The roommate and I have also been making frequent trips to Kumo, a japanese restaurant on Ditmars. Cash only, but they offer a huge selection of sushi and sashimi at incredibly reasonable prices. This is one of the rare japanese places where you can say you really got what you paid for. I've had the wakame, veggie rolls, lobster roll, yellowtail scallion roll, and found my hands down, favorite roll: the Angel Roll. Black pepper tuna & crunch inside with eel, salmon, avocado, and tobiko on top. 8 giant pieces for $8.25. They also do free delivery and check out their lunch specials if you can.
My first friday in the city, Anna and I had reservations at Les Halles on John St. Yes, Anthony Bourdain's Les Halles. Now before you start thinking everything has to be out of this world haute cuisine and exorbitantly priced...Les Halles is a Brasserie. A Brasserie is a café doubling as a restaurant with a relaxed setting. In the laid back atmosphere, it serves single dishes and other meals. The service is profession though, and they do have printed menus (unlike a bistro, which may have neither). Typically, a brasserie is open every day of the week and the same menu is served all day. The word 'brasserie' is also French for brewery, by extension, "the brewing business". All these principles hold true to Les Halles. They are open 7 days a week, serve Lunch and Dinner nonstop from 11:30am - midnight, and now even offer breakfast Monday - Friday at 7:30 am. Walking inside was inviting. The lights were low, but not too low as to where you couldn't see your meal or the person across from you. Dark woods, matching walls, and tiny white cloth covered tables squeezed so close even Anna and I had to move them to get into the back seats! Our waiter was more than patient as we debated between mussels and pommes frites...even more helpful once he noticed (from licenses) that we were from Ohio. I had the Salade d'Avocat et Crevettes (grilled shrimp and avocado with a lemon vinaigrette) and a side of legumes grills (duh, girlled veggies). Anna went with Les Halles Fitness, which was a selection of 5 vegetables as well as 6 oz of your choice of beef, chicken, fish, or shrimp. I think the simplicity of Brasserie food is what you really have to look at. Its not hard to prepare, but its delicious if its done well. Here, it was done well. The vegetables were crisp but not undercooked, the shrimp were great sized and tender, and my lemon vinaigrette matched the creamy texture of the avocado topped with the crunch of frisee and a bit of mixed greens. Anna's 'Fitness' had about 6 french fries on the plate, which Les Halles offers with most of their meat courses and even with the full orders of mussels. We were actually a little disappointed with their texture and taste...BUT really...they're french fries. So we liked it for the mood that was set inside and the artwork on the walls, and the simple dishes done well. Doubt we'd go out of our way to go back again, but we're such Bourdain freaks that we had to investigate at least once. Next time, if there is one...we'll do brunch for sure.
Just a short walk from Les Halles was our next stop: Chinatown Ice Cream Factory. Anna and I are both loyal fans of Wow Cow softserve, which is hearbreaking news to the Tasti-D stores in the area. Its also the reason we've got a Cuisinart soft serve machine in the pantry and actual Wow Cow mix to make whenever we please. But we've started a new tradition in our new place, we're going to treat ourselves big time once a month. Now this culinary treat might be going for pancakes or a slice of Juniors Cheescake (maybe in September, haha), but this time it was REAL hard-pack ice cream. There's standard flavors at CIF as well as rotating new creations and sorbets. They even have Taro and Lychee flavors! I went with a scoop of Black Cherry Pistachio and a scoop of the new Zen Butter. This was peanut butter ice cream with toasted sesame seeds mixed in. Anna went with the Zen Butter and the Almond Cookie that had pieces of fortune cookie throughout. We take our ice cream very seriously since we don't have it often...and the Zen Butter really gave us that moment of Zen. I don't think either of us 1) said a word to each other and 2) looked up to see where we were walking because we were so engrossed in ice cream heaven. Worth the splurge? Most definitely.
My father and his culinary ambition arrived a few days after I did, but he came with the rest of my worldly possessions. Once all was unpacked, we just took it easy and hit up Kumo because we knew it had to be good. The next morning, we went to the much hailed Mike's Diner on Ditmars for breakfast before heading to Yankee Stadium. Mikes is open 24 hours and you can get breakfast anytime you want. (Which you thankfully see alot here. Seeing as breakfast is my favorite meal of the day...) Along the same lines as Soho, lots of healthier options when it comes to morning meals. Egg whites, fruit, waffles, etc. They also offer things like a Mediterranean Breakfast, which is waffles, pancakes, or french toast topped with greek yogurt, honey, walnuts and fresh fruit, Their french toast is made with either Challah or Multi Grain bread and for those a little less worried about what they're eating, have the traditional Irish Breakfst with black & white pudding. gulp.
A full lunch, dinner, and dessert menu is offered as well.
Dad had the 'Lumberjack' with 3 pancakes, two eggs, and breakfast meat. He also ended up eating my potatoes that came with my breakfast, even though I asked them not to put them on the plate. I had the garden omelet with my choice of fillings. (i chose broccoli, spinach, mushrooms, and zucchini) with a dry english muffin and fruit on the side. The fruit was decent sized for $3.50 and had citrus fruits, grapes, pineapple, and melon. The omelet was HUGE and there, for a change, were recognizable chunks of my vegetable selection inside of it. Impressive and hot sauce rounded everything out nicely. Taking a look at the potatoes that I pawned off on Dad, they were chunky and pan fried as well, with peppers and onions. And they smelled terrific as well. Thumbs up for Mikes Diner. I went there recently for dinner and picked up the Veggie Breakfast Wrap with egg whites, peppers, onions, tomato, broccoli, and mushrooms. Thankfully they were able to cram that all into a fresh tortilla.
Another stop on my culinary tour with Dad was Charley O's in the Hells Kitchen area near Times Square. We went there after browsing the area a bit with Jessica and Joe Carter (not the baseball player). Its got two locations (we went to the one on 8th Ave and 45th Street) and has been around for over 50 years. Because of the area it was in, it was more expensive than any place I've been in the city so far. Not usually my style, but it was decent for what it was. The waitstaff was super helpful and my salmon just fell apart. It was served on sauteed spinach and topped with green olives, capers, and tomatoes. My dining companions had pasta dishes with meat, so I can't attest to their flavor but nothing was sent back. The only complaint my dad had was there was too much (what?!) mozarella on his fried eggplant. Was it that or the fact that the meal itself was HUGE?! Hmmmm...
Later that night, we hit up a comedy club with the Carters and Joe was able to get the dessert he had been wanting all night. A slice of Juniors Cheesecake. I referenced it earlier as a possible upcoming splurge for the Ms Jones Kitchen staff, and it will be well worth it. The slice was gigantic, browned in all the right spots, and the crust was moist, but not mushy. Personally, my favorite part of any cheesecake is where the cake meets the round edge of the pan. You know, the part you run a knife around before popping the sides of the springform pan. A golden brown color lined this part of the slice, so you knew that it was going to be perfectly cooked. Creamy, decadent...Juniors makes a whole line of specialty and seasonal cheesecakes as well as pastries too. One of these days, we'll be reviewing their Strawberry Shortcake Cheesecake, which is yellow cake encasing layers of whipped cream and fresh strawberries and a center of strawberry cheesecake. Its like my two biggest dessert indulgences had a high calorie baby.
Dad's final full day in NYC was a great one culinarily (is that even a word) speaking. We got our breakfast at Soho (egg white omelet, english muffin, and fruit for me. Omelet, toast, taters, and banana oatmeal for Dad) then set off for more sightseeing. In the middle of the day we grabbed snacks at Chelsea Market...I recommend the Semolina Sesame rolls from Amy's Bread...and continued on our way. We were supposed to make reservations at L'Ecole (the FCI's student run restaurant) but because of the horrible weather and a change to Anna's work schedule, we cancelled them. I think it was for the best 1) because I want my folks to experience that aspect of my school together and 2) we went to Taverna Kyclades instead. I had watched the lines at this place be consistently out the door each and every night since I moved to Astoria. Anna went there with her mother once and said there's a good reason for that. We only had to wait about 15 minutes for the table and the service was amazing from the start. Very helpful waitstaff and they brought piping hot bread to you along with your drinks. Taverna specializes in Greek cuisine with special attention to seafood. Lots of Mediterranean appetizers, like the Lima Beans in Tomato Sauce that my father ordered. Their sides are unusual as far as regular restaurant sides go, but the norm when referencing Greek style cuisine. The Roasted Lemon Potatoes are cooked to the point that they look like mangos when they are brought out. Other options are Steamed Dandelions and Sliced Beets. Anna and I decided to split the small Peasant Salad (which was like a meal in itself) with cucumbers, Kalamata olives, onions, tomatoes, and (2 GIANT blocks) of fresh feta. For entrees, she ordered the Grilled Whiting with Dandelions (basically just like collard or mustard greens) and I decided on the Broiled Scallops and Beets. To come after his giant plate of Lima Beans, Dad got Grilled Baby Shark with Garlic Dip and rice on the side. I'm not sure how he finished it all honestly. Anna and I ended up having enough food for two days afterwards. The only part of our meals that she and I finished were the beets, which were served with whole garlic cloves. Each piece of seafood was perfectly cooked and melted as you chewed. No fancy seasoning was needed, just a little vinegar for the Dandelion greens and we were in heaven! At the end of the meal when we thought we couldn't eat any more, the waitress brought us two surprises. Over the course of waitress/customer conversation, it was established that none of us had been there before and Anna and I were really new to the Astoria area. So she brought all THREE of us huge Taverna Kyclades coffee mugs to take home AND complimentary dessert. It was hard to figure out what it was and she wouldn't give away any information besides the fact that there was semolina in it. In dissecting my mound of sweets, we discovered that it was encased in a few sheets of phyllo puff pastry dough and drizzled with cinnamon and honey. The filling was warm and to the naked eye it looked like a custard-like cream but it actually had the texture of cream of wheat (where the semolina comes in). It was light, but none of us (except Dad) was able to polish that off after a stellar feast like the one we had to take home with us in doggy bags. Taverna Kyclades is open for lunch and does free delivery. http://www.tavernakyclades.com
Since then, we've mainly been cooking at home. Broiling tomatoes, grilling fresh fish...its so nice to have produce and fish markets literally at the corner of every street so you can grab what you need on the way home from work. We did go to one Japanese restaurant, Mottsu, on Mott Street in Soho before going over to Crash Mansion for a show. The highlight of that trip was the Nolita roll. Roasted red peppers, olives, and garlic. Little Italy in seaweed. We'd rather go to Kumo for the taste and for the value really.
Other cooking adventures had in our rumpus room so far have been experimenting with the Cuisinart and Wow Cow mix. First trial run was with Angel Food Cake flavoring. Its never going to compare with the commercial grade machines that work hard at Mr Freeze, but after mixing (or maybe over mixing) and allowing more set up time in the freezer, we had our Wow Cow feast! Its going to take a couple more trial runs to get the consistency right, but we are well on our way to homemade guilt free frozen yogurt anytime we want!
So far NYC food has done nothing but excite me. I have one more update to get to before diving headfirst into the Classic Pastry Arts program at the French Culinary Institute (ONE WEEK FROM TODAY!). This will come in the next day or so and its going to cover the Whisk and Ladle SupperClub's take on a wedding feast.
Any suggestions for spots in the city I should taste and review? Let me know!
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