Octopus, chili, basil, breadcrumbs. $19
Rolf and Daughters, Nashville TN
This was good. I liked the flavor and texture of the squid ink paccheri. The sauce was also tasty, but the octopus was pretty chewy and difficult to eat. Hmm…
Bar seating $180
Pineapple & Pearls, Washington DC
This dish was SO good and fun to eat. The octopus tentacle was filled with what I think I remember as a chorizo stuffing. The tentacle was a bit on the chewy side, but the flavors were great and I loved creativity and presentation.
Cooked sous vide, pickled cauliflower fleurettes, peppers, cilantro, lemon and olive oil. $14
Workshop Kitchen + Bar, Palm Springs CA
Mmm, this was beautiful and delicious! And I loved the pickled cauliflower. Is it me or does octopus carpaccio always seem to be on the pickled/sour side? Every time I’ve ordered octopus carpaccio at different restaurants, they’re usually sour-ish.
Large boulders and pine trees, Mt. San Jacinto hike.
Family style supper $46 per person
Staple and Fancy, Seattle WA
I think they sprinkled smoked paprika on top and there were red bell peppers mixed it too. Anyway, this dish was SO delicious! The slices of smoked octopus had SO much flavor and gave the dish a nice meaty quality. Noms!
Market Memories mural, Billy King, 2011, Pike Place Market.
With saffron and olive oil. $5
Briscola, Reno NV
I don’t expect baby octopus served in Reno to be the freshest in the world, but these were disgusting! You could definitely feel the defrosted texture of these sad creatures in your mouth. The saffron dipping sauce was also chalky. I’m gonna continue with another complaint of this abominable restaurant – the clueless waiter kept bringing us dishes we didn’t order and ended up charging us anyway. Sheesh!
Focaccia and crudite. Complimentary
The focaccia was undercooked and still doughy in the middle, yuck! The large tomato cans that they use as stands at your table were a tacky touch.
Red elderberry (Sambucus racemosa, Adoxaceae), Mount Rose Summit Trail.
Baby octopus. These are SO fun to eat! I guess it’s weird thinking that I’m eating a baby octopus, but they taste SO good! 7-item Tasca tasting plates $34
LaSalette Restaurant, Sonoma CA
Sonoma City Hall at night. This random (but pretty) building sits in the middle of the Plaza in downtown Sonoma and is surrounded by dozens of cute shops and restaurants.
Chili flakes, sea salt and cascabel aioli. $12
Lolo, San Francisco CA
All of these dishes were preassembled because everything came out suspiciously quick for a super busy restaurant! And I mean quick! I don’t mind getting my food quickly, but I still want to feel like they’re cooking back there and that I’m not being rushed out of my table! Sheesh! The octopus in this dish was a little chewy. I’d let you know what it tasted like but there was SO much crap on top of it that you really couldn’t taste the octopus at all.
Dolores Park, The Mission. I love the newly rennovated playground area in this beautiful park!
Octopus salad with red onions, lime, cilantro and olive oil. $8
Punto de Vista Restaurant, Old San Juan, PUERTO RICO
I enjoyed this dish. The octopus had some bite, but wasn’t too rubbery. It also had a lot of flavor. The one thing I will say is that there was way too much oil!
Totem Telúrico, Plaza del Totem. This 40-foot tall column within the Plaza del Quinto Centenario was designed by Jaime Suarez and is made of black granite and ceramics. Very cool!
Mexican mahi mahi, habanero, baby octopus, tiger prawns, tomato, meyer lemon, avocado. $12
Pisco Latin Lounge, San Francisco
This was very tasty! Maybe a little on the citrus-y side, but it had lots of flavor. I love the pieces of octopus tentacles, they were fun to eat. I didn’t like that it was served in a martini glass though, especially one with such a small base. It’s always difficult to pass around and I’m always afraid that I’ll tip it over since it’s so top heavy.
I think I’m undecided whether I truly like hand rolls or not. It’s just a lot of seawead to deal with and these were chewy and hard to chew through, making it hard to neatly eat the rolls. They do stuff quite a lot of filling in these hand rolls and you don’t have to use chopsticks, which is great for incompetent users like myself. The spicy tako temaki was my favorite!
Tenka Japanese Restaurant, San Mateo CA
Road runner – tuna, salmon, avocado and cucumber. $2.95 for happy hour
Spicy tako – octopus with spicy mayonnaise. $2.95 for happy hour
Cajun – fried oyster, avocado and cucumber with spicy mayonnaise. $2.95 for happy hour
New York – shrimp, fish eggs, avocado and cucumber. $2.95 for happy hour
Vittle Monster 