Posts Tagged With: Travel

Lupulo – A Taste of Lisboa in… Chachkitown?

Posted on June 27, 2015 by Ziggy

January 7, 2016 Update:

Sorry to say I’m not as enthusiastic about Lupulo after a recent visit. The place may still be a fun spot to grab a beer and perhaps some Piri Piri chicken, but the food is way too hit or miss and pricier than it should be. Also for a Saturday night I would expect it to be much busier.

A special of snails in garlicky sauce was bland and uneventful. The dry snails were impenetrable and could have used some French mastery perhaps. Shrimp Porridge with two perfectly cooked shrimp was quite good. No complaints about the shrimp turnovers either. Manilla clams and Brussels Sprouts were fairly forgettable. The one big miss was a lamb leg that was under-cooked while lacking any distinct flavor, accompanied by faro (good) and some pickled veggies that didnt quite belong. The Frango chicken with Piri Piri sauce was still good. Nice and moist, while big enough to share. The sauce can be too intense for some, depending on how well you shake that thing. The Piri Piri I have at home is a bit more family friendly.

June 27, 2015 Original Post:

Oh oh. We may have our first “Where the hell is this place” situation on EWZ. Is it in Chelsea? Is it KoreaTown? Is it the newly formed NoMad neighborhood? Or is it the even newer “Midtown South” whatever it is. I’m pretty sure its not Flatiron, I already established that. Although its in Flatiron according to Yelp. You see, up until a few months ago there was really no good reason to visit this area unless you have a cheap Chachkies fetish or in desperate need of a groin massage. I suppose Chachkitown is another possibility if we are inventing names as we’ve been doing for the past 20 years (“Clinton”? no thanks. We are proud of Hell’s Kitchen thank you). So I’m filing this under Chelsea until Chachkitown catches on. And then when we are ready we can move on to Nocita. North of Chachkitown

George Mendes’ new gig Lupulo is the sexiest spot in NYC at the moment, which really means North America when you think about it. It all feels very sexy, with a sexy staff, sexy bar, and those sexy light bulbs, but that vibe sort of diminishes once you get to your table. From the semi-comfortable table vantage point, it feels like a casual, bustly Portuguese cervejaria. Mendes who was Michelined with Aldea has something pretty cool going here

My food critique below may seem a little too critique as overall we enjoyed the buzzy atmosphere and most of the food. Other than one outstanding dish there wasn’t anything particularly noteworthy, nor bad. But I still recommend Lupulo for some fun Portuguese comfort food like the Chicken Piri Piri which is a Lisbon staple.

Lupulo derives from Humulus Lupulus which has almost nothing to do with hummus I’m pretty sure, but hops. Beer is the name of the game here, though what I ordered failed to impress as the Mitten and the Saison fell rather flat. The Saison (forgot the name of the brewer.. “Home” or something like that) came about 30 minutes after I ordered it, but there were no other hiccups I should mention

Bread: Terrible. I read somewhere that it comes from a Portuguese bakery in Newark. Might as well come from the deli across the street. Mendez should talk to chef Guerrieri of City Sandwich who also gets his bread from a Portuguese bakery in Newark

Chicken Liver Pate – On the drier side with decent flavor. The lack of creaminess adds to the difficulty of spreading the thing on thin gap-filled crisps.

Green Peas, chorizo and egg – Nice, light and springy. The peas were enjoyable, as was the occasional okra that was almost as rare as the chorizo. If you put chorizo in the name, put it on the plate too

Red Snapper crudo – By far the best dish. Just about the spiciest crudo I ever had, but the heat is more of a delayed, back end heat allowing the fish to shine without much interference. Great dish, though at $18 its Marea price Crudo, and should really be in the small plate column, not “fish”

Octopus Rice – Did not suck. Essentially a mini paella priced as a regular paella ($26 or $24) with maybe one octopus leg sliced inside it. Although I was assured the octopus came from Spain and passed immigration, it didn’t have the “balls” of a Portuguese octopus we enjoy sometimes. Recommend still

Chicken piri piri – Simple, nicely cooked, good size, and a shockingly low price tag compared to the other dishes. How can this be $14 while the rice dish $26. I would order it again even with the same overcooked Mcdolands fries.

Chocolate Salami – Minty, rich, with ice cream. Must have.

Pasteis de Nata – Egg tarts. Misshapen and not very traditional looking (perhaps not on purpose), a little too greasy but not too bad overall. Borderline recommend. You cant go to Lisbon without having Pasteis de Nata after your chicken Piri Piri

Lupulo
835 Avenue of the Americas
$$$
Recommended Dishes: Peas chorizo and egg, Red Snapper crudo, Octopus Rice, Chicken piri piri, Chocolate Salami, Pasteis de Nata

***** Terrible iPhone pictures alert ********

A Man and his Mountain. And a Choo Choo Train

Posted on June 25, 2015 by Ziggy

Consider this Hallstat part deux. A day so immense with beauty that it requires two posts. Three actually with a visit to Bad Ischl in between. 50 minutes from Salzburg, in the town of St Wolfgang in the region of Salzkammergut you can hop aboard the SchafbergBahn, the little red engine that could. A 40 minute picturesque trek takes you to the summit of the Schafberg where you are surrounded by 16 lakes. Ok, I may have counted the same lake more than twice but you get the idea. A breathtaking, stunning, 360 panorama, with a little restaurant on top to boot. If you decide to stay less than an hour in the summit after seeing this, there’s something seriously wrong with you

Categories: Austria/Czech Republic | Tags: Austria, Salzkammergut, SchafbergBahn, St Wolfgang, Travel, travel+photography, Wolfgangsee | 3 Comments

Battle of The Bridges: Seeking Best Pizza, Fuku, Wings

Posted on June 21, 2015 by Ziggy

Winter is coming! Time to file some Citibike miles under the belt. About twice a year the Hummus Whisperer and I take a day riding between the boroughs (Brooklyn and Manhattan) losing crazy amount of calories, while gaining back three times as much from munching in various places. We try to hit at least 5 random spots, some are planned, some not. This time HW couldn’t make it, but we did meet up at some point. Here’s how the ride went

In my constant pursuit of great chicken wings as of late (another middle age crisis symptom), I targeted two year old Distilled in Tribeca. Distilled originally opened as an interesting looking destination spot from a Momofuku Noodle veteran, and settled down into more of a popular neighborhood gastropub with a talented team of mixologists (partly judging by the exceptional Bloody this morning). But the one constant since the beginning seem to be the glorious wings. They are double fried to crispy perfection, and coated with a thick and messy layer of Gochujang (that fermented Korean sauce you put on your Bibimbap). They serve it with their own version of not too funky blue cheese sauce to cool things down. Really excellent hefty, top quality wings.

Back on the bike, sort of full after just 5 wings (I left one for good luck), where to go next? Cutting across east I decided to bike the selfie stick happy Brooklyn Bridge. With all the crowds and craziness, I still rather bike iconic Brooklyn Bridge than any other bridge. Then down to Sands street, Flushing, and Kent before crossing the Jewish side of Williamsburg and parking by old favorite Zizi Limona. The one big surprise here is the large Puerto Rican community in this part of the woods. The big parade was in Manhattan this day, but I felt the celebration here in Brooklyn. With Citibike, I feel like I’m rediscovering my own city

My next destination is a slice of Pizza. Yes, I biked all the way here from Tribeca for a slice. But lets go back for a sec. About a year ago, when I had one of those cherished free days, I decided to drive around Brooklyn for various iconic slices I haven’t had in a while and more. I had the great L&B Spumoni, the legendary Di Fara (after a 45 minute wait), and then drove to Williamsburg for Best Pizza which proved to be Best of the bunch especially while factoring in some of the pain involved getting some of the others. The funny part is that Roman based food writer Katie Parla did something similar a month later, and also proclaimed Best Pizza as the winner. Now, back for yet another NY style slice (need to save room for the next most highly anticipated stop) from the wood burning oven, with that signature basil leaf in the middle for added aroma. Great slice again with an unusually well balanced cheese/sauce proportions. Owner Frank has an extensive pizza resume, along with a stint at the Culinary Institute of America. The paper plate art alone including the “Jews love Best Pizza” plate is worthy of a schlep.

Back on the bike, and back to the “city” via the much quieter Williamsburg Bridge. The emptiness means more freedom to move around so you can fly like a bold eagle! Until you realize you are on a Citibike, and you are dangerously close to being passed by an 80 year old woman (that actually happens often to me in Italy). Its hard to look cool on those little blue bikes, especially in Central Park. The only chance you have is to ride in the rain (not drizzle, rain), or with just one hand. Until you face another blue frontal balding biker riding with one hand and you realize it doesn’t look as cool as you thought.

Anyway, sometimes the most anticipated items prove less than thrilling at the end (see Best vs Di Fara). Such is the case with Fuku, the hottest sandwich in town at the moment from David Chang’s Momofuku empire (As some of you know, I’m a fan). Perhaps I got Fukued. My 30 minute wait was about half outside, half in after paying for it. “Credit Only for now” is something I haven’t heard anywhere yet I don’t think. After paying, you get a number with a stick, and you can stand with your number just about anywhere looking like a dork, for the order girl to eventually find you. Sort of like one of those bachelorette games…”bachelor #23 if you were a kitchen appliance, what appliance would you be”… Eventually the “spicy fried chicken” arrives. Its a flat almost schnitzel like, thigh meat sandwiched by a tiny potato roll that is meant to serve as a handle. Not the sexiest looking thing. There are also sliced pickles in there somewhere that serve almost no purpose. The first few bites were interesting, featuring decent flavor, then the struggle took over. Stringy, uneven texture throughout, with crust and meat not so happily married. Not very spicy for a sandwich called Spicy Chicken. It wasn’t a total mess, but far from that hot, much anticipated item I was so looking forward to. Try for yourself!

A Battle of the Bridges is incomplete without my favorite thirst quencher which happens to be nearby, the Grasshopper from Liquiteria. Its not cheap at around $9, but so refreshing on a hot day. I proceeded then west, cruising 13th st, passing Da Andrea, All’Onda and eventually Santina on the way to meet Hummus Whisperer and baby Hummus Whisperer at the new Whitney Museum by the Highline. There I rediscovered the joys of quirky American art, and the joys of watching quirky American art while holding hands of a baby surrounded by the striking Manhattan upper class. Its a a scientific theory that’s proven time and time again; Babies, preferably cute ones, are babe magnets! The museum is actually very cool. You can couple it with the Highline, and dinner/lunch at Untitled (thats the name) inside the museum, or Santina a few steps away.

I said goodbye to HW and baby for hire and headed uptown via Hudson River Park, perhaps our most important and one of the most scenic bike paths. Between the rotating art in the 50’s and 60’s, various parks (another good place to bring your neighbor’s babies!), piers, people watching, and stops along the the way like Chelsea Market, Gotham West, I can easily spend a whole day here.

My last stop was at one of the newest Hell’s Kitchen bakeries, Bibble & Sip. Well technically just outside Hell’s Kitchen but got all the making of another unique Hell’s Kitchen bakery. Nice place to sit, relax and BS all you want! The Earl Grey Banana Bread is quickly gaining neighborhood fame. Add the Matcha Cream puffs, various scones, the occasional English Muffins sliders and all sorts of rotating goodies. I visited it three times before, and on this day the Earl Grey Panna Cotta proved to be the perfect finisher to a fun day.

Categories: Brooklyn, East Village, Midtown West, New York City, TriBeCa | Tags: Best Pizza, Bibble & Sip, Distilled NYC, food, fuku, Travel | Leave a comment

This is Hallstatt

Posted on June 16, 2015 by Ziggy

I dont pay much attention to Trip Advisor lists because they are usually review algorithm based. But sometimes they send lists based on their Destination Experts inputs (like myself) which are more interesting. Last year they came up with a small list of unknown picturesque gems in Europe that no one knows about (that’s why they are unknown). Sintra in Portugal was one of the only towns from the list we visited. But a few weeks ago I received the same list yet again (which I cant find it) from TA and noticed there are two more places I can now check off, Cesky Krumlov, and this beauty located in the Salzkammergut region in Austria. Hallstatt.

Such stunning location very often lacks ample flat cemetery space. Up until 50 years ago, the graves would be recycled every 10 years or so. Bones and skulls would be removed and put inside the Charnel house, or bone house which visitors can visit today. About half of the 1200 skulls are lovingly painted, along with the deceased’s name, and sometimes profession, and date of death. And the cemetery itself offers more stunning views from above. A little tricky to find but well worth it. When walking back from the side of town where you’ll take the top picture, look for steps going up with a bunch of signs pointing up.

20 km west of Hallstatt, there’s yet another stunner, Gosausee. You can walk around the lake (about an hour) or find a spot and just stare. Its so quiet you can hear a lung collapse. The drive from here to A10 toward Salzburg is a fun one, as long as you stay alert (otherwise, you already know where the best burial place is)

Categories: Austria/Czech Republic | Tags: Austria, Gosausee, Hallstatt, Hallstatt Austria, Hallstatt charnel house, Travel, travel+photography | 1 Comment

Eating in Prague

Posted on June 9, 2015 by Ziggy

Praha, what took you so long. Such beauty, such history, such personality, such food? Yes, apparently! The popular notion that its not especially known for its food scene may have something to do with our hesitation all those years. Conclusion after three days: Color me surprised, and impressed, and.. a little ~~heavier~~ full. There were beer gardens, bistros, and even street vendors, all cooking with high degree of skill. Some meals were better than others (hint: pay special attention to the last three) but overall we did not have a bad one, a rarity during our travels. Every meal offered something. Whether it was the food, the beverages, the location, or in some cases all of the above. And yes, there was plenty of pork, there was plenty of beer, and there was even plenty of pork swimming in beer.

At Provaznice we learned about what happens to cheating Real Housewives of Praha. Nothing better than a nice meal with a life lesson on the side for the ladies. Relatively quiet side street by the same name in the center, with community tables on the sidewalk. Our first foray into the town’s celebrated Pilsner Urquell scene. The goulash and the schnitzel did not disappoint, and so was our first pork knuckle (of many to come, even when we were offered “oxtail” in Germany). But the most memorable item was one of the more healthier local vegetarian options, fried hermelin cheese! Skip the fried mushrooms unless you enjoy eating fried dough (like Beignets that took a wrong turn in the cooking process).

Provaznice Hermelin

At Sisters Bistro we sampled some Chlebicky, open faced sandwiches. Hana Michopulu a local food celebrity and farm to mouth pioneer opened Sisters along with.. you guessed it.. her sister not too long ago. It can be tough to choose betweeen the large Chlebicky array, but the girls speak English and can help. The beets one was the surprising winner. I’m finding that “beets” and “surprise” are being used in the same sentence very often lately on the blog. Something is up.

Health conscious folks exiting Sisters, are staring straight in the face of danger. Nase Maso, a newish popular butchery. After multiple attempts I havent actually eaten anything here except for a few lean pastrami slices. On both visits, things got a little hectic, and I ran out of time. Its practically a standing room only butchery where they cook their fresh goodies right on premises. Burgers, steak, meatloaf, and much more. Seems very popular with the locals. You can grab one of the few tables in the back, or hover over one of the tables outside and eat like in the good ol’ days. The cave days. Nice option for a quick bite or combined with Sisters next door

We planned the castle visit around our Strahov Monastic Brewery lunch appointment. After a shaky start where we were led to an empty room “This is where we sit reservations”, we said “no diky” and proceeded with a nice meal outside where the action was (and weather to boot). Nice pork tenderloin in beer sauce. Ribs, a bit dry but a terrific ginger sauce (out of 3) to the rescue. Tried another local specialty, Svickova na smetane – Sirloin in cream sauce with bread dumplings and cranberries. A somewhat uninspiring meat with gravy like cream sauce that will make anything taste great. Meat, car keys., anything. Domácí utopenec which translates to “drowned men” (after the rope maker of Provaznice strangling his wife story, I dont want to know what happened with this one) featuring cold pickled sausages. Nothing out of the ordinary but probably my favorite dish here. And one of the better beers of the trip, the St. Norbert, in particular the complex, slightly fruity dark

A note on sausages. They are all over the place, and they deserve proper respect. Sacrifice one dinner, or lunch, or in our case, a 4 pm snack to sausage and beer from one of the stands in the center. They are juicy, with ample heat, and pack more flavor than the ones we got in restaurants. Same goes for sausages all over Austria.

And then there’s the Trdelnik. I don’t even need to mention it because you cant really escape it, and resistance is futile. You may survive the first day, but after two you will not only succumb, but start experimenting with it. Add nutella, jam, pork, or anything else that comes across. Essentially its sweetened dough, rolled on a stick and grilled out in the open. Whether I liked it or not is not important.

Once you are tired of all that meat and potatoes, consider the meat and potatoes at Krystal Mozaika Bistro in the up and coming Karlin hood, a short subway ride away from the center. A full menu more akin to what you may find in Soho, or Paris with a touch of local flair. Nicely executed soups. A silky smooth home made chicken pate. Melnik asparagus was the beginning of our white asparagus love affair during the trip. An excellent salmon tartar. Burger krystal with Emmentaler cheese was the real deal in both size and flavor, and would fit in quite nicely in burger town NYC. There was that addictive svickova sauce again but this time featuring a tender beef neck with herby dumplings. The star however was a Moroccan style falling off the bone lamb shank with spinach, bulgar, sundried tomatoes and an aromatic minty pesto. Plum Dumplings with poppy seeds, nuts and clarified butter was a proper, if not a bit heavy finish. Very impressed with this one

Something tells me that in Prague, the rule of avoiding chains does not apply, with restaurant gangs such as Lokal and Kolkovna pack with locals nightly. We tested this theory at the bistro looking Kolkovna Olympia which delivered all sorts of surprising flavors for a chain joint. There was “Spicy” (but not quite) sausages swimming in a tangy tomato pepper sauce. Hermelin cheese, this time not fried, but topped with garlicky bread crumbs.. an improvement. There was creamy but refreshing Asparagus soup. Beef cheeks with French style mash was spot on (I’ve been spoiled with an abnormal amount of crazy good beef cheek dishes in NYC lately). A chicken roulette stuffed with liver, spinach, and egg wasn’t as memorable as the chicken wings that came at about the same. Yes, chicken wings, spiced and cooked to perfection, with BBQ sauce on the side that demanded a few finger dips. Ok, more than a few.

Another gem in the Karlin neighborhood is the popular Pivovarsky Klub where a room full of patrons sing 250 bottles of beer on the wall on a nightly basis. Not only it features the largest collection of bottled beer in Czech Republic but, it can also boast something very few in the country can, “Bourdain was here”. Six rotating beers on tap with the excellent Benedict at the helm. Fried Bread with raw garlic was just that, but quite addictive. Juicy sausages can be had in beer sauce or with red and white beans. Get both. Pork knuckle with light gravy came in sliced but retained all its glory. And if you leave without trying the excellent venison goulash, you haven’t done any homework.

Dobrou Chuť

Pivovarsky Klub Sausages

Pivovarsky Klub

Sisters

Provaznice

Provaznice Knuckle

Strahov Monastic Brewery Sausage

Krystal Mozaika Bistro Dumplings

Categories: Austria/Czech Republic | Tags: Best food in Prague, food, Kolkovna Olympia, Krystal Mozaika Bistro, Nase Maso, Pivovarsky Klub, Prague, Provaznice, Sisters Bistro, Strahov Monastic Brewery, Travel | Leave a comment

This is Schönbrunn Palace, Vienna

Posted on June 4, 2015 by Ziggy

Categories: Austria/Czech Republic | Tags: Austria, Schonbrunn Palace, Schonbrunn Palace Vienna, Travel, travel+photography, Vienna | 2 Comments

Esszimmer {Salzburg} – The Sound of Silence

Posted on June 1, 2015 by Ziggy

Memories… are as fuzzy as the excluded pictures, hence a short post about our big Austrian splurge last week. Birthday girl deserves the best and she got the best… the city of Salzburg, Austria has to offer. A beautiful looking place, with beautiful waitresses, and a beautiful chef comes out to greed us smiling. The last and only time a chef came out to greet us at a Michelin establishment was many moons ago in south of France. Though I’m fairly certain he was under some sort of influence. He gave me a big a hug, kissed me in the lips and said “I know it was you Margaux, I know it was you”. Thats how I know. Anyway, we were off to a rocking start at Esszimmer, surprisingly quiet for a Michelin star. We were almost the last to leave

You always inherit a certain risk when you choose a place as such with no online menu in a foreign country. I got a few clues here and there but nothing prepared me to this menu. Nothing like I’ve ever seen really. Four or Five various fixed mostly 5 course menus including a vegetarian menu, a seafood menu, an “Esszimmer” menu which was essentially a different seafood menu including one meat dish (highlight alert). And there was another bigger, around 8 courser for 135 Euros (the rest around 85). The only confusing part was that every single dish in all those menus was priced individually as well, and those prices didnt have any sort of structure. Something that sounded like apps were priced almost like their main counterparts. It made almost zero sense to order individual dishes here.

The wine menu was a fun read. It essentially included all the Piedmont appointments I had to cancel last year due to overeating. Didnt dot down the name we chose but it was crisp, dry and Rieslingy.

As for the food, nothing was really mind blowing, but for the most part the dishes were playful, creative, and artistic. Silky raw trout with trout roe and shaved radish swimming in ultra light potato cream. A delicate sweet Pike Perch seared to perfection with a sourkraft marmoulade. Crayfish spring rolls with sweetbread was an interesting combination. My favorite item was a tender, earthy venison that came with a rich supporting cast. Dessert was forgettable except for the complimentary Sacher tort for the birthday girl. Nice touch, nice meal!

Categories: Austria/Czech Republic | Tags: Austria, Esszimmer, Esszimmer Salzburg, food, Michelin star, restaurants, Salzburg, Travel | Leave a comment

Český Krumlov and the Shoe Shine Fairy

Posted on May 30, 2015 by Ziggy

Two hours by car, 700 years by feel. 175 km south of Prague lies this UNESCO World Heritage beauty. The old town is inside a horseshoe bend shape surrounded by a river, and to view it from the castle was priceless. It was almost like stepping inside one of those fairy tale books I read to Mrs Z sometimes (Its a strange fetish but I wouldnt mention to her, she’s very sensitive about that). To give you an idea of what I’m talking about, something rather ~~strange peculiar~~ mystical happened to me while we were exploring the old town, and I got the picture to prove it. I got my shoes shined by the shoe shine fairy! I was told it was part of a dare of a bridal party or something. Liars! or just jealous really. I got dirty, my shoes needed a cleaning, and the fairy, a beautiful blond fairy with a magic stick the shape of a di@#$%0 (true. Cant post that picture) came to the rescue. End of story. I believe!

Categories: Austria/Czech Republic | Tags: Czech Republic, Travel, travel+photography, Český Krumlov, Český Krumlov Czech Republic | Leave a comment

Pulker’s Heuriger – Slow Fooding Near Vienna

Posted on May 28, 2015 by Ziggy

A Heuriger – not quite an Enoteca, not quite a quinta, far from a restaurant. Its a Heuriger! An Austrian wine tavern owned by a wine grower to showcase his wine and allow his guests to experience something the Germans and Austrians call Gemutlichkeit… a place where everyone knows your name and where you can leave all your troubles behind. Unless your neighbor and her annoying dog got the same idea and frequent the same place. If that’s the case, perhaps its time to forgive and forget and leave a little “gift” in the pooches Schüssel.

A true Heuriger may also serve some menuless food. “Do you also want food?” “Yes”… now that’s the kind of decisionless menu I can get behind. An array of homemade spreads, made in this home, not other homes. Fresh vegetables, and fresh kills brought in by the local hunter a few days ago. All delivered to your table until there’s no more room to put your ellbogen. There was a delicately fresh goat cheese, black pudding that could convert you BP hater [insert family relative]. Porky fat spread that you will be hard pressed to find in the states. There was a cheese spread infused with onions and paprika, salty ham, and pickles with just the right balance. And just when you thought things can not get any better than this, there she comes. Roasted pork belly so tender you can cut it with a dirty stare, along with crackling so good, its worthy of a dentist appointment

Pulker’s Heuriger is right off the main road in the village of Rührsdorf in picturesque Wachau Valley. Google maps shows it inside the village, but its actually on the main road, right before the turn. Couple this one with a visit to beautiful Dürnstein on the other side of the river. For the first time in history perhaps, those monthly travel magazines paid off, coming up with a nice and timely tip.

Categories: Austria/Czech Republic | Tags: Austria, food, Pulker's Heuriger, Pulker's Heuriger Rührsdorf, Travel, Wachau Valley | Leave a comment

Santina – Lucca via Miami Beach

Posted on May 9, 2015 by Ziggy

Update 7/20/2015: Get the Squash Carpaccio people. Whether you are into such veggie dishes or not is irrelevant. Thinly sliced squash with pumpkin seeds adding a nice texture, crème fraiche dropped like Hershey kisses, brown butter, pink peppercorn and other spices and herbs. The peppercorn especially complete this dish. Tastier than many beef carpaccios I’ve had. Another new must is the Potatoes side. Flash fried, then sautéed with onions, hefty amount of chili paste and other goodies. Reminded me in a way of the Momofuku rice cakes with meat. Addcitive stuff. The light and satisfying Santina fusilli is an interesting combination of lamb and the mussels which you wont find anywhere else. The bright red chicken with a tangy guajillo sauce was tender and tasty as well. Don’t overlook this gem when you visit the High Line or the great new Whitney Museum

Original Post 5/9/2015:

A lot of firsts for me at this new Carbone/Torrisi team hot spot. The first time I took a picture of my napkin. The first time I had Cecina in NYC. And the first time I caused an incident of mammoth proportions. Mammoth! But lets start with the first first.

The Napkin – I will just let the pictures do the talking. You may see a cinamon bun, though I immediately see the rolling Bowery steak from Bowery Meat Company in that napkin. Maybe I should see a mental health professional about that. Its not just the napkin. I didnt take a picture of the outside umbrellas and server attire but I urge you to google this place. On both visits I felt like I was missing a white sweater around my neck and a tennis racket. Miami Beach Chic under the the High Line.

The Cecina (pictured above) is like a crepe, or pancake, made from chickpea flour. Its a specialty of the Ligurian Sea coast spanning from Nice to Pisa. In Lucca, we saw them bake the Cecina in a wood burning pizza oven. Its thicker and can be eaten alone with just some seasoning. Here the Cecina is more like a thin spongy crepe, like the Ethiopian Injera. Not intended to be eaten alone I dont think. So when I see other bloggers say to avoid this because its flavorless, I say the point is being missed here. Combine it with any of the 5 “toppings” (tuna tartar, mushroom, shrimp, lamb tartar, avocado) for a very playful and tasty snack. So far I had the lamb and tuna. You can make four little wraps using the four Cecina slices (pronounced Chechina), or you can just tear some to scoop the toppings like in a druze village. There’s no right or wrong way of eating it, and I highly recommend it and the rest of the menu

One of my biggest fears while dining out happened during the Cecina course. And I don’t have many fears to be honest. The only fears that come to mind are death, falling while putting pants on, and dying after falling while putting jeans on. No one in the history of the world ever died while putting their pants on, and I don’t want to be the first. When I’m spending my ~~hard~~ earned money while dining out, my biggest pet peeve is getting the dishes too quickly, or at the same time. It happens far too often lately, and its getting a little annoying. Here I got the Shrimp Zingara middle course not even five minutes after the Cecina. I wasn’t even halfway done with both the cecina, and fantasizing about being back at the beach in Villefranche-sur-Mer. The servant quickly realized the situation and asked me if I want him to take it back to keep it warm in the kitchen, which I never know what to say to that for so many reasons. “Hmmm, I suppose. Will it still be good?”.

Shortly thereafter, after I finished the Cecina, another server came over to take the plates away including the bottle of the green salsa verde that came as part of the Cecina arsenal. I then watched in horror as the green bottle, almost in slaw mo, lean over, coming down crashing. A team of scientists could not ungreen the floor after that. I felt particularly bad about this incident because moments earlier I made a mental note to put the bottle back in the allocated spot after using it a few times, and I never did. The waiter may have assumed the bottle is secured in its spot after picking up the tray, and oops. I apologized to him three times about this faux pas, but the staff can not assume the patrons are in the habit of putting everything in its place.

The moment was gone. I’m suddenly on the wait staff shit list, and I’m about to get a dry shrimp Zingara that was prepared 20 minutes ago and probably missing its Zingara by now. But to my surprise the shrimp dish arrives good as new, as if it was just prepared. The shrimp didnt toughen and were soft as a baby bottom. The rice was toasty, nicely al dented and had plenty of zing to it. The only issue was too much capers, as by the end I found myself separating them away from the action. Maybe they indeed made two Zingaras because I mistakenly was charged for two (or was it a shit list confirmation)

Putting service and personal issues aside, everything else I had was original and well prepared. On a previous visit with a friend we shared a Cecina, and an ingenious Guanciale e pepe. The name resembles the familiar Roman Cacio e Pepe, but the ingredients bring it closer to the rice version of Gricia, a lesser known Roman pasta. Guanciales, black pepper and grated Pecorino play together ever so nicely. I also really liked the simple, herby whole grilled porgy with sliced hearts of palm so sweet they taste like pear.

Looking forward to taste the rest of Santina. If I’m welcomed.

Santina
820 Washington St (under the begining of the High Line, south end)
$$$

Categories: New York City, West Village | Tags: Cecina, food, restaurants, Santina, Santina NYC, Travel | 5 Comments

Posts Tagged With: Travel

The places