02.02.11
Posted in Asian, New York City, New York City Reviews, rated 7 to 7.5, SoHo, Southeast Asian at 03:52 by Dominique
177 Prince & Thompson/Sullivan Sts., 212-254-7337
Great for: duck mojito, dessert, cocktails, large parties, fucking in the bathroom
Feisty Brooklynite’s birthday party here turned out to be the same night as a tornado warning. That’s definitely a quick way to figure who really loves you. Since I live just across SoHo and she’s one of my best friends, I obviously showed up.
The panko coconut-crusted shrimp tasted overly of coconut, while the semolina fritters had nice chicken and shrimp inside. They could both be crispier. The calamari, on the other hand, is interestingly crunchy without breading. The duck mojito was the best appetizer I tasted. It doesn’t taste like a mojito at all, just vaguely Latin.
The Thai-latin BBQ scallop, prawn and salmon with mixed green salad, white chimichurri and sriracha was quite good. I wished for more than just one of each thing. The saffron paella with seafood in a banana leaf is incredibly awkward to eat – fuck leaves, we don’t live in trees any more – but pretty good. I liked the white sauce on top and could use more of it. The rice needed more flavor. Their pad thai is pretty good.
The sweet world dessert with chocolate volcano cake, créme brûleé and ice cream was far and away the best thing we put in our mouths all night. I wanted to roll around in it. The volcano is rich and decadent, while the créme brûleé is creamy heaven.
I liked all the cocktails we tried, and I especially recommend the chocolate cake shots. The bartender Nick, if he is still there, is both hot and nice. Our waitresses were either kind of deaf or stupid but they seemed to mean well.
The place is girl party central. They were annoying but the music is great. As are the bathrooms. You can see the entire dining room from inside but no one can see you, and my first thought was “Nice! Bathrooms to fuck in!” It’ll be really obvious what you’re doing, but on the plus side, some of the girls will probably dare each other to flash you. Yep, it’s a fun place overall.
Rating: 7 / 10
Our cost: $100 (2 apps, 2 mains, 1 huge dessert, 2 cocktails, 2 shots)
Noise level: noisy when there are girls
Chance of walking in: prob not too bad, there’s a lot of space.
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12.30.10
Posted in Asian, New York City, New York City Reviews, rated 4 to 5.5, Southeast Asian, West Village at 19:02 by Dominique
51 Grove & Bleecker Sts., 212-352-0460
Great for: losing your voice and hearing, mediocre food, wasting a lot of money
As you can tell I did not like this place. Expensive + mediocre + making me wait = angry Dominique. At least I got to spend time with my friend Eurasian Beauty.
After waiting twenty minutes despite having a reservation, we went with two small dishes from the specials, which you would think they could manage. The tumeric [sic] fried sardines with hot and sour sauce were pretty good, especially towards the tail, though the sauce was the best part. The four small spiced salmon cakes with lime leaf, snake bean, Thai basil and sweet chili sauce were only fine. I was disappointed that for over $10, they were just spongy patties of fish and not actual bits of meat.
The poached chicken and crab salad with coconut, cherry tomatoes and green nahm jim dressing was okay. True, there are some things I don’t love in the ingredient list, but it could have been a lot better. It was overly creamy, for one thing.
We got the Wagyu brisket with vegetables to finish. It was the best thing we had but still just decent. The four slices of meat were soft and juicy, probably braised in the sauce. The dish was kind of bland. We specifically ordered the small size but they either brought the big or charged us for the wrong one – we thought initially it was a good deal for the amount of food, so maybe the former. They fixed the check to charge us for just the small, in any case.
Our service was fine except for the mix-up. The décor is that annoying faux-Asian blond wood with uncomfortable tiny furniture that everyone seems to be affecting nowadays. You want to copy Momofuku? Be as good, dammit. There’s a bar and a long table in front where you sit community style. There are some little tables in a Lilliputian back room if you insist on keeping to yourself. EB and I still could barely hear each other there. This place is decidedly off my list.
Rating: 5 / 10
Our cost: $75 (3 small, 1 medium dish)
Noise level: earsplitting even in the back; I got a sore throat from yelling across the tiny table
Chance of walking in: you can’t, but don’t bother. Go somewhere good.
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12.04.10
Posted in Asian, eclectic, Midtown Central, Midtown West, New York City, New York City Reviews, rated 9 to 10, Southeast Asian, Steak at 00:59 by Dominique
Chambers Hotel 15 W. 56th St. & 5th/6th Aves., 212-757-5878
Great for: greedy carnivores, a downtown-feeling restaurant in upper midtown
Getting a Momofuku reservation is harder than it seems. It’s not just a matter of clicking at the exact right time, which requires a fast internet connection and technological competence. You also have to corral enough people for a res who are a) all free on the same range of nights or willing to make it happen and b) not going to flake at the last minute. (You know who you are. Stop it!) When you click through, you’re confronted with a week’s worth of choices and you have a few seconds to swoop on one. This time I confirmed options with two other people I knew would deeply appreciate it all, Average Wonderwoman and R, and then trusted that between us we could find three more carnivores. It all worked out in the end, though we ended up sans sixth person.
It was worth every bit of stress when we walked in and saw the beautiful menu. Our starter of tongue salad with basil in plum vinaigrette, sprinkled with peanuts, was lovely with a good balance between vegetables and meat. I wasn’t sure what to expect from my first tasting of tongue; I needn’t have feared. The meat reminded me of the paper-thin slices that come in beef pho, except this was all very good. I really liked the vinaigrette and the mint leaves were a nice touch. Tongue is just meat like anything else and I was amazed how much I liked it.
The seared Wagyu with radish in ginger scallion sauce is amazing. I could have eaten a whole plate of small delightful morsels myself. I don’t know how raw meat can be so tender – maybe it’s the marinade. The Momofuku cookbook isn’t holding anything back, at least not about ginger scallion sauce, because it tasted just like when I make it at home.
We next had the pleasure of côte de boeuf, which was sliced ribeye roasted in thyme and garlic. It was nutty, soft and just fantastic. There was none of that stringy thing that often happens with beef. I had to keep reminding myself to cut ladylike pieces and not just stuff whole slices in my mouth.
My favorite might have been the lemongrass and Thai basil saucisson. It’s hard to decide between so many amazing things. The sausage was incredibly juicy and rich, and when wrapped in a leaf with pickled stuff and fried garlic and shallots it was a substantial packet of joy. It is extremely rich and does become a little much after you’ve had a lot, which is another reason to load it with veggies. Plus, there are still three courses to go. You don’t want to fill up yet.
After my bad experience at Emporio, I was nervous about the oxtail, but I actually liked it here braised in soy and sherry with scallions. Fat lovers will rejoice – fat pickers like me will have fun teasing out meat morsels. We initially confused the braised shank in crab paste and chilies with a brontosaurus bone that had somehow survived, tender and tasty, for the last sixty-five million years.
It was a bit difficult to do it justice at the end of the meal but we all made valiant efforts. Between the shank meat, which was easily plucked off with the tongs, and the oxtails nestled around it, a die-hard carnivore could not be happier.
For a digestif we had a very refreshing short rib consommé, which seemed to be spiced like pho. It was a perfect last course for a perfect meal. And I’m sure our stomachs were thankful.
Service is pretty friendly, much more so than at most of the other Momofukus. The chairs are a little more comfortable, though still wooden, and it’s the biggest of all his restaurants. There is a funny giant X of tables in the center of the room, maybe to make logistics easier for the beef feasters. I definitely have to come back to try the rest of the menu, although writing this has got me salivating for the whole beef extravaganza all over again. Maybe when I’m off my diet I can celebrate…
Be careful of the dangerous Milk Bar outpost upstairs. Not content with eating an entire cow, I also took home a slice of crack pie, and wow does it live up to its name. Good thing I don’t live close to either dealer, I mean store. In any case, this feast is a must for any New Yorker. And if you get a reservation and have an extra seat, let me know.
Rating: 9 / 10
Our cost: $115 per person (including some drinks) – they argued, but eventually let us pay the $85 prix fixe for the 5 people we had instead of the 6 we thought we would. The rest of the menu is pretty expensive too.
Noise level: it’s kind of echoey with high ceilings
Chance of walking in: probably difficult.
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12.03.10
Posted in Asian, Greenwich Village, New York City, New York City Reviews, rated 4 to 5.5, Southeast Asian at 05:58 by Dominique
38 E.8th St. & University/Broadway, 212-529-2363
Great for: really not much
This time the Average Wonderwoman had a Groupon and we were going to a party nearby anyway. I can see why NYU kids eat here – it’s super cheap – but it is not very good.
We started with the three small plates for $11. The wasabi-mayo scallops were juicy, though not the freshest. The calamari fritters with ginger avocado sauce were nice but rubbery. The best was the sa-tae chicken, which was very tender. I liked the wasabi mayo sauce the most.
Crying tiger sushi is grilled flank on sticky rice with spicy roast rice grain chili dipping sauce. It was not as good as we thought would be. It managed to be both interesting and eh. The lemongrass tuna tartare with chili lime dressing and mixed greens was better. The green papaya and cherry tomato salad was ok. We found the sauce quite sour.
The best thing we tried was the crispy fillet of flounder with garlic butter sauce and roasted potatoes. It was tasty and very large, and made up for a lot. AW’s Bangkok buck cocktail did its part too. Our service was not terrible, just a bit dopey. It’s mostly harmless but I can’t think of a reason to come back.
Rating: 5.5 / 10
Our cost: $60
Noise level: college kids are boisterous
Chance of walking in: pretty good. It’s a large place.
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11.25.10
Posted in Asian, Lower East Side, New York City, New York City Reviews, rated 7 to 7.5, Southeast Asian at 20:12 by Dominique
172 Orchard & Stanton Sts., 212-228-9833
Great for: lunch special, crispy flounder
My actress friend E had just moved back from LA so I took her out to lunch. We tried to go to Café Charbon nearby, but it turned out great that they’re not open for lunch on weekdays – this place was a very good, albeit completely different, substitute.
Lunch is only $7.95 including soup (winter) or salad (summer), shrimp and crab taro spring roll, veggie spring roll and an entrée. All the little appetizers are good, though they are quite tiny. My crispy flounder can only be described as awesome, a perfect combination of crispy outside and tender inside. Its bed of rice noodles was just as good. E’s pad thai was pretty good too, though not on the same level.
Our waitress was very nice. I’m definitely going to try some more food here soon.
Rating: 7.5 / 10 (pending dinner review)
Our cost: $30 for 2 lunch specials with iced coffee and tea. Cash only
Noise level: probably fine unless the nearby Meatball Shop patrons really whoop it up
Chance of walking in: not too bad, medium size.
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03.10.10
Posted in Asian, Chinatown/Little Italy, New York City, New York City Reviews, rated 6 to 6.5, Southeast Asian 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, New York City Reviews, rated 6 to 6.5, SoHo, Southeast Asian 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, New York City Reviews, rated 6 to 6.5, small plates, Southeast Asian 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, New York City Reviews, Queens, rated 8 to 8.5, Southeast Asian 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, New York City Reviews, rated 6 to 6.5, Southeast Asian 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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