Barbuto, West Village - He says...

Our friends and family know that we love to eat at expensive, upscale restaurants.  We are seduced by ingredients like foie gras, truffles, and caviar (see Caviar Russe post as an example).  But restaurants like Barbuto defy all that.  Our dinner at Barbuto reminded me that it’s not always about the ingredients.  Even with the most common ingredients, exceptional dishes can be made.

We originally decided to eat at Barbuto to help our friend score some AMEX points (3x worth; check out his hustle blog for points and travel tips).  From there, it somehow grew into an 8-top affair.  It worked out for the best because it let us reserve a private back room with a special chef’s menu served family-style.

The first dish we had was burrata over sliced bread.  It didn’t look like much; kind of like cottage cheese on bread.  When I took my first bite, I was surprised by the wonderfully creamy texture and a cheesiness that was slightly more pronounced than typical mozzarella.  It was so addictive and we all wanted more.  It’s amazing what a little cream and olive oil can do to cheese.

Our second course comprised of a plate of salumi and several plates of salad.  For people who know me (and as I may have mentioned in previous posts), I only eat salad during lunch to be healthy and not really for pleasure.  But these salads were definitely meant to be enjoyed.  My favorite one was a melon salad, an explosion of flavors and textures that I wasn’t expecting from a salad.  There was sweetness from cubed melons, crunch and a mild bitterness from julienned fennel, smokiness from slices of speck, and acidity from the vinaigrette.  With everything in the salad, it didn’t feel like some random array of ingredients; the flavors blended harmoniously into a balanced dish. 

The next course had my favorite dish of the night: a bowl of spaghetti in meat sauce.  When I took my first fork full, I knew it was special but I didn’t immediately know why.  I think we all had to take a second to break it down to really understand it because of our preconceived associations of pasta in meat sauce.  The flavor started with a tartness, typical of a tomato-based sauce, but immediately turned a little savory from the ground meat.  It followed with a mild umami note from the cheese and finally ended with the taste of the perfectly al dente pasta, mellowing out the tart and savory sauce.  In the split second of a bite, it had all the flavors we expected from spaghetti in meat sauce.  It took another second to understand that it was the flow and cohesion of the flavors that made it taste so delicious.

Ever since seeing it on Top Chef Masters, she and I were definitely looking forward to Jonathan Waxman’s signature roasted chicken with salsa verde among our main courses.  The chicken had unbelievably juicy meat and crispy skin.  The salsa verde was an herbal mix that tasted of chopped rosemary, tarragon and parsley.  I learned from his cookbook that the magic ingredients are the mashed anchovies, capers, and garlic, which explains the pronounced saltiness and tanginess.  All in all, it’s a perfectly cooked chicken with some bold flavors that I really liked.  It seemed so simple; I wonder if I can cook it at home...  The only problem was that I was so full by the time the main entrees came around.

I definitely want to go back to Barbuto to eat in the main area and try the rest of the menu.  If it’s as good as what we had that night, I’m all for it.  I still love my foie and truffles, but I definitely appreciate places like Barbuto that don’t need them to be successful.

Barbuto, West Village - She says....

Our approach to trying a new restaurant is two-fold: sample as many dishes as you can and, more importantly, be sure to try that particular chef's signature items. In most instances, this translates into our ordering way too much food for two people. This is why, in very special restaurants, we opt for the chef's tasting menus. Another way to accomplish this is by eating with a large group. For our trip to Barbuto, we combined methods. Instead of our usual two-top, we came as a party of eight and treated ourselves to the chef's four course, family style tasting in a more private part of the restaurant. Considering the restaurant is Italian-inspired cuisine by chef Jonathan Waxman, the communal set up was very appropriate.

There's always at least one delicious dish in a tasting that you would never have chosen to order on your own. For me, it's usually a vegetable or soup dish that my eyes naturally gloss over on the menu. At Barbuto, it was the burrata, a fresh Italian cheese similar to mozzarella. As the amuse, it was served on a crostini and dressed simply with extra virgin olive oil and grated black pepper. In a bite, the burrata was slightly warm, chewy on the outside and creamy on the inside, while the crostini was perfectly toasted and crunchy. It was so well balanced and portioned - the perfect introduction to our meal.

The appetizer course came with four options the best of which, in my opinion, were the most seasonal dishes - the heirloom tomato salad and the melon salad. The tomatoes were topped with a balsamic vinaigrette, basil, and shaved ricotta. While the tomatoes, both yellow and green, were clearly the stars of this dish, the balsamic brought out the sweetness of each juicy tomato wedge, and the ricotta and basil were the perfect garnishes. It was a twist on the traditional caprese salad, with the quality of the ingredients elevating this simple dish to another level.

The melon salad was a more complicated dish - shaved raw fennel, celery, summer melons, and slices of speck tossed together in an herb vinaigrette. At first, the licorice flavor of the fennel was a bit harsh for me, but gradually it matched well with the sweet melons and herb dressing. The melons were delicious. Other than yellow watermelon, I couldn't tell exactly what types were included, but their sweet juices mixed with the vinaigrette to create a fresh and perfectly acidic salad. The incorporation of speck now and then added a textural contrast and the delicious rich smokiness of cured meat. The colors in both dishes were beautiful and vibrant. By the end of the appetizer course, both salad plates were clean - very impressive for a table full of meat-eaters.

The pasta came next. Although there were only two options for this course, they were enough to prove that Waxman is simply genius when it comes to pasta. The first could loosely be called spaghetti with tomato sauce, but it was the best spaghetti and tomato sauce I remember having in a long time. The flavor profile is difficult to describe - sweet and clean at first, which gave way to a more complex finish and a hint of heat. To be honest, I couldn't tell what type of meat was ground in the sauce, but it didn't matter. This all coated a perfectly al dente spaghetti. The bowl was barely enough to serve everyone in our group. The other pasta was gnocchi with sweet corn and cherry tomatoes. The gnocchi were perfect pillows of course, and the corn and tomatoes made the dish light and summery. Again these seasonal components seemed to be the highlights of the dish, while the gnocchi acted as the perfect complement in each bite.

The meat course consisted of seared flounder, skirt steak where cherry tomatoes again made an appearance, and his famous roasted JW chicken. All of the entrees were tasty, although I found the appetizer and pasta courses more interesting. The chicken was certainly memorable. It had a nice, slightly crisped skin covered in herbs, and the meat was moist and flavorful. It was simple but delicious, a theme throughout the meal. The only low point of the dinner was the dessert - an almond tart topped with raspberries. The tart was so mundane and out of sync with the rest of the meal, I was shocked. A fresh fruit salad would have made more sense.

All in all, this was a great meal. The family style service was fun, and we were all able to try several dishes for each course. The food was marked by bold, seasonal flavors that were light and refreshing. And while the presentations of the ingredients were simple, all of the plates were visually stunning with natural reds, yellows, and greens. The combined effect of effortless taste and beauty was truly impressive.

Aquavit (Bistro), Midtown - She says...

Aquavit has been on my list of restaurants to try for several years now. It's bumped down with each new restaurant opening, but thankfully former executive chef Marcus Samuelsson's appearance on the second season of Top Chef Masters kept it on our radar. We finally decided to go late one weeknight. The Bistro is the first dining area, while the Main Dining Room is in the back. We ate in the Bistro, which is simply styled in light browns and orange accents.

We started with Aquavit cocktails. I ordered the white cosmopolitan while he had the spicy mango martini, very typical drinks for us. Aquavit tastings were also available in a variety of flavors, including coriander & dill and fig & cardamom.

The house bread was served with a delicious salmon mousse spread in addition to the conventional butter. It was creamy, flavorful, and a nice way to begin the meal. I started with the herring sampler and he had the venison tartare. The herring plate came with three tastings: pickled, lemon, and honey mustard cured herring, served with a few slices of Swedish cheese and a fingerling potato. The pickled herring was my favorite of the three - very clean and the acidity balanced the saltiness of the fish perfectly. The lemon and honey mustard were a bit overwhelming, but still very tasty. The cheese, which tasted a bit like white cheddar, was a surprisingly effective palate cleanser and calmed down the sour tartness of each bite.

For my entree, I had the seared cod with potato and leek stomp and grilled asparagus. The stomp, which is akin to a mash, was delicious, creamy, and coated the cod nicely. The asparagus added a needed crispness to the plate. Overall, it was a very tasty dish, although the flavors were not particularly new. His schnitzel entree was also quite good, but not anything exciting.

Our desserts were a very nice surprise. It's been awhile since we've had desserts worth mentioning. I had the Arctic Circle, a goat cheese parfait that was nearly frozen but still creamy. It was served with a lingonberry sorbet and salted pistachios. The entire bite was refreshing and just sweet enough. The pistachios added a fun textural contrast, and the salt really brought out the sweetness of the lingonberries.

I'd like to try the more extravagant dishes of the main dining room, but I appreciated the simple presentations of this meal. The space was cozy yet elegant, and the tasty, clean flavors of each dish made this a great bistro-style dinner.

Aquavit (Bistro) Midtown - He says...

It was about 9:30 PM when we decided to go to the Aquavit bistro one late Saturday night.  I had just finished some work and wanted to unwind with a pampered dinner.  But to be honest, Aquavit was never that high on my list of places to eat.  It didn't seem that appealing to me.  I had seen pictures on its site of dishes with un-integrated components on a plate.  It didn't seem like there was any soul in the preparation.

Our appetizers seemingly fit this bill at first.  I ordered the venison tartare to start.  The meat sat plainly on the plate, surrounded by capers, beets, honey mustard, red onions, and horseradish.  To me, it just looked like scoops of ingredients lumped on a plate.  It was so simply presented that it almost seemed lazy.  She ordered the herring sampler, which came with 3 different preparations.  Despite the variation, it also looked very ordinary.  You typically want to dig in when dishes are served; the presentation didn’t create that appetizing sensation.

But as I ate the food, my tone changed.  The venison had such a clean taste with a mild gaminess.  Each component provided its own unique taste and texture that stood up to each other when I combined them.  I mixed certain ingredients, playing with different flavor profiles.  I personally liked a good amount of onions for texture with a touch of spice from horseradish and brine from the capers.  The dish wasn't just tasty but surprisingly fun!  Her meal was just as playful.  Each herring had such a different flavor, but each delicious on its own.  It was fun being able to go back and forth between our dishes.

For my entrée, I decided to go simple and ordered the schnitzel.  It seems like such an ordinary choice for me, but I sometimes like to review a restaurant based on the most classic dish on a menu.  The schnitzel was a meaty portion.  It was perfectly crisp on the outside and incredibly tender on the inside.  What really distinguished it from other breaded cutlets was its clean taste.  I’m used to having cutlets doused in some sort of sauce, whether it’s gravy from chicken fried steak, curry on katsu, or tomato sauce in a parmesan.  It was refreshing to just eat a cutlet and have it be flavorful on its own.  Looking back, it was probably the best pork cutlet I’ve ever had.

For dessert, I ordered the ‘smalansk ostkaka’, a Swedish cheesecake topped with berries and whipped cream.  The taste was mild, probably made with a more ricotta-like cheese.  The texture was just a bit weird to me.  There seemed to be nuts inside the cheesecake, which was kind of jarring.  I like my cheesecakes to have a smooth consistency, so I personally didn’t really like it.

Despite the dessert, I really enjoyed Aquavit.  Our dinner was a slap in the face for me.  She and I have become so accustomed to big flavors, dramatic presentations, and expensive ingredients.  Aquavit reminded me that good food just needed simple ingredients and clean flavors.  I’m looking forward to coming back to try the food in the main dining room.

Caviar Russe, Midtown - He says...

I felt so guilty after we ate at Caviar Russe.  We’ve gorged ourselves in the past with heaps of cheap junk food, all-you-can-eat buffets, and 20 course tasting menus.  Despite all that, I never really felt like a glutton until this dinner.  Don’t get me wrong – the food was incredibly delicious.  But the dishes we had were so opulent and over-the-top that I couldn’t help but think we had committed some sin.

We’ve had a caviar tasting before at the Russian Tea room and had a lot fun.  So I was looking forward to having caviar the traditional way with blinis, sour cream, and minced red onions.  But looking at the menu, we were intrigued by the ‘Bites’ section.  It was essentially a list of relatively simple dishes taken up a notch by some luxurious ingredient, caviar of course being a major one.  To start, we got the gnocchi with caviar, which were 3 large pieces of gnocchi, each in its own spoon, smothered in a truffle cream sauce, topped with a teaspoon of caviar.  I think the gnocchi could have been smaller to complement the delicateness of the caviar.  But did it matter?  No, because it was still gnocchi with truffle and caviar and inevitably amazing.  We also got the caviar purses.  It was a play on caviar served traditionally (above) with the caviar, sour cream, and red onions wrapped in a large blini to look like a pouch.  I took it in one bite and realized it was the equivalent of eating 4 normal-sized blinis with caviar.  Did I need to eat 4 at once?  No.  Was it still awesome?  Yes. 

Probably my most favorite-est dish of the night was the FLT: foie gras, lettuce, and tomato.  Again, I was expecting a bite.  It turned out to be about 2/3 the size of a Shake Shack burger, which still isn’t that big but definitely not one bite.  The first bite I had was that “Oh my God”, “Wow”, eyes wide open, almost burst out laughing type of good.  How had no one served us this before??  The foie gras was perfectly seared and it wasn’t some dinky piece.  The lettuce and tomato actually held up to the richness of the foie and provided some crispness and acidity.  The bun was soft but slightly toasted.  It also added a nice sweetness to the
entire dish.  They should bag that up and sell it in a food truck – I would easily pay $15 for that any day.

There were 2 things we ordered that I could have done without.  We ordered caviar and eggs, which is exactly what it sounds like – scrambled eggs topped with caviar.  It really wasn’t anything special aside from the caviar of course.  For my entree, I got the steak tartare with lobster.  It looked so good on paper to me (I love steak tartare) but the tartare was a bit warmer than I’d like and it was lacking acidity and texture.  It could have been much better given the ingredients.  Looking back, I would have rather gotten another purse or FLT or foregone it all together.  She got lobster 3 ways, which was also tasty, but I think she thought we could have done without it.  I think these unnecessary dishes really put in that guilt for us. 

Caviar Russe is a great place to splurge on expensive ingredients.  I wouldn’t say it’s very creative, but I guess you don’t really have to be that innovative with good caviar.

Caviar Russe, Midtown - She says...

I have to admit that caviar is one of those luxury food items that he taught me to enjoy. Before moving to New York, I'd never tried it as it was meant to be eaten. Now, while I certainly don't crave it the same way he does, I appreciate how special it is - both as a garnish and showcased on its own. We'd already tried the Russian Tea Room, which was a strict caviar and vodka tasting, so now he wanted to try Caviar Russe.

I didn't know much about Caviar Russe until our waiter handed us two menus: the dinner menu and the retail caviar menu. Aside from caviar tastings, the dinner menu was focused on sushi and seafood. The caviar menu was a catalog of the caviar available for purchase. It made the experience feel a bit commercial, but it explained the different types and varieties of caviar so at least it was educational.

We started with an assortment of oysters, which were fresh and briny, followed by several "bites". The bites were served as single servings, so we ordered two of each. Again, we ended up being a bit over-zealous with our ordering, but it gave us the opportunity to try everything. I think we'd both agree that the FLT - foie, lettuce, and tomato "bite" served on a brioche roll - was the best, and most indulgent, item that we tried. It was deliciously gluttonous. The slightly roasted tomato provided sweetness to the buttery richness of the foie gras, and the lettuce added a hint of needed freshness and crunch. The bite was smaller than the average slider, but I still had trouble finishing it. He had no trouble finishing my portion.

Two of the more manageable bites were the caviar blini purse and the gnocchi. The blini purse was an elegant but simple serving of caviar wrapped in a warm blini. The gnocchi were delicious pillows covered in a truffle-infused creme fraiche, topped with dollops of American sturgeon caviar. Each "bite" came with three gnocchi, so we should have shared a single order. Still, they were delicious and the presentation was beautiful.


We also ordered the caviar and scrambled eggs. It seemed like a classic dish that we had to try, and we probably would have appreciated it more had we not just finished our FLT's. The eggs were simple, tasty, and would have been great as a brunch item.

Our entrees were the low point of the night. He had the steak tartare with lobster, and I ordered the lobster trio. Everything was served at room temperature, which was odd considering my trio included a lobster bisque, lobster salad, and lobster tempura. The lobster bisque was tasty, rich, and appropriately frothy. Unfortunately, the lobster salad was under-seasoned, and the lobster tempura lacked the light crunch of a good tempura - in fact it was almost soggy and tasted greasy. I would have rather had a few more oysters or taken more time to enjoy the bites, but now we know for next time.


Our meal at Caviar Russe was prompted by a Blackboard Eats deal. I doubt we would have tried it had it not been for this offer. The bites were undeniably delicious, but I think that had more to do with the decadence of the ingredients than the preparation in the kitchen. If we return, hopefully we'll be less distracted by the other dishes and focus more on the caviar itself - or consider simply purchasing a jar to enjoy at home.

JoJo, UES - She says...

For my very belated post on JoJo, I'll keep my comments short and sweet. I had fairly high expectations for Jean-George's "bistro," and the meal didn't disappoint. We were looking for a nice brunch spot on the UES, with unique brunch items, and ended up finding a great weekend lunch option instead.

Although there were brunch dishes on JoJo's menu, including french toast, pancakes, and of course eggs benedict, we opted instead for the more interesting lunch menu items. I started with the ravioli while he had the tuna tartare. The ravioli plate was beautiful. The pillowy ravioli squares were accented by bright yellow and scarlet beets, speckled with poppy seeds, and topped with a balsamic vinaigrette. The flavors were bright and fresh, and balanced as nicely as the colors on the plate. The beets were succulent and delicious. Their sweetness paired well with the creaminess of the three cheese ravioli and concentrated balsamic. The overall dish was light yet satisfying, and sized perfectly as a first "course."


I found his tuna tartare to be more conventional and less interesting. It was well prepared, but served at room temperature, which was a bit too warm for me. The waffle chips that accompanied it were crispy, but slightly greasy and overwhelmed the delicate tartare.

Next, I had the shrimp and lemon risotto and he had the skirt steak. The two dishes were very different, but both were delicious and complemented our respective first courses well. My risotto was again fresh and light, especially for a risotto. The flavor of lemon wasn't strong or overwhelming, but instead added an acidity and sweetness that cut the richness of the risotto. The shrimp were juicy and delicate, and the fennel added a nice textural element to the overall dish. While the risotto was delicate and muted, his steak dish was bold and rich. Aside from the steak being a perfect medium rare, it was topped with a mixture of mushrooms and broccoli rabe marinated in a delicious ginger soy sauce. The portion was generously sized, which was perfect for him.


The two course lunch prix fixe at JoJo is a great meal. It even comes with a dessert. Although JoJo is known for its desserts, ours were not very impressive that day, so we'll have to come back to try some of it's signatures. Overall, I think we got a good sense of JoJo's food, and I was very pleasantly surprised. We'd been to Jean Georges and more recently, ABC Kitchen, so we knew the meal would be elegant and tasty. JoJo's food also managed to be fresh and comforting, even though it's space and decor certainly catered to an older patronage. We'll continue our quest to find the perfect UES brunch spot, but I'm so happy that we found JoJo along the way!

JoJo, UES - He says...

We hadn’t gone to brunch in a while so I wanted to go somewhere nice.  After some research, we decided to go to JoJo, Jean Georges Vongerichten’s bistro-themed restaurant.  We’ve been to a couple of his restaurants before (both times with my parents actually).  ABC Kitchen was pretty good and his flagship, Jean Georges, was outstanding – I still remember the foie gras brulee with candied pistachios…  We knew it wouldn’t be like that, but we still had high expectations.

One thing I didn’t realize was the lack of egg in the brunch.  There was a little section of traditional brunch dishes, but it didn’t look like a main focus of the menu so we turned a blind eye to it.  Instead, we got the $26 pre fixe with an appetizer, entrée, and dessert.

For the appetizer, I ordered the tuna tartare.  For the most part, it was pretty standard except it came with a potato gaufrette, a thinly fried potato wafer.  It kind of just tasted like a potato chip.  I thought it overpowered the flavor and softness of the tartare.  It also didn’t have much acid, which is unlike most tartares, but it did have a mild spiciness that I liked.  She had the three cheese ravioli.  I’m not sure what exactly the cheeses were but there was definitely goat cheese, which went well with the thick dough of the ravioli skins and the starchy red beets.  The sauce was a balsamic vinaigrette that seemed to be coupled with brown butter, giving the ravioli a nice buttery, tart interplay.

Our entrees were literally like night and day.  I had the hangar steak with broccoli rabe.  The dish had a dim hue with dark brown, red, and green colors.  The steak was cut into little medallions, each perfectly medium rare.  After each bite, I realized that the meat and veggies were just vessels for the tasty soy caramel sauce.  The sauce started with a strong saltiness but had a sweet finish.  When the gingered minced mushrooms sopped up the sauce, the taste was distinctly Asian, which was a nice surprise in the bistro setting.

She had the shrimp risotto, which was a pretty plate of bright white, pink, and green colors.  We’ve had a lot of risotto in our food adventures, but I honestly can’t remember having one with shrimp.  The shrimp were pretty big and added a mild seafood flavor to the risotto.  I think what really made the dish stand out was the caramelized fennel.  You typically expect a standard creamy texture and taste with risotto.  But the fennel really added this mild crunch and bitterness that to me was a genius contrast to add to something like risotto.  Along with the hints of lemon, I thought this dish was pretty amazing.

The one sad note was the dessert.  I got the warm chocolate cake with oozing fudge in the middle.  It was good but pretty pedestrian.  Unfortunately, she got the cassis cake with a carrot cake crust, which the waiter sold very well.  It sounded good in theory but the cassis was overly sweet and sour and the cake was definitely full of cinnamon.  It didn’t really come together.

Overall, JoJo impressed us and we were not let down.  I was definitely into that risotto.  It was the kind of brilliance I’d expect from a chef like Jean Georges Vongerichten.  It’s probably worth trying again, but I’d rather go to the main Jean Georges or try another of his restaurants.

Alcala, Midtown East - She says...

He's always good at motivating us to go out when we're about to give in to the temptation of Seamlessweb. It also helps that we have some very decent restaurants just a few blocks from home. We decided to go to Alcala on Friday night, a neighborhood Spanish tapas restaurant.

As I've mentioned before, small plates are my favorite way to eat. I love tapas in particular because it encourages everyone to try different dishes. We'd been to Alcala a few times before, so we ordered a mixture of favorites in addition to a few new dishes. Croquetas are usually a staple for us. At Alcala, the dish comes with both bacalao (dried salted cod) and ham croquettes. The ham croquettes are good, but it's the bacalao filling that's really special here. Extremely smooth and creamy, the bacalao is subtle but retains the distinct saltiness of the fish. The croquette "shell" is super crispy, which contrasts nicely with the creaminess of the filling. Another favorite of mine is the baby squid (chipirones) in squid ink, primarily because I really enjoy the flavor of the squid ink. The black ink-covered mounds don't make for the prettiest dish, but the chipirones are succulent and the squid ink is sweet and faintly fishy. It's even good as a dipping sauce for the warm house bread. The only meat dish of the meal were the grilled baby lamb chops (chuletitas), which were juicy and perfectly simple.

The llescas catalanas, pieces of toast rubbed with a tomato spread and covered with either anchovies or marinated salmon, was a new dish this time and certainly worth ordering again. I've only recently started to like anchovies, and I generally need something to balance their strong flavor. This dish matched the intensely salty fish with a fresh, cooling tomato spread on nicely toasted bread. The salmon, marinated in olive oil, was simple but also very tasty. The other new dish of the night were crepes stuffed with a Spanish cheese and shiitake mushrooms, topped with shredded jamon serrano. The cheese and mushroom filling was nice, but the crepe was eggy and chewy. So the overall bite was a bit bland and lacked texture.

We ended the meal with a trio of desserts: tarta de Arrese, leche frita, and what tasted like a chocolate mousse. The custard pie and chocolate mousse were good, and it was the first time I've tried leche frita. The leche frita, similar to the croquetas, had a crispy exterior shell and a gooey sweet milk filling. It was sweet, but not overwhelmingly so, and surprisingly very light. It would have paired perfectly with a latte, but unfortunately we were still working on finishing our wine. At least I know better for next time.


Alcala is not one of those trendy, chic tapas spots, which we didn't have the energy for after a long work week. There isn't any loud music, the decor is charming although slightly dated, and each dish's presentation is simple, plated with barely any garnish. The service at this restaurant is also quite special. Granted it was almost 10pm when we arrived to eat, so the dinner crowd was just finishing up, but the staff was warm and attentive without being awkward or intrusive. The restaurant's focus is clearly on the food and quality, comforting service. It's a great place for an easy, delicious meal.

Alcala, Midtown East - He says…

I wanted to have something simple and yummy with wine for dinner, but in a low-key setting.  I would have been just fine with some cheese, cured ham, and wine on our couch in front of the TV.  But the markets were already closed and I don’t have enough foresight to prepare for nights like these.  So we decided to go to Alcala, a Spanish tapas restaurant that’s not too far from us that we’ve been to before. 

You don’t really think of tapas when you want to avoid crowds.  But unlike other bar-like tapas places, Alcala has a more classic, laid-back dining room.  It’s definitely a more conventional sit-down restaurant.  It may not be the typical tapas experience, but it definitely hit the spot for me on this particular night.

The first tapas we got were slices of toasted bread topped with a tomato jam, anchovies, and smoked salmon.  I really loved how this dish woke up my taste buds.  When I took my first bite, I was surprised by the burst of competing flavors and textures that worked so well together.  The salmon and anchovies had a borderline heavy acidity that was simultaneously mellowed out by the sweetness of the tomato spread.  The toasted bread also gave the dish a hard crunch against the delicate toppings.  When I have tapas like this, I’m amazed at how much diversity you can fit in one small plate with such ordinary ingredients.

Another tapas we had was this crepe.  The pancake was nicely browned and filled with minced mushrooms that really packed a lot of umami essence.  It was surrounded by shreds of jamon Serrano, which added a salty meat component.  I appreciated the fact that they didn’t add it in the filling and chose to keep the integrity of the ham; it made sure that you could fully distinguish its taste and bright red color.

For the rest of our meal, we had more traditional tapas, which were just as delicious.  The croquetas, bacalao stuffed piquillio peppers, grilled lamb chops, and squid in squid ink sauce were all simply prepared and tasted so clean and distinct from one another.  And that’s what I love about tapas.  Each dish is clearly Spanish and yet so different from one another.  It’s like a little buffet of flavors every single time we have tapas.

For dessert, we got the ‘postres variados’, which is literally a variety of desserts.  It was a scoop of chocolate mousse with 2 kinds of custard in cake and fried square form (I always expect some custard for dessert in a Spanish restaurant).  Again, I’m not much for dessert, so I wouldn’t do it much justice describing it (I know she will).  The one thing I did like was how they weren’t very sweet – that’s my kind of dessert.

Like I said, there isn’t much of a “scene” at Alcala like other tapas restaurants in NYC.  But it is a quaint, neighborhood restaurant with friendly service and great traditional tapas.  Which for me is great, because I'm starting to have a lower tolerance for crowded restaurants.  The ambiance and food definitely make Alcala one of my more favorite comfort food restaurants I'll frequent.

Kin Shop, West Village - She says...

Our Top Chef dinners have become a delicious tradition for us and a few friends. It started with a meal that I won, albeit in a shamefully lopsided bet, at Le Bernadin, followed by a pasta tasting at Babbo where we went Dutch because none of us correctly predicted that season's winner. Now, it was my turn to treat a friend who had chosen the winner of Top Chef All-Stars, Richard Blais. Unable to try the new Top Chef's food, we opted for season one winner Harold Dieterle's new Thai-inspired restaurant, Kin Shop. We'd been to Perilla before, and I loved Dieterle's new American food. I was excited to see how Kin Shop would combine traditional Thai flavors with his contemporary style.

The meal was served family style, which gave us an excuse to over-order. To start, we had diver sea scallops with snap peas, fried pork belly and crispy oyster salad, roasted bone marrow, and an eggplant chutney. The scallops and bone marrow were easy choices, and both were as tasty as expected. The snap peas added a nice fresh crunch to the scallops, which were served on top of a sweet coconut sauce. The bone marrow was standard - delicious bites of rich, decadent fat. It was served with crispy roti instead of bread, a savory Thai pancake that's slightly chewy and greasy. The grease took away from the marrow flavor a bit, and I missed the crunch of toasted bread, but it's hard to find fault with nicely roasted bone marrow.


The biggest surprise of the appetizers was the salad, which we rarely order. The crispy pork belly was juicy, and the oysters were large and deep fried perfectly. The best part of the dish was that the salad actually made the crispy proteins taste better. The vinagrette was fresh and acidic, celery added additional freshness and crunch, and the greens were just peppery enough to balance the heartiness of the fried ingredients.

For the entrees, we ordered stir-fried wide wonton noodles with chicken sausage, braised goat with massaman curry, chiang mai sausage with steamed duck egg over a red onion congee, chiang mai curry noodle soup with grilled lamb, and a side of stir fry aquatic vegetables. The wonton noodles with chicken sausage was a tasty, clean version of pad see ew. It was mildly sweet and could have used a bit of spice, but the noodles weren't oily or heavy. The chiang mai sausage was the most unique dish that we tried. The sausage was savory, moist, and spicy. We broke the duck egg yolk over the red onion congee, which created the perfect gooey base for the dish. My favorite dish of the night was the chiang mai curry noodle soup. It was a simple dish with very comforting flavors. The yellow noodles were served two ways: al dente and crispy. The al dente noodles absorbed the delicious curry sauce, while the crispy noodles served on top provided a great textural contrast. The grilled lamb, cut into bite-sized pieces, was the perfect meat to complement the curry. If it had arrived earlier in the meal, I could have finished the entire bowl. The main downside to the dish was that it was our most expensive plate, $24.

Overall, Kin Shop preserved the sweetness and spice of traditional Thai food well and presented dishes that were both creative and elegant. I should probably have started with the disclaimer that Thai is one of my favorite comfort foods, so I wasn't looking for fancy dishes or impressive techniques. The flavors were delicious and bold, yet balanced. The restaurant achieves a neighborhood atmosphere that I really enjoyed. If we lived in the West Village, I would probably be visiting this place more than he would like. Dieterle is 2 for 2!

Kin Shop, West Village - He says...

This past week we went to Kin Shop with a friend.  We owed him a dinner for winning our 3rd ‘Top Chef’ bet (i.e. he chose Richard Blaise to win).  We thought it appropriate that the dinner be at the latest restaurant of the first Top Chef winner, Harold Dieterle.  Kin Shop is his homage to Thai food.  It’s not Thai food per se, but it’s definitely Thai inspired.

One of our 3 appetizers was the fried pork & crispy oyster salad, which was my kind of salad.  Together, the hunks of pork and oysters were perfectly rich and salty for me.  It was topped with a chili-lime vinaigrette that had a sharp spicy and sour accent that I also liked.  The celery added a light crunch that was refreshing with all the strong flavors.  We also had the diver scallops in coconut curry.  The scallops were cooked perfectly but the sauce was a bit too sweet for me.  Bone marrow was also on the menu and of course we had to get it (we’re suckers for it).  For the most part, it was prepared traditionally: cut in half, roasted, and simply seasoned.  The changeups were a creamy yellow bean sauce and some puffed rice pellets.  And instead of toast, it was served with roti.  It’s all that fatty goodness we loved with a touch of curry, a light crisp, and a Southeast Asian bread vessel.  The changes weren’t major and, to some, maybe not that ambitious or creative.  But I appreciated the minimalist treatment, especially when dealing with bold Thai flavors. 

Our main courses were a bit more traditional.  We ordered the massaman curry with braised goat, a curry noodle soup with grilled lamb, and wide wonton noodles.  As tasty as they were, the sweetness was a bit much for me and probably not something I’d order again and again.  But one entree I did really like was the sausage and steamed duck egg in congee with razor clams.  The dish was simple but very pretty, especially when we mixed the runny egg in with the congee.  The sausage had a pronounced meaty taste, almost a little gamey.  The congee was a bit more subtle but its savory flavor still managed to stand out, even against the sausage.  It reminded me of breakfast at home – meat, eggs, and rice – with a little more kick.

For dessert, we were excited to try the Thai iced tea ice cream.  The ice cream seemed like it was freshly made and the Thai iced tea flavor was perfect in this solid form.  We were pretty full after everything but I don’t think a Thai dinner would have been complete without the taste of a Thai iced tea.

I definitely enjoyed the food at Kin Shop but I don’t necessarily see myself going back very often.  There were definitely dishes I’d go back for and other dishes I still want to try, but I’d rather not to have too many sweet elements in my meals.  But despite my preferences, I can still appreciate the food at Kin Shop and recommend it to anyone looking for a new and exciting contemporary Thai restaurant.

Fishtail, UES - He says...

I was pleasantly surprised at how good Fishtail was.  She got an unbelievable deal from Gilt - an exclusive 4 course tasting, wine pairings, and a signed copy of David Burke's cookbook for $200.  But to be honest, I was a bit pessimistic about going.  I hadn't heard such great reviews about the food at Fishtail.  And I was a bit overwhelmed with the whimsical decor and busy dining room at David Burke's flagship restaurant, Townhouse.  The food at Townhouse also had strong flavors, so I wasn't sure if that would be too much for a seafood theme.  But Fishtail is much different.  The dining room wasn't cramped or hectic.  The service was also a bit more comfortable yet still very professional.  As expected, the decoration was vibrant with bold red walls, fun chandeliers, and interesting fish paintings, but had an element of reservation that seemed elegant.  And the food seemed to fit with it all.  I found our experience at Fishtail to be very zen.  Fishtail definitely impressed me. 

The meal opened with champagne - always a good start.  It was paired with our amuse bouche, a spicy tuna tartare with creme fraiche and caviar in a jar.  The spicy tuna wasn't the mayo heavy stuff we're used to having in Japanese-American restaurants, but was simply mixed with finely minced peppers, which added some heat and acidity.  The creme fraiche provided a comforting cooling quality.  The caviar was a perfectly rich way to add some saltiness.  Unfortunately, I failed to portion each bite out - I can't help myself with caviar.  It was a big portion for an amuse bouche but the simple, well-balanced dish with the champagne was a great start to the tasting.

Our next dish was the Angry Lobster Cocktail.  We've had the famous Angry Lobster from Townhouse and it was indeed angry.  The full portioned Townhouse version was in your face with salt and spiciness.  It was also a bit messy to eat with the sauce because we had to use our hands to really get into it.  So when we saw this on the menu, we were kind of bracing ourselves for the rage.  But when it came out, it was more muted in a good way.  It was half a lobster with more accessible meat (even the brains, which she loves).  The powerful sauce was replaced by a more complex lemon basil chili oil.  I thought the basil really made the dish stand out.  The earthy, herbal tone combined with the heat and acidity from the lemon and chili really created a round flavor I've never really had with lobster.

Our entree was a dover sole with pineapple brown butter topped with brunoised vegetables.  Aside from the cut of the vegetables, the dish seemed pretty standard for a fish dish but delicious nonetheless.  The fish was perfectly cooked - light, flaky meat with some faded brown char on the outside.  The highlight was definitely the sweetness from the pineapple and citrus cut in the vegetables.  It was a subtle flavor but it really anchored the buttery richness of the sauce and the bitterness of the vegetables.  I think it also foreshadowed the big finish at the end.

The dessert was quite a production.  We were served a plate of metal mixers with chocolate frosting.  Our waiter explained we were supposed to lick them like when 'you were a kid'.  As we enjoyed our chocolate with our paired port, our waiter rolled over a cart with our dessert: the Fishtail Can O' Cake.  It was a medium-sized chocolate cake still in the tin.  The waiter topped it with caramel, rice crisps, and bits of Heath Bar Crunch.  He scooped it out on our plates along with ice cream and fresh cream from a canister.  He then left the remaining 3/4 of the cake with us along with the cream.  The chocolate cake was amazing with the crisp, salty, and gooey toppings, but the whipped cream was the dangerous one.  It was thick yet airy and you could easily eat a bowl of it with a spoon; that's coming from a person who doesn't even really like whipped cream!  Shocked by the size of our dessert, we offered some of it to the table next to us and were still unable to finish; but luckily, we were able to take it home.

I think I really liked Fishtail because it wasn't your typical fancy seafood restaurant.  These restaurants are exemplified by crudos and light sauces.  But Fishtail isn't afraid to pair bold flavors with delicate meat.  What you get is a flavorful dish that still stays true to the flavors of the fish.  David Burke definitely does seafood right.  Special thanks to Gilt for offering this deal to her and opening our eyes to Fishtail.

Fishtail, UES - She says...

I've been curious about David Burke's restaurants, known for his creative, bold flavors and whimsical restaurant decor, but we haven't really made an effort to try them. When I saw a three-course tasting menu at Fishtail featured by Gilt City, I thought it would be a good way to see what his food was all about. Shortly after I purchased the certificate, we were surprised with an impromptu trip to Townhouse. After experiencing his "mad hatter" style, I was even more curious about how it would translate in seafood. We made a reservation for Sunday night. We'd already done some pretty serious eating on Saturday, so I was looking forward to a good meal to finish off the weekend.

The tasting started with a glass of champagne, followed by the amuse - a spicy tuna tartare topped with horseradish creme fraiche and a dollop of American sturgeon caviar. It came in an egg-shaped glass jar and was served with several pieces of salted toast. Aside from the toast being slightly cold and under-toasted, it was a really tasty bite. The pepper in the tartare (he thinks they were red peppers, I say jalapenos), provided a good amount of heat and crunch to the tuna, which was fresh and well-seasoned. There were also sea salt crystals toasted into the bread, a nice touch that accented the flavors of the tartare, horseradish, and caviar and also added more crunch. I was surprised by how clean and simple this dish was, and appreciated the little note that came with it.


The second dish, technically our first course, was the Angry Lobster Cocktail. I tried the Angry Lobster appetizer at Townhouse and was overwhelmed by the presentation and spices. But the Angry Lobster Cocktail at Fishtail had a balance that I really enjoyed. It was a half lobster served on a bed of mashed potatoes and a lemon basil chili oil. The spices were bold and had caramelized nicely to the lobster shell, yet I could still taste the sweetness of the lobster meat. The lemon and basil in the oil added freshness to the plate, while the mashed potatoes provided a textural and flavor contrast. I managed to clean out the shells using only the small lobster fork provided, although I was definitely tempted to eat with just my hands (the way lobster is meant to be eaten, of course). It was a fun dish, and paired nicely with a Chablis that stood up to its angry flavors.

The next dish was a dover sole meuniere in a pineapple brown butter sauce that smelled amazing. It was a large filet that was cooked perfectly and topped with pineapple, brioche croutons, and occasional wedges of a citrus, possibly grapefruit? Regardless, I didn't quite understand them - the acidity and sourness were overwhelming. Overall, the sole was a nice, mild finish to our savory courses.

Before the dessert course came, we were served these egg beaters dipped in chocolate:

I was expecting them to be a component of our dessert, but our server told us that they were simply there for us to enjoy - as is! Awesome and so fun. The actual dessert course was equally as whimsical - a canister of chocolate cake that was topped, tableside, with caramel, rice krispies, and heath bar. Served with vanilla ice cream and fresh whipped cream, it was a fun, decadent way to end a great meal. And we even got to take home the leftovers in the original canister.

This tasting was such a pleasant surprise. In addition to the delicious meal, the Gilt certificate included a signed cookbook and a box of David Burke's cheesecake lollipops - all in all a great deal! It was the perfect ending to a truly memorable eating weekend. Special thanks to our server for patiently waiting as he took pictures of every step of the chocolate cake plating, and for making our experience at Fishtail a lot of fun. We'll be back!

Sakagura, Midtown East - She says...

We had every intention of eating leftovers last night, but somehow ended up at the bar at Sakagura. The restaurant, in the basement of an office building, feels like a well kept secret.


The menu is basically a continuous list of small plates, which is just how I like to eat. The first two dishes came out together: dried sardine crackers and tamago (sweet egg omelette) wrapped around grilled eel. The sardine cracker was a single, crispy layer of tiny dried sardines, served with a spicy mayo that was sweet and creamy enough to balance the saltiness of the sardine bits. But with five crackers per serving, the dish would have been more appropriate for a larger group. The tamago was sweet and moist, definitely better than the tamago from the average sushi place.


Next came the scallop dish, one of the specials of the night. The scallops were beautiful, barely seared and topped with a mango and egg yolk vinaigrette. The mango/egg yolk sauce was sweet and surprisingly strong. I loved the sweetness of the barely cooked scallops on their own, so I dipped into the vinaigrette sparingly. Still, the combination was flavorful and fresh.


With the scallops came our beef tongue stew with daikon, taro, shitakes, and spinach. This was probably my favorite dish of the night. The miso broth was delicious, and each piece of meat and vegetable had absorbed the perfect amount of liquid. The starchiness of the daikon and taro (a single piece of each placed deliberately at the bottom of the bowl) stood out nicely against the broth. And the chunks of beef tongue were amazing. I wonder if beef tongue would be a more popular protein if it had a more diner-friendly pseudonym, like the sweetbread. The tongue in this stew was tender and so flavorful, especially when I dipped it back into the broth.

The final dish of the dinner was a 2x2x2inch cube of slow cooked pork belly sitting in a pork broth. It is as insanely yummy as it sounds, and I'm sure he has written all about it. From my perspective, it's one of the best pork belly dishes I've had. There was a good proportion of meat to fat, and the fat had absorbed the rich flavor of the broth. It's Sakagura's signature dish, and definitely worth ordering each time. I'm pretty sure we both had big smiles on our faces as we finished our first bites (one order per person, of course).

The one dish to skip next time would be my dessert, I fell victim to not reading/understanding the menu well enough. The sake panna cotta was fine, but it came with two dried apricot sandwiches filled with sake lees. I assumed it would be a custard or cream, or at the very least sweet. I didn't expect a sour, stinky, curdled taste. Sake lees is essentially the pulp leftover after rice has been fermented and pressed to make sake. Not meant to be eaten as part of a dessert.

The overall meal was just what I had hoped for from Sakagura. Nice, slightly formal but very comfortable. The restaurant was full even on a Sunday night, but hopefully they always have at least two seats at the bar.

Sakagura, Midtown East - He says...

Last night, we went to Sakagura.  It was originally recommended to us by my mom.  She has a good eye for Japanese restaurants in the midtown east area so I was looking forward it.  On top of this, we realized when we were waiting for a table that Sakagura is under the TIC restaurant group, the company that also owns Curry-Ya (curry), Rai-Rai-Ken (ramen), and Otafuku (okonomiyaki) – some of our favorite Japanese restaurants.  So we had some pretty high expectations before we even sat down.  Luckily, we weren’t let down.

As usual, we ordered a good deal.  But the plates were moderately portioned so it wasn’t too much food.  Not to mention they were all really good.  One of my favorite dishes of the night was the seared scallop with an egg and mango sauce.  The scallop was lightly seared and nicely rare in the middle.  The sauce, which had a pretty yellow color, was sweet with a rich flavor thanks to the egg.

But the best thing on the menu was definitely Sakagura’s specialty – the ‘buta kakuni’, a braised pork belly.  We ordered one each.  Each portion was served in its own small bowl sitting in what was probably the braising liquid.  Looking at it, it kind of reminded me of an iceberg.  All I really saw was a small piece of fat sticking out from the sauce.  But when I stuck my chopsticks in to pull it out, I realized it was actually a big 2 cubic inch chunk of pork!

The pork was perfectly cooked with bacon-like proportions of meat and fat.  The meat was extremely tender.  I also kind of had to slurp as I bit it because of the natural juices and the sauce it absorbed.  The sauce itself was also very delicate with nothing very overpowering.  It's probably one of the best things from a pig I’ve ever had, which is saying a lot from someone who loves some fatty pig.  For pork belly, it's definitely up there with the pork from the Momofuku buns.  As good as this and the other dishes were, none of them were really that complicated.  But that’s what I love about Japanese food – it’s so simply delicious.

Unfortunately, the dessert was a low-light.  Mine was decent enough.  It was essentially a red bean bun with homemade green tea ice cream – nothing to get excited about.  She had a sake panna cotta, which was essentially just a milk gelatin.  The worst part of the dish was some apricot and cream sandwich on the side.  We laughed because the filling kind of tasted like those baby-bell cheese singles.  I usually feel bad when the dessert is bad because she really loves dessert.

But it’s not something that would keep us away; I think the main parts of dinner are fantastic enough to keep us coming back often.

I also wanted to make one final note on the bathroom.  It's uncommon to see in the US, so it's nice to see the level of cleanliness available here.  I think the image speaks for itself.

Social Eatz, Midtown East - She says...

I picked Angelo Sosa as a front runner to win this season's Top Chef All-Stars. So when he lost a few weeks ago, I lost my bet and the free dinner that came with it. Still, from what I saw of his food on the show, I was eager to try it. I missed out on Xie Xie, but luckily my Daily Candy subscription told me of his new restaurant, Social Eatz. Only a block away from my work, it seemed like a good post-workweek dinner, and so we went.

I may have been a little too excited about trying the chef's food, so we started out with all three appetizers on the menu: the spring rolls, chicken wings, and ribs. The wings and ribs were fine, but I was most pleasantly surprised by the spring rolls. The filling was yummy, a good textural combination of ground pork, shrimp, finely shredded veggies, and what I think was shredded wood ear mushrooms. The wrapper was thin, not too greasy, and nicely crispy. The best part of the spring roll app was the dipping sauce...a delicious puree of what tasted like guava or pineapple. It was sweet and spicy, even suitable as a dipping sauce for the french fries that came later.

For the entrees, I ordered the bulgogi burger while he ordered the chili tilapia tacos. Both were tasty enough. The burger was a juicy medium rare, topped with pickled cucumber slices and kimchi, and smothered with kewpie mayo and hot sauce. The untoasted burger bun couldn't hold together all of the burger's juices and sauces, so it fell apart with each bite. The result was good flavors, definitely on the sweeter side, but a mess on the plate. The tilapia, garnished with cilantro and guacamole, was seasoned well and much fresher than the burger. Unfortunately, the corn tortilla shell made the overall bite a bit dry and bland. I would have liked to try the tilapia as a burger or sandwich.

The best part of the meal was by far the yuzu cream puffs that we had for dessert. Part doughnuthole and part cream puff, they were warm and fluffy with a hint of citrus. Tasty and fun to eat. Would have been delicious with a latte or a cup of tea.


Overall, the food was good but not really what I was expecting. On Top Chef, he was known for beautiful crudos, fresh flavors, and serving the perfect bite on a spoon. I understand that a burger joint named Social Eatz isn't exactly the right venue for that type of food, but I guess I was hopeful. The restaurant's theme was oddly cute...inside was trendy, loud, and very orange. If he ever opens a restaurant that serves dishes as elegant as what he showcased on TV, I'll be there.

Social Eatz, Midtown East - He says...

We decided to try Social Eatz on a whim; it isn't uncommon for us to make spontaneous decisions about our dinner. We're big fans of the TV show Top Chef so we were excited to eat food at Angelo Sosa's new restaurant.

The food at Social Eatz was described to us as 'comfort food with Asian flavors', which isn't surprising for anyone who's watched the show or eaten at his late restaurant Xie Xie. Being the ambitious eaters we are, we decided to start with the menu's 3 appetizers: the ribs, the wings, and the egg rolls. The ribs and wings were perfectly cooked with juicy meat. The one odd thing about them was the sauce. My palate may not have been refined enough to notice, but their sauces tasted relatively the same to me. Not that it's a bad thing. The sauce was really tasty - sweet with a slightly sour and spicy finish. But it would have been nice if the 2 of the 3 appetizers had distinctly different flavors. The egg roll was also good. I really liked the crunch and the salty filling, especially when dipped in the sweet sauce, which we thought was some sort of guava puree.

For my entree, I ordered the tilapia taco. The pieces of fish were so nicely cooked with a perfect even browning and a flaky inside. It also had a sort of finely chopped 'pico de gallo' with a sweet and sour taste like a relish. The taco as a whole would have been perfect except for one element I didn't notice when I ate the first of two tacos...it had guacamole and I'm allergic to avocados! As soon as I noticed, we had to switch (something we probably would have done anyway to share). She ordered the bulgogi burger, which I thought was just as great. The burger was tender and topped with thinly sliced cucumbers, which gave it a nice sour contrast and some crunch. The sauce added a nice richness but also made the burger kind of messy. I think the bread could have been toasted more to add to the texture and hold up the burger with the filling.

Finally, we ordered the yuzu cream puffs. For someone who loves key lime pie, this was the perfect dessert for me. The bread was almost like a freshly fried doughnut but much lighter and fluffier. The filling was perfectly tart and sweet. I loved it and would come back regularly just for that.

There were definitely other dishes I wanted to try, like the bibimbop burger, so we'll definitely be visiting Social Eatz again. Still, I wish Angelo would do a restaurant with more refined food, like he does on Top Chef.