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
Saturday, April 24, 2010
qingdao, china... again!
my hotel, hanyuan hotel in the chengyang area of qingdao, isn't 5-star by any means, but they have wired internet, working phones, AC/heat, and hot water. and every hotel i've ever stayed at in china offers a breakfast buffet. this one isn't that tasty (the days inn in jiaozuo city has an AMAZING breakfast buffet), but a girls gotta eat. they always have (and i always eat) dumplings, congee, tofu skin and some sauteed veggies. beggars can't be choosers. that said, there's a market across the street, and i stock up on water, bread and yogurt. for a country of lactose-intolerant folk, the yogurt is mad good.
if we have some downtime during the day, my factory agent suggests going for a massage. we tried a new place the other day that looked as though it would fit in perfectly in singapore's geylang (red-light) district. the masseuse manhandled me pretty intensely, and i'm confident that i left feeling worse than when i went in. 30min = 38rmb (today=US$5.57), which i think is somewhat expensive by china standards, considering my go-to massage place in SHANGHAI (a real city) is 50rmb (US$7.32) for an hour, it's antiseptically clean and they have a "buy 10" card which gives you a discount.
the best part of these trips is dinner - we eat and drink well every night. not great for my "diet" but certainly the highlight of my trip. so far we've dined out on korean kalbi, hot pot (communal style with a spicy and non-spicy soup), lamb grill and tuna head sashimi. tuna head sashimi was the coolest - a sushi chef tears apart that tuna head right at your table and slices up the cheek, nose, neck, etc - but also the most repulsive. i'm still nauseated thinking about him chopping up the RAW eye goo and the eyeball and serving it up. i'm quite adventurous when it comes to food, plus last night i drank an entire bottle of baijiu myself, but even i couldn't go there.
now that my factory agent GC has hired an ayi (basically the most comprehensive houskeeper/cook/nanny available on earth), we also eat at the office sometimes. i think living away from home, GC likes some home cooked food; he even likes to get in the kitchen himself. one night GC and his buddies bought a mountain chicken (from a chicken herder(?) at the mountain nearby), and they made chicken soup with ginseng; last night we visited the market (intense!) and got 3 live fish, sea cucumbers, super fresh sesame leaves and the most delicious fresh tofu ever, and they sliced up a sashimi feast.
not sure what's on deck for tonight, but it's my last night here... i'm sure it'll be another doozy!
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| breakfast buffet |
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| market across from my hotel |
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| yummy yogurt! |
if we have some downtime during the day, my factory agent suggests going for a massage. we tried a new place the other day that looked as though it would fit in perfectly in singapore's geylang (red-light) district. the masseuse manhandled me pretty intensely, and i'm confident that i left feeling worse than when i went in. 30min = 38rmb (today=US$5.57), which i think is somewhat expensive by china standards, considering my go-to massage place in SHANGHAI (a real city) is 50rmb (US$7.32) for an hour, it's antiseptically clean and they have a "buy 10" card which gives you a discount.
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| ghetto massage place |
the best part of these trips is dinner - we eat and drink well every night. not great for my "diet" but certainly the highlight of my trip. so far we've dined out on korean kalbi, hot pot (communal style with a spicy and non-spicy soup), lamb grill and tuna head sashimi. tuna head sashimi was the coolest - a sushi chef tears apart that tuna head right at your table and slices up the cheek, nose, neck, etc - but also the most repulsive. i'm still nauseated thinking about him chopping up the RAW eye goo and the eyeball and serving it up. i'm quite adventurous when it comes to food, plus last night i drank an entire bottle of baijiu myself, but even i couldn't go there.
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| meat for our hot pot |
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| the hot pot 1/2 & 1/2 |
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| mmm lamb grill |
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| sashimi platter |
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| sushi chef + tuna head |
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| sushi chef + tuna eye goo |
now that my factory agent GC has hired an ayi (basically the most comprehensive houskeeper/cook/nanny available on earth), we also eat at the office sometimes. i think living away from home, GC likes some home cooked food; he even likes to get in the kitchen himself. one night GC and his buddies bought a mountain chicken (from a chicken herder(?) at the mountain nearby), and they made chicken soup with ginseng; last night we visited the market (intense!) and got 3 live fish, sea cucumbers, super fresh sesame leaves and the most delicious fresh tofu ever, and they sliced up a sashimi feast.
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| seafood market |
Thursday, April 22, 2010
35 hours in seoul
i travel a lot, especially to china for work, and i don't write about any of it nearly enough. i left nyc 4/14 and stopped in seoul, korea for a night to visit some family (my adorable grandparents and my aunt/cousins). on my last trip to seoul in january, i'd left my wedding ring behind, because i'm braindead sometimes, so my S.O. will be happy that it's back on my finger. the trip had fortuitous timing because my cousin jeesun had a baby the day that i left (he was 10 days early - i think it was so he could meet me, but who's to say...) so i even got to see the new addition!
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| my ring! |
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| my cousin's new baby boy: jihyo |
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| my aunt with her 1st grandchild |
we stopped at a post office near my aunt's apartment to send a wedding gift (you can send cash from the post office directly from your bank account - you even receive a text notification once it's been processed!), and i noticed the 2010 stamp schedule... i'm a total stamp nerd, i wish they would do this in the US!
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| nerdy stamp calendar |
it's very korean typical that you eat certain foods when you have a baby. my aunt wanted to make my cousin soup with lots of collagen so we stopped at street stall butcher (this is obviously NOT regulated by any FDA) and picked up some cow leg and other meats. i love that my aunt haggled with the guy, and he even threw in extra meat as a gift.
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| outdoor meat shop |
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| cow leg |
dinner with my grandparents, and a short morning later, i was on the express bus to incheon airport. i love ICN because they have two of my fave stores, duty-free - CHANEL & CARTIER! whenever i walk into chanel, a wave of tranquility washes over me; it's very soothing. however, i don't think my S.O. will want me going through ICN anymore - i'm 2 for 2 with purchases at ICN's chanel in 2010! my S.O. says it's fine as long as it makes me happy... i think i have the best S.O. EVER!
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| my new chanel! |
Saturday, February 20, 2010
today's meals are booked
i've finally faced the reality that my work isn't going to get done on its own, so thursday, i went for a quick gym (more like a warm-up) before my pilates mat class at movements afoot. very stiff from class, i rushed to lunch at alto in midtown to meet my girlfriend choi for lunch with her adorable baby boy. i've been wanting to try alto for quite a while - i swear, i was italian in a former life - but i wasn't expecting it to be as "all-business" as it was.
the restaurant is set back from the street, which is nice. it's architecture is modern and very square. i was expecting it to be open and airy (for no reason), but the dining room is a level below with lowish ceilings; it seemed like a modern townhouse layout. the maitre d' rudely stated that we wouldn't be allowed in the dining room if my friend's son continued to fuss, and they didn't have highchairs available. the waitstaff was much more friendly, and the service was pretty much impeccable.
i started with the mushroom soup, which burst with mushroom flavor. it was a touch salty (i've been salt-sensitive lately), but i still licked my bowl clean. choi started with the gnocchi (she was planning to share with julian), which tasted a little gummy - a touch undercooked, even! the tomato sauce was good, chunky, tasty, but the gnocchi should have been the star of the show.
for our 2nd course i had the garganelli amatriciana - i'm a huge pasta fan, but i'm not sure if this pasta is for me. it didn't have enough mouthfeel for me. the sauce was a seafoody sauce with smoked cod tripe and baby calamari; it was delicious, but i wished it had another noodle with the dish. i should have gone with my ever-fattening gut and had the tagliatelle with veal ragu, which is more up my alley. choi had the meat tortellini, which she also proclaimed as salty. the tortellini were probably the best meat tortellini i've ever had, but i'll agree, the sauce was too salty. but i still lapped it up with the extra bread that i requested (the olive bread was wonderful).
we shared the zabaglione-filled donuts for dessert, which i thought was just ok - the texture was a little crumby, the filling fell out of the donut, and the chocolate sauce it was served with was pasty instead of smooth and runny like a sauce. the long lingering lunch was nice to catch up with choi, but i think they were thrilled for us to leave.
i rushed home to change to return to the gym (i have a mini-crush on a squash player at the club, and there was a squash match that evening that i thought he'd be playing in), but was delayed by jetlag tiredness and a call from my younger sister. then i realized i'd left my favorite sneakers (asics) at the pilates studio earlier! fortunately, when i arrived the squash match was just getting underway, but then it turned out my mini-crush wasn't playing after all. all signs pointed to "workout unnecessary" so i rinsed and changed, and hurried to get a cab downtown to meet more friends for dinner!
while i was in china, my friend sent an email about a new sushi spot downtown, sushi uo, whose sushi bar was manned by a young, non-japanese chef david boudahana, and it was getting talked about all over town. additionally, on tuesday evenings, they were doing live tastings where the sushi chef would serve all sorts of live seafood, and there may twitching and such going on. originally, i made the reservation for tuesday, but when i called to change the number in our party, they told me they were closed for the week due to a change in sushi chef. HUH?! then i received a follow-up call to notify me that they were actually reopening on thursday, and they were going to do the live tasting on thursday this week. i'm jetlagged and easily confused, so i changed the reservation to thursday.
sushi uo is a cute small space, and everything we tasted, including the live sampler (octopus, giant clam, torigai, orange clam, scallop and uni) was quite delicious. you could tell the fish was good. the new sushi chef, john, was friendly. the staff was less knowledgeable. the toro collar was amazing. we did an uni flight (which is not on the menu, and we requested as such) of the santa barbara, hokkaido and maine uni (i think the hokkaido was best), which is a nice different thing for a sushi restaurant to offer. the sushi rice wasn't as tasty as yasuda's and it was a touch hard like kuruma zushi. they have a diverse selection of good sakes to drink, also right up our alley.
the real problem was that the service was just SLOW. i mean, if we'd ordered more food, we would've been there until the next day. we were there for almost three hours, and i ate as much as i would have in 15 minutes at yasuda. and because it was slow, they brought us a number of complimentary dishes. the fish was good enough that i'd go back, but i recommend sitting at the sushi bar, either alone or with one other person, and doing an omakase.
after our meal, we had to double-down at barrio chino a few blocks away. we had an appetizer sampler, and three entrees (yes, we did just have dinner at sushi uo, and there were only 5 of us, but we're piglets), plus margaritas. the appetizer platter was quite good, filled with grilled steak, beans, chorizo and queso fresco, served with warm tortillas. for the entrees, we had lamb barbacoa (i didn't love, but the boys really enjoyed), enchiladas mole (i didn't like, but i don't like the sweetness of mole), and enchiladas verdes (i liked the sauce but i thought the chicken was dry). i loved the tanginess of my fresh lime margarita, and i forgot how much i loved the buzz of NYC at night since this was my first night out since i've been home from china.
Thursday, February 18, 2010
all i do is eat
in an effort to be recession-friendly and healthier, i'm cooking more. after spending 2+ months in a hotel, i also really missed cooking/having a kitchen. after our eating bonanza monday afternoon, i planned shrimp scampi dinner tuesday and osso buco yesterday.
i chose to serve the shrimp scampi with spaghetti & broccoli; my S.O. only likes a few veggies, so there aren't many choices. i added the broccoli to the pasta cooking water about four minutes before the pasta was a touch undercooked, and i doubled the sauce for the shrimp scampi (plus some additional olive oil) in order to finish cooking the spaghetti & broccoli in the yummy scampi sauce. i tossed it all together and served with grated pecorino romano. the S.O. loved - hooray!
i woke up yesterday at 4:08a (ugh), so i started prepping my osso buco in the morning. i took a recipe from cook's illustrated, but i adapted because i only had two veal shanks. i decided to serve with polenta and either asparagus or cauliflower, and i thought i'd make a little extra sauce for the polenta to soak it up. i threw it into a low oven, then went to the gym (1h 15m alternating walk/jog - about 775 calories) before i rushed to meet my new mandarin tutor!
i arrived home starving, and perfect timing - my friend bunnard asked me to lunch! he wanted asian, and ramen sounded quite appealing. we went with ippudo because in my quick research, it's been deemed a top spot in manhattan AND neither of us had been. it's also convenient to both of us, located right near union square. we started with shishito, and the yuzu salt that comes with it is fantastical. i chose the akamaru ramen with extra pork lunch set (with grilled eel rice) PLUS a topping of kakuni (because who can resist pork belly); bunny chose the tori ramen lunch set (with mentaiko - spicy cod roe - rice). this was probably the best ramen i've had in new york (the best i've had is in LA, but i'll keep trying!). my only concern is the salt content. i was dehydrated the ENTIRE afternoon and evening, and i drink A LOT of water.
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| ippudo akamaru ramen |
the jetlag was so horrendous last night (and my leg hurt from being exhausted AND overdoing it) that i decided to forego the afternoon pick-me-up workout and started to make dinner an hour before the S.O. said he was coming home. i made polenta with water, added a touch of salt, butter and grated aged provolone. the osso buco was very tender (i pureed the sauce because it was too veggie-chunky, and my S.O. wouldn't eat it if he saw the veggies). and i went with roasted cauliflower with prosciutto, garlic, lemon and a touch of grated pecorino romano. so the verdict: since i only used two veal shanks, i think the sauce lacked a lot of the meaty flavor. the polenta was a good base, but i think my cornmeal is too fine for polenta. but the star of the show was the cauliflower - it was yummy caramelized from the roasting (i tossed in garlic & tiny diced prosciutto during the last 5 minutes), and the squeeze of lemon juice gave it a fresh/clean taste while the cheese, mmmm, cheese makes everything better. my S.O. deemed the osso buco just eh.
today is another food-filled day. lunch at alto and dinner at sushi uo!
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
my first weekend home
i had total crap internet access in korea, and work in china became too busy to blog, so i'll post a recap of my week in korea and my final three weeks in china later, but i want to focus on HOME now that i've returned to new york, the greatest city in the world!
on the way back from the airport thursday evening (2/11), we picked up lombardi's, which may not be the best pizza in the WORLD, but it's pretty delicious, especially after 9 weeks of asia traveling. our favorite is the white pizza with meatballs (lombardi's meatballs are fantastic).
my jetlag has been fierce since i returned, so wakeups have generally been between 4-5am. i desperately wanted to cook veal parmagiana for dinner friday, so after gymming in the morning, i hopped in the car to my favorite italian grocery store, dipalo's, in little italy, to pick up some aged provolone and fresh mozzarella. lou dipalo is the face of the store, and he's usually around, but his brother sal is my hidden gym - he's always smiling, super friendly, and he always gives me a taste of what he's slicing. mmm, this time mortadella. after picking up my intended groceries, plus an additional provolone, fresh ricotta, a baguette, cacciatore sausage and a chunk of the butt of the prosciutto, i headed home.
i decided to serve stuffed artichoke with my veal parm since my S.O. loves gino's stuffed artichoke, and i found an easy recipe on saveur. my problem was that my best hours are the first 10 hours after i wake, so by dinnertime, i was becoming zombie-like, even though i went back to the gym for a pick-me-up (i'd already have been on the floor without the shorty afternoon workout).
we started with the baguette & fresh ricotta, simple yet amazing. the veal turned out perfectly - crispy crust (panko/breadcrumb mix, with the addition of grated pecorino romano), topped with grated aurecchio provolone/fresh mozzarella mix. and the artichoke tasted good, but i forgot to add the boiling water so it was a little dry/tough. sad.
the next morning, i hit the gym, then pilates tower/reformer class (i said i was rededicating!) in anticipation of a delicious brunch at artisanal. it's my favorite restaurant to hit once i'm back from china, since there's no cheese in china. although the service was spotty, and it was crowded, even at 130pm, the food was solid. we started with gougeres (i like eleven madison's FREE gougeres better, but these are denser, cheesier) and risotto croquettes (would have been good if they were warm/gooey in the center). then the petite artisanal blend fondue with air-dried beef (good), kielbasa (undercooked) and french fries. THEN (yes another course), we shared the croque monsieur and macaroni & cheese. the croque monsieur was quite creamy & rich; the S.O. liked that, but it was falling apart, which it shouldn't do. we had to take the mac & cheese home, which was the perfect snack for dinner later! we were pretty pooped after all that food, so we couched it the rest of the afternoon, until around 530p when i decided banana bread was in order! i change the recipe up to include some almond flour in place of AP flour, but i think i went overboard this time, because it was a little too coarse. still yummy, very banana-y and quite moist; next time i'll work on better proportions.
sunday morning (valentine's day) i woke up early (again) and was HUNGRY. i started making veal parm again since i had leftover breading and veal and cheese. over the course of three hours, i ate 4 pieces! i was very sore from pilates, so i did a really light crappy workout in the late afternoon, and then my S.O. and i went to big daddy's in gramercy for dinner because a) i really wanted a big salad, b) i had a groupon and c) it was the most non-valentine's-y like restaurant on opentable. it's amazing that i was hungry at all, considering all the food i ate during the day, but i amaze myself daily on that front.
we started with the half & half (half fries, half onion rings), which i thought was very greasy, and the onion rings were skinny & limp, and the macaroni & cheese, which lacked a lot of flavor. my S.O. had the bacon cheeseburger which was pretty terrible (dense, dry burger), but i had a really delicious salad - a family affair - but i opted for feta instead of mozzarella. it was exactly what i wanted, chock full of artichoke hearts, hearts of palm, roasted red peppers, cucumbers, chickpeas... i could've done without the carrots.
monday (presidents' day), i gymmed in the am, and i made my S.O. egg whites with prosciutto and more leftover provolone/mozzarella before he left for work. i did some work (i had been boycotting work all weekend), then went to pilates reformer at noon, which was better than the last one, jeesh, was i sore from saturday! but the real coup de grace was the afternoon. i wanted to hit luke's lobster, which i think has the most tasty lobster rolls of right now in NYC, so after my S.O.'s conference calls, i went to pick him up. since he was running late and since i haven't seen any of my friends after my return, i cast a line to some of my favorite eaters to join us. two bit, so the four of us started off at luke's with two large lobster rolls, 1 large shrimp, 1 large crab - 3 of 4 schoonered (with soda/water & potato chips) plus a large new england clam chowder. it totally hit the spot. but then i realized, i wasn't full.
next up motorino (we tried to hit this little piggy had roast beef, but the place is so small, 4 fatties like us couldn't even fit in the joint!). 3 of 4 of us hadn't been, so we were excited. we started with two pizzas: soppressata and brussels sprouts. i think the brussels sprout one was tasty, but a little too smoky for me. we then ordered a THIRD (the margherita). my fave was definitely the soppresata, mmm. the boys also drank 2 bottles of wine, so they were ready for more. when we realized it was 5pm, there was no debate: terroir, hearth's little wine bar, down the block. although the boys were there to drink, no one would pass on more food (!!), obviously, so we ordered marinated olives, fried sage leaves with lamb sausage, red wine risotto balls with oxtail and duck ham panini with hen of the woods mushrooms & taleggio cheese. seriously, it was like we hadn't eaten twice before. i had been contemplating the bruschetta with whipped lardo (whipped lardo is like food of the gods), but opted out since this was our third meal, but our server could obviously see how much i wanted them because she brought a plate out anyway. after all of this food, i started to get sleepy and zombie-like so i forced my S.O. to leave with me.
although the entire weekend was unbelievably perfect (i gymmed every day, i pilates'd twice, and i ate everything i wanted AND MORE. plus i got to spend some QT with my S.O.), the best moment was leaving my building friday morning on my way to the gym (around 6am), walking down the street, breathing in the cold cleanish air, knowing that bustle is soon to happen, taking in the sounds of new york. it's always that moment that puts a huge smile on my face.
Saturday, January 16, 2010
beggars can't be choosers
for lunch, we went to this local korean restaurant, oasis, AGAIN. i think i've eaten here about 30x since i got to china in december. if we have lunch here, we always have doenjang jjigae, a soybean paste soup with tofu, which upon request is made not spicy for me. i must be the only korean in the world that can't eat spicy food. it's not the taste; it's the effect. they still overload it with garlic, hot peppers, onions, but i can manage that; plus i was hungry. it's not bad, but... they also have a pretty lacking variety of banchan... it's not my fave.
today, one of my agent's colleagues brought me for lunch because the rest of the office peeps had already eaten. he only speaks korean and chinese (and he's from busan, so i'm about 50% lost when he speaks due to accent comprehension issues that i have), so it was an awkwardly silent lunch. when he asked me if i'd eaten enough, i feigned fullness because i just wanted lunch to be over and done with! but to be honest, i was hungry enough that i could've housed a steak. or an entire grilled pork belly, mmmm. now i'm eyeing these cookies on my desk, but the colleague is still hanging in the office, and i think it'll be too confrontational to nibble on them in front of him. just my luck!
i'm heading to seoul tomorrow to visit my family, and i'm going to BEG for no doenjang jjigae. i've totally OD'd.
Thursday, January 14, 2010
duck fat, mmmm
we traveled to another area of qingdao for dinner tonight - my factory agent says it's not healthy to eat at the same four restaurants every night, and i wholeheartedly agree! the restaurant was called grandma's house (in korean), and it smelled like pork kalbi when we walked in. mmmm. the table next to us was eating this duck soup - it looked so warming, and in these freezing times, warming is what you want; decision made! the owner served us a plate of japchae (stir-fried clear noodles with beef and veggies) as a service while we waited for the duck soup (which takes minimum 30 minutes), and to cushion our stomachs a bit for the bai jiu.
my only sadness was that my three dining companions stopped eating well before i did, so i felt compelled to stop... our assistant has already told me i'm fat (i guess it's not an insult to state the obvious in china?), and i nibbled on cookies the entire afternoon. hmmm... does that cancel out my morning workout? new gym: 40m elliptical, 40m treadmill walk (6-7kph, no incline) + november 2008 self magazine arm workout by tracy anderson + a one-sided competition of 5 minutes of ab work (i was competing against the dude next to me, but he wasn't aware that the race was on) = 756 calories.
yummy noodles
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
tribeca is so lucky!
i had a delicious meal last night at locanda verde. kudos to andrew carmellini who i think is super talented... everything was pretty perfect: bustling scene on a tuesday night, a beautiful bar (with great lighting), amazing food, and good service. i even liked the women's restroom!
i discovered last weekend that my favorite bartender, naren young, left bobo and has since taken over the entire cocktail program at locanda verde... what luck! so we started with cocktails which were all amazing. i even continued with cocktails through dinner, which is generally my preference when i know the drinks will be good.
our server gave us a rundown of the family-style menu, and we ordered a fair amount of food... we definitely wanted a sampling. we started with the lamb meatballs that had yummy pickles and were juicy, perfect. then two cicchetti, which she described as 4-5 bite servings, the blue crab crostini and cotechino sausage crostini. even my S.O., who doesn't like seafood generally, enjoyed the blue crab crostini! it was definitely a standout.
our next course included the burrata, a cheese that i ADORE, and the autumn salad which was my favorite type of salad full of radicchio, endive, hazelnuts and fatty pieces of speck, mmmm. my S.O. doesn't do veggies really, but i passed him some of the speck, which he appreciated.
for pastas, we only ordered 2 originally, but after we finished we needed to order another because they were so good. my grandmother's ravioli - stuffed with veal, pork and beef - was deemed by my S.O. as the best ravioli he's ever had. the tomato sauce was perfectly flavored - it was well-balanced and although i haven't had the red sauce at scarpetta, i bet locanda verde's would hold its own. the stracci with wild boar ragu was like thick shorter pappardelle, and even my S.O. went in for seconds and commented on how delish it was. i noted a blue cheese aftertaste that worked well with the dish, but i don't know if i'd order it again. our 3rd, last-minute pasta was the pumpkin agnolotti with a brown butter sage sauce... how can you go wrong? it was seasonal and so tasty, and we used the leftover bread to sop up the sauce. (note: the bread was just ok.)
for our secondi, we went with the highly lauded garlic chicken for 2 and the veal cheeks. i don't even like chicken, and i thought it was super flavorful. i only ate the drumsticks because i'm a dark meat girl, but i had the leftover white meat chicken today, and although a touch dry, as chicken breasts tend to be, the flavor was intensely garlic. but the real standout were the veal cheeks - i love the tender meat, over a perfect risotto milanese... another dish that i licked clean. a side of roasted brussels sprouts with chunks of pancetta and grated pecorino rounded out our vegetable-less meal; i love brussels sprouts, and these were no exception.
we even went for dessert because all of the dishes were so successful, i couldn't stop myself. i loved everything - the affogato, which is my favorite italian dessert, but the mascarpone gelato was a perfect twist; i was blown away by the pistachio brown butter cake with huckleberries; and the 3 flavors of gelati - rice custard, brown butter and caramel were all yummy. my S.O. is an ice cream guy, so we had to try them all.
overall, one of the better meals i've had in quite a while! for sure i'll be returning for cocktails AND food.
locanda verde
377 greenwich street at north moore
new york, ny 10013
212/925-3797
i discovered last weekend that my favorite bartender, naren young, left bobo and has since taken over the entire cocktail program at locanda verde... what luck! so we started with cocktails which were all amazing. i even continued with cocktails through dinner, which is generally my preference when i know the drinks will be good.
our server gave us a rundown of the family-style menu, and we ordered a fair amount of food... we definitely wanted a sampling. we started with the lamb meatballs that had yummy pickles and were juicy, perfect. then two cicchetti, which she described as 4-5 bite servings, the blue crab crostini and cotechino sausage crostini. even my S.O., who doesn't like seafood generally, enjoyed the blue crab crostini! it was definitely a standout.
our next course included the burrata, a cheese that i ADORE, and the autumn salad which was my favorite type of salad full of radicchio, endive, hazelnuts and fatty pieces of speck, mmmm. my S.O. doesn't do veggies really, but i passed him some of the speck, which he appreciated.
for pastas, we only ordered 2 originally, but after we finished we needed to order another because they were so good. my grandmother's ravioli - stuffed with veal, pork and beef - was deemed by my S.O. as the best ravioli he's ever had. the tomato sauce was perfectly flavored - it was well-balanced and although i haven't had the red sauce at scarpetta, i bet locanda verde's would hold its own. the stracci with wild boar ragu was like thick shorter pappardelle, and even my S.O. went in for seconds and commented on how delish it was. i noted a blue cheese aftertaste that worked well with the dish, but i don't know if i'd order it again. our 3rd, last-minute pasta was the pumpkin agnolotti with a brown butter sage sauce... how can you go wrong? it was seasonal and so tasty, and we used the leftover bread to sop up the sauce. (note: the bread was just ok.)
for our secondi, we went with the highly lauded garlic chicken for 2 and the veal cheeks. i don't even like chicken, and i thought it was super flavorful. i only ate the drumsticks because i'm a dark meat girl, but i had the leftover white meat chicken today, and although a touch dry, as chicken breasts tend to be, the flavor was intensely garlic. but the real standout were the veal cheeks - i love the tender meat, over a perfect risotto milanese... another dish that i licked clean. a side of roasted brussels sprouts with chunks of pancetta and grated pecorino rounded out our vegetable-less meal; i love brussels sprouts, and these were no exception.
we even went for dessert because all of the dishes were so successful, i couldn't stop myself. i loved everything - the affogato, which is my favorite italian dessert, but the mascarpone gelato was a perfect twist; i was blown away by the pistachio brown butter cake with huckleberries; and the 3 flavors of gelati - rice custard, brown butter and caramel were all yummy. my S.O. is an ice cream guy, so we had to try them all.
overall, one of the better meals i've had in quite a while! for sure i'll be returning for cocktails AND food.
locanda verde
377 greenwich street at north moore
new york, ny 10013
212/925-3797
Monday, September 28, 2009
U2 ROCKS!
as a joint birthday gift for me and herself, my older sister brought me to the U2 360 concert at giants stadium on wed, 9/23/09. my last concert was in 2001 for the elevation tour; i had tickets for the vertigo tour, but was on my deathbed-ill and couldn't attend. after wednesday's show, i'm sad i missed the vertigo show, and even sadder that i only attended one show from this tour.
the only downside was taking NJ transit to the show. every email advised that it would be smart to take NJ transit, so that's what we did. what a nightmare! NJ transit was completely unprepared for the 60,000 riders heading to the show. it took us 2 hours to get there, and 2 hours to get back. CRAZY.
U2 are amazing performers, and this show was like a throwback concert - tons of old stuff. it was so good, that i'm trying to figure out how i can get to the LA show on 10/25/09 - with black-eyed peas! how good will that be?!
my sister rocks for taking me to U2!! here's the set list from the show!
the only downside was taking NJ transit to the show. every email advised that it would be smart to take NJ transit, so that's what we did. what a nightmare! NJ transit was completely unprepared for the 60,000 riders heading to the show. it took us 2 hours to get there, and 2 hours to get back. CRAZY.
U2 are amazing performers, and this show was like a throwback concert - tons of old stuff. it was so good, that i'm trying to figure out how i can get to the LA show on 10/25/09 - with black-eyed peas! how good will that be?!
my sister rocks for taking me to U2!! here's the set list from the show!
Sunday, September 20, 2009
what happened to country? (restaurant now closed)
i'm bad at blogging. i check email, facebook, weather everyday, but blogging hasn't become part of my routine. and when i actually think to post something, i can't access my blog (china). i know i should just jot things down somewhere, but i don't.
facebook has/had this application 'My Restaurants' that i really liked. it said it was shutting down, but i'm not sure if it has. i don't really use facebook apps all that much, besides posting photos. but i liked 'My Restaurants'. in fear of losing all my posts, i copied them, and i'll add them periodically on my blog. like now, when i haven't posted in ages, but don't have time to write anything.
june 21, 2009
after country had just opened, my S.O. & i visited the main dining room with gary danko and met doug psaltis (chef de cuisine) and geoffrey zakarian. since then, we've wanted to dine in the formal dining room. when we finally had an occasion to check it out, we made a reservation, and it turns out the formal dining room has been shut down, and the cafe downstairs has become the only restaurant. the restaurant was pretty empty when we arrived (7pm, summer saturday), and the acoustics were so poor that even though only one table was occupied, it sounded like the restaurant was jam-packed full. i couldn't decide between the prix fixe menu or ordering a la carte, but when our server (who enunciated every single word, it was so irritating) highly recommended the spicy tuna tartare and the seared scallops, i opted to go a la carte with her recos. BAD IDEA. the tuna tartare was flavorless (certainly not spicy), the cepes in the scallops were mushy, and the scallops were a touch overcooked.
we also ordered chicken wings from the bar menu, and for $12, you'd think 5 wings would be phenomenal, but even the blue cheese dipper was bland. although my S.O.'s sweet corn soup starter was quite, his delicious lobster ravioli was ok - at least there were lobster pieces - that said, the lobster meat was stringy and not tender nor succulent. the thai broth was average, not like gary danko's thai seafood curry, which is phenomenal, but at least there was a hint of thai flavor. the french fries, measly as they were, were crispy and good, but for $9 for maybe 25 french fries, i was disappointed. finally, dessert: we went with the banana crisp, and there was nothing crisp about it. plus the chocolate sauce was burnt.
i really like the space. i love the bar in the center of the restaurant, and i'd love to throw a party there, but i'd also like to have it catered. by anyone else. [note: someone else had the same idea, because according to my sister, there was a line out the door late-night that same night.]
i also need to wire the server's mouth shut. she obviously has no taste in food. she didn't know the cocktails on the menu. she had to review the wine list to look for a bottle of rose (because when i couldn't find one, i asked if there was one, and she was like, 'there must be,' and then came back with the one bottle they serve by the glass that's not included on their wine list). basically a worthless server. when she asked if we wanted coffee, we said no, but she continued to list the entire starbucks coffee menu - cappucino, latte, americano, macchiato, et al.
while the kentucky cocktail and the tequila cocktail were tasty, even the bread was stale. and the butter was hard & cold.
we're never going back.
The Cafe at Country
90 madison ave, SW corner of 29th st
new york, ny 10016
212/889.7100
facebook has/had this application 'My Restaurants' that i really liked. it said it was shutting down, but i'm not sure if it has. i don't really use facebook apps all that much, besides posting photos. but i liked 'My Restaurants'. in fear of losing all my posts, i copied them, and i'll add them periodically on my blog. like now, when i haven't posted in ages, but don't have time to write anything.
june 21, 2009
after country had just opened, my S.O. & i visited the main dining room with gary danko and met doug psaltis (chef de cuisine) and geoffrey zakarian. since then, we've wanted to dine in the formal dining room. when we finally had an occasion to check it out, we made a reservation, and it turns out the formal dining room has been shut down, and the cafe downstairs has become the only restaurant. the restaurant was pretty empty when we arrived (7pm, summer saturday), and the acoustics were so poor that even though only one table was occupied, it sounded like the restaurant was jam-packed full. i couldn't decide between the prix fixe menu or ordering a la carte, but when our server (who enunciated every single word, it was so irritating) highly recommended the spicy tuna tartare and the seared scallops, i opted to go a la carte with her recos. BAD IDEA. the tuna tartare was flavorless (certainly not spicy), the cepes in the scallops were mushy, and the scallops were a touch overcooked.
we also ordered chicken wings from the bar menu, and for $12, you'd think 5 wings would be phenomenal, but even the blue cheese dipper was bland. although my S.O.'s sweet corn soup starter was quite, his delicious lobster ravioli was ok - at least there were lobster pieces - that said, the lobster meat was stringy and not tender nor succulent. the thai broth was average, not like gary danko's thai seafood curry, which is phenomenal, but at least there was a hint of thai flavor. the french fries, measly as they were, were crispy and good, but for $9 for maybe 25 french fries, i was disappointed. finally, dessert: we went with the banana crisp, and there was nothing crisp about it. plus the chocolate sauce was burnt.
i really like the space. i love the bar in the center of the restaurant, and i'd love to throw a party there, but i'd also like to have it catered. by anyone else. [note: someone else had the same idea, because according to my sister, there was a line out the door late-night that same night.]
i also need to wire the server's mouth shut. she obviously has no taste in food. she didn't know the cocktails on the menu. she had to review the wine list to look for a bottle of rose (because when i couldn't find one, i asked if there was one, and she was like, 'there must be,' and then came back with the one bottle they serve by the glass that's not included on their wine list). basically a worthless server. when she asked if we wanted coffee, we said no, but she continued to list the entire starbucks coffee menu - cappucino, latte, americano, macchiato, et al.
while the kentucky cocktail and the tequila cocktail were tasty, even the bread was stale. and the butter was hard & cold.
we're never going back.
The Cafe at Country
90 madison ave, SW corner of 29th st
new york, ny 10016
212/889.7100
Sunday, May 31, 2009
the crane is no fairmont mayakoba
i have a confession: i'm addicted to solo vacations.
after my amazing trip to mexico in march, i realized that solo vacays are the pinnacle of relaxation. my general day goes like this: wake up (when i want); get moving (when i want); go to the gym (when i want, for as long as i want); go to the pool/beach (when i want, for as long as i want - i'm a sun goddess, so that's usually a long time); eat (if i want); go back to the gym (if i want); do some work (with no one complaining about it); take a long bath or shower; and sleep (when i want). you'll notice a trend: it's all about ME.
don't get me wrong; i love to vacay with my S.O. more importantly, i appreciate that he works very hard and that his schedule isn't as flexible as mine, so i try be more catering to him and his needs on our vacations. but does catering to someone else's needs really sound like a vacay? exactly.
since that mexico mini-break, i've been plotting out my next solo vacay, and in april i decided BARBADOS. the flight was direct and inexpensive. the weather was still supposed to be perfect (even though it was the beginning of the off-season). and i've never been to barbados, so why not?
i researched hotels from the day i purchased my flight until last week, when i booked a hotel very last-minute... in this down-market, hotel prices are dropping insanely, and in a matter of 2-3 weeks, the price of one that i was eyeing fell by $60/night. that was convincing enough for me to book.
i chose the crane because it was recommended as a luxury hotel by travel & leisure, conde nast traveler and a bunch of other websites and travel agents. it also won a 10 best beaches accolade from lifestyles of the rich & famous.
my trip was wednesday through sunday (i scheduled an extra day for this trip compared to MX) and as promised, perfect weather. sunny, balmy, 88 degrees. every day.
here's my trip in a nutshell:
-getting off the flight, there was no jetway; it was one of those outdoor gates where you climb down the stairs. not easy with a roller bag, backpack and a big purse. note: next time, check luggage, unless you have a porter (or if i come with my S.O.).
-my blackberry didn't work. probably a good thing. i could receive SMS and calls, just not emails.
-the crane hotel is super close to the airport so take a cab, it'll cost about US$15. if you plan to do things, rent a car. people drive on the left side of the road and the steering wheel is on the right side. just so you know.
-the beach is rough because this beach is on the ocean. i don't do rough beaches.
-this hotel is supposed to be luxury, and it does look nice. but don't be fooled - the service is nothing like the fairmont mayakoba. if it weren't a recession, i'd be at the fairmont royal pavilion in barbados (i'm not so loaded that i'd be at sandy lane).
-there's no lunch service at the main pool. the other pool complex has lunch service, but only from the carriage house bar & grill, which has a very limited menu. the restaurant l'azure should deliver food to the pool; they're not that busy.
-the room service menu sucks.
-there's a great gourmet shop, cutter's (think dean & deluca, but smaller-scale), about 10 minutes (walking) outside the crane hotel. take a right out of the entrance. it's on the left. great sandwiches. much less expensive than the crane's less than stellar sandwiches.
-there's also a fruit stand if you walk left out the entrance of the hotel. it's a small stand, but there's fruit. and the general shop at the crane has tons of junk food, but no fruit.
-the fitness centre sucks. fortunately there was an arc trainer, since i can't do the treadmill due to my ankle injury (yes, it's still injured). but there are no free weights. no mats. no stability balls. there isn't even room for any of those things. there isn't even a MIRROR. that's a problem.
-the hotel rooms are actually kinda nice (four-poster bed, dark wooden furniture, big stone-tiled bathroom with jacuzzi tub and separate shower), but there's no adjustable air-conditioning. it goes on, but you have no choice on temperature, and it's not really cold. and the TV... it doesn't swivel out, so you can only watch from bed. the clock never worked, even after i tried to fix it (i didn't complain - i'm on vacay, how badly do i need to know the time?). the mini-frig isnt cold enough. the toilet smells as though it's not flushing properly.
fortunately, i don't require much on solo vacay. i gymmed every morning after waking up and doing a little work. i showered, sunblocked and went to the pool for most of the day. i walked to cutter's and grabbed a sandwich after i rinsed post-pool. i ate in my room as i did more work. i tried to do pilates, but since i couldn't see the screen from any spot in the room that wasn't the bed, it was pretty impossible to keep up. and i took long luxurious baths.
the service was far from impeccable, but everyone here and that i've encountered in barbados is super friendly. take the owner of cutter's, who happened to be working on my 2nd visit - he and his wife (Roger & Kim Goddard) started the place, and have been around since the 80s. they only serve yummy things. their hot sauce (with the flying fish cutter) is delicious. the ham looks super tasty. and the rum punch... yums. i have a crush on cutter's.
i would like to return here with my S.O. - he'd like to do a rum tour, drive around, we'd stay on the west coast for calmer beaches, and i could try some barbadian food - grilled or fried flying fish with rice and peas. and i want to do the friday night oisten's fish fry. i could've done it this weekend, but it's my solo vacay... i didn't feel like talking to anyone.
the crane resort
st. philip, barbados
246/423.6220
cutter's of barbados
st. philip, barbados
246/423.0611
after my amazing trip to mexico in march, i realized that solo vacays are the pinnacle of relaxation. my general day goes like this: wake up (when i want); get moving (when i want); go to the gym (when i want, for as long as i want); go to the pool/beach (when i want, for as long as i want - i'm a sun goddess, so that's usually a long time); eat (if i want); go back to the gym (if i want); do some work (with no one complaining about it); take a long bath or shower; and sleep (when i want). you'll notice a trend: it's all about ME.
don't get me wrong; i love to vacay with my S.O. more importantly, i appreciate that he works very hard and that his schedule isn't as flexible as mine, so i try be more catering to him and his needs on our vacations. but does catering to someone else's needs really sound like a vacay? exactly.
since that mexico mini-break, i've been plotting out my next solo vacay, and in april i decided BARBADOS. the flight was direct and inexpensive. the weather was still supposed to be perfect (even though it was the beginning of the off-season). and i've never been to barbados, so why not?
i researched hotels from the day i purchased my flight until last week, when i booked a hotel very last-minute... in this down-market, hotel prices are dropping insanely, and in a matter of 2-3 weeks, the price of one that i was eyeing fell by $60/night. that was convincing enough for me to book.
i chose the crane because it was recommended as a luxury hotel by travel & leisure, conde nast traveler and a bunch of other websites and travel agents. it also won a 10 best beaches accolade from lifestyles of the rich & famous.
my trip was wednesday through sunday (i scheduled an extra day for this trip compared to MX) and as promised, perfect weather. sunny, balmy, 88 degrees. every day.
here's my trip in a nutshell:
-getting off the flight, there was no jetway; it was one of those outdoor gates where you climb down the stairs. not easy with a roller bag, backpack and a big purse. note: next time, check luggage, unless you have a porter (or if i come with my S.O.).
-my blackberry didn't work. probably a good thing. i could receive SMS and calls, just not emails.
-the crane hotel is super close to the airport so take a cab, it'll cost about US$15. if you plan to do things, rent a car. people drive on the left side of the road and the steering wheel is on the right side. just so you know.
-the beach is rough because this beach is on the ocean. i don't do rough beaches.
-this hotel is supposed to be luxury, and it does look nice. but don't be fooled - the service is nothing like the fairmont mayakoba. if it weren't a recession, i'd be at the fairmont royal pavilion in barbados (i'm not so loaded that i'd be at sandy lane).
-there's no lunch service at the main pool. the other pool complex has lunch service, but only from the carriage house bar & grill, which has a very limited menu. the restaurant l'azure should deliver food to the pool; they're not that busy.
-the room service menu sucks.
-there's a great gourmet shop, cutter's (think dean & deluca, but smaller-scale), about 10 minutes (walking) outside the crane hotel. take a right out of the entrance. it's on the left. great sandwiches. much less expensive than the crane's less than stellar sandwiches.
-there's also a fruit stand if you walk left out the entrance of the hotel. it's a small stand, but there's fruit. and the general shop at the crane has tons of junk food, but no fruit.
-the fitness centre sucks. fortunately there was an arc trainer, since i can't do the treadmill due to my ankle injury (yes, it's still injured). but there are no free weights. no mats. no stability balls. there isn't even room for any of those things. there isn't even a MIRROR. that's a problem.
-the hotel rooms are actually kinda nice (four-poster bed, dark wooden furniture, big stone-tiled bathroom with jacuzzi tub and separate shower), but there's no adjustable air-conditioning. it goes on, but you have no choice on temperature, and it's not really cold. and the TV... it doesn't swivel out, so you can only watch from bed. the clock never worked, even after i tried to fix it (i didn't complain - i'm on vacay, how badly do i need to know the time?). the mini-frig isnt cold enough. the toilet smells as though it's not flushing properly.
fortunately, i don't require much on solo vacay. i gymmed every morning after waking up and doing a little work. i showered, sunblocked and went to the pool for most of the day. i walked to cutter's and grabbed a sandwich after i rinsed post-pool. i ate in my room as i did more work. i tried to do pilates, but since i couldn't see the screen from any spot in the room that wasn't the bed, it was pretty impossible to keep up. and i took long luxurious baths.
the service was far from impeccable, but everyone here and that i've encountered in barbados is super friendly. take the owner of cutter's, who happened to be working on my 2nd visit - he and his wife (Roger & Kim Goddard) started the place, and have been around since the 80s. they only serve yummy things. their hot sauce (with the flying fish cutter) is delicious. the ham looks super tasty. and the rum punch... yums. i have a crush on cutter's.
i would like to return here with my S.O. - he'd like to do a rum tour, drive around, we'd stay on the west coast for calmer beaches, and i could try some barbadian food - grilled or fried flying fish with rice and peas. and i want to do the friday night oisten's fish fry. i could've done it this weekend, but it's my solo vacay... i didn't feel like talking to anyone.
the crane resort
st. philip, barbados
246/423.6220
cutter's of barbados
st. philip, barbados
246/423.0611
Friday, May 15, 2009
sushi yasuda v. kuruma zushi
since i sprained my ankle in china, my mom and i had to cancel our new mexican mother's day golf holiday, and instead, she made an impromptu trip to NYC. it was a busy nine days... you see, my mom is a total MOM: she's very smothering and caring, and she's more concerned for your welfare than her own. in many rights, it's amazing. but in a small new york apartment, it can get a little cramped with someone like my mom.
my favorite restaurant in manhattan is sushi yasuda, so i always take her there for the magical experience. but after we had dinner there tuesday, i found myself looking for a lunch meal later that week. for lunch we usually go to sasabune on the UES or shimizu in hell's kitchen, but i thought this time we'd switch it up. i've been meaning to try kuruma zushi for some time, but had never had the occasion (as a yasuda devotee, i inevitably ended up there). finally, i found one.
we sat at the sushi bar for friday lunch. it's a small venue with 2 sushi chefs and an apprentice behind the bar. i imagine the chef we dealt with was chef uezu, although no introductions were made. we did an omakase - my mom started with sashimi; i went full boar beginning with sushi.
i can't tell you everything we ate, but i can tell you for sure: sushi yasuda is overall better. first, chef uezu may cut the fish (sometimes), but he has an apprentice who forms the rice. second, the slices of fish may be larger than yasuda, but the price is double (at least). third, the size of the fish didn't seem balanced to the amount of rice. fourth, the rice was undercooked. fifth, some of the fish was too cold. and FINALLY, there are many more options at yasuda. in terms of quality, there were only a few pieces that were of the same level or perhaps a tad better than yasuda; however, the kinmedai at kuruma was definitely noticeably better.
our lunch for two came to $482 (!!!) with tax & tip. no alcohol. and i didn't think we ate that much. we ate as much, if not more, at yasuda a few nights before, and total for two was $320 with tax & tip (also no alcohol).
i never thought i'd call sushi yasuda a bargain, but it's all relative.
winner, hands-down, sushi yasuda.
my favorite restaurant in manhattan is sushi yasuda, so i always take her there for the magical experience. but after we had dinner there tuesday, i found myself looking for a lunch meal later that week. for lunch we usually go to sasabune on the UES or shimizu in hell's kitchen, but i thought this time we'd switch it up. i've been meaning to try kuruma zushi for some time, but had never had the occasion (as a yasuda devotee, i inevitably ended up there). finally, i found one.
we sat at the sushi bar for friday lunch. it's a small venue with 2 sushi chefs and an apprentice behind the bar. i imagine the chef we dealt with was chef uezu, although no introductions were made. we did an omakase - my mom started with sashimi; i went full boar beginning with sushi.
i can't tell you everything we ate, but i can tell you for sure: sushi yasuda is overall better. first, chef uezu may cut the fish (sometimes), but he has an apprentice who forms the rice. second, the slices of fish may be larger than yasuda, but the price is double (at least). third, the size of the fish didn't seem balanced to the amount of rice. fourth, the rice was undercooked. fifth, some of the fish was too cold. and FINALLY, there are many more options at yasuda. in terms of quality, there were only a few pieces that were of the same level or perhaps a tad better than yasuda; however, the kinmedai at kuruma was definitely noticeably better.
our lunch for two came to $482 (!!!) with tax & tip. no alcohol. and i didn't think we ate that much. we ate as much, if not more, at yasuda a few nights before, and total for two was $320 with tax & tip (also no alcohol).
i never thought i'd call sushi yasuda a bargain, but it's all relative.
winner, hands-down, sushi yasuda.
Saturday, April 18, 2009
a very new york tasting menu
i eat a lot. but sometimes, i eat more than even i usually eat. it's usually a combination of worn-out, sleep-depraven and hungover.
before i leave for china, i like to eat an array of the foods i might not have access to while i'm there. i usually do it over a week. instead, i did this over a day. and i really got a taste of new york.
lunch... i thought i'd check out the new outpost of sandwich shop, defonte's of brooklyn. it has a great location on the corner of 21st and 3rd avenue. the doors open up to the sidewalk, which is good, because the space is narrow once you add the tables, people, etc. since it was my first time, i went classic with the nicky special (#1) - ham, provolone cheese, fried eggplant, marinated mushrooms, hot salad, zucchini, O&V, seeded italian bread. i thought it was great - a little spicy, i absolutely loved the fried eggplant. i think it's large enough for 1.5 normal eaters. when i ordered the same thing as the guy in line in front of me, he turned to me and asked me if i wanted to split the sandwich. i laughed at him.
dinner... the boyfriend of one of my besties was moving back to sydney (australia!), and he totally enjoys fine dining. what could be finer than eleven madison park? but this was an odd meal... the last 2x i had been, eleven madison park was wowing, completely spot-on, and just phenomenal. this time... i was less impressed. here's why:
1) service - previously i've been blown away by the almost overly attentive service; however, this night (a friday), it felt like amateur night. i asked twice for the purse hook, an amenity i totally appreciate at EMP and is generally offered, not asked for, and i was only remembered after one was brought for my girlfriend. we waited a painstakingly long time between 1st and 2nd courses. at one point, they'd brought our meal out, but had forgotten to replace the silverware they'd taken. our waiter suggested more bread to my S.O. but then never brought it out. we ordered cocktails, and we had to ask two different people about them after we didn't receive them for a noticeable period. and they'd obviously been sitting around because the ice had melted.
2) food - we did 2 spring tasting menus and 2 pork tasting menus with 1wine pairing for each.
spring menu
amuse bouche - cucumber smoked salmon; tart; foie gras terrine; fried sweetbread pouch
sabayon - creamy soup with sturgeon
asparagus - white asparagus and green pencil asparagus with asparagus ice cream, parmagiano reggiano and jamon iberico - outstanding, loved the ice cream
atlantic turbot - slow-cooked with spring peas, lemon thyme and olive oil - salty, overly fragrant
nova scotia lobster - poached with spring carrots and citrus sabayon - perfectly tender but unremarkable, very rich
milk fed veal - glazed with ris de veau, morel panna cotta and fava beans - unbelievable, super tender tenderloin, delicious flavor
"strawberry cheesecake" - two bubbles one with liquid cheesecake, one with strawberry, amazing - burst with flavor in your mouth
mint chocolate chip - ice cream sandwich with araguani chocolate - gross, ice cream wasnt good, the chocolate wafers had little flavor, the fresh mint was overwhelming for the subtle chocolate
mignardises - meringue cookies in 8 flavors, black sesame, black olive & white chocolate, chocolate, PB&J, lavender & chocolate, brown butter & banana - i don't remember all of them, but the olive/white chocolate combo and brown butter/banana and PB&J were my faves.
four-story hill suckling pig seasonal 5-course tasting menu
same amuse bouche
sabayon - creamy soup with ham
tete de cochon - terrine made with different parts of pig head - very yummy
pork a la francaise - braised pork belly - amazing
crispy suckling pig - same prep as their menu item in winter
rack of pork - good
same desserts, same mignardises
next time i would do the pork menu. it was really quite good, but very rich and heavy. or else i would just do the 3-course. although i'm dying to do the gourmand (chef's selection of 11 courses $175).
3) other - it was disappointing that the chef, daniel humm, didn't do the meet & greet in the dining room this time. maybe that's only a weeknight thing?
one of my favorite indulgences that eleven madison provides are the two types of butter: salted goat's milk and unsalted sheep's milk offered with fleur de sel on the side.
4) bevvies - the wine pairings were good, and i loved that they served a not-sweet sherry at the beginning of the meal. we also LOVED the riedel glass they used to pair with the veal. it really helped capture the nose of the wine.
i generally enjoy the cocktails here (fine, everywhere). i started with the rosita before dinner. then a sloe & steady. and finally, stuck with the silhouette (which my S.O. also loved, so we shared most of the time). my girlfriend drank the cumulunimbus pretty much the entire time.
5) cost - the bill was pretty expensive, but we were there to indulge. between their engagement (they're getting married in december!), the farewell dinner and my departure for china, there were a lot of finals.
after-dinner snack... halal truck:
on the way home from eleven madison park, i couldn't help myself... i love the halal truck on madison btwn 27th/28th. the aroma tempts you from far, far away. there are always cabbies stopped there (good sign!). plus the guys who work there at night are so friendly. i always get a platter of lamb, chicken and/or kofta (i usually do a combo - when i'm hammered, i call it the "whole shebang") which comes with fries, rice and salad. be sure you ask for the white sauce AND hot sauce. last night i asked for it less spicy, and it's not as good.
defonte's of brooklyn
261 3rd ave at 21st street
new york, ny 10010
212/614.1500
eleven madison park
11 madison ave at 24th street
new york, ny 10010
212/889.0905
before i leave for china, i like to eat an array of the foods i might not have access to while i'm there. i usually do it over a week. instead, i did this over a day. and i really got a taste of new york.
lunch... i thought i'd check out the new outpost of sandwich shop, defonte's of brooklyn. it has a great location on the corner of 21st and 3rd avenue. the doors open up to the sidewalk, which is good, because the space is narrow once you add the tables, people, etc. since it was my first time, i went classic with the nicky special (#1) - ham, provolone cheese, fried eggplant, marinated mushrooms, hot salad, zucchini, O&V, seeded italian bread. i thought it was great - a little spicy, i absolutely loved the fried eggplant. i think it's large enough for 1.5 normal eaters. when i ordered the same thing as the guy in line in front of me, he turned to me and asked me if i wanted to split the sandwich. i laughed at him.
dinner... the boyfriend of one of my besties was moving back to sydney (australia!), and he totally enjoys fine dining. what could be finer than eleven madison park? but this was an odd meal... the last 2x i had been, eleven madison park was wowing, completely spot-on, and just phenomenal. this time... i was less impressed. here's why:
1) service - previously i've been blown away by the almost overly attentive service; however, this night (a friday), it felt like amateur night. i asked twice for the purse hook, an amenity i totally appreciate at EMP and is generally offered, not asked for, and i was only remembered after one was brought for my girlfriend. we waited a painstakingly long time between 1st and 2nd courses. at one point, they'd brought our meal out, but had forgotten to replace the silverware they'd taken. our waiter suggested more bread to my S.O. but then never brought it out. we ordered cocktails, and we had to ask two different people about them after we didn't receive them for a noticeable period. and they'd obviously been sitting around because the ice had melted.
2) food - we did 2 spring tasting menus and 2 pork tasting menus with 1wine pairing for each.
spring menu
amuse bouche - cucumber smoked salmon; tart; foie gras terrine; fried sweetbread pouch
sabayon - creamy soup with sturgeon
asparagus - white asparagus and green pencil asparagus with asparagus ice cream, parmagiano reggiano and jamon iberico - outstanding, loved the ice cream
atlantic turbot - slow-cooked with spring peas, lemon thyme and olive oil - salty, overly fragrant
nova scotia lobster - poached with spring carrots and citrus sabayon - perfectly tender but unremarkable, very rich
milk fed veal - glazed with ris de veau, morel panna cotta and fava beans - unbelievable, super tender tenderloin, delicious flavor
"strawberry cheesecake" - two bubbles one with liquid cheesecake, one with strawberry, amazing - burst with flavor in your mouth
mint chocolate chip - ice cream sandwich with araguani chocolate - gross, ice cream wasnt good, the chocolate wafers had little flavor, the fresh mint was overwhelming for the subtle chocolate
mignardises - meringue cookies in 8 flavors, black sesame, black olive & white chocolate, chocolate, PB&J, lavender & chocolate, brown butter & banana - i don't remember all of them, but the olive/white chocolate combo and brown butter/banana and PB&J were my faves.
four-story hill suckling pig seasonal 5-course tasting menu
same amuse bouche
sabayon - creamy soup with ham
tete de cochon - terrine made with different parts of pig head - very yummy
pork a la francaise - braised pork belly - amazing
crispy suckling pig - same prep as their menu item in winter
rack of pork - good
same desserts, same mignardises
next time i would do the pork menu. it was really quite good, but very rich and heavy. or else i would just do the 3-course. although i'm dying to do the gourmand (chef's selection of 11 courses $175).
3) other - it was disappointing that the chef, daniel humm, didn't do the meet & greet in the dining room this time. maybe that's only a weeknight thing?
one of my favorite indulgences that eleven madison provides are the two types of butter: salted goat's milk and unsalted sheep's milk offered with fleur de sel on the side.
4) bevvies - the wine pairings were good, and i loved that they served a not-sweet sherry at the beginning of the meal. we also LOVED the riedel glass they used to pair with the veal. it really helped capture the nose of the wine.
i generally enjoy the cocktails here (fine, everywhere). i started with the rosita before dinner. then a sloe & steady. and finally, stuck with the silhouette (which my S.O. also loved, so we shared most of the time). my girlfriend drank the cumulunimbus pretty much the entire time.
5) cost - the bill was pretty expensive, but we were there to indulge. between their engagement (they're getting married in december!), the farewell dinner and my departure for china, there were a lot of finals.
after-dinner snack... halal truck:
on the way home from eleven madison park, i couldn't help myself... i love the halal truck on madison btwn 27th/28th. the aroma tempts you from far, far away. there are always cabbies stopped there (good sign!). plus the guys who work there at night are so friendly. i always get a platter of lamb, chicken and/or kofta (i usually do a combo - when i'm hammered, i call it the "whole shebang") which comes with fries, rice and salad. be sure you ask for the white sauce AND hot sauce. last night i asked for it less spicy, and it's not as good.
defonte's of brooklyn
261 3rd ave at 21st street
new york, ny 10010
212/614.1500
eleven madison park
11 madison ave at 24th street
new york, ny 10010
212/889.0905
Friday, April 17, 2009
i could eat here every day
sushi yasuda is an ethereal experience that all sushi lovers should experience at least once (and i hope not only once) in their lives.
last night i indulged at sushi yasuda with two friends who, like me, enjoy their food, especially sushi. as always, we sat at the sushi counter and put our fate in the hands of the talented chef yasuda. i can't go through everything we ate; it would be impossible to remember.
when you sit down with chef yasuda, he is welcoming and friendly. if he recognizes you, he is even more warm, and since he knows your tastes, he just confirms your plan. before he knows you, he'll talk to you. he'll teach you, if you're interested in learning. he'll joke with you (he's very funny). he's a character, and he understands and reads people.then the meal begins. first let's talk rice. his rice is perfect. he doesn't use too much. if he knows you'll be eating a lot (which i always do), he'll try to balance the amount of rice so you don't fill up too quickly. it's perfectly seasoned (not too sweet or vinegary) and perfectly sticky.
as for fish, he'll begin with what's freshest. last night happened to be a good evening for the yellowtail family. warasa, shimaaji... spectacular. and the kanpachi, which he told us came from a 7+lb fish, rather than approximately 4.5lbs (the usual weight) - it was divine.
his eel is fantastic. he'll use different preparations for various cuts of the same and different eels, and then you'll do an eel flight going from most delicate to most strong. your tastebuds sing.
the uni - oh the uni - yasuda only gets the best uni. last night we had two different unis - the usual from santa barbara and another, less common, from maine. the maine uni was lighter, more delicate, but clean. the santa barbara was sweeter, stronger, but delicious.the mirugai and its himo - two parts of the giant clam, both so tasty, but such contrasting flavors and textures - it's amazing how one clam can produce both pieces.
yasuda only uses one type of oyster: peace passage oysters. from washington state, they have a slight briny flavor like east coast oysters, but are rounded out by a creaminess that's known with west coast oysters. and they're big. yum.
we only had one piece of toro last night, which was disappointing, but this was because it wasn't the best fish of the night.
we had other fish (coho salmon, white king salmon, sumi squid legs, octopus - love his octopus, a clam from korea - toregai, i think, hotate, hotate himo - mmmm, jack mackerel, sayori, kinmedai... i'm sure there was more), and every bite was delightful.we finished with two hand rolls - uni and ikura. the seaweed, two different kinds, were both unbelievable. yasuda uses the best grade seaweed available, and as he prepares them, the aroma of the toasted seaweed wafts to your nostrils and excites your palate for what's to come. next time i need to remember to ask how yasuda prepares his ikura. it was the perfect end to the perfect meal.
the most astonishing part is that yasuda remembers everything you've had that night. and when you've finished your meal, he ticks it off on a piece of paper and gives it to the waitress.
the service is, as expected, perfect. the meal is mouth-watering, even when you're full.
now here are the yasuda rules: 1) do not be late for your reservation. if you're more than 10 minutes late, you lose it. no exceptions. 2) your seating is 1.5 hours. you can linger if the next party has not arrived, but if they have, they will kick you out. 3) do not dip his perfectly seasoned rice in soy sauce. yasuda seasons each piece with sauce so that you don't require any additional wasabi or soy sauce. but if you do, do not disrespect his rice with soy sauce.
and that's it... the most amazing meal in new york. if i ever win the mega million lottery (note this meal is NOT recession friendly), i'll eat here every day that i'm in new york and yasuda's working. that's a promise.
sushi yasuda
204 east 43rd street btwn 2nd/3rd aves
new york, ny 10017
212/972.1001
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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.