Moti Mahal Delux Visited 2/3/2018 4 Forks

Moti Mahal Delux  149 1st Ave., New York, NY 10065

I very rarely go up to the UES for anything but the Michelangelo exhibit at the Met was winding down, so I figured it was worth the trek up there.  (Note, while the content of the exhibit was amazing it was so so crowded I couldn't enjoy myself at all.  Definitely go on a weekday or super early in the morning).  The area is definitely not my jam but Lav knew that Moti Mahal Delux wasn't too far away, so we cabbed it over there.  Location wise, 1st Ave is a dead zone.  Not to sound snotty but it's a reminder to me of how much I would never want to live in certain parts of NYC.  It's got no character or personality.   But if I ever did live up there, I would most definitely go to Moti Mahal.  Apparently it's a very well known chain in India, so I was excited to see what it was all about.

When I usually go to an Indian restaurant, it's likely either with Aarti or Lav and I just let them order whatever because it's always good.  Apologies that I can't remember everything Lav and I got there but rest assured, everything was extremely tasty.  We started with 2 different appetizers - one which was like a cold patty and another that was like a paneer kabob. The patty dish was just ok but it was a nice vehicle to scoop up the flavorful mint sauce with.  We got another warm paneer type dish which was buttery and amazing  but the true star of the show was the daal makhani ($17), which is black lentils also with lots of butter in it.  It was simply delicious and paired with the warm and soft garlic naan and onion kulcha that we ordered, I was in heaven.  Like any Indian dish, these are quite heavy and it feels like sometime you're eating forever and you haven't made a dent in the dish at all.  We had a lot of leftovers to take home even though the dishes looked small.

It was a pretty quiet experience since we at at like 6pm on a Saturday but in general it doesn't look like a place that would get super crowded or loud.  I imagine they probably do a really good take-out or carry out business.  The only gripe I had was that the waiter didn't really seem to know much about the menu - maybe he was new?  He was also not Indian, which I don't want to ding him for but generally when I go to ethnic restaurants I like the wait staff to be of the same ethnicity or at least be knowledgable about the cuisine or menu. 

While I love Indian food , it's also definitely not something that I should eat a lot of unless I want to put on 10 lbs quickly.  The location of this place leaves a lot to be desired but if you are ever up on the UES or visiting the Met, this should definitely be on your radar screen.  Total bill:  $42/pp with tax and tip

Photo Credit:  Yelp 

Thai Villa Visited 1/26/2018 3.5 Forks

Thai Villa 5 E 19th St, New York, NY 10003

In all my years of living in NYC, I had never heard of this place before.  So it was shocking when Holly and I tried to go on a Friday night and it was mobbed beyond belief.  You'd think a place this popular, I would have read about somehow.  Upon walking into the main room, I can see why it was so popular.  It is probably one of the most visually stunning restaurants I've seen.  It's got beautiful fixtures and furniture that you feel like you are really transformed to another place. 

The menu claims that they have rare and secret recipes from the Thai Royal Kitchen.  Umm - ok.  I doubt it but sure I can roll with it if they want.  The menu is divided up into 3 different sections, the classic section (your run of the mill pad thai), the privilege section (food served to royalty) and the chef's signature section.  So there are  plenty of dishes to choose from and the menu is actually quite overwhelming.  Since they claimed to have such a special menu, I figured it was worth choosing something from the privilege and/or chef's signature section.  We got the Ray Rai Nah Phu ($12) appetizer and I went with the Hor Mok Talay ($26) for my main meal.  The appetizer was described as minced shrimp with rice noodles and curry paste wrapped in a Betal leaf and topped with lump crab meat.  It was a very light dish and it tasted more like a lettuce cup with rice noodles lightly topped with curry flavoring.  It was interesting in presentation but I wasn't blown away by this.  I'd be shocked if this is something they actually serve to royalty?  As for my main dish, I got it purely because it said it was served in a coconut shell and I love anything served in a coconut.  It was a mix of shrimp, scallop, squid, salmon, crab meat, with curry paste and heart of palm.  It is indeed served in a coconut shell but beyond that it wasn't super impressive.  It was in a white coconut milk soup/curry base and that was honestly a bit distracting because it was hard to see what you were eating.  In my mind, I thought it was going to be more of a stir-fry type of dish but upon further research now it's described more as a Thai curry seafood custard - I wish I knew that in advance.  For me, seafood and custard aren't really two words I'd put together.  I question a bit the need for salmon in it as it seemed a bit out of place with the other types of seafood in there.  The one nice thing about it being served in a coconut shell was that after you finished everything inside, you can use a spoon to scrap out the coconut meat inside which was sweet and tasty. 

The table next to us got the Royal Pad Thai and it looked pretty cool since it was wrapped in an egg nest but I thought paying $21 for pad thai seemed a bit ridiculous. But after paying $26 for my dish, I wished that I had stuck with the royal pad thai option. While I may seem lukewarm on the food, it was definitely an interesting dining experience purely for the gorgeous decor.  But in every other way, it reminds me of a neighborhood mom and pop shop where the food comes out super fast and they try to get you out the door quickly.  They don't take reservations on Fridays and weekends, so be prepared to wait 45 mins to an hour, otherwise I'd try your luck on a weekday instead.  If you work near here they have a decent looking lunch special, so I'd maybe try that instead of trying to fight your way on a packed Friday or Saturday.  Total bill:  $52/pp with tax, tip and drinks

Photo Credit:  Yelp

Maysville Visited 1/24/2018 4 Forks

Maysville  17 W 26th St., New York, NY 10010

I had known about Maysville for their nice brown liquor selection but I had never eaten there before.  So when Cicily was in town, it felt like it was an appropriate place for us to check out and celebrate since we usually go for some kind of BBQ/brown liquor kind of place when she's visiting. 

As expected the menu is heavy on the Southern flare - they've got gumbo, roasted oysters, dirty rice and then some non-Southern food like trout, tortellini and Arctic Char.  We started with the shrimp toast ($15), I got the chicken ($27) and Cicily got the Burger ($23) and we also split the Brussels Sprouts ($13) to get something mildly healthy and green.  In a very un-Southern manner, the food comes out fast and furious.  I think only in an Asian restaurant have I seen food come out more quickly.  

The shrimp toast was a nice starter, it kind of reminded me of the kind you get in Chinese dim sum. It was a little bit dry but we were both starving so it was a good bite to settle the stomach.  The chicken was shockingly delicious.  It's not that I had low expectations of the food here but the chicken was very moist and juicy.  It did not come on the bone but it was closer to a flatten piece of meat like a brick chicken dish.  It was a huge portion so even though I was hungry, it definitely filled me up quickly.  I didn't try Cicily's burger but it looked delicious and dripping with cheese, sauce and onions.  I did snag a bunch of her fries and they were like the salty McDonald kind of fries but in the best possible way.  The Brussels Sprouts were fine - maybe a ting over roasted but I love sprouts no matter how they come out. 

Overall, it was a surprisingly very pleasant meal.  Our waiter was awesome and super fun.  The line up of whiskey and scotches here can't be beat and if you're hungry, there are more than enough snacks or entrees to fill you up.  We didn't get to try any of the desserts but in true Southern style there was some super sweet sounding ones like maple bourbon brûlée.  Definitely come here for the drinks but I'd stick around for the food too.  The bar fills up quickly and it can be loud, so I'd get here as early as you can.  Total bill:  $88/pp with tax, tip and a few drinks

Photo Credit:  Yelp

Purbird Visited 1/19/2018 4 Forks

Purbird 82 Sixth Ave., Brooklyn, NY 11217

Purbird is not a fancy restaurant, in fact it's really more of a casual take out place, but it's food is definitely worthy of 4 forks.  Allison and I originally wanted to go for their chicken bone broth (note, they only make a big batch in the morning and then they sell it as the day goes, so if you want it, go early.  And go to the other location because this location didn't have it).  But first we decided to try a little bit of everything on the menu.  We shared the half chicken ($10), chicken breast sandwich ($10), mac and cheese ($9), and jalapeño mashed potato ($6.50).  This may not sound like a lot of food but it was a ton of food for 2 people.  

The half chicken was de-boned, moist and delicious.  You can choose 1 sauce but we got a variety of sauces:  hot green sauce (it's not hot), zucchini raita, and lemon parley.  The hot green sauce reminded me of the super addictive green sauce at Sophie's Cuban, only it was not as spicy or addictive but the combination of habanero, avocado and tomatillo was still fantastic and I slathered it all over the juicy chicken.  The sandwich was huge and a spot on chicken sandwich.  It was a large piece of breast (ha!), mashed avocado, turkey bacon, lettuce, tomato, and mayo on a soft brioche roll.  It's like a roasted chicken plate shoved into between two soft pieces of bread.  This is really where I should have stopped eating but who can say no to mac and cheese and mashed potato?  The mac and cheese was my favorite kind - super oooey, gooey and cheese-y.  It's not the fancy stuff with 5 different kinds of non-melted cheese, but this was 3 kinds of melty and creamy cheese with a crispy top.  The mashed potatoes weren't so bad themselves either - they were smooth and buttery and came with a topping of jalapeño puree.  The puree was a nice touch for sure, but it's definitely not as hot as I would have liked - it's like they were holding back the spice level with us for some reason. 

What's even better about this place is that it's within walking distance to Barclay's Center, so if you need a quick cheap bite to eat, you can be there within 5-10 mins walking.  If I lived near this place, I could 100% see myself ordering from here at least once a week.  The only bummer was that they didn't have the bone broth and we walked all the way to the other location over a mile away and it turned out they didn't have it either.  But it was good to walk it all off because I was definitely carrying too much food in my stomach after this meal.  I love a no frills, cheap, casual place and this place checks all the marks - I just wish they would take the heat/spice level up a few notches.  Total bill:  $44 for 2 people with tax, tip and soda

Photo Credit:  Yelp  

Chez Ma Tante Visited 1/20/2018 4.5 Forks

Chez Ma Tante  90 Calyer St., Brooklyn, NY 11222

This place is one of THE hottest, most talked about restaurants this year so far.  It's in a random far corner of Greenpoint but it was still packed to the gills on a Saturday.  I got there right when it opened at 11:30 and they were nice enough to seat me before Aarti got there.  By the time she got there 10 mins later, the place was totally full.  So either make a reservation or go right when it opens. 

The food is described as French Canadian but there wasn't any foie gras in sight but apparently the old menu had an emphasis on organ meat and terrines.  But the main reason people come here for brunch is for the pancakes.  They were pretty damn good but so was everything else.  Aarti and I called this meal the meal of aioli because basically everything we had came with a healthy dose of aioli - but who doesn't love aioli?!  We started the meal with chips (fries) and aioli ($7), the pancakes ($9), I got the egg and sausage sandwich ($13) and Aarti got the Spanish Tortilla (with aioli).  The menu online is different than what they are serving (I'm always annoyed when restaurants do that) so just a heads up that what you see may not be offered.  What we ordered was definitely WAY too much food for 2 people but we felt like we had to just go balls to the wall and we hadn't seen each other in a few weeks and had a lot to catch up on. 

The chips were essentially large crispy potato wedges and they were cooked to perfection.  They were almost too large but you can just cut them up if you need.  They were seasoned well and quite addictive with the aioli - I'd recommend them if you have more than 2 people but it was a bit much for us.  The egg sandwich was divine - a fluffy egg base, thick cut homemade sausage patty on a soft delicious bun.  I could barely finish the whole thing because it was so filling but it was an extremely hearty and satisfying sandwich - even if there wasn't any cheese on it.  As for the main attraction, I wish I had more room for it.  The pancake comes with 2 huge flaps so it's more than enough for 2 people.  It's thick and fluffy yet somehow the outside is crunchy and crispy.  I don't know how they do it but it was unlike any type of pancake I've had before.  It was like a toasted pancake.  Sadly, neither of us could finish it and we had to leave an entire flap on the plate which broke my heart. 

Overall, the place has a lovely calming vibe and the waitstaff was super sweet.  I would definitely come back but scale back my order so that I could actually enjoy my experience - not that I didn't but we clearly ordered way to much for 2 people and we walked out of brunch feeling a bit heavy in tummy.  If I lived closer (it was about a 30 min walk for me), I could see myself here all the time and wanting to become a regular.  Or maybe I'll do it anyways.  Total bill:  $45/pp with tax, tip and drinks

Photo Credit:  Yelp

The Bistro at Grove Square Visited 1/15/2018 3 Forks

The Bistro at Grove Square  116 Newark Ave, Jersey City, NJ 07302

I am totally spending way too much time in Jersey City these days.  I blame it squarely on my job but I guess it could be worse.  After a super long day working on MLK Day and doing Escape the Room with a bunch of screaming teenagers, all the 8 of us from my team wanted to do was to grab a seat at a bar, down a couple of beers and maybe a burger. 

The Bistro is literally right off the PATH train and it's some weird combination of 5 restaurants all joined together.  Since it was right there, it was honestly the path of least resistance (no pun intended).  The Bistro is the center piece of these 5 restaurants and it's as you would imagine with the name "The Bistro" a very standard cafe.  On their website, they call it casual and classy.  I'll give them casual, not so sure about classy not that it's skanky or anything like that but it's not fancy by any stretch of the imagination.  The menu is extremely safe - fried calamari, mozzarella sticks, mac and cheese, burgers, pastas and pizzas.  It's nothing exciting but sometimes when you're tired and just need a bite to eat, this kind of food will suffice. 

They have a happy hour deal where you can get 1/2 off appetizers (limit 1 per person) so since we had 8 people, we got pretty much one of every appetizer and I went with a standard 1/2 roasted chicken with mashed potatoes and green beans.   I won't go into all the appetizers but they were your garden variety bar apps  - there wasn't one that really stood out but we were so hungry that it honestly wouldn't have mattered.  My chicken was a pretty large portion (it seemed much bigger than 1/2 a chicken) and it was a super homey dish with the mashed potatoes.  They left off the green beans which was kind of annoying because I was trying to have some veggies with my meal but I was too tired to bring it up with the waitress.  I was super full when I left and had no real complaints about my meal in general. 

Overall, my experience here kind of re-enforced my continue impression that JC still isn't there when it comes to being a culinary destination.  One small note was  that the service was super slow but I felt bad for our waitress because she seemed to be the only one in the whole restaurant so I'll give her a pass.  One other note, don't get their cocktails, I'd stick to basic wine or beer.  I got an Old Fashion because it was on their specialty list and it was overly sweet and not very good.  This place was fine in a pinch but I was ready to get the hell out of JC as soon as we got the bill.  Total bill:  $400 for 8 people with tax, tip and drinks

Photo Credit:  Yelp

Banter Visited 1/13/2018 4.5 Forks

Banter  169 Sullivan St., New York, NY 10012

It seems like the hot trend these days are these cute Australian breakfast cafes.  There was Two Hands, Bluestone Lane and now there is Banter.  Although when I was in Australia, I didn't remember their breakfast being particularly memorable - in fact, none of the actual food there was memorable.  But who isn't a sucker for a cute Australian accent?  I met up with Anuja and Amy for our first Rabbit Habit of 2018 on a freezing Saturday and while almost every other restaurant in the Village was empty because of how cold it was, there was a line out the door at Banter.  In fact it was a 45 mins wait!  Luckily they had a covered place to wait but it's pretty much mayhem with all the other people waiting in the same area.  Finally after almost an hour,  we were seated and sadly it was right next to the bathroom.  Ugh.  Ordinarily I would have said something but it was so crowded and almost 2pm that we just sucked it up. 

The menu is full of instagram worthy dishes from avocado toast, chia pudding bowls, and beautiful salads.  We were all starving so we started with the sweet potato fries ($7) and the banana bread ($5) to start.  I got the golden folded eggs with sour dough toast ($16), Anuja got the avocado toast ($12) and Amy got the mushroom toast ($12).   The sweet potato fries came out quickly and this dish in it of itself is worth 4.5 forks.  They were so crispy and delicious and served with a large heaping of spicy mayo that it took a lot of self control for me to not eat the entire thing.  I'm usually weary of sweet potato fries because its very easy for them to be soggy but this one was perfect.  Be aware that it's a huge side order, so it's definitely worth sharing with lots of people.  We thought the banana bread would be a small slice since it was $5 and it was actually a huge thick cut served warm with sweet butter.  It was also fantastic.  

The components of my entree weren't anything special but they all worked really well together.  I actually commented to Amy and Anuja that I could easily make this dish at home as it was just scrambled eggs, smashed avocado, peas, slices of proscuitto, and a kale salad.  But food always tastes better when someone else makes it for you and this was the case here.  It needed a bit more salt on everything but overall it tasted fresh, healthy and it was super filling.  The sourdough bread was nice and soft and paired well with the avocado - it was a bit annoying to pay extra for bread but with so much other food on the plate I actually think that if I were to get this dish again (which I totally would), I wouldn't order it because you don't really need it.

Overall, I really loved this place but there are a few annoying things to keep in mind before you go:  as one would expect in a place that's got all this IG worthy food, the clientele is kind of annoying (it kind of felt like we were in Murray Hill if you catch my drift), the wait is long and they don't take reservation for brunch and most of the food could have used a pinch more salt.  BUT don't let those things stop you from going and none of them were truly deal breakers for me.  Plus they had fantastic coffee options and the portions are huge compared to the price, which is a nice change of pace in NYC.  Hopefully this craze will die down a bit and it can be more of a relaxing experience going forward.  Total bill:  $32/pp with tax, tip and yummy coffee drinks

Photo Credit:  Yelp