Isabella's

When we made plans with friends for a Monday night supper, they suggested their neighborhood since we rarely go there and restaurant week as a way to up the ante without throwing out too much money...and then we all ordered off the regular menu instead of the restaurant week one.  Best laid plans, right?

Isabella's labels itself a Mediterranean restaurant, and I can kind of see it with the artichokes and calamari starters, but I would really classify this as Continental with enough items like crab and meat hash, a cheeseburger, and cod on the menu.  I, myself, went the more Continental route by ordering a wedge salad (thankfully not drenched in dressing) and the sweet pea ravioli.  There wasn't much sauce so I felt the plate didn't quite match the menu's description, but I was still very pleased with what was in front of me.  I prefer my ravioli to have very little sauce because I actually want to taste the filling.  And don't even try to give me ravioli that's not packed with filling.  They are supposed to be like plump pillows - the kind that make you sleep like a baby, not the kind that give you a crick in the neck.  I was pleased with the amount of filling here so all was good.

The restaurant felt very Uptown.  And by that I mean we were easily the rowdiest Monday night crowd they've seen.  Most of the clientele looked established: sport coats, shift dresses, and scarves around the shoulders.  Still, it had a neighborhood vibe so we didn't feel out of place.  Also, I was wearing Lily Pulitzer so I blended right in.

Tip: don't feel like you have to do the restaurant week menu.  Sure, it sounds like a great deal: $38 for 3 courses - wow!  (nevermind that it used to be $34...) But if you're not a dessert person or if the smaller special menu doesn't really call to you, just order off the regular menu.  Two really good courses is always going to leave you more satisfied than three meh courses.  We were way happier with our selections this way and my whole meal came to $27 instead of $38.  This is a noteable difference when you're also tacking on alcohol as my group is wont to do.

Souvlaki GR

Food trucks love the area by my office.  There are tons of hardworking folks who never bring lunch from home and usually just want to run out and grab something quickly.  I don't usually take advantage to my proximity to all this great food because 1) I try to be good and pack my lunch at home; 2) it's probably not as healthy; and 3) I don't always have cash on me.  Friday is meant to be a "cheat day" so I stuck a $10 bill in my pocket and headed to the Souvlaki GR truck.

I had a good feeling about this truck because I knew it had been so successful they actually opened a brick and mortar restaurant (usually the truck grows from the success of the actual storefront, not the other way around).  I ordered a chicken souvlaki pita ($5) and, because it was cheat day, I also got the Greek fries ($5), which are topped with oregano and feta.  The pita was on the smaller side, which actually means it was an appropriate size.  I can't say the same about the fries, which were totally indulgent.  Indulgence is allowed on cheat day, but I would probably share the fries with a friend next time.  The tzatziki was great, the chicken nice and seasoned, and lots of extra points for them including a couple fries in the pita, just like they really do in the middle east/Mediterranean.

Anassa Taverna

For years a boring brasserie had been on the corner of 60th and 3rd that only received my business if I needed a quick bite before seeing a movie next door.  Thankfully, it has been replaced by Anassa Taverna, a Greek restaurant that doesn't take any arm twisting for a pre-movie meal.  Raychel and I rushed through our meal because we didn't want to miss any of "The Bling Ring" (love Sophia Coppola).

We may have eaten quickly, but not so fast that I missed how good the food was.  We split the anassa chips, fried zucchini and eggplant slices served with super thick tzaziki.  This dish is dependent on good tzaziki (done) and a kitchen that knows not to over-batter the chips (done).  Raych and I both got appetizers as our main course and after splitting the chips and munching on the complimentary bread and hummus it was the perfect size.  Raychel ordered the crab cake that had so little filler it fell apart at just a little pressure by her fork.  For some reason I was super in the mood for a salad, which is a good thing because I would have overlooked the romaine salad otherwise.  It doesn't sound like much, but this salad of shredded romaine with scallions, dill, olive oil, lemon, and shredded feta was great.  It was like the Greek version of a caesar and much larger than I expected.

Congrats, Anassa, you are a major step up from your predecessor.

Jack's Wife Freda

I have to admit, Jewish food is never top of my list.  I didn't grow up around it so not only are items like bagels, deli sandwiches, and matzah ball soup far from my top cravings, I am usually turned off by those foods.  However, there's only so much protesting you can do when a restaurant consistently receives great reviews like Jack's Wife Freda does.  I would never describe Jewish food as trendy, but the crowd in the SoHo café would beg to differ, considering the lively, posh crowd I saw on Thursday night.

Richard, always ready to try something new, was good to go without hesitation and when I realized the menu was influenced as much by Israeli/Mediterranean cuisine as it is by traditional Jewish food, I was much more intrigued.  Drawn to that Mediterranean food, I went straight for the Haloumi appetizer.  The salty cheese was topped with sweet grapes for a light start to the meal.  It was gone way too quickly.  I followed it up with the kefta kebab, meatballs served with hummus, tahini, and pita slices.  It was fabulous and reminded me how amazing hummus can be when prepared by people who know how to do it.  Richard loved his catch of the day (whole branzino with cous cous) and slurped down his matzah ball soup.

Jack's Wife Freda is completely separate from what I think of Jewish food to be - and I mean that in the best possible way.  Old world tradition has fallen into trendy SoHo and adapted.

 

Inspiration Station: You Don't Mess With The Zohan

It may be a weird choice, but I'd like to look at You Don't Mess With The Zohan for this month's movie.  I admit, it's a stupid movie, but as much as I tried to roll my eyes, I found myself laughing through much of it.  Oh Adam Sandler, I have such a soft spot for you.

1. The Dish: Hummus may as well be its own character in this movie.  It is eaten off of everything - from a candy bar to a pair of glasses.  Instead of making my own hummus, I made a hummus dish: 5 Layer Hummus Layer Dip.  This is the Mediterranean version of the Mexican 7 layer dip that you may now want to replace at potlucks.  It is so unbelievably simple and requires zero cooking.  Simply layer  ingredients as follows: hummus (I used my favorite edamame hummus from Trader Joes), tabbouleh, Greek yogurt, chopped cucumber, and feta.  Serve it with pita, flatbread, pita chips, or any combination of the above.  The recipe listed is the simplest version, but there are plenty variations.  Chopped iceberg lettuce, tomato, pickled veggies, or kalmata olives are also nice additions.  I'm just thinking of all the things I tried to pile into my falafel/shwarma/shnitzel sandwiches while I was in Israel.
2. The Doodads:

• Adam Sandler's character has his heart set on cutting hair so get yourself a snazzy new 'do.  Karina has recommended Fox and Jane and I think I'm going to check it out for my next trim.  I think they'll make my hair silky smooth.
• Everyone in this movie loves Fizzy Bubblech.  We may not get that here, but Maine Root sodas come in unique flavors like Blueberry, Ginger Brew, and Pumkin Pie so it should satisfy your fizzy cravings.
• Zohan runs around in denim cutoff shorts for a good portion of the movie.  It may feel a little middle school to wear them now, but denim cutoffs are making a comeback and if paired with the right top and accessories can look great for errands around the city.  I like these Rag and Bone boyfriend shorts for inspiration and plan to find a cheaper version for myself this summer.
• It seems Mediterranean folk are keen on hacky sack.  My game of choice for the park, however, is bocce and I think it could be cool to own an antique set.

Greek Fries

It was time for a potato side dish and although there is nothing wrong with regular roasted potatoes (cut into triangles, natch), I was in the mood to change it up ever so slightly.  I still went the roasting route, but gave them some personality.  Greek personality, preferably that of the dad from My Big Fat Greek Wedding who puts Windex on everything.

I bought smaller yellow potatoes so it would be easier to cut into fry wedges and then boiled them for about 10 minutes so they would take less time to roast.  I tossed them with a mixture of olive oil, lemon juice, garlic, oregano, and dill and through them in a 450 oven til they browned up.  When they came out, I sprinkled them with capers and feta.  Opa!

Mediterranean Shrimp Couscous

Problem: I completely forgot to prepare something for book club last night.  Book club starts at 7:30 (so I have til 7:45, obviously), which means I had to leave work by 6, stop by the grocery store, and get the cooking finished by 7:35 in order to get there at an appropriate time.  If I was lucky, I would have 25 minutes max for cooking so I had to be strategic.

While I cooked up some Israeli couscous, I prepped the other ingredients and threw them into the serving bowl: crumbled feta, chopped parsley, halved grape tomatoes, and shrimp.  You have two options at this point.  Either marinate the shrimp in a dressing of olive oil, dijon mustard, and cumin and then grill them, or use a box of the flavored couscous and just boil the shrimp.  I went with option number two because I happened to buy garlic and olive oil flavored couscous without realizing it so I didn't need the other seasoning.

I made it...just barely.  You've got a starch and a protein so this really could be used as the bulk of your dinner, which is pretty impressive since it takes less than 30 minutes to prepare.

I only got a pic of the whole book club spread, where mine is in the wooden bowl all the way in the back, unfortunately.  Don't worry, it was all gone by the end of our meeting!

Boulud Sud

Daniel Boulud may be a French chef, but the focus of his Boulud Sud is Mediterranean.  I would say it's more "inspired" rather than smack you in the face with a bunch of chickpeas kind of Mediterranean and this subtlety only makes it seem more high end.

We started by getting a whole slew of things to share: the octopus à la plancha, lamb terrine, Mediterranean mezze, ricotta with tapenade, crispy artichokes with aioli, and jamon iberico.  I'm exhausted just writing that out.  Though we were only six people and we had entrees on the way, we finished off all of the apps without much effort, a testament to how good they were.  The octopus, ricotta, and artichokes went first as they were the clear table favorites.  With a sauce or dip on every plate, I was in absolute heaven, swishing my bread across every dish to soak up as much flavor as possible.

Plenty of the dishes include cous cous, chickpeas, yogurt, and I could get several of those flavors by ordering the chicken tagine for my entree.  The tagine, a ceramic pot with a cone-shaped lid, is pretty much the cooking vessel of Morocco where Boulud pulls many flavors.  Somehow, the chicken skin managed to stay crispy while sitting in the sauce for an extended period of time.  It may have been one of the simpler dishes on the menu, but it was so well executed that I was very happy with my choice.

We ordered two different chocolaty desserts and they were good and fine, but the stunner was the grapefruit givré.  Givré means "frosted" in French and in the case of this dessert, references the mass atop the puff of white atop the hollowed out grapefruit that looked like snow and tasted like sugar feathers.  I couldn't tell you what was inside the grapefruit.  There was something gummied, some fluff, some sugar.  Other than the grapefruit peel used only as the dessert's vessel, I had no idea what I was eating but I liked it.

Boulud Sud may have a famous chef, but it is far from trendy.  They draw a large pre-theater crowd in the early evening but as it grows later, it becomes a who's who of Upper West Side society.  I saw media magnates, Ben Stiller, and Fran Drescher dining (separately) while I was there.  I am neither a West Sider nor a member of society, but I'm always game to pretend.

Tzatziki Tuna Salad

When I saw this recipe, I thought it might be a good way to give my tuna fish (which I typically make with just tuna and mayo) a little sophistication.  I had to adapt the recipe a bit because although I wanted grown up tuna fish, I can't help but be picky about what goes in it.  That meant the red onions and pepperoncinis were out and and the tomatoes had to be chopped a little smaller.  Though it seems like I may have left out a few key ingredients, the lemon and dill-filled tzatzki and cucumbers still made this a completely different tuna fish than the boring one I've always made.  Next time, I'll make the tzatziki separate from the tuna/cucumber/tomato.  I know that's what the recipe tells you to do, but I thought I could cut out a step and no one would notice.  Now I'm thinking it makes a difference.  As good as the flavor was, each ingredient would have been able to do it's job better had they been able to sit and come together in the sauce before being added to the tuna.  It was good the way I did it, but with the patience to make the sauce separately, it could have been called really good.

grk

Because our NYC Dawgs board meeting was scheduled at supper time, we all planned to grab food on our way to Hansel's apartment and eat during our working session.  Hansel lives in the financial district, an area I am wholly unfamiliar with so I picked up food from the place closest to her apartment, grk.  After stuffing my face with this fresh Greek food, I immediately went online to see where else it was located.  Nowhere.  That's what I learned.  The only location of this restaurant is in the entirely inconvenient [to me] Financial District.  Why, grk, why?!  I enjoyed your food so much and need to be able to eat it on a far more regular basis.  Consider this my plea for you to open up another branch, preferably in Murray Hill.

Here's the thing: there aren't a ton of Greek restaurants in Manhattan.  There are a couple of wonderful taverna style places, but those are for sit down meals and tend to be pricier.  Other than grk, there's no place for a good gyro.  You could always go for street meat, but though it's fabulous at 3 AM, it seems too greasy in the light of day and doesn't come with any sides.  And, sure, all diners are owned by Greeks and have a few Greek items on the menu, but it's not the same as going somewhere devoted to this type of food.  grk is the solution.

I wanted to try one of the sides, so I ordered the yeero plate, which comes with your choice of meat (chicken, pork, or lamb & beef - I got lamb/beef), tzatziki (traditional, spicy, or basil - I got basil), 4 pita triangles, and side (chips, brown rice, or aegean slaw - I got slaw).  The meat was not greasy, the portions were ample, the yogurt in the tzatziki was thick, the pita soft and just charred enough, and the slaw had the perfect blend of spices that I can't figure out.  I didn't think I would love the slaw but I ended up stuffing into my pie hole in forkfuls too large to be considered ladylike.  I didn't try the yogurt, but it looked like there were some interesting toppings (fig preserves, savory options) and it is imported from Greece.

If only I had an excuse to go all the way downtown again tonight, I would go back to grk and order the exact same thing all over again.  So, again, grk, please open up a location near my apartment soon.

Ethos

The night my parents and grandmothers arrived I wanted to stay close to home for dinner so I picked Ethos for what I think is solid Greek food.  My father would call it more than solid.  He couldn't stop talking about how it reminded him of the tavernas he loved so much in Greece and told the waiter (his new best friend) as much.  We ended up ordering a bunch of appetizers to share around because those are some of our favorite dishes (and for my father, the most reminiscent of taverna fare).  All four spreads we tried were good, as was the shepherd's salad.  My La La slurped every bit of her avgolemono (chicken and lemon) soup and the dolmades were quickly snatched picked off the plate.  I wasn't crazy about my spanikopita triangles (a little too much phyllo), but they were redeemed by my plate of salty, tender grilled octopus.

The entrees may be a little pricier, but the appetizer portions are sizable and authentic.  Go with several of those and your bill will be just where you want it, as will your belly.  I'm not sure if it was my father's chat about Greece with the waiter or my stunning beauty (for my ego's sake, let's go with option B), but the server was nice enough to bring out baklava and galaktoboureko, on the house.  Both of those desserts can be hit or miss: galaktoboureko dough can get soggy or the nut/phyllo/honey ratio can be off in the baklava.  None of those common errors here.  Just as we were ready to pay the bill and still gushing about how nice it was to receive dessert courtesy of the restaurant, the waiter walked out with a round of dessert wine, also on the house.  That's how you secure a return customer, my friends.

    

Bi Lokma

When Mallory and I were both feeling a bit under the weather on Friday, we decided to switch our happy hour to tea and Turkish food at a random but central spot on 45th, Bi Lokma.  Mallory had been before and recommended the apple tea, a warm, sweet concoction that was as perfect as perfect can be on a rainy day when I'd had a 5 hour headache.

After sharing hummus with this amazing focaccia style flatbread, Mallory ordered a salad and the hot yogurt soup (sounds weird but tasted amazing with all sorts of flavors we couldn't place).  I went with the burek, which was basically that flaming greek saganaki cheese stuffed inside cigar shaped phyllo dough.  I also ordered the grape leaves stuffed with rice and - oo surprise! - currents.  For a dish that's usually salty and acid filled, the sweet currents were a nice switcharoo.

Though I'm usually a member of the clean plate club, Mallory warned me to stop when I felt myself getting full so I could save room for dessert.  Much like the yogurt soup, the butternut squash sounds like an odd choice but tasted wonderful.  It's been candied and sits in a very light syrup, topped with fresh cream and chopped walnuts.  It was almost like chilled, not-chewy dried fruit.  It was refreshing and light but still sweet enough to feel like a true dessert.

When we arrived, the restaurant was calm enough to serve as a place to sip tea and read a book.  By the time dinner hour was in full swing, the atmosphere was still relaxed but filled with people who have found this somewhat hidden gem.  Two things to keep in mind: 1) BYOB and 2) cash only.  Cash only can be slightly annoying, but the BYOB part cancels it out.

Olympia Cafe

I didn't really want a birthday celebration this year.  This was not a case of "boo hoo don't look at me I'm getting old."  It's more like "turning 27 seems like no big deal when your closest friends are getting married and you just bought an apartment."  Basically, my birthday seemed pretty inconsequential with all the other amazing things going on right now.

There was no party and no candles this year, but I didn't see any harm in an intimate supper with my Mom, Mark, and Allison (my Daddy was out of town at a National board meeting).  I picked one of my Savannah favorites for supper, Olympia Cafe.  It's nothing fancy and happens to be right in the middle of River Street, also known as Savannah's clusterf*** of tourists.  It may be in an unlikely area, but I've always enjoyed the food and have spent many (most) a birthday there.

Fun fact: when I was a wee tike of about eight, the owner took me to the back and showed me my first keg at my Grandpa's birthday dinner.  It was love at first sight.

We started with an antipasti plate that included a potato dip, roe dip, olives, artichokes, octopus, and feta.  We also ordered calamari (some of the best in Savannah thanks to perfect breading), hummus, and dolmades.  They used to have meat in their dolmades and I was wary when the waitress told us they had switched to vegetarian, but they were so nicely spiced and topped with yummy tzaziki that I was just as happy with the meat-free version.  For my entree I ordered the duo plate (choice of two specialties) with pastisio and spanikopita.  The pastisio was made with red sauce and just a little bechemel instead of tons of white sauce.  I actually preferred this lighter version.  The spanikopita was great as usual and the potatoes and rice had a nice lemony touch.

It was the perfect birthday supper spent with those I love most at a restaurant that was just as good as I remembered.

Yes to Yefsi

Saturday night I headed to Ashley's for dinner and drinks with her sister and friend.  We kicked off the Spring evening with champagne on the roof of Ash's building before heading around the corner to Yefsi for dinner.  Yefsi is a Greek restaurant that has a long list of appetizers that make it perfect for sharing tapas style (i.e.: perfect for a group of girls).  Though there are entrees on the menu, we opted for all apps because we knew they were on the larger side and it would allow us to try more things and decrease our total bill.  We ordered the fried calamari, horiatiki (traditional greek salad of tomato, cucumber, and feta), yefsi chips (fried zucchini and eggplant chips with tzatziki), octopodi (tender grilled octopus - my favorite of the evening), and halloumi (grilled cheese with citrus vinaigrette).  The food was wonderful and it seemed we ordered the perfect amount for our group of four.  Fair warning: the chef is not shy with the garlic, so make sure you bring some gum before meeting up with other friends.  Also wonderful was the wine.  Ashley knew what she was doing when it came to ordering because she had actually eaten there the previous weekend.  Once she confirmed we all liked Malbec, she ordered a fabulous wine that turned out to be the cheapest on the menu (though you wouldn't know by tasting it).

The food was delicious, authentic (I think, but, then again, I've never been to Greece), and reasonably priced.  It helps when the chef and owner previously worked at the city's top Greek restaurants, Molyvos and Milos.  Here, the food is just as good but comes with a more reasonable price tag.  Our entire bill, including wine and tax, came to $24 per person.  We left a hearty tip because the service was particularly good.  At the end of our meal, the manager brought out dessert wine and when he overheard us toasting Wellsley's birthday, he bought her a huge piece of cake.  That kind of service will keep me coming back...but the food already clinched that one.

Mediterranean Rice Bowl

It's very rare that I have a vegetarian meal, but the other night my apartment was totally devoid of any meat so I threw together a rice bowl that was satisfying without the meat and helped me on my quest to be slightly healthier [in preparation of an upcoming trip where I'll have to get into a bathing suit].  This is one of those "throw in whatever you have" meals so the veggie combinations are endless.

Just cook rice and top with your favorite hummus (I'm really liking Whole Foods' jalapeno hummus), add your favorite veggies (I sauteed yellow squash, zucchini, and lotus root with olive oil, salt, and pepper), and then finish it off with crumbled feta.  I bought the lotus root in the freezer section at Whole Foods a while back but never knew how to use it.  It seems like it is mostly used in Asian cuisine, but I think it's versatile enough for this dish.  It is a little tougher without the thick sauces that usually cover it, but the flavor was good and it kept this dish from being too mushy.

I happened to love my veggie choices, but I'm thinking sliced snow peas, cucumber, mushrooms, and pickled veggies would also all work.  I was surprised by how fulfilling this meal was - I highly recommend it on a busy day.  Hummus is one of those things you should always keep in your fridge for a quick and healthy snack, and if rice isn't one of your pantry staples...well I just find that weird.  The rest of the ingredients involve no more than a quick stop at the bodega on the way home.  If I keep going like this, I don't think I'll have anything to worry about in the bathing suit department. 

All for Aldea

3 years.  That's how long I've wanted to go to Aldea.  From the day it opened, this restaurant has been wowing critics and diners, and I wanted in on that action.  I didn't just want to try it because it was the hot place to go; I wanted to try it because the Mediterranean and Spanish flecked menu called to me.  And because it was the hot place to go.

The problem is that Aldea is not a cheap restaurant.  Thankfully, twice a year, Restaurant Week alleviates the strain a restaurant like this would usually put on my finances.  But alas, another problem: the really good restaurants only participate in Restaurant Week for weekday lunch, if they participate at all.  Because Aldea is not located near my office, lunch is not usually in the cards, but yesterday the stars aligned.

My lunch slot opened up, as did Matt's, and there was one reservation left on Open Table.  We hightailed it to Flatiron to finally try the restaurant that had been eluding me.  We were strategic in our course choices so we could try as much of the menu as possible.

For the appetizer, we got the tomato-cucumber gazpacho and the pork and duck terrine.  I'm not sure how they packed so much flavor into the muscat wine gelee that accompanied the terrine, but it was some seriously strong flavor.  It was too much on its own but added a punch to the salty terrine.  The gazpacho was ridiculous.  I have never had a creamy gazpacho before but I loved it.  All the garlic-y flavor was still there, but this had an Italian twist with basil and some buffalo mozzarella.

For the entrees, we got the skate with zucchini ribbons and sherry foam and the farro risotto with orange, cucumber, and mushrooms.  Two great choices.  My first taste of skate wing was a hit, even more so when I realized what it was.  Skate is a type of ray (as in sting ray), so I was eating one of the flat flappy things you see on those guys.  It's a thin piece of fish, so it is important (to me) that it is not over-sauced, and the sherry foam was just light enough to flavor the dish without making you forget you were eating fish.  The farro risotto was a very interesting dish.  All the ingredients in normal risotto were swapped out, but the end result was similar to what you would expect.  Instead of rice, we had farro, which gave the dish a nuttier taste with more to chew on.  Instead of cream, [I think] it was made with tangy Greek yogurt.  It just worked, as did the toppings.

For dessert we got the peach and blueberry bread pudding with creme fraiche sorbet and the pavlova (meringue cake) with fresh berries, passion fruit, and coconut sorbet.  Both served as the perfect end to the meal.  I take that back.  The perfect end to the meal were the glasses of dessert wine the waitress brought to our table on the house since we had to remind them to bring our sangria earlier in the meal.  That's service.

Usually, Restaurant Week meals are lesser versions of what you could really get if you were willing to pay.  Now that I got a taste, I can't stop thinking about what a full blown dinner would be like.  Time to start saving up so I can find out.

Passover Play-by-Play: Day 6

Hopefully, you read all about yesterday’s brunch, but it’s time to recap the rest of Day 6.  Dan is in town for a very short visit but managed to squeeze me in for dinner with Matt and Karina.  Since they were driving into the city from Queens, they said we could do dinner by my apartment to make life easier for me.  That would have been a great deal on any night, but it was especially nice not to travel last night because it started raining right around dinner time.

The problem with dinner in my neighborhood is that there is a plethora of Italian spots, a few Asian restaurants, and not much else.  Pizza, pasta, and pad thai are all anti-Passover, so I had to do a little thinking to come up with someplace that worked.  Then I remembered Dardanel, a Mediterranean seafood place that I’ve ordered from before.  The food was always good when I had it delivered and the restaurant is only two blocks away – more than enough rationale for me. 

We got a large shepherd’s salad for the table (chopped cucumber, tomato, onion, and feta), though I’ll admit, I ate the lion’s share.  The veggies were fresh and crunchy, just how I wanted to start the meal.  I was jealous watching Dan sop up the extra feta and salad liquid with his bread.  I’ve had the bread and know how good that would have been.  Sadness for me.  Dan ordered the manti, little lamb dumplings in yogurt sauce.  I’ve had the dish before and it’s not bad, but a little too heavy on the yogurt and seasonings.  I think if you go to Dardanel, the fish is the way to go.  I ordered the dorado and Matt got the branzino.   For the most part, the fish was fileted nicely, but I found a few bones in the middle - nothing I couldn’t work around.  The fish was char-grilled so there were some nice crusty bits with that good grill flavor.  I believe grilling fish adds some depth to the fish so I often gravitate toward it on a menu and in the case of Dardanel, it was a good move.

On my way out the restaurant, we noticed they have a nice little special going.  If you dine at the bar, you get a glass of wine and entrée for $19.  Considering my fish alone was $22, this is quite the deal.  Next time I’m craving Mediterranean, I’ll grab my book and sit at the bar instead of ordering in.  It’s definitely a neighborhood place with lots of parents and families.  It wouldn’t be a place to run across town to, but if you’re a Midtown East-er, I would definitely consider it a good dinner spot. 

Once again, it looks like fish has won out as the go-to Passover meal.  Just down to two more days and since I've made it through the decidedly more difficult weekend, I'm in the home stretch!

Passover Play-by-Play: Day 2

Ok, two days into this holiday and I'm still going strong.  Let's break it down:

• Lunch: I brought leftovers to work.  Turns out this was a bad idea.  Today I learned olive tapenade smells god-awful when heated up.  It looked and tasted good, but when I reheated it, it smelled terrible.  Everyone was walking by going "What's that smell?  It smells so weird in here," so I threw it away and washed the bowl rigorously.  It was very embarrassing.
• Snack: Since lunch was a major fail, I snacked on some crudite that was left over from a meeting and lying around the office. Veggies and dip is a good snack any day of the week and totally Passover-friendly.
• Dinner: I decided to build the meal around salmon because fish is considered neither milk nor meat - it can go either way.  Basically, it's the bisexual of the kosher world.  This means I get my protein and can still have cheese/dairy in the meal - best of both worlds.  I baked the salmon in lemon juice and capers and then topped it with a cucumber dill yogurt sauce.  This was a great way to cook fish.  Tons of flavor and very healthy (thanks to 0% Greek yogurt).  For the side dish, I tried a new recipe tonight and attempted a spinach pie/casserole.  I layered matzah (that I soaked in water first), spinach, mushrooms, and feta.  I should have probably used some egg and maybe cream to bind it all together, but this still worked.  The recipe will need to be tweaked, but it was a good start.   

So today was half good, half bad, but I'm only two days into this experiment and I anticipate my Passover food will only get better.

Potlucky III

Last night was our 3^rd quarterly D.I.E.T. potluck dinner, hosted by Emily who chose a Mediterranean theme.  Deena brought a poo poo platter of Mediterranean apps including stuffed grape leaves, olives, hummus, mini spinach pies, and cranberry cheese puffs.  I’ll overlook the fact that she assembled instead of cooked 1) because she has a toddler in Scarsdale and 2) because the things she brought were very tasty.

For the main course, Emily made tilapia over a bed of whole wheat cous cous.  The whole wheat variety gave the grain some additional texture and I’m sure the added health benefit isn’t bad either.  Emily marinated the tilapia in chile powder, cumin, and mango/peach salsa.  Well, she marinated mine, hers and Deena’s, but Ira – ever the difficult one – does not like cumin or chile powder so the prince’s plain fish was cooked in its own pan.  I know he was happy with his fish, but I think he missed out because Emily did a great job with the seasoning.  Ira was in charge of the side dish and made roasted Brussels sprouts, which means he bought Brussels sprouts and Emily made them for him.   We have now had three of these potlucks and Ira has yet to cook anything completely on his own.  Again, I don’t really mind because the food has always been good and the endless entertainment he provides is the real reason he’s invited (the things I now know about New York Sports Club steam rooms, oh my!).

Dessert is officially cursed.  Let’s look back on past D.I.E.T. dinners:

1.       Deena gets sick and her last minute replacement didn’t have time to bring anything so we ate Ben and Jerry’s instead.

2.       Emily’s banana pudding spilled all over the 23^rd street E stop so we ate Ben and Jerry’s instead.

3.       My attempt at baking was a huge disaster so we ate Ben and Jerry’s instead.

Noticing a theme?  Ben and Jerry’s should sponsor these dinners from now on.  Allow me to elaborate on my dessert fiasco.  I’ve mentioned I am a cook but definitely not a baker; however, there is one dessert that I can actually make: monkey bread.  Considering my Mommy’s monkey bread is one of my top three favorite desserts ever (the other two are crème brulée and fruit tarts), I learned how to make it myself when I moved away from home.  It’s the one dessert I have mastered.  I thought I had it in the bag.  So Tuesday night I’m getting the dessert prepped and pre-heating the oven.  I forgot I had recently put some pots with plastic handles in the broiler for storage and the next thing I know, I’m ripping my smoke alarm off the wall.  I decided the apartment needed to air out so I put the half-baked monkey bread in the fridge and then re-commenced in the morning.  I finish baking and think all is good to go, but the bundt pan was still hot from the oven so I was wearing my oven mitts to flip the dessert on the plate.  The mitts slipped and my arm smashed against the super hot pan leaving me with a huge burn mark that is now blistering up.  So sexy.  The burn caused me to drop the pan and some of the monkey bread missed the plate.  Fine, I frustratedly thought, I’ll just serve it lopsided.  Then I tested the dessert and realized it didn’t cook through entirely (probably a result of both the stop-and-go cooking and the different brand of biscuits I used).  Into the trash it went.  So to recap, I now have dessert in the trash, a welt on my arm, and a hole in my wall where the smoke alarm used to be.  Awesome.

Thankfully, we were able to save the day with an amazing new dessert trick: ice cream bread.  This is neither ice cream cake nor cake topped with ice cream.  This is actually bread (think banana bread or or some other loaf cake) made with only two ingredients, two cups of ice cream (one pint) and 1.5 cups of self-rising flour.  If you don’t have self-rising flour, just add 1/2 teaspoon baking powder and 1/2 teaspoon salt for each cup of flour and voilà.  Let the ice cream soften, mix with the self-rising flour and pop into the oven for 45 minutes at 350.  That’s it.  Sounds too good to be true, but it actually works.  It doesn’t taste like super sweet ice cream, but it has a hint of the ice cream flavor (we used Triple Caramel Chunk) and it comes out nice and moist.  It would be a perfect breakfast treat, but since we weren’t having breakfast, we topped the bread with some more Ben and Jerry’s (this time we used Dulce Delish).  I think the key is choosing an ice cream that has chunks of something (chocolate, fruit, nuts) so it does more than just sweeten the bread.  I can’t wait to experiment with different ice cream flavors.

In just three short months I’ll be hosting the potluck and Ira will be in charge of dessert.  I’m hoping he can break the curse, but that would require him to actually cook something all by himself.

Stuffed from a Stuffed Meal

About a year ago, I cut out a recipe for stuffed zucchini but never got around to making it.  Tonight seemed like as good a time as any, so after work I picked up the ingredients needed for this Mediterranean meal.  I filled roasted zucchini halves with a mixture of rice, lamb, onions, and spices, but it didn't all come together until I added the topping.  A little lemon juice, greek yogurt, and pine nuts and suddenly the dish was whole.  The best part is that I got my protein, veggie, and starch all in one little boat.