Las Ramblas

Tapas tends to add up, which is why I was shocked that our bill at Las Ramblas was startlingly cheap.  Five of us went to this tiny West Village spot to celebrate Beth's birthday and even though we paid for Beth's portion of the tab (which included six dishes and a pitcher of sangria) it only came to $15/person (plus tip).

The first dish to come out was the tortilla espanola, what they call an omelette with aioli.  It was like a giant slice of layered potato cake - a gratin held together with egg instead of cheese.  Based on the description, this is something I have always overlooked on Spanish tapas menus so I'm glad one of the girls made the executive decision to order it for the table.  It was my favorite for the evening and I will definitely gravitate towards it on future tapas outings.  My second favorite dish was the shrimp in a white wine and garlic sauce.  The shrimp were fine, but I would have just ordered the sauce for bread sopping.  The patatas bravas were wonderful as always.  I'm not sure why people forget to order this at Spanish restaurants.  Perhaps it is because it is often listed under sides instead of with the other dishes, but the pimenton aioli that is always drizzled on top makes these potatoes anything but ordinary.  Calamari is a crowd pleaser, and these were not overly breaded, though they didn't stand out.  The chicken empanada was good but not as special as the other dishes.  Finally, we ordered a spinach dish that was basically the cheesiest creamed spinach I've ever had...which means it was some of the best.

It's rare to get out so cheap at a tapas place.  Rarer still to manage such a feat in the West Village.  Las Ramblas may not be as good as someplace like Boqueria, but the deal factor makes it zoom several spots up on the tapas list.

      

Casa Mono For the Win

There was a ton of pressure associated with Friday night's restaurant pick.  It was my Daddy's birthday and he had high expectations.  He left the picking entirely up to me, but I knew there were a few things he was hoping to get out of dinner.  My father loves game but doesn't see it all too often at restaurants in Savannah so that was on the list.  I also knew he wanted to eat at a celebrated restaurant and taste the food of a chef who was big in foodie circles.  Finally, I knew he was leaning toward Spanish flavors or at least something on the heartier side.  Tall order, right?

I seemed to find everything he wanted in Casa Mono.  The Spanish tapas restaurant is owned by the Batali/Bastianich team and is consistently ranked on the Top 101 Restaurants list.  There is also an extensive game selection on the menu.  Jackpot.

Every dish was wonderful.  Simply wonderful.  The scallops with parsnip puree and cherries was about as close to perfection as you can get.  My other favorite was rabbit with anticuchos and habanero cuajada.  That cuajada is a yogurt, so you get the heat from the habanero and the cooling factor of the yogurt all emulsified in one sauce that I slathered onto the carrots and rabbit that was served fried and [I believe] braised.  The squash gave the mole sauce that was served with the duck a different kind of sweetness that you don't get with the chocolate alone.  The waiter warned us that not everyone loves the squid ink rice and scallop dish because they find the strong ocean flavor overpowering.  I appreciate the heads up, but he didn't realize he was dealing with a Lowcountry family who regularly pulls dinner up from the river.  Salt water is a beloved flavor to us, and this dish only reminded us of that. 

Each dish was a winner.  Casa Mono came through as the perfect restaurant to celebrate my Daddy's birthday.  Now I just need another reason to celebrate so I can go back!

Scallops with Parsnip Puree and Cherries

Quail with Tomato Raisens and Baby Romaine

Pork Croquetas with Porcini and Cider Greens

Confit Goat with Creamed Kale and Pepitas

Rabbit with Anticuchos and Habanero Cuajada

Duck Confit with Winter Squash Mole

Squid Ink Bomba Rice with Taylor Bay Scallops

Boy Talk at Boqueria

It had only been three weeks since I saw Marcy (aka: Brutus), but in that time enough transpired that we were in desperate need of some cocktails, a good meal, and some good old fashioned boy talk.  I was in the mood to check out someplace new so I sent Brutus a long list of restaurants I hadn't tried yet.  One of the places on my list was Boqueria, a tapas bar and restaurant that's been around for a while.  Brutus had been before and loved it so she immediately made it her top choice.  They don't take reservations so we decided to take our chances and meet at their Flatiron location at 8 PM.

The wait was only 30-45 minutes, so we put our names on the list and walked next door to Flatiron Lounge.  I have always loved the Art Deco aesthetic, so I like walking into this bar with it's arched ceiling, blue lights, and velvet booths.  This setting, with the soothing sounds of Jazz in the background, is perfect for enjoying a true cocktail just as they did back in the day.  There is a long list of drinks and each liquor seemed perfectly paired with fresh flavors to match the season.  I don't usually go in the gin direction, but there was a cocktail on the menu made with gin, ginger, cucumber, and a few other ingredients.  I wish I could fully remember it or at least find a menu, but trust when I say it was crisp and delicious.

Art Deco lights above the bar at Flatiron Lounge

We headed back to the restaurant and only had a few minutes to go before our table was ready.  Unfortunately, that additional time did not help us narrow down our choices because everything on the menu looked amazing.  We ended up ordering six dishes, including dessert and all but one came from the [long] specials menu.  Boqueria is named after a famous market in Spain where patrons can pick up the freshest of seasonal ingredients so it seemed only fitting that we order the special dishes that were of the season:  

• Crostini of shredded salt cod with tomato, pickled shallots, and black olive oil: Wonderful, light, and not at all fishy
• Pan roasted brussels sprouts with Hudson Valley braeburn apples, dijon mustard, pine nuts: The sweetness from the apples played well off the dijon - I wish they gave us a little more of those sweet braeburn slices
• Housemade flatbread with sautéed wild mushrooms, serrano ham, idiazábal cheese, caramelized onions, and quail eggs: The quail egg is similar to a regular egg just tinier and seemed to me to have an even richer yolk.  In this case, richer = better.
• Braised veal cheeks with potato purée, caramelized pearl onions, and red wine jus: Good, but probably the least memorable.  The flavors didn't jump off the plate like they did with the other dishes, though the fatty cheeks cut like butter.
• Dates stuffed with almonds and valdeon, wrapped in bacon: This was the only regular menu item and it was delicious.  I loved the surprise crunch of the almond in the middle and the crispy bacon on the outside.  The dates were super sweet, so I wish the valdeon was a little stronger, but overall it was great.
• Whipped fresh cow's milk ricotta cheese, honey, candied walnuts, berries, and strawberry coulis: Were they milking the cow while we were eating our dates?  This ricotta was thick and dreamy with just enough honey and coulis to sweeten it and plenty of berries to keep it light.

Now that I've [finally] been there, I can see why Boqueria is consistently filled with people and earned itself a 2-star review by the Times..  Everything we ordered elicited "mmm" noises and it came at a fair price.  The dishes range in price from $6 to $13 and having been to several tapas places recently where $13 is on the low end, this is a steal.  That price makes you believe you really are eating bar snacks in Spain.  And if the cost doesn't give you that authentic feeling, the seating will since every chair in the place is bar height.

 

 

Gobble Gobble 2011

As usual, blogging has taken a backseat to family time while I was home for Thanksgiving.  Now that I'm back and attempting to reacclimate myself to normal life, it's time for a Thanksgiving post.  The usual suspects for the main meal were all there, but what changed were the appetizers.  For the fourth year in a row, I was placed in charge of the pre-feast snackies and while the rest of the Thanksgiving meal is steeped in tradition, I take the opportunity to mix it up every year. 

I usually prepare two apps, but this year I went with three.  No one who was at this meal attended my Halloween party so I reprised the crab dip, this time adding extra Old Bay, hot sauce, and crab (other ingredients: mayo, lemon juice, cream cheese, and onion).  The crowd devoured it.  I think this one will be making a regular appearance at parties from now on.  Appetizer number two was chorizo and manchego pinwheels.  Three ingredients: puff pastry, browned chorizo, and fresh grated manchego (four if you count the egg wash).  You couldn't ask for an easier recipe, and my brother declared it was the best thing I've ever cooked - a bold statement from Mark Konter.  If you get the legit Mexican brand chorizo, it will be quite spicy so if you'd like to tone it down a little, use hot Italian sausage.  The third appetizer was a refreshing and healthy veggie dip - a nice change of pace after the other apps.  I cooked onion, garlic, and spinach and then let it cool while I prepared the base of the dip.  I pureed avocado, Greek yogurt, salt, pepper, and lemon juice and then folded in the spinach mixture (that I had chopped when it came out of the fridge).  Since there was no mayo or sour cream, this dip was super healthy but had tons of flavor so I'll be making it again when I feel the menu is filled with heavy food.

This may have been the best Thanksgiving yet.  After four years, we've really gotten into the groove. 
In addition to perfecting the food, we have become quite adept at choosing the Thursday evening movie to rent on demand.  This year, The Change Up proved to be the perfect film to watch before slipping into my food coma.

 

Spanish at Salinas

Before heading out of town for the weekend, Steph and I met up for a dinner date on Thursday. We chose tapas restaurant Salinas because it was in a convenient location and the New York Times had given it a very good review on the day we were choosing where to eat. Even though the review was given by interim critic Eric Asimov [while we wait for the Times to choose and announce who will take over Sam Sifton's spot], I felt the 2-star review was well thought out and inspiring enough for us to give it a try.

It may usually be overlooked, but I was a fan of the crusty bread that was placed on each table. It was served with a white bean ancho dip that was velvety smooth. We decided to go with all small plates because the ingredients were more interesting than those in the entrees. First up we had the Brussels sprouts, broccoli, and cauliflower with mint yogurt. Next was a crispy flatbread with Mahon cheese and honey. Both dishes were very good but a little small. They got bigger (and even better) as we went on. The veal cheek and wild mushroom croquettes were a great representation of the Spanish Basque regional cuisine they were trying to nail. The croquetas were large and amply stuffed. Next we tried the octopus because I remembered it from the restaurant review. Octopus and potato is a typical pairing in this cuisine, but never have I seen it done like this with the potato puréed and the octopus sliced thin in crudo-style coins. Because I'm not afraid of any food, we ordered the tripe, which was served in a tomato based stew with chorizo, ham, paprika, and crunchy chickpeas. I don't know how they created crunchy chickpeas, but they were a great match for the slimy tripe. If you can get past the texture and idea of tripe (stomach) this was a very good dish. We also ordered the potato side dish. I thought the waiter was going to lose points for this one, but then they arrived and were so perfectly crisped and covered with a spicy brava sauce. I thought it would be boring, but it turned out to have all the flavors I was looking for.

I don't want to fail to mention the non-food elements of this dinner. There was a great wine list and a very attentive waiter who helped us choose one that ended up being perfect. I would try to go on a nice night when they pull back the retractable roof in the back of the restaurant for a nice indoor/outdoor experience that will only enhance the food. It may be a restaurant of the moment, but don't expect to find the trendy crowd here. The restaurant was filled with middle aged people who I assume we're Chelsea residents. That may not sound exciting, but it's a good indication this place will be around for a while since it is relying on people who follow food over fad.

Ask for Basque

When you allow yourself to forget that walking through Bar Basque makes you feel like you're on an episode of Deep Space Nine, you'll probably enjoy yourself and the food.  This crazy setting comes courtesy of Jeffrey Chodorow (Asia de Cuba, China Grill, etc.) who has a flair for theatrics.  Everything is black, red, and shiny, including the cold, metal toilets.  The inside may feel space age-y and robotic, but the outdoor lounge area is subtle and airy.  It juts into the Eventi Hotel courtyard air space and faces a giant screen that has been plastered on the wall of the adjacent building.  Sometimes, this screen features old movies but on Wednesday night, we got to watch the US Open as we enjoyed the crisp end-of-August air.

The Basque Country is a specific region that crosses Spain and France, but the culinary focus here is all Spanish.  Steph and I started with cocktails that were tasty but too sweet.  (My watermelon and raspberry martini tasted like a Jolly Rancher.)  We decided to switch to the all-Spanish wine list for drink number two, a wise choice.  For our first bite, we wanted to get an order of the croquettes and the waitress recommended the wild mushroom.  The mushrooms were very...wild (not sure how else to describe that strong flavor - I like it, others don't).  I thought that while the flavor was there, the texture of the filling was a little to runny.  The next dish was more mushroom, but this was a definite success: portobello mushroom fries with a cod roe dip.  I know seeing the word "roe" on a dish frightens some people, but trust me anyone would enjoy this slightly salty mayonnaise.  The fries were not too thick, not too thin and cooked just the right amount of time to maintain a sturdy texture.  We veered away from mushrooms for our third dish and ordered calamari a la plancha in a squid ink sauce.  The plump bites of squid were nicely seared and not doused in sauce.  Why squid is not served in its own ink more often, I do not know, but it seems like a logical combination.  I can now tell you it is not only logical but tasty as well.

We were celebrating Steph's birthday, so dessert was a must.  Steph immediately spotted salted caramel ice cream on the menu and what b-day girl wants, b-day girl gets.  Turns out the ice cream comes in groups of either three or six adorable mini cones.  We rounded out our trio with cream cheese and rice pudding flavors.  The cream cheese tasted basically like French vanilla, but the rice pudding was my surprise favorite thanks to the speckles of rice pearls.  The cones were paper thin crisps instead of mini versions of a regular sugar cone, which is good because that would have been too thick for these dainty desserts.  The dessert menu as a whole was very inventive, but we had to try the fried milk, which came as four building blocks of warm custard encased in a sugar crust.  I wish there was a little more of the passion fruit sauce on the plate but overall this was a great, fun dessert.  I don't even know what would happen if you paired this with Momofuku Milk Bar's cereal milk.  I might self combust.

My only complaint would be the service.  There are hostesses when you walk in but they pretty much stand their posts and say hello with a smile as you walk in, but finding a seat is all up to you.  Once you're sitting, it's rare for a server to walk by so acquiring your food could take some time.  Steph and I were in no rush, but if you walk in ready to eat, you may need bring along some sort of flashing light to attract the eye of a waitress.

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.

Seconds at Socarrat

My parents don't usually like to visit a place twice when they come to New York.  They figure there is so much great food to try, why miss out on a new restaurant by going back to the food you've already experienced.  They made an exception, however, for Socarrat Paella, a restaurant I've blogged about before.  Since it was Father's Day weekend, this reservation was made particularly with my Daddy in mind (though I am not complaining because it happens to be my favorite restaurant).  And yes, you read that right - Socarrat Paella now takes reservations in their second location (in Nolita), which makes life much easier.  The food is just as good and the space is roomier.

I would actually go as far as to say that my meal was better this time than any other time I have eaten there.  The paella itself was as tasty as always (we got the pescado y mariscos again), but this time we got some new apps.  Our first two appetizers were good (croquetas and garlicy sizzling shrimp) and staples for this cuisine, but the other two were fantastic.

The second I picked up the menu, the scallop carpaccio jumped out at me.  I told (not asked) my parents that we would be ordering it.  I had never had scallop carpaccio (it was prepared ceviche style, I believe), but I liked it - a nice break from tuna tartar.  It was fresh with a nice zing from the flecks of sea salt and a drizzle of paprika oil to bring it back to earth.  All over a bed of avocado.  Everyone at the table agreed it was near perfect.  We were wowed yet again by a braised pork shoulder recommended by the waiter.  After he raved about it for a solid five minutes, we were worried we would disappoint him if we didn't order it.  He was right.  Crispy on the top, falling apart underneath - it was cooked impeccably.  It was a special for the evening, but the waiter said it's being requested so often that it is making its way onto the specials list most nights.  As if the paella wasn't amazing enough, those two apps merited Socarrat Paella its second blog mention.  This may have been a Father's Day dinner, but I can confirm that the daughter was beyond pleased.

Poco Party

Last weekend I celebrated Lindsay's birthday with a boozy brunch at Poco in the East Village.  For $25, you get your choice of entree + three drinks.  Since I had gone out pretty hard both Friday and Saturday nights, I decided to go with just the entree.  That was probably a bad idea because I probably would have enjoyed the food a little more if I had a drink.

Don't get me wrong; the food was good...but it wasn't great.  I ordered the salmon blt that came with apple instead of the avocado advertised on the menu and needed a little extra sauce.  I did, however, like the plantain chips on the side.  It was a fine sandwich, but not worth the $15 I paid.

I have been looking to try Poco for a long time, so even though it did not live up to my expectation, I'm glad I could cross it off my list and - most importantly - share a fun brunch with friends.  Then again, maybe my expectations were unrealistic because everyone I have talked to is shocked I didn't leave the restaurant absolutely obsessed.  What do I know.

Heya Paella

I love the new trend of specialty restaurants: places that only serve mac & cheese, meatballs, and now a paella restaurant.  Socarrat Paella is a tiny Chelsea restaurant with one looong table seating about 26 people.  They don't take reservations, but the attached Socarrat Bar is a great place to wait with a glass of sangria while munching on some tapas. 

We started with a few items off the tapas menu: fried artichokes, roasted pepper stuffed with a creamy cod mixture, pan tomaca (toast topped with tomato and garlic), and hanger steak that had been marinating in something magical.  Then it was onto the main event: the paella.  We ordered two for our group of three, which was most certainly too much, but with a list of eight paellas, we found it impossible to narrow it down to just one.  We picked a vegetarian one (filled with snow peas, artichokes, beans, mushrooms, zucchini, and tomato) and [my preferred] meat option (packed with pork, chicken, duck, chorizo, and mushroom sofrito).  They also have fish/shellfish, meat/fish combo, and rabbit/duck versions.

When the waitress set down our plates, they gave us the rules (Rule #1 of paella club: you don't talk about paella club): let the dish sit for two minutes before digging in, when serving, only take from the top so the bottom continues to cook in the special paella pan, and when you get to the bottom, scrape the now crunchy rice dish for a new flavor.  This crunchy, carmelized rice is called the socarrat and is what separates paella from a normal rice dish. 

We couldn't leave without a little dessert.  We tried the vanilla flan and a dish with a name I can't remember but that was described as a Catalan cheesecake.  It tasted like creamy cinnamon toast crunch flavored pudding with crème anglaise on top.  Yum. 

The food was delicious and the service just as wonderful.  The waitresses were very smiley and bent over backwards to scrape the socarrat for us.  Hint to all the fellas: if you want to take a gal to a cute date place and don't mind some sharing, I guarantee this one will be a hit.