my favorites. totally biased. enjoy.
and somehow this turned into more than 10.
The 212 List
Casa Mono
Upstairs at Bouley
Lombardi's
Gam Mee Ok
Babbo
Hasaki
Les Halles
PJ Clarke's
The 212 "I Hate" List
Petrossian
The 718 List
Ici
Applewood
Al Di La
360
and I HATE FRANNY'S
Sunday, January 15, 2006
Thursday, January 12, 2006
Le Former Falafel Joint
Le Gamin
W 15th Street, Chelsea
I swear it used to be a falafel joint. When I lived at 241 I'd occasionally grab one to go. A falafel seemed healthier than the slice down the street.
Now it's a teeny French sibling of the one on 9th and 21st, where you can nurse a cafe au lait with the stack of magazines and newspaper.
No liquor license, so I had to go to 7th Avenue and fetch a bottle of cotes-du-rhone.
The frites were crisp, the salad dressing was ideal acidity, the croque monsieur padded with too much melty cheese. The ratatouille tasted like vegetables marinated in oil, but the buckwheat crepe was perfect.
W 15th Street, Chelsea
I swear it used to be a falafel joint. When I lived at 241 I'd occasionally grab one to go. A falafel seemed healthier than the slice down the street.
Now it's a teeny French sibling of the one on 9th and 21st, where you can nurse a cafe au lait with the stack of magazines and newspaper.
No liquor license, so I had to go to 7th Avenue and fetch a bottle of cotes-du-rhone.
The frites were crisp, the salad dressing was ideal acidity, the croque monsieur padded with too much melty cheese. The ratatouille tasted like vegetables marinated in oil, but the buckwheat crepe was perfect.
Tuesday, January 10, 2006
The Fresh Direct Stir Fry
Rice
Dekalb Avenue, Fort Greene.
The FD stir fry does not taste nearly as good as the stir fry from my local Chinese delivery joint. Nor does it taste as good as the local Rice. Weak vegetables, broken baby corn, green beans (why?), and wilty cabbage.
So why do I insist on ordering it?
I think I like the sense of autonomy of cooking my own food. I like coming home and knowing that there is food right there, in the fridge, ready for consumption, rather than the painful decision making process - do i order in, or do i go out? do i pick up on my way home? do i eat scrambled eggs instead? Do I order what I really want, like a cheeseburger, or order something sensible?
Who am I kidding? I rarely suffer the "I haven't eaten anything in 8 hours, please feed me" situation. I eat every 2-3 hours. There are food kiosks, vending machines, newsstands, Duane Reades, hot dog carts everywhere.
It's all too much, and so, I keep ordering the Garlic and Chile Tofu Stir Fry kit, and keep being disappointed.
Dekalb Avenue, Fort Greene.
The FD stir fry does not taste nearly as good as the stir fry from my local Chinese delivery joint. Nor does it taste as good as the local Rice. Weak vegetables, broken baby corn, green beans (why?), and wilty cabbage.
So why do I insist on ordering it?
I think I like the sense of autonomy of cooking my own food. I like coming home and knowing that there is food right there, in the fridge, ready for consumption, rather than the painful decision making process - do i order in, or do i go out? do i pick up on my way home? do i eat scrambled eggs instead? Do I order what I really want, like a cheeseburger, or order something sensible?
Who am I kidding? I rarely suffer the "I haven't eaten anything in 8 hours, please feed me" situation. I eat every 2-3 hours. There are food kiosks, vending machines, newsstands, Duane Reades, hot dog carts everywhere.
It's all too much, and so, I keep ordering the Garlic and Chile Tofu Stir Fry kit, and keep being disappointed.
Monday, January 09, 2006
Fish For Dinner
Fresh Direct Stuffed Striped Bass
The alley cats are singing hallelujah. I'm sure the neighbors are cursing us.
Fish stinks. Its eyes were not clear. It smelled fishy. Slivers of lemons and leeks stuffed inside a 1.5 lb fish.
It took forever to cook @ 350 degrees. I amped it to 400, and baked for nearly 20 minutes.
Some of it was tasty, but not all. Slimy and fishy and stinky. This is why people hate fish.
Kai had a bologna sandwich instead.
The alley cats are singing hallelujah. I'm sure the neighbors are cursing us.
Fish stinks. Its eyes were not clear. It smelled fishy. Slivers of lemons and leeks stuffed inside a 1.5 lb fish.
It took forever to cook @ 350 degrees. I amped it to 400, and baked for nearly 20 minutes.
Some of it was tasty, but not all. Slimy and fishy and stinky. This is why people hate fish.
Kai had a bologna sandwich instead.
Sunday, January 08, 2006
New Year's Resolution
Pillow Cafe
Myrtle Avenue, Fort Greene
Lombardi's Pizza
Spring Street, NoLiTa
I have a New Year's resolution. It's to blog my brains out after every meal.
This afternoon, I had a murky coffee at Pillow Cafe with Yvonne and discussed some ideas for thesis. I realize that I am beating myself up about the thesis, and that I will never finish at the rate I'm going. Also, she suggested that I keep a little journal going. Blogging will be the best way to go about this, since if I try to keep a journal, I will either lose it or go apeshit while staring at the blank pages.
I met the girls for a carboload at Lombardi's Pizza, the most divine pizza in the world. Lani said that she would never eat pizza elsewhere again. It's true. The ratio of cheese sauce and crust is divine, the sauce with perfect acidity and sweetness, and the cheese has perfect cheesiness, texture, string when pulling away from your mouth, and color.
Pizza is the most perfect food.
Myrtle Avenue, Fort Greene
Lombardi's Pizza
Spring Street, NoLiTa
I have a New Year's resolution. It's to blog my brains out after every meal.
This afternoon, I had a murky coffee at Pillow Cafe with Yvonne and discussed some ideas for thesis. I realize that I am beating myself up about the thesis, and that I will never finish at the rate I'm going. Also, she suggested that I keep a little journal going. Blogging will be the best way to go about this, since if I try to keep a journal, I will either lose it or go apeshit while staring at the blank pages.
I met the girls for a carboload at Lombardi's Pizza, the most divine pizza in the world. Lani said that she would never eat pizza elsewhere again. It's true. The ratio of cheese sauce and crust is divine, the sauce with perfect acidity and sweetness, and the cheese has perfect cheesiness, texture, string when pulling away from your mouth, and color.
Pizza is the most perfect food.
Saturday, January 07, 2006
Al di La...la di da?
Al Di La
248 5th Avenue, Park Slope.
I cut through the swaths of velvet curtainage to find a couple arguing with the hostess. The hungry couple was furious because they'd lost their opportunity to snag a table. They walked out of the adjacent wine bar, and even though the restaurant takes cell phone #s to track you down, the couple had missed their ride. And they were pissed.
And with good reason. I had a perfect dinner at Al Di La, so undeniably tasty and simply delicious that I cant wait to take my parents there.
Grass Fed Australian Beef Carpaccio with Shaved Parmesan and Capers
Bouchot of Mussels
Rabbit and Polenta
Spaghetti al Vongole
That's what we ate, but what I really want to talk about is the bacalao on polenta toasts that we didn't order. The couple seated next to us were enjoying theirs. Since we were seated so close to them, we might as well have asked if we could have a bite. I simply like thinking about the saltiness and beat upness of the cod against the mealy and sweet polenta toasts with the perfect grill marks really is an ingenious combination.
The carpaccio really tasted beefy and clean. You are what you eat.
The mussels seemed to have been sitting under some kind of heat source for a while, but the good ones were quite good - I like them garlicky, slimy, just steamed enough without the burnt orange and toughness that comes with overcooking.
And the spaghetti? Well, after being a carbophobe for many years, I was really happy to twirl all that spaghetti. And the bite of the crush red pepper is great against the seawater intensity of the littleneck clams. I love a bowlful of shells. They make me happy.
It was worth the wait.
I also thought a great deal about how my parents would look at this menu and not know what to order. They might have just gone for a beef or chicken since its familiar, but wouldnt my mom have loved to have tried the succulent rabbit, which tasted strangely of chicken? Wouldnt my dad have loved the gaminess of the carpaccio, with the parmesan bite and the caper kick? Wouldnt my family have loved to scoop out a mussel or two, and sop up the shallot and white wine broth with the crusty grilled bread? Wouldnt all of us dining together be a very good excuse to order that bacalao after all?
Eating in groups can be more fun, if only for the fact that you can order more variety and be able to try everything.
248 5th Avenue, Park Slope.
I cut through the swaths of velvet curtainage to find a couple arguing with the hostess. The hungry couple was furious because they'd lost their opportunity to snag a table. They walked out of the adjacent wine bar, and even though the restaurant takes cell phone #s to track you down, the couple had missed their ride. And they were pissed.
And with good reason. I had a perfect dinner at Al Di La, so undeniably tasty and simply delicious that I cant wait to take my parents there.
Grass Fed Australian Beef Carpaccio with Shaved Parmesan and Capers
Bouchot of Mussels
Rabbit and Polenta
Spaghetti al Vongole
That's what we ate, but what I really want to talk about is the bacalao on polenta toasts that we didn't order. The couple seated next to us were enjoying theirs. Since we were seated so close to them, we might as well have asked if we could have a bite. I simply like thinking about the saltiness and beat upness of the cod against the mealy and sweet polenta toasts with the perfect grill marks really is an ingenious combination.
The carpaccio really tasted beefy and clean. You are what you eat.
The mussels seemed to have been sitting under some kind of heat source for a while, but the good ones were quite good - I like them garlicky, slimy, just steamed enough without the burnt orange and toughness that comes with overcooking.
And the spaghetti? Well, after being a carbophobe for many years, I was really happy to twirl all that spaghetti. And the bite of the crush red pepper is great against the seawater intensity of the littleneck clams. I love a bowlful of shells. They make me happy.
It was worth the wait.
I also thought a great deal about how my parents would look at this menu and not know what to order. They might have just gone for a beef or chicken since its familiar, but wouldnt my mom have loved to have tried the succulent rabbit, which tasted strangely of chicken? Wouldnt my dad have loved the gaminess of the carpaccio, with the parmesan bite and the caper kick? Wouldnt my family have loved to scoop out a mussel or two, and sop up the shallot and white wine broth with the crusty grilled bread? Wouldnt all of us dining together be a very good excuse to order that bacalao after all?
Eating in groups can be more fun, if only for the fact that you can order more variety and be able to try everything.
Sunday, January 01, 2006
Korean Party Food
Mom's House
Queens, NY
kim bop
mandoo
jap chae
dukh gook
kimchi
asian pears, persimmons, apples
spaten
gruner veltliner
zinfandel
godiva chocolates
Queens, NY
kim bop
mandoo
jap chae
dukh gook
kimchi
asian pears, persimmons, apples
spaten
gruner veltliner
zinfandel
godiva chocolates
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