West Village

Tourist in My Own Town – Day 2

Posted on August 14, 2014 by Ziggy

******* 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!

Day 1

Day 3

Day 4

Categories: East Village, Gramercy, Flatiron, Midtown West, New York City, West Village | Tags: Everyman Espresso, food, Hudson River Park, Ma Peche, Museum of Sex, restaurants, The Gander, Travel, travel+photography | 7 Comments

Tourist in My Own Town – Day 1

Posted on August 12, 2014 by Ziggy

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?

Day 2

Day 3

Day 4

Categories: East Village, Gramercy, Flatiron, Midtown West, New York City, West Village | Tags: Book of Mormon, Casa Mono, food, Hyatt Union Square, Ippudo westside, restaurants, Travel, Washington Square Park | 34 Comments

Lumpia Shack – Here Lies Love!

Posted on August 8, 2014 by Ziggy

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

Annisa – Eating Without Borders (and Dictionary)

Posted on May 27, 2014 by Ziggy

So I finally shaved and went to Annisa. Anita Lo’s “Baby” has been on my list for a long time now, but not until the New York Times awarded it its third star, I figured its time. Besides, I couldnt think of too many places that can match the elegance of birthday girl Mrs Ziggy on this rainy night (Awwweee! Ok enough). Lo’s career reads like a movie script. Highly acclaimed internships, Iron Chef win over Batali, a cookbook named Cooking Without Borders is just a small sample of Lo’s accomplishments. But what separates this NYC food celebrity from the rest for me is instead of trying to build an empire, she’s staying put and concentrating on one place, her 14 year old “Baby”, Annisa.

Cooking without Borders means you cant quite categorize Anita Lo’s cuisine. Hence, the default American (New) title is applied for Annisa. The menu includes influences from her French training, Middle East, plenty of Asian, and yes there’s even some American (New). It also made me feel culinary dumb, (what the heck is a Satsumaimo). Not as dumb however as I felt after I got a little tipsy and forgot where I parked the car after dinner. Mrs Z thought it was Jones St, I said Waverly, while a homeless gentleman who overheard us talking kept yelling “WAVERLY” and pointed to it in case we didnt notice that Waverly was right in front us. At some point we gathered for a brainstorm session with me, wife and the homeless guy who just kept saying “Waverly”, trying to figure out where we came from. We finally found the car on Waverly as I and homeless guy predicted

I love coming to a place with a sound ordering plan. Sometimes it doesn’t work too well, but this was not one of those times.

Black Sea Bass Sashimi with trout roe, Yuzu Pearls and Shiso – Delicate, expertly cut Sashimi with the mild caviar that’s not overpowering. We shared this one as our first course before the next two apps. While I thought I ordered just enough or a little too much food, the couple near us who apparently was there a few times in the last few weeks ordered 4 apps, and 4 mains. The waiter tried to convey that its too much food but quickly lost the argument. These were some true Anita fans!

BBQ Squid, Thai Basil, Fresh Peanuts and Edamame (top) -Perhaps the dish of the night. You just cant get more tender, better tasting squid than this. With the peanuts probably getting boiled the heck out of them until their texture pretty much matches the Edameme, the sweetness from the Howisin sauce and minty hints, you got yourself a great dish

Seared Foie Gras with soup dumplings and Jicama – Very good as expected from one of Lo’s signature items that’s been on the menu form day one. Since you get three dumplings we added one more which amounted to $28. Sitting on top of vinegar reduction, you pick up the dumplings with your spoon, bite one end of it and suck out some of the soup much to chagrin of your 4 apps, 4 mains neighbors. Then you eat the rest of the dumpling that includes plenty of crunch from the Jicama. An enjoyable dish but despite the Foie presence, the few bites dont live up to the price tag in my opinion

Broiled Spanish Mackerel, Garlic fried Milk, Satsumaimo, Korean Chili. A lot going in this one. The fiery Korean Chili sauce balanced out nicely the strong Mackerel flavors. Small cubes of Satsumaimo which is Japanese sweet potato and more ingeniousness from the Garlic Fried Milk balls. Nice dish!

Pan Roasted Chicken – There are those places where you simply must order the chicken (the NoMad, KFC) and this is one of them. Something Lo picked up from her work in Chanterelle. Tender, juicy, perfectly crisped skin, stuffed with pigs’ feet and chanterelles and sitting on a bed of creamy puree of White Truffle, Sherry and roasted onions. This dish was sensational!

And what a fitting finish for us to end this one with what I call “The NOLA duo” (which confused the Maitre d a little). From the Beignets of the previous post to the great little Pecan and Salted Butternut Beignets with Bourbon Milk Ice. Although I was full I could have had another dozen of these. The airy and scrumptious Bread and Butter pudding with lemon curd would fit nicely with the bread pudding behemoths in New Orleans. There’s all sorts of mediocre bread puddings all over town, but this is certainly not one of them

Annisa
13 Barrow St
$$$$
Recommended Dishes: BBQ Squid, Black Sea Bass Sashimi, Pan Roasted Chicken, Beignets, Bread Pudding, Dumplings if you dont mind the price

Categories: New York City, West Village | Tags: Anita Lo, Annisa, Annisa NYC, Best Restaurants in West Village, food, restaurants, Travel, west village | 1 Comment

Bar Bolonat – Shiksa Approved

Posted on May 14, 2014 by Ziggy

December 26, 2014 Update:

Took yet another shiksa to Bar Bolonat the other day and had another fun meal. Plenty of empty tables on a Friday night at 8 pm but by the time we left the place was packed. Are we eating later now like in Europe? I didn’t get the memo. Einat Admony’s pink scooter wasnt there again, and I’m yet to meet this NYC legend. Yes, to me her accomplishments here are inline with some of the famous chefs in NYC. Although there were some misses on this particular night, there were plenty of hits, some of which I added to the recommended list below.

Sunchoke Latkes – Hannukah special. Tasted much better than they looked (they looked like Latkes!). Nice falafely flavor

Delicata Squash – Good. Essentially a hefty meaty sweet squash lightly dressed with some Tahini and a few pieces of brittle adding more sweetness and crunch. Contrary to how the media praises the veg dishes, I don’t see them as the strong points here. Timeout named the Everyday Cauliflower one of the best dishes of the year, but I thought it was just ok and not nearly as good as Balaboosta’s version

Octopus – Just ok. Came with a couple of purees, roasted peppers, and something called “Squid Ink Cracker” which was like a tasteless rice cake. The octopus itself was a bit too tender, as in undercooked and missing that nice octopus bite (octobite!)

Zabzi Tagine – Still great but lost some of its “Taginess”. Short rib instead of beef cheek this time (I prefer the cheeks). Came with a closed lid. I was hoping to impress this particular Shiksa with the incredible aromas I remember from last time that would drive her mishegas. But this time as soon as the lid went up, we got bupkes. None of that crazy good herby action I smelled before. Still, a solid plate overall and something I would order again

Hudson Street Kibbeh – This was a fantastic dish and possibly the best Kibbeh I ever had. Three x-large egg shaped pieces with preserved lemon sauce. The meat was perfectly seasoned and the crust had a nice crunch.

Falafel Encrusted Grouper – I wasn’t sure about this one. Love my falafels and groupers but not necessarily together. Turned out to be a great surprise. The falafel crust was just strong (or weak) enough to compliment the delicate fish which was perfectly cooked. Loved the accompanied beans in this white Chermoula seasoned sauce which absorbed much of the fish. Perhaps my new favorite dish here

Halva Crème Brulee – As good as before. Admony’s desserts are some of the best in the business.

I should also note that with the end of the year looming I’m seeing some of these dishes included in various best of the year lists. Namely, the Jerusalem Bagel, Halva Crème Brulee and Cauliflower dish. And this is just the beginning of the lists season Bar Bolonat - Artichoke

Original May 14, 2014 post:

Something peculiar happened to me yesterday that worries me a little. It could be nothing, something, or an eating lowlight of sorts not sure. A wardrobe malfunction after another great meal at Ma Peche. A rather important button disappeared from one of the only shirts I have that makes me look healthy. Not just any button. A designer button made in a Mongolian orphanage. For about an hour on the bus I looked like something like this. There was nothing in the way, nothing I could do to control or contain that gut but cover it with my hands as best I could. A sign perhaps, like a timely Metamucil commercial that I should start watching ~~how much~~ what I eat. “You are what you eat” is what they keep saying (They=Dr. Oz) and according to the laws of digestion, the gut in question was loaded with Korean, American, Italian, Modern Israeli and chocolate covered pomegranates from Costco (serious awesomeness) among other delicacies. Yes, it was one of those weekends.

The first word that came to mind when I arrived at Einat Admony’s Bar Bolonat is guts. The pink scooter was not there which means perhaps that Einat doesn’t give a couscous about the all important critic stage after an opening. Ok, after missing her in Balaboosta and Taim over the years I just cant get a break. All I want to do is tell her how awesome she is, and complain about the way they spell S’chug at Taim (wtf is “S’rug”) thats all. The good news is that the Schug (Yemenite hot sauce/spread) spelling makes more sense at Bar Bolonat. The better news is that the meal was very good. Bar Bolonat - Jerusalem Bagel

As in Balaboosta and just about every new place these days, its large, small, smaller plate format. We ordered 6 dishes + 2 desserts for the 2 of us and it felt that it was the right amount of food. Plates started rolling out at a furious pace at first. We got the first 4 dishes fairly quickly including some at the same time (we were there no more than 20 mins I think) And I had to ask them to slow down a bit which they did.

The Jerusalem Bagel with Za-atar spices on the side was light and fresh. I always say that if you see bread on the menu, get it, and I continue to follow the rule. But I cant help but be less enthusiastic about this rule of thumb now that every new place follows this trend. It almost feels refreshing these days when you get free bread, like the focaccia with various dips/salads we got at Enoteca Maria (the rotating Italian Babushka place) the other night

A fine baby artichoke dish, coated with a good amount of pistachios and spices. As good as baby artichoke can taste for me. The “Everyday Cauliflower” was on the dry side with very little tahini at the bottom and tasted more like.. well… everyday cauliflower. Maybe that’s the point, but a slight nod to the Balaboosta version. The star of the show by far was the Zabzi Tagine. Incredibly aromatic and flavor packed beef cheeks and homemade couscous. The beef cheeks made me forget about the super tender beef cheek dish I had in Sylvain in New Orleans recently

Four plump, expertly cooked Shrimp with Yemenite Curry and just a touch of that spicy S’chug was quite delectable. A similar dish she offered at Balaboosta as a special. Fresh Pasta with ricotta was simple, and quite delicious. If there’s one thing I like more than simple fresh pasta, is simple fresh pasta with a bit of a kick.

No Chocolate Falafel on the dessert menu last night (probably a good thing) but enjoyed a nice Malabi, (the Israeli Panna Cotta), and an ever better Halva Creme Brulee. Like the Silan at Taboon its all about the shredded Halva taking this one to the next level. Check out Bar Bolonat everyone, and bring your Shiksas

Bar Bolonat
611 Hudson St
$$$
Recommended Dishes: Jerusalem Bagel, Zabzi Tagine, Shrimp with Yemenite Curry, Fresh Pasta, Hudson Street Kibbeh, Grouper, Halva Creme Brulee

Categories: New York City, West Village | Tags: Bar Bolonat, Bar Bolonat NYC, Einat Admony, food, Israeli cuisine in NYC, restaurants, Travel, West Village dining | 1 Comment

Minetta Tavern – Still Good, But…

Posted on March 25, 2014 by Ziggy

Minetta Tavern, one of New York’s most celebrated dining spots. Home to one of New York’s most celebrated burgers, most celebrated steaks, and most celebrated “Pastas that are named after NBA great Zaza Pachulia”. One of which wasn’t so great to us this past Sunday.

Pasta Za za was as good as ever, and the perfect “Carbonara” fix. The longing intensified even more after having the worst Carbonara I ever had at Giovanni Rana at the Chelsea Market. “The cooks were trained to do it like they do it there” Meaning Verona, Italy, according to the Rana waiter. I imagine a 5 year old who never even heard of a Carbonara since its not a Verona specialty can whip a better version than that. But I digress. Fresh peppery fettuccine with salty Pancetta, Parmesan, and a single fried egg – so simple yet so enjoyable. Thank you Mr Pachulia.

But if someone would have told me that the Za Za would be the highlight of the night which also featured me doing Lady Gaga at a Korean karaoke, I would have ordered BonChon Chicken instead and saved a whole lot of money. The famous $145 Minetta Cote de Boeuf, that huge center cut rib eye listed in every “Top Steak” list and prominently featured in magazines, TV shows, children Books have been written about it: The Princess and the Cote de Boeuf! Good night Cote de Boeuf! You get the idea. When it first arrived cut, it looked somewhat off and by the second slice, I felt like kissing it while whispering “You broke my heart Fredo”. The fat content/fatty strips was roughly 37.8% of the meat, and surprisingly cutting it was a bit more of a challenge. The meat itself was fine but it didnt have much of the flavor expected from a 45 day aged rib eye, and it was a tad chewy. Compared to the Tomahawk from Costata which had all the flavor and none of that fat, this felt like a letdown.

Categories: New York City, West Village | Tags: Cote de Boeuf, food, Minetta Tavern, Minetta Tavern NYC, restaurants, Travel | Leave a comment

Dude, You Are Researching NYC Food All Wrong

Posted on February 6, 2014 by Ziggy

Dear Tourist,

So you’ve decided finally to go on a “Holiday” to New York City. Mazal Tov! You probably read by now in your guide books that NYC is the greatest food city in the world. And you are probably waking up every morning thanking god for the gift that keeps on giving, the TripAdvisor Rankings. Between the rankings, the guidebooks, and all the great recommendations by your neighbor’s house sitter Betty (you must go to bubba gump you must) who eloped to NYC last year with 75 of her closest friends, you are all set. Right? Not exactly. Lets take a moment and examine what is wrong with the above plan, and come up with a new one.

Whats wrong with the TA rankings: Everything, and nothing. Its just totally meaningless, especially in NYC. TA is a great traveling tool, but ~~pretty much~~ totally useless in NYC as far as restaurants are concerned. The main reason for its uselessness is that there are much better research tools in NYC. (more on that later). But lets discuss the rankings for a second shall we. They are so flawed and so out of tune with reality that’s not even funny. The top 50 at the moment is a bizarre mishmash of classics and places I never even heard of. First of all the TA algorithm puts some major weight on the number of reviews. So older establishments may be higher than better reviewed younger ones. And then there are those that have 27 remarkably high reviews that made it all the way to the top 20. And not to mention that 25 of them may be coming from all their employees and families. I always recall this one particular place in Milan where the owner single-handedly put his place #1 with a bunch of obvious fake reviews. At some point he mistakenly gave himself one star, and that followed with 4 quick glorious reviews with a similar language. And once real reviews started coming in, he found himself arguing with every reviewer

But fake reviews don’t have much of a bearing on the busy NYC listings. Tourists do. TripAdvisor is predominately used by tourists, and its especially true in NYC. While you may see locals contribute in other towns and countries where there’s not much of a choice other than TA, in NYC locals use other sites like Yelp. Now, couple the tourist factor with the high volume factor I mentioned above and you can see why something like Basso56 will be near the top as its heavily reviewed by tourists thanks to its location near Times Square. Besides Basso, at the top of the Italian chain on TA at the moment you can find other Italian behemoths like Rafele, Piccola Cucina, Via Della Pace – places I never even heard of. But if you need more convincing than “Ziggy never heard of”, why not just go to Chowhound where all the NY foodies hang out and pull threads that discuss the best Italian in town. You will not find any of those places mentioned. What you will see mentioned are places like Maialino (#95), Babbo (#602), Marea (#194), Lincoln (#882), or even Ziggy fave Costata (#2605). TA numbers are all over the place as you can see, well outside of the top range for the unsuspecting tourist. So while you are eating a Carbonara with cream and bacon at a high ranked theater district place near you, locals out there enjoy the real thing with Guanciale and egg at Maialino.

Same applies to using the rankings everywhere else in the world. My favorite restaurant in our adapted home of Turks and Caicos is Caicos Cafe, rated #20 at the moment, pretty low in T&C standards.

Now, its time to ditch the guide book. Ok, wait.. pick it up.. its actually quite useful for many things. But not so much for food. Yes, you will get some good tips on some NY icons like Katz’s and Russ and Daughters that I recommend. But then you have something like pizza (namely Grimaldi’s) and bagels that NYC is so famous for. While you will not easily find better pastrami than Katz’s, you will easily find better pizza than Grimaldi’s. Actually, all you need to do while standing on line at Grimaldi’s with the rest of the tourists is look to you left at Juliana’s window to see where the real Grimaldi is doing his thing nowadays. But you dont even have to leave your neighborhood in Manhattan to get great pizza that is arguably better than Grimaldi’s.

Besides pizza, your guide book will mislead you in other areas. E.g. Hell’s Kitchen is not a safe area, the place for Italian is Little Italy, and Times Square is a foodie paradise. Your guide book may be up to date as far as facts are concerned (MoMA hours) but not concepts. Little Italy is now a block inside Chinatown riding one of those concepts. There are no Italians living there. Another thing to keep in mind is that the food contributors to the guides may not be necessarily “foodies”. Rick Steves for example does not strike me a foodie, and to follow his advice in Italy or anywhere else is Europe in this day and age is pretty silly. Eating at guidebook recommended establishments and high ranked TA spots also means eating with other tourists who are doing exactly the same thing. Some may find comfort with that, but if you are reading this blog chances are you want to eat where the locals eat.

And as for your neighbor Betty recommendations go, treat them like meeting your dentist at the supermarket. Smile, and move on. Unless Betty, is an avid Eating With Ziggy reader and/or does any of the following…

Read Chowhound – as I mentioned, this is where many of the NYC foodies hang out, and where I get many ideas. Chowhound is probably my wallet’s single worst offender.

Read Yelp Reviews instead of TA reviews. I already touched on this, and its fairly simple. Locals use Yelp, tourists use TA.

Read or Subscribe to Grub Street – You can get all sorts of interesting ideas there, especially from the power rankings. Same idea applies to Eater, or Serious Eats.

Hang out in the TripAdvisor NYC Forum. You dont even have to participate. Its amazing how much knowledge you can get just by reading the forum for a month or two. There are plenty of locals who contribute on a daily basis, and you can also find many discussions on dining by using the search feature

And the most important tip…

Read EatingWithZiggy. Whats so funny. Where do you think I derive my ideas from.

Happy eating, and happy planning!

Categories: Brooklyn, Chelsea, Chinatown, East Village, Gramercy, Flatiron, Lower East Side, Midtown East, Midtown West, New York City, SoHo, NoHo, Nolita, Staten Island, TriBeCa, West Village | Tags: best food in NYC, food, restaurants, Travel, Where to eat in NYC | 6 Comments

Piora – You Had Me at DM

Posted on January 16, 2014 by Ziggy

You know the place is popular when you show up and the door is locked. You’ve been trying to make reservations for the past 3 months until you finally score a “senior citizen” slot of 5:30 and show up at 5:15 courtesy of zero traffic (Thanks to our borough presidents who endorsed Chris Christie). A locked door was a first for us. Hearing DM (Depeche Mode, aka “Greatest group in the history of greatest groups) as soon we walked in was a first as well. I knew right there and then that this will be a fun evening. And it was!

Piora is as refined and polished as they get in this class. Its not quite Italian, not quite Korean, not quite “Fusion” (why everyone hates you “Fusion”. I say you are misunderstood). Hence, the default “New American” tag applied. Does anyone eat “Old American” anymore? Piora (“Blossom” in Korean) is the strange, but hey it works, combination of an Italian-American executive chef and a Korean owner/manager in the West Village. A cozy back room overlooking a stunning snow dusted garden (a rarity these days). The atmosphere almost seemed odd which sort of worked in our favor, if it makes sense. You just dont expect alternative/clubby music in a place like this but it worked.

Before I dive to the food though, mad props to one particular drink here. “Leaves Falling” — Plymouth gin, Calvados apple brandy, Earl Grey tea, maple syrup, lemon and apple. I want to try making one of those at home, when I’m down, or watch Turkish movies. All I need now is all those ingredients and a bartender.

Some of the dishes were a little on the salty side, though thanks to the Falling Leaves I cant remember what they were. All by design of course, and all still quite complex and enjoyable

Monkey bread – With Lardo and seaweed butter. This was pretty good as expected and a no brainer starter but so are a lot of very interesting bread baskets all over town that cost $6 less

Carrots – Perhaps the most memorable dish. Wonderful array of different flavors and textures with pistachios, yogurt, showered with pink “ham snow”. A glorious dish.

Barbequed Octopus (left) – Quite nice. Tender octopus prepared with Gochujang (a Korean Chili paste), pine nuts and basil.

Egg – Very Good! Poached with 3 succulent deboned chicken wings, potato, and artichoke Barigoule. Is it me or every “New American” menu these days must include a dish called “Egg”

Bucatini – Perhaps the most celebrated dish on a menu that includes 3 pastas. A very unique blend of squid ink Bucatini, black garlic (The Korean black garlic, not the feh! kind), Dungenese crab, Maitake (yum) and chili

Gnocchi Special – Excellent! Picture below is half the normal size (they split some dishes for us). Not your traditional Gnocchi. Texture closer to fried potatoes in Gnocchi shape. With lobster (not skimpy), sitting on a bed of artichoke puree, with some hints of French black Truffles. Meaning, its the kind of truffle that surrenders to the rest of the ingredients rather quickly!

Rigatoni – Very Good! Red wine, duck sausage, fig and spigarello (a distant cousin of broccoli. The one that never calls because you don’t call)

Rohan duck – A great dish! Nice and crispy skin, peking duck-like, faro, and yet more of that lovely black garlic

Trout – Tasted fine according to the Hummus Whisperer. BTW, we were joined again by the Hummus Whisperer and his wife the Hummus Punisher. (That’s what he calls her, don’t know why and frankly don’t want to know. Whatever they do at home in their spare time is not my business)

Olive oil potatoes beat out the Sunchoke hazelnut in the extras match. Desserts weren’t memorable (damn you Falling Leaves) but the meal overall was indeed.

Piora

$$$$

430 Hudson st

Recommended Dishes: Monkey bread, Carrots, Egg, Bucatini, Gnocchi (Special), Duck

Categories: New York City, West Village | Tags: food, NYC eats, NYC food, Piora, Piora NYC, restaurants, Travel, west village restaurants | 2 Comments

NYC – Top 10 dishes of 2013

Posted on January 6, 2014 by Ziggy

Another year, another amazing eating year in the city of New York. Keeping up with all the new and excitement here is like keeping up with the Kardashians. But 2013 proved to be one heck of a year, probably the best ever. And if there’s ever a post on EWZ that could be helpful to visitors or locals seeking great chow in NYC, this is IT!

Ma Peche – Fried Chicken (with a side of the Brussels Sprouts). I’ll start with the last great dish. Haute Fried Chicken doesnt get any better than this. Habanero, coriander, black pepper and other spices used to create this fried pieces of awesomeness. Its a large shareable whole chicken at $48, but for lunch you can get half for $24 which can still feed an Armanian village, or 2 Americans. And the amazing Brussels Sprouts dish are worthy of their own spot here.

Ivan Ramen Slurp Shop– Smoked Whitefish Donburi. With salmon roe, sweet soy dashi, cucumber, scallion over rice. Need I say more? I probably should. Tell me if you heard this story before. A Jewish man from Long Island opens a Ramen shop in Tokyo which becomes critically acclaimed, then comes back to NYC to open a Ramen shop in the New Gotham West Market in Hell’s Kitchen. Sounds familiar? The Donburi is a nice clash of the 2 cultures (Japan meets Jew)

Momofuku Ssam Bar – Spicy Sausages & Rice Cakes. Second Momofuku mention already (Ma Peche is the first) This dish is insane. Plenty of heat and plenty of joy. Its a beautiful medley of ground sausage, Chinese broccoli, Sichuan peppercorn, and the awesome rice cakes which were essentially Korean Gnocchi made from rice flour. Puts the Mssion Chinese rice cakes to shame. Photo courtesy of Never Too Sweet

Betony – Short Ribs. A revelation! Tender, full of flavor goodness. It takes 3 days to make them we were told. We told the waitress that we cant stay that long, but we quickly understood the meaning.

Maialino – Tonnarelli Cacio e Pepe. Its so simple, it shouldnt be here. But along with the carbonara perhaps my favorite dish at one of my favorite Italian spots in the city. Perfectly creamy, peppery, and addictive. Having it sit there among the other pastas on the table is like visiting the bunny ranch after trying out all the bunnies, and constantly picking your favorite.

The NoMad – The Chicken. This is a no brainer, and a top dish nominee even before it reached our table. Once you get over the facts that a) is costs $78 (for 2) and b) its freakin chicken, you will enjoy this one no doubt. Perfectly crispy skin, moist juicy white meat, along with some foie gras and black truffles (all cooked) nicely tucked beneath the skin. Each bite of that combination together was a Tour de Force. But that’s not all. Add a glorious plate of the dark meat with garlic espuma (foamy light garlic goodness) in the middle to share.

Ippudo – Akamaru Modern (with egg). “Welcom”, “Goodbye”, “Aim Well”? I have no idea what they are screaming in Japanese at Ippudo every time someone arrives or goes to the bathroom. All I know is that this is my favorite dish here. Rich, complex pork broth, along with hefty pieces of pork belly. Add the egg and spicy miso paste for even richer flavors

Costata – The Costata. Perhaps the dish of the year. A mammoth 44oz $120 very shareable Tomahawk Ribeye cooked to perfection. Basted ever so beautifully with a rosemary brush, this beast was a feast for all senses. Add some Black truffle butter, fries and asparagus, but good luck remembering the sides in between bites of perhaps the best steak in town

Nish Nush – Falafel. I know Falafel. I grew up with falafel. My car runs on falafel (its the trade-in period while waiting for the new car so dont want to use the real thing). This is good falafel. Fresh pita from the oven, and free (great) hummus can only help

Kashkar Cafe – Geiro Lagman. Little Asia in little Odessa (Brighton Beach) and perhaps the only Uyghur spot in town. I’ve had this dish 3 times in the last 8 months. Nice and chewy hand pulled noodles with lamb, veggies, cumin, garlic, other spices and herbs make up this highly palatable dish.

Special mentions:

Malai Marke – Chicken Xacuti (and Bindi Sasuralwali)
Sakagura – Maguro Tartar
Pure Thai – Wok Curry Paste with Pork
Mercato – Trenette
Jungsik – The rice dish that comes for free for b-day boy 😉
Louro – Octopus Bolognese (tie with monkfish)
Mission Chinese – Kung Pao Pastrami

Categories: Brooklyn, Chelsea, Chinatown, East Village, Gramercy, Flatiron, Lower East Side, Midtown East, Midtown West, New York City, SoHo, NoHo, Nolita, TriBeCa, West Village | Tags: Best restaurants in NYC, food, NYC, NYC eats, NYC food, restaurants, Top NYC dishes, Travel | Leave a comment

The Spotted Pig Burger – Its the Fries, Stupid

Posted on October 7, 2013 by Ziggy

The Russians have a saying that loosely translates to “like sunflower seeds” which basically means “I cant stop eating this”. In a culture obsessed with sunflowers seeds, its not unusual to see it served as an after meal snack, and if you don’t hold a bag full of seeds on the Brighton Beach Boardwalk, you risk being frowned upon. And its not that they think sunflower seeds are really that special. They just enjoy eating sunflower seeds, and since its not that filling they have trouble stopping sometimes.

Such is the case with the fries at the Spotted Pig. They don’t seem that amazing as you first eat them, but you soon discover that you cant stop eating them. The fries are shoestring cut (very thin as you can see) which I don’t normally love as I prefer them “meaty” like Belgian style. But all the seasoning, rosemary and garlic chips make SP’s fries truly addictive. Like eating Sunflower seeds!

The burger itself was very good. Especially if you like burgers with Blue Cheese. The Roquefort here is slightly overwhelming for my taste as any blue cheese would, but I still enjoyed it. The meat was cooked well (medium rare, leaning toward rare) but I had to send the first one back after getting it practically well done. While not quite in Minetta’s Black Label territory, a solid burger overall and I can see why its consistently ranked as one of the city’s best.

I don’t know why it took me so long to get to the Spotted Pig, the mother of all the city’s gastro-pubs. The place was busy on Friday lunch time. Two teachers to my right were talking about the teachers favorite subject these days, lice. A Dutch couple to my left was very eager and excited about the meal. And judging by some of the items they ordered they did their homework well (deviled eggs one of the specialties here). My waitress was running around holding my bill for a few painful minutes (for me), forgetting that final crucial step of actually handing it to me. We had a good laugh. She was I must say, very friendly and knowledgeable.

Categories: New York City, West Village | Tags: food, NYC eats, NYC restaurants, restaurants, the spotted pig, the spotted pig nyc, Travel, west village, west village restaurants | 4 Comments

West Village

The places