Restaurant experiment: Curry Leaf

Curry Leaf

99 Lexington Avenue at 27th Street

New York, NY 10016

212-725-5558

http://www.curryleafnyc.com

Leslie and I met up for a weekday lunch.  I suggested Saravanaas but the line was flowing out the door, so we nixed that and wandered up Lex, ending up at Curry Leaf which was less crowded.

We both ordered the lunch prix fixe and picked out the tandoori platter: “chicken tikka, tandoori chicken, seek kabob & one vegetable curry” along with basmati rice, naan, salad, and rice pudding.  A fair deal for $9.95, considering that neither of us were able to finish everything.  Hello, dinner.

The salad was just iceberg with an oily dressing.  The naan was terrific, warm, airy, soft, and fresh.  The rice was good.  But I think not all of the items listed on the menu were included, and maybe they ran out because it just looked like tandoori chicken only.  Which is okay because I like it, but that was odd.  It was a teensy bit dry but still really delightful.  My veggie of choice was  saag paneer, “cottage cheese & spinach cooked in butter flavored tomato gravy.”  I’ve had saag paneer a couple of times and wasn’t expecting spicy.  Leslie and I are spice wimps and didn’t desire to have our taste buds lasered off, so I was surprised that the saag was a little spicy though it was certainly manageable.

The rice pudding wasn’t on the menu so it was  pleasant surprise and saved me from ordering a mango lassi.  It was slightly chilled, not too ricey, with strong coconut flavors and a smidge of sliced almonds.  I don’t even like rice pudding all that much, and I enjoyed this.

Bad: I saw a mammoth fly hanging out above a painting on the wall.  Ew.  Still, the food’s better than Banana Leaf.

Restaurant experiment: Gong

Gong

173 East 99th Street between Lexington and Third Avenues

New York, NY 10029

212-360-5874

gongnyc.com

That Girl endorses Gong, and so Dave and I had dinner with her one fine evening.  Despite the place’s small size, I still managed to miss That Girl who was tucked away in the corner by the door.

Gong is probably one of the prettiest restaurants in East Harlem.  Maybe even the prettiest.  Or at the least the prettiest one I’ve been to so far.  There’s dark wood juxtaposed against white walls and curtains, and there are nifty touches like bamboo growing in tin kettles and the wavy white plate holding the spring rolls that That Girl ordered.

I shared pad see ew ($8.50), “flat rice noodles, wok fried in black soy sauce with egg & Chinese broccoli” which I got with beef.  Good stuff.  Not too salty or dull.  Dave shared his grilled tofu in chili basil sauce ($8.95) which despite being a 1 out of 3 on the spicy scale, still made my lips and tongue tingle.  Doesn’t the tofu look like giant grilled marshmallows?

Cash only, bleh.  The irritation is lessened by the cool wooden frog percussion instruments which bear the bill.  Rub the mallet over the back, croaks emerge.

Restaurant experiment: Amor Cubano

Amor Cubano

2018 Third Avenue at 111th Street

New York, NY 10029

212-996-1220

http://www.amorcubanorestaurant.com

Mi amor es comida de cuba!  I don’t know if that was proper Spanish, but it’s fine for my purposes.  Amor Cubano on this particular evening featured a two piece band (percussion guy, keyboard cat, err guy) with guest cameos by a flute lady.  The music was a little too loud for me but it did add a pleasant touch to the atmosphere.

Dave and I shared a Cuban sandwich and two mini Cuban hamburgers.  I have never heard of a Cuban hamburger; they looked like breakfast sausage sandwiches.  Smaller than White Castle.  I think I goofed and waited until after the sandwich to eat the hamburgers which were naked except for a pickle.  Lots of various spices in the pork.  Not bad.  The Cuban sandwich was great.  I liked the special sauce they used to bring it all together.

There aren’t too many Cuban places in Manhattan, and I do believe I’ve been to a healthy chunk of them.  Amor Cubano luckily rates well amongst the others.

Restaurant experiment: T Poutine

T Poutine

168 Ludlow between Stanton and Houston

New York, NY 10002

646-833-7444

http://www.tpoutine.com

Many moons ago, Stacy and I, along with Julie and Thomas, attempted to come here for dinner but alas, it hadn’t opened yet.  I was disappointed since I wanted to try poutine for the first time ever.  I would have to be patient.

Flash forward a few months.  T Poutine had opened its shiny doors to the Lower East Side, but I wasn’t able to grace it with my presence right away.  But the appropriate opportunity to check out T Poutine came up, and I knew I had to seize it.

The place wasn’t very crowded.  They way it works is that you order at the counter and go sit down, and then the employees bring out the food to you.  T Poutine offers a diverse array of poutine options, but I went for the “Classic” since I’m a newbie to this Quebecois dish.  If you are unfamiliar with this treasure, it’s medium thickness fries covered with cheese curds and gravy.  Poutine had me at cheese and fries.  Oh yeah.  Dave, having lived in Montreal, approved.  I too approved, despite not having lived in Montreal.  The gravy was peppery than it usually is supposed to be, but I dealt with it.

The next day, poutine kept popping into my head.  Those French-Canadians surely are on to something.

P.S.  Swell bathrooms.  Very Zen, with a chalkboard too!

Restaurant experiment: El Paso Taqueria

El Paso Taqueria

1642 Lexington Avenue between 103^rd and 104^th Streets

New York, NY 10029

212-831-9831

http://www.elpasotaqueria.com

Lily told me that El Paso was pretty good.  The story goes that it used to be housed in a smaller space across the avenue, but then it outgrew that place and leaped on over Lex.  This space is very Mexican-looking, with windows/doors that can be thrown open in warm weather, tile, big beaded rosaries, and so forth.

I embarrassingly admit that I do not exactly remember what we ordered.  The website’s menu and MenuPages aren’t really helping.

Here is a picture, so you can at least look at what we ordered.  I am a fan of avocado and really liked the pork with pineapple and avocado.  Dave and I also liked the chicken enchiladas with green sauce though it was too spicy for me.

Now for the crowning achievement, the dessert.  Our server, who Dave declared was an aspiring actor, had sort of a polished way about him.  Was he playing a character?  A guy playing a waiter?  He kept saying the phrase “my friends” all the time which was sorta strange.  But anyway, he recommended a special dessert not on the menu called rollitos de canales.  It was described as a deep fried cinnamon tortilla wrapped around bananas and chocolate sauce.  Dave and I were sold.  And we weren’t disappointed after all the hype.  Mmmmmmm.  We left wanting more!  Our spoons were put to good use, wiping up every bit of the sugar and raspberry sauce left of the plate.

Witness:

Ay, dios mio!  Muy delicioso!

Restaurant experiment: Big Nick’s

Big Nick’s

2175 Broadway between 76^th and 77^th Streets

New York, NY 10024

212-362-9238

Dave raves about the portcheddar burger here.  Since I can’t pass up a strong burger recommendation, I just had to try it when we had dinner at Big Nick’s.  Big Nick’s is a diner on the Upper West Side with a menu as long as War & Peace.  Seriously.  If there’s something diner-esque that you want, Big Nick’s probably has it.  Also characteristic of this place is how every single inch is covered in some writing advertising some menu item.  It’s almost seizure-inducing.  And the bathroom is located in the kitchen.  And pickles are self serve from a bowl on your table.  Also, they have a really diverse staff.

Luckily for Dave, the burger did not disappoint.  I don’t really like port, but the cheddar wasn’t even that port-like.  It gave the cheddar a more delicate texture, not to mention a glowing color.  It was radiating.  The fries were crispy, and the staff obliged with Dave’s request to make his fries extra crispy.

Big Nick’s, big taste!  Ohhhhh, it’s good I’m not in advertising.

Restaurant experiment: Blondie’s

Blondie’s

212 West 79^th Street between Amsterdam and Broadway

New York, NY 10024

212-362-4360

Blondiessports.com

Wings are wonderful.  Dave agrees and told me all about one of his top wing purveyors, Blondie’s.  In my past, I consumed honey bbq wings as my flavor of choice, but I have been befuddled to not see this option at wing joints in the great city of New York.  So you can picture my utter delight to read on Blondie’s menu that honey bbq wings are available.  Score!  They also have some sort of garlic flavor which was very tempting as well, but honey bbq was to be my choice for the evening.

I ordered the ten wing deal in honey bbq.  These guys were rolling in sauce.  Yum.  Wings+blue cheese=so perfect.

If you like sports in addition to chicken and other bar food, you’re in luck since Blondie’s has TVs all over the place with various games blaring.  I don’t have wings too much nowadays, but I can and will definitely be going back to Blondie’s.  Hmm, might just be my go-to wing bar from now on.

Restaurant experiment: Fig & Olive

Fig & Olive

10 East 52^nd Street between Fifth and Madison Avenues

New York, NY 10022

212-319-2002

http://www.figandolive.com

Stacy and I came here before catching the Yeah Yeah Yeahs at nearby Radio City Music Hall.  Fig & Olive has a few branches (haha) in Manhattan: this one in Midtown, one in the Upper East Side, and one in the Meatpacking District.  F&O strikes me as a place for lawyers, bankers, those sorts.  Or at least this one.  Like kids who were in fraternities and sororities.  Maybe a bit pretentious.

We were seated on the second floor, and it was tight.  And on the loud side.  Stacy and I ordered the prix fixe which was a smart deal for the Restaurant Week price of $35.  Bread appeared with a selection of three olive oils.  The two of us promptly forgot the characteristics of each oil, except one had a kick to it.

Starter

I started off with the tuna tartare.  Delish.  It sort of looks like cat food in the photograph, but take my word for it: in person it wasn’t cat food-like at all.

Entrée

Lamb skewers.  Isn’t the fig pretty?  Figs are so pretty, especially on beds of couscous.  But I was delighted by the fact that the lamb was speared onto rosemary stems.  Neat trick.  And it helps that the lamb was flavored in a most excellent fashion.

Dessert

Pot de crème.  Can’t go wrong with this dish.  Mmm, chocolately.  You’ll have to use your imagination because the picture turned out to be atrocious.

I don’t think I ate any olives during the course of the evening.  False advertising!  Just kidding.  Guess the olive oil sorta counts.  Maybe not exactly my scene, but the food was up to my standards.  Post-meal, I felt adequately prepared to take in the antics of Karen O.

Restaurant experiment: Ippudo

Ippudo

65 Fourth Avenue between 9th and 10th Streets

New York, NY 10003

212-388-0088

http://www.ippudo.com/ny/

I have found my new favorite ramen joint.

Ippudo has been on my list ever since I tried Momofuku Noodle Bar and Ramen Setagaya.  Even though Dave and I got here a little after 6:30 on a Tuesday, we still had to wait around two minutes to be seated (the hostess said five).  Not bad, considering waits are notoriously lengthy here.

We agreed that the decor was beautiful, with wood pieces (yeah, I don’t know Home Depot words very well) on the restaurant’s outside as well as inside.  Mirrors, wood, a sculpture that looked like fireworks.  Dave and I were seated side by side facing mirrors and a centerpiece reminiscent of a fireplace.

Our bowl-cut-sporting waitress suggested we get the pork buns.  Was she on point or what?  They were much like Momofuku’s pork buns and just as good though they were a little spicy.

Dave ordered the specialty tonkotsu ramen which is a pork-based broth, and I went with soy sauce-based broth ($13). 

The fried egg reads “Ippudo,” how nifty is that?  Mmm, the pork was tender and just fatty enough.  Scallions!  Seriously, scallions make all better.  Dave and I were in heaven because the ramen ruled.  Or rocked out socks, if you will.  Hells yeah!  700+ Yelp reviews can’t be wrong.

Restaurant experiment: Hollywood Diner

Hollywood Diner

574 Sixth Avenue at 16th Street

New York, NY 10011

212-691-8465

Greg and I came here post-Sunday night Bingo (we didn’t win anything).  We only came here because it was nearby, cheap, and recommended by Tom.  Works for us.  We sat in a booth which afforded a view of people descending into the subway.  It was kind of like a movie.  Good because there wasn’t anything  too Hollywood about the place really.

I ordered a cheeseburger, and it was all right.  There were too many fat fries, and I had to leave some.  To be fair, I was still slightly under the weather and not up to my usual appetite.  Poor orphan fries.

Okay, that’s that.  You know the drill with diners.