Samurai Mama Visited 2/26/2011 3.5 Forks

Samurai Mama  205 Grand St., Brooklyn, NY 11211

 Samauri Mama is by the same owners as Bozu in Williamsburg and you can definitely tell with one look at the menu.  It's got a similar feeling of some sushi but really its focus in on non-sushi Japanese food.  The main focus here is udon noodles, which I was excited about because I love a good hearty bowl of udon noodles. 


The decor is basically one giant communal table with a few booths along the edge of the wall.  We ordered a veggie gyoza to start ($6) and Dan got the special seafood curry udon ($14) and I got the pork belly and scallion udon ($9.50) with a side of mushroom topping ($2).  The gyoza came out and at first glance it didn't look like gyoza at all because it had this thin layer of a crepe-like batter on top of it. I guess it means that they make them fresh? I don't know the point of presenting it that way, but the gyoza's were good with a nice thin layer of skin and it was served with not only a light soy dipping sauce but this nice thick sesame oil sauce too.  Next came our noodles in these lovely large white bowls.  My mushroom topping actually wasn't put into the soup but in a small separate dish.  It was basically a small handful of enoki mushrooms which are my favorite but it was definitely not worth $2 as it was probably 2 mouthfuls of mushroom.  The broth of mine was nice and light and not too salty.  There were probably 3 pieces of pork belly and they were a bit on the small side.  The actual noodles were nice and thick and dough-y but I could have used some more noodles because I was done in about 10 minutes.  I prefer my noodle soup dishes to come with a bit more stuff in it than just the noodles and 1 topping.  Where was the egg or some veggies? I guess those are all separate charges, which is a bit ridiculous.  Dan's noodle came with much more stuff in it.  There were about 3-4 shrimp and 3-4 smallish mussels.  But the broth was insanely spicy.  I could barely finish one spoonful, but it was definitely packed full of curry flavor.  

The service was totally fine and they were very nice and attentive.  The total bill was $50 without tip but including 2 glasses of sake.  I like the concept of this place but feel like I needed a little a bit more for my money to really enjoy it.

Tacombi NYC Visited 2/25/2011 3.75 Forks

Tacombi 267 Elizabeth St., New York, NY 10012

 My initial impression of Tacombi was a bit rough.  Aarti and I walked in around 8:30pm on a Friday and they had the entire back section blocked off for a reserved party.  The manager told us that we could eat and stand or wait for a table.  When we saw a couple get up from a table, we immediately sat down only to have the waitress tell us that she needed it for a group of 21 who wasn't there yet.  I gave her this look and she immediately asked the manager who said it was ok to sit but to let them know when we were done so that they could squeeze it into the 21 top. 


The next part that was kind of weird was that you need to purchase tokens in advance of ordering.  But we didn't know that and tried to order and they asked for our tokens and we were a bit confused.  Apparently you order your tokens at another counter, it's $4 per token and 1 token buys you 1 dish at any of the trucks.  There are 2 trucks in the open space: 1 is a VW bus that has beef, chicken, pork, cactus, corn and other tacos and tamales.  The other truck in the back of the room and had breakfast and fish tacos, chicken soupa and taco ceviche.  I originally thought that 1 dish was 1 taco but it was actually 2 tacos per order.  So I originally got 4 tokens which turned out to be 1 too many tokens.  Luckily Aarti took one from me otherwise I would have ended up having 8 tacos.  I ordered the ground beef taco, chicken mole taco and fish taco (6 tacos total).  Aarti got the corn taco and an avocado tamale.  The tacos are on the small side but the ingredients are fresh and simply put together.  The mole sauce on the chicken was pretty smoky and the ground beef taco was flavored well.  The fish was a white fish and it was topped with a red salsa and avocado.  The fish was a bit over cooked and it was a bit dry but the salsa helped with it.  While I did like the simplicity of the food, it would have been nice if they came with a touch of sour cream and other toppings, although I know it's not how it's actually done in Mexico.  I thought it wasn't enough food at first, but I was definitely full by the time I left.  

It would have been great if we could have mixed and matched the tacos instead of getting 2 per order.  There were a lot of big groups there and I could see how it was a fun place for groups.  Although the groups that were there were definitely not my scene. Lots of tall, models with fur vests and their fabulous type of friends.  The place doesn't have a liquor license although it looks like you can bring your own booze.  While I liked the food I had, it would be great to see them expand their menu with more variety in types of food.   

Ajisen Noodle Restaurant Visited 2/21/2011 3.25 Forks

Ajisen Noodle Restaurant 14 Mott St., (between Chatham Sq & Worth St), New York, NY 10013

 Ramen places in NYC are becoming a dime a dozen.  Most of them are in the East Village but Aarti and I decided to try one out in Chinatown (there is another location in Queens and several hundred around the world).  This place is a slightly off the beaten path in Chinatown and is one of those places that has plastic food in a showcase outside.  To be clear here this place is not run by Japanese people but Chinese instead. Not sure if that really makes a difference in the food or not, but usually I tend to prefer ethnic restaurants run by people of the same ethnicity although I have definitely been to good places run by outsiders.

The menu is has a mish-mosh of ramen, rice bowls, appetizers and sushi.  I typically steer away from sushi at places like this so I stuck with the miso ramen ($9) and an order of gyoza ($5) and Aarti got the veggie curry ramen ($8) and seaweed salad ($5).  The prices are slightly higher than what I would expect from a Chinatown place where bowls of noodles can be as low as $4-7 a bowl.  The decor of the restaurant is slightly nicer than your typical grungy Chinatown place with nice wooden wall paneling and tables similar to a Japanese place, so that was a nice touch.  The food comes out relatively quickly and the service was attentive but not pushy. 

When I typically think of ramen I think of salt, lots of it...either in the college packaged form or the upscale nice place like Rai Rai Ken or Ippudo.  So when I tried this ramen I was shocked that it was actually a bit bland.  It was a bit low on the flavor level and I had to actually add salt to it. I mean what?!  My ramen came with half a hard boiled egg and several pieces of tender pork.  The meat and noodles were plentiful and cooked well, it just needed more flavor in the broth.  The gyzoa and seaweed salad were fine and frankly pretty standard.  Aarti's ramen had corn in it which you typically don't see in ramen and she liked the curry broth although she also said it needed more salt and flavoring.  I never ever thought that I would ever say that I needed more salt in a ramen dish, but maybe that's a good thing? Total bill was $28 for two without tip, which is a bit more than what I think a lunch meal in Chinatown should be but the good thing was that there wasn't a two hour wait like at Ippudo.     

Colicchio & Sons Visited 2/19/2011 3.5 Forks

Colicchio & Sons 85 10th Ave, New York, NY 10011

 I have always been a huge fan of Top Chef but yet never made it to any of Tom Colicchio's restaurants.  So when Colicchio and Sons came up for Restaurant Week I was excited to check it out.  But I forgot that Restaurant Week participants don't do Saturday or even sometimes Sunday meals.  But it turns out Lav and I decided to go for brunch so it really didn't matter if we had a Restaurant Week menu or not because the brunch dishes were generally cheaper and better than the $24 prix fixe deal.

My first reaction was that the decor was the restaurant was beautifully designed. There is the Tap Room in the front, which is where we sat, and then a more formal dinning room in the back for dinner.  The space is a very sleek open concept.  But at the same time it was a really comfortable place to have a meal. 


The menu had a bunch of items that were breakfast-y but with a more upscale twist.  I was deciding between the johnny cakes with duck confit, the goat cheese and squash omelet with truffle vinaigrette, or the BLT with pork belly.  In the end, I decided on the duck confit ($14) because it came with poached eggs and a side of cheddar grits ($6) while Lav got the Ricotta and wild mushroom frittata and a side of potatoes.  I wasn't really sure what a johnny cake was but when it came out it looked like a flat cornbread.  The dish came with 3 large pieces of johhny cake, smothered with duck confit, and 2 poached eggs.  As many of you know, I am a nazi when it comes to having my eggs poached correctly.  While most places overcook their eggs, the eggs here were too watery.  It felt like they were almost not fully cooked yet.  Tom Colicchio would not be happy with how they turned out.  The johnny cakes were a bit dry and 3 was too many, I could barely finish 2.  The duck confit was good but there wasn't enough of it on the plate but that makes sense.  The cheddar grits were fine but in all honesty the ones I get in Jimmy's Diner are better and half the price.  What has kept me from giving this place fewer Forks was that I tasted Lav's frittata and it was really good.  The mushrooms were delicious and there was tons of ricotta spread on top of it with a nice helping of arugula on it.  The frittata was actually pretty big and it can almost be too much egg for 1 person.  Lav's potatoes were also salted just right with a nice topping of caramelized onions.  So this made me realize that the other dishes could probably be really good too.  The service was very attentive but not overbearing.  Total bill was $40 without tip.    

Kanoyama Visited 2/16/2011 3.75 Forks

Kanoyama 175 2nd Ave., (between 11th St & 12th St), New York, NY 10003

 Interestingly enough, I was craving sushi when I got back from California.  You'd think there would be lots of good sushi there, but Vivi was telling me that she and Erik hadn't found a place they like as much as those in NYC.  So a good sushi meal was definitely number one on my list of places to go when I got back, plus it was Dan and mine's postponed Valentine's Day dinner. 

There are tons and tons of sushi places that I haven't been to in NYC, especially the higher tier, pricier places. I was thinking we could try Sushi Yasuda or Sushi Abuzu or 15 East, but for some reason I just can't pull the trigger on places where you could easily drop $100 a person on a few (but I'm sure supremely fresh) pieces of sushi.  So after researching forever, Kanoyama came up as a good compromise.  It's not a dingy low budget place but it was didn't seem like it would break the bank either.  I think I've actually been there before years ago but have no recollection of my meal there. 

Even though this place is in the city, it's fairly quick for us to get there from Williamsburg.  We arrived at 8pm on a Wednesday and it was surprisingly packed but we were able to get a table all the way in the back.  The menu has a nice selection of specials in the front and I had heard the omakase is one of the best deals in town. But Dan and I wanted to share a bunch of stuff so we ended up getting the East Coast Oyster Sampler ($15), the sashimi deluxe ($28), a spicy scallop roll ($11), a lobster tempura roll ($14) and a rainbow roll ($15).  The waitress was extremely soft spoken and had a major accent so it's a miracle that we were able to communicate well and that we understood her when she asked questions.  

They had 2 oyster samplers on the menu: the East Coast or West Coast and they each came with 6 oysters (3 of 2 different kinds).  If I wanted to ball it up, I would have ordered both coasts to try and see the difference.  But we stuck with East Coast and they were fairly good.  The oysters  came with ginger, scallions and a light soy-like sauce.  The first kind I tried was a bit too fishy but the other two were good but not plump enough for me.  Sorry that I can't remember the exact kinds they were.  The sashimi deluxe came with 3 pieces of salmon, 3 pieces tuna, 3 pieces yellowtail, 3 pieces red snapper, 3 pieces white fish and 3 pieces octopus.  They were all very fresh tasting and the pieces were cut to the right size (although I'd always appreciate bigger pieces I know that's just not the sushi way).  Of the 3 rolls we got, the rainbow and spicy scallop were good and the lobster tempura was a bit of a disappointment.  The spicy scallop came with fresh large chunks of scallop  but it wasn't very spicy which was a bit of a bummer.  The rainbow roll was done right with no complaints here.  Unfortunately the lobster tempura seemed a bit soggy and Dan got a piece where is was basically all shell and he was kind of freaked out by it.  I generally don't like any kind of tempura roll but I was open to trying something new, especially if it had lobster in it! Next time I should stick with my gut.  The overall atmosphere was nice and intimate but without feeling too snooty.  Our total bill was $100 without tip (includes a bottle of sake).  So it was a pretty hefty bill for just a night out, but for good sushi, it's hard to not spend crazy money.  Maybe for our anniversary I will finally suck it up and go to Sushi Yasuda or Sushi of Gari and treat myself, but meanwhile Kanoyama will do just fine for those mildly special occasions. 

In-N-Out Burger Visited 2/15/2011 3.75 Forks

In-N-Out Burger Glendale Galleria, 119 S Brand Blvd., Glendale, CA 91209

When I told people that I was going to California, one of the first things that people told me was "OMG, you have to go to In-N-Out!".  I actually have been trying to go for the past few years every time I've been in California, but somehow I never end up going.  So this time, I made it a point to get my fat ass over to an In-N-Out burger even if I have to go on the way to the airport. 


Vivi and I ended up going to one that was supposedly in the Galleria Mall.  We saw all these signs for it in the mall directory but yet somehow we ended up in the mall parking lot with no In-N-Out to be seen. Finally we find it...inside the bottom level of the parking garage (but there is an actual street entrance that we completely missed).  When I looked at the menu there wasn't much on the menu.  It's basically a single burger or double burger and fries.  I was told to get the double burger but after looking at it, I just really couldn't go there. So I went with the single patty cheeseburger ($2.15) and fries.  I was also told to go Animal style but I didn't see it on the menu and only now do I know that it's on the "secret menu".  Now I know and knowing is half the battle...next time.  Unfortunately, I had just had the breakfast sandwich from Village Bakery about 2 hours before and I wasn't really hungry at all.  So I ended up taking my food to go and had plans to eat it at the airport.  I knew that the food would probably taste better warm but I just wasn't hungry.  I wasn't going to miss out on it again so I just decided to wait to eat it until I was on the plane.


I did end up eating the fries on the car ride home and honestly it wasn't that amazing.  Even though it was definitely salty, there was something amiss about it.  I prefer McDonald's fries to these.  So far I was a bit underwhelmed.  By the time I got to the airport my burger was definitely cold, which was kind of a bummer.  It was funny that while I was waiting in line to board I could see people staring at my In-N-Out bag and boring holes through it.  About 20 minutes into the flight I finally gave in.  I will say that the burger was really good...it reminded me a bit of a Shake Shack burger.  The patty was soft and the meat had flavor and wasn't flimsy.  What made it taste good was the spread and fresh toppings.  It was definitely way better than McDonald's and Burger King and any other fast food place I've been to.  But my mind wasn't blown away at the same time either.  If there was an In-N-Out in NYC, it would definitely be my go to fast food place, but I don't know if I am necessarily craving it like everyone said I would.  Another thing that was annoying about it was that they didn't take AXP...what kind of large establishment like this doesn't take AXP?!

Village Bakery and Cafe Visited 2/15/2011 4 Forks

Village Bakery and Cafe 3119 Los Feliz Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90039

 Another cute find not too far from Vivi's place in LA.  It's on a pretty busy street, so it might be easy to drive by it, but it's definitely worth a stop.  When you walk in, you are faced with an entire case of fresh pastries, breads, and other things that I should probably stay away from.  Vivi got a croissant, which she said was one of her favorite items there.  I was tempted to get a muffin because they were pretty fluffy and soft looking, but it probably had about 500 calories/50 grams of carbs in it.  They also had a good variety of gluten-free products, which I don't really get but I guess this is California right?


They also have a nice selection of sandwiches, breakfast scrambles and heartier food than just muffins and scones.  I had to get the breakfast sandwich with avocado ($6.50) because I could never get a breakfast sandwich with avocado in February in NYC.  The sandwich comes out on a very soft baguette (which kind of seems like an oxymoron since baguettes are usually hard and crusty) with a perfectly fried egg, cheddar cheese and delicious slices of avocado.  It was a great filling breakfast sandwich with a slight twist to it. 

There were lots of people who were in there on their laptops and just hanging out.  I would totally prefer to hang out here than to hang out in a Starbucks or plain Jane coffeeshop.  Plus I would also just come here for a regular meal rather than just a quick muffin and coffee stop.