Another visit to Bambootori in NYC, New York

If you follow this blog, you certainly know that I love Bambootori, a small place located near Union Square that serves fantastic yakitori at an affordable price. My last post about this place was about the few times I went there as well as the video interview of the owners, Hendy, Jonnie and Christophe who are very nice guys, totally passionate about this restaurant adventure. I love Bambootori so much that I even made it the pick of the month for July and August. So it is no surprise that I went back for dinner. 

Ok, I admit that I was disappointed at first by the fact that they do not propose steamed buns as an option for the skewers anymore except if you order a platter of three with possible choices of beef, pork or chicken meatballs. I love these little buns and was ready to order my favorite: pork belly in a bun. So we decided to order the platter and got two pork meatballs and one beef meatballs skewers.

As usual, the presentation is nice, with the meatballs nicely decorated with the spicy mayo. What I really like is the combination of meat, sauce and bun, three layers that pair very well. As usual, the meatballs are soft and moist. 

Then, I ordered two pork belly skewers and one tri-tips.

Perfectly cooked, they were juicy and had this fantastic taste coming from the char created by the grill. 

Then, they offered us some desserts! That is true that I did not talk about desserts in my last post. Not that I did not try them. What happened is that I tried the rice pudding a night when they were short of caramel. It was good, but the photo looked a bit boring and I promised Hendy that I would come back for it another time. Well, I did!

This is my favorite dessert! 

First of all, it looks like a skewer with white meatballs! Then, I love the taste! It is a denser version of the rice pudding, but you still get the same texture for the rice with a delicious hint of coconut. The pairing with the caramel is perfect. 

Then, we got mochi ice cream. Hendy would not have told me it was ice cream, I would have thought they were cookies! 

It was interesting: you definitely can feel the two layers (mochi and ice cream) and need a knife and fork to eat it rather than a spoon, especially when they are in plastic. We got two flavors: black sesame (my favorite) and green tea. They also have chocolate and vanilla. 

The last dessert was the yuzu panacotta: a great take on an Italian dessert!

It was very creamy and refreshing!

The desserts were definitely a good surprise! What I appreciated was that it was not too sweet and the portion enough not to over indulge, but give you the impression the meal is complete. Who would have thought that this place had desserts? Well, trust me: they are as good as the rest, so for sure, the next time I go, I will order one!

Enjoy (I did)!

If you like this post or the photos, feel free to share it using the toolbar below or to write a comment! 

And Remember: I Just Want To Eat!

Dinner at The Masala Wala in NYC, New York

I was recently invited to a Press dinner at The Masala Wala, an Indian restaurant located on the Lower East Side, few steps from Katz's Deli in fact. The place, opened in November 2011 by Satyen and Roni Mazumdar features traditional Indian dishes from different regions with a focus on street food. We met with Satyen and his son, Roni, and they contributed to make this experience very enjoyable, not only for our palates! 

Before I talk about the food, let's talk about the restaurant itself: it is a medium sized restaurant that can accommodate 28 people inside and 8 people on the sidewalk. 

We ate inside and I liked the atmosphere that had some warmth, thanks to the dark wood and exposed brick. The room was surrounded by beautiful paintings of street vendors highlighting the underlying theme of the restaurant! It also had high ceilings one of my favorite fixtures, apparent bulbs, that are, I guess, both old fashioned and trendy!

One of the walls had Indian artifacts, some of them being a reminder of the Indo-Chinese culture (especially the dragon sitting on one of the shelves).

Then there is the gold coin featured at the beginning of this post and below:

First of all, gold symbolizes wealth and prosperity in India. Then, the face is no celebrity (yet!): it is Satyen Mazumdar! On the right side is their motto: "taste above all".

Their menu, created by Chef Abdul Junel, features cuisine from South Asia (India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka...). You find of course the classic dishes most Indian restaurants serve: Chicken Tikka Masala, Tandoori Chicken, biryani...Interestingly, they propose for the most classic ones, their vegetarian version: chicken tikka masala & paneer masala, tandoori chicken & vegetable tandoori are good examples.

Coincidently, the dinner occurred on India Independence Day! We were therefore greeted with their Independence drink: mango lassi.

The mango lassi was delicious and a nice way to prepare our palates. We were lucky to be able to try several dishes from their menu, some of them being soon new additions. It was split between two culinary experiences: street food bites and Indian signature dishes. I was very excited to try all these dishes, especially the street ones!

So we started with the street food bites:

We started off with Bhel Puri:

Bhel Puri is made of puffed rice, spiced tomatoes, chickpeas, curry leaves, mustard cheese, onions and chutney. It was pretty good and interesting because I never had puffed rice besides the famous cereal! It added a nice crunchiness to the dish that made it different from any other rice dishes I ever tried.

Then came one of the most interesting dishes and one of my favorites: Dahi Puri.


These are small semolina puffs filled with spiced potatoes, chickpeas, tamarind, mint and yogurt.
Roni explained to us that it is a one bite appetizer. So I ate it at once, opening my mouth as much as I could. Clearly, trying to eat it in several bites would have been catastrophic and I would have ended up with some on my pants!!!

So you put it in your mouth and then when you bite on it, it is like an explosion of flavors, where you taste each ingredient before they merge together, the yogurt and the mint adding some freshness. This is a fantastic dish that I strongly recommend!

The next dish was Mumbai samosa:

Samosa are crispy turnovers that can be either vegetarian or non-vegetarian. These were vegetarian, filled with spiced potatoes and peas. I was really happy to see samosa on the tasting menu as this is one of my favorite Indian appetizers. They were delicious: crispy, not greasy and very flavorful, the peas adding some texture to the filling.

Then we got a surprising dish: Kolkata Gobi Manchurian.

This is an Indo-Chinese dish made of cauliflower florets that are tossed in ginger, garlic and spices. This dish comes from Kolkata, aka Calcutta, that is the capital city of West Bengal. Looking at it, it reminded me of the sweet and sour sauce that we can find in Chinese cuisine. It was really good, not spicy, with some sweetness to it and a bit of texture provided by the sticky sauce that had a wonderful red color.

The next starter was chicken tikka. It was cubes of chicken marinated in a red tandoori mixture and grilled in a tandoor oven.

The chicken was very moist and the tandoori mixture very flavorful. A nice dish for sharing for sure.

The last starter was lamb Kakoti Kebab:

The ground lamb was grilled in a tandoor grill until soft. It was mixed with spices and there was like a citrus-y taste to it. I was a bit disappointed as I found that the bold flavor of lamb was a bit lost, overpowered by the spices.

Then, they served us their signature Indian dishes! They brought all the dishes at once so we could share, not thinking about the mayhem it would cause! Imagine six food bloggers trying to take photos of 10 dishes spread over the table! It was crazy and funny!

We tried the following dishes:

• Nawabi Chicken Biryani: basmati rice, saffron, spices and chicken. This dish had a nice spiciness to it that built up slowly in the back of my mouth!
• Baingan Bharta: roasted eggplant cooked with ginger and cumin. This is one of my favorites: I love the particular taste of eggplant, smooth but a bit spicy at the same time.
• Vegetable Jalfrezi: vegetables with paprika, tomatoes and coriander. It was an ok dish for me. Nothing great about it.
• Shahi Paneer: one of my favorite entrees! It is a pressed Indian cottage cheese cooked in a rich cashew-almond cream sauce.

That sauce was fantastic! Creamy, it was very tasty and perfect with some rice or naan! I could have eaten the entire bowl. The cheese had this great chewy texture and I surely did not mind loving a vegetarian dish!

There was also:

• Chicken Saagwala that is slow cooked chicken with creamed spinach. I am not the biggest fan of spinach (Popeye, you did not convince me!), so this dish was just ok for me.
• Lamb Pasanda: sauteed lamb cooked in yogurt, cream, tomatoes and cashew. I admit that I am not even sure I tasted that one! Dammit! I love lamb! Well, you know what? I just need to go back to  The Masala Wala to try it!
• Kerala Fish Curry: it was tilapia served in a sweet and tangy creamy sauce, with onions, tamarind and fenugreek. That was a nice dish that made me think that I should order more often fish in Indian restaurants!
• Shrimp Konkani Curry: South Indian curry with red cayenne pepper, coconut milk and coriander.

This dish was fantastic! Very creamy, the sauce was tasty and velvety, not spicy, with nice size shrimp. This was also one of my favorites.

The last dishes were dal.

There were two kinds: Dal Tadka, made with yellow lentils (photo above) and Dal Makhani, made with black lentils. Both were good, but my favorite was the Dal Makhani that had a more robust flavor.

These dishes were served with rice pulao and some naan bread, butter or garlic (the butter one was so good...):

It was so puffy with some nice char on the outside, a bit like a Neapolitan pizza! 

To cool our palates whenever the heat started to build up (most of the dishes were mild to slightly spicy). There was raita:

As well as sweet lassi, a drink I always order when eating in an Indian restaurant!

Then, it was time for dessert! At this point, we were all stuffed, but we could not pass on it, especially after seeing how appetizing they were!

The first two were kulfi, traditional Indian ice cream. There was pistachio kulfi:

The second one was mango kulfi:

Then there was my favorite Indian dessert: Gulab Jamun.

These are cheese balls that are fried and then dipped in a sweet syrup. The way they served it is dry, meaning that they did not serve any of the sweet syrup with it.
Before we started, Roni told us that we should start with the ice cream first, so this is what we all did. The kulfi was very good: creamy and not too sweet, my preference went for the pistachio one. The gulab jamun were delicious too and not too sweet with a perfect texture. Definitely, the desserts were a hit!

We finished the dinner with a chai tea that was very good:

It was definitely a great tasting and I was excited to show the photos and tell Jodi how it was. It gave me the opportunity to try some spectacular dishes, the vegetarian ones being as successful as the non-vegetarian one (maybe some vegetarian restaurants should check out Indian cuisine so they understand that vegetarian food does not need to be bland!). The Masala Wala is not just another Indian restaurant in New York City and is worth a visit!

Enjoy (I did)!

If you like this post or the photos, feel free to share it using the toolbar below or to write a comment! 

And Remember: I Just Want To Eat!

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!

Finally!!!

I tasted it! Yes, I know, some of you are envious right now! So let me say it in plain English: I ate a cronut! I am sure you are either wondering how I ended up with one (two in fact), maybe thanks to my blog, or thinking that I went this time at 6am to get the precious pastry after a three hours wait! It is not what happened. Before I tell you how I ended up with two cronuts, let me summarize the previous episodes. 

Episode 1:

I heard about the new creation from Chef Dominique Ansel. Being a fan, I decided to try and with confidence, showed up at 11:30am on a week end to get a cronut. They are sold out (of course!). The buzz increases and the press reports long lines in front of the bakery. 

Episode 2:

We decide to try again, but show up a little before 8:30am this time, the bakery opening at 9am. After three hours of wait, we are in front of the door hoping to get rewarded. Suddenly, a woman, not fearing for her life, screams "I got the last one!" . At this point, I really thought there would be a riot! Some people left, disappointed, but we decided to wait a little more to get some breakfast: a delicious Kouign Amann and a fantastic almond croissant. Were we disappointed? Sure, but it was a fun experience: the excitement of maybe getting one, talking to people in line, but also to the passerby who were wondering what we were waiting in line for. The funniest being their faces when one responded "a cronut" and they had no idea what it was. 

So, now is episode 3! 

My friend and blog fan Benedicte brings me two cronuts ($5 each) on Monday, cronuts that she purchased after a now famous three hour wait. I receive the precious package, hiding it from everybody around me, taking care of it as if it was a family heirloom. I carefully carry the two cronuts in my possession home and proceed with unwrapping them from the aluminum foil they are in, some of it sticking to the icing. After taking photos and eating dinner, it is time for a tasting. Jodi and I each get one, me secretly hopping she will only eat half of it...

The first bite is divine! You get four layers in fact: 

- the icing: not too sweet at all

- the outer part of the cronut, full of granulated sugar, similar to a sugar twist. 

- the flaky buttery croissant like inside. 

- the cream with it subtle but fantastic coconut taste (Jodi's favorite on top of that!). 

Although we ate it the next day, it was very good, not dry at all, probably thanks to the butter and cream. It tasted more like a donut (I mentioned earlier a sugar twist), but with butter and a flakiness close to a croissant. 

We are happy now to be part of the few of had the chance to try it! I bet that, fresh, it would have been spectacular, more flaky and a bit crunchy! But I am not sure I am ready for another long wait...Although you never know!!!

Enjoy (I sure did)!

If you like this post or the photos, feel free to share it using the toolbar below or to write a comment! 

And Remember: I Just Want To Eat!

Insomnia cookies on the Upper West Side, NYC, New York

Insomnia Cookies: what an interesting name! It definitely makes you want to try these cookies, thinking that they are so good, you will not be able to sleep! So we went there after our friends Gary and Jen mentioned this place during a brunch couple of weeks ago.

It is a small store and when you enter, your nose cannot miss the fantastic smell of the cookies! They really have a bunch, each with a description that is mouth watering! So we decided to try few of them. 

Know that, after your order, they will take the cookies from under the counter, where they keep them warm.

So, first was the s'mores cookie:

It was very good and my favorite: chewy and gooey with the delicious chocolate oozing from the cookie!

Then we tried the double chocolate chunk:

And the chocolate chunk cookie:

The last two were just ok for me: although chewy and gooey, they were a bit too sweet. I think that the chocolate chip cookie at City Bakery or the cookies at Levain Bakery, although more expensive, are better. But if you really want to try Insomnia Bakery, try the S'mores!!!

Enjoy (I did)!

If you like this post or the photos, feel free to share it using the toolbar below or to write a comment! 

And Remember: I Just Want To Eat!

Little Town NJ in Hoboken, NJ

For brunch, we decided to go to Little Town NJ, not the city in New Jersey, but the restaurant in Hoboken. Opened recently by the sons of the Manzo family who own the Brownstone, apparently an institution I did not get a chance to try. In fact, one of their dishes is the Brownstone Tenderloin.

The place is pretty big, with an impressive bar, solid wood tables and leather banquettes that give this place some warmth. 

In the back, they even have a game of skee ball!

But I admit that the noise of that game is not the most pleasurable to the ears, especially if you are looking for a nice and somewhat quiet brunch. 

We were there early and decided to order from the menu instead if waiting for their buffet to open. 

Jodi ordered the cranberry bog salad.

It was made of crumbled goat cheese, mixed greens and dried cranberries. Good salad, although more cheese would have been much appreciated. 

On my side, I ordered the crab Benny or Benedict if you did not guess. Surprisingly, the waitress asked me how I wanted my eggs. I responded "poached", surprised by the question, but realized that it is probably because they propose any style in case people do not like poached eggs. 

With it, I had a choice between fries and mixed greens. I went for the mixed greens, trying to convince myself I was having a healthy lunch...

The plate was impressive! Usually, they serve you a little salad, but at Little Town NJ, it is a good size. The eggs were perfectly poached, with a nice runny yolk and topped with a delicious thick Hollandaise sauce. The crab cakes, probably made with the meat of the claw were good but salty. Too bad! Last, in the bottom, was a piece of Taylor ham, all of this on an english muffin.

Despite the saltiness of the crab cakes, I really liked the dish and I am looking forward to going there for dinner!

Enjoy (I did)!

If you like this post or the photos, feel free to share it using the toolbar below or to write a comment! 

And Remember: I Just Want To Eat!

Schnitzel and Things Food Truck in NYC, New York

Aren't food trucks wonderful and fun? I love food trucks, not only because they usually propose great food (for most of them) at a reasonable price considering the lower expenses they incur compared to a brick and mortar restaurant, but also because their owners have to be really creative to be different, having only a limited menu. 

My last discovery has been Schnitzel & Things. Schnitzel is normally some tenderized meat that is breaded and fried. At Schnitzel & Things, they propose either pork, chicken, cod or eggplant for the vegetarians. 

So I decided to try the chicken:

And the eggplant:

Quantity wise, it was of a good size. The chicken was fantastic: not greasy, it was perfectly cooked and tender. The eggplant was just ok for me: a bit tough, the breading was overcooked and it would have been maybe better if the eggplant have been cut just a little thicker. 

Know that when you order, it can be a sandwich or a platter. If you order a platter, you can pick two sides. That is what I did. I tried: 

- the Austrian potato salad that is Yukon gold potatoes, scallions and white wine shallot vinaigrette. 

- the chick peas in a balsamic pesto vinaigrette (lots of garlic!).

- the roasted beets and feta salad, served with a white wine shallot vinaigrette. It was in fact my favorite: very refreshing, the beets pair surprisingly well with the feta. 

I liked Schnitzel & Things and I am looking forward to trying some other platters!

Enjoy (I did)!

If you like this post or the photos, feel free to share it using the toolbar below or to write a comment! 

And Remember: I Just Want To Eat!

Cupcakes at Butter Lane in the East Village, NYC, New York

After we went to Molly's cupcakes and did not like it, we decided to find a cupcake place in the East Village. Thanks to the internet, we found Butter Lane Cupcakes. The place is quaint and its configuration can change whether or not they give a class or not (the second time we went, they were giving an icing course.

There, similar to lots of places, they offer to build your own. I love that because that way, although the choice is limited, you eat what you like and do not feel too limited by the choices they propose.

The first time we went, we built our own. The ritual is always the same: you pick the cake, then the frosting.

I went for a banana cake with sea salt chocolate.

Jodi went for a vanilla cake with coconut icing.

Both cakes were very good, airy and moist. The icing was perfect: not too sweet, on the one I ordered, the combination of chocolate, caramel and sea salt was succulent. Not to mention that banana and chocolate are the perfect pairing too!

Then, the second time we went, Jodi got the chocolate cake with coconut icing and I got the vanilla cake with lemon icing.

There again, it was good, although the cake was dryer than the previous time and the icing a bit sweeter, but with a nice ratio cake/icing. However, they should put a bit more coconut on top.

I think Butter Lane Cupcakes is a great place for cupcakes, but overshadowed by the more trendy Big Gay Ice Cream Guy. We definitely have to go another time to try some other creations and why not attend a class!

Enjoy (I did)!

If you like this post or the photos, feel free to share it using the toolbar below or to write a comment! 

And Remember: I Just Want To Eat!

Food trucks at Pier 13 in Hoboken, NJ

If you love food trucks and love walking along the Hudson River, overlooking the beautiful NYC skyline, then the food trucks at Pier 13 are for you. Ok, you never know what you will get, except if you check on their facebook page, because it is never the same food trucks, although some are coming more often than others.

We went few times and tried quite few dishes. The first time was pizza at Pizza Vita, from Summit, NJ.

This is crazy: they have a wood fire oven on the side of the truck and in a matter of minutes, you will get a delicious Neapolitan pizza. 

We decided to go first with the margherita pizza. 

And then with mushrooms and truffle. 

Both were personal pizzas, that were thin in the center and puffed up on the outside (like any Neapolitan pizza should!). They had a nice char thanks to the magic of the oven.

If I had to pick my favorite, it would be the truffled one: plenty of delicious fresh mushrooms (not canned) and that wonderful truffle oil smell (they put a lot of it). 

This pizza is definitely a must try!

The second truck we tried was Hibachi Heaven. 

When I think about hibachi, I think about the chef making a show in front of you while cooking. Well, in the truck, it is a bit difficult...so, no show!

Jodi got a vegetarian version, served with tofu. 

I got the one with shrimp. 

We asked for fried rice. The two dishes were made with the same vegetables. Then, for mine, I was excited because there were lots of shrimp (a dozen) of a good size. 

But they were just ok: they were a bit overcooked and, in fact, it tasted like the food you would get from a buffet, whether it was the shrimp, the veggies or the rice. The tofu was no better! 

So, definitely, this is no heaven!!!

The third truck was Shorty's. they have a brick and mortar restaurant near Port Authority, that I did not try yet. 

They serve hoagies, salads and...cheesesteaks with bread shipped daily from Philly and baked in the truck. 

So here we are ordering our sandwiches. Jodi goes with American cheese. 

I decided to go with cheese wiz. I know it is bad, but I had cheese wiz at Tony Luke in Philly and it was delicious. 

This time, it was not! Way too much of it and do salty! Too bad because the meat was perfect: tender and juicy; the bread was also soft and tasted fresh. I ended up eating more the half of Jodi's cheesesteak that she was not eating than mine!

So, Shorty's is recommended, but avoid the cheese wiz!!!

The fourth truck is a well known truck as well as restaurant: Luke's Lobster.

They serve lobster, crab or shrimp rolls. I went for the lobster roll. There, there is no choice: it is poached in butter, so there is no mayo to overpower the lobster! And for $16, they give you a lot of lobster!

It was heavenly buttery and the lobster, that tasted fresh, was perfectly cooked. 

The last truck we tried was The French Quarter.

There, while I was having my lobster roll, Jodi ordered a muffelata. What is great at the French Quarter is that you can order a whole, half or a quarter of it. She went for a quarter that was already a good size. 

I liked the taste of the olives and the freshness the veggies were bringing to the sandwich. It was pretty good. 

With it, we ordered some beignets, with some nostalgia from the time we went to New Orleans and had beignets at Cafe du Monde every morning (they were so good that we could not resist). 

The beignets from The French Quarter were made to order and really looked like the ones from Cafe du Monde. Unfortunately, there was this overpowering almond taste to it. Why? I bet that without it, it would have been a hit!!!

Ok, the beignets were not great for me, but I am ready to try their jambalaya next time...

So, as you can see, there are things for all palates there! My favorite is definitely the pizzeria, but all the other trucks have interesting menus at affordable prices that I will surely discover!

Enjoy (I did)!

If you like this post or the photos, feel free to share it using the toolbar below or to write a comment! 

And Remember: I Just Want To Eat!

Sandwiches at Francois Payard Bakery in NYC, New York

I went to Francois Payard few times already, mainly their location on West Houston. This time, we decided to go to the one near Columbus Circle to grab sandwiches. I always like to go there because their pastries look fantastic. 

We decided to order a croque Monsieur first. 

It was made with big pieces of ham, cheese and bechamel sauce, served between two slices of white bread. It was very good; the bechamel sauce adding some gooey-ness to it. It is one of the best ones I had so far for a reasonable price. No need to serve it fancy, just simply!

Then, we ordered the ham and Brie. 

They asked us if we wanted it heated: we said no as we wanted to go authentic. There again, there was a lot of ham and thick slices of Brie. They made it with a piece of salad, some butter and some mustard. I personally would have preferred just butter, ham and Brie, the mustard over powering at time the sandwich. Also, the bread was not that fresh. I guess that it is because they prepare it in the morning (we went after 2pm) and keep it refrigerated. 

Still, I love Francois Payard: they have good sandwiches and amazing pastries. 

Francois Payard Bakery
Midtown West
1775 Broadway
New York, NY

Enjoy (I did)!

If you like this post or the photos, feel free to share it using the toolbar below or to write a comment! 

And Remember: I Just Want To Eat!

Johnny Rockets in Hoboken, NJ

I went to Johnny Rockets for a second time: it is a place like no other, like traveling in the past! Everything makes you think about the 50's, from the decor to the music, although the first restaurant opened in 1986. 

Let's start first with the decor: You have two types of seats: at the counter or in a booth. The entire decor reminds me of American movies or TV series we use to watch in France, when I was a kid. TV series like Happy Days, called "Les jours heureux", a literal translation. 

Then there is the tiny jukebox in every booth: you put 5 cents (provided by the restaurant), pick a song and the choices from the patrons will play sequentially (hopefully...).

In term of food, they have a large selection of burgers, sandwiches and salads. We decided to start with some fried pickles:

They were pretty good, not greasy, crunchy, with a delicious sour taste.

Then, Jodi ordered the route 66:

A beef patty with fried onions and mushrooms. It was just ok: the onions were too big and a bit messy to eat!

On my side, I got the Smokehouse burger:

A beef patty with moked bacon, crispy sourdough onion rings, cheddar cheese and their special barbecue-ranch sauce. It was good with a nice crispiness coming from the bacon that added some smokiness on top of the one coming from the BBQ sauce.

With it, we shared onion rings and fries that were pretty good, especially the onion rings that were crunchy and not greasy.

Of course, I could not go to Johnny Rockets without trying their vanilla milk shake!

The presentation, straight from the 50's was fantastic and it was a very good shake: very tasty and not too thick. Know that they give you a lot of it!

It might not have been the best burgers, but I think that just the experience makes Johnny Rockets worth the trip!

Enjoy (I did)!

If you like this post or the photos, feel free to share it using the toolbar below or to write a comment! 

And Remember: I Just Want To Eat!

Republic in Union Square, NYC, New York

One of my favorite reasonably priced fast serving restaurant in Union Square is Republic. I went few times and have never been disappointed! 

The pluses besides the prices?

- they have a nice selection of small plates that are perfect for sharing. 

- several menu items are vegetarian. 

- fast service. 

The minuses:

- the noise level, especially the music. 

The decor is very simple with amazing photos featuring noodles (they have several dishes made with it). There are only communal tables, but they usually sit you on your own table, except if it is too crowded. 

So we decided to order small dishes. 

We first shared the sauteed mini dumplings. 

It was the first time we ordered this and I was surprised because I was expecting a plate similar to what I eat in a Chinese restaurant ! It was served like a salad, with cabbage, ginger, cilantro and scallions. The sauce was oyster sauce. The dumplings, made with minced pork, were light and softer than I expected. I guess the salad made it look like an healthy dish! Great dish in fact!

Then Jodi ordered the vegetarian salad.

It was of course with some fried tofu (not greasy), cabbage, carrots, broccoli...Lots of veggies for sure with a delicious ginger dressing. Light and fresh!

I ordered the fried calamari. 

For sure, I was not expecting the Italian version if the dish! It was an Asian rendition that was quite successful! It was lightly breaded calamari dipped in a spicy mayo, topped with sesame seeds. 

I also ordered the Vietnamese Chicken Salad:

It was made of shredded chicken, napa cabbage, carrots, shallots, asian basil, with a ginger dressing. There was quite a lot of chicken considering it was a small dish. It was very refreshing and light.

This was again a great dinner and perfect as we were heading to a concert at Irving Plaza! Definitely a good spot for a quick, affordable and delicious food!

Republic
37 Union Sq W
New York, NY 10003

Enjoy (I did)!

If you like this post or the photos, feel free to share it using the toolbar below or to write a comment! 

And Remember: I Just Want To Eat!

Papatzul Mexican restaurant in Soho, NYC, New York

Papatzul is a Mexican restaurant located in Soho. It has this fantastic dining room decorated with colorful posters, but also because of the sunlight coming from the window on the roof. It feels authentic for sure.

We went there for brunch and their menu offers standard Mexican dishes, most of them at a reasonable price. We started of with the dish we always order in a Mexican restaurant: guacamole.

Although it looked homemade, we definitely could see from the oxidation of the avocado that it was done a little earlier and not a la minute. It was good otherwise, served with some crispy corn chips.

Then, I ordred Huevos Rancheros. Unfortunately, the waiter did not understand me and came back with Huevos con chorizo or scrambled eggs with chorizo. As we were in a bit of a hurry, I did not bother and decided to try.

It was the driest eggs I ever tried and only ate the refried beans that were good...and the soft tortilla...

Jodi ordred the Torta de Aguacate y Queso Panela:

It is a sandwich made with avocado, panela cheese, refried beans, tomatoes, lettuce and a sauce I could not really identify! It was passable and a bit spicy.

We were craving Mexican food and left disappointed. The service was also just ok and they did not even ask if there was a problem with my dish. Interestingly, all the restaurants around were packed except this one: there might have been a reason!

Enjoy (...)!

If you like this post or the photos, feel free to share it using the toolbar below or to write a comment! 

And Remember: I Just Want To Eat!

BCD Tofu House in Korea Town NYC, New York

If you follow this blog, you may remember this wonderful moment I had at BCD Tofu House for their Grand Opening back in April (check out the post here!). I had the honor and privilege to be part of the ribbon cutting ceremony, standing next to the President and Founder of BCD Tofu House, Mrs Hee Sook Lee! 

Courtesy of AD Group Communique

So we decided to go back as regular customers. We went on a Saturday, for an early dinner and showed up there around 6:15pm. Believe me or not, but the place was packed! We waited 10 minutes and got our table, excited to try their food.

While looking at the menu, we noticed the table sets that had some sentences in Korean translated in English and with some help for the pronunciation. Reading it, I clearly realized that the couple of words I know in Korean might not be pronounced properly! Hopefully, I never offended anybody!!!

After we ordered, they brought to us some side dishes, called banchan, ritual that is typical of a Korean restaurant.

As we were looking, trying to figure out what was what, they gracefully explained each dish, although I admit that I do not remember the details for all of them.

Kimchi (fermented cabbage):

Squid:

Fried fish (first time ever I get that)!

Fish cakes:

Soy:

Seaweed (I do not like like it, but Jodi does):

Some dish made with veggies and gelatin:

The best for me was the kimchi (quite spicy) and the squid. 

As an appetizer, we ordered fried pork dumplings:

They were very good and the shell was crispy, but extremely hot! 

Then, this time, we wanted to try their bibimbap. Bibimbap is a rice bowl dish served in a piping hot bowl, so the rice gets this fantastic crust if you let it sit for some time!

Jodi ordered a vegetarian one, served with Tofu and a raw egg that cooked after being mixed in the bowl.

I ordered the regular one, with bulgogi beef. I asked or an egg and got a fried one:

Mine had tofu also and in term of ingredients, they were very close: mixed rice with vegetables, sauteed spinach, shitake mushrooms, carrot, zucchini, radish, served a red pepper paste that was not spicy. We also added some soy sauce to give some flavor. This was good, but it might not be the best bibimbap I ever had. In fact, when leaving, we noticed that most of the customers ordered the Soon Tofu Soup that we tried last time and that I really liked. So maybe we should have stuck with it! Well, I am sure I will go back anyway!!!

Enjoy (I did)!

If you like this post or the photos, feel free to share it using the toolbar below or to write a comment! 

And Remember: I Just Want To Eat!

The Pink Tea Cup in NYC, New York - CLOSED!

I would not call our last visit to The Pink Tea Cup a revisit per se as it was the first time we went to their location near Union Square. Yes, close to the start of the blog, we went to their location downtown, that closed few months later. Then, few years ago, this one popped up and I promised myself to try it someday. That day had come! The place was for sure different: no communal table but a large painting taking an entire wall, pink walls in the back. 

This place serves comfort food and there was one particular Southern dish I really wanted to try there: chicken and waffles. Weird combination, but so good! It is like having an entree and dessert at the same time! What makes this place so particular is that they serve different proteins with waffles, such as catfish, shrimp...Also, they make all kind of waffles: plain, sweet potato, raspberry...

To start, we decided to share the fried green tomatoes. 

When the plate came, it did not look that appetizing. We had to ask for a sauce and they only had some caesar dressing that was pretty salty. We barely ate them! The tomatoes were a bit mushy and the breading we were expecting was breaking apart and quasi none existent. These are fried tomatoes! Don't be shy about the frying: we were not expecting a healthy dish!

Then, Jodi ordered the Mac and cheese. 

We could immediately see that they served it from a tray. It was good: lots of cheese (probably processed) and not dry. 

Them came my chicken and waffle:

Contrary to the first location I went to, there was a decent amount of chicken. Unfortunately, it was overcooked and so dry. The waffle, plain, was good but the syrup was so sweet (low quality) that at the end the waffle taste was lost in too much sweetness. 

So it was definitely not the best revisit for a restaurant and we left pretty disappointed. At least we tried!

Enjoy (...)!

If you like this post or the photos, feel free to share it using the toolbar below or to write a comment! 

And Remember: I Just Want To Eat!

Dino & Harry's steakhouse in Hoboken, NJ

Yes!!! A dinner at Dino & Harry, one of my favorite steakhouses in Hoboken! We were so excited to go there as we always had great food there (well except for Restaurant Week where the quality of the steaks was not that great...)! My only complaints would be the noise level, but we asked to be seated next to the windows where it is quieter (also for the light for the photos...).

So, the ritual is always the same: we get the bread basket and butter.

Then, we got our steaks! Jodi ordered her usual petite filet mignon, served with mushrooms.

She also ordered some delicious béarnaise sauce with it. I think it is great when steakhouses propose a petite version if a filet, because otherwise, the pieces of meat can be so big! So it can satisfy anybody with a small appetite (compared to me...). The filet was very good as usual, tender and perfectly cooked (Jodi asked medium-well). Also, we appreciated the fact that the mushrooms were not overpowering at all!

Then was my steak: ribeye!

That was huge! 24 ounces! Probably the size of my head...I ordered it medium-rare and it was fantastic: tender, juicy, with a nice char and this incredible taste of charred fat! This is one of the best ribeyes I had! I know: that's a statement I have to live with!

With the steaks, we were happy to see that they resurrected the Mac & Cheese, one of the best dishes with meat, I think, besides fries or mash potatoes.

Well it was not the Italian Mac & Cheese they used to serve and that I tried to reproduce (check this recipe), but still. It was deliciously creamy: definitely recommended. 

Last we got dessert. I admit that I saved myself for dessert this time by not eating the entire ribeye. At least, in the US, if we do not finish, we can take the food home and not waste it. It is a concept that does not exist in France (although quantities are smaller), except for wine in very limited number of restaurants because patrons were not ordering a bottle (wine by the glass is rare), thinking that it would be a waste. 

So, back to dessert, we decided to go for the Snowboken: vanilla ice cream, chocolate fudge, marshmallow, crumbled Oreo cookies and shaved coconut. 

I liked it, but Jodi not so much! It was a good take on a sundae and perfect for a warm weather.

It was a great dinner: great food and great service. Dino & Harry remains one of my favorites!

Enjoy (I did)!

If you like this post or the photos, feel free to share it using the toolbar below or to write a comment! 

And Remember: I Just Want To Eat!

Vive La Crepe in Greenwich Village, NYC, New York

Crepes: a typically French dish that some people call thin pancakes...I love crepes. In fact I learned how to make crepes at school, when I was probably 7 or 8... So I was really excited to try Vive La Crepe, located near Union Square! It is Jodi who found this place and we added it to the long list of places to try. 

This small place was fairly busy and the staff was efficient. At least, they had five crepe makers to work with!

The menu offers sweet and savory choices, French inspired for the most part. 

Jodi ordered the ham and gruyere crepe:

I ordered the raclette:

Raclette is a dish popular in France and Switzerland, where cheese is melted on potatoes. So this crepe was made of cheese, boiled potatoes and prosciutto. There was enough meat, but clearly not enough cheese! Also, the potatoes were bland; I would have preferred less potatoes or maybe skin on would have given a bit of taste. 

The ham and cheese did not have enough ham...and cheese either!

What was very disappointing was the crepe batter: weird taste! I do not understand how they can screw it up! It is so simple to make ( I should post the recipe!). 

For dessert, we ordered the sugar and butter crepe and the banana and Nutella one:

I could unfortunately not get past the taste of the batter. Too bad because there was a lot of nutella!

So it was clearly disappointing ! And pricey! Bar Suzette remains for me the best so far, although I am always amazed by the cost of this cheap dish!

Enjoy (...)!

If you like this post or the photos, feel free to share it using the toolbar below or to write a comment! 

And Remember: I Just Want To Eat!

Brunch at Craftbar in NYC, New York

I have become a fan of Tom Colicchio: not for his personality on TV, but his food! We tried Colicchio and Sons and the famous TC Burger that is for me the best burger so far in New York City. So, last time, we were close to Union Square, trying to find a place for brunch and decided to try Craftbar as it was on my wish list of restaurants (trust me: it is a very long list). The place is gorgeous: high ceilings, dark wood with a gateway across the restaurant joining the wine cellar that you cannot miss.

Similar to Colicchio and Sons, although a bit industrial looking, there is this sense of space, modernity and warmth. 

For brunch, the menu offers pretty standard brunch dishes, but just reading their description, you know that it is different and you wish you could order everything! After a difficult time to make up our mind, we ordered our food. Jodi ordered the croque Madame:

Croque Madame is a croque Monsieur with a fried egg. It was served with mustard and pickles.

What definitely made this dish successful is the sauce Mornay that is the Béchamel sauce with additional shredded or grated cheese. This was fantastic and very filling. 

On my side, I ordered the braised mushrooms and poached eggs:

Even if I preferred the croque Madame, I liked that dish: the eggs were perfectly poached (I hate when the yolk is overcooked), there was a lot of fontina cheese and lots of mushrooms that gave an earthy dimension to the dish and contributed to the balance of flavors.

This was definitely a great brunch and I look forward to going back to try their Craftbar “Double Stack” Burger!!!

Enjoy (I did)!

If you like this post or the photos, feel free to share it using the toolbar below or to write a comment! 

And Remember: I Just Want To Eat!

Island Burgers and Shakes in Hell's Kitchen, NYC, New York

Island burger is a burger joint located in Hell's Kitchen. This place has been there for years and I probably went there 8 years ago! I think that at the time, the menu was simpler. This time, I was very impressed by the wide variety of dishes: they have close to sixty different types of burgers with names like Bourbon Street, Hippo or El Camino, each being prepared with different ingredients and a different level of spiciness. They also propose the same dish in two ways: burger or churascos, that is grilled chicken.

I decided to pick The people's choice burger, made with swiss cheese, sauteed mushrooms and sauteed onions.

It came with slices of tomatoes, onions, pickles and lettuce. The bread was a potato bun with lots of sesame seeds, too many I have to say.

The burger was disappointing: the meat was flavorless and a bit dry (I ordered medium well because the waiter told me that medium would be pink in the center, but also all around). 

My friends Benny and Shaj ordered the Mulberry street churasco in ciabatta bread:

For sure the sandwich was big! I tried the chicken and it had a nice flavor coming from the grilling. Unfortunately, I found it dry.

Then we ordered fries:

as well as onion rings:

Both were very good. The onion rings were not too greasy, but some were a bit overcooked. The fries however were very good: crunchy on the outside and soft on the inside as I like them.

Last, to go with the burger, I decided to go with the black and white milkshake!

It looked beautiful and very appetizing. Instead of being a mix between a vanilla and a chocolate milkshake, it was chocolate sauce and a thick vanilla milkshake that was very tasty and had a perfect consistency. This was the best part of the meal in fact!!!

The dinner at Island Burger and Shakes was disappointing and pricey: I would have definitely preferred a smaller menu made to perfection. But it was not the case. The only highlight was the milkshake...I'll pass next time!

Enjoy (...)!

If you like this post or the photos, feel free to share it using the toolbar below or to write a comment! 

And Remember: I Just Want To Eat!

The Capital Grille in Midtown, NYC, New York

I went recently to The Capital Grille, for lunch. It was a first time. I guess I always thought that this was a big chain where quantity would be the priority over quality. I was wrong...entering the restaurant, you can immediately feel it is a fancy steakhouse!

As a proof, they have lockers on both sides of the entrance that regulars can rent for $350 a year to store their wine. 

On the left is the giant bar:

In the front is the dining room, that kept the feel that steakhouses use to be places for men, with darker colors and leather. Good light though, not as dimmed as in most of the steakhouses I visited, although it was lunch time and not dinner.

Then the main dining room that is huge!  It is on two floors with very high ceilings giving incredible dimension to the place. What I liked were the booths, accommodating two people.  I love booths: we do not have that in France and at first, I discovered them in movies and TV series. Love it!

An interesting thing they do is changing the color of the napkin depending on the color of you outfit: white napkins are linty so if you wear dark colors, they will replace them with black ones! Very thoughtful.

After they brought us some bread and butter with a bit of salt, I was ready to order!

There are couple of dishes I love in steakhouses. For appetizer, crab cakes are my favorite! At The Capital Grill, they have lobster and crab cakes!

Nice presentation! There are two cakes, served with a refreshing corn salad and a tartare sauce that seemed to be homemade. I could immediately see that they were not using too much breading, that is a good starting point! The pieces of crab were kind of small, however, you could see pieces of lobster. It was a decent lobster and crab cake, but not as good as Ruth's Chris or Del Fresco.

Then, I got my filet mignon, ordered medium rare:

This piece of meat was gorgeous and perfectly cooked, with a bit of salt all around, accentuating the taste of the meat. Unfortunately, they served the steak with a sauce made of beef stock, butter and herbs that was overpowering.

I was able to try their filet mignon served with Cipollini Onions and Wild Mushrooms:

This one, cooked medium, was perfect: juicy and tender.

With the meat, I asked if they had any sauce and ended up with a delicious bearnaise sauce:

As a side, I tried the truffled fries:

When they arrived, I could immediately smell the truffle oil. These fries were very good: crispy on the outside and soft on the inside.

Last was dessert...I could not resist the chocolate hazelnut cake:

It was huge but so good! The chocolate cake was moist and the chocolate hazelnut cream was divine. In fact, I was mainly eating it!

Needless to say that I was full when I left The Capital Grille. It was good, but not to the point where I would recommend it strongly if you are looking for a steakhouse. Ruth's Chris, the Old Homestead or Dino and Harry are still the best for me!

Enjoy (I did)!

If you like this post or the photos, feel free to share it using the toolbar below or to write a comment! 

And Remember: I Just Want To Eat!

Vegetarian dinner at Zen Palate in NYC, New York

Zen palate was the first vegetarian restaurant I went to, when I was dating Jodi. I would characterize their food as Chinese inspired vegetarian cuisine: makes sense considering that if you are vegetarian, Asian restaurants has been for a long time the perfect place for you, although it is changing more and more. I still remember their location at Union Square, that closed few years after and then reopened close by and then closed again...They also have a location in Hell's Kitchen and if you recall, we walked out of the restaurant the last time we went because they completely forgot our order. We decided to give it another chance though. 

We went on a Friday evening: the restaurant was busy and they sat us in the back, a room that looks less modern than the one in the front.

To accompany the dinner, I ordered a soy milk. I love soy milk: it is not milk so it does not taste like milk for sure if you never tried. It has this weird taste and can have a richer texture than cow milk; it is perfect for lacto vegetarian or vegan diets, or people who are either lactose intolerant or have a true milk allergy. Some people, like me, like it plain, others prefer it flavored with vanilla or chocolate (No, I have not been endorsed by the soy industry!!!).

For starters, we ordered the scallion pancakes:

They put inside some soy protein, so i is like a sandwich. It is one of my favorite appetizers at Zen Palate. The pancakes taste like the ones you would have in any Chinese restaurant, are a bit crispy and not greasy. The addition of the protein is nice, but not necessary.

Jodi ordered The Sweet and Sour sensation:

It is a soy protein that is fried and dipped in sweet and sour sauce. It reminds me in a certain way of sweet and sour chicken. It was served with blanched broccoli as well as brown rice and a spring roll. The spring roll was too doughy and the broccoli bland. However, the protein smothered with sweet and sour sauce was fantastic: extremely tasty, you would probably forget it was soy protein when eating it, even if the texture is softer than chicken. It is definitely a good dish to try if it is your first attempt at vegetarian food.

On my side, I got the Cantonese pan fried noodles:

The plate was big and the presentation very nice with the colors of the veggies (sweet peas, mushrooms, cauliflower, broccoli, bokchoy and carrots). The sauce was Kung Pao sauce.

First, they should have chosen a better plate, because when they brought it, I thought I would end up with some sauce on my pants! Then, I was disappointed by the amount of noodles that was not enough compared to the veggies. Last, the veggies were a bit bland. I only appreciated the mushrooms and sweet peas. Too bad!

I think Zen Palate is good, but a bit pricey compared to the food you could get in a good Chinese restaurant in NYC. If it is your first time trying vegetarian food, I suggest the Sweet and Sour Sensation as well as the scallion pancakes.

Enjoy (...)!

If you like this post or the photos, feel free to share it using the toolbar below or to write a comment! 

And Remember: I Just Want To Eat!