Chef Mads Refslund, from Copenhagen and co - founder of Noma, Copenhagen, has eight years in the making, opened Ilis in Greenpoint Brooklyn.  The restaurant surrounds the working kitchen and the 30 plus staff is all intensely working their positions.

​If you have eaten at Noma, you will understand that explaining what you are eating or the ingredients is virtually impossible.  It just always works. Ilis is so incredibly delicious. 

The staff is perfect. The waiters, sommelier, the general manager were the best at being attentive. All of our wines were paired to our courses and to our taste of wines we like.

This was our first course. Clam broth, two styles of oyster, the sea snail and the uni. We requested  to have more uni.  They delivered it with no questions asked. It was in front of us promptly and we devoured it.

Well what am I eating?  Not sure but it so worked on my palate. I didn't post the wild boar or the salmon course, both blew my mind.
​ 
​ Ingredients: Caviar, consommé, truffles, mushrooms, and of course wine, wine and more wine!

Ingredients: Pears, pine nuts, ice cream and caviar... More wine!

Finale,  they ask you to turn your plate over.  Well I guess Trent and I  we were a hit, because we got a
​"We LOVE YOU" plate and a private tour of the kitchen.

Well Chef, As I told you that magical, most impressive three hours of complete wows, you are more fun and exciting to watch than Brad Pitt.  I think the meal brought tears to my eyes a handful of times.

Thank you for your hard work and for allowing us the honor to dine at the finest Restaurant in the
United States.

Biking is not the only thing this great bike company provides. The biking is a blast, especially on an electric bike. In the Noto Peninsula, we had long beautiful coastal rides and you really felt accomplished when you end the day at lunch drinking warm sake when it was raining and cold. We gathered with 18 people ranging from the ages of 26 and 86 and rode 20 to 40 miles a day. The bond was incredible. We were off together for adventurous travel. Take a look at our special Ryokans, our incredible food we ate and just enjoying the many beautiful traditions of this very special country Japan.

We were lucky with the cherry blossoms and all the colorful foliage. I want a Japanese maple. How do they grow in Southern California? Backroads always mixes in a little culture along with delicious organized meals and of course, the local beverages are never overlooked. I road with my three amigos on the right. We called our tribe the Doodles because we all have our sweet doodles at home. Trent was on a regular bike and seemed to always be one of the first to finish at the end of the day. YOUTH!

Trent is waving from the balcony at our beautiful Ryokan in Wakura, called Matsuno Midori. I have to share the hotels with you.
​

Every Ryokan was special and they got more special and more special. The 2nd photo was at River Retreat Garaku. The design was very modern and artsy. The materials used were wood and concrete and it was awesome.

NAKED IN THE WRONG PLACE. So in Japan bathing is a huge thing. The onsen are hot springs. There are about 25,000 hot spring sources throughout Japan. Most inns have the onsen. You wear a Yukata, Japanese robe and first you bath and then you soak in the springs. They are hot and full of minerals. To my big surprise, I went in the onsen at the Garuku Inn and it was lovely so I decided to repeat the experience the next day. To my surprise, after spending a naked hour in what I thought was the women’s side was actually the men’s side. I ran into my son in his Yukata and I was stark naked. ‘Mom, what are you doing in here?” This is the men’s side. Needless to say, I didn’t know they switched rooms everyday. Thank God it was Trent and not a fellow mate on Backroads.

By the way that was our jet tub in our bedroom. Pretty awesome!

Nightly dinners with our gang were so full of laughs and very interesting but delicious food. A lot of Kaiseki, which is a multi course Japanese Feast.

All I can say is the food is clean, beautiful, precise and I didn’t get sick once!

Thank you to our Backroad Leaders Mariah and Paul and to all the staff in Japan for making this trip, one of the top 3 trips of my life. Your constant attention to detail and taking care of everything was very BACKROADS! Can’t wait for the next on! Cheers to all the wonderful people on the trip!

The goodbyes were rough so I prefer to leave it at UNTIL WE MEET AGAIN.

We started our day at the oldest fish market in Tokyo. Three things stood out. The Toro was the absolute tastiest fish I have had in Japan. There are 3 different fat grades. We, of course preferred the fattiest. It melted in our mouth like butter. We moved onto grilled Wagu with sea urchin and popped a few other things like prawns, crab, and scallops. I think our guide thought we were nuts. We cruised around the market for a couple hours savoring the most beautiful fish I have ever seen. It truly is a chefs dream. We finished our tastings with a chocolate mochi with red bean and a fresh strawberry. Next visit, I want to see the tuna auction which is held at 5: 00 am.
​
The rain continued most of the day so we indulged in the spa for massages before we ventured out for our next food tour!

Six of us ventured out to the red light district for a pup crawl with the most adorable guide. We met the greatest family from Charlotte and we again ate and ate. This time we included Sake tastings. There are so many cool districts in Tokyo. This was neon and very colorful. It is known for the business men coming after work and enjoying “bar food” and a drink.

Super fun in the rain and we ate fish, Goyza, and lots of SAKE!

Matcha Mochi towers are everywhere. The attention to detail here is crazy amazing. They wrap every purchase with such pride. They even give you a plastic bag carefully wrapped around the shopping bag.

We actually are 4 days in and we need another bag. The look of everything makes you want to shop. I am not even going to start on the toilets and fashion! Everyone is so stylish.

Some day, I want to own all this land in Coachella Valley!  Growing up here, on the Fox Ranch created so many memories and vices that I still have today. Like foraging in the fields.  The only difference is, I am in my wagon instead of on my horse, Mr. Lucky..  Tacos are always a must at La Chapala on Harrison Blvd.

 it is always fun watching these very amazing athletes play tennis at the BNP Paribas.  

The Desert is very Dog Friendly.  So don't leave your family at home.  They can help you forage in the fields,  They can swim and what dogs don't eat tacos.