July 2014 | I just want 2 eat

Wednesday, July 30, 2014

Restaurant Week: Hakkasan in NYC, NY

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image of Hakkasan in NYC, NY

My next target for Restaurant Week was Hakkasan, a modern Chinese restaurant that originated in London in 2001 and opened its doors in Hell's Kitchen in April 2012 and earned a Michelin star. I was thinking that the $38 deal for dinner was a good way to try out that place as, the lack of prices on the menu often indicates a pricey meal...
image of lounge at Hakkasan in NYC, NY

This 11,000 square feet place is pretty impressive with its modern decor and deep blue lighting. The photo above is the lounge area and the one below part of the dining room.
image of dining room at Hakkasan in NYC, NY

Even more impressive is the long corridor at the entrance that reminded Jodi of a scene in The Shinning. Scary!
image of entrance at Hakkasan in NYC, NY

They sat us fairly quickly at our table and I admit that I really was not sure what to order as lots of dishes seemed very appetizing.
image of menu at Hakkasan in NYC, NY

image of Hakkasan in NYC, NY

For instance, for the appetizer, I hesitated between the steamed dim sum platter and the fried one. Well, first I did not know what har gau was and discovered later that it was a shrimp dumpling. Then, they had a fried dumpling with duck and, as I love duck, I decided to go with the fried platter.
image of fried dumpling platter at Hakkasan in NYC, NY

There were three dumplings: shrimp, mashed duck and pumpkin, scallops. The presentation was beautiful, especially the duck dumpling that had the shape of a pumpkin. They were delicious: slightly crispy and tasty, the dough was perfect, not too greasy. My favorite was the scallop one, then the shrimp and last the duck (I did not get as much duck taste as I would have loved to). 

Jodi got the stir-fried mushrooms with lettuce wrap.
image of stir-fried mushrooms with lettuce wrap at Hakkasan in NYC, NY

I loved that dish, with or without the lettuce that, as the name of the dish suggests, is used as a wrap. 
image of stir-fried mushrooms with lettuce wrap at Hakkasan in NYC, NY

It was full of pistachio and pine nuts that added a nice flavor to it. But know that it was slightly spicy...

For the entrée, I ordered the spicy prawn, served with Lilly bulb, almond and jicama. 
image of spicy prawn at Hakkasan in NYC, NY

I was surprised how much large shrimp were on the plate as I thought that, being a special deal, portions would be small. 
image of spicy prawn at Hakkasan in NYC, NY

I ate that dish with some egg fried rice that was quite good. 
image of fried rice at Hakkasan in NYC, NY

Imagine the sauce of the prawn being like a curry, with the spiciness of a curry in fact. Fortunately, mixing with the rice and eating the jicama that not only gave a nice crunch, but had a slight cooling effect that helped. It was so good that, even if my mouth was, at time, on fire, I went back to it. 

Jodi ordered a vegetarian dish: three-style mushroom stir-fry with macadamia nuts, water chestnuts and gai lan that is Chinese broccoli.
image of three-style mushroom stir-fry at Hakkasan in NYC, NY

It was good, but I admit that I found the dish a bit boring, missing texture if not for the presence of macadamia nuts, and taste. She also got fried rice. 

For dessert, we shared:

Vanilla ice cream with strawberry sorbet, strawberries, meringue and...black pepper. 
image of Vanilla ice cream with strawberry sorbet at Hakkasan in NYC, NY

Ok, I admit that we did not really taste the black pepper, and I wondered if it was not just simply used to enhance flavors. But overall, it was a delicious dish, the high point being the vanilla ice cream that had a texture very close to a mousse. 

We also tried a lemon infused consommé with peach ice cream, a huge cherry, and some fig. 
image of  lemon infused consommé with peach ice cream at Hakkasan in NYC, NY

That was a fantastic dessert, well balanced and very refreshing. I could have eaten more of it! Well, I also could have eaten much more of this amazing shortbread!
image of wet towel at Hakkasan in NYC, NY

We had a delicious meal at Hakkasan: the food was succulent, the presentation stunning and appetizing, and the service perfect and courteous. Know that there is loud music there, like in a club, but even with that, I cannot wait to go back there for another dinner, that is what the spirit of Restaurant Week is about: discovering places. 

Enjoy (I did)! 

Hakkasan on Urbanspoon

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Monday, July 28, 2014

Café Blossom on Carmine, New York, NY

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Please note that the meal was complimentary. However, the opinions expressed in my blog are 100% my own!  

image of Café Blossom on Carmine, New York, NY

A few years ago, the idea to go to a vegan restaurant would have made me cringe. Today, I am kind of excited at the idea to try some new flavors. So yes, I was excited when I got invited to try Café Blossom on Carmine, especially after reading the statement from one of its founders, Ronen Seri:

My vision for Blossom was to create a place with outstanding food, not just for vegans, but for everyone to enjoy.

Yes, I am not a vegetarian and much less a vegan, so going to this kind of restaurant can be a real test.
image of Café Blossom on Carmine, New York, NY

I like the place: simply decorated, I love the contrast of the dark wood with the white brick wall, like the ying and yang.
image of dining room at Café Blossom on Carmine, New York, NY

They push the concept to having a communal table situated right in front of the open kitchen.
image of dining room at Café Blossom on Carmine, New York, NY

image of dining room at Café Blossom on Carmine, New York, NY

The menu offers small and large dishes, some of them looking familiar such as the Caesar salad or the pipette Margherita, but with a vegan twist if I may say: the cheese is for instance replaced by tapioca cheese, bacon by tempeh bacon.
image of menu at Café Blossom on Carmine, New York, NY

We started off with some drinks. Jodi ordered their belvoir sparkling elderflower lemonade:
image of belvoir sparkling elderflower lemonade at Café Blossom on Carmine, New York, NY

And I ordered the house brewed fresh ginger ale:
image of fresh ginger ale at Café Blossom on Carmine, New York, NY

Then, we shared two appetizers:

The first one was the buffalo risotto croquettes served with pickled carrot ribbons and blue cheese sauce.
image of buffalo risotto croquettes at Café Blossom on Carmine, New York, NY

There were three croquettes that were divine: think about rice balls made with buffalo sauce that are deep fried and then topped with blue cheese.

image of buffalo risotto croquettes at Café Blossom on Carmine, New York, NY

This was a very successful dish, very flavorful and I loved the fact that these little rice balls were not dry.

The second appetizer was the taco trio:
image of tacos trio at Café Blossom on Carmine, New York, NY

It was made of roasted mushroom adobo, corn tortilla, cabbage, huitlacoche, carrot/onion escabeche and micro cilantro. I had no idea what huitlacoche was and later discovered that it was corn mushroom, corn smut or even called Mexican truffle (that's pushing a bit!).
image of tacos trio at Café Blossom on Carmine, New York, NY

This was a delicious dish: very flavorful, I did not mind at all that it was vegetarian. I love the crunch of the cabbage, as well as the bold flavor of the roasted mushroom adobo. Another great dish!

For the entrées, Jodi ordered the soy bacon cheeseburger:
image of soy bacon cheeseburger at Café Blossom on Carmine, New York, NY

She decided to have French fries as a side rather than field green: after all, it is a burger.
image of soy bacon cheeseburger at Café Blossom on Carmine, New York, NY

It was composed of seitan patty, tapioca cheddar, caramelized onions, grilled shiitake mushrooms, soy bacon, lettuce, tomato, chipotle aioli on a sesame bun. I admit that it was a bit messy to eat because of the soy bacon that was too hard and make it difficult to cut through. I also did not like the texture and taste.

On my side, I decided to order the huevos rancheros, curious to see how one of my favorite brunch dishes would end up.
image of huevos rancheros at Café Blossom on Carmine, New York, NY

The dish was made of tofu scramble, adobo sauce, tapioca cheddar, black beans, soy sour cream, served on a crispy corn tortillas.
image of huevos rancheros at Café Blossom on Carmine, New York, NY

This was a nice interpretation of that dish. Being eggless, it did not have the same smoothness that the egg yolk usually gives, but I found it quite interesting, the tofu being moist and flavorful, perfect mixed with the beans and sour cream. I wonder if the yellow color is coming from turmeric...

Last was dessert. We went for the peach and strawberry crumble, served with vanilla ice cream:
image of peach and strawberry crumble at Café Blossom on Carmine, New York, NY

And the New York cheesecake, served with a peach reduction, strawberries and chocolate chips:
image of NY cheesecake at Café Blossom on Carmine, New York, NY

The desserts were quite good, especially knowing that they do not use butter. The crumble was the best one, although I would have liked more fruit in it. But the cheesecake was fabulous too, with its crust that was very coconut-ey.

My meal could not be complete without a coffee and, instead of going for an espresso, I went for a cappuccino, curious to see how they would pull it off without milk (they use almond milk in fact). And it worked!
image of cappuccino at Café Blossom on Carmine, New York, NY

This was a nice meal, surprising in a lot of ways. If you go to Café Blossom, I definitely recommend the buffalo risotto croquettes, the tacos and the desserts. You will not regret it!

Enjoy (I did)!

Cafe Blossom on Urbanspoon

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Saturday, July 26, 2014

Restaurant Week: The Russian Tea Room in NYC, NY

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image of The Russian Tea Room in NYC, NY

I always wanted to go to The Russian Tea Room, but I admit that I heard so many things about it: food not good and overpriced, and poor service, that it was on the bottom of my list. But then, Summer Restaurant Week happened: it is a great way to try pricey restaurants at a discount (three course meal for $25 for lunch and $38 for dinner), as long as the restaurant embraces the event's purposes and does not cheap out on quality or service. 
image of The Russian Tea Room in NYC, NY

So I went to The Russian Tea Room for lunch after booking a table on Opentable. I mention it because I looked at the description of the restaurant and it said that the dress code was business casual meaning long sleeve shirts, no t-shirt or shorts. Well I guess that they are more relaxed for lunch, Midtown being full of tourists, because I saw many people wearing these supposedly not recommended outfits. 
image of The Russian Tea Room in NYC, NY

The decor of this place, created in 1927 by former Russian Imperial Ballet members is incredible, a bit over the top, as if we were transported to the 1900s. There is of course the bright red banquettes that seem to be made of plastic (it is not), the chandeliers, and the multiple paintings on the walls (not sure if there is any space left to hang another thing!). 
image of dining room at The Russian Tea Room in NYC, NY

The first experience on how pricey the place is is the cork fee: one of my friends brought a bottle of champagne from France for a celebration. Apparently, the cork fee was $55! We surely declined. 

So, as we were making up our mind as far as the menu goes, they brought us some bread and butter. I admit that I thought that the bread was not that fresh at that point...
image of bread basket at The Russian Tea Room in NYC, NY

Then, I chose an appetizer: goat cheese and mushroom blinchik that is a crêpe filled with goat cheese, wild mushrooms, melted onions, served with a sauce made with lingonberries. 
image of goat cheese and mushroom blinchik at The Russian Tea Room in NYC, NY

When the dish came, I thought that it was a small portion. Fortunately, it was delicious, goat cheese and melted onions pairing very well together, the later having a nice sweetness. And if you love mushrooms, you will not be disappointed either as they definitely stood out. The crêpe itself was perfect: very thin and well cooked, it was nicely soft. I just wished there was more of it. 

For the entrée, I got the chicken à la Czar that is sautéed chicken breast with roasted red peppers and mushrooms in a light cream sauce.
image of chicken à la Czar at The Russian Tea Room in NYC, NY

Interestingly, they were not at all consistent with the serving: I got two mushrooms, while one of my friends got plenty. 

image of chicken à la Czar at The Russian Tea Room in NYC, NY

And in fact I picked that dish for the mushrooms! Fortunately, the chicken was well cooked and moist, perfect when dipped with the cream sauce that was, as advertised, light. 

For dessert, I chose the chocolate pyramid, made with bittersweet chocolate mousse and with a raspberry filling:
image of chocolate pyramid at The Russian Tea Room in NYC, NY

That was a delicious dessert: light, not too sweet and very chocolate-y. I surely recommend it. I ate it with an espresso that was quite pricey ($8).
image of espresso at The Russian Tea Room in NYC, NY

Although it was a bit inconsistent, I liked my lunch at The Russian Tea Room: for $25 we got a good deal and had a decent meal. I should mention the service that was quite good. Would I go back outside of Restaurant Week: probably.

Enjoy (I did)!
Russian Tea Room on Urbanspoon
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Bacon and Beer Classic at Citi Field, home of the NY Mets

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image of Citi Field, home of the NY Mets

Jodi and I got invited to Citi Field for a Bacon and Beer Classic where visitors got an all-inclusive experience: walking through the stadium,  sampling craft beer & bacon-inspired treats by local chefs and supporting local charity, Citymeals-on-Wheels. 
image of Citi Field, home of the NY Mets

I admit that, coming from France, I am not really familiar with baseball. It is not a practiced sport there and is mainly known because of movies or TV series like Seinfeld (I know: wrong stadium!). 
image of Citi Field, home of the NY Mets

So, I was anyway excited to learn a bit about baseball and discover the backstage of this sport, as we were allowed to go on the field, under the stadium, in the tunnel, where photos were restricted. 
image of The tunnel at Citi Field, home of the NY Mets

image of The Clubhouse at Citi Field, home of the NY Mets

We saw for instance the players' lounge, the gym, the locker room, as well as the press conference room.
image of Press conference room at Citi Field, home of the NY Mets

image of Press conference room at Citi Field, home of the NY Mets

image of Press conference room at Citi Field, home of the NY Mets

After the amazing tour, we went back to the stadium:
image of Citi Field, home of the NY Mets

I should mention that we sat a bit in the dugout that is the team's bench area:
image of Phones in the dugout at Citi Field, home of the NY Mets

image of the dugout at Citi Field, home of the NY Mets

image from the dugout at Citi Field, home of the NY Mets


So, let's talk about food and beverages: they had more than 80 restaurants and breweries, the first ones proposing dishes made with bacon. So I got to try a bit of everything...Here is some of what I tried:

Sylvia's - Sweet potato and bacon roll.

image of Sylvia's - Sweet potato and bacon roll at Citi Field, home of the NY Mets
Sylvia's Restaurant on Urbanspoon

Big Daddy's - Cinna-Bacon cupcake (cinnamon maple batter, cinnamon frosting and candied bacon):


image of Big Daddy's - Cinna-Bacon cupcake at Citi Field, home of the NY Mets

image of Big Daddy's - Cinna-Bacon cupcake at Citi Field, home of the NY Mets
Big Daddy's on UrbanspoonBig Daddy's on UrbanspoonBig Daddy's on Urbanspoon

Duke's - Roadhouse chili (bacon croutons, jalapeño, candied bacon, cheddar, cornbread and chipotle sour cream):

image of Duke's - Roadhouse chili at Citi Field, home of the NY Mets

image of Duke's - Roadhouse chili at Citi Field, home of the NY Mets
Duke's on UrbanspoonDuke's on Urbanspoon

Sweet Dreams donuts - bacon donut:

image of Sweet Dreams donuts - bacon donut at Citi Field, home of the NY Mets

image of Sweet Dreams donuts - bacon donut at Citi Field, home of the NY Mets

Mac Bar - Bacon Mac & Cheese:

image of Mac Bar - Bacon Mac & Cheese at Citi Field, home of the NY Mets
MacBar on Urbanspoon

Delicatessen - The King's cheesecake (peanut butter, candied bacon and caramelized banana):

image of Delicatessen - The King's cheesecake at Citi Field, home of the NY Mets
Delicatessen on Urbanspoon

Blackbird's - Beef and bacon patty:

image of Blackbird's - Beef and bacon patty at Citi Field, home of the NY Mets

image of Blackbird's - Beef and bacon patty at Citi Field, home of the NY Mets
Blackbird's on Urbanspoon

Whitman's - Peanut butter and bacon burger:

image of Whitman's - Peanut butter and bacon burger at Citi Field, home of the NY Mets
Whitmans on Urbanspoon

Strip House - Black pepper smoked bacon served with arugula, charred corn and pickled melon salad:

image of Strip House - Black pepper smoked bacon at Citi Field, home of the NY Mets

image of Strip House - Black pepper smoked bacon at Citi Field, home of the NY Mets

image of Strip House - Black pepper smoked bacon at Citi Field, home of the NY Mets
Strip House on Urbanspoon

Roni Sue's chocolates - Bacorn (homemade caramel popcorn and bacon bites & chile spiked peanuts) and pig candy (chocolate covered bacon):

image of Roni Sue's chocolates - Bacorn at Citi Field, home of the NY Mets

image of Roni Sue's chocolates - Pig candy at Citi Field, home of the NY Mets
Roni Sue's Chocolates on Urbanspoon

Robicelli's bakery - bacon brownie:

image of Robicelli's bakery - bacon brownie at Citi Field, home of the NY Mets
Robicelli's Bakery on Urbanspoon

South Brooklyn Pizza - Bacon and blue cheese pizza:

image of South Brooklyn Pizza - Bacon and blue cheese pizza at Citi Field, home of the NY Mets
South Brooklyn Pizza on UrbanspoonSouth Brooklyn Pizza on Urbanspoon

Come and Get It BBQ - bacon and chocolate chip cookies:

image of Come and Get It BBQ - bacon and chocolate chip cookies at Citi Field, home of the NY Mets

John's of Times Square - Bacon and cheese pizza:

image of John's of Times Square - Bacon and cheese pizza at Citi Field, home of the NY Mets
John's of Times Square on Urbanspoon

Rudy's Pastry Shop LLC - bacon cheesecake:

image of Rudy's Pastry Shop LLC - bacon cheesecake at Citi Field, home of the NY Mets

Chef One Corp. - Dumpling and roll:

image of Chef One Corp. - Dumpling and roll at Citi Field, home of the NY Mets

image of Chef One Corp. - Dumpling and roll at Citi Field, home of the NY Mets

image of Chef One Corp. - Dumpling and roll at Citi Field, home of the NY Mets

Black Tree - Whiskey bacon chocolate chip cookie:

image of Black Tree - Whiskey bacon chocolate chip cookie at Citi Field, home of the NY Mets
Black Tree on Urbanspoon

Ribs Within - no name...

image of Ribs Within - no name... at Citi Field, home of the NY Mets

S. Ottomanelli and Sons - caramelized onions and bacon burger:

image of S. Ottomanelli and Sons - caramelized onions and bacon burger at Citi Field, home of the NY Mets

image of S. Ottomanelli and Sons - caramelized onions and bacon burger at Citi Field, home of the NY Mets

And of course, I got some beer...
image of Bacon and Beer Classic at Citi Field, home of the NY Mets

So, this was a great event: I may not have learnt much about baseball, but I am now more curious. Food wise, this was fantastic: some dishes like the cupcake from Big Daddy's or the smoked bacon from Strip House were amazing, and I have to say, these restaurants and Chefs showed a lot of creativity, especially the ones serving sweets, proving that you can put bacon everywhere! And the fact that charities benefited from it is definitely a plus.
image of Bacon and Beer Classic at Citi Field, home of the NY Mets

Enjoy (I did)!

If you like this post or the photos, feel free to share it using the toolbar below or to write a comment! 

And Remember: I Just Want To Eat!

Please note that this event was complimentary. However, the opinions expressed in my blog are 100% my own! 
Continue Reading »