07.20.10
Posted in New York City Reviews at 02:32 by Dominique
17 Prince & Elizabeth Sts., 212-625-2001
Great for: corn, fish tacos, Cuban sandwich
I walk by this place on the way home from the gym and I always think about their corn. If they didn’t have such ridiculously long waits, I’d be eating it most of those times. So I guess I should be thankful they haven’t expanded and made me even more of a piglet with their divine, spicy, cheesy, crunchy, creamy ears of corn.
The Baja fish tacos are also wonderful. The fish is good and flaky, the batter light and crispy, and I love the tomatillo salsa so much I even ate some rice with it (I rarely eat rice). The white sauce is delicious too. It’s a toss-up which is better, the tacos or the terrific Cuban sandwich. Nothing wrong with crunchy fresh Parisi bread, thin-sliced ham, lots of pork and nice thin pickles.
The waitstaff are very nice even when they’re run off their feet. They’ve got a full bar with wine and a frozen margarita machine. It’s been a haven of consistently yummy good as long as I’ve lived in NYC and I hope it stays one for many years.
Rating: 7.5 / 10
Our cost: $35
Noise level: it’s a party
Chance of walking in: not good at all, and they close at 12am. Try their handy-dandy takeout counter around the corner.
On another trip, the huevos rancheros and grilled skirt steak were fine, nothing great, but a really good value for $12.50. The bacon cheeseburger is pretty good, though you can tell it’s not their specialty.
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07.12.10
Posted in Italian, New York City Neighborhoods, New York City Reviews, SoHo, rated 6 to 6.5 at 02:19 by Dominique
231 Mott & Prince Sts., 212-966-1234
Great for: olives all’ascolano, possibly pizza (pending another visit)
The first couple times I tried to come here, they were closed, or doing a private party. Don’t you hate when that happens, and then you finally try the place and it’s not amazing?
I started with the four juicy olives all’ascolano, which are breaded olives with veal and sausage inside. They were a little oversalted, but satisfying and a nice size and number. P got grilled octopus with potatoes. It was chewy and quite tasty.
We both got the Yukon gold gnocchi with oxtail ragù. The gnocchi had kind of a weird taste and the meat was super fatty and gristly. I never had oxtail before, and when I researched it online later I learned that it’s supposed to be a bit fatty, but this really freaked me out. I didn’t even finish my dish. Now that I’ve had oxtail at Má Pêche I don’t think the meat was very good quality. P quite liked his, on the other hand, so I’m willing to give them another try.
To calm down my palate, I got an affogato gelato in an espresso shot that was pretty good. I felt there was a bit too much cocoa powder which made it very bitter. It sort of did the trick.
We had a nice waitress. I found the meat slicer prominently displayed behind the bar the most interesting thing in the restaurant. I literally couldn’t stop watching people slice things on it. Fortunately P thinks my nerdy tendencies are funny. It was less amusing that they misspelled “proscuitto” on the entire menu.
I suspect pizza is their best thing, since that’s what everyone else ordered. Each pie is really big, though, and I didn’t want to eat that much. Next time I will suck it up and get a pizza, and sit in the lovely back room with its skylight.
Rating: 6 / 10
Our cost: $90 (1 glass wine)
Noise level: not too bad
Chance of walking in: fine.
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07.11.10
Posted in East Village, New York City Neighborhoods, New York City Reviews, rated 8 to 8.5 at 23:24 by Dominique
25 Cooper Square & 5th/6th St., 212-475-3400
Great for: large parties, ciabatta, scallops, lobster, tajarin
I seem to be having trouble finishing this review, so if it’s a little rough, sorry – I have let it sit for a couple months now, and there are many new things to write about. Like the amazing Beef 7 Ways feast at Má Pêche, the Meatball Shop (good but terribly overpriced), Pulino’s (good but it’s still just pizza, not crack), Epistrophy (loved it so much I went twice), Steak Shoppe (wonderful! damn the landlord), Minetta Tavern (totally worth it), and Kampuchea’s rapid decline. It’s a tribute to how good Faustina was that I’m not just skipping it.
For my birthday the (now ex-) Boyfriend took me out to a fancy new restaurant. We lucked into a reservation here because there was a crazy blizzard and a lot of people canceled. I’m a fan of Scott Conant’s from Scarpetta and this was similar, just with smaller plates.
We started with the grilled ciabatta with poached duck egg and fonduta, which was absolutely terrific. The charred thick bread is a good base for the creamy, lovely “sauce” – I actually used some to scoop up the last bits of egg yolk. We weren’t as fond of the stromboli with prosciutto and smoked mozzarella. Though nicely composed, it was pretty bland.
We really enjoyed the lobster susci with concentrated tomatoes. I’ve never had nearly raw lobster, and it was very tasty. I especially loved the tomatoes-turned-into-green sauce underneath. I just wished for more than six little bites. The seared diver scallops with farro, seafood and sunchoke purée were perfectly cooked and big. The purée and nearly crisp farro made a good salty offset. A small dish, it is deceptively filling. It was interesting with lots of flavors and textures.
From the larger dishes we got short ribs and spaetzle, which are little pasta twists, with cheese and vegetables. It was quite good and very rich. I was excited for the tajarin with tomato and ricci di mare (sea urchin). It’s maybe not “sex in a bowl” as some people have called it, but it was pretty awesome nonetheless. I loved the perfectly-done tagliatelle and somehow creamy tomato sauce (I guess from the uni). We were quite happy despite the smallness of the dish.
Just in case all that wasn’t enough food, we also got a side of herbed fries. They were only fine, though better with their sauce. I was expecting better, as they seemed really popular. I suppose everyone else thought fries would be a safe bet for extra food too.
For dessert we got a chocolate carmellina with chocolate-caramel mousse, gianduja and mocha (or coffee) ice cream. It was almost as lovely as it looked, with nice little jolts of caffeine.
We had very nice service. The lovely, friendly hostess let me sit for a long while waiting for B, which was unusually kind. Our waiter worried that we hadn’t ordered enough food but it turned out to be enough even for a birthday piglet. I loved the sophisticated vibe, which is probably why it was packed even on a blizzard night – cool dark wood with light grey leather is nice. The place is sort of dim but a lot of strategically-placed lighting helps. It’s ridiculously confusing to get into the restaurant, though I’m not sure if that’s temporary.
The menu is mostly raw bar and hot apps with some pastas and two mains. I appreciated the music at a decent volume level, and sexy but not silly selections (some restaurants really go overboard). It is mainly very good food; somewhat inconsistent, but a good time regardless.
Rating: 8 / 10
Our cost: $160 (3 small, 1 big plate, 1 pasta, 1 side, 1 dessert, 2 cocktails, 1 beer)
Noise level: not too loud
Chance of walking in: you definitely want to call.
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07.02.10
Posted in food-related musings at 21:33 by Dominique
I just finished Tony Bourdain’s Kitchen Confidential (I know, I know, I’m terribly late to that party) and he was so inspiring that I feel ready to devote time to blogging again. I also am pretty sure I never want to be a professional chef, although I would love to cook more correctly.
Things have been very busy chez Dominique. I’ve had lots of auditions, shoots and classes; I broke up with the latest Boyfriend, who just moved out; and there’s been a lot more cooking. Fortunately, I have many restaurants to write about from the last four months. Coming up: Faustina.
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06.03.10
Posted in food-related musings at 20:41 by Dominique
I’ve got a long backlog of reviews, and this juice fast (I’m on day 4!) means that talking, writing or thinking about food is pretty much impossible if I want to stick to it. I’ve just got two more days of Naked Juice to go. Regularly scheduled posting will resume soon.
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04.22.10
Posted in New York City Reviews, food-related musings at 15:21 by Dominique
An article in the Telegraph UK, “Should men be in charge of the kitchen? Yes” made me so mad I couldn’t write about it for a while. I love gadgets more than the next guy – and I’m better with them – and cooking is a way for me to get exactly what I want, save money and have fun experimenting. Bullshit I do it to feed my nonexistent family. And I don’t cook with some nebulous love, I cook with taste, creativity and intelligence. And you know what else? I can build stuff too. Mr. Hirst apparently is “worse than useless at DIY” but I wield a mean drill. So pooh to you. And shame on you for being an inefficient, messy cook. Sure, you can make things and leave a “mountain in the sink” for your wife to wash – that’s not something you should be proud of, idiot. That means you are wasting your time, her time, water and energy. What a douchebag.
Unfortunately, the stereotype continues with the Newsweek article, “Women write about food as a substitute for love, while men write about food as a way to brag about sex.” It’s true that a lot of women blog about their cooking recipes and how good it makes them feel to take care of their families. (And a disturbingly large number are crappy, prolix writers. Strunk and White are rolling in their graves.) I see very few men’s recipes. A disproportionate number of men review big restaurants and food events. Women want to stay at home while men go out in the big bad world, it seems. But there are women like me who aren’t caught up in the sentimental stuff. Not that there’s anything wrong with that – where would you be if your mom didn’t make sure you ate? And isn’t it partly because we as a society expect women to cook “with love” and for their families, and for men to execute daring feats in the professional kitchen? Unfortunately, I don’t see much that women can do to change that except go do stuff we enjoy and hope that the world catches up soon.
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03.30.10
Posted in Latin, New York City Neighborhoods, New York City Reviews, Union Square, rated 6 to 6.5 at 01:08 by Dominique
137 4th Ave. & 13th St., 212-677-7300
Great for: Mexican in Union Square, eating standing up, well-executed meat
I thought the Boyfriend would be delighted I was willing to eat Mexican – he was fairly happy with the food here, just not the price. He feels Chipotle is a slightly better value. Considering they get Niman Ranch pork and other high-quality ingredients over there, I sort of agree. Dos Toros only specifies the source of its chicken. They do pack the tacos super full of meat but the tacos are quite tiny. And, of course, the waiting would drive me crazy. We got lucky and snagged seats and service immediately.
I tried all three tacos – carnitas (pork), pollo asado and carne asada. The shells are very crispy, though not after they’re overstuffed with the super juicy meat. Seriously, I could barely open my mouth wide enough. I really enjoyed them. The accompanying veggies are fresh and crispy. I’d say three tacos is ample; I probably would have been ok with just two. I was a little annoyed the guy didn’t tell me they charge extra for guacamole, and just slyly asked, “Would you like some guac?” B liked his steak quesadilla, which tasted a bit different from my steak taco, in a toasty nutty way. It was a good size, maybe a bit on the small side.
They make a big deal about doing a whole sustainable thing, which is a gimmick as far as I’m concerned, since it is merely smart business practice, but you can feel good about eating here. The place is tiny. You’ll almost certainly need to have your food to go. It might be nice before movies at the Regal, especially in the summer.
Rating: 6.5 / 10
Our cost: $25 (3 tacos, 1 quesadilla, a mango Jarritos)
Noise level: loud
Chance of walking in: there is a curb outside that you can sit on, though I’d walk the extra few blocks to the park.
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03.25.10
Posted in Italian, New York City Neighborhoods, New York City Reviews, SoHo, rated 8 to 8.5 at 21:37 by Dominique
200 Mott & Spring Sts., 212-966-0904
Great for: crostone, quiet awesome Italian, logophiles
I love wandering around SoHo and the Lower East Side. There’s always a new little shop or restaurant, and sometimes it’s not even new; it’s only been hiding from you. That was the case with Epistrophy, which apparently has been right there for nearly 6 years and yet invisible to me the whole time. I’m just glad I got through platform 9 3/4 and found it – sometimes it still disappears on me, but I just keep the address firmly in my mind.
The Boyfriend suggested we start with crostone al pomodoro and mozzarella, which turned out to be the best idea ever. The dish is deceptively simple; toast with melted cheese and thin-sliced tomatoes. The mozzarella helped meld all the flavors together and protect me against the tomato texture, while the toast is a terrific half inch of crunchiness that is just the right level of crisp because of the cheese and tomato juices. The Boyfriend was in raptures, and has in fact asked for this dish on several occasions since. It is perfect.
His short ribs in red wine and herbs with roast potatoes were lovely, salty, dense and stewy with tender meat. The potatoes were well-spiced and delicious. It might have been a tiny bit dry but overall it was really lovely and I had to stop myself from sneaking too many bites. My pork chops Milanese with fennel and arugula in lemon dressing were also very good. I loved the salad and the pork was exactly the light, delicious dish I wished for. They must have an expert meat tenderizer – the chops were uniformly thin, so much so that the little bit they were overcooked didn’t even matter.
I got a big kick out of their word-themed décor. It’s interesting that they serve Italian food but the place has a French feel, especially with the distressed brick walls. It looks like an old antique store with lots of books. Which is basically my idea of heaven, plus they serve terrific food!!!
Rating: 8 / 10
Our cost: $55
Noise level: the hum of happy, well-fed people
Chance of walking in: a bit difficult at peak times.
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03.16.10
Posted in food-related musings at 13:55 by Dominique
Time magazine had an article by Josh Ozersky today about why old-fashioned restaurant critics still matter (via @SamSifton). He makes some good points – it is certainly unlikely that just “any girl with a blog and a digital camera” has the experience and the knowledge to usefully opine about food. Plus, Ozersky thinks it’s hard to know people’s tastes if their publishing history isn’t that long. Mainly he laments the vacuum in authority and perspective left by the Wall Street Journal’s dismissal of their longtime critic, Raymond Sokolov.
Obviously, since I write this blog, I don’t think small-scale restaurant reviewing is useless (although sometimes I do wonder what exactly I’m working towards). I’ve only been eating at great restaurants for the last seven years, and I’ve started noticing the nuances of skilled cooking in maybe the last three. My opinion, as a smart, aware, critical person, is still valuable. While we all want to know what experts think, everybody eats. It’s not like art, where most people don’t do it and don’t know much about it. A layperson can actually have something useful to say. And because of the subjective nature of reviewing, I try to cover certain basic points with specificity in every review, as I hope is apparent. Plus, if you want to know exactly where my tastes lie, just see About the Blog or the Guide to Ratings.
Ultimately, while it would be wonderful if we could all afford to eat at terrific restaurants worldwide all the time, I don’t think that’s the only way you can contribute something valid to food culture and knowledge. If you ate somewhere thoughtfully and can describe in detail why you did or did not like the food, I care what you think. And that’s where I hope my reviews fit in.
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03.10.10
Posted in Asian, Chinatown/Little Italy, New York City Neighborhoods, New York City Reviews, Southeast Asian, rated 6 to 6.5 at 17:04 by Dominique
141 Grand & Crosby/Lafayette Sts., 212-966-8916
Great for: um, not much
After very relaxing facials with my friend G, we wandered around looking for a non-brunch, non-Chinese lunch. We found it, but it wasn’t very satisfying. At least we had fun hanging out, though that’s because G is a dear and that’s par for the course with her.
We began with num tok grilled beef barbecue with onion, chili powder and lime juice. It was super lime-flavored, not medium rare as requested, and not bad. I think I prefer when citrus is provided on the side – it’s tough to get that exactly right for different people, and too much sourness is pretty much irreparable. The tom yum noodle soup with shrimp was better, but not spicy as promised. It was white people hot, I guess. There were nice noodles and the shrimps were very cooked.
Our chef special main of crispy scallops with sweet chili sauce was quite good. It was not as sweet as I feared it’d be, and the scallops were pretty well executed. The best were the sauceless ones, actually, though they could have been juicier.
The $2 Thai iced tea is a bizarre orange color, and not very sweet. I’m not sure if that’s what it’s supposed to be like – the few times I’ve had it before, it’s been pretty sweet. On the other hand, I am certain about our service, which left much to be desired. Considering they only had two other tables in a fairly large space to look after, the girls were very pissed off about serving us. They were glacially slow doing everything and really quite puzzlingly hostile. I was more pleased with the standard pan-Asian décor and the lovely track lights.
Rating: 6 / 10
Our cost: $40 (2 apps, 1 iced tea)
Noise level: fairly quiet
Chance of walking in: decent.
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