Thursday, December 20, 2007
The Smith
I was the first to arrive, so I took a seat at the bar and waited for the others to arrive. The bar takes up the entire length of the right side of the restaurant and can seat approximately 25 people. While I sipped my glass of wine quietly in the corner, I had time to note the details of the decor. The Smith is located in what used to be the Pizzeria Uno on 3rd Avenue and 11th street. And although I never stepped foot inside the Uno, the floor tiles in the restaurant looked similar to the floor tiles of Uno's that I have eaten in: small dingy white octagonal tiles with pieces of black tiles interspersed throughout. The walls are also covered with shiny white tiles, sort of like bathroom tiles, which sounds gross but it looked quite nice actually. Once the others arrived, we were seated in a cozy wooden booth that had wooden hooks on the side (thank you! All restaurants should have more space to hang coats and bags!)
Ursula and I split the green bean salad, which was really delicious. Crisp green beans tossed with thin slices of ricotta cheese, cherry tomato halves and toasted almonds, the dish was delightfully cool with several different layers of texture. For my main, I ordered the chopped steak with a side of salad. The chopped steak looked like a cross between a meat loaf and a hamburger patty. It was a small round of meat that had a stiff and thick crust-like texture on the outside. When I cut into the middle of the steak, the meat was crumbly and juicy, like a hamburger almost but only much better. The mushroom gravy that came with my dish was thick and flavorful and I generously slathered the sauce all over my steak. Another great dish I need to note is the side of roasted brussels sprouts. The Smith's brussels sprouts have a, to quote Nikki, "great citrus-y flavor, there's lemon rind in here or something." For dessert, we split the Pink Pussy Cat: red velvet cake with two scoops of strawberry ice-cream, fresh strawberries and whipped cream. REALLY good. Who can hate strawberry ice-cream and whipped cream?
I want to come back here again for dinner, for brunch, for drinks at the bar, for drinks AND dessert at the bar! Our waitress was friendly, attentive and came at all the appropriate moments. The whole place just made me really comfortable and I left completely satisfied, and you can't ask for much more than that.
Sunday, December 9, 2007
Dos Caminos
I'd read numerous reviews lamenting the poor quality of service, but our waitress was very polite and prompt, taking our orders right away and making sure our water glasses were always full. We started with the famous guacamole (which you can see bits of inside Kashmira's mouth) and it was quite good. There were plenty of sizable pieces of avocado and the texture was a perfect balance between smooth and chunky. I ordered the Pescado Tacos, served with grilled filets of mahi mahi, spicy cabbage slaw and fresh tomato salsa, all wrapped up in two warm flour tortillas. The fish tasted great - fresh and meaty. The thin strips of cabbage was tart and crunchy, with the fresh tomato salsa giving the dish a nice cooling effect.
My favorite part of the meal came at the end in the form of a pistachio flavored chocolate cake served with a scoop of pistachio ice-cream. The ice-cream had a nutty texture and the chocolate cake was rich but not too thick, with a few pieces of pistachio in the middle.
Dos Caminos is a fun spot for group dinner, festive and loud, but no so much that you can't hear your friends.
Wednesday, December 5, 2007
Chocolate Truffles
Ingredients:
1 1/4 cups heavy cream
9 1/2 ounces of bittersweet chocolate (70% cocoa), chopped - for the truffle base
8 ounces of bitter sweet chocolate (70% cocoa), chopped - for the outside shell
3-4 handfuls of walnuts, finely chopped
Instructions:
Bring cream to a simmer, remove from heat and pour over the 9 1/2 ounces of chopped chocolate
Stir until the mixture is smooth and the chocolate is fully melted
Refridgerate the base until it is firm enough to roll into balls, at least 3-4 hours
Once it's firm, take a large spoonful of the chocolate mixture and roll into a small ball, repeat until you've used up all the mixture
Chill the balls for another hour
Place the other 8 ounces of chocolate in a glass bowl over a saucepan of boiling water and melt the chocolate by stirring the chocolate chunks until its smooth and completely melted
Take each ball of truffle base, roll it in the melted chocolate and then roll in the chopped walnuts
Refridgerate the truffles for another hour.
Tuesday, November 27, 2007
Spaghetti Bolognese
I craved pasta and meat the whole time I was in Spain...one can only eat some much ham, cheese and hard as rocks bread. I wanted to feel the comfort one gets from eating a bowl full of heavy pasta. Cold little bocadillos just don't do it for me. So i made Spaghetti Bolognese at my earliest opportunity. This dish was both tasty and economical. Recipe makes enough for 4. Prep and cook time: approximately 50 minutes.
Ingredients:
- 1 1/2 boxes of whole wheat pasta
- 1 28 oz can of crushed tomatoes
- 1 lb of ground beef
- 1 medium sized yellow onion, diced
- 2 cloves of garlic, chopped
- 1/2 cup of chopped basil
- 1/4 cup of grated pecorino romano cheese
- 1 carrot, chopped
- 1 green pepper, chopped
- olive oil
- salt and pepper
Instructions:
- Heat the olive oil in a pan, saute onion and garlic for about 3 minutes or until the onions become translucent
- Add carrot and green pepper and saute for another 5 minutes
- Add ground beef and saute for about 10 minutes or until the meat is no longer pink
- Salt to taste
- Add can of crushed tomatoes, simmer on low heat for about 30 minutes (sauce should thicken up)
- Salt to taste
- Add chopped basil and cheese at the end
Monday, November 12, 2007
Molly's Birthday and Red Velvet Cupcakes
During the day we made a batch of Red Velvet Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting. For my first attempt at baking red velvet cupcakes, it came out decent enough, although it was more pink than red and was a little bit on the dry side. It also didn't have that hard to pinpoint red velvet "flavor". I used a recipe from Epicurious and had to substitute skim milk for buttermilk. After doing a bit of research on the web today, I think that the lack of buttermilk was the cause of the pink-ness of my cupcakes. Apparently, the chemical reaction from combining white vinegar and buttermilk is, in addition to the red food coloring, what gives the cupcakes that deep red color. (See! I told you people there is some sort of chemical reaction involved!) Also, most recipes called for three eggs and I only used two. An extra egg and buttermilk is probably what gives the cupcakes that moist and rich texture. Word to the wise: don't think that skim milk is an acceptable substitute for buttermilk.
Click Here to read the recipe I used. I would recommend adding an extra egg and another 1-2 teaspoons of red food coloring. Makes 12 cupcakes.
Monday, November 5, 2007
Chicken and Vegetable Orzo Stew
Ingredients:
- 2 chicken breasts, diced
- 1 onion, diced
- 3 zucchini, diced into big chunks
- 1 package of frozen chopped spinach, defrosted
- 1 can of diced tomatoes
- 2 tablespoons of tomato paste
- 1 teaspoon of thyme
- 1 teaspoon of oregano
- 1 teaspoon of basil
- 2 chicken bouillon cubes
- 2 cups of water
- 1 cup of orzo
- salt and pepper to taste
Directions:
- Sautee the diced onion in olive oil for a few minutes, until the onion pieces are translucent.
- Add the chicken and sautee for another few minutes
- Add the zucchini and spinach and sautee for another few minutes
- add the can of diced tomatoes, 2 chicken bouillon cubes and 2 cups of water
- add all of the spices
- bring to a boil and simmer for about 20 minutes
- stir in the orzo and simmer for another 15 minutes
- add generous amounts of salt and the tomato paste at the end
- stir continuously throughout the cooking process
Thursday, November 1, 2007
Sariwa
Overall, the food was pretty good but it appears that Sariwa is still working on its delivery skills. The food was a bit late and while Amar's food was piping hot, my Chicken Adobo was icey cold.
The Chicken Adobo reminded me of a dish my Dad often cooks back home: he stews chicken or pork, potatoes and hard-boiled eggs for hours in a soy sauce mixture until the the meat is falling off the bones. It's the ultimate comfort food and is just the right thing on a chilly and windy night. Anyways, this Chicken Adobo had a very similar taste. The Chicken is stewed in a soy sauce, vinegar and garlic mixture until the meat is tender and has both a salty and tangy flavor. The extra soy sauce and vinegar sauce was a perfect dressing for the rice. I thoroughly enjoyed my dinner, too bad I had to reheat it first.
Amar decided to order a mish mash of things: two empanadas, spring rolls and a noodle dish. The Pancit was very good - the noodles were also cooked in vinegar so it had a very tangy and tart flavor. The spring rolls had a very distinct taste - different from Chinese, Vietnamese or Thai spring rolls. The spring rolls are lightly deep fried and stuffed with green beans, so the flavor is light and subtle, but has an almost meaty texture. I can't say much about the empanadas - it was dry and cold by the time I got to it.
Given a few more weeks, maybe a month or two, I think Sariwa will be really good. I'm just so excited that there's a new delivery option in my neighborhood! Click here for the menu.
PS - the Izzy/George storyline on Grey's is really getting on my nerves.
Tuesday, October 23, 2007
Billy's Bakery
So, I decided to march out of my office and over to Billy's Bakery on 9th Ave to buy myself a chocolate cupcake with chocolate buttercream icing. Even though I am still a little pissy for no reason, this perfect little mound of chocolate, butter and sugar has made me feel much better. The cupcake looks and tastes exactly like the cupcakes at Sugar Sweet Sunshine. Creamy icing, moist and cakey cake. They also offer yellow cupcakes w/ vanilla icing, red velvet, german chocolate and carrot cake. Goodbye.
Sunday, October 21, 2007
Chinatown Ice Cream Factory
The chocolate was rich and creamy and the pandan added a level of nutty flavor that's hard to describe. All I know is that I want more and I need to make a trip back to Chinatown to get the another scoop of the Chocolate Pandan really soon.
Monday, October 8, 2007
Chilean Sea Bass with Cauliflower Polenta and Asparagus
First the recipe for the sea bass marinade (adapted from a Bon Appetit recipe)
-1 tablespoon of miso (white or red)
-1/2 tablespoon of mirin
-1 tablespoon of soy sauce
-juice from one lemon
-2 dollops of yellow mustard
Whisk all the ingredients together, pour over the fish and bake at 350 degrees for 40 minutes
Would probably work well with salmon as well.
Now, the recipe for my very own baked cauliflower polenta:
-1/2 head of cauliflower, cut up into small florets
-2 cloves of garlic, sliced into large pieces
-1/2 cup of course corn meal
-1 1/2 cup of water
-salt
-generous amount of parmesan cheese
-optional: shredded sharp cheese, like a gruyere or something
- mix the garlic and cauliflower and steam for about 20 minutes, or until the cauliflower is soft
using a potato masher, mash up the cauliflower into small bits, stir in a pinch few pinches of salt
- bring water to a boil, add the corn meal and cook for about 8 minutes (you might have to add more water if the polenta is starting to look really thick and dry)
- combine the mashed cauliflower, polenta, parmesan, generous amounts of salt and the optional sharp cheese
- transfer the mixture into 4 greased ramekins (if you don't have any ramekins, a small baking pan will probably work)
- bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes
Turn the ramekin upside down onto your plate and voila you have the cutest little mound of baked polenta!
Sunday, October 7, 2007
Atlantic Antic
We started with veggie samosas from a Thai (or was it Malaysian?) restaurant close to 4th ave. They were pretty good, the samosas tasted strongly of curry sauce and were awesomely greasy and drippy. It was a little hard to eat these things and walk at the same time...so I think we were all walking around with our mouths wide open, hunched over our little styrofoam plates (see picture.)
Next up: mozzarepas, the bi-racial child of an arepa and a mozzarella cheese stick. I was a little skeptical, but one bite and my uncertainty - over a food that sounds like something Rachel Ray would come up with - quickly disappeared. Cause that thing was good! Gooey cheese sandwiched between soft cornmeal pancakes...a little bland perhaps but also oddly satisfying. (Hey, nice mani!)
I made a beeline for the stand that was selling red velvet cake. No complaints here...moist and rich, with a nice cool cream cheese icing. This cake was pretty good, but i think i still prefer Sugar Sweet Sunshine's red velvet cake with chocolate almond-flavored icing. I like the cream cheese icing, but i like a chocolate icing better. Also, Sugar Sweet's cupcake is more dense.
And finally, Key Lime Pie from Steve's Authentic Key Lime in Red Hook. I'd heard a lot about his key lime pies and had been wanting to try one for a long time. It was good - not as amazing as I had originally expected. The pie was very tart and although I'm not sure if authentic key lime pies are supposed to be so tart, but I definitely prefer pies that don't taste so much like a sour patch kid.
It was really interesting to walk down Atlantic and see how the ethnic/cultural make up of the neighborhoods change so quickly and so suddenly...from West Indian to yuppiehood to Middle Eastern to old, rich Brooklyn.
Wednesday, September 26, 2007
Grilled Mahi Mahi with Pesto Sauce and Brown Rice Vegetable Medley
Recipe for Pesto Sauce:
Ingredients:
1/3 cup of olive oil
1 clove of garlic
juice of one lemon
dash of salt
1/3 cup of chopped basil leaves
3-4 tablespoons of chopped flat leaf parsley
handful of walnuts
Directions:
mix all the ingredients together in a food processor
Monday, September 24, 2007
Tiny's, Sugar Sweet Sunshine, Le Grainne
After our lunch at Tiny's, I of course had to pop into Sugar Sweet Sunshine and pick up one of their amazing cupcakes. I always pick the Ooey Gooey: dark chocolate cake with chocolate almond butter cream frosting. But this time I forced myself to pick something different. I settled on the Sassy Red Velvet: red velvet cake with chocolate almond butter cream frosting. Look at it...isn't it a beauty? I sunk my teeth into that cupcake and squealed with delight. I hate to say this, but I think the Sassy Red Velvet might have a slight edge over the Ooey Gooey. The frosting holds its shape, without being too stiff, a problem that a lot of cupcakes have. It's thick, creamy, melts in your mouth and has a delicious hint of almond underneath and initial taste of chocolate. The red velvet cake is moist and not too dense - my favorite kind of cupcake.
Later in the day, we ended up in Chelsea on 9th ave. Had I not already had something sweet just a few hours ago, we would have ended up at Billy's Bakery. But instead, we crossed the street over to Le Grainne Cafe, a French bistro, to get something to drink and to rest our feet. Le Grainne Cafe is really cute and laid-back...the interior has a rustic feel, the tables are covered by brown butcher paper, there are rooster motifs everywhere and ceiling fans whirl gently overhead. The restaurant serves all the things we provincial Americans think of as being French: mussels, crepes (savory and sweet), croque monsieur, coq au vin, ratatouille, croissants and tarts and a extensive list of coffee drinks and wines, and a bad attitude! (I kid I kid.) Neither of us were very hungry, so we just ordered iced tea and Tartine: a toasted french baguette served with soft butter and apricot jam. Since we didn't really eat there, I can't vouch for food, but the restaurant itself is nice and has that rare neighborhood feel to it. I can't wait go back to Le Grainne on a chilly winter night and warm myself up over a nice glass of red wine and some entree that sounds really French. And speak in an obnoxious fake French accent the whole time, of course. How romantique!
Tuesday, September 18, 2007
Juice Truck in Chelsea
Flurt Yogurt
Friday, September 14, 2007
Daniel by guest bloggers "Urandalla"
Ursula: Hiiii! Randall and I are guest blogging today to tell you guys all about our experience at Daniel. How exciting! We went there last night for my 25th birthday and it was pretty ridiculous. First, a quick background on Daniel. I was interested in going after reading Ruth Reichl’s book, “Garlic and Sapphires: The Secret Life of a Critic in Disguise”. She used to be the food critic for the New York Times and I remember her always mentioning Daniel as the best restaurant in NYC, giving it the maximum 4 star rating, and since then I’ve been itching to try it. Its French cuisine, owned by chef Daniel Bouloud (Top Chef guest judge!) and it’s located on the UES, on 65th and Park. We knew it would be pretty chi -chi, especially since the suggested attire was tie and jacket, but we were excited for the food and service, which we knew would be amazing and make the night memorable.
1. Buddakan (braised short ribs -- spectacular)
2. Daniel
3. David Burke and Donatella
4. Mercer Kitchen
5. Smith & Wollenski's / Elephant
Wednesday, September 12, 2007
Whole Wheat Pasta with Broccoli Rabe
Ingredients:
1/2 box of whole wheat pasta
1 package of broccoli rabe
3-4 cloves of garlic
salt
olive oil
lots of parmesan cheese
reserved pasta water
3 tablespoons of balsamic vinegar or more depending on your preference
Instructions:
Boil the pasta, drain and save about 1/2 cup of the liquid
Chop the garlic into thin slices, saute garlic in olive oil for a few minutes
Add the broccoli rabe and saute on medium heat until the stems are tender, approximately 10-15 minutes
add salt and stir in balsamic vinegar
Stir in the cooked pasta
Add the reserved pasta liquid
Add the parmesan cheese
Sultan Grill
Province
Tuesday, September 11, 2007
Madeleine Patisserie
Madeleine Patisserie is an oasis of chocolate and deliciousness in an otherwise grimey and run-down stretch of 23rd street. They sell these mini chocolate croissants for 75 cents a piece that are the perfect after-work snacks, for that loooong walk from the store to the F train.
Wednesday, August 29, 2007
Supper
Nikki and I both ordered and Priest Stranglers with marinara sauce and fresh ricotta cheese. Priest stranglers, also known as strozzapreti, got its name from a popular legend about a priest who choked and died after eating the pasta too quickly, because it was so delicious. The priest stranglers looked like stretched out rigatoni - thin and hollow tube-shaped pasta, but with the texture and taste more closely related to gnocchi - chewy and tender, with an almost creamy consistency. I've never had this type of pasta before, but it was excellent! Oh and I haven't even talked about the sauce. The marinara sauce was perfect - sweet and salty at the same time with a little hint of tang behind the flavors. The fresh ricotta cheese served on top of the pasta and sauce was also pretty much perfect - adding another level of creaminess to the dish. I was literally still scraping the sauce off the sides of my plate as the waiter was clearing our dishes off the table.
Nikki also ordered a side of french cut green beans in garlic sauce, which was had a beautiful light green color that made me think of spring....OH SO FAR AWAY. Sigh. Alex ordered the half roast chicken with mashed potatoes. I didn't try the chicken, but the mashed potatoes were dense and rich. Oh yeah, and we got dessert! We ordered the hazelnut panna cotta, which came surrounded by apple slices, strawberries and the biggest raspberries I've ever seen. We were about to tuck in to our dessert, but oh, it wasn't complete yet. A runner came to our table with a brass pot of bubbling chocolate sauce, which he proceeded to pour all over our lovely dessert. The panna cotta was really thick and gooey, it was actually hard separating a spoonful from the rest of the dessert. A few drizzles of chocolate sauce might have been nice, but our plate was drenched in the stuff and it was just a bit too much for me.
All in all, it felt like a very decadent dinner, even though it really wasn't. The atmosphere is very laid back and casual, the prices are reasonable. This would be a great place to go either with a group of friends or one on one date-style. I definitely plan on making a trip back.
Wednesday, August 22, 2007
Mushroom Barley Pilaf
Ingredients:
1 cup of pearl barley
2-3 cups of water
1 box of baby portobello mushrooms. loosely chopped
1 1/2 onions, diced
2 pieces of garlic, chopped
handful of parley, chopped
2 tablespoons of balsamic vinagrette
1 tablespoon of olive oil
2 tablespoons of lemon juice
Instructions:
- combine barley and water and simmer for about 45 minutes - 1 hour (or until the barley is soft)
- cook the garlic and onion in olive oil for a few minutes, then add the chopped mushrooms. Sautee until the mushrooms are cooked through
- Whisk together the balsamic vinagrette, lemon juice, olive oil and a dash of salt
- combine the barley and mushrooms, stir in the sauce, add the chopped parley
- stir until everything is mixed together
It's super easy and tastes good with a side salad or as a side with some grilled/roasted chicken.
Thursday, August 2, 2007
Babbo
I think the following snippets of conversation throughout our dinner pretty much sums up the whole experience.
"I think I saw Larry David downstairs."
"No you didn't!"
"Is that Lauren Bush? Nah, too old."
"That dude's moustache is nasty!"
"Yeah, but he's probably a Sultan."
"Chianti is an Italian wine, right?"
"Do you think they imported the Sommelier from Italy?"
"Definitely. Look at him, he's so foreign and intense."
"Oh man this wine is good."
"Do you taste the wood?"
"No."
"I think our runner has a French accent." (He's Latino.)
"No he doesn't!"
"Wow, the gnocchi just melts in your mouth!"
"I know."
"This is like beef butter."
"I know."
"Dude I'm drunk."
"Me too."
Tuesday, July 31, 2007
Di Fara Pizza
The walls are plastered with articles from every major magazine and newspaper proclaiming Di Fara as the best...best pizza, in brooklyn, in new york, in America! The pizza is good. Damn good. Probably one of the best slices I've ever had (although Totonno's in Coney Island is pretty good too.) The crust is thin and both crispy and chewy. The cheese has a slight tang and saltiness to it and the sauce is just perfect - a tad sweet. The pizza is greasy, but not in a gross-i-feel-sick-after-three-bites sort of way. The olive oil increases the intensity of all the other flavors and gives the pizza an added richness. I'm not quite sure why this pizza tastes so much better than all the countless ones I've eaten...maybe it's the combination of sweet and salty that just hits your taste buds spot on. Make the trip to Di Fara, it's worth it. Oh and stick with the plain slices, the best parts are the sauce and cheese.
Friday, July 27, 2007
Sugar Sweet Sunshine
Monday, July 23, 2007
Fresh Vietnamese Spring Rolls
Ingredients:
10-12 round rice spring roll wrappers (available at asian grocery stores)
handful of dry rice vermicelli (also available at asian grocery stores)
1/2 lb of cooked shrimp (or cold shredded chicken)
1 cucumber, thinly sliced length-wise
handful of mint leaves and/or basil leaves
spoonful of hoisin sauce
spoonful of rice vinegar
Directions
For the spring rolls:
1. Boil the shrimp until the meat is turns pink (about 5-6 minutes), boil the vermicelli (approx. 5 minutes), slice the cucumber and arrange all the ingredients plus the mint and basil on a dish:
2. Fill a large bowl halfway up with room temperature water.
3. Submerge a piece of the rice wrapper in the water for about a minute or two, or until the wrapper is soaked through and soft.
4. Put the slightly wet rice wrapper on a flat surface, place a few pieces of the shrimp, cucumber slices, 3-4 mint leaves and a pinch of the rice noodles in the center-bottom of the wrapper and roll everything up like a burrito.
For the dipping sauce:
1. Combine the hoisin sauce and and rice vinegar in a little dish, whisk until the sauce is smooth.
See? Really simple and fast - prep time is only about 20 minutes. You can serve this as an appetizer or as the main meal.
Red Hook Ball Fields
To wash down all the salty goodness of the papusa, taco and empanada, I bought a fresh watermelon juice from the vendor selling the roasted corn and fruit juices. There's a lot of talk on the internet about all the great food available at the ballfields, but how come nobody ever talks about the fruit juices? I don't know if it was because I was really thirsty and sweaty, but I swear that watermelon juice was the best drink i've ever had. It was refreshing and slightly sweet, without being too sweet. I could have had another two cups of the juice, but I was already on the verge of bursting. Anyway, I would back just to get the juice.
I might have been very full, but I still had enough room in my belly for a roasted corn on a stick. It was a little bit shocking to see the cook scoop a gigantic chunk of mayo out of a Costco sized mayonnaise jar and slather it on the roasted corn, but oh well. The cook then rolled the stick of corn in a large box filled with cheese (parmesan i think?) The corn was juicy, the cheese was crumbly and salty and even the mayo didn't taste bad. Cafe Habana can suck it.
The food stalls at the Red Hook Ballfields are open on Saturdays and Sundays through October. Go and get some delicious and cheap Mexican, El Salvadorian and Ecuadorian food.
Friday, July 20, 2007
Les Halles
The food was completely forgettable. I'm pretty sure I've had better steak at TGI Fridays. I ordered the Les Halles "classic": steak, frites and salad. The salad seemed like a complete afterthought, as if the chef was thinking, "oh crap, this dish comes with salad. Oh well, who the fuck cares, lets just drench some limp mesclun greens with dressing and serve that." The salad had no flavor whatsoever, the leaves were limp and disgusting, there was way too much dressing...the whole thing tasted like balsamic vinaigrette soup. The steak also lacked any sort of flavor or juice. I had a really hard time cutting through the steak, even though I ordered it medium. The edges of the steak were extremely tough and hard the chew. AND it was lukewarm by the time it got to our table! Nothing is worse than almost-cold steak. The fries were pretty decent, but uh, I'm pretty sure I didn't come to Les Halles to eat fries.
The decor was decent albeit a bit dingy. Looks like the place could use a good scrub down. The restaurant felt a little humid, and our neighbors must have complained about it, because our idiotic waiter pointed this huge fan in our direction, completely drying out my eye balls.
And to end the whole thing, our droopy-eyed, idiotic waiter comes up to us and mumbles, "uh, so, do you guys want to see the dessert menu or something?" We respond with a polite "no" and he shrugs his shoulders and slinks away. And he proceeded to pass out and drop dead in the middle of the restaurant. Ok the last part didn't happen.
Les Halles isn't much more than a gussied up 99/Ground Round/your local crappy steakhouse. Bourdain makes his food sound amazing in his books, too bad it's terrible in real life. AND! I also read online that he and his high school sweetheart got divorced a few years ago and he remarried some Italian woman. And they just had a baby! Tsk. Tsk.
Thursday, July 19, 2007
Ramen Setagaya
We are seated at the bar facing the chefs (yes! I get to wink and wave at the solemn Japanese cooks grilling pork!) I ordered the Shio (salt broth) ramen with BBQ pork (you have the choice between ramen, ramen or more ramen...not a restaurant with too much variety.)
They're not kidding when they say salt broth...cause that shit was salty! I mean like unbelievably salty...like I had to drink 2 pints of water afterwards before I felt normal again. That said, the broth was really flavorful...i can't believe they can make water taste that good without adding even a sprinkle of msg. The pork was soft and came apart really easily, almost like shredded chicken. The grilled edges added a nice bit of crunch to the meat. The egg was perfect - the yolk wasn't too runny, but also not chalky and crumbly...soft without feeling like you're drinking raw yolk. The bland taste of the egg white was a great compliment to the salty broth.
Oh and those noodles. The noodles held up incredibly well in the broth - they didn't get at all soggy or mushy, even after 15 minutes. It had the most interesting texture...it almost didn't taste like ramen. The noodles were chewy and had a slightly elastic feeling to them, like i was pulling long rubber bands out of my bowl.
Rai Rai Ken vs. Setagaya? Setagaya is the clear winner. Although, I prefer Rai Rai Ken's atomosphere. Hopefully Setagaya won't be such a zoo in a few months. I think I'll be making quite a few trips back to this place in the wintertime.
Update: I don't know a fig when I see one
It looks like a....well you all know what I think it looks like.
Saturday, July 7, 2007
Montreal and Vermont Recap
Chez Doval
corner of Rue Marie Anne and Rue Bullion, Montreal
Chez Doval is a small neighborhood restaurant near our hotel serving amazing Portuguese food. I've been dreaming about their steaks ever since last summer, when I had it for the first time. Amar and Carrie both ordered the Portuguese steak, which is a huge chunk of grilled steak with a fried egg on top. Our waiter made the executive decision of ordering Carrie the "lady" portion of the steak.
If you can't tell, the huge white blob on top of the steak is the fried egg. The combination of the two was delicious. The meat is ridiculously tender and juicy. It felt like the pieces of meat were literally melting in my mouth. Even though the steak was cooked medium, the meat wasn't stringy or too bloody. I think it's the best steak I've ever had, anywhere.
The restaurant is an awesome neighborhood place with cute old-man waiters, what a find!
Reservoir
corner of Rue Duluth and Rue Hotel de Ville
Someone on Chowhound recommended that we go to brunch at Reservoir restaurant around the corner from our hotel, off of St. Laurent Boulevard. After pulling on the wrong door and pressing my nose up against the window like an idiotic American tourist, we got a table and ordered our food. I started with the fruit and yogurt. I've never had the fruit that was on top of the yogurt; Carrie told me it was passion fruit...or was it guava? I don't remember. Whatever it was, it was really really good. The fruit had a hint of sweetness and had a meaty texture. The yogurt was really creamy and didn't have much of a sour aftertaste. I couldn't tell if they added honey to the yogurt or if it was a special type of creamy yogurt. Look at the picture, doesn't the yogurt look like gelato?
I also ordered the scrambled egg with truffles dish. You know how I feel about mushrooms and this dish did not disappoint me. The scrambled eggs were incredibly rich and the mushrooms had a great thick, woodsy, almost smoky flavor. The eggs came with watercress in a light vinagrette and a sourdough-like bread with a soft chewy center. This meal was perfect - I need to find a place in New York that serves eggs with truffles!
Onto Vermont.
We had some pretty great meals in Vermont, notably our dinner at the Ruthcliffe lodge. I had an amazingly fresh steamed lobster, which i hacked to pieces and shoved into my mouth. I must have looked like a complete barbarian - cracking the shell with one hand, pulling out the meat with the other.
We also went back to the Vermont Pub and Brewery, located in downtown Burlington. The food is your standard pub fare - burgers, steak and cheeses, a few basic pasta dishes, breaded and fried shrimp,
breaded and fried calamari, breaded and fried fish, breaded and fried chicken...you get the point. We started with the breaded and fried shrimp and I also ordered the mushroom philly cheese steak - sauteed portobello mushrooms and onions sandwiched between a toasted roll, topped with melted cheese. After a long day of biking around Isle La Motte, it felt really good to eat some heavy, fried food. The food was pretty good - pretty familiar territory, nothing too exciting, but well made. The best part about the restaurant is the wide selection of microbrews, brewed in the basement of the restaurant. And at rock bottom prices! Amar and I were shocked that a pint of beer costly only a measly $3.00. For that much money in New York, I wouldn't be able to get a bartender to even look in my direction.
I ordered the six-beer sampler, with flavors ranging from a light and fruity to dark and bitter. The beer on the far left was very light and freshing, with what seemed liked a hint of fizz somewhere in there. The one on the far right was the heaviest of all the beers and tasted like it was brewed with coffee grounds. All the beers were excellent, I think my favorite was the Baseball Lager, #3.
The best way to drink the beers was like this: take sips from two different beers, swish it in your mouth and feel the frothy goodness slide down your throat.