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One of my best friends told me she’s flying out to Los Angeles to meet up with a few friends during the Easter weekend. Knowing how LA has a vibrant, interesting scene for donuts, I cannot resist asking her to pick some up for me and sent her a few ideas where she can find some. She happily obliged and went to Nickel Diner.
Easter, or any major holiday, is always a feast at home. Since I have this wonderful ham from Johnston Country Hams, I couldn’t resist starting Easter morning with homemade goose fat biscuits (it’s based mainly from this recipe, except one third of the fat is with Kerry Gold butter) topped with sliced the said ham, poached eggs and a smear of Dijon mustard to cut the salt and flaky biscuit. Of course, there’s more…
Jo’s is not a stranger to me, as I’ve eaten and written about this restaurant almost three years ago. Thinking back what I ate then and compared to what I had a few nights ago, the interior didn’t change much – still has this rustic look with exposed brick walls and a bar and lounge at the front and the dining room is filled with a mix of leather banquettes and four-tops that are dimly lit. They did change most of their menu from what was read as Mediterranean to now mostly Asian/Malaysian influenced dishes and it did change for the better, as the food is a lot more flavorful. Their cocktails and wine by glass didn’t change, which was a good thing as their drinks were pretty fantastic. My dining companion and I started off with light, elegant glasses of Anne Pinchon Rosé 2011 ($11) with a subtle spiciness as the end note. The Narcissist is made of gin, lime, ginger beer, crème de violette, and shiso leaf making it a potent yet refreshing, not too sweet cocktail that could start off the meal on the right note.
We started with curried PEI mussels with Thai curry and cilantro ($12). This dish I am familiar with as I did have it back then. Still fun to share with and the curry broth is very flavorful that it’s great to dip both the mussels and toasted baguette slices. I can’t believe it’s Easter is coming this weekend! I usually think it’s warmer during Easter yet I’m still wearing cashmere sweaters and heavy coats to work. But what can I do? Here’s some gift ideas (most you may purchase beyond Easter) that you may give to friends and family:
The world famous Ladurée had released its first Cameo chocolate egg (small size, as seen here $18; large $56). It is a beautiful chocolate egg that has a cameo of Marquis or Marquisede Ladurée tied with a satin ribbon. When you break open the egg, it’s filled with a mix of milk and dark chocolates in the shape of seashells and cameos. It’s made with high quality chocolates and hard for this chocoholic (moi) to resist eating the entire thing in one sitting.
Kyotofu is one of the bakeries in New York City that recently transition to baking gluten-free baked goods. Kyotofu uses Cup4Cup flour that was developed at the French Laundry by Lena Kwak and these cakes and cookies were still as great as I remembered eating them. The Valrhona miso chocolate brownies are gluten-free but it still has that smooth, decadent texture with a touch of chew from the Cup4Cup flour. The almond financers were still buttery and crisp and the muffins were textbook texturally perfect that I would not have thought it’s gluten free.
Pounds & Ounces is located in Chelsea. This bar and restaurant looks like an Art Deco-inspired bar that looks quite handsome, especially when night sets in. The dining area is dark wood with an interesting boxing mural and dotted with two lounge tables with plush leather chairs. While we’re perusing the menu, my friend had the potent yet fruity Chelsea Breeze ($14) and I had a good Casa Lapostolle Cabernet Sauvignon ($10) that has cherry notes and tobacco nose with medium tannins that could stand up to a burger.
Whole Foods Smorgasburg recently chose Yuji Ramen, owned by Chef Yuji Haraguchi, as part of their pop-up vendor. I’m excited as my Asian self loves ramen, especially on chilly winter-like days we’re having here. Having lunch there on Saturday afternoon with a friend, we started with cups of cold soba tea ($2 each) and share a small bamboo boat of Tsukemono pickles ($3). The tea vaguely reminds me of genmaicha from the subtle toasty, nutty flavors in the tea. The pickles were the nukazuke variety consisting of gently briny cucumber, carrots, and daikon or turnip to wake up our palates.
A week or so ago, I had dinner with a friend at Fishtag, a Michael Psilakis restaurant. This was the former home of Kefi’s original location (also owned by Chef Michael Psilakis). The difference between that restaurant and Fishtag was the more airier space, making me feel a bit calmer and it’s a merge of Psilakis’ concept of robust, approachable Mediterranean cuisine and Fishtag has both seafood and his style of food. Executive Chef Stan Matusevich and his team executes this vision pretty well.
We started with striped bass ceviche ($12) composed of pristine, silky, citrus marinated striped bass with little bits of crisp, tart green apple, grapefruit and red onion were a sublime, delicate combination. The assorted bruschettas had the bacala & skordalia brandade “melt”, grilled prawn, feta & spicy chilies bruschetta, and maitake mushrooms & white anchovies bruschetta. For those who like creamy, mild flavors, the bacala & skordalia is your best choice. Our favorite was surprisingly the maitake mushrooms and white anchovies as it packed a ton of flavor (and no, the anchovy is not fishy); the grilled prawn, feta & spicy chilies was a close second favorite.
Last night’s 6th annual Choice Eats 2013 taken place in the 69th Armory was an intense food fest featuring over fifty (50) restaurants, bakeries, and other food vendors who were in Village Voice’s “Fork in the Road.” Since there’s so many to choose and remember after my food comatose (and possibly tipsy from the beer and spirits) state, here’s a couple of dishes I really enjoyed:
Friedman’s Lunch is one of the few casual, sit-down restaurants in Chelsea Market. I’ve passed this restaurant myriad of times over the years and always remembered seeing it being bustling during the afternoon hours. I finally went there for brunch as my friend and I wanted to do eat somewhere different. Entering this narrow restaurant, packed to the gills of diners, it’s a homey kind of place with industrial touches from the exposed brick and metal pipes. We were fortunate to have a table available without much waiting, even though a crowd built up in the front shortly. We immediately ordered a latte ($4) and cappuccino ($3.50), as we need the caffeine ot start our…morning (even though it’s past 12 PM). |
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