35 e 18th st btwn park ave south/bway
new york, ny 10003
212/475.5829
Tuesday, January 31, 2012
Friday, January 27, 2012
review: the dutch - 6/23/2011
what a treat! we went for drinks & nibbles in the bar at the dutch last night (2nd time), and it was fantastic. it was crowded (good bar scene) when we arrived, but we found some space and settled in.
the cocktails:
their cocktail menu was designed by their bartender naren, and the combinations are interesting and work so well together. the boys behind the bar put so much care into making the drinks - it's fun to watch.
- dutch courage - a touch sweet for my taste but i appreciated the tart/sweet flavors with the salted rim!
- sullivan street fix up - LOVE! especially the thyme garnish... leave it in the drink and as you sip, take in the yummy thyme smell - it really works.
the food: everything we ordered was delicious, and added bonus, andrew carmellini was in the house!
- seafood ceviche - fantastic... it has a slight spicy kick, so good.
- melon arugula salad - dressed perfectly, so yummy
- shrimp & fried green tomatoes - the shrimp was so perfectly cooked and the pepper sauce... mmm
- hiramasa - very simple, raw slices of yellowtail, clean...
(on my previous visit we also had the fried oyster sandwiches, they're bite size and amazing; i could probably eat 20 of them. we also had the asian white boy ribs, but the boys devoured them so quickly, i didnt even have a taste.)
some boys at a table in the bar room were eating the fried chicken, and it looked & smelled so good, i almost sat down with them to take a bite. it was late... i dont think they wouldve minded... next time!
the dutch
131 sullivan street btwn prince/houston
new york, ny 10012
212/677.6200
the cocktails:
their cocktail menu was designed by their bartender naren, and the combinations are interesting and work so well together. the boys behind the bar put so much care into making the drinks - it's fun to watch.
- dutch courage - a touch sweet for my taste but i appreciated the tart/sweet flavors with the salted rim!
- sullivan street fix up - LOVE! especially the thyme garnish... leave it in the drink and as you sip, take in the yummy thyme smell - it really works.
the food: everything we ordered was delicious, and added bonus, andrew carmellini was in the house!
- seafood ceviche - fantastic... it has a slight spicy kick, so good.
- melon arugula salad - dressed perfectly, so yummy
- shrimp & fried green tomatoes - the shrimp was so perfectly cooked and the pepper sauce... mmm
- hiramasa - very simple, raw slices of yellowtail, clean...
(on my previous visit we also had the fried oyster sandwiches, they're bite size and amazing; i could probably eat 20 of them. we also had the asian white boy ribs, but the boys devoured them so quickly, i didnt even have a taste.)
some boys at a table in the bar room were eating the fried chicken, and it looked & smelled so good, i almost sat down with them to take a bite. it was late... i dont think they wouldve minded... next time!
the dutch
131 sullivan street btwn prince/houston
new york, ny 10012
212/677.6200
Thursday, January 26, 2012
review: beef 7 ways at ma peche - 6/16/2011
we went with a group of 8 on a tues night for the $450 beef 7 ways dinner. our server dominick (so cute, my friends say he looks like adam levine from maroon 5) advised we supplement since it's meant for 4-6. i'm a good eater, and i think two sides or apps would be a fine supplement - not too much more.
we started with 2 small SEAFOOD PLATEAUS (mostly bc i adore the squid salad), crispy pig's head, 2 orders of asparagus and the bread & cow's butter (you have to pay for this).
the squid salad was as usual delish, the raw fluke was good (it's not the same fluke as the menu item) but some ppl didn't enjoy the sauce on the bottom (i cant remember offhand). the oysters (mix of east/west) were quite good, very cleanly shucked too.
the CRISPY PIGS HEAD on a lentil salad was AMAZING. so good i can say it again, amazing! my picky-eating S.O. licked it clean. oh wait, that was me.
the ASPARAGUS has a poached egg that bursts and you stir it together... it really blends well w the king crab, but i think it's too saucy. tastes good, looks not so much.
on to dinner:
the courses came two at a time -
WAGYU (imperial beef, ne) - ginger, scallion, radish: this is a delicious carpaccio. reminded me a bit of korean yook hwe. this was my fave.
TENDON (creekstone farm, ks) - basil, tatsoi, plum vinaigrette: this is a salad. i love tendon, and usually the tendon i have isnt so tender. a couple ppl said this was the best dish of the bunch.
MEAT PIE (creekstone farm, ks) - tongue, potato, caramelized onions: my S.O. loved the crust. i thought it was very dense/heavy. it was tasty, but...
RIBS (niman ranch, ia) - fried garlic, kunz ketchup: this came with ssam (butter lettuce, crudite-type veggies, fish sauce, etc.), and i liked them, but they werent amazing. i also am not a fan of the ribs on the ma peche a la carte menu.
RIBEYE (4 story hills farm, pa): this is their cote de boeuf, which was very good, but i've had better at a steakhouse. also i was expecting this to be flintstones size... it wasnt.
BRISKET (niman ranch, ia) - marrow, shallot, chili jam: this was really good, but by this point, we were all getting really full. maybe i shouldnt have gnawed all of the meat off the ribeye bone. i wrapped this to-go, and i think this make delish tacos tmrw night.
OXTAIL SOUP (pineland farm, me) - tamarind, mint, cilantro: i was expecting a pho type of finish. the soup was poured from a teapot into teacups/saucers. there was some oxtail meat on the bottom (which i ate), but the soup was SWEET (from the tamarind). BIG NO.
we also had the CARROTS (couldnt resist that they were cooked in bone marrow) and the SUGAR SNAP PEAS (bc i love xo sauce). the carrots were mushy. the snap peas were awesome.
some of the boys started with cocktails, which were well-made. for wine, we started w the less expensive gruner on the menu, which was fantastic with the seafood. we moved on to the domaine de la butte cab franc, which also was great. i dont recall her name, but the sommelier who helped us was awesome.
we ended with EPOISSES, which is my fave cheese, and i ordered the only glass of champagne by the glass w it. epoisses & champagne is fun.
my S.O. ran upstairs as soon as dinner was over to get some cereal milk soft serve from milk bar on the ground floor. i refrained from cookies/truffles bc i stocked up on them when i was at ma peche for lunch a couple weeks ago. they keep in the freezer!
overall it was good meal, but i don't know if i'd go back for the beef 7 ways again. i think the a la carte items are MUCH BETTER.
on a non-food related note, we saw jj abrams dining there (my gf recognized him, no idea how...), and i introduced myself and told him that 'felicity' is my all-time favorite show. i even watch 'fringe'! that was a super highlight!
ma peche
15 w. 56th st btwn 5/6th aves
new york, ny 10019
212/757.5878
we started with 2 small SEAFOOD PLATEAUS (mostly bc i adore the squid salad), crispy pig's head, 2 orders of asparagus and the bread & cow's butter (you have to pay for this).
the squid salad was as usual delish, the raw fluke was good (it's not the same fluke as the menu item) but some ppl didn't enjoy the sauce on the bottom (i cant remember offhand). the oysters (mix of east/west) were quite good, very cleanly shucked too.
the CRISPY PIGS HEAD on a lentil salad was AMAZING. so good i can say it again, amazing! my picky-eating S.O. licked it clean. oh wait, that was me.
the ASPARAGUS has a poached egg that bursts and you stir it together... it really blends well w the king crab, but i think it's too saucy. tastes good, looks not so much.
on to dinner:
the courses came two at a time -
WAGYU (imperial beef, ne) - ginger, scallion, radish: this is a delicious carpaccio. reminded me a bit of korean yook hwe. this was my fave.
TENDON (creekstone farm, ks) - basil, tatsoi, plum vinaigrette: this is a salad. i love tendon, and usually the tendon i have isnt so tender. a couple ppl said this was the best dish of the bunch.
MEAT PIE (creekstone farm, ks) - tongue, potato, caramelized onions: my S.O. loved the crust. i thought it was very dense/heavy. it was tasty, but...
RIBS (niman ranch, ia) - fried garlic, kunz ketchup: this came with ssam (butter lettuce, crudite-type veggies, fish sauce, etc.), and i liked them, but they werent amazing. i also am not a fan of the ribs on the ma peche a la carte menu.
RIBEYE (4 story hills farm, pa): this is their cote de boeuf, which was very good, but i've had better at a steakhouse. also i was expecting this to be flintstones size... it wasnt.
BRISKET (niman ranch, ia) - marrow, shallot, chili jam: this was really good, but by this point, we were all getting really full. maybe i shouldnt have gnawed all of the meat off the ribeye bone. i wrapped this to-go, and i think this make delish tacos tmrw night.
OXTAIL SOUP (pineland farm, me) - tamarind, mint, cilantro: i was expecting a pho type of finish. the soup was poured from a teapot into teacups/saucers. there was some oxtail meat on the bottom (which i ate), but the soup was SWEET (from the tamarind). BIG NO.
we also had the CARROTS (couldnt resist that they were cooked in bone marrow) and the SUGAR SNAP PEAS (bc i love xo sauce). the carrots were mushy. the snap peas were awesome.
some of the boys started with cocktails, which were well-made. for wine, we started w the less expensive gruner on the menu, which was fantastic with the seafood. we moved on to the domaine de la butte cab franc, which also was great. i dont recall her name, but the sommelier who helped us was awesome.
we ended with EPOISSES, which is my fave cheese, and i ordered the only glass of champagne by the glass w it. epoisses & champagne is fun.
my S.O. ran upstairs as soon as dinner was over to get some cereal milk soft serve from milk bar on the ground floor. i refrained from cookies/truffles bc i stocked up on them when i was at ma peche for lunch a couple weeks ago. they keep in the freezer!
overall it was good meal, but i don't know if i'd go back for the beef 7 ways again. i think the a la carte items are MUCH BETTER.
on a non-food related note, we saw jj abrams dining there (my gf recognized him, no idea how...), and i introduced myself and told him that 'felicity' is my all-time favorite show. i even watch 'fringe'! that was a super highlight!
ma peche
15 w. 56th st btwn 5/6th aves
new york, ny 10019
212/757.5878
Tuesday, January 24, 2012
review: gravy - 6/15/2011
i really wanted to like gravy... but i didn't.
i went on a monday night with 6 friends. we ordered most of the appetizers and sides, plus a few entrees. i searched high & low for the biscuits mentioned on yelp (no sign of them). i also looked for gravy - only found on the mashed potatoes.
FOOD
appetizers:
-chopped salad - good size, but overly dressed in a runny dressing
-king crab legs - 4 small pieces, overcooked
-peel & eat shrimp - the tastiest of the bunch even though the FOUR pieces of shrimp were dry and overcooked (the comments from the table were "i like chewy overcooked shrimp")
-hummus - interesting but the focaccia served with it was stale (they brought us some grilled whole-wheat sourdough bread once we told them, but sorry, too late)
-crawfish fritters - these tasted good, but they were more like rice balls w crawfish in them. and there were only 4 small-ish fritters (seems like 4 is a theme)
entrees:
-sullivan bog - SMALL. overcooked seafood. in theory it was good.
-scallops & honey grits - i didn't try this, but my friend who ordered this said it was inedible
-corn flake crusted chicken - terrible... all white meat, completely DRY, i didnt see any cheese stuffed inside
sides (the best part of the meal - not saying much):
gravy fries - this was overly old bay'd fries w ranch dressing on the side. the name was VERY MISLEADING.
mashed potatoes & gravy - standard, nothing special
braised collards/kale - standard
roasted mushrooms - nothing special but tasty
crackling creamed corn - i liked this but no one else did. it tasted a lot like roasted peppers, which i like.
grits 3 ways: the pork & cheese were quite tasty. the honey was very sweet.
we did not have dessert bc this dinner took FOREVER as it was.
DRINKS
decent wine options although no one really knew much about the wine to help make a choice. i had the garden of good &evil cocktail - it was quite good and well-balanced.
SERVICE
the restaurant was pretty empty, so i understand there being only one waitress, but there were a few other people who worked there around, and NO ONE was helpful. the service was flat-out bad. the food took forever. we ordered peel & eat shrimp while having drinks at the bar BEFORE, and we never received them, yet they tried to charge us for 2 orders of the shrimp (we obviously caught and had them correct). the slooooowness of the South in new york does not work.
add to that, the bill ended up being $82pp even tho 4 of us shared 2 entrees.
overall, every aspect of this restaurant (and we tried a lot of things) was a major disappointment.
gravy
32 east 21st st btwn broadway/park ave s
new york, ny 10010
212/600.2105
i went on a monday night with 6 friends. we ordered most of the appetizers and sides, plus a few entrees. i searched high & low for the biscuits mentioned on yelp (no sign of them). i also looked for gravy - only found on the mashed potatoes.
FOOD
appetizers:
-chopped salad - good size, but overly dressed in a runny dressing
-king crab legs - 4 small pieces, overcooked
-peel & eat shrimp - the tastiest of the bunch even though the FOUR pieces of shrimp were dry and overcooked (the comments from the table were "i like chewy overcooked shrimp")
-hummus - interesting but the focaccia served with it was stale (they brought us some grilled whole-wheat sourdough bread once we told them, but sorry, too late)
-crawfish fritters - these tasted good, but they were more like rice balls w crawfish in them. and there were only 4 small-ish fritters (seems like 4 is a theme)
entrees:
-sullivan bog - SMALL. overcooked seafood. in theory it was good.
-scallops & honey grits - i didn't try this, but my friend who ordered this said it was inedible
-corn flake crusted chicken - terrible... all white meat, completely DRY, i didnt see any cheese stuffed inside
sides (the best part of the meal - not saying much):
gravy fries - this was overly old bay'd fries w ranch dressing on the side. the name was VERY MISLEADING.
mashed potatoes & gravy - standard, nothing special
braised collards/kale - standard
roasted mushrooms - nothing special but tasty
crackling creamed corn - i liked this but no one else did. it tasted a lot like roasted peppers, which i like.
grits 3 ways: the pork & cheese were quite tasty. the honey was very sweet.
we did not have dessert bc this dinner took FOREVER as it was.
DRINKS
decent wine options although no one really knew much about the wine to help make a choice. i had the garden of good &evil cocktail - it was quite good and well-balanced.
SERVICE
the restaurant was pretty empty, so i understand there being only one waitress, but there were a few other people who worked there around, and NO ONE was helpful. the service was flat-out bad. the food took forever. we ordered peel & eat shrimp while having drinks at the bar BEFORE, and we never received them, yet they tried to charge us for 2 orders of the shrimp (we obviously caught and had them correct). the slooooowness of the South in new york does not work.
add to that, the bill ended up being $82pp even tho 4 of us shared 2 entrees.
overall, every aspect of this restaurant (and we tried a lot of things) was a major disappointment.
gravy
32 east 21st st btwn broadway/park ave s
new york, ny 10010
212/600.2105
Thursday, January 19, 2012
review: old town hot pot - 6/14/2011
i love hot pot so i was super excited when this place opened by the owners of grand sichuan close by (yummy). they have individual pots (like quickly in chinatown) which some ppl prefer (not me).
pros:
1) the soup (i got medium spicy) is good and not that spicy. not MSG tasting. the chicken soup sounded very soothing, would love to have next time i'm sick.
2) the appetizers are AWESOME. especially the spinach with hot mustard sauce. but we tried them all and they're all good, even the hawthorn with the jelly stuff.
3) the fish balls were excellent. this is an easy dish to do badly.
4) the service is pleasant.
5) it's super inexpensive ($22 per person w tax/tip, and some ppl had beer).
cons:
1) no sauce bar! this really takes away from the hot pot experience. making your own custom dipping sauce is awesome. here, they give you 3 options - none of them are soy sauce with raw garlic, red chili powder, ginger and cilantro. (that said, you can get the hot mustard sauce on the side and the bean paste and spicy sauce are tasty).
2) NO NOODLES (besides rice stick type noodles). at the end of hot pot, it's awesome to get noodles (ideally hand-pulled, or even handmade) to end the meal. next time i'm going to bring my own.
3) they need more boilable items. in china, you can order all different plates of meats, seafood, fish. you get a bowl of veggies w tofu and tofu skin, but... they should have specials - live shrimp! scallops!
i prefer shared hotpot (next stop: QUEENS!), but this was pretty tasty and easily accessible. i miss china!
old town hot pot
70 7th ave south btwn commerce/bleecker street
new york, ny 10014
212/929.2188
pros:
1) the soup (i got medium spicy) is good and not that spicy. not MSG tasting. the chicken soup sounded very soothing, would love to have next time i'm sick.
2) the appetizers are AWESOME. especially the spinach with hot mustard sauce. but we tried them all and they're all good, even the hawthorn with the jelly stuff.
3) the fish balls were excellent. this is an easy dish to do badly.
4) the service is pleasant.
5) it's super inexpensive ($22 per person w tax/tip, and some ppl had beer).
cons:
1) no sauce bar! this really takes away from the hot pot experience. making your own custom dipping sauce is awesome. here, they give you 3 options - none of them are soy sauce with raw garlic, red chili powder, ginger and cilantro. (that said, you can get the hot mustard sauce on the side and the bean paste and spicy sauce are tasty).
2) NO NOODLES (besides rice stick type noodles). at the end of hot pot, it's awesome to get noodles (ideally hand-pulled, or even handmade) to end the meal. next time i'm going to bring my own.
3) they need more boilable items. in china, you can order all different plates of meats, seafood, fish. you get a bowl of veggies w tofu and tofu skin, but... they should have specials - live shrimp! scallops!
i prefer shared hotpot (next stop: QUEENS!), but this was pretty tasty and easily accessible. i miss china!
old town hot pot
70 7th ave south btwn commerce/bleecker street
new york, ny 10014
212/929.2188
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and i fully admit it: I WAS WRONG.
abc kitchen is really very tasty. i went twice within one week so that i could try as many things on the current menu (which has already changed) as possible. i also love small plates to share, which are plentiful here.
more often than not, it was the simplicity of the high-quality, fresh ingredients (locally sourced!) that really made the dishes shine.
my faves:
-chicken liver toast - smooth, flavorful, wow
-crab toast - my S.O., who doesn't like crab, ate every bit of these
-warm mozzarella - this got mixed reviews at our table, but i loved the soft, warm cloud of cheese
-carrot salad - it doesnt sound that exciting, but it actually is
-roasted squash - so simple, so good
-spinach, goat cheese pizza - wasn't that excited for it but was REALLY WOWED
-corn (side dish) - the sweetness popped in your mouth
-the market strawberry dessert - we were stuffed but wanted something sweet - this was perfect!
the spaghettini w shrimp and the pretzel calamari were also good, but i dont know if i would order them again.
there were a few dishes that i thought were less memorable (so much so that i can't even remember the details) - the ricotta toasts, a pizza special w bacon & arugula (i LOVE bacon, but this wasnt well-balanced) and a sashimi dish...
i must note that both times, we didnt order entrees. i'll get there at some point!
in terms of service, both times they were attentive, but nothing special. the restaurant is pretty loud. difficult to get reservations, but if you go early, it's a free-for-all in the bar area, where there is also table seating. that said, if you don't go early, you could end up waiting a LOOOOONG time.
since they use seasonal ingredients, i suggest going back...ALL. THE. TIME.