Tertulia
March 29, 2012 § 4 Comments
Of all the places in the world, Spain is the country I want to visit most. Barcelona, San Sebastien, Valencia, Madrid – they all sound like food-lovers’ paradises to me, with their beautiful and vibrant markets, fresh seafood, and ubiquitous tapas bars and cider joints. Tertulia is a place I’ve been wanting to visit for a while now. The chef, Seamus Mullen, has gotten great reviews from the New York Times and NYMag, and looking at the menu, I like that he sticks with traditional Spanish fare and does it very well instead of trying to twist it into something super modern. Another testament to the food? The fact that other chefs – like Mario Batali’s Iron Chef America sous chef, Anne Burrell (peeking at the camera in the first photo) – enjoy dining there on their off time. By the way, I was taking a picture of the interior and totally not being a creepster.
In an effort to eat (a lot) more vegetables lately, Laura and I started with the pimientos de padron – fried Shishito peppers with lots of sea salt – and the nuestras patatas – crispy potatoes with pimenton de la Vera and garlic all i oli. Holy crap, both of these dishes were so effing good. I would have been satisfied with these alone. The peppers were blistered and slightly sweet, and they had the crispness of a perfectly blanched green bean. Of course, tossing them in sea salt added exponentially to their flavor. Out of about 16 on our plate, I managed to get the only spicy one.
As for the spuds, I couldn’t figure out if they were fried or roasted, because these potatoes were expertly seasoned, super crispy on the outside, and creamy on the inside without any grease, and the all i oli was out of this world – garlicky and rich. Laura and I scraped up every last drop.
Our favorite dish by far, however, were the croquettes de jamon. Chef Mullen mixes scraps of prized jamon Iberico into his creamy bechamel and then quickly drops them in oil to give these babies the texture of fried soup, velvety and lovely on the inside. To make them even better, they come served with membrillo sauce, made of the quince fruit, and the sauce’s tartness cuts the luxuriousness of the croquette.
Our final dish were the crispy brussel sprouts with pork belly and mojo picon, a Spanish red pepper sauce. Our one, very small, gripe with this was the almost excessive use of vinegar which had us occasionally puckering our lips, but this was still an excellent take on sprouts, and I would still order it again.
So there you have it – a Spanish gem in the Washington Square Park area. It’s good that I don’t live in the neighborhood (yet), because I’d come here all the time, especially after a long day at work when I need a good glass of wine and some soul-warming food. Next time I visit, I plan on just ordering the classics – unadulterated jamon Iberico, boquerones, and pan con tomate – but this was a great vegetable-oriented introduction to Tertulia and fueled us for an entire afternoon’s worth of shopping in downtown Manhattan.
Tertulia
359 6th Avenue
New York, NY
646.559.9909
Return to Maxie’s
March 23, 2012 § 2 Comments
Finally catching up on this month’s posts. Here are some shots from an amazing meal at Maxie’s Supper Club with Youjin, Esther, and Matt, when we decided to just go all out for happy hour and dinner. Two realizations from this outing: 1. I’m pretty much bound to like any cocktail that includes gin, St. Germain elderflower liqueur, and cucumber (and sometimes a hit of citrus) like the Sabbatical and 2. Maxie’s shrimp and grits may be the best version I’ve had so far (and that’s taking into account Riverpark). Their fried chicken, on the other hand, was disappointingly lackluster, with dry breast meat and a not-so-crispy crust that slipped right off.
And a quick stop at Purity Ice Cream (reported birthplace of the ice cream sundae)
Maxie’s Supper Club
635 W. State Street
Ithaca, NY
607.272.4136
Purity Ice Cream
Rt. 13 (Meadow Street) and corner of Cascadilla St.
Ithaca, NY
A Taste of Americana
March 5, 2012 § 1 Comment
Recently, some friends and I visited Americana Vineyards along the edge Cayuga Lake for a wine tasting and dinner. While I don’t know much more about wine than the basics, I’ll never turn down the opportunity to try some local vintages, especially at a place as charming as Americana. We got to choose eight of the many wines they sell, ranging from sweeter Rieslings and a killer semi-dry white called Apparition that had hints of grapefruit and honey, to the drier reds like their Cabernet Franc. Though I won’t get into too much detail, I will say that one of my favorites was a wine called Sweet Rosie, described as “strawberry-like dessert wine” that melded beautifully with their homemade chocolate fudge.
Right across the patio from the Tasting Room is a homey bistro-like restaurant called Crystal Lake Cafe, and even though it didn’t look like much from the outside, the food was truly impeccable. We started with their spinach and artichoke dip served with grilled foccacia, and it was possibly one of the lightest and tastiest versions I’ve had, with almost a whipped texture. Serving it with foccacia, a doughier bread than the usual choice of ciabatta or baguette, was a nice albeit very filling touch.
For our main courses, I ordered one of their many specials, the ropa vieja, a generous bowlful of juicy and well-spiced shredded flank steak served with a picante salsa and warm flour tortillas. Other dishes were another special, the Cornish game hen served with rice and mushrooms, their famous lamb burger, and their Cuban panini with ham, mustard, pickle, and Swiss cheese. All of this was paired with our hands-down favorite of the tasting, Apparition, and the wine’s acidity served as a perfect match for our food.
But we couldn’t end our amazing meal without a little something sweet. Our desserts were the warm spiced apple cake, very moist and dolloped with freshly whipped cream, and an out-of-this-world, totally luscious salted caramel custard, covered with a layer of gooey caramel and paired with some crumbly pecan sandies. It was a really lovely time away from campus – good wine, excellent food, and great company. Needless to say, after we got back, I didn’t get much work done aside from dozing off in between readings due to major food coma and wine-induced warm fuzziness. And, after looking after their brunch menu, I’m definitely going to have to go back very soon.
Americana Vineyards & Crystal Lake Cafe
4367 East Covert Road
Interlaken, NY 14847
Peels
February 3, 2012 § 2 Comments
Southern cooking has been enjoying a lot of popularity in New York recently, with lots of joints offering up their variations on fried chicken, biscuits and gravy, and red velvet cake. Laura and I recently tried Peels on Bowery for brunch, and even though I won’t be able to visit again for a while, I’m pretty sure Laura will be stopping by frequently this semester.
The first floor was very cozy-looking, with a bakery and dessert case displaying various pastries and delicious-looking loaves of bread. It was a bit cramped though, so we were seated upstairs where we were greeted by a beautiful bar and lots of natural light. I’d love to be able to sit at the bar on early Sunday mornings, with a cup of tea (I’ve given up coffee) or brunch cocktail and catch up reading magazines.
Laura ordered the shrimp and grits, with a fried-egg, housemade tasso bacon, and jalapeno grits. The only other time I’ve ever had shrimp and grits was at Riverpark by Tom Colicchio, and these came very, very close. For whatever reason, to me, the Riverpark version had a lot more flavor and spice and a more generous serving of much creamier grits. Initially, I was a bit thrown by the jalapeno flavor in the grits and the tasso sauce was extremely smoky, but the shrimp was perfectly cooked. Plus, I’m as much of an egg slut as anyone else so when Laura sighed with happiness at the first bite, I could only agree with her.
I had the classic biscuits and gravy, but topped with two lusciously poached eggs (told you I couldn’t resist a bit of golden, oozing yolk). The biscuit wasn’t too bland, which is a frequent problem, and studded with mini-pockets of butter, and the sausage gravy was slightly spicy without being too heavy. Mixed with the richness of two egg yolks, it was comfort food nirvana.
So yes, there are a ton of Southern restaurants popping up in New York right now, but as with any other food “trend,” some are better (at times, much better) than others. Granted, I haven’t been able to eat at all these new eateries so maybe I simply don’t know any better, but I’d argue with anyone that Peels is high up on the list, not only because of the great, heartwarming food but also because of the homey atmosphere and friendly service.
Unfortunately, this is my last winter-break/NYC post for the time being and I don’t know when I’ll visit the Big Apple next. On the plus side, I have promised myself to try new recipes this semester (my mom gifted me a Le Creuset dutch oven for Christmas so definitely using that!) so I’ll be keeping you posted on future kitchen successes (and disasters).
Peels
325 Bowery
New York, NY 10003
646.602.7015
Wong + Grom
January 26, 2012 § 1 Comment
Cornelia Street off Bleecker has a trove of great restaurants – Pearl Oyster Bar (where I had my first lobster roll), Cornelia Street Cafe, Le Gigot, Home Restaurant (a brunch favorite with killer oyster po’boys and duck confit butternut hash). The newest of these gems is Wong, by Simpson Wong, whose cuisine can only really be described as Asian fusion. Unlike typical notions of fusion, however, the food here is not as contrived at all and familiar Asian dishes are delivered with unique flair.
Sorry in advance for the very dimly lit, awkwardly tinted photos. The restaurant was extremely dark, even by 5:30pm, and our candle gave everything a reddish glow. The interior is much like any other casual dining place nowadays, minimalist with classroom-style chairs, open kitchen so you can see the chef working on your dishes, and a long, wooden bar where patrons can sip Asian-inspired cocktails while waiting for their table.
The waiter first brought us some curry with paneer and naan, the restaurant’s version of bread and butter. The flavors in this little dish were incredibly sharp, and it bode well for the rest of the meal.
Our starter were the house specialty, Wong’s duck buns, with cucumber and chinese celery. I wasn’t sure how I’d feel about the herbal taste of Chinese celery in what I’d assume would be a fatty bun (akin to Momofuku’s pork belly buns) but we ordered them anyway since they were one of the better known dishes and we weren’t disappointed. The celery definitely added an earthy element, balanced against the fatty, tender duck. The buns were also crisply fried, which was a very nice and unexpected touch.
Initially, we also wanted to try the Hakka pork belly small plate, served with turnip, taro root tater tots (I wanted the dish for this alone), and greens, but the kitchen had sadly run out so we got the shrimp fritters instead. Normally, I don’t like foods that are too tart, and this dish had a really bracing, acidic vinaigrette (no doubt nam pla played a part) poured on everything else immediately before eating. It was a bit shocking for my taste buds at first, but as we continued to mix the sauce with the noodles and fried shrimp, the flavors began to meld together and harmonize with one another.
Our shared main course was a real show-stopper, Wong’s egg foo young. I’ve never actually had regular egg foo young before, so I had no base of comparison, but this was perfect in so many ways. The day’d been extremely cold and we had basically walked the length of Bleecker Street, so to dig into such an insanely comforting, egg-yolk-and-lobster-filled dish was a real treat. Add crumbled salted duck-egg yolks (which my family goes absolutely nuts about), and we were mopping the last scraps up with whatever bread there was left.
We didn’t get to try the famous duck fat ice cream (served with poached plums, tuile, and 5-spice cookie) since we were worried it’d be too much rich food but picked up some gelato from Grom on the way back, though in retrospect I suppose Grom ice cream isn’t that much less indulgent than duck fat ice cream. Mandarin and torroncino (nougat) for me, pear and cassata Siciliana (almond chips, candied lemons and oranges) for Laura.
Wong
7 Cornelia Street
New York, NY 10014
212.989.3399
Grom
233 Bleecker Street (and Carmine)
New York, NY
212.206.1738
Dominique Ansel Bakery
January 22, 2012 § 3 Comments
Lately, whenever visiting New York City, I’ve been more interested in exploring small, cozy coffeeshops (or places that serve afternoon tea, which is a topic for another time) or casual bakeries as opposed to more formal, sit-down restaurants (my wallet has been grateful). One such place that Laura and I visited was the relatively new Dominique Ansel Bakery tucked in the Soho district. Ansel used to work at the famous Daniel Boulud, including when it won its first three Michelin stars, four-star New York Times rating, and James Beard award but then decided to venture out on his own by opening a neighborhood cafe.
The space was much bigger than I anticipated, with plenty of indoor seating and a covered atrium with heating, and as with all great bakeries, there were cases of Ansel’s beautiful pastries, cakes, and desserts, a feast for the eyes.
The bakery also has a decent amount of savory offerings for lunch, so Laura and I ordered the roasted pork club, the truffle grilled cheese, and a Paris-New York pastry for dessert. The roasted pork club came stuffed to the brink with surprisingly tender and flavorful pork, halved hard-boiled eggs, tomato, lettuce, and a killer spicy mayonnaise that tasted slightly of chipotle. Laura’s truffle grilled cheese was an inexpensive indulgence, with slices of garlic rosemary sourdough bread slathered in butter on the outside and oozing with mozzarella, Gruyere, and Fontina cheeses on the inside. I’m considering buying a small tub of truffle butter to attempt a recreation at home. Our Paris-New York, a twist on the Paris-Brest, was a beautifully-presented pate a choux dough filled with peanut (the candied peanuts on top, so tasty!), caramel, and chocolate. What more could a girl want?
Places like Dominique Ansel – with their calm atmosphere, excellent and beautiful food, and friendly service – always make me a little (read very) jealous of my sisters living in the city, especially Laura, who lives close to Union Square and could easily walk to Dominique Ansel. How nice would it be to spend a day window-shopping and wandering in Soho and then indulge in some eclairs and coffee? Summer in New York can’t come soon enough, but in the meantime, I’m stuck in the frigid cold subsisting on painfully ordinary food.
Dominique Ansel Bakery
189 Sullivan Street (btw Spring and Thompson)
New York, NY 10012
212.219.2773
Kunjip and Koryodang
January 11, 2012 § 1 Comment
One of the many television shows I’ve been watching over winter break is Kimchi Chronicles, a PBS documentary slash travel show about the food and culture of Korea. Of course, it was only natural that afterwards, I had a fierce craving for Korean barbecue and kimchi. When it came to deciding where to meet some Georgetown friends in New York City, Kunjip in midtown came to mind.
The restaurant was just starting its dinner rush when we arrived, but within half an hour, there were lines out the door, which we took as a good sign for the food. Overall, service was efficient and almost a bit too hurried, but you could tell that the manager and staff had done this many times before and had developed a system to make sure tables were being filled as quickly as possible.
We began with panchan – small side dishes to accompany the meal – which included various kinds of kimchi, mung bean sprouts, steamed eggs, and fish cakes with vegetables.
We ordered haemool jun gol, a spicy seafood soup with a whole octopus, clams, shrimp, crabs, tofu and rice cakes. Although the flavors were good and I loved that our server cut up larger pieces of seafood with scissors, the octopus became quite tough and overcooked, pretty much inedible since it was so chewy.
We couldn’t have a Korean dinner with barbecue, so we ordered kalbi, which was served ssam style with fermented bean paste, rice, scallion salad, and garlic wrapped in lettuce. The meat was very tender and juicy, but the portion was a bit underwhelming considering the price tag.
Our final dish was ddukboki, starchy cylindrical rice cakes reminiscent of gnocchi in a spicy, sweet stew with onions and carrots. So comforting, my favorite dish of the evening for its simplicity.
Afterwards, we stopped at nearby Koryodong for bubble tea and dessert. The pastries and assorted breads were standard Korean desserts and not particularly jaw-dropping, but the space was the perfect place for all the catching up we had to do.
In the past, I’ve kind of forgotten about Koreatown since it’s so close to Penn Station, but after visiting these two places, I’m looking forward to exploring its restaurants and cafes a little more in the future.
Kunjip
9 W. 32nd Street
New York, NY 10001
212.216.9487
Koryodang
31 West 32nd Street
New York, NY 10001
Tale of two museums
January 10, 2012 § Leave a comment
About two weeks ago, I was able to visit two museums that could not be more different from each other. The Museum at FIT was featuring an astounding exhibit of some pieces from Daphne Guinness’s large collection of haute couture fashion (unfortunately photos were not allowed). In addition to being heiress to the Guinness brewery fortune, she has always been known for her eccentric taste, obsession with eye-popping jewelry, close friendship with the late Alexander McQueen and Isabella Blow (she bought Blow’s entire collection after her death to prevent it from being fragmented), and penchant for sky-high heel-less shoes.
Photo courtesy of PopSugar
The exhibit itself was divided into six parts – Dandyism, Exotic, Armour, Chic, Evening Chic, and Sparkle – each of which explored a certain aspect of her style. For example, Dandyism featured some of the most beautiful, well-fitted men’s coats (many of them custom-made by McQueen or Chanel) that I’ve ever seen. And there were displays for just her standout shoes, spiky and studded or velvet and everything in between. It was crazy to imagine all of these gorgeous clothes belonging to a single person, but at the same time, you had to at least respect that such a woman didn’t give a s*** about going with the mainstream and dressed however the heck she liked.
Although the exhibit ended January 7th, I’d highly recommend stopping at FIT if you’re close to Penn Station nonetheless. Admission to the museum is free and there is a permanent exhibit called “Fashion: A – Z” which takes you through different styles (from Mainbocher to the latest Givenchy collection) without being boring.
The second museum I visited was the Cloisters (owned by the MET) all the way up at 190th Street. A bit of a trek, for sure, but well worth the 30 minute subway ride. Although I don’t know too much about medieval art and architecture, I found all the different courtyards and displays (ranging only from the 12th to the 15th century) to be awe-inspiring and peaceful when considering how old these buildings were. There was also a monk’s garden, which I can’t wait to see in spring and summer when I visit again, as well as an interesting exhibit called “Game of Kings” about the Lewis chessmen (the oldest chess set known to be in existence).
However, I have to say that my favorite pieces at the museum were the “Hunt of the Unicorn” tapestries, which covered an entire room, as well as the beautifully made Belle Heures illuminated manuscripts, owned by the Duc de Berry and made by the Limbourg Brothers. I’d studied these pieces in my art history classes in undergrad and didn’t even know they were housed at the Cloisters until I looked over the museum map. So it just goes to show that some treasures are much closer than you may think.
Yes, 190th Street is further away than most would like and fashion isn’t something that catches everyone’s eye, but if you have some spare time one weekend, I’d highly recommend visiting either one of these places and maybe, just maybe, you’ll surprise yourself.
Museum at FIT
7th Avenue at 27th Street
New York, NY 10001
212.217.4558
The Cloisters
99 Margaret Corbin Drive
New York, NY 10040
212.923.3700
Dim sum at Oriental Garden
January 1, 2012 § Leave a comment
Christmas Day, our family eschewed staying at home like we usually do and drove into New York City for dim sum in Chinatown (now that’s a Christmas brunch I can get with). Our usual choice, Jing Fong, wasn’t available since there were large parties going in at noon, so we ended up at nearby Oriental Garden, where the staff seated us in a different, quieter part of the restaurant.
This was probably one of the most relaxed dim sum experiences I’ve ever had. Usually, customers wait eagle-eyed for carts of their favorite foods and dim sum ladies yell whatever they have in loud Cantonese, but in this section of the restaurant, waiters just circled around quietly from table to table and even let us order directly off the dim sum menu in batches.
As typical with dim sum, most of the food we got almost instantly, including shrimp “noodles,” Shanghai buns, taro shrimp puffs, baked pork wedges, and bacon-wrapped shrimp balls (something I’ve never seen in a Chinese restaurant). Overall, the dishes were quite good, with the super crispy and light taro shrimp puffs being my favorite.
The next go-around, we ordered Hong Kong-style dumplings, which were fried and a bit chewy for my taste, and a whole slew of the classics, like chicken feet, beef tripe, shrimp-stuffed eggplant, shrimp dumplings, shu mai, black bean steamed spare ribs, bean curd with pork, and lotus leaf sticky rice. Stand-outs were the flavorful yet delicate shu mai, the savory spare ribs, and the shrimp-stuffed eggplant, for which I always have a weakness.
And one of our final items and my favorite, was the humble (fried) turnip cake, which I always smother with hot chili sauce and wolf down like a baby dinosaur.
So even though we weren’t able to eat at Jing Fong, I’d say we discovered another solid place for dim sum in Chinatown, with better service than most Chinese restaurants. After looking it up online, I’m also curious to try their supremely fresh seafood during dinner hours.
Also, Happy 2012 everybody! May all your dreams come true in the new year. 🙂
Oriental Garden
14 Elizabeth Street
New York, NY 10013
212.619.0085
Balthazar
December 27, 2011 § 4 Comments
Balthazar in Soho was always one of those restaurants I’d always walk by and think, “maybe next time.” I’d heard good things about the place but prices were pretty steep for someone on a student’s budget and I figured, it wasn’t going anywhere anytime soon. Last week, Laura and I were in a celebratory/holiday mood and hungry after walking all over downtown, so we finally decided to treat ourselves to an all-out meal at this beloved bistro.
Although it doesn’t look that big from the outside, the interior of the restaurant is almost cavernous, with high ceilings and booths that stretch deep into the restaurant. Despite the huge space, we felt instantly at home either due to the cute Christmas decorations or the fact that even though it was 4 pm, there were a lot of people enjoying their food.
Bread and butter came first. I always take this as a small indicator of how much a restaurant pays attention to detail. First, is the butter salted and soft? There’s nothing more annoying (ok, maybe an exaggeration) than warm, crusty bread (another detail) and a frigid chunk of tasteless butter alongside it. Happily, Balthazar passed this test and Laura and I ate almost the entire thing before stopping ourselves to save room for the starters.
We ordered the onion soup gratinee, one of Laura’s most favorite dishes in the world. It might possibly be one of the best French onion soups that I’ve had, no doubt because they top rich, caramelized onions with a giant slice of bread and cheese and torch the thing so it becomes almost like a savory brulee.
We also ordered the chicken liver and foie gras mousse with onion confit and grilled country bread (this is where saving some of the bread basket did us good). Fatty and smooth – it was the holidays after all – with chunks of coarse sea salt on top, this dish becomes a meal in itself. It’s perfectly balanced; the mousse is creamy and flavorful, the onion confit has a bit of sweetness, the greens add bite and rawness and the bread has that slightly burnt flavor and crunchy texture. Even though it didn’t seem like much initially, the mousse is very rich and a lot to finish, but we didn’t really have a problem with that.
For our entree, we split the Balthazar bar steak with bearnaise sauce and frites. It’d been a while since I last had steak and I had to get used to its pure beef flavor. The fries – apparently Bobby Flay’s favorites – were crisp on the outside and creamy on the inside and even though I was getting full, I kept nibbling at them until they were basically all gone.
And finally, to round out our classic French bistro meal, we ordered the warm chocolate cake with white chocolate ice cream. That’s right, white chocolate. Not your typical vanilla. The cake itself fell into the “crisp on the outside, molten on inside” category and the usual contrast between warm cake and cold ice cream brought an end to a truly wonderful time. I’ll definitely be returning to Balthazar, even if it’s just for some bread and a latte.
Balthazar
80 Spring Street
New York, NY 10012
212.965.1414
Website
Notes on Food 