From CHOW: What should we feature next in the NY CHOW Report?

[alexvb]

Hi, folks. I've been hosting a weekly video segment for CHOW.com that runs in our New York Digest and on NY1 (Tues/ Sat), and I've really relied on these boards for help finding stellar examples of dishes around the city.

We've featured sabich at Taïm, khachapuri at Georgian Bread, chole bhatura at Sapthagiri, and crudo at Esca, along with 35 other restaurants. A number of the (mercifully short) segments can be found here: http://www.chow.com/digest/new-york-c...

So I'm asking you: What should we feature next? What underhyped restaurant do you love like crazy? What's the must-order dish? Right now I'm hunting for a great piece of fish, along with a few other great summer-to-fall dishes.

Chowhounds know best, so thanks in advance for commenting with suggestions!

Alex Van Buren
Contributing Editor, CHOW.com

PS: There's a good chance we'll be able to feature the Chowhound whose suggestion we use in the piece airing on NY1, if schedules match up!

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Esca
402 West 43rd Street, New York, NY 10036

[Pookipichu]

The burnt ends at John Brown's Smokehouse.

The pork sandwich at Lan Kwai Fong

The lamb ribs at Fette Sau

The fried chicken at Salt and Fat

The melomakarouna at Artopolis

The coconut yeast at Doughnut Plant

The bbq lamb with corn tamale at Good Fork

The lotus wrapped sticky rice fatty pork at Hunan House

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Doughnut Plant
379 Grand St, New York, NY 10002

[alexvb]

great, thanks, pookipichu!

[coasts]

what about Kajitsu?

taken from their website:

Kajitsu serves shojin cuisine, an ancient Japanese cuisine developed in Zen Buddhist monasteries. Following the Buddhist principle of not taking life, Shojin cuisine does not use meat or fish. Meals are prepared from fresh, in season vegetables, legumes, wild herbs, seeds and grains, chosen at the moment in the season that best reflects their flavor.

their menu changes monthly and the dishes often tell a story specific to the season. i proposed to Ms. Coasts there after a long winter meal in early February. our evening began with a small mound of celery root puree with edamame, meant to replicate the green buds of spring beginning to form beneath the snow. the restaurant is entirely serene and commands peace. everything becomes so delicate.

if you've never been, check this photo as an example of what Chef Masato Nishihara offers his guests.

http://images.nymag.com/images/2/dail...

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Kajitsu
414 East 9th Street, New York, NY 10009

[alexvb]

thanks, coasts!

[alexvb]

Thanks to sgordon for being the first featured Chowhound on NY CHOW Report! I visited Korzo Haus and definitely thought it was worth covering. The piece is below, if you're curious. Please keep the suggestions coming, folks! --Alex

http://www.chow.com/digest/90543/halu...

[chompchomp]

khao soi at rhong tiam!

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Rhong-Tiam Garden
154 Orchard St, New York, NY 10002

[alexvb]

cool, added to the list, thank you!

[alexvb]

Hey, chompchomp, could you please drop me a line at alexandra.vanburen A T cbsinteractive.com? Danke!!

[brooklynkoshereater]

I feel that the Kosher scene in Manhattan is an underrated and underreported aspect of the chowhound universe. The Prime Grill, one of the busiest restaurants in Manhattan, caters to a discerning clientele that is only about 65% Jewish. With wagyu beef (comparable to Kobe) and fresh sushi, you'll barely miss the unagi. Prime Ko, their outpost on the Upper West Side, is a Japanese steakhouse that has earned its own boldface on Page Six with frequent celebrity sightings, including Alec Baldwin, Vladimir Klitchko, and Jessica White.
Focusing on upscale kosher eateries such as the aforementioned sites would showcase the new face of kosher cuisines: not so much knishes, kugels, and kichels, and more sushi, sashimi, and souffles.
PS: I am not an employee of the restaurants, I'm just someone that likes to eat.

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Prime Grill
60 E 49th St, New York, NY 10017

Prime Ko
217 W 85th St, New York, NY 10024

[alexvb]

Thanks for the suggestions!

[joannkim217]

tamale lady at union square. maduros at yuca bar. nutella banana strawberry crepes at crooked tree, mul naeng myun after some authentic korean bbq at ham ji bak

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Union Square Greenmarket
Broadway and E 17th St, New York, NY 10003

Crooked Tree
110 St Marks Pl, New York, NY 10009

Yuca Bar
111 Avenue A, New York, NY 10009

[alexvb]

I love tamales and maduros-- thank you!-- but man, I have never been able to get on the nutella bandwagon. I know, I know. Great suggestions, thanks!

[Pattybg]

OLD SCHOOL FAVORITES-NOTHING FANCY HERE, JUST AMAZING FOOD!

Randazzo's clam bar- Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn-All the fish dishes on the menu are outstanding, of course you go for the Galamah (as we say in Brooklyn)
and
Don Peppe-Ozone Park, Queens (Their baked clams were mentioned on "Entourage" Sunday night) Their linguine & white clam sauce will make you quiver! Not to mention of course the baked clams, cold fish salad, and many other righteous fish and non fish dishes.

[alexvb]

Great recommendations, thank you!!

[H Manning]

"What underhyped restaurant do you love like crazy?"

Hotel Griffou - duo of Colorado lamb
Telepan - pea pancakes with wild mushrooms and spring vegetables
Benoit - comte cheese souffle
Purple Yam - bibingka
The National - grilled portobello mushroom sandwich
Fairway Cafe - croque madame
The Wright - Wright salad
Peasant - gnocchi with mushrooms
Jean Claude - honey-lime glazed duck breast with shiitake mushrooms
Blue Ribbon Sushi Bar & Grill - seared scallops with miso butter sauce

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Telepan
72 W. 69th Street, New York, NY 10023

Blue Ribbon Sushi Bar and Grill
308 W 58th St, New York, NY 10019

Jean Claude
137 Sullivan St, New York, NY 10012

Peasant
194 Elizabeth Street, New York, NY 10012

Benoit
60 West 55th Street, New York, NY 10019

Hotel Griffou
21 W 9th St, New York, NY 10011

The Wright
1071 5th Avenue, New York, NY 10128

The National
557 Lexington Ave, New York, NY 10022

Fairway Cafe
2127 Broadway, New York, NY 10023

[alexvb]

These sound great. I am crazy about Comté, and I've been dying to check out Peasant. Those scallops sound pretty incredible, too. Thanks, H Manning!

[Maniakku]

The Mushroom Carpacio and Fried Oysters at Pulic are to die for! Extremely interested flavors and truly delicious. The ambiance and space is excellent as well! I love this spot right in the heart of Nolita.

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Public
210 Elizabeth Street, New York, NY 10012

[alexvb]

Great, thanks! Farmerie is really good with mushrooms, if I remember correctly, but I'd not heard of that dish. Very helpful!

[sgordon]

2nd Public. Also the blood pudding waffles (brunch only) are kind of amazing, and I'm someone who never goes for the sweet options (pancakes, waffles, etc) at brunch.

[JungMann]

Miso mozzarella grilled cheese at Earl's Beer & Cheese. Whole crisp fried flounder at Yogee Noodle. Dasilog (fried fish breakfast) at Sa Aming Nayon. Pueblan cemitas at Cafe Ollin. Spinach su böregi at Güllüoglu, the perfect casserole-like dish for the summer-to-fall transition in my book.

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Yogee
85 Chrystie St, New York, NY 10002

Cafe Ollin
339 E 108th St, New York, NY 10029

Gulluoglu
982 2nd Ave, New York, NY 10022

Earl's Beer & Cheese
1259 Park Ave, New York, NY 10029

Sa Aming Nayon
201 1st Ave, New York, NY 10003

[alexvb]

Those all sound amazing. Thank you, JungMann (and awesome username)!

[ncsuemme]

Foie. Gras. Doughnut. At Do Or Dine in Brooklyn.

Continuing the foie gras kick, the foie gras grilled cheese and tomato soup at M. Wells.

On the casual front, the braised shortrib sandwich at Cheeky's Sandwiches in Dekalb Market are killer. Horseradish sauce, cherry tomatoes, arugula, grilled challah, and juicy fall-apart shortribs.

[alexvb]

I love a good foie gras doughnut, and am particularly smitten with the one at Traif. I'll have to check out Do or Dine this fall. And the DeKalb market suggestion is excellent; I've been wanting to check that one out. I've been craving shortribs, too.

Thanks!

[sgordon]

Falai: raspberry souffle with black truffle gelato - beyond being a dessert with truffles, it's fun in the way it balances cold and hot elements. He's also making some good fish dishes right now - a Meditteranean style bass with fregola, eggplant and tomato is excellent, as is the pancetta-wrapped monkfish with seawater and celery root - good for summer-to-fall, as it incorporates the ocean and root vegetables. The chef is also criminally underhyped next to his more famous and TV-friendly contemporaries like Batali, Conant, and Michael White.

WD-50: Peekytoe crab roll - a classic Chesapeake Bay style crab roll (think lobster roll, only with crab) presented in the form of a sushi roll, in a classic Wylie Dufresne gustatory pun. There are also quite a few excellent pieces of fish on the menu - sockeye with root beer, bass with white chocolate and green olives (because of course chocolate and olives go together...)

Rayuela: Tuna Rellena - a "chile relleno" only the chile is made from sashimi-grade tuna, stuffed with crab and shrimp. Brilliant summer dish.

Korzo Burger at Korzo Haus - an excellent burger made more excellent by wrapping it in dough and deep-frying it. Mmm...

Burmese fish broth soup at Lee Chung Cafe - a little joint taken over by the kids of the original owners (a la Nom Wah Tea Parlor) where they're making simple comfort for the denizens of the Two Bridges area. One odd thing on the menu is this soup, a fish broth scented with lemongrass.

A number of dishes at Ping's Seafood - Chef Ping goes well beyond the normal boundaries of traditional Cantonese cuisine: cuttlefish with jicama slaw, a Thai-influenced seafood stew, "Portuguese style" seafood rice, etc.

Also in Chinatown, the chef at Amazing 66 is doing some interesting things: shrimp and almond stuffed chicken & short ribs braised in hollowed out kabocha squash are two standouts.

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WD-50
50 Clinton Street, New York, NY 10002

Amazing 66
66 Mott St, New York, NY 10013

Rayuela
165 Allen Street, New York, NY 10002

Ping's
22 Mott St, New York, NY 10013

Falai
68 Clinton St, New York, NY 10002

Korzo Haus
178 E 7th St, New York, NY 10009

Lee Chung Cafe
82 Madison St, New York, NY 10002

[alexvb]

These all sound amazing, Seth. Sockeye with rootbeer?! Rad. I do like Rayuela's ceviche, so I'll definitely try to check out the tuna rellena. And I like Falai-- I hope they won't close, which is a rumor floating around town: http://newyork.grubstreet.com/2011/08...

Thanks so much.

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Rayuela
165 Allen Street, New York, NY 10002

Falai
68 Clinton St, New York, NY 10002

[sgordon]

Yeah, the stories about Falai have me a bit worried... the LES seems to be on a bit of a downturn - or at least a move towards more cheap and midrange stuff. Falai and WD are both closed two days a week, rumors are The Orchard is for sale... economy seems to be hitting this little corner of the city particularly hard. (Not in the rent department, though...)

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Falai
68 Clinton St, New York, NY 10002

[alexvb]

It really does; I wonder why that is! Is everyone on the LES dining at Freemans or something?

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Freemans
Freeman Alley, New York, NY 10002

[sgordon]

I don't know... LES restos really rely on the bridge & tunnel crowd for the bulk of their business, I think. There are certainly a few "local haunts" like Alias and such - but WD-50 and Falai are both destination restaurants, even if they have a "neighborhoody" vibe. And people just aren't making them destinations as much as they used to, I guess. I think in a bad economy, if folks are going to splurge, they're less risky - they stick to the tried and true (Haute French... yawn...) while the more modernist, boundary-pushing places temporarily fall by the wayside. Fewer are willing to risk $30 on root beer salmon - it could be amazing... or you could feel like you just wasted $30. Myself, I've learned to trust Dufresne's instincts over the years (though there have been a couple duds that maybe shouldn't have left the laboratory...)

As for us locals picking up the slack: all our rents on the LES have gone so dang high we can only afford canned goods. Was a time I was a "regular" (i.e. once/month or so) at both places. A little less frequent on the splurges these days. Neighbors I talk to are all feeling the same.

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WD-50
50 Clinton Street, New York, NY 10002

Falai
68 Clinton St, New York, NY 10002

[alexvb]

I wonder, too, if in the summertime the LES takes a hit because folks are headed to more, eh, nature-y NYC spots, you know? The High Line, Rockaway Beach, Governor's Island, Coney Island... my money says a lot of people are eating dinner at or near those places.

Thanks again for the recommendations! I'll let you know if I try any and if one pans out for the NY CHOW Report!

[alexvb]

And the result--- thanks again!

http://www.chow.com/digest/90543/halu...

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Korzo Haus
178 E 7th St, New York, NY 10009