The flavor of the dish wasn't all that bad, but it was so far from resembling a baked ziti it was almost comical. How many Italian places do I have to go to before I get a real, and real good baked ziti? Someone help me out!
Tuesday, May 27, 2008
Really?
Here we go again, another penne dish passed off as baked ziti. But this one has the added bonus of mediocre sweet italian sausage and a total absence of ricotta cheese. This came from a place called Lasagna.
The flavor of the dish wasn't all that bad, but it was so far from resembling a baked ziti it was almost comical. How many Italian places do I have to go to before I get a real, and real good baked ziti? Someone help me out!
The flavor of the dish wasn't all that bad, but it was so far from resembling a baked ziti it was almost comical. How many Italian places do I have to go to before I get a real, and real good baked ziti? Someone help me out!
Blue Ribbon Sushi
Being the 2nd restaurant on my mental list, and the fourth place listed in the Michelin Guide (I forgot about Lupa), I was admittedly excited. I had been looking over the menu while sitting at the bar at Peep, so I was ready to go.
I ordered four pieces of sushi (from L to R):
Hamachi
Smoked Hamachi
Makai
Jellyfish
They were all fantastic in their own individual ways. I am very familiar with hamachi, and this piece of Japanese Yellowtail was exceptionally fresh. Makai, which is Red Snapper, is very similar in taste to hamachi and was equally as fresh.
The other two pieces were new to me. Smoked hamachi immediately caught my attention and easily met my expectations. The smokiness accented the flavor of the fish nicely without being overpowering.
When I saw jellyfish on the menu I almost cried from excitement. Now I’m still not sure if the jellyfish was raw, cooked, or cured (It was in a light brown soy-based sauce), but it was excellent nonetheless. The texture is exactly what you would think it would be. Slightly chewy, with a nice briny flavor, it was a pleasant change from my arguably boring ordinary sushi routine.
I also ordered the seven-color dragon roll, which was topped with seven different types of seafood. I’m not sure what every piece was, but I do know that there was escolar (often called white tuna), hamachi, tuna, cooked shrimp, and salmon. All the fish was very fresh and the sushi was skillfully prepared.
Jon ordered the shrimp dumplings, which more than made up for the terrible dumplings at Peep, and the Sushi Special #3, an assemblage of three rather ordinary rolls. Below is a picture of the shrimp dumplings.
They were unreal. Unbelievably light and airy, biting through them took no effort at all, showing the individual handmade quality of each dumpling. I could have easily made a whole meal out of those delectable little steamed packages.
Although some menu items can get pretty pricey at Blue Ribbon Sushi, it is very easy to piece together a good meal for a reasonable price. I would definitely recommend this restaurant to someone looking for very fresh, well-made sushi and sashimi, and I’m looking forward to returning soon.
I ordered four pieces of sushi (from L to R):
Hamachi
Smoked Hamachi
Makai
Jellyfish
They were all fantastic in their own individual ways. I am very familiar with hamachi, and this piece of Japanese Yellowtail was exceptionally fresh. Makai, which is Red Snapper, is very similar in taste to hamachi and was equally as fresh.
The other two pieces were new to me. Smoked hamachi immediately caught my attention and easily met my expectations. The smokiness accented the flavor of the fish nicely without being overpowering.
When I saw jellyfish on the menu I almost cried from excitement. Now I’m still not sure if the jellyfish was raw, cooked, or cured (It was in a light brown soy-based sauce), but it was excellent nonetheless. The texture is exactly what you would think it would be. Slightly chewy, with a nice briny flavor, it was a pleasant change from my arguably boring ordinary sushi routine.
I also ordered the seven-color dragon roll, which was topped with seven different types of seafood. I’m not sure what every piece was, but I do know that there was escolar (often called white tuna), hamachi, tuna, cooked shrimp, and salmon. All the fish was very fresh and the sushi was skillfully prepared.
Jon ordered the shrimp dumplings, which more than made up for the terrible dumplings at Peep, and the Sushi Special #3, an assemblage of three rather ordinary rolls. Below is a picture of the shrimp dumplings.
They were unreal. Unbelievably light and airy, biting through them took no effort at all, showing the individual handmade quality of each dumpling. I could have easily made a whole meal out of those delectable little steamed packages.
Although some menu items can get pretty pricey at Blue Ribbon Sushi, it is very easy to piece together a good meal for a reasonable price. I would definitely recommend this restaurant to someone looking for very fresh, well-made sushi and sashimi, and I’m looking forward to returning soon.
Peep
OK so I’ve made a personal vow to myself to never eat at one of Jon’s restaurants again. I have already mentioned the over-use of cilantro and the well-done pork chop at Highline. Well, I should have known not to be expecting much, as the same chef heads up the kitchen at Peep, a modern Thai restaurant in Soho.
Only being able to order from the left side of the menu because I was sitting at the bar kind of pissed me off. The left side of the menu contained small “bar-sized” dishes like calamari, scallop canapés, and chicken satay.
I opted for the scallop canapés, a relatively easy decision with my love for scallops.
When the plate came out, two things that you can clearly notice in this photo immediately disappointed me:
1. They were tiny bay scallops
2. The scallops were fried…
Neither of these two (rather important) details was mentioned on the menu. I wouldn’t have ordered the dish if I knew even one of those two things. So I started eating anyway, and became increasingly disappointed with each bite. The scallops were greasy and whoever pulled them out of the fryer decided that salt isn’t really that big of a deal and was deemed unnecessary in this dish.
The coconut-peanut sauce was equally as bland and the filo dough (?) cups were soggy and appeared to have been made at the beginning of the week. The “tomato relish” that topped the dish was also featured on many other menu items, leading me to believe that it was Peep’s version of Emeril’s essence. It was an extremely disappointing plate of food.
Hoping that the kitchen would redeem itself I ordered the steamed emperor dumplings, which contained a mixture of both chicken and shrimp.
This was the third dish I had eaten from this chef, and now it was the third bad dish I have eaten by this chef (add Jason’s well-done pork chop and it’s 4).
Well for starters you can see the swimming pool of soy sauce that the “dumplings” are generously submerged in. That actually turned out to be a good thing though, as the overkill of soy sauce muted the terrible flavor of the filling.
Biting through one of the dumplings felt like biting through a meatball, that’s bad. Dumplings are supposed to be light and soft with a pleasant texture. These were rather heavy and unpleasant. I can still feel them sitting like rocks in my stomach a day later.
Only one good thing came out of my trip to Peep. That was the large amount of time I spent waiting for Jon to get off work while I used my fancy new phone to find a good, nearby late-night place to get some food, which I did…Blue Ribbon Sushi, I’m happy.
Only being able to order from the left side of the menu because I was sitting at the bar kind of pissed me off. The left side of the menu contained small “bar-sized” dishes like calamari, scallop canapés, and chicken satay.
I opted for the scallop canapés, a relatively easy decision with my love for scallops.
When the plate came out, two things that you can clearly notice in this photo immediately disappointed me:
1. They were tiny bay scallops
2. The scallops were fried…
Neither of these two (rather important) details was mentioned on the menu. I wouldn’t have ordered the dish if I knew even one of those two things. So I started eating anyway, and became increasingly disappointed with each bite. The scallops were greasy and whoever pulled them out of the fryer decided that salt isn’t really that big of a deal and was deemed unnecessary in this dish.
The coconut-peanut sauce was equally as bland and the filo dough (?) cups were soggy and appeared to have been made at the beginning of the week. The “tomato relish” that topped the dish was also featured on many other menu items, leading me to believe that it was Peep’s version of Emeril’s essence. It was an extremely disappointing plate of food.
Hoping that the kitchen would redeem itself I ordered the steamed emperor dumplings, which contained a mixture of both chicken and shrimp.
This was the third dish I had eaten from this chef, and now it was the third bad dish I have eaten by this chef (add Jason’s well-done pork chop and it’s 4).
Well for starters you can see the swimming pool of soy sauce that the “dumplings” are generously submerged in. That actually turned out to be a good thing though, as the overkill of soy sauce muted the terrible flavor of the filling.
Biting through one of the dumplings felt like biting through a meatball, that’s bad. Dumplings are supposed to be light and soft with a pleasant texture. These were rather heavy and unpleasant. I can still feel them sitting like rocks in my stomach a day later.
Only one good thing came out of my trip to Peep. That was the large amount of time I spent waiting for Jon to get off work while I used my fancy new phone to find a good, nearby late-night place to get some food, which I did…Blue Ribbon Sushi, I’m happy.
Monday, May 26, 2008
The Best Bar EVER!
I didn't have to work last Friday, so on Thursday night I saw my friends Francesca and Eric perform stand-up comedy at the Laugh Lounge in the Lower East Side. They are both largely responsible for my own personal interest in stand-up, and I will definitely be doing a few shows with Eric while I'm up here. I'll try and put some video up.
After the show I wanted to go to an interesting place, and Jonny delivered.
I can't tell you the name of the bar or it's location (partly because I don't remember, and partly because they are very secretive about their existence).
All I can tell you is that we walked into this random food shack with scattered diner tables and arcade-style video games (very classy). Before I could ask Jon why we were at a hole-in-the-wall, he quickly jumped into a phone booth, picked up the phone, and briefly pressed the one button that was on the phone.
Before we could blink, a hostess named Ari opens the back wall of the phone booth and asks how many people we were with. We told her only two, and she asked for Jon's number so that she could call us when some space opened up. We were going through a hole-in-the-wall (God I'm clever).
After going across the street to grab a drink while we waited, I became extremely anxious to see what was inside that phone booth. We headed back over about 20 minutes later, and lied to the very polite hostess that Jon's phone was off and we wanted to check if they had called. Jon's phone was working just fine, we were just trying to expedite the process.
And it worked, Ari went in and got people to move down the bar to consolidate spaces and open up two seats. I'm freaking out with excitement by this point.
I discover that the bar was opened during prohibition, and the run-down restaurant we entered through was nothing more than a distraction built by the bar owner to deter police. The gorgeous dark wood bar was stocked with a countless number of bottles I've never heard of (which I was informed were all pretty pricey). They also boasted over 20 different varieties of bitters, most of which were one-of-a-kind homemade versions, created and donated by some of their many loyal patrons.
The bartenders who work here are real professionals and from what I understand have to be invited to work here. You can't just walk in off the street and apply for this job, although I would love to.
One thing that I loved was that every drink on the menu was $12, regardless of the ingredients. $12 is a relatively normal price for a good drink in the city, so for this kind of experience I was happy to pay the set menu price.
After painstakingly combing the very detailed descriptions of all their drinks, I decided on my first cocktail of the night, an old-fashioned with an interesting twist.
A very nice aged bourbon was infused with bacon...yep...bacon, and paired with Grade A maple syrup, a dash of bitters, and a squeeze of lemon juice. Wow! That is literally the first thing that came out of my mouth when I tasted this drink. I was previously unaware that a beverage could result in the complete bombardment of all my taste buds.
At first sip there is the freshness of the lemon juice, which is immediately followed by the deep oak flavor of the aged bourbon and the sweetness of the maple syrup. Towards the end, a subtle but clearly noticeable bacon flavor sweeps over your mouth. It was like going on a fantastical tasting journey all in one sip.
We ordered other cocktails, trying to taste as much as possible, however that wonderful sweet bacon beverage would not leave my mind. I'll write about some other drinks next time I go, which I will be doing without question.
Cheers!
(Sorry I have no pictures, they don't allow flash photography.)
After the show I wanted to go to an interesting place, and Jonny delivered.
I can't tell you the name of the bar or it's location (partly because I don't remember, and partly because they are very secretive about their existence).
All I can tell you is that we walked into this random food shack with scattered diner tables and arcade-style video games (very classy). Before I could ask Jon why we were at a hole-in-the-wall, he quickly jumped into a phone booth, picked up the phone, and briefly pressed the one button that was on the phone.
Before we could blink, a hostess named Ari opens the back wall of the phone booth and asks how many people we were with. We told her only two, and she asked for Jon's number so that she could call us when some space opened up. We were going through a hole-in-the-wall (God I'm clever).
After going across the street to grab a drink while we waited, I became extremely anxious to see what was inside that phone booth. We headed back over about 20 minutes later, and lied to the very polite hostess that Jon's phone was off and we wanted to check if they had called. Jon's phone was working just fine, we were just trying to expedite the process.
And it worked, Ari went in and got people to move down the bar to consolidate spaces and open up two seats. I'm freaking out with excitement by this point.
I discover that the bar was opened during prohibition, and the run-down restaurant we entered through was nothing more than a distraction built by the bar owner to deter police. The gorgeous dark wood bar was stocked with a countless number of bottles I've never heard of (which I was informed were all pretty pricey). They also boasted over 20 different varieties of bitters, most of which were one-of-a-kind homemade versions, created and donated by some of their many loyal patrons.
The bartenders who work here are real professionals and from what I understand have to be invited to work here. You can't just walk in off the street and apply for this job, although I would love to.
One thing that I loved was that every drink on the menu was $12, regardless of the ingredients. $12 is a relatively normal price for a good drink in the city, so for this kind of experience I was happy to pay the set menu price.
After painstakingly combing the very detailed descriptions of all their drinks, I decided on my first cocktail of the night, an old-fashioned with an interesting twist.
A very nice aged bourbon was infused with bacon...yep...bacon, and paired with Grade A maple syrup, a dash of bitters, and a squeeze of lemon juice. Wow! That is literally the first thing that came out of my mouth when I tasted this drink. I was previously unaware that a beverage could result in the complete bombardment of all my taste buds.
At first sip there is the freshness of the lemon juice, which is immediately followed by the deep oak flavor of the aged bourbon and the sweetness of the maple syrup. Towards the end, a subtle but clearly noticeable bacon flavor sweeps over your mouth. It was like going on a fantastical tasting journey all in one sip.
We ordered other cocktails, trying to taste as much as possible, however that wonderful sweet bacon beverage would not leave my mind. I'll write about some other drinks next time I go, which I will be doing without question.
Cheers!
(Sorry I have no pictures, they don't allow flash photography.)
Seo
5-21-08
After spending a good 2-3 hours flipping through my newly purchased Michelin Guide, I finally decided on what my first "Michelin Recommended" meal would be. (Technically Momofuku Ssam was, but that was before I got the book.)
So I made the five minute walk to Seo, a small Japanese place where the entire staff greets you with a Japanese welcome when you walk in the door. I don't want to attempt to spell the greeting out of respect for not butchering the Japanese language.
The first thing I ordered was a glass of sake which came in a square cedar cup. This is the traditional way to enjoy sake, but I've never had it before. Believe me when I tell you to always drink your sake this way! It was the best glass of sake I've ever had and the aroma from the cedar cup played a significant role in my enjoyment.
A small dish of salt with a tiny 'matchstick' spoon came out with my sake (you can see it in both pictures). I have no clue what I was supposed to do with it and out of fear of sounding like an idiot, didn't inquire about it. So if anyone knows what that salt was for, please let me know.
I started with some tuna and hamachi sashimi (I usually ALWAYS order these two cuts of fish when I go out for sushi, I know it's boring, but they're so good). It was the thickest sashimi I've had, which allowed me to better feel the texture of the meat. Both were very good, but not quite the freshest fish I've eaten. The dark portion of the hamachi right under the skin was left on, which has been significantly trimmed all the other times I've eaten the fish. It was pleasant, as it provided two different textures in the hamachi.
For my main course I ordered a miso-marinated grilled cod. The sweet miso complimented the creamy texture of the cod very well. The fish was cooked nicely, although the cut of the fish resulted in the bottom (about inch and a half) being a bit overcooked. I don't know if they normally cut all of their cod this way, but it doesn't really make sense to me. It makes it close to impossible to evenly cook the fish.
My only other gripe is the abundance of bones, which I know are a pain in the ass to remove before cooking, but it's also a pain in the ass to remove while eating.
All of the food I ate had great flavor though so overall I was generally pleased with my visit to Seo. The sake was definitely my favorite part of the meal though, and I would go back just to order that sake and sit at the sushi bar.
After spending a good 2-3 hours flipping through my newly purchased Michelin Guide, I finally decided on what my first "Michelin Recommended" meal would be. (Technically Momofuku Ssam was, but that was before I got the book.)
So I made the five minute walk to Seo, a small Japanese place where the entire staff greets you with a Japanese welcome when you walk in the door. I don't want to attempt to spell the greeting out of respect for not butchering the Japanese language.
The first thing I ordered was a glass of sake which came in a square cedar cup. This is the traditional way to enjoy sake, but I've never had it before. Believe me when I tell you to always drink your sake this way! It was the best glass of sake I've ever had and the aroma from the cedar cup played a significant role in my enjoyment.
A small dish of salt with a tiny 'matchstick' spoon came out with my sake (you can see it in both pictures). I have no clue what I was supposed to do with it and out of fear of sounding like an idiot, didn't inquire about it. So if anyone knows what that salt was for, please let me know.
I started with some tuna and hamachi sashimi (I usually ALWAYS order these two cuts of fish when I go out for sushi, I know it's boring, but they're so good). It was the thickest sashimi I've had, which allowed me to better feel the texture of the meat. Both were very good, but not quite the freshest fish I've eaten. The dark portion of the hamachi right under the skin was left on, which has been significantly trimmed all the other times I've eaten the fish. It was pleasant, as it provided two different textures in the hamachi.
For my main course I ordered a miso-marinated grilled cod. The sweet miso complimented the creamy texture of the cod very well. The fish was cooked nicely, although the cut of the fish resulted in the bottom (about inch and a half) being a bit overcooked. I don't know if they normally cut all of their cod this way, but it doesn't really make sense to me. It makes it close to impossible to evenly cook the fish.
My only other gripe is the abundance of bones, which I know are a pain in the ass to remove before cooking, but it's also a pain in the ass to remove while eating.
All of the food I ate had great flavor though so overall I was generally pleased with my visit to Seo. The sake was definitely my favorite part of the meal though, and I would go back just to order that sake and sit at the sushi bar.
Best on First Pizza
As the name clearly implies, this pizza place offers the best slice on first avenue. A short, noticeably cold, walk from my current place of residence, this was my first real 'New York' style piece of pizza. The two slices I ordered were the sauteed spinach and the tomato and fresh mozzarella.
The mozzarella slice was noticeably superior to the spinach slice, which lacked any form of seasoning. The crust was crisp on the outside and nice and chewy on the inside.
Not the best piece of pizza I've ever had, but considerably better than Krunch. I'll try best on first again I'm sure.
The mozzarella slice was noticeably superior to the spinach slice, which lacked any form of seasoning. The crust was crisp on the outside and nice and chewy on the inside.
Not the best piece of pizza I've ever had, but considerably better than Krunch. I'll try best on first again I'm sure.
My First Kitchen Job
Today I worked from 8 am to 7 pm, standing in the kitchen cooking for 11 straight hours. It was fun, and I got the chance to make some things I’ve never made.
Here are a couple pictures of garnishes I made for the first time today. There’s a plate of sautéed-fluted mushroom caps, a couple cucumber turtles, and a tomato rose (made out of a ribbon of tomato skin).
The mushrooms were served with a seared filet mignon, the turtles with crab cakes, and the tomato roses will pair up tomorrow with a miso glazed salmon.
I will keep documenting as my knife skills improve.
Here are a couple pictures of garnishes I made for the first time today. There’s a plate of sautéed-fluted mushroom caps, a couple cucumber turtles, and a tomato rose (made out of a ribbon of tomato skin).
The mushrooms were served with a seared filet mignon, the turtles with crab cakes, and the tomato roses will pair up tomorrow with a miso glazed salmon.
I will keep documenting as my knife skills improve.
The Press Box, Momofuku Ssam, and Garbage
Yesterday I experienced the good, the great, and the terrible. Bear with me.
For lunch I walked 2 blocks to The Press Box, a small upscale pub on 2nd. My cousin later told me it was a historic pub that all the sports writers used to eat at and discuss, um…baseball I guess. (99.9% of people I have met love the yankees, it gets annoying)
Sidenote: The “AutoCorrect” on my computer tried to capitalize the word ‘yankees’. That makes me mad.
Anyways, it was a really elegant space with dark wood and a well equipped bar. They served a good bit of standard pub fare, including Fish n Chips, Bangers and Mash, and Shepard’s Pie.
So I order a steak sandwich…And Beef and Vegetable soup.
Both were genuinely satisfying. The soup had every ingredient it should have had like potatoes, carrots, onions, a rich stock, and good-sized chunks of beef. The seasoning was good but I add a little extra black pepper, as I usually do to a lot of soup I eat. The steak sandwich was cooked a nice medium rare and the bread was soft and slightly sweet. I sat at the bar and the service was great, so I will definitely return to The Press Box. However, next time I’ll try some more traditional cuisine. I will bring photos from my next visit. I’m getting better with taking pictures of my food I swear. Just look below.
Later in the day I wanted to check out the union square market, as well as visit Barnes and Noble (Which is 4 stories tall, literally larger than any Costco I’ve ever been in). I bought Anthony Bourdain’s bestseller, Kitchen Confidential, and the New York City Michelin Guide to Restaurants. It shows where a majority of the restaurants I want to eat at are located, which makes me happy.
I also checked out Paragon Sporting Goods on Broadway (Which is 3 stories tall). The market at the square was small because it was Monday, but there was still a good amount of fresh produce and herbs, grass-fed meats, and organic bakery items. I didn’t get anything to eat though because I was still full from lunch.
As I’m walking back from my little journey in the Village, I turned down a street at random in order to get to a northbound avenue for a cab. But as I turned the corner, a drawing of a small peach caught my eye on the window. There were no signs on the outside of the building, but I knew I had seen that drawing before. It was the moment I had been hoping for.
This was the first completely random encounter of a restaurant I had on my mental list. It was Momofuku Ssam, one of the many restaurants opened by chef David Chang. His restaurants have received a great deal of attention lately. When I realized what it was, I got so excited, and then so pissed because I was still kind of full. After starting to walk away I stopped myself thinking about how angry I would be later for not stopping to check it out. So I went in.
The lunch shift was almost over; it was around 3:30, so there were only about 20 people in the restaurant. That did not bother me one bit. I grabbed a seat at the bar and looked at the menu. After never really looking past the ‘raw bar’ section of the menu, I was torn between the cured hamachi and the sea scallops. After asking the bartender for a push in either direction, I decided on the scallops, which was a fantastic decision. I love scallops, but have only had scallop sashimi a few times. I eat hamachi practically every time I go out for sushi, so I was admittedly excited.
Just look at this dish. You want to eat it, I know, so did I.
Two skillfully sliced sea scallops were placed on a thin spread of lemon puree, and then topped with pickled cherries, sea salt, micro-greens, and finely chopped Nori.
The scallops were unbelievably fresh and would melt almost instantaneously when you put them in your mouth. The sweet and sour cherries, the subtle crunch of the micro-greens, and the sea salt provided a number of flavors and textures which all worked well together. I was really happy I stopped to visit my first ‘mental list’ restaurant, as it was hands down the best meal I’ve had since my arrival.
Are you still with me? I know this is a long one.
While trying to decide whether or not I was even hungry for dinner, I went for a walk and came across Abitino’s Italian Restaurant on 2nd. The dish I ordered doesn’t even deserve discussion because it was so bad, but it helps me to visually express another of my culinary pet peeves.
As you can clearly NOT tell in the photo, I ordered the baked ziti.
Why do places use penne and rigatoni for baked pasta dishes, and sell them as baked ziti? The name of the dish tells you what kind of pasta to use for crying out loud! Is ziti really hard to come by? (Answer: No. I've been in many Food Emporiums throughout the city and they all have plenty of ziti!) Just because you put ricotta and tomato sauce on non-ziti cylindrical pasta and bake it with mozzarella on top doesn’t mean you can call it whatever you want. “Hey check it out, I made this tasty lasagna with angel hair pasta. Of course it’s lasagna, I baked it in layers.”
After actually eating the dish though, I realized the shape of the pasta didn’t matter, as I thought I was eating three day old, flavorless leftovers. Never eat at Abitino’s.
For lunch I walked 2 blocks to The Press Box, a small upscale pub on 2nd. My cousin later told me it was a historic pub that all the sports writers used to eat at and discuss, um…baseball I guess. (99.9% of people I have met love the yankees, it gets annoying)
Sidenote: The “AutoCorrect” on my computer tried to capitalize the word ‘yankees’. That makes me mad.
Anyways, it was a really elegant space with dark wood and a well equipped bar. They served a good bit of standard pub fare, including Fish n Chips, Bangers and Mash, and Shepard’s Pie.
So I order a steak sandwich…And Beef and Vegetable soup.
Both were genuinely satisfying. The soup had every ingredient it should have had like potatoes, carrots, onions, a rich stock, and good-sized chunks of beef. The seasoning was good but I add a little extra black pepper, as I usually do to a lot of soup I eat. The steak sandwich was cooked a nice medium rare and the bread was soft and slightly sweet. I sat at the bar and the service was great, so I will definitely return to The Press Box. However, next time I’ll try some more traditional cuisine. I will bring photos from my next visit. I’m getting better with taking pictures of my food I swear. Just look below.
Later in the day I wanted to check out the union square market, as well as visit Barnes and Noble (Which is 4 stories tall, literally larger than any Costco I’ve ever been in). I bought Anthony Bourdain’s bestseller, Kitchen Confidential, and the New York City Michelin Guide to Restaurants. It shows where a majority of the restaurants I want to eat at are located, which makes me happy.
I also checked out Paragon Sporting Goods on Broadway (Which is 3 stories tall). The market at the square was small because it was Monday, but there was still a good amount of fresh produce and herbs, grass-fed meats, and organic bakery items. I didn’t get anything to eat though because I was still full from lunch.
As I’m walking back from my little journey in the Village, I turned down a street at random in order to get to a northbound avenue for a cab. But as I turned the corner, a drawing of a small peach caught my eye on the window. There were no signs on the outside of the building, but I knew I had seen that drawing before. It was the moment I had been hoping for.
This was the first completely random encounter of a restaurant I had on my mental list. It was Momofuku Ssam, one of the many restaurants opened by chef David Chang. His restaurants have received a great deal of attention lately. When I realized what it was, I got so excited, and then so pissed because I was still kind of full. After starting to walk away I stopped myself thinking about how angry I would be later for not stopping to check it out. So I went in.
The lunch shift was almost over; it was around 3:30, so there were only about 20 people in the restaurant. That did not bother me one bit. I grabbed a seat at the bar and looked at the menu. After never really looking past the ‘raw bar’ section of the menu, I was torn between the cured hamachi and the sea scallops. After asking the bartender for a push in either direction, I decided on the scallops, which was a fantastic decision. I love scallops, but have only had scallop sashimi a few times. I eat hamachi practically every time I go out for sushi, so I was admittedly excited.
Just look at this dish. You want to eat it, I know, so did I.
Two skillfully sliced sea scallops were placed on a thin spread of lemon puree, and then topped with pickled cherries, sea salt, micro-greens, and finely chopped Nori.
The scallops were unbelievably fresh and would melt almost instantaneously when you put them in your mouth. The sweet and sour cherries, the subtle crunch of the micro-greens, and the sea salt provided a number of flavors and textures which all worked well together. I was really happy I stopped to visit my first ‘mental list’ restaurant, as it was hands down the best meal I’ve had since my arrival.
Are you still with me? I know this is a long one.
While trying to decide whether or not I was even hungry for dinner, I went for a walk and came across Abitino’s Italian Restaurant on 2nd. The dish I ordered doesn’t even deserve discussion because it was so bad, but it helps me to visually express another of my culinary pet peeves.
As you can clearly NOT tell in the photo, I ordered the baked ziti.
Why do places use penne and rigatoni for baked pasta dishes, and sell them as baked ziti? The name of the dish tells you what kind of pasta to use for crying out loud! Is ziti really hard to come by? (Answer: No. I've been in many Food Emporiums throughout the city and they all have plenty of ziti!) Just because you put ricotta and tomato sauce on non-ziti cylindrical pasta and bake it with mozzarella on top doesn’t mean you can call it whatever you want. “Hey check it out, I made this tasty lasagna with angel hair pasta. Of course it’s lasagna, I baked it in layers.”
After actually eating the dish though, I realized the shape of the pasta didn’t matter, as I thought I was eating three day old, flavorless leftovers. Never eat at Abitino’s.
Friday, May 23, 2008
First City Brunch (Sunburnt Cow)
Sunday morning was my first experience of Brunch in the city, which was a thoroughly enjoyable meal. We ate at the Sunburnt Cow, a small bar and restaurant owned and operated by really friendly Aussies.
We sat in the back, which had a retractable roof that was opened, revealing a canopy of huge trees. The brunch menu had about 10 items on it, and for $15 you could choose any one item, as well as enjoy unlimited mimosas, bloody marys, screwdrivers, champagne, and beer. Yeah, that’s not a lie. Fifteen dollars.
So I ordered the Eggs Benedict (called the Bush Benedict).
See, normally I really enjoy bacon, but for some reason I was disappointed when I saw the plate come out with bacon instead of the standard Canadian bacon. I was really in the mood for CB on my benedict, but the bacon was crispy and soaked in egg yolk so I didn’t mind. The bottomless mimosa in front of me also helped to distract.
Next time I go I’m going to try a burger, which comes out stacked 8” high, complete with a freshly poached egg. When I saw the burger come out I immediately regretted my brunch dish of choice. Not that the benedict wasn’t tasty. I’ll put up a picture of the burger next time I go to the Sunburnt Cow.
All together, it was a good first brunch experience.
We sat in the back, which had a retractable roof that was opened, revealing a canopy of huge trees. The brunch menu had about 10 items on it, and for $15 you could choose any one item, as well as enjoy unlimited mimosas, bloody marys, screwdrivers, champagne, and beer. Yeah, that’s not a lie. Fifteen dollars.
So I ordered the Eggs Benedict (called the Bush Benedict).
See, normally I really enjoy bacon, but for some reason I was disappointed when I saw the plate come out with bacon instead of the standard Canadian bacon. I was really in the mood for CB on my benedict, but the bacon was crispy and soaked in egg yolk so I didn’t mind. The bottomless mimosa in front of me also helped to distract.
Next time I go I’m going to try a burger, which comes out stacked 8” high, complete with a freshly poached egg. When I saw the burger come out I immediately regretted my brunch dish of choice. Not that the benedict wasn’t tasty. I’ll put up a picture of the burger next time I go to the Sunburnt Cow.
All together, it was a good first brunch experience.
Dogs and Highline
If there’s one thing I love as much or more than food, it’s dogs. I haven’t had a dog in around three years and it’s killing me. So whenever my friends have dogs, I turn into a five year old and focus 100% of my attention on the dog for the entirety of my stay at their residence.
Enter Rusty.
Rusty is a Gator dog owned by my friends Chrissy and Jason, and yes he is giving me a high five. He’s a bad-ass, that’s the only way to describe him.
The Kolacki trifecta was in New York this past weekend, which is the first time I have ever seen all three of the sisters at the same time. (My sister wants me to add more pictures of people, so here's the sisters, from L to R, Chrissy, Katie, and Joanna.)
So Jason, Chad, Jo, Katie, Chrissy and I headed to Highline, a Thai restaurant and bar in the Meatpacking district where Jonny is a bartender. I mistakenly ordered the rib-eye (so far I’ve made some poor culinary choices). It was accompanied by a bamboo shoot salad littered with an over-abundance of cilantro.
The marinade on the rib-eye was too salty and too sweet and covered up the flavor of the less than stellar cut of meat. However, the steak was cooked a nice med-rare and was the definitely the best thing on the plate, which isn’t really a compliment.
Before I could even put a bite of the bamboo shoot salad in my mouth, the cilantro bomb went off in my nostrils.
Now those of you that know me well, know that I eat and enjoy everything. I am the least picky person when it comes to food. I will try anything once because people who say they don’t like foods they have never tried really bother me.
My only culinary pet peeve is the grossly widespread over-use of cilantro. It’s just too strong of an herb, and people all over the place use it to the same extent as parsley. It completely overpowers every other flavor in the dish, and this “salad” was a prime example. It wasn’t just me; there was a general consensus at the table that the cilantro needed to be controlled.
When Jason ordered his pork chop, our server didn’t ask him how he wanted it cooked, which I thought was weird. I assumed it was going to come out medium, and the bite I had was pushing well done. Who cooks well done pork chops anymore? The sautéed mushrooms were kind of bland, and I didn’t try any of that crazy orange sauce.
Jo’s red curry shrimp was the best thing that I tried at Highline, at which point I realized I should have gotten a real Thai dish. Grilled rib-eye isn’t exactly a Thai specialty. The curry was a little mild for my personal taste, but the flavor was well balanced. As you can see the dish gets Jo’s “Thumbs Up” approval. (This was Jo’s belated birthday dinner, Happy Birthday Jo!)
Jon insists that the food is good and I should give it another chance but I wasn’t really crazy about anything. We had fun though, and closed out the night at the Brass Monkey Pub.
Enter Rusty.
Rusty is a Gator dog owned by my friends Chrissy and Jason, and yes he is giving me a high five. He’s a bad-ass, that’s the only way to describe him.
The Kolacki trifecta was in New York this past weekend, which is the first time I have ever seen all three of the sisters at the same time. (My sister wants me to add more pictures of people, so here's the sisters, from L to R, Chrissy, Katie, and Joanna.)
So Jason, Chad, Jo, Katie, Chrissy and I headed to Highline, a Thai restaurant and bar in the Meatpacking district where Jonny is a bartender. I mistakenly ordered the rib-eye (so far I’ve made some poor culinary choices). It was accompanied by a bamboo shoot salad littered with an over-abundance of cilantro.
The marinade on the rib-eye was too salty and too sweet and covered up the flavor of the less than stellar cut of meat. However, the steak was cooked a nice med-rare and was the definitely the best thing on the plate, which isn’t really a compliment.
Before I could even put a bite of the bamboo shoot salad in my mouth, the cilantro bomb went off in my nostrils.
Now those of you that know me well, know that I eat and enjoy everything. I am the least picky person when it comes to food. I will try anything once because people who say they don’t like foods they have never tried really bother me.
My only culinary pet peeve is the grossly widespread over-use of cilantro. It’s just too strong of an herb, and people all over the place use it to the same extent as parsley. It completely overpowers every other flavor in the dish, and this “salad” was a prime example. It wasn’t just me; there was a general consensus at the table that the cilantro needed to be controlled.
When Jason ordered his pork chop, our server didn’t ask him how he wanted it cooked, which I thought was weird. I assumed it was going to come out medium, and the bite I had was pushing well done. Who cooks well done pork chops anymore? The sautéed mushrooms were kind of bland, and I didn’t try any of that crazy orange sauce.
Jo’s red curry shrimp was the best thing that I tried at Highline, at which point I realized I should have gotten a real Thai dish. Grilled rib-eye isn’t exactly a Thai specialty. The curry was a little mild for my personal taste, but the flavor was well balanced. As you can see the dish gets Jo’s “Thumbs Up” approval. (This was Jo’s belated birthday dinner, Happy Birthday Jo!)
Jon insists that the food is good and I should give it another chance but I wasn’t really crazy about anything. We had fun though, and closed out the night at the Brass Monkey Pub.
Krunch Pizza
OK so I’m really disappointed with myself. One of the things I was looking forward to the most was an outstandingly uber-crispy slice of New York Pizza. However my first New York pizza experience was not what I had hoped. This is partially my fault, and I will explain why.
Friday night, after getting off of my first day at work and walking 12 blocks home on a terribly rainy, 45 degree summer day, I wanted some pizza and headed for the only pizza place I had passed while walking home. Krunch Pizza Bar on 2nd Avenue is a pizza place known for its square slices topped with both traditional and crrrazy ingredients.
That was my first mistake, I should have gone with a traditional NY pizza place but it was convenient, I was exhausted, and wasn’t in the mood to go hunting for the perfect slice. Nonetheless, I ordered my dinner.
Below is a picture of the four varieties I chose for my dinner.
Clockwise from bottom left, there’s the Pepe Freddo, Margherita, Ai Funghi, and Eggplant Parmiggiana Pizza.
The Pepe Freddo was topped with tomato, fresh sliced chili, garlic, and parmesan cheese.
The Margherita boasted San Marzano tomatoes, mozzarella cheese, basil, and olive oil.
The Ai Funghi had wild mushrooms, tomato, garlic, mozzarella, and basil.
Lastly the Eggplant Parmiggiana combined roasted eggplant, tomato, mozz, and basil.
The temperature at which I ate my pizza was the primary reason for the mediocre pizza experience. After walking four blocks home in 45-degree weather and taking 5 minutes to get settled in, the pizza was nice and chilly.
None of the slices tasted bad, they just weren’t that signature NY-style I was hoping for.
I’ll let you all know when I have my first great slice.
Friday night, after getting off of my first day at work and walking 12 blocks home on a terribly rainy, 45 degree summer day, I wanted some pizza and headed for the only pizza place I had passed while walking home. Krunch Pizza Bar on 2nd Avenue is a pizza place known for its square slices topped with both traditional and crrrazy ingredients.
That was my first mistake, I should have gone with a traditional NY pizza place but it was convenient, I was exhausted, and wasn’t in the mood to go hunting for the perfect slice. Nonetheless, I ordered my dinner.
Below is a picture of the four varieties I chose for my dinner.
Clockwise from bottom left, there’s the Pepe Freddo, Margherita, Ai Funghi, and Eggplant Parmiggiana Pizza.
The Pepe Freddo was topped with tomato, fresh sliced chili, garlic, and parmesan cheese.
The Margherita boasted San Marzano tomatoes, mozzarella cheese, basil, and olive oil.
The Ai Funghi had wild mushrooms, tomato, garlic, mozzarella, and basil.
Lastly the Eggplant Parmiggiana combined roasted eggplant, tomato, mozz, and basil.
The temperature at which I ate my pizza was the primary reason for the mediocre pizza experience. After walking four blocks home in 45-degree weather and taking 5 minutes to get settled in, the pizza was nice and chilly.
None of the slices tasted bad, they just weren’t that signature NY-style I was hoping for.
I’ll let you all know when I have my first great slice.
Lupa
5/20/08
So I’ve been in the city for 5 days and I have already eaten some really good food.
My first New York meal was a terribly unexciting turkey sandwich from Lenny’s. I say terribly unexciting in reference to the meal decision, not the actual sandwich which was quite satisfying. I just feel like my first New York meal should have been a crispy, piping hot slice of NY pizza, or a freshly carved gyro from a street vendor.
I did have a fantastic dinner with my cousin the first night I was here. Occupying a small space in the Village, Lupa is a very quaint Italian place that serves homemade pastas and other traditional Italian dishes. Mario Batali’s restaurant group, who opened Babbo and Esca, opened the restaurant on Thompson street between Bleecker and Houston. Unfortunately I forgot my camera so I do not have any photos of the food, but I’m sure I will be back soon and I will have my camera in hand.
We sat at the bar and got a nice glass of Pinot Noir and started with freshly sliced imported prosciutto, which was cut after we ordered. The machine used to slice the prosciutto was no ordinary kitchen tool, but a machine built specifically for producing tissue-paper thin morsels of salty deliciousness. Some of the best prosciutto I’ve had.
Before I forget, I have to briefly mention the olive oil that was served with the fresh-baked bread. It was the most flavorful olive oil that I have ever tasted, and I had to restrain myself from just picking up the small bowl and drinking it straight.
For dinner, my cousin and I both ordered a homemade pasta dish off of the special menu. It was a pappardelle with a sauce made with shredded pork shoulder and San Marzano tomatoes. The sauce was slightly sweet and the pasta was cooked perfectly. I’m really looking forward to returning to Lupa, and I promise beautiful pictures will accompany the post.
So I’ve been in the city for 5 days and I have already eaten some really good food.
My first New York meal was a terribly unexciting turkey sandwich from Lenny’s. I say terribly unexciting in reference to the meal decision, not the actual sandwich which was quite satisfying. I just feel like my first New York meal should have been a crispy, piping hot slice of NY pizza, or a freshly carved gyro from a street vendor.
I did have a fantastic dinner with my cousin the first night I was here. Occupying a small space in the Village, Lupa is a very quaint Italian place that serves homemade pastas and other traditional Italian dishes. Mario Batali’s restaurant group, who opened Babbo and Esca, opened the restaurant on Thompson street between Bleecker and Houston. Unfortunately I forgot my camera so I do not have any photos of the food, but I’m sure I will be back soon and I will have my camera in hand.
We sat at the bar and got a nice glass of Pinot Noir and started with freshly sliced imported prosciutto, which was cut after we ordered. The machine used to slice the prosciutto was no ordinary kitchen tool, but a machine built specifically for producing tissue-paper thin morsels of salty deliciousness. Some of the best prosciutto I’ve had.
Before I forget, I have to briefly mention the olive oil that was served with the fresh-baked bread. It was the most flavorful olive oil that I have ever tasted, and I had to restrain myself from just picking up the small bowl and drinking it straight.
For dinner, my cousin and I both ordered a homemade pasta dish off of the special menu. It was a pappardelle with a sauce made with shredded pork shoulder and San Marzano tomatoes. The sauce was slightly sweet and the pasta was cooked perfectly. I’m really looking forward to returning to Lupa, and I promise beautiful pictures will accompany the post.
The Beginning
Hello everyone.
Basically I started this blog to keep all of my friends and family updated with how I am spending my time in New York City this summer. A majority of the posts will be about my dining experiences in the city. I love food, I love to cook food, I love to watch people cooking food, and I love to eat food. However, I will also include posts about places I visit, cool things I see, and all of the cheesy tourist things I do (My plane flew over the Statue of Liberty so I have already crossed that off my list.)
If you happen to come across this blog by accident, read some things, you might enjoy it.
I don’t consider myself a food expert, I have no culinary training, and everything I say will be based on exactly what I’m thinking as I eat. I’ll probably say things that a lot of people may disagree with, so let me know. If I hated a place and it’s your favorite restaurant, try and convince me to give it another chance.
In addition, I have a gross distaste for my writing abilities, which have never been my strong point. There will most likely be poorly placed punctuation, misspelled words, and run-on/fragment sentences. I apologize in advance for all my inevitable mistakes.
That about sums it up, I hope you all enjoy!
Basically I started this blog to keep all of my friends and family updated with how I am spending my time in New York City this summer. A majority of the posts will be about my dining experiences in the city. I love food, I love to cook food, I love to watch people cooking food, and I love to eat food. However, I will also include posts about places I visit, cool things I see, and all of the cheesy tourist things I do (My plane flew over the Statue of Liberty so I have already crossed that off my list.)
If you happen to come across this blog by accident, read some things, you might enjoy it.
I don’t consider myself a food expert, I have no culinary training, and everything I say will be based on exactly what I’m thinking as I eat. I’ll probably say things that a lot of people may disagree with, so let me know. If I hated a place and it’s your favorite restaurant, try and convince me to give it another chance.
In addition, I have a gross distaste for my writing abilities, which have never been my strong point. There will most likely be poorly placed punctuation, misspelled words, and run-on/fragment sentences. I apologize in advance for all my inevitable mistakes.
That about sums it up, I hope you all enjoy!
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