Eating across the boroughs
July 12, 2011 § Leave a comment
Yet another day of traipsing around New York City, this time in Brooklyn and Manhattan.
Brooklyn Flea Market in Fort Greene (where I got the first nasty sunburn of the summer).
Asia Dogs: the Vinh (aioli, pate, cucumbers, pickled carrot and daikon, cilantro, and jalapeno) and the Wangding (Chinese BBQ pork belly, onions, and cucumber). The Vinh was the better of the two, since the pickled vegetables balanced out the meatiness of the dog. Plus I love anything with cilantro. On the other hand, the pork belly and accompanying that topped the Wangding was a bit too salty and syrupy for my taste.
Asia Dog
Salvatore Bklyn, makers of the best ricotta (insanely creamy and rich) and olive oil I have ever had. Literally went cross-eyed when I had my first bite. With just-sliced prosciutto and arugula on fresh bread…absolute heaven on earth. I could eat five, no six, of them and consider it a perfect meal.
Salvatore BKLYN
Chelsea Market for more gelato from L’ Arte del Gelato…this time pear and grape sorbet. No, sadly, these cups weren’t all mine.
Gelatoooo
Company Pizza (again) in Chelsea for a relaxed dinner, complete with a whole growler of Allagash White (props to Maria’s boyfriend, Dave, for introducing me to a new favorite beer), veal meatballs, bread and butter, and three different pizzas.
Growler of Allagash
Veal meatballs, homemade sauce, parmesan, and basil with truccio sare bread and butter
Flambe: bechamel, parmesan, mozzarella, caramelized onions, bacon lardons
Boscaiola: tomato, mozzarella, mushrooms, red onion, chili
Special of the day: English peas, pea shoots, prosciutto, bechamel (my favorite of the three)
Brooklyn Flea Market
176 Lafayette Avenue (between Clermont and Vanderbilt Avenue)
Saturdays, 10 am – 5 pm
http://www.brooklynflea.com/
Brooklyn Star
July 11, 2011 § Leave a comment
Ack, this should’ve been posted more than a month ago. Chalk it up to summer laziness. Apologizing beforehand for the crappy photo quality, the interior was only dimly lit with candles.
Drinks
A visit to Brooklyn Star, in Williamsburg.
Highlights included strange-looking fried pig tails (of which I couldn’t manage a good photo) that tasted like buffalo wings on steroids. Crispy and fatty with a tang from the hot sauce.
And this: grilled asparagus with fried oysters, duck confit and topped with a poached egg.
Asparagus, fried oysters, duck confit, poached egg
Although I have to say my hands-down favorite dish of the night was the roasted marrow bones with texas toast, grey salt, and red onion marmalade.
God's butter
And to round out our feast, some bacon and jalapeno cornbread, which tasted even better when drizzled in honey. I die.
Yes, we are gluttons
Possibly the shortest restaurant review ever!
The Brooklyn Star
593 Lorimer Street
Brooklyn, NY 11211
718.599.9899
http://thebrooklynstar.com
My new favorite ice cream flavor
June 26, 2011 § 1 Comment
When it comes to ice cream, I tend to stick to the classics. Rich, bittersweet chocolate, a good tart raspberry sorbet, maybe some creamy, nutty pistachio.
Flavors at L'Arte del Gelato
L’arte del Gelato in Chelsea Market had all of those, but when Laura and I went a couple weeks ago, I found myself drawn to the grape sorbet and rice pudding ice cream. My God. That grape sorbet is my new, hands-down favorite flavor. And that includes the amazing pear sorbet from Bent Spoon in Princeton. You know how grape medicine always tasted absolutely vile? If it tasted like this, I would’ve chugged it all the time. It actually tasted like real grape. Luscious but clean, tart but sweet, with actual grape skins mixed in.
budino di and grape
The budino di riso was the perfect contrast against the sorbet, with its luxurious creaminess. It never occurred to me to “freeze” rice pudding and call it ice cream, but it worked here. And the texture, with all those little pearls of rice, was something new.
Laura raved about her peach sorbet and panna cotta (creme caramel) but I was too blissed out with my own cup of heaven.
L’Arte del Gelato
75 Ninth Avenue
New York, NY 10011
212.366.0570
http://www.lartedelgelato.com/index.php
Pizza at Co.
June 22, 2011 § Leave a comment
Somehow, even after our trip to Doughnut Plant, Laura and I still had room for more carbs, so we walked our way over to Jim Lahey’s place, Co., for some thin-crust pizza.
Menu at Company
Although the weather was amazing that day, we opted to stay inside, where it was surprisingly quiet for 1 PM on a Saturday. The interior set up and decor was pretty minimalist, with one large table for communal dining going down the midde.
Interior
To ensure we had a “balanced” meal, we ordered one “Boscaiola” pie, with tomato, mozzarella, pork sausage, mushrooms, onions, and chili flakes, and a green-laden “Popeye,” with Pecorino cheese, gruyere, mozzarella, spinach, black pepper, and garlic.
Popeye
Because I’m a sucker for any pizza with meat and mushrooms, the Boscaiola was my favorite. The sausage tasted very fresh and I liked the not-so-subtle, spicy kick from the generous sprinkling of chili, which was well balanced against the sweetness of the tomato.
Boscaiola
I was actually surprised by how much I liked the Popeye. They really don’t hold back with the spinach, and some of the green leaves became wonderfully crisp from cooking at such high heat, almost like garlicky, salty spinach chips. And though I tend to stay away from too much cheese on my pizza, I really loved the combination of the nutty Gruyere and the sharpness of the Pecorino.
Because the pizza was so delicious, Laura and I actually managed to finish two whole pies, even though our stomachs were to the point of exploding by the end. Luckily, we had an afternoon of exploring the Chelsea art galleries to work it all off.
Co.
230 9th Avenue
New York, NY 10001
212.243.1105
http://www.co-pane.com/
Doughnut Plant
June 18, 2011 § 1 Comment
Ugh, I’ve been so bad about posting lately due to work and general craziness. Definitely going to try and be better about that as I slip into a summer routine.
So, in continuation of our most recent NYC trip, after our time at the Met with McQueen, Laura and I went to Chelsea to take a look at some of the art galleries – the beautiful, the ugly, and the wtf? – and also FINALLY stopped at the Doughnut Plant by the Hotel Chelsea since we discovered they had opened a relatively new location in the area. In the past, difficulty in getting to the Lower East Side had always prevented us from visiting.
Options at Doughnut Plant
I loved the look of the place. First, the smell that hits you when you enter the shop is absolutely insane. All that sugar and dough makes for an incredibly heady combination. There were also cute doughnut plushies on the walls and donut patterns on the seats, and everyone appeared to be happily enjoying their orders with some iced coffee.
Wall decor
We chose a yeast based donut, the peanut butter and blackberry jelly, and a cake donut, the rich tres leches. Laura and I were split on favorites; I preferred the cakiness and creaminess of the tres leches whereas Laura went gaga for the PB&J, a terrific balance between crunchy, peanut-y saltiness and tart fruit from the filling, but we both agreed that these were the best ring-shaped desserts we’d ever had.
PB&J
Innards
Tres Leches
Innards
We debated ordering another one, perhaps the blackout donut, but we had lunch plans at Company (post to come later) and decided to wait until another time.
So the next time you find yourself in Chelsea craving something sweet, definitely consider heading to the Hotel Chelsea to indulge in some serious donut fare.
The Doughnut Plant
220 West 23rd Street
New York, NY 10011
212.675.9100
www.doughnutplant.com
Lunch at OTTO
May 30, 2011 § Leave a comment
OTTO is probably one of my favorite places to eat in NYC. The service is always friendly, ambiance is casual, and the food is great. Yesterday, I went with a friend and we ordered the classics – spaghetti alla carbonara and the prosciutto arugula pizza – and also indulged in a bottle of 2006 Kuenhof Sylvaner, recommended by the waiter. The white wine was very dry and very mineral-y and went well with our food.
2006 Kuenhof Sylvaner
I’ve always wanted to make spaghetti alla carbonara, but a lot of the recipes that I’ve seen online seem to be modified versions, using cream or bacon or whatever. At some point this summer, I’ll probably be using this recipe, from Batali himself, to attempt a homemade dish. Anyway, the one at OTTO was creamy from the egg yolk and very savory, with lots of crunchy pancetta bits.
Spaghetti alla carbonara
The prosciutto arugula pizza was excellent as well. Whenever I go to OTTO, I always tell myself to try the other choices but never fail to order this one. Something about the richness of the prosciutto against the bitter and freshness of the arugula always pulls me back.
prosciutto arugula pizza
Pasta and pizza, together
Finally, for dessert, we got the olive oil coppetta (possibly my favorite gelato dessert in NYC) and this time, the gelato came with lime curd, tangerine sorbet, a pineapple rosemary marmaletta, and kumquats. I really really love the pop of the sea salt on the olive oil gelato and although I thought I wouldn’t care for the pineapple marmaletta, aside from the gelato itself, it was probably my favorite element.
Olive oil coppetta
So, if you’re ever in the West Village with some friends and looking for a casual place to eat that also happens to have a very, very extensive wine-list, I highly recommend trying OTTO. You won’t regret it.
Seahorse salt cellar
May 20, 2011 § Leave a comment
seahorse salt cellar
second view
The one time that I’ve gone to Catbird‘s store in Williamsburg was the one day they decided to close and do inventory. Bah. I’ve always loved their jewelry selection online, from the stag rings to the frog skeleton necklace, but I noticed lately that they’ve expanded into housewares and non-jewelry gifts.
Take this whimsical salt cellar by Flotsam and Jetsam for instance. Italians say that when you cook pasta, you should salt the water you cook it in so it’s just this side of the Mediterranean. The seahorse motif is pretty fitting then, isn’t it? Personally, I tend to salt from the container but I could also see this little piece serving as a really pretty albeit somewhat pricey dish to hold rings and charms.
Note: this barrage of random jewelry and house ware coveting is what happens when I have some extra time on my hands.
Study Break: 48 hours left
May 15, 2011 § Leave a comment
Three Little Pigs: pulled pork sandwich, pig dog, and carnitas taco
The Piggery Deli
423 Franklin Street
Ithaca, NY
607.272.2276
http://www.thepiggery.net/
Prune’s open-faced avocado sandwich
May 12, 2011 § 1 Comment
Prune's avocado sandwich
Open-faced avocado sandwich (adapted from The Amateur Gourmet adapted from Prune)
A great, healthy sandwich for spring.
2 slices crusty bread (I used a rosemary ciabatta from Ithaca Farmers’ Market)
ricotta (a little or a lot depending on your taste)
1 tablespoon lemon juice
coarse salt and black pepper
1/2 ripe avocado, thinly sliced
grape or cherry tomatoes, halved
red onion, thinly sliced
extra virgin olive oil (optional)
Mix ricotta and lemon juice. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Spread ricotta mixture on each slice of bread. Layer on slices of avocado, then tomatoes, then red onion. Drizzle with the olive oil, if using. Salt and pepper.
Buttercup brie sandwich
April 6, 2011 § Leave a comment
Buttercup brie from Cherry Grove Farms
One of the three cheeses we picked up at Bedford Cheese Shop in Williamsburg, Brooklyn was a rich and creamy Buttercup brie from Cherry Grove Farms in Lawrenceville, NJ. I usually like to keep things simple and bake Brie with honey and walnuts or caramelized onions, but this weekend I picked up a loaf of buttery brioche from Just Desserts at the farmer’s market and apples at Wegmans, so, with the addition of Honey Dijon I had in the pantry, I decided to make a grilled cheese sandwich instead. I’ve also seen other combinations, like pears instead of apples, maybe a bit of thinly sliced ham or even crisp bacon, etc but you want to make sure you don’t overpower the subtle richness of the cheese. Easy, quick, but still very special.
Assembly
Buttercup brie sandwich
2 oz creamy brie, at room temperature and thinly sliced
1/4 tart-sweet apple like a Gala or Empire, thinly sliced into wedges
honey Dijon mustard
sea salt and black pepper
2 1-inch slices buttery, eggy bread like brioche or challah
1 tablespoon butter
Assemble first five ingredients, adding or subtracting amounts depending on personal taste, on the brioche slices. Add butter to a non-stick skillet on medium heat. When the butter’s melted, grill the sandwich for about 3-4 minutes on each side or until golden-brown and the cheese has melted.
Notes on Food 