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