Xe Lua Visited 3/20/10 3.5 Forks

Xe Lua 86 Mulberry St (between Bayard St & Walker St)

Virginia and I are always on the quest for find good pho and just when we had thought we had tried every place in Chinatown, she came across this place on NY Mag. I must have seen/walked by this place a million times b/c it's literally right on the corner of Mulberry and Canal/Walker St. It's your typical non-descript place in chinatown with not a lot of charm, but it's actually a bit bigger and maybe even a bit cleaner than your usual chinatown place.

We order friend spring rolls ($4) and Steamed Rice Crepe w/ Minced Pork & Ear Mushrooms ($7) to start. I've never had the rice crepes but it was really good! It reminded me of one of my favorite dim sum dishes, Shrimp crepe. It's basically a large rice noodle type of consistency with pork and mushroom inside and cut into 6 small pieces served with sauteed bean sprouts and some kind of meat (pork?) sliced on the slide. We each got the Pho Tai ($6.50) and it was a pretty large size bowl. The broth was very flavorful and had the appropriate amount of cilantro and onion. I would have prefer my meat a bit more raw but maybe that was my fault for not saying that. The menu has an abundance of other vietnamese dishes such as Bun, pork chops, chicken dishes, etc. The waitstaff is pretty nice there as VA and I sat there for over 2 hours just talking. I would definitely come back here again when I have a hankering for good, cheap pho. Total bill was $18/pp with tax and tip.

Marlow and Sons Visited 3/28/10 4 Forks

Marlow and Sons 81 Broadway(between Berry St & Dunham Pl)

Marlow and Sons has been on my radar screen for a long time but have always felt that it was always too crowded and expensive to go. But after Dan got called into an ER on a Saturday night, his boss said that he could expense his next meal on the company. I could see how the lines get really long here on a busy night. The place is very small and the tables that do exist in the place are squished together to the point where it's a bit uncomfortable. The menu is very small and I initially was a bit put off by it. But after the waitress explained all the ingredients in each dish, they all sounded great. The place is famous for oysters but at $2.75/each, i just couldn't justify spending that much since I had amazing oysters in New Orleans for less than $1 each. We started with a crostini ($8) that had a sweet walnut raisin puree, pesto, and topped with a peashoot bean. We got 2 large pieces, which was surprising, I just assumed places like this would only give us 1. We also had 2 types of cheeses, the Haylen Brazen and Moses Sleeper ($6 each). The Haylen was very similar to a blue cheese but not as strong and the Moses was similar to a brie. The cheese dish came with some soft breads and they were all delicious.

For entrees, I got the brick chicken ($22) which was very juicy and tender. The dish came with 2 enormous piece of chicken and a side of roasted potatoes. After eating all the other apps, I could barely muster down 1 piece of the chicken, but what I did have was very good. Dan got the risotto milanese ($21), which was an extremely buttery risotto with this very tender beef stew-like meat that just melted in your mouth. I think what Marlow and Sons is great at is taking very few seasonal ingredients and doing them really well. you could tell that everything was high quality and you definitely are paying for it. On top of our meal, we had 3 different cocktails ($10/each). Dan got a honey/vodka type drink that was very sweet and some sort of whiskey drink that seemed to taste like just whiskey with some ice. I got the grey gardens, which was similar to a grapefruit/vodka but I forgot that I don't like drinks rimmed with anything (this one had sugar and salt). Overall, the meal was extremely solid and high quality. But when the bill came out to be $101 without tip, it's definitely one of the places that I would go on special occasions.

Brooklyn Label Visited 3/27/10 2.5 Forks

Brooklyn Label 180 Franklin St
(between Green St & Huron St)

I always want to love Brooklyn Label, but every time I go there is something off. I do like the decor and location of the restaurant, but it's usually filled with overly tattooed hipsters. The menu has some great sounding food and definitely dishes that are a bit different and unusual. I had my usual green eggs and ham ($12), which is eggs with spinach, pesto and bacon on challah bread. I feel like when I first had it the dish was really good, but as time goes by it's gotten a bit worse. It was fine this time, but I feel like they could use something extra with the dish like a side salad or potatoes. Dan got the sweet potato hash ($14.50) which was basically cut up sweet potato, some buttery sauce, spicy sausage, eggs sunny side up and sweet wheat toast. I will say that they serve a good cup of coffee (I believe it's Stumptown brand). Everything is good but I think slightly overpriced. Our total bill was $44, which seems a bit excessive for just 2 entrees, a side of bacon and 1 cup of coffee. I feel bad nixing this from my list but I am tired of being disappointed.

Grand Sichuan Visited 3/26/10 4 Forks

Grand Sichuan 125 Canal Street (between Chrystie St & Forsyth St)

I have been to Grand Sichuan many times and it's never disappointed. I will say that the decor leaves much to the imagination. We went with a party of 9 on a Friday night. The place was already packed to the limit at 7:30. They suddenly ushered us into the "downstairs" room (which I have never seen before) and what it really was was a servants quarter that they put 3 tables in. There's a futon and a dresser draw, so I think someone literally sleeps there after everyone leaves. But if you can get around the fact that the place lacks any sort of ambience, the food is great and super affordable. Many people go there for the hot pot and spicy food, which they are famous for. Our table decided to split between ordering from the menu and having hot pot. We ordered peashoot tops (incredibly yummy sauteed greens), eggplant, spicy broccoli, shrimp in sichuan sauce, some sort of spicy chicken, 2 orders of cold sesame noodles, ma po tofu, and hot pot with beef, chicken, broccoli and chinese greens (with half spicy broth and half chicken broth). We also had about 12 beers. All the food was incredibly flavorful and tasty and definitely had the signature sichuan spice. I usually love hot pot, but I think without the right sauce and bowl and cilantro, it wasn't as good as I usually like it. It was a little bit bland and I would have prefered some clear noodles and some mushrooms. But I was surprised by how much I did like the chinese greens. The beauty of chinese food is that everyone can share the large portions and at the end, we still had leftovers. The best part of all of this was that it cost $24/pp including tip!

Surrey's Juice Bar Visited 3/22/10 4 Forks

Surrey's Juice Bar 1418 Magazine St, New Orleans, LA 70130

Dan and I had had breakfast at our B&B for the past 3 days and wanted to try something more local on our last day. While I had wanted to try a bunch of other places that were in the French Quarter, I'm glad that we had tried this very cute local cafe. Our friends had gone there the other day and said they liked it and it was within walking distance of our B&B. I really really liked this place. It seems like one of those quaint local cafes that just serves good hearty food without any fanfare. They seemed to have a very eclectic brunch menu, from typical southern food to mexican and costa rican breakfast plates.

I ordered the special crabmeat omelet and Dan got the boudin, egg and grits sandwich. The omelet was amazing (taste wise and caloric wise). It came with a buttermilk biscuit and the omelet had real crabmeat in the omelet AND in the very very rich crabmeat sauce. It was stuffed with pieces of brie cheese and topped with avocado. I'm sure the sauce had about 5 sticks of butter in it which is why it tasted so good, but the entire dish was yummy and one of the best brunch dishes I've had anywhere. While I didn't taste most of Dan's meal, he seemed very satisfied with it and the grits that I did taste were delicious. I have to say that every place I went to in New Orleans that served grits had amazing grits. The South really knows how to cook them well! FYI, it's cash only.

Acme Oyster House Visited 3/21/10 4 Forks

Acme Oyster House 724 Iberville St
New Orleans, LA 70130

The one type of food that I was most excited about in New Orleans was OYSTERS! I am obsessed with them and in New York unless you go to a happy hour, they are generally pretty expensive. I had heard from several people and sources that this was the place to go although I was a bit weary that soo many people knew of it. Dan and I went around 5:30pm on Sunday and there already was a line out the door. Luckily, the line went pretty quickly (it probably helped that we were pretty drunk too). We immediately ordered 1 dozen raw oysters ($10.99!) and split a Po-boy Peace Maker ($10.99)that had oyster and shrimp and the New Orleans Medley, which includes gumbo, jambalaya, red beans and rice and grilled smoke sausage ($11.99). To be honest, I wish I hadn't been drinking so much so that I could enjoy all my food...but despite my condition, I did know that I LOVE the raw oysters. They were simply amazing. They were large, meaty, and smooth tasting. Totally not fishy at all. They offer you the oysters with a side of cocktail sauce and fresh horseradish. Be warned, the fresh horseradish is delicious but incredibly potent. It went straight to my head and almost caused my brain to explode. I later learned that the cocktail sauce also had horseradish in it, so I was doubling my horseradish intake.

The po-boy sandwich was pretty good, but a bit dry b/c I was eating all this fried food wrapped in bread. After I got home I realized I was incredibly thirsty and I think it might be tied to the sandwich. I really enjoyed everything in the medley. It was all very spiced well and a distinct New Orleans flare. But I couldn't get over the oysters and ordered another round. Honestly, I could have just sat there all day and ordered oysters until the sun came up. I saw on the wall that the record was 42 1/2 dozen in one sitting. I would have loved to have given that guy a run for his money, but unfortunately, I had one too many hurricanes and had to get home. I would definitely go back, probably more at an off peak hour so that I don't have to wait in line as much.

Commander's Palace Visited 3/19/10 4 Forks

Commander's Palace 1403 Washington Ave, New Orleans, LA 70130

Dan and I were in town for a wedding and I had created this huge long list of restaurants I wanted to go to. Commander's Palace was tops on my list, so I decided to make a reservation to ensure we went. The reservation was for lunch on Friday. The website and email said to dress-up, but lots of people were not as fancy.

The outside of the restaurant is this beautiful blue and white stripe look. The inside is enormous, two giant rooms downstairs and then another huge room upstairs. For lunch they have a good prix-fixe lunch menu and $.25 martinis! You can also order other items a la carte, but by ordering the prix-fixe you save around $7-8. I ordered the seafood gumbo to start and an orange glaze fish as an entree and a cosmo martini. Dan got the turtle soup and the Tabasco shrimp and the commander's martini (it's the blue drink). We also ordered a bread pudding as a desert. I must say that the service there is amazing...they are incredibly attentive, almost too attentive. They make very sure that you have everything you need and the most bizarre part was that instead of re-filling our water, they just gave us brand new glasses b/c they wanted us to have "fresh ice cubes".

Both soups were really good, although I was partial to mine. Neither of us had had Turtle soup and when you get it, they offer you a splash of sherry, which I thought was a bit overpowering. I enjoyed my fish entree, although one piece was definitely cooked better than the other. One was overcooked and kind of mushy but the other pieces was perfectly flaky. The orange sauce was a bit sticky but tasted fine. Dan's shrimp was good but he didn't seem too wow'd by it. But the best part of the entire meal was the bread pudding. OMG. It was one of the best bread puddings I've ever had. First they pour a Johnny Walker sauce over it and then you plunge your spoon into it. I don't know what to say except that it was moist, had almost an almond-y taste of deliciousness. I would go back over and over again just for this dessert. I would definitely recommend this restaurant to anyone who visits New Orleans.

No. 7 Visited 3/13/10 - 3 Forks

No. 7 7 Greene Ave
(between Oxford St & Fulton St)


I had been wanting to go to No. 7 for a while and was excited to try it out for brunch. The first thing I notice was how beautiful I thought the restaurant was when I first entered. It's got this airy, bright, but yet pub-like design in the front. In the back is just a bunch of tables put too close together. They do have a pretty limited menu and many of items are pretty unique, not your usual brunch fare. I ordered the Plantain, Egg and Cheese sandwich and Dan got the Butternut grits and we split the sausage.

Now comes my biggest complaint. We waited FOREVER to get our food. I don't know exactly how long but it must have been at least 30 to maybe 40 minutes. At one point, I had to stop speaking to Dan b/c I was so hungry. But once the food came out, I really enjoyed my sandwich. I usually am against ordering breakfast sandwiches at a sit-down restaurant, but the couple next to me had gotten it and quite frankly there wasn't anything else I really wanted. But the sandwich was really good and b/c it had plantain, it was more filling than usual. Dan said he liked his grits but the side of broccoli was cold and sour tasting and there were practically no maitake mushrooms, which was disappointing. The sausage was spicy and oily but that's kind of what you want in a breakfast sausage, right? Plus there was a whole bowl full, so I definitely think we got our money's worth on that piece of the meal. Overall, I liked it and would go back only if I knew that I didn't have to wait that long.

Sakura - Visited 3/12/10 2 Forks

Sakura 346 Graham Ave(between Conselyea St & Metropolitan Ave)

I've been here before and was not impressed and after going back, I would say that I was still not impressed. Dan and I went there out of necessity b/c we wanted to go to a party in the city quickly and just went to the closest restaurant to his house. Our other first two choices were completely packed (not surprising at 9pm on a Friday) so we didn't really have a choice.

We ordered the spicy crab roll, spicy yellowtail roll, a special roll that had avocado on the outside, and a sashimi appetizer. Apparently, you get a free order of veggie gyoza when your order is over $25. They came out and were pretty bad. They were kind of dry on the outside and tasteless inside. The sashimi was ok, nothing special. Your basic salmon, tuna, and white fish combo. The rolls came out and they were fine, nothing special at all. The spicy crab was just fake crabmeat in a roll and the yellowtail was taken from a more fishy part of the fish, it didn't taste like the usual yellowtail rolls I get. The special Caterpillar roll was pretty decent although at this point I don't know if that was because it's just relative to the other 2 rolls.

overall, if I was in a pinch, I would go but if given the choice, 98% of the time I would prefer to go somewhere else.

Fueng Far - Visited 3/6/10 - 2.5 Forks

Fueng Far 447 7th Ave, (Btwn 15th & 16th St)

We had ordered from this place many times, usually with great results (although the actual delivery usually takes a while). It should be noted that this place is NOT a real sit-down venue. There is literally 2 small tables in the front of the store front, but for all intents and purposes, it's strictly a take-out place. We literally sat at a small table that I think we just a place of people who place take-out to rest.

Aarti and I shared a tofu/veggie pad woosen ($6.95) and tofu/veggie basil saute. Aarti also ordered a spicy tofu soup ($3.95) and we each ordered thai iced tea. The place seemed really busy with the woman in the front taking delivery calls all the time. But the food came out super quickly and was pretty good. The woosen had a bit too much carrot for my taste and not enough noodle. This place also uses fried tofu in their dish and I generally prefer steamed or sauteed tofu. The basil dish was fine but nothing really to write home about. The total bill was $24, which is pretty damn good for 2 entrees, a soup and 2 iced teas. It's definitely better to stick with take-out here.

Kambi Ramen House - Visited 3/5/10 - 2.5 Forks

Kambi Ramen House 351 E 14th St, New York, NY 10079

Dan and I were on our way to the Muse concert at the Garden and needed a fast place in between Williamsburg and the Garden. This place was right off the 1st Ave stop and I knew that the food would be quick and satisfy our craving.

I always seem to have a soft spot for japanese places where the workers yell at you in japanese when you enter and leave this place. This is one of those places. We ordered a bean sprout salad ($4.50), which was just a bowl of crispy bean sprouts flavored with sesame oil and something spicy, but I love bean sprout salad. But I usually like it with a lighter almost ginger dressing. I order the Kambi regular with thin noodles ($9.50) and Dan ordered the shiso ramen ($9.50) and we each got a Sapporo ($4.75 each). My ramen was a mix pork and chicken broth with a hard boiled egg and sliced of pork...pretty standard ramen fare. The ramen was hit the spot but with all ramen, I did feel like it was too salty. There are tons of ramen houses in New York and it's hard to really go wrong with ramen as a concept. While this isn't an amazing place, I can't really find anything wrong with it either. I would go again and perhaps try the special of a bowl of noodles and dunking it into a side dish of sauce.

Yamato Visited 2/28/10 - 3.5 Forks

Yamato 168 7th Ave (between 2nd Ave & Garfield Pl)

Yamato has always been one of my go-to sushi places in Park Slope. I have been going to this place for over 5 years and never had a bad meal. They have a fantastic line-up of creative rolls and appetizers and salads. The only reason I had stop going was because they didn't take AmEx and there were other places in the 'hood that did.

But I thought it had been too long since I hadn't been and decided to re-visit it. They had re-done the inside decor of the place and although it's definitely sleeker and sexier, but it's a bit too dark. I can't tell if the menu had changed or if it had been too long since I had been there. Dan and I got a large hot sake ($9), split the spicy dinner roll ($13) and a white river roll ($11) - which was a spicy scallop roll with white tuna on top. In the past I had gotten and loved the American Dream roll, Valentine roll, crazy roll and Green River roll. They are all amazing. One of my main complaints, though, is that the rolls are a bit too big. When our food came out, it looked like it was enough for 4 people instead of 2. The spicy roll dinner consisted of spicy tuna, salmon, and yellowtail. I could tell the difference between the tuna and salmon, but if I hadn't read that the 3rd roll was yellowtail, I wouldn't have been able to tell. We were so full at the end that we could barely finish our meal, which is a first for us when we eat sushi. While I don't think this is "classical" sushi in the sense that the pieces are too big and the spicy part of the roll is chopped up as opposed to chucks with mayo sauce, but I still love this place.

Rhom Thai - Visited 2/27/10 - 3 Forks

Rhom Thai 27 E 20th St,(Btwn Broadway & Park Ave S)

Whenever anyone wants to eat in Union Square, I always have a hard time coming up with an idea. There are a lot of standard places that I like but nothing that ever really stands out.

Rohm thai is another one of those good "standard" restaurant. The food is good and I would definitely go if someone wanted to do Thai in the area, but I would never crave it. It's located in the bottom of building and it's actually quite cozy in the inside. The menu has your basic line-up of thai food, but it's a comprehensive list. I've been to thai places that has your standard pad thai and curries, but this place has a bit more than that. I had the curry puffs ($6) and the sesame noodle ($9) with veggie and tofu while Vid had a thai salad ($5) and masaman curry with veggie and tofu ($9). The 6 puffs were decent, just a bit overcooked. Vid's salad actually looked pretty good. It was pretty large and just looked fresh and healthy. The sesame noodle is basically a broad noodle with sesame sauce and baby corn, fried tofu, bok choy and green beans. The veggies all seemed very fresh and crispy. The food came our very quickly which seems standard in a thai place. Vid had no complaints about the curry so I would assume it was pretty good. For some reason, I liked Bohdi Thai better, although in reality, I can't really pinpoint what the main difference is in taste or quality.

An Nhau - Visited 2/26/10 - 3 Forks

An Nhau 172 Bedford Ave(between 8th St & 7th St)

Dan and I had originally wanted to eat at Blue Ribbon in Brooklyn Bowl but when we got there, they wanted to charge us a $5 cover just to get in. I was so pissed about that. I understand charging a cover for the venue when there is a band but just to eat at the restaurant?! Definitely not.

So we started walk around Bedford Ave. to find a new place to eat. This was one of the first places that we stumbled upon. It didn't look like much on the outside and we initally thought the prices were a bit high, but decided to give it a try. The inside was actually really nice. The best part was the outside was covered and insulated and decorated like cabanas. The menu consisted of a variety vietnamese food from pho, bun, and other dishes. It was definitely "fancy" asian food and not the typical dive-y asian place that I'm used to in Chinatown.

I wanted to get pho but was a bit hesitant since the place seemed too "nice". So Dan and I split a baby pho ($4), and I got an iced coffee ($3.50) and the braised pork belly with egg ($11). Dan got the vietnamese beef stew ($12) and a Saigon beer. The baby pho was indeed baby. Very small but surprisingly good tasting. The soup was spicy and flavorful and the beef was tender and thin. I would definitely consider getting a larger one in the future. My pork belly dish came out and my goodness, there were 2 enormous pieces of cook pork belly and a hard boiled egg. It came with a side of white rice and dan's stew came with a soft baguette. The food was surprising good! I'm usually wary of fancy asian places especially on Bedford Ave. The meat of the pork belly fell off easily and tender. I regret eating the actual fat of the pork belly since that really put me over the edge and made me really full. I wasn't even able to finish the last piece. I will say that I prefer my pork belly bbq'd like at Fette Sau but this was completely an acceptable substitute.