The Feisty Foodie

Sripraphai – Williston Park

Feisty Foodie — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 15:30:13 +0000

You know how much I like Sripraphai, so when I heard they opened up a Long Island location, and close-ish to where my sister lives, I had to check it out. She took me there for my birthday actually, which was fun because I honestly can’t remember the last time we had a meal together, just the two of us – we usually roll with the fams, y’know? (And yes, that means this meal was in October sometime…)

I started off with a Thai iced tea, which, to my surprise, my sister never had before. It was pretty standard (ie, yummy!), and she liked it enough as well.

Since I’d so loved this last time, I chose to start with mee krob, the noodle-candy-nests topped with shrimp. Delicious! My sister really liked this as well. And I did wind up buying a box of just the noodles to take home (you can buy just the noodles in clear plastic boxes near the register for $4 and change), and stuck it in salads, ate it plain, put it everywhere and it was so good, not nearly as sticky as the kind they serve you, which is fine. (I dislike sticky things.)

I also really wanted shrimp cakes, so we had these. My sister said they were good but reminded her of a Chinese dim sum she’s not that into – but I can’t even wrap my head around that. I mean, freshly ground up shrimp mixed with spices/seasonings, then lightly breaded (panko crumbs?) and deep fried, hello? It’s just so fresh and bouncy and delicious… especially with the sweet dipping sauce. YUM.

FeistySis also ordered tom yum goong or whatever it’scalled (it wasn’t exactly that on the menu). I tried some and was surprised to really like it – I’ve never had it, actually – but I loved the medley of flavors going on, all working to create a happy harmony of sour, slightly spicy, and just overall delicious.

I wanted to try something new, so we ordered the roasted duck salad, which was good, but nothing unique. Eh. I like the duck salad from Thai Pot better, though I can’t remember what’s in it, and it’s definitely more expensive than Sripraphai’s.

We also ordered the crispy watercress salad, which was, per usual, lovely and delicious. Crispy deepfried greens… what’s not to love?

FeistySis opted for a curry noodle dish, which she made me try a teensy sip, despite my protestations that I am allergic to coconut – which was in this dish – so I should not have some. It was very fragrant and very coconutty. That’s all I can say about it, really, except that she really liked it.

Last but not least, my decision to get something ‘different’ led me to the house special pork chop… which was slightly too sweet for me, and not all that interesting beyond its mostly-cooked-boiled egg. Don’t get me wrong – it was perfectly tasty – but basically a pork chop fried and then chopped up over rice, doused in a sweet sauce. With what looked like pork Chinese sausage spread throughout as well. Meh. I think I’ll stick to the noodle dishes I like next time.

Yvo says: FeistySis was extremely happy with the meal overall – and yes, that was all for just two people, but we both took home leftovers and enjoyed them over the course of a few days (maybe less for her, since she has way more people in her house than I do) – I was also extremely pleased with the meal. Despite this being their second location, I found the quality remained the same between the two locations (or close enough that I couldn’t tell any big difference). Yum! I am definitely thrilled to have a location super close to my sister, and I know she is as well – she even said she’ll take our mom there…
recommended

Marseille

Feisty Foodie — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 15:30:37 +0000

StB, the lost Bear (ok, she’s not lost, I know where she moved to, it’s just far enough that I only see her once every few months instead of once or twice a month now), returned home for a weekend and made a point to have dinner with the former FC… which I forced myself to go to because I wanted to see her, even though I had an exam the next morning at 9am. (And it was a good thing I did; I received a 104 on the exam. I didn’t even realize you could get over 100 on an exam in college. Hehe.)

Originally we had plans to hit Xie Xie on that Friday night, but it was so packed that we wandered up and down 9th Avenue until finally stumbling into Marseille, which wasn’t worryingly completely empty, nor “45 minutes to an hour wait!” full. We were seated almost immediately.

StB, as is her habit, ordered two appetizers to comprise her meal. This was bruschetta topped with some stuff… I know she enjoyed it, though I didn’t get a chance to ask her more specifics. (We were busy catching up!)

Her other appetizer, escargots, which I’m sure she liked because she dipped her bread into the sauce, which means it was good. I’ve never seen the girl eat anything that didn’t taste good, because her philosophy is “Why waste calories on something that doesn’t taste good?”

The real and only reason I’m posting about this place is because I felt the place was a sleeper hit. 9th Avenue on Friday night was packed, and many restaurants had people lined up outside the door just to get in to ask for a table, while this place was only about half-full.

And my dish (which HB also ordered) is the sole reason I felt it was a sleeper hit. Honey glazed duck breast with creamy polenta and endives braised in orange. I don’t really like sweet main dishes, but this did a good job of not being sweet, just a hint of sweetness playing with all the flavors so well. The polenta was so good, I almost ate half of it before I even started on the duck. Everything was just really, really good. HB agreed that it was really good, though she said it was hard to eat the duck… I had no such problems, biting easily through each medium rare piece. Wonderful. Mmm.

To cap off our lovely meal, we ordered beignets, since these aren’t the easiest to get in NYC, and good ones are even harder to find. Unfortunately, these were not good ones… they were only alright. Doughy – just the edges crispy but not well-developed in terms of flavor – I ate one or two before deciding to stop wasting calories on it. The chocolate dipping sauce included was nice enough, but overall, this is not what I expect nor want from a beignet. Ah well.

Yvo says: A really lovely space with some delicious food, I would definitely go back for a quiet night with girlfriends or even a cozy date. Prices were not expensive, and they did not rush us nor try to upsell our tab. I really enjoyed myself here, and the cozy banquets were nice to sit on as well.
recommended

Jup She fka Li Hua

Feisty Foodie — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 15:30:03 +0000

I first posted about Li Hua over 2 years ago; it’s now known as Jup She. Though the workers appear to be younger, considering the decor and the way it’s mentioned that it was fka (formerly known as) Li Hua, I’m pretty sure that it’s basically the same owners.

In any case, a few different people came to me for downtown lunch recommendations recently, so after some thought, skipping over all the very usual places people will suggest, I landed on Li Hua. I realized it’d been a long time since I went – since before the name change – so I decided to give them a takeout run, hopping on the R train from Whitehall up to Canal, and running back. I was able to make it both ways in about 35-40 minutes; if I’d called in the order ahead of time, probably even faster, as it took a while for them to make my order. (Note: they do deliver, but not to the Financial District.)

I was pretty hungry, so I decided to tack on an order of the fried pork dumplings $4 (pork mandu).

Unfortunately, the little cup of sauce had spilled everywhere inside the container, making them a little soggy – but that could also be due to the 15 minutes it took to get back to the office to eat this. They were flavorful and tasty, but honestly, being at the edge of Chinatown, I’m not going to pay $4 for 4 flat pork mandu when I can walk a few blocks and get 12 delicious dumplings for about $3. I’d pass on these next time.

What really attracted me to Jup She in the first place is their lunch specials or their lunch boxes. Except for the galbi (beef short ribs), they are each $8, and include the above: a container of rice, some banchan, a bit of japchae, a special side dish which, in my experience, is usually an egg pancake of some sort, and then your choice of main course.

On this visit, my three banchan were a bit of spicy kimchee…

pickled and lightly spicy zucchini…

and some bean sprouts that had been tossed with a light coat of gochujang, giving it a very light kick.

As for the main ‘box’ portion…

The japchae or glass noodles tossed with sesame oil and veggies was very standard, though I liked the abundance of veggies – which might be a turnoff to some.

The egg pancake was also fairly standard, not horrible but not outrageously wonderful either.

As for the bulgogi, which was my choice on this visit, it was flavorful, seasoned well and tender; mixed with the rice, it was perfect. I was more than satisfied at the end of my meal, in fact quite stuffed (I’ll do without the pork mandu next time). I definitely recommend this for people who work in the area and are tired of eating Chinese/Vietnamese/Malaysian, as Korean food seems harder to find in the downtown area. It isn’t the best Korean food you’ll ever eat – I wouldn’t be able to tell you that (because I don’t know, not because I’m mean and selfish!) – but it definitely satisfies the craving and is relatively inexpensive. I mean, look at how much food you get!

notice the receipt still says Li Hua

Something that really amused me – see towards the bottom… the 3rd to last line?

Apparently, I “GOT SERVED” – hahahaha am I the only one who read that and thought “YOU GOT SERVED!” Probably… I have such a quirky sense of humor, eh.

Yvo says: Totally recommended for lunch – there are 5 different kinds of lunch sets for under $10 and the galbi one for $10; freshly made, pretty darn tasty – not much of a downside here. There aren’t many Korean options in the area, which, in my eyes, adds to the value received for what you pay. The bulgogi was very tasty, and it’s nice that they don’t skimp and cheap out on banchans just because I ordered it to go. I definitely plan on going back soon to try the spicy pork (and hope that it isn’t burn-my-face-off-spicy!) and spicy chicken (the teriyaki options don’t appeal to me because that’s getting into Japanese territory, which seems a bit odd to eat with Korean banchans, no?). Yummm!
recommended for lunch

Product Review: Roni Sue’s Pig Candy

Feisty Foodie — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 15:30:41 +0000

I recently attended the Chocolate Show, and was happy to see not only that Roni Sue had a booth, but they were selling packets of their Pig Candy. A year or two ago, the entire food-blog-world lit up with talk of this – chocolate covered bacon! – but it was really hard for me to get over to Essex Market, where their shop is, before they closed on weekdays, so I never managed to go. But here it was! Ready for my $5! Unfortunately, she only had mixed bags (milk & dark chocolates), as opposed to just dark, but that’s okay…

Dark and milk chocolates… nommy

Roni-Sue briefly described the process; they basically cook the bacon extra-hard and then coat it in chocolate. Biting into a piece, the bacon was at that point just before burning, when it becomes so fried that it practically dissolves in your mouth. I think I’d have preferred full strips, even with a little bit of chew left to them, but maybe I’m weird. It was still delicious, crunchy, smoky, salty bacony goodness dipped in dark chocolate (I’ve been eating only the dark ones, hehe), and I would not be against picking up some more, if I can ever make it over to the Essex Street Market before they close…

(I know they’re open on Saturdays.)

Yum!

Yvo says: If you’re a fan of salty-sweet treats, this is definitely something you should not skip. I totally loved it. I think I’ll try making my own… mmm a whole packet of bacon is around $5… mmm. Maybe it’ll get included in the box of homemade goodies I’m giving out this year… mmm. NOMMY!!!
recommended

Roni Sue Chocolates
http://www.roni-sue.com/main.php
120 Essex Street
New York, NY 10002
(available for purchase via website)

Blue Hill at Stone Barns

Feisty Foodie — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 14:30:11 +0000

This year, I got it in my head that I wanted to go to Blue Hill at Stone Barns. When I get things in my head like that, they don’t usually go away.

Unfortunately for me, I didn’t realize just how impossible it is to get a reservation there. I tried for lunch. I tried for dinner. I tried for everything, and still, no luck. They take reservations up to two months in advance and I was never lucky enough to manage to get a reservation, not even one that I couldn’t use. I thought it was hopeless, despite my stubborn insistence and desire that this would be where I go for my birthday this year.

Then, the fates intervened. Well, Facebook. I wrote one final, desperate plea as my status message: “wants to go to Blue Hill at Stone Barns for her birthday but totally cannot get a reservation. Whyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy?!” or something along those lines. And… suddenly… the sun shone through those clouds of grey, a miracle happened, and someone I don’t even know offered to get me a reservation.

And then he did (for October 17).

As you can see by the above photo, yes I went! BF took me for my birthday.

We were led to what really was the best table in the house. (My friend’s got connections, k?) — In fact so much so, that when we were seated, we were immediately served glasses of sparkling wine, on the house

The bread plates were adorable, designed with bits of farmhouse-living in mind.

The “menu” – basically a list of what we might see in our food – and we opted for the larger farmer’s feast, to try more things.

Fresh veggies skewered sadistically on this contraption. Lightly salted or dressed, each piece was bright and sweet, a reminder that everything was grown right outside and harvested daily.

Shots of fennel soup. I was surprised when BF took a sip and liked it; I tentatively sniffed it, waiting for the licorice scent to assault me. It didn’t. The soup was creamy and lightly sweet, which made me think that fennel bulb in my fridge might befall the same fate…

Smoked kale chips, yukon potato slices, and farrow something. I apologize for the awful photograph, it was awkward photographing this block of wood with notches cut into it. In any case, I picked up the smoked kale, bit into it, and immediately blurted out, “This tastes like camping!” It had that intense smoky taste, slightly salty, and melted in my mouth like so much ash – delicious, delicious ash. The farrow was alright, but I liked the potato slice because it tasted like a potato chip and had an herb threaded through it. (I would tell you what but I don’t want to inform erroneously…)

Eggplant wrapped with coppa?

Closer up but blurrier. I think the sesame crust overwhelmed the creaminess of the eggplant a bit, but it wasn’t bad, overall, though I didn’t taste the coppa (or meat.. there was a meat involved).

Prosciutto wrapped around farmfresh egg that had been scrambled and made into a pressed piece of egg with green stripes – I think peppers – this was a nice little bite, though BF didn’t seem to like the (sweet) peppers, as he left some on his plate.

Beet burgers! These are just about the size of my thumb. I liked the sweetness of the roasted beet with a lil schmear of goat cheese… yum! BF ate it but made no comment.

Braseola, liver with chocolate, and I believe coppa… I really liked the liver with chocolate, it was surprising and different. BF took a bite (aren’t you proud?!) but didn’t like the textures – the chocolate was more like a chocolate candy, insomuch that it was crisp and crackly versus being a melty chocolate. The other meats were fine but neither top my list of favorite cured Italian meats, so.

Bread… delicious, rustic, housemade bread… with housemade butter (left), fresh ricotta, and tomato salt. The tomato salt didn’t taste like much to me, but the ricotta was pretty amazing and delicious… and the butter, out of this world. BF also really liked the bread. I didn’t eat much of the butter because right after they brought the bread, they brought over…

veal shank topped with sturgeon caviar. I love how they cut the bone down the longway… but even more, I love the pure genius behind using caviar instead of sea salt, which seems to be the norm. I mean, come on – cut out the middle process – because what does caviar taste like except the sea? Totally awesome. I was in heaven digging out the marrow, inhaling it, and finally convinced BF with my faces of bliss that he should try a little bit (when there was very little left already, oops!). He took a bit, ate it, and then said, “Hmm, tastes like… meat butter.”

How can I not love this man??? Unprompted, he writes gold for my review. Meat butter. Heavenly, heavenly meat butter, spread on wonderful rustic bread (and topped with tomato salt a bit sometimes). Amazing.

Bonito topped with farm fresh egg, pig ear, and something else… with pears underneath. I have had bonito before and hated it; it was leathery and disgusting. This was no bonito like that! Completely tender and melt-in-your-mouth, the crunchy bits of pig ear contrasting the texture nicely… yumm! BF only ate half and decided he would rather eat my pears.

Trout topped with pig snout and concord grape reduction on the plate. The trout was nice, firm, with a very fresh taste… I didn’t mind the snout except would have liked it crispy instead of what it was, which was little bits of chewy fat. BF ate the trout happily (!!!), but the snout, after one, he pushed them all to one side.

This course appeared when I went to use the ladies’ room – this meal had, thusfar, taken about one and a half hours. The total time… well. You’ll find out. In any case, fresh veggies with cream cheese. I liked the course, though BF didn’t eat most of his (so I snuck over and ate all the veggies I’d really liked, hehe). It was very refreshing and light.

Our next course was preceded by our server coming over with a nest… containing eggs. She explained that our next course was going to feature farm fresh eggs, which have a better taste and brighter yolks. Out came a poached egg with squash and Shiitake mushroom broth. I ate this happily, though my father’s words resounded in my head: “Soft yolks are best *face to plate* slurped up in the privacy of one’s own home, or sopped up with some good bread.” I wound up eating parts of this with a spoon, though some yolk still escaped… so I took a piece of bread and discreetly mopped some up. Mmm, mmm delicious.

BF gamely tried some of this – I’d mostly been eating whatever he wasn’t, but this dish I couldn’t get myself to eat his share as well (seeing as I was getting very full), so he left much of it on his plate. Our server came over and noticed this, and asked him if it was alright; he responded that it was fine, just not his thing. She insisted on bringing out a new plate of something for him that would only take a minute, though he said it wasn’t necessary.

She brought out chestnut gnocchi with ricotta. BF actually wound up really liking this dish; I’d thought gnocchi weren’t filled but just puffs of potato, but here they were semi filled with airy ricotta and quite tasty.

Our next course was meant to be lamb, but the server came over to check with BF if he would eat lamb brain. Initially he said he would try it, but I pressed him and finally said “You can have some of my brain if you want to try it.” So he opted to have a slightly different dish than I – the above is chicken slices (that look like abalone to me), a bit of lamb, and brussels sprouts. I tried the lamb and it was really good – meaty, tender, with a crisp skin (? but I swear it had skin, like duck… it’s in the bottom part of the photo). BF liked the chicken well enough, but was pretty full at this point, so wasn’t too keen on eating more food.

My lamb brain! Little bits of lamby deliciousness. Okay, that’s a lie. I’ve had brain before and this was about the same. Creamy but with no real discernible taste of its own. Nice complements but overall… I don’t feel the need to seek it out and eat it again. If it’s served to me, or offered to me, I would eat it… but as an offal, it’s not particularly interesting.

Berkshire pork medallions and one piece of Berkshire pork belly with a schmear of smoked Fuji apple puree. This was absolutely one of my favorite dishes of the night. The smoky sweetness of the apple puree, like apple sauce taken to a new, adult level, worked with the meaty tenderness of the medallions so well… I was in heaven. Of course the little piece of pork belly on the side was excellent simply by itself… mmm, fatty goodness…

And finally, yet almost too soon, we were onto our dessert courses. Unfortunately, I don’t recall the above dessert too well; I remember ‘apple’ but that’s about it. I called my boyfriend to ask if he remembered, and he railed on about the green part being “Jolly Rancher Green Apple” and “that just goes to show you, if it was good, we would remember it.” I remember both of us liking the sorbet part, but the green liquid had some fibrous items in it that made me go “bleeh” and just wasn’t a favorite.

Our next dessert course was pumpkin and fig. Another alright dessert, both of us were again more into the ice cream/sorbet scoop (especially with crunchy bits sprinkled on top!). The plummy cake on the bottom was not to my liking, and the plums/figs on the side were a bit too tart.

That should have been our last course, but I think the waiter overheard me talking about my birthday with my boyfriend because he asked us if we’d care for some chocolate. I said “Alright, how about a little bit?” and he came over with plates for both of us. (Throughout the night, we’d seen servers approach various tables around us with desserts lit up with candles, but BF made the right choice by not requesting this.) This was chocolate brulee, with Asian pear sorbet – which I loved! but the chocolate was thick and just at this point in the night, I was so done… though BF did enjoy his.

Nearly 3+ hours after we’d been seated, the check was presented along with this – homemade marshmallows, raspberry chcoolates… pretty yummy but I could only sadly nibble the edges before putting them down, lest I explode onto the table. Boof.

All in all, truly an experience and quite a delicious meal.

Yvo says: BF’s opinion was strong enough and markedly different from my own that it bears noting: he did not think this was worth the amount paid, and “for that amount of money, the entire meal should be memorable and amazing, like ‘that dish’ doesn’t leave your mind.” I would even venture that he practically hated the place. On the other hand, while I can’t say I loved the place, there were memorable dishes through the night that I don’t believe I will ever forget: the marrow with caviar, the wonderful bread and butter, and definitely the Berkshire pork dish. I did, however, enjoy the other savory courses much more than he did as well… perhaps because of my great affinity towards veggies and fresh veggies even more so? Take that as you will… this meal (everything you see above plus 2 glasses of wine) came out to just under $400. Definitely not for everyday dining; this was a special occasion (and regular readers realize I don’t eat like this often!)… if you can manage to fork out that kind of cash, and to score a reservation, I think it’s a great epxerience to have at least once. If not, I don’t think you should feel badly or like you’re missing out on the most amazing thing ever.
(Point to note: service was on par with the price/place; superbly attended to but never rushed or imposed upon.)
recommended

Blue Hill at Stone Barns
630 Bedford Road
Pocantico Hills, NY 10591
(914) 366-3600
http://www.bluehillfarm.com/