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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02.16.10
Posted in Asian, New York City Neighborhoods, New York City Reviews, SoHo, Southeast Asian, rated 6 to 6.5 at 23:50 by Dominique
196 Elizabeth & Spring/Prince Sts., 212-925-3310
Great for: ginger fried chicken, hobo noodles, dates on a budget
Lovely Day is sort of a SoHo institution, so people were pretty upset when they closed for several months last year after fire damage. Fortunately, they managed to get back on their feet and their beloved ginger fried chicken was not lost.
That chicken is good and juicy, but they should make the pieces smaller so the flavoring gets to more of the meat. I love the accompanying aïoli, basically a spicy mayo. The kimono fried shrimp with sweet chili sauce was fine, not a standout. I wish it were spicier.
The Boyfriend’s pad thai with shrimp was pretty good. There was too much sweet fish sauce – it was better when doused in hot sauce. A Thai place really should have better pad thai. I was tempted by the special of Chilean sea bass but couldn’t pass up the chicken hobo noodles. It was satisfying, though the chicken could be moister. The best part was the addictive and lovely, soft but not sticky noodles.
The green tea ice cream was fine and so were the nice waiters. We liked the cute log cabin décor. The quaint and homey thing keeps the vibe low-key. The place was packed on a cold Wednesday at 10pm including every seat at the bar. I guess people are very happy it’s open again.
Rating: 6.5 / 10
Our cost: $55 (one green tea ice cream, 2 non-alcoholic drinks)
Noise level: noisy but not too bad
Chance of walking in: they’re always packed. You can only make a reservation at lunch. They’re open until 11pm every day though.
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01.03.10
Posted in Asian, Lower East Side, New York City Neighborhoods, New York City Reviews, Southeast Asian, rated 6 to 6.5, small plates at 21:48 by Dominique
113 Ludlow & Rivington/Delancey, 212-353-8866
Great for: sharing lots of small dishes, easily impressed out-of-towners
One of my favorite girlfriends organized a girls’ night one Saturday. I’d been here before so I wasn’t too excited about the food, but fortunately her presence makes up for quite a lot. The last time I was here the company was also better than the food, which is only middling anyway, so it is not the place to take a foodie. Unless they like everything sweet.
We had to wait a very long while for the people at our reserved table to clear out, for which inconvenience we were given free edamame with lemon butter and salt. It was really good. It sustained me through our first dish of pickled vegetables, which was kind of like being tasered with a pickle. In my mind, even when a dish is “pickled [something],” it ought to still have some balance. I shouldn’t be fighting to keep my eyes open.
Fortunately the scallops with bacon, kalamansi and sake were much better. They also were a little sour, but a nice size and overall pretty tasty. So was the pork tonkatsu with watercress salad and lime butter. I found the meat a tad dry and the sauce a little sweet, while the lime butter was nice. I did not, of course, eat the mushrooms with baby bamboo, though the bamboo was decent.
The langoustines special in panko with wasabi tobiko aïoli was the best dish we had. The aïoli is addictive – the shellfish was good too. I enjoyed the sautéed Chinese sausage with super-hot Thai chili-lime sauce, which offset well the sweetness of the meat. The tofu with Thai basil and wood ear mushrooms in spicy soy mirin was not good. Too sweet, and just blah all around. I didn’t care for the seared ahi tuna in Thai chili-miso vinaigrette either.
We finished things off with the dessert tasting. The Thai chili chocolate ice cream (for an avowedly Filipino restaurant, they really like those Thai spices) was fine, as were the black plum sorbet and fried plantains. The lemongrass panna cotta was the best.
The service partly makes up for the mediocrity of the food. They are very attentive, and it was nice of them to mitigate the annoyance of waiting 45 minutes with unsolicited edamame. On the other hand, we were shocked to be charged corkage for our two bottles of sake; we tried to empirically figure out if that’s standard, and couldn’t remember details of past byob dinners well enough to come to a consensus, but basically it was surprising to be charged for twist-open bottles.
I can’t tell you why this place gets so much hype. Both visits I was in parties of 4 that ordered a good cross-section of the menu, and had an okay meal that rose to pretty good at best. I might have liked it better if I liked sweet flavors in food, and I think that might be a Filipino idiosyncrasy, but I am not a fan. Another annoyance is that everything is kind of expensive. Nothing is under $7, and most is considerably more. Not even the vegetarian dishes. Really? On the Lower East Side? The food definitely didn’t earn its price tags.
Rating: 6 / 10
Our cost: $130 (just food, they’re byob with small corkage fees)
Noise level: a bit noisy, not bad
Chance of walking in: not great. You can reserve for **parties of 4 or more.
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09.02.09
Posted in Asian, New York City Neighborhoods, New York City Reviews, Queens, Southeast Asian, rated 8 to 8.5 at 00:55 by Dominique
6413 39th Ave. & 64th St., Woodside, Queens, 718-899-9585
Great for: savory Thai food, foodie excursions outside Manhattan, medium-size groups
My friend G was about to move to London for six months of work so it was the perfect time to have a girls’ dinner. She’s really special – I only leave Manhattan for things that start with p! (Planes, poker, and plays that I’m in. Though I guess you could say this was for pad thai.) Fortunately, it was very good food. I’m not sure it was worth an hour’s ride on two trains, but that’s a pretty tough standard.
We started with a mild roasted duck salad. They were generous with the large duck pieces, and the ginger was a good compliment to the onions, scallions and cucumbers drizzled with vinaigrette. The fried pork-crabmeat roll with honey sauce was tasty without being too much. The meat is ground fine and wrapped in a bit of tofu skin. The tom yum shrimp and mushrooms in hot and sour soup is very good, with surprisingly succulent shrimp.
The pad thai with shrimp did not disappoint. The noodles were discrete and not stuck together too much, and there was just the right amount of sauce. I rarely order pad thai but this went a long way toward changing my mind. So did the green curry with chicken, despite the many times I’ve tried curries and not been a fan. The red snapper with tomato, pineapple and onion in sweet and sour sauce was better without the sauce, which wasn’t as sweet as I’d feared it would be. Our favorite was the sautéed Chinese broccoli with crispy pork. With barely any vegetables, the terrific, crispy meat was the star of the dish, and of our whole meal.
Two brown and two coconut rice bowls were enough for the five of us. I didn’t like any of the desserts, unfortunately. Tapioca soup with ice cubes and sweet milk, green tapioca with coconut milk and corn, coconut on rice cake with rice crisps… no thanks. Some of them were warm, none of them were very sweet, and all of them were just eh. Asian desserts are probably just not my cup of tea though. The other girls seemed fairly happy. We definitely ordered the right amount of food – one appetizer and one main per two people is just about right. Each dish is quite generous, and fresh and juicy to boot.
The dining room is huge and packed at all times. I like the décor, which they evidently put thought into it. It’s cash only and no reservations. If I’m remotely in the area I will definitely make an effort to come again.
Rating: 8.5 / 10
Our cost: $125 for 5 people (3 apps, 3 entrees, 1 side, 4 rice bowls, 1 tea, 1 wine, 1 iced tea)
Noise level: echoey room packed with loud Asian people
Chance of walking in: not good. You’ll probably have to wait, they don’t take reservations.
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08.05.09
Posted in Asian, Lower East Side, New York City Neighborhoods, New York City Reviews, Southeast Asian, rated 6 to 6.5 at 02:10 by Dominique
85 Orchard & Broome/Grand Sts., 212-226-3700
Great for: upscale pho without weird cuts of meat, sandwich takeout (you can’t have the pho to go)
[Sorry for the hiatus. Poker has been taking up most of my time when I'm actually on the computer, plus I've been taking classes and I'm in a soon-upcoming play. But in an effort at discipline, I've banned myself from online poker until I'm caught up here. Also I'm catching fuck-all for cards so this should save me some money and grief. At least I'm still winning in live games. And cooking is going well.]
I was sad Elyssa Dido closed, but this place is pretty good too. For some reason, the night before I had a craving for pho, but they aren’t open on Mondays. Fortunately for my readers I was able to wait until the next night.
I got the last dish of goi cuon, a salad roll with shrimp, greens, herbs and peanut sauce. It was light and pretty good, though the shrimp were a bit dry. I liked the sauce, which is surprising because I usually hate peanut anything. My pho bo with cinnamon cloves, star anise, brisket, eye round and optional meatballs was decent. The thin-sliced meat was very nice. I was happy that it was all meat I could eat – I know, I know, I’m a bad Chinese girl for hating tendon and other offal-type things, but it’s just so yucky to me. I found the broth tasty and the noodles a little too thin.
It’s a really narrow space, so you’re pretty much guaranteed a wait at peak hours. It’s also hot, and expensive for what it is (especially considering dirt-cheap fantastic Vietnamese places are a few blocks away in Chinatown), so even though it’s around the corner from me, I doubt I’ll become a regular.
Rating: 6.5 / 10
Cost: $20
Noise level: it’s a small space, so depends on the people
Chance of walking in: probably not good for now, since it’s new.
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06.04.09
Posted in Asian, Flatiron, New York City Neighborhoods, New York City Reviews, Southeast Asian, rated 7 to 7.5 at 02:14 by Dominique
30 W.24th & 5th/6th Aves., 212-727-7026
Great for: very hungry people, specials, large groups
This was the second (main) dinner of the night for my date with the Marketer. It’s an offshoot of the same restaurant in Williamsburg – I can see why they were successful enough to have two places. The menu is huge, but I stuck with the specials and wasn’t disappointed. I was, however, with him. Plus he said something really offensive and racist a few weeks later, giving me an excuse to stop talking to him entirely.
M got the special app of clams in Thai chili vinaigrette. The sauce was way too vinegary. Fortunately, my special of spicy tataki with tuna, mango, tobiko, eel and avocado made up for it. It looked lovely with tri-color tobiko on top and was fun texturally with crunchies inside. Everything was all chopped together and just the right level of spicy. (It might be too much for most people though, as I generally prefer my food on the blistering side.)
M had 15 pieces of sashimi and sushi which he said were good. My special entrée of pan-seared tuna with soba noodles was very spicy and great. The tuna steak was huge and there were lots of vegetables too. I loved the combination of spicy mayo and teriyaki on the tuna, though some of it had that chewy gristle. Actually, the dish overall may have been a tad too spicy, even for me. It was somehow less so the next day when I had the leftovers.
I liked the cool square pot in which my green tea was served. The waitresses were friendly but dopey. The place is crazy-looking, with a big, warm, aqua blue kitchen (yeah, I don’t know how blue can look warm either) and enough Ghost chairs to populate a haunted Starck mansion. There is an enormous thing above the bar that can best be described as a candy mountain made of colored lightbulbs. I liked the music. I wasn’t drinking that night, but they have a very long cocktail list with lots of fancy drinks that I’d definitely try another time.
The resto is huge. People started coming in around 8:30, and M said usually it’s packed. It seems to be popular for groups. I’d probably come again if I were nearby.
Rating: 7.5 / 10
Our cost: $60 + $40 tip
Noise level: it echoes
Chance of walking in: good.
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12.28.08
Posted in Asian, Lower East Side, New York City Neighborhoods, New York City Reviews, Southeast Asian, rated 6 to 6.5 at 18:14 by Dominique
78 Rivington & Allen Sts., 212-529-3901 [now closed]
Great for: Café Habana-style corn with less wait, noodle lovers, upscale Asian food near Chinatown, fried chicken appetizer
I had no dinner plans one Saturday – I know, shocking! This guy I really liked turned out to be a total flake – and instead of feeling sorry for myself, I capped a long, efficient day of shopping with dinner here. I wouldn’t know how authentically Cambodian it is but I hear good things about that. And the food is great, which is all that really matters.
The corn on the cob appetizer is fantastic. I love the same thing at Café Habana, and it was delightful to find it here unexpectedly. Basically, the Kampuchea version has spicier sauce, less cheese and more coconut. The ears are enormous as well. I was kind of happy no one I knew was there to watch me decimate two giant ears all by myself… it’s a bit of a messy process. I think I acquitted myself as daintily as could be expected though.
The duroc pork katiev with wide, flat, white noodles continued my happiness. I ended up adding a lot of hot sauce and ate all the leaves. I very much enjoyed the small and dried yet meaty shrimp. The pork was really good, with some fat but edible.
It’s a bright cheery place, with friendly servers, communal wooden tables and nicely sized stools. I wish they’d do takeout of more of the menu, but I can understand some things need to be eaten right away. I have actually been dreaming about the next time I can come back.
Rating: 8 6.5 / 10
My cost: $30
Noise level: I could still hear myself think
Chance of walking in: small. It’s not a big place, try early. They’re closed Mondays and lunch is only Friday to Sunday.
I returned in March and June 2010 with a Boyfriend, and they’d added the Norry – basically doubling their space and adding a large bar – and revamped the menu. My beloved noodles are gone, replaced by entrees. By June the food was nowhere near as good as March. I can still halfheartedly recommend the corn and the fried chicken app with basil, spiced fleur de sel and lemon – I was so turned off by the gritty mussels in June, I don’t even care to research what happened to the kitchen staff. The brisket and pork ribs were pretty good in March. They are quite stingy with fish in the catfish num pang, though the little bit there is tastes nice. I did not enjoy the accompanying sweet potato chips, which didn’t taste like anything. The Boyfriend’s mussels were extremely sandy. Their broth with shallots and okra was good, but couldn’t possibly make up for mouthfuls of grit. I would have been really pissed about the poor food quality except I had a BlackboardEats discount. That might have been why they were still packed at 9 on a Wednesday. In any case, I’m disappointed and not bothering to go back any time soon. And it might be why they closed in August 2010 and promise to reopen with a more casual concept.
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12.22.08
Posted in Asian, New York City Reviews, SoHo, Southeast Asian, rated 7 to 7.5 at 21:44 by Dominique
143 Grand & Lafayette Sts., 212-431-7999
Great for: beef pho (in my un-Vietnamese opinion), cheap drinks and sake
[I finally have more time to blog now! My musical is over. It went very well, I think. I’m three months behind on this thing, but at least I didn’t go to very many restaurants recently so the backlog is not as big as it might have been. Also the new Boyfriend and I stay in a lot.]
I’ve been to the sister restaurant, Bao Noodles in Gramercy, and I really liked it. (Not so much the exorbitant prices, but Blonde Hedge Funder took care of that.) When chef Michael Huynh announced round-the-clock service in SoHo in May, I signed up for one of the super late reservations for a free dinner. It turned out to be a good thing that I didn’t make it down there in time to keep my res, as they apparently ran out of food early and had to cancel the whole promotion after one day. A few weeks later I was looking for somewhere to go with my friend A and this popped up in my list.
For some reason she had already had dinner (not cool – never plan dinner and then do that to a foodie, half the fun is sharing dishes) so she just drank a glass of red wine while I ate. My spicy beef salad with endive, rocket, pineapple, grape tomatoes and mint was good. For a wonder, I enjoyed the pineapples’ contribution to the dish. Though not very hot it was quite satisfying.
The waitress recommended the garlic tiger shrimp chilies and lemongrass virgin olive oil with rice noodles for my main. I thought it delicious at first, but then I got tired of it. Perhaps it was because the sauce was a bit too sweet, or possibly the presence of the heads and tails. I liked my side of sticky rice with Chinese sausage. The shrimp is a big dish, though, so it turned out to be unnecessary.
They have an extensive cocktail list. My Julie lycheetini was great. The drinks are pretty cheap too, I think maybe $10 depending on how fancy you’re getting. Our waitress was very nice as well. A and I had a lot to catch up on but it didn’t seem to faze her that we were slow about deciding. She just checked on us periodically and patiently. It’s a surprisingly large space; rather narrow, but it extends quite far back. It seems to be decorated in the slightly ‘70s acid aesthetic.
I would have given this place a 6.5 but for the bun hue ($12), which I had at 3am one Sunday night. It was so ridiculously good. Everything about it was just heaven; the broth, the noodles, the meat, the abundant veggies… if I’d been mad about something that day, although I wasn’t after an afternoon of Paradou champagne brunch, a fashion show with VIP seats and free-flowing vodka at a rooftop bar, it would have put a smile on my face anyway. And then I found one of my favorite sakes, Koizuimi Komekome, on the menu! It being only $42 for a bottle, barely marked up, was just icing on the cake. I loved that sake from the wine pairing at Momofuku Ko. It was just a delightful dinner all around.
Rating: 7 / 10
Our cost: $45 + $10 (food for 1, 1 cocktail, 1 glass of wine)
Noise level: quiet, but I’m sure it gets rowdier at peak times
Chance of walking in: good, though they’re no longer open 24/7
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09.05.08
Posted in Asian, New York City Neighborhoods, New York City Reviews, Southeast Asian, West Village, rated 7 to 7.5 at 12:49 by Dominique
643 Hudson St. & Horatio/Gansevoort Sts., 212-352-3590
Great for: sliders, spicy food, skinny people with great hearing
Midtown Hedge Funder finally asked me out, but he left it so late all I had free was a Monday. I’ve been meaning to try Fatty Crab for ages. The menu is small but I was enthusiastic about most of it, a rarity for me. I’m a pretty picky eater.
We started with the Malay fish fry with turmeric [which was misspelled tumeric] tempura, crab curry, green chili and tamaki. It was like fish without chips and some bits were very hot. I found the coconut rice with pepper slices and parsley leaves quite good, despite my dislike of coconut, though a bit gritty. The fatty sliders of beef & pork on toasty buns were probably the best thing we had. They’re very juicy and the fat is blended in well enough that I didn’t feel the need to pick it out.
The somewhat eponymous chili Dungeness crab on white toast was pretty good. The sauce is a bit sweet for my taste, and the crab is nice though difficult to eat, primarily because it’s hard to hold onto the shells with all that sauce. I liked the giant, fluffy, thick slabs of toast. The fatty duck, both steamed and fried, with toasted tamaki on rice and pickle slices was also yummy. The sauce was really sweet and the peppers medium spicy, while the duck was crispy and very fatty but with good meat. It’s a small dish, you can definitely handle a side with it. We had the enjoyable and tender baby bok choy with oyster sauce.
Be careful, the hot sauce on the table is fishy and super hot! I went a little crazy with it and had to gulp down my Dark and Stormy cocktail. It’s made with Goslings black rum, ginger and lime. Too gingery at first, it grew on me. The bartender’s quite friendly too.
We liked our waiter, who managed to squeeze in and out of the narrow space and take care of all his tables with flair and grace. The place is cozy, if you’re feeling charitable – cramped might be more accurate. Don’t drink too much water, as you may not want to maneuver away from your table more than once. The music is super loud and I wanted cold water, but overall it’s a decent restaurant. If I came back I would get a snack of the sliders and then probably go somewhere else.
Rating: 7 / 10
Our cost: $160 (1 Tiger beer, 2 Dark & Stormys)
Noise level:
Chance of walking in: It’s not too bad early, like at 7pm. No reservations.
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06.03.08
Posted in Asian, Chelsea, Japanese, New York City Neighborhoods, New York City Reviews, Southeast Asian, rated 6 to 6.5 at 03:26 by Dominique
143 8th Ave. & 17th St., 212-691-8600
Great for: eating & drinking cheaply, bathroom amusement, male waiter ogling
It was my friend A’s birthday, and sixteen of us came out to dinner. A’s friends who sat close to me know about the blog and very kindly shared bites of their dishes with me so I could review them. I love this (non-) job.
The Bangkok drumsticks – fried minced chicken wrapped over sugar cane skewers with sweet & sour sauce – were yummy, almost all meat and no filler. I liked them better with hot sauce than their only slightly spicy accompanying sauce. The crispy beef special was just well-done slices of beef with sriracha dipping sauce. We found them tasty, albeit a little chewy. The Thai chicken salad was a bit sour in a good way with lots of raw vegetables like onions, carrot and lettuce.
I rather liked my pad see oui enu (traditional fried chow fun noodles) with sliced beef, egg, giant pieces of cabbage, scallions and crispy garlic. I found the beef slightly sweet but the noodles scrumptiously soft and almost gooey. The stir-fried udon with black pepper beef was the best dish I tasted all night. The meat was done medium well and the noodles were lovely and tender. Considering it was practically the same dish as mine, it’s funny how much better the udon was. I wish I’d gotten that instead.
They have a huge menu of cheap cocktails, mostly $8 or $9. Champagne ones cost a bit more. I tried the special Hawaiian coco with green tea vodka, rum and lime, which was pretty good though very coconutty. You might need glasses to read the astonishing number of drinks crammed onto the one-page menu. They have a nice little bar in the middle of the restaurant, but we didn’t see any people come in just for drinks. It’s definitely more of a restaurant – though certainly a crazy, futuristic-looking one.
The waiters were super cute and nice. So much so that I wasn’t upset they forgot my entrée until they’d served everyone else and realized their mistake. They do tend to be a little slow, though that’s probably a kitchen issue, since the restaurant is not that big. I was amused by the funny LED scroll across the mirror in the bathroom showing pickup lines. I guess if you’re too drunk to come up with your own, you can go get some inspiration in the bathroom. If I’m in the area again I would definitely stop by for the black pepper beef udon. Nooch serves until 11:30 on weekends, and is fairly spacious for the area, so it’s a good choice if you’ve got a bunch of people out late and are hungry and/or thirsty.
Rating: 6.5 / 10
Our cost: $30/person (1 cocktail)
Noise level: dance music in the background, not too noisy otherwise
Chance of walking in: medium.
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