http://www.aniseglobalgastrobar.com/

It’s always fun to enjoy a food adventure with family and friends so I was super excited to try this place out with my MIL in tow.  During the day it’s a super fancy yet cozy restaurant. From the electic décor it looks like at night it transforms into a super fancy yet cozy bar.

One of the first things we tried was the veggie Panini served with fried lotus root. I don’t think I had ever had lotus root before, fried or otherwise. It had an earthy flavor that was balanced by the light coating. It was garnished with an aioli and fried ginger. I’m typically wary of eating a large quantity of ginger. With ginger most of the time less is more because it can have a strong flavor. But the fried ginger was not overwhelming at all.

The one thing Anise is known for is the stinky bunz, which started from their original food truck. I was surprised to find this type of “street food” in a restaurant, but I’m glad we ordered it. It was kind of a deconstructed sticky bun with Chinese BBQ pork and pickled radish. The BBQ pork was tender and sweet, just the way I like it, and the pickled radish added a nice tang to balance it all out.

Our gastronomical adventure continued with the lobster mac and cheese. It was a good portion considering how much food we already consumed. It lacked a little flavor, but nothing a little salt and pepper could solve.

For dessert we had the chocolate indulgence flourless chocolate torte. It was rich and decadent, but not sickeningly sweet. And since was flourless I could feel just a bit less guilty.