November 10, 2010
Posted by Madison Priest, November 10, 2010 at 2:45 PM
[Photo: Maggie Hoffman]
Vendy Rookie Award Finalist Mexicue has only been on the streets for three and a half months, but it already has a reputation. I had heard about the line, sometimes thirty deep at lunch rush hour, and the flavor palate weeks before trying it out for myself. The website corroborated the rumors. Mexicue, the "About Us" section claims, "is the sweet, sweet love child of red-hot Mexican cuisine and down-home, barbeque goodness." Basically, by the time I finally made my way over to Union Square last Wednesday, my hopes were officially up.
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Posted by Kathy YL Chan, November 10, 2010 at 1:30 PM
[Photo: Kathy YL Chan]
We checked out Akdeniz Turkish Cuisine just a few weeks ago, with a warming dish of Okra Stew and housemade pide bread. We're back this week for the Sultan's Delight ($13.95), a meaty stew served over eggplant puree, the perfect embodiment of winter comfort food. Charred, peeled eggplant is mashed with salt and mixed smooth with roux, turning it into an intensely rich dish; a generous serving of mozzarella is blended right in, making the whole concoction even creamier. As you could imagine, it's fantastic plain, just spooned over the still-hot pide bread. But there's one last component to complete this dish—the puree is paired with your pick of lamb or chicken stew. I prefer the former, braised fork-tender with garlic, onions, tomatoes, and red peppers. The serving is generous, and rich as it is, leftovers will easily suffice for dinner.
Akdeniz Turkish Cuisine
19 West 46th Street, New York NY 10036 (map)
212-575-2307
akdenizturkishusa.comv
Posted by Kathy YL Chan, November 10, 2010 at 12:15 PM
[Photo: Kathy YL Chan]
At Bedford Cheese Shop, the sandwich offerings change frequently. There is exactly one type of sandwich offered each day, and they are assembled in the mornings, wrapped in wax and stacked one on top of the other. No substitutions are allowed, but their combinations are consistently spot-on. A visit to the cheese shop last week paid off with a Wildspit Bio Sandwich ($9) on a fresh baguette from Amy's Bread (you can specify whether you want the end or center cut of the baguette). The bread is smeared with just enough mayo and Dijon mustard, before it's layered with paper-thin ribbons of culatello, sweet slices of the prized cured ham, along with cornichons halved lengthwise. But the highlight of the sandwich is the Wildspitz Bio, a nutty and bold semi-firm Swiss cheese made from both goat and raw cow's milk. It the cheese that ties in all the other components, making for one simple, no-frills, yet utterly delicious sandwich.
Bedford Cheese Shop
229 Bedford Avenue, Brooklyn, NY 11211 (map)
718-599-7588
bedfordcheeseshop.com
From Serious Eats
Posted by Erin Zimmer, November 10, 2010 at 11:00 AM
This post is part of our Hidden Gems series, which is brought to you by Basil Hayden's bourbon. Spicy, unexpected, and full of potential. Just like your plans tonight.
[Photographs: Robyn Lee]
People don't usually go to jazz clubs for the food. "It's almost as if they intentionally make it bad to make you appreciate the music more," Ed said in his previous review of Smoke Jazz Club. Of course there have been exceptions, and we still think Smoke Jazz Club uptown is one of them. You don't even need to drink more bourbon to make the food taste better, though they do have a standard selection of bourbons, and will make a classic Mint Julep or BNG (Bourbon 'n' Ginger). Monday through Thursday is an especially good deal: a two-course dinner for $29.95. And if you go on a Monday night, there's no cover charge for the music (Jam Session Nite!).
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Posted by Hannah Howard, November 10, 2010 at 10:30 AM
Smoked Birds: Greenberg Smoked Turkey, founded in 1938, will sell about 200,000 turkeys this season.
Marilyn Monroe's Stuffing: Turns out Marilyn was a confident cook.
Thanksgiving Wine: For your Thanksgiving feast, 10 "wines that will be in it for the long haul."
Chef's Thanksgiving Tips: Helpful Turkey Day advice--for example, roast turkey breasts and braise the legs separately.
Recipes for the Big Meal: How to whip up sweet potato, pumpkin and apple puree, or dry-brined turkey.
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Posted by Liz Clayton, November 10, 2010 at 9:30 AM
Don't let your real estate agent fool you: visiting Bedford Hill Coffee Bar (343 Franklin Avenue at Greene) still finds you in Bedford-Stuyvesant, but local residents (this writer included) and border disputers alike have entrepreneur Allison Stewart to thank for putting another high quality café in the Do or Die.
Bedford Hill joins Saraghina Café, and earlier neighborhood pioneer Tiny Cup, in the slow climb of Bed-Stuy out of deli (and Crown Fried Chicken) coffee hell—not to mention the legion of Franklin Avenue coffee contenders (Breuckelen Cafe and The Pulp and the Bean just down the road a piece in Crown Heights.)
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Posted by Ed Levine, November 9, 2010 at 11:00 PM
[Photographs: Robyn Lee and Christine Tsai]
Riverpark
450 East 29th Street (b/n First Avenue and the East River), New York NY 10016 (map); 212-729-9790; riverparknyc.com
Service: Surprisingly polished for a brand-new restaurant
Setting: A comfortable but slightly chilly building lobby
Compare It To: Front Room of the Gramercy Tavern, Faustina
Must-Haves: Cheeseburger, lasagna, salt cod croquettes, fettucine, malt ice cream
Cost: Two courses run about $45 from the dinner menu, $30 from the bar menu
Grade: B+
When you walk into the Alexandria, the new bio-tech center building on the banks of the East River, you are confronted by a sign: Riverpark, a Tom Colicchio restaurant. But if you go on to have a couple of very fine meals there—as we did—it is highly unlkely that you will find Mr. Colicchio there.
According to chef-partner Sisha Ortuzar, although Colicchio is a partner in this endeavor, it's in the role of a restaurateur. Cooking-wise, Colicchio is quite busy with Colicchio & Sons and Tom: Tuesday Dinner. Ortuzar, who cooked alongside Colicchio for five years at Gramercy Park and Craft, and is also the managing partner at 'wichcraft, is running the kitchen, and he has brought in his own team—Riverpark chef de cuisine Bryan Hunt and a few other cooks came from the dearly departed Insieme. In other words, if Riverpark were an album, Colicchio would be an executive producer.
Now that we have all that straight, let's get to the food at Riverpark—which is mostly very good, if literally (and intentionally) all over the map. Riverpark, as is the fashion these days, is at least two restaurants in one, a more casual lounge/bar and a more formal (though not stuffy, and not too expensive) dining room. You want an excellent house-ground cheeseburger? They got that. How about a killer plate of "Burnt" Flour fettucine, made with cauliflower, Pecorino, and bread crumbs? Yup, they got that, too, along with a raw bar, jamon Iberico, well-chosen cheeses, and some killer fries for good measure.
Oh, yeah, there's also a fine grilled cheese sandwich, crudos and tartares, quite a few pastas (remember that Insieme connection)—all part of Ortazar's plan to offer a little bit of everything for people who don't have a lot of immediate dining options in the rather isolated setting of 29th Street and the East River. When pressed for a pithy description of the menu at Riverpark, Ortuzar said it was American food with a New York point of view. When pressed on whether the restaurant lacked focus, he said with a giggle, "It is all over the place in a controlled manner."
And that's about right.
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Posted by Kathy YL Chan, November 9, 2010 at 4:30 PM
[Photo: Kathy YL Chan]
There's nothing better after a long day than heading to Balthazar Bakery for a sumptuous wedge of Coconut Cake ($6.25)—one of the best in town. (My other favorite is from Amy's Bread). They usually sell out by late afternoon, so call ahead for availability if you can't make it before then. The moist cake has a tender and loose crumb, its three layers bound with a classic pastry cream. It's a dense and elegant cake with a smooth finish of buttercream and coconut. The coconut flakes that cover the exterior are not tiny, sweetened pre-packaged flakes, but large shards, wonderfully meaty, and toasted the lightest shade of brown.
Pair with a cup of Hazelnut Cocoa ($4), gentle with mild flavors, the hazelnut just a lingering undertone. Unlike so many hot chocolates around the city, this one is light and easy to drink. Who needs dinner after this combination?
Balthazar Bakery
80 Spring Street, New York NY 10012 (map)
212-965-1785
balthazarny.com
From Slice
Posted by Adam Kuban, November 9, 2010 at 4:00 PM
Daily Slice gives a quick snapshot each weekday of a different slice or pie that the folks at the Serious Eats empire have enjoyed lately.
[Photograph: Adam Kuban]
You all read the Pizza Obsessives interview with Sean Taylor, right? Each year in October (National Pizza Month), he eats at a different pizzeria each day (preferably one he's never been to) and with a guest or guests. Girl Slice and I joined him on the penultimate day of his pizza project.
Neither we nor Sean had been to Mario's on Arthur Avenue in The Bronx. We'd read good things. Our man Ed Levine described it in his book Pizza: A Slice of Heaven thusly:
It was a superior pie: crisp, slightly bready crust; terrific fennel-flecked sausage from a local butcher; fresh basil; a sprinkling of Parmigiano-Reggiano; and a simple tomato sauce not overburdened with unnecessary herbs and spices.
We found much the same thing, minus the sausage, and I would add that the crust is crisper and firmer than most NYC-style pizzas — there's no tip sag here. But that doesn't mean it's all crunch. There's some chewiness to this pizza.
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Posted by Liz Clayton, November 9, 2010 at 2:15 PM
"How do we advance the quality, appreciation and ethics behind a beverage that still functions largely as a bulk resource?"
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[Photos: Liz Clayton]
When the uberlords of coffee-slinging meet to debate, what kinds of hijinks transpire? Cups of hot coffee tossed angrily amidst bickering over seasonality, direct trade, latte sizes and espresso to go?
Alas, nothing quite so scandalous (or scalding) went down last week at the Great Coffee Debate, a broad-reaching seminar hosted by Illycaffè and the International Culinary Institute in New York City. Drawing together luminaries from all angles of the industry—roasters, scholar-scientists...hoteliers?—the forum sought to raise pertinent issues about the direction of coffee.
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