In a Nutshell

Mas (farmhouse)

2012-01-15T23:45:00.003-05:00

Pleasant surprises can come from letting a restaurant slip down the "to try" list for many years after it has opened. It may have fallen under the radar yet it's still producing some of the best food and best overall meal experiences you'll find in a city with lots of options. And what better time to catch such a spot than for a special occasion.

Mas (farmhouse) was one of those kinds of places. For the purpose of celebrating a friend's milestone birthday, I recently dredged it up from the bottom of a list of places I had in my file. The West Village restaurant is focused on seasonal, sustainable food and succeeds in a great way. It was one of the most approachable and accommodating places I have been to. The server was friendly and knowledgeable about the entire menu and answered our questions thoroughly. Though there is an a la carte option as well as a four-course tasting menu, our group put our dining fates in the hands of the chef, with the chef's six-course tasting menu, which would be designed just for us, not from the dishes on the menu. The chef composed an amazing evening, even with some dietary preferences, meaning that at times a different dish was given to one dining companion, but without forsaking flavor or innovation.

We kicked it off with an amuse bouche of smoked cod and potato with saffron mayo and a fingerling potato crisp. For the non-seafood eating member of our table, there was a dish of roasted beets, cheese mousse and hazelnuts.

The yellowfin tuna sashimi with balsamic-soy, crispy shallots and brown butter sauce was the restaurant's signature dish. And what a great one. The brown butter played well off the smooth richness of the fresh fish and this was definitely something I could have eaten more of. And once we had seen what the chef could do, we were excited to see what else was to come.

The alternate dish to the tuna was a roasted chestnut soup with toasted pumpkin seeds and pumpkin seed oil.

The turnip green risotto with chanterelle mushrooms, Parmesan foam and seared sea scallop was a beautiful winter dish. The risotto was cooked expertly, not too hard, not too mushy and was incredibly flavorful.

For the alternative on this course, the chef prepared a variation of the risotto with butternut squash and a hunk of Kabocha squash.

Next came a fillet of roasted striped bass with cranberry beans, roasted potato and grilled baby fennel. Fillets are often dry hunks of fish, but this had a nice flakiness to it with a golden sheen on top that added just a bit of crispness.

Counter to the bass was a dish of Parmesan gnocchi.

The roasted chicken with truffled butternut squash puree, cauliflower and cider-braised cabbage had the table in delightful consensus. The meat was lusciously tender under cover of a thin crisp of skin. This is the kind of cooking that makes you wonder, does it get better than this?

We finished our savory courses with sage-wrapped and roasted pork tenderloin with sweet potato puree and swiss chard.

We cleansed our palates with a refreshing mulled apple cider sorbet before moving on to desserts. Instead of the same dessert for everyone, we were treated to a different one for each person at the table.

The birthday girl's plate was a chocolate cake.

We also had a cannoli with pear sorbet.

And a chocolate-peanut butter and caramel dessert.

Last but not least, a date cake with cranberries and cranberry sorbet.

In place of petits fours, we were presented with homemade vanilla mint marshmallows.

As the waiter warned us, they did taste a bit like toothpaste, but they might please big marshmallow fans.

All the plates at Mas were beautifully put together, both in the colorful and precise presentations and in masterful taste. Each of the components in all the dishes felt purposeful, not extraneous. It's exactly the type of place you want to go to to make someone feel special and for a memorable experience. Yet, I wouldn't hesitate to head down here for a lovely meal from the a la carte menu, especially in another season to see what else the chef could do with a different set of ingredients available to him.

On the Road Eats: North Carolina

2011-11-03T19:49:00.000-04:00

Crook's Corner in Chapel Hill was another stop on my tour of Southern food in North Carolina. Although the menu had some of the usual stuff of Southern restaurants, like shrimp and grits and fried green tomatoes, it also produced some more interesting offerings as well. The food was solid and the atmosphere was casual and comfortable.

The green Tabasco chicken was my pick —half of a roasted chicken served with mashed potatoes and sauteed mixed vegetables. The green supposedly comes from jalapeños, but I didn't taste much spice. No matter though because the sauce was tasty and the chicken was perfectly cooked. The dish was clean and simple and on the healthier side of all the meals I had.

My dining companions sampled several other dishes that I had just a taste of.

The catfish almondine with roasted okra was a nice, hearty portion. The roasted okra was a nice change from the usual fried preparation. It really allowed more of the vegetable flavor to come through.

The parsnip and corn soup was a thick mixture perfect for cooler weather. It tasted heavily of the root vegetable, but was offset with a little sweetness from the corn.

The Hoppin' John is a bed of rice and black-eye peas flavored with bacon, tomato, scallions and cheddar cheese. It has a sort of kitchen sink feel, but was delicious.

Shrimp and grits were sauteed with bacon, mushrooms and scallions and served over cheese grits.

My dining companions really enjoyed the pineapple rum trifle to end the meal.

Shake Shack in November

2011-11-03T11:08:00.000-04:00

November brings us these custard flavors at Shake Shack:

Monday: Apple Rosemary
Tuesday: Chocolate Cinnamon Spice
Wednesday: Pumpkin Pie
Thursday: Maple Brown Butter
Friday: Banana Bread
Saturday: Red Wine Poached Pear
Sunday: Salted Caramel

On the Road Eats: North Carolina

2011-10-24T20:20:00.001-04:00

Thanks to Chowhound, my dining companions and I discovered a little place called Cúrate in Asheville. It was relatively new, having opened in March of this year. And we scored the last available reservation for that evening on OpenTable. Despite the late time of 9:45, we still had a short wait when we arrived, perhaps attesting to the popularity of this elegant tapas bar. The hostesses were quite congenial though and while we waited, we were able to observe the fast-paced action in the open kitchen, including the preparation of some of the dishes we ended up ordering.

Once seated, we settled on a broad cross-section of the menu.

Pan con tomate with Manchego cheese was a nice portion size and the large chunks of bread were good to have with some of the other dishes we ordered too.

From the list of cured meats, we chose one of the more expensive and, according to the menu, more flavorful options, the jamon Ibérico de Bellota Fermín. It's a cured ham from the black-footed pigs of Spain but ones that feed only on acorns. The result was a smooth piece of meat with a slightly nutty taste.

Tortilla Española is the dish by which I judge a tapas restaurant; this was an incredible iteration that really spoke to our overall experience. This was no ordinary tortilla — once you sliced through the small round, the inside had a uniquely liquidy center, like an over easy egg. It was heavenly. The small mound of salt mixed in made for a perfectly flavored tortilla.

The patatas bravas were spicy and crispy, just the way they should be. And again, another good-sized portion.

We had seen the ensalada de otoño, a lovely, colorful beet salad, being assembled in the kitchen. Each element on the plate was carefully arranged and the dish was meticulously prepared, resulting in a beautiful presentation. The beets were sweet and the the pickled oranges were a funky complement.

The berejenas la taberna were the surprise hit of the evening. The delicately fried eggplant drizzled with Wild Mountain Apiaries honey and garnished with rosemary was simple, yet a nontraditional, delicious preparation.

The lamb skewer marinated in moorish spices was full of flavor from the seasoning, but the meat itself was mild. It was tender and tasty.

For dessert, we chose the espuma de chocolate, an aerated chocolate mousse served with green apple sorbet, green apple cubes and hazlenut praline sauce. This is the closer any chocolate lover should order. The slight carbonation gave it a bit of a kick that tickled the back of your throat. And the apple sorbet stood up strongly against the chocolate.

My dining companions and I were delighted to have found such a sophisticated, fun restaurant preparing high-quality food in Asheville. Some have criticized it for being pricey. Coming from New York there's not much sticker shock, but I can see how the people of the area might be unaccustomed to it. But there's definitely quality to back it up; this would fit right in to any major city with an acclaimed dining scene.

On the Road Eats: North Carolina

2011-10-17T18:58:00.000-04:00

The South is full of rich, fatty, stick-to-your-bones food. No matter what you eat — biscuits, fried chicken, barbecue — it seems like it's not likely to be the healthiest, but there is a lot that's tasty. I had a good sampling of it recently.

I started at The Pit in Raleigh. I had heard of The Pit because of its famed pitmaster, Ed Mitchell, who has been a part of New York's annual Big Apple Barbecue festival. Although he recently left the restaurant, I figured it was still a place worth a try.

Pumpkin skillet cornbread with maple butter was much larger than I expected. It was delicious, though I wouldn't have minded if the pumpkin flavor had been a tad stronger. The melting maple butter was irresistible.

The fried green tomatoes with buttermilk lime dressing and basil were also a great choice for an appetizer. They were light and the basil was a nice touch.

Each of the platters came with a choice of two sides and hush puppies.

This fried chicken was amazing! That's a real welcome to the South. The meat was tender and juicy and the breading so deliciously seasoned that I wanted to eat every crispy bit that had fallen off rather than discarding them as just extra calories. The black eyed peas with thick chunks of ham and the collard greens were both good, classic sides.

The pulled pork, oddly enough for a place specializing in whole-hog barbecue, was the most lackluster dish we had. The pork was dry and nothing special. The barbecue sauce comes on every table and you add it as you wish — a vinegary bottle for Eastern Carolina style and a tangier, tomato-based bottle for Western Carolina style. I liked both. The potato salad and fried okra were worthwhile.

I loved the Carolina spare ribs, "more bone, more flavor" according to the menu. There was a substantial amount of meat on the bones so that a half rack didn't seem too skimpy. The rich green bean casserole was a special side of the day. The mac and cheese was more creamy than cheesy, but still good.

This was a good first food stop in North Carolina that made me even more excited for what was to come.

Shake Shack October Flavors

2011-10-06T16:44:00.000-04:00

The new flavors for October are:

Monday: Shackenstein
Tuesday: Coconut Caramel
Wednesday: Ginger Pear
Friday: Pumpkin Pie
Saturday: S'mores
Sunday: Apple Spice Cake

Shacktoberfest, with special menu items, returns from October 7 to October 16. And until October 21, you can also enjoy the food stands at Madison Square Eats.

Small Bites

2011-09-23T21:51:00.000-04:00

- The Nation magazine produces a food issue, which includes articles by Michael Pollan and Eric Schlosser.

- Many claim that Mexican Coke tastes far better than what we get in the United States because it uses real sugar instead of corn syrup. Serious Eats tests it out.

- Eliminating salt from your diet is difficult.

- Two essays on Gilt, one on Thai food, the other on Chinese food, come to the same conclusion about the idea of authenticity: Letting go of it allows us to love food for what it is.

Cafe China Review

2011-09-16T21:49:00.000-04:00

Despite (or perhaps because of) the plethora of Sichuan restaurants in Midtown, newcomer Cafe China recently opened its doors, inviting diners into the world of 1930s Shanghai. The decor is chic without the higher prices often associated with such an atmosphere. That's something it has going for it over some of the other Chinese restaurants in the area, though it may seem a bit incongruous with the Sichuan food it serves.

Beyond partaking in standard fare, liked dumplings and ma po tofu, you can venture for spicy diced rabbit or duck tongue with peppercorn. But my meal was fairly tame.

The savory tofu with celery shoots seemed bland at first, tossed with a little salt and soy sauce, but the combination grew on me. Between the softness of the tofu and the crunchiness of the celery the dish became oddly addictive.

The Dan Dan noodles with minced pork and chili vinaigrette were salty and saucy, but they complemented the tofu and celery nicely.

The pork dumplings in roasted chili oil were fantastic, delicate and spicy.

I really liked the idea of the baby ribs wrapped in bamboo leaves and was even more delighted when I unwrapped them to discover they were covered in sticky rice. The rice was tasty, but the ribs tasted plain and unseasoned.

The sauteed bitter melon was a lot more bitter than I expected, but with that end to the meal, it seemed as though my dining companion and I had traveled across a broad range of tastes during our meal.

The service was incredibly hospitable and attentive and the owner himself came over to greet us and ask how our meal was. He explained that this was his first restaurant and that his wife had designed the restaurant's decor. We wished him luck and told him we would be back. Such earnestness in food and attitude deserve a return (not to mention its convenient location).

Peels Review

2011-09-09T21:11:00.000-04:00

Dinner early on a Saturday evening (necessitated by the need to make a movie) of a holiday weekend was the perfect time to try Peels. Though I'd read much about it being a popular, sceney spot on the Bowery, what I found was a comfortable restaurant whose white wood paneling decor makes you feel as though you've made a beautiful escape to the country.

The restaurant covers two floors and has outside seating. The lower floor has a to-go counter and the ambiance of a cafe while the upstairs feels uncharacteristically spacious for New York with roomy booths and tables that aren't too close together. The laid back service might help to encourage a sense of relaxation or it might just seem lackadaisical to New Yorkers often accustomed to being waited on more quickly. There were also several other service quirks, but I'll get to soon. But you should know — the food and the cocktails are solid.

Corn dogs aren't my thing, but my dining companions quickly devoured these Andouille corn dogs, which had just a bit of a kick to them.

The Baja salad —tomatoes, avocado, jalapeño-lime vinaigrette & Cotija cheese — combined with the chilled golden tomato soup worked as a lovely summer meal. But to like this soup, you have to like the tartness of tomatoes. A slice of bread would have been a nice complement. We asked for some, but the restaurant didn't have any, so we ordered a side of the Parker House rolls. Though they're not exactly what you want to eat with soup, they did come out warm and slightly crispy.

The fried chicken, deemed "fresh kill, free-range birds" on the menu, was delicious. The crispy coating was salty and flavorful and the meat tender. The ranch dressing was a wonderful accompaniment. The summer succotash was a messy mix of beans, corn, tomatoes and okra; don't be put off by its looks.

I had heard about the build-a-biscuit option available at brunch and had hoped to be able to order one of those biscuits to go with my chicken. But I was told they didn't serve them after 5 p.m. (it was about 20 minutes past).

The burger, made from grass-fed beef, is coated in cave-aged cheddar, topped with pickles and roasted onions and served on a small, soft bun. It's tasty, but the fries outshine the meat. They're incredibly good and when we asked for ketchup, we got a delicious gourmet version that had the texture of pureed tomato.

Though the dessert options were enticing, the pacing of our meal persuaded us not to risk the time for the sake of getting to the theater on time. We did stop downstairs at the to-go counter to grab some quick dessert, where I found a stack of biscuits available for purchase! That made the service seem to have been even more oddly rigid. (A request for a Sprite was also denied; they don't serve it.)

Because the food was worthwhile, the service was passable and I'll likely head back to try brunch at some point — when I can get myself a biscuit.

Small Bites

2011-09-08T22:48:00.004-04:00

- Chez Panisse turns 40.

- Liquid nitrogen ice cream shop coming to New York City.

- Could eating bugs be the solution to the world's food crisis?

- Waffle House chain known for reopening quickly after tough situations like Hurricane Irene.

- Google buys Zagat.

- Slate writes about how the earthquake in Japan caused a fear of food.

- What mom eats may help to shape baby's food preferences even when it's in the womb.

September Shake Shack Flavors

2011-09-01T11:49:00.000-04:00

It's time to head into fall with new custard flavors for September:

Monday: Cinnamon Spice
Tuesday: Chocolate Banana
Wednesday: Figs & Honey
Thursday: Thin Mint
Friday: Coffee & Donuts
Saturday: Red Velvet
Sunday: PB&J

Small Bites

2011-08-11T20:28:00.001-04:00

- Slate tries to explain why so many restaurant Web sites are really terrible'.

- One way to use Google + — host a live cooking class.

- The recession means newer restaurants are opening in tight quarters; that shouldn't be new to most New Yorkers.

- Decreasing intake of red meat by substituting it with nuts or low-fat dairy reduces the risk of diabetes.

wd-50 Review

2011-08-10T21:34:00.000-04:00

For a city with such a grand array of dining options, New York comes up short for those interested in and intrigued by molecular gastronomy, most prominently represented by Alinea in Chicago and the recently closed El Bulli in Spain.

Maybe that explains why reservations are still tough to come by at Wylie Dufresne's wd-50 eight years after it opened in 2003. When I went looking for one, the only reservations available were at 10 p.m. for most of the next month.

wd-50 does play around with the traditional notion of food, presenting it in forms other than what you might be accustomed to. Some of it is delightful and divine. Some of it is fun, but you’ll find it fails to serve the function of feeding you.

My dining companions and I did notice that Dufresne was in the kitchen. It was nice to see a chef in his own restaurant, despite having reached the level of Top Chef fame.

The delicious Tommy-O (orange peel gin, lillet, clarified o.j.) and Catch o' the Day (cantaloupe, Campari and gin) cocktails.

A papery-thin sesame cracker reminiscent of papadum, an Indian cracker. It's so light and addictive, you'll be reaching for pieces nonstop until it's gone.

Each of the appetizers came with three sets of the featured composition, which worked out well for our party of three. The corned duck with purple mustard and horseradish cream atop a rye crisp was fabulous. The meat wasn't too gamey and the flavor was in the same family as pastrami. The horseradish really muscled its way through and worked well in this dish.

The aerated foie with pickled beet, mashad plum and pieces of lightly toasted brioche was one of the most interesting things we ordered. It may look like a lot of foie on the plate, but it's been plumped up through the aeration. Yet, when eating it, the richness of the foie gras makes it hard to finish the entire portion.

The eggs Benedict is a signature dish of wd-50. It's a deconstructed version —a poached egg yolk, fried mayo covered in English muffin bread crumbs, and a crispy sliver of Canadian bacon. It's amazing and fun to eat. This is the kind of thing you came here for.

The halibut looks tame and for the most part it's components are recognizable. There are burnt lemon slices, hen o’ the woods mushroom and grated soybean in a mushroom jus. The fish was mild, but fresh and cooked perfectly and really stood out despite the fact that the mushrooms tasted a bit of grease to me and the broth was so earthy one dining companion thought it tasted like dirt.

The lamb skirt steak had an odd texture — it looked almost like a terrine, with gelatinous ribbons threaded between the layers of meat, which had a strong flavor. I wasn't much a fan of the sides: pistachio crumbles and a pistachio "polenta," endive marmalade and spiced apricot.

Rounds of Iberico pork neck were layered on top of smoked paprika spaetzle and a peach and marcona almond sauce. Swiss chard, two ways — packed into a small packet, and shredded and fried, completed this dish. The pork was slightly on the salty side; one dining companion found it similar to country ham.

If you research wd-50 before going, you’ll find many who debate whether you’ll be full when you leave. We were pleasantly surprised and sufficiently sated by the time we were through with the entrees. So, we ordered just one dessert: Tri-star strawberries with brown butter ice cream, pinenut panna cotta, kaffir lime gelee and elderflower. This was nearly a knockout dish, until it came through the panna cotta snaking through the center. The nutty flavor was overpowering and though we cleaned the plate, that remained on the plate. The brown butter ice cream was terrific as were the sweetness of the berries. There were pieces of what tasted like the best shortbread ever, but turned out to just be pressed, freeze-dried strawberries. That’s ingenious.

At the end, there are complimentary rice krispy treats. These wowed us — they were filled with marshmallow ice cream — and ended our meal on a happy note.

The balance sheet for wd-50 falls in favor of the interesting, but not altogether best-tasting food. It’s worth visiting to experience the avant garde cuisine, but you likelywon’t jump through hoops to eat here again.

La Fusta Review

2011-08-05T21:47:00.000-04:00

Sometimes you need an extra little push to make the effort to get to the outer boroughs to eat — a personal invitation brought me to La Fusta, in Elmhurst, Queens. But don't let its location stop you if its Argentinean food you seek.

The restaurant sits across from Elmhurst Hospital, but off the main road. Because I was a guest, the menu for the evening was taken care of. But given that everything was delicious, I had no problem with that. We tried a bit of everything.

To begin — a shallow platter of broiled, bubbling provolone cheese. Hot and melty and delicious on bread.

Though Argentinean food might be more typically associated with meat, don't let it stop you from ordering the fried calamari or this watercress salad. The calamari was lightly breaded but tenderly cooked.

The watercress salad was a fun mix of hearts of palm, tomatoes, sliced hard boiled eggs, red onions, avocado and large, sweet shrimp.

The mixed grill was the centerpiece of the meal and what you'll most likely come here for. This was a hefty platter that included blood sausage, chicken, pork chop, short rib and steak. The pork was my favorite, but all the meat was nicely charred and tasty.

And what goes better with all that meat than a heaping side of thin-cut fries.

Don't forget your vegetables to help digest all that meat! Broccoli rabe and spinach tossed in garlic and oil were good options.

And for a fun ending, try the apple or banana crepes flambeed in rum. They pack a lot of punch but aren't too sweet.

So when you're looking for something in this area or you're in search of your next eating adventure, keep La Fusta in mind.

Restaurant Week: Colicchio & Sons Review

2011-08-03T00:22:00.002-04:00

Though I had previously been to Colicchio & Sons and was underwhelmed, I chose to return because my first experience was only brunch, which often isn't representative of a restaurant's best efforts. Dinner was better, but it wasn't without its flaws.

In the plus column, Colicchio & Sons did offer its entire regular menu for Restaurant Week, meaning that this meal would give my dining companion and me a good sense of the restaurant's abilities.

The raw salmon with celery and pink peppercorn was bright and flavorful, but the portion was on the small side, the equivalent of what felt like just a few bites of food.

The roasted bone marrow with truffle vinaigrette and drunk onions was the best dish of the evening. The marrow was rich and unctuous and perfectly paired with the earthy truffle sauce. The marrow, served in the bone, also came with toast.

The TC burger with pecorino and drunk onions was a decent burger, if not fairly standard and boring. I did like the crispy, light chips though.

I decided to order the P.H.L.T. sandwich — a fried pig's head sandwich
— with cherry tomatoes because it was something I hadn't had before. The waitress did warn that it was a heavy dish and indeed that was true. But despite the fried coating, there was still a distinctly porky flavor that came through the inner meat, which resembled pulled pork. I'm glad I tried it, but wasn't wowed enough to think I'd order this again.

The market raspberry tart with lemon thyme and buttermilk ice cream was a filling summery dessert. The tart was a thick shortbread filled with cream and topped with raspberries.

The zeppole with olive oil ice cream and peach preserves allowed Colicchio & Sons' to indulge in the fad of warm doughnuts for dessert. But these, dusted in a light coat of sugar, were quite good. I've had better olive oil ice cream, though (namely, at Otto).

Colicchio & Sons seems to be a bit hit or miss, depending on what you order. But it is one of the restaurants that has extended its Restaurant Week menu beyond the initial run. So, you can still head over and check it out for yourself for $35 through September 5.

Shake Shack August Custard Flavors

2011-08-01T20:09:00.000-04:00

It's hard to believe it's already August. But here's another new month of flavors.

Monday: Vanilla Almond Fudge
Tuesday: Caramelized Peach
Wednesday: Fromage Blanc Raspberry Swirl
Thursday: Strawberry Shackcake
Friday: Chocolate Peanut Butter Fudge
Saturday: Blueberry Coffee Cake
Sunday: Basil

Restaurant Week: L'Ecole Review

2011-07-25T20:54:00.001-04:00

After six years in New York, I feel like a veteran Restaurant Week eater. Each time it comes around, there are new restaurants added to the usual roster, but the list of places I get excited to make reservations for is now often composed mostly of old favorites that I can rely on returning to for a good meal. But this time, a coworker mentioned that L'Ecole, the restaurant at the French Culinary Institute, was on her to-try list. So, I thought I'd check it out.

The space is lovely, elegant and comfortable. And the RW menu was extensive with many options for each of the three courses.

Lunch even began with an amuse bouche — a delicious potato and chive ball topped with crème fraiche and salmon roe.

The seasonal salad was better than your average boring mix of lettuces. It had watermelon radishes, shimeji mushrooms, pickled cherry tomatoes and sherry shallot vinaigrette that made it all a bit tart, in a good way.

The corn bisque with duck confit was slightly sweet and rich. The confit provided texture context and the richness of the meat paired with the soup wonderfully.

I loved the sauteed duck breast with a warm multicolored fingerling potato salad and sour cherry sauce. The meat was tender and the cherry sauce was a terrific complement.

The grilled hanger steak with Vidalia onion rings and creamed corn was also tasty, but it came to the table cold. I also thought the onion rings could have been crispier.

The fresh strawberry tart with balsamic creme fraiche, basil sauce and creme fraiche ice cream was a classic expression of summer sweetness. And it was delicious. The tart crust was buttery and the strawberries sweet. And the combination of the berry with basil and balsamic flavors is undeniably good.

The lemongrass rice pudding with peach sorbet and coconut-mango compote wasn't my kind of meal ender. But my dining companion enjoyed it. The peach sorbet had an icy texture though it was strongly flavored.

The service was polite, if not a bit poky. But overall, lunch at L'Ecole was quite nice and worth checking out.

Small Bites

2011-07-20T21:23:00.000-04:00

— These days, frozen treats go way beyond ice cream — ice cream sandwiches, shaved ice and popsicles are in.

— Grant Achatz talks about the next act (following Paris 1906) for his restaurant Next: present-day Thai food.

— The brilliant technology of the evolving pizza box.

— The SodaStream is making fizzy drinks popular at home.

Mexicue Review

2011-07-12T20:27:00.000-04:00

Mexicue is one of those food trucks that I had heard of and wanted to try, but I just hadn't yet caught up with it. The idea of melding Mexican food and barbecue seemed like a good one. I signed myself up for the mailing list as a reminder to myself to try it. As a result, I was able to get an early (free) sampling of the food when they opened up a storefront on Seventh Avenue between 29th and 30th Streets.

I tried an Alabama chicken taco and a Berkshire pulled pork slider. Each would normally be $3.50, which seemed a bit pricey for the small portions. But I also wasn't crazy about the food. The meat in both could have been more tender. The taco was dry (maybe they forgot the barbecue sauce) and tasted mostly of the two layers of tortilla. The pork slider came with avocado and pickled onions, which was a nice combination in theory. But the barbecue sauce on the meat was too sweet. I did like the Arnold Palmer to wash it all down though. Not having tried the food from the truck, I can't say if this is how Mexicue serves all their food. But I hope that the new restaurant, which has a nice, casual seating area upstairs, works through the early phase and improves.

Steve's Ice Cream Review

2011-07-11T21:05:00.000-04:00

A small, new ice cream shop, Steve's Ice Cream, opened recently in Midtown. In addition to an interesting selection of ice cream, the shop also sells an assortment of local pastries (including Scratchbread brownies, which I've had at the Brooklyn Flea and loved). The staff was friendly and let me taste several flavors — blackberry honey, too sweet; and olive oil pine nut, delicious — before I settled on Tea Time.

The ice creams had strong flavors; the tea had a great citrus burst to it. The texture visually resembled slightly melted candle wax, but was smooth on the tongue. It's a bit pricey — this mini size was $2.50 — but the portion is just right when you want just a little bit of ice cream to cool off. I welcome new spots to get good ice cream and only wish that they would stay open later. The shop is open until 8 p.m. on weekdays and 7 p.m. on weekends.

July Custard Flavors at Shake Shack

2011-07-07T11:09:00.000-04:00

The weather feels like summer now and so do most of Shake Shack's custard flavors for the month.

Monday: Peaches 'N Cream
Tuesday: Mud Pie
Wednesday: Sour Cherry Cinnamon
Thursday: Blueberry
Friday: Salted Caramel
Saturday: Chocolate Chip Cookie
Sunday: Sweet Corn

On the Road Eats: Bottega

2011-07-05T20:10:00.000-04:00

Yountville restaurants are all about the star power. It's almost impossible to avoid it. And so my dining companion and I ended up at Bottega, which belongs to Food Network star Michael Chiarello, for lunch.

The food was pretty good, though I imagine that in a few months I won't remember what I ate there. The service was memorable — because it was terrible, slow and inept. It started with our having to ask for our drinks twice before they finally arrived.

We began the meal with the shaved artichoke salad with Parmigiano Reggiano. The artichokes were served two ways, braised in lemon olive oil and fried. It was tasty and showcased, once again, the terrific produce of the area.

But after eating this appetizer, the waitress informed us that the kitchen didn't have the main course we had ordered. We're not sure why she waited that long to tell us this and why she didn't immediately bring a menu so we could choose a replacement dish. When she finally gave us a menu, she didn't return to take our new order for quite some time.

For a second appetizer, we had the green egg and ham olive oil-poached Delta asparagus. It came with a crispy soft-boiled egg, prosciutto bits and Cambazola crema. The coating on the egg was a bit too thick and the fried taste overwhelmed it. The asparagus was fresh, though I wish it had been crunchier.

Our second choice main course was the black pepper bucatini alla carbonara with soft cooked local hen egg, parmigiano crema, shaved asparagus and guanciale. It seems we chose dishes with repeating ingredients. But this was the tastiest of the bunch. I love the dense chewiness of bucatini and this carbonara was flavorful and rich.

Though we didn't order dessert, we did ask to look at a menu. The waitress returned to our table to ask us about dessert without having ever brought the menu. Because of the slowness and the back and forth with our server, the meal took a couple of hours. Thankfully, we weren't in any hurry, but we also won't be in any hurry to return.

Sunrise Grill Review

2011-06-27T20:36:00.000-04:00

Life is definitely interesting when I can get Jamaican food twice in one week from two different food trucks in Midtown. Early last week, I tried Jamaican Dutchy. I told a friend about it and her coworkers mentioned another nearby truck, Sunrise Grill. For some time now, I've walked by the bright yellow truck with its flashing sign nearly everyday, but hadn't had a chance to stop by to see what they were serving. So I decided to go for my second Jamaican lunch of the week.

The handwritten menu advertised the day's offerings. Like Jamaican Dutchy, they also had stew chicken, but I decided to try the oxtail instead.

I loved the flavor of the sauce this was cooked in. The oxtails don't have a lot of meat on them and they are a little bit fatty, but they're cooked so the meat is tender. You really want to work at these bones and get every bit off them because it's that good. This small portion for $7 was a lot less food than the Jamaican Dutchy cart, but the flavor makes up for it. The rice under the meat was also better — softer and tastier. And the portion came with some cabbage and a couple of plantains. But because the oxtails weren't the most filling I was glad I decided at the last minute to throw in a chicken patty. I don't think I've ever had a meat patty, but I liked this one — it had a flavor reminiscent of chicken pot pie and was spicy. I might have liked the crust to be a little thicker because I love carbs, but it was otherwise a great side for $2 more. And together, it made a satisfying lunch.

Jamaican Dutchy Truck Review

2011-06-20T19:11:00.000-04:00

Last week, I passed by the Jamaican Dutchy on 38th Street near the corner of Broadway. The truck wasn't serving food yet because they'd had some trouble parking, but I grabbed a menu and hoped it would be back. Today, it was there again and they said they would be at this location daily. The truck had a steady flow of interested customers, but there wasn't much of a wait for my food.

There are several items to choose from, including oxtail or curry goat, but I decided to try a small stew chicken for $8. The portion was huge and the chicken came with rice and peas, a plantain and some cabbage and a bag of chips. The tender chicken was smothered in a brown sauce with a heavy flavor of spices, which was quite good. I wasn't crazy about the rice (and that's coming from someone who loves rice), but there's plenty of chicken to fill and still have leftovers. I'm looking forward to going back to try the Midtown Lunch-approved goat curry.

On the Road Eats: Ad Hoc

2011-06-18T22:58:00.000-04:00

Yountville, California, is Thomas Keller's town. For those who can't get into The French Laundry, the options to get a Keller experience abound. There's Bouchon Bakery and the adjacent Bouchon Bistro. And a bit farther down the road, Ad Hoc (which happens to sit right next to Redd).

Ad Hoc, originally intended as a temporary casual dining restaurant, has continued to live on as a permanent spot serving one simple four-course menu, family style, that changes every night. So, this is one for those who are ready to take their chances with what might be served. You'll likely have made a reservation in advance, but on the day of, you can check the Web site to see what your $52 will get you.

The interior is comfortable and without pretense or stuffiness. It's the right place to unwind after a day of touring wineries.

This evening started with a salad of baby mixed lettuces, garden carrots, shaved radish, English peas, California asparagus and dressed in a light cippolini onion vinaigrette. The vegetables were beautifully robust and bright. If only I could get vegetables that tasted this good everyday, maybe I'd be better at fulfilling the daily recommended servings.

I had hoped for the famed fried chicken for my main course, but no dice. I was less enthused when I saw that I'd have to settle for a beef dish, but I was converted to total enthusiasm when I tasted the Santa Maria style barbecue made with Snake River Farm's Wagyu beef trip tip. It was wonderfully flavorful and cooked tenderly with speck pepper and paprika. It came with sweet corn on the cob dusted with lime salt, fennel cabbage slaw and buttermilk biscuits with sausage gravy. Unlike the meat, the slaw was forgettable.

The biscuit on the other hand was great and buttery and though I usually use gravy sparingly, I spooned this generously on my biscuit. My dining companion (perhaps more familiar with Southern cuisine than I am) deemed the biscuit tasty but not flaky enough in its texture.

The other thing that did a lot to amp up my excitement during this meal was the option to supplement our dinner with a bonus shrimp and grits dish (for $16 more). The shrimp were large and sweet, though not quite as good as the ones I'd had at Redd earlier that day. Smoked paprika butter covered the Anson Mills grits, which could have been a bit smoother. But I don't regret the choice to try this dish (with a late reservation, the server had to check to see if it was still available).

Before dessert, there was Marin French Cheese Co.'s Triple Creme Brie served with pastry puffs drizzled with wildflower honey and topped with toasted sunflower seeds. Though I like cheese, I rarely order it instead of a sweet dessert, so I welcomed its inclusion in the meal. The pastry puffs were light and I loved the light sweetness of the honey together with the cheese.

The chocolate cupcakes were a nice homey touch to end the meal. They were topped with Valrhona ganache and marshmallow fluff that filled the center of the cupcake as well.

Ad Hoc was a fun experience and I think one worth trying. Having faith in the kitchen to produce a convincingly delicious meal paid off.