Wisefish Poke Visited 1/28/2016 4.5 Forks

Wisefish Poke  263 West 19th Street, New York, NY 10011

I usually don't review casual or quick service type restaurants but every now and then when something great and/or unique opens up, I feel like I have to.  It looks like 2016 is shaping up to be the year of the poke in NYC, which is totally a trend that I can get behind.   If you've been reading my blog long enough, you know that there are a few dishes that I am fanatical about and poke is one of them.  The 3 times I've been to Hawaii, I usually bath myself in poke and I could honestly eat it everyday of my life.  At it's core, it's basically raw fish marinated with soy, sesame oil and other  Asian inspired flavors that make this super addictive.  Plus its incredibly healthy for you, so what's not to love about it? 

While poke is extremely prevalent in Hawaii and parts of California, I was always curious why poke never quite made it to NYC.  In addition to Wisefish, there is also Pokeworks in Midtown and you can also go to one of the few Hawaiian restaurants like Onomea or Noreeth to order it but otherwise, there aren't a ton of places that serve poke in the city.   I had just read about Wisefish and I happened to be in the neighborhood so I thought it was worth checking out.  You order at the counter and you can either make your own bowl or they have custom bowls that you can order.  The premise is fairly simple;  order a base + fish (you can get tofu but really why bother coming to a place like this if you're not going to eat fish) + toppings + sauce.  I opted for the large classic Hawaii Style of ahi tuna and scallions on brown rice ($13.95).  Apparently the only difference between a regular and a large is how much fish they put in it.  At first I was a bit skeptical because when they were putting the bowl together it seemed more heavy on the rice vs. the fish but once I started eating it, there was actually plenty of fish and it was a nice ratio of fish to rice.  You can still get other toppings like seaweed salad, cucumber, or add spicy mayo but I wanted to go classic for my first try. 

There is a communal table you can sit at but I took it home and it held up well on the 30 mins commute home.  I was honestly really really happy with this dish.  The fish was bright red and fresh and clean to the taste. It had the right level of seasoning and acidity with the soy sauce, sesame oil, and ginger and it paired well with the slightly crunchy brown rice.  All the meanwhile, I felt like I was eating something really good for me.  While obviously it's still not like the poke you can get in Hawaii, it's pretty close for being so far away from paradise.

I was there on the 3rd day it opened, so the staff was super friendly and the adorable co-owner was also there making sure that operations were running smoothly.  The line was pretty long by the time I walked out with my food around 7pm, so it sounds like the buzz has already gotten out.  Even though I don't live or work anywhere near this, I can definitely see myself going out of my way to come here to get my poke fix at least once a month, if not more.  This had made me incredibly excited for the poke craze to take over the city this year - bring on the fish!  Total bill:  $15 with tax

 Photo Credit:  Yelp

Ellary's Greens Visited 1/27/2016 3.5 Forks

Ellary's Greens  33 Carmine St., New York, NY 10014

You'd think with yet another vegetarian friendly restaurant review that I might have somehow become a vegetarian or vegan by now - but don't worry, that won't ever happen!  But 2 of my good friends, Anuja and Amy, are more pescatarians so when we do go out, we usually lean towards places that are more veggie friendly, or as we call it our Rabbit Habit dinner dates.  We were originally going to go to By Chole - THE hot new vegetarian places in the West Village but the place was super packed so we decided to go nearby Ellary's Greens instead. 

It's a cute unassuming place in the West Village that has a very eco-friendly, healthy and natural menu.  The menu is made out of recycled cardboard for christ sakes.  While the food does lean towards organic and veggie friendly, it does have fish, chicken, and bison meat on the menu.  The menu caters to all kinds of diets - vegan, vegetarian, gluten free and diary free - so no complaining. We started with the avocado toast appetizer and the beet gnocchi appetizer.  For my main I opted to go for the salmon burger ($15) and a side of chickpea fries ($10) for the table.  

The avocado toast wasn't super innovative or different - it was essentially guacamole spread over multigrain toast and topped with tomato - but the ingredients were very fresh and tasty.  I felt very healthy eating it.  It's definitely something I could have made at home myself but it was still done well so no complaints here.  Next, we had the beet gnocchi which had arugula, shaved parm and balsamic vinegar on it.  I liked the idea of mixing beet with the gnocchi but the flavor of the beet seemed a bit lost in the gnocchi.  Innovative but not sure how much value the beet added besides a pop of color. 

I got the salmon burger because it came with alpha sprouts and tzatziki, two of my favorite healthy ingredients.  I was afraid the burger wouldn't really fill me up but it was actually incredibly hearty and very filling.  It was a nice reminder that you can still eat something in a burger form that doesn't have to be a big juicy meat burger.   Given how filling it was, I regret ordering the chickpea fries because they were totally not needed and they were also kind of the dud of the night.  I appreciate what they were trying to do but ground up chickpeas don't really taste like much. 

While I was bummed that we didn't get to try By Choe, this was a pleasant substitution.  It's definitely not a destination dining choice but it is a cute homey local option if you happen to live nearby or are strolling through the neighborhood and want something on the healthier side.  Total bill:  $32/pp with tax and tip

Photo Credit:  Yelp  

Peacefood Cafe Visited 1/17/2016 3.5 Forks

Peacefood Cafe  41 E 11th St., New York, NY 10003

As most of my friends are vegetarians or vegans, I'm pretty used to and happy to eat at restaurants that cater to their dietary restrictions.  Although where I normally draw the line is with fake vegetarian meat - I'll eat any and all vegetables but fake meat just doesn't do it for me.  So it's kind of funny that I somehow got convinced to try fake meat here and actually enjoyed my dinner. 

The menu here is strictly vegan and definitely has that hippie dippie vibe that I generally find annoying.  But none the less, I was open to being more healthy, especially in this new year.  Mabel, Aarti and I split the fluffy quinoa salad ($12) and I got a un-chicken filet on a bed of mashed fava beans and a huge bed of roasted kale ($15).  The fluffy quinoa salad was served with baby greens, avocado, red peppers, raw corn, onions and obviously quinoa and then tossed with this delicious lime mustard vinaigrette.  It was quite a tasty and a really fantastic salad I must say.  It's a fairly large portion, so it's easily sharable with a few people but I could see myself ordering that on my own for a hearty lunch.  The salad was definitely the highlight of the meal, although the un-chicken wasn't too bad.  I don't really know what's in the un-chicken except that it's probably some kind of soy/plant based protein.  If you've ever eaten chicken before, you know that this doesn't look or taste like chicken very much.  It's not bad but it's definitely not an adequate meat substitute in my book.  But if you've never had meat or if it's been a really long time, I could see how it would be an acceptable substitution.  It was 2 fairly large and thinly pounded filets, so again, very large portions here.  The mashed fava beans had a sweetness to it and was very filling.  As for the boiled/roasted kale on top, it was just ok, I felt like they included it in there because it needed something green to the dish.  They could have chopped it up a bit because it was just a pile of large leafy greens that was hard to eat on it's own. 

While I'm an unbashed meat lover, I believe it is important to try to be healthy and have meals that have a plant based focus.  So I'm always open to trying new vegetarian and vegan places and for the most part they usually surprise me in how satisfying and filling they can be.  While there has been a trend these days of really high end vegetarian places like Semilla and Dirt Candy, I appreciate that you can get a fairly decently priced casual meal at a place like Peacefood where you're not just eating roasted carrots or a bed of lettuce.  Total bill:  $25/pp with tax and tip

Photo Credit:  Yelp

Oiji Visited 1/15/2016 4.5 Forks

Oiji  119 1st Ave., New York, NY 10003

Oiji has been written up in several "Best of" lists for 2015, so it has been on my radar screen to try in 2016.  So when Neel reached out to me about it, I was definitely down to try it asap.  Now that it's gotten so much buzz, it's become one of those restaurants that only has absurdly early or late openings on Opentable (or no openings at all) but we were lucky to get a resie on a Friday for 6pm (or so we thought).  I got there exactly at 6pm but turns out our reservation was for the following week!  Opps.  But luckily, the bar has open seating and I've always preferred sitting at the bar anyways, so it was a win-win.  The bar is cozy with 6 seats but it's great because you can actually chat with the adorable bartender/waiter about the menu and not feel overwhelmed.   The menu is sharable plates and he recommended anywhere between 4-6 dishes - we ended up with 5, so he was pretty spot on.  We started with the honey butter chips ($6) which is a small side of potato chips drenched in honey butter.  It's sticky, sweet and has that very addictive salty and sweet combination. The bartender actually told us this is their only dessert item on the menu, but I wouldn't characterize this as dessert at all.  If you want true dessert, you're not going to get it here.   For our entrees,  we got the beef tartare ($18), fried chicken ($15), pork belly ($18) and the mackerel ($14).  

Neel and I have started this trend of trying places with beef tartare because we're both obsessed with it (or at least the one at Wildair).  This one was also pretty damn good too - really simple raw beef cubes with ramp aioli, pickled mustard seeds, and a sous vide egg yolk.  Clean and simple tasting dish that doesn't even make you realize you're eating raw meat.  Next, was my favorite dish of the night, the fried chicken.   Holy shit - this is the kind of dish that makes me want to come back here by myself, sit at the bar and order 3 of theses to shove in my face.  It's not like your typical Korean fried chicken, it's thinly sliced chicken with a very lightly battered outside.  If you've ever had sliced drunk white wine chicken from a Chinese grocery store, it's like this but with a fried skin.  It's served with a delicious spicy soy vinaigrette that I was dunking my chicken into but you could honestly eat it without it because it's that delicious.  This dish is what put me over the 4 forks rating - Do yourself a favor and order more than 1.  Next we had the pork belly with kimchi - also a very enjoyable dish. I was very very similar to the dish I had a Her Name is Han - just on a smaller level and it had more of a slow cooked/stew feel to it.  As for the mackerel - I'm usually not a huge mackerel fan unless it's at a very fancy Japanese place because it can have a very strong fishy taste that even I don't always like.  But I was surprised at how much I liked the one here.  It's a very large and tender yet firm piece of mackerel smoked and served with a cute pine needle brush for you to layer on a citrus soy dressing.  It was really quite unique and if mackerel was always this good, I would order it more frequently.   At this point, we wanted to split 1 more dish and landed on the dumplings.  I mean, how can you go to a Korean place and not get dumplings?  These were steamed and then sitting in a broth - there were 4 fairly large sized dumplings in there and it was the right way to end the night.

While I do love a good K-town outing, coming to Oiji for Korean food was a more calming experience for me.  There's no Korean BBQ or crazy grills but the essence and core of all the food is still traditional Korean with a modern twist to it.   If you're looking for a slightly more refined experience without the crazy K-town feel, definitely head down to the East Village.  Total bill:  $87/pp with tax, tip and drinks

Photo Credit:  Yelp

Quality Meats Visited 1/14/2016 4.5 Forks

Quality Meats  57 W 58th St., New York, NY 10019

YESSSS!  Finally, my streak of terribly cooked steak has been redeemed.  After a disastrous outing at The Clocktower and a so-so experience at Quality Eats, I was starting to feel like my steak eating days in NYC were numbered.  But Vince was determined to prove me wrong.  Quality Meats has been on my list of a while but since it's in Midtown, I rarely find a reason to be up there.  But this is definitely worth the trek up there - plus with the Midtown Tunnel not too far away, it's pretty easy to get back to Williamsburg quickly. 

First, the decor is beautiful and elegant.  Unlike Quality Eats, which is more funky and casual, this is a bit more upscale and dare I say stuffy?  It's not white table cloth stuffy but you can tell it takes itself more seriously than its sister restaurant downtown.  It's a fairly cavernous space with two levels which is pretty unheard of in NYC.  The menu is what you would expect of a solid steakhouse: meat, meat and more meat with a raw bar and tasty side dishes.   Since we were trying to redeem ourselves from our last steak meal, we just went all out with our ordering:  shrimp cocktail ($17), lump crabmeat cocktail ($22), tomato salad ($18), porterhouse for two ($49/pp), the quality potato ($11) and the creamed spinach ($12).  Yes, this was enough food for probably 4 people but it was worth every freaking calorie. 

They start you off with a cute amuse bouche of a block of cheddar cheese and a small ritz cracker on top and then they give you this amazing looking bread.  Knowing that I was eating enough food to keep me warm for the entire winter, I opted out of the bread but it looked delicious.  The shrimp cocktail and lump crab meat were out of this world.  The shrimp was very plumb and large in size - the way a proper shrimp cocktail should be.  The crab, this is where I am very discerning, was fantastic.  100% pure crab heaven that tasted freshly picked - it's totally overpriced at $22 but also totally worth it. Next came the tomato "salad" - I use quotation marks here because it's not really a salad and it's actually quite unhealthy.  It's 4 red juicy thick slices of beefsteak tomatoes covered in bacon bites and blue cheese and served with onion rings.  The combination of blue cheese, tomato and bacon is heavenly.  The dish totally didn't need the onion rings but hey, why not throw that in there when you're already eating an unhealthy "salad"?  

Next came the star of the show - the porterhouse steak.  When we were at The Clocktower, the steak came out beyond charred.  Probably one of the most massively overcooked pieces of meat I've had in a while and then they compensated with one of the most rare pieces of meat ever.  This one, however, was just right.  Pink and bloody on the inside and seared brown to keep the juices in on the outside. They slice is up before you get to the table (as they should) so that you can see each delicious slice. Melt in your mouth and it cut through the knife with ease.  The only "bad" thing I can say is that there were 1-2 bites that were a bit tough but those were the end pieces - if you stick to the pieces sliced in the middle, they were perfect.  The creamed spinach was a classic and must whenever you have steak - they really pureed the hell out of it because it was one of the smoothest creamed spinaches I've ever had.  The quality potato is basically a baked potato + mashed potato with cheese and potato chips smothered on top of it - amazing but so unnecessary.  We pretty much housed the entire steak with only one small end piece left and I thought I was going to explode. But then, of course, the manager recognizes Vince and sends us a free dessert - which we were originally going to pass on because we were both about to keel over and pass out.  But oh my - if you have room for dessert, go for it.  They sent us a sticky toffee cake with fig ice cream and it was fantastic.  I'm generally not a sticky toffee gal but this one was moist and delicious with the right amount of sweetness.  The fig ice cream was unique and definitely figgy but not in an overpowering way.  I'm very appreciatively that we got to try a dessert although I'm not sure my stomach or heart was. 

I'm happy to say the bad steak streak has ended in a wonderful way.  The service here was also excellent - very attentive but not in an overbearing way.  I know I usually poo-poo Midtown as a culinary wasteland but honestly there are some great places, especially if you are looking for something more formal or classy.  While I was disappointed that their more casual sister restaurant didn't live up to the hype, I'm glad the original one still stands the test of time.

Photo Credit:  Yelp

Her Name is Han Visited 1/9/2016 4 Forks

Her Name is Han  17 E 31st St., New York, NY 10016

It's been a while since I have been to K-town so when I read about the rave reviews about this place in The Infatuation I immediately put it on my list.  Lily and I decided to check this place out on a Saturday night and the street was spilling over with tons of people (almost 100% Korean) waiting for a table.   It was about a 30 minute wait - which wasn't too bad but don't get it confused with the place next door, which also looked to be pretty popular and brimming with people waiting around. 

Once you get inside, it's a pretty cozy space.  Your eyes really start to get big when you pass by all these tables with huge boiling hot pots of food.  The menu, while visually stunning, is a bit confusing to read.  They break it up into sections: small plate, main, pot, BBQ, rice, noodle, and dessert but it has summaries of all the different dishes in each section and then lists the dishes out again in both English and Korean.   It took us a while to figure out the menu and sadly since there were only 2 of us, we couldn't really order too many dishes.  We started with the dumplings ($7) and stir fried clams ($10) and then split the pork belly entree ($23).  We were going to also get a hot pot but when we saw the size of the pork belly at the table next to us, there was no way we could finish all of it.   Definitely come here with lots of people so that you can try everything!

The dumplings were boiled and filled with pork and napa cabbage.  The skin was thin and delicate but still held all the filling in.  It was a very satisfying and well made dumpling.   Next was the clam with potato noodle and a spicy black bean sauce.  Amazing.  I didn't realize a potato noodle was a thick clear see through noodle which is one of my favorite kind of noodle.  There was definitely heat to the sauce and the clams were plentiful, all of which made for a great combination.  But the star of the show was the pork belly.  It was an enormous plate, way bigger than I ever imagined.  There was probably 10-12 pieces of beautifully slice pork belly served with kimchi, berry wine sauce,  honey garlic sauce, pickled bean sprouts, and okra.  As for the taste, it was equal parts meat and fat but it's not the kind of pork belly that you find in BBQ joints where it's super fatty and moist.  Instead, it's the bo ssam version where the meat looks like it's been boiled instead of grilled but when mixed with the kimchi and sauces, it's just as good just a bit different.

With all the buzz this place has gotten lately, it can be a bit of wait but it's worth it.  The service was a bit confusing as it took a while for someone to take our order and even after someone did, someone else came up 5 minutes later to ask if we would like to order.  Definitely come with a group and an empty stomach to really fully in enjoy yourself here.  It's got a more homey and intimate vibe than the traditional huge Korean BBQ place in K-town but the food is just as great. Total bill:  $29/pp with tax and tip

Photo Credit:  Yelp

The Little Beet Table Visited 1/9/2016 2.5 Forks

The Little Beet Table  333 Park Ave S.,  New York, NY 10010

I wanted to start the New Year off to a healthy start, so thought it would be good to try out this "veggie friendly" place that I had heard about from a few friends.  Any sensible person who comes to a place that focuses on vegetables would probably stick to vegetables on the menu, but of course I have no will power and ended up ordering items that had both fish and bacon in it,  neither of which were really great dishes. 

The brunch menu itself sounds nice and healthy although it's really more lunch focused than brunch.  Lav and I split the basket of breads ($14) to start which came with banana bread, multigrain toast and corn bread.  Of the 3, the banana bread was my favorite - soft, moist and full of banana flavor. The corn bread was a bit too try and crumbly for me and the multigrain toast, while good, was just basic toast to me (but I did like that it was very heavy on the grains).  It came with this delicious set of butter and jam that really added some sweetness to the breads.  For my main, I ordered the smoked salmon scramble ($18) and a side of bacon ($6) while Lav got the grits ($16).   While I know my scramble had salmon in it, $18 for a fairly small size of egg with no sides seemed overpriced to me.  I generally don't think salmon has a fishy smell but when this scramble came out, the smell of fish immediately hit my face.  I felt so bad eating in front of someone else, it's the worst smell to subject someone to (especially if they don't eat it).  Taste-wise, it didn't really hit the spot either.  In fact, I only ate half of it and stopped because it just wasn't doing it for me.  Meanwhile, the bacon was super super salty.  So salty that I could only eat 1 slice out of 5.  What a sad showing!  Lav mentioned that she wasn't super jazzed about her grits because it came with a helping for exotic mushrooms, which she wasn't a big fan of. 

I guess when you come to a veggie place, it's probably best to stick with the veggie dishes and not the ones that have fish and meat in it.  If the best dish you had is the bread basket, then something is not quite right.  I appreciate what they are trying to do and a lot of the nicer vegetarian places are very expensive (a la Dirt Candy and Semilla), so I like the idea of a more casual veggie friend place but The Beet Table still is slightly overpriced for what it's offering.  Total bill:  $42/pp with tax and tip

Photo Credit:  Yelp

The Heron Visited 1/1/2016 5 Forks

The Heron  40 Main St., Narrowsburg, NY 12764

Oh shit, did I just drop 5 Forks on my 1st review of 2016?  Yes, I did.  Maybe I'm feeling generous and wanted to start the year off on a good note, but the food at The Heron was truly outstanding and coupled with the fact that it's so freakin adorable and in the Catskills made it even more appealing. 

The Catskills/Hudson Valley area has definitely been getting tons and tons of buzz as being the new hot spot to get away for the weekend and I can see why.  It's still got this small town feel against a beautiful backdrop of the Delaware River and it's got tons of charming character that you just don't get in the city.  Each town has it's own Main Street and it's exactly what you would picture Main Street USA as.

We stopped by this place on the way back home from the city and the street screams artisanal hipster cuteness.  And you know what?  I ate it all up.  There are definitely still towns that have a very townie vibe, but the feeling here is that the locals have woken up to the flood of city folks flocking here and they have opened a bunch of cute and trendy shops, restaurants and cafes.   Walking into The Heron wasn't really that different from walking into a place in Brooklyn - in fact the crowd looked like it was entirely made up of people who came up from the city for the weekend.  The decor is farm-to-table chic complete with mason jars and distressed wood.  The menu is also what you would expect of a local sustainable restaurant with a Southern slant.  Even though the 5 of us had been consuming obscene amounts of food the past few days, we had no issue ordering half the menu at this place.  We started with the deviled eggs ($8) and the Southern style pimento cheese ($10).  I was incredibly torn between brunch and lunch but ended up going with the classic rueben ($14) because apparently corned beef is a big thing in the Catskills and I hadn't had any yet.  But I couldn't resist the nod to breakfast, so I also got a side of jalapeño cheddar grits ($5).  Aarti and Nat both got the breakfast burrito ($12) which the waitress said there is a "church" dedicated to this dish.  Will got the crispy eggs on the jalapeno cheddar grits ($12) and Kinney got the baked salmon with sirracha since he wanted to try something that he couldn't get in the city.  Nat, Kinney and Will all also wanted to each get a side of corned beef hash ($5) which seemed really aggressive, so when we asked the waitress how big the portions were, she made a tiny circle with her hands and said we should definitely get 3 - total mistake!  They were like the size of 3 giant circles made with your hand.

The deviled eggs came out as 3 halves, so we cut them in half but I honestly would have shoved every single one of them in my mouth if I was left alone with them.  They were amazing.  The yolks were perfect with the right amount of creaminess and they were mixed with goat cheese which made it even creamier and luscious.  Next the pimento cheese came out, in a mason jar of course, and it was also perfection.  The right amount of heat, cheese, mayo and garlic and spread over toast it was simply a fantastic combination on the tongue.  Such an excellent way to start the meal.  I should also mention at this point that Will got a homemade biscuit with honey butter to nibble on - jesus christ, that honey butter is like crack cocaine.  Sweet, creamy and buttery.  We had to have the waitress take it away because we would have eaten the entire pat of it.

On to the main dishes.  The rueben was a classic:  rye bread piled high with corned beef served with swiss, sauerkraut, and homemade Russian dressing.  I don't have corned beef very often but this made me really miss it.  Incredible sandwich - moist corned beef and the right amount of everything else.  I totally want to eat corned beef all the time now.  However, I could only finish half of it because of all the other food I had eaten over the weekend.  The jalapeño grits were super super cheesy, creamy and VERY spicy - if you don't like heat, don't order this because it will kick you in the mouth.  I didn't have room to try any of the other dishes but Nat and Aarti said that the breakfast burrito was amazing.  Pillow-ly soft eggs that tasted like it had a lot of sour cream mixed in it.  If there had to be one disappointment of the meal, it would probably be Kinney's salmon sandwich - he said it was good but tasted like a salmon wrap (which is basically what it was).

Overall, it was exciting to start off 2016 with such a wonderful experience.  At one point, it was snowing outside and it was just so picture perfect with the light snow, holiday lights and small town decor.  It might have been my joyful holiday spirit or that I haven't given out a 5 fork review in awhile, but the food here was truly excellent.  The service was friendly (a bit too friendly by telling us we needed 3 sides of hash) and everyone just seemed happy and calm.  It's a really nice change of pace from the city.  And even better is that all of this food was only $32/pp.  WTF?!?! This meal would have easily cost twice as much in the city.  It's totally worth the 2 1/2 hour trek to do a bit of sight seeing and incredible food.  Total bill:  $38/pp with tax, tip and drinks

Photo Credit:  Yelp

Robin Hood Diner Visited 12/30/2015 3.5 Forks

Robin Hood Diner  Old Rt 17, Livingston Manor, NY 12758

A few friends and I have started this new tradition of heading up to the Catskills for New Year's Eve and locking ourselves in a cabin, making tons and tons of food and falling asleep early.  It's quite a blissful getaway from the city during that crazy time of the year.  On the way to the cabin, the boys usually stop at the Catskills Brewery for a bit of beer tasting and growler purchasing.  This year, we got off to a bit of a late start and by the time we ended up near the brewery, most of us were hungry. There weren't aren't a lot of options nearby so we narrowed down our food search to 2 places:  greasy diner food or local artisanal sandwiches.  We figured, what the heck, let's go greasy spoon diner. 

The moment I stepped into the empty diner I felt transported to the set of Twin Peaks.  The decor was super old school:  old retro furniture, 1 super friendly waitress and 1 very old guy working the grill. It couldn't be a more picture perfect diner setting if you had paid someone. We were the only ones in there except for a guy at the counter who sadly didn't seem to have enough money to eat but the kind waitress seem to let him nibble on some food for free.   It's kind of a dose of reality when you come to these local towns and see what most of rural America lives like which not the glitzy life of living in a big city.  

The menu there is classic diner food with a smattering of random German food like goulash and stuffed cabbage.  Aarti, Nat and I stuck with the diner staple of grilled cheese.  I got mine with tomato and bacon while they stuck to just cheese.  Kinney got the corned beef sandwich upon the recommendation of the waitress who said it was fresh and a very generous portion.  Will was adventurous and got the stuffed cabbage and we split an order of onion rings and fries for the table. Since we were the only ones there, the food came out lighting quick.  As expected from a diner, the grilled cheese was gooey and delicious - made from basic American cheese and wheat bread. Sometimes the most simple basic dishes like this really hit the spot and the combination of the tomato and bacon made me very warm and happy.   Nat thought that there was too much cheese in it but for me, you can never have too much cheese.  The corned beef sandwich was indeed a very full sandwich and the meat looked pink and delicious.  The stuffed cabbage was also a very large portion and came out piping hot with lots of cabbage, mashed potato and red sauce on it.  

Overall, we were happy with our meal and it's the kind of place where if you stick with the diner basics you can't really go wrong.  The waitress was super sweet and while it's obviously not a culinary wonderland, there's something to be said about a good local diner that always has a soft spot in my stomach.  Total bill:  $48 for 5 people including tax and tip

Photo Credit:  Yelp

Kotobuki Visited 12/28/2015 4 Forks

Kotobuki  4822 MacArthur Blvd NW, 2nd Floor, Washington, DC 20007

Lately, every time I go home to MD, I get lunch at Sushi Yoshi in VA because their lunch specials and cuts of fish are amazing, fresh and plentiful.  So I was a bit hesitant to try something new but my old roommate had sent me a note a while back saying that she had heard that this secret sushi place near her house that was supposed to be amazing.  Now if there's anything I'm a sucker for, it's trying "secret" restaurants.  Turns out, this place isn't really super secret since there is a sign outside for it but it is upstairs from the main Japanese restaurant Makoto, which is supposedly super fancy and much more expensive.

My mom and I checked out Kotobuki on a lazy Monday afternoon for lunch and it was still super crowded.  It's pretty tiny with about 10 seats total and then maybe 5-6 seats at the bar.  It's not super fancy at all - it's basically the top floor of a slightly worn out townhouse that has a sushi bar shoved in it.  We sat at the sushi bar which was slightly cramped but manageable.  They have a fairly small lunch menu and the food leans towards more traditional fare of simple sushi, chirachi, sashimi dishes vs. crazy rolls with cream cheese, mango and other weird things in it.  We both got the sashimi lunch special ($14.95), and split a spicy scallop roll and a spicy tuna roll to round out the meal.  The sashimi comes with a miso soup which was your standard miso soup.  The rolls came out next and they looked fresh and well done.  The rice was a nice texture and the scallop was the whole piece kind not the chopped up kind, which was great.  Strangely, I don't mind when the fish is chopped up for spicy tuna or spicy salmon rolls, which is how it was prepared here.  The rolls were simple but well done - no complaints.  The lunch sashimi came with 3 pieces each of tuna, salmon, whitefish and mackerel. My only disappointment was that it came with mackerel instead of yellowtail...apparently the dinner sashimi comes with yellowtail but they charge $26.50 for that one - not sure if yellowtail is really worth $12 more.  In any case, all the cuts of fish were well cut and of good quality - even the mackerel, which I usually don't like but if it's fresh and good, I'm willing to eat it.  It was a satisfying meal even with the mackerel.

Overall, I'm glad that I branched out and tried out a new sushi place while I was home.  While I enjoyed it and it is definitely better than most of the MD suburb sushi I've had, it's not as mouth watering or delectable as my experiences at Sushi Yoshi or Tachibana in VA.  It's still worth a visit, especially at such relatively affordable lunch prices.  Total bill:  $50 for 2 people with tax and tip

Photo Credit:  Yelp

Clyde's Tower Oaks Lodge Visited 12/27/2015 3 Forks

Clyde's Tower Oaks Lodge  2 Preserve Pkwy, Rockville, MD 20852

I have been to Clyde's years ago and didn't remember it to be too memorable but it's right across the street from my mom's house so when Jeana recommended it for brunch, it was easy enough to say yes and walk over.  

The place is huge and decorated like a old elk lodge - the whole place feels like you are in a log cabin lodge in Colorado vs. a restaurant in the suburbs of Maryland.  Since it was still the holidays, the place was even more dressed up with tons of holiday lights and tinsel - it was actually kind of cute in this super fake way.  The menu was both brunch and lunch focused which always gives me anxiety and stress.  I noticed on the lunch menu that their raw bar happy hour included Sundays from 11-1pm and even though it sounded kind of gross to get raw oysters or clams so early in the morning, I'm such a sucker for oyster HH that I couldn't pass it up.  I got 1/2 a dozen littleneck clams ($8.95 regular priced) to start and then because I'm in MD, I got the Chesapeake eggs benedict ($17.95) and Jeana got the corned beef hash ($13.95).  I wasn't expecting much from the clams but when they came out I was beyond shocked.  There was almost nothing in any of them - I mean, less than 1/2 bite in each half shell.  I was on the verge of sending them back because I couldn't believe that they could actually serve that in good faith but I decided to "eat" them anyways.  It makes me fully appreciate amazing raw bar places like Maison Premiere because this serving was beyond pitiful.  If I stopped my review here, I would actually give this place 1 fork.  But luckily, I had my real dish come out and while it didn't totally make up for it, it was a solid crab cake benedict.  The egg was very runny and the Old Bay hollandaise sauce was plentiful.  You can taste and see real lump crake meat in there. Each mixed bite of yolk, crab meat and hollandaise sauce was sinful.  The breakfast potatoes that came with it were fine - standard breakfast potatoes.  While I didn't try Jeana's dish, she commented that she was not that pleased with it as it seemed dry and not seasoned well. 

If I had stuck just to the benedict, this place would probably be a 3.5 fork place as it was good but not stellar.  The service was a bit confusing as first (the waitress didn't know if it was actually raw bar happy hour and couldn't confirm for Jeana if they had wheat toast in the kitchen) but I appreciated that they let us stay at the restaurant for over 3 hours to talk without shooing us out or giving us dirty looks.  Overall, I'd say it's a bit overpriced and overhyped for what it is but when you're trapped in the suburbs there really aren't that many places that serve brunch so I'll take what I can get.  Total bill:  $28/pp with tax and tip

Photo Credit:  Yelp 

Slash Run Visited 12/26/2016 3.5 Forks

Slash Run 201 Upshur St NW, Washington, DC 20011

I have always been a huge fan of solid burger joints especially ones that have a heavy metal theme to it (i.e. Kuma's Corner in Chicago).  I was home for the holidays and got to catch up with some long time friends from elementary-high school and we ended up at Slash Run since it was near my friend Martha's place.  Given that it was the day after Christmas, it was pretty quiet and low key but that was great because that's exactly what we wanted.  This place is a true local joint as judged by many patrons wearing Redskins jersey since the big game was on that night - even better! 

The decor is kitschy, rock n roll and comforting all at once.  The menu centers around bar food and lots of local beers on tap.  We got the fontina artichoke dip ($9) to start while we mulled over our burger choices.  They have a nice variety of burgers that range from basic (simple bacon cheese burger) to the random (one with pineapple relish and pork rinds).  I was torn but opted to get the Le Petite Mort ($11.95) which was a burger with blue cheese crumble, garlic aioli, arugula, and mushrooms sautéed in red wine.  Did I mention that all the burgers came with waffle fries - yum! The fontina dip was what you expected of an artichoke dip - gooey and cheesy.  Next came the burgers - they were a very generous portion and mine was cooked medium rare with a bit more emphasis on the medium but it wasn't so brown that I felt like I had to send it back.  I enjoyed the combination of the blue cheese and mushroom - in fact, I was actually a bit disappointed that there wasn't more toppings to the burger, although that's probably slightly healthier for me.  The patty was juicy and moist but it didn't necessarily have me wanting to drool over it like I did at Black Tap but if I lived nearby I can see why it would be a cool neighborhood joint to relax and chill out.  The waffle fries were a pleasant addition - other than steak fries, I am a total sucker for waffle fries and these were nice and crisp and really paired well with the burger and beer I had. 

Overall, the Slash Run is a nice rock n roll local joint that's unpretentious and chill.   It seems like a good Sunday Funday kind of place to go and have a few beers with friends.  While the food itself is basically bar food, I give them props for trying to be creative with it - especially in a up and coming part of DC (there's an artisanal pickle shop coming soon!).  The service was a bit slow despite it being not crowded at all but I guess, who really wants to work on the Saturday after Christmas anyways?  Total bill:  $36/pp with tax, tip and drinks

Photo Credit:  The Washtingtonian 

Rosa Mexicano Visited 12/22/2015 3 Forks

Rosa Mexicano  9 E 18th St., New York, NY 10003

It's actually amazing how I've managed to live in NYC for 15 years and have never been to Rosa Mexicano before.  It's a staple of the New York Union Square scene due to its central location but I've just always heard mediocre things about it and with so many other places to try in the city, it just never made it to the top of my list. 

However, when the holiday season rolled in and Jenn and Eric were in town, we tried to find a fun place to go for dinner but it was almost impossible to get a reservation anywhere in the city for dinner for a large party, so this was the best option for a party of 12 in December.  This place is actually perfect for large parties because it's so freakin large.  The space is cavernous and it seemed like every table was at least a party of 5+.  We were seated in a huge circular table in the back - but it was so hard to hear that the only people I could talk to were the people seated immediately to my left and right. 

The menu is what you would expect in a place like this - very group friendly non-authentic Mexican food.   We started off with guacamole ($14) for the table because that's just what you do at a place like this - it's made table side, which honestly doesn't impress me but at least I can see them using fresh avocados and other ingredients.  For my main meal, I opted to get the ceviche ($15) and the fish tacos ($19).  Most of the other people at the table also seemed to get the fish tacos or fajitas.  While I knew that the ceviche was made with shrimp, I couldn't somehow still be a bit disappointed by it. Don't get me wrong, the shrimp in it was actually quite tasty and good but to me, true ceviche is made with fish in it and this didn't have any of it in the dish.  I also wasn't a huge fan of the tomatoes or cucumber in it.  To me, the perfect ceviche is simple fresh fish, red onion, lime juice and some cilantro - nothing fancy, just a few basic ingredients to really make the fish stand out.  This just tasted like a good cold shrimp dish.  Unfortunately, the fish taco didn't really make up for it.  It was 3 fairly decent sized tacos served with grilled mahi mahi, cabbage, and a spicy tartare sauce.  The fish was super bland and unseasoned.  The dish was pretty boring - by the end, I picked out just the fish and ate that part because the soft taco shell and cabbage wasn't doing much for me but the whole dish overall needed to be brought up a notch.   I wasn't expecting too much from a restaurant that is churning out thousands of dishes a night but it would have been nice to have had one last enjoyable meal with the group before the holiday season. 

Despite it all, the overall experience was pleasant enough because of the good company and the killer margaritas.  If you're in a tight bind for a place to go for a big group, this place isn't a terrible suggestion because clearly it isn't difficult to make a reservation.  But if you're looking for a culinary treat or something cozy and intimate, Rosa Mexicano isn't really your place.  Total bill:  $64/pp with tax, tip and drinks

Photo Credit:  Yelp