City, Recommended Restaurants - Thursday, November 13, 2008 17:10 - 9 Comments
Think Coffee for Dinner? Think Again
On a cold fall day, you just want a comfortable, warm place to enjoy dinner. One of those days last week, I thought I would try Think Coffee for dinner. Their coffee is pretty good, so their food should be as well, right? Or so I thought.
City, Recommended Restaurants - Tuesday, November 11, 2008 13:06 - 6 Comments
The Hummus Place
If you are in the mood for hummus, then it only makes sense to go to a restaurant called The Hummus Place. Although they do not have much else on the menu besides different types of hummus, they stick to one thing because they have perfected it. The last time I took the short walk from Kimmel to The Hummus Place, however, I wanted to try something different, and opted for the Shakshuka ($6.95). I would describe it as a chunky, vegetable and tomato stew with poached eggs, served warm. Although it might sound a bit off-the-beaten path, it was great on a cold fall day. In the past, I’ve ordered the Hummus Tahini ($5.95), which is one of their consistently good dishes if you want to try the hummus. They serve their main dishes with a choice of whole wheat or original pita bread, as well as assorted pickles and olives. Their menu also offers a good selection of Middle Eastern sides and desserts.
They offer two locations convenient to NYU students:
The Hummus Place
99 MacDougal
-And-
109 St. Mark’s Place
Photo by Max Zorick
City, Recommended Restaurants - Monday, November 10, 2008 12:05 - 2 Comments
Ramen Wars
Thin, wavy noodles and basic pork broth from Kambi
If I don’t eat ramen at least once a week, my body enters a dangerous state of sodium deficiency-induced paralysis. With every saline spoonful of piping hot broth, I feel my limbs gradually engorging like basketballs overfilled with air. I crave the tender pork and resilient noodles that glisten beneath their soupy blanket, and I long to hear emphatic shouts of “irasshaimase!” and communal noodle slurping. In light of Chef Masaharu Morimoto’s recent East Village ramen rating, I’ve also decided to compare some of the purveyors of this typical Japanese street food. Unfortunately, unlike Morimoto, I don’t get paid to eat and consequently did not stop by his top pick, Momofuku Noodle Bar. At $16 a bowl, I’ll leave it to the salaried food bloggers to verify Morimoto’s assessment.
City, Recommended Restaurants - Monday, November 3, 2008 9:49 - 2 Comments
Porchetta Will Stick To Your Gut
Slow-roasting is the cooking method of the gods. Anything that sits in an oven for hours, seeping in its own juices and fat is destined for greatness. Exhibit A: the porchetta sandwich (pronounced pork-etta, which sounds like it could be an Italianism for a hunchbacked, barrel-chested matron), whose namesake is shared by the newly-opened East Village restaurant that specializes in this meaty, fatty Italian rendition of pork roast. After reading positive reviews of the sandwich in both the New York Times and Serious Eats: New York, I decided to head over to Porchetta to try this tasty little morsel.
City, Recommended Restaurants - Tuesday, October 28, 2008 12:07 - 1 Comment
Feel Less Guilty About Your Carbon Footprint at Habana Outpost
I don’t very often travel to Brooklyn specifically for a meal. However, Fort Greene is home to one of New York’s more notable restaurants, The Habana Outpost. You might be familiar with the pair of restaurants here in Manhattan and wonder why Habana needed to move to Brooklyn; simply put, Manhattan is not eco-friendly enough.
City, Recommended Restaurants - Monday, October 27, 2008 9:20 - 1 Comment
Halloween Treats Without Turning Tricks
For the vertically-challenged who are forced to derive entertainment from staring at the backs of strangers’ heads at the Halloween Parade (I speak from experience), imbibing pre-festivities is essential. Instead of heading out to the Pour House to fist-pump with washed-up frat boys, I recommend some of these tasty, fall-inspired booze options from Liqurious: Liqurious: pumpkin & gingerbread cocktail and spiked apple cider.
As for munchies, here’s a list of sugary and/or pumpkin-infused goodies featured at restaurants throughout the city:
City, Recommended Restaurants - Friday, October 24, 2008 14:03 - 0 Comments
Choose Café Select
Ham and Gruyere on a Bretzel
Some restaurants in New York seem to do really well for a few months, but then are torn apart by food reviewers and fizzle out, eventually losing their edge. Others, the ones that will eventually stick around, gain traction as they are critically reviewed and passed by word of mouth.
Café Select is just that kind of restaurant. It opened nearly the same time I moved back into the city. I pass by Café Select every day, I saw it evolve—I witnessed it grow from only open for lunch with a few customers to open for dinner with people huddled at the door waiting for a table. It has just the right ingredients to become a restaurant that I think will last—a well-known owner, a somewhat unique perspective, and most importantly, a knack for making good food.
City, Recommended Restaurants - Tuesday, October 21, 2008 8:23 - 0 Comments
Bon Appetit Cafe is Your Chance to Eat Celebrity Chef Food And Still Pay Rent
Once a year, Bon Appetit collaborates with world-renowned chefs to open a “pop-up” café in New York for a little more than one week. When I first heard this, I thought—yeah, yeah, world-renowned chefs host events all the time in New York for $60 per person.
But Bon Appetite Café is a little different. Starting October 23, chefs will be cooking some their favorite recipes at extremely fair prices. For instance, Friday’s special is Mario Batali’s Tortilla Española served with Mixed Greens ($7) and next Wednesday is Ben Ford’s Atlantic Salmon with Artichoke Potato Salad and Warm Fennel Vinaigrette ($10). I am not sure how bad the lines will be, but if you have time off for lunch, it might be worth making the trip.
Bon Appetit Cafe
Open to the Public
Weekdays 11am – 3pm
October 23 – October 31
221 West 57th Street
City, Recommended Restaurants - Monday, October 20, 2008 7:57 - 4 Comments
A Salt & Battery Might Be Violently Delicious
Entering A Salt & Battery in the West Village, I half-expected (and desperately hoped) to be taken down by the Poppins and ruthlessly mocked by a crowd of burly Cockneys, just like in Arrested Development’s Wee Britain. The atmosphere, which is colored by groups of angry, British construction workers slinging expressions like “bloody Hell” and “‘ello love”, makes the experience, though the crispy fried fish definitely pulls its weight, too. For a fish & chips joint, I’d expect nothing less than this dangerously-close approach to Wee Britain.
City, Recommended Restaurants - Thursday, October 16, 2008 16:26 - 1 Comment
Lahore Deli is Good, Cheap, and Quick
The New York foodie blog Grub Street usually writes about high-end restaurant openings and celebrity chef gossip. But, sometimes they also cover the other end of the spectrum (i.e. Dollar Daze), and one recommendation that I decided to check out was Lahore Deli, known for its $1 samosas.
When I ventured over to Lahore, I asked the man behind the counter to recommend something. He said he was cooking a lamb curry, so I took him up on the offer. For only $6, I got the lamb curry over rice. Authentic Pakistani or Indian food is not something that I get to have every day, but Lahore certainly tasted like a home-cooked meal.
Lahore Deli
132 Crosby St.
24 hours
Photo by Max Zorick
