When you go to any French brasserie in the world, whether it’s in New York City or Paris, the dish that one would always find on their menu would be steak frites. Scouring through Paris food guides like Clotilde’s Edible Adventures in Paris and Paris Chowhound, I ended up reserving a table at Le Bis du Severo.
Le Bis du Severo
Le Bis du Severo is an annex to Severo, both restaurants are owned by a former butcher from Nivernaises who is passionate about his meat. The interior is sort of retro-modern with the black and white checkered tile floor, burgundy red banquettes, and a small zinc bar up at the front. Continue reading “Beef-centric Dinner at Le Bis du Severo” »
When we arrived, it seems a bit too desolate that I almost thought we’re in the wrong restaurant. Admittedly, our dinner reservation is considered early for Parisians, as it was about 7:45 PM by the time we arrived but we went in and went up the hostess station and be seated.
Interiors and their napkin
The dark, wooden interior, a small bar to the left and the rest of the dining room were filled with tables that were elbow-to-elbow, barely allowing more than one person walking from the kitchen to the front of the house. Legs of ham, strings of espelette peppers (also known as piment d’Espelette in French) and heads of garlic were hanging from the ceiling, this looks like a carnivore’s dream.
Nudged in between two two-tops occupied by Asian couples, one Japanese and the other were Chinese-Americans, we’re slightly surprised how there’s not that many French people were present. Possibly because of the tanking Euro? I think so.
Chalkboard menu
Whilst reading down the chalkboard menu, we’ve noticed from one of our neighbor’s table was a basket full of gorgeous looking charcuterie. Sighing and regretting at the fact that we’re not starving enough to consume those sausages and more, we inquired each other to gauge how hungry we really are before we overdo it. (Doggy bagging food is not a typical thing in Paris.)
This will be my last post until I come back from my vacation to Paris in early June, as I’m leaving New York City on Monday. Over the extent of that time, please look at my Flickr just to see touristy photos as well as food porn.
Jo’s exterior and window
My family and I wanted to celebrate my brother’s graduation from graduate school (he earned a MBA in Accounting and now a newly minted, qualified CPA, as he told me this morning) and ended up going to Jo’s in Nolita. We desired to have a casual dinner amongst us and have a few celebratory drinks for this honor. (Coincidentally enough, it’s Jo’s first year in its existence.) Continue reading “Jo’s Restaurant” »
Last week I met up with a friend who’s visiting New York City for a couple of days and we arranged to meet up for dinner for the sake of catching up. Talking a bit about where either of us wanted to go, we settled down for El Quinto Pino.
Entering this tiny, bar and stools setting with approximately sixteen seats with a semicircle-shaped marble bar, this place was filled with diners. And it’s only 6:30 on a rainy evening. Placing ourselves near the windows, our server asked us what we’d like to drink; I stuck with water, my dining companion had his glass of wine. At the same time we asked, “Where is the menu? Or that large chalkboard in the back is the only copy?” He answered, it’s the one in the back.
Madejas con ajilimójili
The madejas con ajilimójili or crispy lamb intestines were not bad. This particular dish was something my friend wanted but I don’t mind trying once. These crispy, knotted tendrils of intestines were barely gamy and it’s tender by itself. When dipped in the pink, garlic vinegar, it’s way too acidic that it took over the delicate flavor of the intestine. Continue reading “El Quinto Pino” »
Recently I’ve been invited to a Greek benefit dinner at Molyvos, whose meal frames around the Greek Orthodox tradition of Lent. Knowing what Lent is, I am a skeptic. I’m an omnivore who loves her meat and dairy. Frankly, I don’t think I can go a day without any dairy since I need a splash of it in my morning cup of coffee. But I bit the bullet, agreed to come and have an open mind to try out Chef Jim Botsacos’ take on the Lenten tradition. (I’m keeping this post short since it’s mainly benefit-focused.)
Entering in the restaurant, I was welcomed with the rustic, warm interior adorned with nautical patterned plates. It feels worn with time and it feels cozy.
I met Chef Botsacos and spoke to him briefly on the take of Lent and food and basically, it boils down to the idea of mimicking textures and flavors to the point that one would feel satiated without the meat and dairy. He’s passionate about this point but as a dessert lovin’ gal who embraces dairy (I’m not a fan of vegan food, by the way), I’m going along with his statement and eat his food.
The raw bar was excellent; filled with fresh mussels, oysters, and cocktail shrimp. You can’t go wrong with raw shellfish unless, of course, you’re allergic.
The most amusing dish was the “octopus pie” (called octopodopita on the menu, pictured on the above right) that the wait staff told me when I was at the buffet table. Crisp, flaky crust filled with meaty chunks of octopus, rice and zucchini. It really made me forget I was eating a pescatarian/vegetarian dish.
The least liked portion of the meal was dessert, consisting of Karidopita Nistisimi (an olive walnut cake topped with blood orange), I forgot what’s the shot glass dessert is called but it’s a loose grape jelly that’s pretty tart and a Melomakarona (an orange honey walnut cookie), unfortunately. Without the eggs and cream, it lacked the lightness and creaminess I desire in my sweets. It was a good try though. If I had to pick the best of the three I tried on that plate, it was probably the walnut cake.
Generally speaking, Chef Botsacos has done a very good job on weaning me away from my meat. Dairy is a whole different topic.
Last Tuesday, I’ve arranged dinner with my parents at The Modern Bar Room. First timers to eat there (and it’s Restaurant Week), I know the Modern would not disappoint me, as I’ve eaten here a few times throughout the years, Restaurant Week or not, and had good to very good experiences.
Crowded, sort of
Despite the fact we did have an early reservation for dinner, the tables were about half full and as expected, the sleek bar were packed with suited businessmen and lawyers hanging around for their Happy Hour.
Promptly seated, we’ve perused through the RW menu and decided upon what we crave. (Note that their RW menu was pretty much a truncated version of their normal menu.)
(I’m giving you the slideshow treatment for this blog post just because I can’t catch up if I do my routine post. When you reach the slideshow, you may click on the photo to read the captions or go to that particular Flickr photo page.)
Probably all of you who do follow the food critics, notably Sam Sifton of the NY Times, read his Marea review that’s published this week. I do agree with him that this is an expensive, casual restaurant.
The ricci, the one to two biter uni toasts with lardo draped on top was excellent (and not available for lunch when I went there the first time in June 2009).
You can never go wrong with the pasta dishes. All are robust and intensely flavorful. My favorites were the one I had this particular evening with a friend – Agnolotti and the Fusilli. The former was my personal favorite. The ravioli filling was creamy and earthy from the veal which played along the earthy mushroom sauce. I dreamed about that pasta dish for the entire weekend. The fusilli was great in its own way. The house made pasta tasted like dried (Chef White stopped by our table and commented it’s made of semolina and durum flour and water. No eggs here.) The little quip that my friend and I had was the order the pasta dishes were served. We recommend the fusilli to start (it’s a bit lighter and acidic) then proceed to the agnolotti (heavier and much richer).
My Hong Kong/China vacation took place on April 29 – May 10, 2009. As you might know, I post at a very slow pace, so please bear with me. This is a summary of my two dinners at Sportful Garden Restaurant.
During the evenings of my second and fourth days of vacation, my aunt and uncle planned dinners at Sportful Garden Restaurant to celebrate my cousin’s (their daughter) wedding. (In case you don’t know, there’s a lot of food involved in Chinese wedding traditions.)
My aunt was the mastermind behind these dinners – one was to try it out with us six (me, my aunt, my uncle, my cousin, Samuel, and her in-law’s) before the massive invite of relatives.
For this restaurant, they offer a prix-fixe, family-style meal as well as the typical a la carte. I don’t really recall the pricing of the dinner but I believe came out roughly about $40-50 (USD) per person for a menu that can feed a typical banquet table. Here’s the menu:
Appetizers
Plate of apps
Fried stuffed beancurd
Most of the appetizers contain at least a portion of crispy suckling pig, fried dried bean curd stuffed with black trumpet mushrooms, and cold jelly fish. The obvious differences between the two dinners is the portion size but both times, the appetizers were delicious – fresh, balanced flavors and it’s delicious. Continue reading “Dinners at Sportful Garden Restaurant, Hong Kong” »
It’s been a loong time since I’ve seen any of my friends because of my mom’s hospitalization a few weeks earlier and prepping for my upcoming vacation. Julie commented on my blog recently wanted to see me before I’m leaving NYC, I made time last Friday to have dinner with her at 6:30. Almost by default, I’ve brought Helen along because she’s out from work early and can accompany for pre-dinner. (What I mean by “pre-dinner” is consuming food right before dinner just to kill time.)
It was a warm (finally) evening, Helen and I wanted ice cream. We thought of getting coffee but creamy, frozen dairy trumps caffeine during the later hours of the day. Anyway, we took the subway down to Momofuku Milk Bar & Bakery. Yes, I know most of your are thinking this place is overrated but I like this place (implicitly, the Momofuku empire) a lot.
Momofuku Milk Bar & Bakery’s Menus
When we arrived there, I looked up at the menu boards and spotted the “Coming Soon” section, indicating the possible existence of Arnold Palmer Tea Cake and Cookie Cookie Dough. My eyes were wide open and my mind screamed, “I WANT.” But going back to earth, I’ve made up my mind about getting the Bavarian cream soft serve with banana crumble topping and Helen wanted the chocolate donut soft serve. Continue reading “Pre-Dinner at Momofuku Milk Bar & Ssäm Bar, Dinner at Baoguette Cafe, and Dessert Truck” »
I was invited back on March 4th (yes, I know I’m really behind) to attend a dinner and food demonstration at Fairway Café with Mitchel London leading the show – well, co-starring since this class is called “Mitchel & Me.” The “me” is Dan Glickberg, the 4th generation owner of Fairway. (It’s a family-run business, in case you didn’t know.) I thought it was cool since I do like his most of his baked goods over at Mitchel London Foods.
Mitchel whistling
Walking through the mosh-pit like crowds and lines in Fairway Market, I finally made it upstairs where it’s relatively quieter and see Mr. London and others prepping for the show. As the attendees of this demo and dinner gathered up, I’ve noticed that Mitchel is pretty much calm as time ticks closer to starting time. As you see the photo above, he’s whistling and I heard Mozart’s Symphony No. 40. (It helps that I listen classical music often.)
He’s passing out the apps
When it’s about five minutes to the actual starting of the class, Mitchel passed out napkins and an appetizer – buttery, flaky puff pastries filled with a shrimp and herbed cream sauce. I don’t recall what was the name but that’s all I remembered eating and tasting. All I could think of while eating this thing was the word, “decadent.” Continue reading “Mitchel London, Fairway Café, and Huge Rib Eyes” »
