New York City

Its a Dumpling/MSE/French Kind of Day in NYC

Posted on September 29, 2013 by Ziggy

Another glorious day for foodies in NYC. The sun was shining, the cabbies were singing, I was excused from apple picking, with 3 food events to boot…

Dumpling Festival.. http://www.dumplingfestival.com/

Taste of France… tasteoffrancenewyork-eorg.eventbrite.com/

Madison Square Eats… www.madisonsquarepark.org/tag/mad-sq-eats

The dumpling festival wasn’t quite what I expected. A little disappointing. You buy a ticket for $20 and you have 4 booths to choose from. Mostly basic veggie and chicken dumplings or greasy empanadas. Nothing creative or expensive like the Pastrami dumplings in Smorgasberg, because you pay in advance in this format it’s not worth it for them to lure you in with creative dumplings. It was more about the dumpling eating competition. A woman from Nebraska ate 90 beating all the men

After some misadventure courtesy of a friend’s Citibike spill, and a visit to CVS, we resumed and headed to Madison Square Eats. New vendor Daleny stole the show with the brisket taco, as great as advertised and more. They put daleny all the way in the back in that quiet corner away from the tourists. Bee sting pizza by Robertas as good as ever. SD26 (another newbie) porchetta sandwich just didn’t do it for me. SD26 is the reincarnation of San Domenico in Central Park. San Domenico is the former home of Massimo “Mad Max” Olivari who owns/cooks at Caicos Café in Turks and Caicos, my favorite restaurant in the Caribbean

Then more misadventure. It occurred to me that it’s 4 pm and Im wearing my prescription sunglasses while my regular glasses are in the car in alphabet city. I get headaches if I wear sunglasses too long in the shade or dark. But instead of going to the car we continued to the French fair in Bryant Park. This was a much bigger and ambitious event than the dumplings festival. But the “Taste of France” was not so much about food (although there was plenty) but about getting a taste of France, meaning learning about the country, it’s regions, it’s corporations. There were numerous French companies representing from Aerospace engines to white flag manufacturers. Live music, hot air baloon, someone sculpting the Eiffel inside a bubble. We didn’t eat anything because we were done at this point.

We returned to East village for the car (another frend joined us). Total darkness at this point, and me blind as a bat, my friend with his back, like coming back from the battle field. After getting my glasses we went to Nicholetta, michael whites pizza place in the east village for for some nice Affogato (unique with soda) and port.

Categories: East Village, Gramercy, Flatiron, New York City | Tags: Dumpling Festival, eating competition, food, Madison Square Eats, NYC eats, taste of france, Travel | 3 Comments

What to Eat in Smorgasburg Dumbo

Posted on September 26, 2013 by Ziggy

A semi lazy post if you will. If you havent made it to Smorgasburg Dumbo you have until November 24th. Every Sunday in Brooklyn Bridge Park.

Ribs, Jerk chicken from Royal Cuisine. While not exactly falling off the bone, fairly flavorful if you crave the jerk

Short ribs from Takumi Taco – Absolutely delicious! One of my favorite items here

Lobster rolls from Red Hook Lobster Pound – A no doubter

Porchetta from Porchetta – I’ve had it in the East Village location and this cant be that different

Baguette from Pain d’Avignon – One tip I got from Chowhound. This is one of NYC’s best baguettes. Try getting it from the Essex market for maximum deliciousness

Pastrami Dumplings from Brooklyn Wok Shop – Very Nice!

Brisket Sandwich from Mighty Quinn’s – Angels singing! But if the line is too long you may turn into a food messenger for a while while your SO stands on line.

Red Curry coconut Chicken with cashews bun from Bite Size Kitchen – Well done! (chicken sandwich on the right)

Truffled Adobo Mushroom Rolls from Lumpria Shack – Filipino Spring Rolls never tasted this good – well, I’m not sure I ever had them but you get the idea

Black and White Cookies from Lassen & Hennings – I didnt have any but the rest of the family did and absolutely loved them. So much so that I didnt have a chance to take a picture

Categories: Brooklyn, New York City | Tags: Bite Size Kitchen, Brooklyn Wok Shop, food, Lassen & Hennings, Lumpria Shack, Mighty Quinn's, Pain d'Avignon, Porchetta, restaurants, Smorgasburg, Smorgasburg Dumbo, Takumi Taco, Travel | 3 Comments

Back to Khe-Yo for the Khe-Yosk

Posted on September 19, 2013 by Ziggy

Get it? Khe.. Yosk. Its a play on… oh never mind. Its Khe-Yo week on Eating With Ziggy. Sort of like fashion Week but with less fashion and more eating. By the way last week I came out of my office and noticed an unusual looking crowd walking on 54th, most likely coming out of pier 94. And I realized right away that its Fashion Week. Thank god I was wearing my fashionable 10 year old red Calvin Klein shirt that day. It has a few small holes here and there but they are not that evident.

Anyway, a few days ago I told you about Khe-Yo and today I met Hummus Whisperer for lunch in the brand new Khe-Yosk offering delicious Banh Mi sandwiches for lunch only. Banh Mi is the Vietnamese version of the Po’boy. Essentially an airy baguette with some sort of meat and veggies. Here you got 2 kinds. Beer Lao Braised Berkshire Pork Belly with pickled carrots and other veggies was a delicious combination. Although I was wishing for a bit more pork belly (duh!) this one had plenty of flavor. The Jurgielewicz Duck salad in Khe-Yo is quickly becoming their best dish for dinner. For lunch same duck is featured as a Confit with baby arugula, red and yellow peppers and something called bang bang sauce. I didnt know the Vietnamese were big Tarantino fans. The meat was more evident here and all the ingredients worked beautifully together. The baguettes here are top notch and the counter guy didnt want to disclose the source. He probably didnt know. Both sandwiches had pleasant, mild lingering, heat.

Categories: New York City, TriBeCa | Tags: Khe-Yo, Khe-Yo NYC, Khe-Yosk, New York City, NYC dining, NYC restaurants, restaurants, Tribeca restaurants, TriBeCa | Tags: food | 1 Comment

Khe-Yo – Your Laotian Fix

Posted on September 14, 2013 by Ziggy

Dear Readers, it is official. Tribeca is now a culinary hotspot. A few Years ago I wouldnt touch the area with a 10 foot pole (mainly because of the difficulties involved) but now I found the area refreshing. I can now have a great Falafel in Nish Nush, amazing Korean in Jungsik, and now Khe-Yo. Just like Jungsik, the first modern Korean to hit NYC, Khe-Yo is the first place purely devoted to Lao cuisine. But Lao cooking has been around here for a while now. In my best Troy McClure voice…

“Hi, I’m Troy McClure! You may remember this Laos dish from movies such as Yum Yum, An Officer and a Thai Dish, Yum Yum 3, Eat Drink Man Woman Tranny”

What I’m trying to say is Lao dishes like Larb and the spicy papaya salad can be found in many Thai restaurants all over town. But in Marc Forgione’s Khe-Yo things get a bit more inventive. I visited Khe-Yo about a month a ago, 2 days after it opened and since then Khe-Yo has gained a lot of media attention. Marc now has places in both Duane and Reade streets! Ok, it sounded much more meaningful in my head. Executive chef is Laos born Soulayphet Schwader (AKA better call Saul!)who will occasionally come out to serve the main course himself

They start you off with a bang here. Sticky rice comes with 2 fantastic condiments and a prolonged explanation on how to best enjoy the sticky rice. Eating with your fingers. Dip it in the Heirloom puree or the addictively sick spicy Jeow made with 4 different Thai chili, cilantro, fish sauce and garlic. I was dipping everything in that thing including car keys

I love small menus. This one only has 5 apps, 5 entrees, and a few salads. Crunchy coconut rice with spicy kafﬁr lime Sausage was good and original. I just wished there was a bit more sausage. Jurgielewicz Duck salad was even better. Nicely done, freshly butchered (24 hour) duck along with lightly fried crunchy duck tongue, lemongrass, nice palm sugar vinegar, and jalapeno skins to balance things out. Nice start

Berkshire Spare Ribs were just ok. A bit fatty for my taste and on the salty side. But I liked the accompanied cold long beans salad. Pork Jowl Red Curry was more like it. Like a super delicious mild pork stew with tasty grilled shiitake mushrooms and baby eggplant on the side.

Dessert menu consists of coconut rice pudding with sliced peach and cashew bits which was fine, and a pricey but promising native cocktail ($13). A fine meal overall. I would love to come back and explore the rest of the menu, like the whole black bass and the chicken. Marc Forgione told me since they opened 2 days ago 15 Lao natives told him how thrilled they were with this place. They also recently opened “Khe-Yosk” for lunch. Get it? Khe..yosk. Its a Banh Mi Sandwich takeout place, and I hope to to try it next week

Categories: New York City, TriBeCa | Tags: food, Khe-Yo, Khe-Yo NYC, NYC dining, NYC restaurants, restaurants, Tribeca restaurants | 1 Comment

HKSG – The Update

Posted on September 7, 2013 by Ziggy

5.7 pounds (and counting) and 3 months later it is time to update this beast. But first a word from our sponsors… oops we have none. But, I do want to say a few words about this list because it became more popular than the original intent.

This list is not for everyone. If you are looking for the prototypical pre-theatre dinner where you are nicely dressed, most of these options are not for you. This list is all about the food, mostly on the casual, cheap side, and mostly really its about what Hell’s Kitchen does best – ethnic food. If you want to eat at a “Nice” place than I suggest picking a different area. If you are looking for that special pre-theatre meal and really care about the food than I would suggest looking at places that are not in the area but not too far. i.e. Betony, Marea, NoMad, The Modern. You are already spending $300 for a show, surely you can afford a $5 cab fare to add. Although after a nice long meal, I rather take a nice long walk.

The complete guide is here…

https://eatingwithziggy.com/2013/06/27/the-hells-kitchen-survival-guide/

Here’s whats being added to the guide…

Italian – Mercato. This is quickly becoming not only my favorite Italian in the area but my favorite restaurant in the area. I cant quite explain how I missed it all those years. Truly flavorful, mostly authentic southern Italian dishes like the excellent homemade Trenette with garlic, almonds, tomato and basil. Check out the simple spaghetti, and the flavor rich gnocchi. Owners from Sardinia, chef from day 1 from Sicily, good looking all Italian wait staff means I fit right in.

Thai – Larb Ubol. My favorite is still Pure overall but this new kid on the block is quickly gaining traction. Larb Ubol is an offshoot of Zabb Elee in the East Village, specializing in authentic Isan cooking. Like Pure, some of these dishes not for the faint of heart. Even more so here actually. If you want your typical American Thai dishes this is not the place. Go to something like Kare Thai on 10th or Wondee Siam 2 instead. In Larb Ubol what you get is complex flavors like you never experienced before (unless you did!). Try the Pad Ped Moo Crob – Crispy pork, thai eggplant, basil, peppercorn, ginger, and spicy curry paste

Ramen – Ippudo Westside. Perhaps the most exciting HK opening in 2013. One block away from Totto making HK a NYC Ramen powerhouse. Just like Totto, this is an experience but quite a different one, starting with all the yelling in Japanese every time a new guest arrives, leaves, a dish on its way, or a guest going to the bathroom. I have no idea what they are yelling but its fun, and after a few minutes you start to yell as well. Clearly my favorite here so far is the Akamaru Modern, but you must add the egg, and for a little more spice add the spicy miso paste. Highly recommend this one

Chicken Over Rice Guy – 11th and 51st (Northwest corner). Every neighborhood has a favorite chicken over rice guy. This one is mine. Try the chicken over rice!

Tried a few other new places like Nook… Feh!

Randon tidbits on existing places…

Szechuan Gourmet 56 – I had my first terrible meal here, followed by an excellent meal. Keeping it on the list for now but inconsistency will not fly

Gazala’s Place – I’m not big of the Bourekas overall, but the cheese and sun dried tomato Bourekas here is the bomb. The bomb I tell ya

Sullivan Street Bakery – Quickly becoming one of my favorite breakfast places in the area. Discovering all kinds of bread goodies lately

Guelaguetza – Spicy chicken burrito is now officially my favorite Burrito in the area. Readers, its official!

The Complete Guide…

https://eatingwithziggy.com/2013/06/27/the-hells-kitchen-survival-guide/

Categories: Midtown West, New York City | Tags: food, Hells kitchen, Ippudo NYC, Larb Ubol NYC, Mercato NYC, NYC dining, NYC restaurants, restaurants, Travel | Leave a comment

Citibike Confessions 2 – Battle of the Bridges

Posted on September 5, 2013 by Ziggy

“We are going shopping”, the most beautiful words for a man to hear since “I do”. “We” – as in just us, without You”. Here’s how I took advantage. A Labor Dy trip report if you will…

Picked up Mr Hummus Whisperer and parked the car by the Brooklyn Bridge on the Brooklyn side. Picked up a Citibike and rode the Bridge over to the other side. Unlike the day before where we walked the bridge after (and before) visiting the Smorgasburg in Dumbo (will try to write a separate post) the bridge in the morning was fairly quiet.

“Cruised” Lafayette and dropped the bikes by Houston. Wanted to try La Colombe Coffee after watching the guy on the travel channel exploring the world for coffee beans but it was closed. I was surprised to learn how many places are closed on Mondays in NYC. Like being in Milan in August. Too hot for coffee anyway. We made our way to Russ and Daughters, picked our bagels and went to a nearby park where an elderly Asian couple were doing an exercise I haven’t seen before: Bouncing a basketball. Buttery Lox, cream cheese, tomato, onions, on a fresh crispy bagel never tasted this good. R&D, one of many Lower East Side institutions is touristy for good reason. We were without the wits of our women which means without napkins but we somehow managed with minimum stain action.

We proceeded to pick up the Citibikes nearby again and rode to Delancey and Williamsburg bridge. We crossed over to Brooklyn and just biked around Kent Ave without a plan whatsoever. None of this was planned BTW. Feeling hungry again we decided to park and just walk to Egg for another round of breakfast. But the line was too big so we just went to Verb Café nearby on Bedford and had ice coffee with our takeout Bialys from R&D. Ok, the R&D mention again reminds me that I need to go back to work.. Ok I’m back.. where was I… Oh ye. Verb Café – Ive been there before. If you ever need a reminder that you are in Williamsburg you head to this café and the mini mall attached to it

We picked up the bikes again and rode the Williamsburg bridge back. An unfortunate incident occurred where a bra-less woman riding a bike was accidentally flashing more than the laws allowed. Unfortunate for her. Anyway, we had a good laugh and continued riding by the East River toward midtown. Nice views of the manhattan skyline open up at some point with the river a few feet away. This is a nice section to bike on. We U-turned on 30th and turned on 20th toward the flatiron area. Just rode around aimlessly until it was time for you know..eat.

We dropped the bikes in the East Village. A trip like this is incomplete without eating something in the East Village. Opted to go to Maharlika but we got distracted by a little piggy and shared a Porchetta sandwich in Porchetta. In here they do it differently than in Italy. They get whole loins with the skin and all, season, roll it, and roast it for 7 hours. The result is one fatty, garlicky, porky goodness. Fantastic sandwich. Highly recommend Porchetta.

Time for a cleanser. Liquiteria is thee place in town according to my juice obsessed friend. I’ve been there before and ordered the same thing again, the Grasshopper – a great blend of apple, pear, pineapple, wheatgrass, mint, old cellphones, or god knows what else they put in there. All freshly squeezed, naturally sweet and very refreshing. A little pricey but you pay for quality

Too full for Maharlika we pick up the bikes yet again and head to Tribeca. Dropped the bikes by Whole Foods and spent some quality R&R time (Relieve and Read) in Barnes and Nobles. This branch has my favorite travel section. We are in Tribeca which means we have to go to Nish Nush. Shared a Masabacha which is essentially hummus with Tahini, some other sauce, chickpeas and boiled egg. Added some Falafel balls as well to this party. Since I introduced HW to this place a month ago he’s been here 6 times. He was so excited he stained himself again right next to the R&D stain. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, this is the best falafel in the city.

Time to pick up the bikes again and cross the Brooklyn Bridge back to the car. Now its raining which means I finally look cool on those bikes. I tried the one hand move before and nope.. need it to rain. The bridge is much busier now even with the rain and those darn pedestrians are all over the bike lanes. Of course I was also all over the bike lanes when I was a pedestrian the day before

We dropped the bikes for the last time and started to head home. But hey, we are already here, next to a place I wanted to visit for a while now, so whats the rush. The only one who has the balls to open a pizza joint next to Grimaldi’s is.. well.. Grimaldi. The place is called Juliana’s and the Margherita pie was absolute perfection. I’m not gonna go into the details of the story and controversy here but the gist of it was that Grimaldi’s sold the Grimaldi name rights years ago and now he’s back.. right next door. So when you come to Brooklyn to stand on the hour long line to Grimaldi’s just keep in mind that the place next door with no lines has probably better pizza – I think it does. And for the sake of the neighborhood locals who finally got their pizza back this is the last time I will mention this.

And that’s how I spent my Labor Day.

Categories: Brooklyn, East Village, Lower East Side, New York City, TriBeCa | Tags: food, Juliana's Brooklyn, Nish Nush NYC, NYC dining, NYC restaurants, Porchetta NYC, restaurants, Russ and Daughters NYC, Travel | 1 Comment

Confessions of a Citibiker

Posted on August 30, 2013 by Ziggy

On a balmy August Monday, as I sweep ever so dangerously between a sea of cabbies on 8th ave in Midtown, I reach a red light. And within seconds I’m surrounded by 5 other frontal balding middle aged men looking “Heisenberg” tough on those blue Citibikes. We all look at each other with a sense of accomplishment, uber coolness, until we smoothly shift attention to the lowly pedestrians crossing the street. Say my name pedestrians!

Ok, I need to stop watching Breaking Bad. It affects my sex life and now my writing style. But I did join the Citibike program 6 weeks ago with an annual membership. Today, I got notice that the credit card they have on file will soon expire and I spent no time rushing to correct the issue. Which means I cant be without it even for a day. Citibike is the best thing that happened in NYC since the invention of General Tso’s Chicken.

I somehow convinced myself that one reason to join was to lose some weight. I was only about 5-10 pounds overweight, but I figured that if I join, riding the bikes will give me that much needed exercise I lack in my daily routine. Well, I gained 5 pounds since I started. Not 5 pounds of muscle. 5 pounds of glorious white fat. And the reason is fairly simple. The bike takes me to more food and I eat more. Last night I took the bike to Di Palo, a store in Little Italy, and now my fridge is stocked will all sorts of Italian imported Salumi and truffled Pecorino cheese. Last week I met a friend at the Chelsea Market where we shared all kinds of goodies together. I’m discovering all sorts of new 9th ave possibilities that were not very easily reached pre Citibike, and I go there alone since non of my coworkers have memberships. The bikes are a game changer. But with the weight thing and eating more solo, something will have to give. As of now I vote for anti social and weight gain.

Ok, I’m half kidding about the anti social stuff. The truth is I’m actually meeting quite a few people while using the bikes, whether meeting someone at a bar for lunch (no worries Mrs Z its just casual sex. Not true love) or a tourist struggling with the process of getting a bike which is very common for first timers. The other day I helped a German couple take out their bikes and besides the fact that at that moment my breath was sporting a garlicky, peppery mess courtesy of Szchechuan Gourmet where things got mildly uncomfortable, it was pleasant meeting and talking to them. A few days ago I met a Russian ~~stunner~~ student who was having a hard time with one particular station so I walked her to the nearest station. Although I had to go back to work she really needed some help.

And now to the big confession you’ve been waiting for. I, Ziggy, am not wearing a helmet! Why aren’t you wearing a helmet Ziggy? Good question Timothy. Here’s why…

1) I don’t like wearing helmets

2) Its not like the bikes can go very fast. There are 3 speeds… slow, slower, and Angela Lansbury. You can pedal as fast as you can (and look like a dork as a result) and still stop within 2 seconds.

3) Not that many are wearing helmets. 50% of all bikers out there wearing helmets and less than 25% Citibikers wear them. The ones that do look like dorks, especially the ones on the Angela Lansbury speed. The other NYC phenomenon, walkers who text and cross the street while doing so need helmets more.

4) In order for me to wear a helmet I would pretty much need to carry one at all times. Take my helmet on the bus, to work, take it to lunch, and take it back home.

5) The most important reason. The cool factor. You cant look cool on those bikes no matter how hard you try. On my first ride I got yelled by an old lady “Arent you too old to ride on the sidewalk? idiot!”. That was my grandma. Sometimes you have no choice but ride on the sidewalk a little bit to avoid traffic. I already touched on the speed issue and how dorky you look when you pedal like superman in order to go 3 miles per hour. And then there’s that old 1 hand move trick. You see a beautiful girl and suddenly you are cruising ever so smoothly with only one hand. Doesn’t quite work on the Citibike, I tried. Today I saw someone ride a regular bike with no hands, while texting. Now he looked cool even with the helmet.

But don’t try that at home kids. Citibikes like I said is the best thing that ever happened to NYC. Riding on the west side by the Hudson especially is such a delight. The inner Ziggy comes out of hibernation, free to explore, and eat more while doing so

Categories: New York City | Tags: Citibike, New York City, NYC, Travel | 2 Comments

Malai Marke – Shiva latest + German Draft Beer = Success!

Posted on August 17, 2013 by Ziggy

I will make this one short and sweet and spare you the usual nonsense. East Village is kicking butt lately. What else is new. Already perhaps the best foodie neighborhood in NYC which makes it one of the best in North America, things are only getting more and more exciting, and deserving of a run-on sentence. Its almost like something new pops up in the East Village on a daily basis.

The title refers to Shiva Natarajan, not what you do when your goldfish dies (sit shiva). Malai Marke is the latest from Natarajan, the king of Indian food in NYC. Shiva owns more restaurants than I own boxer shorts and briefs combined (note: I know what you thinking and its really none of your business. Its between me, my wife and my briefs. I should have more briefs but mrs Z keeps throwing out all my “air conditioned” ones whenever she packs for vacation). While Shiva virtually owns Curry Hill including Chote Nawab and about 4 eateries on one block, his presence on “Curry row” is now firmly established with Malai Marke.

I’ve already been to Malai Marke twice now, sampling all sorts of complex deliciousness…

Garlic Naan fresh from the oven as good as it gets. German draft beer, major bonus.

Kurkuri Bindi – Okra. Fried and dry which was a surprise. I was expecting a saucy okra but it was still very good. Reminded me of one of those spicy Indian nut snacks.

Bindi Sasuralwali – I much preferred this Okra – “okra you would eat at your in-laws house.” as it says on the menu just like in Chote Nawab. If anyone here can introduce me to someone who’s parents can cook like this I might need to reconsider my status. My in-laws don’t even know what Okra is.

Chicken Xacuti – Outstanding! Had it twice already. Mild but subtle, with roasted coconut, peanut, and poppy seeds

Lamb Madras – One of the better Madras dishes I’ve had. Tender lamb and the dish overall was fairly similar to the Xacuti

Tand Mix Grill – Another must for me. Great chicken tikka, Tandoor, unique lamb kebabs with just enough heat

Lamb Chettinad – So good. Thicker and heavier than the others but in a good way. Again I expected more heat but was pleasantly surprised with just the right amount.

Chicken Tikka Masala – something I eat often but never in places like these even tho I’m always sure it would be much better. This was no exception. Creamy and perfectly buttery, tho I sort of liked it more as an occasional bite vs eating it continuously if it makes sense.

Chicken Rizzala – Green nutty korma almost dessert like compared to all the other dishes. Korma is another dish we eat often at home and this was like eating it for the first time.

As with pretty much any Indian restaurant I would not bother with dessert. East Village has too many great choices like Chikalicious, Big Gay Ice Cream, Sundaes and Cones

Add another one to your East Village list people. and excuse the horrific Iphone pictures please

Categories: East Village, New York City | Tags: East Village Restaurants, food, Malai Marke, Malai Marke NYC, NYC, NYC eats, NYC restaurants, restaurants | 2 Comments

Nish Nush – Ach Ya!

Posted on August 13, 2013 by Ziggy

A little Borat/Bruno humor there

So the other day something weird happened at night that never happened before. No, not what you think. And shame on you. What happened was I was awaken by Mrs Z’s stomach making all kinds of weird noises. I spent about 10 minutes lying there listening to this processing symphony with a certain amount of fear that she’ll wake up with some sort of ailment. The night before we had an incredible meal at a place where 2 Yelpers got sick recently and I couldn’t help but worry. (That place is not Nish Nush). Unlike snoring, there’s really nothing much you can do in this case. I mean, imagine this conversation..

Her: “What?”

Me: “Ahhm, your stomach is making noises”

Her: “And..what exactly can I do about that?”

Me: “Ahem, can you.. like.. go downstairs and have a turkey sandwich or something”

Her: Speechless

Me: “I love you”

Her: “Fuck You!”

See what I mean? But thankfully Mrs Z woke up fine the next day and everything turned out fine. False alarm. What does it have to do with Nish Nush? Good question Timmy. Nish Nush is sort of a symbol that we are eating out a little bit too much lately, and as I was listening to Amadeus Belly I was wondering if I’m going too far. The place is an hour drive from my house and I already visited it twice in one week.

Quite simply Nish Nush (“snack” in Hebrew) serves the best Falafel in NYC at the moment. Their classic “Green” Falafel is not really green but picture perfect blend of brown and green herbs, mostly brown which I prefer. Along with the perfectly crispy exterior its the closest I’ve had to Falafel in Israel. Although I used to live in Israel as a kid, my best Falafel came last year when I returned as an adult (stop laughing Mrs Z!). Falafel here is made to order which makes a big difference. Pitas are baked in house which is another big plus, and are served warm. There’s free Hummus inside the Falafel sandwich, which is sort of a sad plus. Hummus should always be free, like wifi. So many charge extra for Hummus these days.

But thats not all Nish Nush serves of course. They have a pretty large menu in fact for a place like this. All sorts of Hummus specialties, the Hummus Whisperer a ~~former?~~ contributor to this blog swears by their Masabacha, Hummus with warm chickpeas, boiled eggs, and spices. Hummus is made fresh daily and second only to Gazala’s Place for my taste. The Falafel Platter puts other Falafel platters to shame and I’ll let the pictures do the talking. They also got Sabich on the menu and get this, they even spell Schug correctly.

Move over Taim! Just a little bit

Nish Nush

88 Reade St, New York, NY 10013

Categories: New York City, TriBeCa | Tags: food, Nish Nush, Nish Nush NYC, NYC eats, NYC Falafel, NYC restaurants, restaurants | 5 Comments

Sakagura – Tale From a Crypt

Posted on July 31, 2013 by Ziggy

Taking a short break from Italy blogging.

You think you know someone. I’ve known my friends Igor and Natasha since the high school days. At least I thought I did. Staring somewhat confused at an office building looking for an entrance to Sakagura, Igor turns to an Asian couple standing near us and asks them where is the entrance.. in Japanese. “They said its 2 blocks down” “how can it be 2 blocks away if Google Maps tells me we are standing right in front of the building.” I answer. “And is it my imagination or did you just ask for directions in Japanese in New York City.”

Turns out I needed this to be spelled out to me. Go inside the unassuming office building, go down to the basement and Voila!.. Sakagura, one of the cities most popular Izakayas, aka Sake bar, aka Japanese tapas bar, aka an oasis for Russian middle aged men who somehow picked up some Japanese from coworkers and waited many years to showcase their new found skills to their friends. A quick sprint to the desk by Igor to inform the confused girl that we are here and we get comfortably settled in a nice booth. Décor takes me back to the Tokyo underground dining days. Meaning, the images Ive seen on the Internet

We agreed that I’ll take care of the food ordering while Igor handles the Sake menu. Both quite challenging but I came prepared. But when Igor started talking Japanese to the Sake Sommelier, the shocked fellow had the kind of expression as if he was just asked if his daughter is 18, twice. But we somehow managed and before you knew it the food started flowing. More on Igor later but lets do a quick run down on dishes I (we) liked and disliked. Other than a few clunkers this was a great meal

Liked:

Gomaae – Spinach with sesame sauce. Nice and pleasant to start things off. Aromatic and heavy seasame presence in a good way

Onsen Tamago: Fantastic soup with soft boiled egg, uni and salmon roe. I’m not a huge fan of uni but this was quite good, along with the rest of the soup.

Maguro Tartar – Tuna tartar with all sorts of fish roe and caviar. Best and most expensive ($16) dish of the night

Hirame Ponzu – Buttery, very tasty Fluke Sashimi with this acidy grated radish salad I couldnt get enough of.

Buta Kakuni – Melt in your mouth yummy stewed pork belly. Perfect fat/meat ratio

Tori Tsukune – fairly nice but basic Chicken meatballs with terriyaki sauce. Not all of us enjoyed this one

Chawanmushi – Egg Custard Ponzu soup with chicken and shrimp and something resembling a mini Easter egg

Gindara Yuan Yaki – Not Yaki at all. very nice and sweet black cod

Sremeika Yaki – Grilled Japanese squid with garlic sauce. Was growing on me more and more as I was eating it

Saikoro Steak – diced steak with great sauce. One of the best dishes of the night

Desserts – we sampled 3. Very nice coffee jelly, a savory seasonal Mango pudding, but the big winner was the crème Brule with black sesame. holy smokes that was good

Disliked

Sanma Onigiri – rice balls with shiitake, radished and veggies wrapped in whole baked Mackarel. This had a strong fishy odor and taste. I’ve had mackerel many times but not quite like this

Snow Crab with steamed rice. Quite dry and surprisingly fishy as well. Kept trying it to no avail

Overall a fantastic but pricey meal. Sakagura (“Saki Storage”) is far from your typical Japanese sushi joint. Fine service, cool décor, and “cool” clientele that will satisfy the Anthony Weiners and Carlos Dangers of the world. And as we were leaving…

Mrs Z: I should probably go to the bathroom before the long drive

Igor: Its right there on your right. If you cant find it just ask someone “Toire wa dokoda”. With a slight and sudden head nod after the last word like in those samurai movies

Me: But Igor, we are in NYC and they all speak English here. Why would a white girl… ok never mind. “Tolet wa dokota” got it.