East Village & Beyond

A roundup of the notable eats from the past 2 weeks in NYC. Despite the long commute to work, East Village sure has its charms..especially when it comes to all of the great food. The night before I moved to NYC, I created a spreadsheet of 100+ restaurants/foodtrucks/holeinthewalls that I had to try. Fortunately, I've manage to slowly chip away at the list (while concurrently adding even more).

1) Asian Goodness

Totto Ramen: Spicy ramen with egg + char siu pork, Extra intense ramen with extra pork, egg and other goodies
Prosperity Dumplings: BEST DUMPLINGS I have ever had (and $9 for 50 of them???)
Brick Lane Curry House: Lunch buffet for 10 bucks!

BCD Tofu House: New K-town obsession. Spicy cold noodles and spicy hot tofu :)
Sao Mai: $6 bucks Bah Mihn and Pork Bun.Yummy and one of the cheapest eats in EV.

2) Flushing

Hahm Ji Bach aka the most famous Korean BBQ in Flushing, Queens. Michelin recommended to boot.
Pork Belly & Gal Bi

Li's Noodles, Kung Fu Bubble Tea, Xiao Long Bao from Nan Xiang Dumpling House, Portuguese Egg Tarts from
New Flushing Bakery.

 3) Drinks

Cucumber cocktail, Punch bowls from CienFuegos, happy hour at 10 Degree Bar.

4) Gourmet Fast Food

Crif Dogs Hot Dog
Luke's Lobster Lobster Roll

  
5) Good Old Fast Food

Japadogs: Beef hot dg with spicy mayo, seaweed and other Asian flavors
Mark's: Bacon, regular, and pulled pork sliders & cheese fries

Charleston Part II

Back to Chucktown because I just couldn't stay away. Naturally, we just had to go to Poe's for lunch again. The second time was even better than the first and of course everyone ordered burgers because that's what vacation is all about :)

Lunch on a sunny day = perfect

Pit & Pendulum (Applewood Bacon + Cheddar Cheese)
Amontillado (Guac, Pico de Gallo, Chipotle Sour Cream & Jalapeno Jack Pepper)

Annabel Lee (Crab cake & remoulade sauce)
Burger of the Day (Pineapple salsa and other ingredients I can't remember)

And a new addition - Pougan's Porch! Seriously the best mac & cheese I have ever had and I don't even like mac & cheese. The salmon and the grilled cheese were only so-so but the fried chicken sure looked good :)

So much Southern charm

Mac & Cheese (Smoked Gouda & Country Ham) ~ deliciousss!
Buttermilk Fried Chicken
Duck Confit Grilled Cheese w/ homemade chips
BBQ Grilled Salmon w/ cheddar grit cake, fried sweet onions, sautéed spinach

 A few more Southern eats to come!

Bonjour Canada

Yea yea its still Canada but its as close as I'm getting to Europe this year. Although a taste of Montreal makes me want to hop on the next red eye to Paris.  Its actually true what they say - turning any word French automatically makes it sound infinitely more romantic. We just about died every time we passed by a chocolatier or saw the words creme glacee.

Mont-Royal

A (late) breakfast in Mont Royal followed by walking, exploring and shopping, Mont Royal vaguely reminds me of East Village in NYC.  Its filled half with up-and-coming restaurants, boutiques, ethnic cuisine and half with gorgeous residential apartments and hostels. We ventured to the famous 24 hour-a-day/7-days-a-week La Banquise for the famous Canadian poutine later in the afternoon.

Finally tried the much-heralded poutine! And from supposedly the most famous place in Montreal no less. Final verdict? Ambiguous. We ordered the classic which is french fries with gravy and cheese curds and got some bacon thrown in. The fries were not your typical golden diner fries which in this case still worked. The whole mess reminded me of the kind of cheese fries you order from Allegro's at 3 in the morning....I guess that's why this place is open 24 hours. 

Escargot, Salad and Belgian Fries in Mont Royal; My travel companion is absolutely in love with escargot from her travels in France (major jealousy over here) although I've never been very fond of the butter-soaked aspect of the dish. That was until I realized they aren't always soaked in butter. Huh. Well, I still think they aren't that exciting given the other options that exist on a menu. 

Vieux Montreal

Ham quiche with beet salad at an adorable chocolatier/cafe by Notre-Dame Basilica (pictures forthcoming!).  This light and airy quiche inspired me to make quiche on my first full day home...which my father promptly gobbled up. haha.  

A life-changing panini. Sure it looks unassuming but man what a flavor combination: smoke salmon, cream cheese, roasted eggplant, capers, peso and arugula.  I am tying this one at home kids. \

Lunch at Jardin Nelson in Old Montreal. We were fortunate enough to experience gorgeous weather all week and this day was no different.  Every restaurant we passed was filled with bustling diners sitting on patios, by windows and in the open sun. Jardin Nelson took this to the extreme and had two dining terraces as well as an open roof available for locals and tourists alike. The crepe was rather disappointing but  the live jazz music was quite enjoyable. 

A flaky and delicious chocolate croissant and brie cheese fondue with baguette and grapes. I never really got the whole fruit and cheese combo but I always like anything I eat enough times :)

Downtown Montreal

(Left) Portobello burger with sprouts, tomato and some sort of amazing creamy cheese...might have been cream cheese haha. (Right) Burger with brie and bacon. A late (a little too late) spontaneous dinner at 10pm after a 3 hour nap left our stomachs grumbling. This happened to be one of the few places where the kitchen was still open at 10pm (don't ask me why everything closes so early).  The burgers seemed like a safe bet off of the pretty Americanized menu but they were DELICIOUS. I think adding brie to anything just makes it taste good. Funnily enough, they didn't ask us how we wanted our burger cooked but even the medium-well quality left the burger nice and juicy. 

Forthcoming posts: the official most adorable cafe in Montreal (which we went to 2 days in a row even though it was on the other side of town), a good old fashioned French dinner in the Latin Quarter, and a great big bunch of gratuitous scenic shots.

Doing the New York Thing

1. Bagels 

[French toast bagels with butter] Who knew semi-burnt sugar + powdered sugar + butter + carbs could taste so good? Well duh, why am I even asking that question? I don't think adding brown sugar to a bagel qualifies it as "french toast" but I'm not complaining when the sugar is all but caramelized perfectly.

2. Knish

I have never heard of a knish before. I didn't even know how to pronounce knish. I thought the "k" was silent. I also thought that I was ordering a sandwich haha. At least, I really liked it.

3. Shake Shack

What is the deal with this place? Every time I get off of work, I see the line stretching all across Madison Square Park. I mean yea its a good burger but its not that good. I personally think In n Out is way better and a lot less greasy.  Shake Shack describes themselves as the "modern roadside burger", whatever that means. For the wait you have to go through, it'd be easier and tastier to just get a real burger from an actual restaurant. 

4) (Mini) Cupcakes - Baked by Melissa

When I first saw these mini concoctions (and when they say mini...its actually quite mini), I thought it was the most adorable creation ever - especially with the plethora of diverse flavor combinations...then I learned that Baked by Melissa's is actually a chain of cupcake stores. And we know how I feel about chains/franchisees. Oh well, the flavor combos were still fun. Shown above: peanut butter & jelly, chocolate peanut butter and chocolate chip pancake. 

5. Truffle Fries & Black and White Photos 

My roommates went to Delicatessen in Soho for dinner the other night that I was at Giorgios. After they came back and raved..literally raved...about the truffle fries - I all but demanded that they go again with me. The fries were indeed quite fabulous and came in a well-received extra large portion. Unfortunately,  the rest of the menu was severely lacking - not enough to go back for another full-fledge meal, but I wouldn't mind returning and getting another order (or two) of those fries.  Speaking of which, Elle's latest issue features the actress Emma Stone and there is an entire section of the interview paying homage to truffle fries.  You can find some shots from the issue here .  A girl who can't live without truffle fries is my kind of girl :)

Snapshots.

#1 The pork buns that changed my life. They are so good, I have talked about them over 5 times already (this is probably #8)....Up until now, I have accepted the iconic representation of "the pork bun":  fluffy white flour and (occasionally overly) sweet red pork.  The first time I ate pork buns, I was very thrown off by the taste, I grew up in Beijing and "bei ren" or Northerners never use sugar in their cooking so sweet and savory has always been a startling concept for me. Anyways, over time I became acquainted with the taste and now I usually order a platter whenever I am getting dim sum. But these buns taste nothing like those that I was just describing. This was literally foodie heaven bundled in one little package of succulent pork, cilantro and pickled cucumbers.  I think they were meant too mimic the duck pancakes that you can get in the really legit places of Chinatown (de-boned duck, plum sauce & green onions on white pancakes). Regardless, this little concoction was absolutely amazing and now I want to eat them everyday.

#2. The food truck on 33rd and Spruce that made the little package of deliciosness. Tyson Bees is a Korean BBQ foodtruck right behind the Chem Building....yes it is a hike but I'm going to find more excuses to be on that side of campus now :)

#3. The one unhealthy food that is always on my mind, sweet potato fries. Wharton Undergraduate Consulting Club (one my of main involvements at Penn) sponsored a dinner with Deloitte tonight at Tap House which meant weet potato fries! Although, ordering that big burger was not a very good choice....forgot how difficult burgers are to eat!

#4. A wonderful twist on bruschetta: roasted eggplant on goat cheese. I actually hated goat cheese the first time I had it....actually.... I hated cheese in general the first time I ever tried it. Of course, all foods regardless of what it is always winds up growing on me :)

#5.  Stumbled across this adorable vintage shop on South street last weekend with my roommate...they had these hardcore leather jackets and cowboy boots. Reminded me of my dad....not sure why haha.

Been trying to edit these pictures from my dinner at Marakesh from two weeks ago but the lighting there was so bad I don't know what to do! Sigh. I might just put up the pictures of all the pretty lights they had there...

Quick Update

Unfortunately, my plan to take a million gorgeous pictures of Boston did not work out as the camera's battery got completely drained from the jostling of my bag. 
However, I did snag a few shots of dinner from Tap House tonight :)

Chicken and Ribs Combo Dinner.

Mussels with Focaccia

Salmon BLT

Herb Chicken

Bacon & Provolone Burger

Happy eating =]

Starting a new tradition :)

OK. I officially love Tap House. After reading the lackluster reviews on Yelp, I have to admit I was a little disappointed in the highly anticipated beer and burger joint. Fortunately, positive reviews from all my friends persuaded me to check out this fancy "casual dining" spot. After an evening of coffee enhanced Guinness' and rich Belgian drafts (can you tell I don't know my beers?) as well as the Mediterranean plate (which served Quinoa!), both my dad and I were hooked.

Alright, so my parents never go out to eat, much less to a place 45 minutes away from home. 1 week after my dad had a quaint heart to heart what do I get but a call from my parents asking me if I wanted to meet up with them at Tap House again.  What college student says no to a free dinner?   This time, our waiter also lit the fire-pit outside and it made for some amazing picture taking.

Chop Salad. I need to find out how they make that dressing. This salad had amazing greens, chick peas, pancetta, provolone and kalamata olives.

Burger with roasted red peppers and Gruyere Cheese. Tasty but not as good as it was hyped up to be

Probably my proudest shot to date :p

munchies from the beach

gotta love them dippin dot

finally  got my blueberry pancake fix

went to stewart's for their rootbeer floats. wound up staying for dinner :)

went to stewart's for their rootbeer floats. wound up staying for dinner :)

crab cake sandwich with an awkward piece of lettuce

ultimate grilled cheese sandwich = american, cheddar, bacon and tomatoes.

also went a little mexican

steak tacos!