The Archives

Raising the Bar, West Village

Finger-Lickin’ Good at Bar Blanc Bistro – NYC

I’m not a tease, the Asian posts are definitely coming soon. I promise. For now, read about my first night eating out after my vacation “Raising the Bar: Finger-Lickin’ Good at Bar Blanc Bistro” at Serious Eats: NY. I ate fried pig ears and a crostini with delicious Spanish anchovies. I’m bringing some offal love to Serious Eats.

Restaurants, Upper West Side

Dinner at Jean Georges – NYC

05.11.09 | Permalink | 3 Comments

Last year, David and I went to Nougatine (Jean-Georges’ more budget-friendly restaurant) for lunch. The food was decent — except for a splodge of old micro basil gunk atop of my grilled squid — and affordable (3 course lunch prix fixe for $24.07), but the entire time I longed to be at Jean Georges next door. Sitting right by the entrance of Jean Georges, I felt like I was sitting at the uncool table while the cool table was just a few feet away. So this year, when the opportunity to take out-of-town guests to a nice restaurant presented itself (Gruezi Alvin and Alli!), I made reservations at Jean Georges. Unlike high school, coolness was just a click and $98 away. MORE »

Las Vegas, Nevada, Restaurants

L’Atelier de Joël Robuchon – Las Vegas

12.30.08 | Permalink | Comment?

One great thing about traveling is having an excuse to go to a nice restaurant. It’s like, “Hey, we’re in ___________ (enter vacation destination here), we should go to at least one nice restaurant while we’re here.” Basically, it’s just an excuse to overeat. Vacations and holidays are great in that way. I love having a free fat bastard pass. So when David and I were planning for Vegas, I suggested L’atelier de Joël Robuchon. Yes, I know there is an L’atelier in New York, but when are we ever going to go? When we’re at home in New York, it seems too extravagant to go somewhere fancy unless we have a reason. I should really plan a “staycation,” and just enjoy New York one of these days. Perhaps when it’s warmer…

L’atelier offers “counter service” in that you sit at the counter and watch your food being created right in front of you in the open kitchen. This is restaurant theater at it’s best. Robuchon was probably the first to popularize this trend in fine-dining restaurants. Now, everyone does it. I love this concept because it’s fun to watch the dynamics of a kitchen. David likes it because he wants to make sure no one does anything gross to his food. Oh ye of little faith. MORE »

DUMBO, Restaurants, Small Shops

Sweet & Savory in Dumbo – NYC

09.24.08 | Permalink | Comment?

On Sunday, David and I were walking around LES, when out of the blue, he suggested we go to the Brooklyn Bridge Park (technically the Empire-Fulton Ferry State Park) in DUMBO rather than Tompkins or Washington Square Park, like we normally do on Sundays. The previous week the grass was pretty dismal and sparse at Washington Square, so we hopped on the F train and made our way to DUMBO, looking for greener pastures. MORE »

Nolita, Restaurants

Brunch at Jacques – NYC

09.12.08 | Permalink | Comment?

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. MORE »

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Prune Armagnac gelato from Il Laboratorio del Gelato reminds me of rum raisin but actually good.

The Archives

Raising the Bar, West Village

Finger-Lickin’ Good at Bar Blanc Bistro – NYC

Restaurants, Upper West Side

Dinner at Jean Georges – NYC

Las Vegas, Nevada, Restaurants

L’Atelier de Joël Robuchon – Las Vegas

DUMBO, Restaurants, Small Shops

Sweet & Savory in Dumbo – NYC

Nolita, Restaurants

Brunch at Jacques – NYC

Croque Madame @ Jacques

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