My new BFF: Alfred
Sad to say: my new Best Friend Forever is Alfred, an application for Iphone from CleverSense, that should be available on Android and Windows 7 devices soon. Its original name was supposed to be Seymour, but I think Alfred is better!
What makes the difference between this app and still useful sites like Yelp, is that it is personalized: you will teach Alfred your favorite places and he will propose restaurants (applies also for drinks) to you, taking into account what you liked, the location, the genre and the price. Alfred will then display the results. If you select a restaurant, it will show you basic information, the ratings/comments from people, the menu, some photos and what other restaurants fans of this one like. You can then mark if you liked the restaurant or not, map it, share it with friends or send the link by email. The interface is easy to use and the character amusing with his bow tie that spins when he is thinking (searching).
I love it! I wish Alfred could also pay the bill....
Enjoy (I always do)!
Great Chocolate Croissants from Freshdirect!
A friend told us about some pre-baked croissants from Freshdirect. We tried the chocolate croissants (4 for $6) and I have to say that it is pretty good!
I was doubtful at first as supermarket croissants are usually dry. These are very buttery, maybe a little heavier than the ones I am used to, but delicious! They are pre-baked, so you have to finish them in the oven. I think it is a great idea: you get the great smell of croissants all over your kitchen and it tastes very fresh. I am definitely going to try the croissants next time!
Enjoy (I did)!
Japanese Food at Robongi in Hoboken, NJ
I love Japanese food. But you really need to find a good place: clean with fresh fish, especially if, like me, you like sushi and sashimi that in most cases are made of raw seafood (sushi is the one with rice!). My least favorite in sushi are raw calamari and shrimp, the later coming more often cooked but bland.
I also have a rule: I will not have sushi / sashimi on a Sunday or Monday night as most likely the fish is leftover from the week end!
In Hoboken, Robongi is one of my favorite Japanese restaurants. Their menu is nice and they offer a wide range of specialties. The quality of the food is also very good and the service very attentive. No wonder why it is always crowded on the week end!
Food wise, here are my favorites:
- Appetizers/salads:
- Nasu (photo 1): baked eggplant with miso sauce. Ok, few times, the eggplant was undercooked, but otherwise, one of the best appetizers. By teh way, avoid the crab cakes...
- Yasai Gyoza (photo 2): pan fried vegetables dumplings. Tasty, crispy, delicious!
- Shrimp shumai: delicate and sweet.
- Spicy squid salad: a very nice dish. It is spicy but not too much for my taste. I prefer the squid salad over the spicy tuna salad.
- Sushi / Sashimi / rolls:
- Avocado roll: standard. It only happened once that the avocado was not ripe.
- Spicy scallop (photo 3): it was the first time I tried raw scallop. I love everything in this roll: the tenderness of the scallop, the tempura batter crunch and the spicy mayo! Yummy!
- Salmon or tuna avocado roll: very fresh!
- Philadelphia roll: smoked salmon, cream cheese and cucumber. Not sure that they serve that in Tokyo!
- Spider roll: deep fried soft shell crab, lettuce, cucumber.
- Sushi or sashimi entrees: they pick the fishes they will serve. Salmon and tuna are usually making the cut.
The specialty rolls can be, as in any japanese restaurants, difficult to eat because big!
They also have a nice lunch menu served with soup and salad at a reasonable price!
Definitely a good Japanese place if you are in Hoboken!
Enjoy (I did)!
Wild Gray Sole
It has been a while since I ate sole: the last time was in Europe, many years ago. It is a very good fish with a sweet and mild flavor. Once, I tried the lemon sole but did not retrieve the same taste as the most popular sole: the dover sole. It was too sweet and did not resemble what I knew.
Then I tried the Wild Gray Sole (thanks Freshdirect!). This was exactly the same taste I remembered! Cooking it can be difficult as it is a very delicate fish with a very moist and soft flesh. Like any flaky fish, I dip it in flour before cooking so it does not attach to the bottom of the pan and does not fall apart. I cook it in olive oil, but it can also be cooked in butter with a little bit of parsley.
As a side, you can try the shekshouka recipe I posted last time!
In term of nutrition, it is low in calories, fat and an excellent source of Omega 3!
I am more of a meat guy, but a fish like that is worth any filet mignon! Yeah right!
Enjoy (I did)!
Filippo's on First in Hoboken, NJ: another pizza place!
There are three things I do not like when ordering pizza:
- When you ask for a topping and they are really cheap. The best example is fresh basil.
- How the pizza will end up delivered: either crushed or not carried straight so the cheese and sauce finish on the cardboard and not the pizza.
- The pizza have a tendency to steam and the crust loses its crunchiness (for that, you just need to pass it in the oven).
I found out that Filippo's on First was doing a great job! Their pizza is delicious and tasty and they are generous on the toppings. The crust is thin and crunchy.
Definitely another great pizza in Hoboken!
Enjoy (I did)!
Disappointment at Huntley Taverne
Let's set the scene: my wife's cousin and husband proposed to go for a lunch date to a restaurant in Summit, NJ where they went for their wedding anniversary and had a great dinner. They know how much I love food and you do not need to ask twice...We even went to the website of the restaurant few days before and already knew when we walked in what we would eat!
Huntley Taverne is a nice restaurant, very warm with an interior that reminds me of the chalets you would find in Switzerland or in the French Alps. The service was very nice and attentive, but we must have ended up on a bad day...
Their menu made me want to order every item! They had some soups in the special menu and I found it very smart to propose a soup sampler. I think that restaurants should propose samplers so people can try different dishes. While we were waiting for our food, they brought us some delicious focaccia bread with a small portion of ricotta cheese. That was a good way to start!
We then ordered:
- Trio of sliders (Vermont cheddar burger, BBQ pulled pork on a cheddar scone, mini crab cakes with creole remoulade). Of the three, the only one I liked was the BBQ pulled pork: it was perfectly cooked and moist. The burger was overcooked and the bread they used for the burger and crab cake slider was very dry too. According to the manager, it is because the chef is tasting a new recipe for his potato bread. Thanks for trying a new recipe on us!!! It is sad because the crab cake was pretty good but they should have put some more sauce because it was also a little dry. Apparently the crab cake sandwich entree, served with a brioche bread was delicious and not dry at all. Maybe because of their size, sliders are more difficult to make.
- Truffled Mac&cheese: I could taste the truffle, but the cheeses were bland and it was barely warm.
- Mushroom pizza with Vermont cheddar, truffle oil and onions. Ok, this one was good! The mushrooms were delicious and paired well with the vidalia onions and the cheddar.
It seems they had an off day: they came few times apologizing for the lateness of the food (they had an issue with their fryer and I guess the food sat a bit) and felt really sorry to hear that the sliders were not good. It is sad, because their menu was so mouth watering! I would give them a second chance and would probably go for the crab cakes entree or appetizer, but not the sliders.
Enjoy (I wish I did)!
Lunch at Huntley Taverne in Summit, NJ
Fresh Pasta and tomato with porcini mushrooms sauce
In our last trip to Eataly in New York City, we bought some delicious fresh pasta and a nice tomato and porcini mushrooms sauce. Simple and delicious!
I remember back then in France, going to an Italian restaurant was primarily to eat pizza as we considered that we could make pasta at home and it was considered cheap. I truly discovered great Italian food in the US and there is nothing better than fresh pasta! If you go to Eataly, try them and visit their amazing pasta section with so many different sauces!
Enjoy (I did)!
And remember: I just want to eat!
Chestnut and red beans cookie!
Japanese treat at Minamoto kitchoan
Cheese night!
Yesterday we went back to Eataly in New York City and picked some bread (great baguette!) and cheeses for a nice little dinner. The place was packed! Seriously, they did a great job with this market place! It was crazy in there!
So, we decided to pick different cheeses than last time. I was surprised to see that they were selling non Italian cheeses there! We ended up with:
- Avonlea cheddar from Canada: was ok. I prefer a sharper cheddar. It might be better for grilled cheese or mac & cheese.
- Double cream from Vermont: very creamy. Delicious on a piece of bread.
- Creamy gorgonzola from Italy: extremely creamy and not strong at all.
- Brescianella semi aged from Italy: it is a semi soft cheese that has a very stinky smell! I like stinky cheeses, but did not like that one. I am wondering if it is not because they packaged it 9 days before and it got this pungent smell and taste. I will be more careful next time when picking cheeses over there!
With the cheeses, we bought 3 different jams (very small jars awesome for tasting - 1.5 oz): blueberry, peach and cherry. Jam, honey or butter is a good way to eat cheese, especially strong ones. Of course, if you put too much of it, you will miss the taste of the cheese you are eating!
Enjoy (I did)!
Friedman's Lunch: The Return of the Pastrami Reuben
My wife would say that I am sometimes obsessed by food. When I try something good, I am going to talk or dream about it. Better than dreaming about zombies, no? I then need to have it again. This is what happened with the pastrami reuben from Friedman's Lunch in Chelsea Market (see prior post here)!!!
We went there today; early enough to avoid the crowd and we were right!
So we tried the Pastrami reuben and their take on the grilled cheese: they make it with swiss and cheddar cheeses, caramelized onions and bacon. I think it is great that they do not just propose a standard grilled cheese. It was good, but I have two complaints: it should have been hotter and I would have used a sharper cheddar.
The Pastrami Reuben was good too, but the meat was a little tough this time. Last time, it was so buttery! I guess restaurants can have a bad day too! Don't get me wrong: the sandwich was still delicious, but not outstanding! I am still a big fan!
Enjoy (I did)!
And remember: I just want to eat!
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!
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!
