STUDIOKITCHEN

Day Off.

Perry Street

The Harrison Tribeca

New York Stories 2

A lovely day in Central Park today, after a quick client consultation and a nice chat on the benefits of CVap VS Rational Combi Oven with JOEL , I decided to get out of Manhattan for dinner.
A short scenic drive to the barnyard.
Very good food, great philosophy.
I suggest you go if you haven't already.
Anything else you want to know ?

Click HERE.

Sorrel Margarita with Arugula Salt.
Who knew ?

New York Stories

 

It's fun to see what other restaurants are doing and what better way to spend an evening off that roam around NYC, with passover and the pope in town it was a recipe for no waits anywhere, you could just walk right in and eat.

I much rather prefer sitting at the bar and haven't made a reservation in months.
Now that Wylie is all over Iron and Top Chef, I thought what the hell lets just go to WD-50 on an off night. Guess who was standing at the pass...Ha!
It's impressive to see New York Chefs actually in their kitchens on a Saturday night.
After having a quite tasty Escabeche of Sawara at the tasting room earlier, I thought it would be a great time to finally try Alex Stupak's desserts finally. I have to say the boy makes some good stuff, pistachio tube being my favorite.

They were quite nice enough to do a dual 3 course dessert tasting. Sadly no camera besides that would have attracted too much attention.

What next ? Thought I would find my pal Amador Acosta and headed to TAILOR for some chicken wings I heard about. I love whimsy when it works.

If you are in NYC, go try the "Tailor made wings".
As I am eating my perfectly geometrical wings, I said to the quiet looking Brit, "are you Paul Liebrandt"

Why yes indeed I am.

You never know where the winds blow in NY, after being dragged to Milk and Honey by Mssrs Freeman and Acosta, the  evening ends at 3am on the lower east side.

New York stories indeed.

Sugar-up at WD.

Liquor-up at Tailor.

Get your noodle on !

 

In our never ending quest for soulful ramen, we made a trip uptown to Menchanko Tei. You can find them HERE.

In any case, we tried the hakata ramen. Really good but I have to say at the end of the day, upon further reflection, I still like Setagaya at St Marks place better. The Hotate oil, charcoal grilled pork and salted eggs are just outrageous. Hakata Ramen or Cha syu men.

What do you say Al Wang ?

Jean Georges NY.

Every now and then one needs to take a leisurely lunch and see what's going on out there in the food world so D.A.G and I headed to JG for a 5 course lunch, prices are quite reasonable. Here are impresssions.

Amuse:
Shiitake and Pumpernickel. Salmon Belly, Ginger, Scallion. Sunchoke Soup, Cranberry Tofu Foam.
All quite good, mushrooms perhaps got lost.

Course 1:
The famous Caviar Egg.
A very tasty dish, doesn't quite have the surprise of the Arpege egg but very good nonetheless.

Course 2:
Santa Barbara Sea Urchin, Black Bread, Jalapeno, Yuzu.
Despite the fact that I much rather prefer my urchins naked-a-la-Yasuda, this was delicious, well balanced.

Foie Gras Brulee, Sour Cherries, Candied Pistachio, Port Gelee.
Outstanding, no complaints whatsoever.

Course 3:
Young Garlic Soup, Frogs Legs, Thyme.
Too lemony and over-thymed, still decent but lacked the finesse of previous courses.

Parmesan Crusted Chicken Leg Confit, Salsify, Basil, lemon Butter.
Too rich, confit with a butter sauce makes me gag. Chicken on it's own was good. Overall not a dish for a restaurant of this caliber.

Course 4:
Skate, Chateau Chalon Sauce
Very Austere, sauce was good but I prefer pan fried skate to steamed or CVAPed skate any day.

Crispy Arctic Char, Miso Potato Puree, Apple Jalapeno Juice.
Lacked balance, sauce was weak, fish easily overwhelmed by potato puree. Skin was amazing.

Course 5:
Sweetbreads, Licorice, Pear Grill and Lemon.
Not good at all, I hate Licorice sticks. Breads were dry and not crispy.

Smoked Squab a l'orange, Asian Pear, Tamarind.
We both hated it, the smoke was awful, had a resinous quality that killed the squab's flavor.

Overall a great time.
Going back for dinner in 2 weeks

Dinner Tonight

I have heard very good things.
I shall report later.

15 EAST 15

Are you in the moodle ?

Increasingly on days off, cheap and good is the way to go regarding dining out. I tend to look for deep flavoured satifying solid cooking with some authenticity. Noodles restaurants are among my favourite places from Pho to Soba, Somen, Udon and Ramen. Among my most frequently visited are  Minca, Rai rai ken, Sapporo and Momofuku. If you are in the moodle and the east village, Setagaya open recently on first avenue and redifines expectations. While they are doing nothing new, they are doing mostly everything right. Excellent broth, properly cooked noodle texture, a real Japanese tone to the flavors and the salted eggs are  outstanding. The pork is finished on a little charcoal grill which adds a great smoky flavor. Not the best but definitely the best in NY right now. Dont stop the presses yet, rumor has it Hakada Ippudo is opening this year.

Relativity and Perception

Relativity is the wild card of food appreciation, just when I was thinking I had eaten some of the best pizza's of my life, I joined former Philadelphian Megan in Los Feliz a.k.a. East LA for a return visit to Mozza. It seems like an increasing number of my close friends are becoming former Philadelphians, maybe there is a message there. There are two schools of Pizza, the school of toppings and the school of crust.
As I walked out of the restaurant, I was asked by Nancy Silverton's companion Michael how the pizza was. I replied that it was excellent and it just squeaks past Osteria .
Michael laughed and replied, "Nancy just came back from Philly yesterday, she went to eat at Osteria".
Ha !
In comparison, both restaurants are excellent but the Mozza pizza is insanely thin, much more rustic, a little smaller and cheaper, better variety of choices and the crust freaking rocks.
I have even put up with the absurdity of having to reserve dough in an unnamed pizzeria that did not live up to the hype.
Osteria has better topping dispersion and still a better than solid pizza, the Lombarda is the best.
The original article I read is Here.
If you go out west, Mozza is Here.
The Lardo, Guanciale and Sottocenere pizza are so deeeelicious, I may start a petition to get  Marc Vetri to do his versions.

Yakitori Totto

Warning : NOT FOR THE WHITE MEAT OBSESSED.

Yakitori Totto is on the second floor of a non descript block of midtown, it's always a good sign when everyone waiting in line ahead of you is Japanese and seemingly non-english speaking. Tried the tempura silverfish with green tea salt, various parts of the chicken which would make the average American gag. Hearts, soft bone, knee bone, oyster, neck, skin, livers, outstanding shisito peppers stuffed with pork and some pork with scallions. Naked is the way you want it though there is the option of yakitori sauce which in my opinion masks the delicate  flavors. The raw octopus with wasabi is just outstanding. The chicken hearts were the single most delicious Item. No chicken sashimi however. Here is what Thomas Keller and Ruhlman had to say.
Also a short read from the New Yorker.

ProvidenceLA