Posted by Robyn Lee, March 27, 2008 at 5:45 PM
Tina Wong (aka The Wandering Eater) documents her meal at Momofuku Ko, chef David Chang's newest restaurant in New York City, with a liberal helping of food porn and mouthwatering descriptions. Her final verdict: "YOU MUST TRY IT!" Just grab one of those notoriously difficult online reservations and you're in!
Previously
Ed Levine's first impressions of Momofuku Ko
Photo of the Day: Cheddar and Bacon Chive Scone
Photo of the Day: WD-50
Unique Desserts at the Dessert Studio in New York City
Posted by Robyn Lee, March 18, 2008 at 11:00 AM
If you're highly particular about the quality of your toast, check out Cool Hunting's Toaster Challenge where they rate four kinds of toasters: Alessi SG68, Viking VT200, Breville Smart Toaster BTA820XL and Krups TT6190. The winner was the Breville Smart Toaster, a toaster so advanced that it's not even on the market yet. When it does, you'll have access to a toaster that features "an LED panel that counts down and also employs a robotic function that slowly submerges the bread into the glowing coils and raises it again after an abbreviated two minutes (at the medium setting) of toasting." Read all the toaster reviews at Cool Hunting.
Previously:
In Videos: My Incredibly Cool Toaster
Turbo Toaster Browns Bread in 50 Seconds
Toaster-Shaped Phone
Posted by Robyn Lee, February 28, 2008 at 11:30 AM
I love Cybele's semi-scathing in-depth review of Palmer's hollow chocolate flavored bunny. Yes, chocolate flavored—cocoa is the fourth ingredient. Cybele explains just how much of an effective role it plays in the nuances of flavor possessed by this bunny-shaped mass:
Sometimes I wonder if Palmer is doing the cocoa industry a service by buying beans that would otherwise be turned into compost or rot in the co-op storehouses. I don’t think I’d mind their products if they were sold as “biodegradable decorations” ... but sadly the appearance of a nutrition label seems to indicate they really do think people want to eat it.
"Biodegradable decorations" is my new favorite euphemism for "crappy chocolate."
Posted by Robyn Lee, February 8, 2008 at 2:30 PM
...after drinking thirteen different cans of energy drinks over the course of a long weekend I am convinced that my opinion is completely awesome and I could—if needed—run completely through the living room wall into the neighboring apartment.
And that's the effect that comparing and reviewing 13 energy drinks will have on you, folks.
Posted by Robyn Lee, February 5, 2008 at 2:30 PM
Let Cybele at Candyblog help you build up your arsenal of mostly chocolate and heart-shaped Valentine's Day sweets with her list of 17 Valentine's Day candies.
Posted by Erin Zimmer, December 21, 2007 at 5:15 PM
Washingtonian’s annual “100 Best Restaurants” issue just hit newsstands, with Santa-resembling Michel Richard (how festive) on the front cover. Juggling a lemon, no less. His modern French culinary gem Citronelle inside Georgetown's Latham Hotel took first, a repeat from last year, when the magazine first started issuing formal rankings. Before that, Citronelle consistently won four shiny stars on the four-star scale.
It’s been a big year for the big man, who opened Citronelle’s baby brother, the jeans-approved brasserie Central off Pennsylvania Avenue. Central didn’t make the magazine’s competitive cut, but their fries ($7 an order) sure wow-ed the magazine earlier, and their burgers won a "best in the city" nod from the Post. That might change given recent competition, which we'll have a full bite-by-bite analysis on soon.
Washingtonian chose the “Mosaic" as Citronelle's stand-out dish, a stained glass-looking plate of “razor-thin" slices of raw beef and fish that might as well be in a Christian basilica’s window. If Richard hasn't seen himself on the cover, we’ll assume he already knows how on-fiyah he is. And what he looks like. Central’s dining room’s décor includes a huge modern artsy close-up of his cheek-pinchable face.
"Imagine a Christmas ham, sealed in plastic and defrosting in the fridge. Imagine the cloudy ham water that leaks out of it and sits in the bottom of the plastic when you unwrap the ham. Imagine it carbonated and sweetened. Imagine putting it into your mouth and manfully fighting the automatic gag reflex." Thanks to The A.V. Club's review of Jones Soda Christmas Pack, I now know what I want to serve at my Christmas dinner!
Having visited more than 80 restaurants in Tokyo, Nicolas Sternsdorff compiles a list of his top Tokyo eats across 11 categories (or 12 if you include the worst restaurant he ate at) complete with photos and short descriptions.
Posted by Ed Levine, May 2, 2007 at 6:47 AM
I knew Mr. B was going to hate Max Brenner, Chocolate By The Bald Man, I just didn't know how he would express his distaste.
The stupendous lead paragraph: "If we're not vigilant, who knows what could happen? We could wake up one dark chocolate morning to an East River of cocoa and a Hudson of hot fudge, slices of banana bobbing on its surface. The streets would be paved with bonbons, the skyscrapers bricked with fudge. Calorie counts would skyrocket. And a pox of tooth decay would descend."
His take on a congealed lasagna Bolognese: It "could have been the work of that great Italian artisan Chef Boyardee."
His 6-year-old nephew Gavin delivered the coup de grace. After eating a sampler plate studded with candies like Pop Rocks, Gavin doubled over, his hands on his stomach. He let out a pathetic moan, accompanied by words as true as any I've heard spoken.
"Not everything," he said, "should be made into a dessert."
Posted by Lia Bulaong, April 27, 2007 at 11:15 AM
My favorite beverage review site of all time, Kevin Fanning and Josh Allen's The Knowledge For Thirst, has finally started up again after a painfully long hiatus. I guarantee you've never in your entire life read a beverage face-off quite like the one they just put up of Mexican Coke Vs. Passover Coke. Accept no substitutes.
Posted by Ed Levine, January 17, 2007 at 9:35 AM
Critical Condition takes a look at the week's restaurant reviews from the various newspapers and magazines around the United States. Think of it as a snapshot of what's hot—and, sometimes, what's not.
BOSTON
GARDEN AT THE CELLAR | Boston Globe
Style: American
Rating: 2.5 stars (of 4)
Boston's new hot spot, where Will Gilson cooks back-to-basics fare (hangar steak, flatbreads, cod cakes, roasted chicken and tater tots) among pots of herbs. In-the-know Bostonians have made this comfortable restaurant a destination.
NEW YORK CITY
PORCHETTA | New York Times
Style: Italian
Rating: 1 star (of 4)
Bruni weighs in on Porchetta (241 Smith Street, 718-237-9100), run by 71 Clinton refugee and exposed self-promoter Jason Neroni (he wrote an e-mail imploring his friends to get him nominated for the Beard Rising Star Chef award).
Yum: Roasted and braised short ribs over puréed mustard greens, red pepper, and touches of cream and gorgonzola.
Yuck: The candied lemon zest in the Gnocchi preparation: "The way it interacted with other ingredients made the dish taste as if someone in the kitchen had inadvertently sprayed it with a bit of Pledge furniture polish."
Conclusion: I’d go, but I’d certainly follow Frank’s lead in ordering.
KYOTOFU | New York Times
Style: Tofu dessert
Rating: N/A
When the "Under $25" columnist for the New York Times stopped by Serious Eats HQ the other day, he told us he loved Kyotofu, the new Japanese tofu dessert restaurant (705 Ninth Avenue, at 48th Street; 212-974-6012). His review today proves it.
Yum: “...The insanely rich scoop of maple-spiked mascarpone atop the toasted-walnut vanilla parfait.
Great lines: "The place couldn’t be a tougher sell. Dessert restaurants are hard enough, but rallying your friends with the late-night cry of 'Who wants to go to Hell’s Kitchen for some tofu?' really pushes it."
Conclusion: Meehan makes us want to go eat tofu for dessert at Kyotofu.
PERA | New York Post
Style: Turkish
Rating: N/A
New Yorkers expect Turkish food to be cheap, which limits the quality of the raw materials and results in lackluster fare. Not at Pera, says Steve Cuozzo, where "spices permeate mezes from heaven; sensational breads, like puffy lavash served with tangy, feta-like tulum cheese; and marinated, hand-ground lamb adana butchered on site."
BLT BURGER | The New Yorker
Style: Burger joint
Rating: N/A
Finally, a critic who sort of likes BLT Burger (470 Sixth Avenue, between Eleventh and Twelfth Streets; 212-243-8226). Personally, I was thrilled when the aforementioned Mr. Meehan laid into BLT Burger, Laurent Tourondel’s misguided attempt to cash in on the cheffy burger craze. But the New Yorker’s Nick Paumgarten shows he’s not afraid to swim against the critical tide by calling BLT's burgers well-proportioned and served on blessedly soft, plain, and white buns. Actually a careful reread of his review indicates that he doesn’t really like the place. Maybe Mr. Paumgarten could have been a little clearer in his overall assessment.
Conclusion: You can have a better burger at a Greek coffee shop.
THE LONDON BAR and GORDON RAMSAY AT THE LONDON | New York
Style: French
Rating: 3 (of 10)
Adam Platt wanders into Hell’s Kitchen and doesn’t get fired (up). Platt shows he is unafraid of the blustery television star (and Michelin 3-starred) chef Gordon Ramsay with a paltry 3 stars (of 10) for Ramsey’s two restaurants in the Hotel London (151 West 54th Street, 212-468-8888). I dined with him on his initial foray into the London Bar, and I thought much of the food was quite good. Platt’s meals there must have taken a precipitous turn for the worse on succeeding visits.
Yum: Pork belly baked with honey and apples.
Best Line: "Ramsey even offers his diners a nice version of that aged haute cuisine warhorse, apple tarte Tatin. Is this the best tarte Tartin in New York City? Probably not. But I doubt you’ll find a better one in Shanghai or Dubai."
Conclusion: "You’ve seen this all before."
BABOUCHE | New York Sun
Style: Moroccan
Rating: N/A
The food is satisfying and authentic at this Prince Street Moroccan, but the seating's a drag—too-low tables with uneven surfaces. Adams finds Babouche's pastilla "remarkably accomplished, a tender, spiced mince of chicken in a custardy sauce, all enshrouded in phyllo and dusted liberally with cinnamon and powdered sugar."
SMOKE JOINT | Village Voice
Style: Barbecue
Rating: N/A
In general, New York barbecue blows, but Smoke Joint gets it right, Robert Sietsema says. The classically trained chefs here smoke a mean brisket but don't do it often (it takes 14 hours). But when they do, it's "amazing brisket—fatty, smoky, and just plain delicious."
Best line: "Maple is Brooklyn's mesquite."
Continue reading »
Posted by Ed Levine, January 10, 2007 at 11:40 AM
THE RUSSIAN TEA ROOM | New York
In New York magazine this week Adam Platt gives the new Russian Tea Room (150 West 57th Street, New York City; 212-581-7100) the gentle spanking it deserves. Best line: “…And I had to agree with the lady next to me when she declared that the buckwheat pilaf, which accompanied her decent portion of glazed duck, tasted like “my grandmother’s socks.” My question: Were those socks clean or dirty?
Rating: One star.
Conclusion: It’s a skip unless you feel like overspending to bathe in gilded nostalgia.
Continue reading »
