We just finished our great Stay-cation. For those checking in looking for the rest of the reports…
Day 3 – Tuesday
Day 4 – Thursday
Incredible time, and more incredible food on those 2 days…
Author Archives: Ziggy
Tourist in My Own Town – Day 2
******* YOU MUST BE 18 YEARS OLD TO READ THIS *********
WordPress issues last night published this thing prematurely
Day 1 can be found here. Day 2 was interesting to say the least.
There’s something about spending the evening in NYC while knowing you don’t have to drive home soon. Although my favorite part is waking up in the big city. There’s this level of serenity, like the great calm after the storm. Beautiful young drunk boys and girls are coming home after their one night stands, one reminder after another that you went to sleep way too early last night, and you are just old. People talking to themselves without ear pieces, is another early morning phenomenon.
The best advice I can give a real tourist (as oppose to the fakes like me) is to skip the hotel breakfast option. Come out, explore, follow your nose to the nearest bakery, coffee shop, etc. A Frenchman walks into a bar with a toad on his head. The bartender asks “where the hell did you get this”, the toad replies “In France, they got a million of those” So is coffee shops in NYC these days, and bagels everywhere you turn. Squirrel seekers can even find a plethora of flat whites all over town these days. Instead of sharing a hotel dining room with sandal and socks wearing tourists, come out and eat where the locals eat, and meet some of them. Like Everyman Espresso around the corner from the Hyatt Union Square. Voted by the Daily Meal as one of the best coffee in America, where we enjoyed some fine latte and flavored muffins. A light little breakfast, to save room for a great lunch and dinner, is the way to go in NYC
We then checked out of the hotel and started walking toward our next destination, the one that crashed Trip Advisor. A trip without walking through Madison Square Park is a like a trip without sunshine. Its not only the squirrel capital of the world and the place to see unique art installations, but this is also the place where magic happens… Shake Shack. Well, the original one at least. Shake shack employees and a few squirrels joined together for a pre-opening meeting this fine morning. It occurred to me how large this SS operation really is.
Whenever we look for parking in that area with the kids, somehow, for some bizarre Freudian reason we find a spot right by the Museum of Sex. The kids are too shy and embarrassed to ask any questions about this, and we are too embarrassed and lazy to explain. Since wifey and I are now kidless we decided to pop in. Would you believe it if I told you that this was not only fun and unique, but educational? You got an interesting exhibit dedicated to Linda Lovelace. Funland, a playground for adults that features a new spin on Kentucky Derby horse racing, Grope Mountain climbing!, and a bouncy house where you are surrounded by inflatable fake breasts, some of which were more wrinkly than others I noticed! And who witnessed a German tourist breast suddenly pop out while bouncing? This guy! The educational part: Animals and sex. Very interesting facts and tales like about ducks raping other ducks after chasing and killing them. Another floor offers extremely interesting displays that I can not possiby describe here, and the first floor is a store offering among other things, new pasta shapes I havent seen yet. A new meaning to Al Dente (firm… get it?)
We proceeded to walk toward our first culinary highlight of the day, but first we pass Eisenberg’s Sandwich Shop and it occurred to me.. I havent been here in 13 years since I worked at Forbes.com around the corner. That brought back memories. “Just browsing” I told the clerk, as I had brunch plans. This is not the place for browsing. You attack this thing with full force.
Add the burger at The Gander to the list of NYC growing must eat burgers. This beauty is priced well at $16, available for lunch/brunch only. 28 day dry-aged beef, cheddar – adding anything else to it except for the bone marrow mayo that comes on the side would be criminal. Juiciness level I haven’t experienced since college! Confit Duck Hash, Poached Duck Egg, Port Béarnaise, Duck Chicharrónes was very good, while could have used some acidity in the form of roasted tomatoes or something, but enjoyable nonetheless. Good drinks, great service, nice looking rooms (got filled up a few minutes after the picture was taken). Will be back for more at this 2 month old for sure
We then took a walk along 6th ave toward midtown to witness one of our great holiday celebrations… The Dominican Day Parade (special thanks to TER and ZTAKS from Trip Advisor for this suffering ;)) It was actually quite fun though a tad too crowded. We overheard one visitor ask a police officer if this was the American Independence Day parade.
A mistake on my part. Plan at this point was to walk all the way west to 12th ave, Hudson River. The 20 minute walk turned to be challenging due to the heat. And on top of that, the Citibikes in that station (12th and 40th) had problems with credit cards and 24 hour passes. I have an annual pass but Mrs Z doesn’t.
We managed to get bikes a block away and Mrs Z managed quite fine for her first bike ride in the city without any incidents. I chose the Hudson River Park as its flat, carless, and quite Obama-care friendly. We then parked the bikes in West Village and took advantage of the green space on that end of Hudson River Park, one of my favorite parks in the city overlooking the Hudson and Jersey City. Manhattan has pretty cool parks these days, something I wasnt able to say 10 years ago. We then walked all over West Village all the way to the hotel crossing the always vibrant Washington Square Park yet again
Although we already checked out of the hotel, we were able to use the facilities to make ourselves pretty, or make Mrs Z pretty for our dinner at Ma Peche with friends from Brooklyn. Cant say enough about this place, their new cart service, the fried chicken, and those addictively sick rice cakes (Korean gnocchi on crack) I constantly dream about. Highly recommend Ma Peche. Try the Seven Spice Sour cocktail if you go
We capped off the night at one of my favorite bars in town, the rooftop at Ink48. Glorious moon, glorious views, and another glorious day in the city I call home!
Tourist in My Own Town – Day 1
There’s very little doubt as to what is my 12 year old’s favorite store in the entire world. M&M’s World. Whenever we enter the store, her eyes bulge, and she’s not sure what area to hit first. She’s like a kid in a candy store! In a way, I felt similar symptoms when I found myself kidless for 9 days for the first time in 14 years. There’s only one thing I love more than exploring NYC with my beautiful daughters.. exploring without them. Although I normally feel free to eat wherever I want, this is a brand new level of culinary freedom, with endless wants and possibilities. Instead of skipping town, Mrs Z and I decided to stay put and play tourists. We wanted the real Australian tourist experience which includes staying in a trendy hotel, complaining about hotel A/C noise, and taking pictures of squirrels. Day 1 out of 4…
*****Mostly iPhone pictures on day 1 as I wasn’t planning to do this post. I don’t want you to think that I’m a terrible photographer. I am, but I don’t want YOU to think that.
My weakened eating adventure started the day before where I enjoyed a Don Antonio Diavolo pie and a shared this pizza Fritta, a giant fried calzone stuffed with mozzarella, tomatoes and salami. Don Antonio to me is the closest to eating pizza in Italy due to the style, ingredient quality, and female employees speaking with Italian accents
We started our day 1 around noon in Hell’s Kitchen, where we met Mr Hummus Whisperer and wifey for pre-matinee lunch at Ippudo. My goal for this weekend was to impress mrs Z with good food and get her dunk. Good start so far. The Akamaru Modern on point as usual. Pork Buns so fine that will make you slap your mama. Chicken wings, fried chicken (fried chicken won by a chicken skin hair), and some gelato and sorbet from Il Laboratorio del Gelato where the black sesame winning top marks.
Book of Mormon. The show that upon purchase, made me tell my kids that they need to start being nice to their grandparents as they will need to rely on them for continued education from now on. I believe its the most expensive broadway show in history. And with all those inflated expectations, we still managed to enjoy it tremendously. Like a bizarre, super clever Mel Brooks, Howard Stern collaboration that makes you want to “Baptize” someone in the next few days
I work in Hell’s Kitchen, and ‘Disiac lounge off 54th and 9th is the place my coworkers frequent the most. I’ve seen the bar much more livelier than on this Saturday afternoon, but we did discover something important about us. We don’t like CAIPIRINNA, the Brazilian national drink. Getting mrs Z drunk – Failed! We did enjoy however in this Israeli owned bar, a falafel platter, with hummus, babaganoush, grilled pitas, and fine red Yemeni S’chug. My favorite Hummus in the area is still at Gazala’s however.
My hotel of choice was the Hyatt Union Square, a stylish boutique with ultra modern rooms (the ones where you can see yourself shower), comfy bed and pillows, a magazine rack in the bathroom with magazine! (for those not willing to spend extra for wifi!), valet parking (if it costs $65 is that still considered an amenity), and perhaps my favorite amenity in any hotel.. A Flat Screen TV! If there’s a flat screen TV in every single hotel in the world, is it still considered an amenity? Why not list “Bed” as well? But in all seriousness, this was a fine stay that would have been finer if they hadn’t put us next to the elevator.
We’ve been to Washington Square Park before many times, but never experienced it quite like this time. A giant Star Wars flash mob cock fight. It was quite a scene. We didnt stay late enough but at some point we were told that they got divided into groups to fight each other to the death. Or until their little Jedi swords broke, whichever came sooner. There were also the usual park musicians and art like sand displays, and a fake birds eating fake pizza showing.
We capped off the night at Casa Mono, one of the premier tapas joints in town. All 6 dishes including one dessert were quite good. I especially liked the duck egg with potatoes, Mojama and some ultra perfumy summer black truffles. The calamari like Razor clams were slightly overdone though still quite enjoyable. Nice skirt steak with Romesco, reminiscent of the Gato scrambled egg. Goat confit was expertly prepared with avocado purée. I can’t get enough goat lately. Perhaps my favorite dish however was the Fideo with chorizo and clams. I don’t understand why I so rarely see fideo on menus. The one big issue I had was the frequency of the dishes coming out. Started with two right away, and the next 3 came in at the same time pretty much. In a place like this where sharing is key you would think they would get it by now
A nice walk back to the hotel included a visit to Union Square Park where I saw the the youngest street performer I’ve ever seen (5 maybe?) among a group of many other dancers. Day 2 coming up! Any comments? Question? threats?
RIP Robin
I know some readers are checking in looking for our NYC stay-cation trip report, and I will try to write something in the coming days. I’m just not in the mood to do any sort of blogging at the moment after learning about the passing of Robin Williams. I thought it was a hoax at first due to the magnitude of the news. I once booked a trip to Vegas just to see him perform, and I cant think of anyone else who would make me do something like that. Simply put, a natural funny man genius. Depression is a real thing. And its ironic that someone who brought so much joy to so many people was battling depression for a long time. He will be greatly missed.
Categories: New York City
2 Comments
Lumpia Shack – Here Lies Love!
I’m risking a lot with this one, and I’m already feeling it. Wait, till mrs Ziggy reads this, she’ll never forgive me. It took us 13 days and 17 hours to finally erase from our head the theme song from Here Lies Love, the quirky off off Broadway musical about the life of first lady of the Philippines Imelda Marcos. I’m singing it as I’m typing, with the same hand gestures and all as before.
Lumpia (LOOM-pee-ah) is a Filipino snack, like spring rolls. Lumpia Shack is a stand in both Brooklyn Smorgasburgs created by a Manila born husband and wife. Lumpia Shack Snackbar is the 3 month old brick and mortar simple hole in the wall shack in the West Village. The place is almost as tiny as the Smorgasburg stand, but the creativity and offerings more than quadrupled. In fact I would even venture to say that.. wait for it…Here Lies a lot of Love (oh boy)
Lumpia the snack, slipped overnight, from being the bread and butter to just about the least exciting thing on the menu. A testament to the rest of the items. Even the garlic chips, made from tapioca starch and infused with garlic and tamarind powder reminiscent of the sickest BBQ rice puffs you will ever encounter is more thrilling for my palate. They even have a Ramen Burger which the Hummus Whisperer proclaims better than the original. The burger utilizes the same Keizo Shimamoto noodles but instead of beef you got a Soyfull, soulful Adobo Pork Belly. This has the power to transform Pork Belly haters to lovers. The mushroom Lumpia still rocks, but I’ve had these before a few times. The rice bowls offer more excitement with a mix and match protein and sauce combinations. My chicken with the coconuty Bicol Express could have used more oomph and juiciness but satisfying nonetheless. I’m looking forward to coming back this weekend to say you had me at “Halo-Halo”
Categories: New York City, West Village
Tags: Best Cheap food NYC, Filipino Food NYC, food, Lumpia Shack Snackbar, restaurants, Travel, west village
5 Comments
Three Queens – Your Island Freddy’s
Unless you’ve been living under a rock, or in Provo Utah, you probably already heard of “House of Cards” and Freddy’s BBQ joint. Freddy’s is Kevin Spacey’s character’s secret local rib oasis. He goes there any chance he can to unwind, to get his favorite ribs, and see his friend. Everyone should have a place like this. I don’t when I think about it. Pure Thai Cookhouse is probably the closest as I’ve probably frequented the place more than any other but its very far from a hangout place like Freddy’s. BTW, one of the many folks I met while swimming in the ocean at the other Provo (Turks) recommended to me this great Thai place in NYC called Pure Thai which he found on EatingWithZiggy. But I digress
Three Queens is the Providenciales version of Freddy’s. Located in Blue Hills, 30 minutes away by car for the majority of visitors, and unlike similarly distant places like Bugaloos, and Conch Shack, most likely you will find only locals. In fact, you may be there just by yourself with Dick playing the roll of Freddy, who may join you and tell you island stories, like about the original Bugaloos where it was across the street (you can still see the sign). Or stories about the conch festival that Three Queens hosts annually. “Like going to someone’s house” is a cliché you see everywhere you travel these days pretty much, but I’ve never been to a place that’s deserved the cliché more. And if you still not feeling it, you will feel it when you meet Marta, the Chef de Cuisine whose extensive “all over Grace Bay” resume portrayed ever so cleverly through her cooking
Like any other typical Freddy’s, no menus here. Myself, Val from TurksandCaicosReservations, ttewks, Relayer, and Ttewks Junior (man power lunch) were given the 5 or so choices of the day. One of the menu items was a succulent curried goat which wasn’t supposed to be there that day. The previous day, I hinted to Val’s lovely wife Susan that my provo diet that week was badly missing curried goat since Jerkey’s was no more. Susan then told Val who then called Dick and voila… we are sucking on some meaty goat goodness. That goat never saw it coming. And on his day off, no less. The chicken curry was singing as well that day, and so was the oxtail (below). But my favorite dish was probably the grouper (above). Its fairly remarkable what freshness brings to a dish (family members own local fishing company.. helps) and how little messing around with it requires. You will be hard pressed to match this kind of flakiness perfection on the island.
Three Queens was born at the same year I was, 1970. Named after the owner’s three daughters. I don’t believe anyone at Pure Thai Cookhouse, the place I frequent so often, knows my name. Three Queens, after one visit, does. Like I keep saying just about after every trip I take, whether in Europe, New Orleans or just about anywhere else, places like this will enhance your vacation experience more than any other
Categories: Turks and Caicos
Tags: food, local food Turks and Caicos, restaurants, Three Queens, Three Queens Turks and Caicos, Travel
1 Comment
TRIVAZ 2014 at Seaside Cafe
A few weeks ago, on the island of Providenciales, a group of wacky Trip Advisor folks got together to celebrate vacation. The event, dubbed TRIVAZ after the 6 main planners including yours truly (I always get the rear) was held at Seaside Cafe. Drinks were flowing, the bites kept coming, and coming, and a steel drum courtesy of Val from Turks and Caicos Reservations got us groovin’. The beats and the Bambarra rum went hand in hand that night like Justin Bieber and public humiliation
Normally in events like this, food takes second stage, as you are having fun while nibbling on something here and there. Not here, no no! Every bite was a conversation stopper. From the Salmon, to the legendary Tuna Sashimi to the now world famous Conch Salad. Not to mention conch fritters, shrimp tempura (which was a big hit) and crafty bruschetta which kept coming and coming and coming until I had to cancel dinner (it takes a lot for me to cancel dinner). We chose Seaside and young stallion chef Francois for a reason, and we couldnt ask for anything more.
Special thanks to Ttewks1 and the lovely tewksmd for making it happen. Lets do this again sometimes!
Categories: Turks and Caicos
Tags: food, restaurants, Seaside cafe, Travel, TRIVAZ, Turks and Caicos
4 Comments
Riding With Ziggy – Battle of the Bridges Part III
Twice a year the Hummus Whisperer and I are freed by our spouses to ride with the winds between the boroughs of Brooklyn and Manhattan while enjoying culinary freedom. This time our tour included a neighborhood in Brooklyn, a romantic deserted island, a burrito, and a whole lot of butt texting. All photos and texting courtesy of an Iphone 5 fresh off a broken lock button, which meant butt calling and but texting galore before I realized that the top button no longer does it job. I would call people while talking to them.. “Excuse me… oh its you”.. “What?”
We parked near the entrance to the Brooklyn Bridge as always, and this time we opted to stay relatively close for a breakfast snack and explore the area of Boerum Hill. Walking on Smith st reminded me how much I miss that area. I dont know if it was a hangover symptom but you can actually hear birds singing in some of the relatively quiet and tree lined side streets. Smith st. has some of the best concentration of fine dining/bars/food stores in Brooklyn. It was slightly truer before Michelin Starred Saul moved to the Brooklyn Museum.
Our first food stop was Shelsky’s, a mini Russ and Daughter’s with an attitude if you will. The plain bagel with cream cheese and a silky smooth Gaspe Nova was just what we ordered! Great loxy flavor without the R&D pain (I’m talking about both Russ & Daughters and the lox our R&D dep’t consumes).
After our little picnic in Brooklyn Borough Hall, we picked up a bike and crossed Brooklyn Bridge which was relatively quiet at 10 am. Plenty of bike lane wary tourists still but not wall to wall zoo as before.
On the Manhattan side not too far from the bridge I noticed a large Asian group practicing Falun Dafa (or Falun Gong) meditation. This practice which disciplines Truthfulness, Compassion, Forbearance, got so popular in china in the 90’s that it was quickly banned by the government as it was seen as a threat. I was told by a Chinese woman that a million Chinese followers have either died or imprisoned over the years and the rest of the world cant do much about it. Seeing this group was a sharp reminder that we take our freedom for granted.
Riding in Chinatown is not the most pleasant ride, but always interesting. There arent too many neighborhoods out there where you get a sense of community like here. At some point on Hester street we saw people dancing in a park. Where else do you see that at 10 am? HW and I debated whether to show them a few moves of our own but we had an appointment with dumplings, Prosperity Dumplings. Four meaty, greasy (in a good way) pork and chive dumplings for a buck. You cant get a better deal than this in NYC – its not economically feasible. Last week I tried the recently opened Mimi Cheng’s dumplings in East Village which is getting some press and lines out the door. While they were good, for $8 per 6, I would take Prosperity any day.
We continued to ride to the East Village for a desperately needed thirst quencher and its pretty clear where we are headed since we get this drink on every one of those rides. The Grasshopper at Liquiteria, a popular neighborhood fresh juice joint. They used to make it fresh on the spot but now you can find it in the fridge on the left. Try it with some Gray Goose for a much smoother Citibike ride
We now head North to the romantic portion of the trip to 60th, riding entirely on 1st ave which has a great bike lane btw. Both of us making it to Roosevelt Island for the very first time. I always thought I would make it with Mrs Ziggy one day, never with the romantically challenged Hummus Whisperer. It took us about 30 minutes of aimless walking and some bus shuttle hopping to nowhere to realize that god invented Google for a reason. Apparently we need to head to one of the ends, the closest one. So we head south and now I see what the hoopla is all about. Nice park along the water, another park, NYC’s only monument ruin (an old smallpox hospital), and right on the tip, FDR Four Freedoms Park. This is got to be one of New Yorks most stunning parks, and what a setting. FDR’s huge bust overlooking the island brought me back to my old FDR high school in Brooklyn where I learned how to write properly (you guessed it, the school is now closed!)
We headed back to the mothership island, and straight to a game I call Amazing Citibike Race. Its where we realize that the area around us is suddenly short on bikes and we have to scramble. For 15 minutes we had to scramble and run around while constantly checking the bike app. We split, we texted (both real and butt) and at some point some running was even involved, until we got the bikes.
We cruised 2nd ave all the way back downtown. I must say the east side (2nd and 1st) is much friendlier for bikers than the west side (8th,9th). Our best eating is still to come. Well, we haven’t eaten much as you can see and I’m approaching the elusive 1000 word mark (what the hell did I write about). We nixed the two Ivan Ramens and opted for an infamous burrito, and one particular place in Brooklyn that I feel embarrassed for visiting for the first time.
The chicken Burrito at Missions Cantina was a burrito revelation. I’ve had some crafty burritos over the years but this one may have topped them all. The main difference.. no rice. The lack of rice meant less heaviness (a welcome plus in the summer) letting the rest of the ingredients shine. And the toasty flour tortilla is crispy, thin but holds its own for pleasant mess-free eating. I want to come back for the wings and tacos.
You know that the burrito was good when the ride across Manhattan bridge becomes a little more difficult. I felt like telling everyone passing me “dude, I had a burrito.. without rice, more beans”. Manhattan Bridge is a solid alternative to Brooklyn if you don’t want to share the lane with pedestrians taking selfies of themselves getting hit by bikes.
Pok Pok, the Hummus Whisperer’s favorite restaurant in NYC was our last stop. Although I’ve been a big fan of Andy Ricker, I somehow never made it before. The new location in Red Hook looks like a simple diner, but the food is anything but. We only had room for 2 dishes and one of them had to be the wings I kept hearing about. Very solid meaty delicious wings that were plenty sweet and plenty of spice. I liked the Cha Ca La Vong even more (below). Catfish marinated and fried to flaky perfection with all sorts of herb action, rice vermicelli and tangy pineapple-y sauce. Now I really cant wait to come back for more. Great finish to a wonderful day
The End
Categories: Brooklyn, Chinatown, East Village, Lower East Side, New York City
Tags: best food in NYC, food, Liquiteria, Mission Cantina, Pok Pok Brooklyn, Prosperity Dumplings, restaurants, Shelsky's, Travel
2 Comments
Turks and Caicos – Le Bouchon du Village
I have to confess, last trip wasnt exactly dud free. In fact, we had quite a few of them, mostly with new spots I wanted to check out (the things I do for you people, and for what?!?). Le Bouchon du Village in the little picturesque village of “Regent” was most certainty not one of them. Not exactly a shocker since I choose not to write about duds for various reasons.
In fact this was most likely our favorite meal at Le Bouchon, mainly because we got all our favorite Le Bouchon classics and even added a new one. As usual my pictures at Le Bouchon look a little stale, mainly because a) Its a little dark in there, b) we are way to eager to eat the food when it arrives, and c) I suck at photography.
The classics at Le Bouchon according to moi:
The Escargot pictured above – This is how escargot should taste like everywhere.
The Soups – Both the Conch Chowder and the black bean soup are quite good even at extreme heat
Steak au Poivre – The only restaurant in Provo where steak is a must. Perfectly executed, melt in your mouth buttery goodness, each time we have it, without fail
The Tuna – Our newest classic. Fresh, expertly prepared Yellowfin. Lightly seared to beautiful redness you can only get with fish this fresh, and lightly coated with ginger tomato reduction to take this to the next level. It came with avocado, other veggies and Jasmine rice which was the perfect compliment. Great dish
We also had a lovely Snapper, pan seared with light cream. Mrs Ziggy particularly enjoyed this one. And for dessert, their rich chocolate tart is always a hit and Profiteroles this time ended one of the most brilliant meals of the trip. Pictures below followed by the previous post
03/13/13 Post…
Time for a Timeline…
Oct 1975 – Curious Ziggy discovers Snails are edible
Dec 2006 – Ziggy discovers Turks and Caicos
July 2009 – Ziggy eats at Caicos Café headed by Frenchman Pierrik Marziou
Oct 12th, 2010 9:34 pm – Ziggy goes on a hunger strike when discovering two Italians take over Caicos Café, Pierrik retires
Oct 12th, 2010 10:15 pm – Hunger strike is over but Ziggy vows not to eat at the new Caicos Café in protest
Dec 2010 – Ziggy eats at the new Caicos Café, gets Ratatouille moment, drops pen
Dec 2012 – Pierrik comes out of retirement, opens Le Bouchon at the village
Dec 2012 – Present – The Golden Years
So there you have it. Pierrik and his gang are back is what I’m trying to say. And back with a vengeance…
A Parisian like Bistro on a sidewalk at Regent Village is Le Bouchon. A family affair, with Pierrik, Julian (son), Justine (daughter) and any other children that start with a J. Mom is there as well hustling and bustling. A changing chalkboard menu with plenty to choose from adds to the excitement and the homey atmosphere. In fact I did the same thing back home starting this week an today on the menu is cereal with 1%!
During lunch one day we enjoyed a nice Niçoise salad, and a top eat of the trip nominee burger with egg. You need to ask for the egg. With the perfectly cooked sunny side up egg, the result is a messy, juicy goodness oozing with deliciousness. Good to have this lunch option.
Some of the lunch options are available for dinner as well. Like the fun Charcuterie board (I love Charcuterie boards – you never know what you getting) with a nice assortment of salami, ham and duck terrine. Escargot was absolutely delicious! The perfect garlic, butter, herbs balance which very often restaurants cant quite get it right. I still have garlic breath after that Escargot we had in Brooklyn last week and after eating half a head of garlic at lunch today!
Mussels were a big hit that evening as well. The shrimp a la plancha however was a bit puzzling since it was one large shrimp over risotto. More of a tapa dish really than main. Although the wife and my oldest who ordered it enjoyed it
I went for the steak au poivre which along with the chilean sea bass is a staple on the board I believe. Plate cleaner. Covered with light peppercorn sauce that even made the fries taste great. Cooked medium rare as expected after ordering medium (French undercook) and plenty of flavor. A month before this meal we ate at Thomas Keller’s Bouchon in Las Vegas where I had a NY strip with peppercorn sauce. That NY Strip was twice the price and half the flavor of the steak at Le Bouchon.
For dessert the winner was the chocolate mousse which I actually didn’t get to try. That’s how good it was. Tarte tatin (pronounced according to Justin, “Ta”) was good, creme brûlée just ok. Dinner overall – Le Magnifique
Le Bouchon is new but you wouldn’t know it while eating there. This is one of the only dining options on the island that does not need to rely on tourists alone due to the kind of local following established over the years. So needless to say I’m not the only one raving about this “addition”. Bienvenue Pierrik and family!
Recommended dishes: Burger with egg, Escargot, Charcuterie board, Mussels, steak au poivre, chocolate mousse
Turks and Caicos – Flamingo’s
7/25/14 Update: Reaffirming island must status. As must as it gets in fact in Providenciales. Besides that celebrated legendary dish, there are a few more reasons to come
1) Rum Punch. You know when you see couples walk on the beach holding hands, to make you go “Awwwe”. Grace Bay can do it to you. But when Mrs Ziggy and I do it, it usually means she just had the rum punch at Flamingo’s and I’m simply preventing her from walking into an Island Vibes boat. Those guys aren’t shy with the rum, and the flavor simply kicks ass.
2) The Curried Grouper. I already talk about it extensively below. Arguably the most celebrated dish on the island. This time around not only it didn’t disappoint but it even had some extra punch.
3) Everything else is pretty good. If you are not into seafood than this is not much of a must, but everything else we tried over the years has been anywhere between ok and pretty good. The ribs are good enough, so is the curried chicken when they have (forgot about what the menu says). But this time we really liked the Grouper burger. Nicely seasoned, great flaky texture. A bit too much bun action so I would just disregard half of it. Respect the fish!
3/18/13 Post:
The Dish! This one is going to be short and sweet and to the point (plus i’m a little tired from dealing with the Devil Time Warner cable for much of the day)
Whenever I recommend this one on TripAdvisor I always pause for a second to think what exactly is the name of this place. Is it Flamingo’s, Flamingos, The Flamingos Cafe, Ricky’s Flamingo’s, Inga’s Flamingos? I’m not really sure. But I AM sure that its Curry Grouper is one of the top dishes on Providenciales.
Once in a while I eat something that makes me turn into Andrew Zimmern. The kids get a good kick out of it. I just shake my head and mumble various Zimmern words that may or may not have anything to do with what I’m tasting… “Its woodsy, its earthy, its gassy”. Sometimes when I try something for the first time my youngest would say “Well dad, is it woodsy and gassy” Yes!
There’s really not that many dishes on the island that give you that kind of pleasure with every morsel. Sweet, smooth, savory, melt in your mouth deliciousness. Like eating the most delicious butter. This is why I come here.
This is also TripAdvisor legend CaribDesi’s favorite dish on the island. Or one of the favorites at least. No, I’m pretty sure that’s his favorite. I hope he’ll clarify with a comment here one of these days. Get well soon buddy. We miss you. Here’s to you.
Eating With Ziggy 
