Posted in Good Eats, NYC on 10/27/2009 08:40 pm by dana
It has been a long week already, and it’s only Tuesday (that’s right, I’m lookin at you, Legal Writing midterm…). We decided to get an early start tonight on celebrating Taylor’s birthday this weekend with a mid week treat dinner at Saka Gura (www.sakagura.com) an izakaya (see, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Izakaya) in Midtown. I was intrigued by the review i read, which noted that you have to walk through a “weird lobby” to find the restaurant. After making our way through an 80s retro office building and down three flights of stairs, we were in a total hidden gem. Although intimidated by the sake menu, we followed our waiter’s recommendation and got an amazing (although somewhat spenny) bottle of nigori sake. We also enjoyed some fantastic chicken meatballs, sashimi over rice, and the most fantastic (and non chocolate) truffles. Another Japanese hidden wonder in Midtown, infiltrated by T&D.
Posted in Good Eats, NYC, mobile post on 04/13/2009 12:35 pm by dana
Checked out the new Midtown Mexican cart today! $2.50 for tasty tasty tacos means I am a happy camper. Can’t wait to try more (well at least as much as my dairy limited tummy can handle!)
Hmm maybe I should start wedding dieting soon…
Posted in Good Eats, NYC on 03/20/2009 12:04 pm by dana
I was admittedly skeptical about Crisp when it first opened. Mainly because it was plastered with all kinds of pompous signs touting itself while under construction. But Midtown Lunch has come to embrace it, so we thought we would give it a try. All I can say is: Good call.
Turns out, Crisp IS better than what I think. Crisp is definitely more expensive than you’d want falafel to be (the cheapest, most basic one is $5.75). So we opted for the more expensive Taj falafel salad bowl, which is quasi Indian-inspired. Our logic was that obviously fancy falafel is what they do right. The Taj falafel was also Crisp’s offering to the ML sandwich challenge.
I could not be happier with my lunch. Falafel are well spiced, and (yes) crispy. They’re baked, not fried – but don’t hold that against them. They have tons of flavor, and manage to still be slightly oily and crunchy. The Indian inspiration for the falafel we ate worked really well – it’s lime and spicy and great. On top of a lettuce salad bed was mango chutney, lime chili pickles, cherry tomatoes (covered with black sesame seeds), and curry sauce. Yum.
And the pita…it’s the best I’ve ever had. It’s super thick, baked there, and light and fluffy. Heavenly.
Oh – AND they use compostable packaging and forks!
Yes, that’s a good lunch!
Posted in Good Eats, NYC on 03/08/2009 04:51 pm by dana
We first went to BCD Tofu House on New Year’s Day. It was an admittedly amazing way to start 2009. I had read about BCD Tofu on Chow Hound, it’s an LA chain that opened up a location in Koreatown last fall. We actually ended up going there because the place where were trying to go next door, Pocha 32, was closed on New Year’s Day. As it turned out, it was all for the best. BCD is easily one of the tastiest and most interesting restaurants I’ve ever been to.
No matter what you order, it comes with 10+ banchan, little side dishes of kimchi, pickled things, fried fish, and other heavenly tidbits.
kimchi — the premium kind with squid in it.
whole fried fish
tasty, shredded, pickled things
BCD also has a “Korean barbeque” element to it — you can get pork, chicken, beef, etc. cooked on the table right in front of you. We opted for the bulgogi the last time we went.
And then there’s the reason BCD Tofu is truly amazing: their heavenly tofu soups. The first time we went, we ordered it as hot as it came…which was almost too hot to enjoy the complex flavor. “Regular” heat was just perfect for enjoying the wonderful flavor, and still getting some heat. Here’s the tofu soup with pork that we enjoyed:
And those are just a few reasons why BCD Tofu House is my reigning favorite restaurant. I want to go to there.
Posted in Good Eats, NYC, mobile post on 02/27/2009 06:47 pm by dana
At Happy Hour right now enjoying jock-tapas: onion rings, wings, and peel-and-eat shrimp. Happy about the $3.50 Yuenglings, but admittedly disappointed about the lack of promised $1 tacos.
