Da Andrea – Da bomb!!

Posted on July 16, 2012 by Ziggy

Da andrea is not something I just tried for the first time.  In a city with 32,473 dining options (I counted – no, I dont need to get a life, I love counting) the list of new places to try greatly overpowers the short list of places I keep coming back to.  I’m always so tempted to try something new.  And then there’s Da Andrea, the one place that became a family annual.  The only place.

I’ll make it simple here with Da Andrea, skip the mambo jumbo and just tell you what to order.  I really hope I spelled mumbo jumbo correctly as I’m still new to this blogging thing and I dont want to embarrass myself.  I also have trouble with “Brouhaha” but I’m not gonna need to use it unless I run out of food description adjectives and say something like ” there was a brouhaha in my mouth” – lets hope we dont go there.  But I digress, here it goes… sorry got no pictures here, just google em…

Le Tigelle – Made on the spot buns of heaven, with prosciutto imported from Parma.  Tried this in other spots – Feh!  Oh oh did I mention that the owners/cooks are from Emilia Romagna, the food capital of earth.

Grilled Calamari – Yum!

Homemade Pappardelle with sweet sausage – So good! a brouhaha in my mouth!!! with that truffle oil essence, cooked to perfection goodness.   A must for me each time I’m there and I’m craving it right now.

Homemade is the name of the game here.  Homemade Gnocchi, Cavatelli, Ravioli to name a few.  I’m shocked at how low the prices are for this stuff.  Da Andrea is my favorite cheap Italian in New York city

Categories: New York City, West Village | Tags: , , , , , | 1 Comment

Aldea – Ehh!

Posted on July 14, 2012 by Ziggy

You know how it is.  You visit another country, come back, miss the food, look for something similar and get mildly to greatly disappointed.  With Italian its normally greatly.  Aldea (Portuguese) was mildly.

I wanted to visit Aldea for a while now and somehow scored a last minute Friday 8 pm reservations which is a miracle for Michelin Star restaurants.  Nice looking multi floor space with an open kitchen.  You can even reserve a seat facing the open kitchen which is kinda neat.  Every time I sit somewhere where stairs involved I  1) as a parent worry about the food getting to my table safely and 2) feel like I need to tip more.

The food was ok.  Started with a selection of ham which was pretty good.  They have 3 different hams on the menu but you can ask to try all if you cant make your mind.  Sea urchin – I think I’m done with Sea Urchin after 3 tries.  Add it to the short list that includes Olives and Bacalau (salted cod).  In Portugal, they love their Bacalau and they say they can make it 365 ways for every day of the year.  I think we picked the 2 worst days!  Should have ordered the gorgeous looking Foie Gras instead of the Urchin

The Shrimp Alhinho was a hit.  5 large, succulent shrimp with a very complex and flavorful sauce that includes roughly 73% of your spice cabinet, Pernot, Brandy and 2 trips to the supermarket.  Very nice dish!!  Octopus however, not so much.   Just not enough.. what you call it… Flavor.  Even the squid ink puree couldnt save it.  Couldnt help reminiscing about all the amazing Octopus we had in Portugal  for a fraction of the price.

For main we had a good but unmemorable Skate and the more memorable house specialty Arroz de Pato.  AKA Duck Paella on crack!! Toasty rice mixed with yummy duck, chorizo, not so yummy duck, spices and some clementine creme on the side (nice touch).   Very flavorful!

For Dessert, a Banana mousse was a no brainer pick but it wasnt as amazing as it sounded.  The Sonhos (little dreams) of chocolate-hazelnut, lemon curd, and salted caramel mini donuts was more like it. 

Many items here reminded me of Marea.  In Marea I felt like I ordered all the right dishes, but Aldea made me wonder what could have been.

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East Village Quick Bites – Zabb Elee and Arepa redemption

Posted on July 11, 2012 by Ziggy

Continuing the East Village food invasion. Had a few eating hours to kill before Ave Q (very nice) and so went back to my new favorite hang out place with a friend.

 Zabb Elee – How do you know if its authentic Thai if you havent been to Thailand?  Bring someone with you that was there – Check.  Make sure there are no curries, pad thai and Kee Mao/drunken noodles on the menu – check.   I first read about Zabb Elee on  SeriousEats and couldnt wait long to try it.  Now I cant wait much longer to try again.  

A nice array of Som Tum dishes (Green Papaya salad) fills the menu and is kinda a house specialty.   We tried the one with dried shrimp and peanuts – nothing like I’ve had before.  I heard about how spicy this can get and it was extremely hot out so we opted for the mild version (thats the excuse I’m going with today).   Really enjoyed this dish.   But the highlight for me was the Pad Ped Moo Krob.   Crispy pork, green peppercorn, ginger, Thai eggplant and spicy curry (see photo).   So much flavor in this one.   Pork is deep fried and then fried some more…  pretty much burned texture but tasty nonetheless.  Very tasty!!  Some of the best and unique thai I’ve had in a while. 

Liquiteria – Needed a cleanser.  Super refreshing fresh juices.  My friend is into juices and this is one of his faves.

Dirt Candy – couldnt get in. Needed resvs to eat the dirt, who knew?  Its a tiny hole in the wall popular vegeterian btw

Caracas Arepas bar – What do you do when you dont like it the first time?  You come back to try it again asap.   Much much better this time around.   My friend enjoyed the La Mulata and I got the Muchachos (to compensate for all my dessert talk) – grilled Chorizos with spicy cheese (grilled with jalapenos) and peppers.   Even the Arepa itself tasted better this time.   Like pita on crack.

 

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East Village Quick Bites – Perfection in a bun

Posted on July 10, 2012 by Ziggy

Luke’s Lobster – Maine Lobster is one of my favorite things to eat in the world and this is definitely one of the best lobster rolls I’ve had.   Buttery, fresh, meaty, deliciousness.  Nice rolls, a few sprinkles of seasoning instead of mayo – nice touch.  Well done!  Expensive ($16) but oh so worth it.   Perfection in a bun!!

Caracas Arepa bar – 2 locations hugging Luke’s Lobster. Went to order my Arepa while waiting for the Lobster.  Hey thats how I roll 😎 .   Mildly disappointed however with the Pabellon arepa but I think it was more of an ordering mistake.   Shredded beef with black beans to me dont go together with the mooshy sweet plantains.   Love the plantains but on the side please, not as part of a sandwich. 

South Brooklyn Pizza – last stop. It was just ok. The slice to me was missing… what do you call it…ahhm…  its on the tip on my tongue… oh yes.. FLAVOR.   Maybe my taste buds got all screwed up and too demanding by that point, who knows.  Will try again later.

Stay hungry my friends!!

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East Village Quick Bites – The Smith

Posted on July 9, 2012 by Ziggy

The Smith – For the Mac and Cheese portion of the tour. This is my youngest favorite food and she declared it “As good as S’mac”.   It WAS really good.   Creamy and cheesy goodness and with that crispy top,  must be one of the best in the city.  Oprah.com even asked the creator to share the recipe which you can find there and on The Smith site.   

But that was not the only creamy and cheesy thing about this place  😉   If you go down to the basement there’s a black and white photo booth and right next to it there are holes in the wall. Take a peek at the lower hole and you see… 20’s porn.  No, not people in their 20’s.  1920’s!!  Dont ask me how I can detect the decade 😳   Problem is it can get a little uncomfortable peeking through a hole while people walk out of the bathroom right next to you.   You feel like you have to explain to EVERYONE..  “ahhm, it’s not what you think…hehe.. really.. look…Its 20’s porn”. 

 Chikalicious Dessert Club – You guessed it.. time for Pizza… err Dessert. This must be one of the coolest dessert spots around. Great Macaroons, Fantastic apple cinnamon crisp but best of all were the “worth the 15 minute wait” chocolate lava cakes.   Best Lava cakes ever. You eat while you watch Chika do her thing across the street at another Chika-something-or-rather.  Very popular sweet spot.

After that we took a walk in the vibrant tompkins square park. Got the kids busy looking for the monument remembering the General Slocum disaster, the biggest one to hit NYC in terms of human loss before 9/11. 2 days before father day in 1904 over 1000 mostly German immigrants perished when the steamboat caught fire.

Photo courtesy of Foodspotting.com

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East Village Quick Bites and Merchants House

Posted on July 9, 2012 by Ziggy

Pomme Frites – First time for me.   Its all about the sauces here.. tried a variety of them.   Mango chutney and garlic mayo were good, organic truffle not so much, Vietnamese pineapple tastes weird at first but was growing on me. I think I prefer well seasoned fries overall more.   I wouldn’t go out of my way to come here.

Mamouns Falafel – Very good falafel – nice and crispy on the outside.   Beware of the hot sauce.   I love hot sauce as much as the next guy but this is “lower lip burning” hot.   I don’t know why it’s always the lower lip burning.   Lamb Shawarma was good but we had better in Brooklyn.

Took a small food break to visit the Merchants House,  the oldest free-standing family home in NYC.   Well preserved furniture and interesting stories not only about the family but also about the poor Irish servants at the time.   You will only give this place proper justice if you go through the rooms while reading the well informative and sometimes humorous booklet they hand to you.   Check it out.  After Mamouns we explored the 300 years old St Marks on the Bowery church and went back to eating

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Staten Island – Nonnas Gone Wild at Enoteca Maria

Posted on July 8, 2012 by Ziggy

Thats what you get when you combine Italian nonnas and Nirvana (as in smells like teen spirit Nirvana).  A party!  a slightly unconfirmable one but still.

This Enoteca (wine shop for those scoring at home) comes with an interesting concept.  Nonnas representing different Italian regions taking turn each day of the week cooking.  There’s a set menu on one side and today’s nonna menu on the other.  You can see the stories and more about the concept on their site.  What you also see on the site is something probably 98.3% of the folks dining there miss.  Below the concept, the cooks, the menu, the wine you got this…

“The Music: Our music selection is an eclectic compilation from the past and the present: classical, rock, jazz, world, and everything in between. Sometimes…it gets loud!”

He’s not kidding!!  Much to the surprise of some older folks, families, singles, pretty much everybody.  Arguing is useless as I’ve witnessed on a few occassions.

But I’m here for the food.  Sampled quite a few after 2 visits and these were the highlights:  Burrata – Smooth, creamy    mozzarella goodness.  Meatballs – Very flavorful.  Rabbit stew – Tender, meaty deliciousness.  Didnt see the rabbit on the second visit so must have been a specialty of one of the nonnas.  I would time my next visit to coincide with the rabbit nonna.

On an island packed with all sorts of Italian establishments, Enoteca Maria is the only one that has that authentic menu I can only see in other boroughs.   Rock on Nonnas!!

Photo courtesy of Glen Dicrocco  (I’m guessing to the tunes of Iron Maiden in the backgound 👿 )

Categories: New York City, Staten Island | Tags: , , , , , | 4 Comments

Staten Island – Beso – Manhattan Quality Spanish

Posted on July 8, 2012 by Ziggy

Another proud member of Julian Gaxholi’s new Staten Island empire.  This guy is on a mission to transform Staten Island into…. Queens and already roughly .0003% there.   

Beso has to be one of the better options on the island.   Its fairly small and loud with many waiting for a table by the bar so not the best option for families although I’ve seen a few.   Expect to wait about an hour on a Saturday night.   They only take reservations for 5 or more.

You got your normal fare of delicious tapas (A fancy word for “We have a LOT of appetizers” – I’m surprised the local diners arent catching up).  None were disappointing on the one night we visited.  Perfectly grilled and nicely seasoned lamb chops, pleasantly citrucy fried goat cheese with honey.  Crab cakes got more of mixed reaction but I was firmly on the ‘like’ side.  On the main side of things, a very nicely done skirt steak and a juicy fall off the bone Pork osso buco were the standouts.

On an island packed with spanish restaurants, Beso may very well be the Best.  Well done Julian!!

http://www.besonyc.com/

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Staten Island’s best – Bayou

Posted on July 8, 2012 by Ziggy

Great dining in Staten Island was pretty much an oxymoron until Julian Gaxholi showed up to the scene.  Opening the first New Orleans style creole eatery in SI may require some guts but by the look  of the packed dining room it just requires great execution.

On a recent visit we quickly witnessed the kids menu disappear after the kids gave the hostess the stare of death.  Mussels and  Alligator balls please.  Yes, they like Alligator.  Its not normal I know.   Much to the chagrin of my wallet the kid menu days had a short span.  Mussels are always good here and the Alligator balls are tasty but they become less so once you try their more attractive cousin,  the Jambalaya rice Balls.  Those balls packed with so much flavor, like a preview to what comes next (the jambalaya) Andouille sausage, spices and other goodies.  Heavenly!  We also sampled the chicken wings as well which were good but that Blue cheese sauce that came with it stole the show.  Like a standalone chunky blue cheese salad, Yum!

On a previous visit we enjoyed the Crayfish Ettouffee since I dont get to eat much Crayfish here in NYC but I much prefer the Jambalaya.  That seafood Jambalaya puts all the Paellas on the island to shame.   Scallops, shrimp, mussels, crawfish and Andouille sausage simmered in Creole Tomato sauce with rice = Mardi Gras in your mouth.  And then there’s the Seafood Gone Wild dish.  More like the casseroly, milder version of the Jambalaya.  Moist and flavorful seafood goodness. 

For dessert the banana bread pudding held its own.   The better the food looks, the more likely we forget to take pictures, sorry. 

Bayou is Staten Island’s best according to this blogger.

Categories: New York City, Staten Island | Tags: , , , , | 3 Comments

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