my dad installed shelves in our new apartment and sustained a minor injury, he had definitely earned an evening of indulgence.

We caught a late afternoon showing of Nine [which was kind of disappointing on screen] and hopped in a cab to our dinner destination.  If we were traditionalists, we would have picked a token Chinese restaurant, but my family creates our own customs.  We all prefer Indian cuisine to Chinese, and that is the Asian flavor we always choose to visit on Christmas Day.

This year, I made us a reservation at “At Vermilion,” an Indian-Latin fusion restaurant.  I took one glance at the menu online and knew immediately that we needed to eat there.

an appetizer: pani puri, crunchy exterior filled with a blend of chickpeas, potatoes, and spices; chili mint water alongside.  

There was almost a slight disaster when we arrived, as we were presented with a tiny card listing a Christmas tasting menu for the evening.  We almost jetted out of there right then – even with growling stomachs, this family won’t settle for a less than satisfying meal.  For one thing, we never do tasting menus, because then we’d all be eating the same thing.  Also, the main course was ham, and aside from my personal preferences, a bunch of Jews were not going to be digging into plates of that.

But, the restaurant was very accommodating, and since they hadn’t notified us about the modified menu ahead of time, they allowed us to order a la carte, aside from a few exceptions that couldn’t be prepared that day.  Our meal was a lot more enjoyable as a result.

another app: duck vindaloo arepas, spiced duck on corn cakes with curry and pomegranate molasses.

We got the meal rolling with some appetizers to share; in addition to those photographed above, there were artichoke pakoras and perfect scallops with indian peppercorns, pumpkin, and goat cheese puree.  I always forget how much I adore scallops.  Especially with pumpkin.

Earlier, I had spotted a note at the bottom of the menu, informing me that I could inquire about special vegetarian offerings.  And so, I was presented with the third menu of the evening, a full and varied list of vegetarian dishes.

Does anyone still wonder why it takes us thirty minutes to order?

apparently they felt it was necessary to compensate for lack of meat by serving me an entire eggplant.

Somehow I narrowed it down to this mountain of eggplant, charred in a chili-tamarind glaze and served alongside ginger corn salsa and tapioca crisps.  This plate defined fusion food to me.  I love love love creative cuisine!

Plus, it was so flavorful; I literally couldn’t stop eating it.  Truthfully, that was kind of liberating: just to let go and dig in, because I had never tasted anything like it, and it was too good to put my fork down.  This concept is something I’ve been thinking about recently – I suppose it will call for a post of its own.

dessert: dark chocolate flourless cake, blueberry sorbet, chili sauce.

I’m glad I devoured my pile of eggplant, because dessert was a little shaky.  The cake was kind of dry, and my sister, who ordered the most unusual-sounding dessert on the menu, strongly disliked hers.  She helped me with my cake instead.  

My parents won on dessert choice though:

pumpkin bread pudding: no explanation required.

A fun evening of food, as always.  It’s so important to be thankful for family this time of year, and a day doesn’t go by when I am not thankful for mine.  I had the perfect Christmas.  

What about you?  How did you spend yours? 

Related posts:

1. five-o.
2. dinner 8.10: five-o shore road.
3. thanksgiving, vegetarian-style.