ALL THINGS FOOD: New York

Showing posts with label New York. Show all posts

Sunday, December 26, 2010

Tasty Hand Pulled Noodle Co

Visit date: November 13

Waiting for freshly made noodles at Tasty Hand Pulled Noodle Co in Chinatown makes us a few minutes late for the Super Shuttle pickup. But I'm indifferent to the driver's evil glare. The spectacle of watching a man with 20 years worth of kneading, stretching, slinging, twisting and pulling noodle experience makes the wait at Newark airport beef noodle soup heaven.

I can't get the video to post so here are pictures.

Dirt Candy by Chef Amanda Cohen

www.dirtcandynyc.com

Visit date: November 12

Dirt Candy... vegetarian fare concocted (seriously, alchemy was involved here) by a Jewish pescetarian... small menu but tightly formulated for extra bang... think of the most flavorful of vegetables taken to the limits of gustatory pleasure... Steve Shih says the cauliflower dish tasted like chicken and waffles... nuff said

Caution: The restaurant is small so Chef Cohen implemented a must-confirm policy for all reservations. She will call you the night before, otherwise give your table away to one of the many walk-ins throughout the night.

jalapeno hush puppies with maple butter

squash - butternut squash broth, squash dumplings,
delicata coconut cream

corn - stone ground grits, corn cream, pickled shiitakes,
huitlacoche, tempura poached egg

cauliflower - buttermilk battered cauliflower,
waffles, horseradish, wild arugula

zucchini - mint & tarragon pasta, squash blossom relish,
yogurt & saffron sauce

ice cream nanaimo bar - sweet pea, mint, chocolate

Russian Tea Room

www.russiantearoomnyc.com

Visit date: November 12

Just sat at the bar for an hour, but here's a little piece of extravagant history since 1927. (The Extra Man starring Kevin Kline and Paul Dano filmed a scene here, exactly how I imagined the place to be.)

Public by Chef Brad Farmerie

www.public-nyc.com

Visit date: November 11, 13

I’ve had my eye on Chef Farmerie since his debut on The Next Iron Chef, season 2. He’s spent time all over – Europe, North Africa, the Middle East, Southeast Asia, and the Antipodes – with a menu to match. I thought it was the most exciting of all the chefs that season. Unfortunately, he only made it through half the challenges before being eliminated. But no matter because Public was awarded its first Michelin star for the 2011 guide. Congrats!

With all the other eateries on my list during the first NYC go-around in October, Public had to wait. So on this second trip, we went twice (dinner and brunch) – there were a lot of yummy dishes to try! It sounds excessive but I did some research and Public’s brunch was well written about. I have a weak spot for pancakes and French toast.

I admit I was a bit of a pain in the ass with all my questions during dinner. Fortunately for us, our waiter was incredibly helpful and never snippy about being our liaison to the kitchen. The chef even allowed us a half portion of the entrée-sized beet gnudi. Much appreciated and definitely Michelin star quality.

Brunch gave us a good laugh...
The table next to us ordered lamingtons (last picture below). When Steve asked what they were, he heard "lemon tits". Basically, they were square sponge cakes with filling in the middle, then covered with a thin shell of chocolate and dusted with coconut flakes. Some sort of specialty from Australia and New Zealand.

Overall, the restaurant had a beautiful setting, food was tasty and the menu well structured and inspired. Favorites included beet gnudi, mushroom ceviche and snail/oxtail ravioli.

Some other options offered at Public:
- Sunday Supper – experimentations for new dishes not offered on the main menu
- Monday Room – 60 wines offered by tasting, glass or half bottle
- Wine Mailbox Program – via membership, monthly wines placed into your mailbox at Public

Bon appetite!

this is just half the restaurant which used to be a loading dock

(copied from website)

sweet roll and a dense focaccia bread

beet gnudi with whipped lemon ricotta and
a smoked almond and celery leaf pesto

mushroom ceviche with miso aubergines (aka eggplant)
and ginger ponzu sauce

grilled kangaroo on a coriander falafel with
lemon tahini sauce and green pepper relish

snail and oxtail ravioli with pickled shiitake mushrooms,
oven dried tomatoes, pea shoots and smoked paprika oil

new zealand venison loin, Cabrales dumplings,
oyster mushrooms and salsa verde

hokey pokey ice cream (vanilla ice cream laced with honeycomb)
with passionfruit caramel sauce and a ginger snap

assorted sorbet - coconut (white), guava ginger (orange),
passionfruit (yellow), concord grape (purple)

Turkish eggs – two poached eggs on Greek yogurt
with kirmizi biber butter

tropical fruit salad with rosewater and sweet tahini yogurt

ginger spiced lychee French toast with lemongrass
dark palm carame and pomegranate mascarpone

quinoa hashbrowns

lamingtons a.k.a “lemon tits”
filled with strawberries and cream

Wednesday, December 22, 2010

Totto Ramen

www.tottoramen.com

Visit date: November 11

Ramen is a Japanese art taken very seriously. It sounds simple enough, but it is not uncommon for ramen makers to spend years apprenticing under a master ramen chef. We are NOT talking about instant ramen in a styrofoam cup, foil bag with dried vegetables that reconstitute in hot water, and pre-packaged seasonings a.k.a. salt. The secret is in the soup, variations can include tonkotsu (a rich, milky, pork-bone broth), chicken, soy sauce, miso and vegetarian bases. Maybe, just maybe, I'll learn their secrets someday. In the meantime, I'll just watch Ramen Girl again.

My bowl of choice today is the Totto Spicy Ramen. The operation requires two Japanese men of varying height working in silent synchronicity while wearing towel do-rags. One man boils noodles in a converted deep fryer while his partner uses an oar to stir a cavernous pot of broth. (It helps to have a sassy black chick, who speaks Japanese, guard the door too.)

These men have mastered the art, so much so that I think the man boiling noodles may be getting carpal tunnel syndrome in his left wrist from slinging excess water off the noodles. For that fact alone, I'd like to tell you not to eat at Totto Ramen but then you'd be missing out on this wonderfully crafted bowl of soup and noodles. If you dare, there is an extreme spicy bowl with nine chilies pictured next to its name. My bowl with two chilies is spicy enough so I can't imagine what the other bowl is like.

One piece of advice: Make sure you get there early!
Twenty minutes before lunch service, the line is already 20 people long. The restaurant seats about 25 people at a time, approximately 10-12 at the bar with the remainder in a few 4-top tables in the back. The good thing is that ramen is fast food so the turnaround should be relatively quick.

Also check out Hide Chan Ramen on the East side, same street.

James Beard Foundation Annual Gala and Auction

www.jamesbeard.org
(James Beard awards are the US food version of the Oscar awards for tv/movies)

Visit date: November 10

My second trip back to New York so soon was based on this event. Here’s what I said on Facebook the morning after:
It’s always been a fantasy of mine to have five Frenchmen feed me an amazing culinary feast of seasonal truffles with lots of butter and a familiar but mysterious array of spices while a master Chinese sommeliar got me drunk on grand cru vintages. Slightly intimidating meeting them, left me feeling like a little schoolgirl, very blissful and happy.

Looking back, it was phenomenal to meet five legendary French chefs (and take pictures with them):
Joel Robuchon
Guy Savoy
Alain Ducasse
Jean-Georges Vongerichten
Fracois Payard

And we must not forget the fantastic sommelier:
Bernard Sun

These men have been cooking for years with numerous accolades and restaurants worldwide. One of great acclaim is Joel Robuchon who has been dubbed "Chef of the century" for his work at L’Atelier in Paris. Impressive, no? Absolutely.

But the recurring thought now – it’s hard for even chefs of this caliber to prepare 10+ hors d’oeuvres and a 5-course meal for 300 diners at once. Can you imagine the kitchen activity that night? The food was good but also a little inconsistent, and not so much of the wow factor I was hoping to get. It was also an odd feeling that half the diners had already eaten their course and had their plates cleared while we were just getting ours. Clearly, I could not afford a VIP table for 10 closer to the front at $10,000 per table. To that point, many of the guests were, sorry to say, old rich folk. It was, and still is, hard not to think they were there because they had nothing better to do, or no other place to spend their money. Let's just say there were pricey silent auction items during the reception, and live auction items in between courses that bid between $10,000-30,000!

But even with these observations/feelings of unjust, the event was a great experience and I had fun soaking/drinking in the moment. Short of being able to visit each chef’s restaurant in their various flagship locations, US or abroad, it was a good experience, if not just for bragging rights alone.