Lucien Visited 10/21/2015 3.5 Forks

Lucien  14 1st Ave., New York, NY 10009

Even though I eat out a ton, but whenever someone is in town and asks for a place to go I always seem to draw blanks.  I always have a running list but for some reason or another, nothing on my lists ever seem right for the time.  So when I met up with Vivi and Erik for one last meal before they left, I felt guilty that I didn't have a long list ready for their list.  They were staying in the LES which is chock full of restaurants but nothing was calling my name, so we ended up aimlessly wandering and ended up at Lucien on a whim.  I've walked past Lucien many a times when I used to live off the F train and hung out in the E. Village more but had never been.

It's your classic, cute French bistro.  You feel like you've been transported to France with the cramped decor, tiny round bistro tables and loud environment but it's all very endearing at the same time.  The waitress was also French so that also lent to the authentic vibe of the place.  As you would expect the menu is classic French - foie gras, mussels, escargot, duck, steak poivre, and quail just to name a few.  Erik had asked the waitress what was good and she pointed out the 2 most expensive things on the menu: the squab ($42) and sea bass ($42).  I'm sure they were both delicious but there's always something that irks me when the staff only picks the most expensive items on the menu.  Vivi and I split the beet salad ($12) and I opted for a traditional steak frites ($28).   The beet salad was your usual kind with goat cheese and field greens - standard beet salad.  My steak was served medium rare - a bit closer to medium but still slightly pink on the inside - with a side of buttery pepper sauce.  Thank god the sauce came on the side because it was incredibly rich and would have really overpowered the meat.  The fries were on the thin side and definitely way to salty - I downed my entire water pitch when I got home.  Erik had gotten the rabbit and didn't seem super happy with it but he didn't say exactly what was wrong with it and Vivi got the chicken which looked pretty moist and juicy.

Unfortunately, I was in a hurry to get home so we didn't really stay for dessert but I was full enough that I probably wouldn't have wanted it anyways.  While I most definitely appreciate French food for what it is and get that it's one of the most classic cuisines in the world, it just doesn't excite me as much as Asian food or even other types of European food like Greek or Italian.  I can always find something tasty to eat but it's almost too "traditional" for me.  That being said, there's nothing wrong with saddling up to a cute French cafe or bistro and enjoying classic French wine and cheese - that's the way to go.  Total bill:  ~$120 for 3 people with tax and tip

Photo Credit:  Yelp

Taro Sushi Visited 10/20/2015 4 Forks

Taro Sushi  244 Flatbush Ave., Brooklyn, NY 11217

Years ago when I lived in Park Slope the whole area around Flatbush Ave was pretty sketchy.  But now with the Barclay's Center in place, the surrounding area has completely exploded with tons of nice yuppified restaurants and shops.   Amy and I were in the 'hood for the Tidal Concert and instead of getting greasy concession stand food, we thought it would be better and tastier to get food outside of the Center.  I had heard of Taro before when I was living the area and they are well known for having a very top notch and affordable omakase so when Amy mentioned it, I was totally game to check it out.  Luckily, it's conveniently located 5-10 mins away from Barclays and its definitely worth the walk. 

We were both starving so we split the sashimi deluxe ($28), the spicy scallop roll ($6.50), fatty tuna and scallion roll ($6.00) and a mountain roll ($9) - as you can see the prices were extremely reasonable given the amount of food we ordered.  At those prices I wasn't sure if the quality would be all that but I was very impressed with the quality of the fish.  It tasted very simple yet was top notch and fresh - it's definitely some of the best neighborhood sushi I've had in a while.  The sashimi was 14 pieces of 6 different kinds of fish ranging from salmon, tuna, yellowtail, mackerel, and flounder as well as a pile of chopped fatty tuna with salmon roe on it.  The spicy scallop was a bit different than what I was used to - it wasn't one piece of raw scallop but the chopped up kind with the spice mixed it - I liked that it was a small tight roll with the seaweed on the outside.  The fatty tuna and scallion was also clean and simple and solid tasting.  The mountain roll got the name because they shape into a mountain or more precisely a pyramid - and it comes with spicy tuna, avocado, yellowtail and masago.  It was a bit heavy on the rice but apparently I was so hungry that I ended up ordering another order of this roll and inhaling the whole thing, so clearly the rice wasn't that big of a deal to me.  

Overall, it was a great pit stop before heading over the Barclay's Center.  It was a nice calm and quiet place to enjoy dinner before walking into a loud crazy concert.  I'm bummed that quaint affordable places like this doesn't exist where I live in BK, but if I still lived in Park Slope, I would most definitely be a frequent visitor of this place.  Total bill:  $100 for 2 people with tax, tip and 2 large bottles of sake

Photo Credit:  Yelp

Wildair Visited 10/13/2015 4 Forks

Wildair 142 Orchard St., New York, NY 10002

I have two words for you:  beef tartare.  Neel and I got this dish on a whim as we were really just here to catch up over 1 glass of wine and some nibbles but we were both blown away at how amazing this one dish was and it's solely responsible for the 4 forks here.  This place is less of a full blown restaurant (the menu consists of a handful of small plates) and more like a cute wine offshoot of Contra which is next door.

I met Neel here since he was a huge fan of their wine list and sommelier - I'm not a real oenophile but I do appreciate a good wine when I taste it and I liked how this place had a very large selection of really unique wines (they are more along the lines of organic/biodynamic wines).  We both couldn't stay very long but it's hard to go out and have wine without some snacks so we got the littleneck clams and a fava bean dish.  Of the two, the littleneck clam dish was my favorite.  It wasn't what I was expecting at all - it was pieces of freshly picked clams on top of toast with spinach and lardo.  It was incredibly unique and creative but yet still tasted incredible. We had actually asked for the check already when we both looked at each other and agreed in unison that we couldn't leave without trying the beef tartare.  I can see how some people are squeamish about eating raw cubes of beef but I swear to god, this dish will change your mind.  The beef is melt in your mouth and it's topped with smoked cheddar and mounds of fresh horseradish and crunchy chestnut for texture.  It's truly a fantastic dish and probably one of the best beef tartare dishes I've had in a really long time.  While I haven't been to Contra (it's been on my list for a while), if the food and wine at Wildair is any indication, it'll be quite spectacular meal.  Total bill:  $43/pp with tax and tip

Photo Credit:  Yelp

Chalk Point Kitchen Visited 10/12/2015 3 Forks

Chalk Point Kitchen  527 Broome St., New York, NY 10013

This is one of those reviews that I wish I could write differently given the circumstances but luckily this is definitely one of the rare 3 fork places where I could come back to again.   The first thing to mention is that this place is ADORABLE - it's made to look like a rustic country kitchen and it's got this cozy homey feel to it that just reeks of cuteness.  When we arrived Amy had said that the hostess mentioned that they were very short staffed (this is important to know) so we were prepared to wait a while.  Despite their transparency, the terrible service is what brought down this place's rating because it really was painful. 

But first to the good stuff about this place.  The menu is really diverse and delicious sounding - if you like the whole farm-to-table type/organic veggie friendly type of place.  There is a ton to share even if you aren't a vegetarian. While we knew that the service was slow, we didn't expect it to be this slow. I had to literally chase the waitress down after waiting at our table for 20 minutes of no one coming to take our order.  When someone did show up, Anuja, Amy and I split the creamy handmade burrata ($19), Thai lemongrass grilled gulf shrimp ($17), cauliflower gratin,  and roasted beet and goat cheese ($9). 

The burrata and beets came out first and rather quickly so I was pleasantly surprised by that.  The burrata was indeed creamy and delicious and served with juicy ripe heirloom tomatoes.  It's really incredibly hard to fuck up a simple refreshing dish like this.  It's one of my all time favorite summer dishes (I realize it's no longer summer but whatever) - frankly, it's a dish that great for any season. The beet and goat cheese was also solid as that's also a combination that's hard to get wrong.  Then we waited and waited and waited for our next round of food to come out.  It did look like there was only 1 waitress for the whole place and when I went to the bathroom I heard the cooks all yelling at each other that they needed to hurry up, so I did feel bad for being a bit impatient.  I am extremely empathetic to them being short staffed but this is where the owners needed to call for back up because it was really effecting the overall experience.  Finally the shrimp and cauliflower came out - the shrimp dish was quite delicious.  It was 4 very solid firm pieces of shrimp in a Thai lemongrass coconut curry broth and white rice - the curry was very flavorful and it tasted like something that you would get at a legit Thai restaurant.  The cauliflower was gratin style so it was chopped and baked with cheese in it - but it didn't seem creamy or thick enough - it veered on the thin and watery side.   

The dessert menu sounded amazing - the butterscotch pudding (my favorite) and the affogato being two dishes that stood out to me, but given that we had already been there for over 2 hours, we just couldn't deal with waiting to order anymore food.  I took a look at their brunch menu and it looked equally as delicious as the dinner menu, so despite being annoyed when I left,  I'm actually very interested in coming back.   I appreciated that they told us upfront that service was going to be an issue but it really did impact how we felt about our meal as we were all a bit grumpy by the end for having to wait such a long time.  Hopefully the next time I try this place, the service will have improved and I can bump this up to a 4 fork establishment.  Total bill:  $31.50/pp with tax and tip

Photo Credit:  Yelp

Pearl Oyster Bar Visited 10/10/2015 4 Forks

Pearl Oyster Bar  18 Cornelia St.,  New York, NY 10014

I have no idea how I haven't reviewed Pearl Oyster Bar yet because I've definitely been here many times before but after culling my site, I can't seem to find an entry for it.  So here it is.  I mean this place is legendary - it is one of the original lobster roll joints in the city.  It used to be impossible to get a table here - you would have to wait hours for a seat, but strangely enough Holly and I were able to get a table on a Saturday night in under 25 minutes around 7pm and when we left around 8:30ish, the place strangely was half empty.  I guess there's a ton of competition these days for good lobster rolls (ie.  Red Hook Lobster Pound, Mary's Fish Camp, and Mermaid Inn just to name a few).

Pearl has a very solid line up of classic seafood dishes, so it's not necessary to get the lobster roll but they are famous for it.  I started with the chilled littleneck clams (6 for $8) and obviously I got the lobster roll ($30) as did Holly.   The littleneck clams were small and sweet - they were good but I still prefer the large meaty cherrystone ones at Maison Premiere instead.  As for the lobster roll, I feel like this was one of the original places that launched the roll into fame back in the day.  There is a TON of meat which is great but it is very heavily covered in mayo - so if you're not into that or prefer a Connecticut style roll, you might not like this version.  I like that it's pretty simple - lobster, mayo and some chives.  No celery or extra filler in there.  It's served on a very very buttery bun but it's pretty messy to pick up, so I used a fork and knife.  Holly's roll was so overflowing that she couldn't even find the bun to pick up.  But the meat was sweet, delicious and plentiful.  My only complaint is the shoe string fries - I'm personally not a fan of shoe string fries, although Holly and I had discussed that they are good for portion control because you can feel like your'e eating a lot of them but because they are so skinny, you're not consuming as much as many.  I just feel like you're eating air, there's not enough actual potato in each bite.  But overall, it's a great seafood experience here.  You can tell that the waitstaff has worked here for a while and it's kind of got this old school, family vibe to it.  It's as close to a New England seafood restaurant as you can get without leaving the city.  Total bill:  $72/pp with tax, tip and wine

Photo Credit: Yelp

The Heyward Visited 10/9/2015 4 Forks

The Heyward  258 Wythe Ave., Williamsburg, NY 11249

The Heyward is one of those low key unassuming places where you can sit down with a friend and drink tons of wine, have lots of good food and have great conversation.  It was quiet but not stuffy or boring and despite never being totally packed, it still felt like a cool place to be. 

I met Lily here on a cold, dark, rainy Friday.  The place seemed like it was full of locals just trying to unwind from the week.  The menu here is pretty much American with a bit of a slant on Southern seafood.  We shared the spicy glazed octopus ($15) to start and I ended up going for the cheeseburger ($18) because it came with Old Bay seasoned onions and 2 yr old aged cheddar cheese.  Yum.  Lily got a few oysters ($3/each) and ordered the butternut squash mac and cheese ($10) and brussels sprout ($7) side as her main dishes.  Oh and we got wine too, lots and lots of wine.  The octopus was one long tender tentacle served with andouille sausage ragout, fava beans and wilted greens.  The meat of the octopus was perfect and not chewy at all.  The spice from the sausage was perfect - it added heat but it wasn't overbearing.  It was a lovely dish that I really enjoyed.  I also thoroughly enjoyed the burger here too - it was was a solid burger that totally got the job done.  It's nothing fancy or amazing like the one at Black Tap - but it was a nice juicy burger on a sesame seed bun that held everything together.  The combination of the Old Bay onions and aged cheddar cheese was a nice twist to an old classic.  I devoured the thing in a matter of minutes and I'll add that the fries were tasty, salty, thick cut fries.  It was the perfect gloomy rainy day comfort food.  I had a few bites of Lily's mac and cheese and it was homey and autumnal with the butternut squash mixed in.  Mac and cheese is also a solid rainy day food in my book.  The brussels sprouts were your typical brussels sprouts in that they were roasted and tasty but it had a slight kick to it with aged worcestershire, pickled peanuts and chili.   For dessert we had a raspberry and fig cake that was light but distinctively figgy.  It was totally unnecessary but we were on our 5th glass of red wine so it seemed appropriate to order a dessert to round out the night. 

Overall, it was a lovely, low key dinner in a somewhere upscale, more adult setting.  I can see this place being a nice date place if you wanted to go somewhere in Williamsburg that was low pressure, non-hipster but still relaxing.  It's by no means the best restaurant or coolest restaurant in Williamsburg but sometimes you just need a nice neighborhood joint to escape to every once in a while.  Total bill:  $250 for 2 people with tax, tip and lots of wine

Photo Credit:  Yelp

Sakura 6 Visited 10/9/2015 2 Forks

Sakura 6  837 Manhattan Ave., Brooklyn, NY 11222

I'll keep this review short and sweet since there isn't a ton I really want to say about this place. Since I work from home on Fridays, I usually like to indulge in a lunch special around town.  For sushi, I usually trek into Greenpoint because the options around my place in Williamsburg are practically non-existent.  But on this particular Friday, I was actually on my way to Xian Famous Food for some noodles but I had to go to the ATM further up in Greenpoint and across the street was Sakura 6. 

I'm always a huge sucker for a sushi lunch special and the place was fairly crowded, so I thought I would try it out.  The place has the usual lunch special items: roll specials and bento boxes.  I opted to get the 3 rolls for $11.95 - comes with soup or salad.  The salad was your typical iceberg lettuce, cucumber, and shredded carrots - the dressing here was more of a creamy base vs. the usual ginger carrot one that I love.  For my 3 rolls, I ordered eel avocado, spicy crunchy tuna and spicy crunchy salmon - very basic and standard rolls.  The order came out quickly and they looked like they had been rushed and sadly put together.  The spicy tuna and spicy salmon was the pre-made mixture kind, which I'm not a huge fan of.  It just didn't taste like real fish (or anything) at all and there was too much crunch/tempura that the whole roll tasted dry and blah.  The eel and avocado roll had way too much eel sauce on top that over sweetened it.  I was just totally unimpressed and had way better rolls at Mizu on Bedford and at Sapporo down the street in Greenpoint. 

This was a total impulse stop and I can safely say that it's far enough that I won't be back.  I totally should have stayed on course and had my spicy noodles at Xian - oh well, there's always next Friday. Total bill:  $15 with tax and tip

Photo Credit:  Yelp