Fantastic Burger at Burger Joint at Le Parker Meridien - NYC, New York

As I mentioned in previous posts about burger places, I love burgers. Interestingly, in France, you will only associate burgers with Mc Donald's or other fast food chains like Quick as this dish is mainly served there (there are few exceptions, like Chez Papa in Paris, but putting a burger on the menu is more a novelty). So when I came here, it remained my reference until my wife convinced me to try non fast food burgers! It did not take her that much effort to convince me and since then, I cannot understand how I came to like Burger King or Mc Donald's!!! What is interesting is to see all these burger chains opening across the country and all these Chefs trying to elevate that dish to something close to fine dining, like Hubert Keller and his $5000 burger at Fleur de Lys in San Francisco! 

The first time I went to Burger Joint was in 2002. I stayed at Le Parker Meridien for a while and they started to know me. One night, I was going for Pizza and one of the managers who knew me proposed to try a burger. I noticed that the location was where the bar used to be. The place was empty, at the exception of the head of the hotel who sat with me while I was tasting the delicious sandwich! It was the time when Burger Joint was unknown and very quickly, people and the press started to talk about it, making it a madhouse! Imagine that we were there on Saturday at 5:30pm thinking it would be ok and it was crazy! According to one of the wait staff, they make between 1500 to 1700 burgers a day! So, be ready to wait, although, people just come to eat a burger, so it should not take too long!

The restaurant is interesting: few wooden tables and walls and lights covered with graffitis. Dim lights with no windows and posters on the walls. It definitely gives a very casual feel to the place.

The menu is simple: burger or cheeseburger with usual toppings: lettuce, tomato or pickles. On my side, I only have my burger with cheese, mayonnaise and ketchup. Cooked medium. The cheeseburger at Burger Joint was delicious: perfectly cooked, moist and tasting like meat (no filler)! I literally inhaled it!

As a side, we ordered French fries that were like I like them: regular cut with a delightful crispiness! Not greasy at all. Last, I tried a vanilla milkshake: a bit disappointing...The milkshake was already prepared and they served it from a container. It was not dense enough and I doubt that they use real ice cream, rather a milkshake preparation.

Burger Joint is definitely in my top 5  burger places in New York! Their burger is divine, but be ready to be in line before enjoying it...

Enjoy (I did)!

And remember: I Just Want To Eat!

Ramen at Ippudo-NY in NYC, New York

Last Sunday, Jodi and I decided to go eat ramen at Ippudo a Japanese restaurant in New York City I heard about. It is interesting to note that ramen were not that known in France when I was living there: you could find them in the International food section of some supermarkets or in a few Japanese restaurants, but it was not that known. I understand that in the US, students use to eat them when broke; in France, it was more spaghetti... I really discovered ramen bowls when I tried it at Noodles 32 in Korea Town: it was incredibly good! I was sold later on when going to Momofuku Noodle Bar...

So we decided to go early to Ippudo as I knew that it was popular. Know that the original Ippudo opened in Fukukoa in Japan in 1985 and the New York location opened in 2008. Go figure why I waited that long to go there...We showed up at 11:40am and the restaurant was already full. We had to wait for a table for approximately 20 minutes, in the entrance, admiring a wall full of ramen bowls.

While waiting, we could hear people yelling something in Japanese and then people cheering back. We later understood that it was their way to introduce new patrons to the main room. They said in a nutshell: "these are our new guests, please say welcome to them".

They sat us in the first room, in a large table shared with other customers. The room was overlooked by a huge tree made of bamboo and there was bamboo everywhere. I was very excited to try as people around us seemed delighted to eat their noodles. Of course, do not be shy to slurp: it is mandatory! Interesting how when I grew up, we were taught how to eat soup and pasta a certain way, without making any noise. Sorry Mom and Dad...I have to slurp too! 

So, I started with Tako Wasabi or raw baby octopus as an appetizer.

Yes, I know, some of you think it is creepy. I wanted to give it a try as I love octopus but never had it raw. I thought it would be a nice training for the day I will eat live octopus (soon)!

It was served with fresh wasabi. So, with the chopsticks, I mixed the octopus and wasabi. Eating with chopstick was a bit challenging as it was small and slimy. But the taste was wonderful with a delightful crunch. I am used to having octopus that was fried, sauteed or grilled, giving a totally different taste. You can retrieve some of the taste but raw has some freshness you will not find when cooked.

For the ramen, I asked the waitress which one was the most popular and she mentioned the Akamaru Modern.

It is a "Tonkotsu" (pork) soup noodles topped with Ippudo's secret "Umami Dama" miso paste, pork chashu, cabbage, sesame kikurage mushrooms, scallions, and garlic oil (not too much!). I loved it to the point where I finished my bowl!

It was very tasty: the soup was very flavorful (I would eat this over and over) with hints of miso and several bites were different because of the variation of ingredients you could get in your spoon! The pork was delicious and tender. The noodles, that I should not forget, were al dente as they continue to cook in the hot soup. You can notice on the upper right side of the photo that there is an egg: you can add some ramen toppings like bamboo shoot, pork belly...I went for a poached egg that disintegrated when mixed with the rest of the dish.

Jodi ordered the Wasabi Shoyu Ramen that is their vegetarian alternative.

It is a soy sauce and vegetable based noodle soup, topped with bean curd, wasabi, menma (bamboo shoots), nori (seaweed), scallions, and wasabi infused oil. She added a hard boiled egg to it that had a brown-ish color probably because cooked in soy. The colors were spectacular and appetizing.  The soup had the smell and the taste of miso. The noodles were thicker than the ones in my soup and cooked the same way, although, because of their thickness, they were still al dente when I tasted them. It was overall a very good dish.
As Jodi was not sure how spicy it would be, so she asked for the wasabi on the side.

It was the first time I saw fresh wasabi and did not find it as spicy as the wasabi paste.

Now, know that the quantity they serve is big and that there is a lot of soup. You can ask for extra noodles for $2 (Kaedama), but I have to say that I was full, especially after having eaten some of Jodi's dish...

At the end of the meal, they brought us some green tea: it was a nice way to end this meal and clean our palates!

I really enjoyed (yes I did!) Ippudo! They serve great food full of flavor and I can't stop thinking about that soup...because as you know: I Just Want To Eat!

Enjoy (I did)!

Carlo's Bakery in Hoboken, NJ - Is the Cake Boss overrated???

Who does not know the Cake Boss, Buddy Valastro? His show on TV is very popular and there is always a very long line in front of his bakery in Hoboken, New Jersey. But know that if you live in Hoboken, you can skip the line: just show an ID that proves you are living there. My first experience with Carlo's Bakery was so so: couple of years ago, I bought a cannoli and did not like it. I thought at that time that it might have been because I did not eat it right away and put it in the refrigerator for few hours. Then, one of my colleagues brought a tiramisu and a chocolate cake at work: I loved the tiramisu but the chocolate cake was way too sweet. So we decided to try again.

The Cake Boss is known for his insane cakes that he is building on his show. For sure they look spectacular, but I am not sure they taste that good considering the amount of fondant and rice crispy treat he puts in it. 

When we were there, it was packed! The problem is that we could not go around and look at the cakes and cookies. So we had to blindly ask for a cannoli and a red velvet cupcake. Maybe they should let less people enter in the shop to allow their customers to look around!

Let start with the cannoli: the shell was a bit stale and the filling was a bit tasteless despite the chocolate chips. I clearly prefer the cannoli at Giorgio's in Hoboken (see the review of Giorgio's here).

The Red Velvet Cupcake was also very disappointing! First, there was not enough frosting: you need to keep a certain ratio cake / frosting. Anyway, the frosting had a very weird taste. The cake was also not good and dry. Clearly not to recommend! For cupcakes, Sweet Bakery in Hoboken is far better with a delicious and moist Red Velvet Cupcake that I would not stop eating (see the review of Sweet Bakery here)!

So, I guess all the buzz around Carlo's Bakery is because of the TV personality rather than the cakes...This was a forgettable experience!

Update: Here is the review of the Cake Boss Cafe at Port Authority NYC!

Enjoy (the photos)!

Lombardi, the oldest pizzeria in the US - NYC, New York

It has been a while since I wanted to go to Lombardi's Pizza, the oldest pizzeria in the US, located in New York City. We went last Saturday and the place was not packed, until 12:30pm where patrons started to come and even had to wait outside! I guess this place is in all the guides, explaining the sudden rush!

We saw two dining rooms there: the one at the entrance, with its bar, and the one in the back. We got seated in the first one. It definitely had a rustic and traditional feel with its brick walls and the white and red table clothes. The service was quick and courteous that is sometimes missing in popular restaurants!

I started off with an Italian Soda that is seltzer with vanilla flavored syrup and whipped cream.

This was the first time I tried this! It was interesting: the color of the drink itself was like crystal and had of course a strong vanilla taste thanks to the syrup. But the best was when mixing the whipped cream with the drink. It added more sweetness to it. Delicious, but not a drink I would crave!

Then we ordered a pizza: small size (6 slices) with wild mushrooms and homemade meatballs (beef and pork).

The pizza, cooked in a coal oven, smelled amazingly good! The crust was thin and crispy with a nice char in the bottom and the sides.

Each topping was $3 and they put a lot of it! The meatballs, although small, were moist and tasty.

They also did not cheat us on the wild mushrooms. Another thing I appreciated was the amount of basil they put on the pizza: usually, you get few leafs. At Lombardi's, they put a lot. This gave additional flavors to this great pie!

I definitely liked Lombardi's pizza! It is definitely a place to visit, with or without the title of oldest pizzeria in the US!

Be careful though: it is cash only, like when they opened...

Enjoy (I did)!

Press dinner at De Santos in NYC, New York

Courtesy of De Santos

I have been invited to a press dinner at De Santos, a new American cuisine restaurant in the West Village. I was very excited as it was the first invitation of that sort and intimidated at the same time, not knowing how it would be and who would be there! Plenty of questions came through my head: how will it be? Who would be there? Can I stay true to myself judging a restaurant who, in fine, invites me?

The answer to the last question is yes! Restaurants need people to comment on them to improve and it is pretty courageous to invite critics and bloggers to review your restaurant! The only important thing I need to do is to honestly mention that I was invited in my post so you understand that the food served to me was probably more carefully prepared and the service would be on his toes as the wait staff knew why people at the table were doing there!

So, the dinner was at 7pm. As I always try to be on time, I came a bit early. I noticed in front of the restaurant a person talking photos with a small camera and immediately thought that it was one of the people invited. I later learnt that it was Marc Shepard whose blog, New York Journal, has been around for a while. I respectfully let him take his photo of the restaurant and then took mine. 

I like the fact that the restaurant is in a townhouse. As I mentioned when going to Vetri in Philadelphia, it gives the impression to go a friend's place. The place was welcoming and bigger than what I expected: bar at the entrance, main dining room, then a second dining room next to a garden. The last intriguing room is a former speakeasy located downstairs, called the Janis room, used for private dinners and live performances. The name comes from Janis Joplin, one of the celebrities who lived in the building that is packed with memories, but hopefully no paranormal activity...

Courtesy of De Santos

We sat in the dining room on a large table. What was great was to put a face with a name like Malini from the Restaurant Fairy or Bradley from Amuse * Bouche, blogs that I read often! 

Anyway, back to the restaurant! We had the chance to meet with the Executive Chef, Angel Vela who worked at Pastis and came on board to reinvent the menu. He told us that his inspiration was to create a simple and basic menu. Trust me, what we tasted was far from that!

So, it was time to start to try the food from De Santos! They handed out a menu composed of three appetizers and three entrees. Portions would be smaller to accommodate a tasting (I am relieved)!

Warning: as they dimmed the light and I never take photos with flash, the photos are not as clear as I would have liked. The actual dishes had vibrant colors...I may have to rethink my strategy moving forward...

We started of with the Tuna Tartare:

The tuna was sitting on avocado and had some soy ginger vinaigrette on it. I love the combination tuna / avocado: it gives some additional freshness to the dish and one complement very well the other! It was good, but I would have liked more acidity. 

Then we got the Truffle Mac & Cheese:

Truffle Mac & Cheese is definitely a dish that appeals to people as it is an elevated version of a comforting food! This one was good: you could definitely taste the truffle and the bread crumbs added a nice crunchiness to the dish. 

The last (!) Appetizer was the Beef Carpaccio:

The carpaccio was served with some homemade potato gnocchi and a truffle cream. This was my favorite appetizer! The gnocchi were light and not potato-y. The sauce was also light and tasty. Loved it!

For the first entree, we got a Grilled Ribeye Steak:

The steak came with roasted potatoes and haricot verts. I loved the steak: it was cooked medium rare and had a perfect char. I was really surprised as I typically would never order steak in a restaurant other than a steakhouse! What I did not like however were the haricot verts, but I guess it is a question of taste: in France, we would cook them longer, making them soft and the taste is slightly different. These were slightly cooked and crunchy, but had an off taste for me. Having just the potatoes would have been perfect!

The second entree was the Scallops:

They were served with a wild mushroom risotto and the garnish was parsnip chips. When I saw the dish, I thought it would be the perfect dish for Gordon Ramsey to review as in his show, Hell's Kitchen, people always screw up on the scallops or on the risotto! Serving the two together was a great idea, although I loved the risotto that was cream with a bit of crunch and very tasty, I did not like the scallops that were a bit rubbery and very salty. However, the surprise was the parsnip chips that were fantastic! The scallops would have been better, it would have been a killer dish!

The last entree was the rack of lamb:

If you follow this blog, you now know that I love lamb. So I was excited to try that dish. The sides were a potato au gratin and a goat cheese salad. The potato au gratin were similar to the gratin Dauphinois that you can eat in France, where potatoes are thinly sliced and layered. It was perfectly cooked and seasoned. I also liked the salad that added some freshness to the dish and a Mediterranean flair. But, the main focus of the dish was the lamb: it was perfectly cooked for me, meaning medium rare, and juicy. They removed the fat and meat from the bone (frenched it), but I could taste a bit of the grilled fat that has some crispiness but also a delicious taste. 

Last came the desserts. At that point, I started to be a bit full, but could not resist...The first desserts was a Dulce de Leche crepe:

This crepe was fabulous! Thin and soft at the same time and not too sweet. I devoured it!

The second dessert was a banana cobbler. The photo is not that great so I will not publish it. It was good, but not as good as the crepe!

So, I had a great dinner there! Not everything was perfect, but it all depends on anybody's taste! I would definitely go back. They have a nice menu that is more for carnivores and features a lot of classic dishes that have been elevated for fine dining.

Enjoy (I did)!

Ken and Cook in NYC, New York

Jodi and I went to Ken & Cook recently for brunch. The place is very nice with a warm and modern feel. The front of the restaurant can be fully opened to the street so dinners can enjoy some people watching while eating, although the street the restaurant is located is not that busy.

A particularity I noticed in the decor is the two telephone booths that reminded me of what you see in very old movies! I should have tried to use them just to see if they were working...

When you know that the Executive Chef Richard Diamonte and partner Artan Gjoni are veterans from Jean Georges, then you for sure have high expectations! They offer a simple brunch menu with not that many items. Sometimes, less is more! I prefer a restaurant with a limited menu that is executed perfectly rather than a restaurant with ton of choices that are poorly prepared!

First, they served us some delicious bread with some olive oil.

The bread was fresh and crispy! I have to say that I love dipping bread in olive oil! It is a great and healthy alternative to butter, not that I am a healthy eater...

As we were going for a day full of food, Jodi decided to go with the bibb salad.

It was a nice quantity and was well made, although a bit overdressed, with nice croutons.

On my side, I started with oysters.

Ken & Cook has a raw bar and for brunch, they propose blue point oysters for $2 a piece. 

The oysters were very good and of good quality! They were served with a fantastic grapefruit sauce that provided a nice acidity to complement the oysters.

I then had fried chicken.

It was served with a biscuit and a honey based sauce (ranch dressing based maybe?). The presentation was beautiful with some fried lemon that was only for decoration (I tasted it...). It was also a nice portion with several pieces of chicken, with bone and boneless. The breading was perfect, not overcooked and not greasy. The chicken was moist and incredibly tasty paired with the sauce! Then there was the biscuit that came with it: warm and delicious! This was a succulent dish and I would just go back for that! One of the best fried chicken I ever ate! As an anecdote, the first time I had fried chicken was at KFC in...Paris...I went a couple of times with my friends after seeing a movie. I never went to any KFC in the US, but after trying this fried chicken at Ken & Cook, I doubt I would have the same experience...

I certainly recommend this restaurant for brunch and may come back. However, the food took a bit of time to come after we ordered, although there was only one couple besides us in the restaurant. Also, with an entree, you get a free drink for lunch: the waiter did not tell us, but told the other table. I did not care at that point, but I think it is something they should mention systematically to their clients!

Enjoy (I did)!




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And Remember: I Just Want To Eat!

Brunch at La Petite Abeille in NYC, New York

We went to La Petite Abeille in the West Village on a Sunday. The restaurant was a bit crowded and the poor waiter was alone to attend all the patrons inside and outside. He did a good job!
I went to this place many years ago and wanted to go back specifically for "The Mitraillette" (machine gun) sandwich, a Belgian sandwich made with steak and fries. Where I come from, we use to have an equivalent: beef patty, French fries and ketchup in a baguette; we called it "The American". I remember that I loved it, although the idea of fries in bread can seem weird. 

So, La Petite Abeille (The Little Bee in English) is a Belgian restaurant. I was surprised to see some posters of Tintin as well as comic books from this Belgian hero (Tintin is big in Europe and has been big way before the Steven Spielberg's movie released last year). The atmosphere was casual and homey.

The menu was proposing a wide array of dishes that can satisfy anybody who would like to have a nice brunch: eggs, burger, salad, bread and of course waffles.

We started off with a fresh squeezed orange juice.

The OJ was just ok: it was a bit watered down!

Looking at the menu, I did not find the sandwich I was coming for! No Mitraillette! Apparently, they are making it in other locations! So I had to pick something else. I went for the egg cocotte.

The dish looked pretty good, but I was expecting something different. Oeufs cocottes are eggs that are baked. They made them with a layer of tomatoes, bacon, goat cheese, eggs and then gruyere cheese. I liked it although the tomatoes rendered water in the bottom, I would have preferred the yolk runny and there was not enough goat cheese. It was served with mashed potatoes that had some leeks in it: weird side! I would have definitely preferred a brioche toast or fries. Not sure I would order this next time!

Jodi ordered the croque monsieur.

This was pretty good: way better than the one we got at Pastis or Felix! There was a lot of cheese and they used a nice artisanal bread. It was served with some nice fries.

Of course, we could not leave without trying a Belgian waffle!

We went for a Liege waffle that is is a richer, denser, sweeter, and chewier waffle. It came very hot but was so delicious! A bit doughy, but still delicious! I did not regret that choice and would have easily eaten a second one (even a third...)!

La Petite Abeille is not a bad choice for brunch. Some items might be overpriced, but otherwise, it is decent. I would give it a second chance, especially to try the Mitraillette sandwich!

Enjoy (I did)!

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And Remember: I Just Want To Eat!

Korean food at Korea Palace in NYC, New York

When you think about Korean food in New York, you immediately think about Korea town and its BBQ joints! But, there is a great place Midtown that serves some mouth watering Korean food that can satisfy the meat eaters as well as the vegetarians. This place is called Korea Palace.

Here is my history with Korean food: I went to Seoul more than 10 years ago, on a Business trip. I stayed few weeks and tried many of their specialties, some that I would probably not even mention on this blog! Of course, the most popular is the Korean BBQ (Bulgogi) where you will cook some marinated meat and eat it in a piece of salad with some red sauce on it. A variation of that dish is made with eel that is very good, but I remember that they were serving it not with lettuce, but with a leaf that had a thicker texture and a more pronounced taste.

I also remember eating a chicken ginger soup that Korea Palace has on its menu. It was a very hot day and we ended up in a restaurant where, after removing our shoes, we sat on the floor. There was no A/C and it was already uncomfortable. They brought this extremely hot soup that we ate and we were sweating like crazy because of the soup. Our Korean host told us that it was normal and very good for health as it allows the body to get accustomed to the heat. Well, it did not work for me...But the soup was delicious!

So, back to Korea Palace. I went to this restaurant in 2010, when my boss retired and although I liked the food, I never came back. This time I came with a bunch of co-workers for a nice celebration. Of course, when you enter into the restaurant, you cannot miss the golden crown that is displayed. It is a Chonma-Chong Gold Crown dated 5th to 6th Century A.D. 

Then, the restaurant has plenty of rooms and what I appreciate is the fact that they have separate private rooms, some for up to 8 people and some bigger, like the one where we were.

In term of food, we decided to order some appetizers to share. Of course, like most Korean restaurants, there were already some side dishes (banchan) that had various veggies such as potatoes or pea pods.

My all time favorite and present most of the time is Kimchi, a fermented dish made of vegetables, the most popular being cabbag,e and some seasoning that can make it spicy.

This kimchi was perfect, spicy but not too much. By the way, you can find kimchi is grocery stores like Whole Foods in case you want to try!

The soup was very good with some tofu on the bottom.

Then, we got the scallion pancakes (Pa Jun).

That was interesting because I always associated scallion pancakes to Chinese food! At Korea Palace, you can have them with either seafood or kimchi. We picked seafood. This was very good, although a bit greasy. The crust was crunchy and the seafood was a nice surprise inside the pancake.

The second appetizer was the vegetable dumplings (Man Doo).

These were fried. I loved it! The thin shell was deliciously crispy and the filling packed with flavor. This was perfect with some soy sauce as well as chili sauce.

The third appetizer was glass noodles (Jab Chae).

Glass noodles are fantastic. They are typically made with starch from mung bean, yam, potato or cassava. 

Then, came the entree: I picked the bibimbop with chicken (you can choose tofu or beef also).

Bibimbop is a rice bowl served with vegetables and a raw egg. The egg will not be raw for long as the bowl is extremely hot and the food continues to cook in it (you can hear it sizzle). It is so hot that it creates a crust with the rice that is fantastic!

Having this crust was great because it added some crispiness and taste to the dish. Anyway, to enhance further the taste, I also added some soy sauce and chili sauce. This rice bowl was really good and I really liked the different texture had between the burnt rice and the veggies that were crunchy. 

After all that delicious food, we skipped dessert! But definitely, Korea Palace is a great place outside Korea Town for some amazing Korean food.

Enjoy (I sure did)!

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And Remember: I Just Want To Eat!

Annual Food and Wine Tasting Benefit, Plate by Plate, at The New York Public Library - October 5th 2012

Plate by Plate is organized by Project by Project, a non profit organization of social entrepreneurs that serve Asian American non-profits in need by raising public awareness, volunteerism, and money, that is celebrating its 15 years of existence. Each year, they organize the Plate by Plate Annual Food and Wine fundraising in different cities, such as San Francisco, Los Angeles and New York.

Concerning the food, here are some participants: 

• Spot Dessert Bar - see review here.
• Blue Smoke
• Bell, Book and Candle
• Ilili restaurant
• The French Culinary Institute
• Yerba Buena
• etc...

If you follow cooking shows, you will also recognize some special guests: Chef Kerry Hefferman (Top Chef Masters runner up) or Chef Justin Antiorio (Hell's Kitchen runner up).

So if you want to enjoy for a good cause:

Date:       Friday, October 5th, 2012

Time:      8:00pm – 11:00pm

Venue:    Astor Hall @ The New York Public Library

Address: Fifth Avenue @ 42nd Street, New York, NY 10018

Tickets on sale on their website: www.platebyplate.org/ny

Hoboken Arts & Music Festival - September 29th 2012

Jodi and I went to the Hoboken Arts and Music Festival today. Jodi for the art, me for...the food (let say "the art of the table")...

This festival takes place several times a year in Hoboken and is a big thing there. It had, according to the organizers, close to 350 stands, for art (photography, painting, handcraft...), but also associations such as the Monroe Center for the Arts, or companies like Verizon or The New York Times....

Food wise,  there were few choices: the usual stands that you would find in any street fair (zeppoles, fried oreos, mozzarepas, Italian sausages...) as well as local restaurants such as India On The Hudson (my favorite Indian restaurant in Hoboken) or The Old German Bakery.

Even pets could find some good stuff there! Me & My dog offered some pretty interesting treats!

They had Chicken & Cheese rollovers, Bacon & Cheese Taco or Lamb & Brown rice bone. I wish I was a dog at that point...

First thing we tried were some "Authentic" Wisconsin Cheese Curds.

Cheese curds are pieces of cheese that are deep fried. As they mentioned that they are "Authentic" Wisconsin cheese curds, I suspect the cheese to be purely cheddar, hopefully not processed! 

It was freshly made, but unfortunately very, very greasy...I had them all though...But not worth the $7 I paid.

Then, we tried the crab cake sandwich from Sherri's crab cakes.

While waiting online, I could smell the delicious odor of crab. Unfortunately, that was the only thing that was close to crab! The crab cake was full of fillers and did not taste that much of crab and they were mushy! Adding to that the bread, I was hopeful to have some tartare sauce so I had the impression to eat... bread with tartare sauce...Sad for $7.

Across the street was the Texas Smoke BBQ. They are there each time and even cook their meat in their pit located next to their stand.

I ordered the beef brisket and added tons of BBQ sauce (mild). Eating the sandwich was messy and I finished the meat with my fork, leaving the bread. It was pretty good for (again?) $7.

Then, we decided to stop by the Taco Truck.

We got a portion of their fantastic guacamole with chips, as well as a grapefruit juice from Jarritos (I prefer the pineapple one).

The last part was dessert. At first, I wanted zeppoles. But, when we realized that they were serving zeppoles that were not freshly made, we proceeded to the mini donut stand.

These donuts were made on the spot in the machine showed above. We got a dozen for $5. We were excited as the last time we had mini donuts freshly made at Sil's in Milwaukee, it was delicious!

They were sprinkled with cinnamon sugar. The smell of the freshly made donuts was awesome. Unfortunately, the donuts were very doughy. We did not finish them...

So it was a bit disappointing, not that I had high expectations, but considering the fantastic food you now get in food trucks, I was expecting better! Fortunately, there was art and music, a bit spoiled by the rain, but this is a different story...

Enjoy (I did)!

All cheese dinner at Artisanal Bistro and Fromagerie in New York, NY

If you recall, my last post about Artisanal concerned brunch. Jodi and I wanted to go back for dinner as the brunch experience was remarkable. We were ready for an all cheese dinner in this temple of cheeses! 

When making our reservation, we even asked to be seated in the Cave a Fromages (cheese room) where they setup a table for four. Unfortunately, they told us that we could not have the table on a Saturday night for the two of us...They were gracious about it, apologized and proposed to sit us next to the cheese bar. I was in fact impressed by the selection of cheeses they do have from all over the world: France, Italy, USA, Spain...

We started off with a cheese fondue, small size (petite). The cheeses used were gruyere, emmental and I believe comte. This divine mix is called the artisanal blend that they also sell. The fondue came with some pieces of bread that you dip in the melted cheese as shown in the video below.

The fondue was very good and the taste of the cheese was perfect, smooth and so not too strong. However, the bread was not the best choice: a more neutral bread such as a baguette would have been preferable so it does not overpower the taste of the cheese. Anyway, I enjoyed it. They should add to the experience the "religieuse" that is the thin layer of burnt cheese that forms in the bottom of the pan and that people would fight for!

Then, we decided to go with a selection of four cheeses, all French.

From bottom left, clockwise:

• Roquefort (sheep milk): a creamy, balanced with some spicy nuance blue cheese. Very popular in France, it is a bit expensive in the USA because of the taxes imposed to it few years ago following a ban on hormone beef imported from the USA by the European Union.
• Crottin de Chavignol (goat milk): a firm, delicate and sweet goat cheese.
• Epoisses (cow milk): a classic and soft cheese washed in Marc. It had a strong taste that is particular to cheese several days after being opened...
• Pont L'Eveque (cow milk): with a savory apple flavor, very creamy.

The best for me was the Pont L'Eveque! It reminded me my Grand Father on my mother side who liked stinky cheeses and used to buy Pont L'Eveque as well as Munster "Les petits amis" (different from the soft Munster cheese you find in the US). I think at that time I thought they were stinky cheeses, although now I think that it was my Grand Father who liked them this way and let them sit few days so they got that smell and taste. A lot of people do that in fact and love this pungent taste that is so particular. I can tell you: the Pont L'Eveque at Artisanal was not stinky at all and was amazing!

Then came dessert!

We picked the tarte tatin (upside-down tart made with caramelized apples), not only because I love it but also because it was a Cheddar cheese crust!!! I loved that one! The cheese crust was amazing: it was buttery and you could definitely taste the cheddar. The apples were perfectly caramelized and I really appreciated the fact that it was not too sweet. Definitely a hit!

This was a fantastic dinner and I will certainly go back, but next time I will wear stretch pants...

Enjoy (I did)!

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And Remember: I Just Want To Eat!

Goat milk ice cream at Victory Garden in NYC, New York

We discovered Victory Garden over the week end! It is a tiny place located on Carmine in the West Village. The logo looks like a goat's head: no wonder as they use goat milk for their ice cream! Why goat milk? Because of the Middle Eastern influence of the owners and the advantages of goat milk that are displayed at the entrance of the store:

• Goat milk is lower in fat than cow’s milk, but with all the nutrition!
• Goat milk is rich in healthy antimicrobial fatty acids, which are burned by the body, rather than stored as is cow’s milk.
• Goat milk is a great source of iron, calcium, protein and potassium.
• Goat milk is lactose friendly, making it easy for people with lactose-intolerance to digest.
• Goat milk is the most similar animal milk to that of humans and is more readily processed than cow’s milk.

I very rarely had goat milk in my life, but why not? So we decided to try their ice cream. We picked their most popular: the salted caramel. As a topping, we chose chocolate crunch. 

They propose 3 sizes and we picked the mini one. It was still generous and I was happy I did not decide to have a bigger size.

For toppings, they have plenty: brownies, sprinkles, honey, walnut, honeycomb (!), etc.

The salted caramel was very good: very tasty and creamy.

The other flavor was chocolate rosemary and we added halva as a topping. It was very rich and very creamy, even more than the salted caramel. The dark chocolate was definitely coming through and you could taste that there were some spices mixed in it, but I did not really taste the rosemary. Having Halva as a topping was pretty surprising and it paired very well with the strong chocolate flavor. 

From the two flavors, the salted caramel was definitely my favorite.

Know that Victory Garden is also selling salads and sandwiches as well as yogurt. They also sell produces made with goat milk such as soap and lip balm. This is definitely a place to try if you like rich and creamy ice cream. They would not tell you it is made with goat milk, you would not even know!

Enjoy (I did)!

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Yapple Frozen Yogurt in Westfield, NJ

I discovered a new Frozen Yogurt place in Westfield, New Jersey. I love frozen yogurt because people think that it is a healthy choice, but they forget that the calories are mainly coming from the toppings that they pack their yogurt with!!!

Anyway, the place was interesting: very bright with its white furniture, partly white walls; with fun drawings on the wall that reminded me of Japanese Manga.

The ceiling was fantastic with multicolored bulbs that gave to the place a very playful atmosphere.

Yapple is self serve.

When we went, they had flavors like: watermelon, cookies & Cream, Birthday cake, Cinnabun, blood orange, taro, banana, salted caramel pretzel, original tart. As you can see, some interesting and original flavors!

Like most if not all frozen yogurt places, the cost is per weight (very smart as people have a tendency to put more than what a standard serving would be, hence pay more). So, you first pick your yogurt(s), then go to the topping bar.

They had the basics there: from fruits to chocolate, peanut butter cup, etc...You can as well add some whipped cream, chocolate sauce or caramel.

I decided to have Cookies & Cream and banana yogurt.

The cookies & cream yogurt was just ok. It tasted like a chocolate yogurt that lacks chocolate taste....However, the banana was fantastic! The flavor of the fruit was very pronounced and tasted natural!

As usual, I put some M&M's and their color all mixed up with the yogurt like a rainbow.

Jodi picked the cookies & Cream and the Birthday cake.

The Birthday cake flavor was just ok for me, but Jodi found that it was good!

In conclusion: I would go back just for the banana yogurt! What I liked is the fact that it tasted natural and not made with processed ingredients.

Enjoy (I did)!




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CoolHaus Ice Cream Sandwich in NYC, New York

I heard about the Coolhaus truck for a while and always wanted to try it! I noticed that the truck was often at Union Square, where many food trucks are now lining up to feed a crowd eager to try some delicious food at a reasonable price. So, that day was the time to try it! The concept is simple: an ice cream sandwich made of a scoop of ice cream in between two cookies! Ideal for the sugar lovers!

The concept is simple: first choose your cookie, then pick your ice cream!

We decided to go with two chocolate chip cookies and the chocovivo salted chocolate that is as per the description: a rich dark chocolate base swirled with fudge and sprinkled with chunks of dark chocolate from chocovivo.

When they gave it to us, it was huge! And when it is warm outside, you'd better hurry to eat it before the ice cream starts to melt!!! It is a bit messy to eat, but fortunately, you hold it with and edible wrapper.

The cookie was very good: not too sweet and soft with a bit of crunch from the chocolate chips and the chunks from the ice cream. The ice cream was divine with intense chocolate flavors! Definitely a very good combination, picked by Jodi!

What is great is that you can swap cookies and ice cream in many, many combinations, making your experience new each time! They have plenty of flavors that I guess they alternate from time to time and some are original, such as candied bacon, chocolate chipotle or nutella almond (I love nutella and will definitely try this one!). If you love sugar, cookies and ice cream, try Coolhaus and let me know what you think!

Enjoy (I sure did)!

Madison Square Eats, Fall 2012 Edition! September 21st to October 19th 2012!

The Madison Square Park conservancy is hosting again this year the Madison Square Park Eats from 11am to 9pm from September 21st to October 19th. It will be a festival of food with several vendors like:

• Arancini Bros. 
• Asiadog
• Baby Got Back Ribs
• Bar Suzette
• Broken English
• Calexico
• Charlito’s Cocina
• Flourish Baking Company
• Graffiti│Mehtaphor
• Hong Kong Street Cart
• ilili
• Kitty Lee Thomas Sweets
• Kulinary Kraft
• La Sonrisa Empanadas
• Macaron Parlour
• Mayhem & Stout
• Melt Bakery
• Mexicue 
• Mighty Balls
• Mimi & Coco NY
• Momofuku Milk Bar
• Nunu Chocolates
• Red Hook Lobster Pound
• Roberta’s
• Sigmund’s
• Stuffed Artisan Cannolis
• The Cannibal
• Wafels & Dinges
• Wooly’s Ice

They will serve food daily in the Worth Square area just west of Madison Square Park (24th and 5th Avenue).

Enjoy (I will)!

Recipe: Anise Infused Bread

Anise Infused Bread recipe

Here is a very recipe to make a wonderful bread that has a subtle anise taste.

For 8 small breads:

17.5 ounce (500g) of white flour

1 tablespoon of salt

3/4 tablespoon of sugar

2 tablespoons of anise seeds

1/2 ounce of dry yeast

1/2 cup of vegetable oil

0.8 cup of lukewarm water

The first thing to do is to grind the anise seeds.

To grind seeds, I use a coffee grinder.

Mix all the ingredients and knead until firm. I have a bread machine and use the setting to only knead and rise as I will cook the bread in the oven.

Let the dough rise for 1h30.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. At the same time, make 8 even portions of the dough and lay them on a cooking sheet or aluminum foil, making sure you either grease it or put some flour to prevent the bread to stick.

Anise Infused Bread recipe

In a small ball, make an egg wash by cracking an egg at room temperature and whisking it until the yolk is incorporated in the white. 

With a knife, make a X on top of each bread so they open while cooking.

Then brush each bread with the egg wash.

Rest for 25 more minutes; the bread will rise again.

Put the bread in the oven for 30 to 40 minutes or until golden.

Et voila!

Anise Infused Bread recipe

 Bon appetit!

My brother's culinary visit...

Last week, my brother stopped by to see us on his way back to France. On top of the fact that it was great to spend time with him, it was a great occasion to make him try some cuisine or food that are not that common in France or that he cannot find in the city where he is living. There is so much diversity in New York that I had to pick just couple of choices that I proposed to him. I'll pass on the first night when we went to Benny Tudino's in Hoboken so he could have a good taste of pizza. We also ordered chicken wings as it is something that he never tried (it is only served in few restaurants, mainly in Paris, such as the Indiana Cafe where I used to go with my cousin Sandrine when I was living there). 

The pizza was good as usual, but the chicken wings were like fried chicken...Disappointing...In fact, I never ordered anything else other than pizza over there and several people told me that the rest of the food is not very good!

The next day, I proposed to go for Venezuelan as where he lives, there no such restaurants and he never tried before. We ended up at Caracas Arepa Bar that is one of my favorites! Caracas Arepa Bar is a small place in the East Village that has these amazing arepas, which are some sort of buns that are grilled and baked, filled with different ingredients, from chicken to beef, to beans and cheese. They offer a nice selection of vegetarian dishes.

The decor has an authentic feel with its wooden tables and chairs that are a bit run down and plenty of religious figurines on the wall.

 as well as satiric figurines of politicians...

I admit that the only one I recognized was Hugo Chavez...

The service in the restaurant was efficient and extremely courteous. The menu is simple and features items that cost less than $8, at the exception of course of the tasting platters that they propose.

We started by ordering some banana milkshakes.

They had a little bit of cinnamon on top. It was more liquid than a traditional milkshake, that is good considering that it was more a drink to go with the meal rather than being a dessert. Unfortunately and contrary to the last time we went there, it did not have as much banana taste.

For appetizers, we first ordered the guasacaca & chips.

It is in fact guacamole with chips made with plantains and taro roots. The guacamole was very good and fresh, while the chips were deliciously crispy and not at all greasy.

The second appetizer was the tajadas.

It is fried sweet plantains with cheese. The cheese was salty, making it a perfect ingredient to counterbalance the sweetness of the plantains. This was a fantastic appetizer and I could not stop eating it!

Then came the arepas. My brother picked the one called "De Pabellon".

It was made of shredded beef, black beans, white salted cheese and sweet plantains. I did not try it, but my brother loved it and told us that it was his favorite food from the whole trip!

Jodi chose the one called "La Del Gado".

It is an arepa composed of plantains, avocado and white cheese. These are simple ingredients, but I have to say that it was the best! It has some nice flavors and the avocado added some freshness to the dish. The salted cheese and sweet plantains complemented each other well. This was a hit!

On my side, I picked the "La Mulata".

An arepa filled with sweet plantains, black beans, jalapenos and sauteed red peppers. This was very good, but when you eat the jalapenos, your mouth starts quickly to get on fire! It is a bit attenuated by the cheese and plantains, but still, it is a bit hot!

We skipped dessert as we were full! When you see the arepas coming, you may think it will not be enough, but trust me: it is!

For dinner, we went to have a steak at Dino & Harry in Hoboken (review of Dino & Harry here). Each time I have visitors from France, I tell them that they should try the meat in a steakhouse; there is no doubt in my mind: the meat in the US is way better than the meat in France.
Dino & Harry is a great steakhouse, but, as most of the restaurants of that kind, it is pretty dark inside, so the photos are not great...I therefore decided not to publish them!

Jodi and my brother ordered the petite filet mignon that was very tender and juicy, served with mushrooms. I decided to order the ribeye that was magnificent: perfectly cooked medium rare, juicy, extremely tender with a nice char. For sides, we went for the French fries (mediocre) and the onion rings (delicious and not too greasy). Oh, I forgot to mention the sauces: the bearnaise sauce is always perfect, but I did not really like the roasted garlic aioli.

As we had a bit of space left after this fantastic dinner, we went for the chocolate mousse: it was very dense, not too sweet with a very pronounced chocolate flavor.

I have never been disappointed in that place!

On Friday, we decided to go to Little Italy and see if for San Gennaro, we would find some succulent food!

I was a bit disappointed because, besides the stands for iconic places such as La Bella Ferrara pastry shop, it was the usual sausage and meatball stands you would see in a street fair. So we decided to eat in one of the restaurants over there. We first went to Da Nico, but nobody bothered taking care of us. So we left and ended up at Benito One. 

We picked this restaurant simply because we saw people already eating there and we were in kind of a rush (I tried to check on the internet which restaurant was the best, but unfortunately had no service...).

Jodi ordered a tomato and mozzarella salad.

It was served with roasted peppers and basil leaves. I think it is the worst tomato & mozzarella salad I ever had, that is pretty incredible considering how easy it is to make! It was under seasonned, had barely any olive oil and the mozzarella was horrible! The roasted peppers were the only things I enjoyed.

My brother ordered the homemade cheese ravioli.

They were served with a tomato and basil sauce. It was a good dish: the ravioli were not too doughy and the sauce was good although simple.

On my side, I ordered the homemade gnocchi.

They came in a tomato, shallots and cream sauce. The gnocchi were ok, but overall, the dish was bland.

Benito One was clearly not a good choice for lunch! I will definitely have to try to find the best Italian restaurant in Little Italy: this will be my next quest! Anyway, if you know any, please send me an email at jp@ijustwanttoeat.com

So, of course, we skipped dessert at Benito One and walk few feet away to the Stuffed Artisan Cannolis! We saw them on a TV show and were dying to try them!

They started 5 years ago and their idea is to put a twist to the traditional cannoli. So, for instance, they have coconut, French toast or nutella.

We decided to try (from left to right): nutella (of course!), French toast, Birthday cake, regular, regular and chocolate. Of course, these cannolis are not full size! They are half the size of regular ones.

The shell of the cannolis was good and crispy, but the filling was not: the nutella one barely tasted nutella; the regular had an off taste; the birthday cake was just ok. The French toast was good with a nice maple syrup flavor, but it was not something I would crave. 

For dinner that Friday, we decided to go to Southern Hospitality (review of Southern Hospitality here). BBQ is an amazing thing to discover as we do not have that in France. We have grilling, but not the slow cooking so particular to BBQ! And Southern Hospitality is the perfect place for some tasting!

We decided to order several dishes: for appetizer, we went for the fried green tomatoes.

These are amazing! Not greasy, very tasty, the tomato had a nice crunch. It was served with a BBQ ranch dipping sauce that is so good that I would just drink it!

We also shared some corn bread and Mac & Cheese.

The corn bread was wonderful and came warm with a delicious honey butter. The Mac & Cheese was perfect! Creamy and full of cheese!

Then came the meat! What I like about Southern Hospitality is that they propose some tasting portions so you can try different meats. We started off with the fried chicken.

It was good, but not the best I ever had: the breading was falling off as we started cutting the bird...Southern Hospitality also proposes fried chicken and waffles that I love!
By the way, as an anecdote, the first time I tried fried chicken when I was leaving in Paris was at...KFC...

Then we got the brisket.

That was a fantastic piece of meat!!! I did not even need a knife to cut it! It was amazingly good, tender and moist, that is what is sometimes a miss with brisket. I would have eaten more...

Last was the dry rub Memphis style spare-ribs.

Delicious as usual: the meat was falling off the bone and was incredibly tasty with some nice fat in some areas (yes, fat can be good!).

We could not leave that place without having a dessert...My brother went for the key lime pie.

It was very good: creamy and not too sweet with a nice whipped cream on top to counterbalance the acidity of the lime.

But my favorite was the banana pudding.

The banana pudding at Southern Hospitality is the best I ever had! It has vanilla wafers and caramelized bananas on top. It is pure heaven: very creamy and rich, each bite makes you want more. Then you reach the bottom and you get some crumbled cookies, wishing that there was more! It is definitely something to try!

That dinner at Southern Hospitality was definitely a hit and a perfect way to showcase some specialties from the South.

Saturday was the last day...We decided to go to brunch. The brunch concept is not as popular in France as it is here. Many years ago, when I was living in Paris, I used to go with my friends for a Sunday brunch, but it was a novelty (we used to go to Le Loup Blanc that still serves a brunch for 22 EUR with all you can eat croissants and chocolate croissants!).  

I checked on opentable.com and found this place few blocks from Times Square as it was one of the places we were supposed to see. We ended up at 44 1/2 on 44th street and 10th Avenue.

This place is pretty cool, very modern and very bright.

It has a nice patio in the back...

...that you can see behind the corn bread!

They serve traditional brunch dishes such as eggs, French toast...

Jodi went for the California Omelet.

It was made with egg whites, tomatoes, spinach, mozzarella and avocado on top. It was pretty good. The eggs were perfectly cooked and it was a great healthy dish. On the top left side, you can see some fruits cut into cubes: all the dishes had some. Great idea to clean your palate at the end!

My brother ordered the andouille sausage frittata.

It was made with green onions, white cheddar and truffle oil. Very good dish too, although I missed the taste of the truffle oil...

On my side, I ordered the crab cakes benedict.

It was served with a homemade Hollandaise sauce that was delicious. The crab cakes were not the best I ever had, but I enjoyed it! It had a bit of sweetness that reminded me my first attempt at crab cakes!

This was a great brunch, but we were so stuffed at the end that we decided to pass on dessert and walk on the high line...

Of course, after that walk, we needed a snack and we thought that it would be a great idea to go, before my brother took his flight, to the Doughnut Plant (review of the Doughnut Plant here).

Jodi got her coconut donut, my brother the peanut butter and banana one and for me, I simply ordered the tres leches that is one of their best selling and always a hit!

We had a great time with my brother and wish we had more time together. I would have had for sure found so many other places to try: deli (Junior's), bagels,...It will be for another time!


We enjoyed (we did)!

And remember: I just want to EAT!

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Salads at Pita Grill in Hoboken, NJ

After a week end full of food, we decided to have a salad at Pita Grill in Hoboken. Pita Grill is a chain that you can find in lots of places. The concept is healthy Mediterranean food.

We started off with a fresh squeezed orange juice.

This was a real fresh squeezed OJ, not a watered down one and for $3, there was a nice quantity of it!

For the salads, Jodi had the Goat cheese salad.

It is composed of mesclun greens, golden raisins and roasted walnuts tossed with a lemon honey vinaigrette. Served with grilled pita, topped with Goat cheese and caramelized onions. This is one of my favorites, especially the pita with caramelized onions and goat cheese! The sweetness of the onions completes so well the tartness of the cheese. Definitely to try!

On my side, I got a Pita Grill salad.

It is made of grilled chicken and basil-rubbed eggplant over mesclun greens, dried cranberries, crumbled Feta and with a roasted red pepper vinaigrette. That was delicious and fresh! The chicken was perfectly cooked: moist with a nice burnt taste on the charred areas. The vinaigrette was very light and subtle. I finished my plate!

So definitely, this is the place to go for a healthy lunch! I will try to remember the day I go to another food marathon...

Enjoy (I did)!

Pulino's pizza in NYC, New York

One of my favorite pizza is the four cheese pizza, but one with real cheeses, not some kind of processed cheeses! So we decided to try Pulino's in Nolita as they had a four cheese pizza on their menu.

The place was very nice with its high ceilings, wood oven and walls covered in bottles.

There was even part covered with magazines that the patrons could borrow, adding a casual atmosphere to the place..

We went for brunch where the menu offers a wide variety of either standard brunch items such as eggs or pancakes, as well as true Italian dishes such as spaghetti or pizza. For pizza, you can add some toppings such as olives, pancetta, anchovies...making the pizza a bit pricey.

So we decided to start with an appetizer. The choice was easy: burrata.

They served it with roasted tomatoes on the vine, drizzled with olive oil and balsamic vinegar. All of this was rested on a piece of bread, fettunta style, meaning like a bruschetta. 

This was fantastic! The burrata tasted very fresh and was very creamy. It was a perfect combination of flavors, mixed with the tomatoes, a hint of balsamic vinegar and olive oil. 

Then we got our four cheese pizza!

The pizza looked beautiful with all the cheeses, the caramelized onions and the crust, burnt in some areas.

The crust was very thin and crispy. What I liked was also the fact that they had, on the table, some olive oil with chili peppers inside: you drizzle some oil on the pizza and it gives a delicious kick to it!

The cheeses on the pizza were: mozzarella, grana, fontina and gorgonzola. It also had some caramelized onions on top. I loved that pizza! There was a lot of cheese and the idea of putting caramelized onions on it was fabulous! It added some sweetness to the pizza that was perfect to counterbalance the sharpness of the cheese. It was definitely a great pizza that I recommend!

We skipped the desserts as we wanted to go grab something at Francois Payard, but it is another story...

Although the service was so so, we really enjoyed our brunch at Pulino's! I am sure I will go back there to try some of their specialties, such as the nutella pizette....

Enjoy (I did)!