Showing posts with label NYC. Show all posts
Showing posts with label NYC. Show all posts

Monday, February 18, 2019

EN Japanese Brasserie is West Village's Stylish Japanese Spot (New York, NY)

There are so many great restaurants, including Japanese restaurants, in New York City that it's hard to choose or experience them all. Last fall I tried one that has actually been a mainstay in West Village for more than a decade, EN Japanese Brasserie. I hadn't paid attention to it before until the restaurateur opened Chateau Hanare in Los Angeles.

The restaurant is upscale and sleek, and the menu highlights many traditional Japanese cooking including homemade tofu, sushi, soba, and more. Considering they opened more than a decade ago, it's all the more impressive. EN offers three different kaiseki menus (including a vegan one) but I went a la carte on my visit.
EN Japanese Brasserie
Some of the highlights I tasted: Uni yuba sashimi (tofu skin sashimi from Kyoto topped with fresh uni, $24) - because I'm personally a fan of both tofu skin and uni
EN Jp Brasserie
Toro salmon aburi sushi ($8). Salmon belly is one of my favorite cuts, especially seared like this.
EN Jp Brasserie

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

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Bread service
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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)
IMG_6149

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)
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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.

Monday, April 2, 2012

Pre-Theatre Prix Fixe at Boulud Sud (New York, NY)

Early in the evening, Daniel Boulud's new Mediterranean restaurant, Boulud Sud, has a pre-theatre prix fixe menu, three courses for $55. Since I was going to see War Horse and the restaurant was just a stone's throw away from the Lincoln Center, I thought it would be a perfect time to check it out.

The restaurant was pretty full when we got there, but it was still quiet enough to hold a conversation.

Bread
The "bread", of course, was Mediterranean. 
For my first course, I ordered the Octopus a la plancha with marcona almonds, arugula, Jerez vinegar
Octopus
I liked how the subtle accompaniments showcase the flavors of the octopus itself, which also had a great texture.

My companion ordered the House made lamb kibbeh, swiss chard, feta, pine nuts
Lamb Kibbeh
It was not what he expected, apparently. It was good but I thought it was a little dry and we both preferred the octopus.

Tuesday, March 6, 2012

Junoon, a Michelin-starred Indian? (New York)

An Indian restaurant with a Michelin star? I couldn't really imagine it with the Indian places in LA, but I'm sure London would have plenty great restaurants and it seems like NYC is trying to catch up with Chef Vikas Khanna's Junoon.

Lunch was a great opportunity to dip our feet into Junoon, with their $24 deal for 3 course prix-fixe (limited menu) or $38 for 3 course a la carte prix-fixe (can order from the entire menu). The spacious and lavish decor is certainly Michelin-star worthy.

I was curious about the dishes on the regular menu, so I had the a la carte prix fixe while my companions ordered the $24 deal. For the appetizer, I went with the Adraki Bater (quail marinated in cumin, ginger juice, and lime juice)

Adraki Bater
These tandoori quail may be my favorite dish that we tried. It was both interesting and very flavorful and moist.

DestinationEats ordered the Piri Piri Shrimp in a Goan chili sauce with avocado and jicama salad
PiriPiri Shrimp
Not as spicy as Indian food can be but packed with spices nonetheless, and the shrimp were well cooked.

Friday, January 13, 2012

La Mar Cebicheria (New York)

The first time I visited La Mar in Lima, Peru, I fell in love. With ceviche, with causa, with Peruvian rice. We loved it so much we went back for a last meal before we left Peru. I was very excited when La Mar in San Francisco opened. Alas, I was disappointed - I think the service (and lack thereof) contributed to my bad impression (I received the wrong ceviche and when I told his waiter, his response was "ok". No apology and no correction was made).

I gave La Mar in the US another try with the New York location, where the kitchen is managed by executive chef Victoriano Lopez who was Gaston Acurio's right hand man for almost twenty years. Unlike the casual, outdoor Lima location, the New York La Mar is lavish and posh.

We started with the Cebiche tasting, pre-set to consist of three types: elegance, popular, and nikei cebiche) - $28

Ceviche sampler
The "elegance" was a cebiche with warm water fluke, red onions, Peruvian corn, and yam in a "leche de tigre of five elements" - whatever the five elements are. The "popular" had salmon, shrimp, and Spanish day-boat octopus in a green leche de tigre with crispy calamari. The "nikei" is reminiscent of an ahi poke, made with yellowfin tuna, red onion, cucumber, daikon, avocado, and nori in a tamarind leche de tigre.

All three of the ceviches were very good, with all of us having different favorites (mine was the "popular"). On the other hand, for the price the portions were really small. Since there were four of us, it was definitely not enough and we had to get a full order. I wanted to try something different so we ordered the Limeno cebiche (fluke, Spanish day boat octopus, calamari, scallops, blue shrimp, in aji limo leche de tigre) - $19
Limone Cebiche
The seafood used was really fresh and unlike many ceviches I had in LA where the leche de tigre is so tart, we even drank the ones here by the spoonfuls even when the fish was finished.

Wednesday, March 16, 2011

Pastrami Pilgrimage to Katz's Deli (New York)

After finally trying the pastrami sandwich at Langer's Deli in downtown LA and falling in love with it, I decided it was time to make my way to the famous Katz's Deli in New York.


They give you a card when you come in that you have to return upon leaving. The ordering system was confusing to me, and apparently there is a special seating area for table service only. I hadn't realized this and had already ordered from the counter, so I sat in the back area. It was fun seeing plastic tubs filled with blobs of meat leaving the kitchen, though.

Yes, this is another Katz vs. Langer's comparison, so I'll make it short.

Katz' Pastrami
While it was undoubtedly good pastrami, I definitely preferred Langer's. The pastrami at Langer's is fattier and thus more tender and flavorful. The cheese and cole slaw in Langer's #19 are definitely pluses and the bread is better there as well. Sorry New York Katz's lovers, methinks you lost this one ...

IMG_4817

Katz's Deli
205 E Houston St
New York, NY 10002
(212) 254-2246
www.katzdeli.com
Katz's Deli on Urbanspoon

Thursday, December 30, 2010

New York

New York City

Azalea
Bouley **
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 Bar

Friday, June 4, 2010

Real New York Bagel and Lox, at its Best

Anthony Bourdain listed it as one of the 13 places to eat before he dies, but this place goes beyond that. Russ & Daughters has been a specialty purveyor since 1914 and this institution has been handed down four generations of the Russ family.

You can get their smoked fish to go, or some caviar, or a gift package. Bourdain talks about their traditional Jewish style herring and their smoked sable. Me, I was there to grab a bagel and lox for my flight back home. I didn't think I should attempt taking herring on the plane and eating it. (Should I?)

There's always a line to order, and when you get to the front you better know what you want. Which can be difficult. Very difficult.

The bagel: plain, onion, everything, sesame, etc?
The cream cheese: plain, scallion, tofu, or - if you want to be extra indulgent - caviar?
The lox: Scottish, Nova, Norwegian?

I wanted to focus on the cream cheese and lox, didn't want to splurge extra, and for bagel it's always scottish salmon for me, so this is what I ended up with:

Plain bagel, scallion cream cheese, scottish smoked salmon

Priced around $9, how was it? First, the bagel. It was the only bagel I ate in New York and it was better than the ones in L.A. Anything better in NYC? Probably, I wouldn't know. The scottish salmon was of course excellent. Russ & Daughters definitely acquired high quality products for their smoked fish. But I can get high quality lox elsewhere, so in the end, it's all about the cream cheese for me. It wasn't just the variety, it's the fresh double-whipped creamy spread, with the fresh chopped scallions.

Was it worth the $9? Oh yes.
(Was it worth the extra cab fare for the detour between Times Square and JFK, plus the wait time while I get the food? Well ... maybe if I had walked down the street for Katz also, because that ended up being one expensive cab fare :P )

Russ & Daughters
179 E Houston St
New York, NY 10002
(212) 475-4880
www.russanddaughters.com
Russ & Daughters on Urbanspoon

Wednesday, March 24, 2010

NYC: Eleven Madison Park Tasting Menu

The best dinner of my last NYC trip? Easy. Eleven Madison Park.

"Taste of Autumn" menu - $125 (yes, this was back in late November - a belated post) in a art deco dining room with magnificently high ceilings. It's quiet, it's classy. Frank Bruni gave Executive Chef Daniel Humm's food four stars before leaving NY Times, so I came with high expectations. Luckily, they were met.

Warm gougeres to start the meal that will be marked by courteous and professional service.

A plate of pretty and whimsical amuse bouches came immediately after: beet marshmallow, foie gras pate, fried sweetbread mini come (and another which escapes me at the moment).

Hawaiian Prawns Roulade with avocado, lime, and yogurt
First impression: gorgeous. Lasting impression: a delicious play of crisp prawns and the smooth and creamy avocado, both of which were so fresh their flavors scarcely needed the yogurt.

Sea urchin cappuccino with Peekytoe crab.
The uni here contributed to a rich creaminess, but the flavor did not come out as strongly (to the delight of my companion, who didn't like uni all that much).

Dover Sole. Slow cooked with Matsutake sabayon and Nasturtium.
Firm yet moist and tender, the Dover Sole's texture was little overwhelmed by the creamy sabayon, but the flavors worked quite well.

Four Story Hill Farm Suckling Pig Confit with spiced plum chutney, cipollini onions and cider jus.
Tender confit topped with crisped crunchy skin. The spiced plum chutney was both interesting and had nice flavors, but was perhaps unnecessary for this confit. The combination was a bit too rich and sweet. Regardless, the confit itself was excellent.

Millbrook Farms Venison, herb roasted with gingerbread puree, porcini, and black mission figs.
See how pink it is in the center? Loved it. It's tender, it's almost rare, it's a little gamey, it's perfect. The venison and the figs were a winning combination.

As a palate cleanser, "Kir Royale" on a ceramic pillow. Cassis, meringue, champagne emulsion.
A light palate cleanser that did its job nicely.
Oh and that ceramic pillow almost fooled me. Good thing I didn't break it :P

Araguani Chocolate Ganache with Sweet Potato Dauphine and Chestnut Honey.
A rich and decadent Valrhona ganache will get my vote anytime, but the sweet potato dauphine was surprisingly good for me who was never all that big on sweet potato (I like it but I don't love it like many people I know).

Mignardises involved macarons and chocolates.
Some of the macaron flavors were almost as whimsical as the amuse bouches: violet, peanut butter and jelly, black sesame.
The chocolate truffles also involved me going "Ohh, hmm ..." when they asked me which flavors I wanted.

A box of fruit jelly for the ladies to take home. My snack for the next two days.

It wasn't just the food. It was the space, the service. After rushing around the city, I felt calm and relaxed dining here, but never were we waiting too long for the next course slightly annoyed. The food itself deserved three or four stars. One Michelin star? If you ask me I'd give them at least two.


Eleven Madison Park

11 Madison Ave
New York, NY 10010
(212) 889-0905
www.elevenmadisonpark.com
Eleven Madison Park on Urbanspoon
Eleven Madison Park in New York

Monday, March 16, 2009

NYC: The Dessert Truck

Gourmet desserts on wheels. Warm sweets to grab-n-go on the streets of cold New York in November.

I read about the dessert truck on LA&OC Foodie's blog, and as it turns out, my hotel in NYC was 4 blocks away from their afternoon stop! Score!

Walking down 55th Street, I quickly saw the truck as I approached their location: 55th and Lexington. Whee!
Although their daily menu is small, it's quite sufficient and changes regularly, and all dessert items are easily priced at $5 with the exception of the warm molten chocolate cake at $6.

Since I'll be walking around, I wanted something easy to eat with my hands, so i got the warm brioche doughnuts (vanilla cream center, cinnamon sugar) - $5
Warm, fluffy, sweet creamy center. These are some tasty donuts to come off a truck!

Hot chocolate (Valrhona and Guittard chocolates) - $5
Rich and pretty dark and intense. The hot chocolate is better than what you can get at most restaurants in LA. I only wished it had kept the heat better against the blistering NYC wind :< style="font-weight: bold;">

Dessert Truck
M-F, 12-3PM E. 55th St, corner of Lexington
M-Sun, 6PM-12AM St. Mark's Pl (8th St) and 3rd
http://www.desserttruck.com/

Dessert Truck on Urbanspoon

Monday, December 1, 2008

NYC: Beautiful Dinner at Jean Georges

Starting off my report on NYC this year with Jean Georges! Another Michelin 3-star tested. Last year I managed to hit Le Bernardin and Bouley, but this year I managed to hit so much more. Great trip, indeed.

At Jean Georges you can either get 3 courses+1 dessert prix fixe for $98, or one of their tasting menus (1 classic and 1 seasonal) for $148, which I believe was 5 courses+1 dessert. Their classic tasting menus included egg caviar, but since there was no foie gras involved in either of the tasting menus and since the other people in our group had dietary restrictions, we decided to go with the prix fixe and chose our own dishes.

The amuse bouche consisted of smoked salmon with cream sauce, chestnut soupBoth the salmon and the warm soup were great.

All four of us ended up getting the egg caviar for our first course, for $25 supplement.
Great eggs, and great caviar. I don't really know my caviar well enough to fully appreciate it though, but the egg preparation was wonderful.

Pan Seared Foie Gras with Fall Spices, Concord Grape.
Best. foie. gras. ever. Ever. I don't know what else to say. It's a simple preparation that really focuses on the foie gras, not the embellishments. The concord grape sauce complements it perfectly. And the foie gras. The foie gras!

One of the others got the Black Cod steamed with Hoshinmeji.

For my main entree I went with Smoked Squab a L'Orange, Asian pear, Candied Tamarind.
The squab was tender, much more so than any other squab I've had before, and had a very nice smoked flavor to it. The broth was subtle and takes a bit to appreciate, but it really grows on you and by the end you couldn't stop eating!

All three of my dining companions went with the Loin of lamb, spiced crumbs, fried eggplant, fig compote
They came bearing a cart and showed us the black trumpet-crusted lamb in a big piece. Upon our approval, they cut the lamb loin and plated it right in front of you. Wonderful touch to their service! The lamb was tender and delicious. This was a heavier, bolder-tasting dish than the squab, but both were great. Accompaniments worked very well with the main attraction.

For the dessert you choose a certain theme, and you get a tasting of 4 items. When we were there our theme choices were: Autumn, Chocolate, Apple, and Caramel.
Here's a photo of the Caramel that someone else ordered:

The Chocolate one consisted of: Jean Georges chocolate cake, vanilla bean ice cream, aerated chocolate sponge, chocolate gnocchi, chocolate soda
The chocolate sponge had a very interesting texture and just sorta disappears in your mouth. My favorite part of this one was the JG chocolate cake, which is just like a chocolate molten cake and was delicious.

Autumn: pear tart, persimmon ice cream, snow cone ... and some marshmallow-y tart that I wasn't sure about.
My favorite part of this dessert was the pear tart and persimmon ice cream:
Then came a slew of petit fours, from macarons, fresh cut marshmallows made in-house, fruit gelee and chocolates.

This was my favorite dinner while in New York. The food and service were both excellent, and so was the company. JG definitely deserves their three stars and I hope I'll get the chance to come back - maybe for their $25 lunches!

Jean Georges
1 Central Park West (at the Trump Tower)
New York, NY
(212) 299-3900
http://www.jean-georges.com/

Jean Georges on Urbanspoon

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