Porchetta Visited 3/30/2011 3 Forks

Porchetta 110 E 7th St., (between 1st Ave & Avenue A), New York, NY 10009

Since Porchetta is more of a take-out place, I have been hesitant to try it out because I'm never really been in a position to do take out  in Manhattan when I live in Brooklyn.  But now that the only thing in my fridge is literally a carton of soy milk and since BlackBoard Eats sent a 30% discount, I felt like this was the right time to give it a try.  The place fairly tiny with only about 5-6 stools, so definitely don't come here expecting to have a nice night out.   


The menu is fairly simple with really just the pork sandwich ($10) and pork plate ($14) as the main entrees and then a few side options.  I opted to the the sandwich, the pork plate (comes with a side of cooked greens and beans) and a side of brunt ends ($5) to go.  It was only after I paid that I noticed the specials which consisted of a lentil soup and asparagus both of which I would have totally tried. 

The smell of the pig nearly drove me insane on the subway ride home and even though Dan wasn't home yet, I couldn't wait to rip open the bag.  At first glance, I thought that I didn't get enough food.  But now as I sit here typing this, my heart is about to explode and I totally could have just split the plate and not gotten the sandwich.  While the smell of the food was great, the taste is a bit on the fence.  The pork for the pork plate was extremely salty/overly herb-y and parts of it were a bit overcooked.  The actual meat part was pretty tender but there was also lots of extremely crispy skin that it was so hard that I felt like my teeth were going to break off.  I had a similar feeling about the brunt ends, the parts of the potato that weren't cooked beyond recognition were flavorful and tasty but the overcooked parts were just basically black and hard.  The greens were also just ok.  They are essentially collard greens sauteed in lots of olive oil and garlic.  There's something about the way they looked that bothered me but taste wise they were fine.  Actually the best side was the beans.  I wish they had actually filled up my container because there was definitely room for more beans in there.  So by the time I got to the sandwich, I thought my heart was going to stop beating from all the fat and salt I had eaten.  The sandwich also looked a bit small at first, but if you combine it with some sides I think you'll be fine. The cibatta bread is pretty soft and it basically just has the chopped up pork inside.  It could have actually stood to use some sauce or something wet but overall I liked it better than the plate. 

My total bill was $22 which was totally acceptable but that was with the 30% discount.  I could see how if you didn't have the discount, it's probably a bit steep for just getting pork take-out. I would try owner Sarah Jenkin's other restaurant Porsena instead of this place if you're looking for a nice sit-down dinner with less salty food.  Now if you'll excuse me, I have to go drink a gallon of water now.        

Roberta's Visited 3/27/2011 4 Forks

Roberta's 261 Moore St., (between White St & Bogart St) Brooklyn, NY 11206

 Roberta's has been getting tons of buzz lately as a hipster haven.  To be honest, I didn't get that vibe at all when I went but maybe it's because I went for brunch.  The clientele was no more hipster than your typical Brooklyn restaurant.  Maybe it's a bit different during dinner?  The location of this restaurant is literally in the middle of nowhere.  Now I've been to Bushwick before but this is in a totally industrial area with almost nothing around it. It's really easy to completely drive/walk past it.  But once you walk in you're totally surprised by it.  It's a huge room with a bunch of communal tables and despite it's size it gave off this really warm feeling to it. 


The brunch menu has a few brunch-y items and then a few pizza selections.  Usually I like my brunch meal to include egg so I was really leaning towards the soft scrambled egg with hen of the woods mushroom, but this place is known of its pizza, so I felt like I really had to give a pizza a try.  So I got the bee sting pizza ($13) which came with tomato, mozzarella, sopressata, fresh basil and then topped with honey.  Dan got the pork belly ($13) which came on a bed of polenta, poached egg and pecorino.  We both got a coffee (mine was iced and Dan's was hot) and usually coffee is nothing to write about but here they don't give you sugar but a bottle of sugar water instead.  I don't know if it really made my coffee taste much differently but mentally it made me not love my coffee as much.


The pizza came out first and it was steaming HOT.  And of course I was so anxious to eat that I just grabbed a slice and the oil on the pizza dripped on my hand and it was incredibly painful.  My bad.  Now I usually don't love thin crust pizza, but this one I must say was pretty damn good.  You could just tell from looking at it that all the ingredients were super fresh and I think they do grow a lot of the herbs and stuff in their backyard.  There was lots of oozy fresh mozzarella and chopped tomato on it.  The sopressata on top of it is was thinly sliced and looked like pepperoni but with a definite spicy kick.  The honey was a nice touch and not very overpowering.  What was really great about the pizza was the dough/crust.  It was thin but still had a dough-y consistency.  I had the entire pizza, crust and all, which almost never happens unless I am drunk. As for Dan's dish,  I had one bite and I got a nice piece of pure fat and I thought the polenta had a nice creamy consistency.  I didn't get to taste the egg but it was poached perfectly and gave the polenta a very yolk-y topping.  Dan thought the dish was missing something but couldn't pin point what it was but judging by the fact that he ate the entire dish, I'm not so sure he didn't like it as much as he lead on.


I had looked at our table mates' food and they had the fried egg and duck hash dish and the pancake and they both looked tasty.  The eggs were fried with a nice running yolk and the pancake looked huge and fluffy, so it looks like even if you don't get the pizza there, you can still have a great meal there.  I would totally go back there for dinner and I heard that in the summer they open the outdoor patio, so look out for me there in a few months. Total bill $39 without tip.

Cuba Visited 3/26/2011 4 Forks

Cuba 222 Thompson St., (between 3rd St & Bleecker St), New York, NY 10012

 I've never been to Cuba (although if they ever lift the travel embargo it will most definitely be on my top ten travel destinations) but if this restaurant is any indication of how the food is there, I would totally love it there.  A bunch of girlfriends and I went there on a crowded Saturday night for a bachelorette party for my good friend Neera.  We were seated downstairs which was nice because the house band is upstairs and while it makes for a nice lively addition for the restaurant, it can be deafening loud.  But unfortunately, after being downstairs for a bit you start to realize it's still also ridiculously loud as well.  I only heard about every 4th word of the girls who were seated about an inch away from me. 

But on to the food...the menu has a great selection of upscale appetizers, seafood, meat, chicken, and paella.  Our table ordered a bunch of appetizer to start and I got the paella valenciana ($22) as an entree.  I saw the paella at another table and thought it was small enough portion for 1 person but given that I had been eating cupcakes and cheese all day, I would have been better suited to have shared it with someone else.  We started with the ceviche mixtoa ($11), croquetas ($8), montadito de chorizo ($8) and a variety of other appetizers that I didn't get to try.  The ceviche was delicious.  The fish and scallops were incredibly fresh and it had the perfect amount of cilantro and lime juice and red onion.  It was definitely one of the better ceviche dishes I've had in the city.  The croquetas were filled with ham and came with a tomato salsa.  They were fried just right and the filling was creamy and flavorful.  But I actually could have done without the tomato salsa.  It didn't really add any real value to the already delicious croqueta.  The chorizo dish was almost like a bruschetta type of dish.  It had bits of chopped up chorizo and chimichurri sauce on a small piece of soft bread.  It was good and the bread was super soft, but it didn't blow my mind.  What did blow my mind was their moojitos.  I loved that it came with actual raw sugar cane in the glass and it was the perfect mix of sugar, mint and rum.  The two best places I've ever had mojitos were in Mexico and Miami and now I can say at Cuba NYC.  Equally as delicious was my seafood paella.  Don't let the size of the dish fool you.  It looks like it's a perfect size for one person but if you get any appetizers before hand, you realize after that first bite that you will not be able to finish your dish.  There was a good number of clams, mussels and calamari and the rice was perfectly seasoned with saffron.  I was a huge fan of this dish and ended up taking half of it home with the intention of eating it for lunch the next day.  Instead, I ended up finishing it at 2AM that night because I had such a craving to finish the rest of it (ok and because I was drunk too). 

The only kind of bummer food wise was the dessert.  But to be honest, similar to Asian food, I don't think that Latin/South American food is really well known of great sweets.  We ordered the flan (I mean, you can't not order flan in a place like this), warm chocolate cake and tres leche de coco (each $7).  I actually liked the tres leche dish the best.  It was a nice light sponge cake with fruit topped on it.  It felt pretty refreshing after eating a pound of rice and seafood.    It wasn't very impressed with either the chocolate cake or flan, they were just ok. But to be honest, I was so full at that point that I probably had almost no capacity to really truly appreciate any kind of food. Overall, we had a great time and it was a super festive environment.  I totally recommend it for a fun night out.  But if you want to go to a place where you can have an actual conversation and to be able to hear your dinner companion, this probably isn't the place for you.

The Palm Tribeca Visited 3/21/2011 3 Forks

The Palm Tribeca 206 West St., New York, NY 10013

I've actually been to The Palm many times before and I'm only now getting around to writing a review about it because I just remembered to.  The only reason I've even been to The Palm at all is because it's within walking distance to my office so I've been here a few times for business lunches and once for a holiday dinner.

The inside is actually really fun because the walls are covered with paintings of celebrities, politicians, and of course since this is downtown, bankers and other high level executives.  The first time I had lunch here I sat next to Anderson Cooper and Andy Cohen.  I almost died.  I wanted to pull up a chair and start talking about the Real Housewives of Atlanta with them.  Unfortunately, each time I've been back I haven't seen any famous people.  I remember the food the first time I went to be pretty good. I got the kobe beef burger and it was juicy and delicious.  The 2nd time I went was for my group's holiday dinner.  Knowing the budget constraints we were under, I was surprised that The Palm would actually be able to accommodate us for dinner, but after tasting the food, I realized they just compensated by serving us lesser quality food.  The steaks were terrible and I think someone actually had said the dessert tasted like gasoline. Ouch.  So why, you ask, have I gone back since then? Because I work by the World Financial Center, where there are only 2 restaurants in the building: PJ Clarke's and Southwest, neither of which are amazing and both of which are expensive.

I will say most of the lunches I've had here have been pretty decent and for the same money as PJ Clarke's and Southwest, it's much less chaotic and dare I say better food (but not by too much but at least it's something different).  They have this business lunch special which is actually a great deal.  For $24, you can get their a soup or salad (lobster bisque is extra), a main entree (they have a steak, salmon, pasta or fish of the day), a side of half/half (which is basically a plate of fried onion rings and some other fried thing that I can't remember now) or veggie of the day, and either key lime pie or chocolate cake.  Each time I've gotten the business lunch, I get the same thing: salad, salmon, veggie of the day and key lime pie.  Or for the same amount of money, you can get a burger and fries and a soda a PJ Clarke's.  Unfortunately, the last time I had the lunch at The Palm my salmon was a bit overcooked (the waiter never asked me how I wanted it) and it was covered in this tomato sauce that clearly had tons of butter in it.  So it kind of ruined the "healthy" aspect of having fish.  The veggies of the day are usually just some kind of greens sauteed in olive oil and doesn't taste like anything I couldn't make at home.  The key lime pie was actually pretty tasty but so unnecessary because by that point you're so full that you just want to take a nap under your desk.

All in all, it's not an awesome place but it's definitely a better alternative to the two kind of boring places in the Tower.  It'll be interesting to see how business will do once Shake Shack and Blue Smoke open up by work.

Saigon Shack Visited 3/24/2011 3.5 Forks

Saigon Shack 114 MacDougal St., New York, NY 10012

 I generally stay away from pho places that aren't hole in the walls or in Chinatown, but for some reason I felt like this place could change my tune.  I mean, it's kind of nice to not to have to always trek to Chinatown for decent Vietnamese good, right?  This place didn't quite make me feel like I should abandon the trek just yet but it will do just fine if I happen to be in the area.  And to be honest, I should have known that trying a place this close to NYU would be hit or miss.


First, the general decor and ambiance of the place is much cleaner than your usual Vietnamese place.  It's got out about 5-6 small tables, 1 communal table and you can also eat at the bar.  What I liked about the menu is that they had a simple 1-page menu of bahn mi and pho and then a few other appetizers.  Sometimes it can be super overwhelming when you go to an Asian restaurant that has pages and pages of food.  Virginia and I both thought about getting a pho and sandwich but after seeing other people get the sandwich, I decided it was better to split a sandwich.  We got the classic bahn mi ($5) and spring rolls ($6) to split and each got the classic beef pho ($8) while Aarti got the papaya salad ($6) and cold sesame noodles ($6).  Now Aarti also loves a good veggie bahn mi but apparently she had come here before and had a horrible veggie sandwich experience, so that kind of put me on edge for our food.  The spring rolls came out piping hot and they were good but frankly it's pretty hard to get fried spring rolls wrong.  I didn't try Aartis' papaya salad and cold noodles but she said that they were much better than her first sandwich experience.  The noodles were the slippery glass noodles kind and came with shredded carrot and cucumber and looked pretty refreshing.  The pho came out and I liked the fact that the beef came out totally raw because that's the way I like my meat in a pho.  I was a bit disappointed that there wasn't enough noodle but in hindsight it was probably the right amount of noodle, I was just super hungry.  The broth was pretty decent, but probably could have used a bit more cinnamon/cilantro flavor.  It was a bit too clear but it wasn't overly greasy which some phos in Chinatown can be.  VA and I both put in a healthy amount of hoisin sauce, so that kind of made me think the broth was lacking something, but then again I always put hoisin sauce in my pho no matter where, so who knows what the hell it really means!  Another way I judge if the pho is good or not is if my clothes and hair smell like pho when I come home (I know, it's actually kind of gross when you sit and think about it).  But if it does, it means the flavors and smells of the broth was so strong that it just permeates you.  So it didn't surprise me that I only had a small hint of eau de pho when I came home given the clearness of the broth.  I did enjoy that there was a lot of beef in my pho.  Generally, a lot of places will go overboard on the noodles but then scrimp on the beef.  The scales were tipped in the other direction here, which you can't really complain about.  

What you can complain about is the bahn mi.  While I've definitely had worse, it wasn't all that impressive here.  The bread was nice and soft but there just didn't seem to be a whole lot of meat in there.  There was 1-2 thinly sliced pieces of ham but then a whole lot of carrot and daikon.  I'm not even sure I tasted any pate which is a major bummer. VA also wasn't hugely impressed either so it was a good thing we just split one.   

 The one small service issue that bothered me was that they kept coming around trying to take our plates even though we weren't necessarily finished.  It's not like there was a line out people waiting for our table.  But they were generally really nice there and when they put an extra Fiji water charge on our bill, they were really apologetic about removing it from our bill.  Note that this place is cash only, which is also another one of my huge pet peeves.  But given that the total bill for 3 people was $41 (without tip), I can't really complain too much about that. 

Bar Stuzzichini Visted3/22/2011 2.75 Forks

Bar Stuzzichini  928 Broadway, (between 21st St & 22nd St), New York, NY 10010

 So I didn't really have plans to end up at Bar Stuzzichini on a random Tuesday night but I happened to be visiting my friend Lav and it was right around her apartment.  I had heard about this place but had never really had a huge desire to try it out since I generally never really love going out for Italian (although some of the places I've been to lately have been changing my mind). 


We were both pretty exhausted and weren't looking for a huge meal, so I got the Orecchiette pasta ($17) and Lav got the fried artichokes ($8) and the eggplant croquettes ($8).  Our waiter kind of gave us this look of "Are you seriously not ordering more food?" and he kind of also gave us a similar look when we wanted to split a small carafe of wine ($13).  So I was kind of annoyed by that, mostly because the restaurant was kind of empty so he shouldn't have been so irritated considering he was still getting business from us on a slow day.  The food actually came out shockingly fast.  Probably less than 10 minutes after we ordered. 

The two appetizers that Lav got were tiny.  Now I know they are just appetizers, but there were only 2 small croquettes and there couldn't have been more than 5 tiny artichokes.  But despite that, both of these dishes were quite tasty and have a lot of flavor to them.  Meanwhile, my pasta dish was actually a pretty decent size  considering how small the appetizers were.  I was excited to get the orecchiette because I had it at Porsena and it was pretty good there.  This pasta dish could not compare to that one at all.  The pasta kind of tasted dry and it could have come from a box.  It didn't taste home made or fresh.  Even though I know this type of pasta doesn't come with sauce, there was definitely something missing from this dish.  I will say that the cauliflower was actually really good in this dish and I almost would have preferred to just have a bowl full of it instead. After our meal, our waiter kept telling us how amazing their dessert special was.  It was a cheesecake made with ricotta cheese and he said everyone was ordering it.  At first we were leaning towards the tiramisu but opted for this instead.  That was a mistake.  While it was good, it really tasted like a sweet egg omelet and not a creamy cheesecake.  So that move definitely put our waiter in the doghouse.  Something about him just made me feel like he was looking down at us because we didn't get a ton of food.  But lo and behold, for at little amount of food our total till was $78!  How the hell did that happen (well, the 2 carafes of white wine is what happened)  Next time, we are going to Shack Shake across the street.   

Flex Mussels Visited 3/21/2011 2.5 Forks

Flex Mussels 154 W 13th St., (between Avenue Of The Americas & 7th Ave), Manhattan, NY 10011

I have always loved mussels so when a restaurant says that they focus just on mussels I got excited.  Outside they advertise that between 5-7pm they offer all-you-can eat mussels if you sit at the bar, which is definitely something to think about.  My initial impression of the decor was that it was much more upscale and nicer than the seafood shack that I had envisioned with a name like Flex Mussels.  

The menu basically consists of 20 types of mussels in different kinds of broth which range from the classic white wine broth to the fancier ones lobster and shrimp broth.  They also offer other seafood dishes such as a lobster roll, grilled fish, fish and chips and an array of appetizers.  We started with the burnt fingers which was a fried appetizer that consists of shrimp (only 2 of them), calamari, and oysters (only 2 also).  The batter was actually pretty light and it wasn't overly greasy tasting which was nice.  I ordered the thai mussels ($18.50) which came with a curry, coconut, and lemongrass broth while Dan got the Mexican which came with chorizo sausage ($19.50).  We also got a side of old bay fries because you can't have mussels without fries! Meanwhile Dan's aunt got the crabcakes and his uncle got the fish and chips.  At first when the mussels came out I was impressed with the presentation.  It comes out in these large steel pots and it gets you all excited about your meal.  But then you look in and the mussels are actually pretty small and most of them were empty.  The type of mussels that I love are the giant plump New Zealand mussels you usually find in Thai restaurants.  These were pretty small and not plump at all.  But I will say that the broth was actually quite tasty and could have stood alone as a soup.  I didn't really try Dan's dish and took a bite of the crabcake and wasn't too impressed.  It has a very distinct celery seed taste and you could see chunks of carrot (WTF?!) in in.  As a total Maryland crabcake snob, I expect 100% crab and 0% filler.  And speaking of Maryland, the old bay seasoned fries were just mediocre.  The fries weren't anything to really write home about (although my experience might have been tainted considering I just came from PJ Clarke's where they have amazing fries) and the old bay didn't really add anything to them either. 

What really made dinner less than thrilling was the service.  There was only 1 waiter for the entire back section of the restaurant, which is pretty absurd.  So as you can imagine the service was slooooooooooow.  It took forever to get his attention to pay the bill and it just made for a very unnecessarily long dinner.  I would consider going here for the all you can eat deal but other than that, my overall impression was a solid meh.