Nomad

Poached Egg and Wilted Kale, Buttermilk Dressing, Smoked Goat Cheese, Puffed Grains $13 3.5/5 - The smoked goat cheese was pretty strong.  I hope they could give us a choice of replacing it with different cheese.  The puffed grains added a nice texture on top with the kale.  I found the kale too strong.  It would be much better if it was a different vegetable.

Vegetable Pakoras, Panang, Cilantro $8 3/5 - The pakoras could be crispier with more curry sauce.

Pork Belly, Garlic Whipped Potatoes, Broccolini, Sweet Plum Wine $23 $4.5/5 - I loved it.  Crispy pork belly + creamy mashed.  The pork belly was fatty but the layers of fat could be removed easily.

Pumpkin Pie Crème Brulée, Sugar Cookie Crumble, Vanilla Bean Whip $8 4.5/5 - Recommended by our server,  the creme brûlée wasn't overly sweet and well balanced with the slight salted vanilla bean whip.  I loved the crust on top was not overly thick.  The crumble at the bottom also added a texture.  It was much better than the creme brûlée I had at Sweet Obsession the next day.

I would come back just for the pork belly and the pumpkin pie creme brûlée.  I want to give it a try during happy hour next time.  It recently has started serving brunch.  I'm looking forward to some interesting dishes on the brunch menu before I decide to give it a try.  For example, I heard their Crispy Duck Poutine in Poutine Challenge was pretty good.  Please consider adding it to your regular dinner and brunch menu!  I don't understand why I could reserve through Yelp but not through opentable.  It would be great if I can find Nomad there.

La Quercia

duck terrine 4/5, duck breast 4.5/5, artichoke 3.5/5, aioli - The duck breast was the best with the nuts and honey on top.   The terrine was not too salty.

pork belly, cappuccio, walnut crema 4/5 - It wasn't overly fatty but I would still prefer the crispy skin in the Chinese roasted pork.  The walnut cream wasn't too strong.  I could only taste it when eating with the bread.  The sour cabbage was too strong to match with the rest.  On the other side, the sour apple was fine with the perfect amount of sourness.  The walnut was just there for the texture.

foccacia, eggplant-spaghetti, burrata 3/5 - It was way too salty.  Luckily the burrata was plain to balance that.

nettle, scarpinocc stuffed with nettle, ricotta, parmesan, brown butter sauce 4/5 - the pasta was al-dente.  The cheese was stronger than regular ricotta and parmesan but still tolerable.  

linguine, cod, tomato, parsley 3/5 - Much saltier than the last pasta.  Much like a linguine alla puttanesca.  I prefer the pasta to be cooked for a little longer.  The sauce was not too special either.

herb crusted chicken breast, leeks puree, dandelion, brussels 3.5/5 - It was a big disappointment when I saw this dish.  I was expecting beef, pork, or seafood (something more that chicken breast).  Luckily, the chicken was juicy.  The green pasto on top was a little too salty.  The brussels sprouts with a hint of peanut was really good.  Not sure if they used peanut oil in roasting or really nuts.

chocolate chestnut cake 4.5/5, raspberry sorbet 4/5, almond tart 4/5, chocolate salami 3/5 - Chocolate chestnut cake was very light and moist.  It did not look that light at all.  There was no hint of chestnuts and they were used to make the cake fluffy.    The sorbet was refreshing but nothing special.  The chocolate salami was a chocolate and hazelnuts.  Too bad the hazelnuts tasted stale.  The almond tart was very flakey.  It wasn't too sweet and the tart itself was buttery.

Service 3.5/5 - Our sever came and checked on us on every dishes.  He always gave us an explanation whenever we tried to make some negative comments/suggestions to the dishes.  They have recently increased the price of the Small and Large 'Alla Famiglia' menus to $60 and $80, respectively.  Having been to La Quercia and La Pentola, I found La Pentola much better in taste and quality than La Quercia.  I think I would visit La Pentola next time.