The Spotted Pig in NYC, New York - Overrated?

So we made it to The Spotted Pig over the week end! It has been a while since I wanted to try: I heard many people talking about this place and about what is supposed to be an outstanding burger! You do not need to tell me that twice to have a restaurant in my radar!

The place has its charm with a bunch of piggies all over the place! There is even a frame that reminded me of the movie Delicatessen!
From outside, it gives a feel of a house in the country, with all the plants.

Not only can you see pigs from outside, but they are everywhere inside, giving a playful feel to the warm decor.

With a name like The Spotted Pig, you could imagine that the restaurant is all about the edible parts of this animal, but as you will see, it is not the case. In fact, all drawings and photos are not only about pigs, although they are the majority.

So we went on a Saturday and decided to show up for brunch at 11:30am, fearing that, with no reservation, we would have a problem to get a table. Yes, this restaurant is popular; also because some celebrities like to hang out there.

When we arrived, we gave our name and were told that we had to wait 10 minutes. This was interesting considering that there were plenty of available tables! So I had two explanations:

1. They do like Pastis: use this as a way to make you consume a drink at the bar.
2. The kitchen just opened and they did not want to be swamped by orders. I would go with this one.

So, few minutes after, they brought us upstairs. On our way up, we could not miss the multitude of drawings of various animals. They sat us at the tables with stools. 

We started off with the deviled egg (the menu says "eggs", but it is only one!).

I liked it: the egg was cooked beautifully (overcooked whites taste funny) and there was the perfect quantity of mayonnaise. The egg was topped with was I believe were chives. So it started well.

Then we shared the grilled cheese.

It was served with onion marmalade and mustard. I like it a lot! First of all, the sandwich itself was very good: the bread was soft inside and crispy outside, not greasy. I guess the cheese was swiss.

Besides the sandwich, what made this dish unique was the onion marmalade! It was a fantastic pairing and I truly appreciated the fact that it was not too sweet.

Then, came the star of the brunch: the burger!

So, the burger is served on a brioche bread, with roquefort cheese (kind of a blue cheese, roquefort has a strong taste) and shoestring fries.

The presentation is awesome with the mountain of fries and the marks on the toasted brioche. The bread is fantastic; in fact, I think that brioche bread is my favorite for a burger. I hate when the bun is dry as it is the first thing you will taste when you bit on the burger!

I asked for the meat to be medium, although I hesitated to ask for medium rare as a patty can dry out pretty quickly if overcooked.

As you can see on the photo, the meat was medium rare. It was very juicy and had a nice char taste outside. However, the roquefort was too overpowering! I think it would have been a phenomenal burger with either swiss or cheddar cheese. 

For your information, these sauces you see on the photo above are ketchup and mustard: they do not have mayonnaise.

The shoestring fries were just of for me: too thin, I could barely taste the potatoes...

So, surprisingly, the star of the meal was not the burger but the grilled cheese! I am not sure I would go back there: the food was decent but overpriced! $20 for a burger: it has to rock and it was not the case. The grilled cheese at $16 was also expensive for what it was.

Last, the service was average. At the exception of the waitress and the guy who brought the burger, people there were a bit rude. I guess it is the price to pay to eat in a popular restaurant. At least, it is what they think!

Enjoy (I barely did)!

Fraunces Tavern in NYC, New York - oldest building in NYC?

Recently, on a Sunday, we went for brunch with our friends Jen and Gary who proposed to go to Fraunces Tavern, downtown Manhattan. Fraunces Tavern is said to be the oldest surviving building in Manhattan per the Sons of Liberty who are the lucky owners since 1904. This building is filled with history! According to the Fraunces Tavern Museum website, the current building was built in 1719 by Etienne "Stephan" Delancey, a French Huguenot who married the daughter of New York's Mayor Stephanus Van Cortlandt. Delancey's heirs then sold the building to Samuel Fraunces who decided to open a tavern called the Queen's head. It is in this tavern that, before the revolution, gathered regularly the Sons of Liberty, a political group of American patriots that was formed, pre-independence, to protect the rights of the colonist from the rules set by the British government. 

But, one of the most famous story about this place lies in the dinner that took place on December 4th 1783: the "Turtle Feast". After British troops evacuated New York, the General (soon to be President) George Washington organized a farewell to his troops and said, in the long room: "with a heart full of love and gratitude, I now take leave of you. I most devoutly wish that your latter days may be as prosperous and happy as your former ones have been glorious and honorable."

After that, Samuel Fraunces became Wahsington's Chief Steward and, after the war, at the time New York was the Nation's Capital, the place was rented to the Government to house the Departments of War, Treasury and Foreign Affairs.

All this history is explained in the Museum that is on the second floor of the building. 

The building is pretty impressive in the middle of the skyscrapers. 

On the outside, you cannot miss the multiple plaques commemorating the place, its history or Samuel Fraunces. 

You can also see few windows showcasing bottles of whiskey (it is part of the American Whiskey Trail, an initiative of the Distilled Spirits Council of the United States that promotes the history and cultural heritage of distilled beverages in the United States). 

In fact, inside, there is a very comfortable lounge where you can taste this divine drink as well as others.

I snooped around the place:

They sat us in the Long Room where George Washington gave his speech. They really kept it authentic (or at least as you would imagine it was). I noticed for instanced that couple of tables had holes.

We could not get any explanation from the wait staff as to what it was, but they told us that it was not bullet holes!

Next to the Long Room is the Bissel room:

And adjacent to it is the Chef's table room that showcases incredible wines.

There was a last big room, but I did not go there as they were setting it up.

All over the place, you could see portraits of George Washington.

Now let's talk about food! After all this is a food blog!

Fraunces Tavern serves Brunch, Lunch and Dinner. We went for Brunch on a Sunday. The restaurant proposes on its menu some Irish specialties such as the Irish breakfast: black pudding, bacon, Irish sausage, beans, toasts and 2 eggs.
They also propose some classics such as the French Toast, burgers or crab cakes.

With your meal, you can get a beer from the impressive beer list (the Tavern is run by the Porterhouse Brewing Company). That is how I ended up with the Oyster Stout, a dark beer that got its name from the oysters shucked into the conditioning tank! Do not worry, it did not taste like oysters!

We started by sharing an Irish cheese plate.

It was composed of: sage cheddar, cashel blue, port wine cheddar and brie. They served it with slices of apples to clean our palates between cheeses and some delicious port wine fig chutney (ideal for to soften the strong taste of certain cheeses). These cheeses were very good, although I have to say that I am not a big fan of port wine cheddar...
The cheese plate was ideal for sharing!

Then, we tried the fish & chips.

I love fish & chips, but this one was just ok: the batter was missing some crispiness and the fish was too flaky, completely falling apart. It was served with a wonderful tartare sauce and thick cut fries.

The next dish was the French toast.

They were served with fresh berries and of course some maple syrup. I loved it! The bread was perfectly soaked, all the way through. It was fantastic! And the berries added some freshness to the dish. This is definitely a recommended dish!

Jen and Gary got the eggs benedict:

and the corned beed hash:

I did not try these dishes, but they said that it was very good.

For dessert, we ordered the bread pudding.

This was an amazing dessert. Not only the presentation that was beautiful, but also the amazing buttery taste! It was served warm, with whipped cream and strawberries. I loved it!

This was a great brunch (Thanks Jen & Gary for the idea!) and there are plenty of dishes I would like to try: the Tavern burger or the duck leg confit! I guess I will have to go back...At least, you should try and let me know what you think!

Enjoy (I did)!

Angelo's Coal Oven Pizza in NYC, New York

I went to Angelo's pizza several times and always preferred going to the location on Broadway as it is much quieter and less crowded. It is in fact surprising considering that it is next to the Late Show with David Letterman studio!

Both restaurants are on two floors, but the one in Broadway is much spacious and can much easily welcome a large party.

Besides pizza and pasta, the restaurant serves soups and salads, like the Insalata Siciliana on the photo below.

They also serve panini; the one on the photo below is a chicken parm panini. 

Previously, I tried their pasta, specifically the Fettuccine Alfredo and the Rigatoni A La Vodka. It was good and they were generous with the sauce. But, know that the pasta are not homemade.

This time, we got pizza. When you order, you have to go through a simple selection process:

• First, pick the size of the pie: you can either order a small (6 slices) or a large pizza.
• Second, you decide if you want a white pie (made with ricotta or mozzarella - no tomato sauce) or a regular pie (tomato and mozzarella).
• Last, you pick your toppings. They propose several ones like mushroom, olives, pepperoni, anchovies, broccoli (seriously? Do you think it will make it healthier???), onions, prosciutto...

So we decided to share two large pizza. The first one was a white pie.

This one was disappointing: it was very dry and there was not that much cheese!

The second one was a regular pie with mushrooms and prosciutto di Parma.

It was delicious! The pizza sauce was good and they put some good quality prosciutto on it. I also like the crust on both pizza: thin, crispy and slightly blackened, result of the cooking in the coal oven that you can see when you enter the restaurant.

Angelo's pizza is not that bad, but it is clearly not the best pizza in New York. I also find that it is a bit overpriced and the service was a bit slow. So if you decide to go, avoid the white pie...

Enjoy (I half did)!

My Choice self served Frozen Yogurt and Juice bar in NYC, New York

We found this new Frozen Yogurt that happens to be also a juice bar, called My Choice. It not only proposes frozen yogurt, but also smoothies, ice cream, fruits and vegetables juices made freshly.

The Frozen Yogurt is self served.

They had 8 different flavors such as dulce de leche, chocolate, peach & mango, original tart...On their prospectus, they advertise other flavors such as NY cheesecake, cookies & cream, apple pie or eggnog. I guess they switch from time to time!

Once you pick the yogurt flavor, you can add some syrup.

They had chocolate, caramel, lemon and honey.

There are also two toppings bar:

The first one had coconut, cookie dough, wafflers, M&M's, almond brittles, chocolate chips...

The second one was all about fruits: strawberries, mango, pineapple...

We went for a cup with the Peach & Mango and dulce de leche yogurt.

It was not bad, but the yogurt was not as good as Red Mango or Pinkberry.

The second cup was with chocolate and original tart yogurt.

 The chocolate yogurt was pretty good, but the original tart was so so. It for sure tasted like yogurt, but was missing some tartness. At least, I enjoyed the M&M's and almond brittle!

Clearly My Choice is not my favorite and I do not think I will go back there...

Enjoy (I did not)!

Celebrating Bastille Day at Felix in Soho - NYC, New York

Yesterday was Bastille Day, the French National Day, celebrating the French Revolution (the Bastille was a fortress-prison where political prisoners were held by the royal government). 

In France, it is marked by the following events:

• a ball. You typically have to wear something blue, something white and something red to represent the colors of the flag.
• a Military demonstration on the Champs Elysees in Paris.

So, we decided to go to a French restaurant to mark the occasion. It is not too difficult to find one as there are plenty in New York! But I wanted something new, with a menu that was French (I do not remember which one I saw that had mainly dishes you would find in American cuisine, such as eggs benedict and pancakes...with no typical French dishes). That is how we ended up at Felix. I did not realized that it was across the street from Taka Taka, the Japanese Cantina (understand Japanese / Mexican fusion).

The place was big with high ceilings, old French ads (ex: Dubo, Dubon, Dubonnet) and old wooden furnitures giving some authenticity to the place. The restaurant was fully opened to the street, giving the patrons full view, perfect for people watching. One thing that surprised me is that the music was not at all French, but more oldies.

The service was polite and pretty quick, except at the end...when asking for the check! At that point, the restaurant was fairly crowded, explaining maybe the slowness that we did not experience at the beginning.

For food, we went with traditional dishes. We started with the Escargots de Bourgogne.

It is normally 6 snails (I got 7), cooked in garlic and parsley butter. The plate was very hot and the snails bathed in butter! It was very good! I noticed that they added some shallots to the usual garlic and parsley. The sauce was delicious for some bread dipping...I was not disappointed!

The second dish was the Croque Monsieur.

It was served with a mesclun salad. This croque Monsieur was just ok: although I appreciated the quantity of cheese on top, the bechamel sauce was missing and the cheese should have been toasted to give a bit of crunch that even the bread did not provide. This was a miss and disappointing for..$17!

The last dish was the merguez.

Merguez is a spicy lamb sausage that you find in mediterranean cuisine. I love it on the grill, in a nice baguette with either some ketchup or honey mustard. Unfortunately, it is a bit difficult to find some in New York. At some point, Freshdirect was selling them!

So, the merguez, half the size I am used to, where served with French fries and a salad. They had a nice kick and were perfectly cooked (overcooked, they can become dry). I really liked the dish, however, I  thought that it was not worth the $21 they charge for!

I had overall a good experience at Felix with some decent food. It is a bit overpriced for the food they serve. I am not sure I would go back if I were to eat French food; I would more end up at Cedric in Harlem or Marseille in Hell's Kitchen.

Enjoy (I did)!

Urban lobster shack food truck in NYC, New York

If you tell French people that you are eating a lobster in a piece of bread, they will think you are crazy! Not me! Since I discovered lobster rolls, I love it! Not all of them though: I hate when they smother the whole lobster with tons of mayonnaise, to a point where you do not even taste this divine ingredient!

I think the first time I tried it was in Boston, at Faneuil Hall. Since then, I have tried it in many forms, such as the Lobster roll benedict at Anthony David's in Hoboken, NJ.

Then, last year, I went to the Food Truck Festival at South Street Seaport and tasted a succulent Connecticut style lobster roll (poached in butter!!!) from The Red Hook Lobster Pound (see the related post: Food Truck Festival at South Street Seaport (NYC) on August 20th!).

Then, I noticed this red truck on the corner of 52nd and 6th in New York: Urban Lobster Shack. With a name like this, there is no question what it is about! They have in fact a brick and mortar restaurant Midtown, as well as one in the Financial District. I spoke with the Chef who told me that they started couple of month ago with the truck. The menu is defined everyday, based on her mood. For instance, the second time I went, I did not see the different dishes made with crab: she was not in the mood for it!

So, I tried several of their rolls.

The traditional ("Our famous lobster roll").

This was my first. At first, I was surprised by the size of it as the roll is a tiny hot dog roll. For $13, it was a bit small. But the taste was amazing: the lobster was perfectly cooked, tasty, perfectly seasoned, with a nice buttery taste (the roll is toasted and buttered). 

Then I tried the Chef's scampi lobster roll.

Good too, but too much garlic! It for sure protected me from vampires for a month. However, it was filled with lobster! Yum!

The last one was the Chef's creation: Asian Lobster Roll:

It was served with celery, a wasabi soy sauce topped with sesame seeds. I like the originality and the taste of the dish. But the traditional one is my favorite!

I like the fact that they propose many different types of Lobster Rolls and wish they serve more often crab rolls as an alternative...But $13 / $14 seems a bit overpriced, although the rolls are filled with the lobster. I would eat again there, but not everyday!

Enjoy (I did)!

Lime Jungle, Mexican Grill in NYC, New York

I love walking on Ninth Avenue in New York City: there are so many restaurants, big or small! That day, we wanted to eat Mexican. Our first choice was Ariba, Ariba! I love this place: they have amazing chimichanga and I had this incredible seafood enchilada loaded with crab and shrimp the last time we went there (it is the Seafood Enchiladas Verdes in the Chef's favorites). Unfortunately, the place was crazy packed and they had no immediate availability. So, that's how we ended up at Lime Jungle. We went there several months ago and liked it, so why not! The restaurant is big, with high ceiling and brick walls. I also like the wooden tables and the used chairs: all of it give a warm and rustic feeling to the place.

That day, the service was very slow, although the place was not that busy! I do not recall that it was like this the last time we went!

We started our dining experience with Guacamole. 

This is THE appetizer we order whenever we go to a Mexican place. I am always hoping that they will do it table side. This was not the case. It was well presented, but you could see immediately that it was not freshly done. I could also not see any avocado chunks, prompting me to think that they were using some king of avocado puree. It was good, but nothing exceptional. 

When they bring the food, if it is hand food, they put it in a piece of paper and bring it in a basket.

We started with a cheese empanada.

I like it: very tasty, a lot of cheese and not greasy.

Then we tried the veggie taco:

It was made of soft flour tortilla or crispy corn taco shell, vegetarian beans, jack and cheddar cheese, guacamole, grilled peppers and onions, tomatoes, lettuce and sour cream. It was very good. I am always scared to end up with something bland, but it was not.

The other taco we tried was the short rib taco:

It was a soft flour tortilla (you could pick a crispy corn taco shell) with slow cooked beef short ribs, cheddar cheese, chopped onions and tomatoes. At first, I thought that the beef was dry, but it was only on one side of the taco. It was delicious: the meat was finally juicy and I got an explosion of flavors in my mouth, accentuated by the salsa I put on the taco. Yes, I forgot to mention that the restaurant has a salsa bar! In fact, the staff forgot to mention it to us and we just remembered the last time when we saw one of the patron going toward it. The idea of a salsa bar is good, but first, tell your dinners and then write the name of the different salsa so people can know what it is as well as the degree of spiciness!

We did not go for dessert, although I wanted to try the cheese and caramel empanada. But the service was so slow that I was thinking that it would take forever to come. So we left...

It is clearly not the best Mexican restaurant, but it is a cheap alternative. Hopefully the slowness of the service was a one off...

Enjoy (I did)!

Afghan Kebab House #1 in NYC, New York

Few weeks ago, we met a lovely couple in a wedding and we ended up (of course) taking about food. They mentioned the Afghan Kebab House as being a good spot to eat some kebab. I love kebab because of the incredible aroma that the spices will give to the meat while cooking.

So we decided to go. We enter in the restaurant; it is dark inside and there is one only guy sitting at a table, waiting for his food. The decor is made of murals and carpets. I noticed immediately that there is no music in the background; the only noise we hear is the one from the construction outside. 

When they give us the menu, I understand from the cover that we are at the Afghan Kebab House Number 1! Yes, there are several in New York City. At the time of writing this post, I count eight of them.

As I would like to try different kebab, I decide to pick the Combo Kebab.

The combo kebab contains three sorts of kebab: 

• Beef Tikka Kebab: chunks of lamb marinated in fresh grated spices and herbs. It was my least favorite. At first, I though the meat will be like eating my shoe, but in fact it was the knife that they gave me that could not even have cut my bread! I barely tasted the spices and herbs. Fortunately, they have some spicy sauce and white sauce on the side to help...
• Lamb Kafta Kebab: ground lamb marinated in spices. This was very good: juicy and very tasty! 
• Chicken Kebab: chunks of chicken marinated in spices. This was also very good, although missing a bit of seasoning. The chicken was perfectly cooked and moist. Again, the spicy sauce and the white sauce saved it!

The dish was served with a salad (I could not care less), basmati brown rice (just ok) and some delicious and crispy Afghan bread. 

We also tried the eggplant dish.

Same as the Kebab, it was served with basmati brown rice, a salad and a piece of Afghan bread.

The eggplant dish reminded me a bit a ratatouille (a traditional French Provençal stewed vegetable dish), although it had chick peas in it. It was just an ok dish for me: I was disappointed about he fact that I could barely taste the eggplant and it was a bit soup-ee. Also, I thought the dish was overpriced ($11.95) for what it was.

Afghan Kebab House was just fine for me. It is not the kind of place I would recommend or dream about...

Enjoy (the post)!

Falafel at Azuri Cafe in NYC, New York

We decided to try Azuri Cafe in NYC, New York as some say that it is the best falafel in the City; better than Taim, Mamoun's, etc...

The place is very small with only 4 tables. We saw the owner there who not only did not say hello, but was very grumpy. Well, we went there for the food, not the owner! Anyway, they play on it as they quoted the NY Times who in 1999 said:

"With just a few rickety tables, Azuri Cafe, a kosher Israeli restaurant and takeout shop, is not the most stylish place around. It's not the friendliest, either. But when you taste the food, you can see where the gruff owner, Ezra Cohen, puts his energy. ".

Then, on their website they wrote: "A place you want to call home"! Really? Maybe for the food, but not for the owner for sure!

The place serves vegetarian as well as non vegetarian specialties. You can find Shawarma Gyro (isn't it kind of the same?) that is made with chicken, beef or chicken shish Kebab (where is the lamb?), chicken liver or falafel. The problem is that they do not describe their menu and a lot of dishes clearly either needed a description or a definition! Considering the personality of the owner, I could not picture myself asking him questions. Especially after I ordered the Shak Shuka plate (I wanted to see if it was the shekshouka) and he responded in a growl that it would take 25 minutes! So we just ordered falafel.

The cook (who was nicer) prepared them. He first fried the falafel. Then, opened a whole wheat pita (we did not have a choice between whole wheat and white as other customers who came after did) and stuffed in it hummus, red cabbage, taboule...and of course the falafel. They topped the sandwich with tahini sauce and pickles.

The sandwich was big for sure. You immediately notice the crunchiness of the falafel. They were very good and I did not detect any greasiness. The sandwich was overall good, but was missing some flavor. 

I definitely prefer Taim not only for the sandwich, but also because their menu is more original with sandwiches like the Shabish that was delicious! So, in the battle between Azuri Cafe and Taim, Taim won!

The owner would have been nicer, it would not have changed my mind...

Enjoy (I almost did)!

Vynl, Disco restaurant - NYC, New York

It has been a while since I wanted to try Vynl located in Hell's Kitchen. The name and spelling was intriguing, and they had truffled mac & cheese on the menu (yes, I just need to see one yummy item to make me want to try...).

The decor is pretty interesting: disco balls on the ceiling, mosaic everywhere, even on the table (ours was a displaying a big Atari logo) and a big bust of Elvis. On the walls, you could see action figures from bands like Kiss, or actors, shows...

There was definitely a disco feel accentuated by loud music: you do not go there for a romantic or quiet dinner!

The service was quick and very courteous.

The menu is a fusion Thai-American that can satisfy meat and non meat eaters! What is great is that they propose small plates so you can taste different dishes and share.

To go with my meal, I went for a milk shake.

I know, I could have gone for some wine but I cannot resist to a milk shake! They propose three flavors: vanilla, chocolate and mocha. I went for the vanilla one. It was a good milk shake with the perfect thickness and enough vanilla taste, thanks to the vanilla syrup they probably pour in it. 

We started with seared tuna sliders.

There were two of them, served with Thai spiced aioli and a cabbage slaw. It was delicious! Although, I would have liked a better proportion between the tuna and the bun. It is a very good alternative to a burger slider. It had very clean flavors and the tuna melted in my mouth.

After the sliders, we ordered vegetable dumplings.

They came with a sweet soy chili dipping sauce. I have to say that I am not a big fan of vegetable dumplings: most of the time, the shell is too thick, overpowering the taste of the veggies. This one was perfect! Light and succulent. Another great dish!

Then came the long awaited Truffled Mac & Cheese.

They served it with a salad. 

To be honest, I did not care about the salad, although it was good to have some greens considering the rest of the meal.

The Truffled Mac & Cheese was made with gemeli pasta, two types of cheese (fontina and parmesan), black truffle and cream. It was creamy and you could taste the truffle immediately. In fact you could smell it. Was it the best truffled mac & cheese I ever tried? No. But it was a pretty good one. I hate when mac & cheese is dry and this one was creamy. The only regret is that they only serve it as a large plate. They would have proposed it as a small plate, I would have tried some other succulent dishes they have on the menu! 

I had a great diner at Vynl and can't wait to go back to try some other dishes such as the fried chicken and waffle or the Kung Pao shrimp tacos!

Enjoy (I did)!

 

The Mussel Pot in NYC, New York - Closed

As you can imagine from the name, The Mussel Pot is mainly about mussels, although the restaurant offers other alternatives for those who do not like it, such as fried chicken, fish and chips...

The restaurant is located in Greenwich Village, on Bleeker. We went there to meet our friends Jen and Chris on a Saturday and the restaurant got reasonably crowded. The setting was modern, with an outdoor space in the back enhanced surprisingly by a small waterfall! The service, although courteous, was very, very slow. At some point, they completely forgot our order and they offered us a round of beers to apologize.

The principle of the restaurant is derived from the Moules Frites (Mussels and fries) concept: mussels are served with French fries; you then either dip the fries in the sauce or in mayonnaise. You would typically drink beer with it.
Few years back, I use to go to a restaurant called La Tour on the Upper East Side that was serving mussels and fries all you can eat. I remember that I went one time with  my Dad and we ordered four servings, each of them made with a different sauce. Unfortunately, the restaurant closed. Today, I enjoy all you can eat Mussels and Fries at Bin 14 in Hoboken (Tuesday night only). At the Mussel Pot, it is not all you can eat and they do not serve the mussels with fries: just with a piece of bread. If you want fries, you can order a side. I was a bit surprised about it, especially considering the price ($20 to $26).


In term of beer, The Mussel Pot has quite a big list of beers from the US, Europe...

They have Amstel, Heineken, Hoegaarden, Sam Adams,...

The restaurant offers close to twenty different types of mussel dishes, inspired by international cuisines: Thai, Italian, American, French...There is only one traditional recipe that is the Provencal one (white wine, shallots, cherry tomatoes, garlic and basil). The rest is pretty interesting, but I am not sure all of them suit to this type of dish.

Anyway, before eating the main course, we ordered some appetizers. We started with a white bean soup served with carrots, leaks and escarole (broad leave endive), celery and croutons.

The soup was good and it had been a long time I did not have escarole. However, I do not think I would order it again: it was missing some pizzaz!

We also shared a caesar salad.

Pretty standard....

For the mussels, I had a taste of different specialties! The first one was the Italian Posillipo.

It was made with  tomato sauce, olive oil, white wine, garlic, and basil. Kind of similar to the Provencal one. The tomato sauce had some chunks of tomatoes. It was ok: I would have liked a bit more flavors.

Then I tried the Valenciana mussels.

It was composed of saffron sauce, fresh clams, shrimp, chorizo, peas, tomato, white wine, olive oil, lemon juice, butter and bay leaf. There was a lot of flavors. Good, but the sauce was also missing flavor.

The last one was the New York.

It was served with buffalo sauce, carrots, celery and blue cheese crumbles. It was my favorite: surprising and delicious; but quite spicy! I am not sure I could have finished an entire pot of it!

Besides mussels, we also tried the fish and chips.

At first, they looked a bit overcooked. But they were in fact perfect! The fish was succulent. I think that, with the New York mussels, it was my favorite dish! They served it with fries and with tartare sauce, ketchup and vinegar.
Of course, we ordered a side of fries as, as I mentioned, they do not serve fries with the mussels.

The fries, served skin on, were just ok. Sorry but I like them crispy!

Then came desserts! Yes, we were still hungry after that. We first tried the Tres Leches.

This was fantastic! It was gooey and had the perfect amount of milk! There was really no problem to finish it!

We also tried the gelato.

They offered to give half chocolate and half hazelnut. I am not sure what the brand was, but it was pretty good and creamy.

We had a nice time with our friends at The Mussel Pot. I am not sure I would go back though or recommend it: the service was slow, the prices a bit expensive for what it was and the food average.

Enjoy (I did for part of it)!

Tony Di Napoli in NYC, New York

It had been a while since I ate at Tony Di Napoli and in the past, I use to go to their location on the Upper East Side, before they close there. So, when my cousins told me they would come to visit us from Europe and wanted to eat in a reasonably priced Italian restaurant, I thought that Toni Di Napoli in Times Square could be a good idea. I never went to that location and, to be honest, I was a bit apprehensive that the quality of the food would not be great considering the location and the flow of tourists. I was wrong!

It is for sure a big place. And noisy. Clearly, the noise level was pretty high service wise, it was perfect: diligent, fast, but they did not rush us at all, giving us the opportunity to take our time to enjoy each other company.

In term of food, it is family style, meaning that each plate if for sharing. It is perfect when you are more than three people.

We started with a salad (Photo above I was in minority, surrounded by women who wanted at least one healthy dish). It was red and yellow tomatoes with mozzarella. The salad had nothing exceptional: some tomatoes were a bit mushy and I would have liked some better mozzarella (it was similar to the one you would buy at the supermarket).

Then we had another special: chicken saltimbocca. Normally the dish is made with veal, but they decided to propose it with chicken. The way it was done is different from the traditional way for sure: chicken, topped with prosciutto and cheese in a sauce that I believe had Marsala and butter. The chicken was served on a bed of spinach. It was pretty good: the chicken was perfectly cooked and moist and the main ingredients paired well together. 

We then went for the traditional meatballs, served with linguine. These meatballs were not only huge, but divine! You could really taste the meat and herbs. The only thing negative was that there was not enough of the great and tasty tomato sauce it came with.

The next dish was also a traditional Italian dish: eggplant parmesan.

I loved it: the eggplant were sufficiently cooked, the sauce was amazing and it was topped with lots of cheese.

After that, we still had a bit of room for dessert. We decided to order the tiramisu.

It was a big piece, sufficient for four people. At first, I was wondering why there was coffee in the bottom of the plate: in fact, the lady fingers absorbed it fairly quickly (with the alcohol that was mixed in it by the way). I think it is one of the best tiramisu I ever had: it was creamy, light and decadent!

That was a great dinner and the food was very good for reasonable prices. This is definitely a place to have in mind. Reservation strongly suggested!

Enjoy (I did)!

Hoboken Burrito aka Mission Burrito in Hoboken, New Jersey

Ok, it seems that this restaurant has two names: Mission Burrito and Hoboken Burrito. Whatever the name is, we were craving for mexican food that day and decided to order from them. It was not the first time and we knew that we would not regret it!

They have a large menu that proposes many standard dishes: fajita, burrito, taco, enchilada...

Each time we can, in a Mexican restaurant, we order guacamole. It better be good, because, not only do we have it as an appetizer, but we always have some in the dishes we order. I hate when they give you some already made one!

I want to taste the avocado and the freshness of the ingredients.

So we ordered some guacamole at Mission Burrito. It came with some tortilla chips.

The guacamole was good. Not the best I ever had, but good. I would think after tasting it that they make it fresh. I appreciated the fact that it was not too salty (happens sometimes with guacamole).

We then had the vegetarian tacos.

It was served with beans, salad, yellow rice, sour cream, guacamole and pico de gallo. All in a hard shell taco. It was good and tasty, but the problem is that the tacos became mushy because of the salad and fell apart.

The last dish was a grilled chicken quesadilla.

It came with salad, sour cream, guacamole and pico de gallo. I loved it! They put a lot of cheese and with the sour cream and guacamole, it was not dry at all. The chicken was nicely grilled, although a bit dry.

If you do not know what to eat and crave mexican food, Mission Burrito is a good, cheap alternative.

Enjoy (I did)!

5 Napkin Burger in NYC, New York

5 Napkin Burger in Hell's kitchen opened many years ago, after the owners of the Upper West Side restaurant Nice Matin, Simon Oren and Andy D'Amico, thought that their signature burger was worth creating a burger place. The burger was named 5 Napkin Burger because the meat was so juicy that you would need five napkins to eat it! Since then, they have opened several locations in New York and are also present in Miami, Atlanta and Boston.

The restaurant in Hell's kitchen is always packed and it is better to have a reservation.
The decor with its white porcelain tiles is supposed to remind a slaughterhouse, especially with the meat hooks on the ceiling. What I like is that they have plenty of booths: yes, I like booths! It is something very rare in France and I always though that they add a nice classic touch to a place. It is also (most of the time), more comfortable than a chair!

The hooks on the ceiling are pretty interesting....

The restaurant serves brunch, lunch and dinner. If you are not a fan of burgers or want to watch you diet, they offer different standard alternatives such as French Toast, omelets, salads...They even propose sushi & maki, but I am not sure I would go to this restaurant for that, especially with all the Japanese restaurants that can be found in the area.

So, their specialty is burgers! They offer 12 different variations, most of them made with a 10 ounces beef patty. They also offer some with turkey, Ahi tuna and lamb.

Their signature burger is the Original 5 Napkin burger:

This is not a small burger! Clearly, to eat it, you are going to need to think you are at the dentist and he/she is asking you to open wide! It is composed of a brioche bread, the grounded beef patty, gruyere cheese, caramelized onions and rosemary aioli. I can tell you that they are not cheap on the ingredients and you soon understand why they call this a 5 Napkin burger. The meat was delicious: cooked perfectly (medium that is slightly pink in the center), juicy and had a great taste (yes, it tasted like meat)! The rosemary aioli was very good too! I usually do not like rosemary, but the taste was not too overpowering, making it the perfect sauce for the burger. Then, there were these delicious caramelized onions! The only thing maybe they could have done is to toast the bread.

The second burger I tried was the Avocado - Ranch:

It was made of pepper jack cheese, homemade guacamole, lettuce, tomato, ranch dressing on a sesame brioche roll. It was also very good, but I prefer the original. The pairing of the ranch dressing, avocado, cheese, meat and brioche (this time toasted) worked well, with the first two ingredients enhancing the juiciness of the meat. I think that I probably needed 10 napkins to eat it! Similar to the original, they were pretty generous on the cheese! Always appreciated!
Both burgers were served with delicious fries, a bit crispy.

If you are health conscious, you can decide to go for the burger salad...

You can pick between beef, turkey, lamb or veggie patty on top of chopped greens, endive, tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, green beans, red onion, radishes, celery, blue cheese, pickled onions, red wine vinaigrette and 5 Napkin sauce (similar to 1000 Island dressing). 

At the end of the meal, you can understand that I was a bit full...These burgers are huge and most importantly delicious. Definitely a recommendation!

Enjoy (I did)!

Sri Thai - Restaurant in Hoboken, NJ

Sri Thai is a small restaurant off the main street of Hoboken. I think that with T Thai, it is one of my favorites there. The restaurant is small, a bit dark and the service has always been good there.

The food is also good, particularly the frog legs...Yes, I usually go to to Thai restaurants hoping that they will have frog legs. There are few restaurants in New York that offer them, like Chez Napoleon (50th between 8 and 9th avenue in New York) or La Grenouille, but with more expensive prices. When I was a kid, we use to cook it for New Year, sauteed first and then cooked in a creme fresh, garlic, parsley and lemon sauce (i probably forgot some butter...). People sometimes ask me what it tastes like and the usual answer is "like chicken". No, it does not taste like chicken. It has a blander taste, so seasoning and / or sauces are very important. What is great is that they propose three different frog legs (Kha Gob) dishes:

• Kha Gob Gra Paw: sauteed frog legs with basil leaves and chili.
• Kha Gob Gra Tiem: fried frog legs with garlic sauce.
• Kha Gob Pad Ped: fried frog legs with eggplants and hot chili paste.

I tried all of them and they are all delicious, but I think my favorite is the one with garlic sauce. The frog legs have a quite good size and are not greasy, although I guess that the sauce would hide that. 

But, they also have other great dishes that I also tried, like the curry massaman. I also really like the tofu pad see ew (thick noodles).

They are very tasteful and delicious. The tofu is perfectly done and seasoned.

For appetizer, I am a big fan of the vegetable spring rolls (first photo above). They always come extremely hot though and as it is a finger food...They are crispy and great to start a meal!

Sri Thai is a great little gem in Hoboken with reasonable prices and delicious cuisine. It was not the first time I went and it will not be the last!

Enjoy (I did)!

 

Falafel at Taim in NYC, New York

In my quest for the best falafel, I decided to try Taim (pronounce Ta-eem) in the West Village. Taim means in Hebrew tasty, delicious. Seems a bit pretentious, no? So let see!

First, the place is tiny and you can only sit on one of the stools near the window or outside, on a bench. If the restaurant is packed, as it seems it can be, this can be a problem....Especially as there is no park nearby where you can enjoy your sandwich!

Anyway, I am there for the falafel and even this small detail cannot stop me. 

We started with a falafel sandwich:

First you decide which falafel you will get: green (traditional), harissa (spicy - harissa is a chili paste from Tunisia) or red (made with red peppers). We picked the green. Note that they also offer a tasting of falafels. They served it in a pita (choice of white or whole wheat) and with hummus, israeli salad, pickled cabbage and tahini sauce. This was very good! The falafels were crunchy and not oily at all, cooked all the way through (everything is done to order and the food is prepared daily).

We also ordered a Sabish sandwich:

It is made of sliced eggplant, fried to order, with an organic egg (sliced), parsley, hummus, israeli salad, pickled cabbage, tahini and amba (mango pickle condiment). That was a bit surprise! So good with all the flavors! It is a good alternative to the traditional falafel sandwiches, especially if you do not like them. I was happy to be sitting though, because the eggplant was a bit oily (not surprisingly) and the oil ended in the bottom of the pita.

With your sandwich, you can enjoy a lemonade or a smoothie....I did not go for the smoothie, but the lemonade was good, nothing exceptional. I guess the mint and ginger lemonade would have been a better choice!

This was a great simple lunch there and the sandwiches were delicious! You should definitely try. Now, is it the best? I do not know: there are so many places that I need to do more research...

Enjoy (I did)!

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And Remember: I Just Want To Eat!

Colicchio and Sons in NYC, New York

This post is about one of the best culinary experience I ever had! Yes I know: this is a bold statement, but when you will read this, I am sure you will want to go there! Hopefully...

So, everybody who loves shows about food knows who Tom Colicchio is. If you do not know, let me tell you: he is the mean judge on Top Chef! Tom, please be nicer! 

So I went to Colicchio and Sons thinking that if I had a bad food experience, it would be Karma!

The restaurant is located next to two great places in NYC: Morimoto (Chef Morimoto) and Del Posto (Chef Mario Batali). When you enter, you arrive in the Tap room with its wood-burning oven. You can in fact either eat in the Tap room or in the dining room. While we were waiting for our table, there was this guy who ordered a burger. When the burger came, I started to drool! The bun looked like a brioche bread and the patty seemed juicy. It was served with homemade potato chips. Based on the discussion the patron had with the barman, I understood that it was delicious! I really need to go try this at some point!

Anyway, we had a reservation at the dining room. The two rooms are separated by an impressive wine cellar wall, going from the bottom to the top of the very high ceilings. As we went there for my wife Jodi's birthday, they personalized the menu (as you can see on the photo above). The menu was mouth watering; they offer two tasting menu but it has to be for the entire table. We picked our dishes. What was amazing is the way the waitress described each dish. Usually, they will just tell you what the ingredients are. At Colicchio and Sons, it was not the case: she described the dishes with adjectives so well picked that it made me drool a second time! There was also a nice synchronization of the placement or removal of the plates from the table, given some elegance to the experience.

They started first with bringing us a small cup of white asparagus consomme that contained also lemon and chives. It was served cold. I love when restaurants do that, not because it is free, but because it prefigures a nice experience and usually prepares your palate. It was very good, with clean flavors.

Then, they brought the bread: it was a freshly made brioche bread with salt on top. The smell of it was great and the taste divine, with or without butter! I could have eaten the entire loaf! I bet this is the same brioche recipe they serve with the burger...

For the appetizer, I decided to try the roasted sweetbreads. 

Sweetbreads are the thymus glands or pancreas of calves, lambs, and piglets. Gross, no? Look, I saw so many shows where people were enjoying it that I thought there would not be a better place than this one to try!

At Colicchio and Sons, they serve it roasted, with honey onions (delish) and bacon-sherry vinegar. I enjoyed it: it was crispy on the outside and very tender inside, close to melting in my mouth. But I did not enjoy it to the point where I would die for it! It is not like foie gras or snails!

Then, I shared the ribeye for two with my friend Peter who is always ready to share a porterhouse with me when in a steakhouse: each time there is a gigantic piece of meat for two, we team up.

We ordered it medium rare. They told us ahead of time that it would take a bit to cook, but in fact, with the appetizers, we did not notice. They first brought the piece of meat on a large piece of wood and then cut it for us (it was cut, split and plated in the kitchen, not in front of us).

They served it with a hen of the woods (mushroom), roasted potatoes and cream of spinach. The meat was terrific: tender, juicy and perfectly cooked. However, I did not really like the spinach. I prefer them creamier and less bitter. They also brought the bone that our friends enjoyed playfully.

I could also try the halibut.

It was served with truffled celeriac (variety of celery) agnolotti and verjus glazed rutabaga (root). The fish was awesome: silky and moist. The agnolotti were also very good and you could taste hints of truffle. This was a succulent dish.

Then was time to order dessert. As it was Jodi's birthday, they brought her a cupcake with a candle (no singing, thank God!). They also brought some hazelnut shortbread that were fantastic.

Of course, it was not enough for us: we had to finish this incredible meal with desserts!

So we picked the banana cream donuts. 

The donuts were divine! I just would have liked more! They added a nice touch to the plate by writing "Happy Birthday Jodi" in chocolate.

We also shared a brown sugar pie. It was served warm, with some homemade vanilla ice cream and a  jelly that contained alcohol (weird texture I have to say). I think it was the last drool of the evening! It was so good. I was scared at first that it would be too sweet, but it was not the case. However, it had this incredible buttery flavor...yummy!

So I hope you understand now why I was enthusiastic about Colicchio and Sons! This was an amazing dinner, with a great service that almost gave the impression we were dining at a friend! At least until they brought the check. Yes, it is not cheap, but it is fine dining and worth it!

Enjoy (I did)!

Molyvos, Greek Restaurant - NYC, New York

I always loved Greek food, but, when living in Paris, I hated when people where proposing to go Rue de la Huchette to eat there. Each restaurant had a guy outside calling people and trying to persuade them that their restaurant was the best. Most of the time, it was not!

In New York, I have two references: 

• Ithaca on the Upper Eat side (308 East 86th Street  New York, NY 10028).
• Molyvos.

I have been to Molyvos many times and have never been disappointed. In fact, one of my colleagues if from Greek descent and once told me that Molyvos is the best Greek in New York. Considering my experience there, I would agree!

Last Friday was the first time I went since their renovation: the restaurant is way nicer! It looks brighter and more modern than before. I love the blue color as well as the walls of shelves with plates: it give a soothing and homy atmosphere, reminding the Greek Islands. In fact, Molyvos is the name of a village on the Greek Island of Lesvos.

They have a nice menu, proposing not only appetizers, but also tasting plates (mezedes). So, this time, we went for some new dishes as well as usual ones. Let's see what we got:

The first one is the Saganaki. If you are not lactose intolerant, you have to try it! It is Haloumi cheese (cheese made of goat or sheep's milk that originated from Cyprus) that is flambe with Ouzo and then drizzled with a lemon sauce. See the process on the video below!

What is interesting about this dish is the texture of the cheese that is rubbery but not chewy! And it tastes so good!

Then, we got the Keftedes.

These are meatballs that were served with some tzatziki, that is a spread made with yoghurt, mint, cucumber, garlic and dill. The meatball by themselves were very good and tasty. I could taste some spices in it, that I believe are cumin. The fact that it was served with yoghurt gave some freshness to the dish. I could it it with or without in fact.

Then I was surprised to see crab cakes on the menu and decided to try.

It was served with an artichoke salad and an eggplant spread. 

It was a nice presentation and you could easily see that they cooked the crab cake with a ring, giving to it this perfect shape. The top was crispy and you could really taste the crab. The artichoke salad and eggplant spread was original and was well associated with the crab. You could from time to time get a hint of lemon that I guess was drizzled on the plate first, before putting all the components together.

For the main dish, we ordered the mousaka. Each time I went there, I had to have it. It is one of their specialty dishes and according to the waiter, one of the most ordered. The plate came extremely hot and it was still sizzling from the toasting of the cheese on top.

It is made in several layers: potatoes, eggplants, grounded lamb, bechamel and tomato sauces between layers and cheese. I love it! It was the first time that I tried a lamb moussaka and it is delicious! I do not know if it is the strong taste of the lamb that gives more flavor to the dish or the bechamel sauce, but the flavors are simply amazing.

Of course, we had to finish with dessert...

We ordered the baklava (rolled layers of phyllo stuffed with walnuts and pistachio with a spiced honey syrup. On the side, they give you some candied walnuts. Usually, restaurants will serve you pieces of baklava rather than this chunk of it. Fortunately, they give you a knife so you can easily cut it through and share! It is one of the best baklava I had: tasty and very moist. My wife who does not like nuts usually loves it too! So it tells something.

I once again had a great dinner at Molyvos: I have never been disappointed and recommend it! The diversity of the menu will satisfy all palates and the variety of small plates and appetizers is a good opportunity for groups to try some delicious Greek food!

Enjoy (I did)!

Yogo Frozen Yoghurt Truck in NYC, New York

Within the madness of the food trucks, I found this Frozen Yoghurt truck called Yogo (I guess Yoghurt on the Go). 

You can often see this pink truck at Union Square. If you do, get some: it is delicious and refreshing.

I really like the idea of frozen yoghurt: a good healthy treat. It is more and more popular in fact in the City, with chains like Red Mango or  Pinkberry opening everywhere. 

According to Yogo, here are some of the benefits of frozen yoghurt:

• Low cholesterol, low sodium and low carbs.
• Live and active probiotic cultures.
• Boots the immune system.

There are two flavors: tart (80 calories - my favorite) and vanilla. Of course, the healthy aspect can be eliminated depending on the toppings you will pick! 

My favorite is original tart with M&M's.

The small size is a good quantity.

They also have sprinkles.

And for a healthier treat, strawberries!

Of course they have other toppings that I am sure will suit anybody!

Enjoy (I did)!

Farmers Rotisseria A La Brasa in NYC, New York

I think a lot of people are missing when eating in Times Square instead of exploring the little gems that are on 9th Avenue! We like to walk around and randomly pick a restaurant we have never tried (I admit that we avoid the Grad Pending ones...). That is how we picked Farmers Rotisseria A La Brasa.

I love rotisserie chicken. Each time I pass in front of a rotisserie,  I cannot not smell that particular scent of cooked chicken: so irresistible! 

Back to Farmers Rotisseria A La Brasa: the restaurant is of a good size with a brighter dining room in the back. The service was just ok.

In term of food, it is affordable: I got half a chicken, plantains, a salad, rice and beans for just $12. The chicken and plantains are on the photo above. The plantains were of a good size and well made (I hate when they are not enough cooked). The chicken was very good: a nice piece quite moist. The skin had a nice taste, although it was not crispy.

For rice and beans, you can pick either black or red beans. We asked for black but they bought red. Finally, it was ok as we also ordered a small side of black bean!

The beans were delicious! I will not comment on the rice as it was plain! In fact, I preferred the red beans over the black beans.

We also ordered tostones.

Tostones are very popular in Latin American cuisine. They are made of green unripe plantain that are fried a first time, then pounded flat and refried until crisp and golden brown. I always add a bit of salt on it. The ones at the restaurant were very good and not greasy, that is always much appreciated!

The last dish we ordered was an arepa con queso. It was a nice side to share. They put some queso blanco (white cheese) on top of an arepa, some garlic and toasted it. It was pretty good and I was pleased that they did not put too much garlic on it!

So, it was a good little dinner at an affordable price. I would probably go back there if I am craving for chicken or Latin food as their menu is quite extensive.

Enjoy (I did)!