I think I might have scared everyone off with a few of the recent posts so sorry about that! This one will be brief. :)
It's Saturday morning in the land of short, straight-haired people. Had a great night last night although I am loath to tell everyone where we went. But I will. After a few drinks at the gaijin ghetto clubhouse (aka The Oak Door), someone suggested The Hard Rock Cafe. I looked at him with a mixture of shock and disgust only to find out he was serious. I threw my pashmina over my head in case anyone actually saw me walking into the HRC and took the plunge...and actually had a great time! We dived right into the occasion having nachos, Long Island Iced Teas (!!!), and burgers. The best part was the overly repressed salaryman going absolutely apeshit over the "entertainment" (the Japanese waitresses doing the standard chain restaurant show to YMCA and Ricky Martin!). Classic. Or rather Crassic. Very fun.
Not much else going on...it's the start of Golden Week but given that the holidays are weird and spread out this year, it doesn't seem like that much of an event. I'll be here dealing with the usual beginning of month work shenanigans so looking forward to that...not. I got an e-mail yesterday from HR saying that it's time to renew my Japanese visa. I can't believe it's almost been 3 years that I have lived here. Where does the time go?!
Anyway, need to get on with cleaning my very messy apartment and getting myself organized. This is my organize your life weekend so better hop to it! Enjoy yours, everyone!
Saturday, April 26, 2008
Friday, April 11, 2008
My Favorite Food Town
[I know. You are thinking what have we done to deserve such generousity...two blog posts in two days?! ;-) I had a shite week and wanted to be reminded of things, people, and places that I love. A bit of where I come from, what I'm about, you know? So, I decided to finish this and get it up. Sometimes I need more than just the family photos on my screensaver!]
During my 5+ weeks in the States, I spent a week and a half of it in Manhattan working and eating. It's the eating part I will be discussing here. In great detail. Because it was great. :)
Monday - Momofuku Ssam Bar (East Village)
I've been hearing about the Momofuku restaurants from Jane and GahYan for quite so time and it was time to check at least one of them out. I was not disappointed. We sat at the counter and completely over ordered (my fault...although the waiter was no help even after I asked him if we were ordering too much). Oysters with what was meant to be a kimchi consomme were less than memorable as were the sweetbreads. However, they would have been good if we didn't have so much food to get through. A massive bowl of pickles again would have been good if there wasn't so much. Kimchi apple (yes, I was jonesing for kimchi in a big way after being in the US for 3 weeks at that point!) with bacon and a yogurt sauce and mochi with pork sausage and yes, more kimchi were both really good but the highlight were the pork buns. This was not a big ball of dough stuffed with greasy pork bits like you get at the conbini in Tokyo. This was a delicious fold over of just the right amount of dough filled with amazingly tender shreds of pork and fresh cucumber. It was heavenly. Evan and I agreed that baseball stadiums should ditch hot dogs in favor of these pork buns. I think there would be far fewer fights in the bleachers of Yankee Stadium if they did. These things would impart peace and well-being to the entire park.
Tuesday - Gramercy Tavern (Flatiron)
A trip to New York is not complete without a Danny Meyer restaurant. Blue Smoke has been my choice the past two times I've been back so Gramercy was a nice change. I love Gramercy Tavern. It's classic New York foodie to me; dark and romantic without being a tourist trap steakhouse, great wine list (although I'll admit I didn't see it this time...I'm trusting that it was!), and consistently good food. I went comfort with a stuffed meatball that was fantastic and Evan had trout which was the complete polar opposite of my meatball and was also fantastic.
Wednesday - Cru (Flatiron)
How do I begin? This was probably one of the top 5 culinary experiences of my life. I had first heard about this place from GahYan and Chris when we were having dinner at Red Cat after GahYan's FCI graduation before Christmas. They had gone there, had an incredible meal, and GahYan was then scolded for not telling them she was interning at Daniel earlier in the meal. That piece of information led to multiple dessert courses and promises of a kitchen tour the next time. Lucky for me, this was the next time!
The reservation was for 5:30 which I thought was terribly early but who was I kidding? I wasn't working all that hard that week so leaving at 5:00 was far from tough. Of course, about three courses into dinner, I realized why we were starting so early! Champagne upon arrival while we got acquainted with our waiter and discussed the evening. There would be no menus, no wine lists, the chef would be cooking for us, and he would be doing our wine pairings. Did we even want to have a look at the menu? Nope. Did we have any food allergies? Nope. Was there anything we didn't eat? Nope. Did we want the wyagu beef? Yep. Did we want the black truffles that had just come in used in our meal? Yep. Our waiter was positively charming. He was like a kid in a candy shop and could hardly wait to get started. In the end, he was extremely knowledgeable and so passionate about food and wine without being uptight or snooty or pretentious. I loved him.
About 10 minutes later as we were enjoying our champagne and catching up, our first amuse bouche arrived. Yes, that would be first amuse...of three. I think it was then that I realized what kind of night I was in for!
Amuse #1: Sweet potato and beet wafer cones filled with goat cheese and beet puree with wasabi, respectively
These were lovely little bites. I had the sweet potato and goat cheese one. I do not pass up goat cheese in any form.
Amuse #2: Arancini and little truffle ricotta cups
I realize "little truffle ricotta cups" is not the most elegant description but we don't know if it had a proper name. Those were interesting. They were probably no bigger than a quarter so perfect little things but the pastry that made up the cup was sweet. In fact, I thought it was too sweet. The truffle flavor was delicious, nice and rich as you would expect and the ricotta smooth and creamy but just didn't love the sweet pastry. The arancini was made with red wine risotto and fried to perfection.
Amuse #3: Sayuri with micro greens and a tiny lime wedge
This transitioned us nicely into the rest of the meal as it was plated and eaten with a fork and started us on the little ocean adventure we were able to embark on. The fish was julienned and piled into a neat, little mound in the center of the bowl. The micro greens were literally that...tiny, tiny little green leaves. I can't say they had much flavor and I feel a little stupid even mentioning them because it's a step away from laughable but they were part of the dish and at a very minimum, gave it color so they get a nod. The lime was the key though, squeezed around, it really brought out the flavors of the fish.
1st Course: Plate of 4 different sashimi (kampachi with uni, big eye tuna, and two others that we didn't get written down in time!) paired with Junmai Ginjo sake
This was fun course. The plate was square and divided into four sections each holding a different fish. Michael recommended that we eat them clockwise starting with the bottom left. This was to save the strong favors of the uni to last. Uni is sea urchin and probably my least favorite piece of sushi. But paired with the fish and in much smaller quantities than the blob that is placed on top of the rice, it was quite good. Unfortunately, it was that bottom left one that we started with that absolutely took our breath away when paired with the sake. The fish was creamy and the sake sharp. It was amazing. This was also the course where we started writing things down. Thank Goodness for that!
2nd Course: A Diver scallop and a Maine lobster tortellini with slices of fennel and hon shimeji mushrooms paired with a white burgundy
The scallop was scored on the cooking side so it was able to cook quickly enough that it didn't get rubbery. The scored side was perfectly browned and crisp while the rest, tender and juicy. The tortellini was filled with a perfect bite of lobster and both were finished with a cream sauce of sorts. I don't remember much about the wine. It was good and matched well with the dish but don't think it was a knockout.
3rd Course: Pampano with black truffles and artichokes paired with a Rioja blanco
My memory is failing me a bit on this course. The fish must have been done in the oven as I don't remember a crispy skin side. The whole dish was rich, most likely due to the truffles which were shaved over the pampano. Oh, yeah...it's coming back to me now. Wow, they were good. What I remember most about this course was the wine. After a few sips of the rioja, Chris wasn't loving it and mentioned it to Michael. Michael seemed almost excited to get some negative feedback! Or maybe it was that he wasn't 100% confident in his pairing and knew he might have been off the mark. He dashed off to get a sauvignon blanc from Argentina that he was sure would be much better. I was enjoying the rioja but when I tried the sauv blanc, I tended to agree. It was a bit cleaner and a bit fresher and contrasted the richness of the truffles a little better. Well done, Mr. Robertson.
4th Course: Trio of raviolis (cheese with pancetta, pine nuts, and golden raisins; capon with some kind of foam and black truffle shavings; bitter chocolate ravioli filled with pumpkin) paired with a red rioja
This course was amazing but a bit over the top! There were two each of the raviolis and given that we hadn't even gotten to the meats yet, was pushing it just a little. My favorite was the cheese...I guess because they were so simple and classic. They also went really well with the wine. The bitter chocolate was also really good and really great unique preparation of pumpkin raviolis other than the usual sage and butter.
5th Course: Fresh bacon topped with maitake mushrooms served with a terrine of squash and orange and a smear of black miso paired with Smithwicks
This was my favorite course! As we were still talking about the raviolis, Michael comes over and places beer glasses down in front of us for our next course. Beer? Honto? (Really?) Yes, Virginia, beer. It was a fantastic surprise. Michael's telling us how beer is actually more complex in flavors than wine and goes incredibly well with all kinds of foods yet people tend to forget it for food pairings. And besides, it'll be very refreshing and wake up our palates a bit with the bubbles after a few wines and more importantly, the sake. It was! The bacon was too die for (it's pork, how could it be bad?!) with the top crisped to a thick layer of delicious crackling and a nice strong mustard on the side. The beer with the bacon was all we could have asked for and more. I kind of sound like Homer Simpson! Uummmm, baaaaacon. Yeah, and the squash was good too.
6th Course: Sous-vide of Veal with parsnip puree, white asparagas and black chanterelle mushrooms paired with a 2001 Barbaresco
I'm not sure I've ever had veal this tender and delicious. I guess that's what cooking in a plastic bag for hours on end will do! The wine was fantastic. I really don't know anything about Italian wines (not that I know much about wines from other parts of the world either) and Michael was quick to explain that it's the fog and cooler, maritime weather that makes a Barbaresco different from it's nebbiolo grape cousin, the Barolo, in that it's tannins mature earlier so you can drink it younger.
7th Course: Wyagu beef with broccoli puree, salsify puree, salsify, and chipollini onions paired with a 2004 Cabernet Sauvignon from Sonoma
It was nice ending with a big California wine even if it was paired with Japanese beef! Actually, I think I remember something about there being two different kinds of beef on the plate; one bite of wyagu and one bite of Montana beef. Regardless, it was a nice way to end...well, end the savory portion of the meal.
After a palate cleanser of grapefruit gelee with yogurt ice cream and toasted pine nuts, it was time to move on to dessert! I honestly wasn't sure how I was going to manage dessert especially when GahYan reminded us that there will be multiple desserts.
Dessert #1: Creme angalasis, pear, banana, coconut and chocolate ice creams, tuile cookie
Dessert #2: Chocolate raspberry granita with steamed chocolate cake, feuilletine
Dessert #3: Passion fruit cheese cake souffle with passion fruit and chili sorbet
The chocolate raspberry granita was my favorite although the other two were quite amazing. We then finished up with petit fours and chocolates with coffee; lavender and white chocolate, rum raisin, coconut macaroon, hazelnut caramel, chocolate sea salt cookies. Jane was forcing me to try all of them. I did the best of I could but just couldn't get the hazelnut caramel to fit into my stomach. Gomen ne!
The perfect ending to the evening was getting to meet the person responsible for such an amazing meal. We got to go back to see the kitchen and meet the chef. While not a Mario Batali or Jean-Georges Vongerichten, he had worked at many of the big restaurants in the city and clearly knew what he was doing. He was gracious and chatted with us for much longer than we expected. He handed us off to the pastry chef who was even more accommodating, walking GahYan through the pastry areas (service and prep) and discussing the challenges of the kitchen he had at his disposal. It was incredibly small and on two floors which even for someone not in the industry, I could see how that would be tough. Everyone was great and probably on their best behavior (isn't there supposed to be alot of shouting and swearing in a kitchen? Or was Kitchen Confidential a big pack of lies?!) but still, it was the perfect way to end a perfect meal. I'm ranking this in my top 5 dining experiences. It was sublime.
Thursday - Fraunces Tavern
But Corinne, this is not a restaurant?! Well spotted. Thursday night was work drinks. We went to the usual place and ate copious mozzarella sticks along with our Yuenglings. It was good times.
Friday - My culinary sabbath
A much needed day of rest!
Saturday - Craftbar (Flatiron)
Brunch at Craftbar...I ate at Craft years ago when it first opened. We enjoyed it but it was overwhelming. The concept was that you design your own meal down to sauces and cooking preparation. Way to many choices were required and frankly, too much pressure for my liking. Craftbar (or rather craftbar) is the informal sister restaurant to Craft and only the usual decisions are required. I decided on the Baked Egg with Short Ribs, Ibarra Chocolate, and Fingerling potatoes. It was delicious...came in the cast iron dish it was cooked in and had a generous smattering of peppers which added the perfect amount of kick. And the portion size was very un-American.
Sunday - Jane and UWS favs
I think Sunday was probably my favorite day in Manhattan, just a perfect day. It started off with my dear friend Francisco picking me up in his adorable little Mini. Francisco is the very first friend I made when I moved to New York. We worked together and he introduced me to all the ways of the big city. He's a complete doll and I loved that I got to spend time with him this time around. We went downtown to Jane for brunch. We got there early to beat the crowds saving our Bloody Mary's for post food. I went with the country breakfast which consisted of eggs, bacon, sausage, a biscuit and grits with gravy. Not your typical NYC brunch! It was delicious and I never would have guessed I'd manage to work in grits. Or brunch with Whoopi Goldberg. Yep, at the table right next to us. What trip to NY is complete without a star sighting. I was close to taking out my Japan phone and taking a picture. I'm allowed, right? I mean, I don't live there anymore so I don't have to pretend I'm too cool to notice celebrities. Damn, should have gotten an autograph.
Anyway, Francisco left me at the subway so I could head uptown for a dose of the UWS. After hitting the Natural History museum and the H2O exhibit (very cool globe, movie thing but probably not worth the 11bucks or whatever it was...good thing we get into the museum for free on Uncle Morgan), I decided to walk up Broadway on my way to Corinne and Rachel's for the Giants game. I had two purposes; (1) frozen yogurt tastings and (2) Zabar's. I was meant to a proper fro-yo tasting by hitting the Pinkberry on 70th and Broadway and then walking uptown to the Yolato on 83ish and B'way. Unfortunately, due to my poor planning, I ended up missing the Pinkberry and only getting to the Yolato....and wasn't impressed! I'm very sad to say it but no, wasn't. From what I hear, Yolato is from Korea and is supposed to be really good (not sure why...I didn't think Koreans were known for their frozen yogurt). I had coffee yogurt and it could have been that it was the biggest serving I had ever seen or that it was a chilly January day (not ideal frozen dessert weather) but I had about 8 spoonfuls before pitching it in the trash can. But the good news of the story is that before Yolato, I had fed my soul at Zabar's. I love Zabar's...the cheese counter, the meat counter, the chocolate babka, the little old ladies pushing their carts into everyone. I was even happier when I went upstairs and found rice cookers. As if Japan is the only place on earth where you can buy a rice cooker! Duh. I am pleased to know that when I move back, I'll still have my fluffy, lovely rice with just a bash in the cooker. I treated us to a little pre-dinner snack of my favorite Coach Farm goat cheese, delicious, salty parma ham that practically melted in your mouth and some chocolate rugelah. I wandered for a bit before finding myself on the corner of 92nd and Broadway right outside the Equinox that I used to belong to. I stood there waiting for a bus thinking I would take a trip down memory lane and ride the M104 up to my old apartment as if it was a Tuesday after the gym. Unfortunately, I was reminded how the buses in Manhattan are not like the buses in Tokyo and after standing there for about 15 minutes (are you kidding me??) decided the trip down memory lane could wait for another day.
Headed up to C&R's where we had a lovely spread of Zabar's treats during the game. Clearly, the Giants won but I can't remember much more than that! The plan was Dive Bar after the game so we popped over there for some wings and Miller Lites. I really don't know what was wrong with me but the whole time I was home, I had this uncontrollable urge for Miller Lite! It could have been the restaurant that my cousin and uncles went to in Lower Delaware or the Miller Lite banners all over Rino's at home but I found myself saying "...and a Miller Lite, please" or "I think I'll have a Miller Lite" more times than I care to admit!. Anyway, shame spiral over, the food at the Dive Bar was good as always and the atmosphere fun. Not the same as weekdays in the summer when all the softball teams are there but a good Sunday night after the holidays local crowd.
Monday - Tabla and Ilili (again, with the Flatiron District)
I guess there's never too much of a good thing especially when it comes to Danny Meyer restaurants. Drinks at the Bread Bar at Tabla with some delicious cheese nan, beet salad, and hummus and a few glasses of bubbles. Perfect. Dinner was at Ilili which is this fantastic Lebanese restaurant around 25th and Park, maybe? We went there because my friend Nabil knows the owners. I wasn't so sure (what do you mean they don't have a Zagat rating?!) but it was fantastic. Huge space, beautiful space, nice wood, soft lighting...we sat at the bar and enjoyed amazing drinks (mine was a bloodless martini glass rimmed with celery salt) and a few plates of food. The Lebanese steak tartar was to die for and the largest portion of raw meat I had even seen (and I live in Japan!) and the tabbouleh was a nice companion. The desserts were the best though...a phyllo pastry with honey and fresh cream. It was crunchy and sweet and creamy. Delicious. Oh, and the bartender was from Philadelphia. It was funny. He and I are talking cheesesteaks and Tastycakes while Nabil is chatting with every other person who walks up in a combination of Arabic and French and the other bartender who is a Tashkent-born Russian (who was THRILLED to find out that I had actually been to her birthplace!) was chatting with some of her Russian friends next to us. It was quite the multi-cultural crowd yet I'm sure Philly represented the best. :)
Tuesday - Pipa (in ABC Carpet & Home...you guessed it, Flatiron)
My last night in New York this time around and a perfectly lovely place to finish off the week. The restaurant is literally in ABC and so I was expecting so kind of cafe like place. Instead, it was dark, dark with shabby chic chandeliers covering the ceiling and a pretty brick wall. It was great atmosphere and had that buzz that I so miss in Tokyo restaurants. Only downside was that because all the chandeliers were for sale, they had tags hanging from them! Would have preferred they skipped those...but the food and wine certainly made up for it. It was tapas-y and had lots of South American wine. It is April 11th as I write this last part so I am struggling to remember everything but I know there was a good cheese plate with some of stinky blue, some brushetta like things and fried balls of maybe risotto? (let's hope so!) It was the atmosphere that made this place...very cool.
So, that's it! I went back to PA to get my last Chick-fil-A and cheesesteak feedings before heading back. It was a fantastic 5 weeks in the States. It's April and I'm already wishing I was back for more. But good things come to those who wait, no?
[BTW, my friend Gemma is coming to NY in about two weeks so if anyone has recommendations of hot new spots for her, post 'em up!]
During my 5+ weeks in the States, I spent a week and a half of it in Manhattan working and eating. It's the eating part I will be discussing here. In great detail. Because it was great. :)
Monday - Momofuku Ssam Bar (East Village)
I've been hearing about the Momofuku restaurants from Jane and GahYan for quite so time and it was time to check at least one of them out. I was not disappointed. We sat at the counter and completely over ordered (my fault...although the waiter was no help even after I asked him if we were ordering too much). Oysters with what was meant to be a kimchi consomme were less than memorable as were the sweetbreads. However, they would have been good if we didn't have so much food to get through. A massive bowl of pickles again would have been good if there wasn't so much. Kimchi apple (yes, I was jonesing for kimchi in a big way after being in the US for 3 weeks at that point!) with bacon and a yogurt sauce and mochi with pork sausage and yes, more kimchi were both really good but the highlight were the pork buns. This was not a big ball of dough stuffed with greasy pork bits like you get at the conbini in Tokyo. This was a delicious fold over of just the right amount of dough filled with amazingly tender shreds of pork and fresh cucumber. It was heavenly. Evan and I agreed that baseball stadiums should ditch hot dogs in favor of these pork buns. I think there would be far fewer fights in the bleachers of Yankee Stadium if they did. These things would impart peace and well-being to the entire park.
Tuesday - Gramercy Tavern (Flatiron)
A trip to New York is not complete without a Danny Meyer restaurant. Blue Smoke has been my choice the past two times I've been back so Gramercy was a nice change. I love Gramercy Tavern. It's classic New York foodie to me; dark and romantic without being a tourist trap steakhouse, great wine list (although I'll admit I didn't see it this time...I'm trusting that it was!), and consistently good food. I went comfort with a stuffed meatball that was fantastic and Evan had trout which was the complete polar opposite of my meatball and was also fantastic.
Wednesday - Cru (Flatiron)
How do I begin? This was probably one of the top 5 culinary experiences of my life. I had first heard about this place from GahYan and Chris when we were having dinner at Red Cat after GahYan's FCI graduation before Christmas. They had gone there, had an incredible meal, and GahYan was then scolded for not telling them she was interning at Daniel earlier in the meal. That piece of information led to multiple dessert courses and promises of a kitchen tour the next time. Lucky for me, this was the next time!
The reservation was for 5:30 which I thought was terribly early but who was I kidding? I wasn't working all that hard that week so leaving at 5:00 was far from tough. Of course, about three courses into dinner, I realized why we were starting so early! Champagne upon arrival while we got acquainted with our waiter and discussed the evening. There would be no menus, no wine lists, the chef would be cooking for us, and he would be doing our wine pairings. Did we even want to have a look at the menu? Nope. Did we have any food allergies? Nope. Was there anything we didn't eat? Nope. Did we want the wyagu beef? Yep. Did we want the black truffles that had just come in used in our meal? Yep. Our waiter was positively charming. He was like a kid in a candy shop and could hardly wait to get started. In the end, he was extremely knowledgeable and so passionate about food and wine without being uptight or snooty or pretentious. I loved him.
About 10 minutes later as we were enjoying our champagne and catching up, our first amuse bouche arrived. Yes, that would be first amuse...of three. I think it was then that I realized what kind of night I was in for!
Amuse #1: Sweet potato and beet wafer cones filled with goat cheese and beet puree with wasabi, respectively
These were lovely little bites. I had the sweet potato and goat cheese one. I do not pass up goat cheese in any form.
Amuse #2: Arancini and little truffle ricotta cups
I realize "little truffle ricotta cups" is not the most elegant description but we don't know if it had a proper name. Those were interesting. They were probably no bigger than a quarter so perfect little things but the pastry that made up the cup was sweet. In fact, I thought it was too sweet. The truffle flavor was delicious, nice and rich as you would expect and the ricotta smooth and creamy but just didn't love the sweet pastry. The arancini was made with red wine risotto and fried to perfection.
Amuse #3: Sayuri with micro greens and a tiny lime wedge
This transitioned us nicely into the rest of the meal as it was plated and eaten with a fork and started us on the little ocean adventure we were able to embark on. The fish was julienned and piled into a neat, little mound in the center of the bowl. The micro greens were literally that...tiny, tiny little green leaves. I can't say they had much flavor and I feel a little stupid even mentioning them because it's a step away from laughable but they were part of the dish and at a very minimum, gave it color so they get a nod. The lime was the key though, squeezed around, it really brought out the flavors of the fish.
1st Course: Plate of 4 different sashimi (kampachi with uni, big eye tuna, and two others that we didn't get written down in time!) paired with Junmai Ginjo sake
This was fun course. The plate was square and divided into four sections each holding a different fish. Michael recommended that we eat them clockwise starting with the bottom left. This was to save the strong favors of the uni to last. Uni is sea urchin and probably my least favorite piece of sushi. But paired with the fish and in much smaller quantities than the blob that is placed on top of the rice, it was quite good. Unfortunately, it was that bottom left one that we started with that absolutely took our breath away when paired with the sake. The fish was creamy and the sake sharp. It was amazing. This was also the course where we started writing things down. Thank Goodness for that!
2nd Course: A Diver scallop and a Maine lobster tortellini with slices of fennel and hon shimeji mushrooms paired with a white burgundy
The scallop was scored on the cooking side so it was able to cook quickly enough that it didn't get rubbery. The scored side was perfectly browned and crisp while the rest, tender and juicy. The tortellini was filled with a perfect bite of lobster and both were finished with a cream sauce of sorts. I don't remember much about the wine. It was good and matched well with the dish but don't think it was a knockout.
3rd Course: Pampano with black truffles and artichokes paired with a Rioja blanco
My memory is failing me a bit on this course. The fish must have been done in the oven as I don't remember a crispy skin side. The whole dish was rich, most likely due to the truffles which were shaved over the pampano. Oh, yeah...it's coming back to me now. Wow, they were good. What I remember most about this course was the wine. After a few sips of the rioja, Chris wasn't loving it and mentioned it to Michael. Michael seemed almost excited to get some negative feedback! Or maybe it was that he wasn't 100% confident in his pairing and knew he might have been off the mark. He dashed off to get a sauvignon blanc from Argentina that he was sure would be much better. I was enjoying the rioja but when I tried the sauv blanc, I tended to agree. It was a bit cleaner and a bit fresher and contrasted the richness of the truffles a little better. Well done, Mr. Robertson.
4th Course: Trio of raviolis (cheese with pancetta, pine nuts, and golden raisins; capon with some kind of foam and black truffle shavings; bitter chocolate ravioli filled with pumpkin) paired with a red rioja
This course was amazing but a bit over the top! There were two each of the raviolis and given that we hadn't even gotten to the meats yet, was pushing it just a little. My favorite was the cheese...I guess because they were so simple and classic. They also went really well with the wine. The bitter chocolate was also really good and really great unique preparation of pumpkin raviolis other than the usual sage and butter.
5th Course: Fresh bacon topped with maitake mushrooms served with a terrine of squash and orange and a smear of black miso paired with Smithwicks
This was my favorite course! As we were still talking about the raviolis, Michael comes over and places beer glasses down in front of us for our next course. Beer? Honto? (Really?) Yes, Virginia, beer. It was a fantastic surprise. Michael's telling us how beer is actually more complex in flavors than wine and goes incredibly well with all kinds of foods yet people tend to forget it for food pairings. And besides, it'll be very refreshing and wake up our palates a bit with the bubbles after a few wines and more importantly, the sake. It was! The bacon was too die for (it's pork, how could it be bad?!) with the top crisped to a thick layer of delicious crackling and a nice strong mustard on the side. The beer with the bacon was all we could have asked for and more. I kind of sound like Homer Simpson! Uummmm, baaaaacon. Yeah, and the squash was good too.
6th Course: Sous-vide of Veal with parsnip puree, white asparagas and black chanterelle mushrooms paired with a 2001 Barbaresco
I'm not sure I've ever had veal this tender and delicious. I guess that's what cooking in a plastic bag for hours on end will do! The wine was fantastic. I really don't know anything about Italian wines (not that I know much about wines from other parts of the world either) and Michael was quick to explain that it's the fog and cooler, maritime weather that makes a Barbaresco different from it's nebbiolo grape cousin, the Barolo, in that it's tannins mature earlier so you can drink it younger.
7th Course: Wyagu beef with broccoli puree, salsify puree, salsify, and chipollini onions paired with a 2004 Cabernet Sauvignon from Sonoma
It was nice ending with a big California wine even if it was paired with Japanese beef! Actually, I think I remember something about there being two different kinds of beef on the plate; one bite of wyagu and one bite of Montana beef. Regardless, it was a nice way to end...well, end the savory portion of the meal.
After a palate cleanser of grapefruit gelee with yogurt ice cream and toasted pine nuts, it was time to move on to dessert! I honestly wasn't sure how I was going to manage dessert especially when GahYan reminded us that there will be multiple desserts.
Dessert #1: Creme angalasis, pear, banana, coconut and chocolate ice creams, tuile cookie
Dessert #2: Chocolate raspberry granita with steamed chocolate cake, feuilletine
Dessert #3: Passion fruit cheese cake souffle with passion fruit and chili sorbet
The chocolate raspberry granita was my favorite although the other two were quite amazing. We then finished up with petit fours and chocolates with coffee; lavender and white chocolate, rum raisin, coconut macaroon, hazelnut caramel, chocolate sea salt cookies. Jane was forcing me to try all of them. I did the best of I could but just couldn't get the hazelnut caramel to fit into my stomach. Gomen ne!
The perfect ending to the evening was getting to meet the person responsible for such an amazing meal. We got to go back to see the kitchen and meet the chef. While not a Mario Batali or Jean-Georges Vongerichten, he had worked at many of the big restaurants in the city and clearly knew what he was doing. He was gracious and chatted with us for much longer than we expected. He handed us off to the pastry chef who was even more accommodating, walking GahYan through the pastry areas (service and prep) and discussing the challenges of the kitchen he had at his disposal. It was incredibly small and on two floors which even for someone not in the industry, I could see how that would be tough. Everyone was great and probably on their best behavior (isn't there supposed to be alot of shouting and swearing in a kitchen? Or was Kitchen Confidential a big pack of lies?!) but still, it was the perfect way to end a perfect meal. I'm ranking this in my top 5 dining experiences. It was sublime.
Thursday - Fraunces Tavern
But Corinne, this is not a restaurant?! Well spotted. Thursday night was work drinks. We went to the usual place and ate copious mozzarella sticks along with our Yuenglings. It was good times.
Friday - My culinary sabbath
A much needed day of rest!
Saturday - Craftbar (Flatiron)
Brunch at Craftbar...I ate at Craft years ago when it first opened. We enjoyed it but it was overwhelming. The concept was that you design your own meal down to sauces and cooking preparation. Way to many choices were required and frankly, too much pressure for my liking. Craftbar (or rather craftbar) is the informal sister restaurant to Craft and only the usual decisions are required. I decided on the Baked Egg with Short Ribs, Ibarra Chocolate, and Fingerling potatoes. It was delicious...came in the cast iron dish it was cooked in and had a generous smattering of peppers which added the perfect amount of kick. And the portion size was very un-American.
Sunday - Jane and UWS favs
I think Sunday was probably my favorite day in Manhattan, just a perfect day. It started off with my dear friend Francisco picking me up in his adorable little Mini. Francisco is the very first friend I made when I moved to New York. We worked together and he introduced me to all the ways of the big city. He's a complete doll and I loved that I got to spend time with him this time around. We went downtown to Jane for brunch. We got there early to beat the crowds saving our Bloody Mary's for post food. I went with the country breakfast which consisted of eggs, bacon, sausage, a biscuit and grits with gravy. Not your typical NYC brunch! It was delicious and I never would have guessed I'd manage to work in grits. Or brunch with Whoopi Goldberg. Yep, at the table right next to us. What trip to NY is complete without a star sighting. I was close to taking out my Japan phone and taking a picture. I'm allowed, right? I mean, I don't live there anymore so I don't have to pretend I'm too cool to notice celebrities. Damn, should have gotten an autograph.
Anyway, Francisco left me at the subway so I could head uptown for a dose of the UWS. After hitting the Natural History museum and the H2O exhibit (very cool globe, movie thing but probably not worth the 11bucks or whatever it was...good thing we get into the museum for free on Uncle Morgan), I decided to walk up Broadway on my way to Corinne and Rachel's for the Giants game. I had two purposes; (1) frozen yogurt tastings and (2) Zabar's. I was meant to a proper fro-yo tasting by hitting the Pinkberry on 70th and Broadway and then walking uptown to the Yolato on 83ish and B'way. Unfortunately, due to my poor planning, I ended up missing the Pinkberry and only getting to the Yolato....and wasn't impressed! I'm very sad to say it but no, wasn't. From what I hear, Yolato is from Korea and is supposed to be really good (not sure why...I didn't think Koreans were known for their frozen yogurt). I had coffee yogurt and it could have been that it was the biggest serving I had ever seen or that it was a chilly January day (not ideal frozen dessert weather) but I had about 8 spoonfuls before pitching it in the trash can. But the good news of the story is that before Yolato, I had fed my soul at Zabar's. I love Zabar's...the cheese counter, the meat counter, the chocolate babka, the little old ladies pushing their carts into everyone. I was even happier when I went upstairs and found rice cookers. As if Japan is the only place on earth where you can buy a rice cooker! Duh. I am pleased to know that when I move back, I'll still have my fluffy, lovely rice with just a bash in the cooker. I treated us to a little pre-dinner snack of my favorite Coach Farm goat cheese, delicious, salty parma ham that practically melted in your mouth and some chocolate rugelah. I wandered for a bit before finding myself on the corner of 92nd and Broadway right outside the Equinox that I used to belong to. I stood there waiting for a bus thinking I would take a trip down memory lane and ride the M104 up to my old apartment as if it was a Tuesday after the gym. Unfortunately, I was reminded how the buses in Manhattan are not like the buses in Tokyo and after standing there for about 15 minutes (are you kidding me??) decided the trip down memory lane could wait for another day.
Headed up to C&R's where we had a lovely spread of Zabar's treats during the game. Clearly, the Giants won but I can't remember much more than that! The plan was Dive Bar after the game so we popped over there for some wings and Miller Lites. I really don't know what was wrong with me but the whole time I was home, I had this uncontrollable urge for Miller Lite! It could have been the restaurant that my cousin and uncles went to in Lower Delaware or the Miller Lite banners all over Rino's at home but I found myself saying "...and a Miller Lite, please" or "I think I'll have a Miller Lite" more times than I care to admit!. Anyway, shame spiral over, the food at the Dive Bar was good as always and the atmosphere fun. Not the same as weekdays in the summer when all the softball teams are there but a good Sunday night after the holidays local crowd.
Monday - Tabla and Ilili (again, with the Flatiron District)
I guess there's never too much of a good thing especially when it comes to Danny Meyer restaurants. Drinks at the Bread Bar at Tabla with some delicious cheese nan, beet salad, and hummus and a few glasses of bubbles. Perfect. Dinner was at Ilili which is this fantastic Lebanese restaurant around 25th and Park, maybe? We went there because my friend Nabil knows the owners. I wasn't so sure (what do you mean they don't have a Zagat rating?!) but it was fantastic. Huge space, beautiful space, nice wood, soft lighting...we sat at the bar and enjoyed amazing drinks (mine was a bloodless martini glass rimmed with celery salt) and a few plates of food. The Lebanese steak tartar was to die for and the largest portion of raw meat I had even seen (and I live in Japan!) and the tabbouleh was a nice companion. The desserts were the best though...a phyllo pastry with honey and fresh cream. It was crunchy and sweet and creamy. Delicious. Oh, and the bartender was from Philadelphia. It was funny. He and I are talking cheesesteaks and Tastycakes while Nabil is chatting with every other person who walks up in a combination of Arabic and French and the other bartender who is a Tashkent-born Russian (who was THRILLED to find out that I had actually been to her birthplace!) was chatting with some of her Russian friends next to us. It was quite the multi-cultural crowd yet I'm sure Philly represented the best. :)
Tuesday - Pipa (in ABC Carpet & Home...you guessed it, Flatiron)
My last night in New York this time around and a perfectly lovely place to finish off the week. The restaurant is literally in ABC and so I was expecting so kind of cafe like place. Instead, it was dark, dark with shabby chic chandeliers covering the ceiling and a pretty brick wall. It was great atmosphere and had that buzz that I so miss in Tokyo restaurants. Only downside was that because all the chandeliers were for sale, they had tags hanging from them! Would have preferred they skipped those...but the food and wine certainly made up for it. It was tapas-y and had lots of South American wine. It is April 11th as I write this last part so I am struggling to remember everything but I know there was a good cheese plate with some of stinky blue, some brushetta like things and fried balls of maybe risotto? (let's hope so!) It was the atmosphere that made this place...very cool.
So, that's it! I went back to PA to get my last Chick-fil-A and cheesesteak feedings before heading back. It was a fantastic 5 weeks in the States. It's April and I'm already wishing I was back for more. But good things come to those who wait, no?
[BTW, my friend Gemma is coming to NY in about two weeks so if anyone has recommendations of hot new spots for her, post 'em up!]
Thursday, April 10, 2008
Type A Taipei
I didn't think I was going to make it through this week. But it looks like I just might. It's Thursday night and tomorrow is Friday! It's been raining nonstop, I have had a heinous (HEINOUS) week at work, and I'm just ready to move on the next week of this year. I have a most exciting weekend coming up all centered around Tim and Alex's annual April soiree. This year it's themed The Year of the Rat Pack Party. Christina will be in town from Shanghai and it's Gemma's birthday on Sunday. Good fun right around the bend!
So, we went to Taiwan last weekend...talk about good fun! We left on Thursday night, got there around 11:00 after a 3 1/2 hour flight, and spent the weekend seeing the sights, eating delicious xiao long bao, and just chilling out. We stayed at the Grand Hyatt which was more like the Tired-and-in-need-of-a-overhaul Hyatt. Well, not entirely fair...we realized that it's a wedding/function hotel. So, the rooms are comfortable to put it nicely (no Mandarin Oriental, I tell you!) but the lobby, restaurants, and bars are really nice. And we would know, we ended up going to the bar for a cocktail after spending the afternoon at the Chiang Kai-Shek Memorial. After three bottles of wine, a round of vodka tonics, two orders of fries, and copious bowls of peppered cashews (yum) and shrimp crisps, we knew all the waitstaff, had planned a trip to Napa and still stumbled upstairs to get ready for dinner in time!
I think my favorite part was, believe it or not, not the food but Taipei 101. The tallest building the world apparently...it was pretty spectacular. We were staying right across the street so had views of it from our room. It's a beautiful building. Timon's theory was that it was built to resemble stacked Chinese takeout boxes. An A for creativity but not the case, TT. Although he wouldn't know because he didn't take the time to enjoy the fantastic free audio tour they had up at the top. It was a really great set-up; not unlike most other tall buildings in other cities (I remember really enjoying the Sears Tower in Chicago for their informational pictures and verbage telling me that Paris is 9,537miles this way) but just well done. And the audio guide was great for Gemma and I, the type-A geeks. Get it? Type-A...Taipei? That was our favorite joke of the weekend. And it got lots of mileage with the two of us around...maps at the ready, dinner planned as lunch was finishing! Anyway, the building is meant to resemble bamboo and has 8 sections above the four huge Chinese symbols for prosperity on the outside of the building at the 26th floor, if I remember correctly. 8 is a lucky number in Chinese culture and I think again, is for prosperity or good luck. It was built around 1998 and is supposed to be able to withstand the largest earthquake in the 2500 year cycle of earthquakes...whatever that means. It's pretty safe. And it has the only wind damper in the world that you can actually see and get close to. The shops and restaurants on the 1-5 floors were really nice and the food level in the basement was fantastic. We ended up eating there alot. I hesitate the use the term "food court" because I don't want anyone conjuring up visions of Taco Bell and Chick-fil-A (not that there's anything wrong with either and for some reason, I was telling everyone about Chick-fil-A last weekend and know they all know the Exton Square Mall and refer to it with some affection!) but that's honestly what is was...with dim sum, Singapore chicken rice, Korean, Indian, ramen, really an kind of Asian food you could want. And even a place that reminded me so much of Kenny Rogers' Roasters, I was waiting for a Taiwanese man with a white beard to come out and start singing The Gambler! Nicole and I had dumplings and this amazing duck roll thing for lunch the first day and I had a kebab the second. We found great coffee there and a bakery that sold squid bread rolls (among other very delicious looking things). They were black! I have pictures which we got in trouble for taking and then I felt guilty so had to buy one but anyway, I'll get them up. We did make it Din Tai Fung for xiao long bao (soup dumplings)...it's the original and now pretty famous place for the Taiwanese version of these Shanghai specialities. Taiwanese xiao long bao supposedly use a thinner dough so the dumpling is not so thick and well, doughy. I don't mind that because I love the things regardless of the dough and these were perfect. Juicy pork, hot soup, and fresh ginger to top it all off...ah, heaven. :)
I hope everyone is having a better week than I did. Here's to wrapping up those weeks, either good or not so good, with a great weekend! Enjoy.
So, we went to Taiwan last weekend...talk about good fun! We left on Thursday night, got there around 11:00 after a 3 1/2 hour flight, and spent the weekend seeing the sights, eating delicious xiao long bao, and just chilling out. We stayed at the Grand Hyatt which was more like the Tired-and-in-need-of-a-overhaul Hyatt. Well, not entirely fair...we realized that it's a wedding/function hotel. So, the rooms are comfortable to put it nicely (no Mandarin Oriental, I tell you!) but the lobby, restaurants, and bars are really nice. And we would know, we ended up going to the bar for a cocktail after spending the afternoon at the Chiang Kai-Shek Memorial. After three bottles of wine, a round of vodka tonics, two orders of fries, and copious bowls of peppered cashews (yum) and shrimp crisps, we knew all the waitstaff, had planned a trip to Napa and still stumbled upstairs to get ready for dinner in time!
I think my favorite part was, believe it or not, not the food but Taipei 101. The tallest building the world apparently...it was pretty spectacular. We were staying right across the street so had views of it from our room. It's a beautiful building. Timon's theory was that it was built to resemble stacked Chinese takeout boxes. An A for creativity but not the case, TT. Although he wouldn't know because he didn't take the time to enjoy the fantastic free audio tour they had up at the top. It was a really great set-up; not unlike most other tall buildings in other cities (I remember really enjoying the Sears Tower in Chicago for their informational pictures and verbage telling me that Paris is 9,537miles this way) but just well done. And the audio guide was great for Gemma and I, the type-A geeks. Get it? Type-A...Taipei? That was our favorite joke of the weekend. And it got lots of mileage with the two of us around...maps at the ready, dinner planned as lunch was finishing! Anyway, the building is meant to resemble bamboo and has 8 sections above the four huge Chinese symbols for prosperity on the outside of the building at the 26th floor, if I remember correctly. 8 is a lucky number in Chinese culture and I think again, is for prosperity or good luck. It was built around 1998 and is supposed to be able to withstand the largest earthquake in the 2500 year cycle of earthquakes...whatever that means. It's pretty safe. And it has the only wind damper in the world that you can actually see and get close to. The shops and restaurants on the 1-5 floors were really nice and the food level in the basement was fantastic. We ended up eating there alot. I hesitate the use the term "food court" because I don't want anyone conjuring up visions of Taco Bell and Chick-fil-A (not that there's anything wrong with either and for some reason, I was telling everyone about Chick-fil-A last weekend and know they all know the Exton Square Mall and refer to it with some affection!) but that's honestly what is was...with dim sum, Singapore chicken rice, Korean, Indian, ramen, really an kind of Asian food you could want. And even a place that reminded me so much of Kenny Rogers' Roasters, I was waiting for a Taiwanese man with a white beard to come out and start singing The Gambler! Nicole and I had dumplings and this amazing duck roll thing for lunch the first day and I had a kebab the second. We found great coffee there and a bakery that sold squid bread rolls (among other very delicious looking things). They were black! I have pictures which we got in trouble for taking and then I felt guilty so had to buy one but anyway, I'll get them up. We did make it Din Tai Fung for xiao long bao (soup dumplings)...it's the original and now pretty famous place for the Taiwanese version of these Shanghai specialities. Taiwanese xiao long bao supposedly use a thinner dough so the dumpling is not so thick and well, doughy. I don't mind that because I love the things regardless of the dough and these were perfect. Juicy pork, hot soup, and fresh ginger to top it all off...ah, heaven. :)
I hope everyone is having a better week than I did. Here's to wrapping up those weeks, either good or not so good, with a great weekend! Enjoy.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)