Babu Ji Visited 8/16/2015 3 Forks

Babu Ji  175 Ave B., New York, NY 10009

This is one of those reviews where the rating for the food and the rating for the service are so wide ranging that I had to net out the overall score to something in the middle.  This place has gotten rave reviews from Grub Street  and The Infatuation, two of my all-time favorite food blogs, so I had high hopes for this place.  The good news is that the food is quite good and the decor a notch up and a nice departure from all those crazy places on 6th street.  But for some reason, I was just really turned off by the service of the place. 

First, Aarti and I walked in at 12:15 and there was literally nobody in the entire place.  The hostess asked if we had a reservation and when we said no, she looked around before she seated us.  I mean, seriously?!   I'm fine that she asked if we had one since they take reservations for lunch but to look around as if she had to even think about where to seat us was just crazy pants.   We sat down and the menu looks like a mix of traditional Indian with their own twist on the description.   Aarti and I are fairly well versed in Indian food and as we were reading through it we decided that a lot of what they were trying to do was described the dishes in a deconstructed version of what the dish actually was or kind of dumb it down to non-Indian people.   For example, we started with the papadi chaat ($12) which they described on the menu as "the motherland's version of nachos and salsa".  I get what they are trying to do, but I'd rather they described it as a savory roadside snack popular in India and SE Asia vs. trying to compare it to something it's not really.   I've always been a huge fan of chaat because of its sweet, savory, tangy and crunchy flavors.  Plus who doesn't love yogurt chutney?  This version was pretty tasty version  with chickpea, cucumber, pomegranate, tamarind, and mint and yogurt chutney.   For my main meal, I wasn't sure if I wanted a full blown heavy Indian meal experience but I couldn't resist a good butter chicken dish (even though it was 100 degrees outside), so I got their butter chicken over rice ($15) and Aarti got a naan like sandwich that I can't quite remember right now.  What I love about Indian food are all the spices - it makes you realize how bland other types of food can be.  The butter chicken was a solid and large bowl of basmati rice with chunks of tender chicken in a tomato curry based sauce.  I really enjoyed it but it was so much food and quite heavy for a hot summer day, so I asked if I could take the rest home with me.  The waiter looked me and and said "We don't have any take out containers here".  Umm - what?  I literally had only taken 2-3 bites and I was so full, so I would essentially be leaving more than 3/4 meal on the table.  Even the nicest restaurants in NYC, have some form of take out if you can't finish your meal. Plus this is the East Village, couldn't they just walk across the street and buy a bunch of plastic ones? So I asked him what I should so with all my leftovers and he just shrugged and walked away.  10 minutes later he comes back and asks if I want dessert.   Why would I possibly want dessert when I had an entire meal sitting in front of me still?  So I proceeded to sit around and finish as much of my dish as possible - luckily it was good but I would have enjoyed it a lot more if I wasn't so full.  As for Aarti's dish, we weren't quite sure what it was when we ordered it, but once she got it, she realized it was something she used to have as a kid and was called something totally different.  It was kind of like a pressed naan sandwich.

Overall, I wish I didn't have such a disjointed experience here.  The food was quite solid and the decor had a hip funky East Village feel to it that I liked.  But being so un- accommodating to their customers and on top of it being CASH ONLY made me really irritated during my meal.   If you do go, just be prepared to eat everything off your plate.  Total bill:  $25 pp with tax and tip

Photo Credit:  Yelp

Chiang Mai Visited 8/15/2015 4.5 Forks

Chiang Mai 293 Van Brunt St., Red Hook, NY 11231

Van, Anuja, and  I had talked about having a weekend fun day in and around the Red Hook area and when it came time to make a list of places to go there were actually a lot of choices.   There was the Red Hook Lobster Pound, Brooklyn Crab, Hometown BBQ and Chiang Mai.  However, the one place on the list that none of us had been to was Chiang Mai.  Location-wise, this place is a pain the butt to get to, as it the majority of Red Hook if you don't have a car.  Originally we were going to walk from the closest subway stop (Smith and 9th) but it was 1,000 degrees that day, so we ended up taking various shuttle/uber combinations to get there. 

Chiang Mai is a pop-up located inside a random artisanal housewares store.  It's a bit confusing because the houseware store also makes food and there was a sign that said that if you were looking for brunch, it was around the corner.  But we were actually there for the Thai restaurant, not the usual brunch so we had to double check that we shouldn't have gone around the corner.  In any case, if you're looking for Chiang Mai,  don't go around the corner.   

My first impression of this place was that I knew it would be a different Thai experience.  The owners were super friendly and walked us through their menu which is strictly Northern Thai style food - so no pad thai would be found on this menu.  Northern Thai food is making a real name for itself these days with Pok Pok and other places in the city.  It's known for its spicy and bold flavors. There were 4 of us, so we decided to try a bunch of different dishes.  We got the Tum Mamuang ($8), Krabong ($10), Khao Soi ($12), Sai Ua ($15), Khoong Yang ($11), and Pla Muk Yang ($9).  As you can see everything was very reasonably priced and very authentic.  We started with the Tum Mamuang, which is green mango pounded with palm sugar, garlic, chili, pickled fish, and served on a betel leaf.   It was made with incredibly fresh ingredients (our waitress told us they frequently get them direct from Thailand) and the mango had quite a spicy kick to it - luckily the betel leaf had a bit of a cooling element to it.  The way the dish was made and presented really brought me back to eating in Thailand.  You could just tell that everything was made from scratch and with a lot of care in the back room.  Next we tried the Krabong which is fried papaya, taro, and banana bloom fritters served with a chili vinaigrette and sweet chili peanut sauce.  These were basically Thai style fritters but what I loved about this dish wasn't the actual fritters but the dipping sauces.  They were sweet, sour, tangy and amazing.  I had the waitress keep them around even after we polished off all the fritters as I poured it on to all my other dishes.  Next we had the Khoong Yang which were 2 giant grilled prawns with the head on.  Presentation-wise, it was super impressive.  The prawns were huge and the tail meat was tender and delicious with a slight taste of the grilled charcoal.  Next we moved on to the Pla Muck Yang, which was grilled squid with the same dipping sauces.  I personally love grilled squid more than fried squid and this dish reminded me why.  It was prepared very simply with some salt, pepper and grilled with some lemon - super clean and it had a nice crunch and give to the meat.    Lastly we moved on to the entrees.  The Sai Ua is herbal pork sausage and white pork sausage served with sticky rice and steamed okra, squash, lettuce and cucumber.  The dish reminded me of the Vietnamese style pork because it's chilled and sliced vs. served warm and in a link form like a German sausage.  I liked that it wasn't a very heavy dish despite being a sausage dish and the steamed okra, which looked a bit bland and boring, was a nice way to cleanse the palate a bit and cool your mouth down from the heat of some of the other spices.   It was a nice dish but compared to all the other ones that had an in your face flavor profile, this one didn't seem to have it.  Lastly, we tried their famous Khao Soi, which is a curry soup served with egg noodles, dark chicken meat, mustard greens, coconut cream, soy sauce, chili oil and topped with thin crispy egg noodles on top.  It was a fantastic curry with the right amount of heat to it but I love that the coconut flavor really came out too.  As an Asian, I love a good piece of dark meat from the chicken and this was no exception.  It was a bit weird to eat such a hot and spicy dish on a boiling hot and humid day but you can't really come here and not try it.

I walked out of the restaurant hot and sweaty but really felt like I was transported back to Thailand and eating food made from real Thai people right off the streets.  It's a true departure from all the regular Thai places in the city.  The staff was super nice and you could see that they really took pride in their food.  While half of the charm of this place is that it's located off the beaten path, it really is a pain the butt to get to, otherwise I could see myself going here more often.  Total bill:  $25/pp with tax and tip

Photo Credit:  Yelp

Gato Visited 8/14/2015 4.5 Forks

Gato  324 Lafayette St, New York, NY 10012

I gotta say that this place really surprised me a lot.  I mean, I kind of went off on Bobby Flay in my Bar Americain review, so I wasn't really expecting too much from Gato but I was really very happy with my meal and caught off guard by how much I enjoyed my everything from the food to the service there. 

The vibe here is downtown chill and the menu is Mediterranean small plates.  I had read in some previous reviews that the portions were pretty small so Lav and I made sure to over order a bit to compensate for it.  On the top portion of the menu is a selection of small bites to choose from - they were 3 for $17, so we got the burrata, eleven layer potato and mussel and clam salad for me.  We also got the Gato spreads ($16) where you get 3 different spreads plus pita bread, the artichoke polenta ($12), scrambled eggs ($14) and I got the roasted octopus ($18) for myself.  We originally also got the carrots but when waitress said that the cauliflower was really good too, so we switched from the carrots to the cauliflower ($12).  In hindsight, we definitely ordered more food that was necessary and due to a mix up with our order, we also got more than we were expecting (I'll explain more later). 

We started with the 3 different spreads first - it came with Greek yogurt with charred green chile pesto, chickpea with lemon and paprika, and whitebean with feta and garlic-walnut relish.  They were all pretty solid spreads with the Greek yogurt and whitebean one being my two favorite ones.  The chickpea was good but it was kind of like your standard hummus spread, so I could have really done without it.  While it was nice to get a taste of all of the spreads, it would have been better if they offered up individual orders as I didn't think it was really necessary to force all 3 on people.  Next came the octopus - which was highly recommend by the waitress.  It was one nice long and thick tentacle that was very well cooked and served with sour orange and bacon.  It sounds kind of weird to pair octopus and bacon but it actually really worked out and the bacon wasn't distracting or overpowering.  It was a tasty combination of sweet and salty with a seafood twist.  Next they brought out the 3 bar snacks - they were served on these small olive plates but they did a pretty good job of putting enough on there to make it worth at least 3-4 bites.  The burrata was smooth and creamy and I really loved the touch of harissa with it.  The eleven layer potato had a fantastic burnt crispy top to it and served with caramelized shallots and fried sage.  It was like eating layer upon layer of a really good breakfast potato dish.  Lastly the mussel and clam salad had a sour pickled tang to it with - almost like a ceviche dish but it had saffron and pickled shallots.  I loved the bites of mussel but I didn't really get a whole lot of clam to it.  I'm glad it was a small size since I was the only one eating it and I'm not sure it was something I'd want to really eat a lot of on my own.  Lastly they brought out the polenta, scrambled egg and carrots - wait what?? They forgot to switch it out for the cauliflower but they let us keep the carrots while they brought out the right dish, which was very nice of them but really put us over the edge in terms of food coma.  The polenta was rich, creamy and cheesey from the Manchego - so exactly what a polenta should taste like.  The pairing of it with green peas was a nice touch.   Next, I tried the scramble egg and this was surprisingly one of my favorite dishes of the night.  I mean, who the hell doesn't like soft scrambled eggs served with cheese and a toasted garlic tomato bread??  It was a great way to turn up comfort food a couple notches.  Lastly, I forced myself to try the cauliflower and carrots and they were both very solid dishes - the cauliflower was roasted and the carrots charred and served with mint and yogurt.  I would have enjoyed them more if I wasn't so full already but they were great filling vegetable dishes that even non-veggie lovers would like.  

You'd think after all this, I wouldn't be able to handle dessert, but alas we couldn't say no to the espresso soaked bread budding ($12) which was their version of a tiramisu.  They kindly served it to us with complimentary glasses of sherry and I'm so happy we did get this because it was fucking amazing.  Everything about it was delicious from the mascarpone crema to bittersweet coco used, it was a highly addictive dessert.  Usually when Lav and I get dessert we don't always finish it but we demolished this dish and them some.  Amazing. 

Overall this was a very unexpected pleasant surprise.  The waitstaff was incredibly professional and kind - our waitress did a great job of coursing out all our dishes and she kept asking us for feedback on the food, which I appreciated and showed to me a real concern about their customer experience. While this doesn't really change my view on celebrity chefs, I will say that it makes me look at Bobby Flay in a different light and makes me think if I shouldn't lump all celebrity fueled restaurants together.  Total bill:  $88/pp with tax, tip and drinks

Photo Credit:  Yelp

Nobu Visited 8/13/2015 3.5 Forks

Nobu 105 Hudson St., New York, NY 10013

Ahh - Nobu.  It's surprising that I have never been here despite all my years in NYC and being such a sushi lover.  While it's probably one of the most well known sushi places in NYC,  there are so many other well regarded sushi places in the city that I just haven't been in a hurry to check out Nobu.   I have always wanted to go during Restaurant Week during lunch because it's not too far from my office and while I've never been a huge fan of Restaurant Week for dinner, I do think it's a good option for certain places for lunch - Nobu being one of them.  Of course, it's almost impossible to get a lunch reservation here during Restaurant Week but I was lucky this go around and snagged a 12pm reservation the day before Restaurant Week ended. 

The Restaurant Week menu is $25 for an appetizer, entree and dessert.  On the appetizer side, they offered a sashimi salad, black miso cod or softshell crab.  I opted for the black miso cod (it was a tough call between that and the sashimi salad) and Borami got the softshell crab.  For entrees, the choices were arctic char, teriyaki chicken or an assortment of sushi.  Obviously I was going to get the sushi because how can you come to Nobu and not get sushi (unless you're pregnant - sorry Borami!)?!  Borami got the arctic char cooked extra well.  For dessert, we both got the lychee coconut panna cotta.  Normally, the black cod itself runs $36 and the assorted sushi around $34,  so on paper the Restaurant Week deal is great but I'm not sure if they are the same portion sizes or not. I'll say that the Restaurant Week ones are definitely on the small side.   The black miso cod was two small pieces served in butter lettuce and while the cod was very flakey and delicious, it was probably at most 4 small bites in total.   The softshell crab dish also looked like a similar story - good quality but small portions.   As for the star of the show, the assorted sushi, it came with a basic tuna roll and tuna, salmon, crab, yellowtail, mackerel, fluke and one other piece of fish sushi.  It was good quality fish and excellent sushi rice and I appreciate sushi that's clean and classic.  I just wish that there was more of it and having a very simple tuna roll, while fresh and tasty, seemed a bit underwhelming. Borami also mentioned that her fish portion was on the small side as well.  The dessert was incredibly sweet with a sugary fruit jam on top and large whole lychee in the middle but I still devoured the entire thing. 

The restaurant was totally packed and I could tell that most were trying to take advantage of the Restaurant Week deal.  I can't complain about the quality of my meal or the great service but in true Japanese minimalist style there just wasn't enough food to make us full.  In fact, I stopped by a Good Humor truck on the way back to work and got an ice cream bar!  Overall, I'm glad that I finally made it to Nobu and am happy to say that I've been there.  I'm curious if my meal would have been better/different if I had gone during a non-Restaurant Week time period so that I could do a real apples to apples comparison of it to truly stellar sushi places like Tanoshi, Sushi Nakazawa or Sushi of Gari.  Total bill:  $30 with tax and tip. 

Photo Credit:  Yelp

TAO Visited 8/10/2015 3 Forks

TAO  42 E 58th St., New York, NY 10022

When I think of TAO, I think of cheesy, Euro-trashy,  and clubb-y.  I've never really been inclined to check it out as I assumed it was one of those overly priced tourist traps for those who come to NYC looking for the Sex and the City/nightclub experience and while I wasn't too far off the mark, the food actually did surprise me more than I thought.  I ended up here for a client lunch and I was surprised by how crowded it was for lunch on a random week day, but then again, there isn't really much in this part of Midtown, so I guess it's as good of an option as any.   I didn't realize they were open during the daytime because its got such a night time vibe but they actually have a fairly decent lunch special that I can see why people come here during the day.

The overall vibe is exactly how I imagined it to be.  It's pitch dark in here (no windows - so it feels a bit like Vegas) and it's got it's signature giant Buddha in the middle of the restaurant.  The menu is Pan Asian with a smattering of sushi - it's kind of like a glorified and slightly nicer PF Chang's. While most of the entrees were pretty pricey on its own, the lunch special is $25 for an appetizer, entree and dessert - which is a great deal, plus they had a nice variety of options under each section.  I opted for the Spicy Thai seafood dumpling soup, sesame seared tuna salad and the mango sorbet.

The spicy thai seafood dumpling comes with 4 fairly large sized dumplings in a spicy lemongrass soup.  The broth had some serious heat to it and the lemongrass gave it a sour tangy flavor as well. I can't say I could decipher exactly what kind of seafood was in the dumplings but it was a nice start to the meal and very well portioned.  The tuna salad came on a bed of nice micro-greens, bean sprouts and tangerine slices and slices of raw tuna.  While the tuna slices were nicely seared, they were on the thin and small side.  For some reason I thought it was going to be like a thick tuna steak but instead it was more like 5 tiny pieces of thinly pounded fish.  But I actually enjoyed the salad as it was nicely dressed with a citrus vinaigrette and it was, again, a fairly large portion that I felt like I was eating healthy lunch but still getting full.  The meal ended with a refreshing mango sorbet in coconut milk with fruit.  It was a nice way to end a meal on a hot and humid Monday afternoon.

The one slightly annoying service item was that when the bill came, instead of charging us for the lunch special, they charged us for each individual item.  Luckily, Scott caught the error and had them change it but if he hadn't they would have overcharged us by quite a few dollars.  While I don't think it was an intention move on TAO's part, double checking the bill shouldn't be something that customers have to worry about.  When we walked out of TAO, I felt like I was stumbling out of a nightclub in Vegas.  The sun was hurting my eyes and I felt like I probably should have had a few vodka tonics at lunch to really soak it all in.   It was a very bizarre mix of tourist and business people there in the middle of the day but then again, I guess that's what Midtown is like on a typical day anyways.  If I had my way, I'd still prefer to go somewhere like Hatsuhana when I'm in Midtown but the lunch special here isn't a terrible way to spend your lunch hour - just don't forget your sparkly top and heels.  Total bill: ~$98 for 3 people with tax and tip

Photo Credit:  Yelp 

DeStefano's Steakhouse Visited 8/9/2015 4 Forks

DeStefano's Steakhouse 89 Conselyea St., Brooklyn, NY 11211

DeStefano's is one of those places that's within spitting distance from my house yet somehow after living here for 5 years, I've still never been to.  I guess, how often am I really in the mood for steak when I'm at home by myself?  In any case, when Greg and Sarah mentioned that they were going there for dinner on Sunday because they had a Groupon and asked if I wanted to come along, I had to say yes!

Luckily in a time when the neighborhood is starting to get taken over by hipster tattoo shops and expensive new condos, there's still a comforting old school Italian element to where I live and DeStefano's kind of embodies that spirit.  It's a fairly small steakhouse but it's stayed pretty true to it's old roots.  The staff looks like local friends and family who've been here for years and the decor is covered with family photos.  It's got a similar vibe to Bamonte's but only slightly less mobster-y and less touristy too.   The menu is obviously very steak focused ranging from filets to rib eye to a 40 oz porter house steak for 2.  They told us that they were having a special that night of an 85 oz porterhouse steak for 3.  WTF?! 85 oz??  I almost wanted to order it just to see what it looked like. They also had a fairly decent line up for none-steak items like chicken, pasta and fish as well as very veggie friendly appetizer options and sides.   I was strangely not starving so I got the 8 oz petite filet mignon ($36) and we all split a side of garlic mashed potatoes for 2  ($12.89) and the sauteed spinach with garlic and oil for one ($7.89) for the table.

I haven't actually had a steak meal in a long time, but this made me totally wish I did this more often. The meat was perfectly medium rare - emphasis on the rare as it was quite pink and juicy (ok, that sounds super gross but you know what I mean).  I was totally in heaven with its soft buttery texture and flavors.  It came with a burgundy shallot sauce which I didn't use because the meat itself was so good on its own.  Paired with the creamy buttery garlic mashed potatoes and I was one happy camper.  Meanwhile, the sauteed spinach was a good palate cleanser from all the fat and meat.  I was pleasantly surprised at how much I really enjoyed the food here.  Not that I thought it would be bad but it was one seriously legit steak.

I know most people think of Peter Luger's when they think Williamsburg + steak, and it's still a wonderful place.  But I really love that places like DeStefano's have still stuck around despite all the gentrification and still are able to produce a very solid steak that wold make any meat lover happy.  I hope it sticks around some more and I'm more than happy to go here with or without a Groupon.   Total bill:  $51/pp with Groupon deal not including tip

MIUSA Wine Bar Visited 8/8/2015 4.5 Forks

MIUSA Wine Bar 98 S 4th St., Brooklyn, NY 11249

Many people often ask me how I pick the restaurants I visit and most of the time it's really just from reading blogs and magazines and seeing what's trending.  But I also love soliciting advice from friends, especially ones that are in the know about food and my friend Vince is a great example of that (doesn't hurt that he works at Food and Wine as well).  So when I was looking for place in our hood, I reached out and asked his opinion and he mentioned MIUSA - I had actually never heard about it before and I probably would have never found it if he hadn't recommended it - so I'm glad I asked!

The place stands for "Made in the USA" and it run by 3 Italian friends, cute right?  The decor is rustic but still with a touch of modern - very chill, cool vibe.  The menu is extremely veggie friendly and has a ton of options for all types of eaters.  It's mostly small plates but it also has several main dishes too.  We both wanted to order everything from the menu but pared it down to:  grilled peaches ($10), spiced corn ($10), creamy spinach ($10), stuffed green tomatoes ($10), triple cooked fries ($10), and for my lone meat/seafood dish I got the seared scallops ($10).  They also had a great sounding burger that a lot of people around us got but there wasn't any more room in my stomach for all this food. The waiter had recommended that we only needed to split 4 dishes, but clearly Lav and I were ambitious.  
We started with the grilled peaches (although I would recommend you end with it since it's fairly sweet).   It served with stracciatella, mint, honey and toasted almonds - fantastic sweet dish.  I'm usually not a fan of grilled fruits but this had a nice combination of grilled smokey char and sweetness to it.  Next I tried the creamy spinach and it's just really hard to not love a creamed spinach dish and this was no exception.  I moved on to my scallop dish which had 4 scallops on a bed of sweat pea risotto and brown butter.  The scallops had shrunk to a pretty small size but because there were a good number of them, it didn't really matter too much because it probably would have netted out to be the same amount of scallops if it were only 2 big ones.  This was a classic seared scallop dish and I really enjoyed the pairing with the pea risotto - it was a fairly decent sized plate for 1 person to eat on their own.  Next I tried the triple cooked fries with cheese and spring onions.  Holy fuck - these were so super addictive.  They were nice thick cut steak fries cooked perfectly crispy and then it had a nice gooey layer of cheese on top - but it wasn't the nasty velveta cheese kind but almost like a very gourmet swiss type.  I was trying not to eat the entire dish but I could seriously see myself housing an entire plate on my own.  Next I tried the spiced corn which was like a creamed corn dish - Lav and I agreed that while it was a good dish, it didn't blow us away like the other ones.  Lastly I had the goat cheese and mozzarella stuffed green tomato in a spicy gazpacheo.  It's a pretty unique take on green tomatoes (I feel like they are usually of the fried variety - or am I just thinking about the movie?!) and it was a surprisingly refreshing dish given that it was stuffed with 2 kinds of cheeses.  

Not surprisingly, we left room for dessert and got the cheesecake.  This is, unfortunately, where the meal went a bit south, not because the cheesecake was bad but because we waited forever for it to come out.  I mean it got to the point where we just wanted to cancel it and get the check because we had assumed they forgot about it.   Finally when we did ask for the check, the cheesecake mysteriously made an appearance.  Luckily it was a solid dessert that didn't sour our meal.  It was a light fluffy and warm cheesecake with a creme brulee top and served with this fantastic strawberry ice cream and puree.  I don't know what it was about the ice cream but it tasted super fresh and very fruity - it wasn't too heavy on the cream or sweetness, it just tasted like real strawberries. 

Overall, this place is a lovely place for dinner and it's far enough off the main drag of Bedford Ave that it's relatively quiet and not crowded.  While I normally am not a huge fan of the small plate concept, it worked really well here because the dishes were really enough for 2 people to split and it was enough to make you satisfied as they were all more than just 1 tiny bite per person.  My only complaint would be that the service was a bit disorganized and really dragged out at the end.  Maybe it's just a clash of the impatient New Yorker and the very laid back Italian staff but it did kind of frustrate me in the end.  Luckily the food and vibe of the place was good enough to keep it in the 4+ fork range.  Total bill:  $72/pp with tax, tip and drinks

Photo Credit:  Yelp