riki

link to yelp

midtown, nyc

it's been nearly a month since my last post. a lot of working, some unpacking, and quite a bit of eating. i've been in california for over a month now, but i have such a backlog that this post is about a restaurant we went to when tina visited jenny and i in midtown several weeks ago. riki. jenny first discovered this place years ago, but since then the ownership and menu changed significantly. we noticed the change while walking in, but decided we were too lazy to go elsewhere.

riki used to be an awesome yakitori spot, but now it's turned into a mediocre japanese bbq spot. we ordered "shabu-shabu" style meats and tripe to cook on our table's grill. "shabu-shabu" style apparently refers to thinly sliced meat that you typically find at hot pot restaurants, but here you grill it instead of boiling it. grilled meat is always going to taste pretty good, but riki's meat was lacking the flavor that you typically get at korean restaurants. disappointing food, but the company more than made up for it.

korilla bbq

twitter

website

los angeles has the famous kogi truck, which started the whole korean taco movement. what is it with so many food movements these days? anyway, i've never been able to try the kogi truck, but nyc finally got its own version with the korilla bbq truck. every day, people vote on its website to determine the next day's lunch location. midtown east won a few weeks ago. once again, jenny and i found ourselves waiting in a very long line with a lot of other asians.

the korilla truck was relatively new when we went, so it was still working out some of the kinks. there was an overwhelming amount of options - type of meat, type of veggies, type of sauce, type of kimchi, cheese or no cheese, even salsa? i enjoyed the cucumber kimchi - it reminded me of the spicy cucumbers my mom used to make. but frankly, the korean tacos were just alright. kimchi + bulgogi is always going to taste good, but i didn't find anything interesting about adding it to a taco. the corn tortillas were dry and overpowered the rest of the taco. it's a novel idea, but the execution needs some work.

calafia cafe

palo alto, ca

website

one thing i'm looking forward to in california is eating more healthy, more tofu, more fresh fruits and vegetables. i've heard bits and pieces about the "slow food" movement, "farm to table" and "ethical eating." i don't think its possible to know exactly where your food came from or whether it was treated ethically in the process of getting to your plate, but it's nice to know that people are making an effort. the most important question, however, is does it taste good? for example, i highly doubt my favorite chinese noodle shops know what "slow food" is, but i don't care because their food is delicious. noodle on that.

in that spirit, vanita and puri took derek and myself to calafia at town and country. they have a nice selection of freshly squeezed juices and smoothies. vanita (being the more adventurous one) got the "green-eyed lady" with zucchini broccoli arugula celery and garlic. derek and i (being wimps) each got a "c boost" with orange grapefruit and kiwi. for our entrees, both vanita and i got the tofu scramble (pictured) - a surprisingly tasty mix of turmeric & cumin scented tofu, mushroom, spinach and carrots served with hash browns. of course, derek's dish looked yummier (hashbrowns topped with sautéed mushrooms and spinach with two poached eggs, melted swiss cheese and lemon hollandaise), but i felt good eating something healthy (for a change).

oaxacan foods @ palo alto farmer's market

palo alto, ca

website

while visiting the bay area, derek and i stumbled onto the palo alto farmer's market on california avenue. there's an impressive array of farm-fresh fruits and vegetables. california's produce puts new york produce to shame. in addition to the farmers, there are vendors selling various goods like fresh-baked bread, honey, homemade granola, and even kale chips. with tons of free samples of everything, a person can eat an entire meal just walking through the market.

as long at that person is not derek. after snacking on various fruit slices and candied nuts, he was still hungry. he decided to get a "memela" from the oaxacan foods booth. their website explains that memelas "are best described as toasted Oaxacan pizzas - very healthy, the corn masa is flattened with a tortilla press then placed over a hot comal or griddle." its then topped with steak, tomatoes, black beans, queso fresco, cabbage, avocados, and a spicy red sauce. good quality fresh ingredients combine to make a tasty snack appropriate for a farmer's market.

umami

san francisco, ca

website

i realize that my blog posts have been few and far between. derek and i recently decided to relocate to the bay area. we're not completely settled yet, but hopefully i'll be able to pick up the blogging, especially since moving means a lot of eating out. several weeks ago, derek and i flew to the bay area to check out housing options and meet up with some friends. tina and patrick took us to a fantastic japanese restaurant which made me feel much better about leaving my favorite manhattan restaurants behind.

we started with an excellent bottle of sake from their easy-to-understand sake menu. then we ordered several small plates of food to share. pictured are tina's favorite - the delicious kobe burgers served on mantao buns. i loved the perfectly crispy rock shrimp tempura - an improved version of the typical honey walnut shrimp you can get at chinese restaurants. the highlight of my meal, however, was the amazing uni. y&a recently introduced me to this stuff and umami's uni was some of the best that i've ever had. remarkably fresh with a hint of sweetness. amazing.

the butler & the chef bistro

san francisco, ca

website

april & lennon brought us to a cute little brunch spot on south park street. just to be clear, south park is not really a park, it's an elongated oval with some grass on it which serves mostly as parking for the shops and restaurants nearby. derek & i had a late start because we slept in and had to drive up from palo alto, but that meant that the butler and the chef had plenty of room for walk-ins. having never been to a french bistro, i have no idea re: authenticity, but there was a lot of french on the menu including quiches and croque whatnots.

derek ordered a baguette sandwich which sounds good in theory, but he ended up being overwhelmed with bread. i ordered smoked salmon eggs benedict (with sauce on the side, per usual). in my dish, the crunchy slice of baguette went perfectly with the runny egg yolk and salmon. no additional sauce needed. another plus - they serve excellent lattes in small bowls - on a chilly SF afternoon, there's nothing better than sipping from a giant bowl of steamy frothy coffee.

st. michael's alley

palo alto, ca

website

the best part of this restaurant is its proximity to vanita's apt. vanita and i might have had half a bottle of wine between the two of us before reaching the restaurant. we might have put the cork back in it and carried it with us in the restaurant. hey, at least we weren't drinking straight from the bottle, okay? tina eventually joined us and another excellent bottle was ordered by vanita. which we didn't finish, but did take with us after dinner. ah, california.

the outdoor seating looked particularly inviting, but it was too chilly. next time, when its warmer, we'll get a table out there because the three of us + two bottles of wine = a bit of a ruckus. the food was hit or miss. vanita has had some excellent dishes there, but unfortunately my entree choice was a miss. my "new york" steak was full of gristle and doused in an unnecessary veal reduction. left me longing for a real new york strip steak. dessert, however, was a hit. wonderfully moist pumpkin spice cake soaked in caramel sauce. delicious.

stone rose bar @ jfk

queens, ny

link to yelp

as usual, derek and i were nearly 2 hours early for our flight to SF. so we decided to get a bite to eat. the delta terminal at JFK might be old and decrepit, but the mezzanine level has a reliable burger king. then we noticed the stone rose bar, a full-sized sit down restaurant with a lounge area and bar. the seating looked more comfortable so we went for it. ended up running into hana as she left the lounge to catch her flight! small world. we decided to meet up in the city at some later date (to be posted).

the hostess graciously seated derek and myself at a four-top, so we had enough room to put our luggage to the side. service was surprisingly friendly and cheerful for being at an airport. everyone else in the lounge was drinking cocktails, but derek and i were focused on food. the cheese and bacon covered potato skins were too greasy for me, but derek enjoyed them. i liked my vegetable pizza, especially the chunks of melted mozzarella. would i ever eat here if i wasn't stuck in an airport? absolutely not. however it was a quiet and comfortable space to relax before the flight.

bohemian

great jones (bowery/ lafayette)

link to yelp

a few months ago, jenny, derek, and i were wandering around noho, trying to find a good spot to eat. along great jones street, we noticed a brightly lit japanese butcher shop. right next to it was a long narrow corridor with a locked door at the end. through the glass door at the end, we saw a woman carrying a pitcher and assumed that it must have been a restaurant. we stepped back out, checked the door, checked above the door, looked around, trying to find the name of the restaurant. we even walked around the block trying to find the entrance before arriving back at strange corridor again. we decided to just give it a go and walked down the corridor. a woman let us in, then asked if we had any reservations. of course we didn't. just then, the chef comes out of the kitchen and introduces himself and his concept. its a "secret" restaurant. there's only 4 tables and a couple of seats at the bar. reservations can only be made if someone passes on the secret phone number to you, and the chef graciously gave us that number.

and so we made reservations a few weeks later, snagging three seats at the bar for a 10 pm reservation. the black miso cod with mushrooms was incredibly buttery and rich. each of us got a kobe burger - solid. my favorite part of the meal, however, was the cocktails. the bartender clearly took a lot of pride in his craft. i had a delicious slushy drink with fresh strawberries, basil, champagne, and rum. derek had a bloody mary with corn-infused vodka, house-blended tomato juice, fresh lemon juice, and fresh oregano and thyme. amazing. at the end of the night (after asking how we found out about the place), the bartender treated derek to a small glass of his home-made limoncello. wow.

jade asian

flushing, queens

website

derek and i have been talking about exploring more of flushing (the real chinatown in new york city). y&a graciously offered to drive derek and myself to queens for some great chinese food. we had dim sum at jade asian - solid fare. my favorite was the shrimp chang fen - super wide rice noodles wrapped around cooked shrimp and coated in soy sauce.

at one point, i was just pointing to various dishes without any clue of what was inside. one plate with three crispy shells looked promising, until y took a bite - durian!! the dangerously pungent fruit commonly enjoyed in southeast asia. y is a fan, a is not. i decided to give it a try and y giggled with glee when she saw my reaction. i made derek try some too. he was less adverse to it, but not a fan. a refused to try it and y was left with the rest of the plate to enjoy.

bar pilar

washington, dc

website

my meeting ended up getting extended to a second day so i had time for a quick late night snack with anthony. we went to bar pilar, a drinking spot in his hood. i had an excellent glass of wine and anthony enjoyed his cocktail. he had already eaten, so i just ordered a couple of tapas for my meal - arugula salad, sausage, and octopus.

my favorite was the grilled octopus (pictured). it's hard to cook octopus correctly, but this was done perfectly. just the right amount of char on it, the texture was chewy and tender, and it had a hint of spice from the smoked paprika. delicious. this is definitely a good spot for some late night snacks and drinks.

west end bistro

washington, dc

website

the best part of having meetings in DC is that it gives me a chance to catch up with friends - anthony, eric, and jenny met me for dinner at the westend bistro in foggy bottom. westend bistro is billed as "by eric ripert" - whatever that means. eric ripert is a famous chef in nyc, known for his three michelin-starred restaurant le bernadin. a big name, so i had high hopes for the meal.

unfortunately, my escargots and wild mushrooms over grits was a bit heavy. i prefer escargots when they're kept in the shells and doused in butter and garlic. the heaviness of the appetizer prevented me from enjoying the hamburger, i could only eat about half of it. it could be i just ordered poorly, everyone else's dishes looked great - especially the ribeye that eric ordered.

red farm @ foodparc

6th ave (29/30)

website

michelle, derek, and i had lunch at the madison square market (review to follow), which is an outdoor food court. it was a gorgeous day, so we decided to walk through chelsea and check out the limelight marketplace. once done with the marketplace, we tried to figure out what to do next. why not keep eating? michelle and i had heard about the new foodparc food court in the eventi hotel in north chelsea. nyc has this new obsession with food courts that i find very promising.

upon entering the food court, you're directed to computer kiosks where you can order from any of the restaurants using a touchscreen menu. since we had already eaten lunch, we decided just to get the egg rolls from red farm, made with katz's pastrami. katz's is possibly my favorite deli in the city, with amazing pastrami. someone at red farm decided to add chop up some pastrami, add some cabbage, roll it up and deep fry it. a great idea, but executed poorly. while the roll had a nice crunch, you could barely taste the pastrami. it was overwhelmed with pepper and cabbage. really unfortunate.

sushi you

51st (2/3)

link to yelp

CR is my official scout for hidden restaurant gems in midtown east. she lives in the hood and is constantly exploring to find great food. this is one of her finds. sushi you is tucked away on a quiet street, east of everything. it doesn't impress at first glance - you have to walk down a narrow set of stairs to the basement. but once inside, you'll find a peaceful and simple japanese restaurant with just a handful of small tables. sushi you is named after chef you, who used to be the sushi chef and owner. the ownership changed shortly before CR, jenny, and myself were able to make it for dinner.

we were wary, but the food remains excellent. my plate of a la carte sushi, artfully and appropriately placed on a palette-like plate, was heavenly. amazing uni, tasting delicately of the sea. the salmon melted in my mouth. perfect saba (mackerel). when sushi is done well, it can render the diner speechless and unable to participate in conversations. jenny and CR can testify that i was indeed silent, except every now and then saying "mmmm, so good." dessert was also remarkable - homemade ice cream - we had earl grey, chocolate, and caramel. rich and creamy with the just the right amount of sweetness. i'll still go to seki for their one-of-a-kind omakase, but this might be my new spot for straight sushi.

stephanie's on newbury

boston, ma

website

in boston for business, i managed to escape work long enough to have dinner with danielle on newbury street (aka my favorite street in boston). cool shops and excellent eats - all in the span of a couple of blocks. awesome. stephanie's on newbury serves comfort food but with unique gourmet touches.

danielle ordered a ginormous cuban sandwich - toasted and ooey gooey - enough for two meals. i ordered the fish and chips. i'm not sure the photo captures the sheer size of the serving. a giant basket of perfectly crispy fries topped with 3 huge pieces of perfectly crispy fish. delicious. the highlight, however, was the amazing radicchio aioli. danielle and i were both dipping our fries into the garlicky hot pink aioli. phenomenal.

five points

great jones (bowery/ lafayette)

website

it's been a while since my last post. i have a massive backlog of food photos that need to be posted. once again, i've been too busy to blog, but obviously not too busy to eat. okay, onto five points, where derek and i had brunch nearly a month ago. it's famous for its brunch, which generally means long lines, which generally means we're not going because i'm too hungry/impatient to wait. derek and i were shopping the bowery and decided to drop by to see how long the wait was. thankfully, it was only about 15-20 mins. not bad. we waited outside (a month ago, it was still warm out) and watched all the hipsters walk by.

once seated, it took another 5-10 minutes to figure out what to order. the menu was packed with fancified comfort food - baked eggs, pork-fennel sausage, free-range chicken, polenta ... i finally settled on the "roasted tomato and eggs" - the simply named dish ended up being a complex mix of flavors - smoky roasted tomato, sprinklings of ricotta cheese, buttery polenta, and chunks of sharp parmesan were perfect with the runny baked eggs. delicious. i honestly can't remember what derek ordered (hey, it's been a month) but i do recall that he had an excellent bloody mary from their surprisingly varied menu of brunch drinks. this place definitely lives up to the hype.

lan zhou handmade noodles

e bway (rutgers/ pike)

website

if you couldn't tell already, derek and i love hand-pulled noodles. but lan zhou is the first place that they hand-pull the noodles to order right in front of you. so you get to see the noodles get slapped against a table and stretched into perfectly formed noodles right before they're thrown into a bowl of boiling broth. the setting is standard hole-in-the-wall, but with the flourescent lighting and dingy surroundings you really feel transported to asia.

i found the dumplings were good, but had a bit too much ginger for my tastes. i ordered my bowl of noodles with tripe and the cook graciously added all sorts of other intestinal delights. quite a lot of offal, but delicious. derek ordered his standard (boring) bowl with beef slices. the broth was rich and sufficiently beefy. pickled cabbage is available in a sketchy-looking plastic bowl on each table (although sketchy didn't stop me from adding a few spoonfuls). it's worth it for the spectacle, but i'm going to stick with my many-meats-special soup and delicious gingerless dumplings at kuai la mian.

quality meats

58(5/6)

website

i suggested to derek that we try quality meats, a midtown steakhouse, because i heard great things about it on the internet. i might have neglected to mention that the great things i heard were that it's female-friendly and that it serves amazing single-serving ice cream cakes. what he doesn't know can't hurt him, right ? i arrived before derek and was led to the back of the restaurant, up some stairs, around a few turns, into a small room with a low ceiling that overlooked the front entrance. the waiter seating me could tell that i wasn't thrilled about the location, but he explained "it's our room for special occasions."

now it's hard to pinpoint exactly why i was placed into the upstairs dungeon for dinner. was it because i made my reservation only 2 hours in advance? because of how i was dressed? or because i'm (gasp) asian? i don't know, maybe the 30 empty tables i passed along the way were truly reserved. regardless, the service we received in that little dungeon was beyond reproach. efficient, friendly, attentive, even poured me a little extra wine to finish a bottle. and the menu is indeed female-friendly. i ordered the hanger steak with cherry sauce, a great combination. the hint of sweetness from the cherries matched perfectly with the steak. and we indeed ordered one of the ice cream cakes, topped with a cute candy cow. will we be back? probably not. my hanger steak was a tad overcooked. plus derek needs more serious steak and for that, we'll head to primehouse.

corsino

hudson (horatio/ gansevoort)

website

derek and i had grand plans for our rare weekday evening off of work. we were really excited about the malaysian street food festival being held in the meatpacking district. derek has always wanted nyc to have a hawker center like the ones we saw in singapore. unfortunately, when we got there - it was packed! i've never seen so many asians in nyc in one place and here, they were all squeezed onto a tiny traffic triangle in the middle of a busy street. too hungry to squeeze through the crowds and wait in line, we decided to continue the malaysian theme, but head to a restaurant instead - fatty crab. apparently many others had the same idea as that place was also packed. we kept walking down the road and saw corsino. italian? no wait? sure!

turns out it's the sister restaurant of one our favorites, 'inoteca. started with crostini - pieces of toast with various garnishes. my favorite was the ricotta and orange honey - light, creamy, with a hint of sweetness. pictured is derek's pasta with pork ragu. pretty good, but nothing to write home about. overall - while the food was tasty, the atmosphere was crowded and hurried, and the prices were unreasonably high. it's decent, but the quality of food just can't compare to fatty crab with their amazing pork buns, chili crab, pork belly, and coconut rum cocktails. next time, we just need to have patience and wait for a table to open up at fatty crab.

josie's

3rd (37/38)

website

neal joined me for dinner recently at josie's, an organic healthy-ish restaurant located in murray hill. josie's is one of my favorite places to eat because it is guilt-free. the food is natural, organic, low-fat, non-fried, simple, and tasty. the vibe reminds me of california - clean lines, bright colors, a juice bar.

i love to order the grilled veggie plate, the pasta with turkey meatballs, grilled salmon, pumpkin ravioli, grilled chicken with brown rice, and potato/broccoli dumplings (pictured in a tomato and white truffle coulis). derek doesn't like this place, possibly because its a little on the bland side. but i think everything is delicious, especially for people who love veggies and free-range poultry.

ma peche

58 (5/6)

website

midtown is known for its fancy white tablecloth restaurants filled with corporate types having expensive (and likely expensed) business lunches. david chang of momofuku fame is known for his downtown east village lowkey hipster restaurants. but ma peche, the newest momofuku venture, is located in a midtown hotel and purports to serve upscale american-french-asian-ish food to the midtown professionals. Y and myself being two midtown professionals (during the week, anyway) decided to check it out, wondering how the momofuku vibe translates to "expense account" dining.

the answer? pretty well. it had some casual touches (chopsticks and sriracha sauce on the tables) mixed with more elegant additions (classy service, fancy settings) - ideal for young professionals not quite ready to completely give into the corporate culture and lifestyle. and the food? amazing. the highlights were the pork belly - perfectly crispy rich fatty melt-in-your-mouth goodness -and a tripe sausage that was phenomenal. the rice noodles and spring rolls were also good, but the meat dishes are where momofuku midtown really shines. it was pricey, so next time it would be great if we had expense accounts ... but for a young professional, it's worth the occasional splurge.

szechuan chef

bellevue, wa

website

hot pot is chinese comfort food. a propane-fueled portable stove is placed at the center of the table. a large pot filled either with chicken broth or spicy szechuan broth (or in our case, both separated by a stainless steel divider) is brought to a boil. huge plates overflowing with raw meat sliced paper thin (pork, chicken, and beef) and other hot pot ingredients (fish balls, cabbage, tofu, and glass noodles). szechuan chef is all you can eat, but keep in mind that you're charged for uneaten raw ingredients.

it's all about soup management. keep an eye on the pot to make sure the broth is boiling at a sufficient temperature to cook the ingredients, but not over-boiling so that your soup evaporates. some of the ingredients need to cook longer (chicken, cabbage) while you need to keep a close eye on others (beef) to make sure they don't overcook. it's fun, interactive, and most importantly - tasty. my favorite part about szechuan chef's hot pot is the delicious dipping sauce - i can't quite pinpoint the origins, but i definitely detect hints of peanuts and garlic. also - if you have the stomach for it - order the spicy pig stomach. the spicy sauce will add even more flavor to the mix.

voula's offshore cafe

seattle, wa

website

i lived in seattle for 4 years and i never knew that this place existed until i saw it featured on diners, drive-ins, and dives on the food network. voula's has definitely embraced its new-found fame. the front of the restaurant now has a giant "food network" sign on it and the menu advertises a "guy fieri" special - with ham, pineapple, and bbq sauce. yikes.

derek, cindy, and i brought baby m to voula's for some breakfast. we stayed away from the special and stuck to the classics. derek had the hobo, which was a giant plate covered with country sausage, onions, mushrooms, hash browns, and eggs scrambled together and topped with cheddar cheese. a big gooey mess, but derek enjoyed it. cindy had the greek version and i had a smoked salmon scramble. the hash browns were my favorite part, though - nice and crispy. i'm not sure the place is worth all the hype, but it was a big yummy breakfast for a good price.

o'asian

seattle, wa

website

what looks like a typical overpriced asian fusion restaurant in downtown seattle amidst all of the office buildings is actually an excellent and authentic chinese restaurant. i went with derek's family to try out their dinner menu and we ordered a table full of yummy dishes. my favorite was the sea bass - fatty and rich fish with an amazing dressing - tastes just like when my mom makes it at home. yum.

derek's favorite were the green noodles - which are advertised as hand-shaved, but look like normal noodles. we had more peking duck with mantao buns - this time with less meat and more skin. the beef and broccoli had a unique twist - giant stalks of chinese broccoli topped with stir-fried beef. the stir-fried seafood was in a bowl made out of a deep fried spring roll wrappers - i think my favorite part of that dish was eating the bowl. really good food in an unexpected place.

boom noodle

seattle, wa

website

university village ("u-village") keeps getting bigger and better. and more asian. located within walking distance of the university of washington campus, i used to go to u-village all the time for food and shopping. but now it's all fancy and hip. there's a tiffany's, a sushi restaurant, and now boom noodle (a ramen bar) and tokyo sweets (with a menu that looks exactly like what derek and i saw in the harajuku district of tokyo).

i love ramen bars, so i was thrilled to see that one has opened up in seattle. it doesn't have the authenticity of the places in nyc like ippudo and setagaya, but it has some unique dishes. i really enjoyed ryan's recommendation (the cold noodles) and cindy's recommendation (edamame mush with purple potato chips - pictured). the cold noodles were delicious - normal ramen noodles served with a light sauce for dipping.

anthony's bell street diner

seattle, wa

website

anthony's occupies a huge 2-story building on pier 66 on the seattle waterfront. gorgeous views and excellent food make it the perfect spot for celebrations - i've been here for birthdays, graduations, and derek even took me here on a date once. upstairs is the fancier anthony's fish bar, which i will post about another time because this time we were in a hurry so we chose to eat downstairs at the bell street diner.

anthony's is known for its seafood. derek got the halibut and chips. i ordered a bowl of clam chowder with a side of caesar salad. very reasonably priced food. the clam chowder was very good, served in a yummy sourdough bowl. great for a quick and casual meal, but i'm looking forward to returning and heading to anthony's upstairs for some serious seafood.

new hong kong restaurant

seattle, wa

link to yelp

located in the international district in seattle, one of the best features of this restaurant is the parking garage. it can sometimes be very tricky and time consuming to find parking in chinatown, so this is a definite plus. it's also a good place for large parties. there's a huge space and even an elevated stage so you can force the bride and groom to do something embarrassing for your entertainment.

had a lovely dinner to celebrate the pending nuptials of soon-to-be relatives. it was a traditional chinese feast that started with jellyfish and sliced meats and ended with fried rice and red bean soup. my favorite was the peking duck (pictured). it's really hard to go wrong with peking duck and i liked that there was a bit of meat still attached to the crispy skin.

marea

central park south (bway/7th)

website

managed to finally knock another restaurant off of my list of five restaurants to try in 2010 thanks to cindy c and her excellent reservation-making skills. marea is known for amazing seafood and has gotten many rave reviews since it opened in may 2009. it's quite a splurge, but it's worth every penny. they suggest that you do the 4-course prix fixe for $89. but if you're like me, you're full after the pasta course (especially after eating both servings of olive-studded foccacia bread). so i suggest getting one antipasti and one pasta and then dessert only if you still have room.

the antipasti to get? the "astice" - nova scotia lobster, burrata, eggplant al funghetto, and basil. jenny wisely chose this appetizer and graciously let cindy c and i taste some. perfectly cooked lobster melts with the smooth burrata cheese - rich and decadent. although even more rich and decadent is the pasta that you have to order - the fusilli with red wine braised octopus and bone marrow (pictured). the most amazing pasta dish i have ever had - perfectly cooked everything with little nuggets of marrow to send you into foodie nirvana. everything else was good, but ended up being also-rans compared to the lobster and octopus dishes. my recommendation - get the lobster, get the octopus pasta, eat the olive foccacia, and have a glass of wine to cut the richness of the dishes. then skip dessert and enjoy the complimentary chocolates instead.

the lobster place

chelsea market
(15th st/ 9th ave)

website

neal has been raving about this lobster sandwich for a while now. our original plan, however, was to eat at some organic health food restaurant with soy cheese and other healthy things. but first, we decided to walk through chelsea market to get some specialty food items (i picked up some mushroom-shaped pasta and chestnut jam from the italian grocery). but then we passed by the lobster place and our dinner plans quickly shifted from soy to lobstah.

the lobster place is actually a fish market. there's various puddles on the ground and everything is made of stainless steel. head to the back corner of the store, however, and you'll find a window - ring the small bell and ask for a lobster roll. it comes packed in a box with pretty good coleslaw and crunchy potato chips. it's an excellent lobster roll - big chunks of lobster, coated in a lemony mayonnaise and topped with chives. the bread is simply toasted, missing the coat of butter that mary's fish camp slathers onto their buns. i like the lobster place version - it's simpler and a little bit lighter - but both are tasty options.

spot dessert bar

st. mark's (2/3)

website

to continue the jean-georges theme, pichet ong was a former pastry chef for jean-georges' indian-inspired restaurant, spice market. he recently opened spot, a dessert bar on st. mark's. after a dinner of giant sushi rolls at yama, cindy c and i decided to get some exercise by walking elsewhere for dessert. spot only serves dessert, which means it doesn't get busy until after everyone has finished their dinners. head there early (around dinnertime) if you want to avoid the crowds.

the menu is "dessert tapas" which apparently means that the fanchy desserts are served in smaller portions to be shared. cindy c and i chose the 3-dessert tapas for $20. our favorite (pictured) was the "white miso semifreddo" which is a misnomer because it's really all about the sweet and rich olive oil cake sandwiching the light saltiness of the hard ice cream semifreddo. it was a unique salty-sweet combination - delicious. next time, i'll just order the semifreddo. the goat milk soft cheesecake and chocolate cake marquis were both forgettable, but the semifreddo is definitely worth a return trip.

lafrieda custom burgers @ LGA

delta terminal, LGA

i now have a reason to fly delta. the most amazing airport burger i've ever tasted. pat lafrieda is famous in nyc for making special burger blends for various nyc burger joints, including our favorite burgers - shake shack, blt burger, and little owl. i had to make a quick trip to michigan for work, so i flew out of LGA around 7 pm on a wednesday night. i figured i'd be stuck with a greasy pretzel for dinner or worse, a tiny bag of peanuts.

imagine my surprise when, after passing through security, i came across pat lafrieda custom burgers. less than 6 bucks for a burger with russian dressing, lettuce, tomatoes, and pickles. i carried it to the gate and devoured my flavorful, juicy, and delicious burger. it's the same style as the shake shack - soft potato bun and basic veggies. the vegetables aren't as high quality, but the patty is thicker. a seriously good burger - i actually can't wait until i have to fly on delta again.

abc kitchen - juice bar

broadway (17/18)

website

jean-georges runs some of the top restaurants in new york city. abc kitchen is one of his latest ventures. it is located in the basement of abc kitchen & home, a very very expensive home furnishings store. try to keep your focus as you make your way to the back of the store, lest you spend $300 on a bejeweled pillow. instead, head down to the juice bar and spend $10 on a smoothie.

the concept of abc kitchen is that everything is local and organic and compostable. and expensive. haven't tried the restaurant yet, but cindy c and i stopped at the juice bar for some drinks. cindy c got "the local" - pear, apple, carrot, grapefruit, and lots of ginger. definitely clears the sinuses. i got the "banana boat" - frozen bananas, walnut milk, cinnamon, raw cacao chocolate syrup and chopped walnuts. delicious and creamy - it's a perfect protein-packed shake that actually tastes good. worth the $10 as long as you don't plan on eating a meal. also - grab an extra compostable straw just in case your first one disintegrates.

hide chan ramen

52nd (2/3)

link to yelp

i love that little ramen shops are opening up all over the place. i am especially excited when little ramen shops open up near my office or near my apartment -- because let's face it, i don't like to travel too far for my food. hide chan just opened a couple of weeks ago, replacing the japanese skewer spot that was there before.

jenny and i snuck out of our respective offices last week to grab a bowl of ramen. it's not as good as ippudo, momofuku, or even ramen setagaya, but its so close to the office, it will have to do. i ordered the traditional tonkotsu ramen (pork broth). you can choose the doneness of your noodles and the fat content of your broth, but our waitress ran away before we could make those selections. next time i'll go with a little less fattiness because then i don't feel so bad about getting extra noodles...

gemma

bowery & bond

link to yelp

jenny, derek, and i were wandering around noho looking for a good spot to try for dinner. walking along bond street, we noticed a corner restaurant lined with christmas lights and what looked like a nice outdoor deck. turns out it was gemma, a restaurant that jenny heard was good. in fact, it was great. it was a lovely space - lots of tables, nice outdoor seating. it was a cozy italian hideaway in a rather industrial-looking neighborhood.

the bread basket was some of the most delicious focaccia bread i've had in a while, served with excellent olive oil for dipping. we ordered appetizers to share - a cheese plate with fresh grapes and polenta fries. my favorite cheese was the caciotta al tartufo - flavored with black truffles. for the entrees, jenny had pasta with zucchini and shrimp, while derek had the homemade pappardelle with oxtail ragu - both of which were far superior to my boring scallops. next time i'll stick with the pasta.

heartschallenger

mulberry & spring

website

jenny and i were shopping in nolita when we came cross this little pink truck parked near desalvio playground. we were intrigued by the cute truck and its unique menu, which includes mochi ice cream and neapolitan ice cream sandwiches.

jenny tried the orange popsicle, which had frozen chunks of orange inside - she said it was very refreshing. my green tea popsicle (which was $2) was a tiny little popsicle, but delicious. it was essentially rich green tea ice cream on a stick. yum. it's a perfect little treat on a hot summer day.

sea king

23rd (2/3)

website

i was craving noodle soup but too lazy to head downtown to kuai la mian in chinatown. i normally avoid restaurants that have too many things on their menu and the sea king has two menus - one for chinese food and another for sushi and japanese food.

the decor (dragons carved out of ivory) gave me a hint that this might really be a chinese restaurant, so i felt safe ordering the szechuan pork and pickled cabbage noodle soup. not anywhere close to as good as what my mom makes, but the noodles actually tasted similar to hand-pulled noodles and the pork was crispy and tasty. it was a decent bowl of noodles and managed to satisfy my craving, but i still prefer chinatown (and mom's, of course).

stella manhattan bistro

front (beekman/ peck slip)

website

derek and i braved the throngs of tourists at south street seaport on saturday. we avoided the tourist traps at the actual seaport and walked along front street trying to decide which of the restaurants to try. derek had been here before for work and had enjoyed the charcuterie plate, so we decided to stop in stella.

excellent wine by the glass and the charcuterie plate was pretty good too. derek's favorites were the sliced turkey and the pate. service was a little slow, but the staff was friendly. our entrees, however, were unfortunately below par. so if you're in the area, stop by for some wine, cheese, and meats, but not for dinner.

bocca

19th (park/bway)

website

i think we might have found a new place for sunday night supper. i haven't blogged in a while because we haven't been trying new places. but derek managed to find a fantastic italian restaurant just a few blocks away from our apartment. not a lot of people go out to dinner on sunday nights, but derek and i like to have a nice dinner out because we know that the week will probably be busy with work.

fortunately, on sundays, bocca offers half-off their excellent bottles of wine. to accompany our bottle of wine, derek ordered the veal meatballs and the spaghetti with smoked tomatoes. he absolutely loved it. the meatballs tasted like they were made by someone's grandma. i had the black linguine with lobster and smoked bacon in a corn crema sauce. delicious. the entrees are pricey, so i think we're going to limit our visits to the half-price wine sundays. but derek and i have a hard time finishing a whole bottle, so who's coming with us next time?

pipa

19th (park/bway)

website

located in the basement of ABC carpet & home (there's also an entrance on 19th), pipa uses the store's merchandise as its decor with price tags hanging from the chandeliers. it kind of feels like you're dining in an antiques store, which is a little weird. service is also a little slow. but the food makes up for it.

pipa serves spanish tapas, but XYZ and i were there for brunch. we both ordered the salmon eggs benedict - two poached organic eggs, smoked salmon, potato pancakes, mascarpone cheese and traditional or poblano hollandaise sauce. i recommend the traditional hollandaise sauce, which i asked for on the side. but i suggest dumping that sauce over everything - it's buttery and has a hint of truffle flavor - it's really the highlight of the dish. it was an expensive-tasting brunch for a reasonable price.

pastis

9th ave (little w. 12th)

website

there was a heat advisory in nyc this past weekend. but derek and i finally had a weekend day off of work, so nothing was going to stop us from participating in our favorite pastime - exploring the streets of manhattan by foot. it was surprisingly quiet and peaceful in the city - the streets were pretty empty, restaurants were completely empty. walking through the meatpacking district, derek and i decided to go into pastis for brunch.

turns out everyone was at pastis. the placed was packed! noisy and crowded with fashionable people (this is another one of those "see and be seen" places in manhattan). derek and i settled into a cozy corner table and reviewed the menu. typical french bistro fare with higher-than-typical prices. derek ordered an omelette with herbs and a side of fries. i ordered the smoked salmon with scrambled eggs. good fries, good food, but nothing spectacular. it's a good option if you're in the meatpacking and you want to have people check out what you're wearing (why the fascination with derek's sperry topsiders?) - but there are better places for brunch in the city.

big gay ice cream truck

check twitter

website

i have been trying to find this truck for several weeks now. the problem is that it looks like a normal mister softee truck. so whenever derek and i walked by a mister softee, i would check to see if it had a picture of a large rainbow-colored ice cream cone on the side. there are a LOT of mister softee trucks in the city, so its been a laborious process. but turns out the truck is on twitter, which is very helpful. i finally managed to catch the truck on 17th and broadway on friday afternoon.

the menu had several excellent options, including an ice cream sandwich made with nutella. but, of course, i had to order the "salty pimp" - a cone with traditional soft-serve vanilla ice cream, covered with dulce de leche, sea salt, and then dipped with chocolate. as you can see from the photo, i attempted to start eating it while walking back to my apartment. it was extremely unwieldy - the chocolate coating and ice cream were too soft and melting quickly in the 90+ degree weather. i walked very quickly back to my apartment and stuck the cone in my freezer. a couple of hours later, derek and i enjoyed an excellent frosty treat. the ice cream had turned to a frozened mousse-like texture and the chocolate turned into a crunchy shell. the sea salt provided a lovely contrast to the caramel and chocolate. if you're a salty caramel fan, this is the cone for you.

chinese mirch

28th/lex

website

neal is a new new yorker, but he's already got excellent restaurant recs. we met up for dinner at chinese mirch, which serves indian chinese food. neal being indian, me being chinese - we were very intrigued by the combination. the restaurant doesn't have a whole lot of tables, but it has a nice waiting area and decent soju cocktails to keep you occupied while you wait. the restaurant is also dimly lit, so apologies for the fuzzy photo.

the photo, however, is of the best cauliflower dish i have ever had in my life. amazing. its only served as an appetizer at chinese mirch - it's called "gobi manchurian." the cauliflower is lightly fried so that it's crispy and then tossed with a slightly spicy mix of garlic, onion, ginger, and cilantro. spicy, garlickly, delicious. in general, i'm still a little confused by the indian chinese food concept, but the gobi manchurian appears to be a mix between indian spiced cauliflower dishes and chinese traditional "salt & pepper" preparation of fried foods. delicious! next time, i'll probably order 3 plates of the gobi manchurian instead of entrees.

the standard grill

washington/ 13th

website

the standard grill opened up pretty recently under the southernmost tip of the high line park. it's super trendy right now - the kind of place to see and be seen, and you may occasionally spot a celebrity. the decor is cool - the first part of the restaurant appears to be a sunroom, maybe something similar to what you would see in a beachfront restaurant. the second part of the restaurant looks like a standard old-school new york city grill, but with a few hints of whimsy - like the pennies glued to the floor and the salt & pepper shakers shaped like kissing dogs.

ryan made reservations for everyone for brunch at 11 am. a great time to visit the restaurant, which is usually packed. we were seated in the quiet dining room in the book at a cozy booth. and the food? i highly recommend the carbs and the bacon. the carbs: ryan enjoyed his brioche french toast with buttered rum, walnuts and bananas. i loved the cinnamon sugar doughnuts which were delivered to our table hot and fresh (baby m was also a huge fan of the doughnuts). cindy loved the muffins. everyone loved the sweet bread that is served complimetary. mom, ryan, and derek each raved about the bacon in their dishes (turkey club, french toast, and a burger). stick with the carbs and bacon and you'll be good.

blue ribbon sushi bar & grill

58th (8/9)

website

y&a know where to eat. they know what to order. follow their lead and you'll never go wrong. derek and i headed up to midtown for an amazing meal at blue ribbon sushi bar and grill. y&a brought the baby, who was doted on by the staff (thus the stroller-friendly tag). service, overall, was super friendly and helpful - standard for a high-end japanese restaurant in the city. we started with melt-in-your-mouth miso marinated black cod, then duck meatball noodle soup. the fried chicken with wasabi honey was also excellent.

my favorite, however, was the bone marrow with teriyaki sauce. so good. while enjoying the deliciousness, we started wondering about who in history first decided to split open bones and roast the marrow. then we started lamenting the thought that there were bones in the world that were going unsplit and unroasted... anyway, derek and i weren't very good at portioning out the marrow for the bread. we had leftover marrow and no more bread. the good news though, is that our next dish was the oxtail fried rice, so we added our leftover to the rice. delicious. decadent. i can't wait to go back!

red mill burgers

seattle, wa

website

one of the best burgers in seattle. it's the epitome of a local burger joint - there's all kinds of seattle sports memorabilia hanging on the walls, there's all sorts of rules (no cell phones, don't ask about your order, just wait to hear your name, and despite the fast service there's always a line going out the door).

these are huge burgers (especially compared to burgers that you get in new york like the shack burger). all of the ingredients are the basic hamburger ingredients - sesame seed bun, tomatoes, onions, pickles, lettuce, and a juicy patty. (although there's an anaheim pepper burger that i might have to try next time...) delicious! they also have onion rings and fries that are perfect with their homemade tarter sauce. it's worth the wait.

top pot doughnuts

seattle, wa

website

i make my sister cindy take me here each time i visit seattle (the nephews don't mind going at all). these are some of the best doughnuts in seattle. in fact, starbucks now ships them all across the country -- usually the apple fritter and cake doughnuts. of course, you should go to the source to get them fresh.

my favorite, though, is the maple bar (pictured). perfect with a glass of cold milk. they have so many different types of doughnuts - i would love to try them all - but since i only come once or twice a year i always stick to my favorite.

rocky mountain chocolate factory

tulalip, wa

website

not entirely sure this is worth a write-up, as it is a chain store that is located throughout the united states, usually in outlet malls and other shopping centers. but this is one of my favorite treats and the seattle premium outlets in tulalip, washington had a table outside of the shop offering freshly dipped bananas and ice cream bars.

the banana is pre-dipped and pre-frozened. when you order one at the rocky mountain chocolate factory, they take the pre-dipped bananas, dip them again in melted chocolate, and coat them in chopped nuts. delicious. derek prefers the ice cream sandwich, as you can see.

oasis tea zone

seattle, wa

website

my favorite spot for bubble tea in seattle - oasis - has two locations (international district and u-district). derek and i used to stop by here all the time when we went to uw. this time around, we brought both sets of parents to have a nice break. it's kind of a hangout for younger folks (with board games you can borrow and pool tables in the back), so my parents thought it was a little too loud for their tastes.

although they have great bubble tea (including an excellent thai iced tea version), i wanted to snack so my dad and i shared a taiwanese style shaved ice (also called bao bing). it's pretty simple - shaved ice, doused with condensed milk and topped with your favorite toppings. i chose red beans, green beans, lychees and lychee jellies. cool, sweet, refreshing - perfect for a sweltering 80 degree day in seattle.

legal test kitchen @ BOS

logan airport, boston, ma

website

on business trips, i usually don't get to see much of a city other than from inside the cab and from the windows of the conference room. i love to try regional specialities whenever i'm in a new city, but often that means trying whatever they offer in the airport.

legal seafood is famous in boston for its clam chowder. i was very happy to see a branch at the delta shuttle terminal at logan airport. legal's chowder is much lighter and fresher than what i'm used to - the clams are tender and the potatoes still have some bite to them. excellent chowder and perfect after a long day.

defonte's

3rd ave & 21st

website

i think this might be my new favorite sandwich. it's definitely a close race between defonte's hot roast beef sandwich and num pang's pulled pork sandwich. i discovered defonte's through the "a sandwich a day" feature on the nyc seriouseats blog. the original defonte's is in brookyln, but thankfully there's a manhattan outpost that delivers to my apartment.

the hot roast beef sandwich is so much more than what the name implies. at defonte's, the sandwich is served with crusty french bread, soaked in au jus, piled high with thinly sliced juicy roast beef, house-made mozzarella, and get this - a slice of fried eggplant. ridiculous. it gets a little cold in the delivery process, but wrap in foil and toast it in the toaster oven for a minute and the bread gets crispy on top and the mozzarella and meat warm through perfectly. yum.