Bionic Bites » Small Shops

Yakisoba Sandwich at Panya – NYC

bionicgrrrl — Fri, 09 Jul 2010 18:48:16 +0000

After ten days of eating giant Hawaiian lunch plates consisting of lau lau, kālua pig, Portuguese sausage, ham, and bacon, I’ve been eating light since I got back. (Why everyone in Hawaii isn’t obese is beyond me.) Yesterday, lunch was a Yakisoba Sandwich ($3.25) from Panya.

Noodles in a sandwich may seem wrong on every level, but when you want something light, but still tasty, it gets the job done. Especially at Panya where the yakisoba sandwich is practically meat-free, and isn’t drenched in mayonnaise and yakisoba sauce. Composed of stir-fried noodles, crunchy cabbage, carrots, and topped with shredded pickled ginger, seaweed sprinkles, and bonito flakes (meat!) in a soft slightly-sweet roll, it’s more of a snack than a meal, but after more than a week of pork stuffage, this was just right for me. A few tips though, first, redistribute the ginger and bonito flakes before eating. The ginger is always clumped on top or at the end, and the bonito flakes always at the end. Second, eat a big fat steak for dinner. Devoid of much nutritional value, your body will probably need and/or crave it.

Panya
8 Stuyvesant Street (b/n 9th St & 3rd Ave; map)
NY, NY 10003
212-777-1930

I Heart Doughnuts Only at Doughnut Plant – NYC

bionicgrrrl — Thu, 03 Jun 2010 19:20:22 +0000

I’ve been quite busy the last few days. I have visitors from out-of-town (so fun, but I feel like death!), contractors all up in my crib (argh, drilling and banging at eight in the morning!), new projects at work (I need a raise!), and I’m going to court tonight (wish me luck!). But because I love you guys, and because tomorrow is National Doughnut Day, I thought I’d write a short post about the doughnuts I ate this weekend.

As many of you know, I’m not crazy about doughnuts (Doughnuts remind me of being forced to got to church when I was little. After church there were always doughnuts. The smell of powdered sugar now makes me want to puke. I have issues, don’t judge.), but I’m completely smitten with the doughnuts at the Doughnut Plant. I like their doughnuts because they actually taste like something beyond sugar, flour, and grease. Before this weekend, the square jelly-filled was my favorite, but now I’m in love with the Peanut Butter Glaze & Blackberry Jelly Yeast Doughnut ($2.75). It’s their squishy square yeast doughnut filled with organic blackberry jelly, lightly glazed with sugary peanut butter, and sprinkled with chopped nuts. It’s sweet, but not overly so, and has the perfect proportion of peanut butter flavor to jelly; more jelly than peanut butter, just how I like my pb&j sandwiches.

I also had a sugar glazed Mango Cake Doughnut ($2.25). I never get too excited about the cake doughnuts at Doughnut Plant. There’s nothing wrong with them, but if I want cake, I rather go to a bakery. I want my doughnuts to be airy and fluffy, like little fried pillows, not like dense cakes. The Mango was moist with a subtle mango flavor, and the sugar glaze was nice and light, but again it was a cake doughnut, it didn’t wow me.

Next week, I hope to be less busy so I can post more, but until then, Happy National Donut Day! Eat a doughnut or two, and let me know in the comments if you come across an especially delicious one. Share the love please.

Doughnut Plant
379 Grand St (b/n Essex & Norfolk St; map)
New York, NY 10002
212-505-3700

Interesting Sandwiches at No. 7 Sub – NYC

bionicgrrrl — Thu, 20 May 2010 03:52:01 +0000

I love sandwiches, but they can get boring. At my work, people get way too excited about the weekly Hot Carvey, hot turkey sandwiches from the subsidized cafeteria in the building. Sliced generic turkey on stale bread with gloppy gravy? No thanks. That’s where No. 7 Sub comes in to the picture. At No. 7, “not boring” is guaranteed.

I popped by No. 7 a few weeks ago for a quick lunch with my friend Abdul. We split the Braised Lamb and the Eggplant Parm. All the neat compact subs are nine dollars. It’s a bit pricey, especially considering the size, but I’d say it’s worth it.

The Braised Lamb — shredded lamb with peanut butter, mint jelly, and crushed pappadams on the house baked bread — was interesting to say the least. The riff on peanut butter and jelly was cute, but in the end, I don’t think the peanut butter was necessary. If anything, the mouth-drying peanut butter only made me wish the lamb was juicier. Since my last visit, I notice the Braised Lamb has been removed from the menu and replaced with a Lamb Meatloaf sub. Perhaps it wasn’t as popular as they hoped or perhaps they took notice of its not so favorable review on Serious Eats.

I much preferred the Eggplant Parm. Made with yellow squash and fontina cheese, it really should be labeled “Eggplant Parm” with quotation marks, but regardless, it’s delicious (no quotation marks necessary). Fat slices of squash are breaded, fried crunchy, and layered on top of house baked bread with spicy pickled jalapenos and crushed barbecue chips. There’s no meat, but all the other bases — something fried, something crunchy, something spicy, and something cheesy — are covered. You won’t miss it.

As for the bread all the sandwiches are made with, it’s a small hoagie roll — soft but not gummy — that doesn’t steal the show from the fillings.

Coincidentally, today at work I ate a free sandwich from internal catering. (Not the Carvey.) It was pretty awful, but I ate it anyway along with a bad salad made with Parmesan from a can because again, it was free. The whole time I was thinking, there’s a reason why some things are free. I think I deserve another nine dollar sandwich in the future.

UPDATE (5/20/10): Looks like Jake Stavis at Paper loves the Braised Lamb sub and is trying to start an email campaign to bring it back. According to him, No. 7 removed the sandwich from the menu because it’s seasonal.

No. 7 Sub
1188 Broadway (b/n 29th & 28th St; map)
NY, NY 10001
212-532-1680

Cheapo Lunch at Lunch Box Buffet – NYC

bionicgrrrl — Thu, 29 Apr 2010 00:07:52 +0000

Ying Du, especially without roast duck, gets old after a while so when work load permits, I change it up with some Chinatown steam table action at Lunch Box Buffet. The first time I went a few years ago, I went after work and it was godawful. Everything tasted old, and the free soup tasted exactly what you imagine free soup to taste like: tepid water with salt. Lunch, however, is a different story; complete night and day. Two weeks ago, I actually went two days in a row. I would have made it three days had something not happened on the second.

First off, as with everything in Chinatown, the prices are incredible. It’s $4.50 for four items with rice or five items without rice. If you take it to-go, it’s $4. Crazy. Really, if you eat in Chinatown often enough, eating anywhere else seems like a gyp.

When I went two weeks ago, the first day, I loaded up on pigs feet in a slightly sweet brown sauce, steamed blood cakes with shredded scallions, bitter melon with black bean sauce, and pork riblets. The pork and bitter melon were decent, but the highlights were the chewy pigs feet and the soft blood cakes. The pigs feet were better only because the woman at the station was more stingy with the blood cakes. (C’mon, gimme more blood!) And as for the free soup, it was hot and actually tasted like soup. It was a light beef broth with radish cubes. I was impressed.

The second day, I went for the pigs feet again, but also got lo mein, pork belly, steamed chicken, and bok choy.

The pork belly looked promising, but was tough and dry, even with the generous layer of fat. The chicken was also dry. I opted to push it aside to eat the pigs feet instead, which again was very good. The bok choy wasn’t anything special, but it was cooked right so it still had a bit of crunch.

The lo mein I was also digging, again because of the al dente vegetables, until out popped a black hair. If you eat out a lot, you’re bound to see a stray hair once in a while (I got one at Ying Du last year), but this hair bothered me because I could see the skin around the bulb still attached. I guess the hair was fresh at least… ugh. That’s when I decided two days in a row was enough. I’ll be taking my chances another day.

Lunch Box Buffet
195 Centre Street (b/n Hester & Howard St; map)
NY, NY 10013
212-226-2905

I Heart Buns at Baohaus – NYC

bionicgrrrl — Tue, 20 Apr 2010 05:11:27 +0000

I love crusty cracklin’ baguettes, but I also love white pillowy steamed buns. Filled with pork, even better. Filled with quality pork at a price lower than the buns at Momofuku, I’m head over heels.

The Chairman Bao ($4) — filled with Niman Ranch pork belly slowly braised in a rice wine & soy sauce concoction with a touch of cherry Coca-Cola and served with crushed peanuts, pickled mustard greens, cilantro, and Taiwanese red sugar — is a beaut, and so far my favorite bao at Baohaus. I love the gloriously sticky fatty pork, the generous amount of pickled mustard greens, the slight heat from the red Haus sauce, and the added crunch from the peanuts and Taiwanese red sugar. It’s a lot to love in a little package.

The Haus Bao ($4.50) is similar to the Chairman, but filled with Niman Ranch skirt steak instead of pork. Cooked with moutai (Chinese sorghum liquor aka Chinese rocket fuel), the skirt steak is tender and shreds easily between bites.

For tofu lovers and/or vegetarians, Baohaus also has a fried tofu bao. The Uncle Jesse ($3.50) is made with pan fried tofu coated in sweet potato starch. The tofu, layered neatly inside the fluffy bun, is crunchy on the outside and soft on the inside, but unless you’re a vegetarian, opt for one of the more delicious meat baos where the quality of the protein is more apparent.

For savory baos, spiciness varies per visit. The first time I didn’t notice any heat in the baos, but the second time I felt a gentle burn from each. Both ways I loved it so it’s a not a big deal for me, but for those who don’t like spice, it may be a problem. Let them know if you can’t handle spicy foods.

If you order three baos (called a Straight Frush at Baohaus; $13), a cup of Salt & Vinegar Boiled Peanuts is included with your order. The slightly slimy peanuts take a bit of getting used to. Salty and sour, some more than others, and with the texture of wet edamame, I wasn’t sure I liked it at first. For those who didn’t grow up eating boiled peanuts (like me), it’s definitely weird, but oddly addictive if you keep going at it.

The Sweet Bao Fries ($3.50), however, I instantly liked. It’s a bao fried, sliced, and drizzled with sweet black sesame sauce. The airy bao slices are crisp at the edges, and the black sesame sauce — condensed milk based — is rich and thick. What’s not to like?

The baos from Baohaus are pricier than the ones found in Chinatown, but they’re better crafted with better quality ingredients, and are also cheaper and more flavorful than Momofuku’s delicious pork buns. The more flavorful part isn’t necessarily better (it depends what you’re in the mood for), but the cheaper part definitely is. In a few weeks I’ll be living closer to the two Momofuku restaurants than Baohaus, but I have a feeling for baos I’ll be making a trip down to the Lower East Side.

Baohaus
137 Rivington Street (b/n Norfolk & Suffolk St; map)
New York, NY 10002
646-684-3835

Moving to the East Village – NYC

bionicgrrrl — Thu, 08 Apr 2010 16:30:05 +0000

For those who were interested in my apartment hunt, I have great news. I finally found an apartment, and I’ll be calling the East Village home at least for the next two years. I’ll miss the Lower East Side and the close proximity to Chinatown (I did a late night walk through Chinatown yesterday and it was indeed very sad), but I’m consoled by my new delicious neighbors: Porchetta, Luke’s Lobster, Momofuku, Ippudo, and Veloce Pizzeria. (The pizza part I’m especially excited about. Nights when I craved pizza, it was torturous when all my favorite pizzerias refused to deliver below Houston. I will be pizza-less no more!) The next two years should be quite tasty.

Lobster & Crab Rolls at Luke’s Lobster – NYC

bionicgrrrl — Wed, 24 Mar 2010 20:49:38 +0000

A few weeks ago, I told David I was in the mood for lobster and he told me to go find another boyfriend. (Oh no he didn’t!) So I took matters into my own hands and went to Luke’s Lobster myself. Much faster than getting a new boyfriend.

I love lobster rolls, but they’re pricey stuff, usually around $27 in this town. At Luke’s Lobster, lobster rolls are $14, practically half the going rate. The price is a reflection of the owner’s connections. Luke Holden grew up in Maine, and his dad, Jeff Holden, owns Portland Shellfish, a seafood processing company. As a result, their relationship with local lobstermen enables them to ship the lobster directly from the docks of Maine to the East Village.

At Luke’s I ordered a small Lobster Roll ($8) since I wanted to try one of the other seafood rolls. The small is referred to as snack size, and it’s exactly that. When I first saw it, I thought it was a joke, but the tiny roll — toasted and buttery — was chock full of fresh knuckle and claw meat with only the tiniest bit of mayonnaise and a sprinkle of celery salt. It’s all meat, no filler; the exact polar opposite of the luscious mayoriffic lobster rolls from Pearl Oyster Bar. It was surprisingly satisfying, but next time I’ll probably ask for a little more mayo and lemon. The great thing about Luke’s Lobster is that you can always add more mayo if you want it. Taking out mayo is problematic.

The Crab Roll ($5/small) was just as fresh and delicious, with chunks of sweet crab. Again, the small order was tiny, but it was a whole lot of crab. Well worth it, even if your boyfriend didn’t take you.

Luke’s Lobster
93 East 7th Street (betw 1st & Ave A; map)
New York, NY‎ 10009
212-387-8487‎

An East Village VDay: Sapporo East & Milk Bar – NYC

bionicgrrrl — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 05:26:20 +0000

I’m a month late or one year early with my Valentine’s Day post. I like to think the latter. Valentine’s Day is an annoying day to begin with. When you’re single, VDay is annoying because advertising, friends, and your mom will make you feel like a troll because you’re alone no matter how fabulous you are, and when you’re in a relationship, it’s annoying because it’s impossible to get a reservation anywhere, and even if you do, the restaurant will only offer mass-produced pre-made food from an overpriced prix-fixe menu. Saint Valentine, you suck. Anyway, since the last disappointing Valentine’s Day meal in 2005, David and I have been avoiding all restaurants requiring reservations, especially those offering “special” prix-fixe menus. This Valentine’s Day, we went to Sapporo East, my favorite cheap East Village Japanese restaurant since college.

The fish at Sapporo East won’t blow you away, so I usually skip nigiri sushi and sashimi and opt for a roll. This isn’t Sushi Yasuda. It’s best to go with what their good at, and that’s anything with spicy sauce. Their spicy sauce is the best I’ve ever had. I usually get the Spicy Scallop roll ($5.50).

But because I can’t resist sea urchin, I’ll usually get one piece of Uni sashimi ($4). The quality of the uni is better than the fish, and when they have it, it tastes clean and buttery.

The real reason I go to Sapporo East, however, is the Kaiyaki — sliced giant clam (scallop if they’re out of giant clam), white mushrooms, avocado, and shredded imitation crab sticks all mixed up with lots of mayonnaise and smelt roe and then broiled. Salty, creamy, and fatty, it’s dreadfully bad for you, but who cares when being bad tastes so good. It’s one of my guilty pleasures I have to indulge in every so often. Once with another person, we ordered two. One for each of us. My arteries weren’t too happy with me, but my stomach was ever so grateful. With a roll or a bowl of rice, it makes for a very good meal.

On a side note, a few years ago, my mom surprised me when she made Kaiyaki at home. She’d never been to Sapporo East, and I’d never even mentioned Kaiyaki to her, but it just so happened she stumbled upon the recipe online and decided to make it. Her version has no avocado or crab, and uses cod instead of clam for the protein, but the flavor profile is dead-on. According to her, the secret to the deliciousness is Kewpie Mayonnaise. And we all know what the secret to Kewpie is. Mayonnaise + MSG = Win!

After Sapporo East, David and I went to Momofuku Milk Bar for a little dessert. We intended to order one slice of pie to share, but we ended up getting a slice of Crack Pie ($5.75) and slice of Chocolate Malt Cake ($5.75). The Crack Pie is one of my favorite desserts ever. If you’ve never had it, imagine the most buttery toffee possible in pie form with a thin toasty oat crust. There’s a reason it’s called crack pie, it’s so good, you’ll be jonesing for more when it’s all gone.

The Chocolate Malt Cake — made with malt fudge, malted milk crumbs, and marshmallows — didn’t hit that same realm of pharmaceutical greatness, but it was still very tasty. The cake was incredibly moist, and had just the right balance of richness with the gooey fudge and crunchy malted milk bits. The marshmallows were also nice (chocolate and marshmallows are a natural match), but weren’t charred as described on the menu. I still loved it all the same.

Overall, it was a good Valentine’s Day with no restaurant bullsh*t. Good food with good company. Simple and sweet.

Sapporo East
164 1st Avenue (betw 10th & 11th St; map)
New York, NY 10009
212-260-1330‎

Momofuku Milk Bar
207 2nd Avenue (13th St, betw 2nd & 3rd Ave; map)
New York, NY‎ 10003
212-254-3500‎

Classic Poutine at TPoutine – NYC

bionicgrrrl — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 19:17:06 +0000

Poutine, fries topped with white cheese curds and covered in gravy, is a beautiful thing. Second to Mike Meyers, poutine is my favorite Canadian export. So it was with great excitement I went to TPoutine a few weeks ago. (TPoutine opened late last year, but as with most new restaurants, I like to go a few months later so the kinks have been worked out.) TPoutine was empty when David and I got there. Worrisome, but it was 8pm on a Sunday night. Poutine, a food most commonly eaten in the wee hours after drinks, I figured we missed their busiest time by a few hours. Since it was our first time there, we ordered the Classic ($7.25), fries with gravy and white cheddar cheese curds. Then something happened.

The guy at the counter told the guy I presume to be the cook sitting nearby the order, but took it upon himself to throw handfuls of frozen fries into the fryolater with his bare hand. OK, not terrible, but let me mention while he had been taking our order, he had been coughing into the same hand. I know, hot oil will kill anything, but I don’t want to eat sh*t just because it’s been sanitized. And I’m all about teamwork, but at restaurants, even if it’s a fry shop, cooking should be left to the professionals; those hopefully trained in food safety and hygiene. David and I looked at each other and contemplated our next move. If I had been alone, I probably would have just eaten it, but David is a germaphobe, and I saw the look of disgust on his face. We could have bolted, like David wanted to do, but that would have meant $7.25 down the drain, so I decided to ask for a fresh order instead. In TPoutine’s defense, the cook kindly obliged and made us a new batch without any complaints. David, however, was still horrified they didn’t swap out the oil.

Poutine at La Banquise

New poutine prepared, I dug in. David picked nervously. The verdict: delicious! The hot fries were longer, thinner, and more crisp than the fries in the poutine I had at La Banquise in Montreal two years back. Like a good American, I love crunchy fries. In addition, the hot housemade gravy was nice and salty, and the cheese curds were slightly warmed and softened from the heat of the fries and gravy. (Don’t expect the cheese to be melty and gooey. This isn’t pizza or nachos.) It’s been a while since I’ve had the poutine at La Banquise, but on the quality of the fries alone, I’d say the poutine at TPoutine is better.

Poutine is categorized as food best eaten when drunk, but as long as the same guy isn’t behind the counter, drinks aren’t necessary at TPoutine. But if he is, I may need a stiff drink beforehand. (Pun completely intended.)

Update: No stiff drink needed. Tpoutine has closed, but according to Fork in the Road (5/13/2010), a poutine truck is said to be in the works.

TPoutine
168 Ludlow Street (betw Stanton & East Houston; map)
New York, NY 10002
646-833-7444

Hot Chocolate & Tea Thievery at City Bakery – NYC

bionicgrrrl — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 07:15:22 +0000

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.

Hot chocolate flavors change everyday, and on the last Sunday of January, it was ginger. Overpowered by the richness of the liquid chocolate, the ginger got a little lost. It didn’t really matter though, because for me, a bowl of hot chocolate ($5.50) at City Bakery is all about the dreamy housemade marshmallow on top. Warmed from the chocolatey bath, the delicate marshmallow melts in your mouth. The hot chocolate, by the way, is never too hot; not so great for hot chocolate drinking, but perfect for marshmallow-eating. Too hot and it would be bye bye for the fluffy white soul.

A visit to City Bakery isn’t complete, however, without at least one or two pastries. The Pretzel Croissant ($3.75), a whole wheat croissant covered in sesame seeds, is everyone’s favorite. It even has its own website. I love the crusty salty outside and the soft feathery layers inside, but personally, I find the innards a little bland, just like a pretzel. When I was eating it last week, I had a sudden craving for mustard. I guess they got the pretzel part down pat.

My favorite, as of now, is the Apple Lemon Tart ($6). It’s bright, not too sweet, and has the thinnest flakiest crust. It seems light yet it’s still delicious; not an easy feat.

As for the thievery, they ran out of trays and I had to make two trips from the counter (where the cashier was) to a table. I told the cashier I would be back to get the rest of my order and she said it was fine. When I came back, a green tea ($1.25) I had ordered was gone. Weird, no? The cashier gladly made me a new one, but I thought it was strange someone would steal a tea. Desperate and thirsty times I guess. So keep your eyes on the prize at City Bakery. Next time, the thief may be more bold, he/she may be hungry.

City Bakery
3 West 18th Street (betw 6th & 5th Ave; map)
New York, NY 10011
212-366-1414