Shang

Last night Ry and I ventured out in the cold and post-snow slush to celebrate what might be considered my favorite holiday: Restaurant Week. This time we tried Shang- Chef Susur Lee's NYC spot at the Thompson Hotel on the LES. After watching him on Top Chef and reading up on the restaurant, I was prepared to try some amazing things, including the dish in the photograph- Singapore Slaw.

Singapore Slaw is a salad with 19 ingredients, and though I could not follow as the waiter rattled them all off, my tastebuds were tickled and thrilled-really- by every last one. I don't know if I can name every flavor I came across, but the basics: a crispy, crunchy mee-krob style noodle, with lots of ginger, plum dressing, daikon radish, edible flowers....and at this point, I'm going to have to cheat and google for the rest.

Ohhhh yes: post, googling, I totally remember tasting the pickled onion, the peanuts, the microgreens, and the carrot.

Ryan ordered the restaurant week menu, and his appetizer was a satay trio of chicken, shrimp, and steak. The skewers were topped with a spicy massaman curry and a mint chutney. Ryan thought it was really good, though he enjoyed the shrimp the least.

For our second courses, Ryan ordered the hanger steak which came with wasabi mashed potatoes. Ryan wasn't blown away, and declared it tasty, maybe a little salty, though not the best he's ever had. I tried the mashed potatoes and was disappointed- they were a bit cold and not creamy.

I on the other hand really liked my entree- cantonese wok fried pearl noodles with vegetables. The veggies were crisp- asparagus and pepper and spicy peppers. The noodles were a little heavy and greasy, but it didn't ruin the overall effect of the dish. (Though between the slaw and the noodles, I waaaaay overate.)

Washed down with some sake for Ryan and cava for me, we finished off with a chocolate cake dessert that was actually pretty tasty for a few bites.

I think next time I'd sit at the bar, have a glass of wine and the slaw, and perhaps sample the sushi or other appetizers...

Buddha Bodai

Oh, vegetarian heaven. I have been here several times- but this past time, almost 7 months in to my vegetarian goodness, this vegetarian-kosher spot tasted better than ever before. I am not the world's biggest fan of fake meat- I usually opt for real tofu or for all-veggie dishes- but this chinese restaurant- which I'm pretty sure is the real deal- I was one of the few english speakers on my last visit- is no joke. My veg friend, Stacey, joined me, and declared it "the best food ever". It was like two hours of pure chow down.

So, what delights did we try? We split an order of the sesame chicken- actually tofu, not fried, with the most perfectly steamed bright green broccoli ever. It pretty much cured every chicken craving I've had in the past months- and reminded me that the best part is the broccoli anyway. The sauce was sweet and tangy, not overly syrupy or thick, and just pretty much made the fresh broccoli taste amazing.

We also had the Buddha's delight crisp noodles- a massive plate of crispy ramen noodles in sauce with bok choy, mushrooms, tofu, and more broccoli. I ate far too much of everything.

As a final compliment to the awesomeness that is this spot, on a previous visit, even my totally skeptical of veg food husband was impressed by the cuisine!

If you are in chinatown and want vegetarian heaven, seek this spot out!!

Washington, DC

I always forget- until I'm back- how pretty our capital city is. The grand marble columns... the wide boulevards... the perfect vistas. The glory of planned cities! On our last visit, we got to do some tasty touring as well as eating, and I wanted to feature two restaurants, one new, one a classic- that we sampled!

Masa 14


The concept of this restaurant is latin-asian fusion tapas- an interesting idea, and one which produced many tasty dishes, though I had two fairly consistent comments: too much salt, and too much sauce. Everything was just slightly saltier and "wetter"- for lack of a better term- than was really necessary. And this is a tad bit a shame, because otherwise, the food was really delicious- and this seemed unnecessary!! So, overall, good stuff, but perhaps ask them to hold the salt and sauce on the side....

We tried a sampling of dishes, not even sure if this covers them all- and accompanied them with tasty margaritas and mojitoes.

The baby spinach salad with mushrooms, red pepper, and black bean dressing was fresh and featured great flavors, but as mentioned previously, had waaaay too much dressing.

The wild mushroom flatbread with oaxaca cheese, red pepper and avocado was actually one of my top favorites- the flavors balanced nicely and it was not over-seasoned. I also was surprised to like the crispy crab wonton rolls with cream cheese, corn, mushroom, shiso, truffle, and spicy ponzu- I think the cream cheese and crab combo for me works well. Finally, the wok seared cauliflower with ginger and an (extremely spicy) chile de arbol was another top favorite, as was the fried tofu with spinach, and sweet and spicy sauce.



Less successful as a complete dish was the green tofu curry with potato, carrot, and cortija cheese. The curry itself was tasty, and creamy- but I found the cortija cheese to seem forced 'fusion' flavor where perhaps a splash of lime would have served better. The feta-like cortija cheese and creamy coconut curry seemed completely at odds, and luckily was easily picked off.
Ryan also tried the pork belly steamed buns, which seemed like the perfect combo of all of his favorite things- but was disappointed by the pork and the bun- which instead of looking like a traditional asian-style steamed bun, looked more like a pita-bread taco shell... Finally, the yucca fries with chimichurri and garlic- lime aioli dipping sauce should have been amazing, but was sooo salty, that the flavors of the delicate yucca were hard to detect.

Overall, my feeling is that as at many tapas restaurants, it is a process of finding the small plates that you like. I'd try this spot again in the future, but I'd also make sure to tell them to lay off the salt.....




Jaleo


Probably well over 15 years ago- seriously- I had my first-ever taste of gazpacho at this DC classic spanish tapas restaurant. In my brain, the gazpacho here has yet to be paralleled in the states- for the traditional, real-deal thing. And, 15 years later, the memory proved true- it is indeed the best classic American take on this classic.

We also tried an eggplant and red pepper salad, as well as papas arrugas- potatoes with green mojo sauce- only like my favorite thing... ever. Sooooo good.I mean, how can a green sauce made with cilantro, cumin, and garlic ever taste bad? Oh, by adding some sherry? nope, still awesome....

If you are ever in DC, make sure to come by this amazing spot. Of course, now I know it is owned by the world-renowned chef Jose Andres, but that only makes me all the more proud to have such an advanced palate back at 8, lol.

Thai Red Curry With Chicken

One of my favorite meals, smells amazing cooking up on my stove! I've heard this version referred to as 'jungle curry'- it has more ingredients than a traditional red curry might, and is creamier. Ryan cooked this up last night for me- what a guy!

Vegetables:
green beans or snap peas
red pepper
squash/zucchini/eggplant
Several cloves garlic
1-2 tblsp red curry paste- We use Thai Kitchen, pictured above- or you can make your own (This too, coming soon...)
1/4-1/2 yellow onion
2 cans coconut milk (We like Thai kitchen or Taste of Thai)
fish sauce
1/2 lime or kaffir leaves
thai sweet basil/ regular basil
bamboo shoots/ water chestnuts/ baby corn
pinch sea salt
pinch sugar
handfuls fresh cilantro
(chicken breasts)
2 teaspoons olive oil/peanut oil
thumb size piece of grated ginger/ galangal
1- 1 1/2 cups vegetable or chicken stock

1. If cooking with chicken, cook the chicken first in butter and cilantro and reserve.
2. In large saucepan, pour in one can coconut milk and 1-2 tblsp red curry paste, depending on your tolerance for spice. Bring to a boil, then simmer for about 20 minutes.
3. Add vegetables, spices and seasonings, then second can of coconut milk and continue to simmer another 15 minutes.
4. Add chicken, stir frequently, adjust seasonings to taste.

Serve over jasmine rice!

Stir Fry Veggies

We have attempted stir fry on several occasions- we even have a really pretty wok to cook in- but it usually ends up soggy and the flavor is never right. So, as always, we try, try, again. This meal SHOULD be really easy, quick, and delicious. I will not give up!! So here we are, live blogging the latest attempt:

Ingredients:

*Aromatics:
2 cloves garlic
5 scallions, whites and light greens
approx. 1 tblsp grated ginger


*Vegetables:
The best stir-fry will mix vegetables that have different textures- some type of leafy green, then a softer vegetable, and crisper ones:

Greens: bok choy, napa cabbage
Red or green pepper, zucchini or squash, mushrooms
green beans, broccoli, snap peas, carrots
asian: water chestnuts, baby corn
peanuts or cashews

Prepare all the vegetables so that they are cut into same-sized pieces, this is key to regulate cooking time!

*Sauce (Adapted from Dean and Deluca)
2 teaspoons rice wine vinegar
1/2 teaspoon siracha/ chili sauce (To taste, this stuff gets spicy fast, predominantly on the back end!)
pinch sugar
black pepper
1 tsp sesame oil
sprinkle sesame seeds
chicken stock
2 tsp soy sauce

Dilute 1 tsp cornstarch with a little water until milky, mix in to sauce. Set aside



Cooking directions:

Step one: Heat up the wok. Put in 1 tablespoon of peanut oil. BE WARNED: it gets hot and you will probably get spattered- careful. Test to see if the oil is hot enough but flicking a little drop of water in it from your finger- it will crackle when ready.

Step two: Add in the garlic, scallion, and ginger. Cook until fragrant. Mash down into the oil to release the fragrance.

Step three: Once the garlic, ginger and scallion are ready, add in your thickest vegetables- in our case, broccoli and green beans- and then add in chicken broth and allow to simmer until veggies soften.

TIP: Push veggies out to side of wok to maintain even cooking.

Step Four: Add in softer veggies- red bell pepper and yellow squash, and bok choy. Allow to cook down, move to sides to make a central space in the middle. If veggies are drying out, add in a little more broth.

Step five: Pour sauce into oil in the space in the center (add a bit more if all burned off), allow to boil and thicken, and then stir quickly together with the veggies, turn off heat and serve.

RESULTS: This time, we were really quite pleased! It took about 5 minutes total cook time, the veggies were nice and crisp, the sauce was really flavorful- and our new technique of creating a well for the sauce to boil in and THEN mixing with the veggies solved our soggy problem. Also, reducing the use of oil and adding in chicken stock to keep the veggies moist really added a nice flavor and kept the veggies from getting that slick oily gross-ness.

Next time, we talked about going even heavier with the chicken stock, as well as possibly sprinkling a little bit of orange as a citrus flavor over the veggies. We might also experiment with asian noodles!

We like to put our stir fry over jasmine rice~!

Cheers! (vs. SEA)

Cheers is our local thai spot. The decor leaves a bit to be desired, though they do have a backyard... We opt for take-out. The food is phenomenal. Now, a lot of folks come all the way to Williamsburg to check out SEA, our other thai restaurant- but for me, Cheers beats SEA hands down, though I do occasionally venture to SEA, too. A play-by-play:





Decor:
Cheers: ugly.
SEA: Super chic, but looking a little worn?

Scene:
Cheers: no wait, 10-15 minutes for food
SEA: 1 to 2 hours on popular nights, total madhouse, we prefer lunchtime!

Apps:
Cheers: the spring rolls are amazing. They are always fresh, lightly fried, and super tasty. Love the plum sauce.
SEA: the spring rolls are tasty here too! I also like their version of Thom Ka Khai- a coconut soup with galangal and cilantro.

Entrees:
Cheers: Favorite for Ryan- Chicken Panang Curry. A red creamy, spicy coconut curry with red pepper. Me: Green vegetable curry with tofu- spicy coconut curry with eggplant, zucchini, green beans, and carrots.

SEA: I love one of their specials, "Rama the King". A mixture of red curry and peanut sauce! SO yummy.

With a cup of jasmine tea, I'm in heaven!

Banjara

Tonight Ry & I went to our favorite Indian Restaurant, Banjara. "Loyalty" is not the right word for how we feel about this place- as far as we're concerned, you could close pretty much every other indian restaurant in town. Yup, that into it. We've been coming here for a solid 5 years, pretty much since I left the UWS and the Indian Cafe by Columbia. Never had a bad meal! We make a pilgrimage here now probably every 2-3 months, although we tend to go more as the weather improves...

What we love: the vegetable samosas and the mint chutney. YES.

Ryan: Murg tikka masala- which is a creamy version of the classic. White meat chicken in a tomato/cream based sauce that is not spicy, but very flavorful.. and a side its of naan to dip in the sauce.

Me: Chicken or Vegetable vindaloo, as hot as they are willing to make it for a white chick. Usually they look to Ryan for permission/confirmation that I am not insane. Oh man, over the basmati rice, with a little raita and naan....so good.

A Taj Mahal beer for Ryan to boot, and the meal is complete.

Nero D'Avola & drinks at Buddakan

I met my dad for dinner in the city the other night. Ironically, it was St. Patrick's day, and we went for Italian. Go figure. I have walked past Nero several times, and it always looked really romantic inside. It was also always packed, so it was nice to have a reservation on a *quieter* evening. I was really impressed by my glass of montepulciano, and couldn't get enough of the fresh bread and garlic-infused olive oil. We split an appetizer of Crostini- There was an artichoke, a tomato and basil, and a prosciutto- all were great and served with melted delicious buffalo mozzarella cheese. For my entree, I had super think maccheroni- real italian style- in a marinara sauce with eggplant. This is quickly becoming my go-to item- something about the eggplant really makes the tomato sauce pop, and brings out just so many fresh, spring flavors in the sauce! My dad opted for the carbonara, which he reported was also good, though not as good as he has had in the past. Overall, I was really pleased with this spot. There was a ton of flavor in the food- something that can be lacking, but here, it was clear everything was fresh and quality.





After dinner we stopped in Buddakan for a drink and to soak in the sexy atmosphere. I'd been dying to check the bar out for a while, and I figured my dad would appreciate the elaborate decor. This really is a beautiful space. I recommend sitting at one of the low tables- the bar stools were a little rough, but the place was really cool!!

M

Tonight Ryan, my best friend and I went back to a classic Williamsburg haunt: M Shanghai Bistro, which we just call M. We've been coming here for a few years, and it always hits the good spots. Ryan is very picky about chinese food, so no average takeout joint will suffice.

To start, the juicy pork buns at this place are seriously to die for. They are awesome!! I love them so- no questionable pork, either. I can't praise them enough. The meatball is tender, flavorful, and juicy as promised- they fill the bun with soup, some type of pork broth. And then served with a ginger soy sauce. So good.

I had the sliced beef with scallion and onion, which is also just a great treat. The beef is tender and thin, and the scallion and ginger flavor is salty and savory. Ryan had the ginger and sweet orange chicken which was also delicious. I usually get the kung pao which kicks ass, and with a little spice to it, too.

I don't think you can go wrong here. They even serve booze. The communal tables are an interesting set up, and the ever-changing art on the walls is always worth at least a quick glance. My only complaints are that I tend to find the tables to be a little sticky, the bathroom is pretty gross, and the chopsticks are not the easiest to use in the world. Pee before you come by, don't put your elbows on the table, and use a fork, and this could be your favorite chinese place too.

Tao

This year for restaurant week we figured we'd check out a "classic" on the NY scene, and finally go to Tao. This restaurant, now in year 10 or perhaps even more, is still as "scene-y" as ever. Thanks to the over the top decor, I can understand why it brings in tourists and B&T folks alike. We enjoyed our pre-dinner cocktails, I was drinking "Taotinis", a raspberry fruity concoction that was both tasty and strong. However, we did not like the rather rough bar bill, or the fact that we had to wait almost 40 minutes past our reservation time. We also did not like the fact that people were obviously skipping us- seriously? Just not cool in this town.

However, seating issues and expensive bar bill aside, we sat down to dinner, and really liked the prix-fixe menu. For appetizers, I had pork pot stickers, and Ryan had crispy tuna sashimi. The pork potstickers were in a really nice spicy and sweet sauce, and I was surprised by the large portions. Ry's tuna was tasty, although I thought the fish itself was overpowered by the "crisp" and wasabi. Our entrees were also quite large, and we ended up needing to take some to go! I had the kung pao chicken, which was tasty, but not spicy enough for me. Ryan had the wasabi-crusted filet, which was cooked to perfection and very tasty, but the wasabi crust was grainy, and luckily easily scraped off.

For dessert, I had a banana bread pudding which was creamy, light, and really flavorful. Ryan had the chocolate spring rolls which were incredibly rich. We enjoyed them both, and again, had food to spare!

Ryan ordered a sake tasting flight that he raved about. I don't drink sake, alas, but will have to trust his opinion.

Our waiter was friendly and helpful, and made me forget a little about the hostess and long wait situation.

The decor is pretty ridiculous, complete with a 15-foot tall buddha fountain.

Overall, we enjoyed ourselves- but found there were flaws to our evening. However, for restaurant week experiences, we ranked it very high, and I think we would both be willing to visit again. This time, we'll know to bribe the hostesses!

August Dining....

Here are some quick reviews of the eating & drinking I've been doing over the past month...

Barolo- 8/16-This restaurant looked old and outdated. The SoHo location and backyard- which has previously been described as "transporting" and "romantic"- looked more like a concrete patio than ever. This photo must have been taken much earlier in its life. The Italian food was bland, bland, bland, and the fish gave my husband food poisoning. Never Again.

Kittichai- Awesome

atmosphere, awesome food. This Thai-inspired restaurant had some killer dishes. I had an appetizer of tuna tartar, and my husband had a seabass tempura that was insanely good. The other members of our party were equally pleased with all the dishes. For my entree I had the steak, which was well-flavored and spicy. My uncle had a fish curry that was presented with the whole fish wrapped around the dish. After dinner, we had drinks on the rooftop bar A60, which is labeled as "members and guests" only- but we had no issue getting up there. The view is killer- including the Empire & Chrysler buildings- and it wasn't overly crowded for a Friday night. I'll be back.