NYC Trip Report - OCT 2008 (organized by neighborhood)

[daveena]

First of all, I have to give my thanks to the hardworking Manhattan CH’s who repeatedly answer visitor queries with such generosity of time and spirit. Once again, I had an excellent trip – without even needing my own research thread – because of all your comprehensive lists and responses to other posters.

I had a longer than usual trip this time (12 days), and I thought the usual day-by-day report might get to be unreadable, so I’m breaking this report up by neighborhood – it might be more useful to other visitors that way. But first, some random highlights:

Best of trip (places new to me): Kee’s Chocolates, Perilla, Absolute Bagel, Abraço

Back on my Top 5 list after a 5 year hiatus: Lupa

Better for small groups than solo: Spotted Pig, Momofuku Ssam, Casa Mono, Bar Boulud

Best solo dining spots: Lupa (bar), Ramen Setagaya, Lanzhou Hand-Pulled Noodles, Sushi Yasuda, Degustation

Matchups:

Ramen - Setagaya over Ippudo (see this report, where I’m one of the few lonely voices in a sea of Ippudo fans) http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/5622...

Croissants: Petrossian over Patisserie Claude

Bagels: Absolute Bagel over Murray’s (not even close – Murray’s was so bad I’m surprised I’ve even heard of it

)

Cannelé – Petrossian over Balthazar

[daveena]

WEST VILLAGE:

SPOTTED PIG – I had the much lauded ricotta gnudi with brown butter and sage, and a radish salad with parmesan and basil. It was a satisfying meal, but I found it a bit pricy (with a glass of wine, tax and tip, $54). The radish salad was a steep $17 – probably because there was at least a quarter pound of parmesan in it. The gnudi were light, parm-flavored ricotta balls, rolled in flour (and maybe more parm?), in a sauce of beurre monté with more parm melted into it, then drizzled with browned butter. As one might imagine, it was very rich. I loved the texture of the gnudi – my attempts at making them have always been disastrous, so I appreciated the technical aspect of making these largish dumplings. The salad was of parm-rubbed radishes, with the aforementioned quarter pound of parmesan pebbles crumbled over them, and a very tart vinaigrette. Both dishes would have been better shared – I would probably encourage people to go in small groups, rather than dine alone.

LITTLE OWL – had a satisfying lunch here. The meatball sliders were juicy and flavorful, and the crispy cod was perfectly cooked and paired well with chive mashed potatoes. The goat cheese gnocchi had a perfect texture, but I thought their delicate flavor was a little overpowered by the braised lamb and the capers in the ratatouille that accompanied them. Of note, this trio of dishes seemed very popular – both tables on either side of us ordered exactly the same thing.

PERILLA – had an outstanding dinner here. I was a little skeptical, given the enormous amount of hype it gets, but they totally deserve it. Really personal, soulful cooking – it manages to be modern without being forced, and comforting without being clichéd. I was concerned about the random-seeming Asian ingredients that popped up in the menu descriptions, but the Asian touches are well integrated.

We all loved the signature Perilla cocktail – not sure how many rounds of those we went through during the very long (at least an hour) for our table. I would single out the duck meatballs, the ravioli with sheep milk ricotta and truffles, the porchetta (a gigantic slab of delicious, juicy, flavorful pork, the best porchetta I’ve had in the US), the creamed corn (bright and sweet, the “cream” being more corn milk than actual dairy, I think), and the farro risotto. I also enjoyed tastes of everything else -the pork belly appetizer, the hangar steak, the pancetta-wrapped game hen, and the brussel sprouts.

PATISSERIE CLAUDE – I hate to say it, because Claude is such a beloved institution, but I find his croissants tough. I’ve never had them first thing in the morning, and I had my first one only this year, so I don’t know if this represents the best of what he can do. Alas, I have never again seen the ethereal caramel petit choux that made me a Claude fan on my first visit years ago, so I opted for an opera-cake like confection with a thin caramel layer on top. It was good, but icy.

P*ONG – I met a friend for an early dinner – we were the only ones there at 6, but even at 8:30, when we left, the restaurant was still mostly empty. The meal was good overall – there’s a balance between avant-garde (mostly in the first courses, where creative ice creams abound) and homey (in the second course), although there were some jarring instances of disregard for seasonality (fava beans and strawberries were on the menu). I enjoyed the beet and orange salad with black garlic ice cream – bright, aggressive but well balanced flavors, and a beautifully composed plate – and the mushroom tart, which showcased some outstanding puff pastry. I ordered the out-of-season strawberries because I wanted to try the bay leaf panna cotta, which was good. I did not like my friend’s milk chocolate and pistachio terrine… sometimes pistachios get a muddy flavor when ground, and I think that’s what was bothering me. Of note, this meal was towards the end of my trip, when I was starting to seriously burn out on rich food.

[daveena]

CHELSEA:

CITY BAKERY - the pretzel croissant was as great as always, but I have to say – it’s about 10 times better with hot chocolate than with black coffee. The chocolate and the salt really play off each other, as do the creaminess of the chocolate and the crispness of the croissant. With coffee, the croissant comes across a little too salty, even a bit bitter.

TARALLUCCI E VINO – the East Village original has been one of my favorite places for coffee since it opened, and I was thrilled that they’d done well enough to expand. I have to say… did not love the Chelsea branch. The whole feel was too slick for me – but worse, my cappucino was weak.

MURRAY’S BAGELS – I had my friend, who was staying in Chelsea, bring me one of these for breakfast one morning to a conference we were attending at the Jacob Javitz Center. These were not good. Very light, sweet, and fluffy, no chew. Not recommended.

COOKSHOP – this was a very easy trip from Jacob Javitz Center, and I appreciated that they accept reservations for brunch. Loved the ricotta beignets and the smoked salmon scramble on excellent biscuits. Of note, also was their excellent coffee – very little acidity or bitterness, just complex, floral wininess. Good stuff.

[daveena]

SOHO:

KEE’S CHOCOLATES – I can’t say enough good things about this place (see my Kee’s post here: http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/565946 ) I went three times during this visit, and plan to make pilgrimages there every trip from now on.

GRANDAISY BAKERY: got two of my standbys (potato pizza, mushroom pizza). One of these days, I will break my force of habit and order something else, but my first Sullivan Street Bakery potato pizza ranks among my most vivid “first-time” NYC food memories, and I’m helpless against my desire to recreate it every time I go in. I put it in my list of places to eat “near” Jacob Javitz because the ACE is the closest line to JJC, and Grandaisy is such a short walk from the W4th stop that it was a remarkably quick trip there and back. I went to Kee’s afterwards, of course.

BALTHAZAR: Their cannelé was very different from every other cannelé I’ve had – it had a rougher exterior and a cakier, less custardy interior, and tasted of cinnamon and maybe orange peel? I liked the Petrossian one better.

[kathryn]

Next time try, perhaps, the pizza bianca from Grandaisy? I agree that the potato is excellent. I also like the cauliflower but I know that's not for everyone... Oh, and the sandwich cookies are also excellent.

Never had a cannelé from Balthazar, I tend more towards their chocolate bread, fruit focaccia, and chocolate pinenut tarts.

[daveena]

GREENWICH VILLAGE:

LUPA – I had a perfect bowl of lusty bucatini all’Amatriciana – the gorgeous, sweet, fatty, melting chunks of guanciale starred, but the sauce and bucatini more than held up their end of the bargain. The pastas on my last few visits have been so perfect that I’m willing to overlook the now spotty (and once glorious) antipasti. Welcome back to my Top 5, Lupa.

BABBO – I opted to eat at the bar for dinner one night. The wait wasn’t too long for 1 – maybe half an hour, at 8 pm – but the space is pretty uncomfortable for waiting. I had the lamb tongue vinaigrette, which was outstanding. I’ve had a few lamb tongue dishes since the first time I tasted Babbo’s but none come close to this superbly balanced dish. The layers of acidity, counterbalanced by the richness of the egg and the tongue result in a remarkably complex dish.

The goose liver ravioli were a little disappointing – I’d had an outstanding version of this dish at B+B in Las Vegas, and assumed the preparation would be the same, but these ravioli were larger than the ones I remembered, and had a more intense, caramel-based sauce. The pasta had the hard snap of a dough that’s been overworked and inadequately rested. Sometimes I get lazy when I’m making pasta and I’ll run the dough through the rollers a couple of times rather than kneading it longer by hand, and I end up with pasta with the same texture. I also think the filling is so rich that it benefits from a higher pasta:filling ratio – I think the version at B+B were agnolotti-shaped. Finally, I chose my wine poorly and ended up with an over-oaky Super Tuscan that tasted harsh against the balsamic vinaiger/caramel sauce.

[kathryn]

The sauce is browned butter and basalmic vinegar, sorry to hear about the quality of the pasta. I'm going in a few weeks -- I hope the kitchen is more careful.

[daveena]

Hey kathryn - I know the recipe in the Babbo cookbook calls for just browned butter and balsamic vinegar, but I thought my sauce was more sweet, with darker caramel notes and a viscous texture - it reminded me of a sauce I'd made once where I caramelized sugar first, then deglazed with balsamic. Or, maybe they boiled down a ton of cheap balsamic vinegar. I wouldn't expect them to be messing around with the recipe on a nightly basis, so it confused me. Then there's always the possibility that either my perception or memory are faulty... I'll be interested to hear your report.

[daveena]

LES:

DOUGHNUT PLANT – my first visit years ago was deeply disappointing. At the time, I likened the anticipation vs. the reality of biting into one of their cold raised donuts as being on par with waking up Christmas morning and finding out that Santa ran out of time and skipped my house. Since then, I’ve seen enough reports confirming my original experience not to give the raised donuts another shot, but I was intrigued by Miss Needle’s defense of the tres leches donut. So, off I went.

It’s a good donut. I disliked the glaze – it had a weird artificiality that reminded me of the the pear glaze – but the cake donut was good, and the tres leches filling was excellent. I’m glad I gave it another chance, but at the same time, I don’t think DP will be making it onto my list of must-visit when I’m in town.

KOSSAR’S – I got confused and ordered a not-bialy – I pointed to what looked like a bialy from where i was standing, and by the time I got it out of the bag I realized it was something else and ate it anyway. It was good.

KATZ’S – probably my first time being a little disappointed – admittedly, the donut and not-bialy hit me halfway through my sandwich and probably impeded my full enjoyment of my pastrami, but for the first time, I understood how someone could go to Katz’s and describe its pastrami as “bland and steamed” (a description I quote verbatim from a heated Langer’s vs. Katz discussion on the LA board). I was more conscious of the coriander than I ever have… I think the meat I got might actually just have been less salty than past sandwiches I've had there.

LANZHOU HAND-PULLED NOODLES – I would recommend that people with sensitive ears bring earplugs to this restaurant – the process of slapping and twisting noodles is hella loud. I initially found the noodles a little soft, but to my surprise, they seemed to tighten and become more firm as I was eating them. I’m convinced the last bite was firmer than the first. Excellent, lamb-y broth – the meat itself was somewhat tough, and I’ve decided I’m not a fan of lamb skin for eating.

[daveena]

EAST VILLAGE

DEGUSTATION: another excellent meal at Degustation. We ordered a la carte – a number of dishes were some of my favorites from the tasting menu on my last trip, including the prawn with amaranth and blue crab reduction, and the quail with pine nut butter. This was my first time seeing the famous “cheesesteak” on the menu, and I loved it. This very refined version has ultra-thin, rare, smoky beef with izdiabel cheese emulsion layered on a thin, crisp crouton. Some of the other old standards didn’t fare as well – while I loved the flavor of the “tortilla”, I’ve come to accept that I don’t love the slightly crunchy texture of the potato wrapper. In the current version of the panko-crusted asparagus with poached egg and smoked cheese foam, the asparagus has been replaced by a seasonal selection of deep-fried veggies – while I applaud the seasonality, the truth is that the asparagus was a magical pairing. I would wait until spring for the asparagus version to return.

This was also the first time I left Degustation hungry – in the past, I’ve been full on 5 dishes (I split 9 with my friend this night) – I’d eaten less than usual at lunch that day. I headed over to Otafuku afterwards for a second supper.

OTAFUKU: I haven’t been here in years, and it was good to be back. They have unbelievably cheap combo specials ($8 for 6 takoyaki + an okonomiyaki) that I don’t remember from my student days. We got them with the works – sweet, gingery sauce, mayo, bonito flakes – I remembered too late that the delicate texture of the takoyaki suffers a little once sauce hits it (my favorite part was always the biting through the ultra-thin crispy part into the molten center), but it still tasted great. In the future, I’ll ask for sauce on the okonomiyaki only.

MOMOFUKU SSAM BAR: I had no luck getting an M. Ko reservation, so back to M. Ssam I went. Standouts – the apple kimchee (such an unlikely sounding dish, and so frickin delicious – I may try to make this at home. I wish I paid more attention to the actual components of its deliciousness, but I was lost in a fog of wow), the raw diver scallop dish, the crispy pig head terrine with sugar plums, mustard, and lettuce, and the grilled branzino with garlic, parsley, and pistachios. The poached cod with matsutake broth was a little bland, although the broth was delicious. I liked the oysters with kimchee broth, but I think the kimchee element gave an illusion of “fishiness” to one of my dining companions, who really disliked it. Benton ham was fantastic, as always.

IPPUDO vs. RAMEN SETAGAYA – in brief, I preferred Setagaya, but that may be due in part to my general preference for shio over tonkotsu. I do think the noodles are superior at Setagaya as well. My full comparison: http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/5622...

CARACAS AREPA BAR: Decent but pricy arepa (around $7) – I prefer my arepas with a higher ratio of fluffy filling, and I prefer chunks of avocado in my reina pepiada (this version has the avocado integrated into the mayo-based dressing of the chicken salad).

ABRAÇO – great, great cappucino here. Also enjoyed the cured olive cookie.

TARALLUCCI E VINO – still going strong. Had an excellent espresso, and tried a large selection of cookies only to confirm that my favorites are the wine and chocolate cookie, the eponymous anise-scented taralluci, and the made-for espresso pignoli cookie.

[daveena]

UWS:

VAN LEEUWEN ICE CREAM TRUCK – I was going to go to Grom’s but spotted the truck parked a block away and opted for the truck instead. I had the gianduia – the hazelnut-chocolate flavor was mild, with a dominant flavor of (very good) cream. The texture was a little icy.

BAR BOULUD – One of my Bay Area friends happened to be in town for business for a few days, so we met up at Bar Boulud for charcuterie and wine. Standouts were the divinely truffly pate grandpere and the superb pork belly, as well as the delicious 2004 Joseph Drouhin Chambolle-Musigny, 1er cru (a steal at $100). We also enjoyed the head cheese (good, but I remembered it being better on my first visit), an appetizer special of sardines, and sides of creamed spinach and super-buttery succotash. The only disappointment was the sausage in brioche – the sausage had a very mild flavor and got loss in the cupcake-shaped brioche. We sat at the bar ended up having a very entertaining conversation with the gentleman next to us, who ended up sharing a bottle of outstanding Burgundy with us, followed by a sparkling rose. That night, I accidentally got on express trains twice, bouncing between 59th and 125th street several times. Oh, it was totally worth it.

PETROSSIAN – the best croissant I’ve had in NYC (I’ve also had Patisserie Claude and Ceci-Cela). Super –buttery, super flaky, really wonderful. The cannelé was excellent as well.

ALICE’S TEA CUP – going on the list of kid-friendly places with good food (along with Landmarc). I met friends for afternoon tea and was too full to eat much, but was impressed with my super-buttery scones (buttermilk, ham+cheese), and a bite of my friend’s really delicious egg salad sandwich.

ABSOLUTE BAGEL – really excellent bagels. Aside from the perfect chewy crust, they have the elusive, almost velvety quality of the interior, and a slight but balanced sweetness. I lugged a dozen home with me. They’re even good frozen, then toasted.

[daveena]

GRAMERCY

CASA MONO – had a really good meal here – the only miss was the goat confit, which was very, very tough. Otherwise, we enjoyed the fideos, the oxtail stuffed peppers, the goat liver pate, the lamb chops, the pork belly, and the duck egg with mojama, fingerling potatoes, and black truffle. Oh, a fried artichoke side was only so-so – it was a little fibrous – but overall, great meal.

MIDTOWN EAST

YASUDA – I had one of my most satisfying meals at Yasuda yet, despite the lack of anything new/unusual on par with my stellar scallop roe sac experience last time. If I’m lucky, I can go to Yasuda twice a year, so he definitely doesn’t know me well enough to design an omakase without explicit input from me. This time, I looked at the list of available choices first, stated my wish to have uni and peace passage oyster, then let him run with it. Result – a meal full of the stronger flavors and more delicate textures I seem to prefer, including three eel selections, house-prepared salmon egg and shrimp egg sushis, and the aforementioned uni and peace passage oyster (both outstanding that day). I didn’t realize until I wrote out my list that I only received two fish selections – white salmon and toro – and that was fine by me.

HELL’S KITCHEN
KYOTOFU- They were still serving brunch at 4 pm, when I arrived – a relative bargain at $15 for a cocktail (I had a Bloody Mary) and an entrée (a Kurobutu sausage encased in puff pastry and a savory souffle with cheese and scallions). They made for a pleasant late lunch. I also had the signature sweet tofu dish, with a sesame tuile, kuromitsu black sugar syrup, and dried apricot. I’m a big fan of dou hwa (“soy flower”, the delicate bean curd and ginger-sugar syrup you get at dim sum) and actually really like the flavor of soy, so I was a little disappointed that there was so little soy flavor. I did love the molasses-y flavor of the sugar syrup, and was intrigued by the ultra-creamy texture of the tofu (there was none of the breaking or weeping you get in event he most stable dou-hwa).

MEATPACKING:

MACELLERIA - this was my friend's choice - he wanted to go to a steak place, and had read about Macelleria in Esquire. I was skeptical, but went along with it... anyway, it was actually pretty good. We split a porterhouse for 2 - beautifully crusty (I think it's fried in rosemary infused clarified butter), perfectly cooked, and a side of super-skinny fries. The meat itself was good, but not as flavorful as the dry-aged rib-eye I buy from my local Whole Foods. In any case, if people insist on eating in the Meatpacking District, Macelleria's a good option - the food was good, if not spectactular, and reasonably priced.

Link to my Outer Boroughs report (Xi'an Small Eats and the dumpling place in the Golden Shopping Center in Queens, Akti (Queens), DiFara (Brooklyn).
http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/565957

[daveena]

Additional Places:

[kathryn]

Daveena, this is amazing. Bravo! Excellent work. BRAVO! It's wonderful to live the city through the eyes of a visitor. You hit up most of my favorites while you were there.

PS For the apple kimchi, they are honey crisp apples. Burger's jowl, fried on top. Arugula. And housemade maple labne yogurt. A twist of freshly cracked pepper too, I think.

[daveena]

Hee - it should be no surprise that I hit up most of your favorites - I've found that I can pretty reliably predict which dishes are going to be my favorites by reading your reports.

Is the seasoning on the apple just chili? Was there salt? Any garlic? I'd kill for another bowl of the stuff.

[kathryn]

Great minds think alike I suppose!

I'll be back on Wednesday or Thursday of this week and can ask them. Peter Meehan is also working on the Momofuku cookbook, too, and I'm fairly certain that the recipe is in the cookbook...of course it might be a year or two before it's out.

[cimui]

Daveena, actually a lot of us Manhattan CHs (hardworking like Kathryn and otherwise like me :) consult your reviews as a local guide. You write such incredible, comprehensive reports. I hope you're blogging this somewhere for progeny. If you're not already a food writer, you should think about being one, however informally. (Love how perceptive you were with the croissant / coffee combo, the overkneaded pasta at Babbo.)

I'm glad to hear that Lupa's back on your good list. I also recently went back after a long hiatus, when I'd almost forgotten my former enthusiasm, and discovered again, just how much I liked the place. The menu stands still, though: almost no change after two years! Batali restaurants are time capsules.

Next time you come, if time permits, we really, really, really must organize a chowdown.

[daveena]

Hey cimui - thanks for the kind words - I really love the community aspect of Chowdown and enjoy the writing the most when I can get immediate feedback and suggestions from you guys :)

BTW I love the idea of a chowdown - I'll make sure I post before my next trip. Also, I can always be reached at the email address in my profile.

[Miss Needle]

OMG, what a wonderful report! You certainly made the most of your time here. You've really hit a ton of great places in your 12 days here.

Sorry you weren't too thrilled with your tres leches donut. I think the thing that really gets me the most about that donut is more of the texture than the taste (as it's too sweet for my taste) -- I love biting into that tender crumb and feeling the squirt of the liquid.

And I also agree with you that my favorites of the pizza are the potato and mushroom. I've had all the others (except the cauliflower that Kathryn mentioned), but always go back for the potato and mushroom. I am also a fan of their pizza bianca. The problem is that their slices are so damn large that I probably wouldn't be able to eat anything else. So go there with some friends. Their sweet offerings are pretty good as well.

I haven't been to Petrossian, but am a sucker for a good croissant. I must make it up there one day!

[daveena]

Oh, no apologies, Miss Needle! I quite liked the tres leches donut and I agree that the texture is excellent - the only thing I didn't like about it was the glaze.

Definitely head up to Petrossian... I"ve had so many "meh" moments on croissants that it was really exciting to finally have a good one.