Posts Tagged With: NYC food

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

My Top 10 bites of 2012 in NYC

Posted on January 11, 2013 by Ziggy

Some of the best eating we’ve done in 2012 was outside of NYC. Mainly in New Orleans, Israel, and Turks and Caicos. But there was plenty of eating in our back yard…

Marea – Astice. Nova Scotia lobster + creamy Burrata, + Eggplant al funghetto + beautiful pesto drops = pure ecstasy in every bite. I remember the feeling while eating it. The Spaghetti with crab and fusilli not too shabby either. Photo below courtesy of bionicgrrrl at Bionicbites

Zabb Elee – Pad Ped Moo Krob. Crispy fried and refried pork, green peppercorn, ginger, Thai eggplant and spicy curry. A lot of heat and a lot flavor
Aldea – Shrimp Alhinho – loved the dish, not the meal. Large succulent shrimp with a nice complex sauce. Well done!
Alta – bacon wrapped dates. Skip the other half of the dish (the olives) and get more of these babies. Bacon never tasted that good.
Scarpetta – Rabbit Agnolotti – Perfectly cooked rabbit in those pillowy delicate Agnolotti bursting with flavor (silence of the lambs sound)

Roberta’s – Bee sting pizza. Great tasting pie. Spicy Sopressata (spicier than other Sopressata I’ve had) and the added honey contributed to interesting contrasting flavors. Liked it more than Paulie Gee’s similar Delboy. Or maybe it was the waitresses Roberta's Bee Sting Pizza
Sanrasa – Lamprie. This Dutch influenced Sri Lankan classic is a piece of art. Rice, meat, curry, caramelized onions, cashews, all baked wrapped in banana leaf. What a great dish
Gazala’s Place – Hummus with lamb and pine nuts. Nuttiest, creamiest, freshest Hummus I’ve had in NYC.

Minetta Tavern – Black Label burger. Best burger we ever had. 50% of it is prime 48 day aged rib eye.

Danji – Chicken wings. This gourmet Korean tapas joint serves some mean chicken wings. Cant wait to have them again. Danji

Categories: New York City | Tags: Aldea, alta, danji, food, Gazala's Place, marea, Minetta Tavern, NYC, NYC food, NYC restaurants, restaurants, Roberta's, Scarpetta, Travel, Zabb Elee | 4 Comments

Gazala’s Place – Hummus and the City

Posted on January 4, 2013 by Ziggy

Ever since we came back from our 2 week stint in Israel, I’ve been on the hunt for good hummus like Mike Tyson seeking fine Orecchiette (baby ear shape pasta). I’ve had good Hummus at Mimi’s and Zion Deli in Brooklyn, Hummus Kitchen in Hells Kitchen, and a fine Hummus with Srug at Ta’im among other spots. But as soon as I tasted the Hummus with lamb and pine nuts at Gazala’s Place I was transported. The creamiest, smoothest, nuttiest, freshest I’ve had so far.

Gazala’s Place is the creation of Gazala Halabi who brings her Druze recipes from Daliyat El-Carmel, a Druze village perched on Mt. Carmel. While in Israel we visited the Druze village next door, Usafia and had a memorable Druze hospitality lunch there while learning about their way of life.

Gazala also dishes out large, herby, delicious falafel balls, nice fresh salads, and various tasty hummus and Hummus-like specialties like the pictured Foul Massary, fava beans with tomatoes. Their Bourekas of the day which I havent tried yet also looks terrific.

I cant guarantee that this is the best Hummus in town but I can guarantee without a doubt that this is the best Druze with Russian waitresses in Hells Kitchen. Gazala opened another location on Columbus and shows her Russian fetish there as well. Check it out readers. Both of you!

Categories: Midtown West, New York City | Tags: food, Gazala's Place, Gazala's Place NYC, hummus, hummus NYC, NYC food, NYC restaurants, restaurants | 2 Comments

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

Taim is ‘Taim Meod’ but WTF is S’rug

Posted on December 18, 2012 by Ziggy

First I should probably explain the title…

Taim – Means tasty in Hebrew. And is a popular Falafel joint in the west village

Taim Meod – Means very tasty in Hebrew

WTF – Means What The Fuck

But – Means except for the fact…

S’rug – ??? not sure (more on that later)

Taim Falafel and Smoothie Bar on Waverly serves some very Taim Israeli pocket food and more. Small but fierce Falafel balls come in 3 different flavors: “Green” which most resembles the traditional Israeli falafel, “Harrisa” which is red and packed with mild Tunisian spices and my personal favorite, and “Red” which is another red but mixed with roasted peppers. The best way to try all 3 is to get the mixed platter which is a good amount of the 3 (around 10 balls – compared to the slightly larger 3 balls by Azuri café, another best Falafel in NYC candidate but losing ground with me). In addition you get a very Taim, creamy and nutty Hummus, Israeli Salad and a Taboule salad. The pita is warm and sprinkled with zatar seasoning which is a very nice touch.

You also get 3 different sauces with that: Tahini, Amba (terrific, smell my finger pickled Mango chutney), and something called S’rug which is supposedly a Yemeni hot sauce. Now here’s the thing. I am very familiar with the similar Yemeni Hot Sauce called S’hug and I’ve seen it spelled S’chug and Z’hug, but S’rug is something new. In fact if you Google S’rug you will only find it mentioned in relation to Taim pretty much. Quotes by Yelpers and other food bloggers mentioning Taim’s hot Yemeni sauce S’rug as if such a thing exists. Why do they call it S’rug? Its like a place that makes Falafel but decides to call it Fakafel, joined by a food blogger army praising the Fakafel without ever mentioning the real thing, the Falafel.

Wait, not finished digressing. I also happened to be a big fan of the S’chug which is a staple in my fridge. In fact I have 2 kinds at the moment including the pictured Pereg S’chug which is my absolute favorite. I spread it on everything. Goes very well with bread and salami.

But now I digress. Taim, also serves a delicious Sabich, the falafel’s shy and not as good looking cousin. Sabich is eggplant, hard boiled egg, Tehini, Amba, and Israeli salad inside a pita. And their smoothies such as the date, lime, banana, are fantastic as well.

Taim is a tiny popular neighborhood spot. Its more of a takeout place as it has just enough room for 4 adults and a small cat. Everything about this place is fresh and delicious including of course… that Yemeni hot sauce… S’rug.

Categories: New York City, West Village | Tags: food, NYC Falafel, NYC food, NYC restaurants, restaurants, S'chug, Taim | 3 Comments

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

Madison Square Eats Highlights

Posted on October 14, 2012 by Ziggy

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

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.

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.

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

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

Categories: Gramercy, Flatiron, New York City | Tags: broken english, food, Hong Kong Street Cart, Madison Square Eats, NYC eats, NYC food, Red Hook Lobster Pound, Roberta's, Trapizzinos, Wafels & Dinges | Leave a comment

Posts Tagged With: NYC food

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