Posts Tagged With: NYC eats

Sri Lankan in Staten Island – Another reason to visit

Posted on December 23, 2012 by Ziggy

LakruwanaLets 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

LakruwanaAdd 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

LakruwanaLakruwana – 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: , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Madison Square Eats Highlights

Posted on October 14, 2012 by Ziggy

Roberta's

        One week to go.  Run, dont crawl to Madison Square Park for some of the yummiest snacks New York City has to offer.  The who’s who and what’s what of the NY food fair celebrities participating in this bi-annual month-long event.   You got the Roberta’s, the Red Hook Lobster Pounds, the Mayhems, the Stouts, the Momofukus, you name it.  The only minor issue is finding a table. If things get desperate you may need to use that fake Arthritis book you’ve been carrying in your purse and pretend to read it in front of the people sitting.  I’ve seen this trick on the bus once where some fool got up and gave his seat.  Ok, it was me – I got a big heart so sue me.  But I digress

MSE

Here are some of the goodies we enjoyed on a recent trip…

Baby Got Back Ribs – Nicely seasoned dry rub ribs.    Considering this is not exactly straight from the grill this was actually fairly tasty, falling off the bone ribs.

Trapizzinos

Broken English – Trapizzinos.  Romes’s biggest import since Giada De Laurentiis.  Like Pizza pita stuffed  with all kinds yuminess.  We tried the beef, chicken, veggie Trapizzinos, all delicious!

Red Hook Lobster Pound – Lobster rolls.  You cant go to one of those without having a lobster roll.  Perfection in a bun.

Hong Kong Street Cart – Ja Jiang hot noodle with pork belly and 5 spice tofu.  Another winner.  A lot of flavor packed in this one.

Hong Kong Street Cart

Ilili – Lamb Shawarma wrap.  Perhaps the only dud of the evening and I’m a big fan of Ilili.   Somewhat dry and you taste too much wrap. The Phoenician fries with garlic aioli were delish however.

Roberta’s – Bee sting pizza was very tasty.  Its spicy Sopressata (spicier than other Sopressata’s I’ve had) and the added honey contributed to interesting contrasting flavors. They also had a nice white brussels sprouts, mushroom and garlic pie which was equally as good (and I’m not a big white fan).  And a top notch Margherita

Roberta's Bee Sting

Wafels & Dinges – Belgian Waffles.  Perfect finish to a perfect fantastic, slightly chaotic meal.

Wafels and Dinges

Wafels and Dinges

Categories: Gramercy, Flatiron, New York City | Tags: , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

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: , , , , | 2 Comments

Dekalb Market and Bushwick munching – Can I pay for this free pizza??

Posted on July 29, 2012 by Ziggy

Ever since the Hummus Whisperer was a little boy, he wanted 2 things.  Getting a fish pedicure by authentic Garra Rufa, and eating authentic Napoli style Pizza at Roberta’s.  Now that he accomplished the former, he wouldnt shut up about Roberta’s.  Every month or so he would go “oh, you know what I would like to try?”  and I would answer “Yes I know Roberta’s.  You mentioned it a few days ago”.  Time has come to fulfill a little boy’s dream…

The super popular Roberta’s happen to host the annual Bushwick block party yesterday.  As soon as we entered we saw a huge line for free Roberta’s pies and I really hate lines unless food is involved.  Sometimes I see a line and I just get on it and ask questions later.  “DMV?  oh look at the time, I’ll come back some other time”.  But we decided to come back later and check out some of the other vendors first in an area I can best describe as the graffiti and tattoo capital of the world .

Started with a familiar face, Furn Shawarma.  I’m not big into Chicken Shawarmas as I prefer meat but this was pretty darn good.  Perhaps even better than Mamouns in the village.  This was a nice piece of art.  Yogurt marinated, beautifully spiced goodness with various veggies and a nice sauce.  First and best thing I ate all day.  Then I took it easy with some healthy Ethiopian from Bunna Cafe.  Tried the Gomen, steamed kale with other veggies and spices, Yellow split pea salad, and the more satisfying split red lentils with spicy barbere.  But the best part may be the spongy, smooth, flat Injera bread they serve with it.  Finally I had a chance to try the touted Arancini (rice balls) from the Arancini Bros.  Tried the Ragu and the Norma.  Nicely done!  Could have used a bit more of the non-rice goodies inside, a bit of a tease, but tasty nonetheless.  I think I got spoiled by the Jambalaya rice balls of Staten Island’s Bayou.

Then we finally decided to get our free pizzas and fufill a dream.  Got on line, stood for a few minutes until we were told its past 2 pm so no more free pizzas but we could go to the bar area and pay for our pizzas which I did.  But with all the chaos with the people on line continuing to snag all the free pies, they said it may take a while to get ours so I just got my money back.  Hey I’m trying to pay for this free stuff and I still cant get it!!  And after we realized that waiting for a table inside Roberta’s will require an hour wait, reality struck. Sorry man, we are not getting Roberta’s today!!

Moving on to the Dekalb Market.  A market in the middle of the hustle and bustle of downtown Brooklyn with stores peeping out of shipping containers.  Just in time for some Brazilian band performing with all kinds of technical issues including some weird Depeche Mode rendition.   After surveying the impressive food array with the little appetite I had left I started with some grilled Filipino Longanisa sausage from Maharlika.  Very sweet sausage, almost like sweet potatoe but tasty nonetheless especially once you add some of their spicy vinegar.  Comes with nice aromatic garlic rice.   Before that I tried the Korean Taco from Oaxaca.  Feh! dry, probably seating there for a while meat swimming in red sauce.  The clunker of the day.  The HW meanwhile was busy drowning his sorrows with a double dose of Centruy frozen yogurt.  Time to head back to our families.

As the HW put a reminder on his iphone for the next Bushwick block party, I noticed a tear.  A tear made of hummus!

Categories: Brooklyn, New York City | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Tapa’ing in the village – Las Ramblas, Alta and more

Posted on July 22, 2012 by Ziggy

Before I talk about the recent food crawl, I have an announcement.  Arirang, the popular Hibachi chain has added a new act 😯  Yes book  now before it catches on!!  Now when they do the snowman thing, they add something that resembles hair on top of it, call it Lady Gaga and proceed with a quick Bad Romance rendition.  It was my oldest’s wish to go to Arirang for her birthday the other day  and no I’m not going to shock my 3 loyal remaining readers by reviewing Arirang.  I mean what professional food blogger or reviewer even goes to Hibachi steakhouses.   Somehow I just cant imagine the New York Times reviewer frantically moving his head from side to side with his mouth open to catch the shrimp tail and then write about it.  But if I would write about it, I would write about the deteriorating meat quality, shaky service and the weaker than usual volcano eruption.  But I digress..

The other day, me and my [perhaps] only foodie friend who for the purpose of this blog is called the Hummus Whisperer (HW) went on a little food crawl in the village.  Here’s what we did…

Las Ramblas – This tiny Tapas bar on west 4th dishes some pretty good stuff.   Gambas San martin, 4 sizzling large juicy shrimp cooked with garlic, lemon, finely chopped peppers and white wine – Simple and delicious.  Warm mushroom salad was perhaps the weakest dish but tasty nonetheless.  Nicely grilled octopus with salad and purple potatoes was so good you overlook the too charred parts.  And then there was the spanish classic, the Patata Bravas, paprikad fried potatoe cubes with allioli sauce.  Tender garlicky deliciousness, nicely done. We’ll be back to try these again (except perhaps the mushrooms) and some more.

Porto Rico Importing Co – This is the place to go for your home coffee needs.  Or if you have a slight hearing deficiency and want to go somewhere that smells really good to satisfy your strong sense of a smell.  That is the case with HW who’s now taking truffle searching courses.

Alta – A repeat for me and still one my favorites in the city.  A huge array of mediterranean tapas in a dimly lit, multi level converted townhouse.  The menu is large and fairly diverse with influences from all over the mediterranean.  Try the bacon wrapped dates with Olives stuffed with Almonds dish but order it with the just the dates, no olives.  Even the waitress said many do so.  I’m not a huge bacon fan but this is really good stuff. 

HW was really impressed with the Brussels Sprouts.  Nicely crisped with granny smith apples, pistachios and a tasty sauce.   This is the dish that made us (wife and I) start cooking Brussels Sprouts!! 

The Grilled Merguez sausage is house made and comes with couscous and dates, Harissa and lebne.  We both agreed this was more about the accompanied goodies rather than the sausage itself.  The fried goat cheese balls of deciousness with lavender infused honey is the perfect ending.  The lavender is what makes this dish. 

In the past we also enjoyed the scallops and lamb meatballs.  And there are easily 10-20 other dishes I would like to try like the octopus and the chicken wings.   

Murray’s Cheese – For some.. you guesses it… Piri Piri sauce.  I know there are other branches as well but this is a pretty nice store.  I bought everything but cheese and enjoyed some of that Piri Piri (pleassant but not as fiery as in Portugal) with Boston Market chicken today.  Boston Market review coming up 😉

Categories: New York City, West Village | Tags: , , , , , | Leave a comment

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

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