Perry St--Fun on the Westside

Imagine if Patrick Bateman, the serial killer of American Psycho, opened a restaurant in New York. What would it look like? It would probably be very modern and very minimalist to accommodate his OCD-like obsessions of daily rituals and behaviors. It would have to be decked out with a central bar with elaborate flasks of expensive brandy and gin to showcase his impeccable tastes and penchant for entertaining. And it would have to be very zen-like in atmosphere so that he can meditate before going to for the next kill.

So what I'm trying to say is that Perry St. feels like a restaurant that Patrick Bateman would run and operate. It's very beautiful to look at but not exactly warm and inviting. You appreciate how everything is perfectly coordinated, but you're a little afraid to mess things up and self-consciously feel the eyes of the rigid staff burning a hole in your back. It's a little bit of an uneasy experience.

I went to Perry St. for Restaurant Week and also for my sister's bday dinner. Each time, the staff was very polite and a little aloof. Unless you sit at one of the booths, the tables are a little cramped for parties bigger than two, so you start making a concerted effort to avoid knocking things down and making all the plates fit. The two senior citizen couples sitting next to us complained about the table size to the hostess, so it wasn't just my imagination.

The appetizers are a little hit or miss. The crispy calamari was crunchy and delicious, and the creamy yuzu dipping sauce (yuzu is apparently a japanese citrus fruit, I had no idea such a fruit existed) was perfect. The sauteed shrimp was also excellent, the texture of the herbs and the sauce was a great combination. The sashimi was just ok and a bit meager in portion size.

During Restaurant Week they served a chicken, which was probably one of the best chicken dishes I've ever had. It was similar to the Red Cat's style, where the skin was perfectly crisp, almost as if the outer layer had been fried, while the interior was very moist and tender. Too bad they didn't have it during the birthday dinner, I had to settle for the steamed red snapper with a balsamic sauce and mashed potatoes. Don't get me wrong, the red snapper was very good, but the chicken was more soulful and more memorable. My sister and my dad had ordered the beef tenderloin served in a liquid gruyere sauce and a side of spinach. I had read great things about this beef but according to them, it was just whatever, they'd choose BLT Prime over this dish any time. BLT's prices were comparable, the portions were bigger at BLT, and the steaks were tastier, so I can definitely see their point.

Again, the desserts are a hit or miss. Anything chocolate related is amazing, but the cherries jubilee dessert I had was disgusting, it was this mess of maraschino cherries and white chocolate. You're better off grabbing a cupcake or soft serve somewhere else.

(Photos courtesy of nymag.com)

Perry St.
176 Perry St. (West Side Highway)
Rating (out of 5 stars):***
Style: High End Asian Fusion
Prices: $19-$36 for entrees, $11-$18 for appetizers, $9-$10 for desserts
Summary: Fusion Asian in a very sophisticated but aloof atmosphere; too bad the food isn't a little tastier to lend the place some soul.

Out of Towner: San Francisco

When it comes to other cities' foods, New Yorkers can get a little snobby. We're always saying obnoxious things like, "Oh, it's not as good as New York," and finishing the meal in distaste and contempt.

And yes, I tend to compare everything to New York and am guilty of this food bias as well. But cities like San Francisco definitely give New York a run for its money for tasty, fresh food (after all, the greenmarket movement is HUGE in SF and probably originated here), so this blog is dedicated to some of the memorable meals I've had there.

Papalote on 24th Street
3409 24th Street
San Francisco, CA 94110
(415) 970 8815

Papalote is located in the Mission, which is basically San Francisco's equivalent of the Lower East Side. You'll see hipsters with facial hair and hats hanging out instead of working in the middle of the day (must be nice!). The place is colorful and kitschy, there are random dragons hanging from the ceiling. I had a great, inexpensive fish taco there, which was served with crunchy nachos--wish it were nearby so that I can try the other menu items!



Out the Door
1 Ferry Plaza
San Francisco, CA 94111
(415) 861 8032

I had heard great things about Slanted Door, a Vietnamese/Asian Fusion restaurant located in the Ferry Plaza in SF. The Ferry Plaza is great; it's this gigantic, clean and sparkling indoor marketplace with lots of great restaurants and food/gourmet shops. I read that it's hard to get a table and it's usually occupied with high-powered business types during the day, so I opted for the cheaper, take-out version Out the Door. I ordered this crispy, juicy duck with an amazing side of salad and fresh fruit. New York's Vietnamese food is pretty bad, so maybe there was a low bar to clear, but Out the Door's fare was a home run. There's nothing like it in New York, you just have the oily (but yummy and very frequented) Saigon Grill and some bland pho/bun places randomly dotting Chinatown and Seamless Web. I'd welcome Out the Door to my front door any day!

Colibri
438 Geary St.
San Francisco, CA 94102
(415) 440 2737

Everyone raves that California's Mexican food is so much better than anywhere else. I grew up in Southern California, but I never went for the authentic taco trucks, I was a big fan of those chicken mayonnaise tacos from Del Taco and of course, that awesome Grade Z meat nonsense from Taco Bell. My family always ate out at chains like El Torito and Mazatlan but never those hole-in-the-wall treasures that you're supposed to go to. Since I got my taco fix at Papalote, I needed to end the Mexican food day with some guac. I am obsessed with guacamole, I'm a big fan of Dos Caminos, so I had really high expectations for Colibri's, supposedly a restaurant that serves the best guacamole in SF (according to yelp and chowhound). Eh, it was ok. I definitely like the guac at Dos Caminos better, maybe it's the lemon juice and salt ratio that they use that gives it that memorable flavor, or maybe I'm not used to the fresh, unadulterated avocados of California and my taste buds are messed up? But Colibri was just ok. I ordered a random fish dish because I felt bad about just ordering guac. But really, the fish was an afterthought, I came for the guac and it sorta let me down. But that was the only disappointing food experience in San Francisco, everything else was so fresh and so clean clean.

BLT Prime Time

I'm not really a steak person. Whenever I go to a Del Frisco's, Strip House or Wolfgang's, I always seem to order either a sirloin steak or filet mignon, cooked medium, usually with a nice char around the meat for the sirloin, and it all seems to taste the same. Granted, it's tasty and I totally appreciate that, but it's not like that piece of steak is the most fabulous, amazing thing I've ever had in my life. For the price I'm paying for that steak ($40+ at least!), you would think that you deserved a little piece of heaven on a plate, but I just never felt that way about the steaks I've had. In fact, I might even say that I found the sides more memorable--have you ever had the incredible and decadent crisp goose fat potatoes at Strip House? Now talk about heaven on a plate!!

But I think I now know why I've had a lukewarm reception to steak. I just haven't had the right cut. And now I know what my meat soulmate is--hanger steak. Yes, that humble, a bit stringy meat that resembles fajita meat. It's definitely cheaper than all the other strip steak, prime ribs, rib eye and other cuts on the menu at any restaurant. I'm not sure why, it's much more flavorful than the lean but bland filet mignon, but not too rich and fatty-tasting like the rib eye. And it's very tender too, the knife cuts right through it and if you melt some butter over it and eat it pure without any sauce, it's literally the most fantastic thing ever. I hope the restaurants never catch on that there might be more hanger steak fanatics out there, I'm definitely a convert and would be heartbroken if the best bang-for-your buck steak item suddenly doubles in price when management discovers this pricing inefficiency.



I've been to BLT Prime several times to satiate out-of-town guests who want to experience the extravagance of the NY steakhouse experience. Where else can you walk into a restaurant and see meats aged for 2-3 weeks on display in a glass room?? (Vegetarians should avert their eyes).


I've tried the filet, strip, rib eye and hanger, and the hanger knocked all of them out of the park. Of course, if you want more of the masculine, meaty steak experience, where the steaks are a little dryer than the hanger and get more of their flavor from marbled, juicy fats and delicious sauces, then the strip and rib eye are definitely for you. If you're watching your figure, I guess the filet is a great choice, but it's not a very soulful or memorable piece you're going to be chewing on.

I would say the sides here are very good, but they aren't decadently good in the way that Strip House's goosefat potatoes are. The leek hash browns had a nice golden crust on the outside, just how like a good hash brown should! I tried the baked potato skins, which were slathered in cheddar and bacon and was a little too salty and rich for my tastes. The seasonal creamed corn and truffles weren't my thing either, I think I like the lowest common denominator creamed corn that resembles the buttery stuff out of a can, so I probably couldn't appreciate Toroundel's delicate and more subtle creamed corn, but oh well, that's how I feel about it. The creamed spinach was also pretty good, but again, Strip House and even Wolfgang's was probably a teeny better.

Dessert is pretty awesome for a steak house. BLT Prime offers more than just the proverbial chocolate cake and ice cream. The strawberry sundae is a superb concoction of ice cream and delicious nuggets of short cake in a tall cup. We also had the seasonal specials of delicious huckleberry crumble and panna cotta and peach melba and ice cream, both of which made good use of glorious, seasonal fruits and creamy, lucious complements.

What didn't I like about BLT Prime? For starters, the staff can get a little aggressive in pushing all these other menu items on you so that you'll rack up a higher bill. They're pretty obvious about it, maybe it was just coincidence that several waiters used this approach, but it was slightly annoying. And food comes out really fast, and the waiters pounce on you to clean up your plates quickly too, even on a slow day where the table turnover isn't especially high. And the clientele isn't too diverse, it's made up of business types mostly, along with couples and some families. But with such glorious hanger steaks and crisp, warm popovers up its sleeve, BLT Prime can get by with these kinks in its otherwise magnificent steak machine.


(Pictures courtesy of nytimes.com, flickr.com, and nyjournal.squarespace.com)

BLT Prime
111 E. 22nd St. (Park Avenue and Lexington)
Rating (out of 5 stars):***** for the hanger steak, ***1/2 for other steaks and sides
Style: High End Casual American
Prices: $26 for the fabulous hanger steak, $40+ for other cuts; sides are $8-$9; desserts are $10; appetizers range from $10-$27
Summary: BLT serves steaks in their prime, especially if it's a hanger steak! Their steaks are a cut above the rest.

The Greatness of Gramercy Tavern

There's no doubt that NYC is a fabulous culinary wonderland. There are so many restaurants competing for demanding, discriminating palates, that there are plenty of opportunities for memorable dishes and dining experiences.

But I think I finally found "The One," as in my Favorite Restaurant in the city. And it's hard, because so many serve awesome food. But Gramercy Tavern is just so good that it stood out as The One that is the best. Usually most NYC restaurant are pretty solid, they might slip up in an appetizer or dessert, but Gramercy Tavern was firing on all cylinders. Every single dish was just so good. They've perfected the art of comforting yet complex American style cooking like no other!

In addition to the food, the service was great. The staff wasn't all snobby and full of attitude, they were very warm and friendly, very much service with a smile oriented like the good old American way. I would say the crowd was a little older, probably the youngest people were in their late 20s, but it wasn't like a business power dinner crowd or anything like that. People were dressed nicely but casually and the vibe was very comfortable.

You have the option of either choosing a tasting menu, a vegetarian tasting menu, or ordering a la carte an appetizer, entree and dessert. We went for the a la carte option and ordered the the smoke trout and handmade pappardelle for appetizers and the rack of pork & braised belly and striped bass for entrees. Wow, the smoked trout blew my mind, the fish had this great subtle smoked flavor yet still managed to have a great fillet-like texture (as opposed to a gelatinous form that something like smoked salmon sometimes assumes). I could seriously have this for lunch or dinner everyday. The pappardelle was amazing as well, the pasta was nice and chewy without being too al dente, and the delicious ragu just melted all over the noodles. I loved the striped bass as well, the fish was warm and the outside was light and crisp, yet the meat inside was flavorful without being too salty or spiced up and the delicious flakey chunks were heavenly. The pork was sinfully succulent--not a bad word to say about anything here!

And of course, the dessert was amazing!! The warm chocolate bread pudding with cacao nib ice cream was out of this world. It was just the most perfect chocolate dessert ever--just warm, oozing with delicious ribbons of chocolate, a dish that conjures up those memories of childhood enjoying the simple pleasures of pudding. The Grand Marnier marscapone cheesecake was delicious as well, the hint of citrus flavors was fabulous with the delicious rich creaminess. And to top it all off--they gave us a complimentary third dessert of the delicious apple tarte tartin with sour ice cream, just because we were curious about it and couldn't decide!! Wow, how could you not pick this restaurant as the best restaurant in NYC?? Just excellent on all levels. You'd be stupid not to have dinner here, fight for your reservation now. Fantastic. The best food coma of my quarter life existence.

(Pictures courtesy of www.nymag.com)

Gramercy Tavern
42 E. 20th St. (Park Avenue South and Broadway)
Rating (out of 5 stars):*****
Style: High End Casual American
Prices: $82 for a la carte, $110 for tasting menu ($88 for vegetarian)
Summary: Perfection in fine American style food--the buck stops here.

A Little Bit of East Village in the Upper East Side

Ever since Saigon Grill indefinitely shut down its Upper East Side operations, I've always complained about how the UES lacks great value Asian food. There's always Wu Liang Ye and Ooki Sushi, but it's nothing like the East Village, where you have so many options for comfort Asian food all around you.

But it's like God answered my prayers, because literally, mere seconds away from my apartment, opens up this Japanese restaurant called Naruto Ramen. An authentic Japanese place, too, along the likes of Rai Rai Ken and Setagaya, not like that Teriyaki Boy or those other commercial sushi places on 2nd Ave.

The space is small but warm. You sit down on stools along the bar while the chefs cook their food right in front of you. The ramen is so satisfying on a cold winter day...you have the option of the Naruto Ramen, the Miso Ramen and the Curry Ramen. I usually get the Naruto, because I think the soup is soy based, and I like my broth to be light, whereas the miso tastes a little heavier and spicier, and I'm sure the curry is the worst so I steer clear of it. The noodles are the right fresh chewy consistency, I wish they would just give some more! They also sorta skimp on the pork, nobody's as generous as Momofuku, but it's ok, you can supplement your meal with some very tasty gyoza, chicken teriyaki, fried rice or karage (fried chicken). They are all very solid and hit the spot. When my sister visits me on her breaks, she eats here almost every day, has tried all these items and hasn't stopped since!

I'm so happy that I don't have to take the 4/5 all the way to Astor Pl and wait so long when I have random fresh ramen cravings (which is pretty often!!) It's like I never have to step foot in the East Village ever again--although I don't think Naruto has pork buns on their menu, yum...

Naruto Ramen
596 3rd Ave. (between 89th and 90th)
Rating (out of 5 stars):***
Style: Fast Japanese
Prices: $10
Summary: A little bit of the East Village ramen joint in the Upper East Side--nothing beats that!!

Good Italian Pickins at Po

For the past month, since it's been so cold outside, I've been on a home cooking kick. I obtained a free cookbook titled "Rocco's Real-Life Recipes", authored by celebu-chef Rocco DiSpirito of "The Restaurant" fame, tried a few of his recipes and found them to be really simple and tasty! I especially loved his salmon with miso marmalade recipe, who knew that pairing two unlikely ingredients would create something magical??

But I missed eating out in those cute, snug little restaurants in the Village, so I finally decided to brave the cold and try out Po, an Italian restaurant on Cornelia St., right across the street from another fav of mine Pearl Oyster House. I arrived there at 10:30 p.m., and in most cases, it's not that difficult to get a table at 10:30, but no, not at Po. We were told we'd have to wait at least 30 minutes for a table. This is one of the most frustrating and depressing things about living in the city, how competitive it is to get a seat at a somewhat decent place. Even going near midnight doesn't guarantee anything, isn't there something wrong with that?? There were, however, two seats at the bar that were free, so we decided to just take what we could get. (By the way, if you ever want to have a great bar meal experience, go to Sakagura on 43rd and 2nd/3rd Ave., and try their pork belly!!)

While seated, the server brought out two slices of bread topped with a white bean bruschetta. This reminded me of the chickpea bruschetta served at Babbo, so I wondered if there was some sort of connection here, whether this was a Batali restaurant of some sort. Sure enough, he used to be one of the original partners of the restaurant, so I wasn't totally off the mark.

We ordered the linguine vongole (pasta with clams, pancetta, chili and white wine, absolutely delicious) and orecchiette (sweet sausage ragu and broccoli rabe, the sweet sausage ragu tastes like really good Bacos but with the consistency of a salami), both were very solid and I'd order them again. That's definitely a similarity between Po and Babbo--the pasta dishes are great.

We also ordered the polpetta di carne (basically fancy meatballs in cheese and tomato based sauce) as an appetizer, but they were only slightly better than Subway meatballs. Let me tell you, if you want amazing meatballs, try the duck meatballs at A Voce, everything else pales in comparison. I think even Rocco's mother's meatballs were better (which I've had the pleasure of trying at a Safe Horizon benefit). For dessert, we ordered the apple tart, which I believe was the special of the day. It was decent but not memorable.

I liked the atmosphere at Po--again, like Babbo, it was very homey, like you were in someone's nice dining room, but the noise level was a little loud and they played random music like Fergie and Gwen Stefani, which was weird. I definitely liked the pasta and would come back to try some other dishes. I wouldn't say it's the best mind-blowing Italian restaurant I've been to (there are so many great places in NY that serve up similar style dishes), it reminds me of a lot of other good places and definitely meets expectations--you would be guaranteed a solid meal here if you went here.

(Picture courtesy of porestaurant.com)

Po

31 Cornelia St.
212-645-2189 (Bleecker)
Rating (out of 5 stars):***
Style: Italian
Prices: $10-$18 for pasta dishes, $18+ for meat dishes
Summary: Comforting, familiar Italian dishes in a small, homey but loud atmosphere.