Van Leeuwen Ice Cream Shop in New York, NY

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We were looking for a nice homemade ice cream shop and ended up at Van Leeuwen in the East Village. This ice cream parlor started its adventure selling ice cream in yellow postal trucks, before expending and opening a brick and mortar location, as well as...an Indonesian restaurant. Don't ask me how the two relates and let say that the common link is entrepreneurship. 

All the ice cream served at Van Leeuwen are made in Greenpoint, Brooklyn, with organic ingredients for the most part purchased at small producers. For instance, the milk is hormone and antibiotic free. They say that they use "ingredients celebrated by nature, not science", that is a welcomed statement in a world smothered with processed food. 

The place in the East Village is big and has an antic feel, probably thanks to the wooden floor, tables & chairs and counter, as well as the filament apparent bulbs. 

We were not sure what to get there as there were many yummy flavors proposed. They have of course the classic: vanilla, chocolate or hazelnut, but also some strange one: ginger, currants and cream, Ceylon cinnamon or earl grey tea. They also have a bunch of vegan choices made with coconut or cashew milk.

Jodi decided to order two scoops: coconut and salted caramel. 

Although I liked the coconut (Jodi who is the coconut pro did not like it), I thought that the caramel was a bit too salty, the saltiness becoming a problem after few bites. 

On my side, I ordered the classic Sunday. 

It was made of vanilla, chocolate and strawberry ice cream, whipped cream, chocolate sauce, salted caramel and walnuts. 

That was big and pretty decadent, full of flavors considering the multiple ingredients they use. The ice cream was fantastic: creamy and tasty, with the strawberry one having this fresh fruit taste that definitely sets it apart. 

Although I did not like everything at Van Leeuwen, I would definitely go back to try some other flavors or maybe their banana split that seem to be fantastic. 

Enjoy (I did)!

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Pierre Loti Wine Bar in New York, NY

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Pierre Loti is a wine bar with multiple locations across New York. In fact, I discovered that fact the hard way... We were supposed to meet for dinner in Chelsea where we had our reservation. I admit that I completely forgot it was in Chelsea and, before leaving work, simply entered the name of the restaurant in Google Map to get the directions. I ended up Irving Place, ten minutes earlier.

Pierre Loti in Irving Place

So I texted Jodi to let her know I was there and proceeded to take photos of the exterior of the restaurant. Soon after, I received a text from Jodi telling me that she would soon arrive, as she and our friends were across the street. I could not see them...Weird...I kept looking around wondering where they were, and, on her side, she went inside the restaurant to find me as I told her I already arrived and she could not see me outside. That is when we realized we were not at the same place! She was in the correct one, in Chelsea! It took me approximately 15 minutes to go there, promising that next time, I'll take the time to check the address.

The name of the restaurant is a tribute to the French novelist and naval officer (1850-1923), who published many novels throughout his travels around the world. 

It is a wine bar, so it is not surprising that they have an impressive wine list made of bottles not only from France, but also from Mediterranean countries such as Turkey, Italy or Spain. They also propose some American wines from California, if you prefer drinking local...

The menu is mediterranean inspired, with a bunch of small plates to share, cold or hot, making it a perfect place to dine with friends or for a quick bite and a glass of wine. That is where we met with our friends Livia & Georges and Letizia & Scott for dinner.  

We first ordered bottle of Bordeaux - Chateau Les Rambauds 2009:

As we were waiting for our appetizers, they served us some olives and pita, that are, I guess, a reference to Greece.

Then, we got our appetizers. The first one was the phyllo cheese rolls:

As we were six people, we ordered two. They were filled with feta and blue cheese. Although I barely tasted the blue cheese (probably because its taste was neutralized by the feta), I really liked it, the shell being crispy and the filling, a bit hot, being delicious.

The second appetizer was zucchini pancakes:

Served with a thick Turkish yogurt, it was delightfully greasy, a bit crispy and comforting. 

The last appetizer was the grilled octopus that was sautéed with baby potatoes and carrots in olive oil.

I did not like it at all: it was mushy and tasteless. So sad, I love octopus and was so happy to find people willing to share that dish with me!

Then, we all got our entrees:

Jodi went for the pan seared salmon. It was crusted with shredded wheat and served with sautéed vegetables (in that case, beets and carrots).

That was delicious, the crust adding some texture to a perfectly cooked salmon.

On my side, I got the grilled quail with mushroom risotto:

Cooking a quail is tough because it is so small that it is easy to overcook it and it will be awfully dry. At Pierre Loti, they succeeded to cooked it properly, the little bird being moist and succulent. However, I did not like the risotto. It was as if it was made with beer...weird!

Last, we decided to share some desserts. The first one was a chocolate cake that I recommend if you love chocolate.

The second one was a berry tart that was very refreshing:

We had a good time at Pierre Loti: the food and wine were good, and the service welcoming. We stayed there a while, chatting, and they did not even make us feel we had to leave. For all these reasons, I recommend this place.

Enjoy (I did)!



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O MAI in New York, NY

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O Mai is a Vietnamese restaurant located in the trendy Chelsea. It is a decent size place with a warm decor and an interesting menu with unique dishes that can satisfy any palate. We went there on a Friday night and the place was packed. This is definitely the place to go if you like loud music, loud people and barely no light to see your food...Fortunately, the cuisine is worth it: delicious and packed in flavors. Each dish has a name in Vietnamese and there is always an hesitation to give the original name or the main ingredient; should I ask for Ca Bam or monkfish? Bo Luc Lac or beef sirloin? I tried the original names of the dishes, making sure I was pointing them on the menu so there would not be any misunderstanding, and I am glad to report that we got the dishes we wanted...thanks to my finger...

We started with the crispy vegetarian rolls (Cha Gio). Nothing extraordinary there, but still, good rolls, a bit hot as just made.

Then, I could not resist to try their grilled calamari, served with cucumber, tomato, mixed greens and fresh herbs.

I love calamari and was not disappointed at all: it was perfectly cooked, not rubbery and very refreshing with the salad.

Then, Jodi ordered a tilapia served with some vermicelli noodles.

The fish was deliciously spicy, flakey and moist.

On my side, I ordered the sugar cane shrimp:

It is as if the shrimp was put in a blender to create a thick paste that was then put around a sugar cane stick, before being grilled.

It was sitting on a sort of rice net and served with a rice crepe. The way I ate it was by putting some mint leaves, peanut sauce, peanuts, onions and of course shrimp on the rice crepe, and then roll it. It was delicious: I was expecting some sweetness from the sugar cane, but did not taste any. The roll was packed in flavors, the mint giving some freshness to the dish.

Last was dessert. We decided to order the warm banana bread with Tahitian vanilla ice cream.

It was just ok; the banana bread being a bit too dry, it would have been better served with a creme anglaise.

This was a nice dinner and the service was very good. I love the food at O Mai: packed in flavors that are original and surprising. Would I go back? Sure!

Enjoy (I did)!



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Kung Fu Little Steamed Buns Ramen in New York, NY

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Don't be fooled by the word ramen in its name: Kung Fu Little Steamed Buns Ramen is a Chinese restaurant that offers flavorful dishes at prices that do not break the bank. There, one of their star item is the lamian or hand pulled noodles that Chef Peter Song, a native from China, prepares in the kitchen. 

This is a small place, crowded, especially during the week, being located on 8th avenue and so, spoiled with a lot of passage. 

We decided to go on a Saturday early evening. I guess we were right not to go too late as, when we left, the restaurant was full. And trust me, it filled up quickly as we did not stay hours there: you sit, you eat and you go. Not that they were pressing us to leave, but this is not the place for a tête à tête, the tables being very close to each other. Don't get me wrong: you get the same feel when you go to other ramen places like Menkuitei or Totto Ramen. 

So we decided to try some of their little steamed buns and ramen. 

We shared:

The Kung Fu steamed pork buns:

These are soup dumplings that I guess are a hit in most restaurant, not only for the taste, but also because people try to understand how the soup made it inside (they do not use a syringe, but just freeze it, before putting it in the dumpling). It was fairly good, a bit fatty, but in a good way. I would put them at the level of Joe's Shanghai. 

The way I eat them is from the top, after placing the dumpling on a spoon (the plate is for the photo only...). 

Only problem was that it was a bit sticky and we had to be careful when lifting them from the steamer as one or two broke and leaked. 

Then, we tried the vegetable dumplings:

For sure, the green color stood out...inside and outside. It was just ok for me: too much broccoli and the filling was a bit dry. 

Last was the ramen. I decided to go for the roasted duck one. 

I forgot how difficult it can be to eat duck with chopsticks because of the bones. But I made it. It was very flavorful altogether, the duck giving lots of flavors to the broth that, on its own, did not stand up like the broths you can have at places like Ivan Ramen or Ippudo.

The noodles were delicious and perfectly cooked.

It was ok. Would I go back? Maybe. This is not a must go.

Enjoy (I did)!

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Buddakan in New York, NY

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Buddakan was on my list for a while and I was thrilled when Jodi picked this restaurant for her birthday (ok, I did not tell the restaurant it was her special day as she hates it when they come with a cake and sing...).

As soon as we entered, we were amazed by the impressive decor of the venue.

I am not sure if they did that on purpose, but they walked us all around the main dining room before bringing us to the table, allowing us to see how this more than 250 seat restaurant was organized.

So we sat at a table and I truly appreciated being able to talk without screaming to Jodi, until they started to lower the lights and put some loud music. I think that was the only negative of the whole experience. I should have known had I looked at the history of the place: it was opened in 1998 by acclaimed restauranteur Stephen Starr (Morimoto, Fette Sau...) who is a fan of music and decided to name the restaurant in honor of Nippon Budokan, an indoor venue in Tokyo where artists like Bob Dylan, Cheap Trick and Ozzy Osbourne performed.

The menu, crafted by Executive Chefs Yuang Huang and Brian Ray is Chinese, but with a twist. We decided to start with some appetizers. First was the tuna tartare spring rolls:

This was a very interesting dish, combining the lightness and freshness of the tartare that had a slight kick with the crispiness of the roll.

The second appetizer was the hoisin glazed pork belly:

The pork belly was served with soft steams buns that were very light, soft and slightly sticky.

And the pork belly smothered in this wonderfully sweet hoisin sauce:

What we did was to put some pork belly, cabbage and shallots in a bun, et voila!

Then, we got some entrees. Jodi ordered the wild mushroom chow fun that was succulent, the chow fun being perfectly cooked and very tasty, and with a nice quantity of mushrooms.

On my side, I chose the black pepper beef that was a ribeye steak sautéed in a wok and accompanied with a bird's nest (well more like a cracker than a real nest):

The presentation was amazing and the way you eat that dish is by mixing the steak and onions with the nest that you pulverize with your fork. This is a dish I recommend: original, the ribeye was perfectly cooked and tender. Knowing that ribeye is my favorite piece of meat, I could hear angels singing behind me after each bite.

As Jodi loves sugar snap peas, we ordered some as a side:

They were served with soy tapioca and mushrooms. Although I am not the biggest fan of sugar snap peas, I really liked that dish.

Of course, we could not finish our meal without any dessert! We ordered their best seller: the crying chocolate.

Served with a Vietnamese coffee ice cream, it was made of malted chocolate ganache and when we ate it, we could see it crying, the chocolate slightly dripping from the top to the bottom.

It might have been the most ordered dessert, it was not my favorite. The almond bread pudding, suggested by our waiter, was fantastic!

Served with a whiskey ice cream, it was topped with caramelized bananas and bathed in a butterscotch sauce. Imagine that Jodi, who does not like almonds loved it (so I had to share...). Not overly sweet, it was divine and I certainly recommend it.

After this feast, a nice walk was necessary. Despite the night club atmosphere, Buddakan is definitely one of the best Chinese restaurants for that category: the food was delicious and the service excellent. I definitely have this restaurant on my list of must do.

Enjoy (I sure did)!

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