Food is subjective!

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I do not know if you remember the buzz last March surrounding the review of Olive Garden by Mary Hagerty, an 85 years old food critic for the Grand Forks Herald. Her article went viral and created a debate between those who thought that her column was hilarious, if not ridiculous, and those who defended her like Anthony Bourdain. Was it the start of a culinary war ? I do not know, but a lot of people were flabbergasted when Mary mentioned that the Chicken Alfredo was "comforting on a cold day", that the decor was "impressive" and that "All in all, it is the largest and most beautiful restaurant now operating in Grand Forks". 

I ate at Olive Garden a couple of times and it was sometimes better than restaurants I went to! You want an example? I prefer their chicken alfredo than the linguine a la vongole at Intermezzo in NYC!

Like any restaurant, chains can be good or bad. I like fine dining and good quality food, but there is some food that suits perfectly a chain's menu, such as burgers, chicken wings or salads (I had a great chicken and pecan salad at Applebee's and a disgusting steak at Ruby Tuesday). I remember few years ago when Chili's was installed next to The Late Show with David Letterman (it is now replaced by Angelo's pizza): they use to have great chili either with meat (con carne) or vegetarian. I use to get their sampler that was not only a smart idea, but also delicious!

After, Mary Hagerty's critique has to be put into perspective: when you live close or in New York, there are so many restaurants. expansive or cheap, that you would probably not think about going to a restaurant chain. But when you live in suburbia for instance, it can be your only choice. 

Anyway, everybody is entitled to their own opinion and columns, reviews and blogs only reflect the opinion of their authors. 

In the next few days, I will be publishing some posts about chain restaurants I went to....Stay tuned!

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Angelo's Coal Oven Pizza in NYC, New York

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I went to Angelo's pizza several times and always preferred going to the location on Broadway as it is much quieter and less crowded. It is in fact surprising considering that it is next to the Late Show with David Letterman studio!

Both restaurants are on two floors, but the one in Broadway is much spacious and can much easily welcome a large party.

Besides pizza and pasta, the restaurant serves soups and salads, like the Insalata Siciliana on the photo below.

They also serve panini; the one on the photo below is a chicken parm panini. 

Previously, I tried their pasta, specifically the Fettuccine Alfredo and the Rigatoni A La Vodka. It was good and they were generous with the sauce. But, know that the pasta are not homemade.

This time, we got pizza. When you order, you have to go through a simple selection process:

• First, pick the size of the pie: you can either order a small (6 slices) or a large pizza.
• Second, you decide if you want a white pie (made with ricotta or mozzarella - no tomato sauce) or a regular pie (tomato and mozzarella).
• Last, you pick your toppings. They propose several ones like mushroom, olives, pepperoni, anchovies, broccoli (seriously? Do you think it will make it healthier???), onions, prosciutto...

So we decided to share two large pizza. The first one was a white pie.

This one was disappointing: it was very dry and there was not that much cheese!

The second one was a regular pie with mushrooms and prosciutto di Parma.

It was delicious! The pizza sauce was good and they put some good quality prosciutto on it. I also like the crust on both pizza: thin, crispy and slightly blackened, result of the cooking in the coal oven that you can see when you enter the restaurant.

Angelo's pizza is not that bad, but it is clearly not the best pizza in New York. I also find that it is a bit overpriced and the service was a bit slow. So if you decide to go, avoid the white pie...

Enjoy (I half did)!

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Hudson Restaurant Week - July 23rd to August 3rd 2012

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From July 23rd to August 3rd, enjoy the Hudson Restaurant Week, featuring the following restaurants:

3 Forty Grill   
Amanda's Restaurant
Bistro La Source
Boca Grande
Box
Brass Rail
Casa Dante
Chart House Restaurant
Cityside Bistro
Clinton Social
La Conguita
Dino & Harry's
Edwards Steakhouse
Elysian Cafe
Goodfellas Bayonne

Hamilton Inn

Hoboken Bar & Grill

Komegashi

Komegashi Too
Las Olas Sushi 

Liberty House
Madison, The
Maritime Parc
Merchant, The
Michael Anthony's
O'Connell's
Oddfellows Rest
Ohara's Downtown 

Pilsener Haus & Biergarten

Pointe, The

Porto Leggero

Porto Lounge

Satis Bistro
Skylark on the Hudson  
Sky Thai
Sushi Lounge
Trinity
VB3 
West Five Supper Club
Wicked Wolf Tavern
Zylo
These restaurants will propose prix-fixe menus that will go, for lunch from $13 to $18 and for dinner, from $25 to $35. As usual, reservations are recommended (opentable is a good way to reserve!).

More information at Hudson Restaurant Week.

Enjoy (I will)!

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Imposto restaurant and pizza in Hoboken, NJ

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Have you ever noticed that, it is always the same types of food that you crave: burgers, pizza and subs! Imposto's does not serve burgers, but they surely serve pizza and subs!

It is a small place and when you enter, you cannot miss the original pizza they display. Imagine that: Mac & Cheese, Chicken Alfredo, Freedom fries (you mean FRENCH fries?) with gravy or buffalo chicken pizza!

Of course, they also have regular pizza: white pie, margarita...We decided to try their Sicilian.

The pizza is thick (of course - but thicker than usual) and the crust has a nice charr. Unfortunately, the crust was not crispy, the sauce was average and there was not enough cheese! The pizza was very salty. This was not good; I prefer the Sicilian at Uptown pizza or Basile's.

We also tried one of their subs. As it was the first time we tried theirs, we picked the Imposto's special sub.

It was a 12 inches long sub, made with ham, capacola, salami, turkey, provolone, tomatoes and lettuce. The bread was tough (I would have preferred an Italian bread) and it was very salty too. A bit disappointing...

This was not great and if they cannot make good standard food, I do not see how the original pizza they offer can be good. Disappointing!

Enjoy (the post)!

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St Ann's Festival in Hoboken - July 20 to July 26 2012

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The St Ann's Festival will take place in Hoboken, New Jersey from July 20 to July 26 2012.

During the Festival, you can try some homemade Italian specialties! Of course, there are the mandatory Zeppole (I love them, but when freshly made!), coal oven pizza, sausages...

Weekday: 6pm to 11pm

Saturday and Sunday: 1pm to 11pm

Enjoy (I will)!

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My Choice self served Frozen Yogurt and Juice bar in NYC, New York

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We found this new Frozen Yogurt that happens to be also a juice bar, called My Choice. It not only proposes frozen yogurt, but also smoothies, ice cream, fruits and vegetables juices made freshly.

The Frozen Yogurt is self served.

They had 8 different flavors such as dulce de leche, chocolate, peach & mango, original tart...On their prospectus, they advertise other flavors such as NY cheesecake, cookies & cream, apple pie or eggnog. I guess they switch from time to time!

Once you pick the yogurt flavor, you can add some syrup.

They had chocolate, caramel, lemon and honey.

There are also two toppings bar:

The first one had coconut, cookie dough, wafflers, M&M's, almond brittles, chocolate chips...

The second one was all about fruits: strawberries, mango, pineapple...

We went for a cup with the Peach & Mango and dulce de leche yogurt.

It was not bad, but the yogurt was not as good as Red Mango or Pinkberry.

The second cup was with chocolate and original tart yogurt.

 The chocolate yogurt was pretty good, but the original tart was so so. It for sure tasted like yogurt, but was missing some tartness. At least, I enjoyed the M&M's and almond brittle!

Clearly My Choice is not my favorite and I do not think I will go back there...

Enjoy (I did not)!

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New York Restaurant Week start Today until August 10th!

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This is a reminder that New York Restaurant Week starts today until August 10th!

More information about New York Restaurant Week by clicking here!

Enjoy (I will)!

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Celebrating Bastille Day at Felix in Soho - NYC, New York

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Yesterday was Bastille Day, the French National Day, celebrating the French Revolution (the Bastille was a fortress-prison where political prisoners were held by the royal government). 

In France, it is marked by the following events:

• a ball. You typically have to wear something blue, something white and something red to represent the colors of the flag.
• a Military demonstration on the Champs Elysees in Paris.

So, we decided to go to a French restaurant to mark the occasion. It is not too difficult to find one as there are plenty in New York! But I wanted something new, with a menu that was French (I do not remember which one I saw that had mainly dishes you would find in American cuisine, such as eggs benedict and pancakes...with no typical French dishes). That is how we ended up at Felix. I did not realized that it was across the street from Taka Taka, the Japanese Cantina (understand Japanese / Mexican fusion).

The place was big with high ceilings, old French ads (ex: Dubo, Dubon, Dubonnet) and old wooden furnitures giving some authenticity to the place. The restaurant was fully opened to the street, giving the patrons full view, perfect for people watching. One thing that surprised me is that the music was not at all French, but more oldies.

The service was polite and pretty quick, except at the end...when asking for the check! At that point, the restaurant was fairly crowded, explaining maybe the slowness that we did not experience at the beginning.

For food, we went with traditional dishes. We started with the Escargots de Bourgogne.

It is normally 6 snails (I got 7), cooked in garlic and parsley butter. The plate was very hot and the snails bathed in butter! It was very good! I noticed that they added some shallots to the usual garlic and parsley. The sauce was delicious for some bread dipping...I was not disappointed!

The second dish was the Croque Monsieur.

It was served with a mesclun salad. This croque Monsieur was just ok: although I appreciated the quantity of cheese on top, the bechamel sauce was missing and the cheese should have been toasted to give a bit of crunch that even the bread did not provide. This was a miss and disappointing for..$17!

The last dish was the merguez.

Merguez is a spicy lamb sausage that you find in mediterranean cuisine. I love it on the grill, in a nice baguette with either some ketchup or honey mustard. Unfortunately, it is a bit difficult to find some in New York. At some point, Freshdirect was selling them!

So, the merguez, half the size I am used to, where served with French fries and a salad. They had a nice kick and were perfectly cooked (overcooked, they can become dry). I really liked the dish, however, I  thought that it was not worth the $21 they charge for!

I had overall a good experience at Felix with some decent food. It is a bit overpriced for the food they serve. I am not sure I would go back if I were to eat French food; I would more end up at Cedric in Harlem or Marseille in Hell's Kitchen.

Enjoy (I did)!

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Urban lobster shack food truck in NYC, New York

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If you tell French people that you are eating a lobster in a piece of bread, they will think you are crazy! Not me! Since I discovered lobster rolls, I love it! Not all of them though: I hate when they smother the whole lobster with tons of mayonnaise, to a point where you do not even taste this divine ingredient!

I think the first time I tried it was in Boston, at Faneuil Hall. Since then, I have tried it in many forms, such as the Lobster roll benedict at Anthony David's in Hoboken, NJ.

Then, last year, I went to the Food Truck Festival at South Street Seaport and tasted a succulent Connecticut style lobster roll (poached in butter!!!) from The Red Hook Lobster Pound (see the related post: Food Truck Festival at South Street Seaport (NYC) on August 20th!).

Then, I noticed this red truck on the corner of 52nd and 6th in New York: Urban Lobster Shack. With a name like this, there is no question what it is about! They have in fact a brick and mortar restaurant Midtown, as well as one in the Financial District. I spoke with the Chef who told me that they started couple of month ago with the truck. The menu is defined everyday, based on her mood. For instance, the second time I went, I did not see the different dishes made with crab: she was not in the mood for it!

So, I tried several of their rolls.

The traditional ("Our famous lobster roll").

This was my first. At first, I was surprised by the size of it as the roll is a tiny hot dog roll. For $13, it was a bit small. But the taste was amazing: the lobster was perfectly cooked, tasty, perfectly seasoned, with a nice buttery taste (the roll is toasted and buttered). 

Then I tried the Chef's scampi lobster roll.

Good too, but too much garlic! It for sure protected me from vampires for a month. However, it was filled with lobster! Yum!

The last one was the Chef's creation: Asian Lobster Roll:

It was served with celery, a wasabi soy sauce topped with sesame seeds. I like the originality and the taste of the dish. But the traditional one is my favorite!

I like the fact that they propose many different types of Lobster Rolls and wish they serve more often crab rolls as an alternative...But $13 / $14 seems a bit overpriced, although the rolls are filled with the lobster. I would eat again there, but not everyday!

Enjoy (I did)!

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Lime Jungle, Mexican Grill in NYC, New York

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I love walking on Ninth Avenue in New York City: there are so many restaurants, big or small! That day, we wanted to eat Mexican. Our first choice was Ariba, Ariba! I love this place: they have amazing chimichanga and I had this incredible seafood enchilada loaded with crab and shrimp the last time we went there (it is the Seafood Enchiladas Verdes in the Chef's favorites). Unfortunately, the place was crazy packed and they had no immediate availability. So, that's how we ended up at Lime Jungle. We went there several months ago and liked it, so why not! The restaurant is big, with high ceiling and brick walls. I also like the wooden tables and the used chairs: all of it give a warm and rustic feeling to the place.

That day, the service was very slow, although the place was not that busy! I do not recall that it was like this the last time we went!

We started our dining experience with Guacamole. 

This is THE appetizer we order whenever we go to a Mexican place. I am always hoping that they will do it table side. This was not the case. It was well presented, but you could see immediately that it was not freshly done. I could also not see any avocado chunks, prompting me to think that they were using some king of avocado puree. It was good, but nothing exceptional. 

When they bring the food, if it is hand food, they put it in a piece of paper and bring it in a basket.

We started with a cheese empanada.

I like it: very tasty, a lot of cheese and not greasy.

Then we tried the veggie taco:

It was made of soft flour tortilla or crispy corn taco shell, vegetarian beans, jack and cheddar cheese, guacamole, grilled peppers and onions, tomatoes, lettuce and sour cream. It was very good. I am always scared to end up with something bland, but it was not.

The other taco we tried was the short rib taco:

It was a soft flour tortilla (you could pick a crispy corn taco shell) with slow cooked beef short ribs, cheddar cheese, chopped onions and tomatoes. At first, I thought that the beef was dry, but it was only on one side of the taco. It was delicious: the meat was finally juicy and I got an explosion of flavors in my mouth, accentuated by the salsa I put on the taco. Yes, I forgot to mention that the restaurant has a salsa bar! In fact, the staff forgot to mention it to us and we just remembered the last time when we saw one of the patron going toward it. The idea of a salsa bar is good, but first, tell your dinners and then write the name of the different salsa so people can know what it is as well as the degree of spiciness!

We did not go for dessert, although I wanted to try the cheese and caramel empanada. But the service was so slow that I was thinking that it would take forever to come. So we left...

It is clearly not the best Mexican restaurant, but it is a cheap alternative. Hopefully the slowness of the service was a one off...

Enjoy (I did)!

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The Cuban restaurant in Hoboken, NJ

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Few weeks ago, I went to The Cuban in Hoboken, NJ. I did not know what to expect as there are already several Cuban restaurants over there. Where La Isla seems to be the authentic cheap establishment, The Cuban seems to be more upscale and offers a contemporary twist to Cuban specialties.

 We decided to go, but not on a week end as this type of restaurant, that is also a lounge, can be packed and noisy: not the best for a romantic diner. They sat us next to the bar, on a high table made of dark wook. Jodi sat on the comfortable leather banquette while I faced her on a high chair (yes guys: leave the choice of the seat to the Lady!). 

The menu provides all sorts of dishes that can satisfy any palate: salads, meat, fish...Appetizers go from $6 to $12, while entrees go from $18 to $26.

At first, they brought us some bread.

As you can see on the photo, it was in a cigar box! The bread was a cheese bread, very light and fluffy that reminded me of a French delicacy called Gougere. It was delicious and I truly appreciated the fact that they were ready to bring us more, without us asking (he he!).

We started the diner with the cheese plate.

I know: this is not very Cuban, but we love cheese! It was in fact some artisan Spanish cheeses such as manchego and blue. They served it with some meat and a delicious lavender honey (Tip: if you do not like strong cheeses, you can counteract the taste with honey, butter or jam).

At the same time, we got the Aguacate Y Tomate salad.

It was composed of avocado, tomatoes, pickled onions, drizzled with sherry oregano vinaigrette. The dressing was perfect and the salad was very fresh. I loved the acidity that the pickled onions added to the dish!

The last appetizer we tried was the empanada.

They propose three types: chicken, beef (ropa vieja) and vegetarian. We went full on vegetarian. It was made of fire roasted vegetables, goat cheese, tomato escabeche. I loved it! the shell was slightly greasy, but the ingredients worked perfectly together, especially the goat cheese and the tomato escabeche.

Then came the entree: it was the Arroz Imperial.

It is a boneless chicken, served with tomato manchego rice, peas, olives, drizzled with aioli (garlic mayonnaise). The chicken was excellent: perfectly cooked, crispy on the outside and moist on the inside. The rice was good too but a bit dry. There was some chicken in it! Eaten with the aioli and the grilled cheese on top, it was succulent.

The last and best part of the meal was dessert...We ordered the traditional Tres Leches.

It was perfect and gooey!

I guess after reading this, you understand that we had a fantastic dinner! It is a great place and there are plenty of dishes on the menu that I would like to try. So I guess I have no other choice than go back...What a sacrifice!  This is a great addition to the Hoboken restaurant scene.

Enjoy (I did)!

 

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I Just Want To Eat! One Year Anniversary!

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A year ago, on July 9th 2011, was born this blog I Just Want To Eat! This past year has been filled with a lot of food memories, good or bad!

Let me start with the good: amazing meals at Morimoto, Colicchio & Sons, Bin 14, Zylo, Dino & Harry, Molyvos, Taim, Morandi...There are so many, that I cannot list them all!

The bad: Curry in a hurry, sonic, Sol Caribe, Zen palate...

This area offers an amazing food scene and I am grateful that I am able to experience it!

I would like to thank (like in the Oscars) my wonderful wife, Jodi, for supporting me in this food quest, but also all the readers, not only for reading the blog, but also for their encouragements!

So, for the year to come: Enjoy (I will) and remember:

I Just Want To Eat!

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