Vanessa's Dumpling House in NYC, New York

We recently went to Vanessa's Dumpling House, located near Union Square, for dinner. This place, located near NYU, is supposed to propose cheap Chinese food, outside of Chinatown, although a lot of restaurants there are not so cheap, enjoying the flow of tourists. 

Vanessa's Dumpling House is small and you definitely can tell, looking at the customers, that it caters to students. It was packed and we were lucky to find a table after we ordered at the counter. 

I wanted to try several dishes and for sure the prices drove my frenzy when ordering. What you will see below costed us $22!!!

Here is what we ate:

Fried pork dumplings (4 pieces):

They were a little burnt in the bottom, but on fact it was great! It gave some crunch!

The boiled vegetarian dumplings (8 pieces):

The boiled shrimp dumplings (8 pieces):

The boiled dumplings were very disappointing. In fact, when we sat, I noticed a doughy smell: it was these dumplings. Not only did they smell doughy, but they also tasted doughy!!!

The pork bun (1 piece):

The veggie bun (1piece):

I did not like the stuffing of the veggie bun; however, I liked the pork one. The only problem is that there was too much bun and not enough stuffing. Very filling for sure!

Last was the sesame pancake with a fried egg:

I imagined something like a scallion pancake, but it was in fact like a bread. It was very good: homey, it also contained veggies that added some flavor and juiciness to it. It was my favorite with the pork dumplings. 

Although I did not like everything, I think Vanessa's Dumpling House is a good place for people on a budget. You just need to know what to order and...enjoy!

Enjoy!

And Remember: I Just Want To Eat!

Lunch at Trattoria Saporito in Hoboken, NJ

One of my colleagues suggested Trattoria Saporito few weeks ago, so Jodi and I decided to try it. I admit that we passed in front of it few times, but never thought about going in. When we entered the restaurant, we could not miss the decor. Let's summarize by this: if Gordon Ramsay was to help them in an episode of Kitchen Nightmares, he would for sure change the decor and furniture...

When we went there, we wanted to try their business lunch that offers, for $10.95 (at the time of this post) a prix-fixe where you can choose an appetizer, an entree and a soda. Pretty good deal! On top of that, they offer a wide choice of dishes, not like most of the place where choice is limited.

We started of with the appetizers. Jodi ordered the Caesar salad:

The salad was good, but a bit overdressed.

I ordered the fried calamari (calamari fritti):

It was pretty good: crispy, not rubbery and not greasy. It was served with a nice amount of marinara sauce.

Then, Jodi ordered the bucatini with eggplant and ricotta salata. 

There was a lot of sauce and the sauce was a bit watery in some part, but still good. The bucatini, that are a thicker version of spaghetti, were perfectly cooked.

I ordered my favorite dish: the linguine a la Vongole with white sauce.

I was suprised when the plate arrived as there were quite a lot of clams (a dozen). There again, there was a bit too much sauce, but I have to say that I enjoyed it! Again, the pasta were perfectly cooked. 

We finished the meal with a homemade tiramisu (additional to the prix fixe):

It was delicious, light and delightfully creamy. A great dessert!

Clearly the business lunch at Trattoria Saporito was a good deal. Imagine that with two prix-fixe lunches, a dessert and a tea, the total bill with tip was less than $41. Definitely a place to know!

Enjoy (I did)! 

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And Remember: I Just Want To Eat!

Crepes at Cafe Jolie in Hell's kitchen, NYC, New York

Coming from France, where crepes are pretty popular, I was thrilled to try Cafe Jolie in Hell's Kitchen. Not that I crave crepes as Jodi makes them regularly, but still: thrilled! 

If you do not know what they are, crepes are thin pancakes that originated in west of France, in a region called Brittany. The recipe is pretty straight forward, except that people usually use white flour, instead of the original buckwheat that will give to the crepe a stronger taste and darker color. Also, Crepes can be savory or sweet: some people use beer for savory, others milk for sweet. Personally, I use milk as I do not have time to make two different batters. 

So, here we are at Cafe Jolie. The place is more like a casual restaurant where you order and pick your crepe at the counter and go sit somewhere. Similar to a pizza place in fact. While you wait, you can learn some French...

They make their crepes on crepe makers, instead of a pan, as any creperie would. 

The restaurant was not that crowded, but apparently it is because they deliver a lot. They told me that, in average, they make 120 Crepes in the evening. 

I ordered the traditional ham and cheese, called The Amsterdam. 

The crepe looked very nice and had a lot of ham and cheese in it. Unfortunately, it was not fully cooked, probably because the crepe was not flipped to cook on both sides. 

Jodi ordered La Petite Mort:

It was filled with Brie cheese, avocado and black olives. The avocado was ripe and the olives have a nice salty taste to the crepe. But again, the crepe was undercooked. Well, when you know that La Petite Mort ("The little death") is an euphemism for orgasm, I can tell you that with this crepe, there was no Sally moment...

For dessert, Jodi ordered the butter and sugar:

It was just ok: greasy and again undercooked, it had however a nice nuttiness to it thanks to the brown sugar. 

I decided to order the S'mores crepe:

The crepe was filled with marshmallow fluff, dark chocolate chips and Graham crackers. The filling was good, although I barely tasted the Graham cracker and it was undercooked. 

I have to say that I was disappointed: it was expensive for crepes (we paid close to $38 for 4 crepes) and was not that great. I definitely prefer Bar Suzette located in Chelsea Market!

Enjoy (...)!

And Remember: I Just Want To Eat!

Dinner at Zuni in Hell's Kitchen, NYC, New York

Each time we passed in front of Zuni, located in the lower part of Hell's Kitchen, it was packed. So we thought that there must have been a reason for that! So, as it was cold outside, we decided to try it as we did not have enough courage to look around for a new place to try for this blog that would have tables available.

That time too, it was packed. They told us that the wait would be 10 minutes: not bad; so we stayed. The host was trying to persuade us to sit at a table near the window, where even a waiter told him that it was difficult to reach. We refused and said that we were ok to wait a little longer.

Don't be fooled like me: Zuni serves New American cuisine, not Italian...Yes, I should have checked the menu before entering!

The place has a decent size and an interesting decor, full of colorful paintings. They have few booths that I love; understand that in France we do not have booths and we only saw them in movies and TV series (you would be surprised how many American TV series I know!).

When we got the menu, I have to say that I had a bit of a hard time to pick, that is fairly exceptional for me...I do not know: nothing was very inspiring or appetizing. So I made a choice out of despair.

Before the food came, they brought us some olive bread and some muffins:

The olive bread was a bit too chewy, the blueberry muffins had a weird taste and the corn muffins were a bit too spicy...Started well!

Then came the appetizer: the corn fritters.

They were served with honey and a spicy chipotle mayonnaise. The fritters were fantastic: not greasy, they were not too heavy and very tasty, with some corn in it. I loved the idea of putting honey with it: it gave a delicious sweetness to it and, if mixed with the chipotle mayonnaise, it balanced the spiciness of it (although it was subtle).

Jodi ordered the Warm Goat Cheese Salad with Watercress, Belgium Endive and Radicchio, with Pear, Apple and Sun Dried Cranberries:

The goat cheese looked weird! It had a crust that did not look appetizing and tasted weird. The salad itself was ok.

On my side, I ordered the Pan-Roasted Mussels with Belgium Beer, Pommery Mustard, Potatoes and Scallions:

It was horrible! The mussels did not taste fresh and the potatoes were not cooked enough. The sauce was not good either, too diluted and salty (probably due to the mustard). I wanted some bread to dip in the sauce and they gave me some bread that tasted like frozen bread. It was definitely a miss! For me, if you want to make mussels, serve them with fries and bread and make a killer sauce!!!

So, it was definitely not a good experience there and on top of that, it was expensive for what we got. What is crazy is that it was packed, although it is Times Square and a lot of people only come to restaurants once. No need to mention that we skipped dessert....

Enjoy (...)!

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And Remember: I Just Want To Eat!

Mini Doughnuts at The Doughnuttery in Chelsea Market - NYC, New York

Chelsea Market is definitely the perfect place for food lovers: there, you can eat all sort of delicious food that will make you want to come back or even stay there...One of my last discovery there is the Doughnuttery, that replaced People's Pop weeks ago (see my review of People's Pop). After the success of doughnut joints like The Doughnut Plant, one may wonder what makes the Doughnuttery different. First of all, they make fresh mini doughnuts using a small doughnut machine, where you can see these small delicate cakes form.

The machine will drop some dough in the hot oil and the doughnut will cook, navigating from right to left, until being dropped in a plate. Then, the doughnuts are either dipped or filled with the flavor you pick. They either propose elaborate doughnuts such as:

• The cacaoboy (Cacao nibs, sea salt, black),
• The Urban Monkey (Green coffee, banana, coconut) or
• The PBCP (Peanut Butter, cayenne, pretzel).

Otherwise, you can simply get a cinnamon sugar, a powdered sugar or a sprinkles one. We decided to go for 6 doughnuts for $6. Originally, we thought we would be able to try 6 different flavors, but the not so nice person serving us, said that it was not possible.

So we went with two cinnamon sugar, two powdered sugar and two sprinkles doughnuts. They came hot and fresh. They were pretty good, but were a but doughy. They were decent, but I prefer The Doughnut Plant; in fact for $6, you can have much better doughnuts there! Even for $6, you can get bigger and better doughnuts at Dunkin Donuts!!!

I think I will pass next time!

Enjoy (the post)!

And Remember: I Just Want To Eat!

Sandwiches at Bite in the East Village NYC, New York

Continuing our exploration of the cheap eateries near Union Square, we ended up at Bite, a small restaurant that serves Mediterranean / Middle Eastern food.

Their menu offers and interesting variety of dishes: salads, soups or sandwiches, chili (???)...I was surprised however that they did not serve falafel!

We decided to order two sandwiches. The first one was the Middle Eastern mushrooms:

It was composed of sauteed mushrooms, hummus, goat cheese and Middle Eastern salad. The bread was ciabatta. The first bite was good, especially because they put a lot of goat cheese, but I could not get past the texture of the mushrooms that were probably canned. They would have used fresh mushrooms, this sandwich would have been fantastic!

The other sandwich was the Sabih:

It was composed of sauteed eggplant, hard broiled egg, hummus and Middle Easter Salad. The bread was also ciabatta. I really liked it! Sauteed eggplant is fantastic: it has this particular pleasant bitter taste and a spongy texture that will absorb the oil, oil that will then deliciously absorbed by the bread.

What we realized only after is that we could have picked pita instead of ciabatta bread; they did not ask and served bread by default. I think I would have preferred the pita because you have to press the sandwich when made with bread and then it becomes messy to eat because all the ingredients start to ooze from it!

Anyway, I could not not order their nutella and banana sandwich!!!

It was incredibly good! Look, you do not need to be a master Chef to make this sandwich good: banana and Nutella pair so well together, it would be a crime to separate them! Then, when served on a pressed ciabatta bread, it is heaven! Between the crispiness of the bread and the warmth of the Nutella that starts to melt, you cannot stop eating, carefully paying attention that no drop of Nutella will end up on your white shirt!

With this meal, we got also a homemade lemonade that was pretty good, a bit too sweet though.

The total for this meal was $23 that is a good price considering the amount of food we ate. It is definitely a place to know in the area! But, if I had to choose, for a great, cheap, Middle Eastern food, I would prefer Taim (check out my review of Taim).

Enjoy (I did)!

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And Remember: I Just Want To Eat!

Opening Ceremony at BCD Tofu House in Korea town, NYC - New York

Before reading this post, please note that, in accordance with the FTC guidelines, I must disclose that I was contacted directly by the restaurant or a PR and that the meal was complimentary. However, the opinions expressed in my blog are 100% my own!

April 25th was an exciting day for me: I was invited to the Opening Ceremony of BCD Tofu House, located in Korea Town. For sure, I did not expect what happened once there! Let me narrate the evening and you will see how it turned out!

I think I went only once to a restaurant opening ceremony, many years ago and I do not even remember which restaurant it was. So I was excited when I received the invitation from BCD Tofu House to attend their event! If you follow this blog, you know that I love Korean food and discovered this cuisine when traveling to Korea many years ago. I still discover new dishes though from time to time...

BCD Tofu House gets its name from Buk-Chang-Dong, a city in Korea where Mrs Hee Sook Lee, the Founder and CEO of the company received her first cooking training. 

So, the place is spacious with two floors and a earthy atmosphere thanks to the decor made of wood, dark for the most part. It got crowded pretty quickly with an audience representing the press, the blogger community, but also the Korean community, such as Seung Ki Min, President of The Korean-American Association of Greater New York or Young Hyun Kwun, President of The New York Society of Korean Businessman. The President and Founder of BCD Tofu House, Mrs Hee Sook Lee, was also present to welcome the guests and cut the ribbon.

Courtesy of AD Group Communique

The Master of Ceremony was Michelle Park, food and fashion reporter at NY1.

Yes, it was a full ceremony and not just let's cut the ribbon and have some food! The program was the following:

• Opening Remarks by Michelle Park.
• BCD Introduction.
• Congratulatory remarks from Seung Ki Min, President of The Korean-American Association of Greater New York or Young Hyun Kwun, President of The New York Society of Korean Businessman.
• Welcoming Remarks from Mrs Hee Sook Lee.
• Special Guests acknowledgment.
• Prayer.
• Ribbon Cutting Ceremony.
• Vision statement and closing remarks.

Well, what happened is that at some point they asked me to come to the ribbon cutting ceremony to represent foodies. I was a bit surprised and accepted as it was a great honor, but thought that they wanted me in the background. Once the prayer was completed, they called few people and asked the others to step outside the restaurant, in the street. They then asked me to wait a bit and made me line up after the people that were just called. Suddenly, they handed me over some white gloves and a pair of scissors! Holy Cow! I realized that what they asked me was not to be in the background, but rather to be part of the ribbon cutting!!! As I walked out, people spread out across the ribbon and I ended up in the middle, on the left of Mrs Hee Sook Lee!!! My main thought was: "Do not screw up! Do not cut the ribbon before everybody!!!" Once a person shouted "BCD", we cut the ribbon and shook hands, happy and honored at the same time! That was fantastic to be part of this! 

Courtesy of AD Group Communique

Note: I am the fourth person from the right on the photo!

Now, let's talk about food! Prior to the dinner, they served us some hors d'oeuvres:

Shrimp Potato Rolls:

It was delicious! First the shrimp was big and well cooked. Then, the potato crust reminded me of hash brown and paired perfectly with the shrimp.

Grilled Tofu Skewer:

The tofu, that was firm, was sandwiched between a piece of pineapple and a tomato. It was interesting because one was giving the sweetness and the other one the acidity that enhanced the flavor of the overall skewer. Pretty good!

The Third Hors d'Oeuvre was a Fried Pork Dumpling:

This one was my least favorite: too crispy and greasy for me.

I decided to order soju, a distilled alcohol very popular in Korea.

This one was made with sweet potatoes!

Then, they started the dinner with the traditional banchan or small dishes. There served my favorite: Kimchi!

It was very good and a bit spicy! I have to say that Kimchi is the dish I always expect when I go to a Korean restaurant! You can also find some at Whole Foods...

Spicy Raw Crab:

It was a fresh crab marinated in a spicy and garlicky red pepper sauce. Well, for sure the sauce was spicy. As for the crab, I cannot say because it was a bit difficult to eat the meat. Not the best dish for a press event!

Pickles:

And zucchini:

These two were good and balanced well with the spiciness of the other dishes.

There was also  a dish made with gelatin that I tried:

It had no taste and I confess that I only had a bite...

They also served us Jabchae that are glass noodles:

One of my bosses who is Korean used to say that French people are always fond of this dish and...he was right! It was the first time I tried them at room temperature and I admit that it was perfect. In Korean cuisine, they are usually made from sweet potato starch. 

Then came the LA Galbi or BBQ Pork Rib:

I think this was a phenomenal dish! The meat might not have been as tender as I expected, but it had so much flavor, similar to the flavor you would get with a bulgogi, thanks to its marinade. Eating it with the chop sticks was a bit of a challenge, but I had enough motivation to overcome it...

Then came the long awaited soon tofu or tofu soup:

The tofu in it was soft (soon in Korean) and therefore absorbed the delicious flavor of the broth made with beef and seafood. Mrs Hee Sook Lee told me that it was 100% organic. It came piping hot and we broke a fresh egg in it so it could cook in the soup!

And it was served with white rice:

This soup was delicious: very comforting, it was perfect because slightly spicy and very tasty. The mix of seafood and meat was really good and the only negative was that the shrimp had its shell, but I guess it is to render more flavor to the dish. If you do not like tofu like I use to, it might be the dish that will change your mind!

After we ate the soup, they brought us some rice in a broth that was supposed to clean our palate:

It was made with the white rice that was cooked in a stone bowl and then a broth was added to it. I had a bit of it and the taste was particular for sure.

Last was dessert:

Apparently, it is typical for celebration and Holidays. I confess that I do not know the name of this dessert that was made with red beans. I did not like the taste of it.

So we definitely had a good time at BCD Tofu House. For sure, it was the Inauguration of the restaurant so the service was perfect and we could expect some good food. I will go back another time as a regular customer to try other dishes, especially the bibimbap and the bulgogi! If you go, I suggest the LA Galbi, Jabchae and Soon Tofu soup that were excellent.

Enjoy (I did)!

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And Remember: I Just Want To Eat!

Dinner at Nobu in Tribeca, NYC, New York

We were very excited to go to Nobu in Tribeca! We wanted to treat ourselves in the restaurant of Japanese Chef Nobu Matsuhisa, whose partners include Robert De Niro (yes, I am talking to you!). He created dishes inspired from his background but also from his experience in South America (Peru and Argentina). 

Having a reservation was a bit of a challenge for the week end and we got one at 6:15pm on a Saturday. From outside, the restaurant was very discreet. Inside, it was very elegant with its earthy tones and Japanese aesthetics. The place started to get busy pretty quickly. We even saw Matt Dillon who was having dinner and were wondering if we would see other actors as we went there during the Tribeca Film Festival. No luck. 

The menu was pretty extensive, showcasing traditional Japanese dishes like sushi and sashimi. For sure, having sushi and sashimi at Nobu might be good but we felt that we would miss the whole point of this culinary discovery.

We decided to try the following dishes:

For appetizer, we ordered the Spicy Miso Chips with Bigeye Tuna:

The scale on the photo is close to what we got! It was small and clearly more an Amuse Bouche rather than what I would call an appetizer. It would have been better with at least 4 pieces! It was good though, a little on the sweet side, it was not as spicy as it advertises. 

Then we got the Kumamoto Oysters with Maui Onion Salsa:

The presentation was very nice with the oysters presented on crushed ice. The scale on the photo was again close to reality: small. The problem is that I could barely taste the oyster: the onion salsa was good but too overpowering for my taste.

For entrees, Jodi ordered the Fish and Chips Nobu-style:

And I ordered the black cod with Miso:

Clearly, between the two, the black cod with Miso hit the mark! The fish was perfectly cooked, moist and flaky. It had some sweetness to it that was enhanced by the miso. It is definitely a dish to try if you go to Nobu. The Fish and Chips Nobu-style was, however, disappointing. I think we were expecting something better than just fish tempura with soy sauce. They could have done so different, maybe with some  sweet and sour sauce or wasabi. It was not even the best tempura we ever tried. I think the only thing I liked in that dish was the yuca fries...

I also ordered the Live Octopus Tiradito:

Contrary to what I thought, the octopus was not alive, just fresh... It was like a carpaccio with thin slices of octopus and lime, too much of it in fact! The octopus was tender and very good, but the lime overpowered the entire dish.

As we were still hungry (crazy, no?), we ordered two additional dishes:

Jodi went for the avocado tempura:

The avocado was too ripe and had barely no taste to it.

I ordered the creamy spicy crab:

This was the biggest disappointment of the dinner: I love crab and, although this dish has a lot of it, it was smothered in fish eggs and green onions, so I could not taste any of the crab meat! 

Not discouraged by the previous dishes, we decided to try dessert. Jodi ordered the Milk Chocolate Coconut Cake:

I liked it: light and tasty, it had a nice coconut-y taste that paired perfectly with the chocolate.

On my side, I ordered the Banana Soy Toban:

it was composed of caramelized bananas, roasted pecans and malaga ice cream, that tasted like rum/raisin ice cream. I enjoyed it: not too sweet, it was very comforting. 

I was so disappointed by our experience at Nobu! For most of the dishes, it missed the mark in term of taste, although I recognize that the presentation was fantastic and they showed some creativity. I definitely prefer Morimoto that offers a far better experience to its diners, at a better price (oh yeah: Nobu is definitely pricey)!

Enjoy (...)!

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And Remember: I Just Want To Eat!

Hot and Cold ramen at Ramen Takumi in NYC, New York

As I thought my frenzy for ramen would have to be put on hold as the temperature rises, my cousin Jessica, who follows this blog and has given me some good addresses, mentioned the cold ramen. I was a bit intrigued by it as I always imagined that dish very hot. So when we went to Ramen Takumi, located nearby Union Square, in Greenwich Village, I decided to try. Well, remember: Ramen means Noodle Dish in Japanese. 

So we went there and as most of the ramen places, it was busy and the service was pretty fast. That day, exceptionally as one could say, I passed on the appetizer and went straight to the ramen! 

Jodi ordered the Shio Ramen:

The Shio Ramen broth, lightly salted, was served with two pieces of pork was were phenomenal (tender, tasty with a bit of deliciousness people call fat...), bamboo shoots, a salt flavored egg (half, perfectly cooked - soft yolk), seaweed, scallions and noodles (of course!). It was a very good dish!

I ordered the Hiyashi Ramen-Natsu:

This cold ramen dish was composed of the same pork Jodi had in her ramen (remember: phenomenal!), bamboo shoots, half salt flavor egg, cucumber, pickles, corn, pickled ginger, crab meat and noodles. In the bottom, there was a dark broth that I guess was made out of miso. This is where I realized that ramen does not mean noodle soup but noodle dish! The noodles were very good, cooked al dente, and it did not bother me at all that it was cold. It was refreshing in fact! I would definitely order this one again!

I have to say that I liked that place: the food was good and tasty. Prices wise, it is a bit more expensive than most places, with ramen dishes averaging $12.

Enjoy (I did)!

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And Remember: I Just Want To Eat!

Lulu's Bakery in Queens, NYC, New York

David, one of my coworkers, brought some pastries from Lulu's, a bakery located in Queens. It was a box full of fresh mini size pastries. So, as I am fully dedicated to this blog, I had no other choice than trying few of them...

The first one was the Lulu's, a cream puff that is the specialty of the place.

The shell was very fresh and well cooked (when slightly overcooked, it can overpower the entire pastry), and the vanilla bean cream inside was very light.

Then, I got an eclair:

The top was made of some delicious dark chocolate and the inside was a vanilla cream. The shell was similar to the Lulu's. I really liked it, because of the combination of the chocolate glaze and the vanilla cream that complemented well.

The last was definitely for chocolate lovers. I call it the Dark chocolate cream puff!

It was smothered in a dark chocolate and had a very dark and dense chocolate cream inside.

I have to say that I really enjoyed the three pastries from Lulu's bakery that I tried: they tasted fresh, made with quality ingredients and, most importantly, were not too sweet, allowing people to eat several (plenty?) of them. A good address for sure!

Enjoy (I did)!

And remember: I Just Want To Eat!

Buns at Baohaus in NYC, New York

Baohaus is a hole in the wall located in the East Village that serves Bao, these steamed bread-like buns that originated in Chinese cuisine. Interestingly, I discovered them in Japanese restaurants and was persuaded they were from Japan...But no, they are definitely not!

The place, opened by Eddie and Evan Huang is tiny!

You do not go there for a romantic dinner or to hang out; it is more grab, eat and go, except later in the evening.

The menu offers several types of buns as well as rice dishes for reasonable prices. But, if you have a good appetite, 4 to 5 buns will be necessary to satisfy it...Each portion is one bun, allowing to try few of them.

Here is what we got:

The Uncle Jesse (front) and Broccolini BAO:

The Uncle Jesse consists of organic fried Tofu, served with crushed peanut, cilantro, Haus Sauce, and Taiwanese red sugar.

The Broccolini Bao was a tempura Broccoli, served with Zha Jiang bean paste, shitake mushrooms, and daikon.

These were vegetarian options. My favorite was the Uncle Jesse that was a bit crunchy on the outside with a nice spicy sauce.

The Birdhaus:

Fried chicken with Haus Seasoning Salt, cilantro, crushed peanuts, and Taiwanese red sugar. This was my favorite one! The chicken was a bit crunchy, cooked all the way through and still moist. I could have eaten an entire bucket of it!

The Haus Bao and the Chairman Bao:

One was made with pork belly and the second one with beef cheek. It was tasty but on the dry side. I enjoyed it anyway!

The buns were very good, as bit sticky as most of them are...

I enjoyed it and my favorite was the Birdhaus (fried chicken). It is an interesting place, that proposes some cheap alternatives, but I am not sure I love it to the point where I would brave the line of customers. Maybe I should try again..What do you think?

Enjoy (I did)!

And Remember: I Just Want To Eat!

Cheese Fondue at Vintner Wine Market in NYC, New York

Fondue is an awesome dish when the weather is not too hot: not only it is good, but it is perfect to fill up your belly on a cold day! 

I went to few restaurants that serves it: Artisanal and Kashkaval where I sure enjoyed it! Walking in Hell's Kitchen, we noticed Vintner Wine Market (also called Ninth Avenue Vintner). It is a small and quaint place that sells wine, beer (they have a huge selection) and cheese from all over the world: France, Italy, etc. 

When we saw that they had cheese fondue on their menu, we definitely had to try it! 

We went for the Swiss one as it is more traditional.

The fondue took almost 25 minutes to come and was served with bread, slices of apple (never tried it before) and some spicy salami. 

The fondue was pretty good: the cheese was creamy and smooth, and you could taste a bit of the alcohol. I liked the combination of apples and cheese, but also to stack salami with either bread or apple. 

This place is fine for a quick bite, but for sure, you would not go for the presentation: the bread was cut too big and they did not core the apple!!!

It was also a bit uncomfortable to eat as the tables were small and very close to each other! Each time people next to us stood up, I was imagining ending up with cheese or wine on me!!!

Despite this, I will probably go back for some cheese...

Enjoy (I did)!

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Dinner at Courgette in NYC, New York

We went out one evening with my colleagues, to a restaurant called Courgette, located Midtown, next to the Dream Hotel. Courgette: what an interesting name! It means zucchini in French and my compatriots and myself found that it was a funny name for a restaurant and associated it with either vegetarian cuisine or a cuisine offering different variations of this green veggie. We were wrong: not only it was not vegetarian, but there was not even one zucchini on the menu!!!

It is for sure a nice place: the bricks and wood give it a warm and rustic feel. There are four areas to eat:

The bar, wide enough so you can feel comfortable:

and adjacent to the section where they cut meat:

The main dining room with its small communal table and then two different dining rooms, a small one well lighted, where the main attraction is the fish display:

And a dimmer one that can accommodate large groups.

The menu, elaborated by Estonian-born, Michelin-starred Executive Chef Andrey Korobyak is not French, contrary to what the name of the restaurant suggests: the restaurant website qualifies it as New American and for the most part, it is Italian, serving classical Italian dishes such as bruschetta, burrata, pasta...

We started off with sharing appetizers. First were the bruschetta:

Traditional bruschetta with herry tomatoes, olives, sun dried tomatoes, onions and basil:

Mozzarella, Prosciutto and Pesto Bruschetta:

King Crab with Piquillo Pepper Bruschetta:

I thought it was a perfect appetizer to share because there were two good size bruschetta so we could split them for four people each. Like any bruschetta, it was a bit messy to eat...

Then we tried the burrata salad:

It was served with cherry tomatoes confit and a pesto sauce that paired perfectly with the soft and creamy taste of the cheese. I loved it but would have liked some toasted bread with it.

The last appetizer was the scallops:

The two sea scallops were served each on a bed of truffle mash potatoes that had mushrooms I believe it was morel) in it! It was divine: the scallops were perfectly seared and cooked, not rubbery and the mash was scrumptious with the mushrooms adding some bite to it. Definitely recommended!

Then, I ordered a Baby lamb with salsify, eggplant puree and morel mushroom sauce.

The dish was ok for me: the lamb was a bit overcooked and dry and was topped with a chicken mousse that was bland. Also, the morel sauce did not have that much mushroom taste. I liked the eggplant puree though!

I was able to try the ribeye with truffle fries and bearnaise sauce:

First of all, the presentation was beautiful and very appetizing. My friend Malika ordered it medium well, that I would normally consider a culinary blasphemy !!! It was pretty good though although I admit that the meat was not of the quality of a steakhouse (the price was not either anyway)! The meat had enough fat and a nice char on the outside.

The fries were like I love them: crispy on the outside and soft on the inside, cooked perfectly all the way through. Dipped in the sauce, it was delicious. 

We skipped dessert as we were all full. It was definitely a great dinner and I recommend Courgette if you want to have a nice fine dining experience.

Enjoy (I did)!

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Dinner at Nice Matin in NYC, New York

After a wonderful day walking around in the City, from the East Village to the Upper East Side, via Central Park, we decided to have dinner at Nice Matin. I went there few years ago and I remember that I had a good dinner. So, why not go back!

First, let me give you some information on the name! Nice is a city located South of France, in the Cote D'Azur. It is known for many things such as the boardwalk (La Promenade Des Anglais) or the flower market. "Nice Matin" is the main newspaper of the city, hence the name.

To give this market feel, they even have a small market on top of their door!

A good reason to know Nice Matin is their burger! Even if you never went there, you may know it! It is the 5 Napkin Burger! Yes, the burger at Nice Matin was so popular that the owners decided to open a burger place where this burger would be the signature dish: that is how 5 Napkin burger started!

The place is nice, with a clean and bright decor, accentuated by the yellow formica tables!

They started off bringing bread,

and butter.

Then, I ordered the escargots (snails):

They were not the traditional Escargots de Bourgogne, cooked in butter, with garlic and parsley. It was made of butter, breadcrumbs, garlic and fines herbes, a blend of herbs made mainly of parsley, chives and tarragon. The presentation was very nice and surprisingly, there were 2 snails in each little compartment. It was good, but I prefer the more traditional recipe or to say it better, it would have been better without the breadcrumbs. It did not prevent me from dipping bread in the sauce though!!!

For the entree, I ordered the Moules Provençales (Mussels Provençales):

It was served with French fries:

There was for sure a nice amount of mussels and they were of a very decent size. They were perfectly cooked and seemed fresh. The Provençal sauce was composed of tomato sauce, basil, garlic, shallots and dry chili pepper. It was delicious: tasty and homey, it was not spicy even with the chili pepper. 

The fries were very good too and I dipped them in the sauce! They were crispy outside and soft inside as I like them! Clearly better than Pommes Frites!

Jodi ordered the salade niçoise:

It was served with sushi grade tuna that was pan seared. It was composed as well of anchovies, tomatoes, hard boiled eggs, olives, radicchio, beans, cucumber, fennel, zucchini, red onion and potatoes. The sauce was conveniently on the side.

The presentation was definitely beautiful with all the different colors. The tuna was excellent and definitely good quality. Know that it is an elevated version of the salade niçoise, because normally, it is made with canned tuna...I doubt you can find sushi grade canned tuna!!! So, it was definitely a good salad and I would think that the price was justified by the use of prime ingredients, especially the fish.

We skipped dessert as the day was full of food stops (yes, I was able to resist to the urge to order the chocolate hazelnut mousse or the butternut brown sugar crème brûlée).

I noticed that the restaurant has a prix-fixe menu and calculated that adding what I ate with a dessert would be 50 cents more than the price of the prix-fixe. So I guess it is not that interesting! Anyway, it was a good dinner in a nice setting. Definitely a nice French restaurant to know on the Upper West Side!

Enjoy (I did)!



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Neapolitan pizza at Numero 28 in NYC, New York

I did not realize until recently how many pizzerias making Neapolitan pizza there are in NYC! Lots of pizza places yes, but Neapolitan, no. So, we were looking for a pizza place downtown and found Numero 28 whose name comes from its location on the Number 28 of Carmine street. 

Similar to many pizza places we visited, it has a rustic feel that makes you immediately comfortable and confident that you have found the perfect place for your meal.

Sadly, the brick oven was located in the room next to the dinning room; having it visible by the patrons gives an additional dimension to the experience as it is always fascinating to see the pizza going in and then out, bubbling and hot.

They did not have burrata as an appetizer, thus we decided to order two pizzas. In fact, they serve pizza in three sizes: small, medium and large. So the two pizzas we ordered were small size, that corresponded to 4 slices each.

The first one was the Margherita.

Margherita is made with tomato sauce, mozzarella and basil.

The pizza was delicious: the tomato sauce was fantastic and they were generous with cheese. The crust was pretty good and crispy with a nice char.

The second pizza was 5 cheese pizza:

The 5 cheeses were Mozzarella, Gorgonzola, Parmigiano, Fontina and Provolone. In this one too, there was a lot of cheese.

Unfortunately, I think it was a bit overcooked: the cheese was not gooey but a bit hard. It was decent though.

The pizza was good at Numero 28, but clearly not as good as the one we had at Lombardi's, Pulino's or San Matteo.

Enjoy (I did)!

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Noodle soup at Omen in NYC, New York

Jodi and I decided to go to Omen in Soho, following a strong recommendation. Well, they have noodles and in the past year, we have been hooked on trying ramen or any sort of noodle soups! And it seems that Omen is making its own noodles! So we could not miss an occasion to try! 

The decor was nice and elegant, but we did not see any masks on the wall (Omen means "mask" in Japanese).

We did not check the menu in advance as we usually do and only realized, once there, that it was a bit pricey. Well, we were there and maybe the $20 for the noodle soup would be worth it! So we both ordered the Omen noodle soup. I have to say that it took a bit for the food to come.

The soup was composed of 3 separate dishes to assemble: soup, noodles and vegetables.

When it came, I was surprised by the amount of food: enough soup (that was miso), but not enough noodles and definitely a tiny portion of vegetables with no protein at all! What a disappointment! 

So, we first put some sesame seeds in the soup, then put the noodles and then the veggies.

The noodles were good, very soft. However, the tiny portion of veggies kind of made it boring. 

Well, it was definitely a very sad soup and a disappointment, although I liked the playfulness of the dish. I do not know if the rest of their food is better, but I would certainly not recommend the noodle soup! And by the way, we were still hungry after we left!!!

Enjoy (...)!



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Brunch at Nizza in Hell's Kitchen - NYC, New York

I noticed Nizza few times while walking in Hell's Kitchen and always thought that it would be nice to try it. We ended up there really by chance as we originally wanted to go to another restaurant across the street, that, although we had a reservation, was closed when we arrived! 

It was early and the place was not that crowded. At first, I did not really think about it, but, after looking at the menu and one particular dish that I will describe later, I realized that Nizza means Nice in Italian. Nice is a city South of France, that is close to Italy, that I visited often when I was a kid, to see some Family. But, despite its French translation, Nizza is still an Italian restaurant that serves pizza, pasta...

The place is nice, yellow being the main pattern to the decor, with an amazing bar.

After we ordered, they brought us some delicious focaccia bread with olive oil.

The bread was light, airy and fresh. I could not stop dipping it in the olive oil!

Then, we shared the Gorgonzola crostini:

They were served with dolce latte and a fig jam. It was very good. The bread, that was toasted, had a nice crunch and the Gorgonzola cheese paired very well with the fig jam.

Jodi ordered the Socca:

Socca is a thicker version of a crepe made of chickpea. This is the dish that made me do the link with Nice; although it originated in Genoa, in Italy, you cannot visit Nice and not have Socca! At Nizza, it was served with two over easy eggs, Swiss chard, onions and fontina cheese. I liked it. It is different from the Socca I know, because I use to eat it simply with salt and pepper, but I liked it wen mixed with the eggs (especially the runny yolk) and the cheese.

I ordered the Eggs Benedict:

It was composed of 2 poached eggs, toasted focaccia, Italian ham and parmesan cream sauce. That was fantastic! The eggs were perfectly cooked, with a runny yolk where I delightfully dipped the focaccia bread, adding to the bite some very good ham. 

We skipped dessert as we had to go see a movie, but had a very good brunch at Nizza. In fact, I was very happy that the other restaurant ended up closed....

Enoy (I did)!

And Remember: I Just Want To Eat!
 

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A Taste of The Cake Boss Cafe at The Port Authority of NYC, New York

I am not going to lie: I am not a big fan of the Cake Boss. I think he is very talented in making these elaborate and artsy cakes, built mainly with rice crispy treats and fondant, but except for a tiramisu, I have always been disappointed when I tried something there (see the review of Carlo's Bakery in Hoboken, NJ).  So it appears that now he is going mainstream by opening cafes in NYC! I saw a first one next to Guy Fieri's restaurant on 44th and then, he got the genius idea of opening a place on the corner of 42nd and 8th (Port Authority). At the beginning, similar to his shop in Hoboken, you could see staff at the door to regulate the traffic of customers, but it does not seem to be the case anymore...

For sure, they designed the place around his TV personality.

The place offers a large choice of pastries that look pretty good but are a bit overpriced ($2.50 for a mini cannoli for instance). I wanted to surprise Jodi so I asked them if they had anything with coconut as it is her favorite flavor. Unfortunately, they had nothing! Interesting as coconut is pretty common nowadays!

So I ordered a linzer tart and a chocolate brownie.

I chose the raspberry linzer tart instead of the nutella one as I wanted to try the more traditional one, although I think it is a great idea to propose a nutella version of it. The cookie itself was good, but the raspberry jelly was a bit too sweet.

The chocolate brownie was disappointing: it was not as fudgy as it should be and I think I can make a better one with a Betty Crocker mix!!!

This was a disappointing experience and you could really taste the fact that the product they offer is manufactured and not made anymore by the hands of a passionate pastry Chef. Sorry Cake Boss, but I am still not convinced!

Enjoy (the post)!

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Burger at Black Bear in Hoboken, NJ

I went to Black Bear Bar last year to try their steak sandwich (check out the review of the Steak Sandwich at Black Bear Bar). This time, it was burger!

A lot of time, when we think burgers, we think chains or restaurants who only serve burgers, like 5 Napkin Burger, 5 Guys...But sometimes, bars offer a delicious option as this fantastic sandwich is the perfect bar food.

I might have gone a bit overboard while there as I ordered the deluxe burger that is on the brunch menu. It is composed of: bun, lettuce and tomato, beef patty, ham, bacon, egg, spicy sauce and onion rings.

It is not easy to eat and you have to imagine that your dentist is standing next to you and asking to open your mouth wide! It was good, especially when biting the yolk that I would have liked runny.

I liked the different flavors, making each bite slightly different from the other, because of the different layers. However, I wish the meat was juicier, that is the only, but very important negative there!

Jodi went for the Black Bear burger:

She asked for sauteed mushrooms and American cheese. The burger was good, but, this one too, not juicy enough.

Black Bear Bar is a nice bar with a large choice of dishes on its menu. The food is decent, but it is not where I will find the best burger in Hoboken!

Enjoy (I did)!

And Remember: I Just Want To Eat!
 

Dinner at Ben & Jack's Steakhouse in NYC, New York

Before reading this post, please note that, in accordance with the FTC guidelines, I must disclose that I was contacted directly by the restaurant or a PR and that the meal was complimentary. However, the opinions expressed in my blog are 100% my own!

Following the review of Empire Steakhouse few weeks ago, we have been invited by the owners, the Sinaraj brothers, to try their sister restaurant, Ben & Jack's Steakhouse, located in Murray Hill. I was for sure excited: steaks are for me what shoes are for Jodi!

I was also curious to see what the difference would be between the two Steakhouses. Well, Ben & Jack's has definitely more a steakhouse feel than Empire Steakhouse: dark wood and dimmer lights were no stranger to that feeling. We were greeted by Jack Sinaraj who chatted a bit with us. He told me that the two restaurants share the same menu, so I asked him why they did not call Empire Steakhouse, Ben & Jack's and his answer was so true: calling it the same would have made it seems like a chain and they consider they are more a family restaurant, "hard working family". I understand the thinking as I never went to The Capital Grill because it is a chain and its name makes it look like it, although I heard several people talking about it very positively. I think that, when people think about chain steakhouses, they do not associate them with quality. 

When we sat at our table, we recognized certain items, such as the bread and butter:

Or the Steak sauce with the name of the restaurant on it:

I decided to drink a Pinot Noir, my favorite wine with steak:

As an appetizer, Jodi ordered the Caesar salad that she liked last time:

The salad was again delicious, with lots of parmesan cheese and crispy romaine. It was also not overdressed.

I decided to go for the Jumbo Lump Crabmeat Cocktail as I tried the Maryland Crab Cake last time:

The crab was on a piece of lettuce presented on a bed of ice.

They also brought some tabasco and horseradish with crackers, to get some kick. The crab was fresh and well cooked. I preferred this appetizer over the crab cake as the lump meat is more delicate and tastier than the claw meat.

Then, we got our steaks!!! Jodi ordered her filet mignon, medium:

And I ordered a Ribeye, medium-rare:

These pieces of meat were huge: the filet mignon was 14 to 16 ounces and the Ribeye between 29 and 32 ounces. The Ribeye, served bone-in, had this delightful meat smell and a nice char on the outside. It had a nice amount of fat that I did not neglect, as well as the meat next to the bone that had a bolder taste...It was perfectly cooked, juicy and tender (the knives they give you are not these heavy steak knives some steakhouses use, but the meat was so tender that it was not a problem!). 

The filet mignon, although tender, was slightly overcooked and not very juicy. Between the two, the ribeye was clearly the best!

To go with the steaks, we ordered some mash potatoes:

And the sauteed mushrooms that we liked last time:

Both were excellent: the mash was light and well seasoned; the mushrooms were perfectly cooked and tasty, with some pieces of onions here and there. Last time, we tried the onion rings and cottage fries, so I have to say that they offer nice alternatives for sides (although I still missed my Mac & Cheese...).

Then, came the time to order dessert...Believe or not, after this feast, we still had room to have dessert! We ordered a tiramisu:

And a Crème brûlée:

The tiramisu came with the fantastic homemade whipped cream we had last time:

We definitely enjoyed the tiramisu: very good and light, it paired well with this heavenly delicious whipped cream (there was a lot of it). However, I did not like the Crème brûlée that had not set properly.

To accompany our desserts, we got some tea and espresso:

We definitely had a good time at Ben & Jack's Steakhouse and here again, the service was exceptional. If you go there, I definitely suggest the ribeye that was spectacular!

Enjoy (I did)!

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