Ippudo NY: More than Ramen

The last time when I tried to get into Ippudo, the hyper-popular ramen joint in the East Village, the estimated wait was an unbearable two-hours long. Fortunately, attempt #2 was more successful. I'm quite convinced that my new food buddy, Jesal of Veggiewala, brought good luck to the situation. The wait was only an hour this time (be grateful if you encounter that) and it went by super fast (sharing summery cocktails at Angel's Share in the meantime helped) and thanks to Jesal's vegetarianism, also I was able to try some mindblowing apps that I may not have ordered myself. More pics on the next page!

Oyster Lovers Meet Up

Last Wednesday I decided to meet up with some fellow New York oyster lovers for an oyster feast at the Grand Central Oyster Bar. It was the first meet up for this group (and my first-ever meet up), and the turn out was surprisingly large. The group was as diverse as the NYC; there were other food bloggers, folks from the food industry, lawyers, artists and entrepreneurs there. Nellie, our fearless bivalve-loving leader is actually an oyster distributor for W&T Seafood. That was probably how she was able to hook us up with this sweet deal: 10 oysters (5 West Coast, 5 East Coast) and a glass of champagne for $20.

Isabella's

Every weekend, there's always a line outside of Isabella's on 77th and Columbus. The outside seating is usually packed with people chowing down on pancakes and sipping mimosas. On Sunday, B and I decided to see what the commotion was all about. Our wait was a substantial 35 minutes long (we were told that it would be closer to 20 minutes), but ultimately proved to be worth it. We were given homemade banana bread and sweet olive/raisin bread to start. I ordered the Crab Benedict that came with a side of salad, a slice of cantaloupe and also a bellini. B ordered a burger that came with spicy fries, pickles, and a bloody mary. Our total bill came to $30, which we found to be quite awesome. My Crab Benedict tasted fantastic: the eggs were perfectly poached and the came at just the right temperature. Also at $15 per person, I will definitely be returning.

Sake Bar Hagi

Sake Bar Hagi is one of my favorite not-so-well kept secrets (I love telling people about this place and I hate telling people about this place). For me, it is probably the ONLY restaurant worth going to around Times Square.

EN Japanese Brasserie

EN Japanese Brasserie began their lunch service three months ago and would advertise the menu in my office building's lobby. So every day coming into work, I would walk by it and predictably do a double take on the words: CRISPY FRIED CHICKEN. Well finally today, I got the chance to check it out with my good friend S. We practically had the entire front of the restaurant to ourselves, which made it quite a zen-like experience. I ordered the Unadon (grilled eel over rice, served with mizuna and watercress salad w/ ponzu dressing and housemade miso soup) for $13 and a side of Buta Bara to Renkon no Kinpira (thinly sliced pork belly & sauteed lotus root) for $5. S ordered the Crispy Fried Chicken (served with the same salad, freshly made tofu with wari joyu, chef's selection of obanzai & oshinko, steamed white rice and miso soup) for $13. While I thoroughly enjoyed my unadon and pork belly and lotus root, I was quite covetous of S's lunch set's presentation and variety. Fortunately, she was kind enough to let me sample everything on her plate. It was a great way to end an otherwise dreary (and rainy) Friday.

Gus & Gabriel Gastropub

B and I discovered the Gus & Gabriel Gastropub last summer, right after watching the July 4th fireworks. Since then, we've been back several times for their delicious "Smothered" Chicken and eclectic beer selection. It wasn't until Friday that we decided to take advantage of their daily $15 deal: burger of choice, beer of choice, and nachos. The burger also comes with cole slaw and fries. That's an incredible amount of food for one person! I ordered a Weihenstephan Weiss Wheat beer and a medium-rare fried egg, bacon, and gruyére cheese burger (held off on the onion rings). It was very tasty for a burger, but I'm not sure how anyone can eat it like a burger though. It's as tall as it is from the tip of my nose to the bottom of my chin.

Cabrito

I enjoyed a colorful and spicy lunch at Cabrito with M on Thursday. For $10, you get two tacos and fixings. The corn tortillas are house-made and served with mexican rice and black beans. I tried the  Lengua y Tomatillo (braised tongue with avocado salsa) and Pork Belly (braised with tamarind-arbol glaze, jicama, green apple slaw). The Pork Belly taco was money. Braised tongue wasn't as tender as I thought it would be.

Bento Box Battles: Yama

Contestant: Yama

Location: 30-40 Carmine St., West Village

Order: Very Special Set Bento Box

Keste Pizzeria

For lunch today, M and I went to Keste Pizzeria to use the Blackboard Eats promo. I ordered the Prosciutto E Arugola personal pizza (as shown above) and it turned out to be absolutely delicious, but way too big. After the free appetizer (a filling caprece), I was only able to handle one slice!

Oysters: Raw vs Fried

On a whim, my new officemate S and I decided to hit up the Mermaid Oyster Bar for their Blue Plate Special (Lobster Sandwich, Blue Point Toasted Lager, and Old Bay Fries for $20) on Tuesday night. Unfortunately, S got called into an end-of-day meeting that finished an hour after the special was over. Being the determined eaters that we are, we ordered the Lobster Sandwich anyway and were rewarded with heaping piles of juicy lobster meat between two burger buns.

Bento Box Battles: Sushi Samba 7

I've had many "bento box" lunch specials in my day, but have a hard time keeping track of all of them. The objective of this mini project is to determine where are the best places to order bento boxes from in the Tribeca/SoHo/West Village area. First up is Sushi Samba 7!

Do Hwa

This is the Ojingo Bibimbop (Spicy Squid) at Do Hwa. It is probably one of my favorite lunch places during the week. Whenever I have a free hour to spare, I try to hit this place up. Occasionally, I order delivery (it's not nearly as good as sit-down though). Not only do they have absolutely fantastic bibimbop, they offer a variety of fantastic lunch boxes. They also are set up to do Korean BBQ, but I prefer going to K-town for that. Price-wise, lunches are a solid deal ($12-14 for a lunch box or bibimbop), but their regular dinner menu is a bit pricey. I guess if you're craving for Korean food and want to stay in the West Village, this would be the place to go.

The Mermaid Oyster Bar

After being "twersuaded" by @MermaidInnNYC, I spontaneously decided to check out the $1 oyster special at The Mermaid Oyster Bar on Tuesday night. However, I had no idea that my simple endeavor would turn into a comprehensive oyster and beverage tasting. Thanks to Jonathan, my fantastic bartender/oyster navigator, I was able to experience some delicious new appellations and compliment them to a wide range of drinks. I also chit chatted with Steve, the general manager, about the restaurant and the world of food. They were both exceptionally knowledgeable and friendly people.

The Mermaid Inn UWS

Happy New Year everyone! On New Year's Eve, B and I went to dinner at The Mermaid Inn on the Upper West Side. They had a $45 prix fixe menu that included an amuse-bouche, choice of appetizer, choice of entree, and dessert. Although the intimate lighting was a bit too low for my camera, I tried my best to capture my meal. The Canon G10 is generally awesome, but it's not so great at taking low-light shots without a lot of noise.

Nonna

I met up with S at Nonna on the Upper West Side a few days ago to catch up. Nonna has been on my "to try" list for quite awhile. As soon as I moved to the neighborhood, my friend M strongly recommended it. We first started out by sharing some baked mussels in savory broth with roasted plum tomatoes, garlic and focaccia chips. It took me back to the day of the Landmarc mussels and beer tasting. Once again, I fell in love with the broth a bit more than the mussels.

Hank's Oyster Bar

B and I are in DC this weekend. We're visiting his good college buddies D and W, a very wonderful couple who share a similar enthusiasm for food. Upon hearing about my oyster infatuation, they decided take us to Hank's Oyster Bar for a late brunch, which is a charming little seafood establishment in Dupont Circle. Since 2005, Hank's has been a fantastic neighborhood success by renowned chef Jamie Leeds. I had just completed Rowan Jacobsen's "A Geography of Oysters: The Connoisseur's Guide to Oyster Eating in North America" and have been very eager to try out my newly-enlightened palette on a fresh dozen.

Fanny Thai

Summer rolls and chicken satay at Fanny Thai in Bruxelles. I definitely recommend going there for a nice, peaceful lunch!

Hot N Juicy Crawfish

After getting lucky at the casinos, B and I took our hard earned cash to Hot N Juicy Crawfish in Chinatown, Las Vegas. We chowed down on 2lb of crawfish and crab legs that were smothered in their special Hot'n'Juicy sauce. We smelled like garlic for the rest of that night.

Nyonya

Delicious Malaysian food at Nyonya, right above Little Italy. Top to bottom: Clay Pot Noodles, Mango Shrimp over Rice, and Baby Oyster Omelette.

Park Avenue Summer

 

For our one year anniversary, B and I went to Park Avenue Summer for dinner. I love the idea of this restaurant. Every season, you can experience something new and different. Since it happened to be restaurant week, we tried the prix fixe dinner (1 appetizer, 1 entree, 1 dessert for $35 excluding drink, tax, and tip). Every bite was bold, colorful, and flavorful. I've been to my fair share of RWs and will say that Park Avenue Summer does it right. Top: watermelon cubes topped with goat cheese that were compliments from the chef, Bottom: Salmon Tartare. Afterwards, we took a stroll through Central Park to relive our first date. So cheesy! :-)