Pastrami Pilgrimage to Katz's Deli (New York)

After finally trying the pastrami sandwich at Langer's Deli in downtown LA and falling in love with it, I decided it was time to make my way to the famous Katz's Deli in New York.


They give you a card when you come in that you have to return upon leaving. The ordering system was confusing to me, and apparently there is a special seating area for table service only. I hadn't realized this and had already ordered from the counter, so I sat in the back area. It was fun seeing plastic tubs filled with blobs of meat leaving the kitchen, though.

Yes, this is another Katz vs. Langer's comparison, so I'll make it short.

While it was undoubtedly good pastrami, I definitely preferred Langer's. The pastrami at Langer's is fattier and thus more tender and flavorful. The cheese and cole slaw in Langer's #19 are definitely pluses and the bread is better there as well. Sorry New York Katz's lovers, methinks you lost this one ...



Katz's Deli
205 E Houston St
New York, NY 10002
(212) 254-2246
www.katzdeli.com

New York Giveaway! A Pair of Tickets to A Taste of Home

Hey New York readers! Here's a chance for you to win a pair of tickets to A Taste of Home: A Chef Tasting and Benefit Party hosted by Alex Guarnaschelli.

A Taste of Home is a benefit put on by Housing Works Bookstore Café and hosted by Alex Guarnaschelli, Executive Chef of Butter Restaurant and The Darby, and host of Food Network’s Alex’s Day Off.
All proceeds from the event goes to the Housing Works Mission of fighting AIDS and homelessness.

The event will also feature food by:
* Brad Farmerie, Executive Chef of PUBLIC, The Monday Room, Double Crown and Madam Geneva
* Colleen Grapes, Pastry Chef, The Red Cat and The Harrison
* Luis Nieto, Executive Chef, The Palm Tribeca
* And our own Tessa Liebman, Executive Chef of The Works Catering.

To ensure good times, there will also be Hendrick’s Gin cocktails, wine by Broadbent Selections, beer by Whole Foods, and Intelligentsia Coffee.

The deets: 
Tuesday, March 29, 2011 at 7:00 PM
Housing Works Bookstore Cafe, 126 Crosby Street, New York, NY 10012
(212)334-3324

Tickets are usually $65 or $100 VIP ticket which includes a private hour (6–7pm) to mingle with the chefs over wine and cheese. But all you have to do is leave a comment below with your email to win a pair of tickets! Tweet about the giveaway (and let me know via a comment) for an extra entry.

The giveaway closes 11:59 PM next Tuesday, March 22nd.

If you don't win but want to attend, you can always buy tickets here.

New York

Azalea
Bouley **
Center Cut
Dessert Truck
Eleven Madison Park *
Gramercy Tavern *
Ippudo
Jean Georges ***
Katz's Deli
Le Bernardin ***
M. Wells (Queens/Long Island City)
Marea *
Momofuku Noodle Bar
Russ & Daughters
Yakitori Totto

M. Wells Diner: A Real Gem in Queens

As the end of the year nears, it's time that I blog about one of the best things I ate this year. It was inarguably the best dish I had in New York this year, although I had great meals are Lincoln, Marea, Di Fara, and Osteria Morini. It's the mussel hash from M. Wells diner in Queens. A nicely browned stack of hashbrowns is topped with tender braised brisket, fresh, perfectly cooked mussels, and a runny poached egg drizzled with an unusual and exceptional scallion dressing.

I had the same reaction as my friend whom I asked to accompany me to M. Wells. Going all the way to Queens for a diner?
Read more »

Real New York Bagel and Lox, at its Best

Anthony Bourdain listed it as one of the 13 places to eat before he dies, but this place goes beyond that. Russ & Daughters has been a specialty purveyor since 1914 and this institution has been handed down four generations of the Russ family.

You can get their smoked fish to go, or some caviar, or a gift package. Bourdain talks about their traditional Jewish style herring and their smoked sable. Me, I was there to grab a bagel and lox for my flight back home. I didn't think I should attempt taking herring on the plane and eating it. (Should I?)

There's always a line to order, and when you get to the front you better know what you want. Which can be difficult. Very difficult.

The bagel: plain, onion, everything, sesame, etc?
The cream cheese: plain, scallion, tofu, or - if you want to be extra indulgent - caviar?
The lox: Scottish, Nova, Norwegian?

I wanted to focus on the cream cheese and lox, didn't want to splurge extra, and for bagel it's always scottish salmon for me, so this is what I ended up with:

Plain bagel, scallion cream cheese, scottish smoked salmon

Priced around $9, how was it? First, the bagel. It was the only bagel I ate in New York and it was better than the ones in L.A. Anything better in NYC? Probably, I wouldn't know. The scottish salmon was of course excellent. Russ & Daughters definitely acquired high quality products for their smoked fish. But I can get high quality lox elsewhere, so in the end, it's all about the cream cheese for me. It wasn't just the variety, it's the fresh double-whipped creamy spread, with the fresh chopped scallions.

Was it worth the $9? Oh yes.
(Was it worth the extra cab fare for the detour between Times Square and JFK, plus the wait time while I get the food? Well ... maybe if I had walked down the street for Katz also, because that ended up being one expensive cab fare :P )

Russ & Daughters
179 E Houston St
New York, NY 10002
(212) 475-4880
www.russanddaughters.com

NYC: Eleven Madison Park Tasting Menu

The best dinner of my last NYC trip? Easy. Eleven Madison Park.

"Taste of Autumn" menu - $125 (yes, this was back in late November - a belated post) in a art deco dining room with magnificently high ceilings. It's quiet, it's classy. Frank Bruni gave Executive Chef Daniel Humm's food four stars before leaving NY Times, so I came with high expectations. Luckily, they were met.

Warm gougeres to start the meal that will be marked by courteous and professional service.

A plate of pretty and whimsical amuse bouches came immediately after: beet marshmallow, foie gras pate, fried sweetbread mini come (and another which escapes me at the moment).

Hawaiian Prawns Roulade with avocado, lime, and yogurt
First impression: gorgeous. Lasting impression: a delicious play of crisp prawns and the smooth and creamy avocado, both of which were so fresh their flavors scarcely needed the yogurt.

Sea urchin cappuccino with Peekytoe crab.
The uni here contributed to a rich creaminess, but the flavor did not come out as strongly (to the delight of my companion, who didn't like uni all that much).

Dover Sole. Slow cooked with Matsutake sabayon and Nasturtium.
Firm yet moist and tender, the Dover Sole's texture was little overwhelmed by the creamy sabayon, but the flavors worked quite well.

Four Story Hill Farm Suckling Pig Confit with spiced plum chutney, cipollini onions and cider jus.
Tender confit topped with crisped crunchy skin. The spiced plum chutney was both interesting and had nice flavors, but was perhaps unnecessary for this confit. The combination was a bit too rich and sweet. Regardless, the confit itself was excellent.

Millbrook Farms Venison, herb roasted with gingerbread puree, porcini, and black mission figs.
See how pink it is in the center? Loved it. It's tender, it's almost rare, it's a little gamey, it's perfect. The venison and the figs were a winning combination.

As a palate cleanser, "Kir Royale" on a ceramic pillow. Cassis, meringue, champagne emulsion.
A light palate cleanser that did its job nicely.
Oh and that ceramic pillow almost fooled me. Good thing I didn't break it :P

Araguani Chocolate Ganache with Sweet Potato Dauphine and Chestnut Honey.
A rich and decadent Valrhona ganache will get my vote anytime, but the sweet potato dauphine was surprisingly good for me who was never all that big on sweet potato (I like it but I don't love it like many people I know).

Mignardises involved macarons and chocolates.
Some of the macaron flavors were almost as whimsical as the amuse bouches: violet, peanut butter and jelly, black sesame.
The chocolate truffles also involved me going "Ohh, hmm ..." when they asked me which flavors I wanted.

A box of fruit jelly for the ladies to take home. My snack for the next two days.

It wasn't just the food. It was the space, the service. After rushing around the city, I felt calm and relaxed dining here, but never were we waiting too long for the next course slightly annoyed. The food itself deserved three or four stars. One Michelin star? If you ask me I'd give them at least two.


Eleven Madison Park
11 Madison Ave
New York, NY 10010
(212) 889-0905
www.elevenmadisonpark.com

Hot and Soupy #2: Ippudo, NY. Best Ramen in the States

A New York trip calls for Ippudo - if you haven't been there, that is.
I met up with an LA blogger (now Destination Eats) who's relocated to NYC, and his girlfriend for lunch during my trip.
There was a 45 minute wait, so we went to Momofuku Milk Bar to get some goodies while waiting for a table, but Ippudo's staff wouldn't let us take our cookies into the dining area. We had to leave them in the staff closet to be picked up when we leave.

We had fun observing the wall of ramen bowls behind the bar, and wondered what would happen during an earthquake. Well, good thing they're not in California!
After a while we were called to be seated and walked through a fairly large dining room - much fancier than other ramen joints I've been too, but I guess this is a popular spot in NY after all.

I've heard good things about their pork buns, so we ordered some. But beware although at the bar you can order them for $4 each, when you're seated at a table you have to order two at a time for $8! Why? Who knows. Because they want to?
Some people may kill me for this, but I actually liked Momofuku's pork buns better ...
The problem with these are the mayonnaise. Too much mayonnaise that it overwhelms the pork flavor. While the oyster sauce in Momofuku's pork buns are reminiscent of Beijing duck, mayonnaise just reminded me of ...well ... sandwiches?

But the main attraction here is the ramen. I ordered the Akamaru Modern ($14)
Akamaru means 'red circle,' Destination Eats' girlfriend explained to me. The red circle most likely referred the dollop of spicy miso paste in the middle.

Some food porn shots for you: thin straight noodles in true Hakata-style, thick chashu, medium boiled eggs.
This was indeed an excellent bowl of ramen. I liked the firm Hakata thin noodles, the tonkotsu broth is rich and flavorful, the chashu thick and succulent, and the half boiled eggs added an extra texture that neither poached nor hard boiled egg can. It is indeed a magnificent bowl of ramen that hints of the gloriousness that you might get at the original Hakata outpost.

The $14 price tag aside, the attitude about the pork bun ordering and taking cookies in aside, this was conceivably the best bowl of ramen I've had in the US. Whether or not you should pay $14 for a bowl of ramen, though (even if you are in New York), is entirely your decision.

Ippudo
65 4th Ave
New York, NY 10003
(212) 388-0088
www.ippudo.com/ny/

NYC: Gramercy Tavern

I've been making my Michelin rounds in NYC. Gramercy Tavern was another amazing dinner from my last NYC trip back in November. With a much more casual ambiance than Jean Georges or Le Bernardin, this was the perfect choice for our big group dinner, as we can all talk and enjoy ourselves.

Gramercy Tavern only had one big table (bigger than 6) so the only time we were able to snatch a reservation for 8 was at 5:45 pm since there was another party coming later that night. We stayed waaay late and felt bad for the incoming party, but they didn't rush us at all. Instead of the tasting menu, we went with the prix-fixe $86 for 3 courses.

As usual, some of the first courses made it around the table so we can all sample.
Veal Cappelletti (Cauliflower and sage)
Tender and flavorful veal with al dente pasta. I liked the slightly herb-y sauce due to the sage. In a cold night in NYC, this was one satisfying comfort food. This was a good start and a good intro to the Gramercy Tavern meal. Simple, flavorful, well-executed.

Black Tagliatelle (chorizo, mussels, and calamari)
The black tagliatelle is typically made black using squid or cuttlefish ink, which also adds another layer of flavor. I only had a bit of this dish but really enjoyed it. The calamari was nice and chewy and went very well with the pasta.

Lamb Pappardelle (Olives, lemon confit, swiss chard)
This was another great dish with shreds of tender lamb. It was very flavorful, if not a tad salty. As a warning, the last two pasta dish was definitely a little on the salty side, but not overwhelmingly so.

For my second course, I ordered the Sea Bass (spaghetti squash, sherry sauce)
This is rather unlike me to order a fish (instead of my usual red meat), but boy was I glad I did! In my opinion, this was the best dish of the night! The fish was very moist and had a great texture, and I absolutely loved how it paired with the spaghetti squash! Compared to the first courses, the sauce here is slightly more delicate but still has a lot of flavor. This was definitely a hit.

As far as desserts go, there were two that stand out. The first stood out because it's unique and interesting:
Coconut Tapioca (Passionfruit and coconut sorbet, passionfruit caramel, and cilantro syrup)
I thought this was a creative and well-executed dessert. The flavor is fairly light. I like the flavor combination - the cilantro added a refreshing kick for me (though I know some people don't like cilantro).

The second stood up simply because of how awesome it was:
Warm Chocolate Bread Pudding (Cacao Nib ice cream)
It was warm. It was a gooey rich chocolatey goodness. It was comfort food dessert to the max. Simply put, it was an amazing chocolate bread pudding.

We finished off with a nice little plate of petit fours.
Gramcercy Tavern was a no fuss meal. No foam, no spherical liquid. Just straight-up a delicious and satisfying meal you enjoy among friends. It's a total comfort food for me back in that freezing New York "fall".

Gramercy Tavern Reserve Now!
42 E 20th St
New York, NY 10003
(212) 477-0777
www.gramercytavern.com

NYC: The Dessert Truck

Gourmet desserts on wheels. Warm sweets to grab-n-go on the streets of cold New York in November.

I read about the dessert truck on LA&OC Foodie's blog, and as it turns out, my hotel in NYC was 4 blocks away from their afternoon stop! Score!

Walking down 55th Street, I quickly saw the truck as I approached their location: 55th and Lexington. Whee!
Although their daily menu is small, it's quite sufficient and changes regularly, and all dessert items are easily priced at $5 with the exception of the warm molten chocolate cake at $6.

Since I'll be walking around, I wanted something easy to eat with my hands, so i got the warm brioche doughnuts (vanilla cream center, cinnamon sugar) - $5
Warm, fluffy, sweet creamy center. These are some tasty donuts to come off a truck!

Hot chocolate (Valrhona and Guittard chocolates) - $5
Rich and pretty dark and intense. The hot chocolate is better than what you can get at most restaurants in LA. I only wished it had kept the heat better against the blistering NYC wind :< style="font-weight: bold;">

Dessert Truck
M-F, 12-3PM E. 55th St, corner of Lexington
M-Sun, 6PM-12AM St. Mark's Pl (8th St) and 3rd
http://www.desserttruck.com/

NYC: Pre-Theatre Deal at Center Cut Steakhouse

I decided to go to Center Cut since:1) it also happened to the OpenTable Stimulus Week when I was in NY and wanted to take advantage of the deal, and 2) it was right next to the Lincoln Center where I was going to see the musical South Pacific (AWESOME, btw).

It turned out though, Center Cut has a $39 pre/post-theatre prix-fixe deal all the time anyway! Oh well ...
The $39 deal is called the "Center Cut 4^2" so as you can deduce, it comes with 4 items: Soup, Salad, Entree, Side (and bonus cookies at the end).

First came the bread - which looked like a popover. It had a different texture and taste though (still hollow in the middle, however).For the soup I opted for the Golden Potato & White Truffle Cream w/ crispy shoestring potatoes
Nice texture (rich, creamy), and pretty aromatic with both the white truffle cream and the sliver of black truffle on there.

I also tried the Five Alarm Wagyu Chili Soup corn bread crisps and sour cream, that someone else ordered.
This tastes great, except that it was somewhat spicy for me - I had to finish it off with the rich, creamy potato soup to calm my tongue down.

For the "salad" I got the Mozzarella Compression opal basil and virgin olive oil
A great and simple appetizer. The tomatoes were amazing: sweet and juicy. All four of us ordered this dish and are glad we did.

For the entree I ordered the Steak Au Poivre: 6oz brandt beef filet, red peppercorn crust and braised belgian endive
This is actually a great steak! Well-prepared (I asked for medium rare), tender and juicy - it wasn't at all overcooked! The peppercorn crust really adds a nice flavor.
Really enjoyed it over all.

The other ppl on the table got:
Hot Smoked King Salmon poached asparagus, morel mushrooms and dried cherry butter
Jumbo Pink Shrimp Scampi basmati strudel
They seemed to be enjoying these dishes too.

Some of the sides were pretty interesting, like these Eggplant Fries:
All the food was good quality and well-prepared. While not mind-blowing, they were very solid and enjoyable. Plus with the prix-fixe deal, we believe this was the best deal we got in NY this trip!

The $39 meal also came with cookies and milk (!) which you can take to go (to take to the theatre with you) or eat there. What we didn't know before was how big these cookies were going to be!
This huge stack was for ONE person. They were WARM, right out of the oven, and moist.

The milk came in individual ceramic bottles - CUTE.

Being stuffed and happy (and happy for the bill too), we ambled to the Lincoln Center - just across the street pretty much.

I would definitely recommend Center Cut's theatre deal for people who are in New York. It's no Jean Georges but it's very solid food and quite a deal. The restaurant is also not loud, allowing actual conversations, with very courteous servers.


Center Cut (at The Empire Hotel)
44 W 63rd St, New York 10017
Btwn Columbus Ave & Central Park W
Phone: 212-956-1288

The 2009 Michelin Stars

Los Angeles
Melisse **
Providence **
Spago **
Urasawa **
Cut *
Gordon Ramsay at The London *
Ortolan *
Osteria Mozza *
Sona *
Sushi Mori *
Sushi Zo *
Water Grill *

San Francisco/Napa Valley
Coi **
The French Laundry ***
Chez Panisse *

New York
Jean Georges ***
Le Bernardin ***
Aureole *
Eleven Madison Park *
Fleur de Sel *
Gramercy Tavern *

NYC: Loving Chicken Parts at Yakitori Totto

I've been wanting to go to Yakitori Totto for ... 2 years now? A friend of mine told me of a Japanese place in NYC that was supposed to change my life, and he gave me the address. Not the name though ... and it turns out there's a different restaurant on the first floor at the same address and I ended up there, 2 years ago ... (it was good - a kaiseki restaurant).

This year I had to go. With a week full of restaurant reservations though the only time I could go was my last night, right before my 8:30PM flight. Totto opens at 5:30 PM but having nothing else to do/buy (post-shopping) I walked there at 5:00. They wouldn't let us in but while we were debating whether to wander around and come back or not the line started to form ... by 5:20PM the stairway was full of people waiting in line. Good thing I didn't leave!

The yakitoris were about $3.50 a piece and there was a minimum order of I-can't-remember-how-much-bcs-it-didn't-matter. At least the min order can include non-yakitori items, unlike certain LA yakitori places!

My dinner started off with what ended up being my favorite - seseri (chicken neck)
Great flavor and texture - they are bits of chicken neck wrapped around the skewer, chewier and firmer than usual meat. Maybe even a wee bit cartilagenous, but not much. Loved it, loved it.

Next we had the chicken oyster (this is from the backbone near the thigh)
This was also very good. Delicious, tender little things. Although I was still in heaven from my chicken neck ... mmmm.

I also had some chicken thigh with scallions but apparently I didn't take a photo of it :( If you don't normally eat prawn/shrimps with their shells on this will prove to be a bit of a hassle to eat since grilling it makes the shell stick to the meat and hard to remove. I usually try to just eat them tho. The yummy seasoning is all on the shell's surface anyway :P

We also had some tamago, made with free range Jidori chicken eggs.
Amazing. One of the best I've ever had - very flavorful eggs This wasn' t exactly to my taste. It was crisp but had the stickiness that didn't really agree with me.

We also had some miso eggplant.
Good. Pretty standard grilled eggplant with miso. The chicken parts are definitely the highlights at this place, so get the other stuff for fillers only.

We also tried their daiginjyo tofu.
The tofu was steaming in front of us for a while. The server comes and serves it to you when he/she thinks it's ready. Soft, smooth tofu and nothing else. Very simple and delicious.

For dessert we ordered the yawaraka annin tofu ("creamy apricot kernel tofu")
Compared to your usual "tofu" this has a stickier texture - maybe even more like a pudding. Just the right amount of sweetness and quite refreshing, I really liked this dessert!

I absolutely loved Totto. It's the best yakitori I've ever had (although I never got to try Bincho before they closed the yakitori part down - but I highly doubt it can beat Totto). I plan to come back and try the rest of the menu!

Yakitori Totto
251 W. 55th St (btw 8th and Broadway)
New York, NY 10019
(212) 245-4555
http://www.torysnyc.com/totto.htm



See all my NYC posts here.