dinner

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 — No Comments
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

Cuban / dinner / drinks / nyc / Seafood — No Comments
8
May 11

Cienfuegos: A Rum Cocteleria Worth Visiting

What is there not to like about this place?  Tropical lounge decor, chill waitstaff, delicious food, and rum-based punches sets Cienfuegos up for success.  Try getting a table on Saturday night and you’ll inevitably wait 45 minutes so that you can experience Cuba’s “Pearl of the South”.  Luckily one of my friends mentioned that Tasting Table had a special deal with them where you can have a $50, three-course menu with drink pairings and dessert at Cienfuegos. Who can say no to that?

We start off with a Striped Bass Ceviche served with cucumber, pomegranate, avocado, and mint over chickpea fries. This dish was creamy but fairly light. I enjoyed the texture of the dish; the striped bass melded into the softness of the avocado and the chickpeas gave it a nice crunch. Drink pairing: Spring Refresher

The second course was Papa Rellena de Picadillo de Creme (meat stuffed with potatoes croquette) served with sofrito aioli. The outside was flaky and buttery while the inside was meaty and gave it that salty flavor. I definitely enjoyed this and had no trouble finishing it. Drink pairing: Alabazam Rum No. 2

Pictured above was the last course – seared pork belly with spicy black beans, crunchy tostones, and guava glaze. This was no surprise since Cubans do love their pork. It was very well done because the meat was moist, tender, and juicy. I had no problem gobbling it up. Drink pairing: Señor Dobbs

For dessert, we had their cocktail sorbet with wafers and blackberries. I’m not sure how much I tasted of any cocktail per se, but I definitely enjoyed the texture combination of the ingredients. The wafers provided that crunch that melted once it touched the cold sorbet and juice from the blackberries.

Cienfuegos
95 Avenue A (near 6th st.)
New York, NY 10009
(212) 614-6818

American Nouveau / dinner / French / Fusion / Japanese / Korean / nyc — 1 Comment
23
Apr 11

Má Pêche: Beef 7 Ways – A Meat Feast

Má Pêche, the 4th restaurant of David Chang’s empire, is his first midtown restaurant located in the Chambers Hotel.  The “boeuf sept façons” better known as “beef seven ways” meal is…intense. Boy, if you love meat you will love this meal.  Similar to his other food feasts, this meal can feed up to 10 people and requires a minimum of 4…and trust me, you will want and need all 10 people to be there considering they give you TONS of meat.

First course featured the tongue made into a salad comprised of basil, tatsoi, and plum vinaigrette. I was VERY impressed with this dish because it made me want to eat tongue! All the flavors melded together very nicely, and the tongue was sliced thin and was very tender.

Along with the salad was the wagyu served with ginger, scallion, and radish. To be honest, you can’t go wrong with wagyu but they did a great job highlighting the meat itself.  Oh the wagyu meat definitely melted in my mouth…gotta love that fat.

What is in this plate o’meat? There was sausage made of lemongrass, thai basil, and shallots, and the Cote de Boeuf which has butter, thyme, and garlic.  I must say, both of these dishes were REALLY good.  The sausage was well flavored and well spiced. The cote de boeuf was nicely cooked, tender and perfectly juicy.

Oxtail was cooked with soy, sherry, and apple juice which made it tender and slightly sweet. I could only eat once piece at this point but it was very good. The meat fell off the oxtail and had very good flavor.

And then there’s the SHANK. Not sure if you could tell how large this shank is, but it was huge. The shank came with the bone and served with crab paste, onion, and chili. The more impressive part of this dish was the size of it rather than the taste. It was the hurdle and if you and your friends could conquer it, more power to you all. We didn’t want to scoffed by the waitress, so all the guys managed to muster more stomach room and finished the shank.

The last course, the consommé with cilantro, basil, and lime reminded me of pho broth. I was just glad that this wasn’t something I needed to chew.

All in all, it was a memorable meal – a meat feast. There were definitely some highlights and requires intense eating skills from everyone to finish it all. Make sure to bring a group of friends that are ready to eat their faces off.

Má Pêche
15 West 56th Street
New York, NY 10019
(212) 757-5878

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 Nouveau / dinner / nyc / Thai — 1 Comment
13
Feb 11

Kin Shop: Asian-inspired Done Right?

I was excited to try out Kin Shop, Harold Dieterle’s 2nd restaurant (winner of Top Chef Season 1), since it has gotten rave reviews from NY Times, NY Mag, and just about any other magazine. The reservations were made about a month ahead of time, people confirmed for the dinner, and food gathering #2 was organized. We were all eager to try out Kin Shop  in hopes of finding an actual good “Asian-inspired” restaurant. That night we got to see Harold by the busing station, basically being QA. It’s nice seeing the chef actually being at his restaurant.

Pictured above – Sliced snap peas with Diver Sea Scallops, served with crispy shallots, pea greens, and toasted coconut. The scallops were nicely cooked. The sauce added a good creaminess to the dish.

This is their Chiang Mai Sausage and Steamed Duck Egg with red onion congee, razor clams & fried thai basil-garlic sauce.  I felt the highlight of the dish wasn’t the sausage or egg, but ratherthe red onion congee. It almost felt like they treated it like an orzo, cooking it with a broth or sauce to create add another flavor layer for the congee. I think the use of Taiwanese sausage rather than Chiang Mai would work better since it would provide a sweeter flavor, but I suppose that wouldn’t make the dish Thai-inspired anymore…

The roti was VERY good. Oddly enough this was one of my favorite dishes (or side dish?) to eat. Each layer was probably coated in butter, and the flakiness to doughiness ratio was perfect. It was slightly chewy, crispy, buttery, and made your mouth crave for some more. Just thinking about it, I totally want some now. Highly recommended!

The roasted duck breast with green mango, fresh herbs, and tamarind water was the best main dish. I’m not sure if it was the tamarind water, but the sauce that came with the duck breast had a good amount of heat and sweetness. It complimented the flavors of duck very well, so much so that as a person who doesn’t normally love duck, I ate around three pieces by myself. If I could, I probably would have eaten the whole thing. Another highly recommended dish!

Kin Shop’s braised goat with fried shallots, purple yams, mustard greens & toasted coconut was also a successful dish. I felt like they did a great job with braising. Not only did I not taste the gaminess of the goat meat, but the meat fell right off the bone. It was tender and juicy, just the way meat should be. The sauce added that creaminess and perhaps helped mask the gaminess. Fried shallots are always a great addition providing an extra crunch and sweet onion-like flavor to a dish. I definitely wouldn’t mind eating this again.

Lastly, dessert - Thai coffee-chocolate and Thai ice tea ice creams, and Calamansi sorbet. I have to say, it was really cool eating Thai ice tea ice cream considering we’re all used to drinking it. That different way of consuming Thai ice tea gave them plus points. The Calamansi sorbet was very good, had a sweet and sour taste, and the Thai coffee-chocolate was pretty normal.

Their dessert menu was actually the smallest menu for a restaurant I’ve encountered, with only ice cream and sorbets available, but maybe this isn’t a course they want to stress anyway. After all, their appetizer / main dishes were very well cooked and nicely seasoned. I would still recommend people to go, but make sure you make reservations! It’s a small space and with rave reviews, seats are difficult to come by. You can reserve through OpenTable.

To answer my question, Kin Shop makes good Asian (and more specifically Thai) inspired dishes that are cooked very well. It is clear that they carefully thought through flavors and textures of each ingredient though one dish presentation wasn’t very aesthetically pleasing. But hey, can’t win them all. Even though this meal didn’t knock my socks off, that doesn’t mean it wasn’t a good meal especially for the price. I’m just glad it’s next door to me.

Kin Shop
469 6th Avenue (btw 11th and 12th st.)
New York, NY 10011
(212) 675-4295

Breakfast / dessert / dinner / Mexican / Seafood / travels — 1 Comment
6
Feb 11

Cancun: Tropical Paradise Ready for Tourists

Paradise: clear waters, beautiful beaches, lots of sunshine…why did I leave again? This trip was a great break from the snowy winter. Reading about Cancun,all the guides talked about fresh seafood, Mayan foods, and alcohol in the forms of magaritas, pina colodas, and Mexican beers. Of course it is also known as a spring break destination. This post is about highlighting the dishes that I ate during my trip at my hotel, downtown Cancun, Isla Mujeres, and Chichen Itza.

One of the first stops was at a really touristy restaurant called La Parrilla. They come with English menus prepared, a guy that goes around taking photos of you, and large alcoholic drinks. Pictured above is the five taco appetizer which has one of each: pastor (pork), sausage, grilled chicken, grilled steak, and tilapia. They were okay but nothing really stood out.

This is a traditional Mayan dish – Cochinita Pibil. Basically it is marinated pork meat in citrus juice with annatto seed. They roast pork meat while it is wrapped in banana leaf underneath the ground for a long period of time. The result? Fall-off-the-bone meat that is nicely spiced and flavored. Clearly the Mayans knew what they were doing when it came to pork.

A very typical dish in Mexico – seafood ceviche. I got to eat this right by the water on the Isla Mujeres right after snorkeling. It was very refreshing and the seafood tasted very fresh. They add lime which added a slight citrus tang and helped highlight the flavors of the shrimp, octopus, and fish.

Grilled shrimp with vegetable rice, lettuce, tomato, and lime was very good. It was simply cooked and nicely cleaned (no shrimp vein!). It’s great island food and definitely a pleasure to eat. The shells came off very easily and paired nicely with the tortillas they provided along with the meal.

A whole fried fish served with vegetable rice, lettuce, tomato, and lime is pictured above. Unfortunately I’m not sure what type of fish this was, but it was very easy to eat because it was lightly fried. It had a crunchy exterior to the soft white meat, and not oily at all. I certainly wouldn’t mind eating some whole fried fish again.

The last savory dish is comprised of two fried eggs, cheese, ham, peas, tomato sauce served on an English muffin. It was served fried plantains. It felt like a brunch dish I would eat at a Mexican brunch in New York. I devoured the whole plate because it was so good. The combination of runny eggs with ham lightly sprinkled with cheese gave this dish a two thumbs up.

And onto dessert! Churros are always good – crispy outside, soft inside, lightly coated with sugar. They weren’t very big but just enough to end the meal.

Maquesitas are thin waffle crepes, a easy dessert to eat whilst walking around. I ordered the banana with nutella and caramel. Oh, it is as good as it sounds. I would definitely order a few of these at once if I had the chance in New York.

Last but not least, a picture of a huge margarita. Mexicans definitely take pride in making tequila (shots, shots, shots) and fun tropical drinks i.e. pina colada, margaritas. It was pretty intense but all in the spirit of Mexico!

Cancun isn’t a culinary capital and many dishes are often overpriced, but at least you can enjoy the beautiful beaches and sunshine. It was a great to leave the cold, enjoy some fresh seafood, and see Chichen Itza.

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