November 25, 2009
From Serious Eats: New York
Posted by Joe DiStefano, November 25, 2009 at 3:30 PM
[Photos: Joe DiStefano]
I'd like to preface this post by saying that I'm not the starstruck type. Monday night I went to Barnes & Noble in Union Square to hear David Chang and Peter Meehan talk with Tony Bourdain about the new Momofuku cookbook. While I enjoy the f-bomb dropping Chang's food, my reason for going had nothing to do with Chang or his new book. I was there to buttonhole Bourdain and get him to sign a copy of Edible Queens. I hadn't seen Bourdain since July when I took him and Eric Ripert to Flushing for the cover article. After what proved to be an entertaining talk Chang and Meehan stayed behind to sign books. As soon as Bourdain left the stage, I rushed downstairs to catch him. Just before he got into a waiting car, I got him to sign the cover of the magazine.
Little did I know we'd meet in Flushing again.
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From Serious Eats: New York
Posted by Kathy YL Chan, November 25, 2009 at 3:00 PM
Except for the peanut butter balls and brownies, which are always spot on, the majority of house baked goods at Soho's City Girl Cafe are decent, and little more. Looks, especially at this cafe, has a tendency to be awfully deceiving. Take this gorgeous cranberry-pistachio loaf with a golden, evenly browned crust. I came close to salivating as the woman handed it to me over the counter. Barely out the door, I stuffed my eager hands into the brown bag and chomped away. Gummy and heavy with an uneven crumb—the only saving grace were bright pops of tart and fresh cranberries. Sadness.
City Girl Cafe
63 Thompson Street, New York NY 10012 (map)
citygirlcafeny.com
From A Hamburger Today
Posted by Damon Gambuto, November 25, 2009 at 1:30 PM
[Photographs: Damon Gambuto]
Farm Stand
422 Main Street El Segundo, CA 90245 (map); 310-640-FARM; farmstand.us
Cooking Method: Grilled
Short Order: The high quality (and massive) patty isn't matched by bun and toppings.
Want Fries with That? Yes, if they hold the Parmesan.
Prices: Ground Chuck Burger, $9.95 (lunch), $11.25 (dinner); served with Parmesan fries and choice of toppings.
Notes: Lunch, Monday - Friday, 11:00 a.m - 2:30 p.m.; Dinner, Monday - Thursday, 5:30 p.m. - 10:00 p.m., Friday - Sunday, 5:00 p.m. - 10 p.m.
Farmstand describes its cuisine as "urban country food," which is puzzling not only because of the slippery nature of an oxymoron (intentional, or otherwise), but also because it's located in a neighborhood that is neither. El Segundo is a tiny city (we're talking 16,000 or so residents) that sits just south of Los Angeles city limit. To the east is the Pacific and our ridiculous airport looms just to its north, but other than the occasional jet being rerouted overhead there is little to let you know that you are minutes (10 to 45 depending on traffic) from the heart of a metropolis.
The Main Street of "downtown" El Segundo is the "Main Street" of our imaginings; that Post-War strip of Pax Americana dotted with the independent shops and eateries that served all of a town's needs. (Before malls and big boxes retailers showed us how much more valuable discounted sweat socks are than a sense of community.) This is all to say, the "urban country" Farm Stand is located smack dab in the middle of suburbia.
A friend works in the area and invited me over the border to this for lunch with promises of a delicious, gargantuan burger. One out of two may not be bad, but when it comes to burgers, it's less than good.
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From Serious Eats: New York
Posted by Carey Jones, November 25, 2009 at 1:30 PM
A little Serious Eats Thanksgiving nostalgia: Ed's favorite pies, circa 2007—a roundup he likes to refer to as his "Pie Heaven." In the Promised Land: Two Little Red Hens, Clinton Street Baking Company, Sweet Melissa's, Trois Pommes Patisserie, and a whole lot more. Get the full list here.
From Slice
Posted by Daniel Zemans, November 25, 2009 at 1:05 PM
Serious Eats Chicago contributor Daniel Zemans checks in with another piece of intel on the Windy City pizza scene. —The Mgmt.
[Photographs: Daniel Zemans]
Labriola Bakery Café
3021 Butterfield Road, Oak Brook IL 60523 (map); (630) 574-2008; labriolabakerycafe.com
Pizza Style: Neapolitan-American and bakery/Sicilian
Oven Type: Wood and gas
The Skinny: One of Chicago's best bakers has successfully made the jump to pizza
Price: Neapolitan pies start at $10.95; bakery slices start at $3.99
Once upon a time, after man mastered the art of making flatbread, an anonymous baking genius came up with the idea of putting toppings on the bread. Fast forward a couple thousand years and for reasons that don't make a whole lot of sense, the art of bread-making is largely separate from pizza-making. Sure there are plenty of pizzaiolos who make outstanding crusts, but for some reason, few of the great bakeries sell pizza. Given that making great bread is, depending on one's perspective, up to 90% of the way towards a great pizza, we would all be a lot better off if more breadsmiths would start putting sauce, cheese and toppings on their product.
When Rich Labriola opened his eponymous artisanal bakery in 1993 and signed on Spago as his first customer, the son of a Calumet City pizzeria owner was on his way to building one of the biggest and best bakeries in Chicago. Not content with simply selling great bread to more than 700 restaurants in Illinois, Indiana, Michigan and Wisconsin, Labriola made the decision to add a restaurant and bakery store to his growing empire. And last November, he opened Labriola Bakery Café in Oak Brook. The restaurant actually came onto my radar after hearing of the burgers (review forthcoming on AHT), but I was happy to discover that the pizza was good enough to make the long trek to Oak Brook worthwhile.
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From Serious Eats: New York
Posted by Kathy YL Chan, November 25, 2009 at 1:00 PM
[Photo: Kathy Chan]
I've avoided this Tribeca cafe, on the corner of Greenwich Street and North Moore, for quite a while. The turnoff was in the cheesy name and somewhat generic-looking exterior. I walk past it at least once a day for work, and you should see the crowds out here during lunch hour. It's simply never empty. Tribeca moms with kids in strollers, students from the nearby school and the men and women from the Citibank building across the street.
Peace & Love, true to name, has a distinctly hippie vibe, very un-New York. The service is casual and friendly; the mood is laid back. High ceilings, lazy seats, and newspapers laying about. I ordered their pear and honey yogurt shake ($4.45) to begin. It was huge and syrupy sweet with clumps of solidified honey caught in the cold mass. Canned pears. Pass. I barely touched it.
A redeeming dessert, after the jump.
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From A Hamburger Today
Posted by BurgerConquest, November 25, 2009 at 12:00 PM
Note: Fellow burger blogger Rev. Dave Ciancio of Burger Conquest previously contributed to AHT about Burgermeeter in Amsterdam. He continues his "burger conquest" with today's review of a burger in the U.S. Virgin Islands. And for those who prefer to read in pirate-speak, check out the pirate version on his blog.
[Photographs: Rev. Dave Ciancio]
Shipwreck Tavern
Havensight Mall, Building 18, Route 30, St Thomas, VI 00803 (map); shipwreckvi.com
Cooking Method: Grilled
Short Order: Ahoy, sports fans and 'actioners, Aye, this burger be delicious. Yarrr!
Want Fries with That? I ordered mine with cheese, but you should order without...fries..
Price: $12-15
It's standard practice. I go somewhere new; I search out a burger to eat while I'm there. That is exactly what happened while I was in St. Thomas in the U.S. Virgin Islands for my brother Matt's wedding. The trick was finding a time to fit it in and convincing his new bride-to-be, Gina, to let us go. When I found out that the Michigan State University football game (Matt is obsessed) was on at the same time that Gina needed to get ready for the ceremony, I seized the opportunity.
The Shipwreck is located just off downtown Charlotte Amalie, the major city in St. Thomas, in the Havensight Mall. With the gigantic Great White Shark, massive hamburger, and Coors Lite bottle outside, there is no way you can miss it. The décor? Imagine if a college sports bar was inside a pirate's ship. Everything is made out of a dark wood and there are lots of crazy things on the walls, funny paintings and signs, mannequins, flat-screen TVs, and video poker games.
The Shipwreck has a selection of burgers on the menu but I just went with their signature item, the Shipwreck Burger—bacon, cheddar and fried onions—prepared medium rare. Besides the standard toppings, you can also get salsa, guacamole, jalapenos, a selection of cheeses and mushrooms. The ground beef patty comes served on a sesame seed bun and with a side of fries, which I chose to have covered in cheese.
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From Serious Eats: New York
Posted by Carey Jones, November 24, 2009 at 11:00 PM
"Smart cocktails, a Michelin-starred chef, and no plate over $16? To this stretch of Prospect Heights, it may be a dream come true."
[Photos: Robyn Lee]
Editor's note: Ed Levine is off this week; Carey Jones, editor of Serious Eats: New York, fills in.
Saul Bolton has a nose for neighborhoods. Ten years ago, his first restaurant, Saul, opened on Smith Street and garnered immediate acclaim as a Boerum Hill pioneer—a distinction underscored by the Michelin star that followed, to this day one of only three in Brooklyn.
The Vanderbilt
570 Vanderbilt Avenue, Brooklyn NY 11238 (at Bergen; map); 718-623-0570, thevanderbiltnyc.com
Service: Informal but very competent
Setting: Sophisticated, if casual, somewhere between pleasantly lively and jam-packed
Must-Haves: Shisho peppers, pig's feet, mackerel, pork loin, goat cheesecake
Cost: Small plates, the largest a bit shy of entree size, from $4-$16
Grade: A-/B+
Times have changed. The fine dining border of Brooklyn creeps further east; the unbuttoned, walk-in bar-staurant has, for a younger generation, become the neighborhood fixture that the cozy corner restaurant once was. Bolton's new venture, The Vanderbilt in Prospect Heights (created with Ben Daitz of Num Pang), is little more than a mile from Saul, but seems worlds away.
If it were a pub, one could call it a gastropub. (It's not; please don't.) No white tablecloths; no three-course menu in sight. Instead, you'll find a young, lively, dimly lit space where servers greet you cheerfully over the din and dishes appear as fast as the kitchen can fire them. Small plates, small portions, modest prices—and grand ambitions.
Smart cocktails, a Michelin-starred chef, and no plate over $16? To this stretch of Prospect Heights, it's a dream come true. The neighborhood has all the trappings of 2009's young professionals—artisinal coffee, organic markets stocked with microbrews, increasingly sophisticated bars—but, to this point, a relatively meager stock of serious chefs. The Vanderbilt has stepped neatly into that void. In the month since its opening, the restaurant has been slammed every night with no signs of slowing.
Is The Vanderbilt the place this crowd has been waiting for? In a number of ways, it is: infectious energy, an impressive bar, an ambitious, internationally inflected menu. And while the food isn't yet flawless, and the prices not quite the bargain they initially seem, it's easy to have an excellent, even memorably delicious meal.
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From Serious Eats: New York
Still thinking about Turkey Day? Tomorrow is the last day to get your Thanksgiving on at the Union Square Greenmarket. If you're looking to buy a turkey, pick up some prepared sides, or otherwise shop for Thanksgiving dinner in New York, check out our guide. And though some are sure to be booked solid, here's our guide to Thanksgiving menus at New York restaurants.
From Serious Eats: New York
Posted by Kathy YL Chan, November 24, 2009 at 4:00 PM
[Photo: Kathy Chan]
At Taim, the falafels are the city's best and the fries are just as good. As for the smoothies? Among the best in the city. Fresh fruit, little sugar, with the final drink more towards icy and refreshing than creamy and filling. Simple touches with ingredients like lime, ginger, and basil provide a memorable touch. My favorite of their signature smoothies is the bright Date-Lime-Banana, though feel free to mix and match to your liking from a selection that includes pears, cantaloupe, and raspberries.
Related:
Sabich Pita Sandwich from Taim
Best Falafel in New York
Taim
222 Waverly Place, New York NY 10014 (map)
212-691-1287
taimfalafel.com
From Serious Eats: New York
Posted by Nikki Goldstein, November 24, 2009 at 1:00 PM
Editor's note: Consider the chicken pot pie your gateway to Thanksgiving. There's poultry, there's pie, there's all-American comfort food—in a manageable one-pot portion. (And best of all, someone else is doing the cooking!) We sent Nikki Goldstein out on a mad pie hunt to track down New York's best.
There are few things as comforting as chicken pot pie on a cold day. Between the veggies and chicken, the hearty stock, and the biscuit crust, though, it's a lot of components to get right. With a list of spots to check out and a couple of discerning friends, I set off to find the best pot pie in Manhattan. Below, the favorites, not-so-favorites, and our crowned champion.
The Favorites
There are a good number of mean pot pies in the city, but aside from our winner, three really stood out. Though it's hardly surprising, Tea and Sympathy, the West Village ode to England, came in as our runner-up (pictured above). The crust was crunchy and golden, and the filling featured veggies like leeks and yellow squash that were welcome additions to the mix. We wanted a little more chicken, but the overall texture was creamy and balanced—in a word, perfect.
Tea and Sympathy: 108 Greenwich Avenue (map), 212-989-9735, teaandsympathynewyork.com
The good, the not-so-good, and our favorite chicken pot pie in New York.
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From Serious Eats: New York
Posted by Carey Jones, November 24, 2009 at 10:30 AM
[Photo: Carey Jones]
It was just over a year ago that one commenter asked where to get a morning bun in New York; ever since then, I've been on the lookout. And this morning, I finally spotted one worth writing about at Colson Patisserie in Brooklyn's Park Slope. Delicate croissant dough with a scant sprinkle of cinnamon-sugar, spiral-rolled and baked into a muffin tin for a crunchy, airy top and a denser, compressed base. Look for the "morning roll" on the menu.
Colson Patisserie
374 Ninth Street, Brooklyn NY 11215 (at 6th Avenue; map)
718-965-6400
colsonpastries.com
