Takashi

Pin It Now!

Anthony Bourdain's visit to Takashi seems to have made a decent impact on this Japanese and Korean grilling restaurant.  Takashi specializes in grilling meats of the offal kind. This literally no reservations restaurant has an average wait of 2 hours for dinner plus they ran out of the one dish I had my heart set on - the raw beef with uni (niku uni)

A couple small dishes ("panchan") are set on the table to start off the meal: kimchee, marinated beansprouts, and cabbage with a miso-vinegar type dressing.  Its not like other Korean restaurants that serve unlimited panchan dishes - this one costs $2 to refill.

Gorgeously presented, the yokke is made of raw beef, sesame seeds, seaweed and then mixed tableside with a raw quail egg.  An Asian take on beef tartare.  Really more pleasing to the eye, than anything exciting on the palate.  The meat was fresh, but had a couple chewy, stringy pieces.

All mixed up.

Its been a little over a year since my fois rampage (see post HERE) so I was a little excited to see a fois burger on the menu.  Unexpected.  It was more of a small patty in a tiny cast iron pan with a quail egg.  The chocolate sauce was not as weird as I thought it would be, but it was definitely chocolatey.  Somehow the sweetness of the chocolate sauce worked with the sweetness of the fois.  The quail egg, on the other hand, was a little misplaced and straddled the line of too cooked to be runny and to runny to be cooked so it ended up just sticking to the pan. 

A dipping sauce of sesame seeds and some sesame oil are provided for dipping your freshly grilled meats into.  I found that my meats were well seasoned enough and I didn't need any.

Takashi has a several "tasting" meat platters so its hard to pick which one to go with - tongue tasting, stomach, etc.  I couldn't decide so I went with the Chef's selection mixed platter (Horumon-Moriawase) that had a little bit of everything: first stomach, liver, sweetbreads, large intestine, and second stomach.  The meat quality was decent, but nothing spectacular.  Each piece was distinctly different in taste and texture with sweetbreads being my obvious favorite.  Am I weird to think it was kinda fun to try two of the four cow stomachs.

Bakudan is the Korean take on rice balls.  They are balls of rice sprinkled with sesame seeds then lightly wrapped with seaweed.  The rice was not toasted or grilled, but soft.  Didn't particularly love this dish, but with a dinner full of meats it was nice to have some starches to change it up.

Portions here are very small so in a last attempt to fill my tummy, I had to order another meat dish.  The ribeye (rosu) was the largest piece of meat from the whole dinner.  The servers suggest a 2 minute grilling time, but I found that taking it off the grill a little earlier gave it the more medium rare touch that I like.

The meal ends with a cup of barley tea, which is traditionally Korean.  The tea is earthy and strong, but soothing.

It made me laugh a little when the check was presented with pieces of gum, which is common when eating out at Korean restaurants, but I was surprised to see an acclaimed expensive restaurant provide Wrigley's gum. 

 

Address:                    Takashi
                                   456 Hudson St.
                                   New York NY 
 

Type:                          Japanese/Korean

Popular chomps:        kalbi
                                    niku uni
                                    tongue
                                    shabu shabu
                                    yooke
                                    fois gras kobe beef burger

Chomp worthy:           fois gras kobe beef burger   

Roberta's

Pin It Now!

In a random, middle of nowhere location, and a small discrete door, you would never think that it would be a 2 hour wait for a table!  It's defined as a hipster spot, but I think that the Mission is more hipster than this place.

The spacious inside isn't the only misleading this when stepping up to the doorway, its the sweet outside bar area.  If you opt not to wait, you can get mini pizzas made with day old dough outside, as well as some bar snacks.

At two hours, I sort of expected more from this place.  The pizza is very chewy and doughy so great if that's your thing, but I like my pizza crust with a little crunch.  This one had none at all.  It did have nice charred marks on the dough, but the smokey flavor didn't transfer onto the slices.  Fresh basil, tomato sauce, and fresh mozzarella topped the pizza, but they didn't stand out. 

I attempted to make my own Purgatorio (from Pizzeria Delfina) using Roberta's Amatriciana and then adding an egg.  With the tomato, pecorino, guanciale, onion, and chili plus runny egg, I was hoping for something gooey with a little kick.  Purgatorio has easily become my favorite at Pizzeria Delfina, but this New York substitution didn't come close.  The egg was barely runny and each slice tasted like only of onions.

      

Address:                  Roberta's
                                 261 Moore St.
                                 East Williamsburg, NY 
 

Type:                        pizza

Popular chomps:     margherita
                                   
Chomp worthy:        nothing

Pies and Thighs

Pin It Now!

Originally, I had hoped to bike to Pies and Thighs in Williamsburg, but this New York humidity is too much for a Bay Area girl like me.  I'd probably recommend biking here since the streets are quite flat and the bike ride would work off the heaviness of this Southern brunch.  As most brunch places go, Pies and Thighs does not take reservations, but since most of New York doesn't seem to do brunch until after 12, anytime before 12 you should be able to walk right in and sit down.

Most of the main plates come with a choice of one side:  mac and cheese, baked beans, cole slaw, biscuits, grits, etc.  The fried catfish was well seasoned with a good crispy crust.  Each of the macaroni pieces were nicely coated with gooey cheese.  Really good flavor on the mac and cheese with a nice splash of hot sauce on top.  The cornbread was just ok.  It wasn't as moist and flavorful as other I've had.

With a name like Pies and Thighs, the fried chicken is an obvious must order.  The chicken is lightly battered and rips apart to uncover steamy, tender chicken.  The chicken is absolutely delicious, but the waffles were strangely soft and somewhat soggy.  Also, the flavor was kinda strange to me.  I'd probably stick with the chicken box if I came back, which does not have the waffles.

It's hard to save room for dessert at dinner, much less at brunch!  Dessert here is a definite must.  The bourbon pecan pie is sweet and crumbly.  Surprisingly, not as heavy as I would have thought, but it was nice to end the meal with something sweet.

Address:                   Pies and Thighs
                                  166 S 4th St.
                                  Brooklyn, NY 
 

Type:                         brunch/Southern

Popular chomps:      fried chicken
                                 sugar donut
                                 pecan crunch donut
                                 fried catfish
                                 biscuits
                                 bourbon pecan pie

Chomp worthy:        fried chicken
                                 fried catfish
                                 bourbon pecan pie        

Talde

Pin It Now!

Talde was my sole reason for my first trip into Park Slope.  Having watched Dale Talde on Top Chef, I was pretty excited to get to taste his food.  Talde's quirky twist on Asian Fusion was fun and whimsical.  I only wished I could have made it out for dinner to try more of his dishes.

Inside of Talde.

The pretzel pork and chive dumplings are one of the popular dishes here.  Its served with a sauce that reminds me of the Chinese spicy mustard sauce popular with dim sum.  The dumplings are made with wrappers that taste somewhat like the outside of a pretzel.  The bits of salt and dry texture of the outside does a good job of mimicking the outside of a pretzel.

Not your average bowl of ramen.  This butter toast ramen's broth is supposedly made with buttered toast.  Butter and ramen is actually quite common, but this buttery broth was not as rich as I thought.  Its buttery flavor was just the right amount of velvety richness and the large chunks of pork belly make this dish.

As most people say, bacon makes everything better.  This pad thai is mixed with large chunks of thick cut bacon and slapped with a runny egg on top.  I wished the runny egg would be a little more runny so I could mix the yolk around the noodles.  A good try at something funky and different with pad thai, but really its just a well made pad thai with bacon thrown in. 

Address:                   Talde
                                  369 7th Ave.
                                  Brooklyn, NY
 

Type:                         Asian

Popular chomps:       lemongrass chicken
                                  butter toast ramen
                                  pad thai with bacon
                                  pretzel dumplings
                                  roasted branzino
                                  captain crunch halo halo
                                  Korean chicken and waffles

Chomp worthy:         butter toast ramen

South Brooklyn Pizza

Pin It Now!

There are hundreds and possibly thousands of pizza places in New York so its always hard to narrow down which ones to eat.  With the deliciousness of DiFara's square (see post HERE) on my tongue and mind, I ventured over to South Brooklyn Pizza, which contrary to their name was not in South Brooklyn. 

Its hard to not just get a slice of margherita.  The pizzas here are mostly premade and then reheated after you order.  The margherita slice had decent flavor with a crunchy bottom.  Overall, a good slice when you are in the area or for a after drinking noshing, but I still think Joe's (see post HERE) in the West Village has the best slice in NY.

DiFara has made me into a Sicilian square believer.  I've never really ate one with an open mind, but I was determined to try one in another popular pizza spot in the city.  The square at South Brooklyn was thick and full of toppings, but it didn't have that magical touch and fresh flavors that DiFara's did.  I actually prefer the regular slice here over the square.

     

Address:                   South Brooklyn Pizza 
                                  122 1st Ave.
                                  New York, NY 
                                      

Type:                         pizza

Popular chomps:       square
                                   margherita slice    

Chomp worthy:          margherita slice     

Levain Bakery

Pin It Now!

Levain Bakery in the Upper West Side is a little farther than I would normally trek when I'm in NY, but I had a little time to kill while waiting for the Guggenheim to open.  Not surprisingly, this popular bakery had a small line of people waiting for them to open.

This place is so tiny that it can probably allow maybe 3-4 people inside at most while everyone else waits outside for their turn.  Once inside there is a small counter displayed with breads, cookies, and pastries for you to choose from.  

While it seems like everyone choose a little bit of everything, the thing Levain Bakery is known for is their cookies.  They are giant!  At almost 1,000 calories, I'm sort of glad I didn't know the calorie count until after I devoured them. 
Their cookies resemble a drop style cookie similar to Specialty's back home (see post HERE).  Its the perfect combination of crispy outside with a very soft and gooey center.  I was a little surprised they didn't have a plain chocolate chip cookie.  The closest was the walnut chocolate chip.  Although, I'm really not into nuts in my cookies, this one only had a small amount of walnuts and gave a nice crunch to the chewy cookie. 

The insides of these cookies are soft and full of chocolate chips.  Even hours after these chocolate chips on these cookies stay gooey.

The double chocolate chip is literally a chocoholic's dream cookie.  Chocolate on even more chocolate.  These cookies are rich and full of sweet goodness.  The only thing that could make these cookies even more perfect is milk, which oddly Levain Bakery does not sell. 

       

Address:                  Levain Bakery
                                 167 W. 74th St
                                 New York NY

Type:                        bakery

Popular chomps:      chocolate chip walnut cookie

                                  dark chocolate peanut butter

Chomp worthy:         chocolate chip walnut cookie
                                   dark chocolate chip

Di Fara Pizza

Pin It Now!

I never thought that I would ever get the chance to go to Di Fara Pizza.  After many trips to New York, I've always found the excuses of being too lazy, its too far, or did I even want to wait that long?  Finally, I made the 40 minute train ride to Brooklyn and lucked out on a less than 40 minute wait since it was a holiday weekend.

Dom DeMarco makes every single pizza, from the loving pour of olive oil to the cutting of the basil.

Di Fara's menu.  Since the wait is so long, most people just order a whole pie.

Bunches of basil are hand cut over every pizza.  I love this technique.  You can definitely taste the freshness of the basil.

At about $1-$2 for each topping, this slice can get pretty pricey.  Unfortunately, today they didn't have porcini mushrooms so I had to get regular mushrooms instead.  Still good, but now I'm wondering how good the earthy porcini mushrooms would have made this slice.

The regular is the standard margherita.  Cheese, tomato sauce, and fresh snippings of basil.  The perfect combination of ingredients topped with the delicious olive oil.  Love the thinness as well as the crisp texture of the crust.  Overall, a good slice, but I wouldn't say the best.

This Sicilian slice alone was worth the wait.  I've never been one for a thick slice of pizza, but this square has made me a believer.  The freshness of the ingredients here is just amazing.  The quality of the olive oil can be tasted in every bite.  The cheese has just the right amount of gooeyness.  The best thing about this square is biting into it, you first notice the pillowy softness then the finishing move is the bottom crunch.  I admit I'm a little mad at myself for not making the journey here sooner.   

  

Address:                 Di Fara Pizza
                                1424 Ave J
                                New York NY

Type:                       pizza

Popular chomps:     square - Sicilian slice
                                 regular
                                 porcini mushrooms

Chomp worthy:        Sicilian slice        

Big Gay Ice Cream Shop

Pin It Now!

The previous times I had been to New York, I've missed the Big Gay Ice Cream truck and I missed its recent trek to San Francisco, so I was pretty excited to see that they opened up a shop.  With the humidity above my tolerable threshold, I gladly jumped at the opportunity for something cold.

I'm not really a soft serve type of person.  I still haven't had Bi Rite's yet, but that's what they are known for here.  Had I not been stuffing my face all day, I would have loved to try the Bea Arthur, but I stuck with just the Salty Pimp.

Salty Pimp is vanilla soft serve dipped in chocolate.  Salty bits and dulce de leche were pleasant surprises in each bite.  Loved the nifty cone holder, which came in very handy in this heat.

     

Address:                    Big Gay Ice Cream Shop
                                   125 E 7th St
                                   New York NY
 

Type:                          ice cream

Popular chomps:        salty pimp
                                    bea arthur

Chomp worthy:           salty pimp      

Luke's Lobster

Pin It Now!

Luke's Lobster seems to be popping up all over Manhattan.  This tiny shack serves up some of the most popular lobster rolls in the city.

The lobster roll is buttery with huge, plentiful chunks of sweet lobster.  The roll was buttered and slightly toasted.  I loved how the lobster roll was no nonsense - just lobster meat and the buttered roll.  Luke's Lobster offers other seafood rolls as well - shrimp and crab, if for some reason you come into Luke's Lobster and realize that lobster isn't your thing.

   

Address:                  Luke's Lobster
                                 93 E. 7th St.
                                 New York NY 
 

Type:                        seafood/sandwich

Popular chomps:      lobster sandwich

Chomp worthy:        lobster sandwich        

Stumptown Coffee

Pin It Now!

I've been drinking a lot of Stumptown cold brew lately in San Francisco.  Its slowly becoming one of my favorite drinks.  Surprisingly, San Francisco doesn't have its own outpost, yet, but New York does!  Stumptown is attached to the Ace Hotel in Manhattan and surprisingly opens late - at 7a!

The menu is simple, but it covers all the necessities.  Also, its a cash only establishment.

A small cabinet of baked goodies is displayed so when you look down, these sweet carbs stare you in the face.

Yum yum!  Cold brew coffee, my favorite!  Just as good as all the others I've had, but possibly even better.  A rich taste with a slight bite.  Love it, especially in the humid New York summer.

The mocha has a deeper chocolate flavor so its not quite as sweet as normal mochas.  It still keeps the velvety coffee flavor.

Originally, I wasn't going to have a pastry, but I couldn't help picking out this unique looking bun.  Its sprinkled with large chunks of sugar and generously filled with orange custard.  Not too sweet, rich, or heavy.  The thick texture and taste of the custard reminds me of a popular Chinese cream bun.

     

Address:                 Stumptown Coffee
                                The Ace Hotel
                                20 W 29th St.
                                New York NY
 

Type:                       coffee

Popular chomps:      cold brew

Chomp worthy:         cold brew
                                  orange custard brioche