Manhattan: East Village
Posted by Joe DiStefano, November 20, 2009 at 2:30 PM
[Photos: Joe DiStefano]
With the notable exception of Go Go Curry there is probably no Japanese restaurant in Manhattan more obsessed with New York Yankees left-fielder Hideki "Godzilla" Matsui than Go Sushi. Sports pages featuring Matsui are pasted above the sushi bar at this Saint Mark's izakaya, whose name means "five" in Japanese. To honor the newly minted MVP who has worn the number 55 since his days at the Yomiuri Giants, and in recognition of the Yanks World Series win, Go introduced the Yankee Roll. My team loyalties—such as they are—lie with the Mets, but only because I love Queens. Nevertheless, I decided to cast aside my loyalty to the home team and try the $5.50 creation.
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Posted by Joe DiStefano, November 19, 2009 at 4:30 PM
"Asians love glitter." —Pichet Ong
[Photo: Spot]
Normally I'm not a dessert guy, but yesterday I stopped by Pichet Ong's Spot, which Kathy reviewed earlier today, for one of the chef's seasonal desserts: jackfruit cake with rum toffee and coconut. I've had young jackfruit cooked in savory Indonesian preparations as well as raw mature jackfruit. Why not try it baked into a sweet treat? The gigantic fruit is native to Southeast Asia, so I was curious to see what the Taiwanese-born, Thai-raised dessert chef would do with its sticky flesh.
Rum and "Disco Sparkles," after the jump.
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Posted by Kathy YL Chan, November 19, 2009 at 11:00 AM
[Photos: Kathy Chan]
My heart was beating so fast when I left Pichet Ong's newly opened East Village dessert shop Spot yesterday evening, I had to find a bench and sit down for a minute. My fault. I had one dessert at Spot, and then another, and then just because we go all out for you, dear reader, one more. And the one more. And a drink to go. Ong's former bakery, Batch, was fun...
... but Spot is serious. There are those familiar cupcakes from Batch, coupling chocolate with green tea and mocha with caramel, and there are cookies—Chinese walnut, ginger oatmeal raisin to name a few.
But then, there's much more.
Continue reading »
Posted by Kathy YL Chan, November 18, 2009 at 3:00 PM
[Photo: Kathy Chan]
Thanksgiving season means marshmallow season. And alongside the Vosges Caramel Marshmallows and the house marshmallow flavors at Three Tarts comes the new Momofuku Milk Bar cake. Meet the Chocolate Malt Cake, created from layers of densely moist chocolate cake, thick, glossy malt fudge, malted milk crumbles, and marshmallows. Charred marshmallows, of course—these are the same marshmallows that top the sweet potato and pie crust soft serve twist at Noodle Bar. Like all Milk Bar cakes, you are advises to share. But if downing a whole portion alone on a rainy evening is what pleases you, go ahead—you've got my approval.
Momofuku Bakery & Milk Bar
207 2nd Avenue, New York NY 10003 (map)
momofuku.com
Posted by Kathy YL Chan, November 16, 2009 at 2:30 PM
[Photos: Kathy Chan]
There's a Japanese bakery in Hawai'i called Saint Germain that makes, among many sweets, a killer strawberry shortcake. It was the cake my parents ordered for my first birthday, and every birthday since then. In my mind, only Japanese bakeries can create great strawberry shortcakes—delicate and light as a feather—far preferable to the heavy yellow butter cake with sugary frosting found at most American bakeries. In the East Village, where I currently live, we are fortunate to have our pick of strawberry shortcakes—three, to be exact.
The best is at the recently re-opened Panya (at top) where each slice runs $3.75. The 50:50 cake-to-cream ratio was just perfect, with a fair helping of thinly sliced strawberries evenly laid across between generous swaths of cream. The exterior side of the cake, sweet just enough, is lightly dusted in toasted cake crumbs, and the whole cake is tender and light with a moist body.
Continue reading »
Posted by Joe DiStefano, November 20, 2009 at 2:30 PM
[Photos: Joe DiStefano]
With the notable exception of Go Go Curry there is probably no Japanese restaurant in Manhattan more obsessed with New York Yankees left-fielder Hideki "Godzilla" Matsui than Go Sushi. Sports pages featuring Matsui are pasted above the sushi bar at this Saint Mark's izakaya, whose name means "five" in Japanese. To honor the newly minted MVP who has worn the number 55 since his days at the Yomiuri Giants, and in recognition of the Yanks World Series win, Go introduced the Yankee Roll. My team loyalties—such as they are—lie with the Mets, but only because I love Queens. Nevertheless, I decided to cast aside my loyalty to the home team and try the $5.50 creation.
Continue reading »
Posted by Joe DiStefano, November 19, 2009 at 4:30 PM
"Asians love glitter." —Pichet Ong
[Photo: Spot]
Normally I'm not a dessert guy, but yesterday I stopped by Pichet Ong's Spot, which Kathy reviewed earlier today, for one of the chef's seasonal desserts: jackfruit cake with rum toffee and coconut. I've had young jackfruit cooked in savory Indonesian preparations as well as raw mature jackfruit. Why not try it baked into a sweet treat? The gigantic fruit is native to Southeast Asia, so I was curious to see what the Taiwanese-born, Thai-raised dessert chef would do with its sticky flesh.
Rum and "Disco Sparkles," after the jump.
Continue reading »
Posted by Kathy YL Chan, November 19, 2009 at 11:00 AM
[Photos: Kathy Chan]
My heart was beating so fast when I left Pichet Ong's newly opened East Village dessert shop Spot yesterday evening, I had to find a bench and sit down for a minute. My fault. I had one dessert at Spot, and then another, and then just because we go all out for you, dear reader, one more. And the one more. And a drink to go. Ong's former bakery, Batch, was fun...
... but Spot is serious. There are those familiar cupcakes from Batch, coupling chocolate with green tea and mocha with caramel, and there are cookies—Chinese walnut, ginger oatmeal raisin to name a few.
But then, there's much more.
Continue reading »
Posted by Kathy YL Chan, November 18, 2009 at 3:00 PM
[Photo: Kathy Chan]
Thanksgiving season means marshmallow season. And alongside the Vosges Caramel Marshmallows and the house marshmallow flavors at Three Tarts comes the new Momofuku Milk Bar cake. Meet the Chocolate Malt Cake, created from layers of densely moist chocolate cake, thick, glossy malt fudge, malted milk crumbles, and marshmallows. Charred marshmallows, of course—these are the same marshmallows that top the sweet potato and pie crust soft serve twist at Noodle Bar. Like all Milk Bar cakes, you are advises to share. But if downing a whole portion alone on a rainy evening is what pleases you, go ahead—you've got my approval.
Momofuku Bakery & Milk Bar
207 2nd Avenue, New York NY 10003 (map)
momofuku.com
Posted by Kathy YL Chan, November 16, 2009 at 2:30 PM
[Photos: Kathy Chan]
There's a Japanese bakery in Hawai'i called Saint Germain that makes, among many sweets, a killer strawberry shortcake. It was the cake my parents ordered for my first birthday, and every birthday since then. In my mind, only Japanese bakeries can create great strawberry shortcakes—delicate and light as a feather—far preferable to the heavy yellow butter cake with sugary frosting found at most American bakeries. In the East Village, where I currently live, we are fortunate to have our pick of strawberry shortcakes—three, to be exact.
The best is at the recently re-opened Panya (at top) where each slice runs $3.75. The 50:50 cake-to-cream ratio was just perfect, with a fair helping of thinly sliced strawberries evenly laid across between generous swaths of cream. The exterior side of the cake, sweet just enough, is lightly dusted in toasted cake crumbs, and the whole cake is tender and light with a moist body.
Continue reading »
Posted by Nikki Goldstein, November 6, 2009 at 12:00 PM
[Flickr: Lanaflickr]
Dosas may be the popular choice for Indian brunch in Curry Hill, but the Bowery's Indian-inspired Double Crown takes a totally different approach. Drawing from the historic blending of English and Southeast Asian cuisines, Double Crown's brunch has a refined culinary point of view that comes across clearly in all its dishes. Of those I've tried, my favorite is the Grilled Sambal Prawns with Scrambled Eggs, which gets a robust hit of flavor from the traditional chili jam—a condiment, somewhat ironically, that's typically served with dosas).
Surprisingly, though, it's the eggs and not the prawns that absorb most of the spice from the sambal. It's a comfortable heat that develops without overpowering, often balanced by the fine sprigs of cilantro strewn over the dish. The prawns—giant, whole, and grilled to a deliciously sticky, caramelized point—are definitely an unusual brunch protein, but their sheer size makes them hearty enough to stand up to the eggs and toast alongside them, while their delicate sweetness adds the kind of complexity you'd expect from a dinner entree.
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Posted by Kathy YL Chan, November 5, 2009 at 1:45 PM
[Photo: Kathy Chan]
For the most part, I stay away from tutti-fruit, rainbow colored sweets—you know, those too colorful for their own good sort of desserts. But at Stogo, the dairy free ice cream stop in the East Village, their spelt-based red velvet flavor is oddly intriguing. Soy-based ice cream, check. Coconut milk-based ice cream, check. But spelt-based ice cream? This was unusual.
Spelt's nutty, distinctive taste comes through most clearly in this "ice cream," overpowering the intended flavor, red velvet. Red velvet cake crumbs are speckled throughout the batter, staining the base a light pink, but those bits are whispers in a intensely spelt-flavored ice cream.
Stogo
159 Second Avenue, New York NY 10003 (map)
stogonyc.com
Posted by Kathy YL Chan, October 30, 2009 at 12:00 PM
[Photo: Kathy Chan]
Crunchy cookie meets weightless meringue, with just the slightest bit of chew—it's the pistachio cookie at Abraço, with the nut pureed through and through. Pistachio evolved into a cookie. A little crumbly, a little messy, but bold and honest in flavor, and just sweet enough.
Abraço
86 East 7th Street, New York NY 10003 (map)
212-388-9731
abraconyc.com
Posted by Tam Ngo, October 23, 2009 at 12:00 PM
Robataya! [Photographs: Tam Ngo]
Robataya is the latest from the restaurant group that manages such Japanese gems as Sobaya. Its grilled menu offerings are similar to those of Aburiya Kinnosuke, but presented with greater fidelity to the rowdy spirit of the robatayaki.
With ro meaning fireplace, bata meaning around, and yaki meaning grill, robatayaki is a phrase literal of its intent. The U-shaped seating around a central hearth, the booming call and response, and the food served precariously on the fat ends of oars hark to practices among Japanese seafarers hundreds of years ago. According to legend, the fisherman grilled their catch on boats and shared the bounty with other fishermen by bellowing announcements. Food was then distributed, from boat to boat, on the very oars they rowed with.
At Robataya, even glass bottles of soda are proferred to diners via oar, a feat just barely on the fun side of disaster. Two chefs in white-footed socks cook and shout from a raised platform equipped with infrared gas.
Cozy footwear
You place your order with a waiter who barks it to a chef. The chef thunders a confirmation back. With efficient commotion, the chef then scuttles over to stage's perimeter where foods are piled preciously, spotlit and on pedestals.
The chef gestures while on hands and knees. He points at an ingredient and you nod. He plucks the food right then from view and grills it immediately to order. A final broadcast of the dish, and you are presented the dish by extended oar.
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Posted by Kathy YL Chan, October 21, 2009 at 12:30 PM
Lunch at Agnes & Eva's Cafe started like this: a window seat facing out onto East 13th Street, and one hot chai latte ($2.50). This Polish East Village cafe, run by a mother and daughter team, is equipped with wireless, plenty of seating, solid food and low prices. I wrote about their peach pie when they first opened; I was not a fan.
But the cafe has improved with time, working out a number of kinks, and while the desserts are still far from fantastic, you won't be disappointed stopping in for a quiet meal, with soups, sandwiches, and more. Should you be lucky enough, you might come in on a day where Hungarian specialties are on the menu—if so, make those dishes your first eating priority.
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Posted by Robyn Lee, October 17, 2009 at 4:00 PM
[Photograph: Robyn Lee]
If I lived in Australia, I'd want to eat sticky date pudding all the time. Alas, I don't, so I've only eaten it twice in my deprived life, the second time at The Sunburnt Cow in Alphabet City. The uber-moist, warm cake morsel acted as a sponge (and had a spongy texture) for the caramel sauce topping and doesn't taste of dates as much as the intense caramel sauce that soaks into every crevice. Which is perfectly fine with me. I thought the sweetness level was just right—"just right" to my taste buds being a smidge below "diabetes-inducing"—but if your sweet tooth is more normal than mine, the accompanying whipped cream helps to cut through the sweetness.
The Sunburnt Cow
137 Avenue C, New York NY 10009 (map)
212-529-0005; thesunburntcow.com
Posted by Kathy YL Chan, October 15, 2009 at 3:30 PM
[Photo: Kathy Chan]
Recommended by serious eater Alaina Browne, the pumpkin ice cream at Sundaes & Cones is a definite neighborhood go-to. Solid and satisfying, and best in a sugar cone (per Alaina's recommendation) and not the cup. It's that extra bit of crunch that completes this particular flavor, like a makeshift frozen pumpkin pie. It's nothing fancy or extravagant, but a total feel-good dessert, especially when enjoyed with a friend at one of the window seats.
Sundaes & Cones
95 East 10th Street, New York NY 10003 (near Third Avenue; map)
212-979-9398
sundaescones.com
Posted by Kathy YL Chan, October 14, 2009 at 2:00 PM
[Photo: Kathy Chan]
I'll pass on the quartet of soft serve flavors served at Momofuku Milk Bar any day for the two flavors that appear at Momofuku Noodle Bar. At Noodle Bar, Christina Tosi's flavors are just as inventive, only with a touch of restraint. Currently on the menu: Sweet Potatoand Pie Crust soft serve, with toasted marshmallows on top. The Sweet Potato is delicious on its own, but if you're also craving the Pie Crust, make sure to get it with the Sweet Potato twist and not just on its own—otherwise it just taste of milky, salty soft serve. And say yes, yes, yes to the option of toasted marshmallows.
Momofuku Noodle Bar
171 First Avenue, New York NY 10003 (map)
212-777-7773
momofuku.com
Posted by Kathy YL Chan, October 13, 2009 at 4:00 PM
For the month of October, Prune celebrates their ten-year anniversary (impressive!) with a rotation of three special prix fixe menus ($53). Today brings an end to the first menu, in which an extravagant meal of monkfish liver with buttered toasted, braised rabbit legs in vinegar sauce, and roasted beet aioli is followed with a wedge of Brenton Butter Cake. Golden, flaky and simply sublime with a sip of the accompanying glass of muscat.
After this, look out for sweet endings of Pistachio Pithiviers with Buttermilk Ice Cream (from 10/14-10/20) and Lemon Curd Pavlova (10/21-10/27).
Prune
54 East First Street, New York NY 10003 (near First Avenue; map)
212-677-6221; prunerestaurant.com
Posted by Carey Jones, October 13, 2009 at 10:00 AM
[Photo: Blondie and Brownie]
No matter how often you stop by Momofuku Milk Bar, you'll rarely find quite the same menu twice. Blondie from Blondie and Brownie tries their Rice Pudding Pie: "With a gingersnap crust and topped with caramel apples, the pie felt in place for fall and was certainly delicious."
We'll take it over a few of Momofuku's newest soft-serve flavors, debuting tomorrow; fruit cobbler, okay, but stuffing? Yikes.
Posted by Tia Kim, October 8, 2009 at 1:45 PM
[Photographs: Tia Kim]
Bibimbap (a spicy Korean mixed rice dish, also spelled bibimbop) isn't bar food, here or in Korea, but when you combine bibimbap and a sake bar, you get Bibim-Bar, a tiny bar/restaurant specializing in bibimbap and small Asian plates tucked away in the back of Ramen Setagaya on First Avenue.
Being Korean, bibimbap is one those dishes I hardly ever order at a restaurant. Along with kimchi jigae (kimchi stew) and denjang jigae (fermented soybean stew), it's easy to make at home with ingredients I usually have in my refrigerator. This weekend, though, I was by St. Marks and I needed Korean food stat, and after quickly surveying the area (Seoul Station is still closed for renovations), I found myself in Bibim-Bar.
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Posted by Nick Solares, October 1, 2009 at 11:15 AM
[Photo: Nick Solares]
While I don't find the hamburger or even the regular menu at The Smith particularly inspiring, their breakfast offerings are much more compelling. I recently wrote about the Croaker and ventured down to The Smith this morning with that sandwich in mind. But after perusing the menu I decided upon a dish that I now wish I had discovered sooner: the potato waffle.
Three poached eggs come set atop three quarters of a crunchy potato waffle, with spinach and caramelized onions ladled over them. The eggs came out nice and runny, the yolk spilling out and mixing with the spinach to create a very creamy concoction. Truth be told, I barely noticed the caramelized onions, but it mattered not; the hearty waffle was a golden brown and the creamy topping created a pleasing synthesis. I wish more waffle fries could taste this good.
The dish looks large, and I didn't think I would finish it when it was deposited on my table. But after wolfing down the three eggs and waffle quarters, I found myself wondering what happened to the last quadrant. I bet the kitchen loves it when an order of the dish comes in; there will always be an extra waffle quarter.
Available seven days a week, the dish costs only $8 on weekdays with a glass of orange juice or a coffee.
The Smith
55 Third Avenue, New York NY 10003 (map)
212-420-9800
ctrnyc.com/THESMITH/index.html
Related:
Breakfast of Champions: The Croaker at The Smith
Another Burger Ruined by Brioche from The Smith
Posted by Kathy YL Chan, September 29, 2009 at 2:00 PM
The newest baked good at Birdbath, in both East and West Village locations, almost qualifies as health food. Behold, the banana-miso muffin, made with spelt and soynuts. It's on the dry end in that healthy sort of way, but is strangely addictive, barely sweet at all, and goes very well with a cup of hot coffee. Chunks of fresh bananas fill out the hollowed center of this "muffin." The miso isn't prevalent, but I love the nutty pop of the soynuts in every bite.
Birdbath
223 First Avenue, New York NY 10003 map)
646-722-6565
145 Seventh Avenue, New York NY 10014 map)
646-722-6570
buildagreenbakery.com
Posted by Carey Jones, September 25, 2009 at 4:15 PM
D-list sushi—unlike bad pizza, say, or a not-great chocolate chip cookie—simply has no reason to exist. Eating it is a terrifying experience, not worth the assault on your palate or risk to your life.
That said, I do believe that there's a place in the world for the moderately good sushi restaurant. We can't all be Morimoto (and we certainly can't all afford to eat at his place every night). As long as the fish is halfway fresh and the rice isn't gummy, I'm perfectly happy with a just-okay plate of sushi—as long as I pay proportionately less.
I thought that Cube 63 on the Lower East Side might be just that—a neighborhood sushi spot where I could grab a few rolls, bring my own booze, and not break the bank. But unfortunately, this techno-lit, inattentively staffed, and strangely pricey BYOB Japanese spot wasn't quite that.
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Posted by Robyn Lee, September 22, 2009 at 1:45 PM
The Senor Pollo madness started with fellow Serious Eats contributor Kathy YL Chan. A few months ago she professed her Senor Pollo love in her blog and has since then repeatedly informed me, "You can get a quarter chicken and two sides for only $6.50—it's so good!" with such zeal that if we were in a cartoon, little pink hearts would've popped up next to her face. Not being one to turn down Peruvian-style rotisserie chicken (or meals that cost less than $10), I finally got my Senor Pollo Night last Wednesday.
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