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Jing Fong

Thursday, April 14th, 2011 by virginia

I can’t believe it’s taken me this long to write about Jing Fong, the ginormous dim sum restaurant in Chinatown, considering that it’s a place that has a lot of meaning for me and Josh. It’s been our go-to place for dim sum ever since we moved into the city, and was where we ate right before Josh proposed. It is also where we held our rehearsal dinner the night before our wedding, a banquet style dinner that resulted in a lot of people eating jellyfish, accidentally mistaking the long chewy strands for noodles (we didn’t tell them what it was until after they ate it and enjoyed it). As with most of our favorite Chinatown destinations, since we’ve moved uptown, we just haven’t been around as often. Josh had a coworker in town one Sunday who wanted to try dim sum, so we knew exactly where to take him.

Dim sum at Jing Fong on the weekend is pretty crazy. If you don’t get there early enough, there’s a huge line, which is impressive considering how BIG the place is. Luckily we got there in time and were seated right away. There was a pretty long wait by the time we left though. Once you get up the escalator, it’s just a massive space packed to the brim with tables, all of which are full. If you have a small group (ie., 2-3 people), you generally end up having to share a table with other people. It’s not too awkward, the tables are big and you can either talk to your table-mates or not. We’ve experienced it both ways.

Huge line of people waiting to get in when we left

Ideally you want to sit near the kitchen (the right side of the long room, parallel to where the escalators are) because the carts that come out there have the freshest food and are stocked with more items. When you end up in the far corner away from the kitchen, usually you’re options are mostly just tripe and chicken feet, which isn’t bad if you like those items. Otherwise, you have to go with the aggressive route, which is taking your “scorecard” and waiting with a bunch of other people outside the kitchen, waiting to pounce at the carts as soon as they come out. Then you just have to carry your steaming baskets back to your table. There’s also a long table set up in the middle of the room, by the back wall, where they have prepared foods such as sauteed chinese broccoli or steamed clams in black bean sauce that you can pick up. Just remember to take your card with you!

We were a group of five so we wound up with our own table, in the right hand corner just opposite the kitchen. It was a pretty good spot, and there were lots of carts coming around. We basically just pointed at whatever looked good, keeping in mind that one person in our group was a pescetarian, so we got a lot of shrimp and/or veggie items. Here’s a rundown of what we got:

Steamed sticky rice wrapped in a banana leaf - one of Josh's favorites. The rice is filled with bits of pork and dried shrimp, and has a nice chewy texture

Pork and shrimp shumai

Steamed soup dumplings - just meh, not enough soup inside, decent pork flavor

Shrimp and chive dumplings

Shrimp and pea dumplings

Crystal shrimp dumplings - a classic dim sum dish and one of my favorites

Crab and vegetable dumplings

Pan fried vegetable dumplings (that also looked like they had bits of shrimp in them)

Baked pork buns - the bread is sweet and the filling is bbq pork

Steamed rice crepe wrapped around a fried cruller topped with cilantro and a sweet soy sauce

Steamed rice crepe filled with shrimp

Pan fried dumpling wrapped in tofu skin

Dessert: deep fried sesame balls - the inside is chewy mochi filled with sweet lotus or bean paste

We actually got a few orders of each dish so we were pretty stuffed by the end of our meal. I was actually hoping to get some tripe, which they prepare very well at Jing Fong, but sadly it never came around. We did see and pass on chicken feet though. I also wanted some egg tarts for dessert but all the dessert carts were pretty bare by the time they got to us, so we settled for the sesame balls.

The ladies who push around the dim sum carts don’t speak a lot of english, but we managed to get by with a mix of english and my mangled mandarin. When you pick out the stuff that you want from the cart, they put stamps on your scorecard indicating the number and the size of the dish you picked. I don’t know how much each dish is, but our bill for all the food was ridiculously tiny. After tax and tip, I think we each paid about $12. Service is a bit brusque but efficient. They kept our teapot filled and gave us a pitcher of ice water for the table when they saw how thirsty we were. They also cleared our table of empty steamer baskets frequently.

There are lots of dim sum places in the city with varying reviews and we haven’t tried them all.  Jing Fong, though, is always a great experience. When we take people there who have never been, they are always shocked by the size of the restaurant and by the number of people packed in. There’s always lots of variety, and the food is usually fresh because of the high volume and turnover. If you’re patient, you can usually get the dishes you want. The key is to show some restraint initially, and not just pick out a million things from the first cart you see simply because you’re hungry. The carts come by frequently, and each lady usually has different items on her cart. While there may be other dim sum parlors we want to try in Chinatown, we’ll always come back to Jing Fong. Not only is the food good, the restaurant has sentimental meaning for us. Maybe that makes us a bit partial, but just give it a try if you’ve never been – it’s always a fun time.

Jing Fong
20 Elizabeth St. at Canal St.
New York, NY

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Cafe Boulud

Thursday, March 31st, 2011 by virginia

Josh recently celebrated a milestone birthday, hitting the big 3-0. In honor of the occasion, I made reservations for dinner at Cafe Boulud. I booked the reservation on Open Table, noting that we were celebrating my husband’s 30th birthday. When I got a call from the restaurant the day before our dinner to confirm our reservation, the person on the phone also asked what my husband’s name was, so I was happy they got note I wrote.

Josh and I met up at Central Park before dinner and took a little walk around the lake to kill some time before our reservation. We still showed up about 15 minutes early but they seated us right away without any issues. We had a cozy spot in the far corner, sitting next to each other on a comfortable booth. I liked the decor of the restaurant, with neutral tones mixed in with dark wood, accented by small, bright and colorful paintings on the wall. The first and only time we had eaten at Cafe Boulud, a few years ago during Restaurant Week for lunch, I found the decor to be a bit bland, kind of like a nondescript hotel restaurant room. This was a big improvement, though a lot of the changes were pretty subtle.

While we were perusing the menu, they brought us an amuse bouche of deep fried risotto balls filled with smoked mozzarella. These were served piping hot and perfectly fried – crispy on the outside, creamy and gooey on the inside. It was a nice little bite to start off our meal.

Deep fried risotto balls with smoked mozzarella

It took us a while to decide on what to order because there were so many options that looked tempting. It was such a difficult decision that we ended up ordering two appetizers, two pasta courses, and two entrees, sort of making our own tasting menu. I liked that everything was a la carte because we could pick whichever dishes we wanted. As is our custom, we each started with a dish and then swapped plates halfway through.

After making our selections, we settled in to enjoy our meal. First was a visit from the bread man, who happily gave us a piece of each bread to try. In addition to the usual baguette, there was an olive rosemary roll and slices of sourdough, pumpkin seed, and raisin bread. While the sourdough was a bit bland, the pumpkin seed bread was interesting. It really was chock full of pumpkin seeds, giving it a salty, nutty taste. The raisin bread was good but I liked the baguette (of course) and the olive rosemary roll best. Both had hearty crusts and flavorful, chewy insides. I only wish that the bread was served warm, but at least the bread guy came by often to check if we wanted more bread.

Baguette and olive rosemary roll

Sourdough, pumpkin seed, and raisin bread

For our appetizers, we ordered the capon terrine and a special of the evening, the lobster bisque. The capon terrine was hard for us to resist because it featured black truffles and foie gras, as well as puy lentils and an espelette (a type of pepper) jam. The presentation was visually stunning, with the different layers of the terrine clearly defined. The foie gras took center stage and I enjoyed the livery richness, although I prefer foie gras when it’s sauteed and creamy, rather than cold. Also, while we could see the black truffle layer, it actually didn’t impart too much truffle flavor, much to my disappointment. Still, the capon was very tender, and all the components on the plate worked well when eaten together. I liked cutting off slices of the terrine and eating it with some crunchy toasts that accompanied the dish, providing some textural contrast. It was an interesting dish, though probably not something Josh or I would order again.

Capon terrine with foie gras and black truffles

The lobster bisque was topped with a tarragon foam and had a few english pea gnocchis at the bottom. The foam really didn’t do much for us, but the gnocchis were fabulous, with a light and creamy texture. The bisque itself was full of lobster flavor, however, it was much thinner and lighter than most bisques we’ve had. It didn’t seem like they used much cream in it, if at all. Some people might prefer that, but for us, we like our bisques to be a little bit thicker and more creamy. I think the cream helps the flavor coat your mouth and gives the soup a certain velvety richness. With this particular bisque, the flavor was intense at first sip but didn’t linger. We also couldn’t really use the bread to sop up what was left at the bottom of the bowl because the soup was so thin, which was a bit disappointing since that’s usually one of our favorite parts. Nevertheless, the bisque wasn’t bad, it just wasn’t to our personal preference.

Lobster bisque

For our pasta course, we got appetizer portions of the sheep’s milk ricotta gnocchi and the celery root agnolotti. The gnocchi were enrobed in a broccoli rabe puree that was light and fresh, not bitter at all, and topped with dollops of ricotta, chopped toasted hazelnut, and a drizzle of olive oil. The gnocchi themselves were creamy and not the least bit dense. I liked that there were still bigger pieces of broccoli rabe mixed into the puree, adding texture to the dish, but I wasn’t a huge fan of the chopped hazelnut. While it gave a nice little crunch, I found the flavor of the hazelnut to be overpowering, ruining the delicate tang of the sheep’s milk ricotta. I would have preferred toasted breadcrumbs instead, which I thought worked well with the ravioli we had at the Union Square Cafe. Josh liked the hazelnut though, so I guess it’s a personal preference. Nevertheless, it was a very delicious dish.

Sheep's milk ricotta gnocchi

As good as the gnocchi were, our other pasta dish was even better. It featured agnolotti, which were little raviolis filled with pureed celery root. The filling was creamy and savory, and the agnolotti were topped with soft chestnuts, celery leaves, and black truffles. Again, the black truffles weren’t as flavorful as I had hoped, but the dish was absolutely fabulous. It was rich and flavorful, with lots of butter in the sauce, but we couldn’t get enough of it. The celery leaves lightened the dish just a tad, and we were scraping the sauce from the bowl with pieces of bread. This was our favorite dish of the evening.

Celery root agnolotti with chestnuts, celery leaves, and black truffle

For our entrees, we split the venison loin and the pan seared striped bass. The venison was cooked sous vide and then seared on the outside, so that it was ruby red throughout, but with a nice crust. The meat was tender and just slightly gamey. It was served with smoked sweet potato flan, shallot confit, and a juniper berry sauce. The sweet potato flan was really interesting, with an intense smokey flavor that reminded us of barbecue flavored potato chips. The thin, crispy sweet potato slices on top only added to that impression. The juniper berry sauce was slightly sweet, and paired well with the venison.

Venison loin with smoked sweet potato flan

The pan seared striped bass was perfectly cooked – the skin was crispy while the flesh was flaky yet meaty. The bass was served on a white bean cassoulet with mushrooms. The menu also said there was pork belly, but we didn’t see any visible pieces. I think perhaps it was mixed in with the sauce and cassoulet, because it tasted very rich and hearty. I loved the subtle sweetness of the beans and the earthiness of the mushrooms. It was a very well composed dish.

Pan seared striped bass with pork belly, white bean cassoulet, and mushrooms

For dessert, we ordered the special of the evening, the Grand Marnier souffle. When they came with our dessert, however, they also brought Josh an additional molten chocolate cake with a candle in honor of his birthday. They even wrote “Happy Birthday Josh” on the plate, which is I guess why the woman on the phone asked for his name when she confirmed our reservation. It was a very nice gesture, and though we were both pretty full at this point, we gobbled up the cake. It was dark and rich with a warm, gooey center, just as you would expect, and the accompanying coffee ice cream was a good match.

Molten chocolate birthday cake

The Grand Marnier souffle was served with a small pitcher of creme anglaise and a scoop of vanilla ice cream. It was light and fluffy, just like a good souffle should be, and the flavor was spot on. We’ve had Grand Marnier souffles before and they usually just taste like a vanilla souffle with maybe a hint of orange. This particular souffle actually tasted like Grand Marnier, right down to the slight bite from the alcohol. It wasn’t too sweet, and we liberally poured the creme anglaise into the center, which gave it an extra boost. The ice cream in this case was unnecessary, as the souffle and sauce were more than enough to satisfy us.

Grand Marnier souffle with creme anglaise and vanilla ice cream

Lots of creme anglaise poured in the middle

They also brought us a small basket of madeleines, which were similar to the ones we received at Daniel. They were delicately crisp on the outside and chewy in the middle, slightly sweet and citrusy. I couldn’t stop popping them into my mouth, even though I was about ready to burst at this point.

Madeleines

During our meal, while we were eating the venison, Josh asked our waiter a lot of questions about the temperature at which the meat was cooked, the reason being that he had just received a Sous Vide Supreme for his birthday. We were also discussing the Executive Chef of Cafe Boulud, Gavin Kaysen, during our meal, and were debating whether or not he really cooks at the restaurant anymore given that he is a famous chef in his own right. Josh asked if I wanted to meet him, and our waiter overheard, telling us that Chef Kaysen was indeed cooking in the kitchen, and offered to take us on a tour. We were thrilled, of course, so after we paid our bill we followed our waiter into the kitchen.

The space was smaller than other restaurant kitchens we’ve seen (Alinea, Blue Hill at Stone Barns, Eleven Madison Park) but most likely because the restaurant itself is smaller. There was some activity going on but it wasn’t chaotic, probably because service was winding down. Chef Kaysen took the time to greet us and speak with us for a little while. When Josh asked him about the sous vide venison, Chef Kaysen took us into a back room to show us the restaurant’s huge immersion circulator.

I knew Chef Kaysen was a young guy, in his early 30s, and I’ve seen him on TV before, but I was really struck by how young he looked. It’s pretty incredible what he has accomplished in his career already. I mean, this is the guy that represented the U.S. at the prestigious Bocuse d’Or four years ago! But I was drawn in by the fact that he was also totally down to earth and incredibly friendly, even ribbing our waiter good naturedly while we chatted.

Josh and I both found Cafe Boulud to be a wonderful experience all around. The food was delicious and the service was top notch. Our waiter was knowledgeable and engaging, knowing when to check up on us and when to leave us alone. Even the runners were superb, taking the time to speak with us when they served our courses or cleared our plates, always making sure that everything was ok. With regard to the meal itself, we thought that all the dishes were well prepared and beautifully presented. The pasta course stood out for us, as did the entrees. Even dessert was a hit, though I always like to say that we’re not dessert people. It was a nice way to finish off our meal, and our faux tasting menu would have been incomplete with out it. Cafe Boulud is definitely somewhere on our top 10 list, and I would love to go back there again. It was a bit pricey, though to be fair, we did order four courses each and split a nice bottle of wine. Josh also had a scotch at the beginning of the meal. If we had shown some restraint, the bill would have been much more reasonable, but hey, it was a special occasion. As long as the birthday boy was happy, so was I!

Cafe Boulud
20 East 76th St. between Madison and 5th Ave.
New York, NY

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JoJo

Saturday, February 26th, 2011 by virginia

Whenever I have a rare weekday off from work and we happen to be in the city, Josh and I like to go for lunch somewhere a bit special, since it’s a luxury to have more than an hour for lunch. There are lots of great prix fixe deals to be found, and some of the best ones are at Jean George restaurants. We’ve always been big fans of Nougatine but have gone there often enough that we’ve sampled most of the menu offerings. Some of the dishes do vary based on the season, but we were in the mood to try something different so we decided to head across town to another Jean George place, Jojo.

The restaurant itself is a huge departure from the massive and almost sterile atmosphere of Jean Georges and Nougatine. It’s got a old school townhouse feel to it, with green and white striped walls, gold crown molding along the ceiling, big mirrors hanging all around, and little lamp light fixtures everywhere. It was cozy, though I think they need to rethink their chairs. I was seated on a soft bench that stretched the length of the wall and was perfectly fine but Josh was in a chair that was just way too low for the table. He looked pretty silly, like a little kid sitting at the adult table, and it was probably a bit uncomfortable for him to maneuver his utensils and eat from that low angle.

Nevertheless, the food is always what’s most important to us. The menu is set up in a similar structure to Nougatine, with a choice of appetizer, entree, and dessert for $26. The menu did say choice of two plates again, with no real distinction between appetizers and entrees, but there were several appetizers that we wanted to try so it didn’t bother us too much this time. I do wish they would be more clear though on the menu because it can be confusing. After we placed our order, they brought us a tall cup containing long pieces of a thin baguette. The bread was absolutely fantastic – some of the best bread that I’ve eaten at any restaurant. It was warm right out of the oven with a nice crispy crust and a soft, chewy interior. I slathered it with butter and sprinkled on some coarse salt from the little bowl that was on our table.

Fantastic baguettes with creamy butter and salt

Per usual, Josh and I went halfsies on everything. We would each start on one dish and then switch plates halfway through. For the first course, we selected the tuna tartare and the peekytoe crabmeat. The tartare arrived looking like a small plate of potato chips:

Where's the tuna?

The tuna was obviously hidden underneath the chips. There wasn’t a huge amount of fish, just two small rounds, though it made it easy to share the portion, but I didn’t like that it was chopped super finely. It had the consistency of ground tuna, which threw me off slightly, but at least the fish tasted fresh and it was properly seasoned. The chive oil surrounding the dish added a lot of flavor, and I liked the crunchiness of the gaufrette potatoes with the soft tuna.

Ground tuna tartare

The peekytoe crabmeat appetizer was also pretty tasty, and a bit more sophisticated, I thought, than the tartare. There were lots of peppery pieces of crabmeat that we were told to spread on the accompanying cumin crackers with a smear of whole grain mustard, and then top with the cubes of mango. It was a great combination of crunchy, sweet, and peppery. The crabmeat was really fresh and flavorful, and we could really taste the cumin flavor in the crackers.

Peekytoe crabmeat with mango and cumin crackers

For our entrees, we split the salmon and the hanger steak. Usually I shy away from ordering salmon, having eaten one too many fishy portions, but I must say that Jean Georges usually does salmon right. This particular version was slowly baked and served with truffled mashed potatoes, brussels sprouts, and truffle vinaigrette. I know that we’re both truffle nuts but even this dish shocked me with its complexity of flavors. While the truffled potatoes were exactly what you would expect (delicious, of course), the truffle vinaigrette was tangy and bright, not the smooth earthiness that we expected. The truffle flavor was there but the acidity cut through the richness nicely, and paired well with the soft, fatty salmon. The brussels sprouts on top added a little bitterness, and the dish was really well composed and perfectly seasoned.

Baked salmon

Our second entree, the hanger steak, was completely covered in gingered mushrooms and served on a bed of broccoli rabe. The hanger steak was soft and tender, and the gingered mushrooms added an interesting Asian twist to the dish. There was also a soy caramel sauce that was more salty than sweet but helped tie everything together.

Hanger steak with gingered mushrooms, broccoli rabe, and soy caramel sauce

The hanger steak came with a side of french fries that were warm and nicely seasoned, though they weren’t as crisp as I had hoped. They were pretty limped and tasted like they had soaked in a lot of the frying oil. Too bad, because they looked so good.

French fries

For dessert, we had a choice between JG’s signature molten chocolate cake and an apple tart, so we got one of each. The molten chocolate is the same one that is served at Nougatine, just with a different shape. It’s chocolately and rich, with a lovely runny center. Served with vanilla ice cream, it’s a classic combination.

Warm molten chocolate cake

Liquid center

The apple tart was also served with ice cream, cinnamon I think. The tart itself had a flaky puff pastry crust and a layer of what tasted like crumbly almond cake. There wasn’t a ton of apples inside, but it was nicely balanced in flavor and not too sweet. I actually preferred this dessert to the chocolate cake.

Apple tart and ice cream

Overall we were both pretty impressed with the prix fixe lunch at JoJo. There were lots of different options to choose from, which made it kind of hard for us to decide, but everything we had was delicious. You can order lunch items a la carte, but the three course prix fixe for $26 is definitely a bargain, given the quality of the food. The hanger steak did have a $3 supplement charge, though even that is totally reasonable. Service was fine up until the end of our meal, when we had to wait a long time for our check, so it was good that we weren’t under a time crunch. I preferred the townhouse atmosphere to the modern one at Nougatine, though I’d be happy to return to either restaurant.

JoJo
160 East 64th St. at Lexington Ave.
New York, NY

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Winter Restaurant Week 2011 – DB Bistro Moderne

Sunday, February 13th, 2011 by virginia

I apologize for filing this post so late. I usually try to write up Restaurant Week reviews right away, so that people can still have time to make a reservation if they think a place looks interesting. Restaurant Week has been extended a few weeks, but unfortunately, this particular restaurant is not participating past the original two weeks. Still, it’s a place you can consider for Summer Restaurant Week when that rolls around.

We’ve been so busy lately that Restaurant Week sort of snuck up on us this year. We got a late jump on making reservations so there weren’t too many prime lunch spots available but we managed to get a somewhat decent time at DB Bistro Moderne, which is part of Daniel Boulud’s restaurant empire. There was a snowstorm the day of our reservation so when we got to the restaurant, it was almost empty. The place did fill up completely by the time we left though, so people were probably just running a bit late.

I always like to review Restaurant Week menus online before I decide where to go, so we knew beforehand exactly what we wanted to order. We made our selections and quickly dove into the container of bread we received, which contained two ciabatta rolls and two slices of wheat bread. The ciabatta rolls were delicious, with a nice crackly crust and a chewy but airy interior. The wheat bread, on the other hand, wasn’t my taste. It was kind of dry with a cottony flavor, and not even copious amounts of butter could salvage it for me. We stuck with the ciabatta bread.

Good ciabatta rolls, not so great wheat bread

As usual, Josh and I went halfsies on all of our dishes. To start, we selected the yellow split pea soup and the salmon tartar. The soup was flavored with ham hock and topped with toasted croutons and olive oil. It had a velvety texture and smoky flavor to it, similar to bacon. However, we both felt the soup lacked seasoning. A little bit of salt really could have elevated it to the next level. Still, we found it pretty rich and comforting to eat on a cold winter day.

Yellow split pea soup

The salmon tartar was beautifully presented with a smear of avocado mousse and a salad of frisee and radishes, but it also lacked seasoning. It came with a few gaufrette potato chips on the side that added a nice crunch and a bit of much needed salt, but there weren’t enough chips to go with the portion of salmon. And while the salmon were nicely cut into a chunky dice, we thought it was a bit fishy in flavor, maybe not entirely fresh. We were both a little disappointed with this dish.

Salmon tartar

For our main courses, we selected the roasted monkfish and the braised flat iron steak. The monkfish was served with a piece of crispy bacon and a potato gratin. Josh had first crack at this dish and really enjoyed it. By the time I got to it, however, I thought the texture of the monkfish had suffered quite a bit, rendering it a bit mushy. Josh disagreed and said the fish was firm and meaty when he ate it. We both liked the flavor combination of the monkfish with the bacon, and there was a red wine sauce that tied all the components together.

Roasted monkfish

I started with the braised flat iron steak, which was my favorite dish of the lunch. I’m usually not a huge fan of braised beef but the steak was surprisingly meaty in texture and flavor. When presented, it looked like a regular piece of steak covered in a dark sauce. When I stuck my fork into it, however, the meat was so tender it just fell apart. Flavor-wise, it still had the beefiness of a steak, not the watered down meat that you usually find in a stew or other braised dishes. The steak was served with a sweet carrot puree and sauteed brussels sprouts, baby carrots, and pearl onions. I apologize for the picture – it was a delicious dish but not very photogenic.

Braised flat iron steak

Dessert was a surprise hit for us, since neither of us have much of a sweet tooth. We both loved the citrus tartelette with sable breton, frangipane, grapefruit curd, EVO foam, and vanilla ice cream. The dessert had a lot of components to it but when we ate everything together, it tasted just like an orange creamsicle, only fresher and less artificial in flavor. Because the main ingredient was grapefruit, it was also less sweet, but in a good way. Citrus was the predominant flavor, and given the snowy day, it was a welcomed bit of sunshine. We enjoyed the brightness of the grapefruit curd and the supremed slices of actual grapefruit.

Citrus tartelette

The other dessert, called chocolate and coconut, featured coconut dacquoise, caramel fondant, chocolate mousse, and peanut ice cream. It also had a lot of components to it but everything worked beautifully. Chocolate and peanut butter is one of my favorite flavor combinations (who doesn’t love Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups?), and the peanut ice cream was an interesting twist on that. The coconut and caramel might have been a bit overkill for me, as it was a really rich dessert, but I liked the contrast between the smooth chocolate mousse, the crunchy toasted coconut bits, and gooey caramel, and the cold and creamy peanut ice cream.

Chocolate and coconut

Overall we both enjoyed the Restaurant Week lunch that we had at DB Bistro Moderne and thought it was a good value. Sometimes Restaurant Week menus offer subpar items that aren’t very reflective of a restaurant’s real offerings, but DB Bistro has been consistently good with their Restaurant Week choices. While we found some of the dishes to be under seasoned, it’s something that can be easily remedied by asking for some salt for the table. I wish, though, that all restaurants would leave salt on the table by default, so diners don’t have to go through the awkwardness of asking for salt. Sometimes that leaves the kitchen a bit defensive, and they may oversalt the next dish to overcompensate. Regardless, with the exception of the slightly fishy salmon, we thought the ingredients used were top notch, and everything was carefully constructed and presented. We’ve been to DB Bistro Moderne for Restaurant Week several times over the last few years, and it hasn’t disappointed us yet. It’s definitely a place we’ll consider visiting again for more Restaurant Weeks to come.

DB Bistro Moderne
55 West 44th St. between 5th and 6th Ave.
New York, NY

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Fantastic Greek Feast at Kefi

Saturday, January 8th, 2011 by virginia

I’m going to start out 2011 by writing about Kefi, the first restaurant I ever posted about on TFB. The meal we had was actually in late August but the menu hasn’t changed much since the restaurant opened. We were with a large group of people, which meant that we could order tons of food and try out different things. We got a bunch of different appetizers to share, some that Josh and I had eaten before, and some that were new to us.

We started with the selection of spreads, which includes tzatziki (yogurt), taramosalata (caviar), melintzanosalata (eggplant), and revithia (chickpea). These are always pretty tasty, especially the smokey eggplant dip and the refreshing yogurt dip. We gobbled it up using the slices of warm pita bread they gave us.

From top to bottom: eggplant, caviar, yogurt, and chickpea spreads

Warm pita bread

Another appetizer that came with pita bread was the warm feta with tomatoes, capers, anchovy, peppers, and olives. While it sounded like an interesting mix of ingredients, I found the dish to be overwhelmingly salty. There was no balance whatsoever to the flavors, and what wasn’t salty was just sour. Not even the pita bread could help cut through the saltiness, and I felt my mouth puckering after just a few bites. I was definitely surprised by how much I disliked this dish.

Feta with tomatoes, capers, anchovy, peppers, and olives

We also got an order of the Kefi salad, which was shredded lettuce and fennel with tomato, cucumber, olives, peppers, onions, and feta. This salad had similar ingredients to the feta dish but it was way more balanced. The lettuce and fennel were crisp and refreshing, and none of the other ingredients were overpowering.

Kefi salad

The crispy calamari appetizer was nicely fried, with pieces of tender calamari that was lightly breaded. It was perfectly seasoned and just needed a squeeze of lemon to brighten it up a bit. The dish came with some tzatziki sauce for dipping, a nice change from the standard marinara.

Fried calamari

My favorite appetizer of the night was crispy sweetbreads with tomato, scallion, garlic, olive, and lemon yogurt. I love sweetbreads in general, but these were exceptionally well prepared with a light and crisp exterior and a creamy interior. The accompanying components didn’t overwhelm the dish, and I could still taste the slightly sweet funkiness of the sweetbreads. Most people at the table were turned off by the thought of eating offal so I got to eat most of the dish by myself, which made me one very happy girl.

Crispy sweetbreads

Our last appetizer was the grilled octopus with bean salad. The octopus was nicely charred and super tender but the highlight of the dish for me was the tangy and refreshing bean salad underneath. It worked well with the subtle flavor of the octopus, but even by itself I could have eaten a whole bowlful of that stuff.

Grilled octopus and bean salad

For our entrees, Josh and I went halfsies on the pork souvlaki and the Kefi burger. The souvlaki was wrapped in pita bread and topped with tzatziki sauce, lettuce, and tomato. It was presented street style – wrapped in wax paper – which made it easier to eat because the sandwich would have been too messy otherwise. It came with a small salad and thick cut potato chips on the side. The pork was tender and flavorful, standing up to the other ingredients in the wrap. It was one of the best souvlaki sandwiches that I had and reminded me of the gyros we had during our honeymoon in Greece. The potato chips were quite good as well, especially if you’re a fan of darker chips. They were crunchy and had just enough salt sprinkled on top.

Pork souvlaki sandwich in pita

The Kefi burger that we had I think was made from lamb, though the menu says it’s bifteki. Either way, it didn’t taste like a regular burger. There was a definite gaminess to the meat, a slight funkiness to it that I absolutely loved. The patty was thick and nicely cooked so that the crust on the outside was slightly charred and crispy, but the inside was rare and tender. There was some sort of tangy and salty spread on the bun that paired well with the meat. The bun itself looked like it would be too big and dense but it was actually very light and fluffy in the middle, while the outer crust was sturdy enough to support the thick patty and not disintegrate when soaked with all the burger juices. It was a very good burger in my opinion, and uniquely delicious. The burger also came with a side salad and potato chips.

Kefi burger

Autopsy shot

Josh and I passed on dessert, though I did taste some of the rice pudding, which had a nice cinnamon flavor and was topped with an apple mixture that reminded me of apple pie filling. Sounds like a weird combination, but it was actually pretty tasty. Instead we had some caffeine – a frappe for me and a regular coffee for him. The frappe was thick and frothy, not too bitter. The regular coffee was pretty standard but I loved the mug it was served in, which was modeled after the classic Greek takeout coffee cups.

Frappe

Fun coffee mug

We don’t go to Kefi often enough, in my opinion. The food is always well prepared, tasty, and reasonably priced. The restaurant serves classic Greek dishes with an upscale twist, but not at upscale prices. It’s a great place for large groups because the food is easily shareable, and the atmosphere is casual but upbeat. Service was fast and efficient, though we were chatting a lot during the meal and we never felt rushed. It’s definitely a place that I will come back to again and again.

Kefi
505 Columbus Ave. between 84th and 85th St.
New York, NY

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Alma Cocina Viva (Puno, Peru)

Tuesday, November 23rd, 2010 by virginia

Because our hotel, the Casa Andina Private Collection, was so far out of the main area in Puno, we ended up eating dinner at the hotel restaurant, Alma, both nights we stayed there. We stayed at many different Casa Andina PCs during our time in Peru and the hotel restaurant was always named Alma but we didn’t know how similar the menu was from place to place. Based on the menus on their website, it looks like each restaurant serves local specialties as well as some standard Peruvian dishes that overlap at each location.

Our meal on both nights started off with a basket of bread. There were some soft dinner rolls as well as seeded breadsticks. The rolls were a bit stale but tasted good when dipped into a garlicky spread topped with sweet balsamic vinegar.

Dinner rolls and breadsticks

Garlic spread with balsamic vinegar

On the first night, neither of us were really hungry so we just ordered entrees and no appetizers. We chose a dish that was described as being a traditional Puno dish, called saqta de gallina. Gallina is hen, but we didn’t know what saqta meant. When the dish arrived and I saw it was in a yellow sauce, I was terrified that it would be the ocopa sauce that I disliked so much. My fears intensified when I saw a bright green herb sprinkled on top of the dish, which I thought would be the dreaded Andean mint. Fortunately, it wasn’t. The yellow sauce had a mild sweet flavor and reminded me of korma sauce, which I love. The pieces of chicken were tender, and it was mixed with onions and potatoes. There was Andean cheese on top of the dish but they were easily moved aside. Josh and I both ended up really enjoying the dish, and we were pleasantly surprised.

Saqta de gallina - a traditional Puno dish

Our other entree was lomo saltado, a standard Peruvian dish. It’s stir fried beef with onions, tomatoes, and peppers, served with french fries and rice. The beef was a little salty but it was tender and flavorful. The french fries were pretty good as well, I just wish they had given us more because there were only about a dozen fries altogether. I do love my french fries!

Lomo saltado

On our second night eating at Alma, Josh got a yellow potato cream soup to start. Peruvian potatoes are a bit more starchy than the ones we’re used to, but the soup was rich and creamy with lots of potato flavor. There was a chili oil on top but it wasn’t spicy, and once it was stirred into the soup we didn’t notice it at all.

Yellow potato cream soup

For my entree, I selected the alpaca steak frites because I loved the alpaca we had at Zig Zag, and I love french fries, of course. Unfortunately, the menu did not say that the alpaca would be crusted in cumin seeds. The pieces of meat were absolutely covered, and while I like the flavor of cumin, crunching into whole seeds with every bite was really not pleasant. I tried to scrape of the seeds as best as I could but it kind of ruined the dish for me. The alpaca was also a bit tough and chewy, and I was disappointed with the dish overall. To add insult to injury, the portion of fries was once again pretty paltry.

Alpaca steak frites

Josh ordered a dish that was recommended, which was glazed kingfish in a sesame honey sauce served with mashed potatoes and garlic tempura vegetables. The kingfish came from the lake, which meant that it was fresh. However, I took one bite and almost spit it out. The fish had been crusted in sesame seeds, which I found overpoweringly bitter, and the honey sauce was so cloyingly sweet. I wanted to try another bite, thinking that maybe I just got a bad piece, but I couldn’t bring myself to do it. The first bite had taken me a lot of willpower to swallow and not throw up. It was such a strong reaction that even Josh was a little shocked. Josh liked the dish though, so I guess our palates just reacted very differently to the flavors.

Glazed kingfish in a sesame honey sauce

Overall I wasn’t so thrilled with the food at Alma, but it was certainly convenient for us since it was right in the hotel. I did like the saqta de gallina dish from the first night, and the lomo saltado was decent, but nothing was really super impressive. Prices were on the higher side for Peru, though not very expensive by NYC standards. Entrees mostly ranged from 30-40 soles, or about US$11-14. Service was fine, and they actually brought a phone to us one night when our tour guide was trying to reach us. Still, I kind of regret not eating in the city, especially since we generally don’t like to repeat restaurants when we’re away. Oh well. While I can’t really recommend Alma unless you’re in a bind, I do think that Casa Andina PC is a great hotel chain.

Alma Cocina Viva
Av.Sesqui Centenario 1970
Puno, Peru

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Restaurant Los Condores – Colca Lodge, Peru

Thursday, November 4th, 2010 by virginia

Josh and I were feeling pretty relaxed and cozy after our soak in the hot springs so we debated whether we should go straight to bed or grab a late dinner. We had an early start to the next day and we wanted the rest but we figured that we would need energy as well so we decided to head up to the main building for dinner. Since the hotel is in such a remote location, the hotel restaurant was our only option.

When we got to the restaurant, we had a choice between the buffet or ordering a la carte. The altitude had sapped our appetites so we decided to go a la carte since neither of us could stomach facing a buffet. After placing our orders, we munched on the pita-like bread that they brought us. It had a sweet,wheaty flavor to it and had a nice chewy texture.

Pita bread

We decided to split an appetizer to start, opting for a dish called the trout trilogy, which was trout served three ways. The trout came from the river so we figured it would be something fresh and local. It was, but to our surprise, the trout flesh was pink like salmon, not like the trout I’ve seen here in the U.S. The trout  preparations included smoked trout, fried in quinoa croquettes, and fried with amaranth.

Trout trilogy

The appetizer platter was huge, and everything on it was really tasty. I was a bit wary when I saw the croquette covered in cheese but it was fabulous – perfectly fried, crispy on the outside, and creamy on the inside. The cheese added a little saltiness and a little tang, and I liberally dipped these in the ramekin of salsa for some spice.

Trout and quinoa croquettes

Fresh salsa

We didn’t know what amaranth was when we ordered the trilogy, but it turned out to be little white seeds similar to sesame seeds. The strips of trout were coated in the seeds and then fried, which gave them a nice crunch. We dipped these into the sweet and citrusy sauce that came with the platter.

Fried trout strips with amaranth

Sweet citrus dipping sauce

The smoked trout was Josh’s least favorite dish of the bunch, but then again, he’s not a fan of smoked fish in general. I mean, he doesn’t like lox! Who doesn’t like lox? The trout had a subtle smoke flavor and wasn’t overly salty, which I liked. It was a tad dry though, so I remedied that by pouring the salsa over it. That resulted in a nice smoky, sweet, spicy combination.

Smoked trout

For our entree, we had even more trout. Hey, it was the local specialty! We split an order of trout covered in a mascarpone cream sauce with capers and chopped onions. The trout was well cooked, with a crisp exterior and tender on the inside. The cream sauce wasn’t overly rich, and while the onions seemed like a weird addition at first, they helped brighten up the whole dish. We had our choice of side dish so we opted for gnocchi with pesto sauce, which was surprisingly light in texture. The pesto sauce packed in good basil flavor, and it was a good choice overall.

Trout with mascarpone, capers, and chopped onions

For our second entree, we wanted something lighter so we chose a vegetarian dish that sounded interesting. It was called quinoa tabbouleh and was served with peas, carrots, sweet corn, tomatoes, peppers, figs, mango, and avocado in a sweet and sour sauce made with honey and lemon juice. Traditional tabbouleh, which is made with tons of parsley and mint mixed with bulgur, lemon juice, and olive oil, is one of Josh’s favorite dishes. He loves the bright herb flavor and the freshness and brightness of the dish. Unfortunately, this version was nothing like the original. While quinoa is similar to bulgur, this tabbouleh had no herbs and the fruit was an odd addition. The quinoa itself was really bland, while the sweet and sour sauce clashed with the fruit and vegetables. We were pretty disappointed with this dish and left most of it behind.

Quinoa tabbouleh

I was kind of bummed when I found out how far away our hotel was from town because I didn’t want to eat at the hotel restaurant. In our experience, hotel food is usually overpriced and not always as good as local restaurants. What we didn’t know was that dinner was included in our stay. No one from the tour company told us that so I don’t know if dinner is included with everyone’s stay, or if we paid extra for it, and what the spending limit was.

This was annoying to me because if the buffet had been included in our package, and we had already paid for it, then obviously we would have gone with that. If I had paid extra to eat a la carte without knowing, that would have made me furious. Luckily that wasn’t the case, but maybe we would have ordered differently if we knew that we could spend X amount of soles, considering that the cost would have already been factored in our tour rate. Either way it wasn’t the hotel’s fault, it was an issue I had with the tour company, and we tipped the server on what our dinner would have cost based on the menu prices.

So, back to the food. I was pretty pleased with our appetizer platter and with the trout entree. It was a lot of trout, but everything was prepared differently and had different flavors so I wasn’t overwhelmed or bored by the trout. The tabbouleh dish was pretty bad though, and definitely not something I would eat again. The restaurant had a nice, relaxed atmosphere, and service was attentive. It’s probably a place that is only frequented by hotel guests, but there were prices on the menu so I guess you could walk in if you were in that neck of the woods. As far as hotel food goes, this was really good, though prices seemed pretty high. We did enjoy our meal overall, and it was a nice way to finish our day.

Restaurant Los Condores
Colca Lodge
Fundo Puye S/N – Yanque. Caylloma – Valle del Colca
Av. Luis Gonzales 622
Peru

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Wayrana (Arequipa, Peru)

Thursday, October 21st, 2010 by virginia

Wayrana was another restaurant that our guide recommended, and it was in our guidebook as well so we decided to give it a shot. We were a bit worried when we walked in and the only people eating in the restaurant was a large group of tourists, but the menu posted outside had looked promising, plus they offered the dishes that we had been hoping to try while we were in Arequipa.

We started out with a large bottle of Arequipena, which was not so different from Cusquena but we just liked that they also had a beer named after their city. Like most of the beer we had in Peru, it was pretty light and inoffensive.

Arequipena beer

There was one dish that our guide told us we had to try for lunch, chupe de camarones, but we couldn’t find it on the menu at Chi Cha. Looking back, I now realize we were idiots and looked under the wrong section of the menu. The dish is a soup, so we were looking under the appetizer/soup section, but it was actually under the huge section titled “Camarones.” Oh well. Even though our guide said that it was a dish that should be eaten for lunch because it’s a very heavy soup, we decided to take the chance and have it for dinner. Since neither of us were really very hungry, we decided to split an order of the chupe to start, and then split an entree to finish.

Chupe de camarones

Chupe de camarones is basically crayfish chowder. The soup is rich and creamy, made with lots of milk and cheese. It has a thick, velvety texture, and at times seemed more like a stew than a soup. There were lots of whole camarones, or crayfish, in the soup, as well as rice, corn, potatoes, and a poached egg. To make it even richer, the whole dish was topped with shredded cheese. Unfortunately I think there was some Andean mint mixed in there as well, which put me off a bit, but I pushed through because I really did enjoy the richness and the texture. The portion you see in the picture above is just half of a serving because when we told our waiter we were splitting, the kitchen thoughtfully plated our portions separately, which made things much easier.

Whole camarone (I enjoyed sucking out the heads!)

The kitchen also split our entree for us, which may not have been the best thing considering our entree was cuy, or guinea pig. My initial impression of the cuy can be found here. But basically, they cut that sucker in half from head to toe, giving us an inside look of the cuy’s innards, including its bony little rib cage and the contents of its little skull. The cuy was prepared Arequipan style, which meant that it was deep fried. That rendered the skin super crispy and tasty, but the meat was minimal and it was tough for me to really dig in and gnaw at the little bones. Seeing the head on the plate really did throw me off, but I think I would have really liked the dish if the cuy had been cut into little unidentifiable pieces.

Cuy in all its glory

Overall I was pretty impressed with the food at Wayrana, and service was definitely top notch. Even though I was initially turned off by the fact that the only people eating in the restaurant were tourists, my opinion definitely changed when I tasted the food. The chupe de camarones was really delicious, and the fact that I could eat it even with the Andean mint mixed in it is a testament to just how tasty the dish was. There were a lot of ingredients in there but everything worked together harmoniously. The cuy was also well prepared. It was basically just deep fried, but it was well seasoned and not greasy at all. I know most people are probably grossed out by the thought of eating guinea pig, but it really is similar to eating rabbit or quail. It’s definitely something worth trying, and hey, if you don’t like it, you don’t have to eat it again. But at least give it a shot!

Wayrana
Calle Santa Catalina, 200, Int. B, Cercado
Arequipa, Peru

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La Rosa Nautica (Lima, Peru)

Sunday, October 17th, 2010 by virginia

When we first expressed interest in going to Peru several years ago, we were told by a Peruvian travel agent that we absolutely had to go to a restaurant on pier in Lima called La Rosa Nautica. This was reaffirmed by my brother-in-law who attended a wedding at the restaurant and said it was really great. So when we finally arrived in Lima, we knew that we had to have dinner there.

We were pretty tired by the time dinner rolled around after walking around Lima all day, but we were looking forward to this meal after hearing so many great things. Our experience kind of got off to a bad start though when we were ripped off by a taxi going to the restaurant. We ended up being charged US$8, when an earlier taxi ride from a greater distance cost us only 7 soles, or about US$2.60. It kind of put me in a bad mood but I vowed to put the incident behind me, because we had been looking forward to this meal.

We arrived at the restaurant, which is at the end of a long pier that extends out into the Pacific Ocean. I’m a bit terrified of water during daytime, but at nighttime, the waves crashing in the dark all around us really spooked me. When we got inside the restaurant, however, I immediately relaxed and took in the beautiful atmosphere. The space is circular, though the restaurant is divided into multiple rooms. Around the perimeter is large floor-to-ceiling windows, which would probably give a great view during the day, but since it was dark, we didn’t see much. We did get a table right next to one of the windows though, and when we looked down, we could see the waves rolling into the pier, which was freaky for me but still pretty cool.

We asked our hotel concierge to make us a reservation, which scored us yet another free Pisco Sour welcome drink. It was similar to the one we had at Alfresco, refreshing and boozy.

Pisco Sour

There was table side bread service and we each got two rolls, a baguette-like roll, and a heartier wheat roll. Both were served warm and had nice outer crusts and good flavor.

Warm bread

At this point, Josh and I were looking through our menus and trying to decide what to order. As I was going through my menu, I was confused because nothing had prices next to it. I flipped around wondering if this was a prix fixe menu, with one price at the end, but there was nothing. I looked over at Josh and asked him how we were supposed to know what everything cost, and he looked back at me confused. Turns out his menu had prices, and mine did not.

This is a practice that I’ve read about but have never witnessed for myself. Apparently I was given the “woman’s” menu, one that did not list prices, while Josh had been given the “man’s” menu that included prices. Even though Josh found it amusing, I was actually quite insulted and outraged. I understand the “theory” behind this practice, that if a man and a woman were out on a date, the man would most likely be paying and would want the woman to order whatever she wanted without worrying about what everything cost. However, I think this is a very antiquated train of thought as nowadays, many people choose to “go dutch” on dates, and who is a restaurant to assume that a man is always the one to pay?

If a man was in fact trying to impress a woman, then he should be able to call up a restaurant and ask them to give her a menu without prices, with the understanding that he was paying for the meal. But that should be able to work vice versa as well. Likewise, if I were hosting a dinner and didn’t want my guests to feel awkward about how much I was spending, I could call up the restaurant request menus without prices for everyone. But for this restaurant to arbitrarily decide that just because I was a woman dining with a man that I wouldn’t need to know the prices, that is just presumptuous and completely sexist.

I was fuming at this point, and Josh didn’t help by laughing it off and refusing to share his menu with me. He said he wanted me to enjoy myself, but it was hard to order blindly without knowing if the dish I was ordering cost an arm and a leg. This was a very expensive restaurant to begin with, the most expensive restaurant we went to our entire trip, and I didn’t want to end up spending US$100 on one dish, especially considering I wasn’t very hungry that night. Josh claims that if I did manage to choose the most expensive item on the menu he would have told me so. I guess I didn’t order something outrageously expensive because our bill was pricey but still relatively reasonable in the end. I just wish that they would do away with this extremely chauvinistic practice.

We ended up starting off with an appetizer platter to share, since it gave us the ability to try four different dishes. We chose from a list of 12 hot and cold appetizers, and went with a few of the dishes that my brother-in-law’s friend (the one who got married at this restaurant) recommended. We picked the ceviche, the cold octopus, parmesan scallops, and seafood wontons. It was a huge platter of food, all nicely arranged on large shells on top of a mountain of curly parsley.

Mixed appetizer platter

The ceviche was the traditional style with lime, and also had a yellow chili pepper sauce that added a little kick. The ceviche was topped with large kernels of corn and sweet potato, something we found to be standard in Peru. The corn kernels were super big but were chewy and not very flavorful. The sweet potato actually enhanced the flavor of the seafood, which we thought was very fascinating.

Ceviche limenito

The seafood wontons were nicely fried and crispy but there wasn’t very much filling in them. They didn’t taste like seafood at all so Josh was disappointed with the flavor, but I kind of enjoyed the crunchiness after all the other “soft” food we had been eating. They came with a tamarind sauce for dipping that was slightly sweet and tangy.

Fried wontons

The cold octopus with vinaigrette and olive oil was one of the dishes that came highly recommended to us. The vinaigrette was like a creamy olive sauce that enrobed the tender pieces of octopus. There was definitely a strong olive flavor but it didn’t overpower the seafood, which I liked.

Octopus in a creamy olive sauce

Our fourth appetizer was parmesan scallops, which was a scallop still in its shell covered in a parmesan cream sauce and broiled so that the top was brown and crusty. It was an interesting combination, more Italian tasting in flavor, and went against the theory that you shouldn’t mix seafood and cheese. We also squeezed some lime on top for a little zip. It was a very rich dish but tasty nonetheless.

Parmesan scallops

Josh and I were kind of switching back and forth between the different appetizers but we finished the scallops pretty quickly since there were only four pieces. We were working on the ceviche and the octopus when I noticed a movement on the plate out of the corner of my eye. In the empty shell that had previously held the scallops, a green worm-like bug was making its way across the shell. It was a really weird looking thing, super skinny and narrow, but very long. It had multiple legs on its front end and back end, but none in the middle. I watched in horror, but to my credit, I didn’t yelp when I saw what it was. Josh quickly called over a waiter, who promptly removed the shell but my appetite was slightly ruined. It wasn’t that it was a huge bug or anything, but just the fact that it had been on the plate the whole time, probably hidden in the forest of curly parsley, is a little disturbing. Who knows what else was lurking in there?

Little green visitor

We didn’t make a big deal about the bug, since we had already eaten most of the appetizer, and the waiter was apologetic when he took it away. A manager came over to us immediately and apologized again, offering us free dessert to make up for it. It was a very nice gesture, and one that we appreciated.

Moving on to our entrees, I ordered the Rosa Nautica Seafood Rice, which was seafood and shrimp stewed with chili peppers, beans, bell peppers, and cilantro, served on top of a bed of rice. The seafood was cooked properly, not tough or chewy, and the rice was very flavorful. It was a solid, simple dish, not spectacular, but well prepared.

Rosa Nautica seafood rice

Josh, ironically, did order the most expensive thing on the menu, the Rosa Nautica seabass, which was cooked in a pernod sauce and served with scallops and crayfish (camarones) on a bed of yellow Peruvian potatoes. The whole thing was topped with a piece of puff pastry that the waiter cut open for Josh. It was an interesting presentation, but Josh thought the dish was super rich. The seafood was swimming in a thick, creamy sauce that was slightly overwhelming. The crayfish were tasty but nowhere near as good or as large as the crayfish we would have later on in the trip.

Rosa Nautica seabass

We were really full at this point so we decided just to split one dessert, even though they offered to comp dessert for the both of us to make up for the bug incident. We chose the chocolate souffle, which took an extra 20 minutes to make, so Josh enjoyed a cortado (espresso with steamed milk) while I finished up our bottle of malbec wine.

Cortado

The chocolate souffle was light and airy, though the grand marnier sauce that came with it was super thick. When they presented the souffle to us, they poked a hole in the middle and “poured” in the sauce, but it was so dense that they sort of had to scrape it into the souffle. I thought that was a bit strange, but both the souffle and the sauce tasted wonderful. The souffle had a nice sweet chocolate flavor, and the grand marnier sauce was rich and creamy. We enjoyed the dessert very much.

Chocolate souffle with grand marnier sauce

Overall we kind of had mixed feelings about our dinner at La Rosa Nautica. The restaurant is beautiful, and a great place to go for a romantic meal. I was displeased though by the sexist menu policy, and I thought our waiter was a bit pushy when we were ordering our wine. They were supposedly out of stock on our first choice, a reasonably priced malbec, and the waiter kept trying to get Josh to order a different wine that was twice as expensive. Josh stood firm though and picked out another malbec that was still reasonable, but I found the up selling to be kind of annoying. The restaurant did handle our bug issue properly though by apologizing immediately and offering us something on the house to make up for it.

Food-wise, everything was well prepared and pretty tasty, but nothing really stood out in particular. It was just solid, classic Peruvian cuisine, though we could tell the seafood they used was super fresh and the ingredients were top notch. Cost wise, however, this was by far the most expensive meal we had on the entire trip. Dinner, including wine, cover charge, and tip (minus the free dessert), cost S/330, or about US$122. Definitely cheap by New York standards, but extremely pricey for Peru. It was a nice experience though, as we had a great time chatting throughout dinner and enjoying the atmosphere. If someone is looking for an upscale splurge meal in Lima, this place definitely fits the bill.

Dinner coincidentally ended on the same down note that it started on though, as we were ripped off once again by a taxi going back to our hotel. Since the restaurant is on a pier that is kind of on a desolated stretch of the highway, with nothing else around it, we had to take a cab that was furnished by the restaurant. There was no negotiating on the rate, so we had to pay S/20 to get back to our hotel, or US$7.40. Definitely New York prices, if not more, since our hotel really wasn’t that far away. Oh well, I guess it’s part of the deal when dining at the restaurant. Regardless, it was a lovely evening for us, and we left with mostly positive feelings about the restaurant. Now if only they’d do away with that stupid misogynistic menu policy…

La Rosa Nautica
Espigón 4 Circuito de Playas – Miraflores
Lima, Peru

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Alfresco (Lima, Peru)

Sunday, October 17th, 2010 by virginia

After our city tour of Lima it was time for lunch. We knew exactly what we wanted to eat  – ceviche! It’s considered to be a Peruvian specialty, and we were told that most Peruvians only eat ceviche for lunch so we asked our hotel for a restaurant recommendation. The concierge sent us to Alfresco, which was only a short walk from our hotel, and he hooked us up with two free Pisco Sours as welcome drinks at the restaurant.

Pisco Sour

Pisco is a Peruvian brandy that tastes a bit like tequila to me. A Pisco Sour is made with lime juice, egg whites, sugar, and Pisco, so it’s actually very similar to a margarita. They blend it with ice to make it creamy, and the egg whites make it very frothy. I found it to be a refreshing drink, plus it packed a good alcoholic punch.

When they brought our Pisco Sours, they also brought us a small dish of canchas, or Peruvian corn nuts. They’re basically corn kernels that are toasted in vegetable oil and covered in salt, but they don’t pop like popcorn. The kernels stay intact, but they’re light and crunchy and pretty addictive.

Toasted cancha (corn nuts)

The restaurant charged us a cover charge, which included bread. I don’t remember how much the cover charge was exactly, but it wasn’t outrageous. The bread was small, soft rolls covered in sesame seeds and flavored with Italian herbs. They weren’t bad, but the herb flavor didn’t really go with our ceviche.

Italian herb flavored rolls

The menu at Alfresco is pretty extensive, with seafood the obvious focus, but Josh and I were only interested in the ceviche and other preparations of raw or close to raw fish. We decided on two platters from the “Dishes to Share” section of the menu, since that provided us with the most variety of items to try. The first platter was called “Fresh Seafood, Just Perfect” and included flounder and octopus ceviche, tiradito with coriander cream, tuna tartare, grilled shrimp, and inkamaki.

"Fresh Seafood" platter

There was a ton of food on the platter, and all of it was really very tasty and fresh. The tuna tartare was perfectly cut into little cubes and served on a bed of avocado. Even though it was tossed in some sort of sauce, the taste of the tuna still shined through.

Tuna tartare

The flounder and octopus ceviche was tender pieces of raw fish and octopus marinated in lime juice. The acid cooks the seafood ever so slightly, so that it a slightly firmer texture than just raw fish. The lime juice also gives the dish a nice tangy flavor, and thin slivers of red onion mixed throughout add a nice bite. It was a really refreshing dish.

Flounder and octopus ceviche

The tiradito was thin slices of raw flounder topped with coriander cream, which was basically a pesto sauce made from cilantro. Even though I’m not the biggest fan of cilantro, the flavor is growing on me, and I thought the cream worked perfectly with the raw flounder. It was topped with some grated parmesan cheese, which I thought was an interesting Italian twist on the dish. I enjoyed my bite thoroughly.

Flounder tiradito

The inkamaki was two pieces of a maki roll that had tuna on top, but I’m not sure what was in the middle aside from avocado. It was sort of a standard sushi roll, nothing groundbreaking but still tasty nonetheless.

Inkamaki

Lastly, the platter came with grilled shrimp on top of fried plantain slices, topped with a creamy sauce. The shrimp was perfectly cooked, not overly tough or chewy.

Grilled shrimp on fried plaintains

Our other “Dishes to Share” order was “El Cevichero”, which was four different types of ceviche served in martini glasses. The different types of ceviche included Alfresco style, mixed, coriander, and the “black scallops’ killer.”

"El Cevichero" ceviche sampler

The Alfresco style ceviche was served in a bright orangey-red sauce, which made it look like it would be spicy but it wasn’t too bad. It had a nice pepper flavor to it but only had a slight kick.

Alfresco style ceviche

The black scallops ceviche was covered in an inky black sauce that we thought was made from squid ink, but we were told it was actually from the black scallops. The flavor was briney and deep, though the scallops themselves we found to be pretty tough and chewy.

Black scallops ceviche

The mixed ceviche was the traditional lime flavored variety, similar to the flounder and octopus ceviche we had with the other seafood platter. This version had extra seafood ingredients in it, but the flavors were the same.

Traditional mixed ceviche

Finally, the last variety of ceviche was topped with coriander cream, similar to the tiradito. The cilantro added a nice herbal note to the ceviche, and the flavors were bright and refreshing. It had the same grated parmesan topping that I found fascinating with the tiradito.

Coriander ceviche

The two platters we ordered were more than enough food to satisfy both of us. We were actually really full, even though all we ate was raw and mostly raw seafood. Everything was super fresh and delicious. Aside from the strange black scallops, all the seafood was tender and not at all chewy. Hands down, this was the best ceviche we ever had, and we enjoyed all the different varieties. The restaurant itself has a casual but refined atmosphere, and it’s bright and airy inside. We would definitely recommend it to anyone who is visiting Lima, as the food was spectacular, and prices were very reasonable. The seafood platter was 35 soles, or about US$13 (at 2.70 soles to $1), and the ceviche platter was 45 soles, or about US$16.70. Not cheap by Peruvian standards, but a bargain compared to the U.S. I’m drooling right now just remembering how good all those ceviches were!

Alfresco
Malecon Balco 790 – Miraflores
Lima, Peru

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