Sandwiches at Bite in the East Village NYC, New York
Continuing our exploration of the cheap eateries near Union Square, we ended up at Bite, a small restaurant that serves Mediterranean / Middle Eastern food.
Their menu offers and interesting variety of dishes: salads, soups or sandwiches, chili (???)...I was surprised however that they did not serve falafel!
We decided to order two sandwiches. The first one was the Middle Eastern mushrooms:
It was composed of sauteed mushrooms, hummus, goat cheese and Middle Eastern salad. The bread was ciabatta. The first bite was good, especially because they put a lot of goat cheese, but I could not get past the texture of the mushrooms that were probably canned. They would have used fresh mushrooms, this sandwich would have been fantastic!
It was composed of sauteed eggplant, hard broiled egg, hummus and Middle Easter Salad. The bread was also ciabatta. I really liked it! Sauteed eggplant is fantastic: it has this particular pleasant bitter taste and a spongy texture that will absorb the oil, oil that will then deliciously absorbed by the bread.
What we realized only after is that we could have picked pita instead of ciabatta bread; they did not ask and served bread by default. I think I would have preferred the pita because you have to press the sandwich when made with bread and then it becomes messy to eat because all the ingredients start to ooze from it!
Anyway, I could not not order their nutella and banana sandwich!!!
It was incredibly good! Look, you do not need to be a master Chef to make this sandwich good: banana and Nutella pair so well together, it would be a crime to separate them! Then, when served on a pressed ciabatta bread, it is heaven! Between the crispiness of the bread and the warmth of the Nutella that starts to melt, you cannot stop eating, carefully paying attention that no drop of Nutella will end up on your white shirt!
With this meal, we got also a homemade lemonade that was pretty good, a bit too sweet though.
The total for this meal was $23 that is a good price considering the amount of food we ate. It is definitely a place to know in the area! But, if I had to choose, for a great, cheap, Middle Eastern food, I would prefer Taim (check out my review of Taim).
Enjoy (I did)!
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Opening Ceremony at BCD Tofu House in Korea town, NYC - New York
Before reading this post, please note that, in accordance with the FTC guidelines, I must disclose that I was contacted directly by the restaurant or a PR and that the meal was complimentary. However, the opinions expressed in my blog are 100% my own!
April 25th was an exciting day for me: I was invited to the Opening Ceremony of BCD Tofu House, located in Korea Town. For sure, I did not expect what happened once there! Let me narrate the evening and you will see how it turned out!
I think I went only once to a restaurant opening ceremony, many years ago and I do not even remember which restaurant it was. So I was excited when I received the invitation from BCD Tofu House to attend their event! If you follow this blog, you know that I love Korean food and discovered this cuisine when traveling to Korea many years ago. I still discover new dishes though from time to time...
BCD Tofu House gets its name from Buk-Chang-Dong, a city in Korea where Mrs Hee Sook Lee, the Founder and CEO of the company received her first cooking training.
So, the place is spacious with two floors and a earthy atmosphere thanks to the decor made of wood, dark for the most part. It got crowded pretty quickly with an audience representing the press, the blogger community, but also the Korean community, such as Seung Ki Min, President of The Korean-American Association of Greater New York or Young Hyun Kwun, President of The New York Society of Korean Businessman. The President and Founder of BCD Tofu House, Mrs Hee Sook Lee, was also present to welcome the guests and cut the ribbon.
The Master of Ceremony was Michelle Park, food and fashion reporter at NY1.
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| Courtesy of AD Group Communique |
Yes, it was a full ceremony and not just let's cut the ribbon and have some food! The program was the following:
- Opening Remarks by Michelle Park.
- BCD Introduction.
- Congratulatory remarks from Seung Ki Min, President of The Korean-American Association of Greater New York or Young Hyun Kwun, President of The New York Society of Korean Businessman.
- Welcoming Remarks from Mrs Hee Sook Lee.
- Special Guests acknowledgment.
- Prayer.
- Ribbon Cutting Ceremony.
- Vision statement and closing remarks.
Well, what happened is that at some point they asked me to come to the ribbon cutting ceremony to represent foodies. I was a bit surprised and accepted as it was a great honor, but thought that they wanted me in the background. Once the prayer was completed, they called few people and asked the others to step outside the restaurant, in the street. They then asked me to wait a bit and made me line up after the people that were just called. Suddenly, they handed me over some white gloves and a pair of scissors! Holy Cow! I realized that what they asked me was not to be in the background, but rather to be part of the ribbon cutting!!! As I walked out, people spread out across the ribbon and I ended up in the middle, on the left of Mrs Hee Sook Lee!!! My main thought was: "Do not screw up! Do not cut the ribbon before everybody!!!" Once a person shouted "BCD", we cut the ribbon and shook hands, happy and honored at the same time! That was fantastic to be part of this!
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| Courtesy of AD Group Communique |
Note: I am the fourth person from the right on the photo!
Shrimp Potato Rolls:
It was delicious! First the shrimp was big and well cooked. Then, the potato crust reminded me of hash brown and paired perfectly with the shrimp.
Grilled Tofu Skewer:
The tofu, that was firm, was sandwiched between a piece of pineapple and a tomato. It was interesting because one was giving the sweetness and the other one the acidity that enhanced the flavor of the overall skewer. Pretty good!
The Third Hors d'Oeuvre was a Fried Pork Dumpling:
This one was my least favorite: too crispy and greasy for me.
I decided to order soju, a distilled alcohol very popular in Korea.
This one was made with sweet potatoes!
Then, they started the dinner with the traditional banchan or small dishes. There served my favorite: Kimchi!
It was very good and a bit spicy! I have to say that Kimchi is the dish I always expect when I go to a Korean restaurant! You can also find some at Whole Foods...
Spicy Raw Crab:
It was a fresh crab marinated in a spicy and garlicky red pepper sauce. Well, for sure the sauce was spicy. As for the crab, I cannot say because it was a bit difficult to eat the meat. Not the best dish for a press event!
Pickles:
And zucchini:
These two were good and balanced well with the spiciness of the other dishes.
There was also a dish made with gelatin that I tried:
It had no taste and I confess that I only had a bite...
They also served us Jabchae that are glass noodles:
One of my bosses who is Korean used to say that French people are always fond of this dish and...he was right! It was the first time I tried them at room temperature and I admit that it was perfect. In Korean cuisine, they are usually made from sweet potato starch.
Then came the LA Galbi or BBQ Pork Rib:
I think this was a phenomenal dish! The meat might not have been as tender as I expected, but it had so much flavor, similar to the flavor you would get with a bulgogi, thanks to its marinade. Eating it with the chop sticks was a bit of a challenge, but I had enough motivation to overcome it...
Then came the long awaited soon tofu or tofu soup:
The tofu in it was soft (soon in Korean) and therefore absorbed the delicious flavor of the broth made with beef and seafood. Mrs Hee Sook Lee told me that it was 100% organic. It came piping hot and we broke a fresh egg in it so it could cook in the soup!
And it was served with white rice:
This soup was delicious: very comforting, it was perfect because slightly spicy and very tasty. The mix of seafood and meat was really good and the only negative was that the shrimp had its shell, but I guess it is to render more flavor to the dish. If you do not like tofu like I use to, it might be the dish that will change your mind!
After we ate the soup, they brought us some rice in a broth that was supposed to clean our palate:
It was made with the white rice that was cooked in a stone bowl and then a broth was added to it. I had a bit of it and the taste was particular for sure.
Last was dessert:
Apparently, it is typical for celebration and Holidays. I confess that I do not know the name of this dessert that was made with red beans. I did not like the taste of it.
So we definitely had a good time at BCD Tofu House. For sure, it was the Inauguration of the restaurant so the service was perfect and we could expect some good food. I will go back another time as a regular customer to try other dishes, especially the bibimbap and the bulgogi! If you go, I suggest the LA Galbi, Jabchae and Soon Tofu soup that were excellent.
Enjoy (I did)!
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Dinner at Nobu in Tribeca, NYC, New York
We were very excited to go to Nobu in Tribeca! We wanted to treat ourselves in the restaurant of Japanese Chef Nobu Matsuhisa, whose partners include Robert De Niro (yes, I am talking to you!). He created dishes inspired from his background but also from his experience in South America (Peru and Argentina).
Having a reservation was a bit of a challenge for the week end and we got one at 6:15pm on a Saturday. From outside, the restaurant was very discreet. Inside, it was very elegant with its earthy tones and Japanese aesthetics. The place started to get busy pretty quickly. We even saw Matt Dillon who was having dinner and were wondering if we would see other actors as we went there during the Tribeca Film Festival. No luck.
The menu was pretty extensive, showcasing traditional Japanese dishes like sushi and sashimi. For sure, having sushi and sashimi at Nobu might be good but we felt that we would miss the whole point of this culinary discovery.
We decided to try the following dishes:
For appetizer, we ordered the Spicy Miso Chips with Bigeye Tuna:
The scale on the photo is close to what we got! It was small and clearly more an Amuse Bouche rather than what I would call an appetizer. It would have been better with at least 4 pieces! It was good though, a little on the sweet side, it was not as spicy as it advertises.
Then we got the Kumamoto Oysters with Maui Onion Salsa:
The presentation was very nice with the oysters presented on crushed ice. The scale on the photo was again close to reality: small. The problem is that I could barely taste the oyster: the onion salsa was good but too overpowering for my taste.
And I ordered the black cod with Miso:
Clearly, between the two, the black cod with Miso hit the mark! The fish was perfectly cooked, moist and flaky. It had some sweetness to it that was enhanced by the miso. It is definitely a dish to try if you go to Nobu. The Fish and Chips Nobu-style was, however, disappointing. I think we were expecting something better than just fish tempura with soy sauce. They could have done so different, maybe with some sweet and sour sauce or wasabi. It was not even the best tempura we ever tried. I think the only thing I liked in that dish was the yuca fries...
I also ordered the Live Octopus Tiradito:
Contrary to what I thought, the octopus was not alive, just fresh... It was like a carpaccio with thin slices of octopus and lime, too much of it in fact! The octopus was tender and very good, but the lime overpowered the entire dish.
As we were still hungry (crazy, no?), we ordered two additional dishes:
Jodi went for the avocado tempura:
The avocado was too ripe and had barely no taste to it.
I ordered the creamy spicy crab:
This was the biggest disappointment of the dinner: I love crab and, although this dish has a lot of it, it was smothered in fish eggs and green onions, so I could not taste any of the crab meat!
Not discouraged by the previous dishes, we decided to try dessert. Jodi ordered the Milk Chocolate Coconut Cake:
I liked it: light and tasty, it had a nice coconut-y taste that paired perfectly with the chocolate.
On my side, I ordered the Banana Soy Toban:
it was composed of caramelized bananas, roasted pecans and malaga ice cream, that tasted like rum/raisin ice cream. I enjoyed it: not too sweet, it was very comforting.
I was so disappointed by our experience at Nobu! For most of the dishes, it missed the mark in term of taste, although I recognize that the presentation was fantastic and they showed some creativity. I definitely prefer Morimoto that offers a far better experience to its diners, at a better price (oh yeah: Nobu is definitely pricey)!
Enjoy (...)!
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Hot and Cold ramen at Ramen Takumi in NYC, New York
As I thought my frenzy for ramen would have to be put on hold as the temperature rises, my cousin Jessica, who follows this blog and has given me some good addresses, mentioned the cold ramen. I was a bit intrigued by it as I always imagined that dish very hot. So when we went to Ramen Takumi, located nearby Union Square, in Greenwich Village, I decided to try. Well, remember: Ramen means Noodle Dish in Japanese.
So we went there and as most of the ramen places, it was busy and the service was pretty fast. That day, exceptionally as one could say, I passed on the appetizer and went straight to the ramen!
Jodi ordered the Shio Ramen:
The Shio Ramen broth, lightly salted, was served with two pieces of pork was were phenomenal (tender, tasty with a bit of deliciousness people call fat...), bamboo shoots, a salt flavored egg (half, perfectly cooked - soft yolk), seaweed, scallions and noodles (of course!). It was a very good dish!
I ordered the Hiyashi Ramen-Natsu:
This cold ramen dish was composed of the same pork Jodi had in her ramen (remember: phenomenal!), bamboo shoots, half salt flavor egg, cucumber, pickles, corn, pickled ginger, crab meat and noodles. In the bottom, there was a dark broth that I guess was made out of miso. This is where I realized that ramen does not mean noodle soup but noodle dish! The noodles were very good, cooked al dente, and it did not bother me at all that it was cold. It was refreshing in fact! I would definitely order this one again!
I have to say that I liked that place: the food was good and tasty. Prices wise, it is a bit more expensive than most places, with ramen dishes averaging $12.
Enjoy (I did)!
I ordered the Hiyashi Ramen-Natsu:
This cold ramen dish was composed of the same pork Jodi had in her ramen (remember: phenomenal!), bamboo shoots, half salt flavor egg, cucumber, pickles, corn, pickled ginger, crab meat and noodles. In the bottom, there was a dark broth that I guess was made out of miso. This is where I realized that ramen does not mean noodle soup but noodle dish! The noodles were very good, cooked al dente, and it did not bother me at all that it was cold. It was refreshing in fact! I would definitely order this one again!
I have to say that I liked that place: the food was good and tasty. Prices wise, it is a bit more expensive than most places, with ramen dishes averaging $12.
Enjoy (I did)!
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Buns at Baohaus in NYC, New York
Baohaus is a hole in the wall located in the East Village that serves Bao, these steamed bread-like buns that originated in Chinese cuisine. Interestingly, I discovered them in Japanese restaurants and was persuaded they were from Japan...But no, they are definitely not!
The place, opened by Eddie and Evan Huang is tiny!
You do not go there for a romantic dinner or to hang out; it is more grab, eat and go, except later in the evening.
The menu offers several types of buns as well as rice dishes for reasonable prices. But, if you have a good appetite, 4 to 5 buns will be necessary to satisfy it...Each portion is one bun, allowing to try few of them.
Here is what we got:
The Uncle Jesse (front) and Broccolini BAO:
The Uncle Jesse consists of organic fried Tofu, served with crushed peanut, cilantro, Haus Sauce, and Taiwanese red sugar.
The Broccolini Bao was a tempura Broccoli, served with Zha Jiang bean paste, shitake mushrooms, and daikon.
These were vegetarian options. My favorite was the Uncle Jesse that was a bit crunchy on the outside with a nice spicy sauce.
The Birdhaus:
Fried chicken with Haus Seasoning Salt, cilantro, crushed peanuts, and Taiwanese red sugar. This was my favorite one! The chicken was a bit crunchy, cooked all the way through and still moist. I could have eaten an entire bucket of it!
The Haus Bao and the Chairman Bao:
One was made with pork belly and the second one with beef cheek. It was tasty but on the dry side. I enjoyed it anyway!
The buns were very good, as bit sticky as most of them are...
I enjoyed it and my favorite was the Birdhaus (fried chicken). It is an interesting place, that proposes some cheap alternatives, but I am not sure I love it to the point where I would brave the line of customers. Maybe I should try again..What do you think?
Enjoy (I did)!
Cheese Fondue at Vintner Wine Market in NYC, New York
Fondue is an awesome dish when the weather is not too hot: not only it is good, but it is perfect to fill up your belly on a cold day!
I went to few restaurants that serves it: Artisanal and Kashkaval where I sure enjoyed it! Walking in Hell's Kitchen, we noticed Vintner Wine Market (also called Ninth Avenue Vintner). It is a small and quaint place that sells wine, beer (they have a huge selection) and cheese from all over the world: France, Italy, etc.
When we saw that they had cheese fondue on their menu, we definitely had to try it!
The fondue took almost 25 minutes to come and was served with bread, slices of apple (never tried it before) and some spicy salami.
The fondue was pretty good: the cheese was creamy and smooth, and you could taste a bit of the alcohol. I liked the combination of apples and cheese, but also to stack salami with either bread or apple.
This place is fine for a quick bite, but for sure, you would not go for the presentation: the bread was cut too big and they did not core the apple!!!
It was also a bit uncomfortable to eat as the tables were small and very close to each other! Each time people next to us stood up, I was imagining ending up with cheese or wine on me!!!
Despite this, I will probably go back for some cheese...
Enjoy (I did)!
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Dinner at Courgette in NYC, New York
We went out one evening with my colleagues, to a restaurant called Courgette, located Midtown, next to the Dream Hotel. Courgette: what an interesting name! It means zucchini in French and my compatriots and myself found that it was a funny name for a restaurant and associated it with either vegetarian cuisine or a cuisine offering different variations of this green veggie. We were wrong: not only it was not vegetarian, but there was not even one zucchini on the menu!!!
It is for sure a nice place: the bricks and wood give it a warm and rustic feel. There are four areas to eat:
The bar, wide enough so you can feel comfortable:
and adjacent to the section where they cut meat:
The main dining room with its small communal table and then two different dining rooms, a small one well lighted, where the main attraction is the fish display:
And a dimmer one that can accommodate large groups.
The menu, elaborated by Estonian-born, Michelin-starred Executive Chef Andrey Korobyak is not French, contrary to what the name of the restaurant suggests: the restaurant website qualifies it as New American and for the most part, it is Italian, serving classical Italian dishes such as bruschetta, burrata, pasta...
We started off with sharing appetizers. First were the bruschetta:
Traditional bruschetta with herry tomatoes, olives, sun dried tomatoes, onions and basil:
King Crab with Piquillo Pepper Bruschetta:
I thought it was a perfect appetizer to share because there were two good size bruschetta so we could split them for four people each. Like any bruschetta, it was a bit messy to eat...
Then we tried the burrata salad:
It was served with cherry tomatoes confit and a pesto sauce that paired perfectly with the soft and creamy taste of the cheese. I loved it but would have liked some toasted bread with it.
The last appetizer was the scallops:
The two sea scallops were served each on a bed of truffle mash potatoes that had mushrooms I believe it was morel) in it! It was divine: the scallops were perfectly seared and cooked, not rubbery and the mash was scrumptious with the mushrooms adding some bite to it. Definitely recommended!
Then, I ordered a Baby lamb with salsify, eggplant puree and morel mushroom sauce.
The dish was ok for me: the lamb was a bit overcooked and dry and was topped with a chicken mousse that was bland. Also, the morel sauce did not have that much mushroom taste. I liked the eggplant puree though!
I was able to try the ribeye with truffle fries and bearnaise sauce:
First of all, the presentation was beautiful and very appetizing. My friend Malika ordered it medium well, that I would normally consider a culinary blasphemy !!! It was pretty good though although I admit that the meat was not of the quality of a steakhouse (the price was not either anyway)! The meat had enough fat and a nice char on the outside.
The fries were like I love them: crispy on the outside and soft on the inside, cooked perfectly all the way through. Dipped in the sauce, it was delicious.
We skipped dessert as we were all full. It was definitely a great dinner and I recommend Courgette if you want to have a nice fine dining experience.
Enjoy (I did)!
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Dinner at Nice Matin in NYC, New York
After a wonderful day walking around in the City, from the East Village to the Upper East Side, via Central Park, we decided to have dinner at Nice Matin. I went there few years ago and I remember that I had a good dinner. So, why not go back!
First, let me give you some information on the name! Nice is a city located South of France, in the Cote D'Azur. It is known for many things such as the boardwalk (La Promenade Des Anglais) or the flower market. "Nice Matin" is the main newspaper of the city, hence the name.
To give this market feel, they even have a small market on top of their door!
A good reason to know Nice Matin is their burger! Even if you never went there, you may know it! It is the 5 Napkin Burger! Yes, the burger at Nice Matin was so popular that the owners decided to open a burger place where this burger would be the signature dish: that is how 5 Napkin burger started!
The place is nice, with a clean and bright decor, accentuated by the yellow formica tables!
and butter.
Then, I ordered the escargots (snails):
They were not the traditional Escargots de Bourgogne, cooked in butter, with garlic and parsley. It was made of butter, breadcrumbs, garlic and fines herbes, a blend of herbs made mainly of parsley, chives and tarragon. The presentation was very nice and surprisingly, there were 2 snails in each little compartment. It was good, but I prefer the more traditional recipe or to say it better, it would have been better without the breadcrumbs. It did not prevent me from dipping bread in the sauce though!!!
For the entree, I ordered the Moules Provençales (Mussels Provençales):
It was served with French fries:
There was for sure a nice amount of mussels and they were of a very decent size. They were perfectly cooked and seemed fresh. The Provençal sauce was composed of tomato sauce, basil, garlic, shallots and dry chili pepper. It was delicious: tasty and homey, it was not spicy even with the chili pepper.
The fries were very good too and I dipped them in the sauce! They were crispy outside and soft inside as I like them! Clearly better than Pommes Frites!
Jodi ordered the salade niçoise:
It was served with sushi grade tuna that was pan seared. It was composed as well of anchovies, tomatoes, hard boiled eggs, olives, radicchio, beans, cucumber, fennel, zucchini, red onion and potatoes. The sauce was conveniently on the side.
The presentation was definitely beautiful with all the different colors. The tuna was excellent and definitely good quality. Know that it is an elevated version of the salade niçoise, because normally, it is made with canned tuna...I doubt you can find sushi grade canned tuna!!! So, it was definitely a good salad and I would think that the price was justified by the use of prime ingredients, especially the fish.
We skipped dessert as the day was full of food stops (yes, I was able to resist to the urge to order the chocolate hazelnut mousse or the butternut brown sugar crème brûlée).
I noticed that the restaurant has a prix-fixe menu and calculated that adding what I ate with a dessert would be 50 cents more than the price of the prix-fixe. So I guess it is not that interesting! Anyway, it was a good dinner in a nice setting. Definitely a nice French restaurant to know on the Upper West Side!
We skipped dessert as the day was full of food stops (yes, I was able to resist to the urge to order the chocolate hazelnut mousse or the butternut brown sugar crème brûlée).
I noticed that the restaurant has a prix-fixe menu and calculated that adding what I ate with a dessert would be 50 cents more than the price of the prix-fixe. So I guess it is not that interesting! Anyway, it was a good dinner in a nice setting. Definitely a nice French restaurant to know on the Upper West Side!
Enjoy (I did)!
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And Remember: I Just Want To Eat!
Neapolitan pizza at Numero 28 in NYC, New York
I did not realize until recently how many pizzerias making Neapolitan pizza there are in NYC! Lots of pizza places yes, but Neapolitan, no. So, we were looking for a pizza place downtown and found Numero 28 whose name comes from its location on the Number 28 of Carmine street.
Similar to many pizza places we visited, it has a rustic feel that makes you immediately comfortable and confident that you have found the perfect place for your meal.
Sadly, the brick oven was located in the room next to the dinning room; having it visible by the patrons gives an additional dimension to the experience as it is always fascinating to see the pizza going in and then out, bubbling and hot.
They did not have burrata as an appetizer, thus we decided to order two pizzas. In fact, they serve pizza in three sizes: small, medium and large. So the two pizzas we ordered were small size, that corresponded to 4 slices each.
Margherita is made with tomato sauce, mozzarella and basil.
The pizza was delicious: the tomato sauce was fantastic and they were generous with cheese. The crust was pretty good and crispy with a nice char.
The second pizza was 5 cheese pizza:
The 5 cheeses were Mozzarella, Gorgonzola, Parmigiano, Fontina and Provolone. In this one too, there was a lot of cheese.
Unfortunately, I think it was a bit overcooked: the cheese was not gooey but a bit hard. It was decent though.
Unfortunately, I think it was a bit overcooked: the cheese was not gooey but a bit hard. It was decent though.
The pizza was good at Numero 28, but clearly not as good as the one we had at Lombardi's, Pulino's or San Matteo.
Enjoy (I did)!
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Noodle soup at Omen in NYC, New York
Jodi and I decided to go to Omen in Soho, following a strong recommendation. Well, they have noodles and in the past year, we have been hooked on trying ramen or any sort of noodle soups! And it seems that Omen is making its own noodles! So we could not miss an occasion to try!
The decor was nice and elegant, but we did not see any masks on the wall (Omen means "mask" in Japanese).
We did not check the menu in advance as we usually do and only realized, once there, that it was a bit pricey. Well, we were there and maybe the $20 for the noodle soup would be worth it! So we both ordered the Omen noodle soup. I have to say that it took a bit for the food to come.
When it came, I was surprised by the amount of food: enough soup (that was miso), but not enough noodles and definitely a tiny portion of vegetables with no protein at all! What a disappointment!
So, we first put some sesame seeds in the soup, then put the noodles and then the veggies.
The noodles were good, very soft. However, the tiny portion of veggies kind of made it boring.
Well, it was definitely a very sad soup and a disappointment, although I liked the playfulness of the dish. I do not know if the rest of their food is better, but I would certainly not recommend the noodle soup! And by the way, we were still hungry after we left!!!
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Brunch at Nizza in Hell's Kitchen - NYC, New York
I noticed Nizza few times while walking in Hell's Kitchen and always thought that it would be nice to try it. We ended up there really by chance as we originally wanted to go to another restaurant across the street, that, although we had a reservation, was closed when we arrived!
It was early and the place was not that crowded. At first, I did not really think about it, but, after looking at the menu and one particular dish that I will describe later, I realized that Nizza means Nice in Italian. Nice is a city South of France, that is close to Italy, that I visited often when I was a kid, to see some Family. But, despite its French translation, Nizza is still an Italian restaurant that serves pizza, pasta...
The place is nice, yellow being the main pattern to the decor, with an amazing bar.
After we ordered, they brought us some delicious focaccia bread with olive oil.
The bread was light, airy and fresh. I could not stop dipping it in the olive oil!
Then, we shared the Gorgonzola crostini:
They were served with dolce latte and a fig jam. It was very good. The bread, that was toasted, had a nice crunch and the Gorgonzola cheese paired very well with the fig jam.
Jodi ordered the Socca:
Socca is a thicker version of a crepe made of chickpea. This is the dish that made me do the link with Nice; although it originated in Genoa, in Italy, you cannot visit Nice and not have Socca! At Nizza, it was served with two over easy eggs, Swiss chard, onions and fontina cheese. I liked it. It is different from the Socca I know, because I use to eat it simply with salt and pepper, but I liked it wen mixed with the eggs (especially the runny yolk) and the cheese.
I ordered the Eggs Benedict:
It was composed of 2 poached eggs, toasted focaccia, Italian ham and parmesan cream sauce. That was fantastic! The eggs were perfectly cooked, with a runny yolk where I delightfully dipped the focaccia bread, adding to the bite some very good ham.
We skipped dessert as we had to go see a movie, but had a very good brunch at Nizza. In fact, I was very happy that the other restaurant ended up closed....
Enoy (I did)!
And Remember: I Just Want To Eat!
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Burger at Black Bear in Hoboken, NJ
I went to Black Bear Bar last year to try their steak sandwich (check out the review of the Steak Sandwich at Black Bear Bar). This time, it was burger!
A lot of time, when we think burgers, we think chains or restaurants who only serve burgers, like 5 Napkin Burger, 5 Guys...But sometimes, bars offer a delicious option as this fantastic sandwich is the perfect bar food.
I might have gone a bit overboard while there as I ordered the deluxe burger that is on the brunch menu. It is composed of: bun, lettuce and tomato, beef patty, ham, bacon, egg, spicy sauce and onion rings.
It is not easy to eat and you have to imagine that your dentist is standing next to you and asking to open your mouth wide! It was good, especially when biting the yolk that I would have liked runny.
I liked the different flavors, making each bite slightly different from the other, because of the different layers. However, I wish the meat was juicier, that is the only, but very important negative there!
Jodi went for the Black Bear burger:
She asked for sauteed mushrooms and American cheese. The burger was good, but, this one too, not juicy enough.
Black Bear Bar is a nice bar with a large choice of dishes on its menu. The food is decent, but it is not where I will find the best burger in Hoboken!
Enjoy (I did)!
And Remember: I Just Want To Eat!
Dinner at Ember Room in NYC, New York
When I want to try some food, I can be pretty persistent! Yes, this is third attempt to dine at Ember Room in Hell's Kitchen. The first time we went, the place was packed and the wait was 1 hour: Too bad, we were hungry and passed. The second time, we had a reservation for lunch but found the restaurant closed: I guess this time, they passed on us! So the third time, we had a reservation for dinner and, as we say, third is the charm!
Surprisingly, the restaurant was not as packed as before. They sat us in the room upstairs, that is more quiet in fact. I liked the decor with the dark wood, the weird ceiling decorations that looked like hearts, that made me think I was somewhere else!
The waiter greeted us and ask us if we ever came there. As we said no, he told us that the restaurant was owned by Chef Kittichai. Chef Kittichai! What you do not remember? He is the partner of Spot Dessert Bar, this fabulous dessert place on St Marks that serves spectacular desserts, mostly traditional with an Asian twist (check here my review of Spot Dessert Bar, but do not drool on your computer!).
The waiter greeted us and ask us if we ever came there. As we said no, he told us that the restaurant was owned by Chef Kittichai. Chef Kittichai! What you do not remember? He is the partner of Spot Dessert Bar, this fabulous dessert place on St Marks that serves spectacular desserts, mostly traditional with an Asian twist (check here my review of Spot Dessert Bar, but do not drool on your computer!).
One of the dishes I really wanted to try there was the Chocolate Ribs:
I know, it sounds weird and fewer attempts to try dishes where they mixed chocolate with meat were unsuccessful (for instance, the duck with chocolate sauce at China Grill). There, it was delicious: the chocolate was not overpowering and had a subtle, but definitely present taste. The ribs were fantastic: tender, they fell off the bones, so there was no need to eat with my hands (although I would have had a good excuse to lick my fingers...).
A veggie burger is naked when there is no bun. The veggie patty was made with different kind of vegetables like peas and carrots and was smothered with the "Ember sauce" that tasted like a spicy BBQ sauce. It was served with a mixed salad, onion rings (very crispy) and tofu fries. I liked the veggie patty: very tasty with a bit of texture. However, the sauce was quite spicy and they should probably warn their customers so they can ask to have it on the side. I was not that thrilled about the tofu fries that were a bit bland. Jodi loved them though.
On my side, I ordered the Ember Room original Lobster Roll:
The lobster roll was pretty good: served with a salad and fries, it was made of celery, mango and chunks of lobster. The mango gave a refreshing taste to the dish and some sweetness, but I wished the mango were more ripe. I liked it, but it is far from being as good as the Red Hook Lobster Pound!
For dessert, we got the Lemon mille crepes cake:
This dessert was pretty good: light and not too sweet, it was made of layers of crepes with some lemon cream (more like a mousse in fact) in between each layer. It is definitely a dessert to recommend!
We had a delicious dinner at Ember Room and were glad that we gave it another chance! It is definitely a good address to know in Hell's Kitchen for an original meal!
Enjoy (I did)!
For dessert, we got the Lemon mille crepes cake:
This dessert was pretty good: light and not too sweet, it was made of layers of crepes with some lemon cream (more like a mousse in fact) in between each layer. It is definitely a dessert to recommend!
We had a delicious dinner at Ember Room and were glad that we gave it another chance! It is definitely a good address to know in Hell's Kitchen for an original meal!
Enjoy (I did)!
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And Remember: I Just Want To Eat!
Lunch at Ayza Wine and Chocolate Bar in NYC, New York
It has been a while since I wanted to go to Ayza Wine and Chocolate Bar; I was curious, probably because of the word Chocolate in the name. I was imagining dishes made with chocolate like Seppi's, the restaurant that used to be at the Parker Meridien Hotel proposed in its Chocolate Brunch. I was wrong. Only desserts and drinks have this fantastic ingredient.
Anyway, we were there, one week day I was not working, so we could benefit from the lunch prix-fixe at $9.95. The place was nice and modern and the service courteous and efficient.
Before we started, they brought us some bread with some tapenade, a black olive spread that was delicious and not too salty.
I ate it with a sip of Coke...
The salad looked fantastic: colorful and very appetizing! It was delicious and very refreshing with all the fruits (mango and strawberries) that paired perfectly with the mozzarella.
On my side, I ordered the prix-fixe for $9.95. For a starter, I ordered the eggplant spread and for the main, a mini panini, Prosciutto Di Parma, composed of prosciutto, fresh mozzarella, aged parmesan cheese and basil. It was served with a salad. When the plate came, I was really surprised by the quantity...
It looked nice, but was quite small. For sure, if you have a good appetite, this is your appetizer! It was good though! The panini was crispy, however, I wish there was more stuff inside as you could barely taste the cheese. The eggplant puree was very good and tasty.
As I was still hungry and wanted to experience the chocolate part of the restaurant, we decided to order the chocolate molten cake:
It was good and the chocolate inside was gooey. That is what I am talking about!!!
Lunch at Ayza Wine and Chocolate Bar was good but clearly not enough for me! Fortunately, we had other eating plans for the afternoon...But this is another story!
Enjoy (I did)!
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Ramen at East Noodle and Izakaya in NYC, New York
As the weather is still good to enjoy ramen (meaning not in the heat of the Summer!), we decided to go have this delicious dish for lunch. At first, we wanted to go to Ramen Setagaya, even if it had a B rating...As we were there early, we decided to walk around the block. We then saw Ramen Misoya that had miso ramen with corn that, from what I understand, is typical from Hokaido. So we decided to go there instead, despite the same B rating. Again, as we had a bit of time, we walked further and this is how we found East Noodle and Izakaya with its A rating. Imagine that at that point, we had 3 choices and had to decide how to pick; well, it was not that complicated: we chose the restaurant with the highest grade! That is how we ended up at East Noodle and Izakaya.
It is a nice size restaurant compared to the other ones and was not very crowded.
The decor is very colorful with beautiful lanterns surrounding the counter and dark wood for the floor and furniture.
Jodi ordered the Shoyu ramen, that is made of a pork broth with soy sauce, braised pork, vegetable and a boiled egg.
I ordered the Pork Belly ramen that is apparently very popular there.
The broth was pork based and it was served with pork belly, vegetables and a boiled egg.
In both dishes, the pork was very good, tasty and tender, although I preferred the pork belly that was fattier. Both broth were fantastic: light and not too salty, they were quite flavorful. The noodles were tender and in fact, the one in the Shoyu ramen were more on the yellow side than the other, maybe because they contained more eggs.
We really enjoyed the ramen at East Noodle. I think that it is a good alternative to Ippudo if you go for the food, that is cheaper, and less for the ambiance.
Last, know that in Japan, they say that ramen is great when you have dinner with somebody you do not want to talk to (they have to concentrate on slurping). Just a little tip in case you end up in with a bad date...
Enjoy (I did)!
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And Remember: I Just Want To Eat!
Japanese Burger at Kobeyaki in NYC, New York
A Japanese burger! Doesn't that sound cool? Well, that was something I had to definitely try! In fact, I noticed Kobeyaki few weeks ago, when we went to BRGR.
The place has a nice and simple decor that is a mix between a burger joint and a Japanese restaurant.
The way it works is that you first order the food and then pick it up at the pick up counter.
You can order burgers, rolls, bowls, salad or soups. We were there of course for the burgers! Once it is ready, just pick up your tray full of these nicely wrapped items you just ordered!
Each burger was served with lettuce, cucumber, carrot, cabbage, scallions and kaiware (daikon radish). Jodi ordered the veggie burger:
It was made of grilled vegetables, portobello, cream cheese, panko, spicy mayo and nori (seaweed). It was good but quite messy to eat as it was kind of falling apart. It was also missing a bit of texture...
I ordered the Kobe beef burger:
It was composed of kobe beef, teriyaki onions, teriyaki ketchup and spicy mayo. I loved it! It was very good, tender and juicy, with some fantastic flavors that were with no doubt inspired from Japanese cuisine!
For the sides, I was a bit disappointed as the choice was limited! The fried item they had was the tempura sweet potato fries.
They were superb: not greasy and a bit crunchy. Interestingly, Jodi who does not like sweet potato ate few of them! To dip them, do not look for regular ketchup or mayonnaise! No, try the teriyaki ketchup, wasabi mayonnaise (my favorite) or the spicy mayo.
The burgers at Kobeyaki are quite good and a nice fusion between a standard dish in American cuisine, prepared with Japanese flavors. Definitely something to try!
Enjoy (I did)!
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And Remember: I Just Want To Eat!
Danish cuisine at Aamanns Copenhagen in NYC, New York
As I mentioned in my bio, I tend to talk more about food than anything else when I come back from a trip, even if I was astonished with what I have seen...For me, traveling is a whole experience: I will not go to, let say for argument sake, Italy and eat French food or a burger! I will want to eat some local food. Traveling everywhere is a nice wish, if not a dream. But eating different cuisines is not, especially in New York City, where there are so many restaurants that serve food I would have never tried before. For instance, you do not need to go to Ethiopia to eat Ethiopian food! Well, now, you do not have to go to Denmark to try Danish food! We wanted to try Danish food because Jodi has a friend, a fellow artist named Anne (you can check Anne's website here), who lives in Denmark and we were curious about the Danish cuisine. Anne mentioned Aamanns-Coppenhagen in Tribeca; so here we are!
I have to say that I did not know what to expect from that place. This place has a spectacular setting: the ceilings are very, very high and they have an incredible bar with a shelf that goes so high that I doubt anybody would try to get the bottle on top! The furniture is modern and looks a bit like the furniture you would find at Ikea in term of style (well maybe a Scandinavian style?). What I truly appreciated there is the fact that there was space between tables (great, I did not have to hear the conversation of the other guests)!
After we sat, they brought us a bottle of water that had a black stick in it.
At first, I thought it was some sort of licorice to give a taste to the water, but there was no specific taste. So we asked the waitress and she told us that it was Japanese charcoal, used to purify water. I am glad that I did not try to take a bite of it!
Of course, waiting for the food, I ordered a glass of Aquavit, a snaps distilled from grains or, in Denmark, from potatoes.
Aamanns serves different flavors. I ordered cranberry, but as they were out of it, I ended up with a lemon aquavit. This was good, but strong (it contains approx. 40% alcohol).
Concerning the food, what I really like about that place, is that they offer a tasting menu for $46 called Taste of Copenhagen ($34 for lunch). As we wanted to try different dishes on the menu, this is what we ordered!
The first dishes were Smørrebrød:
A Smørrebrød is an open faced sandwich. When we asked the waitress what it meant, she said that Smør is butter and brød is bread. It makes sense! So, we had 4 of them (from left to right):
- Salted brisket, horseradish cream, pear and parsley
- Kale “tartare” with endives, apples and walnuts in a creamy vinaigrette
- Roast beef sirloin with crispy onions, remoulade sauce and freshly grated horseradish
- Beet-cured hake, scallions, dill and rosemary
The bread used is rye bread, but not the typical rye bread you find here: it is denser and more like a multi grain rye bread. I really enjoyed the Smørrebrød, especially the layers of flavors. Well, in fact the only one I did not like was the Kale "tartare" one as I am not a big fan of kale...And on top of that, the rye bread is homemade!!!
Then was a Herring tasting. It was composed of:
I loved it! The first one was a little sweet, but they smartly put capers on it, that gave some saltiness to the dish. The taste of the herring was less strong than in the second one, where it really came through. I did not find the tomato compote to be spicy personally.
As Jodi does not like herring, they graciously accepted to serve her a fish cake:
This dish, called “Fiskefrikadeller” was a pan-fried fish cake served with remoulade, pickled cucumber on rye bread.
It was very good! The fish cake was not greasy and was a bit crispy. I admit that I forgot what the fish was...It was a white fish, flaky with a delicate taste, similar to cod.
Then, we got a beef tartare and a pork pâté:
The beef tartare was served with an egg emulsion, tarragon, cornichons, capers, onion rings and crispy potatoes. It was good but a bit bland. I think that the potatoes and capers were a nice addition as it gave some texture, crispiness and saltiness to the dish, that would have otherwise be boring!
The second dish on the plate was the pâté of pork served warm with parsley, aquavit, fresh hazelnuts, pickled apples, celery and watercress. I loved it! It had bold flavors that were fantastic and was rustic at the same time. It was definitely one of my favorite dishes!
Last, we finished with cheese served the Danish way with butter-fried rye bread and a sweet and spicy relish:
Although I love cheese, I was a bit disappointed because I expected some Danish cheeses. Instead, they served us Brie de Meaux and Mimolette from France and a German cheese similar to blue. I think that, as they did not serve any Danish cheeses, they should have proposed a dessert like the rye bread cake that is on their menu. The best part of this was the rye bread that was fried in butter! It was so good!!!
The meal at Aamanns-Copenhagen was delicious and the tasting, a great way to try different Danish dishes, probably a bit elevated for the restaurant, although I cannot tell you if it is like that in Denmark. The food and the atmosphere were nice, but I have to mention that the kitchen was a bit slow...
The real question after this meal is: now that I have eaten Danish food, does that make me a Viking?
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And Remember: I Just Want To Eat!
Croque Monsieur at La Maison du Croque Monsieur in NYC, New York
Union Square has lots of cheap and delicious eateries, probably because of the proximity of NYU. Our last discovery is La Maison Du Croque Monsieur, the place of Yves Jadot and Alberto Benenati from La Petit Abeille.
I do not remember that Croque Monsieur was that popular when I was in France. My Mom used to cook it from time to time, very simply, and there were even, sometimes, some variation of it, with Crème fraîche and a slice of tomato. Because Croque Monsieur was a quick and simple sandwich to make, we never put any Béchamel sauce. The original version of Croque Monsieur was with cheese (usually Emmental or Gruyère cheese) and ham. The béchamel inside and outside makes it a fancier version, not to mention when there is béchamel and cheese on top: even fancier!
So, La Maison Du Croque Monsieur is serving a simpler version, as well as some variation of it, using cheese from Murray's.
It is a small place with two tiny floors. We ordered and then went upstairs where they brought us our food.
Of course, we decided to try the original Croque Monsieur, Croque Mr Henry, made with jambon de Paris (ham), Béchamel sauce and a choice of cheese (we picked Comté from France).
Of course, we decided to try the original Croque Monsieur, Croque Mr Henry, made with jambon de Paris (ham), Béchamel sauce and a choice of cheese (we picked Comté from France).
The second Croque Monsieur was Mr Eduardo (Bresaola, Béchamel, Smoked Mozzarella & Truffle Oil).
I have to say that I preferred Mr Eduardo: tastier, it had fantastic flavors from the bresaola and the smoked mozzarella, with the truffle oil really coming through. The original Croque was good, but the flavors did not stand out. I think it was missing a bit of béchamel sauce and cheese.
We also got one Croque for dessert...The Mr Gonzalo.
It was made of banana, nutella (hazelnut chocolate spread) and mascarpone.
This was succulent! Think about it: banana and nutella are the perfect combination for either a sandwich or a crepe. The mascarpone was kind of non-existent in it, maybe because there was not that much. This sandwich was slightly warm, so the nutella was melting a bit, dripping down on my fingers...A bit challenging to eat, but who cares!
Enjoy (I did)!
And Remember: I Just Want To Eat!
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Neapolitan Pizza at San Matteo Pizzeria in NYC, New York
After watching the TV show "Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations" that took place in Naples, and seeing some mouth watering Neapolitan pizza, we decided to try San Matteo on the Upper East Side. What I did not know, before watching the show and looking on the internet, is that there are certain rules to follow for the pizza to be called Neapolitan. These rules can be found on the website of The True Neapolitan Pizza Association. For instance:
- The dough ball must weigh between 180 and 250 grams.
- ingredients should be flour type "00", sea salt and water with a Ph of 6 to 7 (with a temperature of 20 to 22 degree Celsius). The yeast must be compressed, biologically produced.
- The pizza is created with a single dough ball, with a motion from the center outward, and with the pressure from the fingers from both hands. From the center, the thickness must be about 0.4 cm (+ or - 10%) and the border 1 to 2 cm.
These are just few examples, but there are plenty of rules such as which tomatoes to use. And I do not know why, but knowing this made me look at the pizza differently!
So here we are on the Upper East Side, excited to go to a restaurant that is making such pizza. Walking there, I have to say that we could have missed it, also because we were not expecting such a tiny place!
In the back of the room, was the brick oven, another criterion to have a pizza called Neapolitan!
We started off with the burrata:
The plate was very appetizing and had fantastic colors between the green from the salad and the olives, the red from the tomatoes and the black of the balsamic vinegar, that contrasted perfectly with the white of the burrata. If you do not know what burrata is, it is made of mozzarella (outer shell) with cheese inside. Fresh, it is exquisite!
From the discussion we had with the people from the restaurant, we understood that there were shipping their mozzarella directly from Italy!
This burrata was good, but not the best I ever tried for sure. I found that the mozzarella was a bit tougher than it should be. I, anyway, enjoyed it!
Then, we got a pizza! We decided to go with a traditional one: the Margherita (tomato sauce, mozzarella and basil).
I could have definitely eaten that pizza myself. Again, the contrast of colors and the blob of the crust made it extremely appetizing. Just look at the crust on the photo below and tell me you would not want a bite of it!
Yes, that crust was fantastic, as was the pizza! It tasted fresh (they put fresh basil leaves) and they were generous with the mozzarella. It was soft in the center and crispy on the outside. Perfect and yummy!
San Matteo is definitely a little gem on the Upper East Side! The food is good and the service courteous and fast. I definitely want to try other pizzas over there!
Enjoy (I did)!
And Remember: I Just Want To Eat!
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Bibimbap at Bann in NYC, New York
One of my colleagues, Hamid, suggested to try Bann, a Korean restaurant that also has bar and lounge at the entrance, making it look fancy.
The layout of the restaurant is quite interesting in fact: when you enter, you pass the bar, then the kitchen with its counter, and then you see this big dining room that was very dark.
After we ordered, they brought us the usual Banchan, these small dishes they serve you in Korean restaurants.
I have to say that I was a bit disappointed because usually, they bring you 6 to 8 different small dishes. Here it was only three and only the kimchi was great!
We got ourselves the Dol Sol Bibimbap. Jodi picked the vegetarian one and I got the chicken one.
In fact, mine was similar to the one Jodi got, except that it had chicken. This chicken was moist and tasty and overall, the dish was very good and flavorful. The stone bowl was extremely hot and did its job by burning the rice and creating a crust that was fantastic!
Outside of Koreatown, Bann is definitely a place to recommend for bibimbap!
And Remember: I Just Want To Eat!
