Aureole Review

Charlie Palmer's Aureole moved this summer from the Upper East Side to the new Bank of America tower near Bryant Park. Such a move - from a rich, stuffy neighborhood to a touristy area likely to attract a more mixed demographic - seems to also reflect the changes the restaurant looked to make. I never ate at the original restaurant, but recently took a friend out to a birthday dinner at the new, remixed version. Aureole has opened with a formal dining room, serving a pre-fixe menu, along with a more casual high-ceilinged bar room, where you can order a la carte while listening to the pop sounds of Coldplay and Jason Mraz. With the bar room, Aureole follows in the footsteps of so many restaurants these days, catering to the recession, trying to attract a younger crowd and those looking to spend a little less.

Small Bites

-Although both Gourmet and Bon Apetit magazines are owned by Conde Nast, they are battling for a shrinking audience. As I've noted before I far prefer Gourmet and hope it remains the fittest.

-New York city coffee shops are cracking down on laptop users who plug in and linger for hours.

-Will Goldfarb, former quirky dessert master, New Yorker profile subject, owner of the unimpressive, now-shuttered Room 4 Dessert has
opened up a bbq truck.

-The Wall Street Journal writes about people who have coped with the recession by taking cooking classes.

-Think your rent is expensive? How about $53,558 per month? One hot dog vendor outside the Metropolitan Museum of Art failed to make that.

-Research shows that eating fatty foods affects our cognitive abilities.

A Modern Ice Cream Sandwich

So following up on the last post about my ice cream memories, I thought I'd share one of the latest possibilities for a new memory, a modification of the ice cream sandwich. Doughnuts AND ice cream. Hmmmm. Maybe Doughnut Plant and Il Laboratorio del Gelato should think about collaborating. The combinations would be endless. Just start by looking at all the doughnut flavors (Serious Eats tested out the whole menu)!

Memories Preserved in the Freezer

Gus Rancatore, co-owner of Toscanini, an independent ice cream shop in Cambridge, Mass., recently wrote a piece about ice cream and the memories that people attach to it. He says "People associate ice cream and ice cream stores with first dates, softball victories, and getting into graduate school."

Come to think of it, I have steadily built a life out of ice cream.

Ice cream is my favorite dessert. In my house as a kid, I had some form of it just about every night after dinner: Flintstones Push Up pops, Good Humor bars, fudgsicles, half gallons of Breyers or Welsh Farms or Turkey Hill, or Eskimo ice cream sandwiches. The Dove bars were reserved for my mom and rarely were we allowed a bite. There were cake cones and, sometimes when we were lucky, the superior, pointy sugar cones. Sometimes there was chocolate sauce, sometimes there were sprinkles, sometimes there was Magic Shell.

10 Downing Review

"Is it British food?"

That seemed to be the question that first came to mind when I mentioned to people that I was going to 10 Downing for a Restaurant Week dinner. The restaurant's name actually refers to its address, though I have read it was also intended as a slight nod toward the British. The food, however, shows little evidence of that.

The space, oddly shaped because of it's triangular corner location, was fairly large and had several tables on the sidewalk as well. It was bright and decorated with an eclectic assortment of photographs and art. We made it here after venturing out into one of the powerful, windy thunderstorms of the summer, so I appreciated and was excited by the more original offerings on this RW menu; interesting choices can make up for the limited number of things from which you have to choose. When the waiter came to introduce the RW menu to us, he made a comment about how it was becoming "restaurant summer" in a way that came off seeming snide.

Appetizers:


Chicken Liver Mousse with Grilled Bread and Pickled Carrots and Pearl Onions
This was all served on a cutting board-style platter in ramekins. The mousse was rich and topped with a drizzle of olive oil, chopped chives and a sprinkle of pepper. Though it seemed small, the portion was more than enough. To really enjoy this dish, you must really like liver as it had a very deep, earthiness to it. I had to ask for more of the toast because the proportion of bread (three slices) to mousse was way off.

Chain Coffee Competition

Slate recently put coffee from McDonald's, Dunkin Donuts and Starbucks to a taste test. Though I prefer good coffee from local or independent coffee shops, I can sometimes appreciate knowing to some degree what you're going to get when you walk into one of the chains when you are anywhere else. With these three, I'd rank Dunkin Donuts first, followed by Starbucks and, as I recently discovered, McDonald's a distant last.

These places are about finding something serviceable: Dunkin Donuts is mild and a bit watery - coffee for wimps; Starbucks used to be bitter and burnt - coffee for angry people who don't like to be awake in the morning - but it seems to have switched to something smoother, more manageable and less offensive; and McDonald's is just not drinkable - coffee for people who don't actually like coffee.

Eleven Madison Park Gets Four Stars

Update:Bruni filed some additional thoughts on giving four stars to EMP.

Frank Bruni awards four stars to Danny Meyer restaurant Eleven Madison Park as he winds down his tour as restaurant critic. This, just a week after paring one star off of Union Square Cafe, another of Meyer's places. I ate at Union Square Cafe for the first time last summer during Restaurant Week and thought it was quite nice - to think so during RW should mean that it would be even better any other time. Then again, perhaps it is more the relative impression from years before that caused it to lose a star.

I dined at Eleven Madison Park in 2006 right around the time that the kitchen was transitioning to the current chef, Daniel Humm. I don't recall that dinner having had as strong of a molecular gastronomy bent as it appears to now from the photos with this review. The way I do remember that meal- the food was good, portions were on the small side and desserts were fantastic. I know the pastry chef at that time has since left. So I now feel compelled to try to make a return visit here sooner rather than later.

Dessert Truck Goes Down

More news I missed while gone: Eater reports that the Dessert Truck is no longer able to operate as a street vendor. Its license isn't valid anymore and the city for some reason will not renew it. So sad. Where will I get good chocolate bread pudding now? This city needs good dessert options like this!

More Momofuku, Coming to Midtown

News I missed while I was away: David Chang, owner of the Momofuku restaurants, is working on opening a restaurant in Midtown. Chang says it's going to be French-Vietnamese. People seem to have love it or hate it relationships with the Momofuku restaurants (Noodle Bar, Ko and Ssam Bar with the Milk Bar bakery attached to it). I have been to all and am a fan for the most part; I think the bakery is the least successful and that Chang should stick to the savory foods. I look forward to trying out this latest incarnation of his empire.

Small Bites

-New York magazine gives us a guide to starting a food truck.

-Dan Barber, chef and owner of the Blue Hill restaurants, writes in a Times op-ed about this year's tomato blight. He suggests that home gardeners need to be conscious of buying local starter plants and of how growing food works.

-The Atlantic lists 12 foods to try at least once. It strikes me as random and tempeh is not something I would put on such a list. I take the approach that anything that you hesitate to try is something you should try at least once!

-The Wall Street Journal has an article about Gordon Ramsey's world and how not all is well there.

First Meal in the Southern Hemisphere

Only a few hours into our stay in Buenos Aires, we were ready to dive into traditional Argentine food. Lunch options typically include empanadas, tamales or locro (a hearty stew).

We arrived at Na Serapia, a small luncheonette, hungry, so we ordered four empanadas to start - chicken; cheese and onion; choclo (corn); and salteña (a mix of seasoned beef and vegetables). Empanadas are a half-moon-shaped stuffed pastry and the more lard used in the pastry dough, the better they taste. These were crispy, flaky and buttery with nice charred spots on the crusts and they had a hefty amount of flavorful filling. A happy first kiss from Argentina.

Ready for more, we moved on to a tamale and a humita - two corn-based items both wrapped in corn husks. These had a hard time sustaining the love. The pork tamale didn't come close to being one of the best I've had - the masa or corn dough was dense and the pork cubes were kind of tough. This was my first time trying a humita. Once unwrapped from its covering, its appearance was not enticing- a pile of wet corn mush. This sweet corn and masa dish was too sweet and the flavor too flat. My energy fading, I was already looking forward to the next meal.

Small Bites

-Jhumpa Lahiri shares a nice, personal short story about surviving away from home, on the Cape, with a cast-iron skillet.

-New York City hopes to open a shared kitchen available for rental in Harlem to help jumpstart entrepreneurial businesses.

-When you like to eat - or even harder yet, when it is a part of your living - it is hard to keep those calories from piling on. Padma Lakshmi has various methods to help her stay fit, but primarily lives by the credo of everything in moderation.

-Ed Levine, of Serious Eats, likes Julie & Julia.

Restaurant Reviews from Below the Equator

Posts and photos are forthcoming on eating around Buenos Aires, Argentina. First day: Traditional Agentinian food for lunch at Na Serapia, a hole-in-the-wall-like place, dinner at Cluny restaurant. Most places seem fairly empty, likely because it's winter here and we're eating somewhat earlier than the rather late prime dinner time (most places just open for dinner at 8:30 p.m.).

NYT Names New Restaurant Critic

The New York Times has named Sam Sifton to replace departing restaurant critic Frank Bruni. Ever since it was announced Bruni would be leaving the job, bloggers have been speculating on who might be suitable successors. From what I remember, Sifton was not mentioned at all, despite the fact that he has written a few food essays for the Times magazine. Sifton is already answering questions from readers about his new gig, which will start in October.

Alto Restaurant Review

Alto is the Northern Italian arm of chef Michael White's three-restaurant empire (Convivio in Tudor City and Marea on Central Park South completing the set).

Situated in East Midtown, set back from the street, Alto quietly offers a place to sample Italian food that isn't instantly recognizable as Italian food. It is set in a beautiful, airy multilevel space colored in soothing hues of green. The service here was a lesson to any restaurant trying to do RW lunch - incredibly efficient without making diners feel rushed.

The RW menu was limited to three choices for appetizers and mains, and two for dessert, but it was a good introduction to what Alto has to offer. Bread is provided for each individual diner from a server with a basket of olive or sourdough. The portion sizes at Alto were good enough to make me feel like I got my money's worth and I left feeling sated, but not too heavy.

Movie Mania

The way the movie Julie & Julia has been chopped up to pieces and every piece chewed up and spit out again, one would think this movie had come out already. Nope. Next Friday, August 7. Today, The Times looks at how the movie portrays marriage.

Gourmet has an early review, mixed at best. Praise for the parts depicting Julia Child, scorn for the parts related to blogger Julie Powell.

Many bloggers have seen the movie in early screenings and are all over it. I warn you, it is a cascade of links.

I still plan to go see for myself.

Small Bites

-Blue coloring in M&Ms could be good for you. Who knew?

-Food banks are benefiting from the federal stimulus law. Good thing because they have been seeing increasing numbers of people in need of food.

-Is there any correlation between gender and food preferences? Some people seem to think so - the new Wheaties Fuel is being marketed specifically to men.

-Or do people's ideas of comfort food differ based on age?

-DiFara's slice is now $5 and the owner, Domenico DeMarco, is unapologetic, saying he uses ingredients that make the slice worth it.

-The difficulties of the cacao trade in Venezuela are many.

-The House passed new food-safety laws. Under them, high-risk food plants would be inspected by the FDA more frequently - currently, some plants are only inspected once a decade, if that.

Elettaria Restaurant Review

The first of three Restaurant Week meals: Elettaria, a cozy space on W. 8th Street.

Though I say cozy, the place is roomy, but sort of feels like a stylish living room. It's large enough to have the not-common-enough luxury in New York of comfortable space between the tables so you don't feel like you are sitting on top of your neighbors. When you enter through a bright red door, you notice the rustic dark wood floor and ceiling, and exposed brick. But curved banquettes along the walls, velvety curtains, and low lighting help to soften the atmosphere. And Elettaria has joined on that open kitchen bandwagon.

Cocktails

Elettaria has a long bar area up front and a specific bar snacks menu. The restaurant devotes attention to a nice cocktail menu, which is half price during happy hour (5 -7 p.m.).

Our trio enjoyed:

Martinique Sidecar, a strong mix of aged rum, orange curacao, and fresh lemon juice.

The Mission Bell, a margarita of El Mayor Reposada Tequila, Benedictine, cinnamon and lemon and lime juices on the rocks.

The Simple Life, sparkling wine with seasonal fresh fruit over crushed ice.

The RW menu was limited to three options for appetizers, main course and dessert. As a party of three open to sharing, we were able to try everything.

How We Think and Talk About Food

The New York Times Happy Days blog has a sweet collection of short anecdotes wrapped around the common thread of treats, mostly ice cream, and the preciseness of terminologies related to them.

There's something to be said for being aware of the things we like and just how we like them and, if we're able to get to the bottom of it, why. To eat purposefully is to create the indelible memories that we dig into each time we eat again or when we want to recall specific people, places and events.

I loved this answer to what the Xerox machine sounds like:

"When I asked him what he liked about the Xerox sound, he said, I guess it’s a kind of a creamy, crunchy sound, like the inside of a Twix Bar."

And the idea of creating a record of what ice cream flavors or desserts I choose each time I have them, just might become my next project.

The Couch is Conquering the Kitchen

This weekend's New York Times magazine features another food-related cover piece. Michael Pollan analyzes how Americans are more prone to watch than do when it comes to cooking.

The Custard Cure

How to cure the crankiness of a hot, humid Friday? Shake Shack Red, White and Blueberry custard. This is one of the best flavors I have tried. Cake batter was the other standout, but judging that next to this fruity concoction is the apples to oranges comparison, so I'll call it a tie.

This may be a bit of a tease to post about given that today is the last Friday the flavor is available. This flavor tastes as beautiful as it looks here! The smooth blueberry custard is mixed with swirls of marshmallow and strawberry sauce (with tiny bits of strawberries) - finding them in a bite is like getting a surprise gift, a burst of bright fruity contrast with the blueberry. I had barely walked three blocks away before I was scraping the bottom of this little cup and savoring the creaminess lingering in my mouth.

Pancake Potential

I swear I smelled a whiff of pancakes and maple syrup when I read this post from Serious Eats declaring Pershing Square a potential candidate for the best pancakes. If it's true, it's certainly been a well-kept secret. So far, my favorite pancakes are the ones from Clinton Street Baking Company. But Pershing Square is now on my list to try.

Interview with George Mendes

Restaurant Girl (also the restaurant critic for NY Daily News) has an interview with George Mendes, of Aldea restaurant.

The first two places he mentions for Spanish food are two of my favorite tapas places in the city:

"Where do you like to go for a great Portuguese or Spanish meal in New York City?

For Portuguese I would go to PAO in west Soho or to Newark, New Jersey – Ferry St. For Spanish, I love Boqueria and Txikito as well as El Quinto Pino."

The Cost of Treating Obesity

Obesity is a recurring theme of many of the articles I've linked to here, not only because it's a problem for a greater proportion of the population but because people are becoming more aware and concerned about the growing effect it is having on things like healthcare.

The Wall Street Journal, via the Freakonomics blog, writes about the cost of treating obesity. Treating obesity now accounts for 9.1 percent of all medical costs in this country. And the study cited says obese people spend 42 percent more on healthcare. So even those who are not obese should be concerned at how this strains the overall system.

Stephen Dubner says that obesity is "a self-inflicted condition any way you look at it" and argues that we should seriously consider the idea of fat taxes. I don't entirely agree with his statement that obesity is self inflicted, but people don't always make the best choices for themselves, despite awareness of health impacts. I'm guilty of it myself. But moderation is key. And for those who have more difficulty regulating themselves, it is possible that more taxes on certain fattening foods could encourage people to choose the healthier options.

Food for Film

The Times writes about styling food for its on-screen role - so that it looks realistic and is not just edible, but actually tastes good for the actors eating it.

When watching films or plays involving food scenes, I have long wondered whether the actors get tired of ingesting things over and over when rehearsing (or performing nightly in the case of plays). Here's a clue:

"Chris Messina, who plays Julie Powell’s husband, had a great appetite and never complained, even on the day he had to enthusiastically eat bruschetta topped with tomatoes 36 times."

But not all of it is real:

"Of course, there are plenty of times a food stylist has to employ tricks. Cherry pies are filled with mashed potatoes, poultry is partly roasted and painted with Kitchen Bouquet, glycerin and water make beads of sweat on glasses, and ice cream is wrapped around dry-ice nuggets so it won’t melt."

McCafe Doesn't Fail to Disappoint

Awake and tired, early morning - the conditions were right to try McDonald's McCafe Iced Latte, and hey, it was free. To clarify, I am not a McDonald's customer, even less so after the movie Super Size Me. But I try to stay open minded (within limits). McDonald's has also been giving away free mochas on Mondays since early July to promote their coffee offerings. Just thought I'd say that for the record, their coffee tastes like pure, burned liquid. It doesn't even come close to competing with mediocre Starbucks or Dunkin Donuts coffee.

Small Bites

-Are restaurant kitchens teeming with drug-addled staff? One food writer and former chef shares his take on cooks and coke.

-Marc Ambinder discusses the politics of obesity and the food industry's responses.

and

-Why are we so fat? The New Yorker's Elizabeth Kolbert explores the evolution of obesity.

-Rachel Maddow shares her favorite Midtown lunch. It's a counter in the back of a deli. I have yet to try, but if it's anything like Tehuitzingo, it's worth a try.

-Oh, the fun science has with ice cream! No-melt ice cream! A bagel brunch in ice cream form! And on the not-so-appetizing side - cigarette ice cream?!?

A Street Sweets Encounter

With some time to kill one day last week, I stopped by MOMA. It turned out to also be an opportunity to try the Street Sweets truck, which has found a steady space across the street from the museum's entrance on 53rd Street for Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays.

I opted for an afternoon snack of iced coffee and a $1.50 chocolate chip cookie. The coffee was pretty standard, though it was served in an eco-friendly plastic cup. The chocolate chip cookie was of the softer variety - fluffy with good, melty chocolate chips. Not bad, but I prefer my cookies to be less cakey. And for $1.50, it was on the small side. My assessment is similar to Midtown Lunch's: Though it's been some time since I tried the Treats Truck chocolate chip cookie, I do recall it being tastier and cheaper ($1). (Not long after getting my Street Sweets treat, I passed by the Treats Truck on 45th Street near 6th Avenue parked next to the Rickshaw Dumpling truck. Midtown along 6th Avenue is veritable corridor of street food.)

The Street Sweets brownies and small tea cookies looked tempting too. One thing the truck may have going for it is that it also has savory croissants to satisfy those who want lunch before dessert. The gentleman who served me was enthusiastic and presented me with a frequent customer card that he explained would allow me to choose anything from the truck once the card is filled. He didn't fail to promote the truck's Facebook and Twitter accounts either. While I support dessert trucks and think Street Sweets is perfectly good if I am in the area, I probably won't be going out of my way to grab its treats.

Bicoastal Food Truck Mania

Serious Eats reports that yet another food truck is coming to New York's street vendor scene - this one will be peddling Moroccan food in Union Square.

While New York marvels over its abundance of food truck options, Los Angeles has its own set. The Los Angeles Times has its own theory on the proliferation - the product of the middle class's evolving lifestyle:

"On the other hand, despite being hyped to the heavens, these decidedly experimental -- and often expensive -- nouveau food trucks may be more than just an emblem of culinary fusion or a clever use of social networking technologies. They may actually herald a significant change in the mobility patterns of young, middle-class urbanites known as "millennials."

"I think the vending phenomenon is the product of a whole new lifestyle," says James Rojas, founder and co-chairman of the Latino Urban Forum and a transportation planner for L.A. County's MTA."

A Gourmet Read

Gourmet magazine is one of those publications that seems to have a narrow focus of food and drink, but in fact manages to cover a broader range of related issues, including travel, culture and design. And for that, I love it even more. It does a good job of including interesting, complex recipes for those who might be more advanced cooks, but remembers the cooking- or time-challenged by presenting some simple, quick recipes as well. And all of this in a beautifully designed package.

So being the fan I am of the magazine, I signed up for the Gourmet newsletter- a weekly e-mail from editor Ruth Reichl with a brief story or notes about some of her favorite things and links to the best of recipes and stories from the Web site.

This week's newsletter focused on the theme of ice cream. Here is Ruth's note:

Win Tickets to Julie & Julia

Grub Street is giving away a pair of tickets to see Julie & Julia next Tuesday, July 28, if you can come up with an interesting list of which actors would play the roles of various New York chefs in a movie and why.

The list of chefs:
Dan Barber
Mario Batali
Anthony Bourdain
Tom Colicchio
Padma Lakshmi
Wylie Dufresne
Lidia Bastianich
Rachael Ray
Danny Meyer
Eric Ripert

Small Bites

-Some are criticizing Obama's nominee for surgeon general for being overweight.

-Frank Bruni gives Locanda Verde, one of my to-try places, two stars.

-Top Chef host Padma Lakshmi may soon be starring in a culinary sitcom.

-Serious Eats brings word of a great Midtown breakfast cart on 52nd Street and Park Avenue.

Aldea Review

Some newly-opened restaurants need time to get their feet wet and for the first few months while they get on track, patrons are often willing to cut them some slack and overlook any initial blunders. Aldea does not need you to go easy on it.

It stormed on to the New York dining scene in May with it already all figured out. Diners can come here with high expectations and have them met. Aldea has alternately been described as a Portuguese restaurant or a place doing Iberian cooking. The important part is that this is good food.

A Hot Highline Afternoon

Last weekend, some friends and I wandered into the High Line Festival. There was a snaking long line just to get up on the High Line, so we had to forgo our plans and instead walked the bustling cobblestoned streets of the Meatpacking District. On this day, it seemed this was the place to be for food trucks.

Not only was the Van Leeuwen Ice Cream truck in the spot where I had first seen it, but it was now offering an earl gray flavor! Alas, not too long before we had partaken in Chinatown ice cream factory following dim sum at Oriental Garden. Normally, I would not let that stop me, but given that Van Leeuwen's line on this hot afternoon was also mighty long, I decided to save my tasting for a future time.

Cupcakes Invade Ice Cream Territory

Chinatown Ice Cream Factory is coming late to the cupcake craze, Grub Street reports, and in my opinion, it's unfortunate that it's thinking about cupcakes at all. And I'm not the only one with that opinion. I'm partial to the almond cookie flavor. But I think I'll give the egg custard flavor a try next time I'm there.

Julie & Julia

Diner's Journal has a fun little post about food personalities who make brief appearances in the movie Julie & Julia set to open in a couple of weeks. The movie about Julia Child and loosely based on blogger Julie Powell's memoir is directed by Nora Ephron and reunites Meryl Streep and Amy Adams (they appeared together in Doubt).

Small Bites

-New York magazine's food blog, Grub Street, goes national.

-Which restaurants in America are the toughest restaurant reservations to score? Of the restaurants on this list and the honorable mentions, I have eaten at two (Momofuku Ko and Per Se) and hope to eat at another this fall (Alinea). And French Laundry, Schwa and Minibar are all on my list.

An Excerpt from Bruni's Memoir

This Sunday the New York Times magazine runs an excerpt from food critic Frank Bruni's forthcoming memoir due out in August.

On the Horizon

There are new restaurants sprouting up in New York all the time and as the reviews roll in, I check out the menus and try to keep a list of the ones I most want to eat at, in hopes of avoiding the "Where should we eat?" dilemma.

A few of the places currently making the cut:

Gus & Gabriel - This is the latest from Michael Psilakis, the man behind Kefi, Mia Dona and Anthos. It's a gastropub - a pub, but one that aims to serve better food than standard pub fare. The menu includes a meatball hero, burgers and hot dogs, and mac & cheese. Serious Eats has a lovely visual review of many of the dishes.

222 W 79th Street
(between Amsterdam Ave & Broadway)
New York, NY 10024
(212) 362-7470

Golosi Gelato Opens Near Koreatown

This past Saturday, a sliver of a storefront space wedged between a spa and a Jamba Juice near Koreatown, opened as Golosi Gelato. Not too long ago, the Caprese cafe just a few doors away had added a Golosi gelato freezer. The spare gelato shop on 5th Avenue between 32nd and 33rd streets is also selling frozen yogurt, refusing to cede that ground to the Crazy Bananas, Pinkberry or Red Mango, all within a block away.



The small cup of Ferrero Rocher here was $3 ($3.25 with tax). The menu also lists something called a mini-cone, but they are not yet available. The flavor was strongly reminiscent of the actual Ferrero Rocher chocolate and even had bits of candy mixed in, but the gelato itself was not the greatest ever. It lacked something, perhaps some creaminess, perhaps tasting a bit too artificial. But Golosi is open until 11 p.m. and, given that I'm not a fan of the frozen yogurt craze, I'm happy to welcome a new convenient gelato shop to the area.

And when Kyochon opens up on the corner, it'll be easy to do fried chicken and gelato, all on the same block!

Bad News: Smith's Closes

I am on a roll with eating at and blogging about soon-to-be-shuttered restaurants.

Eater reports that Smith's, home of the amazing $35 chicken-for-two deal I wrote about in May, has closed. Looks like it's best to try out those recession deals sooner rather than later!

My Favorite Food Blogs

I have already acknowledged many of my favorite food blogs in my posts and many of the links I've used have directed readers to some of them. But I thought perhaps others might be interested in further reading on all things edible, culinary, restaurant-related and tasty.

Along Came a Cart

Now an even better chance at getting some Van Leeuwen ice cream. They've added an ice cream cart to the three trucks stationed around the city. How cute.

My Case for Murray's

Murray's Cheese Shop is one of the city's great specialty food markets. And when I am in the area (West Village) I tend to be drawn in, even if just to marvel at the cheese. It is where I discovered my favorite- Pleasant Ridge Reserve. A hard cheese from Wisconsin, it's similar to a Swiss or Gruyere, and has a wonderful crystally crunch to it. It's great as a snack.

But Murray's has much more. In fact, it has so much to offer that it often seems overwhelming. When a friend gave me a gift card to Murray's, I was able to head there with a sense of free reign and excitement to try some of the store's other wares beyond the cheese. I carefully selected a variety things including the rich, heat-and-eat mac & cheese and a bottle of fine Spanish olive oil.

Small Bites

The Wall Street Journal reports there are many problems with analyzing the effect of listing calorie counts on menus. Without meaning to let the calorie counts affect me, I have taken notice of them in places like Baskin-Robbins.

Following several instances of contamination, there has been an increasing concern over food safety. The Obama administration is taking steps to reform food safety regulations.

Craving suckling pig? Traveling to Portugal? Head to Mealhada for leitão da Bairrada.

Top Chef 6 will be held in Las Vegas. The contestants have been announced.

Taxi!

Just came across the blog Taxi Gourmet by way of Midtown Lunch. Interesting concept for a blog - hail a cab once a week and let the taxi driver steer you to your next meal.

An Appetizing Adventure

Terrence Henry, a blogger at The Atlantic's food channel is embarking on a food roadtrip around the country (and Canada). Though he is not the first to do so (Jim Leff, co-founder of chowhound.com went on a serious Chow Tour a couple of years ago), these food tours are an interesting way for bloggers to interact with readers who are not shy about posting tons of recommendations. It often turns into a good resource for food suggestions when traveling. His first stop is Montreal. And he's already got some great places on his map, many of which I hope to someday try.

Di Fara Prices

I have yet to try Di Fara's pizza, touted as one of the best in the city, but with the latest price hike bumping the cost of a slice to $5, it's moving down on my list of places to try. I'm happy sticking with Vezzo's thin crust closer to home.

Farewell, Damon: Frugal Friday

Sadly, Damon: Frugal Friday (which had expanded to become Frugal everyday but Tuesday) has closed. I'm glad I had the chance to try this place out for the first time just a couple of weeks ago; I only wish I'd had time to get back there.

Perhaps it's an early sign that the economy is picking up around here?

Small Bites

The Times writes about calculating consumer happiness. Sometimes we associate a better product with higher cost. Sometimes we ignore price and value and choose what it is we want anyway. The human mind is quite a puzzle.

Mark Bittman discusses some great Paris bistros. And meal taxes are going down - time to plan a trip back there! I took a weekend trip to Paris in March and in the course of researching places to eat, I came across the name of every one of these and they were on my list to try. Unfortunately my visit coincided with the two days when most restaurants are closed (Sundays and Mondays)!

You can now get Brooklyn Ice Cream Factory ice cream in Midtown - they're selling from Pershing Square, a spot right across from Grand Central.

July, July

It's July, so you know what that means- a new custard calendar at Shake Shack!

Monday - Mojito
Tuesday - Peaches 'n Cream
Wednesday - Black Cherry
Thursday - Mulberry
Friday - Red, White & Blueberry
Saturday - Cavaillon Melon
Sunday - Sweet Corn

Sweet Corn must be a popular flavor as I have seen it appear during several months. Though I haven't tried the Shake Shack version, I have never been a fan of the flavor anywhere else. And I notice its repeated presence here because on multiple occasions I have found myself in the neighborhood considering some custard on a Sunday and have been saddened to remember that it was a Sweet Corn day.

I have had Peaches 'n Cream, which was slightly disappointing for me, but will likely work for anyone who likes chunks of fruit mixed in with ice cream. I'm most intrigued by the Mojito flavor.

I had never heard of Cavaillon Melon and had to research what this flavor might be. It's a French melon named after the town they come from, similar to cantaloupe. Apparently extremely fragrant, they are enjoyed mostly during the summer months. Nice touch, Shake Shack!

Celebrate July 4th in Queens

If you're looking to avoid fireworks and observe July 4th in a novel way, then the Independence Day Pig Roast and Camp Out on the Queens County Farm might be the event for you.

Tom Mylan, of Brooklyn's Marlow & Daughters, will handle the pig roasting while you pitch a tent on the grounds of the orchard and play old camp games like capture the flag. And the next morning you'll wake up to a farm-fresh breakfast.

The Queens County Farm Museum looks like an interesting place to visit - its even got a corn maze! - and if you've ever wanted to camp out in the New York City, here's your chance.

Street Fights

The Mr. Softee ice cream trucks churning out their annoyingly repetitive jingles, and the dirty dog carts polluting the air with the smell of burnt pretzels, are no longer the only street food vendors around. Upscale food trucks are popping up all over the city, testing the laws of supply and demand, heightening intense competition for pedestrian customers.

In Wednesday's Dining section, The Times caught up on the recent disputes over prime territory among these new vendors and the old guard. Midtown Lunch has been all over the issue and if you've been reading carefully, In a Nutshell directed your attention to it a couple of weeks ago.

Is the fighting driven by a sense of desperation in this economy? Is this a sign that the food truck market has already ridden a steep curve to a saturation point? Personally, though I have only tried a few of the options, the variety offered among these trucks is a welcome addition to the city's food community, especially the sweeter ones. I say that not just because I like dessert but also because I have found that the city lacks post-dinner dessert options for those who want dessert elsewhere. The idea of the carts seems also to mesh well with the growing Twitter crowd - many of these carts update their current locations throughout the day on the site.

The Times article alone specifically mentions nine food carts and references another. The roaming sweets vendors cited include:
Street Sweets
Cupcake Stop
Treats Truck - The desserts here are less fancy than just simple and tasty.
Van Leeuwen Ice Cream truck - See my verdict on this from a few weeks ago.
Big Gay Ice Cream Truck

Not mentioned in the article is the great Dessert Truck. The individual-sized desserts offered include a superb chocolate bread pudding, one of my favorites.

On the savory side, you can go for Taiwanese food from the Cravings truck. There's also the Rickshaw Dumpling Truck which is related to the local Rickshaw Dumpling chain. Based on my experience at the brick and mortar business, I'd advise spending your money on subway fare to Chinatown for cheaper, better-tasting dumplings. Another one that started as a stationary vendor is Le Gamin, which sells sandwiches and crepes.

And then there are the things you wouldn't think would have a big enough audience for a truck devoted soley to that food - a new schnitzel truck called Schnitzel & Things or Wafels & Dinges, a Belgian waffle truck.

The Times article also mentions the Steak truck and the new La Cense Burger truck.

New Yorkers are suckers for pizza, and in addition to all the many well-known pizza places, the city has an appetite for several traveling pizza trucks:
Jianettos
Papa Perrone
Vinny Vincenz
Valducci's

Beyond all of these, there are plenty more varieties of street food, including halal carts and several Mexican/taco carts that have been widely praised. And the trend is not just limited to New York, but extends around the country as The Wall Street Journal took note of last month.

So keep your eyes open and stay hungry!

NYC Summer Restaurant Week

Reservations for New York's Summer Restaurant Week began today. With the dour economy, recession specials have been prolific all year long, making Restaurant Week - now actually three weeks long - less anticipated.

Some of the restaurants that participate are not actually that much more of a deal during this promotion. The ones that are often book up pretty fast. So it's a good idea to evaluate the restaurants' normal menu prices and look for reservations sooner rather than later. Unfortunately this time the best deals - any of Danny Meyer's restaurants - are not available. But still, there are some new restaurants that could be worth trying. On my list are Elettaria, Alto and 10 Downing. If anyone is interested in joining me for these meals, let me know!

Small Bites

-The San Francisco Chronicle writes about how, from a business perspective, dessert is a loser. It is probably true that many people don't think ahead in leaving room for dessert. That is not me. I always assume there will be something I will want; sweet and savory occupy two entirely different realms of hunger.

Many restaurants, with specific pastry chefs, do devote attention to this course, but I agree that not enough of them bring creativity to the menu as they try to please with the common chocolate and ice cream desserts.

Michael Bauer gives some good advice:
"First the dessert course should be afforded the same respect and consideration as the savory courses. Desserts should be part of the menu people are given when they sit down to order. That way people know what the desserts are and can plan accordingly. Also waiters should mention desserts like they talk about daily specials. Something like: "We have a really great pastry chef who's doing an amazing peach crostata tonight, so you might want to save room for desserts."

Aldea Restaurant Review

Amid a recent spate of meals with mediocre service and just a few with really good food comes a real hand clapper - Aldea Restaurant. This is a place that deserves attention and garners it through the food, prepared in an open kitchen, the attentive waitstaff, and the sleekly designed interior.

Dinner at this Union Square restaurant hit all the high notes from start to finish - a stunning achievement considering it has been open only for a little more than a month.

Full details and pictures to come. Check back soon.

A Growing Controversy

As the airline industry struggles, it has looked to put a premium on every aspect of flying - now you pay more not just for a seat in first class, but to check baggage, to get more legroom and yes, in most cases, to get food. There's even been talk of charging to use the restroom.

Another idea that has entered the realm of possibility is charging more for obese passengers. They might be required to purchase two seats or to upgrade to first class on crowded flights and if neither of those options is available, could be bumped to the next available flight.

While this is perhaps only indirectly related to the main topic of this blog, obesity is obviously related to food, and the debate is an interesting one. Obesity has been an increasing problem for years now and it seems that as it has become more prevalent, the issues dealing with it are popping up everywhere (menu calorie counts, soda taxes etc.).

CNN today digs into the idea of how airlines are dealing with heavier passengers. But Salon.com had an excellent discussion of the controversy of the idea of a "fat tax" a few months back when United Airlines decided to add such a thing to their policy.

Strategic Dining

The Wall Street Journal has an article about how restaurateur Donatella Arpaia is scaling back on her spending when eating out. Arpaia is co-owner of Anthos, Kefi and Mia Dona, three Manhattan restaurants I really like. I find it hard to believe that she might truly be thinking about how to spend less when she goes out. But the piece did get me thinking about myself and how I am very much what I consider a strategic diner, perhaps so much so that a friend has branded me a "food lunatic".

Small Bites

Some recent food-related pieces around the Web:

The Times looks at the business of casual restaurant chains. They have been offering deep discounts to keep customers coming, but this may hurt their future profits. I can understand how the Applebees and Olive Gardens survive in the suburbs (they were the local high school hangouts where I grew up), but in a city like New York it's harder to fathom. They must be supported entirely by tourists, who, I suppose, are looking for familiarity and consistency - the same way people know what they're getting when they go to a Starbucks anywhere.

Recent Eats

I've gotten in quite a bit of eating in the past few days.

Tabla Bread Bar: One of my go-to places for dinner. A low-key, casual, yet sophisticated atmosphere. Good, fruit-based drinks (passionfruit puree with vodka), a menu of small plates with a lot of variety. The salad with chicken livers was particularly good. We had their signature dessert of sugary orange doughnut holes served with three sauces (caramel, vanilla rum, and chocolate fudge).

A Welcome Arrival

For ice cream lovers, there is a new brand available locally that is an absolute must-try.

Jeni's Splendid Ice Creams has arrived from Ohio and is now being sold at Forager Market in Brooklyn. And apparently they will be stocking not only the best sellers, but also a rotating cast of seasonal flavors as well.

A few years ago, a friend surprised me with what was one of the greatest presents ever - a box of 10 pints of fun, funky-flavored ice creams from Jeni's. We had a party with an ice cream bar to taste and share. This ice cream comes in a great interesting range of flavors that are not shy. Each one is deep, pure and strong.

Black coffee was boldly creamy and ambrosial. When they say "It tastes the way coffee smells", they aren't kidding. Gravel Road, Jeni's version of salty caramel came mixed with smoked almonds. Thai Chili was strangely spicy, good only for a spoonful at a time for me, but it also had a coconutty flavor - I tend to shy away from coconut in sweet forms. Yet, it was still a fun tasting experience.

At $10/pint, it's a treat that comes at a premium, but one well worth it when looking for ice cream with some pizazz. And one I likely won't be able to resist indulging in at some point.

Inhale Your Next Meal

The other day, one of the e-mail newsletters I get touted a new inhalable chocolate called Le Whif. "Chocolate without the calories". It sounded like a joke, something out of The Onion. But then, today, The Times ran an article about manipulating the sense of smell as a form of weight loss. In it, one person says “The hypothesis is that if we can alter your sense of smell we can make food less palatable, because the hedonic effect — that is, the pleasurable effect you get from eating chocolate — won’t be there.”

Making food less palatable defeats the point. I feel bad for those who would rather go this route than dabble in the joys of eating. Sorry, but that's what exercise is for!

Top Chef Masters

This week, I caught up with Bravo's Top Chef Masters, in its second week. A spinoff of Top Chef, "Masters" features 24 well-known chefs competing to win money for charities of their choice. The show inherits the original format, with a "Quickfire" challenge followed by an "Elimination" challenge. Three food critics (including the editor of Saveur magazine) serve as the main panel of judges, but each challenge also has its own set of additional tasters. Often the challenges incorporate ridiculous tasks like using a vending machine as a source for ingredients, or impose difficult conditions on the participants, like cooking in a dorm room.

Taking it Outside

There's been a proliferation of food trucks around the city. Not a surprise that New Yorkers on-the-go provide fertile ground for them. But it seems not all are welcoming their presence.

Midtown Lunch, a favorite blog of mine because I live and work in Midtown, has been chronicling recent clashes between some of these food trucks and the nearby businesses. The businesses may be feeling threatened by trucks parking near them and looking for any reason to nudge the trucks to move somewhere else. Provided the trucks aren't causing any real problems, should this all be left up to the free market? Survival of the fittest - the best product will draw the customers? It should be interesting to see how it all plays out.

Savory and sweet

The latest trend in the food world could be savory-flavored ice creams. Gourmet Magazine writes about Humphrey Slocombe Ice Cream in San Francisco, which is banking on people taking a liking to bourbon-cornflake or prosciutto ice cream. The Globe notes that a few Boston restaurants are also introducing some different flavors like gorgonzola and lavender honey.

Wacky flavors are more often found on high-end restaurant dessert menus rather than in the standard ice cream shop, presumably because the restaurants don't need to rely on a particular flavor selling well in order to keep it around. But I appreciate the deviation from the standard Vanilla, Chocolate and Strawberry. Sure, the old standbys are good for apple pie, but dessert is supposed to be fun and experimenting with new combinations helps to keep things from getting boring.

Shake Shack's rotating monthly custard calendar currently has one of my favorite, underused flavors on Thursdays - Earl Gray- and a promising-sounding Coffee & Donuts custard on Mondays.

On a past trip to Boston - a city with a more impressive set of independent ice cream shops - I tasted Pad Thai ice cream at JP Licks. It was likely the worst flavor I have ever sampled. I asked the people behind the counter if anyone had ever actually ordered the flavor and unsurprisingly the answer was a resounding no, though many were curious enough to try it. At Toscanini's, also in Boston, I once had a delicious Nilla wafer ice cream, but on subsequent visits have not seen it again; perhaps others did not appreciate it quite it as much. Another time, I tasted Cardamom and decided to go for it, but as a full serving it was overwhelming and the seeds texturally unappealing. Closer to home, at the Chinatown Ice Cream factory, I always go for the almond cookie ice cream. I am game to try almost anything at least once, so bring on the new flavors!

Port Authority Farmers Market

It sounds like it could be an oxymoron - a farmers market in the Port Authority, not exactly a place you'd associate with fresh produce. But starting this Thursday, there will be a weekly market in the North Wing of the bus terminal.

Off the beaten path

The Wall Street Journal has a short interview with Roadfood authors Jane and Michael Stern. The Sterns also write a monthly column in Gourmet magazine and they have just put out a new guide, "500 Things to Eat Before It's Too Late".

The beauty of their focus is discovering not only good food, but a way to taste local culture and history in many parts of the United States. The Roadfood Web site is a good way to find hole-in-the-wall places, restaurants distinct from places on the main tourist radar, eateries that come with a sense of context.

Ode to the supermarket

A coworker recently recounted to me his family's weekend trip to the grocery store. He laughed because he knew it sounded ridiculous - that a trip to the grocery store as a whole family could be a highlight of a weekend. But strangely, I understood that and it had me reminiscing.

Four Seasons loses executive chef

The head chef of the Four seasons died Saturday, just a week after finding out he had cancer. Here is his obit.

BBQ & Ice cream

It was a bbq & ice cream kind of Saturday. This was the year I finally made it to the Big Apple BBQ festival. The results were mixed. Thankfully the day would be saved by a surprise run-in with an ice cream truck I'd been wanting to try.

Food stuff around town

Summer is getting started and there are lots of food-related events around town. Here's a sampling:

Food, Inc., a movie about the food production industry, comes out this Friday, June 12. Over at The Atlantic's Food Channel blog, Corby Kummer says it is a must-see. Eric Schlosser, author of Fast Food Nation, was a co-producer on the film.

The NYC Food Film Festival also begins this weekend and extends through next week. Most of the events are apparently free, except for opening night. And samples of food related to the movies are to be offered.

The Big Apple BBQ festival hits Madison Square Park this Saturday and Sunday. You can get a plate for $8 - if you can bear the lines. While I love bbq, the heat and the crowds (I have read of incredibly long lines with the food sometimes running out) seem to have kept me away in the past. Perhaps its seventh year will be the one I make it there....

If you need to stock your kitchen with new cookware, perhaps you should make a stop at Broadway Panhandler's big clearance sale this weekend.

Recently a new set of food stalls opened up at the South Street Seaport. The Fulton Stall market is on my list of places to visit for the summer.

Danny Meyer Strikes Again

Danny Meyer already dominates Madison Square Park with Shake Shack and his restaurants Tabla and Eleven Madison Park lining the east side. Now, he is bringing something new to Central Park that could help brighten the early mornings of those waiting in line for Shakespeare in the Park tickets. An early look from Serious Eats at his new Public Fare at the Delacorte Theater, which is basically a fancy concession stand, makes it seem enticing. He's offering salads, sandwiches- some of which are on Sullivan Street bread- and a diversity of desserts, including gelato from Il Laboratorio del Gelato. How can he go wrong!

Dinner in Gotham

Gotham Bar and Grill a long-established New York restaurant with well-known chef Alfred Portale at its helm, has earned many distinctions over the years. It has the marks of a good restaurant. This was a promising dinner. Besides, my dad has deemed Gotham's steak his baseline against which he measures all other steaks. And I had dined here once before a couple of years ago and found the meal satisfying though not particularly memorable. So, I was eager to try it again.

Destination eating

Is Washington D.C. a city with destination restaurants? A recent piece from The Atlantic's great new food blog makes a strong argument for the nation's capital and its dining scene. Terrence Henry groups his examples into several categories that most food lovers would cite as things they look for in good eating cities. He builds a solid defense for why D.C. should be on any foodie's restaurant radar.

A Day A-Whey

More detailed post in the works about A Day A-Whey, offered by Saxelby Cheese ....




We set off early on a blustery, gray Sunday morning in two minivans, a group of 12 led by Anne, the owner of Saxelby's, and the two other employees of the cheese shop, Benoit and Veronica. After about two hours and a coffee stop, we arrived at our first stop for the day- the main room of the Wolffer Estate winery in Bridgehampton, Long Island.

Hi-Chew Happiness

I have found happiness. And it has become an addiction. It doesn't involve alcohol, tobacco or drugs (arguably). It is an addiction to Hi-Chews.

A Chicken in Spring

For serious eaters, there's the meal you go for to have an experience - to be pampered and introduced to interesting ingredients and flavor combinations, and then, there's the meal you go for in search of comfort - food that hits the spot. Smith's Spring Chicken Menu solidly fills diners with food that would make grandma proud. It does more than just satisfy hunger, it enhances the pleasure of dining with the sense that there is value here. If Smith's has figured out how to make diners feel as though they are truly getting a deal while still actually making money off this set menu, they've discovered a potent secret weapon.

A Summer Night's Dream

A summer dinner at Blue Hill Stone Barns is an exercise in patience, anticipation and trust. If you can manage this, you will be handsomely rewarded. The privilege is afforded only to those who manage to snag a hard-earned reservation by calling exactly 60 days before the desired dinner date and maintaining a level of persistence that pierces through the wall of busy signals likely to be encountered. So, naturally, having been tapped as one of the lucky ones, we headed into this birthday dinner with a high level of excitement.

O Ya? Oh Yeah!

It's tough to keep up with all the new restaurants constantly opening in New York and Boston, but close reading of various blogs and review sites helps. Sooner or later, the same names begin to show up across the board. And it becomes apparent that certain places are garnering special attention. Deserved or not, depends on which source one trusts or, even better, on personal experience.

When the New York Times restaurant critic, Frank Bruni, shocked me by naming his Number One restaurant outside of New York City as a little place called O Ya in Boston, I decided it was time to check in on it myself. I'd seen the name pop up here and there; up to that point I basically only knew that it was an expensive sushi place in downtown Boston with some good reviews from diners. But I hadn't had much of an urge to try it out because there were already a tier of good sushi restaurants that I regularly turned to. When it comes to sushi, I find that after a certain price point (where I know the fish is fresh and safe, and I've found it to be tasty) my palette cannot distinguish a large difference in the quality that makes me feel it is worth paying much more. I'm going to put it out there now that, hands down, the food at O Ya is worth the price.

A Lesson in Gluttony

Not only do I live and love to eat, I value the memory of all that I've eaten, so that I may share with others the things I have devoured and so that the smells and tastes and memories stay with me!

So here is a chronicle of a food-filled weekend in Boston with my cohorts mcgillicuddy and chickiecc (I think I may have hit their limits of eating or come close to it! I on the other hand don't seem to have any! :p)

An Appreciation of Taste

I not long ago finally had a chance to dine at one outpost - Degustation - of the curious Lamb empire. In addition to Degustation, Jack and Grace Lamb own Jack's Luxury Oyster Bar and Jewel Bako (which neighbors Degustation and shares a corridor with it). The space that Degustation now occupies has gone through several incarnations over the past few years, finally settling on its current identity - a tiny, stylish tapas bar. By tiny, we are talking about 15 seats and no more, situated in an intimate half-rectangle around the "kitchen". Dining here is not just about the food, but about the experience of eating as well (one best shared in pairs or as three at most).

On this particular night we were the first to arrive and were seated right in the center, where we could observe all the action from one end to the other. Though small, it was hard to keep up with all that was going on behind the counter -between the three cooks and the waitress there was a lot going on! The other seats quickly filled in soon after we sat down.

We each started with a nice glass of white wine - their glasses are quite reasonably priced with several around $7 or $8. The evening's meal can be done a la carte or as a chef's tasting menu - either in five courses or ten. The five-course tasting menu is just a selection of dishes that are already on the menu, while the ten-course menu consists of dishes that the chef has chosen to create for that night. A couple beside us went with the ten-course tasting menu and while we didn't keep track of everything they got, the dishes for the most part looked inventive and interesting and included ingredients not seen elsewhere on the printed menu.

We decided to choose our own courses. By the end of our meal we had ordered seven dishes. Because the food comes fairly quickly, it is easy enough to start off with a few dishes and order more as you go along, though catching the one waitress as she shuffles up and down the line may be a bit tough.(There are also two other people on the outside edge helping to clear dishes and bring new silverware - which comes fresh after each dish, perhaps a little too formal and unnecessary.) One of the dishes we had (the croquettas) was a later addition, because we had seen several orders of it go out and they looked too good to pass up.

But back to the beginning.

Per Se Dinner

Wednesday night my family had dinner at Per Se for my father's birthday. My dad managed to score the much-coveted reservation exactly 60 days ago and was given a 6 p.m. time. Though my dad would have preferred a 7 p.m. reservation I was plenty glad to eat early - there was nice light by the window and because the dinner was just over three hours, we weren't done until a little after 9 p.m. There was a lot to digest after that! Knowing that I was about to have something of a semi-exclusive experience (one of only 16 tables each night, though there is also a private party room in the back) stoked my excitement.

In summary: The dinner was a sensory-stimulating, fun progression of a wide range of food including seafood, meat and cheese. The food was outstanding and certainly nothing was bad. While the service was good, we've definitely had better at other top NYC dining establishments (Le Bernardin, Jean-Georges), but the atmosphere at Per Se was a tad more relaxed and we had a beautiful view of Columbus Circle and Central Park as we were seated right at the window. Was it worth the money? Well, let's wait until we get to the end.

Baba & Chaat

I've "discovered" two new lovely treats. I put the word discovered in quotes because apparently I was just really slow in learning about these delish delights.

BABA GANOUSH
I'd been too blinded by my admiration for hummus to ever notice it's cousin Mr. Baba. Gloriously smokey and smooth this dish is so creamy and yummy. The best version I've had(although, truth be told it's also the only version I've had) is at Akdeniz, a Turkish restaurant that Kitchenette and I have been to twice. Nicely warmed and pooled into a large bowl/dish it's topped with a tomato-based stew of either chicken or beef. To me though, the stew is merely a distraction. It's Mr. Baba I come to see. But he's an expensive date. For that gustatory pleasure, it's about $15-16 dollars. So does anyone know of any good baba ganoushes I can purchase at the grocery store? And is it traditional that they serve it warm? Because I have to tell you, I don't know if I would like Mr. Baba nearly as much if he were chilled.

CHAAT
Being cheap and adverse to risk, I usually order from a limited selection of my favorites whenever I'm at an Indian restaurant (chicken tikka masala, chicken vindaloo, saag paneer, vegetable korma, etc). But BUFFETS are a whole different story. They rock! This one restaurant near my apartment has an amazing weekend brunch spread. Luis and I go to this brunch at least once a month. Each time, I've noticed this appetizer of crunchy potato chip look-a-likes that get doused with yogurt sauce, chick peas and potatoes and a green sauce. It was never really compelling enough for me to try until one day when after my third plate of chicken vindaloo I decided to branch out. This stuff is TERRIFIC!!! It's crazily crunchy, both sweet and sour, and just this huge party of flavors. It's bold, brash and unique. Apparently there are also a wide variety of chaats in existence with restaurants putting their own spins on the dish?

Anyway, if you haven't ever tried either of these. I highly recommend them. Although I really do think the baba ganoush must be better warm rather than cold.

(photo from www.channelm.ca)

Chez Henri, Boston

In the spirit of taking advantage of a work-related jaunt to Cambridge, MA, I had "dinner" in February with two friends at Chez Henri, a restaurant that had long been on my list of Places I'd Like To Go but which somehow never made it to the number one spot. Chez Henri is a cute little restaurant parked on a sidestreet just off the main drag of Massachussetts Avenue, between Harvard and Porter Squares. Upon entry, you realize that the cute little space is further divided into two separate but not entirely equal spaces - to the left, the bar room and to the right, the dining room. I had lured my friends to CH on the basis of its famously fancy (and comparatively well-priced) bar food and as we walked through the cold evening, our hunger built.

When we arrived, the bar room was probably 75% full - most of the seats at the bar were occupied and there were diners at most of the small tables. But we found a seat and settled in with the menu [http://www.chezhenri.com/menu.php?menu_category=Bar%20Menu]. I had read very promising things about the Pressed Cuban Sandwich and now that Kitchenette has finally convinced me that pork isn't the evil meat that I was raised to believe it is, I decided to order that. J had Cuban Style Empanadas and F the Warm Spinach Salad with Duck Tamales. We also shared an order of calamari. Everything was delicious - my Cuban was cheesy and oozy and warm on thick toasted bread. YUM!! The food came out quickly, the service was good and the environment was warm and cosy. It could have been a less enjoyable experience if we had been stuck at a table near the door or squeezed into some corner of the small room but we were lucky and had a lovely time.

If you find yourself in Boston - or live there - and are looking for a classy restaurant experience without spending a lot of money, I'd highly recommend Chez Henri. And get the Cuban - while J and F enjoyed their food they were both jealous of mine!

duck duck duck

every once in a while...i get an intense craving for roast duck (other cravings are for Indian food and Vietnamese food and a burrito)...

Recently i had two opportunities to eat Peking Duck, which i think I never tried before.

The first place I tried it was at Sang Kee (one of my favorite Chinatown restaurants)....I really enjoyed it there, as I got to roll my own little pancakes. Because I was SO hungry, I also enjoyed the extra rice and accompanying dish, which was the remaining duck meat, stir-fried with snow/snap peas and veggies in a rich brown sauce.

The second place I tried it was at Cin Cin, a Chinese restaurant in Chestnut Hill. This is a pretty nice, semi-fancy Chinese restaurant. I enjoyed the Mongolian Lamb the last time I went there. Anyways, I ordered the Peking Duck here and the waiter made the rolls for us by request. Unfortunately, I did not enjoy this experience as much because he put too much hoisin sauce in the rolls! Also, there was no rice or side dish to accompany this meal. I guess it was okay since the crispy spring rolls I had as an appetizer was pretty filling. But the duck was still good and I enjoyed the green tea ice cream for dessert.

does anyone know what hoisin sauce is made of? i don't know if i really like it...

Trader Joes Update

People on chowhound say the new Union Square store should be open March 16 or March 17! I dread the mobs of people I'll have to fight my way through, but I can't wait to have access again. I only wish I lived closer.