Momofuku Ssam

I've never been that interested in trying Momofuku Noodle Bar. Why wait 20 minutes outside in the freezing cold just so i can get a seat in a cramped restaurant and pay outrageous prices for ramen? I can just walk half a block to Rai Rai Ken and get a hot, piping bowl of Shoyu Ramen at lightening speed. But, I've been curious about Momofuku Ssam since it opened back in the Spring. I know they're know for their Ssams (Asian Burritos), but I wanted to try their steamed buns and see if theirs is any better than the ones at Province. The steamed buns come in a pair, I got one pork and one chicken. The shredded pork and chicken were both extremely tender. The pickled cucumber and carrot slaw were a cool, refreshing compliment to the meat. But, the buns were drenched in so much sauce and oil, that it started dripping everywhere the moment i picked up my bun. Not only did it get all over my hands, the excess oil rendered the bottom part of the buns wet and soggy! A nice, clear broth or noodle soup would have gone perfectly with the buns, but Ssam doesn't sell soup. How can you call yourself a Asian-themed restaurant if you don't have noodle soup! The only non-alcoholic beverages Ssam carries are Dr. Pepper, Smart Water and San Pellegrino Limonata. A strange grouping if you ask me. Call me a typical Asian, but what about a nice Oolong Tea? Or even Jasmine Tea, I'll take that.

Had I never tasted better buns, I probably would have thought that these were pretty damn good. But I have. At Province. The Pork Shoulder steamed bun at Province is amazing. The meat is tender and even the fatty part of the pork is delicious. The hoisin sauce and pickled cucumber are the same at both restaurants, but the extra sprig of cilantro in Province's buns adds another layer of freshness and taste.

Aside from the food, my experience at Ssam was pretty bizarre. When i first walked in, I thought the restaurant was closed for a private event. The restaurant was completely empty, aside from the a crew of photographers shooting a group of people surrounded by their macbooks and ssams. Seriously, I counted 3 macbooks. The cashier tells me the group of people are from the New York Times. I was trying to figure out if any of the dudes was Frank Bruni, but I have absolutely no idea what Frank Bruni looks like. I imagine him to be a middle-aged man on the heavier side, jolly and michievious, spreading alternately joy and dispair. Not unlike Santa. I couldn't figure out the theme of the shoot. Everyone was dressed in their normal writer/editor attire, you know, vintage...i mean...thrift shop flannel shirt, slouchy jeans, tousled hair, unruly beard/other form of facial hair, like they'd woken up at noon and had spent the majority of their day writing at the neighborhood Starbucks. Except one guy, who was wearing a pair of Nicole Ritchie-sized black sunglasses, with a large, thick scarf wrapped around his face.

So, it was me, eating my bun in a dark corner of the restaurant, and the entire staff of the Dining section of the New York Times laughing it up in the other corner, under bright spotlights. When I walked past their table to throw away my trash...ok fine, i specifically went to the garbage can in their corner so I could spy on them, I overheard the crew debating the merits of Padma Lakshmi as the host of Top Chef and the attractiveness level of Gordon Ramsey. Oh come on, how predictable. If they were talking about the Superbowl, who is going to win: the Patriots or the Green Bay Packers (or whatever teams are in the Superbowl this year), or....I don't know...how some girl in Canarsie found a fried rat mixed in with her Chinese take-out meal (seriously, that happened. I just watched the story on Fox) , now that would have a surprise.

Anyway, I think my experience at Ssam pretty much exemplifies the general position of Momofuku Ssam: loved and praised by the critics, mixed reviews from the masses.

Yup...still love Felicity

Ok, so this isn't exactly food-related, but I don't really care. Felicity...i mean...Keri Russell is pregs and engaged! Two co-workers of mine recently saw her walking around near my office one day during lunch time. They said Keri looked fabulous (especially her hair) and pregnant. And that she was with a mystery man, probably a boyfriend or something. And today I read on JustJared that not only is she pregnant, but she's also engaged as well. The mystery dude is Shane Deary. His last name is Deary, how adorable is that. If she took his last name, she'd be Keri Deary. What a Julia Goolia name. Here is a picture of all the cuteness that is Keri Russell from the Just Jared website. She looks so happy and cute...love the hat too. He's got that hey-i-was-just-wandering-around-Williamsburg-and-boom
-i-impregnated-Felicity look going on. Everyone may mock and ridicule me for liking the show Felicity, and yeah, so what if I watched Season 4 for 3 months straight, and ok, maybe the last episode made me tear up, but I don't care! I'll always be a Keri fan.

New Chowhound layout

The original Chowhound website really sucked - no graphics, tiny fonts and incredibly hard to navigate. Then, after Chowhound was bought out by CNET and given a little makeover, the website looked really good! Nice soothing colors, posts and threads that were easy to follow. Now they've revised the website AGAIN...and I don't know how i feel about it. The "popular boards" column on the right-hand side is really distracting. And, it's organized in alphabetical order...that doesn't make sense at all! Plus, there's a lot of advertising for and discussions about Top Chef, which for those of us who aren't lucky enough to get BRAVO, it's really just one big tease. I got one tiny taste of the new season of Top Chef 2 months ago at Nikki's house, but I haven't had a chance to watch another episode since then. When is Netflix going to start carrying Top Chef Season 1?! Or Kitchen Confidential?! Or My So-Called Life, while we're on the topic of amazing shows that Netflix doesn't carry? Anyhoo...maybe I'll get used to this new Chowhound website eventually, I do love it so.

Caracas Arepas

So I've been hearing lots of good things about Caracas Arepa Bar in the East Village, so i decided to try it tonight, before my GMAT class. Overall opinion: overrated. I had the Reina Pepiada arepa (chicken mixed with avocado, tomato and cilantro) and the La Jardinera (grilled eggplant, sundried tomatoes and cheese.) Arepas are similar to empanadas - meat or veggie fillings stuffed inside a fried dough made out of corn flour. Both the arepas were relatively tasty, but i was expecting something much more exciting. Another variation of meat wrapped in dough...boohoo...the Chinese have been doing it for centuries...and doing it better! The arepas reminded me the the chinese mantou (steamed bun) stuffed with pork shoulder, cilantro, veggies and sauce. It's a little round pile of heaven. The bings at Province in Tribeca/Chinatown are really good and cheap...too bad it's such a pain in the ass to get over there, otherwise I'd eat there a lot more often. Maybe I should try a few more arepas and make a final decision.

YUMMO

I know this is a pretty old picture, but I just want you all to think of this horrific image every time you watch Rachel Ray drench her food with her beloved EVOO. Yummo!

Pak Punjab Deli

So I remembered reading about some hole-in-the-wall deli in the East Village that sells tasty Indian food on Chowhound awhile ago. Late Saturday night, while looking for pizza on 2nd ave. and 1st street, I spied a deli across the street called Pak Punjab Deli. The name sounded really familiar, so i went inside to check out the situation. And sure enough, behind the glass counter, I saw saag and chicken tikka masala and veggie samosas! Oh, and beef patties, of course. Pretty soon even retail stores in new york will start selling beef patties. The veggie samosas were $1.50 each and delicious! But, I'd also been drinking earlier, so anything would have tasted good at that point. I also learned who exactly is the definitive "biggest pussy in the world" from a fellow customer. The same guy then goes on to hit on two girls sitting at the counter eating their samosas. One just cannot talk about pussies and then chat up a girl in the same breath. At a deli. At 2:00 in the morning. While your "pussy-ass" friend is about to beat up some old man in front of the church next door. Sigh.

Enduro

Enduro is a new yuppy Mexican restaurant that recently opened in the Lefferts Garden neighborhood of Brooklyn. The first time I went there was back in December with Samantha and her parents. I had the fish tacos, which were delicious. The fish is lightly battered, fried and served with a citrus-flavored cole slaw. Not too heavy and perfectly filling. I went there again last night with Amar, after a lovely trip to the Target at the Gateway Shopping Center. Target recently started carrying Boots beauty products! I wandered into the Boots aisle in the pharmacy section and thought I was back in London. Oh Boots...the most amazing drug store known to man...they really should expand into the US market, it would put Duane Reade and CVS to shame. Anyway, so where was I...right..Enduro. This time I had the Wild Mushroom quesadillas, which was delicious as well. The presentation was great - red, green and mole sauce lightly drizzled on top. Amar had the Beef Burrito, which was pretty good, but not as the quesadillas. For dessert, we had the vanilla ice-cream crepe: two giant scoops of vanilla ice-cream wrapped in crepes, topped with chocolate sauce and candied pecans (or was it walnuts? some sort of nut.) Overall, a great meal. For two entrees, dessert and drinks (two beers), the bill came out to about $35. Lastly, I need to mention the decor. The restaurant is cozy, with exposed wooden beams and orange walls. There is also working fireplace, which makes the place nice and toasty. Great place to go on a cold winter night! And to think we almost ended up at Taco Bell.