SoHo

The Dutch – 2 Years in and Holding Up Perfectly!

May 17, 2013 By fritosfg Leave a Comment

Let’s have lunch like it’s 2011!

That’s the year that Andrew Carmellini opened The Dutch in Soho and it became the hottest joint in town. Casual but hip, the kind of place that is great to impress a date or business colleagues as long as they are true foodies. This chef, straight off his success at Locanda Verde, had the golden touch. You could barely get in the door by 5 pm, let alone any really prime dinner hour. Two years later, it’s not quite as difficult to get a reservation but is the food still as good?

Chipotle cornbread with butter

Good but not amazing. A little dry and crumbly, with sweet corny flavor and some smoky heat throughout the bread. A fine way to whet the appetite, but nothing more.

Uni with espetlette pepper and pickled shimeji mushrooms

Here is where the culinary fireworks started. Smooth, briny uni is refreshing but sweet at the same time. A slight kick from the pepper builds to a quite tingly heat, tempered by the uni’s creaminess and the firm, tangy pickled mushrooms. Pairing the uni with such earthy flavors is really inspired - it brings a whole other dimension to the food. I loved this dish and would absolutely recommend it.
Hamachi with American caviar, lemon, sorrel, and yogurt

Another winner – The Dutch really knows how to combine ingredients to let each one bolster the other. The buttery fish, the salty caviar, the tangy lemon, and the creamy yogurt make a very memorable dish in a city rife with crudos and sashimi dishes. The caviar is particularly excellent here – it is briny and punchy, and adds a little pop of texture that jazzes up the dish. Add to that the tiny dices of asian pear and croutons and you have a dish that is mild enough for people who are wary of fish but interesting enough for those who (like me!) could eat it all day every day.

Steak tartare with grilled ramps, radishes, and mustard dressing

An excellent tartare, if not a particularly unique one. The beef is obviously high quality – tender and iron-y with a clean, imerally taste and some pearly streaks of fat. The mustardy dressing is piqant and strong, standing up to the rather sweet radishes and the mild grilled ramps. Served with grilled seedy, grain-y rad, it is tasty and worthwhile, it just isn’t as stand out as the other dishes I had.
Malfatti with Spring peas, bacon, and broccoli rabe pesto

Stop the presses. This is absolutely crave-worthy. The best pasta dish I have had in so long because it is so wonderfully seasonal. The peas are so sweet and grassy. The bacon is more like lardons- crunchy and soft and fatty and salty. The cheese atop is salty an sharp and that pesto…oh that pesto. It’s lightly garlicky and thick with olive oil and bitter enough to make the peas taste even sweeter than they already are. The pasta is really yellow and rich with egg yolks. It’s thick and substantial, with an al dente texture that stands up to the rich pesto. This is a must order dish, and since it’s so seasonal, it may be off the menu soon!

The Dutch is a totally great, destination worthy restaurant. The vibe is still very cool and foodie-friendly, you can wear jeans, and the service is knowledgeable without being abrasive. The price point is high but fair and the food is really unique and tasty – be sure to get a few selections off the raw bar or crudo.

After all this time The Dutch still brings the heat.

Filed Under: SoHo Tagged With: American

Despana – a Lunchtime Trip to Spain

February 5, 2013 By fritosfg Leave a Comment

In the heart of Soho, amidst trendy shops and people who treat yoga studios like church, is Despana.

This shop is decidedly Spanish, meaning that it is devoted to all things ham, wine, and bread.

Not exactly yoga-riffic, but it’s so delightful that the neighborhood has kept it around.

The shelves are filled with imported olives, tomatoes, pickles, and even whole pheasants roasted with truffles.

The deli cases are loaded with every kind of pork product known to man, including the remarkably fatty, incredibly expensive, and totally sublime Iberico ham.

They also have lots of samples out, and if you have even half a brain…you will try them.
Like this chorizo, which is peppery, robustly flavored with paprika, and soft without being greasy. I may have eaten more than my fair share of this.

These canned olives are so juicy and fruity that it’s hard to believe that they aren’t home cured.

These baby eels…may have been tasty. I don’t know because I wimped out and didn’t try them.

I know I should have but…they look kinda like snot strings, right?

The real treat to this shop is in the back, where you can order form a long menu of tasty sandwiches, hot food, and Spanish snacks.

Eat them at long communal tables, where the flatware is plastic, but the sherry vinegar is thick and syrupy and the olive oil is spicy and fragrant.

Though the dishes in the display case change daily, here are some favorites:

Beans with Iberco ham and onions.

Absolutely fresh, tasting grassy and of the earth. The ham is salty and meaty, providing depth and punch. The onions are caramelized and sweet, and the dish cries out only for olive oil to echo the ham’s fattiness and bring out the lusher side of the rather spare beans. This gets better as you eat it.

That’s what she said.

Sauteed Summer Vegetables

So simple and so tasty. Peppers, zucchini, tomatoes, olive oil…how does this taste so much like summer when the temperature outside is in the 20s? The only answer can be that they have an incredible source that makes the peppers taste sweet and the zucchini tender and juicy even through the depth of winter. There are no overt spices, no big zip of flavor. It is just a dish that comes together beautifully. Mop up the dish with some of the excellent, never ending supply of freshly baked bread that you receive with your order.

Blood sausage with tomatoes

Don’t let the name deter you. This is now one of my favorite sausage dishes in NYC. The sausage is tender and porky and tastes really rich and iron-y (thanks, blood!) It is soft but not mushy, rich but not greasy, and an ideal counterpart to the sweet and tart tomatoes cooked with it. If you like spaghetti with pork ragu, you will love this.

And if you don’t like spaghetti with pork ragu…what do you do to feel joy?

Despana is a true find. The wine shop attached to the food store has a wonderful selection of Spanish wines and all the goods are fairly priced in both shops. The food is also delicious and well priced, and – best of all – it’s a vacation to Spain with the yoga studio across the street still in sight.

You go do some downward facing dog. As for me, I’ll take another slice of that chorizo, please

Filed Under: review, SoHo Tagged With: Spanish

Bites and Sips Around the City

January 9, 2013 By fritosfg 1 Comment

There is just one burning question every New Yorker needs to know (now that we know that Dan was Gossip Girl):

What are the tastiest snacks, bites, and drinks around town, and where can you get them?

Read on, hungry city dweller:

Hummus Plate at Le Pain Quotidien

Ah yes, this upscale coffee shop/bakery does more than just great breakfasts. Order the hummus plate and you will be surprised at how tasty it is. The hummus is thick and lemony, slick with fruity olive oil. The kalamata olives atop are juicy and soft, the perfect salty counterpart to the hummus.Also on the plate is garlicky, almost velvety babaganoush and quinoa tabouleh that is earthy, herby, and chock full of juicy tomatoes and diced onions. The sour wheat, crusty white, and sweet raisin breads served alongside complete the dish. This is enough for a very satisfying lunch or a shared snack plate among 3 friends. It’s amazing how well this Belgian place does a middle eastern plate.

Foccacia de Recco at Rosemary’s

This locavore west village restaurant is a little too pricey for what you get, but there is one thing worth trying here. The foccacia filled with milky, creamy stracchino cheese is among the best breads in the city. Your order arrives piping hot, slick with slightly spicy olive oil and topped with grains of coarse sea salt. When you tear a chunk off the bread, the first scent that hits you is the rosemary, deep and woodsy. Then, the tantalizing smells of yeast and spicy olive oil hits your nostrils. The taste is as good as the aroma. The bread is pliant and soft, with a thin crust, punctuated by sharp rosemary needles. The inside is filled with that mild, creamy cheese, so soft that it makes mozzarella look hard and pungent. This is like grilled cheese on steroids, and it’s worth a visit to the restaurant to try this.

Any cocktail at The Dutch

I have been here several times, and each time have ordered a different cocktail. Every single one has been exemplary – well balanced, interesting but but not different just to be weird, nuanced and also pronounced in all the right places. The bartenders are knowledgeable but not snobby, and have no problem recommending something that you will like. The bar is small but comfortable and the vibe is extremely laid back. Of course, also order something to eat, but this is a great place to get a little tipsy before dinner.

Beef Carpaccio with Truffle Oil at Slightly Oliver

I know I have talked about this place before, but it deserves more mention because I just love it. The cocktails, the faux-British vibe, and the tasty small plates make this a real gem on the Upper West Side. This carpaccio, made with tender slices of beef and dressed with a peppery arugula salad with a tiny fried quail egg and toast, is a perfect appetizer or even light meal. The addition of truffle oil just elevates it. Mushrooms and beef are always a win, especially when the beef is filet mignon and the mushrooms are truffles.

#winning

Filed Under: SoHo, Upper West Side, West Village Tagged With: bar, British, Italian, middle eastern

Balthazar’s Phenomenal Desserts

June 15, 2012 By fritosfg 1 Comment

Balthazar isn’t the establishment where most people would take an afternoon tea break. It is one of the modern grand dames of NYC dining. Keith McNally completely recreated a Parisian brasserie, complete with mirrored walls, an in-house bakery, and possibly the best duck confit in the city. At one point it was the hottest reservation in the city, a d even now you had better plan far ahead in order to get a table for 2 on a Saturday night.

Though it is known for its sumptuous 3 course meals and legnthy wine list, Balthazar is also the home to many fabulous desserts. As such, it makes the perfect afternoon respite, and on a weekday around 3 PM, the restaurant is slow enough to accommodate a table that wants only coffee and dessert.

Even at this lazy time of day, you will be surrounded by beautiful people weighing 90 lbs and wearing as many pounds of jewelry, so be prepared.

Bread Basket

All baked goods here are phenomenal – tangy sourdough bread, pliant and airy white bread, and fresh, creamy butter.

Even if you just order dessert, you will still be offered a bread basket – that’s just the kind of service you can expect at Balthazar. My party was there for 2.5 hours, ordered just 2 dishes between the 3 of us, and yet received the sort of service that at other restaurants is reserved for VIPs. We were never once rushed nor ignored, nor ever pushed to order more food. When our server’s shift was over, he came over and let us know who our new server was, should we need anything else. Good service makes a meal better, and great service makes a meal memorable. The service alone would make this restaurant a winner even if the food was merely good.

Luckily, this food was better than good.

Peach and Blackberry Frangipane

Frangipane is a pastry filling that is made from almonds and sugar. Unlike marzipan, the frangipane is a little less sweet and can be incorporated into a custard filling. This tart, where the frangipane was in paste form, was a little light on the almond flavor, but delivered fully on the sweet roasted peaches, tart blackberries, and incredibly flaky pastry. The buttery pastry juxtaposed with those juicy blackberries and sugary peaches really made this tart complex and fulfilling. Be warned that this isn’t on the menu every day - it was the tarte du jour.

Apple Tart Tatin with Vanilla Ice Cream and Creme Anglaise

The best tart tatin ever. And yes, that does include ones I have had in Paris. The apples, sliced just thick enough so they don’t become a mushy mess, retained their natural bite next to the and sweet caramel. The caramel is more sweet than burnt, and thick enough so that it caramelized into sticky ribbons on the apples, above the flaky pastry. The ice cream, smooth and delicate,was tasty, but the creme anglaise was on a different level. Intensely creamy in texture, tasting of fresh milk. It was thick and coated the back of the spoon, tempering the sweetness of the tart, and was easily my favorite part of the dish.

Balthazar will always be an expensive, fancy restaurant. But, the fact that you can dine there in the middle of the day and receive wonderful service and delicious food? That makes it a classy restaurant, too.

Filed Under: SoHo Tagged With: desserts, french, review

One Hit Wonders – Good, Le Pescadeux, Pure Thai Cookhouse

February 7, 2012 By fritosfg 2 Comments

I don’t always eat full meals at the restaurants I visit – if I had 3 courses and cocktails 5 times a week, I would be gigantic, poor, and probably have palate fatigue. This is a rundown of some delicious dishes that I have had at restaurants on which I couldn’t quite write a full review, but knew that they deserved some notice.

Good Restaurant

This restaurant is sophisticated, hip, and romantic with candlelight and an upscale comfort food menu. Though the service was a little uppity and aloof, the food and moderate prices made up for it.

Burger with Aged Cheddar Cheese and Fries

Coarsely ground meat with a thick, dark crust concealing a warm, rosy patty. It was so moist that juices spilled onto the plate with each bite, saturating the salty fries with delicious bovine taste. The cheese was exceptional – tangy, sharp and thickly cut, and it stood up perfectly to the sturdy but not tough bun and that incredibly meaty burger. I am a big fan of condiments, but actually, this required no ketchup. It was more like steak than a burger – just fantastic, and worth every penny.

Le Pescadeux

This lilliputian SoHo restaurant specializes in Montreal style seafood. That means lots of shellfish, including a fantastic oyster selection:

Beau Soleils, Moonstones, and Pine Islands
The Pine Islands were a first time oyster for me and each one knocked my socks off. Large, soft, and positively creamy – there was no salinity or iron-y taste. These were mild, light, and luxuriously textured. A squirt of lemon was all that was needed – didn’t even use any Tabasco here.

The best part? Each night from 4-7 PM, the oysters are all half price.

Can I get a culinary “booyah?”

Every person who has been to Pure Thai Cookhouse has LOVED it; calling it incredibly spicy, incredibly delicious Thai food in a very casual, inexpensive setting.

Wok Curry Paste with Pork, String Beans, Eggplant, Basil, Bamboo Shoots, Green Peppercorn Kaffir Lime Curry Sauce

This is perfect for those days when you want something with flavor but not too much spice. It is not overly greasy, garlicky, or salty. The pork is tender, and the sauce is very subtle and well balanced – sweet, bitter, sour, and just a bit spicy. My sister finds it far spicier than me, but she is a major wimp. The eggplant is soft but not mushy and the pork is thickly cut and tender, with no tendons or gristly bits. Pam is still my favorite Thai in the area, but if I had to go back to work in the afternoon and didn’t want a major food hangover, this would be my spot for sure.

And there ya have it: Some of Fritos and Foie Gras’ one hit wonders!

Filed Under: Hell's Kitchen, SoHo, West Village Tagged With: American, hells kitchen, review, seafood, SoHo, Thai, West Village

Jane – The Best French Toast in NYC

November 18, 2011 By fritosfg 3 Comments

If you head to Jane for brunch, you need a reservation. I am not joking, this is not a test. You must have reservations, and even if you do, you might wait a little bit. Not long, just about 10 minutes. Not going to lie, the wait got under my skin, but it was handled pretty well, considering the throngs of people both in the restaurant and outside it. If you don’t have a reservation, have fun with your 2 hour wait.

The restaurant itself seemed casual, but to be honest, it was hard to tell. There were hip 20-something Soho-type beautiful people everywhere – standing at the bar, crammed 6 to a table, swinging from the rafters. Well, maybe not really, but considering that each of the brunch entrees comes with a complimentary cocktail, it isn’t hard to imagine. Bottom line – this place is crowded and caters to a young crowd.

Not really my scene. But you know what is?

Farmer’s Omelette – Ham, Caramelized Onions, and Gruyere Cheese

A huge portion of scrambled eggs – creamy and done to a medium consistency. Onions caramelized so sweet that they were almost like sugar, nutty Gruyere cheese, and soft, salty bites of ham. It was so delicious and nuanced that it didn’t even need hot sauce – a first for me. Try as I might, I actually couldn’t finish the large serving – I like getting my money’s worth! Served with lightly dressed mesclun greens, it was a perfect brunch dish. Well, almost perfect:

Cheddar Grits

These made it perfect. An egg dish just needs a carby side, and these were fantastic. Creamy and thick enough to be eaten with a fork, the taste was smoky rather than tangy – it must have been smoked cheddar. There was heavy cream in there, and a light hand with the salt. These are a must order.

Creme Brulee French Toast

Oh. My. Gawd. I am not into sweets in the morning, but this may become my exception. The bread was amazingly custardy and soft – it really tasted like cake more than French toast. The taste was more rich than sweet – eggy, creamy, heavily scented with vanilla but with only a light dusting of powdered sugar to bring out the sweetness. The crust was crunchy and golden, and dipped in real maple syrup, it is good enough for dessert. Absolutely my favorite sweet breakfast in NYC.

Jane is a scene. It is loud, it is crowded, and you might even have to wait for reservations. However, the portions are huge, they are very reasonably priced, and the food is just delicious. The eggs are savory, the grits are creamy, and the French toast is the stuff dreams are made of. So let me revise my first sentence: WHEN you go to Jane, you need reservations. Because there really is no IF.

Filed Under: SoHo Tagged With: American, breakfast, brunch, SoHo

David Burke Kitchen Really is Bitchin

March 8, 2011 By fritosfg 4 Comments

I have never been to a David Burke restaurant. Quite frankly, the outlandish menus always seemed a bit more for shock value than for taste value. But when Eat Big Apple and his sister were trying to decide where the 3 of us should eat, something in me threw out David Burke Kitchen.

Call it…divine inspiration.

On the subterranean level of the trendy James Hotel, David Burke Kitchen is that type of cool that is “homey,” but in a very upscale way. Spacious but cozy, the room had many well spaced tables and a bar area.

Rosemary and olive walnut bread.

The rosemary was excellent – slightly sour, light, flecked with earthy rosemary and covered with a crispy crust, salty and wheaty.

The walnut olive bread was not so great. It tasted kind of dried out, and while the nuts were prevalent, the olives were far too few, and tasted oddly salty in the mostly sweet bread.

FLUKE and UNI SASHIMI cured cucumber / orange tea vinaigrette

This was excellent! The fluke was snappy, clean and bright tasting, and the uni (which must have been from Santa Barbara) was creamy but firm, not watery. The cucumber was firm and slightly tangy from its cure, and although I did not taste the orange, there was a faint heat (not unlike an espelette pepper) that REALLY brought this dish to life. Just a perfect presentation of perfect seafood.

PRETZEL CRAB CAKE tomato orange / green peppercorn / white beer foam.

This was puzzling. It should have been great – the crab was abundant and sweet, the tart orange was infused with the natural sweetness of the tomatoes and the peppercorns really brought the crab into another dimension with its deep, earthy spiciness.

BUT..

The pretzels were a total downer! They got kind of soggy but hard at the same time, and really didn’t add any flavor for me. I am kind of a traditionalist when it comes to crabcakes, and if this was done with a nice panko crust, it would have been an excellent dish.

ANTS ON A LOG bone marrow / snails / parsley / garlic.

Ok, this is it. The BEST BONE MARROW I have had in New York. Sweet, fatty, melting bones (3 of them!), swathed in a spicy, herby, sweet garlic and parsley puree. On the top were the MOST tender snails ever – like really great clams, but even less fishy tasting. This conglomeration of fat and garlic was almost too much…almost.

Don’t worry, I ate it all.

SOY HONEY LOLA DUCK foie gras corn cake / maitake mushroom

LAMB CROSS BONE lamb bacon / smoked barley

I tried a bite of these from each of my dining companions and they were excellent. The duck was meaty, juicy and sweet and the lamb was PERFECTLY cooked and as umami filled as a piece of steak. Perfect. The maitake mushrooms deserve particular notice for their rich and satisfying taste. Tender but still toothsome.

SWORDFISH duck liver / red pepper polenta / baby romaine.

Let’s break it down, shall we?

Swordfish – thick, well cooked, juicy but not falling apart, tasting just of the ocean.

Duck liver – CRIMINALLY overcooked – barely pink inside, a bit mealy, lacking a great sear on the outside. The only truly disappointing part of the meal.

Red pepper polenta-sweet, corny, a perfect foil to the meaty fish. Loved it.

Baby romaine – COOKED LETTUCE?! Who would ever DO that?!?! From now on…ME! The lettuce was tender but not soft of mushy and it was almost like escarole but with a fresh herbyness. I just LOVED it and think it would be dynamite with any sort of fish or even chicken. Just delicious…can’t WAIT to make it at home.

We also got some fries – fresh cut, spicy jalapeno and nutty Parmesan cheese…sounds good? Well they WERE!

The little bottle of ketchup was also pretty cute, even though I am a big mayo fan with my fried potatoes.

MONKEY BREAD for two caramel / vanilla ice cream

Remember how this was for two people?

Um, yeah…the people at David Burke Kitchen LIE.

This was a HUGE tin of bananas-foster-cinnamon-bun-monkey-bread DREAMS topped with sweet vanilla ice cream and clean, creamy homemade whipped cream. It would almost be perfect for breakfast…or lunch…or dinner! Anyone who has tastebuds would like this. Yes, I just said that, and I meant it! Seriously outstanding…actually, the standout of the meal!

Well, when I say the dessert was the standout of the meal, you might assume that the rest of the meal was unsatisfactory. But you would be wrong. The service was kind and helpful, the decor was elegant but comfortable and we even saw David Burke himself wandering around the dining room. The food was of high quality and prepared incredibly inventively and – for the most part – worked wonderfully. I would absolutely come here again.

Because David Burke’s Kitchen really is bitchin.
*P.S. – just found out there is a TV show called Bitchin Kitchen…this title is not a take off of that, i just like to rhyme *

Filed Under: SoHo Tagged With: American, review, seafood

Dos Caminos Review

October 12, 2010 By fritosfg 1 Comment

Is there anything wrong with Mexican Food? I mean, besides the fact that it gives you gas, makes you fat, and has next to no nutritional value? I didn’t think so. We in NYC have so much wonderful food at our fingertips-Polish, Italian, gourmet Patisseries…but coming from Tucson, AZ was hard for me. I went from somewhere where home made tortillas and carne seca beckoned from every street corner to a place where I now have to HOPE to find a salsa that isn’t just unripe tomatoes and cilantro stems. Enter Dos Caminos:

Now, I have no delusions about this place. I know as well as anyone that if this were in CA or AZ, this place would be decried as fancied up faux Mexican at insanely expensive prices. But we are in NYC. And the margaritas are without a doubt, the best in the city. And yes, I have tried them all-I’m just that much of a lush.

The Soho location was dark, modern, and lit with votive candles. It was humming with energy, but not at all loud-perfect for a girl’s night out or a date spot.

Guacamole. The best I have had in this city. Period. Avocado, cilantro, onions, jalapeno, lime… and they don’t skimp on the portions here! This was big enough for four people to get their fill! Buttery, spicy, citrusy..it went so well with the still warm from the fryer tortilla chips and three different salsas.

The roasted habanero on the far left was particularly delicious. The smokey chipotle and the tart salsa verde were also delish. AND…the chips and salsa were complimentary. In this city, that is unusual. And so I clapped…

…and kate ate….

And I enjoyed my (second!) passionfruit margarita. Made with a reposada tequila (a tequila that is aged and very smooth), this drink was totally to die for! Fruity, tart, bright, sweet only from the passionfruit, with that salty rim…it got me toasted and happy. Note the flush in my cheeks

For dinner, since I had filled up on approximately 7 avocados and 14 tortillas during our appetizer, I kept it simple with the ceviche sampler. From the left:

TEQUILA CURED SALMON CEVICHE with roasted mango-habanero salsa, grenadine roasted sweet potato, orange sea salt. This was good but not memorable. The salsa was way too sweet and the fish was not of an amazing grade. I mean, I ATE it…I am a pig, after all…but it was ok at best.

LOBSTER CEVICHE habanero infused coconut and citrus marinade, mango pico de gallo, red chile oil. And this is what I will be serving at my wedding. And my birthday. And every night that I can afford it. This was outSTANding! The lobster meat was just barely cooked through, so it was still tender and sweet-it cut with a fork. The coconut and habanero were perfectly married-the sweet richnes of the coconut paired with the heady heat of the pepper was an inspired combination that I will be repeating soon. The cilantro in the pico de gallo added another earthy note. And with that crunchy, salty plantain chip…what more can I say? I LOVED this ceviche.

And last, but not least, I sampled the TUNA CEVICHE with soy-lime marinade, sesame, chilis torreados, mint, cilantro. This was good-the fish was very fresh, and the sesame made it deep, the chilis made it hot, and the herbs made it grassy and fresh, but…well…it was Asian. No Mexican tasting at all. This would have been more at home on the menu at a Japanese fusion restaurant than a Mexican one. It was still good, just … incongurent.

My sister got the steak tacos, and I sampled her rice and beans. By sampled, I mean ate all of them. I’m basically a diet aid. I finish your plate so you don’t have to The rice was perfectly cooked-not gummy or hard, just very well prepared. And the beans were DYNAMITE! Not greasy or mushy like so many refried beans can be. These were smooth, silky, rich, and smoky. Sprinkled with soft white cheese, they were just delish.

This was a great meal! We had a wonderful waiter and delicious food in a fun and beautiful setting. It ain’t cheap, but it won’t break the bank either. And until they transplant Freebirds or El Charro here, it is our best bet for Mexican food and potent margaritas in the city! So fiesta at Dos Caminos it is!

Filed Under: NYC, SoHo Tagged With: Mexican, review

Aquagrill Review

October 11, 2010 By fritosfg Leave a Comment

I love seafood. I don’t know why-it’s just something that is so versatile to me. As rich as New England clam chowder, or as light as hamachi sashimi. As decadent as a fried clam roll or as virtuous as steamed halibut. As comforting as cod cakes or as exotic as wok seared Thai snapper. Seafood is just great for a gal like me, who is greedy and can’t make up her mind. Gee, my boyfriend is just SO lucky to be with me, hunh?

I have heard Aquagrill has some of the best fish in the city, so…well, duh, I went there!

There was a small, sort of oddly configured dining room. It honestly seemed a bit cramped.

But we were seated in the screened off outdoor dining section, which was spacious and lovely. I love the feeling of being outside without having to deal with weather or bugs! I know…I’m such a Jewish American Princess.

First, we were brought three kinds of bread along with some excellent garlic perfumed olive oil:

Onion foccacia-AMAZING! Soft, gently caramelized onions atop pillowy foccacia. Easily the best bread of the trio.

Jalapeno cornbread-very good, unsweetened cornbread. Not enough jalapeno kick, and kind of an odd addition to the bread offerings, but good.

Baguette-warm, crusty, good hole structure. Not enough sourness for me, but great when dipped in the garlicky oil.

Manhattan clam chowder. SO great! A tomato based broth with softened onions, potatoes and celery.

And those CLAMS! These babies had never seen the inside of a can, that much is sure. Large, uneven pieces lending their salty-sweet flavor to the acidic soup, deepening its’ flavor profile. Heavy on the oregano, light on the salt, this was a heck of a soup.

The crab cake appetizer. First let’s start with those little croutons. Oh, they aren’t croutons. Oh no. THEY ARE POTATOES! Peeled, deep fried, french fried from heaven potatoes! Tossed with sweet roasted beets and lightly dressed greens, they were the perfect salty, carby counterpart.

Oh, and the crab? You mean the 100% crab, no filler whatsoever, sweet, meaty, deep fried, crusty without, melty within crabcake? Yeah, I liked it enough to stuff the first one down my gullet so fast my sister told me she thought I was the spawn of Satan.

Bili Bi. Bili Bi is a French cream based soup made with saffron and mussels. Thinner than chowder, but with the same buttery, milky taste, Bili Bi is time consuming to make. It must be creamy, brothy, fragrant with saffron, and sweet with the mussels. Too often it is overly salty and filled with dried up, meager little mussels.

Clearly, this soup had none of these problems. Actually-as much as it PAINS me to say this-I think this Bili Bi may be better than the stuff I make at home. Oh it HURTS!

Yeah we just HATED our appetizers!

For my main, I got the day’s special of diver scallop ceviche with a jalapeno tomato relish. Now, I hate to be picky, but this came topped with tobiko. I’m really not a fan of these little fish eggs-it’s a textural thing with me. I just don’t like eating slightly fishy ball bearings. But I just scraped these off and then WHOA! The scallops were SO fresh! They were positively sweet and silky. The PEELED tomato (GAWD do those impress me!) and jalapeno brunoise gave a sweet and spicy kick to the delicate mollusk. The cilantro oil surrounding the dish added an earthiness to an otherwise very light and sea influenced dish. It was so delicious and flavorful-I really can’t recommend any changes. Except doing away with those fishy ball bearings. Blech.

We also tried the North Carolina convictfish with truffled mashed potatoes, . It is called that since it is striped like a jailhouse uniform, NOT because it resembles Martha Stewart circa 2004. It was a sweet, firm fleshed white fish similar to seabass. It was moist and flaky with a crisp outside and a tender inside. It paired so well with those earthy truffles and potatoes. Sea and earth…just love that combo. The meaty mushroom gravy was full of body and pepper, and it was delicious with the firm string beans and roasted fingerling potatoes. How much better could it get? This was a wonderful dish.

In fact…this was a wonderful meal. it was a BIT overpriced…the portion sizes were not really large enough to merit the hefty price tag. Usually I say you get what you pay for, but this time I think you get just a teeeensy bit less than what you pay for. The quality is insanely high, the food was delicious, the prices were just a weee bit high. Regardless, I say go there! Especially if you like onion-y focaccia…oh yeah baby

Filed Under: NYC, SoHo Tagged With: review, seafood

Francois Payard Bakery Review

October 10, 2010 By fritosfg Leave a Comment

Bakery opening! Woohoo!!! Is there anything quite so thrilling as entering a bakery? The savory scents of butter and flour in the air? The chocolate and fruit glistening before you? A whole place devoted to CARBS and DESSERTS???

…ANYWAY…

Francois Payard Bakery recently opened in Soho, and when I was walking by before lunch, I popped in. Because what is a better appetizer than sweets? Am I right?

Payard is a very well respected French pastry chef with expensive and luxurious pastry shops all over the world. It is not unusual for a creation of his to go for over $60 a pop. Yikes! But this new incarnation is a much more casual, relaxed, and inexpensive one. Flavor stays, expense goes. Me likey.

It is a small space, but well laid out, with a glass pastry case lining one wall and a few small tables facing it.

You can also see the bakers at work through the plate glass wall! I love seeing bakers and chefs doing their thing-to me it is really seeing an artist at work.

The pastries all look gorgeous and the smell in that shop was DIVINE-it was reminiscent of a time before splenda was part of our vernacular. Oh, sweet memories.

There was a huge selection of savory goods too-creamy quiches, cheese laden sandwiches, and even pissaladiere-my FAVORITE use of caramelized onions! But I had my eye set on one thing and one thing only.

The coffee macaron.

A macaron is a cookie made out of egg white, almonds, sugar, and whatever flavoring you like-anything from plain old vanilla to passion fruit to chocolate chili! Then you take two of those cookies and sandwich them together with a rich ganache-it can be a different flavored ganache, complimentary to the cookie flavor, or it can be the same flavor ganache. These cookies are crispy, light, very sweet, and very rich all at the same time. People are obsessed with them. They are the Justin Bieber of the cookie world.

…except actually cool and timeless. Sorry, Justin.

They are often small, like the size of nilla wafers. This was closer to a whoopie pie in size. NICE. And the taste?

Oh sweet Caffeine Deities, bring me to your lair and let me live with you. This was COFFEE! Rich, deep, sweet with butter and sugar, slightly salty from the almonds, and just barely bitter from a true, well roasted coffee bean. Seriously…these were to DIE for. Taste wise at least. Texturally…this was not the macaron I am used to. Fluffy and soft versus light and crispy, this did lack the necessary crunch that makes a macaron a macaron. But the flavor was really so delicious, I can overlook that. The ganache was LITERALLY the stuff of dreams. Thick and rich as nutella, powerful and flavorful as an Italian espresso…this was some seriously outstanding ganache.

Not a cheap place-$4 for a macaron-but what do I always say? Ya get what ya pay for kid! And here you pay for world class ingredients, made fresh every day, right in front of your eyes. My only regret about this place is that I didn’t get 2 macarons. Will I ever learn?

Filed Under: NYC, SoHo Tagged With: bakery, desserts, review