I think that part of what I’m discovering about the list as I try more items is that each is very good when judged against its own category. When I think of the best things I ate this past year, most will probably be very similar things that I really enjoy like sushi or steak. But what kind of list would it be if it was just different sushi and steak places? What the TONY list does is make you look for what’s new that year and, relative to other items in their category, determine the best. Pickle pork soup wouldn’t be in the top 100, but was it a good soup that was different and made we want to go back? Yes.
20. Falai Panetteria
79 Clinton Street at Rivington
Chef Falai used to be the pasty chef at Le Cirque until opening up a couple of spots on the Lower East Side including Falai Panetteria, a café-like corner store with a few tables, waiter service and a pastry counter. Paneterria serves lunch and dinner with menu items using the same flavors Falai across the street (Italian). Rosemary-raisin bread from the list sounded very tempting and for $4.00 I was expecting a small roll or some flat-bread but for $4.00 we got an entire round loaf, probably about 8 or 9 inches in diameter. The bread was light and airy on the inside, while the crust was pretty firm, to the point that tearing the loaf in half became quite a challenge. The rosemary taste wasn’t overbearing at all and the raisins were littered throughout the bread, instead of just lumped on top. If this was sliced or made into individual rolls and served in a bread basket at a restaurant I would be very pleased. I’m sure that serving small pieces with some olive oil or making toast (French toast?) out of it would be wise. At the end of the day, it’s bread and it’s not in sticky bun form from Amy’s. In the realm of bread it’s a winner but I wouldn’t go out of my way to pick up a loaf, even at $4.00
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
Doughnut Plant - Kossar's - Gus's Pickles
19. Doughnut Plant
379 Grand Street at Norfolk Street
Doughnut plant has been getting a ton of press since it first opened in the mid 90’s, serving freshly made donuts with unique flavors and filling combinations such as pistachio and peanut butter filled with raspberry jelly. With a line wrapping around the small store-front it is clear that there is a reason for all of the publicity. After seeing all of the different donuts, peeking through the kitchen window and smelling all of the cinnamon and chocolate I wanted to try all of the flavors they had that day, but I ordered the donut I was coming for, the coconut cream doughnut ($2.75) Biting into it released the liquidy coconut cream center (liquidy because it had just come out of the oven) and it was topped with a coconut glaze sprinkled with sweetened coconut shavings. The crust is flaky like a krispy kreme donut but isn’t greasy or oily, the donut isn’t too sweet and the coconut isn’t overbearing.
Was it a good donut, considerably outflanking Krispy Kreme and Dunkin? Yes. But, the $2.75 price tag is a little too hefty for me to be able to justify coming back for it. I also sampled what I believe is the blackout donut (I just asked for the one that the guy in front of me ordered). Chocolate cake topped with cocoa powder and filled with chocolate pudding. Awesome, and probably better than the coconut cream. Cake donuts are typically too dry for me but that’s what made the chocolate pudding such a solid compliment. Still a bit pricey but I can see what the fuss is about and don’t fault anyone for picking up one or two. Maybe a dozen.
Kossar’s Bialy
367 Grand Street
I hadn’t planned on stopping here but Kossar’s is constantly ranked as having one of the best bagels / bialys in the city. Picked up an everything bagel and a bialy to taste. Maybe it was too late in the day (2pm) to really be able to judge Kossar’s, (though Ess-a Bagel is still good in the afternoon on a Sunday), but I was very disappointed. Not only was it nowhere near Murray’s or Ess-a but it wasn’t even a good bagel. Marginally better than the random bagel I could get from any deli. I took a couple of bites and threw the rest out. If you know me, you can’t even imagine me throwing out food and yet Kossar’s wasn’t worth it.
Gus’s Pickles
87 Orchard Street at Broome
It’s pretty awesome when you can be a famous pickle store and just sell them out of barrels on the street with a small storefront to use as storage. Gus’s sells 2 pickles for a dollar ($6.00 for a quart), offering full-sour, ½ sour and a handful of other pickle varieties. I went with the full sour. It’s a pretty small pickle but it is quite tasty. Garlicky, sour, crunchy. What more can you ask for from a pickle? It’s not worth a special trip, but if I lived in the area I’d pick up a couple for a snack.
379 Grand Street at Norfolk Street
Doughnut plant has been getting a ton of press since it first opened in the mid 90’s, serving freshly made donuts with unique flavors and filling combinations such as pistachio and peanut butter filled with raspberry jelly. With a line wrapping around the small store-front it is clear that there is a reason for all of the publicity. After seeing all of the different donuts, peeking through the kitchen window and smelling all of the cinnamon and chocolate I wanted to try all of the flavors they had that day, but I ordered the donut I was coming for, the coconut cream doughnut ($2.75) Biting into it released the liquidy coconut cream center (liquidy because it had just come out of the oven) and it was topped with a coconut glaze sprinkled with sweetened coconut shavings. The crust is flaky like a krispy kreme donut but isn’t greasy or oily, the donut isn’t too sweet and the coconut isn’t overbearing.
Was it a good donut, considerably outflanking Krispy Kreme and Dunkin? Yes. But, the $2.75 price tag is a little too hefty for me to be able to justify coming back for it. I also sampled what I believe is the blackout donut (I just asked for the one that the guy in front of me ordered). Chocolate cake topped with cocoa powder and filled with chocolate pudding. Awesome, and probably better than the coconut cream. Cake donuts are typically too dry for me but that’s what made the chocolate pudding such a solid compliment. Still a bit pricey but I can see what the fuss is about and don’t fault anyone for picking up one or two. Maybe a dozen.
Kossar’s Bialy
367 Grand Street
I hadn’t planned on stopping here but Kossar’s is constantly ranked as having one of the best bagels / bialys in the city. Picked up an everything bagel and a bialy to taste. Maybe it was too late in the day (2pm) to really be able to judge Kossar’s, (though Ess-a Bagel is still good in the afternoon on a Sunday), but I was very disappointed. Not only was it nowhere near Murray’s or Ess-a but it wasn’t even a good bagel. Marginally better than the random bagel I could get from any deli. I took a couple of bites and threw the rest out. If you know me, you can’t even imagine me throwing out food and yet Kossar’s wasn’t worth it.
Gus’s Pickles
87 Orchard Street at Broome
It’s pretty awesome when you can be a famous pickle store and just sell them out of barrels on the street with a small storefront to use as storage. Gus’s sells 2 pickles for a dollar ($6.00 for a quart), offering full-sour, ½ sour and a handful of other pickle varieties. I went with the full sour. It’s a pretty small pickle but it is quite tasty. Garlicky, sour, crunchy. What more can you ask for from a pickle? It’s not worth a special trip, but if I lived in the area I’d pick up a couple for a snack.
Monday, February 9, 2009
LES Tour - Dumplings
This past Sunday marked an epic chapter in the TONY quest. Joined by a couple friends and blessed with Spring weather in the middle of February, we set out to conquer the Lower East Side in one day. I had received my camera from Amazon and with an empty stomach and a map from Google, we began our walk. Note: Since there were so many places covered on Sunday, I decided to enter each one separately for archiving purposes.
18. Lan Zhou Handmade Noodle Shop
144 E Broadway between Pike and Rutgers
When I think about cheap dumplings, I think about Fried Dumpling, a small place on Allen Street and Delancey that sells 5 fried pork & chive dumplings for $1. Lan Zhou Handmade Noodle is another 10 minutes Southeast and the first thing you see when you enter is a table in the back with a huge pile of dough (hence the “handmade” part). For most of the time we were there, there was a person kneading, massaging, and even pounding on the dough, slamming it into the table. We ordered exactly what was on the list, “dumplings.” Eight boiled dumplings for $2.00. Needless to say, they were not very happy with us that that was all we ordered, but it was going to be a long day and we weren’t ready to fill up on dumplings. When they arrived, they were steaming hot with paper-thin semi-transparent dough, beautifully crescent shaped, where you could see the fingertip marks where they were sealed. Covering them in soy sauce and vinegar, we dug into the first bite of our Sunday journey. They were very good, but I’m not ready to say they’re on the same level as Fried Dumpling and certainly not worth the extra walking. That being said, the place was pretty crowded with people ordering the noodle soups ($4.50) and they looked very good. I am definitely willing to come back for a cheap lunch on a nice day to get some noodles and stop at Fried Dumpling on the way back.
Fried Dumpling
99 Allen Street between Delancey and Broome
After all of the praise I just bestowed upon Fried Dumpling while talking about Lan Zhou, I felt it necessary to comment on this whole-in-the-wall immediately. I will start off by saying that after hitting up a number of spots yesterday on the TONY list, one of my friends insisted that we stop here since the dumplings are just that good. There are probably 6 seats in the entire space with most of their business coming from a large lunch crowd getting it to go. The menu is simple and their specialty is obvious. 5 dumplings for $1 is what I would spend my last buck on. Talk about affordability during hard times. They also serve slices of sesame pancake for $0.50 and pints of hot & sour soup for $1.00 though I haven’t been impressed with either and would rather put the money towards more dumplings. They offer vegetable dumplings also so feel free to bring everyone you know, just don’t count on snagging a table.
18. Lan Zhou Handmade Noodle Shop
144 E Broadway between Pike and Rutgers
When I think about cheap dumplings, I think about Fried Dumpling, a small place on Allen Street and Delancey that sells 5 fried pork & chive dumplings for $1. Lan Zhou Handmade Noodle is another 10 minutes Southeast and the first thing you see when you enter is a table in the back with a huge pile of dough (hence the “handmade” part). For most of the time we were there, there was a person kneading, massaging, and even pounding on the dough, slamming it into the table. We ordered exactly what was on the list, “dumplings.” Eight boiled dumplings for $2.00. Needless to say, they were not very happy with us that that was all we ordered, but it was going to be a long day and we weren’t ready to fill up on dumplings. When they arrived, they were steaming hot with paper-thin semi-transparent dough, beautifully crescent shaped, where you could see the fingertip marks where they were sealed. Covering them in soy sauce and vinegar, we dug into the first bite of our Sunday journey. They were very good, but I’m not ready to say they’re on the same level as Fried Dumpling and certainly not worth the extra walking. That being said, the place was pretty crowded with people ordering the noodle soups ($4.50) and they looked very good. I am definitely willing to come back for a cheap lunch on a nice day to get some noodles and stop at Fried Dumpling on the way back.
Fried Dumpling
99 Allen Street between Delancey and Broome
After all of the praise I just bestowed upon Fried Dumpling while talking about Lan Zhou, I felt it necessary to comment on this whole-in-the-wall immediately. I will start off by saying that after hitting up a number of spots yesterday on the TONY list, one of my friends insisted that we stop here since the dumplings are just that good. There are probably 6 seats in the entire space with most of their business coming from a large lunch crowd getting it to go. The menu is simple and their specialty is obvious. 5 dumplings for $1 is what I would spend my last buck on. Talk about affordability during hard times. They also serve slices of sesame pancake for $0.50 and pints of hot & sour soup for $1.00 though I haven’t been impressed with either and would rather put the money towards more dumplings. They offer vegetable dumplings also so feel free to bring everyone you know, just don’t count on snagging a table.
Amy's - Hing Won
16. Amy’s Bread
672 9th Avenue between 46th & 47th (multiple locations)
After being told by two different locations that the sticky buns ($2.75) sell out before noon during my West Village tour, I knew that I would have to get there early if I was going to be able to try them. Luckily, a co-worker passes the midtown location on the way to work and was gracious enough to grab a couple at Amy’s Bread. I had pretty high expectations given the popularity of the pastry and was not disappointed. It’s taller than the usual sticky/cinnamon bun, topped with pecans, walnuts and drizzled with the traditional sugary, sweet syrup that make sticky buns so tasty. What separates an Amy’s Bread sticky bun from any other is the dough. It’s fresh and fluffy on the inside with a slightly firm crust that feels like it just came out of the oven. I think the best way to describe how good it is would be to quote my roommate. I had my co-worker pick up an extra one for him because I knew he would want to try it. After informing him that he wouldn’t be able to get the sticky bun until this next morning he asked me if it was worth walking the 7 blocks back and forth between our offices to pick it up from my desk. I told him that it was probably worth it but that he could pick one up the next morning himself, to which he replied, “I don’t know what you’re talking about. That thing was worth a walk of 20 blocks. Fantastic.” Enough said. Get there early.
17. Hing Won
48 W 48th between 5th and 6th ave
Hing Won has been profiled on midtownlunch numerous times. I’ve always wanted to try it but can never bring myself to have such a heavy lunch. The pickle pork soup on the TONY list gave me an excuse. Hing Won is a small counter service eat-in / take-out Chinese restaurant with a small by the pound buffet and a fair number of tables for people to get their food and sit-down. Almost all of the menu items are under $6.00. Though hesitant to try a pickle pork soup ($6.00), I was encouraged by the number of people waiting on line to order, and standing around waiting for tables. For those of you wondering about the pickle portion of the soup, I have no answer. I don’t know why they call it this. There are no pickles floating in the soup and there is no pickle taste. There is, however, pork and soup. The pork was pretty bland and tastes like the boiled pork you’d get mixed in with an order of bad lo mein, but the broth was spicy, there were a lot of noodles (granted they were only one step above from cheap ramen), and for a quart of soup with a lot of flavor, spice and noodles there are worse things to get for $6.00 in midtown for lunch. I think they’d do well to keep the broth and the noodles and swap in some roast pork and wontons a la a number of other mandarin soups you can get in the city. The soup was pretty oily but it was good enough to keep me interested and I’ll probably go back to try some of there other items. People that order the same udon from the same place for lunch in midtown would be advised to try Hing Won next time they have the craving.
672 9th Avenue between 46th & 47th (multiple locations)
After being told by two different locations that the sticky buns ($2.75) sell out before noon during my West Village tour, I knew that I would have to get there early if I was going to be able to try them. Luckily, a co-worker passes the midtown location on the way to work and was gracious enough to grab a couple at Amy’s Bread. I had pretty high expectations given the popularity of the pastry and was not disappointed. It’s taller than the usual sticky/cinnamon bun, topped with pecans, walnuts and drizzled with the traditional sugary, sweet syrup that make sticky buns so tasty. What separates an Amy’s Bread sticky bun from any other is the dough. It’s fresh and fluffy on the inside with a slightly firm crust that feels like it just came out of the oven. I think the best way to describe how good it is would be to quote my roommate. I had my co-worker pick up an extra one for him because I knew he would want to try it. After informing him that he wouldn’t be able to get the sticky bun until this next morning he asked me if it was worth walking the 7 blocks back and forth between our offices to pick it up from my desk. I told him that it was probably worth it but that he could pick one up the next morning himself, to which he replied, “I don’t know what you’re talking about. That thing was worth a walk of 20 blocks. Fantastic.” Enough said. Get there early.
17. Hing Won
48 W 48th between 5th and 6th ave
Hing Won has been profiled on midtownlunch numerous times. I’ve always wanted to try it but can never bring myself to have such a heavy lunch. The pickle pork soup on the TONY list gave me an excuse. Hing Won is a small counter service eat-in / take-out Chinese restaurant with a small by the pound buffet and a fair number of tables for people to get their food and sit-down. Almost all of the menu items are under $6.00. Though hesitant to try a pickle pork soup ($6.00), I was encouraged by the number of people waiting on line to order, and standing around waiting for tables. For those of you wondering about the pickle portion of the soup, I have no answer. I don’t know why they call it this. There are no pickles floating in the soup and there is no pickle taste. There is, however, pork and soup. The pork was pretty bland and tastes like the boiled pork you’d get mixed in with an order of bad lo mein, but the broth was spicy, there were a lot of noodles (granted they were only one step above from cheap ramen), and for a quart of soup with a lot of flavor, spice and noodles there are worse things to get for $6.00 in midtown for lunch. I think they’d do well to keep the broth and the noodles and swap in some roast pork and wontons a la a number of other mandarin soups you can get in the city. The soup was pretty oily but it was good enough to keep me interested and I’ll probably go back to try some of there other items. People that order the same udon from the same place for lunch in midtown would be advised to try Hing Won next time they have the craving.
Thursday, February 5, 2009
Le Cirque for Restaurant Week
Le Cirque
151 E 58th Street
My girlfriend and I had gone to Le Cirque for restaurant week last summer and loved it, so when I found out that they were extending the $24.07 lunches through February, I jumped on a reservation. We were seated in practically the same seat as last time. Men are required to wear jackets in the dining room where tables sit beneath a domed ceiling and earthy, orange undertones. We are seated at our table and greeted by a waiter carrying a bread tray with French bread and multigrain rolls. I tried the multigrain which was good, but not anything special and could have been softer.
The restaurant week (RW) menu offers diners a choice of appetizer, entrée and dessert for $24.07. Not a bad deal at Le Cirque considering that unlike a lot of other RW menus that offer cheaper versions of normal menu items, the RW menu has normal menu items that normally cost $45 for 2 courses. I started with an order of chestnut pappardelle with veal ragout, mushrooms and topped with candied rosemary, which was sugar-coated and I probably shouldn’t have eaten the entire sprig at once (the taste was a bit overwhelming). The pappardelle, however, was wonderful. I could have licked the bowl if decorum would have allowed it and I was pleasantly surprised by the entrée-sized portion. If I could come back and just order this, I would.
For my entrée, I ordered the steak (medium-rare of course). The RW menu online notes that it is a hanger steak but when we arrived it was another cut. I can’t recall which but the meat was tender, juicy, and cooked medium-rare. The problems lie in the footnotes. “Dried cherry tapenade.” This came very close to ruining the steak. I like olives. I like cherries. I don’t want either coming close to touching my steak, nor with each other. The tapenade was tart, olive-y and not very appetizing. Luckily the steak wasn’t smothered with the sauce and I managed to get through it. The 4 pieces of radicchio on the plate were covered in the sauce and were too bitter to be enjoyed anyway. Potato confit? I guess that’s French for “4 small diced cubes of plain baked potato.” Can I have some more of the pappardelle?
We both ordered the warm chocolate fondant for dessert, which I usually a safe bet to order at a restaurant as it’s fairly simple to make. It was delicious, of course, but didn’t really have any imaginative aspect to it. The cake was served with a spoonful of chocolate ice cream with some crushed peanuts on the bottom.
Was it worth coming back? Absolutely. I loved the pappardelle, liked the steak, and had a satisfying dessert. For $24.07 during restaurant week it’s certainly worth coming for lunch. The service is excellent as you aren’t really assigned one particular waiter, but are aided by an army of well-trained servers. It’s a bit of a high-browed experience but the price is right during RW and I am looking forward to the menu choices in the Summer.
151 E 58th Street
My girlfriend and I had gone to Le Cirque for restaurant week last summer and loved it, so when I found out that they were extending the $24.07 lunches through February, I jumped on a reservation. We were seated in practically the same seat as last time. Men are required to wear jackets in the dining room where tables sit beneath a domed ceiling and earthy, orange undertones. We are seated at our table and greeted by a waiter carrying a bread tray with French bread and multigrain rolls. I tried the multigrain which was good, but not anything special and could have been softer.
The restaurant week (RW) menu offers diners a choice of appetizer, entrée and dessert for $24.07. Not a bad deal at Le Cirque considering that unlike a lot of other RW menus that offer cheaper versions of normal menu items, the RW menu has normal menu items that normally cost $45 for 2 courses. I started with an order of chestnut pappardelle with veal ragout, mushrooms and topped with candied rosemary, which was sugar-coated and I probably shouldn’t have eaten the entire sprig at once (the taste was a bit overwhelming). The pappardelle, however, was wonderful. I could have licked the bowl if decorum would have allowed it and I was pleasantly surprised by the entrée-sized portion. If I could come back and just order this, I would.
For my entrée, I ordered the steak (medium-rare of course). The RW menu online notes that it is a hanger steak but when we arrived it was another cut. I can’t recall which but the meat was tender, juicy, and cooked medium-rare. The problems lie in the footnotes. “Dried cherry tapenade.” This came very close to ruining the steak. I like olives. I like cherries. I don’t want either coming close to touching my steak, nor with each other. The tapenade was tart, olive-y and not very appetizing. Luckily the steak wasn’t smothered with the sauce and I managed to get through it. The 4 pieces of radicchio on the plate were covered in the sauce and were too bitter to be enjoyed anyway. Potato confit? I guess that’s French for “4 small diced cubes of plain baked potato.” Can I have some more of the pappardelle?
We both ordered the warm chocolate fondant for dessert, which I usually a safe bet to order at a restaurant as it’s fairly simple to make. It was delicious, of course, but didn’t really have any imaginative aspect to it. The cake was served with a spoonful of chocolate ice cream with some crushed peanuts on the bottom.
Was it worth coming back? Absolutely. I loved the pappardelle, liked the steak, and had a satisfying dessert. For $24.07 during restaurant week it’s certainly worth coming for lunch. The service is excellent as you aren’t really assigned one particular waiter, but are aided by an army of well-trained servers. It’s a bit of a high-browed experience but the price is right during RW and I am looking forward to the menu choices in the Summer.
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
Cream Cheese - 'wichcraft
14. Hungarian Meat Market
1560 2nd Avenue at 81st
The place is a meat market but the TONY item is cream cheese. Hungarian cream cheese. I had a friend pick up some for me since she lives close by so I can't comment on the actual store, but a 1/2 pound of cream cheese ($5.00) is a lot of cream cheese. Since there is paprika in the spread, the cheese is salmon colored, speckled with small dots of red and mixed with a few pieces of pearl onion. The cream cheese is creamier than a normal block shape but not as smooth as the whipped variety. Hungarian cream cheese tastes like its ingredients. Slightly butter-y, slightly onion-y, not an overpowering taste of paprika, or anything for that matter and altogether satisfying. I would probably say that it has a similarity to scallion cream cheese, though each bite has the slight sharpness to it, instead of just having clumps of scallion. Hungarian Meat Market is pretty much in the middle of nowhere unless you happen to live on the Upper East Side and I wouldn't go out of my way just to pick up some cream cheese, but if in the area (or if you happen to have a friend close by) it's worth dropping in for a 1/2 pound.
15. 'wichcraft
Multiple locations (see website)
Tom Colicchio (of Craft and Top Chef fame) opened up 'wichcraft only a few years ago with only a couple of locations and over the past couple of years he has opened locations all over the city (probably around 7-8). I had tried this when it first came out and was not particularly impressed, probably because the sandwiches weren't worth the $9-10 price both in taste and quantity. There's one location that is on SeamlessWeb and is located right outside of my office building but they close at 5pm. Just today I noticed another location on SeamlessWeb at another location and I took the opportunity to try a TONY item for free. The marinated white anchovy sandwich ($9.00) comes with soft-cooked hard-boiled egg, roasted onion, salsa verde, and frisee on country bread. The bread was soft and tasted fresh, the egg was cooked perfectly and provided some great taste and texture. They call it a salsa verde but it looked and tasted like pesto (a little garlicky and buttery). I love anchovies. I use an entire can of anchovies when I make a personal sized pizza. I didn't think I could get enough anchovies. I didn't love this sandwich. There were probably 3 large anchovies on each half of the sandwich (by the way, every piece that didn't have anchovy tasted nothing like fish) and when I bit into one, it had more of a fishy taste than the overpowering salt flavor that I love about anchovies from the can. I'm not sure if it was the marinade or the fact that they were "white" anchovies but I'm not going to say I wasn't disappointed. I also tried the beet salad ($9.00) which wasn't anything special. For free on SeamlessWeb I'm glad I tried it, but for full price it wouldn't have been worth it.
1560 2nd Avenue at 81st
The place is a meat market but the TONY item is cream cheese. Hungarian cream cheese. I had a friend pick up some for me since she lives close by so I can't comment on the actual store, but a 1/2 pound of cream cheese ($5.00) is a lot of cream cheese. Since there is paprika in the spread, the cheese is salmon colored, speckled with small dots of red and mixed with a few pieces of pearl onion. The cream cheese is creamier than a normal block shape but not as smooth as the whipped variety. Hungarian cream cheese tastes like its ingredients. Slightly butter-y, slightly onion-y, not an overpowering taste of paprika, or anything for that matter and altogether satisfying. I would probably say that it has a similarity to scallion cream cheese, though each bite has the slight sharpness to it, instead of just having clumps of scallion. Hungarian Meat Market is pretty much in the middle of nowhere unless you happen to live on the Upper East Side and I wouldn't go out of my way just to pick up some cream cheese, but if in the area (or if you happen to have a friend close by) it's worth dropping in for a 1/2 pound.
15. 'wichcraft
Multiple locations (see website)
Tom Colicchio (of Craft and Top Chef fame) opened up 'wichcraft only a few years ago with only a couple of locations and over the past couple of years he has opened locations all over the city (probably around 7-8). I had tried this when it first came out and was not particularly impressed, probably because the sandwiches weren't worth the $9-10 price both in taste and quantity. There's one location that is on SeamlessWeb and is located right outside of my office building but they close at 5pm. Just today I noticed another location on SeamlessWeb at another location and I took the opportunity to try a TONY item for free. The marinated white anchovy sandwich ($9.00) comes with soft-cooked hard-boiled egg, roasted onion, salsa verde, and frisee on country bread. The bread was soft and tasted fresh, the egg was cooked perfectly and provided some great taste and texture. They call it a salsa verde but it looked and tasted like pesto (a little garlicky and buttery). I love anchovies. I use an entire can of anchovies when I make a personal sized pizza. I didn't think I could get enough anchovies. I didn't love this sandwich. There were probably 3 large anchovies on each half of the sandwich (by the way, every piece that didn't have anchovy tasted nothing like fish) and when I bit into one, it had more of a fishy taste than the overpowering salt flavor that I love about anchovies from the can. I'm not sure if it was the marinade or the fact that they were "white" anchovies but I'm not going to say I wasn't disappointed. I also tried the beet salad ($9.00) which wasn't anything special. For free on SeamlessWeb I'm glad I tried it, but for full price it wouldn't have been worth it.
Monday, February 2, 2009
West Village Tour
Decided that on my free Saturday afternoon I would try to get done with a few items from the list. The six food items were beer, cupcake, pork pie, sliders, gelato, and sticky buns. Being that there were a number of dessert items, my friend and I began our journey at the Little Owl for our slider entrée. Having been told that the kitchen opens at 5:00pm, we decided to pick up a sticky bun for the road. To our disappointment, we were informed that sticky buns sell out at around noon. We tried calling the other Amy’s Bread locations and they told us the same thing. Looks like that’s one from the list we won’t be able to try. Time for a drink…
10. Blind Tiger Ale House
281 Bleecker St at Jones St
I had passed this bar constantly when I lived in the West Village but never went in for a drink. According to their website, Blind Tiger serves 28 different draught beers, over 50 bottled beers and a handful of cask beers. Looking over the draught list, I quickly realize that I’m not familiar with any of them, save for the Magic Hat # 9 and give them credit for hosting such a wide selection of unique beers. What I came here for though, was the Bloody Beer ($7.50), which is essentially a bloody mary with beer. Tomato juice, “secret spices”, and an ale that the bartender throws in are mixed together and garnished with celery, a pickle, a jalapeño and a cube of cheese from Murray’s across the street. I’m not a fan of bloody mary’s and was skeptical of the bloody beer but gave it a try. At first sip, I thought I liked it, as it was certainly not as tomato-y as a normal bloody mary and the malt from the beer gave the drink a nice finish. The problem for me was the spices. There was a lot going on already in the drink and the chunks of whatever spices they added floating created a pulp-like mixture that required a bit of chewing before going down. Despite my hesitance to leave some over considering I paid $7.50 for the drink, I left about half of it on the table. In all fairness, I think that if you like bloody mary’s and like them spicy, it is definitely worth looking into. If you don’t like it, Blind Tiger is ready with 28 draughts to keep you busy.
11. Sweet Revenge
62 Carmine Street between Bedford and 7th Ave
It was about 4:50pm and being that it was quite cold, we decided to stop by Sweet Revenge on the way back to the Little Owl. Sweet Revenge is a small bakery / lunch / breakfast spot with seating for 8-10 in café tables that are right on top of each other. I food menu is predominantly French, serving croque monsieur sandwiches, quiche and parisian sandwiches, but the cupcake display showcasing the freshly baked treats reminded us quickly why we came. We tried 3 different cupcakes (all $3.50 – not exactly a cheap snack).
The Crimson & Cream, suggested on the TONY list was by far my favorite. Raspberry red velvet cake topped with cream cheese frosting. I was skeptical at first since red velvet cake usually has a very heavy and intense flavor but the cake was moist and not too sweet. The cream cheese frosting was smooth, creamy and you could taste the cream cheese instead of just sugar like a lot of other places. The Dirty cupcake is chocolate cake with dark chocolate truffle frosting; moist with an intensely chocolate frosting. The Sweet Revenge signature cupcake is peanut butter cake, chocolate ganache filling and peanutbutter buttercream frosting. While the chocolate ganache didn’t really provide much of anything, the cupcake was by far the sweetest of the three and the peanutbutter buttercream was excellent. Other cupcakes to try include a Spice Islands Carrot and a Malaysian Coconut.
The one thing I will definitely mention is that service was incredibly slow. Granted that there were only 2 people working there and all of the tables were full, but the woman in line in front of us actually left before she could even order, complaining that she had waited long enough.
Further commentary on cupcakes vs. cakes
My belief is that a cupcake can be one of two things. Either it is its own dessert, with rules that define it as its own item, the texture of the cake and how it combines with the frosting, or it is a cake in cup shape. Crumbs, for example and for those who have been, is the latter type in that it is so complex in its fillings and toppings that it tastes like a slice of cake and in my head should be compared to other cakes. Magnolia is the former type, with a taste that is something different than just a slice of cake. Maybe I’m crazy, but cupcakes taste different than cakes (unless it’s just a cake in cup form). I have deemed that Sweet Revenge, despite its complexity is, in fact, a cupcake. Each of them was light, not too sweet and not messy at all. If in the area, I would have no reservations about coming here for dessert, despite the $3.50 price tag.
I would welcome any further commentary on the cake vs. cupcake question. I've received a few different perspectives from people at my office (they agree that cupcakes and cake are different) suggesting that Magnolia is more cake than cupcake (counter to my argument) and feel that cakes are moist and cupcakes have a firmer base. Thoughts?
12. the Little Owl
90 Bedford Street at Grove
5:10pm and we return to the Little Owl. Having told the wait staff what our plan was earlier, we were seated at the bar, tasked to sample one item only, the meatball sliders. Coming 3 or 4 to an order, the Gravy Meatball Sliders ($10 for 3) are meatballs made of beef, pork, and veal blended with pecorino cheese, topped with some marinara sauce, a slice of arugula and served on small buns freshly made in the restaurant’s oven. The meatballs are juicy and tender and the pecorino cheese adds a slight sharpness to each bite. For those eating dinner, I would say it’s a must have appetizer. Alternatively, I think that if you’re looking for a smaller dinner, just sit at the bar, order the sliders, have some bread at the table and you’ll be entirely satisfied. The restaurant has been given considerable accolades from restaurant critics and reservations are strongly suggested for lunch, brunch and dinner. Little Owl also serves a burger during lunch and brunch using La Frieda meat, which I will definitely be coming back to sample.
13. Myers of Keswick
634 Hudson Street between Horatio and Jane
Heading north, we ducked into Myers of Keswick, a British bakery and convenience store selling all different kinds of pies, snacks and packaged goods from England. They have a website myersofkeswick.com where you can order items for delivery and have some pictures of the store to check out. We ordered some pork pies ($3.00) and a Scottish egg ($3.00) to go. The owner told us that most people eat the pies cold but we could heat them up and that the Scottish egg is eaten cold. The crust of the pork pie tasted like it was freshly made. The pork filling was basically ground pork sausage, which when eaten cold made me feel slightly disgusting since I could basically feel the fat filling my arteries. I had to heat it up. A few seconds in the microwave made all the difference for me. The warm crust and the sausage were excellent. It’s too big to be a snack and probably too small to be lunch, but splitting 3 of them is something I can definitely see myself doing. I was excited for the Scottish egg after having such a good experience at JoeDoe but it was just the same pork filling from the pork pie covering a hardboiled egg. Nothing special about it and since it’s the same price I’ll stick to the pork pies.
BuonItalia
75 9th Avenue (Chelsea Market)
We were a bit confused about this one, as its part of the list and yet the people that work there claim that they don’t sell gelato. Perhaps this is a seasonal item? At any rate, we will definitely return when the weather gets nicer. Meanwhile, something to satisfy the craving for ice cream…
Ronnybrook Farms Dairy
75 9th Avenue (Chelsea Market)
Tucked away among a number of ice cream / gelato places in Chelsea Market is Ronnybrook Farms Dairy, the only permanent NYC outpost selling products from the farm. Ronnybrook sells yogurt, milk and other dairy products at a number of green markets throughout the city but for ice cream, you have to go to the store in Chelsea Market. I went for two scoops; one pistachio and one chocolate ($3.50), which is not cheap but they do sell a children’s size for much less if you ask for it and is plenty of ice cream. The ice cream is fresh, full of flavor and very refreshing (it surprisingly did not leave me incredibly thirsty as ice cream tends to do). If you're in the area, or just want to explore Chelsea Piers, I would make a point of trying Ronnybrook before leaving.
10. Blind Tiger Ale House
281 Bleecker St at Jones St
I had passed this bar constantly when I lived in the West Village but never went in for a drink. According to their website, Blind Tiger serves 28 different draught beers, over 50 bottled beers and a handful of cask beers. Looking over the draught list, I quickly realize that I’m not familiar with any of them, save for the Magic Hat # 9 and give them credit for hosting such a wide selection of unique beers. What I came here for though, was the Bloody Beer ($7.50), which is essentially a bloody mary with beer. Tomato juice, “secret spices”, and an ale that the bartender throws in are mixed together and garnished with celery, a pickle, a jalapeño and a cube of cheese from Murray’s across the street. I’m not a fan of bloody mary’s and was skeptical of the bloody beer but gave it a try. At first sip, I thought I liked it, as it was certainly not as tomato-y as a normal bloody mary and the malt from the beer gave the drink a nice finish. The problem for me was the spices. There was a lot going on already in the drink and the chunks of whatever spices they added floating created a pulp-like mixture that required a bit of chewing before going down. Despite my hesitance to leave some over considering I paid $7.50 for the drink, I left about half of it on the table. In all fairness, I think that if you like bloody mary’s and like them spicy, it is definitely worth looking into. If you don’t like it, Blind Tiger is ready with 28 draughts to keep you busy.
11. Sweet Revenge
62 Carmine Street between Bedford and 7th Ave
It was about 4:50pm and being that it was quite cold, we decided to stop by Sweet Revenge on the way back to the Little Owl. Sweet Revenge is a small bakery / lunch / breakfast spot with seating for 8-10 in café tables that are right on top of each other. I food menu is predominantly French, serving croque monsieur sandwiches, quiche and parisian sandwiches, but the cupcake display showcasing the freshly baked treats reminded us quickly why we came. We tried 3 different cupcakes (all $3.50 – not exactly a cheap snack).
The Crimson & Cream, suggested on the TONY list was by far my favorite. Raspberry red velvet cake topped with cream cheese frosting. I was skeptical at first since red velvet cake usually has a very heavy and intense flavor but the cake was moist and not too sweet. The cream cheese frosting was smooth, creamy and you could taste the cream cheese instead of just sugar like a lot of other places. The Dirty cupcake is chocolate cake with dark chocolate truffle frosting; moist with an intensely chocolate frosting. The Sweet Revenge signature cupcake is peanut butter cake, chocolate ganache filling and peanutbutter buttercream frosting. While the chocolate ganache didn’t really provide much of anything, the cupcake was by far the sweetest of the three and the peanutbutter buttercream was excellent. Other cupcakes to try include a Spice Islands Carrot and a Malaysian Coconut.
The one thing I will definitely mention is that service was incredibly slow. Granted that there were only 2 people working there and all of the tables were full, but the woman in line in front of us actually left before she could even order, complaining that she had waited long enough.
Further commentary on cupcakes vs. cakes
My belief is that a cupcake can be one of two things. Either it is its own dessert, with rules that define it as its own item, the texture of the cake and how it combines with the frosting, or it is a cake in cup shape. Crumbs, for example and for those who have been, is the latter type in that it is so complex in its fillings and toppings that it tastes like a slice of cake and in my head should be compared to other cakes. Magnolia is the former type, with a taste that is something different than just a slice of cake. Maybe I’m crazy, but cupcakes taste different than cakes (unless it’s just a cake in cup form). I have deemed that Sweet Revenge, despite its complexity is, in fact, a cupcake. Each of them was light, not too sweet and not messy at all. If in the area, I would have no reservations about coming here for dessert, despite the $3.50 price tag.
I would welcome any further commentary on the cake vs. cupcake question. I've received a few different perspectives from people at my office (they agree that cupcakes and cake are different) suggesting that Magnolia is more cake than cupcake (counter to my argument) and feel that cakes are moist and cupcakes have a firmer base. Thoughts?
12. the Little Owl
90 Bedford Street at Grove
5:10pm and we return to the Little Owl. Having told the wait staff what our plan was earlier, we were seated at the bar, tasked to sample one item only, the meatball sliders. Coming 3 or 4 to an order, the Gravy Meatball Sliders ($10 for 3) are meatballs made of beef, pork, and veal blended with pecorino cheese, topped with some marinara sauce, a slice of arugula and served on small buns freshly made in the restaurant’s oven. The meatballs are juicy and tender and the pecorino cheese adds a slight sharpness to each bite. For those eating dinner, I would say it’s a must have appetizer. Alternatively, I think that if you’re looking for a smaller dinner, just sit at the bar, order the sliders, have some bread at the table and you’ll be entirely satisfied. The restaurant has been given considerable accolades from restaurant critics and reservations are strongly suggested for lunch, brunch and dinner. Little Owl also serves a burger during lunch and brunch using La Frieda meat, which I will definitely be coming back to sample.
13. Myers of Keswick
634 Hudson Street between Horatio and Jane
Heading north, we ducked into Myers of Keswick, a British bakery and convenience store selling all different kinds of pies, snacks and packaged goods from England. They have a website myersofkeswick.com where you can order items for delivery and have some pictures of the store to check out. We ordered some pork pies ($3.00) and a Scottish egg ($3.00) to go. The owner told us that most people eat the pies cold but we could heat them up and that the Scottish egg is eaten cold. The crust of the pork pie tasted like it was freshly made. The pork filling was basically ground pork sausage, which when eaten cold made me feel slightly disgusting since I could basically feel the fat filling my arteries. I had to heat it up. A few seconds in the microwave made all the difference for me. The warm crust and the sausage were excellent. It’s too big to be a snack and probably too small to be lunch, but splitting 3 of them is something I can definitely see myself doing. I was excited for the Scottish egg after having such a good experience at JoeDoe but it was just the same pork filling from the pork pie covering a hardboiled egg. Nothing special about it and since it’s the same price I’ll stick to the pork pies.
BuonItalia
75 9th Avenue (Chelsea Market)
We were a bit confused about this one, as its part of the list and yet the people that work there claim that they don’t sell gelato. Perhaps this is a seasonal item? At any rate, we will definitely return when the weather gets nicer. Meanwhile, something to satisfy the craving for ice cream…
Ronnybrook Farms Dairy
75 9th Avenue (Chelsea Market)
Tucked away among a number of ice cream / gelato places in Chelsea Market is Ronnybrook Farms Dairy, the only permanent NYC outpost selling products from the farm. Ronnybrook sells yogurt, milk and other dairy products at a number of green markets throughout the city but for ice cream, you have to go to the store in Chelsea Market. I went for two scoops; one pistachio and one chocolate ($3.50), which is not cheap but they do sell a children’s size for much less if you ask for it and is plenty of ice cream. The ice cream is fresh, full of flavor and very refreshing (it surprisingly did not leave me incredibly thirsty as ice cream tends to do). If you're in the area, or just want to explore Chelsea Piers, I would make a point of trying Ronnybrook before leaving.
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