Restaurant experiment: Miss Myra’s Pit Bar-B-Que

Miss Myra’s Pit Bar-B-Que

3278 Cahaba Heights Road at West Green Valley Road

Birmingham, AL 35243

205-967-6004

http://missmyrasbbq.com

The original plan was for Brother and I to eat at Saw’s BBQ, but since it closed at the absurd time of 7PM (really?!?!?), Miss Myra’s Pit Bar-B-Que came to the rescue.  I had found out about it via Yelp’s glowing reviews though I was a smidge skeptical, after the not-so-awesome Bettola.

Miss Myra’s closed at 8PM, so they were cleaning up when we showed up.  This is one of those order at the counter places, but this time you go get your order when it’s called.  Brother ordered a pulled pork sandwich while I went for the chicken sandwich.  We both got a side each of the baked beans.  The side selection was a tad skimpy, with some others being deviled eggs, chips, potato salad, and green beans.  Sad, no fried okra.  That’s how I judge a BBQ place.

Our orders were presented as soon as the monetary transaction was completed.  I am not sure about the exact cost since my order had some payment issues, but it was not significant.  Brother and I sat down.  I admired the fish tank containing two large catfish or suckerfish and a multitude of guppies.  We both were not crazy about the Crimson Tide memorabilia, but what can you do.  The Christmas tree with pig ornaments was cute.

Now, I had noticed some Yelp reviews which made it a point to discuss the white sauce.  After I squirted some on my chicken pieces, I thought, “What’s the big deal?” but then I found myself squeezing the bottle more and more.  And then more and more.  And more.  It was nearly gone.  Well no, I exaggerate.  But an employee noticed our enjoyment of said sauce and commented on it.  He revealed that the sauce was vinegar, mayo, and black pepper.  And maybe something else, but that was basically it.  Hmm, good to know.  The sauce also complemented the beans quite nicely.  What a versatile condiment.  Brother was happy about his pulled pork.  I thought maybe that I should have gotten the pulled pork, but the chicken was fine.  The beans were really excellent with the white sauce.

Thank you, Miss Myra, for being there when Saw’s wasn’t.  I still want to try you, Saw’s.  But be warned that you’ve already gotten a strike against you.  Miss Myra’s close proximity to The Summit cannot be ignored.  Good place to pop in for an authentic BBQ experience.

Restaurant experiment: Chez Fonfon

Chez Fonfon

2007 11^th Avenue South between 20^th Street South and Richard Arrington Junior Boulevard

Birmingham, AL 35205

205-939-3221

http://fonfonbham.com

I was excited to try my first Frank Stitt restaurant after learning that he’s basically the kingpin of Birmingham fine dining.  The Highlands Bar and Grill is on my list, but that necessitates a special occasion.

Although this was certainly a special occasion in itself, as Brother was in town.  We eschewed the pay lot by the restaurant for street parking about a block down.  There was an attendant in the lot but he didn’t give us any guff.  Despite being nearly 1:30 PM (curse you, 280 lunch traffic), the dining room was practically full.  A cordial host seated us at a table towards the back.  The crowd was mixed: older, younger, but more on the professional side.

It was sweet to possess a four person table to ourselves.  Chez Fonfon is one of the most attractive restaurants I’ve been to in Birmingham, with bright windows and wood accents.  And a general historical feeling.  Our waiter was attentive enough though his attentions waned a bit during the end of our meal.  Server fatigue I suppose.

The menus were dated a few days earlier from our dining date.  There was a wide range of items to fit all price points, from sandwiches to fish.  I ordered the Hamburger Fonfon ($13.50) while Brother ordered the Croque Monsieur ($10.75).  Hamburger Fonfon is a misnomer because there is cheese atop the burger, a little something French called Comté.  It turns out that this was the common cheese of the restaurant, as it is also used for the Croque.  It’s somewhat pungent but otherwise not very sharp.  A good melted cheese as it looked right at home laying on the beef.  The patty was quite peppery, black peppery.  And it seemed to be ever pepperier as I ate towards the middle of the circle.  The burger came with lettuce and pickled onions, but no tomato.  Ketchup was served on the side, along with the house Dijon aioli.  That went well with the frites which were crunched to perfection.  Delish.

I couldn’t resist dessert.  Two words: gingerbread cheesecake.  Not having seen a cake such as described before, I was eager to try it.  There was no price on the menu, but it ended up being $7.50 for a fair-sized slice.  The cake came with a cheery gingerbread man.  The cheesecake was incredibly rich and gingerbready.  Freakin’ delicious.  The crust also deserved special note since it contained what I took to be pecans.

Brother and I left Fonfon, satistifed.  Now I really can’t wait to try Bottega and Highlands Bar and Grill.

Restaurant experiment: Chez Panisse Cafe

Chez Panisse Cafe

1517 Shattuck Avenue

Berkeley, CA 94709

510-548-5049

http://www.chezpanisse.com

I made this reservation a month in advance and was looking forward to it for 30 days.  Until I fell ill while consuming consumables in a foreign land only a few days prior.  Sob!  I recovered enough to actually make it to Chez Panisse Cafe, but my stomach was not up to par.  What a terrible shame.

As you may know, Chez Panisse is one of the biggest names in the local ingredient restaurants gang.  It consists of a restaurant downstairs and a cafe upstairs.  Seeing as though the restaurant is a tough one for reservations and more expensive, I had concluded earlier that the cafe was the way to go.  It was a dandy day in Berkeley, making for a pleasant walk from the BART station.  The cafe reminded me of a treehouse since I could see green leaves from the second story windows.  And there’s lots of wood.

Even though it was 1:30, the cafe was crowded, every seat full.  All the servers and the hostess looked like they’ve been working at Chez Panisse for 20 years: middle-aged.  Only the water/bread boys looked like they were undergrads.  Brother and I looked over the day’s menu.  As you’d expect, Chez Panisse’s offerings change daily depending on available foodstuffs.  I ordered the goat cheese and greens as a starter, and brother selected the zucchini soup with a glass of cider.  The cider was cold and refreshing, and I wished I could steal more sips.  Pesky stomach.  The goat cheese was celestial, and the greens had a delectable vinaigrette on them.  The soup was something very fall-like and comforting with its viscosity.  I was sure to steer clear of the spicy red pepper flakes.

The main course I picked out was the hand-cut green noodles with chicken and turkey ragout and parmesan cheese.  I kind of wanted something else (clams!); however, in the interest of my GI tract, I refrained and selected the gentle option.  The noodles were superb, and you could definitely tell they weren’t grocery store dried pasta or anything.  The bits of fowl were generous in their quantity as well.  I could only eat half before I called it quits.  Luckily, the staff were kind enough to box the pasta up for me.

First courses are the ballpark of $10 and seconds are in the realm of $20.  The worst part was not being able to partake in the desserts!  I nearly cried I was so despondent.  For tip calculating haters like myself, 17% gratuity is already added.  And the women’s restroom can accommodate two ladies while the men’s restroom is for just one gentleman.  Thanks Alice Waters!

Restaurant experiment: Cafe Spice

Cafe Spice

72 University Place between 10th and 11th Streets

New York, NY 10002

212-253-6999

http://cafespice.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=30&Itemid=70

The four of us ended up at Cafe Spice unintentionally.  It lucked out because it was in the right place at the right time.  After a trip to the Rubin Museum, we ended up wandering around, trying to find a place to have dinner.  Kora suggested Indian, and it didn’t help that the Yelp app was down, boo.  Intending the East Village as our destination, we passed by Cafe Spice and being tired, we settled on it because it was Indian and there.  That was good enough for us.

Cafe Spice sort of looks like a museum.  One wall had large, backlit images of spices.  Another wall contained glass containers.  Walls were painted colorfully.  The kitchen had a wide window, and I could observe toque-wearing chefs working their magic.  The tagline for Cafe Spice is “An Indian Bistro” which sorta means more Americanized and slightly more upscale.  The specialty cocktail menu was extensive, and there were a lot of non-Asian servers.  Someone likened this place to Spice, the Thai restaurant chain.  If you’ve been to Spice, than just picture Cafe Spice as the Indian version.

I ordered the murg tikka labadar ($16) because it was “chicken tikkas braised in a creamy tomato sauce.”  All entrees came with rice, salad, and dal.  The dal that came with this particular dish was called dal tadka.  I also put in my request for my requisite mango lassi.  Theirs was ultra thick and creamy.  Mmm!  Done right!  Regarding the menu, it’s pretty extensive, as most Indian menus are, so you should be able to find something.  There are even family-style options (hello, Olive Garden) but we nixed those as three omnivores outnumbered one herbivore.  Even some prix fixe-ish selections, called thali which seemed to be good deals for $25.

A complimentary plate of rolled up papadams emerged.  None of us had ever seen them rolled up like that, like little cigars or eggrolls.  Neato mosquito.  And as a bonus for myself, the rolls were not excessively peppery.  Hooray.

The mains soon appeared for everyone.

I tried the dal first.  It was kind of like eating a Guatemalan insanity pepper: so freakin’ spicy.  I quickly gave up after a few spoonfuls.  There were a few flakes of cilantro, bah, in the murg but I could at least deal with a small quantity.  The real issue here was how hot the dish was.  I guess Cafe Spice is living up to its name for sure.  Kora helpfully gave me some yogurt to dump into the murg to soothe the savage spice.  That did help, plus it gave the chicken a smashing extra creaminess.  Mmm, tender bird.  The salad was spicy in that there were copious amounts of raw onions tossed in there.  I found solace in the rice; at least the rice wasn’t spicy.  I also attempted the dal again later in case my mouth had been rendered tolerant, but alas no, I had to give up quickly again.

If you want your taste buds blown out, Cafe Spice is the place to be!  Aside from causing me grief, the  food was good and luckily we didn’t have to wait for a table either, being a Friday night.  Next time, I’ll have to request super mild mild, fit for newborn babies.

Restaurant experiment: Schiller’s Liquor Bar

Schiller’s Liquor Bar

151 Rivington Street at Norfolk Street

New York, NY 10002

212-260-4555

http://www.schillersny.com/

I’m working my way through the Keith McNally establishments…Schiller’s Liquor Bar at least is easier to get into than Minetta Tavern.  The brother and I went on a delightful spring afternoon to the eatery on a sunny Lower East Side corner.  The restaurant had a couple of the floor-length windows open, very springy.  I heard Schiller’s can be a madhouse during prime times, but being a midweek lunch, there were no issues with space.  The decor is pretty neat, like French bistro meets American soda shop?  Something along those lines.

We were told to sit anywhere we’d like, so I plopped myself down at two top by an open window.  Hooks above my head were home to my bag for the duration of the meal.  Our cheery waitress gave up tap water in the form a big clear glass flask.  The  drink menu was appealing, but I just stuck with water since it was mid-day and drinks were not dirt cheap ($11).  Breakfast served until 4pm, nice.  Apparently Schiller’s is well-known for their brunch, in case you were wondering about that.  And the name confuses people, I’ve noted.  I say I’m going to Schiller’s Liquor Bar, and they think I’m going to a regular old bar, but I’m going to a restaurant/bar.  Tricky tricky.

My stomach was a little  grumpy, so I decided to go with the trusty old cheeseburger ($12) with blue cheese; there was a typical selection, like cheddar and American and maybe gouda.  I was leaning towards the macaroni and cheese with bacon ($11), but I went with the burger and the brother thoughtfully ordered the mac and cheese so we could sample.

Immediately I noticed that the blue cheese certainly was blue.  In fact, it was so blue that it was kind off-putting, but not enough for me to forgo the burger.  No, of course not.  Good sturdy sesame bun, patty cooked exactly medium well, fresh components (veggies).

Fries were excellent (slender, fried well done, and no need for additional salt) though I suppose you have to expect that from a restaurant related to Balthazar and Pastis.

The macaroni and cheese featured literally, cubes of bacon.  They were just that thick.  Oh, oily goodness.  And the cheese crust at the top of the baby iron skillet (placed on a doily!) was a bonus.

I guess I’m saying that the entrees are not massive because I had room for dessert.  Or maybe I’m saying that the desserts sounded too tasty to pass up?  Either way, I selected the warm apple crumble ($7.50).  It came out in a little bowl with a scoop of vanilla ice cream on top.  Perhaps a little more apple than crumble but thumbs up overall.  Very tart apples were used in the creation of this dish, I can note.  Crumble could have been a little sweeter to counteract sour, but that’s enough backseat baking from me.

The bathrooms are worth a whirl.  Tip 1: The first door is funny!  Tip 2: Once past the first door, don’t go into the emergency exit as I nearly did and witnessed someone else nearly do.

Restaurant experiment: Rhong Tiam

Rhong Tiam

541 LaGuardia Place between West 3rd and Bleecker Streets

New York, NY 10012

212-477-0600

http://www.rhong-tiam.com/

The Coding Philosopher had alerted me to the fact that a reasonably priced establishment had earned a 2010 Michelin star.  Wild, no?  And Thai food too.  Naturally I had to check this out.

So I took Dave and the brother to this joint on the eve before Thanksgiving.  It was very dead, guessing it was because of the holiday.  Rhong Tiam is very white (paint-wise), with a raised section of tables and a lower section.  And there are Christmas lights twinkling up the place.  And a Vespa greets you as you enter.  Banjo-type music plays, some twangy European sounding stuff.

The menu is ginormous and reminds me of a diner menu.  I had a Thai iced tea as is my want.  We started off with two appetizers which were about $5 each.  Dave suggested the roti canai “crispy and doughy indian style pancake served with curry sauce” (in the foreground), and I decided we should sample the Thai nachos “minced shrimp and chicken in coconut dipping served with crispy shrimp chips” (in the background).  Both were nice, and my dinner companions were rather fond of the sauces and kept them after the severs tried to take them away.

For my main, I selected the Singapore Mee which was thin rice noodles with bean sprouts, egg, shrimp, signature sauce, and I picked out beef.  Despite no chili pepper by its name on the menu, it was spicy and made my lips tingle after.  The thought of how spicy the spicy meals are scares me.  While the noodles were good, they didn’t make me want to close my eyes and think that I could just die right then and there and be satisfied.  Dave and the brother seemed to like their dishes fine.

Man, I wish I had room for dessert, because looking now, there’s something called Thai tea creme brulee.  Drool.  So Rhong Tiam: it’s not an upscale dining experience, but it’s a tasty dining experience.  I’ll have to suggest it to Lisa since she’s the Thai fan in my circle.

Fun fact: the receipt encourages you to write online reviews.  Hee.

Restaurant experiment: Grimaldi’s

Grimaldi’s

19 Old Fulton Street between Front and Water Streets

Brooklyn, NY 11201

718-858-4300

http://www.grimaldis.com/2/Index.htm

Supposedly Grimaldi’s is the top pizza place of all five boroughs.  Through the friend-vine, Nick and Lily have both been here, and Nick is Team Grimaldi’s while Lily think it’s aight.  My first trip here was with the brother since he had heard the rumors and wanted to try it out.  Of course I was game.

The Wednesday before Thanksgiving, we arrived at this place at 11:10 AM and were not the first people there (they open at 11:30).  A line formed soon after.  I killed time by going through a box marked FREE which some bearded dudes had put out on the sidewalk.  Scored some CDs.  If you wanna know, the unofficial line forms away from the water as we learned as some woman in the line tried to act all high and mighty.  Shut up, lady.  These Italian tourists vouched for us, so there!

The doors finally opened, and it was kinda like Black Friday at Wal-Mart.  The place was full ten minutes later.  Wha?  The walls have pictures of famous folks who have eaten there, and the shirts read “I’m gonna make you a pizza you can’t refuse.”  I sat under a picture of The Godfather with this phrase.  The oven is out in the open.  As I waited in yet another line (for the bathroom), a dad was telling his son all about how the coal oven has to get super hot and such.  Free hand sanitizer, hey.

The brother and I decided to share a small pizza which was perfect for two people.  I had black olives and sausage on my half, and he had mushrooms and sausage on his portion.  The pie appeared pretty zippily.

Would I wait an hour outside for this pizza?

No.

Let me tell you why.  The black olives were bizarrely salty.  And I think they salted the underside of the dough.  What the heck?  Or since I just saw Fantastic Mr. Fox, what the cuss?  I ate everything, but I was craving water like the insane all the rest of the day.  Messed up.  Brother fared better, but he wasn’t exactly majorly impressed.  Oh well.  That’s what you get when you go to these hyped places.  Cash only, bleh.

When we left, there was a long line of pizza gobblers waiting outside.  Team Lombardi’s!  (Sorry Nick)

Restaurant experiment: The Redhead

The Redhead

349 East 13th Street between Second and First Avenues

New York, NY 10003

212-533-6212

http://www.theredheadnyc.com/

Next time she’s in town, I’ll have to take The Redhead to The Redhead.

Jokes aside, I selected this place to be the food venue for a dinner with Stacy, the brother, and Mark.  Lately The Redhead was distinguished by being the final review for the outgoing New York Times restaurant critic Frank Bruni.  That boosted its popularity.  What also will help is the face that it will soon be in a feature on Thirteen about mom and pop restaurants in NYC (I saw a man filming the dining room and asked the waitress about it).

The Redhead is yet another establishment which doesn’t really take reservations, and you must show up early in order to avoid a ridiculous wait.  Around 6:30 on a Tuesday night was just about right.  I wasn’t too fond of the table, kind of an island in the flow of traffic, but beggars can’t be choosers.

We started off with the bacon peanut brittle which was not what we expected.  Because you think brittle and conjure up a sticky rectangular piece which will snap your teeth in two.  This peanut brittle was essentially beer nuts with tiny bacon pieces.  And some spicy taste.  More bacon please.  I’d probably pass on these next go round.

This fried chicken impressed me and I’m kind of skeptical about fried chicken in that if it’s not KFC, it’s probably not worthwhile.  I’m very picky about the dryness of the bird meat.  But The Redhead’s fowl was out of this world.  So moist and oily, with a crunchy buttermilk exterior.  And the cornbread and salad weren’t too shabby either.

I finished the meal with liquid dessert, a wee glass of moscato.  Perfect!  Mark had suggested moscatos during an earlier conversation, and seeing a moscato in the dessert section made it clear that I needed to order that.  Dessert wines are the best!  Stacy let me sample her toffee cake with buttermilk ice cream, delicious (liked the hints of lemon zest).  Also the best, take home goodies.  The espresso cookie was more like a brownie and had hints of sea salt.  Sweet.

Restaurant experiment: La Giara

La Giara

501 Third Avenue between 33rd and 34th Streets

New York, NY 10016

212-726-9855

http://www.lagiara.com/

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The parentals and the brother and I came here on a Monday evening because the mother unit wanted Italian within walking distance of the hotel.  Since I wanted to accrue more OpenTable points, I found this place La Giara which seemed to fit the bill.

I didn’t really need to make a reservation since the place was rather dead.  I’d rather have a place undercrowded that overcrowded though.  At least we could hear each other easily and had attentive service, though the waitress’s Eastern European accent was rather thick.  Lucky for us, Monday nights are $9 pasta nights.  Good deal since the usual costs are about $13 to $16.

The family shared the bufala caprese appetizer ($11.50) which was “bufala milk mozzarella, plum tomato, basil, oregano and extra virgin olive oil.”  It also came with bread and olive oil tomatoes on crostini.  Yum.  We also shared a red wine with was yum.

The brother and I shared a pear and walnut salad which was not too thrilling.  It was okay but needed more cheese since it advertised cheese.  As my main, I ordered spaghetti in lamb ragout and pecorino cheese ($13.50).  I found this dish to be comforting and satisfyingly lamb-y though it was toeing the line into blandness.  Plus I got extra freshly grated cheese on top, and we all know that cheese can improve nearly any dish.

I felt bad for La Giara since it could have used some more business.  At least we were doing our part.  And it’s an appealing cozy space, with candles on the tables, white walls accented with dark wooden beams, wine bottles as decor, and so forth.  You can do it a favor and go Mondays.