Restaurant experiment: Great NY Noodletown

Great NY Noodletown

28 1/2 Bowery at Bayard Street

New York, NY 10013

212-349-0923

AmyL and I were intending to hit up Chinatown for some dim sum, but as we passed Great NY Noodletown, I told her how popular it is and how AmyC’s gang loves it, and we ended up having our lunch there instead.

Since it was a little later than the the usual lunch time, we lucked out and were seated promptly at a table by the door; I had a full view of the people who came in and waited for a table.  Since Great NY Noodletown has been written up numerous times, there were a lot of tourists there.  You could tell.

I ordered the noodle soup with beef muscles and AmyL had the noodle soup with duck.  $4?  Score!  And filling too, or at least I thought so.  I spied jellyfish and thousand year old egg on the menu and brought it up to AmyL who agreed to split the platter with me.  That cost more than the noodles, but that was all right.  Thousand year old eggs actually gross me out just by looking at them, but they do taste very eggy and nice.  It’s fascinating how the egg whites turn translucent and dark brown.  Nifty.

 

Then the old man waiter made me irate.  Miscommunication issues aside, telling customers to give a specified money tip is TACKY and RUDE.  We went to Chinatown Ice Cream Factory after, and I felt better.  Black sesame ice cream is a proper calmer.

The Pipette turns one!

Happy birthday to my blog!

To celebrate, I will give a prize to the first person who makes a comment.  Hopefully today, but I’m patient.  Comments are coolness.  Cash value of prize not to exceed $7.09.

Rules: you must be someone I know in real life, and we can’t be related.  If you don’t want to comment here, send me a message by other means.  Not telepathy.

Restaurant experiment: Nan Shian

Nan Shian

38-12 Prince Street at 38th Street

Flushing, NY 11354

718-321-3838

AmyL and The Geneticist had been to Nan Shian before so it had Amy’s stamp of approval.  We’re mad about soup dumplings, and apparently this is the place for ‘em. 

We survived the 7 train and found the restaurant without any problems.  It was easy to find since it was the one with the line out front.  You know a place is popular if its sign isn’t even in English.  The wait wasn’t too long, but prepare yourself for a small dining area and your new family: good old communal seating.  Unless you’re a party of six or so.  I spent a lot of time checking out what the couple next to us was chowing down on.

Amy never steers me wrong.  We started with hot sweet soymilk.  Of course we had to order the soup dumplings which Nan Shian is famous for.  These are special dumplings popular in Shanghai, which, as the name suggests, have piping hot broth encased within the skin, along with the meat.  Amy had a handy trick for cleanly eating these guys.  I secretly snickered at the man and woman who let all the yummy broth leak all over the plate. 

And we simply had to order the scallion pancakes.  These have to be the best I’ve ever eaten!  Love love love the crunchy exterior.  Those flabby soft ones are ick.  These sure were not ick.

However, I’m lukewarm on the shumai filled with rice (wha?) and gyoza (not crispy enough).  I guess it’s pretty obvious that I like my skins/wrappers crunchy, huh?

Cash only.  And then I got Pinkberry later.  What an Asian way to spend the Fourth of July!

Restaurant experiment: The Ethiopian Restaurant

The Ethiopian Restaurant

1582 First Avenue between 83rd and 84th Streets

New York, NY 10028

212-717-7311

http://www.theethiopianrestaurant.com/

Stacy and I have had Ethiopian on the brain since Julie brought it up a few weeks ago. All right, maybe not on the brain, but at least at the very backs of our brains. So when we were deciding on a place for post-happy hour appetite relief, it was settled to come here.

The Ethiopian Restaurant has to be one of the worst names ever. It’s just so uninspired. But it wasn’t too crowded inside like a lot of Upper East Side places can be. Fine by me. I highly recommended the honey wine (tej) to Stacy, so she heeded by advice and ordered a bottle of it for us. The bottle told me it was made in New York State. It’s just mead I guess. But no matter. Stacy was keen on the tej to my relief. Woo hoo!

I ordered the tibs wot (”strips of beef cooked in berbere sauce with an assortment of traditional spices”), and I found it to be pretty finger-licking good.

Sean selected the lamb Ethiopian combo (”Our special combination of yebeg alecha, tibs wot, tikel gomen, misr wot and yabesh gomen”). You honestly can’t go wrong with combos at Ethiopian establishments because you can sample a lot of different plates with your dining companions. That works.

I believe Stacy picked out the doro wot (”spicy chicken stew simmered in berbere, garlic, onion and spiced butter served with a hard-boiled egg”) because it was supposedly insanely spicy, and I was warned to keep away.

All the entrees were about $12-14. The portions were slightly meager, or at least more so compared to my other NYC Ethiopian dining experience at Meskerem. I stuffed myself silly with the injera. Stacy and I are fans of that sour bread.

In a neighborhood that needs all the exciting international cuisines it can get, if you’re in the area, you can’t go terribly wrong by eating at The Ethiopian Restaurant.

Restaurant experiment: Klong

Klong

7 St. Mark’s Place between First and Second Avenues

New York, NY 10006

212-505-9955

http://klongnyc.com

Because the wait at Prune was too long for our impatient selves (20-30 minutes in case you’re wondering), I suggested Klong because Annie had wanted to throw a dinner there but they were restrictive about large groups.  Luckily Klong was three times the size of Prune and was a third less crowded.

Klong is decorated in a funky-chic-Asian way.  Among the décor: calligraphy brushes, abacuses, birdcages.  Ball bearing bead curtains covering the restroom area.  A mini lit-up river slinking along the back tables.  Swellness.

The weekday lunch special is a mere seven bucks and includes an appetizer and entrée.  For $3 more, you can add a mimosa to your lunch.  But I went the boring safe non-alcoholic route with chicken satay, pad Thai, and a Thai iced tea.  The iced tea comes in a tall skinny glass with a straw that is too short.  Long straws please!  The chicken satay was fine (I liked the mini salad in the bottom of the square ramekin), and the pad Thai was pretty palatable as well.  AmyL got two appetizers (shrimp in fried skins and spring rolls) and was satisfied as well.  Go Klong!

And Klong has kickin’ kickass business cards.

Restaurant experiment: Inase

Inase

1586 First Avenue between 82nd and 83rd Streets

New York, NY 10028

212-268-1238

http://www.inasesushiusa.com/

Sushi restaurants in the Upper East Side are a dime a dozen.  I always say that there are too many sushi parlors and Italian joints in the hood…what is up with that?  Lisa suggested we go to Inase for dinner because she’s been a few times and could safely recommend it to me.  Plus it’s run by Japanese people which is a plus in my book.  Yes, I am looking at you, East.

It was a gross wet evening, but we made it to Inase without getting drenched.  The dining area is long and narrow with an art gallery feel.  For real, the pieces had price tags next to them.  Lisa was telling me that the place is family run; the husband is the chef and the wife is the hostess/waitress.

I settled for the sushi regular since it was the most inexpensive sushi meal at twenty bucks.  You know what’s impressive?  You receive both soup and salad with your entree!  I was blown away since that doesn’t happen in NYC even though that is usually what goes down at other sushi sellers in other parts of the country.  The miso soup and salad were fine.  I wish we would have those hot towels, but none appeared.

I had requested no wasabi, but they goofed and gave Lisa my no wasabi regular and me her wasabi regular.  Not a grave error, but still.  That’s exactly what happened last time I had a sushi meal elsewhere.  The waitress apologized a million times.  What made up for that was having uni (sea urchin) included in the sample.  That’s amazing!  That doesn’t happen much either since it’s costly.  Yum yum yum.  And instead of dried seaweed, they used shiso (beefsteak/perilla) to wrap the salmon.  Interesting.   

Not pictured are the rolls that were included.  I picked salmon amongst the other choices.  Good good.  Low key atmosphere, high key food.  Thanks Lisa!

Restaurant experiment: Sedutto

Sedutto

1498 First Avenue at 78th Street

New York, NY 10021

212-879-9557

Even though Lisa said we could go to Pinkberry and I was tempted, I agreed to experiment and try this place out.  Sedutto looks like some den/basement from the 70s, with wood paneling walls and a giant cartoon ice cream cutout grinning at me.  It attracts the families, but there isn’t a lot of space for sitting down: only two tables.  Grab and go. 

After much indecisiveness on my part, I settled on the cappuccino ice cream: single adult scoop in a cone.  Because it wasn’t as hot as the jungle on that particular evening, I decided I could brave a cone.  My bad cone luck continues since I still managed to drip a little bit of ice cream onto my hand.  The cappuccino was a hit with me.  Not way sweet, you could taste the coffee, and there were toffee pieces tossed about.  For $3.75, your wallet says OK.

Cash only.  Bah!

Restaurant experiment: Tuck Shop

Tuck Shop

68 East 1st Street between First and Second Avenues

New York, NY 10003

212-979-5200

http://www.tuckshopnyc.com/

Meat pies. Sweeney Todd!

Luckily these pies don’t have people in them. Or so we believe.

Blondie was cranked in the background, and folks floated in and out of the petite pie purveyor. Some to go, some squishing at tables and ledges. I joined Stacy and Julie at the bar where they were nursing brewskis. I tried an Aussie beer; it was all right. The worker dude recommended it to me.

Julie and I picked one of the evening’s specials called “The Kiwi” which was ground beef and cheese. We agreed that you can’t go wrong with that. Words never truer have been uttered. Just a little spicy but not overwhelmingly so for wimpy me. Julie suggested I do a pre-eat picture and a post-eat picture, but the latter turned out rather dreadful, so I am sparing you all. You’ll have to imagine meat with melty cheese in your heads then. For $5-6, you really can’t beat the deal.

Then our trio split the vanilla slice ($3) because our top choice of the rhubarb pie was not available. Sadness. “Vanilla custard, sandwiched between 2 layers of puff pastry finished with a white fondant icing atop.” What a treat! Looks like a Toaster Strudel. To prevent sugar OD, split with friends! Do not eat solo.

Tuck in at the Tuck Shop!

Restaurant experiment: Lima’s Taste

Lima’s Taste

122 Christopher Street at Bedford Street

New York, NY 10014

212-242-0010

http://www.limastaste.com/

Pisco sours, where have you been all my life? We have a lot of catching up to do.

Since Stacy and I were across the street seeing Coraline the musical (one word review: wacky), we came here after to have a post-theater meal. Even though she made a reservation, the staff seemed confused. I have a feeling they didn’t even make note of her call. At any rate, Lima’s Taste was doing brisk business but there was no real wait. It was like 0 degrees in there. I was shivering through the first half of the meal, but later they gave the AC a rest.

Three men asked us for drink orders. Um, this is not a sign of confidence.

Continuing with the passion fruit theme, I ordered a passion fruit pisco sour while Stacy ordered a plain ol’ one. Going to this About.com site, I learned that pisco is a brandy distilled from white muscat grapes, and it was adopted by both Peru and Chile as a national drink. Does the US have a national drink? Looks like no. How sad! You can associate other liquids with other countries, but the US just has ‘em all, so I guess no national drink for us.

Stacy and I shared two appetizers: tuna ceviche with creamy lemon aji sauce ($16) and bacon wrapped shrimp with Peruvian dipping sauce ($11). The tuna ceviche was spicy and cilantro-laden, so I couldn’t approve it personally, but luckily Stacy was there to eat that while I took care of the bacon wrapped shrimp business. I wish the bacon were a little crispier, but oh well. The sauce, green of hue, was yummy.

My main was the rather dull-seeming lamb stew, “hearty helpings of lamb with assorted vegetables & rice” ($17). It’s very comforting, like blankets in winter. Nothing that nutty or bonkers, but that was just what I needed. Too much filling up on appetizers necessitated a to go box. Then the waiter brought it out in an untimely fashion, making me wonder if my leftovers were tossed out or neglected.

Later the Amy Winehouse background music stopped, and disco hits blew out our eardrums. What was up with that? First I assumed birthday party, but nope. My ears were relieved when the music was toned down though considering the neighborhood, I’m not surprised about the music selections. When I think of Peruvian comida, yes, 70s disco hits come to mind, or at least now they certainly will.

P.S. I love this picture. Funky angles, glowing lights, drinks and dinner.  More glam than it was.

Restaurant experiment: Cafe El Portal

Cafe El Portal

174 Elizabeth Street between Kenmare and Spring Streets

New York, NY 10012

212-226-4642

Cafe El Portal is one of those places which is sort of like a hole-in-the-wall but not really, or more like a fake hole-in-the-wall. It’s tiny but not so tiny in that you’re sitting in your table neighbor’s lap. Slightly low on the lights, cheery atmosphere verging on nearly raucous.

Stacy and I got the party started with margaritas. If you are a margarita enthusiast like me, you should find something you like on the drink menu. Frozen, on the rocks, plain, fruity…you’re set. Stacy got the prickly pear non-frozen, and I opted for the frozen passion fruit. Yeah! Just what I needed post-another day at the grind and pre-rocking out.

For my meal, I had the burrito de tinga, “tortilla filled with beans, rice, cheese, sour cream, guacamole and beef cooked in tomato/chiporle sauce” ($10.50). The menu definitely read “chiporle” sauce (as it does on MenuPages), but after Googling, I wonder if it’s supposed to be chipotle and was a typo. Anyway, soft beef and a hint of creamy sweet cinnamon I detected, delightful! I was giving myself a pat on the back for eating it all.

Caveats: no complimentary chips and salsa (though I believe this doesn’t exist in NYC period), no credit cards besides American Express (dumb!). Aside from that, I would recommend the Portal if you’re bopping around the Nolita area. Muy bien.