A New Ippudo Favorite

During our obligatory monthly visits to Ippudo in the wintertime, Rob and I give each other those daring looks that say "YOU be the adventurous one." We rarely get the same thing when we dine out so we can try other things, but the Akamaru Modern is the accepted favorite at Ippudo (still as beautiful and bone warming as it was two years ago). That leaves one of us with the obligation to try a different ramen, and then stare longingly at the Akamaru Modern until its offered. Relationships are all about compromise, after all.

At our last visit the other week, I willingly took the risk for one of the specials -- the Kogashi Miso Ramen with a broth made from blackened miso. Pork, cabbage, greens (watercress, maybe?) and oil. Wow. It tasted like magic crack laced with pork. I asked the waiter, what's IN this? Because it can't just be charred miso. I didn't get a straight answer. Or really any answer.

Anyway, I always order with the nitamago added on -- a soft boiled egg that lends extra richness to the already hearty broth. Not a great picture -- I was clearly shaking with anticipation -- but here it is, in all its oily glory.

I think it's still on the menu. I have a feeling neither of us will be ordering the Akamaru next time.

Ippudo NY
65 4th Ave 

Caravan of Dreams Realized

"A meat and potatoes kind of guy" is an understatement when describing the eating habits of my dad was up until a few months ago. He'd eat meat, sure, but only cheeseburgers void of any kind of condiments (and that includes tomatoes and lettuce and the other semi-healthy burger veggies). Potatoes, yes, there were potatoes, but only the kind doused in butter and cream and cheese and if its not piping hot he would not eat said caloric potatoes. And that was about it. Most kinds of dessert were fair game, as long as it wasn't anything fruity. Lemon ice being the only exception.

So when my parents came to visit the other weekend, pulled out their vegan-approved list of places to eat and suggested we have lunch at Caravan of Dreams, I was quite skeptical of how this would turn out. It's one thing to hear over the phone that a new healthy lifestyle is happily consuming my parents' lives. It's quite another to witness a real invitation to an organic vegan restaurant that isn't palpable sarcasm.

I quickly scanned the menu myself and was almost a bit skeptical. "Live" nachos? What does that even mean? Am I the only one picturing the Mexican hat dance unfolding on the platter in front of us?

Well, I honestly don't have a lot of comparison for vegan fare, but even so I'd have to say Caravan of Dreams is pretty good. My beet ravioli (live, of course), was thankfully not doing any kind of jig. The walnut and sundried tomato filling inside vinegary slices of beets were mild, the hemp mint cilantro dressing gave it a nice kick. Rob's rosemary shiitake mushroom burger was pretty slammin' with a large grilled onion and a nice flavorful tarragon ali-oli. Dad's hummus was nice and smooth with finely chopped onions on top to mix in (though he declared his homemade version was better) and Mom's rice and veggie platter was better than what I've made at home. 

 

For dinner they asked us to take them for their first Indian cuisine experience. Dad eating hummus and garlic naan with chicken tikka masala in one day is a little much for me, and definitely a little much for a single post.*

*In case you were wondering, we went to Bay Leaf in Williamsburg and guess what? Hey Mikey, they liked it!

Caravan of Dreams

405 East 6th Street

A Walking Tour of E. 7th St.

I like to see New York as my own personal food carnival, popping in for phenomenal snacks to munch on while walking to the next destination. The block of 7th St. from 1st Ave to Ave A is filled with lots of shops with quick eats that are conducive to the munch-and-continue-on lifestyle. Here's a little walking tour of the East Village block.

Start at Porchetta. Enter, inhale the smell of porky bliss. Order the porchetta sandwich (obviously). Eat it on the bench outside. The pork, roasted with savory herbs, is served on a ciabatta roll, with the porous holes great for catching and hugging the greasy fat of the meat. The best part of the sandwich is the super crispy skin, adding a little crunch to the otherwise soft and tender meaty sandwich. If you have someone (or a few someones) to share it with, get the roasted potatoes with burnt ends.

Take a deep breath. Cross the street and get a lobster roll at Luke's. I believe that their lobster roll is the best in the city all year-round, but in the summertime, when lobster meat from Maine is ridiculously cheap, you get a lot more bang for your buck. Cool lobster claws seasoned with a hint of tarragon, served on a warm roll with a shallow base of mayo. A summertime staple.

Head next door to Caracas. If you've had enough meat for the evening, a vegetarian arepa will do you well. Maybe La Del Gato, with guayanes cheese, fried sweet plantains and avocado slices. Or perhaps La Mulata with grilled white cheese, jalapenos, black beans, red peppers and plantains. Stringy cheese on a sweet corn base holds so much appeal to me.


Now, take a break before dessert. Walk around the block. Get a drink and settle in the back garden at DBA.


Ready to get back at it? If you're still full, you can grab a light People's Pops right at the corner of 7th. I've only tried the peach mint pop, which I wasn't crazy about, so I'd recommend pressing on. Head to the opposite side of 7th, closer to Ave A. Hop into Butter Lane and grab a cupcake for the line at Big Gay Ice Cream Shop. The line will look long, but it'll go fast. Get the Salty Pimp, vanilla soft serve on a cone with a drizzle of caramel-like dulce de leche, a few shakes of salt, and the whole thing dipped in chocolate. You'll have to eat it fast as the ice cream leaks out of the chocolate dip pretty quickly on hot evenings, but you're up for the challenge, right?

Next week, maybe a walking tour of East 8th St. is in order...

Porchetta

110 E 7th St


Luke's Lobster
93 E. 7th St

Caracas Arepa Bar
93 1/2 E. 7th St.

People's Pops
118  First Ave

Big Gay Ice Cream Shop
125 E. 7th St.

Double Omakase at Jewel Bako

We couldn't even remember the last time we had sushi before Rob's birthday dinner at Jewel Bako in late November. I think it was a combination of wariness from Japanese disasters, the turn-off from dining at lesser places after really good ones and not wanting to spend the money on top notch fish. 

Which made it really special to finish a long sushi dry spell at Jewel Bako. We sat at the bar at the recommendation of many, and that was definitely the way to go. The preparation is amazing to watch, and unlike most places, you get a clear view of everything they're doing. The fish cubby is tucked down towards the bottom instead of right in front of you. It's a small thing, but it really makes a difference not to have to stare at cloudy glass filled with slabs of raw fish the whole time. I think this clear view idea is something Sushi Azabu and Kanoyama could learn from.

To start: two complimentary glasses of champagne, a bottle of Ice Dome sake, miso soup and a delightful amuse.

Then the sashimi omakase, which is not exactly what we expected. Instead of small courses, we each got a combination platter. It was small, but everything here was eye-poppingly, melt-on-your tongue fresh. There were a few really unique presentations here, like an octopus suction cup filled with yuzu, and a scallop wrapped in cucumber. It was amazing watching the sushi chef use a giant knife to carve a super thin mat from a single small cucumber.

So the sashimi was good and all, but it really was just a starter. For part two, we decided to split a tasting of all nine Makimono rolls. We saw the chefs plate a few of them and were really impressed by their sizes, diversity of fish and precision that went into plating and perfecting each roll. I'm talkin' blowtorches, tweezers, giant carving knives, all that stuff.

To decide who got what, we went team captain style. I snagged the snow crab. He chose an eel. And so on. Then we went to town. We did each roll in one giant bite, and then chewed for five minutes or so. I'm not sure if this is exactly how you're supposed to do it or not.

 
Anyway, at $42 for nine bites, it's not something you can do every day. But its not that outrageous either.


To finish: green tea, and two complimentary green tea ice cream sandwich desserts. Candle for him. Between this and the champagne, I gotta say they were really great about remembering an occasion.

A pretty great re-introduction to high end sushi. I'd be glad to wait another year before having any again, to keep that wondrous sushi excitement alive. Maybe Kuruma Zushi, Yasuda or Gari? 

Jewel Bako

239 E 5th St
(between 2nd Ave & Cooper Sq)

Brunch Roundup

Salt cod hash and Pani Frattau (breakfast lasagna with ricotta, creme fraiche, poached eggs and parmesan cheese) at Belcourt

Eggs Rothko at Egg (fried egg in brioche toast covered in Grafton cheddar)

Crepe at Cafe Henri in Long Island City 

and Borderline Benedict at Brooklyn Label (blue-corn bread, jalapenos, chorizo and chipotle hollandaise) 

Late Autumn Ramen

"The passing of autumn leaves a temporary blank, an empty hole in the year that is not of a season at all." -Haruki Muakami

Yep... I think this is the best time of year for ramen. I think I'm over pho, at least for now, as I'm finally discovering the joys of ramen (which, turns out, does not always include that neon-colored fishcake). And this discovery has taken place primarily at Ippudo NY. 

The hearty Akamaru Modern ramen comes with pork belly and spicy paste and is fantastic topped with Nitamago, a seasoned salt boiled egg (thanks for the rec, Alice!). Sometimes they have a really fantastic special with oyster sauce, ankimo and crusty bread. It is a bit fishy, but definitely better balanced than many of the other ramens you'll find (which will be too fishy to begin with anyway).

And their pork belly buns are better than anything I've had in Hong Kong.

I think a trip to Minca for some ramen comparison is in order this weekend. And maybe someday I'll scrap the usual Sapporo at Rockmeisha in favor of their ramen, too.

Ippudo NY
65 4th Ave

Omakase at Kanoyama

Well, it's that time of year again: Rob's birthday month. And by now I feel it is tradition to start looking for a suitable place to take Rob for an above-average place for sushi.

When I started doing my research earlier in the month, Kanoyama kept popping up. At first I didn't really want to go there, it seemed too obvious. It was reviewed in the same Frank Bruni article that inspired me to take Rob to Sushi Azabu last year. But then I started to realize what he meant when he called both these places "bargains." It's super difficult to find an omakase deal with fresh sushi, flown from Japan for under $200 a person. And in some cases, its nearly impossible to get reservations. Luckily, its easy to make a reservation at Kanoyama, and their lowest "omakase" starts at $32 (which really just means an assortment of fish on one plate). The price range beyond that is limitless. Just tell them how much you're willing to spend, and they'll bring you as many courses as that price range allows.

Since we're stressed out with hosting our first Thanksgiving this year -- and since Kanoyama is closed for renovations next week -- we did the birthday dinner early this year. The fish was great and very fresh, the sushi chefs were very skilled and fun to watch. It was a little hard not to compare this experience with Sushi Azabu, though. Last year we tried a bigger variety of food, we were given a good deal more, the service was nothing less than completely hospitable, and the ambiance was unbeatable. This year, the service was a little unsteady; our second course came before we were done with the first and then we waited a good while for #3. Most of what we ate this year was sushi, even though that's what we specified when they asked if we wanted more sushi or more kitchen appetizers. We shouldn't have to make decisions like that! I felt like after we said that, we limited ourselves in terms of variety.

Those slight complaints aside, here's an overview of the fantastic meal we shared:

1) Kaki GomaAe (Winter Persimmon with Sesame Tahini) -- The presentation of this was beautiful -- melonballs of persimmon lightly coated in tahini and served in its own core. I've never had persimmon, but I couldn't even distinguish its flavor from the tahini it melded together so well. It had a crunch kind of like a pear. I expected its flesh to taste softer since it looks so much like a tomato. This was a great starter.

2) Cod Roe with Ponzu -- I always think of tiny, bright, glasslike balls when I think of roe, but cod roe is different; its more like a chicken egg. This was lightly fried, like tempura, with runny whites in the middle. The ponzu definitely played a key role in the flavor here.

3) Sashimi -- Here we each were given a finely adorned selection of three things -- striped jackfish, white yellowtail and pike eel roe with dashi. The plate (and by "plate" I mean giant shell from a mollusk on ice) contained a small dish of dried kelp, and we were instructed to unroll the sushi, put the kelp inside, re-roll and dunk in a small amount of house made soy sauce. The kelp was oddly chewy but it gave the fish a new dimension. I didn't like the eel roe; it came like a square glob of jello and I still don't get what made it this way. The flavor was nice and light, kind of like champagne-flavored jello, but the texture was too weird for me.

4) If you take a look at the post I wrote on Sushi Azabu last year, I called what comes next as "grand finale of sushi." However, it came too soon this year to be a grand finale; this time it was more like the main event. They served it the same way, though: one piece at a time. Last year they plunked each piece right in front of us. At Kanoyama, they put it up on the counter so you have to make sure your chopstick skills are steller, lest you drop your fish during the 12 inches it travels from its dark granite home to your outstretched neck.

There were quite a few similarities from last year, which I enjoyed. Many of these things I haven't had since last year, and now I'm somewhat familiar with them to know what a treat they are. Namely, uni and toro. I would like to find a way to incorporate more uni and toro into my life.

Here are the seven fishes:

a) Fluke -- Topped with a little bit of salt and lemon juice. Great flavor, but very chewy.

b) Japanese Mackerel -- This one was the fishiest of all and therefore, probably my least favorite.

c) Sea Scallop -- I love the texture of fresh, raw scallops. A little citrus and wasabi hid beneath the fish and the rice and made it even better.

d) Jackfish -- Topped with lots of sesame seeds. This combination was surprisingly good.

e) Toro -- It's always a treat to have the non-translucent tuna. The way it hugs and rice and then melts in your mouth... wow.

f) Uni -- I thought of a passage from the book Motherless Brooklyn when I saw this. Somewhere it is mentioned that uni is the national food of Japan and that a Japanese family must eat it at least once a week to maintain self-respect. That sounds as good an excuse to indulge as any; I LOVE the taste and texture of sea urchin. It goes down so easily without being slimy or too wet. How does it do that?

g) Sea Eel -- We each got a whole, huge eel. I know these are delicacies but I wish we could just stick with the good, cold stuff. The glaze they put on top is too sweet for me and I don't think it helps that I can never get the creepy grimmaces of those things out of my head.

5) We ended with a bowl of matsutake mushroom soup. It smelled sort of like an old wood cabin; in a good way. Apparently these mushrooms are delicacies as well but I really don't like the springy texture of most mushrooms.

Well, we should have been done here but we wanted one more thing: an oyster we saw going out a few times with uni and orange roe on top. It was a huge bite, but so good -- a great combination of wet uni and oyster and popping, flavorful roe. Oysters are a relatively new thing to me and having bizarre combinations like this is a good getting-to-know-you exercise. One of the things I'm liking about oysters are the way they linger in your mouth, kind of on the back roof of your mouth, like you just jumped into the ocean, face first. In a good way.

We finished with a scoop of ice cream -- red bean for him and green tea for me.

While I don't think we'll be doing any more omakase at Kanoyama, I do think we'll be back at some point to try a few things we didn't get to have here -- lobster miso soup, sliced duck, and the ankimo, which looked amazing. I may have to get a little toro and uni, too. You know, for self respect's sake.

Kanoyama

175 Second Ave (at 11th St.)

212-777-5266

Westville: Not Your Typical Diner

Last Wednesday, Rob and I met up with a few friends for dinner at Westville East. I did some quick research before heading out the door that evening and saw that Westville (and its Avenue A branch, Westville East) was perceived to be a sort of health food diner with salads, sandwiches, and lots of vegetables. We went in with fairly low expectations, and were pretty amazed with what we found.

We had to wait about half an hour at 8pm. On a Wednesday! And people were still waiting for our table at 10pm. I think this speaks pretty loudly about Westville's loyal following.

Luckily for us, they'll give you your wine or beer in a paper cup so you can take it outside while you wait for your table. This definitely makes standing outside a little (ok -- a lot) easier to do.

The atmosphere in Westville East's corner spot is simple, with white walls and a few decorations. It's the people that give Westville its true bustling, hearty feel.

Now I'm not crazy for vegetables or anything, but their list of market fresh sides was almost overwhelming. I tried the chicken, mostly because it came with two sides. I finally settled on fennel with parmesan and green peas with shallots and bacon (their "Add Bacon" sign in the front must have gotten to me). I was a little sad that I had to pass up on the lemon grilled asparagus, beets with goat cheese, snopeas with sesame and ginger and cucumber dill salad. Next time. At least, I hope next time -- they switch up their listings every day based on what's fresh at the market.

The grilled lemon herb chicken was thin and unmemorable, but the sides were pretty fantastic. Luckily they didn't skimp on the veggies in the least. Rob had the porkchop topped with onions and mushrooms and chose the cauliflour dijonaisse for his side. The cauliflour was fairly plain tasting and the porkchop was a tiny bit overcooked, but the smothered topping was pretty tasty.

All those healthy veggies set off my sweet tooth, so I had a bowl of "world famous Bassets" mint chocolate chip ice cream for dessert. It was nice and creamy and they gave me a lot, like the kind of dish I would scoop up for myself if I were home. I still do not know who Basset is.

Exciting news for them -- they are currently in the process of opening up a new branch in Chelsea. Now they'll have a Westville East, West, and.... Northwest?

Westville East

173 Avenue A (at 11th St)

New York, NY 10009

212-677-2933

WestvilleNYC.com

Southern Food for the Soul -- Egg and The Redhead

This spring I had the pleasure of dining at two fairly hyped Southern cuisine spots with short cutesy names: Egg in Williamsburg and The Redhead in the East Village. While I did not indulge in any grits, black eyed peas or other super traditional south of the Mason-Dixon favorites, I must say that both experiences were pretty enjoyable.

Rob and I visted Egg both for breakfast and dinner over the past month, and as you probably guessed, its breakfast is much better. The OJ tastes like you're sucking on an orange still ripening on the tree, and the coffee is strong and comes in individual french presses. I am a big fan of this. I also like to draw palm trees on the white tabletops with crayons while I wait for my food. A few drawbacks though -- the wait for brunch on the weekends can be insane and the barren white wall decor leaves something to be desired. And no credit cards.

As for the brunch itself: Rob had the chorizo and salsa verde and it came with an insane amount of chorizo. I didn't think there was enough to offset all the spicy meat, but I don't really remember because I forgot my camera that morning. I had the biscuits in sausage gravy. I believe the biscuits had the right amount of stick-to-the-inside-of-your-mouth-ness to satisfy the craving, and the cream base was good and satisfying, if not a little heavy.

We headed back for dinner, when we knew it'd be quieter. I had the chorizo sandwich and I should have known, they sure like to give that chorizo away! It was impossible to pick up the sandwich because it was heavy and chorizo was falling out and the bun was sticking to the plate, so I had to eat it with a fork and knife -- not quite what you want to do when you just want to pick the thing up and take a bite. It was tasty and all, just the same chorizo from brunch on a roll. Yawn. Rob's duck breast and duck leg in "dirty rice" (which included duck heart) was pretty amazing though. Nice juicy meat that soaked into the rice for the perfect soppy bite... man, I should have ordered that. Next time. Maybe.

Egg

135 N 5th St

Brooklyn, NY 11211

(718) 302-5151

We headed over to The Redhead sometime during March Madness when our friends Sam and Virginia came to visit. There were two reasons we chose this place: 1) I've heard good things and 2) it was only a block away from Momofuku Milk Bar, which we had yet to try. I was underwhelmed with the bakery but very happy to have experienced The Redhead.

The place is cozy and warm without being pretentious -- brick walls, tv in the corner of the bar, family patrons of all ages. Also had a really hard time choosing something off the menu because I wanted to eat it all. We finally narrowed it down to a reasonable amount of apps, and The Redhead did not disappoint. I loved the bibb salad with hazelnuts, bacon and cheddar dressing. The perfect amount of salty and sweet to spice up a salad. The homemade waffle chips with homemade onion sauce was surprisingly addicting. Seared scallops were good, but standard -- no frills.

I would have thought that this was one of the places where the apps outshine the entrees, but then they placed the fried chicken in front of me and I knew I was wrong. I'm not normally a fried chicken person (well, I haven't been since sophomore year...) but this might be enough to turn me back. The friendly people next to us claimed they were fried chicken fanatics and that this was the best they'd ever had. Good enough for me. Super crunchy on the outside and extra juicy on the inside, salty all around. Fantastic. Rob got the grits with shrimp and andouille, which I thought was phenomenal. The grits were "gritty" in just the right way, and the cornbread had the perfect amount of butter baked into them.

Sam had the salmon, which he said he enjoyed. He gets salmon everywhere he goes, so he knows what he is talking about. Sorry I cut your eyes out of this picture, Sam. Virginia got the well-done burger which I did not take a picture of because it hurts me to see overdone meat. I am sorry for that, too.

The Redhead
349 E 13th St (between 1st Ave & 2nd Ave)
New York, NY 10003
(212) 533-6212

So we weren't really hungry for it but of course we had to check out Momofuku Milk. The complete opposite of what we had just experienced. The place was so overcrowded that Sam said it was more like a nightclub than a bakery. He was right. Kind of obnoxious when you just want something sweet and quick. Rob's chocolate chocolate chip cookie was too bitter for me and needed milk -- which we did not buy because it was so overpriced to begin with -- and my bavarian cream soft serve was unique and all, but not worth elbowing your way through an overdressed crowd to get to the surly counter people.

Momofuku Bakery/Milk Bar
207 2nd Ave (between 12th St & 13th St)
New York, NY 10003
(212) 254-3500

In summary: I think I'm turned on to Southern cuisine now and would like to try a more traditional, non-NYC-fusion spot next time. However, I'll be back to Egg to sample their famous Eggs Rothko, and I will definitely be back to the Redhead to have one of everything. I will probably skip dessert.