11.29.09
Posted in Asian, Gramercy, Midtown Central, New York City Neighborhoods, New York City Reviews, rated 4 to 5.5 at 17:02 by Dominique
17 W. 32nd St. & 5th/6th Aves., 212-967-1900
Great for: not much
I had an audition and rewarded myself for getting up so early with some soon du bu. It’s silky tofu cooked in a spicy sauce with veggies and various meats or kimchi. I usually get beef or seafood – on the lunch menu here, “both” was an option, so I happily chose that. This place is the offshoot of an LA-based Korean chain that I’d heard a lot of good about. Sadly, it did not live up to its hype.
The plethora of side dishes was ok, with several things I don’t usually see. The cream pasta with ham is decent; I found the fried whole fish hard to eat. The main problem is that the soon du bu is not very flavorful. I don’t think it needed more salt. It just wasn’t that savory. I was bored with it after a couple bites. A good soon du bu – at least, what I’ve had and liked – is a combination of different flavors, textures and spices that change with every bite and make you want to lick the bowl. It’s a sophisticated tofu stew that showcases the soft absorbency of the tofu and lots of spices. Plus, the shrimp (there’s crab and squid too) had heads and shells on. It is so frustrating to eat! What is the point of marinating, stewing or covering shrimp in sauce if they are encased? You peel them and they’re simply boiled boring shrimp anyway. It’s especially annoying in a messy soup. The added difficulty of the shrimp just made me mad.
Service is fine, décor is standard vaguely-Asian, and I am going elsewhere for my beloved soon du bu. A restaurant should at least make its own putative specialty well. I was so unhappy I almost visited Mad for Chicken to erase the memory with something tasty. (I didn’t, as I am only allowed to have fried chicken once a month.)
Rating: 5 / 10
My cost: $10
Noise level: not too bad
Chance of walking in: good.
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11.28.09
Posted in Asian, Japanese, New York City Neighborhoods, New York City Reviews, Upper West Side, rated 6 to 6.5 at 16:51 by Dominique
311 Amsterdam Ave. & 75th St., 212-877-9300
great for: decent sushi on the UWS, cocktails
My friends D & A love the guacamole with spicy tuna and wasabi chips here. Unfortunately, they didn’t tell me that was the key dish before I came, so I was left to my own devices trying to pick the best things on the menu. I might return to try that with them, but the rest of the food was just decent. This is an upscale, trendy, sort-of-Asian place; if that’s your thing, you’ll like it. Otherwise, it’s overpriced and not bad for the Upper West Side, but I wouldn’t make the trek from downtown just for this. (There was a party nearby.)
Our two duck spring rolls to start were pretty good. So was my sashimi Fusha – not as amazing as I’d like, but certainly serviceable. The Dynamite, Lady Lobster, California and Volcano rolls were all good as well. My favorite part of the meal was the drinks. I was tired after a long day of auditioning and indulged in an espresso martini – I am not drinking for a while to lose weight, but I figure caffeine counteracts alcohol (shut up, it’s true if I believe it) – and the Strawberry Fields cocktail is a nice tall glass of yummy. Literally.
We had slightly befuddled service but everything worked itself out in the end. It’s a good place to bring people before going out, and certainly if you want a decent meal in a fun atmosphere in a bit of a frat boy/stodgy area.
Rating: 6 / 10
Our cost: $150ish for 3 people eating, 4 people drinking
Noise level: fairly noisy
Chance of walking in: decent.
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11.26.09
Posted in food-related musings at 22:49 by Dominique
The lucky food critic at GQ, Alan Richman, invited Eric Ripert of Le Bernardin (which is now even higher on my list of must-trys) to dinner at his house, to give M. Ripert a taste of suburbia. Imagine the great French chef’s reaction to food sold in bulk and jumbled with other unrelated products. He is comically horrified at everything, and can’t even bring himself to push the shopping cart, though he readily owns to being petulant. The part that really gets me is that he unhesitatingly admits the meal is good. That may have something to do with Richman’s skills in the kitchen – apparently cheese soufflés are trés difficile – but I like that even a renowned chef showered in honors for cooking some of the most amazing food in New York City can find the good in non-organic, processed food of uncertain origin. I doubt Alice Waters would ever unbend that much.
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11.18.09
Posted in Indian, Midtown East, New York City Neighborhoods, New York City Reviews, rated 7 to 7.5 at 13:36 by Dominique
246 E.51st St. & 2nd Ave., 212-644-8330
Great for: a nice quiet meal of upscale Indian food in a pretty townhouse
I earned this meal by walking thirty blocks from the Upper East Side. Lunch is quite a good deal – I got the North Indian one for $11.95. There are tons of apps and entrees to choose from, maybe fifteen to twenty in both categories, which is very unusual. I got the Indo-Chinese chili shrimp on the waiter’s recommendation. The soft, breaded shrimp in super spicy and a little bit sweet sauce could have been cooked a bit less with crispier breading, but overall they were pretty good. I think the sauce quickly made them limp.
I got my lamb rogan josh (an onion-based sauce) made spicy. The portion was quite small, I think because it was lunch – I remember things being bigger at dinner a couple years ago. There were good cuts of meat and the sauce was not too heavy, nor was the meat drowning in it. I was surprised that the rice that comes with it was normal and not basmati. The accompanying naan (bread) and dal (mashed lentils) were both lovely. I found it a good amount of sides for the size of the main. The strength of this dish bumped up the restaurant’s overall rating to 7.5, from 6 for the app.
My waiter helped me a lot and was attentive. Initial incongruous salsa music soon gave way to soothing Hindi instrumental music. I like the décor; it looks well taken care of inside, not rundown as so many Indian restaurants seem to be.
Rating: 7.5 / 10
My cost: $15 (lunch special. Entrees are about $24 on average I’d guess.)
Noise level: hush
Chance of walking in: decent.
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Posted in American, Barbecue, Lower East Side, New York City Neighborhoods, New York City Reviews, rated 8 to 8.5 at 13:06 by Dominique
192 Orchard & E. Houston Sts., 212-253-6280
Great for: fried chicken, ribs, everything really
I love food. (Obviously.) However, I also have to be thin for my careers. I try to use my obsessive love of food as motivation nowadays – so whenever I have a craving for something, I require myself to nail an audition, book a job, or perform well before I can have it. This cuts down on impulsive yummy fattening food, plus I burn some energy working hard to earn it. I think in this case I had a couple successful auditions and ribs and fried chicken were my treat.
I got the fried chicken dinner with French fries and potato salad (which they forgot). It is three big pieces of chicken with lovely crunchy spicy skin. I wished that much of the fat or thick skin had been taken off but it was very good. The fries were great too. Being a greedy little piglet, I also got a half rack of ribs that were literally fall-off-the-bone tender. There was lots of fat, and the ribs were well spiced with a wet and dry rub. They definitely gave me ideas for next time I make ribs at home! I wish Georgia’s weren’t so expensive so I could have more.
The restaurant itself is quite small, with seven deuces and four counter stools. I got takeout because I wanted to watch tv too. You cannot make substitutions and they only take cash. It’s cheap for NYC – I’m still in sticker shock over how much lunch at Hill Country was – but not very cheap compared to 4 dumplings for $1 a few blocks over. (Vanessa’s Dumplings ftw!) The employees are very friendly, notwithstanding the ancient shotgun hanging on one wall.
Rating: 8 / 10
My cost: $25 (I kind of ordered 2 dinners)
Noise level: fairly quiet
Chance of walking in: probably not very good on busy nights.
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Posted in Florida, rated 7 to 7.5 at 11:22 by Dominique
all over the US; we went to one in Tampa, FL
Great for: Bang Bang shrimp, seafood, potatoes
I am now the proud co-owner of a house in Tampa. It’s for my little brother and sister, who are on track to become tennis pros (they are amazing and my favorite people in the world). Besides the enclosed backyard pool with fountain, new pool table, and tennis courts and Olympic pool across the street, one of the benefits of the house is that it is close to a Bonefish Grill. I had never heard of this chain before but it is really something. It’s better than a lot of New York places! Part of that is, of course, the crack they are disguising as a fried shrimp appetizer.
Funnily enough, when my mom announced we were going to the kids’ favorite place, I remembered reading a recipe on foodgawker for the Bang Bang shrimp, chiefly because the woman was so crazy about them. If you can imagine the orgasmic delight conveyed in a mere recipe that would cause it to stand out in my cluttered mind, out of the thousands I’ve read, you would still not fully comprehend the joy that is the shrimp. They are tender and crispy, tossed in a creamy spicy sauce. You’ve had rock shrimp with spicy mayo before, I’m sure. I myself have had stellar examples around the city. I don’t know what the difference is here, but these are better. (The recipe lady thinks it’s rice vinegar. If I can ever bring myself to use enough oil to try making the recipe, I’ll let you know.) They are pretty spicy, though not too much for a Szechuan family like mine, and your chief difficulty might be waiting long enough not to burn your mouth. We loved them so much we got an extra plate at the end of dinner. On the other hand, the Singapore calamari, fried with peppers and sweet spicy Asian sauce, was just good. It was a bit rubbery and the sauce was a little too much on the sweet side. It’s definitely better to eat with chopsticks. I am not sure why this should be, but the only time I’ve had squid that wasn’t rubbery was in Capetown. Maybe it’s fresher there?
The house and Caesar salads were fine. My sister and I loved our perfectly cooked scallops and shrimp grilled with lemon butter. The butter was great – I usually don’t like lemon anything, not being a citrus fan, but it had just the perfect hint of flavor to set off the seafood. It’s better than the chimichurri. Mom and my brother were fairly happy with their nice big filets of Norwegian salmon, although they were a tad overcooked. And we were all delighted with our sides of garlic whipped potatoes or potatoes au gratin.
This particular Bonefish had lots of room in the bar and seating areas. The décor is warm and inviting but still sophisticated, which I like in a restaurant. We had a very nice and patient waitress as well. I hope when I visit for Thanksgiving I can persuade my dad to take us there again.
Rating: 7.5 / 10
Our cost: $100 for 4 (they honored the app + 2 salads + 2 entrees + 2 sides for $18 deal even though it was the day after)
Noise level: not much, probably lively on the weekends though
Chance of walking in: I noticed those little buzzers you see at Olive Garden and stuff so they probably get packed. There were a decent number of people even though it was a non-holiday Monday night, so I would definitely make reservations.
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Posted in American, Greenwich Village, New York City Neighborhoods, New York City Reviews, West Village, rated 7 to 7.5 at 09:53 by Dominique
331 W.4th & Jane Sts., 212-242-9502
Great for: simple good food, eating until 3:30am
[I know, I'm woefully behind on posts. I've been busy with tons of auditions and the new Boyfriend - I think this one will stick, as he just moved in with me!]
I had a very busy night of playing poker live (up a bit until I didn’t leave when I said I would, whereupon I promptly lost my whole stack with QQ against 10s), a friend’s birthday with lesbian jell-o wrestling (she won), and a different friend’s fetish wedding (everyone wins). Between the jell-o and the ceremony I realized I hadn’t had dinner, and figured my last $12 would go pretty far at Corner Bistro. Plus, I’ve never been in the whole time I’ve lived in New York. I always hear how it’s the best burger in the city. In my non-burger-obsessed opinion, it’s not - that honor stays with the Grotto and Shopsin’s - but it is a darn good deal and certainly one of the better burgers.
I got the bistro burger with bacon, grilled onions, no cheese, tomato and fries. I enjoyed the juicy and insanely thick patty, though I could barely get my tiny hands around it, let alone my mouth – I would have liked it marinated more, but for $7 it’s great. They were really generous with crispy and not-too-fatty bacon. The fries were pretty good, mainly crunchy, and could use more seasoning. Overall, I was satisfied. I’d definitely stop in again.
Rating: 7.5 / 10
My cost: $12
Noise level: noisy with people but nice with jazz
Chance of walking in: not too easy to walk in, I got the last seat at 12:30 am.
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11.04.09
Posted in Latin, Midtown East, New York City Neighborhoods, New York City Reviews, rated 7 to 7.5 at 02:11 by Dominique
200 Park Ave. & 44th St., 212-867-6767
Great for: business lunches, sangria, skate
I used to work at Jovia, and I was a fan of Sumile and Bar Fry, so I always follow Josh DeChellis’ career with affection and interest. (That, of course, has absolutely nothing to do with him saying I was the prettiest hostess at Jovia. And being unfailingly kind.) He is a terrific chef, if sometimes a bit ahead of his time. I was delighted when my friend P suggested La Fonda and happy with my food, though he wasn’t quite as satisfied.
I decided to be adventurous and get the scallops tiradito appetizer with chiles, citrus, tomato and cilantro. I rarely enjoy raw scallops, Momofuku Ko being the notable exception, so I was pleasantly surprised to enjoy these. The sauce may have been a tad too strong for the delicate scallops but at least it wasn’t a face-puckering citrus fest as ceviche often is. P’s pickled red and yellow watermelon salad with avocado and jalapeño-pickled onion was odd and pretty good. The salad leaves were still the best part, though.
I very much liked my skate wing special entrée with fingerling potatoes, onions, potatoes and peppers. The veg were all a bit pickled, maybe from a sauce that seemed to be red pepper coulis, but the skate was absolutely scrumptious and perfectly browned. Unfortunately, the bass special (instead of snapper) with saffron, tomato and calamari did not measure up. The rather large filet was a bit dry and overcooked, and the overall dish was small for its hefty price.
We figured cookies for dessert would be a safe bet. They give you 10 (two each of five types) plus a chocolate. Two-thirds were good and we liked the chocolate. It probably wasn’t the best use of $9. The sangrias, on the other hand, were both lovely. I liked my rosé and he liked his red – they had just some fruit, and weren’t too heavy.
We had very polite service in a very busy dining room. It’s an enormous space, 1.5 levels near Grand Central, and has that nice sleek corporate chrome-and-glass look. I wasn’t thrilled with it but I wouldn’t mind returning to try some different things.
Rating: 7 / 10
Our price: $160 (3 glasses of sangria + dessert)
Noise level: not bad
Chance of walking in: dinner may be easier than lunch.
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