Georgian cuisine at Pepela in NYC, New York

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I was recently invited to Pepela, a restaurant located in Murray Hill that serves cuisine from Georgia. I am not talking about the state, but the country in Eastern Europe. There are quite few Georgian restaurants in the City, but they are mainly in Brooklyn and Pepela, that opened just a year ago, is the first Georgian restaurant in the Manhattan.

As you can see on the photo above, the restaurant is in a townhouse. But do not expect to end up in somebody's home when you enter: it is a modern and upscale place that features some art from various artists. There are two floors: on the first floor is the lounge and downstairs is the dining room. 

As there was a birthday party in the dining room, we preferred eating in the lounge, meaning a different experience than a dinner per se.

As we were in the lounge, we could not not start without a cocktail...So I tried the Chacha Pom, made with Georgian vodka (Chacha), pomegranate juice, orange liquor and lemon juice.

It was good, but clearly not a fruit cocktail as they were generous with the Chacha...

Then, came the appetizers:

On the left was the sweet peppers with walnut paste and  carrots:

In the middle was the beets with walnut and Georgian Spices:

And on the right, the eggplant rolls where the eggplant was stuffed with a walnut paste full of spices.

The last one was my favorite, the smokiness of the eggplant adding a nice dimension to the dish. It came with some traditional homemade Georgian bread that reminded me the bread my Mom used to bake when I was a kid.

Then, came a "cheese pizza" made with sulguni cheese from Georgia:

If you like cheese, this dish is for you!

Yes, there was tons of cheese and it was gooey, nicely broiled on top to create some thin crisp areas.

The last dish was Chakhokhbili chicken:

It was pieces of chicken smothered by a sauce made with tomato, onions, cilantro, parsley, dill, spices, served with rice. The sauce was very good: thick, earthy with a bold flavor. However, the chicken was a bit on the dry side for me.

As I mentioned earlier, this was more a lounge experience than a formal dinner one, but it was an interesting discovery of Georgian cuisine!

Enjoy !
 
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And Remember: I Just Want To Eat!

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

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Vietnamese soup at Pho Nomenon in Hoboken, NJ

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We were excited to go to Pho Nomenon, one of the new restaurants that opened recently in Hoboken. It replaced Hoboken Cottage that was really not one of my favorites. Well, think about it: they were proposing Chinese and Turkish cuisine; not sure what the link between the two is...Nevertheless, I tried both and did not like it.

So, we arrived in the restaurant that had a medium size dining room, dominated by a painting of Buddha. 

As soon as we sat, they brought us some green tea that was welcome considering the temperature outside, and kept serving it as soon as our cups were half empty.

As an appetizer, we ordered Goi Cuon Chav or vegetarian Summer rolls:

Contrary to spring rolls, they are not fried, making it a healthier version. It was made of rice noodles, fried tofu, picked carrots, daikon, lettuce and mint, wrapped in rice paper.

It has been a while since I ate this kind of roll and it was delicious, very refreshing, especially thanks to the mint. I ate it with the peanut sauce that came with and I also tried with some hoisin sauce that added some sweetness.

Then, they brought some soy, lemon and basil for the Pho.

Because we did not care about the rest of the menu: we came for Pho, this Vietnamese soup that was born in the 20th century in Northern Vietnam, taking some influence from both French and Chinese cuisine. Some believe that Pho is derived from "Pot au feu", a classic beef stew. I guess that now you see the link with the name of the restaurant, Pho Nomenon! Lets see if it is a real phenomenon!

Jodi ordered a vegetarian Pho with mixed vegetables, mushrooms and tofu. It was in fact the only one of the menu that did not have a Vietnamese name.

On my side, I ordered the Pho Tai Chin Nam Ve:

It was a beef broth with eye round steak, brisket and flank. It definitely had a nice smell, quite appetizing. The meat was good, although a bit overcooked. However, there were some pieces of fat that were not good at all.

I have mixed feelings about that place: it was cheap and decent, but the food was not to the point where I would want to go back quickly.

Enjoy (...)!

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Revisite: Chinese lunch at Szechuan Gourmet in Midtown West, NYC, New York

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Szechuan Gourmet is one of my favorite Chinese restaurants outside Chinatown. Located Midtown West, this place is always busy; I am not surprised considering the very reasonable prices and how good the food is. They have an extensive menu that features some classic and not so classic dishes as you will see in this post, satisfying the meat eaters as well as the vegetarians.

We went there with my co-workers to celebrate the birthday of our friend David. As we were a large party, they sat us in their private dining room. Interesting room: you will not find any Chinese paintings, but European paintings where the subjects bare it all! 

We decided to share and let David take care of the order. We started off with scallion pancakes:

This is a very comforting dish and perfect if you had one too many drinks...It was crispy and not greasy, which is often the problem with that dish.

The second appetizer was the vegetable dumplings:

They were perfect: often, the shell is too thick and there is not enough stuffing. There, the shell was thin and the filling very tasty.

The last appetizer was the vegetable spring rolls:

Again another delicious fried appetizer, very comforting. 

Then the entrees started to come. First was the eggplant in garlic sauce:

This is one of my favorite vegetarian dishes. For sure you need to like garlic because, after eating this, no vampire will approach you for days...The eggplant were perfectly cooked, melting in my mouth, with that delicious smokey taste so particular to that vegetable.

Then came the fried rice:

It was good, not the best I ever ate, but good.

After that came the crispy orange chicken:

That was a fantastic dish: the chicken was moist and crispy, smothered in a deliciously sweet sauce.

Then, we tried the Ma Po Tofu:

This dish had a beautiful color, but don't be mistaken: all the red is chile and that was spicy! Yes, it was good, but very spicy.

The last entree we tried was surprising: Jumbo Prawn in mayonnaise.

Just hearing the name of the dish, it does not sound really Chinese, nor appetizing. Apparently, this dish came from Hong Kong. It was a very good dish: the shrimp were crispy, mixed with broccoli and pineapple for some sweetness, and the creamy sauce was delicious, with a very very slight mayonnaise taste. For sure, the next time I see that dish on a menu, I will order it! 

Last was dessert:

It was Tang Yuan,  round soft rice cakes with black sesame filling, dipped in syrup.

I tried to photograph the filling but it was a bit challenging not to move...

I liked it, although I would have liked the syrup to be sweeter. The texture of the ball was similar to mochi, maybe a bit softer.

We had a good time at Szechuan Gourmet: good food, good company and good prices. This remains one of my favorite spots for authentic Chinese food in Midtown Manhattan. 

Enjoy (I did)!

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Cheap eats: Alberto's Pizza and Cheesesteaks in Chelsea, NYC, New York

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Wandering close to Union Square, we found Alberto's Pizza and Cheesesteak. I admit that I wanted to try it not for the pizza, but for the cheesesteak as I love that sandwich and was a bit disappointed when I went to Shorty's. 

This is your typical pizza place and you do not go for the decor, for the service or to get some warmth (except probably if you are a regular customer). 

I ordered a cheesesteak with onions and provolone that they prepared on the grill, next to the entrance.

It was a decent sandwich: the bread was soft and the meat tender and juicy.

Jodi ordered an eggplant parmesan sandwich that was made with the same bread.

It was a good sandwich, served hot, with a nice amount of cheese.

Alberto's Pizza and Cheesesteak is a good cheap place, at least for what we tried. I may go back at some point to try some other Italian sandwiches or pizza. 

Enjoy (I did)!

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Petit Déjeuner at Le Pain Quotidien in NYC, New York

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If you recall, few weeks ago, I posted about a chocolate tour in New York City. Well, the tour started at 12pm and we decided to have breakfast in the city earlier that day. Our place of choice was Le Pain Quotidien, one of our favorite places. Don't be fooled: Le Pain Quotidien is not French but Belgian! This franchise is present all over the city and they have fantastic breads and viennoiseries such as croissants or pain au chocolat (chocolate croissant).

I love this place also because it has this rustic feel with all this wood and the communal table in the center of the room.

Jodi simply ordered a pain au chocolat:

I admit that the pain au chocolat at Le Pain Quotidien is one of my favorites in the city: flakey and buttery, it has a bit of crunch on the outside that is divine.

She had it with tea:

On my side, I ordered the petit déjeuner: choice of croissant or pain au chocolat with an assortment of organic breads, juice and a regular hot beverage.

I decided to order a pain au chocolat, an orange juice and some coffee.

The bread that day was 5 grains (flax seeds, rolled oats, pumpkin seeds, sesame seeds and sunflower seeds with raisins for some added sweetness), wheat and baguette.

Besides butter, they brought speculoos, that is a spread made from a cookie (Belgian in that case).

It looks like peanut butter, but definitely tastes like cookie which is not really something I like to taste on a piece of bread...

In France, speculoos is extremely popular and people even eat it in crêpes! 

They also brought some red berries jam:

It was fantastic with the 5 grain bread that was definitely my favorite or with the wheat bread.

But I admit that the 5 grain bread with simply butter was perfect.

This was a good breakfast: good price and great bread. Le Pain Quotidien is definitely an address I keep whenever I want to have a nice breakfast or just a pain au chocolat...

Enjoy (I did)!

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Bonne Année!!!

Happy New Year!!!

I hope you all celebrated the new year well!

As 2014 is starting, let's review a bit 2013 for I Just Want To Eat!

I cannot not start this post without talking about the Cronut!

Some people say that this craze will soon stop: I do not know about that and it seems that, even with the cold weather, there are still people lining up to get this fantastic pastry (fusion between a donut and a croissant). For sure there were copycats, like the Crumbnut from Crumbs, but it was not up to par with the original. Most importantly, Dominique Ansel, that I consider a pastry genius (he makes a brioche where the center is a chocolate soufflé or frozen s'mores), launched a trend where we will probably see pastry chefs come up with original creations, maybe not to get the same attention, but rather as a challenge.

In New York, it was also the year where French bakeries have been popping up, especially Maison Kayser and Francois Payard, my preference going being the latter.

Talking about pastries, I also discovered Lady M Confections that opened a new location at Bryant Park. How do they keep their floor clean with all these people drooling in front of the cakes???

One of the most interesting anecdotes of the year was when I ended up cutting the ribbon for the opening of BCD Tofu House in Korea Town: I was very surprised that they proposed me and was very honored. 

So, if I had to review all the places I visited, I would say:

The best pastry shop / bakeries:

• Dominique Ansel Bakery,
• Lady M,
• Francois Payard Bakery,
• Villabate Alba in Brooklyn.

The worst pastry shop / bakery:

• Carlo's Bakery (and I tried few times!),
• Maison Kayser (for the cakes, the viennoiseries are good).
• Molly's Cupcakes.

The best restaurants:

• Kingside (must have: the caramel pudding),
• Luzzo's (great pizza).,
• Le Relais de Venise (just steak frites).

The worst restaurants:

• 21 club (this is an institution, so go for the decor, not the food!),
• Zuni in Hell's Kitchen,
• The Turtle Club in Hoboken.

I limited the list to just a few because otherwise this post would be too long. There are so many places that I will wonder where to go! I was asked recently what the next trend would be and I think that it will be the farm to table concept as people are more and more conscious about what they eat. Let see in a year if I am right! In the meantime, remember: I Just Want To Eat! And I am sure you do too!

Enjoy (I will)!

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