Parmys Persian Fusion in NYC, NY

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

I admit that Persian cuisine is not something that I eat often, having dined to only one Persian restaurant in the city; I went few times though, but not enough to make me a connoisseur of such an exotic cuisine. So I was excited to go there, intrigued by the fusion side of the name. 

This small 50 seat restaurant, whose name comes from a Persian princess name, opened a year ago. It is a family business: the owner Amir Raoufi used to work in his sister's restaurants, Ravagh, before deciding to open Parmys with his other sister Mojgan, who is also a Chef. 

Menu wise, they specialize mostly in kebabs (meat, seafood or vegetarian), but you can get other dishes such as stews. Before we started, they brought us some bread as well as Persian salsa, made with veggies like carrots, cauliflower and cabbage.

Then, I wanted to try the droogh, a Persian yogurt drink close to an Indian lassi, except that it is made with club soda.

For the entree, Jodi got a koobideh, a minced meat kebab (it was made of beef):

It was served with grilled tomato, grilled onion, radish and basmati rice.

On my side, I got Sultani, that is a combination of barg (marinated sirloin) and koobideh.

This was really good: the meat was flavorful thanks to the spices and herbs used, tender and juicy (the sirloin was perfectly cooked medium). With it, we got some yogurt and mint that I ate with the meat, as well as the rice, that would have otherwise been dry for my taste.

For dessert, we got a sampler:

It was composed of:

Baklava:

Zoolbia:

Bamieh (sort of donut dipped in syrup):

I knew the baklava of course, as it is a dessert present in many cuisines, such as Greek or Turkish, as well as the Zoulbia, equivalent to the jelabi in India or zalabia in North Africa. But I discovered the bamieh that was sublime: it was delightfully sweet, the sugar syrup not only coating the inside, but also present in the inside.

The last dessert we tried was their homemade almond pudding:

It was very good, not too sweet. The only thing I did not really like were the slices of almond that were inside, as they did not give a pleasant texture for me.

We enjoyed our dinner at Parmy where the food was quite good. They have a lunch menu for less than $10 with an appetizer and entree that make it a very affordable experience.

Enjoy (I did)!

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Bobby Van's Grill in New York, NY

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There is a large amount of steakhouses Midtown: Ruth's Chris, Empire Steakhouse, Quality Meats, Quality Italian, Smith and Wollensky, Wolfgang Steakhouse...No wonder there are so many considering all the businesses located there. Because, let's be honest: steaks are fantastic in the US, but it comes at a certain price and you will not see that many families in steakhouses, especially now, as the price of meat is going up. Whenever I have visitors from Europe, I tell them to try a good steak if they can afford it, suggesting few places I tried and liked. So this time, I tried Bobby Van's with some of my friends.

Established since 1969, this family business has several locations across the US, five being in Times Square. We went to the one on 50th street that opened in 2006. It has all the characteristics of a steakhouse: masculine, warm and noisy. You may think looking at the photos that the restaurant was empty, but in fact, these photos were taken when I left, a little after 10pm; because, believe me, when we arrived, it was packed!

We had a small room reserved for us and we were all thinking: thank God, we will be able to hear each other. When we sat, I noticed that there was a small notepad on the table, wondering what the usage could be at the time of the smartphones and their note applications.

Menu wise, there is no surprise: you find the usual dishes a steakhouse proposes, such as crab cakes, shrimp cocktail or Caesar salad. Meat wise, they have the traditional cuts: filet mignon, ribeye, sirloin and of course a sizzling porterhouse.

As we were choosing from the menu, they brought us a bread basket with a nice variety, as well as some butter. Some say that the bread brought to the table makes the first impression: try in a way and so, for a steakhouse, you always expect one with different breads, breadsticks being a must have (don't ask me why...).

To go with our meal, we decided to order some wine. Red wine of course as pairing with a white wine our steaks would be a blasphemy. We chose a Bordeaux: Chateau Simard Saint Emilion 2004.

It is a wine that has a full and round structure, perfect with red meats, especially my favorite cut: the ribeye.

But first were the appetizers. I ordered one of my favorite in steakhouses: the crab cake.

Served with a mustard remoulade, the crab cake was 5 ounces of deliciousness. You could definitely see the lumps of crab and there was no apparent breading and filler, making it a fantastic appetizer. 

Then, I also tried their cold seafood bouquet:

It was composed of lobster, crab and large shrimp. Nicely presented, it tasted very fresh and all the seafood was perfectly cooked.

But then was the plat de résistance: the steak. I was ready for it!

I went for the ribeye:

It was big and thick. It might not have been the biggest I had in a restaurant, but it was probably a 22 ounce piece. Know that at Bobby Van's, they dry age their steaks for 28 days, a process supposed to give the meat tenderness and enhancing the flavors.

I asked for my ribeye to be cooked medium-rare and it was perfect. Very juicy and tender, it had a delightful char. 

It was so good that I did not even need their steak sauce.

Of course, when you have steak, you need sides and at Bobby Van's, they have a pretty good choice. We tried:

Creamed spinach (my favorite when wanting to eat vegetables...):

Mashed potatoes:

French fries:

Sautéed mushrooms:

Brussels sprouts (another veggie: good diet, no?):

And my all time favorite with a steak: mac and cheese!

The only side I did not really liked was the hash browns that I could not photograph: maybe this was a sign. All the others were really good and comforting with the steak. I was just surprised that they did not have one with truffles as more and more steakhouses are proposing sides like truffle fries or truffle mash. Another classic missing was onion rings, but eh, they still have a large choice of yummy ones.

After that came the terrible choice of having dessert or not...Well, I could not leave without trying one of their signature ones. I chose the pecan caramel fudge pie.

Not only it looked appetizing, but it was sublime, the best part being the caramel that was not too sweet but buttery. I also loved the top that was made with the crushed pecans, giving some texture to the dish. To accompany it, there was nothing better than an espresso.

This was a delicious meal (with great company of course) with a high point on the ribeye that was divine. Bobby Van's knows how to cook the delicious meat they age for sure. And I should mention the exceptional service we had there from Garett. This is definitely on my list of favorite steakhouses!

Enjoy (I did)!

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Frere de Lys, French restaurant on the Upper East Side, NY

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

Frère de Lys is a French restaurant located on the Upper East Side that discovered last week end. I met with two of the owners of this place Alexis and Thibault Piettre, who before that worked in other restaurants in New York, before fulfilling the dream to open their own restaurant. Their mother was even there and chat proudly about this adventure. I was intrigued by the name as it seems to be a play on fleur de lys (iris flower), a symbol of monarchy in Europe; According to French historian Georges Duby, the three petals represent the medieval social classes: those who worked, those who fought, and those who prayed (source: wikipedia). 

Alexis told me that they are not royalist at all, but wanted to celebrate the renaissance period, their renaissance and as he and his brother have a fleur de lys tattooed on their arms, they thought about Frère de Lys as the name to their new adventure, frère meaning brother in French.

Decor wise, it is a simple place with a lot of warmth thanks to the dark wood of the tables, chairs and long banquette, keeping a touch of modernity. 

At the entrance is the bar with its bulbs that give a vintage feel.

Then, the dining room, simply decorated.

With of course a photo of an iris in the back.

Menu wise, do not expect to see a bistro type menu: there are no escargots, no confit de canard and no steak frites. There, the menu has classic French dishes, modernized and sometimes changed with an American twist. Know that we were there for a tasting, so the portions were smaller that what is shown on the actual menu. In fact, they were perfect portions for sharing and trying plenty of dishes and, who knows, their menu may include smaller dishes at some point!

Like any good French menu, it started with bread (toasted and served with olive oil) and wine. I got to try two wines:

The first one was a château de la sèlve palissaire 2012:

The second one was a Domaine du Colombier Chinon 2010:

I went for the Chinon. 

Then, we chose three appetizers:

Roasted figs and prosciutto, that is one of their best sellers:

The tiny figs were topped with goat cheese and complimented with arugula, all of this drizzled with a house vinaigrette. 

I thought it was a nice pairing and I loved the combination of the fig, with its particular texture, and goat cheese. It was definitely a good start.

The next appetizer was smoked eggplant gratin:

It was made with ricotta and a homemade tomato sauce. Considering the way it was prepared, I would more associate this dish to Italian cuisine. It was very good, letting the eggplant be the star of the dish, and it was very comforting. 

The last appetizer was the veggie and quinoa tartine:

A tartine is a slice of bread with a spread or ingredients on top. At Frère de Lys, they propose few of them, with for instance prosciutto or smoked salmon. But we decided to go for the veggie and quinoa as we were intrigued by this vegetarian option. What was interesting with this dish is that it was simple: bread, cucumber and quinoa, served with arugula salad on the side. But as simple as it was, it was very good and filling, the cucumber adding a nice cooling and freshness to the dish.

For the entrees, we picked three:

The pan seared chicken, served with roasted garlic mashed potatoes, haricots verts‏ (string beans), mushrooms, tarragon and mustard sauce. This was delicious: the chicken was perfectly cooked and moist, and the sauce delightful but not heavy. The mash potatoes were homemade and I truly appreciated the fact that it was not garlic-ey. The haricots verts were interesting: they were crunchy, that is the way veggies are cooked in the US, but not in France, where they would be cooked longer, until very soft, probably in a bit of butter. The two brothers disagree on the way they should be cooked: Alexis prefers the French way (as I do) and Thibault the way they are served. 

The second appetizer was the rack of lamb:

It was served also with haricots verts and sweet potato. The lamb was good, but unfortunately a bit overcooked; I did not really care about the red wine reduction that came with it as the meat was still moist. I loved the fact that it was paired with a sweet potato that was simply cooked in the oven before being sliced in half and served: simple and delicious.

The last entree was a vegetarian dish that was definitely a high point: paleo zucchini pasta.

Imagine zucchini shredded like thick pasta, served with an avocado cream sauce. That was a fantastic dish, between the crunchiness of the zucchini to the richness of the avocado. Full of flavors, this is the type of dish that even a carnivore like me would like.

Last was dessert, eaten with a decaf espresso.

We got a sampler that is normally not proposed on the menu (all restaurants should have a sampler - wink, wink!), with the slices of tarts being smaller than usually served.

We got to try:

The flour less chocolate cake:

The pear and rosemary tart:

The grand-mère apple and honey cake:

All the desserts, made on premises, were really good and not too sweet, my favorite being the last one. But I admit that the pear and rosemary was quite surprising as pear is a common ingredient for a tart, but rosemary is not, and there was just enough quantity to give a subtle taste to the tart.

I was ready to go when they propose a glass of mirabelle from Alsace, the region in France where the brothers are from. I could not refuse...

It is an eau de vie, that is a clear fruit-based spirit (made with mirabelle plum in this case) perfect for the digestion.

Although the dishes were not heavy, I needed a walk after that feast: the food was delicious and well presented. The menu, with seasonal dishes is not large, that is perfect as it is better to have a small menu well executed than a large menu poorly made. I truly appreciated the fact that they had vegetarian dishes that did not look or taste like sides, but really like complete dishes that would satisfy anybody and not just vegetarians. I also loved the atmosphere of the restaurant: with its neighborhood feel, it reminded me some of the small joints I used to go to in Paris, where you feel welcome and in a way part of a family. This is of course thanks to the dynamism and warmth of the two brothers, Alexis and Thibault. Frère de Lys is definitely worth a trip to the Upper East Side! Chapeau! 

Enjoy (I did)!



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