Mark at the blog Black Napkin goes behind the scenes at Per Se and comes back with a series of beautiful photos. He says:
It was eerily silent. Everything and everyone was moving in perfect unison, as if they were actors in a play rehearsed a thousand times. As a result, there was hardly any commotion at all.
362 West 45th Street, New York, NY 10036 (b/n Eighth and Ninth avenues; map); 212-582-5973
Service: Slow, a little disorganized but well-meaning
Setting: Curbside cuisine
Compare It To: Charles' Southern-Style Kitchen, Pink Teacup
Must-Haves: Fried Chicken, Mashed Potatoes
Cost: $5 if you get three pieces of fried chicken and a side of mashed potatoes
Grade: A- for the fried chicken and the mashed potatoes, B for everything else on the menu
What in the way of substantial food can you get for a buck or two in Gotham these days? Not much. Chinatowns all over New York are full of inexpensive delicious treats: Dumplings, greens sandwiches, dollar hot dogs were all included in Serious Eater Gordon Mark's deliciously comprehensive guide to cheap eats in Chinatown. And then there's the dollar menu at McDonalds, which budget-minded students of all ages and ethnicities avail themselves of frequently. Finally, there have been a couple of pizza-slice-for-a-buck emporia starting to pop up all over town, but those slices will only do when any form of melted cheese on warm bread fix will suffice. Of those mentioned above, only the Chinatown offerings strike me as anything I would look forward to eating on a regular basis.
That's why I was so excited when Serious Eats: New York editor Zach Brooks told me about Piece of Chicken, a soul food take-out joint (really a kiosk fronting a kitchen) where most things on the menu are a buck or two.
Piece of Chicken operates out of a chunk of what was the kitchen of the old, elegant soul food restaurant Jezebel. Most of Jezebel's kitchen and the rest of its space are now 5 Napkin Burger, where the burgers and fries are good but cost way more than a dollar.
This American bakery on the Upper East Side might be best known for their deep and dark Brooklyn Blackout Cake, but the cheesecake, sold both by the slice and whole, is an unsung wonder. Though perhaps it is better that way; that way you don't have to worry about the bakery selling out before you arrive for a post-work, pre-dinner treat, or a nighttime snack. The cheesecake is done in the classic New York style—incredibly rich and velvety with a buttery graham cracker crust. The wedge is generous and tall with a perfectly golden top, sinking into a seemingly endless depth of sweet, cheesy goodness. How it manages it be so luscious on the tongue, yet settle with the lightest of weights in your stomach, is beyond me—but who am I to complain?
1652 2nd Avenue #1, New York NY 10028 (nr. 86th Street; map)
212-452-0476
twolittleredhens.com
Younger and Hungry: Self-Portrait circa 1st Grade
My love of pizza began at an early age. "Pizza" was one of the first words I learned to spell, I would ride past Pizza Hut every day on my way to school, and the restaurant was where I had my first birthday party. To the right is my ultimate pizza artifact—written 15 years ago in my first grade journal, I simply declared: "I like pizza becauce it is good." I may not have drawn hands or feet, but I sure did remember the mushroom toppings.
15 years and countless slices later, I've moved to the Upper West Side and have found myself flanked by two neighborhood joints: Koronet and Sal & Carmine's. Sure, I could go for Koronet's cheap super jumbo slices, but Sal & Carmine clearly serves the superior slice. Yet, $24 for a large cheese pie is a bit much—especially since this was the Plan B after the 60-cent dinner plans at Patsy's failed. To reconcile the situation, I came up with the semi-homemade pizza bar—Sandra Lee, god help me.
The tasting menu at Momofuku Ko is $150 and comprises 16 courses. Score a reservation and tell your boss you have a "doctor's appointment"; it takes three hours to get through it. Here's what Knowlton had to say about it on Gourmet Magazine's BA Foodist Blog: "Judging by the seasonality of the menu (lots of tomatoes, corn, baby veg, etc.), most of these dishes won't be around for long. The amuse as well as courses #2, #6, #8, #9, #13, and the pork and miso sausage in #11 were the most memorable, and with a few ingredient tweaks should be available well into fall and winter." 163 First Avenue, New York NY 10003 (b/n 11th and 12th streets; map)
Not everyone at Serious Eats HQ was on board with this treat, but I was all about the "honey toast" from the newly opened Cafe Zest by Zaiya in Midtown. Essentially a 2 inch slab cut from a pullman loaf of white bread, the inside gets squared before honey and sugar is dropped into the cracks. The inside is fluffy and sweet enough from the little waves of sugar and honey (but not overly so). You would think the outer crust would be dry and hard, but it ended up being much tastier than it looked. Not the sweetest of sugar rushes, but I can't imagine a more perfect piece of toast to enjoy with a morning cup of tea. Cafe Zest is owned and operated by Cafe Zaiya (on 41st Street between Madison and Fifth Avenues), and you can get the honey toast there as well.
148 East 47th, New York NY 10017 (nr. Third Avenue; map)
212-319-9378
Russ & Daughters has been hand-slicing fish on Manhattan’s Lower East side for more than twice as long as I’ve been alive—since 1914 to be specific. As a lover of smoked fish and caviar I’m ashamed to admit I’ve only been there twice. This is due to an incident that occurred about 10 years ago. On the advice of a Chowhound poster I ordered top-shelf smoked salmon with wasabi-flavored flying fish roe and cream cheese on an everything bagel. The counterman gave me much tsuris and proceeded to tell me that I was crazy for ruining the salmon’s delicate flavor with horseradish. About five years later I went to R&D for caviar and was glad to see a different person minding the store.
428 Greenwich Street, New York NY 10013 (between Vestry and Laight streets; map); 212-274-0428
Service: Very attentive, if you're one of the only people at the sushi bar
Compare It To: Blue Ribbon Sushi, Sushisay
Must-Haves: Red snapper collar, medium fatty tuna
Cost: A minimum of $75, if you want the best-quality fish
Grade: B
In New York, the search for the perfect sushi meal—not too expensive, the highest-quality fish, perfect sushi rice—is like the search for the Holy Grail. That's because sushi restaurants and experiences tend to fall into two distinct boxes, moderately priced sushi palaces like Tomoe Sushi, and high-end orgasm-inducing sushi establishments like Kuruma Zushi, Sushi Yasuda, and, of course, Masa.
So when I started reading a lot of internet chatter about, yes, another "secret, under-the-radar" sushi joint with no sign frequented by Japanese business people, I must admit it piqued my interest. Blog posts touting Sushi Azabu had the sushi chef at the highly regarded 15 East sending his customers to Sushi Azabu.
A tip from a highly skilled sushi chef was all I needed to hear.
Our love for Sullivan St. Bakery sandwiches is well documented, and I tend to stalk the place like a crazy ex-boyfriend. It helps that it's right around the corner from my apartment, and because my illness is profitable a restraining order has been unnecessary. This past Saturday my lurking uncovered their latest: the Panino di Tortilla Espanola. Essentially a Spanish omelet sandwich, it's made from taking a slice of their house-made tortilla (egg, potato, and onions baked in a pan) and topped with piquillo peppers, and arugula. The bread (which needs no further acclaim from this site) gets smeared with an egg-less Spanish style aoili. The only downside of this delicious new creation is that they are only making them sporadically. So if Sullivan St. Bakery is not on your regular food stalking route, you may want to call ahead and make sure they're selling it.
533 West 47th Street, New York NY 10036 (Tenth/Eleventh; map)
212-265-5580
sullivanstreetbakery.com/
When Dirty Bird To Go first opened I ruffled quite a few feathers with a less than laudatory write-up on my old Ed Levine Eats blog. Co-owner Allison Vines Rushing took me to task in an e-mail exchange for reviewing her fried chicken joint prematurely, before she had time to get the kinks (or should I say pluck all the feathers) out.
I've gone back a few times in the last couple of years and noted some improvement, but a visit the other day has me convinced that finally the fried chicken at Dirty Bird is up to Vine-Rushing's standards.
Editor's note: Every afternoon we like to post a short Sugar Rush to end your day. Think of it as the dessert to your daily blog reading. —Zach
Although we've tasted a couple of other chocolate-bacon confections and have been underwhelmed, we are totally smitten by the "pig candy" ($9.50 a quarter-pound) at Roni-Sue's Chocolates in the Essex Street Market on New York's Lower East Side.
Note: Bacon snobs, please stop reading here. Rhonda Kave (aka Roni-Sue) takes a piece of Jimmy Dean bacon, supplied by butcher and market neighbor Jeffrey Ruhalter and fried by the good folks at Shopsin's (also in the Essex Street Market), and dips it in high-quality milk or dark chocolate.
Now that's what I call a food-community team effort.
Is it porky? Oh, yes. Is it chocolaty? You betcha. Is it salty? Uh-huh. Is it delicious? Insanely so.
Roni-Sue also makes a fine spicy bacon buttercrunch ($8 a quarter-pound), but it needs just a little more bacon for us to be ready to enshrine it in Pig Heaven (right next to the pig candy.)
Essex Street Market #24, 20 Essex Street, New York NY 10002 (nr. Delancey Street; map)
212-260-0421
roni-sue.com
Photographs by The Wandering Eater
Our mouths watered at the sight of the milk chocolate bacon tart from Gramercy Tavern, offered only on the tavern menu served at the front of the restaurant. According to The Wandering Eater, the "sophisticated" tart is enhanced by the crème fraîche, which "cut the sweetness, and added [a] tangy tartness" to the dessert.
Gramercy Tavern
42 East 20th Street, New York NY 10003 (nr. Fifth Avenue; map)
212-477-0777
Related:
Sugar Rush: Blackberry Streusel Cake at Gramercy Tavern
Please welcome fall intern Allison Hemler to the Serious Eats team. We're excited to have her working with us. She's a barista by morning, a blogger, now, by afternoon, and an aspiring baker at night. I don't know how she fits it all in. She must be siphoning off coffee before she comes in to the SE offices. Glad to have you aboard, Allison! —Adam
Last night I attended a ricotta-making workshop run by the lovely owners of Salvatore Bklyn, Rachel Mark and Betsy Devine (who you may remember from this Serious Eats Q&A a few months ago). The class, which featured a demonstration of the cheese-making process, was full of laughter, questions, pairing recommendations, and plenty of Salvatore Bklyn ricotta with black pepper and a shot of honey on olive oil and garlic toasts. The class is one of many in a series that the soon to be launched publication Edible Manhattan is bringing to the Culinary Center inside the Bowery Whole Foods. 95 East Houston Street, New York NY 10002 (on Bowery; map).
You can visit the Salvatore Bklyn stand at the Brooklyn Flea in Fort Greene on Sundays from 10am-5pm, where they also sell cannolis, and this weekend, tomato sandwiches. Their website lists a few other locations to find the goods, but don't pass up an opportunity to visit them in person at the Flea.
Related
Sugar Rush: Brooklyn Flea Market
Fried chicken, shrimp & grits, and a buttery one-eyed caesar salad should be more than sufficient to lure one to Redhead, the East Village newcomer reviewed this week by our own Ed Levine. But should you need another reason, let me kindly throw in a mention of their devilish chocolate-oat cookie, presented to each diner upon departure. This very satisfying five-bite cookie has a touch of salt, and gains added crunch from little bits of oats. The dark chocolate that slips into every bite appears not in the form of chips, but in shards of broken discs layered in a manner somewhat reminiscent of City Bakery. After an indulgent meal at Redhead, the cookie is best saved for the next day, but it would be completely understandable if you couldn't resist devouring it whole on the subway ride home.
349 East 13th Street, New York NY 10003 (b/n First and Second Avenues; map)
212-533-6212
The Eater blog is trafficking in self-admitted "unconfirmed reckless plywood rumormongering," but reports nonetheless that a large number of Chick-fil-A people were seen entering and exiting an empty storefront on East 6th Street between avenues A and B. Could it be? My first thought is No. That's a weird location for a national chain's first real foray into New York City. IMHO, more likely you'd see it in a more high-profile area like Times Square.
I arrived post-dinner and spotted a whole uncut carrot cake at the Bleecker Street location of Amy's Bread on Friday night. A strange shiver ran down my spine. It's the same sort of tingle that occurs every time I spot a whole untouched cake. The first piece can be mine. No fear of receiving a dried out slice because it has been ages since the previous slice was cut. Sure, turnover at Amy's is quick, but there are no worries when you're dealing with a whole cake situation.
The carrot cake here is nothing short of sublime with its plush and tender crumb made moist by an abundance of shredded carrots. Generously studded with large chunks of black walnuts and enrobed in a velvety cream cheese frosting, each slice is perhaps a bit larger than one person would be advised to consume in a sitting. The best part? A light hand with sugar and emphasis on quality leaves you more than satisfied, without the toothache.
250 Bleecker Street, New York NY 10014 (nr. Leroy; map)
212-675-7802
amysbread.com
Related:
Amy's Bread Cafe: A Go-To Sandwich Spot. What's Yours?
New York can be a tough, unforgiving place for chef-restaurateurs looking to open their own places. Rents are high, start-up capital is hard to come by (especially these days), and figuring out a way to distinguish yourself from the thousands of restaurants here is tough. Yet some people somehow find the money, locate an affordable space, and, with a big leap of faith, open its doors.
349 East 13th Street, New York NY 10003 (b/n First and Second avenues; map); 212-533-6212
Service: Friendly, accommodating
Setting: Comfy, converted bar
Compare It To: The Little Owl, Market Table
Must-Haves: Crab leek tart, summer bean salad, Low Country shrimp, fried chicken
Cost: $45 for three courses, tax, and tip
Grade: B+
The Redhead founders decided to start slowly. Almost two years ago Meg Grace, who was cooking at the Museum of Modern Art, and her two young restaurateur partners, Rob Larcom and Gregg Nelson, took over the lease at a defunct jazz club and bar with the idea that they would eventually open a restaurant. To keep cash flowing, Larcom and Nelson kept their day jobs (at Drew Nieporent's and Danny Meyer's companies, respectively), and kept the place open seven nights a week as a bar. Grace started cooking every Thursday night. People seemed to take a shine to Grace's regional American, Southern-influenced cooking, and then New York Times dining section editor Pete Wells wrote a positive in-brief review that contained a sirenlike line about biscuits good enough to be in a biscuit museum. Eighteen months later a full-blown restaurant was born. Their toe-dipping had evolved into a headlong plunge.
I had heard from quite a few people in the restaurant business and out about the Redhead, so a couple of days after they began serving dinner five nights a week I went down to see what all the buzz (and the biscuits) were about.
Nestled between the golden breakfast muffins and blueberry scones at Soutine Bakery on the Upper West Side are wedges of ginger cake not to be ignored. Sticky, tender and just a bit spicy, these delightful squares prove to be a dandy morning treat. It's a wonderful break from your typical croissant or sweet morning bun, but be sure to arrive early—lest you be left with the last square. The end cut is a touch less moist than the rest.
104 W 70th Street, New York NY 10023 (nr. Columbus Avenue; map)
212-496-1450
When I first started going to Viet-Nam Bánh Mì Số 1 the price of a Vietnamese sandwich hadn’t yet risen to $3.95. It was owned by a gent who went by the name Tony. For some reason I got a kick out of going to a Vietnamese deli in Little Italy to buy bánh mì from a guy named Tony. Even though the menu offers 15 varieties of Vietnamese sandwiches, I always go with the house special No. 1. Since I love this sandwich so much I routinely ignore the summer rolls and other treats lining the counter.
For breakfast or for lunch, the cherry clafouti at Margot Patisserie can do no wrong. Generous helpings of pitted cherries stud the custardy sweet batter, all tucked into a butter shortcrust and finished with a cloud of powdered sugar. Not unlike many rustic and homey desserts, clafoutis are best warm from the oven, but Margot's version is just as fantastic at room temperature.
2109 Broadway, New York, NY 10023 (on 74th Street; map)
212-721-0076
55 Grand Street, New York NY 10013 (near West Broadway; map); 212-274-8225; papatzul.com
Setting: Casual, pleasant, but I wish our server hadn't decided that watching ESPN was more important than serving us
Compare It To: Dos Caminos, La Palapa, Mi Cocina
Must Haves: Guacamole, Ceviche, Fish Tacos
Grade: A-
New York's food radar is so powerful I used to think it was impossible for any restaurant to fly under it. The food media (both old and new) contributes to this state of affairs, as does our obsession with discovering the latest bit of deliciousness to be had here. But every once in awhile, a restaurant like Papatzul opens, and somehow, some way, the food intelligentsia doesn't notice.
Papatzul opened more than two years ago. Chef-owner Thierry Amezcua had been cooking in serious restaurants like Savoy and Il Buco for ten years when he decided to open a restaurant to serve the food he grew up eating in Mexico City.
I remember reading about it in a Village Voice blurb, but I wasn't spurred into action until my friend Steve, a fellow with solid taste buds, sent me the following email:
Let me take up the cudgel for an authentic nondescript place in the heart of trendy Soho on Grand Street: Papatzul. There's nary a mention on Serious Eats, and it doesn't even have a Zagat number rating. My Cali friend, who transplanted to New York years ago, routinely bemoans the awful Mexican food here, especially the typical mish-mash of Tex-Mex, Cali-Mex, Nuevo Mexicano, and Mex-Mex. He grudgingly went along, and we loved the cantina.
When we raved to the waitress, who was on her first week, she said she'd tell the chef. Owner-Chef Amezcua came over and was beaming. Said he'd bring us some homemade spicy salsa.
Well, the place was crowded (a lot of eye candy, by the way, befitting its location), and we paid the bill, which was pretty gentle for these days. As we left, the chef ran out and grabbed us: "I forgot the salsa, you can't go, I will send you dessert." And we had a lovely dulce de leche ice cream with great pecan brittle ("palanqueta," as I read in the New Yorker review).
Chef said we need to go back for the flautas and beef enchiladas. Some serious cooking is being done in there, and I'd be interested in reading your thoughts if you or your staff ever get a chance to go down there.
Steve's note certainly piqued my interest. What did I find?
Billy's Bakery admits that their Hello Dolly Bars are "baked with everything but the kitchen sink," but that still isn't enough to prepare you for this monstrosity. Chocolate and butterscotch chips, graham cracker crumbs, coconut, pecans, and for some unknown reason, sweetened condensed milk. Some here at Serious Eats HQ complained it was too sweet (imagine that!) but for me this sugar bomb was just right. Diabetics beware.
184 9th Avenue, New York NY 10011 (nr. 22st Street; map)
212.647.9956
billysbakerynyc.com/
Replacement custard
The staff here at Serious Eats: New York has been dreaming of the Monday sweet corn custard special at Shake Shack ever since we read about it on The Strong Buzz last Wednesday. So at around 12:30 today I eagerly headed out to pick up a pint for the office (and a few burgers too). I'd just finished placing my order an hour or so later when I heard some ominous rumblings of thunder. But before I had time to worry about my lack of an umbrella, I glanced at my receipt and noticed a much more concerning problem: I'd ordered three pints of custard—chocolate, vanilla, and sweet corn—but had only been charged for two.
"What happened to the third pint?" I asked the cashier. "Oh, we're not serving the sweet corn today," he said. "It's just not up to par."
And that's when it started to pour.
A soaking wet, disgruntled customer wants to know: Shake Shack, what gives? I guess I respect your decision not to sell inferior custard to the public, but you could at least warn your customers on your website or anywhere in the vicinity of the Shack itself.
More importantly, did anyone go to Shake Shack last Monday? Were they serving the sweet corn custard last week, and if so, was it any good? Please describe it detail, because that's all we have to tide us over until next Monday—if we're lucky.
Related:
Sugar Rush: 'Coffee and Donut' Custard at the Shake Shack
According to Dave Cook's Eating in Translation the beloved Oppenheimer's butcher shop on the Upper West Side is closed pending their relocation in the neighborhood. When I first came to New York in 1973 I lived in an apartment at 98th and West End Avenue, right around the corner from the legendary Harry Oppenheimer's eopnymous butcher shop. You didn't want to cross Harry, but why would you when you could buy Harry's phenomenal prime meat to impress a date or a member of your family. Here's hoping Harry's successor, Robert Pence, who bought the business from Harry in 1996, finds a new location in the nabe. We can't afford to be losing any more butchers.
Una Pizza Napoletana, one of the city's most celebrated pizzerias, will be closing for a month after this weekend. Hey, when you're the only one laboring over the pizza, you'd want a nice long break, too. Anthony Mangieri and company will be taking off from August 11 to September 11. So we recommend getting your fix this weekend.
UPN is open through Sunday night, from 5 p.m. until, yes, sold out of fresh dough, at which point it will look like this until everyone comes back well rested:
349 East 12th Street, New York NY 10003 (near First Avenue; map)
212-477-9950
unapizza.com
Cha siu bao enthusiasts can breathe a sigh of relief today. Mei Lai Wah, which was shuttered in April by the Department of Health, reopened today and all your favorites are back, untouched. The popular bakery has a bright, cleaner, more modern design, but all the old guys behind the counter have returned (albeit with new uniforms), and the pork buns remain as delicious as ever. And don't let the sign scare you; it may be spelled Mai Li Wah now (instead of Lai), but the pronounciation is the same.
Thankfully the prices have remained the same, and they've even added a few new items, like bubble tea. And if you go now, in the first few days of the grand opening, you'll get a 10% discount. We also noticed that, just like the Beijing Olympics and the new location of Hong Kong Supermarket (which also opened today), Mei Li Wah clearly chose to reopen on 8/8/08 for good luck. Let's hope that extra luck keeps the Department of Health away.
A gallery of before and after shots, after the jump.
In late 2007 the tiny storefront opposite ChickaLicious Dessert Bar opened as ChickaLicious Pudding. The menu: three puddings, and nothing more. Reviews were lukewarm, with many preferring the nearby Dessert Truck which provided a better value. The owners, Chika and her husband Don, responded by overhauling the menu, and replacing ChickaLicious Pudding with ChickaLicious Dessert Club. Though puddings remain on the menu, they now share the spotlight with a whimsy of cookies, cupcakes, and sorbets. But their claim to fame, especially after the recent NYT article, is the soft-serve ice cream. Full, rich and wonderfully creamy on the tongue, the vanilla bean studded soft-serve is a warm summer night's dream—if you can overlook the somewhat odd, plastic aftertaste. Perhaps a little tweaking is necessary, but they are headed in the right direction.
204 E 10th Street, New York, NY 10003 (map)
212-475-0929
I tried to get to a store beyond Manhattan this week, but my planned destination in Bay Ridge was closed for a lengthy vacation. A friend suggested Russo’s, to which I responded, “But why? I go there all the time!” I soon realized that maybe that was the best of all reasons to tell you about it.
Russo’s has been turning out fresh pasta, mozzarella, and ricotta on East 11th Street, just off First Avenue (next door to Veniero's) , for one hundred years. 7th to 14th Streets on 1st Avenue was once a Little Italy unto itself, but Brunetta’s, with its cheap and toothsome daily specials, is gone, as is Vinnie’s (formally known as La Focacceria), which began serving traditional Sicilian fare when English doughboys were going over the top in 1914. Upscale and sometimes preposterous pizzerias have moved in to replace them. Mercifully, a note of sanity remains in the form of Russo’s.
Bread Pudding with Cinnamon Ice Cream
Having grown up in England I have been subjected to a fair amount of stogy and uninspired bread pudding. I wonder if Francis Drake would have repelled the Spanish Armada with quite as much vigor if he had known what a Spanish spin on the dish might have tasted like. Such is the case with the bread pudding served at Casa Mono, Mario Batali's Gramercy Park Spanish restaurant.
Served with cinnamon ice cream, macerated raisins and an orange (naranja) compote the bread pudding is buttery and tender. A puff of steam escapes when you crack the exterior crust, revealing a delicate and moist interior infused with orange zest. The acidity of the orange compote balances the sweetness of the pudding and richness of the ice cream, while the raisins add a nice textural balance to the dish.
52 Irving, New York NY 10003 (nr. 17th Street; map)
212-253-2773
There is a new branch of the Hong Kong Supermarket opening on Hester between Elizabeth and Bowery at the end of the week, and the awning went up yesterday. This is exciting news considering that Dynasty Supermarket, located in the same building, has only been open in a very limited capacity for most of the past year. This could be because the new Hong Kong Supermarket is actually a partnership with the owners of Dynasty, but that is only a rumor. The new supermarket, which has another branch in Chinatown, will open this Friday, hoping that the date (8/8/08) will bring them prosperity—the number 8 is a very lucky number in Chinese. 157 Hester Street, New York, NY 10013 (nr. Elizabeth; map)
No Shopsins for you! Photograph by Robyn Lee
A hilarious-if-it's-not-happening-to-you story got posted in the Talk section of SE:NY yesterday involving a run in with "real New York treasure" Kenny Shopsin:
I come in with a group of four today, and we wait for service at Shopsin's. 20 mins later, Kenny (a fat, sweaty, poorly-dressed man) gets to us, and we ask some questions about which food is cooked with nuts. He points us to the part of the menu which says "severe allergies cannot be accommodated" and we say we understand, we just want to know which items are mainly nut-based.A couple of questions later, he tells us he's getting bored and that we should probably eat at McDonald's. We tell him to wait a second, and we try to start rush ordering. We stop to ask one question about whether grits are vegetarian, and that's it. "I'm not cooking for you. Eat at McDonald's."
But wait. There's more.
Read the complete story posted to Serious Eats New York Talk»
Related:
Shopsin's is Back. Has Anybody Been?
ELE Local: Best Sliders in NYC are on vacation
The bar for tacos in Manhattan is not set very high, and the fish taco bar here is set even lower. So when Pinche Taqueria owner and Soho Films partner Jeffrey Chartier announces to the world that he is opening a branch of his Tijuana taqueria in part to show other downtown taquerias like La Esquina how to make a proper fish taco, it sounds like a plenty plausible throwdown.
227 Mott Street, New York NY 10012 (between Prince and Spring streets; map); 212-625-0090; pinchetaqueria.com
Service: Friendly but surprisingly slow for what is basically a self-service operation
Setting: Your basic unairconditioned taco counter with a few seats inside and a bench and a two-person counter outside
Compare It To: La Esquina, Pampano Taqueria, Bonita
Must Haves: Fish tacos, shrimp tacos, carnitas mulita, huevos con chorizo, aguas
Grade: A for the fish tacos and the shrimp tacos, B+ for the carnitas burrito or tacos, and a B- for the rest of the food
I had fish tacos from Pinche and La Esquina within minutes of each other. One bite in at Pinche and I could tell that these folks knew exactly what they were doing. They make a killer fish taco. Chunks of crisp fried fish are tucked into a house-made tortilla and topped with cabbage, a spicy cilantro-spiked mayonnaise, and guacamole. These tacos are crunchy, flaky, spicy, and creamy. What more could you want from a taco? It really is the first good fish taco I've had outside Southern California or Mexico, though the one I had at Bonita in Williamsburg was damn good. And the shrimp taco (both the fish and the shrimp tacos are $3.75) may be even better, as the crisp, small-but-not-teeny shrimp have some actual shrimp flavor.
Meanwhile, over at La Esquina, just watching the guys in the kitchen make my fish taco, I knew it was going to be no contest. The cook took what appeared to be a pregrilled fish kebab out of a fridge and put it on the grill. It was a lame, half-hearted fish-taco-making effort.
So Chartier wins this hyperlocal fish-taco throwdown handily. But what about the rest of the food?
Editor's note: Every afternoon we post a short Sugar Rush to end your day. Think of it as the dessert to your daily blog reading. —Zach
I'm an affogato freak, so I really appreciated Robin Raisfeld and Rob Patronite's affogato roundup in yesterday's New York Magazine. They are partial to the affogati served at Barbuto, P*ong, I Sodi, Fiamma, Otto, and Wakiya. The Otto version is pretty great, but I don't care how good the affogato might be at Wakiya—I'm still not going to plunk down my hard-earned money there.
Robin and Rob failed to mention one of my faves, whipped up at Esca by pastry chef Alicia Richards. A shot of espresso, a scoop of housemade caramel gelato, with some crunch-adding crocante (pralines made with nuts and caramel) as the pièce de résistance. It's a creamy jolt of heaven. 402 W 43rd Street, New York NY 10036 (on Ninth Avenue; map); 212-564-7272
Manhattan's Chinatown is seemingly overwhelming, with a nearly endless number of eateries. Where do you go on an empty stomach? What do you order?
As part of our ongoing exploration of the neighborhood, we're pleased to present a guide to cheap meals in Chinatown. As in our guide to Chinatown bakeries and soup noodles in Chinatown, this post will cover what's available between the Canal Street and Grand Street subway stations.
Editor's note: Every afternoon we post a short Sugar Rush to end your day. Think of it as the dessert to your daily blog reading. —Zach
Grub Street is reporting that when Momofuku Ssäm Bar expands next month, it will be rebuilding the kitchen to make way for a "proper pastry program." From our perspective, Ssäm Bar seems to be doing a pretty serious job already. Take its rhubarb shortcake, which we first wrote about two weeks ago.
Since then, they've replaced rhubarb with a bounty of gorgeous Tristar strawberries, and have given the dessert a double dose of corn. First, in the form of dehydrated corn powder lightly dusted over whipped crème fraîche. And second, incorporated into the cake itself, introducing a cornbread-esque element while retaining the integrity of shortcake.
Some favor the rhubarb shortcake, while others enjoy the rise of the strawberry and corn creation. Either way, if this is what they're capable of in an inadequate kitchen, we're pretty excited to see the outcome of a "proper pastry program." 207 Second Avenue, New York NY 10003 (near 13th Street; map); momofuku.com
Olive oil gelato, while justly delicious, seems to be the only thing everyone talks about with regards to dessert at Otto. Let us not forget that there remains a plethora of sublime flavors deserving equal attention: salty caramel, hazelnut stracciatella and balsamic strawberry, just to name a few. And how can we neglect other desserts, like the brioche sandwiches, coppettas and my current favorite, the black and white. This aptly named creation features alternating layers of milk chocolate chip and creme fraiche gelato, with crackly shards of hazelnut brittle. Warm chocolate sauce and a generous turn of plush caramel crema make it perhaps a touch too indulgent—but then again, is indulgence not the purpose of dessert?
One Fifth Avenue, New York City NY 10003 (nr. Eighth Street; map)
212-995-9559
This pistachio apricot tart from Bouchon Bakery is more cake than tart, but I'm not complaining. It is supermoist, superdense, and super pistachio-y. Upon being sliced, the "tart" oozes a filling of thick apricot slices. The slippery, apricot insides and the crumbly outsides make for great textural contrast and happily mingling flavors.
10 Columbus Circle (3rd Floor), New York, NY 10019; (map)
212-823-9366
"Cheap" is relative. With cheap eats lists coming at you from every other magazine and website, I find myself scouring them and wondering how these writing staffs determine what exactly "cheap" means to them. Nothing got me thinking about this more than my recent trip to Province Chinese Canteen in Tribeca. Just meters from Chinatown, this eatery serves up sandwiches stuffed into small fluffy mantou. With fillings like short rib & kimchee, it was hard to resist a trip. Yet, with its close proximity to Chinatown, the mecca of truly cheap eats, I couldn't help but wonder why I was paying $4.25 for a sandwich as small as my palm.
"At first, I didn't recognize the french-fry holder for what it was." Photograph by Eating in Translation
I am all about edible bowls. The most obvious examples are always nice, like ice cream in a edible cone-cup or soup served in a hollowed out bread bowl. But this use of food-to-hold-other-food could be my favorite of all time: the french-fry-holding onion ring bowl at Telepan, written about by Dave Cook from Eating in Translation. Described as "exceptionally airy" this could be the first case of a dish where I'm more excited to eat the bowl, than what's inside.
72 W. 69th Street, New York NY 10023 (nr Columbus Avenue; map)
212-580-4300
Nobody knows beef like an old-fashioned butcher. So it shouldn't come as a surprise that one of my favorite roast beef sandwiches is made by Schatzie (with only one name he's like a butcher supermodel), in a postage stamp-sized butcher shop in Carnegie Hill (a neighborhood I like to call the upper, upper east side).
His roast beef sandwich is a model of simple beefy deliciousness. Schatzie roasts a prime top round roast until it's perfectly rare. When you order a roast beef sandwich the counterperson takes that mass of red meat goodness and slices a whole mess of it onto a piece of Orwasher's rye bread. Oh yeah, before he puts sliced beef to bread it gets a squirt of some bottled thousand island dressing. Purists and locavores may shudder, but once they take a bite all will be right in their world.
1200 Madison Avenue, New York, NY 10128 (nr. 87th Street; map)
212-410-1555
Posting a photo that is meant to convey size is always a tricky thing. Sure, the cookie looks big, but maybe my hands are freakishly small. In this case, you are just going to have to take my word for it: the chocolate chip cookie at the Bryant Park Le Pain Quotidien is gigantic. It's also pretty tasty too. Making the cookie chewy isn't really a practical option for a cookie this size, so they go with the thin and crunchy approach. As somebody who normally likes my cookies soft, I found the crunch to be strangely appealing; the perfect companion to an afternoon cup of tea. Admittedly, it's probably not the best chocolate chip cookie in the city (especially if soft cookies are your thing), but the look on your co-workers' faces when you whip it out will be completely worth the $3.50 price tag.
70 West 40th Street, New York NY 10020 (nr. Sixth Avenue; map)
212-354-5224
I tend to avoid brand-new restaurants. It’s a defense mechanism; let other folks be beta tasters. But when I heard last week that Jimmy Carbone, the man behind the acclaimed East Village gastropub Jimmy’s No. 43, had just opened 1 Dominick, I threw caution to the wind and headed downtown to this cozy spot that shares a space with Here Arts Center. Focusing on Carbone’s Italian roots, the menu inspired me to forsake my usual outer borough stomping grounds—and I’m glad I did.
Location Visited: 75 Ninth Avenue, New York, NY 10011 (Between 15th & 16th Streets); 212-462-4338; amysbread.com.
Additional locations at 672 Ninth Avenue, New York NY 10036 (Hell's Kitchen) and 250 Bleecker Street, New York NY 10014 (West Village)
Service: Friendly, accommodating, and quick (except when you order a pressed sandwich)
Setting: Bakery counter with some tables and chairs. Look to the left and you can watch bread being made.
Compare It To: Balthazar, Sullivan Street Bakery, Mangia
Must-Haves: Ham and cheese biscuit, grilled cheese and tomato sandwich, Cuban sandwich, cherry cream scone, butterscotch cashew bar, lemonade, lemon mouseline cake.
Cost: $10-15 for a sandwich, cookie, and drink.
Grade: B+
Here at Serious Eats world headquarters we work in what can only be called a sandwich, bread, and baked goods-challenged neighborhood. For sandwiches we have Salumeria Biellese, but it limits itself to big, meat-centric sandwiches on unsatisfactory bread (they still haven't taken me up on my suggestion to carry Sullivan Street Bakery stirato). The bread and baked goods situation is even more dire. Basically, we've got nothing unless we're willing to brave the line at Whole Foods.
Over the past few months while going down to Chelsea Market for various meetings, I rediscovered Amy's Bread. To the people who live near or work in Chelsea Market, Amy's Bread is a godsend. And to those people I say, do not take Amy's Bread for granted. Proximity should breed support, not contempt.
Almost everything Amy Scherber and her hardworking crew make—from bread to cake, from cookies to sandwiches, from pizza to focaccia—is damned tasty, with a few items reaching the level of serious deliciousness. Scherber brings a taste, know-how, and pride to everything she sells here, and the result is an eatery I would kill to have in my neighborhood. She has proven herself to be a dough wizard; the breads, cookies, and cakes all have a chance for greatness. And even though all the sandwiches at Amy's Bread are premade, usually a sandwich no-no as far as I'm concerned, she manages to transcend the limitations of that tired genre.
Lunch w/ Front Studio has the low down on Sage American Kitchen's carrot cake cupcakes: "The cake is almost always moist and all of their frostings have a wee bit of cream cheese that distinguishes them from everyone else." Available at many locations around the city, this particular cupcake was purchased at the McNally Robinson Tea House in SoHo. 52 Prince St, New York NY 10012 (nr. Lafayette; map)
"I don't taste much garlic in this," said Amy. I stared at my friend in disbelief as we dug into our bowls of ramen at Minca. She said...what? The pork-based broth of our basic ramens was completely saturated with garlic, maybe so much that my friend's taste buds had been shocked out of its ability to taste garlic. But I could taste it fine. And it was delicious.
Minca is my favorite ramen shop. That doesn't necessarily mean it's the best, but it caters to my desire for a gut busting mass of springy noodles bathed in a thick, salty broth. Thick like, 'I think this would solidify into a giant blob if I refrigerated it." The noodles are accompanied by bamboo shoots, black mushrooms, half of a hard boiled egg, a square of nori, chopped scallions, and the best part—slices of fatty pork that melt in your mouth like butter. I can finish off a whole bowl, despite the fact that it's probably larger than the average human stomach. Then again maybe my stomach is larger than average.
536 East 5th Street, New York NY 10009 (b/n Avenue A and Avenue B; map)
212-505-8001
After reading Nick's post on J.G.Melon last week, I quickly hustled my toosh over to the UES...need burger ASAP. Conclusion? The burger and cottage fries are delicious indeed, but don't pass up on a slice of Apple Sour Cream Walnut Pie. The generous wedge is served warm and has a buttery crust. Thinly sliced apples and sour cream are slipped between every layer, and the whole thing is topped with plush ribbons of whipped cream, which hides a sweet, crumbly topping—walnut-studded, of course.
1291 Third Avenue, New York NY 10021 (at 74th Street; map)
212-744-0585
Soon after a friend moved to Inwood in upper Manhattan he told me of a 24-hour restaurant near his place that specializes in the Puerto Rican dish known as mofongo. Not to be confused with the beef tripe soup known as mondongo, mofongo is a hearty ribsticking dish made from mashed plantains. Within a week of his move I found myself taking possibly the longest train ride I’ve ever taken for food, DiFara’s running a close second. As soon I exited the A train at Dyckman Street I spotted the temple of all things mofongo: Albert’s Mofongo House.
Hong Kong Supermarket, one of eleven stores in a small chain of such markets on each coast, is on East Broadway in Manhattan's Chinatown. That is pretty much all I can tell you about it. The website that looks like it could belong to Hong Kong Supermarket doesn’t. No employee I encountered, except the cashier, spoke more than a few words of English. My Chinese stops at “Happy New Year,” which didn’t seem likely to be helpful until the 2009 arrival of the Year of the Ox.
I’ve browsed in the helter-skelter store many times, walking out with bags full of stuff that I had never seen before. Grape-jam-filled marshmallows, mango pancakes, and Dreamful Paradise cookies have all made their way home with me. (For a country not known for its desserts, Chinese supermarkets seem to be loaded with every variety of sweet you can imagine, and some you can’t.) I passed the impressive outdoor array of fruits and vegetables, thinking that shopping for a couple of ingredients to make sesame noodles, would be as simple as dropping into Food Emporium for a bottle of ketchup. However, the goofy randomness of Hong Kong Supermarket, which I generally enjoy enormously, was just about to drive me nuts.
Photograph by thewanderingeater
From the Gramercy Tavern restaurant week and regular dessert menu: "My blackberry streusel cake with blackberry lime sherbert was simple yet so delicious. The cake was moist [and] densely dotted with whole sweet-tart blackberries, the streusel added a crunchy dimension, and the sherbet added a touch of creamy-tartness." Read about the whole meal on The Wandering Eater.
42 East 20th Street, New York NY 10003 (nr. Fifth Avenue; map)
