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.