Posted by Jamie Feldmar, February 6, 2012 at 9:00 AM
Editor's note: Please welcome new SENY writer Jamie Feldmar, former food editor at Gothamist and all-around knower of New York eats. We'll chat with her more later today, but for now, enjoy the first installment of her "Cheap Eats" series. Take it away, Jamie!
Dozens of Indian restaurants and grocers cram the intersection of Lexington Ave and 28th St, leading spice-seekers to affectionately dub the area "Curry Hill." There's little in the way of a unifying theme for the cuisine on display--lavishly appointed white-tablecloth restaurants sit next to hole-in-the-wall snack shops; south Indian storefronts cook up oversized dosas and peppery rasam soup right next to north Indian joints doling out gut-busting butter chicken and biryanis; and pretty much every bodega has a shelf (or three) full of pungent spices packed in plastic baggies.
Continue reading »
Favorite this! (3)
Posted by Kathy YL Chan, November 11, 2011 at 1:45 PM
[Photo: Kathy YL Chan]
The topping of this Pear Crisp from Gramercy Tavern is my favorite part of the dessert. Crunchy toasted oats, pops of sweet currants, and plenty of brown sugar and butter ensure that each spoonful is crisp and lightly sweet. That and the two chubby scoops of silky sweet cream ice cream alone could be deemed dessert. But there's much more. Tucked beneath the oats and currants are fresh pears, perfectly diced and baked till tender. It's not overly syrupy as many restaurant crisps tend to be. Here you can count on the slow, easy melt of ice cream to to sauce the pears.
Gramercy Tavern
42 East 20th Street, New York, NY 10003 (map)
212-477-0777
gramercytavern.com
About the author: Originally from Honolulu, Kathy YL Chan writes A Passion For Food, where she chronicles her eats and travels adventures between Hawai'i, New York and beyond. She firmly believes that there is always room for dessert.
Favorite this! (1)
Posted by Ben Fishner, September 23, 2011 at 11:15 AM
Contadino at Maialino. [Photos: Ben Fishner]
Brunch at Maialino is a dignified affair: it's quiet, classy, and when I dined there last week, there wasn't any wait to speak of. The Roman restaurant's brunch has been covered here extensively, but their menu is always different, changing with the whims of the nearby Greenmarket in Union Square. Take, for example, the Contadino ($15), which featured those perfectly poached eggs atop sauteed sweet corn, sungold cherry tomatoes, and mild jalapeños. A simple dish elevated by perfect ingredients, this was a relatively light option for brunch.
Continue reading »
Favorite this! (1)
Posted by Kathy YL Chan, July 14, 2011 at 3:30 PM
[Photo: Kathy YL Chan]
Torta di Olio d'Oliva ($8) is a memorable yet simple way to end any meal at Maialino. A wedge of olive oil cake, golden brown at the surface with a honey yellow interior, is paired with just a dollop of vanilla bean mascarpone; doesn't get more straightforward than that. The cake is intensely moist, dense with a texture bordering on pound cake, though completely saturated (in a good way!) with olive oil. Only a touch sweet; it's go well with some port or muscat on the side to complete. For those looking for something smaller to take on the go, stop by Maialino in the mornings for the warm and equally delicious Olive Oil Muffin ($3).
Maialino
2 Lexington Avenue, New York NY 10010 (map)
212-777-2410
maialinonyc.com
About the author: Originally from Honolulu, Kathy YL Chan writes A Passion For Food, where she chronicles her eats and travels adventures between Hawai'i, New York and beyond. She firmly believes that there is always room for dessert.
Favorite this! (2)
Posted by Kathy YL Chan, July 12, 2011 at 12:15 PM
[Photo: Kathy YL Chan]
One Lucky Duck, the take-away spot from vegan restaurant Pure Food and Wine, is best known for their smoothies, juices, and raw desserts. But they also do an excellent lunch business, turning out raw and vegan salads to go at rapid speed during the busy lunch hours. Salads start at $11 and go up to $16. Certainly not cheap, but worth the occasional meal when you feel the need to lighten up with salads or "clean your body," as a dining companion once remarked. Also worth noting is that the salads run on the large side—many people I saw eating in at one of the few tables had leftovers packed up. Break it down to two salads and the price isn't half bad.
The Pumpkin Seed and Herb Salad (pictured above) is one of my favorites, coupling a variety of greens and herbs including lettuces, kale, mint, parsley, and cilantro. It comes with tangy, fresh lemon dressing created from only pumpkin seed oil, lemon, and sea salt. Toss with the sides of toasty hemp seeds and the pumpkin seed macadamia "parmesan." That "parmesan" is usually good, and something I could easily snack on throughout the day. Raw macadamia nuts and pumpkin seeds are soaked in water, then blended with lemon juice, nutritional yeast, more water and salt before a run in the dehydrator. They're flat, crisp crackers, and though they don't taste anything like parmesan, they've got their own salty, appealing nuttiness. Pair with housemade kombucha or a smoothie and you'll feel positively virtuous.
One Lucky Duck
125 East 17th Street, New York NY 10003 (map)
212-477-7151
oneluckyduck.com
About the author: Originally from Honolulu, Kathy YL Chan writes A Passion For Food, where she chronicles her eats and travels adventures between Hawai'i, New York and beyond. She firmly believes that there is always room for dessert.
Favorite this! (0)
Posted by The Serious Eats Team, June 9, 2011 at 6:00 PM
[Photos: J. Kenji Lopez-Alt]
We're big fans of Maialino, Danny Meyer's Roman-ish trattoria in the Gramercy Park Hotel, so we were thrilled to hear that they launched a happy hour menu: Monday-Friday, 5:00-7:00pm. Discounted drinks are a draw, of course, but so is Nick Anderer's food menu—eminently snackable plates like meatballs and anchovy-topped deviled eggs and crisp pork cracklings, and all of it for $2 to $5 a pop!
Check out our slideshow for a look at the food.
Maialino
2 Lexington Avenue, New York NY 10010 (map)
212-777-2410
maialinonyc.com
Favorite this! (0)
Posted by Kathy YL Chan, April 27, 2011 at 4:00 PM
[Photo: Kathy YL Chan]
At Veritas, pastry chef Emily Wallendjack (by way of Jean-Georges, Cookshop and Pierre Hermé!), reinvents the Dark & Stormy cocktail in the form of a killer sticky toffee pudding. Here the steamed pudding, incredibly tender and fragrant, meets a rum-laced toffee sauce. If there were leftovers, I could only imagine what slices of this pudding transformed into French toast would make for breakfast the next morning. A quenelle of spicy ginger-lime ice cream lightens the affair, creamy and full-bodied. Do note, if you're a fan of Emily's ice cream, don't miss the seasonal selection of ice creams and sorbet. A taste of six for $10 (three each of the ice cream and sorbets) is the way to go; grated lime zest tops the whole plate before the dessert is presented and the resulting scent is borderline intoxicating. At $11 it's a dessert both indulgent and generous enough for two to share.
Veritas
43 East 20th Street, New York NY 10003 (map)
212-353-3700
veritas-nyc.com
About the author: Originally from Honolulu, Kathy YL Chan writes A Passion For Food, where she chronicles her eats and travels adventures between Hawai'i, New York and beyond. She firmly believes that there is always room for dessert.
Favorite this! (0)
Posted by Ashley Muir Bruhn, April 25, 2011 at 10:15 AM
[Photos: Ashley Muir Bruhn]
Piccolo Cafe has two locations in Manhattan (and a third on the way), both of which are designed with reclaimed materials to emphasize a focus on sustainable, local products. The owners were coffee roasters in Italy and the menu reflects their origin; truffles panini, prochiutto and mozzarella di bufala omelettes, and housemade gnocchi. We visited the original location in Gramercy for breakfast.
We started with the Truffle Egg Sandwich ($9): organic eggs mixed with mild mushroom tapenade and topped with balsamic greens and tomatoes on a toasted baguette. It's a nice sandwich, but it does suffer from under-seasoning. The balsamic on the salad replaces the salt but overpowers the mushrooms; a little salt would better bring out the flavors. Perhaps more significant was the lack of truffle essence. Had it been billed as a mushroom and egg sandwich, it would actually be very good, but as a truffle egg sandwich, it seemed to be missing an essential ingredient.
Continue reading »
Favorite this! (1)
Posted by Kathy YL Chan, April 13, 2011 at 1:00 PM
[Photo: Kathy YL Chan]
When the New York Times recently put out an article on veggie burgers, I had to do a little cheer because they mentioned my favorite veggie burger in the city. It was a burger that I was too embarrassed to tell friends about—lest they judge me for two facts: I not only 1) love veggie burgers, but 2) my favorite comes from a nationwide chain.
It's the veggie burger at Hillstone, near Gramercy Park. The $17 price tag is high, but it's easily large enough for two meals. Break into two $8.50 meals, and it's a fair deal and something I often do for takeout lunches. The "burger" is hearty, a gridded number with a slight crunch on the exterior. It's made from a foundation of rice and beans and beets, an easy to pinpoint but unexpected element.
Continue reading »
Favorite this! (2)
Posted by Lingbo Li, April 8, 2011 at 2:30 PM
Who doesn't love french fries? We've long been looking for New York's best, and decided that the city's fries deserved more than a post—they needed a column of their own. Here's TGI Fry-Day, your weekly dose of deliciousness. Got a nomination? Let us know. —The Mgmt.
[Photo credit: Lingbo Li]
Blue Smoke's sweet potato fries may be a misnomer—they're incredibly substantial, more like a quartered potato than a strip, essentially like a roasted sweet potato wedge. These are so hefty that they're hard to fathom as a side; I couldn't imagine munching on these alongside a meal anymore than I would order a full rack of ribs as an appetizer. Still, if you love the soft, mellowed sweetness of a sweet potato paired with their light maple dip, they might be for you. (They certainly had fans in the office.)
Blue Smoke
116 East 27th Street, New York NY 10016 (at Park Avenue; map)
212-447-7733
Favorite this! (2)
Posted by Kathy YL Chan, March 31, 2011 at 3:30 PM
[Photo: Kathy YL Chan]
Both raw and vegan, the Cinnamon Crispies from One Lucky Duck taste more strongly of maple than cinnamon, but that's perfectly fine by me. $8.50 for a 6-ounce bag, the crispies are crushed up into bite-sized pieces and ideal for snacking or mixing into a batch of vanilla ice cream. They've got a deft crunch and are made from organic buckwheat, maple syrup, maple powder and cinnamon. A trace of vanilla chases each bite and the cinnamon is quite faint. Crispies are also offered in both chocolate and vanilla varieties.
One Lucky Duck
125 1/2 E 17th Street, New York, NY 10003 (map)
212-477-7151
oneluckyduck.com/takeaway
About the author: Originally from Honolulu, Kathy YL Chan writes A Passion For Food, where she chronicles her eats and travels adventures between Hawai'i, New York and beyond. She firmly believes that there is always room for dessert.
Favorite this! (1)
Posted by Kathy YL Chan, March 31, 2011 at 2:30 PM
[Photo: Kathy YL Chan]
The waiters are all male. And nearly all of the diners are females—how great is that? Welcome to tea at Lady Mendl's, a Victorian tearoom tucked inside the Inn at Irving Place, just steps away from Casa Mono. Tea is offered twice a day on weekdays, and three times on weekends. Whereas reservations are recommended for most other places, reservations are required at Lady Mendl's.
Afternoon tea is served as five separate courses by the white-gloved waiters. At $35, the sheer amount of food makes for a true bargain. Start with an amuse bouche—here, a warm sweet potato quiche and dollop of sour cream—while selecting your tea. Loose leaf tea is brewed to order, and never once will you receive an over-brewed cup. House-blended black teas are fruity and sweet, but I prefer the classics; give me Earl Grey any day! Four types of sandwiches offered, classics like smoked salmon, cucumber and butter, turkey, and egg salad. The waiter comes by with a silver platter piled high with all four varieties. The mountain of sandwiches give a sloppy appearance, but they are delicious; most are cozy and comforting, rather than sophisticated like The Mark. The best part? You can pick which sandwiches you want (this is never allowed at any other afternoon tea place!) Four of the smoked salmon? Sure! Only cucumber and butter? As you wish. They come around for sandwich refills too, and you're allowed up to eight sandwiches a person.
Continue reading »
Favorite this! (6)
Posted by Donny Tsang, March 30, 2011 at 11:00 AM
[Photographs: Donny Tsang]
It's hard to imagine the number of vendors under one roof at Village Voice's Choice Eats 2011; over 90 different restaurants and food purveyors were offering some of their best bites to the sold-out event. (I saw people running as they entered and people juggling a few plates at one time.) But it's painful to hop from table to table—both in terms of the amount of food you consume, and in the sadness of leaving one excellent stop behind to hop to the next.
Check out the event in the slideshow above.
About the Author: Donny Tsang traded a life of traffic jams in LA for one of crowded subways in NYC, where he's been since 2003. Now he is a Brooklyn-based food photographer and founded the website Great Food Photos, where he interviews other food photographers.
Favorite this! (0)
Posted by Kathy YL Chan, March 14, 2011 at 11:30 AM
[Photo: Kathy YL Chan]
At Casa Mono, the Foie Gras ($19) is of a perfect portion for lunch. Dinner here is chaotic and so is brunch, but a late afternoon lunch is the best time for a relaxed meal. Here it's piled high above two crostini, laced in balsamic vinegar. The foie gras itself is barely seared, a slip of a crunch on the outside and pure fatty bliss all the way through. Cut off a piece of the crostini, a fat wedge of foie gras, and spoon on a tiny bit of of that thick, savory-sweet sauce. "Cinco cebollas," the five onions—including green onions, cipollinis, leeks, white onions, and pickled red onions—is key. They make for clean and crunchy bites with a bit of sweetness, giving the dish a necessary balance. If you're craving carbs to pair with the foie gras, consider the reliable Patatas Bravas ($9), a generous bowl of crisp fingerling potato halves paired with a paprika-sweet tomato-based sauce and thinly cut leeks.
Casa Mono
125 East 17th Street, New York NY 10003 (map)
212-253-2773
casamononyc.com
About the author: Originally from Honolulu, Kathy YL Chan writes A Passion For Food, where she chronicles her eats and travels adventures between Hawai'i, New York and beyond. She firmly believes that there is always room for dessert.
Favorite this! (2)
Posted by Kathy YL Chan, February 28, 2011 at 12:00 PM
[Photo: Kathy YL Chan]
Only at Gramercy Tavern could an order of Meatballs ($18) be so refined. It's a single gigantic, baseball-sized creature split down the middle with melted, bubbling fontina cheese oozing off both halves, earthy and nutty. The meatball is made from a blend of pork, beef, and veal, and is a fine balance between moist and meaty; most importantly, it's comforting. How could you not begin to salivate at the sight of this?
Buttery potato purée serves as the foundation, each creamy spoonful paired with sweet and melt-in-your month red wine onions strewn over the purée. Leftovers? All you need is a fresh baguette and there you've got a mighty fine sandwich. Pair with a glass of Lemon-Thyme Tonic ($5), bright, slightly sweet and herbal, perfect for balancing out a rich meal.
Gramercy Tavern
42 East 20th Street, New York NY 10003 (map)
212-477-0777
gramercytavern.com
About the author: Originally from Honolulu, Kathy YL Chan writes A Passion For Food, where she chronicles her eats and travels adventures between Hawai'i, New York and beyond. She firmly believes that there is always room for dessert.
Favorite this! (0)
