Category Archives: Other

Spot Dessert Bar

Up on the third floor of a K-town food mall, this little dessert outpost serves up some really nice treats. The Vietnamese coffee cupcake was pretty good, though I didn’t get a lot of that distinct chicory and sweetened condensed milk flavor that I expected.

20140927_192936_LLS

20140927_193329_LLS

The other items were pretty good though, like these things which I thought were churros with icing at first. HA! They were just eclairs

20140927_192946_LLS

Everything else under the glass looked delicious. Lots of green tea stuff, as you might expect at an Asian style bakery. Also some really tasty ice creams/gelatos.

20140927_193001_LLS

20140927_193012_LLS

Scan_Pic0006 Scan_Pic0007

SPOT DESSERT BAR
11 W. 32nd St.
New York, NY 10001

Holey Donuts

I had been invited here for a press event a while back but never got the chance to check it out. After my wife and I finished a meal in the area, we figured we would check this joint out for some dessert.

DSC02116

DSC02117

DSC02119

DSC02118

I tried the lemon creme crunch, which was pretty good but you can taste their whole “low calorie” and “health” angle in these things. It wasn’t BAD, per se, it just wasn’t that good.

DSC02121 2

My wife had an apple crumble chocolate maple thing or something, but she asked for an ice cream filling. This was a cool option, but that means they had to swap out the apple filling for ice cream filling. It was much better quality donut when mixed with ice cream. Perhaps it added some softness or moisture that the non-ice cream donut was missing.

DSC02122

HOLEY DONUTS
101 7th Ave. S.
New York, NY 10014

The Soup Man

Put my dick in this joint on the way home from dinner tonight just to see how warm the soup was as it brushed up close to my ball bag.

For real though – I’ve been walking by for months now and just had to try it due to their massive signage and Seinfeld reference:

20141103_193733_LLS 20141103_193649_LLS

Advertising success!

I grabbed a large of the crab and corn soup. It was delicious, and it had big chunks of real crabmeat inside. Very tasty.

20141103_193631_LLS 20141103_200205_LLS 20141103_200501_LLS

And you’ve gotta love the random apple and chocolate they put in the bag with your soup. What the?!??

20141103_200414_LLS

THE SOUP MAN
259 W. 55th St.
New York, NY 10019

Momofuku Ssam Bar Large Format Rib Eye

After reading this Eater article, and adding to the comments, I decided I needed to go do this gigantic rib eye at Momofuku Ssam Bar. I went with my wife and two friends from Tabelog. We rocked it. Check out the pics and details below.

We started out with what we thought was a complimentary plate of sardines on toast with fermented chic peas and pickled hearts of palm. Why did we think it was complimentary, you ask? Because (1) we didn’t fucking order it, and (2) the fucking waiter told us that he brought it out to us because he wanted us to try his favorite item. I’m not gonna complain any more than dropping two F-bombs, but needless to say I was a little confused and pissed when I saw the bill and realized we were charged for it (after leaving and already paying, mind you). The app was great. Salty, juicy, earthy, “umami,” and all that good shit. But there was plenty of meat, potatoes and greens to go around with the rib eye special that we didn’t need an app. Now, the waiter was great and all, but a surprise charge like this, couched in “freebie” behavior, is kinda fucked up. Okay that’s three F-bombs now. Readers: make sure you check out the coolness of what Momofuku did in response to this review, which I updated at the very bottom. All is right and well.

Momofuku Ribeye 013 edit

I’ll leave the meat for last… aside from dessert, of course. The art of anticipation…

Next was the bowl of perfectly fried french fries. Delicious. They came with a nice, smokey bacon ketchup too. Crispy outside, mashed potatoes inside. Mmmmm.

Momofuku Ribeye 018

Then a massive Caesar salad with brown butter croutons. Crisp and refreshing.

Momofuku Ribeye 022

Momofuku Ribeye 021

Okay now for the blowout. This is a 107oz hunk of GODmeat. Dry aged for 50 days, originally hailing from the Niman farm in California, this cut of rib contains the outer fat slabs as well as what you normally get with a traditional cut of rib eye + fat cap.

Here are some before shots of a slightly smaller cut (not ours):

Momofuku Ribeye 003

Momofuku Ribeye 006

Momofuku Ribeye 004

It was cooked to a perfect medium rare, allowed to cool, and then sliced and plated on a thick cutting board. Some of the fat was the gristled kind, but much of it was the edible, meat bubblegum kind. Savory beef jelly. Awesome.

Momofuku Ribeye 024

Momofuku Ribeye 032

Momofuku Ribeye 031

It was served with four sauces: the bacon ketchup mentioned earlier, a bernaise sauce, a red wine + shallot marmalade, and rendered steak fat + brown butter and herbs.

Momofuku Ribeye 015

Also, four bundles of roasted garlic cloves, so soft that you could smear the garlic on your steak like creamy mashed potatoes or some shit.

Momofuku Ribeye 030

Was all this enough? Nope. Of course not. I’m a former fat guy. So we followed up with some dessert.

First was a popcorn cake. Instead of sifting flower in the pre-baking process, they sifted popcorn. It was really unique, and served with a little side bowl of strawberry jam to spread across each forkfull. All I can say is that you should get it if you go here.

Momofuku Ribeye 035

And finally we had the Thai tea pie. This cold dessert had the unique characteristic flavor of Thai tea with an added tangy tamarind sauce and some sort of chocolatey, tea-infused puffed rice kinda thing on top. Nice.

Momofuku Ribeye 036

So that’s all. Great fucking meal, aside from the fact that I was charged for something that we didn’t order. On the slightly brighter side of things, however, it looks as though they forgot to charge us for our third beer. So we were still overcharged, but only by $9 instead of $15.

Scan_Pic0001

UPDATE!!! The management over at Ssam Bar saw this review and made good on their mishap. Good people as well as good food! An honest mistake that stemmed from a desire to provide top notch customer service. And 100% classy that they reached out to me. See below:

Ssam bar email

MOMOFUKU SSAM BAR
207 2nd Ave.
New York, NY 10003

Blue Hill at Stone Barns

Hmm… what can I say about this place… The food is off the charts good, fresh (obviously), well plated, well executed, clever, fun and inventive. The only negatives I can possibly conceive of are (1); it’s heavy on the vegetables, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing but for (2); it is very expensive. When you pay $200 per person before drinks, tax and tip, you sort of expect some serious substance in addition to the superb veggies. The meats consisted of: pig heart pastrami (1 bite), lamb (one small, thin rib chop), a bite of ham (in the tortilla), a slice of speck (ham and cheese sandwich), and a few slices of pork. That’s pretty much it. One of the asparagus dishes (there were several, yet oddly my pee didn’t smell afterward) had shredded chicken wing as garnish, but that doesn’t count. And neither do the few items that contained fish product. The last negative criticism is (3) extreme pretense. You’ll see what I am talking about below. I get that these people are passionate about the farm to table concept, about sustainability, etc. And they are remarkable culinary artists. But fucking come on… Some of this stuff is like candid camera fodder. To sum up: this was a great once-in-a-lifetime experience. I absolutely 100% know that I will never go back, but I’m definitely glad I fought tooth and nail to get a rez here to celebrate our anniversary, even if just to experience this bizarre place.

Scan_Pic0004

Service? Some of the best I’ve ever experienced. Our waiter Christian was amazing and very informative. Waiters and table hawks swooped in and cleaned up after each of our roughly 24 courses. Use a spoon once, put it down for a minute, look at the ceiling, look back down and POOF: it’s gone, with a replacement on the way. Actually when we first sat down, they saw my wife scratch her wine glass to get a spot off and they immediately replaced the glass with a fresh one. Crazy! Too much? Perhaps. At some points we sort of felt awkward.

Blue Hill 036

The ambiance of this place is really amazing. The farm is a beautiful and picturesque location. Nice grounds, with old but modern touches; rustic yet elegant. I could easily see it being some kind of rustic wedding venue. The dining area and centerpiece table is beautiful, and the kitchen is immaculately clean. The food is plated and presented in some of the most artful and beautiful ways I have ever seen.

Scan_Pic0005

Scan_Pic0002

Blue Hill 001_tonemapped

Blue Hill 008

Blue Hill 011

Blue Hill 113

Blue Hill 065 - 070

To start we ordered some drinks. Mine was essentially a gin martini with pickled ramps instead of onion or olive. Ramps are so farm to table and local – way more hipster than onions or olives. My wife’s was a chamomile, gin, honey, and slightly sparkling lemon drink. Delicious. But lemon?!?? That shit doesn’t grow here in NY, as far as I know. So much for the whole LOCAL thing! I want my olive now…

Blue Hill 022

Then the food started coming out. Hold onto your asses because this was a 4 hour meal…

1) Veggies on sticks. Some pickled, some raw, some lightly seasoned or spiced. Nice and refreshing. But, really? I started to wonder whether I’d fallen victim to some social experiment where you put diners into a fancy environment and serve them cat food and they absolutely love it.

Blue Hill 014

Blue Hill 013

IMG_20140609_094353

2) Asparagus soup. This was really great. Hearty, savory. I could easily drain a bowl of this shit. Pay attention to how much fucking asparagus is served here. It is astounding.

Blue Hill 019

3) Pig heart pastrami. This was good! Tasted just like pastrami, wasn’t too chewy. Just right. But give me more. Look at how much you’re charging me and ask if this is enough!

Blue Hill 018

4) First of the Rhubarb. This was essentially just a pickled slice of rhubarb. Simple. “First of the rhubarb” registers at about 11 on a Pretentiousness Scale that goes from 1 to 10. I think it means the first time they were able to pick the rhubarb this season. You know… because rhubarb is WILDLY different in flavor that second time you pick it. Whatever.

Blue Hill 021

5) Pea shoots, baby leeks, weeds, and tarragon pesto. At this point we were looking around for the hidden cameras that were placed to record our reaction to some weird practical joke. Even this was beyond “social experiment” weirdness. I’m a man with testicles. I have a dick, and it still gets hard. Now, this stuff was good (the sauce, anyway), but almost too odd for us. We were literally wiping the leaves of weeds across the sauce. Fun, I guess? But it took us a bit by surprise. We both laughed at this dish.

Blue Hill 023

6) Egg yolk & potato tartlet, spring onion vichysoisse with toasted quinoa, and a fiddle head fern cracker. These were all lovely. Perfect little bites of flavor. I wish we had a whole tray of them.

Blue Hill 025

Blue Hill 026

Blue Hill 027

Blue Hill 028

7) Asparagus burgers. DING! Your asparagus score is now two. These were cute. Tasty too, and Christian came by with an asparagus stalk that had gone wild and grown too large. They are harvested at just the right time, before they start sprouting branches. BHASB <3 Asparagus 4-EVA!

Blue Hill 029

Blue Hill 042

20140608_144432_LLS

8) Asparagus & pancetta. DING! Your asparagus score is now three! A nice asparagus spear on a stick, coated with sesame seeds. Good bacony flavor involved without any actual bacon on the skewer.

Blue Hill 031

9) Ham and cheese sandwiches. These were made with speck and crisped cheese type crackers. Beautiful presentation, and one of the better bites of the meal. Again: give a man with hair on his chest a bit more that a single bite. I understand it is a multi-course feast, but feature the substantive dishes and downplay the “sides.” YEs – a veggie can be a side. But there were like 400 of them here to the handful of meat items. I get it. Veggies are awesome.

Blue Hill 033

Blue Hill 032

10) Pork liver pate & chocolate. This was a great bite as well. The chocolate surprisingly went well the liver.

Blue Hill 035

11) Celtuce in a small soup with pine nuts. Christian gave us a crash course on what celtuce is. Basically similar to romaine but with a heart or root that you can cook up like the stem of broccoli. Delicious in every preparation they served.

Blue Hill 037

Blue Hill 038

12) Greenhouse greens and smoked creamy gouda cheese. A nice salad. Whoa, whoa, WHOA… GREENHOUSE greens?!?? Do you mean to tell me that these items would not otherwise grow in the local climate? Like the lemon above… but not the olive? Pfft…

Blue Hill 039

13) Celtuse heart and spears, caviar and herring cream. This was one of the best courses. The caviar provided a natural salt element to this. Excellent use of vegetables… again.

Blue Hill 041

14) Asparagus with almond saffron sauce, stinging nettle sauce, olive tapenade, rhubarb yogurt, grilled asparagus sauce and crispy chicken wings. DING! Your asparagus score is now four! It was served with asparagus tea, and the sauces were plated tableside. The best sauce here was the asparagus sauce. Asparagus. Asparagus, asparagus, asparagus.

Blue Hill 043

Blue Hill 044

Blue Hill 046

20140608_152304_LLS

15) Whole wheat brioche, escarole and spinach marmalade with fresh ricotta cheese that was strained tableside. This was a nice piece of toast. They had some cracked black pepper on the plate too, and that really made all the flavors pop.

Blue Hill 049

Blue Hill 050

Blue Hill 052

Blue Hill 051

16) Ham, robin fish, mint & peas, creme fraiche and fresh cut herbs on a buckwheat tortilla. We were excited for this one because we were taken back to the chefs table in the kitchen to have it. Awesome!

Blue Hill 087

Blue Hill 088

Blue Hill 086

Blue Hill 091

Umm.. can I please have some of this sausage in my meal? If not.. maybe some more asparagus?

Blue Hill 082

Blue Hill 079

Blue Hill 073

Blue Hill 072

Blue Hill 060

17) Stone barns egg, and everything a chicken eats. This was a really fucking great egg dish. I tasted currants, herbs and seeds, and it was presented while cooking in a cast iron pan. Perfect.

Blue Hill 092

18) Potato onion bread, grass fed butter, lard from their pigs, and carrot salt. Here we’re being prepped for meat courses, so I was getting psyched. FINALLY…

Blue Hill 093

19) Stone barns Berkshire pork with “this mornings peas,” pistachios and chrysanthemum. I had no idea one could eat chrysanthemum. The leaves were very fresh and airy; a perfumed and clean flavor. It went very well with the smokey pig flavor. And this morning’s peas? I’ll never have yesterday’s peas ever again. I wonder though… are tomorrow’s peas any good? Good fucking lord with the pretense.

Blue Hill 094

20) Grass fed lamb, shitake, and bok choy. This was a nice plate. I just wish the lamb was thicker. Perfectly cooked. It was like having a bite of prime rib on a stick.

Blue Hill 095

Blue Hill 096

21) Cheeses … sheep’s milk and cheddar, served with rye pretzels, chutney and cumin spiced pumpkin seeds. The cheese was explained, cut, plated and served tableside, by the amazing Christian, asparagus stalk warrior.

Blue Hill 097

Blue Hill 098

Blue Hill 099

22) Next was a special anniversary cake plate. Pea and carrot cake. Very clever and tasty too! Get it? Have your peas and carrots… but for dessert.

Blue Hill 101

Blue Hill 100

23) Milk ice cream, strawberry sorbet, and clotted cream with dried strawberries, fresh green and red strawberries and hazelnuts. The plating was pretty cool here. These little hexagonal glass plates were all stack-able.

Blue Hill 106

Blue Hill 104

Blue Hill 105

Blue Hill 103

24) Bugs, Dirt, and Twigs. This one is for the kids! Very fun.

Blue Hill 110

Blue Hill 107

Blue Hill 108

Caterpillar = marshmallow

Honey Bee = honey mousse on a graham cracker

Brown dirt clump = chocolate truffle

Green dirt clump = pistachio nut cake ball with a cream type filling

Bird’s egg = herbed cream in a candy shell

Sticks/Twigs = light airy cookie crisps

Even the espresso was nicely plated and presented.

Blue Hill 112

Blue Hill 111

After we paid the bill, we walked out the back to see our car waiting for us at the end of the walkway.

20140608_174926_LLS

Blue Hill 114_tonemapped

I only felt half-raped. Like some HUGE Blood or Crip bent me over the weight lighting bench in the prison yard but got interrupted after his dick tip penetrated my anal sphincter, thus depriving him of full penetration and allowing me to walk away with my dignity still somewhat intact. Overall a really good meal, though. I’ll never go back unless someone else is paying for it. Glad we went. Nice to see veggies in the forefront. Good attitude about food. Incredible use of asparagus. Maybe it was all one big episode of Chopped and that was the secret ingredient for every course?

Final asparagus score: four, not including multiple uses in the same course. Accordingly, I hereby call this restaurant by a new name: Blue Asparagus at Stone Barns.

BLUE HILL AT STONE BARNS
630 Bedford Rd.
Tarrytown, NY 10591

Skal

UPDATE: THIS PLACE IS NOW CLSOED!

Skal is an Icelandic joint on Canal Street WAY on the east side. The end of Canal Street. I never realized how awesome this end of Canal Street was. Skal is actually the only place in NYC where you can try Icelandic food. The name of the restaurant means “cheers.” So SKAL!

The decor is really nice: washed blue with dark brown and white. Very “modern nuptials” in scheme, with a bit of Cape Cod accents.

20140422_183139_LLS

20140422_183152_LLS

20140422_183303_LLS

The owner, Christoff, is awesome. He’s really nice, hands-on, with a great personality. He also sports a wonderful head of hair that makes me really jealous.

20140422_191835_LLS_20140422222211107

My wife and I came here for a Tabelog tasting event that involved seven courses of greatness.

20140422_184544_LLS

20140422_190242_LLS

First were the pickled veggies. This included everything from cauliflower to broccoli to root veggies and greens.

20140422_184826_LLS_20140422222829377

20140422_192410_LLS

Next were the oysters. These were small but briny and potent. They tasted like the sea but not too fishy to the point of yuck. They were salty, creamy and dressed with a little bit of dill.

20140422_184858_LLS

20140422_192421_LLS

After, there were some passed salt cod croquettes with a horseradish sauce. These were really nicely fried, and the salt cod was tame and gentle. Really nice.

20140422_190150_LLS

The caramelized carrots and root veggies with burnt honey were really tasty, though if you weren’t careful they did stick to your teeth quite a bit. Make sure you slosh with some water…

20140422_184912_LLS

…Or some mixed drinks. The bartenders at Skal were mixing up some really nice shit. There was a gin-based, cucumber-infused drink with black pepper. That was great. Also a muddled berry drink, and a ginger, basil and vodka drink that was nicely balanced.

20140422_193929_LLS

20140422_192808_LLS

These little beauties were smoked mackerel and foie gras served in an onion cup that had been steamed in whey. It was smooth and creamy, almost mousse-like. This might have taken best of the night, though it was neck-and-neck with the next dish.

20140422_190217_LLS

That next round of food was the duck wings. Holy shit, football fans… These motherfuckers were amazing. Soft, juicy, tender, jammed with flavor and perfectly dressed with red seaweed, mussels and a squid ink type of sauce. I know yo’re thinking “that’s not a traditional wing,” to which I would say “shut the fuck up and try it, then decide.”

20140422_190014_LLS

20140422_200152_LLS

Last, there was a little raw beef app. Raw beef with clams, fermented ramps and sorrel. Delicious enough to satiate this carvivore’s never-ending desire for beef.

20140422_184941_LLS

That signaled the end of the meal. As we were digesting, Kenta from Tabelog announced some new plans for the site and told us about their launches in Chicago and California. Things are looking really great for their US venture. I hope it takes off!

20140422_201938_LLS

Then the humble chef of Skal came out to tell us about the food and the restaurant. I’d definitely eat here again. Especially for the wings, the mackerel and the oysters.

20140422_202326_LLS

But… I needed a little something extra, because deep down I’m still a fat guy, despite losing over 40lbs since January 1. So we went to nearby Bassanova with our friend from the party, Jay, who runs the Dishelin Guide website. Check out his page – pretty damn good idea for a food blog! Ramen is a great way to cap off any night. This particular variety was truffle wadashi tondaku ramen (pork broth).

20140422_210926_LLS

Whole Rotisserie Duck At Momofuku Ssam Bar

Check this shit out, you salivating scumbags:

Keeping in line with my recent non-steak-related commentary dealing with other delicious foods around NYC, I present to you the whole rotisserie duck at Momofuku:

th_990fb2856622313a7aa33f3fea635552__m1g0005

This particular dish is available at Momofuku Ssam Bar on 2nd Avenue at 13th Street. For $140 you get the duck (breast stuffed with duck sausage just under the skin and roasted) served atop a bed of jasmine rice; some chive pancakes and Bibb lettuce for wrapping; two seasonal sides (we chose the pickled veggies and kimchi, and the baby bok choy seasonal greens); and crispy shallots, cilantro, mint, Thai basil, watercress, hoisin sauce, Korean BBQ sauce and duck scallion sauce for toppings. They even bring out some duck broth made fresh at the end of the meal.

The duck is locally sourced too, for all your eco-assholes out there that actually give a shit. It’s from Crescent Duck in Aquebogue, Long Island.

crescent duck

Now on with the pics. Duck off, or go duck yourself:

First, my wife ordered a Bloody Mary. Here. it’s made with rye, sake, tomato, apple, ham, and togarashi. We thought it was a little on the small side for $11, and a little sweet, but it was meaty, spicy and otherwise good. Nice ice cube in there too.

bloody mary
bloody mary

Next we ordered an app of liver mousse. Delicious, light and creamy. Topped with pickled radish and some greens.

liver mousse
liver mousse

Here is one of the side items that came with the duck meal – the pickled veggie jars:

pickled veggies
pickled veggies

And the “seasonal greens” – aka baby bok choy:

baby bok choy
baby bok choy

Then they brought out the pre-sliced duck to show it to us:

pre-sliced duck
pre-sliced duck

Here it is all sliced up and presented nice-nice:

rotisserie duck platter
rotisserie duck platter

Here’s the lettuce and sauce collection:

Bibb + sauces
Bibb + sauces

And finally they bring out a little bowl of duck broth to finish off the meal. Very rich.

duck broth
duck broth

Here are some more pics of the duck. If you look closely you can see the layer where the duck sausage splits from the duck breast. Each little slice was like a two-in-one punch of roasty, crispy, juicy flavor. Fucking awesome.

crispy deliciousness
crispy deliciousness
served on a bed of jasmine rice
served on a bed of jasmine rice
constructing a duck ssam on a scallion pancake
constructing a duck ssam on a scallion pancake

 

And here’s one last shot – the kitchen in full swing:

kitchen
kitchen

MOMOFUKU SSAM BAR
207 2nd Ave.
New York, NY 10003

Whole Roast Suckling Pig

Occasionally I whip up a quick blurb about something awesome that I ate aside from steaks. Last night I had an amazing meal at Pig & Khao, which is run by Leah Cohen of Top Chef fame. Seven of us feasted upon a whole roasted suckling pig. It was done perfectly. The meat was tender, juicy, and it packed a lot of flavor. The skin, though, is always the best part of a dead pig. DELICIOUS. Check out the pics below, and when you get a group together you should definitely try this place.

the pig
the pig
the yum
the yum

PIG & KHAO
68 Clinton St.
New York, NY 10002