Ramen-Ya Visited 10/29/2016 3.5 Forks

Ramen-Ya   181 W 4th St., New York, NY 10014

It's late October, which means it's ramen season!  It's the perfect comfort food - warm, salty and filling.  Ramen-ya is located in the heart of the West Village, which means it's a tiny space.  There are probably 5 tables and then 6 seats at the bar.  I like how it's similar to SF ramen houses where you put your name on a list on a clipboard instead of telling the host.  That way it's easy to track where you are on the list without having to ask the host a million times how many people are in front of you.  

Since it's so tiny, its easier to get a table for 1 or 2, so they recommend that if you're a party of 3 or more to go to their sister restaurant on West 3rd street.  But there was only 2 parties in front of us, so we decided to wait it out.  The menu is pretty standard - you've got your pork broth ramen as their staple item, then they have some chicken broth ramen, and a pretty decent line up of vegetarian (or as the menu called it "vageterian) options as well.  We tried to get an order of veggie gyoza but they only had pork ones that night, which was a bummer.  I got the Shoyu ramen which was a soy sauce flavor broth with sliced pork, wood ear mushrooms, scallions and a soft egg.  It came with thin wavy noodles which were good and cooked to the right texture but after seeing the chewy noodles that Aarti and Mabel had with their veggie ramen, I was really craving a thicker noodle with mine.  I wasn't sure if I was really hungry or my bowl was smaller but I inhaled my dish in about 5 minutes. The sliced pork was a bit on the fatty side but the egg was cooked perfectly and the wood ear mushrooms was the right topping with the broth.  Strangely enough the veggie ramen looked a bit heartier than my pork one because it came with more toppings like corn, bean sprouts and bamboo shoots in addition to the mushroom and scallions.  I also drank pretty much all of my broth which was salty but not overwhelming salty which was nice.  While I know I could have put more toppings on my ramen to make it more filling, it was a bit surprising at how I was still hungry afterwards.  So to make up for it,  we ordered the green tea mochi ice cream - which were clearly the exact same ones you can get at Trader Joe's, which is actually fine because they're delicious but it's just funny when you realize how restaurants sometimes source for the same places you get your food.  

The service was a bit touch and go.  They weren't super attentive and we did have to hail them down for both the dessert and our check.  There are clearly so many other ramen options in the city but if you live in the 'hood and the line isn't too long, it's worth a stop by.  Total bill:  $21/pp with tax and tip

Photo Credit:  Yelp

Cafe Habana Visited 10/29/2016 4 Forks

Cafe Habana  17 Prince St., New York, NY 10012

Cafe Habana has been a long time Soho, New York staple for as long as I can remember.  Its location makes it a hot spot for models and other trendy New Yorkers and as such the lines have always been crazy long.  But I hadn't been there in a while and Aarti and I were planning on doing some shopping in Soho, so we thought we'd take a gamble and see if we could grab a brunch time seat on a Saturday. 

I strolled in at 12pm on the dot and it was surprisingly NOT crowded.  I was shocked - maybe it's finally dying down?  I grabbed two seats at the bar which wasn't the most comfortable but the place is small, so it's not like there are a lot of places to sit anyways.  The left side of the menu had their more brunch-y foods like huevos rancheros and the left side had more lunch-y foods like their cuban sandwich.  It's like Sophie's choice!! I was having a really hard time because they had huevos divorciados, which I haven't had since Santa Fe.   But they claimed that their cuban sandwich ($10.95) was voted best in NYC, so I figured I just had to get it.  Aarti and I also split the grilled corn ($5.95) to start because how can you come to a cuban place and not get freakin grilled corn?  This one is served in typical fashion with mayo, cotija cheese, chili powder and lime.  Delicious.  There's just something about that cheese sprinkled all over the corn that is a perfect combination.  It's definitely a messy messy dish, so I wouldn't recommend getting it unless you're with good friends or just don't give a shit that your face will be covered in mayo and cheese for at least 10 minutes. 

I was excited for the cuban sandwich because it's been a really long time since I've had a great one. This had your classic ingredients:  roast pork, ham, swiss cheese, chipotle mayo, and a pickle on a toasted panini type bread.  While it was a nice solid sandwich, I'm not sure I can say it's the best in NYC.  It was heavy on the pork and I would have liked it to be a bit more balanced with the ham. While I usually don't love pickles, I do adore them in a cuban and I actually could have used more of them in this one.  The sandwich came with a handful of fries that were a ting too soggy from the mayo dripping on to my plate.  Aarti got the huevos rancheros and it looked good but also swimming in their salsa ranchera that you couldn't even see anything else on the plate.

It was nice to re-visit this place after a long time away and I can see why it's still a downtown staple. The food is still solid and the atmosphere still fun and funky.  But I still adore Sohpie's as my go-to true authentic Cuban place (yes, yes, I know it's a chain but still...) but if you want to hipster it up, Cafe Habana is a fine substitute.  Plus the prices of the neighborhood are really quite reasonable.  Total bill: $18/pp with tax, tip and coffee

Photo Credit:  Yelp

Momofuku Nishi Visited 10/22/2016 3.5 Forks

Momofuku Nishi  232 8th Ave., New York, NY 10011

Everyday there are so many buzzy food trends that pop-up in NYC that it's hard to keep track of all of them.  One of the latest ones comes from David Chang and the Momofuku Empire and it's called the Impossible Burger.   What makes it impossible?  It's a plant based "burger" that actually looks and bleeds like a real meat patty.  Now I'm not sure vegetarians really think that what they are missing from a burger is the bleeding but I can see how a vegetarian would be intrigued by this.  I've had a LOT of veggie burgers in my life and for the most part they're not good.  Usually they are some bean patty that falls apart after a few bites and tastes nowhere close to a real burger.  So I usually skip it and will settle for at least a turkey burger if I'm trying to be healthy.

As with any novelty trend, there was a line 30 people deep before the place even opened at noon. They claim that the burgers are first come first serve, so I'd recommend coming around 11:30 or 11:45 to ensure you've got a fair shot at getting one of them.  Anuja got the burger with cheese ($14) and I got the pork belly sandwich ($15) and we split the butter noodle ($20) as well.  Basically this is exactly what the entire restaurant ordered as well, so I'm not even sure why they have anything else on the menu.

At first glance the Impossible Burger looks pretty much like a regular meat burger - it's even cooked "medium rare" on the inside to give it a pinkish glow.  I had a small bite and I'll say that as a meat eater it is pretty damn close to a real burger but it's still missing that fatty meaty flavor to it that is really what red meat is all about.  But if you've never had a real burger before,  this will get you pretty close to the real thing.  I'm assuming that since it's a plant based patty, it's better for you health-wise but then again, I'm not sure if I want to know what it's actually made out of.  You absolutely must get it with cheese and the fries that came with it were also addictive - skinny, salty McD's like fries and they really made for a tasty burger and fries combo.  As for my pork belly sandwich, it came with avocado and a perfectly fried egg on top.  Ingredient wise, it was a combination of everything that I love and don't get me wrong, it was a fine sandwich but honestly I wasn't wow'd by it.  It kind of felt like a cliched sandwich of all the trendy things going on right now (pork belly, avocado and a fried egg) - you might as well throw some kale or poke on it and call it a day.  As for the butter noodles, it was very similar to a cacio e peppe dish with a fried egg  on top.  The noodles were nice and chewy and it was definitely a very hearty and heavy pasta dish.   Again, I enjoyed it but it wasn't a dish that I felt warranted a long line and wait outside.

The novelty of the Impossible Burger is for sure very interesting.  I'm glad I tried it and if I lived in the neighborhood, I could see myself stopping by for those amazing fries on a cheat day.  Total bill:  $36/pp with tax, tip and drink

Estela Visited 10/21/2016 4.5 Forks

Estela  47 E Houston St., New York, NY 10012

Estela has been on my list for a while as it's been on several "Best of" list for the past 3 years.  While it is a somewhat casual setting, the menu always seemed a bit too stuffy for me to really put a ton of effort into checking out.   Plus it's super difficult to get a reservation at a normal time - in fact, Richelle and I ended up getting a 5:30pm slot on a Friday night which isn't ideal but honestly, we ended up staying for 3 hours, so it actually turned out pretty well for us. 

The menu is similar to what I had at Freek's Mill before, which is American tapas.  And similar to Freek's Mill, the prices are somewhat ridiculous, even more so here at $17-37 per small plate.  The waiter recommended 6 plates for 2 people, so you can do the math on that one.  Richelle and I were in baller mode, so we really went all out on the menu:  beef tartare ($18), fried arroz negro ($23), lamb ribs ($22), ricotta dumplings ($25), and monkfish ($32).   While Richelle and I had a hard time deciding among all the dishes, the one dish we both agreed to get immediately was the beef tartare.  It was really fantastic - chopped well and seasoned with capers and sunchokes, it was an excellent tartare that was perfectly executed.  Next we tried the black fried rice with squid. This one had a paella like consistency with a crunchy bottom to it, which was a nice touch.  I will caution you that if don't like fishy tasting dishes, this probably won't be for you.  I enjoyed it but not as much as some other squid ink dishes that I've had before. 

Next came the lamb ribs and they were incredible.  There were 4 pieces that were herb crusted with charmoula and honey and the meat fell right off the bones.  I have a love/hate relationship with ribs and this one fell on the love side.  Next, we ordered the ricotta dumplings because the waiter said that they were "life changing" - those were the exact words he used.  So while Richelle doesn't eat cheese, we felt compelled to get them.  They were light and fluffy and served with thinly shaved mushrooms on top.  I tried to get Richelle to try one because it wasn't cheese-y gooe-y in texture since it's ricotta but she wasn't having any of it.  It was definitely a lovely pillow-y dish, but I can't say it was life changing and having to eat the whole thing myself was a bit of a challenge with all the other food. Next came the monkfish.  We had been struggling to decide between the monkfish or swordfish and the waiter was saying that the monkfish was heartier and the swordfish was lighter.  I normally don't love swordfish, so we decided to go with something heartier.  In retrospect, I kind of wish we got the swordfish instead because this fish was a bit too tough for me.  It wasn't flakey and it just had a toughness that I don't love when it comes to my fish - but again, it's not like I didn't know it going into it, so it's was a risk we took that didn't quite pay off.  This was where our original order ended but yet we were still a bit hungry.  So we hemmed and hawed between getting the swordfish, mussels, steak or desserts.  We netted out at the steak ($37) and 2 desserts, the chocolate cake ($12) and a sweet potato rum cake ($12).   The steak was 2 smallish pieces cooked medium rare and served with charred eggplant and leeks.  The original form comes with a melted taleggio cheese sauce on top but we got it on the side for Richelle's sake.  The steak was cooked perfectly and while you would think the cheese sauce would have tasted kind of weird with it, I was actually really glad to have had it because the strong stinky flavor of it really paired well with the meat. I can't explain it but it just worked. 

At this point, we were drunk and full but had to get dessert.  The chocolate cake came with this out of this world creme fraiche topping covered with coco powder on top.  The cake was moist but had a bit of a flourless consistency to it and overall it was a very non-sweet dessert, which I like but I can see how some people might be turned off by, so just know that going into.  We got the sweet potato dessert because it sounded so unique.  It was basically cold shredded sweet potato sitting on top of a rum soaked cake - it was interesting but the coldness of the dish really threw me off a bit. 

But what really put this dinner over the edge was the mind blowing wine (a red from Umbria) we had with dinner.  Yes it was $100 but it was really something special.  It paired really well with the meat dishes we had.  The service was excellent with the waiter being really patient in explaining almost the entire menu for us, although I didn't quite buy his "life changing" opinion of the dumplings.  The ambiance is cozy and dark but quite lively because it was incredibly packed.  I'm not sure I would say it's one of the best restaurants in the world as many have stated but it's worth checking out if you're a long standing New Yorker and need a new place to cross off your list.  It's definitely pricey and for that I was close to giving it 4 forks but in a head-to-head comparison of Freek's Mill, it's definitely the better choice.  Total bill:  $200/pp with tax and tip and lots of drinks

Photo Credit:  Yelp

Pondicheri Visited 10/15/2016 2.5 Forks

Pondicheri   15 West 27th St.,  New York, NY 10001

It's experiences like the one I had last night at Pondicheri that motivate me to keep writing this blog. It's not because I like to shit all over restaurants and make them feel bad, but it's a way for me to hopefully share some feedback and make them a better restaurant in the future.  I had read a lot about this place and how it's an acclaimed Indian restaurant in Houston, so I figured it was worth checking out. 

I walked in at 8pm on a Saturday which I know is always a crapshoot in NYC.  But the place was literally half empty so I was expecting to get a seat immediately, if not, quickly.  However, the hostess informed me that all the seats were taken.  I looked at her and said, "Seriously, every single one of these seats? Even the one right here that is being busied as we speak?"  She said something weird like the waiters didn't like or were having issues with those tables, so they were no longer using them.  Umm - ok.  But she said that if any seats at the bar opened up, they serve a full menu there. Great - luckily two people got up right as I walked over, so I swooped in and took them.  As I sat down I heard the bartender/waiter apologizing to the couple next to me about the slowness of their food and that it was coming soon - that's never a good sign.  

The menu looked pretty tasty - a variety of starter dishes, shared dishes and sampler plates.  Aarti and I each got a different sampler plate - she got the vishnu ($18) and I got the earth ($22) and we got a side order of garlic naan ($6).  Aarti and I were both starving so we were really excited for our food and this is where it went downhill quickly.  I am not exaggerating when I say it took over 40 mins for our food to arrive.  We sat at the bar with nothing but our drinks for 40 mins (they also were slow to refill our water, I had to ask repeatedly) - eventually they tossed us some mixed spiced snacks before we keeled over and died at the bar, but that was only after 30 mins of us sitting there.  I had to finally ask our bartender and he was clearly very embarrassed about it and I know it's not his fault but it was really just unacceptable that no one said anything to us or offered us anything.  Finally we saw food coming towards us, only for the busy boy to deliver another table's food to us by accident.  What made it ridiculous was that it was for the people who came in literally 30 mins after we sat down. How the hell were they getting food before us?? Either our order never got placed or there are some serious operational issues.   Finally, almost an hour after sitting, we got our food with our waiter profusely apologizing and pouring us more wine on the house. 

The sad thing is that the food was alright.  The earth plate came with a very flavorful chicken dish, spiced lightly fried okra, smoked eggplant, sauteed greens (random as it's not really an Indian dish) and a beet cashew rita.  It was a mix of complex and intense flavors, which is why I love Indian food. Aarti's dish was almost the same thing but she had a sweet potato samosa, which was quite tasty. When you look at what was actually served, there is absolutely no reason why it should have taken 45-60 mins to produce.  If anything, most Indian places I've been to have many of these dishes pre-made and serve it up quickly.  If the food had come out at a normal pace, I probably would have given this place at least 3.5 forks or maybe more.  

The delayed food was only half of my anger as the night progressed NONE of the tables that were empty when I walked in were filled.  Seriously, the place was pretty empty by the time we left.  I didn't mind sitting at the bar but again, poor management and operations if they were expecting a full house and didn't get it or they just blatantly lied to me about it. 

By the time we left, Aarti and I made a pact to never get Indian food outside of Curry Hill, Little India or the Temple in Queens.  Honestly, whenever you are looking for delicious ethnic food (except for Italian food - never go to Little Italy), it's best to stick with the appropriate ethnic neighborhoods - the quality is better, it's more authentic and it's way cheaper.  I felt bad for this place, it wasn't the bartender's fault and most places need a few months to adjust themselves, so perhaps I'm being a bit harsh.  After all, I always say never go to a restaurant when it first opens, so I clearly didn't follow my own advice.  Plus most legit restaurant reviews are done after going to the place at least 3-4 times, so perhaps if I do go back, things will be improved.  But for the time being, I'll stick with Saravana Bhavan.   Total bill:  $43/pp with tax, tip and drinks

Photo Credit:  Yelp

Hou Yi Hot Pot Visited/ 10/14/2016 3.5 Forks

Hou Yi Hot Pot  92 Hester St., New York, NY 10002

One of my favorite Chinese foods is hot pot - I guess it's not really a food but a form of cooking but regardless, it's got a soft spot in my heart.  Janet and I usually go to 99 Favor Taste in Chinatown but for some reason they had no openings on a random Friday night, so we tried a new place in the East Village. 

The concept is the same, all you can eat hot pot for 2 hours with a same kind of ingredients and sauces.  The one difference here is that you share pots but it is split into 2 so that you can try different broths but I kind of like having my own to dip and cook with.  We got the herb beef and herb pork which was fine but the pork bone broth at 99 Favor Taste is much better.  We got the usually suspect of ingredients:  sliced beef, sliced pork, enoki mushrooms, fish tofu, fish balls, napa cabbage, shrimp, corn, and rice noodles.  The portions are a bit smaller than 99 Favor Taste but since it's all you can eat, it doesn't really matter all that much but we did have to re-order a bunch of things several times which the wait staff seemed a bit annoyed by.  It's easy to go over zealous with the food here, which we easily did here but that's part of the fun with hot pot. 

They are a bit aggressive with the dish clearing, coming by every so often trying to clear our plates away but judging by the wait the place had, I can see why they are always hustling.  They don't give you plastic bags here to protect your jacket and bags, so be prepared to just have everything on or near you smell like hot pot.  Overall,  it was a filling experience but I would still recommend 99 Favor Taste if you 're looking for better broth and slightly more ingredients (plus they do Korean BBQ there too but it's just always way too much food to do both).  Total bill:  $75 with tax and tip for 2 people

Photo Credit:  Yelp

Freek's Mill Visited 10/12/2016 4 Forks

Freek's Mill  285 Nevins street, Gowanus, NY 11217

Freek's Mill is in smack in the middle of Gowanus or the part of Brooklyn that is surrounded by a Super Fund.  You can see that as being kind of cool or kind of gross - I'll take the former because it's still a part of Brooklyn that's still a bit untouched but it's got glimmers of hipster-ness.  Enter Freek's Mill.   It's a cute and much more refined restaurant than I was expecting for that part of town but it's still got a casual vibe to it. 

It's tapas style and if you've read my blog, you know how I feel about small plates.  I like the concept but I HATE how places still feel like they can charge entree prices for them.  The waiter here recommend 2-3 dishes per person (which I agree with) but the prices of these small plates averaged around $15-20 or more, which is a bit ridiculous for me.  But the good news is that at least the food was delicious here.  We got the scallop crudo, octopus, pumpkin, fettuccine, Arctic Char, duck and pork jowl.  

The scallop crudo came highly recommended by the waitress and while I love scallop, I wasn't a huge fan of the fact that it was cut into cubes.  For me, the glory of scallop comes when you keep it intact. But it was a sweet clean flavor that was wonderful none the less.  Next I tried the pumpkin dish and with fall pretty much here, it was a warm comforting dish.  It was sweet and served with a sweet riccotta like cheese to it.  It was basically fall in a plate.   Next was the octopus and unlike the one at Thursday Kitchen, this was a long meaty tentacle charred and served with fingerling potatoes.  Solid dish and cooked the way octopus should be.  Next was the fettuccine which had ham and a sunny side egg on it.   While it wasn't a pasta dish that brought me back to my days in Italy, it was a very comforting dish with a nice homemade taste to it.  Next was the Arctic Char which was cooked with the skin on.  It was pan seared and cooked to the right texture but in general Arctic Char isn't my favorite fish - give me a piece of salmon over Char any day of the week but if are looking for a fish dish here, this one will get the job done.  Lastly came the 2 meat dishes - these were definitely the winners of the night although I'm not sure if we really needed both as they were both on the fatty side but in a good way (at least for me).  The pork jowl was melt in your mouth delicious but I can't stress again how fatty it was but that's where all the flavor is!  I can see how it might turn some people off but not me.  The duck was also cooked very rare with the fatty skin on.  While I'm a gal who loves her meat as rare as possible, this one could have actually been cooked just a smidge longer as it did have a tough consistency and I almost chocked on a piece that I couldn't chew all the way through but flavor wise, I wouldn't change a thing. 

Of course, we left room for dessert and we got a chocolate bread pudding and another dish that I can't remember the name of but it was like a baby dutch pancake.  I was a bit tipsy at this point and full from the fatty meat that I didn't really indulge all that much in the dessert.  From the few bites I had they actually weren't all that sweet and wouldn't really be the kind of dessert that I would go ga-ga for. 

Overall, it was still a lovely dinner experience despite some of my issues.  As Neel and I discussed, the meal was good and the food done well but but with so many stealler NYC restaurants, it's really hard to compete.  But if you live in the neighborhood and/or want to try something out in this part of industrial Brooklyn, I would recommend giving it a try.  Just a note, they used to be gratuity free but they recently switched back to not including it in the bill.  Total bill:  ~$300 for 3 people with tax, tip and drinks

Photo Credit:  Yelp

Thursday Kitchen Visited 10/7/2016 4 Forks

Thursday Kitchen  424 E 9th St., New York, NY 10009

I'll be honest, I was drawn to Thursday Kitchen because of the promise of glow-in-the-dark drinks in a Capri sun bag.  Yes, this is how they serve their cocktails.  Fascinating right?  How can you not want to check it out? 

Holly and I met there early on a Friday night and by 6:15pm and they were pretty packed already. Although neither of us were starving, but we felt like if we didn't grab a table now, we would be waiting a long time.  We were hoping to maybe leisurely start with drinks and then transition over to food but that didn't really happen.  As soon as we sat down, multiple people were asking us if we were ready to order which was kind of annoying.  I will say that by the time we left at 8:30pm, there was a really long line outside, so I guess it was kind of warranted for them to churn as many tables as possible.  The first good sign of this place was that it was packed full of Asians - it is a Korean tapas place but it it's in the East Village so I was expecting more artist/hipsters than anything else.

They don't have a liquor license but they do have soju cocktails which is what comes in the glow in the dark bags.  The one I got had smashed up strawberries and was good but it didn't really taste very strong.  Holly got one that had a bunch of herbs in it and she wasn't a huge fan as the basil was way too overpowering.   But they are fun drinks to try out none the less.

The menu is tapas style and they recommended 2 plates per person but I honestly felt like you could get 3 or more if you're really hungry.  We opted for the ugly potato ($8), the octopus ($9), truffle mac and cheese ($9) and the kimchi paella ($12).  The octopus was very very small thin slices served with a mango salsa type garnish.  It was a bit underwhelming because usually octopus dishes have nice thick hearty pieces to it and this was too delicate for me.  Next was the truffle mac and cheese and it was as advertised, super cheesy and delicious.  The twist to this dish was that it had manila clams in it, which I know sounds kind of gross but it actually really worked.  My only gripe was that I wish this dish was larger as it was really like 3-4 bites max per person.  Next came the kimchi paella which wasn't really a paella but more like a really creamy risotto.  It came with green New Zealand mussels (my favorite), shrimp and kimchi in it.  The waiter kept telling us before that it was cheesey and we thought he was talking about the mac and cheese but I can see how one would describe this dish as cheesey too.   Lastly we had the ugly potato which was crispy potato with melted cheese and BBQ sauce on it.  The parts of the potato that weren't super brunt were great but there was probably more burnt ends than I would have liked in there.  I really wanted to try the matcha bread pudding but we were both full from so much cheesey foods that we couldn't do it but it sounded delicious.

I'll give this place kudos for being incredibly unique and creative, which is something that's been missing from a lot of places I've been to lately.  You can definitely taste the Korean flavors in the food and it was great to see them honor those elements with a slight twist to it.  Again, my usual gripe with tapas is that when you like a dish (i.e. the truffle mac and cheese) you just wish you had more of it vs. such a small portion. Definitely get here early if you don't want to wait around.  Total bill:  $43/pp with tax and tip

Photo Credit:  Yelp

Miso Visited 10/1/2016 3 Forks

Miso  40 Main St., Brooklyn, NY 11201

Allison and I were in DUMBO to catch the Taylor Mac show at St. Ann's Warehouse and wanted to grab a bite to eat before the 3+ hour show.  In the past we've gone to Atrium but this time they had a private party and could only seat us at 6:30 which was too late for the 7pm show.  Normally I rave and gush about DUMBO because it is my favorite neighborhood in Brooklyn from an aesthetic perspective however, from a culinary perspective it is lacking a bit.  Luckily, Allison recommended Miso which was less than a 5 min walk from the theater and sushi always works for me, so I was in. 

The place is your standard mom and pop neighborhood sushi joint - nothing more nothing less.  It's one of those places that just gets the job done and isn't looking to do anything that is too fancy.  I got a sashimi salad and Allison and I split a bunch of rolls which right now I honestly can't remember but it was a combination of regular rolls (think spicy scallop) and fancy rolls (Tribeca roll that had a mix of fish on top).  The sashimi salad was definitely more salad than sashimi which was a bit disappointing but not entirely unexpected.  The fish, while fresh, wasn't some melt in your mouth, mind blowing experience but it wasn't bodga level sushi either.  The rolls were surprisingly large and filling and the rice was much better quality than the crap I had a Nantori. 

While this place isn't a destination restaurant by any stretch, if you're trying to see a show and Atrium is full or you just want something that isn't quite as fancy, Miso is more than an acceptable enough substitute.  I would also say that if I lived around here (I wish!!), I could see this place being high on a take out list on a cold rainy night.  Total bill:  $30/pp with tax and tip

Photo Credit:  Yelp

Ladybird Visited 9/24/2016 3.5 Forks

Ladybird  127 Macdougal St., New York, NY 10012

This year has had a boon of veggie friendly/veggie forward restaurants from Nix to By Chloe.  You can now add Ladybird to that list.  It's a "globally inspired vegetable tapas bar" from the owner of Avant Garden in the old Bourgeois Pig space in the West Village. 

First off, the space is gorgeous.  It's got a French elegance feel to it and it's very glamorous yet approachable.  The only issue I had was that all the seats were high tops, so you're sitting on stools the entire time, which was kind of annoying and as I get older, just hurts my back.  The menu is actually not just vegetarian but vegan as well.  It's broken up into the front half with amuse bouches and cold plates and then the back half of warm plates.  They're all tapas style so definitely order 2-3 dishes per person because they are not very big in size.  We ordered the fried olives ($7), cauliflower ($6), saganaki ($9), coconut croqueta ($9), seared peach caprese ($12), artichoke hearts ($12) and the charred eggplant ($11).  I'm not a huge fan of olives so I didn't try it but it looked exactly like what you would think fried olives would look like.  The cauliflower was served on a bruschetta like bread with chive pesto, lemon ricotta, and chia.  It was a bit difficult to eat a hunk of cauliflower on a piece of bread and frankly, the dish probably would have been better without it sitting on it.  Flavor wise, it was nice and light and could have used a pinch more salt to it. 

I was intrigued as to how they would serve saganaki since the restaurant is vegan and the answer is soy cheese.  This dish was flamed "mozzarella" with smoked carrots and carrot green pesto.  While I respect and get the whole focus on not having any dairy, I gotta say that soy cheese just isn't an adequate substitute for real cheese - especially if you're going to light it on fire.  The next dish was the coconut croqueta which had bell pepper bechamel, orange romesco and jalapeño to it.  It was small enough to be just a quick bite but I really enjoyed this dish - it was creative with all the complex flavors but still worked.  Next was the seared peach "caprese" (again soy cheese) and burning sage. Again, I would like it a lot more if it was real cheese because something was just missing texture and taste wise.  The 2 favorite dishes of the night were the artichoke hearts and eggplant - two really hearty dishes.  The artichoke was sprinkled with sea salt and served with creme fraiche - simple yet delicious way to eat artichokes.  As for the eggplant, it was charred and served with sweet potato crisp, feta, apricot jalapeno, and sherry vinegar.  To me, it's hard to mess up charred eggplant because it soaks up so much flavor and yet still maintains the heartiness of the actual eggplant. 

Since it was Lav's birthday, we had to get dessert and the chocolate fondue ($24) won out.  It's kind of pricey for a chocolate dessert however, it's a huge serving, enough for 3 or 4 people.  They give you all kinds of sliced fruit, slices of cake and fried mochi to dip into the chocolate.  Luckily it was more of a dark chocolate and not an overly icky sweet milk chocolate, so it made it much more bearable for me.  

Ladybird is a beautiful restaurant and would be great on a date because it's got a really romantic feel. I'd come here for some wine, a few nibbles and dessert but probably not for a full blown dinner. While I enjoyed my experience here, I can't say I felt particularly full at the end of it which was kind of annoying.  Total bill:  ~$120 for 3 people with tax, tip and wine

Photo Credit:  Yelp

Where to Eat When You're on Jury Duty in BK - Part 2 Visited 9/26-9/30/2016 2.5 - 4 Forks

Week 2 of grand jury duty!  Unlike trial jury duty, for grand jury duty, they pretty much assign you a block of time and then put as many cases in front of you during your timeframe.  The minimum you can get away with is 2 weeks but people can get put on 3 month, 8 month and sometimes even 1 year long commitments!

So by week 2, I knew most of the places I wanted to go that I hadn't gone to yet and there were a few I re-visited.

Shake Shack  - Let's be honest, no visit to Downtown Brooklyn would be complete if you didn't have Shake Shack at least once.  I had been avoiding it because it's not really the healthiest thing and I've been to it a million times before.  But sometimes it just calls your name.  It really is delicious and I stand by that themushroom burger is better than the hamburger.  However, recently they've introduced the chicken sandwich and it's pretty freaking delicious too.  It's a crispy chicken breast with lettuce, tomato, pickles with buttermilk herb mayo on a potato roll.  Genius.  While I was there, I helped myself to some yummy crinkle fries as well.  It's not a lunch time meal I recommend on a frequent basis but having been stuck in a jury room with 22 other annoying people, I felt like I deserved this meal.    4 Forks

Photo Credit:  Yelp

Pinto Thai - Sometimes during jury duty you luck out and get an extended lunch break.  Tuesday was one of those days where we got over an hour, so I took a leisurely stroll down Montague Street which is a lovely but busy street in the heart of Brooklyn Heights.  I randomly stumbled upon Pinto - I've actually been to the one in the West Village before with Aarti many times before and really liked it, so I was pleased to find it here.  It's a lovely setting and of course they have a nice lunch special menu.  For $9, you can get an appetizer and entree which is quite a steal!  I got the fried tofu appetizer and the chicken pad thai (duh) and since I was on an extended break, I thought I'd treat myself to a thai iced tea too.  The fried tofu was great - not too greasy or oily and really soft on the inside.  It was served with a spicy mayo which is not what I would have expected from a Thai place but it was delicious non the less.  The pad thai was solid - it's what you expect from a neighborhood thai place.   My meal would have been great had it not been for the Thai iced tea.  Don't get me wrong, it was delicious and super unique in that the ice cubes were made from frozen thai iced tea and they serve you everything in a deconstructed way - separate glass of condensed milk, separate glass of iced tea and a little glass of simple syrup.  Adorable right? Except when the bill came it was $6.  WTF?  It was almost as much as my entire lunch - so much for a steal.  I told the waitress that I was shocked by this price and she apologized but didn't do anything about it.  In no world should a freaking drink that does not have alcohol in it cost this much.  For this, I had to knock my review down to 3.5 forks.  Stick with the $9 lunch special and you'll be fine.

Photo Credit:  Yelp

Hanco - I came back to Hanco, but this time to try their pho ($9.75).  I wasn't feeling too well and the weather was starting to get chilly so I thought some pho would solve the trick.  I actually came in with zero expectations for their pho because well frankly, it's run by Chinese people and not Vietnamese people.  However, I was actually fairly impressed by it (I guess this is what happens when you have no expectations).  It still wasn't as good as Pho 75 back home but the broth was great and there was a shockingly good amount of beef slices in the dish served rare which is my favorite.  I am kicking myself for having wasted other lunch meals when I could have gotten a really solid bowl of pho here.  If you have more than an hour for lunch and you're serving jury duty in the winter, definitely come here for the pho.  4 Forks

Photo Credit:  Yelp

Nanatori - Ugh, this was my least favorite meal of the entire 2 weeks.  I am usually a sucker for sushi lunch specials but since I usually only had an hour, I didn't feel like I really had enough time for it. Luckily, I had another extended lunch day and thought I would give this place a try since it looked crowded from the outside.  They serve your standard sushi lunch specials - I opted for the 3 roll combo ($11.95) with spicy tuna, spicy salmon and eel/avocado.  It comes with a miso soup and salad - nothing to write home about here.  The 3 rolls came out and they just looked sad.  The rice was falling off most of them and there was just way too much of it in general.  I ended up pretty much removing almost a full cup of rice from the rolls.  The rice was most definitely not high quality (not that I was expecting much but I expected it to at least not suck) and the spicy tuna and salmon was the pre-mixed/chopped up kind.  It was just an overall disappointing waste of a lunch special, you're much better off at Hanco across the street.  2.5 Forks

 Photo Credit:  Yelp

Where To Eat If You're On Jury Duty in Brooklyn Visited 9/19-9/23/2016 3 - 4.5 Forks

My first listsicle!  Instead of individually reviewing a bunch of places, I’m going to give you a list of the good/bad/ugly of places to eat if you have to serve jury duty in Brooklyn.

I’ve had the “honor” of serving grand jury duty for the past 2 weeks in BK.  It’s actually quite an eye-opening and frankly, scary view into how fucked up our judicial system is.  But this is a food blog and not a political blog, so I will stop here.  But being stuck in jury duty for 2 weeks means 2 weeks of finding lunch options in the depressing downtown Brooklyn neighborhood.   At first glance, there aren’t a lot of great options as the immediate area of Fulton Street Mall is packed with fast food places like Burger King and cheap pizza joints.  But there are a few gems and if you are willing to take a 10 minute walk.

Potbelly – Yes, it’s fast food but it’s one of the better sandwich places around and it’s fast and very cheap (you can get a sandwich for <$10).  It’s a definite go-to if you’re looking for something that isn’t burger and fries.  My go-to is the Roast Beef and there's just something about the toasted bread that makes it tastes that much better.  They also have killer cookies and milkshakes if you need a sugar high in between cases.  4 Forks

Photo Credit:  Yelp

Juice Shop – This is right next door to Potbelly and it was a healthy lunch life saver.  This isn’t Tribeca or Soho where you can find a bougie salad place every 10 feet, so it's slim pickings out here.  The only place I saw within a 10-15 minute walk that served real salads (I’m not talking about the kind at Hill Country Chicken where you can basically put fried chicken in your salad), was The Juice Shop.  They only have kale salads and they have a variety of combinations but the one that I got (Baja Verde) which amazing.  Topped with kale, quinoa, corn, beans and an addictive verde dressing, I definitely became hooked on this place.  Everything tasted fresh and healthy and it was actually really filling.  I came back two more times and and now actively looking for other locations in the city so that I can get my free freaking salad (only 7 more to go!)  4.5 Forks

Photo Credit:  Yelp

Yaso Tangbao – I was shocked to find this place in the middle of downtown Brooklyn.   It bills itself as Chinese street food but it’s a very clean and well run joint.  It has a very similar vibe to Xian Famous Foods but the focus on the food is less on spicy noodles but more on soup dumplings and other noodle dishes.  I got the beef noodle soup which is a dish that I remember loving in Taiwan.  This one was ok – it was a simple beef broth with sliced braised beef, nappa cabbage, bok choy and these pickled Chinese greens.  But what makes this dish is the broth and this one needed more salt and flavor to it, it was just kind of bland.  It could have also had more sliced beef but at the very least it was a nice change in a world of sandwiches and salads.  3 Forks

Photo Credit:  Yelp

Hanco – When I lived in Park Slope, this was a favorite go-to place because they made a solid Banh Mi sandwich.  It’s a 10 minute walk towards Brooklyn Heights but the food is quick so even if you have an hour, you can still make it.  I got the classic sandwich and summer roll.  The summer roll was nicely done with shrimp, lettuce, rice vermicelli wrapped in rice paper and served with oh so delicious peanut sauce ($5.25).  The classic sandwich comes with ground pork, Vietnamese ham, pate, mayo, butter, cucumber, pickled carrot, daikon radish and cilantro on a soft and toasted French baguette ($6.75).   It’s a delicious sandwich although it is super messy with the ground pork falling out every time I took a bite to eat.   It’s a cheap and delicious and makes me sad that I no longer have one in my neighborhood.   3.5 Forks

Photo Credit:  Yelp

Sophie’s – Ahh Sophie’s.  I have been going to Sophie’s (not this location) since I first came to NYC and worked at Goldman Sachs downtown.  It’s straight up Cuban comfort food and it is seriously addictive.  I always get the exact same thing:  baked chicken with yellow rice and beans.  It’s a chicken thigh/leg served on the bone, which is why it’s so moist and delicious.   But the absolute best part of the dish is actually the green sauce that they give you in a bottle at the table.  It is seriously the most addictive sauce I’ve ever had – it’s got a hint of spice but it mainly tastes like a cilantro sauce (they won’t tell you what’s in it or sell it by the bottle).  I seriously go through half a bottle when I eat there and if I do take out, I will pay extra for more of it (they only give you 2 small servings of it).  I slather it on everything, the chicken, the rice, the beans.  Honestly, the rice and beans are just a vehicle for me to get to the sauce.  The food here is heavy and every time I eat here for lunch, I want to take a long nap afterwards, but it is so worth it.    4 Forks

Photo Credit:  Yelp