Whose idea was it?

This is not a restaurant/food review. But some thoughts about food. Warning, it is a long thought.

Have you ever encountered a story, a painting, a piece of music, or just an idea, created by someone else and that made you leaped off your chair and yelled "that was my idea! he stole my idea!!"

I have....Anthony Bourdain (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anthony_Bourdain) "stole" my idea.

Let me explain.

Anthony Bourdain wrote a most recent book titled "Medium Raw" (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medium_Raw). I flipped through the book at Borders one lazy afternoon and stumbled upon this paragraph. The said chapter of the book involved Bourdain's criticism of new restaurants trying to "invent" new food and thus making the eating experience "complicated" for the eater and the creator of food. What followed was this sentences:

"If any good comes out of all the pain and insecurity (of creating new food experience), I can only hope that the Asian-style food court/hawker center is one of them. This institution is way overdue for an appearance (on a large scale) in America. Scores of inexpensive one-chef/one-specialty business (basically, food stalls) clustered around a "court" of shared tables. When will some shrewd and civic minded investors (perhaps in tandem with their city governments) put aside some parking lot-size spaces (near commercial districts) where operators from many lands can sell their wares? Sharing tables, as in classic fast-food food courts? Why, with our enormous Asian and Latino populations, can't we have dai pai dong -literally, "big sign street", the Chinese version of the indigenous food court, like they do in Hong Kong- or hawker centers, like in Singapore or Kuala Lumpur? Or "food streets," like Hanoi and Saigon? The open-to-the-air "wet" taco vendors and quesadilla-makers of Mexico City?"  End of quote

That, my friend, is what I have been talking about for the last 4 years.

As Bourdain pointed out, we do have food courts here in America, the ones in the mall...but the food are bad!!!!

If you have spent time living in any Asian country, what Bourdain said will resonate with you. Or put it another way, think about the food/restaurants that you go back to time and time again. What are they?

Taco, Roast Chicken (Pio), Soup Dumplings, Cumin Burger, Bahn Mi, Arepas, Dosai, Cerviche,  Tamale. You can argue that because we are a multi-ethnic bunch of people, hence we love ethnic food. But i think this is a weak argument. The food that i mentioned are simple, delicious, and affordable PERIOD. NO frill, NO BS, NO gimmick, and won't cost you $60 (inside joke with Antelmo).  Why is the best chinese food in chinatown? The best mexican food in spanish harlem, the best indian food in jackson heights? Instead of waiting for New Yorkers to come out from their "shell" and explore these "intimidating" neighborhoods (literally), why not bring these food all under one roof and make it more accessible to everyone instead of having to seat in a basement mall in Flushing?

the concept is there, the market (new york city) is there for the taking, how to implement? Give me half a million dollars and I will answer that question...

if you can't give me half a million dollars, this is how you can help. Send this article or share it with friends who might share the same sentiment as I. Maybe we can create a new food movement here in NYC, maybe one of your rich friends might be interested as an investor. Maybe Bourdain is secretly working on this project already.....

Battle Ramen (Round 2)

(picture source: serious eats new york)











I can finally say that I have eaten at Ippudo Ramen. (4th avenue, between 9th an 10th street). If you remember a few posts down, I did a comparison of Setagaya and Rai Rai Ken. However, a "Battle Ramen" ain't complete without Ippudo Ramen. What is the rave about this place? Why is there a 30-40 minutes wait during rush hour? Why does it garner a 4 stars review on yelp (1538 reviewers, last check)?  The answer...

The noodle and the broth.

It is like going to an Italian restaurant and if someone ask you why do they have the best spagetti and you say "the pasta and the sauce" or at a pizza place and you say "the dough and the cheese".

I am sure it takes years to make the perfect bowl of ramen or pasta or pizza. I am not saying that Ippudo Ramen is perfect since I don't even know what "perfect" means.  But i have to say, Ippudo Ramen is very very good.

I went there at 5.30pm on Thursday and there wasn't any wait. (by the time i left at 6.30pm, there was probably a 10 minutes wait). If you really want to try their noodle, i suggest going before 7pm. I ordered the first ramen on top of the menu - the classic shio ramen (ramen with salted broth). The noodle is very chewy and "melts" in your mouth. A good sign of freshly made noodle. Other ramen places probably uses dried noodle (don't quote me on this). The broth, ah yes, the broth makes or brakes a bowl of ramen. The flavor of the broth is very complex. I tried my best to figure out what i am tasting. Something tells me they cooked the broth with shiitake mushroom (among maybe 1000 other ingredients). 

Will I go back to Ippudo ramen? Yes. Do I want to wait 30 minutes of a bowl of ramen? No. 

The Meatball Shop (On Stanton street, between Allen and Orchard street, next to Katz Diner and Sunshine cinema)

What restaurant do you open after working for Eric Ripert at Le Benardin and, at his recommendation, attended the Culinary Institute of America (C.I.A) with full James Beard Scholarship?

A meatball shop called "The Meatball Shop"

I went to Sunshine cinema (first time, awesome place) to watch "The Girl with the dragon tattoo" (awesome adaption of an awesome book). Needed a place to grab a quick bite and decided to go to The Meatball Shop, a place that i first learned about just a few days before.

The set up of the restaurant immediately tells you this is a fun place. Long communal table in the middle, a few tables on the side (for diners who prefer more intimacy), and a nice looking bar. I have no idea how to order food in the beginning and i had to ask the waiter. Turns out, you are suppose to "check some boxes" on the menu with a sharpie to indicate what food you want to order. The waiter will later return the menu after erasing your mark. A recyclable menu and ordering sheet. Cool.  

We ordered our meatballs to go since we were running late. Unfortunately i had to eat my meatballs in the dark. The only other food i recommend eating in the dark is --popcorn.  I can only 'taste' my food based on what i feel on my fingers and the smell of my food. There is the meatball, a piece of bread, and some vegetable on the side. I wolfed it down during the movie previews so that i won't be distracted when the movie starts.

Overall, i think the meatballs are delicious. I definitely want to return here someday and try their different meatballs with different sauces, with the lights ON!

here is a funny story, the book/movie "the girl with the dragon tattoo" was written in sweden by a swedish author. What's popular in sweden besides IKEA?  Meatballs. At one point i was stuffing meatball in my mouth while the actor in the movie is teaching his niece how to make meatballs......

 (i 'borrowed' this picture from the internet, sorry for not asking for permission)

Craftbar

Craftbar (and other Craft restaurants) was opened by Tom Colicchio. (Not sure if he still owns/runs the business). Tom Colicchio opened Gramercy Tavern with Danny Myer many years ago before opening his own restaurants. His gained his celebrity status since hosting Bravo channel's Top Chef.
 
It was another one of those spur of the moment thing that led me to Craftbar. Again, as in any of the "named brand" restaurant, what struck me first is the space and decor. It has a very cool, young and trendy vibe (good date spots). Our server isn't the friendliest, she has a "pissed-off" face. Perhaps because we didn't order drinks or she just had a bad day. Someone need to tell her to get rid of the attitude.

After doing some research beforehand, i have decided to order chorizo sage leaves starter. Although it says "small plate" on the menu, it is definitely to be shared with 4 people!! The chorizo is wrapped with sage leaves and deep fried. It is delicious. Is there a way to not make chorizo delicious? Maybe when it is raw.

Next up,  the menu calls it "confit berkshire pork shoulder, tomato molasses, smoked pearl onion". I simply called it "braised pork, asian style". Confit? really? Berkshire? Is this necessary? That said, i thoroughly enjoyed this dish. You have to wrap the meat with the lettuce leaf they provide. Again, it is suppose to be an appetizer, but big enough to be shared with four people.

After eating 4 chorizos and half a pound of berkshire pork, do I still have space for my pasta dish? Barely. I ordered a lamb ragu pappardelle while my friend ordered the goat cheese ravioli. The goat cheese ravioli is too "goat-y" for my liking. While the pappardelle is a little dry, the lamb ragu is just fine, nothing spectacular.

Overall, good food, generous portion, perfect for group dinner.

With so many restaurant options in the city, I don't think I will be revisiting Craftbar anytime soon.

Ma Peche

Foodies, by now, should be familiar with David Chang and his momofuku empire. Ma peche is his new restaurant located in mid-town Manhattan. I heard of Momofuku noodle bar when it first opened. My labmate was the first few people to eat there. Sometime later (soon after Ssam bar was opened), I read an article about David Chang and his "struggling" restaurant business. Then and now, what a world difference.

Back to Ma Peche. I went there a month ago for dinner, sat a the bar and ordered bar food. The shrimp chips that they offered (for free) at the bar reminded me of...wait for it....HOME!

I ordered three dishes
a) Shrimp summer roll -- a few friends went to Ma Pech on separate occasions and they all raved about the summer roll. I have to agree, pretty darn good summer roll. The texture of the chewy shrimp, balanced by the crunchiness of fried summer roll wrap, and freshness of the vegetable. A winner.

b)  bahn mi (french-influenced Vietnamese sandwich)  - This dish is pretty solid too. Initially i thought the meat in there is a thin slice of cooked pork. It was much later did i realized it was actually terrine/forcemeat, which takes a little more technique to prepare. If I have know earlier, i would try eat my sandwich slowly. The pickled vegetable overpowered the delicate flavor of the terrine.

c) rice noodle - this is an unusual dish. totally not what i expected it to be. Don't get me wrong, i enjoyed it but the texture is different. How should i say this. It felt like eating baked ziti, but chinese style. If i were to venture a guess, I think the rice noodle was baked to give the crunchiness texture, then stir fried with meat and vegetable.

overall, i like the chill ambiance here, the food is solid, the price is reasonable, location is good (for east-siders). My next stop is Momofuku noodle bar and ssam bar......want to go with me??

Xi'an Famous Food

Xi'an is the name of an ancient city in China, a few hours from Beijing. Xi'an food isn't one of the more popular imports from China, compare to Cantonese, and Sichuan. Thanks to this 'restaurant', I think Xi'an food deserve to be recognized.

There are two locations. One is in Flushing, Queens, the other one is in Chinatown Manhattan. I found out that Anthony Bourdain visited the Flushing location and was impressed by it. Their signature dish is the "liang ping", which is a kind of room-temperature flat rice noodle. The second one is the cumin-flavored lamb "burger".

Antelmo, Daniel and myself liked the cumin lamb 'burger' a lot, but they are not crazy about the 'liang ping'. This place is definitely CHEAP, and the food is delicious. I would say it is on the "spicy hot" side. The problem I have with this place is that there is no place to eat. The 'restaurant' is more like a "closest". I don't know how they can cook in there but it kinda does remind me of my own kitchen space that I have survived for 6 years and counting. There is a park nearby where you can eat (which was what we did) or like most people, take the food home.

Location: Between Forsyth street and West Broadway. Directly under the Manhattan Bridge. The place is so small, you might miss it.

Burger or Brgr?

Serious restaurant critics who write for major newspaper/magazine visit the same restaurant 4-5 times before writing a review. Since I am not a restaurant critic, I will write about my experience at this new burger place after visiting it TWICE.

This is a burger restaurant called "Brgr". Yeah, creative, right? Drop the vowels and you get the name.

They claimed that the meat are from "grass-fed cows". Okay, a gimmick? Judge for yourself. All I care is this, "is the brgr delicious"?


YES


I had two different burgers on my visits. The first was a burger with a fried egg -"Fresh Morning Brgr". The yolk breaks into the meat and mixes with the goodness. The second brgr I had was "The Magnificent Meadow", which is a burger with mushrooms.

People who know me know that I am a die-hard fan of the Shake Shack. I still think Shake Shack burger is the best but there are a few reasons why I will be coming back to "Brgr".
First, location. This Brgr joint is located on 61th and Lexington Ave. a place that I walked by frequently. Also, it is 15 minutes walk from my apartment (the other location is in Chelsea). Second, there is NO line and plenty of seats. Third, the staff here are very easy-going.  Fourth, did i mention the burger was well-cooked?

The downer? The fries (two kinds are offered: sweet potato and russert potato) were too salty on my second visit, suggesting inconsistency. Also, I have heard complains about the greasy-ness of the burger. Oh well, it is a burger, what do you expect?

Since most of you reading this article attends Redeemer, I recommend that you check out this place with your friends. I would love to hear your feedbacks.

again, it is between on 3rd avenue, between 60th and 61st street