Sezz Medi - Revisit

Me and the wife were craving some Italian and there's only two places that come to mind - dell'anima and Sezz Medi. As usual, Sezz Medi did not disappoint - great pastas and a great time. Next time I need to go with more people, so I can have some pizza also.

Our Menu

Fried Calamari and Zucchini served with Taziki Sauce **
Light flavorful coating. Calamari was pretty tender, but the zucchini was to die for. Fried zucchini used to be my jam in high school - my must have hanging out in the NJ diners. These were spectacular though - sweet with the perfect texture - not too crunchy and not too mushy.

Penne Diavolo (daily special) ***
The one thing Sezz Medi does so well is their pasta texture is absolutely perfect - just past the point of chalkiness and a great chew to it. This feels more Italian American to me, but I don't really care...big tomato flavors and tons of roasted garlic with some nice spice to it. So friggin awesome and a big time WTF moment.

Bucatini all'Amatriciana (daily special) **
My favorite dried pasta on the planet is bucatini - basically spaghetti with a hole inside, perfect for all the sauce to get trapped in. Bucatini all'Amatriciana is a classic, delicious Roman dish - pasta with a sauce consisting of guanciale (pig jowl), pecorino, and tomatoes. We had this many a time in Rome and the Sezz Medi version didn't come close in terms of flavor, but it was still damn delicious...

Surprisingly Ridiculous

Momofuku "Ma Peche"
(Mezzanine) - Highly Recommended
in the Chambers Hotel
15 West 56th Street
New York, NY 10019

The highly anticipated 5th restaurant of Manhattan Noodle King David Chang is weeks from open. (No doubt, he's the Abe Froman of Noodles folks)
Located in the Chambers Hotel in Midtown Manhattan, I'm sure they are going to blow everyone away with their concept of a 90 seat French-Vietnamese twist to American Food.
Currently, the kitchen staff is honing their skills by plating up delicious snacks for room service and also mezzanine service over-looking the lobby of the hotel.

I met up fellow "Dude", Devin last Saturday.
I wanted to congratulate Dev on a great article he wrote on Japan that was published as a cover story on Newsweek. (Yah, our Dudes are wicked smart)
And Ma Peche came to mind.
I signaled the Bat-Call and met up at the hotel. The rest is history and might as well be etched into stone and displayed at the Smithsonian.

Lunch : March 6, 2010 Momofuku Ma Peche (Mezzanine)

Homemade Country Pate **
Great texture and flavor is right on. And with Tom Cat Bakery baguettes, it's nothing but awesome.

Guinea Fowl with Foie Gras Pate **
Great balance with the bird and foie.
Not too much else I can say but that I would order it every time I go to.

Fried Brussel Sprouts with NamPlah Essence ***
One of their great originals. Served at Ssam and sometimes at Noodle Bar. It actually goes really well with the pates and baguettes. Perfect acidity and huge flavor.

BBQ Baby Short Ribs **
Better than most BBQ joints in Manhattan. I know these guys are a huge fan of Hill Country so probably was a little challenge to come up with some kind of "melt in your mouth" BBQ.

Grilled Cheese Sandwich with house cured Bacon *
Land o Lakes American Cheese, Swiss and Cheddar all melted and sandwiched between a butter soaked white bread. This thing definitely shouts out Team America
Oh, and did I mention the house cured Niman Ranch pork belly bacon?

Chicken Bahn Mi *
Chicken puree molded into rectangular chunks with Namplah dressed Greens and Cilantro on a Tomcat Bakery Baguette.
House Bahn Mi *
Pork products with the usual Bahn Mi fixins.

Certified Angus Beef Sirloin Steak with Fries ***
Certified Angus Beef cooked on a scorching cast iron skillet, then coated with layers of herbed and garlic butter. Served with perfect crispy fries.

Baked-to-Order Chocolate Chip Cookies with Milk ***
Like it says. Bake to Order. This was probably the best cookie I've ever had in my life.
Twice as thick as any other cookie I can remember. The edges were perfectly crisp, while the center was still warm and gooey. And the glass of milk was great for dunking.
If you don't like this, you are probably a commie.

As you can see by the magnitude of the meal, this was no casual "let's do lunch" type of lunch.
We ate, and ate, and ate. We even took breaks in between dishes... But the food was so damn good, neither one of us wanted to raise the white flag.

Towards the end, Executive Chef Tien Ho and Chef de Cuisine Sam Gelman came out to check up on us.
And to their amazement, our plates were pretty much clean as a whistle.
Being the food geeks we are, we all laughed and talked about the meal, much like how John Madden breaks down a 4-3 defensive package during an opening drive of a Super Bowl game.
Our jaws dropped to the floor when they told us this was "NOTHING"...
"This" being the magnanimous and heroic feast we just were a part of.

They are in the final stretch of an opening, and just had a tasting for all the sous and executive chefs of the Momofuku empire. All signs point to a trail blazing, rock star opening.

So after careful consideration and complete unbiased opinion...
Devin and I are awarding Momofuku Ma Peche, 5 Michelin Stars. :)
Ma Peche may not be on everyone's radar yet... but it would be wise to keep in mind.
You heard it here first ladies and gents... This place is gonna ROCK your World!!!
American food doesn't get much better than this. In fact, it's never been this good.

Go State!

5 minutes before tip off.
I got my manchego, smoked sausage, chips and salsa, ciabatta and potato salad.

Sundays totally rock! 

Sausages

Snacking on some andouille and boudin blanc while watching reruns of Two and a Half Men.

Weekend is starting out pretty good.

Mystery

Can anyone tell me what these are? And where this photo was taken?

A little Japanese humor

Ramen vs Bloody Mary

Interesting article from UrbanDaddy
Hangover : If you're not in the mood to sip on a remedy (ie Bloody Mary), perhaps you can slirp it away (Ramen).

Sake Ramen at Yushi
official website

245 Park Ave
(between Park and Lexington Ave)
New York, NY 10167
212-687-1900

4 World Financial Center
250 Vesey St
New York, NY 10280
212-945-3096


We hope this finds you alert, well rested and brimming with conviction that all is right with the world.

But if it doesn't, owing to your recent participation in activities possibly including (but not limited to) bourbon, karaoke and other advanced tomfoolery, that's fine too.

You just may need a little assistance today...

It's called Sake Ramen, a hearty, healing lunch of savory noodles drenched in an entire cup of sake, available starting today to stave off last night's lingering demons.

Given your current state of unparalleled clarity, it's hard to express just how urgently you will need this no-nonsense, off-the-menu soother. Maybe not today. Maybe not tomorrow. (But also, maybe today and tomorrow.)

When that day comes, you're going to slip out of the office, step boldly to Yushi's counter, flash your ID and receive a large, unassuming soup bowl. In this bowl will be a pile of ramen noodles, slow-cooked and richly seasoned teriyaki chicken, broccolini and a soft-boiled egg. Sitting in 32 ounces of Nanburyu sake-based broth. (It pairs phenomenally with a mild, non-noodle sake.)

Back in the comfort of your lordly place of business (or maybe just behind your desk), you'll discreetly nurse this healing concoction and gather the courage to once again head back out there, thankful that there are only three things in this world that can't be cured by the potent mix of sake and noodles.

And anyway, none of them are in America.

Ben Benson's - Review

Intro
Ben Benson's - Highly Recommended
123 West 52nd Street
New York, NY 10019-6098
Phone: (212) 581-8888

I used to love steakhouses when I was younger, but the price per satisfaction ratio usually never works for me nowadays. For $125+ per meal, I expect a perfect experience and it always fall short. Either the steak is overcooked or not that flavorful, or the place is just too stuffy. Well, at Ben Benson's the price per satisfaction ratio is definitely tops on my list. Overall, I give the restaurant an 86/100.

Our Menu

Fried Chicken
Chicken was nice and moist and had pretty good chicken flavor, but something about this fried chicken didn't do it for me. Maybe, it's too many runs to Popeye's or Korean Fried Chicken, but I definitely need more seasoning on the crust. Crust here was super bland.

Triple Lamb Chops **
After looking at the other dude's steak sizes, I expected huge lamb chops - not big at all, but still satisfying. Great lamb flavor that was perfectly seasoned. The fat on this thing was spectacular too - so f'n tasty and cholesterolirific.

Creamed Spinach *
Pretty hard to f up creamed spinach and this one is pretty good. No Daisy May's creamed spinach, but still pretty tasty. Nice spinach flavor and good texture.

Two Little Red Hens: Blackout Cake ***
The best thing all night was this cake. It was so moist and had huge chocolate flavor. Everything you want in a chocolate cake was represented here. A big time wtf cake...definitely one of the best chocolate cakes I've had in a very long time.

Two Little Red Hens: Cheesecake *

Cheesecake was pretty damn delicious too. Dense, not too sweet and great texture.

Rating System
--- What the F - in a bad way * Good ** Great *** What the F – in a good way

Overall Restaurant Experience (86/100)

• Food (8.4/10) – Desserts were out of control good and everyone's meats were spot on - nothing out of this world but the lamb/steaks were generally great.
  
• Service (8.8/10) – Old time waiters that were pretty funny. Food came out pretty quick.
  
• Atmosphere (9.5/10) – The atmosphere is the main reason you go to a steakhouse - to be loud and obnoxious with your guy friends. Here, there's loads and loads of obnoxious dudes and it's an awesome time. Place is old timey with a little class. Got there at 7:30pm on a Thursday and we were seated right away. Place was a little empty around 9pm though...
  
• Price (9.0/10) – About $85 a head which seemed worth it for the great time that we had. Seems slightly cheaper than most steakhouses since it seems I'm always spending $125+
  

Closing Comments
Maybe my new go to place for steaks. Although me thinks Peter Luger's is still my favorite steak in the city - albeit I haven't been back in 4+ years...

A Whale of a Time

Get the phone out and alert PETA! Wait... bad joke... considering I despise PETA and honestly believe they themselves are terrorists.
But you'll get the cliche when you read on.










Taruichi - Recommended
Daiichi Asakawa Bldg 5F.
1-17-12 Kabuki-cho
Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo
03-3208-9772

So I finally had whale meat for the first time on my recent trip to Japan.
Yup... freaking Whale.
This restaurant in the Kabukicho district of Shinjuku specializes in the mammalian meat and also is a hardcore Sake joint.
They are credited for changing the way sake brewers label their bottles. Upon the behest of the founding owner, the SMV and Acidity is now printed on most of the sake bottles today.

Now onto the whale part. Yah, the meat is RED... I mean, bright red.
If you're not a steak person, you may want to shy away from this.

I on the other hand kinda enjoyed it. I will not say it is my fav, but if served to me again, I'll gladly eat it.

The meat is a bit tough when had sashimi style. But when it's braised or even blanched quickly, it's quite good.









** and for all you hardcore sake fans out there...
that bottle is a Kubota Nama Genshu folks!!!

Colombini Italian Café ~ Bistro – Review

Colombini Italian Café ~ Bistro
Inside the Nob Hill Hotel

835 Hyde St.

San Francisco, CA 94109
(415) 447-8554
http://www.nobhillhotel.com/

The first evening I’m in San Francisco, three of us were happily on our way to the Nob Hill part of SF to Swan Oyster Depot based on Aramis’ review. We were bummed that it was closed, so we decided to have Italian. Lo & behold, there was an Italian joint a couple doors down. There were a couple of broads reading the menu, so I asked if that place was good. One said she hasn’t been to that place but heard of a good place a few blocks away that’s supposed to be “cute and really, really good.” Great! Umm… not so great. As the two resident San Franciscans briskly walked to the restaurant up & down the hilly streets, I was purposely trailing behind huffin, puffin, and sweating all the while trying to look cool. We find it and walk in.

Colombini has a small dining room that’s very intimate and dimly lit. It can be romantic with the right person with you. It’s the restaurant at the Nob Hill Hotel. The person serving us may have been the owner as he knew the food very well and was the only person that was there besides the kitchen staff. He recommended the grilled sardines, and we accepted. Of course, this being San Francisco, sourdough and olive oil were served as we waited for our food. Without looking at the menu, one person ordered lasagna as it is one of their favorite dishes to order at Italian establishments. We also ordered a seafood pasta dish. We shared the appetizer and the two dishes.

Grilled sardines – Nicely done. I would order this again. It went well on top of the sourdough bread. It wasn’t grilled too hard to get too much of a charred taste/feel to let the flavors come out and not get over-powered.

Frutti del Mare Ansio (Fresh mussels, prawns, calamari, scallops tomatoes over pasta) – Nothing outstanding in this dish to me, except “something with tomatoes” is what one of us wanted. Because of that, the sauce was very enjoyable, and they were smiling the whole dinner.

Meat Lasagna (Bistro Special, mozzarella, bechamel) – Ready? OMFG!!!!!! This was the best lasagna I’ve ever had in my lifetime. I was NOT expecting this! Though we split the dishes, I wanted it all to myself. When they asked us if we wanted dessert, I wanted to place another order. Outstanding sauce, great cheese(s?), and delicious sauce. *Highly* recommend this dish.

Tiramisu – I like tiramisu, but I don’t go gaga over it. As far as tiramisus go, it was decent. I’m used to a moister tiramisu, but this wasn’t bad in the least bit. The presentation was nice.

Creme Brulee – Again, the one who always orders this at Italian places was such a happy camper. For me, the presentation was a nice, and the taste was good (normal), but what made me like it more was the reactions of the others. It’s a great feeling to look around the table from start to end and see smiles the entire time, from the company to the food.

Ippudo in Tokyo

My coworkers were adamant about taking us to Ippudo while on our visit to Japan.
As many of you know, Ippudo opened it's doors in the East Village about 2 years ago and has taken Manhattan by storm.
Famous for their Tonkotsu broth, the rich / hearty soup is something even chefs talk about in their kitchens before, during and after service.

Here's my 2 cents.

I ordered the "Akamaru", to stay consistant with what I order here in NYC.
I realized the ramen in the states is way richer and also saltier than their counterpart in Tokyo. Hands down.
Perhaps it's their belief American palates aren't able to discern from faint accents between porky goodness and melted pork collagen... and therefore bombard our taste-buds and salivary glands with just layers of pork fat.

In addition, the noodles are a bit wider than what they dish out here in the Empire States as well.

Ambiance plays a big part when slurping up a bowl of noodles. And I feel Tokyo has the vibe down. Afterall, a bowl of ramen is fast food, or drunk food. Kinda like what a slice of pizza is for Americans. So the business model in NY is at times puzzling to many rameniacs.

Anywho, the bottom line is flavor and comfort with the bill.
It was literally $8 for a bowl of Akamaru in Tokyo. Here in NYC... $13.
You do the math.
Yah, I give Ippudo Tokyo 2 thumbs up.

Shanghai Dumpling King –Review

Shanghai Dumpling King

3319 Balboa Street

(between 34th Ave & 35th Ave)

San Francisco, CA 94121
(415) 387-2088

I crave xiao long bao (soup dumplings). The closest place for me to go in D.C. is Manhattan. With the large Chinese population in San Francisco, I looked up where to get them. Shanghai Dumpling King was named #1 or close to #1 on many websites. Located in the (outer) Richmond district of San Francisco, I found this place nestled among the hilly streets and a view of the water when looking down the large hill. Many people online talked about this place being a hole-in-the-wall with slippery floors, but compared to hole-in-the-walls I’ve been to, it wasn’t bad in the least bit – though the floors were, indeed, slippery. And I was the first person there. This review may not be very fair, because I had an extremely unfortunate problem, and that was catching a stuffy nose on the plane ride over. It was so stuffed up that my sense of taste and smell were almost obsolete. I was literally biting into the food, and immediately blowing my nose to get that split-second of flavor.

I was there for one thing only: XLB. But there were many mentions on other food to try when there. That saying, this is what I ordered:

“Normal” pork XLB – It was good, but it was nowhere as good as the ones I got in China and Manhattan at Shanghai Café. They looked great, and they didn’t rip apart when you picked them up. I just wish I could have tasted them more to give a better review.

Crab XLB – Same as above, but it felt like it had more flavor.

Ribs – These were just okay. I could have skipped this dish and ordered more XLB.

Green onion crispy pancake – There were two pancakes on the menu, and I think I ordered the wrong one. No worries, as this was good and very crispy.

Cloud dumpling/sugar puff – One of the workers was handing these out. There were 2 on the plate. It basically looked like a large, hollow donut hole with powdered sugar on top. It was very light and easy to eat even though they were quite large. These were highly praised online, but I didn’t get that effect.

Lion’s head meatballs – This was the last dish I had. By this time, my nose finally started giving way so I was able to taste these more. And thankfully, that came at a good time, because these were very good. 3 gargantuan meatballs in a sauce with a little spinach. Oddly, one of the meatballs was insanely saltier than the other two. I highly recommend this dish.

As I was wrapping up the meal, the place really started filling up. The table next to me had 4 older people. They were asking me my thoughts on every dish, and soon, we were reviewing each others’ plates. Obviously foodies as they were there because the show “Check Please, Bay Area” recently did a show on Shanghai Dumpling King. I commented on the long line of students going out the door and down the sidewalk, and they stated they’re a $5 college special that offers a lot of food. “Check Please” also talked about that.

Now that my taste and smell are back, I wish I can go back as well to give a more proper and fair review.

Barney Greengrass - Review

Intro
Barney Greengrass - Highly Recommended
541 Amsterdam Ave, New York NY 10024
At 86th St
Phone: (212) 724-4707

Our friend Paulina was visiting from Taiwan, so we wanted to show her a truly great New York brunch experience. Only one thing came to mind and Barney Greengrass definitely delivered, although it wasn't as great as our first experience many moons ago. Overall, I give the restaurant an 88/100.

Our Menu

Potato Latke (special) ***
Crispy on the outside, creamy and fluffy on the inside, intense potato flavor, and perfect with the sweet, creamy sour cream. Definitely a WTF latke. I could have had 4 more plates of these.

Chopped Chicken Liver ***
Probably my favorite chicken liver in the city. Rich liver flavor that has a nice sweetness to it and wonderful texture. Great on top of a bagel.

Lox Scrambled with Eggs, and Onions *
Scrambled eggs, caramelized onions, and salty rich lox. This used to be really awesome, but not sure what happened - lost that magic for some reason. Still really fun to eat though.

Sturgeon Platter **
Barney Greengrass is dubbed the Sturgeon King and rightfully so. Sturgeon here is heavenly and very subtle. Lightly smoked, not too salty, and great delicate sturgeon flavor. Key is to add a little lemon, and a tiny bit of cream cheese on the bagel. Too much cream cheese and it'll overpower the sturgeon.

Rating System
--- What the F - in a bad way * Good ** Great *** What the F – in a good way

























Overall Restaurant Experience (88/100)

• Food (9.0/10) – Classic NYC brunch joint and the only place to bring out of towners for breakfast/brunch. Everything was solid and some of the stuff will blow you away. There were 4 of us there and all of us had one favorite that was different than the others.
  
• Service (9.0/10) – Servers were attentive, hilarious, and recommended some great stuff. Plus, free refills on coffee where your cup will never be empty - those guys are like ninjas refilling your coffee often.
  
• Atmosphere (9.0/10) – Old school NYC joint with the fish counter in the front and seats in the back. Definitely dug the old school vibe. Crowds were a mixed bag - large families, older couples, younger couples, groups of guys, groups of girls and everything in between. Got there at 11am on Saturday and were seated immediately. There were huge lines when we finished around 12pm...get there early.
  
• Price (8.0) – Place was on the pricey side, but we still had a great time and the food did rock. Sturgeon platter was $35 and the eggs were around $14.
  

Closing Comments
If I lived in the UWS, I would definitely go once a month...

Mugitoro

Mugi = Barley, and Toro usually designates something fatty.. like belly of a Tuna or Pig... But it can also denote something soft, starchy, and stringy.

Mugitoro is a restaurant in Tokyo that serves up some of the best Barley Rice and Mountain Yams I've ever had.

Mugitoro - Recommended
2-2-4 Kaminarimon, Tokyo
81-03-3842-1066

I should also denote anything tororo (sticky and stringy) in Japan is considered somewhat good for you. No, I don't mean cheese or anything us Americans link to the word "stringy".
But veggies like mountain yam, okra, natto, kelp... are all things considered to help digestion and cleanse the innards.
Below is our menu and a few pics to follow:

Kabuki Mon

KoKo and I have been best friends since elementary school. His family owns this really good Yakiniku restaurant in Tokyo and I usually make it a point to stop in and grab lunch or dinner there when I'm in town.

Kabukimon - Highly Recommended
1-19-10 Higashigaoka,
Meguroku, Tokyo 152-0021
Japan
+81 3-3418-5989

So 2 weeks ago, when I landed in Tokyo on business, I told my colleague that he was in luck and that tonight we'd dine like kings.
I called up the restaurant for a reservation and darted over.

We were greeted by KoKo's mother and 'lil brother.
We got to our seats and pretty much ordered the menu. What an unbelievable meal.
Kagoshima Kuroge Wagyu A5 all through the night.
When the meat is prepared properyly and you cook it with the hottest charcoals you can find, meat just tastes so damn good.