Posts Tagged With: NYC dining

Dear Diary: What to order in Scarpetta

Posted on April 14, 2013 by Ziggy

Doctor’s Orders. That’s what I tell people sometimes when they ask me why I’ve started a blog. My doctor ordered me to start tracking what I eat. Not entirely true. My doctor cares more about what I should be snipping than eating. But the tracking part is true. I love the fact that I finally found a space where I can write about my eats in sort of an organized fashion, just in case I need to retrieve something. Like the other day when I took a group of friends to Beso, I simply looked at the site to see what we liked on our first visit. Or when someone asked us about our Israel itinerary. Brilliant!! 🙄

Something tells me I will need to revisit this post in the future. When my wife and visiting friend from Boston who we shall call Milena, because that’s her name, asked me to order for everyone I was like…(insert angel sound affect). On my second visit to Scarpetta I felt I perfected the ordering part a little more. Here’s one way to experience the best of Scarpetta

1st Course:

The bread – Still one of the best bread baskets in NYC, some of which comes from Sullivan Street Bakery I believe. Stromboli, a nice touch. This is like a full app and more

Raw Yellowtail – Wow! New for us this time. Thick buttery goodness with chunky sea salt. So so good!

Palenta with truffled mushrooms. Still amazing. Definitely one of the classics here. Very creamy, very good, and very grateful my wife does not eat mushrooms.

2nd course:

Spaghetti – Its almost silly calling it a signature dish since there are so many great items on the menu. But its definitely delicious and one of the best Spaghetti with red sauce and basil you will ever eat (likely). The sauce is probably still the best Ive had

Agnolloti – They keep changing the Agnolloti. This time with bone marrow and short rib. Last time with rabbit. But the main difference this time was the breadcrumby crunchy garlic chips. One of my favorite dishes here

3rd course:

Ravioli – Still terrific. stuffed with duck and Foie Gras with Marsala reduction. Although enjoyable I got bored with it eventually unlike some of the other dishes.

Roasted Chicken – Wow this was good. Nice and salty Spaetzle with some very tasty carrots. Chicken was moist and juicy. Enjoyed this much more than the cod last time. Chicken is sort of making a comeback for me in places like this. Trend started at Louro which delivered big time.

4th Course:

Warm Banana Bread – much better than the previous soupy mess of the coconut pana cotta. Great stout ice cream.

Chocolate cake – very good

Only problem was wait between courses was far from even and too rushed at times. They gave us 10 seconds to enjoy the great bread basket before bringing the apps. And the third course was brought in as soon as they took the plates.

Nevertheless Dear Diary, a perfect meal. Looking forward to next visit where I try nothing new

Categories: Chelsea, New York City | Tags: Chelsea restaurants, food, NYC dining, NYC food, NYC restaurants, restaurants, Scarpetta, Scarpetta NYC, Travel | 1 Comment

Aska and You Shall Receive

Posted on April 4, 2013 by Ziggy

There comes a time in life when you have to count your blessings for not being allergic to shellfish. Otherwise, you quickly find out if you are allergic to cow’s thyroid or a goat’s heart. Or baby formula!

Aska, is one of those places that you book first and research later. The immediate “hotness” it got off the bat coincided with “where am I eating on my birthday” to the point where I quickly had to reserve a table for 2 before the critics pour in. But the more I looked into it, the more I questioned the decision, especially after seeing the announcement that Saturday’s only option is a 10 courser. Will Mrs Ziggy eat blood sausage, dehydrated scallops, baby formula, cow’s thyroid, anyone’s thyroid? After taking a quick glance at the menu Aska emailed to me, her response was “Its ok I guess”. Good enough for me!

This was a memorable meal to say the least. 20 diners at the back of an art studio, 20 servants (including cooks and the man himself Mr Berselius bringing you teh final touches with the explanations), what seemed like 10o people by the bar, Morrissey blasting in the background, and one extremely interesting 10 courser.

Ok, before I start any rumors, there was no baby formula on this night nor any night as far as I know. But it did cross my mind while we were eating our apple sauce and milk

Started off with some delicious bread, crispy hard bread with whipped NY butter.

Molasses shortbread, trout roe and cheese was interesting. Seemed more like an Amuse than one of the courses

Hay, milk, tomatoes, parsnip, and milk salad. Clearly the best Hay, tomatoes, parsnip and milk salad I ever had. Seriously this was good. I couldn’t help comparing to the amazing Jungsik salad from the night before but this was inventive and satisfying. Great tasting veggies

Parsnip with brown butter and more whipped butter thank you. Delicious! The closest I get to eating parsnip normally is the leftovers from the veggies my wife throws out right after finishing making her chicken and bean bullion. So best Parsnip I ever had goes without saying. Berselius really does a great job bringing all those veggies to life.

Pheasant with sunchoke, liver. Sort of a Pheasant extravaganza with both the dark and white meat (much preferred the dark), and the liver which integrated nicely with the broth of the cooked sunchoke. Sunchoke itself had a nice crispy texture

Blood pudding with seabuckthorn, lardo, dill and anchovies. Pretty to look at without much substance, like Paris Hilton. Didnt care much for this one

Oats, tiny bits of bone marrow, Shad roe, egg yolk (pictured on top). Just like mama makes! All worked together beautifully. one of my favorite dishes of the night.

Pork and beets. A very tasty piece of fatty pork belly and the beets were another example of the great taste Berselius brings out of veggies. Beets is something I never order and the only time I eat them is with an occasional red Borscht, but this was simply delicious.

Whelk – Snails of the sea. Dont believe I ever had them. Although it was very interesting and you could really sort of taste the sea here, it wasn’t one of our favorites. But loved the dehydrated scallop “chips” that cam along

Beef, Burnt potatoes. 60 days aged served rare and very tasty. Potatoes were smoky and fantastic. Add sweet onion – Great dish.

Egg yolk. Not a fave of this one. Looked more promising than its tasted. Sort of sticky, gummy and not much flavor

Apple sauce, oats, cream, baby formula. Awesome! Ok, so there was no baby formula here but as we were discussing with our neighbors it wouldn’t be a total shock to see and Berselius could probably pull it off

Dessert – Some sort of sick ice cream with hazelnuts and other goodies. A great finish.

So there you have it. Dinner was a 4 hour marathon with a lot of big breaks between the dishes. It was mostly a local crowd with the exception perhaps of one particular couple that looked like Michelin inspectors. It was fun seeing the boys (all but one) casually Williamsburg dressed do their thing. Would I come back? Probably not but still a very enjoyable, memorable meal and perhaps the closest I will ever get to Noma, considered by many the world’s top restaurant in Copenhagen.

Categories: Brooklyn, New York City | Tags: Aska, Aska Brooklyn, Aska nyc, food, NYC, NYC dining, NYC eats, NYC food, NYC restaurants, restaurants | 1 Comment

Jungsik Style

Posted on April 1, 2013 by Ziggy

Sorry 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)

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 start

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 Salad – Cant even begin to describe this. Simply an amazing combination of flavors

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 had

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

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

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: food, Jungsik, Jungsik NYC, NYC, NYC dining, NYC food, NYC restaurants, restaurants | 1 Comment

How I spent my Birthday Weekend

Posted on March 30, 2013 by Ziggy

Last weekend will forever be remembered as “The Weekend”. We are still talking about it. We are talking about it with people who don’t really care to hear about it. Like when you have young kids and talk about them constantly even with childless parents who don’t particularly care to hear that nonsense but you don’t care since you are getting a certain enjoyment out of it. Yes, it was that kind of weekend…

Friday – 10 courser at Jungsik with the Hummus Whisperer. One of the best meals I ever had at perhaps the only swanky Korean in the city. Somewhat romantic which made things a bit interesting and uncomfortable for HW. The food was truly a work of art. Foie Gras, salads like I never had before, and about 16 magnificent courses all together if you count all the freebies. And with all the glitziness and professionalism we couldnt help but imagine them dimming the lights for a minute and crank out a special Gangnam Style bday dance

Saturday – 10 courser with the wife at Aska. One of the most highly anticipated and talked about places in the city at the moment. Just us and 18 other diners incluing 2 that looked like Michelin inspectors at the back of an art studio in Williamsburg. Whelk (sea snails), Blood pudding crackers, dehydrated scallops, apple sauce with baby formula, heavy accent chefs come out to explain every dish was only part of the experience. One that we’ll never forget. Ok, there was no baby formula but thats the one place that can pull it off

Sunday – “Normal” meal with the family at Louro in West Village. On top of my list to try for so long no more. Did sort of a tasting menu of our own and besides a few surprising clunkers and a a fancy diner like feeling, another fantastic meal in the city. Some of the best chicken in recent memory. Sort of an American, Italian, Portuguese influenced menu that changes almost on a daily basis by a celebrity chef (David Santos) with a menu OCD

Monday – Unplanned lunch at Cafe Kashkar in Brighton Beach. Delicious Uighur food. Amazing Lagman noodles specialties including a ramen-like soup. Another example that you can find any cuisine you want in NYC. You Googling Uighur arent you?

Categories: New York City | Tags: Aska, Cafe Kashkar, food, Jungsik, Louro, NYC, NYC dining, NYC food, NYC restaurants, restaurants, Uighur | 1 Comment

Mission Chinese Food 1 – Ziggy 0

Posted on January 16, 2013 by Ziggy

A short but sweet review on one of the hottest new restaurants in NYC. If you haven’t heard of Mission Chinese food you either live under a rock or in Staten Island. Sorry for the Iphone photos

Getting there at 12:30 pm proved to be a perfect time – No Meshugenah line. While looking at the menu I was eyeing no less than 8 dishes for myself and my companion, The Hummus Whisperer, but settled on 6, still much to the dismay of the bartender who assured us we’ll be leaving with a hefty number of doggy bags. Ha! The joke is on him I’m thinking. He doesn’t know who he’s dealing with.

I asked the bartender as I was giving him our orders if he can somehow arrange it so we could get the dishes in their proper order, from mild to intense as some of the dishes can be so intense they can burst your palates. He said in a very polite way, No! “They will come in a furious pace..Bla bla, bla” whatever. Next time I will simply order the mild ones first and later will order the rest. Here’s what we had in the order of arrival…

Cumin Lamb – Wasn’t too crazy about this one. The lamb was way over spiced to my taste. I understand its called Cumin lamb, but it still needs to taste good and it wasn’t. And way too salty

Mapo Tofu – This is it. Now I get it. A flavor festival. Like a beautiful Tofu with thos melt in your mouth tender Pork Shoulder spice de jour soup. Delicious, but palates are starting to burst

Chongqing Chicken Wings – Palates burst. After one, just one chicken wing, and that Tofu I needed to take a break. Those wings were super spiced and very intense.

Thrice cooked bacon – I don’t know what to think about this one. It came with those “I cant believe its not potatoes Rice cakes” and after having a few of those at this point I started to wonder where the explosiveness is coming from. This was not one of my favorite dishes. Maybe they need to cook the bacon a 4th time.

Kung Pao Pastrami – My favorite dish and the best Kung Pao I ever had. They make their own pastrami, not from Katz’s as the rumor was. Very juicy and flavorful Pastrami cubes and the entire dish really worked

Salt Cod Fried Rice – Very good but why are we getting the mildest dish last. Loved the tiny Chinese sausage bits.

This was a defeat like I never experienced. We couldn’t even finish the 6 chicken wings. My request for milk from the bartender resulted with just a grin. No, I’m serious, I want Milk. Whatever! I’ll be back for a rematch now that I know what to order and how to order it. I’m outta here. With the doggy bags!

Categories: Lower East Side, New York City | Tags: food, Mission Chinese Food, Mission Chinese Food NYC, NYC dining, NYC food, NYC restaurants, restaurants | 1 Comment

Giovanni Rana – Verona Legend Turned Bird Killer

Posted on December 31, 2012 by Ziggy

My youngest once told me an interesting fact she read somewhere. 10,000 birds die from smashing into windows a year. And so I have to ask you my loyal readers, both of you. How in the world do they come up with those stats. Really, do they actually keep a running tally? Do they pick up dead birds on the streets and able to determine the exact cause of death or they simply base on the location where birds pronounced dead close to windows, died from smashing into them Angry Birds style.

Anyway, I wonder how many pasta lover birds have smashed into the windows of Giovanni Rana. GR is an Italian legend from Verona who’s passion for ravioli spawned an empire in Italy. His face is proudly stapled on Tortellini packages all over the country. But instead of telling you the story you can just see it on his site. Yes even in Italy they eat packaged/frozen goods.

His daughter in law Antonella runs the new sprawling mini Eataly space in Chelsea piers. Daily made fresh pasta is the name of the game here. You can eat it, buy it, or take-out it. Perhaps the finest pasta menu in NYC and we sampled 4 of them (me and my 2 pasta critics, daughters age 12, 10). On the way I told the kids about daddy’s and mommy’s adventures in Verona and I didn’t get far until the youngest interrupted.. “Ahhm dad, we were there too remember?” Oh Yehhh!

Ricotta Spinach Girasole. – Absolutely delicious Ravioli. My youngest’s favorite of the bunch. Comes with more chunks of creamy ricotta, all in this nice baked parmigiano crisp

Ravioli al Brasato. Braised rib meat Ravioli with cabbage and chestnuts. Good although the weakest link perhaps. I felt wanting more of the cabbage and chestnuts especially the cabbage, and the chestnuts.

Lobster Mezzaluna

Lobster Mezzaluna – Very Good! not Maine lobster from the next door neighbor lobster place but satisfying nonetheless. The best part of the dish was the Chanterelle mushrooms. One of those rare moment that I count my blessings for marrying a mushroom hater (hate transferred to the kids)

Cappelletti – the star for me. Even with the odd side of prosciutto on toast. Prosciutto, bread crumbs and herbs packed in those Cappelletti. Each one bursting with flavor. Well done!

Service with plenty of hiccups as they only open for a few months. The place feels like mini Eataly with all the tourists, products and cafeteria like setting. Still, an enjoyable meal in Giovanni’s pasta land. Welcome to New York Mr. Rana

Categories: Chelsea, New York City | Tags: food, Giovanni Rana, Giovanni Rana NYC, NYC dining, NYC restaurants, restaurants, Travel | 1 Comment

Minetta Tavern – The Burger and the Beast

Posted on December 28, 2012 by Ziggy

First an update on Ziggy Jr our goldfish. He’s dead! Pretty sure he took his own life after watching the 100th episode of Full House which my kids are now obsessed with since discovering it a few months ago. Half of our DVR is filled with the stuff. But lets move on to one of the best meals of the year…

Minetta Tavern is very unique in that it can be included in more than one or even 2 “Best Of” lists. Best Steakhouse, Best Burger (Black Label Burger), Best Steak (Cote de Beauf), Best French bistro, and even Best restaurant in its class.

MT is located on the somewhat “divey” MacDougal street, and has a sort of unassuming exterior. But as soon as you go in and open the red curtains you are transported somewhere else. 1930’s perhaps? The place is not big and is packed. The bar area is packed and they sit you almost like they sit you at a family reunion. Except you sitting next to an Armenian cousin you didn’t know existed.

***Customary horrible pictures with iphone excuse****

I was reading on Chowhound about Minetta not allowing taking pictures so the first few shots were taken with no flash. Here’s the rundown…

Pasta Za Za – Very good. I have a weakness for fresh pasta with egg. They split the dish and put one egg on each. Although we enjoyed it, not nearly as good as Herbsaint’s version in New Orleans

Bone Marrow – This was just ok for us. Less so for the wife. What saved the dish for me was the shallots with port – so delicious. The baguettes were so buttery almost to the point of inedible.

Black Label burger – Met the high expectations. The juiciest most flavorful burger that I can remember. 50% of it is 48 day dry aged prime rib eye with the other 50% a combination of brisket, rib and other goodies. The fries were just ok for me however – not sure what the hoopla was. They were barely seasoned and the aioli didnt save them for me. But the burger was insane.

NY Strip – Excellent! We ordered medium and it came medium-rare as expected. Great, nicely seasoned crust and a very flavorful piece overall (28 day dry aged). But the next day we were talking about the burger.

Chocolate Soufflé – AMAZING!! So rich and yummy

In short, this meal made a mark. One of the most enjoyable meals of the year. With drinks and tax $260 for the 2 of us. Would definitely order the pasta, burger and soufflé again and perhaps go for the massive Cote de Beauf when we go with more people.

Categories: New York City, West Village | Tags: food, Minetta Tavern, Minetta Tavern NYC, NYC dining, NYC food, NYC restaurants, restaurants | Leave a comment

Sri Lankan in Staten Island – Another reason to visit

Posted on December 23, 2012 by Ziggy

Lets recap some of the biggest reasons to come to Staten Island…

1) Staten Island Ferry. Staten Island is a very unique place. One of the biggest attractions in NYC is to get there and then get the hell out of there.

2) To see Meerkats on a lookout at the Staten Island Zoo. If you have never seen this, here’s an example from another zoo…

3) The new annual “Running of the Zebras and Ponies”. I have a feeling this is going to be a big hit. Here’s a footage from the last event (play the video)

4) To see “The Yankees”. Its the Staten Island Yankees, but most tourists will not know the difference.

5) For the new “EYE”. Ok, its a Ferris Wheel that hasnt actually been built yet but is in the works, and it will be bigger than the London eye.

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-06-26/nyc-said-to-plan-staten-island-ferris-wheel-to-rival-london-eye.html

Add Sri Lankan food to this impressive list. Sure you have some other nice options like Vida, and the rotating nonnas of Enoteca Maria, but nothing perhaps is as unique as the wonderful Sri Lankan cuisine on the island. Since the late 60’s Sri Lankans have been flocking the island to create the 3rd largest Sri Lankan community in the US. Here are 2 of the better options on the island of Staten

Lakruwana – Entering Lakruwana is like entering a Sri Lankan museum with every inch of the restaurant decorated from floor to ceiling. We did their excellent Sunday buffet served in clay pots. From Boiled egg with curry to Kale with coconut, to Pol and onion Sambols, and the delicious crispy pork. Although there were only 2 meat dishes, even the carnivores will admire the different variety and the complex flavors.

Sanrasa – Here we did a saturday dinner. Although Sanrasa has more of a homey look and feel as opposed to Lakruwana, the flavors are as spectacular. The chef used to work for Lakruwana and also I believe for a saudi prince. If its good enough for a Saudi price, its good enough for Ziggy. Some dishes we tried…

Chicken with cashew curry – very good. nice and tender chicken
Lamb with black curry – lamb a little dry but the sauce more than made up for it. Couldn’t get enough of it really.
Hoppers – very nice and unique, like little spongy pancakes made with rice flour and coconut milk, with some cooked with eggs
Kottu Roti – nice. They have an array of roti and hopper specials that come with your choice of meat curries
Lamprie – This is the house special and a must IMO. All kinds of goodies including rice, meat, curry, caramelized onions, cashews, all baked wrapped in banana leaf. An old Dutch influenced classic
Deviled Shrimp – Fantastic, Thai-like, very spicy sizzling unpeeled shrimp with veggies.
Lamb Biryani – very good
Nice Mango Lassi as well.

There you have it folks. Another reason to come. As if you needed any more after surviving the running of the zebras and ponies

Categories: New York City, Staten Island | Tags: food, Lakruwana, NYC dining, NYC eats, NYC restaurants, restaurants, Sanrasa, sri lankan food, Staten Island, Staten island restaurants, Staten Island Sri Lankan, Travel | 1 Comment

More Ratatouille Moments at Scarpetta

Posted on October 26, 2012 by Ziggy

I have mentioned this phrase before. Ratatouille moment. What is a Ratatouille moment Ziggy? Well, I’m glad you asked Timmy. A Ratatouille moment derives from the movie “Ratatouille” and the moment is when the tough, ugly, mean, hard to please critic takes that mega important bite of the Ratatouille. Well, you can see for yourself

For me Ratatouille moments are a bit different. They are not really about me reminiscing about something I ate as a kid. Although I did have Bacalau in Portugal that reminded me of some awful Gifilte fish I had as a kid. That would be the opposite of a Ratatouille moment I suppose. After the 10th Gefilte fish I was the youngest member of our city to file for a restraining order against his parents. And as far as Bacalau in Portugal goes, they say they can make it in 365 different ways for every day of the week. We must have picked the 2 worst days. The 2 ways they invented in days 364 and 365, well after they ran out of ideas and just focused on completing the cycle. But I digress.

Scarpetta, tied with Marea for the meal of the year, gave us some “Moments”…

We started with a stunner. Without a doubt the most impressive bread basket I have ever seen. It included a Focaccia, a Stromboli (mozzarella and salami sandwich) among other goodies. And it comes with 3 great condiments, a great tasting butter, eggplant salad and olive oil. What a start. After nibbling on some nice apps like the ribs, Mozzarella, and the Farmers Market with truffles, the monsters have arrived.

Creamy Polenta with truffled mushrooms – Fantastic! creamy and light polenta with those savory mushrooms took me back to Enoteca Valpolicella in Italy’s Valpolicella wine country. I was counting the blessings of being married to a family that did not like mushrooms which includes my wife, her sister and her mom.

Cavatelli Capretto – Melt in your mouth, juicy tender Capretto. Some in our party claimed this was their favorite.

Rabbit Agnolotti – This was a personal favorite. Nice perfectly cooked rabbit in those pillowy delicate mini raviolis bursting with flavor. Couldnt get enough of this.

Spaghetti with tomato & basil – This is one of Scott Conant’s signatures and the most famous Spaghetti with red sauce dish in NYC. Homemade fresh pasta with the most amazing tomato sauce I ever tasted. Another one I couldnt get enough of. Reminded me of a simple pasta I had once in Varenna.

Duck & Foie Gras Ravioli with marsala reduction – Spectacular looking and spectacular tasting. All kinds of nice contrasting flavors packed in this one. Another must

We could have stopped right there but we didnt. What followed was a much less memorable cod, and a finish of an odd coconut Panna Cotta which had a soupy texture that I did not care for. The Hummus Whisperer had the Sheep’s milk Ricotta from Lazio with honey which seemed like a better choice

Generally I favor the places that have a signature dish like the Spaghetti in this case. But I especially favor places that offer many other options that are equally as good. The experience was less perfect for my wife and her sister who will be quick to note the cramped space (for the 8 of us) and less than stellar service. And normally I would be quick to note the same. But when you are in one of those moments, any flaws are not only quickly forgotten, they get ridiculed

Categories: Chelsea, New York City | Tags: Chelsea restaurants, food, NYC dining, NYC food, NYC restaurants, restaurants, Scarpetta, Scarpetta NYC | 2 Comments

Taim Mobile and 7-Eleven: Are you kidding me?

Posted on July 31, 2012 by Hummus Whisperer

No I’m not kidding! You don’t need to go to fancy restaurants to enjoy delicious food, it’s just a short walk down the block, especially if you live in Bangkok. It seems that the people who enjoy one of the world’s tastiest cuisines on a daily basis, with its amazingly balanced mix of hot, sour, bitter and sweet had turned into 7-Eleven fanatics. How can I forget Cowboy Street? Not for the fact that it’s the center of one of the red lights districts, but because the 7-Eleven I visited to buy a dim sum snack was across a narrow street from a 7-Eleven and another 7-Eleven right next door. I can’t believe that there are over 3,000 7-Eleven’s in Bangkok alone.

Let’s get to the point here. Taim Mobile! (means delicious in Hebrew). The Falafel Platter is in fact delicious and hands down the best Falafel in NYC. But you need to find the truck. Luckily it’s at the World Financial Center a few days a week. I’m not a man of habit, but almost every Monday for the last eight Mondays I’ve indulged in these falafel balls mixed in hummus (how appropriate for my first post) and harissa that create a melt-in-your-mouth extravaganza, while indulging in the sweet flavor of the quinoa salad and the freshness of the Israelli Salad. But this yummy lunch is not complete until you try the nectarous Pear, Lemon, Mint smoothie. I enjoyed it so much, I had perfected it at home every weekend over the last month (with Vodka!). I still think you can’t beat the Wild Cherry Slurpee with a corn dog and a beef jerky (my dinner tonight), but it’s a great NYC lunch. I hope to take Ziggy to the truck so he can experience what I think is a true brouhaha.

Categories: New York City, Trucks | Tags: 7-Eleven, Food Trucks, NYC dining, NYC eats, Taim Mobile | 2 Comments

Posts Tagged With: NYC dining

The places