Restaurant experiment: Caracas Arepa Bar

Caracas Arepa Bar

93 1/2 East 7th Street between First Avenue and Avenue A

New York, NY 10009

212-529-2314

http://www.caracasarepabar.com/manhattan.php

What is an arepa?  From Caracas Arepa Bar’s website:

Pale gold arepas, made from scratch daily, they have been described as “dense yet spongy corn-flour rounds, pitalike pockets, corn muffins, cake-swaddled mélange, white corn cakes, Latin sloppy Joe, sandwiches of a flat cornmeal patty, soft and smooth within, golden crispiness, tasty treats, burrito-killer, panini-killer, wheat-free, gluten-free crisp on the outside, steamy-soft in the middle…”

Caracas Arepa Bar is a definite too-hot-to-trot spot.  I’ve wanted to try it since several of my friends have been, and once I was at Mike’s apartment, part of a Throwdown! with Bobby Flay was on, and Bobby was challenging the folks at Caracas Arepa Bar.  I don’t know what the outcome was since we decided to watching something else.  But the seed was planted.

Let me set the scene.  I met Stacy around 1:40 PM on a holiday Monday.  She had arrived earlier than me and had put her name down.  It didn’t help that it was very nippy outside (you have to wait outside because the restaurant is the size of a studio apartment) and that buttery bread smells were wafting over from Luke’s Lobster next door, oh so tantalizing.  I quipped to Stacy that if Caracas didn’t work out, we could always just chow at Luke’s.  I guess Luke’s and Caracas are following the same trajectory: mini East Village restaurant, skyrocketing popularity, satellite locations popping up like dandelions.  We ended up waiting nearly an hour to be seated.  Sigh.  At least we passed the time by chatting but all I’m saying is that the food better be out of this world.  Stacy had been before and was positive, so I was still looking forward to the meal.

We were finally crowbarred into a wee two-top close to the entrance.  Since it was in the 20s outside, it didn’t help that whenever people would enter or exit, that cold polar wind would just swoop in and chill us.  I kept my enormous coat on, partly also because there was nowhere to place it.  The diners on both sides of us were speaking Spanish.  I liked our waiter; he seemed very jolly, cordial, in a good mood despite the close quarters and cranky people waiting to be seated.

Since it was a weekday and it was the lunch hour (well, kinda), I ordered the lunch combo while Stacy opted to order two arepas.  One arepa is not big enough for a meal, at least not for most folks.  The combo was an arepa with salad or soup for $8.50.  Not too shabby.  I also ordered a fruity drink ($3.75)  since Stacy got one.  Mmm, mango strawberry.  Not as thick as I anticipated, but still fruity delicious.  We eyeballed some milkshakes that other folks ordered.  If it weren’t all freezer-like outside, I would have considered it.  The salad came out like so.  Nothing too wild or out there, but I dig hearts of palms, so I was content.

Being limited by spiciness and wanting meat, I settled on the Don Pabellon arepa.  This guy comes with “shredded beef, black beans, white salty cheese and sweet plantains.”  The menu states that arepas are “100% corn flour buns, grilled and baked.”  Honestly, I wasn’t that enthused about the actual arepa, the corn part.  It’s a corn product.  The fillings inside, now there’s a separate tale.  Juice was dripping out of the pocked.  There was a little spice but bearable.  Cheese!  Cheese!  Mmm.  Now, if only two were given instead of one…

I dared, and I sucked in my stomach and did the dainty dance to the bathroom.  Yeah, this place is microscopic.

The bottom line: Caracas Arepa Bar is very yummy but not one hour wait yummy.  Go early or go home.

Restaurant experiment: Aldea

Aldea

31 West 17th Street between Fifth and Sixth Avenues

New York, NY 10011

212-675-7223

http://aldearestaurant.com

Since it was Stacy’s birthday, she was hosting a “splurge” dinner, and the venue was to be Aldea, a Portuguese restaurant suggested by her friend Mark.  Our group of eight was seated on the top floor of Aldea.  The restaurant is on the narrow side, and the table doesn’t exactly leave much room for spreading out.  But the space is modern and svelte, attractive.

All of us were going for the $85 tasting menu with five courses.  I opted out of the wine paring.  I looked over the cocktail menu but was not enamored of anything.  Eschewing the booze, I went for the homemade lemonade ($5) which was just my speed and was just like how I would have made it: tarty with a sliver of sugar.  Ended up guzzling two of those over the course of the meal.  Esther and Stacy kindly shared their wine parings with me so I was able to partake somewhat.

The meal started off with bread choices.  I had the baby baguette; I’m a sucker for mini-breads.  It was what you’d expect.  Cornbread and olive rolls were some of the other options.

Next was a raw oyster on a bed of salt with a cup of warming soup, maybe mussel soup?  Ugh, memory failure.  Do I need to start taking notes?  Anyway, I do recollect both treats being well worth eating, or slurping, in the case of the oyster.

A highlight of the tasting menu was the fingerling potato soup with sea urchin and shaved truffles.  I am not a truffle sort of person, so I could do without.  Esther agrees that truffles do not rock her world, but she is of the camp that the aroma of earthy truffles enhance the meal.  I could see that though I am not 100% in agreement.  Anyway, the urchin and the soup steal the show.

Cuttlefish and foam?  Some sort of multi-appendaged sea beast.  It was all right though I’m just over this whole foam thing.  Eh.

Now here we have a seared scallop with microfine squash shavings which the waitstaff emphasized were not saffron strands, but squash.  Interesting.

Looking back, I find the arroz de pato one of the most memorable dishes.  Since I dig duck in general, and rice too, I loved how there were generous amounts of the water bird mixed with the rice, and the rice was crunchified as well…I’m a sucker for crunches and near-burned foodstuffs.  There’s a lot going on here, not just duck and rice, but also chorizo, olives, and even clementines, so says the menu.  Wonderful.

Dessert was a citrus sorbet with ginger enhancements.  The fruit was so fresh and flavorful.  I could do without ginger, but overall, I could use several more mini cups of this.

And finally, complimentary petit fours.  I usually do not find petit fours to be worth discussing.  There were fine but superfluous, ending with the sorbet would have been exiting on a higher note.

It was nearly midnight when I left Aldea.  What a long meal!  The service was accommodating; when Steve had to leave, they boxed up his dessert so he could have it to-go.  Also, everyone (including Belinda and I who were no gos on the wine pairing) were given the final pairing, a shot of a light-colored port.

Restaurant experiment: The Breslin

The Breslin

16 West 29th Street at Broadway

New York, NY 10001 

212-69-1939

http://thebreslin.com

For Stacy’s birthday, we were invited to gather at The Breslin for food and drinks.  I’ve been to the hipper-than-you Ace Hotel twice already: once for drinks in the lobby and once for Stumptown coffee.  The Breslin is a new venture from The Spotted Pig’s April Bloomfield.  You have to arrive early as no reservations are accepted.  Poo.  Even just shy of 5:30, The Breslin was bustling.  At the bar, I tried the Rush of Blood to the Head cocktail (all the speciality drinks are named after rock albums).  I find it amusing I dug this drink, as I dug the Coldplay album it’s named for and I personally feel that those lads peaked with this release.  The $12 cocktail blended Prosecco with blood orange liqueur, hibiscus syrup, and lemon zest.  Yum yum!  You can see it in the upper right had corner in the first picture.

Our large group was seated upstairs.  Looking at the menu, all I had to say was meat paradise.  Crazy meat paradise, as there were pig’s feet, beef tongue, and oxtail all listed.  There are only about five mains on the menu, plus some specials, and the rest are appetizers or snack.  Dave and I shared a small terrine board ($25), and Stacy and Josh did as well.   This board contained the following:   

Guinea hen with morels

Pork pate

Rabbit & prune

Headcheese [One of my favorites, unfortunate name though.  Wikipedia tells me it is "meat jelly made with flesh from the head of a calf or pig."  Wow, that's not something you want to share with your vegetarian pals.  It's the brown rectangle with white swirls.]

Liverwurst [Also a top pick, unlike the liverwurst you get at the deli counter.  It is the circle in the photo.]

[Wee] Pickles, piccalilli, & [zingy] mustard

As my main, I ordered one of the specials, lamb necks.  This ended up being $29.  The cuts were so moist and tender, laying on a bed of whipped potatoes, soaking in a pool of gravy.  This dish had so much potential but was marred by an egregious amount of salt!  Seriously, I thought I had chugged a salt shaker.  Salt is wonderful, but who honestly thought patrons would enjoy this quantity?  Bummer.  The salt issue wasn’t limited to my necks since Josh and Stacy thought their cassoulet was on the salty side, and Dave’s lamb burger, while exceptional, was pro-salt.

The Breslin redeemed itself with dessert.  Nearly all of the $9 desserts sounded delightful to me, but Dave and I opted for the brioche doughnuts which came with three dipping sauces: maple butter, caramel, and chocolate.  The maple butter was easily the least liked since it was basically butter with a dash of maple.  The caramel and chocolate were off the chain however.  Doughnuts weren’t best for sharing since I wanted to be a hog and eat all of them.

And from our second story perch, we could peek into the open kitchen as we sipped on post-meal coffee (decaf for me) which I bet is from neighboring Stumptown.  The chefs ding a bell when a whole suckling pig is served.

We departed The Breslin by exiting into the lobby of the Ace Hotel which was hopping and happening.  Out of the sidewalk, a bouncer was denying guests entry.  I’ll admit it was kinda cool to egress in this fashion.  So trendy.

Restaurant experiment: Volt

Volt

228 North Market Street

Frederick, MD 21701

301-696-VOLT

http://www.voltrestaurant.com/

Normally I wouldn’t write about a restaurant outside of NYC, but since Volt has attained fame on a national level, I thought I would blog about it.  I don’t even watch Top Chef but I know a lot of my friends do.  All I knew beforehand was that there were two brothers Voltaggio on the show.  One won and the other was the runner-up.  The latter, Bryan, runs the kitchen at Volt in Frederick, MD.

In historical downtown Frederick, Volt resides in a stunning warm red brick building that used to be the home for six spinster sisters.

Top Chef enthusiast Esther had snared the private dining room for our larger group.  This dining room was a solarium.  While this sounds pleasant in theory, on a sunny afternoon, it’s not so desirable.  I was sweaty and blinded and considered donning my sunglasses.  Maybe some blinds would be wise.  On the upside, at least there was oodles of light to help my pictures look pretty.

Our server was on point and very professional.  The service was just like any starred restaurant in NYC.  We all had the $55 lunch tasting menu.  Complimentary sparkling or still water was served.  A couple of folks had bloody marys and highly recommended them.

I’m going to cobble this together from various menus posted on the website.

Breadsticks: the spice choices were a little harsh for such a simple item, but that’s just my thought.

Bread: a basket of options came round.  I picked the chive biscuit.  I think you were supposed to pick one, but a few of us tried two.  I had a bit of the chocolate croissant, fantastic.  The Vermont butter pushed the biscuit into lip smacking good territory.

Tuna tartare amuse bouche: nothing to say except that this was exceptional!  I wish this were one of the courses instead of the other fish dish.

Tasting of Tuscarora farm beets: as anti-beet person, I can’t admit I loved this dish.  But I learned that there are different varieties of beets, of different shades of the rainbow.  Out of all the colors, I liked the dark purple beet the best.  The meringue beet (the violet styrofoam-like cylinder) dissolved on your tongue.

Cherry Glen Farm goat cheese ravioli: the general consensus was that this course was one of the showstoppers of the meal.  If this were a Broadway musical, this would be the part when the diva finishes her big number and the audience leaps to their feet to applaud.  The squash sauce was a yummy pairing.  I don’t know about all this foam business though; sage foam didn’t really add much to the overall effect but look like dishwashing bubbles.  Though I did like the little maitake mushrooms.

Fish: The beans look like caviar but are definitely not fish eggs.  Were the cauliflower dyed or naturally those hues?  I guess we’ll never know.  White fish rarely dazzles me.  This sturgeon was fine but nothing to put you in a pleasure stupor.

Meat: solid steak.  Unfortunately this one left less of an impression, not because it was bad, but maybe since it came towards the end of the meal.

Goat Cheesecake: for me, goat cheese is a little too caustic for cheesecake; I simply prefer more mellow cheesecake (hello, cream cheese).

All in all, $55 well spent.  Volt is at full capacitance and electrically charged.  So when you hear Volt, don’t think about Chevy’s lame new car but about this charming, fantastic gem in old Frederick, MD.

Restaurant experiment: Flex Mussels

Flex Mussels

174 East 82nd Street between Lexington and Third Avenues

New York, NY 10028

212-717-7772

http://www.flexmusselsny.com/

After my lobster roll initiation at The Mermaid Inn recently, I have been fixated on satisfying my lobster roll fix.  While Luke’s is high atop my list, I suggested Flex Mussels to my gang as it was convenient, it has the endorsements from Zagat and Michelin, and you could make a reservation.  I was dismayed that I couldn’t book a reservation at 8pm on a Thursday night on OpenTable, and then I resorted to calling Flex Mussels and could only make an 8:30 or 6 pm reservation.  8:30 it was then.

As those reservation-making blips would imply, the restaurant was packed.  When I walked in to meet my dinner companions, I had to smush into a host stand so that other people could get by.  The front room containing the bar and some seating was full of folk.

We were seated at a round table in the back right corner.  We started off with an Australian (sounded like) waitress who might have been a trainee as she was often accompanied by a genial, affable, more confident waiter.  What is neat is that Flex Mussels offers complimentary sparkling water.  And they make it or filter all their water themselves or something.

Belinda, Stacy, Julie, and I ended up going the family-style way, ordered several dishes and sharing them.  All I knew was that I wanted lobster rolls and made this clear to the other three.  No problem.  I ordered a Québécois beer, Unibrou, called Ephemere which was very granny smith-y, as it was supposed to be.  The label helpfully X-marked a champagne flute and suggested pouring the bottle into a goblet.  What did Flex Mussels give me?  A flute.  Rebels!  Anyhoo, it was decided that we would get oysters, mussels, and lobster rolls.  Yummy.

Free bread made an appearance.  A pleasant bread basket.

I slurped the oysters first.  Fresh and slimy-good!  I regret that I cannot recall the names of the bivalves but all you have to know is that I approve.  Personally, all I want is a healthy squeeze of lemon over my half-shelled friends, though there were plenty of topping options for others unlike me.

There were two lobster rolls to share amongst us.  The menu describes the roll as “meat from a 1lb. lobster, citrus aioli, celery, lemon, toasted bun, flex fries” for $27.  The fries were hot but a little too salty.  The pickle was extremely sour though Stacy and I agreed that this was fine, and it turned out that she and I had to fight for the pickles.  We both ended up with one.  I must say that I give The Mermaid Inn the win over Flex Mussels’ lobster roll.  Let me say that this bread was killer!  I adore baguettes and their kin, so toasted and buttery!  I’m in heaven.  The lobster salad’s flavors were tamer.  And it was slightly awkward to eat crustacean rolls like a Nathan’s hot dog.  Not bad, Flex Mussels, but not out-of-this-world.

Flex Mussels has over 15 options of Prince Edward Island mussels to pick from.  There were basic options like butter and garlic, and there were also other fancier selections like chorizo, lobster, Thai, and so forth.  Julie voted for the funghi and was not voted down because who could refuse “wild mushrooms, double smoked bacon, garlic, cream?”  This was $19.50.  The bacon was cubed pork…oh so delicious.  Pig and mussels, whatta pair!  Julie and I utilized the broth in other way, me sopping it up with leftover bread.

Initially I planned to be cheap and resist dessert.  But for a casual seafood joint, Flex Mussels has some tantalizing creative sweets.  Continuing the sharing of food, we ordered the chocolate cream pie on its side for $10, consisting of “61% valrhona dark chocolate pudding, whipped creme fraiche, salted chocolate shortbread and creme fraiche ice cream.”  That description makes me want to pull a Homer Simpson and just start drooling dreamily.  The other dessert was a peach bread pudding.  The peach bread pudding was unique and delightful which is hard for me to say because I do not like bread pudding.  The outside was fried and crispy, and there were wee peach balls dotting the spherical structure.  Pretty.

The chocolate cream pie on its side totally stole the show though, like a cuter younger sister.  When our waiter set this bad boy down, the first thing we noticed was that it sparkled.  Literally.  There was an edible glitter atop the cream fraiche swirl.  Cool.  Oh, the valrhona dark chocolate pudding was happiness in a chocolate shell.  Our waiter then revealed that the pastry chef, Zac Young, is going to be on Top Chef Just Desserts which excited the Top Chef fans at my table and a fan at the neighboring table.  Despite me never having seen the show, I thought that was pretty darn cool and had to tell my Top Chef fan friends about that.

Post-check, I looked at my watch.  Wow, dinner was two hours.  Food worth talking about (well, the lobster roll was just aight), warm company, what more could you ask for?  More chocolate cream pie on its side!

Restaurant experiment: Dovetail

Dovetail

103 West 77th Street between Amsterdam and Columbus Avenues

New York, NY 10024

212-362-3800

http://www.dovetailnyc.com/

When Stacy invited me to brunch at Dovetail with Jen and Courtney, I’ll admit that I wasn’t exactly chomping at the bit to go after perusing the menu online.  In fact, I debated about turning down the invite, up until the morning of the proposed meal.  But then I thought I should keep an open mind, and since Stacy’s been several times and highly recommends Dovetail, I’d figure I’d at least have a tale to tell (ha).

The decor is modernly traditional.  It would welcome both the old moneyed Upper West Side set and the younger freewheelers.  Bricks, metal.  A discussion about Jen’s Barcelona chair was prompted by the furniture and setting.  Professional and courteous service. 

There’s only one choice you have at weekend brunch: the $32 prix fixe.  The headings are copied directly from the brunch pdf on the website.

Sweet and Savory Breads

The squares were cheese breads, and I liked ‘em.  There were also moisty cloud-like banana muffins and cornbread (circular lumps).  I applaud the bread basket. 

Canapes for the Table: Yogurt Parfait, Spring Onion Veloute, Cucumber Tea Sandwich, Salmon Tartare, Duck Meatballs

It was like an amuse bouche overload!  In the top left corner, we had parfaits.  Jen remarked that these would be super simple to make at home, and she was spot on.  Just get some Greek yogurt, oats, honey, and sliced grapes (or other fruit), and you’re all set.  Even if I could whip this up in my kitchen, I liked it.  In the top right corner, we had white gazpacho.  This had a very strong cucumber taste.  There might have been beans in there, but they were overshadowed by the cuke.  Next up, spiced watermelon.  This was a miss in my book as I don’t like Indian spices with watermelon.  Just…no.  The cucumber tea sandwiches were as small as postage stamps and the flavor of lemon took priority.  The duck meatballs were meat on sticks.  Stacy and I concluded that the white gazpacho won the gold in this tournament.

Duck Lasagna (onions, parmesan)

The other brunch mains weren’t particularly calling out my name.  I did mull over the crab Benedict which Stacy ended up getting and was kind enough to offer me a sample, but the spicy hollandaise was a turn-off.  In my mind, I was picturing tomato sauce lasagna so colored me surprised when this was set before me.  The sauce was balsamic-based, in fact.  The more I ate, the more the duck lasagna grew on me.  Quack. 

Desserts: Linzer Cookie, Strawberries with Meyer Lemon Sabayon, Chocolate Cheesecake, Cinnamon Doughnut

 

I started on the right and ate my way left.  The strawberries with meyer lemon sabayon were a sheer delight.  Crumbles make any dessert better, wouldn’t you say?  The lemon sabayon was all right, but looking back at it now, I don’t remember it very well which means it wasn’t a particular standout.  No linzer cookie but oatmeal.  Eh.  Cinnamon donut, hey, it’s a donut.  The chocolate cheesecake square/pool/volcano (mine had toppled over, spilling chocolate onto the donut) was filled with oodles of sugar but was rich and choco-tastic.  So all in all, the outside desserts were my favorites.

My expectations met and exceeded, I bounded out happily but faded quickly in the oppressing heat.  But then I checked out the nearby Greenmarket and perked up again.  Mmm, tiny sweet sugar[y] plums.

Restaurant experiment: The Stanton Social

The Stanton Social

99 Stanton Street between Orchard Street and Ludlow Street

New York, NY 10002

212-995-0099

http://www.thestantonsocial.com/main.html

Stacy’s friends Jen and Courtney were in town, and Stacy decided that we should go to The Stanton Social after their Broadway show, as small plates let folks sample a bunch of different options, and we were at varying levels of hungryness.  And Stacy had been to The Stanton Social a couple of times before, so that it would not be an unknown.  Good enough.

Since we arrived before Jen and Courtney, Stacy and I went upstairs to the bar area to sip a libation in the meantime.  I dislike being carded, but what can you do.  The bar was stuffed and loud as a club.  I settled on the “Bea’s Gin-Lemon Mojito” which consisted of “Bombay Sapphire, shredded mint, fresh lemon, lemon syrup & lemon-lime soda” for $13.  Stacy liked this drink so much that she ordered one for herself later.  Lots of fresh mint really made the drink stand out.  Perfect on a boiling summer day/night.

We escaped to the calmer downstairs after a while.  Both Stacy and I poked fun at the all the girls.  There sure were a lot of women at The Stanton Social, especially big tables of girls celebrating birthdays or somesuch.  Is there a secret dress code?  If you have a short, skintight dress, the place to wear it is here!  And with your 10″ heels too!

The hostess was sweet and didn’t give us any issues about the other members of our party arriving later.  Eventually she seated us in a U-shaped booth, and we began perusing the menu.  The other folks showed up soon after.  We started off with a male waiter but he was replaced by the chipper Allison who was cool.

The plan was for everyone to pick our two plates for everyone to share.  Since Courtney was a veggie, we all selected at least one non-meat dish which was easy to do since a lot of the dishes sounded appealing.  Here’s what we ended up with.

Zucchini Tempura - tomato jam and asiago $7: this was fine and exactly what you’d expect: fried up squash.  Came out piping hot too.

French Onion Soup Dumplings $12: a bit too sweet for my tastes.  Tons of cheese was melted atop the dumplings.  And the homemade croutons were a nice touch.

Red Snapper Tacos – creamy avocado & spicy mango $10: I never was super into fish tacos.  These were tiny and therefore cute.  Spicy for sure.

Stone-ground Blue Corn Crabcake ‘Corn Dogs’ – $12 Since I’m not into crabcakes nor corn dogs, these weren’t really winners with me personally.

Grilled Cheese Slider - aged cheddar, house cured jalapeño bacon, fried green tomato & lemon aioli $7: my other pick.  Too bad this came out near the end since I was getting full, but it was very comforting and familiar.  And you can’t fail with cheese and bacon.  No sir.

Grilled Ovendried Tomato Pizzetta - fresh mozzarella and grana, roasted garlic & chile oil $13: Lots of tomato on a thin thin crust.  

Garganelli Pasta – baby artichokes, spinach, grilled cherry tomatoes, smoked goat cheese  $15: this ended up being a table favorite.  I was getting stuffed and wasn’t able to enjoy it as much.  Though $15 is a bit steep.

Grilled Corn - chipotle butter, lime & cotija $6: Both Stacy and I vehemently agreed that Cafe Habana (or my friend Wayne) does the grilled corn 1000x better than Stanton Social.  The flavors weren’t balanced right.  Too spicy.  Not cheesy enough.

I opted-out of dessert since I was feeling full with food.  The others picked out the following and were generous enough to offer me bites.

Chai Crème Brulee – spiced ‘misfortune’ cookies  $9: Allison told us that the pastry chefs have senses of humor.  They sure do, as evidenced by their snarky fortunes tucked inside the cookies.  Heh, misfortune cookies.  Strong chai taste, verging on bitter.

The Red Velvet ‘Twinkie’ - cream cheese – crème fraiche filling  $4 each: I love red velvet cake.  This was a win.

Mint chocolate pie – a special of the evening.  Allison described it as an Andes mint pie, and she was spot on.  Mmm.

It was bizarre to wrap up dinner past 1 in the morning.  But the staff was chill and weren’t trying to hustle us out.  I would say that you’re paying for the scene if you eat at The Stanton Social, hence the social in the name.  Oddly enough, most of the tapas were servings of three, and you had to request four.  Isn’t four a standard number?  Weird.  And the desserts outshine the dinner dishes.

Restaurant experiment: Marc Forgione

Marc Forgione

134 Reade Street between Greenwich and Hudson Streets

New York, NY 10013

212-941-9101

http://www.marcforgione.com/

I picked Marc Forgione for a dinner to celebrate an accomplishment because I wanted to knock some more Michelins off the list.  Its prices don’t give you heart attacks, I haven’t been cavorting in Tribeca lately, and it’s not so hoity toity that you feel like you’re in a museum.  And yes, the menu sounded satisfactory.  Perfect.  What was not-so-perfect was me fighting a pesky rhinovirus.  Bleh.

The restaurant is beautiful.  The main dining area has brick walls and tube lighting (like Christmas lights) sneaking behind the booths.  Glass lamps are suspended from the ceiling and encase flickering candles.  The bathrooms recall mountain cabins, with old framed pictures on the dark cloth walls.  I didn’t go into the bar area so I don’t know what that was like, but it seemed pretty popular.  There is also outdoor seating which I wouldn’t have minded either since this block of Reade is calm and not infused with automobiles and humanoids.

Stacy and Josh were running late, but thankfully the hostess was fine with a) pushing the reservation back some, and b) seating us first.  Our table was 50% booth, 50% chairs, and from the booth seats, I could peek directly into the kitchen which I of course was delighted by.  There was some hoopla recently about chef Marc Forgione ejecting a New York Times writer (not the restaurant critic) from his establishment, but Mr. Forgione refrained from yelling during our meal I am pleased to report (I think I saw him?).

In the meantime, Dave and I scrutinized the drink menu.  I decided to go for a signature drink.  Oddly, it doesn’t have a catchy name but is simply called tequila with mango-mint.  The cocktail’s mango is rather subdued.  What a soothing green color too.  Smooth and slightly minty.  Sminty!  We were brought two warm rolls with butter.  We cheered.  When Stacy and Josh showed up, Stacy also tried a signature concoction (rhubarb & elderflower mimosa) while Josh requested a Sierra Nevada which was out and the waitress brought him an alternative microbrew which he approved of, so points for her.  Also, bringing out more bread for all was appreciated.

The amuse bouche?  Two spoons of meatballs and two spoons of white beets and goat cheese.  I opted for the latter because of goat cheese trumping my dislike of beets.  White beets aren’t as punchy thank goodness.  Goat cheese seriously makes anything better.  How strange is it that you can only try one amuse?  Frown.

My appetizer was the “Hangtown Fry, Crispy Olde Salt Oysters, Smoked Paprika Aioli, Pickled Red Onions, North Country Bacon” ($15).  I guess I was expecting large oysters, but these were about the size of tablespoons.  And the Hangtown fry turned out to be an omelette.  A Google search led me to Wikipedia which stated that a Hangtown fry is a special omelette that rose to prominence during the Gold Rush.  One origin story had it that a prospector stuck the motherlode and ordered the most expensive breakfast out of the most costly ingredients at the time: eggs, oysters, and bacon.  Hehe.  Well, I hope that prospector liked his as much as I liked mine!

Both Dave and Stacy ordered the hamachi appetizer which earned approval from both of them.  The most curious aspect of this dish was that it came with sichuan buttons to pop in your mouth prior to delving into the fish.  I had never heard of this plant before.  It’s actually a miniature bud.  At Marc Forgione, it’s used as a palate cleanser.  It pops in your mouth and also triggers salivation due to the spilanthol which acts on the trigeminal nerve.  Wow, how cool is that?  I didn’t try any but I was fascinated.

A noticeable amount of time passed between the first course and the second.  Hmm.  Then all the mains came out for everyone.  I had ordered the bacon-encrusted pork chop which came with basil mashed potatoes and pickled peppers.  It was a massive cut of meat, that’s for sure.  Was I enraptured?  No, not really.  There just wasn’t a kick, an oomph that made you go googly-eyed during each bite.  Needed more bacon flavor perhaps.

Regarding the desserts, the key theme was comfort food.  No wacky sweets with bizarre freaky ingredients here.  You’ve even got baked-on-demand chocolate chip cookies.  Ice cream features prominently.  Stacy ordered a huge sundae which I sampled, and Josh opted for the PB&J which had peanut butter cookies as the bread.  Cute!  Dave and I split the “tattoos and strawberries” named after the tattooed pastry chef.  Homemade ice creams such as strawberry and chocolate, maple oatmeal cookie, rocky road, hooray!  Sadly my cold dulled the flavors, making it tougher for me to discern what each flavor was.  What a bummer.

There were complimentary wee blueberry oatmeal squares in cream with the check.  Made paying the check go down sweeter!

To sum up, I liked Marc Forgione fine, but Michelin star?  Skeptical.  I would go again for brunch, since the menu seems to have prices all in the low teens.

Restaurant experiment: Colicchio & Sons

Colicchio & Sons

85 Tenth Avenue at 15th Street

New York, NY 10011

212-400-6699

http://www.colicchioandsons.com/

Stacy and I showed up at Colicchio & Sons for our brunch reservation and were seated right away even without Esther; none of that full party nonsense.  What a spacious and inviting space!  I hadn’t been to Craftsteak when it existed so I don’t know how different the two are.  Pretty Chelsea location too, with the Hudson in the background behind a patch of park, and the High Line on the other side.  Colicchio & Sons, established 2010 as the sign informs you, is generous with the glass: two story windows make up the walls.  The trademark glass wine cellar is prominent, up a flight of stairs.  Piled up firewood welcomes you into the eatery.

Italian-influenced Colicchio & Sons is divided into the Tap Room and the Dining Room.  As you might have gleaned, the Tap Room offers tons of beers on tap.  Even some that are more than $20!  There is somewhat of a more relaxed vibe going on in the front Tap Room, and by relaxed, I mean cheaper.  Brunch is only served in the Tap Room which is welcome news for your pocketbook.

The space really is galaxy-sized, by Manhattan standards.  Stacy stated that she was glad that the tables weren’t smooshed on top of each other (she and Esther were just at Prune recently which is guilty of that).  Prices are reasonable for brunch, with most entrees around $10-$14.  Esther, Stacy, and I all had issues picking out our mains because each choice sounded appealing.  Finally I went with the Tenth Avenue Hangover which consisted of soffritto tripe, poached eggs, and beer sabayon ($12).  I do like the unique dishes.  They call out to me.  I didn’t know what to expect so I was a little surprised when the dish came out in a generous soup bowl.

We split an order of the lemon cream donuts.  Warm and sugary and lemony.  Man, I could have done with about five more of those guys.  We were also presented with small bread balls which came with a killer apple butter-ish topping.  Deelish!  And there were also triangles of complimentary bread.

And now, the Hangover.  The baby chives were cute.  Firstly, I fancy poached eggs, so that was a plus.  And tripe, it’s also near and dear to me.  The dish as a whole verged on salty, but it was flavorful enough.  If you like onion tastes, this is your friend.  While I lacked a hangover, I could see how this would either help remedy that malady (the richness of the cream and the eggs) or jokingly give you one since there was beer in the sabayon which I couldn’t taste all that much anyway.

Sabayon–eggy creamy custard (the yellow in the shot below)

Soffritto–I was aware beforehand that sofrito is a base used in Latin American cooking.  It’s basically the same thing in Italian cooking, a tomato-onion sauce with other veggies.  You can’t see it in the picture because it’s hidden.

You can see Esther’s Carolina rice johnny cake with duck confit & red-eye gravy in the background.  Good gravy!

Stacy kindly let Esther and I have some of her onion, potato, country ham, & sunnyside up egg pizza.  Brunch pizza, how about that.  Recommended, but my heart still lies with the Tenth Avenue Hangover.

Top Chef fans: Chef Colicchio can be found cooking here most nights of week, stated our waiter.  No sightings for us though.  And no matchbooks either to round out my Craft and Craftbar set!

Restaurant experiment: Turkish Kitchen

Turkish Kitchen

386 Third Avenue between 27th and 28th Streets

New York, NY 10016

212-679-1810

http://www.turkishkitchen.com

A sign on the sidewalk proclaimed 20% off in honor on Turkish Kitchen’s 20 year anniversary.  Ooh, sale!  And any restaurant in the city that’s been around 20 years with appearances in Zagat and the Michelin Guide can’t be too terrible.  And within walking distance to our main destination, I’m sold.

When Julie, Stacy, and I entered the restaurant (it’s a sunken main floor), the maitre d’ inquired as to whether or not we had reservations.  Initially we were a party of two, and when Stacy called, they declared that no reservations were accepted for two tops.  Okay.  At the restaurant, they tell us that reservations are accepted for three and up.  How kooky.  At least didn’t have to wait too long.  I sat amongst some orchids and started at the colored glowing martini glasses at the bar.  Turkish Kitchen is all red walls, and orchids and candles in blue glass holders add interest to the stark red.  There is also an upstairs section, and I wasn’t sure if it was for parties or larger groups.

We were seated with the drink menus for entertainment.  Hours pass.  Well, not really, but it sure seemed like it.  Doesn’t it make sense to give you the food menus so you can study them as you endure days for the waitress to show up?  Our waitress was on another planet or something.  When she actually came to check on us, she had this irksome habit of asking “Can I take this away?” while in the actual physical act of taking away your finished plate.  Um, I guess I don’t have a choice in the matter?

We split a bottle of white wine from Turkey.  It was refreshing and a fine complement to the meal.  The right way to begin the long dining experience was with an appetizer sampler.  It’s not on any of the menus I found online so I don’t know exactly what it was called or what it contained, but it had baba ghanoush (Patlican Salatasi?), humus, and beans (Barbunya Plaki?).  A paper cone filled with bread chunks was used for dipping.  Naturally we ran out and wanted more but the waitress of course couldn’t be flagged down.

After much indecision, I chose to order the Iskender Kebab which was described as ”vertically grilled lamb sliced very thin, served with garlicky yogurt and tomato sauce over pita bread.”  The yogurt sauce is very much like sour cream, and no fear, it’s not too garlicky (unfortunately for me).  I mixed the two sauces together to get a pink sauce.  The lamb was very thin.  Julie and Stacy let me sample their entrees, and thumbs up to them, the ladies and the dishes.  Stacy had the Bonfile Sis which was filet mignon–tops!  Julie got the Etli Lahana Dolmasi which was like stuffed grape leaves with cabbage as the leaf and ground beef inside–choice!

Too stuffed from the mains, we declined the dessert tray the waitress brought out.  Julie and Stacy sipped on thick Turkish coffees while I reminisced about the scrumptious meal I just ate and blotting out the blah service.  Yummy.