TriBeCa

Nish Nush – Ach Ya!

Nish Nush - Falafel 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

Nish Nush Platter Nish Nush Falafel Nish Nush

Categories: New York City, TriBeCa | Tags: , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Jungsik Style

Jungsik SteakSorry about the grainy pictures.  Looking for a new camera.  And a photographer.

Part 1 of a crazy B-day eating weekend. Myself, the Hummus Whisperer, candle light, and a 10 courser which was more like 16 once you include all the freebies.  Jungsik was just about on top of the places to try list.  Gourmet Korean?  Korean influenced American? Not too clear.  But what I’m sure about is that this is fine dining that even Dennis Rodman can appreciate.

This was a truly spectacular meal and one of the top overall dining experiences we both ever had.  From the beer, to the various flavors, surprises, and presentation.   A total culinary triumph.

But with all that glitziness and professionalism we still could not help but imagine an Arirang-like scene where they dim the lights and crank out a crazy Jungsik style happy birthday routine.  So immature!

Here’s a dish by dish recap…

Great bread trio especially the barley with raisin.  I’m not sure if it was by design but we only got the bread around midway

An Amuse Bouche plate like I’ve never seen (below)Jungsik - Amuse

Wonderfully smoky clam chowder.  One of the best I’ve had.  I might as well copy the “one of the best I’ve had” line to the clipboard

First course of Foie Gras – One of the best I’ve had.  Certainly the sweetest, and creamiest. What a glorious startJungsik Foie Gras

Yook Hwe – Enjoyed it although I enjoyed my seaweed risotto birthday freebie a bit more which came at the same time.  Supposedly its a Korean tradition to eat this on birthdays as it adds a year to ones life.  Ordered 50 more

Jungsik Yook hweJungsik Seaweed Risotto

Jungsik Salad – Cant even begin to describe this.  Simply an amazing combination of flavorsJungsik - Salad

Octopus – Another big hit.  Braised for 3 hours, very tender and a wonderful soy pepper sauce compliments it so nicely.  One of the best I’ve hadJungsik Octopus

Pork Jowl – very good.  Couldn’t decide if I liked it more without the slightly overwhelming accompanying Blue CheeseJungsik Pork Jowl

Paella – With squid.  Started slowly but was sort of growing on me and by the end I loved the dish and the aftertasteJungsik Paella

Snapper – Terrific.  So good looking I forgot to take a picture.   Hot oil poured on the skin to integrate it nicely and give it that crispy texture.  Very tasty.

Steak (top) – 2 pieces of savory Wagyu.  I think I would prefer with only a touch of kimchee sauce or none but it was enjoyable nonetheless.

Desserts courses were great as well especially the pumpkin cheesecake.  They added 2 more dessert courses and by the last course I was fighting it a little.

So there you have it.  This is not cheap of course as the cost of the 10 course tasting is $155 and overall damage of around $450, but worth every penny.  Check out Jungsik readers.  Both of you!

Categories: New York City, TriBeCa | Tags: , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

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