Posted by Kathy YL Chan, February 3, 2012 at 3:00 PM
[Photo: Kathy YL Chan]
Six different layers in this Mint-Chocolate Cake ($6.95) from the Rockefeller Center location of Bouchon Bakery, and I can't decide which I like best. Is it the mint-jelly and chocolate ganache quenelle that tops off the slice? Or maybe that pure white layer of vanilla bean mousse? It's hard competition when pitted against soft green mint mousse and a brownie-like chocolate cake. And don't forget about that layer of milk chocolate mousse! The very bottom crust is excellent as well, like a crushed Oreo cookie, only made of a darker chocolate and pressed tightly. Either way, it's a not-to-miss cake from the current selection at Bouchon, a cheerful reminder that spring is practically around the corner.
Bouchon Bakery
1 Rockefeller Plaza, New York NY 10020 (map)
212-782-3890
bouchonbakery.com
About the author: Originally from Honolulu, Kathy YL Chan blogs at Kathy YL Chan, where she chronicles her eats and travel adventures between Hawai'i, New York and beyond. She firmly believes that there is always room for dessert.
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Posted by Lauren Sloss, January 27, 2012 at 12:00 PM
Editor's note: January is Vegetable Month on Serious Eats: New York! Every day this month we'll introduce you to a different vegetable dish we love. Do you have a veg dish to nominate? Let us know!
[Photo: Christine Tsai]
A winter special, Salumeria Rosi's braised radicchio manages to capture the rich warmth of a comforting cold-weather dish without being heavy. First braised, then baked, in red wine, balsamic vinegar, and extra virgin olive oil, the radicchio maintains a crunch despite the slow cooking. The immediate sensation is a burst of sweetness from the wine and balsamic, quickly followed by the cutting bitterness of radicchio. Roasting gives the leaves a nice char, further adding to the hearty depth of the dish.
Salumeria Rosi
283 Amsterdam Avenue, New York NY 10023 (map)
212-877-4800
salumeriarosi.com
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Posted by Andrew Coe, January 6, 2012 at 10:00 AM
[Photos: Andrew Coe]
How do you invent a new loaf? Grandaisy Bakery is known for its white, Italian-style breads. But after they opened a store on the Upper West Side, they sensed a demand for a "health" loaf. Julio Guarchaj, Grandaisy's head baker, started playing around with 100% whole wheat flour, and the bakery's head pastry chef suggested they throw in some toasted pumpkin and sunflower seeds. Soon they had a loaf that everyone loved and dubbed it sette grani, "seven grains," in keeping with the bakery's Italian sensibilities. The bread slowly built up a following, but they didn't know they had a hit until they ran out. "When customers started getting angry it wasn't there," says Grandaisy owner Monica Von Thun Calderon, "we knew it was a success."
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Posted by Kathy YL Chan, December 19, 2011 at 11:15 AM
[Photo: Kathy YL Chan]
We can feast on apple desserts all year round, but they seem especially appropriate during the colder months. From classic tarte tatins to fancier versions found at restaurants, from apple milkshakes to apple butter-laced sundaes, pastry chefs in the city do all sorts of things. Check out ten apple desserts we love this holiday season.
About the author: Originally from Honolulu, Kathy YL Chan blogs at Kathy YL Chan, 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.
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Posted by Kathy YL Chan, December 12, 2011 at 10:30 AM
[Photo: Kathy YL Chan]
The holiday season brings with it all sorts of rich tastes and smells: eggnog and warm apple cider; the scent of baking cookies and gingerbread; cozy spices of cinnamon and nutmeg. But then there's peppermint, and the million different ways restaurants, bakeries and coffee shops in this city incorporate it into desserts. From housemade peppermint patties to candy cane ice cream, deciding where to start is the hardest part. Check our ten of our favorites.
About the author: Originally from Honolulu, Kathy YL Chan blogs at Kathy YL Chan, 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.
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Posted by Kathy YL Chan, December 8, 2011 at 3:00 PM
[Photo: Kathy YL Chan]
These fruit tarts at Épicerie Boulud are $6.50 a slice, but they're huge, and easily shared between two. Flavors change daily, but always expect to find fresh fruit arranged in picture-perfect patterns, almost too pretty to slice into.
On one particular day I encountered a plum version (pictured above), paired with chopped and toasted pistachios, edges done up in a tight braid, brushed in syrup for the clean shine. Fork or knife? No way—pick it up with your fingers and chomp away. It's satisfying and indulgent, but will leave you feeling positively virtuous. After all, it's mostly fruit. (And butter.) Yet another visit yielded a prize of sweet pears and marzipan, a dream and a classic pairing. The brush of nutty marzipan helps prevent the dough from going soggy, even after an afternoon in the fridge. Perfect at room temperature, and even better warmed up in the oven.
Épicerie Boulud
20 West 64th Street, New York NY 10023 (map)
212-595-1313
danielnyc.com/epicerie
About the author: Originally from Honolulu, Kathy YL Chan blogs at Kathy YL Chan, 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.
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Posted by Laura Togut, December 8, 2011 at 10:45 AM
[Photographs: Laura Togut]
Hampton Chutney Co. is nothing short of a New York dosa institution. Their first location was in fact in the Hamptons back in 1997, but they've had a packed shop in SoHo since 2001, and in the Upper West Side since 2006.
For those who haven't encountered a dosa before, it's a common south Indian dish: a thin sour-dough rice crepe is filled with any combination of fillings and rolled up.
Think giant, long, Indian burrito, in a crisp and slightly sour wrapper. Not to be confused with kathi rolls.
Hampton Chutney Co.'s dosas come with fillings both traditional and otherwise, but whichever you're in the mood for, it's a great place to grab a bite when you're in either SoHo or the Upper West Side. Just beware of long lines and lack of seats—like I said, this place is an institution.
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Posted by Kathy YL Chan, November 25, 2011 at 2:00 PM
[Photo: Kathy YL Chan]
A fresh batch of brioche warm out of the oven is so good and simple on its own, it almost seems impossible to improve upon. But leave it to Bouchon Bakery to create the Sugar Pie—a brioche round topped with copious amounts of butter and sugar whipped together, then baked a bit longer. The result? It's not hard to imagine. Butter completely coating the surface and the sugar slightly caramelized, a subtle crunch with bite. At the very center is a sweet well where all the sugar and melted butter sink right in. Don't share that bit with anyone else. I like to think of it as the American version of a kouign amann, only made with a brioche dough rather than a laminated dough.
Bouchon Bakery
10 Columbus Circle New York, NY 10019 (map)
212-823-9366
bouchonbakery.com
About the author: Originally from Honolulu, Kathy YL Chan blogs at Kathy YL Chan, 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.
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Posted by Jessica Leibowitz, November 22, 2011 at 11:15 AM
During the month of November, Momofuku Milk Bar dives off into rather savory territory with their Thanksgiving croissant. Each bite contains the most delicious parts of the traditional American meal, sealed inside warm, stuffing-flavored flaky dough.
In this video, SE Overlord Ed Levine narrates as we watch pastry cook Zoe Kanan build the Thanksgiving croissant.
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Posted by Andrew Coe, November 17, 2011 at 1:00 PM
[Photos: Andrew Coe]
The yeasty heart of the Daniel Boulud empire is hidden at the end of an East Village alley, through an unmarked door, and down a long, brightly-lit corridor. There, amid a phalanx of stainless steel ovens, mixers, and other machines, genial master baker Mark Fiorentino and his team of assistants turn out a dizzying array of breads for Boulud's half dozen restaurants. Luckily for us, you don't need a reservation and a fat wallet to try them. Stacks of delicious bread now decorate the wall behind the counter of Epicerie Boulud, the chef's new coffee shop up by Lincoln Center.
For Mark Fiorentino, the roomy new East Village bakery represents the culmination of a journey that began 13 years ago in a shoebox-sized workspace in the basement of the Boulud flagship, Restaurant Daniel. After culinary school, Mark started making pastry at the now-defunct Sign of the Dove before moving into bread at the Ecce Panis bakery. In 1998, Daniel Boulud hired him to make rolls and sliced bread for the Daniel breadbaskets. As the Boulud empire grew, Fiorentino was gradually given more and more space to make room for his expanded production needs. Today his bakers turn out 11 different breads for Daniel, as well numerous signature loaves for the other restaurants, including excellent burger buns and pretzel rolls for DB Bistro and DBGB. All of them reveal the skill and love of bread of Mark Fiorentino, who's certainly one of the top three bakers in the city.
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Posted by Kathy YL Chan, November 14, 2011 at 4:00 PM
[Photo: Kathy YL Chan]
Pumpkin madeleines ($3.95) are sold in tidy bags of two at Épicerie Boulud. They have the perfect little humps and a deep orange shade. Pumpkin is the strongest flavor, plush with an even crumb and delicate, buttery bites. These lack the slight crispness of a fresh madeleine out of the oven; the fact that they come pre-packaged in a plastic bag is to blame. But they're still more than tasty, and after all, can you think of another place in this city that offers pumpkin madeleines? While you're here, pick up the Pumpkin Loaf ($6.50) topped in toasted walnuts and candied orange peels. It's dense, much like a pound cake, and more aggressively spiced than the madeleine with defined notes of nutmeg and a waft of cinnamon. It's best sliced, toasted, and topped with vanilla ice cream.
Epicerie Boulud
1900 Broadway, New York NY 10023 (map)
212-595-9606
danielnyc.com/epicerie
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.
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Posted by Aya Tanaka, November 2, 2011 at 10:00 AM
View Kids Welcome: Where to Eat around Central Park in a larger map
There are many things to do and see with kids in Central Park all year long. In summer you ride the carousel, in winter you skate in either or both of the Park's two rinks; in spring you watch the cherry blossoms, and in the fall, you can go watch the brilliant autumn palette. This abundance of activities and fresh air is bound to awaken appetites big and small. Thankfully the options are many in and around Central Park.
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Posted by Aya Tanaka, October 11, 2011 at 1:30 PM
Photos: Aya Tanaka
Ed's Chowder House
at The Empire Hotel, 44 West 63rd Street, New York, NY 10023; map); 212-956-1288; www.chinagrillmgt.com
Kids' Amenities: High chairs, stroller storage
Best Dishes for Kids: Great choice from prix-fixe kids menu; also regular kids' menu; fish and chips, chowders
Cost: Adult prix-fixe lunch $24, children's prix-fixe $15
A recent brunch with my daughter at Ed's Chowder House has convinced me that this is the best "grown-up" place to take kids to eat around Lincoln Center. Located in the Empire Hotel across the street from the New York City Opera, the restaurant is beautifully decorated in white (the whitewashed reference here might be New England, but it's hardly shack-like), and its large windows offer a placid view of Dante Square at the intersection of Broadway and Columbus Avenue.
With the 2011-12 season at Lincoln Center having just started, and the Nutcracker coming soon on stage, a visit to this East Coast seafood eatery is all you need to top off a cultural outing with a meal that pleases children and adults.
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Posted by Ed Levine, October 7, 2011 at 2:00 PM
Quick Serious Eats pop quiz (pun intended), where can you get something delicious to eat for $1.29 outside Chinatown?
Time's up. Answer: the popcorn at the 74th Street Fairway. I'm not even sure why it's way better than other store-bought already popped popcorn. All I can tell you is that it's salty, crunchy, grease-free, and incredibly fresh, with that great toasty aroma that only the best popcorn gets. It's so good it's my go-to sneak-in movie snack. I save money (sorry, movie chains), get to eat something delicious, and get to take some home (it's a pretty big bag).
Fairway
2127 Broadway, New York NY 10023 (map)
Second floor
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Posted by Ed Levine, September 26, 2011 at 10:30 AM
Editor's note: We write about restaurants all over the city. But sometimes, you don't want to travel for food; you want the best eats right in your neighborhood. Over the next few weeks, we'll have the Serious Eats staff share where they eat around their own 'hoods. First up? Serious Eats overlord Ed Levine!
View Ed's Upper West Side in a larger map
The Upper West Side may not be Manhattan's liveliest food neighborhood, but it's one where I'm quite happy to live and eat (and have been for decades).
My eating 'hood stretches from the high 60s to the high 70s on the west side, with a few outliars thrown in 'cause they're good enough to travel for. So come meet my neighborhood go-tos, from burgers and pizza to cheap eats and special occasion fare.
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