Gotham Gal

Chez Sardine

Chez Sardine opened this past week and we were quite excited about it.  In full disclosure, we are investors in the restaurant.  We are investors because we have invested in every one of Gabe Stulmans restaurants since he opened Joseph Leonard a few years ago.  We met him when he opened up Little Owl where he is no longer involved.  It was obvious to me that he was a scrappy entrepreneur who understood the hospitality business on many levels.  He has created a community within all his restaurants with not only the chef and staffs but the patrons as well.  Mehdi Brunet-Benkirtly is the head chef at Fedora and took his brilliant creative mind over to Chez Sardine. 

The restaurant has a clean glamorous feel with warm wood walls and booths including a sweet little bar with a few stools.  A total change of vibe and feel from other Stulman restaurants and I like it.

As always there are a few cocktails.  Love the name "Cousin Scotty Fails his Driving Test".  There is also a huge wine list, sakes included. 

We were there on day 3 of being open.  The kitchen was humming.  We began with caviar and butter toast.  Simple and divine.  Nothing like salty tiny eggs of caviar over a simple crusty toast. 

Warm pork and unagi hand roll.  Warm eel and pork is a clever combination.  A wow.

On the menu is the sushi bar options.  All individual pieces.  Sliced tuna over warm rice with a kick of ginger and scallions.  The menu says chicharron which is a pork dish but I did not taste that.

Smoked artic char over a warm spicy rice.  This was outrageous.  The combination of smoke and spice with a buttery piece of fish is a total winner.

Beef tonue with ponzu and slices of jalapeno.  Totally different.  Fred loved this.

East coast oyster with apple and chive oil.  A bit too foamy.

Chopped scallop mixed with trout roe and a quail egg.  Just making this is not easy.  An incredible combo of flavors.  The egg just seals the deal.

Breakfast pancakes.  This could become a signature dish.  Think bilini pancakes layered with fish tartare, salmon roe and dollops of yogurt through out.  Divine.

Pan fried brussel sprouts mixed with apple sauce that has been mixed with a brown butter.  Really interesting as I was expecting piece of apple.  I am going to try and make this at home.

Miso-maple salmon head.  Literally a salmon head roasted with crispy skin and glazed with a rich miso maple sauce.  You have to be adventurous for this one because you have to pick through the bones.  Some of the heads are more meaty than others.  Brilliant but not easy.

This is the one dish I did not love.  Iceberg wedge with creamy sesame dressing.  The dressing was too heavy handed with a taste that would not leave my mouth.  When we eat Japanese food although this is Japanese food Mehdi style, I want clean crispy flavors and this just sat.

Nice little treat at the end.  Soft smooth ice cream with the flavor of a sugar cone. 

All and all a sweet little gem on the corner of West 4th and West 10th that is worth checking out.  Must go back and eat a few of the items I missed. 

 

Delaneys BBQ

This past summer we had a party through Kitchensurfing at our house and the chef was Dan Delaney.

The brisket was amazing and so was everything else.  Fast forward Dan opens a restaurant, Delaney BBQ, in Williamsburg, Brooklyn.  He is such a great loveable entrepreneur and we invested in his vision.  This past week we tried out the wares.  I can honestly say that his brisket is the best brisket I have ever had, hands down.  That says a lot coming from a jewish girl.  The pork ribs were also killer.  He has mastered the Texas style BBQ in NY.

The place is set up just like a Texas BBQ.  Cafeteria style for drinks and food.  Take your seat and enjoy the evening.  He opened to the public this past Friday night.  Get there early.  He has not exactly figured out the demand yet as he sold out in three hours the first night.  Crazy.  There is also catering available. 

 

 

week wrap-up of #sandy

What a week!  Both Fred and I cleared our calendars, work-wise to deal with life in general.  An incredibly productive week considering not one of the things that we got done were on our "to-do" list Monday morning.  I think this headline sums up this post and the week. 

We won't be back into our apartment more than likely until Xmas.  The electrical panels in our basement, where all of the systems are housed for the building, are toast.  We literally put together a SWAT team, spoke to the insurance company, the people who manage our building (although we have taken matters into our own hands), our super who is doing an amazing job in crisis mode, all the people who live in our building, etc.  Conference calls, trips downtown, drilling down on who needs to do what, etc. 

We have been fortunate to be living at our friends home on the Upper West Side.  Being displaced is not fun but at least we have a roof over our head and plenty of food in the refrigerator.  Not as many people who were affected by the flood have been as fortunate as us in that regard.

I found 3 places to live.  We will be moving into an apartment in Soho for a few weeks starting today and then moving into a hotel for two weeks and then another hotel for a month.  The woman who is the head of sales at the Soho/Tribeca Grand was my savior.  So was the head of the NY office for One Fine Stay.  Highly recommend using their services if you are looking for a long term apartment in either NYC or London.  They were both fantastic. 

My sister was displaced too and living on the UWS with her business partner.  Last night we got together for dinner while Josh and Fred enjoyed the Knicks at MSG.  I had gone to see Argo which if you get a chance is totally worth seeing.  Really well done movie.  So glad I saw it.  Afteward we wandered through the UWS to find a restaurant.  Not easy because most people had reservations or they were refugees like us and so the restaurants were packed.  We ended up at 'Cesca. 

The bar was teeming with people and they said it would easily be an hour and a half to get a table.  We put our names in and got a drink at the bar.  They failed to mention that the tables around the bar were first come first serve.  We were with our friend and she figured it out.  She eventually scored a table for two so we could sit down.  We wondered if they could get us a third chair?  Immediate answer was no. 

I figured that perhaps the manager would be so kind to help us out.  After all, it has been a stressful week.  I found him and asked him if perhaps he could get us another chair.  There were a few tables that had extra chairs in the dining room and they were using them for their coats.  His answer was, if you want to ask them go ahead but I won't.  Seriously?  And so, I did.  I went over to a couple who was sitting in a back table with their coats draped over one of the chairs.  I asked them if I could have their chair explaining my situation in the front.  The woman basically pointed to the table behind them that was set for a party of 6 and said I should take one of their chairs because they wanted their chair for their coats.  I mentioned that there was a coat room.  She wanted nothing to do with the coat check.  I said that I was a refugee from downtown, I wandered into this restaurant for a bite to eat, all I wanted was a seat, a drink and some food and I'd appreciate it if they could give me their chair.  Begrudgingly, the husband took their stuff off the chair.  The whole transaction was seriously amazing.  I took the chair and picked it up, hauled it through the entire restaurant and the bar until I got to our tiny table in the corner.  My friend and sister couldn't believe it.  What I couldn't believe is that at one of the nicer restaurants on the UWS that people were so rude, the manager didn't give a shit and as a customer I had to find my own way to sit down. 

The icing on the cake was when I got up to go to the bathroom later on, I made my way through the crowd saying excuse me, excuse me.  Some woman turns around and says "excuse me would be nice".  I said, I did say excuse me.  She says, no you didn't.  I had to pee so bad I ignored her and moved on.  When I came back I truly thought about taking her out but luckily she was gone.  What a total bitch. 

I am going back downtown this afternoon.  My friends have been a life line so needed.  The week has been upsetting, disconnecting and all and all not the height of my year.  It is unfortunate in a town of resilient and warm people which has truly been my experience for most of the week including all of my years in NYC that I had the experience that I did last night.  I am pretty damn sure the people who I dealt with last night were not displaced and even if they were, shame on them. 

 

Broccoli Rabe with Sweet Sausage Pesto

The pasta at Perla is killer.  I do love pasta but rarely eat it.  These days I am attempting to make more meals that work for Josh in particular.  The kid needs calories.  He does not need my low fat meals. 

The recipe in the paper last week was for the Orecchiette with Sweet Sausage and Broccoli Rabe Pesto ( used a different pasta).  One of my absolutely faves from Perla.  Much to everyones  dismay I have actually eaten an entire bowl myself.

I made the recipe and needless to say…Josh was thrilled.

 ½ lb. broccoli rabe – stems trimmed off and tossed

¾ cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano

1 cup finely chopped fennel bulb

1 cup finely chopped Vidalia onion

1 lb sweet Italian sausage, casing removed

2 cups chicken stock

In a large pot of salted boiling water add the broccoli rabe and cook about 5 minutes until tender.  Drain and place in a large bowl of ice water to cool immediately.  Drain and squeeze dry.  Put in a food processor with 6 tablespoons olive oil.  Pulse until it comes together.  Fold into a bowl with ¼ cup of Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese.

In a large sauté pan, cover the bottom with about 4 tbsp. olive oil.  Add the fennel and onion, sauté until soft.  Add the sausage and mash it into a fine crumble.  Cook until the sausage is no longer pink.  Add the chicken stock and bring to a boil and cook until the stock is almost but not completely evaporated.

Transfer this mixture to the food processor and pulse until finely ground.  Return this to the pan and fold the broccoli rabe into this.  Set aside.

Boil up the pasta until al dente.  Drain the pasta and keep about ½ cup of the pasta water.   Put that pasta water into the pesto mixture and reheat.  Now add the cooked pasta until evenly coated.  Fold in the remaining ½ cup of cheese.  Check if you need a little salt and pepper…and serve.

I am making this again very very soon.

 

 

 

 

Shrimp Curry with Udon Noodles

Curries are a funny thing.  Each region has a totally different flavor and preparation.  First I tried making a curry from the Goan region of India.  I tossed the entire thing out.  It did not sit well with what I thought of when I think of curry.  Then I tried something else.  This totally worked.  Also, beyond simple.  Next time I am going to try another curry with a red curry paste. 

1 medium yellow onion, finely chopped

1 teaspoon ground pepper

1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger, from about a 1-inch peeled piece of ginger

1 red pepper thinly sliced

1 tablespoon kosher salt

2 teaspoons ground coriander

1/2 teaspoon turmeric

1 teaspoon curry powder

1 (14.5-ounce) can diced tomatoes, undrained

1 can coconut milk, light or regular

1 cup chopped fresh cilantro

In a medium sauce pan cover the bottom with canola oil.  Let it get really hot and add in the onions.  Turn down to medium and saute for about 2/3 minutes.

Add in the ginger, red pepper, salt, coriander, tumeric and curry powder.  Mix well.  This should saute for about 5-7 minutes when the onions are really starting to be coated with the mixture.

Add in the tomatoes (I used a 14 ounce can of cherry tomatoes in their juice) and a can of coconut milk.  Bring to a boil and then down to simmer.

Add your shrimp and cook until cooked (turned pink).  I boiled the noodles on the side and then mixed it all together.  Right before serving I added the chopped cilantro - which is optional. 

A hit.

Park Slope

I have tooled around Park Slope many times over the past 20 years.  Our kids had their pediatrician there at one point.  The neighborhood has changed like all the neighborhoods in and around all the NY boroughs have changed in 20 years. 

My friend and I try to do a trip somewhere in NYC a few times a year and this time we picked Park Slope.  We were both interested in checking out the Park Slope Food Co-op.  Our first stop was lunch.  We went to Bierkraft.  Love this place.  Multiple beers on tap including a menu of fresh made sandwiches.

We both had a beer.  I had the Greenport Harbor Ale and she had the Lowenbrau Buttenheim Kellerbrier.  I rarely drink beer (particularly at lunch) but beer on tap like this is so delicious.

We got a few sandwiches.  Nice presentation on the wrapping. 

This is the vegetarian with roasted marinated eggplant, mozzarella,basil almond pesto, black olive, arugula and hot pepper relish.  We also had a few pickled celery stalks on the side which were amazing. I'd like a vat of them for my fridge.

We strolled around and stopped into Fleishmans, the neighborhood butcher.  Kind of love the sizing chart here.

Then to the Park Slope Food Co-op.  This place has been open since 1973 and now has over 15000 members.  There has been controversary on and off around this place as long as it has been around.  If you belong, you must work there at least so many hours a week.  That allows them to price the goods at a much lower mark-up.  We took a look around.  It has a very organic feel.  I remember when we lived in Alston MA during college and there was a food co-op down the street that I checked out once.  Pretty sure this is not my kind of thing. 

Grabbed the last shaved ice of the season at the People's Pop before they close shop for the season.

Now this is my kind of place, Brooklyn Larder.  Located in Prospect Heights which is right next to Park Slope. 

I have wanted to open something like this for 5 years if not more.  I could sleep here.  It took a lot for me not to buy up the entire store. 

Not only are the products beyond well curated but the clean precision and visual placement is fantastic.

Had a piece of this pistachio cake and a cup of coffee before we jumped back on the subway back home.  I am going to attempt to duplicate this.  Tasted like a really good lemon pound cake but with pistachios. 

Next trip? 

Last day in Chicago

The last day was just brunch in Wicker Park at Prasino.  Lots of options for brunch.  Jessica had an amazing "hippie" omelette.  I had the carrot pancakes.  Not sure why I chose this.  They were good but really a tad too sweet for my breakfast palate. Afterward we drove around Bucktown to see what it was all about. 

The rest of the day was spent back in the hotel watching Jessica do another photo shoot.  Then we just chilled out.  For dinner we went Arami.  Located on a vacant street driving towards Wicker Park.  What a find.  The food was amazing.  An adorable woman waited on us who had just became certified as a sake expert.  She really knew her stuff.  We let her order for us. 

The menu is extensive from robata, donburi, noodles, sushi, sashimi etc.  We took the lead from the woman who was waiting on us on how to curate our meal.  We began with the "cold" and had the tuna bites.  Chopped up tuna with chives and a little dollop of caviar on top.  Perfect start to the meal.

Uni shooter.  Tobiko, diced cucumber, shiso leaf and the house special soy sauce.  On the bottom is a piece of uni and ths rest is poured on top.  Incredible.  Even for non-uni fans.  The special soy sauce is amazing.

Spicy Tako springroll.  Spicy octopus with cilantro, crispy mixed greens wrapped in rice paper.  So many flavors happening here and with a serious kick.  Amazing.

A mixture of enoki, shimeji, shitake and eringi mushrooms warmed with a meyer lemon sesame dressing.  A nice light salad.

Special sashimi.  This is called secret hamachi.  Sliced yellowtail nicely presented over a rock with a bit of chopped mushrooms on top and a little bit of truffle oil.  We ordered it again.

We each got a mixture of sushi.  Super fresh and flavorful.  Not sure where they are bringing this fish in from but incredible.  I love how they gave me the deep fried head with the sweet shrimp.

King crab wrapped with marinated tuna and toasted sliced almonds on top.  A really interesting combination of flavors.  I reall loved the presentation too.

A piece of sublime uni.

Special maki.  Spicy octopus with fluke, ginger and tiny slices of apples on top and a ginger fuji apple dressing.  Wow wow wow.

Hamachi handroll.  We kept ordering!

We ended up with donburi.  Roasted duck over warm rice with ginger and thinly sliced plums. 

Had to have some mochi.  The food here is amazing.  If I was in Chicago another night, I might just return. 

More on Chicago

I came to Chicago because Jessica is working on her photography thesis.  I was happy to come along.  All the restaurants I chose was because you could make a reservation.  There are many that I wanted to try but I did not want to deal with waiting.  Like NYC, the new places do not take reservations.  I am not a fan because I really hate to wait and particularly when you travel I like to know what we are doing after a full day. 

The first night we went to The Savoy.  Cute restaurant with a bar atmosphere in the back which is where we sat.  They have tons of cocktails all with absinthe and it seems to be the thing to get there.  So we did.  This is called Isle of Man which is like a Manhattan.  Really not my thing so a few sips and I was done.

We split the tuna tartare with yuzu sauce and fried wontons.  Pretty good. 

Oysters came out next.  Took quite awhile go get these.  We were actually wondering if they had put in the order.

I had a maple mustard glazed salmon with root vegetables and brussel sprouts.  Quite good. 

Jessica has the pan seared halibut with black forbidden rice, shitake mushrooms. shishito peppers and a grilled tomatila salsa.  Also really good.  A great neighborhood place located in Wicker Park. 

We got up the next morning and walked over to the Museum of Contemporary Art.  This piece in front is fantastic by Martin Creed. I hope they keep it there permanently. 

There were a few installations.  This one is a piece by Jimmy Robert.  The type written words say Against Angst on a crumbled piece of paper.  An interesting exhibit.

We went to a photography store and got a few things Jessica needed before going back for her shoot.  It is really great watching what she does.  Her whole thought process behind what she is trying to show and learn from is very cool.

That night we went to Piccolo Sogno Due for dinner.  Definitely an older persons crowd.  Jessica had to be the youngest in there by easily 20 years.  We split a few appetizers to start.  Crudo with grapefruit.  Nothing great.

Mare.  Seafood roasted in the wood oven with arugula salad and tomatoes.  Prawns, octopus, clams, mussels and calamari. 

I had a whole roasted turbot which they filleted for me.  Seriously buttery but since we had indulged in a bottle of the Sagrantino di Montefalco everything just tasted delicious.

Jess has the monkfish which was fine too.   

A little dessert and back to the hotel to bed. 

Women Winemakers Dinner

This summer we were drinking some Turley wines and my friend commented that women make better wines because they have better palates. She decided to create a dinner in the fall build around wines from women vintners.  The party took place in the basement tavern of the 1770 House in East Hampton. 

We kicked off the meal with a white from the Lopez de Heredia Tondonia Winery in Rioja.  The winery has been in the family since the middle of the 19th Century.  The current winemaker is Maria Jose Lopez de Heredia, the grand-daughter.  What was interesting about this wine is that over the course of just 20 minutes the wine changed in taste and texture. 

I enjoyed my wine with a half a dozen oysters. 

The next two wines we had were paired side by side.  There was one wine from the Burgundy region, Gevrey-Chambertin.  Having a hard time reading the label.  The story goes that this family had a very successful wine business for years.  The father and then the son took it over and their wines were just not that good.  They gave the daughter a shot and the entire business changed.  This particular wine was really good.  Clean, flavorful and just easy going down. 

We had this next to a pinot noir from Penner-Ash.  The winemaker, Lynn Penner, had always had a passion for making wine.  She worked at Stags Leap and the Rex Hill Winery in Oregon before opening up her own winery.  A rich wine that definitely got better once it had opened up. 

Had a few spicy green chili chicken wings for the table to share.

The burger is the thing to get in the tavern. 

We also had the menu from upstairs to choose from.  Little too heavy for me, at least that night.  I had the suckling pig with celery root puree, roasted carrots, cabbage and a spicy jus.  I could have easily shared this.

More wines. Olga Raffault, 2007 Chinon.  Located in the Savigny-en-Veron district.  Originally run by Olga who died a few years ago is now run by her grand-daughter Sylvie and her husband. 

Martinelli.  This vineyard sits next to the Turley vineyard.  They became friends and now work together.  Helen Turley makes amazing wines.

Nothing like a cheese plate at the end of the evening.  I could just keep it to myself.

Of course a little ice cream with candle in it for the birthday crew.  Fun event.  Didn't love any of the wines but had a great time and loved the whole concept. 

Topping Rose House, Bridgehampton

We have a dinner club.  We get together about once every four months for dinner.  It is always fun and we are a tough food crowd.  This time we chose to go back out to the beach for several reasons.  It is relaxing, the weather is still good and we figured we could check out the opening of the Topping Rose House.

The Topping Rose House is in Bridgehampton.  It is a project that Tom Colicchio is involved with and he is the chef for the restaurant.  This house was falling apart and the owners came in and poured a lot of cash into the place and brought it back to life.  They did an amazing job.  The rooms are bright and airy, the place feels alive and it is a nice addition to the Hamptons considering you can also book a room there.  Fun art...wonder who curated that.  The bar was packed and we had the luxury of being escorted for a little tour upstairs.  This is the living room.

Here is one of the bedrooms.

The sitting room of the bedroom.

The bathroom.  Really nice job all around.

There are a few rooms to sit in.  Tables for 8 are tough.  There is also a barn which we did not see where you can have, I believe, private parties for tables of 10.  Keep in mind the place has been only opened for two weeks when we showed up.  The meal crescendo-ed.  Our appetizers were good, some of the pastas were amazing, the main courses were all delicious and the desserts were fantastic.  Such a treat to have good food out there.  I hope it stays its course! 

Shaved fennel, radish, cucumber and celery salad with a goat yogurt-herb dressing.  Nice and light.

Simple late summer greens from the garden with a shallot vinegarette.  

Pieces of braised zucchini, crispy zucchini blossom and burrata.  Good not great. 

We split a bunch of pastas.  Squid and stewed cherry tomatoes mixed with greens mixed with a squid ink linguine.  A nice spicy bite.

Bucatini with clams, chiles, parsley and toasty bread crumbs. 

Sorry for the blur perhaps because I was so excited.  This was fantastic.  Sweet corn agnolotti with leeks and summer truffle.  So delicious sweet and perfect.  I could have eaten a full sized portion by myself. 

Fred talked about the striped bass for two days.  Snap peas, green, yellow and wax beans all thinly sliced with a summer truffle and loads of butter over a perfectly poached sea bass.

Roasted red peppers and eggplants like a caponade underneath sliced pieces of lamb.  On the side was a crispy treat.  Can't remember what it was exactly something with cornmeal but it worked so good with the lamb.

Braised onions, saffron and fennel over a spicy roasted lobster tail.  Nice combination of good flavors.

Wagyu skirt steak served with fried fingerling potatoes and a sweet pepper relish with sauteed greens over the top. 

Cream cheese ice cream parfait with stewed blueberries and graham cracker crumbs.  We fought to the bottom.

Creme fraiche panna cotta with a cornmeal streusel, plum sorbet and mint.  On top was a crispy topping like a flan.  The panna cotta was rich and creamy.

You really can't go wrong with cardamon spiced donuts served with raspberry sherbet and a lemon cream sauce. 

A chocolate tart filled with warm oozing chocolate served with cherry-vanilla ice cream and pistachios and my favorite warm figs. 

We pretty much closed the dining room.  No doubt, this will be a tough place to get a reservation next summer.  A really wonderful addition to the landscape.  Just a few more treats before we hit the road.  Chocolate chip cookies and lemon gelees. Bravo.