Chez Panisse.

So after reading this book, among others, I was determined to visit Chez Panisse on my visit to San Fran. I practically squealed with delight to the reservationist when I found out they had a table available. And, I was equally excited that Chris and Bryan were willing to partake in my culinary dream meal.

We started the meal with some Acme bread (baked by a former Chez Panisse chef) and butter. We also had the most incredible olives. The brine was out of this world.

To start, we had a Russian salad of dressed winter vegetables, farm egg, and tongue with chicory.

The dressing was light and creamy and went excellently with both the greens, vegetables, tongue, and egg. This was probably my favorite course of the meal. It was an inventive salad but tasted so different than most run-of-the-mill salad courses.

The main course was a Hungarian fish stew with new season paprika. The fish (clams, rockfish, and cod I believe) were served in a very hearty and robust sauce.

With the fish were herb noodles and creme fraiche. These noodles were out of this world. They looked so simple but the taste was absolutely addictive. They were buttery and so fresh.

For dessert was a Meyer lemon tart. It was incredible how profound the lemon was. The tart was bursting with fresh citrus.

Overall, the service was excellent.  Glasses were refilled promptly, we were able to taste wine prior to ordering and we were given more olives

One of the most exciting parts of the experience was the tour of the kitchen (ask and thou shall receive, I suppose). By the end, we were probably the last people in the restaurant.

They were serving pork a few days after our meal. Gross, yah?

More pork.

Mushrooms galore.

Oven.

Stove.

Chez Panisse doesn’t have a lot of storage space since everything is cooked so fresh, so there is no need for a huge refrigerator or freezer. They have about 95 covers per night in the downstairs restaurant, the upstairs cafe seats more.

I would love to return. The food is not exotic, but it is simple cuisine prepared excellently and creatively. The wine list is extensive, the atmosphere is soothing, and the service was exemplary. Absolutely no complaints, and my fear of hyping up the restaurant was absolved by the first bite.

A Saturday Of Major Eating

After devouring a lot of 5-layer dip and leftover lasagna in the wee Saturday post-bar hours (3am?), it was obvious that this was a weekend to go big or go home.

I woke up late Saturday morning, starving like always, and dragged Jon to Yonah Shimmel’s in the Lower East Side because I wanted a real knish, not those really disgustingly gross imitations that appear in those equally disgustingly soup/sandwich/salad places that litter the store fronts of New York.

We settled on a blueberry cheese blintz and a potato knish (somehow the Jalapeno Cheddar Knish Special just didn’t sound appetizing that early in the day).

The blintz was really superb. The blueberry was evident in every bite, but wasn’t runny or too sweet. It tasted good with the cheese and the light dough. But, it was definitely a good thing to share–those blintzes are stuffed with a lot of cheese!

The potato knish was quite the massive heap–also a good thing to share. It was the perfect temperature (warm but not too warm) and a bit peppery. I really wanted it to be the best knish I ever had, because the store itself was just so darn cute, but alas, it was simply better than average.

Still, I would definitely return to Yonah Shimmel’s. It feels like I stepped back in time to the old (more Jewish) Lower East Side, cranky yentas and all. And, they even used a dumbwaiter to bring foodstuff up and down.

After Yonah’s, we walked to the Essex Street Market. I tried an amazing blue cheese, Stichelton from Formaggio Kitchen. I’m only recently beginning to like blue cheeses, and this cheese is an excellent introduction to the blues. It is mild (well, for blue cheese at least), yet offers a sweet and complex flavor.

Then, I purchased some Twig Farm Square Cheese from Saxelby Cheesemongers. They do a better job describing it than I can do:

Twig Farm Square Cheese (raw goats’ milk) West Cornwall, VT
A beautiful raw goats’ milk cheese with a velveteen gray rind from the cellars of Twig Farm. Square cheese is a semi-firm cheese that is savory and rustic with twinges of green onions and damp earth. A truly beautiful cheese hand formed in a cheese cloth and tied up with a knot to give it a distinctive ‘belly button’ in the center of each wheel.

Look at that crazy rind!

Finally, we got some fresh-squeezed apple and orange juice from Tra La La Juice Bar. I so need a juicer in my kitchen, and that way I wouldn’t be willing to pay $2.50 for a cup of juice. At least it was better than the bottled stuff!

Jon and I spent the afternoon walking around different neighborhoods, which was definitely needed given that I then went to meet some friends at Hill Country.

Now that place is a good time. Who wouldn’t want a delicious feast of Texas barbecue?

Above: Brisket, Chicken, Pork Ribs, Beef Ribs, Corn Bread, Chili, Red Beans, Mac N Cheese, Corn Pudding.

The meat: up close and personal.

Hill Country is a lot of fun. One merely approaches different counters (i.e. meat or sides) and chooses what you want. Then, you go back to your table and feast. We had wayyy more than we needed, but everything was really good–though certain foods definitely stood out. The brisket was melt-in-your-mouth tender, the cornbread was the right amount of sweetness, and the chicken was really tasty. My friends all really loved the barbecue sauce, though I found it a bit too sweet. All of the meats have no sauce added–just a really great dry rub.  We certainly were thankful for the large mason jars of water we were given to wash everything down with.

After dinner, once the food coma subsided, I found room for a Buttercup cupcake (chocolate cake, vanilla icing) hanging out in our kitchen. Oof.

Prixe Fixe Lunch at Jean Georges

Inspired by this blog post, among others, I was pretty psyched to try lunch at Jean Georges. Embarrassingly enough, I have yet to eat at any of the many JG restaurants. I felt like one of those ladies who lunch, especially because the diners were significantly older than myself and my fellow 22 year old friends. Nonetheless, a good time was had by all:

Lentil soup with cream fraiche.

Crispy Chicken. It could have used some more “crisp”, but nice flavor (a bit of cinnamon?) and tasty spinach.

Cod with sweet potato fries and tapioca pearls. I thought the pearls were really flavorful and actually enjoyed their gelatinous texture. My dining companions disagreed.

Buches de Noel, chocolate-espresso and pistachio-raspberry. Note: if you eat the green Christmas tree in one bite, your mouth will turn green and you will feel stupid.

All in all, a success. Plus, we almost saw Hannah Montana, who was staying at the Trump International, but I flat-out refused to wait behind a police line for some 15 year old. A guy walking by told us to eat at Jean Georges if we really wanted to see some celebrities. Yep, he thought we were tourists. Blech.

Wylie Dufresne versus Jose Andres…A Diner’s Take

I know molecular gastronomy has its supporters and detractors, but I think no matter where one’s views fall, it certainly does make people think about food differently. And, for that reason, I had a really enjoyable experience eating the Tasting Menu at WD-50 this past Saturday.

The Knot Foie was one of my favorite dishes. The crunch of the rice pebbles went perfectly with the creamy, melt-in-your-mouth foie gras. The kimchi puree was a neat touch and worked surprisingly well with the dish as a whole.

Slow-poached egg yolk and crispy Canadian bacon with fried hollandaise sauce. Best hollandaise I’ve ever had.

French Onion Soup. There was no biting necessary for the gruyere balls–they dissolved in the mouth upon impact. The crackers were kind of boring, but the broth was tasty.

Cuttlefish and squash, another excellent combination. The orange zest puree on the side was really potent, but when used in small quantities it gave each bite an extra zing.

Crispy lamb belly with pickled cucumber, black chickpea puree, and lemongrass. Fun stuff.

Yogurt, frozen and smashed raisins with spiced (saffron!) sorbet. I’m just mad about saffron

Best dish of the night. Toasted coconut cake (mmmm so much butter), carob, smoked hazelnut foam, brown butter sorbet. I dare you to find a better dessert flavor combination.

White chocolate ganache with potato, malt powder, and white beer ice cream. The malt and beer flavors were really aggressive for the gentle ganache.

Sweet potato pie…deconstructed and a fabulous end to a fabulous meal.

Overall, I think that minibar, Jose Andres’s Washington, DC 6-seater, is slightly better. Beyond the fact that the sheer volume of tastes is significantly higher (about 30 different one- to three-bite courses) , the flavors were also more powerful. Moreover, the bar format of minibar allows diners to interact with the chefs, ask questions about the food, and watch the plating of the dishes. WD-50’s kitchen is open as well, but it is not situated directly in front of the diners, meaning that one is not consistently watching the food preparation. [These selected photos are from February 2007]

Lobster pipette: A very succulent lobster with a pipette of delicious sauce.

This one was fun: a Deconstructed Glass of White Wine. Each isolated flavor is a common flavor in wine–it’s hard to identify each flavor individually!

Feta Linguine.

Caesar salad with a quail egg. Tasted like the real thing–but better. The flavor was strong and there was no messy dressing.

Not revolutionary, but a solid bite of corn.

Guacamole. Thin-sliced avocado with a tomato puree. Aaand FRITOS on top. FRITOS. Awesome.

Clam Chowder is always tasty, but this one especially so. Look at the size of that clam.

The Philly cheesesteak was a stand-out of the evening. Great beef, great cheese, great bread.

Pistachio beets and mixed berries. The beets were airy and dissolved in your mouth. A fun textural experience, but flavor-wise it was average.

Matcha ball. It’s like an edible poof!

Me Encanta Calle Ocho

In a city with so many restaurants to try, there are very few that I return to. But, I am ADDICTED to Calle Ocho. They are just so gosh darn nice there, not to mention the incredible food.

The flaky bread-ish/biscuit-esque with bean paste they serve prior to the meal is outstanding. They are airy in your mouth with just the slightest bit of sweetness. Monday is $5 mojito night–try the peach mojito if you want something besides just the standard one, even though the standard is plenty good.

Oh do I wish I had a picture of the sweet corn and goat cheese tamal with shrimp enchilado and pumpkin pesto. It had the perfect amount of goat cheese and I wish it existed as an entree because it has so many fun flavors that meld well with each other. The chicarron (above, with crispy calamari, Dominican honey, and organic sprout salad) is great for an app–the honey and calamari go surprisingly well together, and the cucumbers mellow the dish out a bit.

The cordero, a braised lamb shank “barbacoa style” with rajas poblanas had a great sauce though some of the rice was too hard. The bistec, a Cuban style sirloin with yuca fries and traditional chimichurri was filling and the yuca fries were thick and tasted so much better (and healthier) than French fries. Mm, yuca should be served more frequently. I definitely recommend the salmon with lobster mash and potatoes–it was tender and the potatoes were great. Everything is so filling that you’ll definitely have enough leftovers for lunch. I’m determined to go back and try more of the menu-I have yet to find a disappointing dish.

Where: 446 Columbus Ave @ 83rd St, www.calleochonyc.com

Price: Moderate to Expensive (but if you go on Mondays, there are free tapas at the bar)

Rating:

China Grill: Blech.

I refuse to call China Grill any sort of fusion restaurant just because there is some soy sauce in their dishes. I’m resistant to categorize it as Chinese but am going to if not for anything more than the title of the restaurant. I actually enjoyed the family-style aspect of the meal–there was plenty of food to go around, even if the overall quality was subpar. Ugh, and the scene. Why the heck is this place so popular? It had a weird smoky haze and was quite loud. The bathrooms were in this weird spiral staircase in which the women had to walk upstairs and then men had to walk downstairs but there were no doors to the bathroom or signs to indicate which gender should go where. Good thing I went the right way or that could have been…awkward.

Appetizers

Calamari salad in a lime miso dressing : one of the few standout dishes. Very crisp calamari with a delicate dressing to match.

Lamb spare ribs: also good–the sauce was sweet and the lamb was tender.

Beef and scallion dumpling: Soggy dumpling and boring beef. Actually, worse than boring. It was just bad.

Entrees

Drunken Chicken: SO dry.  So terrible.  So chewy.  Would have been good if they didn’t pre-cook it and then re-heat it (I assume). The Asian slaw was too tangy.  The crispy onions were not particularly crispy.

BBQ Salmon: No taste. Any home cook could make a better salmon.

Skirt Steak with Noodles: Overly soy sauced.

Wild Mushroom Profusion Pasta:  Soooo much “sake madeira” (where was that part?) cream sauce, it tasted like something one would order at Olive Garden.

We also ordered wasabi mashed potatoes which were spot-on and I’m giving another star for them alone. The vegetable fried rice was okay too.

Dessert

Assorted sorbets and cream cheese mousse: Dull sorbets and didn’t love the mousse at all (me? not like a cheese dish?!), though a few people thought it was quite nice. Call me a curmudgeon but it needed more sugar and a thicker consistency.

The scary part? These dishes were all from the regular menu, so people order this dredge all the time. Jeffrey Chodorow, I expected more. I will not go back willingly.

www.chinagrillmgmt.com, 60 W. 53rd St at 6th Ave

Rating:

Mesa Grill Actually Appreciates Restaurant Week

Hooray! Finally a restaurant that wasn’t a total jackass because we were ordering off the Restaurant Week menu. And, moreover, the R-week menu was based off the actual menu. They didn’t give us cheaper options. We got the real deal! I was shocked! Props to Bobby Flay. Overall, the meal was solid, but not quite Iron Chef worthy. The margaritas were okay but as soon as the bread basket came, I knew I would like the place. Muffins! Rolls! Something that was kind of in between!

Appetizers

The tomato and tortilla soup with white cheddar, avocado, and cilantro was smooth with a bit of spiciness at the end. One of the best I’ve had. The jumbo scallops were phenomenal. These were not on the regular menu but should be–the plaintain tostone resembled a crispy and delicious potato latke, as a friend pointed out.

Entrees

The grilled mahi mahi got mixed reviews. My piece was very chewy and dry, though latke-friend said that hers was incredibly moist and delicious. At least the yellow and red tomatoes were fresh. The 16-spice chicken with roasted garlic-mango sauce had a sweet aftertaste which went quite well with the blue corn tamale with basil butter–a fabulous tamale that was not overpowering but still filling. The cornmeal crusted chile relleno filled with zucchini and goat cheese worked well if you really love cheese (which of course tastes better in a crust) and was probably the heaviest of the three dishes.

Desserts

I probably would have preferred a molten chocolate cake over the warm chocolate cake that they served. It was a tad dry, though I did appreciate the fruits on top. The chocolate rum sorbet next to it was uninteresting and not my style (or most of my friends, since almost all of us left it over). The blackberry and peach shortcake was also just okay; once again I liked the fruit but the cake itself was not a standout.

Don’t want to complain too much–the service was good and they were nice to us (gosh, I can’t believe I even have to use that as a criteria for R-week). Wish the lighting was a little brighter. I’d maybe go back.

www.mesagrill.com, 15th St & 5th Ave

Rating:

Wild Ginger: Cheap & Lovely

The bright yellow sandwich board outside Wild Ginger would seem to indicate a cheap place begging for business. However, although the food is quite cheap (average entree around $10), it is also quite delicious. Moreover, the interior decor is near stunning for such a reasonably-priced establishment–hard wood floors and lots of fauna. In other words, Wild Ginger could be charging a lot more than what they are based on atmosphere alone (but I hope they don’t!). I would definitely return.

Appetizers

Indian Pancake: The curry dipping sauce is simply delightful. I only wish it came with more pancake.

Fried Spiced Calamari: The perfect crispiness. The squid was not rubbery at all. As somewhat of a fried calamari aficionado, this one ranks up there. Nice apple ginger dipping sauce as well.

Entree

Red Curry Shrimp: Spicy, but appropriately so (though I do recommend a glass of water). A plentiful amount of shrimp amidst the red bell peppers, pineapple, and eggplant.

Rating:

www.wildginger-ny.com, 51 Grove Street (West Village)

Osteria Gelsi: Great Food in the Middle of Nowhere

I’m wary of going out for Italian food. A good Italian meal is a great treat but there’s so much crappy Italian food out there that I find it difficult to sort through the bad ones and just find the good. At least when I go out for Chinese food, I’m getting something I don’t typically cook myself. But, there’s no way I’m paying $12 for a pasta with a vegetable and meat when I can make that myself. Still, I was absolutely wowed by the place, located below Hell’s Kitchen and really close to a Lincoln Tunnel entrance. In other words, the neighborhood is erm, far from beautiful. But, it is so pleasant inside the restaurant that you forget all the litter sitting on the sidewalk outside.

Osteria Gelsi was nearly empty when we dined there recently on a Saturday night and the service was near perfect. It is a great place for a romantic yet not too pricey date, or a place to take friends or family whose palates are not too exotic, but know how to appreciate a good meal. I cannot stop raving about this place to friends.

Appetizer

Affettato Di Cinghiale (paper think slices of wild boar with mesclun, eggplant, cherry tomatoes, and a pear wine reduction: This was my first wild boar experience but hopefully not my last. It tasted like a mix between beef and pork but lighter than both. The mesclun and tomatoes were very fresh the reduction was perfect-subtle enough to notice the taste but not overwhelming.

Entrees

Timballo (layers of wide ribbon pasta bechamel, meat ragu, and parmigiano reggiano): Probably the best lasagna-esque meal I’ve ever had. The cheese on top of the round circle of deliciousness was baked so crisp and wonderfully and went perfectly with the soft pasta and meat sauce that was heavy but appropriately so. I’m drooling just thinking about it.

Conchiglie Cavolflori Gamberi (tiny pasta shells with cauliflower, red onion, garlic, capers, anchovies, olives, shrimp and broccoli): The sauce was so delicate but worked so amazingly with the ingredients. Pasta does not impress me–this one did.

I would gladly go back–there are so many more things on the menu to try!

Rating:

509 9th Ave at 38th. www.gelsinyc.com (note, website is down as of this post)

One If By Land, Two If By Sea: Does Not Like The Little People

I had been looking forward to my Restaurant Week reservation at One If By Land, Two If By Sea for weeks–it’s not every day that I get to eat at a former estate of Aaron Burr. Moreover, everyone prides the place for the romantic decor and great seafood.

I do understand that food served on a Restaurant Week menu may not be quite as nice as what might be served on their typically $75 Prix Fixe menu. Still, Restaurant Week benefits both customers and the restaurant–us common people get to eat at places we can normally not afford and the restaurants get more reservations. Therefore, customers still deserve to be treated just as nicely as they would if they were ordering the more expensive menu. After all, if the food is really that good, then can’t restaurants expect repeat business?

Although I do commend One If By Land for the romantic ambiance (piano player, warm carpeting, candles, fireplaces), the expedited pace in which our courses were served, as well as the food quality overall, is simply not forgivable. There were too many small mistakes, like never serving butter for our bread and serving a melting dessert when I was in the bathroom. Neither of those mistakes would have occurred if the time between courses was more than 30 seconds. As soon as we were seated, the waiter asked us for drink orders before we even picked up the menus. There was simply no mistaking the fact that they were pushing us out as soon as we walked in the door.

Appetizers

Seared Gulf Prawn with zucchini, tomatoes, and roasted almonds: two measly pieces of shrimp with dry pasta and definitely a store-bought tomato sauce.

Golden Tomato Gazpacho with shrimp, sweet peppers, and cilantro: once again, barely any seafood in the too salty broth.

Entrees

Steamed Wild Strip Bass with couscous and olive tapenade: Bass was chewy, tapenade was salty. The couscous was actually quite good but there was very little of it.

Anise Scented Seared Pork Tenderloin with sour cherries and polenta: Very good, especially the creamy polenta. Pork was nicely flavored (a tad less salt would have been better though). Small portion, however.

Desserts

Warm Chocolate Mi Cuit: No complaints. Solid.

Frozen Peach Parfait: There was one (one!!) slice of what must have been a canned (canned!!) peach amongst a parfait that had a nice flavor but was too frozen in the middle.

I’ve had much better meals at much supposedly worse establishments for less than $35. It’s 24 hours after our dinner and I am still upset (mostly at myself) for expecting so much and receiving so little.

www.oneifbyland.com, 17 Barrow Street

Rating: