Tuesday, November 17, 2015
Wednesday, November 12, 2014
Lunch Prix Fixe at Mario Batali's Del Posto (New York, NY)
One of the things I love about New York is the lunch prix fixes, allowing you to try some of the city's best restaurants for a lot less money. When I went with my mom and my aunt last time, we tried Del Posto's lunch: $49 for three courses (with an option to add pasta for $10). With three of us, we got to try a lot of things!
The lunch started with some complimentary finger sandwiches and Cauliflower soup
Bread service
The menu at Del Posto is seasonal, of course, though you might still find some mainstays like this
Vitello Tonnato (olive crostone, caper shoots, lime cells, lemon basil)
Vitello tonnato is a Piedmontese dish of veal slices served in a creamy tuna sauce.
Cotechino (stewed pistachios, chopped Preboggion - that's just mixed green leafy vegetables)
Cotechino is a pork sausage, but the distinction is that this pork sausage is typically made by boiling over low heat for a few hours. It gives a softer flavor than many other charcuterie.
Posted by gourmetpigs at 8:28 AM 0 comments
Labels: bastianich, chelsea, del posto, italian, lunch, manhattan, mario batali, new york, NYC, pasta, power lunch, prix fixe, travel
Thursday, December 12, 2013
643 North: Polenta Pizza and Craft Cocktails in Chinatown
While Italian restaurants and craft beer and cocktail bars are abound in downtown Los Angeles, 643 North occupies an unusual location: Chinatown. You might be confused driving there through a desolate part of Chinatown, but don't worry, it's there. Plus they have a free parking lot to the left, perks of a cheaper real estate.
You shouldn't miss their pasta, though, especially the Ossobuco ravioli (braised veal, housemade ravioli, baby heirloom tomatoes, broccolini, Parmesan broth, Parmesan cheese, $17)
I was expecting a heavy dish, as ossobuco typically is, but this is light and lovely. The al dente ravioli sits in a bright parmesan broth, letting diners experience ossobuco in a different way. This was one of the highlights of my meal.
I was also pleasantly surprised with the cocktails here, created by Adam Acuff from Far Bar, which is more known for their beers rather than cocktails (643 North also has a good beer list). All cocktails are $12 and include drinks like Smokey the Pear (High West Campfire, St Germain, spiced pear syrup, lemon bitters) which was nicely balanced.
Posted by gourmetpigs at 8:33 AM 0 comments
Labels: 643 north, beer, build your own, chinatown, cocktail, coffee, downtown, dtla, la, los angeles, manhattan, martini, pizza, polenta, polenta pizza, ravioli, sliders
Sunday, September 9, 2012
Savor the Midsummer Cocktails and Patio at Big Bar (Los Feliz)
It's September but it still sure is warm. That means you still have time to head over to the Big Bar in Los Feliz for their midsummer cocktails, designed to be the perfect patio drinks! Big Bar is part of the Alcove Cafe and Bakery and yes, they have a beautiful patio that you can sip them in, although we enjoy sitting at the bar watching Dan Long and his bartenders do their work.
I loved the Gin and Tonic cocktail.
This was obviously not your usual gin and tonic, as you can see it's served up. The cocktail was made with Beefeater gin, quinquina, lime, bergamot, kaffir lime spray. the quinquina gave it that "tonic" flavor. You can also smell the kaffir lime as he is serving it to you.
The next one may be my favorite find that night. I can sip this one all night!
The Picon Punch is made with Amaro Montenegro, Pierre Ferrand 1840, lemon, grenadine, orange bitters
The Picon Punch is a traditional Basque after dinner drink. Traditionally it is made with Picon but that's not available in its original form anymore so they tried to find a substitute with similar flavors. The base is Amaro so it had strong herbal flavors, but if you like that flavor profile you will love this. I thought it was really perfect to calm your tummy after dinner.
Of course, you have to try a cocktail named Most Interesting Cocktail in the World, made with Vida mezcal, lime, cinnamon syrup, Miracle Mile chocolate-chili bitters, cayenne peppers
Posted by gourmetpigs at 1:35 PM 0 comments
Labels: alcove, amaro, bar, big bar, carnitas, cocktails, los feliz, manhattan, patio drinks, scaffa cocktail, sliders, summer cocktail, tempeh
Thursday, December 30, 2010
New York
New York City
AzaleaBouley **
Boulud Sud (pre-theatre prix fixe)
Center Cut
Del Posto (lunch prix fixe)
Dessert Truck
Di Fara Pizza (Brooklyn)
Eleven Madison Park *
Gramercy Tavern *
Ippudo
Jean Georges ***
Junoon
Katz's Deli
La Mar Cebicheria
Le Bernardin ***
M. Wells (Queens/Long Island City)
Marea *
Momofuku Noodle Bar
Russ and Daughters
The Stanton Social
Yakitori Totto
Buffalo
Anchor BarPosted by gourmetpigs at 10:32 PM 0 comments
Labels: brooklyn, buffalo, list, manhattan, new york, new york city, NYC
Friday, December 5, 2008
NYC: Loving Chicken Parts at Yakitori Totto
I've been wanting to go to Yakitori Totto for ... 2 years now? A friend of mine told me of a Japanese place in NYC that was supposed to change my life, and he gave me the address. Not the name though ... and it turns out there's a different restaurant on the first floor at the same address and I ended up there, 2 years ago ... (it was good - a kaiseki restaurant).
This year I had to go. With a week full of restaurant reservations though the only time I could go was my last night, right before my 8:30PM flight. Totto opens at 5:30 PM but having nothing else to do/buy (post-shopping) I walked there at 5:00. They wouldn't let us in but while we were debating whether to wander around and come back or not the line started to form ... by 5:20PM the stairway was full of people waiting in line. Good thing I didn't leave!
The yakitoris were about $3.50 a piece and there was a minimum order of I-can't-remember-how-much-bcs-it-didn't-matter. At least the min order can include non-yakitori items, unlike certain LA yakitori places!
My dinner started off with what ended up being my favorite - seseri (chicken neck)
Great flavor and texture - they are bits of chicken neck wrapped around the skewer, chewier and firmer than usual meat. Maybe even a wee bit cartilagenous, but not much. Loved it, loved it.
Next we had the chicken oyster (this is from the backbone near the thigh)
This was also very good. Delicious, tender little things. Although I was still in heaven from my chicken neck ... mmmm.
I also had some chicken thigh with scallions but apparently I didn't take a photo of it :( If you don't normally eat prawn/shrimps with their shells on this will prove to be a bit of a hassle to eat since grilling it makes the shell stick to the meat and hard to remove. I usually try to just eat them tho. The yummy seasoning is all on the shell's surface anyway :P
We also had some tamago, made with free range Jidori chicken eggs.
Amazing. One of the best I've ever had - very flavorful eggs This wasn' t exactly to my taste. It was crisp but had the stickiness that didn't really agree with me.
We also had some miso eggplant.
Good. Pretty standard grilled eggplant with miso. The chicken parts are definitely the highlights at this place, so get the other stuff for fillers only.
We also tried their daiginjyo tofu.
The tofu was steaming in front of us for a while. The server comes and serves it to you when he/she thinks it's ready. Soft, smooth tofu and nothing else. Very simple and delicious.
For dessert we ordered the yawaraka annin tofu ("creamy apricot kernel tofu")
Compared to your usual "tofu" this has a stickier texture - maybe even more like a pudding. Just the right amount of sweetness and quite refreshing, I really liked this dessert!
I absolutely loved Totto. It's the best yakitori I've ever had (although I never got to try Bincho before they closed the yakitori part down - but I highly doubt it can beat Totto). I plan to come back and try the rest of the menu!
Yakitori Totto
251 W. 55th St (btw 8th and Broadway)
New York, NY 10019
(212) 245-4555
http://www.torysnyc.com/totto.htm
See all my NYC posts here.
Posted by gourmetpigs at 11:44 AM 6 comments
Labels: central park, chicken, chicken neck, chicken oyster, japanese, jidori chicken, manhattan, new york, seseri, totto, yakitori
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