Posts from the ‘NYC’ Category

Sep 13

Havana Central

Unremarkable. Same with "One Hour Photo," which we saw afterward. It was agreed that within a week we would have forgotten both the restaurant and movie. I have a hard time forgetting something I've told myself to forget, but you get the idea.

I ordered the undignified-sounding fried pork chunks hoping for something wonderfully crisp, fatty and flavorful like lechon or the fried pork with basil at Sripraphai. No such luck. The meat was dull and dry, likely a lean cut of pork to start with. It just doesn't work like that–you need the fat. If I was being respectful of my health, I wouldn't have ordered fried pork in the first place.

Barring the mojitos, the prices were reasonable and the portions were huge. I'm a fan of big and cheap, but mediocre? Not so much.

Havana Central * 74 17th St., New York, NY

Share on Tumblr

Sep 4

United Noodle

Our third anniversary passed without much fanfare. Same as the second, and
most likely the fourth, if that comes to pass. I'm not sure why that is. At
least the meal was nice. United Noodle has all the makings of return visit:
it's mere blocks from James's apt., fusion-esque, but not out of control
(I'm a sucker for fusion) and reasonably priced.

We started with a tower of wontons with shrimp and an orange citrusy
sauce. I ordered a decidedly non-summery dish of short ribs with
papperadelle. It was wonderfully meaty and anise-scented with sweet cherry
tomatoes and a green (possibly Asian, it wasn't broccoli rabe). I was
actually more enamored of James's shrimp and scallops in what they menu said
was carrot pudding, which was really a rich, creamy, sweet sauce. There
might have even been vanilla in it, I couldn't put my finger on all the
flavors. Luckily, we switched plates at the half-way mark to get a little
variety.

Dinner was topped off with an ubiquitous molten chocolate cake. No big
shakes, but not bad. One of these days I'm going to play stupid and throw a
fit that my cake isn't properly cooked. "Send this back, I'm not paying for
a raw cake!" "If I wanted to eat batter I could do it at home and it save
the $7!" Eh, I don't think I have the nerve.

UnitedNoodle * 349 E. 12th St., New York, NY

Share on Tumblr

Sep 1

Crepe Place

It was a wedding rehearsal dinner. What more need I say? We were offered a
choice of three crepes, including the amusing Alexander the Crepe (the Crepe
Gatsby, was unfortunately not on our list, though it's on the regular menu).
Oh boy, who could resist. All the 25+ people at the dinner received full
crepes while James and I only got half portions. If I wasn't so tipsy, I
would've been really pissed. Obviously two other people did half orders and
didn't bother to claim them. Were these health-conscious Californians trying
to tell us gluttonous New Yorkers something?

The Crepe Place * 1134 Soquel Ave., Santa Cruz,CA

Share on Tumblr

Aug 17

Trailer Trash

1/2

The latest addition to NYC's growing trash trend. I was kind of curious
about the place, and it was across the street from the theater where we saw
"The Good Girl" (the same theater where we had our first date ["Blair
Witch"] and hadn't been back to in almost three years). I would say Trailer
Park isn't trashy so much as kitschy. The place is overflowing with
'70s-'80s memorabilia like Dukes of Hazzard pics, which realistically you
wouldn't find in the average mobile home. I can see it being more of a
thriving bar scene. The burger wasn't bad, but nothing special. I did like
sweet potato fries, though–and you're not going to find those in a trailer
park.

Trailer Park * 23rd St., New York, NY

Share on Tumblr

Aug 2

Coco Roco

I used to occasionally order a really amazing chicken salad from them at
lunch. And now that I think about it, it'd take an awfully long time to show
up. Maybe they're good, but it was hard to tell, what with waiting an hour
for my entree. The pisco sour I started with was very nice, the mixed
seafood ceviche with the little corn nuts wasn't bad…and then the waiting
began. I can't even remember what I ordered. A snapper with fried yucca, I
think. Who cared at that point. With so many restaurants in the
neighborhood, and Peruvian being such a hot item recently, I doubt I'll be
back soon.

CocoRoco * 392 Fifth Ave., Brooklyn, NY

Share on Tumblr

Jul 26

5 de Mayo

There's been restaurant trauma lately around the question, "How late are you
open?" I always want to know since that's a huge issue of mine. But no one
at 5 de Mayo spoke English. On the phone "How late are you open?" received a
hesitant "Monday" as a response. (Oddly, the same question at a Chinese
restaurant the following night was answered, "Two years.") Despite the
language barrier, the tacos were fine, as well as the queso fundido, which
I'd never tried. It's Mexican fondue, basically, and don't order with just
two people unless you have a serious dairy appetite.

5 de Mayo* 703 Fifth Ave., Brooklyn, NY

Share on Tumblr

Jul 25

Annisa

1/2

It's taken me a while to write about my 30th birthday dinner because with
more important (i.e. expensive) meals, it seems like you should take more
care in the description. Unfortunately, I've been scatterbrained lately.

We went for the seven-course tasting menu, which was impressive, but to
be honest I can't remember the exact detail of each dish. One, because I was
tipsy and two, because it's hard to recall just from waiter description, I
need to see words on a menu. Generically, we had a mini salmon creme fraiche
pastry before the meal started, first: a chilled pea soup, second:
Machengo-filled squash blossom, third: foie gras soup dumpling, fourth:
mackerel, which annoyingly I can't remember much about, fifth: lacquered
squab with foie gras (my favorite), sixth: cheese plate with a possibly
illegal fresh blue cheese from Ireland, seventh: two desserts, one a lemon,
blueberry gelatin thing and a panna cotta, which I ate, enjoyed and can't
remember even though the table next to us asked about it and at the time I
described it to them.

I'm just relieved that I finally got to eat at a restaurant I wanted for
a special occasion. Hints were dropped about Annisa for last year's birthday
but they weren't picked up on. I got Peter Luger, which is funny because
Annisa is totally the anti-Luger. Small portions, modern, feminine. All
things I'm not really about, but I can't eat manly meals all the time.

The only thing I wasn't sure about was the clientele. The middle-aged
French couple seated next to us, kept shooting the most disgusted looks for
no good reason. We hadn't even ordered anything yet, so clearly it wasn't in
responses to poor food choice, they just didn't like the sight of us. It was
really freaky. I'd occasionally scowl back, and almost said something
confrontational, but they left shortly after we sat down. The other thing I
observed is that with the exception of the older Frenchies, the other
parties were all made up of casual twenty-somethings eating what seemed for
them run-of-the-mill Thursday night dinners. I thought the whole boomtown
bubble had burst. You could just tell that for all these 26-year-old doctors
and MBA's (I know because they were talking about their jobs) this was
nothing special, rather something to do. I don't know, it almost bothers me
more than being scrutinized by nasty foreigners.

Annisa * 13 Barrow
St., New York, NY

Share on Tumblr

Jul 16

Nha Trang Centre

1/2

I like this place because if you're taking the M from Queens, it's kitty
corner from that odd Canal St. exit that puts you out on Centre St. No
transferring trains, no treks through town, just a 30 min. straight shot
from Ridgewood. Convenience and good Vietnamese food. They've got the
typical subtle variations of pho and all sorts of stuff with beansprouts and
basil. But the last time I was there right before a job interview, I
branched out and had this pork chop thing (have to re-look up the name) that
was amazing and at $5.25 didn't put a dent in even an unemployed gal's
pocket. I also slammed a Tsingtao to calm any pre-interview jitters and
worried for a moment that I was delving into Uncle Ned (Tom Hank's one shot
"Family Ties" character) territory. The dish came with two barbecued pork
chops on rice with some sliced cucumbers, tomatoes and carrots, and a piece
of this "egg cake" which was like scrambled egg with something black like
beans inside. I felt pretty invigorated, albeit stuffed, upon leaving. And
no, I didn't get that job. Keep your eye out for the waiter who goes,
"Yummy, yummy" and then mumbles something under his breath when he brings
your food.

I'm tackling my eating alone phobia and trying a different Chinatown
place every Tues. night before my writing class. I thought I'd already
battled this affliction when I'd reluctantly eat lunch alone while working
at the library in Portland. I was a total spazz about it in the mid '90s,
and unfortunately the new millennium hasn't improved me much. I'm convinced
this Fred Durst guy was staring at me the entire meal, not a glare, but
every time I'd look up our eyes would meet, and not in a wanted way. Then a
skinny young girl sat down facing me and also kept catching my line of
vision. Such paranoia. I find it hard to chew when you feel eyes are on you.
Anyway, the #1 pho was tasty, filling and cheap and that's what counts.

Nha Trang Centre * 148 Centre St. New York, NY

Share on Tumblr

Jul 12

Cornbread Cafe

When you're craving fried chicken, you should just order fried chicken. I
opted for the pecan chicken, imagining this sweet, crispy, fried, nutty
thing akin to an Asian honeyed prawn dish, but it was just a baked
(broiled?) breast of chicken with a crushed pecan crust. Not bad, but not
what I was expecting. The collard greens were some of the best I've tasted,
sweet, sour and smoky all at once. The namesake cornbread wasn't bad either.
I'm just starting to slowly eat my way through Park Slope with trepidation.
It's like if I dine on Seventh Ave. too much I'll end up pregnant with a an
SUV or something.

CornbreadCafe * 434
Seventh Ave., Brooklyn, NY

Share on Tumblr

Jul 6

Rajbhog Sweets

I absolutely love this stuff, but I don't know what any of it is called (at
least yet). Asian goodies totally rock, and I'm just beginning to delve into
Indian sweets like kulfi, burfi and other words that sound like bodily
functions. The colors draw me in, though the tastes I can't always place.
Rose water, cardamom, pistachio, coconut. Most are riffs on a basic building
block like halvah, sort of how Viet-Thai type desserts all seem to involve
coconut milk and rice with subtle variations. Further research must be done.
The gift-style boxes are a nice, old-fashioned candy counter touch.

Rajbhog Sweets * Jackson
Heights, New York

Share on Tumblr