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Posts from the ‘Shovel Time’ Category

Nov 17

Lupa

1/2

First off, the food was amazing. For the meal alone, I'd give four shovels,
but the service left a little to be desired. I was looking forward to my
meal all week and it just so happened that that week's "Time Out NY"
featured the tartufo as a critic's pick, so I was expecting greatness. I
know this is a popular place and Mario Batali is a TV chef and all, but this
isn't Babbo. I thought Lupa was supposed to be easier to deal with, both
price-wise and pretention-wise.

We'd made reservations for 9:45 on a Friday, which was sort of late, but
it was short notice and I rarely end up eating before 10:00 on weekends
anyway. The place was jam-packed when we got there, the bar area was
overflowing into the front seats (which I thought were for walk-ins) and we
were given no indication as to when we'd be seated. It ended up being over
an hour wait and we were seated in the front room at the same time as people
who'd walked in sans reservations only minutes before. I was always under
the impression that people with reservations were supposed to get to sit in
the "nicer" back dining room while the crowded wooden tables in front were
for people who showed up and wanted to wait. It made me wonder what the
point of a reservation was.

I can't say that the long wait put me in a very good mood and by 11:00
my stomach was starting to eat its own lining. However, we ended up doing
the tasting menu, which consisted of an antipasti with various meats and
salami and citrus-cured sardines with a cracked wheat salad, a pasta, which
I think was called bucatini all'amatriciana, a seafood stew with squid,
mussels, chickpeas and other assorted goodies (the server kept ladling and
ladling more soup into my bowl to the point where it was comedic and then
James just got the remains, which is still peeving him. I don't know if the
guy sized us up and was like, "that girl likes to eat" or what), a main
course of which James had the saltimbocca, which is a veal dish and I
ordered the oxtail since I'd heard amazing things about it, but they ended
up bringing us both veal and tried to make it seem like they couldn't do the
oxtail and normally I'm a pushover who never pipes up, but after that insane
wait, there was no way I was going to let them get out of giving me what I'd
ordered. The finishing touch was the tartufo, a big ball of hazelnut ice
cream with biscotti chunks and a rich chocolate covering and a cherry in the
middle. For the quality and amount of food, the $42 tasting menu was well
worth the price.

The food completely lived up to all the hype I'd heard. Almost
everything had a diverse range of flavors combined into one. Like the Four
S's of S.E. Asian food that always keep me happy: sour, salty, sweet and
spicy. Ingredients like sweet onions, raisins, fennel, cracked pepper and
lemon fusing into a memorable mouthful. And this is coming from the girl
who's never been impressed with Italian food. I'd like to go back, but I
don't know if that'll be any time soon.


Lupa * 170 Thompson St., New York, NY

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Nov 10

Daily Chow

* I'm not sure how long Daily Chow has been closed, but it just now
occurred to me to mention it. (10/05)

This was a spur of the moment Friday night choice. New, in the
neighborhood, and I'd heard they had fancy cocktails like ginger kamikazes.
It's one of those Pan-Asian deals with Korean, Thai, and Chinese touches
plus a Mongolian grill to boot. The place had sort of a bar/clubby
atmosphere with emphasis on the drinks, loud funky beats, and a spacey
waitstaff.

With that said, the food wasn't bad. They have lots of finger type foods
and I didn't feel like a meal meal so I tried the country combo (as opposed
to the city combo, which was a vegetarian sampler–so city folks aren't
supposed to like meat?) which came with duck wraps, chicken satay, steamed
dumplings, fried calamari, egg rolls and a cucumber, red-onion salad. Very
tasty. I also had a bite of the beef with holy basil, which was surprisingly
hot and spicy for such a mish-mash restaurant.

But what really bowled me over was the Thai banana split. The
description said something along the lines of ice cream with lychee, longan,
jackfruit and bananas with chocolate sauce. Whoa, while fruit is my least
favorite food group (I know it's always lumped together with vegetables,
which are perfectly fine in my book), I did appreciate their use of exotic
Asian fruits in their cocktails and desserts. The mysterious part was
deciphering what the three scoops of ice cream were. One was clearly
coconut, the other was green tea (at least I think so because it was green),
but the middle scoop was sort of chunky and chalky and bad and good at the
same time. Very confusing, but sometimes I like a restaurant to leave me
guessing.


Daily Chow * 2 E. Second St., New York, NY

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Nov 9

Belgo

Closed: so much for the late '90s Belgian trend

I don't have much to say about Belgo except that their website is nutty
in a way that only Europeans can pull off. When I was in London last
Thanksgiving, we were trying to find a place to eat and peeked in Belgo. It
sort of scared me and I ended up going to Chinatown as I often do in most
cities. I didn't even realize New York had a Belgo until I went to that
meaty Riodizio a while ago and noticed it next door (clearly, I don't walk
on Lafayette much). With its stylely, modular design, freaky guy on the
menu, and tunnel-like entrance, my curiosity was peaked.

I popped in for lunch after a job interview and figured I should have
mussels since that's what those Belgians are known for. There were all sorts
of varieties, including one with coconut milk and lemon grass, but I decided
against it since I prefer Asian-tinged food from Asian restaurants. I opted
for the lunch special, which at $14.95 wasn't much of a special, but you get
a kilo of mussels, frites, a house salad with arugula (I think, though
endive makes more sense), hard-boiled egg and tomato, and a glass of Stella
Artois, which was a hefty amount of food. They have a large menu devoted to
beers, but I've never been much of connoisseur. Mussels reign supreme, but
there are plenty of other entrees. Belgo is Belgo and it's worth checking
out at least once. (11/9/00)

.


Belgo * 415
Lafayette St., New York, NY

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Nov 2

Frank

It may sound blasphemous, but if there were one cuisine I'd have to give up
for life it'd probably be Italian food. I know, I know, everyone
likes Italian food, right? There's nothing wrong with it; it's just never on
the top of my list when the subject of eating out comes up. And yes, I
realize that not all Italian cooking is based on the meatballs and spaghetti
covered in red sauce formula, but I'm still not a convert.

I'd heard mixed stuff about the place, but thought I'd see for myself.
If the length of the wait to be seated were an indication as to the quality,
then Frank would be a four star restaurant. The thing is, it's just a small
place. They don't take reservations and at 8 pm on a Thursday, I ended up
waiting for about an hour. (They do offer to call you when your table's
ready in case you want to take off, but being the last person on earth
without a cell phone, this didn't do me much good.) Fortunately, I wasn't
fazed by the wait. I was in a good mood since I thought I was just meeting a
boyfriend for a run-of-the-mill dinner and instead he showed up with
flowers, elevating the event to a "date."

On to the meal…I'm not even close to being a wine expert so I ordered
some $10 glass of red wine that I don't even remember the name of. Whatever
it was, my beverage suited the appetizer of mussels in a spicy, garlicky
tomato broth and roasted garlic bread. For the main course I tried the
ravioli of the day, which was porcini and potato. Now that I think about it,
the dish had all the makings of a pierogi, albeit in a cream sauce rather
than dipped in sour cream. Maybe the ravioli was successful in my eyes since
it was moving in a Polish direction rather than being quintessentially
Italian. The meal was wrapped up with tiramisu, which was pretty
tiramisu-ish.

Everything tasted how you thought it would from looking at it. Nothing
was bad, but nothing was spectacular either. I just crave a little more
oomph to my food than Frank delivered. I won't write off an entire cuisine,
of course. I'm still on the lookout for that Italian meal that makes me sit
up and take notice.


Frank* 88 Second Ave.,
New York, NY

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Oct 28

Dallas BBQ

I've always been a little unclear on the true meaning of the term "guilty
pleasure." Some people use it in reference to decadent, expensive items like
Godiva chocolates or Dom Perignon, while others may mean something rich and
fattening like guacamole or pasta carbonara. I've always taken the guilty
part literally, as in something you would be ashamed of eating in front of
someone you would like to impress, such as a secret crush.

When I lived in Portland, I would do ridiculous things like hide
pepperoni or liver under more respectable items in my cart just in case I
ran into someone who might be offended by such pedestrian fare. But now that
I'm a little older, wiser and surrounded by far fewer vegetarians/vegans
than ever, I'm much more candid about my gluttonous food choices.

Dallas BBQ is one of those guilty pleasure places that I rarely make of
point of going to, yet somehow end up at. I first went on Mother's Day half
out of a sense of sick curiosity, and half out of exhaustion from not being
about to find the Swiss restaurant I'd been meaning to go to. Since then,
I've probably been back about three times.

Saturday, I was out shopping, freezing and a little hungover from a
Halloween party the night before. I thought a nice bowl of soup would be the
perfect remedy. After walking around a bit, the genius idea of BBQ hit me.
This was about as far from a simple bowl of soup as one can get and at 5:30
it was a little early for diner by New York standards, but the place was
hopping and there was even a line out the door. The hungry mobs shouldn't
have been surprising since the clientele isn't typically East Village
(whatever that means). Dallas BBQ is the sort of place even in my more
secure old age, I'd feel mildly awkward if someone I knew saw me inside
(though there's not much worry of that since all the hip, health food kids
have moved across the river anyway).

So, if you can get past the garishness, sit down, blend in with the
crowd and savor your meaty morsels in anonymity. The price is right, the
portions are large, and the drinks are even larger. I hesitate to say it's
authentic barbecue, but if you want to get stuffed on massive quantities of
ribs and chicken, it'll do the trick. They hype up their "Texas Sized" Blue
Hawaii's, Pina Coladas and Margaritas like nobody's business and you'd be
well advised to order at least one. The fuzzy glow adds to the carnival-like
atmosphere and may even cause you to think aloud, "This place rocks!"

I usually end up with the ribs and chicken combo ($8.95) which comes
with cornbread and a starchy side. I always opt for the french fries to up
the grease quotient, but was highly tempted by the "new" yam mashed
potatoes. Maybe next time. There are all sorts of appetizers like buffalo
wings and vegetable tempura (of course, at BBQ the vegetables couldn't be
served naked, only a batter-fried version will do). Beware of the "onion
loaf" unless you're with a party larger than two. I'm dead serious. Once
James and I ordered a large since it was only $4.95. Were we naive. The
thing is this giant mound of coated, fried onions like thin onion rings that
have been stuck together to form a cylindrical mountain on the serving
plate. The waiter warned us about the amount of chicken wings we'd ordered,
but no one ever said a thing about the loaf.

New York's number one guilty pleasure needn't be a dirty secret anymore.
I will self-consciously squirm in my rickety little chair no longer. I'm
sitting proud, handi-wipe in hand. (10/28/00)

After searching Washington Heights bodegas for over the counter
antibiotics, we came up empty handed. Luckily, there was a BBQ branch
nearby, so the uptown excursion wasn't a total bust. (2/18/02)


Dallas BBQ * 132 Second Ave.,
New York, NY (and a handful of other Manhattan locations)

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Oct 27

New York Noodle Town

fourshovel

I don’t feel as if I have much to say about Noodle Town since I’ve gone on about it many times before in other places. I first discovered it on Chinese New Year, which I didn’t even realize was Chinese New Year until I got down there and was overwhelmed by the crowds. But I’m not sure that the crowds were indicative of the holiday since I’ve never seen the place empty. Even at 3 am (it stays open til 4 am, which can be a godsend on some nights) the tables are filled, which is saying something.

You may have to share a round table, which is really hit or miss. Sometimes it’s a scowling, lone, elderly Asian woman, sometimes it’s a middle aged couple who read about Noodletown in Zagat or if you’re really lucky you’ll get obnoxious college-kid foodies who think they know all the best items on the menu and feel the need to share their knowledge with the Dutch folks on your other side who’ll end up befriending each other and passing food over you the entire meal. But most likely, you’ll just get some non-offensive people who’d like to enjoy their soup in peace just as much as you would.

I’ll admit that my breadth of knowledge concerning the menu is small since I order the same items almost every time. Remember soup and roasted meat and you’ll never go wrong. I get the roast pork wonton noodle soup and it hasn’t disappointed yet. It’s full pork slices, substantial wontons, bulging with two shrimp each, thin noodles, and broccoli (last time it was gai lan, Chinese broccoli, which was an even bigger treat). I’ve been to places where the soup is like water. This sad state won’t occur here–even the broth is packed with flavor. The soup is a meal in itself (I
never realized how large the portion was til I got an order to go and it filled up my bowl two and a half times), but try and save room for some roast duck. You can get an order on rice for $3.25 that won’t bust your gut. Of course, larger sizes are available if you’re in the mood. The salt-baked soft-shell crab is also a winner. They’re not overly greasy, and the salt is off-set by a sprinkling of sliced chili peppers that I swear are jalapenos, even though I know those are not Chinese and my dining companion refuses to believe me.

A lot of Asian food aficionados say you’re only supposed to order off the special menus. Noodletown has one with “fancier” things like meats served with snow pea shoots, sandy pot casseroles and things made duck’s feet, but I’ve always stuck with the basics. I know, you don’t want to be all fuddy duddy and order things like chow mein or egg rolls at a place with amazing regional food, but nothing’s wrong with their regular menu, which you’ll find displayed under glass right at your table for easy viewing. It’s not that I don’t want to try the frog congee, God knows I do, but my stomach is only so big. Maybe I’ll get a batch to go next time. Roast duck at 3 am and congee the morning after sounds like a good plan. Rice porridge is for breakfast, after all. (10/27/00)

Soft shell season—we had to go. Actually, I don’t understand the season because I swear they always have soft shell crabs on the menu at Noodletown. Maybe its just the difference between fresh and frozen? I love that salt and pepper preparation on fried seafood. It’s light and barely battered, which doesn’t induce the usual gut wrenching trauma I get from things like fish and chips. Oh, and the jalapeno slivers also are a nice spicy contrast. But I am a little baffled about the use of jalapeos in Chinese food, I don’t see it in other dishes. Is this traditional? Even Sichuan food gets its heat from peppercorns, not chiles. I will have to look into the Cantonese connection. (5/15/05)

Yay, Noodletown. It’s an oldie but a goodie that I haven’t paid a visit to in probably a year. I didn’t stray from my routine and had roast pork wonton noodle soup and shared a plate of roast duck on rice. We even got our own table during prime Saturday dining time after only waiting a few minutes. That doesn’t happen with any regularity. All the right planets must’ve been in alignment. (3/25/06)

NewYork Noodle Town * 28½ Bowery, New York, NY

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