New York Tops East Coast Eats

There are certain New York foods that I must have each time I go. I have  a little me-conversation asking  if I'm denying myself a new treasure for the sake of a beloved favorite, but then convince myself having something every 1-2 years is not overdoing anything.  This trip, my return visits were to Patisserie Claude (pain au chocolat still marvelous), Gotham Bar and Grill (chocolate cake still the best in the world and the $25 2 course lunch unbeatable), Keens Chophouse (sat again at the bar delighting in the bistro mutton chop and the steak salad, both done perfectly  and well-priced, with terrific rolls and excellent sweet butter, and dynamite cocktails), Grimaldi's Pizza (running late so got a cheese to go and ate in the subway on the way to a play-- they moved next door to a bigger place, but the pizza is still terrific, John's Pizzeria (always reliable with a cheap but good house wine and  a big salad and a location in Times Square), Joe's Pizza for a right-out-of-the-oven slice, and Carnegie Deli (we got the meat platter with pastrami, corned beef, and brisket, enough for the 2 of us and sandwiches for our plane the next day.  I went to Katz's my last trip and I vote for Carnegie's pastrami.
I went on a mini Momofuku spree with lunch at Momufuku Ssam Bar and dinner at the Noodle Bar. I had the Ssam roast duck lunch plate with an added green onion pancake.  I got there soon after it opened so it was not crowded and very pleasant to sit at the bar eating excellent duck and sipping a nice Loire red.  Dinner at the Noodle Bar was more of  a challenge. Very good food but a noise level to cause nausea. The famous pork belly bun, a superb grilled octopus saute, and the momofuku ramen with pork, pork belly, and an egg were all great to eat.  I wanted to try the soft serve for dessert, but Sheila had had enough of the bruit, so we left.  The other new discovery was Coppelia, a Cuban place on 14th, with  a large, reasonable menu, like a good NY coffee shop. Great fried yucca, decent calamari, a perfect roast pork sandwich, and green plantains made for a satisfying meal before an ever-wonderful walk along the High Line.
Many years had passed since I went to a few old favorites I returned to this trip.  Junior's in Brooklyn features really incredible cheesecake.  We shared a pastrami sandwich with it, which was so so. Service was great tho and the place has  a real classic feel and very good cole slaw, pickles, and beets. Eating in the tavern area at Gramercy Tavern offers an excellent meal at half the price of the restaurant with superb service. The prix fixe is 4 courses at $48 and featured black bass with spring onions, a soft-shell crab sandwich, bavette steak with fingerling potatoes, and a delightful strawberry shortcake. You can get a drink pairing for $20, which in this case was 3 excellent ales and an Italian white for dessert. Their wine list is enormous with some fine choices by the glass, including the always exceptional Turley Zinfandel.
It had been probably 15 years since we ate at Le Bernardin, but they recently remodeled and it still is at the top of all ratings (recent 4*s in NY Times after we made our reservation) so we decided to go for the "more reasonable" $70 lunch.  Yevgeny Kissin was there too after he too received  a glowing review in the Times. The place is beautiful and service is excellent, a little but not too much hovering. Choices are many for each of the first 2 courses and desserts all sound good.  I would have preferred to forego dessert and have 3 courses of the seafood specialties. I had a wonderful fresh thinly pounded yellowtail served over a toasted baguette slice with fois gras, chives and olive oil--simple and perfect.  Sheila had marvelous raw fluke in a jalapeno-lime brroth, sublime.  Her entree of beautiful Arctic char with truffled peas was the best dish we had; my roasted monkfish was delicious but not as otherworldly as the char. Sorbets for dessert were lovely and  a raspberry melange with cake and ice cream was very nice.  Really wonderful butter cookies were a final treat. We had a delicious Montagny, at $65 about the cheapest wine on a formidable list.
And now for bagels.  NY bagels are just the best. I love the giant pumpernickel ones at Ess-a-Bagel especially filled with chive cream cheese and Nova lox.  Staying in Brooklyn, tried several there and decided Bergen Bagels on Flatbush and Bergen is the best. I tried their other store on Myrtle, for some reason not as good. Le Bagel Delight is fine, Fulton Bagels, fairly new on the scene but nicely chewy, and Brooklyn Bagel Works on DeKalb was OK. Amazing to be in a place where there are 5 bagel places within 3 blocks. Ahh, New York, what a wonderful town.

Return to New York and some great eating

It had been too long, almost 2 years, since my last trip to New York. As soon as I finished my interim director gig in Palo Alto, Sheila and I did the redeye, arriving in NYC at 7 AM. First stop on way to our friends' apartment in Brooklyn was La Bagel Delight, a mini-chain, with good plump, nicely chewy bagels, albeit an awful name. We had arrived! Trying to discover the best Brooklyn bagels became a quest. Our favorite bagels and the ones we brought home were from Bergen Bagels, on Bergen at Flatbush, just a few degrees better than La Bagel Delight. Great scallion cream cheese too. A smaller, crispier crust bagel can be found at Bagel Hole, which many think is the best, but they don't last as well. I also had a decent pumpernickel bagel from a new place on De Kalb, Brooklyn Bagel Works. I missed all my favorite Manhattan bagels, except for a stop at Kossar's Bialy, where I was horrified by a stale and bready plain bagel (no pumpernickels available of which I have fond memories), and a lousy bialy, both ending up in a trash can. Quel horreur and shame on them.
I did have an admirable pastrami sandwich from the great Katz's after disposing of the Kossar's travesties, which put me in a better Lower East Side frame of mind. But I was disappointed in the pickles, either too well-done or not done enough.
My other ever-vigilant NYC search besides bagels is pizza and we had some great ones. A dependable slice from Joe's in Greenwich Village paled compared to the Regina Margherita from Keste's Pizza and Vino on Bleecker Street. A truly incredible Neopolitan masterpiece crust with buffalo mozzarella, simple tomato sauce, peeled tomatoes, and basil. Heavenly. A pizza insalata, a pizza dough roll filled with arugula with proscuitto and artichoke heart slices, was an excellent companion. They have an interesting wine list and are open for lunch.
A very, very fine pizza lunch was also had at Motorino in Williamsburg. A $12 prix fixe lunch inlcudes a lovely mixed salad and a pizza of your choice. We had the Margherita (regular but excellent mozzarella), and the soppressata, both good-sized, crispy, but chewy crust, and defintley worth a visit. There's a branch in the East Village. We also had a great slice of pizza bianco from Grandaisy Bakery on Sullivan Street, a simple focaccia with salt and rosemary. The bakery makes incredible lemon-ginger cookies. We had to visit Eataly, the new Italian food emporium, where we had the excellent daily pizza special, 2 slices of speck and mozz. calzone, 2 slices of buffalo mozz, and 2 of arugula, and a beautiful mixed salad.
A favorite NYC avocation is eating at fine restaurants at lunch, when prices are much lower. We always eat at Gotham Bar and Grill and are always satisfied. 3 courses are $31 includng their sublime and wonderful chocolate cake. Their salads are always freshly beautiful, on this day a mesclun for me and beet for Sheila. I had the hangar steak with fingerling potatoes and Sheila had the Finnian haddock with a citrus foam. What a delighful hunk of meat mine was! Besides the cake, we had a very nice yuzu meringue tart. Both desserts had a piece of basil which added a nice flavor to both. For $29, we had amazing 3 course lunches at Del Posto. I paid a $10 supplement for Lydia's lobster salad as a first course and there was like a whole tail of lobster meat with tomato and celery in a light oil that emphasized the lobster. Sheila had tuna and raw veal "cubito", a tartare, with a caper mustard sauce. For entrees, I had beautiful orcchiette with lamb sausage, minted soybeans, and crispy morels, a really fine dish. Sheila had a nice skate with squashes in a broth. She was the adventurous one for dessert, ordering a sfera with celery and figs and celery sorbetto. I had the chocolate tortino with olive oil gelato and pistachios. The meal started with 3 amuse bouches, continued with 3 kinds of bread with butter or wonder of wonders, whipped lardo (like a sublime schmaltz), and ended with mini cookies and chocolates. The restaurant is very beautiful with tables far enough away from each other so it's pretty quiet, a nice jazz pianist, stools for ladies' purses, excellent service, and truffles when you leave. I'd go back.
The soft shell crabs at Oriental Garden in Chinatown came highly recommended so we had to try them. We always end up being disappointed in NY Chinese restaurants and it happened once again. The crabs were good, not great, in a "country" sauce that our neighboring table was raving about with their lobster. We then each had a giant oyster that was very good and the tofu with shrimp, good but not up to some we get here in the Bay Area at dim sum places. I also felt they were fried in not the freshest of oil.
I also usually avoid Mexican places here, but friends highly recommended Rosa Mexicano near Lincoln Center and we were not disappointed. Their guacamole is freshly made tableside and is delicious with fresh, crispy chips. At $14 it better be good. We had a daily special appetizer of smoked cauliflower with goat cheese and 3 types of mini corn tortillas and the tuna and shrimp ceviche. Their roasted poblano salsa is terrific. A very nice lunch.
I have always wanted to eat at an Alain Ducasse restaurant, but being so cheap, I was not sure I would, until I found Benoit, which has a $38 prix fixe dinner. This midtown restaurant was not very crowded and the reviews weren't overly positive, but we had a very good meal. I started with a twice-baked Comte souffle with a parmesan sauce. Yummers. And then followed with the skate in a caper sauce, which was excellent, and finished with a nice raspberry tart. Sheila opted away from the 3 courses and had a delicious lardon salad followed by a classic French onion soup. Everything was classically good in a beautful brasserie setting.
Another place I had always wanted to eat at was Keen's Steakhouse on W. 36th. St. and try the mutton chop. By myself, I ate in the bar and had a classic Manhattan while waiting for my bistro chop served with braised escarole and fresh rolls with perfect sweet butter. The chop was magnificent, toothy lamb with great texture and cooked perfectly. For dessert, I stopped at a Junior's and had their classic cheesecake to round a out a cholesterol-filled but tasty meal.
Lastly, a real Brooklyn treat was had at Abistro, a Senegalese restaurant in Fort Greene. It's BYOB so the check was an amazing $44 for a great meal for 2. We had the fried chicken, a breast beautifully cooked served over a sweet potato cake and collard greens with a deep, spicy, balanced sauce and the spicy salad with trout, a great balance to the chicken. Both were preceded by cod fritters with black-eyed peas served with salad. Nice to have new and wonderful food. Back at the apartment, we shared a piece of red velvet cake I bought at Cake Man Raven's on Fulton Street, a good balance of moist cake and fluffy frosting.
My love affair with New York remains strong.

New York New York, what a wonderful town

Sheila and I have had a whirlwind eating, walking, sightseeing tour of NYC including getting to know Brooklyn better. Our good friends M&R have moved there and there we mooched. We took a 2 1/2 respite in No. New Jersey to attend a wedding. Our kids' friends getting married; it's enough to make you weep. A fabulous wedding, altho NJ needs MANY more road sings. The rehearsal dinner was at Pourquoi Pas in Westwood. We took over the restaurant and the food was quite good and generously served. Nice to know there's a place in the wilds of NJ.

As far as New York, some great eating. We took a redeye and arrived early Wed. morning. After a nap, I took the subway to one of the holy grails of pizza, Di Faro's. One time I had a rental car and we went there but it was closed. This time it was open and not crowded. What luck! I had a square slice which is on a thicker base than the slice. Nice olive oil crust, a little crispy. Lovely tomato sauce, fresh mozzarella, fresh-cut basil, a little olive oil, some seasoning, all done by one guy who makes one pie at a time--no rushing. The more I ate the better it was, a great beginning to my days of NY repast. I can't say it's the best I've ever had, but worth the trip.

That night we went to see Hamlet with Jude Law, which was quite spectacular. He was great! Before the play, we and our friends went to db Bistro Moderne, a Daniel Boulud spinoff (I think the first). I had another of my "I have to try this before I die" dishes I've been reading about for years, their burger with foie gras and short rib. No socks knocked off, esp. for $32! The pommes souflees that came with the burger were a delight, crisp and puffy. Our party's favorite dishes were the coq au vin and the Moroccan tuna tartare. A very lovely room and good service, but not essential to return to.

But one that I did return to and would again is Jean-Georges, at least for lunch. Their $29 lunch is for any 2 courses. Each additional course is $14.50 and desserts are $8. The food and service are wonderful. Last time we went, I had the foie gras appetizer with roasted strawberries, one of the best dishes I have ever had anywhere. This time is had dried cherries and was delicious but not as spectacular as the strawberry. Sheila had their justly famous scallops with cauliflower in caper/raisin sauce, which I made once. Doesn't sound great, but it really shows what a great chef can do. It had a $8 supplement. Entrees were a spectacular rock cod crusted with nuts and seeds (made into a powder so it was light) in a broth with fresh vegetables and skate with Chalon sauce, marvelous. Desserts were fair, but they offer a lagniappe of fresh marshmallows and chocolates so I might skip dessert in future. The wine list has fantastic wines by the glass from $10-30. I'd go back.

Another New York lunch favorite is Gotham Bar and Grill, reliably excellent. They're celebrating their 25th anniversary and have a $25 3-course lunch special. The autumn squash soup was delicate and flavorful, watermelon and cherry tomato salad was refreshing, the Atlantic cod with chanterelles was perfectly cooked, as was the hangar steak. And for dessert, you can get their absolutely incredible chocolate cake. It's perfect, melt-in-your-mouth chocolateness. The sweet corn creme caramel was wonderful too, but I'll always take the cake.

And another NY favorite is Carnegie Deli. Their sandwiches are just so good and huge. Four of us ate 3 sandwiches and had lots of leftovers. I love their corn beef. Service is not great and I hate that they do not accept credit cards, but I still love it. We usually like to get a matza ball soup and sandwich and take to our hotel (no sharing charge!). Ate their before seeing Hair, which was also fantastic.

Besides Di Faro, the only pizza I tried was a slice from Sal and Carmine's which just got a great write-up on Sliceny.com. Feh, nothing great. Had a usually great lox and bagel from Ess-a-Bagel (although I prefer their 1st Ave. location), excellent bagels from Murray's, and very good bagels from La Bagel Delights and the Bagel Hole, the latter two in Brooklyn.

Our last dinner was at Scopello, a very good neighborhood place in Brooklyn. Excellent calamari salad and octopus appetizer, fresh pastas and a fine seafood risotto at reasonable prices.

Just a note on shows: Hair and Hamlet were both superb.