Chikalicious Dessert Bar in the East Village, NYC, NY

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So, after a first tentative to go to ChikaLicious Dessert Bar and ending up in their Dessert Club, we finally made it. We showed up couple of minutes after they opened, allowing us to get a table, but also to take photos comfortably.

Minutes later, the place was packed! Know that his is small and that they only accept reservations for large groups.

This location is totally different from the other one: a more refined decor as well as a different menu. Here, no cupcake or dossant (a fusion of a croissant and a donut, competitor to the Cronut from Dominique Ansel). At ChikaLicious Dessert Bar, you get a prix-fixe for $16 that includes an amuse-Bouche, a dessert and some petits fours.

The desserts can be paired with a dessert wine for an additional $8 that we did not consider, Jodi preferring a tea:

And myself an espresso:

Both served in a nice china. 

That day, the amuse-bouche was Cara Cara orange (sort of navel orange) with a rosemary ice cream. 

This was a surpising start, the rosemary ice cream being very original, with only a slight taste of rosemary that worked perfectly with the orange.

Then we got our desserts of choice. Know that, as dessert choices change on a regular basis, you may not be able to order what we ate. Jodi ordered the mango-pineapple tartare on crispy kataifi with coconut sorbet and white rum purée.

On my side, I ordered the warm chocolate tart with pink peppercorn ice cream and red wine sauce, that looked like a smiley.

I admit that when the dishes came, I was a bit surprised by the small size of the desserts. Still, the presentation was beautiful and I really liked them, especially the warm chocolate tart whose center was completely liquid, similar to a chocolate soufflé. I admit however that I did not really like the red wine sauce that was served with it. 

We then got some petits fours:

Coconut marshmallow:

Bacardi rum chocolate cookies:

Earl grey tea cakes:

All were good, especially the chocolate cookies (probably because of the rum...). 

The desserts at ChikaLicious are quite good and elegant, with a fantastic presentation, the Chef showcasing a lot of creativity. However, for $16 without a coffee or tea, I find it slightly overpriced. 

Enjoy (I did)!

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ChikaLicious Dessert Bar

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Greek cuisine at Snack EOS in Hell's Kitchen

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As we were walking on the low part of Hell's Kitchen, we noticed this restaurant with this heavy oak door and floor to ceiling windows that looked like a wine bar, modern and at the same time rustic. We looked at the menu and decided to try it for dinner. We just discovered Snack Eos, a Greek Taverna that opened in November 2013. 

It is not a big place, but it has sufficient space to accommodate large groups as it was the case when we went there. The menu is Greek, but refined and we were thrilled to try some of their small dishes to get a good feel of the place. 

First they brought us an amuse that was made with chickpea and olive oil, a nice way to start:

We then started with a dip sampler. 

It was composed of tzatziki (made of cucumber, goat and cow milk yogurt, garlic and dill):

Melitzanosalata (roasted eggplant, red peppers, garlic, tahini and parsley):

Muhammara (roasted red pepper, pomegranate, walnut, harissa):

These dips were served with grilled pita that I think was homemade. 

Overall, it was very good and a nice way to start our dinner. Besides the Muhammara, these are fairly classic, that one being interesting with its texture slightly dry and the kick given by the Harissa. 

Then, we got saganaki, but, instead of being flambé, it was served with a tomato jam, pistachio, sumac and some balsamic vinegar for some acid. 

It came very hot in a skillet, the dish still bubbling. We ate it on a pice of pita and altogether, it was similar to a pizza. I should add the they put lots of cheese and if you are a fan of it, this dish is for you. 

After that, we got pork and lamb meatballs. 

They were served with a tomato sauce, feta yogurt and pepperoncini. It was a miss for me, the texture of the meatball identical to what you get when ground meat is undercooked (we checked and it was not). 

The last dish we tried were the braised lamb sliders. 

They were served between a toasted brioche bread, tzatziki slaw and pickles. Although good, I was a bit disappointed as I was expecting more flavors from the lamb. They use the shank and, even if not dry, it did not have that bold flavor that one would expect from a lamb burger, making it different from a regular burger or even short ribs. 

Even if we did not like all the dishes, I liked our dinner at Snack Eos and would not mind going back to try their grilled whole branzino or their crispy chicken skin "under brick". 

Enjoy (I did)!

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Red Farm in NYC, NY

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It has been a while since we wanted to go to Red Farm, this place being highly recommended by our friends. We made it early on a Saturday as the time before, when we tried, there was a huge line waiting outside. 

We were seated right away at the bar, side by side, all the booths being used for four people, leaving us with this option or seating at the communal table, that can be nice sometimes, but too close to the persons seating next to us. 

I was curious to know why this restaurant was called Red Farm, but only got a vague answer that was more a guess: first, the owner, Ed Schoenfeld ({R}Ed?), is always wearing red, from his glasses to his jacket. Second, he wanted to create a restaurant with a farm feel. Hence Red Farm. 

For the farm feel, it is fairly on point, with the multitude of plants decorating the room. 

Menu wise, this is where it gets surprising: they serve dim sum! And they have a nice selection of it, clearly not your regular ones But if you are not into dim sum, they have plenty of other creative dishes, small or large, mainly made to share, prepared with meat or seafood. 

So we decided to share a bunch of dim sum. First were the pan fried pork buns. 

They are smaller than what you usually get in Chinese restaurants, and, although pan fried, they were very soft, with a wonderful sweet and savory taste.

The next dish was the mushroom and vegetable spring rolls:

This was another stunning presentation, the spring rolls being shaped like carrots and held by a cucumber. The shell was a bit greasy, but I did not mind, the stuffing being flavorful. 

Then came the pork and crab soup dumplings. 

I think the person who first created a soup dumpling was a genius. I am sure you wonder how they get the soup inside the dumpling. It is not with a syringe: they freeze it before wrapping it in the shell. The only time I tried this dish was at Joe Shanghai, so I was interested to see if it was as good; and it was. 

I put the dumpling in a spoon 

And ate it from the top

At first, you get mainly the dough, then dough and soup, then all the components, the pork being more present than the crab. 

Then we tried the four mushrooms dumplings. 

These fried dumplings were made with shiitake, oyster and black trumpet mushrooms. This was my least favorite dish: a bit greasy, the shell overpowered the taste of the mushrooms. We learnt later than they offer them steamed and that it is better. I wish they told us that before!

Last, was one of my favorite and very creative dish: Katz's pastrami egg rolls. 

It was served with a delicious Russian dressing. Imagine this combination of deli and Chinese cuisine! It works! You have the crunchiness of the egg roll and the sublime taste of the pastrami perfectly coming together. 

We did not get desserts as we had other plans, but we will for sure go back to Red Farm to try some sweets as well as other dishes. This is definitely an enjoyable experience!

Enjoy (I did)!

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Red Farm

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