New York City

Lupulo – A Taste of Lisboa in… Chachkitown?

Posted on June 27, 2015 by Ziggy

January 7, 2016 Update:

Sorry to say I’m not as enthusiastic about Lupulo after a recent visit. The place may still be a fun spot to grab a beer and perhaps some Piri Piri chicken, but the food is way too hit or miss and pricier than it should be. Also for a Saturday night I would expect it to be much busier.

A special of snails in garlicky sauce was bland and uneventful. The dry snails were impenetrable and could have used some French mastery perhaps. Shrimp Porridge with two perfectly cooked shrimp was quite good. No complaints about the shrimp turnovers either. Manilla clams and Brussels Sprouts were fairly forgettable. The one big miss was a lamb leg that was under-cooked while lacking any distinct flavor, accompanied by faro (good) and some pickled veggies that didnt quite belong. The Frango chicken with Piri Piri sauce was still good. Nice and moist, while big enough to share. The sauce can be too intense for some, depending on how well you shake that thing. The Piri Piri I have at home is a bit more family friendly.

June 27, 2015 Original Post:

Oh oh. We may have our first “Where the hell is this place” situation on EWZ. Is it in Chelsea? Is it KoreaTown? Is it the newly formed NoMad neighborhood? Or is it the even newer “Midtown South” whatever it is. I’m pretty sure its not Flatiron, I already established that. Although its in Flatiron according to Yelp. You see, up until a few months ago there was really no good reason to visit this area unless you have a cheap Chachkies fetish or in desperate need of a groin massage. I suppose Chachkitown is another possibility if we are inventing names as we’ve been doing for the past 20 years (“Clinton”? no thanks. We are proud of Hell’s Kitchen thank you). So I’m filing this under Chelsea until Chachkitown catches on. And then when we are ready we can move on to Nocita. North of Chachkitown

George Mendes’ new gig Lupulo is the sexiest spot in NYC at the moment, which really means North America when you think about it. It all feels very sexy, with a sexy staff, sexy bar, and those sexy light bulbs, but that vibe sort of diminishes once you get to your table. From the semi-comfortable table vantage point, it feels like a casual, bustly Portuguese cervejaria. Mendes who was Michelined with Aldea has something pretty cool going here

My food critique below may seem a little too critique as overall we enjoyed the buzzy atmosphere and most of the food. Other than one outstanding dish there wasn’t anything particularly noteworthy, nor bad. But I still recommend Lupulo for some fun Portuguese comfort food like the Chicken Piri Piri which is a Lisbon staple.

Lupulo derives from Humulus Lupulus which has almost nothing to do with hummus I’m pretty sure, but hops. Beer is the name of the game here, though what I ordered failed to impress as the Mitten and the Saison fell rather flat. The Saison (forgot the name of the brewer.. “Home” or something like that) came about 30 minutes after I ordered it, but there were no other hiccups I should mention

Bread: Terrible. I read somewhere that it comes from a Portuguese bakery in Newark. Might as well come from the deli across the street. Mendez should talk to chef Guerrieri of City Sandwich who also gets his bread from a Portuguese bakery in Newark

Chicken Liver Pate – On the drier side with decent flavor. The lack of creaminess adds to the difficulty of spreading the thing on thin gap-filled crisps.

Green Peas, chorizo and egg – Nice, light and springy. The peas were enjoyable, as was the occasional okra that was almost as rare as the chorizo. If you put chorizo in the name, put it on the plate too

Red Snapper crudo – By far the best dish. Just about the spiciest crudo I ever had, but the heat is more of a delayed, back end heat allowing the fish to shine without much interference. Great dish, though at $18 its Marea price Crudo, and should really be in the small plate column, not “fish”

Octopus Rice – Did not suck. Essentially a mini paella priced as a regular paella ($26 or $24) with maybe one octopus leg sliced inside it. Although I was assured the octopus came from Spain and passed immigration, it didn’t have the “balls” of a Portuguese octopus we enjoy sometimes. Recommend still

Chicken piri piri – Simple, nicely cooked, good size, and a shockingly low price tag compared to the other dishes. How can this be $14 while the rice dish $26. I would order it again even with the same overcooked Mcdolands fries.

Chocolate Salami – Minty, rich, with ice cream. Must have.

Pasteis de Nata – Egg tarts. Misshapen and not very traditional looking (perhaps not on purpose), a little too greasy but not too bad overall. Borderline recommend. You cant go to Lisbon without having Pasteis de Nata after your chicken Piri Piri

Lupulo
835 Avenue of the Americas
$$$
Recommended Dishes: Peas chorizo and egg, Red Snapper crudo, Octopus Rice, Chicken piri piri, Chocolate Salami, Pasteis de Nata

***** Terrible iPhone pictures alert ********

Battle of The Bridges: Seeking Best Pizza, Fuku, Wings

Posted on June 21, 2015 by Ziggy

Winter is coming! Time to file some Citibike miles under the belt. About twice a year the Hummus Whisperer and I take a day riding between the boroughs (Brooklyn and Manhattan) losing crazy amount of calories, while gaining back three times as much from munching in various places. We try to hit at least 5 random spots, some are planned, some not. This time HW couldn’t make it, but we did meet up at some point. Here’s how the ride went

In my constant pursuit of great chicken wings as of late (another middle age crisis symptom), I targeted two year old Distilled in Tribeca. Distilled originally opened as an interesting looking destination spot from a Momofuku Noodle veteran, and settled down into more of a popular neighborhood gastropub with a talented team of mixologists (partly judging by the exceptional Bloody this morning). But the one constant since the beginning seem to be the glorious wings. They are double fried to crispy perfection, and coated with a thick and messy layer of Gochujang (that fermented Korean sauce you put on your Bibimbap). They serve it with their own version of not too funky blue cheese sauce to cool things down. Really excellent hefty, top quality wings.

Back on the bike, sort of full after just 5 wings (I left one for good luck), where to go next? Cutting across east I decided to bike the selfie stick happy Brooklyn Bridge. With all the crowds and craziness, I still rather bike iconic Brooklyn Bridge than any other bridge. Then down to Sands street, Flushing, and Kent before crossing the Jewish side of Williamsburg and parking by old favorite Zizi Limona. The one big surprise here is the large Puerto Rican community in this part of the woods. The big parade was in Manhattan this day, but I felt the celebration here in Brooklyn. With Citibike, I feel like I’m rediscovering my own city

My next destination is a slice of Pizza. Yes, I biked all the way here from Tribeca for a slice. But lets go back for a sec. About a year ago, when I had one of those cherished free days, I decided to drive around Brooklyn for various iconic slices I haven’t had in a while and more. I had the great L&B Spumoni, the legendary Di Fara (after a 45 minute wait), and then drove to Williamsburg for Best Pizza which proved to be Best of the bunch especially while factoring in some of the pain involved getting some of the others. The funny part is that Roman based food writer Katie Parla did something similar a month later, and also proclaimed Best Pizza as the winner. Now, back for yet another NY style slice (need to save room for the next most highly anticipated stop) from the wood burning oven, with that signature basil leaf in the middle for added aroma. Great slice again with an unusually well balanced cheese/sauce proportions. Owner Frank has an extensive pizza resume, along with a stint at the Culinary Institute of America. The paper plate art alone including the “Jews love Best Pizza” plate is worthy of a schlep.

Back on the bike, and back to the “city” via the much quieter Williamsburg Bridge. The emptiness means more freedom to move around so you can fly like a bold eagle! Until you realize you are on a Citibike, and you are dangerously close to being passed by an 80 year old woman (that actually happens often to me in Italy). Its hard to look cool on those little blue bikes, especially in Central Park. The only chance you have is to ride in the rain (not drizzle, rain), or with just one hand. Until you face another blue frontal balding biker riding with one hand and you realize it doesn’t look as cool as you thought.

Anyway, sometimes the most anticipated items prove less than thrilling at the end (see Best vs Di Fara). Such is the case with Fuku, the hottest sandwich in town at the moment from David Chang’s Momofuku empire (As some of you know, I’m a fan). Perhaps I got Fukued. My 30 minute wait was about half outside, half in after paying for it. “Credit Only for now” is something I haven’t heard anywhere yet I don’t think. After paying, you get a number with a stick, and you can stand with your number just about anywhere looking like a dork, for the order girl to eventually find you. Sort of like one of those bachelorette games…”bachelor #23 if you were a kitchen appliance, what appliance would you be”… Eventually the “spicy fried chicken” arrives. Its a flat almost schnitzel like, thigh meat sandwiched by a tiny potato roll that is meant to serve as a handle. Not the sexiest looking thing. There are also sliced pickles in there somewhere that serve almost no purpose. The first few bites were interesting, featuring decent flavor, then the struggle took over. Stringy, uneven texture throughout, with crust and meat not so happily married. Not very spicy for a sandwich called Spicy Chicken. It wasn’t a total mess, but far from that hot, much anticipated item I was so looking forward to. Try for yourself!

A Battle of the Bridges is incomplete without my favorite thirst quencher which happens to be nearby, the Grasshopper from Liquiteria. Its not cheap at around $9, but so refreshing on a hot day. I proceeded then west, cruising 13th st, passing Da Andrea, All’Onda and eventually Santina on the way to meet Hummus Whisperer and baby Hummus Whisperer at the new Whitney Museum by the Highline. There I rediscovered the joys of quirky American art, and the joys of watching quirky American art while holding hands of a baby surrounded by the striking Manhattan upper class. Its a a scientific theory that’s proven time and time again; Babies, preferably cute ones, are babe magnets! The museum is actually very cool. You can couple it with the Highline, and dinner/lunch at Untitled (thats the name) inside the museum, or Santina a few steps away.

I said goodbye to HW and baby for hire and headed uptown via Hudson River Park, perhaps our most important and one of the most scenic bike paths. Between the rotating art in the 50’s and 60’s, various parks (another good place to bring your neighbor’s babies!), piers, people watching, and stops along the the way like Chelsea Market, Gotham West, I can easily spend a whole day here.

My last stop was at one of the newest Hell’s Kitchen bakeries, Bibble & Sip. Well technically just outside Hell’s Kitchen but got all the making of another unique Hell’s Kitchen bakery. Nice place to sit, relax and BS all you want! The Earl Grey Banana Bread is quickly gaining neighborhood fame. Add the Matcha Cream puffs, various scones, the occasional English Muffins sliders and all sorts of rotating goodies. I visited it three times before, and on this day the Earl Grey Panna Cotta proved to be the perfect finisher to a fun day.

Categories: Brooklyn, East Village, Midtown West, New York City, TriBeCa | Tags: Best Pizza, Bibble & Sip, Distilled NYC, food, fuku, Travel | Leave a comment

A Note From the Food Network

Posted on June 19, 2015 by Ziggy

I figured I’ll help out one of my favorite food shows looking for young talent…

Food Network is now casting the most talented kid chefs around the country!
Does your kid/teen cook like a professional chef?
We are in search of young culinary masterminds between the ages of 9 and 17 who have what it takes to compete on Chopped!
If you’re a culinary prodigy that can take the HEAT in the kitchen and the competition, we want to hear from you!

Apply now at http://www.JSCasting.com

Categories: New York City | Leave a comment

Aquavit – How to Train Your Pastry Chef

Posted on June 13, 2015 by Ziggy

To become the second female in the country to get a second Michelin Star, after Dominique Crenn of SF (Suzette Gresham, also from SF joined the list since). Quite the feat for Stockholm native Emma Bengtsson. In a city where Michelin stars are randomly distributed like candy (my mom has one. Found it on Craigslist), the action, the crème de la crème usually starts with the ultra coveted #2. Although, more often than not, when the time comes you are more concerned about losing a star, as opposed to hoping to gain one. Aquavit, a name that’s been hanging around like that balloon your kid brings home, hovering all over the house for days until it loses its luster and scares you in the bathroom in the middle of the night with its new wrinkled dog look which normally means its time to get rid of it. Where was I? oh yes.. Aquavit is a rejuvenated gem, rejoining the city elite.

Pete Wells who awarded Aquavit with a three star review last month, mentioned an overall stiffness, with servers suffering from “Michelinitis”. In comparison to that, our dinner was a Swedish House Mafia post concert party. The staff was extremely professional, but friendly, loose and engaging. We felt comfortable, and you get a sense that the patrons around you are as well. Maybe its Wells, whose bust is Googleable, making everyone nervous. Though I do agree with him about the chairs, which weren’t the most comfortable

There are 3 different menus as you can see on their site. While all offer a nice glimpse of Emma’s greatness, to take full advantage one should look left, at the Chef’s Tasting. Eight dishes are listed, but with all sorts of fun surprises in between, its more like 15. I cant recall all the details (the meal is now a week old) but I do recall much. The other night I had trouble sleeping because both of us couldnt remember Daniel Craig’s name with no electronic devices next to us. She wanted me to go downstairs and look it up (which would also mean bringing yogurt), but I refused. At 1 am I finally figured the first name is Craig, at 3 I realized its the last name, and in the morning I saw the hard truth: Turns out Daniel Craig’s name is Daniel Craig, and we are pathetic. But thats for another post. Here’s the long rundown of the meal at Aquavit.

The bread – A great meal must start, and end (and some in the middle) with great bread, and this one did not disappoint. In fact Emma herself was also in charge of bread service before the big promotion. The Danish rye and the brown butter in particular was simply… wait for it… Divine!

Gravlax Asparagus – Starting with a bang. Like a full plump egg ravioli, with layers of salmon coating more salmon bits, with essentially an asparagus ménage à trois. Asparagus panna cotta, apsaragus tips (let me know when I start sounding like Bubba gump), asparagus ribbons, and asparagus espuma. Ok, so there was no espuma. But there was something exceptionally delicious in this dish that I havent found in any gravlax/lux before.

King Crab and Rhubarb – With nutmeg butter, you can see the ingredients clearly below. The least favorite dish came in early. Not much wrong with it, but lacking the brilliance of the others. You are supposed to eat all three together, and you quickly realize that you include too much of the tarty rhubarb. And on your second bite you realize that you have too much butter. By the time you find the right balance you are left with a quarter of the king crab

Calf’s Liver and Cucumber – I dont know what Pete Wells was eating, or perhaps they adjusted this dish after the review but I thought this was one of the strongest dishes. A hockey puck of creamy calf’s liver wrapped inside this cucumber gelatin, with a surprise inside in the form of braised oxtail, and sliced cucumbers adding a nice crunch. Spectacular looking, and tasting dish

Beef Tongue and Nasturtium – While I truly enjoyed this one, the name of the dish should really be”Potatoes”. Marbles potatoes baked in ash, some of the smokiest, tastiest potatoes I ever had. Yes there were tender strips of beef tongue and Noma-esque Nasturtium (flowers and sugar are two common Aquavit elements) among other things, but it was the potatoes that took center stage.

Mackerel and Pistachio – Perfection! Mackerel’s strong personality was well contained, and the result was quite flavorful. Simply put, perfectly cooked. Candied pistachios, more flowers, foam contributed to the fun. This is the dish that showcases Emma’s style the most

Lamb and Spring Onion. Essentially this one is lamb and spring onions! Onions posing in every way shape or form, Kardashian/Jenner style. Lamb, slowly cooked for three days had a nice crispy top layer and a fatty middle layer. Nice flavor overall, but a bit more fat than we like

Havgus and Walnut – One of the havgus cheese strips was still alive when it showed up, and eventually unrolled itself. There were more candied nuts, along with thinly sliced fresh peaches and birch syrup, though the Havgus midway proved a bit heavy and tiresome. And tiresome is the last feeling you want to have before the next dish

Arctic Bird’s Nest (top) – This is the star, the main event. the Thrilla in Manila of the tasting menu. You anticipate it, you know its coming, and at some point you think maybe its not a good idea to have that third Danish rye with brown butter, because we are not here for Danish rye and brown butter. I cant think of another such place in NYC whose menu’s star is a dessert. I’m sure it exist, but I cant think of any. The Bird’s Nest was as selfie worthy and spectacular as we imagined. There was a “cookie” nest, Goat cheese parfait eggs, snow dusting of frozen yogurt, blueberry and raspberries sorbet, a hint of gold and more than a hint of brilliance. Well done!

Aquavit
Park Avenue Tower, 65 E 55th St
$$$$
Recommeded Dishes: Get the Chef’s tasting menu

Categories: Midtown East, New York City | Tags: Aquavit, Aquavit NYC, Arctic Bird's Nest, Emma Bengtsson, food, NYC Scandinavian dining, restaurants | Leave a comment

Santina – Lucca via Miami Beach

Posted on May 9, 2015 by Ziggy

Update 7/20/2015: Get the Squash Carpaccio people. Whether you are into such veggie dishes or not is irrelevant. Thinly sliced squash with pumpkin seeds adding a nice texture, crème fraiche dropped like Hershey kisses, brown butter, pink peppercorn and other spices and herbs. The peppercorn especially complete this dish. Tastier than many beef carpaccios I’ve had. Another new must is the Potatoes side. Flash fried, then sautéed with onions, hefty amount of chili paste and other goodies. Reminded me in a way of the Momofuku rice cakes with meat. Addcitive stuff. The light and satisfying Santina fusilli is an interesting combination of lamb and the mussels which you wont find anywhere else. The bright red chicken with a tangy guajillo sauce was tender and tasty as well. Don’t overlook this gem when you visit the High Line or the great new Whitney Museum

Original Post 5/9/2015:

A lot of firsts for me at this new Carbone/Torrisi team hot spot. The first time I took a picture of my napkin. The first time I had Cecina in NYC. And the first time I caused an incident of mammoth proportions. Mammoth! But lets start with the first first.

The Napkin – I will just let the pictures do the talking. You may see a cinamon bun, though I immediately see the rolling Bowery steak from Bowery Meat Company in that napkin. Maybe I should see a mental health professional about that. Its not just the napkin. I didnt take a picture of the outside umbrellas and server attire but I urge you to google this place. On both visits I felt like I was missing a white sweater around my neck and a tennis racket. Miami Beach Chic under the the High Line.

The Cecina (pictured above) is like a crepe, or pancake, made from chickpea flour. Its a specialty of the Ligurian Sea coast spanning from Nice to Pisa. In Lucca, we saw them bake the Cecina in a wood burning pizza oven. Its thicker and can be eaten alone with just some seasoning. Here the Cecina is more like a thin spongy crepe, like the Ethiopian Injera. Not intended to be eaten alone I dont think. So when I see other bloggers say to avoid this because its flavorless, I say the point is being missed here. Combine it with any of the 5 “toppings” (tuna tartar, mushroom, shrimp, lamb tartar, avocado) for a very playful and tasty snack. So far I had the lamb and tuna. You can make four little wraps using the four Cecina slices (pronounced Chechina), or you can just tear some to scoop the toppings like in a druze village. There’s no right or wrong way of eating it, and I highly recommend it and the rest of the menu

One of my biggest fears while dining out happened during the Cecina course. And I don’t have many fears to be honest. The only fears that come to mind are death, falling while putting pants on, and dying after falling while putting jeans on. No one in the history of the world ever died while putting their pants on, and I don’t want to be the first. When I’m spending my ~~hard~~ earned money while dining out, my biggest pet peeve is getting the dishes too quickly, or at the same time. It happens far too often lately, and its getting a little annoying. Here I got the Shrimp Zingara middle course not even five minutes after the Cecina. I wasn’t even halfway done with both the cecina, and fantasizing about being back at the beach in Villefranche-sur-Mer. The servant quickly realized the situation and asked me if I want him to take it back to keep it warm in the kitchen, which I never know what to say to that for so many reasons. “Hmmm, I suppose. Will it still be good?”.

Shortly thereafter, after I finished the Cecina, another server came over to take the plates away including the bottle of the green salsa verde that came as part of the Cecina arsenal. I then watched in horror as the green bottle, almost in slaw mo, lean over, coming down crashing. A team of scientists could not ungreen the floor after that. I felt particularly bad about this incident because moments earlier I made a mental note to put the bottle back in the allocated spot after using it a few times, and I never did. The waiter may have assumed the bottle is secured in its spot after picking up the tray, and oops. I apologized to him three times about this faux pas, but the staff can not assume the patrons are in the habit of putting everything in its place.

The moment was gone. I’m suddenly on the wait staff shit list, and I’m about to get a dry shrimp Zingara that was prepared 20 minutes ago and probably missing its Zingara by now. But to my surprise the shrimp dish arrives good as new, as if it was just prepared. The shrimp didnt toughen and were soft as a baby bottom. The rice was toasty, nicely al dented and had plenty of zing to it. The only issue was too much capers, as by the end I found myself separating them away from the action. Maybe they indeed made two Zingaras because I mistakenly was charged for two (or was it a shit list confirmation)

Putting service and personal issues aside, everything else I had was original and well prepared. On a previous visit with a friend we shared a Cecina, and an ingenious Guanciale e pepe. The name resembles the familiar Roman Cacio e Pepe, but the ingredients bring it closer to the rice version of Gricia, a lesser known Roman pasta. Guanciales, black pepper and grated Pecorino play together ever so nicely. I also really liked the simple, herby whole grilled porgy with sliced hearts of palm so sweet they taste like pear.

Looking forward to taste the rest of Santina. If I’m welcomed.

Santina
820 Washington St (under the begining of the High Line, south end)
$$$

Categories: New York City, West Village | Tags: Cecina, food, restaurants, Santina, Santina NYC, Travel | 5 Comments

The Book of Danji

Posted on May 6, 2015 by Ziggy

A rare phenomenon in my personal dining experience. Something I very rarely see and actively try to avoid was all around us this time. The walking dead has nothing on these guys. The lone approach of avoiding direct eye contact didnt work in this particular case because they were everywhere you turned. I’m talking about.. you probably guessed it by now..{gulp}… theater goers! I know, scary stuff. We saw them on the way to Danji, inside Danji, and even by the theaters! We saw them walking in and out in a bizarre orderly fashion (a line?) out of the mothership which they call, Ellen Stardust, or something like that.

But it turned out not too painful at the end. In fact, while I was in the process of suggesting the tofu to the couple next to us in German (“Der tofu ist ausgezeichnet, ich KILLA”), I realized something. Theater goers are just misunderstood. They are simply regular working folk, just like you ~~and I~~. And thanks to blog posts such as this one, they are able to eat well after watching puppets having sex on a stage, or Book of Mormon. It also hit me that after many lunches this is my first dinner at Danji and I was simply not emotionally prepared for this change of scenery.

The book on Danji is this. A playful menu that includes more than one signature dish in a cozy setting that feels nothing like your average pre-theater dining spot. The menus are inside the drawers in front of you, and no matter how many times I go there, I always, without fail, hand the menus to the waitress only to be reminded again that I can just put them back in the drawer. One of these days. Here’s what to get at Danji

Lunch:

Tofu – I’ve already written about this one extensively. Quite possibly my favorite veggie dish in NYC. Normally what I do is let someone else have the extra chicken wing and pretend to be polite, in order to get the extra tofu. I throw them a bone (literally) and they fall for it every time. Not Mrs Ziggy however, though she did split the last one. This is pure awesomeness.

Bulgogi Beef Sliders – Another one of the signatures. You get two sliders but you can add more if needed. Small, and packed with sweet deliciousness. I’ve written about them before as well.

KFC Wings – I can only think of a few wings in town that I prefer. Ma Peche’s jerks , maybe Pok Pok. Plenty of joyous heat and complexity in this one. The key is not to wash your hands for a few days after eating them, or until your next convention. Whichever comes sooner!

Bibim-bap – This is a traditional rice dish with marinated veggies, egg, spicy gochujang sauce and the item you choose (beef, pork, veg, etc). I’m partial to the Kimchi Pork, but its all good.

Dinner: Any of the above except Bibim-bap which is not available, plus…

Garlic honey wings w. sesame seeds – My guests this evening actually preferred this over the spicy wings

Spicy Yellowtail Sashimi – This was a surprise in a way since I was expecting more of a basic Yellowtail Sashimi, but instead they were wrapped around some veggies sitting on top a lovely chojang sauce. Good flavors throughout.

Soy-Poached Black Cod W. Spicy Daikon – Last week we were invited to Fushimi one of those Nobu wannabes in Staten Island. Inexplicably Fushimi removed their Black Cod from the menu (we were there before) to Mrs Ziggy’s chagrin. So ordering this classic at Danji was a no brainer, and it did not disappoint. Sweet, perfectly cooked cod, along with a hefty piece of daikon that was braised until it had the texture of a potato.

Kimchi Bacon Spam Wet Fried Rice – A grower. One of those dishes that kept growing on me to the point of not able to stop eating. There’s ham, bacon, pork belly, egg on top, more of that spicy korean sauce, and plenty of toasty socarrat for the occasional crunch. Excellent stuff!

Spicy Octopus w. thick noodles – I’m a bit more on the fence on this one. I enjoyed it, but I couldnt help but wonder if the dish would be better served with a milder sauce perhaps to bring out the flavors of the octopus a bit more. Still, I pretty much demolished this thing and recommend it

No dessert. Just walk along 9th and go to something like Annabel, or if you have the time, Gotham West Market for Ample Hills Salty Crack Caramel.

Danji
346 W 52nd St
$$$

Categories: Midtown West, New York City | Tags: danji, Danji NYC, food, Korean food NYC, restaurants, Travel | Leave a comment

Capizzi – Fughetaboutit!

Posted on April 28, 2015 by Ziggy

I figured the best way to express myself this time around would be by sharing the latest clinical results from my team of doctors. The monthly report is normally 38-50 pages long but here I will just share the “thoughts” pie chart on page 17. The chart varies from month to month but the big players are more or less constant. And since my Islanders were ousted last night, I expect Hockey to be replaced by sex, pasta or a combination of sorts very soon. But as you can see, I do think about pizza often. I recently had to impose a limit on my pizza intakes and now I’m down to just twice a month. So when I have a bad one on occasion, I do get cranky a little. I need to make it count.

And so to make it count I either go to Don Antonio or Capizzi these days. Sure a slice or three from Sacco, or Merilu, or a combination of the two (my current preferred method) does the trick. While Don Antonio is one of the best in the Neapolitan business. But there’s something magical going on at Capizzi, which is just about my favorite pizza in NYC at the moment.

The pizza at Capizzi is as solid as it gets. It’s the Pat of the NY Pizza scene. Sometimes it looks more Neapolitan, sometimes more NYC like. Its somewhere in between really, and always delicious. I would even say it gets better with age. The ingredients are fresh, some ingredients like the sausages are made in house. The dough is first rate, and the pie comes out of that wood burning oven (built by Joe the owner) with a thin crisp bottom, and the perfect char. The ingredients on top speak for themselves. In Italian!

Taste/Pain Ratio ™ is something I talk about sometimes. The formula that measures the level of taste to the level of enjoyment or suffering one must endure for it. Like women’s shoes. Your sexy new heels will not look very sexy if you are in pain and cant walk straight. You may think you are sexy, but you are not. Grimaldi’s may dish out a decent pie, but it demands quite an effort to get there and stand on line, resulting in a low Taste/Pain ratio. Tourists do the pilgrimage to the legendary Di Fara in Brooklyn, spending half a day door-to-bite, convincing themselves that its worth it, while not realizing that there’s around 20 places that would suit them just fine in Manhattan.

Capizzi may very well have the highest Taste/Pain Ratio in NYC. There’s never any sort of wait. Yo get a comfortable table and personal service each and every time (both aspects may be lacking sometimes in Don Antonio and the busier Tavola across the street. Busier than Capizzi that is). Capizzi is old school Brooklyn without the rich history of a Lombardi’s, and the sexiness of a Don antonio, hence not very touristy. Joe Calcagno’s has been making those pies since he was a child in Brooklyn, helping papa. Capizzi (a small town in Sicily where grandma came from) is one of several current Joe holdings including a popular restaurant/pizzeria in Staten Island. Its where I go for my pizza fix

Capizzi
547 9th Ave

Categories: Midtown West, New York City | Tags: Best Pizza in NYC, Capizzi, Capizzi NYC, food, pizza, restaurants, Travel | 1 Comment

Why I Like to Take Groups to Da Andrea

Posted on April 21, 2015 by Ziggy

What is your favorite Italian? The most confusing, challenging subject since sex education in High School. Not only I don’t really know, but I also don’t have a clue what is your definition of “Italian”. Italian can mean 21 different things, for the 21 very different regions including the Italian region of Staten Island. It could also be a steakhouse (Costata), a pizza joint (Marta, Don Antonio), or a fusiony place like Piora. Many of the so called “Italian” dont really have much in common. In fact whenever we talk to Italian chefs in Italy about what they do and where they eat in NYC, they often mention Italian restaurants. Because to a chef from Piedmont, a Roman restaurant may be just as foreign as Korean. Ok, maybe not. But to them there’s no such thing as Italian restaurants. They are just restaurants.

But if you would ask me which of our so called Italian restaurants I frequent the most, the answer is fairly simple. For lunch, Mercato. For dinner, Da Andrea. Ok, maybe not as simple as I thought, as you can see. Da Andrea is not what I would call a foodie destination. Its a fun, fairly popular family operated neighborhood joint specializing primarily in Emilia Romagna cooking (owners from Bologna). We’ve been frequenting Da Andrea since they were located on Hudson street deeper in the Village. Back then they were half their current size, with lines around the block sometimes. They didnt take reservations then, and they dont do now, unless you are 4 or more. When I have to pick a place for groups between 4 and 12, Da Andrea is the first place that pops to mind. Why?

1) As busy as they are on a nightly basis, it’s easy to reserve large tables with a phone call. Otherwise, trying to reserve large tables in Manhattan is like having a three day root canal

2) It’s cheap. At least for NYC standards.

3) The food is generally good and family/group friendly. My idea of family style dining is not Carmines where the dishes are super-sized low quality. Regular size dishes can be just as family style. You just need to know what to order and how many of them. At Da Andrea, we must get the Tigelle, Modenese style baked to order flat buns that come with Prosciutto di Parma. The simple, always fresh grilled calamari here is fantastic. The tower of veggies is normally a big hit. And as far as pastas go, the Pappardelle with sausage ragu and truffle oil has to be one of the most popular pasta dishes in town. Its my guilty red sauce pleasure. Although, admittedly I didnt detect much truffle flavor or scent last time.

4) The house wine is good (and cheap)

5) You can linger. Chances are your large table isnt booked for another party, so you can take your time. In fact last time, our waitress advised us to order our mains later on, in order to have ample time between courses. You can take your time here

6) 100% success rate. If it aint broke, why fix it. Generally, everyone enjoys this place (you can tell), and at the end of the day that is really what counts

Courtesy of https://whyhaventwebeenherebefore.wordpress.com/

Categories: New York City, West Village | Tags: Da Andrea, Da Andrea NYC, food, restaurants, Travel | Leave a comment

Best Dishes in Hell’s Kitchen – Round 4

Posted on April 17, 2015 by Ziggy

Rest of the rounds can be found here

Oxtail Fried Rice at Blue Ribbon Sushi – Responsible for roughly 27% of my wet dreams. We are blessed with all sorts of crazy fried rice dishes all over town (Ivan Ramen, Gato, Pure Thai), but this one may top them all. Adding to the richness are bits of bone marrow, and on top of all this craziness is an egg omelette. Once you mix it all, you get something really special. This Blue Ribbon is inside the 6 Columbus Hotel, and depending on who you ask it may not be exactly in Hell’s Kitchen. Some sites like Yelp think it is, and if you ask me, deliciousness should know no borders (I just came up with this)

Tofu at Danji – I smell this dish as soon as I go in. Along with the fiery Korean Wings (some of the best in the city), Bulgogi sliders, the tofu is a must order for me on every visit. The fact that its a tofu dish alone, and its on this list speaks major volume. Four rectangles are flash fried, and topped with ginger scallion dressing, and that wonderful soy vinaigrette I smell upon arrival. The result is crispy on the outside, creamy on the inside, and incredibly delicious throughout. You will want to eat every single detail of this dish.

Steamed Pork Buns at Kung Fu Little Steamed Buns Ramen – These are Xiao Long Bao, aka Soup Dumplings, not the pork buns we know and love (Momofuku, Ippudo). In fact everything about the place is confusing. The Ramen is not exactly Ramen, there’s no Kung Fu anywhere, and the pork buns are not pork buns. But they are quite spectacular, once you develop the art of eating them properly. You may want to hold a napkin in your right hand initially as you may splatter some juice on your neighbor. But practice will make perfect , and after a few of these babies you will be eating them like a pro. Just scoop it up unto the soup spoon (add some vinegar before or after), nibble once to make a hole, let the steam out for a few seconds… attack. This is not a place to linger, nor for a fancy pre-theater meal, as you may share your table with common folk who may not be wearing Louboutin.

Oxtail Soup at Pam Real Thai – This is a no-brainer since I included it in the Best Dishes of 2014. Delicious lasting heat, complex broth, with two hefty meaty bones. Fatty in all the right places, like slow dancing with your mother-in-law. If my mother-in-law could cook like this, I would have an affair. I believe it has miracle powers (cured all my flu like symptoms, and frontal balding). It’s my favorite soup in the city of Ramen. Disregard the lazy, minimalistic decor at this old timer (compared to the rest of the Thai in the area). Though once you try Pam’s cooking, the decor will look like something out of a contemporary French country catalog

Pastel de Crema at City Sandwich – Yes, we are listing the city’s top sandwich stop and not having a sandwich. Criminal in a way. Until you try these things at this Portuguese inspired joint. Yes, I suppose you can find them in your nearest Chinatown as well (They were introduced to China via Macau while under Portuguese rule). This is the Portuguese national snack. A creamy egg custard inside a flaky crust. But if an egg tart is not to your liking, try their mini Panna Cotta

Categories: Midtown West, New York City | Tags: Blue Ribbon Sushi, City Sandwich, danji, food, Hell's Kitchen eats, Kung fu Little Steamed Buns, Pam Real Thai, restaurants, Travel | 1 Comment

Why Di Palo’s is my Favorite Food Store in NYC

Posted on April 15, 2015 by Ziggy

January 26, 2016 Update:

My absolute favorite thing to do while on vacation is, you guessed it, eat. And my second favorite thing is to read about what I’m going to eat on my next vacation. Instead of reading a book about Sicily, I opted to read Lou Di Palo’s wonderful Guide to the Essential Foods of Italy, hoping to get some useful tips on my next destination. I got that and then some. It was especially great reading about the history of the store, and the stories, moving stories, about Lou’s life and travels in Italy.

The book reaffirmed something I suspected all along. There’s nothing like Di Palo’s in the city of NY, and maybe even in the entire USA. After just finishing the book, I cant wait stop by the store. This time I’ll be one of the ‘jerks’ that bypasses his turn in order to be served by Lou. I need more Sicily tips Lou, like where’s the best pizza in the Trapani.

Di Palos

April 15, 2015 Post

Walk on Mulberry street between Broome and Hester on a sunny day, and you may notice a peculiar thing, or three. People sitting, watching other people, and everyone is eating the same thing. Penne with red or vodka sauce (I presume for the Russians), Frutti di Mare, and the occasional chicken parm parked right next to their guidebook. I apologize to the people watchers who had to endure me through the years but I just love walking on that stretch simply because its such an interesting and unique attraction. A street in the middle of Chinatown devoted entirely to tourists. Dont get me wrong, I would not expect anyone to know that there are gems like Rubirosa, Osteria Morini, and Parm less than 5 minutes away, just like I would not know where to eat in their hometown.

But lets think for a second what would happen when the guidebooks finally get the memo that there is no such thing as Little Italy anymore. All the businesses will most likely close, except for one, Di Palo’s. Ok, maybe La Mela as the last of the red sauce mohicans. But Di Palo’s has been there for almost 100 years, and unless they get booted out they are not going anywhere anytime soon. Instead of sitting at a place that bills itself as home to the “Best Canolli in the World” (of the pre-filled and frozen kind) and watch people that look like me (again, I’m sorry), you should be sitting in Di Palo’s breathing history. This is the real Little Italy stuffed in this small enclave on Grand steet, with a story bigger than all the red sauce joints on Mulberry combined.

This is not the place for a quick purchase, unless you come early in the morning when they first open. In here you linger. This is the only store in NY where you feel good about getting a number and dont really mind waiting much, because you know you’ll be getting the same kind of treatment when its your turn. Once your turn is up, you may get one of the Di Palo’s (Lou, Sal, Marie) or one of the trusted workers who are probably used to seeing people skipping turns just to get one from the family. Either way, you will get a personal interaction that is almost unheard of in NYC. With almost zero regard to the amount of people waiting, you will be able to taste just about everything the store has to offer, and have fun doing so. Spending more than 30 minutes is not that far fetched, and if you get Lou, Sal, Marie, chances are you’ll want to be there for an hour. Many top NYC chefs do the same thing, come in and take a number. Chef Daniel Boulud calls Lou Di Palo one of the seven wonders of New York.

What to try/get: Their fresh Mozzarella is extremely popular. Burrata, aged Pecorino, Parmigiano-Reggiano, Mortadella from Bologna, not NJ.. Soppressata, Prosciutto di Parma, Cacciatorini (hunter salami), peppered salami, Finocchiona, Felino from Felino, not Utah. The one item I absolutely must get every time is Truffled Pecorino. They have several, usually from Sardinia or Tuscany. Eataly has none. Also you can get Sullivan Street Bakery Focaccia (great for a picnic), fresh pasta, various sauces including Urbani truffle sauces and more. If you havent been and enjoy good food, you owe it to yourself

Di Palo’s
200 Grand St

Categories: Chinatown, New York City, SoHo, NoHo, Nolita | Tags: Di Palo's, Di Palo's NYC, food, Specialty stores NYC, Travel | 5 Comments

New York City

The places