Carnegie Deli Restaurant in NYC, New York

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You cannot come to New York and not try a deli (short for delicatessen). Carnegie Deli is with Junior's and Second Avenue Deli, one of my favorites. Yes, I did not mention Katz's Deli because I do not like it, think it is overpriced and overrated.

The restaurant opened in 1937 and got its name from being close to the Carnegie Hall. It is still operated by the family of the founder: the Parkers. It is today one of the most visited restaurants in New York City, although the expansion of business has not been that successful, seeing most of the branches in California or Connecticut close. Today, there is a Carnegie Deli in the Mirage Hotel in Las Vegas.

The restaurant is pretty big and tables are cramped, making it uncomfortable when the restaurant is packed, especially during the week end. At the entrance, you cannot miss the desserts that are showcased, as well as all the autographed photos of celebrities who ate there. By the way, the Carnegie Deli was even mentioned by Adam Sandler in his song about Hanukkah (Saturday Night Live).

Concerning the menu, you may think that is is expensive (it is a bit). In fact, they serve family style portions. So be careful when you order!

We started with the Matzoh Ball soup. It comes with the soup in a cup that they will verse in the plate: nice way of serving. The balls are dense but not too much and perfectly seasoned. The broth is good and served with delicious pasta.

We then tried the potato pancake (there was one of a reasonable size). It was served with apple sauce (I am not sure it was homemade) and sour cream. I really liked it. It was tasty and not greasy at all.

But, the plat de resistance was the open face pastrami reuben. This was huge and we had to split it! We asked the waiter to split it for us, but he did not seem to be willing to (only disappointment in the service that was overall great).

The meat was delicious, lean and with just the necessary amount of fat. There was tons of Swiss cheese and some sauerkraut to give a bit of crunch. With the amount of meat and cheese, the bread was invisible. All of this was served with a very good Russian dressing. Definitely a great dish!

So, of course, we had to finish with desserts...

We tried the strawberry shortcake: not the best shortcake we had....

They also had coconut cream pie and banana cream pie.

I have to say that I was disappointed. It was light but a bit bland. Both cream pies are made with the same base and they just sprinkle the pie with almonds or toasted coconut. Definitely not as good as the banana or coconut cream pie from Billy's bakery in New York or at the Red Eye Grill.

The Carnegie Deli is one of my favorites, but not for dessert! If you go there, enjoy the reuben: it is so good!

Enjoy (I did)!

And remember: I just want to eat!

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Burger at The Corner Bistro in NYC, New York

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I went to The Corner Bistro a long time ago and did not like it! I remember that my burger was overcooked and dry. But, after hearing that it might be one of the best burgers in New York, I decided to go back!

I like the place: it is a simple place with an authentic feel accentuated by the old wooden furnitures. There are two rooms: at the entrance, one with the bar and some big TVs and a back room. During the week, it is not that crowded, but can be during the week end. This place has definitely a history! Officially, The Corner Bistro opened in 1961, after being purchased by a business woman named Tania de Gomez who tried to make a French bistro. Unfortunately, it did not work and she sold the restaurant, once bar tended by Yoko Ono, within a year. It ended up in the hands of Bill O'Donnell in 1967. Since then, The Corner Bistro has been serving burgers to locals, artists, actors, writers...and it became a burger institution.

The menu is pretty straight forward: hamburger, cheeseburger, chicken sandwich, grilled cheese and chili (including chili burger) compose the menu. For the sides, there is only one choice: fries. 

After few minutes, the burger comes!

All plates are plastic ones and they give you extra napkins....The cheeseburger comes with a slice of onion on which the thick patty is placed. They also give you lettuce, tomatoes and pickles. The cheese is American cheese. The bun is a regular hamburger bun that you would find in your supermarket; it has been toasted. The proportion bread / meat is perfect!

At first, you cannot not notice the nice smell of the burger. The meat looks juicy with a nice char on the outside. I ditch the onion, lettuce and tomatoes and put some ketchup and mayonnaise. The first bite is divine! The you get different layers of flavor between the bread, the cheese, the meat and surprisingly the onion taste that sticked to the meat! The meat is perfectly cooked and juicy.

The fries are shoestring fries: they are crispy and lightly salted. They are simply great!

At the end of the day, I loved the burger at The Corner Bistro and I am happy that I went back to give them another chance! 

It is now becoming one of the best places for burgers for me!

Enjoy (I did)!

And remember: I just want to eat!

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The 12 Year Old Food Critic

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I read an interesting article about David Pines, 12 yo, who published a book called Pines Picks: A Kid's Guide to the Best Things to Eat and Drink in New York City. The book is full of restaurant critiques, focussing mainly on the food, as, as he told the NY Daily News: "Adults make too many judgments based on the appearance of the restaurants. They get mad because the glasses weren't all there when they walked in. I'm like, who cares? How did the food taste?".

I think it is great to see that coming from a kid and also see that he can eat everything, except raisins, at a time where children tend to be too picky in what they eat. I remember that when I was a kid, I had to eat what was on the table and there were very little exceptions (broccoli and brussels sprouts!). But it might be a question of education as Pamela Druckerman pointed out in her book Bringing Up Bébé.

Anyway, I half agree with David in his comment. It is true that often, we hear people or critics focussing on certain things and they never talk about the food. I remember that I was astonished to hear Simon Majumdar in The Next Iron Chef only focus on the fact that a Chef put some confectioner sugar on a chocolate souffle ("It is so 80's") rather than telling us if the souffle was good.  

Personally, I think it all depends on where you are and people usually adapt their expectations. For instance, I will not expect the same thing if I go to a burger joint like Corner Bistro or an elegant restaurant like Le Bernardin. In the first one, I do not care about the decor, although I like the authenticity, or that they serve their food on plastic plates (I may talk about it, but very briefly). However, at Le Bernardin, I am expecting the whole experience: from the decor, to the service to the quality of the food. Considering the price I pay, I expect it perfect.

In any case, I wish David all the best for his book and hope that he will have lots of readers, young and old!

What about you? Let me know what you think about this!

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Stacks Pancake House and cafe in Hoboken, NJ

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I love pancakes and French toasts and when Stacks Pancake House & Cafe opened in Hoboken, New Jersey, I was very excited. Usually, you get pancakes and French toast in diners and restaurants, but the choices are limited. Not at Stacks! And it has been crowded from day one with people craving for it!

I went few times. I have to confess that at the beginning, I was not a big fan: although the pancakes were good, they did not give that much of toppings. I went back anyway and loved it!

First, they surprise you with homemade corn bread that is really good.

In term of food, they do not only have pancake and French toast (made with homemade Challah bread), but also waffles, sandwiches, wraps (made with pancakes!) and eggs. 

Then, they have more than 20 different pancakes! It can be with chocolate, with Banana and strawberries, apple and cinnamon or chocolate chip!

This time, we tried the strawberry fields that is served with farm fresh strawberries.

The portion was huge and the pancake was awesome! Not doughy at all!

We also tried the Chocolate chip french toast.

There were a lot of chocolate chips. At first, I thought the sugar would make it too sweet and noticed that the bread was not fully dipped in batter. But it was in fact delicious. I finished my plate! 

I really like Stacks Pancake House and Cafe in Hoboken and would definitely go back! I just wish they had a build your own where you can pick different toppings, the same way you do for pizza.

Enjoy (I did)!

And remember: I just want to Eat!

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I tested the Homemade Pizza Company - CLOSED!

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Update March 25th, 2012: this place has closed! I guess people prefer not going through the hassle of cooking the pizza and considering the number of good pizza joints in Hoboken, this is not surprising!

Original post:
Imagine the concept: you like pizza, but do not know how to make one or do not have time. You still want to feel as if you made it yourself. You pick the ingredients, they prepare it for you and you bake it. That's what Homemade Pizza Company is all about! This is a great concept! 

When you go to their store, of course, there are no tables! You either pick from their own recipes (4 cheeses, mushroom...) or create your own. If you create your own, there are different steps:

1. Pick a size: cutie (serves 1), Medium (serves 2-3) or large (serves 3-4).
2. Choose a crust (regular or whole grain). 
3. Choose a base (ruby red tomato sauce, olive oil or fresh pesto). They usually come with tomato sauce and cheese.
4. Add ingredients: they propose 41 different ingredients (fresh herbs, cheeses, meat or fresh produces).
5. The last step is to bring it home and bake it! For this, they package the pizza for you, similar to the fresh pizza you can find in supermarkets and give you instructions on how to cook it. The pizza is on a parchment paper and on a cardboard, very convenient to slide and remove from the oven. You are supposed to cook for 10 to 15 minutes at 425 degrees. Ours took longer.

So we tried 2 different pizzas: 

• one with blue cheese, aged parmesan, asiago and fontinella: it was delicious! 
• the second one with goat cheese, caramelized onions and crimini mushrooms. The goat cheese and caramelized onions work so well together: it was full of nice flavors!

The pizza were really good: the crust was thin and they were not cheap on the ingredients! They also serve salads in case you want one to accompany your pizza.

Definitely good and fun to pick the ingredients! You should try it! They have restaurants in different areas of the states of New Jersey and New York.

Enjoy (I did)!

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Emporium Brazil in NYC, New York: Surprising dish!

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Recently, we went with some of my colleagues to Emporium Brazil, situated in Little Brazil in New York City. It was the first time for me in this restaurant. The decor has nothing extraordinary and I was surprised not to see a more pronounced Brazilian related decor. 

They had a lunch menu, but the only items they proposed were...Italian! So I went for the Moqueca de camarao that is a shrimp stew with coconut milk sauce, served with white rice. This is a traditional dish from Bahia, apparently influenced by African cuisine. The fact that there is coconut milk, I would have more thought about cuisine from India or China, but it is true that cuisine travels and so many cuisines have similarities!

When the Moqueca came, I was blown away by the beauty of the dish! 

The yellow of the sauce with the red of the peppers was a precursor to the festival of flavors I experienced! This was simply delicious. The shrimp were cooked perfectly, but interestingly, they were not the star of the dish: the sauce was definitely! I can still remember it and it makes me drool!

If you do not like shrimp, they also have tuna (Tuna Grelhada - grilled tuna marinated with soy sauce, ginger and lemon. includes baked potato and vegetables).

Or steak (Bife A Cavalo - beef steak and egg, rice, beans and fries)

Everybody loved their food (I licked my plate...)!

Prices are very reasonable for Midtown and the only negative was the service that was a bit slow. But I would definitely go back! 

Enjoy (I did)!

And remember: I just want to eat!

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Fine Dining brought to you by Delta Airlines

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Last Thursday, Delta Airlines announced that they would bring fine dining to its renovated and expanded terminal at JFK Airport (Terminal C). This follows their initiative at La Guardia Airport in 2010, that was a success. The goal, as per Delta Airlines, is to reinvent and improve the travel experience of their customers.

This time, the following restaurants will open:

Cotto: a modern Italian restaurant by Chef Michael White who is also the owner and Executive Chef of Marea in New York City.

Empire Tavern: Classic menu from Chef Lee Hanson and Riad Nasr from Balthazar.

Kombu: a modern Japanese restaurant by Chef Jamison Blankenship from Morimoto.

Vagabond Burger Bar: Burger restaurant by Chef Anne Burrell (one of the Food Network stars, she was for a long time Bobby Flay's sous-Chef in Iron Chef America).

Victory Grill: Classic American menu by Chef Andrew Carmellini (The Dutch and Locanda Verde in New York).

They will also have Gourmet Food Hall and Cafe with renowned Chef like Andrew Zimmern (Bizarre Food), Chef Aaron Sanchez, etc...

I just wish they would bring Chefs to the plane itself and propose in coach class a better menu, similar to what is served in Business or First classes, even at a premium cost. This would really make the travel experience different!

Let me know what you think about this initiative!

And remember: I just want to eat!

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Recipe: Pearl Couscous Salad

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Pearl couscous, also known as Israeli couscous or ptitim, is a toasted pasta shaped like pearls. I never heard of it before coming to the US, seeing it at the salad bars or on TV, cooked in Iron Chef. I was more used to the couscous semolina that has a totally different taste and is used for taboule.

So, here is an easy recipe to make a Pearl Couscous Salad that I hope you will, like me, find delicious!



For 2 servings:
- 1/2 cup of pearl couscous
- 2 tomatoes
- 0.25 lb of feta cheese
- 20 to 30 manzanilla pitted olives
- 1 teaspoon of cumin
- 1 tablespoon of garlic
- 2 table spoons of olive oil
- raisins

In a saucepan, put the garlic, olive oil, cumin and pearl couscous on medium heat. Toast the pasta until golden. Then add 3/4 of water, salt and cook until the water is fully absorbed for approx. 9 minutes. Remove from the heat.

Cut the tomatoes, olives and feta into small cubes of similar size. Put them in a salad bowl with 1/4 of a cup of raisins. Add vinegar, olive oil and a pinch of salt. Let the raisins soak for 10 minutes.
Add the pearl couscous to the bowl and mix. Refrigerate and eat cold. Et voila!

Note: after 30 minutes, mix again in the bowl as the couscous tends to stick all together.

Bon appétit!

Do not hesitate to let me know what you think about this recipe by posting a comment!

And remember: I just want to eat!

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The controversy surrounding restaurants grades in NYC!

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Nine months ago, New York Started to grade its restaurants with the now famous A, B and C letters. There have been a lot of buzz recently about it. From the supporters, but also the detractors of this measure. One of the supporters is Mayor Bloomberg who did not hesitate beginning of March to associate the implementation of the grades to more than 24,000 restaurants to the slight decrease in salmonella cases between 2010 and 2011 and to an increase in earnings by 9% for the city. 

They also point out the fact that today 72% of the restaurants have obtained an A, increasing from the 69% the year before. Considering that most of the restaurants who get a B or C contest in court and seem to have a big chance of being able to get their rate go up, I am not sure I would use this as an argument!

Detractors are arguing that the inspections are inconsistent (inspectors give contradictory advices on how to keep or not food), driving costs up and unequal. Some say that Per Se was close to get a B when its owner called the city and obtained to keep its A rating (unverified rumor).

Personally, I think this is a great concept as we, dinners, have a right to know that where we are eating meets the sanitary standards. It forces restaurant owners to pay attention to the safety of their customers and improve. After that, we are all free to go an eat in a restaurant rated B or C. 

As part of this post, I would like to point out that the City has released an Iphone application called ABCEats NYC where you can see the grade of restaurants. I used it and it is pretty convenient. It allows you to see the rating, but also the detail of the violation! This app is available on itunes and is free.

Let me know what you think about the restaurant grades by posting a comment!

For more information about the grades, click here.

Enjoy!

And remember: I just want to eat!

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Restaurant Curry in a Hurry: please slow down!

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I was very excited to go for Indian food in Curry Hill in NYC, New York. I was supposed first to go to a place called Tiffin Walla that proposes small plates. But, when we arrived at the door, we saw the famous or infamous letter B! As I have never been there, did not know anybody who already went and found this restaurant surfing on the internet, we decided not to go. As we were craving Indian food, we looked around and saw a place called Curry in a hurry. We looked at the grade and it was an A. This place is a fast food joint, as indicated by the name. They told us that they have a dining room upstairs where we could also be served. I thought that maybe they had a different menu and wanted to sit comfortably to enjoy what I thought would be an awesome lunch!

They have a big dining room upstairs, but let me tell you: the cleanliness was questionable. We sat to a table next to a big frame showing several photos of Russell Simmons and a typed letter where he praised the food. At first, I did not pay attention, but he mentioned the iced tea (on the photo you can see a bottle of Snapples) and the bottle of water!!! That was so funny!

Anyway, we ordered some food and I ordered a sweet lassi for a drink. I love sweet lassi and if an Indian restaurant does not know how to make it, you can be sure that the cuisine is not going to be good.

Their sweet lassi was perfect! So it was a good start.

We then got some samosas (I cannot believe I forgot to take a photo of it) and a cheese naan. The samosas were cold and a bit bland. The cheese naan was a naan with processed cheese on it! It was not even cooked all the way through.

I went for the combination platter. It came with Chicken Tikka (marinated chunk of chicken that are grilled), Sheek Kebab (lamb skewer), a tomato sauce with spices and rice. 

The lamb skewer was quite good although the spices were kind of overpowering. The chicken was not good at all!  It had a weird taste that had nothing to do with the spices!

The sauce that came with the combination platter was ok, a bit too watery. I guess the only thing I liked was the rice! And the plain naan that came with the platter.

This was a big disappointment! Of course, I did not even entertain the idea of having a dessert there: we ended up at Red Mango...

On top of that, the service was horrible and extremely rude! The waiter burped when bringing the bill! The food took forever to come to our table (I thought it was a fast food!), came cold and was overpriced. Be careful: the prices on the menu are not the ones reflected on the check.
Last, I was sure that this restaurant showed on its window an A grade. But looking at the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, it seems that their grade is pending!!! I am finally not surprised as there was no way they could have had an A!

Enjoy (the post only)!

And remember: I just want to eat!

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What are the best restaurants in the US?

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Recently, I came across two different lists of the Best Restaurants in the US. Both of them were done by restaurant critics, food and lifestyle writers, and assorted bloggers, from across the country. One was organized with the help of a famous food blogger, Steve Plotnicki who co-founded the site e-gullet (Opinionated About Dining); the other one from the site The Daily Meal.

What is interesting is the difference in listing. For instance, Le Bernardin takes the first place in The Daily Meal rank but is number 17 in the Opinionated About Dining list. What is also noticeable is that Katz's deli seems better than Del Posto in The Daily Meal list! Did we eat at the same places? Del Posto is way better! I wish they published the survey so we can all understand how this is done!

Opinionated About Dining:

Note: the number at the end represents the score. The results are based on over 70,000 reviews which were contributed by more than 3,000 people.
1. Manresa, Los Gatos, CA 102.06
2. The French Laundry, Yountville, CA 101.94
3. Alinea, Chicago, IL 101.34
4. Per Se, New York, NY 101.19
5. Town House, Chilhowie, VA 100.91
6. Masa, New York, NY 100.76
7. Urasawa, Beverly Hills, CA 100.73
8. Mini-Bar, Washington, D.C. 100.49
9. Blue Hill at Stone Barns, Pocantico Hills, NY 100.08
10. McCrady’s, Charleston, SC 99.37
11. Jean Georges, New York, NY 99.06
12. Sushi Yasuda, New York, NY 98.95
13. Komi, Washington, D.C. 98.69
14. Saam at the Bazaar, West Hollywood, CA 98.46
15. Kuruma Zushi, New York, NY 98.33
15. Eleven Madison Park, New York, NY 98.33
17. Le Bernardin, New York, NY 98.28
18. Coi, San Francisco, CA 98.10
19. Corton, New York, NY 97.97
20. Schwa, Chicago, IL 97.74
21. Restaurant at Meadowood St. Helena, CA 97.54
22. Momofuku Ko New York, NY 97.11
23. Providence, Los Angeles, CA 96.71
24. Saison, San Francisco, CA 96.64
25. Cyrus, Healdsburg, CA 96.55
26. Spago, Beverly Hills, CA 96.51
27. Marinus, Carmel Valley, CA 96.46
28. Soto, New York, NY 96.44
29. Peter Luger, Williamsburg, NY 96.43
30. Bouley, New York, NY 96.31
31. L’Atelier de Joel Robuchon, New York, NY 96.21
32 . Commis, Oakland, CA 96.19
33. The Herbfarm, Woodinville, WA 96.14
34. Guy Savoy, Las Vegas, NV 96.02
35. Elements, Princeton, NJ 96.00
36. Sushi Taro, Washington, D.C. 95.92
37. Charlie Trotter’s, Chicago, IL 95.91
38. Daniel, New York, NY 95.75
39. Quince, San Francisco, CA 95.74
40. Ubuntu, Napa, CA 95.71
41. Sugiyama, New York, NY 95.70
41. Sushi Seki, New York, NY 95.70
41. Uni, Boston, MA 95.70
44. Moto, Chicago, IL 95.61
45. Spiaggia, Chicago, IL 95.40
46. North Fork Table & Inn, Southold, NY 95.33
47. Chez Panisse, Berkeley, CA 95.14
48. O Ya, Boston, MA 95.01
49. Roberta’s (Tasting Menu), Bushwick, NY 94.93
50. Highlands Bar & Grill, Birmingham. AL 94.86
51. Marea, New York, NY 94.84
52. Brooklyn Fare, Brooklyn, NY 94.79
53. Atelier Crenn, San Francisco, CA 94.75
54. Miyake, Portland, ME 94.65
55. Kyo Ya, New York, NY 94.62
55. Craft, New York, NY 94.62
57. American Restaurant, Kansas City, KS 94.60
58. Patina, Los Angeles, CA 94.56
59. Momofuku Ss
60. Hugo’s, Portland, ME 94.52
61. Morimoto, Philadelphia, PA 94.47
61. Michy’s, Miami, FL 94.47
63. Citronelle, Washington, D.C. 94.39
64. Charleston, Baltimore, MD 94.31
65. Restaurant Eugene, Atlanta, GA 94.26
66. Aubergine, Carmel, CA 94.24
67. Niche, St. Louis, MO 94.23
68. wd-50, New York, NY 94.19
69. Sushi Ran, Sausalito, CA 94.18
70. Matsuhisa, West Hollywood, CA 94.15
71. Blue Hill, New York, NY 94.14
72. Volt, Frederick, MD 94.10
73. L20, Chicago, IL 94.09
74. Sawa Sushi, Sunnyvale, CA 94.05
75. Gary Danko, San Francisco, CA 94.03
76. Picasso, Las Vegas, NV 93.94
76. Benu, San Francisco, CA 93.94
78. Masa’s, San Francisco, CA 93.82
79. Momofuku Noodle Bar, New York, NY 93.81
80. Vetri, Philadelphia, PA 93.80
81. Totoraku, West Los Angeles, CA 93.75
82. Canlis, Seattle, WA 93.68
82. Blackbird, Chicago, IL 93.68
82. The Bazaar, West Hollywood, CA 93.68
85. Stella!, New Orleans, LA 93.58
86. Il Grano, West Los Angeles, CA 93.57
87. Quinones Room at Bacchanalia, Atlanta, GA 93.56
88. No. 9 Park, Boston, MA 93.54
89. Inn at Little Washington, Washington, VA 93.45
90. Husk, Charleston, SC 93.27
90. Baume, Palo Alto, CA 93.27
90. Everest, Chicago, IL 93.27
93. Gramercy Tavern, New York, NY 93.26
94. Next, Chicago, IL 93.24
94. Red Medicine, West Hollywood, CA 93.24
96. Sanford, Milwaukee, WI 93.23
96. George’s California Modern, La Jolla, CA 93.23
98. Cut, Beverly Hills, CA 93.19
98. Nishimura, West Hollywood, CA 93.19
100. Castagna, Portland, OR 93.18


The Daily Meal:

1. Le Bernardin, New York City
2. Alinea, Chicago
3. Chez Panisse, Berkeley, Calif.
4. Eleven Madison Park, New York City
5. French Laundry, Yountville, Calif.
6. Osteria Mozza, Los Angeles
7. Per Se, New York City
8. Momofuku Ssäm, New York City
9. Gramercy Tavern, New York City
10. Citronelle, Washington, D.C.
11. L'Atelier de Joël Robouchon, New York City
12. Pok Pok, Portland, Ore.
13. Blue Hill Stone Barns, Pocantico Hills, N.Y.
14. Babbo, New York City
15. Franklin Barbecue, Austin, Texas
16. Jean Georges, New York City
17. ABC Kitchen, New York City
18. Peter Luger, Brooklyn, N.Y.
19. Daniel, New York City
20. Cochon, New Orleans
21. Marea, New York City
22. Commander's Palace, New Orleans
23. Girl & the Goat, Chicago
24. WD-50, New York City
25. Animal, Los Angeles
26. Vetri, Philadelphia
27. Katz's Deli, New York City
28. Next, Chicago
29. Bouchon Bistro, Yountville, Calif.
30. Frontera Grill, Chicago
31. Canlis, Seattle
32. Joël Robuchon, Las Vegas
33. Pizzeria Bianco, Phoenix
34. Le Bec-Fin, Philadelphia
35. Inn at Little Washington, Washington, Va.
36. Zuni Cafe, San Francisco
37. Del Posto, New York City 
38. The Little Owl, New York City
39. Flour + Water, San Francisco
40. Kreuz Market, Lockhart, Texas
41. Husk, Charleston, S.C.
42. Slanted Door, San Francisco
43. Masa, New York City
44. Locanda Verde, New York City
45. Fearing's, Dallas
46. The Modern, New York City
47. Minetta Tavern, New York City
48. Arthur Bryant's, Kansas City, Mo.
49. Frank Pepe Pizzeria Napoletana, New Haven, Conn.
50. Fig, Los Angeles
51. Lucques, Los Angeles
52. August, New Orleans
53. Roberta’s, Brooklyn, N.Y. 
54. Fonda San Miguel, Austin, Texas
55. Mustard's Grill, Napa, Calif.
56. Osteria Morini, New York City
57. The Dutch, New York City
58. Galatoire's, New Orleans
59. Spiaggia, Chicago
60. Gotham Bar And Grill, New York City
61. Luling City Market, Houston
62. Le Pigeon, Portland, Ore.
63. The Publican, Chicago
64. Spago, Los Angeles
65. minibar, Washington, D.C.
66. The Barn at Blackberry Farm, Walland, Tenn.
67. Joe's Stone Crab, Miami
68. Al Forno, Providence, R.I.
69. Beast, Portland, Ore. 
70. Herbfarm, Seattle
71. Coi, San Francisco
72. Valentino, Santa Monica, Calif.
73. McCrady's, Charleston, S.C.
74. Michael's Genuine Food & Drink, Miami
75. Father’s Office, Los Angeles
76. Ad Hoc, Yountville, Calif.
77. Boulud Sud, New York City
78. Gjelina, Venice, Calif.
79. The Hitching Post II, Buellton, Calif.
80. La Taqueria, San Francisco
81. The Bazaar, Los Angeles
82. Casa Mono, New York City
83. Ben’s Chili Bowl, Washington, D.C.
84. Arun's, Chicago
85. Son of a Gun, Los Angeles
86. Zahav, Philadelphia
87. Palena Café, Washington, D.C.
88. O-Ya, Boston
89. Tertulia, New York City
90. The Four Seasons, New York City
91. Stephan Pyles, Dallas
92. Boulevard, San Francisco
93. Charlie Trotter’s, Chicago
94. Jaleo, Las Vegas 
95. SriPraPhai, Queens, N.Y.
96. The Walrus and the Carpenter, Seattle
97. Jitlada, Los Angeles
98. The Pit, Raleigh, N.C.
99. Michael Mina, San Francisco
100. Bar Masa, New York City
101. La Grenouille, New York City


References:
The Daily Meal www.thedailymeal.com
Opinionated About Dining www.opinionatedaboutdining.com

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Restaurant Review: The Clam Broth House (Hoboken, NJ) - CLOSED

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Updated on 3/18/12 - The Clam Broth House CLOSED!
I am not sure I am that surprised considering how the food was when I went there! See the original post below!

Original post 10/1/11:
So we went to The Clam House in Hoboken. Or shall I call it The Cr*p Broth House based on the experience I got??? It was bad, bad bad: service, food and noise level! 

I was thrilled to go: first because I LOVE seafood. Second, because when it reopened in Hoboken earlier this year, there have been a lot of buzz. The restaurant originally opened in 1899 and catered to dock workers. Apparently, the restaurant's floor was full of shells. Interesting enough, it was forbidden to women until the 70's. The restaurant closed in 2003. New owners decided to reopen it this year, taking advantage of the status of landmark of the old restaurant.

I looked at the menu the day before and already decided on trying several appetizers instead of having an entree. I could already smell their specialty: the clam chowder! So we showed up to the restaurant and I was surprised to see that it was not that crowded for a Friday night. They apparently have a jazz band on Fridays. Good idea, but unfortunately very loud! When I have dinner and there is a band, I like to enjoy the music and the conversation!

Then, the service was bad: the food took forever to come (remember that it was no crowded) and the waiter keep disappearing! When the food came, I was thinking: I hope it is worth it and at first sight, it looked very appetizing! Well it was not...We tried:

• New England Clam Chowder: homemade, one of their specialties. The cream was good although a little too liquid for clam chowder. In the bottom, there were a lot of clams. Unfortunately, they were too chewy.
• Clams oreganata (gratinees): few clams were a little tough. Not bad besides that.
• Crab cakes (of course): it was served with Chipotle aioli. At first, when splitting the crab cakes, I was pleased to see the jumbo lump crab. But it was totally bland!!! And the aioli was so spicy! So sad!
• East Coast Halibut with Crispy potato pancake, zucchini, cherry tomatoes, capers. The crispy potato pancake was very good. Unfortunately, the fish was overcooked, so dry!

So, imagine: after all of that, the only things I liked were the bread and the potato pancake!!! They should probably change their menu and name to stick to these 2 items! The Potato Pancake House....

Not worth it....

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Edison Quick shop: that was some experience!

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One of my colleagues, Benny, used to talk about a “sandwich place” near Edison called Edison Quick Shop. He kept saying, “We should go there, you have to try it”! So one time, we decided to go.

From the outside, it looks like any small deli you would find, with “Try our cheese steak” written at the window (let me rephrase: that you could easily find at a gas station). We entered and I have to say that it looked pretty interesting. First of all, you cannot miss the different ways they display their menu: posters, but also paper plates. 

It Is all over the place and with all the choices they have, you could think that they have 20 cooks preparing the food. The menu was huge! Could be funny to see Gordon Ramsey go there to film an episode of Kitchen Nightmare!

Then, you see the tables: no, this is not a communal table you see on the photo! This is not the genre here! In fact I had the impression to be in somebody’s backyard.

So, as I was there, I went for the pastrami reuben. Benny asked, who I believe was the owner, to have some lean meat. He told us that he only serves his reuben with the leanest meat. The sandwich came few minutes after: it was served with some coleslaw that I think was homemade. The meat was definitely packaged slices that you would buy in the supermarket. Clearly, not cooked and cut at the Quick Shop. You could barely taste it, as it was very thin (of course there were several slices) and overpowered by the coleslaw.

According to the cashier (probably one of the owners), the pastrami reuben is, with the cheese steak their specialty. I cannot imagine what the cheese steak tastes like!

So, it was not the best food experience and I am not sure anybody would go there just for the food. This is more a Mom and Pop’s shop that serves quickly made and cheap food. At least the owners were very nice…

When I asked Benny why he brought us there, he said that it was because of my blog and because he wanted me to have some interesting experience. Well, mission accomplished.

Enjoy (meh)!

And remember: I just want to eat!

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Recipe: Tomato bisque made with coconut milk

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Last time, I was wondering what to cook for dinner and decided to try to make a tomato bisque. Now, I should not be using the term bisque as normally, a bisque contains a broth made with crustaceans (crab, lobster...), but it seems that everybody is using this term, probably to give a fancy name to a dish. Think about it: 

"I am going to serve you a tomato soup" - ok

"I am going to serve you a tomato bisque" - oh!

I love tomato bisque with grilled cheese. I even got that served in a wedding cocktail last year in Milwaukee and it was amazing! It is an awesome pairing, especially if you dip the grilled cheese in the soup.

The recipe below is very easy!

For 2 servings:

- 1 can (28 Oz) of fire roasted diced tomatoes (you can fire roast them yourself, but I personally do not have time for that!).

- 1 can of coconut milk.

- 1/2 teaspoon of Sriracha sauce.

- basil

Put the fire roasted tomatoes in a strainer and remove some of the tomato sauce by pouring water over it. Put the tomatoes in a blender and add the coconut milk, Sriracha sauce and some basil. Blend it together.

Reduce on low heat in a sauce pan for approximately 20 minutes. Et voila!

You can replace the Sriracha sauce with cayenne pepper: it is used to give a slight kick to the dish.

Bon appétit!

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Brunch at Balthazar in New York: boudin noir and tarte tatin!

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Balthazar restaurant is an institution in New York. Located in Soho, it has been opened in 1997 by Keith McNally and co-chefs Riad Nasr and Lee Hanson. The place is famous for its food and for the bakery, with a store located outside of the restaurant. You can even find Balthazar breads and viennoiseries (croissants, chocolate croissants...) in supermarket or other restaurants. I have to say that each time I had some, it was delicious. 

Coming back to the restaurant: the decor is impressive. It is located in an old leather wholesale building; it has high ceilings with fans, and the walls have impressive mirrors. But, it is a madhouse! You'd better get a reservation! Between the tourists who are coming because Balthazar is in all the guides, the people eager to see celebrities and those who really like the food, they have no problem to get customers (waiting inside and outside)! Unfortunately, it comes to a price: they have maximized the space with tables everywhere, sacrificing comfort either for the clients or for the wait staff. For instance, it was difficult for the staff to access our table located in a corner because it was stuck between a large round table and another long table, with no space to go in between. Despite this, the service was very efficient and I have to say, extremely nice.

The brunch menu proposes a nice upscale version of traditional French dishes, such as the salad nicoise that is in France served with canned tuna, but there, with seared tuna.
They of course have a basket of fresh baked breads and pastries from their bakery. Always delicious. You will anyway have the opportunity to try their bread as they bring a bread basket with butter to the table.
The Pain au Levain (sourdough bread) was excellent.






We then tried one of their best sellers: the warm goat cheese and caramelized onion tart. It was served with a salad. We did not know it was coming with a salad and ordered the mixed field greens with vinaigrette, but the waiter warn us that the tart came anyway with a salad. I have to say that I always appreciate that! In a lot of restaurants, they would just let you order.

The salad had sun dried tomatoes and there was also some tapenade (black olive spread) that was delicious. The tart was to die for! It was so flavorful!

Then, I ordered the poached eggs boudin noir. Boudin noir is a sausage of mixed pork meat cooked in blood that gives the black color. Hence the name of blood sausage. It is a traditional dish in France, but I never tried it before.

It was served with two perfectly made poached eggs, potatoes, caramelized onions and frisee salad. The sausage looked pretty good and shiny. But it was a bit tough to cut as the skin was thick. It tasted a bit like a pate with a similar texture. Like pate, I could eat so much of it. I probably left a third at the end.

We finished with an apple tart tatin. This was a deception!

It was like a gelee (jelly) on top and was so sweet. I did not finish it either.

At the end of the day, it was an ok brunch, on the pricey side. I think for the same price I would more go to The Standard Grill and for a less pricey to Marseilles!

Enjoy (meh)!

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Incredible steak frites at Le Relais De Venise "l'Entrecote" in New York!

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Ok, I admit it: I lived in Paris for years, but I have never been to Le Relais de Venise "L'entrecote" over there! The story of this restaurant and its concept are pretty interesting: in 1959, a winemaker named Paul Gineste de Saurs decided to buy an Italian restaurant in Paris with the intention to use it to showcase the wine produced by his family, Château de Saurs. As he had no experience in the restaurant business, he decided to keep the Venetian decor, add L'entrecote (strip steak) to the name and propose a single item menu: steak frites. Instead of serving the steak with the traditional butter with parsley, he served it with what is still today a secret sauce (I would guess some butter,mustard, taragon and pepper, but would not bet on it!). Few years ago, Le Monde, a French newspaper revealed in an article the secret of the sauce: it contains blanched chicken liver. The owner of the restaurant denied this. 

Since then, the restaurant has been opened in different locations such as London or Barhein. And then New York in 2009, where I had the chance to experience the concept. Now, understand that when the restaurant opened in Manhattan, critics thought it would not last long because New Yorkers like to have choices! In this restaurant, the only choices are the wine, the cheeses and desserts (you can see a sample when entering - very smart)! Otherwise, it is a salad (lettuce with walnuts and a traditional french dressing) for appetizer and steak frites (steak and fries) for the entree.

The waitresses are all wearing French Maids outfits and will only ask you two questions besides knowing if you would like some drinks:

1 - Is it your first time in the restaurant?

2 - How would you like your meat to be cooked? They only offer blue, rare, medium and well done. There is no medium-rare for instance!

They will draw on the paper clothe the tables seats and will mark your choice on it, probably to remember what temperature you would like for your second serving. Yes, you read it correctly: Le Relais de Venise L'entrecote serves a second serving of steak frites! But do not imagine the portions are huge. I see several advantages to this:

1 - The second serving comes warm.

2 - Some people have a small appetite; so it is a win win for the restaurant as they will charge the same amount.

3 -  It gives customers a sense they made a very good deal.

The salad (lettuce, walnut and mustard dressing)

Some may say that the meat is low quality. Those who know me, know that I rarely order steak if the restaurant is not a Steakhouse for two reasons: the quality of the meat is usually low and they do not always know how to cook it perfectly. In New York, Le Relais de Venise L'Entrecote serves a Sirloin (Entrecote is normally strip steak as mentioned before) that was good and cooked as requested. I personally think it was delicious, especially paired with that mysterious sauce. The meat was very tender.

The fries are traditional French cut (shoestring) and were crispy and not over salted. They had a delicious taste mixed with the sauce...

Last, is of course dessert! Their dessert menu is pretty impressive as it contained that day 17 choices! From the simple fraises au sucre (strawberries with sugar) to the vacherin du relais. This one is an interesting tower made of vanilla ice cream, meringue and chocolate ice cream, in repetitive layers, topped with whipped cream and a thick chocolate sauce. This was good but extremely sugary (I believe the chocolate sauce is the culprit)! I could not finish it.

I definitely had a good time in this restaurant that had an authentic brasserie feel. The food was delicious and the service very efficient. The only negative is the fact that it was very, very warm in the restaurant, to the point where it became uncomfortable. That should be an easy problem to fix...

Enjoy (I did)!

And remember: I just want to eat!

References:
Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/L'Entrecôte
Restaurant site: http://www.relaisdevenise.com/newyork

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Awesome BBQ at Southern Hospitality Restaurant in New York City!

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If you read my previous posts, you know that I love BBQ. So I really wanted to try Southern Hospitality in New York. I went to the location in Hell's kitchen. I like the place: it had a certain warmth, probably because of all the wood around, from the floor to the high ceiling, with wood letter going all around the restaurant. There was a great photo of Elvis as a boxer, that I guess is from the movie Kid Galahad from 1962. The service was good, but the food took a long time to come to our table!

So, this place is all about BBQ! All the traditional BBQ items are there: ribs, brisket, chicken...They also have the High on the Hog platter that costs $3000! It is an assorted appetizers platter that includes buffalo fried shrimp, fried pickles, hush puppies, nachos, hot wings, cheesesteak rolls. Then, wet and dry Memphis style spare-ribs, baby back ribs, 1/2 BBQ chicken, four sides and corn bread. To justify the price, you get a magnum of Armand de Brignac brut (note that the brut gold magnum costs $700, so not sure what makes the difference between $700 and $3000). Needless to say that I did not go for this....

In term of food, you have many choices:

• For lunch, they have a $14.95 menu (at time of post) where you will choose an appetizer and an entree.
• You can pick from the menu.
• You can choose a combo platter.
• You can pick different items for $5.95 (time of post). This is what I decided to do.

This was a mistake: the food was delicious, but I did not expect, for that price, so much food!!! The waitress should have told me it was too much, but I guess she was mostly concerned by her tip...

I picked the Dry Rubbed Memphis-Style Spare Ribs (two).

I loved it: the meat was so tender and moist! The dry rub was delicious and not too overpowering.

I aslo tried the brisket.

I am not a huge fan of brisket, but have to say that this was awesome! The brisket is usually a bit dry, but this was not!









Then came the roasted chicken. I asked for breast but you can ask for a thigh if you'd like. This was also pretty good, but not my favorite.

They also have some amazing fried shrimp! Yes, at this point, you are wondering when this post will stop. It was a feast so keep reading! So, back to the shrimp: they were fried but not greasy at all and tasty. I liked the fact that it was not baby shrimp...It was served with two sauces: no idea what they were!






Now, let's talk about sides! Remember the lunch menu? Well, they serve the Mac & Cheese, entree portion. This was huge! But so good! These were probably the best Mac & Cheese I ever had! So creamy!

Last were the tater tots: very good, crispy and not greasy!

It was definitely a feast and I loved it! Definitely a great place for BBQ! But do not do what I did...Otherwise you will have tons of leftovers!

Enjoy (I did)!

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