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: Sigiri

Sigiri

91 First Avenue between 5th and 6th Streets

New York, NY 10003

212-614-9333

http://www.sigirinyc.com/

Kora and I rendezvoused at this Sri Lankan restaurant which is right next to the madness known as Panna II and its competing restaurants. We were the first customers of the evening and were seated in the front window, and from that perch, I could witness the employees from next door trying to sweet talk walkers into his particular restaurant.  Sirigi itself is tastefully decorated with woven baskets on the ceiling and a large mask hanging in the window.

Kora let me pick out a veggie appetizer which we could share. I selected the Dhal Vade, 4 pieces described as “lentil patties with traditional Sri Lankan spices.” I asked the waiter if these were really spicy, and he assured me that they weren’t. I was appeased and glanced over Sri Lankan tourism and real estate brochures which I found.  I’d like to visit this island nation someday.

The patties were presented to us. They were dry so Kora wanted to ask for a sauce, but no one checked in so we contented ourselves with the dry coconut chutney which was the accompaniment.  I concluded that “not spicy” means “quite spicy” in Sri Lanka.

Kora let me have a few spoons of her soup, the Sri Lankan vegetable soup.  She warned me to be careful not to bite into any of the numerous black peppercorns.

For my main course, I ordered the String Hopper Kotthu.  Here’s the blurb:

A Sri Lankan street-side specialty prepared from spaghetti-like strings of rice-flour dough squeezed through a sieve onto smallwoven trays, which are steamed to perfection, chopped into shreds, stir fried with vegetables, onions, and egg. With choice of beef or chicken.

The waiter asked how I wanted the dish prepared, and I said mild beef.  It was hard to focus on the nice textures of the veggies and flavors when my mouth was sizzling from spices.  I was in so much agony that I even teared up once before admitting defeat and taking the leftovers home.

If you’ve got an iron or wax-coated tongue, you’d be fine here but if you’re a wimp like me, you might want to BYOM: bring your own milk. [Sigiri is BYOB.] Sigiri is not for the weak!

From Wikipedia:

“[M]any spicy Sri Lankan preparations are believed to be among the world’s hottest in terms of chilli content.”

Restaurant experiment: Andaz

Andaz

1378 First Avenue between 73rd and 74th Streets

New York, NY 10021

212-288-0288

First Avenue was a mess, post-street fair.  The sweepers were sweeping.  Andaz tried to seat us closer to the door, but Kora insisted on a different table, and they obliged.  I did make a reservation after all so I was a VIP (no, wishful thinking).

When I ordered, I declared my drink (mango lassi) first, but the waiter quickly asked what I wanted as my main course.  That was odd.  Like he had to approve what I was going to eat as my entree before he would allow the mango lassi.  Um, okay.  Kora and I shared some samosas before our mains, and we both liked those a lot. 

Usually I go back to the website to review my menu selections, but Andaz does not have a website!  That does not help me.  Now I’m embarrassed because I forgot what I ordered.  I want to say lamb korma.  Maybe I should start whipping out a miniature spiral bound notebook or voice recorder and make notes that way.  Then the staff can notice, think I’m a bigwig food critic, and comp my meal.  That’d be awesome.  It would have been better if the food were a little hotter, temperature-wise, but it wasn’t a major issue.  The lamb was tender and went well with the rice and the naan we requested. 

Later, the guy who I assumed was a manager of some sort, approached us and asked what we thought of the food and if we would come back. I explained that I didn’t live in the neighborhood (plus I don’t like eating at the same place twice), but I would certainly recommend Andaz to my pals who live and work in the region.  I did follow-up on my promise, and I passed a menu along.  The servers were almost too caring.

Andaz: a welcome addition to the soul-sucking Upper East Side.

Restaurant experiment: Shake Shack at Citi Field

Shake Shack

Citi Field, 12301 Roosevelt Avenue

Flushing, NY 11368

http://www.shakeshack.com/

I must say that the Shake Shack at the home of the Mets doesn’t quite replicate the experience of the original Shake Shack.  Though both places, you wait in a long line for your burgers.  Zing!  Here, the wait clocked in at about 35 minutes.  Standard.

I paid around $16 for the double Shackburger and a shake.  Yikes.  Though it’s Major League Baseball, so what can you expect?  I have fond memories of a nearly $10 hot dog from years and years ago. 

I guess this is going to turn into an article on how Shake Shack Flushing is different from Shake Shack Flatiron.  The orders come out much faster (no buzzer doodad), and I couldn’t request onions with the burger though later I realized I should have checked out the condiments stand for possible onion treasures.  The edges of the beef patty were burnt, but the double is definitely substantial and heavy (nixed fries since I’m not too into the crinkle cut).  McRae and I had to sometimes take breaks in between burger bites.

Here’s the new part of the review: the shake.  Since I’d never sipped a Shake Shack shake (say that ten times fast), I was looking forward to the experience.  The Citi Field SS has only vanilla and black and white shakes. the latter being I guess half chocolate and half vanilla.  Do you want to consume a week’s worth of sugar in one cup?  Then the shake is for you!  Wow, that was sweet overload.  I lamented that strawberry shakes were absent from the menu and joked that there were only 1.5 choices since vanilla is part of the black and white.  Maybe I should have ordered vanilla though it could have been just as sweet.  Kora agreed with me regarding the shake sweetness.  At least it wasn’t runny.

Let’s go Mets!