Eataly New York

I know! More New York posts! Really? Yes, I have been rather slow with my travel posts and I had decided to scatter them across the months rather than put up post after post of NYC! Sorry to those who would be 'so over' my New York trip by now.

The famous "Flatiron" building just outside Eataly

This post is about the time I spent at Eataly in Dec last year. It was not my first time, admittedly I did give it a whirlwind visit in June 2013 but this time I made an effort to spend a couple of hours here.

And for that, I saw aisles of dried pasta, pasta sauces, fresh pasta, recipe books, chocolates, Italian sweets, salami, prosciutto, and a whole host of Italian small goods, both packaged and freshly served off the counter. Oh and there was cheese, desserts and heaps of Italian bottled drinks. Need I go on?

Per Se (Manhattan, New York City)

My 'to eat' bucket list is not a list which I have written down but one that is mentally in my head. The experience of dining at a Thomas Keller restaurant has been on my bucket list since I don't know when! I have tried in vain to get a table booking at Per Se during the few trips I made to New York over the past few years. This time I was determined to get a table, no matter what!

How about the fact I set my alarm clock to 2.00 am on a Sunday morning (when I was in Sydney) exactly 30 days before the reservation date? Does that sound too desperate? Or better yet totally determined? :)

And when I finally did get through (the line was engaged for 40 minutes) my booking was for 10 pm. Aargh! But there was no way I was not going to accept that time slot.

On the night we were due here, we arrived around 9.30 pm at the Time Warner centre. What a lovely building filled with up-market brands and some lovely Christmas lights. When we arrived at Per Se, I was sure we would have to wait for our table but they assured us our table was ready even though we were 1/2 hour early.

We were lucky enough to have a table next to the window and I could see Columbus Circle in the night lights.

The food experience started with a couple of amuse bouche.

Cheese gourgere - yummy cheese balls.

Salmon cornet - smoked salmon with cream cheese and dill served in a mini cone. Sorry, the image of this dish was so bad! :(

Then the Chef's tasting menu dishes were served.

"Oysters and Pearls" - Sabayon of pearl tapioca with Island Creek oysters and Sterling White sturgeon caviar.

Butter  - salted and unsalted. There was a story for each of them which provides an interesting facet to the butter. Both were delicious in its own way and went well with the milk bun.

"Salad of Caramelised Artichokes" - Parmigiano Regiano, saffron pickled garlic, salsify root and Romaine lettuce.

"Sauteed Fillet of Chatham Bay Cod" - topped with a Pommes Maxim's, caramelised cauliflower tapenade, and clam chowder sauce.

A Breakfast, Brunch and Dinner - New York City

I have been struggling to bind my one off meals while at New York so I thought it would make sense to have a couple of posts covering my various meals which are not specifically themed.

This post covers a breakfast, a brunch and a dinner which occurred on different occasions during my recent trip.

Jack's Wife Freda
One day while I was strolling around Soho, I was near the boundary of where Soho changes to Nolita and I saw a group of people milling around a little cafe. My curiosity got to me, I decided to get nearer and saw the sign "Jack's Wife Freda".  What an interesting name! It certainly perked my interest and after a bit of googling back in the hotel, I came by one early morning for breakfast.

It was a cosy little bistro packed to the brim with diners. I managed to slide into a little table and ordered the Madame Freda. It was a Pressed sandwich with duck prosciutto, cheddar béchamel, gruyere and a fried egg.

It was delicious! The duck prosciutto was thinly sliced, and the béchamel and gruyere was nicely cheesy. There was a small salad of rocket with pickled onion. I loved the sweetness of the onion.

I also had a fresh cantaloupe juice (for us Aussies it is rock melon juice).

The people were friendly and I could see Freda running the front of house.

Wishlist: Green Shakshuka with Challah toast.

Jane
My friend JN and I were informed by the hotel concierge that Jane was one of the best places to have brunch when in New York. How could we resist checking it out? However, since it was so popular, it is a must to book for brunch.

When we got there on a Sunday, we understood what he meant. It was quite a large restaurant but whoa! It was so full of people and the queue outside to wait for a table for those who booked was just as bad. Goodness! I could only hope the food's good!

By the way, I may have forgotten to mention that Jane has special menus for brunch. Brunch is only on Saturdays and Sundays.

The other thing to be aware of is if you order a dish from the brunch menu, you get a free Cocktail!!!! :)

My Feast of Lobster Rolls (New York)

When I was planning my trip to New York and thinking about the food places I wanted to hit, the last thing on my mind was lobster rolls. I was more focused on trying out Ivan's Ramen and checking out more burger places, like Minetta Tavern. Alas, my plans didn't work out and I did not get a chance to even smell the ramen at Ivan's or sniff out the Rolls Royce of burgers at Minetta Tavern.

Instead I had more lobster rolls than I anticipated! :)

Cull & Pistol
This restaurant is located in Chelsea Markets right next to its sister company "The Lobster Place". In June 2013 I had the lobster roll at The Lobster Place and found it to be okay. So I thought I would check this place out as it is constantly packed with diners. I sat at the bar and watched my fellow diners guzzle down platters of freshly shucked oysters which did look rather good.

I did enjoy watching the guys shuck the oysters, it felt almost mechanical.

But my mission was to have a lobster roll. They had two types of lobster rolls on their menu; Maine style and Connecticut style. I was intrigued with the Connecticut style so I decided to have this for lunch.

It was Lobster warmed in lobster butter and lemon with kewpie mayonnaise. Served in a toasted top split bun with new bay fries.

It was lovely. Nicely warmed with a slightly buttery taste in the small chunks of lobster meat. I enjoyed the fries and was pleased they served a small side of cabbage to provide some crunch.

Luke's Lobster
Luke's Lobster have many locations throughout New York City and I happened to be at The Plaza Hotel after having a leisurely afternoon tea with my group of friends. The basement of The Plaza is a food court area with many great food vendors, one of whom is Luke's Lobster. As we were walking around the food court, we found it and I was telling my friend 'A' how I was on a mission to check as many lobster rolls as possible but I couldn't possibly fit in a whole roll after that scrumptious high tea.

'A' was kind enough to offer to share with me so we had half a roll each. It was enough for me to have a good assessment of the roll.

They serve theirs Maine style which is chilled lobster served in a buttered and toasted split top bun with a touch of mayo, a sprinkle of lemon butter and a hint of their secret spices.

Taste wise, it was nicely balanced with flavours and there were sizeable pieces of lobster to get into. And I liked the warmed bun.

If I had more time and a tummy with some space I would have liked to try their Crab Roll and their Clam Chowder.

Pearl Oyster Bar
This was a little place tucked away on Cornelia Street, just off Bleeker. It was already on my hit list and when I found it during one of our group walks I made a concerted effort to return.

I popped in a couple of days later for lunch and sat at the bar. Met a lovely couple who lived in New York and were also checking it out for the first time ever!

I ordered their Lobster Roll with Shoestring Fries, which by the way was the most expensive of the 3 lobster rolls I had this trip. It was set at market rate and on that day was US 28 dollars.

But boy, this lobster roll was sublimely good! Huge chunks of lobster which tasted sweet and succulent. The mayo enhanced the lobster meat and I loved the very thin shoestring fries! So thin it was too easy to pop mouthfuls of them and not realise how much carbs I was downing.

It was a rather large roll and I felt so full afterwards. I couldn't even fit in dessert! I know! Very unlike me! :)

And the couple next to me said this was easily the best food they had tasted in a long while. This was after they had a plate of oysters, the lobster roll and a dessert. A big statement considering the husband, who is French, has lived here for 30 years!

So in my humble opinion, of the 3 places I visited this time Pearl Oyster Bar was tops! Even with the more expensive price, it was worth every bite!

**Wishlist: Ed's Lobster in SoHo. I just couldn't get there but it's definitely on my list.

Cull & Pistol Oyster Bar
Chelsea Market
75 9th Avenue
New York
NY 10011
Website: lobsterplace.com/pages/restaurant-welcome



Luke's Lobster (there are various locations in NYC)
The Plaza Food Hall
1 W. 59th Street
New York
Website: lukeslobster.com/


Pearl Oyster Bar
18 Cornelia Street
New York
NY 10014
Website: www.pearloysterbar.com/


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Momofuku Ssam Bar (East Village, New York)

On Christmas Eve last year, it was our first day in New York City, after arriving the evening before. We traipsed around in the rain and around lunch time we started racking our brains for food ideas! Lo and behold we decided to head to one of David Chang's restaurants and this time we decided to go to the Ssam Bar. The last time I was in New York, I went to the Momofuku Noodle Bar so I was only to happy to check out the Ssam Bar! Yay!

Our timing was perfect, there was a table of 3 waiting for us. Not long after we walked in, the rest of the place was filled with diners!

We started with the very famous "Steamed Buns with Pork Belly" with hoisin sauce, cucumbers, scallions and a dash of sriracha. It was still as good as the first time I had them in June 2013 and I could have had more. The pork belly was so tender, and succulent. More please! That's what JN said anyway! :)

GK had the Rotisserie duck over rice with 'the lot'. This amounted to a plate full of duck scallion, ssam sauce, crispy shallot, lettuce, chive pancake, and pickles. The duck was perfectly cooked and let's just say GK was enjoying his dish at a leisurely pace. I couldn't help myself from eyeing the duck on his plate. They looked so succulent!