Aburiya Kinnosuke Review

I'd long had Aburiya Kinnosuke, a Japanese restaurant in Midtown East not far from Grand Central, on my list of places to go. My impression of it had always been a serious place with Japanese businessmen; it turned out to be a more mixed crowd but with a very Japanese menu (as in, no chicken teriyaki). The menu is wide-ranging with interesting dishes that will intrigue intrepid eaters and simpler comfort food that would satisfy most. The server was helpful in navigating the book of a menu, which can be overwhelming.

My dining companion and I started with the wasabi leaf, small crunchy stalks that had the distinct sharpness familiar to anyone who has eaten the paste served with sushi. There is a brief moment when you taste the leadup to the spicy kick, but just before it reaches that point, it fades out and you feel relief. 

An appetizer sampler came with pickled jellyfish, pumpkin and more wasabi leaf. When the server realized that we had gotten more of something we had already ordered separately, he kindly offered to bring something else. We got a small portion of simple sweet potato.

Small Bites

- Restaurant noise can affect how you perceive the food you're eating.

- Some are boycotting Campbell Soups after a Canadian branch of the company began labeling some of its soups as halal.

- Restaurants use the Internet to research their customers and provide them with better service.

- New York magazine profiles April Bloomfield, of The Breslin and The Spotted Pig.

- Wal-Mart announces plans to get more involved in sustainable agriculture.

- Washington D.C. public schools institute dinner program to help fight childhood hunger.

- Starbucks experiments with transforming its coffee shops into cafes that would sell alcohol.

Recent Eats

I recently returned to Hill Country Chicken. This time I decided to try two Mama Els' drumsticks and a classic thigh with a side of creamy fried mashed potatoes. The Mama Els' recipe, a lighter breading, reminded me of Shake 'n Bake. It was slightly bland; the classic breading has more spice to it. I loved the gooey potatoes, which were essentially mashed potatoes mixed with french fries and cheese.

Dessert at Shake Shack — pumpkin pie custard, a fall classic, tasty as ever.

Per Se Revisited

"Respect for food is respect for life, who we are and what we do."

— Thomas Keller

The way I like to eat — constantly trying a variety of foods and places and always looking for something new— reflects the I way I like to live. I like a hole-in-the-wall that churns out tasty food as much as I like a high-end restaurant that meticulously arranges every element on the plate. In New York City, it's hard to get more high end than Keller's Per Se.

Part of the philosophy behind Per Se is that "a great meal is an emotional experience." I could not agree more. It's part of why those of us who like to eat come to such places, well versed in ceremony and the theater of memorable experiences, when we seek to commemorate or celebrate a moment in time. Yes, we pay for it (or, if we are lucky, others we dine with do). I recently had the great fortune to have such a meal a second time. Three years had passed since my first visit. The menu retained some of the same elements, including the classic oysters and pearls, but the price of the nine-course prix-fixe meal had increased to $275 (although supplemental charges had been reduced, service was still included). Jonathan Benno, the chef de cuisine at the time of my first meal had moved on to open his own restaurant; the kitchen is now led by Eli Kaimeh.

The Per Se philosophy also declares that "a great meal is a kind of journey that returns you to sources of pleasure you may have forgotten and takes you to places you haven't been before." It was indeed a great source of pleasure and ranks among my top meals. But I had not forgotten the first time I was charmed by the impressive cooking. This return could have been a mere repeat, perhaps even less exciting given that some of the elements of surprise would no longer exist, but instead it topped the first. Blissful eating ensued, but there was more than just that, there would be a foray into new territory. Before I get ahead of myself, let me take you through our meal.

My group of dining companions and I were gathered here for another birthday weekend for me. As I browsed the wine list, my dining companions gasped in surprise at the menu. I opened my own and saw that each one had a birthday greeting addressed to me. It seems that the special attention I had received the previous week was carrying over. I was in good company once again and from a lovely table by a window overlooking Columbus Circle we dined with the setting sun and the rising moon.

Small Bites

- Food trucks in Los Angeles will soon be subject to the same letter grading system as restaurants, perhaps a sign that they are going mainstream. And since New York's restaurant grading system went into effect, the health department tribunal has been a busy place.

- A burrito vendor is mourned in D.C.

- Wearing gloves may give the people who handle our food a false sense of hygiene.

- Photographer Jonathan Blaustein's project, "The Value of a Dollar," tries to bring focus to what food really looks like. 

- At home on a Sunday with Tim and Nina Zagat, the founders of the Zagat guides.

- Sorbet may be inferior to ice cream, but Scream Sorbet hopes its recipe is one for success.

Craftbar Review

I see nearly every meal as an opportunity to squeeze out a visit to a new place. But there are times when I just need a trusted standby to go back to, someplace I can rely on without thinking or that I can recommend in a pinch. I find myself returning often to Craftbar, one of Tom Colicchio's restaurants in the Flatiron district. It's casual but with a nice atmosphere — there's room between the tables so you can comfortably have a conversation without feeling like everyone around you is participating in it. The prices are reasonable and there's a wide range of foods that should suit most palates. And it has a nice cocktail menu as well if you're looking for more than just wine or beer. The only drawback on a couple of visits was an overenthusiastic waiter. Here was one recent meal.

 Polenta Fritters, Jalapeño, Golden Raisin.
These were a bit like hush puppies. The jalapeños gave the fritters a nice kick.

Heirloom Tomato, Fines Herbes, Aged Balsamic.

This was a large portion of various sweet tomatoes.

A Close Look at Blue Hill's Tomato Burgers

My recent meal at Blue Hill Stone Barns included the tomato burgers as one of several starters. I only now came across a blog post on the T Magazine site detailing how these burgers come together. The version I tried was slightly different still, but I love discovering how things I've tried were made. The post includes an adapted recipe for intrepid home cooks.

Bar Boulud Review

Daniel Boulud has established a large collection of restaurants, nearly all of which sport his name or his initials. I've dined at two of Boulud's fancier restaurants, Daniel and Cafe Boulud in West Palm Beach, and though the meals were good, there were drawbacks at both. Lunch at Bar Boulud left me with a similar impression of Boulud's empire as the others had — the food is decent, but not outstanding, not a great sign if you're going to stay afloat among New York's myriad of restaurants.

Though Bar Boulud might be considered less formal than the others, don't be fooled into thinking you're going to be able to taste the esteemed French chef's food cheaply. The prices still represent a white tablecloth dining experience (even outside on the sidewalk) with prices to match. But at lunch, you can stick to the less expensive sandwich section, unless you are looking for heavier meal.

Soupe De Mais: corn and mussel chowder, lovage oil, bacon, potatoes

Small Bites

- NPR cooks with Diana Kennedy, the "Julia Child of Mexico."

- The Times reviews Ferran, a new book by Colman Andrews about El Bulli chef Ferran Adria.

- A cabbage shortage in South Korea is impacting the supply of the national staple, kimchi, and causing a crisis.

- Complaints that biodegradable bags used by Sun Chips are too noisy mean the company will revert to nondegradable bags.

- The new Michelin ratings for New York City restaurants are out.

- Slate imagines the most expensive meal possible composed of Whole Foods products.

- If you knew what mechanically separated chicken looks like, would you still eat those chicken nuggets? And what does it mean if you like McDonald's Southern Style Chicken sandwich?

Concord Grape Verdict

A Friday night at Shake Shack in October means Concord grape custard. It's an ingredient that used to be seen only in the context of jelly; I'm pleased to see it being used more with other things. But here, the muted gray color of the custard reflected the strength of the flavor — it was mild and just barely detectable. I agreed with a dining companion's assessment that had we not known it was Concord grape, we might have mistaken it for vanilla.

Blue Hill Stone Barns Revist

The seasons had changed, I had grown older —in fact, I had returned to Blue Hill Stone Barns to mark just that, a landmark birthday. But how had the restaurant stood up in the two years since my first visit? My virgin meal took place in early summer, but my return visit would allow me to witness it under the guise of late summer. The season can make a world of difference when the mission of the restaurant relies on fresh, local food. At Blue Hill, the diner must trust the chef as there is no set menu; the chef decides how to compose your meal from what is available at on the farm or from nearby sources. Because of this, a chef must be versatile and able to adapt to changing limitations. The ingredients from which your meal is drawn might determine just how much you enjoy the meal. It was essential to me that my group was an eat-anything crowd —more flexibility and range given to the chef, higher chances to see his full creativity, just a naked look at what might be inspiring him on this night.

In place of the traditional menu, there is the list of possible ingredients, the roulette wheel from which our dinner would be constructed. You can return to Blue Hill and never have the same meal twice (even if you eat more than once in the same season) because the list of ingredients is long, many of which will be unfamiliar to most.

The Concord: fresh concord grape juice, gin, juniper berries

Vandaag Review

Vandaag is muscling its way into the European offerings of the East Village. It has been open for only a couple of months, and though The New York Times has already dropped two stars on it, my take is that the place needs a little more time to work on its promising menu and to refine its spotty service.

The restaurant employs the tactic often associated with fancier restaurants of starting with an amuse bouche and ending with a small end-of-the-meal sweet bite. But in a very European manner, there is no complimentary bread to start; you can pay $6 for it if you covet your carbs. Several different servers took their turns stopping at our table, confusing themselves in the process over what had or hadn't already been taken care of.

Cocktails

B-Side Sling (left): Bols Genever, Roobis infused Vermouth, lemon, maraschino & bitters

Pack Mule: Strawberry Peppercorn Akvavit (this had a strong peppery punch), ginger, Pimms, lemon & Campari

Chinaski: Akvavit, Cynar, lemon & apricot syrup with sparkling Gruner & celery twist

Danny Meyer Closes Tabla

Danny Meyer has decided to close Tabla, his restaurant serving Indian-influenced food, at the end of the year. Too bad, as I always found the food reliable and it was a good choice in the neighborhood.

October Custard Flavors

Some Shake Shack custard might help make a dreary day like today a bit cheerier, but head to one of the indoor locations to stay dry! It looks like some new flavors I have never seen before have been added with Shackenstein as a surprise combination. Concord grape is calling to me...

Monday: Pumpkin Pie
Tuesday: S'mores
Wednesday: Orange Fennel
Thursday: Coconut Caramel
Friday: Concord Grape
Saturday: Apple Cinnamon Raisin
Sunday: Shackenstein

UPDATE: Besides the new flavors, Shake Shack also has some additional offerings with its Shacktoberfest menu.

Small Bites

- I have trouble letting go of any book, but Epicurious has some suggetions if you're looking for some help culling your cookbook collection.

- Chef Pierre Gagnaire tries to stay away from faddish foods and instead finds inspiration among Asian ingredients.

- Although Chinese food is nearly ubiquitous, it takes many forms, and Hangzhou food is one type that has yet to be imported to the West.

- Who has a responsibility to try to fight obesity?

- To be a true locavore, you have to pay.

- One writer takes a stab at making healthier cupcakes.

- Ben & Jerry's no longer claims it's "all natural."

- Some interesting essays on food: The influence of ethnic foods, connecting to memories through paella and Francis Lam's street fair experience, a commentary on the melding of cultures in the cuisine of America.

Hill Country Chicken Review

Flatiron barbecue spot Hill Country is one of my reliable, go-to spots. So when they got in to the fried chicken game and opened Hill Country Chicken around the corner, naturally, I was excited to try it.

The line seemed reasonably short when I arrived in this retro-looking kitchen. Everything is sold a la carte and so it took awhile to figure out exactly how best to compose my meal.

Peter's Since 1969 Review

Walking in to Peter's Since 1969, you're hit with the warm smell of a fire roasting up chickens as the herbs work their magic into the skin. It's a comforting smell, one that makes you ready to pull up a chair to the table with fork in hand and dig in to a hearty meal. And if you're hungry, you'll certainly get a lot of food here.

Peter's is a casual, counter service place, a bit like a modern-day Boston Market, but with a cumbersome mouthful of a name. I tried out the one in Hell's Kitchen that opened not long ago, but the original branch is in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. The restaurant itself lacked much individual character and the dining area was bathed in unappealing yellow lights that cast a sickly pall over us. Though the place was empty, we were greeted by friendly, patient faces as we mulled over the menu options. We could see the chickens roasting on the rotisseries against the back wall and we were offered tastes of anything from several bright red dutch ovens crowding the counter.

All the meals come with two sides, a cup of soup and a mini corn muffin or sweet bun. My dining companion and I ordered a quarter chicken (white meat) with collard greens and mac & cheese and cream of mushroom soup. We also had the homemade meatloaf with mashed potatoes and cabbage salad and chicken vegetable soup.  We also tried the mint lemonade, served in mason jars, which was a refreshing choice.

One Person's Boredom is Another's Excitement

I missed this blog item on Diner's Journal last week in which Times restaurant critic Sam Sifton drew attention to a letter from a reader commenting on an article about recent changes at Eleven Madison Park. The reader worried that the service and menu changes, which the restaurant made to elevate its status in the dining world, would make it a boring place with exciting food.

It's an interesting move on the part of EMP to switch to a prix-fixe-only menu, something that I do associate mostly with very high-end places, and to reduce the number of seats, making the reservations harder to acquire. I have dined at EMP a couple of times and although it has been on my list of places to return to, especially after it received a good re-review from The Times last year, I haven't made it back. A change in the way the restaurant operates provides me with additional incentive — I know I would not only be testing out the food again (I had dinner there shortly after the current chef, Daniel Humm, became the chef), but that I would now also have a new experience.

Small Bites

- Find out what it's like behind-the-scenes at Thomas Keller's French Laundry. The San Francisco Chronicle also explored the kitchens at other four-star restaurants in the area.

- Bon Apetit magazine moves from Los Angeles to New York and loses its editor, Barbara Fairchild.

- The Huffington Post corrects some major food myths.

- Sugar beet farmers hurt by a judge's ruling that they cannot plant genetically engineered varieties.

- The Boston Globe runs a series on the "Science and Cooking" class at Harvard, which includes Ferran Adria as a lecturer, among several other major chefs.

- The Museum of Modern Art currently has an exhibit on kitchen design.
 
- The New York Times Science section explains the science behind spiciness in chilies.

- Grant Achatz, chef of Alinea restaurant, explains the thinking behind some of the dishes at his restaurant.

- A diet heavy on plants and low-fat dairy can help prevent kidney stones.

- Dulce de leche is the ice cream flavor of the moment in Buenos Aires. And Cincinnati ice cream company Graeter's tries to expand its nationwide reach.

Egg Review

I previously dined at Egg, in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, for brunch a few months ago. More recently, I had a chance to sample the dinnertime offerings. The menu overall has a Southern bent to it, but I had heard much to do about the fried chicken, so I was eager to pass judgment on it.

In place of bread as a starter, there are boiled peanuts, soft and salty.

The caramelized grapefruit with mint, served warm, was more sweet than bitter, as grapefruits can be. 

Il Matto Review

Il Matto, a fairly new restaurant in Tribeca, by all appearances could be the domain of a madman, which is one way to translate its name. You get this psychedelic feeling from any number of characteristics: the tracks of multicolored lights on the ceiling; the colorful teacup-shaped booths anchoring the corners of the restaurant; backward letters and rough sketches on the menu; the grenade salt and pepper shakers; terrariums serving as candle holders; or vinyl tablecloths. Not to mention some unfamiliar concoctions among the food and drinks.

But it adds up to more than just a schtick. There are things here to make mouths happy. Start with the crazy playground that is the cocktail list. It unites ingredients that will make you wonder how that could possibly taste good; several of them introduce alcohol to some savory components. We tried the Smilla (vodka, lemon juice, sugar, peach puree, celery, white pepper), the Rosso Tiziano (rum, lemon juice, sugar, raspberry and cherry tomato), and La Signoria (gin, lemon juice, sugar, lettuce, strawberry, balsamic  reduction). Who knew that peach and celery are, in fact, quite complementary, mellow flavors that embrace each other.

Hide-Chan Ramen Review

When the rippling heat transforms into brisk breezes, I can handle ramen for dinner once again. The steam wafting in my face, opening up my pores, the warm broth toasting my tastebuds. Ramen joints seem to be proliferating these days; there are lots of options around the city to get your fill. And the price points and quality vary with each. Hide-Chan Ramen in Midtown East exists where another Japanese spot, Yakitori Torys, once was on 52nd Street close to 2nd Avenue. Hide-Chan was opened by the same owner as Torys and of the Totto family of restaurants (Totto Ramen is another new-ish ramen place on the West side). But Hide-Chan is a bit out of the way, perhaps a better stop for East side business lunches.

I tried the Hakata Char Siu Ramen, served with extra sliced pork marinated with soy sauce and brown sugar. The broth was creamy and salty, but the pork had thicker strips of fat than meat and the scallions overpowered the bowl when it was all mixed together.

Small Bites

- Americans find it tough to fulfill their daily servings of fruit and vegetables.

- Ferran Adrià says that when he turns his restaurant, El Bulli, into a research lab, he'll post a new recipe from it online every night. Most of us will never have a chance to eat at El Bulli, so we'll have to settle for reading about others' experiences —Vanity Fair has a good profile of Adrià.

- Salon's Francis Lam tries a doughnut ice cream sandwich and lives to tell the story.

- Eater.com recaps the recent conversation between David Chang and Anthony Bourdain at the 92nd Street Y.

- The Wall Street Journal clues us in to what Restaurant Week does for restaurants.

- Trader Joe's will open its Upper West Side branch on September 20, according to MyUpperWest.

- High fructose corn syrup has earned a bad reputation, so corn refiners are trying to rename it corn sugar.

The Chicken Keeps Coming

If you like fried chicken, not only do you have many Korean fried chicken options to choose from, there is now Hill Country Chicken nearby. Eater reports that the chicken place, opened by Flatiron barbecue spot, Hill Country, opens tomorrow and there's a copy of the menu. Looking good...

UPDATE: Zagat Buzz has more details on the look and food of Hill Country Chicken.

Recent Eats

Lunch at Eataly

I checked in on Eataly at lunchtime recently. My dining companion and I found a crowded, confusing food hall. The retail options are mixed in among the food stalls making for a not-so-comfortable experience. It's still early, so perhaps when things settle down the place will seem calmer. But our attempt to try the pizza was thwarted by a 35- to 40-minute wait to sit down. So instead, we ended up at the panini counter. The choices were limited — just a couple options for cold sandwiches and hot ones. 

We both got a mushroom and taleggio cheese panini. It was a fine sandwich, but nothing special, nothing that impressed us and nothing that made us think we'd definitely return.

We also got an apple cake from the counter across the way. It wasn't too sweet, but the texture was grainy. Maybe we didn't choose well, but it didn't say much for Eataly.

West Side Gets Artichoke Pizza

Now if you need your late-night fill of Artichoke pizza, you don't have to head to the east side, you can wait on the west side instead. The Chelsea branch has an actual restaurant in addition to the take-out window.

Maialino Review

That I have returned to Maialino several times should in itself be an indicator of how good I think the place is. The attentive and genial service never fails to buoy its reputation, the food never fails to leave its mark of satisfaction. And for that, I recommend it to everyone.

Carciofini Fritti: Fried artichokes & anchovy bread sauce. Coarse artichokes are transformed into a crispy and delicate appetizer. The creamy sauce cuts the slightly sour taste of the vegetable.

Salumi Misti & Olives. Mortadella, soppressata and speck (top to bottom). I wasn't crazy about the mortadella, which reminded me too much of bologna, but the speck was amazing, thinly sliced and salty.

Small Bites

- The market for halal food in France expands and gets more upscale, spurring debate over its significance.

- A Q & A with cookbook author Grace Young on stir-fries and woks.

- All the fat and salt in McDonald's food seems to keep it from spoiling for a disturbingly long period of time.

- Unemployed life for former Gourmet magazine editor Ruth Reichl means daily bread-baking.

- The Village Voice covers nine cuisines the New York dining scene is weak in.

- After winning the first season of Top Chef, Harold Dieterle opened Perilla restaurant in New York. Metromix talks to Dieterle about his next place, a Thai restaurant called The Kin Shop, opening this fall.

- A new study shows that people who drink alcohol outlive nondrinkers.

- The Feast blog conducts a taste test of Shake Shack concretes from various branches.

- Experts provide advice on how to eat safely while keeping to a budget.

- Global food prices rise, prompting concern.

Rockmeisha Review

Rockmeisha Izakaya, on lovely Barrow Street in the Village, is an intimate place to sample Japanese small plates. Everything we tried was good, but the thing to go for was the ramen.

Gyoza

Mentai (roe) potato salad. If you don't like it when the roe tastes fishy, you won't enjoy this.

The Early Word on Eataly

Even those who don't read food blogs religiously or closely follow highly anticipated openings in the food world have heard about Eataly, the mega-market opened by Mario Batali, among others, and seem to be excited about it. So, because people keep mentioning it to me, here's an early look at the Italian supermarket, including a review from Serious Eats of the pizza place inside and one from The Food Doc on the upscale steakhouse.

Recent Eats

Sam's Falafel Stand downtown reminds me of the highly regarded and oft-recommended falafel spot in Paris, L'as du Falafel. Several rounds of crispy, not too garlicky falafel stuffed inside a soft pita with eggplant, hummus, lettuce, tomato and a little spicy sauce.  It makes for a very tasty and satisfying lunch. And for $4, it's a bargain.

Wafel & Dinges is a yellow Belgian waffle cart that you may have run into around the city if you were paying attention. Although I had passed by it several times, I'd never had the opportunity to try it out. This time though I was hungry for something sweet and it fit the bill. Wafel & Dinges now have several carts out, but this one is stationed at South Street Seaport. Although the guy in the cart tried to explain the ordering, there still seemed to be some confusion as to just how many toppings you get with your order. We ended up with the "de bom," a wafel topped with a scoop of strawberry ice cream and our choice of toppings — strawberries and strawberry jam.

The wafel was a nice soft and chewy chunk of dough that absorbed the fruity jam nicely. The ice cream didn't exude enough strawberry for my tastes but overall the combination did the trick at quelling my sweet desires.

Small Bites

- California is the only state where home ec is still called home ec. Should the class be mandatory?

- Food helps one family's child to stay connected to her heritage.

- Pleasant Ridge Reserve, one of my favorite cheeses, is named the best cheese in America by the American Cheese Society.

- Roger Ebert can no longer eat or talk, but he cooks and writes about food.

- Check out a slideshow of different types of mooncakes and get ready for the Mid-Autumn Festival on September 22.

The First Fall Flavors

Although I don't personally need a reason to look forward to fall, Shake Shack gives me some good ones with the new custard flavors. If you've missed Red Velvet on previous occasions, here's another opportunity to indulge.

Monday: Cinnamon, Spice & Everything Nice
Tuesday: Red Velvet
Wednesday: Buttered Rum Raisin
Thursday: Coffee & Donuts
Friday: PB&J
Saturday: Grasshopper
Sunday: Figs & Honey

Blue Smoke Review

Though dinner at Blue Smoke is a casual affair, it can require some advance planning as it is almost always full and arriving without a reservation can mean a lengthy wait. Thankfully we came prepared.

There are many barbecue places in the city, but they are not all alike. Depending on what style of barbecue you're in the mood for, you'll choose differently. For example, if you're seeking out a dry rub, Texas style, you should head to Hill Country. Danny Meyer's Blue Smoke covers barbecue from a few different regions but seems to do them fairly well (at least to someone who isn't an expert and has no regional loyalties for this type of food.)

We ordered the chicken fried steak - two thinly breaded pieces of steak covered in a chunky gravy and served with a biscuit and mashed potatoes. The potatoes were wonderfully buttery. The biscuit was good, though I've had better. And the meat gave me that feeling of sticking to my insides, just the feeling I was craving.

Crazy Corner

How much more fried chicken does the corner of Fifth Avenue and 32nd Street need before it hits its limit? Apparently, the owners of another chain, Mono + Mono, think that hasn't happened yet — the new spot will offer fried chicken and music. Another branch of it will be located in the East Village.

Mile End Delicatessen Review

Mile End Delicatessen in Brooklyn is a Jewish deli, styled after delis in Montreal, specializing in smoked meat.  The affordable dinner menu gets right to the point and is short and sweet, including some classic deli foods. Unfortunately, they were out of the matzo ball soup on the evening my dining companion and I ate here. But here is what we were able to sample:

The sour pickles in a Brooklyn brine. This was a giant pickle and a large bowl of pickled cabbage that had a minty undertone to it. There were small seeds that looked like caraway seeds that were mixed in there. Both were good, not too sour.

The smoked meat sandwich, which is a heap of beef brisket on rye with mustard. The meat, similar to pastrami, is tender and a bit fatty and rich, but smokey and well-spiced. It's definitely a good thing to share with a dining companion.

Small Bites

- If you're having trouble losing weight, maybe you should try the Twitter diet.

- A vegetarian struggles to balance her food beliefs with life.

- Several New York restaurateurs and eating establishments are expanding to D.C.

- Want that bagel sliced? You'll pay for it.

- Cooking for Geeks takes a more scientific approach to preparing food and engages with a different crowd.

- A discussion about why the latest outbreak of salmonella in eggs happened.

- Food styling has gotten more natural.

Spot Dessert Bar Review

After any fulfilling dinner, what I usually want is a good dessert. Sometimes the place you're at just doesn't offer many good options, but sometimes moving to a new place is a good way to extend an evening. I often lament the lack of places in the city to turn to just for dessert, a place where you won't be made to feel unwelcome for taking up a table where people are still seeking out an evening meal or where the restaurant would prefer you imbibe expensive cocktails.

So, I was excited to try out Spot Dessert Bar in the East Village, opened by pastry chef Pichet Ong, chef at Village Tart and who previously owned the now closed dessert bar P*ong. Spot serves up slightly experimental Asian twists on American desserts. P*ong had a similar bent, but seemed to fall too heavily on the Asian side and I was not charmed by my one experience there. But the menu at Spot relies more on traditional favorites, such as cheesecake, ice cream and cupcakes (though the main desserts are confusingly labeled as tapas) and the setting is fun and casual.

The servers are extremely friendly and helpful with ordering, explaining the background of the place, what the desserts entail and making recommendations. They are perhaps also good salesmen; we upgraded from ordering individual desserts to the omakase tasting, which would get us more dessert than we needed but was a better deal and a great way to extensively sample the menu.

The Yuzu Eskimo were slices of a citrus ice cream and oreo crumbles with strawberries and passion fruit foam. I didn't detect a strong citrus flavor, but I love an ice cream cake with chocolate crunchy things.

The Soft Cheesecake was more like a "cheesecake" made of whipped dollops of cheese with orange, blueberries, walnut cookie crumbs,  and raspberry foam. Despite having long spoons to reach inside the cup, this was clumsy to eat. It became more manageable when one of my dining companions decided to dump the ingredients out on to the plate. The cheese was strong and a little rich for our tastes, but the fruitiness of the other ingredients played off of it well.

Sushi Yasuda Review

When your sushi dinner calls for a special occasion place, Sushi Yasuda fits the bill. It's a lovely place east of Grand Central, sparingly decorated with plain wood and high ceilings, feeling a bit spa-like. The coveted spots are the seats around the sushi bar where you can watch several chefs preparing your meal. But on this visit, my dining companions and I sat at a table, the better to converse.

When you order, you won't realize just how good you're going to think the food is, even if you are aware of its reputation as one of the best sushi spots in the city. You'll surely end up with a second or even a third round of fish. There's so much to choose from, making for some tough choices as you'll likely want more of what you just ate while also wanting to try the many other options.

We ordered a couple of appetizers on the specials list. We got a fried blowfish with ponzu sauce — a delicately coated chunk of toothsome white fish.

Custard Tastings

Blueberry Coffee Cake Tuesdays: Shake Shack's blueberry-involved flavors are definitely the prettiest of the custards. I highly recommend them for their taste as well. This one was a solid, smooth berry custard with sugary crystals embedded throughout, like the crumble on a coffee cake, my favorite part.

Basil Thursdays: Ordering a cone sure seems like a better deal; it appears that you get what nearly amounts to two scoops. Though the basil custard has a clear vegetal flavor, it was refreshing. But by the time I reached the cone, I had had my fill, reinforcing my theory that Shake Shack does better with flavors that have texture contrasts.

Cascabel Taqueria Review

I don't often make it to the Upper East Side for food. But sometimes the location can't be helped and you need a good meal. So, after reading Serious Eats' strong recommendation, I settled on Cascabel Taqueria for a recent lunch with a friend. We decided to share a few dishes to maximize our ability to sample the menu.

To start, we each got a small paper bag with what essentially amounted to a giant tortilla chip sprinkled with chili powder.

We ordered the blue crab and corn fritters with fresh salsa, piquillo pepper aioli and sopa de tortilla, listed under the "To Start" section. But strangely, all our food came out at once. My dining companion and I were both drawn to this by the mention of blue crab. But these crispy balls were a bit too dark, so fried that the flavors were muddled. The dish was a bit skimpy on the sauce, but the tomato salsa was refreshing.

Keeping Track of the Trucks

Food trucks are everywhere these days and because they move around, offering their goods to different areas, it can be hard to keep track. But the Web site, Roaming Hunger, maps their locations in real time and keeps track of the essential Twitter updates. They've gathered information for several locations around the country and you can also easily view results by what you're in the mood to eat (i.e. savory, vegetarian).

Small Bites

- How long would you wait for a cupcake? If you don't want to wait, just catch one of the many cupcake-themed shows on television.

- As shrimping seasons begins in the Gulf, concern over the industry's survival continues.

- Don't eat your cat. It'll get you in trouble.

- Despite room for improvement, FreshDirect makes the life of one writer better for seven reasons.

- The unlikely success story of a startup yogurt company.

 - A program in Massachusetts tries to address childhood obesity by handing out "prescriptions" for produce at farmers' markets.

- A new book looks at what people around the world eat in an average day.

- Changes are being made to industrial farming in response to concern for more humane treatment of animals.

Recent Eats

I recently stepped in to the world of chef Kurt Gutenbrunner's restaurants specializing in Austrian food, with brunch at Blaue Gans. An early meal meant my dining companion and I had the place to ourselves for awhile. The offerings are fairly simple as is the presentation, but they're done well and reasonably priced. I'd like to return for dinner sometime.
 

Two Poached Eggs with Creamed Spinach and Baked Ham, Hollandaise Sauce.

Wiener Schnitzel, Potato Cucumber Salad and Lingonberries.

Small Bites

- For some people, dissatisfaction turns into restaurant rage.

- Ever bought an unripe cantaloupe? Here's a guide to picking a better one. If watermelon is your fruit, learn how to analyze its shape and color and how to store it.

- And if you've ever wondered how long your food can stay out of the fridge, use four hours as a guideline.

- Studies suggest that global warming will cause rice yields to fall.

- Grant Achatz, chef of Alinea, and his business partner Nick Kokonas discuss an innovative way of paying for your meal that they plan to institute at their new Chicago restaurant, Next.

- Turning butter into fuel.

- The recipe for Thomas’ English muffin is closely guarded secret, but one insider has been accused of trying to take it to a rival.

- Vitaminwater is not good for you. But Coca-Cola claims no one would believe it is. Is that a viable argument?

- An entire cafe devoted to selling Pop-Tarts has opened in Times Square. There's even Pop-Tarts sushi. See what Mark Bittman thinks.

- What is the war on high fructose corn syrup really about?

Northern Spy Food Co. Review

Getting to Northern Spy Food Co. in Alphabet City is a bit of a trek, but it's one that pays off. The place had popped up on my dining companion's list of suggestions for dinner several times and I had continually bypassed it in favor of other, closer spots.

Around 7 p.m. on a Sunday evening, the place was just lightly filled and it was easy to get a table, but by 8:30 p.m. it was packed. The casual setting, with white wood-paneled walls and exposed brick, was something you might expect by the shore.

The drink list includes an interesting list of seltzers. My dining companion ordered a watermelon-basil seltzer while I opted for the sparkling sangria made with blueberry juice. Both were refreshing, though my dining companion wished the watermelon flavor hadn't been so diluted. And when our check arrived, we were pleasantly surprised to find that we'd made it in time for happy hour and got a $2 discount on the sangria.

Summer Restaurant Week: Maialino

After a couple of good experiences at Danny Meyer's newest, Maialino, I jumped at the chance to book a Restaurant Week reservation there. I had also heard rumors that they were giving out vouchers toward a future breakfast.

Lunch began with a basket of assorted fresh bread from the bread counter here. I could live off that bread and the quality olive oil served with it.

We started with smoked swordfish, pickled onion and caperberry and mizuna. I have never heard of smoked swordfish much less seen it on a menu. This was a sharp dish with the right flavors to highlight a fairly mild fish.

On the opposite end of the spectrum, we ordered the tripe, pecorino & mint. If you associate tripe with chewiness, you'd be pleasantly surprised here. The tripe was tender, similar in texture to cheese. The tomato sauce, ever so slightly sweet, and pecorino made this dish go down easily.

Small Bites

- A photographer comes up with a possible new way for food magazines to adapt to tablet technology.

- New York chef Anita Lo talks about women in the kitchen.

- Why is ice cream getting so expensive? Maybe more places should try making ice cream without eggs.

- The Washington Post makes note of the popsicle trend.

- NPR looks at the evolution of the human diet.

- All about lychees.

- A British market started selling smaller heads of lettuce for single people.

- Food writer Michael Pollan talks to the Wall Street Journal about local eating.

What to Do?

Mark Bittman recently posted about his bad experience at a restaurant where he found plastic in his corn soup. He asked readers what he should have done differently and wrote a follow-up post, noting that he didn't think it right to reveal which restaurant it was. I tend to agree that for one particular mistake like this that it's not fair to ruin the restaurant's reputation.

But I often wonder when it's appropriate to make known any complaint I have with a restaurant. I tend to avoid sending back my meal unless it's utterly inedible (and that has rarely happened) for fear that the chef will be offended among other reasons. But perhaps it's reasonable to share any complaints with the server or with a manager at the end of the meal — a good restaurant will ask how everything was anyway. If you don't plan on going back then there's little at stake and just maybe, other diners would be spared similar problems. This situation came up at a recent bad dinner I had at SD26 and though the waiter did stop by to ask how our meal was, we didn't offer our true thoughts. In retrospect, I do wish we had at least made it known that we weren't satisfied.

And once I've spoken up, what do I expect a restaurant to do? If it's after the fact and the problem can't be corrected, I do think it's right for the restaurant to offer to comp some portion of the meal. The mere act of raising a complaint is an opportunity for the establishment to show that, no matter what happened, it still knows how to provide exemplary service.

Upper East Side Gets a Shake Shack

Hot on the heels of the Times Square Shake Shack opening, the Upper East Side branch soft opens and unsurprisingly there was a line. The good news — it looks like the branch will have a C line.

Summer Restaurant Week: Bar Room at The Modern

This past winter, I dined at the Bar Room at The Modern and thought it was worthy of returning for another round this summer.

Tomato and Almond Gazpacho with cucumbers, teardrop tomatoes and basil oil. This was a visual beauty, chock full of ingredients. It's not your typical gazpacho, which to me makes it better because I usually don't like cold soups. This was creamy and interesting, though if you prefer a simpler soup, this wouldn't be for you.

Fried Chicken Wars

Midtown lunch reports that the new branch of Bon Chon on Fifth Avenue will open next week. Just down the street is Kyochon, which opened a few months back with mostly disappointing results (so I won't get my hopes up too high for Bon Chon) and Mad for Chicken is across the street. Mad for Chicken has better food, but it loses points for the clubby atmosphere. Hopefully Bon Chon will hit the right combination of great chicken and casual atmosphere.

August is Here

And so are the new Shake Shack flavors:

Monday: Salted Caramel
Tuesday: Blueberry Coffee Cake (this will be my must-try for this month)
Wednesday: Cavaillon Melon
Thursday: Basil
Friday: Chocolate Chuckles
Saturday: Caramelized Peach
Sunday: Sweet Corn