Hatsuhana

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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?

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!