American Traditional

American Traditional / lunch / nyc — No Comments
6
Jul 12

Nougatine: Delicious Lunch Prix Fix

Prior to a NY Philharmonic concert, I decided to take my mom to Nougatine which is the front dining area of Jean Georges. We were able to eat a 3-course prix fix menu for $32, which is reasonably priced considering the level of the food and service that we experienced there. Good food, great company, and overall positive experience. Now for the food porn…

For the first course I got a Peekytoe crab cake with celeriac Remoulade, pink grapefruit and ginger. The crab cake had a good amount of actual crab in it and had a nice crust to it.

The salmon baked with lemon crumbs, sweet chili glaze, and swiss chard was well cooked. I particularly liked the lemon crumbs because it cut the sweet chili sauce and paired nicely with salmon as well.

The chocolate cake served with vanilla bean ice cream was rich and delicious. How can you go wrong with warm chocolate cake and vanilla ice cream?

I enjoyed my time at Nougatine. The waitstaff were attentive, the food was well seasoned, and the view was really nice (they’re located right by the entrance of Central Park). Their lunch menu is definitely worth it so make sure to check it out sometime if you have a nice lunch break.

Nougatine
1 Central Park West
New York, NY 10023
(212) 299-3900

American Traditional / dinner / nyc / Seafood — 1 Comment
2
Oct 11

Lure Fishbar: Seafood in Soho

Lure Fishbar is located within Soho, an area populated with shops and stores, and provides solid American seafood fare. When you go down the stairs and get seated, it looks like you are sitting inside a beautiful cruise ship with dark wood walls and golden lights. I went for a company dinner and was excited about eating some seafood.

Pictured above was their crab cakes which were bite sized but had fresh crab flavors. Yum.

We also ordered their Lobster Tempura Roll to share, served with tobiko, spicy mayo, and avocado. It was good, of course not authentic Japanese, but lobster in anything will make it 50x better.

For myself, I ordered the Lobster Ravioli served with tomatoes and greens.  I enjoyed the entire dish; the ravioli was perfectly filled with lobster meat, and the sauce was light enough to feel full yet heavy for that thicker buttery flavor.

I would go back to Lure, especially if I feel like having solid seafood dishes. Maybe I’ll make it there after a long day of shopping.

Lure Fishbar
142 Mercer St
(212) 431-7676

American Traditional / brunch / drinks / nyc / Spanish — 1 Comment
14
Jun 11

Caliu – AYCD Brunch with Spanish Flair

I am all for scoping out great food deals. All You Can Drink (aka. AYCD) brunch happens to be one of those great deals that each NYer needs to experience for themselves. Unlimited drinks plus brunch food? What can be better. Venturing into the West Village you can find Caliu, a small but cute restaurant with the $25 brunch deal.

Their watermelon sangria, shown in the first picture, is definitely a highlight. If you grab brunch, definitely try it (since it’s unlimited anyway). It’s light, refreshing, and tastes like you’re eating watermelon that is slightly spiked.

Having the choice of one entree I chose their eggs benedict with serrano ham, jalapeno hollandaise, salad, and truffled hash browns (normally $13).  It was a solid brunch dish, eggs poached nicely and I definitely enjoyed the fragrant hash browns; anything with truffle oil makes it automatically taste better.

All in all, it was a pleasurable experience drinking and eating a casual brunch with my girlfriends. I’m not sure about dinner, but at least brunch is worth making a trip.

Caliu
557 Hudson Street (Between W. 11th. & Perry St.)
New York, NY 10014
(212) 206–6444

 

American Traditional / dinner / nyc — No Comments
31
May 11

Peter Luger: Delicious Steak, Old School Feel

You say “steakhouse in Brooklyn” to a New Yorker and immediately “Peter Luger” will come to mind.  Yes, it is known to be one of the best steakhouses in the NYC area, and in my experience, does deserve the title.  It had a real old school feel; they had waiters that look like they have worked there for the past 20 years, seats and tables made of real wood, and pictures of Brooklyn’s past were framed on their walls. So…is it worth a trip to Brooklyn? Yes, as you will see in this post they have delicious food beyond just steak.

This is their version of bacon, which had an intensity unlike other strips of bacon. It was meaty, and extremely fatty. It’s exactly what every guy wants for breakfast…or dinner.

On my plate were pieces of their porterhouse steak, creamed spinach, and french fried potatoes. To start with the porterhouse, I have to say it was very good. This was cooked medium rare, and quite juicy.  Even though they provide their Peter Luger sauce, the steak didn’t even need it. I thoroughly enjoyed the steak and pretty sure everyone around me wanted more as well. The creamed spinach and fried potatoes were well done, nothing was too creamy or too fried.

After a series of attempts to finish the porterhouse amongst the entire group, we moved onto dessert. Pictured above is the “holy cow hot day sundae” and very appropriately named. It was very intense, topped with their famous “Schlag“, it is thick, chocolatey and sweet.  Frankly I can only have a few bites, but definitely something to experience.

Apple strudel was quite enjoyable, and lightly coated with powdered sugar. I actually enjoyed it and wish it came with some vanilla ice cream.

And how can you not have New York Cheesecake at such a NY staple?  This was very good and if I could have, I probably would have eaten the entire thing by myself.

All in all, my time there was shared by a wonderful group of people to celebrate the retirement of a great senior executive from where I work. It was a great place to celebrate and eat great food! Go go go if you want good steak but make sure you bring cash!

Peter Luger
178 Broadway
New York, 11211
(718) 387-7400

American Traditional / dinner / nyc — 2 Comments
9
Apr 11

Recette: American Small Plates in a Small Space

When I heard about “American small plates”, a description of Recette’s dishes, I was utterly confused. What does that look like? Do they serve small portions of burgers, fries, pulled pork? After hearing that Recette got nominated for the James Beard New Restaurant award, this prompted me to check it out…and luckily I gathered a few friends to come with me. So, here are the dishes:

Pictured above is the berkshire pork belly served with rock shrimp, turnips, romesco, and sherry caramel. You can’t go wrong with braising pork belly, though I actually felt that the meat was a little tougher than I liked. The flavors were good though, right amount of salty and sweet.

Their sea scallops with cauliflower, braised celery, celery root, and coconut broth was very good. The cauliflower was a highlight for me because it was nicely cooked and soaked up the flavors of the broth. The scallops were cooked nicely but were very small; they just didn’t feel meaty enough for me.

Duck breast with leg and foie gras terrine, chard, chanterelles, and walnuts is as intense as it sounds…and not necessarily in a bad way. The duck breast was cooked very well, and I enjoyed dabbing it in the little bit of balsamic. I didn’t touch the foie gras terrine because I actually don’t like foie gras (yes, don’t kill me for not).

I definitely wanted to try their fresh cut spaghetti with sweet shrimp, stewed tomato, chili, and sea urchin. This was actually the saddest part of the meal because I felt like it was too salty, and had three bites of it. I’m not sure what was over-salted, or they didn’t take under consideration the saltiness of the seafood, but it was just not a good combination. On paper it sounded so great but I was quite disappointed in its execution. The pasta itself wasn’t anything outstanding, and oddly enough wasn’t cooked al dente.

The duck fat fingerlings weren’t anything to die for and in fact, I wouldn’t be able to tell between normal and duck fat fingerlings. Originally they actually sent out the wrong dish to us, but was willing to take it back and give us this side dish. However, I wouldn’t say this is necessarily a dish that wow’ed me either.

We also ordered dessert (not pictured anywhere) and it was pretty good too…and more impressive than some of their savory dishes.

I would say my time at Recette was a bit mixed. It was freezing and they couldn’t turn down the AC so I actually ended up wearing my coat the whole time which puts a damper to my experience there. I understand – it is a very small space there isn’t much that can be done about it. I suppose that is just how it is at a typical romantic West Village restaurant where there’s dim lighting, intimate space (aka. extremely small), and can amount to quite an expensive meal.

Well, I’m just glad that I know what American small plates are.

Recette
328 West 12th Street
New York, NY 10014
(212) 414-3000

American Traditional / brunch / lunch / nyc — No Comments
21
Mar 11

Motorino – Perfectly Made Pizza

Motorino has been on my list of pizza places to try around the city, and I finally had a chance to go! I somehow always managed to forget to make a trip there considering S’Mac is right next door. Anyway, good thing I ventured there because I got to sit down immediately on a Sunday at 1:30PM versus waiting for those restaurants with massive crowds for brunch.

This here is a beautiful and delicious pizza – their Pizza Al’Uovo which is only available on Saturdays and Sundays. It translates into “egg pizza” and boy is it good. Not only does it have a soft cooked farm egg on each slice, but also fior di latte, chili oil, basil, and pecorino. Everything comes together nicely. As you bite into the slice, you taste the egg yolk oozing and paired with the saltiness of bacon and pecorino, how can you resist? Talking about it makes me want some more…

Alongside the previous pizza, I decided to order their Margherita as a sample for how good a NY pizza truly is. After all, if you can’t this pizza right then how can make any other pizza good? Well, they sure passed the test. The simple toppings – tomato, mozzarella, basil - were all very fresh. The proportion of tomato to mozzarella to basil was perfect. Their dough is really what is most impressive: slightly chewy but not doughy, and not burnt. Oh how I want another slice…

Again, Motorino is definitely worth checking out and eating at. Best $15 you’ll spend on a pizza!

Motorino East Village
349 East 12th Street
New York, NY 10003
(212) 777-2644

American Traditional / Breakfast / nyc — No Comments
21
Feb 11

Clinton St. Bakery – Pancake Month 2011

February is a special month for foodies in NYC. No, it’s not Valentine’s day but rather two special monthly events – City Bakery’s Hot Chocolate Month and Clinton Street Bakery’s Pancake Month – which both foods are my loves. I managed to go to Clinton Street Bakery during my lunch hour and participate in their Pancake month. Be aware that the wait is on average an HOUR for two people, so you can only imagine how many people they manage to feed with their magical pancakes.

Pictured above are their Japanese Pumpkin pancakes served with pumpkin seed streusel and warm maple butter. What I loved about these pancakes was the fact that the pumpkin was also incorporated into the middle of the pancakes. The streusel was comprised of pumpkin seeds and brown sugar (I think), which gave it a nice bite. SO DELICIOUS!

And to add to the pancakes, fried green tomatoes. They were lightly fried, and tasted sweet and slightly tart. It’s on their normal menu so highly recommended whenever you go.

There’s still time left in pancake month so make sure to go!

Clinton Street Baking Company & Restaurant
4 Clinton Street
New York, NY 10002
(646) 602-6263

American Traditional / Baked Goods / Breakfast / travels — No Comments
23
Oct 10

Break From the Big City: Snow Goose Bed & Breakfast

Sometimes you need some time to get away from it all, look at some pretty trees and leaves, and breathe in the fresh crisp air. I’ve decided to make this an annual trip – seeing fall foliage in the Northeast – and drove up to the Adirondacks, upstate New York. I stayed at a wonderful bed and breakfast inn called the Snow Goose Bed and Breakfast. They’re located in Keene Valley, about 30 minutes away from Lake Placid. So if you ever think about going to this area, this B&B is definitely the way to go.

To focus on the food, the breakfasts were always really good. Amy and Wayne (the innkeepers) managed to accommodate to my late mornings and kept the food warm. Everything always comes with coffee and a juice! Below are the foods they served:

Turkey sausage is always welcomed in the morning. It was nicely cooked and not too salty.

Parmesan potato hash was certainly interesting, more so than the average potato has you get in diners. It was both soft and crunchy too.

Tomato Asparagus Quiche. It was nicely baked – soft and eggy on the inside with a crisp exterior. I devoured this in a matter of seconds and went for a second round.

The second morning they had another round of delicious food:

Poached pears topped with yogurt. They came out warm and the pears just melted in your mouth. The yogurt was a nice contrast in providing a slightly tart taste against the sweet cinnamon flavors of the pear.

Blueberry Cream Cheese French Toast. It’s as good as it looks. They used a nice thick bread to soak the batter and topped it with blueberries and cream cheese. It was both moist and crispy. God, now I really want some again.

The Baked Egg was really good. Not only was it different than how I normally eat eggs (i.e. scrambled, over easy) but had great flavor to it. Inside was roasted red peppers and spiced with oregano. The eggs weren’t dry and had a soft consistency.

For me, not only was I able to enjoy nature but also the delicious food at this B&B. I have to say, it was one of my most pleasurable experiences at a bed and breakfast. If I plan on going back to Lake Placid, I’ll be sure to stay there again.

Snow Goose Bed & Breakfast
1433 NYS Route 73
Keene Valley, NY
(518) 576-9460

American Traditional / dessert / dinner — No Comments
13
Sep 10

Congratulations to Katie & Jon – Mr. & Mrs. Lin!

Shout out to my fellow food enthusiast and his beautiful wife! They got married on July 23, 2010 at the Brooklyn Navy Yard. Must I say it was a beautiful wedding, followed by plenty of delicious food and drink. They sure made sure everyone had a great time including having an AWESOME band.

Jon Lin made the special request to take tons of food pictures. Of course in a rush to make it in time to the wedding, I left the lens most appropriate to taking good photos. I tried salvaging what I could, held my hand steady, and prayed for decent pictures. Here we go:

This is the Summer Duo of Lobster & Corn. Basically this is lobster salad with teardrop tomatoes, fresh corn, pea shoots & chervil. Corn pudding souffle topped with tomato lemon marmalade.

Yum, Truffled Chilean Sea Bass. The Sea Bass is covered in a porcini dust with truffled microgreens, saffrom beurre blanc, red wine reduction. It is served with chive mashed potatoes and wilted spinach, wild mushrooms, and radicchio.

Do we need to say how good at “warm s’mores truffle tart” is? Decadent chocolate caramel ganache with marshmallow peaks in a graham crust. It is served with wild berry sorbet and mixed berry compote.

And the wedding cake!

All in all, a really great night of fun, eats, and drinks! Congratulations to Katie & Jon!

American Traditional / Breakfast / brunch / nyc — 3 Comments
6
Mar 10

Tribute to Pancake Month with Clinton St. Bakery

I am an avid pancake eater. I love how there are so many things that can be incorporated into pancake batter along with a variety of syrups that come with it. This special month allows me to indulge in buttery, fluffy pancakes and not have a problem with doing so. As a dedication to celebrating pancake month (February), I want to share with you one of the best places to get pancakes in the city – Clinton St. Bakery. I hate to give into hype, but this place is actually really good. Clearly I am not the only one who thinks so; every single time I try to go there, it is packed. People are standing outside in 30-degree weather waiting for their turn to get into this restaurant. Getting a seat is virtually impossible, even at 2PM. In fact, you run the risk of not being able to eat there. They have so many reservations to the point where it would bring them until 4pm, closing time. Long story short, make sure to allot some time if you plan on eating there because you will wait. Guaranteed.

Clinton Street Bakery celebrated pancake month with a special pancake every few days. My friend, as crazy of a pancake-eater as I am, urged me to go with her and of course I conceded. We ended up going twice because the pancakes were that memorable.

The first time we had poached pears with vanilla bean whipped cream and warm maple butter. Yes, it is as tasty as the description recalls it to be. Pears were included into the pancake itself and gave it a crisp texture; when I bit into my pancakes it gave it a soft crunch. Having poached pears on top enhanced the vanilla flavor to all the pancakes, giving them a sweet and fragrant flavor. The warm maple butter is to die for; when you dipped your pancake into the butter, it gave the pancakes a nice touch of maple and light fatty goodness. I don’t know if they put crack into it also but it was very addicting.

The second time around my friend ordered crunchy bananas with cinnamon-chili-chocolate sauce (I opted to get something savory). I had a few bites of her pancakes and I wanted to get an order to take home. Yes, it was THAT good. Not only did the crunchy bananas provided a different texture to soft pancakes, but also the chocolate sauce wasn’t too sweet so it didn’t overshadow the butter flavor in the pancakes. We couldn’t taste the chili part of the chocolate sauce as much, but the cinnamon kicked in later on in your mouth. All in all, big two thumbs up.

Make sure to mark it down in your calendar for next year to eat pancakes in February. Clinton St. Bakery is sure to be celebrating this culinary holiday, and hopefully you will taste awesome buttery flat pancakes there, and hijack some of that maple butter for me.

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