176 2nd ave btwn 10/11th sts
new york, ny 10003
212/777.1555
(they also have west village & soho locations - i don't know if the menus are the same.)
Tuesday, February 21, 2012
Monday, February 20, 2012
review: the beagle - 1/16/2012
as a cocktail enthusiast, the beagle has been on my "must-try" list for a bit so it was the perfect go-to for an unplanned chilly saturday evening. the restaurant is small, but when we arrived at 8P (MLK wknd saturday), it was almost empty... however, by 830PM, all of the tables were full and the restaurant was loud but not annoyingly so. the tables are well-spaced/positioned, but close enough that you can see what's being served. there's a bar with about 7-8 seats and little standing room if the restaurant is full.
we started with cocktails (east side fix, heresy highball and liberal cocktail), each was well made, very balanced and most importantly, tasty!
onto the food - we decided to go family-style with the following:
pairing boards
-burrata & gin: i actually thought this was magical...burrata was delicious, and i adored the braised celery AND the perfect mini martini - which i continued to order (in full-size) for the rest of the evening.
-mackerel & aquavit: i am not a giant fan of aquavit, but it is the perfect match for the flavor combo of pickled mackerel with the creamy pickled onions on the cracker.
appetizers/salads
-frito pie: the chili on this is rather good, and altho it's small (for sharing), it's a tasty little first bite.
-golden beet salad: great mix of flavors with the greek yogurt, shaved fennel and marcona almonds.
-peekytoe crab salad: served abed leaves of radicchio w hazelnuts & a lemon cream vinaigrette, i liked this salad, but there was an overpowering taste/nose of tarragon, which i wish had been mentioned in the description as it is my least favorite herb
-housemade: a vague plate of what's "housemade" that night - we had cured scallops, a cured shrimp, cured sable, gravlax, pork rillettes, cured lamb belly, housemade sauerkraut and apple butter. some parts were REALLY salty, but the rillettes & lamb belly were awesome.
entrees
-salt-roasted pork belly: this had a whiff of korean bo ssam (boiled pork belly, kimchi, raw oysters) which made me very happy. the sauce was yummy - we asked for some bread to soak it up.
-half chicken: i mean, it's chicken (my least favorite meat), well made (flattened, under-the-brick style with crispy skin), but that chorizo bread pudding topped with a disc of foie butter - WOW, smooth creamy foie mousse and chunks of chorizo - happy day. the liver sauce was good, livery but yummy with the bread pudding and roasted chicken.
dessert
-bonito cheesecake: obviously we were intrigued by this, i mean fish flakes in cheesecake? by process of elimination (the cranachan had a peety scotch flavor - i dislike, and we're not chocolate fans), we went with the cheesecake because we obviously needed dessert. plus the weird factor...we were in. and i'm glad we did. not too sweet, with a hint of fishiness here & there, but not in a bad way...love the ginger powder sprinkled all over and the nilla wafer crust. it was a good finish.
service was great... very attentive, but not annoying. cocktails were a little slow, which was understandable considering the great attention they take to making them. wines were priced in a good affordable range with a nice selection. overall, i think a worthwhile place to eat and definitely for cocktails, and while i would return for drinks and perhaps nibbles, i probably wouldn't go back until they updated their menu with new items.
we started with cocktails (east side fix, heresy highball and liberal cocktail), each was well made, very balanced and most importantly, tasty!
onto the food - we decided to go family-style with the following:
pairing boards
-burrata & gin: i actually thought this was magical...burrata was delicious, and i adored the braised celery AND the perfect mini martini - which i continued to order (in full-size) for the rest of the evening.
-mackerel & aquavit: i am not a giant fan of aquavit, but it is the perfect match for the flavor combo of pickled mackerel with the creamy pickled onions on the cracker.
appetizers/salads
-frito pie: the chili on this is rather good, and altho it's small (for sharing), it's a tasty little first bite.
-golden beet salad: great mix of flavors with the greek yogurt, shaved fennel and marcona almonds.
-peekytoe crab salad: served abed leaves of radicchio w hazelnuts & a lemon cream vinaigrette, i liked this salad, but there was an overpowering taste/nose of tarragon, which i wish had been mentioned in the description as it is my least favorite herb
-housemade: a vague plate of what's "housemade" that night - we had cured scallops, a cured shrimp, cured sable, gravlax, pork rillettes, cured lamb belly, housemade sauerkraut and apple butter. some parts were REALLY salty, but the rillettes & lamb belly were awesome.
entrees
-salt-roasted pork belly: this had a whiff of korean bo ssam (boiled pork belly, kimchi, raw oysters) which made me very happy. the sauce was yummy - we asked for some bread to soak it up.
-half chicken: i mean, it's chicken (my least favorite meat), well made (flattened, under-the-brick style with crispy skin), but that chorizo bread pudding topped with a disc of foie butter - WOW, smooth creamy foie mousse and chunks of chorizo - happy day. the liver sauce was good, livery but yummy with the bread pudding and roasted chicken.
dessert
-bonito cheesecake: obviously we were intrigued by this, i mean fish flakes in cheesecake? by process of elimination (the cranachan had a peety scotch flavor - i dislike, and we're not chocolate fans), we went with the cheesecake because we obviously needed dessert. plus the weird factor...we were in. and i'm glad we did. not too sweet, with a hint of fishiness here & there, but not in a bad way...love the ginger powder sprinkled all over and the nilla wafer crust. it was a good finish.
service was great... very attentive, but not annoying. cocktails were a little slow, which was understandable considering the great attention they take to making them. wines were priced in a good affordable range with a nice selection. overall, i think a worthwhile place to eat and definitely for cocktails, and while i would return for drinks and perhaps nibbles, i probably wouldn't go back until they updated their menu with new items.
one thing of note: reservations are taken on their website, but i had technical difficulties with the site. and when i called, it was a message that reservations by phone were only allowed for groups of 6 or more.
162 avenue a btwn 10th/11th sts
new york, ny 10009
Wednesday, February 15, 2012
review: ciano - 8/7/2011
i really wanted to like ciano and its warm rustic feel. i loved our table right under the skylight. our server was very friendly (but not the most helpful/knowledgeable... maybe because it was a summer sat night?)
the bread basket is delicious (two kinds of bread, both tasty), but i was more excited when it was served with (pause for effect) WHIPPED TRUFFLE BUTTER! *gasp* i adore butter, and i imagine truffles are the only thing that can make butter more delicious... but then you taste it, and it doesn't taste like butter, it almost tastes oily, and the truffle flavor is so muted... such a waste of a good idea.
we were on a double date with one of my favorite eating couples - they eat family style (i'm korean, family style is normal), so we ordered a number of things to share.
first out:
-veal meatballs with polenta, which was as good as they say...and paired with the polenta, yum!
-rock shrimp polpette... in theory, a good idea with great flavor, but an unfortunate rubbery texture.
next up, the crostini:
-one with whipped chicken liver, which weren't as good as ABC kitchen's, but ok, very smooth
-one with spicy burrata & pesto... this was just a bad dish where the pesto got lost under the spicy burrata which doesnt taste like burrata (more like polly-o mozzarella)
we also ordered the arancini bc i love rice balls, and i appreciated the creamy interior while the rice kept a bite, but it was the lack of crispy outside that made this dish mediocre.
then the pastas... i love pasta!
-spaghetti alla chitarra... this was good, and the texture of this spaghetti was amazing, but i had higher expectations since frank bruni tweeted that this pasta was on par with scarpetta's famous spaghetti... my table mates who went to scarpetta recently (and even made the scarpetta spaghetti at home) disagreed.
-pappardelle with duck bolognese... this was my husband's favorite dish, with its chunky sauce... it was good, but it didn't blow me away.
-cortecce pasta with baby octopus and bread crumbs... on their summer menu, mmm baby octopus... i liked the spicy kick, but the seafood flavor was very mellow, and the pasta just didn't have enough texture... and i wish there had been more octopus!
we went with just one entree... winner - crisp duck breast (also on their summer menu). this was perfectly cooked, served with wonderful jus and wild mushrooms... i think this was the best dish of the night. it was the perfect size to share with four ppl (after all the dishes we'd already shared) and a great way to end the savory portion of the meal.
desserts... the girls went cheese, the boys went sweets. the most exciting cheese was the tete de moine (a strong swiss cheese) and of course, our fave, epoisses. lots of fruity accompaniments as well. we also had two dessert specials: a farmer cheese cheesecake with blueberry compote and a sweet cookie dough crust served with peach gelato - i liked the lightness and seasonality of this cheesecake - well done! and the apple strudel (we were debating btwn the peach napoleon and the strudel, but when our server told us the pastry chef is german, obviously the strudel won)... i only had a bite, so i can tell you the crust was flaky, and it tasted fine... not special.
wines... the sommelier was pretty helpful... since we were celebrating the other couple's recent engagement, we started with a bottle of the gaston chiquet brut 2002... YUM (note: we had a multi-vintage version of the chiquet at eleven madison in the spring which was even better). we moved onto a very light red (i don't know which since my S.O. ordered it) and finished with a wonderful fruity/spicy red - the valpolicella d'ora 2008 - i asked our sommelier to surprise us... not expensive and a really nice finish to our meal.
here's the thing about ciano... despite some "hits", there are some phenomenal italian restaurants in nyc right now (marea, ai fiori, locanda verde)... i feel like you have to be extraordinary in order to standout, and unfortunately, ciano wasn't extraordinary by any means.
ciano
45 e 22nd st btwn park ave south/bway
new york, ny 10010
212/982.8422
the bread basket is delicious (two kinds of bread, both tasty), but i was more excited when it was served with (pause for effect) WHIPPED TRUFFLE BUTTER! *gasp* i adore butter, and i imagine truffles are the only thing that can make butter more delicious... but then you taste it, and it doesn't taste like butter, it almost tastes oily, and the truffle flavor is so muted... such a waste of a good idea.
we were on a double date with one of my favorite eating couples - they eat family style (i'm korean, family style is normal), so we ordered a number of things to share.
first out:
-veal meatballs with polenta, which was as good as they say...and paired with the polenta, yum!
-rock shrimp polpette... in theory, a good idea with great flavor, but an unfortunate rubbery texture.
next up, the crostini:
-one with whipped chicken liver, which weren't as good as ABC kitchen's, but ok, very smooth
-one with spicy burrata & pesto... this was just a bad dish where the pesto got lost under the spicy burrata which doesnt taste like burrata (more like polly-o mozzarella)
we also ordered the arancini bc i love rice balls, and i appreciated the creamy interior while the rice kept a bite, but it was the lack of crispy outside that made this dish mediocre.
then the pastas... i love pasta!
-spaghetti alla chitarra... this was good, and the texture of this spaghetti was amazing, but i had higher expectations since frank bruni tweeted that this pasta was on par with scarpetta's famous spaghetti... my table mates who went to scarpetta recently (and even made the scarpetta spaghetti at home) disagreed.
-pappardelle with duck bolognese... this was my husband's favorite dish, with its chunky sauce... it was good, but it didn't blow me away.
-cortecce pasta with baby octopus and bread crumbs... on their summer menu, mmm baby octopus... i liked the spicy kick, but the seafood flavor was very mellow, and the pasta just didn't have enough texture... and i wish there had been more octopus!
we went with just one entree... winner - crisp duck breast (also on their summer menu). this was perfectly cooked, served with wonderful jus and wild mushrooms... i think this was the best dish of the night. it was the perfect size to share with four ppl (after all the dishes we'd already shared) and a great way to end the savory portion of the meal.
desserts... the girls went cheese, the boys went sweets. the most exciting cheese was the tete de moine (a strong swiss cheese) and of course, our fave, epoisses. lots of fruity accompaniments as well. we also had two dessert specials: a farmer cheese cheesecake with blueberry compote and a sweet cookie dough crust served with peach gelato - i liked the lightness and seasonality of this cheesecake - well done! and the apple strudel (we were debating btwn the peach napoleon and the strudel, but when our server told us the pastry chef is german, obviously the strudel won)... i only had a bite, so i can tell you the crust was flaky, and it tasted fine... not special.
wines... the sommelier was pretty helpful... since we were celebrating the other couple's recent engagement, we started with a bottle of the gaston chiquet brut 2002... YUM (note: we had a multi-vintage version of the chiquet at eleven madison in the spring which was even better). we moved onto a very light red (i don't know which since my S.O. ordered it) and finished with a wonderful fruity/spicy red - the valpolicella d'ora 2008 - i asked our sommelier to surprise us... not expensive and a really nice finish to our meal.
here's the thing about ciano... despite some "hits", there are some phenomenal italian restaurants in nyc right now (marea, ai fiori, locanda verde)... i feel like you have to be extraordinary in order to standout, and unfortunately, ciano wasn't extraordinary by any means.
ciano
45 e 22nd st btwn park ave south/bway
new york, ny 10010
212/982.8422
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we headed over around 330PM for a late lunch/early dinner, and the restaurant was relatively empty. we chose a seat close to the bar so i could take in the warm rustic decor (and the warmth from the pizza oven & kitchen).
let's just get to business & talk food...
APPETIZERS
-meatballs - first, the tomato sauce with the meatballs was fantastic. very fresh, clean, not too stewed. as for the meatballs, they were just ok. they tasted fine, but the texture was a bit on the rubbery side. texture is such a vital component of the meatball. (we took 1/2 home and i ate them for breakfast this morning, and one literally BOUNCED off my plate.)
-buffalo mozzarella & prosciutto di parma - a simple appetizer with very good tangy mozzarella and fresh prosciutto drizzled lightly with olive oil.
PIZZA
-18" bianca del diavolo - note, this is the pizza we ordered, but we received what basically amounted to a margherita with pepperoni. there was no ricotta. we didn't say anything bc we were hungry, but i was disappointed. that said, this pizza was a solid pizza - very thin crust, quality ingredients, nice meaty pepperoni and blotches of that delicious tomato sauce (same as the sauce with the meatballs).
PASTA
-lasagna - this might just be the best lasagna ive had in nyc. creamy meat sauce layered between thin sheets of fresh pasta. WOW. again WOW. i hate to write about this last for the savory courses, but it came out a good 5-10 minutes after our pizza even though we asked that they be served together. on the bright side, we brought most of it home, so i got to eat it for breakfast this morning!
DESSERT
-tiramisu - this was just good. nothing special. there were some bites of ladyfinger that hadnt soaked in enough espresso and the cream was a tad thin, but it tasted fine.
numero 28 has a comfortable vibe, with wood tables a bit off balance, sunlight streaming in from the glass doors in front. a good place to go for brunch, and i could see it being annoyingly crowded for dinner, especially on weekends. despite being "on the wagon" (sober february *sigh*), we noticed that they served lambrusco (a fave) and another table had a bottle of veuve (my least favorite every day champagne, but at least they have champers!).
before using the scoop st certificate, the bill was $77 (including tax but not tip - remember, no booze, but we brought a lot of food home). oh, and they only take cash. that was a bummer. there's an ATM on-site but still... cash only is annoying.
my last word - and this is a good one: our waiter... the service was fine, he was friendly, a bit absent-minded (note service-related comments in pizza/pasta sections above). but he was HOT... in that euro-y hot way. i'd go back just to stare at him. yummy.