dinner

dinner / Korean / nyc — No Comments
24
Feb 13

Alive At Last! Returning with Jungsik

Hello long-lost food blog! I’ve finally had the opportunity to find time and take care of some backlogged food pictures, including my time at Jungsik. My friend Eric, huge foodie, wanted to check out the up-and-coming restaurants in NYC and luckily I read a NY Article on this restaurant. Refined Korean cuisine? Yes please!

Their menu is similar to that of Eleven Madison Park where you can pick the dishes you want from certain sections. We opted to do that versus their tasting menu. These menus can be found here: http://jungsik.kr/#eat/menu1.

Being that this post has taken a while, please excuse the lack of detail around how good things taste…hopefully the pictures will speak for themselves!

 Mushroom dish

Octopus with Ssamjang Aioli

 Wagyu Tartare

Spicy Ramyun with Crispy Pork Belly in a Savory Broth

Black bass

Smoked Pork Jowl with Pickled Ramp

Monkfish Duo - Monkfish Liver in a Sea Squirt Broth

AND onto desserts…

Plum with Lychee-Rose Mousse and Sablé Crumble

Green Team Cremeux with Sweet Red Bean and Roasted Soy Ice Cream

Jang Dok - Chocolate-Mandarin Mousse, Banana Jam

Last bits of sweets – macarons, chocolates and green tea mini muffins.

Something I DO remember is that I would recommend to allow this meal to be 3 hours. Things took quite a long time, and even though everything was great, it definitely made us sleepy by the end of the meal.

Jungsik
2 Harrison Street (Hudson Street)
Telephone: (212) 219-0900
Website: jungsik.kr

American Nouveau / dinner / Molecular Gastronomy / nyc — No Comments
5
Jun 12

wd~50: New Menu, New Tastes

For my birthday I was lucky enough to be taken to wd~50, a restaurant that has been on my to-eat list.  We all know about Wylie Dufresne and how he’s changed the food scene with molecular gastronomy earning himself Best Chef in NY for six years (James Beard Award).  Being that they recently changed their menu, I was lucky to taste their new dishes!

Sesame “bread” was provided for the table.  Surprisingly, this provided a great savory palette cleanser in between each course.

The Mackerel Nigiri with salsify, seaweed, and sesame started us off.  The mackerel was very fresh and smooth.  The rice was kind of warm when served, which caught me a bit off guard, but I enjoyed it as a first course.  Light and fresh.

Lobster roe served with charred lemon, green grape, and coriander-brown butter was enjoyable and all the flavors worked together.  The grape provided a nice sweetness to the dish, and charred lemon added a nice bit of texture.

This was one of the best dishes of the night – pho gras with foie gras, noodles, and mint leaves.  The fois gras melted into the broth, which was light and nicely salted.  The noodles seemed like it was cooked for slightly too long, but I really enjoyed the interpretation of pho.

Covered in carrots and “peas” (which is actually something else covered in pea powder) is amaro yolk with chicken confit.  The presentation was interesting but I personally was hoping the yolk would be runny and it wasn’t.

Another highlight of the meal was the veal briskey with za’atar, plum, and mustard.  The thinly sliced veal was nicely flavored with the sauce.  The plum slices added a nice texture to the veal and all the flavors blended well together.

Crab toast with saffron, kaffir-yogurt, and arare was pleasant and had a good amount of crab meat on it.

The turbot with black licorice-pil pil, fried green tomato, and fennel was nicely cooked though I mainly enjoyed the fried tomato. The turbot definitely had the texture on the raw side, but nothing wrong with that!

Lamb sweetbreads served with nasturtium-buttermilk, zucchini, and pistachio. For some, sweetbreads could be hard to stomach but this dish made it a lot easier.  I felt like the texture of the zucchini definitely helped and the sweetbread was flavored nicely.

Their root beer ribs with rye spaetzle and apricot was nicely cooked – tender and juicy paired with the apricot sauce helped make these ribs sweet.

I really enjoyed the palette cleanser - Jasmine, cucumber, honeydew, and chartreuse.  It totally did its job after going through all the savory dishes; it gave my senses a blast of refreshment!

The first dessert was yuzu milk ice with hazelnut, rhubarb, and basil.  What is milk ice?  I think it’s basically puffed up ice cream as you can see from the white sponge-like blob in the middle of the picture.  It didn’t have a sponge-like texture once I ate it, but it was more like it “melted” in my mouth.

This was one of the most impressive dishes of the night for me.  Their version of the s’mores with bitter cocoa, meringue, and black currant was delicious.  The “marshmallow” on top is actually marshmallow ice cream that’s in the shape of marshmallow!  GENIUS.  It was perfectly bitter and sweet, plus the marshmallow helped cut any intense chocolate-y goodness.

FINALLY, the last bite is the white chocolate covered with freeze-dried raspberries and gjetost in the center.  Delicious!

WD~50 was a great adventure into the world of molecular gastronomy.  Dishes were familiar enough for you to feel comfortable, but at the same time, each dish was innovative in the changing the familiar forms of the ingredients within the dish.  I really enjoyed my time there since the waitstaff were informative and casual, food was good and interesting, and I got a tour around the kitchen!

WD~50
50 Clinton Street, New York, NY
(212) 477-2900 ‎

dinner / Japanese / nyc — No Comments
17
May 12

Yopparai: Sake and Snacks Abound

Atop a narrow stairway seemingly hidden in the Lower East Side rests a Japanese izakaya, a type of Japanese drinking establishment that also serves food to accompany the drinks, named Yopparai.  As if entering an apartment, with the buzz of a button this tranquil restaurant appears and you are quickly transported to Japan.  There are only 30 seats in this place, again resembling the tiny spaces in Tokyo, and sake is the name of the game.

However, my interest lies beyond the drinks and into the snacks that are meant to pair with the drinks.  Yopparai takes pride in using high-quality ingredients and an open grill, which only means I gotta try, I gotta try! The first dish pictured above is their Masu Tofu (升豆腐), chilled tofu served in a masu box with benito flakes, seaweed, and other condiments.  The tofu was silky smooth so you’ll definitely need the spoon.

The Uni (sea urchin) mixed with squid topped with seaweed was creamy and fresh tasting.  The squid provided an added layer of chewy texture, and was easily finished by everyone.

With a list of daily specials, the scallop is served in a shell with broth and a flame.  Yup, that is real flame on top of salt.  Sadly enough I can’t remember how this dish tasted, but was definitely memorable in its presentation.

The Chutoro (中トロ), fatty tuna, was like its name – fatty and melted in the mouth.

Grilled octopus, how can you go wrong?

The assortment of six oden (おでん盛合) was good though I found the broth to be a bit salty. Still, it was nice to be able to try out the various odens that had different textures.

There’s the Isobe Yaki Mochi (自家製磯辺焼), homemade pounded rice cake grilled with soy sauce, that had a great chewy texture but a bit salty for me.

How can you have yakitori without tsukune (名物自家製つくね) a.k.a. meatballs?  Here there was both the free-range chicken (地鶏つくね) and the washu beef (和州牛つくね).  Both good but on the salty side.

The Kakuni (黒豚の角煮), Kurobuta pork belly simmered in dashi broth, was extremely salty and I would highly recommend you eat it with some rice.

Where are the veggies?  No we did not forget that food group!  We got an assortment of grilled vegetables, which were perfectly charred.

Ochazuke (茶漬), dashi broth poured over rice, was served with cod roe.  It was light and tasty, standard rice with broth dish.

The Yaki Onigiri (名物関ヶ原たまりの焼おにぎり), crunchy rice ball grilled with Sekigahara soy sauce, was surprisingly salty and a bit hard to finish. It was served warm but had too much soy sauce to it.

Overall, Yopparai is a place that definitely needs its snacks paired with drinks.  Many of the dishes were too salty for me, but I did find that their seafood was very fresh.  Their sake is also undeniably good so I would definitely come here for its drinks.  It’s not an easy find and a small restaurant so I wouldn’t be surprised if you walk past the stairway a few times before finding it.  Happy drinking! Gan-bai!

Yopparai
151 Rivington St
New York, NY 10002
(212) 777-SAKE

Breakfast / dinner / lunch / Taiwanese / travels — 2 Comments
3
Apr 12

Taiwan: Foodie Heaven Pt. 3 – Delicious Meals

If you haven’t noticed already, Taiwan is full of food and frankly I have too many pictures to show for it.  Because Taiwan is full of street stands, it’s hard to tell you where half of where these dishes are found.  Just know that this tiny island right next to China is truly a heaven for those who love food and want to be surrounded by it constantly.

And now…onto the food porn!

Typical breakfast – soy milk with fried culler.

Scallion pancake with egg. I really would like to eat this everyday for breakfast!

Tofu with cilantro and sauce. Light and tender.

Tomato beef noodle soup. Delicious…perfect for any occasion!

Minced pork with sauce noodles, right by Taiwan National University.  Very solid and hearty.

Hand-pulled pancake. It’s crispy and light, not oily, and perfect with some soup!

Oyster vermicelli noodles.

Rice ball stuffed with fried culler, pork, and pickled vegetables. SO good to eat in the mornings.

One of my most favorite noodles – yi mian. Every single time I go back, I MUST EAT THIS.

Taiwan has some nice pastries too!

Peanut milk shaved ice. It tastes like peanut butter!

Alright so I think I’ve made all of us hungry, but hopefully this just shows you how tasty Taiwan is so make sure you visit! If you do, let me know when you’re there so I can make some food recommendations!

 

dinner / Japanese / Recipe — 1 Comment
12
Mar 12

Ramen: My Go-To Meal

Nothing beats a really good bowl of ramen.  It is reliably good, soothing to the stomach and soul.  With the ramen crave in NYC still going strong, I think it’s important to think about – how much do we really love ramen?  Check out this infographic to see how much we consume, innovative ramen recipes, and interesting general facts!

We Love Ramen Infographic
Created by: Hack College

dinner / nyc / Spanish / Uncategorized — No Comments
4
Nov 11

Gastroarte: Food is Art and Your Plate is the Canvas

Located by Lincoln Center, Gastroarte is a restaurant to immerse yourself into the world of art and food. With intricate paintings of a bull fighter and flamengo dancers on the walls, it is hard not to notice the Spanish influences that Jesus Nunez (the chef) has made upon this restaurant.

Note: All dishes shown are their tasting-sized portions.

Each table was given a few small starters to whet your appetite.  Pictured above were their croquetas – one filled with cheese and ham and the other made of squid ink. It was actually quite nice, not too fried or oily, and so easy to just pop them into your mouth.

I really enjoyed their version of patatas bravas, Patatas Braviolis, which are fried potato cubes with house bravioli sauce. The sauce was very well done – nice and spicy giving the petite potato cubes a nice kick.

Labeled their Savory Carrot “Cake” with mahón cheese, asparagus seemed like an interesting appetizer to try.  They said it was one of their most popular dishes and served as inspiration for their paintings and decor of a dining room section.  It was definitely unique (who makes savory carrot cakes?) and had a nice creamy texture to it.  The carrot flavor was just enough for you to know what it is, but had a completely different texture than the typical carrot crunch.

Their Beets And Goat Cheese Mosaic Salad was nicely cooked and cubed; the beets were soft and easy to eat.

The Red Tuna served with tomato and sherry sauce was delectable.  The tuna was cooked just right, a pinkish red in the middle and lightly seared on the outside.  I particularly liked the “sauce” or as I would like to say “broth” – it had the sweet tartness from the tomato and sherry.  I only wished my piece was slightly bigger so I could have more.

I ended off the meal with Warm Liquid, chocolate fritters served with various orange sauces and jellies.  I liked the dessert, especially since they used a dark chocolate that really worked with the slight bitterness and tartness of the orange sauces / jelly.

Gastoarte is a solid restaurant that cooks their food to perfection and plates it just as seriously.  Your plate is their canvas, and they look to bring your dining experience into another realm of artistry and deliciousness. You pay for this particular experience where entrees are upper $20s to $30s, but hey – it’s still cheaper than a painting.

Gastroarte
141 W. 69th St., nr. Broadway
http://gastroartenyc.com/ 

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

dinner / drinks / Japanese / nyc — 1 Comment
10
Aug 11

Bohemian: Japanese Exclusivity

When my friend mentioned that there’s an ultra exclusive Japanese bar / restaurant in NoHo called Bohemian, I was immediately intrigued.  What do they serve? Why would anyone not want their establishment to be full of patrons?  As it turns out, there is an appeal to knowing a place that isn’t known by most people like some other places around the area, inundated with tourists or loud college kids (woo hoo NYU!).  Anyway, my friend scored a reservation (he got the phone number through a friend who has eaten there as well) and I was excited to see what makes this place tick.

We took a look at the menu and decided to get their tasting course plus a few other dishes to try out the highlights (according to FourSquare).

Farmer’s Fresh Vegetable Fondue was beautiful and a great appetizer to whet your appetite.  Personally, I can probably eat these vegetables without any dip, but what they provided was a nice thousand island-like sauce to go with it.

Pictured above is the uni croquette which was creamy and had a great umami flavor.  Enjoyable and easy to eat in a few bites.

We also started with a plate of Herve Katz’s Assorted Cold Cuts which were good, but nothing particularly memorable for me. However, I am generally not falling off my chair for cold cuts anyway so take my comment with a grain of salt.

Who can resist having Washu-Beef Short Rib Sashimi? The melt-in-your-mouth feeling in the beef was there, and all of us wharfed this down pretty quickly.

A cast-iron pan is brought to our table loaded with vegetables and with a Pan Roasted Branzini. The vegetables around it were nicely cooked and soft though a bit salty. The branzini was flaky and worked well with the vegetables when eaten together (since the fish itself had a mild flavor).

Here is the Wagyu Beef Mini Burger, which was definitely mini. In terms of flavor and other important aspects of a burger anyone cares about, I wasn’t particularly impressed…we do have a lot of good burgers in NY so it is hard to say this was particularly unique (even with the wagyu beef).

The Ikura Caviar Rice Bowl was tiny and simple – caviar with rice.

Their soba was a bit too salty for my taste, but was still good. I always enjoy noodles so it was nice to end the meal this way.

My conclusion – It’s nice to go to a place where there aren’t loads of people waiting for a table or has the noise level of a club. The food wasn’t memorable, but I would say it’s a great place for drinks. It’s also a good place to catch up with someone or even have a date. Their decor is interesting and looks like they have these pieces of art around, which makes it have more character. All in all, I had a good time but not sure if I would want to go back for dinner but probably for drinks.

Bohemian
Great Jones Street
New York, NY
Phone number unknown

American Nouveau / dinner / nyc — 3 Comments
6
Jul 11

Degustation Wine & Tasting Bar: Delicious and Datey

I have been asked by my guy friends lately, “where should I take a date?” There are many options in this city, but I want to focus on one of them – Degustation Wine & Tasting Bar. I was not only blown away by the food, small bites indicative of the restaurant name, but also the intimate setting whilst sitting in front of the open kitchen. With a reasonably priced prix fix menu, 5-course for $55 and 10-course for $80, this place is definitely worth scoring a reservation.

Note: This post will be full of pictures, so make sure to scroll down!

We started with an amuse bouche, which were small bites of goodness. One of these bites was a small pocket of cheese that oozed in the mouth.

Crudo of Hamachi, light, tender, and fresh. Definitely ate this in one bite.

This was their sea urchin and sunchoke panna cotta. The soft texture of the panna cotta with sea urchin melded so well together where I wish I had another one.

I can’t remember what this is but hey, this was very good.

The combination of textures in this dish made it outstanding.

Bite sized but well-fried.

Soft cooked egg…and it’s as good as it sounds and looks. I definitely ate this in 30 seconds.

Foie gras terrine with spring onion and citrus marmalade. The layers of meat with nicely toasted bread was well matched with the citrus.

Oxtail and potato cannelloni, crisp salad, and herb salad and was light and al dente. Oh yes I want more.

Red wine braised short ribs with baby carrots and bruleed cippolini. Seared so nicely and was very tender.

The first dessert portion…

Caramelized torija with grapefruit. Delicious in all the right ways: pudding-esque and not too sweet.

It was definitely a great experience provided the great food, wine, and company (happy birthday Joanne)! Degustation Wine & Tasting Bar is definitely operating top of their game, making it a perfect restaurant to bring someone you care about.

Degustation Wine & Tasting Bar
239 E 5th St
(between 2nd Ave & Cooper Sq)
(212) 979-1012

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

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