Brunch at Locanda Verde

A decadent brunch in Tribeca before heading home for Christmas. I went to Locanda Verde last summer with some friends but hadn't returned until now despite its proximity to work. Lots of authentic Italian deliciousness at this eatery owned by Robert Di Niro. I'm still waiting for a celebrity sighting...

I love the rustic Italian feel of the this restaurant.

Fluffy focaccia - with carmelized onions
Citronata (in the back) - a light breakfast cocktail of Aperol, lillet (apertif wine) & aranciata (Italian orange soda)

I've developed a slight obsession with pastry baskets as of late. Anything sweet and carby smothered in butter sounds like the beginning of a perfect lazy Sunday. This dolce misti was outstanding, filled with holiday flavors including ginger chocolate bread, sugar crusted croissant, apple cider donut (favorite) and butter scone, all served with whipped butter and orange marmalade. This might have been the best part of the meal. 

Soft Scrambled Egg Crostini - with leeks, mushrooms and speck

Shaved Porchetta Sandwich - with grilled onions and provolone
This dish brought us back to our travels to Florence and the trek we made every other day to the sandwich shop that served the most amazing Porchetta sandwich we've ever had (well at that time it was the only porchetta sandwich we ever had).

Lots of home cooking (and eating) these past few days which should make for some gluttonous food posts. 

Homemade Ravioli

A picture perfect dinner

Naturally, we weren't going to let V's pasta-making classes and all of our pasta eating in Italy be for naught. The moment, we had that pear and cheese ravioli, V went ahead and ordered a pasta-making machine. For the past week, we've spent a good portion of our days making ravioli. I am happy to say that we've finally reached the point, where the ravioli are respectable to blog about. We made some rather impressive pear and cheese ravioli over the weekend but scrambling to finish on time for our potluck meant no time to take pictures. Tonight, however, I was free to snap away as much as I wanted.

All stacked up and ready to go.

We also decided to branch out tonight and try a new filling (another one we tasted at Zeb): potatoes and sausage. Step by step instructions below.

Making the Filling:

This one yummy and easy to make. Just have to cook the potatoes long enough to mash them with a fork. For the sausage, we bought Italian sausage links and removed the skin around it so we could break up the meat.

Mashed potatoes on left with seasoning
Italian sausage on right

Dough Making and Rolling:

Pasta dough is a lot easier to make than I had originally thought. All that's needed are eggs and semolina (aka pasta) flour. The key to use the right ratios (which for a few days, we weren't): 3 eggs for every 2 cups of flour.  The pasta rolling machine makes it pretty easy to get the dough to the right thickness. For ravioli, you have to roll it through 9 times to get to level 9 which is the thinnest option. We also, (quite wisely I may add because it made the process a lot easier), bought a ravioli making contraption which allowed us to fill and make 12 perfectly sized raviolis. 

Rolling out the dough (...9 times)
Putting the dough into the ravioli pouches

Putting 1 + 2 Together:

Technically, you need a rolling pin to roll the second layer of pasta dough over the filled pouches but a full jar of pasta sauce worked quite well as an impromptu rolling pin. I'll have to make sure to pick one up this weekend.

Filled the pouches with filling
Covered the filling with another layer of dough.

Cooking the Ravioli:

Make sure not to overcrowd the ravioli when cooking it. For al dente perfection, cook for 2 minutes, move to sauce pan and cook for another minute. For pasta that's a little softer, leave the ravioli in the sauce for up to 3 minutes. I added the left over potatoes and sausage meat to the tomato sauce which made the sauce heartier (and more delicious).

Boiling Ravioli
Simmering Sauce

Plating Ravioli

Tradition demands that ravioli be plated in odd numbers. So make sure to always have an odd number on your plate! Sprinkle with pecorino cheese for extra saltiness and enjoy.

A plate of 13 raviolis. Bon Appetit!

The plan is to move on to spaghetti with truffle sauce and mushrooms next. And there are of course lots of Italian posts left and some other new eating adventures of Philly. Stay tuned :)

Meals at Zeb

We discovered our favorite pasta combination of all time while in Florence, from a little pasta shop that was literally a 5 minute walk from our apartment. And ever since we discovered that pasta combination and V took his cooking classes, we have been making pasta with said combination almost everyday (post forthcoming). And who knew that this combination would contradict all of my previous notions about fruit in savory dishes?

So what is it?? Pear and Cheese. Ricotta cheese to be specific. At least the first time we had it. The second time, it might have been pecorino. And the third time, I wasn't exactly sure...

Dinner(s) (and lunches) at Zeb. Of all the restaurants we visited on our 3 week sojourn into Italy, there were only two restaurants we visited more than once. One, we went to twice - mostly by default; another, we went to more than twice - and that was by choice. How many times you say? We went 4 (or was it 5?) times in the span of 10 days.

Above: Mini Meat Tortellinis with meat sauce.
Below: Large Raviolis with Pear and Ricotta Cheese

Both of the above dishes, we ordered at least twice. The pear and ricotta ravioli literally blew our minds away. The tortellini dish had one the most perfect meat sauces I have ever eaten - it was seasoned soooo perfectly and I have been dreaming about it ever since.

Above: Spaghetti with Truffle
Below: Mini Cheese Ravioli in Apple and Leek Sauce

Zeb, is a tiny although modern looking bistro restaurant. Its located South of the Arno right before one climbs the steps to the Piazza de Michaelangelo, a magical square above the city that offers breathtaking panoramic views. Zeb is family owned and all of the pasta is handmade with the menu changing day to day. Of course my pictures don't do the meals justice. After a lot of decent pasta and some rather underwhelming pasta, this restaurant finally made me realize just how good pasta in Italy can get.

Back to Pietros

Just had our induction dinner at Pietro's a week and a half ago. I always feel obligated to blog about it since this was the location of my first blog post :) Throwback here. Tried the arugula salad which was quite tasty, the bruschetta which was somewhat underwhelming and the sausage and arugula / prosciutto pizzas which are still the winners on the menu.

A huge array of oven pizza
Arugula salad
Bruschetta

Dessert Platter
More pizza

Went to the new Harvest restaurant (old Marathon Grill location) by 40th and Walnut, will have to write something up shortly.

Vetri

Consistently ranked one of the best restaurants (if not the best restaurant) in Philadelphia and easily hands down, the best Italian restaurant in the entire city, Vetri is actually not a prominently know restaurant among many people.  Although not in the limelight as much as Stephen Starr, the Marc Vetri's portfolio of impressive Italian restaurants have heralded him just as much fame. Vetri, is easily the star in the entire portfolio - once an a la carte restaurant, Vetri now only serves a 7-course tasting menu that changes monthly.

The interior of the restaurant is well-furnished yet homey. Everything from the stone walls to the quaint wooden tables and chairs says rustic Italian.  However, you would never know from just looking at the dining room that this is one of the highest standard restaurants in Philadelphia on par with the likes of Le Bec Fin.

So here goes my attempt at digesting this intimidating restaurant.

apples with parmesan
fish sandwich
foie gras with apricot jam on toast
chilled farm vegetables
balsamic vinaigrette
homemade bread with olives

The meal started with an ensemble of amuse bouche including the most delicious bowl of raw vegetables I have ever eaten. They were served on ice and chilled to a delectable temperature. A perfect bowl of crispy baby carrots, radishes, squash, cucumber, and artichoke hearts. Despite the last time we had foie gras which was a little overwhelming, we were quite happy with the small portion we were given this time around.

axis venison tartare with parmesan grissini
 corn flan with quail egg
 crispy sweetbreads with plum gastrique
 sweet onion crepe with white truffle

First round of appetizers included vension tartare and corn flan. The vension came all the way from Texas (I'm guessing from some sort of grass-fed farm). The dish was seasoned lightly and the meat itself was very lean. The corn flan was creamy and cooked perfectly with an oozy quail egg on the inside - how they managed to do that, I have no idea.

The second round of appetizers consisted of sweetbreads and onion crepe. As soon as I saw on the sweetbread on the menu, I knew I just had to try it. It always amuses me to see super provincial ingredients become a part of "high" cuisine. For those unfamiliar with sweetbread, wikipedia has a mechanical description that's pretty informative. Anyways, the sweetbread was delicious, just a tad less crispy then I was expecting but the inside was creamy and tender. The sweet onion crepe is one of the signature dishes of the restaurant with the onions being cooked for over 10 hours before the dish itself is assembled.
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spinach gnocchi with brown butter
stuffed pasta
almond tortellini with white truffle
chestnut fettuccine with wild boar ragu
squid ink linguini with dungeness crab and uni
48 day dry aged beef ribeye with heirloom bean trifolati

Next came the handmade pastas, after the initial 2 or so - we were pretty much stuffed already. The spinach gnocchi was chewy and tasted of spinach as opposed to the usual starchiness of pasta you taste in vegetable pasta. A great thing if you love spinach - which I do. I love love loved the stuffed pasta which had what I'm guessing was minced pork or beef on the inside. The wild boar ragu and beef trifolati tasted very similar. There were generous portions of meat which were cooked tenderly and heaping portions of parmesan to accompany it.We got most of it packed up and it tasted just as good the next day :) My favorite dish was hands down the squid ink linguini. Ever since my trip to Venice, I get super excited whenever I see squid ink on a menu. This dish was amazing, the squid ink was in the pasta itself and it was served with big chunk of crab and creamy uni. It also tasted a lot lighter (which I prefer) compared to the other pasta dishes.

stuffed guinea hen breast with chanterelles

The main course was stuffed hen with chanterelles mushrooms. There was also a foie gras stuffed quail with summer melon which I forgot to take a picture of! At first the dishes looked so similar, I thought they were the same. The hen had a very thick layer of fat which was rendered down to a nice crispy texture.

peach sorbet
petit fours
apple dessert with cinnamon ice cream

We asked to stay away from the chocolate dessert options given the heaviness of the meal itself and got a beautiful looking apple pastry instead. The bottom was cooked crispy and golden brown and the apples on top were cooked until they were soft but still firm. What we also really loved was the peach sorbet which came before the main dessert dish itself.

Overall, a spectacular and very memorable meal for a lovely celebration. Will be a very long time before I get to come here again but hopefully not that long!

Stories from Manhantan (and Brooklyn)

OK so story #1: I was determined to visit the famed Brooklyn Flea Market after reading about it on NY Mag (which has just about replaced Yelp at this point for restaurant recommendations), and in particular - the foodie bonanza known as Smorgasburg.

Last weekend, we hopped on the ACE train and headed out to Brooklyn. First we got lost, then we walked 15 blocks only to find out we ended up at the wrong flea market and that the one were looking for was only open on Sundays. Sigh. Oh but of course it turned out to be an amazing (foodie) experience and I wound up staying for 5 hours. Today, I went to go see the "official" flea market in Williamsburg and who knew? It was basically the exact same thing. ha-ha.

HomeMade Fizzy Juice: Grapefruit & Jalapenos.  Sounds weird but you're talking to someone who eats jalapenos as a condiment. It was delicious :)

Other eats that I still need to try.

Pork Sandwiches on Ciabatta bread. and a piggie toy. adorbs. 

Corn Tortillas, Fresh Salsa and Spicy Toppings. All fresh and beautifully prepared. Sigh. 

[Pork Tacos]  Reminded me of the AMAZING tacos from Cancun. I've never been a fan of tortilla until I realized on day it was just flour tortilla. Corn tortilla gets a gold star from me. 

YUM YUM YUM!!! Can you tell I was excited?

Story #2: I was majorly craving fried chicken one night so I went over to Kyochon on 31st and 5th Ave.  I asked for the spicy wings and holy cow it was SPICY....like inedible spicy, I didn't even know such a thing existed. Kind of disappointing. Scratch that - really disappointing.  At least the pickled veggies were yummy except they were spicy too! Which would of course normally be ok but not when you've already lost feeling in your tongue. And the kicker of the story is that BonChon was only 1 block away and would probably have been infinitely better. Sigh.

That chicken even looks spicy in the picture.

Story #3: On a much happier note, I have had the most amazing, life-changing and memorable macarons of my life. WOW.  Bouchon Bakery has instantly become a new love. Located in the Time Warner's Building which is conveniently "only" 10 blocks from my apartment, we stopped by after a filling brunch at Silhouette.   Everything about the macarons was perfect. The texture was very cake-like and the fillings were creamy and not overwhelmingly sweet. I could easily eat a whole box of them. Fortunately or unfortunately, $4/macaron kept me from ordering a whole box.

Blueberry Cheesecake, Salted Caramel.

Story #4 Lunch at Ciano's on the hottest day of the year. Thank goodness for AC and prix fixe lunches :) We were literally drenched from the 1.5 blocks it took to walk to the restaurant.  For once, I was grateful for the freezing AC that's always being blasted at work.

I personally can never turn down eggplant when I see it on the menu. I don't know what it is for other people but its eggplant for me; plus Italian cuisine just happens to be one of the ones that consistently serves up delicious eggplant.

Crespelle; Savory Crepes filled with Ricotta Spinach, Zucchini and Swiss Chard
Tre Formaggi Raviolo; Stracchino, Burrata and Parmigiano with Rosemary-Brown Butter

Shaved Vegetable Salad with Mixed Greens, Carrot, Fennel, Peppers and Ricotta Salata
Roasted Eggplant “Amatriciania”; Tomato, Guanciale and Pepperoncini

Strawberry Sorbet & Biscotti. Of course, there is no other dessert choice but sorbet when the weather outside is spiking to 105 degrees.

Story #5: Brunch at Esperanto in the Village. With my weekends in NYC sadly winding down, it meant it was time to get adventurous. Instead of the usual brunch in Hells Kitchen - we ventured to the East side (so East that numbers turned into letters...which I of course didn't even realize existed) . And a prix fixe brunch that includes coffee and a cocktail for $10.95? Who can say no to that? 


Confession time: we were actually trying to get brunch at the Sunburnt Cow (unlimited mimosas for $20...) but the wait was over 2 hours and it was 2:00pm already. So we settled on Esperanto but I am very tempted to actually experience the experience  the midday version of an open bar. 

Huevos Rancheros. Esperanda with its colorful table designs and plastic decor reminds me of a fancier food shack off a beaten road somewhere in a tropical island. The side potatoes had flavorful kick to them - reminded me of paprika.

Tropical French Toast.  Nothing fancy, no brioche, no creme fraiche, no fruite compote. This french toast tasted like the french toast I had when my dad made it for me for the first time.

Huevos Languas: poached egg, greens and potato shrimp cake. The food here was also really similar to RX at Penn in the sense that the food is on the simpler side but well-prepared and in a light-hearted ambiance.

World Tour: Europe

Brunch at Marseilles [a less exciting {and shorter version} of Midnight in Paris]

Love, love, loved Midnight in Paris. If there was a ever a feel good movie that made you all warm and fuzzy inside - this would have to be the movie of choice. Although I've never been a big fan of Owen Wilson, Mr. Allen wrote the perfect role where Wilson could exhibit his usual wide-eyed confused look with ease.

Ironically, we also had brunch only the day before in nearby Hells Kitchen locale called Marseilles. I have no idea how closely the restaurant resembles an authentic Parisian eatery but who knows how accurately Midnight in Paris actually reflected reality as well?

[Toast, Muffins with fixings, Coffee] An adorable complimentary platter of pumpkin flavored mini-muffins, raisin bread and rye bread served with a very small side of jam and very big heap of butter. 

[Poached Eggs and Ratatouille, Scrambled Eggs] Now I finally know what ratatouille is. You would think that after watching the movie countless times on HBO, I would have figured it out by now. They really weren't kidding when they say its literally just a bunch of vegetables in a bowl. Why is it that the moment you make a dish French, it automatically sounds fancier? 

[Banana French Toast, Applewood Bacon] Cooking with bananas is like trying to find good sushi in a land -locked city, very hit or miss.  I know of people who absolutely hate the pungent and recognizable smell of over-ripe bananas but then they love the taste of banana bread. I like a mildly ripe banana once in a while but never in a dish as heavy as banana pudding. But that's just me.

Manzo at Eataly [Eataly is Italy! Thanks Mr. Batali] 

Yup, that man is an Iron Chef for a reason. Amazing olive oil, amazing pasta and of course as Italian as you could possibly get.  Dubbed the start of a new wave of high-end European food markets, Eataly is the classy New York version of Reading Terminal Market and somewhat akin to Chelsea Market although much much much more Italian.

[Bread, EVOO, Crispy Zucchini Flower] Talk about Italian. My friend who spent a summer in Italy last summer instantly recognized the Zucchini Flower on the menu. I personally don't understand the appeal besides the fact that something battered and fried is obviously going to taste good. The anchovies on the bottom were a nice accompaniment, not too fishy and appropriately salty. The olive oil was also divine - it has got to be one of the fruttiest and purest tasting olive oils I have ever sampled.

[Lamb Loin, Pork Sausage with Broccoli Rabe and Pork Belly]. Delicious pork belly that was cooked and seasoned very nicely.  The sausage was good too but not life-changing. Can sausage be life-changing? I always viewed sausage as a comfort food that will taste good regardless of if you are buying it from a street vendor or ordering it in a five-star restaurant. Always comforting but never life-changing.

[Orchiette with garlic scrape pesto, Tortteloni with braised beef and mushroom butter] Pasta on the other hand can very life-changing. This was one of those dishes were you every bite was just a burst of pure happiness. 

The Green Table at the Chelsea Market 

Another trend, farm-to-table cuisine, is making a big splash all over the city and naturally we had to get in on the fun. Everything at The Green Table from the wooden park tables to the fresh flowers decorating the wooden park tables reflected the theme of the cuisine.

The best aspects of the menu and the restaurant itself were appropriately the simplest: filtered water in green bottles, candied figs and big cups of organic coffee. Of course, me acting like the usual impatient person I am rushed off and bought a cappuccino while we were waiting for a table and missed out on the life-changing coffee. Yup, a lot of life-changing food in the past two weeks.

[Flowers, Water ]

[Candied Figs, Butter, Syrup, Milk]

[Bah Minh Sandwich with Duck Pate] Naturally as soon as I saw the word duck, I was sold. Tasty sandwich but nothing spectacular. There's a place in Chinatown I read about from NY Mag recommended by Ann Bushnell which has $3.75 Bah Minh sandwiches. NOM.

[Chicken Pot Pie] If you are going to eat chicken, then it should be fried. If you are going to eat peas, then it shouldn't be with carrots (seriously, its not a good combination!). If you're going to have some pastry dough, then let it be an actual pastry.  I am sure if I actually gave chicken pot pies a real chance, I would fall in love with it like everything else but for now, I'm just going to keep being stubborn.

[French Toast]  The way french toast should be: a modest slice, perfectly golden with some really good maple syrup. 

I can't believe it is the half-way point already. Speaking of which, I think the one year anniversary of my blog is coming up! ...unless its passed already. haha, I'll have to go back to my first blog post and see. Anyways, I got one more big post to put up on Korean eats and then I'll see if I can think of or find something special to do for the 1 year anniversary post. :)