I believe today’s Fun Fact trumps all previous fun facts -

Have you tried making salted caramel brownies yet?

Today is National Eat What You Want day.

I do not make this stuff up!  I wouldn’t mind eating some salted caramel brownies right now.

If could eat anything today, what would it be?

Check out my post on Asparagus Au Gratin

May is National Asparagus Month

Awesome! One of my favorite veggies!

Have a wonderful weekend – May the Fourth be with you!

Image via Heluva Good!

Today’s giveaway is in honor of Cinco de Mayo, and it is a quick one (ending tomorrow night!) so make sure you get those entries in!  The prize is a Cinco de Mayo prize pack – a margarita maker, margarita glasses, and Heluva Good! Black Bean Queso Dip. Yay!

Now here’s the thing about my relationship with beans – it is a relatively newfound one.  Up until a few years ago, I was not a bean fan AT ALL.  However, I knew they were versatile, nutritious and filling, so I was determined to like them.  I tried them in soup, dip, salads, the works.  I finally realized that I needed to find the right type of bean – and for me, that was black beans. Deeelish.   Whenever I eat black beans, they are invariably found in a Mexican or Tex-Mex dish, which is a choice cuisine for me. Mmm.

SO, when Heluva Good!  sent me over some bean dip to review, I was really excited for several reasons – 1. It features my favorite type of bean.  2. It is sour cream based (‘Nuff said) 3.  Food being delivered to my door – yes, please!   I unpacked the dip as fast as my hot little hands would allow, and dunked in tortilla chip.   And the dip was great!  Creamy, tangy, cheesy and beany – I was sold.

But don’t take MY word for it -  enter to win a prize pack for yourself, courtesy of Heluva Good!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

GOOD LUCK!

Prize provided by Heluva Good!  Opinions in this post are my own.

Have you had garlic scapes before? They are scrumptious!

April is National Garlic Month.

YUM – I love garlic!  Tastes good and good for you!

What’s your favorite way to incorporate garlic into a dish?

I know, I’ve been a little MIA lately.  Do you miss me?

Last week I was invited to sample the new and improved menu at Rosa Mexicano.   I’d been to Rosa Mexicano a few times before – they have awesome guacamole that they make tableside!  I could eat a whole bowl of that stuff. Their entrees were quite hearty – while delicious, you definitely were committing to the entree you chose.  I was happy to see that their new menu focuses more on tapas-style small plates – my favorite way to eat!

This particular event took place at Rosa Mexicano‘s Union Square location:

I was particularly fond of the hamachi ceviche, with diced yellowtail, bacon, serrano chile, arugula and truffle oil served in mini taco shells:

I mean – bacon and truffle oil; how could one go wrong?

Quite a spread was laid out for us – and more and more delectable delights were coming from the kitchen!

And of course, diligent blogger I am, I had to review the highlights of the new menu (over frozen pomegranate margaritas):

And Rosa Mexicano knew how to keep a gal happy – I loved the new dishes but I will always be a guac girl.  A huge bowl of freshly made guac waited for me, along with warm tortillas and a smorgasbord of chips!

These mini tacos were accompanied by shots (I just stuck with the tacos!) and featured spiced organic chicken, plantains, sweet peppers, chile de arbol, salsa and cream:

The plantains were an unexpected but welcome addition.

The ceviches were refreshing and perfect for the upcoming summer months.

Herbed fries complemented these small bites well, and provided a nice nibble between taco, ceviche and beverage breaks!

I really enjoyed the lighter tastes of this new menu, which encourages sharing and sampling of many different dishes – totally my style!  If you ever find yourself near a Rosa Mexicano, I would recommend popping in and checking out their spankin’ new offerings.

Rosa Mexicano
Multiple locations (I visited the Union Square location)
@RosaMeixcano

Has this post gotten you in the mood for Mexican? Stay tuned, I will be giving away bean dip, a margarita maker and margarita glasses in an upcoming post!

What’s your favorite Mexican dish? Mine is guacamole!

Check out my guacamole recipe post!

Today is National Chip and Dip Day.

Mmmmm!

What’s your favorite dip? Mine is cheezy dip or guacamole!

I looove noodles. If I had a car (which I don’t, living in Manhattan!), I’d probably have a bumper sticker declaring “Will travel for carbs!” and it would be oh so true. So, when I heard of this ramen joint hidden away in the East Village, I knew I had to stop by. Kuboya, located on 5th Street between Avenues A and B is definitely not in my usual neighborhood . But was it worth the trip?

Kuboya is not spacious by any means, but luckily eating buddy and I were able to grab the last table for two! We decided to start off with a shared appy – the deep fried rock shrimp with spicy mayonnaise (first pic). There are so many things right with this dish – let me name them all:

1. Deep fried
2. Rock shrimp
3. Spicy mayo

The shrimp were warm and toasty from just being fried, and the mayo had enough kick for me not to take it for granted, but it was definitely manageable. I only wish it came in bigger portions!

For our bowls o’ noodles, I ordered the Kubo-chan Shio ramen – a triple-blend Shio (salt) soup topped with charshu, menma, boiled egg and scallion:

Yum! This incarnation was salty but rich, with thick fatty slices of pork throughout. The depth of flavor was intense.

Eating buddy ordered the Kubo-chan Miso ramen – a mix of 2 types of miso, topped with charshu, bean sprouts, Menma, boiled egg, and scallion:

I admit I was jealous because my ramen bowl didn’t come wih a boiled egg – but what’s a gal to do, right? This bowl looked similarly enticing, and charshu (sweet roast pork) is always a welcome addition.

Kuboya is a great hole-in-the-wall if you’re hankering for some ramen. I don’t know if I’d go out of my way to go back (it’s just sooo East for me) , but if I’m in the neighborhood I’d definitely stop by. Give it a chance!

Kuboya

536 East 5th St. (btw A/B)

212.777.1010

Will you travel out of your way for a special meal/food? Share the details with us!

California artichokes sent cross-country by the lovely kim michelle, as seen in my Artichokes 101 Post!

Today is National Artichoke Hearts Day

Yum! I LOVE artichokes and will eat them any which way.

What is your favorite way to eat artichokes?

So fusion has been all the rage in food these days and years, hasn’t it? We have Mexican sushi, Japanese burritos, Korean Chinese food, Japanese Italian – the list goes on and on.  When KorTako opened in my neighborhood, I knew I had to try it out for several reasons:

1. KorTako is the brainchild of the BonChon Chicken peeps – and they some pretty finger-lickin’ good chicken!
2. Korean + Mexican = both good things.  ‘Nuff said
3. I’m a big fan of the DIY bar format that is so popular these days, a la Chipotle

I had passed by the KorTako location when it was still under wraps, with only mysterious “Opening Soon” signage on its storefront.   Soooo, when the place finally opened I grabbed my wallet and headed to KorTako where a oasis of fluorescence and bright signage greeted me:

From the layout of the food, it seemed pretty obvious that it was a Chipotle-like setup – pick a carb, meat and toppings.  That didn’t stop me from reading the tons of signage though and getting somewhat overwhelmed:

I decided to go with the kimchi fried rice for my carb selection, and bulgogi for my protein (mmmmmm).  So far, so good right?  Then I moved onto the veggies where I fear I strayed a tad from my creation:

The vegetable and toppings selection was quite extensive, with options that would work well with my bulgogi/fried rice combo – such as sesame ginger slaw or kimchi.  But did I go that route? Nooooo of course not.  I saw corn salad (I LOVE corn) so of course I added that.  Same with the tomato salsa….and some iceberg lettuce.  Before I knew what was going on, I was on a veggie topping frenzy only to emerge dazed with only a vague recollection of the humble beginnings of my original KorTako bowl.

I believe I finished it off with bulgogi mayo and honey mustard, but I might just be guessing given how coo-coo for cocoa-puffs I was making my creation.

Here you go:

I took my KorTako bowl home to savor (or investigate) it in private.  I took a bite and it was….interesting.  The ingredients themselves were fresh and well made, they just didn’t meld together.  It was as if the whole was not greater than the sum of the parts but rather exactly what it was – a smattering of parts.  It wasn’t bad – I still finished it, ha! But I finished more out of curiosity; i.e. “Will this bite taste right? How about the next one?” more than anything.

I was a little torn when determining how to rate KorTako.  I think it has the potential to be a good meal if you put together the right combination of ingredients.  However, one of the things I like about mainstream Chipotle is that no matter how you combine the ingredients, it tastes cohesive.  I don’t think this is necessarily the case for KorTako and it definitely wasn’t the case with my bowl.  So, the experience at KorTako is what you make of it – and if you make it some cray-cray bowl like I did, it will be….different.  Consider yourself informed!

Interesting – not sure I would try it again. I’m undecided.

KorTako

80 Nassau St. (btw Fulton/John)

212.964.4625

What fusion combination do you like? What fusion combination have you tried that was not so great?

A few weeks ago, I had the fun and delicious experience of trying the tasting menu at L’Atelier de Joel Robuchon.  I had heard many good things about this place, and Chef Robuchon has restaurants in London, Paris and Las Vegas, in addition to the NYC location.  Tasting menus are my absolute favorite way of dining.  Multiple courses of one or two bites that distill the very best of flavors and textures – and by the end of the meal, you are surprisingly stuffed.  As with my tasting menu experience at Per Se,  there’s not much more I can add in my commentary except that this meal was thoroughly enjoyable – I will let the restaurant menu descriptions stand for themselves!

The tasting menu at L’Atelier de Joel Robuchon was officially ten courses, including coffee or tea:

Of course, unofficially, we had a few more small courses here and there – I love those little surprises!  Here we have an amuse bouche of fois gras mousse:

We then moved onto the first course – “Panna cotta” of cauliflower with sea urchin and lettuce coulis. I love sea urchin!

The second course was hamachi sashimi with minty guacamole and citrus dressing (first picture), followed by green asparagus veloute with lobster and cashew nuts:

Next – a gruyere cheese souffle and julienne of Iberico and black truffle.  Even my eating buddy, who is not a cheese fan (gasp!), enjoyed this:

The next course combined carbs with fois gras – genius!  Below is my ravioli of foie gras and eringi mushroom with bitter salad:

The seared sea bass with lightly sauteed vegetables, jalapeno and cilantro was perfectly crispy on the outside and delicate and flaky inside:

For my entree selection, I chose the Long Island caramelized duck breast with candied nuts and salsify confit:

I especially appreciated the cutlery provided at t L’Atelier de Joel Robuchon – do you see how the knife handle is shaped for easier use?  I wish I had these knives!

The savory selections complete, we then moved onto dessert – a multi-course affair!  My first dessert was passion fruit cream with  raspberry granite and Champagne silk:

Accompanied by the strongest, richest coffee I’ve had in a while:

As it was around Valentine’s weekend, the restaurant also treated us to a bonus (!!!) dessert – marscapone cheesecake!

And my final dessert that evening – chocolate custard, almond blanc-mange, and milk ice cream:

And to make the bill a little less painful – we ended the meal with these super-cute fruity candies. Merci!

The tasting menu at L’Atelier de Joel Robuchon is definitely not an everyday option (though I wish it were!), but I highly recommend it for special occasions.  The food was fantastic and no detail was spared.  The service was impeccable and gracious.  My one wish was that the tables were further apart – I could clearly hear every word of neighboring tables’ conversations.  That one downside wouldn’t keep me from going back though!

Perfect tasting menu for a special occasion.

L’Atelier de Joel Robuchon

The Four Seasons Hotel in New York

57 East 57th St. (@Madison Ave.)

212.829.3844

What has been you most memorable special occasion meal?