New York Food Journal

Pasta with Spring Vegetables

2013-05-22T12:13:00.000-04:00

Spring time greets us with glorious vegetables, many of them green in color and all of them delicious. They include asparagus, which is suddenly plump, vibrant green, and flecked with purple. There are fava beans, which are mild and fresh. And then there are ramps, or wild leeks, which are a fantastic cross between garlic and onion with garlicky green leaves, bulbs, and stems. Ramps are available only for a short time, so now is the time to enjoy them.

With ingredients this good, I like to do very little, like sauteing ramps with nothing more than some olive oil, salt, and pepper (recipe here) and perhaps a little cayenne. In this preparation, I cook a nice assortment of Spring vegetables very simply and toss them with pasta and some feta cheese, which melts partially and helps to create a sauce. Shiitake mushrooms add a good, earthy contrast to the freshness of the asparagus and favas. The result is fresh, light, and a little creamy. A real "pasta primavera" for Spring.

The trick here is to cook everything for the right amount of time, which just requires reading ahead a bit. Otherwise this dish should be fast and easy.

Pasta with Spring Vegetables

Ramps at the Borough Hall Greenmarket

A small handful of fava beans
8-10 ramps
Half a bunch of asparagus
2 handfuls of shiitake mushrooms
2-3 cloves of garlic
4 ounces feta cheese
1/2 pound fusili or other pasta shape
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, divided
1 tablespoon butter

1. Bring a pot of water to boil for the pasta.

2. Meanwhile, do your prep. Shell the fava beans by slitting them lengthwise with a pairing knife and pulling out the beans inside. Thinly slice the bulbs and stems of the ramps and cut the leaves into thick bands. Slice the asparagus on a bias into 2-inch pieces. Slice the mushrooms. Slice or chop the garlic. Dice the feta.

3. Heat a wide saute pan over medium heat. When the pasta water comes to a boil, salt the water and add the pasta and fava beans to it. Meanwhile, add the butter and 1 tablespoon of olive oil to the saute pan and follow it with the mushrooms, garlic, ramp bulbs, and ramp stems (holding back the leaves for later). Season with salt and pepper and cook, stirring occasionally.

4. When the pasta has about 4 minutes left, add the asparagus to the pasta pot and add the ramp leaves to the saute pan. After another 2-3 minutes (when the pasta is still a little underdone), use a strainer to transfer the pasta, asparagus, and fava beans to the saute pan along with a few spoonfuls of the pasta water. Add the feta on top and stir everything to combine.

5. Cook everything together for about 2 minutes, stirring frequently, until the feta has partially melted and a light sauce has developed. Add pasta water if needed for the desired consistency. Serve at once.

Total time: 30 minutes
Makes 2-3 servings

Fine Dining, Brooklyn Atmosphere at Battersby

2013-05-19T22:23:00.000-04:00

Brooklyn's Battersby: Exposed brick wall? Check. Cramped quarters? Check. Fine dining with a Brooklyn decor

Battersby has everything you'd expect to see at a trendy Brooklyn restaurant: the obligatory exposed bricks and wood plank floors; cramped seating and no reservations; and waiters and clientele wearing ray-ban glasses. But wait, the food coming from the three men who work in Battersby's closet of a kitchen is refined, and thoughtful, with the level of finesse and care you'd expect at a fine dining downtown Manhattan establishment.

Battersby has won recent acclaims, appearing on Bon Appetit list of the ten best new restaurants of 2012. As a result, it's quite popular. Battersby does not take reservations unless you want to order what they describe as a "spontaneous tasting menu." Opting for the tasting menu is really the only way to go unless you want to line up before the restaurant opens and take your chances -- like I did at Pok Pok Ny, last year's trendy Brooklyn restaurant, right after it opened. Life's too short for that. Naturally, on a recent visit, virtually everyone in the 28-seat restaurant sprung for the tasting menu.

The tasting menus come in two sizes – five courses for $65 or seven courses for $85. The portions, while not huge, are supplemented by additional dishes and starters between courses.

Rosemary flat bread with homemade ricotta

A sampling of cocktails

The drinks list include old school cocktails ($12), like old fashions and whisky sours, but with modern twists and homemade bitters. They were served up in 1920s-style goblets or in sturdy lowball glasses. The drinks were well mixed but on the small side, forcing you to order another. Their take on a whisky sour with bourbon, cyanar, pomegranate ("A Bitter Reunion") was the best of the bunch.

Three small dishes arrived before the first course. First, we were treated to a palette cleansing and wholly refreshing cold carrot soup in a shot glass.

Chicken liver pate

Next arrived Battersby's hand-rolled rosemary flat bread alongside their homemade ricotta swimming in good olive oil. It was slightly difficult to combine the two dishes, as we were instructed, because the hard outside of the flat bread did not take to spreading. Nevertheless, we persevered. The bread was warm, salty, and delicious, and we wished we had more than one for our foursome.

Next came a collection of baguette slices topped with a pile of chicken liver pate and an unusually large mushroom. A drizzle of balsamic was added for good measure. A classic combination, done well.

Hamachi crudo with yuzu vinaigrette

Spaghetti with toasted breadcrumbs and uni

Finally it was time for our first real course – hamachi crudo topped with with paper-thin radishes and cucumbers, and paired with a delicate yuzu vinaigrette and cilantro oil.

It's a great example of the versitility of American cuisine. Crudo is traditionally an Italian dish of raw fish dressed with olive oil, sea salt, and lemon juice, vinegar, or another form of citrus. Here, Battersby combines Japanese hamachi and uses yuzu for the citrus, along with American vegetables.

The next course was a spaghetti with toasted breadcrumbs and uni in a buttery sauce. A rich dish, made all the more rich with the addition of uni. The breadcrumbs added a nice crispiness, reminding me of other memorable pasta dishes with crispy ingredients, like a linguini with razor clams and crispy bottarga at Boulud Sud.

Black cod with spring vegetables

Finally, our fish course came, after a long wait: black cod over spring vegetables and a creamy – too creamy – sauce. This was the third dish in a row incorporating Japanese incredients – hamachi, uni, and now black cod. Black cod is a soft, buttery fish, made famous by Nobu's black cod with miso. This was the weakest course of the night, however. While the fish was cooked well and it looked beautiful, the sauce was way too creamy, which clashed with the already buttery fish.

Sliced duck breast

We were not disappointed by the next dish: thickly sliced duck breast with different, yet still spring, vegetables. The spicy spring greens, complemented the duck; and also added to the overall seasonality of the dish.

The caramel mousse

After a brief interlude, during which more drinks were consumed, we were served two desserts, both served in glasses, and both with essentially the same consistency. First was a refreshing grapefruit panna cotta served in a shot glass. A pleasing palate clenser after the duck.

For the main dessert, we were served a salted caramel mousse topped with nuts and lemon zest. I enjoyed this chocolateless-mousse, though perhaps a change of texture for one of the desserts would have allowed the chefs to demonstrate more versatility.

Battersby
255 Smith St Brooklyn, NY 11231
(718) 852-8321
http://battersbybrooklyn.com/

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Sweet and Spicy Stir-Fried Noodles

2013-05-15T11:02:00.000-04:00

I don't make many dishes that I would call "fusion," but this is one of them: a noodle dish I came up with one lazy Saturday using Chinese and Thai ingredients. I stir-fry fresh Shanghai noodles with garlic, onions, chilies, and a sweet and sour soy-based sauce, topping the whole thing with a Chinese-style egg crepe. The noodles come out just how I like them; nice and spicy, garlicky, savory, and sweet.

The key ingredient here is Thai black soy sauce, which is syrupy and sticky and sweet. Find some along with some fresh noodles on our Chinatown shopping tour or buy it here, or otherwise substitute something else sweet like hoisin sauce. I combine the black soy with the savory flavors of light soy and shaoxing rice wine (or dry sherry) and balance it all with a hit of rice vinegar, which cuts the sweetness a bit and rounds out the flavors. For heat I use bird's eye chilies, but you can use any source of heat.

The egg crepe is basically a thin open-faced omelet rolled up like a rug and sliced. It's pretty that way, but feel free to scramble the egg instead, or leave it out. Chicken or another protein would be a nice addition.

Sweet and Spicy Stir-Fried Noodles

1/2 pound fresh Shanghai noodles (or other Asian noodles)
2 tablespoons sesame oil
1/2 red onion
3 garlic cloves
A few garlic chives or scallions or a bunch of Thai basil
2 tablespoons black soy sauce
2 tablespoons light soy sauce
2 tablespoons shaoxing rice wine (or dry sherry)
1 tablespoon rice vinegar
3-4 bird's eye chilies (Thai chilies)
1 egg

Black Soy (Center) and Other Sauce Ingredients

1. Cook the noodles according to the package instructions. Under-cook them a little, because they will cook again later. Drain and toss with a teaspoon of sesame oil to prevent sticking.

2. Meanwhile, do your prep. Slice the onion and chop the garlic. Finely slice the chives or scallions. In a bowl, mix together the black soy, light soy, rice wine, and rice vinegar with a tablespoon of water. Leave the chilies whole.

3. Make the egg crepe. Heat a well-seasoned or nonstick wok over medium heat. Meanwhile, beat the egg with a whisk or fork. When the wok is hot, add 2 teaspoons of sesame oil and tilt the wok around to coat the bottom. Add the egg and tilt the wok around in a circle so the egg spreads out into a single thin layer. When the egg sets, carefully fold the end of it over and continue folding until it has rolled up. Then slide it out of the wok onto a plate or cutting board. Slice it into thick strips with a sharp knife and set it aside.

4. Heat the wok over high heat. When it is hot, add the remaining oil and the chilies. After 30 seconds, add the onion and most of the chives (reserving a few for garnish) and stir fry for a few minutes until the onions start to brown. Add the garlic and stir for another 30 seconds.

5. Add the noodles to the wok and toss to combine with the other ingredients. Let them cook for a few minutes, tossing not too often so that they get a nice sear. Don't worry if they stick a bit to the wok because you will deglaze with the sauce. After a few minutes, add the sauce ingredients. Scrape the bottom of the wok with a wooden spatula or other non-abrasive tool to release any bits that have stuck to the surface. Toss the noodles for about 30 seconds to a minute until the sauce reduces. Remove to a serving bowl and garnish with the remaining chives or scallions. Enjoy.

Total time: 30 minutes
Makes 2 servings

Sliced Fish with Spicy Sauce Soup at Old Sichuan

2013-04-30T10:14:00.001-04:00

"Sliced Fish with Spicy Sauce Soup" at Old Sichuan on Bayard Street is one of the most intimidating dishes I've ever had placed in front of me. The large bowl is practically overflowing with vibrant red broth and the whole thing is topped with two—perhaps three dozen hot red chilies. Sliced white fish timidly pokes out from somewhere underneath. It's not immediately clear how it is to be eaten, and even if that could be determined whether eating it would be a good idea.

Dan Dan Noodles

It turns out eating it is a great idea. Indeed, sliced fish with spicy sauce soup is one of the best Chinese dishes I've had in New York.

The broth is milder on the heat scale than the mound of chilies would suggest and more complex and flavorful, featuring the floral tingling flavor of Sichuan pepper. The fish is unbelievably tender and buttery, and further underneath are large chunks of tofu that have soaked up the sauce. After devouring the dish perhaps a dozen times, I am still not sure whether it is sauce or soup, or both, but in any case my strategy is to ladle it into a smaller bowl and eat the fish with chopsticks.

Once I've polished off all the fish in there, I follow the staff's suggestion and take home the leftover soup/sauce to be cooked with more fish the next day.

Ma Po Tofu (sans pork)

Old Sichuan is a great spot for authentic Sichuan food, featuring the powerful flavors of garlic, ginger and chilies. When the menu arrives, skip the pages dedicated to Americanized Chinese dishes, which are there to please tourists (there's always one table nearby ordering chicken with broccoli and lo mein). Instead, head for the pages called "Authentic Sichuan Food," "Authentic Vegetable," and "Chef's Specialties." That's where you'll find the good stuff.

Lamb with Green Chilies

Better yet, just ask the friendly staff for recommendations. Whereas at many establishments nearby they throw the food at you (including at Ping's, one of my favorites), the folks at Old Sichuan are happy to see you and genuinely want you to enjoy the food. After two visits I was a regular.

On one visit, I witnessed the lady who I assume to be the owner carrying a giant bowl of sliced fish with spicy sauce soup out of the restaurant and down the street, making sure not to burn herself or tip any of the fiery liquid or chilies onto the ground. Someone at her other restaurant had asked for it, she explained.

Show them you're serious and you shall be rewarded. Like with dan dan noodles, nice and springy and tossed with an intensely fragrant sauce made with Sichuan pepper, perhaps one of the most exciting and exotic tastes for the American palate. Or ma po tofu, the Sichuan staple, which arrives glowing red and slippery and satisfying (try our recipe). In deference to my wife I order both without pork, which works out wonderfully.

Wontons in Hot Oil

To calm the palate—you'll need it—go for the addictive corn egg drop soup, which is nice and soothing, with some sweetness from the corn. Or ask for a steamer basket full of terrific soup dumplings, an unexpected addition to the menu that perhaps comes from their Shanghaiese sister restaurant down the block.

Then fire it up again with sliced lamb with green chilies. I like it better than the cumin lamb, which I find a little dry and prefer to order at a good Hunan restaurant.

I can't tell you that Old Sichuan is the best Sichuan place in the city, or the oldest, or that it is as good as some of the places in Flushing or Lao Sze Chuan in Chicago. Some think the ma po tofu lacks some depth, and I don't totally disagree. But the food is fantastic when you're in the mood for something spicy, and it boasts one truly knockout dish. With the friendly casual atmosphere, Old Sichuan has become my go-to spot for tongue-tingling Sichuan fare in Manhattan.

Old Sichuan
65 Bayard St (between Mott & Elizabeth St)
(212) 227-9888
http://www.oldsichuan.com/

Recommended dishes: sliced fish with spicy sauce soup ($18.95); dan dan noodles ($3.95); ma po tofu ($10.95); lamb with green pepper ($14.95); corn egg drop soup ($3.95); soup dumplings ($6.50).

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French-Vietnamese Flavors at Rouge et Blanc

2013-04-14T19:07:00.000-04:00

Vietnamese Beef Cheeks, the best dish at Rouge et Blanc

Rouge et Blanc is a transporting French-Vietnamese restaurant in SoHo. The intimate stone and wood interior, illuminated by hanging lanterns, reminded me of the tranquility you can occasionally find in Vietnam, when you escape the throng of motorbikes just outside.

Despite a glowing two-star review in the New York Times a few years ago, the restaurant remains undiscovered, and it is rarely crowded. The menu, which changes seasonally, combines French techniques with Vietnamese ingredients and flavors -- much like our French-Vietnamese beef stew. The service is attentive, and French-accented, helping patrons navigate the collection of shareable dishes. While the dishes range in size, there is no delineation between appetizers and entrees, and in any event, it's best to order several dishes for the table to share.

Duck confit in a Phở broth

Cured arctic char with smokey pickles

The best starter on the menu is a cured Arctic char with smoked pickles and mustard vinaigrette, on crostinis with a spicy aoili. The dish looked subtle and refreshing but was quite the opposite after my first bite. The pickles were seriously smokey and the aoili mixed with the mustard vinaigrette packed a strong burst of flavor.

Arctic char is not typically cured (the traditional preparation is to make salmon gravlax) but the milder char works as a counterbalance to the bolder accompaniments.

Another excellent starter was a duck egg pissaladière with shallots, vegetables, and tomme crayeuse -- a semi-soft French cheese. A pissaladière is a cross between a savory tart and a pizza, typically found in the South of France. The addition of the duck egg, cooked just enough so that it's runny, adds an extra richness to the Provençal dish.

Duck egg pissaladière

A unique dish -- that is hard to call French, Vietnamese, or really any cuisine -- was a tempura dish with alternating pieces of frogs legs and lobster, in an incredible cilantro emulsion. I can't say I've ever seen tempura frogs legs. Or frogs legs and lobster in the same dish. But even my dining companions who don't particularly care for frogs legs gobbled (ribbited?) these up.

Tempura frogs legs & lobster

For the larger dishes, I had high hopes for a dish of duck confit with rice noodles in a phở broth. It's a beautiful looking dish, but was a bit disappointing. The phở was too citrusy, which clashed with more rustic duck. The rice noodles were fine, but nothing spectacular.

A better entree was Vietnamese beef cheeks with rice cakes, a green papaya salad, and roasted enoki mushrooms. This dish perfectly encapsulated the restaurant's French-Vietnamese cuisine. The beef cheeks were slow-cooked in a French way, and were combined with Vietnamese papaya salad, rice cakes, and a sauce with ample amounts of peanuts, fish sauce, and other Vietnamese flavors. The dish is served with a grilled herbed flat bread.

Scallops with trumpet mushrooms

A grilled scallops dish with trumpet mushrooms and multi-colored cauliflower was also excellent, especially the flavorful mushrooms. But like many scallops dishes, you get a paltry few scallops for $24, and the plate looked half-empty.

All of these dishes are complemented by a solid selection of French wines, with an emphasis on Burgandy. There are also some good values from the Loire valley, including some bottles from Charles Joguet.

Rouge et Blanc offers a small but fine selection of desserts, including a Vietnamese orange semifreddo with blood orange curd and ginger granita, and a gâteau au chocolat au lait, which essentially looks like a deconstructed smores.

A charred, puffed marshmallow was the highlight of the gâteau.

The gâteau

Oddly, while they will serve espresso after the meal, they cannot make lattes or cappuccinos. The waiter claimed that their espresso machine does not steam milk. We've complained about other restaurants' odd coffee behavior in the past, and this one is equally inexplicable. They will make a decent Vietnamese coffee with condensed milk, however.

Rouge et Blanc

48 MacDougal St

New York, NY 10012

(212) 260-5757

http://www.rougeetblancnyc.com

Recommended dishes: cured arctic char ($17), duck egg pissaladière ($16), tempura frogs legs & lobster ($15), Vietnamese beef cheeks ($29), gâteau au chocolat ($13)

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Salmon Teriyaki

2013-03-17T21:48:00.000-04:00

Salmon is a classic vehicle for our homemade teriyaki sauce. The sweet and sour qualities of the sauce cut through the richness of the fish and the sugars caramelize on the surface, locking in juices and imparting an incredible flavor. If I can find them, I like to sprinkle the finished product with chopped chive flowers for their garlicky flavor, freshness, and bright green color. Scallions are a good substitute.

With a jar of our teriyaki sauce already in the fridge, this dish can be ready in minutes. Or take twenty minutes to make a fresh batch!

Salmon Teriyaki with Homemade Teriyaki Sauce

Our Homemade Teriyaki Sauce

2 salmon fillets
About 1/2 cup homemade teriyaki sauce (recipe here)
1 tablespoon canola or sesame oil
Chive flowers or scallions (optional, for garnish)
More teriyaki sauce for serving

1. Place the salmon fillets in a ziplock bag and pour over the teriyaki sauce. Seal the bag and leave the salmon to marinate at room temperature for 20-30 minutes (or less, if you'd rather not wait).

2. Heat a nonstick pan over medium heat. When the pan is hot, add the oil and turn the pan to coat it evenly. Remove the salmon fillets from the bag and carefully place them down in the pan, discarding the bag with the marinade. The salmon should sizzle. Cook the salmon until it is medium-rare to medium (about 4 minutes per side, but checking with a knife is the only way to know), turning only once so that it gets a nice sear on each side.

3. Remove the salmon to a serving plate and sprinkle with the chive flowers or scallions. Serve immediately with a small bowl of teriyaki sauce on the side.

Total time: 30-40 minutes, mostly passive
Makes 2 servings

As an alternative, you can broil the salmon, or use our technique for grilling in the oven.

Homemade Teriyaki Sauce

2013-03-17T15:31:00.003-04:00

In another "guest" post, my wife Melissa shares the secret of her homemade teriyaki sauce. - David

Ever since I figured out how to prepare teriyaki sauce at home, I have been making it all of the time. It has a delicious sweet, gingery, garlicky, slightly tart flavor that goes well with just about anything. The sauce works as both a marinade and a dipping sauce and can go on anything from fish and vegetables to meat, chicken, and tofu. I like to make big batches at a time and keep it in an airtight jar in the fridge. It stays for a few weeks, so once you have a batch of it, you can prepare a delicious, healthy dinner in the time it takes to cook a piece of fish.

This recipe will come out thinner than the average restaurant or jarred teriyaki sauce. If you like it thicker, just add cornstarch and boil that in the sauce. But I recommend trying it this way first. Once you have the sauce ready, you can add to it for specific dishes - like cornstarch to thicken it for stir fries, or sliced chilies for chicken or steak.

Click here for our salmon teriyaki recipe!

Homemade Teriyaki Sauce

2/3 cup mirin
1 cup soy sauce
4 teaspoons rice vinegar
1 teaspoon sesame oil
1/3 cup sugar
4 or more cloves garlic, minced (I use almost an entire head)
1-inch piece fresh ginger, minced

1. Bring the mirin to a boil in a small sauce pan and let it simmer and reduce for 10 minutes.

2. Add the soy sauce, rice vinegar, sesame oil, sugar, ginger, and garlic. Let the sauce cook for 5-10 minutes at a gentle boil.

Total time: 20 minutes
Makes about 2 cups

Now you have teriyaki sauce! Use it to marinate salmon, chicken, tofu, or anything else that you like. Our salmon teriyaki recipe is here. Stay tuned for more...

Red Wine and Tomato Beef Stew

2013-03-13T12:30:00.000-04:00

I love making soups and stews during winter. Last week we featured a Vietnamese beef stew, which combined French techniques with Vietnamese flavors. This stew, which employs a broth of beef stock, red wine, and tomatoes, has a more traditional, country feel, and is equally delicious. It is also fool-proof and requires no complicated ingredients or techniques.

Like the Vietnamese stew, I made this one with boneless short ribs, which I find to be more tender than brisket; but either one works great. I also like to sear the meat to give the stew some crispy, charred flavor, but the stew is still excellent without browning the meat. A good shortcut is using V8 juice as your source of tomatoes - it adds almost as much thickening quality as tomato paste, while imparting a fuller flavor.

Now that winter is ending, stay tuned for our Spring recipes.

Red Wine and Tomato Beef Stew

2 pounds cubed beef brisket or boneless short ribs
1 medium yellow onion, diced
4-5 garlic cloves, minced
2 1/2 cups beef stock or low sodium beef broth
1 1/2 cups dry red wine such as Pinot Noir or Cabernet Sauvignon
1 small can tomato paste or 1 1/2 cups V8 juice
3 medium potatoes, cut into chunks
3 carrots, peeled and cut into 1 inch lengths
1 bag frozen peas
2 bay leaves
1 sprig fresh thyme
1 teaspoon paprika
3 tablespoons olive oil

1. Drizzle beef with 1 tablespoon of the oil, and sprinkle with lots of salt and freshly ground pepper. Stir to coat. Take the frozen peas out of the freezer to defrost.

2. Heat a medium to large Dutch oven or other heavy-bottomed pot over high heat. You're now going to brown the beef. Depending on how large your pot is, add half or all of the remaining oil. When the oil is hot, add the beef. Do not overcrowd the beef or it will not sear. Work in batches if you have to. Brown the beef on all sides and then transfer to a plate.

3. Decrease the heat to medium and add the onion for about 10 minutes until it is nicely caramelized. Add the garlic, and cook for 1 more minute.

4. Add the beef and pour in the stock, wine, and V8 or tomato paste. Turn the heat back up to high and bring the liquid to a boil. Add the bay leaves and thyme and decrease heat so that the liquid is at a gentle boil, and simmer, covered, for 1 1/2 hours until the meat is tender.

5. Add the carrots and potatoes and cook for 30 minutes longer. Add the peas, stir, and cook for another minute or two until the peas are warmed up.

6. Serve immediately and top with chopped parsley. It also works nicely over egg noodles.

Total time: about 2 1/2 hours, mostly passive
Makes about 6 servings

Quinoa Salad with Black Beans and Avocado Dressing

2013-03-11T14:15:00.000-04:00

For our first "guest" post, my wife Melissa reveals one of our weeknight staples. - David

Quinoa is one of those mysterious foods that is supposed to be healthy but I never knew what to do with it, until a colleague suggested that I try it with black beans and avocado. From there, I improvised until I came up with this recipe. The dish has a nice balance of flavors: well-seasoned beans, rich avocado, and a good hit of vinegar all tossed with al dente quinoa. It's relatively easy to make, its vegan and can be made with items in your pantry.

If you need some good quinoa for your pantry, we like this kind or this other kind.

Quinoa Salad with Black Beans and Avocado Dressing

1/2 cup quinoa
1 avocado
1 14-ounce can black beans
1 small purple onion
2-3 cloves garlic
1 teaspoon cumin
Paprika, Espelette pepper, chili powder, or other spices of your choice
Canola or other neutral oil
Extra virgin olive oil
Red or white wine vinegar

1. Cook the quinoa by placing it in a small saucepan with a cup of water. Bring it to a boil and then simmer for 15 minutes or so over low heat until the quinoa is done. You will know your quinoa is ready because the little squiggle will have popped out and it will taste tender yet still al dente.

2. Chop the onion and garlic cloves, and rinse the black beans. Heat a pan with some neutral oil, and saute the onions for a few minutes until they have softened slightly. Add the black beans, chopped garlic, and spices with salt and pepper. Stir and let the mixture cook for another few minutes.

3. Dice the avocado. Reserving half of the avocado, put the rest of the avocado in a mixing bowl large enough to hold the beans and quinoa and smash it with a fork. Add 3 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil, 2 tablespoons of vinegar and a pinch of salt and pepper and whisk until it creates a smooth dressing.

4. When the quinoa is done, combine it with the avocado dressing, the chopped avocado, and the black bean mixture. Mix to combine. Serve immediately or at room temperature.

Total time: 25 minutes
Makes about 4 servings

Tacos Matamoros

2013-03-09T14:21:00.000-05:00

Clockwise from Bottom-Left: Carne Asada, Carne Enchilada, Chorizo, and "Al Pastor"

Tacos Matamoros is a fine spot for inexpensive tacos and a transporting atmosphere in the Mexican area of Sunset Park, Brooklyn. The large cafeteria-style dining room is packed with families enjoying a casual night out. Fathers and sons sit side-by-side as they watch liga Mexicana soccer on the big screen and enjoy $1.50 tacos al pastor with tropical drinks.

I say "transporting" because, for me, something about it felt like vacation. The decor and ambiance were distinctly more Mexican than American, and the piña colada in my hand almost persuaded me that there was a beach nearby. There is no beer served, although they do not mind if you bring it in, so most of the guests are sipping frozen margaritas, piña coladas, and other tropical drinks -- a scene not often found in a city of sophisticated cocktails and a borough of craft beer drinking.

Despite my skepticism of guacamole in restaurants these days (even the "good" stuff being merely average, in my book, and $12), I couldn't resist starting with a $5.50 bowl of it that came with serious chips. It was really nicely done; smoother and creamier than I do it, with the avocado partially pureed, and overall not a waste of money, which is about the highest praise I could give an order of guac. It just needed to come faster, the whole point of guacamole being to keep hunger at bay whilst awaiting the main event.

The menu is huge, like a Mexican version of diner menu. There are soups and salads and entire sections devoted to chilaquiles, enchiladas, burritos, tacos, tortas, cemitas, tostadas, fajitas, tamales, and sandwiches. There are also larger plates, like grilled skirt steak with peppers and onions and chicken with mole poblano. Looking around, everyone seems to have a different ordering style.

Shrimp Ceviche Tostada

But for me, it's all about the tacos. Matamoros serves the small authentic type, each one on two soft corn tortillas with simple ingredients topped with fresh chopped onion and cilantro. A highlight was the simple carne asada, with char-grilled marinated beef that needed no more than a squeeze of lime. I couldn't resist the crumbled Mexican chorizo, which was nice and spicy and not too dry, but I found the taco a little one-note. What it really need was scrambled egg, a combination that blew me away during my trip to Detroit. The taco al pastor, on the other hand, was perfect: juicy slow-roasted pork, some pieces seared crisp on one side, with good heat and a hint of sweetness. It wasn't listed on the menu, but our waitress made sure I didn't miss it. You should make sure of that, too.

Cappucino Cake

Disappointments included the larger fish taco, which was made with overcooked salmon, and a carne enchilada taco of spicy marinated pork that was overwhelmed by heat. A vegetarian taco of refried beans, rice, lettuce, pico de gallo, onions, cilantro, queso fresco, and sour cream was fantastic, a beautiful and refreshing contrast to the spicy meat-laden tacos that fill out the rest of the taco portion of the menu.

Of the non-taco options I thoroughly enjoyed the shrimp ceviche tostada, served warm with fresh lime, red onions, tomatoes, cilantro, avocado, and a chipotle crema over a crisp corn tortilla. The folks at Matamoros do a good job keeping the tostada crisp even against the moisture of the ceviche.

I wouldn't think to mention the dessert options, except that a slice of "cappuccino cake" was shockingly good. It was simple, light, and airy, with a milk chocolate filling and a dark chocolate glaze on top. In the end, our satisfying meal for two, with tropical drinks, came to about $30, and there's something sweet about that too.

Tacos Matamoros
4508 5th Ave (between 45th and 46th Streets)
Brooklyn, NY 11220
(718) 871-7627

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Vietnamese Beef Stew

2013-03-04T09:15:00.000-05:00

I had some excellent food during my trip to Vietnam. I learned that you can make any dish have a Vietnamese flair by incorporating the trusty combination of lemongrass, ginger, Thai chilis, and fish sauce. This dish is a great example. It borrows the technique and tradition from a French beef stew but substitutes Vietnamese ingredients for a bold interpretation on the classic.

It's great while the weather remains cold, and easy enough to make on a lazy Sunday. I made it with boneless short ribs, which I find to be more tender than brisket; but either one works great. I also like to sear the meat to give the stew some crispy, charred flavor.

This dish requires finely mincing lemongrass. First, cut the bottom half-inch off the lemongrass stalk as well as the greenish top portion of the stalk, and discard. Peel the outer layers, and then with a sharp chef's knife, thinly slice the stalk into coin-shaped pieces. Mince the coins until you are left with tiny bits.

Vietnamese Beef Stew

2 pounds cubed beef brisket or boneless short ribs
1 medium yellow onion, diced
4-5 garlic cloves, minced
3 tablespoons tomato paste
1/4 cup finely minced lemongrass
1-inch piece fresh ginger, minced
4 whole star anise pods
2 whole Thai chilis
4 cups beef stock or low sodium beef broth
3 carrots peeled and cut into 1 inch lengths
1 large daikon, peeled and cut into 1 inch lengths
2 tablespoons fish sauce or to taste
3 tablespoons vegetable oil

1. Drizzle beef with 1 tablespoon of the oil, and sprinkle with lots of salt and freshly ground pepper. Stir to coat.

2. Heat a medium to large Dutch oven or other heavy-bottomed pot over high heat. You're now going to brown the beef. Depending on how large your pot is, add half or all of the remaining oil. When the oil is hot, add the beef. Do not overcrowd the beef or it will not sear. Work in batches if you have to. Brown the beef on all sides and then transfer to a plate.

3. Decrease the heat to medium and add the onion for about 10 minutes until it is nicely caramelized. Add the garlic, and cook for 1 more minute. Then add the lemongrass, tomato paste, ginger, star anise, and whole Thai chilis and cook for a minute or two.

4. Add the beef and pour in the stock. Turn the heat back up to high and bring the liquid to a boil. Decrease heat so that the liquid is at a gentle boil, and simmer, covered, for 1 1/2 hours until the meat is tender.

5. Add the carrots and daikon and cook for 30 minutes longer. Remove from heat and stir in fish sauce.

6. Serve immediately and top with Thai basil or minced chilis if you want.

Total time: about 2 1/2 hours, mostly passive
Makes about 6 servings

Modified from Charles Phan's excellent book Vietnamese Home Cooking.

First Look: Patsy Grimaldi returns at Juliana's Pizza

2013-02-24T22:53:00.000-05:00

Coal fired pizza with buffalo mozzarella, cherry tomatoes, and roasted garlic at Juliana's Pizza

Patsy Grimaldi is back at 19 Old Fulton Street, serving coal fired pizzas from the same location that housed Grimaldi's for decades. Grimaldi has had a hard time with his name. His first lost the rights to use his first name after a lawsuit filed by Patsy's pizza. Then he lost the use of his last name after he sold Grimaldi's to a customer in 1998. After a persistent landlord-tenant dispute forced that restaurant to move down the block, the 81 year old Patsy Grimaldi moved back to the original location, but with the new name, Juliana's, named after his late mother.

Here's my first look at Juliana's, which only opened less than two months ago.

It's clear that Grimaldi has opted for a more pleasant dining experience at Juliana's than at Grimaldi's, which was known for its cramped quarters and brusque service. Juliana's has a modern look with appropriately spaced out tables and friendly service. The restaurant is also more upscale than Grimaldi's -- while many standard pizzas and toppings exist, there are also some unusual ones for pizza like smoked salmon and pistachio pesto. (The prices are also more upscale, with many pizzas hitting the $20 range)

Patsy Grimaldi and his wife pace the restaurant, exchanging pleasantries with the patrons and occasionally offering espressos.

Fried calamari

The crust on the pizza is thin, with a slight chewiness. The bottom has a noticeable char from the coal, which imparts a smoky flavor. I tried a pizza on special the night I went, which had cherry tomatoes, buffalo mozzarella, roasted garlic, and sea salt. The cherry tomatoes impart a sweetness that contrasts with the garlic and saltiness from the cheese. This classic combination will satisfy the pickiest pizza aficionados in the city. I wouldn't say it's the best pizza in the city, however, but it certainly holds it's own.

A fried calamari appetizer was also good. It wasn't greasy and had a nice crunch, without it being too bready.

Finish the meal with an absolutely fantastic cannoli made by Patsy Grimaldi's wife. The cream was light and bursting with flavor, without being overly sweet. The shell was crisp but not crumbly. A perfect dessert.

Grimaldi's wife's perfect cannoli

Juliana's Pizza
19 Old Fulton St
Brooklyn, NY 11201
(718) 596-6700
http://www.julianaspizza.com/

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Chocolate Chip Bread Pudding

2013-02-24T14:24:00.000-05:00

Bread pudding is one of my favorite desserts. It has a fantastic doughy, eggy, springy quality, sort of like a really good french toast. Made with bittersweet chocolate, it has that sweet-but-not-too-sweet perfection that for me characterizes the very best desserts. It goes nicely with vanilla, coffee or salted caramel ice cream, or some fresh whipped cream.

It turns out bread pudding is strikingly easy to make and doesn't require any of the precise measuring of typical baked goods. Cube up some fluffy bread like brioche or challah. Mix a few wet ingredients together (a basic custard, if you want to be technical about it), and pour them on top. Add whatever flavorings you like--here, I've used chocolate chips, vanilla extract and some good espresso. Coffee has this magical way of lifting up the flavor of chocolate.

Chocolate Chip Bread Pudding

1 loaf brioche or challah, preferably stale
4 eggs
3 cups milk
3/4 cup sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
2 shots espresso (or some brewed coffee)
3/4 cup chocolate chips

1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Slice the bread into cubes. Grease a baking pan and toss in the bread.

2. Beat together the eggs, milk, sugar, vanilla, and espresso until the sugar has dissolved. Pour the mixture over the bread. Mix if desired. Scatter the chocolate chips around the pan so that they are roughly evenly distributed.

3. Let the bread mixture sit for ten minutes or so. Then stick it in the oven and bake for 45 minutes or until the egg has set.

Serve warm with ice cream or homemade whipped cream.

Total time: about 1 hour
Serves 12-16

Hibino

2013-02-11T14:11:00.000-05:00

Box pressed sushi at Hibino: Tuna with avocado and shiso and Eel with kanpyo and shredded egg

Hibino means "daily" in Japanese, which presumably refers to the restaurant's ever changing list of Kyoto-style small plates called "obanzai." The rotating list of obanzai are written on numerous chalkboards near the tables and cost $5 each. Social-media friendly, Hibino keeps a blog describing these daily specials.

Some of these obanzais are very good -- I especially liked a Seafood Harumaki (a crispy roll of shrimp, squid, and vegetables) that they have periodically. But Hibino's best dishes can be best described as Japanese "comfort food" like crisp Agedashi tofu in a dashi broth or slow-cooked braised short ribs in a soy broth with a hint of sweetness. These comforting dishes have an odd way of evoking memories of family dinners from my childhood.

And of course Hibino has fantastic "oshi" -- box pressed sushi -- where soy or miso marinated fish top rectangular rice molds, often mixed with shiso leaves, mushrooms, or egg.

Beef Kakuni - braised short ribs in sweet soy broth with homemade tofu

Hibino is not your typical Japanese restaurant. I have in the past disparaged Japanese restaurants that have offered overly complicated (and overpriced) sushi creations while allowing the quality of their fish suffer. Hibino is different, it serves creative though seemingly simple dishes. Like many restaurants, though, not everything is perfect.

The best dish on the menu is the Beef Kakumi, braised short ribs over homemade tofu in a sweetened soy broth. The beef is cooked just long enough that a fork can effortlessly penetrate it, while it still holds together in the serving dish. The delicate tofu helps to soak up the sauce.

Agedashi tofu

An Agedashi Tofu dish with crisip tofu and shishito peppers was also well done. The tofu appeared to be deep fried just before serving so it was still crispy while sitting in the dashi broth.

These dishes were far better better vehicles for Hibino's homemade tofu than a dish of silken tofu, scallions, and a soy-dashi sauce. The tofu was served in a glass jar, which made it hard to serve, as it kept slipping off the small serving spoon. A similar dish at EN Japanese Brasserie was far more successful -- it was served in a deep wooden dish, which made serving far easier. The tofu was also better there.

Sushi rolls at Hibino

On the sushi side of the menu, Hibino is most known for "oshi" or box pressed sushi. My favorite was sea eel with layers of shisho and kanpyo within the rice and topped with shredded egg omelet, though a tuna with avocado and shiso was also solid. A miso-marinated salmon variety was not as interesting.

Salmon box pressed suhi

Hibino's spicy rolls caused much controversy among my fellow diners. Rather than mix the spicy mayo in with the fish, Hibino's chefs squirt a dollop of spicy mayo on top of each nigiri piece.

An informal survey of my friends who have been to Hibino indicated strongly held views in opposite directions.

I understand the theory there -- often, when the spicy sauce is combined with the fish in advance, the fish tends to be soggy. You know it's fresh if they squirt it on to order. It also looks pretty.

The problem here is that they used too much spicy mayo, which overwhelmed the fish. And each bite felt unbalanced, since all of the sauce was on one end. The best approach might be to offer the spicy sauce on the side or to add it before the nigiri is rolled to ensure a more even distribution.

Hibino
333 Henry St (between Atlantic Ave & Pacific St)
Brooklyn, NY 11201
(718) 260-8052
http://www.hibino-brooklyn.com/

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Commerce

2013-02-02T17:45:00.000-05:00

Roasted Sweet Potato Tortelloni with Beurre Noisette at Commerce Restaurant

Things did not start out well for us at Commerce, a contemporary American restaurant on a funny L-shaped street in the West Village. We waited almost an hour to be seated for a 7:45 reservation. Granted, it was Christmas Eve, but that kind of wait for a reserved table is inexcusable and the round of (admittedly good) drinks they gave us for free was insufficient compensation. Had it not been for the good company I was dining with that evening, I would have been quite annoyed.

Fortunately, things got better once we were seated.

Winter Vegetable Fricasee

The meal starts out strong with one of the better bread baskets I can think of. It features good diversity--epi bread, onion rolls, mini bagels, pretzel bread, and more--all of it piping hot and served with a quenelle of soft butter. You get to practice your willpower and restraint while awaiting the appetizers.

The winter vegetable fricassee was a knockout; carrots, potatoes, mushrooms and their friends over homemade spaetzle in a buttery tarragon velouté with grated black truffles. The whole thing was topped with a poached egg that, when broken, mixed into the sauce for added richness. We had to ask for more bread to go after the last of the sauce, which was worth sacrificing not only the neutral rolls but the more complex breads as well.

Other appetizers were also successful. Delicate hamachi sashimi was marinated in ponzu with thinly shaved carrot and radish, topped with microgreens and accompanied by a ponzu mustard aioli. Light and refreshing. Sweet potato tortelloni were warm and sweet like candy.

At $14, the cocktails were quite good. My choice was the "nor'easter", made from rum, fresh ginger, mint and lime. It was refreshing and not too sweet, with a deliberate kick from the ginger that almost helped me get over my outrage at spending $14 for a cocktail. Almost.

Porterhouse with Potatoes, Cipollini and Shallot Steak Sauce

Since it was Christmas Eve, my friend and I splurged for the porterhouse steak for two. It showed up whole for display purposes, went away, and then returned carved up into thick slices and accompanied by crisp hash browns, creamed spinach and glazed cipollini onions. The meat was nicely seasoned, seared crisp on the outside and cooked to a tender medium-rare on the inside. I would have liked more of the cipollini and the shallot steak sauce, which added good flavor but had to be rationed. More generosity on those fronts would be appreciated. I also think at $96 it is overpriced.

The entree selection also featured tender veal meatballs with a hint of smoke over a bed of polenta. Fettuccini was cut thick and rustic with a simple but intensely flavored tomato sauce and a dollop of ricotta. Both were competent and enjoyable dishes.

Veal Meatballs with Polenta

The star dessert is a slice of coconut cake the size of your head. It consists of layers of light white cake and coconut pudding with shaved coconut; an excellent treat that could serve 4-6 (we took most of it home). Because we couldn't resist, we also enjoyed a dark chocolate pudding with a nice deep flavor, not too sweet, and a bowl of peppermint ice cream with crunchy chunks of peppermint in it.

The service was fine, but our waiter was not well versed in the food. My query on the contents of the vegetable fricassee sauce, for example, went unanswered (so when I said before that it had a "buttery tarragon velouté," I was making an educated guess - do you trust me?). OK, I'm more prone to ask questions than the average customer, but you never know who has a curiosity or a food allergy (or who is a food writer). The staff was a bit harried due to it being Christmas Eve, but I forgive them for that--except for the hour-long wait for a reserved table, which is unforgivable any day of the year.

Commerce
50 Commerce Street, New York, NY 10014
(212) 524-2301
http://commercerestaurant.com

Recommended Dishes: Seasonal vegetable fricassee ($17); hamachi sashimi ($18); sweet potato tortelloni ($16); veal meatballs ($26); porterhouse for two ($48pp); expensive cocktails ($14).

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Kitchen Guide for Home Cooks Part I - Knives, Cutting Boards and Bowls

2013-01-17T23:04:00.000-05:00

Quality knives, cutting boards and mixing bowls make cooking at home a joy.

Deciding how best to equip your kitchen can be a daunting task. In this series, we have tried to take the guesswork out of that process by recommending what we think a basic kitchen should have, and what you can do without. We recommend specific products that we think perform well and are worth buying. We have included pictures of those products with prices, which you can click on if you would like to get more information or consider purchasing something.

If you have additional questions or want more advice, please also feel free to email us or post a question on our facebook page. We are always happy to talk about cooking.

The best way to equip a kitchen on a budget is to shop at a restaurant supply store. New York has many such stores (just visit the Bowery north of Chinatown) and every city should have one. There, you can find everything you need for a basic kitchen in perfectly good quality for much less than at any home goods store. I would forget about cheap product lines from department stores as they tend to be flimsy, do not perform well and need to be replaced frequently.

A better plan, I think, is to get your basics at a restaurant supply store and otherwise invest (gradually if that makes you more comfortable) in quality equipment that will last you a long time and won't often have to be replaced, if ever.

This first section is dedicated to the part of the cooking process we think of as "prep." All you really need are:
- Three knives: a chef's knife, a pairing knife and a bread knife
- One cutting board
- One set of mixing and prep bowls

Knives

My trusted chef's knife, bread knife, and pairing knife.

A basic kitchen should have at least three good, sharp knives: a chef's knife, a pairing knife, and a bread knife. You can buy them cheaply at a restaurant supply store, or invest in quality knives that will last a lifetime. If you want to start by investing in one good knife, make it a chef's knife, which really is essential to any kitchen. A wooden storage block is a good idea.

Take care of your knives. Keep them nice and sharp - in addition to cutting more effectively, a sharp knife is safer because a dull knife can slide off food instead of cutting through. A knife sharpener is not a bad investment. Always cut on a cutting board and wash by hand to avoid dulling the blade. It's worth it.

A chef's knife is your all-purpose knife for cutting up ingredients. It should be about 8 inches long and heavy, with a nice curved blade. It is curved to allow you to rock the knife back and forth on the cutting board for a more precise cut and an easy mince, saving you valuable time and effort over cutting with a smaller knife.

These are some chef's knifes that I think provide good quality for the price and will last you a long time, if not forever. I use Wusthof Classic. Other reputable brands include Henckels, Shun and Global. Shun knives are a real splurge, but they're beautiful - a special gift for someone who loves to cook.

A pairing knife is for precision jobs, like seeding a jalapeno, slicing strawberries or dicing a shallot. It should have a plain blade that is 3 to 4 inches long. You can buy a pairing knife alone, or you can often find one in a set together with a chef's knife. I have picked out two of those sets here:

A bread knife is a long, serrated knife that can cut through breads and bagels easily with a back-and-forth motion without crushing them. It is also great for other jobs, like cutting up a pineapple, that take better to sawing rather than slicing through.

If you want to grow your collection, consider buying a prearranged knife set or adding a santoku, a carving knife, or a utility knife. If you are like me and enjoy cooking together with someone else, you might consider two chef's knives or a chef's knife and a santoku. I've picked out sets that I think make sense as well as some good 3-piece "starter sets" that just include the knives I think are essential.

Cutting Board

The best cutting board is large, heavy and wood. It should be large enough to give you plenty of space to work and heavy enough that it does not move when you are cutting with a knife. If you use a smaller cutting board, either get one with rubber feet or place a damp paper towel underneath to prevent it from sliding. Cutting on something that moves is scary and bad.

I use a Boos wooden cutting board for most of my cooking and a Gripperwood bamboo cutting board with rubber feet for small tasks like preparing breakfast or a snack. I have a separate large plastic cutting board for working with raw meat and poultry.

The first three of these cutting boards are ones I use and love. The others also meet my approval.

Mixing Bowls and Prep Bowls:

A good set of mixing bowls can make your life in the kitchen much easier. When you need to mix things, beat an egg, or combine ingredients together, it's better not to use the same bowls for cooking prep that you use for serving and eating; they can get quite scratched up that way. Some kinds of cooking, especially Asian cooking in a wok, require having ingredients pre-prepped and on hand so that when things happen quickly you'll be ready. A set of small prep bowls will help you breathe easy and thrive with that kind of cooking.

You'll want a set with multiple sizes made from a material that won't react with food. Glass and stainless steel are ideal. I use an inexpensive set of ten nesting glass bowls of different sizes and a fancy set of All-Clad stainless steel mixing bowls that I got as a gift. I think the glass bowl set is one of the best kitchen buys there is. When preparing a recipe with lots of prep work, I like to use a big bowl as my "garbage bowl" and sort ingredients into little bowls so that I can keep my cutting board clear. You'll be surprised how much time you save.

Here are some options I like for stainless steel and glass bowls:

Stay tuned for Part II, which will cover cookware and cooking utensils . . .

The Best Dishes of 2012 - Part II

2013-01-13T16:42:00.000-05:00

Here is the second part of my list of the best dishes I had in 2012. Part I can be found here.

5. "Spicy Big Tray Chicken" at Spicy Village

There are very few Henan restaurants in New York -- and as far as I know, Spicy Village, a small restaurant in a remote part of Chinatown, is the only one in Manhattan. Henan is a province in north-central China of "only" about 95 million people. Spicy Village is mostly a noodle house, serving excellent hand-pulled, springy hui mei noodles in a variety of preparations. It's best dish, aptly called "Spicy Big Tray Chicken" is an enormous metal wok filled with chicken and potatoes -- and, upon request, hui mei noodles. The fiery sauce blew me away on my first bite. It is an unusual but excellent combination of cumin, Sichuan peppercorns, chilis, and fennel seeds. As Danny Bowien of Mission Chinese said, it's "the best thing in the whole world."

4. Grapefruit Givré at Boulud Sud

The only dessert to make the list, the Grapefruit Givré was the best dessert I had in a restaurant in 2012, and one of the more creative desserts I've seen in a while. It consists of a hollowed-out frozen grapefruit filled with a combination of fresh grapefruit, grapefruit compote and sorbet, rose loukoum, and crumbled sesame halvah. The whole thing is sealed in with a torched tuile and topped with a pile of spun sesame "hair" and sesame seeds. A fun video of Chef Boulud and his pastry chef demonstrates how this elaborate dessert is made. A great American dessert with north African and Mediterranean flavors.

Read our full review of Boulud Sud here.

3. Thrice Cooked Bacon at Mission Chinese

The emergence of Mission Chinese -- it was named the best restaurant of 2012 by the New York Times -- was one of the reasons 2012 was so dominated by excellent Asian-influenced food. Mission Chinese has become famous for its original interpretations of classic Sichuan dishes, like its mapo tofu and its cumin lamb. I especially enjoyed a dish called "thrice cooked bacon" with spicy chili oil, bitter melon, and chewy Shanghainese rice cakes. This is a dish of extremes with a powerful kick of chilis and bitter melon, sizzling, crispy, bacon, chewy rice cakes, and a generous topping of herbs.

2. Chicken Under a Brick at Marc Forgione

The best dish on the menu at Marc Forgione's eponymous farm house-style restaurant is an incredibly succulent chicken under a brick for two. In some ways the dish excels in its simplicity: crisp chicken is served with potatoes and broccoli rabe in a large heavy iron pan with crispy shallots, chili flakes, and herbs. But the dish requires serious technique to make it as good at is it is at Marc Forgione. All of the bones are removed except the drum stick, and the heavy brick used to sear the chicken allows the outsides to have a bold crispiness while leaving the chicken moist on the inside.

Read our full review of Marc Forgione here.

1. Sashimi at Sushi Yasuda

The best dish I had this year was absolutely perfect sashimi at Sushi Yasuda. After all these years, it is still the best sushi restaurant in New York. The fish is breathtakingly good, making you want to close your eyes so there are no other distractions. The variety and quality of the fish and the skill of the sushi chefs are as close to perfection as you can find in New York. While so many other Japanese restaurants have focused on overpriced Japanese-American "fancy" sushi rolls with half a dozen kinds of fish, sauces, and condiments, a meal at Sushi Yasuda is a helpful reminder of what traditional sushi can be at its best. While the expensive omakaze meal is transporting, you can have a very satisfying meal at Yasuda for less than $30 -- 4 pieces of nigiri, 1 roll, and 3 varieties of sashimi is $22.50. Simply the best.

Read our full review of Sushi Yasuda here.

As you can see, we've had some great food in 2012. Looking forward to what 2013 has in store!

Comidas U.S.A.

2013-01-08T12:27:00.001-05:00

Welcome to the U.S.A.! Let me tell you about our food.

Those were the words that came to mind the first time I picked up Comidas U.S.A., the new cookbook by Yvan Lemoine. The first thing you notice about the book is its patriotism. The color scheme is red white and blue, and the book is loaded with photos of Yvan wearing classy red-white-and-blue clothing and enjoying good food in the company of friends and family. The book offers all of the classics: barbecue chicken, Reuben sandwiches, New England clam chowder, Caesar salad, grilled cheese and tomato soup.

Many of us know Yvan as a finalist on Next Food Network Star, where he distinguished himself with his bright smile, enthusiasm and family-style cooking. Meeting up in person, he had more of an edge to him than I expected. His bright smile was balanced with an urban sophistication that only made his passion for life and food come off more genuine. "Cooking is about making people happy," he said, ordering us some wine, "if you want to cook good food, you have to eat good food."

We had met at Lavo, an Italian bistro and nightlife destination from the group that gives us Tao and Arlington Club and serves as a springboard for some of Yvan's latest endeavors. Over a few glasses of good red wine, we shared ideas about food, travel, life and, of course, his book.

For me, the book evokes images of an immigrant arriving in the United States with dreams of considering himself an American, realizing that one of the first steps toward becoming an American is to cook like one. For Yvan, who came to the United States from Venezuela at the age of 13, that story hits close to home. "This is a book about the food that I fell in love with," he told me.

As a primer on American food for the Spanish-speaking audience, I could see Comidas U.S.A. on the kitchen counter of any Spanish-speaking American -- or American student of the Spanish language, like me -- who wants to cook American classics.

Cream of Tomato Soup (page 116)

The book is divided into chapters ranging from soups and salads to cocktails, snacks and desserts. There are breakfast staples like pancakes, granola parfait and eggs Florentine and a chapter on sandwiches that includes the Reuben, the Philly cheese steak and the po' boy. Entrees feature the likes of chicken and waffles, roast beef, tuna casserole and Thanksgiving-day turkey. There are four kinds of barbecue sauce for ribs and all the fixin's, including corn bread, cole slaw, potato salad and, of course, mac' and cheese

The recipes are straightforward and classic. There are no twists: pancakes are pancakes, barbecue chicken is barbecue chicken. That was the goal, Yvan said, the book is meant to be "simple and straightforward - what I've learned about what American food is." The recipes are "unfiltered by me," he said, not his spin on anything, but simply his "best interpretation of standard, classic everyday comfort food."

Some of the recipes are simple, like broccoli soup made with four ingredients or a basic chicken salad. Others, like an elaborate surf n' turf preparation, are quite involved. Some of my favorites are the ones we might not even think of as classic American foods until the book reminds us that they are: Cobb salad, eggs Florentine, pastrami on rye. The instructions are simple and easy to follow, and many have full-color photos.

Eggs Florentine (pages 28-29)

There are no books on American food for the Spanish-speaking public, Yvan explained. The Latin American community thinks American food is junk -- burgers, fries, milkshakes -- and although that stuff is delicious, of course, it's not the kind of food you would regularly cook at home and serve to your family. That was one of his goals for the book, he said, to address misconceptions about American food in the Spanish-speaking community.

His other goal was to build a bridge between immigrant parents and their children. "This is a book for moms," Yvan explained, "moms who come to this country as immigrants and their kids are American." Growing up in the U.S., he said, you want to eat what your friends are eating. But when kids come home from school asking for strange foods like "tater tots" (page 33) and "mac and cheese" (page 64), their families don't always understand. The book is his answer to that problem, he said: "a bridge between their kids and their cultures, so that parents can say 'OK, I'll make you that.'"

To that end, each dish is titled in Spanish, but underneath is the proper American name in English. Creative translations that caught my eye include "salchichas arropadas" (pigs in a blanket; i.e., "clothed sausages"), "sandwich de queso y carne a la Filadelfia" (Philly cheesesteak) and "costillas gigantexas" (Texas beef ribs), a play on the Spanish adjective "gigantesca" for "giant".

Classic Apple Pie (page 198)

So I had to ask him: what is American food? It is hard to define, Yvan admitted, but ultimately American food is immigrant food. It is derived from the cultures that influence America, and many of our regional specialties are drawn from the people that settled in each region. Mexican influence in Texas gave us chili con carne (page 114). Creoles in Louisiana gave us jambalaya (page 126) and gumbo (page 119). Italians in New York added tomatoes to a New England cream based soup to create Manhattan clam chowder (pages 122-123). Each of the book's recipes is introduced with a historical note, explaining the origins of the dish and its cultural significance. Yvan will rattle off many of those facts without notes.

Many of our foods have precedents somewhere else, Yvan explained, but once we get our hands on them, we make them our own. Thus, "Apples from China turned into pie. Potatoes from Peru became french fries. Deep dish pizza, Genero Tso's chicken", he said, "these are American foods."

This, in Yvan's view, means American food has the most space for growth. "You can take anything and make it into American food," he said. I thought about the diverse restaurants opening up these days that are emphatically American restaurants: Mission Chinese, Empellón Cocina, Parm. These fine establishments certainly each have an ethnic heritage, but their food could only have come about here, in the U.S. of A. This is not "fusion" - it is American food. We have made it our own.

But first, we have to start with tomato soup with grilled cheese. For that, I'll be turning to Comidas U.S.A.

Homemade Turkey Burgers

2013-01-07T11:37:00.000-05:00

This time of year the farmer's markets -- if they're open -- are only stocked with apples, root vegetables, and the occasional baked good. Fortunately, you can put one of those root vegetables, fennel, to great use in this turkey burger recipe. Turkey and fennel is a classic combination with the fennel adding a pop of flavor to the turkey. Add some minced garlic, parsley, and an egg for binding and you have an awesome and healthy burger this winter.

Even with a burger this good, you still need to be careful how you cook it. If you don't have access to an outdoor charcoal grill -- and who does in New York anyway -- you need a way to sear the outsides to lock in flavor and then cook the inside through without burning the outsides.

For that you'll need a stainless steel or other non-non stick pan with a cover. Heat the pan to medium high heat, add some oil, and then sear both sides of the burgers for about 2 minutes per side, covered. Meanwhile, light your oven to 350 degrees. When the burgers are seared place the entire pan into the oven for about 5-6 minutes.

If you don't have one of these pans - buy one. In the mean time, you can broil the burgers to sear and then change the oven to bake at 350 degrees. It should still work. Top with your favorite cheese - or not - and place between some toasted sourdough bread.

Homemade Turkey Burgers

1 pound fresh ground turkey
2 garlic cloves
1/2 fennel bulb (or 1 T fennel seeds)
1/2 cup parsley
1 egg

1. If you're not using pre-ground turkey breast, cut the turkey into cubes and grind it in a food processor. Don't grind it too much; you still want the pieces to be a decent size. Remove to a bowl. Add the peeled garlic, parsley, and roughly chopped fennel bulb to the processor and grind to the same consistency. Remove to the same bowl as the turkey and crack an egg on top, seasoning with salt and pepper. Gently combine with your fingers and form into 4-5 patties. At this point you could freeze any patties you don't want to use.

2. When the patties are formed, pre-heat your oven to 350 degrees, and place a stainless steel saute pan on a burner on medium high heat. When it gets fairly hot, add some oil. When the oil shimmers, carefully add the turkey burgers one at a time. Cook, undisturbed and covered, for 2-3 minutes until the bottom of the burgers are nicely seared, and then flip to do the other side.

3. When both sides are seared place the covered pan directly into the oven and cook 5 minutes until the turkey burgers are cooked through. Add your favorite cheese about 1 minute before they're done if you want. Meanwhile toast some sourdough bread and ready your favorite condiments.

Total time: about 30 minutes
Makes 4-5 burgers

The Best Dishes of 2012 - Part I

2012-12-31T18:46:00.000-05:00

We've had some great food this past year in our own kitchens, at restaurants here in New York, and at locations around the world. To celebrate the end of 2012, here are the best dishes I've had this past year at New York City restaurants, in descending order.

As you can see from the list, most of the dishes are Asian or have strong Asian-influence. The prevalence of fantastic of Asian-influenced dishes was one of my favorite food trends of 2012.

The post has dishes 6-10, read the next post for the top 5!

10. Pastrami Sandwich at Katz's Deli

I had Katz's spectacular pastrami sandwich this year during our two-part tour of street food on the Lower East Side. While I've had Katz's pastrami numerous times growing up in New York, at the most recent visit, I found that it unquestionably retained its title of the best pastrami in the city. Katz's is one of the few tourist attractions that actually live up to the hype. Everything is made in house, including the mustard, Russian dressing, pickles, and cured and smoked meats. While there are some new dishes at Katz's -- like an inexplicable combination of pastrami or corned beef and American cheese -- and a bizarre ordering system, you're never disappointed by the hand-cut pastrami piled high on fresh rye bread.

For more, check out our review of the Lower East Side's Chinese and Jewish street food, and newcomers to the neighborhood.

9. Tertulia's Paella

Tertulia's seafood paella is the best paella I've had in the United States. While this country has more than its fair share of dry yellow rice masquerading as paella, Tertulia does it right, or as they say in Spain paella como Dios manda - as God commands it to be done. The smell of Tertulia's wood burning oven greets you as you walk into the restaurant, serving as a prelude to the paella they cook in it. While not everything at Tertulia is great or worth the price, it is worth making the trip just for the authentic paella.

Read our full review of Tertulia here.

8. Bo Ssam at Momofuku Ssam Bar

Much has already been written about Momofuku's huge mass of slow-cooked Korean pork butt. This dish has been available for a number of years already but I finally had it for the first time this year. The fall-off-the-bone pork is served with a dozen oysters, white rice, bibb lettuce, kimchi, and a number of Korean sauces. The large lettuce leaves wrap around combinations of different sauces, rice, oysters, and pork, making each bite have different, bold flavors. The bo ssam easily feeds 8 people and at $200 comes in at a decent deal as well. One of the most notable dishes in New York and an experience that every meat eater should try at least once.

7. Falafel Crusted Salmon at Aquagrill

Aquagrill has perhaps the best fish and oysters in the city (outside of Le Bernardin). Their signature dish is an imaginative falafel-crusted salmon with lemon-coriander vinaigrette. They've been serving this dish for over 15 years now, a remarkable run. The filet is lightly breaded in a falafel coating and crisped on the top, while leaving the fish a perfect medium-rare. It's served on top of hummus that rivals the best middle eastern restaurants in the city and a delicate vinaigrette with just a hint of coriander. A perfect dish to go along with a bottle of wine and a dozen oysters.

Read our full review of Aquagrill here.

6. Ike's Wings at Pok Pok Ny

Pok Pok Ny is one of the hottest new restaurants of 2012, in large part because of Chef Andy Ricker's dangerously addictive Vietnamese-inspired chicken wings. The wings are marinated in a combination of fish sauce, garlic, and chilies - familiar from my travels to Vietnam and Laos - and are then deep fried. The wings are served whole with attached wings and drum sticks, making them as messy as they are delicious.

Read our full reviews of Pok Pok Ny and Pok Pok Wing (now serving Phat Thai).

Read the next post for the top 5 best dishes of 2012.

Imperial Cuisine in Huế

2012-12-24T10:28:00.000-05:00

The imperial city of Hue: Tu Duc tomb, and the Citadel; and it's unique cuisine: Com Hen and Bun Bo Hue

This is the fourth entry in our Beyond the Five Boroughs feature on Vietnam and Laos. The first explored Hanoi street food, the second Lao street food in Luang Prabang, and the third the cuisine of the enchanting city of Hoi An.

The imperial city of Huế in Central Vietnam is an illustration of contrasts. Beautiful restored palaces and pagodas sit alongside rubble and destruction from two wars. Great food from the city's glory years during the Nguyen dynasty co-exist alongside garish tourist traps. A massive communist flag rises above the Imperial Palace serving as a reminder for the country's unification and the power of the state, which summarily executed thousands of citizens when the Viet Cong controlled the city for 3 1/2 weeks in 1968. After that conquest, American and South Vietnamese forces ferociously bombarded the city, leveling neighborhoods, and using napalm on the Citadel -- leading to the infamous (though disputed) quote by an American soldier that they had to "destroy" Huế "in order to save it." While the Battle of Huế was technically a victory for the Americans, the carnage had a corrosive effect on American public opinion, accelerating the end to the war.

Ravaged by two Indochina wars, one can still imagine the beautiful city that Huế used to be. The Imperial Enclosure in the center of the Citadel housed Vietnam's capitol beginning in the early 19th century until the 1950s -- but only 20 of its 148 buildings survived the two wars. A large-scale restoration effort is taking place and one can only hope it can restore as much of the Citadel as possible.

Bánh bèo

We can thank Emperor Tu Duc (1829-1883) for the city's great food. A notorious narcissist, along with having 104 wives, he reportedly demanded a different meal every day for a year. The result has led to creative and bold, spicy dishes, including many that are completely absent from Vietnamese restaurants back in New York. In particular, the city is known for bún bò Huế (a spicy beef noodle soup); cơm hến (spicy tiny clams with peanuts, rice or noodles, and clam broth); and bánh bèo (delicate race cakes with a variety of toppings).

A bowl of spicy curry noodles

A necessary introduction to Huế cuisine can be found at numerous excellent street stalls and restaurants in Dong Ba Market. Towards the back of the market you'll find women cooking exotic soups, noodle dishes, grilled pork, and steam rice cakes. In some of the more established stalls, there will be study stools and a counter so you can eat in (relative) comfort; other stalls have only tiny plastic stools, and sitting means enduring the hectic environs.

Subtle meatball soup

Pressing sugar cane for nước mía

The vendors speak virtually no English and so you must rely on the pointing method to order. Since each vendor sells only one or two dishes -- usually out of big steaming pots cooked over makeshift charcoal grills -- it is often unclear what the dish you ordered is going to be. I enjoyed excellent bún bò Huế -- spicy beef and oxtail noodle soup, glowing orange from annatto seeds. The broth, actually a mixture of beef and pork stock, is scented beautifully by lemongrass and shrimp paste. The bold flavors -- and spice -- hit me immediately after the first spoonful.

There were other interesting dishes at the stalls and I'm still unable to identify them -- anyone know? One noodle dish (photo above) was yellowed with curry paste and topped with brisket as well as what looked like pig knuckles, and then a very spicy dark red chili paste on top. The combination of curry, spice, and numerous herbs was another strong-flavored dish that I enjoyed, though certainly not for the faint of heart.

Another soup had thin, almost angel hair noodles, and a spicy fish broth along with what appeared to be beef meatballs. This soup was more subtle and gave my taste buds a break after the curry noodles.

Nước mía

The market also had a large number of vendors selling desserts and drinks. My favorite drink was nước mía - a fantastic drink with fresh sugarcane juice and a little citrus (I believe from kumquats). Huge whole sugar canes are pressed to order and then combined with the kumquat juice, which nicely cut the sweetness. You'd make a fortune bottling this drink and selling it in the United States.

Huế cuisine also makes good use of rice cakes, either steamed and topped with various toppings or steamed in a banana leaf. One particularly good preparation of steamed rice cakes -- called bánh bèo -- can be found at Lien Hoa, one of the city's numerous excellent vegetarian restaurants. The delicate cakes are topped with fried shallots, crumbled bean curd, mushrooms, and carrots. A bowl of spicy fish sauce accompanies the dish.

Banana Flower Salad

Another great example of Huế cuisine was a banana flower salad with chicken and shrimp at Ngo Co Nhan, a huge two-floored restaurant within the Citadel. A banana flower is huge, red, and blossom-shaped, and is found at the end of banana clusters on banana trees. It has a delicate, crunchy taste, somewhat similar to an artichoke. It's fantastic in a salad.

Perhaps the best example of Huế cuisine is cơm hến - the spicy clam and rice noodle dish. Many restaurants on Truong Dinh street specialized in it so head over there to try it. The little river claims are combined with peanuts, sesame seeds, crispy noodles, and numerous herbs.

Cơm hến with clam broth

A hot clam broth is served alongside -- it's unclear whether you're supposed to drink the broth or pour it onto the dish. The non-verbal communication with the staff was less than clear. I spooned some on top of the dish, and found it to be awesome. The little clams taste more like mussels than what we think of clams; and I enjoyed the combination of textures - soft clams and rice noodles with crunchy noodles and peanuts. One of the best dishes I had in Vietnam.

In the end Huế is worth visiting for 1 or 2 days for a tour of the Citadel and an exploration of some really inventive cuisine you can't find anywhere else. It is a shame that the few Vietnamese restaurants in New York stick to Northern and Southern Vietnamese dishes - but I'll keep a look out to see if any offer cơm hến, bún bò Huế, bánh bèo, or nước mía.

Make these dishes at home or travel there yourself!

Ma Po Tofu

2012-12-03T09:54:00.000-05:00

After returning from my trip to Lao Sze Chuan in Chicago, I was determined to start cooking Szechuan food at home. Szechuan cuisine has big flavors and serious heat, making it particularly good now as the weather turns cold. To warm up, I have found myself enjoying Ma Po Tofu about every other week.

Like many Szechuan dishes, Ma Po Tofu has bold flavors and is meant to be tear-inducingly spicy, making your forehead sweat and nose run, although the great thing about making it at home is that you can set the heat level wherever you want. Traditionally it is made with ground pork but, like the pros at Lao Sze Chuan, I leave it out, letting the flavor-packed tofu stand on its own in this all-vegetarian (indeed, vegan) dish. What makes this recipe good for a weeknight is that the tofu is essentially braised in its sauce rather than stir fried, so the process is relaxed and quite forgiving.

Ma Po Tofu at Lao Sze Chuan in Chicago

Admittedly, Ma Po Tofu requires some specialty ingredients to be done correctly, but they are easily obtained and the dish is perfectly fine without them. I purchase red and black vinegar in Chinatown, but balsamic vinegar is not a bad substitute. I source fermented black beans and Szechuan peppercorns from Amazon, of all places, but if you can't find them just leave them out. If you can find it, though, Szechuan pepper has an incredible floral scent with a mouth-numbing tingling quality that adds an extra dimension to your tofu dish that has no substitute. If you like Szechuan cuisine, it's worth the investment, even if just for the floral aroma as you grind it into a coarse powder.

Ma Po Tofu

Szechuan Peppercorns Ready to Be Crushed

16 ounces medium-firm tofu
1-inch piece ginger
1 tablespoon garlic
1 teaspoon fermented black beans
4-6 shiitake mushrooms
2 scallions
1 teaspoon szechuan peppercorns
2 tablespoons sesame or canola oil
2 tablespoons vegetarian oyster sauce
1 tablespoon chili garlic sauce
1 teaspoon szechuan chili in oil or hot sesame oil
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 teaspoon sugar
2 teaspoons Chinese red vinegar or black vinegar (or balsamic vinegar)
2 teaspoons cornstarch

1. Do your prep: Drain the tofu and cut it into cubes. Julienne the ginger and place it in a bowl of cold water. Chop the garlic and black beans. Dice the mushrooms. Slice the scallions. Grind the Szechuan peppercorns with a mortar and pestle or smash them as well as you can with a heavy object. Enjoy the floral scent that is released. You're just about done.

Ma Po Tofu in My Wok

2. Heat a wok or saucepan over medium heat. When the wok is hot, add the sesame oil and half the Szechuan pepper (reserving the other half for later) and stir rapidly for 30 seconds. Add the garlic and black beans and stir rapidly for another 30 seconds. Remove the wok from the heat.

3. Add to the wok the oyster sauce, chili garlic sauce, Szechuan chili in oil, soy sauce, sugar, vinegar, mushrooms, and tofu with 1 cup of water. Stir carefully, making sure not to break up the tofu. Turn the heat to high and bring the tofu and sauce to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer. Add half the scallions, including all of the white parts. At this point, taste the sauce and, if you desire more heat, add more chili garlic sauce or Szechuan chili. Don't be afraid.

4. Mix the cornstarch with 1/4 cup of cold water in a small bowl. Pour the mixture into the wok and stir gently. Simmer for another minute, stirring carefully from time to time, until the sauce thickens.

5. Transfer the tofu to a serving bowl and top it with the ginger, a drizzle of sesame oil, the remaining scallions, and the remaining Szechuan pepper. Serve with rice, a big glass of water and a box of tissues. Enjoy!

Makes: 2 servings
Total time: 30 minutes

Shop for Ingredients and Equipments:

Pork and Chive Dumplings

2012-11-30T15:59:00.000-05:00

Reading David's review of Pacificana inspired me to make some dim sum of my own. I picked up some dumpling wrappers at Hong Kong market in Manhattan's Chinatown - though you can find perfectly competent wrappers all over the city. Homemade dumplings are fast, delicious, and a lot of fun to make. You can fill them with virtually anything and they'll almost always come out great. Just remember not to over stuff.

I had some nice chives from the Borough Hall farmers market so I recently made these classic pork and chive dumplings. When shopping for pork you can get away with supermarket pre-ground pork but it's just as quick -- and much better -- to grind pork shoulder yourself (since you'll be using the food processor anyway). Or if you're near a butcher, ask for their fresh ground pork shoulder.

The trick is to grind the ingredients in a food processor just till they're ground enough to stuff into the dumpling wrapper. Don't grind them too finely.

You can cook the dumplings in any number of ways, but I like a combination of frying to sear the bottom and them steaming to cook through. It doesn't require any complicated equipment, just a frying pan with a cover. (You can even use a sheet of tin foil if you don't have a cover).

Dip them into your favorite dumpling sauce - try mixing 2 parts soy sauce, 1 part rice vinegar, a splash of sesame oil, and if you want something spicy, add minced chilis or sriracha. A little palm sugar or honey if you want too.

Pork and Chive Dumplings

1 package circular dumpling wrappers
1/2 pound ground pork shoulder
1 bunch chives
2 cloves garlic
1/2 inch piece of ginger
2 thai chilis (optional)
1 tsp corn starch

1. Grind pork shoulder in a food processor (if not pre-ground), making sure the pieces are not too small. Remove the pork from the processor to a mixing bowl. Peel the garlic and ginger and roughly chop them along with the chives and thai chilis if you're using. Grind them together in the food processor. Combine with pork in the mixing bowl and gently mix, seasoning with salt and pepper.

2. Combine 1 tsp corn starch with some water in a small bowl. With your hands or a spoon, scoop out a small amount of the pork mixture and place it in the middle of a circular dumpling wrapper. Dip a finger in the corn starch and water mixture and trace your finger around the edge of the wrapper. Fold the edges towards each other like a half moon and press the edges together. You can also try some other shapes if you'd like.

3. When you've made all the dumplings, heat a pan large enough to fit the dumplings to medium-high heat. Add vegetable oil or sesame oil to the pan. When the pan gets fairly hot, carefully add the dumplings to the pan. Cook for about 2 minutes until the bottom side of the dumplings get crispy. Meanwhile, fill a measuring cup with 1/2-2/3 of a cup of water. When the dumplings are browned, add the water to the pan and immediately cover. Be careful, as the oil will immediately splatter when you add the water. If you don't have a cover, you can lightly place a sheet of tin foil over the pan - just be careful not to burn yourself. Cook for about 5 minutes or until the water evaporates.

4. Carefully remove the dumplings to a plate. Eddie Huang of Bauhaus once told me you should serve them browned side up so everyone can see how well you fried your dumplings. Your call. Serve immediately with a cold beer and your favorite dumpling sauce.

Makes: 25-30 dumplings
Total time: 45 minutes

Central Vietnamese Cuisine in Hoi An

2012-11-26T14:01:00.000-05:00

Enchanting Hoi An with its three signature dishes: delicate "white rose" dumplings, cao lầu noodles, & crispy fried wantons

This is the third entry in our Beyond the Five Boroughs feature on Vietnam and Laos. The first explored Hanoi street food and the second Lao street food in Luang Prabang.

Hoi An is Vietnam's most enchanting city. Located on the coast in the center of the country this former international port city was completely spared from the war. While most other cities in Vietnam are hectic, energetic, and crowded with millions of motorbikes at every turn, Hoi An is the epitome of peacefulness. The streets in the old town are largely pedestrian only with the ancient architecture protected by the city's UNESCO world heritage designation. At night the old town glows with colorful Chinese lanterns reflecting off the river.

The calm streets of Hoi An

Central Vietnam also boasts the country's most complex and flavorful cuisine. The food is spicier with less Chinese influence than the north, while still retaining some of the French flavors and techniques that are popular towards the south of the country.

Hoi An is especially known for three signature dishes, which are on every restaurant's menu.

A Vietnamese/Chinese hybrid called "white rose," delicate steamed rice noodles filled with shrimp and topped with crispy shallots and bathed in fish sauce; "Cao lầu," sliced pork and local herbs on a bed of noodles reminiscent of Japanese soba; and crispy wantons filled with beef, pork, or shrimp, and topped with a tomato relish. These dishes all combine regional Vietnamese ingredients with international flavors and remind visitors of the city's past as an international commercial hub.

Ground shrimp wrapped around sugar canes, sesame beef papaya salad, shrimp rice crepes, and stir fried eggplant at Morning Glory

The best restaurant in Hoi An -- and one of the best in the entire country -- is Morning Glory. Set in a beautiful white colonial house in the center of old town, the restaurant serves sophisticated interpretations of Vietnamese street food and other central Vietnamese dishes. It is run by Trinh Diem Vy -- referred to by all as Ms. Vy, perhaps Vietnam's best known restauranteur. All of the dishes are full of impressive colors and beautiful presentations. The restaurant remains casual, with inviting wooden tables and an open prep kitchen in the middle of the main room.

Lemongrass Pork

The best dishes were creative takes on central Vietnamese street food dishes. Ms. Vy deftly combines sweetness, spiciness, and often smokiness. Many dishes required customer assembly, which we never see in America, but I enjoyed. The wait staff helpfully explained how to assemble and eat each dish.

One excellent dish consisted of ground shrimp wrapped around sweet sugar cane. It required us to remove the shrimp from the sugar cane, then place them inside both fresh and dried rice paper, along with herbs, star fruit, and spicy-sweet fish sauce before rolling them.

A similar dish with lemongrass-glazed pork cooked over charcoal and served with spicy peanut sauce was another star, especially when combined with tart star fruit and numerous herbs.

Grilled sesame beef served room temperature with crispy green papaya, numerous herbs and chilis, and a spicy fish sauce dressing was another favorite. It came with crispy rice pancakes that were used as utensils and added another appreciated crunch to the dish.

Sugar cane shrimp all wrapped up!

Ms. Vy demonstrated her finesse with delicate shrimp and chive rice crepes which were great on their own but made even better with the addition of large amounts of crispy shallots on top. Great vegetarian dishes also abound, such as spicy and sweet stir fried Japanese eggplants, or sauteed morning glory with crispy garlic.

Meals are $5-$10 per person.

Interestingly, while Morning Glory serves excellent cao lầu, there are better white rose and crispy wantons elsewhere.

Croissants at Cargo Club

For the best white rose, try Miss Ly, another great restaurant, not to be confused with Ms. Vy. They also make good wantons, but they were a little better at Hai Cafe - a fun open-air spot featuring a full menu of charcoal grilled dishes. I especially liked charcoal grilled lemongrass pork ribs with pepper sauce.

You can also find competent cao lầu every night at river-side stands for about $1.00. It's fun to try that one night and mix with all the locals and tourists who come to sit by the picturesque riverside. The cao lầu's good, but better at Morning Glory.

Hoi An also has its fair share of French pastries. Cargo Club, also owned by Ms. Vy, sells freshly baked croissants for less than 50 cents. Cargo Club easily has the best breakfast in the country. A whole morning can be spent with a few croissants, an espresso drink, and a book at one of Cargo Club's outdoor tables.

A visit to Hoi An is not complete without a short trip to one of its beaches. A quick 3 kilometer bike ride takes you to An Bang beach, the lesser known but far more enjoyable of Hoi An's two beaches.

Don't forget to stop for lunch at one of the beach-side seafood shacks for sweet tamarind sand crabs and crispy fried shrimp spring rolls, made with latticed rice paper (rom tôm thit).

Morning Glory: 106 Nguyễn Thái Học.

Cargo Club: 107 Nguyễn Thái Học.

Hai Cafe: 98 Nguyễn Thái Học.

Miss Ly: 22 Nguyễn Huệ.

River-side cao lầu stands: along Bạch Đằng.

An Bang Beach: 3 km northeast of old town. Bike rentals are about $1.00.

Pacificana

2012-11-07T17:41:00.000-05:00

Assorted Dim Sum at Pacificana in Sunset Park, Brooklyn

I may have found my favorite dumpling. I was just settling in at Pacificana, a gigantic dim sum palace in Sunset Park, when a waitress rolled up with a cart and handed me a plate of chive dumplings. They were soft and doughy on the outside, offering a slight tug as I bit one apart, and the underside was given a crisp brown sear. Inside, the dumpling was incredibly juicy, with an aromatic flavor of chives and whole baby shrimp. I could have had a big bowl of them and a cup of tea for lunch.

Chive Dumplings

I've decided that if you want to experience New York's best Chinese cuisine, you have to visit the city's "other" Chinatowns. Although we think of "Chinatown" as the Manhattan neighborhood centered around Canal Street, in fact the neighborhoods of Sunset Park and Flushing -- in Brooklyn and Queens respectively -- now each boast a greater number of Chinese residents. And they have the food to match.

As a consequence, Sunset Park and Flushing have become two of my favorite culinary day trips. With almost no tourists to please, the culinary establishments in these neighborhoods come off to me even more authentic; the Szechuan food just a little spicier, the flavors of the soups and dim sum just a little more rich and complex. Looking around the dining room at Pacificana, my wife and I appeared to be among the only ones attempting to speak English to the waitstaff.

Bean Curd Skins and Har Gao

Pacificana is one of the few restaurants in Sunset Park to enjoy a city-wide reputation. The spacious interior resembles that of a banquet hall, with a high arched ceiling and gold chandeliers - a far cry from the grungy (albeit delicious) dim sum palaces in Manhattan. The main wall features elegant wood paneling with gold dragons on a red velvet backdrop. The atmosphere is a little more calm, spacious and orderly than at the likes of Ping's and Oriental Garden. The staff wheeling carts of dim sum are more polite and less aggressive, making for a more pleasant dining experience.

And some of the offerings are better. In particular, thin sheets of bean curd skin rolled up like soft spring rolls and filled with bamboo shoots and tender pieces of chicken and shrimp. The combination was soft, juicy and mild. Har gao (crystal shrimp dumplings) were delicate with perfectly ridged skins and whole shrimp inside. My usual favorite - shrimp rolled in a large rice noodle and topped with sweet soy sauce - was on par with that of its Manhattan counterparts.

Soup Dumplings

A cart arrived bearing steamer baskets full of soup dumplings, the first time I had seen them at a dim sum place. Employing the technique I learned years ago at Joe's Shanghai (still the gold standard for soup dumplings in New York), I placed one carefully in my spoon and nibbled at the edges, sipping out the hot soup. Then I topped it with julienned ginger and black vinegar before biting into it. The dumplings were plump and filled with pork and crab, the texture of which for me was slightly off. But the soup inside had a nice deep flavor with seafood notes.

To be fair, it was my second attempt to have lunch at Pacificana. The wait was long on my first attempt and I decided to pass, instead snagging a prime spot at a communal table at Lucky Eight up the block (where I enjoyed some excellent noodles and complimentary house soup). But that is just to say that there are many great ways to satisfy your appetite in Sunset Park, New York's largest Chinatown.

Pacificana
813 55th Street, Brooklyn, NY 11220
(718) 871-2880

Lucky Eight
5204 8th Avenue, Brooklyn, NY 11220
(718) 851-8862

Joe's Shanghai
9 Pell Street, New York, NY 10013
212-233-8888

Recommended Dishes: Chive dumplings, bean curd skins, har gao, any other dim sum.

Make Dim Sum:

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