My phone, the gastronome 10: Long-lost #foodporn

Here is a collection of food porn that has been gathering hypothetical dust on my iPhone since the summer. Enjoy!

Uncle Ted’s in the West Village: These roast pork buns were had for dinner with Rene back when I was still working in that neighborhood. Uncle Ted’s is a relatively new addition to the ‘hood, and it has a chic, albeit harshly lit, interior with a modern white and gray decor.

We love dim sum and anything consisting of pork-filled dough, but these buns were disappointing - all dough and a negligible amount of pork. Ah, nothing compares to Nom Wah.

Next came the braised duck dumplings: sweet shredded duck in thin, bland dumpling skins served in a light broth. Slightly un-traditional but a successful take on dim sum.

Finally, we shared this huge plate of beef and broccoli. This was pretty standard and nothing to write home about, and as you can see from the excessive sheen, pretty oily.

Farmer Jon’s Oatmeal Stout, for happy hour with my sister at Heartland Brewery. Heartland brews their beers locally and serves them at their several Manhattan locations. The list of their craft ales and lagers is a lengthy one but the Oatmeal Stout is, in my opinion, the best. It has a rich espresso and dark chocolate flavor with a smooth, restrained acidic finish. A must-try for dark brew lovers!

Apple pie, fait maison by yours truly for Thanksgiving, using my tried-and-true pastry recipe.

Hot chocolate, also by me, in a brand new Bodum mug (gifted to me by my amazing girlfriends). Recipe: Stir 1 tsp cocoa powder, 1 tbsp chopped dark chocolate, 1 tsp instant coffee and 1 tsp sugar into 8 oz of hot milk. Stir to combine and simmer until chocolate is melted, about 2 min.

Blueberry and raspberry Linzer bars to help ring in 2014 - a perfectly portioned, not-too-sweet dessert.

A comforting bowl of shoyu ramen at Ramen Yebisu in Williamsburg, during a particularly cold and rainy Sunday afternoon. I consider Momofuku Noodle Bar the gold standard of ramen but this place gave it a run for its money. The egg noodles were pleasantly chewy and the savory broth was accented by the nuttiness of sesame oil.

Pork Slope is a “roadhouse-style” bar in Brooklyn - ran by Top Chef Dale Talde - that serves classic American bar food. You’d think since it’s backed by Talde’s name the food would be a notch higher than standard bar fare, and I’ve been excited to try it for a while now, but unfortunately, it fell flat. I ordered the brisket sandwich with a side of mac & cheese. The beef had good texture but it was hard to actually taste it since the sandwich was completely drowned in a smoky barbecue sauce. The Texas toast that the sandwich was served on absorbed the sauce as well and the whole thing just turned into a soggy barbecue sauce mess.

Rene ordered their signature Porky Melt, which is a house-made pork sausage patty with cheddar, sauteed onions and mustard on marble rye bread (not pictured). This was definitely a unique and indulgent offering and I liked it way better than the brisket. However, the pork was so greasy that we both literally had grease dripping down the backs of our hands. The flavors were great overall, but that oil has got to go.

The mac & cheese side was pretty good, though. The macaroni wasn’t overly sauced and the toasted panko crumbs were a nice touch.

And this is Fred - I didn’t eat him - begging for my attention.

A Parisian escape to Juliette in Williamsburg

Jan6

My fixation with Paris and French culture should come as no surprise to those of you who’ve been following me for a while. I studied in Paris in 2010, went back to visit last winter, wrote a Paris travel guide, and even have a French word in the name of my blog. It’s true - I am obsessed! From the language and customs to the food and style, I find it all simply irresistible. I love going to French restaurants and places with a Parisian feel in New York and Juliette in Williamsburg is the perfect place to dip into if you’re in the mood for Paris. I’ve been at Juliette on several occasions and can truly vouch for the quality of their food and the sophisticated but not stuffy atmosphere. It’s perfect for afternoon drinks, a weekend brunch, or a date night.

The restaurant is divided into three different areas - the front, which features a vintage bar and small bistro tables, the more intimate back area with leather booth seating, and an area that’s covered in greenery, with floor plants as well as ones hanging overhead, which create a uniquely romantic mood. In the summertime, they also open their large rooftop area. The only factor that is distinctly un-Parisian about Juliette are the really polite waiters… damn it.

Rene and I had dinner at Juliette on a recent Friday night. The meal started with warm bread and butter with sea salt - one of my very favorite foods.

Red wine is a must, of course.

Duck confit is a quintessentially French dish that involves salt-curing duck for up to several days and then roasting and crisping it in its own fat. Juliette serves this classic in the form of a salad, atop a frisee salad, brioche croutons and toasted walnuts with a light vinaigrette. Though the dish is technically an appetizer, it is large enough to be a main course. The meat was perfectly tender and practically fell off the bone, and was indulgent enough to eat without a starchy side.

As a second course, I went with the gnocchi, which may be ordered as a small plate like this ($10) or a large one ($20). The dish consisted of soft little pillows of boiled and then lightly sauteed potato dough in an silky cream sauce with fresh peas, chives, speck - a smoked Italian ham - and grated Parmesan. Gnocchi is of course Italian and I’m not sure why it’s on Juliette’s menu, but hell, I’m not complaining. Between the salty cheese, sweet peas and smokey speck, the dish was resolutely indulgent. I loved every bite but can’t imagine getting through an even larger portion.

Tell me about your favorite “escape” restaurant.

Sweet potato and carrot soup

Dec13

Whereas many of you grew up eating candied yams and sweet potato pie, I only came to know this starchy vegetable a few years ago; these was only one kind of potato in Mother Ukraine - the brown kind. Now sweet potatoes are one of my favorite vegetables. They’re delicious, versatile, super healthy, and still retain an air of exotica to me.

This gorgeous wintertime soup comes together easily and in no time, and with ingredients you probably already have on hand. It’s light yet satisfying, and the way the cool sour cream and grassy cilantro mingle with the sweet vegetables is just divine. Try it!

(Yield: 4 servings)

Ingredients:

2 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp butter
1 yellow onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, chopped
2 medium carrots, cut into 1″ pieces
1 large/2 small sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1″ cubes
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1 tsp turmeric
1 tsp ground coriander
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
3 c low sodium chicken stock
Sour cream and chopped cilantro, to garnish

Sweet potato and carrot soup

Procedure: Heat a soup pot over medium-low heat. Add olive oil and butter. Once melted, add onion and garlic. Cook until softened, 3-4 min. Raise heat to medium-high and add ingredients from carrots through cayenne pepper. Stir and cook until vegetables begin to caramelize, about 7 min, stirring occasionally. Then add chicken stock and cover pot tightly with a lid. Bring soup to a boil. Once boiling, turn heat down to low, crack lid, and simmer for 15 min. Take pot off heat and blend until smooth using an immersion blender (always exercise extreme caution and follow manufacturer’s instructions when using an immersion blender, especially with hot foods). Taste and re-season if necessary. Serve topped with sour cream and cilantro.

My phone, the gastronome 9: Fatass edition

Sep23

Despite my waxing poetic about plant-based eating and green smoothies, I am still just taking baby steps. I am cooking and eating very little meat at home but when I’m out and about, I find it hard to say no to my favorite foods. What can I say, I’m a fatass at heart and old habits die hard. Scroll on and you’ll see what I mean.

Fette Sau BBQ in Williamsburg smokes their locally-sourced meats with dry rubs - sauce-free. They sell everything by weight and due to its high quality, it is quite pricey and the menu is subject to chance. This pulled pork and beef rib were so tender that they melted in my mouth, and so greasy that I could practically them coating my arteries. Despite having split the above with Rene, on a scale from one to fatass, this meal is surely a code red.

A few months ago, I finally made it to Balthazar, the iconic French restaurant in SoHo. I had the Bar Steak with their infamous pomme frites and bearnaise sauce. This moment of fatass-ness can be forgiven as one does not finally make it to Balthazar and simply order a salad.

Shrimp boiled with their heads on and tossed in a creamy garlic sauce with dill is a Russian specialty that one wouldn’t cook at home. It is a dish enjoyed exclusively at restaurants - as a snack, with beer. The experience of eating it is pretty intense: You dig into the hot dish with your fingers, tear off the head of a shrimp, as well as the legs and outer shell, give it another dip in the garlicky goodness and slip it into your mouth. Eating this dish is as much about the actual food as it is about the ritual. This particular shrimp was had at Kebeer, a beer bar and restaurant on Brighton Beach.

Hunter's Brooklyn

Above is the roast pork benedict from my beloved Hunter’s in Brooklyn. This being my third time at Hunter’s, I’ve already learned to expect nothing less than perfection and this dish was no different. Why anyone would choose to serve eggs benedict with measly ham instead of roasted pork is beyond me now.

This brunch was sort of a special occasion. I have been e-friends with Declan and Erica (America’s Cutest Cooking Couple from Cooking in College) for several years now but we have never met in real life - until a few weekends ago, that is. They traveled to spend Labor Day weekend in NYC and asked me to show them around, which I was super excited about. I suggested we start the day with brunch - as well all know that a great New York weekend includes brunch - and one at Hunter’s specifically. Fortunately, neither of us turned out to have Catfish-ed the other and all three were exactly who they said they were!

After sightseeing in DUMBO, walking across the Brooklyn Bridge, having midday beers at Beekman Garden and visiting the 9/11 memorial, we worked up quite an appetite and headed to Williamsburg to finish off the day. This time we decided to go less classy and dine on the bacon-wrapped, deep-fried Crif Dogs, which Declan and Erica loved. This fatass meal was had in the name of tourism, so it’s a-okay

After deciding to forego the wrap-around queue at Shake Shack, Rene and I walked toward Union Square and found ourselves at Clarke’s Standard - a brand new burger chain from the same people that brought us the iconic P.J. Clarke’s restaurant near Lincoln Center.

I ordered the Brooklyn Au Poivre burger ($7.75), served on a sourdough roll with sauteed peppers and onions and gouda cheese. The cracked pepper sauce cited on the menu was nowhere to be found on my burger, but besides this disappointing fact, the burger was lackluster. Located geographically between 5 Napkin Burger and Shake Shack, it was not on par with either peer.

This Bareburger was had during a work lunch with my fellow interns, Beatrice and Erin. If you are wondering just what that monstrosity is atop the burger, I will tell you. Those are spicy fried pickle spears. Yup…

This fatass moment was simply irresponsible. Eating a huge burger with country bacon, cheese and deep-fried pickles during a work lunch is basically saying goodbye to all energy and productivity for the rest of the day. I hope no one saw me dozing off at my desk that afternoon…

Lastly, here is a gorgeous photo I snapped on an evening in Chinatown.

Sweet coconut grits w/ grilled peaches

Jul16

Way back in the winter - when peaches were still a distant dream - I found myself pondering over grits. I dared not doubt my love for the cheesy kind I have with my eggs (or the spicy baked version with tomatoes) but was yet to explore the sweet variety. Within a few seconds, this idea came to me. Silky coconut milk, crunchy coconut flakes, sweet juicy peaches - it just had to work. And it did. Just as I suspected, sweet grits are as delectable as the savory kind. Now the possibilities are limitless!

These sweet coconut grits can be served for breakfast, or for dessert if in smaller portions.

(Yield: 2 servings)

Ingredients:

1 14 oz can light coconut milk

1/3 c quick-cooking grits

A pinch of salt

2 tsp sugar

1 tbsp butter

1 peach, sliced

2 tbsp coconut flakes

Procedure: Bring coconut milk to a simmer in a small pot. Gradually whisk in grits. Reduce heat to low, add salt and sugar, cover tightly with a lid and cook for 5 min, stirring frequently. Turn heat off and whisk in butter. To grill peach slices, heat a grill pan over medium heat. Cook peaches 2-3 min per side, flipping once, until brown grill marks appear. To serve, divide grits into 2 bowls. Top with peaches and coconut flakes.

The Brooklyniest ice cream, like, ever.

Jun10

What do you get when you bring an ex sci-fi screenwriter with an undying love for ice cream to Prospect Heights? Ample Hills Creamery, the Brooklyniest ice cream parlor of all.

Ample Hills proudly serves their small batch, handmade, organic treats in a fun setting that excites children of all ages. In the few years that they have been open, they have gained major popularity in New York. I have heard about it, walked by it and even written about it before, but have not gone inside until last week.

Ample Hills Creamery Brooklyn

As I walked into the store, my mood was instantly elevated. The old-school music and the high energy staff behind the counter gave the place an upbeat vibe, and there was a steady 10-15 people waiting on line the whole time I was there - a few of whom were actually dancing (not metaphorically) out of anticipation.

Although every one of their two dozen flavors sounded intriguing, it didn’t take long to decide what I wanted - salted “crack” caramel ice cream in a pretzel (yes, pretzel) cone. My $6 serving of ice cream was dense (it didn’t drip!), slightly bitter, fragrant, and it housed chucks of salted milk chocolate bark. It was like ice cream 2.0 - I’ve never had a frozen treat I enjoyed this much before. But as much as I loved the ice cream itself, I was anxious to try the pretzel cone - getting to which was quite a journey, though, as the single scoop that I ordered actually seemed like an entire pint. By the time I finally got there, I was experiencing the most intense sugar rush of my life, so much so that I questioned whether I was eating actual crack. The cone was salty, crispy and thicker than I had imagined, which made it the perfect vessel for that large an amount of sugar and it spun my taste buds into absolute madness.Why hadn’t anyone thought of this before? How much more do I have to eat? Anyone wanna dance on this table with me?! Weeee!

Needless to day, visiting this place was a pretty intense experience.

Ample Hills Creamery Brooklyn

In Brooklyn, the whole “micro-batch,” “local,” “organic” thing can get pretty annoying. I mean, I’m surprised we don’t have “artisanal” water yet… (Or wait, do we? Anyone know a place?) However, at Ample Hills, it is not one bit obnoxious. I appreciate their small batches of ice cream and house-made mix-ins - not for their “sustainability,” but because they taste good.

My phone, the gastronome: 4

Oct3

Here are a few interesting things my phone saw me eat recently:

One day whilst browsing a Chinese take-out menu, Rene stumbled upon the words “Sugar Buns.” $3.50 would supposedly buy ten of them. Neither of us has ever ordered them before but we were feeling adventurous and decided to go for it. To our very pleasant surprise, these little puffs of fried yeasty dough sprinkled with sugar arrived. Basically, they’re fried doughnut holes and they are delicious. Sinful and delicious. Next time you order Chinese food, look for Sugar Buns on the menu.

I happened to get my hands on a waffle maker recently and for my first attempt, I improvised the batter. Bad idea. I used buttermilk as the base and didn’t add enough flour, so they turned out bland and sort of flat in texture. If anyone out there has a great waffle recipe, please share it with me!

Sweet onion chicken schnitzel sandwich via Schnitz restaurant @ Smorgasburg: Fried white meat chicken, pickled radishes, tzadziki, pretzel bread. Ah-mazing.

Hotdogs via Asia Dog @ Smorgasburg. Hands-down, best hot dogs in NYC (along with Crif Dogs, of course).

Porchetta [pork-etta] sandwich @ Smorgasburg: Porchetta is a popular Roman street-food that is essentially slow-roasted aromatic pork on fresh bread. The pork was actually drier than I expected but delicious nonetheless - very herby and garlicky. It probably wouldn’t be traditional to drizzle it with something creamy and mayo-like but…

Perhaps my favorite thing to order at sushi restaurants, the spicy salmon roll.

Lamb burger @ Mikey’s on the Lower East Side: Grilled onions, jalapenos, peanut sauce. I stumbled into this burger joint after a night at the bar and was pretty excited to sink my teeth into something greasy and delicious. Unfortunately, this burger failed to satisfy me. Aside from the jalapenos, it was bland, and, well… wet. I want my $7.50 back.

Lavender macaron by Michael Allen Desserts via Fresh Fanatic - as delicious as it is beautiful.

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Chick pea stew

Oct1

Chick peas, aka garbanzo beans, are one of my favorite ingredients to cook with. They are healthy (high in protein and fiber), tasty and, most importantly, versatile - they’re like the chicken of the legume world. I tend to use the canned variety because it’s a lot more convenient and time efficient than boiling the dried kind, but if you have the time and desire to cook your own, more power to you.

This recipe is vegetarian and vegan friendly.

(Yield: 4-6 servings)

Ingredients:

2 tbsp olive oil

1 small yellow onion, diced

2 garlic cloves, minced

2 vine tomatoes, chopped

½ tsp sugar

½ tsp cumin

2 15 oz cans chick peas, drained and rinsed

1 c packed baby spinach leaves

Salt + pepper

Procedure: Heat a high-sided skillet over medium heat and add olive oil. Add onion with a pinch of salt and cook until translucent, 3-4 min. Add garlic and cook for 60 secs. Add tomatoes, a pinch of salt and pepper, sugar and cumin. Stir, turn heat down to low, cover and cook for 10 min, stirring occasionally. Then add chick peas and spinach. Stir continuously to warm chick peas throughout and wilt the spinach. After spinach has wilted, about 2 min, turn heat off, taste and re-season if necessary. Serve hot over creamy grits or polenta, or with hunks of fresh bread.

If you are interested in more chick pea recipes, check out my falafel post as well as this chick pea and eggplant sauté.

Chez Sasha

NYC food blog by a 20-something Ukrainian girl

Tag Archives: brooklyn food blogs

My phone, the gastronome 10: Long-lost #foodporn

A Parisian escape to Juliette in Williamsburg

Sweet potato and carrot soup

My phone, the gastronome 9: Fatass edition

Sweet coconut grits w/ grilled peaches

The Brooklyniest ice cream, like, ever.

My phone, the gastronome: 4

Chick pea stew