korilla bbq

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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.