Showing posts with label NYC. Show all posts
Showing posts with label NYC. Show all posts

Sunday, July 1, 2012

Summer food fests and more

Similar to most towns and cities, summer means outdoor food festivals and farmers market.  While I enjoy farmers market, I do not go for the $5 per pound tomatoes or green beans but rather the free samples of breads and spreads. I ventured to Williamsburg Brooklyn right across the river where every Saturday the "flea market" known as Smorgasboard features 95% prepared foods (yay!)  From bbq to tacos, arepas to viet sandwiches, this place is a foodie's paradise .

Out of everything that was eaten, I wanted to highlight this hot dog.  We've seen the asian inspired tacos (Korilla BBQ or Seoul Food) and sandwiches (think Bimbimbap burger at Social Eatz) but please meet Asia Dog.  You can find an outpost in Nolita, but Asia dog also makes its rounds at various food festivals and concerts throughout the summer.  I opted for the Sydney chicken hot dog, the bun was pleasantly toasted, the dog lightly grilled and topped with a relish of refreshing mango, cilantro, onion, cucumber, lime and fish sauce and finished with a handful of crushed peanuts.  To cap it off, I rode the east ferry back to manhattan on a full belly of hot dogs, pork sandwiches and an interesting espresso stout chocolate chip cookie.




When our initial brunch location in st. marks was packed at 1:30pm, I was looking forward to eggs so naturally was not that excited for our back up lunch at Xian Foods even though it has been featured by Anthony Bourdain and Andrew Zimmerman. And for great reason as it was affordable and delicious.  There isn't alot of seating and they even have rules about when and how you can take seats.

We went with the most yelped about dish the cumin lamb noodles (left) and then a cold noodle dish with seitan and cucumbers as well as the stewed pork sandwich (for $2.50!).  I think the most interesting part of both dishes was the texture of the noodles, much thicker and denser than your typical rice noodle.  While the dish could have used more lamb, the strong cumin chili flavor was prominent and addicting.  The underrated star was actually the pork sandwich hiding in that paper bag.   The hoisin stewed pork was wrapped in a bread that more closely resembled a crusty an arepa. Toasted on both sides this sandwich was a great way to balance the heat of the other dishes.  If you are afraid of spice or oil in anyway, this might not be the place for you.



FYI- if you get a dish that has the word "tingly" in the description- be prepared for numb feeling in your mouth.  You are not having an allergic reaction but rather this is a temporary, courtesy of the Sichuan peppercorn.

On a different note- I made a visit to New Tu Do- a Vietnamese joint near Chinatown. With so many options in that area, I relied on the keen eye of my sister's boyfriend for advice and his research of yelp pictures.  And with summer in full swing, it just doesn't make sense to have pho.  So recently I've really enjoyed nem nuong, a red pork meatball.  It comes with pickled carrots, daikon, cucumber, lettuce, mint, peanuts, green onions and micro vermicilli. It's kind of like choose your own adventure where you pick your ingredients and wrap them up in rice paper like summer rolls and dunk it into the typical sweet sour fish sauce.

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What is it?

Instead of biscuits, rolls, croissants or danishes at the Popover cafe., you get a warm popover, a egg based bread/pastry with a crusty exterior and hollow airy soft interior. The flavor definitely reminds me of a crepe and with a dab of strawberry butter or syrup, this is a delightful start to brunch here at this  upper west side spot.

Another notable dish is the kobe beef hash.  Cubes of  this beautiful beef is slow cooked then finished on a flat top with onions and cubed new red potatoes.  The mixture arrives with a nice char and two eggs prepared to your liking.  The fat from the meat really creates a luxurious and gluttinous brunch dish and it is difficult to leave anything on this plate.





Tuesday, May 17, 2011

NYC 2011 Part 2

With my dad in town this time around, we made sure to hit up some of NYC's big hitters including Eric Ripert's Le Bernadin.  Unfortunately there are no photos because this place is not for tourists and I'm pretty sure they would have asked me to stop or leave if i had continually snapped pics throughout our seven course tasting menu.  The Le Bernadin tasting menu focuses on seafood and french techniques which were all beautifully presented with exquisite flavor.  Both the food and service were excellent and my favorite included the charred octopus appetizer which was tender and smokey and the liquid pear bubble in the dessert course which they suggested you let explode in your mouth with a little of the chocolate parfait.

Plate Score: 9.5 (The price hurts a lot even if i wasn't the one paying for it)


Though dinner was fantastic, a 5:15pm reservation would not hold us over till morning so we fixed it with a delivery of this new york solution around 10 :)





For lunch on Saturday, my sister introduced us to Blue Ribbon Sushi on 58th near Columbus Circle.  From what I understand it is of the same caliber as Nobu just not as famous.  Everything on the menu was delicious from the sushi and sashimi to the rice and noodle dishes and dessert.  One of the highlights was the japanese style oxtail fried rice with bone marrow.  So terrible for you but it was so good that it even caught my dad's attention.  He suggested that we return the next day.  

Plate Score: 9.5



On Saturday night I did manage to snap a few pictures from David Burke's townhouse as we were seated, with the exception of the servers, in an area of virtual isolation.  The culinary approach of this restaurant is whimsical modern american.

The parfait of salmon and tuna tartares with 3 sauces and a layer of creme fraiche was beautifully prepared and incredibly fresh


Normally you think about crab cakes in a circular fashion, and when it said "pretzel crusted" on the menu i imagined crushed pretzels would serve as a binder.  Instead I was pleasantly surprised with this rectangular log of fresh crabmeat wrapped with pretzel sticks and dusted with sesame seeds. The sauteed soft shell crab appetizer behind was delicious but a tad bit oily.



This is the lobster "steak".  For $46, it was a great deal with the lobster claw that sat atop of chopped lobster meat packed into the shape of a filet mignon, hence the word "steak".


Dessert were drunken donut holes with chocolate baileys, strawberry daquiri and salted caramel sauces.  The donuts were a tad dense, but who can refuse fried dough?!

"Opera on the park bench"  Do you see it? hazelnut cream cake and espresso ice cream. Perfect
                                                    
Plate Score: 7

Tuesday, April 19, 2011

NYC 2011 Part 1

After a much needed nap from my terrible red eye flight from Denver, i returned to my favorite Japanese noodle house Ippudo with my sister for lunch.  This place is consistently packed with long lines out the door and today was no different.  The noodles are definitely the star, housemade and al dente sitting in a flavorful pipping hot broth of your choice (traditional soy or soy and miso blends) with roasted pork and veggies.   If you like eggs, make sure to add the soft boiled marinated egg for $2!  I was so excited to eat it that I forgot to take a photo....

Ippudo Plate score: 9.5



Japanese is probably my sister's all time favorite so a fusion japanese compromise at Bond St was a good choice on Friday night before I headed to my hotel for the weekend conference.  We shared a few rolls, beef sushi (seared wagyu over rice), sashimi and the two dishes below.

The seared john dory on the right was cooked perfectly surrounded by a light chili lime broth with roasted beets and microgreens. There was no hint of japanese influence there but nevertheless excellent.  The braised short ribs which were oddly pressed into a square ring mold sat atop of columns of daikon radish.  The asian pear puree on top of the short ribs contrasted nicely with the saltiness from the meat.

Another reason I chose this place was for the dessert below, the green tea mille crepe.  As the name suggests, this a multi layer dessert is made with at least two dozen crepes filled with a green tea cream.    I ordered a nine inch one for my sister last year for her birthday from Lady M.  Needless to say she loves it.


Bond St Plate Score:  7.5


Beauty and Essex, according to my sister is NYC's hottest place these days.  She even mentioned the fact that there was champagne in the women's bathroom  on her last visit there.  With a focus on contemporary tapas which is easily my favorite way to dine.  It is so easy to mistake this for something else as you have to walk through a pawn shop to get to the actual restaurant.  The secret entrance leads into a dimly lit restaurant with big velvet couches, ceiling to floor drapes and chandeliers that fill the interior and reminded me of something you would see in one of Chuck Bass' Party (Gossip Girl).  

All dishes were good including the beef tartare, roasted bone marrow, lobster asparagus pizette and a chestnut and ricotta ravioli but won't necessarily bring me back for seconds on my next trip.  The molten chocolate bread pudding dessert was soft and decadent and paired nicely with the mild hazelnut ice cream and was a great end to the the weekend before fighting and running my way through the busy airport at JFK.

   Beef Tartare

                       Roasted Bone Marrow with red onion marmalade, microgreens and toasted ciabatta 

                                           Lobster and asparagus on a cracker thin pizette
                            

Miso-sake glazed sugar snap peas, and chestnut ricotta ravioli with butternut squash sauce and crispy pancetta

Beauty and Essex Plate Score: 8

Fun Fact: Chris Santos is the executive chef of B&E and also a regular judge on Food Network's Chopped!

Sunday, May 30, 2010

NYC Part 1

My culinary adventures have taken me to NYC to visit my sister for memorial day weekend. I am going to keep it nice and short, highlighting the restaurants and any memorable bits and pieces.

riday
Lunch at Morimoto's near chelsea market, we saw MORIMOTO in the kitchen!!!!!


deliciously overpriced sushi however, the interior design was phenomenal and the bathrooms...well let's just say that there is more than just a flush button


Plate score: 8


Dinner at Megu
Dessert was a 25 layer green tea crepe cake, with a light layer of green tea mouse between each of the 25 layers and green tea sauce. Ingenius!
Plate score: 8