Restaurant: Hearth

Hearth is one of those restaurants that when it first opened it was very hard to get a table because of all the buzz surrounding its chef and the food. Unlike many restaurants before it, once the buzz died down, Hearth remained a popular place to go not only as a destination restaurant, but for the local east village neighborhood. All this, despite it's relatively high priced and eclectic menu that focuses on local fresh from the green market ingredients. Yes, I realize that this is all the rage now, but Hearth was doing it well before a lot of the newcomers. Even the chef, Marco Canora, comes from this type of background, having been the executive chef at Craft before opening Hearth in 2003. I've had the luck of going to Hearth on a number of occasions and it is the restaurant my family uses in the area for special celebrations and a bit of a splurge on a meal. Even if you don't go to eat, it's a lot of fun to walk by and peer into the kitchen from 1st avenue and watch the chefs work (this does tend to annoy them a little bit, and be careful, they have sharp knives).

Generally the menu, besides stressing fresh seasonal ingredients, also has hints of an Italian flair. It's also great that they keep refilling your bread plate as you go, in case you are worried about not getting enough food. They will always start you off with an amuse of soup in a shot glass and I wish you could order a full bowl. While the menu changes daily, there are some items that are consistent, such as a fish crudo, a tasting menu and a number of different fish and meat dishes as entrees. On my most recent trip there for my mom's birthday we ordered three appetizers - peekytoe crab salad with meyer lemon, a spring salad, and trout crudo with blood oranges. The salad was actually quite nice as far as salads go with radishes, small cubed potatoes, shallots and walnuts. The only drawback was the dressing seemed a little bit salty for my taste, and I always add salt to dishes so that means it was quite salty. The peekytoe crab on it's own would have been great and it tasted incredibly fresh, but the extreme sourness of the meyer lemon overwhelmed the sweetness of the crab. In the past when I've had meyer lemon it's been in sweet things, or as part of a sauce, and I was a bit surprised at how liberally it was used with such a delicate flavor in crab. The lone standout among the appetizers was the crudo, with a buttery like taste that paired well with the cucumber and radish salad and sweet/sour combo of the blood orange.

Before I even talk about the main dishes I must note that the side dish that you cannot miss is the hen of the woods mushrooms. They are incredibly meaty, probably more so than a portabella, are flash fried with no breading and incredibly delicious. I know some people don't like mushrooms, and even I will admit they aren't my favorite, but a meal at Hearth is not complete without this side. As for the main dishes all three were excellent, and I must admit, my dish was the my least favorite of the three.

I ordered the roasted pork loin with celery root, lentils, pork sausage and pears. The lentils were both regular and white lentils, and were nicely mixed with the celery root and small diced caramelized pears as a savory and sweet side. The pork itself was extremely tender and juicy, and went nicely with the large pork sausage link which was loaded with a strong fennel flavor. The whole dish was topped with a reduction of the pork gravy, and had a sweet finish to it, which when paired with the subtle fruit flavor of the pears brought to mind the staple of pork chops and apple sauce. Another entree was a roasted fillet of sturgeon with braised cabbage, pork sausage and chickpeas. The cabbage and sausage were actually layered between two pieces of the fish, and had a strong smoky flavor that unless you paired with the chickpeas could sometimes over power the sturgeon. Overall it was an interesting combo, and the unexpected smoke from the sausage added a little surprise to what could have been a relatively simple, yet delicious dish. Lastly, I tried the olive oil poached salmon. This dish was my favorite. Poaching salmon always leaves it incredibly light and juicy, and it came with mussels and a garlic parsley sauce. The sauce almost tasted like what mussels are normally served with, and this, combined with the airiness of the salmon, made for quite the perfect treat.

Normally we would not miss the dessert menu because the pastry chef is extremely talented, but we had birthday cake waiting at home. We did however indulge in the cheese plate, which is always fun to see the waitress try to recall where the cheese is from and what it tastes like. In case you were curious, our waitress got 11 out of 12, and came back within a minute to let us know the one she forgot. The cheeses themselves were a nice finish, each being served with a different fruit or sugary sweet, and a basket of bread.

While Hearth is expensive, it is a consistently good meal, and gives you your money's worth every time. It's fancy and delicious, but at the same time fits in well with the vibe of the area and can be both a relaxing meal and a great place to impress a date.

Gather round the Hearth

Restaurant: Nicky's Vietnamese Sandwiches

Calling Nicky's a restaurant is using the term very loosely. It is more like a takeout storefront with 3 tables and about 7 or 8 chairs. Clearly, from the name alone, Nicky's Vietnamese Sandwiches serves Vietnamese style sandwiches. Personally, I have never had these before, but I know what they consist of and they always sounded delicious to me. On a recent Saturday I took a quick trip down to Avenue B to taste test and find out if they were as good as some of the reviews I had read. Interestingly, the negative things I had read, such as "too small", "expensive", "not authentic", are the types of comments that people make who are trying to find something wrong instead of liking what is right about a place. I think that using authenticity as a measuring stick for whether something is good or bad is a very odd way to determine quality. Just cause something is authentic, doesn't mean it is any better than something that is made a little differently.

I almost walked right by Nicky's since it is tucked away right behind a deli, and is very quietly marked as far as awnings go in the city. Upon walking in you could tell it was popular by the phone constantly ringing and the large group of people waiting outside for their orders. Originally, I had only planned on getting the classic Banh Mi Thit which consists of pate, Vietnamese ham and roast ground pork, but after looking at the menu I couldn't resist also ordering the Pork Chop sandwich. Both sandwiches were quite large, and the thick, crunchy French baguette was much better than about 90% of your normal deli rolls. The "classic Vietnamese sandwich" was delicious combining pickled carrots, cucumber, cilantro and mayo with the three meats. I have to say, I couldn't actually find the pate, but I am not complaining because the food was delicious and plenty big for lunch. It may not fit the traditional sandwich that you would find in Vietnam (and I don't have any reference) but the the sweetness of the cucumber, combined with the savory meat and pickled carrots really dances on the tongue. Plus I added jalapenos that occasionally surprise you just when you think you are going to get that subtle sweetness in the next bite. Oh, and this was $4.50. I guess if you were in sunset park or Vietnam it might be a dollar, but last I checked even a small place in the east village doesn't exactly have the cheapest rent in the world.

Not surprisingly I forced myself to attack the pork chop sandwich right after I finished the first. Any time you can combine the words pork chop and sandwich, you will probably find me handing money over. In this instance I was thrilled to find the second sandwich even better than the first. The pork, although a little fatty compared to the leaner pork chops I usually eat, was perfectly seasoned and cooked to the point that it's juices had soaked into the bread. The toppings were the same as the first sandwich, with cilantro, cucumber, jalapeno, and pickled carrots. The difference between the first and the second sandwich was that the pork stood up to the strong flavored vegetables much better. While I could taste the cilantro and jalapenos, and still got the pickled sweetness of the carrots and cucumbers, the pork stood out as the dominant flavor of the entire sandwich.

All in all I know I will be back to pick up another sandwich or two from Nicky's, and maybe try their sardine or chicken Banh Mi versions. Next time, however, I think I will stick to one so I can avoid a solid food coma. Then again, $9.50 for two big flavorful sandwiches is hard to argue with...

Pate on a sandwich?

Restaurant: S'MAC

I feel like Homer Simpson writing about this restaurant, and I'm not quite sure why. Maybe because I picture him taking one bite of their food and saying "MMMMM, S'MAC". Either that, or it makes me think of a blaxploitation film in the 1970's where someone is dealing S'MAC.


Ok, but I digress. For those who don't know about S'MAC, shame on you. This is the next generation of mac and cheese. I don't even like Mac and Cheese, or at least what I thought was Mac and Cheese. After having the Mac and Cheese at S'MAC a few times I am a convert. Calling it Mac and Cheese is like getting the DB Burger and saying you "had a burger for lunch". Each dish is made to order, with your chosen toppings added in and baked and served in different sized cast iron frying pans like you would find down south. Varieties range from All American, 4 Cheese and Cheeseburger, to the more out there Cajun and Brie. Plus, you have to try at least once the Buffalo Chicken. You even can "create your own" by choosing your different cheeses, vegetables and meat. Plus the portion sizes come small (Nosh) enough that you can order 3, share with someone else and not feel like too much of a glutton. Or if you really want a meal, get the "Munch". And if you happen to be from middle america, you'll probably want the "Mongo". Yeah, the names are a little Starbucksy, but I just love the word nosh so much, I'm willing to overlook this. I just love the choices here. They let you decide if you want bread crumbs on top, heck they even have whole wheat pasta if you want a little "health" in your food.


Oh, and just in case you didn't think it could get any better, it's really cheap, and there is a "S'MAC Happy Hour" where select Mac & Cheese combo's are even cheaper.

Favorite: Tie between 4 Cheese & Cajun
Least Favorite: Garden (damn vegetables are getting in the way of my cheese!)


Get some legal S'Mac