Restaurant: BREAD
Cuisine: Breakfast/Brunch/Italian/Sandwiches
Last visited: September 11, 2011
Location: Manhattan, New York (Nolita)
Address: 20 Spring Street
Subway: Spring St
Price range: $10-20

1: Poor 2: OK 3: Good 4: Very good 5: Excellent 6: FMF Must Try!

Food: 4 (Based on items I tried)
Service: 3
Ambiance: 4
Overall: 4
Additional comments:

• Modern Italian menu
• Italian paninis
• Home made bread
• Organic eggs
• Pasta/Mains at dinner
• Homemade desserts
• Local favourite
• Busy at peak hours
• Casual/cozy/quaint
• Cocktails/wine
• Online ordering here
• Brunch Sat. & Sun. 10:30am-5pm
• Daily Lunch Specials until 5pm
• Lunch/Dinner menu
• Sun-Wed 9am-12am
• Thurs-Sat 9am-12:30am

Recommendation: BREAD Tomato Soup, Prosciutto di Parma Panini

The three kitchen staples: milk, eggs and bread… and maybe butter. So I had my taste of Milk and Egg, so now it was time for BREAD. Unfortunately I didn’t get reservations for Butter, so I’ll have to save that for Follow Me Foodie to New York round 2!

I discovered BREAD as I was waiting for my table at Lombardi’s Pizza. It was dinner time and the place was packed, but all the restaurants in the Nolita area are almost always packed with expected line ups. The name BREAD caught my attention, but the style of the restaurant is what really kept me interested. I was easily charmed by the porch like seating area and modern cottage like atmosphere, so I put it on my “hope to try” list.

Well that “hope to try” list came sooner than I thought! It was coming to the end of my New York food trip and restaurant selection was getting crucial. It was time for another brunch spot and I had narrowed my list down to Prune, ABC Kitchen, Clinton St. Baking Company & Restaurant, and BREAD. By process of elimination I decided on BREAD and that was due to the extra bit of convincing from some locals. On a side note, doesn’t that guy kind of look like a young Ashton Kutcher?

Anyways I was hoping to check out their dinner menu, although it looked more like a brunch spot. The night time crowd was perhaps even bigger and they do offer a full bar and separate dinner menu. It’s a cozy and quaint restaurant, but it’s still quite spacious with group dining in the back.

I came in expecting a menu full of different kinds of homemade breads, and almost just bread, but that wasn’t really the case. The bread is well known here, but it’s not a bakery and more of a neighbourhood restaurant. The lunch menu is rather limited and simple, but the food is fresh and homemade. The menu is Italian inspired with a focus on paninis for lunch and pastas for dinner, but it’s American in style. The place is trendy, the portions are fair, and the prices are reasonable and affordable for the area, which makes BREAD an easy local favourite. Personally I would value it more as a local than I would as a tourist, but I still loved the vibe and enjoyed my brunch and BREAD experience.

On the table:

Freshly Squeezed Orange Juice – ($3.50 a la carte) It was the simple details of freshly squeezed orange juice that I appreciated. It was really good orange juice, but of course this varies depending on the season. I prefer pulp, but this was pulp free and it was naturally sweet and not very tart at all.

Complimentary Bread

• At BREAD, they start you off right with of course bread!
• It was served with extra virgin olive oil and vinegar.
• They called it a Ciabatta bread, but I actually wouldn’t have guessed it.
• It almost looked like a sourdough, which would have been random.

• It was served cold and it was super moist, stretchy, fluffy, but still dense and not crusty.
• It was very soft, doughy and chewy and not salty, sour or floury in flavour, but it almost seemed half baked it was so moist.
• The bread almost peeled in layers and there were no apparent large holes like a traditional Ciabatta bread would have.
• I really loved the bread, but it was very different from most Ciabatta I’ve had and it was unexpected.

Eggs Normandy – 3/6 (Good)

• With Smoked Salmon. All brunch served with any juice and coffee, or tea $15
• It was served with roasted potatoes and a Mesclun Salad.
• The brunch menu is very limited to about 3 options of eggs benedict and this one came recommended.
• Being from the West Coast (Vancouver, BC) I’m spoiled with smoked salmon, so this just didn’t do it for me. It was good, but it’s hard for me to be unbiased about it.
• The salmon was very salty and it had a couple bones in it, which is pretty taboo.
• It was almost like toro (tuna belly) and it wasn’t smoky, but just salty.
• I could have used a lot more hollandaise sauce which was very tangy with lots of lemon. I prefer mine creamy, buttery, thick and rich too and not just lemony.
• The best part for me was the crispy thin toasted English muffins which were chewy and spongy and they seemed homemade and good quality.

There was a nice runny egg yolk sauce, but an excellent eggs benny needs and excellent hollandaise.

• The potatoes were crispy with tender, creamy and moist centres and well seasoned with chives. They had great flavour.
• The Mesclun salad was fresh and simple and easily dressed with super fruity olive oil and lemon.

**Prosciutto di Parma Panini – 4/6 (Very good)

• With Mozzarella and Cherry Tomato on Ciabatta $11 a la carte
• Lunch special: 1/2 sandwich and soup $11
• This was the most recommended panini.
• It was a thin crispy Ciabatta bread that was still a bit spongy and not hard or tough.
• It seemed different than the complimentary Ciabatta, but I couldn’t tell because it was panini pressed.

• The sandwich fillings weren’t generous, but they were fair.
• The quality of ingredients were fresh and good, but I was hoping for Heirloom tomatoes over cherry tomatoes and perhaps a few added basil leaves.
• The prosciutto was salty and buttery, but not too salty and there was enough to give the panini a meaty bite.
• The buffalo mozzarella is actually hand made mozzarella and it was springy, spongy and a bit chewy and it was done pretty well.
• It was simple, but the ingredients were good with a balanced ratio and I really give credit to the home made bread and cheese.

**BREAD Tomato Soup – 4/6 (Very good)

• $6 a la carte
• The soup is a house favourite and popular choice.
• It wasn’t rich or creamy and I wouldn’t be surprised if there was no dairy or flour, but I’m not sure.
• I could taste the infused onions and garlic, but it made for aromatics more so than flavour because it wasn’t necessarily garlicky.
• It was really fresh and I could taste the fresh pureed tomatoes, pulp and skins which is what I prefer.
• It was quite acidic and tangy and topped with a fresh Parmesan Ciabatta crouton and basil leaves.

Restaurant: Egg
Cuisine: Breakfast/Brunch/Diner/Eclectic/Southern/American
Last visited: September 10, 2011
Location: Brooklyn, New York (Williamsburg)
Address: 135 N 5th Street
Subway: Bedford Av
Price Range: $10 or less

1: Poor 2: OK 3: Good 4: Very good 5: Excellent 6: FMF Must Try!

Food: 4.5
Service: 3
Ambiance: 3
Overall: 4
Additional comments:

• Eclectic menu
• Local ingredients
• Southern influenced
• Local favourite
• Busy at peak hours
• Casual
• Family friendly
• Cheap eats/budget friendly
• Beer/wine available
• Cash only
• Breakfast until 6pm every day.
• Lunch at 11:30am on weekdays and 3pm on weekends.
• Monday — Friday: 7 a.m. to 6 p.m.
• Saturday & Sunday: 8 a.m. — 6 p.m.

**Recommendations: Eggs Rothko

Egg. It’s a beautiful thing. I’m not referring to the restaurant, but the actual thing. I love eggs. Seriously, I love them so much that if I had to pick one ingredient alone to eat for the rest of my life, an egg would be up for consideration. It doesn’t need salt and pepper and it still tastes good. Hard boiled, fried, scrambled or poached, they all taste different… I will eat them here and there, I will eat them ANYWHERE! (That was from Dr. Suess’ Green Eggs and Ham in case you didn’t get that).

Anyways, when I was planning my Follow Me Foodie to New York itinerary I discovered Egg in Brooklyn. Well, in that case Follow Me Foodie to Brooklyn too! I will travel for food and I will travel for Egg. Williamsburg in Brooklyn isn’t even far from Manhattan and one of my other favourite New York restaurants, Traif, was also found there.

Egg is a classic local favourite in the hipster part of Brooklyn called Williamsburg. Ironically it’s a trendy neighbourhood, but there are lots of independent restaurants worth exploring. Egg is probably one of the most popular for breakfast and brunch and there’s an expected line up during the weekends.

It’s a very casual and quaint restaurant featuring local ingredients showcased in an eclectic and Southern light. I expected every single menu item to feature an egg, but that’s not really the case. There are a good amount of menu items with eggs, but there’s also options without them. It didn’t have any more or any less egg options than a standard breakfast/brunch restaurant would normally have.

Brunch is a big deal in New York and it’s one of my favourite meal times. On the scale of popular and iconic brunch places I tried in New York, I liked it better than Prune and The Fat Radish, but The Spotted Pig was probably my favourite. This is the most casual and affordable out of the listed though. If you’re planning on checking out Williamsburg then I would recommend starting your day off at Egg. It’s nothing fancy, although there’s effort in the menu creations and it’s a charming place to experience brunch as a local.

On the table:

**Eggs Rothko – 6/6 (FMF Must try!)

• Easy-cooked egg in a slice of Amy’s brioche and topped with Grafton cheddar. Served with broiled tomatoes and a side of meat or seasonal vegetables $9
• This is their claim to fame and what convinced me to check out Egg.
• It’s one of the best “Egg on Toast” creations I’ve had. This was Egg IN Toast!
• The idea is brilliant and it’s not necessarily hard to do if you can find a great brioche, so it seems replicable at home too.
• It was a very hearty, rich and filling brunch that would put you right back to bed.
• Alright so were is the star of the show? Where is the egg?!

*Gasp* O.M.G. I don’t know if I’m more excited for the cheese pull or the thought of an egg nestled underneath it!

• It was a nice thick slice of super soft and fluffy toasted brioche with an egg buried underneath a layer of melted cheese.
• The brioche was a fantastic brioche. It was moist with a stretchy texture and buttery rich flavour.
• There was literally a hole cut out of the middle of the bread.
• The egg was cooked in the hole so that it was almost melded together with the bread.
• It was covered generously with lots of ooey gooey white cheddar cheese and the whole thing was intense with buttery flavours.
• The cheese oils absorbed right back into the already buttery brioche.
• The edges of the brioche were crispy and flaky and almost like a croissant, and then the rest was all soft and moist and melted in your mouth.
• It was one of the best ways to enjoy an egg and grilled cheese sandwich.

Yes! I had to get the picture. I love runny egg yolks and this would be perfect for my Runny Egg Yolk Series.

• The brioche was the perfect mop for the egg yolk sauce. I promise you this plate was dishwasher clean after I finished.
• The Eggs Rothko had everything going for it. Heaven. This was truly a slice of heaven and a step away from a heart attack.

• The middle of the brioche that was cut out for the egg, but it was not wasted.
• It was toasted and then served along side with room temperature broiled organic tomatoes on top.

• Your choice of a side of meat or vegetables? Why not top things off properly with bacon?
• I chose candied bacon and they were good quality too!
• They could have been crispier, but they were thick and meaty and a bit on the leaner side.
• They were nice and sweet and being Canadian it reminded me of maple bacon served at home.
• This one didn’t seem like maple though and I think it was honey or another type of syrup.
• It was a good balance of salty and sweet and even better eaten on top of the Eggs Rothko.

Country Ham Biscuit – 3.5/6 (Good-Very good)

• Country ham from Col. Bill Newsom’s Hams in Princeton, Kentucky. Served on a biscuit with homemade fig jam, Grafton cheddar, and a side of grits $8.50
• If you’ve tried Pine State Biscuits in Portland, Oregon, then you’ve already had your ride in the Ferrari. If you haven’t, then this is a tease.
• This was another very rich and hearty brunch item.
• I like grits (ground corn) and this one was organic and good, but it does get better.
• The grits were very cheesy with grated White cheddar cheese, but not creamy. I’m not sure if they maybe just sat for a bit longer than they should have.
• This was almost like mushy rice meets oatmeal and it was stiffer than I prefer.

• Again, since I’ve had a Pine State Biscuit, I wasn’t necessarily impressed with this biscuit sandwich, but it was still good.
• This was basically a gourmet ham and cheese biscuit sandwich.
• It was a flaky and buttery homemade buttermilk biscuit with crispy edges, but it was crumbly and a bit dry and perhaps over toasted.
• The ham was from Kentucky so it would be nice to have an actual local ham on the menu, but I can overlook it.
• The ham was a bit too salty and jerky like and I wasn’t keen on it especially with the drier biscuit.
• It was pretty cheesy which helped with the moisture and the sweet fig jam was a nice contrast to the salty ham.
• I just wanted more sauce to this and I felt like adding a fried egg in it.

Duck Hash – 4.5/6 (Very good-Excellent)

• Duck leg confit with potatoes and green onions and served with 2 eggs any style $12
• Duck confit is one of my favourite things, so this had to be on the table… even if it was for breakfast.
• I had it with 2 poached eggs with runny yolks so that I would have the perfect dipping sauce to eat the hash with.
• The plate was a bit bare, but the flavours delivered.

• The hash was made almost like a hashbrown omelette, but instead of an egg it was shredded potatoes.
• Like a taco, the duck confit was shredded and folded into the hashbrown like shell. It probably could have used a bit more duck for $12 though.
• The hasbrowns were crispy, but not over fried and the inner layer was tender moist shredded potatoes.
• The duck confit was creamy, juicy, not too salty and well seasoned and although basic, it was very good.
• I would have loved this to come with a side of apple sauce and sour cream… almost like a latkes or rosti would be served.

Seared Rabbit Sausage - 4/6 (Very good)

• With Goatfell chard pea tendril poached duck egg and heirloom tomato $12
• This was the special of the day.
• I love rabbit and if you haven’t had it, it tastes like chicken.
• The house made rabbit sausage was a bit inconsistent though. Some pieces were moist and juicy, while others at times dry.
• Rabbit is leaner than chicken though so naturally it might be a bit drier.
• It was good sausage and it was well seasoned with a nice herby thyme flavour and perhaps some chili flakes, but it wasn’t spicy.
• The organic chard pea tendril was sauteed with garlic and it was slightly tangy from perhaps some lemon or vinegar.
• Although very good, I just wanted something more to this dish like nugget potatoes sauteed in grainy mustard or even more heirloom tomatoes.

For dessert I ended up at an authentic hole in the wall Polish bakery called Northside Bakery (149-151 North 8th Street, Brooklyn, NY). This was the kremówka papieska (Papal Cream Cake) which is basically a Napolean. It was a huge triple decker sized sandwich slice of pastry for about $2 and the custard was ultra rich and thick. The place had a steady flow of old time Polish customers and while the dessert was good, I think the highlight is supposed to be the bread.

Making Croissants at Bouchon in Las Vegas

2011 Follow Me Foodie Favourites & Yearblog

Happy New Year! Welcome to my Follow Me Foodie Favourites & Best of 2011! This is a recap and yearbook/yearblog of the BEST Follow Me Foodie (FMF) Food and FMF Foodie Moments in 2011.

I wrote a Follow Me Foodie Favourites & Best of 2010, so I decided to do another one this year. I don’t even know where to start. It’s been a crazy year, and I’m so grateful for everything that has happened with this blog. I’ve loved every minute of it (even the parts where it hurt to laugh because I was so full) and I’m so happy to have shared these delicious moments with you. Thank you for following me foodie and cheers to another year of gastronomic indulgence!

NOTE: IT’S NOT NECESSARILY “THE BEST“, BECAUSE FOOD IS PERSONAL AND I CAN ONLY DISCOVER SO MUCH IN A YEAR. THESE ARE JUST SOME WORTH MENTIONING IN MY BOOKS… OR BLOG? BLOG. IT’S MORE OF A 2011 RECAP/SUMMARY. ALL EXPERIENCES ARE FROM 2011 ONLY.

Top 25 Most Memorable/BEST Dishes Internationally:

At the 5th day of the opening for the first ever Ladurée in the United States in New York

Jamaican Blue Mountain Coffee on Blue Mountain, Jamaica

Food is undeniably a focus when I’m traveling. This year I was grateful to take Follow Me Foodie to Bowen Island, Seattle, Las Vegas, New York, Portland, Los Angeles, Montreal, Quebec City and Jamaica.  Here are some of my best international indulgences this year. So Follow Me Foodie to some of my favourite foods and restaurants abroad with just one click!

Listed in no particular order. Based on the menu item, not the restaurant.

1. Pine State Biscuits – The Reggie Deluxe Biscuit Sandwich – Portland, Oregon

2. Pambiche – Masitas – Portland, Oregon

3. Local 360 – Fried Chicken – Seattle, Washington

4. Beecher’s Handmade Cheese Cafe – World’s Best” Mac & Cheese – Seattle, Washington

5. Nove Italiano - Shrimp Francaise – Las Vegas, Nevada

6. Bouchon – Truite Grenobloise – Las Vegas, Nevada

7. Traif – Crispy Pork Belly – Brooklyn, New York

8. The Spotted Pig – Gnudi – Manhattan, New York

9. Katz Deli – Pastrami Sandwich on Rye – Manhattan, New York

10. Jean-Georges – Manhattan, New York

11. BonChon Chicken – BonChon Chicken Wings – Manhattan, New York

12. Peasant – Cannolichi, Suckling Pig (Porchetta) – Manhattan, New York

13. Boqueria – Croquetas Cremosas – Manhattan, New York

14. Blue Hill – Chilled Corn Soup, Berkshire Pig - Manhattan, New York

15. Scotchies – Jerk Chicken – Ocho Rios, Jamaica

16. Blue Mountain Coffee – Blue Mountain, Jamaica

17. Schwartz’s – Smoked Meat Sandwich – Montreal, Quebec

18. Le St-Urbain – Coffee Glazed Sweetbread – Montreal, Quebec

19. Van Horne – Melon Canari (Canary Melon) – Montreal, Quebec

20. Le Bremner – Kimchi Snow Crab, Lobster Toast Au Gratin – Montreal, Quebec

21. Café Clocher Penché – Duck Confit – Quebec City, Quebec

22. Laurie Raphaël – Apple Crumble, Carrot Cake – Quebec City, Quebec

23. La Traite – Wendake, Quebec

24. Au Goût d’Autrefois (Dining at the Duck Farm), Quebec

25. North End Caffe – Kahlua Pig Egg Rolls – Los Angeles, California

Restaurant: Blue Hill
Cuisine: French/American/Fine Dining/Local
Last visited: September 12, 2011
Location: Manhattan, NY (Greenwich Village)
Address: 75 Washington Place
Nearby subway stops: W 4th Street
Price Range: $50+

1: Poor 2: OK 3: Good 4: Very good 5: Excellent 6: Tres Excellent!!

Food: 5.5-6
Service: 5
Ambiance: 5
Overall: 5.5
Additional comments:

• Farm inspired fine dining
• Local ingredients/Seasonal menus
• Family owned
• 2 locations
• Elegant/Sophisticated
• Executive Chef/Co-Owner Dan Barber
• 1 Michelin Star
• Top 10 Best Lists
• Multiple award winning
• Hidden gem/Local favourite
• Wine list
• Reservations highly recommended
• Monday thru Saturday, 5:30 pm – 11:00 pm
• Sunday, 5:30 pm – 10:00 pm

**Recommendations: Try to visit the Blue Hill Stone Barns location. Reservations must be made months in advance. Chilled Corn Soup, Berkshire Pig, Stone Barns “Freedom Ranger” Chicken, or the Farmer’s Feast (Tasting Menu).

It’s fine dining in New York, but away from New York. It would have been even more so if I made reservations at their other location in Stone Barns. Blue Hill has 2 locations in New York, one in Manhattan and one 30 miles north of New York City in Stone Barns. It’s an all year working farm, education centre and on site restaurant which features no formal menu, but a list of 100 seasonal farm ingredients to choose from. I still plan to visit it one day because the experience is completely different from the Blue Hill in Manhattan, but you need to make reservations months in advance.

Blue Hill was another restaurant that didn’t show up on my original Follow Me Foodie to New York itinerary. Once again I got the recommendation from the head chef at Jean-Georges, who had already given me amazing recommendations for Peasant and Dessert Club, ChikaLicious, both of which I loved. Well actually I got the recommendation from him and Jean-Georges’ brother, Phillipe Vongerichten, who had recently celebrated his birthday at Blue Hill at Stone Barns. So, it was quite the recommendation that needed little convincing to take up.

It was my last dinner in New York and I wanted something memorable. I already had 11 days of gastronomical magic, so this was supposed to be the icing on the cake. Blue Hill is a hidden gem that experienced foodie locals know about and tourists have yet to discover. I wanted my trip to end with passionate food, wrapped around a great experience, topped with exceptional service, and garnished with something uniquely New York, and that’s more or less what I got here.

Tucked away on a rather quiet residential area of Manhattan and away from the noise is Blue Hill. It’s a 1 Michelin Star restaurant and it’s not as hyped as many of the other fine dining restaurants in Manhattan, which is kind of part of its charm. (I took this photo at the end of the night, but otherwise the restaurant was fully booked).

Blue Hill was definitely one of my better fine dining experiences globally. However the concept of “farm to table” dining is really nothing new to me being from Vancouver, BC. Even the idea of dining on farmland isn’t particularly foreign, and quite often our local restaurants will have dinners where you can even meet and greet the local farmers and artisans. With Market Mondays at Raincity Grill, Gumboot Dinners at Seasonal 56, and even places like Krause Berry Farms, where you’re actually picking the fruits and vegetables on the farm, I must say we often don’t know how good we have it until it’s taken away. I must mention La Traite and  Au Goût d’Autrefois in Quebec too since those are the best farm to table experiences I’ve had on the East Coast to date.

Of course I appreciate, value and support the philosophy of farm to table and the restaurants embracing it, but it has to mean something when they do it. Almost every restaurant is “farm to table” or “100 Mile Diet” these days and at times it can feel like a whole marketing “thing”. Personally when I dine “farm to table” I like it casual, on big long wooden communal tables, with big portions served family style, and fresh flowers over candlelight… and sometimes outdoors (I say sometimes because I hate bugs and I get cold easily).

Blue Hill in Manhattan was certainly still a rewarding choice, but Blue Hill at Stone Farms is the real experience. I haven’t been there yet myself, but I’ve researched, read and spoke with others about it and already I felt the difference. I think I would have felt the heart and passion of the restaurant at Stone Farms even more, and here I saw and tasted it in the food, but I didn’t absorb it in the ambiance. I probably would have even tasted it more at Stone Farms since the ingredients have less of a distance to travel and are probably picked when ripe. Regardless, in the end it really depends on what you’re looking for and by no means was I disappointed in what I got here.

On the table:

Complimentary Bread & Butter

• These warm mini house made baguettes were so good they almost had me full before the amuse bouche even started.
• They are super crunchy and crusty on the outside and soft, fluffy and chewy inside.
• They weren’t tough to chew and they had great flavour and a bit of salt.
• Even the butter was better. It was freshly churned and it was sharper, saltier, grassier and likely from a grass fed cow.

• The baguettes came with 3 other condiments: whipped lardo with paprika, homemade butter, and dehydrated tomato powder with salt.
• They had me at the bread, but the butter was even better. I was just impressed with the attention and care to detail.
• Whipped lardo with paprika – this was really greasy and it just tastes like pork rinds, but it was too rich for me and I needed more paprika. It was what it was though.
• Homemade butter – This butter was different than the one they served once I sat down. This one was sweeter and almost less sharp, but still grassy.
• Dehydrated tomato powder with salt – It was tangy like sun dried tomato and smoky from paprika and maybe chipotle and the spice lingered. I could eat it by the spoonful and it wouldn’t be salty, so it was light with the salt. I could use it on popcorn and I liked it!

Amuse Bouche – Summer Vegetables

• Romaine, Baby Summer Squash, Baby Cucumber, Heirloom Cherry Tomato, Gooseberry
• Apparently they do this at Blue Hill at Stone Barns too.
• It really set the tone for dinner and it was the perfect amuse bouche to represent the restaurant.
• It might seem crazy to go in detail about each vegetable, but each one was treated differently.
• Romaine – It was a crisp romaine heart seasoned with salt and pepper which had already dissolved, but it was nice.
• Baby Summer Squash – It was crunchy and raw, but also treated.
• Baby Cucumber – It was crunchy, salted and tangy, but not really pickled and there was a mild heat of paprika.
• Heirloom Cherry Tomato – It was juicy, very acidic and also seasoned.
• Gooseberry – It was very sweet and almost like honey and it was great to end with.

Amuse Bouche – Tomato Ricotta & Almond Cheeseburgers

• Cute! The entire meal was very good, but this little amuse bouche was one of my highlights.
• The buns tasted like a moist, ground almond marzipan cake. It was sweet like cornbread, but definitely almond in flavour.
• They were filled with fresh tomato sauce, fluffy, soft and creamy ricotta, and a bit of frisee.
• They were delicious! It was nutty, sweet, salty, tangy and just full of flavour and fresh good quality ingredients.
• Some slivered almonds would have made for great crunch and texture, but I’m not complaining.

Amuse Bouche – Dark Chocolate Glass Brûlée Shell Sandwiches with Paté

• The amuse bouche was gradually getting better and I didn’t even expect anything more after the mini “cheeseburgers”.
• I love paté and I’ve had it in many forms, but this was one of the most memorable!
• Again the sweet and salty was so well played.
• It was fatty, buttery and creamy pork paté and the paté wasn’t particularly the highlight, but the whole thing overall was brilliant.
• The flavours complemented so well with contrasting flavours and textures.
• It was almost like dessert, but almost like a savoury appetizer and I’ve never had anything like it.
• The crisp dark chocolate brûlée was almost like crackling on a suckling pig.
• The chocolate brûlée was sweet initially followed by bitter charcoal flavours. It gave an earthy and smoky tone to the rich salty pork.
• It was the savoury version of an ice cream sandwich ideal for any carnivore.
• If you’ve never tried pork and chocolate it’s delicious. Try chocolate covered bacon strips, cocoa rubbed pork tenderloin or chicken and mole sauce. The idea is already there, but this interpretation was the best I’ve tasted for it.

Amuse Bouche – Chilled Corn Soup – 6/6

• Chanterelle mushrooms, pancetta ($15 a la carte)
• ‘hnakl;dnlgkna OMG. Delicious! Things were just getting better and better and I didn’t even think it was possible.
• I’ve had chilled corn soup before, and we get amazing corn on the West Coast, but this was the best chilled corn soup I’ve ever had.
• It tasted like pure corn juice.
• It was refreshing and clear, not like a creamy chowder, and almost like a watered down smoothie and very slightly starchy.
• It tasted like they had taken the corn right from the backyard and hand squeezed each kernel after cooking it.
• The soup was incredibly sweet and juicy and sweeter than eating corn off the cob. It was naturally sweet too though.
• I could taste a hint of white pepper that was almost unnoticeable and it was absolutely delightful.
• I was drinking this like my last sip of water.
• This was one of the highlights from my whole New York trip and it was an amuse bouche!

String Beans, Peaches and Nectarines – 5/6

• Homemade Lardo, Fennel and Cucumber $18
• I rarely order salads, but this was recommended and at a restaurant emphasizing farm vegetables, it’s usually a sure bet and something to try.
• It was fresh and well dressed with thick and fruity quality olive oil, a minty dill vinaigrette and some balsamic vinegar.
• The salad was incredibly aromatic and herby and the greens were interesting, which is what I look for in a salad at a fine dining restaurant.
• There were various types of snow peas, different kinds of skinny green beans, strong dill and parsley.
• The cucumbers were perfectly cut in rounds and they were super crunchy and pickled with a mild licorice flavour from the fennel or anise.
• The tender and juicy nectarines and peaches were also perfectly char grilled with criss cross marks, but only on one side which I found unusual.
• The only thing is that the fruits were a bit tart so I’m not sure if they were vine ripened, but at last they weren’t mushy.
• The peaches and nectarines were infused with spices like coriander and cumin and the vinaigrette had a lemony tang so it was a nice refresher.
• The lardo was basically the bacon bits, but there weren’t many. I would have loved some nice cubes of pork cheek croutons!
• There were good crunchy textures and summer flavours, and I did like it, but I wanted a bit more to this salad.
• It was very herby and tangy, so perhaps some candied nuts, crumbled goat’s cheese or blue cheese with a touch of wildflower honey would have done it.

Grilled Mackerel – 5/6

• Cherry Tomatoes, Preserved Lemon and Hazelnuts $18
• The presentation was beautiful! The portion was larger than expected too.
• I was ready to get lost in this random yet organized maze of perfectly cut and grilled mackerel.
• The herbs included chervil, parsley, tarragon, and chives and it was another herby appetizer. I liked it being herby though and it enhanced the farm to table theme.
• Mackerel is such a strong tasting fish with a prominent fish flavour, so it always works well with lots of herbs. However, this mackerel wasn’t fishy tasting and it was actually clean and mild in flavour.

• The skin was chargrilled, crispy and almost puffy and the fish was pretty much sashimi rare. It was almost Western style aburi (seared sashimi) and it tasted like ahi tuna.
• I could taste the burnt charcoal that gave the appetizer such an earthy tone. The tangy preserved lemon and acidic burst of cherry tomatoes balanced out that earthiness.
• In between the pieces of fish were dollops of fruity olive oil with crunchy toasted hazelnuts and dressed micro herbs.
• The hazelnuts made for great texture and it was interesting eating them with the mackerel.
• It was almost like a deconstructed interpretation of a pesto, and I loved all the flavours, but it was missing a sweetness again.
• I like to taste salty, tangy, and sweet in my dishes so I just wanted that missing note, but I still loved it.

**Stone Barns “Freedom Ranger” Chicken – 5/6

• Cannellini Beans, Zucchini, Corn and Pancetta $36
• The “Freedom Ranger” chicken is a breed of chicken which started in France and it’s known for its premium taste and quality since it is raised in a free range and slow growth environment. The bird is naturally inclined to go outside.
• I know chicken can be such a sleeper on the menu, but I’m telling you, it’s making a come back! People are making them shine and if you’re served a good quality chicken, it has a ton of flavour.
• This chicken was not just a sous vide chicken, but this was treated a bit differently and it was made interesting.
• The thigh and breast were executed differently.
• The thigh was poached in olive oil and the breast in buttermilk so both were incredibly tender and soft.
• The chicken skin on the thigh was crispy and it kind of reminded me of Chinese style “Crispy Chicken” and it was infused with herbs and I think some thyme because it was a bit fruity, lemony and tangy.
• The breast was poached in buttermilk and it was a bit smaller which is typical of Freedom Ranger chickens.
• The breast was drizzled with a sauce that tasted like a bacon caramel sauce. It was viscous and gelatinous chicken au jus and it was thick, syrupy and well reduced.
• The chicken breast was silky smooth and almost like tofu it was so tender, but the flavour of the thigh was just superior (probably because it was dark meat too).
• It was served with a succotash made with firm cannellini beans, zucchini, squash, mushrooms, sweet pops of corn and crispy salty pancetta served over a creamy bed of velouté, which is my favourite type of sauce.
• Velouté is basically a béchamel like cream and butter sauce and it was silky smooth like velvety rich and creamy pommes puree.
• The succotash was another highlight and I could have eaten 10 bowls of it. They should offer it as a side dish.
• There’s just something about corn, bacon and velouté that will have you at your knees.

**Berkshire Pig - 6/6

• Peaches, Sweet Corn, Tomatoes and Shiitake Mushrooms $36
• This was probably the best version of a Berkshire Pig I’ve had. It was definitely worth it.
• It featured various cuts of the pig and it was almost like an individual serving of a Whole Hog Dinner.
• Being Asian, I’m used to eating all parts of the animal, but I still really enjoyed this dish on a Western level. They did a great job!
• Clockwise from 12 o’clock: Jowl, snout, tenderloin, shoulder
• I’m pretty sure all of it was sous vide again at one point and it was served with a salty and sweet pork jus reduced with some wine.
• It was served with a side of chargrilled sweet corn, peaches, tomatoes and Shiitake mushrooms
• The jowl was my favourite and it tasted like Chinese roasted pork or suckling pig. It was better than the toriniku (pork cheeks) at Ramen Santouka.
• It was creamy, buttery, juicy and almost 70% fat, but the whole thing just melted and it wasn’t gelatinous or chewy at all! I could have spread it on bread like butter.
• The pork skin was crunchy like candy and well caramelized and the meat was silky smooth and it was literally melting oils on the plate.
• It was served on top of a stewed peach salsa which was really tangy and herby and a bit sweet so it was a nice contrast.
• The snout is naturally a bit more gelatinous and sticky so the texture is perhaps more acquired.
• It was a bit too salty and chewy for me, but it was made really well for what it was.
• Personally I prefer the snout all chopped up and in a terrine (see here) or served the Filipino way like in Sisig – see Sizzling Pork Sisig.
• The tenderloin medallions were the most traditional and ordinary, but it was still amazing for being a pork tenderloin.
• It was perfectly cooked with a pinkish middle and it was still tender although not necessarily juicy.
• It was infused with rosemary and garlic flavour and it was the only cut where that flavour was obvious. I’m not sure if anything else was infused with it.
• Last was the shoulder, which tends to be one of my favourite parts due to texture and flavour after it is braised.
• This one was smoky in flavour and a bit resistant and chewy which was unusual. It didn’t seem like shoulder to me.
• It was pretty fatty and well seasoned, but there was no dry rub or anything.
• The side of corn and veggies was simple, fresh and light. It was acidic and herby and a great accompaniment to the more indulgent pork.

White Eggplant Puree – 2/6

•  $8
• This reminded me of baba ganoush (Middle Eastern roasted eggplant dip).
• I love eggplant, but I was really not digging this, but eating it more because it was there.
• It was just unexpected and it seemed more like a dip than a side. It was like a cold creamy mayo spread and I couldn’t eat it alone.
• It was very rich and very heavy on the mayo and was almost all I could taste.
• There was eggplant texture more so than flavour, and it was pureed with what tasted like a lemony yogurt sauce with some mint and parsley.
• It was a bit spicy, but it really didn’t seem like a side and I also thought the eggplant took a back seat.

Raspberries – 5/6

• Passion Fruit Souffle, Lemon Thyme $12
• It was quite small, but I enjoyed it as a summer dessert and it was well executed and representable of the restaurant’s theme.
• I question the passion fruit though, unless they really manage to grow it at Stone Barns or source it locally.
• I prefer a deep and tall souffle over a shallow one, but this was very well made.

• It was a very soft, tender and fluffy cloud of passion fruit souffle, but I could taste more lemon than passion fruit. The thyme I couldn’t taste though.
• The souffle was airy, light and whipped and almost like a lightly baked marshmallow with a very fluid and custard like centre that just melted in your mouth.
• It actually sat on a thin sponge like tart shell which gave it nice contrasting texture, but it wasn’t crispy or crunchy.
• The souffle was placed on top of a tart raspberry coulis, with lots of fresh raspberries, and a vanilla creme l’anglais, which needed more vanilla beans.
• I could taste a hint of liquer, but I’m not sure if it was from the raspberry or the souffle.
• There was a nice tangy and sweet balance and I did love it, but I also wanted a bit more from it.
• It wasn’t necessarily memorable, although I enjoyed it in the moment. I just expected something perhaps a bit more intricate, detailed, or with more components.

Complimentary Chocolates & Candies

• There were caramelized flax seed clusters, chocolate raspberry truffles, and candied hazelnuts.
• The flax seed clusters were something new! They were super crunchy and like kettle corn, but a bit bitter from the flax. It was like chocolatey rice krispies.
• The raspberry truffles were creamy and full of bittersweet chocolate, but the ganache was faint with raspberry flavour.
• The candied hazelnuts were large crunchy candied hazelnuts dusted with cocoa powder. In France they’re known as Grignotine – a snack.
• It was all served on top of cocoa nibs which I could have eaten spoonfuls of and all the chocolate used was great quality.
• I love chocolate, but personally it would be nice if this summer meal ended with some fresh fruits. It would just add to the charm and theme of the “farm to table” restaurant.

Restaurant: Dessert Club, ChikaLicious
Cuisine: Desserts/Bakery/Ice Cream
Last visited: September 12, 2011
Location: Manhattan, NY (East Village)
Address: 204 E 10th Street
Nearby subway stops: 3 Av
Price Range: $10 or less

1: Poor 2: OK 3: Good 4: Very good 5: Excellent 6: Tres Excellent!!

Food: 5 (based on what I tried)
Service: 3
Ambiance: 2,5
Overall: 4.5
Additional comments:

• Dessert only
• Local favourite
• 2 shops
• Creative/gourmet
• Home made ice cream/sorbet
• Very casual
• Family friendly
• Limited seating
• To go dessert
• Whole cakes available
• Mon – Thurs 1PM – midnight
• Friday 1PM – midnight
• Sat. noon – midnight
• Sun. noon – 11PM

**Recommendations: Van Custard Cookie Éclair, Éclair Ice Cream Cone and Butterscotch Chronic. The Red Velvet Cupcakes are supposed to be amazing, but I didn’t try those.

It was the tail end of my Follow Me Foodie to New York trip and restaurant selection was becoming more crucial. I didn’t have many dining opportunities left so I had to pick and choose carefully. I had a foodie itinerary for New York that would last me at least a couple months and it was impossible to do them all within the precious 2 weeks I had. Not only that, but my itinerary continued to grow once I got to New York too.

The recommendation for Dessert Club, ChikaLicious actually came from the head chef at Jean-Georges in New York. I know, it’s quite the source for a recommendation. I had the opportunity to chat with him and it turns out he has a major sweet tooth. Well that works out perfectly since I have a major sweet tooth. If you’ve been reading this blog for a while, you definitely know that fact already. He was also the one to give me the recommendation for Blue Hill, and one of my favourite restaurants in New York, Peasant, so I was already confident in his suggestions.

I was on my way for lunch at Prune and I decided to make a pit stop at Dessert Club, ChikaLicious. I’ll call it a sweet appetizer or “amuse bouche”. A place called “Dessert Club” was something I had to be a member of.

It turns out the restaurant has 2 locations that are literally right across the street from each other. The ChikaLicious Dessert Bar is the more formal, sit down, after dinner location with fine dining presentation. The Dessert Club, ChikaLicious is the more casual and quick location with desserts available to go. The seating is very limited and it gets really busy at night, so come early or in the afternoon. Some dessert items overlap, but ChikaLicious Dessert Bar has a more impressive menu so I would recommend going there if possible. It wasn’t open when I went, so I missed out.

Just like every dessert place in New York, the cupcakes are a major feature. They looked amazing, but I didn’t come for cupcakes. I actually didn’t know what I came for, but they had a lot of selection. From cookies, macarons, ice cream sandwiches and cakes, I was pretty much in dessert heaven. They’re probably most famous for their Éclair, and I know all the things I listed sound pretty “normal”, but everything was better than it seemed. For example, if the menu read “Vanilla Bean Soft Serve”, it was likely going to be the best Vanilla Bean Soft Serve you’ve ever had in your life.

The pastry chef and co-owner is Chika Tillman, hence the name ChikaLicious. The divey looking location is unassuming and all the desserts are gourmet, made in house with high quality ingredients and at fine dining standards. The prices are also really reasonable for what they’re serving, and if you’re a fan of dessert I wouldn’t miss this hidden gem.

On the table:

**Vanilla Custard Cookie Éclair – 6/6              

• $4.95
• This is one of their signature desserts and most highly raved about items. It’s a must try.
• It’s not about presentation at Dessert Club, ChikaLicious, so it was served in a disposable hot dog wrapper. If you want real plates you go to ChikaLicious Dessert Bar.
• I like éclairs, but I never really order them because they’re usually dry with a greasy whipped cream filling.
• But, if they tasted like this, I’d order them all the time! It’ll change the way you feel about them.
• It was definitely the best éclair I’ve ever had so far, but it was also a bit different from most.
• The éclair choux pastry shell was chilled and the custard was piped upon order.
• The pastry had a sugary baked crumbly meringue like topping that was almost cookie like. It added some crispy texture and it was really tender.

• The inside was generously filled with home made fresh custard that was bursting with vanilla bean seeds (although you can’t tell in the picture).
• The topping made it a bit crispy, but the choux pastry was thin, light, airy and a bit flaky with a slight stretch.
• It wasn’t dry at all and it wasn’t hard either so your teeth just sunk into it.
• As soon as I bit into it, it oozed out a sweet thick and creamy rich custard with a lovely floral vanilla scent.
• The whole thing was super moist, but never soggy, and it wasn’t too sweet either.
• I can’t say it was “just an éclair” because the custard was the best custard and the pastry was the best pastry, so it became even better than what it was.

**Butterscotch Chronic – 5/6

• Brown sugar custard with Granny Smith green apple sorbet and frosted pecans $5.95
• Again, it’s not about presentation at Dessert Club, ChikaLicious, so it was served on a cardboard plate. If you want fancy plates you go to ChikaLicious Dessert Bar.
• This is another signature dessert and it was highly recommended by the staff. It’s one of the favourites at ChikaLicious Dessert Bar too.
• It was a play on a caramel coated candy apple, but this was 100x’s better for me since I don’t care much for candy apples unless they’re fresh, handmade and gourmet.
• The brown sugar custard was maybe the size of a teacup and it was a really small portion, but it was enough.
• It was a real brown sugar custard and almost like a creme caramel, but it wasn’t as sweet as most caramel, butterscotch, or toffee.
• It was a creamy, thick, rich, buttery smooth and silky caramel and it was almost like a pannacotta (cooked cream).
• The custard tasted like melted caramel candies and the ingredients were just super fresh and high quality.
• The drizzle of syrup over the custard tasted like maple caramel syrup and I could have used less of that, but it went well with the sorbet.
• The Granny Smith green apple sorbet I was most excited about and it was super fresh, refreshing and tasted like pure apple sorbet.
• It was nice and tart and a fantastic contrast to the sweeter brown sugar custard.
• The frosted pecans were also really sweet, but I liked the crunchy texture they added and I wanted more of them.
• The dessert would have been 6/6 for me if the pecans were cinnamon spiced and the caramel sauce was salted for more of a balance and less sweetness, but that’s my personal tastes.

**Vanilla Bean Soft Serve – 6/6

• Cone $3.50 Cup Small $4.50 Large $5.50
• I love ice cream and it’s my favourite category of desserts out of ice cream, cake, cookies, doughnuts and pie.
• If you like ice cream as much as me, then you have got to try the soft serve here. AMAZING!
• Did you see the cone? Definitely get the cone over the cup!
• They use a homemade éclair for their cones and they fill the whole thing up with ice cream and continue all the way to the top. Brilliant!
• This was no doubt the best soft serve vanilla bean ice cream I’ve ever had.
• I love soft serve ice cream, and this was top quality.
• It was better, less rich and less heavy than Dairy Queen and Big Gay Ice Cream (which I didn’t really like). It was heavier than McDonald’s soft serve, and it didn’t have a greasiness.
• The ingredients were fresh and good quality so it tasted different than most out there.
• It was creamy, but not sickly rich and had lots of real vanilla bean flavour.
• I had the sudden urge to be like Moe from the Simpsons and just put my head under the ice cream dispenser and lay there all day.

The soft serve vanilla bean ice cream is bursting with real vanilla bean seeds!

When you get down to the cone it can get a bit messy, but the ice cream never really leaked out of the éclair or made it soggy. You’ll finish it before it even gets to that point. I’m a fan of ice cream, so the éclair was amazing with it, but it’s also incomparable to the traditional vanilla custard. I’d say try both. It’s apples and oranges and what’s another dessert?

Restaurant: Russ & Daughters
Cuisine: Sandwiches/American/Kosher
Last visited: September 3, 2011
Location: Manhattan, NY (Lower East Side)
Address: 205 E Houston St
Nearby subway stops: 2 Ave
Price Range: $10 – 20

1: Poor 2: OK 3: Good 4: Very good 5: Excellent 6: Tres Excellent!!

Food: 5 (based on what I tried)
Service: 4
Ambiance: 2
Overall: 5
Additional comments:

• Since 1888
• New York institution
• Family owned/operated
• “Appetizing” store
• Multiple award winning
• “Best in City”
• Local favourite
• World famous smoked salmon
• Double whipped cream cheese
• House made bagels
• Fish “deli” and bakery
• Caviar selection
• Specialty grocery store
• No seating
• Ships nationwide
• Cash only
• Sunday 8am – 5:30pm
• Mon-Fri 8am-8pm
• Saturday 9am-7pm

**Recommendations: Smoked Sablefish, Caviar, Cream Cheese

It was fate! I wasn’t even looking for it, but it was on my Follow Me Foodie to New York itinerary! I was on my way to Katz Deli for my world famous pastrami sandwich and Meg Ryan orgasmic experience, when I looked up and noticed Russ & Daughters! Well then, I couldn’t just ignore it. What’s another sandwich anyways?

Russ & Daughters is no doubt a local favourite and long time player in the New York food scene. I refrain from calling it a “deli”, because it isn’t. Many people call it a “deli”, but it’s actually an “appetizing store” and one of the very few remaining ones in New York. It’s an institution that has withstood the test of time since 1888 and still remains family owned.

Appetizing stores were started by Eastern European Jews and they’re places that sell things normally eaten with bagels. These items include smoked fish, cream cheese, salads, and preserves that are traditionally eaten as appetizers. The places selling cured and pickled meats were known as “delis”, and Russ and Daughters specializes in smoked fish. Seafood is not considered meat, so it is considered kosher to eat fish and dairy together as you would here.

It’s a small take-away only appetizing store operated by third and fourth generation Russ’. It’s not really a “touristy” place with long line ups, but it is part of New York history which locals still frequent. As a tourist, it’s good for a quick, casual, and affordable lunch on the go.

I got the recommendation from trusted foodie friends in Vancouver and I was given a specific order. I confidently walked up to the counter, put my elbow on it, and looked Russ in the eye (it wasn’t actually Russ, but I thought it was… Russ would be almost 100 by now), and asked for “Smoked Sablefish and Wasabi Caviar”. Okay, I wasn’t exactly that dramatic about it all, but I felt like a local doing it and I was really excited about trying this specific order!

Anyways “Russ” looked right back at me with a question mark and tossed me a menu. Oh crap! There’s a menu? I wasn’t told there was a menu! I scanned the items looking for “Smoked Sablefish and Wasabi Caviar” and it wasn’t on there! I was in panic mode. I ended up breaking down and confessing I was a tourist and that I was told I had to try “Smoked Sablefish and Wasabi Caviar” and even pulled out the e-mail to show him.

So it turns out this isn’t the name of a particular menu item or off the menu item, but it’s just products they sell. Smoked Sablefish and Wasabi Caviar. Oh! That makes sense! The menu did have signature bagel sandwiches, but you can customize your own too.

So I got THE Smoked Sablefish… which he actually let me sample first which was nice…

…and I got my caviar cream cheese (I missed the “wasabi caviar” or “wasabi-infused flying roe” because it wasn’t offered in a cream cheese. However, now that I think about it, I should have just ordered it as an extra filling)…

all wrapped up in a housemade bagel called the SHTETL! Yes, it was the S***!

This ended up being my appetizer on my way to Katz’s Deli for dinner (a couple walking blocks away). I thought it made perfect sense since Russ & Daughters was an “appetizing store”. Two sandwiches later also meant two desserts to balance. So I had gelato at Il Labartoie Gelato and ice cream at Van Leeuwen Artisan Ice Cream afterward. It was day number two in New York so I celebrated with two of everything. Doubling up and I was just getting started!

On the table:

SHTETL Bagel Sandwich - 4/6 (6/6 for the sablefish

• Smoked Sablefish & All Natural Goat Cream Cheese on a Bagel or Bialy $13.25
• I ordered it with a housemade poppy seed bagel.
• Gah! $13 for a bagel sandwich?! It better have caviar in it! And it did!
• It had sablefish and caviar, so it’s not cheap, but the price is somewhat understandable. However you could choose any cream cheese in your bagel and it would be the same price.
• I loved everything about this sandwich, except for the bagel.
• It’s obviously a New York style bagel, and not a Montreal style bagel so the hole is smaller to accommodate the fillings. It’s also not dipped in honey like Montreal ones either.
• The bagel is made in house, but it’s not a bagel factory and they didn’t seem as fresh.
• The bagel was super hard and chewy and a bit dry and dense, and I just thought it got in the way of the silky sablefish texture.
• Next time I would just get the the sablefish and cream cheese alone.

• **Smoked Sablefish – 6/6
• $43.96/lb online ordering
• The sablefish is caught in Northern Pacific Waters and smoked to Russ & Daughter’s specifications with  light dusting of paprika that’s supposed to seal in moisture and round out the flavours.
• The sable is probably one of the best things I’ve eaten. I love sablefish in general, but this smoked sablefish was insanely good.
• The smoked sable fish melted in my mouth with buttery flavour and it was silky smooth and slippery in texture and glided in my mouth!
• The fish was so naturally oily with an infused smoky flavour and I could have eaten the entire fish.
• Caviar Cream Cheese- 4/6
• Double-whipped cream cheese mixed with malossol fresh black whitefish caviar. $9.49/lb
• The cream cheeses are all double whipped and they’re amazing. They looked like mountains of whipped cream!
• It’s creamy, rich and very fresh and fluffy without being too airy.
• It doesn’t have a strong gamey goat’s cheese flavour either which I’m not keen on and it just tasted like cow’s milk cream cheese.
• It’s not the best quality caviar in the cream cheese, which would be a waste anyways, but it’s still good although not particularly noticeable.
• I would recommend checking out their other caviars (not in cream cheese) because they have quite a selection of high quality caviar and an in house caviar specialist too.

Restaurant: Rice to Riches
Cuisine: Desserts
Last visited: September 9, 2011
Location: Manhattan, NY (Nolita)
Address: 37 Spring Street
Nearby subway stops: Spring Street
Price Range: $10 or less

1: Poor 2: OK 3: Good 4: Very good 5: Excellent 6: Tres Excellent!!

Food: 4.5
Service: 3.5
Ambiance: 4
Overall: 4.5
Additional comments:

• Specializes in rice pudding
• 20+ flavours
• Unique, gourmet flavours
• To go dessert
• Catering available
• Online ordering
• Open late

**Recommendations: You can sample them before you choose! I liked the Man-Made Mascarpone with Cherries and Almond Shmalmond, but the French Toast is also well liked. Cheesecake is popular too.
Rice to Riches?! I thought it was Recipe to Riches?! (By the way make sure you get your votes in for your favourite recipe (Dec. 7-9) here!) I gotta support my girl Glo from the sweet puddings and pies category ) Speaking of sweet puddings though, this was another kind of sweet pudding! Rice pudding!

I was on my way to the famous Lombardi’s for pizza when I saw Pinkberry. Being that Pinkberry was a chain it caught my eye, but not really my interest. However what was next door definitely caught my eye and interest! From the looks of it I thought it was another frozen yogurt/ice cream place, which is fine by me since I love that stuff, but this was even better because it was something new! It was as busy, if not even busier than Pinkberry, and it was basically the “fro-yo” of rice pudding! I know! What the heck right?! Anyways after pizza, it was time for rice pudding!

At first I thought who really likes rice pudding THAT much to dedicate a whole store to it. I guess it’s not that surprising to have a shop dedicated to just rice pudding, but it certainly is rare. In New York there’s everything, but if you’re going to specialize in one thing, you better be damn good at it. They claim it’s “finally a rice pudding that doesn’t suck”, and it really didn’t!

At first sight it could easily be mistaken as a frozen yogurt shop.

Or even an ice cream shop!

But it is indeed rice pudding. If you’re not crazy about rice pudding this could change your mind. It’s not your ordinary British rice pudding that you may or may not dread for dessert. It puts the boring dessert in a new light by offering 20+ kinds of rice pudding and the flavours get pretty interesting. From Understanding Vanilla, to Fluent in French Toast, and even Sex Drugs and Rocky Road, it’s creative rice pudding you wouldn’t mind giving a second chance.

The set up is just like a frozen yogurt shop and you can select toppings, or “Jesus droppings”, to go on top of your rice pudding. The marketing is really edgy, smart and funny, and it just makes you want to buy one even if you’re not a rice pudding fan. It’s rice pudding for the 21st century and it puts a modern twist to an old fashioned comfort food. It made it into something cool and there is a lot of love for it.

If I had a choice I’d rather have ice cream, pastry or cake, but I do like rice pudding, although I never crave it. I would never make it, and I might order it at an Indian restaurant, but this was a game changer. I would actually crave Rice to Riches rice pudding. I don’t know if I would crave it if I had it easily available at home in Vancouver, BC though. Some people might complain that it’s overpriced or too rich, creamy and sweet, and it’s partially true, but I still enjoyed it. If I’m going to have rice pudding for dessert, I’m going to have it here.

Note to foodies with a sweet tooth: If you want to double up, there’s “The Best Chocolate Cake in the World” (name of the actual store) just a block away. If you’re in the area you might as well kill two birds with one stone. The rice pudding doesn’t melt and you can take it to go anyways.

On the table:

Man Made Mascarpone with Cherries Rice Pudding & Almond Shmalmond Rice Pudding with Coconut Crumble

• Solo (Serves 1/1 flavour only) $6.75 Epic (Serves 1-2) $8.50 Sumo (Serves 5) Moby (Serves 10) $40 + $1 for toppings
• Man Made Mascarpone & Almond Shmalmond with Granola $9.50
• $10 for rice pudding is certainly “sit down dessert” pricing, and it was overpriced, but I still liked it.
• They come in fancy reusable plastic containers which are included in the price already.

**Almond Shmalmond Rice Pudding - 4.5/6

• It is probably the best rice pudding I’ve had to date.
• It was like the love child of rice pudding and a custard.
• It was super thick, ultra rich, creamy and smooth and there was more cream than there was rice.
• It was creamy like Greek yogurt creamy, and I would consider it heavy for a rice pudding.
• It was custard-like, but with less egg, more cream, and maybe even some vanilla.
• This flavour was less sweet than most creme brûlées and it wasn’t hurt your teeth sweet.
• The rice was a really soft short grain and it seemed like broken down or overly churned arborio rice.
• The almond flavour was actually quite mild, and it was just extract with no actual almonds, but I still enjoyed it.
• The coconut crumble topping (+$1) tasted like light brown sugar granola crumble on a baked apple pie.
• It was reminiscent of a graham cracker pie crust and it was sweet, sugary, nutty and crunchy, but I wanted more coconut.

**Man Made Mascarpone with Cherries Rice Pudding - 4.5/6

• This was perhaps less sweet than the almond and maybe even a a bit thicker, but the cherries helped to break it up and gave it a tartness.
• It had sour dried cherries throughout and it wasn’t cheesy from marscarpone, but it was still very rich and thick.
• It actually barely tasted like marscapone or cheese, but I didn’t even care. It was just good!

Cinnamon Sling Rice Pudding & I Gotta The Panna Cotta Rice Pudding

• Epic (Serves 1-2) $8.50

Restaurant: The Halal Guys – 53rd and 6th (Food Cart)
Cuisine: Halal/Middle Eastern/Fast Food/Food Cart
Last visited: September 12, 2011
Location: Manhattan, NY (Midtown West)
Address: 53rd St and 6th Ave
Nearby subway stops: 7 Ave
Price Range: $10 or less

1: Poor 2: OK 3: Good 4: Very good 5: Excellent 6: Tres Excellent!!

Food: 4
Service: 3
Ambiance: n/a
Overall: 4
Additional comments:

• Local favourite
• “Famous” food cart in NY
• Famous for “Chicken & Rice”
• Ask for extra “white sauce”
• Fresh chicken
• Limited menu
• Quick, but long lines at peak hours
• Cheap eats/budget friendly
• Late night eats
• Take-out
• Catering available
• Mon-Sun 5pm-7am

**Recommendations: “Chicken & Rice” or “The Platter” and make sure you get extra white sauce!
Holy crap. I know the photo is dark, but can you see the line up for this food cart?! It wasn’t always this long, but chances are there will be a line up, especially if it’s a weekend. However I was here at 9pm on a Monday and it was still this busy. It’s a “munchies” food cart, but it’s not serving poutine, hot dogs, or pizza, it’s serving “Chicken and Rice”!

“Chicken & Rice”, “The Platter”, “The Halal Guys”, “Gyro-Spot”, “Chicken Guys”, The food cart on 53rd and 6th”, or whatever the name you know it by, you can’t miss this in Manhattan, New York! It’s no doubt a soft spot for the locals and I wouldn’t have sought it out on my own. It was recommended to me by New Yorkers as satisfying cheap eats after work hours, or something you should do with your friends at 3am after drinking. I wasn’t in either situation, but when food is involved, I get curious.

So what’s so special about “Chicken & Rice”?! Honestly there are TONS of these food carts on every block of New York that looked just like this one. They even served the same thing too! But if this one food cart can stand out above the others, there must be something different, and that’s exactly what The Halal Guys claim… “we are different”.

I introduce to you The Halal Guys. Hmmm they don’t exactly look happy and it’s not their personalities that get the line-up, but the actual food. They’re not mean or anything, but just saying, it’s actually for the food. They were regular guys working hard at their business and now they’ve become locally “famous” for their “Chicken & Rice”.

“Chicken & Rice” or “Chicken Platter” that’s what you’re supposed to order here. I only knew it as “Chicken & Rice”, but it’s called “Chicken Platter” on the menu. They have falafels and a couple other things on the menu, but this is what you come for and what they’re known for.

As I mentioned, there are lot of carts in New York offering this same menu, so I didn’t understand the hype, until I was a block away. I had already passed a few of these carts and there were even more ahead, but for some reason this was the only one that smelled so damn good. Appealing to the nose is half the battle. Person after person would order this and you either eat it standing, squatting, to-go, or sitting on an uncomfortable nearby foundation ledge. It’s how cheap eats is meant to be enjoyed.

And this is partly why people are so obsessed with it!

I felt like I was in the soup episode of Seinfeld and I had to observe the line up to see what to do and how to proceed. Every person would take their Chicken & Rice and head to the side of the cart for the self-serve condiments. I’d watch them drench their tin foil trays with this “white sauce”, which any local will tell you to load up on.

I had just finished dinner at Aldea, so this was already dinner #2. From 1 Michelin Star to a food cart, Follow Me Foodie is all about balance! I was already quite full and I contemplated ordering one, but I’ve never seen such local hype for a food cart, besides when Japadog started in Vancouver, BC. So I decided to take the plunge. The only other food cart in New York with this much hype seems to be Big Gay Ice Cream, but that had national exposure from Food Network, this one on the other hand seemed like the locals’ secret.

On the table:

I ordered it to go and it came with prepackaged white sauce which you’re supposed to order more of. Everyone knows it by “white sauce” and that’s what they actually call it too. The red sauce is the hot sauce which is really hot, not just “spicy”. It’s way hotter than most of the food carts offering the same thing.

**Chicken & Rice – 4/6

• $6
• Well it certainly didn’t look like the picture. It kind of looked really boring and bland to me, but it smelled really good!
• Since I’m not a New Yorker, I had to ask New Yorkers what made this one so “different” than the other guys.
• Apparently it even looks different than most “Chicken & Rice” served at these food carts.
• The boneless and skinless dark meat chicken was being made fresh on the spot and the guy was madly chopping, shredding, and hacking away at it into bits like teppanyaki. The other carts would normally serve the chicken in chunks like kebabs.
• There was also no curry powder on the chicken and usually there is, and it’s not usually served with pita either.
• I found the chicken a bit dry and it tasted quite regular to me without any apparent seasonings or herbs. It was good, but just good.
• The whole pieces of curried chicken actually sounded better to me, but I never got to try one to compare.

• Underneath was a bed of orange rice and usually it’s a half white and half yellow rice. It was moist, but just regular basmati rice.
• There was also some chopped green lettuce and store bought pita.
• For me it was almost a deconstructed chicken pita in a bowl and it was very good, but I didn’t really get it.
• The famous “white sauce” reminded me of that garlicky Ranch sauce people squirt all over their pizzas at 3am at Megabite Pizza in Vancouver, BC. It tasted like it too.
• The white sauce here is apparently thicker than the other guys’ and it was almost creamy like a dressing, but it tastes like a prepackaged white sauce.
• It’s one of those “everything tastes good mixed together dishes”, and with that garlicky white sauce anything would taste good.
• It is different than all the other “chicken & rice” carts in New York, but as a tourist, I wouldn’t know any better and it just seemed like “chicken & rice” to me.
• It is delicious cheap eats in New York and it hits the spot, but I think I was expecting something amazing.
• I think I enjoyed my New York hot dog from the food cart on Little Brazil & W7th Ave in Times Square even more.

Restaurant: Aldea
Cuisine: Fine Dining/Portuguese/Spanish/Fusion
Last visited: September 12, 2011
Location: Manhattan, NY (Chelsea/Flatiron)
Address: 31 W 17th St
Nearby subway stops: 14 St
Price Range: $50+

1: Poor 2: OK 3: Good 4: Very good 5: Excellent 6: Tres Excellent!!

Food: 5
Service: 3
Ambiance: 4
Overall: 4
Additional comments:

• Owner/Chef George Mendes
• 1 Michelin Star
• Multiple award winning
• Opened May 2009
• Modern Portuguese & Spanish cuisine
• Fine dining
• Seasonal menus
• Lots of shellfish
• Very small portions
• Cocktails/wine
• Mon-Thurs 5:30pm-11pm
• Fri-Sat 5:30pm-12am
• Closed Sunday

**Recommendations: Sea Urchin Toast, Shrimp Alhinho, Arroz de Pato (Duck Confit), Pennsylvania Roast Suckling Pig

Photo from Aldea website

It was on my Follow Me Foodie to New York itinerary, but it wasn’t a priority until my last few days when I heard a New York “food snob” rave about it. Aldea opened in May 2009 so it’s not new to the New York dining scene; but its quickly earned 1 Michelin Star has created hype. It’s multiple award winning reputation is acknowledged to local foodies and food enthusiasts and I took the last minute bait.

I consider it fine dining, and the menu speaks of it, but the furniture and decor doesn’t really. The interior is inspired by the Iberian countryside and incorporates elements of wood, water, air, stone, cloud and Earth. It had a modern Zen like atmosphere and I found it quite relaxing and nice. The back features an open kitchen and more casual dining space, so it’s supposed to portray a rustic elegance, but I’m not sure how well it translates.

There are seats in front of the open kitchen which I didn’t realize until later. I love sitting in front of where all the action happens, so if you do too, I would make an early request.

The Chef and owner is George Mendes who is American born to Portuguese parents. He was also on Food Network’s Top Chef Masters. His global experience in world renowned kitchens all over the States and Europe has eventually led him to open Aldea, which means “village” in Spanish. Part of the highlight for me was actually having him in the kitchen and making the food, which apparently is common at Aldea. It doesn’t happen often with big name chefs, and even though it was more likely to happen here since he only has one restaurant, I still valued the fact.

Aldea specializes in modern Iberian cuisine which incorporates Portuguese and Spanish flavours. The majority of people, including myself, know it as a modern Portuguese restaurant with a bit of fusion flare, but Chef Mendes likes to call it “his own style”. I also call it “fine dining”, but they claim to be a “balance between rustic and refined”. Rustic I didn’t see in the food, but refined it was.

The food was generally very good and more often than not excellent, but the value wasn’t great. I guess “value” isn’t something you really consider when you fine dine anyways, but personally I think other restaurants of the same caliber (if not even higher) are more worth it in New York.

Aldea has the highly trained, extremely experienced, meticulous and passionate chef, but some of the portions were so small that I was quite taken back. I do expect smaller portions when fine dining, but at times it was almost too pretentious and it stunted my satisfaction and experience. I’m glad I tried it and some dishes were incredible, but I’d hesitate to recommend it.

On the table:

The complimentary breads are made in house and served on a tray.

Complimentary Bread & Olive Oil

• Bacon Corn Bread
• This would have been better if it was warm.
• It was cold, but moist, fire pit smoky, savoury and sweet.
• There weren’t really any bacon bits or actual corn like some can have, but I could taste infused bacon grease throughout.
• It was almost more like banana bread in texture than it was corn bread and I think I was just expecting more from it.
• Olive Baguette
• There was a good amount of salty olives, but it was really tough and tiresome to chew.

**Sea Urchin Toast – 4/6

• Cauliflower puree, mustard seed, lime $10
• The size of this toast was about 3.5 inches. It was really small and I thought it was an amuse bouche.
• The predominant flavour and star of the show was the sea urchin, which it should be, but it was more than simply “sea urchin on toast”.
• It was warm, creamy, buttery whole pieces of melt in your mouth briny sea urchin on a very thin, light, crisp and nutty cracker. It was almost like a home made Melba Toast.
• There was some freshly grated wasabi which opened the palate and in combination with the whole grain mustard seeds it was a burst of two kinds of heat.
• The tangy, sweet and creamy cauliflower puree added a smoothness and the hint of lime zest kept the flavours bright and made it not too fishy.
• There was a little smokiness in the aftertaste and I’m not sure where that was from.
• All the ingredients gelled together and melted away nicely.
• It was very good, but I still didn’t see the value even with the two pieces of sea urchin.

It’s a blurry photo, but just to show you some perspective in serving size. I could have zoomed out more.

Portuguese Sardine on Brioche - 4/6

• Smoked trout caviar, shiso, lime $11
• I think this was 3.5 inches again.
• Sardines are typical at a Portuguese restaurant so I had to try it.
• Of course you have to love strong fishy flavours to appreciate this, and I do.
• It was a salty, fishy, and polished sardine marinated in lime juice and topped with an even layer of salty smoky caviar.
• The shiso was very mild and barely noticeable, but it’s the ideal herb to go with strongly flavoured fish like mackerel, or in this case sardines. It has a minty-licorice flavour, but I could barely taste it here.
• The home made brioche was a bit soft and I wish it had been crispy.
• There was a thin layer of I think aioli spread on the brioche and it lent a nice richness.
• Again it was enjoyable, but I didn’t see the value.

Photo from Nicknamemiket

**Shrimp Alhinho – 5.5/6

• Garlic, coriander, pimenton, pressed jus $16
• This is one of the most raved about dishes.
• It was very meaty and crunchy shrimp and it almost tasted like lobster tails.
• The pimento, garlic and saffron gave it a nice smoky sweetness and intense aroma that was undeniable.
• It was smoky with a mild bitterness at the end, and it was a bit acidic from tomato to keep it balanced.
• The pressed jus was oily and buttery with an intense shrimp crustacean and shrimp head flavour without the creaminess.
• The garlic, shrimp shells and head were very well fried and infused into the oil.
• I could taste some fresh mint and cilantro leaves being used, but it was never Indian tasting.
• It wasn’t spicy or hot like the colour suggested, but the pressed jus and shrimp had so much infused flavour, aromatics and depth.
• Although excellent, it was missing something texturally. Maybe I just wanted the deep fried shrimp heads too.

**Arroz De Pato - 6/6

• Duck confit, chorizo, olive, orange $27 (Image above is a split portion)
• This was a gourmet fusion version of a home style Portuguese dish “duck rice”. It’s comfort food you want to curl up to.
• I almost always order anything confit and this is one of the favourite dishes here.
• It was a slow poached duck breast with very little fat that was slightly chewy, but the meat was incredibly soft, tender and almost like the texture of cheese or tongue.
• The duck leg was super juicy, moist and melting off the bone and it had a nice crispy skin which I look forward to when having duck confit.
• Orange and duck are a classic combination and the orange, tangerine, and clementine syrup played right into the sweetness of the duck while carrying some citrus tang.

• I loved the crispy, chewy, nutty, toasted and fried rice which reminded me of the stuck on rice you would find at the bottom of Korean bibimbap or Chinese clay rice pots. It’s always the best part.
• The rice was garlicky, oily and infused with duck broth and fried in duck fat, so the flavour was as intense as the meat.
• It kind of seemed like a duck paella instead of seafood paella and I think there was even some saffron in it to give it colour and aromatics. It was subtle, but I could taste it.
• The added slices of thinly shaved chorizo was also like a paella, but I wish they had been crispier and a bit spicy since I found them quite mild.
• The little bits of diced olives in combination with the orange gave the dish a nice salty and fruity aspect.
• The yellow dollops of puree were obviously orange in flavour, but it wasn’t citrusy and even a bit bitter, so I think it was made with pureed zest and it had a pastey texture.
• I almost wanted some candied orange bits for a little more sweetness and even a bit more citrus tang or saffron yogurt to balance out the smoky and nutty flavours even more.
• Regardless, it was an amazing dish and I didn’t let any bit go to waste. If I could eat the duck bones, I would have.

**Pennsylvania Roast Suckling Pig – 5/6

• Mango brulee, pickled kohlrabi, crispy potato $34 (Image above is a split portion)
• I’m so glad this was the other recommended main because I had my eyes on it. Just like duck confit, I’m a sucker for roast pig too.
• Ordering pig at a Portuguese restaurant is almost a must and there’s cultural pride in a roast suckling pig done well.
• This was even richer and heavier than the duck confit rice above.
• This was definitely done contemporary and Portuguese dishes are rarely sweet and savoury like this.
• It was best to get everything in one bite because the creamy sweet mango contrasted the juicy pork with salty crispy skin, and the bite of crunchy pickled kohlrabi was the tang.
• Using mango was a nice alternative from the usual apple.
• The mango was warm and sweet with a semi-crispy caramelized brulee crust that carried a desired bitterness to offset the sweetness.
• It was quite fiberous and it almost came across as a peach, and likely because it wasn’t in season.
• I’m not sure if it was the best choice although it made the dish memorable and unique.

• The pork was absolutely heavenly! It was creamy and very soft and falling apart with the touch of my fork, but it wasn’t juicy although moist.
• The skin was perfectly crispy and there were dots of truffle puree to accompany the pork.
• The dollops of truffle puree were intense with black truffle and likely truffle oil too. It was extremely delicious, but there was so little of it that it was almost pointless and more like garnish.
• The crispy shaved potato on top and strand of pickled kohlrabi (turnip) gave nice crispy and crunchy textures to the dish and the few herbs made for colour more than flavour.
• There was an orangey caramelized pork au jus that was sweet, smoky, aromatic, sticky and very well reduced and the pork absorbed it all very nicely. They poured this over the dish upon serving.
• There was also random bites of spicy and tangy green onion slices to ease the richness of it all.
• There were many small details for this labour intensive dish, but it was very well delivered although again quite pricey.
• I probably wouldn’t order it again, but I certainly savoured every moment and would recommend it as a main if you visit.

Chocolate Cinnamon Tarte – 4/6

• Honey lavender ice cream, citrus, orange caramel $10
• This sounded like a whirl wind of flavours and I had no idea how they would complement, but I was very curious since I liked each component.
• The chocolate tarte was rich, but the fruit was a nice contrast and it was almost a play on chocolate fondue.
• It was a sweet, thin and crispy sable cookie crumb tart shell filled with a warm bittersweet flourless cake and chocolate sorbet on top.
• The lid was almost like an almond fortune cookie sugar crisp with crunchy toasted almonds.
• The juicy bursts of fresh citrus fruit included honey tangerine, grapefruit and orange segments so there was that orange and chocolate dynamic.
• The honey lavender ice cream was floral, icy and light with lavender flowers infused into the cream, but it wasn’t actually that strong with lavender flavour.
• The ice cream was delicious and I love lavender, but it was slightly random with the orange and chocolate aspect since those flavours are so much bolder and stronger. I felt like it should have been either orange or chocolate. I’m not sure if honey and chocolate was necessary either.
• The orange caramel wasn’t as well executed or presented, but it was the bridge to the chocolate tarte and it helped tie the two components together.
• Usually it’s spiced chocolate, floral chocolate or fruity chocolate, or a combination of the two, but this just threw everything in one pot and there was a lot going on.
• It was still very good, but the combination took away from each other and I almost couldn’t appreciate any of the flavours unless I ate them individually.

Complimentary Pistachio & Sour Cherry Cake & Pate des Fruits

• Pistachio & Sour Cherry Cake – It was a very nutty and moist ground almond and pistachio tea cake with a tart sour cherry and a sweet caramelized glaze. Since it was so thin and small, it baked up a bit chewy and it also tasted like marzipan, which I love.
• Strawberry Pate des Fruits – It was on the sweet side for me, but intense with real strawberry fruit flavour.

Complimentary Chocolate Raspberry Truffles

• It was a bitter sweet creamy truffle made with fresh seedless raspberry jam puree.
• It was light, but obvious with raspberry flavour and a nice way to end the meal.

Restaurant: Peasant
Cuisine: Italian
Last visited: September 9, 2011
Location: Manhattan, NY (Nolita)
Address: 194 Elizabeth St
Nearby subway stops: Spring Street
Price Range: $30-50+

1: Poor 2: OK 3: Good 4: Very good 5: Excellent 6: Tres Excellent!!

Food: 5.5
Service: 4
Ambiance: 4
Overall: 5.5
Additional comments:

• Since 2000
• Authentic Italian cuisine
• Homestyle, yet gourmet
• Rustic/family style
• Local favourite
• Hidden gem
• Wood fired brick ovens
• Great for seafood
• Good for groups
• Good portions
• Sophisticated/lively
• Moderately priced
• Wine list/bar
• Reservations recommended
• Sun 6-10pm
• Tue-Thurs 6-11pm
• Fri-Sat 6-11:30pm
• Closed Monday

**Recommendations: Everything I ordered, but especially the Cannolichi (Razor clams), Polpi in Purgatorio (Baby Octopus), Sweet breads, Suckling Pig

As a tourist with food always on the mind, New York may seem easy to maneuver since it’s a foodie capital. But to avoid tourist traps and discover the local favourites and hidden gems in the city is surprisingly difficult. I really lucked out with Peasant, and unless I did my research, I would have never discovered it on my own. Unless you’re Italian or heavily invested in the New York food scene, I don’t even think many locals even know about this place. But what an incredible find it was!

I was actually given this recommendation from the executive chef at Jean-Georges in New York. Needless to say, it’s quite a reliable source for a restaurant rec. We got into a major food discussion and Peasant came up as a favourite of his. Of course I put it on my itinerary and moved it up as priority, I’d highly recommend you to do the same.

Almost all the amazing restaurants I went to I would never find on my own or without doing intense foodie research. So many places in New York have discrete signage and locations, but if a place is packed without the advertisement, chances are it’s doing something right.

Peasant was only a dive from the outside. The inside was quite welcoming, classy and sophisticated without being pretentious. It is a hot spot for a hip, young and energetic crowd, but it offers much more than its ambiance. I was feeling it right away and just knew I hit gold with this restaurant choice.

It’s an open kitchen with wood fired brick ovens and everything about it felt authentic and rustic without being gimmicky. It’s a place where you actually go to eat! And well too! The portions aren’t “Americanized”, but they’re “Italianized”, and generous, but not gross.

For a minute I actually felt like I was in Italy and this is a place Italians flock to as well. Situated just outside Little Italy in New York, it is far from a tourist trap and I would no doubt revisit Peasant on my next trip back to New York. That’s a pretty bold statement coming from a food blogger who’s always eager to try something she hasn’t tried before.

Coming from Vancouver, BC where the Italian food scene isn’t as strong as New York, I was incredibly impressed and satisfied. But even for New York wine and food scholars, this is considered excellent. It’s not a Mario Batali Italian restaurant, one featured on Food Network, or even “the best Italian in New York”, but it’s truly the “local hidden gem” in the most honest sense of that overused term. Peasant looked, felt and tasted like the real Italian deal. I tried over 50+ restaurants in two weeks in New York, and this was one of my favourites, so I’d definitely say it’s a must try.

On the table:

Complimentary Bread & Ricotta

• Voila! Already we were off to a great start!
• Who serves complimentary house made bread with fresh ricotta cheese!? Peasant does!
• Forget the olive oil and balsamic, this is how they do it in Italy!
• It was cold bread with a crusty nutty exterior and a fluffy soft centre that wasn’t very chewy, but it was great bread.
• The bread didn’t have much flavour, but it went with the fluffy fresh ricotta cheese and the super fruity olive oil you drizzle on top upon eating.
• This and my glass of white wine, it was love at first sight!

**Cannolichi – 6/6

• Razor clams $14
• Holy bejeezus! I was laughing as I ate this it was so good! It was one of the best things of my whole trip!
• First off, it was razor clams. Razor clams! I rarely see these guys being offered at restaurants, so it was another bonus!
• It was super tender clams with a soft Parmesan and panko bread crumb topping in a lemony, garlicky, white wine and olive oil sauce.
• I thought the topping would be crispy, but it wasn’t, but I didn’t care either because it was so cheesy and delicious!
• There was a good amount of thyme and a bit of oregano and everything was just fresh and well prepared.
• I know it sounds simple, and it was, but it was better than just those listed ingredients combined.
• It was really savoury, but not too salty, nutty and aromatic and I was just scooping that sauce up with my shells and dipping my bread into it too.
• I’ve had “lemon garlic white wine seafood” before, and I know it sounds “been there, done that”, but trust me, these are likely better than any you’ve had.

Seppie in Terracotta (Cuttlefish) – 4.5/6

• Cuttlefish, cherry tomatoes, white wine $14
• This was probably the only dish that fell short of excellent, and by no means was it not good. It was still very good!
• The cuttle fish was almost prepared the same way as the razor clams, but for some reason it wasn’t as good as the clams. It’s not because it was cuttlefish either, because I like both.
• The cuttlefish was tender, but just not as flavourful as the clams and it didn’t pick up the sauce as well or benefit from the Parmesan panko topping as much.
• It was still very buttery, but it kind of tasted like something you may have had before.
• The sauce was still the basic garlic, lemon, white wine and herb infused sauce, but it’s likely one of the best versions of that sauce you’ll have. I don’t know if it’s the wine or what.
• Although it was very good, I always like seeing Italian squid prepared with the squid ink, so I was a bit biased.
• If I didn’t have the razor clams, this would have been excellent, but because I had the razor clams, I would rather have seconds and thirds of that.

**Polpi in Purgatorio - 5.5/6

• Baby octopus, chile peppers $14
• It was super tender octopus and it was served like the sea was in the kitchen! I loved it!
• It was wasn’t chewy and it was cooked perfectly and every bite had flavour.
• It was in a similar garlic and white wine sauce, but with added chili so there was a nice kick to it and the spiciness lingered.
• There was an apparent smokiness from roasted chilies and the actual seeds were also fried and infused into the sauce so it was quite spicy, but not hot.
• The 8 legged friend was just loving its bath and it’s really hard to serve octopus whole like this and have it so flavourful and tender, so I was really impressed!

Maltagliati Con Coniglio – 5/6

• With braised rabbit and fava beans $24
• I love rabbit and anything braised, so I was excited about this dish.
• Maltagliati is a very “peasant”, rustic and home style pasta. It was fresh made, and it’s basically random shapes of flat pasta likely made from leftover pasta dough.
• As “rustic” as it was supposed to be, the pasta was still perfectly cut and refined, so it was still “rustic” done gourmet.
• The pasta was well salted, firm with an al dente bite and it held on to the sauce well.
• It was a very juicy pasta and it was reminiscent of a hearty chicken noodle stew or soup in pasta form.
• There were some nice carrots, onions, garlic and fresh herbs to give it aromatics and depth.
• The garlic were whole cloves of sweet caramelized garlic and it just gave so much natural flavour to the dish.
• The sauce was olive oil and white wine based and the natural juices of the braised rabbit just played right into it.
• The rabbit was tender, juicy and shredded (tastes like chicken if you’ve never had it), and it was really quite stew like without the broth.
• The fava beans added texture and the absence of a heavy sauce really showcased the rabbit and quality of the food here.

Fettucine Con Ragu Di Vitello – 4.5/6

• With veal sauce $26
• The fettucine was again hand made in house, thick, well salted, chewy and still firm.
• It was well coated in a rich red wine and tomato ragu developed with carrots, garlic and the natural juices of the veal.
• It was slightly gamey, which I’m sensitive too, but I still didn’t mind the subtle gaminess.
• The tomatoes were not really acidic, but a bit sweet and the sauce was buttery and oily and it just coated each noodle like paint.
• There was a creaminess to it, and it was slightly cheesy too, and the chunks of veal were super juicy and melted in my mouth as well.
• This probably wasn’t special of this restaurant, and it’s not particularly memorable, but it was still excellent and I did love it.
• Personally, I’ve enjoyed other ragu sauces in Vancouver better before, and I do prefer a short rib ragu as opposed to veal.
• I just like the shredded strands of meat rather than the cubes of veal in a pasta.

**Spaghetti Con Scampi – 5.5/6

• With langoustine $26
• Love it! Langoustine! I mean just reading the menu, you know you’ve hit a good spot!
• Hardly any places offer langoustine let alone razor clams and rabbit all under one roof!
• They do a great job with seafood and this was the star pasta of the night. Although competition was very marginal!
• Langoustine is a large shrimp meets a baby lobster, but it’s in the lobster family, although I find it tastes more like shrimp.
• It was a more broth based pasta and the spaghetti was fresh and somewhat thicker than most spaghetti noodles. It was well salted and al dente again.
• The broth was infused with the flavours of the langoustine shells and likely the heads, but it wasn’t creamy or rich and still somewhat light.
• There were whole cloves of caramelized garlic and a bit of chili in the broth as well so the flavour was well developed with a mild heat.
• It was a rather light sauce that held so much flavour and the plump juicy cherry tomatoes were sweet more than sour.
• The langoustine was slightly mushy (tends to be), but overall it was an excellent seafood pasta with tons of flavour .
• It’s nothing fancy, despite being langoustine, but it was well delivered and served home style like they would in Italy.
• I wouldn’t have minded some olives or a few more ingredients, but I still enjoyed it nonetheless.

**Animelle Con Funghi - 5.5/6

• Sauteed sweetbreads, asparagus & seasonal mushrooms $29
• This is a very rich, hearty and indulgent main and it is best shared or it’s a bit too much, but it’s so worth ordering.
• The sweetbreads were almost double or triple the size as normal sweet breads and it was a bit intimidating.
• Surprisingly they were really light and pillowy and not too chewy or “giblety” like some can feel in your mouth.
• I usually prefer them crispy on the outside, but these were soaked in gravy so I almost couldn’t tell I was eating sweetbreads.
• The dish was very rustic and home style Italian, but made for “special occasions” in the execution.
• It was swimming in a rich creamy well reduced red wine gravy that was possibly made with veal stock and of course some garlic again.
• The wild mushrooms were great and their juices just seeped into the velvety gravy and the touch of cream just made you want to roll over and scratch your belly.
• The fresh basil leaves were great and there was some minty flavour in there too, but it was very mild.
• It was a fresh herby flavour for the heavy meat dish, and as good as it was, I wouldn’t want just this for dinner.
• However, this was a hearty, indulgent Italian main that the French would tip their hats off too!

**Porchetta Arrosto (Suckling Pig) – 6/6

• Rotisserie suckling pig with fingerling potatoes $29
• Oh god! DROOL! This was either my first of second favourite dish of the night and one of my favourites from my whole 2 weeks in New York. It’s a must try!
• Christmas comes early with this and I swear there’s an Italian grandma in the kitchen!
• It’s a dish that calls for a celebration!
• This is again really rich and hearty and probably best shared since it’s so substantial.
• It was Italian comfort food and likely one of the best porchettas I’ve had. Period.
• It was a big strip of crispy fatty suckling pig that was well seasoned and salted with meat that was so juicy and tender that it required no knife.
• The skin was so crispy and there was some Rosemary and a great dry rub that was reminiscent of dry ribs.
• It was super moist and oily with flavour and not just oil, and it wasn’t one bit chewy or gelatinous.
• It was better than any pulled pork I’ve had, and the meat was that soft and buttery in texture.
• The suckling pig sat on top of a warm smashed potato salad made with buttery fingerling potatoes with the skins on.
• The potatoes were super saucy in a rich creamy gravy with fresh herbs. It was actually more like a roughly mashed potato in cream sauce than a potato salad.
• This is one of the best versions of “meat and potatoes” I’ve had.

Budino Di Pane E Cioccolato Bianco – 4.5/6

• White chocolate bread pudding with almonds, figs and white chocolate gelato $9
• I’m a fan of hot and cold desserts and anything served with ice cream so I had my eyes on this.
• The bread was homemade and baked in their wood fired brick oven so it was more special than typical “bread pudding”.
• This was a substantial dessert, so prepare yourself.
• It was a very eggy custardy bread with a crispy caramelized exterior and super moist spongy inside.
• There were slivered almonds and dried figs in the bread, but not enough of either.
• I almost wanted more of a nuttiness and fruitiness rather than a block of bread, although the block was still delicious.
• The white chocolate gelato wasn’t overly sweet and nice and creamy, but overall the dessert was quite sweet especially with the added drizzle of caramel sauce on top.
• This was very good, but the bread pudding was a bit dense although not dry. I just prefer mine creamier and lighter, but I still devoured this.
• Another excellent bread pudding is the Torrija y Helado from Boqueria also in New York. It’s kind of the Spanish version of this and both are satisfying to the end of any meal, if you have space. But dessert is a second stomach anyways…