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Winter Restaurant Week 2010 – Aureole

Tuesday, February 9th, 2010 by virginia

In addition to the reservation we had made at A Voce Columbus on the first day of Restaurant Week, we had also managed to nab a prime lunchtime spot at the Bar Room of Aureole on the very last day of Restaurant Week. I was hoping to get some last minute reservations at a few places in between as well, but I wasn’t able to find the time to take a long lunch, as it was a particularly busy time at work for me. Josh ended up going to DB Bistro Moderne with a few of his coworkers but he didn’t seem too impressed by his meal there, so I didn’t feel too bad about missing out. I was really looking forward to our meal at Aureole, however, and couldn’t wait for the end of the week to finally arrive.

Aureole recently moved from the Upper East Side to the new Bank of America building at One Bryant Park. We had never gone to the old Aureole but I was kind of surprised by the casual décor at this new space. Granted, we were seated in the Bar Room at the front, and the dining room in the back did seem to be a bit more upscale. The front room was very bright, with lots of tall windows, and a huge, modern chandelier. There was a large bar that took up an entire wall, and a giant array of wine bottles behind rounded glass windows.

The Bar Room in front

What I didn’t really like was that the tall windows faced onto 42nd St., and you couldn’t help but be aware of all the people walking down the street and the cars driving by. Plus there was some very unattractive scaffolding across the street, and I kind of feel it was a bit distracting. The more formal dining room, however, is set back behind some glass and the décor was a bit more subdued, with a predominately brown and beige color scheme. And while the tables in the dining room were covered in gleaming white tablecloths, the tables in the Bar Room were bare, with the exception of some place mats.

After we were seated and had placed our orders, we were brought a wooden bowl filled with slices of baguette, and a small ramekin of creamy butter topped with crunchy kernels of salt. The bread had a nice crispy crust and an airy, chewy interior. It was pretty tasty, though I wish it had been warmed up a bit. However, I must admit that I did get a bit jealous when I saw that in the dining room, there was a bread man walking around with a basket offering five different kinds of bread. To add insult to injury, the wooden bowl that held our bread was severely cracked on both sides and looked like it was about to split in half. We were both surprised that they would let a bowl like that out of the kitchen, as the cracks really were conspicuous.

Tasty slices of baguette but served in a cracked bowl

Moving on to the actual meal, it wasn’t too hard for us to pick which dishes we wanted to try from the Restaurant Week menu, as we simply avoided the vegetarian options in each course (salad in the first course and winter vegetables in the second course). As per our tradition, we each started with a dish and then swapped plates halfway through so that we could taste both offerings. I wound up with the potato leek ravioli first, which featured bacon, caramelized onion, aged cheddar, and a chive creme fraiche sauce. There were three small but plump raviolis in the bowl, bursting with a tasty potato leek puree. The filling was well seasoned on its own, but when eaten with the accompanying toppings, it was a great mix of flavors and textures. Both the bacon and caramelized onions are very assertive ingredients but complemented the raviolis perfectly, with no one component standing out above the others. I found the dish to be very comforting, kind of homey, yet still refined and beautifully presented.

Potato leek ravioli

Our other first course was the wild striped bass ceviche, which was marinated in citrus juices and topped with red onion, avocado, smoked paprika, cucumber, red pepper, microgreens, and popcorn. The striped bass was sliced thinly, kind of like a crudo, and the citrus marinade was very light. I liked that the dish wasn’t overly acidic, and the freshness of the fish really shined through. The accompanying garnishes were chopped into tiny pieces so that they provided a textural contrast without detracting from the delicate flavor of the striped bass. Although this was a very elegant version of ceviche, I thought the popcorn on top was a playful nod to the traditional way the dish is usually served.

Wild striped bass ceviche

For the main course, Josh started out with the spotted skate wing, which was topped with cauliflower, golden raisins, toasted almonds, and a caper curry brown butter. The skate was pan seared perfectly so that it had a nice golden brown crust on the inside, yet was still tender and flaky. The curry in the brown butter sauce was very mild but combined with all the other ingredients, it was an intriguing combination of flavors and textures. Every bite highlighted a different component, from the sweet raisins to the savory cauliflower and tangy caper berries. There was a lot going on yet it all worked together very well.

Spotted skate wing

Our other main course was braised pork belly with apple, brussels sprouts, cornichons, dijon mustard jus, and roasted pearl onions. The pork belly was fatty and luscious, just as it should be, but it was served in one long piece that was a bit hard to cut neatly. I ended up separating the fatty top from the rest of the meat by accident and couldn’t get a thin enough slice of both that would just melt in my mouth. I think the restaurant should have sliced the pork belly up for us rather then leaving it for us to deal with on our own. That aside, the dish was a great mix of sweet and savory, highlighted by the apple sauce and shaved brussels sprouts. While it wasn’t the best pork belly we’ve ever had (that honor belongs to L’Atelier de Joel Robuchon in Las Vegas), it was definitely near the top of the list.

Braised pork belly

There were only two options for dessert so we got one of each. The first was a caramel corn sundae with vanilla chantilly, bananas, and salted peanuts. This dessert was so incredibly playful that it just put a huge smile on our faces. It tasted just like cracker jacks, but better. The refreshing popcorn(!) ice cream was topped with sweet vanilla cream and streaks of caramel, and biting into the pieces of banana and salted peanuts were like finding little prizes in the sundae. The kernels of caramel corn just put the whole thing over the top.

Caramel corn sundae

The other dessert was a bittersweet chocolate ganache tart with blood orange creme. This was the polar opposite to the caramel corn sundae, as it was dark, rich, and very intense. The ganache was very dense but delightfully creamy on the tongue. The creme had just a hint of citrusy flavor to it, and was a nice complement to the dark chocolate. It was a good dessert on its own but couldn’t compare to the light and whimsical sundae.

Bittersweet chocolate ganache tart

Lastly, they brought us a small plate of cookies to finish off our meal. There was a thin and crispy sandwich cookie, a hard and crunchy biscotti, an intriguing salted chocolate chip cookie, and a classic shortbread cookie with jam on top. We were stuffed after our lunch but couldn’t resist having a few nibbles.

Platter of mini cookies

Overall Josh and I both loved this meal. We thought that it was one of the best Restaurant Week lunches we’ve ever had, certainly the best of winter 2010, and we were really impressed with all of our courses. While I didn’t love the atmosphere of the restaurant’s new location, service was exemplary. Our waiter explained each of our dishes to us as they were served, and when he noticed that we swapped plates during the first course, he made sure to help us with the swap during our second course. More importantly though, I thought the dishes we had were bold and innovative, as well as fun and imaginative. This meal was absolutely a highlight for us and definitely made us interested in trying some dishes from the regular menu. We sincerely hope that Aureole will be participating in Summer Restaurant Week this year, and will be offering yet another stellar menu.

Aureole
135 West 42nd St. between 6th Ave. and Broadway
New York, NY

Tags: Ice Cream, Midtown, Pork, Prix Fixe, Restaurant Week, Seafood
Posted in Restaurants | 1 Comment »

Carnegie Deli

Tuesday, February 2nd, 2010 by virginia

Josh and I have kind of been apartment hunting on and off for the last three years. At one point we were really into it, going to several open houses each weekend. Our search has tapered off in the last few months but we saw an interesting listing in Midtown and decided to check it out during lunch on a weekday. The apartment was a bust so to make ourselves feel better, we decided to grab lunch at the famed Carnegie Deli nearby and drown our sorrows in a mountain of corned beef and pastrami.

Neither of us had been to the Carnegie Deli before, nor have we ventured to any of the other landmark NYC delis like Katz’s or the 2nd Avenue Deli, but we’re no strangers to deli fare. We were seated in the back room and noshed on some pickles while we looked around at all the pictures on the walls of the famous people who have dined at the Carnegie Deli.

Just a small sample of all the pictures hanging on the walls

Josh and I both preferred the half sour pickles, as they had a crunchier texture and a fresher flavor. The sour pickles were pretty limp and overly acidic, tasting like they had been hanging out in the brine for far too long.

Pickles to nosh on

We decided to halfsies on a corned beef sandwich and a pastrami sandwich, knowing full well that we wouldn’t be able to finish either portions. The size of the sandwiches definitely didn’t disappoint, as each was almost four inches high and spilling meat out onto the plate. I thought the corned beef was a bit too lean, however, resulting in a dry, almost crumbly texture. A generous schmear of mustard fixed that though, and we also asked for more bread to make more manageable sandwich portions for ourselves.

Corned beef sandwich

The pastrami we got was a much fattier cut and more tender as a result. It definitely had a smokier flavor than the corned beef, though I thought both were pretty comparable in terms of seasoning.

Pastrami sandwich

We also got a side of French fries, which were boasted as being cholesterol free. They were fat crinkle cut fries, similar to Nathan’s, and were surprisingly crispy on the outside and very potato-y on the inside. I typically don’t like thicker cut fries but these were perfectly cooked and not at all greasy.

Crinkle cut french fries

Despite our best efforts, we had tons of leftovers. Our waitress gave us sheets of waxed paper and bags so that we could pack up the rest of our sandwiches. Even though we had stuffed ourselves silly, we still ended up an entire half of the pastrami sandwich, plus 1/3 of the other half, as well as half of the corned beef sandwich.

We ended up eating the pastrami for dinner that night, cooking it up with scrambled eggs and eating it on toasted bagels. Even that was almost too much food, but I liked how the fattiness of the pastrami allowed it to hold up well during the cooking process, and its saltiness matched well with the eggs.

Pastrami and egg scramble on a toasted bagel

Overall Josh and I both enjoyed our impromptu lunch at Carnegie Deli, and the fact that we didn’t have to worry about what to eat for dinner later that night. At first glance, $15 for a sandwich might seem ridiculous, but when you think about it, it’s really at least two sandwiches, even for the heartiest eater. That means it’s actually not that bad price-wise, especially for Midtown. While the corned beef and pastrami weren’t the best that I’ve ever had, they were still pretty tasty. Besides, part of the appeal is going for the ambiance – to look at all the pictures on the walls and try to pick out your favorite stars, and to interact with the surly, no-nonsense waitresses. Even though some might dismiss it as touristy, when you’re there, you can’t help but feel like you’re experiencing a part of NYC history. Just make sure to bring cash (no credit cards), and to ask for extra bread to deconstruct your sandwich, unless you can figure out a way to detach your jaw!

Carnegie Deli
854 7th Ave. at 55th St.
New York, NY

Tags: Deli, Fries, Lunch, Midtown, Sandwiches
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Social

Sunday, January 31st, 2010 by virginia

Poor Josh has really been on the road a lot lately, traveling for work. The day after we got home from San Francisco, he was on an early morning train to Baltimore. After spending one night there, he took the early morning train back from Baltimore and had about two hours to pack before heading to the airport on his way to Colorado. Because he knows how much all the traveling takes on toll on me (hey, it’s hard when you’re husband is away all the time and gets to go to new places and try new foods!), he made sure to grab a quick lunch with me during his two hour window.

We ended up at Social, a bar/restaurant on 8th Ave. that wasn’t too crowded, as we wanted a quiet place where we could sit and talk. There was a special lunch menu that had sandwiches and burgers listed for $7.45 but we opted to split a few things from the regular menu instead. Since it was chilly outside and I was craving comfort food, we got an order of macaroni and cheese.

Macaroni and cheese

It was described on the menu as being covered in a three cheese truffled mornay sauce, but neither of tasted any truffle at all, not even a hint of truffle oil. And even though it had a nicely browned and crispy top, it was more creamy than cheesy, without any of the gooey-ness or stringy-ness that I wanted from the mac and cheese. Flavor-wise it wasn’t bad but it was just too creamy overall.

Creamy mac and cheese innards

We also split an order of sliders, which were really four mini burgers topped with American cheese. They came with lettuce, tomato, and pickles on the side, which were cut into smaller pieces so that they fit the sliders perfectly. I thought that was a nice touch, and very convenient. It also came a pile of fries, which were battered and crispy.

Sliders with fries

We had asked for the sliders to be cooked medium rare but they were closer to medium. I guess it’s hard to cook these to order. At least they weren’t dried out, and had a good amount of seasoning to them.

Autopsy shot

Overall we both enjoyed our quick lunch at Social. It’s far enough away from the hustle and bustle of the Midtown lunch crowd that it was quiet and we were able to chat and have a relaxed meal. The food is standard bar fare but it was tasty enough and reasonably priced. While we probably wouldn’t get the mac and cheese again, we did like the sliders, and there were lots of sandwiches on the lunch menu that I would go back and try. It’s not too far from my office and is better than some of the other sit down options that we have closer to the heart of Midtown. The bar is multiple levels, and there are lots of flat screen TVs hanging up everywhere, so I think it would also be a good place to hang out after work for happy hour, or on weekends to watch sports.

Social
795 8th Ave. between 48th and 49th St.
New York, NY

Tags: Bars, Burgers, Fries, Lunch, Macaroni and Cheese, Midtown
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Streetcart Confusion

Tuesday, January 26th, 2010 by virginia

According to Midtown Lunch, my favorite streetcart, the Famous 53rd St. Halal Guys, bought the Shendy’s cart that’s located on the NW corner of 52nd and 6th. That gave them their third location, in addition to their established spot on the SE corner of 53rd and 6th and their second location on the SE corner of 53rd and 7th. Great news not only because it’s a block closer to my office, but also because no one seems to know about this particular branch.

Josh wanted to pick up a quick lunch so I clued him in to the new location, and off we went. I was a bit thrown when I saw that the cart was still displaying the Shendy’s sign and menu, but a quick glance at the cart guy’s sweatshirt and the notorious yellow bags reassured me that we were at the right place. There was no line at all and we had our food in two minutes flat. We looked up the street at the regular 53rd and 6th spot and saw people lined up waiting for their food. We joked around with the cart guy about this “secret” location, and he promised that it was the same food.

The distinctive yellow bags

I took my bounty back to my desk and sure enough, it was the same tasty chicken and lamb over rice, covered in white sauce and a little bit of the super spicy hot sauce. There’s a little iceberg and tomato salad on the side, and a few wedges of fluffy pita bread on top. It’s a ton of food for just $5, and one order lasts me for three lunches. How can you beat that?

Chicken and lamb over rice with white sauce and hot sauce

When I left work late that evening at 7:30 pm, I walked down 6th Ave. and passed the former Shendy’s cart, which had moved further up 6th Ave., in between 52nd and 53rd St. Again, there was no line whatsoever, while half a block up the line for the same exact food was already 20 deep.

Now this is where it gets really confusing. Back when the Famous Halal Guys only had one cart, they parked it on the SE corner of 53rd and 6th during lunchtime, and at night they would move it across the street to the SW corner. Then some other streetcart that was parked on the SW corner during the day started wearing similar yellow sweatshirts but were unaffiliated and serving up different food. Finally Zach from Midtown Lunch set the record straight, and all was well.

A few weeks ago, however, we were at a birthday party for one of Josh’s cousins at Johnny Utahs. Having skipped dinner, we left a bit early (before everyone jumped on the bull, unfortunately), and went to pick up some food at the Famous Halal Guys cart. We got to the SE corner of 53rd and 6th and were about to cross the street when we realized that the same daytime cart was there that night. The line was about 15 deep but moving quickly, since there were actually two carts parked next to each other (one was only doing cooking while the cart next to it handled the orders). We got our food and crossed 6th Ave. and saw the same yellow sweatshirts and yellow bags catering to a line that was about 30 deep.

So my question is, why is there such disparity between the lines at the different carts? As far as I can tell, they’re serving the same exact food. Even if you’re not an avid Midtown Lunch reader like I am, it’s not hard to pick out the distinctive yellow sweatshirts that say Famous 53rd St. Halal Guys on the back, and the even more distinctive yellow bags that no other carts use. These carts are all a block apart, and within sight of each other. A lot of people must have passed the “new” cart on their way to the regular cart, why haven’t they noticed it yet?

And supposing that people simply just haven’t seen the new cart for whatever reason, why doesn’t anyone who works at the other cart let people know there’s the same food a block away, which would cut the line in half? Maybe there are some cart politics that I don’t know about. Whatever the case is, I’m kind of glad that the word hasn’t spread, and so I can pick up the tasty chicken and lamb over rice combo whenever I want without having to wait.

I know that people can be a bit queasy about buying food off a cart in NYC but I’ve eaten at plenty of carts and have never gotten sick. The food is fresh, tasty, and cheap, and if you don’t believe me, ask the other 20 people who are waiting in line for their food.

Famous Halal Cart (multiple locations)
NW Corner of 52nd St. and 6th Ave. (formerly the Shendy’s Cart)
New York, NY

Tags: Lunch, Midtown
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Consistent Delivery from Pearls

Friday, January 22nd, 2010 by virginia

After our successful first time ordering in from Pearls, we hit them up once again the next time that I had a craving for Chinese food. We considered trying one of the super unusual entrees but I wasn’t feeling so adventurous and the dinner combinations were too good the last time for me to pass up this time.

We decided to get two combinations, plus one more entree. We both chose the hot and sour soup, which was still tasty. It’s not too thick or gloppy, and has a nice balance between the sourness and the pepperiness. It’s chock full of assorted vegetables and I like the different textures.

Hot and sour soup

The egg rolls that were such a hit last time didn’t disappoint this time either. They were freshly fried, still piping hot, filled with veggies, and had a nice crispy and flaky outer shell.

Egg roll innards

For the entrees, we tried the pork in garlic sauce. I’ve mentioned before that this is one of Josh’s favorite dishes, and one that we get almost every time we have Chinese food with my parents since they know how much Josh likes it. When I first opened the container, it didn’t look like any pork in garlic sauce that we’ve had before. The pork was cut in large chunks, not thin strips, and the dish typically doesn’t have snow peas or carrots in it. I was a bit apprehensive but after tasting a piece of pork, I was pleasantly surprised. The pork was tender and the garlic sauce was flavorful. It wasn’t spicy, but it definitely packed a garlicky punch and wasn’t just a standard brown sauce.

Pork in garlic sauce

Our second combination entree was General Tso’s chicken. I have to say that I really didn’t like this dish. Too many filler veggies (carrots, baby corn, peppers), not enough chicken, and the sauce was too sweet. The chunks of chicken were large but also a bit fatty. I vastly preferred the sesame chicken from last time to this dish.

General Tso's chicken

In addition to the two combination specials, we got an order of moo shu pork. The pork and veggie mix was ample and was stir fried in a nice tangy brown sauce, but the dish only came with two pancakes. Two pancakes! That’s really stingy, and nowhere near enough for all the filling they give you.

Moo shu pork and pancakes

We ordered four additional pancakes, at 50 cents a pop. Kinda steep, but in the general scheme of things it was still pretty cheap overall. I actually liked the dish a lot and would definitely order it again, with the extra pancakes.

Moo shu pork wrapped in a pancake

I thought this meal from Pearls was still pretty good the second time around. Is the food amazing? No, but it’s tasty and familiarly comforting. Prices are extremely reasonable, and the delivery arrived in 30 minutes. Everything was hot and freshly cooked. If you have a craving for Chinese food that needs to be satisfied quickly, this is the place for you.

Pearls
732 7th Ave. between 48th and 49th St.
New York, NY

Tags: Chinese, Delivery, Midtown, Pork
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Gaby

Friday, December 4th, 2009 by virginia

DSCN4385

For Josh’s sister’s birthday, his parents got us all tickets to see A Steady Rain on Broadway, starring Hugh Jackman and Daniel Craig. Before the show we had a lovely meal at Gaby, a restaurant attached to the Sofitel Hotel.

The décor of the restaurant is modern and upscale, with tall ceilings and colorful upholstery. We were seated at a long table near the front, next to the window looking out onto 45^th St. They graciously seated us before the entire party arrived, and we started off with some drinks and some delicious baguettes with rich butter and a black olive tapenade.

Butter and a tasty black olive tapenade

The baguettes weren’t as crispy out the outside as I would have liked but they had good flavor and a nice chewy texture to them.

Delicious carbs

For my appetizer, I selected the burgundy snails cooked in garlic butter and served with toasted brioche. The snails were large and tender, not rubbery. They were served in a cast iron pan that kept them wonderfully hot, and I sopped up the garlicky butter with the pieces of toast.

Garlicky snails with brioche toast

Josh had the lobster bisque, which was unlike any lobster bisque that I’ve tasted before. It was not too heavy on the cream, and it had some spices in it that made the soup taste more like a pumpkin bisque than lobster. It was surprisingly light, not too rich, with interesting and complex flavor.

Unusual lobster bisque

For my main course, I kept it simple and classic with Gaby’s version of steak frites. The steak was grilled Black Angus hanger steak with caramelized shallots. The steak was nicely pink on the inside and not tough or chewy at all. The French fries were thin and crispy with a healthy sprinkling of salt. It was an ample portion of fries so I didn’t mind sharing a few with the rest of the table. There was also a mesclun salad on the plate with a nice light vinaigrette that helped cut through the richness and the fatiness of all the steak and fries.

Hanger steak covered in carmelized onions, fries, and salad

Hanger steak covered in caramelized shallots, fries, and salad

Josh went with the duck leg confit with sautéed fingerling potatoes, mushrooms, and frisee. The duck was tender and appropriately gamey in flavor. While I still preferred my steak over the duck, I know Josh enjoyed his dish a lot.

Duck confit with fingerling potatoes and frisee

Duck confit with fingerling potatoes, mushrooms, and frisee

We didn’t have enough time before the show to have dessert but I thought the meal at Gaby was quite delightful. The items we chose were from the “a la Francaise” sections of the menu, which meant they were classically French in preparation. However, there are several other options that are more continental and adventurous in flavors. The restaurant is quite pricey though, with appetizers ranging from the mid to upper teens and entrees are mostly above $25. It’s a good place if you’re looking for a nice upscale pre-theater dinner, as the service is efficient and attentive. A Steady Rain ended up being a great show as well, though they did remind us almost a dozen times before the curtain to turn off our cell phones!

Gaby
44 West 45th St. between 5th and 6th Ave.
New York, NY

Tags: French, Fries, Midtown, Steak
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Pearls

Thursday, December 3rd, 2009 by virginia

I had a rare craving for sesame chicken and other standard Chinese food fare so I did a quick search on seamlessweb and found Pearls, a restaurant that served both basic dishes and Chinese specialties at super cheap prices.

Just looking over the menu, it’s obvious that the restaurant caters to the work crowd. The combination specials include a choice of entrée, rice, an egg roll or spring roll, and soup. These specials run for under $7 at lunch time and for under $8 at dinner time. As a bonus, you get 20% off if you order through seamlessweb, making it an even better bargain. While the entrée sizes aren’t as large as you would normally get if you ordered a la carte, they’re still sizeable and enough for two people to share.

Josh and I decided to split three dinner combination specials, knowing full well that it would be too much food and I could take some leftovers for lunch the next few days. With the combinations, we decided to try a variety of the side options offered. We got two egg rolls and a spring roll so we could taste the difference.

The egg rolls were fantastic – hot, crunchy, packed with well-seasoned veggies. They were probably some of the best egg rolls that we’ve ever received in a delivery. The spring roll was disappointing, as the outer shell was soggy and very greasy. The filling was similar to the egg roll filling but I couldn’t get over the oiliness of the spring roll skin.

Egg rolls and a spring roll on the bottom

For the soup, we selected both hot and sour and wonton. The hot and sour soup was more sour than hot, but it had a strong pepper flavor that tickled the back of our throats. The soup is chock full of mushrooms, bamboo shoots, and other fillings, making it very rich and hearty. I could eat a container of this soup as a meal and be really stuffed.

Peppery hot and sour soup

The wonton soup was a chicken broth with scallions and a few pieces of wontons floating about. The wontons were just ok, a bit heavy on the skin and the filling was a bit too dense, but the soup was simple and light, a nice contrast to the rest of the meal.

Wonton soup

For our entrees, we selected the sesame chicken, mapo tofu, and curry chicken. The sesame chicken was a pretty good version, with a still somewhat crispy outer coating and a not too overly sweet or gloppy sauce. It came with crunchy pieces of broccoli and definitely satisfied my sesame chicken craving.

Sesame chicken

The mapo tofu was also decent, though not as spicy as I had hoped it would be. The tofu was a bit firmer than in most other versions, which I liked, but the sauce was too tame and a bit too thick in texture. I liked the little bits of pork mixed throughout, but overall the dish could have used some more seasoning and spice.

Mapo tofu

The curry chicken was a disappointment as I was hoping for curry chicken similar to what you would find in a Malaysian or Singaporean restaurant – bone in chicken stewed in a mélange of spices and a tiny bit of coconut milk until it was falling off the bone. This curry chicken was thin slices of white meat coated in a sauce that tasted of regular off the shelf yellow curry powder. It wasn’t awful; it was just really boring. Plus there were too many onion slices mixed throughout, and most of them were still kind of raw and provided a very harsh bite to the dish. I definitely wouldn’t order this dish again.

Curry chicken with too many almost raw onions

Overall I thought the food at Pearls was actually pretty good. We did order uncomplicated standard dishes though, and not any of the more “authentic” Chinese options. The food came fast, it was still hot, and everything was packaged nicely, making it a great delivery option for whether you’re at work or at home. Prices for the combination specials are very reasonable and you get a ton of food. I would absolutely order from here again the next time I get a sesame chicken craving, and I wouldn’t mind trying some of the more interesting dishes from the a la carte menu.

Pearls
732 7th Ave. between 48th and 49th St.
New York, NY

Tags: Chinese, Delivery, Midtown
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Disappointing Chaat at Indus Express

Thursday, December 3rd, 2009 by virginia

Josh was running an errand near my office so we decided to meet up for a quick lunch, as I was desperately eager to take a break from work. We ended up Indus Express due to its proximity to my office, and because it would be fast since we both had a lot to do back at work.

We went with our usual order of a naan sandwich and a chaat. This time we opted for the basil chicken tikka naan roll. They definitely stuff a lot of filling into the naan but the flavors are a bit muddled. I couldn’t detect much basil taste, just a lot of different spices. We asked for the sandwich to be spicy hot, and it definitely delivered in that regard. My sinuses were cleared after eating that sandwich. The order came with a small pile of french fries (regular straight fries with some random bits of curly fries – weird!) and a sad little side salad that we pretty much ignored.

Basil chicken tikka naan roll

For our chaat, we debated between alu chaat and chicken chaat. Josh was lobbying for the chicken, which was described on the menu as boneless pieces of broiled chicken and sounded kind of boring to me. I pushed for the alu chaat, which listed spiced potatoes and chickpeas in the description. I thought the spiced potatoes would be seasoned like the filling of a samosa, or the kind that dosas are wrapped around. I won the debate but boy, was I in for a huge disappointment. The potatoes were basically boiled and unseasoned, and very unpleasant. Biting into a piece of plain waxy boiled potato, barely cooked through, is not appetizing at all. Which is too bad because the standard chaat toppings of mango, tomato, cucumber, onion, and the yogurt and tamarind sauces are really good. They just weren’t enough to hide the bland boringness of plain boiled potato chunks. Ugh. I definitely won’t order this again, and I should have deferred to Josh and gotten the chicken chaat instead. Plain broiled chicken is WAY tastier than plain boiled potato.

Disappointing alu chaat with bland, almost raw potatoes

Overall this was not the greatest trip to Indus Express, though it’s not somewhere that we go often. There’s much better Indian food in the area but this is always an option when we’re looking for something super quick. We were in and out of there in 20 minutes, and I was soon back at my desk slaving away again.

Indus Express
48 West 48^th St. between 5^th and 6^th Ave.
New York, NY

Tags: Indian, Lunch, Midtown
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Becco

Tuesday, December 1st, 2009 by virginia

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As I mentioned in my post about Del Posto, Lidia Bastianich is my favorite chef. I’ve been watching her since I was little because I didn’t have cable growing up and there was nothing on regular TV on Sundays after church. The only thing that interested me were the cooking shows on PBS. As a result, every Sunday I’d sit down and watch Lidia, Jacques Pepin, Julia Child, Martin Yan, and others.

I really didn’t know much about food growing up because I always ate Chinese food at home, and if we went out to eat it was either to a Chinese restaurant, Pizza Hut, or Burger King. So aside from Yan Can Cook, all the food on these shows seemed very exotic and foreign to me but I loved watching the process of cooking. I would then experiment with random recipes I found in one of the cookbooks we had in the house, substituting for ingredients that we didn’t have. For example, I once made brownies using Nestle Quik, figuring that it was close enough to cocoa powder. The resulting brownies weren’t as chocolately as I would have liked, but they actually weren’t bad either.

Over the recent years I’ve tried to expand both my palate and my cooking abilities. I’m still a pretty bad baker but now I watch cooking shows to get ideas of things to make and different flavor combinations to try. I still have a soft spot for PBS cooking shows and vastly prefer them to the ones on the Food Network that have very little actual cooking involved. Lidia’s Italy is one of my favorites, and every time she makes a pasta, my mouth waters. Even the simplest pasta, with just oil, garlic, and tomatoes, loosened with a little pasta water to make a sauce, looks absolutely delectable.

Thus, it is only fitting that Becco is my favorite restaurant. I always get the same thing – the unlimited tasting of the three pastas of the day. The offerings vary daily but there is always one with a simple tomato-basil sauce. I’ve tasted enough of them to have my preferences but I get really excited when I see a pasta that I haven’t had before at the restaurant.

Josh knows how much I love Lidia and Becco so the restaurant has become our go-to special occasion place. We’ve celebrated birthdays and anniversaries here, as well as a few pre-theater dinners with family. Once in a while though, if we happen to be drinking at the House of Brews next door, we’ll go for an impromptu dinner if the wait isn’t too long. Prices are reasonable enough that it’s not a complete splurge but it’s still a once-in-a-while indulgence.

So on one Friday evening after happy hour at the House of Brews, we decided to grab dinner with Josh’s cousin at Becco. Luckily the pre-theater crowd had already thinned out so we didn’t have to wait for a table. The restaurant is split into lots of different rooms and tables are packed closely together but it still has a pretty intimate setting. The noise volume is chatty but not too loud so you can hold conversations without having to scream.

Tasty assortment of olives

Our meal started off with a box of delicious breads, a pureed bean spread doused in olive oil, and a bowl of assorted olives.

Soft focaccia, crunchy grissini, and crusty italian bread

The breads included a soft focaccia, a crusted rustic loaf, and thin, crunchy grissini, all perfect for dipping into the creamy bean spread.

Creamy white bean and olive oil dip

Another aspect that makes Becco more affordable is the $25 wine list. It consists of Italian wines and there are lots of reds and whites to choose from, as well as a few rose wines and sparkling wines. We’ve tried several of the reds and found most of them to be pretty good, though now we stick with our favorite, the Ramitello. It’s full-bodied and a little bit spicy on the tongue, which I like a lot. But if you’re unsure about which wine to order, just ask. Someone is always happy to help answer your questions and offer suggestions based on the kind of wine you typically prefer.

When you order the pasta tasting, it comes with a choice of Caesar salad or the antipasto misto. The Caesar salad has a creamy dressing that is not too mayo-y. Fortunately they don’t overdress the leaves but I always get a bit annoyed by how the runners just haphazardly dump some on the plate in front of you from the big platter they’re carrying. I guess it’s faster than preparing individual plates of Caesar salad but it always ends up being sloppily presented and the portions are never consistent. That said, it’s still a pretty good version of Caesar salad.

Caesar salad with creamy dressing

The antipasto misto comes with an assortment of vegetables and seafood that has been grilled or marinated. It’s a nice variety and a good way to taste lots of different things. The vegetables include zucchini, mushrooms, carrots, string beans, beans, and sun dried tomatoes. They’re pretty basic but have a nice tangy flavor and are well seasoned.

Marinated and roasted vegetables

The seafood included a soft white fish in a light tomato sauce, and marinated octopus with potatoes and onions. The octopus was soft, tender, and delicious.

The marinated seafood portion of the antipasto misto

After they cleared away our appetizer plates, the pasta feast began. I was happy to see that there were two pasta this time that I hadn’t tried before. The first was an artichoke ravioli served in a light broth. The artichoke filling was creamy with little chunks of artichoke inside, and it was topped with fresh chopped herbs. It was tasty and light and my favorite pasta dish of the night.

Artichoke ravioli

The second new pasta for me was farfalle with shrimp and arugula. The pasta was obviously fresh and hand pinched into the bowtie shapes, which I thought was really neat. The shrimp were tender and the arugula gave it a nice slightly bitter bite. This was also a very light dish.

Fresh farfalle pasta with shrimp and arugula

The last pasta was the standard tomato-basil sauce. Although the pasta shapes may vary (this time it was spaghetti), the sauce is always simple and classic. You really taste the freshness of the tomato sauce, and I love the large basil leaves mixed throughout.

Spaghetti with classic tomato-basil sauce

For dessert, we shared the torte di zabaglione e cioccolato, which was a chocolate mousse cake topped with sour cherries. It was smooth and rich, and, of course, very chocolately. It was a nice way to end the meal.

Chocolate mousse cake

I know that I can’t give a full review of Becco since I order the pasta tasting every single time we go. So I don’t know much about the other food served at the restaurant, though I do remember that once when we went with a large group on my birthday, Sean had a grilled branzino (his name was Panchito) that he enjoyed a lot. All I can say is that the pastas are always fantastic and served perfectly al dente. Plus you can eat as much as you want; there are servers circulating the rooms carrying big pans of pasta and they stop by often to ask if you want more.

Although the service itself is sometimes a bit sloppy, they don’t rush you out even when the restaurant is packed. We’ve lingered over wine at the table and were made to feel perfectly at ease. Overall, at $22.95 for the Caesar salad or antipasto misto and unlimited servings of three different pastas, it’s a pretty good deal. Just make sure to call ahead for a reservation if you have a large party, or if you plan on going during the pre-theater rush.

Becco
355 West 46th St. between 8th and 9th Ave.
New York, NY

Tags: Italian, Midtown
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Baluchi’s

Saturday, November 28th, 2009 by virginia

Josh and I both love Indian food but it’s not something we eat too often, as most of our family members don’t enjoy it as much as we do. When we do have Indian food, we usually get it delivered for dinner. We’ve tried a few places in our neighborhood but our standard go-to place is Baluchi’s. There are branches all over the city, and even when we lived downtown we would order in from the one in Tribeca or visit it during lunchtime when everything is 50% off (even on weekends). I can’t really vouch for the authenticity, but the food is consistently good and their delivery/takeout prix fixe menu is really a great value.

For $14.95, you can select an appetizer and an entrée from a decently long list of offerings. It doesn’t include everything on the regular a la carte menu but there’s a nice variety and most “standard” Indian dishes are available. The prix fixe also includes basmati rice, a piece of naan bread, cucumber raita, and mango chutney. When you consider that most chicken/lamb curries already start out at $13.95/$14.95 when ordered a la carte, and appetizers start out at $6.95, this prix fixe is an incredible deal.

One night when Josh and I had a craving for some Indian curry, we placed a delivery order using Baluchi’s easy online system. We decided to get two prix fixes, one with samosas and lamb rogan josh, and another with aloo papri and chicken korma. Usually we get two orders of samosas, as they are our favorite appetizer and Baluchi’s has one of the better versions that we’ve had. The skin is thinner and usually still somewhat crispy even after being delivered. The filling of potato and peas is soft and flavored with curry powder. They top the samosas with chickpeas, and then drizzle on a tasty green sauce and a tamarind sauce. There is a mélange of textures and flavors that all really work well together. It’s salty, sweet, and a little bit sour.

Samosas

This time we decided to try a new appetizer in addition the samosas. We opted for the aloo papri, which is described on the menu as a snack with potatoes, chickpeas, and yogurt. While it did have a messy pile of chickpeas, yogurt, tamarind, and green sauce, there were no potatoes to be found. There were little soggy crisps mixed throughout though that I think were fried lentil dumplings, like in papri chaat. I was a bit disappointed with this dish as it had similar ingredients to samosas, minus the potatoes, but less flavor overall and it was very mushy in texture.

Aloo papri and the case of the missing potatoes

Aloo papri, though no potatoes

Lamb rogan josh is my favorite Indian dish, and this is one of the best versions that I’ve had. There are huge chunks of tender gamey lamb stewed with tomatoes in a cardamom sauce. The dish is spicy in a flavorful way but doesn’t have any heat to it. I like to wrap pieces of the lamb in some naan bread and dip it in the curry sauce, then in the raita. The yogurt mellows out some of the spice and makes the curry a bit creamier.

Lamb rogan josh

Chicken korma is Josh’s favorite Indian dish, though I find Baluchi’s version to be a bit too creamy in flavor. The curry is made from an almond cream sauce and the pieces of chicken are mixed with fruit and nuts, giving it a nice sweetness. Though it’s a very mild curry, it’s also very thick and rich so I can’t eat too much of it. I usually end up mixing some of the korma curry with the lamb rogan josh curry to create a sort of creamy tomato-y curry sauce that I mix together with the basmati rice.

Chicken korma

The basmati rice is mixed with visible pieces of dried spices, which I pick out before eating as biting into a clove or cardamom pod gives you kind of a shock. The flavors of the spices still remain with rice though, making it very fragrant. The naan bread is large and fluffy and always comes wrapped in a piece of aluminum foil so it stays warm. I really like that they give you both rice and naan, since it’s hard to choose between the two.

A little taste of everything with a big fluffy piece of naan

As I said earlier, while I don’t know how authentic the food is, Baluchi’s is still our go-to Indian restaurant. Now that we live on the upper west side, we order in from the 56^th St. branch, but I’ve found the food to be pretty consistent between different branches. When we get delivery, we always get the prix fixe as it’s a bargain compared to other places. The portions are as large or larger than other restaurant deliveries, and the food is always tasty and flavorful. I highly recommend checking it out the next time you have a craving for Indian food.

Baluchi’s (multiple locations)
240 West 56th St. between 8th Ave. and Broadway
New York, NY

Tags: Delivery, Indian, Midtown, Prix Fixe
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