February 2010

The Archives

• Chinatown, Restaurants

  Exploring Across the Street at Famous Sichuan – NYC

  02.22.10 | Permalink | 6 Comments

  Whenever my family comes to visit me in Manhattan, we usually go to Joe’s Shanghai because we’re all addicted to their soup dumplings. Yes, I know everyone likes to hate on Joe’s Shanghai these days, but we still love their xialongbao. Sure, it’s not as delicate as the crabmeat buns at Din Tai Fung in Hong Kong, or as cheap as a million other places in Taiwan, but I have room in my heart and stomach for all kinds of xialongbao. Fill it with soup, and I will eat it. Last month, however, I told my family I wanted to go somewhere else, somewhere completely different… the place across the street from Joe’s Shanghai, Famous Sichuan! They didn’t seem very excited, but I promised them if it was bad we could always go to Joe’s, and they begrudgingly relented. I don’t believe in democracy when it comes to food. MORE »

• Flushing, Restaurants

  Live Fluke and More at Yuraku – NYC

  02.17.10 | Permalink | 3 Comments

  By now most of you probably know how much I love pork and duck, but there is another side to me. A fishier side. Growing up, I actually preferred seafood over red meat. I was a weird kid, and unlike my brother who loved Big Macs and galbi (갈비, Korean beef ribs), I loved vegetables, ice cold naeng myun (냉면, cold buckwheat noodles), and hwe (회, Korean-style raw fish). (By the way, I believe this is one of the reasons I’m vertically challenged and my brother is not, lack of good ole’ American beef. Alas, I’m sure my childhood fondness for coffee and jumping from great heights also played a part.) So a few weeks ago, when Hannah (my sister-in-law) told me Yuraku, her mom’s restaurant in Flushing, started serving “live fish” flown in straight from Korea, I knew a trip to Queens was in my not-so-distant future. MORE »

• Bakeries, Flatiron

  Hot Chocolate & Tea Thievery at City Bakery – NYC

  02.09.10 | Permalink | 11 Comments

  

  The City Bakery Hot Chocolate Festival kicked off officially this month, but technically it started the last weekend of January. That’s when I went. I couldn’t wait. I keep saying I’m not a big fan of dessert, but since last month, all I want to eat are sweets. I’m not sure why. I think it may have to do with the fact that I joined a gym. My appetite has been insatiable ever since. Perhaps I need to quit. Or maybe I have to stop watching Food Network while I’m on the bike. MORE »

• Las Vegas, Nevada, Restaurants

  The Overpriced & The Bad – Las Vegas

  02.02.10 | Permalink | 9 Comments

  Sorry for jumping back and forth, but sometimes deliciousness throws me off track. Linear blogging is so “aughts” anyway.

  At any rate, “The Overpriced & The Bad” focuses on two of my not so great experiences in Vegas; one a semi-miss and one a complete and utter mother of all misses. Not every meal can be hit, and here’s proof. MORE »