Waffle Tasting!

I know: you heard about food tasting or wine tasting, but most likely never of waffle tasting. I am sure, like me, you did some tastings at some point but never called it this way. How fun is that: waffle tasting? 

We just bought free flavors of waffles at Whole Foods (no, I am not sponsored), and tried them at the same time. I should do that more often: garlic tasting, salt tasting, flour tasting...

So, there are many providers of waffles in the city, like Waffles and Dinges, but there are also supermarkets like Whole Foods who can sell some good ones. We tried the brand Julian's with three flavors: vanilla, maple and cinnamon. It is in fact the order I liked them! They are pretty dense with some crystals of sugar on it. I usually eat them cold but you can also heat them. It is a perfect breakfast or snack with a coffee or tea.

If you know any other delicious brand, let me know!

Enjoy (I did)!

And remember: I just want to eat!

If you recall a prior post from last August, I mentioned that the Thai restaurant Topaz had a Grade Pending. They had an inspection on 9/28 and it seems that they went from a C to a B (violation points between 17 and 27). This is what you can find on the website of the NY Department of Health and Mental Hygiene:

Violations recorded in the following area (s) and a Notice of Violation issued at the reinspection conducted on 09/28/2011.

"Critical" violations are displayed in red.

Violation points: 24

Sanitary Violations

1) Raw, cooked or prepared food is adulterated, contaminated, cross-contaminated, or not discarded in accordance with HACCP plan.

2) Filth flies or food/refuse/sewage-associated (FRSA) flies present in facility’s food and/or non-food areas. Filth flies include house flies, little house flies, blow flies, bottle flies and flesh flies. Food/refuse/sewage-associated flies include fruit flies, drain flies and Phorid flies.

3) Personal cleanliness inadequate. Outer garment soiled with possible contaminant. Effective hair restraint not worn in an area where food is prepared.

4) Facility not vermin proof. Harborage or conditions conducive to attracting vermin to the premises and/or allowing vermin to exist.

5) Proper sanitization not provided for utensil ware washing operation.

Now, understand that restaurants can contest their grade in court. The NY Department of Health and Mental Hygiene released some statistics that can be scary!!!

For the period of July 2010 to September 2013:

• of the 12,503 hearings in court for restaurants with a grade B or C, 41% were able to contest enough violations that their grade was up by at least one letter.
• 261 restaurants with a C grade were able to improve to an A in court!
• At the time of inspection, the repartition of grade was:
• A: 60%
• B: 28%
• C: 12%
• Final grades:
• A: 78%
• B: 18%
• C: 6%

I am not sure if finally we were not better off without the grades!

For more information about grades, click here.

Shekshouka recipe!

Shekshouka (aka Chakchouka) is a dish of North African origin. Some cook it with an egg; my family cooked a different version of it, made of tomatoes and roasted peppers. As you will see, it is a nice and healthy dish. We eat it different ways: with bread, in crepes with some goat cheese (incredibly good) or as a side dish.  

Recipe - side dish:

• olive oil.
• a spoon of garlic.
• 24 oz roasted red pepper
• 30 oz diced tomatoes or 4 tomatoes.
• salt

Cut the tomatoes and red peppers in small cubes. Put all the ingredients in a pan and cook at medium heat for 2 hours. Add water from time to time so the tomatoes and pepper do not attach to the bottom of the pan.

Et Voila! You can also eat it hot or cold.

Enjoy (I did)!

And remember: I just want to eat!

Build your own burger at The Counter in Times Square, NYC

Burgers are a big deal in the US and there are more and more burger joints opening with tasty burgers that have nothing to do with Mc Donald's or Burger King! Even famous chefs like Bobby Flay or Laurent Tourondelle launched their own burger restaurants. 

The Counter proposes to build your own burger from A to Z. It is a chain with many locations across the country. When you biuld your burger, you choose:

• The meat: beef, turkey or veggie. They also propose the market selection. Today was lamb: I decided to go for it. Then you pick how much meat you want: 1,2 or 3 patties. 
• You can either eat your burger on a bun or in a bowl (with lettuce and tomatoes).
• A cheese: swiss, cheddar, brie, american...There is a pretty nice selection. I picked Tillamook cheddar.
• Up to 4 toppings: a selection of 21 toppings. I picked grilled onions and jalapenos. You can also pick a premium topping like sauteed mushrooms. None for me!
• A sauce besides ketchup. I have to say that they have a nice selection of non standard sauces: chipotle aioli, roasted garlic aioli, hot wing sauce...I picked russian dressing.
• The last part is the bun. Strangely, they did not have any burger bun! We were early for lunch! So I went for the pretzel bun. They also propose English muffin or onion buns. The pretzel bun was perfect because it did not have any salt (that could have been disastrous!).

For sides, we got the 50/50: fries and onion rings. This was very good. I like the fact that they serve them with sauces: ranch dressing and bbq sauce. The onions were awesome and very tasty. 

The lamb burger was good but I probably should have gone for a one patty as it was very juicy and it quickly became a big mess to eat. The pretzel bun started to fall apart and I ended up eating with my fork. There was a lot of cheese (2 slices) and a lot of delicious grilled onions. The russian dressing was perfect with it and the jalapenos gave a subtle kick that I love! I think that, after I went to Sobelman's in Milwaukee and tried it, I became a fan of jalapenos in burgers!

To help the burger come down my stomach, I had a vanilla milk shake: thick but not too much, but could have had a little bit more vanilla syrup in it.

The restaurant was nice, bright and modern looking and the service was good. I would just have preferred that they brought the sides with the burgers and not way before! Otherwise, I found it pricey compared to higher quality burger joints like BLT burger.

A good spot though if you are in Time Square and want a burger!

Enjoy (I did)!

Eating at work - updated!

There is nothing better than a good breakfast at work! Yeah, right!


According to a poll in the US, people said that they were eating lunch:
- at home for 48%
- at work for 32%
- in a restaurant for 6%
- in their car for 5%
- other for 9% (that's an interesting one!)

In France, it is forbidden to eat at your desk for sanitary reason!

I tried for you: The Tallegio Grilled Cheese!

In my post for Eataly in New York, I mentioned that Tallegio cheese is apparently good for grilled cheese. Well, we tried and it is! The bread was a thick homemade bread (French loaf with some vegetable oil to give some moisture and thicker consistency). We ate it with a basil tomato soup and dipped the grilled cheese in it. It was excellent! You should definitely try it!

Enjoy (I did)!

And remember: I just want to eat!

Basile's Pizza - Another Pizza Joint in Hoboken, NJ

In Hoboken, there will soon be as many pizza joints as bars! Basile's pizza opened recently, in a very good location: corner of the block of Carlo's Bakery (The Cake Boss). It used to be a realtor office: I guess it is easier to sell pizza to people who wait on line for The Cake Boss than selling them houses! It is also close to the path, so people going to bars can't miss it...

Since they opened, they have been busy, especially on the week ends! So far, they have only offered outside seating, but I guess they will soon setup tables inside.

People there are courteous and I have to say that their pizzas are delicious! We tried three of them:

• The fresh mozzarella and basil.
• The white pie.
• The sicilian.

So, here are couple of common things to these slices: the pizza sauce is amazing! Especially on the sicilian. This one does not have that much cheese on it, but it does not matter at all! I guess it is their "grandma" pizza. The crust is crispy and the pizzas are not greasy at all.

What I liked with the white pie is that there was no garlic: I hate when they put too much garlic on it! What do they think? That we will be attacked by a bunch of Vampires???

Definitely good pizzas there. Try it out!

And remember: I just want to eat!

Food Gallery 32: a Korean food court in the heart of New York

The first time we noticed Food Gallery 32 (on 32nd street in Koreatown), we were in fact looking for Red Mango to have a frozen yoghurt! So we decided to go back and check it out. The place is really bright and modern and the majority of the crowd is young. There are three floors where you can comfortably sit. In term of food, you have a large choice: from sushi to bulgogi (Korean bbq), to ramen. All of this at a very reasonable price. The food is cooked on the spot and they give you a small buzzer so you can pick up your order as it takes few minutes to cook.

So we went for Noodle 32, specialized in ramen. There are more than 20 sorts: chicken, pork, seafood, vegetarian. All dishes are coming with Kimchi that is a fermented vegetable, usually cabbage. It can be spicy, but not there! They put a film on the soup so you can find a spot to eat without dropping some of it on your tray (or yourself)! The soups are extremely hot! I already spoke in a prior post about the Korean seafood miso ramen. The Tofu ramen was good but very spicy! We would have known, I am sure they would have done a mild version.

Walking around the gallery, any foodie will find something to eat! All the food they serve looked so good! I will definitely go back there and try other stands!!!

Enjoy (I did)!

Noodle 32: Korean seafood miso ramen

This is made on the spot and very hot! But this is so good! The broth is to die for and has this clam taste! There are clams, shrimp and squid. Delicious!!!

Ramen at Noodle 32

Currently in Koreatown in NYC. Waiting for a Korean seafood miso ramen and a Tofu ramen!

The Old German Bakery in Hoboken, NJ

It has been a while I wanted to sit in the Old German Bakery in Hoboken to sip a hot cocoa and try one of their cakes. The bakery opened in January 2011 and I think it is a good alternative to Carlo's bakery! Not that German and Italian pastries have anything in common! It might be because of the crazy lines in front of Carlo's, made of people who do not care about those who are just trying to pass through and use the sidewalk for what it is supposed to be! 

Anyway, I already tried the Old German Bakery before for a quick snack: their pretzel bread is excellent, not too salty; their almond croissant is to die for! Very buttery with a decadent almond paste in it! It has been a very long time I did not have such a good one!

So today, after a long walk in the cold, we decided to go have a hot chocolate and try one of their cakes. I am very particular when it comes to hot chocolate: I need milk, not water! Although it took them a little bit of time to prepare it, it was good. Not the best (like Angelina in Paris or Max Brenner in NYC), but good! And with milk...This was perfect for a cold day!

For the cake, we decided to try a cherry and crispy chocolate one: this might not have been the best choice and we should have probably tried a more standard cake like a black forrest or a strudel. The top part with the cherry was my favorite part. The issue I had was with the bottom part: there was something chewy! 

I will definitely go back and try a different cake (they have plenty) with my hot chocolate!

Enjoy (I did)!

And remember: I just want to eat!

The feast at Second Avenue Deli in New York!

I love eating in a deli: they have simple and hearty food that can be so good! I never knew what a deli was before coming to this country as we do not have this in France. 

Deli comes from delikatessen (German) inherited from délicatesse in French and means delicates things to eat! It is typically stores where you will buy food by their weight. In some European countries, delicatessen are fine grocery stores. New York is well known for deli and outside the big apple, some deli will even call themselves New York deli! The most famous ones in New York are: Katz's (also famous because of the movie "when Harry met Sally" - I am sure they are fed up to be reminded), Carnegie Deli and Second Avenue Deli. I would personally add Junior's.

The Second Avenue Deli opened in 1954 on the second avenue, but had to close from its original location because of a rent increase and dispute. It reopened in 2007, after a two years hiatus, right below Murray Hill and has now a second location on the Upper East Side. Its history has been marked by the dramatic murder of its owner in 1996 during a robbery and they are still offering a reward for any information that would lead to the arrest of the murderer.

The menu offers traditional deli dishes like matzo ball soup, potato pancake, chopped liver, as well as new items such as smoked fishes.

So, we decided to go for a nice little lunch. The restaurant was not as packed as what I thought. Maybe because of its location. This place has a nice nostalgic atmosphere with the booths and the old photos on the wall. The service was courteous and efficient, although they were ready to clear the table before we finished eating!!! What I like in deli, is that they bring you pickles and cabbage in different forms (pickled or as a slaw) at the beginning! The pickles were sour pickles, very good but also very, very salty! We tried three of their specialties:

• The matzo ball soup: it was served with spaetzles (egg noodles from Eastern Europe), carrots and dill. The soup was good, but not as good as Junior's: the broth was not as tasty, same for the matzo ball.
• The potato pancake with apple sauce (you can pick sour cream). It was ok. The apple sauce was not that great and the potato pancake was kind of tasteless. Once again, Junior's is the best.
• Hot Pastrami sandwich: this was good. The meat was fatty enough and tasty. They serve it on rye bread only. I put some cabbage to add some crunchiness to the sandwich.

At the end of the meal, they offered us a Bosco chocolate soda shot: this was a nice touch. First time I tried and I liked it! Pretty interesting  to have a cold sparkling cocoa!

So, at the end, the food was not bad, but I definitely prefer Junior's or the incredible Pastrami Reuben at Friedman's in Chelsea Market!!!

Enjoy (I did)!

And remember: I just want to eat!

Enjoying lunch at Second Avenue Deli in NYC!

Hot pastrami sandwich, matzo ball soup and potato pancake!

Brunch at The Turning Point in Hoboken, NJ

We went for brunch at The Turning Point in Hoboken, New Jersey. They serve breakfast, brunch and lunch. This place is always packed and we wanted to see if there was a reason for it. Their menu is quite large, with pancakes, waffles, eggs, soups, etc...We went for the banana foster waffle and the scrambled eggs. I will start with the eggs as it is straight forward: the eggs were dry!!! I do not understand how difficult it is to make good scrambled eggs! On top of that, the potatoes could have been cooked a little longer!

The waffle was good at least: it was served with a sweet dark rum sauce and they put an entire banana on it. The only mishap was that they served walnuts instead of toasted pecans as indicated on the menu. 

Considering the price, I think the Turning Point is at the same level as any Diner and I would probably go back there for their waffles and pancakes.

Enjoy (I did)!

And remember: I just want to eat! 

Cedric, A French Bistro in Harlem

Cedric is a 40 seats restaurant in Harlem, New York City, that opened in August 2011. The owner, Cedric Lecendre, lives in Harlem and decided to do something in and for Harlem. The restaurant is bright and modern, with a nice atmosphere (at least when I tried it for brunch!). The service was very good and attentive.

For brunch, they serve standard dishes such as French toasts or eggs (scramble, benedict). They also serve some classic French specialties like Mussels and fries or foie gras. I tried their Escargots de Bourgogne (snails): they are prepared with butter, garlic and parsley. When they brought the dish, the butter was still bubbling! Not only the snails were deliciously cooked, the sauce was addictive. We asked for more bread so we could dip the bread in it!

For entrees, we had the cheeseburger and the Croque Monsieur. The burger was amazing! The bun was good (I hate when it is a dry bun because it is the first thing you will taste when you take a bite). The meat was a thick patty, well cooked (I asked medium) and very juicy. There was enough cheese and buried under the patty, they put a sauce made of ketchup and mayonnaise. It is definitely a good place for a burger!

Unfortunately, the Croque Monsieur was not good (imagine this: I did not even finish my piece!). The bechamel sauce was cold, the bread was just ok (they could have used a better bread like Challah) and the cheese on top should have been better gratine. The appearance of the dish was not very appetizing either.

Despite the Croque Monsieur, I would go back to Cedric to try their dinner menu.

Enjoy (I did)!

And remember: I just want to eat!

Dinner At Home!

As I mentioned in a past post, you do not need to prepare something very elaborate to have a nice dinner. Tonight was once again the proof of this. We prepared a seared salmon with a garlic and lemon sauce, a tomato salad with burrata (leftover from Eataly) and some strawberries with lemon and a hint of sugar.

Salmon is a very nutritional fish: it contains omega 3's, vitamin D, vitamin B or magnesium! Like any fish, you have to make sure you do not overcook it! I seared it in olive oil for 10 minutes, flipping it from time to time to make sure it cooks evenly. I dip it in flour before cooking so it does not stick in the pan. 

The garlic and lemon sauce is pretty easy: just mix garlic, lemon juice and vegetable oil. Adjust the quantities to your liking! Et Voila!

Last is dessert: cut the strawberries in small pieces. Add lemon juice and sugar. Let it sit for few minutes so the juice gets an amazing strawberry flavor!

Isn't that simple? I love it: it was fresh and light!

Great Bread and Cheeses from Eataly!

So, here is my last post (at this time) on this fantastic place that is Eataly! We went back to get some bread and some Italian cheeses. It was Sunday and it was packed! This is really a successful concept!

For the bread, we got a classic French baguette at a reasonable price. This bread was as good as the baguettes you can buy in a boulangerie in France! We even got some left that we toasted the next day for breakfast and ate with some butter and jam. That was a great tartine!

After that came the difficult choice of cheeses. Difficult because there were so many that looked so good! We decided to try 4 of them:

• A Talllegio (top) that is made of cow's milk: it is very cream, with a strong and tangy taste. Not too strong though.
• A capriccio (right): goat cheese, sweet and tangy.
• A Blu di buffala (blue cheese): made with pasteurized buffalo's milk. Its texture is semi-soft and becomes creamier at room temperature, with a very mild taste.
• Burrata: outer shell is made of solid mozzarella and the inside is cream. I added some kosher salt and some olive oil to it. This tastes so fresh!

To eat with the cheese, we picked a pear jam! It was awesome! The sweetness of the jam will counterbalance the strong taste of the cheese. You can also try to put butter on the bread if you do not like strong cheeses!

Last, I will mention the packaging of the cheeses that was very convenient: some kind of boxes. It is better than film, especially when you try to repackage what is left!

I am now a big fan of Eataly! There are some many choices for great meals that I will probably be there often...

Enjoy (I did)!

And remember: I just want to eat!

A taste of Eataly in New York City!

Eataly is a new market place in New York dedicated to Italian food. One of the partners is Mario Batali, a great Chef with a personality larger than life! His appearances in Iron Chef America are memorable and showed his excellent knowledge of Italian cuisine. 

Eataly is a huge place where you can either eat or buy Italian products. In fact, if you go there, you do not even need to buy! Just walk in the different aisles and discover the different products, mainly coming from Italy! They have meat, fish and seafood, bread, pasta, pizza, cheeses, sauces, cookies....They also sell books and kitchenware.
So, of course, I checked the bread: they have a wide variety and are even selling a very good French baguette for a reasonable price! I even saw an Epi (bot)! Then the cheeses! There are many: from goat to cow milk. A lot of them I did not even know!

If you are not in the bread and cheeses, they have amazing looking desserts. I did not try them yet, but they look amazing! I tried a crema cannolo though: crispy puff pasty filled with vanilla bean pastry cream. I was simply delicious, especially eaten with a nice expresso from Lavazza!

There are also restaurants: sandwiches, pizza or formal places.

We decided to try the sandwiches. Boy, were they good! The first one was peck & Tallegio (smoked prosciutto and Tallegio cheese) from North Italy. Tallegio is a cow's milk cheese that is creamy, strong and tangy. Apparently it is the perfect cheese for grilled cheese. This sandwich was awesome: the smokiness of the prosciutto paired very well with the creamy and strong taste of the cheese. And that bread! It was so good and crispy!
The second sandwich was a Funghi & Tallegio sandwich: it was made with four different kinds of mushrooms sauteed in garlic and thyme. The mushrooms were cut in small pieces that made it easy to eat. The sauteed mushrooms and the cheese were a good vegetarian alternative and tasted very, very good. I was scared at first that the mushrooms would overpower the taste of the cheese, but they did not!

Eataly is definitely a place to go to! And we went back, but it is another story...

Enjoy (I did)!

And remember: I just want to eat!

Great Dinner at Home ! Thank you Mario Batali!

I am a big fan of Mario Batali! I discovered him on Iron Chef America on the Food Network and he blew me away! Very creative, lots of humor, extremely talented. I got the chance to try two of his restaurants: Del Posto in New York and B&B in Las Vegas and it was a great culinary experience.

We went to Eataly in New York, the new marketplace of Mario (yes, I call him Mario) and I think I was drooling in every aisle (they were moping behind me)! I'll post something soon on it! 

So, wandering around in this market, we decided to buy some products to make a nice dinner. We picked whole wheat tagliatelle and a truffles and mushrooms sauce. The pasta were freshly made. I am not a huge fan of the whole wheat pasta, but these were good! In the instructions, they said to cook them for 2 to 4 minutes. I cooked them for 8 minutes.

Then there is the sauce. Imagine that: truffles and mushrooms! It was simply delicious! It had a delicate flavor, with a very subtle hint of truffle (with the price of truffles, they are of course not put a lot in it).

Definitely worth to try!

Popcorn!

Who does not like popcorn? Well, I am sure, like chocolate, some people don't like it! 

What I did not know is that popcorn originated thousands of years ago by Native Americans in North America and traces of popcorn were found from 3600 BC in New Mexico! Today, you can buy it or make it at home very easily.

I really like the caramel one and discovered the coconut popcorn by the Kettle Corn NYC. I am not a huge fan of popcorn, but I have to say that it is delicious. Kettle Corn NYC can be found in street fairs or at Bryant Park. They do have crazy flavors: Cheddar caramel, cotton candy, spicy ranch or chili lime! So much creativity! I will have to try that! If you try, let me know what you think!!!

Enjoy (I will)!

And remember: I just want to eat!