Bionic Bites » Nolita

Irresistible Elote (Mexican Grilled Corn) – NYC

bionicgrrrl — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 16:02:43 +0000

Grilled corn on the cob is good, but smothered in a creamy mayonnaise concoction and sprinkled with spicy chili pepper, salty Cotija cheese, and a squirt of lime, it’s amazing. Walking by Cafe Habana in the summertime, it’s hard not to stop in for some elote — on the menu as Grilled Corn Mexican Style ($1.95 from the takeout section next door to the restaurant) — especially when you see the hordes of pretty people outside licking their lips as they gnaw on their orders of corn. A while back, as I sat on the wooden bench in front of Cafe Habana chowing down on my elote, Heather Graham appeared out of nowhere and proceeded to nonchalantly eat her order of corn right in front of me. This corn is Hollywood endorsed!

I haven’t had the elote at Pinche Taqueria yet, but compared to La Esquina, I prefer Cafe Habana’s corn because they grill the corn the perfect amount so it’s sweetly charred but not too dried out. La Esquina’s corn leans towards the latter.

If you don’t live in New York, or want to pig out on elote without breaking the bank, it’s quite easy to make elote at home in the oven or on a grill. I’ve had successful results trying both methods. Below is an adapted recipe from one of the co-owners of Cafe Habana, Richard Ampudia. Just plan to double the recipe if it’s for more than two people. I know I can eat a whole lot of corn, especially Mexican-style corn. And perhaps if you make enough, Heather will stop by for a bite. You never know.

Elote (Mexican Grilled Corn)
Adapted from Richard Ampudia’s recipe for Chile-Spiked Grilled Corn Rolled in Cotija Cheese in Food & Wine

6 ears of corn, shucked
1/4 cup mayonnaise (I use homemade mayonnaise minus the mustard. Also, little tip, don’t go crazy if the mayonnaise breaks. Add the sour cream to the broken mayo, and your mayonnaise wil be magically fixed.)
1/4 cup sour cream
1/2 cup freshly grated Cotija (about 2 ounces)
2 teaspoons chile piquín (I use cayenne pepper because I always have it around, it works nicely.)
Lime wedges, for serving

Servings: 2-3

1. Light a charcoal grill or preheat the oven to 500°. In a large pot of boiling water, cook the corn until crisp-tender, about 3 minutes. Drain well. If you want to make your life easier, you can also microwave the corn instead of boiling. I wash and then saran wrap the corn, 3 at a time, and nuke for about 2 minutes.
2. Grill the corn, turning frequently, until well-browned, 10 to 12 minutes. Alternatively, roast the corn on a baking sheet for 10 to 15 minutes, turning the ears occasionally.
3. Meanwhile, in a small bowl, mix the mayonnaise with the crème fraîche.
4. Attach corn holders to each ear of corn, or press a bamboo skewer through the centers. Generously brush the mayonnaise mixture all over the ears and sprinkle with the cheese and chile piquín/cayenne pepper. Serve right away, with lime wedges.

Cafe Habana
17 Prince Street & Elizabeth Street
New York, NY 10012

Fish & Shrimp Tacos at Pinche Taqueria – NYC

bionicgrrrl — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 21:23:10 +0000

Spring is here and that means it’s taco time! Sure you can get a taco in the winter, but nothing beats grabbing a taco on a warm spring day and immediately eating it street-side or even better at a park right after it’s been made. Also, temperatures conducive to drinking ice cold cerverzas with your taco don’t hurt. Two weeks ago, it was one of those beautiful sunny Sundays in New York just meant for lazy city meanderings and taco eating, when David and I came upon Pinche Taqueria in Nolita. I’d read on Serious Eats they had the “first good fish taco” “outside Southern California or Mexico,” so our meanderings momentarily ended as we filed into the tiny shop for some south of the border goodness.

The Taco de Pescado (Fish Taco, $3.95) — a house-made corn tortilla filled with chunks of flaky fried mahi-mahi, cabbage slaw dressed in cilantro mayo, guacamole, chopped onions, and fresh cilantro — was crazy delicious. The fish was fresh, and we could tell it was fried to order because the fish was actually still crunchy underneath all the cabbage slaw and guacamole. The corn tortilla was also really good. Thin with an intense corn flavor, it formed the ideal base. And of course, a squeeze of lime and a generous squirt or two of house-made red and green hot sauce made the perfect taco even more perfect.

We also got two orders of the Taco de Polla Asada (Charbroiled Chicken Taco, $2.95) which, although I thought were decent, seriously paled in comparison to the superior fish tacos. David, on the other hand, had stronger feelings towards the chicken tacos and wanted to throw them in the garbage. Filled with all dark meat (which I prefer), he thought the chicken tacos tasted gamey, and went back in and got two more fish tacos to eat instead. As for the poor chicken castaways, I welcomed them into the bottomless pit that is my stomach. My belly is the Ellis Island for ethnic foods, no food is ever turned away.

The second round of fish tacos were just as good as the first, but I noticed they used a heavier hand with the toppings. The photo on the left was the first fish taco, and the photo on the right is a taco from the second order. It was good nonetheless, but I was surprised by the difference. In any case, even with the extra slaw and guacamole, the fried fish remained crunchy to the last bite.

Later in the day, as we wandered a few blocks uptown, we stumbled upon the Pinche Taqueria on Lafayette. Trust me, it wasn’t planned. It was destiny, and I ended up getting another fish taco, which again, was delicious. And as for the amount of toppings, it was similar to the second round in Nolita.

A week later, you may have thought I had my fill of Pinche Taqueria, but I ended up going back there one day after a sudden taco craving at work. This time, I tried the Taco de Camaron (Shrimp Taco, $3.95) and amazingly, it was as good as the fish tacos a few days before. The shrimp were cooked perfectly; lightly breaded and fried, yet still juicy. Nothing is worse than dry stringy shrimp.

According to their website, Pinche Taqueria doesn’t use canned goods or a microwave, and all the menu items are made fresh daily. After eating the tacos there, I can believe it. And although the tacos are slightly more expensive than those from your average taqueria, when you can actually taste the difference without breaking the bank, it’s worth it, at least in the case of the fish and shrimp tacos.

This weekend, after a week of miserable rain, the sun is rumored to be coming back to New York, bringing temperatures up into the eighties. You know what that means. My cervezas are already chilling in a bucket of ice.

Pinche Taqueria
227 Mott Street (betw Prince and Spring St.)
New York, NY 10013

333 Lafayette Street (betw Bleecker & Houston St.)
New York, NY 10012

Brunch at Jacques – NYC

bionicgrrrl — Fri, 12 Sep 2008 23:09:09 +0000

Croque Madame @ Jacques

Two weeks ago I had a very satisfying Croque Madame at Epicerie Cafe Charbon. (In case you don’t know, a Croque Madame is basically a glorified ham sandwich with a poached egg on top. A Croque Madame minus an egg is a Croque Monsieur.) Prior to that, I had been avoiding brunch places, just because I was sick of the same-ole same ole. I mean how many Eggs Benedicts can you eat in a lifetime? Also, David is now scared of hollandaise sauce after reading Kitchen Confidential. For those who haven’t read the book, Anthony Bourdain writes that hollandaise sauce is a “petri-dish of biohazards” since it needs to be kept at a low temperature (to prevent cooking the eggs in the sauce) and it is never made-to-order. So basically, at a restaurant, a vat of lukewarm hollandaise sauce sits in the back of the kitchen throughout brunch service, breeding germs and bacteria as the day progresses. Personally, this doesnt’t scare me that much. I mean, I’ve never gotten sick from an Eggs Benedict, and because of the high turn-around at New York restaurants, I feel most places will be making more than one batch of hollandaise sauce a day. Someone, correct me if I am wrong. Maybe I trust restaurants too much, but my feeling is, you can’t live your life in fear. I mean puh-leez, I have more things in life to be worried about.

In any case, the Croque Madame at Charbon was delicious and since then I’ve been constantly craving the cheesey ham goodness of a Croque Madame. So last Saturday, as soon as I woke up, I looked online to see where they have the best Croque Madame in NYC. The people over at CHOW recommended Bar Six and Pastis, but being the lazy bastard that I am on Saturday mornings, we made our way over to Jacques in NoLita instead.

The Croque Madame at Jacques is utterly delicious. They give you two really good-sized buttery ham sandwiches topped with just the right amount of creamy bechamel broiled to perfection, and an egg, perfectly cooked over-easy. It also came with an order of french fries that were very chewy and crisp. At $14, it’s more expensive than Charbon, which is under $10 and comes with a juice and coffee or tea, but considering the amount of food they give you, and the amount of care they seemingly take to prepare the Croque Madame, I think it’s definitely worth it. However, that said, I wouldn’t mind if the portion was smaller and cheaper. I was so full after eating the Croque Madame that I didn’t really have room for much of the fries.

I did have room for a Bloody Mary though. Brunch is never complete without one for me. Something about a Bloody Mary makes brunch so much more fun. I think it might have something to do with the vodka. The Bloody Mary at Jacques was decent. I think Freeman’s has the best Bloody Mary downtown; strong, spicy, and garnished with a caper berry. Yummm…..

David had the Eggs Florentine. An Eggs Florentine is basically an Eggs Benedict but with spinach instead of ham. And yes, there was hollandaise sauce on it, and he survived. I asked him if he thought it was better than Charbon and he said it was different. He couldn’t elaborate much beyond that. Later in the day, I asked him again and he said he thought Charbon was better, but again gave no reason. Unfortunately, I was enjoying my Croque Madame too much to even consider trying his eggs. So just know folks, the Eggs Florentine at Jacques are different and possibly not as good as Charbon. Sheesh.

I just finished reading Trail of Crumbs, a beautifully written memoir by Kim Sunée, and she includes a recipe for Croque Madame. I’ll be trying that out in a few days. I’m thinking prosciutto instead of ham, and possibly some basil. Until then, if you have a craving, have a delicious Croque Madame at Jacques, or if you trust David, a possibly better Eggs Florentine at Cafe Charbon.

Jacques
20 Prince St. (near Elizabeth St.)
New York, NY 10012

Epicerie Cafe Charbon
170 Orchard St. (at Stanton St.)
New York, NY 10002