Busy Sundays – Tribeca, Ctown and Chikalicious

Catching up on the events of the past few weeks – it is crazy how fast life passes you by and summer turns into winter. The beginning of fall was filled with exciting happenings: friends visiting from out of town, discovering new areas of the city, and of course, enjoying a lot of great food.

First stop: I am now volunteering with Housing Works, and I helped out at the Tribeca Showtime house in September. The two penthouses were amazing and the designers did a great job with styling each  room for each Showtime show. So this is what it feels like to be a millionaire:

I was also absolutely delighted that my friend M came all the way from Japan to visit! Mini Penn reunion at Shanghai Cafe – oldie but a goodie

Rice Cakes

Dry Sauteed Green Beans

Whole Fish!

And finally, my friend H also had a work project in the city, and we celebrated by going to Chikalicious for some fabulous dessert and wine

Amuse: Melon sorbet with white chocolate mousse

Fresh Fig Creme Brulee with Lemonade Sorbet (paired with a lovely muscat wine)

Caramel Panna Cotta and Plum Sorbet (paired with moscato)

Petit Fours: Chocolate truffle, Peppercorn Shortbread, Coconut Marshmallow

Sigh … autumn in New York

Chikalicious 203 E. 10th St., New York, NY 10003

203 E. 10th St., New York, NY 10003

 

Read more: ChikaLicious – East Village – New York Magazine Restaurant Guide http://nymag.com/listings/restaurant/chikalicious/#ixzz0WFEa0nb6

More Williamsburg … Mesa Coyoacan

To be honest, I am usually not a fan of Mexican food at all. In my mind, the thought of Mexican food brings connotations of cheesy, greasy, salty, and overly spicy food – not exactly appetizing to say the least (at least to me)! However, when my friends J and Y suggested a new place that just recently opened near their place in Williamsburg, I was intrigued. When we first arrived at the restaurant, there was a brief wait for our table, during which I ordered a glass of horchata at the bar. I was first introduced to horchata during the summer that I spent in New Mexico – it is a creamy drink made with rice, almonds, and cinnamon. I have learned that any Mexican restaurant worth its salt will make a good horchata – and Mes Coyoacan’s horchata turned out to be the best that I have had in the New York area thus far … needless to say, our dinner was already starting off well!

We were seated promptly at our table and decided on an order of guacamole and a trio of tamales to start. The guacamole was pretty standard fare, and served with generous refills of fresh, crispy house made tortilla chips. I must mention here that one of my favorite ways of enjoying guacamole is with thick cut yuca fries – try it sometime … the sturdy, hearty crunch of a yuca fry is a delicious companion for the smooth savoriness of a good guac. The tamale trio consisted of oaxaqueno (chicken and black mole), veracruzano (tilapia and guajillo salsa), and chipaneco (pork picadillo, fruit and almonds) – each a tasty little bite wrapped in delicate corn husks. All three were equally as good so I wouldn’t be able to pick a favorite – even better that the order comes with all three!

For dinner I had three pork carnitas tacos made with Berkshire pork. The tacos were absolutely delightful – served on thin soft tortillas that held the perfectly seasoned meat filling!

My bf decided to try a spicy soup that was a bit underwhelming … I usually like to stick to Korean soon doo bu, kimchi jigae, or budae jigae for a deep spicy and filling stew.

J and Y both ordered enchiladas – mole for J and verde for Y. Both orders of enchiladas were very well executed – authentic and enrobed in rich, flavorful sauces.

Manhattanites take note: for great and authentic Mexican, hop on the L to Graham and try Mesa Coyoacan!

Mesa Coyoacan

372 Graham Avenue

• 372 Graham Ave, Brooklyn 11211
• (Btwn Skillman Ave & Conselyea St)
• fe

I <3 Brooklyn

I don’t understand why so many Manhattanites have a near phobia against going to the other boroughs – there are so many great things to explore outside of our tiny little island, not to mention all of the great food that we miss out on by limiting ourselves to only staying within the bounds of the Hudson and East Rivers. This weekend I spent most of my Saturday in Williamsburg, Brooklyn – and if it weren’t for my commute to work in the mornings, I could definitely see myself living here. There is so much more space, and I just feel like I can really breathe instead of being stifled by all of the people, smoke, pollution, cars, buildings, etc etc in Manhattan. Not to mention all of the delicious treats that I discovered – first, I had brunch with my friends J and Y at Sel de Mer, a new restaurant that had just opened this summer. Their food focuses on fresh seafood and the space is very simple and cozy inside. We walked from their apartment to the restaurant and were seated immediately (if this place was in Manhattan, the wait would probably have been somewhere in the neighborhood of 1.5 hours…). The whole atmosphere was very chill and relaxed, and we could actually hear each other and carry on a leisurely conversation over our eggs benedict and sandwiches. I had the eggs benedict with smoked salmon and spinach – and I have to say, this is probably one of the best eggs benedicts .. if not THE BEST … that I have had in the city (and I have had quite a few!).

J had the eggs benedict as well, with only smoked salmon …

And Y had the fish cake sandwiches …

We left very satisfied (as you can see, the portions are very generous) – and without doing too much damage to our wallets (the eggs benedict was only $8!).

And the day got even better after brunch – Y and I decided to go poke around the Brooklyn Flea for a bit and enjoy the beautiful weather. After reading about Liddabit caramels I had to try some on my own. Since they have a booth at the Brooklyn Flea on Saturdays, I made sure to stop by and pick up some sweets! I bought a few of their beer pretzel caramels, as well as their seasonal apple cider caramels. Both are delicious and I have been trying to restrain myself from finishing all of them before the weekend is over! I definitely need to get some more next weekend ….

I hope that this entry inspires some of my Manhattan friends to venture down to Brooklyn once in while!

On a side note, completely un-food-related, have you ever imagined what New York looked like before all of the pre/post-war apartments, bars, restaurants, taxis, people, and high-rise buildings? What a footprint that man leaves on this planet: http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2009/09/manhattan/clark-photography

Sel de Mer
374 Graham Ave., nr. Conselyea St., Williamsburg

LiddAbit Sweets
Brooklyn Flea, Saturdays

Finale, where dinner is just the prelude

A few weeks ago I finally made it up to Boston to help the bf settle into his new place in Cambridge. His new home is a lovely apartment in a house that’s over a hundred years old – very different from my apartment in a high-rise in Hell’s Kitchen, but also a very refreshing change of scene for me. Cambridge seems to have the right balance of suburban charm with Boston right there to add a bit of urban flavor. What was really nice was to also have the chance to meet up with old and new friends alike, and to get a taste of the Boston food scene! On Sunday night we went out to a fabulous dinner at Finale in Harvard Square. They take dessert very seriously at this restaurant – in fact, the dinner course is considered a prelude to the grand finale (no pun intended ) … lots and lots of decadent dessert!

To start, I had the pizza bianca (with grilled chicken and feta)

…and he had the crab quiche with Gruyère and a tomato mozzarella salad:

And then it was time for dessert … don’t worry – we were eating with 3 other friends, this was not just the two of us!

Molten chocolate cake:

Boston Creme:

Chocolate Mousse:

Tiramisu:

Can you tell that I was very very very satisfied after this meal?

Finale

30 Dunster Street

Cambridge, MA

Sweet summer – happy times with old friends

In August, one of my best friends from college visited the city for a week and I got the chance to show her all of my favorite places to eat in the city as well as try out a few new places! Our first stop was Porchetta – hands down one of my all time favorite sandwich shops. What I love about the Porchetta sandwich is its simplicity and depth of flavor, just meat and bread. The sandwich is perfectly proportioned and also wonderfully moist and savory.

After lunch we wandered about for a bit and each picked up some sweet things to satisfy our craving for dessert. First stop was Butter Lane, which makes the most amazing cupcakes with french buttercream frosting. N got the chocolate cake with vanilla bean frosting: a classic combination.

We also happened to walk by a Beard Papa’s – I have never had their cream puffs and have always wanted to try it. I think this is the first and last time that I will have Beard Papa’s … cute name, but their puffs are not so great. The choux pastry was crumbly and too dry, and the filling just tasted too sweet and artificial.

For a quick afternoon pick-me-up, I stopped by Joe the Art of Coffee in West Village to have a cappuccino. I always love when my cup of coffee comes with some lovely latte art – I’m excited to find more espresso shops to explore in the city!

Another one of my favorites in the village: the puppies!

Julie & Julia inspiration – Bruschetta

Although I didn’t think that I was going to see this movie in theaters, the bf and I were inspired by the good food that we ate at Fiore and decided to go on Saturday night to see Julie & Julia. I had enjoyed the book when it first came out and was iffy about the movie being a let down, but it turned out to be a cute and satisfying movie. One of my favorite scenes is when Julie is making bruschetta for her boyfriend – the food styling in the movie is pretty amazing and this scene made the bruschetta look like the most delicious bruschetta in the world. I was determined to get some as soon as possible. By coincidence, I had just bought some beautiful heirloom tomatoes from the market that I love in Brooklyn (take that tomato blight!) and my basil plant has been basking in the summer sun and growing abundantly. I had also picked up some italian bread at Trader Joe’s to make pressed sandwiches, and the bread also turned out to be perfect for bruschetta. For the topping, I diced the tomato and chopped up a handful of basil. I added a sprinkling of sea salt as well as kosher salt, ground black pepper, some garlic powder, a splash of balsamic, a bit of ground italian herbs, and a bit of cold press olive oil to round it out. I made the bread exactly the way that Amy Adams (as Julie) made it in the movie – pan frying in olive oil. Nothing is quite as satisfying as listening to the sizzle of bread toasting up in hot olive oil and smelling the toasty aroma waft through the kitchen. After I removed the bread slices from the pan, I immediately rubbed both sides of the bread with a cut garlic clove and topped each slice with a heap of the bruschetta topping. Now that makes for a good Monday dinner!

Weekend Wrapup – Mad For Chicken, Shake Shack, Fiore, Jin Fong

Boy do I need to start working out again.

Yum Yum

One of the best things about living in the city (and worst things for my waistline) is how many restaurants are easily accessible by walking. In the mood for Thai, my friend F and I decided to meet on 9th ave to check out the selection. We ended up at Yum Yum – Yum Yum Bangkok, to be exact. I wonder who started Yum Yum and if they had originally worked for Starbucks … similar to the way I can find Starbucks right next to and across the street from each other in the city, there are THREE Yum Yums within a two block stretch on 9th ave! Yep … north from 45th you’ll see Yum Yum … Yum Yum … and Yum Yum Too!

Yum Yum Bangkok lived up to its name – that is, it was indeed yummy Nothing earth shattering or soul shaking, but a good meal to fill the belly.

Yum Yum Bangkok

650 9th Ave

Moby Dick and Sweet Sixteen

Last week I was in DC to celebrate my sister’s 16th birthday and to enjoy some time in the suburbs. One of my all time favorite (albeit chain) restaurants in the DC metro area is Moby Dick’s House of Kabob – where they serve all sorts of deliciously juicy grilled meats with freshly made flatbread and cucumber yogurt sauce. When you go to Moby Dick’s the thing to remember is that you should always get the combo – it comes with salad, bread, yogurt sauce, meat, and rice! We ended up getting two combos and a lamb sandwich (basically a combo without the rice, all wrapped up together in the flatbread). I love the way that they marinate the chicken and lamb so that it is chock full of meaty goodness, hot off the grill! When I was younger (and in better shape), my friends from the xc team and I would actually run all the way across town for this stuff … it is that good.

Chicken Platter

Lamb Platter

YoYogi Sushi and Panera

Taking a mini-break and chilling in the suburbs for the weekend – took my sis out with the bf for a sushi lunch and catching a matinee showing of HP6 – gotta love $7 movie tickets!

Seafood Udon

Eel Roll

Cali Roll

Salmon and Yellowtail

One of things that I’m still waiting for in NYC is Panera – especially with rents going down so much lately, they should  definitely open up a cafe. Now that we have Baha Fresh in the city, the only we’re missing is Panera!! Am currentely chillaxing in the new Panera near my house and enjoying a nice snack – french onion soup in a bread bowl!