Food in NYC

Damn I'm doing a bad job of keeping up with what's going on.

Here's a rundown of food in NYC from last week. Links would be good, but I'm too slammed to drop them in.

Had a bagel with a shmear, ate it in Central Park on a sunny day. Walked up through the CPK and over to 72^nd on the UWS to Grays Papaya for a recession special (2 dogs / drink). Went to a new Italian seafood restaurant (Marea) on CPK South: good service, great apps, but the mains were just OK.

For lunch, one of our friends took us to the Burger Joint hidden away in the Parker Meridien (but it’s a dive place with excellent burgers, fries, some milkshakes, and one beer on tap). They converted the Rockefeller Center ice rink into a bar and we sat in the sun, with one drink. We hit up Union Square Greenmarket and the Whole Foods in Columbus Circle to stock up on organic goodies and product for breakfast (fruit, cereal). We had an amazing(!) dinner @ a new French restaurant in the old Montrachet space in Tribeca called Corton. Afterwards, we went to Spotted Pig in the West Village for a drink, and ogled the great food and shoestring fries (but did not eat there).

Then on Sunday, I missed out on a lobster roll fresh from Maine @ the Brooklyn Flea, but did get to sample lots of treats @ the Fancy Food Show. That night, I headed to a steak house (Keen’s) in Midtown with colleagues and a client.

On the Monday during the day, just sampled treats @ FFS during the day. At night, though, we went to momofuku ssam bar in the East Village and were blown away by David Chang’s magic. We went to his right-next-door Milk Bar for a dessert. Later, we checked out the bar @ the Standard (new hotel in Meatpacking that straddles the High Line) and sat outside because the weather’s so great.

Since then, instead of sit-down meals, we grabbed what we could from the LES to Tribeca to West Village to Hell's Kitchen and places in between.

Katz’s Delicatessen – pastrami sandwich + reuben sandwich

Russ & Daughters – bagel with cream cheese & smoked salmon

Kyotofu – tofu dessert sampler

Locanda Verde’s pasty / breakfast – hazelnut roll + almond

Van Leeuwen artisan ice cream (cart parked on Greene/Spring) – giandujia + pistachio

Magnolia Bakery – cupcakes

Patzeria - slice

Amy’s Bread – cupcake + almond tart

Daisy May's BBQ - texas red chili & sweet tea

Paris eats

Bistro - the 11e has a great little gastronomic street: rue Paul Bert and the Bistrot Paul Bert was cheerful and tasty. I think it was about 30 Euros prix fixe.

Cafe - we had an excellent traditional meal at Cafe Constant (Christian Constant now has 4 restaurants on a street in the 7e). I think this one was about 35 Euros.

Small cafe - over on the rue Oberkampf, we sat down at a little place called L'Estaminet for a tasty lunch very reasonably priced (2 of us paid less than 20 Euros, including some wine)

There's a great underground restaurant called hidden kitchen, but I believe they are booked solid through September - http://www.hkmenus.com/ - 80 Euros prix fixe (all included)

Haut Cuisine - a 3-star Michelin restaurant! Guy Savoy (we did a lunch menu - the food kept on coming!). Over in the 17e. Sublime, and bread pairings with our food. http://www.guysavoy.com/en/intro.htm - 100 Euros prix fixe for lunch

Falafel - L'As du Falafel or Chez Marianne both are excellent on the rue des Rosiers in the Marais. These run about 5 euros each.

Macarons - we tried 4 or 5 different ones. Hands down the best are Pierre Herme (esp salted caramel). On rue Bonaparte in the 6e.

Crepe - we had a salted caramel with chantilly cream crepe done up traditional Bretagne style at Breizh Cafe on rue V-d-Temple in the Marais.

Cheese. The ladies at Barthelemy in the 6e/7e border will look after you.

Cooking School. Marguerite's Elegant Home Cooking (but act quick, as she's moving to Seattle next month!) - http://www.elegantcooking.com/ - we went to a market where we purchased what we needed (and later to some of her favorite shops to purchase the rest). We learned how to interpret the various signs. We made guinea hen with peaches and onions stuffed with risotto. Delicious: we ate outside with fresh baguette, a bottle of wine, and fresh cherries for dessert.

Wine Bar Walking Tours

This is pretty cool.

Three different walking tours from wine bar to wine bar.

http://brucecasswinelab.com/?q=wineinfo/winebarmaps

Dosa Review - SF Chronicle

Michael Bauer wrote a review of the Dosa on Fillmore - 2.5 stars

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/02/08/FDHQ15HT7G.DTL&type=food

Perello

We went to Melissa Perillo's Monday night four-courser at Sebo (have not tried Sebo yet).

Perello was the chef at 5th Floor and now takes over the kitchen on occasional Mondays.

The food was excellent and will change each time she cooks. However, I think the concept: soup, seafood, meat, dessert with optional wine to go with it will stay.

They put sea salt on top of the butter to go with the bread which was a nice little touch. The crackery-flatbread they had reminded us of pappadam a bit.

The soup was not the highlight for me, it was a nice way to start the meal. Nothing memorable though.

The skate was an excellent combination of flavors, but the highlight was the coq au vin which came with a little crepe filled with additional delights.

The dessert was a ricotta tarte.

The wine list had some great choices on it. GIven the coq au vin, I chose a pinot which complimented most of the dishes.

Absolutely well worth making a reservation next time she does this (get on her e-mail list).

neighborhood sushi

We had a great meal earlier tonight at tataki, a great small sushi place on California. A more full write-up on the great ambiance and excellent food (ahi tuna poke, shrimp tempura/spicy tuna roll, a signature tataki dish, seaweed salad, and more). Nice selection of sakes plus friendly peeps working there round it out.

Stay tuned!

Many, many posts coming soon about favorite restaurants in and around SF. I've got a lot of them stored up.

Brenda's French Soul Food

Tucked away in the Tenderloin, is a tiny (I counted 7 tables + a bar) breakfast and lunch spot. Brenda hails from N'Awlins so the food has a Creole bent to it. Here's the link - http://www.frenchsoulfood.com/

We went on New Year's Day and they had the classic Southern options of black-eyed peas and collard greens. We opted for the collard greens, which even had bits of bacon in it.

We went savory / sweet. For the savory, we had a shrimp po'boy - slathered with spicy dressing, fried shrimp, on a baguette. For sweet, we went with pancakes with butter pecan sauce (as if someone had melted the inside of a pecan pie, added butter to it and poured it over the pancake).

While we waited outside (at times mingling with the homeless), we popped in to bring a coffee outside to warm us up. With brunch, we sampled some of the watermelon iced tea - a great refreshing way to start the day.

We skipped the beignets for now, as we were so full. But we will be back to try all four kinds: original, chocolate, granny smith/cinnamon, and the intriguing crawfish!

Mmmmmm...Dosa on Fillmore!

Last year, I ate at Dosa in the Mission and you can read all about it right here.

A little bit ago, Dosa opened up their second branch over on Fillmore. It's a much bigger space, in the former Goodwill store. You can look in the windows and see a mix of foodies, pre- and post-Kabuki moviegoers, and the general assortment of people you see in SF.

You walk in the door, are greeted by the hostess and then it's a bit strange. There's a long banquette along one side of the hostess area, which in the back of it has a large empty space. There are tables set aside near the bar, but those are not first-come-first-serve.

The bar, though, is first-come-first-serve and is a great spot to grab a bite. They also have a liquor license (the Dosa on Valencia only has wine and beer) and they have a tremendous bar lining one side of the restaurant. The drinks were strong and inventive: the former Absinthe and Nopa mixologist has created the cocktails and took hints from the food. Therefore, expect spices and fruits and exotic ingredients, Indian twists on classics.

The menu is more expansive, but the dosas are still here as well as other favorites from the menu in the Mission. We had the dahi vada (which was curiously not as good as the one on Valencia - too much yoghurt we felt), but the rest of the food was fantastic. We had one of the dosas of course.

We also tried a lamb curry: succulent, spicy, and a great balance of flavors. We also had a chicken biryani and the meat fell off the bone. While we had cocktails before eating, we paired the food with Indian beer. They have an extensive wine list. We were too full for dessert.

One final thought: I love that they make the following claim on their website, "DOSA is the only Indian restaurant in the Bay Area that has a holistic commitment to primarily organic, bio-dynamic and sustainable ingredients and products."

For a more intimate setting, go to the Mission. For a grander experience, go to Fillmore and then go see a movie (perfect pairing would be with slumdog millionaire, of course).

Free visit to the California Academy of Science

There are SAN FRANCISCO NEIGHBORHOOD FREE DAYS in 2009

For example, if you live in 94115 like I do you can visit for free on May 15, 16, 17 and again on Oct. 2, 3, 4, 2009.

Go to their website (click on the title of this post) to find out when living where you do lets you in for free.