Food in the City

Kellari's Parea

2008-07-15T05:59:00.005-04:00

Last week, Steven (my gay husband) and I went to Kellari's Parea for a lovely pre-fixe Greek lunch. If you are not aware, Parea has a great lunch deal - $19.95 for a 3 course lunch with some of the more delicious items on their menu.

First some warm bread, served with cheese, olives, and olive oil. Yum!

Steven is a sharer, like me. We split the spanakopita (phyllo pies filled with spinach, leeks & feta), and the grilled calamari for appetizers.

The Spanakopita were light and crispy and not too greasy.
Grilled calamari were lightly spiced and fresh. Delicious! Although I wished they'd included some of the squidier parts of the calamari (you know, tentacles n such).
And then the lunch. Steven and I split the crab burger and the moussaka.
The crab burger was delicious if unremarkable. I ate most of my half without the bun because it was just too much. The online menu liste it as being served in a pita, which might have been better. But it was flavored well and came with a nice sauce. And the oregano fries were wonderful. Perfect crispy fries!
The moussaka is like Greek lasagna. Layers of beef ragout, eggplant, potatoes, and bechamel, it was authentic and well prepared. The side of feta was a welcome addition!
So full, but then there's dessert!
Staying traditional, we got a baklava. This came with peach sorbet and had honey drizzled on the plate. It was good, if a little large. Not the best baklava I've had but not the worst.
And then there was also rice pudding! I enjoyed this, topped with a cherry. but still, so full, couldn't finish.
While Kellari's Parea does not take many risks, it is good, solid Greek food. And for a $19.95 pre-fixe, it's a great lunch deal. I'm sure I'll return.

Kellari's Parea is located at 36 East 20th St
212.777.8448

Food Retrospective

2008-07-08T10:03:00.019-04:00

It's obviously been too long since my last post. It's not that I haven't been eating out and taking pictures and thinking about food, it's that I've also been preoccupied and in the middle of lots of changes. Nonetheless, I think it would only be appropriate to showcase some photos from the good eating I've had over the past few months. Perhaps proper reviews of those places will follow, perhaps not, but I am going to get back in the game.
First we have Napa:
Taylor's Refresher, a very popular Napa joint known for their burgers and shakes. We stopped there between wine tastings.

A black and white shake and a coffee one. Mmmmmm!
Ahi tuna burger was a delicious burger option.
Irresistibly crisp sweet potato fries with a garlicky sauce.

Ad Hoc, a Thomas Keller creation. And a wonderful end to a day in Napa!

The day's menu.
In print and more detailed.
Sick of wine (after a day of tastings), I opted for a beer.
Potato-leek soup with bacon! Everything is better with bacon.
Everything at Ad Hoc is served family style. This is our hanger steak.
Side of barley.
My plated food.
Cheese course.

And a pecan tart for dessert! These were individual.

Back to New York:
A dinner of shared appetizers at Frederick's with my gay husband.

Bread with eggplant dip.
Bottle of Cotes Du Rhone.
Lamb carpaccio with lentils.
Out of this world fried artichoke.
Cerviche trio: salmon, scallop, tuna.
Duck terrine.
Sausages with mustard.

Drinks and appetizers at Sala.
The olive oil was stupendous.
Fried goat cheese with honey and caramelized onions. Yeah....

Wine and goodies at Winebar.
Olive plate.
Porcini mushroom flatbread with cheese. This one had me at "truffle oil...."

Brunch at Essex.
(far better than dinner, I might add)
Unlimited mimosas.
Yummy oniony rolls.
Potato pancakes with black beans and appley sauce.
Egg white omelet with tomatoes, spinach, and sheep's milk cheese.
Mexican matzo brie.

One of my best meals in recent memory, Irving Mill. Took my mom, sister, and the gay hubbs.

Drinks: a margarita-style beverage with a smoky, chipotle flavor.
A kentucky-julep style bourbon mash.
Golden beet salad with fava beans.
Green gazpacho with crab salad.
Incredible oysters from Maine.
Sweetbreads with morel mushrooms, fava beans, and onions.
Some wine for our mains.

Scallops with spinach and potatoes.
Pork chop with root vegetables.

Roasted monkfish with summer squash (my mom ordered this, I thought it was the best dish of the night).
Lavender duck with fava beans and spaetzle.
Side of broccoli rabe.
3 cheese platter.
Strawberry-ricotta shortcake.
Peanut butter-milk chocolate caramel parfait!
And cap the meal off with lemony shortbread cookies.

Dovetail
Went here the night after Irving Mill with the mom and sister.
I love to start the meal with glasses of prosecco.
An amuse bouche of turnips, creps, and salmon with creme freche.
Cold cauliflower soup with a blue point oyster.
A nice primitivo for the mains.
Potato gnocchi with truffles and blueberries.
Avocado with ramps, jicama, and hearts of palm.
Beet "ravioli" with feta cheese and grapes.
Cod with cipolini onions and bacon.

Red snapper with potato puree and radishes.

My buffalo was the best dish that night! With baby romaine and sunchokes.
Chocolate souffle with pistachio ice cream and cherry compote.

Brioche bread pudding with bananas, bacon brittle, and rum vanilla ice cream.
Peanut butter tart with pretzels and beer ice cream.
Petit fours.
But wait! The meal ends with peanut butter granola to take home "for breakfast" the next day.

Momofuku Saam Bar
I took a friend visiting from San Francisco here (the same foodie from my San Fran trip, actually). She's still talking about our meal!

Hamachi sashimi with edamame and wasabi.

The famous pork buns with David Chang's "melty" pork.

Sugar snap peas in XO sauce.
Hanger steak saam.
Spicy pork sausage and rice cakes.

And lastly, a trip to Grimaldi's after walking the Brookyln Bridge.
Who's hungry?

Food in another city

2008-04-29T18:43:00.009-04:00

Last week was my spring break and I took the opportunity to visit my friend, and fellow foodie, Melissa in San Francisco. We had many delicious adventures in food (and fava beans), and I'm here to share them!
She cooked for me the first night (unfortunately I didn't think about my camera at the time, was too hungry!). The next day found us at Mama's, a delicious breakfast joint. I had the "Nelson's Rancheros," 2 eggs poached in salsa, sour cream, black beans, homesfries, and tortillas.
She had the egg white scramble with mushrooms & green onions, goat cheese, a toasted english muffin & sliced tomatoes and spinach.

That night we went to Delfina, one of her favorite restaurants and highly recommended in most San Francicso magazines. Delfina is a seasonal restaurant whose menu changes daily. Very exciting!
All good meals begin with wine - ours was a Pinot Nero.
Delfina also gets its bread from Tartin, a famous bakery next door. So our meal started with much of the Tartin bread.
We started with the grilled fresh calamari with warm white bean salad.

For the next course we split a pasta with fava beans, pancetta, and pecorino. It had a slight spiciness that was accentuated by our wine. As a main, I had the whole local petrale sole in acqua pazza with oven-dried tomatoes, olives and capers.

Melissa had the rabbit wrapped in pancetta with carrots and fava beans.
It came with polenta.

I'd never tried rabbit before. It was nice and tender, delicate and less gamey than I'd expected. Neither of us were able to finish our mains (which were good, but not the highlight of our meal. The highlight belonged to dessert - buttermilk panna cotta with caramel and kumquats.

Heaven on a plate.
The restaurant itself was a lot of fun. and the food was delicious. It was relaxed, despite the crowd, and the chef came out to mingle with the crowd, that seemed to have a lot of "regulars."
Despite our full bellies, Melissa took me to Bi-Rite creamery, an incredible ice cream shop with fresh and unusual flavors.
I had the malted vanilla with peanut brittle and milk chocolate and the salted caramel.
She had the orange cardamom and mint chocolate chip.
Even after all that food, we still had room for beer! So we went to Monk's Kettle, a great beer bar. The bartender even hooked us up with tons of beer samples in mini beer mugs.

On day two, we walked across the Golden Gate Bridge into Sausalito. There we ate at a wonderful little place called Fish. As you can imagine, Fish has delicious seafood. After that long hike, I started with a beer.
Then Melissa and I split fish tacos (I was unable to get a good shot, due to sun), and the fish and chips.

Now, let me tell you, I've had fish and chips in Ireland, England, and Australia. This was the best fish and chips I've had in my life. It was light, flaky, low-grease, and fantastic.
That night, we met up with Melissa's boyfriend, Cody, and went to Nopa. Nopa is located in this huge, airy, well-lit space that used to be a bank. Pretty awesome. And all the waiters sported crazy facial hair. Hmm.
Melissa and I ordered champagne to start, and they brought us some fresh peas with fleur de sel (fleur de sel is HUGE out there!).

We all split three appetizers. First was a salad - romaine with a creamy dressing and parmeasan.
Next, mussels cooked in white wine and garlic with grilled bread and aioli.
And then a flatbread with artichokes, leeks, gruyere, and olive tapenade.
Yum, yum, yum!
At this point, we decided to order a bottle of wine to accompany our mains. Though I'm usually a red drinker, Melissa was adamant about a white, and we ended up with a surprisingly perfect, slightly sweet Loire Valley white.
Cody ordered the grilled porkchop, medium-rare. It came with salsa verde, salad, and mashed potatoes.
Melissa had one of her favorite Nopa dishes, the rotisserie herb chicken, served with a salad and roasted potatoes.
And I had the seared duck breast and leg, which came with assorted roasted vegetables (carrots, mushrooms, turnips) and farro.
(I thought my dish was the winner!)
A side of whole fava beans in a spicy lemony oil.

Then, of course, came dessert.

First there was the highly recommended Blue Bottle (a great SF coffee shop) espresso martini.

Followed shortly by sopaipillas with a honey butter sauce.
Sopaipillas are like little doughnut pillows, and you bite off a corner and pour the honey butter sauce inside. Incredible. I could pour that sauce on anything. But just one dessert for three people? No, no. Despite the fact that Cody did more dessert watching than eating, we had another - orange cadamom (popular combo) rice pudding with steeped Barhi dates.
We actually ended up pouring some of the leftover honey butter sauce on this too. Why waste? The owner of this spot (well, one of the owners) stopped by to chat for a bit, and we found out that she's opening two more restaurants. Can't wait to try them!
Dinner was followed by beautifully crafted cocktails at Bourbon and Branch, which unfortunately does not allow pictures. Let me just highly recommend it. So we waddled off with our full bellies and prepared for the next day, in Napa. Write-up and pictures to follow soon.

Five Points

2008-04-05T17:31:00.006-04:00

Last weekend, with mommy in tow, I had the opportunity to dine at Five Points. It was an exquisite culinary experience. We started with wine (naturally).
In this case, a luscious Cabernet Savignon.
And some cole slaw with our bread.

Five Points is a seasonal restaurant, they base their menu on what's fresh. While this means that they don't usually have "specials," it means that everything is extremely delicious and well-prepared. Seasonality is highly underrated.

My mom and I started with oysters. We're both relatively new to oysters, and we got 2 of each kind - Malpeque and Barron Point. The Malpeque were soft and creamy, and the Barron Point were crisp and briny. Such distinct flavor differences, both were very tasty. Just looking at them makes me want more...
We also shared a beet salad which had two kinds of beets, goat cheese, candied walnuts, parsley, and anise.
This salad was light and refreshing. One of the beets looked like tomato, and had a watermelon-esqe flavor. The delicate creaminess of the goat cheese was a perfect complement to the freshness of the dish.

For mains we shared two dishes as well. The grilled wild striped bass and the duck confit.
The striped bass was served with potatoes, swiss chard, garlic, and a lemony sauce. It was flaky and flavorful.

The duck confit was one of my favorite dishes of the evening. Served with cippolini onions over lentils, it was an ultimate comfort food dish. The skin was deliciously crispy, the meat tender and juicy...even my mom, who never finishes her meal, was scraping her plate for more.

Of course, no meal with my mother is ever complete without dessert.
First there were dessert beverages: decaf coffee for mom, muscato for me.
Then two desserts - profiteroles with espresso ice cream (a special for the night), and chocolate bread pudding with salted caramel ice cream.
While the profiteroles were tasty, and we felt compelled to order them, being on special and all, they were just good. The bread pudding on the other hand....
Definitely the dessert winner. I, for one, love the sweet/salty combination of the ice cream. The bread pudding itself wasn't overly heavy or sweet, just smooth and delicious. A flavor explosion in your mouth.

Highly recommended, I look forward to trying Five Points again next season!

Five Points is located at 31 Great Jones Street
212.253.5700

Momofuku

2008-03-26T21:44:00.004-04:00

Oh blessed Momofuku, how we adore thee. Despite the lines, I will always relish the opportunity to eat some Momofuku noodles or saam (and hopefully soon, some Ko!). Last night, after a book reading at KGB Bar, I popped into Momofuku. Being a solo dinner, I was immediately granted a seat - score!
I had a Brooklyn Pennant Ale ($7)
and the Momofuku Ramen ($15).
This place is pricey. But the ramen is worth EVERY bite. The ramen has a 3 pork combo and a poached egg. Oh the pork. The best way to describe David Chang's pork is melty. It is so deliciously tender and soft, it just melts in your mouth. I will gladly shell out the money just to have that pork in my mouth. Fantastical. Next time I want to try their cannoli cream ice cream!

Momofuku is located at 171 First Ave between 10th and 11th

Aspen

2008-03-26T21:20:00.003-04:00

Last Saturday I went out to dinner at Aspen - a ski-lodge themed restaurant in Flatiron. It was a neat-looking spot with a nice bar area and a huge fireplace-type setup in the middle of the room. First off was wine. We had thought about getting a Montepulciano, but the waiter convinced us to try the Tempranillo. It was, in fact, a fantastic wine.
I will definitely be looking for it in wine stores. We started by splitting an appetizer and a side. The Bison Sliders (with moked cheddar, bacon and “our gonzo sauce" - oh, and gherkins!),

and their mac and cheese with parmesan, smoked cheddar & gouda.

Yuuuuuum to both! The sliders were medium-rare and deliciously flavored. I could have eaten a plate of them. The mac and cheese was a good, solid rendition. I think it's hard to go wrong with classically delicious combinations. I will always order mac and cheese.
For a main course, we both ordered the special - a hangar steak served with an onion tart and with a parmesan crisp on top.
I ordered mine medium-rare, and found some slices to be a little bit too rare, but overall I thought it was a tender and delicious dish. The crispy parmesan on top was a tasty and tangy addition to the sweet/saltiness of the meat. There was no room for dessert (in fact, I couldn't finish my main!) but the options were enticing enough to encourage a second visit. I'd definitely recommend Aspen.

Aspen is located at 30 West 22nd Street
212.645.5040

Royale

2008-02-16T18:21:00.006-05:00

We were desperately craving burgers. I had read about many burger joints in my hood and after much deliberation (and consideration of walking distance), Justin and I decided to go to Royale on Avenue C.
Burgers require beers, and this night started with Pork Slaps ($5)!

I had the Royale with cheese ($7).

Justin the Bacon Royale ($8).

The verdict - awesome. The burgers were huge and juicy (especially mine since it was medium rare). The bun fresh and wonderful. The toppings perfect. The whole burger worked perfectly with all of the elements involved. Justin (who is slowly but surely accepting tomatoes into his diet) even liked the tomato.
Not content with just burgers, we also ordered fries ($3)...
and onion rings($3).
The fries were thin and lightly spiced. Most of them were crisp, a few soggy ones. The onion rings though, those were the winner. Thinly sliced and with just a light coat of batter, they were flakey and flavorful (if slightly on the greasy side). I will definitely be making Royale a regular part of my burger nights, and so should you. FYI - it's cash only, so remember to hit the ATM first!

Royale is located at 157 Avenue C between 9th and 10th streets
212-254-6600

Yonah Schimmel's Knishery

2008-01-21T15:29:00.000-05:00

The mission: knishes. The spot: Yonah Schimmel's. The verdict: oy, delicious! There's not much that could get me to go outside on a chilly winter's day like today, but I had a knish date with some friends, and that was not to be missed. This tiny knish spot is down on the Lower East Side, and is one part knishery, one part Jewish deli - offering matzo ball soup and the option to make your knish a "platter" with pickles and cole slaw. Yonah's has two types of knishes: savory and sweet. I'm more of a savory girl myself, but we ended up trying both varieties. And did I mention that you can add cheese to any knish for $1? The three of us shared three different knishes. First off, a sweet potato knish with mozzarella ($3, $ with cheese).
This was a perfect combination of savory and sweet. Most things taste better with cheese, and mozzarella was delicious with the fluffy salty-sweet sweet potato inside.
Next up, a broccoli knish with cheddar cheese ($3, $4 with cheese).
Broccoli and cheddar - classic combination. This was like the knish version of broccoli cheddar soup, but cheesier. The broccoli is mixed in with potato, making it hearty and creamy - great tasting knish.

Lastly was the sweet knish - blueberry with cheese ($3.50).

This was more like a blintze than a knish, but the wrapping was less crispy and more doughy. I liked it, but didn't love it. Not enough blueberry and the consistency of the knish dough was a little too chewy.

This was a worthy mission, which I look forward to savoring again. Next time I will probably take some to go, experimenting with other cheeses in the comfort of my home (Yonah's only offers cheddar and mozzarella as add-ons). Long live the Jewish food in the Lower East Side!

Yonah Shimmel's is located at 137 East Houston Street between 1st and 2nd Avenues
212-477-2858

Oh, and they ship anywhere in the U.S. Brilliant!

Resto

2008-01-19T13:12:00.000-05:00

A lover of Belgian beers, frites, and hamburgers, I was very excited to try Resto, a Belglian "gastropub" in Gramercy. I had heard good things about their burger and so Justin and I arrived with high hopes and hungry bellies. The restaurant had a nice feel, with tin ceilings and wooden tables. We didn't have a reservation, so we were told there would be a 30-40 min wait and we headed to the bar. Their beer menu is quite extensive, which is why I was disappointed that there were no alcohol content or descriptions next to the beers, save for the categories: draft, christmas, abbey blond & trippels, abbey dubbles & brown ales, saisons, amber, white, red, pilsner, lambics, trappist, and "large format". They have a wine list as well, but at a place like this, I'll skip the wine. We each started with a Kwak($10) an amber ale on draft. I wanted to try them simply because of the hourglass it's served in, placed in a wooden handle.

Soon after receiving our beers (maybe 15 minutes) we were told that our table was ready. I love efficiency.
On to the appetizers. I had heard about the deviled eggs on pork toast ($8), so that was a must.

Pork toast must be the world's most wonderful invention, although I'm not sure I want to know what's in it. I thought this was delicious, although as Justin remarked, it could have used more of an edge. Either more spice or more acidity. Both the egg and the pork toast were salty and creamy. Maybe a dash of lemon juice would have brought perfection.
We also tried the appetizer special - a pulled pork sandwich with pickled carrots and tomatoes ($12).

This was good. The bread was a little greasy, but the meat was slightly sweet and the pickled vegetables made it vinegary and tangy. We only ate 1/2 of this because we wanted to save room for the mains.
Of course we had to split the burger ($13).

It was served with gryuere, red onion, sweet pickles, and frites. It was good, but for a burger that had some hype behind it, I wanted it to be great. And I wanted it to be served on a better bun. This one could have come from McDonalds. As Justin noted, the pickle improved the burger. It also tasted good when accompanied by a swig of our new beer, Chouffe Houblon ($10).

This was a dry and hoppy abbey tripple. We asked the waitress for something comparable to delirum tremens (a favorite of ours). I though the beer could have used a floral or sweet aftertaste, but Justin pointed that those flavors would have made it even more similar to delirium or leffe. All that said, it was a good pairing with the burger.
And back to the food. We also went out on a limb last night, splitting the beef cheek carbonade with mustard spiced carrots and frites($23) for our other main.

I wanted this to be incredible. It had been marinated overnight in all sorts of delicious liquids and spices, and the meat itself was incredibly soft, fatty and tender. However, it lacked in flavor and there was no real sauce to help with that. Such a disappointment, so Justin and I took most home in leftovers to try to do something with at a later time.
And then there were the frites. Accompanying both of our meals, the frites were unlike any I'd seen in a Belgian restaurant, because they were fat. Big fat, steak fries style frites, not the crispy and thin double fried variety I'm used to. And not what I want in a Belgian frite.

Overall, Resto was alright. It has a very nice atmosphere and some pretty adventurous items on the menu. I am keen to try other burger spots in my endless quest for the perfect burger, and I would probably go elsewhere for my Belgian fare. But, if I wanted a large selection of Belgian beers to go with my deviled eggs on pork toast, Resto would be the spot.

Resto is located at 111 East 29th Street between Park and Lexington Avenues
212-685-5585

Flor's Kitchen

2008-01-19T12:15:00.000-05:00

Readers of this blog may recall my fondness for Caracas Arepa Bar. It is easily one of my favorite spots in the city, and I can always rely on their arepas as my go-to meal. Imagine my elation at discovering there's another spot for arepas in the city (yes, aside from the Arepa Lady in Queens - I know I have to visit her)! Enter Flor's Kitchen, a Venezualan restaurant in the West Village. Looking at their menu prior to my visit, I noticed that was more Venezuelan cusine than arepas. And when we arrived at the restaurant, there were even fewer arepas! Not a major problem, just a surprise. One thing I liked about Flor's was the atmosphere. It's located on a corner, so there are lots of windows. While not hugely spacious, there are two small rooms, one of them up a few stairs, creating the illusion of space. And unlike Caracas, they have real napkins.
My friend Stefi (who is allergic to gluten), came with me on my branching out adventure. As per usual, we started with a bottle of wine - that night a Tempranillo ($36).

It was a silky and mellow wine. I loved the glasses they served it in!
We shared the cachapas ($9): fresh corn pancakes with paisa cheese.

This was one of the best selections of the night. There were pieces of corn in the pancakes and the cheese was similar to a parmeasean. They were sweet, savory, and delightful.

Because we got an appetizer, Stefi and I each only got one arepa. She went with the reina pepiada - a chicken and avocado salad filling ($5.50).

I sampled it. The mixture was very flavorful and had more lime than the version at Caracas. She was happy but not hugely impressed by the texture and flavor of the corn patty (arepa) itself.

I chose the arepa barlovento - black beans, sweet plantains, and cheese ($5.50). It is a similar arepa to the de pabellon from Caracas, but without the beef.

The beans were very tasty and more complexly flavored than the beans at Caracas. But like Stefi, I was not enamored with the actual arepa surrounding the filling. I also didn't love the sauces that accompanied the arepas - a spicy green sauce and a guacamole-like sauce. They made me yearn for my Caracas sauce.

Then came an unexpected surprise. Our side order of coconut rice ($5).

Wow. This dish was incredible. It was sweeter than I'd anticipated, but not cloying, with pieces of coconut in the mix. It was heavenly. I would order it to go if I were in the area just so I could have it around. I would eat it for breakfast or dessert. Outstanding.

I will probably return to Flor's kitchen, with appetizers and rice on my mind, but probably not for the arepas alone.

Flor's Kitchen is located at 170 Waverly Place between 6th and 7th Avenues
212-229-9926

Tree

2008-01-19T11:47:00.000-05:00

First avenue is full of cute little restaurants. I walk around this part of the East Village regularly, peeking into them, thinking sometime I'll try a spot or two. And I finally got my chance when my sister and I popped into Tree, a little French bistro. Tree is a cute and narrow restaurant, with brick walls and wooden tables. Apparently they also have a garden in the back. My sister and I thought we would have a wait, but they squeezed us into a table at the back, right near the kitchen. That was somewhat of a bummer, as I could see into the kitchen, but we were happy to have a seat. We settled in, eating the delicious bread, and splitting a bottle of wine.

For an appetizer, I had the Roasted Beet, Chèvre & Mache salad ($8).

I thought there would be less greens in the salad, but it was very delicious. The roasted beets and the chèvre cheese balanced each other nicely.

My sister had the mussels in white wine ($10).

They were nothing exciting, but were a rather large portion for an appetizer. Additionally, since the winter months are the best time for mussels, they were quite large.

After all that food, it was a good thing we decided to share our main course - the seared breast of duck, parsnip puree, pomegranate reduction ($20).

The duck was exceptional. Soft and tender, slightly rare, with bursts of juice from the pomegranate seeds....delicious! The parsnip puree rounded out the dish with its creamy and mild flavor.

With my family there's always room for dessert. We had the creme brulee ($8).

A sweet finish to a sweet meal. It was not the most original choice, but you can't go wrong with the classics. I will definitely return to Tree!

Tree is located at 190 First Ave between 11th and 12th Streets
212-358-7171

New Year's Slack

2008-01-19T11:46:00.000-05:00

I'm back! I know it's been a long time since I've posted anything, but I have a lot of pictures and reviews to get to, so I'll be back in action again. Thanks for reading.

Hatsuhana

2007-12-30T15:52:00.000-05:00

Seriously, my favorite sushi place in the city. Ever. Usually when my family goes, we sit at the sushi bar. Actually, it's usually just me and my dad. But last weekend, there were 5 of us, so we were forced to sit at a table. better for conversation, not as conducive to chats with the sushi chefs. C'est la vie. Hatsuhana is one of those wonderful, upscale, traditional sushi bars. The wasabi is fresh and hand ground, the fish is flown in fresh from Japan, and the sushi chefs are a blast to talk to. Like all good sushi bars, the meal begins with steaming towels to clean your hands (always nice after a trip on the subway). And like most good restaurants, Hatsuhana starts the meal with an amuse bouche of sorts.

This was a salmon tempura with pickled root vegetables. Not a bad start.
My mom and I shared a seaweed salad.

I'd never tried their seaweed salad before, usually I'll get a sunomono. This was good, but nothing special. What was special, however, was the sushi.

This platter contains (from left to right) jack mackarel, spanish mackarel, toro, red snapper and yellowtail toro. Each piece was exquisite. Melt in your mouth, orgasmically delicious.
We also ordered rolls.

From far to near: spider roll, toro rolls, salmon avocado roll, spicy toro rolls. Yum yum yum!
Last, but not least, scallops.

We had the scallops served on a separate plate because my mom is allergic. These were sweet, fresh (they are live before served) and fantastic! Toro is clearly the fish of choice at Hatsuhana, I have never tasted better quality in my life, but you will not be disappointed with any choice. Long live the sushi bar!

Hatsuhana is located at 17 East 48th St. (between 5th and Madison)
212-335-3345
Reservations recommended, ask for the upstairs sushi bar!

Blue Hill

2007-12-25T11:04:00.000-05:00

Some restaurants sit there on my list of "to do"s, never to be tasted until a proper occasion arises. These are the upscale restaurants of anniversaries and birthdays, of parent dinners and various special occasions. One such special occasion finally arrived last Friday night when a fellow foodie, and best friend, arrived in NY and we went to Blue Hill.
Blue Hill is not the restaurant you want to take your football team or entire extended family to dinner, and not just because it is a pricey spot. It is a small and intimate space where we felt lucky to have a table (despite our reservations). For those unfamiliar with the restaurant, Blue Hill is one of those seasonal restaurants who gets their ingredients from their farm upstate. Their tasting menu (which we did not sample) changes daily and items are so specially prepared that they can run out of items on the menu. But onto the meal!
All fine meals begin with an amuse bouche.

Ours was a little selection of fresh broccoli and cauliflower. I found it a bit strange, but I suppose the purpose was to showcase fresh ingredients. In that picture you can also see the bread basket. The break was continuously refilled and was hot, crusty and delicious. I was only able to capture a blurred picture.

Melissa (my friend) and I both ordered the sweet potato tortellini to start ($14).

Served with swiss chard, pancetta, and mutsu apples, this dish was delicate and delicious. The sweetness of the sweet potato and apples was beautifully offset by the saltiness of the pancetta (I do love pork products). I also enjoyed the way the creaminess of the tortellini and sweet potato were balanced by the crisp apples.
Justin and Cody (Melissa's boyfriend) ordered the fennel soup ($10).

This dish was garnished with maine crab, tarragon, and candied lemon. I thought its flavors were not as interesting as the tortellini. It was good, but not necessarily something I'd order.
For the mains, both Melissa and Justin ordered the veal ($34).

The veal was served over a stew of carrots and parsnips with toasted spices. It was a nice comfort food dish. Yet again, the flavors weren't very complex.
Cody and I ordered what I thought was the winning dish of the night - vension ($34).

It was served over braised red cabbage, beets, chestnuts and lardo (again with the pork product). As you can see, it was also pretty rare. And it was excellent! I had never tried venison before and was worried that it might be too gamey and chewy, but the flavor was excellent and it was perfectly cooked. Definitely a dish worth ordering again.
At this point, despite the small portion sizes, I was pretty full. But Melissa and I had to have dessert, so we shared the chocolate bread pudding ($10).

Served with a chocolate sauce and vanilla ice cream, this dessert tasted more like a brownie than a bread pudding. It was a delicious brownie - very classic, and almost like a molten lava cake when you reached the chocolate sauce inside. You can never go wrong with lots of chocolate and ice cream.
After our meal, we were taking our time chatting and catching up, but we could tell that the restaurant was in need of our table. So instead of ushering us out, they offered us a free round of drinks at the bar. Good service, beautifully prepared food, good customer relations, I would highly recommend Blue Hill.

Blue Hill is located at 75 Washington Street at 6th Ave
212-539-1776

The Smith

2007-12-10T23:10:00.000-05:00

Friday night - Justin and I were searching for a dinner spot. We were famished, in need of something that will take us immediately. Forget Momofuku Saam bar and their 40 minute wait, we ended up at The Smith - a spot Pizzaria Uno's used to reside in. The Smith does have it's size as an asset. It is large and in charge, yet the style was funky enough to draw us into their lure.
We started with Hungry Teachers - strangely refreshing bourbon cocktails with mint, lime, and lemon.

Satisfied with our cocktails, we ventured to the real menu. The Alsatian pizza with bacon and crema sounded like a winner. I always love bacon. It was indeed the right choice.

And on to the mains. I order the braised short ribs and Justin orderd the pork chop.
My short ribs were unimpressive.

The meat seemed really juicy and tender at first. But upon further chewing, it became dry and overcooked. Justin hypothesized that perhaps it had been cooked poorly and then reheated. Which makes sense considering it didn't take that long for our meal to arrive. But I was sad that they were so unexciting.
Justin's pork chop was better.

It was a huge slab of meat, and it could have used some trimming. However, it was quite flavorful. I probably ate more of Justin's pork chop than I did of my short ribs. And there was still enough to take home as leftovers. Overall, I'd probably return to The Smith for their delicious drinks and perhaps to try some of their much regaled hot potato chips. But probably not my first choice for a full on meal. Unless there were no other comparable options that we could get into on a weekend night.

The Smith is located at 55 Third Ave between 10th and 11th.
212-420-9800

In Vino

2007-12-05T20:12:00.000-05:00

An Italian wine bar. What could sound more enticing? Especially on a blustery night. Visions of wine and lasagna danced through my head and I convinced my ever-willing boyfriend to brave the cold with me and travel to In Vino. We were not disappointed.
The room was very cozy and romantic. Candles in the brick walls, wooden paneling, very warm and inviting. We settled in and were presented with delicious bread (with an accompanying infused olive oil - Justin complained about a lack of salt to season the oil), and an overwhelming wine list. I know very little about Italian wines. So, sensing our apprehension, the bartender/sommelier helped us, providing us with samples and descriptions, until we found our perfect wine:

A Cannonau from Sardinia. It was perfect: slightly spicy, complex, medium-bodied. Great wine.
We started with the prosciutto and mozzarella.
You can never go wrong with this combination, and it exceeded expectations. The prosciutto was light and thinly cut. Most impressive was the mozzarella. It was so fresh and soft that it melted in your mouth. Delicioso!
For the next course, both Justin and I ordered the lasagna. Billed on the online menu as a beef "la lasagna di Max (a restaurant several doors down)," I was not expecting the lamb-pork lasagna I saw on the menu. Intrigued, perplexed, but still craving lasagna, I took the plunge.
Wowza. Served in a miniature, piping-hot crockpot, this lasagna was fantastic. Noodles were homemade - soft yet slightly grainy; both cheeses (parmesean on top, unspecified inside) were exquisite; and the lamb/pork combination proved extremely compatible with both the cheeses and the slightly sweet tomato sauce. A perfect meal for a chilly evening. We both left with half-eaten lasagnas and happy bellies.

In Vino is located at 215 E. 4th Street (between Aves A & B)
212-539-1011

Iron Chef: Battle of the Sweet Potato - Part 1

2007-11-18T12:01:00.000-05:00

A disclaimer: while the focus of this blog has been primarily restaurant reviews, last night's meal was of such high quality that I would have gone to a restaurant to enjoy it. Therefore, I find it necessary to review the Iron Chef Battle of the Sweet Potato. This event was an elaborate ploy of my friend Melissa and myself to get her roommate, Tricia, and my boyfriend, Justin, to compete to give us the best meal of our lives. Mission accomplished.

Both chefs were given advance notice of the secret ingredient, seeing as how we had neither the space nor the kitchens that they work with on Iron Chef. Therefore, they were given a good amount of time to cook and prep all day. I'll bend the rules for some things.

We had told the chefs to produce a minimum of two dishes. They both went above and beyond our expectations, cooking 3 courses (Justin) and 4 courses (Tricia). Because Melissa and I might be slightly biased, we recruited a 3rd judge - Inez (who, as a good friend of Tricia's, also might be slightly biased, but she was the harshest judge of all). Dishes were rated on a scale from 1-10 based on taste and originality. Each judge then averaged their individual scores for each category and added them together, allowing each contestant a maximum of 30 possible points in each category, 60 overall.

I bring you..... The Battle of the Sweet Potato!

The two chefs:

Justin working on his potato flowers filled with sweet potato puree, topped with crab.

Tricia stirs sweet potatoes for hash.

Justin works his magic on a bell pepper.

Steam blocks the camera.

Tricia cooks gnocchi.

Pork tenderloin topped with roasted/glazed sweet potatoes.

Tricia plates her first course.

Tricia's first dish - sweet potato croquettes topped with cranberry sauce.

This was a good dish, but there were some flaws. All judges agreed that the sweet potato was overwhelmed by the bacon in the croquette. The inside was smooth and savory, but did not have a strong sweet potato flavor. The cranberry sauce also did not complement the dish as well as I would have liked. I liked it separate from the actual croquette.

Justin's first dish - sweet potato soup.

This dish contained bacon as well, but I found that it mingled well with the flavors of the dish instead of becoming the focus. There were also small chunks of carrots, celery, and sliced spinach. It was a nice, comforting dish. Chef Justin regretted that he forgot to offer a portobello garnish as he had originally intended, but I didn't think the dish needed it.

Tricia's second dish - sweet potato gnocchi with mushrooms.

I liked the gnocchi, and it was Tricia's first time making it! The sauce was lite, buttery, and earthy. Inez commented that the mushrooms themselves were a bit rubbery. The dish was further enhanced when Tricia realized that she'd forgotten her garnish (these forgetful chefs...) and sprinkled some toasted walnuts over the gnocchi. That changed the dish, creating a nice texture contrast and enjoyable taste. However, there were two things I was expecting that evening - a gnocchi and a pie, so I didn't rank the dish as highly on originality.

Part 2 to come....

Caracas Arepa Bar

2007-11-12T14:33:00.001-05:00

Living in the East Village, I go out to lots of delicious and inexpensive spots. I like to try new places, but there are a few spots that are standbys. Caracas Arepa Bar is one of them.
It has its downfalls to be sure - it's situated in a teensy-tiny space, there is always a wait on weekends, and they have the smallest napkins on the planet to accompany a deliciously messy meal, but it is one of my favorite spots to eat at and, very often, order delivery from.
This weekend, I had a friend visiting from out of town. She's a vegetarian, so sometimes eating out can be an ordeal. I also went out with my celiac friend, so talk about difficult to eat out with! Caracas was the perfect spot.
As mentioned above, there is always a wait. So when we arrived at 7:00 on a Saturday night, it was no surprise that we were told that there would be a 45 minute wait. We decided to grab a drink down the street at 7A. 30 minutes later, we were back at the restaurant and they had already given our table away! So we had to wait a bit in the cold, but at least this time we had some drinks inside us to keep us warm.
Finally, we were seated at a minescule 2 person table that they made into a 3. But arepas were to be had, so it's all good.
Above is some of their deliciously spicy, messy sauce. I am obsessed with it. I keep meaning to ask if I can purchase some to put on everything, it may even be able to replace ketchup in terms of top condiments (have I mentioned my affinity for ketchup?).

Food at Caracas is served in rounds. The tables are so tiny, I suppose it makes sense. Stefi (the celiac)'s first arepa was the A-12 De Pollo ($5.75) -grilled chicken breast with caramelized onions and cheddar cheese (I know, I know - blurry camera!).

Stacy (vegetarian) started with the A-9 De Guasacaca ($5.50) - venezuelan style guacamole with paisa cheese. She proclaimed "it tastes like falafel," which I thought was a strange thing to say about an avocado arepa.

And I started with my favorite - A-8 De Pabellon ($6.75) - shredded beef, black beans, sweet plantains and aged cheese. The flavor of the sweet plantains, mixed with the beef and cheese.....mmm, it is perfection.

For her second arepa, Stacy followed Stefi's choice - an A-12 with tofu instead of chicken. This one she loved, it was not falafel-like at all.

Stefi went with a classic cheese arepa, the A-3 La Paisa ($4.25) - paisa cheese (mild but tasty white cheese). While tasty, I find the plain cheese arepas to be a little boring, especially when presented with so many other exciting and interesting options!

My final arepa was the A-14 La Jardinera ($5.75) - grilled eggplants, sundried tomatoes (antipasto style), caramelized onions and guayanés cheese. This is one I hadn't tried in a while, as I usually stick to spicy or meaty, with plantains. It has a very mediteranean flavor, balanced by a creamy cheese. I think i prefer arepas with meat in them, but I was not disappointed by this choice.

Two arepas is always enough at this place. While they are cheap and little, I always find myself happy and stuffed to the brim when I leave. Long live Caracas!

Caracas Arepa Bar is located at 93 1/2 East 7th Street (at First Ave)
212-529-2314

The take-out joint, Caracas ToGo is located at 91 East 7th St
212-228-5062

Anniversary Dinner

2007-11-01T21:12:00.000-04:00

Monday night, my boyfriend and I celebrated the anniversary of our first date. Usually, I'm left with the restaurant decisions (having lived in NYC for longer and being, as he puts it "obsessed with food."), but he did his research and came up with a great pick without me. He took me to La Lanterna, a dark and charming cafe in Greenwich Village. The atmosphere was perfect - fireplace, candles, garden in the back. We'd hoped to sit in their room downstairs, but it was closed to food service for the night. However, there was a nice little jazz concert taking place. We settled into a cozy corner and perused the menu by candlelight. La Lanterna's menu is geared toward a European palate - meats, cheeses and breadstuffs dominate the list. But paired with a good bottle of wine, I'm one happy lady. We settled on a bruschetta with truffle pate and chopped onion; a panini with smoked prosciutto, melted marscapone, and a splash of cognac, and a plate of three cheeses - chevre rodin (a tangy, spreadable goat's milk cheese), piave(a firm cow's milk cheese, similar to parmigiano but without the granules), and taleggio (a semi-soft cow's milk cheese, described as "pungent, meaty, and nutty with nuances of fruit."). And of course, wine. Justin made me choose that. I went (red) with the Nero d' Avola from Sicily. The bruschetta arrived first. I think part of me thought that it would contain tomatoes, but it didn't. The pate was creamy and offset nicely by the chopped onions. Could have used tomatoes, but it was delicious. Our panini and cheeses arrived together. The smoked prosciutto was very salty, again, might have been well paired with tomatoes (even Justin agreed, and he's a recent tomato convert). Still quite tasty and delicious with the wine. My favorite cheese was the chevre rodin. I was surprised, as I'm not usually a huge fan of goat cheese. But it was light and tangy, slightly herby. The taleggio was certainly the most distinct. Justin's favorite, it seemed. I found its pungent quality a little overpowering and while I enjoyed it, I preferred it in small amounts. Then of course, what good is a meal with out dessert? This place had a dauntingly long dessert menu, a good thing in my opinion, but it took a while to make a decision. It came down to the pumpkin pie or the tiramisu. So we flipped a coin and landed on tiramisu. Perfect choice. Especially when paired with espressos. I can be wary of tiramisu. Sometimes it's delicious, sometimes it's lady fingers and whipped cream dribbled with chocolate. This was of the former variety. I think Justin even wowed it. Light and creamy, not cloyingly sweet, it was a beautiful end to a perfect evening.
Of course, I could sit at a McDonald's with Justin and be happy, but I thought it was a lovely and reasonable place for a romantic evening with someone special.
*Due to the dark, romantic properties of the restaurant, taking a picture with my dinky digital camera was difficult at best. So I leave you with my artsy shot, an empty fork, signifying the end of a well-fed night.

La Lanterna is located at 129 MacDougal Street
212-529-5945

Sushi Lounge

2007-10-30T17:56:00.000-04:00

Admittedly, I am a bit of a sushi snob. But it's not my fault that I practically grew up at a sushi bar. In fact some of my fondest memories of childhood involve sitting at the sushi bar with my dad (as early as my 5th birthday when I was only eating cucumber rolls), talking with Kojima - our favorite sushi chef. We even had a song about him. I spoke Japanese (the most basic) with the staff. Nowadays my dad takes me to Hatsuhana for toro and whatever's fresh from Japan. Unfortunately, my low-paying job does not provide me with enough cash flow for high end sushi. Fortunately for me, I discovered Sushi Lounge. Located on St. Mark's and Avenue A, Sushi Lounge is a fresh, delicious, and cheap alternative for sushi snobs who can't afford the most premium prices. Best of all, if you order more than $20 worth of sushi, they give it to you for 50% off. I swear, people are crazy in the East Village. But that means more sushi for me! On a recent visit (pictured above), my friend and I split five delicious sushi rolls and paid $13 apiece. The spicy tuna is a little heavy on chives, they use a lot of crab stick (unless you request otherwise) and the atmosphere isn't exactly 5 star. But if I have the sushi craving (which is often), and my dad's not footing the bill, Sushi Lounge hits the spot.

Sushi Lounge is located at 132 St. Mark's Place at Avenue A
212-598-1188

Shake Shack

2007-10-29T18:54:00.000-04:00

Danny Meyer's Shake Shack is quite possibly my favorite burger in the city. Despite the atrocious lines. Despite the fact that it's seasonal. So imagine my joy when after our rainy Saturday, Sunday turned out to be a beautiful and crisp October day. And since I was up relatively early, I knew it would be a good day for Shake Shack. Justin and I arrived just before noon, and there were two people in line ahead of us. Score! We ordered 2 Shack Burgers and an order of fries. Justin had never experienced a Shack Burger before, so it was quite the monumental experience. He proclaimed them "a relative of In-And-Out." My response? "Exactly." Fries were okay. Every time I go, I forget that I am continually disappointed by their fries. They were slightly crispier and had a bit of spice on them, that helped. But oh the burger! Delicious, juicy, fabulous, perfectly cooked and never disappointing.

Shake Shack is located at Madison Square Park, near 23rd Street
212-889-6600

Dinner at Essex

2007-10-24T21:11:00.000-04:00

Tonight I braved the rain to meet my good friend (and fellow foodie) Jenna at Essex, on the Lower East Side. Me being me, I got there a little early and took a seat at the end of the bar. From there I overheard one of the waitstaff mention that they were out of mussels (which they're known for), calamari and steak tartare (from their tartare trio). At 7:30 pm on a rainy Wednesday night with a half full restaurant? I should have known to take it from there.
It's not that the food was bad....but it was disappointing. I hate being excited about food and being let down when I eat it.
But on to the food. After being asked 3 times if we wanted drinks (isn't it okay to have a sober night anymore?), we decided to forgo main courses, ordering 2 appetizers apiece, and 1 to share.
I ordered the tomato soup. It was the soup of the day, so there was no description. It was good, in a thick and bready way. The cream was a little overpowering though, and I should have just scooped it off.
My other dish was the seared diver scallops, served over roasted peaches, watermelon, croutons, and basil. There was also some balsamic vinegar, which had primarily soaked into the croutons. I loved the way the texture of the watermelon mixed with the smoothness of the scallops and the soggier croutons were nice. But the roasted peaches didn't fit. They were cloyingly sweet, better suited for a dessert.

Jenna ordered the (somewhat blurry) salad with pumpkin and sheep's milk cheese. I didn't try it, although pumpkin is always a good choice, in my opinion.

She also ordered the best dish of the evening - braised short ribs with hush puppies. Though the hush puppies were mediocre, the short ribs were tender and delicious. "Tastes like brisket," Jenna exclaimed. However, when one considers that it is meant as an appetizer, I think the size is a bit overwhelming.
Then we have the biggest disappointment of the night - a tuna sushi spring roll. Simply a big hunk of tuna, wrapped in cilantro and crispy paper. Not only was the cilantro not mentioned on the menu (a major flaw, as the taste of cilantro is extremely repellent to me), but the roll was boring. The sauces (wasabi and ginger) were flat, and did nothing to help.
While the company was great, the food left something to be desired. Let's just say, we didn't stay for dessert.

Essex is located at 120 Essex Street
212-533-9616

Hungry?

2007-10-24T16:37:00.000-04:00

Hello, my name is Bex, and I'm a foodie. (Hi Bex)

As a New Yorker, I'm exposed to some of the greatest food in the world. Restaurants are always opening (and closing), year-round greenmarkets titillate the senses, and there's a gourmet cheese shop around every corner. I've created "Food in the City" as a place for me to share my eating adventures, culinary cravings, and other such foodie nonsense, without being judged for my foodienss.

Welcome!